Indulgence

It's not sushi, it's not white chocolate or any pricey food. It takes just two pieces of nyonya kueh to satisfy my munching urge.

Savouring these in front of our 32" (yes, only 32" for the time being, the movie still is the same) TV felt like heaven.  So easy and cheap to keep this Mom contented.

Cleaning woes are gone

Phew! My saviour has finally emerged. A short and plump lady but with seemingly strong hands from Indonesia.

With her around, my stress has been greatly reduced. Looking at the toilet, cooker hood which by now is coated with a stubborn layer of grease and the unironed clothes does not give me headache anymore.

Our house is sparkling clean and spotless at most corners which used to be covered with dust.  Gone were the browned corners of toilet tiles, the brown rings in the toilet bowls, greasy cooker hood and stained basins, dusty shelves, windows and grills.  No more complaints except that to fork out some money to enjoy a stress-free life.  The money is worth the stressless moments considering that I only see her twice a week, the most.  It's not the same having a stranger at home.

Mom gets stung everywhere she goes

I get stung wherever I go, at home.  By the blood sucking creatures.

In the living room whilst I am watching television. In the study room while I am surfing or at my PC.  I'm not even spared when I shower in my bathroom. Yes! there are mosquitoes even in my bathroom. While washing the dishes or cooking in the kitchen, I get stung too.  At the car porch, they stalk me while I hang or collect the clothes.

So, what's the solution? I seldom get bitten by these blood suckers in my bedroom ever since I have the electronic mosquito repellant.  Once in a while, I spot one or two in my room. But somehow, they don't really bother me.  So, the repellant works, in a way.

I used to dab a little repellant cream on my leg and hand while watching TV. During the daytime, I despise any stickiness on my hands or legs. Moreover, applying anything on the hands when I need to cook is definitely not a hygienic thing to do. So, I'm kind of vulnerable to these creatures during the daytime.  

Now, lately I resort to this Antimos mosquito repellant which seems to work. I've been using this for the past one week.  It's tidy and handy.  I take it almost wherever I go except to the kitchen and bathroom.  I may have to get more of these repellants as the only one I have is given to me by my sister.

At the point of blogging this, there are already a few red swollen spots on my legs. 

Mom chose Thai food at Flying Chillies

To celebrate Mom's birthday, this time Thai food was the choice.  Mindful that we had to order some food which suit the kids especially Wyng, we ended with quite a tableful.  Two dishes to satisfy Wyng, pandan chicken and the fish cake, but he only took the Pandan chicken and scrambled egg (not pictured).

After this sour and spicy Thai meal, Daddy and Mom sort of decided we won't be having tomyam soup for our meals anymore. It's too sour for our stomach to take. Moreover, with the serving here, we practically got drowned with the soup.  Hoe, for one, couldn't take too much, just about half a bowl.

The restaurant was at Mid-Valley's Flying Chillies.  Our rating for the food is probably 6 out of 10. Service is so-so only.  No major complaints about them, not that efficient, as usual, what do you expect of Malaysian customer service?

A must-have Thai dish as appetizer, mango kerabu

Spicy and sour, tom yam seafood soup

Pandan chicken, always the smallest portion, was walloped in no time.

The family's favourite, pandan chicken

Fish cake, kind of  a 'let-down'

Sweet and sour fish

If only we could have a bigger and meatier fish.

What does their grandma do?

What their grandma does:
a. washes her grandkids' school shoes, school uniform, lunch containers and tumblers
b. buys fresh fish from the market for me to cook for the kids
c. alerts me if I should send or pick the kids on time for tuition
d. smuggling Wyng's favourite candies into the house (knowing fully well that Mom doesn't approve to this)
e. cooking my kids' favourite dish
f. wakes the kids up in the morning
g. buys dumplings or biscuits from the wet market for the kids as breakfast

Her enthusiasm to attend concerts or performances put up by her grandkids is comparable to that of mothers of the kids.  And over the years, she has the opportunity to see so many performances. So blessed is her!

Except for task (a) which I don't do due to my eczematic skin condition, Mom is not shrugging her responsibilities. She never fails in her parental role. Just that Grandma dotes on her grandkids too much that she does more than required of her.  She also worries about them just like how Mom does. In fact, she is a worrier, now I know who I take after!  Perhaps, this trait of hers explains her wizened appearance but mind you, she's a bull when it comes to accomplishing home chores.

Grandma's birthday two years ago

On top of the above, grandma does break some rules. She keeps mum when Wyng doesn't finish his plate of meals.  Worse still, she collaborated with Hoe and hid from me the fact that he was playing computer games on unearthly hours of the day.

So, I'm not surprised that the kids miss their Grandma when she doesn't spend the nights at our home.  Hoe once said,'You must live long, Ah Poh!'

Help me with my smart phone!

What era are we in? An era of touch...I mean touch phone or rather smart phone as far as communicative device is concerned.

My HTC Wildfire S with its 'non-original' case

HTC Wildfire S

This unit was the only one left in the store. I love the pink!

I have finally gotten myself a smart to keep up with the Joneses, that is after much ding dong. With the perception that a touch phone is not going to give me any hard time, I went hunting for one.  Nobody who is 'in-touch' with technology should be opting for anything less than a smart phone. However, being more cost-conscious now, I am not willing to part with anything near 2gran just to get the 'made for human' Samsung SIII phones, I am willing to settle for less hi-tech phones.  IPhone is definitely a big NO for me. As what Hoe said, it's not for people like me who seldom FB (Facebook). He's right, I am no big fan of IPhone.

So, my next logical choice is a Nokia, I am soooooo loyal to my old E71 (by the way, my loyalty WAS not questionable as all my previous phones were Nokia phones) which is starting to give me problems after 3+ years of faithful service to me. Lumia is what I was eyeing for,being a smart phone.  I even walked into a Nokia store, tested a few Lumia's but unfortunately Nokia salesmen weren't aggressive enough.  Otherwise, a Lumia should already be in my possession.

The sales went to HTC instead.  To cut the long story short, after some persuasion but not really hard sales, an HTC Wild Fire S (a 2010 model) sale was closed.  At RM699, I want to believe that it is a value buy.  AFTER paying for the phone and after a few enquiries of the price from other stores, it is confirmed that I did get a good bargain.

To cut another story short again, my HTC phone isn't as user-friendly as I would like it to be. Typing SMSes can no longer be done at lightning speed.  The keypad is too small for my fingers making composition of each message become more of a cautious task rather than an effortless one.  Frustration and stress are now part of sending messages.  I can never composed a zero-error SMS, not to mention a speedy one. Shuts! So, I have countless messages ending up as Drafts. And to go through the list of messages in the draft folder needs tonnes of patience as the latest draft will appear on the top of the list, whereas the phone always takes me to the bottom of the list ie the oldest draft. 

Calling someone is not a breeze anymore. Instead of selecting the person to call from Contacts easily, sigh.... some adjustments are really needed, a whole long list of contacts with any common first or second alphabet or number will appear. 

Having said all the above, my worst problem is still on texting.  I am even contemplating buying a new keypad phone to replace my smart phone!  Talking about being hi-tech....

Should I worry about my PID?

Do I have to be needlessly worried when my gynae gave me a clean bill of health?

Perhaps not. I should have full confidence in him, a gynae specialising in oncology.  Afterall, he was highly recommended to me by my ex-colleague who had her cancerous breasts and womb removed by him.

True enough, he is a very experienced gynae.  After seeing him and his diagnosis, I am more relieved.  

In 2007, this Dr Wong diagnosed me with PID which stands for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Check this web for more information on what's PID.  Never would I imagine myself contracting this disease with all the discomfort felt on the right side of my hip.  They were just dull but lingering pain which lasted for a few days, came and was gone.  As I was posting this, I had not had this pain for the past few days. Only sporadically.  In fact, I had gone to see a female gynae before going for a second opinion with this Dr Wong.  As I wasn't very comfortable with this female gynae's advice of going back for a follow-up 3 months later, I proceeded to get a confirmation from Dr Wong on this PID issue and another problem.

Just as what he had previously advised me 5 years ago, there is nothing I should worry about as I still have my normal menstrual cycle and that the dull pain isn't bothering me.  His last words before I left the clinic was if I am still worried I could follow up again after 6 months although he had initially told me to see him again a year later.

You look gothic!

Just because I put on my eye-liner, nude lipstick and blusher does not make me look gothic! But, that comment came from Hoe when he looked at me wide-eyed for a good few seconds, at least 10, I think.  I wasn't sure whether I should feel flattered or not!

Having a nude face most of the time except for the occasional lipstick during weekend shopping spree for the past few years invited that kind of remark from my observant son.  I wasn't even completely dolled-up.  And when I showed them my recent studio photos where I was all made-up and dressed to the nines, they drew 'yerrr'  (not equivalent to 'Yes', more of 'dislikes') and sarcastic giggles from them.

I just wished they could be fairer to me and give me a sincere compliment.  Those photos were the masterpiece of professional hands and touch-up as well. Can't be that bad, especially when Mom could still make some heads turn, err...maybe a decade ago.  Now? Not sure, daren't find out.

Mom needs help!

I've procrastinated getting an extra hand to help me with my....house chores..of course. What don't we procrastinate, by the way? Not because I'm trying to be a super woman. Probably, I can handle some house chores along with my home business.  And, I have a pair of teen hands to help out on Sunday (yes, only on Sunday) which means I am left with other endless house chores to cope with.  Oh! I should not forget my Mom (my sisters will kill me for being ungrateful) who helps me with the washing and cooking for dinner so that I have less things to worry.  At least, the kids have home-cooked food on the table for dinner.

After more than 2 years of staying in this bigger house of mine, I am calling it quits! Enough of rushing  frantically on a day when everyone is supposed to be relaxing or slowing down their pace or going to church.  It's one chore after another.  And by the end of the fourth chore, I'm drained!  When I am drained, other things go chaotic (a different story perhaps on this..).  Working from home doesn't mean I have to work 7/24.  I need a deserved break too.  

With my eczematic condition, the more I should be staying away from 'wet' house chores.  Anyway, it's a mountainous task maintaining a clean and reasonably tidy and presentable house with only so few hands willing to chip in some energy.  Thinking that it's easy to get help, I have asked my neighbour to give me the contact of her existing part-time domestic help.  To my surprise, she's fully booked and can't accept more jobs.  What!

There are dozens of cleaning services companies out there I can choose from, actually. But, no way, with news of cases of burglary or what not. No way am I going to let total strangers, especially those without any recommendation, to stay in my house for at least 4 hours.  So, I have to rely on recommendation from people I know.

There's another contact which I can call.  I've gotten hold of the number for about at least 2 weeks now. Too busy to call, I suppose.  Sigh... procrastinating again. My hands can't wait. 

No home-cooked lunch

It went on for one week since last week.  Pity my kids, have to make do with tapau-ed (packed home) lunches.

Not because Mom is lazy or an aftermath of the drought. It's just my hands playing tricks on me again.  In order not to aggravate the condition, I've decided to stay water-free with my right hand and stayed away from the kitchen basin as much as I can.  

Hoe is not complaining at all as he walloped anything to satisfy his hunger pangs.  Wyng, though he isn't really whining but from the speed he gobbles his food, I can tell he still prefers Mom's soup for his meals.

My eczema skin condition doesn't get any better, not that I expect it to.  It's been a while since I get this dry cracking of my skin.  But, this was the worst of all.  I've never had such deep crack before and it lasted for about two weeks.  Such discomfort whenever I contact with water.

I am encountering problem uploading my photos on Blogger.com.  The only picture I managed to upload was the one below which was taken about more than a week after my skin started to itch and dry again. There was no crack yet then.  I will upload a picture of an aggravated condition.

Apart from my fingers, the palm was not spared. Notice the red buldging rashes on the palm.

A week later...It's so bad that it began to crack,  deeper and it had spread to the adjacent pointer as well

Reliving the tradition

This was posted on 18 September 2008 in my previous blog.  Here is a reposting.

With the presence of the grandparents, the tradition of gathering for a dinner during mid-Autumn festival (or commonly called Moon Cake Festival) is still alive. What about when they are not around? I'd like to continue with the culture of eating mooncakes and having the kids playing lanterns. For the story of how this festival comes about, go to story of 'Woman Of the Moon'.

I still remember when I was young, our family used to have a mooncake party at the car porch after dinner. Delicacies such as the must-have moon cakes (during the day, moon cakes are shunned by everyone due to the overfeeding of this cakes prior to this auspicious day), pomelo, ground nuts, fruits, 'bulls' horns' (can anyone tell me what's the name for this food?), jelly, and chinese yam are generously placed on a table for everyone in the family to savour.

We invited our neighbours to join us and they too had their own table full of food, we basically exchanged food. We didn't tire of telling stories of the moon (concocted by us just for fun).

This tradition has since stopped since the departure of my father. I wish to relive this sometime in the future.

I can't believe Mom is sewing

It's eye-straining, it's finger-pricking. Something I don't enjoy doing now at my age. I can't even thread the needle as easily as how I used to do it 5 years ago. I'd rather leave this mountaineous task (I mean just the needle threading part, to Hoe).  It's not about saving a few ringgit to get his pants altered just because it's too long.  It's about convenience at the right time.  This is always required urgently on weekends when the next day is a school day. Somehow, holes always must be mended on weekends and not earlier.  So, it leaves Mom with no choice but to fulfill this motherly responsibility. If I have a choice, I'd rather have a heart-to-heart conversation or a revision session with the kids than doing this sewing stuff. It's best left to the expert who can just do this in the blink of an eye, effortlessly.

How do you celebrate Mother's Day?

As usual, we have an early celebration as with most of our festive celebrations just to avoid the enthusiastic crowd.  We went out on Saturday night. This time, we tried western food, at Mom's consent, for a change from our frequent eastern savour.

We headed for TGIF, since this restaurant was not so packed then but still there was a short queue outside the restaurant.  We were second in line and only had to wait for a couple of minutes before being seated.

After ordering for each of us, the waiter recommended something that we have never tried before, or rather Mom would never dreamt she would eat this as an appetizer.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Quesadillas

As it turned out, the appetizer is good. Hoe had two pieces and after this, we were already almost half full.

Wyng's Kid's meal which came free with an order of a main course

Wyng, being an unadventurous eater, opted for his safe spaghetti. Emmm, it tasted good, though, different from those that we eat at Pizza Hut.

Sizzling chicken and shrimp

When the sizzling chicken and shrimp was served in front of me, the slimy whitish stuff immediately caught Mom's attention. At that instant, I knew I ordered the wrong dish. The cheesy stuff was so pungent. I thought of Hoe who would love this dish. Needless to say, I swapped with his Californian chicken.

Salmon for the healthy eater,Dad

Always the healthiest eater (most of the time, when we eat out), Dad opted for salmon.

Californian barbeque chicken

This chicken eventually landed in front of Mom and not just fed me but also almost all of us. The portion is exceptionally big and all of us could actually savour a sizeable portion of it.

Verdict, a different kind of meal for this family celebration and about RM200 lighter for Dad's pocket.

So, what's Mom complaining about having such sumptous meal for her day?

On Mother's Day itself, which also fell during exam season, Hoe was assured that he would be exempted from doing his weekend house chore of vacuuming and mopping the floor.  The substitute was none other that the 'woman' of the day, talking about Mother's Day.

As I went about taking over the cleaning house chore, I couldn't stop but whining and mumbling about a very unique way of celebrating this auspicious day.  I had to complete more housework than my normal weekend.  After taking care of the floor, ironing comes next.  And also my normal laundry.  By evening, Mom was dead tired.

What a day!

Do you feel guilty if you don't cook for your kids?

I do, especially when the reason for not cooking is not due to my busy schedule.  I only cook lunch for my kids as dinner is taken care of by my Mom.  She's already going to be in her 80's but she insists on fulfilling this noble duty of providing food for her grandchildren, my children, while she is still able.

In order not to feel guilty, I cook for them, even just a simple fried egg meal.  It's is still a home-cooked meal, much better compared to those MSG-laden food.  After each round of cooking, I feel great that I have once again, fulfilled my role as a mother.  What is my role, as a mother, if I don't cook when I can? With my flexible schedule, it would be lame to say 'not having time' as the reason for not cooking.

My satisfaction is even higher if I can cook up my own recipe for the kids.  Nothing is more fulfilling when the kids give me a thumbs up for a yummy meal.  That makes my day and motivates me to be more creative in terms of cooking up some new recipes for them.  It's all about passion, not so much of experience.  Cooking for a picky kid like Wyng is a challenge.  If and when he likes and finishes Mom's food real fast, it's worth the time spent in the kitchen, Mom deduces.  Mom cannot afford to be lazy since Wyng is still in his active growing stage.

Despite sticking to my obligation, I allow myself to take time off from cooking only one day on weekdays and during weekends.  My Saturday is packed from 10am to 5pm, so cooking if definitely not possible.  As for Sundays when we go out most of the time, if I ever cook, it will be just simple snacks since we normally have late breakfast.

Lesson learned from cooking for my kids: At the end of the day, the feeling of having done my part as a nutrition provider surpasses everything else.  I will feel bad not cooking when I can.  No other feelings is worse than this.  At least I can tell my kids in future when they've grown up, "I am a good mother who cooked for you."

Mom contributes to potluck for the first time

Onion (10 cloves) chopped finely

Garlic (8 cloves) chopped finely

Marinate with the seasoning sauce,onion and garlic overnight

Bake in oven for about 35-40 minutes

Mom's oven baked chicken for the party



I like this dish because it is simple enough to bake and it doesn't need a lot of ingredients.  Lots of onion and garlic, that's all that are needed for the flavour.

I have to thank my electric oven for this oven-baked chicken.  As I'm not a pro in the kitchen, I hate grease as time is the last thing I want to part with to clean my kitchen from the grease.  When my sisters suggested a potluck and each sister was to contribute at least a dish, I was glad at least I had something to contribute that time.  I've learnt up this dish so no more tapau-ing (packing) of outside food.  It was not the best chicken but Mom was filled with contentment as the chicken emitted pungent aroma (from the onion) and browned in the oven.

By the way, I don't follow the exact recipe given.  For the seasoning, I have used at least a third of a small bottle of soy sauce, 8 tablespoons of honey and a little bit of sugar (optional if you are health-conscious). I used a little too much of the soy sauce so that the chicken would not be too dry.

Voila! I cooked up two casseroles of chicken.  The feedback was good and not bad for a first-timer like me.  Ha...Ha.. at least my food can be served at parties..not just for my kids. 

Simple chicken recipe for busy Moms

I tried cooking this simple oven baked chicken recipe for lunch. Instead of marinating for 1 hour, I marinated them overnight and I've added more spoonfuls of honey for sweeter flavour. I've also omitted ginger since I couldn't find any in the kitchen.  It still tastes good.

It's so fuss-free, you don't have to worry if the chicken overcooked, too much of oil or smoke and grease everywhere in your spotless kitchen. And because my kids love gravy to go with their rice, I've concocted my own gravy.  The potatoes and carrots are used as these are the only types of food that Wyng like and has no complaints about.

Water (quantity is up to your preference), oyster sauce, a little soy sauce are all I used. Just stir all these in a pan until it boils. Add the cut potatoes and carrots and simmer for at least 20 minutes or longer if you prefer your potatoes and carrots to be softer.

Wyng gave me a rating of 8 whereas Hoe said it's good for a first-timer. I'm satisfied with my performance.  Not of chef standard but the kids love this nutritious and simple home-cooked chicken dish.

Pests, pests, go away and never come back

What do you think this looks like?

Not an air freshener.Certainly not a special-purpose power point as no wires are visible.  Is it some kind of hi-tech sensor?

Something I never knew existed until we went hunting for something to ward off mosquitoes from our home. Mosquitoes are found in 'abundance' in our home.  Unfortunately, they mostly prey on me, not my other half.  They love my 'sweet' blood, it seems.   Once in a while, my kids fall victims to them and my Mom too.

They attack me when I'm washing dishes in the kitchen, when I'm hanging the laundry at the car porch and of course in the study room and bedroom.  I can even find them in the toilet while taking my shower.  My most torturous moments with them are when I am enjoying watching television in the living room.

This repellent here is the second one that we bought. The first one is one of those that come with a UV light.  It is supposed to chase away mosquitoes instead of the UV light ones which attract the pests before killing them.  Equipped with a buzzing sound (only audible to mosquitoes), it will only be effective after being turned on for 1 month, it seems and works the best for rooms with area of something like 2,000 square feet.

Nothing seems to be different in the first few weeks.  I still find mosquitoes in my room. However, they do not seem to 'bite' me. After having this in my room for a few months now, (I still find one or two of these creatures flying in my room), I can say that the mosquitoes seem to be made 'less active' that I don't get attacks from them.

What will the dragon year bring?

 

I am not really a staunch believer of feng shui but I do read feng shui masters' predictions especially for any new year. Call it curiosity, maybe, or just to see if the predictions are accurate. 

So,what's in store for this year of water dragon?  A feng shui queen predicts that it will be a good year for 'oxen' and not-so-good year for 'dogs' and 'dragons'.  Whatever are the predictions are not significant as I am seldom influenced by them. 

Happy Chinese New Year and May this year brings lots of joy and health to you.

Looking to buy a digital dictionary

I used to object buying a digital dictionary for my kid with the reason that the dictionary may not provide an accurate word for different situations.  I could be too cost-conscious then or anti-gadget in terms of providing a tool to aid Hoe when he was a young.

Well, somehow my perception changes.  After being in the education field for a few years, I notice almost 100% of kids from the national type school owns a digital dictionary.  I also realise that at primary level, this kind of dictionary is a very handy tool to help students improve their vocabulary of other languages, Malay and English.  Of course, the traditional book dictionary undoubtedly still serves its purpose. But, in terms of popularity, speed and convenience, the digital gadget certainly is more superior.

Unless my understanding is incorrect, the conventional dictionary uses 'bu sou' (root word) to search for a chinese character.  When I was learning how to use Mandarin to sms, I got to know that hanyi pinyin is used.  So, for a digital gadget, I believe hanyi pinyin is to be used to search for a word.

I think using hanyi pinyin is an easier way than using the former.  What if the student does not know the 'bu sou'? Most of the time, they know how to pronounce or say the word but do not know the stroke of the chinese character.

Recognising this plus-point, I am now open to buying one for Wyng.  I just don't want him to be lazy or give up when he encounter certain characters which he doesn't understand or when he needs to construct sentences but does not know how to write them.  On top of that, Mom can also make use of the digital dictionary for use in her teaching.

Perhaps, if a second-hand one is available for a reasonable price, Mom will definitely not think twice to buy.

The advantage of staying in a condo

Just when I thought we could have interruption-free surfing, we were plagued with another technical-related problem with our internet again.  All of a sudden, on a clear morning, when I did not expect anything wrong after just less than a week when my technical woes were solved, my internet seemed to go dead.  Clicking the internet connection icon on my desktop, I was quite perplexed with the 'no connection' message.

Upon further clicking, the troubleshooting said 'an ethernet was unplugged'.  Who unplugged when I was only on the net the night before?  Nobody touched it over the night.  Nothing was unplugged from the computer, further investigation revealed.  Hoe checked that the modem was 'dead'. There was not any light indicator.  So, what was the problem when the modem was only a few days old? 

The IT doctor reckoned it could be that the wiring or cabling or some kind of hardware connection malfunction.  I never had this problem in our more than 10-year-stay in a condo.  So, this time the culprit was lightnight surge on the adapter.

After more than 10 years of complaining about staying in a bird's cage, now I learn the benefit of it. It doesn't give problems to internet users.