i met a friend who has been away for four weeks and she one of the first things she asked was, “have you lost weight?”
huh? is it possible to lose weight without lifting a finger to exercise afterall? even when i consume chocolates by the bars? and chewy cookies, cinnamon rolls and raisin loaves?
the best fat burner?
flu.
for the entire family.
been meaning to make brioche since last week, but hubby went away for four days and of course i didn’t have the time (and energy!) to do any baking until i’d relinquished my double-parent duty yesterday. for a first try, i think these came out quite well.
the recipe was very easy to follow and unlike some other baking endeavors, i didn’t have to add additional flour to account for the humidity here in singapore. am thinking of making another loaf with a bit more sugar and some candied citrus peel… kinda like a fruit loaf. we’ll see. i need to go easy on the sweet baked goodies, or i’ll really need double time on some fitness equipment!
the following is a paid review.
of late, i’ve been receiving many travel offers by email and ironically, if i were interested in making travel bookings, it would probably take me longer than ever to find the cheapest offers. i wish there was something as comprehensive as travelgrove that caters specifically to asia.
travelgrove is a meta search engine that helps travelers find the best deals on airfares, hotel rentals, car rentals, cruise deals and vacation packages. basically, they look for deals from companies and other travel websites and gather them up, so users can compare prices and choose the better deals. so you get to see all the best deals in just one place.
fancy a 4-night carribean cruise this fall for $199+? or fly to new york for as low as $153! or how about browsing the latest offers for flights to manila? these are just samples of the good travel offers you get to see, without trawling the entire web. cool, eh?
i wish there was something like this with focus on asia. would be handy for those times the travel bug bites and you’re looking for a getaway without breaking the bank!
one of the email groups i belong to consists of the first friends i’ve “met” online, back in ‘98 or thereabouts, while we were all still preparing for our weddings. now, more than 10 years later, we’ve reconnected, and it’s surprising how, on one hand, exchanging emails with these ladies feels almost like just as it was 10 years ago, and on the other hand, one clearly sees how far we’ve all gone with our lives, how much we’ve learned, how much we’ve grown.
not all of our discussions are profound. for example, i learned a practical tip about baking soda. i use it obviously for baking, and eliminating odors, but i never knew it’s an all-around cleaning agent, too! bathroom fixtures, floors, stoves and ovens, and even laundry! and one thing that floored me: it can be used as a face an body scrub, too! it probably won’t substitute for acne treatment, but a mom swears it gets the whiteheads out and you’d feel like you’ve had a diamond peel!
has anyone tried this? my face isn’t exactly problematic, and i hesitate using something i’d use to clean grouts to clean my face!
for the past 10 years or so, we have been loyal patrons of Amazon books and CDs, especially when we were in germany, where the selection of english books were limited. now that we’re here in singapore, we still order books online, but have found the international shipping costs to be almost too much to bear!
i’ve recently found an alternative to amazon, though, and they do ship worldwide, too. for FREE. for all bookworms, check out and compare prices from the book depository!
can hardly believe we’ve already entered the last quarter of the year! before yo know it, christmas will be upon us! for the last few years, the holiday season has been creeping up on me, i have not been able to send a single christmas card! i still prefer to send cards the traditional snail mail way, but i suppose i should just give in and send christmas photo cards instead.
the thing is…
hm, ok… i should be able get all for of us together for a decent family pic sometime in the next 10 weeks, eh? of the thousands of digital pics we’ve made this year, i think there’s just a handful with all of us in it, and not one is print worthy! 
now that his birthday is over, jan’s already started on is christmas wishlist. at the top of the list is something he already wanted for his birthday, but we decided is not yet appropriate for his age: PSP or playstation 3.
of course, he can’t understand why he can’t own one, when he was allowed to play on one when we were on holiday in the philippines, all cooped up indoors.
gee, i don’t know why some moms complain of the lack of mental stimulation if they stay at home. they probably haven’t tried arguing with a 7yr old smart aleck.
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