Lookie what I had for lunch today.  My self-made baked garlic and chilli mushrooms in teriyaki sauce.    Hehe…very rare from someone who hardly cooks and isn’t creative in the culinary department.

I saw some portobello mushrooms at the supermarket last week and I couldn’t resist buying them.  For six huge mushrooms, they were going for less than $4.  Quite a steal right?  I bought them thinking that I would bake or grill them, although not very certain how.

Last night, my husband bought the Shape magazine home and I chanced upon a mushroom recipe and couldn’t wait to try it out today. 

It’s a simple dish and the taste is lovely.  I baked three portobello mushrooms and some enoki mushrooms in foil topped with some chopped garlic, chopped red chillies, olive oil, teriyaki sauce, soya sauce and pepper to taste.  Pretty juicy, I would say.

Tonight, I’m going to try the same recipe but have them grilled instead.

* I find the taste even better with half a tbs of sugar and some amount of butter.  Baking it on a plate also reduces the amount of juice. 

Two days ago I had a conversation with a couple of colleagues regarding the recent teen scandal that hit prime news.  In our exchanges, it came out that two of the teens that two of my colleagues are coaching are pregnant.

Well, nothing astounding really considering the mentality of today’s Gen-Y.  But what was alarming was the flippant way these teens dealt with pregnancy. 

My colleague Emily who is more of a moralist and disciplinarian asked the girl she’s teaching about her pregnancy.  The girl casually mentioned that she has gotten married two months ago to the guy who is also in the same class.  She assured Emily that life still continues normally for her, nothing to worry about.  She’ll continue with her studies and deliver the baby when it’s time.  After which, she’ll throw the baby to a nanny.  Easy peasy.

Wow, she made it sound almost like child’s play.  Not even a tinge of doubt or anxiety.  Maybe we the adults are over reacting?  But when probed further about her prenatal plans, the girl is clueless and just dismissed it as unnecessary.  Geez, she really need more lessons on that front.

Yes, today’s teens are nonchalent at best and brazen at the worst.  They lose their innocence too early and that’s really worrying.  I am looking at my son and wondering how he will turn out in future.  How should I, as a parent, help him myself deal with this bizarre generation?

In my time, my parents never spoke to me about sex.  I certainly don’t think its wise to avoid that subject with today’s kids.   Avoiding will just pigue their interest and get them more curious.  Remember that phrase forbidden fruits taste sweeter?

While we have sex education in school these days, I believe we as parents have the responsibility to tackle the issue head on instead of just leaving the matter entirely to the educators.  So how should I, as a mother, broach the subject with my son in future?   

At this stage, I really don’t know.  Perhaps I should leave it to the daddy who has a better understanding of the male biology than me.  But then again, perhaps I can become friends with my son and he wouldn’t mind sharing his thoughts with me on the subject.  Whatever it is, I believe I should take on the subject as a matter-of-factly and not be squeamish about it in any sense.  It’s weird of course to talk about sex with my kid, but ignoring it totally or even partially could leave me with weirder consequences to bear. 

Am I thinking way too far ahead of my time?  Perhaps I should just cross the bridge when I come to it huh? But if I want to be friends with my son, I better start early.  I need to have a strategy to deal with these things because it won’t be too long before he lose his innocence and become a youth. 

And you know what?  My husband and I actually applaud the police’s move to detain youths below 17 years old loitering in public places after 11pm.  At least when I tell him then that the police will catch you, he’ll know it’s no longer just a hoax.

I had to bring Gavin to the doctor again just now. He suddenly developed a diahorrea and vomitted all his dinner. According to the doc, it seems he has caught another new virus. Now, he has to consume an entirely new set of medication after just completing his last for bronchitis yesterday!

Geez, this is becoming like a never ending story! When is my child ever going to be completely fit and free from viruses?

The doctor has told us for the umpteen time that this is part and parcel of a toddler’s schooling life. They will get sick, and they will get sick frequently. Be prepared for once every month, if not once every fortnight. Upon hearing this, his dad even suggested we should perhaps stop him from going to school. Idiotic as it sounds, that was exactly what happened last year when we pulled him out of tots school after just two terms because he was falling ill too many times.

But really. Pulling him out of school is definitely not an option now. As much as I want him to be healthy, I also want him to be educated. I can’t just keep him at home can I? Like it or not, schooling is an integral part of his life from now on and it’s not something we should make him avoid just because of our fears.

I must think of other ways to build up his immune system apart from his usual nutrition and vitamins so that he can continue to go to school and hopefully, keep the viruses at bay.

Mehehe…I thought I can skip this one but still got tagged by Hsin of Life in a Petri Dish.  To those who are reading this, don’t worry.  I won’t be tagging anyone.  *Whew*

4 jobs I’ve had in my life
1. Receptionist cum shampoo girl (wanna have your hair washed?)
2. PRO (Not the night club type hor) 
3. Marketer (Not the buy vegetable and meat type lah)
4. Lecherous / Trainer (I got problem with spelling can?)

4 movies I could watch over and over again
1. Lost Horizon (my all-time favourite)
2. Kitchen (Chinese movie based on Banana Yoshimoto’s book but the movie is better)
4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
5. Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki + Takuya Kimura’s sexy voice)

4 places I’ve lived
1. Singapore only
2. N.A.
3. N.A.
4. N.A.

Me is Singapore-ku okay?

4 TV shows I love (and loved) to watch
1. Beautiful Life 
2. Hero
3. Good Luck
4. Pride

These are Japanese dramas starring my Takuya Kimura which I’ve already watched on VCDs and still watched on TV and then repeat watching them on VCDs all over again!

4 places I’ve been on vacation
I’m listing my favourite or memorable destinations:
1. Nepal
2. Tibet
3. Krabi, Thailand
4. Sydney

4 websites I visit daily
I’m an Internet junkie so I visit many sites daily but these are the top:
1. Google (default page + search engine)
2. Casserole of my life (my blog lah, duh)
3. Wordpress (for blogging)
4. Dictionary.com (my England not so good leh)

4 of my favorite foods
This is difficult because I love to eat!  Just what comes to the top of my mind now:
1. Chocolate (with blueberry lagi better!)
2. Chwee Kueh (from Tiong Bahru market)
3. Prawn Fritters (Mr Bean’s quite good)
4. Tonkotsu Ramen (packet one also good)

4 places I’d rather be right now
1. Pokhara, Nepal (definitely my choice destination)
2. Shangri-la in Diqing County, Yunan (maybe can remain youthful eternally)
3. Japan (especially if can meet my Takuya Kimura)
4. Banyan Tree Resort (definitely want to go back to Bintan again, but others also can)

That’s all the 4s from me! 

So we did go shopping today…at Ikea.  Daddy Darth Vader thought it’s a safe place where I won’t go MIA shopping for my own stuff and the boy can have some fun playing at the children’s section.

He did have quite a bit of fun alright.  Rocking on the toy horsey, standing on the rocker, swiveling in the armchair and hiding in the tent.  So much fun that by the time we headed to our lunch destination, he fell sound asleep in the car!

In hindsight, I should have bought the rocker and the horsey home.  It might come in handy the next time I have trouble getting him to take his afternoon naps!