1 Hour Quick Lunch Menu

As I am on leave today, I have the pleasure to do my own cooking. As the pictures depict I cooked mixed grains brown rice, steam lady fingers, fried ginger tau foo with tomato and celery and burdock root soup. My Mandarin speaking friend called Burdock as "New Phang". I have them done including cooking and washing up within 1 hour.

The cost of the ingredients are about RM4.50 (for both lunch and dinner). I have enough quantity to eat for dinner and lunch. Assuming I were to eat outside just for lunch alone at "Economy Rice" stall ; 1 plate of white rice RM1.00, soup 1 bowl RM2.00 (dilute too), 1 small plate of tau foo RM2.50, 4 nos of lady fingers RM 2.00. Total price RM7.50 only for lunch at coffee shop stall.

Carrot and sesame muffins

Ingredients
375 gm self raising flour,
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp ground mixed spice
90 g castor sugar
1 large carrot, grated
4 tbsp sesame seeds
170 gm sultanas
100 g natural yoghurt
1cup (250 ml) fresh milk
3 tbsp butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 200 C. Into a large bowl, sift flour, bicarbonate soda and mixed spice. Add sugar, carrot, sesame seeds and mix to combine.
2. In another bowl, place yoghurt, milk, butter and eggs and whisk to combine. Stir yoghurt mixture into flour mixture and mix until just combined. Spoon mixture into muffin cups an bake for 20 mins or until muffins are cooked when tested with a skewer. Best serve when warm.

On the bed or on the wood flooring?

Where do you prefer to sleep, on the bed or on the floor with a carpet or thin mattress on the wood flooring.? After testing for a few months I will be sleeping on the wood flooring. This is because I have backache. By lying down my back straight on a hard surface this works like an auto massage. I even discard pillow which suppose to support my head. Head, back where the hunch back is, bum all straight on the floor. It is a wonderful feeling. My backache has minimised. The body feels good. Wish I had started to sleep on the wood floor earlier. Another side benefits of sleeping on the floor is that it is always cooling in harsh hot weather. I do not need fan or aircon with wood flooring.

Declutter, detox the mind

We have read and heard so much of detoxing of our body through special diets to release our bodies from stored toxins. We have also heard of feng shui masters advise us on declutter our home. The more spacious our home is , the easier the chi to flow. Similarly the mind also need needs detoxing. Feelings such as resentment, frustration, enmity and unexpressed anger can become internal poisons that ultimately damage our well beings and quality of life if they are not resolved.

Meditation and spiritual lessons are the methods to assist us to have the inner strength to cope with life. However to gain inner strength through meditation requires a certain period of time. I have not gain mine yet after I have learnt since year Aug 2005. Most probably because I don't practise constantly, the spiritual connection that our mind make with cosmic forces. The more regular and concentrate we are the more inner wisdom within us is acquired.

Life may be considered difficult and complicated or simple and easy depending on how we perceive it to be. It is only a matter of switching or tuning the mind to either which side. We have to let go of our junk and clutter. This applies to material possession in the home, work-related activities, relationships, thoughts and emotions. We are inviting too many distractions into our lives unconsciously through our experiences and others' experiences by our observations. One of my teacher's favourite slogan is "Don't think". What she meant was on a regularly basis we have to identify what is no longer serves a useful purposes. This applies to our personal life and career aspects of our life. This is getting the excess baggage out of our life. Do something every day to make our life less complicated. Refuse to spend time with people or things that are draining our energy, space, time or money. Do not remember or think of the weaknesses of others in our mind. Do not worry about things that might never happen. What if... any mishap happens. Switch off.

W can't change anyone or everything and live in perfect pure world, but learning to cope with the inevitable and be able to handle any situations like a somersault may make a difference.

Just sharing - 7/7/09

It is already past midnight and I haven't sleep. The reason is my sleeping pattern is that sometimes if I miss the 9 something "sleep bus", it will be very late for me to have another sleepy moment. I wonder if there are many people having this kind of sleep pattern like me.

Lately I have been very tired and weak. Too tired to write anything. Even if I write it will be mostly my anger, frustration and hatred. I hate to tell lies therefore I can't write what is not in my heart. I notice many people are having devilish trait. Maybe to others it is a norm, a norm to stay alive. My friend shared with me that he too was very fed up with certain peers character who talked so bad and condemn one contractor. Whereas in front of the contractor he pat and smile with the said contractor, even talk about games as if being old close friends. Just ten minutes ago criticise severely the contractor.

Some even lies and talk nonsense just because their position are higher. No wonder these days people are more prone to illness. I wonder if their thoughts, words and actions are not in alignment, will they ever feel any uneasiness. They talked one thing, do something else, maybe feel another things. One example is, one director boasting to outside people that his organisation is all working harmoniously like a big family. Inside the company, he is abusing verbally and mentally his employees. Internally his heart is condemning the workers for being not hard working enough, not loyal enough, not good enough, not efficient enough.

Nowadays nobody is really pleased with anybody I am sure. Similarly I too not satisfied with anyone in my life though I can assure that I give my passing marks very low. This is inevitable in life. Everybody has flaws including myself.

Prescriptions to stay calm in crisis

Last weekends I have the opportunity to attend a few talks by one yogi from India. As always when i listened to such talk I always get intoxicated. I would have attend it every night if it were held every night.

The methods or prescriptions to remain calm in crisis are :

1. Every morning when we wake up, make the first ten minutes we spend concentrating on one positive affirmation, eg. " I am a peaceful soul" or " I am responsible for my own feelings", etc
(Only each thought per day)

2. Practise one minute pause for at least 8 times a day. During those pause of one minute, reaffirm the morning thought eg "I am a peaceful" or "I am responsible for my own feelings" etc respectively. Those pause can be for eg during 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, 2: 00 pm, 3;00 pm till 8 times.

3. During night time, before we fall asleep, as we are resting, roll the scroll of the day. Accept everything as good. Whatever has happen is good. (What may appears to be a mistakes, is a lesson that we have learned and move on) Thanks everyone that we have deal with for the day including those we may have dislike for. Thanks God and good nite .

We are encouraged to try for say 2 - 3 months and see how. Thereafter other things being equal, we shall be able to move forward smoothly without stress.

Maid's Ban - So what

Talking about maid ban, I was thinking if I ever can afford to hire maid, if my salary were RM20K per month, I will still not be hiring maid. The reasons are :

1. I do not feel safe with any person around me. It is a very high risk. I have read of cases where the maid murder the employer once she got to irritated with the employer. One never knows if they may not like us through our behaviour or mannerism. A lot of them also mix urine in their boss's beverages. Some burn dried menstruates and let their employer to eat it through cooking in the food. I don't trust them to prepare meals for me. I always remember the saying, "It is much easier to avoid external 'ghost' than internal 'ghost' which stays around you".

2. There are cases where they inform their so-called boyfriends of our time table and schedule and assist in robbery and theft.

3. Some elope away with their boyfriends after a while . This is not too bad if they had not also gone off with our cash or jewellery.

4. Some hit the very weak elderly while the younger sons or daughters are out for work. The maid hit the elderly as the way to vent out their boredom and some simply because of jealousy, laziness and unreasonableness.

5. I think majority have seen before, the video where the maid and hit kicked the toddler as if the toddler is a ball.

6. I also heard of cases where they don't rinse properly the utensils, clothes. I cannot stand those lackadaisical attitude.

So don't you think it will be much stress free without a maid then with a maid. What's wrong with a little bit messy in our place. We can clean it as and when we have the mood and time.

I just talk for the sake of updating my blog tonight. However they are not without sincerity from my heart.