The Year Was 1977 ...

I was born in the seventies ... 1977 to be exact ... the tail end of the flower power era.

Well, this being my birthday month and all, I want to take this moment to dwell on the significance of being a seventies baby ... let's take a look at what happened in 1977 ...

The fun scoop ...

• Star Wars was the #1 movie in May 1977.
• My fav Abba song 'Dancing Queen' reached US Billboard top 100 in 1977.
• Hotel California by the Eagles was released and a big hit in 1977.
• Australian rock group INXS is formed in August 1977.
• Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is released in the UK.

Pic from: http://www.starwars.com/movies/episode-iv/

Dancing Queen Single Cover

The serious scoop ...

• Jimmy Carter succeeds Gerald Ford as the 39th President of the United States.
• Apple Computer Inc. is incorporated in Jan 1977 and the first Apple went on sale in June 1977.
• First use of optical fiber to carry live telephone traffic.
• The New York City blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours, resulting in looting and other disorder.
• First three nodes of the ARPAnet are connected, in what would eventually become the Internet.

The Apple II Computer.

Well, do you know what else might have happened in 1977? Share share!

Now, who might we all know who might have been born in 1977?

1. Imogen Heap (Frou Frou)
   
2. James Blunt
3. Jamie Foxx
4. Brittany Murphy
5. John Mayer
6. Kanye West
7. Orlando Bloom
8. Sarah Michelle Gellar
9. Shakira
10. Sophie Dahl

Well at least that's what they say on this website. (accuracy not guaranteed). Know anymore 1977 celebs? Share the goss!

Well, what a year. Good to know the scoop on your year of birth.

Miss Thirty-Something

I made it. I am officially in my "early thirties" now ... well, I just turned thirty-one (31) an that's officially crossing the border ... jumping over the fence ... dawn of a new era ...

Turning 30 was already a big hoo-haa. No more in my twenties, but still, at thirty you're still kinda sitting on the fence so it does not hit you, at thirty-one it's like a downhill slide ... gosh. If turning thirty-one feels like this, I really don't want to know how it feels to turn forty-one!

Seeing that I am now moving into a whole new era ... the epic decade of the thirties ... (whoa drama mama) there are some things I need to say about this "promotion" (not by choice mind you).

The general downside of this promotion ...

1. Metabolic rate slows down ... you pile on pounds just by swallowing your own saliva, sigh.
2. Railway tracks, monorail and LRT starts making routes across your face ... here comes the lines ... time to invest in ridiculously expensive wrinkle creams and don't laugh out loud or the entire KL Sentral will be relocating to your face.
3. Gravity grows ... you have to work harder to keep the boobs up, keep the ass high cos everything is just going down from here onwards. Except the scales. Damn.
4. All your friends' kids call you "aunty" and no more "jie jie"
   
5. You hope everyone you meet for the first time will guess your age at 28 max.
6. Having to actually behave yourself otherwise people are going to guess your age at twenty-something and that's not having anything to do with your looks.
   
7. You need to start worrying about mamograms, cholestrol level, biological clocks and all that jazz. Boo.
   

Well, this is where my inbuilt defense mechanism will automatically come up with some really good things about turning thirty-one to buffer the pain and what I have achieved to take with me as I make the big cross-over ...

1. Being blissfully married to the perfect hubby and having a little cosy love nest makes getting older a whole lot more fun.
2. I can now look at the twenty something like they are so naive, innocent, gullible frail creatures, poor little things ... "tsk tsk tsk, come come let Aunty Shortcake tell you about the real world ..."
3. Beaming with pride when the twenty-somethings comes to you for advise like as though at your age and place you're the walking version of about.com and wikipedia all rolled into one cute package.
4. Considerable achievements in the career front makes turning thirty-one quite bearable (not that I made millions or became a dot.com CEO but it's a considerable achievement nonetheless, relatively speaking)
5. I can safely say I can bake a decent cake, make tiramisu, bake eggplant parmigiana and whip up a couple of basic pasta dishes upon turning thirty-one.
6. I have finally travelled to Europe (with dear hubby on our honeymoon), well Italy only, but hey it's a start.
7. I have driven outstation! ALL THE WAY to Cameron Highlands and back ... now for me, that is a major achievement. Major. Major major achievement. What more with 3 other giggly girls in the same car who knows nuts for directions. Like I said; major achievement.
8. Knowing that I am blessed in many many ways, more than I deserve ... good family, good friends, loving hubby, and amazingly loved and blessed by God.
9. The joy of having someone you just met say "you're thirty-one? no way, you're kidding me you are!" (I wish)

Well ... it's gonna be a journey ahead ... I'm not gonna work too hard at being all grown up or something, although I know I should act more my age. Am I in denial? Really? Noooo ... I have no idea. But I'm just gonna continue being me. You know what they say; growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

A Twist On French Toast

Sometimes I really crack my head thinking up new and creative breakfast and brunch ideas for dear hubby over the weekends. Recently I got a hint from a colleague who loved the french toast served at some event held a hotel in KL, they used cheese in between the bread. I tried to recreate what I heard, er, without actually having tried it at all. In addition to cheese, I made do with some left over ham in the freezer.

French toast fans, here are what you need:

1. Bread (I used Gardenia's Break-thru here but I will use white next time around)
2. Ham (I like salty sandwich ham and Bangsar Village Grocer has the best, Euro Deli works for me too)
3. Cheese (Basic Kraft slices will do)
4. Eggs (I think I worked with about 3 eggs)
5. Milk (half a cup or adjust accordingly, full cream please, low fat is boooooring)
6. Brown Sugar (about a teaspoon or so, just adjust)
7. Salt
8. Oil (I use PAM Cooking Spray so it's alot less oily, avoid butter as it browns too quickly in the pan)
9. A good non-stick pan (I am a big big fan of Tefal)

How to:

1. Mix eggs, milk, sugar and a pinch of salt in a semi-shallow bowl.
2. Butter each slice of bread and sandwich the ham and cheese in between. Make some variety, some ham+cheese, some ham and cheese on its own so you know what you'll love best. I think peanut butter would be a good idea too :P
   
3. Slice the sandwiches anyhow you like.
4. Dip the ready sliced sandwiches in the egg mixture, coat all sides, soak longer if you like it 'mushy' and wet.
5. Then simply fry them gently in a flat non-stick pan coated with a thin layer of PAM. Slow to medium fire.
   
6. Make sure you do not break up the sandwiches, they can be quite fragile, so avoid turning too often.
   
7. Serve with coffee and juice. I guess sliced peaches on the side would be a nice touch too. Yummers.
   

Voila, breakfast, or brunch!


Dear hubby's verdict? He wiped the plate clean :)

Birthday Surprise

Yippeeee... it's November again .... it's the time for endless parties and lotsa pressies, you know all my friends just love to remind me ... and reiterate ... and repeat ... and nag ... and drive the point home about how old I am becoming *sigh*

And this year among one of the earliest b'day gift is from fellow blogger babe Beatrice .... I'm so touched by her thoughtfulness I just have to tell the world. Look at what she gave me ... a merry package of Stila sweetness ...

The "magazine" cover palette consist of a blusher and 3 eye shadow colors, all very sweet and natural and totally oh-so-wearable. Looking at this makes me feel young ... young-er *sigh*


The Stila It Gloss (Inviting) is peachy-orangy, but sheer enough for everyday use ... it will actually go pretty well with an orangy blouse I have. Beatrice did a great review on these stuff here.

The It Gloss adds to my modest but hopefully growing collection of glossies ... a girl just gotta have glossies and these are among my favorites ...


Ah my beloved glossies .... how shall I rate thee?

1. The super-est glossiest shiniest is the Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot (twisty pen), third from left, great for no-makeup days and smells fruitilicious.
2. Chanel Aqualumiere(#66) wins hands down as the most-worthy-of-public-display, plus the really natural shade can't go wrong any day.
   
3. The Revlon glosses are highly pigmented; great on its own with a sexy shine. I have Nude Peach and Glossy Rose.
4. Stage Wondergloss in Penelope is my current fav; expert brush tip in a natural shade plus a yummy scent.
5. And now I have a new Stila ... in a shade I don't have ... coolie doolie!

Do I need more glossies .... honestly NO because I end up buying the same kinda shades anyway, and no one can tell the diff between one to another when I am wearing either of the above... but should I get an itchy-gloss attack, and I will, I am, after all a girl who needs her glossies... I think I'll go for these below .... so pretty ... pweeeeetty ... *licking lips*

Wish List for Glossies ....

So for those who wanna come and remind me how OLD I am becoming, you got the wish list ... now all you need is a ribbon ... hehe ;)