CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS & RAISIN MUFFINS

It's baking day again, CHOCOLATE CHIP muffins today+ RAISIN muffins version Nice & fluffy, recipe googled out this evening and baked fresh. And lemme tell you why I bother to make muffins, b'coz muffins here cost A$4.50 per piece at cafes and usually quite dry and too crumbly for my taste...you probably get more flour than chocolate chips actually..... At the airport, it's A$5.00 per muffin (that's RM 12.50 mind you!) The ones you get at Cole's or Woolies can be about $1 each but just not my standard of muffin quality.

RECIPE:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs (big)

1/2 cup butter (about 125g)

1 tsp vanilla essence

2/3 cup milk

1 x 11.5 oz pkt or roughly 1 cup of chocolate chips (milk chocolate ones nicer) /

if want raisins version, just soak a cupful with some milk for 1 hour, then pop it in right at the end.

Bake until rise about 20-25 mins 180F, makes 12 muffins, tastes good, saves lots of money and your kid is happy.

I NEVER HEARD ABOUT THESE SERVICES... UNTIL NOW.

I am so amazed at the entrepreneurial skills & innovative job ideas of the Aussies, ..specialising is so very important in this land. You need about 4 people from 4 different companies to repair a bathroom leak. (Honest to God, that's what happened to me) So specific are the skills that you probably will only find it under one heading per entry in the yellow pages. (Joking!) Here are some examples I've observed:

1. NIT-PICKING SERVICES:

Wow! that is a new one for me. Especially since Jordie and I just recovered from lice invasion in our hair, this was a service that really drew my attention.

We specialise in prevention, detection and treatment of nits and head lice in children. No time to sort out those head lice eggs in the hair? Send the kids off to the Nit-picking service centre and u will have the problem out of your hair, literally

2. KITTY-SITTING: Imagining someone sitting on kittens. Taking care of your feline friends when you are away, purrr-fect!!

3. PERSONAL CHEF: This is my fave. What can be more enjoyable than having someone come in to cook for you in the comfort of your own home, they buy the stuff, use your kitchen, serve you first class, then clean-up and go? Table cloth + candlelight & decor thrown in as well. Prices can range anything from A$110-A$250 per person for a 3-4 course meal. Much like catering, except for very small crowd or even a couple/family. Will try this when I get rich....

4. ANIMAL CHIROPRACTOR: Yup, specialising in dogs/cats with athritic or muscle pains and needing physiotherapy or special massage.

5. ARBORIST (OR TREE-CLIMBER): An arborist, arboriculturalist or tree surgeon is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the management and maintenance of ornamental or shade trees. Work can include tree surgery and also care of shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. They are not a forester, or loggers. Those professions may have much in common, but the scope of work is different. Arborists frequently focus on health and safety of individual trees, or wooded landscapes, rather than managing forests or harvesting wood.

6. OSTRICH BABYSITTER

Apparently for this job, u get to sit in a field full of ostrich in a farm and make sure that they didn't peck each other to death or get stolen. Any job where you can sit down, read a book and do absolutely no work is always a plus, but I've heard that these birds' behavior can get a little aggressive.

7. PET FOOD TASTER Obviously the doggies and pussycats can't tell you in English how good the food is or how bad, so, it has to be a human taster for their food, rite? .......Ok, will now start my job application....I probably need a cert or sit for an exam for each of those professions........

209 DEATH TOLL FOR VIC BUSHFIRES

So sad, 209 is such a high number for fire disaster in the bushlands. It seems so devastating to have such a high no. of deaths in this day and age. Werent there any warnings? Why couldn't they escape on time? Or were they just stubbornly staying on to salvage their material possessions?

Now, four large fires continue to burn across Victoria as authorities warn the threat of new fires will be high this weekend. The warning came as the death toll from the devastating February 7 firestorm rose to 209.

Fire authorities on Friday said the bushfire threat remained high, with no significant rain forecast and fuel loads continuing to dry out. The combination of hot weather, northerly winds and the chance of lightning has pushed the fire danger warning to high and could increase fire activity over the weekend and Monday. God, have mercy on the land!

TWIN TOWERS CRAZE

"So how?" I asked. Jordan came back today beaming proudly and said Mrs Norman, his teacher said he did very well. And the whole class was so crazy about the KL twin towers that he talked about right after that. Almost the whole class had put up their hands when asked if they received any eye contact from Jordan. I asked if anyone moved, or teased him when he talked. He said no, Mrs Norman taught them about having "audience respect"... hmmm. how come we never learnt all this in school back then? I'm glad that his self-esteem & confidence is boosted after this round and that he likes presenting stuff. All that preparation paid off after all.

PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR 8-YEAR OLDS

"Malaysia is... um... Malaysia has many,,um different races, cultures.... the capital of Malaysia is Malaysia....." And that, ladies & gentlemen, was my son Jordie trying to rehearse his presentation for class this Friday. Not the first time he's been at it but he needs more confidence & less looking at his palm cards. (I keep calling them flash cards and he says, for the last time mummy, it is NOT flash cards, it is palm cards)..ok,ok...now start right from the beginning again! "Did you know that the world's tallest twin towers is in Kuala Lumpur... where I used to live?"...and ya, mummy, can we add in please how many floors it has and how long they took to build it? ..ok,ok, will google on it tonite... now carry on next point!

I do appreciate though his school stressing the importance of public speaking, it builds personal confidence and puts one in check. It's a program called Biz Kids and they can talk about anything they like and prepare own research & visual aids. Have always been involved in public speaking when I was in school, and there is always this good feeling after a nice presentation that people had looked interested, laughed and nodded their heads when u spoke about something. Am trying to let Jordan learn more about presentation skills & confidence before a crowd. Someday, I would like him to speak before many many people and influence them positively,

Meantime, the makings of a great orator still begins with humble basics: palm cards... and showing off hand-drawn Malaysian map on a manila cardboard, and practice, lots of it.....

So, just some tips to help groom your little one in presentation skills (I don't claim to know it all!):

1. Give them something to do with their hands, they get fidgety just standing still to talk. Visual aids, showing some items, whatever helps them to focus on the thing they are talking about is good.

2. Palm cards in clear, big writing.

3. Don't try to memorise word for word, give them the main points and tell them to speak about those main points, the way they feel comfortable to speak it. If grammar mistakes are too many, then perhaps writing it out initially helps structure their sentences.

4. Be firm, but also help them to learn to laugh at their mistakes. Too much stress doesn't help matters.

5. Do a dry run if possible. Go to the place they are supposed to give their presentation, if possible, so that they are used to the place, and arrangement of tables. Practice holding up visual aids and putting them down.

6. Remember to get rid of any distracting accessories/ bling blings, that nice bracelet, or watch that keeps slipping, pants too tight, hair that needs tying up,, whatever..

7. Tell them they are doing fine and how much the practice has helped them. After all, confidence is key to being a good presenter.

PRAISES FOR WOOLWORTHS

I have been pretty forgetful lately, it's a sign of ageing, sigh... I realised I forgot one whole bag of groceries from Woolworths where I regularly shop. And I was pretty mad at myself. I was thinking I probably could just kiss that whole bag goodbye including my favourite double espresso coffee and a Dynamo refill...well over 4 hours later then only I discover the loss...but decided to just phone in anyway to try my luck, see if they saw my bag. I wasn't feeling optimistic about getting anything back. Well, well, what do you know? The customer service manager in charge said they had itemised everything that was left behind and confirmed everything I read out in the receipt! . She said I could come by to pick up the items anytime from the store again (they put them back on shelves) or just get full refund for lost items.

Wonderful! I know most places would do that in this country, especially if it was left at the counter, but in Malaysia, that hardly ever happens. One bag forgotten means one bag lost forever. Honesty is one of the best things I appreciate about this country. That's why toilet rolls are in every cubicle, not central like those in Malaysian public restrooms, and bicycles aren't locked in schools here. I saw kids here entrusting their money with a kind adult who was a stranger to them- because the queue to pay their book money was just too long, so that they could go back to class. But...I don't know if anyone would return a $50 bill if they saw it drop out of your pocket, though. ..my guess is perhaps 50/50.

Sure, there may be some bad eggs around, but on the whole, their upbringing is to respect one another's belongings and courtesy & trust means a great deal to me. so..Woolworths, thanks! you have my praise and oh, I will shop there this Friday, since you are contributing your profits on Friday to bushfire victims.

AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE

Pray for Australia, the land is coming under crisis. The death toll of bushfires in Victoria & NSW has reached 200 to date. Unpredictable winds are helping winds tear thru southwestern australia at a scary pace. They need rain and grace, lots of it at this time. My heart goes out to the homeless and those who lost loved ones. They were caught off guard, some couldn't run in time.

The sickening fact is that some of the fires were started by arsonists (labelled as 'firebugs') Kevin Rudd calls them mass murderers and labelled the burnt places as 'crime scenes' and places visited by hell. We need a miracle to save the land - like sudden rain, lots of it....

PIANO - THE LONELIEST INSTRUMENT

yup..I finally found Jordan a piano teacher named Barbara White. We saw her yesterday and hopefully..., she turns out to be suitable. Short petite lady in early 50's, bit like a retired schoolteacher look & nice, but firm & neat person. Lives in Varsity Lakes near his school.

I really, really wish for Jordie to be able to play so much more better than me. He's doing pretty well with his classicals so far.. although not without his fair share of complaints, bargainings and groanings about practising. The teacher was quite surprised that he was doing pieces beyond his finger capacity. What to do, this mummy no good at selecting songs for him...

He doesn't enjoy learning the pieces, but he enjoys being able to master the songs, which ultimately at the end of the day is the satisfaction of knowing 'yes you can do it' and I don't care what other parents say about how they should just let their kids decide what they like to do,..b'cos when it comes to discipline and mastering something, the parents have to be the one to be committed for their kids and see them thru, otherwise nothing will ever come out of those classes... at least till they reach teenage-hood to be able to make sensible decisions. Lessons here are expensive tho.. at A$24 per half-hour, that makes you kinda sit up and take notice. But I'm glad she seems like nice lady and an out-of-box thinker. "Piano is the loneliest instrument " she said, so we should try to expose him to playing in groups and see how fun music can be. But she said piano is always a good instrument to start with to help with both hands coordination and discipline. I've always believed in keyboards because as lonely as it gets, it stands on its own very well without the need for other instruments... for certain songs. O SOLO MIO!

So, Jordie practice hard, be a good pianist, enjoy it,,..and make us all proud!

AUSTRALIA FIGHTING FIRE & WATER

BURNT TO THE GROUND.. whatever that's left of 500 homes lost at Kinglake

SO... what on earth is happening to this country? Am new to this land, but is this normal at this time of year to see different natural disasters like that happening? Bush fires across VICTORIA state.. the worst it seems, since 1983. The death toll from horrific bushfires across Victoria this weekend has reached 84, surpassing the number of people who perished in the 1983 Ash Wednesday blazes. Temperatures in Melbourne and certain parts went up to as high as 46 degrees celsius!

More than 700 homes have been lost in what is being described as 'Hell on Earth', and it is feared the death toll will pass 100. Twenty-six fires continue to burn across Victoria; 12 of those are out of control. Authorities suspect arsonists are responsible for some fires.

Firemen are battling wildfires in south-eastern Australia that have killed at least 108 people. The area is experiencing one of its worst heatwaves in decades.

The Kinglake Complex blaze continues to burn out of control and so far has burnt through more than 220,000 hectares. Communities around Glenburn, Taggerty and Rubicon are being urged to remain alert for any threats to their homes.

The federal and Victorian governments have set up a Bushfire Relief Fund and $10 million in Centrelink payments for victims.

In QUEENSLAND, they are fighting water instead. Flash floods, and heavy torrential rain in north Queensland has pushed floodwaters at town of Ingham higher..,caused by tropical ex-cyclone Ellie dumped torrential rain across north Queensland. And to make matters worse, farmers fear the rain and floods that have affected two-thirds of Queensland will devastate the beef industry in some regions, while sugarcane growers are also bracing for heavy losses.TENS of thousands of cattle stranded by floods in Queensland have been left to starve because owners cannot drop feed to them and state authorities say they are powerless to act. For sure, beef & milk prices going to shoot up.... NOT GOOD ...hope the smoke and water clears up soon.........it is sorta like 2 tight slaps on the face at the same time... environmentally and economically.

EPISODE 20: IT CAME CRASHING..

BANG! that was what I heard this morning. The workman was upstairs doing bathroom works and he came running downstairs. I thought the noise was him dropping one of my dismantled shower screens. Seems not... the sound came from a car crashing into his truck parked outside my house. Mystery was no driver in the car. OOPS! the gear must have been on the wrong mode.

Auto car on drive mode is dangerous when you park on slope, EVEN if handbrakes are pulled...never ever overlook that! Now, who did it belong to? He tried knocking on a few doors. So, it turns out to be my neighbour's guest who was the culprit. She wasn't insured and was pretty mad at herself. Thank God the workman's truck was parked outside my gate and it prevented the runaway car from crashing right into my gates and fence!!