Life is too short!!

What is your general reaction when you hear a celebrity passing away?  For me it all depends on who the celebrity is, the age factor and the reason cause of death?

RIP Paul Walker

Over the years I have noticed there has been alot of celebrities passing due to illness or accidents. It's more the young ones involved in accidents that intend to shocked me the most.

The latest toll would have to be Paul Walker.  A young 40yo actor was killed in car accidnet on the weekend.  Now that incident really shock me!!  He became famous for playing the character as an uncovered agent in most of the Fast and the Furious.  He was currently working on the number 7 sequel.

I have seen all the first five movies on DVD in one weekend.  I was planning to see number 6 at the cinema but the time ran out.  Guess I will have to watch it on DVD before I see number 7 (if it continues in production) at the cinema.

Princess Di was another celebrity to unexpectedly passed away in 1997.  Where were you at the time of the media annoucement of her death?  We were on the road travelling to visit some relatives when we first heard of the car accident happened.  It wasn't until the return trip home we heard she had died.  I did watch her funeral on TV. Did you?  I was more sad for her boys to grow up without their mum.  Now I see them all grown up.  She would of been a proud grandma to see her first grand child named George.

Then there was Steve Irwin who died about 7 years ago. Well.......I always thought it was going to be a crocodile to get his revenge on him.  May lost his life but more likely it might of been a lost of a limb.  So it was abit of a surprise to hear it was a stingray that got him. He was only a young guy with a young family to leave behind.  He might be a caring person to wildlife but he loved to play with danger with some dangerous wildlife animals.

Life is too short!! None of us know when our time is up. The best way to remember our famous stars is the way they portrait their life to be well known.  To all the celebrities in heaven, rest in peace! Probably the only time I get to met a celebrity is when I joined them in heaven.

Cookery tips and techniques

Lately I have been experiencing to teach myself on how to cook meals on a lower budget.  Basically it's cheaper to purchase meat packs from your local supermarket and add meal packets (sauce) and/or vegetables. Also those pasta packs where you just add milk and water are great value for the family.  I had use these for a long time on days I have a busy schedule.  Add meat and/or vegetables can make the pasta meal more tasty.

Someone in a goggle group forward some cruisine tips and techniques which I thought it was worthwhile sharing on my blog. 

Peel the rind off citrus before juicing, or using the fruit and, store in the fridge to use in a plastic bag, or it even freezes well.

Perfect cuts:
Use an electric knife to slice through cinnamon roll dough rather then a serrated knife or dental floss.
the electric knife doesn't smash or tear the dough.

Coffee Treats:
When you have leftover whipped cream, place it in a pastry bag with a star tip and pipe it onto parchment paper on a baking sheet and freeze.  When frozen, transfer them into freezer bags and they are ready to top hot drinks, or desserts as needed.

Hollowing Tomatoes:
Use a small 1/4 tsp metal measuring spoon.
First remove stem, then cut into the tomato with the edge of the spoon.
Scoop out seeds with the bowl of the spoon.

Grate Butter
When making scones or biscuits, grate butter on the large hole side of a cheese greater instead of cutting
it with a knife. Makes the whole process easier and less messy. You will find that scones will come out better too.
Hold the butter by the wrapper and to prevent it from melting from the warmth of your hands.

Instant soft butter:
To soften butter quickly, place it in a resealable plastic bag, and use a rolling pin to beat and flatten the butter.  It softens very quickly then.

Sticky Situation:
Bottles with sticky contents, corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, etc: can be a hassle to keep reopening.
So, before using the bottle for the first time, wipe the thread with a light coating of cooking oil.
The lid will never stick and won't be difficult to open again.

Easy Chile Seeding:
To seed jalapenos without gloves, cut off both ends of the chile.
Stand it on a cutting board and slice down it's sides, removing the flesh around the core.
Discard the core with the seeds.

Chocolate Grating:
When you need just a bit of chocolate for sauces, ganache or a quick topping, try using a graters large holes.
Hold the chocolate by the wrapper to keep from melting.
To store, seal the grated chocolate in a plastic bag and keep in a cool dark place. Not fridge or freezer.

Roll out the Salad
Salad dressing is not much good when tossed with a bowl full of wet geens.
Here's a solution when doing small amounts and you don't want to use the salad spinner for just two small salads.
Wash greens, and lay them on a clean towel and roll them up like jelly roll fashion, then unroll and make a salad with dry lettuce.  If you do a larger amount, to keep stored in the fridge, the towel will absorb water and then slowly feed it back to the leaves, keeping them fresh for up to a week.
The result is crisp, clean and dry salad that will not have rust spots.

Buying and selling assets

Over two decades ago I learnt about buying and selling items at school.  I knew some point in my life as an adult I will experience buying and selling a car and/or a house.  But this year it seems it was both the car and a house.  My new car is now 9 months old and going very well still. 

On the other hand selling the house is abit more of a challenge.  We first purchased this house privately from a relative 11 years and now we decide to sell for personal reasons.  It's our first time to sell a house.  We are going through a real estate agent. And what a headache is!  The hardest part is to always keep the house respectable for protential buyers. 

In September we had the house on the market. In the first week it was supposely been sold to a young couple.  But afte the building inspection was completed, this couple had a change of heart in buying. It shattered my dreams as I had planned to move by now. Afterwards we had another person interested in buying but they had issues of getting finance.

After the building inspection was done we had to make some changes.  Also the market value was reduced as some people thought the price tag was abit too high for this general area of buying.

Sometimes I can't make plans to do things as I never know when the real estate agent will phone to say a protential buyer is coming over.  This week alone we had four protentials. Might have found a buyer as they are interested in our house.  We should know by Monday if we got lucky with this sale.

Here's a fact sheet to share for anyone who plans on buying their house for the first time.    http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumerprotection/PDF/Real_Estate_industry/Publications/Industry_Publication/Buying_home_through_agent_2011_WEB.pdf

Uses of Ziplock Bags

There are probably many ways to use Ziplock bags but here's a few tips I heard from other sources. If there is other areas you can think of, feel free to share in the comments section.

1. Knead dough. Place dough in a Ziplock bag so your fingers don't get sticky. Or slip your hand into the bag and wear it like a glove.
2. Store panty hose. Nude, Tan, etc. - they look the same out of the package. Tear off the corner of the package listing the brand, size, and color, then slip it into a bag. Store each pair in its own bag to keep hose organized and prevent snags.
3. Remove chewing gum or candle wax from a tablecloth, a couch, or carpeting. Gently rub gum or wax with a bag filled with ice cubes until the substance hardens. Shatter gum with a blunt object, then vacuum up the chips. Carefully peel off frozen wax with a plastic spatula.
4. Pipe frosting. Snip off a tiny corner to use a Ziplock bag as a pastry bag.
5. Store homemade soup. Fill up bags, then lay them flat in the freezer. When the bags of soup freeze flat, you'll be able to pile them up like stacked books for easy, space-saving storage.
6. Protect precious cargo. No bubble wrap? Slip a straw into the top of a nearly closed the bag and inflate. Remove the straw and seal to make a cushion. (Heirlooms, however, should wait for that bubble wrap.)
7. Break up graham crackers or vanilla wafers to make a pie crust. Fill a bag with the cookies, then roll a rolling pin over it.
8. Prevent a handbag from turning into a snow globe. Store pressed powder and other compacts in the bags.
9. Gather herbs from the garden. Before winter frost sets in, wash, pat dry, and freeze the herbs in the bags.
10. Ice an injury. Fill a bag with ice cubes to create a cold compress.

Spring Cleaning idea

The best way of cleaning dirty grout from your tiled floor without using harsh chemicals.

 

Ingredients

7 cups water

1/2 cup baking soda

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup vinegar

 

Method

Pour the combined ingredients into a spray bottle and spray your floor.  Let it sit for a couple of minutes then scrub

The Ingredients in Cow's Milk

Water
The main component of milk is water, around 87 per cent. Water is necessary for the newborn calf and also serves as a carrier for all the other ingredients in milk.

Carbohydrates
The majority of carbohydrate content of milk is lactose. Lactose is a sugar that serves as the main source of energy for the newborn calf. However, for lactose to be digested the enzyme lactase is necessary. All human babies have this enzyme but only some retain it after weaning. In fact, most of the world's population are unable to digest lactose after infancy. That's why lactose is the most common food allergen. The reason for the absence of lactase in many children and adults is evolutionary. No other mammal species needs this enzyme after weaning and therefore, given that it would be redundant, the body simply stops producing it as it's genetically programmed to do so. Drinking milk after infancy is just not what nature intended.

Protein
The proteins in milk can be divided into two categories - caseins and whey proteins. Caseins can be very difficult to digest, are often causing allergies and have been linked to type 1 diabetes. Caseins are so tough they are even used as a basis of some glues! The amount of protein in cows' whole milk is around 3.3 g/100g (3.4g in semi-skimmed milk) while it is only 1.3g/100g in human milk. Moreover, the ratio of caseins to whey proteins is 40:60 in human milk but it is 80:20 in cows' milk. Calves need extra protein because they need to grow fast. Human babies, on the other hand, need less protein and more fat. Not only is the higher amount and wrong ratio of proteins in cows' milk difficult to digest, it also contributes to acidic (unwanted) reactions in the body that may weaken bones.

Fat
While cows' milk always contains saturated fat - and this 'bad' fat is completely unnecessary for humans - it contains only traces or very little polyunsaturated fats that are not only essential for human body but also have a whole range of beneficial properties (eg are anti-inflammatory).
Fat Whole milk (g/100g) Semi-skimmed milk (g/100g) Human milk (g/100g) Total 3.9 1.7 4.1 Saturated 2.5 1.1 1.8 Monounsaturated 1 0.4 1.5 polyunsaturated 0.1 Trace 0.5

Vitamins and minerals
Small amounts of these vitamins and minerals are found in cows' milk: Minerals sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, chloride, zinc, iron (very low levels), selenium, iodine and trace amounts of copper and manganese Vitamins retinol (vitamin A), carotene, vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, pantothenate, biotin, vitamin C and trace amounts of vitamin D Hormones and Growth Factors Cows' milk contains a cocktail of 35 hormones and 11 growth factors. This cocktail is meant for a calf and is perfectly suited for the growth and development needs of a calf. However, these hormones/growth factors can accelerate cancer growth in a grown-up human body because there's nothing else to grow but malignant cells. Two of the biggest concerns are the oestrogen and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) content of milk as both are linked to breast and prostate cancers in humans. Even small increases of IGF-1 raise the risks of several other common cancers including lung and colon cancers. IGF-1 is not destroyed during pasteurisation.

Infectious particles and somatic cells
Dairy cows are prone to disease and due to large numbers of cows on farms and the intensivity of production, diseases spread fast. In the UK, cows suffer from a range of infectious diseases including brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, foot and mouth disease, mastitis, viral pneumonia and Johne's disease. As a result various contaminants can occur in milk. Mastitis (inflammation of the mammary gland) is very common. It is caused by bacteria and leads to the whole udder or a part of it being inflamed, swollen and very painful. The cow's body responds to the infection by producing white blood cells (somatic cells) that combat the infection in the udder. These cells, together with dead cells and waste products of the inflammation are components of pus and are inevitably excreted into the milk. Milk containing up to 400 million somatic cells per litre is perfectly legal to be sold in the EU.

Why cats love you?

10 Signs Your Kitty Actually Loves You by Abigail Geer

Ever wondered if your kitty really loves you? From finicky to feisty, our feline friends aren’t always the easiest to read. Unlike dogs who make their affection for us loud and clear, cats have far less obvious ways of communicating how they feel. If you want to discover just how much your cat cares about you, then check out these 10 signs of true love:

1. Head butting. If a person were to do it to you, then you’d have a pretty good idea of what they were trying to tell you, but with a cat it’s a whole different story. To be on the receiving end of what is actually known in the cat world as ‘head butting‘ is a very special privilege indeed. During this exchange your cat deposits facial pheromones that represent their feelings of trust and safety they have with you.
2. Powerful purrs. Cats purr for all sorts of reasons, but there is one unique full bodied rumble that your kitty saves exclusively for their true love. Purring also lowers your kitty’s heart rate and helps them to relax and exhibit feelings of contentment.

3. Love bites. If your cat is a chronic nibbler, then chances are they’ve got a thing for you. It’s pretty easy to tell the difference between a love bite and a regular cat bite, one hurts and the other tickles! Nibbling isn’t a common sign of love, but when a cat employs it, they’re trying to say “you’re awesome.”

4. Tail twitching. You can tell a lot by looking at a cat’s tail. Just as their tails puff out when they get scared or agitated, their tail will twitch at the very tip when they are feeling bliss. If you notice this action when your cat approaches you, then you can be sure that they think you rock their world.

5. Tummy up. When your cat throws itself on the floor and starts rolling around, they are trying to get your attention. Cats only show their tummies voluntarily to those they can trust. Feeling safe means a lot to a cat, so when they sprawl out in front of you, this is a sign that they feel loved and protected.

6. Licking your hair or ears. It’s not often that humans are deemed worthy of these very special grooming sessions, but if your cat has chosen to bestow you with hair or ear licking, rest assured you have been welcomed into the inner circle. Grooming is one of the most obvious signs of the friendship and trust you have with your furry companion.

7. Kneading. Kittens knead against their mothers to stimulate milk production, which is why experts believe that kneading behavior in cats is nostalgic of kittenhood and acts as a way of reliving the happy moments they experienced as little ones. So next time your kitty starts moving its paws up and down on you, remember that they are not just trying to soften you up before taking a nap, but that they’re expressing their adoration for you.

8. Slow blinking. It is said that cats kiss with their eyes, so don’t expect to share this sign of affection with any old cat. Cats save eye contact for people they know and trust. If that eye contact is coupled with slow blinking then you’ve just received a kitty kiss. Return the love by mimicking the behavior.

9. Nap time. Kitties crave warm safe places to sleep, so if your fluffy feline decides to snuggle down beside you or better yet, on your lap, then you should feel especially honored. Cats are most vulnerable when they are sleeping, and there is no greater compliment than when they choose you as their snooze spot.

10. Gifting. There is no denying that a small dead something is not at the top of our wishlist, but a kitty that presents you with this bounty deserves to be praised. Despite our domestication, cats still have the inner hunter and sharing their prizes with you is a sign of true friendship. If you’ve been fortunate enough to share your life with a cat, then you’ll understand that they are consciously connecting with us. Whether it’s via grooming, purring or snuggling up, cats are loving and affectionate individuals that form very special bonds with their favorite people

Remembering 26 June 2013

QLD won game 2 State of Origin

Yesterday will now be our Australian (and possibly worldwide) history books. Alot of Queenslands would of been celebrating last night for two reasons.

 

There has been some serious politic issues between all parties involved for the past few days or weeks in Canberra.  I do wonder who was running the country yesterday while this schoolyard behaviour was going on?  It seems no one wanted Julia Gilliard as PM anymore.  Inspite the country has mixed emotions about her role gender, I was happy to finally see a female as the country's PM for once. At 4pm she annouced on live TV there was going to be a leadership ballot at 7pm last night.  In her announcement she included the loser has to retire from the politic world.

 

There was a leadership ballot held last night between Julia GIlliard and Kevin Rudd.

Kevin Rudd won

About an hour later it was announced Kevin Rudd is now back as Australia's Prime Minister until the upcoming federal elections (supposely be held on 14th Sept but the day now could be changed to sometime in August). Goodbye Ms Gilliard!  She was our first female PM for Australia for three years.  Good luck in whatever next venture you are planning on taking. 

 

If you love footy, Queensland won the second State of Origin 26-6.  Can you see the connection?  The score is the same as yesterday's date:26/6 (that is how we write the date in Australia: date/month/year)

Business advertising

Is anyone into candles? I have found someone who has a business in making candles to sell.

If you into fragrant candles or want gift ideas for Mother's Day, try Anna's Candles. Her website address is www.annascandles.com.au. 

These candles are Australian made from soy bean wax and uses a huge variety of different fragrants. They are sold at reasonable prices.  Come in different sizes and colours.

Even the postage isn't too bad either in Australia. For further information visit her website.

Enjoy the scents!

Reality shows

Who watches reality game shows?  Throughout the year I intend to watch My Kitchen Rules, Dancing with the Stars, The X-factor, The Amazing Race, Australia's Got Talent (which will now be seen on Channel 9), The Block, The Voice and Survivor.  At present time MKR and Survivor Caramoan is screened to air on TV.  They are half way into their season now.

 

MKR is one of my favourite shows to watch each season.  Manu and Pete are the main hosts and judges on the show. They are experienced chefs and restaurant owners.  MKR is an Australia cooking competition with two couples from each state to compete in cooking challenges.  The weakest two teams goes to sudden death cook off to cook and have six judges to vote which menu is better.  The weakest teams cook a three course meal. So far this series I have tried one of their meals.  It was a red wine beef cheeks served with mashed potato.  Very yummy!

 

Survivor is US based with competitors formed two teams to survive on an inland and compete in challenging games. The team who loses each week votes out one of their team members.  At times some players can go off their rails like it happened in episode five.  A young male had a meltdown which the team decided to forfeit the immunity challenge and voted the guy out.

 

The Block All Stars just finished its Australian made series. Four couples (who previously been on the series for the past ten years) had six weeks to flully renovated four houses in Sydney.  The auction was shown on TV on Wednesday night.  The reserve price for all four houses were over $1300 million each. House one was the winner!  This house was sold for $1670 million. Other three houses were sold for $1370 miilion, $1650 million and $1575 million. 

Brisbane's lockdown crisis

What a shock to see on facebook from a friend's post about Brisbane Queen Street Mall.  I just had to turn on the TV to see the breaking news on TV myself but this seige just ended by the time I turned on the TV.

Not sure if this breaking news will be seen on your TV news internationally but this event only happened this morning in Brisbane City mall.  For further information go to http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a /-/newshome/16326128/gunman-forces-city-mall-to-be-locked-down/. 

 

Parts of the city remains cordoned off after a nearly two hour siege involving a 20 yo male with a police record. The gunmen has now been caught and arrested.

 

Not in my wildest dreams I would imagine the Queen Street Mall would have a serious lockdown event.  I grew up visiting this mall many times over the years. I guess no place is really a safe environment anymore.

 

Flood Recovery

This weekend marks the 2nd anniversary of the Brisbane Floods (that happened in January 2011). 

Watched about the flood recovery story on ABC news this morning. It seems some business and residents are still have issues with their insurance company.  They haven't got their insurance payout as yet.  Some people may never get their payment because their insurance company never included floods on their contract.

There was one man interviewed saying he used his life's savings to rebuilt his home again. He is still waiting for his insurance company to pay up.

When it is time for your home and contents insurance to be renewed, just checked on your policy with the company you are using to see if your policy covers most natural disasters.