Growing up pain and injury

Our dear Bel had a fall during early morning basketball practice session on 27 March 2015, form teacher called me at 7:20 am saying that she has been crying after the incident for quite some time and suggested that I took her home or to bring her to hospital.

It was a small fracture on the radius bone of left arm, tiny fracture but yet it has to be set in a cast. After review by the specialist on 30 March with another Xray taken, doctor concluded that she only needs to be in a cast for three weeks. This is a relief.

Sport injury is part of sportman's adventurous journey. Growing up pain does include fracture. All these are part of growing up journey.

Growing Wings and Flying soon

All the years of parenting, all the years of caring, tutoring, fetching, learning by both kids and parents, all have a singular purpose which is to see our kids ready to grow their own wings and flying off the nest. Oh, the nest, it shall be empty soon, well, half empty.

 One does not quite get prepared for this, no matter how much you plan or pray about it from the time that they were born and little. This day was just too far away, too long a journey to fathom as possible to have completed, too distant a destination to have arrived. There was a time, they seem to be so little, and that they were attached permanently to our apron's string, they just would not let go, but slowly and surely, one fine day, they cut the apron's string off and declared independence and they do not need us that much anymore. They asked for space, private space and to be left alone. There were dinners they did not want to join; holidays they rather be somewhere else with their friends and own kind; movie they declined to be with us. 

Our two boys who are in their teens will leave home for further studies soon. So much planning has been evolved around this. We realised that the parenting journey of hand-holding and coaching will come to an end, at least the part where we are coaching in person, living in the same house scenarios. We will begin the mentoring and away from home coaching stage soon.

Where have time gone ? Where have our youth gone ? In the midst of all these parenting and growing and nurturing our kids up, suddenly the next few years will be the summation of our parenting goals, the peak of our existence and the reason of our beings (as if we live just for our kids). But very soon after that summation and peak, is a steep slope where we cannot follow and just have to let go and let them try their own lives. It will also be a instant draining of our financial savings and planning.

There is a quotation about the bird having its confidence not on the branch that it sits that it will not break but should the branch breaks, it can trust its own wings to fly away. The moral of the quotation - always believe in yourself. Well, in this case, we have to believe in our kids to have grown a strong pair wings to fly away from home, fly higher above the storm and fly further to achieve their full potential in pursuit of their dream and fly off to start their very own life journey. 

We wish our dearest flesh and blood, a very good journey full of mercy and grace from God, protected and always in His love and care. And mum and dad will also have to embark on another journey where we have to learnt to live without you at our sides, to have a part of us living away and far from us, to have more time to ourselves and learn to cope with new challenges.

Photo Make Over - Once a while

Photos taken by Cosway program 16 Nov 2013.

Rukun Negara - A Declaration of The National Philosophy

They said the last one was screwed by the Generation Y voters.
They said they are the ones that have forgotten their roots.
Perhaps, history was taught too shallow,
and they have become unpatriotic,
and become ignorant of the nation's fore-fathers' sacrifices and contributions.
With a stroke of the pen, they have voted out the long-time popular guys.
That was 2008 as the political analysts reported after the GE12.

Today is 2013, we are going through GE13.
What has happened in the past five years ?
We have a Prime Minister who is determined to reach to the Generation Y.
He started a Facebook account.
He started talking to the people (Rakyat).
He set up Think-Tanks for education
and they advised him to make history a compulsory subject to pass in 2013.
History in SPM exam will be 3 papers and 6 hours 30 minutes long.
This is serious business, and his team believes this will work.
To turn the Generation Z around since we have lost the Generation Y.

To make the kids more patriotic,
kindergarten education was reformed
and the Prime Minister's wife got a PhD for promoting early childhood education.
The advisors are very serious,
that Rukun Negara (declaration of national philosophy) be taught from age 3 onwards.
The results are hilarious, some kids are still saying Malaysia has a lot of prawns.
They read : Kedaulatan "Udang-Udang" (Prawns) instead of "Undang-Undang" (Law).

GE13 will see the youngest of GenerationY starting to vote.
This is the third time that Gen Y will be voting.
In the coming GE14, Generation Z will start voting,
they are the ones that will be forced to sit for 3 papers of History.
I guess the kids will not forget.
They have good memory of what the government has been doing.

 National Philosophy that Malaysia is built upon

The Idealist's Malaysia

Its hard enough to memorise all five of the Rukun Negara, 

to say them with convincing conviction is harder.

https://www.facebook.com/najibrazak?fref=ts
The Prime Minister of Malaysia's personal Facebook Page.
Todate, he has 1.6 million Likes for his page.

Little Things

Little Things

By far the most pleasant things in life

Often comes in little packages

Bundled in simplicity novelty

Hidden as gems in the dark

It is not necessary  in the fine things of

Luxurious indulgence

It is often in the little things

That we have taken for granted

So close yet eyes could not see

So near yet ears could not hear

Then one day

The great enlightenment struck

As if we woke up from a deep sleep

Rested from a long journey

In a moment we understood

We can fathom the truths behind

Those little things

These moments are most precious by far

~ Doria, January 2013

This is one of the first few poems I wrote with the help of the mini Ipad, so handy that I could write anywhere when the inspirations strike. It is a simply reminder of the importance to appreciate the little things we do have in this life and we should treasure.

Just realise that One Direction has released the new song Little Things by One Direction. 

Confirmation Service for my boy Wallace and my gal Rhea

Pineapple Tarts Success Story 2012

Pineapple tarts are a special delicacy, especially during Chinese New Year. I do not really make these tarts at any other time of the year. So, it is like once a year affair. After few years of trying, I had a proper lesson from my friend's mum who makes famous Pineapple Tarts in Singapore for many years, she taught few of us how to make the pineapple jam from scratch. It is a lot of hard work. I only did that twice and decided to buy ready-made Pineapple jam from Thailand from Bake with me shop.

I found this pastry very good and has the melt-in-the-mouth feel.

250 gm Butter
70 gm Icing Sugar (sifted)
2 Egg Yolks lightly beaten
330 gm Plain Flour (preferably cake flour)
2 Tbsp Cornflour
2 Tbsp Custard Powder (optional)

1) Sift flours, custard powder.
2) Mix butter, icing sugar till creamy and fluffy.
3) Add the yolk, sifted flours and mix to form a  dough.
4) Put inside plastic bag or bowl, leave the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Note:- I usually make 4 portions of this recipe and store them in a plastic bag inside the fridge. This can use for 2 Kgs of Pineapples and make about 280 pieces of Pineapple tarts like these photos.

Oven temperature: 170 C (not too hot), bake 8-10 minutes depending on how hot the oven is. Have to watch them carefully. 

Ready to bake!

In the Oven

Final Touch

Lovely Tarts

Final Products

http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/01/pineapple-roll-tarts-for-chinese-new.html