Oreo Cheesecake

Following my success in making the Strawberry Jelly Hearts, I decided to advance into making Oreo Cheesecake for our New Year.
I got my inspiration from the recipe on the carton box of Philadelphia cream cheese

Serving size: 18cm X 12cm, can cut into at least 8 pieces. (I cut it into 15 small pieces)

Making the Base
I'm using the 18cm X 12cm (1L) LocknLock plastic container again since it served me well for the Strawberry Jelly Hearts.

Ingredients

• 100g of Oreo biscuit (split the Oreo and remove the cream filling before weighing, keep the filling for later use)
• 40g melted butter

Method

1. Place the biscuit into a plastic bag and crush into crumbs.
2. Add melted butter into the plastic bag of crumbs and mix well. The crumbs should fuse together with the butter into a moist loose lump.
3. Line the base of the container with plastic bag or aluminum foil. Make sure that the sides of the bag or foil is overhanging out of the container. This will make the process of removing the "finished goods" from the container easier.
4. Pour the moist crumbs into the container and press firmly with the help of a spoon. Make sure the thickness is even.
5. Close the cover and chill for at least 30 minutes

Making the Cheese layer
I wanted to make the cheese layer thicker as there's no Jelly layer

Ingredients

• 250g Philadelphia cream cheese, soften at room temperature
• 50g sugar (I replaced part of the sugar with the Oreo cream filling, i.e. if there's 30g of the filling, then just add 20g of sugar... Recycling rocks!)  
• 2 tablespoon gelatin powder dissolved in 80ml of hot water

Method

1. Beat the cream cheese and sugar into a smooth and creamy texture. I don't have an electric mixer, so I use a fork and bowl. Takes about 5-10 minutes to get the creamy texture.
2. Pour in the gelatin solution and mix well.
3. Pour the cheese mixture onto the base and and put aside for 10-15 minutes. The cheese layer should not be fully set but not as liquid as before
4. Space the mini smarties and press lightly onto the cheese layer
5. Chill for at least 3 to 4 hours
6. Cut to serve

The Presentation
I can't think of what to decorate this cake with, I've seen others crushing Oreo (again!) and sprinkle on the top but I thought that looked too boring. So this smart aleck decided to put mini smarties on it... isnt it pretty to look at?
Bad choice! The smarties will "bleed" its colour all over the white cheese layer and the look is totally ruined. Any suggestion on what I can use to decorate?

The Review
Not as popular as the Strawberry Jelly Hearts. Actually I didnt like it myself also, I didnt like Oreo to begin with... so this review is not fair for the poor Oreo cheesecake. There is no Jelly layer nor fruits, so it is a bit 腻 after the 1st piece. We didnt even finish these... some was "donated" to the bin.
  

My attempt of the Strawberry Jelly Hearts

I'm not a fan of cheesecake... I love cheese but cheese and cake are like the strangest combination I've ever tasted! Perhaps I dont have a sweet tooth and I dont like cake so that's why...

However, when I tried the strawberry hearts during the Aug09 bubs gathering, my opinion of cheesecake changed abit. It's not those mousse type of cheesecake (I hate mousse stuff too!) and the biscuit base is not really a cake. We ordered the strawberry hearts from Eds Jelly Hearts

For the longest of time, I had wanted to make the Jelly Hearts. The non-bake method looks simple enough for anyone, even a novice like me. I got the receipe from happyhomebaking and made some changes to suit the container that I had. She has some very important advices on WHEN to add in the strawberries, so do read carefully before your attempt.

Serving size: 18cm X 12cm, can cut into at least 8 pieces

Making the Base
This is my first attempt in making any cake at home and I don't have any baking tins or anything close to that. I just make do with whatever I have at home and I found this 18cm X 12cm (1L) LocknLock plastic container. The most difficult part about making this is to adjust the recipe to suit the container.

The method requires the ingredients to be placed in the refrigerator for a long period of time and I'm super particular about placing food uncovered inside the fridge, so LocknLock with the airtight cover works well for me!

Ingredients

• 7 pieces of digestive biscuits
• 40g melted butter

  
Method

1. Place the biscuit into a plastic bag and hammer into crumbs. Kids can help too. I borrowed Kiiron's little toy hammer and it did the job perfectly!
2. Add melted butter into the plastic bag of crumbs and mix well by pressing from outside the plastic bag. This is good as my hands will not get dirty. The crumbs should fuse together with the butter into a moist loose lump.
3. Line the base of the container with plastic bag or aluminum foil. Make sure that the sides of the bag or foil is overhanging out of the container. This will make the process of removing the strawberry hearts from the container easier.  
4. Pour the moist crumbs into the container and press firmly with the help of the plastic hammer or a spoon. Make sure the thickness is even. 
5. Close the cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

      

Making the cheese layer

Ingredients

• 125g Philadelphia cream cheese, soften at room temperature
• 25g sugar
• 1 tablespoon gelatin powder dissolved in 40ml of hot water

  
Method

1. Beat the cream cheese and sugar into a smooth and creamy texture. I don't have an electric mixer, so I use a fork and bowl. Takes about 5-10 minutes to get the creamy texture. 
2. Pour in the gelatin solution and mix well.
3. Pour the cheese mixture onto the base and put aside for 10-15 minutes. The cheese layer should not be fully set but not as liquid as before.
4. Half the strawberries. You can cut into heart shapes if you have the cutter. I don't, so I just use the half as it is. I dont like wastage and actually I find using the whole half taste better as there is more fruit in each bite.
5. Space the strawberries apart and press lightly into the cheese mixture. Chill for at least 3 to 4 hours.

Making the Jelly layer
I try to make the Jelly layer to be about the same thickness as the cheese layer and not too sweet. So I cut down the Jelly-O crytals and replace with gelatin powder.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon of Jelly-O crystal (Raspberry flavour)
• 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder
• 100ml of hot water
• 50ml of cold water

  
Method

1. Dissolve the Jelly-O crystal and gelatin powder in the hot water, then add in the cold water.
2. Pour the liquid Jelly on the cheese mixture SLOWLY. Chill until jelly is set. Make sure that you place the container in a flat level area in the fridge.
3. Make sure the jelly is set before removing from the container by pulling the sides of the plastic or foil

  
   
The Presentation    
The pretty red see-through jelly layer and the strawberries details are already so lovely that there is really no need to decorate this anymore. What's left is to trim away the sides and cut it into sizes. The trick to get nice neat edges to use a long knife and cut each side in 1 move.

The Reviews

My family are not really into cakes or pasteries so I won't say that these are snapped up immediately, but they did finished eating all including the ugly sides.  Someone commented that I can make some for our future parties, coming for a family who don't give out praises readily... I would say YES!!! they love it. Ha! Ha!

   .

A car that can really pack in a lot of things

Uncle Jipi's car looks small but can really pack in a lot of things. This time it is 1 Christmas tree, 1 stroller, 4 adults, 1 toddler and numerous bags of our shopping from Giant and Ikea.

It once packed in 2 huge shelves from Ikea, 2 adults and 1 pregnant woman.

洁语录之...

Dont judge things or people by their appearance. Still water runs deep.
  

FYI x 7

Recently I received 7 identical letters informing me that my financial consultant had left the company. A few weeks later, I was bombarded again with 7 letters to inform me of the new consultant who had taken over.

Jean received more that 10 letters each time (she is so irritated that she refused to count).

As a process development manager, I cannot help but notice the wastage. Think of all the trees cut down for the papers and envelopes. Think of the savings each year for printing & postage. It is definitely worth it for this company to invest in a system which can help them to consolidate their mails.

Well... if my hard-earned funds are managed by them, then I could be the one paying for their waste.

Packing list for my 14.5 mths toddler

We are finally going for our first real family holiday!
Although I have been travelling around with Kiiron for quite a bit but they were mostly business trips or visiting Mark, so they cannot be counted as a holiday.

Revised packing list for 14.5 mths toddler
Weather: Autumn

We are traveling via night flight, will let Kiiron wear something long-sleeved and comfortable for sleeping during the flight, so no jeans.


Carry on bag
(6.5hr night flight to Narita, 1.5hr bus ride to Haneda, 2hr flight to Chitose, then straight away start tour itinerary. It'll be 20hrs before we will checkin to hotel and see our luggage)

• Baby lip balm
• diaper (x4) - can request extra on the plane
• wet wipes (travel pack)
• travel size face cream
• travel size diaper ceam
• disposable waterproof sheet (x1)
• water bottle
• milk bottle
• milk powder / cereal mix (3 servings, if possible get those small sample packs)
• hot water flask
• toys
• hankies (x2)
• bib
• tibits
• Avent storage cup
• Spoons
• 1 jar of heize bottled food 
• 1 set of clothes to put on upon arrival in Japan
• 1 set of extra clothings
• 1 jacket
• nursing cover (double up as blanket)
• Beanie (aircon on the plane can blow directly at Kiiron's head when he's sleeping in the bassinet)
• 1 pair of mittens
• stroller (check-in at the gate)

First Aid Kit & Health Care

• Standby medication (fever, cold, cough)
• Head-to-toe body wash
• Nail cutter
• Baby vicks
• Ruyi oil
• Vasoline
• Facial cream
• Body lotion
• Diaper cream
• Thermometer  
• Cotton buds
• Junior plaster
• Sun block
• Mosqitoes repellant patch
• Toothbrush
• Multi-vits

Clothings and Others

• Bath towel (I try not to use the hotel's towel for my boy)
• Wet wipes (large pack)
• Small blanket
• Cloth nappy (I use this to line the bed area that he is sleeping on as I dont like him to sleep directly on the hotel sheets)
• Extra disposable waterproof sheets
• Extra diapers (4 pcs per day + 5 pcs extra)
• Change of clothes (2 sets of clothings per day + 2 sets extra)
• Pajamas/long thermal (1 set per day)
• Little boister and pillow
• Leg warmer / PP pants
• Socks
• 1 pair of extra shoes
• Extra fleece / padded jackets or suit
• Cap
• Extra hankies
• Extra bibs

Feeding

• Instant cereal mix
• Titbits (puffs and biscuit)
• Bottled baby food
• Milk power
• Suction bowl and spoons
• Avent storage containers
• 1 extra water bottle
• New rice
• Dry scallop
• Vegetable flakes
• Tiger food jar
• Small knife
• Scissors
• Travel cooker
• travel kettle
• Dish detergent
• Dish washing sponge

Misc

• Umbralla
• Camera charger
• Phone charger

Chasing balloon

Balloon is an inexpensive source of entertainment.

It is so delightful for parents to watch their kids chuckle while chasing after balloons around the room and it is good enough to keep the kids occupied for a while. I'm sure it is equally amusing for the kids to watch the aunties scream when they screeched the balloons.

Kiiron is 13.5 months now and has not really started walking yet.

 

Tip: Do not fully inflat the balloon, this will prevent the balloon from bursting    

    

August 2011 - Checking Out Taiwan

18 August 2010 - 22 August 2010

Papa M went to Taipei for a business trip and to check out the city before deciding if we should relocate there. I've not been to Taiwan before and I would also like to see the city first if I have to move there. As usual, Bay went with me to see his papa.

(click to read full post in Kids Diary @ Keat-In-Space)

Note:
Kids Diary @ Keat-In-Space is a private blog. Please contact keatinspace@gmail.com to access.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Bay @ 1 year and 1 month

Kiiron's 0-12

See his transformation...

It's July... Let's Party!

It's July and it's Bay's birthday month!
Fortunately it is on a Sunday this year and we can celebrate on the actual day.

Papa M and I decided to throw a party for him 1 month ago. Initially we thought of keeping it as a private event for close family members only... just like his full month dinner, but since we did not have a party for this full month, it is time to compensate!

Planning for a party in less than 1 month is not much of a deal... but considering that I'm a FTWM and I have a dear husband who makes guest appearance every few weeks, is of not much help in planning. It is quite a challenge!

The Theme

First thing is to decide on the theme of the party. As Bay does not have any favourite character, thus we can choose any theme that is suitable for small kids. We have some options but have consensus on the Spongebob Squarepants theme. I'm a fan of Spongebob! Love his positive attitude towards life and his sense of humor.

• Sesame street (too common)
• Pooh bear and friends (Papa M rejected as he thinks that Pooh is a 娘炮)
• Super heros (Papa M suggested Iron man as the last 4 letters of Bay's name is iron. As the sole event organiser, I rejected this theme as it is too boring for me!)
• Spongebob (Bay's left and right front tooth is totally independent, just like Spongebob's)

The Location

Next is to decide on the location. Thanks to Bini who helped to do some research for some nice locations and also went with us to check out the places and to try the food.

Finally, with just 2 weeks to go, we decided on Brewbaker's at Anchorvale Community Club for the nice and cosy bar area. It is quite out of the way for many people, especially for those who don't drive. Really appreciate all the aunties and uncles who make the effort and came all the way for the party.

The Invitation
I made the invitation cards using Arcsoft, the colours turn out nicely when I sent them for the normal 4R printing. Good price too! only $0.35 per card... and of course they are sent out in bright Spongebob yellow envelopes! A map with some simple getting there instructions to the "ulu" place is included in the invitation.

An event page was setup in Facebook so I can send the invitation for those friends on FB... just tag them on the uploaded invitation card and map. So savvy!

The Decorations and Gifts
It is not sure easy to find nice and reasonably priced Spongebob related items in Singapore. Manage to find some items at babyterroronline (a local online shop), found some on ebay USA and got them shipped to Singapore in time and I also brought some from taobao and got Mark to bring them back.


I found this giant scene setter from ebay

Customised Spongebob birthday banner from the local online shop
Instantly transformed the cafe into Bikini Bottom!
Err... in case you are wondering... that's where Spongebob lives!

4 Spongebob plushes and 3 Patrick plushes bought from taobao and Mark lagged back in an obiang 红白蓝 bag

I brought my playmat to the restaurant to setup a play area for the children and throw the plushes around
It's a pity that my playmat is Pooh one, just bare with Pooh for a while ok!

Spongebob jumbo balloon bouquet from the local online shop and family t-shirts from taobao.

Must have for photo-taking!
Latex helium balloons from the local online shop... of course must be in yellow!

Spongebob table cover - from the local online shop
Door gifts for our guests - Spongebob stickers and pens (from taobao)

 

The Cake

My initial plan was to order a nice chocolate truffle cake from Cheeky Chocolate and decorate it on my own, I even bought the Wilton ready-made fondant and colourings from Phoon Huat already. But as the party draw nearer and I still had no idea on how to use the fondant. I was forced to forgo the plan just 1 day before the party!

Well... using Mark's words, "we should leave it to the professionals!" (thanks for the encouragement dear!)

So we're left with a normal looking chocolate cake... time to execute plan B! I went online to search desparately for a Spongebob cake toppers and could not find any ready-stock. Fortunately one online shop had the Spongebob candle in stock!

After much walking around, we found this "topper". Guess what? It is actually a coin bank!

I did some modification work by making the cap from the fondant I bought and Bini helped to make the anchor. It is used to cover the slit. haha!

For a last minute plan B, I'm happy with the overall effect.

Another abandoned project...
Bought the Spongebob cupcake stand from eBay but decided not to spend on cupcakes as waffles are already included in the buffet, so this stand is not used at all!

The Food

The buffet spread is quite average, nothing spectacular. For the price, I would have expected more expensive food like prawn or something...



Buffet Menu ($24++)

Fresh Garden Salad (Thousand island /Italian dressing)

Potato Salad

Mini Spring Rolls

Crumbed Chicken Strips

Chicken wings

House Special Nasi Goreng (Sambal sauce)



Dry fried bee hoon topped with cabbages, egg strips & chicken bacon strips

BBQ Boneless Chicken

Battered Fish Fritters with Tartar Sauce Dip

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Oyster garlic sauce

Waffle with vanilla ice cream

Mixed Fruits platter

Ice Lemon Tea

 

Spongebob and Patrick on waffle
I bought some Spongebob edible icing from ebay. So cute!

I think I've spent more time preparing for this party than my own wedding (or at least I didnt remember spending so much time as it's so long ago). I enjoyed every minute of my time spent in the preparation and sacrificing my already limited sleep for it. Everything for my cute little boy!

hmm... is it too early to start planning for his next party?

(click to read full post in Kids Diary @ Keat-In-Space)

Note:
Kids Diary @ Keat-In-Space is a private blog. Please contact keatinspace@gmail.com to access.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bay @ 1 year

Happy 1st Birthday, Kiiron!

Our little Kiiron is turning one!

It seems like it was just yesterday that I had just given birth... yet feels like eternity since the last time I had 8 hours of undisrupted sleep.

Mark and I have been thinking what presents to get for our little boy's 1st bithday? What does a one year old boy needs? how about another toy? shoes? clothes? He has already basketful loads of hand-me-down toys from his cousins and too much clothes & shoes from my online shopping sprees!

After some discussion, we thought it will be quite meaningful to get him something he can use when he is teenager, something he will not outgrow.

With this idea, we went shopping for presents! We looked for pens, watches, necklaces... even a silver spoon, things that can last at least 18 years without disintergrating into pieces.

Mark decided on this watch after hours of online shopping and research. We bought it online as it is almost S$1000 cheaper than a similiar one found in Singapore.



Happy 1st Birthday our little boy!
Hope you will like your present... and oh... no more presents for you for the next 18 years!

Cheap and Cheerful item from Daiso

I love to shop in Daiso, basically I can spend the whole day there looking at each little stuff and figuring what I can use them for.

I know... it's super "auntie"... but I'm an auntie what!
This is my latest found in Daiso. It is so useful and only $2!

• It is a grater which nicely mesh up apple, pear, etc and I can just directly feed using a spoon from the container (there's a plastic piece and cover which was not shown in the pic)
• there's a tiny suction cup attached to the container, so can also use it as a suction bowl. The suction is not so strong and my boy can pull it out but for the price, I'm not complaining.

Excuse me... are you an army boy?

I was taking the MRT home with Kiiron after his 推拿 (massage) session on Sunday afternoon. The train was fairly packed and there was no empty seats.  Should I expect anyone to give up the seat to me?  Afterall I'm a young mum, pushing a stroller with a baby sitting inside.  I don't need the seat for myself and Kiiron already had his own stroller to sit right?  When one looked at the sticker for the reserved seat, it says... pregnant woman, person carrying a child, old man with a cane and disabled person. Nothing about person with stroller.

Anyway, this army boy looked at me and continued to play his PSP! Shall I tell him that he's hogging the RESERVED seat?

洁语录之...
Next time dont wear uniform, I can see your name... G L Heng
If I want to report you or sent this to STOMP, you will be tracked down in 1sec.










Kiiron is 9 mths now

Lazy mummy's cooking method

I'm a lazy mummy who hardly cook for my boy. Fortunately my mum is a good cook and Bay still gets his fairshare of home-cooked meals.

My parents were not in town for 1 week and I had to take over cooking Bay's meals. I'm a FTWM and had very little time to cook (excuse! excuse! excuse!), so I pre-cooked the soup stock and freeze it.
  

Making the Soup Stock

     

Ingredients

• 1 potato
• 1 large onion
• 1 corn
• 1 carrot
• Lean pork, about 200g
• 1.5L water

Note: Onion has a strong taste, you will have to cook it until it is totally soft to eliminate the "spicy" taste. Dont add if your little one is not used to the taste. You can also add apple into the soup to make it sweeter.

  
Method

There is really no method, just peel and dice everything up then dump into a big pot. Heat up until boiling and simmer till everything is soft. No need to put seasoning when cooking for babies.  I added onion as it is suppose to keep the flu bugs away.

I packed the soup into 180ml storage cups and freeze it. Kept the leftover for Kippy, so nothing is wasted

P.S. I got to know that dogs are not supposed to eat onions!
Luckily there were no issues when we fed him food cooked with onions.realised that 

Ways to use the soup stock

I try to think of various ways to use the soup stock everyday so that Bay can have different type of food.  It takes about 15 minutes to prepare his meals

         

With mee sua    

Method:

1. Wash a small section of mee sua and cut into length of about 2cm. 
2. Add mee sua to a small pot of about 200ml boiling water, continue to boil until mee sua is cooked
3. Strain the water away
4. Heat up a portion (180ml) of defrosted soup stock and add in the cooked mee sua
5. Boil a while more and it's done!

Tips: My mum always cooked the mee sua in a separate pot of water instead of adding it directly into the soup base to cook. This is because the mee sua on its own contain salt and by adding it into the soup base will make it too salty.  I'm cooking for my 8.5 mths baby who is not yet ready to take any salt in his diet, cooking the mee sua separately will "wash out" some salt.

  

With brown rice cereal    

Method:

1. Follow the instructions for the brown rice cereal that you are using to get the correct consistency. I bought the Eu Yan Sang Si Shen Brown Rice powder for my boy.
2. I replaced 1 portion of the soup stock instead of water and add some chopped up spinach and "午" fish.

With porridge    

Method:

1. I use the Tiger Food Jar to cook the porridge. Follow the instructions in trial for tiger food jar and replace the water with soup stock.
2. I added some extra ingredients to create versions of porridge for different days.

Top picture: porridge with just only the soup stock.
Middle picture: porridge with chopped broccoli and soup stock
Bottom picture: porridge with blended steam corn, "午" fish and soup stock.

See also Sweet potato porride in Tiger Food Jar

Sweet potato porridge in Tiger Food Jar

I managed to get quite decent sweet potato porridge with the Tiger Food Jar.
Just follow the instructions in trial for tiger food jar and add 1 serving of sweet potato cut into thin slices.  I did boil the contents for 5 minutes before pouring into the food jar.
  

Right side is how it was like straight from the food jar. (after pouring out the "am")

Left side is how it is after I meshed it with the back of a spoon for my 8 months old baby

Bay is not very enthusiastic about food and takes 45-60 mins to finish 1 small bowl. He loves to drink the "am" though.

See also Lazy mummy's cooking method

Lesson from a wise african old lady

 Echo was an 64 year old female eleplant, matriarch of the EB family living in Amboseli.  Every Monday in March, I've followed Echo on Animal planet.  I can relate so well with the behavior of the elephant family - where the female rules.  All females will remain with the family forever whereas the males will go independent and leave the group once they reach adulthood.

I've been reflecting on my feelings and thoughts in these 8 months following the birth of my son, wondering why is it that I can be so comfortable to let my family hold my son whereas I am so protective when my in-laws get near to him.  Finally, some enlightenment when I saw how the smartest land animal behave - it is basic instinct.  All animals except for humans, never get to meet their paternal family.  It is natural for a mother to be nervious when their off-springs are with anyone other than her own family.  Lions behave this way as well.

It is inevitable that one day my beloved son will have a family of his own and his wife will too feel the same way about me.  I will always remember this lesson from the wise african old lady.  I am praying hard that I will have a daughter of my own.

I was so sad when a search on the internet last night revealed that Echo passed away in May 2009.  You can follow Echo's EB family on Cynthia Moss's blog on the ATE (Amboseli Trust for Elephant) website. http://elephanttrust.org/blog/15
(The picture above was sourced from the same site)

I lived in a family of 4 sisters and my mum takes care of every single detail of home.  Seeing Echo with her family, reminded me of my mum and our family.  She is a majestic mother, grandmother and a caring caregiver for my son - my mum is truely a matriarch of my family.

Trial for the Tiger Food Jar

I did a trial with the Tiger Food Jar and it is really fuss free!

The porridge turn out to be very soft, something like those watery teochew porridge. I need to pour the "am" away and mesh up the contents a little with a spoon to suit my 7.5 months baby. I feed him the "am" separately like a soup and he loves it too!

The difficult part about cooking with this food jar is to estimate how much rice grains and water to add.

Serving size: 1 bowl of porridge

Ingredients

• 1 chinese soupspoon of rice grains, washed
• 300ml boiling hot water 

Method

1. Washed the food jar and pre-heat it by pouring some boiling hot water into it. Set for 10 mintues
2. Pour out the hot water
3. Add in the rice grains and pour in the boiling hot water.
4. Close the cap, wait for 4 hours... Voila! It's ready to eat.  

Tip: It is best if you can put the rice grains and water in a pot and heat up until boiling for 5 minutes before pouring the contents into the food jar. This will reduce the waiting time to 2 hours.

  

If you are looking for something that whip up those sticky cantonese porridge, this gadget will not do the job.

See also Sweet potato porride in Tiger Food Jar, Lazy mummy's cooking method

My Tiger Food Jar

Finally... Got my hands on the Tiger Food Jar which was highly recommended on SMH Aug09.
Thanks to Auntie Suzanna, whom managed to help me grab it from the Isetan card member's private sale!

This gadget can cook porriage on-the-go, then I can make porriage for Bay when we're in Chengdu next week. hohohoho!

Can you believe this tag? The original price is $109 and I got it for $39.90 during the sale.
The original price should be about $65 (Actual selling at BHG)
  



 
See also Trial run for Tiger Food Jar, Sweet potato porride in Tiger Food Jar, Lazy mummy's cooking method

"Kiiron" has arrived!

After Mark decided to name our boy "Kiiron", we did a search on internet and found out that "Kiiron" is a location of a highly secret military base in the book "Kiiron" by Trisha Johnson

Behaving like the usual tacky parents, we placed an order on 21st Oct 2009 with Borders so that our little boy can have the book that shares the same name with him.

I collected the book today, after almost a 5 months wait for it to be shipped from US.
Brought us back by $49.95 + $6.95 for shipping charges.


Book Summary
Karl Dornik, military specialist turned drifter, crash lands on Iskinar, a desert planet in the Veil Nebula. He is arrested and taken to Kiiron, the location of a highly secret military base. While being transferred to Midpoint Haven, the military government’s command center, he manages to escape and is rescued by the beautiful Treecia ven Willem, a trader on her way home from worlds deep in the heart of the galaxy. She is tall, blonde and fiercely independent, but she has a dark secret. Dornik is determined to penetrate the mystery surrounding Kiiron, and he and Treecia return to Iskinar, where they are befriended by the diminutive Corrua, whose people have been taken captive and transported to an unknown destination. They offer to help find Corrua’s wife and children and become involved in a mesh of politics and intrigue, implicating both the Confederation (the original, civilian government) and the Protectorate (the military rulers). Whether you’re a science-fiction adventure fan or not, you’ll be turning the pages of Kiiron to see what happens next!