I'm a full-time mummy

I have been sharing some of my favorite angpow pieces on an angpow collectors group in Facebook and some members have been telling me to continue sharing my memorable stories and so I thought, why not write it down, that way, our kiddos can read about it when they grow up next time, eh?

For those of you who are not familiar or never heard of the words 'Angpow' (also known as 'ang pau', 'ang pao', 'angpau'), here is a quick definition:

Angpow = Red Packet (filled with cash inside) given during festivals

So for today's angpow story, it comes from this piece of lovely angpow:

This angpow goes into my collection because of 2 things that reminded me of my childhood.

#1 - Bicycle

#2 - Dog

Those of you who have read my previous angpow story-time sharing about the time I first learned to cycle will know how memorable the experience was to me. Fast forward a few months from that incident, I'm sharing why this angpow brings back another childhood memory of mine.

You see, one fine afternoon, my cousins and I decided to cycle to another part of our kampung (means village in our national language) which was quite like uncharted territories to us young kids back then (we were 10-11 yrs old then) I never been into that stretch of road leading to some more houses inside that area but my cousins said it is a nice quiet place worth cycling around to.

I was tired then and my younger cousin (she was 2 yrs younger than me) said she will cycle and I can sit pillion behind her. Her 2 older brothers sat on their own bicycles.

So off we go cycling towards that part of the kampung. Nice single stories wooden terrace houses. I was just enjoying the cooling air and yes, the free ride hahaha when all of a sudden I hear dog barking behind me.

Sh*tttttt!!! I realized at that point that we were chased by a dog. The boys were faster because they ride on their own bicycles so they shot off ahead leaving us girls cycling like mad.

I was screaming at my cousin to cycle faster (well, now that I think about it, pity her hahahah... 2 years younger than me had to cycle for both of us in order to avoid being mauled by a dog LOL)

I don't dare to look behind but the last I glimpsed, I realized it was just a small puppy, albeit a very fierce one. I know both my legs are up at my cousin's waist LOL!!!! Of course we managed to escape that fierce puppy but it was a long while before any of us dared to venture into that part of the kampung again.

As I reminisced back this incident and writing this down, my heart was beating fast thinking back of the near death experience of being mauled by a puppy. What a nice funny and yet terrifying childhood memories!

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.

For this post, I am sharing my next food recipe, Braised Spicy Pork. I am not a fan of pork and even though I cooked it often for my family, I don't really eat it (weird, I know...) but this dish changed me. I find myself eating it without feeling weird etc and have even been cooking extra on few occassions so that I can pack some and give it to my brother in laws and sister in law to try out as well. This dish is well-loved by my hubby and my siblings-in law :)

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Braised Spicy Pork:

Outcome:

To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!

I came across this article which I must definitely share with you guys as I'm very interested to know your thoughts on this.

For your convenience, I have copied the excerpts from the article here:

"The meningitis B vaccine will be introduced to the routine childhood vaccination programme in Scotland from 1 September, it has been announced.

 Scotland is now one of the few nations in the world to offer the vaccination to all infants. The vaccination will be given in three doses at two months, four months and a year. Babies aged two months when the vaccine is introduced will be eligible.

 Meningitis B is a bacterial infection that particularly affects children under the age of one. It commonly affects children under five years of age, and is also common among teenagers aged 15 to 19.

Symptoms include a high fever with cold hands and feet, confusion, vomiting and headaches.

Most children will make a full recovery with early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment, although it is fatal in one in 10 cases. About one in four of those who survive is left with long-term problems such as amputation, deafness, epilepsy and learning difficulties."

Here's another article on Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib):

"Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is a bacterium that can cause a number of serious illnesses, especially in young children.

 Of the small number of cases that do occur nowadays, most affect adults with long-term (chronic) underlying medical conditions, rather than young children.

 Meningitis is the most severe illness caused by Hib and, even with treatment, one in every 20 children with Hib meningitis will die. Of those who do survive, many will have long-term problems such as hearing loss, seizures and learning disabilities."

In Malaysia, we have this jab under our vaccination schedule (under Hib dos 1, 2 and 3 respectively at month 2, month 3 and month 5). For those of you who are curious on other countries' immunization schedule, I actually did a compilation on Comparison of Immunization Schedules of other countries (just for knowledge purposes).

Do share your thoughts on this!

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.