Unexpected Decline of Productivity

When you get idle, time just take advantage and press on the fast forward button :)

We had a loooong weekend last week... and i got idle. I kinda conveniently forgot i have a blog again and just decided to let my computer have a looong weekend too to let it rest. Sorta like giving thanks to the mighty computer :) The amount of hours this poor computer has to put in... it would probably sue me for overworking it if it could.

Hmm.. so what kinda happened last weekend. It was all a blurr *LOL* And no.. i didn't get drunk.

Friday was a sleep-in. Saturday came and a shorter sleep-in and sis & family was home to see dad who was under the weather. With the constant rainfall and the mighty cool nites, dad finally got sick last week. And when he gets sick, he is a wee bit crabby.

But i blamed it on the butter cookies, a whole bag of "heong peah" and the other crunchy stuffs he was munching when he is watching tv. And the time he stood in the garden trimming the plants when it was drizzling a little. The rain ++ the munchies.. and he ended up with a very sore throat and a mighty cold.

The antibiotics from the doctor didn't work and so my aunts came by and came up with their own home remedies. The onion, the cooling drinks and the reminders (for me) to boil this and that.

I quietly took the can of butter cookies, taped it down and hide it in the backroom *LOL* Just in case my dad go munching on too many cookies and got sick again when he is getting better now.

Sis came home and bought a whole lotta stuffs for him. Hazeline snow for the sore nose.. vicks.. some packets of chinese meds for the cough (and reminders for me to boil)... and two big bags of cookies. *LOL* Does she not know that the cookies were one of the culprits in the first place. I wanted to bang her head. Urmm.. but it was really nice of her. Ok ok.. i take back the bang her head.

Dad is on the road to recovery already. Don't even ask me what single thing cured him.. cos he took too many things. Even a mug of beer at the wedding dinner he attended yesterday because his brothers and sisters who were with him yesterday told him that his body is heaty.

The cures range from many coconut drinks he had, onions, antibiotics, lemon drinks, salt for gargling.. urmm.. chinese herbs... honey... and a host of a lot of other stuffs. But i think it was probably the kids that cured him.

When the kids comes home, especially Rachel, dad is extra happy. He just grins when he heard them arriving. Poor sis and family had to be stuck in really bad traffic going back to KL yesterday. It took them about 5 hours + to reach their destination. Usually it will only take 2 hours. I did tell them to leave early but sis being the optimistic person refuses to believe me that there would be much traffic.. hahahahahahhahaa Good thing the hubby was driving.

I bet he'll be grinning more when Jai comes home. He probably won't be able to sleep for days counting down to Jai's arrival.

Oh ya.. i did go to the dinner which i was trying to get out from with excuses. The food was great.. just a tad salty. The bride was beautiful. The groom was grinning. I sat with a lot of aunts and uncles which were my neighbours. I had my own aunt beside me. It wasn't so bad after all. I do not know the groom personally as he was way much younger than me when we were little. But it was a great wedding dinner.

Sitting with my aunt and taking care of her kinda reminds me of my own mum. I kinda missed mom suddenly and the mother daughter chats. When i sat with mom during wedding dinners, we will usually whisper and she'll point out who's the people around us. These neighbours kinda watched me grow up... but i've been away from home for so long... it is always just a friendly nod and a smile when i see them now. My mom knows them all. She would have enjoyed this dinner.

The weather's real bad nowadays. The flu is making a U-turn and coming back to strike. So brace yourselves. Wash your hands before you eat or touch your face. Don't get wet in the rain and drink lotta water. You sure don't want to be sick for Christmas.

Back to work for now. Lotta pies for me to do. Oh bummer. Have a great Monday ahead :) Someone is going I HATE MONDAY on their status line... hahahhahahaa

Gratitude

I am thankful for

• eyes to see the beauty of each new day
• the ability to walk anywhere and everywhere i want to go
• a pair of ears to listen
• a mouth to speak when spoken to
• hands to touch and feel
• a father who still needs me
• dommy on a sunny + a rainy day
• pp for his soft cuddles
• a blob of furry smiley yellow
• sisters that love me
• kids that roll on the bed with me to giggle & chat
  
• Jai for the experience of a lifetime
• stormy as the all weather friend
• my friends who are always there for me
• the extended circle of family
• food that keeps coming from my extended families
  
• coffee in the morning :p
• disasters in the kitchen
• people that are willing to eat what i cook
• enough food each day
• birds in the garden
• butterflies to remind me of childhood
  
• flowers that my mom left us
• papayas when i was trying for catnips
• a wonderful & understanding boss
• Anamaa & Puci
  
• a super duper fast computer
• a very helpful Suedoo
  
• a new glass cup
• enough dough in my pockets
• a curly for the roll-abouts
• wonderful people who become my friends in the virtual world
• matches to light a candle
• comics & Mattias that cracks me up everyday
  
• a jacket to wear on a cold day
• a warm room to sleep tonite
• a roof over my head
• laughter in the rain
• poot poot conversations with the one
• the mosquito who keeps flying in front of my face :)
  
• ice-cream when its warm
• dommy to share my food
• sleep
• dreams to keep me happy
• mummy for her love

I have much much more to be thankful for... can't really list them all here. I am also thankful too to my readers who keep coming back to leave me comments. Thank you and i am forever grateful for your kind thoughts.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Midweek roll

Some pictures & funnies roll in today from my colleagues in the office. I wanna share these few with you :) Especially love the happy ellie.

poor doggy is hungry

happy Ellie :)

snooozing-a-moozing

kinda censored part of what the gorilla wanted to show you.. ^.^

** Credit goes to whomever the pictures belong to. Our apologies. We do not know the source of the pictures as it came through the email.

PP & Moomie May

Today is Piper's Moomie's birthday. PP is back to being the only furkid in the house as Kuning has gone back home. No more tantrums from PP and he's back to his old self again.. happy and running about with a smile. He wasn't very happy when Kuning was around as the love for him was divided. Doggies can count too.

Here's Kuning bidding everyone farewell. She'll be back soon :)

Kuning drove herself home ^.^
(she's just test driving PP's car)

In my days of daze... i forgot to post about PP's birthday. Piper is officially 5 years old since last Friday. His birthday falls on the 20th November. (that would be 5x7=35 wow! an adult in human years)

I am sorry lil one. I didn't forget. I just forgot to post about you. Five years and this lil shitzu is running our lives. *lol*

My first three years with him was joyful. He takes care of me when i am sick and vice versa. He comes and sleep by my side. I remember him coming in and checking on me off and on. He was like a lil nurse. He wakes me up like an alarm clock every Sunday like clockwork. It is unconditional love... it is.

Shitzu's are pretty loving creatures. They just love tummy rubs and just love to sleep near you. They love the human contact. They love to be pampered. And they don't like to share their love... especially not with other doggies.

Doggies are mighty forgiving i am sure. I'll bring you a big greenie when i see you soon PP. Happy Birthday to you my lil sis and a beeeeeeelated one to you PP.

where's my cake

To Tease

Turmeric and i go a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way. Lately, i've been using a wee bit of turmeric in some of the things that i cook. Turmeric is actually quite good for us. Its quite a common spice in Asian cooking.

My favourite is marinating chicken with turmeric and salt. After a while, just fry it and add a dash of light soya sauce. A simple dish which has a very aromatic smell to it. I love its simplicity and the aroma that turmeric adds to the chicken.

Mom used to make it too. Her chicken are cut in small pieces. Dainty dishes. My stuffs are cut never daintly.. hahahhahaha.. I am always in a rush for time. Sis will always complain about the size of the carrots and potatoes in my dishes *LOL* She will complain that i am trying to choke them all.

I remember my yoga master telling me that he bathes with turmeric. I didn't really have a chance to ask him properly on the benefits. Circumstances that surround the very life of mine... and i had to stop classes and go home. He's still the best yoga teacher i had. I haven't found one quite like him here. He has charisma.

Stormy gave me a recipe last week which i didn't follow properly as usual. Its quite hard for a cook to teach me as i don't follow instructions properly. *LOL* It was just another simple dish. But as usual, i did it my way.. and it tasted yucky.. hahahhahahaa.. It was also because i didn't have a certain dark sweet sauce.

Last weekend i got a big huge bottle of the dark sauce as i couldn't find the smaller bottle on the shelves. This time i was a little bit smarter and cook in smaller portions :)

And because of the dark sauce... it was a helluva of a success. Stormy was blinking proud of me and the master chef could only salivate over the pics *LOL*

nice or not? it was a bit sweet... but the sauce made it really nice. Now this sauce is kinda like my besty sauce.. hahhahahahhaa

Oh ya.. i marinated the chicken with turmeric too.. hehehhe.. and a tad of chili powder and salt. The end good results went to the "secret sauce".

Guess what is the secret sauce... :)

I kinda stumbled upon this 20 Health Benefits of Tumeric a while ago. Go check it out if you wanna find out more about turmeric.

Sightings

This is a common sight when its 3.30pm here. Dad will have his tea break and there's the faithful Curly. Usually he'll get some share of whatever dad's eating at that hour.

Dommy's favourite sounds of the hour are... plastic bags... or ziplock bags... or opening of the food cover.. or.. the dragging of the dining hall chairs. He will know that someone's eating or munching something and he wants a share too.

Even when he's fast asleep... the slightest sound of plastic bags would awake him *LOL* Such a hungry creature.

Everyone's been commenting that he's a bit heavy too. Time for a diet. He cannot afford to get too fat... his legs will not be able to support his body weight. But he looks healthier now... don't you think?

Maybe i should take him to the vet and let him have his say :)

Jingle Blue

It jingles
and
its
blue.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh... i know Christmas is just weeeeeee right there :) I'm all decked in ma best jingle blue and waiting for my big greenie treat on Christmas day. That is if someone remembers to get us our greenies.

As the internet was crawling slower than a snail today, Anny decide enough is enough. She says i stink. Stink? What has slow internet speed got anything to do with me stinking?

I think i smell just fine. With a touch of doggy breath. When Lester came by yesterday, he didn't say i stink. He was just too happy having super races with me in the garden. And so... off to the bath i went.

Usually i have my bath on Saturdays or Sundays. But last weekend, there was a lot of family around, no one got around to giving me a bath.. can you believe it? They were all just chattering away endlessly. So you see, it was not my fault if she thinks i stink.

Monday came by.. and she got busy and it was gloomy. She was afraid that i might catch a cold in the rainy day. Tuesday came... and she was too tired cos she had to wake up real early to wait for Aini. Wednesday came by... and still no bath. Thursday came... and she says i stink??

I see her taking all my bathing stuffs and rubber ducky. (urmm.. no rubber ducky.. it was just the rubber towel) There was the pail for the water.. the blue scoop... the scrubber... my two shampoos (why two? don't ask me).. my cloth to clean my eye... big yellow towel that taste like rubber... the hairdryer.. the ear drops.. the painful comb... the tea tree skin calm spray...my big chair for me to sit still when she is blow drying me.. her orange stool.. the green stool in the toilet.. the shower.. the water.. the heater.. the the the... urmm... i think i kinda covered everything. Oh ya. And me.

I ran quickly to my chair... and sit very still like a heavy rock when i see her getting all these stuffs ready. She came and try to carry me... but i sit harder and stiff up my body so maybe she'll give up and go away. But noooooooo... she scoop me up and nearly fell backwards. She mumbled that i am getting wayyyyyyyy too heavy and she's gonna put me on a diet soon. Oh nooooooooooo... i am not fat. I am just big boned... Urmm.. i am just.. full.

Well.. its a relief to have a bath after all. I feel lighter... fluffier than a sponge cake.. I am smelling like a million bucks now. I got more hugs and tummy rubs too.

When Boy came home, he even invited me to jump on Anny's bed. I had a big roll about and turn round and round. (I am usually not allowed on the bed... but they don't know that i jump on their beds when they go out and leave me all alone at home) especially grandpa's bed. I feel that his bed is the safest.

Here's me after my bath in my blue bed and wearing my jingle blue (not that i can tell colors). Don't i look smashing with the jingle blue?

Anyways.. TGIF tomorrow :) Hopefully Anny will take me for car rides come Saturday. Have a great evening and good night *woooooof*

love,
Dom

Comfort

Comfort food. A familiar scent. Simple easy inexpensive food which are usually comforting to one. A reminder of a happy childhood perhaps.

The most comforting food are usually cooked by a loved one. Usually a mom or grandma. Well.. sometimes daddy or grandpa.

When i was staying on my own in KL, the one thing that i missed most is my mom's cooking and of course her beautiful self. Each time i come home, she'll cook many things for me. Even an egg that she fried would be like heaven in my mouth.

I live for simple food. There are hundreds of things that my mom has cooked that still live in my memory because they are my comfort food. The scent.. the taste... the yumminess.. i can remember them like i've just eaten them yesterday.

Basically, i am not a very good cook myself. I meet more disasters than successes while cooking. Poor dad and Boy are my guinea pigs now. Dommy is not complaining much.

It used to be my younger sister when i was in KL. I'll come up with funny stuffs for her to eat for dinner. Sometimes it could be just 2 slices of bread with some tuna in them.. with a touch of grilling in the oven (i miss my oven).

My colleagues were my other guinea pigs. I would make muffins that are as hard as rocks.. but they will still eat them.. and try not to choke. *LOL* Sometimes when i get lucky, they will get to taste a better cake... but i hardly get lucky when it comes to cooking because i never follow instructions.

Never a stickler for regularities.. i don't know why i keep buying recipe books and never do follow one properly. I will choose the shortest recipe... with the least ingredients. Don't even try to tell me about making rendang tok. When i saw the list of ingredients, i just ran the other way.

When you don't really know how to cook very well like me, you must at least know how to make a good soup. Chinese basically drink lotta soups. Soups are good. Comforting on a rainy day and good on the tummy too if you are not feeling too well.

Since i work from home and am just a few steps from the kitchen, i usually boil my soups at 3pm in time for dinner. The soups takes about 3 hours to boil in slow fire. And i double-steam my soups like some gungho cook *LOL*

Double steaming soups the old way like how my mom used to do. Double steaming is good if you are at home to keep at eye on the stove. Double steaming seals in the liquids and the essence of the soup. Nothing gets lost and the soup is super delicious :) It is called "dan tong" (in Cantonese) meaning steam soup.

I'll share some nice soupy soup recipes with you if you like.. soon. But the recipes will not have exact measurements. *LOL* Look out for it ya :)

Maybe.. just maybe i should try cooking the rendang tok one of these days. How wrong can i go right? But my aunt says it took her four hours to cook it the last time. And she was at the stove stirring it all the time. She did mention it was tiring. *LOL*

I think i'll just stick with simple comfort food. Below is the double steaming soup. Its called The Old Cucumber Soup.

pekaboo pot.. i see you ^.^

the old one

Thanks for following my long windy story today. Boy is going to bed. Time for me to sleep too. Goodnite.