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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!

EPA, DHA and Omega-3 December 30, 2009

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

Okay, I admit I am kiasu.

But only when the health and wellbeing of my family is concerned. :)

And when I cook, I want to make sure that the food I put on the table is tasty as well as healthy.  It’s not that I go out of the way to buy organic stuff, but I try to cook with organic produce whenever possible.  So when I discovered that the organic store I go to carries *organic* fish too, I knew I had to try that out for myself, given the fact that I was having a really hard time sourcing for fresh fish to cook (read: fish from the supermarket didn’t taste fresh at all, and I don’t fancy buying from the wet market where the fishmonger yells, “Ah Moi, ikan murah!”) Besides, I had never before heard of organic fish, so this was something interesting.

Anyway, the organic store only had one kind of fish: the Jade Perch imported from Australia, and it was frozen-packed.  The label stated the fish is organically grown, and contained Omega-3, EPA and DHA (magic words for any mother).

 

I chose the smallest fish and it cost about RM16.

The store owner recommended that I steamed the fish with miso sauce; again, something which I have not tried before.  I chose the brown rice miso…my first time cooking with miso (supposedly very good for *neutralizing* harmful radiation effects of people who spend a lot of time in front of the computer!)

I made a simple, nothing-fancy steamed fish, and garnished with spring onions when done.  The result was a tasty dish, with smooth-flesh fish.  The miso lent a unique distinct flavor to the fish, a taste I was very pleased with.  I might try using miso as a chicken marinade one of these days too.

Anyway, this was what the steamed fish looked like before it ended up in our tummies:

I bought another fish today, and am now deciding if I should steam it the regular soy-sauce style or Thai curry style :)

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

Mini little tubs of wonder December 16, 2009

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : The Fairer Sex , comments closed

I got a package today from Body Bar.  It was a gift from entering one of the many giveaways from My Women Stuff a few weeks ago.

When I found out they were going to send me “a little something”, I didn’t know what it was, so I was an eager beaver today when I tore open the package.

 

Inside, I saw many many mini green tubs of Madara Regenerating Night Cream.  The note that accompanied by gift said that it was a whole month’s supply of this night cream!

I was thrilled!  Not only because I get to sample a new night cream, but because it was packed so adorably in small tubs that it would be perfect for packing in my cosmetics case while travelling…and THAT would definitely come in handy when we travel to Ipoh and Taiping for Christmas next week.

Thank you Body Bar!  I am definitely looking forward to softer, smoother and plumper skin! :)

Buttery blast from the past December 15, 2009

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

My good friend told me that Nancy Chong bakes the best butter cakes in Ipoh.  I had never heard of Nancy Chong before this, but I was curious to find out what the hooha was all about.

“Let your nose lead the way,” my friend had said after she gave me directions to get to the road Nancy Chong’s house is.

So when I was back in Ipoh during the recent Hari Raya Haji break, I stopped by to get some cake.

“No more extras today!” announced Nancy Chong curtly. 

Sadly, I left with only free smells of the butter cake and drool all over me.  Not even a single SLICE was available.

Until today.

My Mom came for a visit, so I specially requested Mom to get me one butter cake from Nancy Chong.  Turns out that my Mom actually KNOWS Nancy Chong personally, because she had ordered my first birthday cake and other birthday cakes from her before.

And suddenly, like the surprisingly heavenly whiff of freshly baked butter cake, it all came back to me.  The times when I was a little girl and I had followed my Mom to Nancy Chong’s house and had looked longingly at all the beautifully designed cakes, how the smell of her cakes had made me yearn for more…

 

And today, my Mom brought this cake all the way from Ipoh, colorful floral frosting and all.

Very sinful, temptingly sweet, but ooohhhhh so GOOD.

 

I call it a slice of marble butter cake heaven.  Now, now…stop licking the monitor will ya? :)

I have a feeling it will all be gone tomorrow…

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! :)

My latest Friday’s obsession November 15, 2009

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, The Fairer Sex, Thoughts & Scribblings , comments closed

 

I’ve always wondered why TGI Friday’s does not offer any special promotions on Fridays.  Anyways, when we came back from the States, we discovered that the 3-course meal had become a 2-course meal instead (maybe because most people cannot finish the entire 3 courses?)

I had stopped ordering the course meals since they removed the half ribs from the entrée selection, but the inclusion of the Southwest Adobo Chicken recently is making me rethink my decision.  Love the marinated herbs in it, love the sweet potato crips (shaped like fries actually) and love the hot hot Jalapeno sauce!  Lately the chicken was done a tad too dry though. 

However, I’d still recommend this choice to anyone ordering the 2-course meal.  I’m not complainin’..my kid loves this place, even though they don’t give out balloons anymore.

Oh by the way, did you notice that I chopped off my locks?  Had a concave bob done last Friday.  My iffiness about it disappeared when my tot exclaimed, “Mommy’s hair is BEEEYOOOOTEEEFOOL!!!!” :)