Taking time to sit back and relax

I saw Nigella making these pancakes with a blueberry maple syrup to go along with the pancakes on Discovery Living and Travel channel the other day. I thought to myself i could make me a batch of those someday but what i read in yesterday's Sunday Times spurred me to go plead with Hubbie to run out to buy some of the ingredients that were needed to make those pancakes with the syrup. Blueberry pancakes (another version) was also featured in the paper... so i knew it was a sign and i told Hubbie that i was having a craving... Alright, i know i am rambling... so going to leave you with the recipe and some photos from my try on the pancakes.

 
These pancakes were surprisingly really easy to whip up and cooks real quick too!

Sinful bubbling golden blue blueberry maple syrup....

Ready to be served....

Ingredients
For the dry pancake mix
600g/1lb 5oz plain flour
3 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
40g/2½oz caster sugar
To make the pancakes (amounts
per 150g/5¼oz dry mixture)
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
250ml/9fl oz milk
1 tbsp melted butter
For the blueberry syrup
125ml/4½fl oz maple syrup
200g/7oz blueberries

Method

1. For the dry pancake mix, place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix
well. Transfer to an airtight container,
seal and store until needed.

2. To make the pancakes, add the appropriate quantity of egg, milk and melted butter per 150g/5¼oz of the dry
mixture (a filled American cup measure will give you the requisite amount per
batch, so
    you may like to use one and dispense with any weighing). Mix well
to form a smooth batter.

3. Heat a flat griddle or non-stick frying pan without adding oil.

4. Spoon drops of 1½-2 tablespoons of the batter onto the hot griddle and when bubbles appear on the surface of the
little pancakes, flip them over and cook until golden-brown on both sides. It
should
    take about a minute per side.

5. Meanwhile, for the blueberry syrup, place the maple syrup and blueberries
into a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce
the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the blueberries have broken down
slightly.

6. To serve, pour the blueberry syrup into a jug and take to the breakfast
table with the pancakes. If you have any of
the syrup left over, you will notice that it sets into a kind of glossy jam. This
will keep 
    for a few days decanted into a jar and put in the fridge, and is glorious
dolloped into yoghurt or spread on bread.

Definitely, Maybe

Had dinner at Sakae Sushi and a movie ("Definitely Maybe") date with Hubbie on Friday. It was a really good sushi meal which we both enjoy and the movie was definitely a cute one.

Main man, Will Hayes' (Ryan Reynolds) daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin) had her first class on sex education in school and she was asking her dad all sorts of questions including how he met her mother. So Will ends up telling her his love story of the three women in life that he had dated, loved and parted. During the movie, we are shown flashbacks of how Will met the three women and it was set during Bill Clinton's presidential campaign right up to his impeachment. Since it was set in the 1990s and the start and boom of the internet, there was a scene where Will was trying to connect to the internet from the hotel using.... dial-up! *grin* Anyone remember how it was like when the internet just started and the modem had to dial-up to get connected??? Remember the sound????? *grin* Oh that brought back memories....  

Another element of the movie that hit home for me is the part where April (Isla Fisher) is searching for a copy of Jane Eyre which has an inscription written by her dad who died in a car accident when she was 13 and when the family moved later on the book was lost. When Will found the book, the inscription inside read ....“The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence
sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose
charms were broken if revealed”

I have a storybook that is very dear to me that also has a special inscription - Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook.

  

This was what Hubbie wrote in this present to me back in 2001 when we were just friends. *grin* Such a cool prediction don't you think?

Term 2
Just something i decided to do to chase away some working blues.... it's the start of the new school term tomorrow and i am really looking forward to seeing the kids again. However, i don't look forward to the admin work and portfolio stuff and other misc. stuff that is needed to be completed over the term. So just a lil blast from the past ...

SUN SUN GLORIOUS SUN

Spent the good part of this morning sun drying all the clothes i had washed up the day before and last nite in the hope that they get nice and dry and smells like they have been kissed by the sun.*heehee* So yeah play tic-tac-toe all morning with the clothes. *heehee*

  
Can you spot the differences?

Angel Clay @ Pauseability

It was another rainie day and the short-lived morning sun cheated my feelings cos i struggled to open my eyes and when i realised that there was sun my mind scream "Laundry! Can dry!". I jumped out of bed and started hanging out the clothes to get as much sun as possible so that they can finally dry properly. I love sundried clothes cos i love how they smell. However, not more than an hour later it all turned all gloomie again and rain fell in no time. DRATS! *grumbles*

After i had folded all the clothes that were piled up on the 3-seater sofa, i decided i should get out of the house and head down to Pauseability early so i can get away from the distractions that were presented to me at home and work on new ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I managed to start and finish drawing 2 new ones but there was a mother-son Angel Clay session going on at the same time that i was distracted. Finally, i exclaimed that i wanted to finally get my hands on some Angel Clay and these are the lil creations i made.... hehehe.

Doggie and Kittie.... Me and Hubbie.

My take on the mini cupcakes.

Using Angel Clays to sculpt these lil creations was easy once you get the hang of it. Plus, to add the colours all you had to do was dab the colour highlighter of choice onto the clay and knead. More you dab the more intense and richer the colour. I wonder if i should introduce this to my kids...

A Semblance of Life during Mid-Semester Break

One of the increasing comments made by Zalila and myself this weekend has been : "Wow, we seem to have more of a social life this week.". Why? Because of the 1 week mid-semester break that started on Saturday. So far, we have made plans for me to 'crash' her cousin's wedding that happened across the road from where i am. That happened this afternoon. Followed by a trip to Terminal 3 for Monday for a nice stroll and basically cam-whoring. Finally, if all goes well and the weather is fair and not rainie we will head to Sentosa to catch the sunset and walk around the beach. So yeah, some semblance of a social life when we have a holiday.... and for once we didn't have to head back to work for more than a day. All we had to do we go back on Monday to tie up loose ends and finish cleaning up the place.

Last nite, Zalila once again invited me to 'crash' her cousin's wedding... i did ... not the solemnisation cos that is a no no... but i did 'crash' the reception. Well, i said 'crash' cos i wasn't officially invited but Zalila told her cousin, Norlin, that i was dropping by. I made a mention that this is the first time i am going to be dressing up nicely and all i have to do is walk down my block and across the street to the event. *heehee*

Anyways, i got there in the middle of the dance ceremony and silat routine. The bride and groom were seated in their dias which resembled a very cosy, contemporary living room than a more traditional dias i am used to seeing. Though i really liked the colour of the bride's outfit ... it was a nice shade of magenta and had a mermaid-like form for the bottom. Of course, Zalila and i started snapping away on our cameras but i had a lil advantage since Hera (my canon powershot a640) comes equip with a tilt and swivel LCD. *heehee*

  

We also managed to repeat a similar 'flower snatching' activity that seems to be a trend for us.... when the caterers were cleaning up the place and removing the table cloths and chair covers, Norlin's mom urged us to take the centerpieces since they would be thrown out anyways. So Zalila and i grabbed two pots of red and white roses each and proceeded to move the flowers from one pot to the other. *heehee*

While we waited for the bride and groom's return after visiting the groom's side of the family in another reception, Zalila and i sat at the guestbook table cos suppsedly that was her duty - to guard the guestbook and encourage the guests to sign and jot down their well-wishes for the newlyweds. However, what she and i ended up doing was to sit at the guestbook table snacking every now and then from the buffet spread. *heehee* The buffet spread defnitely had some tasty desserts and kuih-kuihs rthat we both kept going back for more. *heehee*

When the newlyweds finally came back, i was floored by the gown that the bride was wearing for the final leg of the reception. I kept going and sqeauling to Zalila under my breath that the gown was gorgeous and how the bride look stunning in it. So yeah i think i will let the pictures do the talking for me. *Heehee*

  
Look at the gown!!!

Overall, it was nice to relax and just let loose with Zalila over the weekend and just have a good laugh like we always do.   

Parents Week Long Trip to Fukuoka - Pre-Departure

It has been a long while since i have posted an entry and for good reasons. The last 3 weeks of the first term in school has been nothing short of hectic and throughout it all i had to battle the flu bug that wrecked my body for two consecutive weeks which eventually led to a 'bout of UTI. I was advised by my doctor to take sick leave for a day or two in the first two times i saw her but i had too many projects to complete with the kids that i decided not to take up the tempting offer. I paid the price for being stubborn and in the last couple of days with my body finally shut down and i burnt out.... badly. Thankfully, with the two days that i had to take sick leave over the week to sleep and rest the day away i was able to recover and feel a lil less sickly yesterday to make it down to Brewski Jones to meet Kenneth and Wynnie for dinner.

Tonite, hubbie, my bro and myself sent my parents off at the airport for their week long holiday trip to Fukuoka, Japan. They were departing from the newly operational T3 and i was eager to see what it was like for myself. This only means..... PHOTO OPS! *heehee*

Walking towards the group check-in row (#9) for SQ flights.

The tour guide, Mr. Matsuki passing my parents their boarding pass and briefing them the final details before their flight.

Can't wait to see the photos and clips mom will take on the new Sony digicam of the sights they will be seeing in Fukuoka.

A Sad Update

Kenneth's gf Wynnie was really sweet enough to lend me her spare Nokia 3110 Classic phone. So right now i have a phone to tie me over till i get a new phone.

I've had a really tiring day and it only hit me just 5 secs ago as i type this as to why i feel so worned out... This afternoon i found out that one of my kids in the afternoon class lost his mom to cancer early Saturday morning. He has told us that his mom has been in hospital for the last couple of weeks and she has not been sending him or picking him up from school since the new year started. We only found out last Wednesday from another kid's grandmother what she was in hospital for. A couple of us with a couple of parents went to visit the family. It was heart-breaking to hear that as a mom she had to distance herself from the kids so that they would not be attached to her and make it easier for them when it was time for her to go. She was only 36... Life really can be short...