Life At Home & At Work During CMCO

Everyone has been whispering in the house for the past 1 week - from 8 a.m. through 3 p.m.. And I'm also not allowed to turn on the radio because Alycia is having a trial online exam before the actual SPM trials.  Her high school has never conducted a major exam via online mode before, thus the teachers are testing the effectiveness before Form 5 students sit for their SPM trials via online mode. The silence and whispering has to go on for another week until this Saturday! It's a torture and really inconvenient as I can't live without music while I'm at work. And I can't even dress up shabbily as the camera is turned on!   Alycia usually attends online lessons in her room but the internet has been extremely laggy for the past one week, thus she has to sit at the dining table to receive a better internet connection.  Being seated right smack in the middle of the house, everyone has no privacy to talk, play the piano, guitar or be around her. We can't even have our breakfast or lunch in peace.  I can't even chide off someone; once I did very loudly and Alycia's friends asked  her what happened😅  

 

I'm usually busy with work from home from Tuesdays to Thursdays. Sometimes there's work from Monday to Sunday. Whenever I have the time, I will drive to hubby's shop to help him with photography as I am managing his shop's Facebook page and orders for online delivery.

Here are some behind the scenes photos taken while everyone was busy at work at the shop. Peak hours are from 10 a.m. - 12 noon.  I don't fancy going to his shop a time when he's busy as he'll be a grumpy old man hollering at everyone 😡.  Can't really fault him because if he loses concentration and  switches customers' orders or leaves out something, it's going to be very costly.  Most times, he has to test taste the food before they go into the boxes.   Once, the Mee Siam turned out starchy as his staff bought the wrong type of vermicelli. And guess what? All the Mee Siam was discarded and a new batch cooked again with the right type of vermicelli (100% rice with no added starch).  This happened again last week and the entire big packet of uncooked vermicelli had to be given away to his part-time staff.  It's really not easy to be in the F&B business and you can't rely on your staff 100%. 

 

Food porn overload - these petite and delicate santan jellies in flower and fish shape are too pretty to be eaten. The girls and I love  them to bits!

 

I usually get food from the shop for our lunch or dinner.  We love his Indonesian chef's Nasi Lemak  with Ayam Goreng Berempah, otak-otak and crispy anchovies and peanuts.

CMCO Day 162 ~ Wednesday, 18 November 2020

Dinner today is prepped by our Chef Sherilyn ~ miso glazed pan fried salmon and Wakame salad. We also tried her homemade kimchi, which tastes quite like the real deal!! A little too tangy and complex as I think it over fermented -  the past few days were super hot.  For our next batch, we will just let the kimchi ferment for 1 day in room temperature or ferment for a longer time in the fridge.  I think she can sell her long cabbage and radish kimchi once the taste is perfected!  Her pickled radish is very delicious - light and refreshing.

Lunch yesterday was the extra turkey ham spaghetti and roti jala from hubby's shop.  And lunch today is Nasi Hujan Panas cooked extra for us from Catermate 😋

Alycia commented that Sherilyn looked just like a Korean housewife - snipping wakame while watching Korean drama LOL!

Nasi Hujan Panas (Rainbow Ghee Rice) from Catermate.

CMCO Day 159 ~ Sunday, 15 November 2020

Hubs and I have become the Sunday couple as we only have the time to go on a date on Sundays, just the both of us.  Last Sunday we went on a  jaunt to Petaling Street and Kwai Chai Hong @ Chinatown. Hubs wanted to try out new cafes. Being in the F&B business, which is extremely competitive (more so during this pandemic), he has to keep himself updated with the latest offerings in the F&B market.  Likewise, he has to sample similar dishes offered by other eateries and compare  them with his shop's.  He wanted to try out a cafe in PJ that sells a similar spread of food on their menu as his shop but I reminded him that we were not allowed to travel inter district!  So he made a detour to China Town.  

I was astounded when I saw long queues at most of the new and Instagrammable cafes along Jalan Panggong / Lorong Panggong.  I had imagined the streets to be a ghost town as portrayed in some dailies but it's quite the opposite.  Hubs and I hopped into Kaffe 16, a brand new cafe that opened its doors on 10 October 2020.  I salute the owners who had the spunk to open a new cafe during the RMCO period when many eateries had shuttered for good.

Contemporary design in a pre-war building, Kaffe 16 is tastefully refurbished.  As per the SOP, each table can only be seated by 2 customers with a meter distancing from the next table.

The last time we dined at this part of the city was exactly a year ago when my parents were in KL and my SIL from Hawaii was here as well. The 10 of us squeezed into hubby's 10-seater MPV and we had an enjoyable outing at China Town, traipsing around Kwai Chai Hong, cafe hopping and camwhoring.  How I really miss those care free days where we could go anywhere to dine with no restriction on the number of people in a car or to a table.   I know I should not even be missing this when many less fortunate people are struggling to find money to put food on their dining table during this extremely tough time in the midst of a seemingly never-ending pandemic. I really should count my blessings, although now, we have to limit such outings as we are still not out of the woods yet. As long as social gatherings are still prohibited, hubby's wings will continued to be clipped.  We are just taking one day at a time and learning to live in the moment in the midst of this terrible pandemic. 

Indonesian Yellow Fish Soup

We were guinea pigs to our chef Sherilyn's new dish again - Indonesian Yellow Fish Soup.  It's so yummy!

The girls who don't really fancy fish scarfed down this very flavorful dish in a jiffy.  This dish is cooked with a bunch of aromatic herb and spices - galangal, turmeric, shallots, lemon grass, ginger, kafir lime leaves, chillis and fresh lime juice. The soup is boiled using fish bones and anchovies. We used golden pomfret and fish paste.

Since there're still some raw ingredients left, I'm going to get more fish from the supermarket to make this dish again! 😋

Benefits of Wearing Body Shaper

A body shaper is a tight garment that you wear to give an illusion of a flatter mid-section and slimmer body. It is also called shapewear.  It comes in different shapes, shades and sizes. Shapewear is everything you need to sculpt and support your body to achieve a more attractive silhouette. Body shapewear for women like waist shaper and tummy control body shaper are designed to impermanently alter the wearer’s body shape and they also work to provide support to the bust and back area. Shapewear can do wonders to your body shape in the blink of an eye. Your giggly tummy, big butt or thunder thighs can magically disappear once you've slipped into the best shapewear for women. 

Shapewear can be bought online from online stores like Lover Beauty but if you wish to try on several brands and styles, you can go to a physical store.  If you're planning to buy the shapewear for a specific outfit, it is recommended to bring it with you for fitting. A quick hip and waist measurement can help you make sure you're looking at the right size.

The Slimming High Waist Cincher Panty below comes with an abdominal shaping belt and is great for slim fit clothing.

The Body Shaper Buttock Lifter below instantly builds a sexy hourglass figure as it compresses your torso, waist, and abdomen with a comfortable feel. It's a great shapewear to be worn after pregnancy as it offers all the support and compression your ab needs to get back in its original shape.  It has wide adjustable shoulder straps to reduce stress and comes with a crotchless design which makes going to the toilet convenient.

Some of the top benefits of wearing a body shaper are summarized below:

1. Helps you achieve an instant slimmer figure.
2. Easy to achieve a better appearance
3. Improvement in posture
4. You tend to consume lesser food when your midsection is under compression.  
5. Affordable compared to other weight loss or body toning solutions.
6. Invisible beneath clothes
7. Compliments a weight loss diet and fitness program
8. Postpartum support
9. Bustline support
10. More calories burnt when you wear a body shaper during exercise from sweating more.

The flexible crotchless shapewear below offers good support and compresses the abdomen to help you get back in shape. The straps are adjustable and detachable while the crotchless design makes going to the toilet convenient.

Always remember to choose body shapers that fit you well, as being comfortable and relaxed is equally important as achieving that gorgeous look. 

Stories From The Ward @ Institute of Urology and Nephrology, HKL

Cass and I were put into a first class room with 4 beds at the Institute of Urology and Nephrology last week when she did a Cystoscopy procedure under GA.  The room was very clean and has en suite facilities. It's a far cry from the ward that we were put into at the pediatric ward at the old HKL building 6 years ago when Cass did her first MRI.  That ward was creepy and old and the toilets outside still give me bad dreams. It certainly didn't give me a good impression of government hospitals.

Directly opposite our bed was a jovial and chatty Indian lady in her mid 60s. She had been staying at the ward for 10 days and the day we checked in was her discharge day. She was in the hospital for an eye surgery followed by a bladder surgery to have some stents removed. She told me that she's been a cancer survivor for 10 years but sadly the cancer relapsed recently. She told her oncologist that she didn't want to get treatment and would just prefer to die slowly. What made me truly sad for her is on the day of her discharge, she had to take a taxi home by herself and lugged her big suitcase down to the lobby all by herself. She told me that her son is a lawyer and has been extremely busy, thus couldn't fetch her back from the hospital.  What if this happened to me 20 years down the road when my 3 daughters are too busy to help me discharge from the hospital? 😌

On the left opposite side of us was an Indian lady with her 6-year old daughter. They had taken a train from Ipoh in the morning and came straight to the hospital from the train station. She had bought 2 boxes of KFC which were to be her lunch and dinner that day. Her daughter has recurring renal stones and this was her second (or perhaps third) admission for laser removal of the stones.  This mother looked very aloof and was very terse with her answers and just didn't want to have any eye contact with me. She looked very distressed and I truly understood what's going on in her mind. The pissed off look on her face could be because she's extremely worried. Moreover she's alone with her daughter and hundreds of miles away from her other children and husband.  When her daughter came out of the surgery the next day and refused to pee or eat her medicine, this mummy, out of frustration, threatened the daughter that she would not look after her anymore and would send her to her grandma's house. Her daughter bawled and then mummy hugged her and cried along. This made me tear up too.  Mummy continued coaxing her girl to pee and eat her medicine for more than hour. When we left in the late evening, she was still coaxing her daughter.  We bade our farewells and I tried to coax the little girl to eat her medicine. I hope she didn't give her mummy many days of heart-breaking time in the hospital.

On our left bed was a Malay lady in her early 50s who's been in the ward for more than a week. I didn't really get to chat with her except for the daily "hi and bye" but I think she's got some urinary tract issues as well. She had a bunch of disposable urinary catheter to help her drain her urine out and she needed diapers. 

After the senior Indian woman was discharged, a Malay lady with her 9-year old girl got themselves checked in. The little girl  has recurring renal stones too and needed to undergo a laser procedure for removal of renal stones.  The girl is such a bubbly and smiley girl who would smile and wave to me each time she saw me.

Cass was the last of 5 patients to be wheeled into the OT as she was the oldest kid.  And we were the last to be ambulanced back to the ward. Again! And all 4 kids before her had renal stones removal. I was shocked to know that even young kids are prone to recurring renal stones.

When we left in the evening, Cass commented that it felt strange to be in a room with people who have quite similar problems with her.  I think it won't be too long before we are back for another stay when Cass undergoes another surgery. This time, it would be a major surgery. I've been having sleepless nights thinking about Cass' next surgery. I've never really had a good relationship with hope but I am trying my best to stay positive and not let my anxiety affect me. I truly need lots of miracles and divine intervention for Cass now. 🙏

This is another photo that I stealthily took outside the OT when Cass was waiting for her turn to be wheeled into the OT.

Me in OT scrubs and OT Crocs with Cass next to me playing with her phone. All the kids waiting for their turns for surgery sought comfort from their phones. And they all looked just as tough and calm as Cass. I'm sure they'd gone through a lot, just like Cass.

Tonkatsu and Japanese Curry For Lunch ~ 6 November 2020

Now that the CMCO has been extended to 6 December 2020,  our daily groceries bill will be expanded in tandem, as with our waist lines!  Our chef Sherilyn spends her days in the kitchen trying out new recipes and feeding us with good food. Last Friday she cooked Tonkatsu, Japanese curry and miso soup for lunch. It was so good!  When Cass and I were in the hospital last week, she made some super cute peach and mango jello using bear and ginger breadboy molds.

Cass who was famished the whole day while in the hospital for a procedure polished off almost all her 2 che's yummy dishes and cute jellos 🤭

Yachae Jook (Korean Vegetables Porridge)

Sherilyn had her 3rd tooth extracted for braces on Monday. The next day, she cooked a very flavorful pot of Korean vegetables porridge (yachae jook). It's got such vibrant colors and flavors and very very delish, not to mention easy on her gums.

The porridge is cooked using a flavor intense stock consisting of dashi + dried mushrooms + bonito flakes. And so many colorful ingredients go into the porridge:

1. Whole head of organic broccoli

2. Half a Japanese pumpkin

3. One carrot

4. Minced Berkcious free-range pork

5. Seaweed

6. Japanese rice

Yachae Jook is different from Chinese style porridge in that all the ingredients are sauteed with sesame seed oil and garlic until aromatic before the dashi stock is added and simmered. Even I can't resist having this incredibly flavorsome porridge for lunch.  She cooked such a big pot that the both of us ate it for 3 days straight! And yet, as of typing this post, I'm missing this yummy porridge already 😋

 

The wholesome rainbow colored ingredients that went into the porridge:

Looks like toddlers' porridge but it's so yummy that even an old lady like me loves it!  Porridge with a slew of  colorful vegetables and stock has always been my comfort food 😊

CMCO Day 148 ~ Wednesday, 4 November 2020

Today Cass and I were at the hospital for a 'pre-surgery' briefing by the anesthetist, surgeon and other doctors from the Institute of Urology & Nephrology of HKL.  Though it is not a surgery but a Cystoscopy procedure, it is called 'surgery' by the staff as Cass will be sedated under GA.  And as per the hospital's SOP, the patient and parent must be briefed by the team who will be in the OT on the day of the procedure.  We were brought to the ward at the Institute of Urology & Nephrology and had Cass admitted.  

Cass and I were pretty impressed with the ward. It is nothing like the old government hospital that I know where the building is old and eerie.  The building is not exactly new but the ward is very well kept and the toilets are satisfactorily clean and comparable with private hospitals. 

 

We were brought to a 4-bedded room, which I later found out from one of the patients, is a first class room. No wonder it is impeccably clean and has en suite facilities. My worries and fears immediately dissipated when I walked around the ward. Even the open ward area is clean and not creepy like I had seen in the past in the old building of HKL.  

 

During the briefing, the anesthetist told us that Cass' last solid meal before the procedure tomorrow is at 4 a.m..  After the doctor left, I sent a Whatsapp to Sherilyn to ask her for a favor to cook a meatless fried rice for her baby sister. We have to wake up at 3:15 am tomorrow for her to eat and drink. I needed something quick, yummy and easily heated up.

When we got home, my sweet girl was busy in the kitchen, just like a loving mom, cooking Gimbap, butter garlic mushrooms and Korean pickled vegetables. Sherilyn made a meatless Gimbap for Cass and a keto Gimbap for me ❤️

Meatless Gimbap for Cass, which she loved.  Cass loves everything that her 2che cooks and bakes. 

Knowing that I don't eat rice, Sherilyn made this super yummy keto Gimbap for me, which will be my lunch the next day 💓

Chef at work

Korean picked cucumbers and sauteed mushrooms with butter and garlic. Cass loved these too.

CMCO Day 147 ~ Tuesday, 3 November 2020

I've been busy the past few days helping hubs with his bento box orders.  Sometimes an order from a single customer can take a few days before it is confirmed and the order can only be a mere under RM50 meal. Some customers will ask for discounts, some will ask for free delivery and some will have special requests.  Sometimes they give wrong delivery dates and address and this will cause confusion to the operations department. Thus, I have to be seated at my desk to attend to orders, sending out invoices, making changes to the invoices, inform hubby of any changes pronto and attend to special requests.  I have never really helped hubs in his catering business for the past 17 years until recently when he needed help with promoting the business via social media. Thankfully I have 10 years of experience selling apparels via social media platforms and know the drill pretty well.

Online food delivery business can be challenging, time consuming and profits are no where near outdoor catering and corporate catering.  In the past, hubs used to get orders for over 1,000 pax in a single function.  Ever since the MCO was imposed in March this year, the number of pax for a single event has been reduced significantly.  It would take a long time before his catering business returns to its heydays and making several millions of ringgit in a year.  As long as no vaccine is available, his wings will continue to be clipped 😥.

Tomorrow and Thursday will be stressful days for me because I will be camping with Cass at HKL again. Cass is due for a Cystoscopy (under GA) on Thursday and tomorrow is our briefing by the anesthesiologist. I am so not looking forward to these two days. I have never liked going to HKL and I still get nightmares of the old creepy building. I will be filled with anxiety and worry on Thursday when Cass goes into the OT for the procedure. All the memories of May 2009 at GMC Penang will come flooding back again on Thursday when I wait for her alone outside the OT.  I can't wait for these two days to come and be gone in a blink of an eye with no drama.   I really need my retail therapy to destress! I've already told hubs that we're going to Mid Valley Megamall on Sunday, just the both of us since only two passengers are  allowed in a car during the CMCO.

Friends, I need prayers for Cass - for the Cystoscopy to go smoothly without any complication before, during and after the procedure. Please pray that Cass will not get an infection after the procedure. And please pray that this diagnostic test will successfully capture clear images of her urinary tract so that the surgeon knows how to rectify the problem. Thank you 💓

Our dinner today:  Japanese potato salad prepped by Sherilyn and Cass.

Ingredients used in Japanese potato salad: 6 potatoes, 1 carrot, 2 thinly sliced cucumbers, 2 hard-boiled eggs, salt and Japanese mayo.  This dish is made really soft as Sherilyn is nursing her gums after a tooth extraction for braces yesterday.

The littlest brat helped to mash the potatoes and eggs as this is her favorite dish! She hardly helps in the kitchen unless we're cooking her favorite food. 

We also had watercress soup and some leftover dishes from the previous night's dinner.

CMCO Day 144 ~ Saturday, 31 October 2020

Every Saturday throughout this CMCO our earnest teenage chef cooks us lunch and dinner. While mil and I went to the supermarket in the morning today, she wokked up fried rice using all the dishes and rice leftover from last night's dinner (which is Nasi Kerabu with chicken drumstick and chili fish from Catermate and leftover zucchini omelette) and added 6 eggs and spring onions from our balcony garden. For dinner, she dished out something new - Indian butter chicken as she wanted to finish up the remaining whipped cream in the fridge. I gave her 10/10 for both dishes. They were so yummy!! Good job Sherilyn!  I promised her that I will order Gong Cha for her tomorrow as reward, using discount vouchers from Food Panda 😁

Sunday, 1 November 2020

With quite a bit of Indian butter chicken left from last night, Sherilyn made garlic Naan from scratch for lunch today to go with it. It's so yummy and reminds me of the ones we had last year at Khan's Indian Cuisine @ Bangsar South and Tasty Chapathi🤤  I really miss those pre-Covid days where we could freely roam everywhere to try new eateries during the weekends.  And I really miss mall shopping!! I wonder when we can do this again 😓

Earl Grey with 3 types of jelly for Sherilyn and classic milk tea with grass jelly for the other 2 girls

😊