Category: Misc…

Bak Kut Teh

On By mouseytongIn Food, Malaysia, Misc...Leave a comment

Did I tell you I made some bak kut teh the other day, and it was awesome!! Missing the real deal but this is as close to it as I can get for now. It was really good too. Managed to get all the ingredients too. All hail the Asian supermarket.
I took me close to 3 days to get all the ingredients. Apart from the laziness, it is the fact that parking would be a nightmare where I first intended to go and with a baby in tow it would have been most inconvenient having to park by the roadside bundle baby up and rush in and out and put groceries in the car as quick as possible and try not to get run over whule trying as fast as possible to un-bundle baby back into her car seat. So I tried to out it off as long as possible but the craving was strong. 

In the end, my babysitter saved the day. She told me of another new shop which I also thought would be impossible to get to, but she told me a day later when I lamented on the lack of parking that this place has its own carpark area right behind. Now I only have to look for that entryway. Which I did easily thanks to her great and way to follow instructions. 

Thanks to her my craving was satisfied. Albeit after 3 days. I don’t cook often. Just wanted to share it. 😀

Night! 

Newest addition…latest happenings..

On By mouseytongIn Misc..., Musings, PregnancyLeave a comment

It is a little early to write about winding down 2016 but I think should get it in before December begins and I will be in the flurry of end of the year activities and will definitely not have time to write.

The last I wrote was back in March and besides having a new venture, I was carrying another bun in the oven at that time. Fast forward months, Julie joined us on the 19th Of September. So now, we are a family of four!! She is gorgeous and a total darling. Of course I am bias! She is my little girl after all. 🙂 😀


Being pregnant with her was totally different from her sister. I didn’t put on as much which is a plus! I also felt less heavy with her till the last 2 weeks. I put on 2kgs in the last 2 weeks!! The stretch marks reared its ugly head in the last 2 weeks too and it was going so well…sigh. I guess it can’t be helped. I was pregnant, after all.

She turned out to be quite a big baby, literally. Born a healthy 4.11 kg. A head full of hair like her sister. They even look alike!! Which can only mean that they will grow up and look like their dad. Sigh…oh well, the huge eyes, long eyelashes and hopefully not a flat nose like mine and great hair colour is a good trade off. ;P

I don’t remember the last time I stayed in Malaysia for so long. This time I think it felt longer only because my daughter made it feel longer. Not in a bad way but because she misses her dad so each parting when he has to go back to work is a struggle. She also has her moments where she sniffles and cries when she misses her daddy. It breaks my heart each time. 😦

We are dealing with this because I can’t fly after a certain and I need and wanted to be back in Malaysia when I give birth. I don’t have as much support in Italy as I do back here. Also, for Chinese we have a confinement period where someone is hired to help you out with the baby and recovery for a whole month to 40 days. Been back since mid July and boy, when you have 3 kids all under 3 years of age and no school all under one roof, morning till night is like a war zone at home. I do understand that children are like that but in my pregnant state and constant screaming, laughing, running, crying and fighting for about 14-16 hours a day is not something I want to repeat any time soon. Though it is great that Z has someone to play with and I really like it that she can bond and get to know her maternal grandparents and uncles, aunts and cousins better.

So each time daddy comes to visit, is a time of great joy as Z is daddy’s little girl and each parting is met with crying and screaming of “I want daddy!!” sniff!! T_T

I like that she goes to school here too. Her English has improved and the best part of it all? Her Manglish!! Cracks me up!! I enrolled her in school or rather nursery here for the few months that we are here so that I can have some sanity and some time when J comes along to bond with her and recuperate. It was also important that she has something to do and learn something new and mix with children her age and not be cooped at home the whole 5 months that we are back. I think it has benefited her. She has celebrated Deepavali and today is the early Christmas celebration in school. Since it is an international school and being in Malaysia, she got to mix and learn about other cultures as well. In Italy, she would just be celebrating Christmas, Halloween and Easter. Here, she gets to celebrate all of the above and more. If we stay on, Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and even Wesak day.

J is crying for my attention now, so I have got to go. Hopefully I get to update soon. Getting the hang of being a mother of 2 though I still can’t believe that I am a mother at all! Still so surreal..it has been close to 3 years and now 2 children on, it is still surreal. ok…ok…got to go. Signing off just like that.

Till the next blog post….toodeloos!

Hmm….is this an Asian thing?

On By mouseytongIn Food for Thought, Misc..., wonderings...Leave a comment

So, a friend of mine shared a video from Buzzfeed on her fb page and it got me thinking. I always knew that some things are really Asian like sitting crossed legged on the floor. Or even like how the Japanese and Koreans do with their legs tucked in under them.

My funniest experience was when I took M to a typical Japanese hot springs hotel for a weekend when we were in Tokyo for work. I booked this particular hotel for its traditional Japanese tatami rooms with modern convenience and it’s traditional Japanese Kyo Seiki dining experience. We had our own lady “butler” who saw to our needs and also did a great turn down service. Anyway, as you can imagine dinner is served on our low Japanese table with cushions as seats. M struggled to stay seated with his legs outstretched so much so that he got a cramp. It was so funny to see him trying to get through dinner. Eventually he dined like a roman in ancient times. Even this he had to change his position from left to right and back again every 5 minutes or so. He was like a swinging pendulum. 😂

Then I asked other friends and found this to be true for most of them. I was told that for many, the last time they sat like that was in kindergarten! So, this I know is true for most. But squatting, I didn’t know.

Here is the video. I hope I managed to link it here. Squatting is pretty common for us. There is even a Cantonese saying that goes “mau kai” which literally means squatting on the road. Not to say that it means that specifically but more to mean like you have no where else to go so you are squatting in the roadside. Basically describing squatters. Hmm….maybe that is how the word squatter came about.

Oh…I forgot something. Even squat toilets are a sight for foreigners when they come to Asia. It is so common for us and strange to us to hear someone comment about it. Hehehehe!

So foreign friends of mine, do try it out an let me know if it is really something too difficult to do. I am now curious to see the responses to this request.

Hear from you soon! Good night!

Toodeloos!

Welcome 2016!

On By mouseytongIn Misc...Leave a comment

Hello all!! Just a short and sweet post to wish everyone a very happy New Year!! Have a blessed 2016!!

2016 is the year for us. Everything that we have been working on in 2015 will come to fruition this year.

It is going to be an exciting year!!!

Have a absurdly amazing 2016 everyone!!

Lots of love! Toodeloos!!

Hello….

On By mouseytongIn Food for Thought, Misc...Leave a comment

I haven’t been writing for a while and I apologise. It has been a busy time for me. We have a few things in the pipeline and it has taken up most of whatever time we have for ourselves.

Anyway, what I wanted to write about is the new song from Adele. I was listening to it just yesterday in the car and it occurred to me that it is a scary song. Though whenever the song starts…”hello..” I just want to break into “is it me you’re looking for?” ala Lionel Richie. 😀 That TOTALLY revealed my age. This cracks me up each time I think about it. Sorry, inside joke.

So, as I was listening to the song the words started to sound so eerie. Like something from the movie “The others” and “Sixth Sense”. Don’t you think so? Just think about it. She has been calling and calling, there is no answer. She talks to herself and the other person seems to have moved on like the wife in “Sixth Sense”. The words “calling from the other side”….what came to mind suddenly was when we sometimes say that the other person has crossed to the other side, the person has passed away. What is scarier, is that she is calling and calling so the picture that came to mind was like the haunting in “The others”. The haunting continues. Somewhat stalk-ish don’t you think? She can also see that the person has moved on. That it doesn’t bother them anymore but doesn’t see herself being a nuisance. Kind of like “I see dead people but they don’t know that they are dead.” When this thought sprung to mind, I can never listen to this song the same way ever again. It has become a creepy song..LOL!! 😛

Just a totally random thought. Just thought I should blog about it since I have been silent for far too long now…

Guess what?

On By mouseytongIn Misc...Leave a comment

Just imagine this, it is like de’javu all over again. I wrote about the last time we were all sick. Guess what??! We are all sick AGAIN! Well now only the adults are down. Bumblebee was only sick for a day so we were very lucky. Last night, M succumbed to a fever and today he is still down. I on the hand have been sick since last Tuesday and was fullblown when I last posted. My throat still hurts, my eyes burn every time I slowly deteriorate as the day goes. Then after every medicinal intake, I get better and the cycle repeats. It has been going on for so long it seems never ending. T_T

The doctor visited today and confirmed what I told M last week. I was so sick that evening that I told him I think I definitely need antibiotics this time. True enough the doc confirmed it this morning. However since it has been about 5 days, the viral infection has turned into bacterial infection and it will take longer for me to get better. Yippee!! So happy to hear such GREAT news! Sarcasm fully intended.

He told me to wait another day and if I still have these symptoms then I should start on the course of antibiotics he recommended. Now isnt’t the great news too? So now I have to wait another day to feel better.

What better news is (and this time no sarcasm intended) that the bumblebee got a doctors prescription for some antihistamines for her allergy to mosquito bites. She has been, for lack of a better word, mutilated by these pesky mosquitoes. She gets bitten and the next day it swells up and the entire area is red sensitive. Sometimes it swells up so much it looks like it splits the skin. Poor girl! She gets bitten a lot at my in laws! 😦

We have tried everything. Mosquito repellent, citronella candles, long pants, bath…everything! Nothing really seems to work. Oh well, now we continue with the prevention and the creams and at to it the antihistamines to help the swelling and itchiness.

Got to go. Got to pick the bumblebee up from the baby sitter’s and cook dinner and etc…long night ahead. Yippee! So looking forward to it….not!

Toodeloos…to a better tomorrow.

Being sick…sucks!

On By mouseytongIn Misc...Leave a comment

Ok…so when has being sick never sucked? It is the pits when you are sick. It always feels damn good to do something when you know jolly well that you shouldn’t. Well, this is one of those thing.

I knew I was going to suffer the consequences on Tuesday when, while experiencing one of the worst heat waves in recent times sweeping over Europe, I braved the heat and went out. I couldn’t last more than a minute before I was perspiring profusely, like I just took a shower and forgot to dry my myself. That was not the problem. The problem was, in the car. I had the aircon turned up high but not the max as I wanted to cool the car but not freeze my baby in the process. This is because there is a fixed air vent to points straight to the back where the baby seat is. Whereas, since I can move the front ones I pointed 1 of the directly at myself. Straight away, I felt the droplets of perspiration freeze in mid air. I went…oh oh…I shouldn’t have it pointed directly at me. Sure die wan! *a local Malaysian/Singaporean expression for “I am going to regret this big time!”*. So I tried to turn it away from me but as soon as I did that, I felt it trickle down my face and neck instantaneously. I kid you not! It was that hot and humid. So, I did it again. This time I left it on me. Even turning it lower but I knew that I was doomed. I could feel my forehead freeze. A slight headache was forming. It didn’t have time to fester into a great head pounding pain as thankfully my destination was near.

It was over yet. After my class, I had to make the cool journey to my in law’s for dinner which was a little further away. This time I felt the pounding albeit lightly. While there, I suffered greatly in the heat. I was all sticky and wet is the word. After all, it looked like I took a bath without drying off. So, you can imagine the drive home. Brain freeze!

True to my own predictions, the first inkling of the trouble I would be manifested itself. I got a sore throat. That was Wednesday. It was still under control. Thursday dawned and…drum rolls, please…I got a splitting headache with a very inflamed throat. On top of my very special day, the baby sitter was not free that day. There I was with my body aching all over (signs of an onslaught of a fever which I kept at bay), splitting headache, scratchy in lame throat with a bouncing bumblebee of a toddler who already decide to wake up at 7.30 thanks to M’s “light feet”. She usually sleeps till 9.30 or so. 2 hours earlier in my condition was really “heaven sent”. Sarcasm intended.

I went through the day in a splitting haze…the meds that they gave me didn’t work as well as they should. By the time 5 pm rolled by, I couldn’t take it anymore. M’s day was winding down so I called him to please take the energetic bouncing toddler with him. Which thankfully he did. In the end I decided to pop 2 panadol and crawled into bed for some shut eye. By 7, they were home again and to what better way to end the day than to have your toddler down with a fever too! Yippee!!!

Between a fussy sick toddler and a calmer less splitting headache, managed to feed her, change her and get her to bed with M’s help. The fusspot wanted only mama to put her bed but 1 hour later after her “nap” she was all ready to look for her papa. 😥😥 struggling to keep her in bed and manage my own sickness….was a challenge. Lucky for her, I didn’t have much energy. In the end, M brought her back to bed after about an hour of play time with her and within the hour she was asleep. Finally.

She was fussy the whole night. Then we woke up to a fever again at 6. I was doing better but still under the weather. As I still am, now writing this. In fact I am awake because my throat hurts so bad that it is so difficult for me to sleep. Anyway, managed to get her back to bed and thankfully she slept a little more till about 9. Just in time for her Masha and the Bear. Her favourite! I will write about that another day.

The day went by well. I had the babysitter that day. She took the bumblebee at 3. I had a few appointments I couldn’t miss but I cancelled my class. I didn’t feel I could concentrate. Luckily I did. I deteriorated as the day wore on.

The day ended in an even better way courtesy of the mosquitoes at my in laws. They left 3 new bite marks on the bumblebee. Great! We will have inflamed allergic reactions to deal with tomorrow though we have put medicine on them. Now, wasn’t that a great day? The best!

Being sick, sucks! I need to see the doc tomorrow. I think I need antibiotics and the bumblebee needs some antihistamines.

I hear thunder outside. They predicted rain. I hope it does. 2 weeks of nearly 40 degrees and high humidity has killed me. Did I ever tell you I hate summers? I do…I detest them. When is it ending?..

I should try to sleep and dream of rainy days….

Dang! My incessant coughing, even with a pillow covering my face has just woken the bumblebee. Great!

I should go…night! Toodeloos! To A cooler Saturday!

Trying out something new..

On By mouseytongIn Misc...1 Comment

Remember when I said that I prefered to type my blog with a keyboard because I liked the feel of the keyboard under my fingers. I found a solution to this. I now do not have to bring my computer along eveytime, eventhough I have traded in my older and heavier macbook for a lighter and slimmer one. Since i now travel with a toddler in tow anything to lighten my weight is welcomed.

I have to say though that i bought this solutioneven before I was pregnant and when my Note 8 died on me, i completely forgot about this keyboard thatI got in Singapore. It took me some time to find this keyboard as most of the ones available in the market, talking about nearly 3 years ago, were only available for the Ipad. So I was extra excited when I found that could work with my Note 8 at that time.

I have thought about trying it out with my Tab S for some time now. I keep forgetting though I am constantly reminded of it when I see it almost every day on the counter top in the hall where it is stored. I finakky got round to connecting it today and am vey happily typing away on it for this blogpost. Not a very interesting post. Just wanted to share my joy of having a mini fully functionally lightweight keyboard to go with my Tab.

HopefullyI will get to use this more often and blog more since I am now freer, in theory, to blog from anywhere without having to lug around a laptop and to be more careful about leaving my laptop unattended around. My Tab fits perfectly into my bag together with this keyboard that has its own leather cover which can also hold my tab.perfect all in one!

I should add a photo here on how it looks like but am currently in semi darkness, on the bed, next to my napping bumblebee. I shall add it later on. For now, Toodeloos!!
image

Update: decided to take a photo in the semi darkness with my phone and add the picture to this post. However, I don’t think you can see it’s dimensions well. My Tab is a 7″. So it is small and lightweight. I like!

Found it!

On By mouseytongIn Misc...Leave a comment

Okay…have not actually found the camera but found some of the photos of things I wanted or can blog about. Had it on my phone. I haven’t been backing up my phone for some time already and just last week, I started sifting through all the items in my phone and basically did some spring cleaning. This took me over a few days to do. With a very active, courageous little explorer, I do not have enough time to sufficiently dedicate to purging my phone unwanted items taking up precious space. Even with the help of a baby sitter. I still work so between emails, meeting and running I managed to clear, sort and back up all my data over 4 days. oh, and yes, I got my ass off the couch and braved the summer heat to run outside. Been so busy that I couldn’t even make it to the gym. A waste of my money for the gym though but it is the quickest way of a getting some exercise in. Manage to always squeeze it in just before the babysitter arrives back with my little bumblebee.

What have I found? Well, I found photos of some of the places and things I have seen and thought it amazing to capture and bog about but just never got round to it. I thought I lost them all when I couldn’t find the camera. Which reminds me, I still have a missing camera. Sigh…. I guess I have to start looking around for another camera soon. Or maybe just raid M’s stash of electronics. I bet I can find something interesting there.

So to make the long story short, I found some photos and hoping to keep my promise here for more updates, I shall brave on and blog more.

Toodeloos!

Still here!

On By mouseytongIn Misc...Leave a comment

Hello everyone! Yup…I am still here. Sorry to have lost my way again. It has been busy. Though I have a baby sitter now who we have just pinned down for a more definite schedule, I was still busy tying up loose ends and doing some work and definitely slacking off whwn I don’t have Z. Previously, the baby sitter was on a need to have basis, where I call her if we need her and if she can, as she has other part time jobs which I thought was more important for her in this very volatile job market. Now we have officially hired her to take care of Z. I should have more time now for work..and for some of this. 😛

We are winding down for summer so most things are tapering off now but we have things lined up as usual for September which will be quite a rush for us as Italy closes for summer and reopens only early September till mid September. Which basically squeezes all the work that needs to be done into a very warped time deadline. But we are used to it by now.

Anyway, this is a nonsensical post to just say hi. I have been itching to post for some time now and will get round to it. I actually even have a post that I have written half way and got side tracked by clients showing up, so I saved it for another day. I might just go and finish that post up right after this.

Toodeloos!

Update: I have written a few blogposts and have scheduled them for the next few days….hopefully I can keep you coming back for more. 🙂