Be My Sports Car

"I hope you will be my sports car" was the sentence my boss said before I left the room.

You see, he called me into the room about a month ago, to discuss about some stuffs about the company. I don't have to go into details the stuffs we discussed (company objectives, future plans, suggestions, recommendations, counter-measure, other what-nots). Trust me, you would be bored (to death). Mostly "chui sui" (blow water) only, you know what I mean? 

So, I was trying to impress him by pretending to be very enthusiastic with the discussion, but I wasn't proposing or giving ideas on how to improve (what he was planning to improve). All the time, I was "blowing water", he seemed impressed.

I wasn't giving proposals, I was yakking grandmother stories. I was yakking things like, "Well, nothing's impossible, most important the employees gotta have motivation you know? When they are motivated, their effectiveness & efficiency will increase, thus, company performance will improve".

Yada-yada-yada-yada...........

Then, I have ran out of words to say. But he was still giving me that "I-am-impressed-go-on-talk-to-me" look, so I went on saying this:

I think you just need the right people under you. When your team have the same direction as you, then all thing's possible. You know, subordinates are just like sports cars. If you know how to drive them, they will be able to bring you to your destination at top speed, speed that can make your jaw drop (What? Jaw drop? Why am I even saying this?). But if your can't control them, then you end up like Paul Walker.

Paused. For like 3 seconds. (I felt stupid already).

He asked "Who is Paul Walker"?

My mind was turning fast. I had to think fast. Speak fast. "Like Michael Shumacher" (in his current vege state) I said. He nodded and said "Ooohh I see I see".

*Grin*

Fast forward, today, one month later, he called me into the room to discuss something, and before I left the room, he said "Louiz, I expect you to do more starting from today, you can come and see me anytime you want if you have proposals, my door is always opened".

I said "OK" and stood up.

"I hope you will become my sports car", he added.

Gawd, I felt the pressure already. I hate this. I honestly don't like when the boss gives me pressure and tells me "I expect you to........", and now, there's this stupid sports car thingy. I wish I can tell him I am just an empty (Easter) egg shell. Looks nice on the outside, but empty inside. I am only good in yakking. I hate extra work. I hate to work. I hate work.

*Phiak* my own mouth for it. Stupid sports car.

Ooohh, I always end my post with my own picture (if I can't find any pictures suitable for my post), so here am I, taking selfie-photos of myself after I drafted this post. Psst, it was a Monday, so the ribbon princess wore a blue dress, blue cardigan and a matching blue ribbon clip ~ Monday blue.
P/S: Suka tengok boleh tengok, tak suka tengok tak payah tengok.

Normal Day, Normal Food

Confession: When I have run out of things to write, I will post about food and my home-cooked meals. Then for sure I will have and can have things to write about.
P/S: I no go vacation, no go holiday, no go out for meals, so I no write about trips and eating out lor, only can write about cooking lor :) 

I made breakfast for my family the other day. Eggs are a must for breakfast (I think). I mean, I can't think of anything else to cook if not eggs. Everything needs eggs. Like pancake, french toast, no? 

So I made scramble eggs. I beat 4 eggs, then mixed them with some salt, pepper and evaporated milk. Fried them in generous blobs of butter, yummz. I actually prefer runny texture, but because my boy is eating it too, I have to cook it longer, thus, it didn't really look scrambled & runny.

Next on the menu was garlic bread. Home made. No, not the bread, silly (I'm not that expert yet). I meant the garlic-butter. I chopped some fresh garlic and mixed into some butter in room temperature. I stirred the whole thing, spreaded onto my bread, and lightly fried them in my pan. I didn't have parsely, so I had to make-do without them. But it still tasted nice, albeit some garlic slightly burnt at the sides. You can make more garlic-butter this way, keep them in a container in your fridge, and use it anytime you want. Easy. But make sure the container is air-tight, else, the fridge will smell garlicky.

Lastly, something for my boy. Very simple food, I think readers who followed closely would have already yawned at this picture. What else for my boy if not macaroni in eggy soup? I have some leftover ABC soup (yeah, again) in the fridge, so I heated up the soup, boiled some macaroni and cracked an egg. 

We then went to my parents's place and spent the whole afternoon there. For dinner, we have some fish paste in the fridge, hand-mixed by the mother-in-law, so I made fish paste balls using the leftover ABC soup in the fridge, and boiled some yee-mein using the same soup base. My boy was shouting he wanted cheese, so I added some cheese on his plate. When I served this to him, he only finished half of what you can see below. No, not even half. No extra points for guessing where the rest ended up. Hint: Not the bin.

The hubs and me? Well, as you can see, I used back the same soup (what else), boiled yee-mein (again), threw in some Ikea beef meatballs, fish paste and added evaporated milk. So we have: Fish paste & meatballs yee-mein with milky soup. 

So there you have it, a normal day, with normal food. Nonsense post, yes? Well, nonsense or not, my like lah!

Guilty

Call me a bad mum, I don't even know why I am posting this. I felt so guilty I think I could only express and let out my feelings through blogging about it.

I was just away for 3 seconds (yes, read: 3 seconds) and this happened to baby G.

Kenzie boy was holding a pencil writing some stuff on a piece of paper. I was holding baby G and accompanying him while he played with his toys. My phone rang and I rushed to pick it up and when I turned around, shiat! Kenzie boy scratched baby's face with his pencil! Look at the pencil marks scratches. Half a centimetre more and it would have kena his eyes already! I felt so bad after that. 

Of course Kenzie boy kena some scolding from me, together with my killer stares. But I did not use the cane. I don't even have a cane at home. Should I get one? Or kids nowadays are not afraid of the cane already?

P/S: I still made his favourite pancake (with strawberry jam) that day for tea time. I guess I am not so bad mum afterall. 

Err, and yes, I still took selfie photos with him in the evening. 

P/S: Suka tengok boleh komen, kalau tak suka tengok, tak payah komen. 

Aku memang suka selfie-selfie depan camera, so? 

First Family Photo

Ok, if you have my fb, you have seen this. 

This is the first family photo taken in 2014. I must make it a point to take more family photos this year (and the years to come). 

I think I have not taken any (proper) family photo ever since Kenzie boy was born. There was one though, during my confinement. It was Kenzie boy's birthday and we bought a simple cake and just celebrated at home. No fancy food as I was still under confinement. Baby G was just 9 days old.

One thing about family photos (and also my other photos), I have to makesure I look pretty lah, haha. When I posted this in my fb, people asked how come Kenzie boy looked away. Well, of course there were a few with Kenzie boy (and baby G) looking straight at the camera! BUT (there'a a but)...... the mummy (ahem, yes, me) is not pretty in that picture, face a bit distorted, therefore I did not choose that photo. I must choose the one that I look pretty ma, don't you think? *sly grin*

Just The Two Of Us & Butter Cookies (With Dried Fruit)

Just the two of us yesterday as Baby G was at grandma's place, whereas the hubs was working, sigh. Well, not a bad thing afterall as I got to spend quality time with Kenzie boy.

Took him to the coffeeshop in the morning for breakfast, but I had to make it fast because he started getting restless and demanded for this and that after he finished his breakfast. Handling a restless toddler alone who refused to sit on the baby-chair and kept wanting to climb out of it while I was trying to finish my breakfast wasn't easy. Ended up I did not touch my breakfast, and left. Why?

Because: I was sweating all over my (pretty) face and body, my one hand was holding my glass of "leong sui" for Kenzie to suck (using straw), spilling here and there, my other hand was scooping up noodles using a spoon (yes, spoon, whatever I could grab hold with) to shove in my mouth (and my nice strands of hair kept "soaking" in the hakka mee gravy). And I need to takecare of the diaper-bag (with my wallet and tablet inside) which I put behind my seat. There was also a thermos with hot boiling water inside and when I leaned on the bag, gawd, I was sweating profusely already! Then, my handphone was beeping non-stop with whatsapp notifications (from my mum) and I had to check it just in case they were anything important. I could feel everyone in the coffeeshop was staring at me pathetically and thinking, "Poor little old fella, have to handle the cranky kid alone on a public holiday, where's the hubby?" 

Before going to grandma's place, we detoured to the hypermarket because I wanted to get something for my cookies. It was a fast process (and I had to be fast) because I already had in mind what I wanted to buy. I promised Kenzie boy if he was a good boy, then I would bring him for ice-cream. So I had to honour my word. Took him for an ice-cream treat before going back to grandma's place.

After spending some time at grandma's place, we left in the afternoon and before heading home, I drove-thru McD and got him a Happy Meal. He was quietly munching on chicken nuggets (and drinking Milo) all the way home. Reached home and I prepared the rascal for his afternoon nap. His battery has gone flat from walking and playing and eating (and travelling) from morning til afternoon.  

Now I have all the time (and peace) in the world to bake my cookies. This is a very simple and basic butter cookies recipe which I got from my dad. Nothing else but 1, 2 & 3. Yes, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups (I used Emborg brand) butter and 3 cups flour. I assumed 2 cups butter = 200g butter. It worked.

I mixed everything using my hands until it formed a firm dough. I pinched some dough and rolled into balls, then  pressed down lightly as I do not have any fancy cookie cutters. Topped with dried fruits (optional). 

Baked at 180 degrees for about half an hour. It was delicious and tasted like Danish butter cookies! 

Later in the evening, I made egg-mayo sandwich for Kenzie boy and also added other goodies on his plate for dinner. He did not eat much because his tummy was still full from all the nonsense food he had in the morning. He only finished the cheese, papaya and egg.  

Orange Butter Cupcakes

I don't bake very well, but I still post about it in my blog for my own record. I have always loved orange butter cake, orange butter cookies, orange chocolates, anything with orange. I bought some very cute paper cupcakes the other day and I am using it for my orange butter cupcakes, what else?  

This recipe is pretty simple and layman. I followed the recipe from here and of course I did not use a round cake tin to bake it but my own cute polka-dot paper cupcakes. You can omit the orange grind and orange juice, and it still makes a perfect fragrant butter cake, yummehh!

Here goes my standard procedure. Wait, standard procedure? Sounds like the rules and steps to follow in the workplace. You may refer the recipe for exact measurement. 

Prepare all the ingredients needed ~ Self rising flour, milk powder, baking powder, butter, eggs, sugar, orange juice and orange grind. It's so simple, oh gawd, anyone can make this. Really, if I can make this, anyone else can.

Beat everything together and pour into the paper cupcakes. Bake in a (pre-heated) oven at 180 degrees.

Confession: I did not use a mixer. I just whisk everything in a bowl using my hand. If I had used a mixer, I believe the texture will be more light and fluffy.

Halfway through baking, sprinkle some colored rice on top of the cupcakes. You may omit this if you are a health freak and is concerned on the coloring and all. 

Continue baking for about 20 minutes or insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

My cupcakes are not pretty I know (but thanks to the coloured rice, it makes the cupcakes look cuter). They don't rise and "crack a bit" in the middle like some most cupcakes/muffins always look like. 

No extra points given if you can guess who is the first person to try it. No, not the hubs. It's my fussy eater, Kenzie boy. He ate half of the cupcake, considered not bad already. 

I made 10 cupcakes, brought 5 to work the next day to let a couple of close colleagues to try and they were finished in a jiffy! That made my day!

Million

Million is my parents' dog. A miniature poodle. Million has been with us for the past 11 years. In dog years, he is already 77 years old, older than my dad. Mum says Million has arthritis now and could not jump or run as fast as he used to. He used to jump on top of the couch to rest (yes, his sleeping place is on the couch), but nowadays, he could not jump onto it anymore. So he whines, and my mum would carry him up to the couch. Poor thing. His eye sight is getting bad too, as he has cataract on both eyes. My parents treat Million as their son and when Million has pee-ed or poo-ed, mum would say to dad, "Your son has poo-ed". But Million's appetite is still good tho' and is still eating a lot.

Some pictures which I find funny and cute:

1) The dog watches over baby G or baby G watches over the dog?

2) The dog keeps an eye not to let baby G near grandpa's hot bowl of curry-mee or the dog also wants a sip of grandpa's curry mee soup?

The Electric Lunch Box ~ Meal # 5 (Millet & White Rice Porridge With Meat, Brocolli & Steamed Fish)

I bought the electric lunch box last year after I joined a group in FB when the lunch box started getting popular. I could see the electric lunch box in every discussion and new topics posted almost everyday. Thus, I decided to get one too to try it out. The electric lunch box is very mini (and cute), and it is good for cooking portion for 1-2 small small eaters, just nice for my fussy eater Kenzie boy, and now, for baby G.

For those packing food to work, or can cook (simple food) in the office during lunch time, the electric lunch box is useful and doesn't take up too much space in your office pantry. Here is how the mini and cute electric lunch box looks like.

Ever since the electric lunch box started getting popular in the FB forum (it is still a popular topic until today), I found my view counts (for all my electric lunch box posts) have increased tremendously, up to 250 views! But where is everybody? Nobody commented anything in my blog, guess they just read my post about the lunch box and go. I hope whoever is reading out there can drop me a comment here ya. But of course, you have the right to remain silent too because I know most people decide to remain as silent reader (just like the previous me).

To those following the recipes for toddlers in my blog, this is not something new already, yes? I have received requests asking me to share more toddler recipes using the lunch box. If you know me, I only cook simple food. So, let's get started.

First, wash (and soak) some (blended) millet and white rice in the lower pot. For baby G, I used 2 scoops (Enfalac formula scoop) and filled up the lower pot with enough water.

Add in some pork slices (you can use chicken breast or beef chunks) and broccoli florets (already soaked in salt water for a few hours), add water to the base of the box and then start boiling the porridge.

Thaw a small piece of fish and put on the upper tray (I used "mayau" fish, of course you can use other fish like "sek-pann" or "hung-jou", it's all up to you). I did not use any seasoning or ginger for the fish.

Check the porridge after half an hour (and add water to the base if there's not enough water) to continue cooking the porridge. When the porridge is cooked, put the fish on the upper layer of the pot, close the lid, and cook for another 5 minutes or so. The texture you can see here took about 35-40 minutes to cook.

Scrap the natural "juices" or gravy of the fish (I don't know why it's milky-whitish in colour, don't ask me) and mix the natural fish gravy into the porridge. If the fish is fresh, there will be no fishy smell, no worries. I even scooped and drank the leftover juice left on the plate.

Scoop (only) the porridge into a bowl, mix with the natural fish gravy and fish meat (crushed with finger bit by bit to make sure there's no bones). I boiled an egg earlier, and I added some mashed egg yolk into the porridge as well. Baby G is 9 months now, and I am starting him on egg yolk (must be hard-boiled). 

*Note: Toddlers before one is NOT encouraged to take egg-white. Egg yolk is fine for toddlers from 8 months onwards. However, some parents give their toddlers whole egg from 8 months onwards, (like can't wait to feed this that to their toddlers like that, hello, you have a lifetime to stuff them with food),  it's totally up to you. If the toddler has no allergies or does not develop any rashes after that, go ahead. I'm just sharing from experience.

White rice-millet porridge with pork (only for taste), broccoli, steamed fish & egg yolk

Baby G finished most of it and only left what was below.

Good to zzz after a full tummy. Now baby G has a bad habit of falling asleep in the stroller. When he starts to get cranky wanting to sleep, he refused to be carried to sleep. So I put him in the stroller, give it a few pushes, and *thap*, he fall asleep liao, easy?

First Day

The first photo below was taken last week, during orientation - Kenzie's boy first day in the kindergarten. He's the one in front, in white, next to the crying boy. We left after sending him there and made sure he was ok. We didn't stay long, it was not encouraged anyway, so this was the only picture I manage to snap.

The second (blurry) photo below was sent to me from my hubby's phone this morning at home, on his real first day to school, 2nd January 2014. He was still at home that time, very in the mood to put on his new school uniform and pose for his daddy. But when they reached the kindy, hubby said Kenzie was crying very loudly (because all kids were crying at the same time) when he left this morning.

I hope everything will be okay.

Regretted for not taking leave today to bring him to the kindy. I thought he could adapt because he did not shed a tear during orientation last week.