Julian is EATING!

Yeay! Time has really flown and my baby's almost 6 months and eating his solids! We started him on a Minolac Step 1 (4 months and above) sample which we got at a baby fair. It tastes quite good and Daddy finished what Julian couldn't. He took about 2 spoonfuls worth I guess.....but alot of it ended up on tissues.
Fil said Julian did very good though - not much wastage, lots of enjoyment and smiling and big doe-eyed looks of wonder at this group of 8 adults watching him while he learns how to eat! Hahahahah - we got a video and had lots of celebratory shouts of 'Yeay' and applause!
Julian's first solids! On 28 May 2011 at 7pm.
I love you Babe.

Scotty McHotty!

I knew he would win as per my theory of how they 'choose' winners.

To recap, usually they pick the second best to win cos then the AI franchise can work their wheels and the best singer/entertainer, being second, is free of rigid commitments and can make the powers that be lots of money.

In this year's case, McHotty, being a one genre singer, whilst being sexy good, is clearly more limiting in potential marketing, opportunities and genres than Lauren. (purely from the sheer number of types of music Lauren can sing as compared to Scotty).

And so Scotty would be no worse for wear being tied to AI while Lauren was the more flexible, and therefore, more easily marketable and as such, more attractive, candidate for music producers!

I was going to post my prediction and theory but a lack of time leads me to doing this now at 4am.

RE: Testing

 

WoW! It works! SO COOL!!!! Now I can definitely blog more, since my problem usually is being lazy to power up the laptop (running on Vista therefore, takes forever to boot up) and then blog….

 

KUDOS Blogger!

Testing

 

To see if email blogging works….

Rosemary Bites @ Aman Suria

We'd been here for the American Breakfast once before, found it yummylicious, however, the next few times we came by, aiyaks! Always close!! Why???

So, recently, I bought 2 meals there via Milk A Deal and wow was it ever a DEAL! It was RM14.90 for a Soup and Garlic Bread, Columbus Lamb Chop and Lemonade. I had bought the deal sometime in March and only just went last night. We arrived early for dinner - 6pm to avoid the rush and was it the best decision ever! We were the first in the restaurant but it soon filled up veryvery nicely.

We spoke a little bit with the owner and discovered that Breakfast is no longer served cos nobody in that area seems to do American Breakfasts! They kinda all go to Kayu around the corner. But boy, do I miss that, eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and butter Mmmmkkk! And coffee by Illy I think!

So anyway, back to dinner last night - the Wild Mushroom Soup was great - made fresh with a variety of mushrooms and you can tell it's not Campbell's by the colour, the texture, it's authentic home made soup, quite thick though JH preferred it thicker, it was a bit salty to the tongue but yum all the way. The owner also was kind enough to recommend and allow us to change one soup for the Pumpkin Soup of the Day. Oh my god! I never do Pumpkin Soup but this was to die for! It was sweet and textured and felt awesome on the tongue and in the tummy! MUST TRY!

Then came our Lamb - good sized portions for the deal we paid for with a side of salad and good fries. Now these are the big fries which I usually don't like - I like my fries thin like McD's but these were just hot enough, crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside! Even when I'd finished my meat and ate the fries cold, they were still being forked into my mouth. How does one make even cold fries taste good? And the mushroom sauce that went with the lamb was very nice too - the lamb at first, I thought was a bit tough but I still tasted the tenderness nearer to the centre of the cut (think it's the cut that made it a little tougher) and the juices still ran. JH thinks it's the best lamb he's had. I'm sure I have had better but can't remember where and this one at Rosemary Bites passes the test nicely especially at the menu price of RM19.90.... (I think).

We also desperately wanted to try some more so ordered an old classic that is very important to us - Fish and Chips. We managed to try mash instead of Chips since we already had a taste of that. And it was ok - not perfect but ok and JH who's palate has probably tasted like 90% of the world's Fish and Chips thought it was good enough.

The place itself is nicely made up to resemble somewhere in the US - to me actually it looks kinda like a Mexican Canteena. hahahahah ....it's made up but not too much so it's got a nice feel of me being able to be comfortable there in my shorts and sandals reading the mags and enjoying the music. There are enough tables and chairs but they aren't all squished up together and the lighting is soft and cosy. It really feels like the neighbourhood coffeeshop to me where if it expanded and had another store full of armchairs and sofas, it would be like Central Perk from Friends.

The service is excellent, the waiters are proactive, friendly, informative and not overly familiar or hovering all the time asking if every single drop of water is alright.....and the weirdest thing I need to call out is the fact that they've got loads of new magazines - like it's May now, and they have the May editions! Hahahhaha - SUPER COOL!!!!

Rosemary Bites is THE place to visit and revisit - the menu is simple but there's enough to go around......Ironically there are 3 American places all on the same row of shophouses, Betty's Midwest Kitchen is one and Kalamazoo is another. Both kinda suck for me - the first cos of the not too good food and sour faced proprietor, the second cos of the small portions and big prices. Rosemary Bites presents the perfect balance between great tasting food and ambience and price - heck, even if they raised their prices a bit I would still go back! (BUT don't do it, cos I hate it when a place gets big and then they get too big for their boots!)

:)

I Vote for Scotty and Lauren

It's true this season's American Idol features the best of the best - there should be a final season where they bring together all those who were fantastic who didn't win - for example - Melinda Doolittle, remember her? And another one is Diana Degarmo - they could also bring back Jennifer Hudson but I don't seem to like her music now - her albums all don't appeal to me.

But for now, my vote's for Scotty and Lauren - I am sure somebody is going to whip up stories about them being teenage sweethearts - that guy Scotty - so young but boy can he flirt! When he sings and holds his head that way and makes his eyes those limpid pools that seem to only see YOU....and then curl his lip abit....hahahahahhaha! Not that I'm susceptible to his charms - I'm a happily married woman!

And Lauren - gets prettier everyday....they first thought they'd make her edgy and rocker but then decided to go down the other path of pretty young girl with a touch of class and elegance - Beautiful! And she sounds good too!
I hate Haley, I think Jacob has lost his magic and James,.....well, gotta give it to James lah, he does sound ok. Who else is left? I think Paul McDonald should have been kept on while Jacob should have left in his place. I think it was a shame Casey left - he sounds wonderful and he takes great risks with his music and with himself. I don't know why the last week's song didn't get him through, I loved it!

What A Difference A Laugh Makes!

Today is the Labour Day May 1 holiday - it's a Monday and I am home alone with my son. He's past 4 months old now and a regular little firespark. He smiles, babbles, laughs and throws tantrums like there's no tomorrow. He seems to have quite a temper - I guess I can't really expect any different knowing myself and his father :) Last night, he was asleep when the thunder rolled and he woke up howling - not cos he was afraid but he was adamantly angry that the thunder had disrupted his sleep! He kicked up a big old fuss - I was out to dinner but that's what Mother In Law reported. By the time I got back, he had been placated, pleaded with, pacified, fed and rocked to an uneasy sleep - all of which resulted in failure except for sleep.


But then lo and behold, when I look over him and smile, he opens his eyes and smiles back! Everyone is astonished by the change in behaviour - yes, this is how children behave with their mothers and somehow, it makes it all worth it.

I feel I have been remiss at capturing some of Julian's moments. We don't own a video camera but have been taking some pictures on camera and on phone. And I do keep a diary of how he progresses.....but time flies so fast and he changes almost instantaneously. I'm not even home during the work day to see what he does!

Now it seems, he loves being lifted up into the air by his armpits - he laughs so cheekily and with such abandon - I WILL have to take a picture of it. Also, one week ago, I discovered he also enjoys being sucked (with loud noises, mind you) in the crook of his neck......When you turn him around, his mouth is open in a big O of silent merriment! Only this morning, he had awakened and was talking to himself for quite some time - what sounded like perhaps 2-3 sentences.....I was sitting up in bed, just listening to him when his dad asks, "Did you hear that??" from under the blanket. I did indeed and I would pay anything to hear it again. So today, he is in a talkative mood - babbling away to the TV, to me and to his fingers..... :)

He's getting a big big for his baby bath already so I've gotta look at the next step and also gotta start preparing the safety gate and think about where he can learn to crawl now....The biggest thing I worry about is the dog and dog hair downstairs.....and also the fact that his maternal grandparents don't see him all that frequently. I really wish for them to have a close loving relationship...

My friend just asked me via email today, how is my life, aside from Julian....I don't know how to respond - my life aside from Julian? Sounds tacky but there isn't much aside from Julian; or at least I feel that way - there's work - which is going well since I am now working on a new product and have more avenues and opportunities to show creativity and a supportive boss who allows me to take risks and teaches me lessons.....there is gym - where I'm trying to be disciplined and go 3 times a week, I would love to go and try out a group exercise class, and am finishing up on my introductory personal training classes - how do I tell my personal trainer that I am not going to spend another RM4k on lessons with him???, there is singing - which is great once a week though my biggest hurdle is getting over the mindset that I'm not good cos that's holding me back even while my vocal teacher keeps telling me every week that I have the talent, and most importantly, there is family - my husband, my parents, my sister, my parents in law and of course Julian falls into this category - I mean, Julian isn't a category in and of himself - hehehehheeeeee.....So, of course, I don't have as much time as before with hubby and of course I don't have as much mall time and weekend easy peasy let's just go activities and of course, I don't go back home to Penang as much anymore.....because yes, it's true - the little one DOES take up a lot of time and alot of EFFORT - make no mistake. But when I tell you it's worth it, it's worth it.

No other mother will be able to explain what that means 'It's worth it!', and I can't myself cos language has not yet created a word or even words deep enough or broad enough to encompass and convey the emotions you feel.

Daddy is also feeling it now, I can tell - his most telling sentence - 'It feels good to know I'm coming home to wife and child'.