My First Blog

I have a small confession to make. I have this other blog. Or should I say had? Because since starting it in August 2007, I only wrote five measly posts…then stopped.

photographynewbie

That was sometime after I first got my Nikon D40. Back then, I thought of documenting my journey into the world of DSLR photography, while providing useful information (or so I hoped) to fellow noobs like me. And by noobs, I mean people who’ve never even held a DSLR camera in their lives. Hence, the blog title: ‘The Absolute Newbie’s Guide to DSLR Photography & the Nikon D40′.

But after some point, I felt reluctant to go on. I kept thinking that it wouldn’t make a difference because there are so many other sites that offer so much information about photography, sites maintained by people who know more about photography than I do. Somehow, that thought stopped the ideas from coming almost instantaneously.

It was only in early 2008 that I revived the idea of having my own blog, making up my mind to write on three subjects closest to my heart: my children, my travels and my (attempts at) photography. These are my three passions in life and between them, I’ll never run out of things to write about. At some point, I started writing a bit about the city that I now call home. Afterall, what’s the point of calling my blog ‘Sleepless in KL’ if I don’t write a thing about KL? :)

Click here to see my first attempt at blogging and here to read my first ‘proper’ post in this blog.

It feels like ages since I first started my blog when, in reality, it’s only been just under nine months! Thank you, all, for sharing this journey with me.

Categories: Rojak | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Stressed

The kids are having their final exams starting today. And it’s their mom (me!) who’s panicking, not them. They were going about their usual weekend routine with nary a care about the world while *I* was getting all stressed up, inevitably turning to the only medicine I know — chocolate.

I know they do some revision in school. But I thought of supplementing it by going through their lessons with them at home last week. Unfortunately, the traffic jams have been so awful this month because it’s still Syawwal and people are still having Raya open houses. Plus, it’s been raining a lot almost every afternoon, so I’ve been getting home really late — as in 7 or 8 pm — rendering me too tired to do anything else by the time I reach home. (And the children would have been too tired to do any revision when bedtime looms.) Bottomline: no revision with me last week.

That left the weekend, which was a major challenge, especially with the twins competing for attention. It’s bad enough that  MyEldest and I were wrestling with Bahasa Malaysia antonyms and synonyms. Kinda like a case of the blind leading the blind. Except that, sometimes, I suspect I know more BM than my Malaysian son does!

I anticipate I’ll be very crabby in the coming days. Woe to the telemarketer who’ll try to sell me one of those hotel memberships or try to get 5 minutes of my time to talk about a health insurance quote because I can foresee how short-tempered I’m going to be.

*Sigh!* All right, all right, so I’ve got this box of Korean chocolates stashed in my office cabinet, which will probably be the only way of getting me through this week without losing my sanity. But then again, that would mean wreaking havoc on my attempt to control my caloric intake. Either way, I’m doomed!

Categories: Rojak | Tags: | 8 Comments

Heavenly Garlic Bread

I knew my first attempt at homemade garlic bread was a success when my kids dubbed it ‘Heavenly Garlic Bread’ and polished off two baguettes in one sitting.

garlic bread

Recipe adapted from LittleMsFirefly’s garlic bread recipe:-

Heavenly Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
- butter 250 gm (or 2 sticks)
- 10 cloves of garlic, pounded finely
- 1 tbsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp white pepper (or to taste)
- 2 baguettes

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
3. Add in the garlic, salt and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
4. Cut each baguette into half. Take each half and make slices on the baguette (LittleMsFirefly recommends making diagonal cuts; I did straight cuts, to get smaller kid-friendly slices) but don’t cut the baguette all the way through.
5. Cut some foil, big enough to cover each baguette half securely, so that the garlic butter won’t spill.
6. Give the garlic butter a quick stir to make sure everything is well-combined, then spoon it in between the slices. Put a little at a time, so that you’ll have enough for all 4 pieces of baguette halves.
7. Take both ends of the foil and fold, then fold again to secure the package. Fold the foil on both sides, as well.
8. Put the wrapped baguette halves on a baking tin or roasting tin or cookie sheet and place inside the oven.
9. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the baguettes and bake for another 10 minutes.
10. Take out from the oven and open with care (it will be very hot!). Enjoy the garlic bread on its own or with some soup.

Here’s a healthier alternative, based on something that I’ve seen from one of those cooking shows on TV: replace the melted butter with 250 ml olive oil. But the garlic has to be marinated in the oil for a few hours, preferably overnight, in order to infuse the oil with the garlic flavour. Then grill the bread over hot charcoals for a few seconds on both sides. Yummy!

If you don’t have an oven or don’t feel inclined to do any baking, perhaps you can just make garlic butter by following steps 1 to 3. Place your garlic butter inside a container, allowing it to cool before putting it in the fridge. (The cold should make the butter solid again.) Then, anytime you feel like having some garlic bread, just toast a slice of bread or two and spread some of your homemade garlic butter on it.

Try it today! Mommy-tested, kid-approved ;)

Categories: Rojak | Tags: , | 6 Comments

Mandara Spa @ Prince Hotel, KL

Mandara Spa entrance

When a friend of mine invited me to have a free Balinese massage at Mandara Spa in Prince Hotel & Residence, Kuala Lumpur, I jumped at the chance without any hesitation. First of all, no woman in her right mind would turn down a free massage in a spa. Furthermore, with the exquisite service from Mandara Spa in Bintan Island still fresh in my mind, I couldn’t wait to be pampered again at its namesake in Prince Hotel, KL. Naturally, before I even set foot inside the spa, I already had very expectations of the place.

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Categories: Travel | Tags: , | 4 Comments

Macro Shots With A Point-And-Shoot

I may have a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera but I still hold on to my old point-and-shoot camera, a Pentax Optio WPi. The latter is very handy for underwater shots and also for macro shots.

Macro shots? With a point-and-shoot? Yes and yes. I kid you not.

Here are some examples:

poinsettia

Poinsettia flowers up close. Sorry for the composition (or lack thereof). I was rushing to a meeting this morning and didn’t have much time to think about composition. I just aimed and shot.

butterfly

Detail of a butterfly used as decoration from the wedding last weekend.

rose

An artificial rose from the same wedding.

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Categories: Photography | Tags: , | 5 Comments