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Dishing out the cuttlefish January 21, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , comments closed

 

Let’s face it.  If I even have the remote-est chance of hosting a Chinese New Year reunion dinner in my home in the future, I had better learn how to cook Jiu Hoo Char, a very popular palatable Hokkien delicacy, that is never missing from any Hokkien household during Chinese New Year reunion dinner.  The fried cuttlefish dish that has shreds of carrot and turnip in it, is both visually appealing and tasty too, especially when wrapped with fresh lettuce leaves

Lately, hubby has been asking (more like *daring*) me to see if I can create this favorite dish.  It looked simple enough, although I have never cooked it before.  I had been forewarned that the preparation time would be way more tedious than the cooking itself.

So yesterday, I decided to give it a shot.  I had grated the carrots and turnip (bangkuang) the night before, so that saved me a lot of time.  I soaked the dried cuttlefish (jiu hoo) in balsamic vinegar for about 20 minutes before squeezing it dry.  And just as Hannah drifted off for her afternoon siesta, I quickly prepared the dish.

Not bad for a novice like myself, I would say.  Hubby gave his approval for it.

And when I was busy taking a picture of the dish, Ethan asked, “Mommy, you bought this?” :)

That certainly made my day. 

CUTEST BABY OF THE PLANET 2009 – FINALIST January 19, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Hannah , comments closed

 

Woohooo!!!  My little Hannah has been shortlisted as one of the 20 finalists for the Cutest Baby of the Planet 2009 contest.

So what does she have to do as a finalist, you ask?  Nothing, except be cute and look adorable at all times…not too difficult for her, I would say!

But it’s the Mommy who has a list of things to complete now. :)  

Mom Bloggers Planet, the contest organizer has come up with a few *challenges* for us to perform, and all in a matter of just THREE days!  Hehe…hope I ace those challenges :)

What is the meaning of your baby’s name?

I’ve actually *answered* this question before but it was done in my kids’ blog.  So I’m just gonna copy and paste the answer here now.

When we found out we were gonna have a baby girl, we had already pretty much decided on the name Hannah.  I have loved the name Hannah since I was a schoolgirl, and it was only apt that I name my daughter as such.  We definitely wanted a Biblical name and one that is meaningful both for us and for her.  And we also wanted a name that’s not too common.  That’s why we chose Hannah, which means Favored (or Favored by God), or Grace.    In Biblical context, Hannah was one of the wives of Elkanah, and she was blessed with six children, one of whom was Samuel, the glorious warrior and judge of Israel.

With the Christened name decided, it was time for the harder part: deciding on a Chinese name. 

Thanks to the internet, while we were in the US, I contacted a friend of mine in Penang to ask her hubby to help me ascertain a good number of strokes for Hannah’s Chinese name, based on her birth year, surname and also Mommy and Daddy’s birth year.  This friend of mine was also the one who helped calculate the number of strokes suitable for Ethan’s Chinese name. 

She then came back with the results, which stated that based on Pete’s surname, Chua (蔡Cài), there were 4 stroke combinations that would be a good match for the 2nd and 3rd Chinese character for Hannah’s name:

So off to the drawing board we went.  Referring to some Chinese name books we had brought along, we wanted a name that had the water radical or water element in it.  I used the internet to list out the various combinations that would sound good and mean good, meeting all the criteria we had set out, and then we gave the list to another friend of ours in Santa Clara to help us decide or recommend.  After a few tweaks here and there, we arrived at a name that we all thought would be perfect for our baby girl.

We chose the name Xi Ling (Xǐ Ling:  禧泠), which is a combination of 17 + 8 strokes.  Xǐ (禧) meant Joy and Ling (泠), which also contained the water radical, carried the meaning “sound of the water flowing“; and together, Xi Ling (Xǐ Ling: 禧泠) means Joy Overflowing, which Hannah is living up to really well, seeing what a happy little baby she is! :)

So Hannah’s full name is Hannah Chua Xi Ling (蔡 禧 泠 ~ Cài Xǐ Ling), carrying the meaning of Favored by God and Full of Grace, with Overflowing Joy.  Isn’t that a pretty name for a pretty baby? :)

What is ONE of the most memorable moment about your baby since she/he was born until now?

There are many memorable moments for Hannah, but I would say that the one that takes the cake was the very first time she called me Mommy.  It was more like “Mameh!” but still….it would be something I would remember for all time.

Short positive TESTIMONIAL about MomBloggersPlanet

Although I just stumbled on MomBloggersPlanet just a few weeks back, I can tell that it is a very good portal for all parents.  The articles are mostly personal opinions from parents and provide a good sharing platform for not just moms but also dads out there.  Somehow, it is very reassuring to find other people going through the same experience as you are, and you know it’s a great site when you find yourself going, “Hmmmm….yeah, that’s true” and nodding along as you read through.

Definitely a must-visit site for new parents, parents-to-be and also for parents who profess to be experts (because we all learn something new everyday!)

Lil’ Hannah’s shortlisted! January 14, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Hannah , comments closed

 

A lovely surprise greeted me this morning when I visited the Mom Bloggers Planet blog.

Our little Hannah has been shortlisted as one of the 20 finalists for the Cutest Baby of the Planet Contest 2009!  Woohooo!!!!!

The organizer says that there will be some tasks to be performed next week, but I am not sure what yet.  Nevertheless, I am very proud of my little angel.

Please don’t pinch her cheeks, okay? :)

The really ultimate carrot cake January 13, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking , comments closed

 

At the mere mention of carrot cake, most Penangites would verily point you to a certain famous bakery here (whose name I will not mention).  I have tasted the carrot cake there before, and while I do enjoy its moist-NESS and taste overall, there is just something missing from it.  I just didn’t know what.

And then just last year, I tasted the Carrot Brownie from another *secret* shop in Penang, and it was served with delicious cream cheese frosting.  Now if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I will melt faster than butter in a pan if you give me anything with cream cheese in it.  The brownie was very good, but because of it being a brownie, it lacked a little in terms of moist-NESS.

So when I stumbled on the Ultimate Carrot Cake recipe, I decided to give it a try to see how ultimate ULTIMATE really was.  Besides, it was a failproof way to get my toddler to eat carrots! :)

And it doesn’t just contain walnuts; the cake is jampacked with walnuts, raisins and pineapples too!

The whole process of making and baking the cake (including prep time) took me about 2 hours, minus the time taken to make the cream cheese frosting.  I baked the cake in the morning and allowed it to cool down.  I only made the cream cheese frosting at night after the kids had gone to bed.

For my first attempt at something I would call a HEALTHY cake, it was very moist, just the way I like it; PLUS the frosting complemented the cake in the best way possible.  Ethan only wanted the frosting part, but I managed to sneak in the cake for him too!  I have leftover frosting in the fridge too, so that might *encourage* him to eat more!

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and so I was certainly very pleased when hubby declared it was VERY good. :)

In God’s faithfulness January 10, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Christianity, Thoughts & Scribblings , comments closed

We were in church yesterday, where policemen were standing guard outside the church premises, protecting the churchgoers against any untoward incidences.

In these times, it is distressful to note that the immature actions by a handful of people can cause disharmony and fear in our nation.  I am not one to judge easily, but yesterday as I lay in bed thinking of what has happened during the first week of the new decade, I still could not, for the life of me, understand what the big hooha was all about.

When we should all be united and strive for oneness in this land, we are unfortunately torn apart by petty words and selfish actions.

It is sad and disheartening that text messages are being spread like wildfire asking us to remove Christian-related articles from our car, lest our cars be smashed.  It is even sadder that we are also asked to remove the cross pendants some of us are wearing.

“All in the name of safety.”

In times like these, when we are all being tested, we should remain calm, be true to ourselves and keep the Lord God at our side, remembering Him at all times.  Acting irrationally will only make matters worse.

In times like these, I fall on the unending faithfulness of our Lord God to see us through.

My brother shared a beautiful song on his blog on Sunday, a song that that I have really grown to love.  I’d like to share it here too.  It’s a beautiful song that praises God’s faithfulness, that I hope you’ll enjoy.

 Allah Yang Setia

Allah Yang Setia

(Songwriters : Jonathan Prawira & Joseph S Djafar (Music); Vocals: Franky Sihombing)

YESUS, KAU TELAH MEMULAI
S’GALA YANG BAIK DALAMKU
ENGKAU MENJADIKANKU
SERUPA GAMBARAN-MU
DAN BERHARGA DI MATA-MU

YESUS, KAU TELAH MEMULAI
KARYA YANG MULIA DALAMKU
KAU BERIKAN HIDUP-MU
S’BAGAI GANTI DOSAKU
KAR’NA KASIH-MU PADAKU

REFF:
S’KARANG KUMEMUJI-MU
ALLAH YANG SETIA
YANG TAK PERNAH MENINGGALKAN
PERBUATAN TANGAN-MU

S’KARANG KUMENYEMBAH-MU
ALLAH YANG MULIA
SEMPURNAKAN SEG’NAP HIDUPKU
AGAR INDAH BAGI-MU

Cutest Baby of the Planet 2009 January 7, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Hannah , comments closed

 

No no…we haven’t won yet, but we certainly hope to! :)

Some people (my Mom especially) has been asking me to submit Hannah’s photo for baby contests.  Unfortunately, I have not come across any thus far. 

…Up until last week actually.

I stumbled on the Cutest Baby of the Planet 2009 contest organized by Mom Bloggers Planet and I was thrilled that I still could make it for the submission before the dateline.  The problem was finding the right picture.  And also finding the time to publish a blog entry…

So after some deliberation and discussion (because we are only allowed to submit ONE photo), I decided on the one above.  Simply because when I look at it, it definitely is my little darling HANNAH, and it puts a smile on my face :)

Belated but made with love January 5, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting & Motherhood , comments closed

I’m not the supermommy people claim I am.

My goal of knitting a little something for my kids kept shifting, but still I was determined to complete what I had started.

I began knitting a pair of babylegs/leg warmers for Hannah (with my Mom *correcting* some parts of the earlier stage) and planned on completing them before the wedding dinner party we were gonna attend in early December, but I only had one side of the babylegs ready then.

Still I persevered.  For Christmas, I told myself.  Amidst late night knitting sessions, and daytime knitting sessions, knitting in rounds with 4 nickel-plated double-pointed needles, where my little toddler would periodically volunteer to *hold your yarn, Mommy* and spin it around and around, I continued my project to fruition.

And about a week before Christmas, I finished the pair of babylegs for Hannah. :)

Then Ethan goes, “That’s for Hannah?” and gave me a puppydog look that would melt the stones in anyone’s heart.

I knew I had to make him something too.

So I decided on a pair of toddler tube socks.  I didn’t want to work on *turning the heel* for a pair of conventional socks and opted for tube socks instead.  These would fit any size too.

I knitted, and I knitted, along the way, I learnt how to do decreases too. 

Two days before Christmas I finished one side of the socks, and frantically started on the other side.

Unfortunately though, no amount of late night knitting would help me finish on time.  But I still continued after Christmas….for New Year, I said.

January the 1st came and went, but still the socks weren’t ready. :(

And only on the 4th day of the New Year, I finally cut the yarn and weaved them through the stitches, and heaved a sigh of satisfaction.

I did it. 

They’re belated presents for my kids, but they were both made with love.

Joyous hope for New Year January 3, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , comments closed

 

Surely kickstarting the New Year with a delicious dim sum brunch with my family is a sign of good things to come.  I don’t need to read all the predictions and fortune teller articles to know that a great exciting year lies ahead.

2009 was an awesome year as it is, definitely raising the bar as to what is constituted as a GREAT year, but still, there’s always room for more.

As we watched the fireworks from the comfortable balcony in our home as the clock struck midnight (Ethan going, “Wow, fireworks!”…yup, they were so loud they woke him up), we are just so happy that we have each other.  And as we toast our little cups of Jasmine tea over dim sum, and satisfy our tummies with good food, we look forward to a year of hope, joy and togetherness.

Happy New Year 2010 everyone!