Last Meal

This was the last meal that our previous maid cooked for us before she returned to Indonesia. Since Alycia and Sherilyn have always wanted to eat Maggie Mee (instant noodles), she fried a big pot of Maggie Mee (minus the MSG) that was enough for all of us for lunch and dinner.

I have yet to taste my new maid's cooking and I wonder if she knows the basics of cooking. Shall be testing her cooking skills either today or tomorrow.

A University Degree Guarantees A Bright Future

My new Cambodian maid is a smart girl. She has gone to high school for several years but was forced to stop schooling due to financial constraints. According to our maid agent, the level of English that she speaks is considered very good for a poor farmer’s daughter like her. Most Cambodians from the rural areas are hard core poor and don’t speak a word of English but she speaks smattering English that’s mostly comprehensible. I told her yesterday that since she’s only 20 years old, she should work hard and save enough money to pursue a degree. If she can’t afford to go overseas, she can pursue a degree from online universities like Capella University, an accredited online university that offers 104 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 15 certificate programs. She can choose a subject that interests her, realize her dreams of being the first graduate in her family and set a brighter future for her and her family.

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Black Sesame Paste Pau

This black sesame paste pau from Din Tai Fung Chinese Restaurant @ Gardens is one of the tastiest I have ever tasted. There's a generous filling of black sesame paste oozing from the pau as you sink your teeth into the piping hot soft pau. Very tasty!

A Little Fountain In Our Very Own Kitchen

The kids and I had a real good laugh yesterday when the faucet in our kitchen sink was accidentally yanked off by our new Cambodian maid. What made it so funny was that when the faucet came off, the water shot up like a little fountain and my maid was all wet…. with the faucet still in her hand. Even I had a good laugh. The faucet has been faulty and loose for months already and had been yanked off many times but we haven’t got the time to get a replacement. I better ask hubby to get a new Hansgrohe faucet that does not fall apart so easily. It’s really inconvenient each time the faucet comes off as I have to wait for my handyman (hubby) to come back from work at night to have it fixed.

I Prefer Plus Size Clothes Than Maternity Clothes

I wonder why maternity clothes and lingerie are so expensive. I recently bought a tube top and jeans from a maternity boutique and they cost me a bomb. I had wanted to buy some maternity lingerie too but they are freaking expensive. I rather buy plus size clothes and plus size lingerie which cost much cheaper than maternity ones. I also find most maternity wear conservative and unappealing. Most of the clothes and lingerie that I wear during my pregnancy are plus size clothes and plus size lingerie. There are more choices of appealing and sexy apparel from plus size apparel and lingerie boutiques than maternity boutiques.

Relief For Varicose Veins

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My New Cambodian Temp Maid

She's here finally. She's incredibly stick-thin and I wonder if she eats anything or have the stamina to work. My maid agent told me that one of the reasons she was rejected by her previous employer is that she was picky in her food and requested for certain beverages and food from her previous employer. When she was here, the maid agent specifically warned her not to be choosy with her food. I woke up at 6am today to explain work to her. So far she's ok, comprehends simple English and willing to do anything. I'm praying hard that she will fit in well here.

IT-Savvy Kid

Alycia loves learning words on her toy electronic laptop. At the press of a button, she can choose what she wants to learn. She got this laptop for her 3rd birthday a year ago but she did not know how to play with it then, so I kept it. Recently, she went to the cupboard where I keep all their new books, toys, stationery, stickers, etc. and fished out the laptop herself and started playing with it. As she doesn't know spelling yet, she will ask me for help to play the word games on the laptop. This is really a cool learning tool for toddlers ages 4 and up.

Temp Maid

My maid agent just called to inform me that he has managed to get me a temp live-in maid who will arrive at my house tomorrow night. I am having a mixture of feelings now, both relieved and worried. Relieved and happy that I don't have to do household chores anymore yet worried that the maid will drive me nuts. This temp maid will be a Cambodian maid who has been rejected by another employer. I just hope that there will not be any communication breakdown and most importantly, she will not be a cuckoo maid and one who is lazy and has bad attitude.

Siamese Love Letter

Hubby's uncle who has just returned from Thailand gave us a big bottle of kuih kapit (or Love Letters) filled with chicken floss all rolled up inside. They are really crispy, tasty and fragrant as there's a generous amount of coconut milk used to make the Love Letters. Greedy me was so busy munching on the Love Letters that my hand slipped whilst holding the bottle and all the Love Letters inside were crushed to bits. Now, I have to use a spoon to eat the crushed biscuits and chicken floss!

Home Furniture

Good quality and elegant home furniture are really expensive these days. Last month, hubby and I saw a dining table set from a furniture shop that we really liked but the price was way out of our budget. A relative of mine who works in a furniture shop told me once that many home furnishing stores reap a gross margin of 43.3% on average! So can you imagine how cheap the furniture would be if we could directbuy them from the manufacturer?

Hair Cut Day

I finally brought the gals for their hair cut today. I also had my tresses cut since I haven't had a hair cut for almost a year! The length of my hair was at chest length and I found that it took a long time for my hair to dry since I normally take my bath at night, just before going to bed. I wash my hair everyday and sometimes even twice a day. Now, it's at shoulder length and layered and I find my hair lighter as well. The gals behaved very well when the hairdresser cut their hair. I personally prefer them to have long tresses as they look more girlish. Since they don't allow me to tie up their hair, I have no choice but to have their hair at chin length all the time. It's really messy when they have long hair each time they eat and sweat.

Silly Sherilyn

Every night when I place my nightie on the bed, Sherilyn is sure to put on the nightie and act silly to make me laugh. She will dance in my nightie, run around with it and say "i am mummy!". She sure knows how to make me laugh.

Din Tai Fung Chinese Restaurant

The night before our maid left, hubby brought us all to Din Tai Fung Chinese Restaurant @ Gardens for dinner. This restaurant serves really good Shainghainese food.

This 'siu loong pau' is really tasty. I love the hot soup wrapped inside the skin. You have got to be careful not to burn your lips and tongue when you bite into this pau as the soup inside is really piping hot. There are 2 varieties of 'siu loong pau' - one is meat filled and the other one is meat and crab meat filled. Both are equally tasty.


Another of my favorite at this restaurant - the beef 'la mien'. Very tasty.


This is also one of my favorites - pau filled with steamed minced pork meat - also very tasty.

Our all-time favorite - 'sei kwai tau' or Four Seasons beans, which is actually fried long beans with minced pork and preserved vegetables.


Fried rice with big shrimps and eggs for our maid.

We also ordered a steamed tofu dish. What's special about this simple dish is that the tofu comes with chicken meat floss sprinkled on top of the tofu.

I would rate the food from this restaurant 9 over 10.

Finally Maid-Less

My maid has left us since yesterday. Luckily my mum is here to help me entertain the kids and with some simple household chores, else I will really be helpless and I can't imagine how I will be able to cope all alone with 2 brats at home. However, she can only be here until this Friday.

Today is Alycia's first day of school this year. I woke up early to do some simple house work and to prepare her lunch box. After having a maid to help me for more than 5 years, I find it really tiring to have to do everything myself now. Being pregnant makes it even more tiring. I now find it difficult and tiring to squat down, bend down, climb up and down the stairs more than 20 times a day, wash the dishes, hang the clothes out to dry, keep the clothes, bathe the kids myself, etc. etc. My maid agent has promised me that he will send me a temp live-in maid this Sunday and I hope this time he will keep his promise. The temp maid will be a Cambodian, who has been rejected by another employer. I just hope she will be tolerable. I won't place too much hope on her as she's only a temp maid. Just can't wait for my new permanent maid to arrive.

Sherilyn - 8 Months vs 3 Years Old

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Green Tea Chiffon Cake

This green tea chiffon cake is one of the best I have tasted. It's from this bakery that we regularly patronize near our house. If I want to get this cake, I have to be at the bakery early, else they will all be snapped up in a jiff. It's ultra soft, not too sweet and has red beans sprinkled on top. I can even chomp down the entire cake myself in a day, but of course I won't do that.... gotta watch the calories and my waist line!

Finally I Got A Taste Of Her Curry

After months of just smelling the aroma of my Sikh neighbor's curry whenever she cooks them and salivating whilst I whiffed the aroma, yesterday she finally gave me a small bowl of her chicken curry to try. And boy, it tasted so good. Authentic, homemade Sikh curry. If only I had some tosei or roti canai to go with the curry, it would even be more satisfying! Finally my crave was satisfied!

She also gave me a huge packet of fish keropok from Terengganu. My maid deep fried some and they tasted really good too!

Mum To The Rescue

My mum is coming tomorrow to help me out. Yippee!! Though I can't expect her to help me in the household chores as she's quite plagued by ailments, at least she's here to entertain the kids whilst I get to do some house work or work on my computer. However, she can only stay for one week. Hopefully she will agree to stay longer.

Quick Fix Mac n Cheese

If you want to fix a quick meal of mac n cheese for yourself or your little one, try San Remo. It's MSG free, preservative free and very tasty. Alycia and Sherilyn love it. Just add some butter, milk, some chopped french beans or some minced meat and cook for 10 minutes and voila, you have a delicious piping hot meal on your table. You can also sprinkle some cheese or pine nuts on the macaroni for some added calcium and protein for your toddlers.