@alikayphotography

There are a bunch of talented people in instagram. Today I stumble upon one photographer - instagram: alikayphotograpy - who takes really good photographs of babies and kids.
I print screen some nice and cute photos from her instagram to share:

Kids before puberty lol

I have never thought of playing with my mum's pads and pantyliners as a kid. I don't know what this kid was thinking! Lol

Im thinking: wasted money! Those things are not cheap :p

Cheap rubberbands

Heres to buying cheap rubberbands. It was like playing a lucky draw. It came with plenty of colourful rubberbands. Everytime
i took one out to tie my hair, it snapped. Seriously, It didnt even reach my hair yet and it snapped.

Today I had two more left in the packet. I tried my best to be as gentle as possible with it. The first one snapped. So, I had one more left. Guess what.... It broke too....

Conclusion: NONE survived under my touch. Feels like some kind of super strong woman :p

Spring in Glasgow...

.. Is still bright at 9pm.

Pret A Manger, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

Pret A Manger is a franchise shop all around UK. There are a few Pret A Manger in Glasgow but I have never bothered to try their food. When I was in London, I saw Pret A Manger shops at almost every street! Sometimes there were two Pret A Manger shops on the same street, just at a different block.

I finally tried Pret A Manger yesterday because I was given a food assignment :) I get to order any hot drink and choose any sandwich for my lunch. A job that pays me to eat is awesome :):)

I chose the free range egg mayo sandwich and a cup of hot chocolate. I know I should have chose a better sandwich since it was free. But, trying something that was commonly found at other places like Tesco, Sainsbury's etc makes the comparison more apparent. I would say that the egg sandwich at Pret A Manger was fab. The filling was a lot which was good.

As for the hot chocolate, it came with a star and I must say it was a star. I do not drink coffee, so hot chocolate or tea would usually be my choice of hot drink whenever I patronise cafes. Recently, I tried Gregg's hot chocolate and the hot chocolate at that posh looking Betty's Tea room in York. No, I did not fancy the hot chocolate from those two places. But, I was pretty happy with the hot chocolate at Pret A Manger :)

I guess it says a lot just by looking atthe number of Pret A Manger shops around the UK. The one I went to in Sauchiehall was packed. But, the place was clean and dining there was easy as the staff cleared the trays and wiped the tables pretty efficiently.

One downside would be the price tag. For a new comer like me, I would not have realised that there were two different prices for the food when we eat-in and take- out, until I paid for it. But other than that, my friend and I had a good experience there. They play nice music too.

Dictionary joke

Funny

Oven egg

I found a new way to cook egg - using the oven. This method was so easy and fast.

The idea came about when I felt like having an egg sandwich, but when I looked at the filthy stove (ilivewithsomeonefilthy), its just ruins the mood to cook. I was carrying my wok to and fro to the stove thinking if I wanted to use it. Then, the thought of cracking an egg on top of my bread and cooking it in the oven came up.

I just estimated the temperature to 220 degrees celcius and i cooked the egg for 5 minutes.

first attempt at cracking the egg on the bread failed. The yolk slid away from the bread. Then when I tried to put it back on top using a spoon, the yolk broke n u know what happens...

Second attempt was a success. The egg stayed on the bread, maybe coz the tray was balanced that end.

One thing I should have done was to butter the surface before putting the bread. I did not do that resultung in some parts of the bread being stucked to the foil. Egg sticks thats why.

Anyway, this is a healthier approach to eating eggs. No more oily fried eggs for me or microwaved eggs :)

Also, I can now cook 10 eggs (or more) in five minutes :)

Breakfast

I have finally found my kind of breakfast:
A cup of tea.
A bowl of homemade blueberry yoghurt, a piece of rich tea biscuit, one piece of oat biscuit and plain cornflakes thrown in.
An apple.

Why do you have two boobs....

New Yahoo! Weather app

I recently downloaded the new Yahoo! Weather app.

Yahoo! has updated its Weather app for iPhone, iPod and iPod Touch - adding images from Flickr and an innovative tilt control to stand out from the glut of weather apps on iPhone.

"Flickr helps the Yahoo! Weather app show you what to expect from the day rather than just tell you.
Tapping into photos representing your local conditions, users will get the same forecast they’re used to, along with something altogether richer.
With a library of photos from all corners of the world, Yahoo! Weather will give you a sneak preview of the holiday you’ve booked, the weather back home or that destination you’ve always wanted to visit."

I especially like that they have information about the wind speed.

Summer Wine by Lana Del Rey

Watch Lana Del Rey's new music video with her husband called Summer Wine. I love her voice and the song.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2311705/Lana-Del-Rey-teams-real-life-boyfriend-Barrie-James-ONeill-romantic-video-new-Summer-Wine-duet.html

Whom you marry matters

After reading this, I can say the jerk I was with was an absolute ass. He was only 5%.
"listen up: who you marry matters. You might think that the way he treats you isn’t so bad. It’s not going to get better after the wedding. You might think that he’ll change. It’s possible, but most don’t. "

Read below (agree with almost all... Minus the bible/christ stuff):

There were three kids sitting across from us at a meal: two guys and a girl. The one guy was a computer geek with glasses. The other one was a college student with slightly cooler hair and no glasses. The girl was obviously with him. But while the computer geek was busy serving everyone at the meal, clearing plates and garbage, the college student got angry with the girl for a small accident and poured red juice over her leather jacket and white shirt. She picked the wrong guy, and the juice didn’t seem to change her mind. She is in for some grief if that relationship continues and especially if it leads to marriage.

So to all the young, unmarried Christian girls out there, listen up: who you marry matters. You might think that the way he treats you isn’t so bad. It’s not going to get better after the wedding. You might think that he’ll change. It’s possible, but most don’t. You might think that you’ll be able to minister to him and help him. Possibly, but if you can’t now, you won’t then, and you will be at risk yourself. A husband should lead and cherish you, not need your counsel for basic personality or behavior issues.

Unless someone married is very frank with you, you can’t understand how much a husband will impact your entire life. Next to salvation there is no other long term event that will change so many areas of your life so deeply. Here are just some of the ways that marriage will impact every aspect of living.

1. It will impact you spiritually. If the guy is not a believer, you can stop right there. You have no business yoking a redeemed soul with an unregenerate one, even if he seems open to change. Christ has bought you with a price and it is not an option to give away that blood bought heart to someone who doesn’t know and love your Lord. It will cripple your spiritual development, open up a host of temptations, stifle your prayer life, make regular church going difficult, and cause massive parenting conflict if you have children.

If the guy is a believer, is he a strong one? Will he lead you in prayer, Bible reading, family devotions, and public worship? Or will you be on your own? Is he going to make spiritual growth a priority or do other things come first? Is he going to ask you how it’s going with your soul so he can help you grow in holiness and love for Christ, or will he leave that to your pastor? Is he going to lead the children in this, or will you have to spearhead that? In church, is he going to help the kids sit well, pray, find the hymn, or will you be the one pointing out what is happening next and helping the family keep up? Many women have married spiritually immature men, thinking that it wasn’t a big issue, or that the man would change, and they were wrong. They bear the scars.

The health of your eternity is at stake. Think carefully.

2. It will impact you emotionally. Is the guy you’re thinking of going to encourage you, love you, be kind to you, and seek to understand you, or will he want to go out with the guys when you’re having a hard night? Will he listen when you are struggling with something or will he be preoccupied with a video game? Is he going to be annoyed when you cry or will he get you Kleenex and give you a hug? Is he going to going to understand that you are probably more tender than he is, more sensitive to issues and comments, or is he regularly going to run rough shod over your feelings? One woman was struggling to breastfeed her new baby, believing that that was the best thing for her, but it was very difficult. Instead of giving support and encouragement, the husband would make mooing sounds whenever he saw his wife working at it. We have to get rid of princess complexes, but we do have emotional needs. Any guy who is uncaring about your feelings and self esteem is selfish and should be left alone.

Be careful – a husband can cripple or foster emotional health.

3. It will impact you physically. Is the guy you’re with going to provide for your basic needs? Will he be able to shelter, clothe and feed you? At one point in our marriage, I was worried that there was no employment opportunity. My husband assured me that he would work at McDonalds, dig ditches, clean up roadkill – whatever it took to provide for the family, regardless of his gifts and training. That’s the kind of attitude you want. A man who doesn’t provide for his household is worse than an infidel (I Tim. 5:8). You might have to help ease the financial burden, but unless your husband is disabled or there is another unusual circumstance, you shouldn’t have to carry it yourself.

Will the man you are with care for your body or abuse it? If he gives you little smacks, kicks, etc. when you’re dating, get away. It’s almost guaranteed that he will abuse you after marriage, and stats show that’s especially true when you are pregnant. Is he going to care for and protect your body or will he hurt it? There are women in churches across America who thought it was no big deal to have little (sort of friendly) punches or slaps from their boyfriends, but who are covering up the bruises from their husbands.

Will the man you are with care for you sexually? Is he going to honour the marriage bed in physical and mental faithfulness to you or will he flirt, feed his porn addiction, or even leave you for another woman? You can’t always predict these issues, but if the seeds or practices are already there, watch out. I recently saw a newly married couple and the husband was flirting openly with another woman. Unless something drastic happens, that marriage is headed for disaster.

Is he going to be tender and gentle to you in bed? An unbelieving co-worker once told my sister that after her first sexual encounter, she had trouble walking for a few days because her boyfriend was so rough. In other words, he wasn’t selfless enough to care for the body of the woman he said he loved.

Watch out. Your body needs care and protection.

4. It will impact you mentally. Is the man that you’re thinking of going to be a source of worry or will he help you deal with your worries? Is he going to encourage your intellectual development, or will he neglect it? Is he going to value your opinions and listen to what you are thinking, or will he disregard your thoughts? Is he going to help you manage stress so that your mind is not burdened that way, or is he going to let you struggle through issues alone? Is he going to care for you and be thoughtful of you if you are experiencing mental strain, or will he ignore it? I know of a woman who could handle pregnancy and child birth very well physically but postpartum depression took a huge toll on her mind. The husband overlooked it, continuing to have more children, until his wife ended up in a mental institution.

You might think that the intellectual or mental side of a marriage is small. It’s bigger than you think. Consider it seriously.

5. It will impact you relationally. How’s your relationship with your mother? Your dad? Do you love them? Does your boyfriend? Fast forward ten years: you tell your husband that your mother is coming for the weekend. Is he excited? Disappointed? Angry? Making snide jokes with his friends? Of course, a husband should come first in your priority of relationships, as you both leave father and mother and cleave to one another. But parents are still a big part of the picture. Whatever negative feelings he has about your parents now will probably be amplified after marriage. Your marriage will either strengthen or damage – even destroy – your relationship with your parents. The people who know you best and love you most right now could be cut out of the picture by a husband who hates them.

It’s the same with sisters and friends. Will they be welcomed, at reasonable times, in your home? Will the guy who you’re with encourage healthy relationships with other women, or will he be jealous of normal, biblical friendships? Will he help you mentor younger women and be thankful when older women mentor you, or will he belittle that?

Don’t sacrifice many good relationships for the sake of one guy who can’t value the people who love you.

So how will your boyfriend do after the vows? Because this is just a sampling of the ways that a husband can bless or curse his wife. The effects are far reaching, long lasting, and either wonderful or difficult. True, there are no perfect men out there. But there are great ones. And it’s better to be single for life than to marry someone who will make your life a burden. Singleness can be great. Marriage to the wrong person is a nightmare. I’ve been in a church parking lot where the pastor had to call the police to protect a wife from a husband who was trying to stop her from worshiping and being with her family. It’s ugly. Don’t be so desperate to get married that your marriage is a grief. If you are in an unhappy marriage, there are ways to get help. But if you’re not married, don’t put yourself in that situation. Don’t marry someone whose leadership you can’t follow. Don’t marry someone who is not seeking to love you as Christ loved the church. Marry someone who knows and demonstrates the love of Christ.

Texas plant explosion

First it was Boston, and now Texas. The injuries I read just gets more gruesome. Death toll on the rise too.

Whats worrying? Both incidents were not caused by natural disasters..

I watched the video of the explosion and it was massive : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2310825/West-Texas-fertilizer-plant-explosion-leaves-dead-100-injured.html

Korma chicken

A simple meal I made for dinner.
I just used a bottle of Patak brand korma paste, pour it over raw chicken thighs placed in an oven tray. Then I set the oven to 250 degrees celcius and put the tray of chicken inside. Cook chicken for 30 minutes.

While waiting for the chicken to cook, I boiled some rice in the microwave. In 7minutes, my rice was ready.

30 minutes later, dinner is ready.

I made a new tag for this: 30 minute meals

Afternoon tea @ Ocho on the canal, Glasgow

I went to Ocho on the Canal again today. This time instead of fish and chips, we had afternoon tea. The difference between afternoon tea and tea break is that afternoon tea means 12pm, the other is at 2.30pm. Basically, we had lunch at Ocho :)

Fish and Chips was fantastic the last time Ann and I tried it. This time round it was tea with five Thai girls and two Malaysians. Lovely time spent with new friends and one hour with a table of six ladies chatting is never enough.

The food served was ok. We had the voucher from Living Social so it was cheap. Otherwise, I would say its always not worth paying for tea as its just scones, cakes and sandwiches. Everything could be made at home. I'd recommend the scones at Ocho but the sandwiches were tooo tiny and the filling for each sandwich was pathetic.

Other than that, the company was great and the service was good as last time.

Boston's marathon bombing

Reading the news about the bombing in Boston since yesterday makes me feel sad. It gets worse today when I read:

"I started running towards the blast and there were people lying all over the floor."He said, "We started grabbing turniquets and started tying legs. A lot of people amputated. At least 25 to 30 people have at least one missing leg or an ankle missing or two legs missing"

All this happened at Copley Square in Boston. It brings back good memories I had over there. Boston was a very memorable trip for me and I have always told people to visit it when they are in USA. Hopefully they will catch the culprit and the mastermind behind this evil doing.

Elia Greek Restaurant, Glasgow

Elia is located at George Square. It is a Greek restaurant with pretty good reviews. The staff were so friendly! You know I have been getting some good service in the least expected places in UK.

I loved how attentive the staff were at Elia and the timing from getting us seated to the food till getting the bill was perfect.

For starters, we were served slices of bread with olives and oil. I have a Greek friend who told me that it is customary for Jews to have bread, olives with oil amd a cup of red wine as breakfast on Saturday mornings. At first, the thought of dipping bread with oil did not sound appealing to me. But then again, I do eat french toast and roti canai for breakfast which are definitely more oily than what the Jews had ;)

Besides bread, we also ordered Grilled halloumi cheese and Dolmathes.

Grilled halloumi cheese: I was introduced to this delightful appetiser by my cousin from Luxembourg. Halloumi cheese is a slightly springy white cheese traditionally made of sheep's milk. I first tasted it in Nando's Glasgow. I loved it so much that when I was in Nando's London and Nando's York, I just had to order it. Unfortunately, Nandos in Glasgow halloumi cheese tasted the best among the other places.
Then, at Elia, it was definitely my first pick from the menu as halloumi is Greek :) The halloumi cheese tasted freaking delicious in Elia that I want more. Furthermore, it came with three huge slices on top of tomatoes. It was good as meal too.

Dolmathes: Rice, herbs and minced beef wrapped in the leaves of grapevine.
I think dolmathes was an acquired taste. Eating grapevine leaves was.... like eating leaves lol. It was definitely filling as an appetiser due to the rice.

For the main course, I had the Lamb souvlaki while my friend had Kleftiko.

Lamb souvlaki: Grilled lamb pieces with rice and vegetable. After looking at Kleftiko, my dish looked too simple! Nope, I would recommend Kleftiko as its worth the same price.

Kleftiko: Slow cooked lamb on the bone with tomato sauce and served with oven potatoes or chips or rice and salad. Sounds awesome just reading the description. Tripadvisor also recommends this dish. The portion for this was so big that my friend could only finish half the lamb and he had to takeway the rest. But it was really good.

We could not stomach any dessert. But we were really happy and satisfied :)

I would go back to order the halloumi cheese and Kleftiko. I think that will be enough to share between two people.

The Butter Bar @Vancouver, Canada

My sister and her friend started this baking business called The Butter Bar and I think its been doing well. Everything is freshly baked and no, they do not sell those normal cakes like chocolate cakes or cheesecakes. Their Indonesian Kuih Lapis has had a huge demand. It takes a lot of work to make it but looks like its worth it.

Besides that, they also have spiral mooncakes and custom made cupcakes and cakes. One bestseller was their carrot cupcakes with cute handmade carrots on top.

They also come up with creative ideas for festivals like Christmas, Chinese New Year and other events.

Please visit their facebook page and click 'like' to show them your support (eventhough u r not in Vancouver ) :):)
Link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Butter-Bar/196943510438797?refid=12

Butter Bar's latest creation: meringue!