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Why I need a new Washer March 3, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home , 3comments

washer

My current washer, though it does its job well washing my laundry, has been going floozy these few weeks.

Anyone has any experience with a washer and dryer in one?  Is that better than a separate dryer?  Because of space constraints, I would prefer the former, but I would love some honest opinions.

Hunting down the bedspread February 1, 2010

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home , comments closed

 

What started out as a plan to get a new set of bedsheets and quilt cover from Gurney Plaza in less than half an hour turned into an adventure that ate up a huge portion of our day instead.

After looking at all the quilt cover designs in Aussino, only one design was okayed by both hubby and me.  And after we felt the difference between cotton, polyester cotton and cotton sateen, we knew we definitely had to get that design in cotton sateen.  Could not imagine NOT sleeping on it, ever.  It was just perfect.  Matched our curtains, our walls, our personality…

Unfortunately though, they didn’t have it in KING size…. bummer.   And after a phone call, we discovered only the branch in Sunway Carnival Mall on the mainland had it.

Deciding to go and get it that day itself, with the “It’s now or never” attitude, we set out.  Not knowing that we would eventually end up in the *wrong* mall.  No GPS and wrong directions from someone led us to Aeon Seberang Prai instead.

We finally reached Sunway Carnival Mall and got what we wanted.  And even managed to put in an entry for a contest the mall was running.

Wow…the things we would do just to get the coveted quilt cover.  At least there’s an interesting story behind it. :)

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!

The Santa Claus question December 28, 2009

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

 
Photo credits

We visited the mall on the 23rd of December, doing our last minute Christmas shopping.  It just so happened that we bumped into the mall Santa Claus while we were there, and he gave some candy to Ethan.

When I was a little girl, I learnt about Santa and how he gives kids presents depending on how good they had been throughout the year.  Every Christmas eve, I wondered if Santa would present me with what I hoped for, whether or not I had made the mark.

Actually I don’t even remember how I learnt that there’s no Santa.

Funnily enough, now I don’t really tell my kids about Santa Claus.  They know exactly who gave them the Christmas gifts.

But you know, if ever any kid were to *find out* about Santa, I found a perfect answer in a little something special I received from Proactive Parenting.  It’s a beautiful letter from a mother to a daughter, and I’d like to share it with you here.

I hope your Christmas was as meaningful as mine was.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Here’s the feature from Proactive Parenting:

*****

Martha Brockenbrough’s daughter, Lucy, has figured out the truth. That has left her mother grappling with how to explain that belief and wonder don’t have to end with this news.

Brockenbrough writes about parenting on the Web site cozi.com, and recently she posted a letter that she wrote to Lucy, trying to make sense of Santa.
She and the producers of the cozi.com Web site have given me permission to run the whole letter here:

Dear Lucy,
Thank you for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”
I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.
The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.
I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)
I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the Christmas magic stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.
This won’t make you Santa, though.
Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.
It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.
Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.
With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.
So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.
I love you and I always will.
Mama

Those unchanging things December 4, 2009

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

Some things just never change.

Like how crowded the popular ngah choy kai stalls in Ipoh are, most patrons being out-of-towners stopping by for a quick bite.

Like how crunchy and succulent the ngah choy in Ipoh still is.  And always will be.  We were afraid we could not finish such a big plate, but that obviously was not the problem at all!

 

Like how tasty the chicken is, although we could very well tell it was extremely oily!  The combination of sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper and (I’m pretty darn sure) some secret magic ingredient made it all so worthwhile.

And as I mentioned earlier, some things will never ever change, and that is why my (unbiased) opinion is that Ipoh still serves the BESTEST koay teow ever.

Yes, some things just never change, and we love them all for their neverchangingness. But even more precious than the tastiest food in the world, the feeling of pride and joy when in the midst of a newborn will always remain unchanged too.

Last weekend, I met baby Caitlynn, newborn daughter to my brother and SIL.  The sight of a peacefully sleeping baby, oblivious to all the noise made by her brother and sibling, is truly a sight to behold.

Welcome to the world, baby Caitlynn!  I hope to be the your favoritest aunt in the whole wide world! :)

Oh, and speaking of things that never change, the malls in KL were all decked out in Christmas decorations too, as usual.  We were at The Curve and well, if you were not snapping pictures, you’ll really feel out of place!

Speaking of which…I need to go now,…cuz tonight we are setting up our tree! :)

The ultimate giddy ear test November 11, 2009

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

Our fridge is *decorated* with lots of magnets on its exterior, and one of these is a set of Fridge Phonics which Ethan loves to play with.  What this Fridge Phonics set does is sing a song corresponding to a particular alphabet together with it’s phonetical sound.

A couple of days ago, Ethan was playing with it, when he suddenly exclaimed, “Oh NO!!  Something’s wrong Mommy, look!”

Apparently the U was NOT pronounced as “U”.  I tried it myself and agreed with him.  The “U” sounded like “N” now.

We then reported this to my hubby, and demonstrated it to him.

Upon the first listen, hubbs looks at me strangely and said, “No…there’s nothing wrong with it.  It says “U”!”

I repeated the process over and over again, but still we held differing opinions, … till now.  I think there is something wrong, but hubbs thinks something is wrong with me, or rather, my hearing.

So what to do?  I got proof….here’s the video clip of what the “U” sounds like.  Please, tell me what you hear so that we can decide who needs to go for an ear checkup.

Out with red & in with red November 8, 2009

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home , comments closed

…nope, nothing to do with Liverpool there :P

Last week, we received the new vacuum cleaner we had redeemed with our Citibank Rewards points.  Not really because we liked how it looked, but because our old trusted vacuum cleaner of 10 over years was emitting a weird smell.  Funnily enough, the smell is no longer there, but still, it still feels safer to get a new vacuum cleaner.

This is our old friend: the Electrolux Bolero.  We’d been through thick and thin together, and it has kept our floors clean for years.  You will surely be missed.

 

It was totally unplanned that the new vacuum cleaner was also a red-colored one: the Panasonic Turbo Twist.  It’s way way louder than the Bolero, but slightly lighter in weight.

This would have to do now, while I sit on my wish to have an iRobot Roomba® and Scooba® :)

Saw the Roomba® in action yesterday and I am definitely impressed!

Knit knit here, purl purl there November 2, 2009

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

After two quick lessons with my knitting teacher (the first was an introductory one, after which I destroyed the whole project and had to redo, and the 2nd lesson, I was given homework to practice first lest I destroy the nice yarn I brought back from US), days and hours of knitting and purling whenever I found some free time on my hands, sometimes having to unravel hours of hard work, putting up with the knitting needles poking me here and there, and viewing knitting videos online over and over again, I think I have the confidence to start on my maiden knitting project.

Here’s the practice homework I have been working on:

 

Well…I have run out of practice yarn now, and I just viewed and tried the casting off method on the internet last night and now I am ready to start on my new project :)

Little cups of choc heaven October 30, 2009

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

I decided to make cupcakes today.  Chocolate cupcakes, to be exact.  Just thought it’d be nice to have something sweet around, and also because it would be a good project for my tot and I to embark on together. 

 

Oh, and the timing would be just perfect too, because chocolate cupcakes would be absolutely LOVELY to celebrate a fifth wedding anniversary :)

I saw this delightfully delicious chocolate cupcake recipe from Love and Olive Oil, and I knew I immediately must try it.  I was intrigued by the idea that the recipe calls for coconut milk and almond meal, and also that it did not contain any eggs!

The result is a sinfully moist, too-good-to-be-true yummy, and once-you-pop-you-can’t-stop kind of chocolate cupcakes that is (dare I say myself) hard to resist!  I made 24 mini cupcakes and 9 regular-sized cupcakes, but honestly, I prefer the mini ones.   They are just too convenient to eat! (but NOT very good for the waistline, I’m afraid!)

Love the vanilla-based frosting too.  I don’t know where to find vanilla beans here in Malaysia, so I substituted it with vanilla essence.  This is my maiden attempt at making frosting, and I am pleased to say that I am VERY happy with the results.  Might wanna jazz it up a bit with some colors in future…

At the end of it, I have a strong feeling this will ALSO be my go-to chocolate cake recipe.   Love it, love it, LURVE it!

Oh, and before I forget…Happy Anniversary, my Love!!! :)