Je Vis Mal.

Monday

Hello 2012

2012. The year the Mayan civilization predicted as Armageddon. Do I believe it? Yes and no. I know the end of the world is drawing closer. I mean, just look around you. Look at the state the world is in now. At the rate we’re going, we sure ain’t gonna be around much longer.

That aside, what’s in store for 2012 I wonder. I was looking forward to close 2011 nicely, and for a long while it seemed possible. But in life, things can change in an instant. And it did for me and my family. We had it all planned out for 2012. This and that. Upgrades here and there. But with that huge stone in our way, it all seems uncertain.

I feel like we’re back at square one. Back to where we began. We had climbed our way up slowly but steadily and now we’ve fallen off the rung. But that’s life.We just have to pick ourselves up and push on through.

Now we have to get ourselves back on our feet again. That’s the main priority for now. And I’m praying that by the end of the first quarter, it’ll be achieved. Once, we have gotten there, we’ll carry on with our initial plan.

Gosh, I’m really praying for strength and perseverance. I am extremely sure that I’ll be needing plenty of those and more.

sue flew @
1:26 PM

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Tuesday

Baby food

Recently a friend of mine asked me for baby food recipes. I used to make all of Eka’s meals by myself until I succumbed to pressures by they who cannot be named. -_-

Why did I choose to make things harder for myself by making my own baby food instead of simply buying them off the shelves? It all got started when I was pregnant. During that time, I wasn’t working so I had plenty of time to kill but I had not much money nor friends for that matter. So, I was always at the library and often spent entire days reading pregnancy books. That was how I came across home made baby food. I was very interested and curious.

Firstly, I’d like to point out that I am no expert. Please consult your doctors before letting you baby try any of the recipes. I’d also like to point out that the recipes were taken from various baby books. You don’t purchase those books. Just visit your nearest public library or google them.

Before you get started, there are a couple of things that you will need. Let's note a few things here. You don't have to get so many things. It's all really up to you. You can go on all out or just make do with what you have at home.

I think that the Avent Steamer & Blender is heavenly. You can steam the food and blend it afterwards! No hassle and definitely no mess!

You will see many kinds of baby food maker at Kiddy Palace / Mothercare. You can get those too.

Did I use any of the fancy stuff? Nope, I just made do with what I had. What I found useful were:

You will be using a lot of the blender until your baby is able to chew and take semi solids.

When Eka was able to take semi-solids I used the potato masher. It was a lot easier and faster. Sometimes, I just use a fork. =)

You'll also need a sieve to drain away the excess water. Seriously, why buy fancy equipment when you can use all that is already available at home? It's a no brainer really.

Yup, that was about all I used to prepare the food. Besides the pots and pans la. The most important thing is storage? How and where do you store the food? Most baby food can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. If you don't believe me, you can check it out yourself.

Most people store their baby food like this at first when baby isn't eating that much:

Yup, in ice cube trays! And the picture on the right, that's how the food looks like when frozen.

So, come meal time, all you have to do is, take the number of cubes that you need and just pop them into the microwave. I wasn't able to do this neat trick as my mother in law needed the space for her frozen food. So, what I did was to store the food in small microwaveable plastic containers. Remember to always get the microwaveable containers so that you can pop them straight into the microwave. Lesser things to clean up!

When I was buying the little plastic containers, I only bought those that came in bundles. Those that were 3 for $2 kind of deal. I bought many of the containers from Japan Home, Ikea and Daiso.

You know, those Heinz and Gerbers' bottles? Don't throw them if you have it. Reuse them!

That's what I did to those bottles.

Remember to label every container. You won't be able to remember what you cooked a few weeks later.

Write down the name of the food and date that it was prepared. One more thing, you don't have to get fancy labels. See the picture on the left? Just use tape and permanent marker. It'll suffice.

So, let's move on to those recipes, yeah?

I'll make it very easy and brief for everybody.

Fruits like papaya, banana. Just mash them up.
Boil and mash potatoes, sweet potatoes.
Papaya and tofu goes well with each other. ( Please note that this cannot be frozen and must be consumed within 3 days and that it is recommended for babies above 8 months.)
Mango and banana.
Fruits like apples and pears is best blended. Make sure you get the sweet ones too.
Carrots. My son loves it! It goes well with tofu too.
Boil carrots and potatoes. Mash them with sweet corn. You may have to peel the skin off the sweet corn. Depends on your baby.
The Gerber stars can be given as cereal. Just Add baby's milk.

Notice that these are very simple and basic recipes. I'll post the more complicated ones next time.

sue flew @
4:10 PM

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Thursday

Raya 2011

It's mid September already? Three more months and the year would end. Time really does fly us by.

We celebrated the coming of the Eid aka Hari Raya! This was of course, the first time we celebrate it as a family. And me as a married woman.

The preparations were many! Getting our clothes tailored, finding the right pair of heels and blah blah blah.

I didn't have much excitement for Raya. Actually, I never do. I have always felt that for Raya, so much unneccesary money is spent. My family has always done things the simlly way when it comes to Raya. We don't get our Kurungs tailored. In fact, we just buy them off the rack. But, his family is different. Completely different. Everything has to be big and blinged. Which was why I relented to getting kurungs tailored. If you look at the pictures and if you knew me well enough, you'd know that I don't normally wear that kind of kurung. I like the simple, traditional kurungs. But it's alright, no harm trying something new right. I have to admit though. the kurungs turned out beautiful although it was kinda uncomfortable wearing it. And my movements were pretty restricted too.

Getting ready took a new record of three freaking hours. Like WOAH and WTF. I have never taken that long to get ready. Never ever. I got my hair done and that took like an hour to do. Then the makeup. If you have lots of skin imperfection like I do, make up is bound to take ten thousand light years. OMG, I tell you..My make up felt so beated on!

We wasted half the day at home waiting for guests who promised to come but went back on their word. Only managed to make my way to Tampines to see Dad's side at about 4pm. Super late! Which was why I didn't get to see most of my relatives.

Eka playing while waiting for me.

A lot of money was spent on cab fares. See, that's why I don't really like Raya. So many places to go to in such a short time. I don't have a lot of pictures because I lost my camera during one of the house calls. WTF sia. My camera was barely a month old. Sigh.

sue flew @
12:01 PM

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Monday

Finally managed to find time to squeeze an update.

Alright, you caught me there.

I wasn't buzy, merely lazy.

-__-

For those who's unaware, the fasting month (Ramadan) is here.

Blergh! Here I am at 21 years of age and still can't fast.

I see 10 year olds who complete their fasting month like it's no mean feat.

Pathetic aren't I? This year, I told myself I must try to fast.

If not in full then at least half and if I did,

I shall reward myself with a new bag.

So far, I've only fasted 2 out of 12 days. -__-

I'm exhausted.

Eka fell sick few weeks bad and it was bad.

We had to bring him to the hospital.

He wasn having high fever, wasn't eating or taking his milk,

frequently vomited and rarely wet his diaper.

The worst of it all was when I discovered that he was wheezing.

When we got to the hospital, Eka was diagnosed with Upper respiratory Infection

which could lead to bronchitis.

He was given the nebulizer and that was so heart wrenching for me.

To hear his pleading cries of "Mama no" broke my heart.

We were glad however that he was not warded.

He's much bette now.

Through all that pain, three more teeth appeared!

I saw another tooth popping out yesterday.

Oh my. Here we go again.

I got a new camera. Nothing fancy.

I grabbed it at the Audio House IT sale held at Suntec Convention Center.

The only reason I bought was because it was soo cheap. $129.

Besides, I need a new camera or Raya.

Don't wanna miss out on any of Eka's moments.

Also, we went to catch the fireworks at SIL's place.

We borrowed her access cards and went to the sky garden.

We could onyl go up the one on the 26th floor as the one on the 50th floor was only opened to those who were successful in their balloting exercise.

I went with the girls. It was exactly like last year's except that Kida wasn't able to join us

and Faz has a new BF.

I remember we were discussing names for Eka last year.

I was heavily pregnant then and was almost due.

That was also the first time Wandy met the girls.

I was very surprised that they got along very well.

One year on, and we've all become such great friends.

If it wasn't for Eka, I wouldn't even be talking to these girls.

And here are some of the photos from last year's NDP.

Well, we're now gearing up for Raya.

I must say though, the spring cleaning still has not been done.

When I moved in after marriage, some of my stuff had to be placed "here and there" temporary.

Five months on and they're still there.

With no proper space. Really have to get down to it.

Need to grab some shelves and storage organizers from IKEA.

I also need to convince Wandy to allow me to display my massive earrings and shoe collections.

I hope FIL gives us the 'grant'.

I'd really like a new bigger bed and for Eka to have his own bed/cot.

He's too big to sleep with us now.
And I'm tired of being kicked by Eka in the middle of the night.
Oh, you have nooo idea how much he rolls and move asleep.
Makes me wonder what's going on in that little head.

Fingers and toes are crossed!

sue flew @
10:08 AM

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Friday

Captain America

Guess what? Yesterday, Wandy and I went to catch the premier of Captain America.

While you ladies were either left alone or forced to join your partner catch the second league of the match between Singapore and Malaysia, I had the joy of watching the movie. In 3D no less.

We caught this one at GV Jurong Point after I ended work.

No la, not like date or anything. We just wanted to watch this movie.

Anyway, we had the GV gift card so we didn't have to pay for anything.

I think that it's a really great gift to give. It could be for someone's birthday, a thank you gift or whatever la. It's like the safest thing to give to someone,

especilly if you don't know them well enough.

You can purchase the gift card at GV's website or over the counter.

It can be used to pay movie tickets and snacks as well.

Neat huh?

I didn't really like the 3D glasses as it kept slipping off my nose.

So I had to sit still and not move too much.

I prefer the 3D glasses at Eng Wah Cinema. They have way much better glasses.

The sides are pretty thick and there's plenty of space between your eyes and the lenses.

So those wearing specs, no worries, you can wear them over your specs.

But the GV one, I was a bit disappointed la.

The movie was great!

Not quite awesome but on the verge of.

I guess there were some downs in the movie la.

There wasn't much showcase of Captain America's running ability.

Now if you watched Captain America when you were younger like I did, then you'll know that it's not just about his shield. He's super strong and fast.

Sadly the movie, didn't portray it to the full extension.

I said a few downs but actually, I think, that's the only one for me la.

My most favourite part was when Captain America threw his shield and, because it was in 3D, the shield came flying right at us. That was the climax for me.

I don't want to say much about the movie.

It's just been released and I don't want to spoil it for you guys.

Oh, just to add one more thing from the movie.

Howard Stark is in the movie. If you watched Ironman, you'll know who he is.

And you'll come to understand how Captain America and the Avengers(ironman is part of the Avengers) too. Basically, if you watched Captain America, Ironman, The Avengers when you were younger,

you'll fully understand how the whole thing links with each other.

Just to add also, heehe, if you read a lot of History books about WWII and Germany,

you'll see the mentions in the movie. I loved those parts.

I love finding facts about WWII that's not usually found in the common History books.

And so, some of it is mentioned in the movie.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving.)"

Grabbed a few of these pictures from Google.

They're still shots of the movie.

Steve Rogers before he became Captain America

After the transformation

The Red Skull leader, Schmidt. That thing he has in his hand is an important thing in the movie.

How did Schmidt become like this?

Watch the movie ok.

Guranteed best.

sue flew @
2:01 PM

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Wednesday

Amy Winehouse

I'm sure you've heard about it.

The sad passing of a truly remarkable singer, Amy Winehouse.

This post is a tribute to her.

Amy Jade Winehouse was born Sept. 14, 1983.

She was the youngest child of Mitch, a taxi driver and Janis, a pharmacist.

A young Amy reportedly sang so much

that teachers had problems keeping her quiet in school.

She was secretly signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002

Winehouse caught the music bug from her dad,

who loved singing around the house, especially Frank Sinatra tunes.

I think that explains why her music had a jazzy/blues and 50s-60s feel to it.

Producer Salaam Remi was introduced to Winehouse early in her career.

Frank, her debut album released in October 2003, was mainly produced by Remi.

Her follow-up album, Back to Black, was produced by Remi and Mark Ronson

and featured what would become her signature single, "Rehab."

Sadly, that same year, Winehouse's grandmother died.

Family members have said they believe the death is what triggered her drug addiction. Her Back to Black album picked up 5 grammys at the Grammy Awards.