My drama-crazy Aunt

I never in my life thought my Aunty would be part of the drama-crazy groupies. Honestly. When she came up here for her holiday, she whipped out her Sony Vaio and immediately, her homepage was a website that provided online streaming of all her favourite Korean Dramas.

I can’t believe how she would gush over certain characters and their storylines. Most of the time, I will listen patiently and in an amused way, as this is my favourite aunty, who is 13 years older than me..and would swoon over certain Korean Actors. Hmmmm…. I wonder, when my boys are older, would I do the same? Die of boredom and watch Korean dramas?

Well… as long as I have boredom, it means, I have no drama. Which is good. Drama in life is bad.

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Kids and the real deal

Tell me, why are kids so damn smart?

How can they tell the difference between a toy remote and the real TV remote? If I were a kid, I’d prefer the toy remote, because it makes more sounds…whereas, the real TV remote..doesn’t do jackshit (if the TV isn’t switched on!).

As for mobile phones, they make toy mobile phones so real now, sometimes, I am fooled by them. But not kids! They know!

The other day, No.3 was busy being a toddler, screaming away, because I kept shoving to him the toy mobile phone, when all he really wanted was my mobile phone. I had no choice, but to let him handle it, but I told him, not to throw it. Like he really understood it. Hmph.

And. then he did it. He looked at me, lifted his arm and dangled my mobile phone and released it to the ground. I saw detachments. I went berserk! My mind immediately wondered if I could get any unlocked phone without getting into any deals. I’ve already been locked into one deal, which will end this Dec, and I just didn’t want to be locked in anymore!

So..there I was, scrambling to pick up the pieces..and luckily, I was able to fix it back by myself. I just wish they make mobile phones a lil plainer and duller. So kids like mine, won’t like it!

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Decking, anyone?

Sometimes, I feel like decking my whole backyard. I say this because I am in a huge battle with crabweeds! They are all over the place and slowly replacing my lovely lovely grass! However, there is the cost to consider..and I just don’t have the budget for it. As it is, I don’t have a budget for a rainwater tank, something which I would really like to have.

My SIL, who will be transforming her tiny backyard into a deck area, will be putting a timber table and chairs, with outdoor pillows. Isn’t that nice? She’ll be able to entertain, wine and dine her guests. While I have to deal with crabgrass. Blearghhh…sometimes, it’s not fun to have a bigger backyard. Or front yard for that matter. Ok, I shouldn’t be really complaining, because it’s not really that big. It just feels that big…when I’m doing it. Blearggghh!

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Winter! Winter! Winter!

Tomorrow will be officially winter! But surprisingly, it’s been a lil warmer today. Top of 18Deg. Even, though it’s c-c-c-c-cold at nights, I kinda like this temperature. But..I know it will be freezing soon, and I’ve been looking for new winter wear. I like fleecewear, because it’s light and easy to wash.

Been looking online at the women’s NorthFace’s Fleece Jackets and I kinda like a couple of them…

Of course, I prefer hoodies, because they keep my head nice and warm. Plus, with the crazy rainy weather, it does help keep my hair real dry. Of course, keeping warm is another one of my conditions of getting a jacket/jumper. My current ones are looking rather.. well, out of shape. No thanks to the yo-yo weight I’ve been maintaining. So..time to go shopping! Online shopping, that is.

Actually, Webtogs will provide free shipping to those with addresses in EU, and I am guessing, even though it’s summer time there, it is a good time to buy!

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The Hainanese Chicken Rice Mix Face-off

Ahhh…Hainanese Chicken Rice. I never liked steamed chicken rice before, preferring Char Siew Farn everytime. However, as I am a lil older and my tastebuds have ‘matured’ somewhat..I constantly find myself craving for this simple dish.

Anyway, over here..it’s quite expensive to order it, and I’ve learnt to cook it at home. It is so darn simple. Just buy these pre-mix and cook the rice in it. Then, just buy a couple of marylands, put it into a pot of boiling water (with peppercorns, pips of garlic, salt and a small slice of ginger), simmer it for 30 minutes..and that’s it. The bestest simplest homecooked dish you can make on a cold cold day. With clear soup!

NOW….

Who will win?

OR

I normally buy Chng Kee’s, because it was the first thing I saw on the shelves, and it tasted good..and I kinda stuck with it. With the Kwong Cheong Thye, I was surprised to find that the mix was devoid of oil. Yeeup.. oil, that is sooo prevalent in Kee’s. It was very greenish, so that felt kinda odd to me. Well, the instructions says to mix the same number of tbsp to cups of rice. So, 2 tbsp to 2 cups of rice. Same goes with Kee.

Simple, right? The result…

After tasting Kwong’s.. I felt Kee’s was better. I’m guessing, the disgusting amount of oil in Kee’s somehow worked it’s magic in the ricepot. Whereas Kwong’s didn’t have much taste in it. Perhaps I should put more of Kwong’s…and see how that goes. With Kee’s, don’t put toooo much. That would be really overkill.

*whispers* They say Chng Kee’s has no added MSG. I’m a lil suspicious as I am quite sensitive to MSG. I tend to get a lil numb if there’s too much of it. I suspect there is MSG…just not more than normal. Hence, the word “added”.

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Real Life Beckons

As it is… I had to do it.

Harvest my real-life vegetables.

I had enjoyed just looking at them grow..but it’s gotten to a stage that if I didn’t harvest.. it would just be that and then it would die off. So, finally, I harvested most of my pak-choys and korean pak-choys..and stir-fried it for dinner. How was it? Good. Bit more fibre-ry..but I guess that’s good..for the bowels! Heh..the boys had a hard time chewing it…and had vege stuck all over their teeth!! Well…. no pesticides or hormones (heh!) and lots of love….those are good vegetables..and will be in the sewerage sometime tomorrow. Ahem..

I think I will sow more seeds, in a much more manageable row. Instead of just carelessly throwing them all over the place.

No.2 and I just sowed some carrot and lettuce seeds. I think there will be no luck with carrot (seeing that it’s best to sow during spring/summer), but lettuce…will have some chance. At least, I won’t have to go to the Supermarket to get those for my son’s egg n lettuce sandwiches! Just pluck some straight off the pot!

Can’t wait!

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Neatest Water Saving Idea

Over here, we are going through water shortages, due to the severe drought for the past few years. It’s been quite drizzly the past week, note I said, ‘drizzly’, not actual rain in true Melbournian sense. So, everyone is doing their own bit to save water. I guess, ultimately, this benefits everyone, even if the water supply goes back to normal, because we’d be so ingrained in saving water, we’d be telling everyone to save water!

What I’ve been doing is the simple stuff like, re-using my kitchen water (water I’ve used to rinse my vege in, water I’ve used to wash my rice in) and re-using water I’ve used in mopping my floor, to water my medium-sized garden. The Water Company here also gave us a lil timer (a 4 minute one), that is stuck on the bathroom wall (via suction cup), and it gives us an idea as to when it’s time to stop showering.

A lot of people have buckets in their showers, to store water as they wait for the cold water to turn hot. But because my heater’s quite efficient, I normally don’t need to wait..so, I don’t really bother with the bucket. Plus, I have a lil Mr.Curious who loves investigating ‘new’ things. And investigating water-filled buckets is a big no-no.

Other ideas include installing a rainwater tank. Personally, I really feel it’s very expensive..and will have to save towards that. I love this idea..but it will really eat into our budget, if I install it. The other idea I would love to have is, to fix a hose from my washing machine to the garden. So, the grass and young trees, get this greywater.

But I’ve a friend, who stays at the Outer Banks of Melbourne, and he came up with the neatest water saving idea. He installed a timer, within his shower, that cuts off the water, the moment it hits 4 minutes. Yes… and it stays off for 2 minutes. It doesn’t allow the showeree to turn it back on! Is that so cool or what? He has 3 boys..and he says it really helps, as they love playing with water. I’m itching to fix that in, right now..because I know that it would definitely help with mine!

I will be looking into the DIY shops for this timer. I sure hope that the personnel won’t give me funny looks when I ask for their help!

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Tags: save water

In a week’s time.

One more week, to the school holidays. I know most parents dread school holidays, trying to keep kids from being bored and running amok. But, me…I’m relieved. I still have to wake up early, but I no longer have to rush with the laundry and the breakfast and lunch! Every morning, I’m just rushing preparing everything..and sometimes I don’t even have time to crap! Even when I really really want to!

I will have time to read, do my housework in a leisurely manner, and crap. Time. Never ever underestimate how much you can do in so little time.

Also, in a week’s time, Mr.T has decided to make a surprise visit back for awhile. It’s cheap flights at AirAsia, so he’s taking advantage of the whole situation. I haven’t told my kids yet, as they have super computer memory! If I tell them wayyyy too early, they’ll continue to bug me..”Is Dad coming back today?” like 100x in one hour.

I made that mistake once… and I tell ya..they drove me insane with their “Are we going yet?” questions. So, I’ve learnt my lesson. If I planned to go somewhere…I’d only tell them, when they’re all strapped in, and the car’s on the move. Then, they can ask all the questions, they want..and I’d give them the standard answer, “Mu-um’s driving now..can’t talk”.

So.. back to the topic. I will have time to bake as well. I’ve been planning to bake something new..but really need my mixer. So, cross my fingers, toes and eyes, and hope that my mixer will be fixed soon.

What about my kids? Hah..I’ll still take them out! I discovered a beautiful beautiful reserve, just 2 minutes away from my place. It’s completely hidden..and quite eerie, since it’s so quiet. But it has TWO playgrounds, one for big kids and the other for littler kids. The one for big kids is so darn cool! Their swings are on this HUGE see-saw..so, the heavier swinger will definitely take the lighter swinger for a goooood swing! Plus, there are two huge clearings..one of which has 2 BBQ pits and HUGE picnic tables.

So so so super cool. I’m so happy, I took my kid’s challenge in finding a brand new playground around my area!

So..yea..have planned lots to do. Kids included as well.

And..then after one week, I’ll be wishing school would start soon! Heh…

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The irresponsible swine

It’s been confirmed that No.1’s school has reported cases of the swine flu. We received this news late last week. Honestly, I am not that panicky, mainly, because I suspected my kids also had this swine flu. One of them, had a high temperature, and had rashes all over his body. But, I kept them all quarantined, like a good lil mama.

Well, today, at school, one of No.1’s schoolmate’s mama came talking to me. She asked if I heard that one of the kids in our class was having the H1N1 virus. Obviously, being the slow-ass mama I was, I hadn’t. But, I just brushed it off, because the swine flu isn’t as bad as it’s reported to be. I mean, yea, take the necessary precautions, but don’t let it rule your life!

So..anyway, when I got home, I received a text message from her, saying that one of the kids does actually have the swine flu, and asked if my son told me about it.

I replied, “No and poor kid, hope that he/she would be ok”.

She replied, “Actually, I don’t know if it’s true…one of the kids at class told me”.

DANG!

I mean, if there is no verification, for crying out loud, DON’T SPREAD THE PANIC!

It only takes one spark to start a freaking bushfire! I just hope that she won’t be texting everyone else with the first message she sent me!

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The ‘what can go wrong’ cake.

Today, I wanted to bake a butter cake. Just a simple butter cake. I wanted to share this cake with two mums. One of these moms made me bak-chang! Home-made bak-chang! Can you imagine, how eternally grateful I was???

The other mom is preggie..and is feeling really poorly. I gave her some chicken with potato and carrot dish for dinner the other day, and she was so happy. She said she hasn’t been able to cook..so, they’ve been eating out alot. Home-cooked food is always comfort food.

So..yes! Today, I had a mission to bake.

But! Everything I touched, broke or spilt!

First my beloved Kenwood mixer went on a blitz..and wouldn’t start. I think it was my overzealous mixing the other day..that fused something. Sigh…

Luckily, I had my hand-held mixer. Even though that mixer is as old as me, it’s super hardy! It belonged to my granma!

So, I got a mixin’…then, I had to add flour, which I had to cut and fold by hand. And the metal spoon broke! A metal spoon broke! Just like that! Bah!

Then, I was being super clumsy and spilt milk everywhere! Another bah!

But, I’m mighty glad that it turned out ok. The oven temperature is abit too hot (even tho I lowered it down), and the top cracked. But…. taste wise..I’m very happy. Happy to share too!

I have to experiment somemore with my oven temp…it’s too efficiently hot! But first! Fix my Kenwood mixer!

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