3 Months and Counting

Yesterday we saw our little one at the doctor's. I am 12 1/2 weeks now, and Babe has grown much bigger since we last saw him at 8 weeks. He's 7.2cm long now! The doctor pointed out Babe's brain, eyes and chin to us, and even zoomed in so we could see one little foot! To see Babe moving around on the tv monitor was just amazing!! One minute he was lying face down, and the next, he was facing upwards. ( Doctor thinks Babe's a boy; I think so too!)

The doctor took Babe's neck measurements ( 1.5mm) and together with the results from my blood samples, which will only be out in a couple of days, I will know the risks for Down's Syndrome. Until then, I can only hope that everything is okay.

Physically, I am still the same ol' me except my once 24" waist is now 30". But because of my small bones and big frame, I hide the changes pretty well. That is, until you notice that I wear the same pair( the one and only pair that fits) of pants on my hips every single time. :-)

Mentally and emotionally, I think through my actions a lot more than before. I carefully read food labels before I purchase the items, and each time I take a drink/bite, I consider if whatever I am about to consume is safe for the baby.

The journey into Motherhood is an amazing process in itself. There are times when you are fraught with worry about how the pregnancy is progressing, and yet, there are also times when you experience feelings you have never felt before-- feelings of contentment and happiness like no other. You know life is never going to be the same again, but you are excited, and you can't wait!

Current Mood: excited

Nonya Ayam Sioh

Ayam Sioh



Ingredients:
- chicken wings

Marinate:
- shallots
- coriander powder
- dark soy sauce
- sugar
- salt
- assam juice
- white pepper

Current Mood: indescribable

Nonya Chap Chye

Nonya Chap Chye



Ingredients:
- garlic
- shallot
- preserved soy beans
- cabbage
- black fungus
- dried beancurd sheet
- dried mushrooms
- dried lily buds, knotted
- oyster sauce
- chicken stock

* i omitted tung hoon from the recipe because i couldn't find it at the asian supermarket

Current Mood: tired

Spicy and Sour Chicken Wings

One of my favourite dishes: Spicy and Sour Chicken Wings



Ingredients:
- chicken wings
- assam juice
- sugar
- lemon grass
- galangal
- limau purut
- ketchup

The rempah:
- garlic
- shallots
- dried chilli
- buah keras
- turmeric

Current Mood: full

Poor Richard's Cafe

We headed to the old part of town for some home-cooked American food.



Poor Richard's Cafe had been on my list of to-try for the longest time, but it was only today that we finally got a chance to visit this restaurant that started way back in 1973.

The restaurant was packed with old people ( a sign that the eatery serves up good food) when we got there at lunchtime. I was beyond excited because I'd read good reviews about the place.


picture taken at the end of our meal-- crowds were almost gone becos it was nearing closing time

I don't have to tell you how good the food was. Suffice to say that we should have come here a long time ago.



Current Mood: rejuvenated

Home-made Beef Rendang

It's been a really long time since we last had Malay food, and since we can't get any from the restaurants here, I thought I'd try making my own Beef Rendang.... entirely from scratch, I must add.

Ingredients:
a) beef cubes
b) lemon grass, sliced
c) coconut milk
d) limau purut

The rempah:
- shallots
- garlic
- ginger
- dried chillies
- fennel powder
- cumin powder

Seasoning:
- dark soy sauce
- sugar

The finished product:-




Current Mood: accomplished

Taste of Dallas 2007

We had a much better time at this year's event than we did the last time, although the weather was still way too hot for me.





Starbucks was giving out trial-sizes of their latest offering-- Raspberry Mocha Frappucino.



I must confess I took a little cup. ( Yifan had 3 cups!) With the sun beating down on us, the frappucino was just too hard to resist. My OB/GYN did say that it was alright to consume 1 cup of coffee a day, but still I felt a little guilty.



But I draw the line at eating hotdogs, or in this case, sausages.





The only couple who was still in the mood for dancing despite the heat.



What would I do without the fan blasting out cool air? I was starting to feel really uncomfortable and light-headed.



Thankfully, all's well, but I should really stay out of the sun in future.



Current Mood: sleepy

Help Is Never Too Far Away

After nearly 4 years of using the communal laundry facilities , we finally have a dryer to call our very own!

Going to the neighbourhood laundromat is starting to be a hassle these days, and since the baby is coming, we thought we'd save ourselves some effort, and get our own washer and dryer.

We got this ( and the washer that yifan will be picking up tomorrow) for peanuts. The only downside was that we had to find help to carry the machines up 3 floors to our apartment. Yesterday evening, we stood at the carpark for half an hour, waiting for our prey to appear. It came in the form of our 2nd-floor Mexican neighbour. Initially, we hadn't wanted to trouble him, cos firstly, we have never really spoken to each other, and secondly, he smelled so clean like he'd just taken a bath, we felt bad to make him sweat again. BUT we were desperate.

Thanks to him, the dryer is now standing nicely in our laundry room, although I do hope our neighbour didn't pull any muscle ( he's probably in his late-forties).

I don't know how we are going to get the washer up tomorrow since Yifan said that's much heavier than the dryer, but I do know that if I were my neighbour, I'd look out the window first before I decide to come out of the house tomorrow!

Current Mood:embarrassed

Independence Day

Independence Day 07 was a quiet day for us. We'd already done the requisite holiday shopping last Saturday, and instead of the traditional cook-out everyone does on holidays like this, we decided to go Indian.



Current Mood: peaceful