I thought some of you might be curious to see what were some of the first clues revealed in the fortune cookies . So here you go... Any ideas on what the surprise might be yet??? * cheeky grin *

Hubby's birthday is coming up soon in May. I've been planning something special leading up to the big day. After some contemplation, I came up with what I believe to be a romantic and definitely creative idea... I can't tell you what the big finale on the actual day is because hubby reads this blog as well. But I decided to prepare some clues for hubby every day to build up the anticipation up until his birthday. At first I thought of putting the clues in little envelopes which he can open each day, but then I had a sudden epiphany... FORTUNE COOKIES!!! After doing a bit of research, I found out that they were not that difficult to make... just requires a bit of thought and preparation. This is the recipe I used: Ingredients 2 large egg whites 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 te...

Our chilli plant is fruiting!!! Hope it continues to thrive well on hubby's potent worm tea and grow big and strong so I can have lots and lots and lotssssss of chillies!!! So mum, you can breath a sigh of relief that our little green charges are still alive... and thriving! I hope our little chilli plant grows up big and strong. Hubby's next task will be to transplant it to the garden bed. (Hmmm... is it safe to transplant a plant while it's fruiting though???)

So by popular demand, here is a glimpse of how our little baby worms are doing: There they are... all happily wriggling and thriving on our vegetable and fruit scraps. Hubby has been doing some research and is planning to make some tweaks to their polystyrene box so we can harvest the worm tea (some kind of powderful fertilizer liquid produced by the worms which is so potent, it needs to be diluted with nine parts water before pouring on the plants). Other updates on our garden activity: We recently planted the 'pencil plants'... they'll soon grow taller to add an elegant touch (and as mum puts it, add some grace) to our home. The bushy plants we took from Uncle Yu Chang's house have not died and are starting to flower. Live plants = Good. The chilli plant we took from Aunty Alicia's garden, still green. And I believe it also holds true that Green = Good! However the growth of the capsicum seed planted by mum has been a little stunted. It hasn't grown much larg...

I'm sure mum is eager to hear some updates on our gardening activity. On Sunday we went to a nearby nursery to scout around for plants and other garden ideas. Here are some of the plants that I liked so far: Bronze Baby Flax - love the rich red tones I like the dual green and red tones of the leaves... but we were told that it flowered bright pink flowers, I need to think twice about this one This will grow to a tall elegant tree-like plant Something for our side garden beds? In the end we decided to start with four of these Japanese shrubs... hubby bought some manure to plant them in. Will show you the pics when they are planted in.

We didn't expect to receive many presents this Christmas. But a few people here and there have been generous enough to grace our Christmas tree with some pressies. So no need to wrap up 'pretend' empty boxes with wrapping paper to cover the bareness of the metal tree legs. Among the lovely presents we received this year included... House warming gift cards - always a good thing to have Solar Lights for our garden... very nice! A very chic wine glass holder... (I like your style, Audz) A bohemian looking vase (thanks Secret Santa!) And one of my top favourites: The coveted Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker!!! I must have been a very good girl this year. But more likely, I'm simply surrounded by very very good friends!

33 minutes left till Christmas Day 2008. My shopping is all done (more or less)... My cookies are all baked... My house is all cleaned (pretty much)... and we're set and ready to get into the holiday mood. So there's no better time then to wish you all a Blessed and Happy Christmas!!!

Hubby and I are not really into buying gifts for each other... e.g. Christmas, Birthdays, Anniversaries etc. We prefer to do something or go somewhere together... the whole quality time thing, you know. But since this year, we are furnishing the house and getting settled into it pretty close to Christmas... our household items shopping has been pretty much translated into Christmas shopping, as we fall right into the middle of all the Christmas sales and promotions and festivities. So we decided to consider the following practical items as this year's Christmas presents to ourselves: Sony Bravia 40" LCD Full HD TV Electrolux 520 Litre Fridge

It's that time of the year again where the kitchen starts to smell oh so yummy! Here are a couple of snippets of Christmas cooking projects I've been up to so far... Project Numero Uno : The 'cheat' version of elegant fruit cake (only 2 basic ingredients required) Base ingredient #1: Hubby's Favourite Home Brand Fruit Cake... no need the fancy schancy labels, hubby still likes Home Brand the best. Slice it into small squares (approx 6 pieces) Base ingredient #2: Ready Mix Fondant Icing. Roll it out flat to a about 2-3mm thickness Then wrap up the little cakes in the fondant icing... this took a bit of time to perfect it, trimming the edges, smoothing the surfaces etc... but it's quite fun, like playing with play-doh And for a special touch, add some ribbons for a lovely little pressie! Hubby liked it very much! He said it was a classy twist to one of his favourite snacks Project Numero Dos : Honey Glazed Ham (an impressive looking dish which is actually quite ea...

We had a simple but memorable time during mum and dad's recent trip to Perth... Proof that daddy cooks!!! Mum, I'm still keeping a lookout for any sale or promotions on your coveted blouse... And rest assured that we are looking after the precious little baby plants - they're still green and thriving (the earthworms are looking happy too!) More photos of mum and dad in Perth >>here More evidence of dad's cooking >>here