I'm a full-time mummy

You know what's nice to belong in an awesome mummy group that helps each other and share their recipes? I am so happy to learn this recipe from the mummies in this SAHM group I joined in and decided to give this a try.

Now what you do is:

- Buy ikan bilis (aka anchovy) preferably those that are already cleaned and without heads and tail.

- Wash the ikan bilis to remove the excess salt and domoic acid (this is what I read from other website)

- Drain the ikan bilis and arrange them as a flat layer on a baking tray.

- Bake at 170C for about 10 – 15 minutes.

- Blend them into powder form.

- Store in airtight container and it's ready to use when you cook!

Btw, just to share my initial reactions when I tried the ikan bilis powder (I made noodle soup) - it had some burnt after taste and upon finishing my bowl of noodle, I found the remnants of the ikan bilis powder at the bottom of my bowl. After checking with the mummies in my SAHM group, I was informed these observations are normal.

Burnt after taste might be due to over baking - so I need to either reduce the temperature or cut down the baking time. As for the remnants (also known as 'jah' in Cantonese) this are perfectly normal as the ikan bilis powder is not water soluble so it is alright to have remnants left. And now I ponder why the ikan bilis stock powder that we bought from the supermarket is easily dissolve in water... hmmmm...

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you give this a try too!

I received an email pitch to review this book few days ago and although I still have tons of product reviews in queue, I decided to give this book a try. Read on below why I decided to review this book!

Title: Under The Shade of The Walnut Tree
Author: Ivan Radev
ASIN:  B00AIVD3KU
File Size:  177 KB
Dimension:  inches

Description from the product page:
"This is a romantic short story about two people who fall deeply for each other, without ever seeing one another. Separated by a lonely tree on the road, the two of them talk about the simple things in life without bothering with the limitations imposed by the time we live in. They debate about the important stuff - the stars, the flowers, each other - all the things that make life beautiful. There is nothing complicated - just one constant niceness. With just a speck of unbothered philosophy, heartwarming and filled with naive positivism, this dialogue-based tale is a nice little escape from reality for those wishing to get their daily dose of smiling."

The first time I read the description of this book "a romantic short story about two people who fall deeply for each other, without ever seeing one another" I thought 'Wow! How can 2 people fall in love with each other and yet never see each other before?

As I read the preview version on Amazon website, I got more intrigued with the book as I am a fan of dialogue type of books. Maybe because I find myself imagining I'm the character in the book as I read the dialogues and immerses myself in the storyline.

I like the concept of this book (though it may not be logical since the 2 characters never see each other and this book does not seem to be bothered much with factors like time, season, weather and so on) where the 2 characters just chatted about everything, the openness and honesty with each other and the way they complimented each other with sincerity.

In page 7: "You shouldn’t speak if you don’t want to. Silence is fine. It is easy to find people with whom you can talk, but it is much harder to find somebody who enjoys staying together in silence.” Wow! This sentence is so so touching! I don't know about you but I think this line pretty much sums up how a relationship should be as we grow old together with our spouse. Not necessary that we should talk and talk to fill the silence but just being there for each other and enjoying the moment.

A wonderful book to read that brings a smile to my face as it makes me reminisce the early days of being in love with my special someone aka my hubby!

You can get this book from Amazon.

Btw, if you blog or have an Amazon account, do check out this book review opportunity which I shared on my FB page.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a PDF copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

This is an interesting product that I get to review for my children! The first time I saw this product, it reminded me of my friend's mother long long ago whom I saw wearing a similar looking sleeves while she was driving. Decades later, I see this similar looking products but for kids? And with UV protection features? Wow, I must review it! So here goes my feedback:

Description from the product page:
"Sunny Sleevez  are the cool fashionable answer on high UV days. Our UV sun sleeves are perfect for babies, kids, tweens and beyond.
    FACT sunscreen takes 20 minutes to even START working
    FACT sunscreen MUST be reapplied EVERY 2 hours
    FACT 92%  of sunscreen don't give the protection they claim!
Slip them on in the Sun, Slide them off when you're done! Patent Pending, Chemical-Free Sun Protection You Never Have to Reapply!"

I had initially requested for the flames design (Kids size) in white color (so that it is easier to match with my boy's clothings) and classic with hand cover style. When the product arrived and I noticed it is blue instead of white, I was a tad confused and disappointed but then after a while, I realised blue is not bad either.

The sleeves are very light and smooth. I love that there are selections for children sizes though I think it's a little big too big for my 3.5 years old boy. He loves the flame design on the sleeves and can't wait to wear it!

During one of our family outing, he wore it for a few minutes before they started sliding off his hands. Should have requested for a smaller size sigh... but then again, an upside is I get to keep this and use it later on when he grows a wee bit chubbier hahaha... 

I think this is a useful product which you can carry along everywhere you go (because it is light and small in size) and gives you comfort in knowing that you can easily protect your child's hands when they are out and about under the bright sunlight.

A very good product I say!

You can get this from http://www.sunnysleevez.com/

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.