Penny's Lane

Already 6 months??!

2010-03-13T10:02:00.012-05:00

Our baby girl is already 6 months old! Here's a snippet of what her daily routine is like:

Up between 6:30 - 7:30am.
Get ready to leave the house by 8:15am.
Arrive at sitter's house by 8:30am.
Sophie plays.. sings.. eat.. watch baby Einstein with her BFF - Leah (sitter's daughter who is about 7 months older). In between all those activities she poops and naps too :) If the weather is nice, they go out for fresh air.
Grandparents pick up around 3:30pm.
Hang out w/ grandparents until mommy & daddy come between 5:30 - 6:30pm.
Have dinner w/ grandparents then go home around 7:30pm.
Take a bath and go to sleep between 8:30 - 9pm.

Sophia does not sleep through the night yet. She wakes up sometimes around midnight then once more around 4am. If we're lucky, she only wakes up once around 3:30am. She usually wake up for feeding then go right back to sleep which is not TOO bad.

Sophie has been a little fussy this couple days because she's teething. Yup, we can see one little white spike coming through her front lower gum. Sophie can also sit by herself with little support. She loves toys with music/sound. Pacifier used to help her to sleep but now she doesn't care much about it. She sleeps with her buddy - soft toy giraffe.

We started Sophie on solid food around 4 1/2 months: rice cereal> avocado> oatmeal> apple sauce> butternut squash> pear sauce> carrots> kabocha squash - she likes them all :) She loves to eat! We'll try yam next. Other suggestions?

As for us, we're enjoying parenthood. Sophie is our pride and joy. Doesn't matter if we had a stressful day at work. As soon as we walk through the door and see our sunshine smiling/laughing and kicking her feet, everything is forgotten! She is growing up so fast right in front of our eyes. We thank the Lord everyday for giving us such a cutie pie :)

@ 2 weeks

2009-09-28T13:49:00.018-04:00

Sophia finally came into this world on 9/14/09. She weigh 9lbs 14oz and 21.25" long. I can't really tell who she looks like. She has daddy's lips, and maybe my nose?

Sophia had her 2 weeks doctor visit today. Now she weigh 10lbs 2oz and 23" long. Yeah, big girl! She eats / poops / sleeps well. Occasionally she fusses and wouldn't go back to bed. She sleeps about 3 - 4 hours between feedings. Yeah, we love her! :) She's a keeper!

Ok, you be the judge.. does she look more like mommy or daddy?

Any day now..

2009-08-30T06:45:00.006-04:00

I am still getting around.. Some days are easier than others, otherwise I'm feeling good. Sleeping schedule is not great though. Maybe I'm getting an early start with baby schedule. Some nights I wake up every hour feeling restless and some nights I can sleep 4 hours at a time. Yes, still working. Doc. predict Baby Chu will arrive sometimes between 9/1 - 9/7 and should weigh between 7 3/4 - 8lbs. So no, not twins! Yes, I have random people came up to me asking if I'm having twins. Hospital bag is packed and car seat is installed. We'll just have to wait patiently now...

Shower with love...

2009-07-21T20:33:00.013-04:00

Baby Chu now have a crib, swing, bouncer, bassinet, bath tub, high chair, stroller, baby monitor, lots of clothes, and many more stuff. Eric and I don't think we have all that when we were a baby! No, I did not go crazy w/ shopping. Most of the stuff are hand-me-down and the rest are gifts from family and friends. Baby Chu already loved by many. One lucky baby! :)

We had our check-up last week. Baby Chu estimated weight is 5lbs. My family doesn't think that's accurate though because they think I look like I'm carrying twins! Doctor said only ONE in there :) I passed the glucose test also. So all is well. We already did the hospital tour. Oh my hospital bag is also packed. We'll be taking the birth class this coming Sunday, 10am - 4pm!!!

Click here for album from baby shower this past weekend.

2009-06-28T15:36:00.006-04:00

I'm officially heavier than Eric @ 7 months. I did my glucose test two weeks ago. Didn't hear back from my doctor so hopefully I passed. I'm going for another round of u/s in a few weeks. Baby Chu is quite active these days. I'll feel / see the kick whenever I sit too long. Baby room still not set up nor hospital bag is packed. I'm getting a bit nervous these days thinking what if Baby Chu decided to come early. We did however sign up for the birthing class and hospital tour though. That's a good start right? :)

HUGE; BIG; ROUND @ 6 months

2009-06-03T18:18:00.011-04:00

I've been getting a lot of "you're HUGE; you're BIG; you're ROUND!" comments lately. (Thank you, thank you, I am very well aware of that!)

I can't see the numbers on the scale anymore because my tummy is in the way :) Doc said I've gained about 22lbs so far. I'll be doing my glucose test in 3 weeks. I'll keep y'all updated! Other than that, things are well.

Baby Chu is moving more these days, especially when I sit too long. I guess that's a reminder from my baby that I need to get up and take a walk :)

Baby Chu is kicking

2009-05-08T22:45:00.008-04:00

I am at 22 weeks now. I'm feeling good and definitely feeling heavier each day. Doctor said I am doing good w/ my weight and everything else. Baby Chu is kicking! No, no cravings and no we haven't done anything to the nursery yet. The latest due date given to us is 9/7/09.

All is well...

2009-04-04T23:17:00.008-04:00

I had my doctor visit on Monday. I've gained 5 more lbs, so that's a total of 11 lbs since the beginning. The doctor didn't say I need to eat less. She said as long as I'm eating healthy, then it's ok. Baby's heart beat is at 140. Blood work result from last visit came back normal. We'll go for ultrasound in 3 weeks, that's when we'll find out if Baby Chu is a boy or girl.

Fist sign of Spring

2009-03-08T16:28:00.006-04:00

Perfect weather weekend!

Eric took a jog around the neighborhood yesterday while I just sat on the deck enjoying the breeze. We're in the 70s again today! We ran a few errand after church. Eric then gave both of our cars a bath to rinse off the salt from last week's snow. I ate my lunch by the deck and spotted the flowers already bloomed. So I hurry in to get my camera - I know I'm a geek :)

Aren't they beaaautiful? No photoshop alteration :)

What a blessing...

2009-03-07T08:41:00.007-05:00

I'm not having too much nausea and haven't missed a meal :) I've gained about 5lbs and doc told me to just slow down because I will gain more later on. My back has been killing me though but manageable. We heard our baby's heartbeat during my 12 weeks visit - loud and clear! We'll go back next month for another round of check up.

Thanks for praying for us!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T01:42:00.008-05:00

It's 1:43am and I'm still wide awake. I shouldn't have taken that nap..

Christmas was good. Santa Eric got me a sewing machine. Yes, that's what I really wanted and no I don't know how to use it. I'm going to sign up sewing 101 soon. I got Eric a Redskin jersey. He was extremely thrilled about it but too bad their season is over today.

So 2009, what are your New Year's Resolutions? Mine are simple, just taking better care of my health in general. Exercise more often and eat healthier. haha sound pretty cliché huh?

Merry (belated) Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

Already December!

2008-12-01T15:58:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving was nice. I made my first turkey. It was cooked! I stuffed it with sticky rice (w/ Chinese Sausage, Mushrooms, Dried Scallops, Dried Shrimps and Roasted Chestnuts) and baked it in a bag. I also baked two pumpkin pies - first time also. My in-laws made the rest of the side dishes. This year I didn't get up for Black Friday shopping at all - shock shock!!! I slept until 9am and it was nice!

I've spent most of the day Saturday decorating the Christmas tree. Yep it's artificial tree but smelling good, thanks to YANKEE plug-in :) Just a few more people to shop for then I am DONE! Yes, most presents are wrapped under the tree as well.

Georgia on my mind

2008-11-13T13:40:00.004-05:00

We took a mini trip down to GA over the weekend. It was my BFF's baby - Isaac's party. We also spent some quality time visiting my sis-in-law's family. Good times and good food :)

Here are some pics I took at my friend's backyard. They live by the lake and these swans swim up to you for food. Simply BEAUTIFUL!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-10-29T15:08:00.008-04:00

My work is having a Halloween Costume Contest. 1st prize is $100, 2nd is $50 and 3rd place is $25. I'm planning on dressing up! I want that money! I'll let you know if I win or not :)

My current Halloween decor. @ work.
You can d/l yours here.

Stitch photos...

2008-10-27T21:01:00.006-04:00

Eric and I went on a mini get-away last week to celebrate me getting older. We went to a small cute little town called St. Michaels in Maryland. There are so many small cute little shops. We also had the most fabulous fresh cheap seafood dinner there. It was the perfect get-away! On our way back, we've stopped by The National Harbor. Here's my first attempt to stitch couple photos together to make this panoramic looking pic. What ya think?

The Woodrow Wilson Bridge

I can't believe I did that...

2008-09-29T21:53:00.005-04:00

About two weeks ago, the Circuit City near us relocated to a new shopping plaza. So they held a fancy grand opening. Jason Campbell was there to sign autograph. No, I'm not really a Skins fan but my husband is. So he told me to just drop by after work and see if I can buy the charity football and get Mr. QB to sign it.

I got there an hour before QB's appearance. Stood in line for... you know, 2.5 hours then stupid store manager told us the line will get cut off! I was close enough to actually SEE the QB's face yet still so far. Mr. store manager could and should have cut the line off like say 2 hours ago?!!! What a total waste of time! People were PISSED OFF! A couple sheriff was there just in case :) Some ppl yelled out "LET'S GO TO BESTBUY!" haha sort of childish but funny :)

There was this one kid (probably 12 yrs old?) stood in front of me, so funny! He was complaining to his mom the whole time how he KNEW we'll get cut off. So he said "let me just go inside and look." He came back 10 mins later and guess what??? He got QB's autograph. He told his mom that "I just stood there and look sad..." The story doesn't end there! He then told this kid behind him (probably couple years younger), "do you want me to take you there? All you have to do is stood there and look sad! If they won't sign it, you can come back to line. You got nothing to loose!" haha what a smarty pants!!! Too smart for his age! So 5 mins later, they both return w/ big smiles AND autography on their football! I wish I can do the same...

The only thing I have to show for is this picture that I took w/ my little compact camera:

WTF???!

2008-09-20T17:21:00.005-04:00

Some prick stole part of our barrier wall decorative bricks. Com'on!!! These bricks only $1.99 @ Home Depot. My inlaws walk the dogs every morning by our house. They told us they only noticed ONE brick was missing @ 7am - yes, they checked. By the time we finally saw it (around noon), 6 of them were gone. WTF???! So this prick took one then came back w/ a car to take more? I'm so annoyed! We've filed a police report and notified all the neighbors. Agrrrr!!!! Should we move or just get a yappy dog?! :)

DIY Bokeh

2008-08-29T16:57:00.004-04:00

I finally get a chance to try the DIY Bokeh and I'm LOVING IT! Below is my DIY Heart Shaped lens hood. The black paper cost $0.39 from local craft store and lots of tapes. I was able to make 3 of these fake lens hood from it.

This is the result. Not bad huh??? I'm still working on trying to get the foreground/target to focus right. This is the first time I have to use manual focus and as you can see, I'm not very good at MF.

Here's another shot with the snow flake cut out. I've used Martha Stewart's paper craft puncher for this cut out - the heart cut out I just did it by hand. The only problem I have w/ the snowflake puncher is I couldn't get it to center where I want it. The puncher only allow you to slide the paper edge in so much.

Both of these shots were taken w/ my 50mm lens at between f/1.8 to f/2.8 w/ tripod and a string of multi-xmas lights. Enjoy!!!

Peeping Tom

2008-08-26T10:26:00.006-04:00

My father-in-law's bday was last week. I've asked him to poss a pic for me with the cute card my niece gave him. When I was checking the picture in the computer, I've noticed Peeping Tom, I mean Peeping Bingo has struck again! (heehee..)

Similar shot last summer:

Free car history report - VINCheck

2008-08-14T11:55:00.003-04:00

My brother is in the market for a pre-owned vehicle. He came across a very good deal 2007 Nissan Versa on craigslist. He called the owner and was told it's in great condition, no accident, etc. I told my brother better ask for the VIN number to check. There are many of companies provide car history report around $30. VINCheck is FREE though - it is a service provided to the public to assist in determining if a vehicle has been reported as stolen, but not recovered, or has been reported as a previously declared total loss vehicle by cooperating NICB members.

Back to my brother's story - we ran a check on the VIN number, it said "TOTAL LOSS"!!!

DIY Diffuser / Softbox

2008-08-08T15:42:00.004-04:00

I've made myself a diffuser / softbox today. Its not very pretty but works fine! You can get the templates here. I've used cardboard boxes from snack and ziplock box and tissue paper as the diffuser.

Here are the shots. Note these shots were taken with full-auto and position the speedlite at 90 degree-angel. No alteration!

Original

With the homemade softbox

With Sto-Fen's Omni-Bounce diffuser

What you think? I think the homemade softbox works just as well as the Sto-Fen and cost nothing to make.

Which Planet are you from, Miss??! (Part II)

2008-08-04T16:53:00.006-04:00

After I came out from the bathroom, I told my coworker about that crazy chic clipping toe nails. We decided to go back in and I'll snap a picture! This time both legs and shoes were MISSING. I thought, oh well, she's gone! So I went back to work. Boy was I wrong! My coworker came out later and said crazy chic still making noises in the stall. Crazy chic must be squatting w/ her wedge heel sandals. WEIRD!!!

Which Planet are you from, Miss??! (Part I)

2008-08-04T16:05:00.004-04:00

This Chinese chic (I know she is Chinese because I can hear her speaking Mandarin) who works on the Second Floor always come up to our floor to use the bathroom. She always talk on her cell for a LONG time while she's doing her business! Random conversation, like "Did you pick up your clothes yet? Did you try out that recipe?"

I walk in the bathroom this afternoon and I hear her again. This time she's talking on her cellphone, doing her business AND clipping her NAILS!!! Yes, multi-tasking!!! When I came out to wash my hands, I saw her stall have only have ONE leg. So she's clipping her TOE NAILS!

Who do that????!!!! Clipping toe nails @ work???! NO it's not a culture thing!

Organic Home Grown Sweet Melon

2008-08-03T22:27:00.005-04:00

My father-in-law planted these in the spring. We finally had our first taste of them and it was very sweet and crisp :) We have 7 or 8 more of these but not ripped yet.

Old old friends

2008-07-31T21:30:00.007-04:00

I've reconnected w/ some old old old friends in Malaysia via Facebook. Its just so wonderful to hear about their lives now and other friends' news. Yet, it's a bit weird 'coz my memory of them stuck in elementary school! Some of them I have vivid memories of how they looked like a decade ago but for some the name just doesn't ring a bell. So I scanned a few pics in hope that my friend can help me identify their name and where they are now.

This is my graduation pic from kindergarten. Was I mad? I can't remember but sure look that way! :)

Pita bread breakfast - Sausage, Egg & Cheese

2008-07-25T10:20:00.006-04:00

We bought a big ol' bag of Whole Wheat Pita Bread from Costco. I'm not a bread person but I can do Pita Bread. Maybe because it's not too bready :)

This morning I've made Pita Bread with Chicken Sausage, Egg & Swiss Cheese. Not bad at all!

Belacan Okra

2008-07-25T09:56:00.005-04:00

You can find the original recipe here. I've used mini dried shrimp and pizza pepper flakes instead because that's all I have. I didn't add any salt and pepper since the belacan is already salty enough. **Belacan is a type of fermented ground shrimp paste. Read more about it here.

Ingredients:

20 Okras / Lady Fingers (sliced diagonally)
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
A handful of dried shrimp
Couple sprinkle of pepper flakes
2 teaspoon of belacan (I got mine from mytasteofasia)

1. Heat the wok with some olive oil.
2. Stir fry the garlic until semi-golden then add in the dried shrimp.
3. Add belacan and stir fry it slightly then add okras and pepper flakes.
4. Add a tablespoon or so water while stir frying to keep from burning.

Here's how mine look:

Reny's Baby Shower

2008-07-24T10:59:00.006-04:00

We had a surprise baby shower for my coworker Reny yesterday. It was a lot of fun. Since she's having a girl, most everything is in PINK. Here are some pics:

Pretty Mama

It took me about a month to stitch those bibs.

BCF - Best Coworkers Forever :)

Uninvited guest - Spiky weed

2008-07-23T22:10:00.008-04:00

We have some tall plants mysteriously sprouted and growing so huge in our yard. We kept asking my inlaws what they planted? They kept saying they didn't plant anything there. These plants are now probably 4' tall. It has flowers and spiky fruits. So I took some pics today and thought I'll ask my coworkers tomorrow. Then I decided to google it. After a few searches, I found out what they are -- "Thorn-apple". These plants can be poisonous and hard to kill! First thing I come back tomorrow I'll pull them out! Gotta get them out before seeds mature!!! How did they get there in the first place? I have NO IDEA!!!

I also took some pictures of the Daisy, my fav. shot:

Chicken wrapped in Pandan

2008-07-18T10:15:00.004-04:00

We've ordered this dish from Penang restaurant. They used chicken wings for this dish. I used thighs (dark) meat and followed Gert's instruction. It was good! My non-malay family asked, do you eat the leafy thing with it? No, you don't! That's just for the fragrance. Eric said it tasted a bit similar to the satay I made last time.

Before going in oven:

After its out of oven:

Red bean soup (dessert) - 红豆糖水

2008-07-18T09:52:00.005-04:00

Red Bean Soup is one of my alltime favorite dessert. I can eat it hot or room temperature or cold, just as good!

Ingredients:

Red beans (1 cup)
Black rice (1/2 cup)
Small tapioca pearls (1/4 cup)
Palm sugar (4 pieces from package or to taste - can use regular sugar)
Pandan leaf (a few pieces and tie a knot - optional)
Coconut milk (1/3 can)

** Please note that you can alter the measurement per taste. The best part of this is, you can add more water if it's too thick

Boil the pandan leaf, red beans and black rice in water (about 6 serving/bowls) for about an hour or when both red beans and rice soft.
Add in tapioca pearl and keep stirring the pot. This will prevent tapioca pearl sticking to the bottom of the pot.
When pearls become clear white, add palm sugar and coconut milk.

Enjoy!

Kimbap - Korean sushi roll

2008-07-14T10:49:00.007-04:00

We're having a potluck at work today. So I've decided to make Kimbap. I went to Lotte on Friday to pick up all my ingredients: carrots, spinach, cucumber, and fish cake. The rest of the ingredients I already have: pickle radish, seaweed, sesame oil, sesame seed, imitation crab meat, eggs, rice and salt.

On Sunday I started to cut and prepare all of the stuff:

Carrots - peel and julienned. Lightly stir fried w/ a sprinkle of salt.
Spinach - rinse it and parboil it in boiled water. Drain it and add a sprinkle salt and a dash of sesame oil.
Cucumbers - julienned and add a sprinkle of salt.
Fish cake - lightly pan fried with a little of oil and julienned.
Pickle radish - julienned
Imitation crab meat - separate it in smaller portion.

Sunday night I was thinking to myself, heck let's make the egg and rice too so all I have to do on Monday morning is wrap them all up. NOTE: rice and egg SHOULD be the easiest thing to do but I manage to screw it up.

Eggs - beat in bowl w/ sprinkles of salt. Fry the egg in a pan and make the egg stick by rolling it. Mine ended up sticking to to pan. But it's ok since you can't really tell when it's wrapped.
Rice - washed and put it in rice cooker. Let the rice cool and add salt, sesame oil and seeds. I woke up this morning, I was like "SH*T, I don't think I press the cook button." When I went to check the rice, it looks cooked but it's VERY MUSHY. I think after hours of keep warm the rice cooked but nasty. I couldn't use that batch so I have to quickly make new rice.

To make the roll:

Spread thin layer of rice over seaweed paper.
Add all the julienned ingredients.
Grab one side of the seaweed paper and begin to fold down and roll together tightly.
Dab your cutting knife w/ water then cut the roll so the rice won't stick to your knife.

This is how mine turns out. Sorry the pic is not very clear as it's taken with my cell.

I also made the Chicken wrapped in Pandan and Red bean (dessert) soup this weekend. I'll have to post those later.

Pandan Chiffon - Green cake :)

2008-07-11T15:27:00.001-04:00

My cousins and I used to make this cake from scratch growing up. When I saw the cake mix on mytasteofasia.com, I just couldn't resist to buy it. It turns out really good and the fragrant brings back lots of memories from childhood. The green color comes from the Pandan extract. It's commonly used in Southeast Asia dishes. Read more about Pandan here.

First I blend 7 eggs, then added the cake mix, then added 3 tablespoon of water and then add in about 3 tablespoon of coconut milk and a pinch of salt. Pop into over for about an hour @ 320°F. Not too sweet and very fluffy!

Oil production in LA

2008-07-08T15:49:00.003-04:00

So we all feel the pain w/ gas price going to the roof top but did you know there's oil production in LA??! My father in law was telling us about some article he read on the internet. How oil drilling is happening in LA and company built these fake building to disguise it. Eric, my sis in law and I was like WHAT ARTICLE? CHINESE? Can't be true!!! Then I google it today and what do you know???! It's true! Check out the article from ABC News. Here are some pics too.

Apam Balik - Malay pancake :)

2008-06-30T08:11:00.001-04:00

You have no idea how excited I am to try out all these Malay recipe I've found the last couple of weeks. One of which is Apam Balik and original recipe found here. My non-Malay family tried it and said it tasted like Pancake w/ Peanuts filling.

Since the original recipe is in Grams, I try to do my own conversation back to Cups.

Ingredients for batter
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of milk
1 egg
3 tblspoon melted butter

Filling
1 cups of toasted peanuts - grind coarsely
1/2 cup of sugar
some butter

For the rest of the instruction, just click here. Please note that mine is a bit darker, could be because I used sugar cane sugar or I simply left it on the stove too long.

Other than that I also took some pics at church:

Tim Russert memorial

2008-06-19T15:01:00.002-04:00

Another slow day at work...

I went to CNN's site and started to stream Tim Russert's memorial. So sad! I was working from home last week when I heard the news. It's just so sudden, so sad and so unpredictable! What a wonderful guy he was. This world need more people like Tim Russert. Eric and I watched some of the memorial clips last night on TV. We wonder will people say half of these wonderful things about us when we leave this world?!

Rest in peace, Mr. Tim Russert (1950 - 2008)

Skyline Drive

2006-10-27T10:04:00.001-04:00