26 Feb 2011

Today Weeliem cooked dinner. He wanted to do the cooking because I was very tired and had been really grumpy lately. That's the reason I did not post any new stuff as I have been cooking all the usual or food that I cooked before. My mind is too occupied with something else. I took a nap at 5.30pm and when I woke up, I can smell the scent coming from the kitchen. Bliss. He was making one of our preferred comfort food shrimp dish and stir-fry bean sprout (dou miao). I made this remark to him during dinner: "Whatever that you cook taste like my own cooking". Yes, it's true because he cooks like me. I made the recipe and I taught him all the steps. That's why the food he cooked taste like what I made. I think this is a pretty good progress indeed which means he can make real food now. I've been thinking a lot about our coming vacations and I can't help to imagine all the trips that we will be making together with Leng and Bryan. I was trying up some clothes in the evening , testing out different combination of jackets, dresses, tops that I will wear for our coming trip. Vain, isn't it. I hope not. I just want to avoid looking like a grumpy old lady in photos. I probably need a spring straw hat to complete the fashion match. I am looking forward for this trip because it's so hot over here in Malaysia. I can barely stand the heat if I go out in the sun nowadays. The pain when the sun got onto my skin, tingling pain. It's a honeymoon cum casual trip for us because we will be spending sometime alone together and other times with them. I'm longing for vacation since our Singapore visit last year in July. Overall, I am happy with Weeliem and I hope I still will for the next 60 decades considering I live up to almost 90... Best case I guess if the world hasn't end.

10 years old and a year old , old birthday

This is absolutely ridiculous making me not wanting to do any work anymore. I posted the same photo in facebook saying to unleash some of the stress I am having. Yes, I am dying to do something than thinking about how much work I am having, how much issues there are now and everyday, the stress I got from work and home..it's too much. Red spots popping out on my skin everywhere due to the amount of stress I am having...

The photo of my sister and I inside the pic was taken back at our old house in BBB. The house was full of boxes that time because my mom had been packing for years to move to the new house, which my parents are staying in now. The photo was taken in my room at hometown.

Rice candies in bethrothal gift for Hokkien wedding

Many people mostly from Northen part of Malaysia has never heard of lao hui (Hokkien) which is a common guo da li item for Hokkien people. Even people who claimed they are of Hokkien clan doesn't know the existance of this. So, I am showing you what is in the "zhuo zhi" biscuits package that we gave to our relatives with a piece of roast pork. Other than the rice candies (lao hui), we have 2 types of sweet biscuits, one is tao sa pia and another is sweetened maltose round biscuits. Since my family is Hokkien, so we did this our way. This gift was given to each relative's family as a message to inform them that my family is sending a daughter off marriage, whom was me! Hope you guys have better idea now.




From http://www.chinese-wedding-guide.com/betrothal.html

Betrothal gifts 娉礼
The betrothal gifts are packed in a multi-tiered wedding basket that is borrowed from a chinese wedding cake shop and typically include:

western and chinese wedding cakes,
two bottles of brandy,
even numbered of tangerines or oranges,
peanut candies for a teochew bride and rice candies for a hokkien bride, at least six tins of canned pork legs or a whole roast pig for cantonese bride,
two pairs of dragon and phoenix candles 龙凤烛,
betrothal jewellery from the groom’s parents to the bride.

Cantonese will have the dragon and phoenix bangle 龙凤琢 and the teochew four items of gold 四点金.

Our kitchen joint project for the year 2011

Since we are not supposed to celebrate valentine's day news1, so I guess we should not celebrate Mother's Day, World AIDS Day, Father's Day, Children Day and Women's Day as well since they are all advertising gimmick. Hope nobody celebrate Mother's Day with Rosmah in the future.

Anyway, to support in conjunction with V-Day we decided to cook at home to avoid falling into prey of those blood sucker that offer couple package. Our project cost is RM20 per pax. I think it's reasonable considering we have salmon, bacon, prawns and cocktail!

We had wild mushroom soup as starter. Baked salmon with olive oil, salt, basil and lemon slices on top while the fish cooking in the oven to avoid it from dehydrates. Sides are butter garlic baked prawn and asparagus wrapped bacon. We had the food with cocktail made of the citrus orange, grape wine in cold syrup.



Our first V-day after I become a Mrs.

Some 2011 chinese new year photos

Since I had to be away from home for the few most important days during chinese new year this time, meeting up with my family was really a happy thing. It was noisy and full of celebration atmosphere especially when WL and I arrived at my sister place. We saw the nieces jumping and shouting gong xi fa chai! gong xi fai chai! non stop, my parents, my sisters and bro in law.

I seldom post a picture of my sister and I. This is the amazing woman who gave birth to the 2 beautiful babies, works full time as a high profesional career and manages the household that looks like a breeze but in real is really tough. She baked a lot of cookies for cny slipped into her very very tight schedule. The lousy me already complaining not enough time to bake cookies when I have no kid and 2 days weekend off but she can make a dozen while attending to 2 kids, a big house to clean and only 1.5 days weekend. We were not very close as a kid because of the 1 year apart sister syndrome but we chat quite a lot nowadays and update on each other life occasionally.


When I arrived at their home, I straight away hold up my niece and she began manja-ing.



How comfortable is this baby niece sitting on my lap while sucking at her own thumb and watching tv.



I was helping Cheryl to tie up her super long hair , dressing up to visit my grandma.



A photo of myself before we depart to the restaurant for mom's birthday dinner CNY lou sang.



Happy faces when tossing fish salad. THis is the first time my mom ever lou sang in a restaurant. Watch her excitement!



Fireworks seen from our home in Penang.

Flood in Johore

It was a tiring day of CNY.. Anyway, this is what happening in some parts of Johore right now due to the continuous rain 2 days back and probably bad drainage system. Some houses are flooded and as you can see the palm oil trees are also under water, or half under water. Dirty muddy water is in their houses. This must be painful.