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Friday, December 25, 2009

Homemade Fishcakes!!! (Mummy's entry)

I still try to cook for Claire when I have the time and energy, but I must admit I've grown a lot lazier from last time when I used to prepare 3 meals a day for her. Recently, my meals for her have been restricted to pasta with white sauce, bolognese pasta, stir-fried pasta... partly due to her pickiness with food, though I know pasta ain't always the healthiest meal! But it gets really discouraging after a while when you spend hours preparing something, only to have her take one bite and reject it. Lately I've had a conscience attack, so I dug out my cookery books and looked for something healthy again (as well as something I was reasonably sure she would eat), and the result was this:

Homemade (with love) fishcakes...

... Accompanied by Dolmio's Mushroom and herb sauce which we both love

Doesn't look appetizing, but tasted surprisingly good! Coz I adapted it from a recipe and I was not exactly accurate with the ingredient portions, the mixture did not stick together as well as I thought it should. Or maybe it was because I made them too thin as I was worried they wouldn't cook through, so they broke apart quite easily when I was picking them up to place in the frying pan.
Anyway, here are the ingredients I used:
portion of salmon
portion of cod fish
japanese sweet potato approx. equal to the amount of fish, when mashed up (the sweet potato, that is, not the fish!) - the actual recipe denoted potatoes, but I didn't get them, thinking that my MIL would definitely have them at home, only to find out that she didn't, so I improvised and used what she did have. anyway sweet potato is supposed to be more nutritious. This is also a good way of getting Claire to eat sweet potato, coz she's refused to eat sweet potato for months now. I was quite surprised that I couldn't really taste the sweet potato at all - it just went down really well with the fish, for some reason!
3 mini portobellos
a sprig of chinese coriander (wang sui)
egg
2 digestive cookies, crumbled (actually not enough, should have used 3)
butter (for frying)

The Clairester gobbled up an amount equivalent to her usual lunch and said she liked it. :) Will try to do the fishcakes up in nice shapes the next time to encourage her to eat more.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween 2009

Estelle's mummy, Auntie Serene, invited us to go trick-or-treating with them this Halloween. Mummy thought it'd be an interesting experience for me, so off we went!

Luckily, Mummy saw this fairy costume going cheap in Perth in July and got it for me. She intended for me to use this next year, but then we decided to go trick-or-treating this year instead, so....

All ready to go. Mummy DIYed my treat-or-treat basket from materials from Golden Dragon store near her work place. Cute huh?

The two little fairies of the night - me and Deszi!!!

You didn't think I'd walk around on my own? right you are. Made my mummy carry me almost all the way. :P She's the one in the green tank, and I'm the one with the white hat, obviously. (didn't go too well with my costume, but there was a light drizzle)


And here we are again...

My loots. We ended ahead of time, as the rain started getting heavier. :( But my loots were still substantial.





Sunday, October 4, 2009

Every Mommy's Secret Dream

When I was young, I loved poring through my mother's wedding album, and above all, totally, totally envying my cousin, who had the good fortune to be my mother's flower girl. My mother kept her flower girl's dress and I remember frequently opening my mother's wardrobe to sneak a peek at the dress, and wishing so, so hard that I'd get a chance to wear it. Unfortunately, my mother was not only the runt of the litter; on top of everything else, she married late in life (well, not THAT late, but considered quite late for her generation), so I never got the chance. *sad*

But anyway, to cut the long story short, even before Claire was born, I dreamed of her wearing a pretty, frilly dress and walking down the aisle as someone's flower girl. And so Claire and I would like to thank Audrey for giving her this chance, and down the aisle in a church, no less!!!

Most people, including Claire-papa, couldn't believe that a 2.5yr old could actually do it. Having heard stories of flower girls who got stage fright, even at 4, 5 years old, I was a little worried that Claire would pull a stunt on the day itself. But then she went for the rehearsal and met her partner, the very friendly and charming Dylan, as well as Dylan's very affable and sweet sister Ria, and after that I felt more relaxed about it. The 3 kids also got along famously, much to my surprise, as this was the first time Claire enjoyed playing with friends so much!

The day itself - all went well, save for one very embarassing moment... Just when I was congratulating myself on how well-behaved Claire was, sitting quietly in the pew, half an hour into the ceremony....

Priest: (some blessing chant)
My feelings - absolutely awed by the beauty of the ceremony and the sanctity of the moment
SUDDENLY... drifts of a familiar strain in the background of the chanting: "A B C D E F G..... H I J K..."
Claire-papa: (nudges me) That's YOUR daughter singing!!!!
Me: *stares back in horror and runs to the front pew to retrieve the Clairester*

So, memories of Audrey and Mathew's very special day - thanks so much for letting us be a part of it!

Mommy, Clairester and Dylan. (P.S. The flowerball was handmade by the bride. So beautiful huh!)

Claire and Dylan.

Claire and Ria waiting for the commencement of the ceremony.

Yes, that was indeed me singing A B C in the middle of the wedding ceremony. *cheeky grin*

Enjoying her pappadum.

And the bonus for today, because I haven't blogged for so long (YES, I know I'm still not done with the Aussie entries), is the video of Claire doing her flower girl act... Yea, she made it to the end of the aisle!


Monday, August 3, 2009

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi oi oi!!!!

We're back!!!! Hang on while Mummy tries to find time to upload some of our Perth trip pictures.... (Let's hope she keeps her promise this time because people are still bugging her for our US trip pictures back from Dec 08, which somehow never made it here??!!) We had a grand time, and Mummy wants to migrate there! I'm all for it, as long as you let me feed the kangaroos and stuff. I'd feed ANYTHING now! I love animals!!!!!

View from King's Park, Perth.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Day 5: Caversham Wildlife Park

We headed for Caversham Wildlife Park bright and early in the morning because Mummy wanted to make the most of our time there. Er.. actually we wanted to head out bright and early, but we got delayed because I was doing my business. So when we got there it was still bright, but not that early...



Anyhow, we really enjoyed ourselves there, and Mummy and Papa strongly encourage any families with young kids to allocate one full day for Caversham and Whiteman Park (where Caversham is located). We spent over two hours in the kangaroo enclosure because we loved getting upclose with the roos, and we also spent 1 hour just gazing at the koalas. P/S: It also helps to go on a weekday, where it is much less crowded.



Mummy raring to go; me grumpy at having been woken up from my hour-long nap.



Koala bear! It was also Mummy and Papa's first encounter with these furry cuties, and they loved them. Papa also commented that koalas reminded him of Stitch.


Me patting a koala. The keeper said you have to pat them with the back of your hand so that you don't hurt them.


This koala almost kissed Mummy! Mummy was wondering why Granny and Ah Gu were shrieking away as Papa took her picture.


Me running around while waiting for the Wombat and Friends show to commence.


Mummy made me touch this scaly thing even though she didn't dare to, because she says I should not inherit her fears, so she makes it a point to let me confront all her worst fears. Huh? Shouldn't she confront them on her own? LOL. Anyway I think this is a bobcat...


Picture op with a joey! Of all places I decided to rub the joey's belly.... well, since I, a human baby, liked having my belly rubbed, I guess she should too!


Feeding a kangaroo in the kangaroo enclosure. It's in the afternoon, so they are all lazing around in the hot afternoon sun.... And didn't show much interest in food...


This donkey looks EXACTLY like Donkey from Shrek, right down to the expression in his goofy eyes.


Hello. My mummy said you're a reindeer. We didn't expect you to be so big in real life. How come your nose isn't red, huh?


Feeding the rabbits. I had to tiptoe and lean over just to feed them.


The llama which looked exactly like the llama llama character in the 'Llama llama' series that I like so much.


Feeding the billy goat. See, I told ya I liked feeding animals! Mummy and Papa says this place is about 10,000 times better than the Singapore zoo because you don't have to pay to feed the animals here. All included in the AUD22 entrance fee.


Saying hello to the camel. Too bad we reached the camel enclosure too late and I couldn't get a camel ride.


Bonus: Video evidence of my over-enthusiasm in feeding kangaroos. LOL.


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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Day 4 - Toodyay and York

Today the Sims attack Toodyay and York. on the way, we make a slight detour to a free-range emu farm. Quite an experience as we got to stand upclose to the emus (which by the way are pronounced e-mius rather than e-mus).

The Clairester and Mummy posing next to a nesting emu. This is, incidentally, Daddy, and not Mum. Apparently male emus hatch the eggs and look after the young. And this guy would watch over his eggs, come rain, shine or hail. He basically sits there for the 56 days of incubation and does not move.

Daddy's little preciouses.

Streets of Toodyay, a quaint town which reminds us of old western movies.

At the doorway of Newcastle Gaol. This place once housed WA's most infamous bush ranger, Moondyne Joe.

Sigh. I do not know why the parents find it so fun to torture me. First they try to lock me in a cage, next they pull me up to this thing. Oh well.

View of the Avon Valley from a lookout in Toodyay. View was nice, but nothing compared to what we saw from Mt Brown near York later.

York streets. Unfortunately we reached there late and just about everything was closed.

Someone keeps a llama for a pet! Spotted this as we went past a private residence on the way to the suspension bridge. The llama even has his own pond to wander around. Talk about a good life.

The Clairester and Mummy on the suspension bridge over the Avon River.

Dreamy Avon River view from the bridge.

Stunning view of Avon Valley from Mt Brown, at sunset.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Day 3 - AQWA and relocating to Joondalup

Exciting day today as in many ways it is the real beginning of our vacation. Today we collect our rental car from Bayswater in the morning, then check in to Joondalup Resort, our home for the next week.

My Ah Gu studies in Edith Cowan University which is situated in Joondalup, so it was just nice that we managed to get cheap and nice accomodation near there!

Day 3 began with breakfast at Miss Maud's again - a full breakfast this time, complete with toast, scrambled eggs, chipolata sausages, grilled tomatoes and bacon.


Trip to AQWA was next. Here I am posing with some colourful fishies.

Trying the binoculars on for size coz I saw Papa using them.


Dinner was at Hog's Breath Cafe in Joondalup, voted best in WA. No pictures as we forgot to bring our camera to the restaurant, but Mummy says the steak was the BESTEST. As for me, I stole bites from Papa's delicious burger.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Day 2 - Rottnest Island

Our original plan was to go on a one-day Pinnacles Tour; however, first the people over at this booking website missed out on answering Mummy's email queries; then when we finally reached Perth and went to the WA Visitor Centre to enquire, the people there told us that I had to have a baby seat and also pay to go on the tour. So - end of Pinnacles Tour. We decided to go to Rottnest for the day instead, mainly to see quokkas in the wild. Rottnest Island is apparently a favourite holiday destination for WA residents.

Mummy and me on the ferry to Rottnest - we set off around 8.30 in the morning.

Me on Rottnest!

And the elusive quokka - distant relatives of the kangaroo, but really more rat-like than roo-like. And extremely, extremely cute.

Here I am trying to lure the quokka with some plant that we saw them eating; but the quokka was having none of it.

The parents thought it'd be fun to put me in a cage. Well, whatever. I don't really care coz I know they wouldn't leave me there for long.

Me doing my Zoophonics while waiting for lunch to arrive. Robbie Rabbit! - Ain't I cute???

Wow are ALL these for me???

Taking the train up Oliver Hill for the Guns and Tunnels tour. Rottnest was an important defence outpost for the British. The guns were positioned to defend
Fremantle's port.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Day 1 - Perth Mint and Harbourtown shopping

We arrived in Perth on the night of 24 July...
Mission: to visit Perth and my Ah Gu who is completing the last year of his degree there.
Participants: Granny x 01, Papa x 01, Mummy x 01, the Clairester x 01.
It was not very cold as we walked out of the airport and we were all lulled into thinking that Perth was not so very cold after all. This was, sadly, misguidance, as we all nearly froze to death the next day. Strangely enough, Perth city was very cold, but the environs, including the parks, were actually quite all right. Think the environs got more sunshine? Hmmm.

We stayed in the city for the weekend, at the Rydges Perth, before moving to the rented bungalow at Joondalup Resort, belonging to SAF.

Mummy and me on King's Street, from where we managed to get quite a good pic of the hotel as the background.

Room at the Rydges. Nice and clean, but no view to speak of, as we were accorded a 3rd floor room which directly faced the adjacent building. Oh well, we got the room at a steal (AUD169 a night), so we couldn't complain.

Breakfast at Miss Maud's the first morning - Steak and mushroom pie! Tasted great, but helping was very small.

At the Perth Mint. Papa rates this the 2nd most disappointing visit of our trip. We got to watch gold pouring, which was quite fascinating, but the exhibit itself was really small, and totally not worth the AUD15. And what's more, you weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the building, for security reasons.

Ah Gu suggested we go to Leederville for dinner. We were lucky that there was no queue at Siena's, which served gorgeous pasta at great prices (well, for Perth it was cheap!). The carbonara was FANTASTIC.