Your mission, should you decide to accept it...

I accept.

I've been tagged again by Warren. The actually game is called "Brought to you by the letter..."

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to post about 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter. When people leave you a comment saying they would like to play, you will assign them with a letter and it goes on from there.

Warren had assigned me with the letter "R":

Retrievers - I love all retrievers especially Golden Retrievers. I'm sure you know by now that I have 2 wonderful and very goofy Golden Retrievers, Samantha & June. I love them very very much.

RazorFamilyFarms - My blogger friend, Lacy's blog. She blogs about simple living, country lifestyle, her husband and her children, her animals(golden retrievers Logan & Dustin, cat Remington, chicken, gunny bunny and so on), organic gardening, food, soap making....Her blog rocks like KISS!!!

Roti - Roti is an unleavened flat bread in these languages: Malay, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali.....The one I grew up with is roti in the Malay language, which means bread in general. But here I am refering to Roti Canai (pronounced "chanai," not "kanai") , which is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia, often sold in Mamak stalls. You can read all about Roti Canai here.

Rascal Flatts - I normally listen to Rock n' Roll music but occasionally I would listen to country music. There are a few country artists whom I like and Rascal Flatts is one of them.

Rome - I would love to visit Rome or anywhere in Italy someday.

Rings - I don't wear many rings or jewelry. In fact the only jewelry I wear are my rings. I wear my engagement ring, wedding ring, 1 year anniversary wedding ring and another wedding ring we got in Aruba. We had a little wedding ceremony 3 years after we got married becuase my parents were in Aruba with us and they didn't get to attend our first ceremony.

Rugelach - I love this Jewish pastry. The butter/cream cheese dough is very flaky and melt in your mouth. The different fillings can include raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, chocolate or apricot preserves which are rolled up inside. I personally love cinnamon and also raspberry jam fillings.

Round - Round zucchinis, I think they are just so cute!

Recipes - I enjoy looking up recipes and I love trying out new recipes.

Ranch - Ranch dressing that is. This is my favorite salad dressing along with Blue Cheese and Parmesan Peppercorn dressing.

Mission Complete!

To my dear blogger friends:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to leave me a comment saying you accept the mission and I will assign you with a letter.

Should you decide not to accept, you could still leave me a comment.

This tape will self destruct in 5 seconds.....

A Tag

I was tagged by Kim at Achorn Farm to do this, at the same time I saw some pictures at Warren's blog and according to him anyone who looked at those pictures and has a blog has to complete the same challenge.

I'm suppose to pick the 4th picture from my 4th picture folder, or something like that. I am picking the 4th picture from the 4th folder from each 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005.

2005 - Our trip to Aruba. This was taken at one of the ruins 2006 - Samantha enjoying a spray of water from her daddy 2007 - Grace, my niece's 1st birthday

2008 - Our camping trip

And now, as to whom I should tag...

TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!

Eggshells

I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to growing season this year. I know I have a few months to go yet but it's never too early to start planning. Last year was my first year growing plants from seeds and I am hooked!

This year I will be doing the same thing by starting most of my seeds indoor. I know those of you who has the priviledge of long summers will be starting sooner than those of us who are up north. So, here's a tip I would like to share with you. I learned this neat tip from watching an episode of P. Allen Smith Garden Home show.

Use eggshells as your seed starting pots. They are biodegradable and they add nutrients to the soil, specifically calcium. Calcium is an important part in plant growth, as calcium will help stop blossom-end rot. If you would like to learn about blossom-end rot, click here.

Gently wash and dry the eggshells. Pierce the bottoms of eggshells with an ice pick to make a drainage hole. Set the eggshells in the cartons and fill with potting soil. Now you are ready to sow your seeds. When the seedlings are ready to transplant, plant them(with the eggshells) directly in the garden. And there you have it!

Apple Spice Cake

Happy New Year everyone! Our new year's weekend was quiet and uneventful but that's fine with me, lots of R&R. Now you would think with my very uneventful holiday schedule, I would bake and bake and bake. I didn't. After baking Christmas cookies and cupcakes, I really haven't been baking any desserts until this passed weekend.

Our friend gave us a gift basket for Christmas and there were some apples in the basket hence this Apple Spice Cake(recipe from The Joy of Cooking cookbook). It's very moist and delicious . If you like your cake a little spicy, add another pinch of spices to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped apples

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

I added a dash of ground ginger too

Wet Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk **Note: I didn't have any buttermilk, so I used 1/4 cup sour cream, mixed with apple cider to make 1 cup

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons brandy(optional)

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8X8 cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. I only have a 9" round cake pan so I used that.

2) Peel, core and chop apples and mix that with chopped nuts.

3) Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingers, break up any brown sugar clumps into small pieces.

4) In a different medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together.

5) Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients bowl, stir and mix well. Stir in apples and nuts.

6) Pour into baking pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick insert in the middle of cake comes out clean. Mine took only 35min because of the bigger cakepan. Cool.

The cake is very delicious without any frosting or glaze. But if you would like, you could serve it with vanilla ice cream or some kind of glaze.

Enjoy!

So Long 2008 & Happy New Year!

I truly cannot believe that 2008 has come to an end. Time really flew by this year. Overall it has been a good year for us. Here's a brief look back at 2008:

- Hubby and I hit a very rough patch at around this time last year. We were in the verge of separating but we decided that we should try to save this marriage and work things out. I could not begin to tell you how glad I am that we stayed together. I know for sure that our relationship grew even stronger since then.

- Around Feb. or March this year, I stumbled upon Razor Family Farms blog and I am so very gald that I got to know Lacy, my first blogger friend!

- May 2008, hubby was fixing an equipment at a jobsite and almost amputated his index finger. I do not want to gross you out so I will not go into details. He was rushed to the ER in an ambulance which was right on site(his jobsite was right at the emergency corps.) I had to call 911 because everyone was inside the building and instead of me running around like a mad woman looking for help, I just called 911. I could here my call being dispatched at the same time while I was on the phone with 911(which I thought was pretty funny afterwards).

- Also in May, with the encouragement of my friend Lacy, I started this blog. Ever since then I have made some wonderful blogger friends. I really enjoy reading comments from you, my dear blogger friends, and I love visiting your blogs.

- June 2008, hubby and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.

- In July, hubby gave me a KitchenAid stand mixer for birthday. I have always wanted one and now I got one!

- November, we found a growth on June and she had to have a surgery to get that removed. Luckyly it wasn't malignant.

- Also in November, my sister and her husband moved to their new Condo. And their little girl Grace celebrated her 2nd birthday.

So, as we say goodbye to 2008 and welcome 2009, I would like to make a toast to:

My hubby: Thanks for being who you are. I love you and I look forward to many more years with you!

My family: I know I am very far away but I think of you guys all the time. My warmest hugs and my very best wishes for a New Year filled with joy and happiness.

My blogger friends: Wishing you all the best in the coming New Year. May each new day brings for you happiness, prosperity and continued success!

Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas!

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

'Round yon virgin mother and Child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

A Christmas Meme

Sorry friends for being MIA since Thanksgiving. I have been very busy with work and it probably will be this way until after the new year. I have tried to stop by a few blogs to visit, some I have commented but some I didn't. I will try to visit more often.

Here's a fun Christmas meme I saw over at The Fraker Farm today. I thought I would copy her idea and do this at my blog. Please play along by answering one question in the comment.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? No presents
3. Colored light on house/tree or white? white
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No
5. When do you put your decorations up? if I do usually the first weekend in December
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love all food
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? We used to go out carolling on Christmas eve(on a bus, going to church members' houses) and our house is always the last house. Usually it's after midnight before we got to our house. It was fun.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't know. I don't think we "believed" in Santa bringing gifts.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With very little decorations, I don't like a "loaded" Christmas tree. The bottom of the tree is usually bare because of the dogs.
11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Love it love it love it! Especially at Christmas time!
12. Can you ice skate? Not at all.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No
14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with loved ones
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? All desserts!
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? None
17. What tops your Christmas tree? usually a bow
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? giving
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Where are you Christmas, Have yourself a Merry little Christmas & White Christmas
20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck? Not yuck but not yum either. Neutral i guess
21. What do you want for Christmas? All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth. I just had to type this. Now I have this song stuck with me.
22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? No
23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's? just normal clothes
24. Do you own a Santa hat? at one time, not anymore
25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? hubby and my girls