When One Word Nearly Gave Me a Heart Attack

Yesterday afternoon, just as I was expecting Cass to be home from school, I saw a missed WhatsApp call from her. Naturally, I tried calling her back immediately, but the call didn’t go through. A little worried, I waited, thinking maybe she was on the way home and would call again soon.

Then came a single WhatsApp message from her: "Accident."

My heart literally dropped to my stomach.

I froze. What accident? Was it the school van? Was it her? My mind raced through every possible horrible scenario in a matter of seconds. I called her back again — no answer. I messaged her, asking whether it was her school van or she who got into an accident. But no reply.

That short window of waiting felt like an eternity.

Finally, after what felt like forever (but was probably just a few more nerve-wracking minutes), she messaged back. Guess what she meant?

She accidentally called me.

Yes. Accident = accidentally. That’s it. She shortened the word “accidentally” because she was too lazy to type the whole thing. Just like we always do when we’re texting – abbreviating, cutting words, and assuming the other person will know what we mean.

Well, this one-word shortcut nearly gave her mother a heart attack!

Of course, I was immensely relieved. My heart gradually climbed back to its proper place. But the emotional rollercoaster that little word sent me on? Not something I want to repeat anytime soon.

I know teenagers like Cass are always in a rush and type fast, but I told her that next time she must be clearer — especially when it comes to sensitive words like "accident". Don’t just assume your mum will decode it correctly, especially when I’m waiting for her to get home safely.

We all shorten our messages out of habit – LOLs, BRBs, TTYLs – but sometimes, a few extra letters can save someone else a whole lot of unnecessary panic.

Lesson of the day: next time you mean “accidentally,” please just say “oops” instead.

The Cost of Dreams — Paying for Our Daughters' Education

April is here again — the season that gives me mild heart palpitations: university fee payment time for Alycia and Sherilyn. It’s one of the three most dreaded times of the year, financially speaking. Sometimes, in just one night, almost RM40,000 disappears from my bank account when I make the payments to both their universities. It's a moment that feels like tearing off a huge Band-Aid — swift but painful!

But this April brings a small sigh of relief — it's Alycia's final semester of her final year. That means this will be the last payment to her university. What a milestone! Thankfully, she was awarded almost RM20,000 under the ACE Scholarship from Sunway University and was granted a PTPTN loan of RM30,000. These helped lessen the burden significantly. We’re beyond proud of how far she’s come.

Now on to Sherilyn — her Architecture Degree comes with the heftiest price tag, costing over RM160,000 in total. She’s just starting her journey and we’re still hoping her PTPTN loan will finally be approved after some submission errors caused a delay. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Next year, Cass will be starting college too — and with that comes another round of tuition fees, applications, and more funds flowing out. It’s daunting to think about, but we’re mentally prepared (and budgeting like crazy!). I am now encouraging her to apply to Universiti Malaya (Malaysia's top university and ranked #60 globally) via the Open Channel (SATU) as the fee is slightly cheaper than private universities.

Even though the numbers can be scary and the expenses seem endless, I try to remind myself that this is what parenting is all about — investing in our children's future. Giving them the education and opportunities they need to build a successful, fulfilling life is a responsibility we don’t take lightly.

No complaints. Just prayers, hopes, and trust that our girls will thrive, be happy, stay healthy, and eventually earn a comfortable income to live the life they dream of — and maybe, just maybe, treat us to a nice dinner one day down the road 😄

To all parents walking the same path — may we all find strength (and good budgeting skills) to see our kids through.

Another Busy Week in Full Swing

The first week of school and university in 2025 is officially in full swing, and life has been nothing short of hectic. With Maria, our part-time helper, still unwell, and my mother-in-law battling Influenza A since New Year's Eve, I've taken on all the household chores—cooking, washing dishes, and cleaning. While it's been a whirlwind, I’m counting my blessings, grateful for health and strength to keep things running. The only thing that I am complaining is my chaffed hands. And my right Tennis Elbow is still lingering there, with pain in almost every movement, after 9 months.

The Flu Bug Strikes

This flu season hasn’t spared us either. Cass caught the bug from her grandma earlier this week but, thankfully, bounced back after just a day of rest. She still has lingering phlegm and the occasional cough, but she’s on the mend. As for me, my body has been in battle mode. Two weeks ago, I felt the first signs of my immune system fighting the virus, and now I’m starting to feel off again—dizziness, headaches, and phlegm are creeping in.

I’ve learned how to tackle these bouts effectively: avoiding sugary and junk foods, prioritizing nourishing meals, and, most importantly, getting a solid seven hours of sleep each night. Sleep is my ultimate remedy, and with it, I’m confident my body will come out victorious.

The Upside of the Weekend

The weekend is fast approaching, and while I look forward to dining out (a welcome break from cooking), my day will still start bright and early at 5:30 a.m. Despite the grind, there’s no room for complaints. Being busy, active, and healthy is a privilege—far better than spending days confined to a hospital bed.

Each task, no matter how mundane, is a reminder of life’s blessings. Here’s to conquering the rest of this week with resilience and gratitude!

Pix taken from our condo - A huge bright rainbow with a faint one next to it greeted me on the evening of 7 January 2025. Such a beautiful sight to behold.

The beautiful rainbow forms the backdrop to KL's iconic landmarks: KLCC, KL Tower, and Merdeka 118

The Never-Ending Battle of Picking Up Hair: A Frustrated Mom’s Rant

If you're a mother with daughters, you're probably all too familiar with this infuriating and exasperating task: picking up hair from every corner of the house. No matter how many times I remind my daughters to clean up after themselves, it feels like their "selective forgetfulness" kicks in. Whether it's after brushing their hair or using a hair dryer, there are always strands left behind—on pillows, bedding, the floor, toilet seat, tables, and chairs. It drives me up the wall!

Every day, I find myself with a lint roller in hand, tediously rolling off hair from every surface. The frustration comes when I remind them to pick up their hair, and they nod and say "OK," but nothing changes. The next day, I see the same mess, and their excuse is always the same: "I forgot," or "I had to rush to school." I know it’s selective forgetfulness, and it’s frustrating beyond words.

As a mom who’s on the OCD side, it’s exhausting having to clean up after them constantly. I’m tired of rolling hair off every surface in the house, only to be greeted by the same mess the very next hour. How do other moms deal with this level of irresponsibility in their kids? How do you get them to take simple tasks like cleaning up their hair seriously? 😐

If you’ve figured out how to get your daughters to clean up after their own mess, I’d love to hear your secret. But for now, I’ll keep rolling away, hoping one day it clicks for them!

My First Attempt at Cooking Rice in a Pressure Cooker: A Lesson Learned

Not too long ago, I decided to try cooking rice in my Philips pressure cooker for the first time. I chose black rice and added two sweet potatoes to the pot, thinking it would make a nutritious and delicious meal. I selected the “Rice” setting on the pressure cooker and waited for the cycle to complete.

When the cycle was done, I eagerly removed the lid, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight—a sticky, doughy paste instead of the fluffy rice I had envisioned. It was completely inedible. I realized I had likely added too much water, which caused the rice to overcook and turn into a mushy mess. That wasn’t the first time I cooked black rice with sweet potato together. It always turned out well in the rice cooker.

Determined not to waste the food, I decided to cook it for another cycle, hoping to salvage the rice. Unfortunately, the result was even worse than before. In the end, I had no choice but to discard the sticky rice. Since the girls were in a hurry to eat, they ended up having the dishes without any rice.

After this mishap, I’ve learned my lesson: I don’t think I’ll be using the pressure cooker to cook rice again. From now on, I’ll stick to a proper rice cooker for perfect, fluffy rice every time.

Looks disgusting but tastes like some kind of sweet potato kuih.  I actually ate quite a bit of it 😁

A Week Filled with Hospital Visits

This week has been a whirlwind of hospital appointments, and tomorrow marks the start of it with my visit to the podiatrist at Sunway Medical Centre. For over three months, I've been battling a stubborn corn on my foot. Despite diligently applying Duofilm corn solution and corn removal patches, this tenacious corn has refused to wither and peel off. The persistent pain has become unbearable, making it difficult to walk properly, let alone exercise for over two weeks. The corn removal patches were also totally ineffective in removing the corn.

Recently, the corn has started to peel off (finally!!), but the pain at its center remains a significant issue 😭. I was hoping to cancel the doctor's appointment, thinking the worst was behind me, but the pain has convinced me otherwise. I'm preparing myself for the appointment tomorrow, praying that the podiatrist won't suggest surgery. The thought of undergoing a procedure is daunting, but I trust that the doctor will provide the best course of action to finally relieve me of this persistent pain.

As if one hospital visit wasn't enough, I have another appointment lined up on Friday. This time, I’ll be accompanying Alycia to see the hand and microsurgery doctor at Subang Jaya Medical Centre for her cast removal. Two weeks ago, she endured the painful procedure of having her stitches removed from the injured finger. Watching her withstand the pain with such courage was both heart-wrenching and awe-inspiring. I’m hopeful that this visit will be less painful and that it signifies the end of her recovery journey.

Reflecting on these hospital visits, I can't help but hope for a respite from emergency hospital visits and medical procedures. Scheduled routine check-ups are manageable, but the unexpected trips and the anxiety they bring are exhausting and stressful.  I long for peaceful days without the looming presence of hospital appointments, where we can focus on healing and moving forward without interruptions. I am looking forward to resolving my own health issues and seeing Alycia fully recover from her ordeal.

Here’s to a week of healing, strength, and hopefully, the last of our hospital visits for a long time.

Stainless steel fan-shaped food storage containers with lid and steaming rack, all ordered from Lazada (shipped from China).

Since the freakish kitchen mishap almost a month ago, we try not to use glass dinnerware now. Alycia is still having a phobia of using glass tableware. Instead, we have switched to using stainless steel plates and bowls.  I still use glass Pyrex though, but only for myself.

I recently ordered these stainless steel food storage containers with lids. The set of three containers fits nicely into a round steaming rack.  It's great for storing leftover food or dinner for the girls. When they come back from school and uni, I just pop them into the wok briefly to reheat the food. 

Embracing Simplicity By Spending Lesser Time in the Kitchen

Over the past year, my kitchen has seen a transformation. What was once a hub of daily culinary creations has evolved into a place of simplicity and ease.  I used to place priority on home-cooked food when our three girls were younger.

With my two older daughters immersed in their university and college life, and the MIL temporarily away in New Zealand, my household has experienced a significant shift in mealtime dynamics. This change has led me to spend less time in the kitchen, preparing meals that cater to the smaller family unit I now have. Because of this shift, I even have time to exercise in the evening *beaming with joy* 😁🏃🏃🏃

As Alycia and Sherilyn have ventured into their academic journeys, they've naturally gravitated towards having most of their meals on campus with their classmates. This shift has freed up my daily cooking responsibilities significantly. I now find myself cooking for just one person—my youngest daughter, Cass.  

Cass, being simple and undemanding when it comes to food, has made this transition smoother. She's content with whatever dish I place on the dining table. This newfound simplicity has allowed me to cook on alternate days, as there's no pressure to prepare elaborate meals every day.

My own eating habits have slightly evolved as well. I've embraced a more streamlined approach to my meals, focusing on balance and nutrition without the need for complex cooking and cleanup. Here's a glimpse into my daily eating routine:

Breakfast: A nutritious start to the day with fruits, nuts, seeds, raw honey with apple cider vinegar, and a cup of organic almond milk with oats. Of course, my morning ritual of decaf coffee with milk is non-negotiable.

Lunch: My main meal of the day occurs at noon, consisting primarily of vegetables, some meat, and an egg. Almost zero carbs.  It's a balanced and hearty meal that keeps me fueled throughout the day. I don’t eat rice but buy a small packet of vegetarian vermicelli buried with heaps of vegetables and mushrooms once or twice a week.

Dinner: For dinner, I opt for simplicity. A bowl of low-fat yogurt with nuts and seeds, accompanied by fruits, veggies, sweet corn or sweet potato, or a comforting soup, satisfies my evening hunger.

What about snacks? Yes, I still eat them – crackers, biscuits, chips (non-salty and non-oily ones) and cakes but not every day and I limit the portion that I eat. My favorite chips are the Original Tortilla chips from Mission. These chips are not salty and not oily with no flavorings and no MSG.

Intermittent Fasting: I've incorporated intermittent fasting into my routine for several years now, with a fasting window of 12-13 hours. This allows me to reset my body and prepare for the day ahead.

Despite the streamlined approach, I make room for variety and the occasional treat. For instance, today and yesterday, I indulged in the delightful Black Thorn variety of durian for breakfast—a rare and delectable treat that hubs got me. 

Droolicious Black Thorn durian, yummeh!

Yesterday, I cooked a nourishing radish soup with frozen Beacon chicken soup and an assortment of veggies stuffed with fish paste—a meal that Cass and I savored for two days.  Beacon chickens are free from growth hormones and antibiotics.

Beacon chicken soup. It tastes exactly like homemade chicken soup. And it's SO convenient to make soups of any kind using this ready-made soup. 

Low-fat and sugar-free yogurt with a piece of Ipoh peanut cookie.
Chris, thanks for the tip. This combo is yummy 🤤

In embracing this shift towards simplicity in my kitchen and eating habits, I've found a sense of contentment and balance. I'm grateful for the flexibility and simplicity that have entered my life. It's a reminder that our eating habits and kitchen routines can evolve, just as we do.

Tuesday, 25 January 2022

One of my daughters made me fuming mad when she got home from school today. She must have gotten on the wrong side of the bed today and was feeling antsy. She just wouldn’t listen to anything that I told her to do, not for me but for herself. Instead, she said something acidic (and sinful) that just burnt my heart. I was irate. I’m still seething. It’s not the first time that this defiant teen had said those words to me.  I was on the verge of lashing out those cuss words on her for her lack of respect but I held my tongue and said something less severe. Swear words and curses lashed out in the heat of the moment are extremely dangerous – the curses may come true and what’s done can’t be undone. 

I once said something to her at the heat of the moment, for her lackadaisical attitude, for her lack of care and love for herself and disrespectful attitude, and what I said, which must have been a curse on her, came true in the same year. I regretted deeply what I said as the consequences cost me my time and money. And if I wasn’t careful enough, it may even cost her, her life.

She’s my most difficult child and I had cried out to God many times asking him for guidance on how to handle this strong-willed child of mine. She seems fearless to anything, even her creator, which crushes me. 

Perhaps only time will change her. Her follies and obstinacy which may result in pain, embarrassment,  failure, and regret can only change her. We almost always learn the hard way, don't we? Sadly.

We were all once at that age when nothing our mothers said would change our minds and hearts. We were once dead stubborn, rebellious and turned a deaf ear on our mothers. It’s only when we got hurt and when things didn’t turn out the way we intended them to be, that we regretted our follies and thought “I should have listened to mom”.  

After Dinner Walks

It's been more than a week ever since Cass and I started our post-dinner routine to have a 30-minute brisk walk outside our condo. She seems to enjoy walking under the street lights and moonlight in the current 'Winter Monsoon' evening weather with crisp air.  I'm glad that I've finally succeeded in getting this couch potato to leave her seat to exercise after almost a year of being discombobulated from being locked up at home and away from her friends. 

This evening we walked to our neighborhood supermarket to get some green vegetables and on our walk back home, we saw an ambulance with the sirens lights flashing (sound muted); the driver and the assistant were donned on full PPE suits with face shields!  Cass and I were stunned. She told me to make a detour and not walk towards the ambulance.  These days whenever we see an ambulance with sirens muted and hospital staff donned in PPE suits, everyone talks about it and wonders which house or building is affected.  The ambulance must have been on the way to whisk away another Covid19 positive patient.  

With the number of positive cases rising not only in our neighborhood but in almost every neighborhood  in our country, I'm now beginning to worry if it's safe for schools to reopen on 20th January.  We've also decided that we will not be going back to Ipoh to celebrate CNY.  It's too risky for us to do that as my parents are high risk folks. Many cases caused by inter-state travels and holidays were reported the past one week.  The only way to flatten the curve is to revert to a lockdown (MCO) for at least 2 weeks, just like how it was in the beginning and it was a success. Much as I'm dying for the CMCO to end and for our lives to return to normal, however, the most effective way to stop the spread of infection is through a total lockdown 😥  We're now waiting for the government to make a decision on this matter.

Our breezy moonlight brisk walking yesterday with a beautiful backdrop ahead of us - KL Towers illuminated in neon purple, The Exchange 106 in the middle and a huge moon on the right.

Our walk to the supermarket today.

The photos are blur and shaky coz I took them whilst brisk walking and I did it stealthily to avoid being noticed.  Cass would give me a killer stare if she found out that I stole pix of her!

 

Sharing Doesn't Work!

Today when we were at the pharmacy to pick up some toiletries and 'healthy' biscuits, Alycia wanted to get a bottle of facial toner.   After Alycia found her Thayers toner (finally Big Pharmacy at our area has it, yay!), Sherilyn wanted a bottle too. I told them to share but an argument broke.  One girl was claiming that her sister always steals her toner and Avène Thermal Spring Water and the accused rebutted. Soon, the argument escalated and got pretty intense.  And I said "OK, each one gets one bottle!"... and the brannigan stopped instantly.  There goes my RM96!  

When they were little toddlers and pre-schoolers, Alycia and Sherilyn would fight over toys and snacks.  Now that they're teens, they often fight over facial toner, pimple cream, perfume and other stuff, which I've always encouraged them to share. I told them that they better not fight over the same boy a few years down the road 😂

For peace at home, sharing just doesn't apply anymore with our teens. Each one gets to keep her own bottle of toner or perfume or whatever.  Just don't come and hound me with grievances when I am busy with work!

RMCO Day 64 ~ Wednesday, 12 August 2020

I have just submitted the 10th and last article to my online boss and the euphoria feeling is akin to completing my last paper in the SPM exam😁. When my online boss told me on Monday noon that she's got a large batch of articles to write and gave me 10 topics with a deadline of Thursday, I had little confidence that I could meet the tight deadline. I told her that I'd return the unfinished articles to her by Wednesday to enable her to find other writers. And for the next 2.5 days,  my butt was glued to my work chair and I kept typing and typing till I have blurry vision and stinging eyes now.  Add on a gassy stomach too from stress and loss of appetite from all the rush 😐.  As I'd mentioned before, I always work better under stress. My brainpower seems to only get properly fired up when Cortisol floods my system, which has its pros and cons. 

After two days of staying home to complete the articles, I really need to go to the supermarket to stock up on groceries and fruits. And I need my fix of  Nyonya kuih  to help me de-stress 😁.   I'm going to run for an hour at the park tomorrow morning to get my dose of Endorphins to zap away the stress hormones in my body. Running and exercising give me a high and IF I had more time for myself, I'd put the time into exercising.  This will be my retirement plan - exercise twice a day! That's how I find my zen.

I'm back at eating an egg a day after eating rather unhealthy food for breakfast for the past few months during the MCO. During the house quarantine, I was craving for junk food (to de-stress) and you'll be shocked to see my kitchen drawer stocked up with Twisties, muruku, Mamee and other 'healthy' snacks in packets.  My girls were in disbelief each time I got back from groceries shopping 😂.  My junk food crave is satiated now and I'm back to healthy eating again, with the exception of Nyonya kuih, my ultimate kryptonite. 

Snacks of crispy bread biscuit and kaya which I bought from a street vendor this morning to support him, to give to Maria, our part-time helper who's coming in today.

RMCO Day 27 & 28 ~ Monday & Tuesday, 6 & 7 July 2020

Monday, 6 July 2020

Someone made me SO SO SO FRIGGING MAD the entire day today that I wanted to strangle her and disown her. I was SO hopping mad I am quite certain a few days of my life were snatched away from me today.  Is this what motherhood is all about? Or is this what failure as a mom is all about I wonder?! I was so enraged and exhausted with her same shitty behavior that I just felt like bursting out and cry 😭

Even my favorite king of fruit did  not manage to prick away the seething anger in me.   Hubs paid RM150 for 3 boxes of 'kampung' D24 durians to support his supplier/friend who's now selling durians.  His friend's canopies, tables and chairs rental business has been badly affected since the start of the MCO and is now turning to selling durians while waiting for events and parties to resurface again.  A school bus driver whom I know has also taken the same route. 

These durians are one of the best I've eaten thus far.  The durians did not cause a stinging sensation in my throat or a sore throat or a tummy ache after I'd walloped 4 huge seeds of durians.  The Musang King species, known for being heavily sprayed with insecticide and pesticide, causes me sore throat and stomach discomfort every time I consume it. Thus, I now avoid Musang King and all premium species as my sensitive throat is allergic to some chemicals in these durians.



Our dinner: organic tofu with minced chicken, steamed golden pomfret with organic miso and ginger + minced garlic, stir-fried organic sweet potato leaves and pan-fried otak-otak.




Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Today is the 7.7 Mid-Year Sales which means that there is a bunch of great deals to grab from online shopping platforms! I'd already entered the item that I wanted to buy from Lazada into my shopping cart a week ago and this morning when I was on the throne, I paid for the item on my phone and saved RM12!  I'm a multi-tasker - I don't just sit on the throne and discard stuff, I always ensure that I do something useful like reading, replying to messages and paying for my online shopping stuff 😁

Here's another beautiful shot of sunrise taken at 7 a.m. today.




Last week, I found out that there were 2 more casulties in our neighborhood arising from the pandemic and MCO.  The pet shop next to Cass' music school and the optical shop that we used to go to had closed down 😪😩  With the closure of the pet shop, Cass and I will have no more pet therapy after her piano class on Saturdays.  We are terribly saddened to hear of the pet shop closure.

Grandmother In Her 40s

Last week I had a chanced encounter with an ertswhile classmate's sister who is 2 years my junior at the supermarket.

Our eyes met and then that stranger who looked terribly familiar smiled at me and asked if I was Shireen. She then introduced herself as KF, KL's sister. I was so happy to be able to reconnect with a long lost friend and we jawed away incessantly for about 15 minutes.

The two sisters used to car-pool with me in my parents' cars almost throughout our secondary school years.  We lost contact after leaving school when we were 17 years old. That's 29 years ago!  And to think that she still recognizes me after almost 3 long decades, I must definitely be still looking the same! 😊😉 ahem!!  She looks almost the same too, except a little plumper, but still as pretty.  And she has 4 kids - 3 grown kids studying in college and university and the youngest daughter is in primary school.  She got married young and now at 44, her eldest has graduated from university already! How envious of me!

And then the shocker. She told me that KL, my former classmate is already a grandmother to 4 grandkids! Her eldest child is 26 years old.  I didn't ask how old her grandchildren are but being a grandmother in your 40s is something that's uncommon in our country in this generation. I think she must be the youngest grandmother amongst our group of classmates. WOW, I am so happy for my friend! The Chinese would call this 'good life' when you have grown up and independent kids and you're still so young. I can't imagine myself being a grandma now or even 10 years down the road when I'm 56 😂  though my mum was already a grandmother at 57.    Today I finally have the time to send a Whatsapp message to KL to reconnect with her and we've been chatting just like how we used to back when we were teenagers.

Here's what Sherilyn whomped up during the recent public holidays. I know it's totally unrelated to this post but I realized that my blogs have inadvertently morphed into a food blog 😄 and my readers are liking it as I've been receiving many messages from them asking me about restaurants and food.

Chocolate cookies made with sugar-free dark chocolate:






Strawberry smoothie with strawberry yogurt, fresh milk and fresh strawberries.

Thursday, 28 August 2019

Our part-time helper called to inform that she's not coming today. Since today will be very hectic for me with many rounds of chauffeuring the girls until late into the night, dinner has to be something that's super easy, quick, mess-free to prep and with minimal washing and cleaning up.

So we had sandwiches ~ pan-fried homemade chicken sausages and pan-fried eggs using my Philips Pressure Cooker. I like pan-frying with the PPC as it does not splatter oil onto the stove. Plus, when the sausages are slowly sizzling in the pot, I can do other stuff like washing, cleaning and slicing the cucumbers and tomatoes.









After dinner was prepped, I had a quick bite with Cass before rushing off to fetch Alycia from school. Traffic was horrendous. At one stretch, traffic was reduced to a bumper-to-bumper crawl.




In the mad snarled-up traffic, all of a sudden I heard sirens wailing away and thunderous honking from behind me. I had to inch my car to the extreme right of the road, with my car tires almost grazing the curb, to give way to the ambulance and fire engine.




That's how bad the traffic standstill was - that I even had the time to snap photos! 

After fetching Alycia from school, I rushed back to pick up Sherilyn from school and was terribly late. Everyone had almost gone home and the poor teacher in charge of watching the students had to stay behind to wait with her and the remaining few students.  Back home, after gobbling down her sandwich, Alycia had to attend another tuition, which only ends at 9:30 p.m.   After dropping Alycia at the tuition centre, I went to get some stuff from the mart for Cass and Sherilyn's experiments in school.   And this is going to be my once weekly hectic routine until Alycia completes her SPM in 15 months' time 🤪

Simple, Nutritious And Quick Homecooked Meals

These days, I start cooking dinner as early as 2:45 p.m..  On Mondays and Tuesdays, Cass and Alycia are home at 4 p.m.  So I cook dinner from as early as 2:45 p.m.   On other days, I start cooking at 4 p.m.  When the girls are back from school, I see a pack of hungry feral dogs who have not eaten for days, ransacking the kitchen to find food. If there's no proper food on the dining table, they satiate their hunger with snacks -- ice-cream, biscuits, chocolates and other junk.  So I make sure that when they are back from school in the afternoon, their dinner is ready.  And so the three of us have our dinner at 4 p.m!  Sherilyn and hubs have dinner later in the evening.

Dinners churned out are always simple - one meat and one veggie.  Most times, I add eggs and fish cakes / fish balls / fish paste / fresh mushrooms into the vegetable dish.   No fancy schmancy dishes. I allocate 1 hour daily for whipping up dinner, sometimes 1.5 hours, before my Ahmad duty resumes in the evening till late evening on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

These are some of the dishes that I dished out since last week:

Asian beef bowl and blanched broccoli.





Sauteed vegetables with fish balls; reheated frozen braised pork belly with shallots.  The mil cooked the pork belly just before she left for New Zealand 3 weeks ago.  I saved her frozen dishes for reheat on evenings when I do not have the time to cook a meat dish, like when Alycia has a dental appointment or Cass has replacement piano class.




Steamed organic pearl sweet corns for dessert.



With the leftover braised pork belly with shallots, I blanched some organic spinach noodles for lunch for Cass the next day.




Organic dinner ~ sauteed mini king oyster mushrooms with organic Pineapple chicken breast and organic miso, steamed organic sweet corns and sauteed organic spinach with minced garlic.




Organic Pineapple chickens are fed with pineapple enzyme chicken feed and this brand of organic chicken is new in store at our neighborhood supermarket.

Thai Basil minced pork sans the red chillies.







When I realized that the organic Thai basil that I bought from the night market 2 days ago had all shriveled, I had to pluck sweet basil from the pot in my balcony garden!  A week later, I learned from the organic vegetables seller that basil cannot be stored in the fridge. The stalks of basil have to be placed in a cup of water, else they will shrivel and turn brown in the chiller!  Luckily I have backup in my balcony, albeit it's not Thai basil.  😁



Portion kept for Sherilyn who only ate her dinner at 8:30 p.m. after Muay Thai class.

The Long White Socks

A relative gave us a brand new bundle of white cotton knee-length socks from Marks And Spencer a few years ago. The socks are of excellent quality. She had bought them for her daughter but the girl didn't like those holey socks.


When your kids breach the 6 years old mark, it is TOUGH to get them to wear anything that they do not like.  Post-millennial kids are a whole lot of different species from Gen-X kids.  Had I dare to reject what my mum bought for me to wear 30 years ago, my life would have been really tough. I remember mum bought a bright pink long jumpsuit for me for CNY when I was 13 years old and I hated that jumpsuit. I felt like a clown wearing it but I was forced to wear it on the first day of CNY. And that was the only time I wore the jumpsuit. Later I resorted to wearing my school PE T-shirt during the remaining days of CNY that year as I felt like I was in my skin better in the PE T-shirt vs. the clown's jumpsuit 😆  But I still obeyed my mum and pleased her by wearing what she had bought for me.

When I showed the socks to Cass, she didn't like them the moment she saw them. There was no way I could make her wear those socks to school. She rather wear her torn socks than to wear those brand new socks. I have been keeping those Marks And Spencer socks for 4 years now, gave more than half of them to my niece and now there are still a few more pairs left.  Before the socks turn yellow and loose elasticity, I brought them out from the closet recently and tried to convince the two younger girls to wear them. At least to sleep!

In my best effort to try to entice Cass again to wear them, all she said was "NO WAY  am I going to wear those ridiculous socks.  You can give them away!"





This morning, I took out the socks and tried my luck to entice Drama Queen to wear them. But I already knew what her answer would be.

Me - do you want to wear these socks?

Sher - YOU THINK??! (SARCASTICALLY!)

Me - You used to LOVE these socks remember? You used to like everything princessy!

Sher - yeah, that was like 10 years ago mum.  Ooops, MY BAD!!


It looks like these beautiful brand new white socks will be given to our helper again. I can fit into these socks but me wearing them? For jogging? No way!

My drama queen, with a wicked sense of humour really cracked me up with her snappy answer this morning.  But most times, her sarcasm and arrogance piss me off. Wonder where she got the genes from 🤔

Petty Crime At Home

Someone left this glass pitcher with this much of lemonade in it in the fridge.





I was looking for lemonade to drink this afternoon and what I found in the fridge made me wanna strangle that kid.

It is SO obvious why this was done, right?

Because she didn't want to wash the pitcher. And she knows that I will wash it. Or grandma. As she would have already been in school by the time her crime is noticed.

Lazy girl.  Had she been around at that time, I would have made her wash it till it's squeak clean inside out.

This happens not only to the pitcher but to the ice moulds and wrappers of chocolate and biscuit with zilch content inside left inside the snack drawer and empty punnets left in the fridge. Can you believe it? And no one would admit their crime. When caught red-handed, they give me a cheeky grin and an apology. They know that their only punishment is that they will have to throw the empty wrapper / punnet away or refill water into the ice moulds. I must think of a harsher punishment now!

Labour Day Holiday ~ 1 May 2018

My baby and toddler caring days are long over. I thought that as the girls are older now, I can slowly regain my freedom and some sanity.  But NO.  In the march of time, I realize that I am more and more consumed by the lack of sleep and jadedness. The girls have more activities now as teenagers than when they were younger and this does not mean that I have more time to myself. This means that I have lesser sleep and time to myself. And busier than ever too, as I am the one who has to wake up early and do most of the chauffeuring.

On Labour Day today, I had to force myself to jump out of bed at 6:30 a.m. to get Drama Queen ready before she leaves the house at 7:30 a.m..  She has Taekwondo grading at a school in Puchong. Darn the TKWD instructor who always conducts replacement classes and grading at this school in Puchong 👿 Had I known  about this earlier, I would not have allowed Drama Queen to join TKWD. I feel like I got cheated into signing up for something without being told fully what to expect. He should have told me earlier about this.  If traffic is clear, it takes 20 - 30 minutes to reach the school and I find it extremely inconvenient to have to drive so far. To begin with, my sense of direction sucks and I don't have an hour to waste on the road.

Thank God the hubs was willing to do the chauffeuring today. I stayed home to do some chores as our part-time helper isn't coming today.

Since it's a public holiday, the hubs decided to venture to the city center to tuck into our favorite kai see hor fun (shredded chicken noodles) at Wat Kai Fan (Kwong Kei) located along Jalan San Peng.

This kai see hor fun is by far the best that we've discovered (since 3 years ago) in the Klang Valley. It comes pretty close to the ones from our hometown of Ipoh.  For an Ipoh mali to comment that this dish is good, it has to be true.  Taste and texture aside, my only beef is that everything is too oily for my preference.  And comfort and hygiene  are not up to my standard ~ but that's besides the point and is often expected from a road side stall. Be prepared to sweat it out and sit on hawker style chairs and oily tables.  I have something to confess ~  I washed all the chopsticks, spoons and bowls at the sink before using them 😆




The steamed egg is silky smooth but again, too oily for my health freak palate.  Chicken feet are not my kinda food ~ the mil and hubs chowed them all down.  I find them too yucky looking and from a post-fibroid patient's perspective, I am avoiding collagen-rich food.



The chicken feet in the picture below look creepy and sinister! 😱  Sorry for the snub remarks on chicken feet to all my dear readers who are fans of chicken feet 😬









Since there's no helper around today, we ordered takeaway Capati and yummy curries from Capati Tiger Jit Singh, a stall that's just next to the chicken noodles stall.

It looks like I can only enjoy my hunky-dory days traipsing the world (like my parents now) and waking up at whatever time my body feels like it in at least another 12 years. That seems like a very long time to come but I am certain that those days shall be mine to claim. 😊

Grossed Out

This incident happened about a month back, on the eve of Cass and Drama Queen's exam.

After hanging out the fresh laundry, I noticed a little piece of something blackish + pinkish in color at the bottom of the pail. Thinking that it must be yet another piece of residue from Cass' art and craft papers or stickers, I picked up the piece of  'sticker'. With my bare fingers.

And holy cow.  At the  touch of it, the piece of 'sticker' sure didn't feel paper-ish. It was sticky but it felt squishy. I brought the piece of  'sticker'  closer to my eyes and then "WAAAAAAAAA" I screamed blue murder and flung the piece of 'sticker' away. Eye to eye with a dead reptile!! 😵  Cass  and Drama Queen who were revising at the table ran to me and asked what happened.

Me - I think I just washed a baby lizard with our clothes and it's now dead.  QUICK bring the magnifying glass, quick!!!

As quick as lightning, Cass fetched me the magnifying glass.  The 3 of us had to study the specimen to confirm that it was indeed a dead baby lizard.

Just the night earlier, I had seen a baby lizard lurking around the dirty laundry area and this confirmed my suspicion.

When the 3 girls scrutinized the specimen through the lenses of the magnifying glass carefully, like scientists, they all concurred what they saw -- the bulging eyes, the translucent skin which was PINK in color (EWWWWW!!!) and the tiny claws on the legs. Oh. My. Freaking. Gawd.

I wanted to puke. Knowing that the life baby reptile went a spinning together with our clothes just grossed me out.

I ordered the girls to remove all the clothes that I had just hung on the hangers and dump them back into the washing machine for another round of washing.

Never A Dull Moment

The big princess is a self-confessed neat and clean freak. She calls herself OCD. Too bad she's got her dad's neat freak genes and her mom's clean freak DNA ingrained in her 😆  But I'm really 'lucky' that over the years, she's transformed into an OCD coz I now have someone at home who'll help me keep the house spic and span, HA HA HA!

While one has OCD, the other 2 girls are just the complete opposite.  These 2 devils drive me and the OCD girl bonkers with their callous attitude. The things that they do are unbelievable at times.  I can never ever tolerate anyone in the house putting stuff like books, bags, iPads (these are placed everywhere on dirty school desks, oily tables and even on the road. You know kids...) and other stuff not meant for the bed to be on the bed.  Someone does just that and this always makes me lose my marbles.  I'm not going to mention any  name here as I know that they read my blog all the time.

Last evening Drama Queen stepped out of the house for just a few minutes, bare footed and then walked back into the house.  Miss OCD chided Miss Bare Footed for not wearing slippers, thus dirtying the floor that she had just moped.

Miss Bare Footed retorted "can't you see me tip-toeing into the house? Is that not enough? You want me to crawl on my hands and knees is it?"


Goodness me, that was deliriously hilarious! I was in the kitchen and suppressing my guffaw so hard that I was tearing.  She could be a fighter cock that no one could ever bully but she is dang funny too.  When she's in a cheery  mood, this little devil can make me laugh like a hyena. She just knows which spot to hit, to make me howl uncontrollably till I tear.  I'll never have a dull moment when she's at home.

Yesterday's evening sunset skyline had a beautiful splash of rainbow colors on it. Cass caught sight of it while she was doing her revision. She ran out to the balcony with my phone and snapped a picture of it 💓