Beyblade Metal Fusion

Shrek recently spent a good part of his day off modifying Petit Suisse's and Baby Taz's Beyblade toupies.

He found some metallic washers, discs and screws and odd bits and bobs and smoothed them out using a machine found in the atelier. He has rendered Petit Suisse and Baby Taz's respective toupies les vraies Metal Fusions thereby giving them more spin and managing/maintaining their spin for a longer period. He has created a monster and timeless hit.

Shrek's geste d'amour

Shrek diligently and constientiously woke up at the ungodly hour of 5am in order to prepare the stock for 'Pho*? bo`' **, undoubtedly our family's favourite dish. He managed to cook pho*? on his own like a pro with the help of his assistante ( without whom he would not be able to get anything done from the horse's mouth himself).

Shrek washed the beef bones and the oxtail, blanched it under high heat to get rid of impurities, drained the self-same bones and put it in a massive 15L stockpot. He then boil it at high heat briefly and leave it simmering away with the addition of oignons piqués avec clous de girofles , gingembre, étoiles d'anis, batônnets de cannelle, graines de coriandre et graines de fenouil for 7 hours scenting the house with hints of cinnamon, star aniseed and cloves. From time to time he had to skim the stock in order to rid off the impure froth.

He then spent an hour and a half going to and from the nearest Asian grocery store that is open in order to purchase the necessary accompaniments/herbs : bean sprouts, spring onions, coriander, sawtooth herbs and Vietnamese basilic.

It was with his assistante's preparations : chopping up herbs, grisly tenderised meat and raw beef etc... We finally dégusté our effort at half past noon.

I am extremely and especially proud of Shrek today as he lovingly prepared and executed/cooked a delicious meal for the whole family. Lil Miss N declared that she loved the pho* bo` so much she requested that we prepare pho*? bo` three times a week. To that my reply was 'everything in moderation' so we can have it from time to time but three times a week would lose its appeal, not to mention the time and cost involved. Making pho*? bo`is a laborious process with lots of little hinging tasks involved, it is a time intensive and laborsome dish, not one I can whip up daily at beck and call. Petit Suisse ate a big bowl and still had room for more. He drank the bowl clean. It was a success on all counts. Pho*? ga` *** on the contrary is not so time intensive and that could be our compromise as the ingredients are more readily available.

Shrek topped the summit when he vacuumed and mopped the floor and then prepared from A to Z two bowls of piping and delicious pho*? for his and my consumption when the kids have gone to bed so we can savour and enjoy the fruit of our labour after a tiring and long day.

I loved it !!!! Ta muchly Shrek, Je t'aime mon coeur wholeheartedly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Madame Champione du collection des coupons

I am the proud owner of the title of champion collectioner of coupons : any and all kinds.

I would like to think of these coupons as money-savers but sometime they can be counter-productive and cost me more money in the end because in trying to validate the coupon by spending the requisite minimum amount I buy junk and inutile, futile and useless crap. I do avoid that but sometime I cannot help but succumb mainly because I cannot resist the novelty or cutesy factor or purely decorative objects or because of 'what if' and 'in case'.

I do draw the line though as I tend to buy things that only a cheapskate and stingy radine like me would acquire meaning everything I buy : items of clothing, accessories, shoes, household products and alimentation etc... are all under twenty and mostly in the tens. Shrek on the other hand is a big spender but he does mostly spend to buy me gifts and to that end/effect I am mostly content.

Labour of love

Why I named these photos labour of love you may ask ?
It took a hell of an effort to transport the beloved chandelier from where it came to our home in one piece and then a mighty effort to drill a hole in the ceiling powerful enough to withold the weight and defy gravity, painfully putting all the pieces together pendeloque par pendeloque and finally suspending the whole structure to the hook.

It is indeed my pièce de resistance.

I can see clearly now !!!

I can see clearly now the dirt and grime is gone thanks to SHrek !
Shrek was wonderful today. He wiped the floors, cleaned the windows and was generally very pleasant unlike his ogre usual self.

Big points, props and kudos to Shrek !

I have included photographic evidence of Shrek in action because for the very first time in a year and a half since we moved in he actually cleaned the windows .

It is cumbersome and I can completely see why it is not a household chore/task that anyone looks forward to.

Well done Shrek, my vision is no longer impeded by grime.

It is not going to last for long though as luck would have it we live with four little rugrats aka monsters (though we love them dearly) and they can be counted on to ruin any efforts Shrek may have made in meticulously cleaning the windows by leaving their prints and paws on the glass panes.

High

Shrek is rather addicted to participating in auctions. I have an explanation as to why that is the case.

First of he loves the atmosphere, the ambience and the buzz surrounding auctions. He has his eye on several prizes and he is overcome by an adrenalin rush whenever he scores his prize for a ridiculous price (much similar to my scoring a bargain whenever I go bargain hunting). All of this to put it simply that Shrek is an avid auctioneer who is learning the ropes as he progresses from debutant to a seasoned pass holder. It is not even acquiring the goods or getting a cheap deal, it is simply being there and absorbing and breathing the aroma of all that an auction entails. He is becoming a usual suspect and familiar face amongst the attendees of auctions.

Shrek is an auction enthusiast and I incidentally do stand to profit from some of the gains he makes in the process.

Present

Shrek has gifted me with a timely present of a brand new freezer.


In effect he rejuvenated our one year old baby (the freezer that is) with a fresh breath of new lease on life by defrosting it. It is now ready for yet many more years of servitude to come.