One year!

It's incredible that I have not put in a blog entry in the last 6 months! I have been mighty busy with work and the babies. Sometime after the 6-month mark, they became super demanding, usurping all my time. I could not step away from them without them screaming and crying like the world's gonna end. They had their toys and each other, but it seemed like an adult had to be around to make them feel safe and secure.

In any case, here I am now, hoping to pen my thoughts down. The kids are asleep, mostly through the night, lucky us(!), and I shall spare a few moments to share my experience of crossing the one year mark.


First off, I must remark it has indeed been very fast. In the beginning when the babies just slept, drank milk and pooped all day, I felt tired and bored and time seemed to go very slow. I never believed, or dared to imagine, when some other parent told me how time goes faster with kids. And then when they started trying to talk, and crawl, and walk, and eat solids, etc, the days just whizzed by at breakneck speed. At one moment, I was looking forward to Christmas, or Chinese New Year, or their first holiday... the next moment, their first birthday party is over already. The girls had a swell time I think. I did, though I wished I had more time to chat with anyone for more than 2 minutes! Amelie didn't even want to sleep and had to be coaxed to after 2 hours of playing. Astelle took a 30 minute snooze and got up to say hello to the many guests, and meet the other little babies her age.

Also, babies learn very fast and soak up information like a sponge. It was interesting to see that you just needed to tell them certain things a few times and they'd get it. For example, they clipped their fingers on the drawers a few times and after that, learned to be cautious. They also learned words of their favourite toys like ball or bear pretty fast. However, it does not work when you scold them many times over and over again, not to touch the fan or play with electrical sockets. Arghh!


It's been an amazing journey this past one year. I recently visited a friend who just gave birth, and her baby seemed so small and fragile. It made me think back to the year before when my babies came out all skinny and shrivelled, small but precious. They could only lie down and not do anything, and couldn't use their hands to pick up things. *Sigh* time flies indeed... very soon, they will be 21 and graduating from school...

Big Big Thank You to You

A big thanks to my best friend who lives on the other side of the planet, LT, who lugged this all the way back to Singapore for me. It's an ancient day art piece of Japan, which is a little ironical because I love modern day Japan to bits (:P), but nevertheless, the gesture touches "the very cockles of my soul" (Phrase courtesy of epitommy).

I have yet to decide where to hang it though...so it's sitting right by my window sill.

The wonders of dashi and mirin

My apologies for the slightly blur photo, for this Oyakodon (chicken and onions with egg on rice) was calling out to me to savour it quick, and for its lack of colour, as I did not want to buy spring onions just for garnish (!).

Ah, the wonders of dashi and mirin. Dashi is a soup stock made from kelp and bonito, and it forms the base of many soups like miso soup. Mirin is a sweet rice wine. I used to lament that it was difficult to obtain these two ingredients, unless I went to a Japanese supermarket. And in most Japanese food, dashi and mirin feature strongly on the recipe list. A quote I found on Wikipedia, by Shizuo Tsuji in 1980 said, "Many substitutes for dashi are possible, but without dashi, dishes are merely a la japonaise and lack the authentic flavor."

Thank goodness NTUC actually sells these two ingredients. They were under my nose all this time! And, they weren't very expensive. I was so pleased that with just these two items, my rice bowl transformed from a Chinese one to a Japanese one.

Here's my adapted recipe should you wish to try this out.

Oyakodon
Serves 2.

Ingredients:
Japanese rice (however much you like to eat)
2 chicken thighs
Half an onion
2 eggs
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
3/4 cup dashi stock
1 tablespoon sugar

Let's cook:
1. Steam the rice until it's nice and fluffy.
2. In the meantime, debone the chicken thighs and slice them into bite sized pieces.
3. Thinly slice the onions.
4. In a saucepan, add a little oil and fry the onions until they are slightly translucent.
5. Add the chicken pieces and fry them around a bit.
6. Using 3/4 cup hot water, dissolve half a packet of dashi powder and then add it to the saucepan.
7. Add the mirin, sugar and soy sauce.
8. Let everything simmer until the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft and translucent.
9. Beat the 2 eggs in a bowl and pour them into the saucepan.
10. When the eggs start to curdle and get cooked, turn off the heat.
11. Place the rice into two bowls, and pour the chicken egg mixture equally over both bowls of rice.
12. Add chilli flakes and sliced spring onions. (optional)

Pets make us happy

My mother recently remarked that she sometimes feels bored at home, but whenever she sees her rabbits run and play, hopping around the house, it brings such joy to her heart and she feels like squeezing them. Being a pet lover myself, I totally understand these sentiments. The friends I know who aren't into animals, and even Kimmy (who's owned a dog himself), would never be able to experience the type of happiness that an animal lover does.

I guess many people find their lives too meaningful or too busy to be able to include one more creature in it, especially one that seems to take up a lot of time and money, and can never verbally reply them. I've seen families with kids who refuse to let pets in the house because the parents want the kids to concentrate on academic studies instead of learning compassion and responsibility by owning a pet.


As I look back now, I feel that my experiences owning pets has enriched my life and taught me many things. I've had hamsters, dogs, terrapins, fish, chickens, birds, rabbits...and they've all brought me joy and many hours of laughter. For those who do not own pets or have not owned any, I hope you will consider in the near future. I guarantee you'd have years of happiness.

The Pursuit of Happyness #1

I chanced upon a quiz for married couples and there was a question regarding how happy one was with their partner after a few years of marriage. There were answers to pick from, including "Still as happy as when we first married", "I go my way, my spouse goes his/her own way", and "We do our own things but are happy to get back together once in awhile".

My friend who took the quiz remarked, how can anyhow still be as happy as when they first got married, that's impossible, she exclaimed.

But for me, I can safely say I chose answer #1 on the quiz.

I realise after a few years of marriage that the "happiness" factor is really, all in your mind. By re-aligning your thoughts and viewing things from a different angle, you will find that you can still be happy despite all the chaos around you. For example, despite all of Kimmy's irritating habits, he's generally a great husband who loves me, cares for me and still likes to spend time with me. So I try to think of activities that we both can take part in, and often. This entails effort of both people and it's probably something a lot of people overlook when they lament on the lack of happiness in their life.

So to be happy, the first thing to do is, look at things from a different angle.