Our 1st Day of CNY

In the Yap family, it has been a long tradition that everyone eats vegetarian food on the 1st day of the CNY. This year my mil is around to celebrate CNY with us. The last time she celebrated CNY with us was exactly 5 years ago. She was back then as I was about to deliver Sherilyn by elective c-section. Sherilyn was born on the 8th day of the Chinese New Year. Tomorrow, my little rascal will turn 5. How time flies!!

We got to enjoy my mil's homecooked vegetarian food this CNY. These are the dishes that she cooked yesterday:

1) 'Jai choi' (braised vegetarian dish consisting of wood ear fungus, golden needle mushrooms, dried mushrooms, glass noodles, Chinese cabbage, soy bean sheets all cooked with 'lam yue' (red colored fermented soy bean cakes).

2) Stir-fried vegetarian vermicelli consisting of big onions, carrots, cabbage, wood ear fungus and vermicelli.



Macro shot of the jai choi (vegetarian dish), eaten with red cut chillies.



My 3 gals helping themselves to cookies and snacks while watching TV. They have been nibbling on these cookies the whole day. Check out my cili padi, hogging the canister of cookies!

How not to resist those cookies, chips and snacks when these goodies are all placed conveniently on their table?

How did you spend the first day of the CNY yesterday?

Almond Cookies

My mil bakes the most addictive almond slice butter cookies. They are crunchy, very flavorful and nutty. Every bite you take has an almond slice in it, yums! I can chomp down 3-5 pieces (and even more if I couldn't care less about my darn waist line!) in one go hahahaha.....see this wai sake fei por!!

My mil made this batch of almond slice cookies several days ago. When Baby saw the cookies fresh from the oven, she went "waaaaaaa" and then climbed up the dining table chair, then climbed up the dining table and screamed "I wan biscuit!!"... with her hands grabbing the cookies. My mil and I burst out in a guffaw coz she looked too cute doing that and we could not believe she could pronounce the word "biscuit" so clearly! She is definitely another biscuit and junk food lover, just like her 2 jie jies.



My mil even bought pretty plastic bags complete with stickers and cute bands from Japan to pack these cookies to give away as gifts. This bag of cookies was meant for Alycia's class teacher but that fler was too shy to give her teacher and she removed it from her school bag. She told me no way was she going to give it to her teacher, haih...!

Koong Hei Fatt Choy

I'd like to wish all my blog readers "koong hei fatt choy". For those of you who are driving back to your hometown, please drive extra carefully so that you will reach your destination safely. Have a very pleasant reunion dinner with you family and loved ones. We are staying behind in KL. My mil is cooking up a storm now! Gosh, I am so going to gain weight coz there's just too much good food everywhere that I go!!

Happy Chinese New Year To All My Chinese Readers!

I’d like to wish all my Chinese blog readers a very happy Chinese New Year. May the year of the Tiger be a prosperous, happy and smooth sailing one for you and your family. Chinese New Year is all about eating, drinking and reunion with your family, friends and loved ones. You can eat everything that you want but don’t over indulge in the fattening cookies, snacks, meat jerky and meaty meals. Yup, Chinese New Year is also about eating lots of meat at every meal. Don’t forget to exercise to stay on top of you health and to fight that bulge. I’m sure you do not want to return to work looking for the top rated fat burners when you cannot slip into your skirt, dress or pants! And to all my non-Chinese blog readers, happy holidays!

Human Growth Hormone

Some people are blessed with young looking genes while others look older than their actual age. Do you know why many celebrities look so good and younger than they actually are? Apart from the weekly facial, botox jabs, face lift, plastic surgery and all that jazz that they splurge on, some of them rely on human growth hormone supplements. So what exactly is human growth hormone or HGH? You can read all about
human growth hormone facts at the link that I’ve provided you here.

Colon Cleanser For A Healthier, Happier, Thinner You

It is vital to have your colons cleansed regularly to promote a healthier, happier and thinner you. A colon cleanser works by cleansing the digestive tract or unnecessary wastes. For the past few years, I have been eating a tablespoon of psyllium husks (which acts similarly to a colon cleanser) with water and honey every morning. I hardly ever suffer from constipation anymore. Do you use a colon cleanser too? If you are looking for one, you may want to read up on some colon cleanse reviews.

Thank God It's The Holidays

After 2 months of working really hard on my 2-month old online store, I finally get to take a short respite this CNY holidays. During this one-week break, I will spend more quality time with the gals, meet up with my friends and do all the reading that I have wanted to do. I have neglected my health blog a little and I must find more interesting health articles to write in this blog. This means more reading for me. I also want to read about the alli review after reading so much about Alli, the only FDA approved over the counter diet medication.

A Career In Firefighting

Alycia’s ambition seems to be changing all the time. Sometimes she tells me that she wants to be a chef or an artist when she grows up, at times, she says she wants to be like Handy Mandy (a carpenter!!). Lately she told me that she wants to be a doctor and boy, was I pleased to hear that :D At one time, she kept telling me that she wants to be a firefighter. I kid you not, she was so adamant that being a firefighter is the job for her. I told her that a firefighter is not what a woman should be but she told me that she had seen female firefighters on TV!

Did you know that these days, firefighters are more than just someone who puts out a fire? There are Fire Service degrees offered by online universities these days. This fire service degree teaches you the creative, critical, and transformational thinking strategies necessary to manage any situation with confidence.

Loosing Weight Healthily

Do you think that the best weight loss products will help you achieve your ideal weight and thereafter help you to maintain that weight permanently? I don’t know as I have never tried weight loss products. I still think that the best and healthiest ways to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight is to eat healthily, cut down on fatty foods and food that is high in empty calories, reduce white flour products, ensure that calories output is higher than calories input and most importantly, EXERCISE!

Not An Ounce Of Fat Gained

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year but I had already chomped down many of the cookies that I had bought weeks earlier. I have been eating so much cookies and CNY snacks that I now feel nauseated at the sight of them. Thank God I did not gain an ounce in weight and don’t have to get those top fat burners to help me slim down. My daily morning exercise and all the stress managing my kids and online business have been helping me burn all the fat away.

She Wants To Be A Doctor When She Grows Up

The other day, Alycia told me that she wanted to become a doctor when she grows up. I was surprised that she said that as I doubt she really knew what a doctor’s job entails. Maybe she said that to please me or maybe she likes our pediatrician and wants to be a doctor like him. I’ll be the proudest mummy on earth if ever Alycia becomes a doctor.

Guess What She's Doing?

Guess, guess, guess...



Clap, clap, clap....

She's eating tangerines and cherry tomatoes while watching nursery rhymes karaoke. Her 2 jie jies were at school and I had some work to do, so the TV was the next best babysitter :)

She Made My Day

Baby made me burst out in a guffaw a few days ago and really made my day when she did this. You see, Baby did something that made Alycia really, really upset. Alycia was so upset that she kept scolding Baby. Baby was shocked initially but after several seconds of looking stunned (coz Alycia is normally very patient with Baby), she nonchalantly began clapping her hands as if nothing had happened.... and then to my surprise, she began to sing the nursery rhyme "oh where, oh where..dog gone.." and hummed the tune of "Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone"! Oh gawd, she is becoming more and more like rascal #2 (when she was around Baby's age) who used to sing and act cool when I scolded her.

I must say I am proud of Baby as she seems to be musically inclined and can memorize the tunes and lyrics of nursery rhymes quite well though she is not even 2 yo yet.



Looks like Baby's gonna be another junkie lover!

Welcoming Baby's Terrible Twos

Baby's Terrible Twos symptoms are clearly displaying now, though she is still 2 months shy of her 2nd birthday. She has started to turn stubborn, wants certain things done her way, knows how to choose her own clothes and hair accessories, demands for things and will roll on the floor and wail when her whims are not met.

The other day, my mil brought Alycia and Sherilyn down for swimming. She could not go and was obviously really upset, so she lay on the floor wailing her lungs out like this:


But I always give in and sayang her back within minutes coz I know she is strongly capable of puking if she cries too much, just like rascal #2. See how manipulative she is!

On another note, Baby's speech is improving by the day. Yesterday she said "mummy, help me" and over dinner she called everyone 'sek fan' (eat rice - the Chinese' custom of greeting your elders before you eat) by saying this "mummy... fan, mah mah... fan, cheh che... fan". She voluntarily greeted everyone when she saw her 2 jie jies greeting us at the dining table.

MOON, MOON, Mummy...

A few nights ago, there was a really huge and bright moon in the sky. It could be seen very clearly from the 5th floor of our condo unit. When Baby saw it she ran to me and said "MOON, MOON, MOON, Mummy....."

She quickly climbed on the couch next to the window and stood there admiring the big moon for a good 5 minutes and said "moon, come, come, come....." as if inviting the moon to come to our house, SO cute! She says this too whenever she sees animals on TV, as if inviting the animals to come to our house haha!!

How Do You Explain The Dreaded Question To Your Child?

I didn't tell her about the birds and bees. I told her "you'll learn all about these in school when your teacher teaches you Science" hahahah!

Alycia finally asked me the dreaded question several days ago when she overheard me talking to hubs about it. Don't jump to conclusion, we weren't talking sexy or anything intimate ok. We're too old for that lol!! I was telling hubs that I read in the newspapers about how great our fertility specialist was (the doctor who helped us get Alycia via IUI). This doctor helped a woman conceive via IVF by implanting an embryo that's frozen for 10 years into her uterus!! Now, the baby girl is 1 year old. This case was recorded in the Malaysia's Book Of Record recently.

Back to Alycia. This was our conversation in the car:

A - mummy, what did you tell daddy?

Me - oh, I asked him what we should eat later. (I knew she'll grill me until she got the answer from me!)

A - No, what did you say about the doctor who made me?

Me - Oh, this doctor helped a woman get a baby by putting a 10-year old frozen egg (embryo) into her. Something like how he helped mummy get you.

A - How to put the egg inside?

Me - put into a syringe and inject inside.

A - Inject where?

Me - Inject inside stomach.

A - How to inject inside?

Me - through the pet pet (more refined way of referring to the down under to a young kid)

A - what did the doctor inject inside?

Me - you ask daddy.

A - daddy, what did the doctor inject inside mummy?

Daddy - SPERM.

A - what is sperm mummy? How to get sperm?

Me - next time you will learn in school when your teacher teaches you Science ok?

How do you explain this to your young child?

Clean & Cool Green Tea

I got a surprise yesterday morning when the delivery man from a courier company called me to inform me that my Clean & Cool green tea had arrived. I did not know that they even work on Sundays. I then told my maid to go down to collect the package but my maid came up again asking for a trolley. I got a bigger surprise when I saw not only 3 bottles of green tea but 3 big boxes of Clean & Cool (C2) green tea. Now, that was really cool!!



Rascal #2 and #3 quickly helped me rip open the boxes and removed the bottles of drinks from the boxes. I could not wait to try all the flavors.



The C2 green tea comes in 3 refreshing flavors - lemon, apple and forest fruits. Rascal #2 quickly grabbed a bottle of the lemon flavored C2 green tea while I tasted all the 3 bottles immediately. The lemon one tastes like ice-lemon tea, the apple one tastes like apple juice and the forest fruits tastes like Ribena. The C2 green tea tastes even better when chilled or drank with ice cubes.

What I like about the C2 green tea is that they come in a cute convenient 350ml resealable PET bottle, which enables you to conveniently drink your green tea on the go. Rascal #2 even brought her bottle of lemon C2 green tea along with her when we went out for lunch yesterday.

Clean & Cool (C2) has all the goodness of natural green tea leaves of Camellia Sinensis variety which are known to contain Catechins. C2 is brewed and bottled on the same day to preserve the freshness and flavor of green tea. It is non-carbonated and ready-to-drink with a cool and clean taste. It is definitely a healthier alternative to carbonated drinks.

The 3 boxes of C2 green tea arrived at just the right time as the hubs now no longer has to buy soft drinks and packet drinks for CNY. Our guests will now be able to drink chilled refreshing flavored green tea!

C2 green tea is now available at Jaya Jusco, Mydin, Giant, 7-11 convenient stores or your nearest mini market. Go get a bottle to try today!

Getting Bright With Baby Bright

Baby has been watching this Baby Bright VCD for several months now and she is getting hooked on it. When she was several months old, she was hooked on the 'Your Baby Can Read' VCDs, then recently she got hooked on the Barney's 'Firehouse' VCD. Now, she's hooked on this Baby Bright VCD. Baby Bright teaches infants and toddlers colors, shapes, the concept of size and cause and effect. I bought this VCD for Alycia and Sherilyn 4 years ago.

Baby in her morning routine....



When Baby saw me sitting and arching my back on my fitball, she too followed suit... on her "bawoon" (balloon), cute!!

Just One Of Sherilyn's Samseng Acts

Rascal #2 was caught unaware that I had snapped this pic of her doing some acrobatic stunts while eating her lunch:

She even rocked her body by pushing her feet against the backrest of the chair *slaps forehead*

I wonder why she is so terribly fidgety and can't even sit still when she eats!

Instant Indonesian Rendang Curry

What do you do when you had accidentally mixed up the good quality chicken meant for cooking with the loh kai por (old hen) meant for boiling soup? It would be such a waste to use up all the chicken to boil soup, so I made chicken rendang with the chicken.

I used a sachet of Asian Home Gourmet Indonesian Rendang Curry Gulai which my sil bought from Singapore:

Since I could not get fresh santan (coconut milk), I substituted it with 1.5 cans of evaporated milk and cooked the chicken for almost 2 hours.

The chicken was tasty and not too spicy (the gals could eat them without any complaints) but the meat was still a tad tough. Next time round, I must remember to cook the old hen for an extra hour or more!