I can cooked but I cannot bake even if my life depended on it, so I leave the baking to friends and extended family and if all else fail – I buy them from the store preferably from Farmer’s Market and pretend that they are home made. Of course, I don’t lie about it because everyone knows that I don’t bake and I am not good at measuring flour or sugar or anything else that is needed. But ask me to cook, and I’m all for it. My girlfriends and in laws tell me all the time that I should take up some baking classes and after many years of persuading i decided that I should – so here’s to me taking up baking classes, wish me luck now – and I hope I don’t poison anyone in the meantime – hahah!
When your spouse travels as much as mine – you kinda train yourself to be the handy-lady around the home and since the kids were young, I’ve always done a lot of small repairs on my own. From changing cabinet hinge to changing filters in the air exchanger, I’ve managed to do everything on my own and haven’t needed anyone to help me yet. This weekend is my DIY project around the home before Christmas, I only need to do a bit of fixing up – because I’m trying to give my kitchen cabinet a new look. I’m not painting them but I’m definitely changing some door knobs on them and since it’s Christmas – I decided to be a little more festive – to match the mood of the season. I’m quite excited because I found some lovely door knobs for dressing up my kitchen.
The spouse knows how much I missed food from Asia – so whenever he can – he brings me a long for his trips to Asia – all I need to do is take care of my own airticket. With so much airmiles that the spouse chalks up every month – I can afford to do a bit of traveling to Asia with him and I loved it. The bosses understand why I don’t want to work full time now – and gladly accommodated me when I had suggested that I only worked p/time. Now I can eat all the food I want – when the spouse travels to Asia – and I can tagged along. I loved that I don’t have to pay for hotels and mostly I don’t have to spend a lot on anything else. Life is good!
You would think that you can find an electrician to work on your wiring around the house easily in this town but we have been having a hard time finding a decent one that would charge reasonable prices. Well, we finally did – and we had some re-wiring done in the basement and we came home finding cable trays all over the basement as they weren’t done that day and when we wanted to watch tv in the tv room upstairs there was no power – JOY! so we pulled an extension wire from another room and turned on the tv that night. But it is fixed now and they couldn’t explain why and no one wanted to take responsibility for the no power situation. Oh well, now that the basement has been re-wired we can start using part of it as the kid’s study room – as they needed to be separated to concentrate on their school work. I guess when they are in their teenage years – you can expect a lot of squabbling and wanting space for themselves, so we finally relented and made room in the basement for another study – no more fighting over the study room or complaining that the other is making too much noise for them to concentrate on their studies.
Yes, Peking duck but I’m not in Peking and when you want to eat something from home and you cannot get it – what do you do? you make them yourself silly. My kid said to me the other day – my mom is the best cook – she can whipped up just about anything. In truth, mom isn’t a good cook, mom just have no choice because when you are in the West and you cannot get the food you want, you just have to cook them yourself and having been in the West for this long, you kinda learned to be good.
Sometimes, I wonder if migrating and marrying a Westerner is such a good idea. Of course, you have the pros but lets not forget the cons as well and on certain days, the cons can look quite huge. I don’t regret it but the food, the food is the one that causes me some grieve.
Yes! the party is finally over and it’s time to call our favorite carpet cleaning apex nc for a good clean up to start the new year. I prefer to get the professionals to clean my carpet after a huge party because they do a really good job and they are affordable too, I find carpet cleaning on your own is too time consuming and you need to have the right weather to dry up your carpet if you don’t have the equipment to do it. But with a professional carpet cleaning service they have the huge heater to dry up your carpet after cleaning up – therefore, you won’t be left with wet carpet which in my mom’s opinion can get one sick if they are not dried properly.
I’m exhausted after hosting a christmas dinner with the family and then a new year’s party for the spouse and his friends – so I’m glad we have a carpet cleanign pro to come help us with the carpet cleaning else I won’t know where to begin with the cleaning. Time to get back to the daily routine after the carpet cleaning and putting away all the party stuff.
I loved Gumdrop cakes ! they are awesome to eat and a treat to the eyes and they are very easy to make. The very first cake I learned to bake was a gumdrop cake, a friend from college taught me how to do it. This Christmas, I’m making some for friends and family – so I’m starting early and as soon as Christmas is over – the family and I are heading to Mauritius Island for a few days.
I don’t attend many function these days – unless it’s for charity or for the spouse’s work and the spouse and I keep a very low profile even though he runs a department in an international company. I’ve often been invited to attend functions with him – but I rather not go because I don’t want to be pretentious and pretend to be interested in his kind of work – no offense to the spouse – I know he loves his job and loves his company but I usually keep a distance with his work.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the occasional cocktail and dressing up but to travel with the whole sales team and then to close the convention with a big drinking bash – is just not for me anymore. I don’t have to show face – as his company already know and many have asked me what about the spouse drinking and with so many beautiful ladies around him – am I not afraid? do I not need to tell the world that he is taken. It’s really funny – I find when people tell me such, will it helped if I do that ? if a man wants to stray he would think of any excuse and will have all the opportunity regardless what kind of job he is in.
Having said that – it also doesn’t mean that I am not concern or do not care – of course I care but I don’t want to appear paranoid about it – and thus make the spouse thinks that I must be going crazy. I trust the spouse but that doesn’t mean that my eyes are closed – my eyes is very wide open but I don’t rant nor bitch about things – I make the best of all situation and learn to do things subtly plus I intend to look my best and keep myself up to date – in any kind of situation – be it foreign affairs or financial affairs. I never want to be taken by surprise . Socializing is great but not an event where I keep an eye on the spouse, he’s a big boy ! he can choose to be responsible or not – but he cannot have his cake and eat it too.
For someone who is as adventurous as I am – and who claimed that she would try everything once – I cannot bring myself to eat Rappie pie . Rappie pie is said to be the most significant Nova Scotian food – but yet – I can’t get over the mushiness of it – and the feel of it. It’s made out of potatoes and some meat – chicken or ham perhaps – but it’s the gooeyness of the pie – that makes me not want to try it. I’ve been in Canada for a long time – and people cannot believed that I won’t try Rappie pie. Crazy much?
My kids are not very kind to their room at all – I have broken computer chairs this week – and last month – the kids were playing in their room with their friends and broke the bed – by sitting on it – and jumping on it. Yes! i’ve told them not to do it – but you know how boys get when they are excited about their computer games. We didn’t buy another bed that’s for sure – he had to fix it with his grandfather – and uncle who came to help him. And with the computer chairs – we bought some casters to replace the ones that was broken off and couldn’t be put back together. In our home – we fix what we can – not because we can’t afford new chairs and bed – but the whole idea is to teach the kids that we don’t splurge on things that don’t need to be bought new. And if they break anything – they fix it or it comes out of their monthly pocket money – to go into buying the new things. The spouse and I believed strongly in teaching the kids the value of money and that they have responsibilities too.
