giddy giddy chef at home

Posted on June 25, 2008 by The Giddy Tigress

My good gal pal Audrey recommends the show Chef at Home on the Asian Food Channel. She mentioned that the show features a guy with a five o’clock shadow who is also a father. I found out his name is Michael Smith and he cooks really spectacular meals with just basic ingredients in his kitchen. I watched the show last night and boy, was my tummy rumbling and screaming for the Cornmeal Crusted Salmon With Basil Mussel Broth he dished up. Of course, it helped that he had a larder full of spices and a fridge full of fresh ingredients, but I tell you, I got myself addicted to this show now. Yeah, and ain’t it great that the recipe is available online? No need to frantically jot down the ingredients and method while watching the show.

In fact, last night I was my very own version of Chef at Home when I decided to throw together a quickie dinner of fried rice. It had been ages since I made fried rice, but I was eager because one can hardly go wrong with fried rice, and since I had some leftover rice from the weekend, it is definitely a frugal step to not waste it. I added whatever I could find from the fridge into the fried rice: chopped pumpkin, baby corn, some spinach and I flicked some of the frozen carrot strips in the freezer and chopped them up too. Eggs are a must, and for the protein element, I found some lapcheong, and sliced them up real nice too. Good thing there were a couple of cili padi left in the fridge which my hubby chopped up and drizzled with some soy sauce and voila…a simple dinner for two in the comfort of our humble abode:

It’s actually quite a healthy meal because most of my ingredients are organic ones. Not bad, considering it’s a leftover meal, eh? 😛

Posted in Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking | 15 Comments

frugal is … as frugal gets

Posted on June 23, 2008 by The Giddy Tigress

I think frugality is an overrated word. What someone deems as frugal might not be the same in another’s dictionary. But in view of the increase in fuel prices, I definitely need to make concerted efforts to save save save, in addition to the steps my family and I are already taking. Just steering off course for a moment, the first time I filled up my petrol tank with Shell V-Power after the price hike, it cost a whopping RM112.99! Shell V-Power now costs RM3.15 per liter, by the way. And yes, hubbs and I still go for it despite it being more expensive because it is more efficient: a full tank can last us 1.5 weeks, give or take.

Anyway, I was reading Hijack Queen’s frugal tips, and thought I’d put my thoughts on frugality to blog too.

Toned-down shopaholic
Being a shopaholic by nature, it is difficult for me to curb the habit of doing a double take whenever I see something I like, like shoes, clothes, accessories, etc. But I am trying my best to only buy whatever is NEEDED, and not WANTED. It’s a fine line, if you ask me, but I try to use the SALE factor as a benchmark. If something is not on sale, don’t get it YET. When the sale comes along, if it is still available and it is still appealing, then get it. Often times, I have found that my interest in that particular product wanes after some time.

Bargains & discounts
Grocery shopping, on the other hand, is something that cannot be avoided. I do mine every week, and since I am endeavoring to cook more (stay at home to eat = no need to go out to eat = saving on petrol), I pounce on every bargain possible, even in the supermarkets. Just like last week, when I spotted fresh tenggiri fish on sale at 50% off in Jusco. Made a nice assam pedas fish curry too, which hubby gave two thumbs up for. I must add, however, that I will never ever sacrifice the taste of food for the price.

At every store that I shop, I never fail to ask them if there is a discount available for any credit cards or store cards. You never know where you might save. Some people don’t ask for fear of the hassle involved, but my skin is very thick when it comes to this, and at cosmetic counters, I will always ask for samples.

Killing 2 birds with one stone
I like to pride myself in being as environmentally-friendly as possible, and it is even better because by being that, I get to save a bit too. Since my boy is 100% on modern cloth diapers, I don’t need to stock up on disposable diapers now. I don’t even look at the price of Mamy Poko now whenever there is a sale. Also in the same vein as being environmentally friendly, I am also using cloth menstrual pads myself, so I don’t buy disposable ones anymore. A little bit of savings here and there goes a long way, you know. Besides saving moolah, it is also a healthier option.

Keep a tab on finances
I’ve also resurrected my expenditure spreadsheet. This way, I will be aware of how much I spend each month for each category of expenditure. In my bid to spend less, I have started using more cash instead of credit cards, especially for purchases less than RM20. Essentially the same amount of money is spent, but the theory is that if I keep seeing cash disappear from my wallet, I will be inspired to spend less.

Transportation
One of the tips to curb spending is to car pool. And hubbs and I are already doing that. We only have one car (so far), and since our workplaces are just across the street from each other, it makes sense to car pool.

Saving electricity
I’ve also consciously started saving electricity at home. Light not needed in the kitchen, switch it off. Can shower without the light, leave the lights off. My hubby even realized this as he asked me if I was saving electricity. Heh… Sikit sikit la…. In any case, all our bulbs are energy-saving ones, except for the fluorescent light in the kitchen. In the evenings, we don’t use the water heater, which is another means of saving electricity too!

Renovate my wardrobe
I have also recently embarked on a cost-saving fashion tip, by raiding my wardrobe for old clothes I can reuse and wear. By just adding a belt to an old outfit, it jazzes it up and creates a new look altogether. Buys me some time before I get a new one, and also saves money la. Some of my ensembles have received rave comments, actually 😆

Contests
I enter contests almost every month, in the hope of winning something useful. I remember a few years ago I won 2nd prize in an Estee Lauder contest, which ensured I didn’t need to buy makeup and skincare for almost a year! Now that’s a whole lot of savings indeed!

Pampering treats
In my bid to become more thrifty, I am contemplating going for less facials, maybe once every 3-4 months or so, or maybe none at all. I intend to give myself mini facials at home, and well, of course the feeling is not quite the same, but there has got to be some sacrifice, no? Of course, I don’t even go for pedicures or manicures (the last manicure I had was a French the day before my wedding).

So well…if there are other ways or suggestions as to how much more frugal I can become, without losing my giddy self, please do not hesitate to let me know! And of course, I am tagging anyone and everyone who wants to share a tip or two! 😛

Posted in Memes & Tags, Thoughts & Scribblings | 12 Comments

My feet are happy today

Posted on June 17, 2008 by The Giddy Tigress

I paid RM18 to feed myself to the fish today!

Well….not my whole self…just my feet…. Yup that’s right, baby! … I visited the newly opened Happy Feet Fish Spa at New World Park today, and indulged in an errrmmm…relaxing session of foot therapy. When I heard that the fish spa was opening in Penang, I got all excited because ever since I read about Paris’s experience with the fish at Kenko Fish Spa, I had been yearning to experience it for myself. And now that a similar spa is available in Penang, I don’t need to wait till my next KL trip. I was curious to find out if the famous Garra Rufa fish or Doctor Fish would be able to give me smooth and glowing skin on my feet, and get rid of my calluses, dry skin and cracked heels. Quite a lot to ask of some tiny fish, eh?

But when I asked my hubby if he was interested, he proudly proclaimed that he did not have any dead skin on his feet… bah. So then I asked Susan if she wanted to take the opportunity of the special opening rate at the spa, and she was more than happy to 🙂 . Happy Feet Fish Spa was offering the 30 minutes session at a special rate of RM18 till June 18th (normal price is RM28 per half hour). The spa is located right next to Nyonya Cafe and looks just like a regular shop lot from the outside, but the interior was decorated with little rectangular ponds and square orange cushions were placed in rows beside the pond for customers to sit on.

After paying the RM18, we were ushered to the back of the shop, given a pair of straw slippers, and told to wash our feet with jet sprays of water. We were also given a mini towel (not even the size of a hand towel) to dry our feet before and after the session.

Then we started the *therapy*. The first few seconds were rather ticklish, I would say, but not as ticklish as a foot reflexology session which I don’t think I can endure. The Garra Rufa fish were rather shy at first, and only a few came to my feet. But then after a while, a host of them were going at it, nibbling and biting away the dead skin like nobody’s business. Shows how much dead skin I have on my feet eh?

I realized that if I kept my feet very still, more fish would come, and of course, I welcomed them all, because it made my money’s worth.

There were a few curious people who walked into the store and asked us what the experience was like, and one woman was squealing as she placed her feet into the water. Her daughter daren’t even put her feet in!

And even though we paid for 30 minutes’ worth, the lady manning the store was kind enough to give us an extra 5 minutes. Well, two pretty girls sitting near the door is definitely good publicity, is it not? 😆 In the end, she actually forgot about us, and we were still sitting there, enjoying the fish’s nibblings when it was already 45 minutes past, so we took the initiative and got out ourselves.

Truth be told, my feet did feel softer and suppler, though the cracked heels did not miraculously disappear. Dang! I suppose I should not have expected one session to do wonders huh? Surprisingly though, the skin on my feet did not shrivel up, despite the long period in the water.

Did I enjoy the therapy?  Most definitely YES.  Would I visit the spa again? Maybe… well for one thing, they should fix the air conditioning in the store, because it was out just now. And I might even consider revisiting if they do introduce a full body treatment next. And guys, I think Happy Feet Fish Spa is a really innovative idea for a date 🙂

And whoa…how hungry do you think these fish are anyways? Or rather…what a load of dead skin I have on my feet….look at those Garra Rufa fish, still nibbling away after 45 minutes!

Posted in Relax & Celebrate | 24 Comments

Fun with fans and rhymes

Posted on June 13, 2008 by The Giddy Tigress

My dear ParisB and Andie,
I’ve dillied and dallied
With nary a worry
I almost forgot about my tagging duty

It’s been awhile,
and I think it’s time
I cook up a pretty decent fancy rhyme

The weather’s hot
Rained, it has not
So this is about the fans that call the shots

Five fans in my home
Two manuals and three remotes
Each and every one in a room of its very own

My bedroom, the living
And also the dining
All have a 5-blade silver Cyclone fan on the ceiling

High, Medium and Low
Are settings on the go
But Low is all we ever use, if you really wanna know

The two manual Panasonics
In our guest room and study
Are just your usual run-of-the-mill fans, with no unusual antics

A tag on my fans
That’s going to end
But not before I tag ehon, sasha and wen!

***

Pssst…not as canggih as Adino’s poem, but boleh tahan, yes or not? 😆

Posted in Memes & Tags | 11 Comments

A is for Apple iPhone 3G

Posted on June 11, 2008 by The Giddy Tigress

Have you heard?  Have you heard? 😆

Come July 11, Apple will release its latest baby, the Apple iPhone 3G.  What’s even more unbelievable is that it will be twice as fast, and at a remarkable starting price of USD199 for the 8GB version (and USD299 for the 16GB), it’s gonna cost like half the price of what it used to cost.  With the petrol price hike and whatnot, this is very welcome news indeed.


Photo credits

Here’s what it says on the Apple website:

Introducing iPhone 3G. With fast 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping, support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange, and the new App Store, iPhone 3G puts even more features at your fingertips. And like the original iPhone, it combines three products in one – a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device with rich HTML email and a desktop-class web browser. iPhone 3G. It redefines what a mobile phone can do – again 

When my hubby was in Oregon on a business trip last month, I said no thank you to the iPhone, because I figured I would be better off with a Coach bag (or two) in the long run.  But now, with such a cool Apple iPhone being made available at an even cooler price, haha….I might just change my mind, especially after reading the 5 reasons to get an iPhone.

Anyone else wanna add on to those reasons to truly convince me?

Posted in Thoughts & Scribblings | 22 Comments