Everyday Mikey will ‘meow’  for food and I like to tease him by just feeding him with one  pellet at a time. See video.

I leave you with some random pics taken with my new Android phone — Samsung Galaxy S2 (which I’m loving). Downloaded a camera app this afternoon and tested some of the photo effects.

– At home watching TV –

– Bee Hoon –

– Mum reading recipe books –

– Lunch which consisted of bee hoon (same as above pic) and topped with a microwaved egg –

Off to sleep now. Goodnight!

This was the happy me this morning before getting some bad news and breaking in tears … Life is full of obstacles.

I haven’t bothered with the internet much in the last week . What have I been doing? Spending time with the family after I get back from work and watching Chinese drama at night. Mum started to watch the 2100hrs local drama and I started to follow too!

Food always tastes better when someone else (mum) makes them

Even the cat thinks so

Check this video of Mikey if you haven’t seen it yet on my YouTube channel. Mikey was trying to get into the room. The gym ball was purposely placed there.

The other day the husb was dressed in his Team Singapore attire  as he had an opening ceremony to attend. He will be at the SEA games soon, not as an athlete but as a coach.

We are heading to Malaysia tomorrow with the fam just for the day. Goodnight!

It was really frustrating not knowing how to help my cat and his excessive licking problem which led to baldness at  several areas on his body …  The vet eventually found a baby lice egg shell upon examining his fur and had prescribed him Frontline and an anti-itchiness med. However, they didn’t really do any wonders. Mikey remained bald at the thigh and belly area for over a year (close to two actually).

It was only earlier this year that I started to notice that his fur was  slowly growing back. I didn’t do anything different — his diet remained the same and the last time I used Frontline was over a year ago. So I don’t think Frontline helped with the fur  …

At present, Mikey  no longer has skinny (fur-less) tail!!  The fur all grew back.

Mikey at present

Let me show you some photos from April 2009  to present

April 2009 (when my cat became bald due to his excessive licking)

March 2010 (obviously still very bald a year later) .. The other cat is Toto (whom I was baby sitting). Toto is now enjoying life in Aussie :)

May 2010 (still bald … you can still see the fur contrast )

September 2010

January 2011 (in this picture below and at this angle, you can still see some baldness).

May 2011 (his fur grew back!)

At present (October 2011)

About 2 weeks ago,  iHerb sent me a package. I was pretty excited (and  surprised) when “A” emailed me as  I’ve never received anything for free over the internet . And it’s not like I had to review anything in return. I have purchased things from iHerb a couple of times and my most recent purchase actually arrived today. However, because I wasn’t at home at the time of delivery, I have to go to the post office and collect it myself tomorrow.

So yesterday two days ago, I went to collect my free package — it took almost two weeks to reach me as I believe it was due to the two recent non-working days (public holidays) over here. Ah well, it came just in time for my birthday :)

I thought  of showing you the freebies via a vlog – you don’t see me in this video though. My cat was acting funny  too and I wanted to video him  hehe. So check out this video.

If you can’t view the video, here’s what I received.

1. Bob’s Red Mill, Organic Coconut Flour, Gluten Free, 16 oz (1 lb) 453 g
2. Kashi, TLC, Tasty Little Crunchies, All Natural Crunchy Granola Bars, Pumpkin Spice Flax, 6 Bars (1.4 oz Each)
3. Now Foods, Certified Organic, Agave Nectar, Amber, 17 oz (482 g)
4. Free iHerb pen
5. Sample product to try

I’ve seen Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour and Agave Nectare (different brands) at Cold Storage / Marketplace and at organic shops but I have never tried any of them before. Can’t wait to try all these products. I’m already thinking about making coconut muffins or add the coconut flour to my 5-minute breakfast cakes.

I’ll leave you with this picture of my cat

I think Mikey has found some Tuna inside …  kidding of course :D

***

Last night we attended a dinner and tomorrow my family is celebrating my birthday at home. So I will blog about both the day after. I’m gonna make stuffed rolled chicken and THE HUSBAND is gonna make curry crab!! <– can you believe, the last time he cooked for us was donkey years ago!!

Have a great weekend!

But a free package from iHerb! Looks like it came at a nice time — my birthday is tomorrow! More on the package soon!

***

So after I left you yesterday, I went out to buy groceries and came back to cook this.

Asam Fish. Asam is  tamarind and is a popular spice used in Asian cuisines. It was not 100% made my me though :P I used an asam fish paste (bought in Malaysia some time ago — similar to that one on this website). So I just added the fish and veggies hehe.  That was our dinner.

I made enough for today’s lunch (and there’s one more serving left — will probably have it tomorrow)

I added fish, squid, tomatoes, lady fingers and cauliflowers and had it with red cargo rice

Breakfast this morning was a little different (no 5-minute breakfast cakes)

Overnight oats (with a scoop of sun warrior) topped with banana and peanut butter.

Overnight oat is basically just oats soaked overnight in the liquid you put them in (e.g milk). To make the base, use equal parts rolled oats and milk. Put in the fridge overnight. The next day, top with whatever you like e.g banana, peanut butter, frozen fruits, nuts etc.

***

Tonight’s dinner …

I made us curry chicken (enough for 2 more meals)

So I’m turning a year older tomorrow. We are attending a Charity Gala Dinner … so I guess that’s how we are celebrating :D

Mikey vs Optimus Prime haha

Mikey was definitely scared of this giant. He’s hiding. See?

***

I blackened some chicken drumsticks today

For lunch I made a beetroot lentil quinoa salad for myself — he doesn’t eat beetroot (he calls it ‘alien food‘ haa). I’ve never cooked lentils / quinoa in the microwave. I tried doing it today and it worked perfectly. Seemed more convenient too as there was no need to wash the saucepan afterwards.

Topped with hard boiled eggs

I used (for 2 servings)

• 1/4 cup dried lentils
• 1/8 cup dried quinoa
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1 medium beetroot, boiled and sliced
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

Cook the lentils and quinoa together. Once ready, toss everything together in a medium bowl. Serve warm.

This is what happened yesterday after turning my back for like just a few seconds.

Mikey was the culprit. It was a mess but definitely better than having sticky floors.

After cleaning up, I had a lovely bowl of greens with peanut sauce  and hard boiled eggs

We didn’t do our interval run yesterday. Sleep was way more important =)  This morning, I did ChaLean Push Circuit 3

Post workout — I made Socca! aka Besan (chickpea flour) Pancakes

Socca is gluten-free, vegan, and full of fiber. It is an excellent alternative to  tortillas, pizza dough, crepes etc. You can add herbs (rosemary, basil etc), onions, chilli powder etc. to the batter. so far I’ve only tried the savory version.

I accidentally locked my cat in one of our rooms today and I did not know anything until after I came back home in the evening! I had absolutely no idea that he had  followed me into that room this morning. Poor Mikey, he must have thought that he was being punished lol. Love my baby fur so much!

* My -cough- oil painting in the background — Yes I’m proud of  my 2nd oil paint lol *

Tonight I made another lazy meal :)

Ingredients used:

• Bringal
• Instant Pasta Sauce
• Nutritional Yeast
• Frozen corn Kernels

Direction: Skin and slice the brinjals. Place on a plate and microwave for 6 minutes or until cooked and tender. Top with the pasta sauce, nutritional yeast and corn kernels. Pop into the microwave for 2 more minutes.  Voila! Dinner is ready!

One bowl was definitely not enough!

Yesterday dinner: I made some rice porridge and cucumber salad with tangy mustard dressing as a side.

Fish + carrot + cabbage (left overs) + 7 grains pilaf rice porridge (not the congee type). It was yummy!! Love the chewy pilaf grains :)

Desert was one of these muffins

And I had some OZ cheese Twisties as a late snack. I have yet to try that dark chocolate coated Licorice!

XOXO

Mikey is peeking at Toto, who seems to be quite at home already!

I am slowly introducing them to each other. Mikey of course is well aware that there’s another cat in the house.

Step1 — >step 2 — >step 3 — > step 4

Watch this video if you want to know what happened next!

Nothing much …  As Mikey comes closer, Toto makes a little cute sound. He seems a little scared of Mikey. Mikey seems curious. He also wags his tail which is usually a sign of some level of predatory indecision or conflict.  Sometimes he wags his tail when he is excited. Mikey doesn’t attack Toto … I think he is just bullying him or telling him that he’s the boss in this house! LOL.

Then, Mikey steps back and does this. He seems relaxed …

And Toto simply watches Mikey …

Managed to snap this as they were smelling each others face :)  Sorry for the blurriness … bad lighting

Here’s a last video of the two

We have a house guest! Tomorrow I will tell you who is staying with us for the next two weeks  :) He is a little shy at the moment hehe.

***

When my parents visited last year, they brought us canned tuna from Mauritius.

These canned tuna have definitely been useful. I’ve used them in Cheesy Tuna Zucchini Spinach Pasta, salads, sandwiches, stir-fries etc. Even the cat had some! He LOVES tuna!

Yesterday I prepared a simple stir-fried tuna & corn pasta dish

I also added some frozen homemade basil pesto cubes

[Repeat photo]

How do I make frozen pesto cubes?

Simple. Place the pesto sauce in a mini ice-cube tray and pop the tray into the freezer. Once frozen, remove each pesto cube (do it quickly before they all melt) from the tray and store in an air-tight container inside the freezer.

***

He’s a BIG fan of corn! So I added a LOT.

I don’t measure when I cook but I think this is roughly how much I used

Ingredients

• 2-3 cup pasta of your choice — Could be more. Can’t remember.
• 1.5  cup corn kernels
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 2-3 frozen basil pesto sauce cubes or fresh pesto sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp oil – I love EVOO

Method

1. Prepare your pasta according to the direction on the package
2. While pasta is boiling  stir fry the corn, tomatoes and basil pesto sauce
3. When the pasta is ready, drain it
4. Mix pasta to the corn mixture and cook for few more minutes
5. Serve immediately

I bought this organic and gluten free SoyCream yesterday. It was on sale (from $4.95 to $1.90) and I wanted to try something new. But now I don’t know how to use it. I believe it should be like a pouring cream. Well we shall see …

***

Watching American Idol now … Goodnight!

We brought Mikey to the vet at Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital (Springleaf) this afternoon. He always gets stressed and meows very loud when we bring him outside and put him in the pet carrier.  He knows where he is being brought to.

We got him vaccinated, dewormed (they gave me the deworming pill)  and checked. As I said in my last post, I don’t vaccinate my indoor cat every year. His last booster shot was over 3 years ago when he was still a kitten. The vet briefly examined him. Aside from his bald patch at the thigh area (due to his on and off excessive licking), everything else was fine. She gave me some pills that are to be given to my cat only when he licks himself excessively. Excessive licking is usually due to itchiness.

I also asked for an Elizabethan collar. I’ve never used this on him before, so decided to test it. Mikey was super irritated!!!  — If I were him, I would have been too!  He does look cute in it though, doesn’t he? :)  Cute but very unhappy!

* Excuse the vacuum stick and the pile of clothes :D I was in the midst of my cleaning session hehe. *

Poor him … he was knocking against everything in order to get rid of the collar …  It was on him for just 5 minutes. I hope I won’t need to use this collar in the future!

***

Yesterday night: Mikey grooming himself after a nice bath (which happens once in a blue moon). He will lick himself a million times so that he can be in the dry state again. Cats hate water. Mine does, not sure about other cats.

• See the vet
• See the dentist
• See the doctor

*Breathe in — Breathe out*

[Source]

I am bringing my cat to the vet tomorrow for a check up and to get him his yearly vaccination. I don’t vaccinate him every year because he’s a pure indoor cat. His last vaccination was over 3 years ago, so it’s time for another round.

* Old picture *

If you haven’t already noticed this before, when spelled backwards, stressed is desserts. Ironic huh :) Do you turn to desserts when you are stressed?

A random pic of me and my cat taken by my friend a couple of weeks ago. Regarding my last post on “my cat losing fur“, well Mikey’s fur is growing back but very slowly. At least better than nothing :)

• Allergies to insect bites, foods and house dust
• Fleas and lice
• Excessive licking due to stress
• Ringworm
• Skin conditions/allergies or health problems
• Process of aging
• Feline Symmetric Alopecia (baldness is identical on both sides of the body)
• And other disorders

Photo above: Baldness at his thigh/waist area

I did notice that Mikey was unusually licking himself. Excessive licking could be due to lice and fleas but only a vet could tell by microscopically examining his hairs. I also thought that it could be allergies to a new brand of food that I just started to feed him — I have switched to the previous brand since.

I went to my nearby veterinarian at Mount Pleasant Animal Clinic (Springleaf) when his lower belly was almost bald – about a month ago. The vet examined his hairs microscopically but didn’t find any lice or fleas. She prescribed him some medicine that would reduce the itch. Unfortunately Mikey kept licking himself but his belly area was not that bad anymore — his fur at the belly was starting to grow back and it’s still growing. However, his tail and thigh/waist area were showing patches of baldness (photo above).

Photo above: His fur at the belly area grew back but not completely yet. See how furry he was a few months ago in January.

I brought Mikey again to the same veterinarian a month after my first visit. The same vet examined his hairs again and this time, she found a baby lice egg shell. I was in a way relieved because not knowing the reason for his excessive licking is even worse. I saw the egg shell through the microscope myself. Wow.

Cat lice can’t be transmitted to human because cat’s fur is different from human hair. Also, lice, ticks, mites and fleas are different although they are all parasites. More info there.

The vet prescribed him Frontline, which will get rid of the lice and another medicine called Prednisolone for itch and inflammation. I really hope that these will work! Frontline is available at most pet shops and can be used as a precaution even if your cat doesn’t have lice. However I read somwhere that the cat fur wouldn’t be as shiny as before. I’m not sure how true this is.

I bought a Science Diet light food for hairball control on my way back after the vet commented that Mikey looked rounder :)