- 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.
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Thursday, January 20, 2011
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....
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Birthdays!!!
March was another busy month. Started out with my turning another year WISER --- I hope!! ;) I was so tired from all the Chinese New Year baking, I didn't even felt like making any thing for myself this year. Luckily, my very sweet hubby went to Cheesecake Factory and got my favorite carrot cake cheesecake and 2 other slices of cakes for himself and the kids. We had a simple celebration. The next day, hubby had to fly off to Taiwan for work!! :(
A friend/neighbor, K asked if I could make a cake for her son's 7th birthday. Of course I said yes! Lucas will be in kindergarten in September, one year after that, he'll be in school full day. I 'd love to take these 2 years and gain as much experience as possible, so that by the time he's in school full day, I can possible start my business, get my kitchen license...etc. So, I jump on any opportunity I get. Back to the cake, K requested for a Mario cake. I Google and found MANY adorable Mario cakes to get an idea on the characters. Went to the Decorette Shop to look for a cake topper, but they didn't have any...so I checked online...WOW! It's expensive!! Forget it! But I really needed a Mario figurine...cos' I knew I wouldn't be able to make HIM! So I went to Toys 'R Us...thank goodness they have ONE Mario left!! Phew!
Two days before she pick up the cake, K called and asked if I could make her daughter --- Ellie's birthday cake!!! I was nervous about it, since I only have a few days to work on that. Poor K, have both kids' birthday ONE week apart!! Try organizing 2 birthdays in a row!!! Yikes! I'm already complaining about the birthdays between Lucas, Yesmin and Nd(Lee)...which is 3 weeks part from each other's. I told her that I can't make detail fondant decorations like Mario's, but a simple and fun one should be alright. The nice thing about K is she isn't picky either. On the day she picked up Mario cake, I showed her the cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse...and I showed her 3 choices that I thought would suit Ellie best.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Happy Chinese New Year!!!
I haven't been blogging much these days... however, I am NOT late in wishing everyone celebrating Chinese New Year, a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!! As Chinese New Year goes on for 15 days --- yes, 15 days of celebrations!!! ;)
Ever since we left home to come here (Kentucky to be exact) for college in '96, we have only celebrated Chinese New Year back home once. All these years, we did whatever we could to make ourselves feels festive, wearing new clothes, decorating the house with red packets, having dinner with friends...but it's never the same, of course. So, when we went back to Malaysia during Chinese New Year in '07, I picked up some decorations so we could use them at home.
Last year when we were back, I asked my mom for the Kuih Kapek molds. Kuih Kapek is one of the snacks/cookies sort of thing we make only during Chinese New Year (cos' it's VERY time consuming). It's also called "love letters" for some reason...maybe because of its intricate motives on the mold?? I'm really not sure at all. Nonetheless, it's yummy. Very similar to the Western waffle --- but very thin...and it's mix with coconut milk. Usually the molds are handed down from one generation to another, plus it's easier to make them with a "seasoned" mold than to buy a brand new one. The older molds tend to have more intricate motives and the grooves are deeper. So guess what? One day when my mom cleaned out her stuff, she had given hers away to someone else!!! What??? She didn't keep it for me?? I don't want her diamond rings, or jewelry, my sister can have them. I just want her kitchen gadgets, and she gave it away *smacking my forehead* :P She must have done that before I discover that I like baking, I hope!
With that, I had planned to go buy new ones from the store. Then she said she'd ask among her friends if any of them still have some molds left to share. You see, not many people my generation, or younger, would make them at home like our moms use to. It's a very time consuming job, and usually requires at least 2 people working together --- one grilling, one folding, and if you make a big batch (usually to give away as gifts to friends and family) you'd need another person or two for rotation), and sitting in front of the charcoal grill for hours in a 90 degrees Fahrenheit plus weather? No wonder no one wants to make them anymore. You could buy them in tubs these days...much easier. However, that's not the case here in U.S., or at least not in Oregon! Lucky for me, one of her best friend, aunty Jecy, remembers she still have a couple left from her mom, and she didn't think any of her kids would be interested in inheriting the molds. So, I managed to inherit 5 of the Ang Family's Kuih Kapek molds!!! :D
Making the kuih kapit cookies brings back memory of the time when my sister and I were still little. We would help my mom to fold the cookies, and you HAVE to fold it while it's hot. But our assistance usually didn't last long :P This is my first time making them. Boy, did I have a lot of trouble....cos' my mom have left out some crucial instruction!! For example, mixing the flour with water to form a medium wet dough and let it rest for a while before adding other ingredients; make sure the mold is REALLY hot before pouring the batter over. *smack my forehead* So, instead of tossing away my batch of batter away, I let the batter rest in the fridge for couple of hours. I made sure the molds were HOT, and when I pour the batter over, it'd sizzle, and when you close the mold up, it makes the sound like someone is farting!!! :P The kids thought it was funny!! So from then on, it went smoothly and they all turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!!
Originally, Kuih Kapit is made on a special charcoal grill, check out this site for more info and pictures. I, had to make them on my stove top, and only 2 at a time....since I needed to place a tray to balance the molds!! So, you can imagine how long it took me to make the whole recipe??!! The only good thing from using the stove is that, I was able to turn it off, keep the remaining batter in the fridge for the next day.
It's as thought the Chinese New Year Cookie fairy has sprinkle some pixie dust on me, I craved to make Pineapple tarts or we sometimes called it Jam tarts. This is also one of the cookies I remember helping my mom...rolling these tiny strands of dough, which we pretended as WORMS, for the lattice look. So, I called my mom for the recipe (I'll post the recipes as soon as I have some extra time). We also talked about the little tiny sauce plates (the Chinese use for soy sauce/chili sauce) and the "crimper" I remember my mom used. I didn't have the little plates and I didn't have any pineapple tart molds, instead, I found a 1-1/2" fluted cookie cutter that was the perfect size. Then I used the back of my mini rolling pin to make the well, it was just perfect!
According to my mom's recipe, she uses 3 whole pineapples. I had to use 5. Apparently the pineapples we get here are smaller and rounder, while back home, the pineapples are oval and bigger. If you're lazy/or no time to cut the fresh pineapples, crushed canned pineapple can be substitute...however, it is NEVER the same as using FRESH ones.
I don't really care for the lattice, cos' I like my pineapple tart loaded with the pineapple jam. Sometimes they are also rolled into oval shapes or wrap up like a "pillow" then using a scissors, snip multiple "V" shapes to make the form to resemble a pineapple, then insert a clove on the top --- check out Angie from Sea salt with Food Blog here. I find that too much work, while these have too much dough and too little fillings! :P However, these type of open face tarts are "sticky" when it comes to storing.
To celebrate Chinese New Year, our Chinese school Yo-yo team performed in Uwajimaya. Yesmin has been in the yo-yo team for the 2nd year. And lucky for us, the lion dance performance were there too. We all enjoyed watching the 3 lions dance around, doing tricks. It was great for the kids to be able to see this here in U.S. The lions also stopped to posed with audience who wanted photos taken.
This year, she did two tricks for her yo-yo performance. She did the toss and catch and the other one, which I have forgotten the name for it, where she toss the yo-yo on to one of the sticks and lets it roll and balance on it. We're so proud of her :D
Monday, January 11, 2010
Kids' Birthdays - Belated Post
I've been really terrible at updating my blog recently. With all the year end holidays and my addiction to some new games on Facebook!!! :P So here are some very belated posts.
The kids celebrated their birthdays with some friends. Lucas had never really have a "big party," so this year, he had requested for a birthday party in McDonald's --- I convinced him to have it else where. Man, all these party places aren't cheap anymore. We were lucky that one of his friends in school has her birthday the day before his. So we did a combine party and invited the whole preschool class, and split the bill! :) It was ALL about Transformers for him this year!
Yesmin on the other hand, had 5 friends over for a Hello Kitty birthday party at home. I used to see Hello Kitty cookie cutter in the stores here. Back then I didn't think I'd wanna decorate cookies, so I didn't care to buy 'em. Then, when I need it, they are only sold online on ebay! Gees! So, this is what I got.
She didn't wanna have a cake, like the previous year. So, I gave her a few choices and she picked lemon meringue tartlets. I used Meyer lemons for the curd --- YUM! Kinda burnt the meringue a little! :P
I also ordered each girl a headband as a favor. I e-mailed to Erika at Tottie's Pretties, to discuss about getting the "theme" ribbons for the headbands. She advised me on not using the Hello Kitty ribbons, as they don't turn up well on headbands. In the end, we went with a bright pink polka dot with pink background on the headband,with a double bow clip. When I received the box of headbands, Erika has made one extra as a gift for Yesmin. That's the one she's wearing on the picture above. It's got 9 studs for 9 years old. So sweet of her! Thanks Erika. It's now Yesmin's favorite one! :)
The kids celebrated their birthdays with some friends. Lucas had never really have a "big party," so this year, he had requested for a birthday party in McDonald's --- I convinced him to have it else where. Man, all these party places aren't cheap anymore. We were lucky that one of his friends in school has her birthday the day before his. So we did a combine party and invited the whole preschool class, and split the bill! :) It was ALL about Transformers for him this year!
Yesmin on the other hand, had 5 friends over for a Hello Kitty birthday party at home. I used to see Hello Kitty cookie cutter in the stores here. Back then I didn't think I'd wanna decorate cookies, so I didn't care to buy 'em. Then, when I need it, they are only sold online on ebay! Gees! So, this is what I got.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Merry Belated Christmas & Daring Bakers Challenge - Gingerbread House
It's been a crazy and hectic month! Time seems to fly at HIGH SPEED when it comes to year end, doesn't it? Well, I'm once again late for posting my Christmas wishes to all of you AND for my Daring Bakers challenge (don't think THIS is ever gonna change! :P) Anyhow, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday!! =)
This year, I didn't feel as excited as I usually did....I think mainly because Nd (Lee) had to travel to Taiwan for work for the first 2 weeks of December. However, I have also notice that usually by the time we get to Christmas, I am already so exhausted with the kids' and Nd's birthdays, Thanksgiving and all the school parties. However, I am glad that, at least this time I wasn't late in the holiday baking. I managed to deliver all the treats to friends and neighbors the weekend before Christmas! Woohooo!!
Before I forget...
The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.
So, Gingerbread House made from scratch was the challenge, and boy, was THAT a TRUE challenge for me. We have only made gingerbread house ONCE, and from A KIT. At first, I was all excited, thinking of all the possibilities to decorate the gingerbread house, and that I would make a house for each of the kids, so they can decorate their own, and not mess with MINE! :P I started off by reserving gingerbread house books from the library. It was a little overwhelming ~ what design should I choose? Should I copy from one of the books, or should I make one of my own?? Then came the busy schedule that keeps building up, while I kept on pushing off the challenge. There was a week where we were forecast to have snow (we don't get a lot of snow fall in Portland, Oregon, some years, we don't even get ANY snow), and after last year's Arctic Blast, I was worried we were gonna get snowed-in and nothing to do. So I picked up all the candies --- but which candies to buy? How much do I need? I end up spending twenty something dollars JUST on candies itself, and we didn't even have ANY snow!!! Argghhh!
In short, I end up making the dough 3 days before Christmas ( I used Y's recipe)....thinking I could maybe have it done by Christmas. NOPE ~ THAT was just a thought! I only started rolling and cutting them out on Christmas night. I knew I was late, so I just picked a classic template from Gingerbread Houses: Baking & Building Memories by Nonnie Cargas.
I have read a lot of comments in the DB forum that the dough seems very dry. Mine seems ok, at least that's what I thought...until I started rolling them out. It cracks and tears like crazy! I added water, try to pinch them back together. Sometimes that help, but still it wasn't easy to work with.
Anyway, I was ready to get it done...I cut out the template, planed on having one house for myself and one house for the 2 monkeys to share. As I was putting up the walls of my house, I realized I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE ROOF!!!! %$#*&#@!!!!! Talk about Challenge!! ~ No problem, no problem, I CAN be Bob Villa .I can fix THAT ~ the kids just have to sacrifice THEIR walls! ;P I trimmed the sides of my walls, and two of them cracked - no problem, just a little royal icing will fix it, and using the kiddos side walls, with 2 windows on each wall, WHICH could be the skylight for my gingerbread house! ;) Pretty proud of myself, I have to say.
However, there's still A problem. The walls weren't tall enough to fully cover the whole roof, so I had to patch the roofs with licorice. BUT before that, my other problem was...I had left the empty jar that I had used to support the walls while the royal icing dries, INSIDE the gingerbread house...and the roofs are already on!!! D-U-H!!!! So, I removed the roofs, take out the JAR, replace the roof, then patched the roof! Hmmm.... I wonder why I don't care about making gingerbread houses...especially from scratch??!!
Anyway, that was really THE challenging parts of building a gingerbread house from scratch. The rest was the fun part, and was up to your imagination :)
Despite all the interesting challenges I had, I was glad to have participated. Visit the Daring Kitchen for the recipes and other details in this challenge. And don't forget to stop by HERE to see how other Daring Bakers gingerbread turned out! You might get inspired and make one too! :)
Oh, by the way, there's always the question of to eat or not to eat the gingerbread house. And Nonnie Cargas has included in her book this poem for eating your gingerbread house, which I think is so funny and appropriate...
P/S Since I have LOTS of left over candies, I MIGHT, try another recipe and make up for the kids.
Oh, by the way, there's always the question of to eat or not to eat the gingerbread house. And Nonnie Cargas has included in her book this poem for eating your gingerbread house, which I think is so funny and appropriate...
New Year's Poem for Eating Your Gingerbread House
by Nonnie Cargas
Eating this house so fair and sweet
Brings insight to the year you'll meet
For every bite has a tale to tell,
So eat for luck and wish you well.
If the front door is your choice to eat,
Far-flung visitors soon you'll greet.
But if on the pathway you choose to dine,
A trip afar will soon be thine.
Consume the roof if you want security,
For love and shelter will be a surety.
Tho' if it's adventure to which you aspire,
Devour the windows to achieve your desire.
From the warmth of the chimney true love will come;
A taste of it and a pair you'll become.
Or if, by chance, you're already a pair,
Eating the chimney will recharge the air.
Trees and buses bring money your way,
While lawn decorations bring laughter and play.
Fences bring projects at which you'll succeed,
And people bring kindness and help when there's need.
But indulge in some pieces that aren't mentioned here,
You'll have special surprises throughout the New Year!
Thanks Anna and Y for the challenge and thanks Nonnie Cargas for the great book and poem! :)by Nonnie Cargas
Eating this house so fair and sweet
Brings insight to the year you'll meet
For every bite has a tale to tell,
So eat for luck and wish you well.
If the front door is your choice to eat,
Far-flung visitors soon you'll greet.
But if on the pathway you choose to dine,
A trip afar will soon be thine.
Consume the roof if you want security,
For love and shelter will be a surety.
Tho' if it's adventure to which you aspire,
Devour the windows to achieve your desire.
From the warmth of the chimney true love will come;
A taste of it and a pair you'll become.
Or if, by chance, you're already a pair,
Eating the chimney will recharge the air.
Trees and buses bring money your way,
While lawn decorations bring laughter and play.
Fences bring projects at which you'll succeed,
And people bring kindness and help when there's need.
But indulge in some pieces that aren't mentioned here,
You'll have special surprises throughout the New Year!
P/S Since I have LOTS of left over candies, I MIGHT, try another recipe and make up for the kids.
Labels:
Darling Bakers,
Family,
Holidays,
recipe,
Season
Thursday, October 29, 2009
We Are Fishies!!
What does a aquaphobia mother gets?? Two kids who think they are fish!
Yes, I have a phobia of water, specifically in the pool, ocean, whatsoever. Even when I take a shower, I am usually very careful not to get my face directly facing the shower for more than 5 seconds. I even get nervous when I'm trying to "relax" in a bubble bath! It's not like my parents didn't send me to swimming lessons. They did! But I don't think I ever felt comfortable with the water, and obviously the instructor didn't make me feel that way too - and I don't blame them, cos' it takes a lot to help a person overcome a phobia. I think I'd probably need a psychiatrist too! :P
So because of all the above... when Yesmin was born, one of the things I told my husband was that I want to sign her up for swim lessons the moment she reaches the age to attend a class, and that HE has to go in the pool with her (it's a baby and me class), NOT me. I didn't want to pass my fear to them, as I know that I will start getting nervous when the class has to move around towards the middle of the big pool ( I can only stay by the wall, at most 4-5 feet away from the wall, AND only at where I can touch the bottom of the pool, i.e. no more than 4.5 feet deep - cos' I also get nervous if the water is at my chest level). That was the only activity I made him promise to stick through for them. Until they are about 3-4 years old, where they can move on to level 1, no parent participation required.
Yesmin, from the get go, thinks she's a mermaid. She likes Arial the mermaid too! :) Once she felt comfortable with the instructor (it helps that we live within the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District), she just kept on bopping in and out of the water, trying to hold her breath as long as possible. There were so many times, when she didn't know how to swim yet, she had let go of the wall (it's a safety rule for all kids under certain level to be holding on to the wall while the instructor attends to each kid one at the time). She got busted by "teacher Connie" and got time outs. I am SO THANKFUL for having her, cos' after the 3rd time out, Yesmin has learned her lesson. She stills bopped herself in and out of the water, or submerge herself all the way under water, but at least, she was hanging on the wall. As for me, I am always sitting at the edge of the bench, watching with horror, peeling my nails (I don't bite them, I prefer to 'peel'), ready to shout for the lifeguard....sometimes, I feel so tensed and stressed out, I feel like just not going for the class...but soon, she's able to swim well. And now, she can even swim in the 12 ft deep end, no problem. I am so proud of her.
Lucas on the other hand, has started the lesson more carefully. He's the more cautious type. Doesn't like putting his face in the water... for awhile, I though, "oh no, is he gonna be like me??!" But at least, he's willing to get into the pool. Once in a while, there will be a kid who, no matter what the parents do, or what the instructor say, he/she just would not get in there. I am so thankful that both my kids aren't.
Anyway,Lucas' progress is definitely slower, but that's ok. I just didn't want him to ever be afraid like me. Over the past couple of months, he has improved a little. He is willing to stick his face in the water and blow bubbles. He would even "practice" blowing bubbles when he takes his shower :) He will also bop in and out of the water now and then.
For the past couple of lessons, I realized Lucas has gotten braver. He'd actually stay under the water for a few seconds, hands still on the wall. However, today, I forgot to remind him of the safety rule...he bopped up and down into the water, and let go of the wall while he was IN the water!!! Arrghhhhhh.... there was even one instance he was like 1-2 ft away from the wall!!!! I could see him struggling (the instructor was there, but because Lucas was at the end, and he was giving instruction, he didn't see this happened)....I screamed for his instructor, just as I did that, Lucas managed to get hold on the wall by himself. AAAHHHHH!!!! I felt like I was going to get a heart attack! And he didn't get busted! Dang. Like that wasn't enough, he continues to bopped up and down INTO the water, while letting go of the wall! After a couple of times, I've had enough. I walked over to the lifeguard and gave her a heads up on Mr. LUCAS! His instructor heard me, and had a TALK with him! Ha- Ha! Don't get me wrong, I am proud that he's NOT afraid to go into the water, but it's for his safety and my health! I WOULD GET a heart attack if he keeps going on like that! All I want him to do is, at least HANG ON THE WALL- it's for his safety anyway. I am also especially proud of him today cos' for the 1st time, he actually tried to swim by himself for like 2-3 feet! Man, that was a big step for him! :D
Anyway, I wonder how many more years do I have to endure this... Nonetheless, I am glad we have these great facilities and instructors, and affordable swim lessons. I might have to take some private class in the future to catch up with my kids! :D
Sunday, October 11, 2009
My 100th Post!!!
I can believe I've actually posted 100 blahs on this blog! Ha! Anyway, to celebrate my 100th post, I'd like to share with you some the YUMMY food we had this past summer in Malaysia! I say SOME because, we were too busy gobbling up the others! :P
So here they are....please bring a bucket before you scroll down...especially any fellow Malaysians who are living far far away, like us,...don't drool all over your pc! ;) And for those who have not been to Malaysia, I hope someday you'll have the opportunity to visit this lovely country and try some of the best and unique cuisine.
So here they are....please bring a bucket before you scroll down...especially any fellow Malaysians who are living far far away, like us,...don't drool all over your pc! ;) And for those who have not been to Malaysia, I hope someday you'll have the opportunity to visit this lovely country and try some of the best and unique cuisine.
Unfortunately this wasn't as good as the ones I used to eat during buka puasa month in front of Giant Supermarket in Kelana Jaya.
And now, I AM HUNGRY!!!! arrgghh! ;P
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