GONG XI FA CHAI!!

Gong Xi Fa Chai, everyone.
In this TIGER YEAR:
May you and your family enjoy peace and good health throughout this new year
May this new year flood your home with joy, happiness and laughter
May this new year bring you fulfillment and success in your life
and most important,
May you be bestow with good fortune in this new year.
Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Spring Festival....

Happy New Year!!! (ehmm..belated)

Well, as wise man said before, it's better late then never (ehmm..ehmm..)so, Happy Belated New Year , everyone!!!
May the Tiger roar away all the bad spirits and bring us all good luck, health and proprieties.

Well, I've been absent for a while because so busy. With new 2 prospective projects to chase and tender also Megan's more demanding now.

My Megan has been sicked last year on Dec '09 for 2 weeks. Infected by German Measles. She was cranky of discomfort and lost appetite. So clingy and cengeng.

After that (she's healed), I brought her to my sister house at Rumbai, Pekan Baru to let her breathed some fresh air, greener environment and to celebrate Christmas and New Year with my sister's family.
She gained back her lost weight plus some more but..... 2 week later, after Megan and I went back to Medan, my nephew, richard, my sister's son and Megan play mate were sick, infected by same German Measles.. Arghhh I'm so phai seee.
He's OK now.

But after all, we really have fun there, at Rumbai, really looking forward to spend my next holiday there.

Ahhh ... Find one at last

Maybe some of you, who know my Megan personally or who have follow my previous posts know how sensitive is Megan's skin.
If she was bitten by 3 or more mosquitoes at almost the same time (meaning found a few mosquitoes bites on her skin), she 'll start to show allergic symptoms such as swelling eyes, swelling skin, runny nose, and some time, fever.
I try to keep mosquitoes away from her but... true love is hard to be separated. she wear long pants everywhere, school or even at home, still the mozzie will kiss her palm, toes, ears and worse, face.

It's hard to create mosquitoes free zone in my house since we have two pet dogs and we have garden on our front yard.

I have tried a lot of patches and oil to ward off mosquitoes such as MOSOUT patches, lavender oil, lemongrass oil but still, now and then,we still found mozzis bitten on her skin.

Then, we tried a lot of ointments to ease the allergic reaction and itchiness such as Mopiko, Zam buk,Oronineh Oinment, True herbs vine salve, Moz-Bite cream, Buds super soothing and rescue lotion even some docter's prescription cram such as such as Dextacream, Apolar, Elopro , she still cried in pain of her swelling toes or fingers or palm or ankle.

One night, when i flipped to re read my old prevention magazines, i just accidentally found out this simple yet miraculous oil: peppermint oil.

I bought it from whooppieskiddies online store from Singapore.
just a dab of the oil on the bitten wound, it naturalize the toxin and ease the swelling almost miraculously.
The redness from bites are still there but no longer itching (most important, ehh) and the swelling is eased.

Excessive!

I read a success story of a woman who has drop 50 pounds in 2 years by exercise and calories counting. After 3 years, she still able to maintain her weight. She now wearing size 1 jeans and yes, from the picture included, she look very slim.
She's an avid exerciser, she indulges only on weekend but she makes sure she compensates every single calorie she ate specially on weekend. If she craving for a good piece of pie, she must exercise longer to make sure she’d burn the pie calorie. I really wonder, how long she can hang on lifestyle like that and how long until her body will give up.

I knew that cause I'd through that part before, exercise like mad such as 3 hours in gym, daily, for cardio and weight training and every time i ate, my brain would started to whirl to count the calories i was consuming.
Am I fat? No! But I was a bit flabby on my belly and I wanted more defined waistline. That time, I made friend with a mum of two with six pack abs and superb body. I was really admiring her. I, not yet married got so ugly abs :(

For 6 years I’ve been living that way, and still, I didn't get or near six pack abs plus I always felt tired and cranky. Worse were my joints starting to ache due to strenuous and excessive exercise but I choose to ignore the entire symptom and kept exercising.
My dear best friend, ET, warned me about it but I just smile and not listened.
I's so sure I was right. I subscribed all health magazine that I laid my hands on such as shape, fitness, self, prevention directly from USA. To learn about healthy aka low or non fat food, exercise regime, etc.
The result of long self deprivation was, my body started to burn muscles instead of building them. I looked skinny but flabby with unhealthy skin tone and always felt discomfort gassy stomach.

Now, I’ve learnt to slow down and listen to my body. I eat everything I want even high fat, high carb food aka comfort food such as Mac and cheese, pasta, cakes, chocolate, nuts, fusion breads, nasi padang but in moderation. To my surprise, I still skinny but more energy and more FLAT ABS also more define waistline.
Keep balance in everything. Take care your own body cause your body is your temple. Never go to extreme and you'll be fine.

Retreat

Hmmmm...yummy and relaxing. I enjoyed it with my eye closed, absorbing and enjoying all the flavor

Bagage !

I was lugging up all his remaining stuffs, knick knack, shirts from my closet. I felt like I was floating, dizzy and likely to throw up. Sad how my dream had shattered, and by throwing all in suitcase brought back all unwanted memories and tore open my still scabbing wound.
But after almost all tucked away in giant suitcase, somehow, I felt relieved, eager to face the future and buried away all painful past.

Only 1 problem remains, how to send all to him if I didn't know his address? Maybe I will call his brother to find out?

Megan, 27 months

My baby, errr toddler, is very chatting and full of curiosity. She now keeps asking you everything her eyes laid on: she asked mummy zhi se mok? Mummy, cincin yau zhi ge.
She knows alphabet from A-Z, numbers 1-20 and basic shapes, but still, can't grasp the concept of color. Any idea how to teach a 2,4 years old color?
She speaks mandarins, English, some hok kian and bahasa.
When it was raining yesterday, I said cin cin looked, raining: xia yie and she immediately said lok-ho, hujan. Hahaha

Ahhh..

These two days, my craving of sweet stuff was so strong that I just plan to go for it.
Yesterday, I had Floating Island and Strawberry Cheese Cake and today go for strawberry almond yogurt. :)

Thai Peanut Noodle

This noodle is so easy to make and yummy. No meat but very nutritious and protein packed too.
I got this recipe from prevention health magazine and modify some of it to my family taste.

Ingredient:
•1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter
•1/2 cup of evaporated milk (i used regular milk)
•1 cup shredded carrots
•1 cup thinly sliced peeled cucumber
•18 sugar snap peas
•2 cup of broccoli floret cut to small pieces
•12 oz spaghetti
•2 tsp sesame oil
•1-2 tbsp soy sauce
•pinch of salt

Method:
•omitting salt and cook spaghetti as package direction put in broccoli and peas at the last 5 minutes. Strain, separate veggies from spaghetti. Reserve the water about 1/2 cup and put spaghetti back into hot pan.
•In another large pan, put in a bit olive oil, saute carrot, cucumber, for 2-3 min,add in steamed broccoli and peas, add in 1tsp of sesame oil and salt to taste. Set aside.
•combine peanut butter, 1 tsp sesame oil,milk and soy sauce (by 1 tbsp, cause each brand has different level of saltiness), using hand mixer, blend until smooth (add some reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick)
•toss pasta with peanut butter sauce until evenly coated
•top with stir fry veggies.
•Bon apetite

for 6 serving.

Visitor

We got a visitor today, an ex-driver of my uncle. He's Chinese man and has been working for family more than 30 years.
He's in his 70ies and looks healthy and strong. Straight back and glowing face.

He's a lucky man, although his previous wife had died of cancer and left him a daughter and a son but his second wife love his children dearly so no cruel step mum stories here.

His daughter married to a married man, this marriage was against by both sides of families but love concured all.
This man, since married to suk suk’s daughter, slowly but steadily become very successful (must be the luck or element that she bring for him complete his circle), he held no grudge to his second wife’s family, he treat his in law very respectfully.
He brought them around the Asia every year and even bought a vast land and built two story duplex for his in law to live in.

He give job to his bro in law who's not educated (had been joined gangster, thrown in jail, influenced by bad environment where he grown up) and now able to dependent and have good life.

Oh, it’s my dream to bring my parents around the world and able to bought big house for them so they don’t have to climb up and down so many stories such now.

I really wish I can find a man that’s so mature and full of kindness and most important has empathic and abilities to love.
I’m really happy for Suk suk that now he can enjoy his days without worried and spend the rest of his life securely and most important, full of blessing.

Megan cough

These few days, I nearly tore my hairs off, frustrated! Megan has cough, phlegm and bit fever; doctor prescribed her a cough syrup and. The problem is, she dislike the strong vanilla smell and refused to drink it then, not only the meds, every morning, she also refuses to eat her breakfast, oatmeal with grated fruits.

I beg her, sing to her, tease her, bribe her, even drastic ways such as slap or pinch her hand even, threaten her not want her any more, no use.
I'm fighting losing battle here, because in the end usually she cried and screams till puke or being rescue by phor phor and I’m not able to make her eat.

I gave doctor another visit (meant another bill) told him the problem and he prescribed her another cough syrup with cherry flavor. Thanks God she want to drink it now.
But she still lost her appetite and already lost 1kg, it’s really a brain storming time to get her eat he meals even with watching her favorite Barney (used to work)

And now, I’m also infected. I got sore and irritating throat, cold and cough, ahhhh when smooth sailing hah????

Weekend

I took Megan to Mall after school last Friday, to have good time and play.
We ate some thick toast at Ta Ya Kun, then PLAY!!!!