Riyan's Thornbury soccer clinic

I want Riyan to be active in sports rather than tuck his face into the iphone or ipad playing games. He loves football or what-they-call here, soccer. The thing i like about Australia is that they focus on family and kids. School holidays would mean that kids friendly places such as zoos and the likes are FREE for kids! Even normal day weekends are FREE for kids. Listen up Singapore, do something nice for your kids, huh? It should not be all about the profit.

The norm is for Aussie families to travel out of the state or camping or any family bonding activities say around Christmas. Closer to the starting of new school term, they have sports clinics and camps in Jan. Did i mention he loves soccer? Yes. He does. So this mama looked into anything sporty for him to take part in and mingle with the other Aussie kids. It'd build up his self confidence and maybe communication skills, if he even talks! heheehehehh I signed him up for a half day soccer clinic on one Saturday in Thornbury, under Thornbury United Football Club. Price was affordable at $45 from 9am-12noon. And Alhamdulillah, the timing worked well as I was scheduled for my volunteer training that very same day. Riyan was elated and definitely looked forward to the session though he might not have expressed it. 

As usual, he was the outstanding one. Even back in SG, he would either be the only Malay, or the only Muslim in whatever enrichment activities he signed up for... *sigh* For the clinic, he was the only Asian and only Muslim. It's alright. Good to be different, boy!

The clinic was awesome under the perfect weather and great coaches. Of course, the whole clan witnessed his virgin soccer clinic heheheheheheh He learnt proper skills and techniques, got snacks, medal and some freebies for the clinic. He enjoyed it. Thank you coaches for making history for him. :) Lovely!

The team that made through the day. The juniors were so adorable!

Getting geared up

That A after his name was supposed to be Amalina... and not Al... they mixed it up...  > < hehe

Warming up with Pa

Supporting department

with his coaches...

Bento chef wannabe Day #11 and 13

I am fasting today so I'm not sure how flavorful today's Bento was. Got Pa to taste it before i packed it. Too bland he said. I added more salt. But not sure if it's a wee bit salty... InsyaAllah it'd be delicious  ;p

Day #13: Dark soy fried rice with egg, potato in sambal and mangoes

Day #11: Fried instant noodles with cripsy crushed prawns and poached egg, cucumber drizzled with tomato sauce and oranges.

I missed taking a quick shot of yesterday's (Day #12). But it was the remaining pizza and chicken burger. Purchased the pizza when we were in Springvale the day before (Australia Day). From a Halal corner outlet diagonally opposite Dandenong Market. Labelled itself as Taste of Heaven pizza. ahhahahahah i found the name comical, something which would suit some Hawaiian beach front food outlet and not much related to the italian favourite. Side tracked, the entire stretch, well almost the entire, were Halal food outlets mostly Afghan diners. Sadly few patrons but maybe it was due to everyone partying out and barbie-ing on the day which some Australians hate due to the fact that it was the day the indigenious land was invaded... rather emotional though. Back to pizza, the pizza was sooo reasonably priced, unlike Singapore's. A big family size for only $13! And i mean REALLY big. Back home you could only can about a personal pan for that price from pizza hut and the likes of it. The pizza was Hawaiian with plentyful of stripped turkey ham and a generous amount of sweet pineapples. Alhmadulillah, the best and most important part was, it stayed delectably soft the day after. How did they do that??!!? Pizza Hut's pizza used to go hard by the next morning and had to be heated up and still became hard after it cooled down. It's in the dough. What special ingredients did they add huh??

Bento chef wannabe Day #08-10

I'm getting a little frustrated with the uploading of the photos since my phone broke down. Anyway, hopefully Pa's getting healthier by the day... and hope he gains weight too... heheheheheheheh

Saf asked me what Pa used to bring while he was "single" in Mel last year. I told her it was salami sandwich after salami sandwich. Sometimes he was that lazy... but other times i remembered he proudly cooked fried rice... way to go Pa...! But now, it'd be way to go "me"! :P  

Day #08: Fried rice with mixed vege, fresh salad and water melons.

 Day #09: Instant noodles fried in chili oil and soy sauce with straw mushrooms and fried egg, bananas and fresh salad.

Day #10: Creamy pasta macaroni with mushroom and parsley, sneaked in the kids' dino snacks (nuggets), home made brownies and seedless green grapes.

Bento chef wannabe Day #07

Now seems like i'm running out of ideas... need to look at more books pronto! I give up on the phone camera. At times when i took it portrait, it turned out in landscape. And vice versa. So i'd just upload it in whatever form it comes up in...  :P

Day #06: Spaghetti in tomato sauce, banana and mango and mixed fresh salad.

Caribbean Park Market - we ventured to the east

This market was recommended by Hairi and his wife. It is similar to Queen Victoria Market but it is closer to their home which is far from ours. hehehehehehehe. We went separately and met them there on one Sunday morning while Hairi's parents were still in town. Not a bad place. It has rides for kids and all sorts of trinkets and home stuff plus cheap clothings. And also one of our favourite stalls.... plant stall! I got myself a small pot of curry plant for $12. A bargain from $15. Me and Mak gt ourselves track pants, Riyan got a hooded sweatshirt and Nurul got extra pair of school shoes. Best, kan??

We took the skylift. $6/child, $8/adult. Family $24.

Look! Adik and Pa behind us.

Still the same frozen pose after a few minutes

 

Me posing with the bag that Zub got me. It's excellent for grocery shopping!

Bento chef wanabe Day #06

Sixth day into my Bento adventure. I am still determined to make my own food such as patties, balls, ice cream. For experiments  and to see how far i can go in this foodie area. An area which i sucked at previously, and still am! ehhehehehehehe Ill post some food that i froze later... InsyaAllah.

Thawed my minced beef, added salt, pepper and a bit of flour into the mince. Shaped it round and i got my very own beef patties! Hungry Jacks here has the softest cheese beefburger i had ever eaten!  And i wanted to try to make my own version with the onion tomato sauce. I forgot the pickles! darn! I'll buy gerkins and preserve them myself. If i'm too lazy, i'll buy bottled ones ehehehehh  :P

Bento Day #06: Double home-made beef patties with cheese and onion tomato sauce, Sheperd's pie, grapes and watermelon.

Bad picture taking, i know. Couldn't even see the inside of the sandwich.

Bento chef wanabe Day #05

Final day of the week! So far, it had been good. I could think of different menu for each day. 

The night before i cooked Nasi Minyak with Ayam Merah Madu Pengantin. A pat on the back for me... ehheheh my first try. On my own, at least. It was an extremely simple recipe which i got off FB. No need for ingredients which were unheard of. Just those that i had at home. And this worked really well for me since there are tons of spices in the pantry. 

The rice turned out delicious and fragrant. We had leftovers from the second batch i cooked at night. I made it into Bento for the next day. I fried sausages instead of the leftover chicken. I was late in thawing the sausage and i thought defrosting it in the microwave could save me time. But this didn't work with this sausage. After i fried it, it turned hard when Pa had his lunch. SHould have just popped in onto the frying pan for succulent sausage throughout the day. That's it! Finale for the week. Each day of the week was a different main dish and rotation of fruits.  :)

Bento Day #05: Nasi Minyak with Merah Madu sauce and fried sausages, stir fried kacang boncis and tomaoes; and grapes.

I should start taking pictures in potrait for iphone. This photo was ok in the PC but not in this blog.

Bento chef wannabe Day #04

ok, firstly i don't know why i couldn't rotate this photo. Secondly, my Samsung phone died on me so the day #03 Bento photo couldn't be retrieved yet. Not until i fixed it. I keep marinated chicken wings in the freezer. So for Day #04, i fried spicy noodles with honey glazed chicken. This brand and type of noodles were so fragile! I had to be extra careful with it, tossing it with tender loving care not wanting to break the strands into tiny lengths.

Bendto Day #04: spicy fried noodles with crunchy chilli and mushrooms, honey glazed chicken wings, omelette, stir fried chye sim and tomatoes in oyster sauce. There you go. No fruits this day!

Fishing at Mornington

For those who do not know me, yes, I'm a fishing freak in a closet... I just love the thrill of a fish eating the bait and the feel of the tug and pull when the fish gets caught on the line. I got my fair share of thrill when we went for trout fishing in June 2015. But it was not that satisfying since it was a sure catch experience. Good thing is I have friends who are fishing enthusiasts and brought us along for fishing trips. I haven't caught any so far but I'm patiently waiting for that turn to get a fish on my hook!

Took a late afternoon trip to Mornington. It was about and hour plus drive down to the south east. Was an impromptu trip to fish and catch squid. But check out what was caught on my friend's hook instead!

 
I wasn't prepared for the cold so I was just with my hooded jumper. Oh boy, it was SUPER windy and cold!!!! Poor Nurul was really under-dressed for this occasion. The file size of the video I took of the weather there was too large. You could hear the wind and huge waves crashing in. But enjoy the photos nevertheless...  :) Sulhan and family were great outdoor companions!

All packed and ready to go.

A really long ride...

Sea and beach along Frankston.

On the way to Mornington. Feels like home.

We reached!! Mornington pier.

See them walk with shorts?? But it was extremely cols and windy... they must have regretted their attire.

She has a boat to her name...

After praying-seated in the car. And took refuge from the wind.

Taking a short break in the car... getting warmth.

Squiggly wriggly octopus!

Sulhan caught an octopus on his line.

Going home at10pm.