Sunday, May 30, 2010

Honey, this is a national park?!

We finally made the trip to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park yesterday. I must admit it was not quite what we envisioned it to be. There was no proper boundary to the park and it was strange having private/ residential property and schools peppered along the way. No doubt there was plenty of greenery and  trails/towpaths for cyclists and trekkers but there was nothing of real scenic value there. Brandywine falls which was a highlight of the park was pleasant but not impressive. Another highlight was the Ohio and Erie canal towpath trail which saw many cyclists. It made a nice walk but the weather was pretty warm and we decided to turn back after a short while. I guess it is okay if you are staying nearby but I wouldn't encourage anyone from out of state to make a special trip here. All in all, this probably ranks as the most disappointing national park we have seen so far. But hubs and I did spend some good quality time together and that's all that matters, right? =)

Friday, May 28, 2010

Great company, good food and retail therapy!

Something strange happened yesterday. I did not feel morning sickness one bit the entire day. And I think I've just discovered the remedy: great company, good food and retail therapy! (It must be a combination of all three) =). The ladies gathered once again and the host made us laksa for lunch. It was so good! :)  I actually finished up an entire bowl of laksa and even managed a chicken wing, mochi ice cream and lotsa cherries without feeling like puking.

After a satisfying meal, we decided to head down to the outlet mall where we spent the next four hours shopping! :)  Most things were on additional 40% off with the memorial day sale and we got ourselves quite a few good buys.  By the time we were done, I only managed to fetch my very grumpy hubby from his workplace at 9.30pm. But hey, it was a damn good day! =)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

A few of my favourite things



How can we ever forget this and of course my all time favourite "The sound of music"? Oh, why don't they make movies like this anymore?

Week 8: Formation of Baby Tiger

By now, my little one has a brain and a heart that is fluttering. Tiny legs and hands/ arms begin to grow. Tiny ears and eyes are visible. It is also starting to develop a lung.
This week, that tiny tail starts to disappear. Bones begin to ossify. We start to see tiny fingers and toes and elbows and knees. The heart is getting more complex and that pretty little face starts to form. Well, bye bye sea creature! Hello big headed baby! =)

As for the mommy:
My hormones are completely out of whack.  Nausea plagues me day and night at random times. I have lost all appetite to the extent that even junk food does not appeal to me anymore! And I continue to sleep like an infant would. Hopefully these symptoms would disappear in a few weeks!

My first appointment with the Dr is next week. Keeping fingers crossed that all is smooth. Can't wait to hear the heartbeat of my little pea! =)

*Why Baby Tiger?  Because the little one should be born in the year of the tiger if all goes as planned. That would make the third tiger in my hub's family. Fierce, huh! Growl...;)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Homemade Siew Mai

After seeing how easy it is to make Siew Mai from scratch last week, I decided to give it a try for dinner yesterday.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Snippets:

Ingredients:
300 grm of ground pork (or chicken)
200 grm of shrimp (roughly chopped)
5 water chestnuts (diced small)
3 dry shitake mushroom (diced small)
2 stalk of spring onions - finely chopped
1 stalk of coriander (optional) - finely chopped (I skipped this)
1 egg white
2 tsp of corn starch
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Wanton wrappers
Green peas or carrot cubes (for garnish) (I skipped this)

1) Combine all the ingredients together except for the wanton wrapper and mix well. Set it aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2) Trim the wanton into round shape. (I used the round dumpling wrapper)
3) Put one teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper and press the wrapper up around the filling so that it almost meet at the top. Make sure the bottom is flat.
4) Press a green pea or a carrot cube into the top. Arrange the siew mai in a grease plate and steam over high heat for 10 - 15 minutes.
5) Serve warm with chili sauce. (I had no chilli sauce so I ate them with ketchup)

Here's the end product. Yums! :)

Friday, May 21, 2010

The happy housewives gather....

Prima Taste chicken rice. Home made siew mai. Lots of vegetables. Plenty of fruit. And a whole afternoon of chatter.  It was potluck at one of the ladies' home yesterday and it looks like we will be repeating this next week.  Perhaps I should attempt to bake an apple pie for next week's gathering. Or not. Hmmm....

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

It's all in the mind...

Hubby seems to think that the pregnancy symptoms I am experiencing at this point is largely psychological. This can be really upsetting when I'm feeling like crap with yet another wave of nausea. Perhaps he is still in denial but I hope he snaps out of it soon because I don't think he can handle the wrath of a highly emotional preggy wife. One thing I do admit is psychological though, is me thinking that my boobies are bigger. Well, they are not. At least not significantly. But I do look forward to eventually filling up a full cup size for once in my life. Haha!

The ultimate housewife test

Hubby had asked me yesterday if I was ready to host a dinner for the couple who had kindly offered us their place to stay when we first arrived in Cleveland. We had taken them out for dinner but I guess nothing beats having a nice home cooked meal. I love having friends over at my place and for the past years I have managed to get away with ordering in pizza or catering. I have only cooked once for a couple who helped to coordinate our wedding (even then I cheated by buying a ready cooked duck. :P). Well, it's not that I do not wish to cook. My biggest problem lies in meal planning - coordinating what needs to be prepared or cooked first so that everything is ready and served hot when the guests arrive. And being Chinese means having an innate need to serve up a feast when we do - something I can't quite live up to at this point. And what if the food turned out horrible in the last minute. (oh the horror!) I have not promised hubby a date yet but I guess this is one mental hurdle I will need to cross to officially join the ranks of those who proudly call themselves "The perfect housewife".

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Bright, bright sun shiny day! =)

What lovely weather today! We made an early morning trip to the post office, browsed through books and CDs at the local library, had alfresco lunch at a Turkish restaurant and then I spent the rest of the afternoon......sleeping. It is mind boggling how much I can sleep these days. Heh. Anyhoo, I am hoping this weather will keep up for the many more months to come. I have already made hubby promise to take me to as many national parks/ places of interest as possible before parenthood takes over. (Sounds like invasion of the third kind huh? ;)). Woohoo!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Hey...can you keep a secret? I'm into week 6 now. =)

On mother's day, about a week after my missed period, I carefully peed onto the pregnancy test strip for 10 seconds and replaced the cap as instructed.  I then went on to take a shower and when I was done, I closed my eyes and counted to three before I looked at the result. And there it was, a vague + sign but nonetheless still a + sign that is about to change our lives forever. Took me and hubs by surprise of course. We were trying for a child but we didn't expect the stock to deliver so soon!
Because of the vulnerability of early pregnancy, I have been sworn to secrecy by my family until my first trimester is up. I am totally bursting at the seams and I will go insane if I am to hold this piece of news in me any longer. So I have decided that you, my blog friends, shall be the first to know. You will hear about my incessant need to sleep, that nausea that seems to be building up in the last week, my change in appetite, all that crazy emotions and all things preggy. But you will bear with me, right? =)

There, I am so happy I shared!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

I have a life!

If I were a Sims character, my social bar would have been in full charge for the last few days.
Monday saw me hanging out with some friends at the local zoo. It was slightly chilly but the sun was out and entrance fee was waived for residents so what's not to like? :) My favourite animal - the darn cute sun bear! On Tuesday, I was introduced to the Singaporean housewives aka "Tai Tai" group in Cleveland. A lovely group of ladies who has made a home for themselves here.  We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant followed by more banter at one of the ladies' home till it was time for us to go home and fulfill our housewifey roles. I'm sure I will be seeing a whole lot more of them in the future. Yesterday, I met up with a colleague of mine from Singapore who is here on a one month clinical attachment. My husband was like "You are going out again?"  Well, I guess it is good that I'm actually having a bit of life here now. :)

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Sorry for the lack of updates!

8 days away from home and I had to catch up with my laundry, tidying up the apt and grocery shopping (my fridge was depleted of any decent food)! Boston was great fun. My pregnant friend who is supposed to be homebound (imposed by her loving hubby) ended up walking a whole lot no thanks to me. Hehe. But seriously, I think the fresh air and exercise did her some good. She is starting to develop joint pain from lounging too much. Anyway, good news is that her first trimester is coming to an end so she'll be able to get out of her apt a lot more.
Met up with another friend of mine in Boston over the weekend.  Saturday was a perfect day for a walk through Boston common and the public garden. The flowers were in full bloom and everyone was out enjoying the blue skies and sunny weather. On Sunday, we set sail on a free 20 minutes sailboat ride in Boston Harbour provided by the Boston sailing center. It was loads of fun. We spent the remaining afternoon taking loads of photos walking through the financial district, Chinatown and finally landing ourselves with a little picnic at Boston Common.
I never did make it to Cambridge but I did get to hug the pillar of Harvard medical school. Perhaps my kid will have better luck than me in future!;)
Here are some pics from my walk in the garden. Enjoy! :)