Have You Talked To Your Kid(s) What To Do In An Emergency Situation Lately???

Yesterday after lunch, I tried to be good by taking the Chinese medicine my parents brought for us last year. It's for my cough and my whole family back home swears by it. The instruction is to take 5 pills- 3 times a day. The pills are about the size of a pea, or maybe slightly, just slightly larger than a pea.

By the time I swallow my 2nd pill, I had a BAD feeling. It didn't go down as smoothly. BTW, I'm really terrible at taking pills. When I was expecting both kids, I went through many brands of Folic Acid, cos' they always come in oblong shape, which makes it hard to swallow. Anyway, I continued to take my 3rd pill....and guess what? My gut feeling was right!!! I chocked on the pill. And I DO mean CHOCKED, STUCK in the middle of my throat -- CHOCKED!! The pill wasn't going anywhere. So, I was trying to wash it down with water, which didn't help, then I tried to cough it out, which made me threw up the water I have been gulping before, but the pill actually went down instead of out (weird -thought it should come OUT). At the same time, I was thinking should I call 911 for help or should I ran outside and hopefully someone sees me before I collapse??!! Lucas walked pass, I guess to check what the hack is going on...and he must have saw the whole ordeal of me getting chocked, throwing up, and my face must have looked so freaky....he ran upstairs to his room.

When I finally calmed down, I heard sobbing sound upstairs. I went to check on him and the look of his face was SO SAD. He had the very traumatic, SAD sobbing going on. I asked him what happened (thinking he can't find his things, or that he had hurt himself)?? His response was " I didn't want you to die, and I didn't want to SEE you DIE!!" ---- Oh my baby!!! ...at the back of my big head, I was also thinking: but you were gonna leave me there to die??!!! :P Guess my child will not make it to the Evening News --- "BRAVE CHILD SAVES PARENT'S LIFE FROM CHOCKING TO DEATH". LOL. ;P

Anyway, I took this opportunity to refresh his memory on what to do in an emergency situation. We went through how to use the phone, what number to call (and NOT to use 911 as a game), our address, our phone numbers, and what to tell the 911 operator. We also wrote down all those numbers and paste it on the pantry door where he can see. And THAT made him feel much better.

So, when was the last time you talk to you kid(s) about what to do in an emergency situation?? If you haven't done so for a while, I hope this note will remind you to go through it TODAY...and this includes fire, robbery...and whatever situation you can think of....and to kids of all ages. It's always GOOD to run it through them every now and then. And I have just looked up at Heimlich maneuver on oneself (didn't know you can actually DO that on yourself!! ). Here's what to do --- http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/1100.htm

Boy, what an interesting Tuesday we had!!! NOW, I can laugh at it! hahhahaaaa!!! :D

P/S. BTW, I took the Chinese medicine after Lee got home last night, and by crushing it in half between two spoons. I was VERY RELIVED that Lee promised NOT TO HIDE in the room should something happen again!! ha-ha

15 minutes!!!

The last time I worked out was....hmmm...errr...maybe about 2 years ago??!! Yikes!! That's really BAD. Yup, it must have been 2 years ago, when my one of my annual blood test numbers came back a little on the higher side. So my doctor told me to lose about 5 pounds and see if there's any difference. THAT was when I last did some workout/watch what I put in my mouth. Sure enough, after that, the number went down to "normal"....then...I start to slack off once again.

Last night, I decided that I had better get my butt going on daily or at least 3 times a week of work out. Sure I'd LOVE to lose some extras here and there (as long as the right area are the ones LEAVING). But I also wanna live long-er!!!! I always feel like I might have a weak heart...I don't know why. Weak or not weak, I do want to look better and most of all FEEL better!!! My stamina is SO HORRIBLE!! Run for 5 minutes and I am pooped!!

I always think that I will wake up an hour earlier, do some work out, shower then get the kids up for school. Never. Never once THAT work. Last night when I mentioned it to Nd(Lee), he said that it is very difficult to wake up early, why don't I find some time during the day to do workout instead? First thing that came to my mind was, where the hell am I supposed to find some time??!! Lucas is only in school for 2:30 hours...ok, 3 hours cos' he takes the bus. But there is SO MUCH to do!!! I volunteer 1 -2 days a week at the kids' classes. Then I have to run to AT LEAST 3 different grocery stores for different stuff!!! And I am those type of person who cannot leave the house without first taking a shower...and once I showered, I don't like to sweat!!! :P So, how can I find ANY time to work out??
I was pissed, I was pissed he even suggested THAT...what does he know about a day of a homemaker?? Sure, we just kick back all day and eat bonbons! Ha! I went about getting groceries. When I got home, I had about 30 more minutes before I had to go out to the bus stop to wait for Lucas to get off school. I turned on my Billy Blanks' Tae Bo boot camp....and I did 15 minutes of work out!!! Yes, I did!! 15- minutes!!! 15 minutes that I didn't think I had!!! Sure, it's not A LOT, but hey, if I wanna keep it for a long run, and build it into a "habit" than as a "chore", I am NOT gonna take a BIG LEAP!! Baby steps. I'd be happy to just exercise for 15 minutes a day to begin with. If I can keep that going for a month or 2, I can foresee adding more time later!!! That sounds like a plan, doesn't it??!! ...I hate it. I hate it when he is right...even if he's slightly right!

I DO hope to keep this going...baby steps. I'd sure like to give positive updates in the near future. Keep your fingers AND toes crossed I'd stick to it!! :)

O.o!!!!

Upon hearing a "tooting sound", I asked "who did THAT??"
Lucas answer proudly, " It was ME!!!"
The rest of us went "Eeewww!!!"
He answered "What??!! It was just my buttocks whistling!!"

O.o!!!!

MIA

Wow! It's been a LONG time since I blogged!!! Sure hope that I can come back more often. I'll try to shorten the events that had happened since May of last year....

• Rediscover the fibroid that was causing heavy bleeding whenever I had my period.
• Parents visited, went for a wonderful vacation at the sand dunes, Wildlife Safari and Crater Lake.
  
• Had a laparoscopic hysterectomy....and so thankful to have my mom here to take care of me and my family.
• Lucas got into the waiting list to see Dr. Freeman (child behaviorist at OHSU)
  
• Kids going back to school. So happy with the teacher Yesmin has this year!
  
• Coping with 4th grade homework!!! What a HUGE change!!
• Kids birthdays...so thankful for my friends who came and helped!
  
• Husband's first birthday party in God knows how many years! So thankful he came home from business trip, just in time for his birthday, which happens so to fall on a Saturday!!
• Took a last minute winter break vacation. Our first time not celebrating Christmas at home...but a WHITE Christmas for sure.
• Yesmin's skiing has improved so much that she's going on the "half pipe" and her instructor said she is ready to go to the higher lift!!! ---- NNNNOOOOOOO!!!!
• After having kids, this is the first time for us to stay pass midnight...and at a friend's house. The kids did too!! Very sleepy, but it was very fun!
• I have picked up a new hobby!!! Needle felting!!! Thanks to my friend, Christy! :P Hope to have a store on Etsy soon.

There's the summary of my interesting life in the past 8 months. Hope you had a wonderful 8 months too!!!

Taking Time Off from Daring Bakers

Yup...I've finally decided that I HAVE to take some time off from the challenges. There's just too many things I have to do, and want to do, it's difficult to stick to my monthly commitment. However, I'll still be around and I'll also be stopping by other blogs whenever I can. Hopefully someday I'll be back to take on all the fun Daring Bakers Challenge! :)

Daring Bakers April Challenge ---- Traditional English Pudding

I didn't think I was able to complete this challenge. But here it is...2 days late. These are some of the things I have been doing for the past 2 weeks (besides the regular routine) --- getting the house ready for my best friend's visit (the last time we met up, Yesmin was only 2 months old...so that's almost 10 years ago!!!)...I had to get the crap room, a.k.a guest room cleared!!! I was also trying to prep some food that I wanted to make for her. Then the worst of all...a call from the school 3 days before my friend's arrival. I thought Yesmin was sick again...but this was worst. She fell on the school's play structure during recess and hurt herself. We end up spending 5 hours plus in the emergency room!!! Thankfully, she didn't break any bone, there was no internal injuries, no stitches. *phew*

Back to the challenge...

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

If you haven't heard of suet.... suet is raw beef or mutton fat!!! Yikkeesss....oh, and by the way, the English pudding isn't the custard base pudding we have here in U.S. It has a totally whole different texture and taste. For more detail information, go to Daring Kitchen, Esther did a fantastic job in describing.

Then one day, this is what a friend posted on her Facebook page --- she found THIS in our local Safeway store!!!


We all had a good laugh (those of us with a "gutter brain") --- at the name, of course. Some suggested it'd be great stocking stuffer!!! :P Can you imagine when the cashier announcing "Price check on Spotted Dick on register 9, please!" I had to pick one up....especially since THIS IS what we're doing for the month's challenge!! :)

So, for this challenge, I didn't open up the can and call it done, of course! :) We had the choice of making it sweet or savory; with or without a suet crust. I chose to make the Spotted Dick. I added to the given recipe, raisins, cranberries, apricot and toasted pecans. I also soaked the dried fruits with Myers rum for 10 minutes. One thing I didn't have was a regular bread crumbs. I used my left over panko whole wheat breadcrumbs instead. And instead of suet, I used butter flavored Crisco that was in my pantry. This is what mine looks like.



Not bad looking. Since it is traditionally serve with a custard sauce, I made Francois Payard's creme anglaise.

My version of Spotted Dick

I took a scoop....it's ok...took another....ok, I think that's it....I'm NOT having anymore...I wonder if it's the after taste of the Crisco?? It just didn't work....doesn't taste good at all! Kinda disappointed. Maybe it'd taste better with the REAL SUET?! I'm sure there are other Daring Bakers out there who made a delicious steamed pudding. So, don't let mine stop you....check out the other blogs here and they might be able to convince you otherwise. HOWEVER....by all means, DON'T torture yourself trying the canned Spotty!! Look at THIS!!!



Just that, should already tell you something....but I HAD to try it... So...I dress it up with my custard sauce....

Heinz's canned Spotted Dick

....and I took a bite....I spit it out right away!!! YUK!!! :P After this, I really don't know if I have the guts to try Spotted Dick again. Nonetheless, it has been an interesting experience. Thank you Esther, for the experience. :)

Creations!!

Can you guess what these yellow monsters are made from?


They were made from the wax casing from the Babybel cheese!