Apple Pie Madness

I'm not a big fan of pastries and fancy sweet desserts. However, I've always had a soft spot for a good slice of heavenly apple pie.

I like mine warmed up with sweet chunky apple fillings balanced with off with cinnamon spice. It makes it all better when served with a huge scoop of old fashion vanilla ice cream - simply heavenly! The most important thing to me... The Crust! A good and yummy crust makes all the difference to a good apple pie dessert. It can't be too hard, yet not too flaky. The amount of butter is important to give that aromatic fragrance and creamy taste in one's mouth.

I remember my favourite apple pie came from this small bakery near the Parkway Parade Hawker Center. Mum used to buy a whole pie for the family and that was something I truly enjoyed eating while growing up. Not too sure where the bakery has moved to since.

Anyway, I decided to test my baking skills by baking a whole apple pie from scratch! I was pretty hesitant especially when making the crust. I think watching all that Jaime Oliver cooking shows actually helped quite a bit with the tips he provides. I must say the final product came out of the oven better than expected. It sure did surpass my expectations although I must admit that a little more work needs to go into improving the apple filling. I might have over estimated the intense flavour of the nutmeg powder, hence giving a slightly more sour aftertaste to the apple filling. Nonetheless, considering its my first attempt, I give myself 8 out of 10 for effort! =) I'll prob tweak the recipe a little the next time I make it. Success!

Meet Fuzzy

Hi everyone,

I figured it's finally time I posted something about my little Fuzzy! 

Meet Fuzzy!

Fuzzy's our 9 month old hamster. He's a furball of joy who loves doing his usual hamster stuff like cracking open his favourite sunflower seeds, scurrying about the balcony, running crazily around his 3-storey cage, nibbling on my fingers, rolling about in his sand bath and hiding in my track shoes just to name a few.

I never realised how therapeutic just holding him and playing with him can get especially when you're feeling down and just stressed.

His favourite hideout

He's a silly hammy though....a couple of times I've let him run about the balcony and somehow he loves running back to his cage! Weird. At least I need not worry about him 'running away from home'!

Love you Fuzzy!

Kids say the darnest things

I love kids. Apart from the times they get really cranky and annoying, they are such precious gems! I love their innocence and sometimes the things they say really crack you up with them being plain oblivious to the meaning behind it all.

Anyway, my aunt, uncle, cousin and his family along with my family were out for dinner. While waiting for the food to be served I was 'entertaining' my little 3 year old niece. She's such a cutie. So I was casually asking her what she wanted to do after dinner, and if she wanted to come over to my house to play. She excitedly replied:

'Let's go baby, let's go!'

Errrrrr....hello? Who you calling baby? Honestly at that point in time I was kinda shocked, but her response totally cracked the entire table and especially me up into laughter!

Adorable indeed. Kids sometimes do say the darnest things!

Navy Open House 2010

Sunnies, Check!

Comfy footwear, Check!

Comfy shorts and a cooling top, Check!

Meet Yashi at the train station, Check!

....and we're off the the Navy Open House 2010.

It's a first for the both of us even though it's an annual affair.

I must say our day started off well. Got to the Singapore Expo where the shuttle bus pick up point into Changi Naval Base was. Kudos to the organisation...smooth human traffic flow as everyone patiently waited for the their turn to board the buses. All the staff on duty somehow seemed to emit this really 'happy' vibe! it was nice!

The moment we alighted, huge naval vessels lined each designated berth. The aqua coloured water glistering beneath the sweltering hot sun! The atmosphere was nice. Since the line for viewing the RSN Endeavour was relatively short, Yashi and I figured we should start of day with that.

It was really interesting to view the interior of the vessel. Not often do you get to see how and what our Navy personnel have to operate in whilst defending our homeland. Yashi and I concluded that if you're suffering from claustrophobia, working on board a ship is no place for you! You can't be too tall either! Everything just seemed tiny in there! I can't imagine myself sailing on board one of this ships for a 3 month mission!

The highlight of the Open House - the performance by the Naval Diving Unit. Pity the both of us are a tad challenged vertically. Nonetheless, we still managed to catch a glimpse of all the action. It was cool so see some familiar faces performing - my volunteers from one of my studies done with NDU. It was a simple but good showcase of what a typical hostage rescue mission was by our Naval Divers.....and I finally got to see a moving submarine. I've always been fascinated by this vessel!

After about 3 hours of walking under the scorching hot sun, we figured we had enough and headed back toward the shuttle bus pick up point which seemed like miles away! Yashi reckons it's a way to disperse the crowd. Overall, it was a nice Sunday spent understanding and getting a glimpse of Singapore's Navy's capabilities and operations.

I Hate Myself......

...... For Loving You!


I hate myself for loving you.
The sickest thing is after all you put me through,
I still have feelings for you.
You are probably oblivious to the hurt you have caused,
but deep down inside, I'm still feeling sore.

How we met was truly quite queer,
it was great to see it blossom into a friendship so dear.
You left an impression, and it took my breathe away,
I looked forward to your phone calls just to hear what you had to say.

I felt happy when we went out,
so secured by your side.
We could just laugh and talk,
just like that very first night.

Then out of the blue, you become so bitter and cold.
I felt as if I was wearing an invisibility cloak.
I never understood how you could just wipe it all away in one night,
as if nothing ever happened and that everything was alright.

I thought I knew you, but I know I was wrong.
You said you hated complainers, but you are no better off.
I feel sorry for you, you self centered jerk.
I hope you come to realise the feelings you've hurt.

Time and time again, I forced myself to forget,
but that image of you constantly remains in my head.
I feel so foolish, why has love gotta be so tough?
I really just hope to get by this fast.

I hate how you're treating it as if nothing ever happened.
I hate how you can still message and ask me 'How are ya?'
You obviously had me fooled, I've should have know better,
I'll say it one final time coz I hate myself for loving you!

xoxo,
Jacinta

Frustration sets in

It's been almost 10 weeks since the ankle injury. It's probably the longest I've gone without doing any proper physical activity and I'm sure as hell missing the feeling of just sweating it out. The only sweating I'm doing now comes from the horribly hot and humid weather!

On a happier note, the ankle is getting better and stronger, though not enough to get me running or swimming properly just yet. It's tough. Frustration sets in, I'm easily annoyed and definitely more angsty of late. Don't talk about patience...

Not doing what I love most (sports) is bad enough. I've missed a good 8 weeks of weekly touch rugby sessions and just hanging out with the gang after. The touch guys have been way awesome, they do try getting me out to meet them for lunch after their games and even took the trouble to pick me up from my house especially when I was still out on crutches and limping about. But it still sucks knowing that they were enjoying themselves before and hearing them talk about funny things that happen during each session kinda makes you feel like you missed out on a whole lot.

Being limited and restricted in my movements, I've also been venturing out less. Good on the money bit though. I was unable to make it down to the hospital to visit a good friend who just gave birth to her first child. I missed out on some clubbing fun with the girlies at Zouk coz it was just not practical for me to go with crutches (not too sure if the bouncers would let me enter to being with) and just random activities with friends that did not permit me to join them coz of my current state.

Definitely can't wait to bounce back into action. I'm hoping after my 3 month post evaluation in 2 weeks I get some good news! I'm hoping that I can progressively start running after and train up in time for the Army Half Marathon sometime in August. Fingers and toes cross. Meantime, I'll try my best to religiously keep to my strength training and rehab programme for the ankle.

I need to learn to take things easy and just relax.... =)

INKed!

The brother had set up an appointment to get inked last Monday. Since I've never really seen a live tattoo being done on someone apart from those shown on the awesome Miami Ink show with the gorgeous Ami James and talented Chris Garver, the lil' sis and I decided to head down to the tattoo shop to show our support and just check out what really goes on.

It's the brother's second tattoo. The first one was a relatively small and simple one done on his right shoulder blade. This time round, he opted for something slightly bigger on the left side of the chest. I think he really put some thought into this tattoo design....going for a black/grey/ash shaded verison of a Jesus portrait wearing a crown of thorns with a partial side profile of the cross and the 'INRI' script above.

The inking begins

The tattoo artist seemed like a really nice 'Ah beng'. Hahaha, he had this blond mop of hair, had full tattoo sleeves on all four limbs but spoke really good English. My sister and I were pretty amused at his rather excellent command of English. It's just that you stereotypically think of 'Ah bengs' speaking more hokkien and sounding more rough. =)

The sister & I fooling around while waiting...

After a good sitting that lasted somewhere between 4-5 hours, the tattoo was completed. The entire process was exactly what you see on shows like Miami Ink minus all the acting and tv filming touches. I thought the tattoo turned out better than what I initially expected. Kudos to Derrick (the tattoo artist). Even though it was a black/grey tattoo, he did a really good job at highlighting the important features of the portrait and giving it a solemn but gentle touch to the entire design. I like it, although both my parents especially mum still aren't too pleased with what he did.

Just adding the final touches....

Hmmm....I kinda always wanted a tattoo done on the middle of my lower back. Then again, I kinda think I would just chicken out from it. I'm still waiting for the right design to come my way and inspire me, something that will hold a strong meaning and significance since it will be inked permanently on my body. On the other hand, what worries me about getting inked is the aging process coz your skin definitely becomes less supple and the design usually doesn't look as nice as before. Too many considerations to take into account. When the time is right I guess.... think my mum will faint if I told her I was gonna get one!

F. R. I. E. N. D. S

I'm a strong believer in the meaning and importance of friends. I count myself lucky and blessed that all my life, I've been surrounded by many awesome friends who have always been there for me in both good and bad times. Each and everyone of them different in personality, character and talent, but each special in their own way!

This may contradict my earlier statement above. As much as all my friends mean alot to me, I never actually had a BEST FRIEND. Ok, maybe in primary school, I thought I had a best friend. We did almost everything together, but after we graduated and went to separate secondary schools, we totally lost contact. She's still on my Facebook friends list, but we hardly communicate and I honestly have no idea what I would say to her if I did meet up with her again. Since then, it was hard for me to believe that a person could have a single 'betsest' friend forever. Friends do come and go as you get on with your life. I'm not saying it does not happen in this world, but such situations are definitely hard to come by. So if you do have a best friend all your life, good for you. Count yourself lucky and cherrish it!

I like to think of it from a different approach. I must admit I have plenty of friends that I have gotten to know through my 25 years on planet Earth. A best friend No, but good friends a plenty. To me, I find that no one is perfect, not even myself. It might sound demanding to ask that your best friend can help solve all your problems and be there for you no matter what happens. Honestly, I believe that no one person can solve and be there for you for everything. That is why I rather have a group of good friends, coz sometimes, you just need to find the strength in the different people around you.

You can have a friend who is great at listening to all your problems. Sometimes you just need a friend who is willing to chill and drink with you when your down. Then you have your sporting friends who share a similar passion for a certain game and others who you can hang out with and not say a word, but the company alone speaks for itself. Of coz there are those who you share crazy times with and not forgetting your foodie or shopping friends who you hang out with. You see, I choose to rather believe and have a great group of friends I can turn to on different days, whether I'm feeling wild, wacky, sad, happy, hungry, mad, sporty or menstrual-ish. Hahaha.

It's not so much of choosing which friends you want to hang out with. Sometimes you just need to tap on the strengths and weaknesses of your circle of friends to help compliment to make you whole again. Then again as mention, I am blessed indeed to have such wonderful friends. Honestly, I don't think I would have been the same person I am today without each and every single one of them. I think each a has played a part at some point in my life to shape me into the Jacinta I am today.

So thank you to all my friends. I do not have no name names coz there's just too many of you to mention. I believe that each and every single one of you has played an important role, be it tini-tiny or a mega role.... Thank You!

"Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life."
-Dior Yamasaki-

You must be kidding me!

Today was the day of the follow up X-ray for the pretty much busted right foot of mine. It was nice that Mum took time off to accompany me down to the hospital for the check-up. Thanks Mum!

Finally, the cast is off! Yay! It felt so good to be able to scratch the right foot again without having to use foreign objects to stuff down the cast... and yes, I can finally take a proper shower without having to wrap a plastic bag over the cast and pop my leg up! However, with every good news.... there's the occasional bad stuff that comes along....

Apparently, apart from the fact that my fibular is kinda out of place, the doc gave an additional diagnosis saying that I suffered a Grade 2-3 sprain. In layman terms, I had a VERY very very bad sprain. Ligament sprains generally go in the order of Grade 1 to 3. So yes, not too good news there. My ligaments have been totally ruptured and completely torn and it's not just to 1 ligament.... I ruptured all 3 ligaments that pretty much hold your ankle up! The calcaneofibular ligament, the anterior talofibular ligament and the medial (deltoid) ligament!

Click here to read more about the grading of ankle sprains.

Go figure which 3 ligaments I tore!

When the doc removed the cast, I couldn't believe how swollen and bruised my ankle was even after 10 days of immobilisation, not to mention, it actually hurt so much more without that added support of the cast. In place of the cast, I'm now wearing a removable guard to help stabilise the ankle joint. It's a laced up guard which I can wear with my shoes...but at the moment, my foot's a tad to swollen to fit in any of my shoes. Coz the ankle guard is so fitting and snug, it provides a really nice sensation of comfort. I can't fully weight bear yet so the crutches will still have to follow me around.

Well you think that's the worse of it? The most important question I had to ask was how long this recovery was gonna take and when I could start getting back into sports. The doc's reply - at least 3 months, well, 2 months if all goes well! He's even asking me to go for physiotherapy sessions which will start in 3 weeks time when the pain and swelling subside!

NOOOOOoooooooooo......

Are you F$^&#@^#@ kidding me???? 3 months? I'm gonna turn into a freaking WHITE BLOB! Looks like it's sayonara to my hope of making it back in time to compete in the biathlon! Bummer!

Well, my 10 day hospitalisation leave officially ends today. Looks like I'm back to the office tmr.... something which I have to go figure now. How the hell am I getting there and back tmr and what to wear and which bag to bring. You see, all these need to be taken into consideration especially when you're moving around on crutches without much assistance! God help me!

Totally ramdom point: I've decided to come up with a new label for my blog posts - Ja's Injuries. Haha.

BUONO!

It was the parent's wedding anniversary yesterday. In celebration of their 27 years of blissful marriage the YEO children decided to have a lunch out - at Buono's Pizza Bar & Italian Restaurant.

Tucked away in the quiet corner of the Serangoon Gardens Estate, I wouldn't have known this diner even existed if not for a fellow blogger's recommendation. I've heard pretty good reviews of this place so decided to give it a go. With my foot in the current state it's in, we hailed a taxi and made our way down... it felt awesome to get out of the house! =)

A simple little restaurant, furnished with solid wooden tables and chairs, wine collection displayed and at the far end, the glass paneled kitchen where you can see the chef prep your pizzas! For starters we were served a basket of fresh garlic bread and decided to go with their recommended Portobello Mushrooms and Rock melon wrapped with Prosciutto. The sister and I really enjoyed the latter dish, the combined sweet and juicy taste from the rock melon together with the smoked salty prosciutto, felt like a tango dance going on in the mouth!

Rock melon wrapped with Prosciutto

Portobello Mushrooms

For mains, Dad had the special of the day which was this Seafood pasta with white wine sauce. The seafood was really generous with baby clam, calamari, crayfish and prawns. Really loved the white wine sauce only because you could actually still taste the white wine flavour at the end, unlike others I've tried where it's totally being drowned out. Mum decided to try the Seafood Ravioli served with a tomato base. I wasn't a big fan of this dish, but credit to the freshness of the seafood stuffing which came along with each bite into the ravioli.

The brother chose the really awesome pasta that I can't remember what it's called...darn! Anyway, it was basically penne pasta served with a wonderful tangy tomato based sauce topped with cherry tomatoes, zucchini and fresh herbs. There was this extra burst of flavor at the end of each mouthful which my brother and I till now have not figured what exactly it's attributed too. Haha. I will try to sus out the exact name of this dish and get back to you!


Finally, the sister and I went with their classic and house special, Buono pizza, a wood fired thin crust pizza topped with a sour cream base, home made sausages, mozzarella cheese and fresh rockets. I'm a huge fan of wood fired thin crusted pizzas and this probably tops it thus far. Definitely value of money and a tummy filler as well (if sharing between two)!

Buono pizza!!! Awesomeness!

By the time dessert came round, we were all pretty satisfied, except for the little sister who was really drawn to the Lava cake. Not too bad, but not fantastic either. I've tasted better ones. Nonetheless, the cake was served nice, spongy and warm and the chocolate oozed out perfectly! Not forgetting the vanilla gelato!

Overall, a really nice meal with the family at a pretty nice restaurant. I think I went in there with a really high expectation but I honestly think only the pizza lived up to it. I think the dinner ambiance would be nicer and probably better for more couple-ish dates rather than family. Just my take on it. =)

27 Lichfield Road S(556847)
Serangoon Garden Estate
Tel: 6733 5646
http://www.buonopizzabar.com/

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sat: 12noon - 2:30pm, 6pm - 10:30pm
Sun: 10am - 2:30pm, 6pm - 10:30pm

Ja's Rating: 7.5/10