It was a dark and stormy night

With crazy cobblestone freaky clouds.

I'm sure there's a name for these formations, but I'll get around to finding out what it is later :P

A Random Dinner

Pasta and a Salad

Birthday Yums

Carter told me to look out for a surprise in the mail

for my birthday guess what he sent me? :)

Maggie Mee, Asam Laksa flavour, no less!

Creamy White Rabbit Candy







Dodol, Durian Flavour
( Dare I open this in front of David??) :P







Preserved Mango

Letti Thursday

A few weeks ago, we had good ol' fashioned Chicken Pot Pie,

and I was searching online everywhere to see what sides went with it, and a lot of people seemed to think along the lines of a salad.

Some mentioned a Waldorf Salad, which I had never made, but thought what the heck, let's try something new :)

Working at the Hospital

Can be hazardous to your health.

The Hendrick Medical Center's expansion project, dubbed Project 2010, has been under way since October 2009. We'd been to the hospital on and off for different things since then, and it DOES seem like the construction has been going on forever.

Earlier this week, part of the scaffolding at the construction site collapsed, injuring 2 workers. The next day, we had made a short stop at the emergency room because Johnny and Cindy were there to discuss some medical issues with Johnny's doctor. After visiting with them, we swung by the scene of the incident to have a look.

Electrical and ThunderStorm

It has been a very hot and dry spring

and now a very hot and dry summer. We've had all kinds of record breaking days above 100 degrees F for a stretch now, bringing with it crazy sustained wind.

So, even though the rain that fell a few days ago, came with some hail and mucho crazy non stop lightning, it was a welcome respite.

6 Years Ago Today

Happy Juneteenth, Father's Day and Anniversary :)

Letti Thursday

The Down-Home Edition

Last Thursday, we decided to have a back to basics southern meal for the family.


So, we started off with some Pinto Beans and Ham

with sides of corn sticks

and fried okra

along with some jello with pears

and finishing off with some Lemon Bars

Saturday Excursion with Grandad

Petting "Zoo"

A couple of weeks ago, we went by Sikes Farm again, and this time around I think Jaxon appreciated all the animals a little more than the last time we were there a year ago.

As we drove slowly through the farm, the little boy pointed excitedly at the animals.

There were many baby animals there that day, and the first one we saw was a baby donkey with its momma.

Jaxon called out "Mama horsey, baby horsey!" when he caught sight of them.

We saw some Llamas, but I didn't manage to get a picture of them. We did see a whole bunch of goats, though, and there were several that were just a couple of days old.

At first Jaxon felt pretty brave about wanting to reach out and pet them, but when he got closer to them, he seemed to change his mind :)

We may have to make this a yearly visit, as the little boy will be able to appreciate things so much more differently as he gets older...

But I suspect he will always like his Rice Crackers and Naps after an "exhausting" excursion.

Letti Thursday

Simply Simple Meals

Sometimes I get super lazy and go for the easy fast route of making a meal, and serve stuff out of a can or a box.

I was just remembering with L. David the other day that back in Malaysia, we always ate fresh leafy greens and I don't think I ever saw any kind of vegetables in a can, unless it preserved in some form or fashion. ( One exception is probably the button mushrooms which I loved and still love ) Which was why when I got here and saw BEAN SPROUTS IN A CAN, I almost gagged.

BUT there is no getting around the fact that sometimes canned corn, mushrooms and beans help to make a harried housewife/cook's burden quite a bit less.

Italian Style Green Beans

I am so used to having at least one vegetable dish, a protein dish and a carbohydrate dish ( rice ) back home in Malaysia that I still do that here.

Our protein dish for the night was Baked Seasoned Chicken, which came seasoned from the refrigerated section of H.E.B. and at $1/lb, it was very affordable.

Rice isn't exactly the staple here, so we had Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes instead.

Memorial Day Weekend with Cindy's Kids

We don't get to see Jaxon's cousins who live in the Fort Worth area very often, so when they were in Abilene a couple of weekends ago, we went by to visit with them.

Cindy had a little kiddy pool set up in her back yard and invited us over so that the little boy could play with her grand kids, Allen and Anastasia.

Jaxon's never one to turn down a swimming pool of any proportions, and was soon in there whooping and splashing with the cousins.

Pretty soon, Anastasia decided she'd had enough and it was just the boys lounging and chillin'.

till Allen decided HE'D had enough as well.

By then, it had gotten later in the day and it didn't take much convincing to get the little boy back into the house, out from the cooler wind.

The next day we met up with the cousins again at Grandad's house before they had to leave the next morning. There wasn't any swimming that day at Grandad's house, but the kids enjoyed some PBS Kids time together :)

A Taste of Home

Happiness is

having yummy Asian food that you don't get to see at a Chinese Buffet or American-Asian restaurant. *dreamy sigh*

Coconut Curry Chicken/ Ayam Opor




I added some Tofu Pok to the dish, and it was yum yum yummilicious







Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables




Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage ( Loh Mai Fan )

Letti Thursday

The Satay Meal Revisited

I can't believe it, but I've made Satay for the boys TWICE BEFORE, and yes, it was once in 2009 and then again in 2010.

Satay with compressed rice and pickled vegetables was once again on the menu a couple of Letti Thursdays ago.

Of course, I always cheat and use a prepackaged mix, which makes me very "Semi HomeMade"

I marinaded the meat overnight

and revved up the indoor grill to cook the kabobs.

They never turn out quite like the ones I am used to seeing back home in Malaysia, but it still tasted yummy :)