A friend of mine is getting married in two weeks, and having her bridal shower thing this weekend. As guests, we have been asked to bring along something starting with the first initial of your name, and it must be for the kitchen.
Since i'm a "K", the only two things that I managed to think of was a ... kettle... and a ... knife. Unfortunately, i feel at odds with presenting my friend with knives (even though they're really important and all) , so I ended up buying her a kettle..
Now that I think about, I'm pretty sure that there are going to be other "k's" at the bridal shower (think Kate, Katherine, Katie, Kelly, Kim, and all those other K names).. so should I return my kettle and find something else starting with K...???
FYI - I walked around the kitchen area and couldnt find any K items that wasn't a brand name (ie. Kitchen-Aid, Kambrook etc)...
My boss decided that I had been working super duper hard lately, and so decided to give me a day off :) *wooT*. Anyways, I love to bake, but I rarely get a chance to in the hectic life that is kae, so took today as an opportunity to bake something new.
And what did I decide on? Well, I was flicking through my Biscuits and Slices Book, my Cupcakes Book, my Cheesecake book, and decided I wanted to make a cupcake with a little bit of everything... and so i bring you..
Choc Mint Cupcakes (with Choc Chips) and Choc Mint Ganache Centres... mmm. Chocolate overdose galore :)
Anyways, the recipe was a bit of a mix from everything that I just put together but it turned out pretty well:
Choc Mint Cupcake
1 1/2 Cups Self-Raising Flour 1 Cup Sugar 1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder 1/3 Cup Dark Choc Bits 1/2 Cup Milk 1/2 Cup Water 1 tsp mint essence
Preheat oven to 180' Mix all ingredients till smooth (its quite a thick mixture) and bake for 20 minutes. If you have an oven like mine where the back is hotter than the front, turn your tray around at 10 minutes.
Choc Mint Ganache 1/2 Cup Dark Choc Bits 1/2 Cup Cream 1/4 Cup Butter 1tsp mint essence
Heat the dark choc bits and butter until melted, and add in cream. Cook cream over low heat.
To make 'em
Take the cupcakes out of the oven and wait till cool.
Cut centre bit of cupcake out
Fill with ganache.
Put centre back in.
Decorate as you please. (I concur that my decoration skill is lacking.. but it makes up in taste)
So I heard that supermodel Gemma Ward was awarded (abit of a tongue twister isn't it) Young Achiever of the Year or something similar, and given that she's a model, there was no doubt a lot of debate and discussion around why she did or didn't deserve it.
I personally don't think she's actually ACHIEVED anything. I concur she is wildly successful, but in terms of actually getting out there and doing something to be awarded that achievement award, I am on the negative fence for this one.
A lot of people in my camp would agree that standing tall, being blessed with model features, and walking down a catwalk do not equal effort or achievement. It does however, pay well, and grant said being with lots of attention and publicity. But does that mean she's achieved anything?
Well, on the extremely academic radio station that is 92.9 (*cough*cough*), the same question was posed to the listeners, and many of them said "yes, she has achieved something". Of course, Em (the announcer) was in the negative camp, so she pressed these callers to explain WHY Gemma deserves this young achievement award...
And the results?
"... because she has to stand up straight all day" .. - You've got to be kidding right?!
"... because walking down the catwalk is hard work" - granted, walking up and down might be exhausting on the stiletto clad feet, but there are plenty of other people that walk or stand on their feet all day... builders, athletes etc...
".. because they need to go to castings and be selected" ... Right... I have been to castings before (not for me), and the girls simply turn up, do a few walks or take a few photos, and the designer basically decides whether or not you are what they want.. yup, hard work at its peak there..
"... because you always have to look good.." - I think models are already blessed with their good looks. I don't think they have to work too hard at all.. most of them are disproportionately lanky anyways, and I dont think their figure is actually the result of hard work and exercise. Heck, normal ppl have to go to the gym too...
This afternoon I was lounging on the big soccer ball beanbag in the living room when this exchange occurred:
Dad - "What are you watching?" Me - "Initial D - it's about car racing" Dad - "Is that Fast and the Furious?" Me - "umm.. no, it's Initial D.. its based on a japanese anime" Dad - "Is it based on Fast and the Furious?" Me- "No. It's Initial D.. nothing to do with Fast and the Furious" Dad - "I think it looks like Fast and the Furious" Me - "umm okay" Dad - "Do we have Fast and the Furious?" Me - "Only the earlier versions, not the Japanese one" Dad -" I think we need Fast and the Furious".. Me - "okay" Dad - "Make sure you get Fast and the Furious" Me - "umm yeah"
Hmmm .. someone doesn't listen ;) But at least I got his hint :)
Btw, if you haven't watched it - don't bother. Up there on my terrible movies list. And whoever thought Jay Chou could act.. :S
Last night , I decided to do something drastic about the pimply scarred horrid face that has been reflected in my mirror for the last 3 months or so. Granted, I never did have perfect skin but ever since I tried trialling a new face product, my face has become overly congested and just plain disgusting.
So anyways, I went to get a dermabrasian which essentially requires a small rotating sandpaper type thing and the girl slowly scraped off layers of my face (or shall we say, SANDPAPERED it off) - as explained in this picture:
It was a horrible experience, and even she sayed that it was only the mildest setting (she actually recommended a much higher setting that was designed to scrape of 2.5mm of my skin - ZOMG!? but I decided to be a baby first). But anyways, the process apparently sandpapered off 3 layers of my skin, leaving it raw, red, exposed and bleeding.
This morning I woke up expecting my skin to have settled down, but it's still red and raw... and bleeding.. I think the bleeding part is the worst - it's not big sections , just small ones.. but because there's lots of little sections, I'm walking around like a walking axe murderer victim :S
Anyways, she said that after 2 days, my skin may darken a little and then over the three days after, would peel ... all in the hope of better skin afterwards.
So I thought i'd share my scraping experience and let u know how it goes later.. :S
In the meantime, if u see me (and yes, I will be at Toan's farewell tonight, and Xin's return tomorrow night, and prolly meeting up with Mish this week) please don't run away or look frightened like me sister did :) I'll try and wear a balaclava in the meantime.
A bored saturday afternoon resulted in a new layout - probably because Alan changed his :) Anyways, I realize it's super bright and silly.. but well, i think it sorta reflects my personality! I designed it to show the sillyness and kookiness of me, and my love for all things colourful :) The left *thing* is a felted jelly donut which i chose because it was funny and cute, then there's the rainbow just to brighten up even the worst of days, and the cloud, because umm.. i felt like drawing a cloud ? hehe
Just got back from my trip to Kalgoorlie/Leonora/Gwalia :)
In Leonora, I met with some of the mine managers up in the north eastern goldfield regions (think Murrin, Leinster etc) where we had our meeting at Hoover House - an amazingly historical building, built by the ex American president, Herbert Hoover when he was a mine manager.
Hoover House stands on the edge of the old Gwalia minesite (now St Barbara's Mines). The site is amazing - his house was built literally on the edge of the site, so that as a mining manager, he could walk straight to work. It's a fascinating sight to behold - he's got the house, the white picket fence, and then the site right next door. One can only imagine the amount of noise, dust, etc that Hoover had to contend with! I tried to capture the sight with a photo, but nonetheless, pictures have failed to tell the story here :
And yes, being an asian tourist type , I took pictures of myself in every single room of the house "this is kae in hoover' bedroom, this is kae in hoover's kitchen, this is kae in hoover's dining room etc" .. even Mathew looked at me a little weird and even told my supervisor "kae took a LOT of photos" hehe :)
After that, we had a look at the Gwalia, which is a ghost town nowadays given that the old miners have moved on . They have the old miner's camps out there, and it looks as if during dinner they all just got up and left. There are remnants of their old cultlery, broken down cars and bikes, and everything else that is part of the history there.
Then it was a two hour drive back to Kalgoorlie with the minister , and then back on the plane to Perth.
I know it's really corny and boring when people just put song lyrics on their blog, but I really felt that this one in particular is summing up my private life at the moment.. :
All my bags are packed I'm ready to go I'm standin' here outside your door I hate to wake you up to say goodbye But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn The taxi's waitin'he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die So kiss me and smile for me Tell me that you'll wait for me Hold me like you'll never let me go 'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane ....
And there goes the life of a couple who flies in and out of each other's daily lives...
Supa Dupa Girl-Kae is the eldest of three kae's and is therefore the supa dupa one of the lot (as given to me by Alvin).
Currently residing in Perth, WA, Girl-Kae is a happy go lucky bubbly girl, who loves to shop, eat, and sleep. When she's
not working, she can be found at home being a homebody, glued to the screen watching enormous amounts of drama series,
out eating icecreams and cakes, and shopping till her heart's content.
