Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Performance Bonus

Just got my performance bonus, and I must say, it's pretty impressive! Heehee... Why? Just because I'm a stay home Mom doesn't mean that I cannot get my deserved performance bonus right? After all, being a stay home Mom is one of the most difficult job in the world! :)

I think it was Cobby who 1st suggested that I get a little bonus too if he gets PB this year (they didn't get it last year). So I jokingly said that, in that case, we should do an appraisal! So we did the usual routine, him asking me what I have accomplished this year and what I plan to achieve in the coming year. I put on my most serious expression and explained in detail of how I've been cooking and cleaning more for the past year, and of course, put in some bonus points on how healthy, happy and clever Jolie has been because of my care.

As for the coming year, I put out my plans to make more delicious and nutritious meals, improve cleaning capability by sourcing better tools, and etc. Hahaha... Everybody should get a bonus once in awhile. It's really great for the morale! :))

Sunday, March 28, 2010

A Good Sunday

It's Sunday but Jolie just finished another semester of her baby gym, so no classes till April! Yeah! Cobby wanted to go to his Mom's place before lunch, so we got all dressed up and ready to go! This dress was given by my friend Gillin, on Jolie's full month party! Actually she could fit into it earlier, but the thin material meant that we can only let her wear on warm weather. Which was perfect for that day. Don't she look like a little lady? :)



We dropped her off at Mom's place before going to the nearby market for lunch. We ate a bowl of REALLY spicy tom yam fish soup with bee hoon. Oh man, the 1st time I had it, it wasn't so spicy! Poor Cobby got an upset stomach the next day. :P

After lunch, Cobby wanted to go cut his hair. So instead of asking me to wait outside the barber for him, he suggested that I go drive around in the car! :D Yeah! Good idea! I practically skipped to the car park and drove around Toa Payoh for the next 30 min. I didn't really get very far as there were alot of traffic lights. It was fun driving around anyway, I love driving! :)

We went back to Mom's place, expecting Jolie to be taking her nap, but it turns out that she's still running around, playing! Hey! No government ah~! So I made her take her nap and while she's sleeping, Cobby suggested that we go jalan jalan. We read that there's a new retail store opened at Millenia Walk, but we drove there to find out that it's only opening at the end of the month. So we had coffee and cake at Starbucks, walked around, and headed back.

For dinner, Cobby suggested dining at Ah Orh Seafood Restaurant. He ate there before with his colleagues and liked it, so we headed there.



Dinner was really good! It's a cosy little place at Bukit Merah, and it gets really crowded at dinner time, so we were lucky to arrive early and secured a place!



Best of all they have my favourite dessert! Orh Nee!



Took a really nice picture of Jolie and I. :)



Now that I'm blogging this down, I realised that most of the activities were suggested by Cobby that day, and I really enjoyed myself! What a great Sunday!

Earth Hour 2010

Its a Saturday, which means "pak tor" (date) day for Cobby and I. But our babysitter, aka Mom, was no where to be found! I called Dad and he said that she went to the hair dresser early in the morning. -_- She have all week to go to the hairdresser but she chose to go on a Saturday!? Initially was pretty pissed, but then I thought that its only fair that Mom be entitled to some weekends off to meet her friends too! So Cobby and I just hung out at home with baby and went out only in the late afternoon.

We didn't know where to go, but cobby wanted to have dinner at Borders Bistro, so we headed to Orchard and just strolled around. Jolie was super happy that day, running around, screaming and shouting like she just broke free from prison. She was so high that she just ran around, ran back to hug my legs and sunk her teeth into my thighs! OOuUWEE! PAIN! Now there's a bruise the size of a mosquito bite on my thigh. (btw I was wearing jeans ok, her teeth damn power)



We reached home exactly at 8.30pm, 27 March 2010, which was Earth Hour! Usually we would be switching on all the lights, air-con, modem, TV, water heater, all at one go as we prepare Jolie for her bath and bed time. But tonight we kept the lights to a minimum. We could have switched it all off, but I realised that we didn't have any candles or torchlight at home! Must remember to buy some for emergencies.





Sorry the video's quite shaky. Kind of like Blair Witch Project right? Hahaha!

Usually after Jolie's bath, we'll hang out in the air-con study room to watch TV. But that night we hung out on the master bedroom, switched on the fan, switched on the portable radio for some music, and played with Jolie's toys. It's a good bonding experience for the three of us, enjoying each other's company, instead of everybody doing their own thing like surfing web or watching TV.

It really makes you think what on earth people do back in the kampong days where there's no TV or electricity. I mean, isn't it kind of boring after dinner? No wonder they have so many babies then. :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Baking Frenzy

Felt like baking lately, so on Wednesday I made a butter cake.

Initially I thought that the cake was undercooked, so I pop it back into the oven again. But after about 3 times, the middle of the cake still felt a little too wet! What!? If I keep putting it into the oven again and again, the stupid cake is gonna turn into a giant butter cookie!

After analyzing what the hell went wrong, I came to the conclusion that because I didn't use the electric mixer, therefore the batter was not airy enough. And because it was so dense, the batter couldn't cook properly. There. All because of Jolie. I didn't use the electric mixer because I didn't want to disturb her nap! So my butter cake has failed because of her. :P



Although it may be a little uncooked in the middle, it still tasted very good OK... Will improve next time!

On the same day I started making No Knead Bread. I had to time when I start making it because it takes about 20 hours to be ready! I wasn't sure if it would work or not as it was my very 1st attempt in making bread, but on the next day, it was looking good! I was so nervous and excited when I finally put the dough into the oven. This is the 1st time I felt so excited about baking! Haha...

AND IT TURNED OUT BEAUTIFUL!



Look at that! It looks just like something you buy from the bakery! I was so awed and amazed, I was snapping pictures, jumping around, sms and tweeting everybody! When I sliced it, it felt a little wet inside. I know that you can't expect it to taste like those sold in the store because they added special bread chemicals, but hey, it was delicious to me! So I baked it for another 10mins, just in case.

This morning I had home made bread for breakfast and it tasted like heaven to me! Reminds me of the Sophie Kinsella story, The Undomestic Goddess. I flipped the pages and found the part, here it is:

'Hold out your arms Samantha.' Iris's voice is suddenly behind me. 'Don't open your eyes. Go on.'
I have no idea what she's up to, but I open my eyes and hold out my arms. The next moment I feel something warm being put into them. A yeasty smell is rising up. I open my eyes to see a loaf of bread in my arms.
I stare in utter disbelief. It looks like proper bread. Real, proper bread like you see in a baker's window. Fat and plump and golden-brown, with faint striations and a crusty, almost flaky top. It smells so delicious I can feel my mouth watering.
'Tell me that's nothing,' says Iris, squeezing my arm. 'You made that, sweetie. And you should be proud of yourself.'
I can't reply. Something hot is wadding up my throat as I clutch the warm loaf. I made this bread. I made it. I, Samantha Sweeting, who couldn't even microwave a packet of soup. Who gave up seven years of her existence to end up with nothing, to be wiped out of existence. Who has no idea who she even is any more.
I made a loaf of bread. Right now I feel like this is the only thing I have to hold on to.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Dinner? Yes!

I know this may sound strange, but I decided to go to a gathering because of a movie that I watched. I watched "Yes Man" by Jim Carrey on TV the other day and was so inspired by the show. I guess I was a little like the Jim Carrey character, often avoiding gatherings with friends and would rather cook up some lame excuse to stay at home alone to watch DVD. I don't know why, but after watching the show, I felt that I should give life a chance and say yes more often. :) Coincidentally, an ex-colleague soon emailed me and called for a gathering. Normally I wouldn't say yes, after all, I'm not very close to some of the people who are going. But I decided to say "YES" and slowly found myself looking forward to a night out with my friends!

On Thursday, Mom came over and helped me watch Jolie while I went for dinner. I was still hesitant till the very last minute, but when I sat down with my friends and started eating, chatting and laughing, I was having so much fun that I didn't want to leave!



We were having ala carte buffet at Sakae Sushi at Park Mall and we ate till 9plus before another friend and I had to make a move. I wished I could stay out longer, but I was worried how Cobby was handling baby at home. So we bid our goodbyes while the rest continued to eat and chat.



I really enjoyed myself that night. Hope to have more of such fun gathering with friends in future! :)

Monday, March 22, 2010

Japanese Lessons

How time flies! One moment I was signing up for my Japanese lessons, the next moment I was at my eight and last lesson. I was so glad that I signed up for these lessons as it offered me an opportunity to learn and do something other than taking care of baby Jolie! I can honestly say I'm a happier person when I have some "ME" time and of course, being a happy person means being a better Mom too. :)

I really enjoyed the lessons. Our first teacher only taught us for 2 lessons before they changed to another 2 teachers. Ms Yamamoto on Monday and another on Thursday (Oops I forgot her name). Both teachers are extremely cute! I don't know, is it a Japanese girls thingy for them to be so cute? It's like they just jumped out of a Japanese Anime or something. It's not like the disgusting Im-old-but-I-like-to-act-cute kind of cute, but their voice, expression and body action is very animated. We kept laughing among ourselves because we were so surprised that a 30-something teacher can be so cute. But it definitely makes the lesson more interesting!

Another thing I like was their notes. I like the cartoon they use.





This is the funniest. 'Shinu' means "to die". Before teacher gave us the translation, we kept wondering what is that, and when she told us, we all burst out laughing! She was quite puzzled as to why we find that so amusing. I don't know, it's cute right?



I think I was an OK student, there are those much better than I, but there's also some who are totally clueless, I felt bad for them. There are three types of Japanese lettering, Hirigana, Katakana and Hanji. For elementary 1 we learnt Hirigana, the curly Japanese lettering you see, and I can now read and write them quite easily. :)Of course, reading is one thing, understanding is another! My vocabulary is still quite limited!

Anyway, like I said, it was the last lesson, and the last lesson consist of a little test! Yes... the "T" word. SO SCARY! Like I said, I'm an OK student, but I really want to do well! There's an oral test and a written test. Suay Suay! I'm the first to go for the oral test! I feel so disadvantaged because we actually came out after the oral test and waited together with those who haven't gone in and we sort of discussed (a little) what was tested! Hey, if I'm last, I can use my waiting time to read up on what's tested! Argh!

We can leave immediately after the written test and the teacher said that the results would be sms to us tomorrow. But on the way home, I received an sms!



Yeah! I passed! What a great sense of achievement! I really wanted to continue and learn more, so must go check out the schedule! Yeah!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Quick Update

Hi Im back...

I know, it's been so long since I've blogged! I've been pretty busy, so here's a quick highlight of the past few weeks.

Oh I finally tried this recipe, roast chicken pasta. I saw it on Nigella a long long time ago, and it tasted DELICIOUS!



One day, my neighbour suddenly pressed my doorbell and gave me a plate of pineapple tarts! Yes, it's AFTER Chinese New Year, and I think she made them herself, and err... it doesn't taste very good, but that's SO SWEET of her right~!



I felt obligated to return the favor, so I made a batch of instant muffins and gave her some. It tasted like shit as compared to the ones I made from scratch, but, too bad, no time to make those. Oh well, it's the thought that counts right? :)

We also bought Jolie one of those bicycle that can be steered by the adult. It's GREAT! She loves riding it and we always use this when we go downstairs or to the playground. Much more effective than the pram really...




My parents came back from Hong Kong and bought her loads of stuff. One of them was this blinking shoes! Haha, it's pretty cute.



After that day, Jolie fell quite ill. I don't know where she got it, but the doctor said she's got viral fever! She would have on and off high fever for 5 consecutive days and her whole body breaks out into rashes. And when she recovered from her fever, she got horrible diarrhoea! Poor baby, she pooped so much, I didn't even know she pooped because her poop became odourless. So she developed diaper rash from having poop in her diaper for too long.

So you should understand why I didn't blog for so long. My baby was so sick, neither of us had much sleep. Super tired man... Anyway, she's back to her happy, healthy self again, thank god.

With Jolie feeling better, I finally got the deserved break and had the Saturday off with Cobby. We watched Alice in Wonderland and after that, I drove to Sentosa! It's been so long since I've drove, so it was really exciting for me.

We checked out the IR, but we didn't go inside the Casino, and Universal Studio wasn't open yet, so we just explored abit and came across this Luge ride. I heard from a friend that's its real fun, so we tried it!



Taking a sky tram up...


Going up...


It's actually abit scary... I'm a little afraid of heights...


Going on the luge soon! Can't take anymore pics, but it was super fun! I went really fast, what a rush! Was a little disappointed that it ended so soon... As you can see, it was FREAKING HOT and we weren't exactly dressed to explore Sentosa. Thankfully I was wearing a light, sleeveless top. But I was sweating SO MUCH that I didn't even want to got to the toilet. I know that it would be easy to remove my jeans, but wearing them back would be a torture as my jeans had clung onto my legs with all the sweat. :P


When we got back to the IR, there was some performance. But we didn't stay long, its getting late. Time to go back!


The rest of the time, I've been studying my Japanese language. Lessons are on Monday and Thursdays, I study everyday during lunch, while Jolie takes her nap, and sometimes at night, after she sleeps. So, not much time to blog. :)

Took this today. She's getting more interested in feeding herself, but it could get pretty messy, and the neurotic side of me had to take deep breadths as she spoons porridge EVERYWHERE! But it's a phase that she has to go through, so I just relaxed, let her be, and cleaned up the floor, the high chair, and of course, the baby after she finished.



Mess aside, it's amazing how much she has grown. She can do so much by herself now, and her understanding of instructions gets better everyday. Well, understanding them is one thing, but to get her to follow instructions is a different ball game all together! I'll update more another time. Time to sleep! ZZZ...