Low Carb wholemeal & Buckwheat heavy bread recipe

This is one of the bread recipes that I had tried without added any sugar. Wholemeal flour does contain carbohydrates but we do need some for our bodies unless we are strictly on no carbohydrate diet advised by our doctor.  

With the buckwheat flour in this recipe, it gives a very nice nutty taste.  The bread turned out to be compact and filling.  Spread with butter and enjoy with a cup of hot coffee for breakfast, can be an alternative meal for lunch or dinner. 

Japanese Musk Melon

Ever wonder why Japanese Musk Melon is priced so high ? I was very curious and told my better half to buy one for us to try when he went to Labuan a couple of months ago.  Is it because of its taste, the nutritional content or scarcity in production which has made musk melon more superior than the other melons out there?

The display of Japanese Musk Melon at one of the Labuan supermarket.  My better half did not register the name of the supermarket. The hotel staff or the Grab driver should be able to tell which supermarket that is selling this melon in Labuan.

The good one (not over ripen ones) are sold at expensive price.  I was told that the shelve life of this melon can be up to 3 months.  They are imported from Brunei according to the sale person at the supermaket.

Looks like this melon is getting over ripe, still selling at RM55.00 per piece for size XL.

these are the cheaper ones where part of the melon is too ripe to be eaten.

My better half bought a just about ripe one so that we could enjoy it on the day it's brought back from Labuan.  

When I see this melon in the local market here, I thought it's musk melon.  It looks like musk melon but it's actually rock melon variety is Glamour .  Selling at RM10.00 per kg.  Taste similar to honeydew as well.

another variety of rock melon, smaller in size with yellow skin

Rock Melon variety Permai

After tasted the Japanese Musk Melon, I would say it is nice and taste and small like the honeydew.  It would be best to taste it yourselves to tell the difference from the other cheaper melons.

Crystal Stones & beads

Diamond is every woman's best friend, and I believe same goes to gold and silver.  Those who can afford would buy as collections and investments because the prices of these precious items are pretty stable and price may go up in the future due to scarcity.

I personally fond in wearing Crystals gem stones, those with A, AA, AAA grades are of affordable and reasonable price, of course I hope can afford to buy few pieces with real genuine precious stones in the future.  I have been reading articles about the healing power of those real genuine Crystal stones can bring to human since ancient times.  We can experience the power from both wearing them and placement of Crystals in our home and office to attract good chi and expel bad luck.

Though I have owned few pieces of Crystals in form of bracelets, small stone, wands and money trees (hope they are real stones).  Recently my colleague started talking about her collections of bracelets that she bought online, that has triggered my nerves to start my shopping spree on buying the varieties of stones which I don't have.

My all time favourite is this green jadeite which I bought when I was still single.  As my wrist is small.  I have taken out two beads to make them into earrings.

My recent favourite and satisfying purchase is this 8mm Strawberry Lepidocrocite beads bracelet.  Lepidocrocite is one of the healing combo in the Super 7.  It is a strong psychic protection stone that deepens intuition and help to contact our guides (information source from the internet & shop).  

The Strawberry Lepidocrocite beads of different sizes can be purchased and DIY into bracelet, necklace and earrings.

The crystal beads are very pleasing to my eyes, I just like to wear them when I am out and about.  I picked these 4 of my bracelets this morning to go to church with me, hope they too get the blessings and increase their healing powers. 

From left : Red Supeer 7 Lepidocrocite, Clear Quartz, Golden Strawberry Crystal Quartz, Rutilated Citrine. 

Happy Sunday everyone !! 

Travelling to Labuan Federal Territory

We are already in the month of June in 2019.  Times passes so quickly.  I have not been able to keep up with my blog posting as I have planned to.  

I am glad to be able to take leaves from work and traveled to Labuan for a 3D2N short stay with my family last week, my daughters have been longing for an outstation trip since our last family holiday some 2 years ago.  Though I was on leave, I still got calls and whatsapp from bosses.  Can't complain instead it's a blessing.

Okay back to my Labuan trip.  The reason we chose to go Labuan was simply because of my better half's work commitment, since it's school holiday, we're able to tag along.  There is not much detailed information from the internet on how to go to Labuan besides by air.  Probably it is too common that people aren't interested to post on the internet.  I have been trying to search for the ferry fare from Menumbok to Labuan but to no avail.  There is phone number provided on the leaflet, I guess they are too busy to pick up the calls.  

There are several mode of transportation that we can use to go to Labuan from Kota Kinabalu.

1) By Flying there - The fastest way to travel to Labuan from Kota Kinabalu is by plane, it only takes about 30 minutes by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the fares varies depending on high and low season ranging from RM100+ one way (about RM400 return), relatively cheap for single traveler but for a family of 4 like us will come to RM1500.00+ for return tickets.

2) Another way is to catch a coach from KK City Centre bus station opposite the old High Court. The fare is about RM18 one way. The coach will bring the passenger to Menumbok Ferry Station only  and from there  ride on a ferry or speed boat across to Labuan.  The journey takes about 2.5 hours to Menumbok Ferry Station.  Ferry ride is about 1.5 hours.  Speed boat is only 45 minutes.

3) There is a ferry service from KK Jesselton Point to Labuan.  The journey takes 4 hours.  Book the first class seats if you can.

4) We chose to drive our own car to Menumbok, parked overnights at the caretaker compound and take a ferry crossing. Driving our own has more flexibility and we are able to en-route to area of interest to look for food along the way.  

For those who would like to bring along their vehicle across to Labuan, they will have to book well in advance by providing the driver's and the vehicle's information.  All through whatsapp.    

We had our car serviced before the long drive to Menumbok which is about 140km from Donggongon town.  Pretty worrying though because it's an 18 years old car, climbing hilly roads is a challenge.  We are very glad that we had a very smooth drives, pleasant stay and my better half got his job done.  Our main transportation in Labuan was Grab. 

A video clip of road trip & ferry crossing to Labuan as a glance.  

We visited 2 tourist sites at Labuan.  The Labuan Marine Museum and The Labuan Chimney Museum.  That will be in my next posts.   Meantime, please enjoy the video.

Bird's Nest Skin Care

I have tried various brands of skin care over the years but non of those super expensive brands.  Most of them are bought from pharmacies, and some from direct selling companies which I am (was) a member.  I have been a loyal customer of Olay products since I was a teenager.  I have been using Olay Total Effect 7 in One Day Cream for the past months, it's nearly finishing now. 

I also used the Bio essence Bio Energy Complex Bio-Bounce Bird's Nest Collagen Essence Cream as night cream, I have totally finished using it a couple of weeks ago.  

Though I have Fully used up a pot of Bio essence Bio Energy Complex Bio-Bounce Bird's Nest Collagen Essence Cream, I still keep the empty  pot.

Eye cream is an essential part of my skincare routine too, have just finished a tub of L'Oreal Revitalift almost the same time with the Collagen Essence Cream. 

Used up to the last bit of L'Oreal Revitalift for eyes, I am keeping the empty pot too.

I totally satisfied with these skincare products, I could have used the same products again if I hadn't come cross a new set of skin care products with Bird's Nest (swiftlet).  

Bird's Nest is a luxury health product not everyone can afford to buy not to mention consuming it on a regular basis to obtain its full goodness.  The main reason I chose Bio essence Bio Energy Complex Bio-Bounce Bird's Nest Collagen Essence Cream was for its bird's nest ingredient with reasonable price.

Two months ago, my better half was introduced to K-Boost crops fertiliser for the farm he is working on.  We later found out that the company is also selling other products.  I have gotten interested in trying their K BeauCareline Bird's Best Skin Care series, thus, I joined member to enjoy the member's price.  

New Year, new set of skincare.  I am totally excited.  Recorded a humble un-boxing video for whom would like to know about the products.

Deep Purifying Cleansing Gel 

"This gentle deep cleanser provides cleansing and make-up removing actions while it soothes and hydrates the skin effectively, leaving skin feeling fresh and supple."

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Clarifying Toning Lotion

"This toning lotion is enriched with multiple plant extracts to boost skin moisture, brighten the skin tone for more radiant looking complexion."

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I particularly like the Multi UV Protection Sunscreen - SPF50.  It acts as foundation and sunscreen 2 in 1, it smoothens my skin tone and even out the patches of pigmentation on my face.   

 "This multipurpose sunscreen contains skin nourishing properties to hydrate the skin while providing efficient protection against UVA and UVB rays to help inhibit formation of melanin."

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Ultra-Essence Moisturizing Gel

"This light, oil-free moisturizer can be absorbed by the skin rapidly to replenish moisture.  Contains marine hydration and reduce the appearance of fine lines." 

A Note to myself : "Pamper my skin the best that I can, and afford to".

To take care of house pets

My brother's dog has given birth to 8 puppies a few weeks ago. It's not easy for the mother dog to provide enough milk to all her puppies. Since my better half is planning to have additional dogs to guard his new farm, we took 2 of the male puppies under our care at our backyard till they are big enough to be placed at the farm together with 2 of the adult dogs, one of them named Kiwi is actually their step sister from the same mother dog in her first delivery.

We carried them home in a box.  See how cute they are!! Both of them having the black patches evenly on the eyes like the panda.  Our girls have named them Pine (left) and Apple (Right) together they are PineApple. 😁

A week later, on a fine Sunday, my better half bought a male baby cat for RM70.00 from the Sunday market, the owner of the cat said it is a mixed breed.  My better half supposed to collect a number of fruits seedlings from the market but instead he brought back a baby cat. The fruits seedlings seller did not bring in the seedlings that Sunday.  Rather than heading home with empty handed, he brought this little cat for my eldest daughter as birthday gift as she has been asking to have a cat at home.

My girls named him "Toast".  I have no idea why they gave him this name.😂

He is so active that he bites our legs and toes, bites our fingers and hands when we hold him, though he has little teeth, it is painful too. He likes to scratch everything with his sharp nails.  He has put holes on our newly covered sofa.

At times he was so out of control that we have to put him inside a cage.  He started to bite the cage to find his way out.

He was very active and eating well for the first few days but got a cough and cold a few days later.  He started to have watery eyes and sneezing.  He lost his appetite, refused to eat the cat food.  We tried ways to feed him but failed.  We only managed to feed him Sardine with rice but after that he totally lost his appetite after only 1 serving.

We have to bring him to the veterinary clinic for treatments, 2 times in a week. 

The veterinarian was taking his body temperature.  He has a fever, cough and cold the first time we brought him there.  He was given an injection, 3 types of tablets and antibiotic.  

Being first time feeding medicines to the cat, it was a real struggle for us.  Both me and my better half have to coordinate well (one hold the cat and the other one feed the medicine) to ensure our little cat eats his medicine.  Luckily the veterinarian help us to trim his sharp nails.  

We brought Toast back to the veterinary clinic the 2nd time when we noticed that he totally did not eat again, merely drink sugar water and some milk.  He was only 0.7kg in weight.  Toast was given a jap because of no food intake.  We still have to feed him the rest of the tablets till finished.

The veterinarian recommended us to feed Toast with a special diet food during this recovery period.  It is from Royal Canin brand labelled "Recovery".  There is pork in the ingredient as informed by the veterinarian.  This cost RM14.90 per can from the clinic.

Very finely blended food exactly like the baby food.  It is suitable for cats and dogs.  It's smell like tuna. Toast absolutely loves this recovery food.  He would polish off every bit of the serving.  At the time of this post, we only left 1 last serving for him in the can.  He has fully recovered with clear big eyes now, he has obviously gained weight after a week on this diet.  

We are glad that he is well now, back to his active state again, climbing here and there and just this morning he sneaked out to our neighbour's compound.  Since he is still a baby cat, we have to make sure he is protected, therefore confine him within our house compound.  He will be let loose when his is bigger. Similar to taking care of a child 😁

Chinese New Year 2019 - Year of the Boar

My desert roses started to bloom around the Chinese New Year season.

The eve of Chinese lunar new year 2019 falls on 4th February.  It's also the day of Li Chun (立春), a day signifies the start of Spring.  Li Chun has the similar pronunciation of "standing of an egg".  It's made believed that whoever can made the egg stands on this day will have a prosperous and healthy year ahead.  Thus, I went ahead to stand the egg, I managed to stand not one but 3 eggs.  I am overjoy with it because I have not been able to make an egg stand on a smooth surface like this before and it's the first time I did it at home.

It is also a believe that whoever deposits money at the ATM on the auspicious hours on Li Chun will accumulate wealth but I forgot to deposit any money this time, fortunately I did not do any withdrawal too. 

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My 3 eggs standing.  2 of them remained standing at the time I am writing this post on the 1st day of Chinese New Year.  It's unbelievable that despite all the movements and wind blowing around the house, 2 of the eggs still standing. 🔻

My girls have been helping me to stuff the new notes into the angpow packets for the past 3 years..they helped me to do the same this year.

I have received a new wallet from my SIL to keep the angpow packets, very convenient and presentable for me to take them out for distribution during new year gatherings.

She also shared part of her 2019 new angpows collections which she has gone through the trouble to make her rounds to ask for them. 

 Our family reunion dishes

Tang Yuan [湯圓] after dinner.  Simply glutinous rice balls in sweet ginger soup symbolises family togetherness.

How was your Chinese New Year's eve ?

Buying a Drone & SIRM licence

Just end of last year, my better half bought a drone from a facebook seller.  We kept track of the shipment status until the stage where it said the parcel has arrived at destination.  After about 2 weeks of waiting, the parcel still have not been delivered to our door step yet.  We contacted the seller, he asked us to check with the post office. Upon checking, I was told that the parcel has been held by Customs pending for SIRIM licence.  A visit to the Customs section at post office, they are very helpful in explaining and guiding us on how to go about applying for the licence.  

Just for your information, drone is now a control item for security reasons.  Any importation of Drone must be approved by SIRIM.  Unless you are buying the drone from local sellers, I believe they have gone through the troubles in getting the licences done.

To apply for a SIRIM licence for my drone, I have to submit the forms from SIRIM, a copy of the invoice from the seller, a letter from post office Customs office, a photocopy of IC (front & back), specification details of the drone and model.  Submission of application can be done online at SIRIM website and a fees of RM100.00 to be paid online (I did my application online). Application can be done at SIRIM office as well.  The processing took less than a month after I submitted all the documents required by them.  Upon receiving a copy of the licence, we went to collect our long awaited drone from post office Customs Dept. A 10% Sales Tax is imposed on the purchase price.

At the Post Office Customs department, they asked us to open the parcel ourselves for inspections and take photos.  We sealed it back again and handed back to them until our SIRIM licence is obtained.

A copy of the product descriptions and manual 

 The accessories for the drone

 the main body parts of the drone

 Operational manual

Finally we got our drone.  It is very much like a toy to me.  We have not tried it out at the open space yet.  We have to practice to fly it first to avoid crashing it.  

Investment in 2019

My 2nd hand windows 8 desktop has been taken over by my daughter for she has been complaining her Windows XP is slacking whenever she logon to Youtube and many other sites.  With the upgraded internet to unifi, it is slacking due to out dating hardware,  I know how frustrating it is.

I am basically stranded by taking over her old computer, not just slow, the worst is, I can't even view certain websites.  As I will be venturing into ecommerce activities, I need a notebook badly and it's time to invest into something that will help in my work.

 This is the first notebook to call my own.  A gift from better half for our wedding anniversary.

A right size Acer Aspire E14 with 2 years warranty. I am given 2 weeks testing time should there be any technical defect, I can bring it back to the shop.  

Came with a box of free gadgets.  I only used the cooling fan so far.  It comes with a computer bag too.

With God's grace, I hope I will be able use this investment to propel my ecommerce business to a greater height in 2019 and beyond.