Year End Thoughts

Two more days and 2005 will be over. What have I done this year? It seems like it was only yesterday that it was January 2005, and yet it also seems like the year has been a VERY long year.

Early in January we got word from USCIS that our application for extension on Denice's tourist visa was denied. We had been able to bring Denice back with us to the US in June of 2004 on a tourist visa while waiting for the immigrant visa application to be processed. Because of the denial, we had to hurriedly make plans to return to Malaysia and wait out the finalization of her immigrant visa there. So there we were, Duncan and I, three months in Miri with Denice and living in my parents' home. Doug had to go back to California, and was going to return to pick us up when the immigrant visa for Denice was approved.

While in Miri, the processing of Denice's immigrant visa moved along, and we (Denice, her birth mother, and I) made a special trip to KL in February so the DNA testing (to prove the relationship between mother and child) could be done. It was in April that Doug returned to Malaysia and signed all relevant documents at the US Embassy in KL when the immigrant visa was approved. What a relief it was when we could all go home as one complete family! On entry in the US, Denice automatically became a US citizen. After more than a year of waiting she is finally in the US for good and no more to be burdened with bureaucratic intricacies of international adoption and emigration.

Once things started settling down at home, I got back into the swing of things with my home business. Business started picking up again when customers started dropping off their quilt tops. My new crop of customers was all due to Shirley Hutcherson's help. Shirley is a regular customer and has become a good friend. She helped distribute my business cards from her conveniently located place of work inside the JoAnn superstore.

In early May, Doug and I, were invited to Kathy Carr's 50th birthday party. It was a great 50th birthday party and I am inspired to arrange a similar party for Doug's 50th birthday next year! Kathy and Richard Carr have become dear friends to us and we really appreciate their friendship.

In June, we made two trips to Nipomo. Doug's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and they had two big receptions, first with friends, and second with family. It was nice for me to meet some old friends of Doug's parents, and it was also an opportunity for them to show off their daughter-in-law and grandchildren to their friends!

In July we celebrated Independence Day at the Carrs. They had organzied a bar-be-que and it was a nice way to remember the birth of the nation. The kids got to run and play with the Carrs' dogs in their large back yard.

In August, we started sending the kids to day-care/pre-school three times a week. Their time away from home has given me a lot more freedom to go out and do things. It was getting harder to bring to them out by myself now that they are toddlers. They would kick at each other while on the double stroller, or start grabbing at things along the aisle while shopping.

In late August, a good friend from Miri, now living in Florida, came to visit for a week. We brought her to see places around here and also brought her to visit Doug's parents in Nipomo. I fell sick with the stomach flu during that visit but Doug, along with the kids and his mother, showed Tina the attractions in the area.

In early September, a day after Tina left, Herbert and Mui Foon from Miri, came to spend the weekend. They had spent a few days with a cousin in San Jose, and were later intending to go to Las Vegas for leisure and onward to Houston and London for business. I've always enjoyed visits from friends from back home. Wish more were able to come!

In November I got to spend a weekend in Kirkwood with three other ladies. It was the first time that I had left the kids with Doug for a weekend! I enjoyed my trip to Kirkwood and I was glad Doug proved himself capable of looking after the kids all by himself for more than a day! :-)

In between all these, Doug's parents came to visit several times since we all got back from Malaysia in April. They also spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with us. I got to cook turkey for the first time at this year's Thanksgiving, and again at Christmas. For me, that was quite a big deal because I had never attempted anything that big (poultry size wise) before!

Also in between all these happenings there were a lot of childhood illnesses - the usual coughs and colds, fevers, vomitting and diarrhea. :-( As the primary care-giver, I wasn't exempted from these same illnesses either! :-( While we are on the subject of illnesses, I was diagnosed with hypertension in October. Hypertension runs in my family, so it wasn't that big a surprise.

I would like to say a special Thank You to Kirsten and Magenta who were always available to baby-sit the kids whenever Doug and I wanted to spend some time by ourselves away from home and the kids. Kirsten is only 12 but has proven herself to be such an able baby-sitter. We are so glad that she lives very close by! Magenta is now in college, and despite struggling with cerebral palsy, has also been an able baby-sitter for us.

All in all, 2005 has been a very good year. I am glad, despite the reason for being there, to have been able to spend 3 months in Miri this year. It was good to be able to meet up with friends again and spend lots of time with family and relatives. Also the extended time spent away from home has made me realize that home in California is truly my home now.

I am thankful for all the blessings received and all the good things that have happened in 2005. For the other challenges that happened this year, I am grateful that God brought us through, and taught us and reminded us that the bad always comes with the good.

Happy New Year 2006. May God bless you richly this coming year.

Fancy Jasper Set

This set is made out of fancy jasper and swarovski crystals. This set is one of my favorite, and I wear them often.

Speakers

My home theater speakers are finally connected. We tested the speakers by playing Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. With the 5.1 digital surround sound, home entertainment is a totally different experience! The subwoofer was powerful enough to rattle the walls! Heheh. Good thing it is winter and all the doors and windows of the house are closed and so are the neighbour's! And good thing we don't live that close to each other!

I bought the Logitech Z-5500 speakers. I decided on this because the price was right and the reviews were very encouraging. Most people would use these speakers for their pc, but the speakers are powerful enough for home entertainment.

I still can't get the speakers to work with my microphones plugged into the karaoke player though. I did the setup thing for the mic with the karaoke player but still nothing. :-( So karaoke will have to wait till Doug and I can figure this out.

For those who like to watch movies at home, go get yourself a set of home theater speakers. Movie watching at home will never be the same again!

Christmas 2005

Merry Christmas to my family and friends! It was a wet Christmas in northern California this year.

The tricycles the kids got for Christmas!

A set of crayons, marker pens, color pencils and water color from Auntie Penny and Uncle Tom.

The Christmas turkey fresh from the oven! Yummy!

Christmas Dinner. Doug's parents spent Christmas with us this year, and brought lots of toys for the kids.

Poor Denice, sick with the stomach flu .. vomitting and diarrhea.

Duncan in an inflatable toy that Grandma brought.

It's Christmas Eve

It's Christmas eve. We had planned on going to one of the Christmas eve services but a family crisis arose very early in the morning. Denice threw up after taking a few sips of her bottle. That was the start of several more throwing ups for the rest of the day. :-(

Well, I'll spend part of the evening preparing the turkey stuffing. I will roast the turkey tomorrow morning. I will be doing it differently from the Thanksgiving turkey.

Tomorrow my in-laws are arriving some time in the early afternoon. Hopefully the turkey will be done by the time they arrive. :-)

Should we let the kids open their presents tonight? Nah, let them wait till Christmas morning!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Jesus is the reason for the season.

Karaoke DVDs

These are the Karaoke DVDs that I ordered from Ace Karaoke. Each DVD cost $9.99. Unbelievable! And they are made in Taiwan! What to do? The cheapest I've seen is about $7.00 when they are on sale.

I was at Galt Flea Market on Wednesday, and I found 2 English Karaoke VCDs among a whole bunch of Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese and Thai VCDs. The vendor, who was Hmong, asked me to buy the Thai VCDs ... errr, I don't speak or read Thai. You're not Thai? Heheh. I told him to bring some English Karaoke VCDs if he had more of them. Next week, he said.

I am waiting for DeeJay to send me some Iban Karaoke VCDs. Uk, has already made me some Iban mp3 so I can start learning some Iban songs. I don't know why, but most of the female Iban singers have this high pitched voice, the kind that is really popular with Indonesian singers. I don't have that kind of voice (neither talent for singing!) so it'll be quite a challenge to learn some of the Iban songs. Ok, ok, I can bring the key to a lower pitch on the karaoke player, so the songs will be somewhat manageable but still ... :-) Heheh .. eh, anang enda nguji bah.

Karaoke

I am still waiting for my karaoke player. No, I did not get the all in one machine. I ordered just the player and also a set of speakers .. more for home theater but I hope they work for karaoke as well! Doug and I know nothing about sound system so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I'll be pleasantly surprised if my player arrives before Christmas.

My speakers arrived today; a pleasant surprise indeed! I was informed via email by Amazon that it will arrive after the 24th. My karaoke VCDs also arrived today so I am set to karaoke! Heheh. I played one of the VCDs just to see the quality of the music .. ermm, could have been better. There is no voice in the VCD, just the music guide (melody). :-( So I guess I'll just have to look else where if I want to really learn some of the songs.

My good friend in Indiana, says it'll be a lot more fun to karaoke with a friend .. if only we were neighbours! We could sing up a storm! Heheh. Brings back memories of days when I karaoked with Stephen, Ix, and other Cambodian and Vietnamese students in Gia Lam, Vietnam!

UPDATE: My karaoke player was delivered via UPS around 6.00 p.m. today. Yeah! Everything I ordered arrived before Christmas. I'm pleasantly surprised. Now Doug has to help me put everything together .... connect speakers, etc.

Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year and marks the first official day of winter. Sundown today in Sacramento was at 4.48 p.m.

Doug and I did our last minute Christmas shopping today. After dropping off the kids at preschool, we went to the Flea Market, right here in Galt. We saw tricyles for sale, and decided to get one each for the kids there. We had originally planned on getting the trikes at a store in Sacramento, but figured that it would be cheaper at the Flea Market. After all the vendor didn't have higher overheads like store rental!

But we did go to Sacramento to get other stuff. We stopped at Costco first, hoping to get sea food. But the seafood was no bargain. I had thought about serving seafood for Christmas dinner, but I guess it's going to be turkey! I got two bottles of wine, one white for myself because I prefer white to red, and a red wine, for the turkey recipe. The red was a cheap one imported from France, while the white was twice the cost from a winery in California.

At the Asian supermarket, I was surprised to see kangkong (water spinach) still available this late in the season. It was only when I got home that I noticed that the bunch I got cost me $4.55! A bit expensive for kangkong, don't you think?

It was raining and already quite dark when we finally made our way home. Fortunately it had stopped raining when we picked up the kids from school. It would have been quite a hassle trying to get the kids strapped in their seats if it were raining!

No, the kids didn't know anything about their new tricycles. We are saving that for Christmas. The look on their faces when they see their trikes on Christmas morning will be precious! :-)

Money is King

Last night, I was watching a little bit of Hannity and Colmes on Fox News Channel. Among their guests last night were a pimp who ran a legalized bordello called the Bunny Ranch in Nevada and two of his prostitutes.

Alan Colmes asked one of the women, why she was doing what she was doing. She said it was all for the money. She said she was only 20 years old and already she was doing very well for herself making well over $100,000 a year. The other woman said she had a degree, but said she chose to do what she was doing because she could make a lot more. Sean Hannity even quoted the words of Jesus "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" to the woman with the degree. Her answer, "I've already lost my soul".

So my guess is she has sold her soul to Money. For the sake of money these two women chose to sell their bodies rather than use their brains to make a living. I guess for them it is a lot easier to make that kind of money selling their bodies.

My final conclusion from watching the interview with these two women is that in America you cannot say you were driven to prostitution due to poverty or lack of opportunities. But still I wonder how women who choose to do this, can look at themselves in the mirror and not hate themselves for doing what they are doing. Have they really learnt to separate their "work" from their lives away from "work"? Have they really learnt to treat their bodies as just a commodity, like any other skill you would use for employment?

I guess they must have, otherwise how else would anyone choose to prostitute his/her body for the sake of money.

Karaoke Machine

I don't know what it is with me these days, I've been looking at electronics and cameras and coveting them! Must be the festive season! :-)

I have been browsing sites selling karaoke machines. I don't have a hi-fi system, except for a mini stereo that I brought with me from Miri when I moved to the States. So I am debating whether to get an all-in-one machine or a set of speakers and a mixer that comes with a key controller. Since I already have a DVD player (3 of them!) I don't need to buy a DVD player with karaoke function. But the thing is the all-in-one machine that I am interested in is more than I am prepared to spend on such an item! But it'll make me sound great though, since it is almost professional quality! Heheh.

I am also interested in getting a home theater speaker set, so if I get the karaoke mixer, and speakers, it'll mean I am also getting my home theater speakers! I don't want just any old speaker set, no siree, I want the high end, like the Bose home theater set! Well, at least the more affordable set! Heheh.

Next on my list will be a widescreen flat panel TV! That'll have to wait, yeah, wait till the prices come down a bit more! For now, I'll just watch TV and movies on my old Panasonic 44" projection TV that my mother-in-law handed down to us.

Lampwork Necklace

This was created with a friend in mind. She loves to wear chunky necklaces, and I thought this design goes very well with her sari or punjabi outfit.

Foggy Mornings

Woke up to a rather foggy day today. It was already 9.00 a.m. yet the visibility in my backyard was about 50 meters. The fog must have been really dense when Doug left for work at about 6.00 this morning. Yesterday there was also patchy fog when I drove the kids to school but right at the school it was clear! :-)

I couldn't see my neighbour's house from our back porch.

This was taken after 2.00 p.m. and this is the view from my back porch.

Where to Spend Christmas?

Last year we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with the kids' grandparents in Nipomo. This year the grandparents spent Thanksgiving with us. And for Christmas, I have invited them to spend it with us too. I have not yet received a positive answer from them.

I don't know why, but this year I feel like I am done with traveling long distances .. by car, by plane .. whatever. I just don't feel like getting into the car and spend 5 - 6 hours on the road just to spend a few days at a place. And while on the road put up with kids' whining about being confined in the car. :-(

In January we flew to Malaysia and spent 3 months there. And of course the flight back. And in June we drove twice to Nipomo to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the kids' grandparents. Also we took a friend who visited from Florida to visit the kids' grandparents in September. That is all the traveling I am willing to do for this year.

The good thing is, since we got back from Malaysia in April, the grandparents have been to visit more often than we've been to see them at their place in Nipomo.

In truth, I have developed some kind of phobia and get quite stressed out when it comes to travelling. I always imagine the worst, planes falling from the sky, a pile up on the road, some drunk driver hitting us, falling asleep behind the wheel .. you know the worst possible scenario. Even while on the road, a plane might hit you! :-(

Has age done this to me? The older one gets, the more cautious one becomes? Or is it motherhood? I fear the kids losing one or worse both parents while they are still very young. I fear losing my kids to a ghastly accident. The Bible says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philipians 4:6,7 I guess I just need to put my trust in God, and let him take over my anxiety.

Christmas Play 2005

Last night, our kids (one of them!) took part in their school's annual Christmas Play. My kids are in the 2 -3 year olds class, so their part in the play was minor .. they don't really listen to instructions very well .. :-)

Denice stood on stage with the rest of the kids with this look on her face, "What am I doing here?" Duncan had to be taken off the stage because he was screaming and crying.

The church hall was full of proud parents. Every parent had a video camera or a digital camera taking pictures of their kids! It was quite a scene .. I had to squeeze myself in between the camera carrying parents! :-)

Kids with their teachers, Ms Carmen, and Ms Laura

Huh, huh, what am I doing here, Mommy?

Christmas Tree 2

I got my xD picture card reader today so was able to download the pictures in my memory card. The first picture was taken with the lights in the dining room turned on, and the second one after all the lights had been turned off. :-)

Talking of xD picture card reader, I got the one whose order I supposedly cancelled when I made my order at Amazon.com! Heheh, now I am going to end up with two card readers! Good thing this one is a refurbished item, hence it only cost $5.99. I won't bother returning it - all in all it cost me $10 including shipping. The other one which is still on its way, is much smaller and cost three times more.

Christmas Tree

The tree is finally decorated and out of the children's reach. Heheh, it looks bare. :-) I have lots more ornaments but didn't want to put up too many on this little tree.

I need to try taking a picture of the tree with the lights on, without the camera flash on. My new camera will be able to take a picture of the object in its natural light. :-)

Christmas Tree Shopping

This evening we took the kids to the Boy Scouts' christmas tree lot to buy a christmas tree. We usually buy our tree from the Boy Scouts.

Before we left, I bundled the kids in warm clothes. The temperature tonight is 38 F which is about 3 Celcius. The kids and I took the mini van while Daddy drove the pick up truck.

This is actually the kids first real christmas tree. They were so excited the see the trees at the lot that they ran here and there among the trees. :-) We chose a small tree, a silver tip fir, about 4 - 5 feet tall.



When we got home with the tree, we couldn't decorate it yet because the tree we bought was quite skinny and the screws that held the tree together in the tree stand wasn't long enough to clamp the tree down. :-( So it'll have to wait till tomorrow.

Camel-Cookie Night

Come join Puteri, Kathy, Paula, Rin and Karen

You are invited to our
Second Annual Camel-Cookie Gift Night

on Saturday, December 3rd, at 5.30 pm
at the Carr's home on xxxxx Ave, Galt

What to bring: Cookies to Exchange and
a donation towards a camel for a family through World Vision

Whay a camel during the Christmas holidays?

"Families in desert regions can depend on the remarkable camel
for almost everything.Camels carry loads of up to 1,000 pounds
and can travelfive days without food or water.Their rich milk is
made into nutritious cheeseand their hair is woven into durable
cloth. Over its 40 years life span, one ofthese relaible, hardworking
animlas candramatically improve life ofa poor family?" Think
of it as a refrigerated SUV for thedesert, only much,
much cheaper! www.worldvisionsgifts.org

We will also be making simple jewelry with the help of Puteri that
you can take home with you along with a sampling of everyone's cookies!

Please RSVP Kathy Carr at xxxxx

Thank you!

Shopping Online

This afternoon I went shopping on Amazon.com After comparing prices from different merchants, I settled on a SanDisk 512 MB xD memory for my new camera. It cost me $55.99 and shipping was free for any order over $25. I've seen the same memory for less at ebay but I didn't want to deal direct with an unknown seller with regards to payment.

I also bought a new card reader, an xD reader/writer for $16.14. It's very small, lightweight (14 grams) and travel friendly. Just what I needed! :-)

I looked at PDAs too, and decided to get one for Doug for Christmas. It wasn't the latest model, heheh, but good enough. It is a PalmOne Tungsten E2. Actually, I was looking for a personal organizer for myself, nothing fancy, and I might just go back and get one for myself! :-) There are a few that are quite reasonably priced. If I do get one, I just hope that I am not too dumb to learn how to use it! Heheh.

Camera

My new Fujifilm FinePix F10 digital camera finally arrived. :-) There was enough time to load the lithium battery and had it charged before I brought it to our Lion's Club Christmas dinner. There was no time to read through the user's manual, so I only took a few shots, just to try it. Moreover the memory card that came with it is only 16 MB - only big enough to store a few pictures. It is a 6.3 megapixel camera, so 16 MB is nothing.

I am still in search of a good deal for a 512 MB or a 1 Gg memory card. I have looked around at ebay and there are some good deals there, even after the exhorbitant shipping and handling charges. I am also in search of a new card reader. The one I have right now doesn't take the xD picture card type. I hate having to spend more on an already expensive toy! :-( But I do not want to install the software that comes with the camera just so I can download the pictures, so I'll just have to get a new card reader.

Downloaded Music Update

I know there are aspiring recording artistes out there that post their music online to be downloaded for free. While searching for more free MP3 downloads I came across a MSN-CNET site. On the site are listed various countries and from each country you can download whatever free music that suits your fancy .. from little known artistes of course.

I started downloading a few songs from Malaysia, listened to them, and decided I liked them. So I started looking at those from Indonesia and Singapore too. Now I have enough music to burn on 2 audio CDs.

Generally, the music composed are not all that bad. Well, except for the recording quality of some. Actually I think the groups or soloists who post their music on this site are quite talented. They just need a break. One Malaysian guy's instrumental music was quite good ... to my untrained ear, of course, heheh. His music sort of reminded me of Yanni.

That gets me to thinking. I wonder if Vynne, Simon, Nixon and Jawi have thought about posting their songs to a site like MSN-CNET? I did download their free music from rumahdayak. Their vocal quality needs a little more polish, but it's a good start.

Every aspiring artiste needs some kind of exposure .. even if he/she has to give his/her music for free.

Downloaded Music

I have been downloading music from the internet ever since the hey day of Napster. You can just imagine how slow going it was back then with my dial-up connection.

And recently I downloaded some Iban music ( shh, some were illegally fromatted!) as well as Malay and Hindi tunes. So I was thinking, since I don't have an MP3 player and can only play these music while I am on my computer, why don't I go and buy myself a player that has a CD-R/RW playback?

Hehehe, I was at K-Mart last night and I saw this little player (see pic) that had a CD-R/RW playback. I didn't know if it played MP3 straight or not. So as soon as I got home I got busy and started copying my music files onto CD-R discs. I used Media Player to burn them on the CD, and that was when I noticed that the CD was converted into an audio CD which could be played in any standard CD player, DVD player or CD drive on my computer! Heheh, I didn't need my new player to play those discs!

But that's ok, because the new player I bought, which has a radio and cassette player, is quite compact and I can carry it around and play my newly burned discs without having to sit near my computer to listen to them. Moreover right now, one of my favorite FM stations has started playing all Christmas songs 24/7 on the air! Now that has really helped in getting me in the festive mood.

Still Waiting

I am still waiting for my digital camera that I ordered from Walmart online more than a week ago. I received an email saying it was shipped last Sunday. Last Sunday! Today is Saturday, and when I checked the tracking from UPS, it is still somewhere in California. What kind of delivery is this? Snail delivery? I know it cost me only $1.49 in shipping but still, all previous standard delivery did not take a whole week and more. Could it be that we had a holiday last Thursday?

Anyway, dear hubby checked the specs of this new camera because he saw some much cheaper models of the same make while he was at Best Buy yesterday. Well, what do you know? My new camera is indeed an ultra compact! Heheh, it won't occupy as room as I thought it would in my new handbag!

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. It is so called because most retail stores go in the "black" for the first time in the year. It is also the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Most of the big stores open their doors at 5.00 a.m. and usually by that time there is already a long line at the door.

I did not bother to go to the stores that early today. The thought did cross my mind, though, because I was awake at 4.30 a.m. to answer the cries of one of my kids. At Walmart, you can get a laptop for under $400. I read somewhere that there was some trampling going on at a Walmart store for the laptop. :-) There are only so many laptops that each store carries, so I can understand the desire to be among the first to get into the store!

I did go to JoAnn, my favourite craft and fabric store. I got there just before 9.00 a.m. and boy was there a crowd there! I got myself some fabric for a children's quilt and also some jewelry making supplies. All those were 40% off their normal price. I had to get a number at the cutting table (for the fabric), and after that I had to join the long line to the check out counters.

Doug went to Best Buy to look for a memory card for my new digital camera, but there was none in stock for the one I wanted. My parents-in-law left before 8.00 a.m. for Best Buy and they got themselves, among other things, a radio.

I guess I'll do most of my christmas shopping online this year. I need to go back to Amazon.com to look over my wish list. Other then upgrades for my camera and computer, I can't think of anything else I have to have.

P.S. Jared, it looks like the people here are just as bad as Malaysians when it comes to jumping the queue! :-)

Green Glass Necklace

I used lampwork flower glass beads and swarovski crystals on this necklace. The chain is sterling silver plated and the spacer beads are just plain silver colored metal beads. I made this necklace the same time I made the moonstone necklace.

Thanksgiving 2005

It's turkey day! :-) Got up at a reasonable hour this morning so I could get started with my roast turkey preparations. I chopped up celery, chestnuts, day old bread for the crumbs, sage, smoked bacon, dried apricots, and added salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and an egg to the mixture. That is the stuffing for the turkey!

I then put all that mixture under the skin of the turkey in the breast area, and added rolled bacon, garlic and rosemary in holes in the thigh and legs. After that I rubbed the turkey with olive oil, salt and pepper and it was ready for the oven.

I was supposed to bake the turkey 18 minutes for every pound of the bird. I gave myself an additional half hour but when the three and half hours were over, the bird was not quite ready. :-( I put the meat thermometer in, and the temperature only came up to 160 F. The internal temperature was supposed to reach 180 F. So in it went back into the oven. I even turned up the temperature of the oven so it'll cook faster. Heheh.

Anyway, the turkey turned out really nice and it also tasted just as great! Yummy! We had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, and gravy made out of the drippings of the roasted turkey. Simply delicious! :-) And we drank sparkling cider with the meal.

Thanksgiving 2005 turkey - Jamie Oliver's recipe

Jamie’s Thanksgiving Stuffing
Makes enough for a 9- to 10-pound turkey

You can make the stuffing a day or two in advance to help lighten the load on Thanksgiving Day.

2 celery sticks, finely chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
Small handful of fresh sage, finely chopped
6 strips pancetta, finely chopped
2 ounces butter
Big handful of fresh breadcrumbs (bread stuffing), coarsely chopped
Handful dried apricots, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
5 or 6 chestnuts (roasted or jarred), coarsely chopped
3/4 pound freshly ground pork
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1 egg

Finely chop the celery, shallots, sage, and pancetta and add with butter to a hot frying/sauté pan. Fry gently on medium heat until everything is lightly golden brown. Take off the heat. To prepare the fresh breadcrumbs, take a loaf of day-old bread, remove the crust and place the chunks of bread in a food processor until the bread is coarsely chopped. Add the breadcrumbs and coarsely chopped apricots and chestnuts to the celery, shallots, sage, pancetta and butter mixture. Season well to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well and chill.

When the stuffing is cold, add the pork, nutmeg, and egg. Refrigerate until ready to use.



Roast Turkey
Serves 6 to 8

The big problem with cooking turkey is that the legs take longer to cook than the breasts. This means the breasts dry out in the oven waiting for the legs to catch up. In this recipe, I push sage and apricot stuffing up under the turkey breast skin, increasing the thickness of the breasts so they take the same time to cook as the legs. The result? Juicy turkey all round!

Some people brine the turkey, some people don't. Personally, I like to rub the turkey with table salt inside and out and put it in a clean plastic bag and refrigerate it overnight (12 to 24 hours). This removes all the excess moisture and allows it to cook beautifully.

12 small fresh rosemary sprigs, plus few extra
At least 8 cloves of garlic, 2 peeled
6 strips pancetta (smoked bacon)
9- to 10-pound organic free-range turkey
4 shallots, roughly chopped
2 carrots
1 big orange
Olive oil
1 teaspoon flour
1 quart or vegetable stock, for the gravy
A little white wine or sherry (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. To prep the turkey, rub it with salt inside and out 12 to 24 hours before cooking; table salt is fine. Store the salted turkey in a plastic bag and refrigerate. When ready to cook, rinse or wipe off excess salt. Pat it dry with paper towels and place on a board. Make a bed of roughly chopped shallots, 6 unpeeled garlic cloves, and carrots in your roasting pan to act as a rack.

Slice the strips of pancetta in half and slice the peeled garlic into thin slivers. Place a rosemary sprig and a garlic sliver on one end of a strip of pancetta and roll it up tightly. Repeat with the other pieces of pancetta until you have 12 little rolls.

Stab the thighs and drumsticks of the turkey in 6 places on each side. Push your finger into each slit to create a gap. Place each pancetta roll into the holes until it just peeps out. Find the edge of the skin at the turkey neck and with a rubber spatula or large spoon separate the skin from breast meat so that you can put the stuffing under the skin of the turkey breast. If you're careful you should be able to separate all the skin from the meat, keeping it attached at the sides but without ripping any holes in it.

From the neck end of the turkey, spoon the stuffing up between the skin and the breast, tucking the flap of skin underneath to stop any leaking out during cooking. Microwave the orange for 30 to 60 seconds to get it nice and hot. Poke a hole in the hot orange and stuff it into the turkey cavity. You can also add some rosemary to the cavity.

Place the bird in roasting pan filled with the vegetables, season well with salt and pepper, and rub olive oil all over. Weigh the stuffed bird, cover with foil, and roast for 18 minutes per pound, or until the juices run clear from the thigh if pierced with a knife or a skewer. Remove foil for the last 45 minutes to brown the bird.

Remove the turkey and rest on a board for 20 minutes.

Remove most of the fat from the roasting pan. Mash the roast vegetables right in the pan with a potato masher. Add the flour, sherry and stock and bring to a boil on a high heat. When the gravy thickens, strain into a bowl. Serve the turkey with the gravy.

Silent Movies

Two nights ago, Doug and I watched two Harold Lloyd movies back to back on TCM channel. I don't remember the last time I watched a silent movie (that would be a Charlie Chaplin film) so it was quite refreshing to watch two silent movies starring Harold Lloyd.

I have not heard of Harold Lloyd nor watched any of his film prior to this, and I can say with conviction that he was quite an actor and comedian. The two films we watched were Grandma's Boy and The Freshman. They were really funny.

Each of the film was only an hour long. No dialogue was needed because the acting was so good that we knew exactly what the actors wanted to say. Yeah, the dialogue screen that appeared between the scenes helped too. Hehehe.

I look forward to watching more Harold Lloyd movies. I am sure I will be quite entertained.

Dry Cracked Hands, Itching Skin

Grate potatoes and soak in olive oil. Apply on dry, cracked hands. Leave this on for 10 minutes and then rinse off.

That is only one of the remedies that I found on the internet for dry cracked hands. The more amusing one. :-) I have dry cracked hands, and on the knuckles not only is the skin cracked, it is also bleeding. :-( I seem to have a serious case of dry hands this year. My palms feel rough and the skin is peeling.

I have tried applying lotion, and oil, but the relief is short-lived. I should try applying petroleum jelly. Come to think of it, one of my friends gets dry cracked and bleeding hands whenever she eats raisins. She applied petroleum jelly on her hands and it healed her bleeding hands. Why didn't I think of this before?

On my last doctor's visit (for a bad cough) I asked the doctor about my itching skin which I've had since July. She thinks that the itching is an effect of dry skin and told me to use a humidifier in my bedroom. And when applying lotion or oil, do it immediately after a bath/shower when the skin is still damp. She says that is the only time the skin effectively absorbs the lotion or oil. Also according to her, any application of lotion or oil when the skin is already dry is a pointless exercise.

I have a humidifier but have not used it at all this year. I guess it is time that I use it. It may really help my condition!

Turkey

I got my 10 lb frozen turkey last night. I was not sure how quickly a frozen turkey would thaw and didn't want to be stuck with a still frozen turkey by Wednesday morning, so I thought I'd better give myself plenty of time.

I wanted to get all the ingredients needed for the stuffing and for the roast turkey the same time I got the turkey last night but forgot to bring my recipe. *sigh* I was supposed to get rosemary and sage but instead I got thyme. I still have time to get the rest of the things though. I got the chestnuts but still need to get the dried apricots.

Here's Jamie Oliver's roast turkey recipe, and the picture at left shows what Jamie's roast turkey looked like.

Roast Turkey
Serves 6 to 8

The big problem with cooking turkey is that the legs take longer to cook than the breasts. This means the breasts dry out in the oven waiting for the legs to catch up. In this recipe, I push sage and apricot stuffing up under the turkey breast skin, increasing the thickness of the breasts so they take the same time to cook as the legs. The result? Juicy turkey all round!

Some people brine the turkey, some people don't. Personally, I like to rub the turkey with table salt inside and out and put it in a clean plastic bag and refrigerate it overnight (12 to 24 hours). This removes all the excess moisture and allows it to cook beautifully.

12 small fresh rosemary sprigs, plus few extra
At least 8 cloves of garlic, 2 peeled
6 strips pancetta (smoked bacon)
9- to 10-pound organic free-range turkey
4 shallots, roughly chopped
2 carrots
1 big orange
Olive oil
1 teaspoon flour
1 quart or vegetable stock, for the gravy
A little white wine or sherry (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. To prep the turkey, rub it with salt inside and out 12 to 24 hours before cooking; table salt is fine. Store the salted turkey in a plastic bag and refrigerate. When ready to cook, rinse or wipe off excess salt. Pat it dry with paper towels and place on a board. Make a bed of roughly chopped shallots, 6 unpeeled garlic cloves, and carrots in your roasting pan to act as a rack.

Slice the strips of pancetta in half and slice the peeled garlic into thin slivers. Place a rosemary sprig and a garlic sliver on one end of a strip of pancetta and roll it up tightly. Repeat with the other pieces of pancetta until you have 12 little rolls.

Stab the thighs and drumsticks of the turkey in 6 places on each side. Push your finger into each slit to create a gap. Place each pancetta roll into the holes until it just peeps out. Find the edge of the skin at the turkey neck and with a rubber spatula or large spoon separate the skin from breast meat so that you can put the stuffing under the skin of the turkey breast. If you're careful you should be able to separate all the skin from the meat, keeping it attached at the sides but without ripping any holes in it.

From the neck end of the turkey, spoon the stuffing up between the skin and the breast, tucking the flap of skin underneath to stop any leaking out during cooking. Microwave the orange for 30 to 60 seconds to get it nice and hot. Poke a hole in the hot orange and stuff it into the turkey cavity. You can also add some rosemary to the cavity.

Place the bird in roasting pan filled with the vegetables, season well with salt and pepper, and rub olive oil all over. Weigh the stuffed bird, cover with foil, and roast for 18 minutes per pound, or until the juices run clear from the thigh if pierced with a knife or a skewer. Remove foil for the last 45 minutes to brown the bird.

Remove the turkey and rest on a board for 20 minutes.

Remove most of the fat from the roasting pan. Mash the roast vegetables right in the pan with a potato masher. Add the flour, sherry and stock and bring to a boil on a high heat. When the gravy thickens, strain into a bowl. Serve the turkey with the gravy.

New Handbag and Digital Camera

Last night I was at Marshalls. Marshalls is one of those stores where you can get brand names for less. I was looking for a new handbag. I like the little one that I've been carrying around all this while but with my cell phone in it, sometimes I can hardly zip up the thing! So I thought I'd get myself a new handbag if I see one that is neither too small nor too large. I finally settled on one by Etienne Aigner. The name means nothing to me! Heheheh, never heard of it before!

This morning I saw this ad on TV. It was for a Fujifilm digital camera. Since I got myself a new handbag yesterday that could fit more things, I thought I'd get myself an ultra compact digital camera that could fit easily into my new handbag. Then every time I see something worth taking, I'd have my camera handy.

So much for an ultra compact digital camera! :-) For $30 more I could get the next highest model which could do a better job at taking close up pictures! So I went for the slightly higher end model instead of the ultra compact one. Hey, I have plenty of room in my new handbag!

Call these two items my early birthday presents! My birthday is on the 3rd of next month.

Tribute to Pastor Adrian Rogers

I am saddened to read today of the passing of well-known Baptist preacher, Adrian Rogers. I first heard of Adrian Rogers on his radio program, Love Worth Finding. Occasionally I would catch him on Christian TV. Pastor Rogers died on Tuesday, at age 74, after developing pneumonia from cancer treatment.

There are many Christian programs on the radio and on TV but few that are really deep in the teaching of the Word. Adrian Rogers' program is solid when it comes to teaching Christian orthodoxy.

Here's a portion of the statement issued by his family.

Although we had all maintained hope up to the very end for a miraculous restoration of his health, we are comforted in the knowledge that he is now resting in the presence of his Lord and Savior to whom he dedicated his life and ministry on this earth. We cling to the assurance of God’s grace, as He, in His infinite wisdom, has determined the right timing of his homecoming.

On various occasions, he had proclaimed: “when my time comes, don’t be sorry for me; I’ll be kicking up gold dust on the streets of glory.” Shortly after being admitted to the hospital diagnosed with cancer-induced pneumonia, he stated “this is a win-win for me,” indicating his confidence that, whether God chose to heal him or not, he was in his hands. Among the last words that he uttered before being hooked up to the ventilator which inhibited his speech during his last days were “I am at perfect peace.” His favorite Bible passage was Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I like the quotes from Pastor Rogers about being in a "win-win" situation. Spoken like a true saint.

"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:8

It's Diabetes Day

EVERY year, World Diabetes Day falls on November 14. World Diabetes Day was established by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization (WHO) in 1991, with the aim of coordinating diabetes advocacy worldwide. It has become the primary awareness campaign of the global diabetes community.

Diabetes runs in my family. My father has just been released from a one week's stay at the hospital after suffering complications from diabetes.

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. The chances of getting diabetes later in life is a distinct possibility for persons who have had gestational diabetes, and for me with a family history of diabetes, it is more a matter of when than if.

My father attends regular diabetic clinic at the Polyclinic in Miri, Malaysia and after each visit he'd come home with a month's supply of medication. The only problem I have with the diabetic care in Malaysia run by the government hospitals is that the patients are not very well informed about the management of their disease. My father did not even possess a glucose meter. He took his insulin as told, but he never monitored his glucose level or his diet. Ever since he started injecting himself with insulin, his health seemed to have deteriorated. The only conclusion I can gather as to why, is that his insulin intake was not sufficient to treat his glucose level. That was how he ended up in hospital recently. His glucose level was sky high, beyond what the glucose meter could read!

Now that my father is back home and after experiencing a near death experience, he'd be more careful about monitoring his glucose level and watching his diet. One of my brothers bought him a glucose meter, and we will make sure that he takes his glucose reading a few times a day. One of my father's biggest problem is that he is not prepared to spend as much as he has to to manage his diabetes. He can afford to spend the money on test strips and lancets for the glucose meter, but balked at the daily expense! I suppose now he cannot afford not to spend some money if he is to manage his diabetes well.

When I had my gestational diabetes, I had to visit the endocrinologist about twice a week for several weeks, and then also I had to visit a nutritionist who taught me how to manage my diabetes through diet. At one point, I was told to take insulin because my glucose level seemed to be high too many times in a week, but I chose to control my glucose level through a stricter diet. When I think about how I was taught to manage my diabetes, I am amazed that my father who has had diabetes for years and years now, was not made to go through the same thing. Sure, he was told to avoid certain kinds of foods but he was not encouraged to monitor the glucose level daily using a simple gadget like a glucose meter.

With the yearly observance of World Diabetes Day in Malaysia, I hope that more people will pay greater attention to the dangers and treatment of the disease. It appears that diabetes is on the increase in Malaysia, and as such greater education on the management of the disease is needed.

Moonstone, crystal, leaf necklace

Look at the beauty of the moonstones! :-) I love the translucent quality of the stone. I have done a few necklaces now with silver chains, and using chains in a necklace make the necklace look dainty.

Thanksgiving Preparation

In about 2 weeks we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving. This year, I will be hosting a Thanksgiving meal at my home. I have invited my in-laws, and nephew to this Thanksgiving dinner.

Last year I saw a special on the Today show on NBC. The show had celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, give a class in preparing a Thanksgiving meal. I was quite impressed by Jamie Oliver's turkey recipe and thought that I would be able to do it too. Ta da! I found the link to the show on the MSNBC site along with videos of the show where Jamie showed the Today show cast how to prepare the thanksgiving meal. I have watched the turkey recipe video over and over, and I believe I am ready for my first roast turkey! Heheheh. But I'll be sure to have other food on standby in case the turkey turns out to be a flop!

Being foreign born, the celebration of Thanksgiving is quite foreign to me. Sure, I'd heard of the celebration before, but didn't realize how big a celebration it is in this country. It is a pity that there is a moving away from the real history of Thanksgiving. Secularists have attempted to dumb down the roots of Thanksgiving. So I'd like to take this opportunity to share with everyone the real story of Thanksgiving. Here's a link to The True Thanksgiving.

Mammography

This morning I went for my mammography appointment. This was my first mammogram and a long over-due one. I don't quite know how to describe the experience, but the image of a fly under a fly swatter comes to mind! :-)

The little Asian female radiologic technologist was very friendly and she made the whole experience bearable. Four x-rays were taken and on the last one, I had this expressive look on my face - tongue out, eyes crossed - which really amused the technologist. What else could I do? Something was being compressed, and anyone who says a mammogram is enjoyable, must be a masochist. But one redeeming thing about the experience is that it is quick, not drawn out. Twenty minutes and I was out of there, and that included the waiting time.

I just hope that when the results are out, it won't be news that I do not want to hear. This method of breast cancer screening is not 100% accurate. Sometimes, a false-positive result is obtained. Who wants to hear a result that is not all clear even if it turns out to be false-positive? Just think of the anxiety and fear that arise while waiting for confirmation to see if the result is truly negative. Shudder.

For now, a mammogram seems to be the most reliable method for breast cancer detection. I urge all women to do self breast exam at least once a month and a mammography at least once in 4 years. Two friends of mine have died of breast cancer while in their 40s. :-( Anyone with a family history of breast cancer should take the availability of mammography seriously. Early detection and treatment increase the survival rate tremendously.

Kirkwood Retreat

Last weekend, Rhea, Kathy, Karen (friends from church) and I, went to Kirkwood for a weekend retreat. Kirkwood is located in the Sierra mountains at an elevation of 7, 800 feet. There were remnants of snow in the mountains because 2 days before, it had snowed there.

We arrived at the condo in Kirkwood late Friday night because Kathy forgot the keys to the condo and only realized it about 31 miles before we reached our destination! :-) We turned back to the closest restaurant/bar that had a phone that we could use. The bar-tender was an older man, and there were girlie pictures lined on the shelves behind him. He let us use the phone and Kathy and Rhea kept putting dollars on the bar, because he hinted that we could pay him with kisses if we didn't have enough dollars!

After much calling around without any solution to our predicament, we managed to persuade Richard, Kathy's husband, to drive 1 hour 20 minutes to meet us and give us the keys. All of us ladies voted Richard, Husband of the Year. :-)

After breakfast on Saturday morning we drove a few miles to the entrance of a hiking trail. The trail was called Carson Pass Trail situated in the Eldorado National Forest.

L-R: Me, Rhea, and Kathy

The forest was beautiful, and the smell of fresh pine was invigorating! I was totally out of shape and panted most of the way up the trail. :-) We took a little detour off the trail to look at Frog Lake.

Frog Lake

We took about 3 hours 20 minutes to complete our hike. Karen and Kathy went further than Rhea and I. That night I felt my leg muscles ache from the workout that I gave them earlier in the day.

After spaghetti dinner, Kathy and I did some scrap booking while Karen and Rhea watched Casablanca. After a couple of hours of scrap booking, I gave up and watched The Incredibles. The Incredibles is a really fun movie! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My first scrapbook. I started with Duncan's first year.

On Sunday, after a short worship time, clean up and laundry, Karen, Kathy and I took a walk on the grounds of Kirkwood. Kirkwood is more a skiing resort than anything else. It is really beautiful there with the mountains in the background.

We left Kirkwood at about 1.20 p.m. I did better on our way down the mountains than I did going up. I got sick and had to stop to throw on the way up! :-)

We hope to go back to Kirkwood in the spring for another retreat. According to Kathy the hiking trails are beautiful in the spring with wild flowers every where.

Halloween

Duncan, Denice and Dad with guys in Star Wars costumes

Last night, October 31, was Halloween. My church held its annual Harvest Carnival in lieu of Halloween. Last night was the first time I attended the carnival and we brought our young children to it.

The carnival was a big thing for the church and it was open to everyone who lived in the city of Galt. It was well attended and I enjoyed watching the children participate in the games, the rides, the petting zoo, and the pony rides. Duncan got to ride in a little ferris wheel. Denice was too afraid to ride in it. There was also free food and drinks and lots of candy for the kids.

Duncan coming out of the ferris wheel in his first solo ride


Duncan and Dad looking at the goats in the petting zoo

Iban Tattoos

Last night I watched a repeat of Taboo: Tattoo on the National Geographic Channel. This program was first aired in February 2003.

One segment of the program featured the much tattooed Ernesto Kalum (standing right in picture) of Borneo Headhunter, a tattoo studio based in Kuching, Sarawak. I was rather impressed by this young Iban man. He has, almost single handedly, revived the art of traditional Iban tattooing in Sarawak. According to his resume, he has won numerous awards for his craft at international tattoo conventions.

When I saw the program on National Geographic Channel, I felt the same way I did when I saw Sarawak featured in Anthony Bourdain's travel/food show. I was bursting with pride that the Iban people's culture of tattooing was seen in American homes via the television.

It is a pity, though, that Iban tattooing is a dying art. That is why people like Ernesto Kalum are important in preserving the Iban traditional art and practice of tattooing.

To the Iban, tattooing, among other things, is associated with spiritual beliefs, rites of initiatiation, symbols of social rank and accomplishments in war.

Iban tattoos are specific to particular parts of the body. For instance, images of jar appear on the neck, the brinjal flower on the forepart of shoulders; scorpion on the hands and other images appear regularly on the backs and legs. Interestingly, tattoos for women are predominantly on the hands and forearms with limited designs like bracelet, ring and dot; and tattoos on the throat are distinctively meant for men only. (Source: Welcome to Kapit Tourism)

I wish that the young Iban men who want to sport a tattoo or two on their bodies would choose the traditional motifs to the more modern western designs.

More Necklaces

The beads I used on this necklace is aventurine. Adventurine is quite soft, therefore bruises easily. But they are pretty and warm to the skin. :-)

I was at a bead show in Sacramento last year and I was like a kid at a candy store. I bought the orange-gray vintage beads at the show and have added pale colored swarovski crystals and silver metal beads for this creation.


This necklace is made of yellowish-brown glass beads. The beads were given to me by my mother-in-law who'd been collecting beads for years and years.