ET... Blob

Gaining weight…?

Estella — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:21:09 +0000

Today was a fairly “simple” and LAZY day for me once I got home from work…
Work –> Home –> Lots of Starburst Gummy Fruits –> Check emails –> Dinner Eggplant Rice –> Watch TV –> Super Cheesy Pizza Bread –> More TV –> slice of Cheesecake –> some more gummy fruits…

Way too much food for a day…
I think I have a very valid excuse to do more exercise now :S

感冒一星期

Estella — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:23:37 +0000

星期一開始生病… 上班到下午, 上司叫我回家休息. 星期二看醫生, 星期三也留在家裏休息. 星期四想說應該可以去上班, 到達公司, 上司再叫我回家休息, 因為我還在咳嗽連聲音都變了, 還是有上線連到公司電腦做一些事情. 昨天星期五終於可以上班, 自己再一個房間 quarantine 加口罩感覺比較安全, 在公司一做就做了九個多小時, 感覺又開始不適, 回到家還是休息…

這應該不是豬流感 (希望啦!) 醫生說就算是的話, 治療方法也是跟普通感冒一樣. 除非說我是小孩子或老人家, 那就會給豬流感的藥. 幸運的是, 豬流感雖然傳染的快, 不過也有很多人康復. 流感季節, 大家還是盡量小心點唷.

A Stranded Car on the Road

Estella — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:12:35 +0000

Last night when I was visiting someone, there’s this car that stopped right at the exit of the round-about, so the round-about was blocked… I did a short “beep”, then the car went double orange lights flashing (打雙燈). So I had to drive pass the round-about using the other side… When I drove pass that car, I saw a young girl crying… half doubting whether I should help (and whether it’s safe in the dark), I got off the car, and asked the girl if there’s anything I can help… apparently she got into a fight with her bf I think, and her bf pulled the park brake so hard that it’s jammed and the car’s stuck blocking the road. Thoughts ran across my mind… “what kind of bastard would do this to a young girl??” “maybe I can try to pull the brake” “what if it’s a trap” “boys should take care of girls!!” “I don’t like that boy, whoever it is” “can will calling car insurance help?” “only if there’s someone strong enough around” “can we knock on someone’s door for help?” ……. I gave a pat on the girl’s shoulder and tried to comfort her… then we took turns in trying to un-jam the park brake… after maybe 5 mins (not that long), we managed to loosen the brake - both of us had to pull it up the same time. How fortunate!

Now… I hope the girl’s ok, seeing her cry makes me think about boy/girl relationships, and how immature some people can be. I mean, leaving a girl stranded in her own car and blocking the road - really, the one who did it was so selfish!! Anyway… I’ll remember to pray for her…

TV bad for baby brain development

Estella — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:25:38 +0000

I remember hearing people say that leaving the TV on for children will “help them pick up more words”. However on the contrary, study shows that this is not true. Instead, the steady stream of noise coming out of the TV makes no sense to children, hence it doesn’t help them learn. What teaches children speech is interaction with the usage of words and phrases. This is what enables children to learn how to express themselves. Bringing up kids can be an enormous challenge. At the same time, I believe this is also a very rewarding experience for the parents.

Study finds TV bad for baby brain development
From correspondents in Washington, Agence France-Presse, June 02, 2009 09:52am
(from news.com.au)

Having the television on constantly in a household with infants and toddlers is bad for brain and language development, a US study claims.

The study claims the constant television noise reduces the number of words kids hear and say.

It found that for every hour that the television is on with the volume turned up in a household with small children, the children heard between 500 to a thousand fewer words from adults.

“Audible television clearly reduces speech for both infants and their caregivers within the home and this is potentially harmful for babies’ development,” University of Washington professor of pediatrics Dimitri Christakis said.

“Adults typically utter approximately 941 words per hour.

“Our study found that adult words are almost completely eliminated when television is audible to the child.

“These results may explain the association between infant television exposure and delayed language development.”

Constant exposure to television could also explain attentional and cognitive delays in children, he said, since language development is believed to be key in brain development in early childhood.

For the study, 329 children ranging in age from two months to four years wore special vests with a chest pocket that held a small digital recorder.

The children wore the vests on random days for up to two years.

The recorder captured everything the child said and heard during continuous 12- to 16-hour periods, and was only removed when the child napped or slept, was bathed or went for a ride in the car.

When the researchers counted the number of words uttered by adults and vocalisations by children, as well as vocal interactions between grown-ups and kids, they found that having the telly on resulted in significant reductions in all speech, regardless of whether it was being actively watched or just on in the background.

“Television is not only a poor caregiver substitute, but it actually reduces the number of language sounds and words babies hear, vocalise and therefore learn,” Dr Christakis said.

“We are increasingly technologising infancy, which may prove harmful to the next generation of adults.”

The study was published in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Lemon, Walnut & Macadamia Biscotti Recipe

Estella — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:15:49 +0000

Once again, another recipe I’ve deemed a success.
Well, the basic biscotti ingredients I got it from another source, then I tweaked the amounts so that it suits my taste better
e.g. reducing the amount of sugar, replace soda with a combination of self raising flour and plain flour (cheaper too), replacing the fruit/nuts used, etc etc etc.

Ingredients:
1 cup self raising flour
1 1/2 cup plain flour
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
approx 2 cups of nuts (when I made it, I used around 1 1/2 cups macadamia and 1/2 cup walnuts)
lemon zest from 1 lemon
some lemon juice (~1 tea spoon)

Method:
1. sift self raising flour and plain flour into large bowl
2. combine eggs, lemon zest and a little bit of lemon juice (to give some moisture)
3. combine the above into the flour mixture
4. when nearly combined, knead until it comes a dough
5. knead nuts into the dough
6. split dough into 2 long doughs, width of around 4 inches, thickness of around 1 inch
7. bake in oven for 15 mins
8. take out dough, cool for 5 mins, then cut each dough into thin slices
9. lay the slices flat on the baking tray, bake for a further 10-15 mins or until slices are dry
10. done! these can be kept for up to 3 weeks if placed in an air-tight sealed container

長腿叔叔主題曲: 夢中天使

Estella — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:55:20 +0000

最近TVBJ重播1992年兒歌金曲頒獎典禮, 真讓人懷念丫! 其中一首就是以下的歌, 到現在還是覺得好聽.

長腿叔叔 (HK TVB ~1992)
主題曲: 夢中天使
主唱: 唐葦琪

心中的牽掛悠悠講給天空知
每一串夢兒埋藏我的心事
簡單一封信朦朧愛意話你知
盼會交到你手上心中的天使

藍色的天空任鳥飛水邊青青小草讓我躺
心中永永遠遠懷念你你是我家
長腿叔叔你好嗎交出溫馨的心是你嗎
可否某個季節來伴我解開牽掛

Greed at the heart of the global financial crisis: Pope Benedict

Estella — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:57:12 +0000

I feel gloomy after reading this news article… The world needs a lot of prayers… The financial crisis is only one part of it. At the end of the day, it’s all in people’s hearts, and that is where prayers are needed.

(from news.com.au)
Greed at the heart of the global financial crisis: Pope Benedict
Agence France-Presse
April 22, 2009 09:57pm

POPE Benedict XVI says “greed” is at the heart of the financial crisis gripping the world.
“This crisis was born out of greed,” the pontiff said during his weekly general audience.

The Pope cited eighth century religious figure Ambroise Autpert, who criticised the wealth of monasteries at the time.

Autpert “denounced greed as the root of all evils. In light of the current global economic crisis, this is still the case,” the Pope said.