.::. My Loves .::.

I was clearing my iPhone album, and found this picture of us in the snow. It was taken during our honeymoon. We were in Switzerland and have just checked out of an attic room with slanted ceiling in a little quaint 'hotel'. We were walking to the train station in the snow to catch a train (and bus) to Munich to meet Alex and Julia. It was snowing, both of us were walking on snow-covered cobblestones and walked past a school with children playing with snow outside. He asked me to take a picture of us together, because we never had a picture together while it was snowing. I was in my thick jacket with a heavy backpack and didn't want to take out my DSLR, so i whipped out my trusty iPhone instead, to snap a picture of us using the lousy front camera. We were happy then, and then the train got delayed and all. I still remember that moment so vividly.

That's why I love photos - they tell stories.

Which reminds me, I've been wanting to write about our honeymoon! That was in January and it's already November. =/ *mental note to get it done before the year ends* I think our backpacking trips around Europe have been the most memorable ones for me, but the husband thinks it's Nepal - because, well, how can we forget how we puke and sh*t and seen the worst of each other on the trip?

The other love of my life is definitely Chikey (and Chinook). Chikey is so loving these days, loving to cuddle and wanting to lie on me all the time.

I cut his nails that day, and one nail bled. The husband wasn't too happy with me, and it was one of the rare times when I let him on the bed (he just had a bath) and cuddle him to keep him off his feet till the bleeding stopped.

Other days he simply jump at you on the sofa till you carry him on your lap. He's a warm ball of fur.

Other days, he just simply look cute and keep coming to me while I'm in bed.

And when I'm studying, he keeps me company by sleeping.

And here's 2 of my loves.

I love this picture, snapped one night when the husband carried Chikey up the bed just before he's going to sleep. He doesn't think it's nice, but I love it. =)

Life's so short, and sometimes, the best things in life are these simplest moments.

.::. Herbal Black Chicken Soup .::.

Today is one of those days when I feel like work has sucked all my energy from me and there's nothing left in me. Perhaps it's PMS, or maybe it's been a stressful period trying to juggle everything, but I simply feel so spent.

Luckily, there was herbal black chicken soup at home waiting for me on a rainy evening. I cooked it since morning in the slow cooker.

And...it's yummy! I bought the herbs individually instead of buying those ready-packed ones. It tastes a lot nicer. There's quite a few versions of 'herbal black chicken soup', but I used the most common one. Black chicken soup is supposedly very nourishing and good for the body.

These are what I used with one small black chicken:

Chinese dates or red jujube - 红枣 (3-5 depending on size)

Chinese wolfberries or goji berries - 枸杞子 (a few teaspoons)

Polygonatum odoratum - 玉竹 (about half a palm-full)

Astragalus propinquus - 北芪 (3-4 pieces)

Angelica sinensis - 当归 (2-4 pieces)

Codonopsitis Pilosulae - 党参 (2-3 long sticks)

Dioscoreae Oppositae - 淮山 (about 3 stripes)

I simply threw a whole black chicken and all the herbs in the slow cooker and put the pot in the fridge. Just fill the pot with water in the morning before leaving house and on the slow cooker at low. By evening, the chicken would have been very soft and the soup yummy. I add in the red dates/wolfberries and a pinch of salt to taste when I'm back in the evening. You can add those chinese mushrooms, ginger slices or fresh wild chinese yam (淮山). Other variations includes things like white fungus, dried longan, peanuts/black beans, cordyceps, ginseng and even scallops.

This soup makes a simple and nourishing meal and is extremely simple to cook! I usually throw in some noodles - it goes well with rice too. And if you're too lazy to buy every herb individually, the packet ones will do too, though it doesn't taste as good. =)

.::. Get Moving .::.

The husband has been away for reservice and it's during times like that when I enjoy my me-time and to visit the gym more often instead of feeling guilty that I'm not home cooking for him or having dinner together. I still love my kickboxing classes and Zumba was surprisingly demanding!

It's also when he's away that I do my shopping.

The new outlet at Suntec is huge, so is the relatively new outlet at Harbor Front.

 

I keep a ready supply of frozen vegetables in the fridge. Did you know that many studies have shown that frozen vegetables contains more vitamins than 'fresh' vegetables which are actually not that fresh? I love the Bird Eye's green beans and because I dislike peas, I never do get the mixed vegetables. They are surprisingly sweet and I usually stir-fry them with some olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and some oregano.

My idea of a yummy but relatively healthy meal. Black pepper chicken chop with stir-fry vegetables topped with an egg.

And this is what I pack for lunch very often. I pack my lunch to office daily and usually pan-fry a fish or chicken seasoned lightly with a pinch of salt and spices with stir-fry vegetables and fresh white button mushrooms (my favorite).

I've been a lot more conscious with my diet although I still indulge during weekends and sometimes dinner because I have dinner with my eat-whatever-no-exercise-but-still-stay-skinny husband. I try to eat as clean as possible when I'm alone and get some exercise consistently.

Not easy to stay in shape, but let's get moving.

.::. Buying from Taobao II .::.

I wrote about Buying from Taobao some time back, and would like to add a few points since my PRC colleagues have been giving me lots of tips and pointers. I bought quite a few items from Taobao, not fully aware of discerning the quality of sellers. I was lucky that most of the stuff I got was pretty decent, but I've read of many who are disappointed with their purchases too.

According to them, the Chinese themselves buy extensively from Taobao - from fashion, to food, to air tickets and hotels. They take ratings and comments very seriously. Most of them only buy from top rated sellers and look at the comments.

How to know if sellers are good without having to read through many chinese comments? How to choose good sellers?

The short cut is to look at the seller's rating, which is accumulated over time and many reviews. The highest rating is "crowns" where you see lots of glittering crowns right below the seller's name. The maximum number of crowns should be 5 and any seller with crowns should be generally safe to buy from. The level before crowns are diamonds. The maximum number of diamonds is also 5 and will upgrade to one crown after 5 diamonds. The starting level should be stars.

These was what the Chinese themselves shared, and it was new to me, so I thought that I should share it with everyone else. They've been showing me how to buy authentic ZARA and branded apparels which are sold by factories directly though Taobao among many other things. *gasp* I've yet to try though I'm tempted to.

There's now Taobao Southeast Asia and it seems possible for us to buy directly from Taobao through an account with Alipay. I still haven't figured out how it works and still enjoy the convenience of buying through daigou65 who will settle my order and ship them over. I'm not quite sure how the shipping fees is if we buy direct from sellers and get them to arrange shipment - you may save the 5-7% commission but have to liase with sellers directly (in chinese!) and the shipment fee might be more expensive (as daigou has preferential rates and ship in bulk).

Will update again if I find out something new. =)