Dreamy Creamy

Smoked pork and enoki linguini carbonara ala Hubs. The best carbonara I've had in a while. Creamy, eggy and cheesy but not oily. Yum! Don't mind if we have this again this weekend but first have to get the smoked pork from Ipoh.

Educating Nat

Mum bought Nat a set of flashcards last week and here we are, taking her through a 5-card session. Although they normally do not require a response from the child, Nat started mimicking us (or rather, trying her darndest to) so we encouraged her on by clapping and cheering. She still babbles on in her own language although of late I've noticed she's more inclined to repeat words after me. More often than not, her enunciation is not all that clear. But it is cute.

Hubby and I have been careful to not overdo the flashcards at the risk of boring her. How we're going to get through 120 cards before that happens is beyond me.

Spice girl

What can I say? My daughter has definitely inherited her parents' obsession for a certain berry called chilli. She was content just dipping her fork into the chilli sauce and licking it while we feasted on wonderfully succulent roast pork from Simee market. The area surrounding her lips turned red eventually but she seemed hardly affected by the pungent taste.

Despite her dietary limitations (no wheat, cow's milk or milk products, soy, eggs & nuts) due to her eczema, I'm so thankful that Nat's quite adventurous with food. To the extent of enjoying something as decidedly haute cuisine as avocado with creamed roe on rice crackers. Okay, who am I kidding? Adventurous is not the word, she's plain greedy! That girl eats anything! At any time! Which makes me worry incessantly about whether she will have a life-long battle with weight (again, just like her parents). But who am I to deny a growing child of nutrition?

My only consolation is that she's also extremely active. She dances, runs around the house and climbs up and down chairs non-stop during the day. The only time she's still and quiet is when she's sleeping.

Platypus to the rescue!

Half-filled on the left, rolled-up on the right

Finally got my Platys yesterday. Ordered them through Li, my eco-friendly products supplier turned friend (do check out her cool website).

For as long as I can remember, I've been re-using those PET soft drink bottles to store my drinking water for school and now work. Even after reading all those emails about how we shouldn't re-use them as repeated washing will cause the chemicals to break down and leach into our drinking water, which by the way is unfounded according to some research I did. I guess they've always been the convenient option since they're light (as opposed to glass bottles), dispense water easily (like pour straight into the mouth) and do not leak.

So yeah, I suppose you could say this was an unnecessary purchase but I love the fact that they're collapsible hence can even pop them into my handbag and tote one around. Also, they're 100% BPA (Bisphenol A)-free and can last for years, according to Li.

Picnic in the park

We'd been trying to organise a picnic in the park for a long time so when mum was in town three Sundays ago, it was an opportune time to have one.

Hubby arranged for the food (Makcik Sham's heavenly nasi lemak and bihun goreng) and I did the rest. We'd told everyone that we were having a picnic so that Nat could play in the shallow stream but truthfully, it was also a nice excuse to gorge out on the sambal sotong. Yum!

We arrived at 10am but this was the best spot we could find.

It was under a tree but soon the suns rays penetrated the less-than-dense foliage and mum's a big Puteri Lilin. Luckily for her, another group left so we quickly took over their shadier spot just next to the stream.

Nat was so engrossed that she wouldn't even look up to smile at the camera.

Splish-splashing through the stream

That's the wrong end up, my dear....

Papa & uncles resting

We packed up shortly after noon. Nat was so contented yet exhausted that she left without a fight. On the whole, a great morning out. Will definitely plan for more outings like these. Anyone else like to join in?

N.B. Nice photos with black borders courtesy of Uncle Jules.

Smile....

No, it's not a new-fangled boomerang with fuzzy ends. It's my toothbrush, silly!

Friends of mine who have been on trips with me or stayed at my house may have noticed before this fantastic contraption on my bathroom sink counter. It's called the Zowin Double-head toothbrush. Don't laugh... it may look like something out of "Aliens" but it's won several international awards for innovation.

Was introduced to it 8 years ago and I've not gone back to normal toothbrushes since. It cleans even those hard-to-reach areas effortlessly. My dentist was amazed that I had not had a check-up in 8 years and yet my teeth were hardly stained.

My family usually orders in bulk and I get my stock from them but it's unfortunate that they're seldom sold in conventional retail outlets. I just hope they'll stay in production for as long as I have my set of teeth.