Happy new year then

This bit was written on Tuesday but not uploaded as baby started crying and couldn't manage any  time since: GAH. I had planned to put a post up in the morning sometime. What with Christmas baking, box-making, baby-handling and more baking, just have not been able to. I am trying real hard to get better organised but somehow the moment Mia hears the word 'organised', she decides she doesn't like the idea. Anyway. We will be leaving for the family holiday home on Friday and I don't know if I'll be able to put up anything till after the new year. In case I cannot -- most probably not -- here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas and an absolutelybrilliantbloody year ahead. Hope you've got some great plans ahead.

As far as I am concerned, my plans extend till March. Rather my only plan is to finish the manuscript by March. Though Partner would like me to think in terms of a 10-year plan -- "Where do you see yourself in 10 years" he asked the other day -- I have a huge problem doing that. Even hypothetical 10-year-planning is kind of impossible for me. So far whenever I have planned, I've had things going belly-up on me. In fact each time I plan, life and the situation goes so, so against the plans and often in ways that I couldn't have even imagined, I am bloody scared of long-term planning. Short term it is for me. The current short-term for me is the Christmas break. Here's my plan(s) for the holidays:

Mondeh

Phew. It's been a busy five days. My back is sore. Actually sore is an understatement, it's f*cked. Have a crazy desire to just sit down and finish the Book, but it will have to wait till new year. I AM going to get cracking after that. Desperately need a four-hour body massage while I sleep through it. Need to buy new clothes for Mia, that makes two of us with nothing to wear.

Whole lot of cooking/baking for the week ahead. Somewhat nervous if I'd be able to pull it off as Mia seems to be teething again. She has her front two teeth out but her cheeks are again a brilliant red, she's drooling more and she just had one of the worst crying fits ever. Just like the last time, she doesn't want to eat, wants to be constantly held and cannot sleep since she is hungry. Bonjela teething gel did not work at all and it was only once Partner suggested baby Panadol that the poor bub settled. I want to write but I'm very tired, stressed about the amount of hair I'm losing everyday -- molting worse than Billy -- and my back really, really hurts. When I stop thinking about my back hurting I remember that my right wrist has also now been really, really hurting for the last three months. Happy Monday eh? These are some of the pics of what I've been up to for the last five days...

tried and tasted: Red Velvet Cake

Late Xmas Cake, born 2pm, dead 2.05pm

I had planned to put this up in the morning, but things haven't gone exactly to plan today. Mia has been great, no tantrums, happily smiling and playing. The downside of a happy baby is that a happy baby usually happens when said baby gets a lot of attention from mum. Yours truly was also trying to keep the baby happy while baking a Christmas cake. This was to be my first attempt at a Christmas cake. It turned out beautifully. And then turned on to the floor. I also singed my arm with the very hot springform pan and now have two welts to show for it. But the destroyed cake hurt much more. Now I am trying to salvage the cake by smothering it in brandy and wrapping it in rolls of plastic wrap. They do say brandy heals everything, let's see.

I'd baked the red velvet cake a couple of weeks earlier and it was a heart-breaker for two reasons.

The Help

How many of you have maids at home? Or have had a plumber/electrician working in the house? Or hired farm hands? And how many times have you had a 'different' cup for them to drink tea/water from? 'Different' meaning not your for-regular-use cups, definitely not your special cups, but cups that are somewhat chipped, or discoloured, or with the handle missing. Cups you don't drink from. Cups with a lower social standing on your kitchen shelf.

I have always had a maid -- sometimes two -- when I was growing up. And I clearly remember there always being a designated 'maid's cup' in the house.

Company of women

Much as I love my baby, there are times when I've just had enough. Moments when I'm *this* close to wearing my pyjamas on my head and running around the house screaming. Or sprawled on the floor, kicking my heels and bawling my guts out; my pyjamas still on my head. While these moments have nothing to do with Mia, they have everything to do with babies. Rather 'talking' babies. All the time. Whenever I meet someone, anyone. I really cannot handle it anymore. I want a real conversation, something that doesn't involve saying "Whoozh ma bebbee gurl" or dancing to "Sippy cup, sippy cup" or "Whatta lotta potta yu haf dunnnn" or discussing said potta with various mothers. 

It's like I don't know anything else anymore. Partner comes back from work, goes, "How was your day?" and I launch into the physics of how many cloth nappies/towels it takes to ensure baby projectile spew does not get onto the bedroom carpet or on our mattress. The answer is three towels with a whole lot of it on mummy. Or how I think it's after she has had one-third of the fourth bottle of formula that her poo gets "nuggety". Partner's description, not mine. I usually yell, "Oh no she's doing chickpeas again." Then I forget to ask him how his day was and instantly go on to, "Do you want to hold the baby or..." The "or" is left hanging for long enough to not be an "or" anymore.

Before the baby I used to dread talking to women/people because sooner or later it came to relationship talk. It's not always bad, relationship talk; but it's bloody tedious when someone just goes ON dissecting his/her relationship. Especially when you can see it's a no-brainer and a definite disaster but cannot tell the person. It's worse when you are the one doing it, you know you're doing it but cannot stop. It's a different matter when relationship talk is about ways of getting over the ex and it involves a lot of 'action'. ;)  It's somewhat the same with baby-talk. You hate it when (m)others have nothing else to talk but babies and yet you are very much a part of the same brigade.

I had been *this* close to completely losing my shit (would that still be called constipation?).Till thankfully two friends came to the rescue. Two women, different age groups, on two different days. I am so glad I got off my lazy bottom and met them. It was absolutely fantastic and very surprising because it was so fantastic. It always surprises me when I have a good time with another woman. There was a bit of baby-talk but there was a whole lot of talking about different things as well. Like Julian Assange. Or chauvinistic men and how they are the same in India and Australia. (Liberation my arse) And why we should sue people who dismiss us unfairly (all three of us had stories). About bringing up kids, how our parents brought us up, what we do well, what we don't, what we think about things. It was such a mental stimulation and *such* a relief.

And all the while we talked, Mia kept babbling right along. She likes a good conversation too. Who do you prefer as 'conversation company': men or women?

PS: This is the chocolate chiffon cake I made the other day -- the one where I ate the icing? -- with pictures from before and after the chocolate-butter filling and ganache. I'm in love with it. Recipe to follow soon.

Pandora?

Passionfruit flowers in full bloom is like having Pandora in my front courtyard. Once the fruits come -- and hopefully if they aren't all devoured by critters -- I'll try some recipes using passionfruit. Yum.

Tag: Fashion disaster, am I?

I was tagged for this list on Facebook but I'm completing it here because it makes for a fun post. Despite now owning anything from any of the 'must-have' brands, I don't feel like a fashion disaster. As in, I am a fashion disaster in many ways (another post, another time), but not because I don't do brands. I do own a Dior perfume (J'adore, luuuurve it) but that was a gift from Partner and not something I purchased. Strangely, Partner buys me 'better' stuff -- if you believe that anything branded is better in quality than non-branded stuff -- than I buy for myself. The reasons for this are

Confession

Today I baked a chocolate chiffon cake with a filling of chocolate butter icing and frosted with chocolate ganache. I baked it to celebrate the birthday of one of the mum's in my mothers' group. The girls came home, there were six of us and there's a quarter of the cake left. I am very glad that they liked the cake, that everyone had two servings and we had a relaxed time.

:P What is absolutely sickening though is that once I finished piping the icing and before I washed out the icing gun...

JB's easy chicken curry

I love a dish that can be whipped up with whatever I have lying around. Well, not literally lying around (what does she feed her family?), but more like what's in the fridge. I love such a dish more so on a day when I'm lazy to go to the supermarket. The stores are pretty close to my house and not much of a walk but packing the baby up etc. takes longer than it would take to shop.

Anyway, I particularly enjoy making something up when the whip-up turns out really tasty and does not require me to prepare a side dish/salad. This chicken curry recipe is a modification of a typical Indian chicken curry.

Tease

Harlequin bug aka fire bug

This is what is happening in my courtyard. Everywhere I look these bloody bugs are running around, their bums stuck together,  producing baby bugs. I absolutely hate them because a) They are destroying my plants and b) they are having blatant sex in my courtyard while I'm not having any and definitely not any in the courtyard.

HELP!!

Mia in her Bjorn bouncer, napping

It's 2pm and I'm very nervous. Typing this out is also taking a while because I'm hitting the keys very, very gently. I've put the cellphone on silent and have killed two flies who were inside my house and buzzing too loudly. I even ran to the other room when I had a minor sneeze attack. I am dying to have some cold milk but dreading opening the fridge door lest it's too noisy. All this tiptoeing has been going on for the last 40 minutes. Mia is finally asleep and I'm terrified of doing anything that might wake her up. And the only place she'd sleep is in her Bjorn bouncing-chair (I'm in love with it).

i ♥

Touch of a...

I was supposed to meet a uni-mate for lunch today. I just cancelled because Mia spewed -- third time in three days -- and is now sleeping. Last night she went to bed about 7pm and slept till 4.30am this morning. She's already done three hours of sleeping (5.30-8.30am) today. Despite all that sleeping, she still spewed. What could it mean?

Weather for aloo kheema

It's really bizarre weather for almost-approaching-summer. Nature is such a funny thing. For years and years farmers in Australia have cried for rain and there has been none. While this year the rain has been good, now it's raining when the farmers need to be harvesting. The result is spoiled crops, damaged hay and losses. Partner comes from a farming family and it's heartbreaking to see someone work so, so hard and then it all going belly-up. How do farmers do it, whether here or in India? How do they go to work each day, not knowing the outcome? It's such an important job, feeding people, and we think so little about it and about those who do it. Till I met Partner, I had never really thought about 'where' my food comes from or who's responsible for it.

I do love my food though. And when the day is grey and wet like today and has the potential to really depress you, I simply LOVE a good, spicy curry. The mince-potato curry is one of my favourites. It's uncomplicated, quick to cook and always, always satisfies. It's also great for bulk cooking. Got 10 people coming over for dinner? Make this, you won't be disappointed.

Diwali with roses

How many times have you had someone do you a good turn out of the blue? And how often have you wondered if there was a selfish motive behind the deed?

If you've never doubted the motive, lordie, you must be really naive. Or a genuinely nice person (who thinks nice of others as well). I'm neither naive nor nice and usually view good deeds and their doers with some suspicion. I am, however, trying to believe in people more. And sometimes, thankfully, there is reason to.