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When Ipad was launched and everyone was seen carrying it around, I never really understood the craze about it.

Now I am what you call a techie noob. Same goes with my husband. I don’t care much for gadgets, and neither do they care for me. I also don’t understand the fuss about having the latest phone and so forth. I might admire it for a while and wish I had one but I can never bring myself to splurge that much on a tool that might get lost/stolen or be completely under utilized due to my noob-ness, heh. So when most of the time people talk about the latest gadget or parade their latest ‘canggih’ phones I completely blank out hide my crappy phone and just equate their love for gadgets akin to my love for bags ? Except I think my love for bags is a cheaper hobby than theirs, ahem.

Now I am no fan of getting my child addicted to such gadgets either. I think its plain bad when kids are shoved with their parents Ipad when they go to the malls. I”ve seen it countless of times. My child however is your old school kinda brat who ENJOYS going to the bookstore. I kid you not, the immense happiness she gets walking in a bookstore is beyond me. She loves flipping through books and when we go to the store she says ‘Gimme gimme book’! Too cute. There was one time we took her to Borders and she almost cried when the cashier took her book away to key it into the system. I wont have any complains if she turns out to be a little book worm coz I remember finishing up a thick novel in just one day!! I was soo into my book that nothing else mattered. That’s the power of a good book.

Book courtesy of Aunty Dhash

While I’m glad my daughter enjoys picking up and holding a book, I also know we need to keep up with times. Besides, some apps for children are actually quite beneficial and would be a good tool for her. Of course limiting her time on it is also quite essential – so mom and dad can hog it

Which is why when my hubby’s uncle made us an offer, we just couldn’t resist!!

He had purchased the new Ipad 32GB from the US for his colleague only to be told his colleague wanted the 64GB instead.

So, being the generous person that he is, he gave my husband a discount and sold it for RM1.5k!!! A good price we think.

So now we are proud owners of the new Ipad 3 although the husband was acting like a little boy by warning me not to hog it to myself. He got further irritated when I told him I wanted to buy a HOT PINK cover for it. After MUCH negotiations, he settled for the red one

To date its mostly filled with a few games for mommie and alot of kiddie LEARNING apps for Sairah. Some of the learning materials are actually quite good and the little one seems attentive so far, repeating words and learning about animals. For the past 1.5 weeks I”ve spent teaching her these things and she has since picked up more words. She can say mommy’s ipad now too and actually work it better than her noob daddy! Her favorite so far is this Elmo teaching tool and of course Pocoyo series!! That kid just LOVES her Pocoyo cartoon with her favorite character being Pato, the duck. Though a few months ago it was Eli the Elephant. Kids!

Dear lord / daddy thank you for this Ipad! I can now have access to Pocoyo whenever I want!

That said, we’re limiting the use of the Ipad only to home usage. And it doesn’t help that every time mommy buys an app, daddy would receive notifications from the Bank that something was charged to his credit card. Meh. But oh wells, I’ve been blaming it on his daughter’s apps thus far so we’ll see how long this can carry on….coz daddy seems very generous when it comes to his baby girl. Don’t they all?

I feel like blogging about Orang Utans today!!

The real kind by the way, not the ones we call our husband’s people behind their backs, tee hee The husband was pretty keen on visting the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre when we were in Kuching. Of course it was too good to resist telling him it’s nice of him to think and visit his people even on a trip. To which that smart ass said if they are my relative, they are yours too……..then the smart alec in me responded by saying………only by virtue of marrying you!!

Story of our married life.

Anyhos, getting there took us a little longer as we started our journey after buying those sweet sweet delicious layer cake. It was a 40km drive, approx 40 minutes drive or so. Can’t say the drive here was a scenic one, I was just  glad the little terror was fast asleep allowing me to continously taunt the husband about visiting his people

We got there around 3pm. I had no intentions of following the trail coz I heard it can get very hot and after our experience of being drenched in sweat at the Cultural Village, I was bent on not going through the same again! Besides this place actually closes at 4pm.

We had just got down from the car when all of a sudden, people were gathering near the car park when I turned to see this gorgeous sight.

A real up-close and personal photo :D  Can officially say I saw Orang Utans without following the stupid trail and sweating like a pig. God must love me sometime.

Excuse the I just got out of bed face and hair.

Nen nen time…

Eww ma, someone’s breastfeeding openly in public! I can see titties….the horror…

Wait mom, if the orang utan can have nen nen in public, can I have the same too?? We’re just about the same species aren’t we?

I’m coming to get those titties, har har

All of a sudden she breaks out in a little dance, in the middle of the car park with the orang utans behind her.

One little two little three macarena…

Starting to look like a chicken dance already! Btw super heart her outfit, makes her look like a big girl, that is until she breaks out in a dance in public!

Piggie back ride, a familiar scene at home sometimes with the husband acting as the horsey. But now that I know Orang Utans carry their youngs that way, I’m going to call him that in the future. This trip was indeed educational

A closer look

Try to spot the Orang Utans in this photo…and no am not refering to those two on the left.

No nen nen in public but she finally got her milk in bottle form

Duck face in Kuching Speaking of which, there are no ducks in Kuching, not even in the river.

Now that we’ve got to see these Orang Utans, am thinking of shelving our Sandakan trip in October. Coz there’s only so much Orang Utans you can surround yourself with Besides, would you believe I only paid RM30 for two for flight? Heh. Wonder when is the next BIG Air Asia sale.

Last month I went shopping!! And that is MAJOR news because it’s been YEARS since I physically stepped into a store to buy clothes. You know, the process of physically picking out the items with my bare hands and going to the changing room to try it as opposed to online shopping that is

Now that I do every month without fail, you know one two tops here and there just because a click of a button and having the damn top sent to your door step is easier than going to a physical store esp when you have a brat tagging along

I actually needed clothes for work. I haven’t really shopped for work clothes since getting pregnant, so you can imagine the state of my current work clothes – old, tattered and just so horrendous. They are at least 2.5 years old, LOL. I’m not lying when I say I am the least fashionable person on my floor. Not that I care but still…..and yes I am amazed at how I can not give a damn about the way I look at work anymore. Helps that I only have 2 colleagues in my tiny office.

I was in dire need of work pants and some tops to go with it. So I headed to Jusco in MV one fine day and shopped till I drop. And it helped that when I went to the cashier I was more than thrilled to know that ALL my items had a further 20% discount coz of the sale that was going on. I wasn’t even aware of that! Major score.

I ended up with 7 tops and 5 pants all for about RM520. So that’s equivalent to RM43 per item. Savy shopper much? But more importantly, I managed to find MY size which was a blessing *gives thanks to the shopping goddess up there*.

Here’s just some of my loot: I find myself loving colors thesedays

And then of course I also went trigger happy with more tops on Ebay UK and bought 9 tops *jumps in glee* And 5 more tops from a personal shopper’s service which I shall reveal once my parcel arrives Total damage under RM500 I think but who’s counting anyway….

But here’s one good reason why you should shop on Ebay UK. It’s super cheap! You get clothes in sizes that will fit you if you’re taller than the average Malaysian/have boobs and if you’re sick and tired of picking up something nice only to be told they only come in size XS and S in our local stores. Besides, I really do find some clothes here not generous enough to accomodate the bust and hip area – a common problem if you’re Indian, ahem. Or maybe it’s just my problem.

If you’re like me and have no qualms in buying pre-loved clothes (this top was only worn once by previous owner) you will be able to get tops as low as 0.99 pounds. Which was the amount I paid for this! With shipping, I paid only RM25 for this Arrived within 5 days at that.

Attempting to do a Karen Cheng, haha, sorry, I’m just bad at it.

George is a brand I quite love and as this was a bid item, inclusive shipping, I paid RM75. This is brand new of course

I also got another George floral blouse that I got for 4.99 pounds. Inclusive shipping – grand total of RM47

A color block Marks & Spencer brand new blouse for 3.49 pounds. Shipping was a few cents more expensive than the top. Grand total of RM37 only .

And because the top above was actually one size bigger than what I usually get (what to do, gotta hide those fats sometimes ya know), I saw the same M&S blouse in this color and fell in love with it. Total inclusive shipping – RM42.5. This was worn once but suprisingly the brand new top above was actually cheaper. Retail price for both tops in M&S store is 20 pounds. Hah!

I”ve also realized once a upon a time where I used to favor the tightest top before someone’s arrival, I”m more than happy to settle for anything loose and conservative thesedays

Now you know why I’m literally quite married to Ebay UK. It’s just freaking awesome. Better than Ebay US though I source for my bags on Ebay US. It’s very addictive I tell you, you can surf for hours and just fall with every single piece and tell yourself how affordable they actually are! Helps that I find clothes from the UK higher in quality too.

Meanwhile I am putting myself on a shopping ban!! Seriously NO MORE clothes for the year…….until I lose weight first. Which is not likely to happen anytime soon so which means I”ll be on a shopping ban for quite some time.

My little one was having a bad round of fever and flu on Thursday. My parents as usual were kind enough to take her to see her pe-ad on Friday morning – the necessary medications were given and the doctor had advised to be wary of public places since hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is on a rampage, again.

So you can imagine how cranky and clingy she was for those past few days. Even taking a shower was a chore for me since she was continuously crying out for me. Then on Saturday morning, as I was changing her napkin, I noticed bumps around her legs and arms. I panicked and yelled out to my husband, thinking it was that dreaded HFMD.

We rushed to the clinic nearby and were told it was just an allergy reaction, probably from the fever or one of the meds the doctor gave her to treat her sore throat. I was extremely relieved to hear this but of course, it saddens me to see those ugly bumps around her

In all that panic and rushing to see the doctor, it was then I realized the state I was in – oversized baggy t-shirt that was wet from my hair, ugly ethnic pants which I got from Vietnam (to my defense they are crazy comfy), wet knotted uncombed hair, makeup less bare face, and the mother of all no nos – unshaved legs!!! Swear I got a look of disapproval by one of the girls waiting to see the doc – probably thought I was Sairah’s maid.

I was literally quite the sight. Even my sister texted to ask if I killed anyone with my looks.

Look at what I’ve become, I told the husband. And attempting to be funny he said, look on the bright side, at least you remembered to wear your bra in the midst of that mad dash.

Did I care about the way I looked? No, coz all that mattered at that point was my girl and off we went to get her fav Moo Cow yogurt as a little treat

The way we sacrifices the way we look (among others too of course), for someone far more important than ourselves, makes me think.

Woo I made Japanese. Korokee if you must. Which if you ask me is pretty much a fusion dish mimicking the French/Spanish croquette. Probably was created in recent times because I almost don’t remember seeing this in Narita during my trip yonks ago.

Either way it’s a great dish because it’s one of those dishes meant for weekday cooking. You know, where you can make it on a weekend, freeze it and then just cook them buggers on a working day. Very easy, convenient and minimum cleaning up to do after.

I don’t always cook on weekdays but when I do, it turns out awesome!

Hah, that should be my tagline for weekday cooking, okay kidding. But I have to say cooking on a weekday is indeed a rarity on my part!

Here’s the recipe:

4 russet potatoes
Tray of minced chicken
1 large white onion
2 eggs
Panko
Flour
Black pepper & Garlic salt
A dash of soya sauce & Worchester sauce. (I added this on my own, just for extra flavor).

As simple as the ingredients look, it does take some effort in preparing it.

Instructions:

In a large pot, boil potatoes until soft. Put them in a large bowl and mash it down while adding some butter, black pepper & garlic salt.

In a pan, fry onions and then sauté the minced chicken. Add in some black pepper, a dash of soya sauce and worhester sauce.

In the bowl containing the mash potatoes, add in cooked minced chicken and mix them. Add in more black pepper.

When mixture is warm shape them into ball shape. The recipe calls for putting this in a fridge for 10-15 minutes before you coat it. You can do that if you have time (I’m assuming it’s to hold the potato + meat better) but if you don’t, no biggie.

Dredge each ball into flour, egg and then in panko. It’s a tedious process but well worth it!

Now FREEZE! Or if you want to cook it then and there, so be it

When you’re ready to cook them on a weekday, let it thaw and deep fry it in a pan.

Transfer your Korokee balls into a paper towel to absorb the oil.

This is how they should look as they thaw

And here’s the end results Looks just like the ones you can find in Jusco don’t ya think, ahem

Also, my deep frying skills suck. I can get Panko covered stuff cooked beautifully the first two batches and then after, it goes down hill like so:

But iz okay, it was still pretty good. I gave the husband the nicer looking ones and sacrified myself by eating the ugly batch. Such a good Indian wife I am.

You can eat it with Tonkatsu sauce on its own. I couldn’t find the Tonkatsu sauce it in Jusco coz it was all out so we used chili sauce instead and it was lovely. And if you prefer rice, you could always sauté up rice with soya sauce and egg and eat it with this I reckon. I”m going to try to stuff some cheese in there next time and see how that one turns up. Even the baby refused her soup with rice and ate this instead.

So now it’s a shame I can cook Japanese better than I cook Indian. Hah. But in all honestly, I”m not much of a Japanese food fan except for sushi with tuna bits. How about you guys?

P.s: Anyone looking out for a good afternoon tea set, do check this one out for Delicious All hail the group-discount queen