C.A.R.E

Since it's E-learning day yesterday, I didn't have lessons. But there was a seminar thingy on CAREvolution.

Anyway the main take away for me, which I thought is going to be very useful is "power notes". What is this exactly? To my own definition, its little notes (doesn't matter what paper it is) and written with compliments or praises or even encouragement for some one or some little notes you want to give to people.

This might be an exceptionally good and rather 'cheap' thing to give to our students. These priceless things comes with a price - sounds ironic. But probably praises and compliments from you are free but they meant so much to anyone else.

These messages are so effective, be it to your students or friends or colleagues, male or female, I'm rather sure these little notes mean so much more than a sweet given to them as a prize or what so ever.

In the seminar, everyone wrote notes (at least 3) and gave it to our colleagues and friends. I gave it to my CT as well as most of the NIE trainees. Words of encouragement, love, etccc. But of all, I really felt I was 'something' after reading my CT's power note to me, when I was feeling down and lousy after a whole hectic week. It made my day, all the power notes and the encouraging words.

What do you think about these notes?

Tarnishes on silver! SOS!

Ever encounter tarnishes on your silver wares and you totally have no idea how to remove it?

Few weeks back I was so annoyed when I saw my piece of silver jewellery plus it was a gift from my friends for my 21st birthday! I am not quite sure how it got tarnished but I suspected someone accidentally dirtied it with some liquid. But again tarnishes could be a result of many things so I was not really sure too.

Eekie tarnishes which made me so sad, stains of brown and bronzy thingy on the surface ):

I happened to remember the Japanese variety show I watched on TV weeks back on how they manage to "revive" the shiny surface of the silver.

Materials:
Bowl (Actually a small one will do, mine was too big)
Aluminium foil
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Bicarbonate soda
Hot water

Boil some water and pour into the bowl with the mixtures and dissolve the salt and bicarbonate soda before immersing the silver wares.

In less than one minute, TADA! I was happy that the ugly tarnishes were removed! RELIEVED! (Dry the silver and thats it!)

Cooking cooking!

Don't misunderstand the title of the post, Home Economics is not just about cooking! 

Anyway, last wednesday, the interns from TP brought ingredients to school to prepare Curry Puffs after school ended. 

It feels good to have interns who are teaching the same subject as me. (: Its just like seeing an old friend after a long time. But they'll be leaving a few weeks' time. ):

  

Zafirah, Jaclyn and me :) ; photo credits to Zafirah :)

Practicum! :D

Today is the fourth day of my practicum! Still surviving and kicking! :D

Have been doing classroom observation and helping/ assisting the teacher when she need help for lessons (theory and practical) And I really learnt many new things from my CT. :) I've met new colleagues, and also some whom I met during TP's Student Internship Programme two years back. I am happy to be back. :)

I've also met 2 juniors from TP which are currently having their 7th week of SIP here. I had a nice time with them and I must say, it feels good to see people who are on the "same boat" and we're learning from each other.

Today was a rather hectic day for me as I had 6 periods in a row! Totally tiring, but what I can say is, ACCEPT it :) anyway its going to be almost a full load of a teacher. I'm learning.

Hope the rest of my friends are having a good time in their practicum school learning new things and adapting to the environment. :) Cheers to all! Have a great day ahead! And soon, its going to be the last day of the weekday! FIGHTINGGGGG! :D

do the BOLLYWOOD style.

Learning journey is definately a very good way of incorporating lessons outside the classroom. The visit to the Bollywood Veggies is definately an enriching experience for me! I wonder if some one would make a visit there (especially for the 21st century modern children) how many types of plans can you actually identify?

A whole wide range of spices, fruit trees, and flowers! EYE OPENER FOR ME! :) Organically grown!

Various types of flowers at the farm! Look at the colours! PRETTY :D

Longan trees, have you ever seen longans grown on trees? Netting is wrapped over the longans to prevent birds/ insects to eat the fruits :) Also to ensure the harvest :)

The guide told us that the Bollywood farm has up to 5 different species of bananas. Some edible and some not, are you able to identify them? (The flowers of edible bananas are facing down and the inedible one will face up)

Flower? Yes it is, but its an inedible banana flower plant :) DO NOT EAT! Will cause cardiac arrest!

I totally love this part of the farm, its Roselle! Roselle has recently become very 'pop' in the market due to its high amount of antioxidant which is known as anthocyanin which is in a deep purple-red!

Food from the farm! Hot from the kitchen and fresh from the farm! :D

Some random photos of the girls under the unbrella in the hot sun! :D

And, me, "Hello!" :)

COOK. BAKE. HOST.

Time before the start of practicum isn't much, so since my mum and I had some time, we went to ToTT, which is located at 896, Dunearn Road.

ToTT is definately a one-stop store if you are thinking of purchasing cooking wares or even exortic ingredients. There is a wide range of items especially for baking wares, you can find almost everything you need there! Other than just having a "mini mart" selling ingredients, a big and huge store of equipment, there's even a bistro and a cooking studio that you can attend lessons at as they have a wide range of courses you can sign up for!

A whole wide range of pastas with different flavours. Interesting!

A "bake & go" station with ready made cookie doughs, just pay for the dough and you get to bake there! All fully equipments you need for the baking! Good for people who wants to bake and yet does not have much equipments :)

Few whole shelves of cook books with some cook books of famous chefs like Jamie Oliver!

Cooking studio with everything you need for the cooking lesson! Even apron is provided!

At the bistro serving quite limited variation of food...........

Free flow of drinks! Good for a long afternoon..

Mushroom soup with.......... Spring onion as garnishing..? I don't think its quite suitable for a western soup!

Durian fritter, which is something new, would be a super-love thing for durian lovers!

That's all for now (:
http://www.tottstore.com/ for more information! :D



The painless plastic surgery (for pictures only!)

Who doesn't like flawless skin, no blemishes, no pigmentation, no eye bags, no wrinkles, no double chin? In real life, I think only really perfect people like the only one in a million would have such qualities! Pretty models and idols on the magazine cover, are they really so perfect like how they look like in real life? Maybe not! (I've seen my idols right infront of my eyes, with skin- that doesn't look that perfect like what they looked like on magazines and articles. After a long hours, make up smudges and "fall" from the face which reveals the truth below make up, so TADA, yeah. Sometimes make up can't even do the job of covering serveral types of skin problems, ie, the "orange skin" surface if you get what I mean).

To the main point, because of doing the Comparative study for the magazine project, I finally (I really mean finally) I got the chance to "explore" Photoshop! It really does wonders, and thinking of it, we have been really relying on Photoshop for our photos in the magazine.

Anyway, I'm proud to present to you a FOOD photo (I think I shouldn't be so bad to reveal the Photoshop-ed photos of my group members for this comparison here- Hehe)

BOOMZ! Froyo (Frozen Yogurt)! :D

The trick about capturing nice photographs of froyo is that is melts super quickly, so at times you will take a photo of a froyo that looks quite melted and that is totally unsightly for a magazine quality photo. So the above photo, can you see what is the difference? (IT IS REALLY THE SAME PHOTO!)


In the photo:
-The melted tip has become "stiff" again and having a nice sharp tip.
-The kiwi, strawberry and peaches look more!


FYI, I only used one of the function which is Liquify! Cool right? This function can also used to make eyes bigger, darkening make up, making your smile look nicer, etc~ Just explore and you'll get the hang of it! :D



That's all for now! Looking forward to visit the Bollywood Vegetable Farm this Friday! :D

The year of the bunny & the bunny things!

The year of the RABBIT! I love bunnies, and everything, anything associated to them! They're such lovely creatures, gentle and cute fur balls :D As this year is the year of rabbit, shops selling food are making their food look like rabbits! I'm sure you will be tempted to buy if you're a rabbit or animal lover :D

Picture credits to my sister! Can you even tell what is this by the appearance? Cookies? NO, its pineapple tarts! So lovely in the pink shade, and carrots accompanying the rabbits! CREATIVE!

Next up, I chanced upon the "Happy New Ear" bread from BreadTalk, the ears are topped with custard or something. Something new and cute looking for this new year!

So, what have you seen in the market with these cute faces? :D

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PREVIEW!

THE FINAL COUNTDOWNS. 

Last week, my group members, Fion Si Ni, Eve, Xi Ling and I did our comparative study project photoshoot! I felt that we did a good job taking the photos! Of what? I will revel it soon next week! :)

  

A tiny preview of our photos (happiness after the photoshoot!) guess it if you can! Hints on the back! Haaaa :)

Anyway, CLASSMATES! Next week shall be our last week of lessons, meanwhile, enjoy as much as you can this week AS A STUDENT! :D Cheers people! Have a great week :D

Chinese New Year, a new start.

 YEAR OF THE BUNNY ♥

And finally, its the Chinese New Year, it some how marks another new year with new beginnings. There are so many things coming up this new year. Will I be able to cope? What are the new challenges I will face this year? So many questions.......... This year, I will graduate from NIE, and officially become a teacher, its a new phase of life.

Talking about practicum, I'm going back to the school which a had SIP, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School. For this coming practicum, I'm all ready to learn more things! :) And that is only another 2-3 weeks! Pretty fast!

STICKY SWEETS FOR SALE!

Hey blog readers! My group i-candy is promoting our products for this coming Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day! We're selling sticky sweets for our Entrepreneur Project! Look at the below advertisement and please support! :D

DIY is always the best! (:

Thinking of making a very personalized gift for x'mas? I have been seeking for some gift ideas, and here goes one I did in class! It can be a door hanger or just a decorative item! (: I've made one writing "liwhey's kitchen" because i wanted to "fit into the theme" of the vegetables because I think with this background, its going to look weird if theres "Home sweet home" or "Li Whey's room" (: 

My done-ed applique! For those who don't know how the designs come about, can you make a guess?

 Yes, you're not seeing wrongly, its napkins, this is made using the napkin teachnique! (:

But I have to say, the whole process is fun! But, when it comes to cutting, it takes a lot of time and patience as the napkins are delicate! 

You can use different napkins to create your design, so be creative! (:

SCRAPBOOKING FUN!

Last week during lesson, we did scrapbooking! The process was very fun and simple to do although it looks complicated! I chose 2 photos took with my sister (:

 Starting off with scrapbooking papers, canvas frame and photos!

 Layout for the papers and photos (: (sorry I don't know why the photo cannot be rotated!)

 Almost done with most of the establishments.

 My final piece of work! I am super satisfied with it :D

 Work done by me, Si Ni and Eve! I love their pieces too! (:

End off, with our piece of work! :D

How far can you withstand temptation?

Do you have craving for certain (unhealthy) food frequently? Can you withstand temptation if the food is just infront of you? To think of it, many people cannot resist temptations and when they are craving for a type of food, they just buy and start gulping it.

Just a random video that I found online, ENJOY! (you'll be amazed how animals can hold their temptations!)

Making things look better! RIBBONS!

Last week, I got myself a Toshiba netbook. It came with a netbook case, but I didn't quite like it. Since I've spent quite a lot of $$$ this month, I've decided not to buy a new case, and just use some creativity to "decorate" the one I'm having. So here goes (:

I started off with this netbook case, I seriously dislike the orange striking words, in other terms, I don't like to see the brand so "glaringly" printed on the casing! (heehee)

Materials needed:

1. 45cm 2-inch black ribbon (colour, length and thickness of ribbon depends on your preference too!)

2. 3cm 1-inch black ribbon

3. UHU glue or any glue that can dry quickly

4. Black thread and needle

Steps to making a bow:

1. Align the 2-inch ribbon into layers and ensure both ends of the ribbons are on the middle (so that the ends of the ribbons will not be exposed later)

2. Use the black thread and sew running stitches on the middle, by doing so, gathers are created when the string is tightened. Tie knots to secure the gathers (ensure that the running stitches are equally apart)

3. Use the 1-inch ribbon and "wrap" around the thread part of the ribbon. Ensure that the thread in the middle and the ends of the ribbons are covered.

4. Squeeze a small amount of UHU glue in the middle area of the bow and glue the ends of the 1-inch ribbons at the back. And a ribbon/ bow is done! (:

Tips (Heat sealing):

For all the ends of the ribbon, I heat sealed it so that it will not fray when you are making the bow. The picture at the top: LHS; heat sealed ribbon, RHS; ribbon before heat sealing, it frays and it is irritating as the work will become messy! To heat seal: Just use a lighter and slightly heat the edges so that the ribbon "melts" a little and will not fray.

My end product! (: I sew it onto the laptop case with few stitches which are "hidden" behind the bow (: Sometimes things can be made to look better, it just depends on how creative you can get!

Korean fever!

Recently, teenagers have been into a Korean craze, and I believe its because of the K-pop bands which made Korean language, Korean delicacies and Korea so popular now. I am some what proud to say, I am IN too (:

I cooked 떡볶이 (Tteokbokki; Korean spicy rice cakes) the other day, it was my second time cooking! Its one of my favourite korean dish! :D

Ingredients:
1 packet Tteokbokki sauce
1 packet rice cakes
About 250ml water
Optional: Vegetables (carrot, enoki mushroom, cabbage), Korean chilli paste, Meat and Kimchi.

Very easy to prepare one dish meal, preparation and cooking time about 20minutes (: The sauce could be found in some korean supermarts and certain Fairprice (I think only Fairprice xtra has it)

Do try to cook this simple yet nice dish especially if you like spicy food! (:

Its desserts, or not?

Sometimes, things are not just what you see it as. For example, mock meat may look and taste like meat but it is not real meat. So what is it that makes our food look different from what it should look like? Garnishes or maybe how they present it?

A bowl of udon with some japanese fish cakes and half an egg? Nah! Its not! Its a cake, I took this picture when I was in Shenzhen, if I am not wrong its from BreadTalk, interesting eh? I wonder how it taste like!

How about some Mango pomelo and sago dessert? Its a famous Hong Kong dessert! I "discovered" this while I was shopping at a super market in HK. (: Interesting things! What about an ice kachang ice cream in SG? :D

WE LOVE CUPCAKES!

At the beginning of the month, I've completed my Group Endeavours in Service Learning (GESL). It is held at St Anthony's Primary School, it was a 2 days event and there were a whole line of activities planned for the Primary school kids. I was tasked for a section of the GESL activity which is cup cake decorating! I always loved baking so I agreed to it, but behind every event like this, prepararion is the most important! There were about 20 odd participants so I had to bake around 50 cupcakes! I made more than 50 cupcakes using a sponge recipe, the cupcake was butter milk sponge and I added chocolate chips. I also prepared butter cream in piping bags, sprinklers, stencils and cocoa power for stenciling.

My demo sample cupcake when I was teaching the kids to pipe butter cream onto the cupcakes. They were taught how to decorate using butter cream and topping it with sprinklers or using cocoa powder to stencil! I hope they had fun! (:

The kids of St Anthony's Primary School decorating cupcakes! Looks serious?

Sarah, looking so satisfied with her cupcake. (:

Happy with his cupcake? Read the facial expressions!

Kids at work, stenciling, piping and topping the cupcakes!

Even my group members had fun! (:

Happy kids! I am happy too! (:

Me and my group mate, Sakinah (:

Even young primary school kids love the process of making cupcakes! I am happy to see them enjoying (: CHEERS (: