Van's mood on this gloomy/wet/windy/cold cold Saturday

My Autumn Garden

On a beautiful (cold cold) autumn day..... I went snapping away....


Magnolias by the window greeting me when i wake up


Part of a very big tree in my backyard....


Fishies in my little pond. i think the fish with the black stripe is the BOSS


Gardenias, my wedding flower. In my GARDEN!


The Real Boss of the garden..Muffin Man


Mushroom on my steps

Is This Man The Future?


(image from www.theage.com.au)


CHANGE
We Can Believe In

More than any other presidential candidate in recent history, Barack Obama has a unique capacity to listen to other voices around the world.

My body works better with Burgen



I've been watching too much The Biggest Loser lately. Can't help it because that's my dinner time...and yes I do eat infront of the telly....I know its bad. But its my habit...and I get entertained while eating. I enjoy looking at them exercise, crying, gossiping about each other....

I'd have to say I wasn't lured into buying the Burgen bread because of the millions of times the Burgen advertisement comes on when the show is on. It was because it was on sale at Boccacio's. The usual price is about $AUD 5? I think that fateful Sunday, it was on specials...and it was bout $AUD 3.26?? Can't remember. I realised that there wasn't much left of the bread on the shelf. There were two Soy and Linseed and 2 Rye. Hmmm...decisions decisions..I picked up the loaf, it was really heavy (must be the gazillions of seeds)...so then came a lady with her shopping trolley. She stood next to me and picked up the Soy and Linseed loaf without even having to check the expirary date!!!! That must be a good choice!!!!!! Ok...that was all i needed to convince me to buy the bread. Give the poor bread a chance..... :) She picked it out of so many breads without thinking...(i'm sure that lady has a brain).

I have been buying it since...I keep it in the fridge...and later in the freezer if I can't finish them...they still taste great after that. I think the seeds are keeping me full.......it just seems healthier....but not when i pile on loads of peanut butter or nuttella tough......sorry bread...i destroyed you.....

Will load a proper picture of the Burgen bread loaf when I take a picture of it.

Can Mouse and Van Live Under The Same Roof?


(image from Wikipedia.org)

Maybe if the mouse was as cute as this one....and looks as though its got his/her hand on a steering wheel....

Mind you, there are no mice (undetectable so far) in my Kew home......but I'm freaked out by this lil mouse in Colac where Joe is currently working. I first saw it 3 nights ago while we were watching telly and it just zoomed past the fire place, straight behind the curtains. Muffin my dog didn't even sense a thing!!!! We even placed Muffin behind the curtain so that he can eventually sense that there is another animal in the house. Sadly i realised that my dream of having a super dog that kills all rodents in my house is dead.....

And moments ago, while i was using the computer, i heard the plastic bag rustle in the sink. Obviously i sent my hubbie to try and capture it...but he said it was too cute...and even suggested we keep it as a pet...hMmmmmMmm...tempting tempting but we can't even catch it so how are we going to keep it as a pet?

A free roaming mouse = a pest

Mouse in a cage with wheels = a pet

Autumn Madness....rescued by Van's Green Tea Ice Cream (Macha Ice)



Its got to be one of the WARMEST day I've ever experienced....the sun seems to have killer rays.... I couldn't wait to get out of the stinky tram and run straight back home.....dash straight to the freezer and help myself to the green tea ice-cream I made the night before.....

I didn't know making ice-cream was this easy! Don't even need an ice-cream processor.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 or 1 if you're feeling greedy)
2 tablespoons/10g green tea powder (macha)
120g granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 cup/200 ml milk
1 cup/200 ml double cream

1) In a small bowl, mix the green tea powder with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar.
2) In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks and remaining sugar
3) Pour milk into a small pan and gently heat (do not let it boil) (ideally around 80 degrees Celcius but that hard to achieve without a thermometer). Remove from heat and mix a few spoonfuls of the warm milk with the green tea powder and sugar in a small bowl. When you get a smooth paste, add it to the remaining milk in the pan, then gradually combine with the egg yolks and sugar mix. Leave to cool.
4) Lighly whip the cream and then add to the cold green tea milk mixture
5) Transfer the mixture to a large container and put it in the freezer. As ice crystals start to form, mix well with a spoon to break them up, and return to the freezer. Repeat this a few times as it freezes to ensure the ice cream is really smooth.

I personally only did step 5 twice...cos it was bed time...and i couldn't be bothered. It turned out alright though :)

We Got Married!!!!!

This is not our wedding photo (that would be pretty sad if it was). This was taken on boxing day while we're on our way to HK onboard Cathay Pacific...CX 135. I'll load the pictures when we actually get them back from the photographer (which reminds me....I should call him to tell him that we're back).

Our world tour wedding has finally ended and we were very lucky to spend a week on Koh Samui island....doing tourisy stuff (beach/spa-massages) and most importantly MORE EATING. The place we stayed was called Tongsai Bay and it is absolutely AWESOME...... I highly recommend it to everybody who wants a nice getaway where you get treated like royalties and get fed like one too....the service is amazing. They don't even want you to walk (they have buggies that take you everywhere). We were so sad the night before we left......we didn't want to go...so we decided we have to come back again!!!!!!! Oh my goodness and the food at the restaurant was amazing...and I got the chance to learn a few dishes from the famous chef herself Chef Chom. I even have a certificate of Excellence from her...hahahhaa....Guess who's a Thai convert now? THAI COOKING HERE I COME............(in the next few weeks)

Checkout the toilet at Koh Samui Airport...

Can you see the monkey's side profile?

nygirlofmydreams.com

He found her!..

Okie.....need to go back to my books...

I needed something else to do besides reading.....

Will be blogging actively after I finish exams.....

I still haven't bought the Lifetime of Secrets book....

Can't believe Borders doesn't have it....

I think Readings has it...