Awesome Rawsome

While the girls had Japanese curry with Japanese rice, I paired the curry with raw baby spinach and a poached egg. It's a complete meal too with protein, fiber, nutrients, and some carbs from a few cubes of potato.  

I always have a packet of baby spinach, arugula, salad greens, cucumbers, bell peppers, and microgreens in my fridge.  The girls love to toss some raw greens into their meals. It's training since young and they'd feel like they missed out on something important if there was a day that they didn't eat any green leafy veggies or fruits.

Pandan Leaves

Grandma asked her to go down to the garden at our condo to cut some pandan leaves coz grandma wanted them for boiling sweet potato tong sui.  Reluctantly, she sauntered downstairs with a pair of scissors.  It was sizzling hot at 3 p.m. with an outdoor temperature of about 36-38 degrees Celsius.  Minutes later, she video called me and bemoaned that she didn't see any pandan plant in the garden and that there were a lot of mozzies feasting on her limbs.  She asked grandma and me where the pandan plants were located as there are a few small gardens at our condo compound.  On the phone video, there's another plant with long leaves that resembled pandan leaves too.  She kept telling grandma that there were no pandan plants and asked grandma to quickly tell her where the pandan plants were.

She got an earful from grandma who got pissed that she still didn't know what a pandan plant looked like and had no idea where the location of the plants was after living here almost all her life.  But she kept insisting that there were none.  Grandma was pissed, whereas she was huffing and puffing away under the scorching hot sun hunting for the elusive pandan leaves with mozzies feasting on her limbs.

To placate grandma she cut a bunch of long green leaves that resembled pandan leaves 99% and brought them up while lamenting that those leaves don't smell like pandan leaves. 

Of course, she got lasered by grandma.

She stormed into the living room and plonked herself on the cold floor right under the ceiling fan as she was drenched in sweat after 10 minutes of being grilled in the killer heat outside, and bewailed non-stop that she got swarmed and attacked by mozzies.  It's Dengue fever season now.  

The next day, I checked out the garden at our condo and she was right.  The pandan plants were no longer there. All the pandan plants must have been cut by residents during the lockdown.

😂😂😆😆

These look like pandan leaves but they're not.

Uncaged Finally

Haru is finally left uncaged at night and when no one is at home.  She finally weaned herself from the cage.

She found a tactic to get herself out of 'prison' by creating havoc inside the cage and litter box whenever we caged her for too long - usually during nighttime or when no one is at home and she's too bored cooped up inside the cage.  Imagine havoc to her overnight litter box with poo and all! 

When we ignored her meows, she created havoc instead. And she got her way out of the cage forever.  

Very smart kitty! 

According to researchers at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, the physical structure of the brains of humans and cats is very similar.  The human brain and the cat brain both have cerebral cortices with similar lobes. That is why cats are so intelligent. I always feel Haru is like a human trapped in a cat's body.

The weather has been so sweltering lately that Haru sleeps on the floor, which is cooler.

The first time we left her out of the cage when we went to the shopping mall, it was for around 4 hours. We closed all our bedroom doors and the kitchen door.  She was a good cat. When we came home, she was waiting for us in the living room, stone-faced. 

She was also quite good when we left her in the living room throughout the night.  However, this naughty goblin has been very mischievous the past two nights. While we were asleep, she did everything that she was forbidden - she climbed on my chair and played with my neck support pillow, walked on my keyboard, jumped and walked on Cass' laptop and desk and I don't know what else she did. I'm pretty sure she climbed up the dining table too to check if there was any chicken or bread for her!

This morning, she jumped onto one of our cabinets where we placed Japanese lucky cat figurines (maneki-neko). She swiped down one of the figurines and broke it into a million pieces!  She must have been fascinated with those cat figurines and wondered why those figurines look like her 😸

Alycia's Stay In Ipoh

During the Hari Raya holidays, Alycia tagged along in a friend's car to make a trip back to Ipoh along with her grandma.   After a 7-hour long crawl on the trunk road on Sunday, they reached Ipoh at almost 8 p.m. 

The 6 days Alycia spent in Ipoh have been the best bonding time for her and my parents after not being able to travel back for 2 years during the pandemic.  The last time she had such a long time bonding with my parents (just her and my parents) was 18 years ago when she was only a two-month-old baby.  The mil (who was taking care of Alycia) had to be in Hong Kong and I had to work, so hubs and I sent Alycia back to my parents in Ipoh for several weeks.  We missed her so much when she was away from us.  That was when I had to truncate my breastfeeding journey with Alycia because of the inevitable separation.

Hubs and I would travel back to Ipoh every weekend to visit her.  My parents enjoyed taking care of their first grandchild tremendously.  They were both in their early 60s then and still full of vitality.  Fast forward 18 years on and their first grandchild is back in Ipoh to spend some of the most magical moments with them again, just the three of them 💓

Mum updated us with photos throughout the day.

Dinner at my parents' favorite restaurant, Poh San.  Papa is 79 and mum is 76 this year.

Koong koong gives Alycia refresher driving lessons on his old Nissan Cefiro. 

Alycia's college mates who are from Ipoh came to my parents to fetch Alycia to their housing estate for cycling. They carted my parents' foldable bikes along. They all drive from Ipoh - Sunway - Ipoh regularly. They're all 19, the same age as Alycia. I don't think I can allow Alycia to do this!

Mum made puff pastry pinwheels for Alycia's brekkie.

And 'apam balik' with sweet corn, chocolate hazelnut butter, and crushed walnuts. 

And homemade 'chee cheong fun'.  Mum is a talented baker and cook.  I grew up helping her whenever she baked cakes, bread pudding, pau, puffs, bread, mooncake, and many more.

Condo Unit On Fire - Life Watch

Several days ago, we witnessed a condo unit being razed by fire. We watched the incident life on our Nikon camera, on video mode.  The affected condo is located about 5km away from our condo.

It was about 6.30 p.m. on a Friday and we were all tasting Sherilyn's madeleines, fresh out of the oven.  Suddenly, Sherilyn commented that she saw black smoke billowing in the sky. We ran to the window and lo and behold, we saw something in bright orange flickering inside the penthouse of a condo from a distance. Initially, we thought that it was lights or reflections of the sun.  Sherilyn quickly whipped out our Nikon camera, turned it on video mode, and zoomed into the condo unit. 

What we saw was absolutely horrific! We saw the entire penthouse unit engulfed in fire. Moments later we saw the ferocious fire shooting out of the window and spreading to the rooftop and unit below.  We could also see firefighters in their orange suits putting off the fire inside the unit, albeit vaguely.  What crossed out minds was - was anyone injured?

On video mode - a surreal feeling watching life a condo unit being engulfed in fire.  The fire was put off pretty quickly.
We're very amazed at how powerful the zoom function of our old Nikon camera is - it's almost like binoculars!

This incident was however not reported in the newspapers. So I surmise that no one was injured or died in the fire. 

Note to self: no more walking around in birthday suit when no one is at home coz someone a few kilometers away could be using a camera to zoom in on us! Horror! 😨 😂

Spiral Ear Biscuits (Yee Chai Pang)

Whenever I come across Yee Chai Pang (spiral ear biscuit) at shops selling snacks, I will be overcome with a feeling of nostalgia.  My brothers and I grew up eating Yee Chai Pang.  

I remember mum would frequently bring me to the biscuit shop after school and I could choose any biscuit I wanted. As a kid, I loved biscuits with cream filling, but not anymore now. Yee Chai Pang and Chum Thau Pang (pillow biscuit or Tam-Tam Pillows) were and still are my favorites.

These spiral ear biscuits are probably one of the crunchiest treats ever with subtle flavors of spices imbued with a tinge of smokiness. Not too sweet nor salty, delightfully aromatic and crunchy, these biscuits can be very addictive.

This morning I saw these biscuits for sale at a kerbside stall. The vendor would display his dried groceries, biscuits and fruits at a kerb in our neighborhood every Wednesday. I saw many biscuits that I used to eat during my childhood.  I picked a packet of spiral ear biscuits. My girls are not fans of this biscuit though, so I'm going to share it with Maria when she comes in later 😁

Next week I'm going to grab a packet of Tam-Tam Pillows from the kerbside vendor.  The girls are big fans of this snack.  It's crunchy, salty and it's crab-seasoned. It's another addictive munch that we have to be very careful not to over-indulge in, lest we get a sore throat and cough... and then think that we may have been infected with Covid 😆

Only RM4.50 for a big packet.  What a steal for a great snack.

Negative

I've been feeling languid with headaches for the past few days. My throat feels strange too and I have pain in my nape. I also have had an insatiable thirst with extreme sleepiness the past few days.  Ever since two members of our family were down with Covid a month ago, I have been feeling paranoid about being infected.  Usually, when one or two members of the household are down with Covid, everyone else eventually gets it.  That is the trend I see.  

But there is also another Covid trend that I have observed which is surprising.  When all the children and the husband in a family got infected with Covid, the mother was spared despite her taking care of the Covid-zens and not even wearing a mask. I have seen this in my eldest brother's family and two other friends where kiddos and husbands had severe Covid but my SIL and friends were spared. 

Today I finally had the courage to do another Covid self-test when my headache and lethargy didn't abate.  It's a negative.

With this, I suddenly remembered that I may be experiencing menstrual migraine. I'm also not new to period flu. I had similar symptoms when my AF visited last month and I thought I had Covid.  Darn the hormones! 

Nasal swab test result.
I find it easier to administer a nasal swab vs. a saliva test. It's torture to collect enough saliva to fill up the test tube. Who's with me on this?

Pan-fried miso salmon and stir-fried Korean-style baby octopus whipped up by our teenage chef. 

I ordered the salmon and baby octopus from Fully Fishery Malaysia at Lazada and they were delivered to me in an icebox.  I paid RM12 for shipping and RM3 for the icebox.

The salmon cost RM6.99 a slice, octopus at RM15 a pack, and tako leg (octopus) at RM8 a pack. These are imported from China, thus the low price, but tasted fresh.  The salmon slices, however still had scales on them and tiny bones in the flesh.  It's very tedious to have to remove the bones and scales. 

I don't think I will buy the salmon slices again though they tasted fine but will definitely buy the octopus again. My girls are fans of squid and octopus 😁

Random Updates ~ 15 April 2022

I haven't been posting regularly on what Sherilyn has been cooking and baking.  Ever since Cass and Sherilyn returned to school, I have had very little time left to update my blogs.  

My bedtime has been adjusted from midnight to 9.30 p.m. Bedtime throughout the lockdown and school holidays had been a little before midnight. Now I go into my room at 9.30 p.m. and wake up at 4.45 a.m.  I also have lesser time to spend online coz of school runs and my writing assignments.

I think I won't be renewing my contract with the online news agency that I'm currently working for as a part-time content writer as they have recently restructured their compensation scheme for all content writers, which is less rewarding. So yeah, I think I will have more free time after July 2022. Yay for more me time! 

I may also be on the lookout for other freelance jobs to do from home after my contract expires this July. 

Maria, our part-time helper no longer comes in 5 days a week like she used to before the pandemic. She only comes in 2-3 times a week.  I had to increase her wages twice within a month as she's now getting higher wages elsewhere. She is also hired on a part-time basis to clean up a datin's house. The datin's driver chauffeurs her to the mansion and then books a Grab car to bring Maria home after work.  Maria is on a roll lately with lots of jobs. I try not to be upset with her for telling me a bunch of lies each time she cancels me when she finds higher-paid work elsewhere, but I just hope that she will be more forthright with me.

Our talented baker whipped up sticky dates pudding last week as hubs brought home a pack of organic Medjool dates. The dates were super duper sweet and since no one liked them, our innovative baker baked a loaf of delicious sticky dates pudding -- which actually tasted like cake.  I loved it, albeit it was a bit too sweet for my palate.

Served with vanilla ice cream and homemade butterscotch sauce. Oh my, it's so very delish and calorie-laden!

My craving for cakes has now been fully satiated. I've had more than enough of fudgy brownies all to myself, cakes from Cass' birthday last week, this sticky dates pudding, and banana muffins that the mil baked yesterday. 😁

Wireless Bras That Are Skin-Loving And Super Comfy

I have always been a great fan of wireless bras.  Not only are wireless bras comfortable, but they are also easy to wear and allow you to feel easy in your own skin. Who doesn’t like to be in a super comfortable bra all day without a hard underwire pressing on your ribs and skin? You can even breathe easier when you don a wireless bra.

I used to buy wired bras and have the underwires removed myself back in the day. My mom used to do that too. We just didn't like metal rubbing on our skin and ribs. Now I only buy tops and dresses with built-in bras or seamless wireless bras as I have contact dermatitis and don't like any hard material in contact with my skin.  Comfort matters over design for me.

You may think that wireless bras don’t provide support but this isn’t true. Let me ‘bust’ the myth that no wires equal no support!

The type of fabric and level of coverage makes a difference in how supportive your bra is.  Cosmolle bras are all wireless and are made using eco-friendly materials to produce the bras.  Using Collagen Polyamide Yarn as their choice of textile, these are biomimetic fibers with a unique and permanent coating of collagen. Yes, the bras are coated with skin-loving collagen to pamper the sensitive skin around the areas of your assets so that there will be no allergic reaction or abrasion from wearing the bras.

Cosmolle bras can be worn pull-over, making them very convenient and fast to wear.  They are stretchy, never lose shape, and give your boops the support they need without constricting them.

Bras made from recycled fish scales!

Cosmolle bras and underwear sets are made from recycled fish scales that are bought from fisheries and after an intense round of purification and a lot of chemistry, the fish scales are transformed into  Collagen Polyamide Yarn.  The collagen-infused yarn is weaved into fabric and 3D printed for smoother lines and energy efficiency. The result is a luxurious fabric that is buttery-soft and cooling, yet provides the support that your boops need.

 

If you’re looking for supportive bras without underwires or want to try super comfy thong underwear, check out Cosmolle’s range of comfy non-wired sports bras and underwear.  Be sure to choose a size that fits you well so that the bra can hold your assets close to your chest to beat the bounce when you go about your daily activities. Cosmolle offers up to 4 interest-free payments so that every girl and lady can afford these super comfy lingeries. Win win!

PotboyMart Ice Cream Day

The eleventh day of every month is PotBoyMart Ice Cream Day! All ice cream products at all PotBoy Mart outlets are on sale with a 50% discount ALL DAY LONG!  This is delicious sweet news for ice cream fans, like our girls. 

Last month (11th March) I went to PotBoyMart in the hope of grabbing some Cornetto, Magnum, and other favorites. However, when I was there at around 6pm, what was left was only Kit Kat ice cream, which ain't our favorite and it's more expensive than other flavors.  I grabbed a few sticks anyway since they were on a 50% discount. Kiasu me!  

Cass has since been reminding me of the Ice Cream Day and a few days before 11th April, she reminded me every day 😁.  She's a huge fan of ice cream and her favorite dessert.  She even planned to make a super quick trip to the mart with me at 9.30 a.m. on Monday, 11th April after her first class as she had a 40-minute break before the second online class.

This time we were early. When we reached the mart, the Nestle delivery staff were there loading boxes of ice creams. Cass and I were super excited and couldn't wait to charge at the ice cream chillers!

We scooped 30 sticks of Nestle Cornetto (20 chocolate + 10 vanilla), 3 sticks of La Cremeria Absolutely Almond stick, 1 Kit Kat and 1 tub of La Cremeria almond pecan passion.  Total damage was RM53.50. 

Next month, I will grab 20 sticks of La Cremeria Absolutely Almond stick - it tastes very much like Magnum Almond and is cheaper than Magnum.

After paying for the ice-creams, I felt I had over-splurged on ice creams. In my excitement looking at the freshly replenished ice cream chillers, I got carried away and over-spent 🤭

Freshly restocked - all at half price. Too good an offer to turn down.

A big bag of happiness for the girls.  

My ice cream craze days are now behind me. I used to be hooked on ice creams but somehow as I age, I no longer crave sweet desserts that much anymore.  

Back To School Blues

There was a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon and Cass was caught in the rain after school dismissal at 3.30 p.m.  She went to the school car park to find her transporter but when she couldn't see the van, she walked outside the school to where the van would normally be.  When she still didn't see the van, she walked back to the car park and by that time, was almost soaked in rainwater from head to toe 😵

When she got back, she had to air dry her books and shoes under the fan. The living room was like a refugee camp with bags, books and shoes scattered on the floor. 

Despite being drenched, these pies for lunner from Stand Pie Me put Cass in a good mood.  Grandma also bought everyone pizza, mushroom soup, and cakes from Nutmeg @ Bangsar Village.  No occasion for the celebration. We sometimes need to splurge a little on our favorite things to make ourselves happy!

Missing each other dearly after almost an entire day away from each other.

Out of boredom today when her sisters were all in school, this fella sneaked into the bedroom, jumped up the bed, and snuggled comfortably under Cass' blanket. 
This mischievous pussy gave me another heart attack yesterday when she sneaked out to the kitchen balcony and looked as if she wanted to dive down! 🙀

Covid Quarantine Meals For Alycia

The past week has been a busy one for me.  Alycia has tested positive for Covid and thank God, she has been asymptomatic.  

I actually suspected something when Alycia skipped dodgeball training with her college mates last Thursday. She said she was tired. And for the next few days, she kept checking her temperature and checked ours too. Other than that, she had no other symptoms. Is she lucky or unlucky to have caught Covid? 

Alycia has been enjoying her room service for the past few days and not having to do any of her house duties - no need to wash dirty dishes, no need to bring garbage to the refuse chamber, no need to mop her room floor and no need to even wash her own cup coz there's a full-time 'maid' to do it for her!

I'm glad that she's enjoying her room service while isolating herself in her room. She's got all her friends and college mates to keep her company throughout the day. I could hear her talk and laugh loudly at night 😂

Here are some of her quarantine meals:

Homecooked Japanese curry, Hakka braised pork, stir-fried long beans with siew yoke, lotus root soup and 'leong cha' suitable for Covid patients.

Grilled herbs chicken poke bowl from The Fish Bowl, Gardens Mall. A treat to cheer her up.  'Leong Cha' again, which Alycia would sulk the moment the 'aroma' of the herbal drink wafts from the kitchen and into her room.

Takeaway 'chap fan' for lunch

Maki, pineapple, hard-boiled egg, and coconut water for lunch.

Pau, fish balls and matcha for brekkie.

Light brunch before an early lunner on my birthday - Japanese rice crackers, pineapple and herbal egg.

My birthday dinner on 29 March 2022 - Pho Viet from Mid Valley Megamall, Grab-ed to us.

Viet noodles salad and bitter 'leong cha'. I hope Alycia didn't secretly pour away the bitter 'leong cha' as she hates eating and drinking bitter stuff!

Homecooked dinner - braised pork ribs with shallots, tomatoes and sand ginger, blanched celery, broccoli and cauliflower, Malabar spinach egg drop anchovies soup. Dessert of brownies (my birthday cake)

Tea time - homecooked 'pak kor yi mai tong sui'

Takeaway brunch - Taiwanese 'lu ro fan', matcha and brownies.

Alycia worked very hard and late into the night on her assignments last week. In this photo here, she had just reached home from campus at almost 10pm and she immediately sat down at the dining table to continue working on her assignment while zooming with her course mates.  She's been having late meals and sleeping late the past few weeks, especially during her on-campus classes week. I think this lifestyle is pretty unhealthy.

Fudgy Brownies

 

For the longest time I've been meaning to buy an entire brownies to treat myself.  I love brownies, especially fudgy ones.  I kept putting off the purchase coz buying an entire brownies would mean that I'll most likely have to finish the entire  cake myself as no one in the house really likes brownies, except for Sherilyn and Cass who will eat it occasionally.  

Since March is my birthday month, I decided to treat  myself to my favorite cake in honour of myself. I decided to eat two wedges every day to satiate my prolonged craving.  Coincidentally I saw a one-week only RM10 off promotion on brownies on Facebook and quickly made an order for the home baker's fudgy brownies!  

The baker is someone like Sherilyn. She's about 18 or 19, loves baking, an athlete and is a college student who bakes to earn some pocket money.  I'm amazed with this girl as her brownies are really decadent - very fudgy, has a supreme chocolaty taste and not too sweet. I  chomped down almost the entire brownies myself and finished it in 4 days. Now I am satiated and feel heavier!  😜

RM42 for a box of sheer happiness 😍
RM30 for a box of 16-piece brownies.  Regular price is RM40/box.  Delivery rider fee is RM12.

Macbook / Laptop / iPad / iPhone / iMac / Logic Board Repair Shop

Most of you have gone through the moment of despair when your Macbook / laptop / iPad / iPhone / iMac / logic board conked out all of a sudden.  Admit it, we can’t live without these gadgets. In this day and age, we need these gadgets for our survival and livelihood – to work, to make calls, to snap photos of precious moments, to make payment for stuff, to pay parking and for using the MySejahtera app on your phone to check into premises. 

Most of you will panic when your most essential gadgets die on you.  You’ll desperately ask around for a reliable repair shop/hospital to resuscitate your gadget ASAP. You can’t even wait for a day for your gadget to be in working order again because it's really hard to function without your phone or laptop.  You want to find the most reliable and efficient repair shop that doesn’t overcharge you, give you a warranty on the parts replaced and have great customer support staff.

If you’re staying around the areas of Gombak, Bangi and Shah Alam in Selangor as well as in Sg. Petani,  Mecnote is an IT repair shop worth trying out for your Macbook / laptop / iPad / iPhone / iMac and logic board.  Established in 2015, Mecnote provides free diagnostic checks on your gadgets. What I like most is the shop provides a 6-month warranty on the repairs and replacement parts purchased. I know that many tech repair shops don’t provide any warranty on the repair works but Mecnote does and this may give you the confidence to try them out.  You can also Whatsapp or message their staff on Facebook Messenger on any queries that you have.

Mecnote is also on Shopee where they sell a wide range of laptop batteries, laptop chargers, laptop skin and covers, Apple gadgets parts and other tech gadgets and accessories.

You can find Mecnote on

Facebook

Instagram

You Tube

https://www.macnotestudio.com/

Whatsapp Mecnote Gombak

Mecnote | Gombak 03-6731 6101 | Bangi 03-82113964 | Sg. Petani 04-4466120 | Shah Alam 03-58922251