Formerly known as Giftslocker

Be careful what you wish for

GB Mistress — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:50:00 GMT

I've been thinking about this for a while. I daydream, but I don't really believe in dreams come true. Somehow, a few things I used to dream of became reality:

1) Always wanted to live by myself - 2002, I finally moved out of my parent's...mom was so angry she didn't talk to me for 2 week!
2) A non-clingy boyfriend - 2003, I met Mr. A...he's so non-clingy sometimes I mistaken him for not caring.
3) Having my own place - 2004, with my parent's help I got an apt in a remote area far from the city center...it's so remote->
4) I wanted to move back to the city - 2008, lucky enough to have sold my old apt and everything else I could to get my new apt in the city.
5) Non-clingy bf live not too close but close enough - my new apt in the city center is practically 5 minutes walk from Mr. A's apt.
6) Evil aunt quit working for my parents - from the beginning, I knew she's a 2-face monster and wondered why she didn't quit sooner as she appeared to hate her job and us for years. Finally, she quit in Jan, 2008.

Now that I've got a taste of it, I want more.

It's so wonderful to get the things you want...may your dreams come true too.

food-shoes+clothes

GB Mistress — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:36:00 GMT

why does good food have to be so fatty? pretty shoes and clothes have to be so uncomfortable?

US-Canada trip July-2009

GB Mistress — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:05:00 GMT

When Mr. A (half-heartedly) asked if I want to join him on his US-Canada trip, no way I thought I can because of work. It was have been a real shock to him (might even been a bit uncomfortable) when I said "I'm coming with you." I've always thought it'd be nice if I can show him the familar places in SF myself. Thanks to cousin-Q, I got on board to this trip. With 2 new staffs who's still not on auto pilot mode at work, it's risky for me to take 3 weeks off. But I thought this is the best shot I've got...going back to SF with Q and Mr. A, and have a sort of 10yr reunion with my friends in Vegas!!! So, here's the plan...

10-14Jul-09 SF (Hotel Rex in downtown)
14-19Jul-09 LV (Paris Hotel)
19-20Jul-09 Calgarary (Westin downtown)
20-22Jul-09 Banff (Mr. A hasn't booked a place yet)
22-26Jul-09 LA (Bro's new home)

I'm soooooooooo excited!

how do you let go...even more?

GB Mistress — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:43:00 GMT

when your workers start pushing the boundary and testing your limits, what do you do? what CAN you do? the mediocre ones are as bad as they are. even the reliable/responsible ones become distracted and start slacking off and become less responsible.

people are so difficult. i preferred working alone since i was a kid...never liked team projects. even in yoga class, sometimes we have to pair up for some exercise. never liked it. customers are very difficult as well. wish i don't have to deal with any human beings...too hard.

urrrrrrrgh

Russian River

GB Mistress — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:42:00 GMT

Many thoughts often go through my mind while resting at the end of my yoga practice. [I'm not supposed to think of anything at that stage of the practice. ] A few days ago, thoughts invaded again. I saw myself river rafting on Russian River...with my brother-K, cousins and friends. It's a memory from nearly 20 years ago. A very happy memory, thanks to my big cousin-Big Al. He used to go on these day trips+camping trips+parties at his friends and always invites me and my brother-K along. If it wasn't for Big-Al, my pathetic teenage life would have been much more miserable. It was Big-Al's birthday the day these wonderful memories hit me. I miss the good old days and want to say "Thank You" to Big Al for the first time. Thanks for keeping us beneath your wings all those years!

1930s Shanghai Theme Party [28 Feb 2009] - 5 star hotel

GB Mistress — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:23:00 GMT

When was the last time I had so much fun? Don't remember...especially with Q there. I thank the party organizers for giving me this opportunity...even the bun on the back of my head is perfect! (Thanks to the professional L'Oreal tin bottle hair spray!)

...my perfect bun...
...my party outfit...
..ALL you can DRINK...
...Perfect way to end a meal...White Chocolate Moose Cake with Raspberries...YUM...

Soup Diet

GB Mistress — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:07:00 GMT

I was invited to a Shanghai 30s theme party on Feb 28. It's probably a once in a life time opportunity, so I signed up immediately and asked my dearest cousin, Q, to be my plus one. The ladies are supposed to wear dresses 30s style (Chinese or Western). I thought I'd go for Western because there's no way I can find Chinese traditional dress that can fit me. And I'd probably look silly anyway.

The party was so much fun from the minute I was invited. Not only I can have a fun time with Q (it's been too long) at the party, we can also shop together for the event. She brought be to a shop where I ended up buying a Chinese dress that fits me...a little too tight but it looked much better than I expected.

I knew if I want to be comfortable in this dress, I have to cut down my food consumption big time...but of course I can't do it. So the week before the party, I tried to have just soup for dinner. Being a very creative cook, I added lots of goodies in to my soup each night. And I've been going to yoga at least 4 times a week for 3 weeks. In the end, I lost ONE pound after all the effort...and the dress was still too tight. Thank goodness the dress didn't break on me...haha

Sunset from living room

GB Mistress — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:56:00 GMT

It was a few weeks ago (must have been Sunday). I was got home just in time to see the sunset.,,right from my living room. It was so beautiful. I feel so lucky to have this apartment and I'm truly grateful to all the people who's helped me along the way.

renewal

GB Mistress — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:02:00 GMT

It was time to renew my webhosting & domain name again. Can't believe another year is over so quick. Not complaining, because last year wasn't exacatly spectacular. Though it was slightly better than the year before. 2009 seems to be not so bad so far. The economy might be bad, but personally I feel things in many area of my life are quite smooth. Let's hope the worst are over and more good things will happen in the coming months.

Leg of Lamb...finally!

GB Mistress — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:56:00 GMT

Remember I wanted to cook a leg of lamb for my mom? The "leg" (opportunity) had not present itself until last Sunday. Mr. A wanted to bake bread and I wanted to try the Corn Muffin receipt, so we decided to go food shopping together after having lunch on Sunday.

I saw this gorgeous leg of lamb, chilled, in the fridge and couldn't resist and bought it. Right after finish baking the muffins, "worked" on the leg.

Prep work: Stuff a few branches of rosemary into the leg, then rub sea salt and other spice and some vodka all over it. Should have marinate it overnight, but you know I cannot wait to cook it!

Roast it in the oven at 180F for about 2.5hours. The leg is as long as my small oven. I was afraid it couldn't fit in. Whew...

Took a 10min taxi ride to my parent's city-home...

The center of the leg is a bit pink. That makes the meat a perfect medium rare. Yummy! The 4 of us could only finish 1/3 of it. So yummy, even my mom said it's nice. (You have to know my mom hardly ever give me any compliments! :"))

Corn Muffin

GB Mistress — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:31:00 GMT

It's been a while since the last time I baked. Last week, I came across this simple receipe on the newspaper and decided to give it a try. My friends and family are probably sick and tired of my banana / chocolate / oatmeal muffins, so I thought this would be a nice change...

When I was shopping for ingredients, it didn't occur to me that sugar is not on the list. My hope was not high before I tasted it, because I've actually never had a salty muffin before. If you're interested, below is the receipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup cream (it's hard to find...I used double cream)
4 eggs
1.5 tsp sea salt
pinch pepper
60ml melted butter
1-1/4 cup corn kernels (canned...I will probably use fresh next time)
20g thyme or garlic chives (I used 1tsp of dried...not sure if we're supposed to use fresh ones)

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 200F. Line muffin pan with paper muffin liners.
Step 2:
Sift the flour, baking powder and sea salt toghter into a mixing bowl. Add the yellow cornmeal and sift again.
Step 3:
Add the 4 eggs into the flour mixture.
Step 4:
Mix in the cream.
Step 5:
Drain corn kernels and add into the flour mixture.
Step 6:
Add the melted butter, pepper and thyme or garlic chives.
Step 7:
Spoon into the muffin moulds, two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Mr. A had a large one and said he didn't want anymore. Stubborn!

My co-worker and auntie said this will probably taste better if I made it sweet. I'll probably try to make it sweet next time. Overall, I think it's good as part of a main meal...because it's salty. Enjoy.

NEW loo, new kitchen fan

GB Mistress — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:49:00 GMT

It's been a loooong time since my last entry. Been busy with my choir rehearsal, attending wedding banquets, hanging out with brother after work, fixing TV cable, setting up new wireless router (that didn't work at first) at home, etc.

The old toilet had been releasing very bad smell from time to time since I moved in. NOOOOOOOO, the smell didn't come from me! Had a chat with my contractor and he said it's probably the poor internal design for the toilet. You have no idea how expensive a toilet is! I didn't, until now. So my contractor installed a new toilet for me yesterday. It's perfect!

My kitchen fan hadn't been working properly as well. It's a cheap machine provided by the property developer. Other tenant's cooking smell and cigarette smell kept creeping into my unit thru that fan. I often had to turn on the fan to keep the smell less offensive, but the machine is too weak and noisy. Luckily, my contactor is so seasoned he installed a new kitchen fan on the same day.

I'm excited & pleased beyond belief for these 2 new additions in my home. Silly old me...

Daniel Craig -> Sexy Bond

GB Mistress — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:29:00 GMT

I just watched the latest James Bond film last weekend. Thought Brosnan was my favorite Bond, but I guess my taste has changed. In Quantum of Solace, I find Daniel Craig incredibly sexy. He's certainly not the pretty boy type. His manliness certainly suits the Bond character real well...certainly suits my taste.

What's been keeping me up at night lately...

GB Mistress — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:29:00 GMT

It's my new addiction...http://www.king.com! It's all Mr. A's fault, but he's addicted too. Gota get back to playing Chuzzle. Hope I can make myself to turn off the computer by midnight. Ciao.

oops...I maybe older than I think I am

GB Mistress — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:34:00 GMT

Age 25 was probably my best of time, for various reasons but mainly for cheaper car insurance. Don't laugh! Another friend of mine really looked forward to turning 25 as. So, that might be why I still feel like 25. Unfortunately, the white hair don't seem to agree with me. They seem to have grown overnight on the most obvious part of my head...like the very top of my head? And 2 to 3 of them sticking straight up as if they're asking for super attention? Hellooooooooooooo? Can't you guys rest calmly next to your black color friends? They certainly have minds of their own. Anyway, hair color treatment is sort of the solution. Then, my knees decided to join the white hair team. They'd hurt quite badly when I walk up an down a slope. I can deal with that because I only need to use the slope once a week (location for my weekly choir rehearsal) until Dec. The lastest is my hearing seems to have gone as well. My dear co-worker B speaks with a very soft voice, so she has to ask her to repeat every single sentence to me at least once. And I thought the air-conditioner at work is too loud, so I have to ask everyone else to repeat what they say to me from time to time. I'm beginning to think it's not them/the-air-conditioner! At re-union dinner tonight with 9 other people, I really have hard time hearing everyone at the table. It might have been noisy at the restaurant, but there were times my friends had to repeat themselves 3 times and I still have no clue what they were saying. Oh dear! I don't even list to loud music...what? What? Can you say that again? I'm sorry I can't hear what you just said.................

Stress Relief

GB Mistress — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:14:00 GMT

Mr. A asked if I want to watch Tropic Thunder a few days ago. All I know is that's a comedy with a few famous actors. Feeling quite stressful lately, a good laugh would be a good idea so I said yes.

It turned out to be such good idea, I felt lighter immediately after watching the film. I would even say it's theraputic...with all the swearing and graphic images!!! Wouldn't mind to watch it again!

Is it that time of the year? Again?

GB Mistress — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:29:00 GMT

This time last year, was the darkest time I've ever been through. I'm starting to feel uneasy about many things. Fortunately, not for the same incidents. Hope this feeling will go away soon.

Should I have said yes?

GB Mistress — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:31:00 GMT

No! It wasn't a marriage proposal!

Yesterday, my dear co-worker B (who's now the ONLY non family related person at work) showed me a few photos of her niece and asked if I think she's cute. After working together for over 4 years, she should know by now that I'm not a kid person. And I never hide it from anyone. If I were not so anti-social, I'd probably lie and say "Yes! She's absolutely adorable!" Anyway, I felt strongly that I couldn't be untrue to myself but didn't want to be totally rude. So I said "She's okay." after she repeated the question twice. Then I apolizged and told her again that I'm really not into kids. Sorry...

My coffee table...my own design

GB Mistress — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:19:00 GMT

This is the second piece I ever designed for my home...voila...c'est mon coffee/dinner table for me when I sit in front of my 40" LCD TV which also serves as my computer monitor at the moment...

If you are interested in the first piece I deisnged for my home years ago, here it is...

This is a pair of speaker stands that also hold your cds/vcds/dvds!

I nearly exploded...

GB Mistress — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:58:00 GMT

this time it's my stomach/belly/tummy! My older brother K. is in town and we wanted some good food before he leaves. He chose this newish buffet restaurant Yamm based on a newspaper article. I've actually heard good things about this place from a few people before. Some people actually make reservation one month in advance.

The food is so good I was totally out of control. Best of all, my parents joined us for the wonderful evening along with cousin Q+husband. Pleasant surprise is yet to come. K's fiancee EL decided to treat us this very nice dinner! I literally had to hold my belly with both hands on the way home. This is probably the last buffet for me this year. No more out-of-control-eating until I lose this 5lbs I've put on since May!