Avi Spa, Avillion Port Dickson, Malaysia

As mentioned in my previous post on Avillion Port Dickson, both hubby and I tried the spa treatments at the relatively new Avi Spa. In fact, one of the reasons for giving Avillion PD a try again (after not-so-pleasant experience 5 yrs ago) was the spa.

People who know me or read my blog will know that I love spa treatments and the relaxing ambience that spas offer. I'm always on the lookout for nice spas whether in SG or overseas if I have time and in need of spa therapy.

I love the concept of the glass house with white panel exterior, giving a clean, bright and modern look.

Upon entering the spa, I'm immediately taken into the colour scheme of the interior furnishings, very pleasant and soothing pale shades of brown with white and teal.

Was ushered into the spa suite overlooking the sea. The room is divided into 3 sections, 1 section a lounge sofa and bathtub (didn't get to use the bathtub), the other the treatment bed and in the middle section steam room and shower. Once again, I love the interior furnishings and decor. Spa suite furnishings check, facilities check, ambience check, soothing pipe-in music check. Room temperature check. Now for the spa therapy.

My treatment was the 'Complete Me' for 2hr15mins with a welcome foot bath, herbal steam, followed by choice of body scrub or wrap and choice of massage. I chose the nonya pomelo scrub and aVi signature massage. For the signature massage, I could select one of the four signature aromatherapy oils. Aromatherapy and essential oils check.

So we started with a foot bath for around 10 mins, followed by 25 mins of steam bath. Next is the body scrub where I was given a full body rub down on some pomelo and ginger concoction for about 45 mins. After washing off the scrub, my skin certainly felt smoother :) And finally the massage I was looking forward to. The therapist did wonders with gentle strokes and kneaded away my tight knots especially my neck, shoulders and back. Spa treatments check.

And finally after the treatment, a pot of warm citrus ginger tea which tasted really nice! After treatment beverage check.

Went to the ladies restroom to check it out as well. Looks good too.

For hubby, he did just a Traditional Malay Massage which he said was ok. His room was smaller than mine without the lounge sofa and bathtub and he had his after massage refreshment at an open lounge area overlooking the sea. I didn't get a chance to visit the lounge.

In conclusion, we were quite satisfied with the service, ambience, facilities and treatments. Though pricey, it was still considered worth the value. Would we be back again? Probably, when we need another rest and relax holiday. 

Avillion Port Dickson, Malaysia

Over the Good Friday weekend, hubby and I brought baby for his first overseas trip to Malaysia! After scouting the internet on suitable locations taking into consideration the distance and resort facilities/activities, we decided on Avillion Port Dickson as it is just a 3hr drive away and the resort fits our requirements for a rest and relax getaway.

Avillion Port Dickson is not new to us, we have been there a few times but at least 5 years ago already. The last we went, the resort looked tired and needed some refurbishing and from the revamped website, it seems that the resort has been given a fresh breath of life and there is even a swanky spa (open in 2008)! Yes, I need a massage!

We set off on Thu afternoon and would return on Saturday evening as we didn't want to be caught in jam at the causeway on Good Friday and Sunday. Nursed baby just before the journey and he managed to sleep through most part probably due to the gentle rocking of the moving car :)

Reached Port Dickson in the evening and checked into our Water Chalet. Couldn't get the Premium Water Chalet with better sea view as they were fully booked. The king size poster bed certainly looks inviting and the day bed is perfect for baby to sleep on.

The signature open-air shower which I liked a lot.

Full set of bath amenities given - toothbrush & toothpaste, body lotion, bath gel, shampoo, conditioner, soap and shower cap. House brand from Avi Spa :)

Private balcony.

View from our balcony. Can only see partial sea view.

Everything is nice, except the TV which is only 24", very poor reception and limited channels; and no internet access in the room. Hmmm, they could have upgraded the TV sets and include internet access. Then again the idea of a vacation is to relax do nothing rather then watch TV and surf net right?

After nursing baby, we drove out of the resort in search of dinner. We remembered a nice chinese seafood restaurant near the town area and decided to dine there. Alas, the food quality has dropped drastically so not really worth mentioning. After dinner, headed back to the resort, nursed baby again and settled for an early night.

Woke up bright and early the next day (actually it's always morning call by baby). After nursing him, we went to the all day dining restaurant for buffet breakfast (included in the room rate). Spread was the usual - salad & fruit bar, bread, cereals, juices, popular breakfast items like sausage, baked beans, hash brown, pancakes... porridge, nasi lemak, egg station as well as roti canai station.

After breakfast, we took a stroll in the lush gardens.

The adult-only pool. We went for a swim there the next day.

Family pool with jacuzzi. There's another kid's pool with water slide.

Private beach area. We didn't go onto the beach as there might be sandflies.

One attraction for family with kids is a mini pet farm housing kampung pets like rabbits, roasters, hens, chickens, tortoises... Kids could feed, touch or bath a pet at designated timings. For city kids, I guess it's a special treat and interesting experience to see these animals up close and personal.

There's also a peacock and peahen roaming freely in the grounds.

Dropped by the Avi Spa to book appointments for our massages later in the day. The spa is housed in a new building overlooking the sea with a modernistic feel unlike the rest of the resort which looks more rustic and traditional. Will blog more about the spa, interior furnishings and treatment in another entry.

After booking our respective appointments, we headed back to the chalet where I nursed the baby and then went for my spa treatment while hubby took care of baby.

My treatment lasted 2.5hrs and we went for a quick lunch at the Village Court (all day dining restaurant where buffet breakfast was served). Hubby ordered chicken chop and mine was beef burger. Not too bad.  

After lunch, it was hubby's turn for his massage while I took care of baby.

Soon it was evening and we weren't interested in the resort's food so decided to take a 15 minute walk to the Pasar Malam area to check out eateries there. Unfortunately, the big scale Pasar Malam only operated on Sat (think so) and only a few road side stalls were opened. So we just settled for some simple Malay beehoon soup and hor fun. The next day as we drove past the area again, we realised that there were more hawker stalls and eateries if we walk another 10 minutes more. Oh well.

After dinner, walked back to the resort, relax a bit and soon hit the bed since there was nothing much to do anyway.

The next day, woke up early as usual, went for breakfast and then went for a swim at the adult pool. By the time we were done, it was almost time for check out. We packed up, checked out and drove to the town area for KFC lunch before heading home.

All in all, it was a much needed vacation for both of us and we were glad that baby slept pretty well in the car and at the resort. In fact, I think he loves air-con! He was grumpy outdoors due to the heat but very active and happy back in the air-con room. With the experience from his maiden trip, I guess we could explore more places to travel in time to come :)

Blueberry Crumble Muffin

I finally got down to bake from Keiko Ishida's recipe book "Okashi" after so many months! Since I have limited time in between attending to baby's needs, chose a simple recipe to start off.

Having tried store-bought blueberry muffin pre-mix (such as Betty Crokers) before, I'm definitely keen to see the difference between muffins made from scratch. Recipe is easy to follow with relatively basic ingredients that I already have in my shelf except for blueberries.

As usual, there is always a sense of anticipation during the baking process :) As my kitchen timer sounded off, I rushed to the oven and was pleased to see that the muffins turned out pretty nicely, just like the photo in the book :)
Taste-wise? Definitely win store-bought premix hands down! The crumble was crispy, the cake was tender and moist with delightful bursts of blueberries in every bite. The muffin was not too sweet as well probably due to light brown sugar used. Scrumptious!!! Muffin remains tender the next day, but preferably warm it up in the oven for a while as it's really best served warm.

Blueberry Crumble Muffin
Makes 6 (my muffin cases are smaller, so I can yield 8)

Ingredients

Crumble Topping

• 20g Unsalted butter, softened
• 20 Caster Sugar
• 20g Cake Flour
• 10g Ground Almonds

Muffins

• 120g Cake Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 100g Fresh Blueberries
• 50g Unsalted Butter, softened
• 40g Brown Sugar
• 30g Caster Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 60g Cold Fresh Milk

Steps

1. To make crumble topping, combine ingredients in a bowl and mix with fingers until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Chill in fridge until use.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius. Prepare muffin cases in muffin tray.
3. Sift flour and baking powder twice. Set aside 18 blueberries.
4. Beat butter with mixer until soft and fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until well-combined.
5. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and fold in with spatula. Add 1/2 of milk and continue to fold batter gently. Add another 1/3 flour mixture and fold in, followed by the remaining milk. Add remaining flour mixture and fold through, but do not over-mix. Add remaining blueberries and fold in gently.
6. Line muffin tray with muffin paper cases. Spoon batter into cases until about 3/4 full. Divide the 18 blueberries mong each muffin, then sprinkle crumble topping over.
7. Bake for about 25-30 mins, or until muffins have a springy texture when pressed gently.
8. Leave muffins to cool on a wire rack. They are best served warm, and consumed the day they are baked or the day after. If not consuming immediately, store in airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days, freeze for up to 2 weeks.

Really like this recipe as quantity of 6 is good enough for home consumption; can always double the ingredients if need to bake a bigger batch.
Next up, I'm keen to try the Earl Grey Tea Pound Cake as I love earl grey tea! Till then :)

Craving for Banana Muffin

I have a craving for banana muffin recently.

In fact, even bigger craving for Jemput Jemput Pisang or I know it as 'Kueh Bomb'. Basically mashed banana with flour, sugar and egg, shaped like a ball and deep fried to darkish brown. I think it is also called Kuih Kodok or Cucur Pisang in Malaysia? Found several recipes on the net and seems really easy to make at home.

Anyways, I figured it would be sinful to eat too much calorie-laden deep fried food, so I decide to settle for the less guilty banana muffin. I could bake and eat them over a few days as breakfast and snack :p
Found a quick and easy recipe from The Little Teochew's blog, perfect since it would only take less than an hour, just nice to squeeze in between my baby's feeding and nap time.

Followed her recipe, except that I cut down sugar by 30g and did not do the crumb topping as I ran out of brown sugar.

My muffin cups were smaller so I could yield around 13 pieces of muffins whereas hers 10.

As the muffins were baking in the oven, rich aroma of banana filled the house and I was drooling in anticipation! After the muffins were done, couldn't wait for it to cool down and munched on one immediately :d~~ Yummy, it was soooo good. Moist and tender with richness of banana... I could polish a few at one go. The muffins tasted nice even when cooled, but best served warm. Go ahead, try it!

Chicken & Cheese Mini 'Pizza'

Don't really know what to call this? I call it the Chicken & Cheese Mini 'Pizza' coz some of the base ingredients are those of pizza but instead of pizza dough, I used Pave Pain.

• First, boil some chicken fillet, then shred them. Season with some olive oil and freshly cracked peppercorn (or blackpepper or mixed herbs like rosemary, thyme - up to individual's preference).
• Slice the Pave Pain (or any rustic/country loaf) into 1/2 inch slices. Once again, thickness depends on individual's preference.
• Spread some pasta sauce onto the Pave Pain.
• Lay the shredded chicken onto the pasta sauce.
• Top generously with grated cheese. For convenience, I got a ready pack of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan blend from Cold Storage.
• Toast the pizza in oven (around 160 - 180 degree celsius) for about 10 mins or until some of the cheese turn golden brown.

It's really easy to put together, just assemble ingredients available in the kitchen/fridge like chicken, tuna etc, pop them into the oven for 10 mins, and there you have, a hot and crispy 'pizza', perfect for a lazy Sunday Brunch :)

Steamed Bun 篜的做面包

Bought a Chinese recipe book "篜的做面包" (loosely translated as Steamed Bun) recently. The recipes are by a Japanese author and then translated/published in Taiwan. Was curious when I bought the book as I wonder how bread could be steamed, coz "面包" is supposedly bread.

After looking at the ingredients and baking the basic master recipe, I realised it is more of bun/cake than bread, maybe something like steamed sponge cake/bun?

Anyways, ingredients and steps are really very simple.

Ingredients
(5 buns - 7cm by 5cm muffin cup size)

• 1 egg
• 60g caster sugar
• 1/4 cup milk (I use low fat milk)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 100g cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Steps

• Sift cake flour and baking powder together, set aside.
• Beat egg and caster sugar using hand whisk, until smooth and runny consistency.
• Add milk and mix well, then add vegetable oil.
• Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients thoroughly.
• Fill the muffin cups with batter, around 3/4 filled.
• Steam the bun for 10 to 15 mins. Bun is ready when toothpick inserted comes out clean. *Wrap the cover of the steamer/steaming pot with cotton cloth to prevent water vapour from dripping into the batter.

The steamed bun tastes simple, with subtle hint of egg, not too sweet. But texture not as soft and fluffy as I imagine. Probably I didn't mix/beat the batter well enough?

This is just the basic recipe, with variations of the sweet - orange, banana chocolate... and savoury like tomato and cheese, tuna and egg. I wonder how do those taste like? Well, got to try to find out. Till then.

Pregnancy, delivery and confinement

It's March already! On calendar it seems like a long time since the birth of my baby but he is just but 7 weeks old. The irony is, 7 weeks is nonetheless long to me since I'm total breastfeeding and each day is counted by 24hrs. Well, have to keep reminding myself that this is just the beginning and there would be so many more 24hrs and 7 weeks to go. Over the past few weeks, there were moments where I would doubt my ability as a mother and sometimes in denial mode wishing everything would revert to what it used to be. I guess I'm really not used to the loss of freedom after enjoying 7 years of couplehood (hubby felt the same way too). Our time is no longer ours and everything revolves around the baby. Having said that, since we made our decision to try for a baby and we got it, we have to accept this responsibility and do our best in this new role as parents.

The past 9-10 months seems so surreal, the pregnancy, delivery to confinement, and yet the real challenge really begins with the arrival of the baby.


Pregnancy

All along we didn't think we would like to have a baby since we enjoy the DINK lifestyle, travelling and playing as often as we liked. When I hit 31 we somehow decided to try for a baby and if we don't have one when I reach 35 (associated high risks), so be it. There, I got pregnant the year before (2008) but it was an ectopic pregnancy. Rested for quite a few months (also due to busy work schedule) and tried again early 2009. Yep and was pregnant in Apr 09.

Was fortunate that I didn't have morning sickness, just fatigue. Thought it was going to be a breeze and got complacent. Ate whatever I fancied and disregarded the facts that I have family history of diabetes and high blood pressure, above 30 and slightly overweight. At the 5th month check-up, failed the routine test, had to go for Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and tested positive for gestational diabetes. To keep blood sugars in check, was put on a special meal plan which restricted sugars and carbo/starch and light exercise regime; otherwise there would be serious complications affecting the foetus. Was naturally upset about this condition and my moods flunctuated along with my blood sugar readings. Thankfully for hubby who was really supportive and encouraging for the remaining months of the pregnancy.

Delivery

At week 32, the gynae told us that I was supposed to be induced at 38 weeks, we were quite taken aback since it wasn't mentioned before. But due to implications of gestational diabetes and hypertension, it was the best option for both mother and baby. At the same time, we felt rather relieved that there was a date to look forward to, rather than waiting for it to happen. We could start planning everything already!

At week 36, was 2cm dilated which according to gynae, good sign for smooth natural delivery.

So came 15 Jan, checked in the hospital very early in the morning. The nurse checked my vitals, monitored fetal heartbeat, made preparations and all. At 8+, went into the delivery suite and started the drip to induce labour. Around 9.30am, the senior nurse asked me if I wanted epidural as the doctor was on his round. If I didn't take it then, he might not be available immediately the next few hours and I could actually opt for lowest dosage. Initially I was quite adamant about not having epidural, but after hearing the nurse's advice, decided to just go for it in case I really couldn't stand the pain later on. Anyway, since I wasn't in any pain at that point, I was in good position and right frame of mind to administer the 'happidural'. I had to assume a curve position. The sensation was quite weird, no pain for the injection since there was local anesthesia. It felt like somethine being hammered into my spine though.

By the time the epidural injection was completed, it was close to 10.30am and my gynae came by to check on me. I was 4cm dilated and she broke my waters. For the next 2hrs, quite uneventful... could feel the contractions but was manageable. But by around 1pm, couldn't stand the contraction pain and asked to increase dosage for the epidural. Thank goodness I decided to go for it. By 2.30pm, I was fully dilated and ready to push. By then, was quite numb already so just push when the midwives asked me to. It sure was tough, no wonder they call it labour. By around 3.30pm, could already see the baby's head crowning and the midwives quickly informed the gynae. But she was busy elsewhere and I think I waited some 30-45mins for her. Was quite unhappy over the wait but there wasn't a choice, was there? The midwives called her a few times already. She came in around 4+, and I gave one final push (with episiotomy), baby was delivered! Finally!

By the time I was stitched up, baby was already cleaned and handed to me to initiate suckling and bonding as I requested for total breastfeeding. Thereafter, I was pushed to my ward. Over the next 2 days of stay, baby would be brought to me for breastfeeding periodically. For daytime, he could room in with me and night time I could request the nurses to bring him back to the nursery so that I could catch some sleep. The service rendered by the nurses were really top notch and that made my stay at the hospital quite pleasant.

By 3rd day, was really to discharge as baby was given green light to go home!

Confinement

Now, to the start of my confinement. Nobody forewarn me that confinement was going to be tough! Had engaged a confinement lady from Malaysia since it is a norm (supposedly necessity) to have an experienced helper to nurse the mother to good health (the body is weakened after labour and delivery) and take care of baby as well.

But seriously, is confinement or having a confinement lady really necessary? Yes, I believe in lots of rest especially the initial period after labour, but once the mummy is ready and well rested, she should be able to continue her daily life be it 10 days or 30 days, depending on individual.

Initially I thought that it was a good idea (coz of the above reason) but after a week or so, I realised that having a stranger in my house literally taking control over my life and even invading into my personal space is so not my nature. Felt loss of privacy and freedom and hated the restrictions and someone checking me out all the time (even when I was doing personal stuff like internet shopping, home massage and breastfeeding).

Towards the end of 2 weeks, I couldn't handle the stress of confinement and having a confinement lady anymore and to save myself from slipping into depression, decided to end the confinement in 3 weeks. Thereafter, although it was a handful to take care of the baby due to my inexperience, I felt so much more at peace and happier.

Talking about confinement practices, there are some restrictions which I'm doubtful about the rationale. The practices are said to pass down for generations; are they really practical in our modern times and environment context given that we live in the tropics with such high humidity and not to mention the temperature has risen over the years. I was practically sweating all the time due to the practices! Are we following practices blindly just because the ancestors did so?

These are the practices to follow:

• Can only drink warm red date herbal drink, no water.
• Must sit down to eat and drink, cannot stand.
• Must wash face and hands with cool boiled water.
• Must use warm herbal water to wipe body or bath. Wipe body daily, bath only once a week. Start to wash hair after 10 days, thereafter once a week, must blow dry immediately.
• Must wear slippers, cannot barefoot.
• Eat food cooked with lots of ginger and sesame.
• Drink tonic soup before bed time 2nd week onwards.
• Cannot help baby change nappy or bath coz cannot touch tap water.

Well, it was a not so positive experience and if I have known, would probably engage day time confinement lady or do confinement on my own and follow some of the practices selectively.

Anyways, like I said, this is just the beginning. Will try to share some of the challenges taking care of the baby slowly... that is another story altogether.

Baby Full Moon

Many thanks to all who sent well wishes to me.
Yes, my little cowboy arrived on 15 Jan and is now one month old =D

It has been a long journey, from pregnancy to delivery to confinement... now coping with the challenges of motherhood.
Shall try to share the journey once things are more settled and hopefully steal time in between nursing the baby to blog (along with chores, cook, steal a nap if I could, deal with baby's fussiness etc etc. 24hrs is not enough nowadays).

Variations of pan fried fish fillet

Started my maternity leave this week so that I can make some last minute prep for the BIG DAY and also get myself mentally prepared.

To ensure a balanced and healthy diet these last few days, all my lunches and dinners are home-cooked. Fish is an apparent choice and of all fish, I love salmon, cream snapper and cod fish the most :d~~ Somehow, I'm more inclined towards the western style of pan frying fish with olive oil and seasoning with salt, black pepper and herbs than the chinese way of steaming and seasoning with light soy sauce, ginger and spring onions. Probably coz I'm bored with chinese style cooking since the other chicken and pork dishes I cooked for dinners are mostly chinese style.

These were eaten over 2 lunches, another variation can be found here and recipe found here.

Besides pan fried potatoes, can also try mashed potatoes with herb butter or the Jap-style potato salad.

Hopefully I'll have time to cook for the next few months (except during confinement of course) and explore new recipes!

Steamed chicken with mushroom and sausage

最近买了尤今老师的最新创作“螃蟹爬上树”。从中学时代就偏爱尤今老师的著作，无论小说，散文，小品，尤其是游记。她的旅游分享总是充满丰富的描述，每每让我特别向往。

这是一本叙述尤今老师“炊烟心情”的散文。透过经历的爱情，家情，亲情，国情和旅游情所勾画出的一篇篇饮食故事。每一篇故事的料理虽然简单，却有着一种让人感动的浓浓情怀。

尝试烹调了其中一篇的“彩虹鸡”。材料和做法非常简单，看似简朴但色香味俱全哦。

[材料]
鸡腿肉 3-4只 （原本材料是嫩鸡 1 只斩成小块）
冬菇 10朵 （泡软去蒂）
腊肠 1条（切片）
姜 1块 （切成6-8片）

[腌料]
花雕酒 2大匙
酱青 2大匙
盐 1小匙
糖 1小匙 （我没放）
蜀米粉 1小匙

[做法]
1。将鸡块以腌料腌半小时以上。
2。把鸡块排在盘子中央，冬菇摆在鸡块上面，切片腊肠和姜片置于冬菇之上。
3。水煮沸后，将（2）放进蒸锅里，隔水蒸20分钟或以上（看鸡块的大小）。

This is a recipe adapted from a book written by a renown local chinese writer, You Jing. Been reading her novels, articles and travel books since secondary school years and always captivated by her anecdotes and stories.

This book is not exactly a recipe book, rather a sharing of her life experiences in relation with food and food she has grown up with or encountered. Most of the recipes included are really simple and humble but nonetheless wholesome and delicious.

Attempted one of the recipes "Rainbow Chicken".

[Ingredients]
Chicken leg/thigh/drumstick 3-4 pieces (original recipe calls for 1 whole chicken cut into small pieces)
Dried mushroom 10 pieces (soak and cut away stem)
Chinese sausage 1 piece (sliced)
Ginger 1 piece (sliced thinly into 6-8 pieces)

[Marinate]
Chinese cooking wine HuaTiao 2 Tbsp
Light soya sauce 2 Tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Sugar 1 tsp (I omitted sugar)
Corn flour 1 tsp

[Steps]
1. Marinate the chicken pieces for at least 1/2 hour.
2. Place chicken pieces in centre of deep dish plate/bowl (must be deep dish as there will be natural broth from the chicken during steaming), place mushroom on top of chicken, then place sausage and ginger on top of mushroom.
3. Boil water in wok/steamer, place the bowl into steamer and steam for 20 mins or till chicken pieces thoroughly cooked.

The broth is full of goodness with the essence of chicken, combined with mushroom, sausage, ginger and chinese cooking wine (no water is added at all). Goes very well with rice.

Baby's Nursery

Counting down to the arrival of the little fellow... the nursery is all set, I think =D

Hope baby will like the painting, cot and musical mobile that daddy and mummy spent much time trying to decide.
Hope the smiley animals and soothing music will make baby happy.
Mr Ducky here, baby's sleeping companion. A gift from Uncle WH.

Healthy Lemon Cheesecake, The Conscious Choice

Had a New Year gathering with a group of close friends at my place and hubby specially ordered this healthy lemon cheesecake that is gluten-free, wheat-free and sugar-free from The Conscious Choice Cakes so that I can eat :)

Been dessert/sugar free for 3-4 months already so it is exciting to discover this online shop that sells a variety of cakes and cookies catering to people with allergies and certain medical conditions.

Couldn't make up my mind between carrot and walnut, chocolate, sticky date or lemon cheesecake... I want to eat all of them!!! Finally selected lemon cheesecake as I do miss a nice slice of dense and creamy cheesecake with a tinge of lemony taste.
The cake may look humble but don't judge it by its appearance. It is certainly rich, dense and creamy yet not overwhelming. Even those who don't fancy cheesecake found it acceptable for their palate. As for me, I'm relishing every morsel of my single slice (yep, no over-indulgence allowed) :d~~

There are other healthy options offered by The Conscious Choice Cakes such as egg-free, low-carb/high-protein and etc. I thought it is a brilliant idea to have such options so that people with allergies and medical conditions may still have their cake and eat it too; people these days are also opting for healthier menu choices without the guilt.

The only gripe, the shop sells only whole cake so I couldn't possibly order them often unless Í have large gatherings. But then again, very soon I should be able to eat normally again... *fingers crossed* I promise to be good and will definitely not over-indulge like I used to. Looking forward...

The Conscious Choice Cakes

http://www.theconsciouschoice.com/cakes/menu-cake.htm

2009 - closure. 2010 - a brand new year ahead

It's time once again to reflect on 2009. A year gone by, strangely I couldn't recollect most part of it, probably due to my baby brain which is clouded with many thoughts now. I just know that it was an eventful year, challenging, stressful and emotional. Don't even know where and how to start...

Started the year extremely busy with work, a project that spanned from 2008 till 2009 which I was unfortunately being arrowed (by matter of fact?). A project that started due to some egoistic reasons by some people. No doubt a big project which I learnt a lot, but suffered and sacrificed equally as much. At the end of it all, it was a tremendous success but to me it was just relief and nothing else. And the hard work wasn't even recognised tangibly. Wonder if this place and the work I'm doing is really worthy. Passion is one thing but the faith has eroded without the anticipated due respect and returns. I am truly disappointed. Well, it is getting tougher by the day and seriously gritting my teeth over all the nonsense as well as some people. In a nutshell, 2009 was a year I want to forget and move on in terms of work.

There was then the demise of my father, which still puts a heavy weight deep in my heart whenever I think about it. Yet about the same time the elatedness of learning about my pregnancy. I thought I was ready mentally, but I guess one could never really be ready ready about the realities of pregnancy, having a baby, a child. Having spent more than half of 2009 being pregnant and counting down now, there is much anticipation and anxiety. May be sharing some of the pregnancy journey slowly after the birth but will see how I'm coping with motherhood first.

With all the happenings, much regret that I didn't manage to blog much and have accumulated lots of backlog. Hope to find time for more blogging but with a new baby, I'm not so sure, will try.
Baking and attending workshops continued to be a way of stress relief and I'm really really looking forward to baking and in fact cooking more in 2010.

Being pregnant also means that travelling was somewhat limited. Before pregnancy, managed a Bangkok trip in Feb, Koh Samui in Mar , Tokyo in Apr. Was in Switzerland in May for a whirlwind 48hrs before rushing back due to family emergency and then I'm pregnant. During first and second trimesters, managed a few road trips to Malaysia and the final short haul trip was to Koh Samui in Oct. Well, if not for my baby, I guess hubby and I would have been somewhere in Japan from Christmas till now enjoying a white winter... oh well. Anyways, hoping that baby would be wanderlust like us and be good to travel with us in 2010.

With the closure of 2009, certainly anticipating a brand new year ahead, with the arrival of my baby, and bless him to be healthy and strong. It will be a steep learning curve and but I must stay strong for his sake. The option of being a stay-at-home-mum for a while is very tempting as I believe nothing beats the joy of watching my own child grow up day by day.

Here's to a better 2010! Happy New Year!