Baking time... for commercial purpose

It seems that wherever I go these days, the boisterous chinese new year songs could be heard. I'm not a great fan of these 'clanking' music and I no longer look forward to this yearly festive season compared to when I was a kid. Other than the fact that my biological clock is ticking away furiously, the other reason is mainly because I used to collect angpows and now, I am distributing angpows instead. So, you can't fault me for showing less enthusiasm, can you? But there is one thing that enthuse me perfectly which is the notion of "all play and no work". There is much merriment throughout the day and sumptuous spread of food can be expected. I have been baking my own cny cookies since the very first day I own an oven. I can remember vividly it was a Pensonic brand, one that I could afford at that time. I was experimenting various cookie recipes and nothing came out right the first time. My passion in baking (and probably my reluctance to admit defeat) drove me on and my efforts did pay off. This year, I have decided to put my time into good use by selling some variety of cookies to friends or whoever are interested. I baked my first batch of pineapple tarts today, right after I got home from office. Boy, what a rush for me. By the time I completed the entire process, I felt like my back was about to split into two while my shoulder was about to crumble to thousands of pieces. Unlike baking for leisure, baking for commecial is putting some strain and stress in me as I want my tarts to not only look beautiful but to taste heavenly as well. For Christ's sake! I'm selling to no strangers but to people I know instead. No doubt I was fatigue after baking for approximately 3 hours but it was all worth it. I am not talking about monetary alone (of course monetary plays a part lah). I am talking about self satisfaction. I was filled with a sense of euphoria at the product that I made with my own bare hands. Hubby came home just in time to witness the last batch of baking and he wasted no time in taking some pictures of me in action. Okaaay... I look dishevelled and my hair is unkempt. But what do you expect from a woman who had earlier on accelerated 90kph to beat the horrendous traffic in order to rush home to bake and had been baking for nearly 3 hours? Anyway, the tarts came out nicely and I hope friends will order more of my other cookies rather than tarts coz tart is really a tedious affair. Here are some pix I am sharing. Enjoy ! (watching) Penned by Rachel

Have a break, life's short

Today we had a little unsurprise visit from an ex colleague. When the office bell rang, I half expected to see her rooting at the door. Well, I was right and I was wrong. I was actually gazing up at a pretty, bubbly and vivacious young woman whom I can hardly recognize. It is so good to see a dear friend who has been in convalesce for more than a year. I never doubted the fact that the past one year had been an arduous journey for her to pull herself together, to heal and subsequently be who she is today. We are either too engross in pursuit of wealth or are too weary with daily tasks that somehow, we forgot to embrace the essence of life. We brush away our own needs or the needs of our loved ones. We no longer take time do accomplish the things we want to do for ourselves because we always put other more 'important' things ahead of us. In short, we are taking life for granted. Sad to say, this realization usually hit us only after we have encountered an unfortunate incident. The incident or experience triggered a wake up call in us and we started to regret on many things in life : things we should've done or shouldn't have done. Time passes by silently yet swiftly and before you know it, fine lines are starting to creep at the corners of your eyes. Start doing something for yourself today. Take time to enjoy life's little treasures. Each and everyone of us need to have a little 'me' time, sometimes. I am adopting this approach today,.... and that's why, I chose to leave office at exactly 5.30pm today. For what? For a little 'me' time, of course :D Penned by Rachel

A blog is born and so's a blogger

17 Jan 2010 I am finally starting my own blog, phew! It seems that the decision to start blogging took only a split second but it took an eternity for me to finally put everything into place. I was questioning myself for the purpose of putting my precious yet limited time into blogging. Being a working wife who has to juggle between busy work schedule and insurmountable housework plus not forgetting time spent on facebooking, msn chatting, watching youtube posted by friends (the list goes on and on), I wonder if blogging could be a real big mistake for me amidst my hectic life. But I guess, for me, the ultimate reasons for blogging is to share my thoughts , my favorite pastime and generally what goes on in my mundane life. My blog was further procrastinated because hubby and I were picking our minds on what’s the best and most suitable name for my blog (or rather our blog) and as you can guess, we never did reach a consensus. Finally..and finally… I decided simplicity is the best. Thus, 30-odd-something was born. Hurray… Happy Birthday. And this day happens to be my birthday as well. Nooo, wait a minute. This is all unplanned. Hubby whisked me off to an impromptu trip to Malacca, in a way to celebrate my birthday a little differently this year. I was beaming with delight at the thought of the delectable nyonya dishes and the abundance of freshly baked pineapple tarts. A walk in Jonker Street had me emptying some space in my purse whilst my hands could be seen clutching several cheap red plastic bags (yea..not very environmental friendly). The next morning, right after breakfast, my hands started to itch to get into facebook but to my utmost dismay, I was unable to connect to the hotel’s free wireless network. If you must know, I simply cannot survive a day or two without a computer and internet. (Damn! What's the point of having a laptop while there's no wifi?) This two must come in a package and cannot be separated. By the time I got home and managed to log into my facebook, boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise. My wall was flooded with numerous birthday wishes ranging from friends to cousins and relatives (not forgetting my bro). It may seem like a simple gesture of just putting a mere few words but to me, this is an effort. It is knowing that you have a friend celebrating his or her birthday and you took the trouble to write (no matter how few lines) and convey your best wishes to the birthday boy or girl. It also doesn’t matter the extend of the sincerity because at the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts. And right now, I am counting my blessings! Penned by Rachel