An early retirement ?

Chocolate Cupcakes

Mango Chilled Cheesecake

Custard Chocolate tartlets

I haven't been baking ever since coming back here, and my hands r getting itchier and itchier as I looked at all these photos. Reading recipes used to be my interest, but ever since i've been refraining myself from baking, i turned back to biographies and humanities, which have been long my favourite even before i was married. After i got married, Hub claimed i need to read more 'encouraging books' instead of things like 'Betrayed', or 'Raped', he gave me a hard question which stops me thinking for a while, "will reading these books make u appreciate ur life more"? In the end i decided it was 'yes', somehow, i love reading about people's lives, not just the prominent ones, but people who have been abused, and left out in the society, whose stories need to be heard. It saddens me a little, becoz many rare and bizarre things tat u wouldn't (and couldn's) imagine are actually taking place in our midst!! So count your blessings, becoz you are soo soo much more blessed than many many lives in this world. (i'm reminding myself HAHA)

I just finished another book abt FLDS, called "Stolen Innocelence", which is another recap of a young lady's life in this polygamous society and how she went abt fighting and testifying against its so-called 'prophet'. If you have read 'Escape', this is another good book which i highly recommend. :-)

P/S: I decided i'm not retiring from baking, just a temporary break :-). I can't give up on sth which i like so much, even more than my career!

And ahh, those goodies in the above were baked for Kimmie's 16th birthday party. :-D 

Updates?

Sigh, life has been pretty hectic lately, hopes came crushing down and nothing looked eventually right. As much as i dislike the place where i am right now, and not to mention the current lifestyle and career, I had promised to put myself alive in God, trusting that He is in control. I have never come across a job which i dislike soo much, i'm beginning to wonder what's the purpose of this, and if this contributes as part of the prospect towards my ultimate goal.

When i wasn't working, i wanted to work soo badly. And now tat i AM in a job, I want to go back to the original. It's just a simple small request, really it is. I'm not demanding for a super high paid important role in a BIG multinational company, but that job, the one that i have set in my heart since i first started, in tat part of area tat i know i wan to hook on to until my retirement age. Sigh, this is the real life and i have to face it no matter what. A girl has to grow and do what she has to!

Enough abt the rambling and growls, here is sth to cheer on for: the ultimate chocolate banana cake a.k.a Kimmie's 16th birthday cake, with strawberries and rochers.....i've seen lotsa decos like this, and ya, they do come very handy, especially for novice bakers like me! I only spent less than half a day on this cake (incl. baking n frosting n deco) coz i had other pastries to look after, but thank God, it was a success (or at least i think so)!

Happy blessed belated B'day my dearest sister! Jie Jie loves you always!

BTW, someone has been working till 11pm almost every nite making tat 12 hours straight from 9am, is this considered also as a normal part of living? I wonder...
Ya, i know, it's financial year end......

Post CNY syndrome

I've been baking lots for CNY, and during my week home, but miss forgetful me forgot everything abt photo taking and blogging afterwards. :-(, there goes the images of my cakes, and CNY cookies made out from KK kitchen, all gone with the wind. Sigh, i hope Kimmie remembers to take pictures of them, especially her one and only 16th birthday cake, which was all thanks to God, quite a last minute but successful chocolate banana cake. I am stil very amateur when comes to cream layered cakes, i hardly make one infact, probably five a year?? So u can imagine me crossing my fingers everytime i'm faced with the commitment to sandwich a cake! (I will post as soon as i get hold of those pics)

I made some CNY cookies the week before i left SG, and here are some snaps of the gifts i sent out to my colleagues; nothing special, just some old pineapple tarts (tat r supposed to resemble tangarines, note the green leaves on top??) and peanut cookies. There were more, like doggies and cornflakes treats, but i din manage to take any pics of them before they were all gone (OPSs!).

Oh ya, hope it's not too late to wish everyone a blessed happy chinese New Year!!

Some "bla blas blengs" before the new year starts

OOoo, it has been a long time since i update this blog, have been busy peasy for the last couple of weeks..working, getting gifts, baking cookies, meeting with frens etc etc. Life has been pretty hectic and tiring, leaving the house as early as 7am for work only to return at more than 12 hours later. Late dinners lead to late bedtime and thus the final results, which are now showing on my face. Sigh.. :-( they told me this is real life, i couldn't agree more to tat, but to be more specific, isn't it more of like .... the SG life? ( Honestly, I haven't experienced this when working in KK before, eventhough work was piling up at Chemsains!) Poor Hubby has been working for nearly 12 hours daily, and just last nite, he ate his dinner at nearly 10pm (he brought back his cold dinner and it was with him the whole day!) , which i'm starting to worry especially after he claimed there is blood coming out from his nostril! I wish i have the extra long hours to boil nourishing soups/ herbal teas (liang cha) for him but unfortunately i couldn't even find time for myself! Am trying my best to make sure tat he eats healthy everyday: a good breakfast to start with such as sandwiches slabbed with good fibres, veges, and proteins and 5 portions of fruits and vegetables which shd be met during lunch and dinner. Like my MIL (hahaha), i wld question him for wat he eats everyday. I wld pack his dinner if he has access to microwaves (at clients') or when i know he has to work till XXX pm, make sure his bag is loaded with snacks (just in case he couldn't eat dinner till 'whoever knows' how late) and an extra bun/cake (apart from his morning breakfast) for his tea break. I guess tat's the reason he's not getting any thinner?? Every now and then, i wld feed him fruit salad consisting of at least 4 types of different coloured fruits/ vege, just to ensure he is loaded with the necessary antioxidants/ vitamins. Thank God, my hubby is not the kind of man who's embarassed of bringing homemade food from home, i know some who do and some who would bring but then give away to their colleagues so tat they can go out and have outside food. (Some even dump into the bin :-( ) . Just a note to you guys out there who do tat, do u know tat it's out of your wives' care and love tat she drags herself out of bed early to prepare and make those lovely food for u??

God has been gracious to us for the last weeks, many miracles have taken place, and a real testimony is soon to be shared! Yes, i can't reveal now exactly what it is, but sure God's moving mightily in our lives! :-)

My God is GREAT!

God is sooooooooooooooooooo awesome!

I cannot describe how awesome He is, but guys, do TRUST in HIM..HE NEVER FAILS!


All praise and glory to my one and only Jesus!!! MUAKSSSS

Yogurt in replace of cheese??

This is supposed to be an ooolllddd post, but since i haven't been doing any baking this week, & consequently nothing to blog about, i decided to go thru some old folders and found these: yogurt blueberry cupcakes, which i made long long time ago!

However, after uploading them on blogspot...i'm beginning to feel lazy, so the conclusion is:

Yogurt was used to replace cream cheese.

Tarts!

I'm back to tart business, after a long...........break. It has been a while since i made tarts, in BJ of course, and i do miss baking them. Well, to be honest, i miss baking a lot of stuff...but now that i'm working, free time and holidays seem so few and i prefer spending them wisely. Wisely means sleeping and resting more, haha.

Nonetheless, baking is still my passion and something i love doing so much that i make effort to do at least one thing every weekend. Last weekend was a longer one (with the New Year break), so i baked two items: a double choco chip chiffon cake (with my new chiffon tin :-)) and some cheese tarts.

Seems like my tart skill is deteriorating, after a long break. Guess i need more and more practice??