Our Saturday Favorite Menu

Almost every Saturday afternoon we eat a very simple lunch. It’s our favorite menu. We like it so much. Plain porridge and some canned foods! You just need to add a few small limes, small chili, and a little bit of sugar. And it will become very tasty. Yummy….
It’s very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
- Rice, to make the porridge
- 1 Canned peanuts (left)
- 1 Canned pickled lettuce (right)
- 2 Limes
- 3 Tablespoons of dried prawns (soak in the water for 15min, throw the water)
- 1 Teaspoons of salted soya bean (also known as Taucio)
- Few small chili, cut into small pieces
- Sugar

Method:
1. Cook the rice until it becomes the porridge.
2. Open the canned peanuts put on the small plate.
3. Open the canned pickled lettuce, put on the small plate, add 1 lime juice, small pieces of chili, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
4. Pound the dried prawns, put on the plates, add small pieces of chili, salted soya bean, 1tsp of sugar, and 1lime juice. And stir it.

Done! Isn’t it very simple?
You can do it in a short time, take the canned food, open, open, cut, cut, add, add. That’s all!
You can serve it together with fried egg or fried salted fish too.
If you like sour and spicy, I’m sure you will like this menu very much.

Birthday Surprise

Today is my birthday. Thank God that my pregnancy now is exactly 7months, he is very active and healthy inside me. Thank God for his protection.

This morning, I was waiting for my husband to wish me happy birthday.
Many SMS came in, but none of those SMS was from him.
In the afternoon, he called me but he didn’t wish me too.
I couldn’t wait already because until evening he still didn’t say anything.
So I remind him about my birthday.
“Dear, do you know today is my birthday?”
“Yes, of course I know.”
“Then, why you didn’t greet me?”
“Because, I want to give you a surprise....“

Do you know what his surprise meant? A surprise by didn’t greet me.
What a surprise!

Heartburn During Pregnancy

As my pregnancy is 26weeks, I start to feel heartburn. Before this, I was wondering what the heartburn feeling is like.

Last week, when I felt this feeling, I thought I have a gastric, but I feel funny because I just had my lunch 1hour before. So, I took some bread.

After I took some bread, I still feel the same, and I feel burning sensation around my neck and throat. It’s really not comfortable.

Then, I remember 3months ago my friend, who was pregnant about 26-28weeks told me that I will feel heartburn when my tummy grows bigger and bigger. And now, I think I experience it.

I searched in the internet what the symptoms are. And those symptoms are the same like what I feel. Heart burn is a painful or burning sensation in the esophagus, just below the breastbone usually associated with regurgitation of gastric acid. The pain often rises in the chest and may radiate to the neck, throat, or angle of the jaw.

Usually it happens during the third trimester. This typically results when the growing size of your uterus places increasing pressure on you intestines and stomach.

Here are some tips for minimizing the discomforts of heartburn during pregnancy:

• Eat smaller and more frequent meals
• Wait at least an hour after eating to sleep or lie down.
• Increase your water intake. At least 8 full glasses is the standard.
• Try mixing some honey with your milk.
• Eat plenty of yogurts. Aside from being delicious, it contains live cultures which can help restore the balance of ‘friendly’ bacteria in your stomach and intestines.
• Avoid spicy or fried food.
• Avoid highly acid fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, grapefruit and tomatoes.
• Avoid caffeine and carbonated beverages.
• Avoid wearing clothes that are too tight or that pinch at the waist.

Hope those tips can help you to reduce the heartburn you feel.

Portion Size or Serving Size?

If you want to shed weight, watch your food portion size.

The nutrition facts on the packaging tell you the serving size, while how much you eat at one time is your portion size. The serving size acts only as a standard guide, so what really matter is your portion size.

Take a packet of freshly baked buns, for example. The standard serving size is one bun, but the packet consists of four buns, equivalent to four serving sizes. If you consume all four buns, your calories, fat and other nutrients have quadrupled!

If you are a typical Malaysian whose eyes light up at every eat-all-you-can-buffet, you can be sure you will have a bigger waistline in no time! Portion does matter.

Test Your Typing Speed

60 words

Speedtest

Am I fast enough? 60words per minute.

With the speed test you can test your typing speed. Of course you will not get an 100% accurate result, but at least a clue where you are.

After the evaluation you can include your results in your blog or where ever you want, so your friends can see how fast you type.

Kitchen Cabinet Installation

First of all, we’d like to thank our brother Paul (Zhongyi), brother Esmond (Zhiyang) and sister Hock Kian for helping in the kitchen cabinet installation.

As you know, I have a big tummy, not convenient to squat down or sit on the floor. I can’t move around as gracefully as before.

Brother Paul is a very strong young man, he helped me to carry all 4sets of cabinets from the car, put on the trolley and pushed to our new house. They started to build the cabinet. Brother Esmond is a patient one, and sister Hock Kian gave so much support to them.

I bought 2types of cabinet, each 2sets. Many mistakes were made for the 1^st set (it took about 30minutes), but the 2^nd set they were very pro already, just took few minutes.

You see! They were very happy to get all done. Good job, guys!
(They said, next time if anybody wants to do installation can ask them. Just treat them their favourite meal. Hahaha….)

Joseph was working, so he couldn’t help. He was very happy when I told him that they help me so much.

Thanks for your time, energy, laugh and love. We’re grateful to have you as a very understanding and helpful brother and sister. God bless you…

Petrol Price Increase 40 Percent

Alas! Our car petrol tank is empty.
“I’ve told you yesterday to fill up the petrol!” I said to my husband.
“I didn’t expect that government increase the petrol price suddenly!”

These blaming conversations may happen yesterday. Wife will blame her husband, or a husband may blame his wife, if your petrol tank is empty.

Malaysia petrol price, up by 78cents by 5 June 2008. Increase 40% from RM1.92 to RM2.70/liter.

Many people became impatient, hot temper, while queuing for the petrol. I heard from the radio that other city in Malaysia; there were 3-4km long queue for the petrol. In Penang, 1km queue is long enough to make whole island traffic jam.

We quite peevish to see people pumped for few liters (below 10liters) and willing spent their time in such long queue.

Anyhow, petrol price increase means everything will increase soon. Hope petrol price won’t increase the crime.

Maternity Ward

Together with the antenatal group we had a short trip to visit Adventist Hospital Maternity Ward last week. It's quite interesting to see a group of big tummy wives accompanied by their husbands to have a visit the maternity ward.

I still remember when my school time, I did visit many places with a group of people, students and teachers. But that night was my first experience to walk together with the all big tummy pregnant women.

One of the nurses brought us to the labor and delivery room. Oh... it's quite scary. For me it's like a “torture” room, where I will feel a greatest suffer and painful while give birth my baby. I saw the special bed for deliver the baby and it made me feel weak and stomach ache.

I did share it with one of my friend, who is a new mother too. She said,” You will feel the greatest pain in your whole life, but by the time you see your baby, you will forget all the pain you feel.”

Will forget the pain so fast? Is it true??
I will tell you when I go through the labor and delivery in September.
One thing I believe for sure that God will strengthen me to go through this coming history in my life.