Haze in KL – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Day 2 Haze Holiday (19 Sept 2019)

The haze is still chokingly bad today. It looks and smells worse than the day before. Our windows and sliding door are shut all day and it’s terribly hot and stuffy inside, though all three fans are turned on in the living room. The girls pretty much stayed home all day but I made 5 trips out ~ first to get them lunch, then as Grab driver and brought Alycia to downtown KL for tuition at 3 p.m., at 6 p.m. Grab my way back to downtown KL to fetch Alycia home with bumper-to-bumper traffic on both trips, 7:30 p.m. dropped Alycia at the tuition center and 9:30 p.m. to fetch her home.

Thursdays are always a big mad rush for me in the evening. I start to cook at 4:45 p.m. and only have a max of 1 hour for cooking as I have to leave the house at 5:45 p.m. to fetch Alycia back from school/tuition. Thus, Thursday dinner is fixed with either burgers / sandwiches / porridge. This time I prepped Sanbanto premium black pig pork burger.

I pan-fried the pork burger and made caramelized onion rings using my Philips pressure cooker (Bake mode, chicken).

Burger fillings:
Sanbanto premium pork patties, organic Japanese cucumber, caramelized onion rings, blanched French beans, egg mayo. Also fried an egg in the PPC.

Someone finished the last drop of mayo and left the empty bottle in the fridge again!!! I was seething as this is happening too frequently. And I know who the culprit is! So I had make do with Japanese sesame dressing, which still tasted alright on the eggs, though not as good 😡

So happy I could find Ted Boy burger buns from D Market supermarket:

By the time I finished cooking and mopping the kitchen floor, it was already 6 p.m. and I was late! With the horrendous after-work traffic, it would take me at least half an hour to reach downtown KL. With very little time, I cincai assembled the burger, quickly snapped a few pix and left Cass to help me keep all the food and wipe the dining table as the tutor would arrive any time. Cussing and sweating away, I took a quick shower and zoomed off.

There was no time to butter the buns, slice the tomatoes and find the cheese and Cass happily gobbled down the ‘display’ piece.

This is the life of a work-from-home mum. So you think working in the office is stressful? At times I wish I was still in my corporate suits, earning a comfy pay check, get bonus, have annual leave and medical leave and outings with my colleagues.

That’s why I dislike Thursdays. But soon the mil will be back and I can’t wait to hand over the spatula and apron back to her 😬

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Crazy Hazy Hot Days Are Back!

The inevitable time of the year is here again, totally unwelcomed. For the past two days, the familiar acrid smell of haze can be smelled first thing in the morning at 4:45 a.m. when I stepped out of my bedroom.

Thankfully my girls and I have always been pretty OK during the haze period with no respiratory problem, no sore throat and no congested chest and lungs. Last year’s haze was by far the worst with schools closed several days in a week over a period of 2 months. Will this year be just as bad? Pray tell! Let’s hope not, though I sometimes wish that it would be, just so I do not have to rise by 4:45 a.m. each day to prepare the girls for school 😀

We can’t run away from the haze, unless you migrate to another region unaffected by the haze but we can certainly do something to protect ourselves from the ill effects of the haze.

Hydrogen water and carotenoids are antioxidants that can protect our cells from damage from free radicals and environmental pollution. My family and I have been consuming them them since March 2015 and have never looked back since. I am glad I found these 2 products who have been helping my family and I tremendously in our health.

Do email me at shireenyong@gmail.com or call / Whatsapp me at 019 266 4290 to know more with no obligations to purchase anything.

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Unbearable El Nino Heatwave In KL

The El Nino heatwave in KL is not improving any bit. It’s getting hotter, drier and hazier by the day. The acrid smell of haze is more pronounced today. The temperature for the past few days have been on the high side, so bad that I do not feel like leaving my seat right under the ceiling fan with two stand fans blowing at me at full blast. Swimming at 6:30 in the morning feels like swimming in a heated pool.

The blazing sun is making the plants at our balcony struggling to survive. The pandan plants in the gardens of our condo compound are starting to turn brown despite being watered daily by the gardeners. Now I have to resort to buying pandan leaves from the supermarket.

I do not feel like going anywhere during the day but to hibernate at home. Being a WFHM where doing house chores is inescapable, I sweat buckets everyday. The thought and sight of getting into the balcony to hang and collect the laundry can already make me perspire. The torid outside air blown into our house is making me sick. It feels like having a speed #3 hot air from the hair dryer blown directly onto you all day. Albeit having 5 showers a day and having 3 to 4 changes of clothes daily, I still have prickly itch everywhere on my body caused by the heat. If only I can, I would want to be in absolutely nothing but my birthday suit during the day 😀

The temperature today is 36 degrees Celsius but the number is deceiving. The Real Feel temperature is 42 – 43 degrees Celsius and I think that this is the actual day time temperature.

I am thankful that I have my hydrogen infused water and carotenoids supplements to keep us healthy during this heatwave. Many people are falling ill and resorting to antibiotics to get well, only to fall sick again. If you are one of them or know of someone battling with an illness now, do spend some time to read this article on Why you should worry about giving your child antibiotics too early

I wonder when the heatwave will dissipate. I can’t wait for the next thunderstorm to lash on our land lavishly to bring some respite to the killer heatwave and to avert another water rationing. To my readers living abroad and experiencing bitter cold weather and wishing that there was some sunlight and warmth, I wish we could swap places now! 🙂

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Beet Root Smoothie On A Hot And Hazy Day (38 Degrees Celsius)

I knew it. As expected, today has been a sizzling hot and hazy day! So hot that I had already taken 3 showers as at 3pm today — first shower was after 26 laps in the pool at 630 a.m. (which made me feel SO GOOD!), second shower was after having breakfast with the hubby outside while waiting for our car to be washed and then did some groceries shopping at an air-cond mart. Third shower was after waiting for 15 minutes at the lobby for Cass and Sherilyn.

As I am typing this post, I have 2 fans blowing at me at full blast. I am still trying really hard NOT to press on the air-cond remote control at our living room! Our electricity bill last month was a frigging RM520!!

Today I made 2 types of smoothies: orange + apple + chia seeds smoothie for the girls. Beet root + orange + apple + chia seeds smoothie for myself.

If you do not already know, beets are not only choke-full of vitamins, minerals and cleansing properties, they are nature’s Viagra! Seriously! The ancient Romans used them medicinally as an aphrodisiac and it’s backed by science. Beets contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones.

Nuff said, right? Beet roots are a health powerhouse, taste good, prevent cancer, detoxify the liver and increase one’s libido! Sign me up! Beets will be a staple in my fridge from now onwards! Make them yours too 🙂

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Haze Holiday (Thursday, 22 October 2015)

The hubby said no eating al fresco at our favorite coffee shops, so today is another day that we had to eat our brunch indoors at an air-conditioned eatery – which means more expensive meals. Hey, I think I should join the businessman in Sg Petani and lodge a report on the Ind*n Government for causing the prolonged haze in our country!! This is clearly a perennial menace plaguing our country with no likeliness to an end. It’s causing everyone so much inconvenience and lives are prematurely taken away too. Money is also spent unnecessarily on face masks, air purifier, health drinks, electricity and eating at air-conditioned eateries. It’s unfair!!

Anyways, we had brunch at Faber Tower again. This time at Coffee Box for local hawker fare but at double the cost of hawkers’ price.

The Ipoh style kon loa hor fun with shredded chicken, prawns and fish paste was very good. This will be our repeat order the next time we come. And I think it won’t be long that we have brunch here again. I just have a hunch that tomorrow will be another day of haze holiday looking at the depressing skies!

Curry meehoon was for Cass and me. Half-boiled eggs were hers too.

Nasi lemak with chicken curry for the big girl. The hubby was in a hurry to the office and only took a few bites from here and there.

For lunch, I reheated the flour-free savoury egg muffins that I made last night and they tasted even better today, YUMSS!!

As of typing this post, everyone at home (and I am sure all the school kids and their parents out there) are waiting anxiously on the announcement of school status for tomorrow. When can we see clouds and bright blue skies again??

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Haze Holiday (Tuesday, 20 October 2015)

The girls were bored to the core being homebound as schools were out for another day today. Cass’ swimming lessons have to be cancelled again today. The haze situation now as I am typing this post at 5pm is very bad. Not only are the skies shrouded by smoke but the skyline is yellow in color today! This is getting really serious.

The picture below of KL in yellow haze today (20 Oct 2015) was taken by one of Sherilyn’s classmate’s mother, who snapped this photo and sent it to us in our Whatsapp chat group.

According to the news, the haze may shroud our country until March 2016!! There is no announcement yet on whether schools will be closed again tomorrow. But looking at the skies, I am pretty sure that tomorrow will be yet another day of haze holiday. I am going bonkers with 3 kids at home! I want them to be in school!!

The girls killed time by playing board games. Sherilyn helped out in the kitchen. Today, she helped to make mashed potatoes and mashed carrots to go with grilled chicken chop.

From our unit on the 5th floor, we could barely see the buildings and trees outside. The girls and I are gulping down extra packets of Izumio hydrogen water to clear our lungs and to strengthen our immune system against the haze and now, to protect us against Typhoid – the new epidemic crippling KL folks.

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Another Crazy Hazy Not So Lazy Saturday – 3 October 2015

Breakfast at a nearby coffee shop…

Yep, this cili padi not-so-babyish anymore Baby C can eat fiery curries and loves them! Today we shared a bowl of white curry vermicelli.

Check out this picture of the horrendous haze today, taken from the 5th floor of our condo at 11am…

Today is one of the worst haze days since our country was engulfed in haze about a month ago. Our windows and sliding doors at home are shut tightly now. Air purifier is turned on 24 hours a day and we are gulping down packets of Izumio hydrogen water to help clean our lungs and innards.

At school front – the bad news is that should schools be closed again due to the haze, the final exam (scheduled for next week) will be postponed and classes may have to be replaced! I hope this will not happen as I am longing for all the exams for this year to be over and done with by next week so that we can put aside all the school books and start to have some fun!

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Our Very Hazy Saturday – 26 Sept 2015

The haze is back and it’s back at full choking force! This morning I woke up at 7am to the smell of smoke in the bedroom. By 11am, it got worse. My nose has been itchy the whole morning and felt ‘dirty’ inside the nostrils. The dust monitor on our Sharp air purifier has been in red and yellow mode since this morning and it doesn’t seem to turn into green.

Just a moment ago, I stepped out to the balcony to snap this picture. My eyes became watery after just 3 minutes outside.

KLCC and KL Tower are normally seen in the backdrop, behind the block of condo in the middle but today, they are totally invisible!

It looks as if the API will shoot up to 300+ just like our neighbor, Singapore. My friend from Singapore brought her kids back to Malaysia two days ago for a respite since schools are out caused by the haze.

We have been gulping down packets of hydrogen water to keep ourselves protected against the hazardous haze and I’ve been popping 6 caps of Super Lutein a day to keep my immune system and eyes in top form.

While I attended piano class with Cass in the evening, Alycia and Sherilyn followed their grand uncle to the supermarket for grocery shopping.

We had dinner at the girls’ grand uncle’s house and later the girls played lantern and lit up candles in the garden.

Tomorrow will be another hair-pulling and throat-shattering day for me. It’s exactly a week away from Sherilyn and Cass’ final exam and we are staying home to revise. While the 3 of us would stay in torture chamber, Alycia gets to enjoy a movie date with her grand uncle at the cinema before he returns to New Zealand. The other 2 girls are green with envy and I promised them that after exam, they’ll get a movie treat to watch Mount Everest in 3D.

Happy weekend world!! 🙂

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Our Hazy Sunday – 23 June 2013

We woke up to a house filled with the choking smell of smoke yesterday. I looked out of the window and could not see the KL Tower and KLCC. To escape the terrible smell in our house, we sought ‘refuge’ at Mid Valley Megamall / Gardens Mall and spent a good 6 hours at the mall!

Here’s a pic of the sky line taken on Sunday, 23 June 2013 around 7:30am…

Cass getting ready for her day out at the mall. Check out the smoggy skies…

While the girls, the MIL and the hubs watched Man Of Steel at the cinema, I had over 2 swell hours of retail therapy muahahaha!!

Sadly, we could even smell the acrid smog air inside the mall… check out the gloomy skies caused by the haze, picture taken from the entrance of The Gardens Mall…

After their movie and my 1st round of shopping spree, we had lunch at Korean BBQ. Actually, we had wanted to eat at Sushi Zanmai, but it was full to the brim yet again. Then we went to our second option – Fong Lye Taiwanese restaurant but luck was not on our side… third option was the Fong Lye Fusion restaurant but it was packed too… fourth option was Hokkaido Japanese restaurant but yet, it was full to the brim. So we had no choice but to try out the Korean BBQ restaurant. I guess everyone else was seeking ‘refuge’ at the mall, thus the full house scene at almost all the restaurants.

After lunch, I had another round of shopping, this time with Alycia and Cass at UniQlo as I wanted to bring Alycia to try on some cropped pants. Next, we headed to Alexis for some sinful desserts and coffee.

The pecan pie was generously topped with pecans and caramel, which was simply delish and SINFUL to the max!! The tiramisu at Alexis is our all-time favorite and one of the best we have tasted thus far. From RM10 a slice for their cakes about 10 years ago, the price has gradually risen to RM16 a slice now for almost all their cakes!!

The princess wannabe could not wait to indulge in her slice of chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream…

A shopping queen in the making.. note how apt her mini tee was for yesterday’s occasion – which is a print of 3 happy shopping girls 😀

Check out the skies of KL today, picture taken at 9:30am on 24 June 2013.

‘Happy holiday’ to all the parents with school-going kids and do stay tuned to the news on when school will be reopened.

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