Nerdies at heart

Me and hubby are secretly nerdies at heart. At home during our down time we watch David Attenborough's specials on animals, nature, planet factoids. Sometimes we just watch any other documentary (we previously recorded) about the beginnings of life on Earth, planets and space. Other times we watch about docus on modern life, modern infrastructure and buildings, evolution of human life, other species, human culture and behaviour. Sometimes we watch about current events or special shows on refugees, immigration, travel and discovery.

This is one way hubby and I bond - over documentaries that interest us both. We find ourselves engrossed intellectually - discussing 'quietly' or as we watch along. Sometimes we are 'too relaxed' while watching and end up snoozing side by side, only to restart the show the next day.

(okay, occasionally when we are homesick we do bond over cheesy Filipino flicks or Filipino drama)

I really should share some of the interesting stories featured in some of the shows we watch... Hmm...

In the meantime, we are in search for a tv series to watch... Last time we dutifully followed a series was back in the day of "Lost" and Heroes" (oh and my Gossip Girl days).



From zazzle.com.au

Creating circles

We all have our own circle of friends. Some we just fell into as we grew up.. We lived across the street from them, or we met them at school or at work. Some we've met through common friends, cousins, siblings, etc. Some of them we ended up being best friends with, or have dated once or twice..

But as we grow older, there are some circles we draw ourselves. We have a choice now. We don't just fall into these circle by accident, or because of our family. Living overseas makes it a challenge to build long lasting circles of friendships. However, when we do find that circle where we belong it forms our support group.

I find that I have always been the type of person who creates lots of circles. Admittedly, I don't always engage myself fully in each of them. Some circles are purely for circles sake. Some circles I have to maintain now, not just for me, but for my little one. The circles I put her in forms part of her. Without having cousins or siblings around, I endeavour to make her have meaningful circles. Relationships. Yes, those circles form our relationships. Only if we let them close enough to reach that level.

Photo from http://www.wallpaperhere.com/Nature/Other/Water_Drops_Circle_of_Life_72793

I am grateful for all my friendships especially those that have been through it all with me.

Feeding past 15 months

Just a random, seemingly selfish post on feeding past 15 months. I might overshare, bear with me!

My little girl just passed the 15 month mark this month, and so that means it has been that long that I have been exclusively breastfeeding her! (And I don't mean expressing milk into a bottle - coz she's never drank from a bottle!) I feel quite proud and happy to have gone this long and this far in terms of providing for her needs, whims and wants for over a year now. I know a lot of times, we are comfort feeding but that is part of the whole bonding experience, I think. Slowly, we have been trying to wean. It's been a good 3-4 months that I have tried to. But, a few things have cropped up and so I am not trying to force wean her at all .. we traveled solo a couple of times, she got confined due to a possible asthma allergy.. The latter being a big reason why I decide to just go on .. at the hospital, the only thing that comforted her was her num nums, when she could barely drink/eat anything. She couldn't say what she felt so feeding her was the best thing me and hubby could do. I told myself that I would breastfeed until she could talk to say if she was in pain, or at least start to wean when she could talk properly. Even if it means, she would be extra clingy for a bit longer.

We are still co-sleeping her, only for another few months I hope, so she's got easy access to her milk at night. Meaning, it has been a long, too long a time that I haven't had decent straight sleep. Just the same as the fact that I haven't had a proper glass of wine in ages! Probably over two years now! (count including pregnancy). The most I have had would be ten sips of wine (but not while preggo, and not in her first six months)... Books/Research say it's okay to have a glass of alcohol, right after feeding, but I always wanted to just play it safe. There are days (or nights!) when I feel I want to indulge in a couple of glasses, but I've managed to be good and sleep it off. I can delay the gratification with the anticipation that I will have half a bottle one day when we have weaned.

A good habit/outcome to still feeding this long means that I have been trying to eat healthy for this long now. Early on, I would be mindful of eating too much peanut butter, milk, etc. As I noticed she was having runny poos then. Nowadays I am not as careful, as her digestive system is a bit more mature now. Though, I still try to eat lots of greens, and drink lots of liquid. I never really developed the habit of eating malunggay capsules as I found my sister was intolerant of it, so I may also be. I found that I still managed to keep my milk supply up - perhaps, it's the great demand that kept it up!

I talk about weaning, with the reference to little B, but actually a lot of the weaning is also on my part. Believe it or not, I have started to feel sad sometimes with the thought of stopping our special bonding. I've even resorted to capturing a few snaps of our silent moments, just the two of us, in our weird feeding positions! Haha.

Sometimes, the thought of feeding another child, our second child when that happens... comes to mind.. whether I am able to feed as long, or whether I will have the same patience for it when the time comes. Feeding for 15 months has not been all easy - taxing on my body, my patience at times. Not that I don't enjoy it, because I do. But just like anyone we have 'trying' days, when she would bite me every time, when she would whinge and demand that I carry and feed her while doing my chores. Sometimes even, I have to multi task so much that I end up with a really painful back. Sacrifice and love. At the end of it all, prevails.

How about that fondant?

Yesterday I made my first fondant!! Yes!! For some reason I have been obsessed with the thought of being able to do my own fondant, so I finally did my research some 48 hours ago, and then decided I would try. Well, it was quite successful if I may say so, given that I had only 45minutes to complete the whole thing. I had to make use of a ready made sponge cake though coz I was in a rush. The fondant was for my brothers who we were taking to the airport within the hour of making the fondant. Still. It was fun. I think some sort of like a therapy thingamathing.

So here is how I made it:

INGREDIENTS
Marshmallow bag
Water
Shortening
Icing Sugar/Confectioner's Sugar
Food colouring (optional)

UTENSILS
Mixing Bowl
Spatula
Rolling pin
Ziplock Bag

1. Grease all utensils, including hands, with shortening to avoid marshmallow sticking on it.

2. Microwave a big bag of marshmallows in a bowl for about 30 seconds at a time. Drop about 3 spoonful water in the bowl. Keep microwaving/adding water until a gooey consistency is reached.

3. Transfer the mixture onto a clean flat surface and knead the mixture while adding the sugar gradually. Do this until the mixture has a play-dough consistency (firm but not hard).

4. Take a portion of the blob, and keep what you wont be needing in a ziplock container. And then roll the remainder of the fondant into your desired shape. Should the fondant stick onto the surface, just add more sugar. Add food colouring if required. Just a tiny drop of colouring would go a long way. Knead the fondant again to attain the colour desired.

5. Put the fondant over the cake. Smoothen and make sure that the fondant and cake are firmly together. Pop air pockets with a pin and smoothen.

6. Trim the edges from the cake/fondant.

7. Decorate!

See, so simple! If I knew it was this simple I would have made my own wedding cake. Seriously!!

Now, I can't wait for Bella's 5th month celebration so I could make her her first fondant cupcake :)

P.S. Nope, I don't have all the time in the world, believe me this was squeezed during B's short nap!!! Yes, I hope I am turning into a supermum! :)

Book Free Nights at the Intercontinental!

Everybody loves a great deal! Especially me! Another promotion by the Intercontinental Hotels Group (Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental). For every two nights, get one free! I am soo tempted to book a few nights stay even just around Sydney. Maybe we should do Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach again.

Check in anytime between May 4 to July 3 of this year. And then, redeem the free night anytime between July 3 and December 26, 2009! Have a look at the Priority Club website for more information. I love love love it!