the domestic goddess

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I’m the kind of girl who believes in the traditional view that all girls must learn to cook, sew and housekeep. Well, if you think about it, you’ll be pretty much self-sufficient if you can do all three. Except I’m not particularly a good cook and I can’t sew much. I used to be the kind that would burn down the kitchen if I ever stepped into one, but my college days have trained me well. I can now whip up a few simple dishes. They are definitely not Michelin-star quality, but at least the husband does not complain so that’s good. (I think he’s too kind.)

Lately, I’m sick of cooking the same few dishes so I decided to add two more tofu dishes to my cooking repertoire. Anyway, the main point of this entry is to introduce two cooking sites I’ve found that are really useful. (Haha…who am I kidding? I think I have phantom readers.)

The first one is Noob Cook. As the title of website suggests, the recipes featured here are simple to follow and have relatively few steps as they are meant for beginners. Recipes are mainly local dishes or to suit the local palette.

 

The other one is actually a YouTube channel. Being a fan of Japanese culture, I would love to cook some Japanese dishes. Ochikeron’s channel features recipes for Japanese dishes. Her videos are rather detailed and seem easy to follow. She doesn’t just give verbal instructions, she actually shows you step by step how to cook a dish. This is really helpful for a beginner like me, who has to measure exactly every sauce or spice. (Ok, I’ve actually levelled up a teeny bit. I only need to measure exactly the first time I cook a dish. After that I just adjust approximately to taste.)

 

I haven’t really tried any of the recipes in both sites except to check the oven temperature for baked rice/pasta and timing for steamed tofu, but I guess I’ll be relying on both sites a bit more in the future. Need to learn to cook more dishes!

30 day song challenge day 09: song i can dance to

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Day 09 — A song that you can dance to

I’ll admit that I can’t dance for nuts.  Unfortunately, I was not born with dancing 细胞。Instead, I learnt the hand actions to some songs like Perfume’s “My Color” and Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Trauma”. But if I really wanted to dance to a song, I’ll choose AKB48’s “恋するフォーチュンクッキー” (Koisuru Fortune Cookie). It’s such an happy infectious song. I was even secretly hoping that people would dance it at my wedding. Hahaha… There are many versions of the PV in different parts of Japan and around the world. Maybe one day there’ll be a Singapore version that they’ll upload on YouTube? Who knows…

30 day song challenge day 08: song that i know all the words to

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Day 08 — A song that you know all the words to

I probably know the lyrics to a couple of English songs, but somehow the first song I thought of was Perfume’s “My Color”. I swear this is a Japanese song with the easiest lyrics to remember by heart. There’s only one verse and chorus. The chorus just repeats like three times. And the song has hand actions to go along.

Lyrics under the cut.

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30 day song challenge day 07: song that reminds you of an event

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It has been some time since I did this. Continuing where I left off…

Day 07 — A song that reminds you of a certain event

ZONE’s “HANABI ～君がいた夏～” (HANABI ~Kimi ga Ita Natsu) brings back great memories of J-Net fashion show especially the one in Fall 2007. It was my first year taking part in the fashion show and I was in both modern yukata and lolita segments. This song was used in our modern yukata segment.

I had such great fun and for once felt I could do something like that without being judged. Made some great friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with on Facebook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9GDH0cKkEo

SkinnyMint teatox programme

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Tadaa! I’ve completed the 28-day SkinnyMint teatox programme.

There are tons of testimonials on the website but before you get bought into it, you must know that the product works differently for different people. Do not treat this like some miracle slimming medicine. As stated on the website, you still need regular exercise and good sleeping/eating habits.

My experience with the product:

Did you lose weight?
I think I did lose a little weight. No drastic changes, pooh bear stomach is still there…slightly flatter perhaps? I don’t have a weighing scale at home so I can’t be too sure, but I do know by feel when I wear different pairs of shorts. To be fair, I also did pick up jogging again from no exercise at all. Only jogged a few days (can count on one hand) out of the 28 days.

Did you feel less bloated?
Yes. I think I saw much improvement in this aspect. I used to get a bloated tummy quite often for God knows what reason. After going on the teatox programme, had no trouble with a bloated tummy.

Were you cured of your constipation?
Yes. The Night Cleanse tea really worked wonders. So well that I had diarrhoea every other day. Enough said.

Did it reduce your appetite?
Yes. Not like I totally had no appetite to eat at all (that would be real bad), but I noticed that I needed to eat slightly less to feel full. Perhaps that also helped in the slight weight loss?

Would you continue with the programme?
The website recommends to go through the teatox programme as and when your body feels like it needs a good detox. There should be at least a month’s break before starting on a new 28-day programme. Personally, I’m kinda terrified of the diarrhoea part. It’s good that I’m cured of my constipation problem, but having diarrhoea like that is not good either. Now that I’ve finished the programme, I am trying to up my water intake to see if my body is able to detox itself naturally (meaning that I can go to the loo regularly without the help of supplements).

So there you have it. My honest take on the product. Those who have just started out the programme, good luck. Just don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get the results you wanted (which is pretty much that awesome flat tummy everyone seems to have after drinking the tea).

devils and realist

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Just completed 魔界王子 (Makai Ouji): Devils and Realist. I thought the author/manga artist was rather creative in using characters from heaven and hell to spin a story. While there’s the usual power struggle between both factions, there’s a twist to the qualities of the characters. Some devils are portrayed as kind while an angel is portrayed as one with negative qualities.

Who would have thought that Baphomet would end up a butler?

And the character I hated most was Archangel Michael. He is just a terrible arrogant fella who enjoys tormenting Archangel Uriel. In fact, he chopped off one of Archangel Uriel’s wings. (Note: This is fiction so don’t take it too seriously.) If only I could reach across the screen and bitch slap that character and wipe that smirk off his face.

married life

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Was inspired to write this entry after a comment on a friend’s wedding photos.

It’s always the same pattern of questions after someone gets married.

  1. How’s married life?
  2. When are you gonna have children?

I used to laugh when someone asked me the first question, simply because there is no difference after I got married and moved into our own home. We had stayed together for about three years in the States during our Undergraduate studies, that’s why. We know each other’s habits already.

Now, I am not encouraging co-habiting before marriage, but my point is I feel the question of how’s married life is valid.

So here’s one for the just-married or soon-to-be-married couples:

Life is not a bed of roses. Think back to the time when both of you were dating. You guys quarrelled didn’t you? Married life is no different. It is definitely not a “happily ever after” fairytale ending. You WILL quarrel…sometimes even over the smallest of things. This is especially so when you move into your own home. Some may wave this off saying that they have stayed over at each other’s places while dating so it should be no biggie. Trust me, it’s different. While you stayed at each other’s place, there was someone called “the mother” or “the maid” to help with household chores. There was someone to help wash your clothes or even the plate in the sink that you said you would wash “later”. Unless you are rich enough to hire a domestic helper right from the start or your parents are moving in with you, there will only be the two of you at your own place. Oh, but that’s where the fun starts.

Imagine both of you come back home after a long exhausting day of work and you see the trash from last night still sitting in the kitchen. All you have to do is throw it out. Simple isn’t it? Now, multiply that scenario a couple of times. Soon, that innocent bag of trash is going to be the topic of your quarrels. Don’t laugh. It happens and the topic might be anything, not just trash. Unlike a room mate where you can just decide not to stay with after a semester, you are stuck with your spouse for the rest of your life. You will see this person almost 24/7 (perhaps much to your irritation). You will see new habits of your spouse that you’ve never seen before, whether good or bad.

I am not trying to scare anyone. You just have to accept that this is part and parcel of married life. Think back again to the time when both of you were dating. You guys quarrelled but then you worked out the problems and finally got to where you are now, didn’t you? It’s the same after marriage. It may take some time and a ton of tears, but with lots of communication, problems will eventually get ironed out. You will also grow stronger as a couple over time.

Just remember that it’s no longer an “I” or “me” issue, but it’s a “we” and “our” issue. What do both of you want for your relationship and home?