Saying sorry the kids’ way

This video is so cute! If someone says a sweet sorry like this, it would be difficult not to forgive! 🙂

I rarely hate people because for me if you don’t like someone, it is better to get rid of them from your sights and forget them. Done! your mind is clean and clear from negative things. But I don’t know why I really dislike people who don’t like to say sorry and I keep that bad memory about them very long :D!

I really think saying sorry is an art. While many adults are bad at it, children tend to be very good at that. Listening to this song reminded me of a sweet memory of a kid I adore. Long time ago, when I was a young student and stayed in an icelandic-american family where the single mother had three boys. I helped the mother to take care of the kids sometimes when she was away. I quickly became close to the little kid as he was somehow isolated by the elder brothers when the mother was not home. He told me everything about his school, the girls that liked him, his friends etc. He asked me to help him with homework and even asked me to correct his English, since he could speak well but could not write well yet. The 9 year old kid could play many good piano songs of which I liked the most “Morning Mood” by E.G and asked him to play that again and again. Once he went out to play with his friend and did not come home on time. The whole family tried to find him everywhere but could not find him even at his close friends’ or neighbours’ house. His mother taking a trip abroad was extremely worried when she got the phone call from me and tried to ask all the people who could know but failed to get traces of him. Finally he got home at 9 pm (he was supposed to get home at 6 and go to bed at 8 pm). I was so worried that when I saw him I almost cried both for happiness and anger. I strictly talked to him but then did not talk much during the time he ate alone in the kitchen as normal, only answered shortly what he asked. He knew that nothing he said could make me forgive him at that moment. He did not eat anymore but went to the piano and played the song “Morning Mood”. I was writing my thesis at the table nearby and heard the song. I went to the piano and saw him with a penitent smile saying “I am playing it because you like it”. My heart was immediately melt. I broke into a big smile… Of course I forgave him. It was easy to be convinced by a sweet and subtle boy:) …

Later I attended a talkshow where a psychologist told people that though he was considered an expert to read people’s mind and effectively respond to fix difficult situations, he had to call his little six year old son a master in the art of saying sorry to people. Everytime his mother got angry with him, he would rush to the mother, hug her and say again and again “I love you so much, mom”. The more the mother pushed him away, the more tightly he embraced her and said it sweetly “I love you very much, mom, don’t you love me?”. The mother finally had to surrender :).

I am not sure that could work when adults do the same but I believe when little kids do it with naive, innocent eyes looking at you, it is hard for anyone to constrain a “surrendering” smile and a warm feeling in their heart.

No one likes to be manipulated but sometimes being manipulated by a sweet sorry seems acceptable,…well actually I mean…lovely :)!

How Trump won as a marketer

I wrote this yesterday to respond to a friend when we was discussing. Have repeated several times in my arguments with other friends so I will put it here as my last post on Facebook about this election Start to feel tired about this topic!

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Though I am not satisfied with the election result, I am not too sad about it. But I feel a bit concerned and tired to see how people are being affected by it as if it were the end of the world. Isn’t it that bad. Nah, I don’t think so. Trump might not be a good choice but is never another Hitler since simply his speeches and talks show that he lacks charisma, a political background/knowledge, a firm and solid political stance of a radical leader to be another Hitler or another dictator of the world. Most of the controversial things he said were more like statements without strong arguments. He repeated them a lot without developing them and even modified some later (statement abt immigrants, recently abt Muslims…). He made an impression that he said them just because he liked to say it; doesn’t mean he understood it well nor its results nor he really meant it. I used to have a post December last year about Trump using his odd terms and acting oddly as a strategy to market him in a hard competition where he did not have many competitive advantages. And it seems he has done it right. All marketers know that your brands being widely spread and known is the most important result you have to care for. Most of all don’t have risks (or whatever it is called) to do everything for their targets but some choose “being known” first and fix the “bug” later. Whether it is right or wrong, popularity is the goal. The more controversial it is, the faster and further it goes. Lady Gaga would not have been so well-known if she had not turned her style into extremely odd to be known… Now, do you see her wearing those often any longer? We should remember that Trump is a successful businessman and he has been in the entertainment industry for too long to understand that theory. I don’t like most of Trump’s political views which I am not sure are really what he thinks or many of those sound-like-radical, “extreme” thoughts are just of his marketing strategy. But I always admire his great business mind on the aspect that he could turn his business from bankruptcy into great again just like a joke, NOT just once but several times. (“great” here truly and literally means “billions dollars”). He does have an ability to act as he says with economic goals- a power many cannot have. Apart from controversial statements, which I said above was said without strong arguments, some promises aiming to push the economy (creating jobs…) have bright hopes to become real. His supporters must have put a hope for totally new changes different from what the old political system and people belong to that like HC have maintained for too long and bored people for what have not changed for years. Because Trump’s picture is totally new and different from such old and boring images. Studying politic sciences/international relations made me see many things for which I cannot like him in the role of a politician. But standing on the views of a marketing worker, I can see the businessman Trump turning into a president can be a good sign for the US economy in many aspects. Plus, seeing the election under the eyes of a producer, I am actually inspired by this entertaining character in the show and the result he has got. No worries! Now the marketing campaign has done its job. He will start to fix the “bug” and act like a “decent” president to gain people’s support. We will see if it is right.

Positively thinking, at least USA has a democracy where the political power still somehow lies in ordinary people who did not have chances to speak loud and not yet completely manipulated by the mainstream media. In another angle, practical actions won over speeches and nothing is impossible! :)!

I am done but let’s hope for the best that Trump will “forget” a lot of his “radical” statements to become a president that has the lowest rate of keeping his promises in the history in this sense. (He has actually already changed some!!!)

Some good readings:

For references on the rate of US President keeping their promises: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trust-us-politicians-keep-most-of-their-promises/)

Trump’s promises: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/22/here-are-76-of-donald-trumps-many-campaign-promises/

How Trump’s won as a marketer: http://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/trump-clinton-person-win-marketer/305242/ 

Michael Moore predicted Trump’s winning since July: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/michael-moores-5-reasons-why-trump-will-win

#trump #USelection2016 #marketing #thuyishere #thuyishere_trump

My food collection on instagram

I have created a new instagram for my food page where I post only food pictures. The account is aimed to suggest daily food to people.
This blog will be soon moved to my website. So if you follow me and like my blog, you can follow my instagram here and get updates from there:

https://www.instagram.com/thuyishere_kitchen/

How to make Flan (Crème Caramel)/ Cách làm bánh Flan

(Tiếng Việt bên dưới)

Ingredients

520 ml full-cream milk
60 gr sugar
5 egg yolks and 1 whole egg
A pinch of salt
Vanilla
Caramel sauce: 70 gr sugar, 40ml water

Cách làm bánh mì Việt Nam

Thể theo nguyện vọng của một số bạn. Hôm nay mình post cách làm bánh mì Việt Nam nhé! Anyone who needs the English version, contact me so I will translate it later 🙂

Nguyên liệu:

350 gr bột mì (làm được khoảng 4 cái vừa và 1 cái nhỏ)

50 gr bơ nhạt đun chảy hoặc quay cho tan chảy trong lò vi sóng (Tùy chọn. Nếu ko dùng bơ thì bỏ thêm lượng nước tương đương)

8 gr muối

2 ml dấm gạo

155-160 ml nước

20 gr men tươi

Bánh mì Việt Nam/ Vietnamese baguettes

Cách làm:

Trộn bột mì với muối và men nở

Đổ bơ vào hỗn hợp nước ấm và dấm rồi cho vào hỗn hợp bột

Nhào đến khi bột mềm, mịn, có độ đàn hồi tốt, không dính tay. Mình toàn nhồi bằng tay và khoảng cỡ 10-15 phút thì bột mịn. Lấy một miếng nhỏ dàn căng ra trông như một màng mỏng mà ko đứt.

Khâu nhồi rất quan trọng và đừng giảm nước hay thêm bột nếu thấy bột nhão. Bột phải có độ mềm nhất định, hơi chảy khi thả ra nhưng không hề dính tay thì mới nở tốt và xốp được.

Để bột nghỉ ở nhiệt độ phòng hoặc ở nơi có nhiệt độ khoảng 25-30 độ, khoảng 1 tiếng-1,5 tiếng cho bột nở gấp đôi. Đừng ủ lâu, bột sẽ bị lên men, phá vỡ vị và mùi thơm của bột, nặng mùi men nở.

Bột nghỉ đủ thì đem vê thành khối dài và cắt thành những phần tương đối bằng nhau. Với lượng bột trên mình làm được 4 cái cỡ vừa và một cái nhỏ.

Dùng tay hoặc cán bột cho miếng bột thành hình elip. Từ một bên mép của miếng bột cuộn dần đến hết miếng bột. Dùng hai tay vê hai đầu bánh cho bột dồn vào giữa và hai đầu thon lại.

Bỏ bánh lên khay nướng. (Mình ko lót giấy chống dính mà để mặt bột tiếp xúc trực tiếp với khay, bánh sẽ giòn hơn). Ủ tiếp khoảng 1 giờ ở nhiệt độ 25-30 độ C, cho bột nở lại. Bật lò trước ở 200 độ C.

Bột nghỉ đủ, lấy dao lam rạch nhẹ và nhanh tay một đường dài dọc bánh. Lần theo vết rạch, lựa dao lam rạch sâu khoảng 2.5-3.5 mm. Quét một lớp nước ấm lên mặt bột. Cho vào lò nướng khoảng 7 phút. Đun sôi nước vào đổ vào một cái khay hoặc một nồi thiếc.

Sau 7 phút, nhanh tay lấy khay bánh ra và bỏ từng chiếc lại vào lò nướng trên thanh que có khe hở (cooling rack). Bỏ nồi nước vào đáy lò và xịt thêm chút nước lên thành lò. Nên làm nhanh tay để nhiệt độ ko giảm nhiều.

Nướng thêm 10 phút thì lật mặt bánh và nướng thêm 3-4 phút nữa thì bánh vừa vàng đẹp.

Lấy bánh ra khỏi lò. Để nguôi bớt và dùng ngay hoặc ủ bánh với khăn bông trong giỏ mây. Mặt bánh sẽ hơi nứt khi bánh nguội bớt.

Bánh có vỏ mỏng, giòn, vàng đều và ruột rất xốp, nhẹ, dậy mùi thơm.

Ruột bánh mềm, nhẹ và xốp, vỏ mỏng và giòn/ The crust is very thin and crunchy but the inner part is very soft, light which is good for adding the fillings later.

Why I changed my facebook profile picture to support France?

Picture’s source: Allposters

I have read some saying that changing profile pictures to show cares and sharings for the victims in the recent attack in Paris is a “nonsense” or “stupid” thing or an unfair action because the victims in recent attacks at many other places in the world deserve to be as equally identified and cared as those in Paris etc. I rarely talk about political stuff on facebook and hardly changed my profile pictures after any facebook trends. It doesn’t mean I didn’t care. I just prefered keeping this facebook out from any trends 🙂. But I do this time and find it worth doing (even find it more necessary after reading the opinions mentioned above). Why? Firstly because like many out there, I have nice memories and good feelings when I think of Paris as a beautiful city- the city of love, light and peace. But above all, the recent attack has huge impacts on people’s mind in many senses.
I totally agree that we all are equal and humans of all ethnic groups deserve to be treated the same. However, we should not compare the attacks in Afghanistan to the recent one in Paris to judge how unfairly people are indentifying the tragerdies at the two places. Its not abt discrimination. Besides humanitarian aspects, it has “symbolic meanings” and huge communicative effects. Why do ppl show their solidarity more on social media when the attack happened in Paris? Because Paris is one of the symbols for peace, satefty, security and a belief in a beautiful and happy life. What FIRST come into your mind when you think of Paris? Beautiful, peaceful things or wars and conflicts? But NOW Paris has been attacked. The belief is broken. No where is safe anymore. Do you see the awakening influences of the issue? It awakened ppl to act and show the solidarity. Changing the profile picture on social media is, truly, a very small deed everyone can do but it shows how solidary the world is towards the fights against terrorism. Social media nowadays have huge communication impacts. Immagine, without this “chaging picture” trend, we all still feel sorry and painful for what has happened but we cannot see how much and clearly ordinary ppl in the world are caring about the issue and showing their supports and solidarity for the fight towards a safe and peaceful world. We definitely cannot cry nor “change the facebook profile pictures” to show sharings for all the dead people in the world but we can do it once for things we all see clearly and understand how serious it is to our OWN lives, our beloved ones and people who are close to us, because, saying roughly, danger is right behind our ass. It indeed has a great spiritual effect. It caries symbolic meanings and has great communicative impacts, too. And surely, it never means the victims in Afghanistan don’t “deserve” to be cared as much as ones in Paris…

Berliner

Berliner or Krapfen is a very tasty doughnut from Germany. You can barely use the doughnuts but it is also filled with jam.

To make it you will need:

300 gr flour

20 gr fresh yeast (7gr dry yeast)

100 ml milk

40 gr sugar

35 gr melted butter

4 egg yolks+ 2 egg whites

A pinch of salt

1/2 tsp lemon zest

vanilla or/and rom

Cooking oil to fry

Jam to fill

Icing sugar to decorate

Bánh cá/ Fish cake

(English version lies right behind the Vietnamese version)

Apple pie- new pie crust recipe

(The English version is right below the Vietnamese version)
Mình thử nghiệm công thức vỏ bánh pie mới và thấy ngon không kém công thức cũ mà thời gian làm tiết kiệm hơn nhiều nên chia sẻ cho mọi người ở dưới đấy nhé:
Công thức:
Vỏ Pie với sữa chua (Nếu ko cho sữa chua bạn tìm lại tỉ lệ công thức mình đã post cho bánh pie Việt quất nhé):
Nguyên liệu:

Butter cookies/ Bánh quy bơ

(The English version is right below the Vietnamese version)
Nguyên liệu:
165 gr bơ đã có muối (hoặc nếu dùng bơ nhạt thì thêm 3 gr muối)
1 trứng ở nhiệt độ phòng
85 gr đường
155 gr bột mỳ
30 gr tinh bột ngô
1 thìa cà phê vỏ chanh
2 thìa cà phê đường vani