As we are travelling with 2 kids this time, PiggyBeng decided to pay for additional insurance as well. With that we are insured should there any break downs along the way since we are driving long distance on most occasions. At that time we are not aware of any car repairing workshops since we are not locals. It will be extremely troublesome too if our car break down especially when we are in secluded areas.

So, it will be good that you find out about services available such as those offered by some major auto repair sites when planning for your trips. You should check out Repairpal.com as they offered comprehensive services.

Since I am not based in KL, it is not easy to fit into the courses’ schedule. Moreover I have to take care of 2 kids and my mom can’t help as she has to take care of my nephew. Attending this course has been on my wish list for so long but each time the schedule clashes and the course fee kinda ‘high’.

If you have seen my work before, I am not very good with piping icing and this course is all about piping icing! To move forward, we always have to learn new things as well as to master new skills! Though my shop is currently closed but I am going to open it again someday!

To make it possible for me to attend this course, there are some sacrifices both PiggyBeng and myself have to make. PiggyBeng has to take 2 days of his annual leave (the course started on a Thursday) so that he can take care of the kids while I am in class which starts from 9am to 6pm or beyond. To make it more complicated, I am still breastfeeding Glennedine. So, what we did was, PiggyBeng has to drop me (we have to drive from Cheras) every morning so we can have breakfast before I give Glennedine a feed. Then he will drive the kid over around lunch and my afternoon tea break so that I can give Glennedine her feeds. It was a lot of work! Thank God PiggyBeng’s uncle stays nearby so they will pop over his place for half a day once PiggyBeng dropped me off. Even the kids have to sacrifice… they have to wake up so early and be home so late as we have to beat the morning and evening rush traffic from Cheras to Damansara.

I must really thank my PiggyBeng for paying the fees and taking care of the kids for 3 full day!!! This was the first time I have left the kids for such long hours! They behaved well I guessed… just that on Day 2 Glennedine had bad digestion and puked the entire night!

On the first day, we did some introduction before the class begins. I was extremely glad that the MD of ICCA, Rosalind Chan was the instructor for the course. She resides in Canada so she will only fly in when they conduct the 3-day intensive course which only happens once every few months. Thus, there are students who came as far as Germany to attend the course!!

First on, we did some simple piping of various flowers in Course 1 which took a few hours…

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The course includes 1 lunch and 2 tea breaks a day. On the first day we were being treated to Old Town but it took too long so we opted for packed food for Day 2 and Day 3 since we need lots of time to do practices. Items for tea breaks were done in-house by some of their bakers and the best thus far was their scones…

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They were so yummy that I whacked at least 5 or 6 pieces! Now that I am writing this post I feel so hungry looking at them!!! I must make some one day!!

And here is how moi looked like on Day 2…

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On Day 2, we were thought how to pipe more intricate royal icing flowers on a nail such as poinsettia, lilies and morning glory…

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We were taught on how to make fondant roses too…

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And this is how my table is all the time…

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We also learned how to wrap a cake using both buttercream and fondant. Normally buttercream is to give a base coat to the cake which we need to decorate so we can hide all the imperfections. It is a lot of work!!!

And here a shot with my neighbor for that 3 days…

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And we are required to do a 3-tier wedding cake as our final project…

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This is how the base of my 3-tier looked like…

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And here is how my cake looked like at the end of the day…

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I did not have enough time to do what I have planned to do so this is the best I could come out with by using all the practice work to create the final designs. Very proud to say I did it all by myself… even the touching up! Most of the other students asked for Rosalind or other assistant instructors to help them.

Last but not least a photo with the sifu…

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It was a fun course and I had learned so much about the world of cake decorating which I have never knew before! I so hope I could attend other courses to equip myself for future endeavour…

After sitting on WordPress V2.1 for almost 3 years, I finally made the decision to move on to the latest version.

I was very comfortable with the previous version and was reluctant to upgrade. Also, due to some weird reason, my cpanel does not have an auto upgrade for this particular blog though this is my primary blog. All the other blogs under this hosting account are pretty updated.

The thing is, I did not do the upgrade myself. I paid my host to help me as it needs to be manually done which I do not have the time and patience to do. I don’t want to screw up all the codes since I am not that familiar with them!

Anyhow, I am pretty happy now with the new version and look forward to make some changes to its appearance when I get more time.

Thanks to all that have been visiting and giving your 2 cents comments here. Hope you’ll continue to support us by coming more often!

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And here is my personal favorite…

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Don’t you think all the photos above very nice and professionally taken?

Initially I have wanted to get them to take my preggy photos but PiggyBeng was against the idea saying that I’m too vain! (actual fact is, he don’t want anyone to see his wife showing her tummy to others lar) Then again, it is quite tough for me to make appointment with them also since I am in Penang and could never be able to confirm my schedule when I could go to KL. However, we hope to go for a family shoot together with my parents and brother’s family next year with them when Glennedine is bigger as we have been procrastinating about the family shots for almost 2 years! (why? coz my mom said her hair style not nice, my SIL said she is still very fat, father said Adrian is too small and load of other reasons!)

Anyway, I am so happy they popped by and took photos for Glennedine’s. It will be one of the best keepsake I could ever have of her!

If you want to have beautiful shots of yourself, your newborn or your family, do consider Two-Pixels…

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Currently they are giving away photo shot package worth RM450 FREE to celebrate their 1st Anniversary!

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So, remember to pop by their site to check out their portfolio… and write a review on their work and you could be ‘that’ lucky winner! (I also hope I could win the package!!!)

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p/s to Two-Pixels: please pick me!!!!

If you are keen to read, do hop over to Moon’s site.

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. Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Voice (February 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1401322824
ISBN-13: 978-1401322823

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In Irreplaceable, Lovely managed to bring to life all the characters involved where the change of events after Isabel, a young and ambitious botanist was killed in a road accident. As an organ donor, Isabel had pledged to donate all her vital organs especially her heart in the event she die but her husband, Alex Voormann has opposed to the idea but has reluctantly signed the companion card to make Isabel happy, since she is the love of his life.

As if the death of Isabel is not torturing enough, Alex has to face another painful situation. Janet Corcoran, the person who received Isabel’s heart wanted to make a connection with Alex and send him gratitutes for Isabel’s heart. As much as Alex hated the notion of being brought back into mourning again which he has been trying hard to move on after Isabel’s death but he braced himself and meet up with Janet eventually.

In the story, Lovely has also managed to weave in other characters involved in this heart warming tale such as Isabel’s mother, Beatrice and Jasper, the person who was responsible for Isabel’s death. Alex has been staying connected with Beatrice as it is through her he can find some solace after Isabel’s death. On the other hand, Jasper is intruding into Alex’s life trying to find some kind of settlement between Alex and Janet.

I found this a really interesting novel seeing the detailed perspective of the different characters and their emotions from both sides of the transplant. It is like I am watching a movie!

Well, if you want to know how the entire story goes, then you will have to get a copy of Irreplaceable!

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A big thanks to Parent Reviewers for the opportunity to review this interesting book.

I have been tinkering with the idea for a while as I felt that I have been spamming this blog with all kinds of topics. Not that I am particular but it can be an eye sore sometimes when there are a few sponsored posts taking up half of the front page… and it can be frustrating trying to find a particular post when I am in a hurry.

Then I saw some domains on promotion and decided to take the chance to migrate some topics that I am currently in a frenzy now. I felt Bento Fun deserved to have it own home as it will be easier for myself to refer back and for other Bento enthusiasts  who is browsing through my posts for some Bento ideas.

Well, I hope Bento-ing will stay as one of my passion (I enjoyed anything that has a tinge of artistic touch) so that I will continue to improve myself in Bento packing and finding more joy and fun in a box!

If you are already my Bento pal, do update your link and if you are a new Bento packer, do add me to your link! Hop over to Bento Fun now for weekly dose of Bento fix!

Happy Bento-ing folks!

A few weeks back, I did a book review on Harambe & Sikulu and have invited my dear readers for a contest and finally (almost 3 weeks late) we have a winner!

I have used the Random Integer Generator from random.org to get the winning comment for that post.

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Comment No.5 was being picked as the winner!

And the lucky commentor is KittyCat. Congratulation!!!!!

Kindly provide me your mailing address so I can forward to the author to mail the book and plush toy to you!

I wonder how long the weak economy will last. If prices of things continue to spiral, I can see a lot more people will get hit badly from it especially those hard core poor people. Really feel sorry for them. Like the news of a poor couple who has just given birth to a set of triplets… the family already has two other kids and with the 3 newborns, the couple can hardly afford to care for the babies. Luckily the newspaper highlighted their plight and a lot of kind souls are donating cash as well as daily necessities to them.

And I can’t blame those people who are willing to queue to buy 4D or TOTO. There are some who are more tempted by bigger wins… they are willing to drive all the way up to Genting and try their luck in the casino. For those who are not that extreme, might try their luck at those internet casinos from the comfort of their home. Some extra cash will definitely be a great help during these tough periods.

Dove launched the global Campaign for Real Beauty in 2004 to challenge beauty stereotypes and spark discussion about beauty. The Campaign aims to widen the definition of beauty and inspire positive self-image among women – in short, to help more women feel beautiful every day. The new self-esteem initiative is extending the campaign to the next generation of women, working to help educate young girls, pre-teens and teenagers about the issues surrounding beauty, body image and self-esteem.

Dove have already reached 2 million girls and conducted nearly 2,700 educational self-esteem workshops since 2006. Recently, Dove has launched a new video titled ‘Under Pressure’. This 30 second TV commercial shows how girls are under more pressure than ever and how Dove is making a difference.

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Come join me and the rest of the Dove team to continue supporting this great cause.