My Palm Tree

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This is my palm trees. You can find quite a number of palm tress in Kuala Lumpur along the road side or at most of the tourist spot. I took the seeds from the palm tree at a club house. I just threw a few in each pot and there it is, my lovely palm tree. Manage to grow only 2 trees. If not mistaken it should be around 3 to 4 years old by now.

Gardening is fun. It is like playing "Farm" on facebook but this is real. I like the fun and trill waiting for seeds to grow into plants / trees . Palm trees are quite easy to care for. Just leave it under the sun. If I am on vacation for few days, I don't have to worry about getting someone to water it for me.




Last few weeks was quite windy and found my palm tree tilted to one side. Went to investigate and to my surprise the root was so thin and fragile. I water my plant twice a day and never notice the roots. Now only did I realize the roots looks like 4 tiny fingers holding on to the ground supporting such a big tree. I have to hold it in place with a stick now.

Hang in there buddy, its going to be windy for another few weeks. It's rainny season now.

A relative of mine suggest that I should replant it or add more soil to cover the roots properly. Well one very important thing that I learned from my years of gardening is "Do Not Tamper With Nature". Since I planted it from seed, let it grow like how it should be if it is in the wilderness.

Hope you learn something today, like I always do. Thank you for reading and hope that for those who had never plant anything before should start now, today.

Fried Rice With Water Convolvulus (Kangkung)

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Ingredients:

Water Convolvulus (Kangkung)
Anchovy
Egg (optional)
Chilli (optional)
Garlic and onions
Steam rice

1. Steam rice few hours earlier and let it cool down before you fry rice with ingredients. Do this for any fried rice.
2. Wash water convolvulus and cut it to about an inch long.
3. Chop chilli, garlic and onions.
4. Heat pan. Fry anchovies till fragrant. Add garlic and onion. (If you add garlic and onion first then anchovies, the garlic and onion will burn)
5. Add water convolvulus. Fry till you could see that the vege change color. Add the steamed rice. Mix well.
6. Add chillies last.
7. As for the eggs. You have 2 options. You can either fry scramble eggs and set aside and add in last together with the chillies or once you had everything in the pan, pour those beaten eggs onto pan on top of the rice and everything. This way the rice will absorb the eggs and look yellowish and taste nice too.

This is one of the Malay style of fried rice. We called it "Kampung Fried Rice" which means village fried rice. Those who loves "belacan" you can add some too when you saute the onions and garlic.

Hope you like it. Happy trying and thanks for reading.

How Babies Were Born

Six year old Susan was distraught and came running in the house. "Mummy! John and Mike told me how babies were born. It can't be that way. It doesn't sound right."

"What did they say?' her mom asked.

The little girl replied, "They said you go to the hospital and order one. I thought you had to take what they gave you."

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*GOOD FOR NOTHING.*


As a mother was bribing her little boy with a fifty cent coin so he would behave, she said, "Why do I always have to pay you to be good; why can't you be good for nothing like your dad?"


Just for laughs! Thanks for reading.

My Extraordinary Pet Fish

My pet fish thinks that it is a shark or a dolphin. He loves to have it's tail and fin above water. My husband said maybe he enjoy the wind blowing it's tail and fin. Had pet fishes for many years and this is the first time I came across such act. This video was taken few years back. My pet fish is in heaven now. Guess extraordinary person gets extraordinary pets and stuffs happening around me.

Yeah! Yeah! I know. Self praise is a disgrace. Just for your viewing pleasure. Thank you.

Reward Or Bribe

Do you monetary reward your kids or bribe them? What is reward and what is bribe? Where should we draw the line?

Had a neighbor who pay her kids to finish up their dinner. Most kids are picky when it comes to food but pay them to eat? I overheard her telling her eight years old son that if he would take another spoonful of his dinner, she will pay him 50 cents. I wonder what else she paid him to do?

Another neighbor pay her daughter to do some spring cleaning around the house before the new year.So this is a bribe or a reward? I also have a friend who pay her daughter to prepare breakfast for the rest of the family on school days because she is always in a hurry to go to work. Is this another so call reward?

Don't we all learn about teamwork and family values in school? So it means that only schools are doing their part to teach children about the importance of family but parents themselves not really encouraging it?

To me, my family members are my team mate. We all belong to the same team but each have a different role to play. Everyone must play their part. Each of us are responsible for the well being of all its members. We should encourage our kids to help out around the house and not pay them to do so. If not they will end up like one of my friend.

This friend of mine was a divorcee with 2 kids and her mum stayed with her to take care of her kids for her while she works in the office. Whenever her mum ask her to help around the house, she says that anything that does not involve money, she won't do. Instead of being grateful, she thinks that since she is paying her mum to take care of the family, it should be entirely her responsibility. She forgot that person is her mum, her family member. I can imagine how hurt the mum must be.

No offense, but to those who pay their kids to help around the house, what type of signal are you sending? Are you trying to tell your kids, hey, look you are just someone around this house, I got a job for you, pay well, can you do it? If not I could pay your sister or brother to do it.

Aren't we family. Aren't family suppose to stick together? Just for your reading pleasure. Thank you.

Fried Pasta

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I love to fry pasta my style. This is easy and you can add almost any ingredients that you can think of like mushrooms, green vegetables etc.

Ingredients :

Pasta (any type)
Tomato (very ripe ones)
Garlic
Onion
Carrot (1 will do)
Minced meat (I prefer pork)

1) Cut tomato in cubes, carrot in sticks, slice onion and garlic. Garlic you could either slice or chop or even mince for those who don't like the sight of garlic.
2) Marinate mince meat with pepper, light and dark soya sauce, five spices powder and a dash of sesame oil. Add a dash of water too. (about a tablespoon full only). This is normally how I marinate minced meat. I rarely use salt.
3) Boil water. Wait till it boils then add a pinch of salt in water and add pasta. Leave it to boil till pasta soften.
4) In the meantime while waiting for the pasta, heat pan and add some oil. Fry minced meat till nicely cook. Add garlic and onion. You can also either saute garlic and onion till fragrant then add meat or saute garlic and onion till fragrant, scoop up, fry meat till nicely cook then put back the garlic and onion. Depending on your taste. Each method has its own flavor.
5) Add carrot and tomato to the above. Saute for a while, then add a cup of water.
6) Add some light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and tomato ketchup to taste.
7) Let everything simmer for a while.
8) Drain pasta and add into the above and mix well. Keep stirring and fry till all dries up. This is a dry dish. Then serve.

Hope you like this recipe. My own creation. Actually there's no fix rules to cooking stuffs like this, unlike baking. If you don't measure your ingredients properly, whatever you bake might not come out nicely. That is part of the reason I seldom bake. Happy trying and thanks for reading.

Yeah, right!

This is my favorite 2 words. I used it quite often. This 2 words reminds me of a joke I read sometime ago. It goes like this...

The local private Language Institute engaged the services of a foreign linguistic professor to improve the standard of English of its students.

"In English," he explained, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the class was heard, "Yeah, right!"


I find it very funny indeed. Sometime ago, my brother-in-law was telling me his opinion on something (can't remember what) and he ask me if I agree with him and I said "Yeah, right!", he keep arguing why I should not agree and I said "Didn't I said yeah and right?". Of cause he knows what exactly I mean, and every one laugh. I meet up with my in-laws every weekend and we had never fail to amuse each other every time we meet. I take weekends as my regular dose of laughs. It is the best medication for any sickness and everyone should have a dose of it regularly besides exercising and a balance diet.

Just for laughs! Thanks for reading

Independence Day

Malaysia had just celebrated it's 52th Independence Day. What about you? Are you independent or still depending on someone to support you? I mean financially. This remind me of a true story I heard when I was little.

There was this young graduate who had just found herself her 1st job. Upon receiving her salary, she gave it all to her mum. Mum of cause was happy about it and normally will put it away into her bank. Mum had quite a sum in her saving too, from her late husband. She would go round town telling the whole world how good her daughter is.

Lets come back to reality. The daughter needs money daily for food and transport. She would ask mum for money every day just like her schooling days. Mum was so used to this that she don't feel anything wrong about it. On weekends, she would ask for more pocket money cause she needs to hang out with friends at cinema, restaurant, club, pub, shopping .............. and the list goes on and on. So in the end she asked for more than what she gave her mum. Well the mum still thinks that she is great. The best daughter that you could ever imagine.

Well, guess what you don't know, won't hurt. Hmmm I wonder if her daughter did it intentionally or other wise. I also wonder if the mum would ever realize what is actually happening. Anyway, I guess this is none of my business. Just for your reading pleasure. Thanks for reading.