Away from 14th to 21st Mar....

SoCal here I come!

Book Crazy

Hubby was ordering a set of books on amazon.com. He was asked if there was anything that I wanted, cause there was free shipping or something. So I went crazy and ordered 9 books!

Here they are :

But alas, in the haste of ordering, I neglected to note that I already had one of them.

It's ok. I'd probably do a giveaway for that in a couple of weeks' time.

Sweet Treats - Egg Tarts

You know those egg tarts they have at the Chinese Dim Sum?

Well, I made some. They were nice but way too sweet for my liking. Thought I'd share the pictures and the recipe that I used.

Egg Tarts

Ingredients for Crust
1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 T sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled
1 large egg


Ingredients for Filling
1/2 cup sugar

(you might want to reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup instead)
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup milk


Method
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine flour, sugar and salt.
3. Add in butter and mix till crumb-like.
4. Add in the egg until the dough is heavy.
5. Mould dough into a ball and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
6. For filling, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until sugar dissolved.

(Do not make the mixture light or foamy)

Whisk in milk.
7. Divide the slightly chilled dough into 10 equal parts.
8. Press each one evenly into a mould/muffin tray to form small tart shells.

Press pastry until it comes about 2/3 of the way up the side of the mould.
9. Pour the filling into the tart shells, filling them near to the top.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes. (Filling somewhat wobbly)
11. Cool for about 30 minutes in the pan.

Altered Clipboard

Bought a clipboard from Walmart when they were having the clearance sale for the back-to school supplies last year. I forgot to take the before-picture, but here is the after.

I am not very crafty, so pardon the smudge on the 'One Thing' wordings that I had stamped. :p

Organization

Am trying to purge out things in an effort to de-clutter.

Discovered a duplicate of a book on Travel Scrapbooking. Also discovered lots of new and unused costume jewelry that were either bought or made (like in one of my posts, when I was into beading).

I am contemplating about giving these away on my blog once a week to give away these but I am not sure if there's anyone reading. I am encouraged by the visitor counter and I can see some people visiting. Hopefully my blog is just a teeny-bit interesting enough to bring visitors for my giveaway to work. :p

I am going for an entire week from Mar 14 to 21. So I will start the giveaway when I am back.

Project

Am planning to do a whole album on someone I am trying to get to know.

I have decided to complete this project by April as a form of self-discovery as well. I had seen a counsellor 3 to 4 years back and through the sessions, I have discovered that I know little about myself and what I like. Yes, I am doing a whole album on myself.

I have 2 brothers and being the middle girl, I felt that I always had to "fight" for attention, when they dun even have to try. My dad is always working. My mum dotes on the boys more. As such, I have always been trying to please others and hence ended up making choices that would please others. For example, if I were asked anything, I will tell her what I think she wants to hear. My counsellor said my behavior has drowned out my own desires. I extended this behavior to all the people around me, my hubby, friends and colleagues. We both agreed that it is kind of sad that in my 30s, I still have no clue what I like - things even down to color choices.

It is true, and I do not even know how to say no. I ended up always being stressed up cause I have so much to do (having promised to do all the things I was asked to). Finally, I sort of had a breakdown at work in 2000/2001. I have become very emotional and crying at all sorts of things. I became bitter and depressed. It became sort of impossible to work without emotional drama as I seemed to have broken down - the part where I could keep my emotions in check.

I thank God that I have a husband who really cares and supports me. Even though he has no clue what was wrong with me - I had no clue either. I have not worked since July 2001. I was blessed again when I was able to have counselling sessions in 2005/6. Notice the tons of 'I's in this entry, you can see that I am much better. (^_^)

After the counselling, I was able to separate myself from 'bad behavior' in baby steps. Now I enjoy spending time with myself with lots of hobbies. I might not be good at any of them but it's a self-discovery process. I still struggle with telling others no and telling them what is it that I like, but at least sometimes I do it. It is easier to do so with my hubby - he has seen the improvement and is always encouraging me. Now and then I still get dragged through the mud after talking on the phone with my mum - but I am determined to be strong and not put down.

Anyways, I am happy now. I am thankful for still being here and breathing. :) I am thankful that despite the bad times, I still get to pursue my hobbies. I am thankful that I can still have the time to discover myself.

Necklace & Earring Set

Just something I made sometime ago.

A matching set of necklace n earrings.