Reflections

There are some days your thoughts suddenly flash back to your past and memories that were buried under the surface come up quite unexpectedly. Late Christmas evening was one of those evenings. Watching my son running around, opening presents and messing around with the Christmas decorations on the tree made me think how fast the years fly by. Highschool, college all seems like a lifetime ago.

I had my first boyfriend at 14, got my heart broken many many times by people I thought cared about me. Managed to struggle through college, but looking back at my schooling years, I should have not listened to others who doubted me. But when you are in that situation, you cannot help but doubt yourself. Unfortunately, I was one of those people who was not considered as 'cool' as I could have been, and as a result, if I did anything 'cool', most people would have said, "How could you have done that, you are not cool enough". Honestly, who judges coolness... Most of those people have ended up worse off than me, and I am the stronger for it today.. I had very low self-confidence back then and I think, being a mum now and forcing myself to be stronger is helping me on the road to being a more developed (?) person..

Some say reflecting is a bad thing, we must look forward to the upcoming year. Reflecting is not necessarily bad, the things we did, the mistakes we made, along with the decisions we have done in the past all make up the person we are today. I know I have done some insane things in the past and now, looking back, its shaped me into the person I am now. For better or for worse.

Looking forward to the New Year comes inevitably the Resolutions - the promises you make to yourself, knowing you will break them by February. But it's always fun to challenge yourself and see where you end up with.

My Resolutions -
1. Somehow stick to my exercise classes, servants or no nanny... Since of late, I am nanny-less and completely 24/7 on Sonny boy.. Poor kid, he has to deal with me all day long. But he seems to enjoy it for some reason so that's great.. But its been my excuse not to go to classes.. which is NOT good..

2. Along with the exercise classes, I have to loose weight. My goal is 15kg by June next year, when my birthday rolls around. Easier said than done. Also, reduce amounts of sugar consumed, whether it is in tea/coffee or yummy cakes.. :-(

3. Be more pro-active in the shop and help my mum out more. I know I give her grief and God only knows how much grief I get from her, but I think it would be good for everyone.

4. Stop biting my nails, this is a horrible habit from childhood and it never seems to go away.

5. Get my hair relaxed - hehe it sounds so weird saying that. Not only is my mind not relaxed but I have to get my hair relaxed too...

6. Cook more, and get some more good cook books.. I love cooking, as anyone knows reading the blog but I should find some more healthy constructive ones and try out..

7. Somehow get to Toastmasters and learn how to give a proper speech without stammering or feeling like a total tool.. Does anyone know of a good class?

8. Stop making resolutions I cannot keep to :-)

So here's to all of you, have a Happy New Year! 2009 wasn't too good for anyone so lets hope 2010 will be better!!

Belated Christmas Greetings

It doesn't get any better than this :-) Merry Belated Christmas everyone.. hope everyone had a good Christmas, stuffed themselves silly, recieved and gave great presents and also paid attention to the more important things in life...

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Talent in the Bucketloads

These guys are two cousins living somewhere in the US. I just cannot get over how anyone can sing seperate layers of a song and put it together, let alone sing it acapella. Its amazing and wonderful.

Comfort Food

There are days, you are way too lazy to cook and you just want something yum to snuggle with and watch TV. For me, there are many days like that, and today was no exception. I decided to make my variation on a soup I had seen ages ago.

Again, I don't have proper quantities and it is really up to you and what you have available in your kitchen. My soup I made today had carrots, leeks, sausage, pasta and chicken broth.

First, you cook your pasta and get rid of the water. Then in the same saucepan (again, comfort and ease, not much washing!), cook the sausages. A tip - remove the skin from the sausages so it resembles meatballs. Cook them well and keep aside. Then add some garlic that is well ground up (this is optional but add a little, like a small clove per person). Add chicken stock and cook till boiled. Add the vegetables (you can add potatoes, carrots, leeks, cabbage, whatever you have at home). After its cooked, add the sausages and pasta. If you like, at this point, you can add some spinach leaves. That also adds a nice color to the soup.

It doesn't take long to cook, maximum 30 min and this is nutrious and yummy. For those living in cold climes, it is perfect to snuggle up to the couch and watch your favorite Christmas movies on TV.

Dinner ideas II (contd)

So, its morning and after a cup of coffee, I feel moderately able to write a post of a few recipes.

Shrimp with Broccoli
The usual simple recipes. Clean the prawns (I used without the skin because of the eeky intestinal bits) and mix them with broccoli (duh), soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and coriander leaves. Keep in the fridge to marinade. When you are ready to cook them, just put into a pan and cook! That's it really. You don't need to add salt as the soy sauce is salty enough.


Stuffed Peppers
I don't like couscous but in a bid to be healthy one afternoon, I bought some and I never used it again. I saw it in the pantry and was thinking, maybe I should just use this one day and try it out. This recipe is in 3 parts, but it is not complicated.

Stuffing
It is part couscous and part yummy stuffing. First heat up some chicken broth to boiling point. Put to the dried couscous and add some ground up cumin and a little tumeric. Leave to soak.

The other stuffing is you cook apple (yes, apple.. Any type is fine, I used Fuji), chopped onions, coriander leaves, mushrooms, and a little crushed cloves. You cook it in a pot, don't add oil. Just cook till its well done.

Mix it with the couscous and add some raisins and nuts (cashews, almonds, whatever). That's your stuffing :-)

The Peppers
You cut off the tops, and clean out the seeds. It should look like a pretty cup. Soak them in hot water to cook and then wash them out with cold, so they retain the shape and size. Add the couscous mixture and just when you are about to serve, put into the oven (180C/350F) for 15 min.


Sorry for the bad quality pictures, I took them in the evening before serving.

Dinner ideas II

After a very very long time, we decided to call some friends over for dinner. I am nanny-less these days (as the woman I had before decided to leave me for a wedding.. later on I realized she has busted most of my cooking equipment, hence the abrupt leaving situation - that's a topic for another posting), thus I haven't had the time or energy to exercise let alone cook. Roomservice.lk is my best friend these days at work, although it doesn't seem to be the healthiest of friends..

Moving on, dinner.. So I decided to make a nice western style dinner with Lankan fusion. Menu consisted of :-
* Shrimp with Broccoli
* White rice (now you don't need a picture of steamed rice, do you?)
* Potato Gratin
* Stuffed Peppers with Couscous
* Coleslaw
* Grilled chicken
So my table looked kinda like this :-


Yum!

Next posts I will give the recipes for each dish, right now its about 11pm, so bed time for me.. but the posts will come :-)

Retail Injury

Like most girls, I do like to go shopping. Unfortunately, UNlike most girls in Sri Lanka, I never seem to find my size. I am not HUGE persay, but I am not delicately proportioned either. I do happen to be 'voluptuous' if i am say so myself. I do have boobs (which most women's clothes in Sri Lanka do not seem to understand) and have a body which does look like I have given birth (which is the truth). So why is it so difficult to find any clothes here?

I was thoroughly disappointed with Odel - Kohuwela, Warehouse and Alexandra Place. Overpriced, and NOTHING available. Went to Cotton Collection, was almost blinded by the bright printed and casual wear. Dilly's - again, overpriced and catered to the boobless-skinny women which seem to dominate Sri Lankan mannequins. Tried the smaller stores in Thimbirigasyaya - again disappointing. The only shops that seem to have anything decent is Sista (but again, either too big or catering to the pregnant - which is not really the look I am looking for. I don't want to look pregnant if I can help it).

Why is it shameful to be a big bigger than everyone else? I mean, I don't think I am huge. But its so difficult to find flattering clothes in this country. I am sure there are people who are larger than the norm. Not everyone looks like they are suffering from malnutrition - well, considering the cost of living these days, it might be one idea why the sizes are so misaligned.

Everytime I see someone I haven't seen in a while, they say "Oh, you've put on" or the rare "You've lost weight!". Why do people in Sri Lanka have the need to tell you about how you look. Its not like we don't have mirrors, plus its not the best way to get someone to like you especially if you mention their size. How is that a conversation opener anyways? One day, someone said that to Hubby on one of his off-days, his response "Well, you've got uglier from the last time I met you" (this was to the statement - "You've put on from the last time we met").

Does anyone have any suggestions on where we can buy decent clothes at a decent price? I don't mind paying, as long as I don't have to squeeze myself into something unflattering or find something nice and that would fit me in a decent way. Please let me know in the comments. However, presents, bribes are always welcome :-)

Hot potatoes

Sorry for the delay in posting. In between trying to run my little store, working for my boss (who also happens to be my mum - never a good combination) and everything else going on in my chaotic life, my little baby boy gets sick... Its miserable, not just for him but for everyone around.

He had high fever, around 102F when we took him to the doc. He was not his normal cheerful self. No songs, no demands for music, no requests for Mickey Mouse, he didn't even have an appetite, the poor guy couldn't even make it to his school's Christmas party. But thank goodness, Santa managed to get his present to me, so one crisis is sorted.. One positive, the fever and his flu are NOT related... but if the fever continues, that means something more serious (eekk!).. so blood tests are in order.. just the thought of some strange nurse putting a needle into my little boy's arm is enough to give me nightmares..

UPDATE
Sonny's fever is almost completely gone after one night's medicine (yay!) so we should be ok.. although the cough is still persisting.. another bit of good news, appetite and the singing has come back!

Great Link

One of my best friends sent me this link and it is SO true... At least most of them, so I decided to repeat them here..

Random Thoughts From People Our Age

1. -I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
2. -More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
3. -Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
4. -I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?
5. -Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
6. -That’s enough, Nickelback.
7. -I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
8. -Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the “people you may know” feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
9. -Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.
10. -There is a great need for sarcasm font.
11. -Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
12. -I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.
13. -How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
14. -I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
15. - I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
16. -The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
17. - A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
18. - Was learning cursive really necessary?
19. - Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.
20. - I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
21. - Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
22. - My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.
23. - Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.
24. - How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
25. - I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
26. - Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”
27. -What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
28. - While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.
29. - MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
30. - Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
31. - I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
32. -Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
33. - I would like to officially coin the phrase ‘catching the swine flu’ to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: “Dave caught the swine flu last night.”
34. -I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
35. - Bad decisions make good stories
36. -Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!
37. - Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
38. -If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
39. -Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….
40. -You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
41. -Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
42. -There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
43. -I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
44. - “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.
45. -I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’
46. -I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
47. - I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
48. -When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
49. -I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
50. -Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…
51. - As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
52. -Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
53. -It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
54. -I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
55. -Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what to do with it.
56. -Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…
57. -My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?
58. -It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
59. -I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
60. -I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
61. -I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Workout update

So, after a month slogging away at the workout (oops Shape Up) class, I was finally weighed and checked if I had lost weight in the appropriate places. Understandably, I felt like a cow ready for slaughter, taking off my shoes (pre-workout otherwise poor Clement may need an oxygen mask for his troubles) and getting onto the scale. Clement looked surprised, I thought happily, maybe I did reach his insane goal of loosing 5kg and he asked me to step on it again... In reality, I have GAINED a kilo... Considering I practically came to every class on the weekdays (missing a few - like 1 or 3 max), you can guess my immense disappointment. However, there is SOME good news...
* Apparently, I had lost weight on my arms - considering I am punching away, thinking of Heidi Klum and her sexy body post-baby (5 weeks later!), something must be happening...

* My fat percentage has reduced - how they can tell with that hand-held device, I will never understand. Is it through pressure i.e. if you are more fat or have 'fat' hands, you tend to squeeze less, thus higher fat content? Who knows..
* My tummy and hips are still the same maybe 1/2 inch less but who's counting..

Clement is back to telling me his usual lecture about chocolate (apparently, its the devil - who knew). According to him, a teeny-weeny piece is equivalent to 3 hours of continuous workout at the gym.. Man, after one hour of kick boxing I am wiped out, I hate to know what I will be like after 3! He is also back to his usual goal of 'encouraging' me to loose 5 kgs by end Jan. Hmmm its Christmas season and thus, the season to celebrate one's voluptuous self, by enjoying Christmas traditions such as stuffing your face with as much stuff as humanly possible. I guess I will be reducing that to just stuffing myself and weeping later. He also tells me its not just reducing sugar, but more importantly, reducing the other sweet things like chocolate (there's that chocolate again...)

Anyways, I think he is right... I really should start taking care of myself, which I am trying.. but its an uphill, bloody conquering Everest battle but I am sure I can make it through.. But I suppose I will need that chip in my brain to help me through