Idol Conversation

Me: “Ma, I’m going off now, is there anything you want me to get?”

Mum: “They shouldn’t have done it!”

Me: “Done what?”

Mum: “Boot Michael out last week. It was Idols Give Back week!”

Me: “Michael? Who? No, no, I asked if you wanted anything from the store. Milk? Bread?”

Mum: “Ryan shouldn’t have implied that there would be no elimination this week…”

Me: “Erm, okay… I’m going now.. bye!”

This Entry is Full of Cruciferous Vegetables

As expected, after my previous entry, I went on to eat a lot of junk – half a pack of Arnotts chocolate-covered Scotch Fingers, a quarter of a family-sized bar of Haigh’s dark chocolate and 7 pieces of luscious coffee cream filled chocolates from Darrell Lea. So. Much. Chocolates! (It is PMS at work?)

Today, I decided to give my body a break. I won’t think of unhealthy foods for a change and I’m dedicating this entry to vegetables. First a love letter to a cute floret:

Dear Broccoli,

I ♥ you.

I do admit my love for you is sadistic by nature. I love you sautéd, steamed and boiled; I love you roasted, grilled and puréed. In fact, I’d eat you raw any day.

I tend to misspell your name as “Brocolli”. Please accept my apologies, I am only human. But don’t let them tell you you’re just another vegetable. I’m aware of your superpowers and have actively lobby for your cause for many years now.

Looking forward to many more years together (mostly with you in my tummy).

Love,
M

I was eating a piece of steamed broccoli just now when it hit me — I really, really love the taste of broccoli. So sweet and flavourful, I rate it second only to its pale cousin, the cauliflower. I wonder if there’s anyone else who loves broccolis and cauliflowers as much as I do.

Speaking of cauliflowers, I recently discovered the existence of a purple variety:

Image from Wikipedia

WOW! What a beautiful work of art. And I thought purple cabbages were fancy. I’ll try some if I can find them in the supermarket.

And speaking of works of art, check out this fractal romanesco broccoli.

Photo by Jon Sullivan, pdphoto.org

Out of this world?! I imagine it tasting similar to broccoli but with a fuzzier texture. Has anyone tried this before? Do share your experience!

That’s it for today. I hope I’ve inspired some of you to eat your greens. Or purples. LOL!

Food Trip

I have a habit of imagining eating different food when I’m working. It leaves me hungry and irritable for many hours. But I do it anyway. I sometimes describe my cravings in detail to B, causing one or both of us to eventually cave in to mindless snacking. I’ll share it with you guys here today:

Good, hot coffee in a paper cup.
First the cup (I have a thing for paper cups)– a thick uncoated stock, slightly rough to the touch. Then the coffee — dark with an unmistakable intoxicating aroma. I add a little milk, stir it gently and take a long, slow sip.

Oreo cheesecake
Slightly salty, a hint of bitterness, all rich and sweet. No, thanks, I can’t, wait, yes please, just a small slice. For now.

Fresh salmon sushi
Succulent, sweet salmon and a touch of wasabi on top of vinegared rice. I dip it ever so slightly in soya sauce and think to myself, “Lyn (a friend who doesn’t eat raw fish) doesn’t know what she is missing”

Shiny glazed donut
Sinking my teeth into a warm pillow of deliciousness, the glaze crack and crumble onto my lap. My pants are dirty but my mouth is happy. :o

Chocolate almond bar
This is it — the perfect chocolate bar – in between milk and dark. A dark milk? Or a milky dark? It doesn’t matter, really. There are almonds, toasted to brown perfection with every satisfying bite.

Pancakes
See formula for simple happiness number 2.

What are you craving today?

100 Ideas for Your Blog

I’ve just finished reading this– No One Cares What You Had for Lunch – 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason of Mighty Girl — in less than two hours.

Someone gave me this book because I was telling everyone how hard it was to find new ideas to post everyday for a month last month (I was on NaBloPoMo March blogroll). I wished I’d read this book earlier!

From the blurb “(this book) offers inspiration for bloggers who want to contribute something worthwhile — and perhaps build an audience.”

There are many suggestions worth considering, if you are maintaining a personal blog (like Growing Happiness). Here are some of my favourites:

19. Give us your scraps – Share your notes / clippings. If you think it’s worth saving, it’s worth sharing.

Here’s the latest entry in my Google Notebook:

importunate: troublesomely urgent

I’m pretty sure I’ll find a need for this word soon.

26. Share your expertise – Do you have a foolproof hangover cure? I’ve actually done this with my Best Cure for Hiccups post.

47. Promote truth – Outline truths you believe to be universal.

Note: This is not a book about how to write a blog, make money online, generate traffic or search engine optimisation, it is about ideas, ideas most suitable for a personal journal. I have to add this because I feel that it got some unfair reviews on Amazon, mostly from people expecting this book to be “about blogging”.

Another thing: the book is short — this is can either be good or bad — and I personally like it that way .

Gently, Quietly

The weather is cooler today.

I’m transported back to the time we were walking along the tree-lined avenue of Omotesando, near Harajuku Station. We strolled, in the gentle autumn breeze, all the way to the end of the road, where it got quieter and less crowded. At one point, there was only us and the trees; the luxury stores literally minding their own businesses, behind their imposing facade. A beautiful place, a beautiful moment.

I took in the majesty of that delicious solitude with a tinge of fear. I was afraid I’d never have that feeling again. In a few minutes, we’d be met with the bustling, Blade Runner metropolis that is Tokyo. But what was worse, in a few days, we’d be back home, pining for a little bit more time to satiate our wanderlust.

The weather is cooler today. As I saunter back home on a busy street that has mysteriously quieten, I feel as though I’m back at Omotesando, just me and the trees. :)

Saved by a Sketchbook

I have a lot of sketchbooks which I alternate between, depending on my mood or where I’m going to, but for a few months now, I’ve stuck to an A5-sized sketchbook with brown pages that resemble kraft paper. It is now my favourite sketchbook. I’d be very pissed if anything were to happen to it.

For no reason whatsoever, I decided to bring along a second sketchbook with me as I go out for breakfast today. I wolfed down my breakfast, did a few quick sketches and then decided to go home. I’d usually take my time to eat, draw, write and soak in the sights and sounds around me. But I needed to use the bathroom and since I really hate dirty toilets (I don’t know for sure if the toilet there was actually dirty, I just assumed it was), coupled with the fact that my home is only 2 minutes away, I decided to rush home.

Back home, I put my shopper bag on the dining room table, did my “business”, and then proceeded to play with one of the cats for awhile. When I came back to the dining area to get my bag, I found it dripping wet. With pee. Lots of pee.

To say that I’m annoyed at the situation would be the understatement of the century. I took out the contents of my bag and assessed the damage. My coin purse, a birthday present which I only started using recently, was soaked. My wallet and everything inside it was marinated with Eau de Chat. Among other things, 10,000 yen (money left from my Tokyo trip which I’ve totally forgotten about until now), business cards, pieces of paper containing ideas for my projects, a stack of receipts I needed as part of my business records, all tainted with the yellow tint of urine.

As I pulled out one wet item after another, I found my favourite sketchbook intact, dry as can be, wrapped between the pages of my second sketchbook, which took the brunt of the pee-age. Ha ha! Lucky me!

I spent the next hour cleaning, disinfecting and laying out things to dry. But let’s not focus on that. :|