Butter Cake recipe (Requested by Ninang)

Baking cakes are fun~! This recipe is simple and it works.

Ingredients:

250g butter

1 ½ cup castor sugar (normal sugar is also ok)

4 eggs

4 cups of self-raising flour

1 cup of fresh milk

Vanilla essence

1/4 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate

1/4 teaspoon of double raising powder

Filling (Whatever you want. Chocolate rice or choc chips, mix fruits, cherries, sultana,...)



How to:

1) Make sure butter is in room temperature (not too hard). Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.

2) Add egg one by one. (Put the first egg then beat. Put the second egg and then beat…you get the idea.)

3) Add vanilla essence (as much as you like. I always put 1 ½ teaspoon or more because I like the smell of vanilla)

4) 2 cups of self-raising flour and then fold using a metal spoon. Cease folding when flour is no longer visible. Do not over fold.

5) Add the fresh milk.

6) Add the remaining 2 cups of flour. Fold.

7) Add sodium bicarbonate and double raising powder. It’s ok if you don’t have any double raising powder (Put 1/2 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate if you don't have double raising). The cake will still rise.

8) If you have some fillings, insert now and fold.

9) Heat the oven.

10) Bake at 170’ C for about 45 minutes.

11) Let me have a slice of your cake~!



P/S: If your filling is sweet, don't put in too much sugar. I like to put 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar depending on my filling. My sister once replaced fresh milk with susu cap junjung and she said it works just as well. I've never tried it though.

P/P/S: Good luck Ninang~!

P/P/P/S: HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011~! May we all be blessed with good health, love and wealth~!

Baked a cake

Hohoho if you're not familiar with me, Angie is my first niece. She is my big brother's eldest child.

9 days ago, she turned 5.

Aton and Angie

Baked a cake for her~! My mum & sister thinks I've put too much sodium bicarbonate (self-raising powder) and that they can smell it in the cake but I smell nothing~! Huhuhu maybe my sense of smell is rotting.

Here she is helping me making the fondant.

Got tired and took an unexpected nap like this. She was really sleeping, I thought she was bluffing but bluff she didn't~!

The product~! Hohoho it looks messy. I feel sorry for Angie because she had to endure this creation as her birthday cake.

But she said she liked it very much~! : D ...and no, we're not Chinese haha Angie picked that red cheongsam herself.

Sister in-law, Aton, Angie, Big bro. The happy birthday headband was too small for his head wakaka

Birthday girl blowing out her candles~! ---and Aton having a fit beside her. He wants to blow the candles too.

... and so his mum had to light the candles again just so he can blow it out.

I absolutely salute parents~! Taking care of kids are not easy. Or perhaps I'm just not gifted in that area. I am always a bit kind to them, giving them what they want and let them have their way huhuhu that's one way to let your head get stomped by their little feet XD

Anyway, it's Christmas Eve~! Merry Christmas to everyone and don't forget to leave the cookies and milk beside your Christmas tree~! HO HO HO

2D vs 3D

Today, I'd like to giveout my thoughts about watching movies in 2D and 3D. It's just my opinion though huhu I might change my mind in coming years hohoho

Point #1 = Expectation

3D: When I want to watch movies in 3D, my mind plays scenes of that movie (from the trailer) in my head and I start to build a really high hope for that movie. Thinking off all that out-of-screen effects and when it's not up to my expectation, the movie will suck (for me).

2D: Nothing to expect unless friends or reviews says that it blows the mind away but it doesn't blow my mind. Get what I mean? Huhu

Point #2 = Price

3D: RM15 in GSC. No student price. There are student price in Growball though... RM13 per ticket. I guess the remaining RM2 is for buying soft drinks. I think for watching 3D movies, it's best to go to GSC because they have a far better popcorn than Growball. I'd like to call Growball's popcorns healthy popcorns. Very few hints of caramel, the rest is white popcorn.

2D: RM5 in Growball, if you have a student card. If not, RM7. I think it's RM8 in GSC, RM7 if you have a student card. RM5 is very affordable for a poor student like me huhu

Point #3 = Side effects

3D: Sometimes the glasses hurt the bridge of my nose.

2D: Sometimes if I'm unlucky, the seats are not stable (Growball, hear me out~! But they're changing their seats for all the halls there). Sometime this year, a friend of mine and I went to see a movie and the chair failed her not once but twice~! It was a midnight movie so not many people were there so she just quickly switch seats.

Point #4 = Satisfaction

3D: No effect at all (Airbender~!) or very few effects (Toy Story 3, Rapunzel). Airbender was very dissapointing. I was wondering why the heck does this 3D movie have subtitles. Gah, it turns out that only the subtitle have the 3D effect. It stood out. The action doesn't harbour any effect at all. All the time I was thinking, "RM15 all to waste. I could've watched 3 2D movies in Growball~!" For Toy Story 3, maybe we were sitting waaaaaaaaaay back (does the position of your seat affect the effects?) Rapunzel... I don't know but only the lantern scene was fantastic.

2D: I guess I didn't have to think of other factors like money and the satisfaction of out-of-screen effects and just sit back, relax and enjoy the story and scenes.

That's it~! I've ran out of points : p
Sometimes, when I watch something in 3D and my friends watched it in 2D, I will say the movie is not good but they'll say that it was great. Huhuhu sometimes I think 3D hinders my judgement of movies.

Since Airbender, I am very sceptical of watching 3D movies. Don't get me wrong, I think 3D is an excellent idea. Just... some of the movies are not worth the money to watch in 3D. By far my best 3D experience was Despicable Me. Hohoho

Now, who wants to belanja me Tron?   

Christmas is just around the corner~! Hohoho

I visit a lot of blogshops these days. I browse everything from dresses, shoes, accesories, gadgets and perfumes. Seriously you can get anything from the net.

When I hear about Christmas, automatically the spirit of giving will come to mind.

And now, Diva Darling is giving out 3 I-want-them items hoho

#1

Limited Edition Estee Lauder Pure Lip Gloss Set

#2

Limited Edition Bobbi Brown Crystal Eye Palette

#3

Crabtree & Evelyn Lavender Duo Gift Set

If you want to participate too, just go to http://www.diva-darling.com/2010/12/december-holiday-giveaway.html

It ends on the 31st of December 2010~! Go go go~!

My sweet cupcake is dented~!

When my mum brought my car back from Tuaran yesterday, I saw the dent and my eyes started to water. Grrr... my car is 1 month shy of a year old and this happened to it. I seriously wanted to strangle the perp.

T.T

T,T

There were scratches on the wind shield (front mirror) too~!
The thing is, my mum wasn't even following the lorry (it was carrying pvc pipes) from behind it. It happened in a roundabout. As the lorry passed, the rope securing the pipes broke and by the law of gravity, the pipes fell and hit my car.

 Damn.

Btw, I'm grateful that my mum is ok.

Sadly, my car was not so lucky. (T.T)

I was planning to drive to Keningau today (Farrah is getting married~!) but it looks like I have to settle with a bus ride.

p/s: The perp promised to pay for the repairing fees. I hope he's a man who keeps his promises.

No confidence at all~!

Yesterday at the ticketing booth in GSC.

Ticket girl: What movie?

Me: Rapunzel 3D.

Ticket girl: What time?

Me: Mmm... pukul lima. (5 o'clock)

Ticket girl: Please pick a seat.

Me: Aiya, mo penuh suda ni! Jadi mana ko mo duduk? (Shucks, it's almost full! So, where do you wanna seat?)

My sister: Mmm... 

Me: K8, K9 lah. (My sister & I was debating over where to sit and I decided to go ahead and pick the center seat but it was the 4th row from the screen. I like to sit in the middle~!)

Ticket girl: You don't want the side seats? (Pointing to the seats on the monitor, the side seats were a lot further from the screen)

Me: Tidak lah. Namau seat yang tepi punya. (No, I don't want the side seats.) 

We ended up buying those 2 seats. The perpetrator of my hurting neck~!

Anyway, the reason I brought these dialogue up is because,... *big sigh* I have no confidence speaking the English Language to people~!

Not to be all big headed or anything but I consider myself pretty good in the English Language. Never did I failed any English test or exam I took. I secretly would feel satisfied whenever I got the highest mark. I like the language but I just... I don't know, I get really shy when it comes to actually speaking the language.

Can you imagine how I feel when it's time for an oral exam? Huh, I didn't like it. Impromptu kills me. When you write, you pretty much think about it thoroughly and you can just erase it and make some new sentences but when it's impromptu,.. nothing is erasable.

There's this one time on the elevator at the mall that some guy wanted to strike a conversation with me and I just... nodded, smiled  and muttered something in return. Hahahaha That wasn't even a tall, handsome foreign guy but a random friendly uncle asking me where I'm headed and whether I'm doing my Christmas shopping. Gah~!

The reason that I can come up with is that I'm terrified of saying something wrong. Huhuhu pretty silly but I'm working on this.

I might be teaching English Language in school later. But surprising to me, when I was teaching EL in school for my practical, I can speak well and worry free ehehe maybe because they're kids. It's natural to feel superior over them.

I'm determined to correct this flaw. Hohoho I will do my best whenever someone talks to me in this language~! Just don't think too much Judith~!

When the hair on your back stands...

... ghosts are nearby~! People say that all the time. I just gave myself goosebumps huuu...

Now, I think I have never encountered paranormal things before. Except kena tindih. Ermm... I'm not sure how to translate this term to the English Language. Perhaps, the feeling of being pushed down by something.

'The Nightmare' by Henry Fuseli

I usually experience this before falling asleep. Suddenly my body defies me. I cannot move at will. I felt as if something heavy is on top of me and my fingers experience numbness (semut-semut). My eyes were shut though I feel like I can open them a little but I refuse for fear of seeing *things*. Huhuhu most of the time I would not hear anything during these few seconds or minutes but I recall a few times that I heard sinister laughs of a woman and there was another time that I heard church bells. The sinister laugh was very terrifying~!

People tell me that to fight these things, you just have to move your big toe. Virtually impossible for me huhu I always panic and never remember to do this.

Some say to not fight it. Quit trying to move or scream. I find that this works~! I just lay still and it will pass.
I've heard stories from my friends that they sometimes see what is pinning them down. Some see dark shadows pinning them. My sister said she saw two shadows, 1 was pinning her down and the other smaller one was watching on her side. It's like the bigger shadow was teaching the smaller shadow how to do it. Huhuhu pretty funny. One friend saw a big cat pinning her down and another friend saw a woman pinning him down. Pretty but scary at the same time.

Is this phenomena caused by paranorml activities? Science explained it as sleep paralysis.

Pic from http://www.flickr.com/photos/arambulo/2243056949/

This temporary paralysis might cause people to experience seeing things, hearing things and tactile(feeling as if pushed down, numbness on fingers). It may happen before you fall asleep or before waking up from sleep.

Yeah, I experienced those symptoms.

Things that can trigger sleep paralysis are:

1. Sleeping facing upwards or supine position for too long.

2. Irregular sleep clock

3. Sleep/rest deprivation

4. Too much stress. Money/family problems are some.

5. Extreme change in lifestyle. (You've been sitting inactive in your house for so long a time and then suddenly you go mountain climbing or doing something extreme)

6. Narcolepsy

7. A lucid dream that precedes the episode of being pinned down.

8. Excessive consumption of alcohol coupled with lack of adequate sleep.

My kena tindih episodes peaked in Keningau during my foundation year. When we moved to Gaya, there was one semester that I experienced it a lot, that was the third semester.

I don't drink and I'm not narcoleptic. So that leaves the other triggers. I don't sleep in the afternoon and I usually sleep at 1 in the morning and wake up at 6.30am to go to class. You can say I was deprived of sleep but it wasn't irregular because my sleeping time is always like that everyday.

In Keningau, I would often go out to play badminton, tennis or volleyball with my friends. So... maybe it's some sort of lifestyle change.

Yours truly in yellow with brown cap.

I always played defence in school and suddenly I realized I could shoot too huhuhu : )

I was definitely stressed because this was my first time living far away from home and I was quite taken aback at the amount of work to be done in college.

Upon my research of sleep paralysis, I found out that this happens all around the world. In north America, it is associated with the old hag.

In Africa, they call it devil on your back.

This topic really fascinates me, if you want to read more about folklores surrounding sleep paralysis, do read it here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

So, all in all, I like to say that this pinned down experience is of sleep paralysis because the thought of being pinned by *things* scares me more huhuhu

Sweet dreams~!

Karambunai Nexus Pool Villa hoho~!

You know what's the sunny side of having a working big brother? Hohoho he takes the maknae (I'm the youngest~!) out to places you've never been before.

So, last week he & his wife was away from work and decided to stay in Karambunai Nexus' Pool Villa for a day. Hell, the place costs so much, extending the stay would burn a hole in his pocket.

My 2nd brother and I arrived late hoho it was around 8.30pm that we hit the place. Check out was the day after.

The moment I entered the house, I was thinking; "This is my dreamhouse~!" It's a semi-detached house fully equipped with electrical appliances with contemporary design you just gotta love. It's not too small and not too large hohoho

This is the backyard. The beach were just steps away~! At night, you'll hear the sound of waves crashing onto the sand. I love love love it~!

Pool side. These doors can be opened and reveal the living room. We didn't open them lest the water will come in.

The gazebo (can we call this a gazebo?) overlooking the beach. It's a perfect place to look out for the youngs ones swimming too.

At night, my 2 borthers and I played cards in the gazebo. Played chor tai dee (not sure how it's spelled!) and lost terribly. There was this one time that I was sure I'm gonna win when I had four 8's and a 4 but my big bro had four 10's and a 3. Dammit~!

The Pool Villa serves you with 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, 2 plasma tvs subscribed to ASTRO (1 in the living room and the other in the master bedroom), a dining area, 3 pools (2 for kids and 1 for adults), a patio/gazebo, and free breakfast for 4. It costs RM8++ a night. Add the tax, it sums up to RM1012 a night. Grrr... a hefty price, I'd say.

They also have apartments here. They cost about RM5++ a night.

I like the high ceiling.

Nice idea for your house huhuhu

Clockwise from left: Kitchen, dining area, kitchen peek.

The kitchen has a fridge, microwave, sink grinder, heater and smoke ventilator. The kitchen is so small. If I want a house, I'd like a larger kitchen. Hohoho

Space saver~! When you open the mysterious door, it reveals an ironing board and iron~!

This is the master bedroom bathroom. I like how the mirrors are so large~! Ooo jacuzzi~!

This is actually what you'll see from the bathroom. It is situated right next to the jacuzzi.

I've never been in a jacuzzi tub before so I was very very very excited to try it. It is relaxing and ticklish at the same time~! Especially when the water jets shoots right at the soles of my foot. Huhuhu I can spend hours in the tub~!

Like how I can spend hours in the pool~!!! I realized last week that I love swimming~! Ahem, granted that I can still feel the bottom of the pool lah. I don't think I can swim if the pool is 6 feet or deeper. Scary~!

I was so surprised that the pools were inches away from the house.

The right hand side pool where Angie and Anderson was playing in were just beside the master bedroom. It was great because my sister-in-law could watch them from inside the room.

This place is near the dining area. I always forgot to take my towel before I canon balled into the pool so I purposedly left my towel on the dining chair hoho very practical.

A view of the whole pool. It is 4 feet deep. I still can't believe I can swim from one end to the other~! Huhuhu 23 years old and I'm proud of this fact hahaha

You know how kids nowadays a very gadget savvy right? Angie likes to play around with my digicam and took these photos for me.

A bit blurry la Angie~! That's me swimming. hahaha

She told me to give a V.

Then she told me to do water gymrama.

Anderson ruining Angie's moment. Hahaha Oh look, there's a butterfly~! : p

7.30am we went for breakfast. Hohoho the buffet had everything from multiple juices, cereal, bread, muffin, fruits, chicken curry, beef slices, pan cakes, noodle & rice, etc. 

Big bro. Thank you~!

I enjoyed my brief stay there. Lots of other activities were available like snorkelling, jetskiing, kayaking, batik making, tennis, ping pong, karaoke, etc but there was not enough time to try them. I had fun in the house anyway : ) I doubt it that I'll be here or someplace like this again in the near future. Hohoho goodbye Pool Villa Nexus Karambunai~!!!