Live Your Beautiful Life

Keep going - Find your happiness in you :) (Pic source: Google.com)

Dear Readers, 

How are you? Hope you are doing good, both physically and mentally!!! The weather has been so cruel lately - damn hot during day time, rain in evening time with so much humidity in the air - make people falling sick so easily, plus Covid that is still rampant in the community. 

It has been a while since the last time I wrote here. I just lost interest in writing and shared what I felt. 4 months has gone like a snip of finger. Could not say that I was too busy with life (apart from travelling and visitations) because many times I was busy doing nothing.

Sometimes I feel I was not productive enough living this precious life. But deep inside I feel very grateful for the opportunity of many days doing nothing.

Below is the quotes I took from someone's post:

"You work 8 hours to live 4.

You work 6 days to enjoy 1.

You work 8 hours to eat in 15 minutes. 

You work 8 hours to sleep 5.

You work all year just to take a week or two vacation. 

You work all your life to retire in old age. 

And contemplate only in your last breaths

Eventually you realise that life is nothing but a parody of yourself

practicing for your own oblivion.

We have become so accustomed to material and social slavery

that we no longer see the chains.

Life is a short journey. 

Live it!

Collect memories, 

Not material things!"

It is never too late to realise the truth from the above words and sentences. You can always stop what you always do, and prioritise yourself to do something you love doing for the rest of your life. There is never be enough money and material possession that you would acquire. Instead, collect memories with your loved ones because on the day you die, you can never bring all your material possessions with you into your grave, nor burn it so it could exist in your next life. But instead, what people deeply feel about you, of what you have done to them or changed their lives and thought, will be the precious gifts for them and yourself. 

Script by Robin Sharma (From the book - The Everyday Hero Manifesto)

As Robin Sharma wrote, you yourself are more than enough. Be happy with whatever you have, in simple way of life. 

And I heard a nice song recently that I want to share the lyrics with you (you can search in Google the song and listen to it).

Live Your Beautiful Life
Song by Lights Follow

Tell me what it takes to get you feeling alive
Tell me how to show you it's a beautiful life
I'll do anything to pull you into the light
Cause everything will change when you open your eyes
Yeah

So don't you let the sunlight go by without you
Don't you realize how lucky we are
Open up your heart, baby, let it all go tonight

Live your life like it was running out
Be alive
We gotta scream it out
Be it then
And feel the rush again
You're not lost
No matter where you've been

You've been trying hard just to make it along
But I can help you baby let me carry it along

I'll do anything to make you see what it's like
Cause everything is different when you open your eyes
Yeah

So don't you let the sunlight go by without you
Don't you realize how lucky we are
Open up your heart, baby, let it all go, tonight

Live your life like it was running out
Be alive
We gotta scream it out
Be it then
And feel the rush again
You're not lost
No matter where you've been

*All your life you've been chasing a ghost
You gotta change your mind if you're gonna let go
No matter how you feel nothing's holding you up
Nobody's holding you back 
Find a light that you are

Repeat *

Live your life like it was running out
Be alive
We gotta scream it out
Be it then
And feel the rush again
You're not lost
No matter where you've been

Baking journal :)

Baking with heart (Pic source: Google.com)

I forgot when was the last time I baked at home. It seemed like ages my toy had been left abandoned at the corner of my kitchen table, so did the pastry equipments. Many ingredients had also expired and could not be used. 

If you know me well enough, you should know that I am the type of person who would do things seasonally, depending on mood. After some time, it stops. Hahahaha.. :D

My hubby had complained enough of mentioning all things I bought and used only in the beginning, and then, left behind :P

On 12.12 sale, I happened looking at the muffin or Cupcake mold tray sold online together with the paper. It had been long time that I wondered if I could make it my own. 

Cappuccino and orange muffin from 7-eleven in Melbourne

Talking about muffin, I loved eating muffin that I bought from 7-eleven store in Melbourne. It was big, delicious, and cheap (AUD$2 per piece when you bought with their $1 cappuccino!!!). My favourite was orange! Such a bargain right???

Without thinking much, I ordered it right away and a week later, it came right into my house door :)

Dadadaraaaaa.......  my new toy :D

On the same day, I browsed Youtube searching for the muffin recipe. The first that appeared was Chocolate Chip Muffin Easy Recipe. 

Well, who did not love an easy way??? I clicked it right away. Then I clicked few more as comparison (to find the easiest hahahaha.....)

I bought the ingredients at supermarket and started making it after reaching home.

Well, for the first try, the result seemed not bad. The taste was there (as I used good ingredients for the butter, chocolate chips, flour, etc.) However, the shape was a bit out and colour was so much dark. 

My first chocolate chip muffin with Dalgona coffee :)

Then I realised where the mistake came from (on colour side). I did not remove the tray from inside the oven. It made the position of my mold tray slightly higher and easily burnt from the top heating part from inside the oven. 

Anyway, I tasted it happily for the afternoon break with hubby-whipped Dalgona coffee. 

Few days later, I tried making the orange muffin. Again, I browsed Youtube and found the easy recipe there. 

Just nice there were 2 big orange inside the chiller, perfect ingredients for the day!!! It was easier too. I multiplied the ingredients into 2 and made 11 muffins from it. 

First time came out from oven, the shape was still not right. 

My first time odd-shape orange muffin :D

Hmmmmm.... could not be!!! I followed the same ingredients and steps as per shown in Youtube, and yet, the results were unlike shown there. So something must be wrong somewhere!!!

Well, there is always lesson from everything that we do in life. And like everything else, practise makes perfect. I found out that the setting of the oven was not right. The heat was not set from up and down, but going sideway. That was why the shape became like that!!!

I tried my second tray with the up-down setting, and voila!!! 

After setting it right!!! Yassss!!!!

Were they beautiful like me??? Hahahaha.... No more uneven colour and it came out round shape :) Taste was good too!!! The orange flavour was there. Yummy!!!

And today I made the chocolate chip muffin again. The result was much better from the first one. The taste was equally nice. 

Christmas home baked cake gifts :)

I packed it into the ice-cream container and decorated the cover on my own hahahaha.... (saving the money from buying the Christmas card) and gave it as a Christmas gift :) I hope the receivers will like it :)

And after long day of shopping ingredients and baking, I had finally my me-time to enjoy what I made :)

Me-time with home-baked chocolate chip muffin :)

Hmmmm.... it was nice, perfect having it in going-to-rain evening :)

In my opinion, it was not difficult in making it. No mixer was required as the nature of the cake itself did not required over-stirring process. Ingredients required were also easy to get. Recipes were easily followed and obtained from Youtube. 

I am not into the icing thing on top of the muffin or cupcakes, and prefer to keep things simple with its own flavour inside. It can be a perfect gift to people as well :)

So, if you wonder if you too can try, I am sure you can. You just need an oven to bake it. Happy trying if you decide to try!!! And I will make more next time when I have time and let others tasting it too :) Be patient ok? :)