How To Put Out A Kitchen Oil Fire

I've seen this video before quite some time ago but received it again through email yesterday and it's a good reminder for all of us who cook, and those whose kids are learning how to cook...

Check It Out

I have received lots of emails with stories about how someone was tricked and robbed, or how a certain kind of food is a cure-all for most ailments, or warnings about a new kind of computer virus that would cause irreversible damage to our computer if we click on a certain link, etc, etc.

Sometimes after reading the email I would wonder if a certain story was true or not. There is a website called Snopes.com which has a large collection of urban legends and other stories of questionable origin, which makes it a rather useful resource for checking to see if what we read is true or not (wikipedia).


For example, the email supposedly from Facebook which requests that the Facebook user click on an attachment....REAL VIRUS, do not click on the attachment!


Another example: Fruit must be eaten on an empty stomach in order for the body to absorb it properly....FALSE! Fruits combined with other food in our stomach does not putrefy - food does NOT rot in our stomach!

Check it out...don't believe everything you read.

Goat's Milk Soap

My mom always taught me to take good care of the skin on my face. She's now into her 70's and her friends always marvel at how she looks much younger than her age, and she doesn't use expensive branded products.

I usually cleanse, tone and moisturise religiously on a daily basis, which means that I have quite a number of bottles on the shelf in my bathroom. I wish there was one product that could substitute them all...

One day while browsing in a shop selling organic foodstuff and toiletries, someone gave me a small piece of lavender face soap sample to try. I found that the soap cleaned my face really well, removing all my make up instantly and afterwards my skin didn't feel tight like it usually does when I use my regular facial wash.

However, that soap was made in China and my friend MK reminded me to be wary of products from that country..."don't know what they put in it", she said. I suppose if melamine could be added to baby formula then some extra stuff could be added to that piece of soap...? I wasn't going to take any chances with my face.

One day my brother mentioned that he was starting a business with a friend selling all natural goat's milk soap, sourced from Kuching, Sarawak. Hmm...locally made soap sounded much more appealing to me...after all, we have lots of goats in our country so why not make use of all that milk :)

He gave me a bar of soap to try...a honey and oatmeal soap for my dry skin.


I tried it...

I like it!


It removes my make up instantly...even my water-proof mascara (I believe that women should always wear water-proof mascara...ever seen mascara running down a woman's face when she gets emotional? eww!) My skin felt great after that and I was tempted to skip the moisturiser too...but the wrinkles on my face needed some erasing so I can't skip the wrinkle cream :(

Did some research on the internet about goat's milk soap and found that it has a lot of benefits, but the main concern I have is that commercial cleansers, toners and moisturisers contain lots of chemicals...just take a look at the long list of ingredients at the back of each tube or bottle...and multiply that by the number of products that is used daily...kinda scary to see how many different types of chemicals I apply to my face on a daily basis! (Being the vain-pot that I am, I have 2 different kinds of make-up removers, a foaming facial wash, toner and 2 kinds of moisturisers!)



By the way, the goat's milk soap is priced at RM13 (think of how cheap it is compared to all the cleansers and toners that we buy) and it comes in various formulation for different skin types. There's even one specially formulated for men!

Would like to give goat's milk soap a try? Contact Jason at 019-2319088 and he'll be happy to recommend a suitable soap for your skin type :)

My Blog Signature

Found this very helpful blog called MOMS WHO BLOG at http://momswhoblog.blogspot.com/ where blogger Amy shares lots of information on how to spruce up a blog.

Today I created my very own signature after reading her post HOW TO ADD SIGNATURE TO YOUR POSTS,FOR BLOGGER at http://momswhoblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-add-signature-to-your-posts-for.html

and tadaaa...!

...nice?

I Know What It Is

I finally found out what the spongey stuff is...it took me quite a while because in the first place I didn't even know what it's called. It's actually probiotic grains called water kefir also known as sugar kefir grains, Japanese water crystals, tibi and tibicos. There seems to be quite a lot of information about it on the internet.

From what I read, this drink has antibiotic and antifungal properties and it aids digestions, increases energy level, cleanses the liver, benefits the hair and nails, clears ezcema and acne, reduces bloating and flattens the tummy, stop cravings for sugar and sweet food and contributes to a healthy immune system. Don't know how much of this is true as I have been drinking it for only a week. Will blog more about it when I see some results.

Here's a video I found showing how the drink is prepared...

I can even flavour the drink with fruits and make my own homemade fizzy drink because carbonated water is produced when the kefir grains is added to sugar water...wow!

Fake Crocs or Original?

Some of my friends have bought very nice pairs of Crocs, and a few got them rather cheap from the morning market while others have bought them from warehouse sales at a discounted price...but I notice that they all seem to ask the same question, "How do I tell the fake from the original?"

So hubby and I did some research...

And we now know that the pairs of Crocs we bought at the market a few weeks ago are fakes, even though the seller kept insisting that they were genuine! So for people who have never actually worn an original pair of Crocs before (like us!), here are some pointers:

One of hubby's colleagues taught him to look at the underside of a pair of Crocs...


On fake Crocs, the word 'crocs' on the website address is spelled as 'croos'


On the other side, the words are mis-spelled again... should be boulder,colorado
Of course there are other things to look for, but these 2 are the most obvious ones. If you would like to read more, here are some articles in The Star newspaper -

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/7/lifeliving/4603134&sec=lifeliving

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/7/lifeliving/4640755&sec=lifeliving

Using Phone While Driving

Have you ever driven behind a car whose driver is holding his handphone to his ear while driving and he's either going very slow or hogging the middle of the road, and driving you nuts because he's paying more attention to his caller than to his driving? I have, almost every day...and I can't understand why people always assume that a phone call is always more important than other motorists on the road. A phone call can be returned but a life can't, true?

Worse still is texting while driving...take a look at this video of a girl who thinks that it is cool to do so. Dr. Phil (has his own talk show in the US, and is known for being honest and frank) really put things into perspective at the end of the video.



For those of us who own a handphone and drive a car, here is a VERY graphic video produced by the Gwent Police Department in Britain which will make us think twice when that phone rings while we are driving (video not recommended for kids).

Influenza A H1N1 vs Common Cold

My sis-in-law who works in the Human Resource Department of a large company emailed me this chart and I thought it would be helpful to share this information. At least with this chart I can compare the symptoms of the common cold with that of the H1N1 flu when my kids complain of feeling unwell.

Garbage Enzyme Cleans Really Well

My first batch of garbage enzyme is finally ready after 3 months of fermentation. I was all eager to use it and see whether it is really as effective as what people tell me.

The first thing on my to-do list was to mop the floor. The result was really beyond what I had expected...my floor became sqeaky clean...really, no kidding! I was also amazed at how fast it dried compared to commercially produced floor cleaners.

Next, I cleaned the bathrooms. Soap residue on the tiles and shower screen came off easily. I poured some into the toilet bowl and it was as if I used bleach...the dirt just melted away without much brushing with the toilet brush. My mirrors became sparkling clean.

Man, this was too good to be true...so I went on a cleaning spree. The next thing on my list was to see whether it would clean the grease from the little plastic container that collects oil from the cooker hood. This would be the ultimate test, and I was really pleased with the results. It's just as effective as the Eco-Pro Oil Removal product that I used a few weeks ago, only much much cheaper!



the grease in the plastic container


a few drops of enzyme liquid and a quick wipe with some tissues


tada! clean like new!

I must say that I'm really pleased with the cleaning power of the garbage enzyme. It only cost me less than RM1 to make a liter of it...just the price of the brown sugar. The other ingredients didn't cost anything - the fruit peel and water.

But I found out the hard way that I really must dilute it before use... because without proper dilution the skin on my hand started to dry out and peel!

Dilution: 1 teaspoon of garbage enzyme to 500 ml of water for general cleaning purposes.

Can't wait to mix another batch!(smiles)