Dengue during pregnancy
At 36 weeks of pregnancy, this was something unexpected. But, it happened. And boy...., I wouldn't want to experience this ever again.

1. Fever
It started with fever and headache. Which was temporarily relieved by acetaminophen. And I was wary of taking drugs during pregnancy even though acetaminophen is considered safe. But I had to take or else I could not function. And high fever is not good for the pregnancy even though the effects will be more detrimental during the early months. Anyhow, I experienced frequent uterine contractions during the feverish period and that was scary. In case I go into premature labour.

2. Lethargy
This was pretty bad. Towards the end of pregnancy, fatigue often overwhelmed me. And being down with fever, the fatigue came in double dose. Really drain the energy.

3. Muscle and joint pains
This was another intolerable symptom. My pregnancy is also associated with muscle pain and back pain. Thus, the fever-induced muscle and joint pains drove me crazy with pain and discomfort.

4. Loss of appetite
One express way to reduce weight. But with the baby inside, I sure don't want to jeopardize the baby's growth.

5. Low platelet count
The count declined from 227 to 224 to 108. Then thank God, it increased to 119, 141 and the last check was 260. Pheww.... Because of the multiple blood tests, my arm still bear the black and blue bruise due to phlebotomy. Friends gave lots of tips in order to increase the platelet count such as crab soup, guava juice and 100 plus. And of course, lots of plain water.

6. Dengue antibody 
The low platelet count was suggestive of dengue. However, virological test further confirmed the diagnosis and I was found to be positive for dengue IgG and IgM. Nyamuk kat area Batu Caves/Gombak memang ganas...


7. Dehydration
I was thirsty, BIG TIME. Which was good, cause I need to fill myself up with lots of fluid. But the setback was, the frequent trips to the toilet. The trips are already annoyingly frequent during pregnancy but with the extra fluid filling the bladder, the trips were unbearable. With the muscle pain and lethargy, getting up to go to the loo was torturous.

Anyhow, thank God the dengue fever did not deteriorate into a haemorrhagic one. And I don't have any rashes nor do I experience nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Alhamdulillah, I am fully recovered and back to my normal self. Well... as normal as I can be as a pregnant woman :). May the remaining of my pregnancy weeks and the delivery itself go well and uneventful. Amiinn...
What we did on Mother's Day
WE BAKED.

Strawberry Jam Muffin. A recipe I got from the net with slight modifications. I purposely searched for a recipe with strawberry jam since I had an unopened jar of strawberry jam bought during our trip to Cameron Highlands months ago. Mujur tak expired lagi.

The recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup fresh milk
100 g butter
Vanilla essence
Strawberry jam

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine together egg, milk and butter. Add egg mixture at once to dry ingredients. Add in vanilla essence. Stir mixture well.
Spoon the mixture into cupcake liners, filling one-third of the liners.
Using a spoon, drop strawberry jam into the center.
Spoon the flour mixture until 2/3 full, covering the strawberry filling.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Junior chefs hard at work.


The outcome.


The taste: the kids love it. For me, ntah la, muak pun ada jugak. Overdose of butter maybe. My youngest avoided the strawberry center so she ate the top part and gave it to me to lick the filling and she would consume the rest. Isyh... macam-macam...d'oh

WE DINED OUT

That night we had dinner at Rasa Rasa Satay outlet, located in Taman Sri Gombak.


I had this kungfu noodle. Boleh la...


The kids had fried kue teow. One with prawns.



I ended up exchanging my dish with one of the kids. She thought mine was more appetizing. I supposed I was already full because I don't really like the kuey teow taste.

Hubby had mee hoon Singapore. He said, boleh tahan.


We also tried the satay. Kuah dia kurang ummpphh..


In terms of service, the place need improvement. We had our dishes mistakenly sent to another table and other people's food got sent to us instead.

Earlier that day, I cooked lunch. We had fried chili crab which the kids love. And guess who had to crack the shell and extract the crab's meat for them to eat? After all, a mother's work never halt even on Mother's Day.happy
Good food with great company
I received comments from friends recently, 'Apesal kurus?'

Well, obviously, at 34 weeks period of amenorrhea, they are not referring to my bulging belly, but more on my face. Hmm... not that I'm not eating even though I admit that I have to limit my food intake due to tendency of reflux when I overeat. And as a proof that eating is not last in my list, these are the recent dining activities with friends. I sure hope all the fat from the food find its way to the fetus, instead of depositing itself in unwanted areas of my body.big grin

It has been quite a while since I met up with friends from school. Thus, when Hemy suggested having lunch at Doli Kue Teow, I grabbed the chance. The place is located in Taman Tun. 


Thank God for the GPS, I managed to reach the place without missing a turn. Hey, I'm getting used to this GPS thingy..as compared to before.

There were only 3 of us, Hemy, Mas MS and I. Hemy dubbed us as Datin T. The difference is that we don't have any x-rated video to expose.winking

Credit to Hemy's FB photos.

Kue Teow is incorporated into the name of the shop implying that it is a must-try dish. So, all of us had kue teow.

Hemy with the no-vege dish. Standard la tu utk dia.

Credit to Hemy's FB photos.

Mas MS having the special one.

Credit to Hemy's FB photos.

Mine was just the normal dish. Boleh tahan sedap.


Not long after that, we had another get together at Little White Cafe, located in Bandar Baru Bangi.


I didn't have my GPS that day but I have 2 guides which are better than GPS. One, is this excellent map from Hotel Amani website. Little White Cafe is located exactly next to the hotel.



And another landmark is Masjid Al-Hasanah which is opposite the cafe.



Two, my mobile and talking GPS, Hemy. She called me and gave further directions.

The place is nice and comfy. And nicely decorated too.


Part of the menu.


The people behind the mastery of food preparation.



I had this Grilled Chicken Breast dish. A bit funny though, ada sebijik red chili.confused


And I had this cranberry drink. Sedap...


The others had spaghetti and meatball


Roast chicken

Roast beef sandwich

Garlic bread and onion soup

Chicken noisettes

Some of the drinks the others had. Raspberry juice.

And orange juice

We also tried the cakes.

Red velvet

Choc fudge

And cheese cake

We also shared this chicken pot pie.

And in case you wondered how to eat this dish.tongue

Frankly, the price is a little bit on the high side for me. Tak padan dengan portion. However, the portion is finishable, so tak la membazir. And because of the small portion, I think, everyone finished their own dish and tak offer pun nak share dgn sape-sape.laughing   Having said that, the taste of the food is good. And the juice is excellent.

Before heading home, we had a group photo taken together with the owner of the cafe (on the right most).


On another occasion, Hemy, Ruzaina and I had lunch at IOI Puchong. I have never been there before nor know how to get there. And again, I was saved by my GPS. I'm beginning to love this thing love struck. And you can trust the GPS to guide you through the shortest route but the most expensive one. Banyak tol kena lalu.

Met with Hemy and Ruzaina at Secret Recipe. I was late, and both of them were already into their desserts when I arrived. However, feeling quite hungry, I ordered Prawn Macaroni and Cheese. Ok la, those who like cheesy food would like the dish.

And I had frosty lemon tea. Sedap...

We were joined later by Iderk who just ordered a slice of cake. Apa ntah namanya, carrot cake kot.

And she also had this whatsitname drink.

Then since everyone had things to attend to, we ended our get together earlier. A very rare occasion indeed. So, when I BBMed my hubby saying that I'm going back, he replied 'Aik..awalnya...' Perli la tu...raised eyebrows
Facebook friends or foes?
In the beginning of my venture into Facebook, I accepted all friend requests, regardless of gender. Then, since I share lot of things on FB such as photos, statuses and my whereabouts, I became more selective on who I accepted. And friends list spring-cleaning was performed some time ago.

The first thing that I consider upon receiving friend requests is 'Do I know this person?'. This sometimes include viewing their photos if available. If I know the person, will accept right away. If not, will move on to the 2nd stage of filtering.

I scrutinize mutual friends that we have. Who do we have in common in our friends' list? Students? Ex-school/university mates? This will require some checking out of their info page. I will definitely accept if it's from students or ex-school/university mates. If they don't belong to this category, I have to put on another filter.

I click on their walls and check out their activities. Kalau semua aktiviti perniagaan which most probably I'm not interested in anyway, sorry to say, I will have to turn down the requestshame on you. If the activities look benign enough, I will consider accepting.

Recently, I received a couple of messages via FB, from abroad I assumed.

Message 1: You are so beautiful that I really believe when our creator thought of beauty, He saw only you.I would be coming to your country soon if you don't mind can we meet up and get to know you more...Nate 

Huiyo.... boleh cair bila baca ni.. Well... at least for people who are naive enough labig grin.
Message 2: Hello Dear…..i know this email will meet you by surprise, my name is Richard Mark I’m a Canadian but presently working in United Kingdom as a contractor. from Richard 

Who knows, maybe the intention is genuine but since he did not pass the above filters, I chose to Ignore.
And thank God for this filter coz I have previously received a request from someone who called himself Ranjang Perkasa. Isyhh...baca nama je pun takutworried.

Thus, choose your FB friends wisely or they may turn out to be foes instead.