Marsha Maung: Write. Cook. Read. Watch. Try. Innovate.

Met up very quickly with my grandma today after my acupuncture treatment and delivered me two blows. One, that why am i such an unladylike person. Two, i have gained weight and look slightly better now. I know the second comment can be viewed either positively or negatively, right and i should look at it more positively, right? Wrong. I am going try my darnest to lose weight now!!!!! Lol! And about the acupuncture thing, well, i have been mulling over it for some time. I called for appointment multiple times and then cancelled. Called and cancel. Called and cancelled. But today, i 'manned up' a little and actually went for the thing. Ok, here is the deal. It isnt painless....but its not gonna kill you as long u dont try to move around with the needles in there. I wanted to instagram myself....ambitious....but hell no! U DO NOT MOVE WHEN NEEDLES ARE STUCK TO YOUR NERVES! :-) :-) :-) And no, i did not go for acupuncture to lose weight la....i got back probs, u see. And u would...

By Charlie Tranchemontagne “Pain is not a sign of weakness, but bearing it alone is a choice to grow weak.” ~Lori Deschene There was a time in my life when I struggled to share my pain. I actually took great pride in how stubborn I had become. It wasn’t until I started looking within myself that these prideful attitudes started to shift. Actually, my whole life started to change. Once I started my journey of self-discovery, I no longer wanted to deal with my pain by myself. I slowly reached out to others and asked them for help. It was in asking for help and sharing my pain with others that I felt myself getting stronger. I didn’t expect, however, that I’d need to ask for help repeatedly. In August of 2006, I was with a small group of people inside a airplane hanger that was used as a classroom to give instruction for skydiving. Worn-out couches and old beanbag chairs formed  a circle where we gathered. The décor on the walls was something you’d find in a local he...

The whole week, it's been raining in a timely manner. Right about 3pm to 4pm is when the sky will start getting dark. And this is on top of of knowing that it has been kind of hell in New York and New Jersey. Anyway, as gloomy as it has been, we all try to get by as well as we can. This post is, therefore, more of a pic-blog. Sons' been waiting anxiously for Angry Birds Star Wars and it finally came out on Nov 8, 2012! Call us geeks but this version is pretty neat and interesting! I love Hans Solo and Princess Leia angry birds, by the way =) Who would have thought that one fine day that weak little Princess Leia who needed protection from everything and anything would have some form of POWER. Gloomy skies ahead. I really wish the sky would rain only when we are asleep or something, you know what I mean? Getting kids back from school and parents stuck there in the rain. Hanging out with a couple of friends for some drinks at a local bar. It is sometimes fun to j...

I have always loved star anise but my kids don't like the strong aroma. I admit, it takes some getting used to or unless you are exposed to them from an early age. Initially, I was also a bit turned off but after putting some twists to some recipes, turns out it adds some layer to the dishes and if you portion it out or use just one or two of them in the cooking, it won't overpower the rest of the flavors and aromas. So, anyway, here's one taken from a guest writer from Ezinearticles . *** By Chris Rawstern Star anise is little used outside of its native Southern China and Vietnam. It has spread to wherever these cultures have gone, being taken along both to use and where possible, to grow. The shape of star anise is that of an irregular eight and sometimes up to twelve pointed star. In Chinese, the name means eight points. It is a very pretty and decorative spice, often used in crafts or floated in tea. The stars are the fruits and each point of the star is a p...

One after another...crisis after crisis. To say that the year 2012 is not a good year for me is, frankly, unfair because I have had some pretty awesome things happened, things that wasn't expected and never asked for even in my prayers. But like they always say, everything sort of balances out in the end. On top having to deal with problems on a personal front, now I am dealing with loads of uncertainty because of Hurricane Sandy. I work mainly for a team of people based in...guess....yes, New Jersey and New York. I even have a VOIP phone in my living room so that the people there can dial three numbers and get to me instantly. But this is not the first time this is happening. Remember Hurricane Irene? Last year, the same thing happened and everything sort of broke apart for a while. It took right about two to three weeks to get back into place. During that time of waiting, there was so much anxiousness because I did not have their phone numbers, just emails, and there is only so...

Didn't know what to make for dinner today, so I looked up some recipes and found this recipe called the 'Honeyed Five Spice Chicken Pockets' which required the use of pitas and such. With kids, pitas can be messy so, I decided to vary the recipe a little. It is super easy to make because all you need to do is to marinate the chicken breasts in the morning (before leaving for work), and then pop it into the oven when you come home from work. So, here's what I marinaded it with:- 1. Honey (of course) 2. Five spice powder (another duh) 3. Juice of half a lemon 4. Salt 5. Pepper Yup, that was it. I popped it back into the fridge the whole day and took it out later. Once it cooled down to room temperature, I placed it in the oven for 30 - 45 mins and that's it! Working from home means that I have to simplify a lot of things. Time is both my friend and my enemy so, we ate that with the never fail canned red beans with onions and eggs. Done. And dinner...

This morning, I screamed obscenities into my son's phone like a mad person. Good start, right? The reason I did that was that my son got a couple of phone calls from this number who spoke in Malay. Despite my son telling him that he doesn't speak Malay, he kept calling. And continued calling till this morning when we were heading out to school. My son, not knowing what he was saying, kept hanging up on the dude but he kept calling. So, I picked up the call for him. First, I told the dude in English and Malay that we do not know him and not to call again. He called again and we kept asking him who he was. There are a lot of people who are out looking for innocent girls to hit on and do funky stuff with all the time. I am aware of that but is this it? Is this their modus operandi? Calling random numbers, hoping that the number belongs to a girl and move with that? Maybe I am paranoid? Maybe I am jaded? Maybe I am just....don't know...maybe I have seen too much? Maybe we...

Hi guys, its Saturday and only 530pm and the sky is already mighty dark outside. I guess i am sorta getting used to the unpredictable weather by now. Anyway, thanks to this android magazine that i bought yesterday, i installed this dumb little thing called cleverbot and me and son 2 been 'chatting' mindlessly random stuff with it. Really mindless, i warn u! Lol. Don't do it if u hate childish things. :-) Apart from that, we r just rotting away our Saturday...which is just the kind of thing i need for this week. Off i go to do more rotting but before that, let me share some instagram pics. We all had severe sorethroat earlier so i made honey lemon for everyone. Friend treated me to sushi but the sushi was made by a newbie in training so the rice kept falling apart. Not cool but looked nice enough for a picture :-P Finally, my onion plant is growing, thanks to my part time maid for her expertise. It would otherwise have died. :-) keep calm, stay steady n be happy all, ...

I don’t proclaim to be an expert of writing for Ezinearticles but suffice to say, I have been writing for a long time and back when I began writing and submitting my articles to Ezinearticles, there weren’t as many rules. There weren’t as many people. And Ezinearticles was basically trying to clamor its way in as well. We were more or less on the same footing. But now, Ezinearticles is completely different from what I understood it to be. The rules are stricter and in case you think I am some sort of an expert, I will have you know that Ezinearticle has rejected my articles before…MANY times over…and I have found myself…how do I put this mildly…’wondered’ at it? But it is all for the good, I always try to think, because you ultimately get better quality articles that others can finally re-publish freely on their websites or blogs without squirming at the over-stuffing of keywords, bad grammar, and blatant advertising. This article is a result of someone asking me for an a...

The long weekend is here again. Malaysians are pretty lucky folks. There is literally no holiday for me but I found this to be quite useful. You don't have to have a lengthy, expensive overseas holiday to have fun. You can create your own fun here. So says the author of this article. Here's wishing everyone an amazing weekend ahead and good luck to all of you who are studying for your exams! xoxo, Marsha *** by Levy St Pierre While vacations can be a lot of fun they are also expensive. In addition, there are times a couple need to be alone, but with a family, they may find it difficult to get away even for a weekend. The following five everyday escapes offer an excellent way for adults to enjoy time together without the kids. Hire a sitter and schedule a date for you and your special someone today. One affordable getaway for couples is found at the day spa. During your session you will receive massages and facials. These treatments are great for couples as well as ...