10 months old

Hi everyone, I'm Hisham. I'm 9 months old today.

I'm a happy and cheerful baby. I can move very fast now even though my mummy says that I can't crawl yet. I talk a lot and love all the attention. I still cry and scream when nobody wants to pick me up. Oh, and I can sit properly now. I've been teething since I was 4 months old but I still don't have any proper teeth yet. I love to eat everything and bite anything. I still don't want any other milk except from my mum.

Everyone loves me!!!

To my dear friend

I was so busy yesterday and was so tired that by night time, I realised that I didn't even have a chance to check-up on developments online.

The day before, I heard of some bad news about a close friend of mine, Lini. I would like to convey my deepest condolences to her for the lost of her beloved husband. I don't know how she feels right now but I definitely know that she is a very strong woman, wife and mum to two very beautiful kids. Al-Fatihah and my prayers for him. May he rest in peace.

Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un

Truly to Allah we belong, and truly to Him we shall return.

Over a month

Tomorrow will be a month exactly after a year that I've been blogging. Personally, I think 've done quite an impressive job. I say impressive because the amount of posts that I've published this month alone is already more than the posts published for the whole of my first year!

Well done Mummy Nana! My beloved hubby even sent me a motivating email saying I did a good job :-). I was also happy as I didn't even realized that I've been posting that much this year and I'm loving it.

Maybe it's because I have more free time now, I mean since I'm not working except for being full time mummy/housewife. I have more time to relax without thinking of jobs needing to be done and sent back to the office first thing on Monday morning and leaving the kids to someone as well as doing my daily routine. How I wished I don't have to work but at the same time earning lots of money. Sigh.

I don't know, to be honest, blogging is another way for me to try to communicate with people, my family, friends and the outside world. Getting to know tips, stories, new interesting recipes and reading about other people's lives and experiences. I enjoy sharing my side of the story as well as meeting new friends around the world. Isn't it cool what modern technology can do for us?

Well, I'll keep on posting as long I can and while I'm still not working. Do keep on reading and leave comments especially if you like my posts.

A million thanks for taking the time reading this blog!

Conversation. Again

It's the morning and we were getting ready to send Ameera to the bus stop for school. While putting on Hisham's jacket suddenly, Ameera asked me.

Ameera: Mummy can we go by car today...?
Mummy: Of course. Yes.

Suddenly, Husayn who was entertaining himself, shouted out.

Husayn: Yay! Yay! We're going by car! (turning the words into his own improvised song)

I was confused as to why he was so excited.

After dropping Ameera off, we arrived back home. When opening the car door for Husayn...

Husayn: Mummy, I thought we're going by car? (half whining and looking extremely disappointed)
Mummy: Yes, we did send Ameera by car.
Husayn: Nooooo. You said we were going BY CAR!!!
Mummy: We did.
Husayn: Nooooo. You said we're going to BUY a car? Where is the new CAR???
Mummy: ?????

After a good 10 minutes explaining it to him he eventually understood and stopped crying. We're going to send Ameera with a car instead of walking.

Husayn: OoOoOOoh!

At the bus stop waiting for Ameera

Coffee, books and reading to my kids

It's Sunday today. Guess what? It was snowing again last night. Sigh. It's not that I don't like snow, it's just that if it snows on a school day, it means I have to go out and push the pram to the bus stop where my daughter gets the bus to school, instead ofdriving there. I don't like to do that in this kind of weather.

However, I don't mean to be ungrateful when it's snows, the feeling is definitely so different and really fantastic. It's definitely God's creation-you can't deny it. Not everyone can get a chance to experience this.

I come from equatorial/tropical kind of weather which means, there is no way anyone living in that part of the world would get a chance to even smell the snow or feel a chilly breeze. So, don't get me wrong, when I say I don't like snow. It's wonderful to have it but how I wish it was the holidays when the snow falls. Hehehe.



Well, I thought I wanted to stay at home again today , but on second thought, we went out to get some fresh air and a cup of coffee at the local Starbucks. There is no other nice coffee shop around here. After relaxing there we decided to have a walk around the area. We ended up going to a few shops and bought a few things (tools for my kitchen) and books for the kids.

What a bargain when a single book costs €2.99 each but you only have to pay €6 for 5 of them! Anyone interested in getting one of these bargains? PM me! I've bought lots of book collections whenever I have the chance and money. My kids love to read books and my husband and I always take turns to read to them at night.


Personally, I think reading to children helps them think, learn and prepare for a successful future. They will be exposed to new things and lots of new words. Lots of surveys and studies that have been conducted show if you read to your children he/she will score higher in IQ tests.

What do you think? I'm not sure about it yet (my kidsaren't old enough to be taking any real IQ tests), but one thing is definitely sure, my kids interact and learn really fast. They might not start to read when they are 3 like all other genius kids out there but for sure, their confidence toward things and the outside world is obvious. When you're pregnant it's also good to read and interact with your baby in your womb. It helps develop their brain and they can easily recognise us parents better.

I love curling up next to my kids in bed with a fun book and spending quality time reading and learning together. For parents that have not experienced this joy, it is never too late and a world of possibilities await.

Dipped Rice Krispie snack

After a busy week, finally I managed to get some rest for myself and woke up late today. For the first time in her life, my daughter, Ameera also woke up late today. What a relief as she never wakes up later than 8 o'clock in the morning and usually at 7 even though she went to bed very late the night before. If she sleeps it just means everyone can get back to bed peacefully. She has lots of energy and she's just never tired doing anything but easily gets bored when she doesn't have anything to do.

Anyway, I told my husband that I've decided to stay home today. What a relief to him. I usually nag him to go out during weekend as I keep telling him that this is the only time we can spend time together outside with the kids since I always do it alone during the week.

My husband more of a stay-at-home-type of person as well as me. I know he won't agree though. But, in my defence, I didn't go to work and I didn't get to see and communicate with people other than my kids everyday. So, rather than having my 'ME' time alone, I told him I prefer going out with him together with the kids. So, every weekend I always want to go somewhere even if it was just for a cup of coffee.

Well, what did I do today? After the normal routine, taking care of the kids, cooking, washing some cloths, etc..etc... I decided to do something with my kids. I saw this simple and fun dipped rice krispie recipe that looks yummy. I took it from this blog but somehow I didn't have enough marshmallows as well as dark chocolate so, I decided to use my own imagination:


2 tbsp butter
150gm Marshmallows (I used the big white and pink ones)
4 1/2 cup of rice krispies
150gm white cooking chocolate(as I've told you I always have stock at home)
1 tsp butter

Method:
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a non-stick deep pan. Put all the marshmallows in and stir until everything has melted together. You might need to use a low heat so the mixture won't get burnt easily. Then, pour in all the rice krispies. Fold it until all of it is fully covered. I used a buttered rectangle tin pan and poured in the hot mixture.


Use the back of spoon to press/even the mixture out on the pan. As my marshmallow are not that much, my mixture is not that sticky so I can cut it into shape straight-away. My kids used a gingerbread cutter and a circle cutter. Leave it aside while you melt the cooking white chocolate next.


Place broken or chopped chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat on Medium power for 15 to 20 second intervals. Pausing to stir gently between times. When the chocolate is almost melted, remove from microwave oven and allow it to sit for a few minute to complete the melting process. Put in butter and stir again.


Take one by one of the krispie bars and dip one side of it into the melted chocolate and leave it to dry. Ta daa! All is ready to eat!

What a day

My back is still aching from standing for 5 hours straight at the concert a few nights ago. But as promised, and because it's the short mid-term school break, I still brought my kids to Ikea. The place had arranged for a few activities for the kids to enjoy. The idea obviously was, while mummy goes shopping the kids can do something else under proper supervision.

The story telling started at 12 but due to an unforeseen incident, we ended up there at around 1 instead. I had to make a few rounds around the parking lot to finally find a space. I still couldn't believe my eyes, it was not even the weekend but the place was full of people.



When we were in the building, the story-telling event had just finished. So, I decided to just register them down at the play area for the 1.15 session. Dragging my 3 kids alone, I went upstairs to the restaurant. OMG, it was flooded with people and the queue to buy food was SO long. Patiently, I dragged the kids along and followed the flow-one hand pushing the pram and the other holding my elder son. While Ameera pushed the trolley tray to the counter. Sigh. Well, at least Ameera was a big help.

After paying, it was another mission to find a place to seat. How I wished my husband was here to help. I felt like crying but I always knew that I'm a strong MOM!!! I'm so proud of myself... hehehehe.

I suppose, that's what full-time moms do anyway. Entertaining the kids while the husband goes to work.





We were just on time when my kids finished their meals and went back downstairs to the play area. Again, I went back upstairs, thinking it would be nice if I could get a cup of hot chocolate. I changed my mind after seeing that the queue was still very long. It would just kill me. So, I decided to just walk around the showroom instead.



When the buzzer rang on the device system they gave us, I ran back down to collect the kids. I went back upstairs to the restaurant and this time, we joined in the craft-making event. My kids enjoyed colouring and just making stuff. After they were all satisfied, it was time to go home. Still, with some energy left, I found my long way out to the cashier and paid for a few stuff before we had an ice cream for the day.



Then, it was straight to Tesco to get some groceries. What a day. It was tiring but we enjoyed the time spent together.


Well, I am happy when my kids are happy even though my back, legs and feet are really, really sore. At the end of the day Ameera asked a question:

So Mummy, what 's the plan for tomorrow??? I have a few ideas to keep us busy until Sunday!

Oh, no.

It's not Funny!!!

I nearly got a heart attack today. It happend when I wanted to take Husayn for a shower. But he tried to escape and run away. Eventually, he went straight to my bathroom and closed the door. I tried to open it and he tried to stop me from the inside.

As a reverse pyschology-type measure, I told him goodbye and that I'm going out and would leave him behind. He immediately started to panic as the door was closed really tight. With his little hands, he thought it was locked.

So, he tried to open it again and somehow, instead of turning the door handle, he turned the key and locked himself in!

I ignored him at first, thinking he was just playing around but after a good few seconds he was still screaming his head off. At this stage, I tried to open the door and Oh GOD! I was in a state of panic and tried to be calm as I kept thinking that I could always tell him to give me the key by pushing it through the gap under the door.

Unfortunately, he didn't even know how to take the key out out from the key hole. My heart thumped really fast then as I realised that my boy was really stuck. Apart from his screaming and crying I was afraid that he will use that genius brain of his and climb straight to the bathroom window without thinking what was going to happen next (he's tried something similar before).

I called my husband who was at the office at the time, panicking and on the verge of crying. I told him what happend. While he was trying to explain the options we had, suddenly the door opened. Alhamdulillah. Thank God. And then, the real DRAMA started...

Search & Hujan Concert in Dublin

This was only the second time in my entire life that I've been to a proper concert. This time, I was at the front of stage. In the first row!

Hahaha... I was like a 17-year old teenager the way I layan the gig. It was cool!!! Overall, two thumbs up to both Search and Hujan. But, I like Hujan's performance more than Search's. Maybe because I'm too young to appreciate Search's all-out rock music. LOL.

Well done to Dublin Apokalipto too. They performed really well. And, thanks to Orang Kita for making this happen. They took the trouble to specially fly the two bands over from Malaysia to Ireland. You guys RAWK!!! Pewitttttttttttttttttttttttttttt...

On the other hand, I've always been talking about never having a chance to take pictures with celebrities. Well, that ALL changed last night, it's as if my dreams have come true! Even though they were not really my favourite celebrities, but what the heck, they're still celebrities and I'm loving it.

Thanks to my hubby for being my photographer for the night and my friend Sarahah who had the patience to bear with my diva-like demands for photos. Hehehe...

Oh, and the best thing is, I was wearing the same shoes as Amy (different colour of course) and most of Hujan!

Lazy weekend

What a lazy weekend. We didn't do anything much and didn't go out. Staying at home lazying around. I know all the shops and restaurants will be busy with couples celebrating Valentine's.

Well, on the theme of love particularly, sharing my love with my family, here's a video of my cheeky Husayn...

Nadeen's Birthday!!!

Yesterday was Husayn's best friend's 3rd birthday. I can safely say she is his best friend because since Husayn was small up to now, they've been each other's only play mates. When I used to go to work, I would leave him over at Nadeen's house, where they were given very good care by Kakak Ija. He loves them both SO much and I think of them as part of my own family.


The sad part is, they plan to go home for good to Malaysia really soon. So, I guess he'll miss her a LOT. You guys will be missed!! Even now, every single day Husayn keeps asking me to bring him to Nadeen's house to play as if he knows that time is running out with his best friend. Knowing me, I am just too lazy to go out if there is no special occassion or things to do. Maybe, if they were my next door neighbour of course, I'll pop over anytime.

Anyway, on one occasion before we went to her house I was looking at a girl's picture on my laptop and I asked him...

Mummy: Husayn, is that girl cute?

Husayn: Emmm...yeah...

Mummy: Is she your girlfriend?

Husayn: No.

Mummy: Why?

Husayn: Because Nadeen's my girlfriend!!!

Mummy: Smiling (in my mind.. boy oh boy...)

Well, back to the party itself. Her mommy invited us to Nadeen's Green-themed Tinker Bell party. Apart from the present for Nadeen, I decided to do her mommy a favour by baking green cinnamon rolls for the party. This time, I tried to use a Brioche recipe by Artisan Bread in Five instead. It doesn't involve using an electrical mixer and it's easy too. Oh yeah..I put green colouring to adapt the party's theme. And, pink icing too...OMG!!!


But my husband still prefers the cinnamon rolls I made using the receipe from Amber's blog.

My baby's progress

No. It's not that his 10 months old already but in the last 2 days he has started to crawl. Well, not really a proper crawl but mostly slithering on his stomach like a mini soldier using his arms and elbows.

I've been writing every month about my baby's progress and to be honest, I'm a bit worried mainly because, compared to his brother and sister who at this stage could crawl, stand and sit steadily without support, he's still pretty much like a baby errr... a smaller baby. He can sit by himself but is still quite wobbly.

Heheh... I can't get the real soldier-baby video but this is the more or less what he looks like when he is trying to reach me or something else except without the crying bit. Oh yes, he loves to cry a lot now. Seeking attention in any kind of way. Choking himself by inserting his finger into his throat as well as the usual screaming his head off untill his eyes are red and swollen.

On the other hand, he prefers this way to move around. Heheh...Flipping and turning his body until he reaches his desired destination.

Opppss..! He nearly fell off the bed again. I have to CUT!!!

Interesting Girly Fact #3 and Samuel L. Jackson

I was in town yesterday. The minute I got in the car (after browsing around a few shops in town), I turned on the radio. Siobhan O'Connor was on air with her Hot Goss. She said Samuel L. Jackson was spotted at BT, the same place I was a few minutes ago. Dammit!

Mr Jackson

Like I've said before, I've never met anyone famous. Even if I did, I'd never have proof because I'd never have a chance to take a picture with them. LoL. And, knowing my luck with celebrities, Mr. Jackson himself might have passed beside me without me noticing!

I remember stalking Rachel Allen one afternoon when she was in Dublin for some book signings but in the end, I went home empty-handed. Fortunately, I had a signed copy of her recipe book which a friend of mine bought for me as an advanced Birthday present :-). I wanted to take a picture with her but I was so shy to go and ask myself. Well, my friend said why not? After all she is a celebrity so, she won't mind. But I was alone...and shy.

Thanks I-syah

Anyway, back to the interesting fact for this week. While I was listening to the radio again, a survey was conducted and one of the interesting findings was that Men nowadays take longer to get ready compared to Women!!!

The average woman takes 97 minutes to get ready from taking a shower, drying their hair, putting on make-up and dressing up. BUT oh no. Men take longer than that.

Well personally, I can say that is very true. My beloved husband takes a longer time to get ready than me. If I let him take a shower before me in the morning, I will end up being late because he will take around 45 minutes in the bathroom himself and a good few more minutes to get ready.

Emmm...while in the same time-frame I can easily get ready AND prepare breakfast for him and the kids. Hahaha...I don't think he'll like the idea that I put this fact here. But ah well, it's true!!!

Heheheh I love you 'Yang'!!!

Wholemeal Pancakes and Red Thai Chicken Curry

As usual, I would browse the internet clicking the Blogger navbar at the top of the page searching for nice and interesting new food recipes. Taa daa... I found another one. Always Room For Dessert written by Laura. The food on that blog looks so yummie and well presented, I think its made by a professional.

I was eyeing the Chocolate Toffee Cookie Cake but there was no recipe provided. I wouldn't be able to do it anyway-it looks SO complicated. Hehe.. Anyway, I tried something more simple but so nice and easy to make. Green Onion Pancakes.

Turn outs to be very good and SO delicious. I would serve this with red thai chicken curry instead for the sauce but if you have nothing to dip in you can eat it just it like that. It's just superb.

Well, somehow I ran out of plain/all-purpose flour at home and the only flour that I had was wholemeal. So, I just used that instead. You might need to put extra water for that flour but the results won't disappoint you. You can go here for the full Original recipe and how to do it. If you want to use wholemeal flour like I did, this is the improvised recipe:

1 1/2 cups whole meal flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 to 1 cup warm water (maybe more)

3 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup green onions, finely sliced

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Flour (to finish)

I even doubled the ingredients and kept it in the freezer for breakfast, almost everday!

Recipe for Red Thai Chicken Curry

1/2 chicken cut into really small pieces or to make life easier, 3 chicken breasts (my preference)
3 Tbsp cooking oil
2 Stalks of lemongrass
1 Big onion
2 Garlic cloves
1cm Ginger
3 Red Chilies (optional if you like it hot)
1 Red and Green Capsicum julliened
4 Tbsp curry powder mixed with 2 tbsp of water
1/2 Cup coconut milk or just normal milk
200ml water
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
5 kafir lime leaves

Blend all lemon grass, onion, garlic, ginger and red chilies. Heat oil in a pot or a deep frying pan and fry all the blended ingredients until fragrant. Put in curry powder paste and kafir lime leaves, leave it for 5 minutes or until the oil breaks.

Then, put all the washed and cut chicken and leave again for another 10 minutes. When you think the chicken is tender and cooked put all other ingredients, coconut milk or milk, capsicum, water, sugar and salt. The curry is ready if the gravy is boiled and thick. It's also really nice to eat with cooked white rice.

Another Conversation

It was in the night and I was in my room. The kids were in Ameera's room getting ready to go to bed and tidying up the room. Suddenly I heard them quarreling about who's going to do what.

Husayn: I'm moving out

Ameera:What? You're moving out? OK then. You can go now.

Husayn moved out from the bed he was sitting on to the corner of the room between two beds.

Ameera: WHY are you still here?

Husayn moved again. This time from between the beds to near the cuppboard.

Ameera: WHY are you STILL here?


Husayn: This is perfect.

He then went out just in front of the door to Ameera's room.

Ameera: ????

He brought his toys, his hat and his towel along with him. I don't even know why he brought the stuff that he took with him when moving out!

Who's the baby part 1

Who's the baby part 2

Tips: How to celebrate Valentine's day with your spouse and your kids!!

Well, I don't celebrate it. Honestly I really don't. It's not a hint for my husband or anything. But it's just around the corner. I come across lots of advertisements about presents and gifts ideas for that special day. Valentine's Day can be a time to recapture the romance of a relationship. So, finding the right gift can be stressful, especially if you are short of time or money. The following tips may help you find the perfect Valentine's gift for the one you love and I think it works even for any other special occasion as well!

• Think romance! This usually means avoiding the practical, and selecting something PINK or Red (Valentine colours), romantic and lots of fun unless, of course, you absolutely know that a new Kitchen Aid mixer or a new helmet is your spouse's heart's desire.

• Keep it personal. Instead of just buying a generic Valentine's Day gift, think about what your spouse really enjoys, and shop accordingly.
  

• Be creative, especially if you are trying to stay within a budget. The most interesting and romantic gifts are often the ones that involve the most thought and planning!

• Remember that gifts don't have to be huge or expensive to be romantic. Sometimes one tiny, perfect bunch of someone's favorite freesias or tulips can be more romantic than two dozen red roses.

• Include a small surprise if you can manage it. This doesn't have to be anything huge. It could be as simple as leaving a rose on the table for your spouse to find first thing in the morning, or serving breakfast in bed!

• Give the best present of all your time and attention, as well as a gift. Try to spend a few hours just being together, relaxing, and revisiting the romance of your relationship.

• Rent your spouse's favorite movies, and buy their favourite snacks, or make their favorite meal. Plan for an evening at home. If you have children, ask someone to babysit for the evening.

• Instead of going out why not create a special romantic dinner for just two of you. If you don't know how to cook, you can buy take away. The way you present makes it special.

Well, for me, my kids are everything. If I have to, I rather celebrate it along with my kids. Spending time together with them and my husband will meant a lot to us. They want to be loved too. Maybe you could try this.

• Spend Valentine's Day making arts and crafts with your children. Oh yes...kids love drawing, painting and messy stuff.
  

• Take time out on Valentine's Day to tell your children you love them and let them know how unique and special they are to you!!! Go out for an ice cream orto the park may be and listen to their stories.
  

• Baking & Cooking for the special day. Make heart-shaped cookies, simple food like sandwiches or any finger food. They would love to help make and prepare dinner. Also let them use their imagination. Make a copy of the sign of your favorite restaurant and hang it up. Definitely will be lots of fun.

• Wear Pink & Red. Just follow the mood and watch nice family, kids or romantic and loving fairy tale movies with your kids while eating popcorn, will make their day.

What do you think? Any good? All the best and Happy 'V' day to all of you who celebrate it!!

Free Stuff

One of the good things about living in Ireland is getting lots of free stuff. Yeah, you read it right. FREE STUFF. After not going there for a while, last weekend was the first time this year that I went to the Dundrum Shopping Centre.


It's Valentine's season and most of the things in the shops were in Pink, even the staff were wearing Pink. It also meant that the shops were promoting the day by giving free stuff to customers who visited the shopping centre.


So, we got lots of free stuff like cookies (huge ones with Smarties on them) from Vodafone, new Galaxy Bubbles chocolate (a few? I mean quite a lot-well they just couldn't stop giving it out to everyone), samples of new Love etc perfume by Body Shop and they even gave us a photoshoot as well as a free photo to take home. I had this picture taken with my 2 kids just for fun, so I asked them to make some funny faces.

Interesting Girly Fact #2

I don't read books. Well, I used to read books but not anymore. Despite having 3 kids and buzy with my life, time is not really a problem but I just don't know why. Maybe after 20 years of studying maked me lose interest of reading. Hahah...just kidding. No, it's just that if I start reading a book I can't do anything else. I'll be glued to it. Ah, any excuse really.However, I do love to read magazines, blogs, newspapers and maybe anything else that doesn't involve as much commitment as abook. And, I like to read things that has pictures!!! Hehehe.

I found this interesting fact from the SmartGirl Survey. The survey suggested that magazines would be one of the most popular forms of entertainment, but we proven wrong! Despite the inaccuracy, many of those surveyed (almost 200 people) told SmartGirl that we check out at least one magazine each week. And what were the other findings?

SmartGirl asked them what sort of topics they look for when they pick up a glossy. Here's what they told SmartGirl:

241 of you look for real-life stories.

219 of you look for information on fashion.

203 of you check out the latest celebrity news.

189 of you like to see info on health and your body.

186 of you look for something about friendship.

182 of you like to find anything about beauty and hair care.

166 of you look for relationship advice.

152 of you check out entertainment news.

For me the first thing I look for in a magazine is who is on front of the cover. Hehe I told you I always like to read if there are pictures involved especially interesting ones. Then, it would be hot celebrity news, and then real-life stories as well as fashion followed by the rest of the topics on the list. What about you?

Another conversation

Husayn, my second child is only 3. Maybe because he has an elder sister, he has learnt a lot from her. Sometimes, I find him funny and amazing because out of nowhere, he will used big words that a kid his age wouldn't use as much. I don't know, maybe it's normal but he just makes me smile.

One afternoon while eating a snack with Husayn...

Husayn: Mummy, I don't like cream.
Mummy: Ok
Husayn: Do you know WHY, Mummy?
Mummy: No, I don't know.
Husayn: Because it's disgusting. It's very disgusting. I don't like it and it makes me get eczema!
Mummy: It's not very nice to say that, but it's ok, you don't have to eat cream, OK????

Note: He still eats dairy products despite saying all those things.

Another situation: One day, after doing our weekly grocery shopping, on the way to the car...

Husayn: Mummy, all this shopping makes me tired.
Mummy & Daddy: Smiling??? OK, we'll go home now, OK?

Interesting Girly Fact #1

I was in the car on my way to the post office. It was around 9 am in the morning and Dave and Dermot (the Morning Crew) were still on air on Dublin's 98FM. One of them (I can't remember which one) was talking about a story particularly a survey done on How Long the Average Girly Night Out Takes to Organise.

I don't remember the whole story but I found it very interesting to share with everyone. I tried to find out the exact details on 98FM's website and even Googled the title of the survey (as I remembered it) but unfortunately, I couldn't find anything.

Then, I had a brilliant idea! Well brilliant to me at least! I tried sending an email directly to the 98FM crew earlier (aroung 5.25pm yesterday) and guess what? I wasn't expecting them to reply to me anyway, but less than 5 hours I got a reply from one Eric Keogh about my question.

Superb!!! That was really quick and unexpected. There were so efficient. Great job. That's why I will keep listening to 98FM all the time. Thanks to Eric and the gang at 98FM. Well, I am definitely a loyal listener!

Anyway, this was the reply mail I received (along with the story about the survey):

Hello there,

It was a story we carried in one of our weekend news bulletins. I’ve forwarded on the text to you below which you can see!

Hope that helps
J
Eric Keogh

The average girly night out takes a whopping 3 days and 5 hours to organise... According to a new survey from onepoll.com, an average of 16 texts, 5 phone calls and 3 Facebook posts are needed to organise a night out on the tiles..

And the work doesn't stop there - once they're out and about, the average woman spends 2 hours gossiping and 54 minutes giggling!

What do you think? I smiled when I heard it but I think it's very true...

Double Trouble Oreo Cheesecake

Picture courtesy of Adik Darina

My infamous Double Trouble Oreo Cheesecake. I don't really like unbaked cheesecakes. But one day, I tasted an unbaked Oreo cheesecake. I'm not sure where the recipe came from, but some one told me it could be from Nigella Lawson. I searched on her website but couldn't find the one that I was looking for.

Eventually, I gave up on finding Nigella's recipe and decided to give it a try on my own but with a twist: a combination of unbaked AND baked cheesecake in one! Double Trouble.

My theory is, to make a cheesecake, you just need a basic recipe and try to create your own from there.So, I came out with this double-layered Oreo cheesecake as an experiment and coincidentally, the day I made the cake, a few of my friends came along and tasted it. Since then, they've been telling everyone how amazing the cake was (OMG?!?).

I was so embarassed since it was just an experiment and when they asked me for the recipe, I wasn't even sure what to say because I just threw together the ingredients that I felt was right along with whatever was in my fridge. I can't even be sure of the exact measurements.

So, after some time which invoved a constant barrage of questions, hints and outright demands about the infamous cheesecake or my friend call it CCO, so unconfidently, I tried again to think what I should do and taa daa! I think I did it and this time with an added achievement. I managed to measure the ingredients so that I can share the recipe with my friends.

For base:
1 packet (154gm) of Oreo biscuits crushed finely (DON'T lick the white stuff off the cookies!)
3 Tbsp melted butter

First layer:
2 Pack (225gm) of PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
200ml of Sour cream
1 Pack (150gm) of white chocolate (optional)
4 Tbsp sugar
1Tbsp cornflour
3 small eggs
4 Pieces of Oreo cookies broken into small pieces

Second layer:
1 Pack of PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
100ml of Double cream/Fresh cream
2 Tbsp icing sugar
8 Pieces of Oreo Cookies crushed finely

Method:
For Base
Heat the oven to 170 degrees. While the oven heats up, MIX Oreo cookie crumbs and butter. Then, press onto bottom of a 7-inch springform pan. Leave aside.

First Layer
Double-boil the cream cheese and white chocolate.
Beat all other ingredients really well. Mix in melted cream cheese and white chocolate and beat again on lower speed. Pour over the Base prepared above. Sprinkle evenly the broken Oreo cookies in the batter. Bake in a water bath for 30-40 minutes i.e. until a knife you insert into the cake comes out clean. Leave it to cool.

Second Layer
Beat icing sugar and cream until thickend or if you turn the bowl the mixture won't drop. Mix in the cream chesee until mixed well. Fold in 2 tablespoons of finely crushed (crumbs) Oreo cookies into the mixture. Spread evenly onto the baked cool First Layer prepared above. Lastly, sprinkle the remaining Oreo cookie crumbs onto it. Make sure it's well covered.

Leave in the fridge for about an hour or over night before serving.

Picture courtesy of Adik Darina

I even made it into cuppies today!

Note: If you using a 9-inch springfoam pan you could double the ingredients. Make sure when you pour in the first layer, the batter is in between half to 3/4 of the pan so that you can leave the remaining space for the second layer. Don't worry if you have too much batter. You can always turn them into cupcakes for some mini delights!