Finally! After months of intermittent ear drops and no shortage of complaining, I decided to once and for all, take Sophia to the GP, get a referral to the ENT specialist to suck out that huge, offending piece of ear wax that seemed to be lodged in her right ear permanently.
She cried, she struggled but it finally came out!! That sucker must've been about the size of a golf ball. Not that I asked to see it after it got dislodged. I was too happy that it was out in the first place.
No more nightly eardrops. I don't have to stifle the urge to shine that torch in her ear only to have to smother the itch to dig that piece of junk out. And then complain to the hubby about it existing in the first place and stopping him from digging it out himself to stop my whining.
I am patting myself thoroughly on the back as I went through the right channels too. Got the whole procedure covered by insurance! And got myself some meds for the irritating cough and phlegm while I was at it! For free!! Covered!
I should do this more often, go through the right channels, that is.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I'm Not Anthony Bourdain, But I Ain't Half Bad
I've been cooking up a storm lately. Just before leaving KL during one of our recent trips, we bought a stack of Periplus and Marshall Cavendish mini-cookbooks from Kino. Best investment we ever made. I've been diligently flipping through them and picking dishes to try out ever since.
Over the past few weeks, I've been trying out a dish or two but since Rizal left for Mumbai and Brussels on Sunday, I've stepped up on the dishes. Not all of them have been from the mini-cookbooks but almost all of them have been successful.
I've been making up several batches of Mushroom Rice Balls (kinoko no takikomi gohan), or what I refer to as my mushroom onigiri, which I picked out from another recipe book of mine. So far, Sophia likes that the best, mainly because it's rice and she loves rice and she also gets to hold it in her hands and eat it rather than mess about with the spoon. And to top it off, it's such an easy dish to make. Did I mention it's quite delicious? Well, it is.
When I came back from my biz trip to KL, I lugged home two huge packets of dried noodle. I'm not sure what kind they are but I know my mom uses them specifically for a type of braised noodle dish she makes. So of course, I call her on the phone before I give it a try and I must say that I'm not that bad a cook myself! The noodles turned out a little dryer and paler than mom's but other than that, tasted just as great. I'm a genius! Jona loved it, and so did the girl. She liked the noodles so much that she ate only the noodles and disregarded the prawns, bits of chicken, mushroom and vegetables in her bowl.
Yesterday we tried a walnut and mascarpone pasta from one of the mini-cookbooks, which turned out splendidly and which all of us really liked too. For dinner, I whipped out the Japanese mini-cookbook and we tried out the french beans with sesame sauce, which was an interesting dish and went well with our lotus soup.
Today I did up another batch of mushroom onigiri specifically for Sophia beause for dinner I was gonna cook Korean chap chae for Jona and me. Given Sophia's experience with the braised noodle, I didn't want to have her just picking at glass noodles and not eating the rest of the good stuff. I did a variation of the usual onigiri; since I'd already toasted sesame seeds for the chap chae, I decided to chuck some into the mushroom onigiri for added aroma and taste. And boy, did it make a difference! Sophia had two onigiri for dinner. Another success story chalked to my portfolio.
Cooking's been quite fun lately. But then again, that's only true, I think, because I have Jona to help clean up the mess after. Before she came, cooking was more a chore than anything else. Just the thought of cooking and then cleaning up could tire me out. Now at least I have the time, energy and interest to look through recipes and am bothered to try them out. Having another person to help eat all that stuff also helps too.
Cooking is simple if you have some extra hands in the kitchen to help prep and clean. What used to be a necessary chore turns out to be an adventure instead.
Over the past few weeks, I've been trying out a dish or two but since Rizal left for Mumbai and Brussels on Sunday, I've stepped up on the dishes. Not all of them have been from the mini-cookbooks but almost all of them have been successful.
I've been making up several batches of Mushroom Rice Balls (kinoko no takikomi gohan), or what I refer to as my mushroom onigiri, which I picked out from another recipe book of mine. So far, Sophia likes that the best, mainly because it's rice and she loves rice and she also gets to hold it in her hands and eat it rather than mess about with the spoon. And to top it off, it's such an easy dish to make. Did I mention it's quite delicious? Well, it is.
When I came back from my biz trip to KL, I lugged home two huge packets of dried noodle. I'm not sure what kind they are but I know my mom uses them specifically for a type of braised noodle dish she makes. So of course, I call her on the phone before I give it a try and I must say that I'm not that bad a cook myself! The noodles turned out a little dryer and paler than mom's but other than that, tasted just as great. I'm a genius! Jona loved it, and so did the girl. She liked the noodles so much that she ate only the noodles and disregarded the prawns, bits of chicken, mushroom and vegetables in her bowl.
Yesterday we tried a walnut and mascarpone pasta from one of the mini-cookbooks, which turned out splendidly and which all of us really liked too. For dinner, I whipped out the Japanese mini-cookbook and we tried out the french beans with sesame sauce, which was an interesting dish and went well with our lotus soup.
Today I did up another batch of mushroom onigiri specifically for Sophia beause for dinner I was gonna cook Korean chap chae for Jona and me. Given Sophia's experience with the braised noodle, I didn't want to have her just picking at glass noodles and not eating the rest of the good stuff. I did a variation of the usual onigiri; since I'd already toasted sesame seeds for the chap chae, I decided to chuck some into the mushroom onigiri for added aroma and taste. And boy, did it make a difference! Sophia had two onigiri for dinner. Another success story chalked to my portfolio.
Cooking's been quite fun lately. But then again, that's only true, I think, because I have Jona to help clean up the mess after. Before she came, cooking was more a chore than anything else. Just the thought of cooking and then cleaning up could tire me out. Now at least I have the time, energy and interest to look through recipes and am bothered to try them out. Having another person to help eat all that stuff also helps too.
Cooking is simple if you have some extra hands in the kitchen to help prep and clean. What used to be a necessary chore turns out to be an adventure instead.
I'm Done!!
Here's how she announces that she's done doing her biz on the potty:
"Yeeeeeee-aaaaaaAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
It's her take on 'yay' and in imitation of what I say to here when she's done a good job sitting on the potty.
"Yeeeeeee-aaaaaaAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
It's her take on 'yay' and in imitation of what I say to here when she's done a good job sitting on the potty.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Library Haul
- 11 Birthdays - Wendy Mass
- House of Many Ways - Diana Wynne Jones
- Audrey, Wait! - Robin Benway
- Just One Wish - Janette Rallison
Empty
I feel bereft. Of what exactly, I'm not sure. A good story perhaps? The fact that I have to leave behind favourite characters, riveting plot and a perfectly imaginable and believable world?
This rarely befalls me. I remember it happening a handful of times; a long time ago after I read Mercedes Lackey's The Last Herald-Mage series and Stephen Donaldson's Mordan'ts Need series. There were a few more but what happens is that my mind is filled with the world and the characters that inhabit it, usually, it's a series or trilogy.
After the third book of the same characters and the fantasy world they live in, it's difficult to let it all go when the story's finally ended. It takes a few days for my mind to leave them all behind and get on with the next book. And sometimes, my life. When the characters won't get themselves out of my head, I find my eyes may close in imitation of sleep but that's just it: an imitation. My ability to knock off after my head hits the pillow is sorely tested and I become an insomniac for at least one night.
It gets difficult to pick up a new book and start on a new story. Unhitching from the fantasy world gets to be difficult and finding a new story to interest me takes some work, especially if the next story is not of the fantasy genre.
In the end, I survived finishing the King of Attolia by barely skimming through Barry Lyga and only Gene Luen Yang managed to haul my ass back to interested reader mode. Nothing like the Monkey God and a graphic novel to get you out of a funk.
This rarely befalls me. I remember it happening a handful of times; a long time ago after I read Mercedes Lackey's The Last Herald-Mage series and Stephen Donaldson's Mordan'ts Need series. There were a few more but what happens is that my mind is filled with the world and the characters that inhabit it, usually, it's a series or trilogy.
After the third book of the same characters and the fantasy world they live in, it's difficult to let it all go when the story's finally ended. It takes a few days for my mind to leave them all behind and get on with the next book. And sometimes, my life. When the characters won't get themselves out of my head, I find my eyes may close in imitation of sleep but that's just it: an imitation. My ability to knock off after my head hits the pillow is sorely tested and I become an insomniac for at least one night.
It gets difficult to pick up a new book and start on a new story. Unhitching from the fantasy world gets to be difficult and finding a new story to interest me takes some work, especially if the next story is not of the fantasy genre.
In the end, I survived finishing the King of Attolia by barely skimming through Barry Lyga and only Gene Luen Yang managed to haul my ass back to interested reader mode. Nothing like the Monkey God and a graphic novel to get you out of a funk.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tai-Tai In Training
She was supposed to look the part of a Chinese opera diva. But with the hairclip and the string of huge pink orbs hanging off her ribbon necklace (can't see in this photo), she ended up looking like a grandma on the last day of term.
Mommy's weird sense of style is to blame. Plus I didn't have anything in the closet to dress her up in as any other profession (the theme for the day was 'things people do'). One of her classmates came as a cut Singapore Girl. Too bad mommy didn't have too much of an imagination. Oh well...at least she went dressed as someone, unlike some of her other classmates (most of them boys) who were dressed only as well, themselves.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Caught By The Thief
Megan Whalen Turner's Thief trilogy is BRILLIANT.
Although, I started out with The Thief wondering what was so brilliant about it and got somewhat bored and thoroughly annoyed by the main character. I guessed a part of the plot somewhere along the book but was still happily surprised by the ending. In the end, I suppose, being annoyed by the character must have been necessary to the reading of the book. I'm still not sure about that one... .
The Queen I had the pleasure of pretty much uninterrupted reading, and where I thought The Thief was slow and boring at parts, this one kept my fingers itchily turning the pages.
The King is the best of all the three books. It caps off the trilogy splendidly with its many twists and turns. It was so good that I couldn't wait to finish it and then when I finally had, I found myself wanting more. So I went online to find out if there could possibly be a fourth book.
There is!!! I'm excited that the series is not ended and that I'll get to have more of this brilliant tale but I'm chagrined that now I have ANOTHER sequel that I'll have to follow up with shortly. This one in 2010. When will these sequels ever end? Argh! At least the other sequels are due out sometime later this year and this gives me a good wide space to read and digest them before tucking into the fourth installment of The Thief.
It just means more good things ahead.
Although, I started out with The Thief wondering what was so brilliant about it and got somewhat bored and thoroughly annoyed by the main character. I guessed a part of the plot somewhere along the book but was still happily surprised by the ending. In the end, I suppose, being annoyed by the character must have been necessary to the reading of the book. I'm still not sure about that one... .
The Queen I had the pleasure of pretty much uninterrupted reading, and where I thought The Thief was slow and boring at parts, this one kept my fingers itchily turning the pages.
The King is the best of all the three books. It caps off the trilogy splendidly with its many twists and turns. It was so good that I couldn't wait to finish it and then when I finally had, I found myself wanting more. So I went online to find out if there could possibly be a fourth book.
There is!!! I'm excited that the series is not ended and that I'll get to have more of this brilliant tale but I'm chagrined that now I have ANOTHER sequel that I'll have to follow up with shortly. This one in 2010. When will these sequels ever end? Argh! At least the other sequels are due out sometime later this year and this gives me a good wide space to read and digest them before tucking into the fourth installment of The Thief.
It just means more good things ahead.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Library Haul
- Blood & Chocolate - Annette Curtis Klause
- American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang
- The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl - Barry Lyga
Bliss
... is waking up in the morning and have Sophie crawl onto my chest and lie there, half asleep, not quite awake yet, gently tapping her fingers on my shoulders while the morning greets us with the sound of her dad snoring.
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