It is friggin' cold in here!

I'm currently wearing three layers of clothing in the apt and trying to stay warm with yet another hot cuppa tea.  Darn central heating (or the lack of it!). I think my landlord is trying to kill us. *Brrrr....!*

Pardon my depression

Day 2 bleeding and a sore reminder that I have failed once again in the whole baby making business. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have been so affected by this but things are different now that my mum and in-laws are all psyched for a grand kid. I really regret disclosing my first pregnancy to them so early in the first place. Now it is all about "Any news?"..."Watch what you eat"..."Take care of your body"..."I've never had much difficulty conceiving in my time but I was younger then"..."Do not fly back to visit if you are pregnant"...yada yada.  I know they mean well but seriously, I feel like an incubator right now. And a dysfunctional one at that. I'm doing my best not to let them get to me but it continues to slowly eat away at my subconscious.  Hopefully, this is just a hormonal phase I am going through. Sigh...

Length does matter.

Alright, I've got non-existent eye lashes. The one time that anyone could visibly see something sprouting out from my eyelids was on my wedding day and they were fake. Not one mascara I've used in the past has given me the results I've wanted. Well, until now. After reading raving reviews on Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies, I finally marched down to Target today and bought one at a discount.
The verdict: This is by far the best mascara I've tried so far. Of course I did not achieve results like the model below but there clearly is a difference before and after application. I actually do look like I've got lashes now. ;)

Rest & Relax

Hubs has been working way too hard lately and it took me a long while to convince him to take a drive out and enjoy the outdoors for a bit. We were out for only a few hours yesterday but it certainly did perk hubby up a whole lot. We had lunch at B spot, took a drive through South Chagrin reservation and watched the ducks/swan swim at Chagrin falls in perfect weather. Ah, bliss! :)

Hello!

I've been neglecting my blog but not without a reason. My sis and her friend were here to visit and I was their designated driver and tour guide for the week! The weather had been slightly chilly but the girls had an awesome time. They were totally smitten by the beauty of autumn splendor and of course did their fair share of shopping as well (oh boy did they shop!). They are currently making one last stop in NY (for more shopping!) before heading home. It has been fun having them around and it's strange to have the apt suddenly go all quiet again! But that's okay coz I've got one week to go before my trip to Washington DC! And I'm so looking forward to meeting up with Joyce and her lovely family! Yay! :)

All That Lint

What was I thinking when I put in a comforter together with a blanket throw to wash? Now I will have to find a mega lint remover brush. Sigh.

Bread Pudding

Baked this for a recent gathering. A very easy and yummy recipe!
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com:
Ingredients:
7 slices day-old bread
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins
4 eggs beaten
2 cups half & half
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter over bread. Sprinkle with raisins.
3) In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4) Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Beautiful Sunday

I was feeling extremely lazy yesterday and would have slept the day away if hubby hadn't insisted that we get out for some fresh air. I'm glad we did because the day was just perfect! The sun was out, the air was cool and the autumn colors were gorgeous! We spent a relaxing afternoon at Whiskey Island and Edgewater Park and completed the day with a lovely dinner at The Harp. I almost ruined the day by making a wrong turn on our way home and nearly rolled over a drunken man's legs which were sticking out at the side of the road. But thank goodness his legs are still intact and I could safely say that we had a wonderful time! *phew!* ;)

 

Blue Man Group

My volunteer work at PlayhouseSquare officially kicked off with Blue Man Group this week. The ushering work itself was uneventful and there was no intermission for the show which was nice. A complete sell-out and I had to sit on the staircase the entire time. The show was loud, energetic, interactive and it helped that the audience were a fun and spontaneous bunch. Well, except for a young man who got a headache from all that noise and a few others who left with their face all scrunched up at the end. Not everyone's cup of tea, I guess. It was entertaining but I personally wouldn't spend too much money on the ticket. Then again, I did get to watch them for free. ;)

Antidote for Negativity

Words can be so lethal (whether intentional or not) and for some reason I'm having trouble purging it from my system for days now. But I'm getting there... The weather is lovely today and I am taking the chance to hang out with the girls and head down to the malls for some retail therapy.  Hopefully, that will perk me up and set me on track again! :)

Hit By Depression Bug

It's funny how it can bite you really hard when you least expect it.
I think I may need a good cry [& lots of love] to get it out of my system.

Vietnamese Summer Roll

The food challenge of the week was supposed to be Korean cold noodles. However, I couldn't find them at the Asian supermarket I was at, so I decided to make up for it by making hubby his favourite Vietnamese rolls. The rice paper were a little tricky to work with but the rolls turned out alright in the end. I also made the boo boo of mixing all the ingredients for the sauce into one bowl but it still tasted pretty good. :P

Recipe adapted from Squidoo.com:(makes 6 rolls)
Ingredients:
6 sheets rice paper
2 large leaves of green lettuce, cut into small pieces
3 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
12 mint leaves
9 large shrimps, cooked, peeled, deveined and cut in halfs

For the dipping sauce:

1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (Chirashi)
2 3/4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts (I replaced the sugar and peanuts with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter)

1. Bring the water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
2. Dip the rice paper in a large bow of warm water so it will become soft
3. Place the rice paper on a flat area, then stack small amount of lettuce, rice noddles, cilantro, mint leaves, and 3 haft shrimps
4. Roll the rice paper
5. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce together.
6. In another bowl, mix hoisin sauce, peanuts, and chilli sauce. Serve the rolls with these two sauce.

Random bits of the week

* 39 steps at the Cleveland play house. Absolutely hilarious - had me laughing from start to finish!
* The Pearl Fishers at the Playhouse Square - great opera singing but I can't say the same for the storyline *yawn*
* Cleveland police reminds me of Pac man. They seem to be at every corner of the streets!
* Matzo balls and Gefilte fish - my first taste of Jewish cuisine.
* Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage celebrated their fifth anniversary today with free admissions to all their museum galleries. Had an interesting time learning about the Jewish culture and history. Definitely worth the visit! :)
*House hunting- should we risk buying property here? Hmm...