Japanese Chicken Karaage

The other night I cooked Japanese Chicken Karaage for dinner. It's a recipe I learned from my dear friend Yasuko. Every time she invited me over at her house, she would prepare very authentic Japanese foods. I happen to love all of them and I make it a point that she show me how to cook every single one of those recipes.

It is very easy to prepare and cook. I prefer using chicken thighs with or without skin cut into small or bite-size pieces. Marinate in a bowl with 1/2 cup of all purpose soy sauce, 1-2 tbsp. of Aji-Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine) with grated ginger and garlic. After 1/2 an hour, coat the chicken pieces with Potato Starch (Katakuri Ko). Fry using vegetable oil until deep golden brown and crispy. Serve with a squeeze of lemon or how my hubby likes it -- with soy sauce.

It is a very delicious meal. My hubby and kids love it.

Virus?

Thursday last week, MJ woke up and complained about not feeling well and said he wanted to stay home. His temperature didn't feel unusually warm so I made him go to school. That was very silly of me! It turned out he was right and I was wrong and I should have believed him. He said he stayed at the nurse' office for 25 minutes and went back to class still not feeling good. What's strange was that nobody from his school notified me about his condition. Anyway, we were out of Tylenol or Motrin so hubby had to rush to the store to buy both. Tylenol works 4-6 hours and Motrin works 6-8 hours. These medicines did work about the same time it said it should. After it wears out, MJ's temperature would go back up again. His temperature would vary from 101.5 to 103.5 degrees F. The latter would drive me nuts. Aside from giving him the medicine, I'd start giving him cold sponge bath (3 to 5 times) and have him hold a ziploc half-filled with ice (covered in a washcloth tucked on both ends with rubber bands) over his head or forehead to help his temperature to go back down.

We went to see his doctor on Saturday who checked his ears, nose, throat and his breathing. Everything was fine except for his throat. It was a bit red, according to the doctor, but not that much to cause him a temperature over 102 degrees F. He said what MJ has may be virus so the fever may run from 3-5 days. He said to keep up with the Motrin (he preferred Motrin over Tylenol). He also prescribed Cefzil, an antibiotic. We left the office with me feeling a little relieved/worries minimized. Well, that's how I normally feel after a doctor's visit thinking that I finally did something "right" for my child. That having a doctor check him will finally give me accurate answers/diagnosis. I wasn't thinking when he handed me that prescription. I was so occupied at how much relief MJ would feel once he takes the medicine. Something does not add up well.

I checked WebMD today and confirmed my doubts. Antibiotics will not work on virus infections at all. The use of antibiotics if not needed may even cause the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So my big question is WHY? Why an antibiotic? Did I just pay a $20 copay for a misdiagnosis and obviously an incorrect prescription? Did I just pay $10 for an antibiotic that may be completely unnecessary? *Sigh*

Today, MJ has been sick for 6 days and taking the antibiotic for 4 days. But as of 11 am today, his temperature remains at 100 degrees F. I want to let out a sigh of relief but I want to hold that for a while. If for the whole day his temperature stays that way, then I will. For the meantime, I'd be constantly checking his temperature.

Lewis Hamilton lost F1 title at deciding Brazilian GP

It was heartbreaking to see Hamilton yesterday lose his chance at championship. He tried to pass (which he did not need but tried anyway) Fernando Alonzo at the start of the race but went off track instead -- putting him on the 8th position. To add to his mishap, he had electronics problem with his gearbox that made him slid further down to 18th position. He managed to finish the race 7th and won 2nd at the championship. It would have been nice to see him at the podium.

It had been a very interesting F1 season with him showing impressive performances. I am most certain he learned from his rookie mistakes and that he will make it next season.

My baby and Transformers

Yesterday was the day we've been waiting for. The day Transformers DVD came out! But my baby, she totally stole the scene. She walked a whole yard and kept doing it. I was so happy. She was so happy and laughed every time she made a step. She knew how proud we were. It was a good feeling. Her steps were slow and she was pretty careful not to fall. It was indeed memorable ... a long wait but it's worth it :)

My girl

My first child. A member of the National Junior Honor Society, she's smart and she's proud of it. She loves to read and she reads fast. She read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in just 4 hours. Wow! She loves to write. She's published several stories on her favorite bands' websites. And I can proudly say that she's a J.K. Rowling in the making.

My boy

I only have one son. My favorite son. He laughs at this because he is my only son. He loves sports. He reads Sports Illustrated for Kids. Are there other kids out there who read this book? He's 9 years old. There's this girl in his class last year who asked him if he could be her boyfriend. Oh my! They did for a while and then summer came. They never talked during summer. And when classes started, it was like the bf-gf thing never happened. What's good about it is that he was ok with that. Weird. Cute and weird.

My baby

Only 13 months old, my baby girl is a handful. She can't walk yet but she is trying. She'd hold on to furniture and walls. It's really cute watching her standing looking really really short. She has toys but what interest her more are boxes, water bottles, phones and stuff. She has baby books (with hard pages) but she would rather take her sister's books.