A Crazy Week

My Toy Boy and Heartbreaker - Quite tough to sell these gingerbread 'cos not everyone likes them


Indeed, crazy is an understatement. I’ve not been so busy for a long while. Everyday was filled with meetings after meetings, meaning work can only be cleared after office hours. As a result, I had to cancel my kids’ yoga class yesterday so that I could clear some work. But I’ve still got some way to go.

Anyhow, it was a great end to the week. My cookies sold out in 2 hours and my brownies sold out in 20min! Called my brownies – Nutelicious and Devil’s Delight… hmmm, maybe I should start an online business like what some entrepreneurs are trying to do.

And today, I did my first Sheares Bridge Run. Took part in the SAFRA 10km run and it was great. Despite having to run on the road (when I usually train on the track) and there were some slopes, I clocked 50min 12 sec. My target was 55min since I usually complete it in 52min during practice. Luckily, it rained only after I crossed the finish line. This is the 2nd run I’ve done and I’m looking forward to the Singapore Marathon on 3 December. Whilst I still can’t do the marathon, I’ve signed up for the half marathon. And my target? Under 2 hours will be great! Wish me luck ; )

Food Business is Tough Business

Spent another 8 hours baking today. Baked four different type of cookies. I’m kindof regretting sending out my promo email for the 7 different types of cookies I’m supposed to be selling next week. And I was still planning to bake brownies and banana cake. I think I’m FAR too AMBITIOUS.

Last year, I baked 5 types of cookies and told myself I will not do it again this year and in the end, I’m baking 2 more types of cookies. Crazy, right? Thank goodness my mom helped me for a while, else I think I don’t need to sleep tonight. It's not just the baking, there's also the washing and packing which have to be done. While I love to bake, I think I’ll stick to it as a hobby and not my next career. (Teaching yoga is a better career choice.)

Ok, ok, no more ranting for the weekend. It’s for charity afterall… Tomorrow will be another back breaking day… two more types of cookies to go and maybe a brownie too.

P/S: Either something's wrong with Blogger.com or something's very wrong with my blog. I can't seem to upload photos anymore. HELP! So sad, everyone of my posting is supposed to be have a photo to go with it. 어떻게? 지금 섭섭해요 ; (

My Fair Lady Rises to the Challenge

It’s the time of the year again to raise funds for the President’s Challenge. Last year, I baked cookies and they sold out in two hours, bringing in $280. I think it’s partly thanks to the sexy names I gave my cookies – My Fair Lady (simple sugee cookies), Sugar Babe (butter cookies with white and dark chocolate as well as butter scotch chips), KNockOUT Hunk (mocha cookies) and Muscle Man (oats, raisins and white chocolate cookies). Much as I hate to admit, sex sells. Anytime. I think it’s sad but it’s gotta one of the biggest and everlasting industry in the world.

Anyhow, over the past two weeks, I’ve made new cookies and again, I’ve given them rather sexy names – Nutz about YOU (peanut butter cookies with a healthy dose of chopped peanuts and walnuts), Hard Rock Squeakie (chocolate cookies with hidden marshmallow), Toy Boy and Heartbreaker (both are gingerbread cookies).

So far so good. I sent out my marketing email this morning and I’ve received $160 worth of orders so far. Will likely have to stop taking orders else I’ll have to work 48 hours this weekend!

Damsel in Distress

I’ve always wanted to take nice photos of damselflies. Several attempts have failed because these little insects, measuring only 3cm (in length) with a super-thin body of 0.2cm will just sway with the wind. So, my photos had always turned out really blur.

Last Sunday, I went with my ‘sifu’ (meaning ‘master’ or ‘teacher’ in Cantonese) and voila, I finally managed to take nice photos of these little graceful damsels-not-in-distress. My ‘model’ was just posing for me and wasn’t in anyway disturbed by my flashlight. And the trick? Setting the camera to manual mode, with aperture of F16 and shuttle speed of 1/60 seconds. But this has to be adjusted according to the available light, else some of the shots may be over exposed.

Why do I like these little creatures? Not only are they graceful and pretty, they are also very steady. However strong the wind is, they'll just cling on to their pillar of support, seemingly unafraid of what's around them. I wish I can be that steady too and not over-worry about the many things that I have no control over. So, these little damsels-not-in-distress will be my model of the year.

More photos here.

My First Fireworks Photo Outing

I ended my week in a GREAT way… I went to Sheares Bridge and took photos of fireworks – my first time – all thanks to a good friend who didn’t mind me tagging along a group of real ‘pros’. It was quite embarrassing for me… I needed four people to help me set up my tripod because I was using it for the second time after buying it last year. Terrible isn’t it? Same thing for my cable release and my digital SLR – I was using these all for the second time.

I’m glad there were a few photos that can be shown although not all that perfect… ha ha. But who cares, it’s my first time. Anyway, I really enjoyed the outing… even if my photos didn’t turn out well, it would be alright. Because the fireworks were really beautiful.

I also took some night scenes of the business district. And I’ll be posting some macro photos… do visit again ; )

Click here for more photos of the fireworks.