The Beauty of Life

Bye Bye... I am Moving!

2011-05-10T23:41:00.004+08:00

DEAR READERS, I HAVE MOVED
Due to some changes, I have decided to move this blog. Thank you all for reading.
For future post,
Please refer to http://mapetitp.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU ALL.

Arghhh.... My baby say NO to me!

2011-04-21T16:08:00.005+08:00

Today, am going to blog about the little word "NO". I have been hearing and experiencing a lot of NOs daily these days. Well, my little one has started to reject and say no to me for a long time already, but recently she has been refusing a lot of things to almost everyone she knows!

First of all, I am glad since the day she knows how to reject food, meaning using her tongue to push out the teats of the bottle and reject her milk. It is a sign of showing, I am growing up and I know what I want now. While this is good for her emotional development; it is also frustrating for me at the same time.

Well I have to come to the terms that she knows more than I thought and she is an individual who can say no if she does not like it. But she is still young and does not understand what is good or bad for her yet, so now it is my job to make her co-operate with me. I have come out with a few ways to make her willingly give in.

Distraction- I will ask her to sit down properly and watch her fav. show, while eating.
Bargaining- I will give her a cookie if she picks up her toys and place it properly in the bin.
Be creative- I will ask her to do role play with me while I do the chores at home. (eg. Like you are watering the plants like mommy.)
Changing the subject- When I ask her to go to sleep and she stills want to read her books, I will play Pee-ka-boo for a while and turn off the lights... and proceed to tune into sleep mode.)

I have found out that there is no use of shouting and scolding her at all, because she is just merely expressing her dislikes and it got worse by shouting at her. By using the above techniques, I get her to give in willingly without tears and shouting "NO".

Paper Cups

2011-04-18T13:31:00.001+08:00

First of all I hate junk food. BUT ocassionally on Sundays, we would go for breakfast at McDonalds. Why maybe because my lil' one loves the place. Well besides the point, I am actually goin to blog about paper cups.

As you can see here I have been going to McD for a while and I really hate the idea of my hot coffee being poured into a paper cup.

So, I brought my own mug instead! The picture here shows that my cuppa coffee was poured into my glass mug so I do not also drink in the Wax coating inside of the paper cup that McD is offering. After drinking, I can refill again into this mug of mine or I can just wipe it and bring home to clean it later. :)

New Bamboo Car Seat

2011-04-17T09:18:00.000+08:00

I have never seen this before, but my mum was telling me that I used to sit on one of these like almost 30 years ago. Here you can see what this car seat look like, and I know you can say that huh, this is not safe baby can easily climb out from there! Yeah yeah... but for my mum or you could say, old grandma prefer this. I positioned it on the back centre of the car; but my mum was telling me usually they positioned it at the front seat!??! OMG! I would just say one has to drive slowly and only for a short distance if they were to place a child in here.

Here you can see how my baby sit in it! She kind of love it as she stay still and does not move around. her legs are not hanging out but actually stepping on the seat. I guess older baby like her can fit into this car seat but definately not for a newborn!

Reading and Bonding

2011-04-16T13:57:00.000+08:00

It is a surprise for my hubby and me that our lil'bean loves books a lot. Every now and then she will entertain herself by looking and pointing at the pictures in a book and try to read out loud. Well hopefully she will keep this habit forever! LOL...

Here she is showing her daddy which is her favourite animals and daddy is trying to ask her to pick out the correct animal when he named the animal!

I have already started to read a book to her every night before she sleeps since when she was 18 months old. Surprisingly, she loves it a lot and insists on me reading more and more books before she goes to sleep at night. Well I try to limit it to one, but guess she prefer more or else she will protests and refuse to sleep. I do not know it is a good behaviour or not; but nonetheless I let her choose her own book and read to her till she is satisfied then she will goes to sleep.

The whole idea of this reading time is that both baby and I get to sit down together and share a special moment. This kind of bonding makes her feel happy and loved. It does not matter if I repeat the same old book everyday though! She increases her vocab and language skills as well through the reading moments.

Once someone told me that it is not the content of the book that the baby understands at this young age, but the voice of a parent reading and the sense of security that a parent give does make a difference through this practice! So, I would strongly suggests to all parents if you can spare some time just read for at least a minute or two to your child, they will really appreciate it.

Party Balloons

2011-04-15T23:19:00.000+08:00

My lil' bean loves balloons... maybe because during her first B'day I had all these colourful balloons hanging on the ceiling and since then, she loves them lots! Well, we bring her to a lil' boy one year old Birthday party and well they have a clown to entertain the kids! Lots of fun there, so being a clown he had these little tricks of making cute animal balloons, and well my lil' bean will not miss this out and ask for a green poodle there on the left......... then hmmm, after a few moments of her grabbing and all, it kinda come off a little, so we went and ask for another one.

Come on......... there are lotsa kids and the queue is really long, finally I manage to politely asking for another one for her, and this time it is a pink bear!

The clown was indeed a professional and he really manage to put a smile on all the children faces. A wonderful job indeed, and as for the clown himself, he told us he started this ballooning since he was 13! Since then he has been practicing till now and it is a wonder to even watch him blowing and making all these cute balloons!

My baby still clings on those balloons all the way till we got back home! It shows how much she loves it.....LOL

Chinese Beef Stew

2011-04-14T00:39:00.000+08:00

I have cooked beef stew for so many times before but this time i want to try something different. I have the basic beef stew recipe in my mind but I want to give it a new twist. So Instead of the normal sirloin beef that I use, this time I tried using the Beef muscle part, whereby in Taiwanese style always love using the muscle part as it has a chewy feel and the jelly part is really delicious too.

Also the other thing that I add in this stew is the radish. Normally carrots will do but I want to try using radish and drop the tomatoes for a while. last but not least it is an amazing dish but the one thing is that it takes longer hours to cook as the muscle part really took some time to cook well. I did not add tomato sauce at all just chicken stock and a good red wine. We all really love this dish! It goes well with the pasta! Yum!

Spinach Ravioli

2011-04-12T00:26:00.001+08:00

Yummy Ravioli.......... it was a long long time since I had Ravioli. The last I had it was in Paris, when I manage to buy some fresh ones in the market there and cook it for dinner. While here back in my hometown, it is impossible to get fresh ones, packed ones are possible if I am lucky! So indeed, I manage to saw some in the grocery store and without hesitation I just bought a packet of Spinach Ravioli!

Here I create my own version of pork sauce to go with the ravioli, and it's a blast! We all love it and well, I will definately cook this again!

I scream Ice cream!

2011-04-11T00:17:00.000+08:00

Why I make ice cream when I can easily buy them? Oooo the answer is easy, because I have an Ice-Cream maker at home. Oh it was a lovely present my hubby bought for me for my birthday. He knows I love Ice-cream... and had been dreaming of making it... hmmm! So I have an excuse to make them at home. LOL.

Above here are some pictures on how to make Ice-cream. Well it is my first time making it, I have no clue at all what I am doing and am surprise on what I get it out in the end. (Just relying on a manual and a recipe book!) Well, some tips may be from the tv shows and that's all! So in the end here's how my Rum&Raisins Ice Cream look like!

Nice huh? I add some peaches to go with the ice-cream.......... really blow me away! Sorry my lil' bean is not allow to try this at all......... sweeeeeettt dessert!

Salty Poultry

2011-04-10T23:54:00.000+08:00

My first attempt here to cook whole chicken in a wok. My recipe was indeed the Salty Chicken recipe.... (Yim Kok Kai) in cantonese. I wrap the whole chick in a paper bag and use the salt to steam it. Well the chick turn out well, and I manage to de-bone it as you can see it here.

The taste is not so salty as I reduce the salt and add more rice wine on it. Last time I boil the whole chick but this time I tried a different style, not bad huh... my culinary skills are improving... hahhah LOL!

Dine at home...

2011-04-08T23:33:00.004+08:00

With my new lovely kitchen, there is no reason not to cook at home. These are some of the dishes I cooked for the night. Hubby loves it and baby loves the crispy garlic bread... oooo the sides only, she does not like garlic anyway...... LOL.

Books + New Words

2011-03-29T00:41:00.003+08:00

Have been reading to my little one every night before she sleeps now; and she keeps reminding me about it before her last bottle feeding.... LOL.
Well, I manage to test her on the other day; whether she will recognize the specific book that I mentioned to her; and to my surprise she manage to pick out the specific title book for me to read to her. This really shocked me as I thought she just want me to read a book and does not really understand the story in it, but well I guess I am wrong about it.
Later, I went to shop more book for her as there is a sale in the bookstore. I went to the bookstore with my little one and she was very excited when she enters the store and wanted to touch and flip all the books she can grab on to. I am glad that she loves book, really hope that she will always remain this love forever.

After going to the bookstore, we continued to go shopping. Some new words that I heard she saying was like....
1. Oh Nice!
2. Thank You.
3. Please
4. Eyes
5. Nose
6. Mouth
7. Ears
8. Hair
9. Head
10. Cheek
11. Foot
12. Hands
13. Legs
14. Come
15. Go

She's the joy of my life right now, guess no one can make me laugh so much these days except her.

Poultry on the plate.

2011-03-25T23:24:00.001+08:00

My yummy Ginger Chicken Stew with Brocolli, one of the dishes for the night; just another comfort food for my family. A dash of Shao Xing Wine just perfect for the taste and smell too.

Fun to make - Oatmeal cookies

2011-03-24T09:30:00.001+08:00

Why I love making these cookies?

Because my little one love these very much and it is the only making her eating and digesting oat and blackcurrants!

Every now and then I have these little cookies at home. I did made some for my family members as a Xmas gift last year and also I made these for the Chinese New Year too. Everyone loves it, as it is healthy and I put less sugar so not so sweet as well.

The flour I use is Wheat flour so it is healthier for both adults and kids.

I just love making them and it is easy to make too.

I follow the recipes from these two sites in the net; of course I reduce the sugar and replace the raisins with blackcurrants.

Oatmeal Cookies Recipe & Video - Joyofbaking.com *Tested Recipe*

Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies Recipe Simply Recipes

You can have a go too! Enjoy baking!

Oysters Oh Oh Oysters

2011-03-22T00:09:00.000+08:00

Oysters and Tofu........ yummy. I happen to have some fresh oysters left behind, because it has been around for quite sometime and I guess it is not so fresh after hiding in the freezer for more than a week, so I decided to cook it and eat rather than just some lemon and tabacos sauce.

This is quite a simple dish but it needs a few preparations before hand.
1. Wash the fresh oysters with some water and lemon juice.
2. Boil the oysters in the water for about 4-5 mins.
3. Cut the half cooked oysters in half. (bite size)
4. Diced the tofu.
5. Chopped some garlic and spring onions.
6. Prepare the sauce - Oyster sauce + Sesame oil
7. With a wok- fry the garlic with some oil.
8. Add in the oysters + sauces.
9. Add in the tofu then the spring onion.
10. Viola - done!

Now enjoy these wonderful oysters and tofu dish!

Kusudama project

2011-03-20T08:38:00.000+08:00

I have been doing some research on flower folding techniques and I found out about this Kusudama Flower ball which caught my attention. So I decided to give it a go myself by following the tutorial instructions, well not bad indeed right? The picture above shows only one flower with a combination of 5 petals. Ah Yes... this is a Sakura (Cherry Blossom flower).

Here the picture shows half of the flower ball, which has a total of 6 flowers. So if you want to create a flower ball it has to be a total of 12 flowers. Interesting huh! I use some origami folding paper and some recycle paper for this project. So now you can reuse your recycle paper for a decorative idea. Hurray for going GREEN!

If you would like to know how to fold this go check out the tutorial in this website:

Folding Trees » Kusudama Tutorial part 1
Happy Folding!

A Disaster

2011-03-18T10:08:00.003+08:00

The Earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan recently made me think a lot about our own fate in future. I know how it feel like when the earth beneath you shake profusely non-stop (which I experience before). It is uncontrollable, unpredictable and nothing you can do. We are lucky here in Malaysia that we do not have disaster like earthquake only bad floods and hot sunshine throughout the year.
I am thankful to god that I am here rather than in elsewhere where disaster often strikes. What made me think of lately is that, I am thankful that I am near my family, so whatever happens we are near and close to each other. What matters most these days are that my loves ones are beside me so if anything really happened, we are not far from reach.
Sad to say that many people that I know are far from their family because of career and living ideology. They choose to be far away........ most elder people I know of are left behind by their kids. Partly because of a better living in another part of the world or a better choice of career opportunity in other places.
No matter how far they are, home is always home and this is a fact they could not be change. If there is a choice, I believe all parents would love to have their children beside them.

Sweet Potato - My comfort food diary

2011-03-10T23:58:00.000+08:00

Whenever I have a feeling that a flu is coming down on me....... oh this Sweet Potato soup dessert will come into my mind. This is one of my comfort food, simple, nourishing, easy to cook and eat.

Simply boil the sweet potatoes with enough water, include some red dates, ginger, some Pandan leaves, and some brown sugar to taste. Good comfort food for me!

More surprises...

2011-03-01T23:52:00.002+08:00

My little one has so far adapt to her new home quite well. She loves her bedroom so far and I have already started to let her sleep alone in her room. So far it has been good and now she has gradually use to it and sleep through the night with no more cries and tears. Phew!

These days I am setting new routine for her to get use to it, that is reading her a story before she goes to bed. Hope she will get use to it soon.

Now she still prefer her bottle rather than solid foods, so this is actually a problem that I need to solve before she turns 18 months. No matter how I try she still insists on her bottle. Will try my best to make her not to become so picky on her food.

New Dress

2011-02-28T23:48:00.000+08:00

This dress was made for Chinese New Year 2011. I tried to find some nice ones in the market but could not find anything that I like. So I bought this bright red cotton and made a dress for my little one. I even handmade those little cute pink flower on the dress myself! First attempt of mine, not bad right? Isn't she cute! I hope she likes it too..... LOL.

Impressive, Expressive & Suffocating!

2011-02-22T11:41:00.000+08:00

Recently I have watched the movie Burlesque which is a 2010 Golden Globe award winning musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. Well, I have always love Burlesque performances; although I did not watch any live one for real, only the movie. SO anything to do with Burlesque had caught my attention, like Dita Von Teese is still my favorite though. Well, the picture above is quite interesting as it portrays a romantic, sensual yet sexy lady like what an ideal woman should be. Well, guess it is just my interpretation only.
The interesting part is who the illustrator is. He is Vania Zouravliov, I was not familiar with him until now. And I think I kinda have fallen in love with his style of illustration and really wish I could illustrate like that. He really reminds me of Aubrey Vincent Beardsley, an english illustrator whoose works are similar in the style of grotesque , the decadent, and the erotic. Well, Vania's more chilling in the sense as his works have more details.

Don't you just love these images by Vania? Really impressively chilling, yet amazingly beautiful!

New Year, New Place... First-day: Part 1

2011-02-17T18:37:00.004+08:00

It has been a while... I have stopped blogging. Sorry folks, I am not on vacation but am so busy moving house.

Indeed, I have a new place now, so I needed to pack things up and furthermore add to all these packing and moving..... is having to work part-time and also The New Year preparations and house-warming parties. All in all, I have a very busy start in the beginning of the year which also means I have a lot to blog about.

First of all I am wishing everyone a very Happy New Rabbit Year and Gong Xi Fa Chai!
Here I am First day cooking in my new Kitchen.
We had a little praying ceremony after entering the house. After that will be eating, so I had to cook which is supposed to be some of the things you need to do when entering a new place, I guess. Well, we invited some family members to have lunch together. Since it is during the Chinese New Year, I cooked something simple instead of having steamboat again.

Most of our family members are elderly so we had porridge and some other dishes to accompany it. Some vegetables, some roast pork from the market, some noodles made by granny, and some fried eggs; Simple and just nice for everyone.

After the short meal, we had some photo shooting session. We had ask one of our friends to come over and help us shoot some family photos for memory sake. It was a formal one so everyone kinda dress up and the mood was quite serious but well it went well in the end. This ended the first part of our housewarming party. More to come later in the night!!

Fun with water

2010-12-20T19:07:00.000+08:00

I guess all kids just loves water. Here she is playing with water. She dips her hand into the pool of water and play with it. Swirling, splish-splashing, pouncing, whatever she do with it just like experimenting the feel and touch of it and the kind of cooling feeling on her little hands!

Fun time with water is so far her favourite passtime! LOL.

A liking to Power Puffs Girls

2010-12-17T18:33:00.000+08:00

Well, Power Puffs Girls, I have no idea who are they till now, because my lil one loves those cute big eyes. There are 3 little characters which are, Blossoms, Bubbles and Buttercup. Guess which one my little one love most? Of course the green one, Buttercup. Oh you must remember that her one year old birthday cake is also a Buttercup character!

Here she is taking a picture with the Buttercup poster. Sorry my darlin, they do not have any Powerpuffs girls dresses or any garment in your size! Oh what a pity......

The New Generation Gap

2010-11-28T08:14:00.001+08:00

I have been thinking to blog about generation gap for a while now.......
After some readings and thinking this is what I have found so far.

Briefly,

The Builders Generation (1925-1942)
Influence by WWII, Great Depression & major authority figures.

Baby Boomers (1943-1960)
Influence by TV, Rock&Roll, Threat of Nuclear war and Cold War.

Generation X (1961-1981)
Influence by PC, AIDS, Single parent families, multiculturalism & downsizing companies.

Generation Y or Millenials (1982-Present)
Influence by Internet, Globalisation, Sept 11 and environmentalism.

Well, Since I am from the GenX; I will mainly blog about GenY.

Since long ago, people always try to understand what the young ones are thinking rather than the old ones, so naturally, I am interested in the younger generation which is GenY or The Millenials.

Due to my profession, I come across many GenYs and because of that I have always wanted to know more about their behaviour and experiences.

The truth is, there are always exceptional examples who does not follow the stereotypes BUT, mostly often it does.

Well, the world we grow up in is very different now compare to last time. Of course the perceptions and expectations are different too.

GenY does not understand the value of money as everything seems so easy for them. Everything is almost provided for by their parents and need not know how hard it is to earn money on their own. Starbucks' coffee can only be a norm to them than those normal black coffee by the Kopitiam.

Internet, Wi-Fi is normal and gadgets like handphones are a must, come on, during my time, handphone is a luxury and now is just a tool easier for me to communicate. For GenYs handphone is a need not a want and I bet there should be a message texting competition for them as they type sms faster than any other generation with their own text language only they know best. Seriously, there is a big difference!

The pop culture influence and peer pressure is much different now, they tend to work well in a team rather than individually. GenYs hit hard on peer pressure, they go all in groups and seldom alone. Look at the latest boy bands and girls group all in threes or fours or more! More songs feat with each other rather than hit a single song on their own. Is it a trend? The invention of You tube, Facebook, Twitter, Blackberry..... the shout outs and videos are all being felt by everyone, GenYs do not want to be alone, they afraid to be alone and they want everyone to know their every single move.....

Globalization, more understanding of the cultures of the world and inter-race marriage is more possible than last time, which used to be a huge taboo for all cultures.

Due to the single parent agenda, more and more youngsters opt for cohabiting rather than having married to one another, like the famous Brad and Angelina..... why? Well it is no longer a social stigma, unlike 30 years ago. The idea of being responsible to each other is kind of scary to them. There are not much of a commitment and marriage spells trouble for them. It is somewhat economical too on saving rent and utilities bills. The fear of having a divorce too add in to the idea of cohabiting. This idea also contributed to many unmarried mother and lack of population in certain countries.

This spills on to the fact on being environmental-friendly. Less people = Less pollution? More awareness now than ever in GenYs, their quest to save the world is more obvious than before. The global warming the weather changing is more obvious now than in any decades. The doings of us and our forefathers seems rather bad to the environment and they hate us for not being caring to the environment.

In the workforce, generally the GenYs have too much expectations compare to GenXs. They will tend to switch jobs more frequently than any other generations. They need more feedbacks, more encouragement, their mere participation is frequent enough for a reward. Their work ethics are practically different than ours. They prefer a work-life balance, which is life come first before work. They want work to be enjoyable as well as life.

Well I can still go on and on but I guess you guys get the picture. In order to improve myself, I need to understand what GenYs are like generally as more than often we meet them everywhere. To understand meaning to improve and upgrade to the latest trend as in to keep up with them as well. The trend of GenYs are affecting a lot of GenXs, if we do not understand them no one else will.

Fishy fingers anyone?

2010-11-25T10:40:00.000+08:00

Some fresh juicy fish meat cut into bite pieces; add a little salt to season.
Flour: add some seasoning too + some herbs. I add thyme.

Breadcrumbs: Love the Japanese breadcrumds they are the best!

Now you have seen my homemade fish fingers.

Yummy and easy to make, just for you and your family.

Dip fish into the flour mix.
Dip into egg wash.
Dip into the breadcrumbs.
Deep fry in hot oil.
Hurray, it's done!

Walking

2010-11-24T22:02:00.003+08:00

Finally, today she's able to walk on her own properly without any assistance! She's more confident now although she trip over a few times but manage to stand up again and walk..... Hurray!

Personal interpretation of Mexican food

2010-11-23T13:23:00.001+08:00

Well for the first time am eating nacho chips for dinner. Of course these goes well with salsa and cheese dips, but am going to do something different.

Here's my salted pork to go with the chips.

Here's the chicken to go with it. Some ginger and honey to marinate. :P

Finally some tomatoes with french beans......... yum!

Salad of the day

2010-11-22T22:18:00.003+08:00

Honestly, I hate vege when I was little. But when I enter college suddenly I enjoy vege; since then I have been a loyal salad lover. Don't ask me why, I do not understand this myself too!

Alright, here's my personal comfort food. Lotsa salad leaves with onions, smoke salmon and balsamic vinegar. If you want add some tomatoes and olive oil too! Yummy.

Back to homecook again!

2010-11-21T16:11:00.003+08:00

A few dishes of homecook dish for dinner.... Chinese sesame chicken and slice ginger pork with lettuce. I have no time to cook rice as there are only two person eating. So the better choice is to "ta pau" the rice. Easier for me and saves some time for me to concentrate on the main dishes.

I am so tired of eating out as there are no good food outside (unless no choice or too tired to prepare any food) and furthermore it is economical to eat in also more healthy. Will always love homecook food no matter what.

Like I say, am prepare to come back and cook more food..... as my lil'bean is growing up fast now and I can say easier for me to cook at home. :P

Wobble on...

2010-11-11T23:10:00.002+08:00

Who's wobbling about in the house?
My lil' bean of course..... she walks.... er hem... wobbles a few steps on her own and then holding on to a chair then continues her journey by holding on to the wall like a spider man and then start to push things around the house.
She's has started to move all the furniture around the house which of course I forbids her to do so........ then she'll throw her tantrums and start crying out loud! Well I guess this period of crying and getting what she wants by pointing her finger will pass on after a while.
She bosses her grandma around the house.... my god! Wnd she tried the same thing on me which did not succeed; then the only thing she'll do is scream and cry out loud! Only god knows that I did not torture her! Sigh......... well this will be some memories for me and her to look back later on.........

Little milestones to remember....

2010-11-04T18:00:00.004+08:00

My lil bean has started to ...........

24 Sept: Wave goodbye and say bye!

26 Sept: Clap with both hands... Yay!

4 Oct: Clap with rythmn.

10 Oct: Abilty to pronounce a few words (Bear, Bird, Ball)

13 Oct: Walk with one hand holding on.....

18 Oct: Ability to pronounce (Duck, Dog)

30 Oct: Walk a few steps o her own.... trying hard!

Walking on...

2010-10-17T14:54:00.004+08:00

Mama: You still want to go round the house again?
Baby: I want go garden.... go visit tortoise.....
Mama: Alright hold my hand and here you go....
Baby: *Walking not balance*.... Ah there's the garden! I want see bird too!
After watching the plants and birds....
Mama: Let's go visit tortoise now....
Baby: *Walking holding mummy's hand*
Mama: The tortoises are sleeping wor... let's go some where else.
Baby: *Walking towards the kitchen*
Mama: Well you are not suppose to go into the kitchen! Lets go somewhere else maybe your room?
Baby: *Walking to wards the room, holding mummy's hand still.
When reaching the room, Baby suddenly let go of her hands and hold on to the walls and start making spider-man's moves.... holding on to the wall and slide across the room.
WHOA........

Baby: One day I'll manage to walk by my self..... hheheheh :P

Zen stories

2010-10-10T23:43:00.004+08:00

I happened to stumble upon some intersting stories......... which are called Zen stories. I had wanted to search for some story books for my lil' bean and in the end I saw these wonderful zen stories.... (well not really spiritual) but more about moral.

I have indeed sort out a few which I think it is suitable for teacing kids about moral and attitude towards life. (Actually it does applies to everyone, no matter how old you are)!!

1. Letting Go

Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk accross because of a puddle of water. The elder of the two monks went up to a her lifted her and left her on the other side of the road, and continued his way to the monastery.
In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, "Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman ?"
The elder monk answered "yes, brother".
Then the younger monk asks again, "but then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the roadside ?"
The elder monk smiled at him and told him " I left her on the other side of the road, but you are still carrying her."

2. The Blind Men and the Elephant
Several citizens ran into a hot argument about God and different religions, and each one could not agree to a common answer. So they came to the Lord Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like.
The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and four blind men. He then brought the four blind to the elephant and told them to find out what the elephant would "look" like.
The first blind men touched the elephant leg and reported that it "looked" like a pillar. The second blind man touched the elephant tummy and said that an elephant was a wall. The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a piece of cloth. The fourth blind man hold on to the tail and described the elephant as a piece of rope. And all of them ran into a hot argument about the "appearance" of an elephant.
The Buddha asked the citizens: "Each blind man had touched the elephant but each of them gives a different description of the animal. Which answer is right?"

3. Nothing Exists
Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.
Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."
Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.
"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

4. Maybe
Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.

5. Just Two Words

There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to the head monk. “It has been ten years,” said the head monk. “What are the two words you would like to speak?”
“Bed… hard…” said the monk.
“I see,” replied the head monk.
Ten years later, the monk returned to the head monk’s office. “It has been ten more years,” said the head monk. “What are the two words you would like to speak?”
“Food… stinks…” said the monk.
“I see,” replied the head monk.
Yet another ten years passed and the monk once again met with the head monk who asked, “What are your two words now, after these ten years?”
“I… quit!” said the monk.
“Well, I can see why,” replied the head monk. “All you ever do is complain.”

Interesting stories........... :)

My 2 favourite things of all time.

2010-10-07T22:31:00.005+08:00

I honestly do not know why my lil' bean likes these 2 objects, but I am glad as these 2 of her favourite stuffs ease my job of putting her to sleep.

1. The Yellow Blanket aka. "Chou Chou".

This one blanket gets her to sleep easily, no matter where she goes, this one has to follow her all the way. It sooths her and calm her down, like in her own comfort zone. Whenever she's upset just throw her the blankie, she'll be fine! Amazing isn't it? After smelling it for a while she will be happy once again.
2. The Dooodoll aka. "DooDoo". http://www.dooodolls.com/

Well, I bought this doll for her from MPH Bookstore.... weird place to find a doll for kids; well it was a love at first sight..... she fell in love with it since the minute she sets eyes on it. I really do not know why, there are many other dolls but she chooses this one doll. Luckily she did not get one with weird eyes or expressions.

Bishop Dress

2010-10-05T08:29:00.000+08:00

After researching around for some time, I decided to make a dress for my lil' bean for her first birthday! So this is it! This is also my first attempt on creating the smocking, not bad huh! :)

I love the colour combination of this dress, and the cotton lace that I found from the shop. The cost of this dress is quite high.... almost near to RM100! That's because it is pure cotton! Hope my lil' bean likes it!

2010 Grand Prix SIngapore

2010-10-03T23:39:00.006+08:00

I have always wanted to go see a F1 Grand Prix at least once in my lifetime........ and my dream came true. This is one of the places to go in my List other than PARIS. After being grounded for almost 2 years finally I get the chance to travel again for a god damn good reason, the GP! Thanks bro for the birthday present, you make this dream of mine came true! Love ya XOXO!
Fancy Lantern everywhere..... and of course the people.......... luckily no rain that night!

The Huge crowd...... seeing people come from everywhere.....preparing for the excitement that will take your breath away!
Ok let me say that I have got a good spot, as in standing high on the grand stand platform in Zone 4. How come I got to stand high up and got a nice view....... it is because we went there early like around 5pm to reserve the place until like say 8pm in the evening when the final GP starts. Let me say, luckily there were 4 of us so 2 of my group went to buy some food and drinks, while another 2 of us stand there waiting. That's how we got the nice spot!

Guess who won in the end....... !!! Well, my skills in photography is still intact with me. I manage to capture the fastest car like using just a simple Canon Power Shot S90. Not even using Zoom lenses. LOL!
After Party in the Esplanade........ a DJ spinning in the outdoor theater! Mariah Carey performing on stage........ a few beers to end the night! Had a fantastic weekend! Cheers everyone!

Baby First Grab...

2010-10-02T20:04:00.003+08:00

When my baby turn one, we did a small mini ceremony according to the Chinese tradition. This tradition has been on going for ages and used to be very superstitious; but now in modern times it is more like an activity for fun. Indeed my baby has lotsa fun!

This tradition is named "Zhua Zhou"(抓周) or Grabbing Test, which used to predicts infant's future career path, personality traits and interests. A number of things are to be presented in front of the baby, so he/she can choose and grab what she likes or prefers.

I had place 12 different objects in front of my daughter for her to grab and Er...hem.... I am not revealing what she grabs.... just only the things that I placed before her.

A Bag
A Stethoscope
A Measuring tool
A Money bill
A Tambourine
A Box of jeweleries
A Book
A Hammer
A Brush
A Seal
A Cooking utensil
A Toy Doggie

Instant photo shoot!

2010-09-18T01:05:00.002+08:00

I have wanted to shoot instant photograph for a long time now, and since it's my lil bean 1st birthday, I make it a point that all of us in the family to go for it. Well, I wanted to buy an instant mini polaroid camera but later find out that the cost of the film is quite expensive; so I decided that we go shoot the photos in the instant photo shooting machine which is much better and more fun! Here are some of the wonderful shots..... LOL. We all did have fun, and will make this an annual event as long as the machine is still there!

Happy First Birthday!

2010-09-14T13:45:00.005+08:00

I have wanted to celebrate my baby's 1st birthday inviting close friends and relatives. So this is it! The Theme for the party was Rubber Ducky and the colours were red, yellow and white.

Here is the lovely cake and the decoration center piece for the main table. Both were stunning and the talk of the party. The kids had a blast too! It was an enjoyable tea party. Of course my baby love those ducky deco and her cake. Thanks to Ween for the lovely deco!

Some of the food for the party........ mini sausage rolls, mini croissant, mini egg tart, mini cheese sandwich, cream puff, Red eggs, animal biscuits, watermelon, ice-cream.... la la la la..

Balloons for everyone! Yay!

Happy Birthday My Little one!

Lovely Cream Puff....... me and hubby didn't even get a bite and it's all gone. I guess it's a big hit!
Yummy!

Lovely duckies in the Bath Tub..... rub-a-tub-duck, Count how many in the tub!

Pinning the Duck on the tub.... games for kids!

Oooo... my little one enjoying herself opening the presents! LOL!

Hope y'all that attend have lots of fun!

I know We did!

My Wooden Tub Story

2010-09-09T18:40:00.004+08:00

Oh yes I've got my wooden tub! Surprise me the tub that I got was actually on Mega Sale promotion! Damn I'm lucky..... I fell straight away for the tub and the price is good too! I couldn't belive it myself. Well will post some pictures here once I got it install properly. Hahahha!

Well, of course it's not made in Japan and not like an Ofuro tub but it serves the purpose to me as I got the wooden tub I want and also a soaking foot small wooden tub as well. Hurray! It is actually made in Taiwan, or so the seller told me and the slight disadvantage is that the tub must be soak in water all the time so the wood will not crack. Pray to god this won't happen! That is why the tub only cost me RM500. That's the WOW factor there!

Then recently, I stumble upon a shop that sell wooden bath tub too....... why I wanna mention here is because the shop is actually selling all sorts of buddhist praying stuff like joss sticks, praying altar, sandalwood, some feng shui stuff and suddenly I saw this wooden tub hiding at the back! I was like whoa..... how come they sell this kinda thing in a shop like that??!?!?

Excuse me, I search high and low for the tub and after I bought it then I stumble on these tubs laying around in the shop.......... come on man!

Well no doubt, I still like what I bought because of the price; and I do hope it lasts for at least few years.

Encounter with the Rubber Duck

2010-09-02T19:41:00.000+08:00

The First time my baby saw the Rubber Duck, this is her response, well she thought the duck was talking to her and she pose exactly like the duck's beak! Hah.... I really have no idea what she thought about the duck, but later whenever she's having a bath the rubber duck will accompany her. Since then she has kind of fell in love with the rubber duckies that I put in the tub!

A Day trip to Penang Hill

2010-09-01T18:58:00.000+08:00

First of all, I wasn't planning a trip to the Penang hill, nevertheless we went on with the trip as it was the intention of a family and friends gathering in a day trip to the famous Penang Hill. My mother had talked about going up the hill for at least a year now and well the trip did realised in the end! Thanks to her that baby got to go up the hill for the first time. I would say, I've never been up there since schooldays.......... wow so long ago!

Overall, it's been an amazingly wonderful trip for all of us. It was fun and baby did explore a lot and love being blown by the wind and enjoy the fresh air and the sounds of nature. She managed to take her nap no matter how excited she was..... I thought she wouldn't sleep at first but after some time she was asleep as the breeze there was in fact cooling and comfortable.

Later in the night, after the BBQ dinner, we celebrated my hubby's birthday up there as a surprise to everyone there too. All and all, it was a fun day for everyone!

P/s: Would love to go back there again, the breeze is so good and the quality of air is totally great.

Ofuro

2010-07-22T23:23:00.004+08:00

My latest craze........ an Ofuro - Bathtub. Well in short it is actually a wooden bathtub. I have been in love with bath tub ever since I was a child. I have always love soaking in the water for long hours. It makes me relax and yes I love reading and listening to music in a tub. Years ago when I studied overseas, I used to soak in a tub when I have the time... which is seldom too. I loved to go to sauna and steam room too during winter time as well then after that go for a swim........ you tell me it is damn relaxing. After that you bet..... sweet dreams will follow you.

So, after I came back to my hometown, I don't have a chance to enjoy a tub mainly because I do not have one and if I really want to, I have to go to mum's bathroom which is inconvenient. Later, when I actually have my own place to stay after married, sad to say that our small loft does not allow me to have a tub. Again, in my dismay, I fail to have a bath tub that I can call my own.

Well, I did promise my self if I ever get he chance to renovate another one of my own place; I DEFINATELY WANT A BATH TUB! Come on give me a break. Now before I go on and on, I have two kinds of bathtubs that I would really dream of having there are:

A Classic free standing Bathtub. (Like the blue tub above.)

A Wooden Bathtub - preferably a Hinoki tub from Japan. Here's some idea of what a Hinoki bath tub is! http://www.bartokdesign.com/japan/

Trust me both the tubs really fascinate me and of course the price of these tub is not cheap as well. Unless you get those from China maybe slightly cheaper. Pray to god... please I want one!

If I Were...

2010-07-20T22:44:00.002+08:00

If I were a scent I'd be Wisteria
If I were a month I’d be October
If I were a day I’d be Sunday
If I were a time of day I’d be 9.30 am
If I were a planet I’d be the Moon
If I were a sea animal I’d be a Seahorse
If I were a direction I’d be East
If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a Lounge chair
If I were a liquid I'd be Spring water
If I were a tree I’d be a Bamboo tree
If I were a tool I’d be a Screwdriver
If I were a flower I’d be a White Tulip
If I were an element of weather I’d be a Cloud
If I were a musical instrument I’d be a Chinese "Gu Zheng"
If I were a color I'd be Orange
If I were an emotion I’d be Moody
If I were a fruit I’d be a Strawberry
If I were a sound I’d be the Wind blowing leaves
If I were an element I'd be Fire
If I were a car I’d be Volkswagen
If I were a food I’d be Macaroons
If I were a place I’d be Kobe
If I were a material I'd be Cotton
If I were a taste I’d be Sweet

I copied and modified this from a blog LA VIE EST BELLE. Feel free to copy, change if you want too :)

Lil' Bean First Word

2010-07-19T11:00:00.000+08:00

Oh my God! Today, My lil bean has finally blurt out her first word........ and I bet you cannot guess what it is. Her First Word.......... "Mumm Mumm" as in food! She wants food!
Crazy thing is I thought she had manage to call me Ma Ma.... but after listen to her for a while I know she meant FOOD and not me......... sigh! I tried to correct her to call me Mummy but not good........ she still prefers Mumm Mumm. SO food come first she say, serious!

The Walker

2010-07-09T11:22:00.002+08:00

I have been quite busy lately, so have not been blogging for a while, so now are all the updates!Here's the walker grandmama bought for my lil' bean. She's been quite happy using it now and it is fun watching her moving backwards instead of forward. Occasionally she will glide sideways too, think it would be sometime before she learns how to move forward.

But surprisingly, she manage to walk forward when I hold her hands, she manage to copy me by lifting up the leg and move about. Nowadays, I am helping her to walk around the house everyday for at least 15 mins. Oh she loves it very much, but I am thinking I should seriously do something about the funiture arrangements around the house!

Some music for the evening

2010-07-04T11:30:00.001+08:00

Recently I have attended the Choral Concert by the Penang State Symphony Chorus on the 3rd of July. It was held in the Senate Room of Wawasan Open University. It was a lovely concert although both me and hubby were having McD in the car before attending it. My uncle Johnny is also singing in the choir, therefore my aunt and uncle including us did enjoy ourselves very much.

Polly put the Potty on......

2010-06-22T13:47:00.003+08:00

Well....... it's been a while now and my lil' one is 9 months and a week old. I have started her on Potty Training when she reaches 9 months old. It is a success! She will now give me signal when she wants to poo poo and pee pee. I did not know that she could tell me so with her Ooo Ooo and Ahh Ahh sound! Funny but true, am glad that now grandma wion't have to wash so many nappies anymore! If she isn't making any sounds she will also point at the potty to indicate that she has to go. Well so much so for her little improvement.

P/s: She is starting to stand straight now with me holding her hands. :)

Hand-made Drum

2010-06-02T14:57:00.000+08:00

After visiting Toys R Us, I have decided to make a drum for my lil bean. And you know what she loves it so much!

This is the green drum that I made.... taa daaa! I add on some furry ribbons to add texture to the surface!

Sophie by the side

2010-06-01T14:46:00.000+08:00

Take a look at me by the side view. ~Sophie T.

Cantonese "Pak Cham Kai" Chicken

2010-05-30T13:30:00.000+08:00

I have finally acquire the recipe for my favourite plain white chicken. Normally I will buy it during lunch time in any chicken rice stall. Hence, I find making it myself a kind of personal indulgence and satisfaction. So after cooking my whole chick, I let it stand for 3 hours before we can feast on it.
After 3 hours, I carve the chicken; for the first time in my life.... hah, not bad huh! I garnished it with some spring onion and ginger with my home-made sauce.

These are some chicken drums and wings that will be feast on later by my guests. :) Hope they like it!

FIFA 2010 SuperBabe!

2010-05-29T13:22:00.000+08:00

Daddy loves football so much, then I decided to pose for the FIFA 2010 SuperBabe poster!

Mum lovingly style me up and shoot this one for me!

I am going to watch WORLD CUP with my family this year!

Happy Wesak day!

2010-05-28T16:02:00.000+08:00

Baby's first Wesak celebration............ visiting Temple and pray.

Introducing solids / snacks

2010-05-27T15:52:00.002+08:00

Firstly, I am not promoting any company here but just giving some information here.

I have long started introducing solids to my baby and here are the few choices that I have chosen and my baby really like it. Of course, not forgetting my roots, I am also giving porridge on top of these.

I am giving my baby breakfast, lunch, an occasional snack and dinner. Otherwise it is still the bottle.

I have some organic stuff here and some commercial product as well. Indeed I have to alternate all these food so my baby won't get too bored with one taste. I also do provide some fruity puree as well. So, these are some of the variations if you were to ask me, my baby is quite fussy with her food, if she doesn't like it she'll just ignore it and well then it's the bottle choice again!

Try your luck with yours hope your baby is not as fussy! Good luck!

Bamboo Tree Bangalow Home

2010-05-25T17:42:00.003+08:00

Can you spot the little bird in this picture?

Hah.... well, this picture is taken from my balcony and seems like these little creature love to make their home at my bamboo tree!

Here's how it's nest looks like. It's been here since like years ago when I moved in. Long time ago it was just a shelter for a pair of loving birds and their young ones. Since then on and off there are a few generations going on and on so I guess I lost count how many birds have been moving in and out from this nest. But I can tell you it used to be quite a small nest. Now it has been upgraded to a terrace then semi-detached then bangalow and now is with extension some more. It almost occupy my whole bamboo tree! Hmmm........ as you can see the birds are quite small in size and yet they do not mess up my balcony so that is why they are welcome in my home. LOL.

Yummy Chocolate Brownie

2010-05-24T10:07:00.006+08:00

Yes you know what my chocolate crave is honing me again and yeah I cannot resist to make these for the weekend! Yummy chocolate brownie, rich and sweet and guee! Always my favourite. Top up with vanilla ice cream..... and there you go I scream chocolate! Yay!
Oh oh I forgot to tell you they are not just full of chocolate they are also full of walnuts and pecans! Viola!

First Mothers' day

2010-05-10T23:19:00.005+08:00

My first Mothers Day celebration with my lil' bean wasn't very smooth! She was fast asleep during lunch time and dinner time! Hmmm........ the most interesting part is; I am force to wake her up twice as in Lunch and dinner time. Now I will tell you why, because I normally will wait for her to wake up by herself, as I think she's more important than me and no more me, me and me but baby, baby and baby.
Now during lunch hour which is like around 1pm, I am forced to wake her up because the Earth is moving under my feet, as in EARTHQUAKE! My house is shaking, I feel like fainting as well, so quickly without any hesitation, I wake her and carry her almost ran down the stairs! Luckily I do not live high up in the apartment! Seriously no joke, and later I found out that off the sea near the North of Sumatra had again been strike by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake! Hmmm.... this is the third time I am experiencing earthquake in my apartment. Guess have to pack my disaster bag soon!
Now during dinner time we have to go visit grandma's place and again she fell asleep! So I have to again pick her up and go to grandma's for dinner and she wasn't really awake and of course she's kinda bad mood!

So this is how eventfully I passed my First Mothers' Day!

First Children Party

2010-05-02T23:05:00.001+08:00

This was Joelle's Birthday Party. She's 2 years old. Well. Lil' Bean did enjoy herself although it's not her birthday but she get to see and feel what it's like to have a birthday. She saw her blowing candles and met with a few new friends! I brought her there to mingle with children and see that she's not the only child in this whole wide world...... the idea is to let her be familiar with other children rather than seeing adults all the time. Surprisingly, she's quite friendly with everyone and smile a lot! LOL.

Sensory Skills

2010-04-27T13:03:00.003+08:00

Since I am now doing lotsa research, and am glad that I have found out a lot about developing my lil' bean's sensory skills. I think for now developing her sensory skills is the most basic development that I feel fit for her and me.
I am now collecting various stuff to create an environment suitable for her to play and develop. Lots of ideas and tips can be found in the net, so it is quite easy for me to help her develop her skills. I strongly believe that right now developing her senses are much more important than training her brain. I feel that a baby's basic development must be stimulate correctly then later part she will use her senses to learn more things. Before the brain start to learn words and stuff, it must be well stimulate and grow then it will learn things faster.

Well that is my logic anyhow, each parents teach their kids differently, and I just believe that an infant must have a strong basic skills before they learn anything new.

For more information on Sensory Development please check out the website.

SHICIDA Method

2010-04-19T21:48:00.002+08:00

I have already begun my research on (Early childhood education) and I realised that it involves lots of methods and trainings. And I still am not sure which is better!?! Anyone got any clues?

Ever heard of the Shichida method? It's about the "Right Brain Training" for a child. According to Prof Shichida, that presenting large amounts of information at a fast pace to infants, toddlers and preschoolers stimulates the right brain and can activate photographic memory. It is to believe that a baby can start learning from age 0-3 years. You can read more on this website: Shichida Method or go to www.shichidaparents.com

Well am just being curious about this method, just one question: Does it train the mind to memorize all the things or using both sides of the brains?

Then came Phonics, which I attend one of the workshops. Well, this method actually teaches a child to read BUT not knowing the meaning. To some parents this may be a shock, and if a kid follow through all the levels, a child will be able to pronounce all the words in the dictionary / Newspaper by 6 years of age. That is before they actually start proper schooling. Hmmm...

I ran on and do some other research which I came across another similar to Shichida, but it is called BRAIN-Child learning. Well this one actually train both sides of the brain and have a balance way of thinking. It is suppose to improve memory, enhance concentration and so forth. It is called a Mental Fitness Centre, whereby there are programmes targeting children age 6 to 13 years of age. You can read more about it in: www.brain-childlearning.com

Last but not least, I had a retired-teacher-friend which tells me that a child bellow the age of 6 years cannot regcognise words properly as their brain has not fully developed. Whatever they see are all opposite of what we see like in a mirror. So if we input alphabets to them they will write out on the opposite direction because that is what they percieved. If we force them to write it correctly, the kid will be using their memory to do so. In the end of the day it is not LEARNING but MEMORIZING!

Then he told me that we can only show them pictures and in this way no harm will be done. Finally, now I have come to a conclusion that, we are not stupid even though we learn slower last time why now we have to speed up the process? Then again, we have to keep up on the trend, so I think I will just introduce pictures to my kid and read her stories for now. No flashing cards and no ABC learning for now.

Routine

2010-04-17T17:39:00.003+08:00

7 Months - She's having her 2 Bottom Front Teeth right now!

Morning:

7am - Wake (Milk)
9am - Morning Bath
10am - Baby Solid Breakfast + Milk
11.30am - Morning Nap time

Afternoon:

1pm - Milk / Lunch
2pm - Play time
3pm - Afternoon Nap
5pm - Milk
6pm - Evening bath
8pm - Milk
9pm - Sleep

This is baby's usual routine of the day for now. Since her teeth started to come out about now so she's kind of cranky before sleep time in the night.

Pretty Girls on Board!

2010-04-15T11:30:00.006+08:00

Girl Power! This was taken during New Year 2005. It was part of our annual gathering. Now it will not be the same as most of us have kids or very busy with our schedule! And this seems like ages ago.....

Teddy Bed Sheet

2010-04-13T17:32:00.004+08:00

My Lil' Bean is 7 Months old already and she has got a New Teddy Bear Bed Sheet! It's full of teddy bear and look so cute! This fabric is bought by grandma from a market and well mama got to make the bed sheet for baby. The pillow case and booster case is made by PorPor and it matches the bed sheet doesn't it! The complete set will come with Teddy bear Bumper... and mama has got to make it soon! :P

The Turning Point

2010-04-10T08:33:00.002+08:00

Finally my lil' Bean is able to turn properly on both sides. Guess in no time she will start to go mobile soon. Time has pass and she is now able to play by herself more often without me by her side all the time. Well I guess it is about time I bring her to my workplace, as I have prepared a room for her to play and rest. I can do my work and supervised her while working not a bad idea. This was indeed my plan earlier on when I set up the baby room in my work studio.

Bed Sheet!

2010-04-09T14:29:00.002+08:00

I have been looking for alternatives of buying expensive baby cot bed sheet / fitted sheet; and it always comes together with bumper and blankets that I don't like. The motifs are either too colourful or just too not to my taste! And so, I decided to do-it-myself again!

Ironically, I went to the local fabric store "Kamdar" for a look and I have found 2 types of flowery designs that are suitable only. Since I have no other choice so I bought them and made the fitted sheets for the baby cot.

This one here is the pinkish one with less complicated design. Not bad huh!

Traditional Nyonya Popiah - Homemade only (part II)

2010-04-04T14:07:00.000+08:00

Traditionally, nyonya ladies used to cook these at home and have Popiah Parties. Well, this tradition is dying soon as not many people cook these days. Well, in my home we are still having this popiah tradition and it is one of my favourite food. Also one must know how to wrap a popiah properly or else everything will drop off, and the popiah wrap will break loose!

Above here I have included the ingredients that will be wrap inside a popiah. So all those commercial ones out there is really nothing compare to these homemade ones! One must get the ingredients right from the beginning to have a "Traditional Nyonya Popiah".

Here are some of the ingredients that I snap with my camera... and I have already named them well, other ingredients such as beansprouts can be wrap in it too.

This is the popiah wrap that we can still buy it here in Penang. Lucky us! :P

So here are all the ingredients that are waiting to be wrap in a popiah! Yummy.... and am getting hungry too! If I were to have my ideal Popiah Party..... I will definately need all my guest know they will need to help cooking and then later know-how to wrap the popiah properly.

Indeed it takes time to pratice and I have been doing it since I was a young little girl at the age of 10. LOL.

First Visit to KekLokSi

2010-04-03T08:40:00.001+08:00

During the Chinese New Year, we brought Baby to the Kek Lok Si Temple to see the lights. She was fascinated by the lights and although she looks sleepy but she wanted to look at those beautiful lights lit up only once in a year during Chinese New Year for a month!

Unfortunately, we are not able to see the New "Kuan Yin" Pavilion lit up, so it will be next year then! Papa & Mama will make sure this is one of Baby's anual function..... :)

Out of NoWhere - Frank Sinatra

2010-04-02T11:32:00.000+08:00

You came to me from out of no where
You took my heart and found it's way...
Wonderful dreams, wonderful schemes from no where
Made every hour sweet as flower for me...

The lyrics of the song describes exactly how I feel about my lil' angle.

Tuna Time!

2010-04-01T08:31:00.001+08:00

Ooooo... after lazing around watching tele in the house for almost a year now.... my fav shows, AFC (Asian Food Channel) and Travel & Living. Indeed I'll make full use of what I do mostly at home which is home cooking. So I tried a few things and this is the one I have been waiting to try out.
Finally I spotted a piece of tuna which can be cooked into a Yummy Tuna Steak! I have been searching at local store and finally got it! :P
So this is actually Fresh Tuna and it taste so good even hubby loves it! I added some salsa sauce to it so it looks like one in those restaurants! Hubby says it's even better.... well I have not come across any place that cook tuna steak yet around my neighbourhood!

Black&White...

2010-03-31T10:30:00.001+08:00

These are some of my black & white shots of Sophie. Will try different colour tones in future too. Hope I can shoot more eye candies and show it here! I have thrown my photography techniques way too long and am now trying to catch back with new technologies. Hah! I personally still prefers Black&White though!

Bb on Board

2010-03-30T16:29:00.001+08:00

I have created my own version of "Car Safety Sign" for baby. Here it is! Finally I get it done.... so Baby on Board is nicely crop out and can be stick on to the back of the car anytime now! :)

Cooking for Baby

2010-03-29T08:04:00.000+08:00

Cooking for baby is not difficult but takes longer time.... I will try to cut the time down if I can; as time is what I need! I started out cooking this porridge by using carrots as the main ingredients. I have chop this into tiny bits.

Now I cook the stock using chicken bones, carrots and cabbage and of course water. NO salt!

Here's how I cook the porridge. I cook the rice using clean water first and boil till the rice is soft. Then I add in the chopped carrots and then pour in the stock. So at least the porridge has a bit of taste other than just carrots and rice! After that I puree it and give it to baby. A Long and tedious job but baby loves it so it's worthwhile.

Reflective Mirror

2010-03-28T16:39:00.002+08:00

This is the reflective mirror I bought. Hubby was totally against it at first because he said I might give myself an excuse of driving out alone with baby. (It's a near faint situation for him.)

Well.... what I think is I cannot always stay at home with baby all the time although I am a full time mother. One day she will grow and I will definitely need this tool. I think it is wise to have one just in case I need to drive her around someday and this mirror is useful. Even though now my husband drive me and baby most of the time; he can also use it to view what his child is doing at the back of the car. Oh.. ya baby is sitting rear facing so this mirror is useful.

SItting upright

2010-03-27T08:55:00.001+08:00

Baby can sit upright without any support now.......... Yay! Still a bit of unsteadiness but I think she will be ready soon enough. And I think she likes to sit up by herself rather than lying down on the bed the whole time! LOL.

Solids!

2010-03-26T12:36:00.002+08:00

Baby started having solids so my busy days just started. Every now and then I will have to think of new recipes and ideas to get her eat her food! Hmmm.... so my reference book comes in handy. I try the rice cereal and then I add in some carrot and potato puree then now am going into broccoli and potato puree. Occasionally I'll cook some porridge for her too.... Yummy!

SO mummy is quite busy every now and then! LOL. Happy cooking to all new mothers too!

First Attempt!

2010-03-25T17:54:00.001+08:00

Well this is my first attempt to shoot Sophie! Hope you all like it! LOL... well a lot of people says she's scary.... well it depends how you look at it. She's a fashionable doll so I have not yet made any clothes for her so this is the only outfit she has at the moment! :)

She loves Dalmatian too!

Sophie outdoor shots!

This is a fashion shot.... with special lighting.

This is Sophie!

2010-03-24T18:36:00.001+08:00

My First Blythe! I named her Sophie as she looks so "Frenchy" to me. Our relationship is definately love at first sight! Simple Polka dot blouse and a matching pleated black skirt with a pink ribbon is just simple and elegant. She comes with white tall boots too, very chic!

Well, if I've got time will definately make some new clothes for her too! LOL.... I know I am very busy!

My Blythe a.k.a. Sophie in a box!

Blythe is a fashion doll which is widely known around the world. It is also a collectible item. There are many fans around and we make friends easily! Wish you all to join me too if you are interested! :)

It was created in 1972 and was initially only sold for one year in the USA by toy company Kenner. In 2000 the photo book This is Blythe was published and in 2001 the Japanese toy company Takara began producing new editions of Blythe dolls. Look for more information in the web!

Back to home cook food!

2010-03-23T10:03:00.000+08:00

Well, I have not been cooking for a while since I am quite busy with my baby. After being sick of eating those take aways, I have decided to make some time for my cooking. So am back again with my home cooking. LOL. I have aquire a new technique in cooking soup so I tried it out and it is wonderful. The lotus root soup has no more ugly condiments in it anymore. Yay!

This is my new recipe I try on cooking pork ribs. Well needless to say it is delicious! Yummy!

Baby on solids! Yippie!

2010-03-22T09:30:00.000+08:00

Recently I have started to give baby some solids starting with white plain broth. It doesn't tastes good for her...... I guess, she keeps on turning away from it! Then I did give her some rice cereal too, at first she was reluctant but now she slowly getting used to it after I add milk with it. Now she almost manage to finish one small bowl! Yippie!

Gradually I am adding some carrot and potatoes into her diet too.... well I will keep on adding other types of food later but not for now. Till then!

Sophie has Arrived!

2010-03-21T00:15:00.004+08:00

Finally my long awaited Blythe has arrive safely. I was nervous about her arrival and was worried that customs in our country might ask me to pay tax for it. Phew... my worries are over now!

I have named her Sophie as both me and hubby find her quite "Frenchy" in a way; and we both love the name.
She arrives in the morning, but I was not at home........ luckily our neighbor manage to keep her in for a while. Well it was not a long journey it took her 4 days to arrive at my doorstep! :)
Me and hubby both were excited to see her. We invited her carefully out of her box and she beautifully presents herself to us........ it did not take us long to name her too. LOL.

I love her hair and well I wanted to have her so badly as she was released in the same month as my Baby girl on 25th Sept 2009. This is the reason she's with us today. An additional sweet girl to our sweet family. Hooray!

I am.....

2010-03-16T16:08:00.002+08:00

I am feeling.......

1. Exhausted ( when carrying baby all the time and wait for her to fall asleep)
2. Overwhelmed ( when baby smiles at me)
3. Moody (when hubby gets home late and am hungry)
4. Anxious ( waiting for my first Blythe to arrive)
5. Content (when cooking for baby)

Weaning

2010-03-09T17:22:00.002+08:00

I have already start weaning my baby......... so it is an end to my brestfeeding relationship. Well I am ready to stop brestfeed now as it is harder for me each time after feeding. It is quiet tedious for me to carry her to her bed and she's getting older and also my back ache is getting worse. So, finally my baby now is about six months and I think it is best for me to stop now.

I have already brestfeed for 5 months 3 weeks and 3 days!

Baby Fell...

2010-03-05T13:52:00.003+08:00

Oh My Goodness.... Baby Fell off the bed yesterday.... her first fall! My heart came tumbling down too. She has already started to turn herself up and down in the bed and I had placed her in the middle of our big bed, yet I do not know how she ended on the timber floor.

Gosh! I was so stunned, well when I heard the thump sound I knew she fell, and ran towards her. Well, I recall that she did not cry immediately but when I held her up in my arms she started to cry and scream. She refuse to let me coo and calm her down and kept on crying for at least 15 minutes. After that she refuse to lie down and kept me holding her.
Luckily, no injury was found and after about 2 hours later, she started feeling better and smiling again. Phew, luckily my bed is only about 1.5 feet from the floor, so it's not a serious fall.

Lastly, my grandma told me if next time baby fall again.... if it is not too serious like bleeding, try to let her stay in that particular position for a while and see how she reacts. Then again, one will get to know how badly baby hurts and where is the hurting part. Hmmm.... well I seriously did not know where she was hurt... I just knew she fell and once again I think I'll take my grandma's advise.

Cheeky fella

2010-03-02T14:28:00.002+08:00

We had our Chinese New Year Lunch out at a restaurant and we brought baby along. She's being cheeky and restless. Well so we kind of tk turns to carry her and also let her stay in her stroller. And that is the face we got from her when we put her down on the stroller! LOL

The Year Begin...

2010-03-01T11:56:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year just over and the rest of the tiger Year begins. My lil' princess is 5 months and 2 weeks old now and I will begin to start weaning her soon. Now am preparing for the equipments and my lists of recipes. Well, I did buy a book not long ago about recipes for baby and children, so I think I'll make full use of it.

I will be busy on the coming months as I will have to reorganize my workplace as well. It's been more than a year since my plans and projects on starting on my own initiated. Well, I got pregnant and all things changed. Luckily I did plan for a baby room in the workplace so I guess now I have to train my girl well so I can smoothly turn on my work mode. Otherwise I'll be juggling between her and work....... like mad! Hmmm.... wait for my good news then! LOL

I am going to start a kind of journal to marked my lil' one milestones.

Now baby has grown much... and she's able to turn by herself but not quite steady yet. (A bit slow compare to my friend's child) Hah, it's ok... coz I think I've always make her stay still using the rice huggy pouch! Now she's able to recognize mommy and daddy well. She's loves to make lotsa noises and smiles a lot when she's on her play mode. When she is excited she will starts to scream out loud too! She is also starting to swallow her own saliva and not drooling much now. She can hold her own bottle for a short while now. Lastly, she loves to watch us all eating and starting to show interest in it. So I guess it is time to start weaning soon.

Using the oven...

2010-02-08T13:17:00.000+08:00

My oven has been sitting in the kitchen feeling bored already... I have not use it for quite a long time. So I have decide to make a grill chicken for the night. To accompany the grill chick, I have some leftovers of Wahyu beef, and cheese ravioli which I make the other day.

The interesting dish here is the cheese ravioli which I manage to get the recipe from watching "ASIAN FOOD CHANEL" everyday. Actually it is easy to make BUT quite expensive though. The key ingredients are Ricotta cheese and Parmesan Cheese. Then just simply add in spinach some salt and pepper that's it. Yummy!

Now the grill chick just has to be marianate for few hours before hand and put into the oven and grill......done.

Oh the amazing thing and most simple ingrdient to cook is the sprouts, just add oil and fry done. No sauce added because the chick has gravy already. SO in just an hour I finish cookin all these and me and hubby get to enjoy it while Baby is sleepin.

New Bumbo Seat

2010-02-07T09:27:00.000+08:00

OH Baby Love her New Bumbo Seat that I bought for her. It really help me alot since she love to sit up and I do not need to carry her so often! Glad she like it! Hey Jamie this is the photo, you can show me how's Tiffany getting on with her seat! :)

Dumpling day!

2010-02-06T09:05:00.000+08:00

Well, I suddenly have this urge to make dumplings so I made at least 30 and feast on dumpling for the week. To accompany the dumplings, I gather to make a simple Chinese noodle dish to go with it. I make a simple soup using the Udon soup ingredient and add some fry cabbage and cool cucumber to top it off.

I mix some vinegar and worchestershire sauce with ginger pieces for the dumplings. Oh forgot to mention the ingredients for the dumplings.... hah I just add the usual mince pork, prawns, watercress, waterchestnuts, celery, spring onion, garlic, and ginger.

Chinese New Year is round the corner maybe I make some too. :)

Little Surprise!

2010-02-05T15:38:00.004+08:00

I want to have a healthy and simple dinner, so I made these tiny finger food, it's simply easy and delicious! I called it my little surprise.... which consists of mix grain crackers, cheddar cheese, my home-made garlic butter, a small piece of beef and some spring onion to top it off! Easy right! I only had a few pieces and I am full already! The ideal way to savour this is a compliment drink of red wine would be best! LOL!

Bugger!

2010-01-27T23:10:00.002+08:00

Sorry folks... my server was down... unable to log in to the Internet for a while.... and since then I have been doing lots of cooking and reading. So here am back again. Will have some new recipes soon! Wait ya! :)
Since am here, will blog about the new advances of my little one. She starts to recognize lotsa things and also understand some words that we say to her... like [Wait], [Shhh], [Bathtime], [Milk], [Play]; etc.
Well, we took her out for lunch the other day and she was so quiet and observing her surroundings without making any fuss. But both me and hubby took turns to hold her as she's unable to sit up on her own yet. Well, will try to take her out more often to let her get use to the crowds and people. Hmm... am still waiting for "daddy" to install her car seat before taking her out for longer car trip!

Baby's 4th month celebration

2010-01-14T17:59:00.003+08:00

Well baby's four month old. We decided to give baby a small celebration. I am not very familiar with the procedures but well great grand is around to help. Our little girl has to wear new clothes and had a garland of "Phong Pneah"; those big round biscuits..... string together with a red string. She has to sit up properly so everyone can actually let her bite some of the biscuits. It is suppose to bring her luck and signifies that she's old enough to be able to sit up on her own. Also the biscuits are suppose to wipe off her saliva so she will not have lots of saliva dripping all the time. This is just a simple ceremony to symbolizes her well growing stage, and good health, I guess. All is done just less than an hour. Being Chinese and all every auspicious chinese customs must have ang pows........ so baby did recieve ang pows from all her elders!

Believe it or not my tortise lays her eggs today too...... but unfortunately the male tortise is around to destroy it too....... :(

Outing...

2010-01-07T23:14:00.002+08:00

Just wanna keep a record on this tiny grocerry shoppin trip. WHY? It's baby's first day out to the public place. Well, I didn't plan it... it just happens that's all.

1:00 pm Baby went to my parents house.
2:00 pm After feeding she sleeps.
3:30 pm I plan to go grocerry shopping and mum suggests that baby can tag along too.
(I guess the weather's good~ cloudy and baby's awake)
4:00pm Baby tag along with me and both my parents out to Gurney Cold Store!
(Whoopy.... both my parents were taking turns carrying my baby)
(Baby was very excited and was browsing all her surroundings!)
5:00pm Baby back home ~ Trip's over (She seems quite content with her short trip.) LOL.

New Bed

2010-01-06T15:12:00.000+08:00

This is Baby's new day bed..... Initialy I had actually plan to buy the Fisher&Price rocker chair for baby. It costs a bomb! Infact it was onsale and still it is expensive. Then again, I have choosen to buy this pink day bed because it can be used untill baby grows to one year old; while the Fisher& Price one can only be use till 6 months only. Well this one is even cheaper... so I have finally bought this one for baby!

Yummy Delights!

2010-01-05T13:56:00.002+08:00

Yum Yum.... In spite all the busy schedule for the end of the year, I have manage to made up this New year Day Lunch for myself and hubby. It's Roast chicken with bacon and Potato. Well I think it looks good!

Then after that we both have my all time favourite dessert: Trifle. I made this for Christmas and New Year. Everyone says it's yummy.... of course I add more coffee liqueur than usual! LOL.

Wind O Wind, go away!

2009-12-30T11:36:00.002+08:00

I am about to blog about this Ointment for baby.... right it is from Indonesia and it does really help my baby.

Recently my baby has been feelilng cranky and moody and refusing to drink her formular milk and also having a bit constipation. So I have decided to try this Ointment reconmended by my Masseur. I have some doubts about it before as I feel if she got use to the Ointment and I do not want her to have a habbit of massaging before her sleep... occasional is ok but not everytime or even everyday.

After I realise she may be have some wind in her stomach and after she drinks her milk she vomits / spits out some of her milk out..... then I think it's time I try the ointment.

Now after bath, I apply some on her stomach/ buttocks / feet.... she did actually release lots of wind from her body. Then she manage to pass motion often which leads to a happy baby!

SO this ointment is indeed useful. I rarely use it only when I realise she has wind in her stomach!

Wonderful surprise!

2009-12-25T23:45:00.002+08:00

Today I had a wondeful Christmas Present from my little baby girl. To both me and hubby she starts to laugh out loud, giggle and smile while I hold her and Daddy play with her. In fact she continues to laugh with excitement for about 15 minutes or so non stop! WOW.... it's a fantastic milestone for her. Today is the first time she had so much fun with us. I guess daddy has to be home often to play with her.... which is rare as it is Christmas today!

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all! :)

Mediterranean Mutton Stew

2009-12-25T15:21:00.002+08:00

This is a Mediterranean influence dish. This is the first time that I am cooking a mediterranean dish and it turns out to be so good that my hubby who doesn't really like mutton ate all of it. LOL, in fact I try to mask all the mutton smell so that my hubby will not know it is mutton! Indeed he thought it was beef! Then again, we all love this dish and I will make it again no doubt!

Well, If you like to try here are the ingredients:

Some Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Coriander (chopped)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp clove (ground)
1 Tbsp Flour
500g Mutton
50g Dried Apricot
100g Raisins
1 Carrots
Juice of 2 Oranges
2 Tbsp Red wine vinegar
2 cups Beef/Lamb stock
1 Onion (chopped)
2 cloves Garlic (smashed)
2 Tbsp Oil
Iceberg Lettuce leaves (for deco)

Soak the dried apricots and raisins in the orange juice for about 2 hours.
Brown the mutton with a bit of oil and add in the rosemary in a heavy base pan. Remove set aside.
In a Casserole, fry the onion and garlic with the rest of the oil till slightly brown.
Add in flour and all the spice, stir well then add in the mutton and stir for another 5 minutes.
Add in the Carrots and the apricots, raisins and orange juice. Stir for a while then Pour in the stock and vinegar.
Simmer about half an hour.... viola!

Hope you enjoy your meal. Merry Xmas!

Love Bites

2009-12-24T15:06:00.003+08:00

When I visit Paris, I have bought a silicon mould. So this is the first time I am using it and I am happy that the results turn out to be fantastic. The silicon mould is so easy to use and above all you do not need to coat an extra layer of butter/ or lay a baking sheet on before put it in the oven.

Above here is the picture of what I have made. These are the mini "Love Bites" that I made... well it is actually butter cake and strawberry jelly. WHat do you think lovely isn't it?

Happy Winter Solstice Festival. (冬至)DongZhi

2009-12-22T10:47:00.007+08:00

Every year around this time (冬至)DongZhi, there will be a small gathering at home whereby everyone gather to make small balls of glutinuous rice "汤圆"-"Tang Yuan". This actually symbolizes happy reunion in the family. So the night before everyone will gather to make these tiny balls normally in various colours such as White, Red/Pink, Yellow, Green which you can buy the paste from the market. I have never encounter blues ones... but there are special ones with blue, brown and purple as it's kinda mix with fruit so I guess it's special order.

Say the picture above shows the "汤圆" that I took this morning. It's made by my grandma (the mickey mouse).... Yum!