Pre-Babymoon Talk.

One more comfortable sleep to reunite with the mister. This is by far the longest time we've been away from each other and it sucks big time.

I am not a fan of long-distance relationship kind of person and it's not like this is LDR also (heh), but it's similar to it - in my reference. 

I give you people (those who are dealing with LDR right now) a standing ovation because I have no idea how you guys can do it. Maybe your love is stronger. Hah. 

My love language is time - and that is why I feel that I can never do LDR. You need to spend time with me to love me please - and being away physically is just too hard. 

Anyways, I am so looking forward to seeing snow and experience (again) the joy and pain of being in a very cold place. 

I only have a 7-kg hand carry so it's going to be a struggle for me to pack tonight. There will be so many things that I' not going to bring which is going to be bleh. 

What I am not looking forward to is the 5-hours that I have to spend in the airport before the flight to Jeju-do. Praying that sleeping on a carpeted floor won't be too bad or even better, there will be a row of empty chairs for me to lie on. Heh. 

Backbones, please hold it together till we get to the island,, okay. 

Super thankful for this babymoon getaway before the tiny boss comes! 

Thank you Mister Koay - can this please not be my birthday present? HAHA!

Till next time, bye now. 

Pregnancy Update: Week 16 - Week 20.

APPETITE

On my office desk, I have a bag of M&Ms, sour Skittles, garlic and onion flavored broad beans and a few Hershey's from OZ land.

So, if you would like to take a guess, you may be able to guess that the appetite is one that is unpredictable. Sometimes, I crave for sweet things and sometimes, I just need some salty foods and then there are other times where I need the sour part to kick in. It's random all-day err-day.

There is this particular thing that I have been craving for the longest time, and the funny thing is that the normal-me don't even like this yet the pregnant-me wants it so badly.

COFFEE.

Can you believe it?

I don't even like coffee but now I look for decaf coffee everytime someone suggests to hang out at a cafe - then when I get there, I usually just bite my tongue and not get it because I will ended up feeling bad.

So far, it's been very manageable but I got a feeling that I may (very soon) make my way to Coffee Bean and get their Decaf Mocha Frapp. Heh. 

WHAT IS SLEEP?

I have been getting shorter and shorter sleep at night thanks to endless weird-just-super-bizarre dreams that makes absolutely zero sense yet very entertaining and also the frequent visit to the toilet.

That is why I take in less liquid at night but that can't do because my body gets thirsty fast whole day so I just kept drinking them water.

During no-work-days like Mondays, I always grab the opportunity to take my afternoon naps (whenever Daryl sleeps actually) so I would not feel so tired by nine pm.

The surprising thing that I found is that I sleep better whenever Koay sleeps next to me - I think it's just the manja-hormones in me during this season. Heh.

I used to complain (so much) that he moved too much on the bed. Hah. Love you noob.

DRESS ME UP & MAKE ME BEAUTIFUL

I remember feeling extremely sad that my old clothes could not fit me no more and then I remembered again, that my belly is supposed to grow bigger each day. Still, that sad feeling lingered a while - must be the unpredictable hormones la.

I was supposed to clear my wardrobe and keep the clothes that fit no more and put in those that can but I kept delaying till last night, heh.

Now, I have more dresses in there to fit the belly and bum-bum and not to mention these humongous boobs. Heh.

It's quite difficult to feel beautiful every morning to be honest. As beautiful as this pregnancy has been, physically it does a lot to the emotions. What helps A LOT is that my husband constantly assures me that I look great and he really love seeing that growing bump. I bet that's not the only thing he likes growing hah!

I love this crazy man.

So yeah, it is a minor struggle trying to figure out what to wear every morning - confirm a lot of repetition of clothes because nice maternity clothes are just way too expensive.

I don't even own a pair of maternity shorts because those that I got from online shopping just cannot fit the bum-bum - really waste of money. And there is no H&M Maternity in Penang so I shall wait till when I go KL - hopefully soon enough.

PRENATAL CLASSES

We have finally registered and paid the money - RM159 per couple at Adventist Hospital. There will be 4 classes and I will be almost 8 months pregnant when the class starts.

This is actually more for him since I really don't need them after helping my sister with her two kids - worlds biggest bullies. Hah.

Love them to bits man.

CONDITION OF ZE HAIR

I am super in love with Hairstory's hair-wash service! Their massages are the best kind and since I am not allowed to have any body massages, head and shoulder feels like heaven please.

I loved how the Senior Stylist (now my favorite-to-go-to-man) Lucas does with my hair. He keeps it very natural and wavy and light and fluffy. Ahhh, best.

He decided to sponsor the package that I have yet to buy (ahh my procrastination has gotten very bad). Pay RM200 and get to wash for ten times (valid for 2 years).

2018 starting really well for me heh.

I am still losing quite a bit of hair everyday but my hair seems to be softer and easier to manage. My sister said it is most likely due to the pregnancy as well so yay.

SUPPLEMENTS

Everyday I take a total of 4 tablets - Calcium, Obimin, Neurogain and Folic Acid. I think I may do a separate post on these supplements and how much I have been spending my moolahs on them every month heh.

Super thankful that I now do not have any trouble swallowing them pills.

VERY THANKFUL.

SKINCARE

There are no more random pimples on my face (phew!) but the lower part of my chin has been showing really dry skin and some redness, especially when I wake up in the morning.

I don't usually apply anything on my face, not even moisturizer but for that area, it's a daily thing now.

Oh and my legs are like fish-skin legs! So dry and so pfft.

I have been ignoring them for quite some time because it's just legs ma right. Okaylah, I think I should start paying more attention to it. Soon la heh.

EMOTIONS STUFF

According to Didi, it's the craziest! Hah.

On some days, I am so moody in office she also don't dare to come near to me and on other days, I;m just the happiest.

I think my mood swings are very unpredictable.

I can be really okay in the morning and by the time noon comes, that's it.

And don't you dare say to me about controlling them moods, because I will stare you to death - hah kidding. But seriously, I don't even realize it so how do I control it huh.

MONTHLY CHECK-UP

I have been very consistently visiting Adventist Hospital and Klinik Kesihatan near our house because initially, we just thought that it may be a good idea for us to deliver the baby at GH - because it is so expensive to deliver in private hospital via C-section (if we had to).

But now, come to think of it, we may just do it at Adventist Hospital because I just have more confidence with Dr. Soon to be honest.

But we're still keeping our options open although leaning more on Adventist. Hah.

So, I guess that's all for now on this baby update.

Till next time, people. 

Goodbye Last Year, Hello This Year!

2017 is by far the most happening year for me.

Also, it is a year where I didn't blog 'that much'. It's not like I have forgotten about it, definitely not. If anything, blogging keeps me sane - sort of.

It helps me to relax.

So, that's why my only resolution this year is to blog and document as many events as I can here.

But seriously, who am I kidding?

With so many things that's going to happen, this cannot be my only resolution, and since I will have too many resolutions and probably not going to fulfill all of them, I might as well not have any resolutions this year. Heh.

Kong ka liau.

Anyways, 2017 has been a real ride for both Adrian and myself. I cannot say much on behalf of him since I still have got so much to learn about this spontaneous man everyday. We've only been married for a year plus so yeah.

God has been good throughout my life, and 2017 is not an exception.

We may have lost a baby earlier last year, but we have gained a deeper intimacy with each other and a small part of understanding what it meant when we vowed 'through good times and bad'. I have never allowed myself to weep and be completely fragile and weak in front of another human until we lost Little Dot and found myself vulnerable in the arms of the man that I truly love.

Of course, not long after that, we found out that we are expecting again - oh the emotional ride it had taken us just within that few months heh.

You would think that being pregnant few months after losing one would help emotionally, but I tell you that's not true. In fact, I find myself being a little more emotional (could be the hormones) thinking about Little Dot while carrying this one inside.

It does not make it any easier, but it is certainly not the kind of sadness where it paralyses you okay. It's the kind that empowers you even more, makes you a stronger being.

I also left my 4-years job with a great company and joined the church. With that being said, I also did not travel to as many places as I would like to, but that's okay. Koay would disagree because we did visit Australia for about 2-weeks. Heh. Oh how I miss Melbourne, Sydney and Brissy already.

Maybe this year, we can visit Perth and Tasmania - ahem ahem. Hah. And maybe Japan.

What a life-changing year right.

Now that 2017 has been great and is in the past now, I look forward to what this year is going to bring. So far, being pregnant has been comfortable (except for the ongoing flu) and I would not have it other way.

We have less than 6 months before tiny human comes and our life changes again. We appreciate every date-night we can get now although that's a bit difficult now since he has been on a very intensive floorball training to prepare for the upcoming Floorball World Championship thingy.

That also means less than a month till I get to travel to Jeju - babymoon yas!

This is also going to be the year I no longer get to celebrate being in the twenties - boo. Age is just a number anyways heh.

OH OH AND WE CAN FINALLY SAY GOODBYE TO DIGI FOR GOOOOD! Adrian's contract with them ends on 31 December 2017 so I cannot wait till we can change to Maxis and we can happily surf the net in the comfort of our own home. Yasss.

I guess I'm going to be signing off now since Daryl is taking his first nap of the day, I think I shall to.

I hope everyone's 2018 is going to be kicking-backside kind.

Till then, bye now. 

Pregnancy Update: Week 12.

"We need to celebrate because it's the end of the first trimester!"

I was definitely counting down to second trimester. Praying all the while that as I say bye to the first 3 months, I would also say bye to nausea and dizziness and high risk of losing this one.

And indeed, prayer answered.

HELLO TINY HUMAN

We finally saw the baby and good news is that the fibroid that grew from 3 cm to 5.4 cm within a month has finally stopped growing. It is also quite far from where tiny human is so that's a yay.

Tiny human is about 6 cm now and we could see very clearly the hands and feet on the 3D ultrasound. One of the thing that wows me was how tiny human was moving left and right the entire time we were watching the ultrasound.

Too surreal to actually see a human that tiny somewhere behind my belly button. It's really amazing.

APPETITE

My 'need' of curry on a daily basis has seemed to decrease as the day goes by. I don't really need to have my banana leaf curry rice that badly anymore. Heh.

Good news for Koay.

Instead, my cravings have turned to sweeter-not-so-healthy things, like ice-cream (particularly Magnum heh) and potato chips!

And bananas!

And chocolates.

Oh no.

CONSTIPATION

To my surprise, I now can poop once every two days (give and take). Few weeks ago, I only poop once a week (with a lot of pain some more).

So, this I am very thankful of.

Maybe it's because of the bananas.

ENERGY LEVEL

This is also getting better. I realized I didn't need to rest as much throughout the day and I don't feel s exhausted as I was before. Getting better seriously.

SKIN CONDITION

Still as dry as the Sahara Desert thank you.

WHAT PERIOD?

One of the best feeling of not having to experience period for the past 3 months! Looking forward to 6 more months of no menstrual whatsoever.. Muahahah.

BABY BUMP

It's getting bigger in a faster mode.

I went to register at the Klinik Kesihatan Ibu & Anak and the nurse commented that my bump actually looked like I'm in 4-months term. Then, she pressed more and realized about the fibroid - highly likely because of fibroid because it's at the bottom of the womb (something like that).

Nah some ultrasound photos to see a three-month old tiny human inside me.

Can see hands and feet so cute I cannot take it.

How can there be another living human growing inside of me? It is the weirdest yet the best feeling ever.

Okay, so earlier I did mentioned about a fibroid in my uterus and here's a photo of it.

Tiny human was about 2 months plus so still a bit small compared to the fibroid. Now, tiny human is bigger already yass.

There are two dotted lines on each other and you can see pretty clearly the big black thingy underneath the baby sac. So yeah.

Normally, fibroid does not grow in size, however for my case, it is growing. It was about 3cm when we saw tiny human's heartbeat on the monitor and now it's about 5cm.

It should not harm the baby in any way so yeah. As of the last check-up, it was quite far away from tiny human so Dr. Soon reassured us that all looking fine now.

He will continue to monitor this fibroid.

SLEEP PATTERN

I am currently using two pillows for my head so that my backbones don't hurt throughout the night. It has already started and it's no surprise because my backbones apparently are a little too curved to the right (or is it to the left?).

Wakes up at least 3 times or more at night to pee, definitely a yes.

CONCLUSION

I think I am now beginning to enjoy this pregnancy a lot more compared to the first trimester. Guys may not realize this but a slight of nausea can really ruin your entire day/mood.

So, I am beyond thankful that nausea is no more and my mood seems to be a whole lot better. Heh.

Creamy Mushroom Soup.

So, I've noticed that other than pregnancy-related stuff, I hardly write anything anymore - not that I have written a lot about pregnancy stuff.

There is one thing that I miss a lot, and that is (no brainer) travelling.

Writing about hotel stays and catching a plane to another country.

I know for a fact that the reason I blogged very little for the past 3 months was because of how I was always feeling - nauseous and tired most of the time.

See, another baby-related thing. Ah.

Anyways, now that I am feeling so much better - nausea only comes at night now - I think it's time for me to get back to this comfort place.

There is a project that we needed to work on and that is to clear his previous bachelor room and convert that into a nursery.

No, we are not going to separate tiny human from us - at least not for the first 6 months. But we do need that room to store all tiny human's stuff and I foresee it's going to be a lot of things that we are going to have.

Our room itself cannot put more than a small wardrobe and a babycot so everything else needs to be in the other room.

Also, we are planning to sell off our 1-year plus old mattress so that we could get a firmer one from my sister. We're both light sleepers and we're hoping and praying that tiny human is not going to be a light sleeper.

No, tiny human is not going to share the bed with us but there will be times where we would want to lay him/her on our bed so that we could lie and stare all day err day.

Our current mattress is way too soft for me to be honest.

So, with this on our to-do list before tiny human comes, we should really start to work on it right, but I have got a feeling that we're only gonna really do do it next year after the Jeju. Heh.

Enough of my ransom ramblings here.

2017 is gonna past all of us in about a months' time so let's do the things that we say we want to do this year before it's too late!

Let's not carry to next year's resolution, shall we?

Title of this post - current craving.

Till then, bye now. 

The Best First Year Anniversary Gift To My Husband!

Pregnancy Update: Week 4 - Week 8.

I remembered feeling super excited when Rachel was going into labor with Sha Lynn and I spent like don't know how much money getting cute clothes and things for Sha Lynn.

I was definitely as excited with her second pregnancy, however I did not spend as much money on Daryl as I did on Sha Lynn when he first came out. A lot of hand-me-downs d that's why. So sad right being a second-born. Heh.

But I love both of them as much for sure. 

I'm not quite sure if I am going to be reacting the same way for my own case because to be honest, it is quite difficult to 'enjoy' the pregnancy at this moment.

Okay, I am going to be like really honest here because I am an honest person. Hah. I am. Here are some of the changes/updates from Week 4 to Week 8.

I think most mothers-to-be experience similar things but different people sure got different feel also so yeah. 

MORNING SICKNESS

I started having nausea at Week 4 (before we test on the stick) and it was not too bad at first. It started at night (before going to bed) and its every few days once.

Now, it's a constant friend. I don't get it in the morning (thankful for that!) so I usually have good mornings - got appetite to eat breakfast and all.

It comes before lunch and then after lunch, it stays on until dinner time.

These days, they seem to like making a grand entrance right after I lie down on my bed, next to my husband. I am convinced (100%) that it's the smell of my husband's shampoo. Confirm! 

There are special occasions where if I accidentally smell something that the nose does not approve of, that's it. Whole day nausea begins. It is that sensitive.

I have no control of my body anymore I tell you. It's insane.

However, I am thankful (in a way) that I feel this nausea everyday because it means that I am still pregnant. it's crazy thinking I know.

Some days, I pray for the nausea not to come because it can get really tiring to fight it.

ENERGY LEVEL

This one was a huge surprise for me. I've heard Leny mentioned so many times on how she would feel tired for no apparent reason and I thought I knew what she meant. I thought. It was until when I felt it that I thought to myself that this cannot be lasting the entire 9 months of pregnancy right.

It's like I get tired 2 hours after I wake up in the morning, and the only 'heavy' thing I did was eat breakfast and walk to the toilet. It's madness.

Some days, I just want to lie down and not do anything.

EXPANDING TWINS

No, I am not having twins please. I'm referring to my boobies. Okay, maybe I should not use this word - a bit too rough here.

They have grown bigger since the first time nausea hits. I feel like they are still growing and I may need to for bra-shopping soooon.

I realized many of my dresses are tighter on top because of them, and it's weird because it feels as though I am suffocating them.

Someone asked me in church the other day (name shall not be revealed), "Why you wear so revealing?"

Excuse me. That dress is a decent dress okay. I used to wear it all the time and it wasn't as 'revealing'. Please understand that I will look somewhat different in some of the clothes I used to wear because my body is going to keep expanding. Thank you for understanding :) Heh.

Also, I guess more shopping sessions are needed for this expanding body. Oh no. 

CONSTIPATION

A real-life struggle.

Very tough.

RANDOM CRAVINGS

This one is an absolute headache for Koay.

And I'm not even like taking it as an advantage (yet) hah - I kid you not!

Because of this constant nausea, my cravings usually come very last minute. Right when the nausea ends, then suddenly the appetite for random foods will come.

Some of my favorite food - Thai food (absolute top favorite), prawns, Lor Mee, mom's steamed fish and pork (sio-bak/char-siew) all gone down the drain. Everytime someone suggest Thai food, I will always yes to it. Now, please. It's like summoning for the nausea to come everytime I think of Thai food. So sad right. 

I used to love prawns a lot. This morning, I had to ask Koay finish all my Char Koay Teow's prawns. ALL OF IT. I could not stand to even look at it. That was how bad. And I had Char Koay Teow for breakfast! That is so impossible for the old-Sarah Khoo please. 

One thing that I still enjoy a lot is steamboat. Thank God that never changed. 

The number one thing that I crave the most now (almost everyday!) is curry. It can be indian curry, mamak curry, malay curry or chinese curry. As long as it is curry, I 'll have it please. 

With Koay's constant nagging to eat healthily, now I consciously make decisions not to eat curry everyday. Like what Pastor Cowan said to me, "Your baby eats what you eat!" 

So yeah. 

SMOOTH SKIN

Definitely not in my case. 

I have had more pimples on my face for the past 8 weeks than I had in the entire year. Some moms shared with me that their skin became very soft and smooth and glow-y. Maybe mine haven't start yet. 

My face got rounder I know la. Smoother pfft. 

Also, my face tends to get really dry in the morning so now I am starting to use moisturizer before sleep and after morning shower. 

AWKWARD BUMP

As of today, I am at Week 9 and the bump is slightly bigger than my normal belly size. It's so awkward looking now because it's too small to look like a baby bump and big enough to look like that over-eating food-bump. Heh.

I have started using the anti-stretch-mark lotion by Palmer's Cocoa Butter. Typical Asian of me because when I was choosing between the cream or lotion type, I chose lotion because it has one extra ingredient - Shea Butter.

Loved the smell so far!

Also, I realized that my baby bump is bigger than a normal Week 9 bump and it is probably because of the growing fibroid in my womb. I will get to that on my next post.

So that's about it for now.

Till next time. 

Bye now. 

How We Found Out We're Pregnant (Round 2)!

[I CAN FINALLY BE OUT AND OPEN ABOUT THE PREGNANCY YASSS. It's been the most torturing 5 weeks to 'try' keep it a secret. Heh. Oh wells.]

Here goes.

There was a day sometime the second last week of September where I felt an intense nausea (the same kind during our first pregnancy) and immediately I wondered. I decided to wait till my period is overdue then only check because you know what, pregnancy test kits are really expensive.

I actually lost my appetite the few weeks before I did this test and lost 2 kg. I thought I was doing well on my 'get slimmer body' diet. Heh.

It was a Saturday, and I immediately thought that it was my one-year anniversary because I did get married on a Saturday last year, only to realize on Sunday that my actual anniversary was on Sunday, the twenty-fourth.

Aduhai otakku.

My alarm clock that Saturday morning was set at 7:00am because I needed to leave house by 8:00am to Batu Feringghi for my Counselling Those in Crisis course.

I woke up that morning with a feeling that I should pee on a stick (my period wasn't even due yet) and see if two lines will appear. I said this prayer before I went to pee - "God, Your timing is perfect and this would be the perfect timing to get pregnant because it's our first anniversary!" - thinking that Saturday was twenty-fourth but it was actually only twenty-third. Bleh.

I peed on the stick and left it on the basin.

Brushed my teeth, put on my contact lens and showered.

Then, there it was. The very faint second red line. Very very faint but I knew there and then that there is a baby in me alright. It looks like there is no line but the faint line was quite visible.

I was beyond all kinds of emotions.

Happy, 'oh-my-goodnessss-whatt', excited, fear, disbelief, 'is-this-real', 'thank you God!' et cetera.

I walked out and collapsed on my bed and gave myself a good 5-10 minutes to cry all these mixed emotions out. It was surreal.

The weekends went on like the usual routine - spending time with my family and close friends - which was by the way just pure torture because I could not tell anyone about the stick!

I tested it again with the RM30+ Clearblue Digital and with that, sure cannot go wrong right.

I wanted Adrian to be the first to find out so I have to wait till he knows then only the rest of the world.

Earlier that week, Adrian left to Johor for a national floorball tournament (Merdeka Cup 2017) and he would be spending about 5 nights there. Since we were not able to celebrate our anniversary together on the actual day, I thought perhaps I could surprise him with gifts everyday.

And I did just that. Everyday he would receive different gifts from different people. Thank you Ling Ling for organizing the surprises for me - and Termin, Michaela, Yen Yen and Winnie for being the postman/woman!

By the way, congratulations to both men and women's team - they won champion this year! Yasss.

So with all that little gifts, I knew I had to end it with the best gift yet.

I Googled and Pinterested on ways to surprise husband for pregnancy and finally decided to go with the one thing that I think it's best considering the time I had left when I decided to surprise him NOT AT HOME.

His ETA from Johor was about 6am, and I only started preparing the 'surprise-kit' at 12am.. Less than six hours to go.

The Clearblue Digital test Kit died on me that day! The battery can only last up to 24 hours apparently so I had to pee on another stick! Heh.

I obviously did not really sleep that night. I just had to tell someone that I've got a baby in me and I was so nervous. My heart was beating so fast.

And the thing is that the plan was to surprise him over dinner at Straits Quay but I was so close to giving the box to him that morning - so glad I held myself back.

Then, another dilemma.

Give him before the food comes, or after dinner?

My heart was beating out of my chest already and I decided that I am not going to wait till after dinner because it was killing me softly inside already.

So I had to just do it there and then.

Right after we ordered, he asked if I wanted a glass of wine.

If I said no, he would have figured out something is weird, so I said, "You should order one" - for himself only.

Then, I took out my phone, hit record and gave him that precious box.

Was he surprised?

You bet. He didn't see it coming at all - as you can see in the video (posting soon). Heh. My heart was so full that moment.

I decided to take a video because it's this kind of moment that makes my heart beats ten times faster. I shall post the video another time.

On the same night, we went home and broke the news to his sisters and mom - to which three of them were surprised too and really happy!

I wanted to just tell the whole world there and then okay! But we already have a plan to surprise my family so have to wait no matter what.

We went to bed that night holding hands and smiling. It's madness.

Then, two days later we decided to surprise my family (and the bridesmen).

My mom, dad and Vanessa was shocked. They never see it coming! Rachel was feeling more 'betrayed' because I didn't tell her first or like give hints or what. This time, I decided to surprise everyone at the same time so yeah.

No video this round.

That was it!

As of today, I am about 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant, and we have been feeling great and happy and really really happy!

We saw the fetus and the yolk sac and then the heartbeat - just one of the most amazing thing. Will update on that the next time.

Thank You Jesus for this baby!

We know that God's timing is perfect and for us to find out on our first year of anniversary was just the cherry on top of the cake. It makes it so much more meaningful and special!

Adrian already started his 'daddy duty'. Sort of.

You must start doing Sudoku - he believes it will help to sharpen baby's brain development.
You cannot eat spicy food already - this is almost impossible to do. What logic is that?
No Tomyam soup - the one thing I crave a lot these days :(
Don't walk too much - loved this one heh.
Drink a lot a lot of water please - still work in progress.
What do you feel like eating today? - yasss.
Miss you and the baby - *and the baby* :)
Make sure you feed my baby well - whatt.

Till then, bye now.

Short Hello.

Hello!

This place has been quiet lately huh.

Oh wells.

I will be back soon because I've got so much things to tell you guys!

We just got back from Koh Lipe, and probably never make another trip there. Heh.

It's been a really-needed getaway though.

The past 2 weeks has been very tiring for me, but all for a good reason so no, I am not complaining here.

September came and left just like that, but it left us with the sweetest thing ever - we celebrated our first anniversary and though we did not managed to celebrate on the day itself, it was still the most meaningful date-night.

Tell you guys more next time.

So glad that Friday is just tomorrow!

YASSSS!

Till then, bye now. 

How to Make Tiramisu with Piece of Cake?

The last time we tested out on Piece of Cake was with Oreo Cheesecake, so this time, we decided to try it on Tiramisu.

Now, I have always felt that Tiramisu has got to be one of the hardest cake to make. I feel like if one component do wrong means all sure GG liau.

But there is one more thing that Piece of Cake offers, that no one else does. At least that's what I think. Heh.

On the to-do paper that was given, on the top right there is a QR code. So, if you have the QR Code Scanner app in your phone, just scan it and you will be directed to the Youtube video for that particular recipe.

For our case, Tiramisu Cup! You have no idea how much we watched the video because I just don't want to do it wrongly. #kiasi 

Throughout our Tiramisu baking session, I was being so doubtful and kept repeating, "Cannot d la. Sure not nice wan!" whereas Koay kept reassuring me that all will be good. 

I was afraid that the whipped cream was not being whipped too long enough, that the biscuits never get enough of the coffee flavor, that he cut the pieces too small, that the cheese haven't soften enough and it goes on. 

I was so paranoid I cannot, but the video really helps. 

This time, it was his sister's advance birthday celebration with the family. Talk about creating self-pressure hah. 

Anyways, you know how kids are always honest about everything and all, like if they hated certain kind of food, they will just say it. 

Well, Chloe loved the Tiramisu so much that she quickly reserved all the other Tiramisu cups before finishing hers.

Win!

Piece of Cake really made life so much easier and sweeter. Heh. 

Thank you Piece of Cake! 

I just realized that now they have mooncake package also! Yassss!

Mornington Hotel Soon Choon Ipoh, Perak.

Ipoh is like one and half hours away from Penang via car so you can try to guess where Penang people will go if they want a quick getaway.

Right.. Ipoh.

Now, there are many things to eat in Ipoh and many places to look-see look-see but I realized that there aren't too many 'known' hotels for people to choose. It's probably because Ipoh is really just a small town in Perak.

Not too long ago, a group of us decided to spend three days in this small town, doing absolutely nothing but eat and eat.

I found this hotel, Mornington Hotel Soon Choon Ipoh on Agoda (or is it Expedia?) and finds that the rates offered are not to bad.

It's not very big to say, but comfortable for sure. The place is clean and there isn't too many happenings around so perfect for families with small children, and for those who wants to sleep at 10pm (ahem Leny Wiratan) :)

We paid RM221.40 for 2 nights, so if you divide properly, it's only about RM55.35 per person per night.

Super worth it.

Clean, comfortable and cost-saving. Win.

Will stay again in the future. 

How to Bake a Cake Like a Pro - with Piece of Cake.

That's right.

Now I know that you must be thinking in your head, "She doesn't even bake and now she is giving advise on how to bake like a pro?"

Well, that's why you need to trust me on this because if a noob like me can bake cake like a pro, you definitely can bake cake like a boss. Hah.

If you want to know my secret to baking like a pro, continue reading. You will not waste your time I promise you :)

I have never done any baking my entire life. Wait, actually that's not very accurate. I have baked once last year in July for his birthday - a banana cake.

Let's just say that I gave up baking after that.

I am not and never will be a good baker, be in baking a cake, muffins, cupcakes or bread. Please, who I am kidding.

There is more hope in my cooking talent than having to do anything with flour or baking soda or vanilla essence.

Not until I found this solution.

It's the clever-est thing ever for people like me.

It's called Piece of Cake.

So much hope already just by hearing its name okay.

Piece of Cake had given me an Baked Oreo Cheesecake bag and a Tiramisu bag to give it a try. Now, I know how the Oreo Cheesecake would taste like already because both my mom and sister had tried baking them, and they tasted superb!

So what Piece of Cake really do is that they prepare and pack all the needed ingredients for a specific cake and provide the step-by-step guidance. Now, I know that a lot of the bakery shops already have this 'service' but the question is do their cakes taste as good at the end and do they provide clear step-by step guide?

What I really love about Piece of Cake is that they pack all the ingredients individually according to the recipe (without me having to refer and measure by myself) and labels them from Step 1 to the last step, so there is absolutely zero percent of it going wrong.

They even pack the eggs for us and not like add in a 'note: add 2 eggs' in the recipe guide. Lazy and uninterested in baking people like me will find this very useful and convenient.

Plus, I do not have any essential baking ingredients at home except for eggs. Not even normal flour or vanilla essence or baking soda.

So, I decided to give baking another try with Piece of Cake.

If I can bake a cake, excuse me, I mean if I can successfully bake a CHEESECAKE that tastes really good, I really win in life please.

So, we decided to give this Baked Oreo Cheesecake a try on the day we were going to celebrate my mother in law's belated birthday with the entire Koay family. No pressure at all. Heh.

Koay was in the kitchen with me too because he wanted to see if this really works.

 Since all the ingredients are labeled from A to J for us, all we had to do was read the instructions and follow them through one-by-one.

Please don't be keh-gao-gao and skip steps because then you will screw up everything. Koay almost did! Heh.

The only thing you have to have is your bowls and mixer okay. That you have to settle yourself already. They do provide the baking tray/bowl for you so you don't have to get stressed up trying to find the perfect tray to bake your cake in.

You can tell that we were really bad in our baking sessions because you can see like bits and pieces of the 'ingredients' on the sides of the mixer bowl. We really cannot handle it. Heh. 

We try la.

I was afraid that there were going to be lumps and all that but you know what, their instructions seriously very good for noobs like us. 

It tasted better than it looked, because we're no bakers.

It could have looked better but we were in a rush so it looked a bit messy and we should have done it a day earlier so it has more time in the fridge.

When we were eating the cake at the Korean Restaurant, it was not chilled enough but it was so yummy okay!

Not too sweet that's why everyone loves it!

Needless to say, Koay was very impressed so I am guessing that he will be making more orders through me now. Even my mom-in-law repeatedly saying that she was surprised to see that we took so little time to make this yummy cake.

We are so in love with baking now thanks to Piece of Cake MY, like seriously.

We are going to make the Tiramisu soon and obviously I'm going to blog on that too because hello, not everyone can make really good Tiramisu but with Piece of Cake, I am so confident that I'm going to slay it.

Just wait for it okay.

Again, thank you Piece of Cake for making me feel that there is hope again in baking. Now, I can start making cakes to pot-bless dinners and not spend on overly-priced cakes outside on birthdays!

I'm going to start baking cakes for my friends' birthdays! Hah.

So, thank you again. I bet you will receive more orders from me (potential VIP member here please! Heh).

For those of you who are hopelessly-still-trying, give this a try seriously. You will love it.

Here are some of the options that they have now:

• Baked Oreo Cheesecake (RM43.50)
•  Tiramisu Cup (RM40.50)
• Chocolate Walnut Brownie (RM26.50)
• No Bake Matcha Cheesecake (RM34.50)
• Matcha Lava Cake (RM23.90)
• Chocolate Lave Cake (RM19.90)
• Nutella Chocolate Tart (RM29.90)
• No Bake Kit-Kat Cheesecake (RM33.50)
• English Scones (RM18.00)

Let me know what you think once you have tried it! :)

Till then, bye now. 

Family Photoshoot at The Spit, Brisbane.

I may be biased in this but I don't share bad things with you people so these are all the good stuffs okay.

Family photoshoot done in Brisbane by the very professional, Shaun Teng :)

A photo speaks a thousand words - so here are the many thousands of words coming up. I shall say no more. 

Our family trip post from Part 1 onwards :)

This place instantly became one of our favorite place to be because it was not just beautiful, it was also very romantic. Heh. And we saw dolphins! Win in life thank you.

Shaun, till we see you again in few months' time!

:)