Daily Laundry

On Hiatus ...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:11:00 +0300

Hello :)

Looks like this time my move from Saudi Arabia to Kuala Lumpur is not as smooth as the previous ones and for once… hahaha.. I am very very busy.

We decided to do a lot of repairs on the house and maybe a brand spanking new kitchen for me.

For some reason all this home repairs, home furnishing, movers, unpacking and kitchen designing really makes me feel like a full fledge homemaker… because here I am choosing fabrics from curtain contractors at home with a lot of sample, choosing paint colours, roof tiles, cabinets, counter tops… lots of appointments with different contractors.. PHEW.. its not that I haven’t done it before but I have not done everything all at once.

Except for today I really had not enough time just to sit and write out my thoughts… which are plenty by the way… HAHAHA hopefully by the time the dust all settles down .. literally… I can happily type away to share again.. :)

If I am lucky we should be done just before mid February.

I am really missing my life with my friends in Saudi but I am also having fun with my life long friends and sister who is helping us getting settled in. Its hard work but yes when all is done its time to put my feet up and enjoy.

I hope everyone has a fantastic new year ahead and I will see you soon.

A year in Saudi coming to an end..

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:08:09 +0300

Last post from me was a couple of months ago… but not without reason. :)

I have been saying I had problems with my wrist and finally I got it check with my doctor in Kuala Lumpur since we were there for vacation. I got a diagnose… it had something to do with a vein inflaming from overuse. I will delve deeper about that soon.

I find that for now… its so much simpler to go back to the hospital that has all your medical history and I don’t have to explain so much about every single thing. Seems medically, being nomadic ain’t a good idea. Doctors, hospitals, therapist… if it doesn’t feel right.. most likely it won’t be right for you..

Taking a break from my medical endeavors another situation has arrived in July. My husband found an opportunity to move back to Malaysia. I am not too happy about it.. to the point of being depressed… seemed silly now but at that time I was not ready to pack up (AGAIN!) just when I’ve set everything in place in the house, I wasn’t ready to leave my new found … umm stuff-i-can-only-do-here … in short I was against it kicking and screaming. I felt that my adventures here in Saudi was not complete and I didn’t want to go home just yet.

After simmering my thoughts for months I kinda got so depressed that I couldn’t do anything… no mood to exercise… no mood to cook… no mood to eat.. and guess what? I ballooned up like crazy. No need for weighing scales.. my clothes don’t fit.

Yes so there you go.. When I am depressed.. I get fat.

I felt that although I knew not eating and exercising regularly will effect me physically, aches and pain will come back but in my head, I was at a dead end. Misery, dark and so unhappy… I did ran on the treadmill but I just couldn’t enjoy it… so finally I gave in.. LETS BE MISERABLE… eat whatever, do whatever… CRY OH CRY…

Somehow after couple of weeks… after sharing it with my close friends here.. and we got so sad… and we talked about it… slowly things began to become better. Yes its still not fun leaving such wonderful friends I’ve made here but we had to go and thats that! :P

I think I have to thank my husband for being so understanding… he didn’t force me to deal with it and forcing someone to come to terms is never a good thing do because the grudging afterwards I think will never pass completely.

With the time I have left in Saudi (about 7 days to date of post) … I will make the best of it and cherish the time with my friends here.

On the other hand my physical health… hmmm sad to say has taken a toll.. but never-mind, I can repair it slowly slowly again just as I have before.

So its important for me to note down things like this because I need to remember that no matter how bleak and sad things are not working out for me. I can rise up to the occasion and make the best of it eventually.

Its important to feel sad sometimes to understand what makes you truly happy and to keep reminding that being ourselves is about the Mind… is about the Body .. and how we nourish it. Not forgetting also we are human, not meant to be perfect.

This is also a great time for me to make a U-turn.

The house is packed and loaded up in a container, waiting to be shipped and we will start a new life in a very familiar place.. which is supposed to be a good point. *wink*

Wish me all the best! hehe…

Make a U-turn

Eat This, Not That! by David Zinczenko

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 17:57:00 +0300

My biggest problem when trying to loose weight was, is and always about food. This kind of food guide is very handy because it shows literally how to compare the food we choose to consume.

A lot of times an average well meaning person don’t want to stuff down less healthy things but the information given like say in the labels or the menu can be a little misleading (maybe intentional.. maybe not..)

This book is intended for Americans so maybe non American not shopping and eating in America cannot use it exactly but it can be a reference to how you make the comparison between what goes in a meal, how its prepared and learn about reading labels.

The book gives a lot of comparison from cereals, sauces, pasta to potato chips. About salt or sugar content, seasoning and additives you might not be aware of.

The restaurant guides I find most interesting and nowadays American style food is available and popular in other countries. McDonald’s like the above is the best example. In my very far away town in the dessert of Saudi Arabia you can still drive through to get a Big Mac.

In general if you are dining out on anything creamy, crunchy or crispy means more calories. So If I have a heavy meal I’d stick to just water but if I’d like a creamier drink I’d choose a lighter meal.

This guide by David Zinczenko is a good starting point if you want to learn about how to compare food choices. He also wrote a few version of this series.

Amazon Link

Numbers in Malay

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 11:47:59 +0300

I’m so glad my son can spell and read a little now… all the reading since he was tinie tiny on his tummy was worth it.. HAHAHA.. I have however mostly talk in English and he watches mostly English cartoons… He doesn’t talk in Malay or Bahasa Melayu at all.. except for a few odd words, if a person speaks to him in Malay he would say “What did you say??”

Now that we are in Saudi Arabia… hahaha he goes around hearing Arabic.. “Khalas means finish!” … I have no clue how get him to speak more of other languages… We tried, we do talk in Malay at home but seriously i have no idea what went wrong.

Now that he is 5 he kinda knows you have many ways to say something.. His friends are from different countries so they are at least bilingual but they do speak English in school. Its much easier to tackle what is a language topic.

Instead of audibly learning the words I find that he gets it faster when its written down and he spells the word. As the photo above. I guess I’m not expecting him to suddenly have a conversation in Malay but maybe just be conscious about the different languages.

This a good trick not just for different languages but also by spelling the word for him he can pronounce a more difficult word like POMEGRANATE …

I find that tangibility works better for my son and maybe for some kids struggling for words.. they have an idea, excited to tell but just drifts off because he doesn’t know how to describe it.

Reading really does help. My son is not the fastest talker, he pauses or drifts off when he wants to tell a story and words from books give him more ideas he can copy from. Some new stories and sometimes to keep repeating simpler books for him to form sentences.

Now as he is able to read and spell on his own, at 5 years old he can actually read to himself. Tuck in his bed, a book in his hand and when I come back a few minutes later he has turned the bedside lamp off and he is asleep.. Aw….

So good time to introduce numbers in another language, spelling the words helps a huge lot so now he is able to at least count to 5 in Malay on his own…

He is not the fastest language (even in English) learner so there is a lot to keep doing with him. The key is always reading, reading and more reading… help the child to find his words.

Tag your drawers too! :) (not just on FB)

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 09:55:36 +0300

Here is a good tip, if you plan to re-organize your cupboards or drawers use Post-its to label what your have stored and changed.

Especially with drawers I will spend endless times opening and closing to find the items I need.

I found that if I label like this it will help me get directly to the stuff without sliding and banging while I get used to the location. Especially in the kitchen, it will also help my husband to find the items since he wasn’t the one moving it around.

It also helps in the bedroom and the storage area so we will know exactly where the socks are.

I just leave them on until it falls off, normally by then I’d be used to the location that I don’t need the tags anymore.

You’d think its trivial but for someone like me who moves houses every few years its a quick solution especially in communicating where is what in the family.

I can either just tag where I want things first with the Post-its and do a test run if that is where I can reach the utensils efficiently (oh-so-manufacturing-engineer like.. hahaha) or I can place the tags after I placed the items in the storage.

Being organized is my very best friend… My house may not look pristine all the time (almost never!) but I know exactly where things are. *wink*

Post-its are great because you can ‘un-tag’ it without it leaving nasty marks like masking tapes do. *snickering*

"happy meals are made at home"

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 09:59:16 +0300

“happy meals are made at home”

- Christopher Kimball, The Kitchen Detective

Mask making? ... okay let's give it a go!

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:14:00 +0300

In my son’s K-4 class they are going to read “Where the wild things are” by Maurice Sendak and act out the wild rumpus for the ‘W’ week.

Being not familiar with American children books growing up I have no clue what it is… they gave us a paper plate stuck on a popsicle stick and holes cut out for eyes to make a mask. To use for the wild rumpus. (still no clue …)

I should have just talked to the teacher and ask to read the book but being a resourceful me…. hahaha! well I was very resourceful on the ‘internet’ … there is a movie made too in 2009 . We did watch it but its scared the heck out of my 5 year old… and I got confused. Its not something this mommy from Malaysia can relate to but it was fun to discover things about it and Maurice Sendak who passed away very recently, while I was researching for the book.

Being very illustrating-ly challenged (I can’t DRAW anything)… I needed reference to help my son make the mask. I found this interesting book in the library:

The Muppets Make Puppets by Cheryl Henson and the Muppet Workshop

The author grew up around the muppets being a Henson herself and she uses regular household items to make the puppets, explained the different types of puppets and a step by step guide on how to put on a puppet show.

Definitely gave me some ideas and since i had to make a mask and not a puppet, I needed to improvise.

After a few days tinkering… a visit to a notion store and VOILA!

HAhaha! what you think? Its an over-kill for a 5 year old’s project. He had fun though. Waiting for the glue to dry was the biggest challenge.

One last check his eyes can see through… PHEW! done.

Off to school for the Wild Rumpus!

Nobody Does it Better: Why French Home Cooking is Still The Best In The World by Trish Deseine. I...

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:51:42 +0300

Nobody Does it Better: Why French Home Cooking is Still The Best In The World by Trish Deseine.

I know that french cooking is still one of the best in the world, I tried to delve into it after watching Julie & Julia, I kinda got excited and got that book “Mastering French Cooking”.

After reading it… I got cross eyed! I don’t understand most of what she is describing. Very old school language and layout.

Trish Deseine is from Ireland, I don’t know much about her except that she has a few french cooking shows on BBC Lifestyle. I like her style in the program and found this book at a bargain bookshop. I have this nagging instinct about books and that day it was nagging me to grab it.

After a few months laying about I finally got to read it and woah…. I can’t put it down. Page by page you feel like you are walking with her in the street picking out food for dinner.

I love the book not just for the recipes but for the intricacy of her words describing how a french would be cooking their food. How one would flirt with the grocers to get the best produce, how to one would stop by everyday to pick out whats looking good at the nearby shops, how a french woman would know her classics and how one would always be so passionate about food that its always a topic endlessly discussed and argued about.

Suddenly I found myself dreaming for france…

I think I may not be able to recreate most of the recipes but I will take the essence of her words that is to try to dive into the local culture and tradition by trying out the local food, local ingredients, shop where the local shop and there you can find yourself embracing the country you live in even if you are not from there. Ditch the big hypermarket and go into the dusty alley (oh I’m in the desert now, dust is everywhere… hehe…) and start interacting with the locals. It is just so rewarding to get to know people from the food they make.

In Saudi however I am limited to just hearing from my husband’s encounter, most transactions are by men here. I do sometimes get lucky and local ladies will come talk to me and somehow like ducks and chickens talk to each other, learn a thing or two. My husband is very good at interacting with strangers and I think my son may inherit that charm. He tends to get many free stuff from the grocers here! Sometimes a bag of pears or a plate of baklava! :P

You’d be surprise that sometimes even as a local you may not know ‘where and what locals do’. I have the same enthusiasm when traveling in my own country.

Ideally ....

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:33:01 +0300

pretty flowers in a row.. blooming in the sun.. a little bench to rest on and a kettle grill for warm friendly gatherings…

Fun lunch idea

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:45:47 +0300

Here is a fun idea for a tv-movie lunch day. Finger food with dippers.

I made roast potatoes with the Philips Airfryer by par boiling the cut potato in salted water for 10 minutes and drain, coat with a little olive oil and salt and bake for about 20 minutes in the Airfryer at 180degC.

Add some cucumber strips and cut apples with japanese mayonnaise on the plate. My son has fun chomping on them while watching a movie after school. I’ve added a bottled milkshake for protein.

Good lunch + good movie = fun afternoon.

TV therapy

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:02:04 +0300

Since the prepping for vacation, going to and back from vacation… then the post vacation work.. I think the 2nd week of when school started I felt a little burned out. I don’t normally loath my work but I am feeling a little too overwhelmed and started to complain more about it.

The home is feeling upside down… and my husband got us a few new organizing racks so I’ve decided I need time to focus and take the week to re-organize the house.

Here is the problem: I can’t get my head in to home re-org mode… or any house work mode… plus I have big ulcer on my tongue. I’m also kinda mean to the big man and little man. What to do?

Again… can’t be helped until I recognize I need to chill… I’m in pain so rest relax, heat pack, cold pack, meds lined up and try to feel physically better. Next the mind..

I call it TV therapy… hahaha its quick and fun. In my case its probably called catch up TV. I have my taped TV shows and movies lined up and have a marathon for 7-8 hours. On Thursday I had a 4 episode marathon of Warehouse 13, half of Extract and finally finished watching Ramona and Beezus… phew!

Yippee.. now I feel light and relaxed… after a night’s rest maybe ready to seize the next week and ‘fix’ the house hold.

Its normal to feel overwhelmed and really burned out. Especially if you just have so much on your plate. Although my issues are normally my physically limitations I’m sure many have just tired out mentally.

Really does pay to recognize you are tired or a little sore somewhere. Take a really big big breath and chant “I am only human… I am only human”. Stop everything.. and take a really really LAZY SUNDAY (or in my case Thursday). Plan nothing, do nothing.. let the kids pull their hair out bored. Today mom and dad is just going to roll around the carpet and watch TV. Even when the son blares out.. “I want to play Wii! I want to watch my show!” … sorry kiddo.. its my turn to hog the TV.

Burger with cucumber 'chips'

Sun, 20 May 2012 13:57:00 +0300

Burgers doesn’t always have to go with fries. “Would you like fries with that sir?” is an ingenious marketing tool in the Fast Food biz to increase sales and well it worked for them and later moved on to be part of sets as ‘Value Meals’

Although… I love anything and everything with fries. HAHAHA! :P *wink*

The hamburger, I think is an actual meal from Germany. Served more like a steak-ish lunch or dinner with vegetables and potatoes maybe. Thats why in some places the burger we know today is called Hamburger Sandwich because it is place between two breads. (i didn’t do my fact check on this one though folks, so don’t quote me this time ..)

Back to the equation

Meal = protein + vegetable carbohydrate* + starchy carbohydrate*

*carbohydrate meaning complex carbohydrate

If serving fries with the with the sandwich that means for this meal I would be having two portions of starchy carbohydrate in the meal and it will be starchy carbohydrate heavy meal.

So an alternative to crunchy fries is long strips of cucumber and a table spoon greek yogurt as a dip.

In Saudi you can find greek yogurt as Lebneh and is quite cheap and plenty. Nice alternative to mayonnaise with no hydrogenated fats. Try to get fresh low fat ones.

The long strips of cucumber is very crunchy, we like that satisfying munch we’d normally get from fries. Soggy fries aren’t fun to eat anyways.

Burgers if homemade is very good meal. A simple recipe of mine is to just mix the minced beef or lamb .. here we can find goat meat too.. with a clove of minced garlic (i like using microplane for the mincing). Form into patties and let rest in the fridge, covered for 1/2 hour. Pre-heat oven to 385deg F. I briefly brown the two flat side of the patties and place in a baking pan. Bake for another 10 to 20 minutes in the oven depending on the meat cut , size and doneness that you like. One good indicator that its cooked all the way is that juices comes out clear.

This is a very rough recipe I developed for my son, no breadcrumb or eggs. I like the meat to be cooked through so its easier for him to chew. So it is not a gourmet recipe but a simple everyday one. I would also add cheese for him but not on mine.

If I have more time this is my most favorite Hamburg Steak recipe from Cooking with Dog YouTube Channel.

She served it with vegetables and potatoes without buns. That is a good combination.

Have a good week! :)

Lurking... in the Library...

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:01:27 +0300

Guess who is lurking in the Library? hehe.. its ME!

One of the best ever things about living in this camp is that the library is less than five minutes drive away, no jams, no parking hassle, only just the joy of going through the rows of books.

So to start of my new found joy is this book:

You and Your Only Child: The Joys, Myths, and Challenges of Raising an Only Child

by Patricia Nachman with Andrea Thompson (Amazon Link)

What?? Hahaha!

Yes I only have one son and my mom is nagging endlessly (even today on Facetime!). Thought it would be appropriate to read.

You know how people with ‘the best intentions’ are?… “Your son will be loney. He need siblings for friends. He will grow up spoilt. He will grow up wierd.”

Really…??? I am full with confidence that he will grow up fine with or without siblings but yeah if I can find out real facts about raising the only child would be better to fend off annoying comments about just having one child.

The book is pretty comprehensive with many cases of children that are raised as the only child. There are families that chooses to have only one child and others had circumstances that lead to only one child. Some are because of divorces and they discussed about when the child has step-siblings or half-siblings when the parents re-marry.

I like that the author discuss every possible scenario with actual parents and children views. Some are grown up children so that assured me how one would turn out. Both in ideal cases or not so ideal cases. I really do appreciate the depth of the issues brought up in the book. Especially in some cases where a child is actually getting ahead, have more benefits and advantages by being the only child.

From this book I’ve formulated:

My son will grown up just like a normal child with or without siblings. Done!

Just a little back information, my injury was kinda caused by me having a little accident with my son but its debatable with the doctor. He thinks it could be by something else because of the extent of the injury. Maybe its both the fact that it was torn when my son landed too hard on my arm and I came in late to get it properly diagnosed so it has severely worsen when I came to see him.

The sad part for me is after the surgery we kinda didn’t have anyone to help us with my son so when my husband went back to work I am the only one taking care of him. Poor little baby (okay toddler since he is two), I was just on the couch sitting next to him while he waddles about and the only eating milk and biscuits since I can’t cook yet. He had to also wait for daddy to come back to help change is diapers if he did a number two. (we were lucky he kinda did it only in the evenings..)

It lasted a few months and its just so heart breaking to see my son treated like that. My mom was already nagging about having the next one since he is already three… hmm has anybody noticed?? I can’t use my arm?? HELLooooo??

“OH.. you don’t need your arm to get pregnant.”

Oh thank you for the anatomy lesson dear… hahaha! Oh I give up! Just nod and move on.

Don’t be surprise when you are sick and injured some people just don’t understand or ignore you completely. Worse my parents got angry at me for being sick and not taking care of myself. I have a few friends who boldly concluded that I hurt my arm because I was too fat. huh?? You’d think they will be more emphatic right… hmmm I’ve had my share of hurtful comments including why I should quickly have another child.

So what to do in situations like this? Sigh… just have to ignore it. If you can’t take the comments.. Ignore and avoid the person if possible. You are already dealing with your pain and rehabilitation you don’t need people like these.

One day, when I am well, less days with pain and down time, when I’m strong enough I will think about having another child, if ever that time will come.

I want to raise every child the best that I can but now I can’t even take care of the one I have properly, so I will dedicate what I have for him and for my husband. So Mama! hehehe I have facts now your grandson will not turn wierd and lonely… just stop bugging me.. ( I don’t think that will work.. hahaha!)

Philips Airfryer

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:01:20 +0300

This is probably the best ever thing my husband got for me this year. The Philips Air Fryer. I was already ‘goo goo gaa gaa’-ing over it in Kuala Lumpur just before the move, I am always a Philips fan so I like lurking around the websites for new things which sometimes has not come over to the Malaysian shores. It retails RM 1099 when it was first introduced. Not sure how much is it now. In saudi it was SR 999 so we got the one here.

Philips Airfryer Advertisement

For whatever currency its close to 1k so… its definitely not cheap but after my first use… I’m in L.O.V.E … *-*-*-*

It promotes itself as fast way to make french fries.. especially the frozen fries.. and it does do a marvelous job at it. Frozen fries is already fried once in the processing plant so its already coated nicely in oil before its frozen and pack for the consumers to fry again at home. French fries are fried twice.

This baby if you compare it with a deep fryer.. well.. just don’t okay! FAT are delicious.. no matter how you reason deep fried ANYTHING in REAL oil.. is fool proof marvelous…. *lip smacking* delicious. Don’t kid yourself by saying anything else.

Its kinda like a mini oven with a fan and a basket. It heats up an circulates the hot air around the food to ‘Air Fry’ it. If you know how to make crispy things in the oven so thats how this works… difference is.. ITS FAST!!

Its great for smaller portions and don’t really need to pre-heat. Compared to the big oven which kinda needs half hour of pre-heating time and for a small portion you kinda don’t want to waste that much energy to heat such a big oven. It is a lot bigger then a toaster oven but who makes fries in a small toaster oven anyway.

Now here is my first time attempting to make fries with fresh potatoes. I’ve soaked the cut potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes, rinse and coat with a little oil, place in the basket and cook for the amount stated in the instructions.

The machine comes with a cookbook. Since I got mine in Saudi it also features middle eastern recipes.

And voila! … oven fries in 20 minutes (or so…)

Look at how nice the brown on the edges are…

This is quite good, my son loved the first batch.. see he is eating it with a little dip and he is playing cards. Actually the cards was his homework for that day. He had to write (with me of course.. he is only 5) about playing card games with his family.

As all crunchy things it has to be eaten hot so serve immediately.

Now this is the very best part… see this two containers? Thats it! Bang in the dishwasher and done. Cleanup is super easy. Seasoned cooks? you know what its is like to clean up after using the oven or the deep fryer right? Disposing the leftover oil is enough to give me nightmares.

This happy mommy can whip up potato chips from real potatoes fast, with so little oil and clean up.

Potatoes are a real good source of nutrition for us but it has a bad rap because of the fat and salt we douse on it so with this my son can still enjoy crispy potato chips without me cringing at the deep fried part.

I’ve gone on to make everything with this product, ‘fried’ fish with tumeric and tamarind (ikan goreng kunyit asam), roast broccoli, chicken wings, roast potato, crispy big prawns and etc.. Man, the possibility is endless.

So yes I love this appliance. It not a must have but its darn useful that I have placed it permanently on the kitchen counter next to rice cooker.

There are other version of this kind of appliance which ‘fries’ food with little oil like the Tefal Actifry. My friend loves her Actifry. The device uses a paddle to move the food around so the oil and the heat moves evenly to make it crispy. That is probably fantastic for stir frying. Maybe if this gets really popular they can come out with more affordable versions so everyone can enjoy less fat in their food but somewhat great taste, FAST. :) Here is hoping.

A Mommy's Dilemma: when to exercise?

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:40:17 +0300

Now that I am out and about I get a few questions about how I find time to exercise.

If you are the main caregiver for your child and its not possible to hand the child over to a babysitter, how do you find time to exercise?

Hmmmm that is a though one. Realistically if you have a small baby and a toddler you kinda have to be creative where and how you want to do it at home. There are good exercise videos that can help but I would recommend starting with a low impact and shorter exercise time.

Before I got the treadmill I really did rely on videos to keep me focused.

As for time… I think if you can stick to a routine its great but taking care of a little kid is demanding on its own, you are getting your dose of activities and up on your feet all day. If we are talking about cardio exercises then just squeeze in whenever you see there is an opportunity. Don’t feel bad if you can’t.

The dilemma is always… sigh I’m getting fatter, my clothes don’t fit well… URGH I don’t want to come out from the dark looking like this. You gain weight, your face looks tired, you smell funny and the list go on.

Maybe what we should be more concerned is not so much the ‘exercise’ that is pumping and huffing but really understanding what the body is needing. Sometime the puffiness that made the clothes don’t fit is not just about not exercising routinely.

Stress can cause weight gain, not enough sleep can cause weight gain, not eating the right food at the right time can cause weight gain.

So if I could turn back time I’d firstly focus a few things on me first before the child like preparing food for me, eating breakfast first thing in the morning. Find time to sleep and rest. I am constantly up on my feet all day that by the time its time to sleep everything hurts that I can’t sleep in the end.

Which led to the weight gain and then worsen the injury I had… which led to the surgery and rehabilitation.

So if you really are pressed for time, maybe you are too busy, if you are up on your feet all day catering to children’s whims maybe your worse is not finding time to exercise but find time to rest and recuperate that body everyday. Focus on nutrition instead. I find that most time I’ve done everything for my son that when I got hungry I just grab whatever and shove down enough so I feel full. So by planning out what to eat, when to eat, that will help you in the long run.

Trust me the child will grow, then when they are off to school you can start building that routine. For now just relax… if you have time to exercise… just do it. Enjoy raising your child, isn’t that why you wanted to have them in the first place. :)

Breakfast Suggestion: Cheese toasty and sliced orange

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:45:13 +0300

whole grain toast + cheese + orange slices = starchy carb + protein + fruit carb

add a glass of water and maybe your a hot drink of like ginger and lemon tea a nice start with zest. (especially on groggy mid week mornings)

Desert Road Trip

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:26:42 +0300

Took a little longer to write up the next entry… I was having a little problem with my wrist. I was doing a little yoga (from a home video).. maybe it bruised it a bit. My arm may not be able to take the weight just yet. The plank and downward facing dog in sun salute is definitely not easy. So ice, Voltaren and a wrist support… its getting better. (see paying attention in physiotherapy pays!)

Spring break 2012…

I asked my husband if we could travel across the dessert to a destination for vacation. After a lot of thought we decided to drive from Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia to Dubai in the U.A.E.

Looking at the Satellite maps its about 1000km away… wow.. thats probably the furthest we have attempted to drive to a destination but well here we go!

I’m not very good with taking photos when we are on the road to be honest. Even when I do get a snap of it. Sigh… it doesn’t do any justice.. hahaha.

The beauty of the dessert, you just have to be there to see it. The colour of the land changes from hard rocky dusty earthy brown, golden soft sand and rusty red earth to name a few.

The terrain also changes from flat to sandy dunes to really ancient looking mountain rock formations.

Definitely not boring at all. I was wondering a long time ago if in the dessert the sand shifted when the wind blows how do make buildings or roads? Well the can still make road but there is a bull dozer that comes to scoop the sand off the roads just how you would do with snow. As the wind blows I can see the sand slowly grain by grain crossing the tarmac and sometimes is forms little waves as if its dancing. My favorite has to be when we were crossing the sand dunes… so beautiful and serene.. one could feel one could fly.

Dotted along the highway are herds of camels. If you squint hard enough maybe you can see them in the photo above. We saw them grazing, we saw the camel herders either on a jeep or on the camel guarding the grazing camels. I even saw tents and pens of the family raising camels from the car ride. We passed a town that sells the supply for the farms and herding families with rolls of hay. They also raise a special desert goat called the Gharuf, we see them occasionally but since the camels were bigger it was easier to spot.

A sleep over in Abu Dhabi and the next day we arrived in Dubai. It wasn’t really 1000 km with a new highway in Abu Dhabi, it wasn’t on the GPS yet and the thing kept reminding us to drive on paved road for hours!

Thats me and my son exploring the Dubai Creek.

Dubai was just a destination for us… a surprise really waited for us there. We had so much fun every single day that week we forgot we had to go back. HAHAHA! Its a tourist heaven. The malls have pretty much the entire world from American stores to British to French and everything in between. We got to sample real macaroons from France too. After covering the touristy spots I think we spent a heck lot of time in the Dubai Mall. Which is next to the tallest building you can see in the photo above. Thats the Burj Khalifa currently the tallest building the world.

Sometimes it kinda good to not plan everything to minute details. We like doing that, travel to someplace, book a hotel and lets explore the city or place for a week. I don’t really like cramming many places in a short period.

Most importantly this trip gave us a really good mind break. Last year was really though on us with the move and for me my mom got ill just before I came. Previously before with the injury I couldn’t travel comfortably so I didn’t enjoy my vacations anywhere. My head was really cloudy.. I’m a positive person but for once this trip, I was well, I had so much fun that when I got home I was geared up to do everything. Its like the pressure in my head has released out. For my dear husband too, who has to deal with everything since I got hurt. I have never seen him so happy… hahaha! :)

Finally when its time to go home my son said, “AWWW… but i don’t want to go home! I want Dubai…. hummm… I’m gonna miss this place” … hehehe.. so cute.

I think I finally got tired of shopping (can you?) so its a relief that its time to head back and we get to experience driving across the desert again.. Yaay!

(Although it was getting pretty hot… definitely not to travel in summer)

I leave this note with photos from the road trip. Have a great day dear readers. Thank you for visiting today. :)

Peas in pods Shelling them with my son.

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:22:40 +0300

Peas in pods

Shelling them with my son.

Roast Cauliflower and Broccoli

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:03:25 +0300

Vegetables that are a little hardy like Brussels sprouts, potatoes, pumpkin, squashes, sweet potato and yams are really at best when roasted. Somehow the roasting brings out the intensity of the flavors, especially the sweetness maybe from caramelizing the sugars in the vegetable.

Something a little surprising is how even not so hardy veg like cauliflower and broccoli is phenomenal when roasted. Its so earthy and intense, never thought these florets could be like that.

The most delicious and most sinister way to make roast cauliflower or broccoli or both together like in the photo above is to use left over dripping of a roast chicken (or duck). I like to make my own chicken stock and after roasting the bones you have some fat left on the pan, so I throw on the vegetables with maybe 1-2 coursely chopped onion and a few of whole garlic cloves. For the version above I also added 1/2 tsp of whole cumin seeds.

Its about 1 whole head of cauliflower and another head of broccoli so we won’t finish it in one meal time so the left over can be made into ingredients for pasta or fried rice. My son may not eat it whole like this (again its his yuck factor.. hahaha) but I put maybe 1 1/2 cup of the veg in 1 cup chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes, then puree in blender. So thats creamed soup. You can enrich it further by mixing in milk or cream or even in bechamel sauce.

You don’t have to use poultry roast dripping like I did, just use olive oil or any lighter roasting oil of choice. just enought to coat the pan and lightly coat the vegetable like about 1-2 tbs. Then season to taste either when roasting or when serving lightly sprinkle course salt.

Mind at ease

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:41:00 +0300

I am always surprised again and again how when my mind is not at ease everything just falls apart. Positive thinking isn’t something as simple as chanting nice able words so we wouldn’t give up but its really actually believing that you can overcome your problems. “You can!”

In fact this reminds me of Malaysians most favorite cheer, “MALAYSIA… BOLEH!!”

Translates as “Malaysia… Can!!” … “Malaysians you can do it!” …. whoo why am I so patriotic all of the sudden? … I’m just saying although sometimes reaching a road block and all options are closed there is one thing you can count on to overcome it that is Y.O.U.

Ideally we would all love to check in to a spa, get pampered and all the stress get smoothed away. Some may have gone even further finding peace in pilgrimages or whatever religious enlightenment journeys and if they do find it they are very lucky.

Most of us however maybe don’t have that luxury or do we even need to go that far to find that peace we are looking for. Maybe where it lies is in our own self.

When I went through therapy with the physio therapist and the dietitian what surprised me most is how emotional things got and they kept saying that it very real and I’m very strong because in spite of the hardship I still came in with a lot of progress. I think I’ve cried once or twice in each therapy.

In my case no spa or religious quick fix will come, only me, trusting myself that I can slowly do it. Everything however always has to start with my mind being at ease.

I have been having trouble lately and there is a mental block somehow. I can’t find my happy place as recorded in my past entry.

For past 3 weeks I tried to change a couple of things. I’ve seen a lot of improvements when I started engaging with my natural interest. I’ve line up a schedule to finish my curtain sewing projects and after talking to my son’s teacher I’ve also started volunteering twice a week in his pre-K class.

Making the curtains wasn’t easy with my arm condition but I pushed on and even though my arm is searing in pain the pride and joy looking at the finished piece made it all worth it. I notice I have lighter steps from joy. The pain is there but it feels less somehow.

I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I decided to go to my son’s class (its not very long.. just 2 hours, twice a week) but I find that I immensely enjoyed it. I was helping the teacher’s aide to prepare craft materials, they let me participate with the children’s lesson like helping them make ostriches and serve snacks, helped out at the library and also on field trips. My son loves it too and keeps asking when I’m going with him.

I think it does more for me than I feel I’m helping them, hahaha. It really is fun and maybe that is what I need, good times with little kids, out of the house and talking to adults. I also in that short time learn a lot about how to engage with little kids. Although it is not easy feat! Only 2 hours and I’m beat! I do respect the teachers and the aides to this day in and day out with 4-5 year olds who have very short attention spans.

When I was waiting for the school bus to send my son off my neighbour asked if I’ve lost some weight?! what? I wasn’t even trying. So there is another proof, stress makes me fat and bloaty. When I’m happy I naturally appear slimmer. (i use appear because i didn’t get on the scale). I can fit in my clothes better too.

So bottom line.. you want to be somewhere, be a certain something and you are not now, something has to change. Your life, your lifestyle effects your mind and will effect your body. It can also be the reverse, your body when not properly cared for will effect your mind.

The link between mind, body and lifestyle is definite. You cannot run from it.

If it gets too much for me to handle I will have a melt down and then take the deepest breath…. alright what can I do now?

I don’t think anyone without a chronic pain can relate with how much body effects the mind and mood… but us suffering its not always medication and pain killler that helps heal but in trusting ourself… trusting the power of the mind. Truly believing that human beings are created to overcome things thrown at them.