Cherishing the moment

The holidays are over. But why oh why am I still in holiday mood? Somehow, I got a feeling that I am not the only one. LOL.

I’ve cleaned up my desk, my In and Out tray, filed some loose documents into its files, etc. Now, I don’t have anything to do in the office. Most of my Muslim colleagues and superiors will only be in next Monday. So, it is so peaceful and quite in the office. I am sooo enjoying this rare blissful moment. Even the phone is extremely quiet, adding to the tranquility. It has been that way since yesterday and hopefully, it’ll stay like that until tomorrow evening…*fingers crossed* … hahahaa…..

Since the line is all clear. I grabbed the chance to browse for a new layout. I found a few but am still considering which one I prefer the most. *smile* Okay, I may have abused the office hours and the internet facility, but what am I suppose to do to kill off some time? Hehe…my boss better not find out about this or else I might end up kena goreng sotong and be part of the country’s jobless statistic! *wink*

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MV Doulos, Bedtime routine and Raya – A ‘rojak’ post

Finally, I managed to visit MV Doulos, the floating bookstore for the very first time last night. 3 days before it is scheduled to depart KK. Nasib baik sempat pigi…hehe…Despite Doulos’ several visits to KK, hubby and I had never step on board of the ship. Kesian kan… :)

As expected, the books available are limited already and the Special Offer Books section was closed. Well, looks like we were not the only late birds flocking by. There quite a number of ppl coming in when we arrived at 8.30pm. Or perhaps they came for their 2nd or 3rd visit …hahaha…Anyway, we didn’t leave empty handed. We bought 2 hardcover storybooks for Vanessa. Of course, she’s too young to read, so most likely mommy will do the reading. I’ll try to read her one of the story in the Bedtime Stories for her tonight. Hopefully, she’ll like this new routine. Currently, I have to lulled her to sleep by singing her favourite nursery rhymes, i.e Little Indian Boys, Are you sleeping?, Pussycat, pussycat and London Bridge is falling down. Normally, I get to repeat the medley for at least 3 times until she falls asleep. *faint* If she dozed-off after that, then I’ll consider myself lucky. I'm spared from singing a round of an additional song, the ‘Happy Birthday’ song …phew…

Okay, yours truly is already in holiday mood. *grin* Am now impatiently counting the hours, 2 more hours to go and off me go for a - 4 days break. Yayyy!!! In the spirit of 1 Malaysia, I would like to wish all of you, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, happy holiday and selamat berkunjung ke rumah-rumah terbuka! :)

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There's something about Tessie

Yay! Hubby came back from Sandakan last night. I thought I was dreaming when he called me to open the door. It was already midnight okay, so yes, I had dozed-off to my imaginary home in Arizona…LOL.

Hubby didn’t come home alone. He brought company with him, in a box. An adorably cute 4 months old Terrier named Tessie. The name was given by her previous owner, since it suits her well, we decided to keep it. :)

When Vanessa saw her, she was smitten with Tessie that she immediately went to stroke Tessie’s brown coat. And being a friendly puppy, Tessie was more than happy for her new friend’s welcoming gesture. Same goes with Vanessa. She giggled happily when Tessie responded with a lick on her palm. Hehe… Tessie must have worked on her charm for she won my mom’s seal of approval in a split second. Wow,that's record! Welcome to the family, Tessie! *smile*

I sure hope that she will be able to get along with my 3 other dogs and vice versa. And of course, the 3 cats in the house too (especially my mom’s)..hehe..

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No rain in all divisions.

That’s the weather forecast for Kota Kinabalu today. The max temperature is 32ºC (90ºF) but it feels like 10ºC (50ºF) hotter out there especially at noon time. Yup, its scorching hot here everyday! According to the weather forecast again, the temperature for the whole week will be between 25ºC to 32ºC with no rain until Saturday. It will be a hot week, folks. Hmm, with that, I think I can survive the heat in the Grand Canyon State of Arizona. Yeah, bring it on! LOL. As if I’m going to live there in the near future. *grin*

But, you’ll never know, right? I may strike the Jackpot tomorrow and be an instant millionaire. With all the $$$, I think I will be able to buy my little family a piece of the oh-so lovely property in Scottsdale and realize my fantasy of living abroad in a foreign land far, far away. A nice house with a small garden will be just perfect. Since I don’t know much about landscaping, I will leave the task to the experts in Arizona landscapes to do their magic for my garden. There goes my imagination… LOL.

But, I wasn’t imagining about Pathway Landscape being an expert in their field, ya. They truly are experts! Their projects had won them award and highlighted in the press. You can check-it out if you don't believe me! *smile*

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Crunchy Chocolate Cornflakes

This is one snack that I really like. Besides being easy annd quick to make, it is also yummy… :) With a clingy and manja toddler in the house, it is hard to try out complicated recipe. Actually, I didn’t have any plan to make them on Merdeka Day, but Vanessa was whining for sweet treat. So terpaksa la buat jugak… Or maybe she has sensed that my cuz, niece and nephew are coming for a surprise visit, so ada jugak la something untuk dihidang to our guests … hehe

Anyway, I was lucky to have the basic ingredients. For those I don’t have, I make use whatever I can to substitute them. Hehe…this mommy is just too lazy to drive to Donggongon to get those things.

This snack is rather sweet, so it is not advisable to indulge in too much of it. Otherwise, you may need to pay an early visit to your dentist. Nasib baik la after having 2 pieces, Vanessa had enough of it. Phew! Anyway, this snack is best to go with kopi-O kaw-kaw. :) Here is the recipe. Got it from some recipe book a year or two ago.

Ingredients:-

60g butter
60g sirap kencana OR 2 Tbsp Golden Syrup ( I have no idea what sirap kencana is. I substituted it with golden syrup. This syrup is very sweet, so 2 Tbsp is enough. The amount of golden syrup can be adjusted according to your preference.)
90g cornflakes
15g dried coconut flesh / freshly grated coconut flesh
45g chocolate chips OR 45g cooking chocolate (I don't have chocolate chips so I use cooking chocolate instead.)
30g cashew nuts/almond nuts/walnut (coarsely chopped)
* Some colour rice for decoration

Method:-

1) Put butter and syrup into a saucepan. Heat saucepan on low temperature until butter is completely melted. Simmer gently for 3 – 4 minutes. Put all ingredients into pan and stir well.
2) Spoon mixture into small paper cups. Refrigerate until set.

Makes : 12 – 16 cups (depends on the amount you spoon into the paper cups.)

Here what it looks like without the grated coconut and nuts. To make it look more appealing, I garnished some colour rice on top. This last touch was not part of the original recipe… I just tambah-tambah…hehe… If you feel like trying, by all means, go on. Happy trying! :)

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Acute Gastoenteritis with Headache

Last Thursday, I went to have a bowl of mihun soup with chun kien (pork roll wrapped in egg) at the kedai kopi near my office for lunch. *sigh* That day must have been my unlucky day! About 2 -3 hours after I had my lunch, my head started to ache, pulsating pain at both left and right side of my head. I thought I was having migraine.(I never had one, so I was not so sure how migraine is.) Soon after, the headache was followed by nausea and sudden chills. I dragged my feet to the bathroom to puke. I felt much better after vomiting but the throbbing headache just refused to go away. *sigh*

I forced myself to drive home. I should have gone see the doctor but I just don’t feel like it. Luckily, I made it home safely. After having some food, I swallowed 2 tablets of Panadol. Told Vanessa that mommy was not feeling well and need to sleep early. She responded with “Baby tiup-tiup (ke)pala mummy ah. Baby sayang-sayang (ke)pala mummy.” I was so touched by her response that I shed a few tears when I heard it. Eventually, both of us fell asleep soon after.

The next morning, the headache persists. I decided to go to our panel clinic. After asking this and that, the good doctor diagnosed me with ‘Acute Gastroenteritis with Headache’ due to food poisoning. The headache was most probably the side effect. I got an MC for that day but not after I got an earful of advise to reduce the frequency of eating out because restaurants often use a lot of food enhancers that may cause food poisoning; pay attention to the hygiene of the restaurant, bla,bla,bla…. I nodded at his advice, of course, but frankly, all I can think of at the time was, “I want to go home. I want to lie down and have a good rest.” But, before that I have to go to office to prepare an urgent report. Cilakak!!!

As soon as I finished my report, I went off without even paying attention to my colleagues’ curious eyes. Sorry la kawan-kawan, but that day, I was not in the mood to layan you all. :)

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