So today, we went to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Its a hot day and a long drive from our place. Terry had printed out the map to Bowling Green before we went out so at least we know which road to take. We did lost our way at first but then we were got back to the right direction. Finally we arrived at our destination.... YAY!!

First stop, we went to Greenwood Mall. The opening hours were MON-SAT:10am-9pm, SUN:12.30pm-6pm. We got there at 12pm and alot of the stores were not opened yet except SEARS and the food court. By the time, we finished window-shopping in SEARS, the rest of the stores had already opened. We went to Steven & Barry's. GOSH!!!  Everything, clothes, shoes, bags, & accessories, were $8.98 or lower from Sarah Jessica Parker to Amanda Bynes to Venus Williams, etc. It was a great deal. A pair of jeans and 2 tops for me and a cool hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts for Terry. :-) So we continued to walk around the mall and did more shopping.. :) 

Hmmm... like alot of people, Terry enjoys playing computer games so we went to Gamestop (he always go to Gamestop when we went to the mall). After browsing thru, he bought a game. Usually, when we ready to check-out, I would ask him to check if the cd is in the box or its the right cd but this time, nah... didnt happen.. well its because in my head kept saying... hungry.. hungry!! (some excuse... hahaha... just say I forgot... haha..) So we left the store without realizing there was no cd in the box. What the ****!!!! Terry only realized this after we got home. I remembered when we got some PC games from Gamestop in another location, they usually would put the cd in the box when we made our payments. I guess this time, the guy just forgot to put it in and also there was a little scene, unhappy customer... [don't want to go details on it..] Anyway, Terry doesnt want to drive all the way up there, he did said "well no point to drive all the way up there for one PC game." Huhh!!! but still, we paid ten bucks of a empty box?? Man, thats expensive!!! Well, we just have to call the store tomorrow. Hopefully, everything would work out well... 

On our way back to Lafayette, we stopped at one house that were selling watermelons and cantaloupes Very cheap... 4 for a dollar for small cantaloupe and $2.50 for big watermelon. A good deal!  We bought some. Before heading home, we went to the twins house. We like to share the good deal with our good frens so we gave some to the twins and some to their mom. Well, I enjoyed going to Bowling Green but it would be better if we could go to Beech Bend... :)

A pic to show you how our A/C looked like... hehe.. :)

I woke up early this morning, even before papi gets up to go to work. Also, lately Im hving problem sleeping at nites then woke up early in the mornings.... I hate that.. I get tired easily.. Maybe sleeping pills would work or medicines that would make me drowsy so I can sleep smoothly at nite... :/ Anyway, this morning, after preparing the coffee and threw the trash out (every tuesday, trash collection day), I logged-in to the internet, which is super slow, to check my emails.. When I saw THE email, Im smiling from ear to ear becoz i received a reply back from sweet mimi. I checked her blog and she has linked me in her post. Its my very first tartlet to be posted and also my very first baking participation...... well, cant help it but Im still smiling.. the tart is very yummy.. Click here to check my blog and here at MIMI's!  

We were invited to our neighbor's house for a birthday party. It was fun and I had homemade mexican food! yummy! We came over and straight away we were directed to the dining table to EAT! The bday girl had cooked, of course the mexican cruisine, and served her delicious food to everyone. Its funny how it works but ppl had to go in by batches to eat, since its not the buffet style and their house is not big enuf to hv 20 over ppl to eat together so hv to go by batches... so we were the 1st group and dining table can fit about 9 ppl... while we were eating a few people came, then they were the 2nd group, while they were eating, more ppl came and they were the 3rd group and 4th group.. I duno if anymore becoz we had left after the eating the birthday cake.. hehe.. anyway I had a good time and I dun hv to cook today coz both of us were too full.. hehehe...

 

HIII ppl, Im moving.... hehe..I meant my food blog. hehe... I will still update here but my food blog will be on that site. All my previous food blog remains here but the new ones will be in that blog. I've joined some food events and decided to create just the food blogs in there.. Not much yet becoz I havent been really doing much in the kitchen... hehehe...  but remember to check it out ok :) 

Check out my new Food blog!

I took some pictures of the twin's vegetables garden and our tiny vegetable garden. In our garden, I had the green onions before but we used them all since they were all grown. So only left with the cayenne chillies and the potatoes. The chillies are good to use now (I think) but the potatoes are still growing.. In Singapore, back then, I never liked gardening but now I seems to get myself involved in gardening here. Growing your own vegetables and herbs.. So here's some photos that I took a few days ago..... click here...

  Just look at her, aint her cute!!

The Fourth of July is the only holiday that celebrated in the United States which is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. From what I heard, families often celebrate Independence Day by having a picnic or BBQ or taking a vacation from work and spend time with families and frens.. 
Firework shows are held in many states and due to safety concerns led to some states to ban fireworks.  Well in Tennessee, fireworks is legal! Papi said the tents will be crowded with people getting last minute fireworks... and its true. We went to one which was near to Walmart and they were almost sold out so we went to the one near post office, still hv plenty and selling out fast.. had quite alot of the people getting their fireworks compared when we went last week or so... 
So since fireworks were banned in Singapore for personal usage and I never had a chance to flame them up and toss them up in the air to explode, I tot yea why not go for it (initially I didnt want to.. kinda scared).. hehe.. There's always first time for everything.. So instead of getting the single ones, we got a package that had plenty of fireworks for both of us that cost only $16.99 (w/o tax).. It rained when we drove back to Lafayette (during the day we went to the mall) and by the time we got to our place, it was still raining. Kinda hard to play firework when its raining right.. so we waited and hope that the rain would stop. But Papi decide to just go out and try.. well the rain stopped eventually... YAY! we played some fireworks..  Well alot of people out there are doing the same... I saw big fireworks compared to ours.. but its cool. The neighbors are playing too and everyone had a great time!!!



 Click here to see more photos... :)

I meant to write it out on July 1st but I forgot to do it... sigh... 
Well its my sister, Iya's Bday on July 1st. I guess its never too late to still wish her a happy bday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET LITTLE SISTER.
Love from Terry and Lynn. 

It was great to get out of town for a little bit yesterday. We drove to Gallatin about 45mins from our place. It was a hot day but alilttle cloudy at some parts.  We planned to go to Dollar Tree, eat at Burger King and watch a movie then head home. So that's the plan but it didnt turned out that way.. hehehe...  We  went to Dollar Tree and I got alot of things from there... so many stuff.. :)... Then we stopped over at the electricity store (next to Dollar Tree) becoz Papi wants to check out the monitors... I was getting hungry and so was Papi. We drove to Burger King to the drive thru but since we were the last car, Papi decided to make a detour becoz he wants to see the timing for the movies. I saw PUBLIX when we were searching for the cinema (bear in the mind that we never been to this area). Looking at the time it was aready 5.30pm, so we still hv time to watch the movies that start after 6pm. So right after that we went to PUBLIX.. oohh... gossh. I love this store.. the bakery, the seafood corner and the staff are really friendly and good customer service! It is alot more expensive but they have the things that I couldnt get in Lafayette. Guess what! we found some sushi!!  

OMG, havent been eating sushi for a long time... So we got some sushi.. see our cart.. we got the ones I liked!! hehe.. We used the self checkout lane and faced some problems a few times. :/ (thats just showed how I never knew how to use the machine... hehe)

So after Publix, we decided not to watch a movie but to go home, eat the sushi and cook some fried rice or something... But I couldnt wait anymore becoz I was hungry and I cant wait to try the sushi... So I ate in the truck, on our way home! hehe.. Washed my hand with the hand sanitizer and start eating... hmmmm... yummy....

Click here for the rest of the photos.... :)  

I'm always inspired by people who cook or bake, especially my amazing mum, my sweet grandma and many other people. I love reading food blogs and try out the recipes especially desserts (hmmm.. mouth watering.. yummy desserts.. hehe..). I guess its in my family blood.. passion for cooking and baking... and also who doesnt love to eat good food.... :)

So.. here's a food event called "Its all about memories" from Jun 21  to Jul 21 hosted by Chef Jeanna. 

This is my first time to participate in the food event. So many dishes... but I decided to cook the all-time favorite... what my amazing mom, my sweet grandma or my lovely aunt would cook for everyone in the family is Nasi Lemak (Coconut Flavored Steamed Rice). My grandma used to sell Nasi Lemak and so is my mum who has her own catering business. Whenever they cooked Nasi Lemak, though its high in fat, the flavor, the sambal, and with other garnishes, makes it simply irresistible, wanting for 2nd rounds.. hehe.... Also back home, when dining with friends, sometimes, we would go for Nasi Lemak which now is available All-Day (traditionally sold as a breakfast dish). Cooking Nasi Lemak here in Tennessee reminds of family back home and where I am from.. sunny city.. Singapore!

           

What is Nasi Lemak? Nasi Lemak, a Malay culinary invention, a malay word that means 'rice in cream'. The rice is soaked in rich coconut cream or milk with pandan (screwpine) leaves thrown into the rice while steaming to give more fragrance. Some people like to add ginger or lemon grass for addional fragrance. It is typically served with fried ikan bilis (dried anchovies), peanuts, sambal (hot spicy/sweet sauce), egg and cucumber slices. Nowadays side items like fried chicken/fish or otah (fish mousse grilled on banana leaves) can be added. Nasi Lemak comes in different versions if prepared by different chefs and races. This is my version of Nasi Lemak given by my mom... 

Recipe: Nasi Lemak

Ingredients:

1 cups of rice
2 cups coconut milk
2 pandan leave (screwpine leaves) - (tied like a knot just like the photo abv)
Salt to taste
a few drops of vegetable oil (optional)




Sambal Ikan Bilis (Dried anchovies sambal):
1 cup ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 red onion
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tamarind juice
2 tbsp cooking oil

Pound together (you can also grind with food processor):
2 dried chillies
2 fresh chillies
1 tsp belacan (prawn paste)

Ingredients for garnish:
Peanuts (fried/roasted)
Hard boiled eggs (cut into half) or plain omelette
Fried chicken wings
Small cucumber (cut into slices)

Instructions:

1. Rinse rice and drain. In a medium saucepan - medium heat, add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, pandan leaves into the rice. Cook the rice just like normal steamed rice. 

2. Rinse the dried anchovies and drain. Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put aside. 

3. Slice the red onion into rings. To make tamarind juice - soak the tamarind pulp in water. Squeeze the tamarind constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice. 

3. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the paste that had been pounded until fragrant. Add in the onion rings followed by tamarind juice, salt, sugar and the anchovies. Stir well. Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside. 

4. Serve with fried chicken, peanuts, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs or plain omelette. 

Yeild: 2 servings

Thanks Jeena for hosting and good day everyone....

p.s: As a novice, I was so ecstatic when my nasi lemak turned out to be great!!!!!!

To my sweet ElizaBeth

From both of us, we wish you a HaPPy Sweet BirTHday!!!!! 
May you days be filled with enlightenment and joy!!

[ Im so glad that you are my fren, sister and most of all your love and care. ]

So whats been going on here.....

We went camping on June 6 to June 8.. It was awesome! Though our camp ground was far from the beach but it was peaceful... We went to the beach on June 7and had a great time.. The sun was HOTT and everyone was having fun in the waters.. I even get to ride on the jet-ski. Becoz I duno how to handle by myself, I got a ride with Rick... It was fun... We didnt get our own tent since one of the guy said he has an extra tent but we didnt know how its gonna be like... I think he didnt have the metal poles for this tent. It rained alittle on the 2nd day too and also there was a leak, some of our things and bed got alittle wet).. If only we knew, we shld hv our own... [Yawn!!] On the 2nd day of the camp, there was a slight DRAMA. I tot they almost gonna have a fight! Scared the s**t outta me!! Both doesnt want to forgive and forget so one so unhappy decided to leave and will come back to collect his things...  Everyone kept talking about it.... Papi got sun-burnt after the camping trip and me got tanner.. hehehe... (I didnt take much pictures at the camping trip)

                                            
                                                
Papi had a surprise for me on my B-day. Original plan was to have BBQ and small gathering over at the twins home but becoz of the camping trip, it was canceled. But that doesnt stop Papi to go all out to get the party stuff, bday cake and lotsa presents for me... The presents were in one big red bag and when I took a look at it, I was laughing becoz one of the present is a Barbie doll for me!!!!!

                                                

                                                  

                                                 

We have been to a few yard sales over the weekends lately.. Its the summer and alot of ppl trying to get rid of their things... The thing I like to go to yard sales becoz its very  cheap, NO TAX and Tennessee being the highest tax charged so I think it kinda save us some money. Of coz I get those still can be used like the jars, shades, baskets and so on or you would say recycle.. THINK GREEN...hahaha

I cook and bake alot of variety for the 1st time. I found great food blogs... I simply love reading them and trying out the recipes... How to snap good pictures of the food/item... I made roti prata, french bread, cupcakes, cookies.... [yawn!!]

                                               

                                              

I also made some sardines rolls and lacy pancakes with curry potatoes & vegetables to Papi's co-workers (which was a good thing and they like em). (Didnt took any pictures of these)

Hmm... Taking the slow pace of life.... Not doing much.... Life here is far much different from the life in Singapore. Im getting use to this.. I hardly go out (one thing becoz I have no car and 2nd I duno the area well enuf to be on my own) and when I do, usually to groceries store, wal-mart, fred's or just visiting the twins....

Well Im going to bed now and Im getting really sleepy.. Have a great day everyone!

Im so happy now that we got a new monitor. We saw an advertisement in The Prospector. "Computer Monitor, 17", like new - $20" so I told Papi to call and check. We had to drive to Red Boilings (next town) to buy this 17" monitor yesterday (June 23, 2008).  We also found out that one guy is able to repair the monitor but it will cost us somewhere from $60 to $100.. So we decided instead of spending much money on repairing, we just get the $20 monitor... It looks like new too... Well I would say its just like the one I have at home... Im just glad that we have a workable monitor and we dun have to go to the library just to check my emails and update my journal.  hehee..

So many days gone by and I didnt get to update my journal.... I took some photos of the camping trips, cupscakes that I made, roti prata, my bday celebration with Papi and so on.... I'll upload the pictures soon. For now, I have to make some lunch...... Good day everyone......

Its been 4 days.. An unfortunate days for me... 

Unable to use the computer at home becoz the monitor died on us!!!!! It was Saturday morning, that we found out that our flat screen monitor is not working. When I switched on the computer, I was wondering why the monitor is black screen. We even tried to use a different output but it didnt worked. We tried calling all the computer shops in this town that repair monitors but there is none in this town!!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!

But luckily, there is a library in this town... So here I am at Macon County Library to check my emails and others. Well not too bad. Its fast and not really crowded and cool (its hot outside).. Im trying to search for shops out of town but within TN that is able to repair the monitor. Hopefully there is and wont cost us that much. But if there is and so expensive, worst come to worst, we just gotta buy a new one..........  :/