My brunch bento

Today and the week will be superb busy for me in school.  Preparing my students for English Carnival ~ training them for “Action song”.  This would filled up my free periods thru out the day.  Besides my normal teaching class, I need to look into my action song team.

As a result, decided to pre packed my own brunch box to school.  I believe it’s much healthier and also cost saving.  Yeah…$$$ saved.  There aren’t choices in the menu of my school canteen.  Nasi Lemak doesn’t sound too good for a 40 something woman.  After eating the same food for many years, I started to get sick of them.  Nasi lemak, fried noodles…argh…..

So this morning, I made a brunch box for myself and also for Ah Boy.  I started to prepare the raw ingredients the night before.  After all, most of the ingredients are leftovers from last dinner.  Rice, fried tofu & anchovies. 

In the morning, I just have to fried the rice (minus msg, soy sauce) and made some eggs (bulls eyes).  Cut some cucumber slices and tomatoes. 

Taaadaaaa…as easy as A-B-C. 

Packed them in a tinfin and off to school.  The rice would remain warm in this special tin fin for at least 1-2 hours, no need to reheat whatsoever.   

Of course, I could only prepare simple food, as I'm not really good in cooking. Fried rice is the easiest as it doesn’t need too much prepare it. Simple food yet delicious….!

Today's brunch box



How about you? Do you like to prepare your own food and bring them to work? Or you'll prefer going out for lunch everyday?

Maths Fun

Fun with numbers....

Ah Boy having fun being  fisherman fishing for figure fish.  He has to get the answer, look for right fish and hook it up using a small tiny magnetic rod.  Ain't easy.  He has got to calculate the answers manually
Running against the time limit.  When everything done at a limited time, with much pressure...it sure force oneself to excel.  Under enormous pressure, things get done better...true ?


When things can done under pressure with time limit, under constant demands and extreme situations, children tend to fair better.  Ah Boy was practically grasping for air when doing that activity, as though there wasn't enough time to solve the mathematical problems.  The wantings of winning the game was the priority that made him work hard.  In fact, it made him more productive @ working hard to catch more fishes..!!


Learn things under stress....


Many a time....when we all must deal with deadlines, people making demands of us, and emergency situations. When under pressure, we feel as though there's never enough time to get things done. In fact, we may even become less productive because of worrying about all the work we have to do.  We handle stress and perform under pressure that make the top performers stand out above the rest. 


At the end of the day, Ah Boy did enjoy the game.   That's was utmost matter. 

Red or Blue

Indulged in some shopping spree which awaiting for Ah Boy to explore the Maths Carnival last Sunday.  Initially, supposed to window shop but...errr....."super sales, great sales, slashed prices...." So damn tempting...saliva drooling..

Indecisive mind...can't decide which colour..?  Red or blue.  Kinda liken both.  In the end, I bought both.  Save the hassle of picking either...! Luckily it's on sales 50%....! 
When back home, I tried on them again.  But think that they were way too childish for this 30 something aunty.  Hmmmm....can I wear them out..?  Aiyoyo...That's what I mean by "blind purchase" syndrome.  Buy bought purchase....then fill up the wardrobe and never wear them.  Accumulating volume in my closet.  Have to control that bad habit of impulse buying N little planning during shopping. 

Fun & Ah Boy

This is a post dated entry.  Browse through my camera and found a few snaps shots & video clips.  Thought they may be interesting to write about it. 

It was end of the st semester break.  [head shaking...] One week just flew passed like lightning, before you realised, it's over.  How fast...huh

Ah Boy needed his break, therefore took him to a Mathematics Fair organised by Petronas Science Centre.  It was held at Aeon shopping complex on Sunday @ 20 March.  Ah Boy participated in the Maths Monkey activity.  With a group of 10 children aged 8-10, he played a game related to numbers and figures.  Seemed to enjoyed himself though.  My main intention was to expose him to activities that help to build up him self esteem & confidence.  Wanna make him able to stand out in public, be bold, be brave and able to express himself well. 

Apart from the Maths Monkey activity, Ah Boy also went around to explore the various exhibition booth.  Theme~ Maths.

Kinda fun and educational way to kill time.  He enjoyed himself there.  While Ah Boy was there, mummy sneaked away to do some shopping.  Killed 2 birds with a stone, of sort.  Mummy went on to spend some shopping time menawhile Ah Boy had his own enjoyment.  

My Income Tax

Press ENTER~ mission accomplished.

Phew...just completed filling in my LHDNM eforms online.  Spent almost an hour key-in those details.  Need to be extra careful as I could only do it once.  Was struggling to find ways to lessen my deductions.  Just don't wanna missed out on any tax relief.  Every single cents counts !! Also need to tally with my proof of receipts and bills whatever....!  Arranged them in proper, clipped them...

Relief of purchasing books, sport items, PTPTN, broadband, insurances, .........everything must put it.  'Cari jalan kurang potong' 

Kinda like this e-forms.  Makes life easier as it will automatically calculate for you.  Put aside the calculator....  everything being programmed.  The entire process was much quickier and faster.... 

Although the dateline is still a month away but I think it's good that I do it earlier so that I needn't have to rush at the very last minute.  It would surely be snail crawling then when everyone rush to log in.  Don't wanna be in the same predicament like last year....almost screwed up!  Now I'm all done.

Another mission completed.  Sipping my a cup of warm milk before retiring to bed.

Monday blues brighten up by Solivite

Monday blues...not in the mood to get back to school.  Need some time to return to that working momentum. 

But anyway, this morning, the students in my school had the opportunity to witness a roadshow sponsored by Fonterra Brands (Msia) Sdn Bhd.  Several young promoters set up the LCD and PA system.  Thumb up to these youngters.  They were rather efficient as they managed to set up the displayboard and screen in split seconds.  Very organised. 
They played a video clip of the goodness of friendly bacteria and it’s beneficial to human body.

Naturally their gimmick to promote their product through young targets @ young victims like my students..the innocents young consumers. 

Their promotional strategy was the Solivite mascot which made his appearance on stage to appeal the target audience @ the young students.  Mr. Solivite danced to the rhythm of the music by shaking his body.  As a results, the children went haywired and started to scream hysterically upon seeing the mascot on stage. 

Mr Solivite - the mascot

[it's no fun business being inside this costume.  Imagine the exessive heat and the discomfort, try put youself in his shoes...]

The highlight of da day was the free distribution of Solivite drink to each and every child.  Happiness was drawn on their faces.   They enjoyed the drink of varied flavors.  A perfect gift to start the first day of achool after the holidays....

 A bit chaotic at that moment but the discipline master was able to settle down the rowdiness...

Horray...The free drink for all residents of ths school

Word Building for X-minded

Last day of the week break...arggg time flies.  So fast last day already.  So heavy lah to return to schol tomorrow.
While surfing, I found this which I think it's good to share.  Quizzes...

1. A four letter word which ends with 'K'.  It means intercourse. 
2. Cow has four of it but woman has only two.
3. It's in every Malaysian gentleman's trousers, approximately 5.5 inches long, has a head on it and every women love so much that they often blow it.  
4. A word that begins with 'F' and ends with 'U C K' .
5. What does a dog do that you can step on into ?
6. A four letter word that starts with 'F' and ends with 'K'.  If unavailable, one can substitute with their hands.
7. It's hard, has two nuts, 6 inches long and usually makes a woman puts on weight?
8. Name five words which are each four letters long, ends with 'U-N-T'.  One of them is a word for woman. 

Hello, filter your brain, stop thinking dirty.  Mind you, none of the answers are obscene.  




















Answers


1)  talk

2)  legs

3)  RM50 note

4)  Firetruck

 5)  pants

6)  fork

7)  Almond Chocolate Bar

8)  hunt, bunt, runt, punt, aunt

Adulterous Scrabble

We stumbled acrossed a treasure trove of adult-themed game called "Adulterous Scrabble". 

Begs to differ....the board game was pretty fun in a way.  So lovey as we try to out run each other.  Overwhelming array of dirty words...like wet pussy, masturbate, fingering, hand cannon, fireshots, penis, asshole........a list full more which I do not have space to share in this post.

Didn't expect to come up with the many terms where most of the time it's a taboo language.  We laughed so much during the game.  It was indeed a smart way to exchange thoughts , recommended for new couples to know each other better.  In fact, old couples also can play this game to rekindle relationship, keep flame burning.  Titillating

We spent about an hour on the game.....and what happen next..........
Ringgggggg goes the alarm.  It's time to fetch Ah Boy from his class.  Had a quickie shower 'together' and then will be heading off for grocery shopping and dinner. 

Sekian Terima Kasih....

Board Game 4 Bored Couple

Raining dogs and cats outside which makes staying home the best choice.  A meal of baguette from Tesco Xtra  and also my left over hardrock bread dipped into piping hot creamy Campbell mushroom soup (canned food).  Blissed ! 

Imprisonment due to the weather.....hmmmmm how to kill time ?  Ah Boy was away at Art class.  Now, just the two of us left.  Hold on......don't let your imagination run wild.    I know what you're thinking right now.  Notty you..
Staying home, playing board game with Him might just be the perfect way to keep sparks alive....[wink wink].  What have you been thinking earlier ya..?

I got that Scrabble set out from the closet.  The package was covered by half an inch of dust.  Wow...haven't use it for centuries !!!

SCRABBLE...huh..??  Not the building vocabulary kinda thing.  Guess, we already have a reasonable amount of wordlist embedded in our brain by now. 

So why SCRABBLE ?  Don't you think it's a boring game for a 40 something adult ?  Well, we diverged a lil bit by playing a game of adultery.  The catch ~ only dirty adult words are allowed.  Hmmm...a great way to pick up "adultuterous" semantics to use in the bedroom.  Spells fun wasn't that !!!  So welcome on board ~talking dirty and construction of  'dirty language'.  Hmmmm are we getting ourselves 'high N horny' with these full 'sexual vocabulary' which was once upon a time a taboo to most people. 

We spent about an hour on the game.....and what happen next...........

Ann's Raisin Bread

Good morning.  What could be better than waking up to the aroma of warm baked bread ?  Blissed.

I'm the proud owner of this breadmaker machine since three or four years ago.  Never made full use of it due to laziness. 

Out of the blue, I began to have this urge to bake some bread this day.  Bought all the neccesary baking products like High Protein Flour [RM8.10] which can be divided into two session.  The neccesities like yeast [RM0.80] and bread improver [RM1.60] can be used several times coz only a small quantity needed eah time.  Other items are butter, salt and sugar.  Have some CNY left over raisins, so decided to dump them in.  

The night before @ 11pm, I measured carefully and placed all ingredients into bread machine pan.  Waited for it to kneed the dough on it's own for a good 20 mins.  Then add raisins at the beeping sound of the Raisin/Nut signal 10 minutes before the last kneading cycle ends.  After that, I could go to bed leaving the duty to the machine from waiting period  (expansion of da dough) to baking.  I could sleep peacefully knowingly that my faithful breadmaker could give perfect job.  

Nice aroma of the freshly baked loaf filled the netire house.  So sweet....!  So refreshing.  Just found out this info courtesy of  wiki.answer.com

How does the smell come along ?  The molecules of the bread want to spread throughout the entire premise because it would be too crowded in one area. This process is called diffusion.   

I removed the bread onto a stainless steel plate,allowing it to cool down.  It'll be alot more easier to slice when cool.  But I simply can't resist to taste it.  Hot bun, the crisp...yummy.  Overall, the bread was not so successful but it taste okay.  Spreading butter onto it or simply eat it just the way it was.


The process in photo sequence.


The dough...can you spot the raisins..?

The faithful breadmaker -kneading the dough



Dough awaiting to rise

The hot bread sitting inside the baking pan

The bread -a bit out of shape

Thumb up to please mummy

Taste good with peanut butter

Left a small portion for Him....



Ann Asam Fish

After a thorough rest, I spent the day in the comfort of home.  Decided to reactivate my kitchen N stove.  Did some bargaining N shopping at the market.  Noticed lots of ikan kembung (our local mackerel), must be cheap coz in abundance.  They looked fresh too.  The first thing ran into my mind, how about laksa ?  Nah...Ah Boy doesn't fancy laksa.  How about Asam Pedas..?  Good idea.  Bought half kilo of it @ approx. 10 pcs.  Next, I need the secret ingredient @ cili giling of such.  A special makeshift stall offers good cili giling.  You name it, she has them all...from curry kapitan to nyonya paste.  Bought the necessary ingredients like lemon grass stalks, bunga kantan (torch ginger) and daun kesum (knotweed or Vietnamese mint) and daun pudina (menthol mint).  Love these leaves, the aroma they emit into the gravy.  The pineapple cubes add sweetness to the gravy. Add a lil bit of lime juice, salt to taste.

Budget ingredients ~ all the raw materials cost me about RM 9.20 (can cook two meals)
Fish=RM5, Chilly and leaves stalks 3.70.  Lime RM 0.50, Morris Pineapple (left overs bought from from Tesco Xtra)

Hmmmm....at times, it's more economical to cook at home, the hygienic guaranteed, the nutrition intact and taste of course delicious and 100% MSG free. 

Headed home to dissect the fish, cleanse with salt.  Off into the fridge for evening.  Simple procedure.  In a lil bit of oil, saute the chilly giling till the aroma emerge.  Add in the lemon grass and daun kesum.  Add water.  Leave it at low heat.  Add in the fish, bring it to boil.  Lastly, add some lime juice (substitute it with asam juice coz my gastritis doesn't allows with asam jawa).  Garnish with menthol mint and sliced bunga kantan.  Served immediately.  The gravy is best eaten pipping hot.  So is the fish, when cold it has fishy odour. 

Everyone gave a thumb up to my Asam Pedas Mackerel. 
Although the pictures don't look appetising but in real they do.  However, there's room for improvement in the near future. 

The product

The Individual serving.

Below are the bahan-bahan masakan.  I used only a small amount coz I only cooking for 3 person.  The quantity are just about half of the things I bought.  There's a need to improve on the technique of cooking.  The first attempt usually don't taste as good as the second N so forth.      



Morris Pineapple

Serai Stalk

Daun Pudina (for garnishing)

Daun Kesum (for aroma)

Bunga Kantan

 Chilly paste (special secret ingredient)

Dear Ah Pa

Today marks the 5th anniversary of dear Ah Pa's passing,

I lost Ah Pa, my super hero, my best friend five years ago,

Not many knows how it feels to lose someone dear
It's ain't easy to go through grief and pain,
I know exactly how that feels,
And how it feels to live in the rain,
I remember like it was yesterday,
How I stood by Ah Pa's side,
All I did was cry,
I knew I couldn’t help him,
I couldn’t fix his pain,
I wanted to help Ah Pa,
But there's nothing I could do,

Today, Ah Pa is no longer with us
It was hard but it was true,
No matter what happens,
He'll always be loved,

He'll remain alive in my heart.

Ah Pa & me in 1991

 

Worthwhile Fatigue

Having fun two days in a row...now I'm feeling the after effect of all the moveabout activities.  Feeling fatigue and tired.  My skin, the sunburnt is getting from bad to worst.  My facial skin are highly affected by the UV ray.  The skin are starting to peel out and it's pretty unsightly, it feels rough like a pangolin.  Slept the entire Monday afternoon after returning from school (extra class).  Had a light lunch of toast, Omega half boiled eggs and milk.  Ah Boy's mum went to dreamland instead of Mars.  No Martians kidnap her.  She's safely tugged in bed under her comforter. 

  

Movie

The three of us went for a movie last night.  A Disney production entitled “Mars need Mom” ..  [click here to watch but reminder it's the spoiler]

This movie is a Sci-Fic , computer-animated kinda movie.  Guess..the last time, I watched a Computer animated movie was Toy Story 2 or was it Transformer !!  Hmm…am really outdated in this kind of genre.  Am not a fan or follower of the latest hits on the silver screen.  No time to catch up with the fast moving trend.  Lost touch with the youngters thingy….!!

Life begins at 40…that’s the reason why we’re back into this fun.  Gotta bring the generation gap closer to Ah Boy.  Moreover, we don’t wanna be so left behind.  Of course, we wouldn't want Ah Boy to label us as outdated or old fashioned.  As a result, we decided to follow the wind, blend into the youngters' mind.  Ain’t no “katak under the coconut shell”.  So what wrong.with ‘auncle & aunty holding hands walking down the aisle of the cineplex”..?  Munching popcorns and slurping Coke.  No weirdo, no funny!  Uncle aunty just wanna have fun too.  Haha…..

We loved the movie esp Ah Boy.  We watched the movie with full attention.  If the producer could have reduce some of  the action moves and chaos.. …too noisy for a fussy viewer like yours truly.  The noisy bing bang and explosion…not soothing to my ears.  Also no good for my pair of eardrums. LOL….

First time watching a 3D movie.  The characters sometimes moved close to my face as if they's coming right into you.  So real yet imagination..or simply the effect of dimentional views.  Pretty intrigued. The specs..initially was a bit uncomfortable with it.  Looking a bit awkward wearing two glasses.  (Luckily the entire place was dark and the room wasn’t packed..no one sitting nearby)  I wore the 3D specs over my normal specs.  My eyesight was really bad that I need to wear it all the time. Shy….

On the other hand, Ah boy looked handsome on his specs.      

Back to the story line.  Hmmm…Don’t intend to be a spoiler.  More info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Needs_Moms

One our way home, while in the car…kept reminding Ah Boy to imagine losing his mummy dear to the Martians.  What if the Martians really do come tonight to kidnap his mummy ?  How’s he gonna survive without mummy? 

All these questions were actually meant for Ah Boy to appreciate dear mummy for her sacrifices.  Hmmmm….deep inside, I just wanted him to remember and cherish me when I’m old and immobile (hopefully NOT) when old….Ahhhhh.. not anticipating my golden years but can’t run away from it..rite !!!! 

There’s a strong message in that movie

Kudos to it’s producer ~ Simon Wells. 

    

Another spoiler here.  Click ....

Sunburnt

We wished to take a dip at water theme park to celebrate the start of the 1st term holidays.  Where to..?  Tambun Lost World, Bukit Merah or The Carnival SP ?  After much discussion among us, Ah Boy suggested Bukit Merah, giving the reason ~ nearest. 

Today, we spent half a day at Bukit Merah Laketown Water Theme Park.  We drove down south, pull over at Jawi for a sumptious Dim Sum. 

Reached destination around 11am.  Changed into proper attire and off we got ourselves WET.  Fun..exciting ..indulging ourselves in the many activities.   

The weather was quite humid around noon.  The sun shoned mercilessly at us.  Basking under the scorching sun for good 4 hours has a price to pay !  My skin especially on my cheeks and arms are burnt.  They're reddish now and it may turn into some ugly tan in a couple of days.  Could feel the inflammation sensation on my skin now.   OUCH..

Although I did apply a generous amount of sunblock b4 getting into the water but my skin still burnt!!  Regretted for neglecting my skin. I did not take any precaution like long sleeves shirt with my swimming suit or have a straw hat covering my head......!  My face looked like tomatoes....sigh...!!!!  I had taken my skin for granted today.  Hopefully, my skin doesn't peel off like a snake tomorrow. 

As a home remedy, I applied lots of aloe vera gel (pure, natural) from my lil garden.  It soothes the discomfort on my skin. 
Also did the same for Ah Boy and Him.

Did not take any photos as it's inconvenient to bring camera at the pool. 

2 Minute Mee

Many a times, I need to resort to this MSG infested thingy because it's the simplest, quickest and best of all..hassle free.  Back from school at 4pm- too late for lunch but too early for dinner.  Such hour, it's difficult to get chicken rice (fresh ones) and neither do they offer nice economy rice.  I don't fancy char kway teow or any other mee at the nearest hawker centre.  Forget about McD and KFC.  Therefore, the best I could get was Ann's secret ingredient noodles.  

The many version of my 2 minute noodle.....




With lots of tomatoes

With mixed veggie

With spinach, tomatoes and onions

With egg, tomatoes, cabbage

Women's Day

8 March @ today is International Women's Day.  Paying special tribute to all female beings all over the globe..!!!  Including yours truly.  Women as a daughter, as a mother, as a grandmother, as a daughter in law......many roles rolled into one. 

Him suprised me with a digital camera.  He wanted me to capture all our happy memories with it.  Therefore, from today onwards, this Sony Digital camera will be replacing my handphone and carries out it's duty in capturing all my beautiful moments !!!  Bidding goodbye to my ol faithful handphone whom had dilligently assisted in my photo taking chore.  Thank you...dear.  Such a thoughful gesture....appreciated that.  Love you...muahhhhh !

Better high tech camera for my photoblogging...

New toy for Ann

                                                                       

                                                                        

Goodbye to ol toy.  Ceased it's camera duty from now on.

To all females @ old or young, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunties, makcik, ........

HAPPY WOMENS' DAY.