Moving on...

It's been a long time since I have last written. A lot has changed and it feels strange to carry on here.

So, I am working on Nasyitah Part II . Insya'allah it will be up and running by the end of this week.

As I always say: It can only get better! :D

Bag Story 2

Another frivolous post. It's the holiday mood. Really!

A happily-ever-after one:

A friend's loving husband wanted to surprise her and went to a certain branded bag sale during his lunch break to buy her a birthday treat.

You know how it is at these kind of sale events. Hordes of people pretending the bags are now at pasar prices...

So the good husband chose a classy-looking piece quickly - You know guys - and brought it to the counter. The sales person packed it in a dust bag, he paid at the cashier and rushed back to the office.

The dust bag stayed out of sight for a few days until he took it out on her birthday.

You bet she was surprised and very happy. Then she opened the dust bag and went: "You bought me two bags?

"No. Just one."

"Huh? But there are two bags in here."

"Oh"

What happened after that? I'll leave it to your imagination.

:D

Bag Story 1

Dear fellow bag lovers,

This is a true story, I kid you not:

A bag collector decided to organise her closets one day. So she went through one closet in the house after another and separated things she wanted to keep, things to chuck and things to bring to Salvation Army.

Then she came to the one with her bag collection. She lovingly organised the bags according to their colours: the whites, the browns, the yellows, the denims. Guccis, Furlas, LVs and the works. I did say she is a SERIOUS bag collector. Of course the bags not going anywhere except back into the closet.

So happy with her organisational skills she forgot about the whites.

The next day, she threw away the junk, gathered everything else she left outside and drove to the Salvation Army.

A few days later, she was looking for a white bag to match her outfit and could not find any of them.

She panicked. Then realisation hit her.

She drove back to the Salvation Army.

And of course the story did not end happily after all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week later, the S.B.C. started collecting again.

Inspired by the story, yours truly drove all the way to the Salvation Army Family Store. And found nothing. :s

Ah well.

Dead Poets' Society

Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Make your lives extraordinary.
- John Keating, Dead Poets' Society

A really dated line from one of my favourite movies from secondary school days.

It is almost 2 am in the morning and I am kept awake by watching the movie on YouTube.

2.02 am. Almost at the end of the movie.

Why? Don't really know.

One thing I do know: I AM older now.

And yes. It can only get better. Has gotten better.


:D Smiling in my dreams

The Holiday So Far...

My holiday began when I touched down at Changi International two weeks ago.

Warning: This piece is going to as random (in a sort of planned way) as the past two weeks have been.

It's only two weeks but feels like a long time already. Who says times flies when you're having a jolly good time! :D
Catching up on sleep, catching up with friends and family, FB-ing, getting healthy again, making healthy food, exercising, reading, having darling kids over, growing plants (one pot of Basil herb to be exact) and experimenting with IT (you'll see an example of it below. Thanks for the pointer Afiqa! :D).

Most importantly, spent lots of time with Mateen. :D

Thought: Hmm I'm supposed to be slowing down right?

I am I am! For one, I have stopped making lists though I really think I should cos there are things that needs to be done. Just going with the flow. :) Do if and when you can! Love it! :)

Carpe Diem!

Ah Dead Poets' Society. Feeling nostalagic already. Maybe I'll try to get a copy of it and watch later! :D

Has it been THAT long?

It's been almost a month since I last blogged!

How time flies.

Redundant and cliched but true.

Am at odds with myself here:
Can't wait for time to fly faster so 31 Dec and love will finally appear.
Can't time sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
so the hols stay near?
For there are family and friends to catch up with,
curtains to make swell.
Delicious nutritious meals to be whipped up
so the little boy grows well.
Personal pursuits to realise,
plans to crystalise.

Before I get too cheesy,
I better go easy.

With the rhyming.

Till later.

About Cabbages....

I have a confession to make.

Economic recession or not, I bought a $7 Sugarloaf cabbage. Why? It could be any or all of the following reasons:

- Novelty
- From Australia (as opposed to you know where! Hmm maybe even produce from non-youknowwhere countries will one day be declared unsafe! Sigh! One can either at this point in time scoff any attempts to maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet and just live dangerously or embrace organic produce whole-heartedly. As for me however, as always, I'll remain moderate and enjoy every minute to the fullest! :D)
- Healthy indulgence
- Enticing label listing its properties (the sugarloaf is supposed to be sweeter and tastier than other varieties)
- Curiosity (is the Sugarloaf really sweeter?)
- Cheaper than the Savoy cabbage (which looks prettier and fresher with it's rounded shape and texture and mix of crisp green and white) at double the price

Blanched it for the Tauhu Goreng dish I prepared for my friends yesterday. DOUBLE YUMM! I'm quite sure it's not placebo effect when I think the cabbage does taste better than what we used to eat.

REALLY!

In any case, did a search on the net and found the following article on the benefits of cabbage.

FORMULA FOR LIFE
http://www.formulaforlife.com.au/asp/vegetables.asp?cmd=show&vegetableid=14&letter=C

Nutritional Information:
Cabbage, in all varieties, is a low joule food with 80 kJ per 100g (3/4 cup cooked). Cabbage is a rich source of the anti-oxidants indoles. These anti-oxidants may have an anti-cancer role in the human body. Cuttings increase the indole content dramatically.

Cutting causes up to a 400% increase in the amount of potential anti-carcinogenic agents found in cruciferous and Brassica vegetables (cabbage, cauli, brussel sprouts, and broccoli), according to results published in Cancer Letters.

Populations that consume large amounts of these vegetables appear to have lower rates of many types of cancer, in particular of the gastro-intestinal tract. The benefits appear to be linked to a range of compounds including glucosinolates. Glucosinolates are water-soluble and up to 50% may be lost with boiling, but if you chop your cabbage, you stimulate a rapid rise in the presence of these biologically active compounds - an increase up to 400%. Research published in Cancer Letters, a prestigious scientific journal, suggests that cutting triggers a defence mechanisms similar to the wounding by insects and slugs which is known to increase the indole glucosinolates, glucobrassicin and neoglucobrassicin. These indoles appear to be responsible for the anti-carcinogenic activity of the cruciferous vegetables.

So what are you waiting for? Start cutting those cabbage leaves. It's time for a crisp summer slaw! :D