The crawfish extravaganza June 23, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 4comments 
Hubbs and I went for a splendid lunch buffet last week, where I tasted crawfish for the very first time! They look like prawns, don’t they? Tastewise, it’s somewhere between that of a prawn and a crab.
This is how people eat crawfish:
- Remove the head of the crawfish.
- Press gently on its body through the shell and massage it, to ensure the meat is dislodged from it’s hard exterior.
- Bite on a small portion of the body, and with one swift deft motion, slide the meat out from its shell with your teeth.
And this is how I did it:
- Remove the head of the crawfish.
- Take apart part of the head still stuck on the body.
- Proceed to massage the body as instructed,
- Bite a small portion, and pull gently.
- When the meat did not budge, massage a little bit more. Hands are all dripping with the juice of the crawfish now.
- Try biting and pulling again. Didn’t work.
- Use fingers to peel off the shell from the body.
- Remove the piece of crawfish meat and put into mouth.
- Wipe fingers clean.
Anyway, why is a crawfish called a crawfish? It’s not a fish…
Why don’t they call it a crawshrimp or crawprawn? Eh?
My retail misses and kisses June 17, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : The Fairer Sex , 9commentsJust when it’s only about a month away that we will be back in Malaysia, I see this sign in the mall which is just a mere 15 minutes’ drive away.
Oh great.
*Now* the Coach outlet is gonna make a grand opening in this nearby mall? In August?!!! … when I would have already left for Malaysia?!!
Maybe it’s for the better anyway. For the better of my purse, that’s for sure! 
Anyhow, I did get a chance to indulge in some shoe shopping at Macy’s Summer Sale just yesterday. Got myself a pair of FitFlops and a pair of Easy Spirit heeled sandals for 20% off! Each was $49.99 before discount.
Been wanting a pair of these FitFlops for some time now, because I had read that wearing these would help to tone the legs, butt and thighs! Not that I’m gonna abandon the gym for good, but it’s a nice thought that I am still giving my legs a good workout whenever I ain’t conventionally exercising. Dunno if this is a gimmick or not, so don’t hold it against me if it doesn’t work, okay? Anyway, it feels REALLY comfy, and my little boy says it looks good on me. That’s good enough reason for me!
And as for the pair of Easy Spirit shoes, hubby says it looks good…and he hardly ever says that for shoes. Plus I love the way it hugs my feet.
I think it’s time I got myself a pedicure eh?
Yippeee deee dooo ai-aye! June 5, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Thoughts & Scribblings , 11comments 
Hurrah! After two months of being *without a Malaysian identity*, these came via Fedex today. After two months of worrying if our original documents would arrive safely and on time, I must say I am thoroughly impressed with the Malaysian Consulate in LA for keeping their word.
Serious packing for home will commence soon.
The crowd and the crowded May 29, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : The Fairer Sex, Thoughts & Scribblings , 7comments 
This was the very long queue outside the Coach factory outlet on the Saturday of last weekend’s memorial day sale.
This is what happens when you move around a crowded Coach outlet pushing a stroller and at the same time wearing your baby in a sling:
- People coming up to you and saying, “Awwww…what a cute baby!” and “Hi sweetie! Oh, she’s asleep!”, and other things to that effect.
- Sales personnel approaching you and asking if you need help finding anything.
- People making way for you despite the first-come-first-grab bargains.
And this is what happens immediately after you pass your sleeping infant to your hubby and walk around the crowded store on your own:
- Nobody makes any eye contact. Everyone’s busy checking out bags.
- No sales personnel asks you if you need anything. If you want a shopping bag to put your loot in, you gotta ask. In my case, I asked but there weren’t any available then, so I walked around till I saw a lady about to store those bags away, and I asked her if I could have one.
- You gotta say “Excuse me” pretty loudly before people move aside for you.
Doesn’t really matter either way, as long as you get yourself a sweet bargain, yes? Oh yeah, if you were wondering, there was an additional 10% off everything that day.
A lil’ bitty stitch at a time May 28, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home , 6commentsYesterday afternoon, the door bell went “ding dong” and when I answered the door, I found a brown parcel addressed to me placed in front of the door. On it were the words “Fragile. Do Not Bend”. I’d already knew what it contained before I opened it, because I had been waiting for it for several days now.
Truth is, I have been yearning to be able to crochet beautiful stuff like wool longies, shorties and skirties for my kids, and maybe something nice for myself too…
I’m hoping this kit will help me learn the basics.
So yesterday, I browsed through the instructions, and referred to an easy-to-follow tutorial online, and so far, I am pleased to say I have learnt the single crochet stitch! Not bad, huh, for someone who has to learn crochet in between doing other things like caring for baby and housework?
Here’s my somewhat small and pathetic achievement thus far…I know it’s nothing yet, but I am very proud of myself
I am SO tackling the double crochet stitch today, if the situation permits…
Oops! It’s the error again May 27, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Blogging , 7comments
Why is it so hard to access my blogs? Is anyone facing the same problem?
I am getting these error messages so frequently, it is increasingly frustrating even to just moderate my comments or login to publish a post. I have to refresh and refresh countless times before I get to my destination. By the time the “Write Post” page loads up, sonetimes I can’t even remember what I had wanted to post.
I’ve tried changing browsers, defragmenting my PC, closing other programs, but the problem is still there!
Is it just me or is everyone else seeing this issue? Pray tell…
I’m hangin’ in there, babe May 22, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Parenting & Motherhood , 2comments 
I found 10 minutes yesterday evening and managed to flip through an adorable little book which my good gal pal Audrey presented to me recently (thanks Aud!). It’s called The Wit and Wisdom of Mothers. While I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful pictures of animals in the book, the accompanying (witty) phrases sure did strike a chord within me as well.
So how do you think I have been coping with my current job as home project manager aka SAHM? I would think I am doing pretty okay. All it takes is some practice, some time and a whole lot of patience obtaining certain skillsets I like to call the “Mommy Multitasking Skills”:
These include, among others, the ability to:
- Do as many things as possible while breastfeeding, such as typing on the keyboard of the computer, eating lunch/dinner, reading a story to your other kid etc.
- Talk to your elder child and prevent him from any mishaps while changing/bathing your younger child.
- Cook for your family while making sure your younger child, who can’t eat regular adult food yet, is fed and contented too. Someday I’d like to master the art of breastfeeding and cooking at the same time LOL
- Carry 2 kids simultaneously (cannot be done very often)
- Have lunch while doing laundry
- Know when to take a shower while baby is taking a nap, at the same time rinse some cloth diapers in the washroom, oh and before that put some chicken vegetable soup to boil, so a few proverbial birds are killed with one stone. Must be done in perfect timing before baby wakes up.
- …oh, and let’s not forget the ability to try as much as possible to keep all my blogs alive and prevent mold and mildew from making them their home.
As you can see, my life now is never with a dull moment, and I foresee even more exciting things happening in the near future!
My colorful, magical beans May 21, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 5commentsLook ma, these are my magic beans!!
I got these from Safeway upon the recommendation from my son’s daycaregiver. The beans are labeled “12 beans for soup”. Don’t they look colorful?
Boiled them in the pot for a while, and then right before serving, I brought the soup to a boil, added sliced tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper (if I were blogging this from Malaysia, I’d say “capsicum”), chopped scallions and some salt to taste. Then I sprinkled some Italian seasoning.
The result is a colorful-looking soup which we had for dinner last night. It’s perfectly healthy and it’s great for vegetarians too. Hubby didn’t really like it though, but I did
So no…I didn’t check if the beans would grow into a giant beanstalk, but they sure make a splendid soup! Now I wonder if I can get these from Malaysia…
I’m now an aunt to a niece May 19, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate , 2comments 
Scrap Credits
Choukette Designs - Sugary Summer QP freebie from Biancka
Bohemia Alphas from Sweet Blossom Designs
Welcome to the world Phoebe!
BIL and SIL embraced parenthood on May 18th as baby Phoebe came into their lives. Congratulations to them both! I can’t wait to meet my niece.
Let’s get the grill on, babe May 12, 2009
Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , 10comments
When I was a little girl, Kentucky Fried Chicken were novelty meals. The aroma of the fried chicken was heavenly and familiar and it meant some finger-lickin’ goodness was in store.
Last Friday, I tasted Kentucky Grilled Chicken for the first time. Yup, not FRIED but GRILLED. The telly has been screening these ads for so many weeks now, and there was only so much I could do to restrain myself from trying this *healthier* option.
In a bid to lure health-conscious consumers back into KFC (incidentally I learnt that it became KFC because the word FRIED in Kentucky FRIED Chicken needed to be dropped), KGC was introduced after two years of testing. The selling point is that it contains less calories, less fat and less sodium than its *fried* predecessor.
Original Recipe Chicken (varies per piece):
110-370 calories
7-21 g fat
290-1050 mg sodium
New Kentucky Grilled Chicken (varies per piece):
70-180 calories
4-9 g fat
160-440 mg sodium
(obviously the Hot and Spicy variety we have in Malaysia will have MANY MANY more calories, fat and sodium than the OR ones)
The verdict? Well, I must say that I was slightly taken aback by how tiny the KGC pieces were. It was almost as if free-range chicken were used! I have never seend such minute chicken pieces in the US! Tastewise, it did not have that fragrant OOMPH KFC always exudes, but it was definitely palatable. Because it’s grilled, you don’t get that crispy skin though…but it FELT healthier. However, if you’re talking *grilled* chicken, give me Nando’s anytime! Hehe…
The set meal I had contained 2 pieces of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, and instead of the bun we have in Malaysia, the set comes with a flaky crumbly buttermilk biscuit, which I absolutely LURVE!
I am not sure if KGC has come to Malaysian shores yet, but I would say it may not be a big hit there, given that people are more inclined to fall back on the comforting reassuring KFC they know and love. Sure, they’ll try KGC one time at least, but Malaysian tastebuds would probably prefer the fried option.
Have I made your tummies rumble yet?
Little Miracles
Our Journey of Love
