Domestic Goddess? Not in a million years....

Being a Chinese girl from Malaysia, I grew up eating various types of food from Chinese, Indian, Malay to fusion food especially when eating out is generally cheaper than eating in. My mum wasn't much of a cook and has a pretty limited repertoire and my dad always said that my mum didn't even know how to do house work or boil/cook rice when he married her. 

Unfortunately, my older sisters and I didn't have that luxury. With both parents working, we learn how to do chores, buy groceries and cook from a very young age. As my parents were butchers in the local market, we used help out in the market from a very young age. We learn how to buy fresh fruits & vegetables, select the sweetest melon and get the freshest fish or prawns. Before I started primary school, I already know how to count money, give change and name all the different types of vegetables. It is not surprising that mathematics was my favourite subject and I took up home economics as part of my Malaysian Secondary School exams, the equivalent to GCSE.

Does that makes me a domestic goddess? I wish. I can cook a variety of dishes from local English pub grub (stews, pies, pasta, Sunday Roast) to Chinese / Malaysian dishes (stir fry, fried rice, noodles, curries, soups) but no where as good as my 3rd sister who is an excellent cook (thanks to my mother's fussy taste bud). Now that I've officially been promoted to a stay at home mum, I'm struggling to cook everyday either due to lack of time, feeling uninspired, too tired or simply lazy.

I live day in and day out trying to be as tidy as possible but with a small house, loads of junks and invasion of a little baby girl almost 5 months ago, my house is in a tip! It needs a good clean and dusting and if my mum were here, she would have twisted my ear and told me off for keeping such a dirty house! Luckily for me, she is more than 6000 miles away and wouldn't visit unless I buy her an air ticket. Unfortunately, the cost of raising a little baby is too much for us to invite her for a visit, though I secretly think Stephen is worried my mum won't leave when she gets here. Then again, I'd probably fall out with her if she criticise the way I keep my house. Am I the only one who thinks that I don't live up to my mother's expectations? I hope not...

Having said that, I like entertaining and cooking which is why I always invite family & friends over for a meal. Just before my friends or family arrives, I'll do a frantic round of tidying / cleaning up and rope my poor husband in too. At the end of the day, if the house is messy, I'd just blame it on the fact that I have a little baby to care for and she demands all my attention and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm busy scrabbling on Facebook, chatting with my friends, watching TV or blogging. LOL