Friday, September 18, 2015

Indoor Activities during Hazy days - Baking

Hi folks!

During the hazy days and we happened to run out of bread (and food actually as we did not go out to replenish our groceries during the hazy weekend). Thus, i found some bread flour and some very ripe bananas and voila, we end up baking some stuff for our breakfast and teatime.

We've made some focacia bread with the breadmaker and bake some whole-wheat eggless bananas muffin (yummy). I googled and found the recipe from this website.






Now, this is yet another lovely indoor activity we can do with our kids at home during the hazy days!

Kids and adults can get so restless when they don't get to go out in the sunshine and nature, do you agree?  Now, what do you do with your kids during the hazy days? Please do share :)

Cheers!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Indoor Activities during Hazy days - Jenga

Hi folks!

Recently I participated in the Jenga Games competition in my company. It's my first time ever participating in a game quite new to me. I've seen people playing it but I have not try playing it myself.

Thus, after having a round of practice with two colleagues (one of the them was the champion of the Jenga Game in our company last year), I got the hang of it.

During the competition day, I've had a tough game and my competitor is a guy! Now, not all guys have such meticulous skill to play Jenga well and my opponent sure is a good player here.

I find the Jenga really helps to build up patience, being calm and steady and also being clear-headed to think of the strategy or next step.



After playing the game, i got hooked and got my own set of "local" Jenga set to play with my family. To my surprised, they knew about the game and play it before....ah..how outdated I am!

So, during the hazy days when we skipped the swimming class and we played Jenga game together instead.

From the Jenga, you can also find out what type of skills your children has. Whether they are the hasty and impatient type, or one who strategy, careful and patient type.

Interesting discovery for me indeed.

So, are you bored at home during hazy days or running out of ideas what to entertain yourself/ your family members, especially children? Why not get yourself a Jenga set. It's a way for me to "detox" from the watching too much IPad...now how long can we glued ourselves on the screen?

Let's get active and play some indoor games together!

Cheers!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Shape a Colorful Community

Hi folks!

First of all, Happy Malaysia Day!

In conjunction with Malaysia Day, my kids and I did some fun indoor activities (well..to enjoy some bonding and fun time together despite the haze).

We did some sculpturing with PLAY-DOH® , yes! The all-time favourite that we used to play since young.



First I team up with my kids to imagine try to put some ideas together on what everyone in the family think will best and most positively represent Malaysia. 

The first thought that came to KY's mind was her favourite food- nasi lemak (a fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf), but alas we don't have any white play doh at hand, so she quickly switched to another of her favourite food, that is satay (a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce).

Whereas for SE, he came up with the idea to create Malaysia flag, again we don't have any white play doh with us,so he got creative and started to sculpt the word MALAYSIA with the multiple, vibrant colors we had at hand. Very creative indeed!

As for ZS, he helped to build the hands of the three Malaysians (Malay, Chinese, Indians) holding hands together and KY made a special braided hair for our Indian friend here with lovely and fashionable saree (the traditional costume for Indians). ZS also helped to create the small buttons for our Malay friends who is wearing their traditional Baju Melayu. How cool is that?

As for me, I thought of our National flower hibiscus and thus TOGETHER, we made this to represent our Colorful Community in Malaysia and also to express our love for Malaysia, our beloved country.



Can you see the plate of satay along with the yummy peanut sauce and refreshing cucumber made by KY in the picture?

I am surprised how much quickly they could come up with ideas about our country Malaysia. And of course, all these food, flowers, and identities of our community is very close to our heart as Malaysians.

So, what activity are you doing with your kids today on Malaysia Day? Here are some inspirations of ideas came up by others:

Lovely aren't they?

May our country and our folks be blessed with abundance of wisdom, strength and integrity to progress further as a nation.

Special thanks to PLAY-DOH® which helps brighten up our day with lovely shapes and colors we could explore together as family and expand our creativity!



Have a fruitful and lovely time folks...

Cheers!

For more information and updates about PLAY-DOH® Month, be sure to visit the PLAY-DOH® website: www.playdoh.com.

Coping with hazy days

Hi folks!

With the yearly haze hitting our shore once more, there's a number of things we could do:

1. Shop groceries online - this helps a lot as i cook more often at home esp. during the haze. This way, we could stay indoor and avoid the haze.
2. Cook and eat at home - reduces the exposures of the haze and unhealthy food.
3. Have indoor activities for the children (will share more about this in next blog post)
4. How about working from home? This is still a dream to be...which will be even more ideal if children could study online and do not need to brave the haze to go to school!
5. Hang my laundry at home..gee..having an indoor dryer will be ideal otherwise you will see lotsa clothes around the living room

Here are some of the ways we try to cope with hazy days...now do you any good tips to share? Some friends said book an air ticket to haze-free country for holiday..well this would be ideal if money and leaves are not an issue..otherwise we just had to think of some ways to cope with hazy days the best we could.

Cheers for now!

Drinks that helps during hazy days

Hi folks!

Time to boost up our immune to combat or face the hazy days.

Here's some remedies shared from a friend ( I've brew my chrysanthemums tea..taste awesome!)

Remedies to ease the discomfort brought on by the haze and air polluton:

Step 1: in the morning, brew some chrysanthemum with a small slice of ginger and rock sugar for 15 minutes. Function : clear the heatiness and the irritation to the lungs.

Step 2: in the afteroon, boil barley water (use Chinese barley, those with black lines) with 2 slices of ginger, rock sugar for 40 minutes or more. Function: nourish the spleen, clear the heatiness, it's diuretic and is able to discharge harmful substances through the urine. Remember to put 1/2 slices of ginger, as chrysanthemums and barley have cooling properties, so ginger is added to protect the spleen and stomach's 'yang' (heat).

Another remedy is, boil green beans with slices of ginger and brown sugar.

Due to the severity of air pollution, cut down outdoor activities.

This is shared by TCM physician Zhong, please help us to share.

Thank you!
应付目前的烟雾空气污染,用食疗法帮助:
1方 : 早上冲泡菊花, 姜小片, 冰糖. 冲泡15分钟就可喝。分量多少随你喜欢。
功能 ,清散风热,减少烟雾对肺部的刺激。
2方: 下午煮喝薏米水(中国薏米 有黑线的 )加2姜片,冰糖 共煮40分钟以上。
功能: 健脾,清热,利尿, 让身体从小便排出有害物。
请记住放姜片,一或两片就好,因为菊花,薏米为凉性,姜片是保护中焦脾胃阳气。

例外,绿豆,姜片加黑糖也可以。
空气污染严重,户外活动减少。
钟医师与你们分享,请帮忙把简讯发出去。 谢谢您


Have a healthy days ahead folks!

Cheers!

Happy Malaysia Day!



Hi folks!

Look at the sky today...yes clear sky..so thankful for a moment of clear sly without haze..now time to hang my laundry out under the sun on Malaysia day..here's a list of chores i managed to do all in the morning:
Laundry check
Floor mop check
Soup check
Brunch(Bee Hoon & white radish soup) check
Dishes washed check
Rubbish cleared check
Chrysanthemum tea brewed check

Ok..I am all ready to enjoy my cup of chrysanthemums tea with a book while folding baskets of washed clothes.

Happy Malaysia Day!

Cheers :)

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

School is closed today due to haze

Hi folks!

Haze was really bad since yesterday.

Finally it was announced that schools in Selangor, KL, Putrajaya, NS, Malacca to close Tuesday - Nation | The Star Online - http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/09/15/haze-schools-close/