RamblingMoo

Last Saturday we got invited for lunch at one of the Penang’s blogging mamas who has also recently gave birth to a very adorable baby girl. She has the biggest pair of eyes! Guess most of you know who is that…

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Alisa’s mom, KittyCat called us over for lunch as that day was her CL (confinement lady) last day (which she has extended her service for another month after her confinement has ended) and KittyCat asked her to cook some yummy rendang for us. We had a great time chatting and let the babies get aquinted. Alisa was such a smiley baby… in fact when she saw me she wanted to talk to me! She was babling her goo-goo-gaa-gaa… so cute!!!

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I was quite lucky that Glennedine was sleeping most of the time so I got the chance to eat and chat with Alisa’s mommy. It was so good to catch up after such a long time (though we met briefly the previous week but not much chance to chat!). Thanks to KittyCat’s mom to help pacify Glennedine while I had my yummy rendang.

Besides chatting on our new life after becoming mommy of two we even managed to discussed about our web hosts and load of other stuff related to our websites. We even talked about the best seo software and how we can get more traffic to our sites.

Last Friday I did not cook dinner as we were supposed to take my father in law out for dinner but he has something on last minute so we went ahead on our own. As we have not been to Gurney Plaza for a long time so we decided to check out the place for dinner. However, we still ended up in Chili’s! Well, where else in Penang that serves decent burgers?

This was Glennedine’s first time in Chili’s but she did not get to see much since she was sleeping from the moment we arrived till we left! It was such a bliss to have dinner when she is in Zzzland! She was sleeping snugly inside the sarong sling.

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One thing we noted was, Chili’s has revamped their menu! I saw some new dishes which I was so tempted to try… but I still ordered the burger as I always has craving for burgers! I think if I continue to eat and feast this way… I will surely need herbal colon cleanse to help me detox!!!

Before our kitchen disaster on Sunday, we were out in the morning to attend my MIL’s temple official opening ceremony in the city. We were invited for the buffet lunch together with some of PiggyBeng’s relatives.

When we arrived, we saw one of Darrius’s twins cousin brother who was there with his grandmother. It has been quite sometimes we met him as every CNY we will missed them since we are away in Ipoh.

Dawson is the elder twin whom is staying with his grandmother in Penang while his younger brother in Bukit Mertajam with his parents. Initially when we saw Dawson, he was very shy but my Darrius was extremely friendly and went over and asked him to play together. He did not warm up until after more than 20 minutes.

We were ushered to the upper floor of the building for lunch and we sat at different table. Not long after we sat down, Dawson came over and asked to play with Darrius. The two little fellas did not talk but only using body language as there was language barrier! Dawson only speaks Mandarin and Darrius, English! So it is chicken and duck talk!

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It is always so fun and heart warming to see the little ones playing together even they hardly meet or don’t speak the same language!

Yesterday was pretty warm after the afternoon rain so PiggyBeng decided to switch on the a/c in the living room and watch some movies. Before he closed the door between the living room and the dining room, he went to light up the burner and heat up the soup in the pressure cooker. He apparently put on ‘high’ heat as he thought he wanted to let it boil faster.

He then walked into the living room and lie down on the sofa watching the movie with us. He did not tell me he was heating up the soup. The volume from our home theater system was pretty loud so we can’t hear anything except the sound from the movie.

After almost an hour (I think) or at least 45 minutes, I smelt burnt smell coming to the living room. I turned to PiggyBeng who was almost half asleep lying down on the sofa if he was cooking something? He jumped up! And I was like…. OH NO!!!!!!

We ran to the kitchen and there were smoke filling part of the room! The pressure cooker were emitting black smoke! PiggyBeng quickly switch off the burner and release the pressure cooker’s valve and let all the pressure out’ The entire house smelt of burning smell which really yucky… given my current condition when my nose is extra sensitive.

First thing PiggyBeng said was ‘Die! The rubber is gone!’ referring to the rubber on the pressure cooker’s cover. I don’t know what he did after that as he told me to leave and not to inhale the smoke which might be toxic. While I was opening up all the windows, our neighbour came over to ask methere was something burning so I told her what happened.

PiggyBeng spent almost an hour cleaning the pressure cooker from burnt corn on the cobs and peanuts. It was corn soup we had that day. Everything almost turn into charcoal remains except a few corn on the cobs. I did not get to snap a pic… which I should to remind PiggyBeng of his carelessness!!!!!

It was only a few days ago I was talking about PiggyBeng boiling soup and we have this accident. I was glad the pressure cooker did not explode though we have heard of many of such stories. The pressure cooker did not have any damage except a blacken bottom inside and a burnt valve cap from the smoke/steam. I must say kudos to Tefal for creating such a good pot with admirable technology.

One thing after this incident, I am having qualm’s with PiggyBeng’s kitchen attitude! Obviously he’s getting old!!! I told him I will either get him a timer to hang around his neck or tie one of those cardboard displays around his neck so he would not forget he’s cooking something!

This entire week I was practically locked in the kitchen during my waking hours as I have cupcake projects everyday! Poor Darrius has to entertain himself by either stuck in front of the idiot box or play on his own. I am feeling guilty deep down but I just can’t help it when there are a sudden influx of orders for this week alone. I am so glad I managed to complete all my projects. *phew~*

I was really tired from sitting for 5-6 hours each day molding fondant. I get all kinds of requests… so besides working my hands, I have to work my brain too. Not sure if I were physically or mentally tired, I can’t sleep well for the past few nights even though I was knocked out before 11pm. It is really draining both my body and my brain. It is not easy to own a home business…

Well, just so glad all is over now so I can go back to some family life.

To compensate, we brought Darrius to Air Itam Dam this evening as I have some left over bread so I thought he will enjoy feeding the fishes and the terrapins there. Since I have only a few slices, we bought another loaf. The weather was good after a few days of wet and rainy days.

It was about 4 when we arrived and we started to walk from the other side to make a big round around the dam before arriving at the area where there were some marble benches. We started throwing the bread and in less than 15 minutes, 3/4 of the new loaf was gone. Darrius was having fun looking at the fishes and terrapins as they fought their ways to the bread.

After the feeding session, I took some photos of him and only after I downloaded them, did I realized how much he has grew during these last few weeks…

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Look mommy, I’m taller now!

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My cheeky smile….

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My sweet smile…

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The shot above reminded me about the time when we first brought him there when he was about 10 months old. Sitting on the same bench but looking so different now. He is such a big boy. Time flies… Gonna miss all these sweet moments of the 3 of us together…

Last weekend I was home bound as I have cupcake orders back to back. That means, poor Darrius had to stay home too since PiggyBeng was lazy to go out in the hot weather.

Only on Sunday morning  did Sue brought her Ian over to collect the stroller that Darrius get to play for a while. Poor lil Ian’s foot was still in cast so he was home bound too.

My customer was supposed to come collect her cupcakes around 5pm but there was so miscommunication with her relative who was supposed to come on behalf but she won’t be coming early. Then we decided to bring Darrius out to Esplanade to fly kite and play some mini soccer.

There was pretty strong wind so PiggyBeng wanted to fly the kite but Darrius being so impatient that I have to drag him away. I told PiggyBeng I’ll let the lil fella play with the ball instead.

And boy was he happy!

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I told him to step on the ball and put his hands on his waist but he kept falling off so only managed to stand this way…

And here Lil’ Michael Owen in action… 

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In just a few minutes before Darrius thoroughly enjoy his lil game the sky suddenly turned grey filled with rain clouds! The wind was getting so strong that sands started to fly into our eyes. We decided to leave before the rain comes…

Now if I ask Darrius if he wants to fly the kite or play with the ball, he will choose the ball!

Why Michael Owen? Coz mommy don’t like David Beckham!

I think I have been too caught up with my cupcake blog theme and header that I have kind of neglected this blog. There are tones of back dated posts but I still can’t really find the time to catch up as I have yet to go look for the photos which PiggyBeng has downloaded in the PC in our room.

Just want to jot down what we have been doing the past two weekends where I do not have that many cupcake orders to fuss over. On 14th March, we went to our very first Food Festival/Battle Of The Chefs which was held in PISA together with the FooDex - Food Exhibition. It was their 12th year running.

We went at 9 am as we worried that we might not be able to find a good parking lot. True enough, we have to park far away even when we reached PISA before 9.30 am! Only later did I found out that some of the events start as early as 9am. Well, for one thing, I missed the patisserie event which I hoped to catch. We have to pay RM3 to enter the event hall.

And I must say bad luck was looming over me that day as my camera batteries died-ed on me!!! Walked back to the car to get spares but only to discover there were none! Luckily managed to snap a few before it was auto shut-off. What a bummer! And here are the only few shots I had…

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After weeks if not months, Penang has been experiencing one of the hottest seasons with hardly a single drop of rain. Our room up stairs ever recorded a whooping 37 degree Celsius on a few occasions. Poor Darrius will get all wet from his sweat all the time whenever he fell asleep on the sofa down stairs.

However, we noticed the sudden wind of change the past 2 days… which is definitely a piece of good news. We finally get rains! In fact it was raining heavily last night and this evening. We throughly enjoyed the cool weather.

We did went out yesterday and today for Darrius’s sake. He just can’t stay home and will ask us to go kai-kai all the time! We popped by Queenbay Mall yesterday and Sunshine Mall today.

After all the shopping trips, we will relax and chill up with the a/c on which catching up on all the movies which I have not been able to watch since I am always so busy with blogging work. Therefore, PiggyBeng decided to play some movies that sure to catch my attention!

Last night we watched ‘The Perfect Man’ which was acted by Heather Locklear. This was a really funny movie about a single mom who kept moving from place to place with her 2 daughters every time she failed in a relationship. This show actually touched on how  people will go the extra length just to find love. The show was shot in Brooklyn, New York… a place we are contemplating for our next vacation actually. There wasn’t any takes on the airport so did not managed to see if they uses the LaGuardia Airport transportation.

Then we watched P.S. I Love You. Oh! What a moving story! Too bad PiggyBeng fell asleep since it was such a mushy movie! Half way through he woke up and told me that this was a ‘movie for the ladies’…. MEN! Why can’t all men watch mushy movies with their wives or girlfriends huh??? I should have married an Irish guy! Wacth the show if you want to know what I mean!

My eyes can barely open now… so guess I better go sleep soon!

From most of the news clippings I read in the past days leading to the Lunar New Year, they (those Feng Shui Masters) said that this year of the OX will be very favorable to those born in the year of OX. Since I am born under this sign, no matter what I still have to believe a little mah!

Well, tell me if I am truly lucky…

Just a day before the eve of CNY, it was a scorching hot day here on this tiny island… well, the weather was always like that here and this year is no exception. I was busy as my MIL was fussing around saying the house was not clean enough (she never fret if it is not CNY and she don’t clean the house if it is not CNY too). Therefore, I was dragged to clean those places (stress like these are better than the best diet pills!!) which I have already cleaned long before but the dust don’t seems to go away… After which, I have to continue my baking project as I was supposed to bake some cupcakes for our reunion dinner in Ipoh which I had estimated to be completed before the end of the day (with all the decors up).

And you know what? Fate took a cruel twist…

Since it is CNY, we ‘REALLY’ stock up. Our fridge was filled to the brim with no breathing space… practically. Thanks to my MIL who always buy extra stuff as she has forgotten that she has already bought them like weeks ago and continue to stuff the fridge… our fridge was one of those 320 liters ones so you can imagine. Then my kiasu PiggyBeng also went and stock up on his beloved fish fillets and pork ribs (yeah he is extremely kiamsiap kiasu) which he felt the price will be jacked up during CNY and that ultimately filled up the freezer too.

Then in the afternoon, he wanted to cook some curry fish head so he went to dig the fish head out and everything started to fall out! And in anger he chuck the packets of fish and pork back into the tiny freezer, there was a load crack sound. PiggyBeng broke something… which he did not realized at first.

Then I wanted to get some ice out from the freezer and I could see water droplets building up… which means the air is no longer cold and all the ice are melting too! Red alert!! We can’t afford to have our fridge to break down so close to CNY!!! At that time it was already close to 4pm! Being a Saturday, I was very worried that if we can’t get the fridge fix on the spot, all our stuff will go bad and if we want to get a new one, will they deliver to us within hours of purchase so that we can still salvage all our raw food?

I tell you… my face was as black as the black beans that instant! Knowing that I was already so tired and my cupcake project was half way done and taking time off to search for a new fridge will eat into my time… I was cursing..

So, we still went ahead to hunt for a fridge since we knew we won’t be able to fix it soon enough and this could be a good chance to get a bigger fridge… Yeah! (In actual fact, I was feeling a little jubilant inside) We went straight to Far Lim as there were a few electrical shops. On the way, my kiamsiap PiggyBeng was reluctant to get a bigger fridge as he complaint that if we do get a bigger one we I will continue to stuff the fridge too.

Then after inspecting 4 shops and looking at all the available models and compared the sizes and the prices we finally decided to get this….

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According to the salesman, this is one of SHARP’s latest model and the doors are made of stainless steel. The price tag… RM2100 for a 480 liters after all the discounts and blah… blah.. blah. PiggyBeng did not budgeted that much (he was only willing to part less than RM1800). Then I told him that only a few hundred difference and we can get a better and bigger one and at the end what actually sell was that this model is energy saving… which means in the long run we spend lesser for our electrical bills…. something which we yet to find out though…

The only disadvantage is, we won’t be able to have a brand new one since they have already closed their store and if we want immediate delivery, we have to take the display unit. OK, beggar can’t be chooser right??? Even though we have to pay that amount of $$$. Anyway, we were thankful that we can have the fridge within 2 hours of our purchase. *phew*

So, tell me, am I having a unlucky or lucky streak?

Oh yeah, we bought from LSS (a local establishment) and they always have some kind of lucky draw once or twice a year at their warehouse in Batu Maung. Who knows if we could win something from the draw later hor?

Last but not least…

Wishing all RamblingMoo.com’s readers a…

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Happy and Prosperous Niu Year!

Last weekend PiggyBeng bought a huge bag of lala (clamps) from the wet market so we had lala for lunch since we want to eat them fresh. PiggyBeng was thoughtful enough to cook 2 different dishe, one which is non spicy and another which is very spicy.

All this while, Darrius never like lala probably of their textures. The last few times I fed him he spitted them out after a few bites. However, this time PiggyBeng mananged to brain washed him to try some and guess what? He started to like them!!!

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All because he gets to eat it from the shell by himself!

Can you see the sauce tickling down his hand??? Like eat until so ’shiok’ liddat!

Oh yeah, the big bowl with the empty shells there are by PiggyBeng, not Darrius hor!