Welcome to the Family, guys!

.... and here's some cookies as ur welcome gift :):)

That was the first time ever since I came to Singapore that I've seen so many ppl getting baptised. 11 people! Majority are from earliteens. 2 from BRATz! Congrats to Denise and Teddy!

So happy especially for Teddy. He definitely has changed alot from the first time he joined BRATz. He was er.... rather chubby and bit wilful. Now he's much better. Trimmed down lots (but still considered as my 'babat' rival). And he's now even more diligent in reading his Bible than I am. Shame on me *shakes head*

Can't believe the BCD were baptised also o.O Those 3 mosquitoes.... A big headache in PF. So mischievous and can be super pesty. Hopefully they've really changed haha....Wait. Noe what? Bryan actually complimented my cookies *gasp* The most rascal one.... First time he said nice things to me! I was really happy. LOL... All the effort baking those cookies till 11+pm yesterday paid off ^.^

Seeing all of them getting baptised made me remember my own and how I've changed since. I must say not really for the better. But somehow now I kinda feel lyk I've gotta change my attitude. Be a good role model, sth like tt. Feel kinda bad when Dom actually read all those F words and told me it was vulgar and I ignored him. Haha... Sry Dom, was really upset tt day. But well, I'm the kind who need to let things out. I'll be really mad and upset for a while, but shortly after tt I'll be fine and be a good girl again :) So yea...

Mayb I shud say things using their positive synonyms even when I'm upset. Like my bro said. Instead of saying, "F***, he's such a flirt and so lazy". I shud say, "Goodness me, he's such a super sociable and laidback guy." haha

Well neways, again to Ralph, Denise, Dom, Clarence, Bryan, Tasha, Nic, Grace, and the 3 Filipinos (forgot their names :S), WELCOME!!

I shoud've made more cookies so the rest of the youths cud eat them too. But since it was a new recipe, I wasnt sure how it would turn out. So only made half batch. But it turned out great! the kind of cookies i like. Crisp on the edges and chewy on the inside. Like Subway cookies :)

I think i took out a little bit early so it wasn't tt crispy (I didnt mind tho). An extra minute or two wud make it perfecto. Finally I found the perfect (at least for now) choc chip cookies recipe!

Well, I won't be selfish and keep recipe for myself. Here's to all cookie monsters out there ;)

Addictive Chocolate Chip Cookies

(courtesy of 'bakingsheet')

2 cups ap flour

½ cup quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Blend in vanilla extract and egg. Slowly add in the flour mixture until nearly combined.

Add in chocolate chips and stir until dough is uniform in color and chip distribution.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake at 350F for 11-13 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 40 cookies.

Note: I suggest reducing the sugar by 2 tbsp at least, unless u've a very sweet tooth.

Argh, I hate using camera phone but bro took my camera >.<

Chocolate Keeps Me Sane

Okay, so I've been rather pissed, frustrated, and jaded these past few days. All triggered by that stupid MS midterm which i failed really badly. And i mean REEEEALLYY badly. So bad tt everytime i remember it, I felt like taking the paper out (which I've put right at the bottom of my papers pile) and tear it into tiny little pieces while screaming "Damn u, MS. DAMN U!"

Well, of course there are many other reasons that had sorta built up. But yea, that bloody MS - it's worth 30% and it's MS for heaven's sake. Not AFA.

And so to keep myself sane, I turned to whatelse but chocolate! I ate them, made them into brownies, truffles and muffins in the past 4 days. Chocolate therapy works wonders ^^

I've just realised that we have so much chocolate at home. Thanks to bro's friend who got us a big box of Ghirardelli assorted chocolate fr US. Then there's a container-ful of white and dark choc balls my sis bought couple of mths ago (still taste good), few bars of snickers from last cell group's retreat, couple bars of different milk choc i bought for my experiments (still can't find meltable white choc ): ) and a bar of baking choc :D

Seiously, whoever discovered chocolate should be given a Nobel prize. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, I'd say, "A piece of chocolate a day, keeps the psychiatrist away."

Mayb it's just me, but I don't even need exp choc to keep myself happy. I love kitkat, snickers, and even those cheapo choc gold coins.

The brownies were for Pris. The heart Yuppies spells "happy bday Pris". Took me quite sometime to stick the hundreds&thousands to the gummies. One of them got burned by the candles. Hee...Had wanted to make choc cupcake cuz i like frosting them but she likes brownies more. She's got expensive taste :P

Made these cuz still have the ingredients left from making the choc truffles bouquet for Kris and Yola. They're the not the normal choc truffles with ganache filling btw. They're Oreo truffles and Tim Tam truffles. But I think I won't be making them in a long long time. Too much hassle. And seriously, working with chocolate when u're living along the equator is a real challange, unless u don't mind blasting ur air-con while making it. But my kitchen doesn't have air-con :(

Those pics are taken in my room with the air-con on and even then the humidity made the chocolate 'sweat'. Sigh....But they still look better then the first ones I made. When I took the pics of the bouquet, they were already melting cuz the weather was warmer. Still contemplating if I shud post the pics cuz they don't look as pretty as I had intended :(

I love taking pics of chocs! They're so photogenic, don't u think? Don't think we have this brand in Singapore. Read about them in some American flog. Their choc is good! Had to eat all 4 squares cuz I've lyk touch them here n there while taking the pics. But not complaining :)

Used the dark choc one to coat the truffles. My fav is the raspberry one. The sourish raspberry filling compliment the dark choc real well. It's just slightly too sweet for my taste. Me not a big fan of mint choc, but I must say I really like their mint choc. After Eight is another good brand.

Will post the muffins pics later and listen to AMA prof now. Ah.... I love chocolate!

Have u ever felt so useless? So fucking useless like u can't do anything right, like ur the dumbest person on earth, like everytime u go for classes it seems the profs are speaking in greek u don't fucking noe what's going on, like u screw up even the simplest task, like u're only interested in doing things tt other ppl consider stupid/useless/meaningless (read: things tt aren't sch-related)?

It doesn't help that all ur friends are so bloody intelligent and hardworking either. Don't get me wrong. I don't have anything against intelligent n harworking ppl. Good for them tt they're such smarties. Gah i so feel lyk bitching now. Class is boring. Fucking hate going to school. Seriously considering quitting school. But dad will disown me if i do that. Damn.

Fuck. I need chocolate. Lots of it. Should i just leave the class?

"I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter"

I had some stored in my mobile which I found while browsing through choc cookbook. The rest is courtesy of google. Enjoy :)


The darker, the better. -- Myself, Caressa

Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.--John Q. Tullius

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.-- Anon.

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.-- Linda Grayson

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! -- Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

There are four basic food groups, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles. -- Anonymous

Man cannot live by chocolate alone, but woman can. -- Anon.

When the going gets tough, the tough eats chocolate.-- Author Unknown

There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now.-- Author Unknown

I'd give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter. -- Anon.

Awfully Chocolate, Awfully Good!!

Okay, so I have like so many unposted pictures of stuff that I made that I dunno where to begin. In the end, I decided to blog about sth that I had today. Didn't make it but I totally totally love.

I'm sure u can guess what I'm gonna talk abt from the title. ha... It's none other than my fav food - C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E!!

Neways, we started by having dinner at Astons at opposite Katong Mall (119 East Coast Road). Theo's been mentioning that place several times cuz it's sposed to sell good and cheap steak. Never heard of that place before. But well, several people said it was good and really value-for-money and apparently it's quite a popular place. So I said, okay I'll go. There were sposed to be like 15 people, but in the end, the evilness of schoolwork+deadlines+balmy weather reduced the number to only 8.

The place has quite a nice ambience and there is a nice selection of food. And yes, they are relatively cheap. For chicken, there is chargill, black pepper, cripsy fried, hickory bbq, teriyaki, lemon lime, double up, chicken & sausage comb, mostly at $5.90 (incl GST). For fish, there are the normal fare, like fried fish, grilled fish etc mostly at $6.50. For steaks there are prime sirloin, black pepper steak, prime ribeye, prime tenderloin, and pork chops, ribs, lamp loin chops at $11-$15. Every main course comes with 2 side dishes like coleslaw, mashed potato, baked potato, onion rings, salad, etc. There is the 'celebrities beef' which was Wagyu. It was $38.90, I think. Cheap for wagyu, but definitely not in our tight student budget :P

Well, I'm not a big fan of steak and we seldom have beef at home (usually only in soups or stews) I prefer processed ones, like sausage, corned beef, burger, meatballs and the likes. So I went with Viny's suggestion which was the Chargrilled Chicken with mushroom sauce. The rest had steak (prime sirloin, ribeye, black pepper). Well they all said it was nice. Tried them but I couldn't really appreciate. I thought it was kinda dry and didn't have much flavor. I very much prefer my chicken. It was juicy and the sauce was nice. Not salty at all. The pasta salad was bad. It was too soft and sour.

Chargrilled chicken, pasta salad and baked potato

The 2 latecomers with prime ribeye and can't-remember-what-steak made Erlina and Cyn hungry again

For more info, click here (lazy to type cuz it's already 2.30am!)

After dinner, we crossed the road to Katong Mall for the awfully good dessert - Awfully Chocolate. Been wanting to try their stuff cuz been hearing ppl singing it praises. I so wanted to eat their famous chocolate cake, but the group isn't exactly chocolate lovers, except for Michelle. Since they don't sell in slices and the std cake is sold out, we were only left with the ice cream. We bought a pint plus 2 scoops for 7 of us. Mike didn't eat cuz he 'doesn't like choc'. When I heard that I was like 'Is it even possible for a person not to like choc??' *shakes head in disbelief*

Btw, Karen doesn't eat choc anywmore also. Okay, it's not that she doesn't like it, she just give it up due to some reasons. But for me, whatever reason ppl give me, I am never EVER gonna give up choc, even if they tell me that choc is highly unhealthy, life-threatening and can reduce ppl's lifespan by half. At least I die a happy girl :)

Bact to the topic, the ice cream was bloody good! Even non-sweet-tooth ppl like Theo and Fenny agreed that it was yummilicious. It was so velvety smooth, has intense choc taste and has the right amount of sweetness. It was like eating soft, cold, dark choc. Perfecto! I'd rather have that ice cream instead of the chicken for dinner. ^ ^

We love the awfully good choc ice cream!!

Dig in!

Dang, now I've a craving for its choc cake.

So ppl, hint hint....I wanna have that for my bday cake! (choc cakes from Bakerzin or Choc Factory are welcome too :P)

The aftermath. Wish I could lick the box :P

Abandoned puppies need a home :(

FROM: jen.riding@singaporepoloclub.org

6 black lab (mix) puppies were rescued out of the middle of the road on Saturday. PLEASE help me find them homes - otherwise, it's Animal Control - which means they only have 5 days. We've bathed them, sprayed them for fleas and wormed them....but we can't keep them. They are currently in a kennel in my basement since I don't have a fence. I've lost count of the number of rescue groups that I've contacted, only to be turned down due to no room. Please check with every dog person you know to see if they need a puppy.

Aren't those puppies cute? It's always sad to hear that there are those horribly f***ed up irresponsible owners who abandoned their adorable innocent pets. Feel like punching them, don't you? If only I could keep those puppies, I most definitely would. Unfortch, I can't. So if you like dogs and would love to give them a home, please contact that email ASAP.

Gah! I seriously totally hate irresponsible pet owners! Hope they get their just dessert. Karma ppl, KARMA!!