A curious mind

Al is, by nature, a very curious kid...he always want to know things ...especially if he sees something for a first time, then he would really put his efforts to "understanding" that thing ...like, when he saw my dad cleaning the store room, and putting things in boxes, he would try to see what's in the box ...and then emulate what mt dad is doing ...in a way, that (i think) is good ..curious mind makes him more aware of things ..cognitive development and all that ....

anyway, last week he saw my dad trimmed the plants outside our compound ..again, as expected, that aroused his curiousity ...he went outside with my dad, began to touched the trimmed stalks, looking at the wilted flowers etc ...

I hope he will continue to be this way ...his curiousity makes him smart ...he questions things i.e. not taking things as they were ...which is good, right?

Birthday Girls

I got this picture in my camera and my PC for nearly 2 weeks already ...but I have yet to do the posting. So busy lately, now that the classes are in full swing, my time is mostly consumed by preparing slide notes, reading stuffs, writing report and so on (and to think that some people out there think a lecturer's job is easy!)..


back to the posting in hand ...Claudia & Tijot celebrated their birthdays nearly two weeks ago ..it coincided with our uni's roadshow ...so, no break for them on their birthday ....there was no cakes at the booth ...only donoughts ...their birthday donoughts hehehehe ...

Girls, if you are reading this, hope you had had a great birthday ...it is one in a lifetime birthday celebration...with the community! :-)

Being evaluated ...

Today was THE DAY ...the day that someone from my faculty actually comes into my class and assess how well (or how bad?) I teach ...this is my very first evaluation of this kind ..it is actually part of my Post Graduate Diploma thingy ...the last module is this i.e. teaching practice ...

I was calm yesterday coz I knew that all my slide notes are sorted ...i have taught this course for 5 semesters already ..come to think of it, this was the very first course that was given to me to teach ..way back in 2006...anyway, i was calm UNTIL i saw the note saying that I have to let the evaluator have a copy of my lesson plan ...hahaha my heart plummeted coz I was thinking "Thank God, i read this now ...rather than in the morning when everything will be too late" ...as a result, I stayed back till 7pm yesterday ...

For the first time ever I arrived in the class about 15 minutes before the start time ...just to see if the computer is working, the slide notes are ok ...etc etc ...and then it was business as usual ...my heart was doing these flip flop thing at the very beginning ...then I was ok UNTIL the last 5 minutes before the end of lesson ...can you imagine that I actually FORGOT to ask the students if they have any questions before I warp up the session ..duh' talking about nervousness ....duh' i was kicking myself all the way back to my office.

But Thank God - according to the evaluator - who came over and discuss about my "performance" later on - i did ok ...he has very little complain , and for that I am very happy indeed ....I have to improve and take on his comments (which I think is fair) in my next evaluation ....so, till then ....

Indian Carrot Dessert

My sister saw one of my precious cookbooks while she was here last month ..i said precious coz it was kept in a shelf, and still looks brand new ...hehehe I only tried a few recipes there but the cookbook remains "untouched" in a way ...anyway, she saw this Carrot Dessert recipe ...which she had tasted a long time ago (cooked by her mom's friend ...) and decided to make this ....

the recipe ...

the main ingredient was, of course, carrots .....

and the chef in action ...notice the blue circle patch on her arm ..well, that's the mosquito patch!

and, voila' the finished product ...my sister added raisins, cashew nuts and pistachio nuts as well in the dessert ....

I have never make this dessert before...and neither does my mum...I find that it is a bit too "spicy" for my taste ...but my sister loves it!

favourite menu for january

The most requested dish in January among my friends...and currently listed as favourite by Bemen, Haslina and Iris ...is Kueh Teow Cantonese at J& J Cafeteria ...but it is not delicious if eaten cold...must be eaten when it is piping hot!

and for a clearer picture: the bottom dish is the aforementioned kueh toew cantonese ...

Our almost daily lunch at J&J will see at least one of them (not Iris lah) ordering this dish ...as for myself, I still prefer Kueh Teow Goreng Malay style ...hehehehehe

and another of Haslina's favourite: laksa Sarawak!

But i noticed that the portion of the food here kept on shrinking ..or was it because they are using a much bigger plates???

Feeding & baby's food

A collection of adik's photos ...taken last week when I was babysitting. Now my mum trusted me enough to let me feed adik...whereas before, she wouldn't allow me to feed him, up to the extend that she would only go out after adik is bathed & fed ....

Adik loves porriadge ...not the McD porridge like Al but mum's homecooked porridge ...it is quite tasteless really (I tried it a few times myself!) ...apparently, adik's porridge is without salt ..we were advised by the nurses not to put an salt in adik's porridge ...and I read similar advice in parenting magazines and websites ..it is due to the fact that a baby's system cannot absorb salt properly at their age ..so, parents or care-givers have to resort to other measures to make the plain porridge taste better!

One way is by adding vegetables (like spinach, pumpkins, carrots, broccolli, potatoes) - mashed; blended with the plain rice porridge; or adding an egg (well mixed) or just plain dried anchiovies (ikan bilis garing yang ditumbuk halus). All these are supposed to add flavour to the otherwise plain porridge ...and mum thinks that this would also encourages the baby to eat vegetables! Adik's favourite veges are carrots and spinach ....

But now that Adik is over a year old ...and has a number of teeth, his rice porridge is no longer blended ...but it still needs to be very soft ...so that it is easy to digest...

Lunch with my amois

The two mois and I went out for lunch @ Ipohtown Kopitiam last Tuesday ...Tall moi has been saying that she would love to try Ipohtown for ages, but we never seemed to have the time ...until last Tuesday. Petite moi drove us there (thanks Moi!) ....

Apparently Ipohtown has its own specials everyday ...Tuesday's special is curry chicken & rice ...but none of us ordered the specials hehehe ...I had this chicken & mushroom with rice ...quite filling but not really out of the ordinary ....

and the two mois ordered tuna sandwiches and a type of noodle (with dark coloured soup!) that I have forgotten the name ...

 

And this was where I saw an old college-mate of mine ...and he pretended that he didnt see me ..as if i wanted to see or talk to him. I was not even on a friendly term with him when I was in college to begin with...Plus, I was in the "vogue circle" in college ....and he was just a wannabe hehehehe

anyway, we (the three mois or the three Nas - Gina/Haslina/Elena) had a great time away from the uni environment ....and these two friends of mine are really sporting ...willing and ever-ready to pose for a picture hehehehe ...

Bag Lady Friend

I have a friend who is a bag lady ...literally! She would have at least 3 bags with her when she comes to the office ...one for her purse etc, one for her files ...and the other one for whatever else that she has with her ...hehehe she is very organised ...one bag for one thing at a time ....and unlike her, I dump all my files, books and stuffs (my food container & drinks) in one large FOC carry-alls hehehe

plus she keeps her assorted cute bags (yes, most - if not all of her bag are very very cute!) of different shapes and sizes in her office too...in fact, two drawers in her cabinets are used to store these bags ....she got all these bags from different places as well as from different countries that she visited ....Japan, Thailand, Laos and what not ....

 

and last but not least, meet Elena, my lovely bag lady friend ...but she only has two bags with her in this picture ...

Yummy Pandan bun

I bought this yummy pandan ring bun in one of the shops @ tHe Spring ...turns out to be quite yummy. The whole family loves it! Al can finish a slice of this ..and that's saying something (coz he is such a fussy eater).

I actually bought it at a health shop ...when I was working last Sunday. My uni had this "Bersama Komuniti" roadshow, and we were tasked to monitor the faculty's booth ...anyway, i got distracted and in my free time, went to explore the health shop ..turns out it sells these breads and buns from Gingerbread Bakery ...A great discovery ..and definitely will go there again for the breads/ loaves or buns soon ...

cookies ...candy and chocolate bouquets

I love cookies ...especially the Famous Amos cookies. I often get 100-200 grammes of this good stuff when I happen to go to Kuching airport ....really yummy ...i know it is sweet, and that suits the "a moment in your lip, but forever in your hip" kind of adage ...i still like it no-matter-what hehehehe ...i must get this when I am "stress" during the marking of exam scripts ...*excuses excuses*

my favourite is pecan & macademia nuts as well as double chocolate cookies ....

 and they also have assorted chocolates, candies, sweets, lollies ...and even chocolate bouquet ...now that Valentine day is a mere one month away, perhaps those who still cannot find a perfect present can just head to the nearest Famous Amos and grab one of these bouquets :-)

 

Anti-Mosquito Patch

Remember I mentioned before about my sister who was diagnosed with Chikugunya? and the fact that there is not specific medicine to treat Chikugunya?  The only thing you could do to avoid Chikugunya is by avoiding the Aedes mosquito! One of the way is to get the insect repellant ...which can be in the form of spray (water based or oil based) ..and that can get kinda sticky! another solution is to get an anti-mosquito patch ...

My sister bought this after her Chikugunya episodes....very easy and convenient to use ...you just attached/ stick it to your cloth ...or any surfaces near you ....

like this one: on the table cloth ...

and behind adik's baby walker ....

very easy huh? I didn't even know this existed until I saw my sister bought a pack of it ...now I can do away with my insect repellant when I am going travelling into the jungle ...hehehehe ...

Lunch at Old Town

Like i said in my previous posting, after servicing the car, Al & I went to Old Town for lunch ...did I mention that Al is no longer interested in McD's chicken porridge, so we have to find something else that might tickle his "over-fussy" tastebud ...so, I tried Old Town ...as it was Saturday, I was avoiding the Springs and Boulevard - instead we headed to the airport ...cost a wee bit more that the other branches, but it is very convenient for me ...

Al browsing the menu ...

and I ordered these for us: Chicken Hor Fun & double helping of kaya toast ...mum suggested that I should persuade Al to try eating noodles - any noodles for carbohydrate ...hence, the chicken hor fun, which turned out to be quite bland ...not something that I wanted to try again!

But all in all, it was quite a successful outing...coz Al managed to eat 3 slices of toast!!! A really great feat for a fussy eater ...that itself already made our day ....

see, how happy he was ....this boy is one of those who loves to go out and about!

the view of the shop ...staffs are friendly ..but i dont like the fact that the manager asking the staff to sweep the floors while customers are eating. The staffs said they will do it when the customers are no longer there but the arrogant manager insisted ...so, I had to put my foot down and told the staff not to sweep near us! Poor girl ...caught between the boss's instruction & the customer's demand ...

Saturday chore

I hate it ...it is always rainning now...morning, afternoon and nights ...the rain kept on coming down ...i hate to go out in the rain...i dont want to get my shoes wet and i also dont like driving in the rain. But yesterday i had to go out ...my car needs servicing ...it was already 1000km past its due date! so, despite the rain, I ventured out in the rain ...with Al strapped in next to me in the passenger seat ...he was my companion of the day ..


We went all the way to Kota Samarahan ...to my usual garage. Al is so facinated with all the works that were going around the garage hehehe boys will be boys I think!

At one point, Al actually thought the mechanic was stealing my car ...hehehe when the mechanic drove my car to its slot for checking, Al shouted at him "car mama ....CAR MAMAAAAA" hehehehe ...

The rain was heavier in Samarahan actually ...so, we didnt stick around there as plan. The original plan is to go to J&J Cafe to get some lunch ...but had to cancel. Instead we went to OldTown Kopitiam ....coz there was no rain in Bt7 - Tabuan area ...it was a last minute decision actually ....will do another posting for that!

another Friday lunch @ Pizza Hut

Yes, twice in a row ...last friday we went to Pizza Hut again for lunch ...this time, it was a full  quorum ...moi was there, as well as Dayang & Mr. BW ...as usual, there must be photos taken to capture the moments ...hehehehe

 even the menu has to be included hahahaha

Mr. BW and his pizza (does he look like a HK celebrity?)

and Dayang - with her seafood lasagne

and Moi - who look very elegent in her purple baju kurung - though not really clear in the pic

and, last but not least ....my yummy Island Supreme Pizza ....

Pollution!!!!

I saw this really thick, blake smokes billowing in the wind on my way back from work yesterday ...since, i am stoping at a traffic light, I snapped this picture ...

Not sure what caused this ...coz it was a bit further away from where I was ...it could be due to some accidents at a tyre yard (which had happened TWICE already last year along that stretch of the road) or it could be some rubbish/tyre burning purposely burned by the owner! Whatever the reason - the result is the same ...air pollution!!!

Who is Titto?

Titto has been with us for a very long time, but it only got the name Titto till very recently ....Al couldn't pronounce tortise correctly ...instead he said Titto ...and it kind of stuck ...so, his fav fluffy tortise toy is now known as Titto ....

Titto has been a great friend of Al since he was just a tiny tot ....hehehe ...and now, two and a half years later, Titto still sleeps with Al ....and we even took Titto with us when we visited the Museau two weeks ago!

mess ...mess and more mess @ home

I woke up one morning last week, and this was the scene that greeted me downstair ...

Adik was already up and  busy playing ..and he was playing not with one toy but a whole lot of toys ...his mickey mouse was there ..as well as his singing Barney, the fire engine that can make a really loud noise...his book, and his yellow tractor ..that's just a part of the mess ...he was mad when I put a few things away into the blue laundry basket behind him ..and proceeded to spill everything onto the floor just as quick as I was attempting to clear the mess ...clearly a Catch 22 situation ....

I was told (and I also read it somewhere) that we should encourage baby to play with toys of different shapes, textures and so so ...this is to help their co-ordination and cognition ...i find that since Airell is more mobile - with his crawling, sitting and balancing skills - he is more active ...loves to explore the toys ...but sometime, it gets out of hand! meaning...too messy ...hence: Catch 22 situation ...

lunch with the gang

yes, the gang is finally reunited albeit missing two people ...wan, who is so far away and Fiza who I have not been in touch with for goodness how long ...Mr BW and Dayang are both back from their stints Down Under..so, it was getting to be a routine for us...to have lunch together ..just like the old times..when we first met about 4 years ago ...cannot believe it has already been 4 years!!!

Last week, we went to Pizza Hut ...well, Pizza Hut finally opens a branch here in Samarahan ...so, we no longer have to cram into one car and drive to the Jalan Song's branch ...

i had speg meatballs ...i know I can cook this at home, and it probably taste better, but hey, this is instant and it doesn't require me to stand next to the stove for hours ...

 

and my ular friends (short for mengular hahahah)

the "kepala ular", to quote Mr BW, was away at the time so it was only the three of us ....