Hip to be Mom» Hobbies & interests

6 reasons to be excited and 1 not to be

Clairity — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:17:41 +0000

First, the good news. This morning, I looked out the window and all the stars were aligned in the dawn sky. Tis the perfect day to head to the gym with Raine. We worked our butts off (literally), came home, rolled up our sleeves and started baking.

Within an hour and a half, we had the first 4 reasons to be excited. We were done baking 2 loaves of wholemeal bread and 1 carrot cake, and making the batter for pumpkin pancakes. Easy-peasy, right?

Oh, a friend brought us practically half a fresh produce sectionful of seasonal fruits and veggies from his farm. What were we going to do with all those carrots?

But apparently the carrot power was just a little too much for my fingernail and IT BROKE!! *sobs* That’s the bad news.

I hate, hate, hate breaking my nails, grrr! I had to rush upstairs, remove my nail polish right away and cut all my other nails short to match. Bummer! On the brighter side, surely that must mean I’m now qualified for the handicap parking spot (Reason #5 maybe)?

They say that everything happens for a reason. So I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, breaking my nail might have something to do with my spanking new iPhone 4S. Since I got it last weekend, I’ve wasted a few hours of my life rekeying all my phone contacts from scratch.

In the process, I’ve noticed how my long nail was getting in the way because now I have to use my fingertip instead of my fingernail to type. Yup, I’m sure that’s how I weakened my nail causing it to break today. Oh well!! Sometimes you ask for an orange and life gives you an Apple *shrug*.

Incidentally, these incredibly clear food pix were taken with my new phone (Reason #6) which looks like the billion other iPhones out there that a billion of you already have. So I’m late to the party again, huh?

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On a roll

Clairity — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:30:06 +0000

You would not believe how I spent the whole of yesterday! Well, whoever said Sunday is a day of rest is wrong. We slaved from 8:30 in the morning till 9:00 at night. I baked 4 loaves of bread and 2 fruit cakes! With the help of my 2 budding bakers, of course. We worked so hard we darned near broke our backs. But it was fun.

Well, if we’re not going anywhere for the holidays, we might as well be baking up a storm, right? If you recall, I recently worked my flimsy little whisk to death. Today, my hand mixer broke. We’re on a roll here (literally) and had to take turns beating the batter by hand. My biceps are thanking me now and I’ll be showing off my toned arms tomorrow .

Of course, there’s nothing like homemade wholemeal bread bursting with flavor and goodness! Photos of our hard work coming up as soon as I get them downloaded.

Doin’ her mama proud

Clairity — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:17:20 +0000

Oh, by the way, did I mention that at the book sale, we had to park far away and hop on a shuttle bus to get to the building where the sale was at? The bus ride was a blast but that’s another story .

The bus coming back was crowded with families carrying bags and boxes of books. We managed to secure seats but they filled up fast. When a mother carrying her baby came on, Raine stood up and offered her seat to her.

On the bench opposite us, there was another mother with 2 toddlers who had an extra seat on which she chose to “seat” her bag of books instead. That seat could easily have gone to the mother with the baby, no?

So am I a proud mama? You betcha .

Empty-handed

Clairity — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:35:14 +0000

Raine heard about a book sale from a friend and of course, my 2 bookworms instantly proclaimed they wanted to go! What can I say? We never buy books at regular prices because the regular prices here are downright ridiculous!

We only shop when there’s a book sale which happens like maybe once a year. The girls know I will always indulge them when it comes to books and reading. So off we drove 40+ km away to the middle of nowhere, and arrived an hour later at a huge warehouse full of books.

We brought our recyclable bags, highly anticipating that we would walk away with a good haul. At the last book sale, we carted away some 40 books! This time, we made 2 rounds of the entire warehouse, and the girls found NOT ONE book to buy. Not one!

Half an hour in there and we came away empty-handed!

With nothing to show for our 40km drive, we decided to go for lunch. As we were leaving, it started to storm – big. Unfamiliar with those parts of the woods, we turned into the first restaurant in sight. Which turned out to be one of those seafood restaurants featuring live lobsters, fish and other exotic sea creatures on Death Row, waiting to be made into someone’s hearty meal.

If you� know me, you know it’s impossible for me to make that call. Faced once again with a waitress who gave us weird looks for infamously walking into yet another seafood restaurant and not ordering any seafood, we ordered a simple meal of pork ribs in herbal soup, claypot tofu and veggie stirfry.

And that was our weekend adventure !

A song for every occasion

Clairity — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:18:24 +0000

We’re being ‘entertained’ by the sounds of endless drilling, hammering and knocking coming from next door. The racket is going on. all. day. long so much so we practically have to shout to be heard!

Well, it’s not only our talking that’s interrupted, it seems. So is my singing. Every time I burst into song, I have to compete with the racket outside. And it seems that I do burst into song quite often over the course of the day. Before this, I just hadn’t realized how often.

Apparently I have a song for every occasion too. Sometimes I’m inspired by my girls’ show of affection. Like if they ask if I love them, I would jokingly burst into Michael Bolton’s “Said I Loved You But I Lied”.

Sometimes my answer to a question might be from a song. For instance, when my girls are shouting for me downstairs to hurry up or they’ll be late for class, I would reply with Michael McDonald’s “Ya Mo Be There”.

Or if my girls complain that they’re bored, my answer would be the Bee Gees’ “You Should be ~~Dancing~~ Studying, yeah!” Gets them every time ! Or if they’re asking where I’ve been, I’m likely to go “Splish splash, I was taking a bath”!

You get the picture! This bursting into song is quite involuntary, and yes, I know I’m weird and whacky but it’s fun and my kids love it.

Are you guilty of being a whacky mom too and what fun things do you do with your kids?

Our very own big O

Clairity — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:12:05 +0000

Back in college, I received a pot of beautiful pink petunias as a gift. My very own plant, yay! I’m going to take good care of you, I whispered to my new companion. First thing after class every day, I would check on my prized petunias. Indeed I never wavered on my promise to water those babies and take the pot out to the balcony for a quick bit of sun every.day.

Not until the day I left my petunias out on the balcony in the summer heat of over 100 degrees F and forgot to bring the pot in. By the time I realized it, it was too late! My petunias had lowered their heads in a last ditch attempt to shield their faces from the blazing sun and turned to toast when I failed to come to their rescue.

Clearly I’m no green thumb. Everything I’ve grown, or tried to grow, has inadvertently committed suicide all too soon. Hence the reason why my little garden out front is bare, much like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.

Not too long ago, an aunt of mine, our family’s bearer of birth announcements from far and near, stopped by to announce that a cousin has delivered a bouncing baby boy which by the way, is how I stay updated on the headcount in the clan.

As usual, Aunt Green Thumb paced around my piddly little garden and lamented its lack of living vegetation. While I was upstairs wrapping a gift for said cousin’s newborn, Aunt Green Thumb took it upon herself to do a quick bit of gardening on my behalf.

And behold, we have okra!