Dragging My Feet

Today marks my first day of working for 2017. Truthfully, I wasn't looking forward to it!

Unlike all the prior days when I would bound out of bed all bright bushy eyed, this morning proved to be quite an experience. My eyes refused to open, and my arm instinctively reached out to press the snooze button on the alarm. Once I finally got myself into the shower, dressed and out of the house, I had that sinking feeling as I was driving to work. It was dread.

I swear if someone offers for me to quit my job but assures that I can still maintain my current lifestyle, I would have turned the car around in a heartbeat. (Major hint here, Hubby!) *chuckles*

Anyway, I am finally at work and slowly catching up on my emails. I hope I get into the swing of things, soon! My only solace, is the fact that my new desk (we moved desks just before Christmas holidays) is in a cozy corner just by the window. Awesome views and privacy!

(And it is right on top of a Pokestop too!!!)

I'm going to go dig out my pay slip now. You know, just to remind myself why I have to drag myself to work again tomorrow. *giggles* Wish me luck for the coming days!

Happy New Year 2017!

Happy New Year everyone! ;)

(I'm just four days too late but better late than never!) *giggles*

I am still on annual leave. Why? Well I recently hit a record of 10 service years with the Dutch Oil Company hence my annual leave entitlement was automatically increased. I thought the increase was to 20 days, but it turned out to be 25 days! Therefore at the end of December, I had an extra 5 days which I needed to use by the end of the year. My understanding boss agreed for me to bring forward the 5 days to the first week of January, hence here I am! I initially thought of using this first week off for sending Aiden to school and visiting him at recess time. But... it is just the second day of school and he is already insisting on taking the van to school, and declining my offer for me to accompany him for recess. Dah besar dah anak Mummy! #clingymummy

And so I find myself in front of the computer, blogging instead!

So what have I been up to? Well, for starters, I am struggling to finish drafting my birthday blogposts. I still haven't found the time to sift through the photos of our renovation and our recent trip to Pangkor Laut Resort. We recently bought a fish pond, to accommodate our tortoises who have outgrown their mini aquarium. Shopping wise - I bought a full year's worth of candles at the recent Bath and Body Works sale, plus some new tops at the Zara sale. I just finished wrapping all of Aiden's school textbooks. Ian is still refusing school, so no first day of school excitement for him. Last but certainly not least, I have just embarked on a new home project; decorating Aiden and Ian's room to their chosen theme of Star Wars. I just hope I have the strength and perseverance to kick them out of our room!

Anyway, I'm going to end this post with some select photos of Aiden's first day of school:

Best formal photo for the year.

Posing with his Star Wars bag and lunch box.

And speaking of Star Wars, Aiden has been bitten with the Star Wars craze too. He insisted on everything Star Wars. Two water bottles, cos I am so extremely sure that he will misplace one soon. Plus a stern warning that I will not be replacing his lunch box if he loses it!

Walking into school. Didn't even bother to look back! *chuckles*

Busy comparing Star Wars merchandise. His friends were decked in Star Wars too!

Excuse my eye bags. I was too busy enjoying my extended annual leave!

Recess time.

I thought the place would be flocked with parents accompanying their kids for recess. I guess parents don't do this anymore for their Standard 2 children??? There was barely a handful of us at the canteen.

I told Aiden that he could have anything from the canteen as a first-day recess treat. He asked for 'roti canai cheese', but cautiously told me, "But it's two ringgit ok?" Of course lah Mummy cair and agreed.

Best family photo we have from yesterday. Seriously, we totally forgot to take a proper family photo!

Ian wanted to follow his Babang to class. Siap lambai tangan lagi!

Unfortunately, no photos from the first day of pickup, because Ian decided to bless us with some projectile vomit in the car. We had to make a quick stop over to strip Ian while Hubby wiped the car clean. Not only was I covered in vomit, but I then had to walk in the heavy rain to pick Aiden up from school. Oh the drama!!!

Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying your first week of 2017. New year resolutions? I'm still drafting mine, so I hope you guys have better luck than me! *chuckles*

The Best Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever!

*wipes drool off the table*

I am not going to kid you. This is hands down, the best moist chocolate cake recipe everrrrrr!

Simplest cake to make too, because you don't need a mixer, and it uses vegetable oil instead of butter!

I swear, this cake is great even when naked on its own, fresh out of this oven. Even better when drizzled with chocolate ganache. I have to warn you though, although it is an easy cake to make, it is NOT an easy cake to manage for fondant. It is so moist, that it takes a ridiculous amount of effort and patience just to lather a decent amount of buttercream on the cake. Since it is so moist, it also sags whenever you attempt to layer the cakes, and hard to maintain shape when draped with fondant. BUT since it so darn moist, I persevere every single time, hence this is my go to recipe for all my sons' birthday cakes.

Moist Chocolate Cake:

2 cups caster sugar
1 3/4 cups superfine flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Van Houlten)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Method of Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180degC. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In another bowl, add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Whisk for one minute using a whisk. Add the dry ingredients and whisk together for two minutes.
4. Lastly stir in boiling water. Batter will be tin, so do not use baking tins that have a removable bottom.
5. Divide the batter equally into two 9 inch pans.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Ganache:
For thick chocolate ganache suitable for filling the cake, use two parts dark chocolate to one part cream. For smooth glossy fondant that is loose enough to flow but thick enough to drip over the edges of the cake, use one part dark chocolate to one part cream. You can increase or decrease the chocolate to cream depending on your desired consistency. I recommend Beryl's dark chocolate compound (not milk chocolate!) and Paul's whipping cream.

1. Coarsely chop the chocolate and transfer to a heat-proof bowl.
2. Bring the cream to just a boil over medium-high heat. Make sure it doesn't boil over!
3. Start slowly then vigorously whisk the mixture in one direction until smooth and creamy. This may take a little while, so just keeping whisking.

For the beautiful drips, make sure that your cake is cool to touch. A super cold chilled cake from the fridge is most ideal. Pour your warm chocolate glaze into a piping bag and snip a small hole at the end. Pipe the chocolate ganache all over the top of the cake, with some purposeful drips over the top edge of the cake. And tadaaaaa you're done!

You can also top the cake with strawberries and Toblerone, and go crazy with the chocolate drizzle!

You simply must try this sinful recipe. And yes, you can thank me later. *chuckles*

My Awful Experience with 11Street MY

This is a rant post.

Remember the Handbag Raincoat that I blogged about early of the month? Hhhmmpphh...

After paying for it (and even blogging about it!), I eagerly awaited the arrival of my new 'toy'. Several days after the order, I received a call. I remember it just like it was yesterday. It was around Maghrib and I was in Pangkor with my in laws. I picked up the call and the lady on the other side introduced herself as from 11Street.my and then... her next sentence was a proposition for me to cancel my order. As she stumbled ahead, explaining how to do so,"Click on dashboard, click on bla bla, click on this and that...", I abruptly cut her off. "Why should I cancel my order?", I asked. She sounded very inexperienced, as she began to explain that the item was out of stock and she didn't know when it would be restocked.

I told her that I would be happy to wait for the restock, upon which she stammered that she would check how long it would take to be restocked.

As I ended the conversation, I wondered how many more items within the 11Street domain were out of stock unnoticed?

Fast forward to today, it suddenly occurred to me that 20 days had passed since I placed my order. I checked my order status online and it said "Processing for Delivery". Still unconvinced, I decided to call 11Street MY to check on my purchase. The first time I called, my call was abruptly cut off (that was frustrating!) but things turned up for me in the next call. I was handled by a very polite, apologetic and experienced call analyst. I explained to her my predicament while she looked back on my records. Well guess what? There was no log of them calling me to explain that the item was out of stock! She also clarified that she found no email trails between them and the seller saying that it was out of stock either. However, since the product was from New York, the seller claimed that it would take 20 working days to ship, so she told me that she would email the seller again to check on the delivery status; and she sounded very confident that I would get my order before Christmas. She even offered to email me once she hears from the seller. I ended the call, saying that I was looking forward to her email.

Oh I did get an email, alright! Three hours after that, I received an email, titled "[11street] Your order cancellation is complete, and payment has been refunded."

What the heck??? First you forget to check on the restock period, next you forgot entirely that you called me, then you promised that you would email me with the status of the order, but then you decided that it was easier to cancel and refund instead of giving me at least a courtesy call? What manners!

Best part of it all? "Reason of Cancellation: Item Out of Stock (Applicable to All Options) / sold out we noticed"

Yeah right you noticed! *sarcasm*

Sorry 11Street MY. You just lost a customer here.

Rant over, thanks for reading! (And I guess it's back to plastic bags for my handbags!)