the stuff in my shop seriously RAWKS. New dresses and bags in!!

Made Oreo Cheesecake for the Big and small kids yesterday.

Was having a lot of fun pretending to be Nigella as I was mixing the cheese. *think orgasmic face and licking fingers* LOL!!

Am planning to do more baking in the days to come. Like I said, baking is very therapeutic for me, especially after a day of work. I imagine I will be baking all manners of cakes and pastries if I were to be a stay home mum

**

Recipe extracted from Kraft website.

1 cup crushed OREO Original Cookies
50g butter, melted
500g block PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 teaspoons gelatine, dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup cream, lightly whipped
100g OREO* Chocolate Crème Cookies, crushed
50g OREO* Chocolate Crème Cookies, extra, roughly chopped

COMBINE the crumbs and butter and press into a lined 20cm springform pan. Chill
BEAT the Philly* and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Fold in the gelatine mixture, lemon juice, cream and OREO* Chocolate Creme Cookie crumbs.
POUR the filling into the prepared crust, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with extra OREOs* and refrigerate for another for 2 hours or until set.

*note: I tried a ready made crust from Cold Storage to see if it is good. Not very good. I’d rather be virtuous and make my own biscuit base next time!

This is one of my favourite songs. It’s a very old song, but hey, oldies are goodies. I love the lyrics too. Makes me think of long walks in the park even when we are old and wrinkled.

I hope the song puts a little smile on your face too..

Strolling along country roads with my baby
It starts to rain, it begins to pour
Without an umbrella we’re soaked to the skin
I feel a shiver run up my spine
I feel the warmth of her hand in mine

Ooooo, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Ooooo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside

After a while we run under a tree
I turn to her and she kisses me
There with the beat of the rain on the leaves
Softly she breathes and I close my eyes
Sharing our love under stormy skies

Ooooo, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Ooooo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside
I feel the warmth of her hand in mine

[Musical Interlude]

I feel the warmth of her hand in mine
Ooooo, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Ooooo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside
Ooooh, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Ooooo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside

when he secretly goes back to the store to buy you the bag you virtuously refused to buy.

So here it is, people. I is lubs Blog2u.sg.

And they don’t irritate me with cheque cock ups, wrongly sent emails and scandalous rubbish.

And yeah, the pictures are not touched up with ps - photoshop or plastic surgery. LOL!

• If you like to sample products before buying the full size item
• If you, like me, don’t like to ask counter sales people for samples, lest they look at you with jaundiced eyes
• If you like to pack sample sized products for travelling
• If you simply just like samples just because

Then please check out this site for free samples of skincare products . You only need to pay the postage costs, which is more than fair enough.

Hey people, there is a new bag collection in the shop. Do pop by and take a peek!

This was sent to me by an ex colleague Jolene in Facebook. I don’t know the origins of the story and apologize for being unable to credit the author.. It is however, a meaningful wake up call and I would love to share it with my dear friends here.

1,000 MARBLES

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.

I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.

He was talking about “a thousand marbles” to someone named “Tom.” I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say.

“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital.”

He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.”

And that’s when he began to explain his theory of “a thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.”

“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the important part.”

“It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.”

“So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and have thrown it away.”

“I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.”

“Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones …”

“It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show’s moderator didn’t have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.

“C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.”

“What brought this on?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing special,” I said. “It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

MAY ALL SATURDAYS BE SPECIAL
AND MAY YOU HAVE MANY HAPPY YEARS
AFTER YOU LOSE ALL YOUR MARBLES.

Someone has been making breakfast for me.. and this morning it is eggs sunny side up, sauteed cheese sausages and a nice hot cuppa coffee. And our friend refused to let me wash up, shooing me to go take a shower and doll up for work.

I is so loved.

I feel so fortunate to have someone who is not a “you must stay home to cook and wash, woman!” MCP. I feel fortunate because I have the choice to work or not to. I am like an unbridled horse and I think I will feel very suffocated if I am told that I can’t work or can’t do this or that.

I feel fortunate that I am doted on and given lots of space and freedom to do whatever I want. Although I feel that I am being spoilt silly - it’s a nice warm fuzzy feeling, I will never take it for granted. I am grateful for what I am blessed with and try to count my blessings whenever I can.

**

The boys have been ribbing him for “spoiling the market”.

Eh, don’t kechow lah! Here, go pick up tips from this chap who seems to have seen the light.

*giggles*