Chinese paper lanterns

Over the weekend, I did some simple paper lanterns and luck fishes to be hanged around the house as CNY decorations.

I took out some old ang pow packets and started doing it just for the fun of it. I use recycled and unused ang pow packets for my DIY decorations.

Here's some simple instructions on the lucky fishes which is easy to make for kids and adults alike. Err.... I hope it's simple to understand here :P

The paper lantern the kids helped to make. looks kinda messy but it's great fun!

School has re-opened

It's been a week since school re-opened. Brendan was happy to go back to the same kindy he attended last year.

I'm not surprised with the many books that he brought back home but I was surprised that one of his book is a standard one book! I'm even more shocked at the content as they are so much more difficult that it was when I first started kindergarten at 6 years old.

The funny thing is, despite having so much textbooks and so much books nowadays, the standard of a lot of teachers are deteriorating and most students can't even speak proper English! I was told by the principal that all these textbooks are preparation for Brendan when he enter Primary one next year! Wow!!

I remember attending tuition the year that I sat for SPM. I've known some parents who has started sending their children to tuition as young as 6 years old. Gosh, am I laid-back or what? I wonder what has gone wrong with our education system, and I do certainly wonder how would my children cope in school - with the tons of homework and carrying that heavy bag behind their bag in the not too distant future.

Here's a pic of Brendan's textbooks. The exercise book has not been taken into consideration.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas....

Tong shui supper

There's this road in Puchong Jaya which has a row of vans all lined up by the side, offering desserts and supper. It offers lots of interesting stuffs for passer-bys and we too decided to stop by for our bowl of tong shui which the kids love so much.

Brendan was more keen in the green jelly actually while Eryn went slurping spoon after spoon of the nicely boiled tong shui, filled with lots if ingredients in it.

Definitely a thirst quencher.

2kg in 2 months?

Gosh, I've put on 2kg in two months!! My pants and skirts are all getting tight. I've been eating a lot and eating late. And now that it's the holiday season, it's all about eating and eating and eating.

I participated in the BNI Treasure Hunt from KL-Penang three Friday agos and went up to Penang again two Fridays ago to visit my newborn baby niece. It was never a moment that we don't talk about food.

From the Ipoh chicken hor fun, to Penang Assam Laksa, to Bukit Tambun's seafood, it was all about eating - breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, supper. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and there goes my pants. I brought up two extra short pants two Fridays ago and I couldn't even fit into it!! I ended up wearing the same pants for 3 days! Aarrggh......

Age is catching up. I'm no longer what I used to be - eating and eating and yet not putting much weight, except for the period after school when I came up to KL to study. I was an athlete in school then and was used to afternoon trainings. After coming to KL after that, I put on a lot of weight, probably due to the stop in trainings.

So, am I gonna give up eating? No, cos I can't go on a diet with gastric problems. I'll try my best to eat heathily, which I've always been doing actually. Hmm.... maybe less carbo and more greens and fruits..

Well, it's not all about eating to be exact. We do have our shopping moments, fun moments, jalan-jalan moments (ya, right! but don't know why food still comes top of the list)...

at Queensbaby Mall with kong-kong

and....................... FOOD GALORE!!

We have a new baby!!

Well, no, I'm not having a new baby. It's my little baby sis (well, she's no longer a baby now), who had just delivered her baby girl on 5th December, two Fridays ago.

It was a surprise for everyone as she had planned to travel back to our hometown in Johor from Penang. She had gone for her normal check-up in Penang that Friday morning and the doctor says there's no sign of her delivering at that moment.

She went to work and felt stomach discomfort, thinking that it could be her usual constipation problem. She proceed to go home around 3pm+ and got ready to pack her things home, with her tummy discomfort. She felt a strong pain only at around 4.30pm and called her husband home. Her hubby called the doctor and was asked to rush to the Pantai Hospital in Penang.

By then, she was already 8cm-9cm dilated. She delivered a 2.75kg baby girl within an hour.

Couldn't have imagine her delivering her baby while on the Plus Highway...

We visited her the following day and the day cleaning and mopping the house for her before she came home with the baby.

Eryn says "the baby is so cute!! Can we take it home?" *pengsan*

Roti kahwin & Madagascar 2

The real Kluang coffee and toast buns definitely originate from the town itself, little Kluang.

Brendan & Eryn love the butter and kaya toast buns in the Kluang RailCoffee shop. In our last trip back, we took them again to their rather newly opened branch for tea, after watching MADAGASCAR 2 and the kids eat it with so much satisfaction and the pure enjoyment on their face shows it all. They will lick on the melting butter at the side of the buns and savour every single bite of it like there's no tomorrow.

Hubby ordered mee jawa while I prefer to stick to my usual kopi and the toasted buns too.

MADAGASCAR 2 was great and it was the kids first visit to the cinema. The thing that made them sit throughout the movie was the popcorn. Brendan enjoyed the experience but Eryn was getting bored after the popcorn ran out.

In the next few days after the movie, the kids went shaking their heads and butts and singing "We wanna MOVE IT! MOVE IT"...

Kong-kong's birthday

It was my dad's 60th birthday last Saturday, and we went back to my hometown to celebrate it.

We organised dinnner and got some family members and dad invited some of his friends. It was a small celebration, but everyone enjoyed the food and company.

We had the dinner in Star Restaurant which was packed. There were 3 other family celebrating birthdays day and the birthday boys and girls were all senior citizens. We thought it was wierd when we hear the birthday song being played on CD twice before we realised that two other tables were celebrating birthdays there. Ours was the third family. After that, another family, sang the birthday song for the fourth time in the restaurant!

I wonder whether my kids and grandkids will be celebrating my 60th birthday in such a warm and cosy dinner in the not too distant nor far future :-)

Credits here

Eryn's tooth problem resolved

Remember Eryn's tooth problem and abcessed gum?


After the numerous phone calls to various dentists and to UH, and 3 visits to 3 different doctors, I decided to go to Pristine Dental in Jalan Gasing. Ms Prema, the clinic nurse was extremely helpful and gave me the trust that their doctors are very child-friendly and professional in their line of work.

I am glad that I stick to my decision of not wanting to extract Eryn's tooth which could give her psychological problems, speech problem and the spacing of her teeth.

Dr Priscilla attended to us and she was just so friendly and helpful. She suggested pulpotomy, which is actually the cleaning on the inside of the tooth and fill the empty space up - pretty much similar to filling except this is for the front tooth.

I was terrified of the idea at first and whether Eryn would face the trauma. I decided to go with my gut feeling and rejected the idea of going to the specialist under general anaesthetic. Hubby and I trusted Eryn to be strong and she was definitely stronger than what we thought.

Eryn sat quietly and didn't squirm or scream. She only cried pain for a while when the doctor injected a long syringe into her gum to numb it. After that, she was extremely cooperative and open her mouth wide for the doctor to see. Eryn was very happy over the whole experience as she felt so appreciated and the fact that everyone praised her for being good.

The whole thing was faster than I thought, probably around 15 minutes or so. The doctor, gave her an injection, drilled the back of her tooth, cleaned it, remove the old pulp, cleaned it again, fill it up and it's then it was all done. Fast, efficient, good job.

All doctors I spoke to or saw recommended extraction and in fact, most parents actually chose the option. I'm glad I defy that option and took all troubles to my own research and checking. Eryn is one brave girl. In fact, she's looking forward to her next treatment in two weeks' time she says she wants to have nice teeth.

It may not be suitable for all kids as Ms Prema told us that one little boy actually kicked one of the dentist real hard and some kids were screaming and crying away. For me, to make this personal decision, took me lots of guts, sleepness nights, phone calls, prayers, and most importantly wanting the best and having the trust in my little girl.

Here's Pristine Dental add : 52, Jalan Gasing, Section 5 (Tel no. : 03-7781 6289). It's located in a very nice bungalow with a beautiful surrounding, near a traffic light.

50th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday, we attended one of hubby's aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. It was planned by hubby's cousin (the couple's daughter) and another auntie. It was a very special affair, held in one of his auntie's resident.

It's actually my first time attending a 50th wedding anniversary and this was quite an interesting and fun party, attended by some relatives and close friends. The food was great. The company was superb. The activities were aplenty - singing to oldies and Japanese songs, freestyle dancing, waltz and cha-cha, flowers presentation by grandnieces and nephews and a funny skit that brought stitches to all. Brendan and Eryn changed into their indian costume for the flower presentation. They were delighted to receive angpow by the golden couple, given to all the children in the house.

Brendan and Eryn just loved the dancing but was terrified of the two lovely golden retrievers in the house. It's a memorable time for all. With the love, support and understanding that brought this couple this far, it was an emotional time for hubby's aunt who was pleasantly touched by this great surprise party.


Brendan and Eryn at the koi pond

The kids joining the adults in the energetic dances

More dances by Brendan & Eryn in their indian costumes

Sushi and sashimi from Sushi King and local delights

Tempura in the making, plus the yummy soft-shell crabs

The cute cupcakes I ordered from Mama Min

Other random shots

More on Eryn's tooth

I thought about Eryn a lot today. It makes me wonder whether she's tolerating the pain or has the pain really gone away. She used to cry and complain of pain, but now, she doesn't feel any pain at all.

I am quite worried over the big bump on top of her gum. Though she feels fine, I can't help feeling the pain myself. Gosh, my mind is running wild.

I called many dentists today and through the phone conversations, most of them would either recommend that I keep it as it is (which is fine, if there's no complication), extract it (if it's infected) or go to see a specialist. My main purpose now would be my search for a child-friendly doctor and one who can give good advice - not one that gives me scary thoughts. Some of them don't seem child-friendly to me.

Dr Shirley Lim in PJ, Chanel's hubby's aunt, gave me some good and friendly advice over the phone. She shares my negative thoughts of root canalling (as suggested by another dentist) which can be traumatic. She suggested that extraction might be a better option if the tooth is badly infected, which may affect the growth of the new tooth in the near future. But extraction might also cause the closing of the gap, which may hinder the growth of a nice, straight set of front teeth. I'm considering letting her see Eryn's tooth and gum before deciding the next course of action.

On the other hand, I'm also considering visiting Pristine Dental. My experience with Dr Raja of Pristine branch in Hartamas is a very pleasant one when I had my two, top wisdom tooth extracted some time last year. It was basically almost stress-free and pain-free.

Rina recommended Dr Suresh at Pristine Gasing. I called them when they're about to close and the nurse, Ms Prima, was kind enough to speak to me. She did some fact-finding and was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. She mentioned that root canalling is not the option. She gave a common option done at their centre in similar cases, which is to undergo pulpotomy, under local anaesthetic, to lessen the trauma and the ordeal which might be frightening. Apparently, one of their dentists is also a specialist at U.M. Thus my confidence in them.

I'm monitoring Eryn's tooth every single day, hoping that the pain wouldn't come back and at least hope that her tooth can stay as it is for as long as possible. Well, still have to do something about that bump, which I believe is abcess in it. Yikes!

Eryn's visit to the dentist

Approximately two months ago, Eryn was jumping on the bed and and chipped off a small part of her tooth. I wrote about it here.


About one month ago, she had been complaining that her tooth is pain, each time she tries to bite on something hard. It frustrates her a lot when she can't bite into a a biscuit or a piece of hard chocolate, or a chicken drumstick.


Later, we noticed that the chipped tooth was slowly turning a darker colour. We decided to bring her to the dentist for the first time. She was very brave about it cos she says that she wants to look like a princess with nice teeth.


We took her to our family dentist which I've been going to as a little child. Dr Chin told us that her tooth is quite 'dead', thus the change in colour. He also told us that it shouldn't pose any problem. The pain was probably caused by biting on a hard food or probably the fact that infection could have set in.


Today, we took her to another dentist here as we notice that the gum above that tooth is bulging. The doctor told us the same thing - that the tooth is dead. He doesn't advise us to remove it as this may cause problem for the new tooth to grow when it comes out in about 3-4 years' time. As other teeth are growing, this may affect the gap in-between and provide limited space to the new tooth.



About two weeks back, she accidently bit on something hard with her chipped tooth and the next morning, the gum above the tooth was so swollen that her whole lips swell as well. She didn't feel any pain on her tooth and even had the cheek to joke with us, saying "My lips got a lot of meat". We all laughed at her remark as she didn't know the reason for the swelling. By night, the swelling was totally gone.

Lately, she's not been complaining of any pain. I can only pray that we do not have to bring her to a paediatric dentist for root canalling to maintain her tooth till it reaches maturity in 3-4 years' time.

Oh, my poor little girl.

'Health attack'

What? Melamine in 17 biscuit products in Malaysia?! What's next?

Oh well, no wonder health problems are growing at an alarming rate. With pollution, processed food, unhealthy lifestyles, work stress, superficial diets, chemicals in our bodies and all, how can a person not face with health problems?

I know of many women who have problem conceiving due to the food they eat and their lifestyle. I know of a young woman who contracted lung cancer even though she doesn't smoke. I know kids with health problems. I believe all of us know of someone who has serious health problem in one way or another.

Based on some information I gathered sometime last year, I found the following :

• medical inflation is rising at 15% per annum
• the 3 giant killers are - cancer, heart attack and stroke
• 1 in 3 Malaysians age 30 and above suffer from hypertension!
• Only 6 out of 100 peple have their blood pressure under control
• 10,000 deaths a year linked to stroke, heart attack and kidney failure
• 6,000 deaths a year due to heart disease
• 3 million have high cholesterol, which lead to the above stroke, heart problem, etc.
• 25% of malaysian are overweight, and for obesity, we're no. 1 in Asia.

The numbers might vary, but the truth is that most people are pretyt much ignorant about all these. We know the importance, but do we really take heed?

Yikes! .... and I'm going for a Raya open house tonight, makan session tomorrow, Deepavali open house on Monday and dinner on Monday night... Time to exercise...... zzzzzz

Brendan is 5!

Brendan is 5 day! I brought a small cake and some sweets, chocs and jelly to the principal to celebrate it during his morning tea break together with his classmates and teachers.

Brendan is quite cool about it and didn't even ask me for a present. We intend to give him a small surprise family celebration on Sunday. I am actually quite glad that he's really quite humble not to ask for anything at all. He was more than happy to have the tons of birthday wishes from his kong-kong, poh-poh, his favourite uncle and auntie (my siblings) and of course the 2 birthday cakes he had today - one in school and a special one made by the nanny.

I almost bought another one just now, but decided that he would be feeling very 'jelak' after all those cakes.

My boy is five. It just seems like yesterday when I carried him as a little baby in my arms.....

Credits here

Kluang food galore

Each time I go back to my parents' place, my dad will cook lots of food for us. Mum will make kaya for us and boil us soup and dessert, while dad takes care of the meals for lunch and dinner which is always so yummy and fulfilling. There's always different sort of dishes each time we go back home - from something simple like chicken porridge which taste really yummy or mee hoon soup with lots of 'liao' (ingredients), to food with more requires more preperation and effort like curry fish, home-made otak-otak, mixed vegs with all sort of 'liao' and others. Home-cooked food always taste yummy.

In our recent visit back to Kluang, hubby and I, with the kids tagging along, went for more by going on a makan spree! Before lunch and in-between meals, we'll be eating in Kluang's yummy favourites. Lots of Singaporeans make a trip down to various towns in Johor, such as little Kluang, just to do some grocery shopping as well as to makan and makan and makan. Hubby is just like that - makan, makan, makan...

Hubby's favourite place would be a stall in an old hawker area, called the Botak Curry, an old-time favourite. Served with spicy home-made chilli, cooked till perfect, hubby will never fail to visit this place each time he goes back to my kampung. So, off we went to our favourite Botak Curry stall.

Dad also introduced us to another curry mee stall somewhere towards the Nyior town which also serves very nice curry mee! So, it was 2 different yummy curry mee for me over one weekend visit.

Well, there's more... We also had beef noodle at the Tong Jiat Beef Noodle shop, which is also one of my favourite, and Beef Noodle at this place in Kluang Baru which we call Beef Ball Lai. There's another beef noodle in Kluang which served it dry and with peanuts in it, but nothing beats the Tong Jiat beef ball noodle which is filled with lots of 'liao'.

The kids have developed a liking for the beef noodle and can actually finish a bowl each, though nothing beats the kong-kong and poh-poh's cooking and their all time butter and kaya bun at the Kluang Rail Coffee located at Kluang's railway station.

When dad doesn't cook, we'll head to a restaurant which serves really nice food with extremely reasonable price. Can't remember the place though but it's located somewhere in Kluang Baru.

Gosh, now I'm craving for the Botak curry mee and the 'gu-bak' mee (beef noodle).

Kluang Botak curry noodles



Tong Jiat famous beef noodles from Tangkak.

Kluang Rail Coffee

Brendan loves kaya. In our recent trip back to Kluang, we took the kids to the Kluang railway station one of the morning to have breakfast as well as to take the kids to see the train.

The kids have eaten a hearty breakfast at kong-kong and poh-poh's place but wanted to tag along to see the KTM train. We ended up ordering toast buns after toast buns as Brendan and Eryn loved them so much and ate two toast buns each!!

Hubby and I settled for the usual nasi lemak, 'kopi' (coffee), half boiled eggs and toast buns.

Teambuilding!

Last weekend, I joined this group of young and vibrant people for a teambuilding session in PD. They're so dynamic that I feel old.

The sessions were just wonderful. The programme moderators were Shankar Santhiram, Dr Susanna Brida-Hofherr and Andy Gerald Ho from the EQ Training & Development team.

Shankar and his team developed a superb programme, infusing their workplace experiences, leadership and management experiences plus wisdom gained from experts like Bob Proctor, Stephen Covey, Napoleon Hill, Anthony Robbins, Robin Sharma, Alvin Toffler and more.

It's simply one of the best teambuilding sessions I've ever been, but it's quite heavily scheduled and hetic. The many indoor discussion and outdoor activites, comprising of heavy-duty stuffs and light and fun moments really require tons of stamina, lots of thinking, participation, etc.. the real teambuilding stuffs!

On Saturday night, the whole group went for night trekking in the Tanjung Tuan (Melaka border) for approximately 3 hours, starting at 9:30pm. It was a unique experience, but one that I would forego if given the opportunity again. We were to go without torchlights, but some had terror but everyone managed to go through the trekking as a team. We had a long walk in the forest reserve, to the beach, back to the 'jungle', up to the beautiful lighthouse and back to the hotel.

It's just too tiring for me and having to only come back to our hotel at pass midnight, and having to get up at 7am the next morning only added to the lethargic body and mind that I was facing. haha

Sunday morning was even more challenging. After the tiring and long night trekking, we were required, as a team, to build a raft from zero, using bamboos and four empty drums to be used as floaters. That was actually quite fun, just like a scene from survivor.

Everyone was just tired from the whole process but I'd say it's definitely an experience to remember.

Someone collapsed in front of me!

I'm feeling very tired right now, but I can't go to sleep. I keep thinking of that man that passed out right in front of my eyes.

I drove all the way from Johor to KL today. Hubby was tired, so I offered to drive. We had gone back to my hometown for the long Raya break. It was raining quite heavily on the highway and traffic was heavy too.

By the time we arrived KL, it was dinner time. Halfway through dinner, I noticed a man who walked towards our table in a drunkard way. I was observing him and saw that his face were red and his eyes were rolling and I thought that he was going to knock into our table and start vomitting on us.

*PLOP!* That man fell onto our table, knocked his head and collapsed. He lay on the floor under our table. My hubby, kids and I were extremely shocked! Everyone one were looking and I just didn't know what to do! His family members came over to him and suddenly, he just got up and stood up, took out his glasses, walked to his table and continued having his dinner with his family members all staring at him, and at us. He was totally ok after that. The waitress mentioned to us that he said he didn't know what happened cos when he opened his eyes, he realised he was lying on the floor under our table!!

Everyone was blurred as to what suddenly happened. It could be low blood pressure or a sign of more serious health problem to come for the man.. It's the first time I come across such a case like this. I happened to watch an episode on Grey's Anatomy of an elderly man who have the symptom of passing out and sitting up straight just after a few seconds. Can't really remember what's the condition called.

Here I am, wondering and thinking about life, once again. I thought someone died in front of me. It was scary. Life is just unpredictable sometimes. I've been taking my health for granted. I'd better start exercising.

Selamat Hari Raya

Here's wishing all our Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya, especially to my "feel good" ex-colleagues (you know who you are) and my old classmates whom I've not met for the past 15-22 years, until Facebook came along and connected us all!

Also, drive safely to those who are travelling and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Oh, and these are the two little chinese kids in their indian costumes wishing our Malay friends Selamat Hari Raya!

Milk scandal?

I was just reading a piece of news on babies in China being given formula milk since they were born!!

Oh my, don’t these mothers know that a mother’s milk is the BEST that one can give to their child?! And the ‘first milk’ called the colustrum is probably the super-nutrition food for newborns.

No offence to anyone, but I believe all mothers have the capability to breastfeed their newborns, given the right advise in latching and of course, feeding by demand before a routine and milk supply is established.

I don’t believe in a mother having no milk, no time and worst of all, having the belief that formula milk is better.

It’s au natural, with DHA, vitamins and minerals not found in processed milk. I know of a relative from my in-law side who even insisted on giving goat’s milk to her infant after getting jaundice, with the belief that goat’s milk is more superior than mother’s milk!!

Oh well, I’m a strong supporter of breastmilk. So, I just want to bring this out. Breastmilk is the BEST food for babies. In fact, I believe that it doesn’t cause a baby to fall sick so often and even if the baby did, he/she will not be so badly affected and will recover very fast. I noticed that with my daughter.

In a baby warehouse sale a few months back, I was shopping for some baby products for my pregnant sis and saw a demonstration by a lady selling a breastpump. I stood there watching and was literally pissed off with some of the instructions given by the saleslady. I wanted to tell them to just throw those pumps away.

My mum asked me to ignore them and I just regretted that I did, fuming inside that getting a lousy product that doesn’t do a good job will actually cause less milk to be produced overtime. I’ve tried a few pumps and I will give two thumbs up to the manually operated Avent breastpump - efficient and quiet. I heard Spectra is good as well.

Easier said than done? Well, let me share with you my breastfeeding journey. Those who know me, will know that I'm not busty at all. So, "how come I got milk ar?"

I berastfed Brendan until he was 6 months, but by 4 months, I had to supplement with formula milk. Brendan was staying with my parents in Johor. I pumped every single day, freeze the milk, and every Friday night I will take a bus from KL to Johor, carrying a cooler box FULL of frozen breastmilk. Thus is my determination in wanting to give Brendan the best. Yes, I did that every weekend.

No one imagine the tears in my eyes and the trouble I went through.

So, when no. 2 came, I was more determined than ever to give Eryn 100% breastmilk for at least 6 months. And yes, I did. In fact, Eryn was on 100% breastmilk until she was 1 year old. I gave her solid at 6-7 months to supplement her diet. No formula milk at all. She was still on breastmilk, partially, before she goes to sleep until she turned almost 2 years old.

There was once, when I was using an extremely noisy battery operated pump in the ladies toilet and when I came out of the toilet cubicle, there was this group of ladies going, “coming out already!! Coming out already!!” I turned to look at them and all of us started laughing cos they were feeling scared and thought there was some weird person doing some weird things in the ladies toilet!! Duh!!

Then, there's another time, when I had a letdown at a press conference!! I had to carry a file throughout the press conference and avoid shaking hands with clients so my wet blouse won’t show.

Pumping became easier when I did it in the comfort of my own office room, with the doors closed and I put up a long piece of cloth to cover the windows. Even the guys in my office always knew that it’s ‘milking time’.

I was in the media line, and we have meetings and appointments and proposals to do. Time was a constraint, but I always try to maintain my pumping time and pump 3 times in the office. My colleagues all know about it. I am actually thankful for their understanding.

So, reading about the sick babies in China due to all these stupid milk scandal really got me stirred up. And to even think that newborn babies were not even given breastmilk at all right from the beginning!!

Those poor babies shouldn't even ben affected so much. What a shame..

Made in China again!!

All these made-in-China stuffs just seem to be giving some problems or another right? From toys and food. I wonder what's next.

In a Singapore news yesterday, it was stated that Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) says its latest laboratory findings show that the "White Rabbit Creamy Candy" from China is also contaminated with melamine.

Oh, my favourite sweets when I was young!! I just loved it! And it's banned? Well, I wonder what else is in danger...

I received an sms this morning which states that the following items have been recalled due to the china's milk situation : M&M's Snickers, Mento's Yoghurt bottle, Dove Choc, Oreo wafer, Monmilk, Dutchlady sterilised milk, Wall's all natural mango, Mini poppers ice cream, Magnum ice cream, Moo sandwich icre cream, mini Cornetto and Youcan ice cream.

Are these made in China? Are these rumours? Should I just ignore it or just follow suit? With so many claims here and there, what should we actually do?

Well, looks like I better just watch my labels more carefully, made in China or not..

Blog Tag

This is really such a sweet tag I got from Martini. I never really thought whether anyone would like my blog at all :-)

I just have to add that Martini is really such a wonderful mummy from Medan whom I find to be a very independent and kind mummy.

Rules:

1.The winner puts logo on her/his blog.

2.Link the person you received your award from.

3.Nominate 7 other blogs.

4.Put links of those blogs on yours.

5.Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve chosen.

I hop around now and then to a few blogs here and there and would have many to nominate. So, randomly, for today, I'll now present this award to : Jazz, Rina, Wen, Sue, Pek Imm and Louise (I love your 'travellogue' stories time to update ur blog friend :-D).

craving for kueh chap

The first time I tried kueh chap was in Penang, and that also because my dear brother-in-law purposely ordered a bowl for us to try. Before that, we had just had a very satisfying and fulfilling seafood dinner by the beach when we decide to explore more food.

It was simply yummy.

So, during the Merdeka weekend, I had the chance to eat it for the second time in JB. This particular shop in JB (can't remember the name of the shop cos I don't remember seeing any signboard in front of the shop) has very yummy kueh chap which I've not tried before. I have to say that this is actually better than the one I tried in Penang.

It's like the kueh teow version of bak-kut-teh but the taste is slightly different. We order side dishes to go with it. My kids actually enjoyed it too.

Since then, I've been wondering whether there's any kueh chap stalls in PJ area cos I've been craving for it for the past one week! No, I'm not pregnant. It's one of my occasional crave for yummy food. Any recommendation?

Mid-autumn festival fun

Mooncakes

Mooncake festival is around the corner... Eryn's nanny makes a wonderful cook and baker. She made mooncakes and gave us so many to try. Her mooncakes are biscuits are really yummy, with just the right texture and not too sweet.

We also ordered 3 boxes of mooncakes with some animal-shaped mooncakes.

Brendan's and Eryn's favourite are the animal-shaped mooncakes. I like her yam filling, with a nice and fluffy pastry on the outside.

Nothing beats home-made mooncakes..

A lovely dinner

I'm not really a 'blogaholic' and therefore, haven't been posting a lot of things I've wanted to post. I wish I'm one though, but I've been focusing on other things which require my attention. Here's a delayed post.

Just have to post about a lovely dinner at hubby’s aunt’s place some time last month, with lots of food prepared for the guests. It was a fusion of food and guests. Fusion of food, cos there’s Japanese food and local food and fusion of guests because hubby's aunt had guests from various countries. I thought it was the usual family dinner and I wasn’t well dressed for the occasion and had only turned up in a singlet and short pants. The children were quite well dressed and hubby wore his jeans.

Dinner at Kor Poh Ai and Granduncle Nishida’s (as how the kids address them) place was always superb. It was always a local meal cooked by our aunt’s maid, Yatmi, or by a relative who hails from Kelantan. Our favourites are the Nasi Dagang and the authentic Nasi Kerabu, cooked in plants and vegetables that come all the way from Kelantan.

Anyway, dinner last night was simply superb. Hubby and I started with the sashimis and sushis, before we proceed with steaming white rice with sambal petai and one of my favourite dish from Yatmi called sayur lodeh, cooked with chicken, daun salam, nangka puteh (white young nangka), tempe, long beans and some other stuffs. This is served with the lovely sambal belacan. This was accompanied by the tasty miso soup with bits of tofus and fresh seaweed.

The kids enjoyed their rice with fried chicken cooked by Yatmi.

After the sashimi meal and rice meal, I can only take a small portion of the Kelantan laksa. Cooked in a gravy of coconut milk and other ingredients, it is normally added with a handful of other fresh and raw vegetables, all finely chopped, such as long beans, bunga kantan (lotus flower), cucumber, taugeh (beansprout), and daun kesum.

For dessert, we had smooth and Japanese ice-cream and the best durian cheesecake I’ve ever eaten, made by hubby’s aunt’s friend. A nice cup of freshly brewed jasmine tea gave a good ending to the awesome meal.

The kids and dogs

Brendan and Eryn are not really fans of dogs except for our neighbour’s tiny little dog which doesn’t really bark and one of hubby’s aunt’s golden retriever dog.

The kids called our neighbours dog the “disco dog” as it can dance on its two hind legs, but with the help of its owner.

Hubby’s aunt has two golden retrievers, Murray and Musha. Musha is a very friendly dog and loves children. He will come near you and sniff and lick you, which makes the kids extremely terrified of it. Murray, on the hand, doesn’t really bother anyone, probably of age and loves to lie down for the rest. The kids are more fascinated with Murray as they can go to him up-close without having Murray suddenly giving them a jumpy surprise.

Once a puppy chased after some children at a nearby field. All the children were laughing and running around, and enjoyed having the little puppy running around them but Brendan screamed and yelled at the top of his voice! Gosh, that's how terrified he can be..

Merdeka!

With Merdeka round the corner, I don't know if Merdeka means anything to the kids now since they're still too young to even know about the world. They only know merdeka when they see Malaysia flag.

With the current situation in the company, I reserve my comments on my feelings and thoughts on the current development.

However, over the weekend, I had a good long chat with both my mum and my second eldest cousin. My maternal grandparents, had 15 children, of which 13 survived.

My mum and my second cousin talked about how tough life was during the Japanese occupation. My grandpa came all the way to China and worked his way through to support his family here in Malaysia and his siblings and parents back in China. No subsidies, no outside help. Life was tough. They stayed in the jungle, and had many encounters with the gurkhas, the Japanese soldiers, the British soldiers, and the danger the lurks everywhere around them - poisonous snakes, hornets, bobby traps, etc.

Merdeka truly meant a lot to people like them where they saw the development of the countries and now enjoy life to the fullest.

People nowadays are just spoilt for choices. Talking about human rights and this rights and that rights, but forgetting the reason and the strength that brought us so far.. Hope the unity of one single Malaysian race won't be forgotten...

Still, here's wishing everyone, especially to the older generation who saw through the pre-independence days.... "Selamat Hari Merdeka"

Steamboat at home..

Once in a blue moon, we like to have a steamboat meal at home. Hubby will normally get the ingredients from the morning market consisting of prawns, various types of fishballs, dumplings, vegetables, mushrooms, etc..

I will boil the stocks using fish bones, chicken or pork bone, garlic, celery stalk and half a handful of tai-tou-choy (big head dried veg) and cook some rice. I’ll make my own chilli dip which I’ve yet to master the right texture and taste.

We always start with the prawns, fishballs and lots of pre-fried shallots and shallot oil to give the soup more oomph! before continuing with the other ingredients. Spring onions, parsley are optional as the kids dislike the taste.

We normally end the meal by adding the cooked rice into the soup with an egg in it to be made into a delicious and sweet porridge. Mmm….. simply refreshing and yummy!

mini Olympic 2008

It's the Olympic now in Beijing. Back at home, we have our own little olympians :-) With the Olympic fever happening everywhere, I took some fun shots of the weekend exercise the kids enjoy having.

Eryn's tooth chipped.

At home, I'm always telling the kids not to jump here and there, not to do this and that, and it's only natural that I do so. Sometimes, it maybe due to my mood, but most of the time, it's a mother's instinct to tell her children not to endanger themselves.

The children tend to listen more to their daddy as daddy will not hesitate to hit them real hard that will send chills to their spine. However, I can be screaming my head off, give a smack and 'nagging' the kids non-stop and yet they can still laugh and continue with their little business of being active little children. (bully mummy eh?)

Most of the time, I'll leave daddy to put the kids to sleep after brushing their teeth cos somehow, they get it done faster with daddy around. However, when hubby is not around, I have to be the one doing it, and I go crazy doing it. The kids tend to take me for granted!

Two nights ago, hubby wasn't back from his outstation trip, and so, I have to get the kids to brush their teeth. As usual, they'll be laughing and jumping and running while I'm calling them and reminding them to do what they are supposed to do. Eryn then fell and started crying hard.

That made me start screaming at them and 'nag' even more. "Very, good! Always don't want to listen to mummy!..... Tell you not to jump you want to jump!.... I've said it many times, and yet you do not want to listen....blah... blahh... blahh..." Then, I dragged Eryn to the bathroom to brush her tooth for her and noticed slight bleeding in her gums.

I then saw that one of her front tooth was chipped! More like broken, to be exact. I tried to find the missing piece, but I guess she could have swallowed it.

Really makes me go crazy sometimes.... Eryn's only 3, which means, her two front teeth won't be dropping out any time soon, until she's 5 or 6. So, she'll have to be in her new look at least for the next 2-3 years.

Sigh! Want to be patient also cannot... Tell me, what are your experiences and incidents you have to face, dear parents? Sigh!

Pea eggplant

My mum is a garden herbs enthusiast. Recently she showed me a cluster of tiny green peas look-alike fruit which she claims is good for anaemia. She's now planting it in her mini-herbs garden.

I did some finding and realised that the round pea -shaped fruit is known as pea eggplant (or Solanum torvum).

Apparently, some people cook this in their curry.

I'm keen to know more about this if anyone can provide some medicinal info and cooking method on this.

The skin seems a little tougher than the normal brinjal, probably due to its size, and the taste is somewhat bitter.

Died of dengue

Yesterday, I received news from a friend that another friend, Jon, whom we've just known recently, had died of dengue last week.

It was a very shocking news to hear. I don't know him that well, but it was so unexpected that it makes my 'mission' even stronger - the mission to explain why it is necessary to get coverage and protect our family and have an income replacement in case something untoward happens to us.

In Wikipedia, the signs and symptoms can be described by "a sudden onset of fever, with severe headache, muscle and joint pains and rashes. The dengue rash is characteristically bright red petechiae and usually appears first on the lower limbs and the chest; in some patients, it spreads to cover most of the body. There may also be gastritis with some combination of associated abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Other symptoms include fever, chills, constant headaches, bleeding from nose, mouth or gums, severe dizziness, and loss of appetite.

Some cases develop much milder symptoms which can, when no rash is present, be misdiagnosed as influenza or other viral infection. Thus travelers from tropical areas may inadvertently pass on dengue in their home countries, having not been properly diagnosed at the height of their illness. Patients with dengue can pass on the infection only through mosquitoes or blood products and only while they are still febrile.

The classic dengue fever lasts about six to seven days, with a smaller peak of fever at the trailing end of the disease (the so-called "biphasic pattern"). Clinically, the platelet count will drop until the patient's temperature is normal"

Jon left behind his wife and two very young children, some unpaid debts and funeral expenses. His wife is currently non working due to a minor ailment. His colleague called him a day before he passed away and Jon indicated that he's feeling better. News then broke out that his blood count was dropping and he passed away.

He was admitted to one of the local government hospital and somehow, was not able to make any claims due to the hospital report indicating that he didn't die of dengue. In fact, I was told that the family has to let it go that this unfortunate incident happened. What really happened, I do not know. But it got me thinking, that most people are ignorant on the importance of getting basic protection, not only for themselves, but also for the sake of the living family members, in the even of an unfortuante death.

Being in the wealth accumulation and wealth protection business myself, it sometimes breaks my heart when people are ignorant over this, and when something happens, it will be too late. We can only provide support and grief with the family..

My 'mission' goes on...

Brendan's first sports day

It was Brendan’s school’s sports day last Saturday. The number of students in that preschool is so huge that the sports day have to be held at a nearby primary school field.

The day started with the performance by the 5 year olds and the 6 year olds students who danced to the tuned of Hey, Mickey and Mambo No. 5.

Like all parents, I was pretty proud of Brendan, who played one of the instruments in the Mambo No. 5 performance. Well, not too bad, for a 5 year old.

I was extremely surprised to see the youngest child to be around the age of 2, or probably even less, judging from the way the cute little boy walked in his little toddler’s shoes. It’s simply amazing that children are being sent to preschools and daycares as young as 2! (or probably even younger). He had the opportunity to participate in the sports events as well, with the help of a teacher who held him by the hands.

Brendan’s participation in the sack race actually caused an embarrassment to his group due to his slowness and moody look. He started the day full of enthusiast and mid-way, he was already getting pretty moody. Oh boy!

I actually felt really disappointed cos I was a school athlete myself, having won numerous medals and trophies during my school days. I was a sprinter, a netball achiever, a superb long-jumper and a hurdler. But my dear son somehow didn’t inherit this little sports genes from his mummy.

Anyway, I shouldn’t expect too much from him, as I know all child are different. I’m still proud that he went through with all the hassle to be part of the mini orchestra and the gunny sack race. I felt bad for his team mates who were cheering him on.

But he’s my little boy, my champion, regardless of what happened. He did his best, and that’s all that matters.

The fun part of the whole sports day was when the D.J. announced for the volunteers of 15 parents to take part in a game against the teachers. He even hinted to get at least 3 fathers to participate which will guarantee a win. More than 15 parents volunteered. And the game….? Well, it was the tug-of war between the 15 female teachers and 2 male supporters against the more than 15 parents who won within seconds! Oh gosh, it was a funny sight.

jams and cracks and @*$&~#...

I had full day trainings this week and had to leave early to reach my destination which normally takes 40 minutes. Yesterday, of all days, I chose to leave extra early because I wanted to reach earlier to have my nasi lemak breakfast as I didn't have a proper dinner the night before and my tummy was growling.

Mana tau, the stupid jam caused havoc from my place all the way through LDP and to Kepong. It took me 1 hours 40 minutes to reach my destination. That's an extra one hour!! I didn't exactly know what happened until I heard over the radio on the various road blocks in Klang Valley. It was later in the day, that I was told that it could be due to Anwar's court case. Haiya..... I don't read much papers nowadays, how to know about the case?

Well, as if that is not enough, I have to face the fear of that MRR2 flyover as I went under it to go to Kepong. Some stupid cracks and problems. This one makes me lagi geram... RM70 million spent for repairs also not enough (RM70 million wei, not RM700 thousand or RM7 million). I need money to repair the hairline crack in my house leh, that also apparently caused by some development taking place near my place.

As I come closer to the flyover, I have to try to drive faster to past the place as quickly as possible. You never know what can happened. Accidents happened all the time. Nobody expected a bus that plunged down the ravine near Genting a few months back and killed a few people. Nobody expected the horror accident recently at the Cheras-Kajang road. Nobody expected another horrific accident at Puchong where one person was killed. Then, there's the incident of the monorail accident where some metal stuff dropped on one person's car and injured that person. Haiya!!

And then, reading about Halcrow not advising on the usage of some materials and blah blah blah... really bo-lat already....

As I was already late, I quickly tapao one cha-siew pao and ate hurriedly while walking up 3 flights of stairs to the training hall. As I was waiting for my pao, I saw and kept thinking of one old lady with a bad limp that went around begging for money at the hawker stalls. If only 0.01% of that RM70 million was allocated for a person like her. That money, could have help feed her basic meal for one full year..