Leaving

Leaving is separation indeed.
To leave or not to leave, it is a decision.
To leave, is a right decision.
To leave, needs to take a lot of gut.
To leave, grow my reluctance.
To leave, meet my goal.
To leave, makes separation in one side, and reunion in other side.

One Fine Afternoon

what comes into your mind when you see this picture?

Picture taken while both of them playing peek-a-boo with the curtain.

Meet the unusual

While you're away.
As usual, I worked late.
I reached home at the usual time.


Unusually, I don't see a small and square grey color car waiting for me patiently outside the building.
I dont get to argue with topics that conversed but
I get to talk over the phone with you sweet and gentle.
I ate dinner alone.
I ate extra heavy dinner - 3 pieces of fillet, apple, fish cracker from Perhentian Island.
I sleep alone tonight and the rest of week.

How are you there? It's the second morning. Everyday a great day for you!

Praying for a second screening for you - Lord, thank you Lord for providing us this opportunity.
we leave this opportunity on your hand.
Allow for second screening if it's a good chance for us to move forward. Amen.

Baking at home

Last week, I was invited to join the cooking class from my previous assignment. Please meet the chef - Alex, who demonstrated the cooking steps to us. We're divided into 4 group which consisted of 4-5 persons. Pizzas and brownies were what we learnt. The steps is simple, ingredients is easy to find, the end result is satisfied - it's probably we're too hungry. It was such a fun to cook with the huge bunch of member.

Over the weekend, I was trying to make my own pizza at home. My pizza that served as our dinner - grandma, parents, Hann and me, and snack for Callum.
I only need a very small amount of dough to make 3 regular pizzas, it's a thin crust pizza. The overall preparation and cooking time took approximately 1.5 hours.
It's quite hard for me to get a variety of topping ingredients. Thus, the topping is very limited to mushroom, pineapple, crabstick, chopped capsicium and onion.
The taste wasn't impress me. It tasted different from the baking class - the taste is dull, less spices, the cheese is a bit different as I bought the cheaper one - it already cost me alot with the huge amount required.

Anyway, I enjoyed cooking different type of food to serve my family. It's such a good feeling - eating pizza rather rice, everyone enjoys the pizza while still able to chit chat rather the dull, dry, restricted round table of chinese cuisine, with a not-so-hot weather. I am imagining myself and family at somewhere out of the country.
But my baba surely can't bear with the late timing to have dinner :)

It's your birthday

We celebrate Callum's birthday on 19th June, earlier a week of the actual birthday. Reason being, it's a weekend and school holidays. We made it a small gathering of great-grandma(both parents side), grandparents (both parents side), parents, autie & uncle (da yee), and some stay-near-aunties and uncles, as well as my nieces.

The overall cost spent on the birthday held less than RM200. Almost everything is homecook/homemade except the side dish that bought by Hann - KFC. We need the drumstick to in place so that Callum can 'pick the future' with variety of KFC, egg, book, pen, calculator, car key, and red packet. My little boy first picked up the pen, later came with drumstick. The most funniest part is, once he picked the drumstick, he played with it, swing it, touched it...and after a while he pinched it and got a pinchful of meat from the drumstick and popped it into his mouth! It amazed me alot where as we never explore him with chicken but he knew it's edible! Everyone enjoyed seeing him picking up every item laid on the floor.

Later it's the cake cutting ceremony. I made him a marble cheese cake with own creative decoration rather a marble motive. Callum enjoyed it as well in both cutting and eating cake. He yet know to blow off the candle light though we practise before the actual day.



On the next day, we celebrated father's day. It's Hann first father's day. I baked a new york cheese cake with strawberries as filling and topping. It turns out very beautiful and it tasted just nice and better than first trial. I wasn't sure if everyone enjoy my cheesecake, but indeed, I am enjoying the process of preparing, baking, it turns out to be an end result and it's edible though it's tired to bake 2 cakes in a row and waiting for it to finish at 2 in the a.m. and go to sleep with worry heart that what if the cake is a failure and I do not have cake for the celebration?

Ah ha. Pratice make perfect.

Vacation

I'm back from my annual vacation. This time round, we visited Hong Kong and Macau. It's a wonderful trip. I have to give credit to Hann in making it a success. He is my travel partner, tour guide and navigator.

I've lost my count on how many miles we've walked in total. Walk for food, MTR station, shopping, tourist attraction, jetty and many more. I felt extremely tired everyday. Inside the mall, there isn't much place for you to sit, even the MTR station, there is none of the station with bench provided while waiting for the arrival of the train. The bright side is, Hongkie are all in 'good condition' in terms of stamina. Even an old woman has no problem in climbing a steep walkway.

All in all, I love the food in HK, railway structure and cleanliness. On the other hand, I love the peaceful, relax, leisure happened in Macau (except Casino). A good one!

Celebration

Yesterday was the celebration of my baba's birthday cum belated mother day celebration at Sauk. All of us travel in 3 cars heading to this famous for 'riverfood' restaurant. We ordered two steam river-fishes, stir fried vegie, village chicken in chinese herb, fish cake and honey pork. The overall dishes cost us RM200 only. It is definately worth it for the price. Overall the taste is up to standard but it doesn't taste as great as the first time I tried it. I think we will still come back for any celebration for the sake of its price and the freshness of its 'riverfood'.



Beside, I brought my first-attempt-blueberry-cheesecake for the celebration. However, I am too shy to bring over as I so afraid that after the cake cutting but no cake can be eaten! So, I did the cutting cake ceremony and put them in the container and brought over as starter for everyone. It receives good comment from kids, average comment from Hann. The kids would always like what I've baked. Thank you for your support, nieces!

It's near to CNY

Just another day I will be back to home.
Just another 3 days all chinese in the world will celebrate the biggest feast of the year, Chinese New Year.

By taking the statistic, I've only one day (Friday) to make all my planned to do cookies and cakes.
Before that, I've run several test run on

sugee cake - recipe from my auntie
brownies - recipe from Jamie Oliver
prune cake - recipe from auntie
almond cookies - recipe from Hann's auntie
almond slice - recipe from Hann's auntie
pineapple rolls - recipe from Amy Beh

Out of the list, I am glad to announce that 5 out of 6 report success!
While the almond slice which is indeed simple in baking and preparation as well as getting the ingredients yet I failed it. Not only once I tried but thrice or more. Whenever I tried and found that it won't be a success, I will never try again. However, I still hoping that I can make it one day. Should approach my guru :P

Happy baking to all of you in preparation of cny!

Baking

Baking is my one of my favorite. I've randomly pop up an idea of quit my job and sign up for a baking lesson and possibly my daily task is cooking, baking and etcetera. In other words, I'm more than happy to be a stay-at-home-mum.

The other day, I got the Prune cake recipe from my cousin. The Prune cake that I tasted made by my auntie is just awesome. Thus, I want to give it a try in baking it myself.

I bought my ingredient on my way back after work, which is around 930pm. We dropped by Tesco and get all the ingredients and utensils. Coincidentally, the Sun Sweet prune is on sales! It's selling at RM6.89 which is a very good deal. I grabbed one and thinking to grab more today after work.

When I got home and prepare everything and I just realized that I've got a strawberry flavour of milk...Sigh. So, I got Hann to buy me another one at 7-11.

Mixing, blending, and beating. All takes up one and a half hour. It cook at 1 in the a.m. Thus, I leave it inside the oven to avoid immediate change of temperature and causing the cake to shrink.

The next morning, I wake up and without forget it, I cut my trial into pieces and test it out. Gosh, I success! Though it doesn't taste as good as my auntie one but at least it's good and at least it receives an 'OK' comment from Hann. Hm.

Growing close to 7 months

Callum had grown teeth, 2 of them.
He is more talkative now than before. Ehee ee ahh ahh in a very soft voice.
I'm feeding him fruits and rice now. Mashed pear and apple, rice cook in formula.
I tried mashed carrot with porridge. He doesn't seem to like it. Maybe it's cold and tasteless compared to pear and apple which is very sweet to me.

Callum started to fully feed in formula since last Christmas. I've stopped express breastmilk since then. In other words, Callum is bottle-fed breastmilk till 6mo. I'm so proud of it as it isn't easy for a working mother especially in the same time have to pick up new skill in career path. Especially when it comes to task not finish yet but still have to spare time in mother's room. With that stress will cause the breastmilk supply reduce.

Last week, there is a chance for me to visit hair saloon to cut my close-to-one-year-old hair. It's really short. During my regular visit to Callum, when I first saw him, I asked "do you still remember me?" and he smile at me. The sweetest smile that is rooted in my memory...

I love you, boy.

Pic above is taken when I try to wrap him like a newborn. He shows exactly his expression when he is about 2 days old - lock eyebrow and innocent.

Year 2010

coincidentally, Callum kiss while I try to camwhore :)

It's brand new year, have you set your resolution for the year 2010? Aha, it's not a norm for me to set new year resolution. However, I've got a number of gifts from 'year 2009'.

A lovable, adorable and cutest son.
A low rise, strategic location condominium.
A bunch of family members who love and care me most.

Small update of Callum's development. Callum's hand is now reachable to his toes. Whenever he put in sitting position, his little hands are holding his toes. Once i spotted him holding his toes and pulls towards his mouth! Callum still need some support in sitting position.