Mrs Google

Siaopo had wasted heck of a lot time watching TV.

She thought life would be just flipping too short to spend such a huge chunk of it staring aimlessly in front of a small box beaming flashing images at her.

To hammer the motivation of trying to turn away from being a TV junkie, she started reading articles on the Internet over topic " Anti-Television Culture" .

One paragraph in the article which catches her eyes and leaves her feeling uneasy for the rest of the morning.

She literally dropped her spoon and stopped eating her cereal.

Article went :-

• Television, the drug of nation and feeding radiation.
• Television hypnotizes us from hours on end; sucks our energy and robs of us our precious time, time which we never get back again.
• In Britain, an average of 28 hours of TV every weak are spend on Television.

Well, this may seems a little over the top, but Siaopo thinks there's some truth in these words too.

Siaopo's next thought : If we live until we're 70, we might have spent over 10 years of our life sitting watching that little box ? How bizarre !

All she could think next was - How can she save hubby from this hypnotic gaze too ?

Hopeless.This will just fall on his deaf-ear and blind-eye.

Solution for Siaopo: Stay away from TV.

Sadly, the above solution has caused a scary side-effects on Siaopo.

Ferocious side-effect : She has now turned from TV Junkie into Internet Junkie.

Generally, she has replaced the hours of watching TV to surfing the Internet.

Siaopo's new nick : Mrs Google

This Internet-addiction bug has bitten her in way.

Key to Siaopo's behaviour : Bored

Prayer of the day : May God continue to watch over Siaopo and speeds her complete recovery.

TV Junkie Number 2

Good Weather. Into the latter part of Spring and the start of summer.

Daylight saving time happened last night.

But even with nice weather, Siaopo is bound to stay-in. A "kept-woman" for now.

The stay-in-days has developed a strange addiction to Siaopo.

It's funny.

A person who completely against TV-aholic has turned into TV junkie herself !

It’s been a habit which has gone on almost 2 weeks too long.

Source of Addiction : TVB Cantonese Series.

She's has positioned herself in front of the TV for a long long time.

Siaopo has suddenly fallen in love with TV. She doesn't know why.

Suddenly, Siaopo's world has expanded. TV has made much of her now.

Like Siaopo said, ridiculous. Hours and hours were spent watching TVB series. She completed 3 series in 10 days.

Yeah, 3 series - A total of 75 episodes.... ( Thanks to Big Sis for the DVDs )

Siaopo sleeps at 9.30pm. Midnight, she wakes up. She continue watching.

Siaopo and Hubby have been fighting over the TV in the bedroom.

Hubby asked : Lou por, my turn to watch the news.

Siaopo intones : NO. No..sei lor. Jing Jing and Chi Long are in danger. Someone going to kill them .

Hubby : Huh?

Time to change for Siaopo.

Time to get cracking on the few new books/novels lying idle on the bookshelf.

Book geek is much better than TV geek, no ?

Self-Sufficient

Not Siaopo.

Hubby, yes.

Over the past 11 days, hubby has embarked on his journey towards self sufficiency.

A state of not requiring anyone, any aid or support for his own survival !

He shops, he cooks, he cleans, he irons........

He has changed drastically, after Siaopo fall ill.

It's so much less arduous trying to get his butt off the sofa for house-chores this time. He keeps himself occupied with house chores, for once.

DISCOVERY 1 : He can cook for himself too

Key questions : Nature vs nurture.

Which one does ability in cooking falls into ?

Hubby has always been the fussiest in food between Siaopo and himself.

It's obvious that he doesn't truly enjoys his own cooking - looks like he's working to eat rather than enjoying his own cooking. Ha ha

Siaopo is thrilled with his great survival-living-style anyway.

Bottomline : Hubby can cook too !

DISCOVERY 2 : Hubby can do house chores too

Hubby has indeed taken full responsibility of a house chores.

He can clean.

He can iron too ! ( Just 5 shirts in 1 hour ..ha ha )

DISCOVERY 3 : Hubby has a great deal of patience and optimism

As Siaopo's ridiculous sickly-temper builds up, hubby's patience never dries up.

When Siaopo raises her voice with words that " stimulate" him, he just ignores her. No rebutting whatsoever.

Yes, Siaopo had relieved 100% of her house-chores and cooking duties.

More and more, hubby is an asset to Siaopo rather than a liability......ha ha.

Siaopo's Me time? Oh yes, plenty.

She spent most of the time sleeping and watching TVB series.

But........, when it comes to kitchen-tidiness tasks, Siaopo and hubby's world collide.

1. Kitchen hob - Siaopo would clean it straight-away after cooking. No left-over stains.
   
2. Un-used bottles - Siaopo would dump them straight-away to recycle bin.
3. Clean Dishes - Siaopo would keep clean dishes into cabinets instead of lying on dish rack.

Hubby's remark : Aiya. Wait la. I'll sort them later. Are they in your way? No,right?

Well, maybe it’s just a man-woman thing ? Siaopo has no clue.

Awesome Get-Well-Soon Sentiments

Siaopo would like to take this opportunity to thank all her family members, close friends and colleagues who had sent her loveliest flowers, balloons, cards, sms and emails wishes and visits for her speedy recovery.

They mean a huge amount and has given her a fantastic boost.

She's blissfully happy receiving all the wonderful visits, gifts and cards.

Merci beaucoup

To Kongs and Lufbra couple, thank you so much for not only taking the time to think of me, but to send gift and paid a visit. Your generosity overwhelms Siaopo.

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Lovely bright roses from the Kongs. Thank you very much for all the encouragements.

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Cheerful balloon bouquet from the Lufbra couple. They had indeed made my day.

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An awesome Get-Well-Soon flowers from the office.

Great thanks to Ms Secretary for arranging it.

Siaopo was sleeping immensely when the door bell suddenly buzz. Siaopo was damned frustrated but couldn't stop smiling when seeing the colourful bouquet of flowers. Don't worry, Siaopo will soon be fit to be back at work.

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The Khoo and DC, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.

Words cannot convey Siaopo's gratitude to family members ( esp mum, dad, mum/dad-in-law, Siaopo's two sister, sis-in-law, Ah Yee) , close friends and colleagues on all good wishes, encouragements to Siaopo's recovery.

Once again, Thank You Very Much.

Greatest-Number-One Carer

Siaopo hasn't made much blog appearance for past few days.

Siaopo hasn't given up blogging as yet.

It's because she was poorly for the past week. One of her worse week ever.

Past week, Siaopo's head was throbbing all the time. All she wanted to do was sleep.

She is now mighty pleased that she's slowly recovering.

It was a nice break after all.

Has the ill-condition affected Siaopo entirely?

Oh Yes.

One Day. In just one day, Siaopo has turned from an active-working normal human-being into a complete stay-at-home zombie : Eat, Sleep, Eat and sleep again.

The medication effect :

For the record, the normal tablets Siaopo consumes would not cause such a an inferior reaction.

With these medication, Siaopo felt lethargic and a total lost of sense-of-feel.

Hubby came into the bedroom " What's wrong with the heater? Is piping hot here - at least 40 degree. Thought i came into a Swedish sauna !".

Despite the heat, Siaopo didn't sweat a drop.

Honestly.

Siaopo wouldn't have survived without hubby.

Hubby, a typical undomestic husband, has turned into the Greatest-Number-One carer!

Hubby has tackled well all the diverse tasks to meet Siaopo's needs.

• Groceries shopping and preparing " Chinese-non-poisonous-meals" for sick Siaopo
• Bathing and dressing the sickly Siaopo
• Assisting Siaopo with getting and off the toilet
• Transporting Siaopo from and to hospital/medical appointments
• Doing all the house chores

What made Siaopo's jaw drop, was that this man of hers, has done them perfectly well.

Siaopo is overjoyed from tip to toe.

Siaopo completely comprehend the role of a carer requires the patience of a saint and emotional drain, particularly care-giving the loved-ones.

When Siaopo saw hubby in his endless attentive care-giving, she thought she would cry.

Food for the sick.

Chinese non-poisonous yummy meals by hubby - Congee, Mee Suak Bak and Cod Fish

Chinese Herb Sea Bass with carrot

Siaopo is gastronomically delighted.

Hubby has put in heaps of effort to make the whole meals-preparation work. Phone calls to Malaysia after phone calls have been made to mum-in-law and mum for all guidelines.

His care-giving efforts has certainly warm Siaopo's heart.

And Yes, Siaopo is SO SO proud of hubby.

Thank you very much to Siaopo's Greatest-Number-One carer - Hubby.

May God speeds Siaopo's recovery too.

Happy 1st Anniversary To The Blog

Today, Siaopo's blog turns one!

It's the 1st anniversary of the day Siaopo began this Siaopo's Life and Kitchen blog.

So much has happened in the past year and it's been an amazing journey so far. Most importantly, the blog has serve its main unique purpose of recipe sharing.

Siaopo would like to take this opportunity to thank hubby. He has been a wonderful support to the blog for the past year.

Siaopo is grateful to all of you who visited the blog, read and commented. Very much appreciated. Thank you.

Happy 1st Anniversary to siaopo's blog !

Now, Siaopo is contemplating to stop blogging.

Due to the low comments from readers, it's starting to be an issue of concern for Siaopo.

Questions she is still working out whether she should give up on this blog.

• Is anyone reading this blog?
• Are readers engaging with the content?
• Is the blog interesting?

Should She or Shouldn't She ?

Prawn And Sweet Potato Curry

Stumbled upon this recipe whilst reading the weekly women magazine and gave it a go !

This curry is completely different from the usual oriental-style curries. New Exploration.

Ingredients
1 onions (chopped)
1 tbsp ginger (grated)
2 tbsp garlic (crushed)
1 red chili (sliced)
2 sweet potatoes ( cut into small)
1 red pepper (sliced)
1 cup of prawns
1/2 cup of fine beans
1 tbsp Ikan Bilis stock

Spices
5 star anise
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric

Method

1. Heat quarter of pot with water. Add stock.
2. Add onions till soften.
3. Add ginger, chili and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add in spices and stir well.
5. Add sweet potato and red pepper.
6. Bring to boil for 15 minutes.
7. Add prawns and fine beans
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve warm with rice.
   

Incompatibility Issue With IE Browser

This isn't a good blog layout change.

Siaopo has discovered incompatibility issue with Internet Explorer browser.

It's not particularly serious, but Siaopo is struggling to understand why.

She has tried countless ways to tackle the issue, but to no avail.

Layout are perfectly fine on Mozilla Firefox browser but not Internet explorer. No profiles and photos on the left sidebar on IE.

Strange Strange.

"Could you help to look into these codes for me please?", Siaopo requested.

Hubby, sweetly sarcastic-ish, replied " For God's sake, you are a software engineer for a start. Come on! "

It's fairly impossible for Siaopo not to raise her voice in this occasion.

But, but.. Siaopo is no longer in software world now.

Fair point.

Well, as determined as hubby is to be unhelpful around Siaopo, Siaopo is as determined to be strong resolving the issue on her own.

Wish her luck.

Dreadful Household Chores

Does Siaopo's bathroom's sparkle all the time? Is she enjoying a fresh and clean bedroom ? Well...no, unless she does her house chores.

It's time like these that she wishes she were back home in Penang. These would be well-taken care by her lovely mummy or maid.

Funnily enough, cycle of house chores is just similar to cycle of life. Never ending household tasks.

As much as Siaopo hates to say it, she doesn't live for the thrill of doing household chores.

Unlike other women, she doesn't have a domestic bone in her body nor a homely housewife DNA in her.

After work, any spare occasion, she will do the household chores as much as she could upon reaching home. Every weekend, few hours of hers would be dedicated for the house chores.

Though the tasks are never urgent in time-wise, it's still tasks of working wife like Siaopo compelled to care for the house and family.

Siaopo hates messy household to a certain extent.

No sticky floors, no mucky bathrooms, no untidy living room with TV screen and furnitures stained with layers of thick dust !

As much as she loves cooking, is the finishing parts that annoys her at times - washing the appliances, dishes, mopping the kitchen floor and rubbing the hobs and cabinets from stains of oil. Ugghhhhhhh.....

Doing the laundry, folding the laundry and ironing the laundry every weekend.

Anyone who knows hubby well will know he likes all his outfits to be crisply-ironed. He just want himself to be seen even from the other side of the planet !

Siaopo proposed an ultimate solution : Why don't we get a hourly-paid cleaner ?

Hubby : Unnnggggh................NO !

Her Kiam-Siap hubby is 110% against the idea.

I promised I will help to do the house chores more often, he added.

Siaopo is not quite convinced.

Solution : She now has all sorts of ideas of making household chores chart.

A chart that hang on the fridge to remind hubby of the chores he needs to take care of with a special clause at the end.

CLAUSE : WHEN YOUR HOUSE CHORES IS DONE, YOU MAY WATCH TV OR PLAY WII !

Ha ha .....Enough of Siaopo’s peevish whinging here. Thanks for reading.

Chinese Style Salmon

Just as utterly yummy and restaurant-tasty !

Ingredients
2 Salmon fillets

Sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 tbsp grated lime rind
1 lime (juice)
pepper

Method

1. Marinate salmon with the sauce for 30-45 minutes.
2. Remove salmon from the marinade.
3. Heat the griddle pan with some olive oil.
4. Cook the salmon for 5 minutes, turning once.
5. Pour remaining marinade into a pan and heat it.
6. Add the mixture onto salmon.
7. Serve with boiled vegetable or rice.

New Design To The Blog

You might think you've stumbled on some wrong blog.

Nope. You haven't. It's still Siaopo's blog.

Siaopo did a refreshing change to the blog - new design, new colour !

Feedbacks are most welcome please.

Braised Chicken Wing With Chinese Wine

Quite similar to Braised Spicy Chicken Wing . This dish has greater " Chinese wine kick ".

Ingredients
1 packer chicken wing (cut into 2)
1 small Ginger ( sliced)
2 tbsp garlic (sliced)
1 tbsp sesame oil

Marinate
2 tbsp chinese cooking wine
2 tbsp soy sauce

Sauce
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

Method

1. Marinate chicken for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in wok. Fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.
3. Add chicken wings and stir slightly for 5-8 minutes.
4. Add in sauce. Add water and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add sesame oil and serve.

Stir-Fry Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas

Siaopo's simple chicken dish.

Ingredients
1lb Chicken (cut small)
1/2 cup chinese mushrooms (soaked/cut)
1 packet sugar snap pea
1 tbsp garlic

Marinate
2 tbsp Chinese Wine
1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
Cornflour

Sauce
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 tbsp chinese wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
Dash of pepper

Method

1. Marinate chicken for 15 minutes.
2. Dust chicken with cornflour.
3. Heat wok with oil. Fry garlic and mushroom till fragrant.
4. Add in chicken and fry for 2 minytes.
5. Add in sugar snap peas and sauce.
6. Simmer for another 2 minutes before serving.
7. Serve warm with rice.