Old Treasure Found

During our recent trip back to Ipoh, my mum dug out some very, very old seashells and pebbles and showed them to the girls.

When I saw them, I felt really sentimental.  I felt as if I was brought back via a time machine to the early 1980s!  These seashells were collected by my older brother, Ray and me from the beaches that my dad brought us to for holidays.  I remember some were collected in 1979 when I was only 6 years old at Golden Sands in Lumut.  Some were collected from the beaches in Teluk Batik.  And some were collected by my mum when she was a child (the hugest one, held by Sherilyn in the below picture)...
 




I could not believe that seashells and corals do not decompose and ours still look very solid!

You see those shiny brown and grey pebbles?  My maternal granny brought them back from China for my brothers and me circa 1988.  I remember we placed them inside a plastic aquarium that we kept our 2 pet tortoises.


"These are MINE!" "NO NO, they are MINE!" And the row went on and on over some old seashells! *roll eyes*!






Oh yes, the colorful marbles belonged to my older brother and they are over 30 years!

As with all bickering and tug of war, there must be a concession, so...

each one has some of everything :)




 

Lunch at Ippudo @ Gardens Mid Valley

These days, I hardly do food review posts though the foodie hubs is still bringing us everywhere to 'jalan-jalan cari makan' and to try out new eateries.

First, I find it very time-consuming to do a food review post as I need to Google for some information on the eatery.  Secondly, there are just too many impatient hands and growling tummies who just cannot wait for me to say "Wait ar, take photo first!" and then spend a few minutes moving the plate of grub so that it appears in the most appealing angle for me to photograph it. All these food porn  must be done really really quick, lest I get chided and squawked at.

Most of my food pictures will be photobombed by a hand or two, a tumbler, half a face or a hidden thumbs-up from someone cheeky somewhere near the food, like this one... with an impatient hand grabbing the prawn.






By the time I finish snapping my pix, what was once nicely presented in front of me will be gone!  That is why I can never be fat though my hubster is a food caterer and foodie!

Anyway, we had lunch at Ippudo Japanese restaurant @ Mid Valley on Sunday.  Hubster ordered an array of delish and unique Japanese delicacies but I only managed to capture 2 pictures, one of which inevitably showing the hand of my hungry darling Alycia.


This ain't picture perfect too but if I did not hurriedly swipe  the button on my phone, I will be squawked at again like a despised paparazzi!  #@*!






Finally HFM and gang's rating on Ippudo is 7/10.  We all love the food there, especially the ramen with delish broth and the pork bun.  For someone who hates rice but find the above rice sushi delish, it must be really good!  Do give Ippudo a try when Zanmai Sushi has a crazy long queue, though Ippudo is also packed during peak hours. Zanmai Sushi and Ippudo are located just next to each other.  Between Zanmai Sushi and Ippudo, I still prefer Zanmai but do not have the patience to queue up for half an hour.

 

 

Cass Eats Fish Head

Cass is the youngest kiddo I ever know who will nibble on a fish head. Yes, a fish head of all parts!

This picture was taken at a Chinese restaurant on my birthday 2 weeks.  My dad ordered a fish and after everyone had taken the fish meat, my baby girl attacked the fish head and patiently dug out the fish meat from the cheeks, eyes and neck, put it into her mouth and fed me with it too.  She even helped me peel prawns and put the de-veined them into my mouth, knowing that I don't like to dirty my hands peeling seafood.  When she's good, she's really a God-sent angel :)

 



Ans she tried to duck away from the paparazzi, who secretly tried to photograph her in action, HA HA HA!

Purple Porridge For Lunch Today

Wednesdays are simple lunch days for Cass and me. That is because I do not have a fusspot to please. Cass is pretty simple to please. A simple toast with eggs will make her happy.  Or porridge.  Cass loves porridge.  But if the fussbudget sees porridge, she turns sulky right away.  She wants rice. Rice with dishes but Cass and I hate rice. 

So today being a Wednesday, I happily made a big pot of porridge with purple sweet potatoes, orange sweet potatoes, pork slices, shredded cabbage and shell fish. Cass loves it and so do I.  I whacked a bowl without guilt as I used low GI Basmati rice to cook the porridge.

There is still a big pot of porridge sitting in the Thermos Shuttle Chef now, keeping it warm.  Tonight Cass and Sherilyn will have that for dinner.  As for the fussbudget, I will have to cook some rice for her.  And I am grilling Saba fish and Salmon fish head too, in the oven.  Dinners are strictly carb-free for me, so I'll be fine with just fish and some leftover tofu with minced meat that I cooked for dinner yesterday.

Cassandra's Morning Workout

Today we 'smuggled' Cass into the gym for 10 minutes :D

And she truly enjoyed her short session on the treadmill and air walker.  I wish that she could stay longer so that I could work out longer but nope, rules are rules.  So baby girl, you will have to wait for another 6 more years before you earn your free passport to the gym.  Your che che is waiting to get her passport to the gym very very soon :D

Hourly Paid Maids - Yay or Nay?

Today, after almost 2 weeks of being maidless, I finally called our regular part-time maid agent to get a maid to come to help us iron the mountain high pile of clothes and to clean the fans and windows.  Now, let me tell you that I was very, very hesitant to use hourly paid part-time maids. I have had bad experience with them.  And still feel unsatisfied with their work today.

This morning, I asked the agent to send me only 1 maid as it is easier to monitor only 1 maid but he said, it must be 2 maids. Fine, what choice do I have?  Much later, he Whatsapped me and said, he will send 3 maids. I said NO, I only wanted 2 maids, but he did not reply me and  sent 3 maids later, GAWD!  *HEADACHE*!

With 3 new part-time maids at my condo at 5pm, I had to divide myself into 3 places to supervise them. In between, I had to prepare dinner.  Today, I grilled some beef burgers and grilled chicken mayo sandwich in the oven for dinner.  But the dinner ended up burnt!  I just could not attend to 3 maids plus watch the oven simultaneously.   The bottom slice of bread was burnt and the girls only had the top slice of bread to eat with the chicken mayo.  And the expensive beef burger that I bought from Jason's @ BSC was dry and over-cooked :(

After the maids left, I remembered that I had forgotten to ask them to wash Alycia and Sherilyn's school shoes that had not been washed for 3 weeks, OH BUMMER!!   Abuden, Alycia and Sherilyn had to wash their shoes themselves just now.   And upon checking the 'aftermath', I found the dustpan not washed and it had sand and dirt on it.  My indoor slippers were kept outside and all wet. The brooms and mops were scattered everywhere. Abuden?  I had to wash the dustpan myself and tidy up the house again!  I was dang fuming that despite having to fork  out RM70, I still had to do so much more myself?  Oh yes, after dinner, I had to mop the floor again and had to wash the dishes myself!  RM70 for a bunch of inconvenience?  In just a short 1 hour 20 minutes, the 3 maids were rushing off every single chore, producing slip shod work! And you know what?  The maids had no time to iron a single piece of shirt! 

Lesson learnt.  If I ever call these hourly maids to come again, I'll make sure I eat out on that day.  And I do not think I will call them once a week anymore.  The fans and windows can go dusty for 2 weeks or even longer. I am fine with that.  I know a friend who has never wiped the windows and fans of her own house (not even rented house) and she is fine with that!  As for ironing, the hubster can ask his kitchen helper to help out to iron.  Alycia and Sherilyn can wash their school shoes themselves.  I am SO not happy with hourly part-time maids!

Do you use the service of hourly paid maids?  How is your experience with them? Do you feel happy and satisfied with their work?

Junk Food

On the last day of school for the first term last week, Cass brought home a party pack. It was from her friend who celebrated her birthday in the kindy. As usual, all that was in the party pack was junk food! I had expected it.




My girls love to receive party packs and if what they get are junk food, they know that they ain't allowed to eat most of the items in the party pack. Most of the junk food go to our part-time helper or to the guards at our condo.

Please don't throw darts at me for being a health food fanatic ok. Junk food is really bad not just for kids but for adults too.  If you look at the ingredients printed on the packaging, all you see is a long list of chemicals ranging from MSG to coloring, preservative, nitrate, sugar, sodium, artificial flavoring, artificial sweetener (which is worse than real sugar) and some scientific names that I don't even have the slightest idea on what they are. O_o. Do you want these to get into your kid's body? Sorry if I threw cold water on you if you are a snacks lover. I was once a junk food and deep fried food junkie.  Now, I have kicked off the addiction 99%.   Yes, I still have 1% craving and still do indulge in them once in a purple moon ;)

Vegan and Vegetarian Diets

People have the power to make drastic changes in their lives by adopting a new diet or exercise routine for the sake of better health. Some individuals decide to follow a vegetarian diet while others follow a more strict vegan diet. People often change their eating habits in order to improve overall health and well being. Sometimes, there may be a certain satisfaction of abstaining from eating animal products. People may be thrilled by the idea that they could survive on only plant based food.

A vegetarian diet restricts the consumption of any animal products including meat and seafood. Vegan diets are more strict in that they do not allow the consumption of dairy products, eggs and fats derived from animals. Seafood is also off the table in a modern vegan diet.

Vegetarians and vegans rely heavily on obtaining their daily nutrients from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Sometimes, dietary supplements featuring all natural ingredients are also taken in order to obtain certain vitamins and minerals. Tofu and beans are often used as major sources of protein for vegan and vegetarian diets that exclude raw meat and seafood. Nuts are also used as rich sources of fats that would otherwise have to be obtained from seafood and certain meats.

It's a proven fact that a new diet can change the way you live. Eating certain foods may also provide emotional satisfaction. For example, animal rights activists can enjoy meals that are derived fully from plants and not any living creatures.

Mackeral Fish From Lee's Frozen

The hubster went to Lee's Frozen to buy lamb and beef for his clients' functions today. At the same time, he got us some saba mackeral fish. The girls and I love mackeral fish.  We love it pan fried and grilled. Oven-grilled fish is one of the easiest dishes to prepare and since the MIL will be away for over a month, the girls will be having lots of oven cooked dishes!




RM40.74 for 4 huge saba mackeral fish is really quite a good price eh?  I should have asked hubster to get more!

Fresh Frozen Fish Shipped to Consumers' Doors

Families looking for ways to improve their diet should consider adding more frozen fish and other frozen foods from a reputable distributor who will make sure the meats and fish are properly packed and stored on their trip to their consumers.

Ordering fish online or via telephone call to a reputable seller puts consumers in direct contact with a professional with immediate access to fresh fish such as salmon, shrimp, lobster, mussels, clams, oysters, scallops, caviar, fish steaks, whole fish and much more. With a satellite type of service, featuring one main seller and customers will receive their frozen packed fish days and sometimes several weeks sooner than a grocer would. Therefore, this frozen and packed fish is weeks fresher than anything consumers might buy at their local grocery store or fish market.

Consumers looking for fish that comes directly from sustainable fisheries in any particular fish’s native region can find all that with companies that serve to broker this exchange that is favorable for all parties involved.

With all this, consumers know that when they purchase directly from a wholesaler, they are receiving fish that will provide the best amount and quality of vitamins and nutrients that they are seeking. Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals, fish retains more of its benefits when prepared for shipping as soon as the fishermen bring it to market.

Also, fish fans can simply order their favorite fish and wait for its arrival and scratch one Saturday morning errand off their shopping list.

A Happy Wet Thursday - 21 March 2014

Every day things that we always take for granted will only be appreciated if those things have been taken away from us, such as the rain and water flowing from the taps. After weeks of drought, we finally had a good session of heavy rain yesterday.  It did rain last week and when it did, many of us were proclaiming our joy in Facebook. But our joy was short-lived as the rain in most areas in the Klang Valley only lasted for a pathetic 5-10 minutes! That rain was probably induced from cloud-seeding.

Yesterday it poured for over an hour, woohoo!! I hope that it rained at the water catchment areas and dams too. I was doing the rain dance and just had to snap a picture of the precious rain water pouring from heaven! LOL!



After a heavy downpour, Cass went for swimming lesson.  How I missed the cool and breezy weather in the evening. I can finally sit on the deckchair next to the pool and watch her swim without getting roasted by the sun :)

Our Saturday - 15 March 2014

After dinner just now, grandma prepared a pail of water, threw in 2 sachets of herbs and soaked her feet while watching news on TV. The 3 rascals who are TV-deprived got perky immediately and zoomed to the sofa to get their fix of TV. Never mind that it was news in Mandarin, as long as there was something to watch on the TV. Then the littlest rascal pulled her chair next to grandma and sneakily put one of her feet into the pail when grandma was engrossed with solving her Sudoku puzzle on the iPad. And not long after, both her feet went into the pail of water! . Monkey see monkey do. Rascal no. 2 followed suit. But the ever indulgent grandma happily shared her pail of herb water with her 2 precious grand daughters :D

Grandma's only condition was "don't show my face anywhere!"  Hence the Line Camera girl pasted on her face LOL!!



Six chubby legs squeezed into a small pail, just too funny not to share this in my blog :D

World's Most Expensive Tomatoes and Strawberries?

My eyes almost popped out from the socket when I saw the price tag to some supposedly premium tomatoes flown in from Japan, sold at a supermarket. At a glance, they look like some regular tomatoes. I thought the price was written as RM29.99 but at a closer stare, I realized that the price was RM299.99! Holy cow! One sen short to RM300 for a box of tomatoes?  Crap! And they are from the land where the soils have been polluted with radiation. Who would even want to buy them?



And should you decide to buy only 2 premium Japan tomatoes to try, you can fork out RM74.99.  At RM37.50 for a tomato, I rather spend my money on some homegrown organic tomatoes. I can buy a gunny sack of organic tomatoes with RM299.99 LOL!



For strawberry lovers,would you even spend RM99.99 on a punnet of 12 medium-size strawberries from Japan?  That makes it to about RM8.30  for only one strawberry, which can me mouthed at one go!



I wonder what this supermarket will do with these premium tomatoes and strawberries should there be no takers say after a week. Maybe some Japanese will buy them when the prices are slashed by half.

When You Washed Your Dark Colored Clothes With Tissue Paper!

The culprit left tissue papers in her pocket again! Grrrrrr!!! As usual, I am always in a rush to complete my laundry chores, so that I can proceed to the next chore. After sorting out the dirty laundry and slotting them into washing nets, in they go into the washing machine. Hardly do I check the pockets. I had told them umpteen times that tissue papers washed with clothes in the washer is a major disaster and that they should never ever conveniently leave tissue papers in their pockets.

But habits die hard. Someone left her brain in the drain and thus left the tissue paper in her pocket! So die la. My load of clothes, which had hubster's black shirts and black pants kena badly! Boy was I fuming mad! Happened when I was rushing to bring Alycia and Sherilyn down to the lobby to wait for the transporter early in the morning. And I had no time to fix the problem. All the clothes in the washer were stained with bits of tissue papers. The washer tub and the gutter were stuck with tissue papers everywhere. Everyone said "NOT ME!!" Gawd, I was so irate I could explode! When Cass came back from school that day, I assigned her to help me stick the disintegrated bits of tissue papers off the clothes with celo tape. She was excited and very earnest to help ha ha!


 


 

 An hour later, all the black clothes were salvaged!  Told you she's a very  good baby.

Beside using celo tape to painfully stick the tissue papers off the clothes, what method do you use to salvage your tissue-stained clothes?

How Often Do You File Your Documents?

When busyness gets the better of me, unimportant things like filing takes the back seat. Since September last year, my documents have been piling up. From one clear folder to two, then three, four and five.

With five clear folders of over a hundred of documents received over the past 6 months, I spent over an hour filing my documents last Friday.

So what was I so busy over?  Three girls sitting for their last term exams, MIL away overseas thus my limited free time was spent cooking, part-time maids not available, vacation, attending to kids' welfare, bringing Cass for medical consultations and therapies, busyness, tiredness and procrastination!

So glad that I managed to file all the documents into the respective arch files last week. But immediately on the same day, I started to receive more documents to file. 

With 3 kids, a condo unit, utility bills, my own banking records, online store and personal documents, there are really quite a bit of letters and documents that I receive everyday.  Being a trained secretary and former PA to a Dato', filing to me is sup sup sui *flips fringe over my head*  :D  But how I hate filing them.  Regret for not filing will often only kick in when you need to refer to previous documents  and fark you just can't find the darn paper!

All I need is some quiet time at a time when the girls are all in school and I can easily sort out, punch holes and slot in the documents into the respective arch files in a jiffy  *blows dust off my hands*!





How often do you do your filing? As and when you have documents to file? Or daily, weekly, monthly or once yearly? Or never file them - after 1 year, the documents are binned?

Alycia's Class Teachers

I am very thankful that since Standard 2, Alycia has been assigned very dedicated class teachers.  Ms L was Alycia's class teacher from Standard 2 through Standard 4.  She was one of the best teachers in the school.   Towards the end of last year, Alycia was telling me that she really hoped that Ms L would continue to be her class teacher.  Though Ms L is a very firm and strict teacher, she is nonetheless very caring and has all the qualities of a 5-star teacher.

I was really disappointed when Alycia told me at the start of the school term this year that Ms L is now teaching another elite class.   Her new class teacher is  Ms Y, who was the class teacher of the first elite class  in Standard 6 last year. There are 2 elite classes for each standard in the school and if Ms Y was the teacher for the first elite class in Standard 6, she must really be the cream of the crop in that school.   On hearing that, my hope was raised and boy was I happy to know that Alycia has another 5-star class teacher, woohoo!

A few weeks ago, when I was at the night market with Alycia, we bumped into Ms Y, Alycia's class teacher.  We chatted a bit and I could gauge that she is another very dedicated and caring teacher.  And I was right!  Alycia can now do revisions on her own without my constant nagging and reminders!  There is a 'watchdog' helping me to monitor her all the time and she can't escape from her grips muahaha!

Ms Y would use her own money to buy 'expensive cakes' (that's what Alycia said LOL!) to treat her students in her class for celebrations.  She would also use her own money to buy gifts for her students as incentives.

Throughout Alycia's four years of primary schooling in this school, I have never seen how hardworking like she is now.  In the past, revisions done were a result of me  nagging her to no end. Now, revision is a daily routine for her, done without me telling her.    Before Alycia hits the sack, she will go through her books every night. I know that all these are  fueled by Ms Y, through lots of pep talks,  motivation as well as 'threats'.

Ms Y would throw surprise mini tests to her class several times in a week.  In Alycia's note pad last night, I saw a handwritten note on some marks -- 80% - 85% along with some Chinese words.   I asked her what it was and she told me that this is just one of Ms Y's goals for her class.  Should anyone in the class get below 80% - 85% in any of the subjects that Ms Y teaches, which includes Math and Science in Chinese, the unlucky one would get 2 'gifts' from Ms Y, which is 2 work books on that said subject.  The student would have to complete the 2 workbooks before the next quarterly exam! 

I know that some of you may think that this 'Tiger Teacher' method of instilling fear in kids is not appropriate but I am ALL for it, 100% for it.    This teacher has been producing straight As students and ASEAN scholarship recipients too.  I am not placing hope that Alycia would get an ASEAN scholarship for I know her limits.  All I am hoping is for Alycia to get a dedicated, responsible and caring teacher to nurture my child and to propel her to achieve good results.  Don't get me wrong. Alycia is not terrified of her teacher. She loves this teacher and Ms L, her previous class teacher. She loves to attend school.  I think she has been blessed with the right teachers :)

Water Rationing?

With daily newspapers headlines on high possibility of  starting water rationing in many parts of our country (it has already started in some areas), we are not taking any chances and wait till the eleventh hour to buy pails and containers.  After dropping Cass off in kindy, I zoomed to the mini mart to buy a pail.  Back home, I asked hubs to buy 2 huge water containers with covers to be placed in each of the bathrooms.

For landed houses, owners can rely on external water tanks for water storage. Living in a condo, you need to have your own water containers inside your unit.  In 1998,  the neighborhood that I lived in was hit hard by the water rationing that lasted for several months. We are still living in this neighborhood and this area is a hard-hit area whenever there is a water rationing.  During the rationing exercise in 1998, we had water supply to our houses every other day.  I remember that on days where the areas were to get their water, many of my colleagues took leave to stay home to do house chores! I was stressed to the max throughout the water rationing exercise, though I had no kids back then. With 3 kids and more chores now, I may very well land myself in the hospital with stress of having no water!

I read that in this impending water rationing, there will be 2 days of water supply and none for the next 2 days. I think this is not practical. We would need at least 10 water containers in our house should we be living without water for 2 days. Bigger families would need more water containers. We need at least 5 water containers for a day and that itself is not sufficient. We would have to eat out on days when we have no water.  Dirty laundry would have to be sent for laundrette service. Writing this is already making me stressed! Oh God, please send the rain to the entire country right away and let it rain for days to fill up all the dams!

If you are living in high risk areas, don't wait till the eleventh hour to scramble with everyone else to buy your pails and water containers. Go get some now before the traders jack up the prices. These water container traders will be the only ones laughing throughout the drought. And I still don't understand why our dear water management companies can never ever solve this recurring issue even after more than 16 years!!

Mouth Guards For Bad Sleeping Habits

Some people may develop a poor habit of grinding their teeth at night while sleeping. Such a habit can create multiple health problems. For example, the grinding mechanism can gradually chip away tooth enamel and lead to an increased risk of developing cavities and dental caries. Additionally, chipped teeth look unsightly and may require cosmetic dental procedures such as bonded veneers. In addition to causing problems in the mouth, teeth grinding also creates issues in other parts of the body. For example, excessive grinding can lead to earaches and headaches because of the strain placed on the jaw and surrounding muscles. Trying to stop teeth grinding at night is an example of an attempt to improve one's health due to a poor habit.

The best way to stop teeth from grinding against each other is to use a physical barrier. A mouth guard needs to be worn in order to prevent any contact between teeth. Some guards are made to fit anyone's mouth thanks to patented designs that automatically adjust to a unique layout of teeth. Sometimes, a dentist can make a custom molded mouth guard that can be worn at night to prevent too much grinding of the teeth.

Mouth guards should be washed daily with special solutions. Rinsing with water is simply not enough to remove all of the saliva and bacteria that may be on the plastic mouth guard. Sometimes, special heat solutions are applied in order to thermally clean a mouth guard that is worn daily.

Cranberry Cheese Scones

Earlier this week, the MIL baked some cranberry cheese scones for the kids to bring to school as the kids are totally fed-up with bread, cookies, biscuits, buns and cakes.




The scones tasted divine!  I like mine sandwiched with strawberry jam. The girls like theirs sandwiched with Surgers butter.  Sometimes, the MIL will whip up some fresh cream to go with the scones.

Do you like scones? How do you like your scones eaten?

How often do you give your kids money to buy food from the canteen?

When tiredness and laziness get the better of me, there will be no lunch boxes for Alycia and Sherilyn. I will give them RM2 each to buy food from the canteen during recess. 

Alycia and Sherilyn are not simple girls who would accept  anything that is packed into their lunch boxes.  Due to time constraint, I can only prepare simple snacks like bread with strawberry jam, marmalade jam,  kaya, nutella or peanut butter chocolate jam.  These are the only jams that Alycia and Sherilyn have approved and they would not accept any other types of jams.  Sherilyn loves seaweed slices with her bread too.

Besides bread with jam, biscuits and cookies go into their lunch box.  Occasionally, edamame beans make a place in their lunch box, but that will depend on their mood. Alycia does not want edamame beans as she says she does not have enough time to eat them, duh! 

I have other easy to prepare snacks in my mind, which I used to give them when they were in pre-school. They are cut fresh fruits, bananas,  steamed sweet corn kernels, steamed sweet potato and hard-boiled eggs but the 2 fussy pots say that they do not have enough time to finish these kind of snacks. Hard-boiled eggs are messy and dry, that's what they said.

I know they would be delighted to have nuggets, sausages, SPAM meat and fries but in my house, these are forbidden food.

So, this means that besides bread with jam on Mondays, biscuits or cookies on Tuesdays, buns on Thursdays, Wednesdays and Fridays would be canteen food day. Sometimes when they tell me that they are sick of bread, bun and biscuits, they get money to buy canteen food for 3-4 times in a week. This makes all of us happier! :)

How often do you give your kids money to buy food from the canteen? And how much?