Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

Most girls and women are vulnerable when it comes to new bags, shoes, clothes, jackets, make-up and the panacea of anti-aging solutions that line cosmetic counters in shopping malls. Me, I am a little different. I only go ape in a digital mall. My kids are known to, literally, physically drag me away with their palms over my eyes as I salivate over point-and-shoot cameras, computer accessories, Bluetooth speakers, earphones, smartphones, and laptops. One would think that I have a big paycheck or an expensive taste for things. No, I don't. The good thing about me is that I am typically a very Asian person with very cheap taste in things. If it's not a bargain, I won't go for it. Typically, my tipping point is always ' It's going to save your life !' as in it is going to make my life so much easier and cooler than EVER before. The things I often end up with, however, rarely change my life, per se. All they did were go through a short week of over-use and then ...

There's a good reason why I've been cooking at home more these days - it saves money! A simple dinner at McDonald's costs about RM50 for 3 persons (after which, the cost will be in reference to a portion for 3 people) while a little bit of an indulgence in a simple Korean dinner costs RM87.20. Yes, I've been counting. While it IS  a luxury to eat out once in a while because it drives me insane to cook two or three meals a day...there's only so much cleaning I am willing to do ! #lol There are economy rice options and also a quick trip to a hawker center or mamak (which also saves a lot of money) but how many times a week can we eat roti canai and nasi pataya? Although it is sometimes a hassle but cooking at home lets us control what we put into our mouths and also save costs. Moroccan-style Chicken Drumsticks For example, all in all, this simple-to-make Moroccan-style chicken drumstick costs RM27 (including rice, potatoes, and sauces). From now on, I thin...

Winter solstice to most of us means making and eating 'tong yuen' or also known as Dongzhi Festival, the traditional Chinese way of marking the shortest day albeit the longest night of the year. There are a lot of scientific and meteorological explanations for this and you can refer to Wikipedia for the world's interpretations for this. It ranges from time for some animal species to mate to major astronomical events. But to the kids, it means rolling those colorful dough balls and eating them with a ginger, pandan, sugary concoction. Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied across cultures, but many have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time - Wikipedia The Winter Solstice Sky on my side of the world, Malaysia The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos The kids are no longer little...they're near...

It's amazing what time we end up eating lunch these days if I don't make it at home, really. By the time the lazyheads get their asses out of bed, into the shower and ready to trudge into the world, the vast universe of restaurants already have closed kitchens. We end up eating either fast-foods or the expensive options (where the kitchens don't have breaks). So, these days, I end up cooking lunch instead of dinner. DID YOU KNOW cooking 2 meals a day can wreck havoc in your life?! Yes, it can. But this is something really simple and delicious that you can literally make in less than 45 minutes especially if you're using ready-minced beef, chicken or pork from the grocery store. All you need to cut are a few basic things like garlic, onion and the salad. And if you toss it into the electronic cooker or, for me, the multi-purpose rice cooker, everything's done in a blink of an eye. With ketchup, chili sauce and BBQ sauce, you can't really go wrong with thi...

Everyone comes into your life for very good reasons. Some to torment you, some to enlighten, some to make you happy and others to give you so much hell that you'll learn the kind of lesson you'll take to your grave. Such as never to trust crappy-looking websites with a 'dubious team of people' behind them. Like if something is too good to be true, then they're probably so. Like if something is selling really cheap on the internet, it's probably crap.  You know, these life lessons  you can't, simply can't, unlearn.  While I can't say that I am an angel because I've had my fair share of troubles and things that I wish I've never said and actions I wish I have never taken, I can say that if Karma were to kick my ass for it, then so be it. I deserve it. I don't want to regret them because they probably happened because it's just the law of the Universe. How else would you explain yourself doing something stupid like giving ...

This is so true that I am about to cry (as I sit here listening to the washing machine spinning around in the back, feeling that the current load of drying laundry is not dry enough yet, and we're running out of space). You know the feeling? That's right, brothers and sisters. That's right. We're not whining, we're just wine-ing. Just another wild Saturday night. A post shared by Scary Mommy (@scarymommy) on Dec 16, 2017 at 4:30pm PST Kid was tasked with putting up #laundry and my sports bra slipped my radar and ended up in the pile he had to put up. He hung it like this and wondering 'what sorcery kind of laundry piece is this? It is a small piece of thinghy with holes in it'... lololol #lol #parenting #parentingfails #oops #teens A post shared by Marsha Maung (@marshamaung) on May 15, 2016 at 6:46am PDT It never ends and how did three people in one house where so many pieces of clothing? But hey, let's try to be posit...

What if life was a tree and we were simply branches reaching out towards the sun? Found this picture on instagram (there are so many out there and I have like a list of them all under my Keep app, I will never keep up with them! But I thought this picture was fawesome! Remember to have a good Friday, One day closer to the weekend, Love, Marsha You can check how to get your photos promoted in our account, use the link in our bio @earthfever ・ Maui, Hawaii Photo by @micahphoto_ #earthfever A post shared by Awesome Travel & Nature (@earthfever) on Dec 14, 2017 at 7:42am PST

You can use chicken or beef, I believe, but this is something you can easily whip up during the busy week because all you need is to assemble the sauce, marinade the meat and then let it cook in an oven. I used a bottled Teriyaki sauce but if you don't have it in the kitchen right now but would like to make it too, combine the following:- soy sauce water sweet rice wine sugar garlic powder ground ginger  ...because that's the list of ingredient (general consensus, I guess, don't hold it against me) for teriyaki sauce. Lean, Sweet Teriyaki Pork Normally, when I bake pork, I like the half-lean, half-fat pork belly but I think it's about time to see if my air fryer oven can turn this lean pork into delicious, not-dry dinner. And it DID!!! Yay for technology! And while the pork is cooking in the oven, you will have the time to quickly stir-fry something green and dinner would be complete! Anyway, here's the recipe and if you want to print out the...