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Happy Moments

Hmm, I have so many happy moments to share that I couldn’t think of what to post here. There are happy moments of my childhood, during school days and college days, and at work. But again if you ask me what makes my happy moments, I will instantly give you a definite answer: MY FAMILY.

Do you know that today is an extra day of the year?? Yes, it is leap year for 2008, and that mean 29 February is an extra day for the year!! Do you feel happy for having an additional day? I remember that in the last leap year, I took a big step that changed my life forever!!

In 2004, hubby proposed to me (yes, marriage proposal). We registered at the Marriage Registrar Office on the same year. That was the beginning of our life as husband and wife, and from there onward, we have so many happy moments together as a couple.

Let me share with you my 2 memorable happy moments that I have shared with my family. Family here meaning my new family, not with my biological family. I have many happy moments with my parents and siblings, I grew up to be what I am today, thank to them. But for today, I would like to share with you what I have cherished in taking a big step in building new life with my hubby.

Firstly, on my wedding day back in June 2005. It was the happiest moment of my life!! Married to the man I choose and love, celebrate with families and close friends, it is truly a fairy-tale affair. Holding our wedding reception in Hilton Kuching, we celebrate our declaration of love in front of 250 guests. And not forgetting the wedding dance that we shared! The wedding song? “Sway” by Michael Buble. It is truly a wedding that I dreamt of and will always treasure in my heart.

Secondly, a year later the birth of our little gal! Our bundle of joy. Born on 28 April 2006, little gal was our heart and blood. I remember the first time I saw and held her in my arm; it was like a dream to me. The feeling of having children with your blood flowing in them is unbelievable. Never have I dream to be a mother to such a wonderful child. She brings laughter and joy in my life. After a tiring day at work, it is great to be home seeing her playing and chatting around. She may be our little monkey, but the sight of her brings back happy memories of first time holding her.

Those 2 events are what I will cherish forever, and I know I will have many happy moments to be shared with my family in the future. Here, I leave you with these pictures, my Happy Moments!

Groom kissing the bride ;p

Before making our grand entrance to the reception hall

Little J when she was 1 month old

Little J 's photo taken on New Year day this year

My work station

I have been babbling about my office relocation for the past two weeks, so let me show you new work place! How is it?? Much better than my previous place?

I have a big white board at my back, so I feel free to write what ever remarks on it. Tell you the truth, I quite pleased with the new office as it more spacious and everyone is cluster together. Easy to communicate and passing information around.

Alright boss, when can I have a new pc? If you notice, I have been using this monitor for the past 8 years and it is very outdated. Slow like snail it has been exhausted for the past 8 years. It is time for it to rest in peace (RIP). Maybe new boss can consider on revamping the whole system for our office!! Everyone should be using flat-screen monitor and touch screen keyboard. *wink* My wish for the year.

Thinking of food

When it rains, all I can think of is FOOD. I have snacks and cookies on my side table in the office, so when ever we were hungry, we would just munch on them! Reason it is on my side table is that my location is strategic, easily accessed by everyone. LOL! So far no complain from the new boss on our eating habits! ;p I was sorting my folder and found some food pictures that I dont have time to share with you in the past.

One interesting food that I would like to share with you today is this famous kolo mee at Carpenter Street. The Chinese coffee shop "Min Joo" is a very old corner shop located at Carpenter Street. I guess there used to be many carpenters there, so that is why the street was named so. The street is famous for goldsmith, locksmith, furniture and coffee shops. The street is always packed with cars and people, and it is even crowded nearing to festive seasons.

Back to this Min Joo coffeeshop, it is operated by a Teochew family for dont-know-how-many-years. The place is always packed with customers and you need to queue up for tables. It is lucky that you can find parking along the Carpenter Street or nearby roads as it is not easy to look for any parking there. So, it would be double luck if you can find table for your food at Min Joo too. They have around 10 tables there.

Min Joo is famous for breakfast and lunch goers. Guess what!!! They only serve kolo mee! I wonder they put any "jampi" in the noodles as people willing and patiently wait for their turn. They have funny way of operating their business. Once you find your seat, you have to wait for your turn to order. Only when they place the spoons and chopsticks on your table, then you can order your food. If you cut queue, you will be scolded by them!! Better dont embarass yourself in front of other customers!

We love its cheng soup (mixed soup of pig internal organ, fish ball, and prawns). Dont you like the clear soup?? So nice to have it during cold and raining day, dont you think? *laugh* As for noodles, you also can sub with kuay tiaw and mihun.

Facts About Rose

Thank you, Sue for giving me a surprise late yesterday evening. :)

The Meme rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.


MeMe - Five facts about myself:

1. I am conscious of my look when I am young. Need to stand in front of mirror to check my appearance and clothing before go out! (Now? Dont bother with makeup, maybe dont have time to bother about it anymore!)

2. I have had an imaginary friend when I were a child.

3. I am a perfectionist, making sure every tiny details done properly. Otherwise I will start to nag people..

4. I can only sleep with minimal noise around me. Meaning, I cant stand snoring from my hubby as it keeps me awake at night! Hahahah!

5. I enjoy taking photographs and love to be photographed. But now, my object is my little gal, I am mostly the camerawoman. :)

So, friends, please be honest and state your facts ok?? :)

Jen
Dora
Nyumix
Agnes
Hye

A good or bad mummy?

I don’t know the answer to the above. Am I a good mother to my almost 2-years old daughter? I really don’t know but what I can tell you is that I am still learning to be one.

Parenting is a very difficult job especially in discipline your little one and guiding them through their childhood stage. There is no perfect guideline in how to discipline and guide your children but with better understanding of what your children want would make the parenting job easier.

I have noticed my little gal would like me to be around her and pay more attention to her at home. When ever she plays her LEGO game or read her books, she would show off her masterpiece and reading skill to me and expect me to praise her. She would want me to play and read together with her. She would not want anyone to be with her, except ME!

With those understanding, I slowly develop a time schedule and time-out rules for my little gal.

1. Allocate approximately 30 minutes schedule every night for reading and playing with little gal in the bedroom. I am trying to set a rule for her to at least have some time to read and play when there is less distraction around
2. Should she misbehave, i.e. throwing her toys around or messing with her clothes drawer, I will carry her to a place and let her stay there for few second with me out from her side. This is called time-out. You can find out more on time-out at this website: Time Out for Children and Kids’ Behaviour

3. When it is time to play, it should be totally play time. When time to read, it should be reading time. Do not mix it around or with other activities.
4. Always set a time to be with your children during those times. Praise, do not punish them if they misbehave.
5. Allowing some time for father and daughter time, and leaving them alone. I am trying to let them have time to develop closeness and not too relying on me.

Keep in mind that different children require different parenting tactics. It is how you understand your children well would determine your parenting skill. My parenting skill is not the best, but that is how I discipline my children and hopefully in able to make her more independent and develop a love to learn.

The "50 questions" tag

I got a long and interesting tag from Dora today. Trying to squeeze in some time to finish these 50 questions up during my office time. So, as you can see, I am multi-tasking in my office; doing this tag, answering phone calls and replying my internal emails at the same time. Hope I didnt left out any questions and make any mistakes here! *laugh*

Just copy the questions and put in your answers and tag some blogging friends. Let’s see how well we can get to know each other. Here I go!

1. Last person you had a deep and meaningful convo with?
Who else, with hubby……

2. Where was the last place you went?
My house then office! Hehehe! Why not? Everyday back and forth

3. If you could be with your first love, would you?
Why not? Hehehe! (Hope hubby didn’t access to my blog!)

5. Who was your first crush????
A college classmate. (Sssshhh! Hope hubby didn’t read this!)

6. What was the last thing you highlighted?
A layout plan of my shopping centre

7. Who is the last baby that you held?
My niece, Chloe

8. Do you know of any twins with rhyming names?
No.

9. Are you ticklish?
Yes, very!

.10. Have you ever worn a crown?
Does tiara count? During my wedding studio photo shooting.

11. Last time you saw fireworks?
Last Thursday night, on Chap Goh Mei

12. Who is the last person you hugged?
My little gal

13. Do you have a black dog?
Used to have, but passed away. Her name is Olivia

14. Do you have a little black dress?
Of course, a must in my evening dress wardrobe

15. What are you wearing right now?
Office wear – blouse and skirt

16. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
My hubby who asked me whether I see his house key at home!

17. Do you like coffee?
Sorry, I am not a coffee drinker

18. Are you missing someone?
Too busy doing this tag to miss anyone!

19. Reason behind why you last cried?
Feel helpless and angry

20. How much cash do you have on you?
I have RM50+ in my purse right now

25. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed?
The last time I developed film was after my wedding reception! I developed 3 rolls at a time

26. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to change a regret?
1 Million for sure.

27. What’s on your mind right now?
Trying to finish up this f*****g tag! Hahaha!

28. Do you have a deep dark secret?
Hmm, not that I know of!!

29. Do you wish you were with someone right now?
Yes

30. Who was the hottest teacher you ever had?
Hottest?? Teacher? I never associate teacher with been “hot”

31. What was the last thing you ever got grounded for?
Many years ago! For arguing with my siblings! Hahahaha!

32. What was your childhood nickname?
I don’t have any nickname

33. Do you have any strange phobias?
Terrify of lizard - strange enough?

34. Have you ever played naked twister?
No

36. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Monsters, vampires after watching those scary movies

38. Is there anybody you just wish would fall off the planet?
I am not an evil person, so I don’t wish for anyone to fall off

39. Do you crack your knuckles?
Once in blue moon

40. What’s one thing that can always be found in your refrigerator?
Olive butter spread

.41. What color are your bed sheets?
Yellow and red

42. How many kids do you plan on having?
Two

43. What did you do today?
Working, blogging, and eating in front of my pc!

44. How would you like to die?
Die peacefully in the arm of the man I love

45. Have you ever been in love?
Of course, or else I wouldn’t have been happily married

46. When is the last time you went out of the state (province)?
Last July

49. Do you judge people?
Occasionally, but I am not a good judge of people

50. Generally, in life, what makes you happy?
When my family is happy

Phew! I thought I would go on and on, non stop. I am too tired to tag anyone right now, so who ever interested to play, you are most welcome!

(Btw, it is lunch time. Meaning it is time to fill up my empty stomach! hehehe! See ya!)

Meme & Award

"MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLE MEME"

here's another wonderful tag from "life" of BlueDreamer

Here are the rules:You are about to send a virtual Message In a Bottle across the Blog Ocean.

Leave a message in the sand or on the bottle. Write anything you wish. Be a pirate or a poet. Serious or silly. Anonymous or not. What message would you like to send out to the universe?

Message In A Bottle Meme

1. Compose a message to place in your virtual bottle.
2. Right click and SAVE the blank graphic below
3. Use a graphics program of your choice to place the message on the picture.
4. Post the Message In a Bottle meme and your creation on your blog along with these rules.
5. Tag a minimum of 5 bloggers - or your entire blogroll - to do the same. Notify them of the tag.Your virtual bottle will remain afloat in the blogosphere ocean for all blogernity (That’s a Mimism for blog + eternity.)

This is my message. ;p

So, if you are tagged by me, go over to Mimi’s and ADD your site to her Mr. Linky list and place your blog’s name and url in a comment HERE TO LET MIMI KNOW YOU’VE COMPLETED THE MEME. Mimi will add it to the master list of message bottles. Email mimiwrites2005 at yahoo.com if you have questions. Participation is optional. Just remember she has a dungeon….and some of you are STILL there from the Band Meme. Have fun


Blue Dreamer also giving me this "Interesting Blog" award, thank you so much Blue Dreamer. You make my day!

Alright, tag and award passing time. I would like to tag "Message In the bottle" meme and present "Interesting Blog" award to the following bloggers:

Cooking Momster

Jen's Place

Billy's Mom

Dora

Bigfish

Didi

Nyumix

Pearly

Agnes

Alright girls, it is tagging and award giving week, so lets get it started, will ya? For other bloggers in my blog link, you are welcome to join in the tag too!!! Have fun!!

On Cloud Nine

On cloud nine on a Monday morning? You must be kidding me, you are thinking right??? Hmm, doesn’t sound right as I should not feel that way on a working day, some more on a Monday!! I am not happy that it is Monday today because I know I have meeting and works to do, but I am happy because of this award!!

Yes, keep those awards coming in, I am happy to receive and keep them in my blog! I still have a lot of space to keep them here! *laugh* Although I got this Peace Award pretty late as it came all the way from Singapore, it is never too late to thank my presenter, The Singapore Housewife for giving me such beautiful award. As promised I will share it with others. So, my friends please spread the peace and love around the world, will you?

Jen
Didi
Agnes
Billy’s mom
Dann

Hye

Pearly
Dora
Nyumix

*Peace sign to all of you*

A perfect Saturday

Wow, it has been a perfect Saturday so far for me! Although sitting alone in my office now, I feel I have friends accompany me from all corners of the world in the blogspace! I never feel bored or lonely.

The weather outside has been kind on us! Sunny since yesterday! Yahoo! It just feel good to be outdoor rather than sitting in my office now. Yes, I am dreaming of sunbathing on the beach right now! :p

What's more, I also received 3 highly-rated awards from a dear friend, Hye today. She has been a good friend and support this blog from the very beginning! I am very grateful for having such a good friend. :) Thank you Hye and congratulations to yourself too. You deserve them better than I do.

I always wonder who produce those awards in first place? I am amazed with all those award themes, they are simply awesome!

5-star blog award

(My blog is been rated 5-star? Maybe not yet, there is still a long way for my blog to deserve such rate!)

Blogging with a Purpose award

(The main purpose of blogging is to get to know more people and learn from them! I blog with a good intention, okay? :))

Excellent blog award

(My third award is Excellent Blog award. Well, I am still learning and trying to make this blog an interesting and good quality blog for my readers, that is still a long way for me....)

Wow, now that makes my day! *laugh* Well, good things need to be shared right? So, I would like to present the above 3 awards to my dear blogging friends who I think deserves them better than I do:

Jen
Nick
Linda
Thongs

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

A sense of loneliness

It is not that I never been in such state before. Each time, my heart is heavy and just doesn’t feel right about everything. I feel like a small kitten trap in a big cage with no way out! Oh no! Now you are wondering what is wrong with me!!

Sorry if I freak you out, but I always have this feeling of loneliness each time hubby is away. Yes, his work requires him to be away either for seminar, training or other bank branches meeting. So this weekend he has been away again. He is in West Malaysia this time round, flew over yesterday morning and be back tomorrow night. I guess at this posting time, he should have already reached Melacca from KL. So nice for him, work cum leisure. Yes, I know it is only 3 days, but I feel like 3 years apart!

I remember the first time he went traveling, I cried myself out! Gosh! It was pretty embarrassing, but who cares! A wife missing her husband, it is not sinful, right? It doesn’t make sense to me why I felt that way, because I know that hubby is going away due to work. But inside I know I were reluctant to see him go and me been alone in the house. The first time he was away was when I was pregnant. That time I feel like moving back to my parents’ house to look for some comfort and familiar environment there! *laugh*

As time passes, I have get used to such feelings. For the past one year, he has been away for not less than 4 times if I am not mistaken. There has been Thailand, China, KL and KK. The longest been last August when he was in China for more than a week.

Each time he is going away, I will try my best to keep my cool and don’t tear in front of him. Now with little gal as my companion, I am not that lonely. So the time apart from hubby is not that miserable…

Little gal and myself will be going back to my parents’ house this evening after I clock out from work at 5.00pm. Yes, working full day today as it is my turn to be management on duty (MOD). We would be staying over for a night. At least I don’t feel that lonely on a Saturday night and little gal would be able to enjoy herself in the company of her grandparents. She kept asking me to go back to her “kung kung po po house” anyway. *wink*

Let's Play Domino

Thank you Nyumix for inviting me to play Domino with her. I cant remember when was the last time I play Domino!! Hahahah!

Rule: Copy the entire list and add your name at the bottom. And tag at least 5 friends.


(But you can tag as many as you like)





Thea is {bloggerhappy.com}


Childstar


Mike


My Scrappy Side


Abie


Aggie


Alpha


Apple


Apols


Jacqui


Jane


Jody


Joy


Kelly


Mich


Peachy


Jenny


Nyumix


Rose





You may want to allow pings on your entry to enjoy the full domino effect. Have fun!

I am tagging this 5 friends to play along: Jen, Didi, Agnes, Hye and Billy's mom

Our worst nightmare!

If I told you that someone is stalking or harrassing you every now and then, what would you feel? Annoy? Irritated? Angry? Fear?

There is this grass cutter, an old man in his 60s I think. He is the most annoying grass cutter you ever met! Mentioned of him makes my blood boiling now! Aaaaarrrgggh! I seldom see him cut the other neighbours' grasses, so I guess he just picked hubby's house randomly. End up, he has been coming to hubby's house from the beginning.

Each time, hubby paying him RM10 for his services which include cleaning and clearing up the grasses from drains. Not much grass to cut though. Last time, maybe more but now we have put cement on the side and back part of the house for more parking spaces and store room, so not much green for him to service.

Anyway, the annoying part about him is that he will come every 2 weeks and ask to cut your grass. The way he ask is very annoying, I simply don’t know how to translate what he said in Hokkien! Just simply annoying. And another thing is that our grass is not even 2 inches long, and he already wanted to cut them. Hubby even found him didn’t clear after the grass. Just leave all those grasses in the drain and all around.

If I ever met him, I will tell him off, no need to cut my grass since not long. Alright, I may be rude and cruel to an old man, judging by the way I speak to him. However he has been like stalking us, simply enter our house without permission.

There are times when he just enter the house and cut the grass without us knowing, and the next day he will come to collect his RM10! As hubby and myself work during the day, he will ask from my brother-in-law. My BIL will tell him off, that he wouldn’t pay since he didn’t ask him to cut the grass. The worst part is that he kept coming every day to collect if we didn’t pay him up! Oh no!! This is worse than the "Along" (loan sharks). In the end, we just pay him up.

Hubby even tell him to come early of every month to cut. But old habit never dies. He still comes every 2 weeks and we just simply ignore and remind him on coming early of the month! ;p I guess he just come to our house when he has no money and keep poundering on us to cut our grass! And for our poor grass, they don’t have the opportunity to even grow! Hahahaha!

Young Readers

If your children are not interested in reading or always on the move and cant sit still, never stop trying. Keep developing a good foundation for early literacy skills for your children.

Continue reading as he or she may still be listening. Get their attention by pointing out the pictures or making funny noises. Point out the picture and explain not only what the picture is but try to add more description to the picture. Example, if it is a picture of a rabbit, explain to your child that the rabbit is white in colour and it hops around.

Reading should be treated as a fun activity for children. So, do not spell out the words to them, it is a boring exercise for them. Reading should be a happy, shared experience between you and your child.

Try making reading session enjoyable for them by varying tones or pitches to your voice. Another tip is to let your child choose the books he or she wants to read. It doesn’t matter if he or she chooses the same books everyday. The point here is to develop their interest in reading. Slowly introduce other books with similar themes to extend their interests.

Some children can recognize words at an early age, but most children only developmentally ready to read by the age of 5. So remember this, do not pressure them at young age. They will be ready when the time comes. Just make reading a fun time and they will enjoy and look forward to it

On the 15th day

Thank god the rain has stopped!! It has been raining since Monday! Hopefully, Kuchingnites are going to see sun soon as the sky still not cleared yet, from what I can see from my office windows. I do miss those sunny day, where I can enjoy a morning walk at the park or going out without the hassle of holding an umbrella in one hand and another hand holding little gal.

The Year of Rat has been a wet year for a start, and I can hear people complaining on laundry not dry, business slowing down (but I guess laundry business are good at this time) and some even fall sick! It is rather unusual to have many rain pour for this time of the year. Change of climate, I say? Or change of wind direction bringing in more rain this year?

No matter what it is, the celebration of ushering Year of Rat is coming to an end today. Yes, it is Chap Goh Mei (15th night of Chinese Lunar Calendar in Hokkien dialect) today. Last day to play and hear fireworks displaying in the sky tonight. So, for those fireworks that still untouched, better play them tonight or you got to wait for another year round.

For Chinese, Chap Goh Mei is considered an important day in par with the CNY Eve reunion dinner. During Chap Goh Mei, family members meet up and have dinner together. There is never lack of food, drinks and snack during Chap Goh Mei. After today, everyone gets back to their normal routine, for the rest of the year.

Chap Goh Mei is also considered the Chinese Valentine’s Day where singles will throw mandarin oranges in the river, with hopes that the orange will be picked by potential match! I wonder why they have to use oranges? Is it because of too many leftover they cant find a way to dispose them, but rather throw them away into the river?? I guess not many people practice this anymore, as it is an offence to throw rubbish (not to mention fruit) into our rivers! ;p So, for the singles, you have to think of other way to find your matches this year!

So, here I am, wishing everyone “Happy Chap Goh Mei”! And I am looking forward to my dinner too. :)

Money = Happiness?

Lately I have been babbling none stop about career change and money. Maybe because of unexpected events happening to me, i.e. purchase of new car, not enough money to spend and save, new house and hubby's plan to change job. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, money issue is always at the back of your mind. You cannot escape from it (unless you are filthy rich and no need to work hard for it!)

As young, I always been made to believe that money is the root of all evil. Money can make a person commit unwanted crime. Some believes it represents success or fame and other, it represents power acceptance, material goods and status.

Women use money to fill an emotional hole, e.g when alone in a strange place or after an emotional break-off with lovers, they tend to go to shopping spree and ultimately lead to overspending and tie up with credit debts.

Many feel that we can improve our emotional well-being with money, i.e acquiring more of it or spending it lavishly. Certainly when you don’t have enough money for basic needs, you will think money is crucial, but once above poverty level, your money loses ability to boost your happiness quotient.

Money is not a way to pursue happiness, instead couple should focus on maintaining and improving relationships in their life. Those that put a lot value on money, goal and fame are less happy and well-organised.

To determine whether you are financially happy, ask yourself this question “Are you successful?” The problem is that you will never be successful if you always comparing yourself with other. You will start to compare how much money you make, how big your house is etc. Human beings are never satisfied with what they have. So stop comparing your success rate and instead be content with what you have. I understand it is great to own a BMW, but if it costs you on extra year of overtime, forget it. It is not worth your time and sacrifice.

Always consider what you really want and be realistic with it. If all you want is a nice place for vacation and away from work, a vacation at an island resort within the country is better alternative than going for an overseas vacation. You shouldn’t work your butt off for a year or exhaust yourself with a big debt to settle from the vacation. I don’t think you would be wholly happy even you are on vacation when you start to think of all the debts during your vacation, right?

As people always say “Let money works for you, not the other way round”. If you work for money, you would never be happy. You will never be content with what you earn. Money is never enough for you.
Change the “value” of money, never believe that money will buy happiness, it is always not true. Yes, money and material things are important but you may need to find out why in first place that they are important.

For example you may think that you want a big house to live in, but the reason behind it may be your desire for security. Be realistic. If you are always depressed or unhappy while seeking money, it is not worth it. You will lead a happier life if your perception on money changes. Look at money differently and never be slave to it!! (now again, it is always easy to say than done!! :p)

Forever Friends

First of all, I would like to thank Agnes for presenting me this award. I am honour to receive this award from her, she is really sweet and a good friend herself! :) And congratulations Agnes for receiving your first award. There will be more coming for you in near future :)

I would like to give this award and spread the "treasure of friendship" to all my blogger friends in my link. You know who you are. Without you all, I will have never written and continue with this blog of mine. Thank you my friends!!

Let celebrate "Forever friends" award together!!

Tagging from Nyumix

Thank you Nyumix for tagging me in this tagging along game.

Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially!

The benefits of Viral Linking:

* One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!

* Increase your Google PageRank fast

* Attract large volume of new traffic to your site

* Build your community

* Make new friends!

The Strategist Notebook Link Addiction Ardour of the Heart When Life Becomes a Book The Malaysian Life Yogatta.comWhat goes under the sun Roshidan’s Cyber StationSasha says Arts of Physics And the legend lives My View, My Life A Simple Life Juliana RW The Callalily Space Petra Summer in Blue Confessions of an Army Wife Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life Living @ Evergreen State La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine , Me and my Two Boys, My Life is Peachy, Chat, My Happy Place, Raising Sandy, I am Dzoi, Snapshots of Life, My BIG Picture, Welcome To My World, Hannah, Michellie, Lisa, Ris, Scotty’s Princess, REPAH, Misyel, Rhapsody, joanjoyce, read my mind, moms..... check nyo, Mommy's Little Corner,Nyumix's Blog, Rose

As stated, I am tagging 5 friends to continue with this chain, Jen, Agnes, Didi, Zaza and Dora

Enjoy, my friends. :)

Working mother’s dilemma

To work or not to work?

My hubby has a plan for me in the next 5 years on becoming a full-time stay-at-home mother. He told me to retire from working world when he earns income of RM7K per month. Hmm, I don’t know what to say but when come to that day when he does earn his RM7K, would I really consider retiring totally and concentrating on new career i.e. full time SAH mother?

Lets me start off by looking at my daily routine. Everyday I wake up around 6.00am (latest 6.30am) every day by feeding milk to my daughter. While hubby and everyone in the household still fast asleep, I would be busy getting ready little gal and myself first thing in the morning. Sometimes I would need to dry out the washing from last night, get little gal dressed before sending her to babysitter, finding lost items, clearing messes in bedroom, waking up hubby from his good sleep, and then send little gal to baby sitter and rush to work. After a long day at work, I would come home and do some household chores. Thank god I am not required to cook for my family although I wish I have time to cook.

Even weekends are spent doing necessary task like grocery shopping, errands and cleaning. If it sounds familiar, then you are one of the thousands of working mother in a stressful almost army like environment. We are needed to find the working and life balance so that the stress that it brings would not make us feel like we are failing both as mothers and as employees.

I manage to find an interesting article on some tips on how to handle yourself as a working mother:

1. Stop feeling guilty – The society we live in sees mothers are primary caretaker of children which means that good mums stay at home and always put their children first. That was thinking 20 years ago but today we find that because of financial commitments both husband and wife has to work just to make ends meet.
2. Don’t let other people make you feel guilty. People at work tend to question your commitment on your job especially if you have t leave the office on the dot. You are doing this because you are a mum and not because you are avoiding your responsibilities. If you feel that there is not enough time to finish your work, try going to work earlier or have shorter lunch breaks.
3. Ignore research and reports. There will be thousand and one reports telling you about the devastating effects working mothers have upon children. There are always two sides to a storey. There is a research, which found that mothers who want to work feel more satisfied with themselves and this satisfaction can spill over into their relationship with their husband and children. The most important point is that a child’s development is not whether mum goes to work or not but whether the mum is happy
4. Get good quality child care. You don’t want to spend time at work worrying about your children as this can affect your job performance. Spend time looking at a range of different nurseries, babysitters or tuition centres. Get opinions from family members and friends or attend open days or enrolment days to get a feel of the place. Use your maternal instincts in this matter, it is usually right.
5. Get your partner’s support. Your partner plays important role because if he thinks that your role is to belong at home and in the kitchen then you have a hard time. Sit down and talk it over with him and explain that you are working to supplement the family income and that you need to have financial security.
6. Let your standard slip. If you are planning to have a successful career and a perfect home all at the same time, then you will end up burning yourself out or having a nervous breakdown. If you kids and career are the most important priorities, lower your standard on household responsibilities. You can hire a maid to maintain the basic household needs.
7. Explain to your children why you need to work. Some mums explain to their kids that they work to pay for their education, swimming lessons, music lessons, etc. They will begin to appreciate that mum has to work for good reasons!
8. Reduce morning stress. Get everything ready the night before – don’t waste valuable time hunting for shoes, socks, bottles….get it all ready and put it at your main door or staircase.
Focus on the positive side of things. There are times when you had a bad day and you feel like giving up on work to stay at home, make a list of all positive reasons you go to work. Stick this list on your bathroom mirror to remind yourself every morning.

So should the day come that I am asked to retire, I know that I would not get used to it at first. I would sure miss my colleagues, and challenges and excitement that surround the work place. Yes, no longer would I need to rush to work fighting the traffic jam. I have all the times in the world to do the things that I like or never get down to it before.

But with those pros and cons, I may consider semi-retirement if my hubby going to ask me to do so. Whose know, I may not get used to been SAH (maybe I may like it, I don’t know). I shall give it a try for 1 or 2 years, if it doesn’t work, then I will return to the working world again. I am not the type that can sit at home doing nothing, but watching tv or reading books….I may die of boredom if I do so!

Saving for the rainy days

A friend recently asked me on tips on how to save money. I was dumbfounded, reason been I am not a good keeper of my bank accounts and money myself. So how to expect me to advise another person on how to save money? Btw, that friend of mine is going to start a family soon, so she was asking me for an “expert advice”.

Frankly speaking, I have not been able to save money since I started family, as family requires more money! Children need to be fed, and in few years time, my daughter will be going to kindergarten. As she grows, I am assuring that more money needed to be spent on her education, food, daily expenses etc. Now we need to settle our house and car loans, and in need of more money for new house’ furniture and fixtures soon. And not forgetting to settle my credit card too. At the end of the day, I didn’t really save much.

Do you know that at the end of the day, our retirement saving were not sufficient for us to survive after we retire? I am pretty sure that you know that you cant depend on your EPF money to feed you after retirement. So start to save now. Some may say that investment in unit trust, share markets are beneficial as they guarantee good returns but they are full of risks! I am sure you would be worry to death to part with your hard earn money into those investments without knowing what risks they may incur.

Lifestyle also determine your saving scheme. A study shows that lower income group saved more than middle income groups. Reason? Lifestyle. The higher income you earn, it is understandable that your purchasing power grows and you expect to buy more luxuries to fit in your better lifestyle. You join an exclusive gym centre, buying new car, bigger house, and enroll better schools and provide better for your children.

We all know that we need to save but most people don’t save like they know they need to save. It is because saving is not the priority on that time, as they prefer to use the money to buy other items, or pay off debts on that particular time. We just not making enough money to save it! So in order for you to save your money, it is time for you to prioritize saving as number one priority instead of buying.

So, the secret to saving is actually lie in your mind. Turn the saving into your priority. Ask yourself what bills are important and need to be settled. After that, the next question would be “Who should I pay first this month?” The answer is YOU!! Until your pay yourself first, you will never save money. Do not be slave to those fanciful advertisements that luring you to separate your money from you!!

It is never too late to save! Start now, prioritize and always remember to pay yourself first before start paying others.

Panic button

Maybe I have been in the shell for too long. Too comfortable for my own good. Suddenly I were hit by a tidal wave and woke up from my sleep!!

Since arrival of new boss, we have loaded with new assignments! 2 new projects to be completed by June, meaning February almost ends, and with 3 months remaining for planning work. Not to mention our daily work priority that need to be updated from time to time.

Endless meeting schedule overshadows our working time too. We never had so many meetings in a week! Boss wants updates on every Tues and Wednesday, plus the weekly meeting on Monday morning with director. I just feel like wasting time waiting for the meeting to start and in the meeting, instead I prefer to be at my work station where I can do more works! Now, what is the use of internal mails and memos if we didn’t use them but still need to have meeting that last 1 hour or more?? Sigh!

My office is empty with almost half of us taking leave throughout this week! A colleague still on maternity leave, be back early March, one is taking emergency leave today till Thursday, another taking Thursday leave to celebrate Chap Goh Mei (15th day of Chinese New Year) celebration till early next week. Meaning left only me in the Marketing department. One woman show??? (I know there is saying of "one man show", but can use for my case, right? Hahaha)

Regardless of the panic rush that I have now, I am excited at the same time handling new assignments! It has been a while that we didn’t have new projects for the shopping complex so I really don’t mind the sudden change of wave in the working field! It makes me feel young again! I am not that old okay? Just that doing the same routine work everyday makes life a bit boring. Once a while, I need some motivation and new assignment to add “flavour” to my work routine.

Alright, enough grumbling for the day from me. I must have bored you with this nonsense post! *wink* Time to get back to reality and move my butt before boss calling for another meeting or asking for updates.

Too old to change?

You can say that both myself and hubby’s resolutions for the year is to have some advancement in our career life. One advancement would be finding new job. Darling hubby has been thinking of getting a new job as he is sick of his demanding and unreasonable boss. He went to an interview lately but offer was not of what he wanted, in term of job expectation.

He has been in banking line for the past 3 years. He is into commercial banking and has been hopping from a bank to this current bank. Currently he is charge of commercial loan department with his designation as an Account Manager. He has a good offer from an overseas bank with good salary and commission but with lower officer rank and handling consumer banking. He was not so keen on the consumer banking as he viewed it as less challenging than commercial banking.

So here is his dilemma, uncertain on whether to move forward and accept the offer or continue working with his current bank and searching for other job offer.

As for myself, I have been thinking of changing job for few years but nothing suitable comes along my way. I even get my friends to look out and recommend me into their companies should there are any suitable vacancies, but so far no luck. It is rather difficult to find job with good salary and conducive working environment in Kuching as not many multinational and big organizations around. I even considered going to other places such as West Malaysia or Singapore to look for better pay. However those plans were pushed to the back of my mind now, as family remains a priority and having bought a new house here.

Hubby was commented last week on my intention to change job! His exact words were “I am an old lady, thinking of change job?!” Now that make me feel like hitting his head. Hmm, what does “old lady” has to do with changing job? Isnt positive thinking playing a big part in my will of moving out from current job? My willingness of finding new job and learning from scratches is important, right? Alright, I may have been in the same company for 8 years, but doesn’t that mean that I am old to accept changes and learning new skills all over again, right? So what does my hubby mean by saying me an old lady? I am just 31 this year, not too old to change job right??

Who can enlighten me further? I may not be as aggressive as hubby in hopping from one company to another within the span of 3 years, but I guess there is no age maker on when to change new job right?

Save on lunch

Have you ever considered bringing lunch from home to the office?

I remember during school days, my mum would either cooked fried rice, or fried noodles and packed it in a container for me to bring to school for lunch during school recess. I saved a lot of time from queuing up at the canteen and also save time on thinking what to eat! If I were not wrong, recess duration is only 20 minutes. Not to mention, saving my pocket money and used it for other purchases!!

With almost increase in everything from chicken, vegetables, fruits and flour, eating out during lunch would be an expensive affair nowadays. Economy mix rice with 2 meats and 1 vegetable would cost you around RM4.00 here. So, multiply by 20 working days (assume you work 5 days a week), it would cost you approximately RM80 per month for your lunch. That doesn’t take into consideration your drink and if you eat something expensive or other than economy mix rice.

I had a conversation with a colleague recently on bringing lunch from home, in order to save money and time from going out for lunch! She was also complaining to me on price hike on some of the food such as chicken rice and kolo mee. We remember that a bowl of kolo mee when we started working here only cost us RM2.20! Now it is RM2.70 for a bowl of kolo mee!

Unfortunate we don’t have a microwave oven in the office but I guess that is not a big issue here. When there is a will to save, anything will do! I ever brought lunch from home before, not once. Not wanting to waste the overnight cooked rice, I cooked fried rice and bring it to the office. There were time when hubby lazy to go out for lunch due to busy workload and he requested me to cook something for him for his lunch. So, been an obliged wife, I woke up as early as 6.00am to cook fried rice, or just plain rice with fried egg, vegetable and some leftover meat from last night’s dinner. However I guess he is bored with it, as it has been many months since then that he didn’t ask me for the “tapau” *wink*

My point here is that should you ever consider saving some money and time on lunch, you may want to consider bringing your lunch from home. It is a good choice for those busy executives that don’t have much time to think of where and what to have. It is also a much healthier choice than eating those outside food that is full of MSG and other preservatives that you wouldn’t want to know.

Another family day instead....

Just finished meeting with my new boss! Phew! A lot of reports and updates for him after his first meeting in the company. And some more meeting with him at the end of the day!

Just to distress myself, I decided to go to what I love to do at the moment, i.e. munching something and blogging away! Yes, I am having some pineapple rolls (I brought some leftover from home) and doing this posting!

Want to share with you what I have last night after back from work. You know what day was yesterday right? Darling hubby called me up right before 5pm, asking me where to have dinner. Btw, I bought him a Burberry Brit for Men perfume for Valentine’s Day, which he liked it very much. Since he didn’t get me anything and I requested no flowers, so he decided to treat me to a Western dinner instead.

Sigh! All men are like that! When we women said no present, why they cant surprised us once a while and do something out of the box?? You get what I mean? Ok, I am not complaining that I didn’t received any Valentine’s Day present this year, but if there is any, I wouldn’t mind receive it right? Hahaha! Anyway, I enjoyed my Valentine’s Day dinner and were happy to share it with my little gal.

I suggested Sidewalk Café at Green Heights area since it has been few months we didn’t go there. We love to go there for dinner as it is nearer to our house and prices are affordable with nice food and cozy ambiance.

So, we went together to Sidewalk in his car and reached there around 6.30pm. Well, we were not the early birds, as few tables have been occupied by patrons. Not couples, but families and friends enjoying their food there too! So, you see, everyone is celebrating Valentine’s Day, it is not only meant for singles or married couples that are in love!

Sidewalk offering 4 course-meal for the Valentine’s Day dinner, i.e. mushroom soup, Ceasar salad (it did looked pitiful and doesn’t look like Ceasar salad to me, a spoiler to our dinner), main course and dessert of ice cream cake. Hubby had its sirloin steak where as I had its linguini with grilled chicken. The dinner only cost us RM100.20, which I think is not throat-cutting affair to us!

It is more like a family day with little gal tagging along! We couldn’t possibly left her behind and me and hubby enjoying ourselves right!? She was enjoying herself, playing with the love-shaped balloon given out by Sidewalk management. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner under the moon (half shaped) last night. Sigh! (A happy and self-satisfactory sigh!)

New second home

Not really a new second home! The office has been my second home for the past 6 years.

Just mumbling to myself, FINALLY I have settling down in my new location in the office! Mind you, I moved to this new location just yesterday afternoon. After debating with fellow colleagues over table arrangements and due to 2 big table sizes, we have decided on the current layout, and I were moved from table with side window view to further in into the middle of the office! However, there were windows from all sides except a wall behind me, so I still can view the clear blue sky and tall buildings surrounding us.

The office is much better now, everyone in their new location, just some clearing of old files and items that have been there since opening time. LOL! Waiting for telephone connection and additional lines for some colleagues that are deprived of telephone lines, internet and internal mails access at the moment! Everything should be done and completed by today. So tomorrow is a new beginning for all of us with new boss, new office layout and new system.

As for the new boss, he has been settling down pretty well with his wife in his apartment unit. I even brought them around the city area few days ago, shown him some landmarks of Kuching and guided him through certain places. I have never been a good tour guide, not good with giving directions. That is why I never consider tour guide/travel agent as my profession when I was young. Fortunately Kuching streets are easily accessible and not complicated compared to other cities in Malaysia. We went to old Chinatown to hunt for some furnitures, then to Everrise Supermarket and Departmental Store a local supermarket chain outlet for their grocery shopping.

The Day of Love

A Valentine is nothing like
A chocolate or a rose.

For in a week these shall be gone,
But Valentines remain.

If love were always sweet to tongue
Or fragrant to the nose,
Each day would be like Valentine's,
And we would go insane.

A Valentine just hangs around
Waiting to be kissed
Long after special days have passed
And every days are here.

So one is wise to choose one well
And chocolates to resist.

For in the midst of mania
It's nice to have one near

Happy Valentine's Day to my dearest hubby. Thank you for loving and caring for me! I love you! :)

Do I smell fishy?

Hubby wanted to try out The Manhattan Fish Market that opened its door to public last month at The Boulevard. Hubby seldom eat fish as he never like those salt-water fishes, he said they smell funny! Maybe he has grew up eating those fresh-water fishes such as empurau and tengalak in Kapit, he find it rather hard to eat other type of fishes.

As I am a fish lover, hubby slowly acquire to the taste of fishes. When I cook, I will try to include fish in my menu. So, he got no other choice, but to eat what I cook for him, right? He starting to eat black pomfret and mackerel now, but only if they are fried.

Going back to The Manhattan Fish Market, I recommended to hubby its Baked Fish in garden herbs. I tasted it before when I was in KL last year. It is a healthier choice with its fish been baked and coated with special herbs. Luckily hubby liked it!! *smile*

Baked Fish with garden herbs

As for me, I had its Grilled Norwegian King Salmon Fillet, grilled with salt and pepper topped with garlic butter sauce. Super yummy! I love salmon, especially when it is grilled to maintain its natural sweetness.

Grilled Salmon Fillet

Ranting on nothing......

Everything back to normal today, more cars in the morning when on my way to the office! Guess everyone has come to a realization that they need to get back to normal self, going back to work and it is another year to fulfil after a long holiday.

I had a breakfast with my sister this morning before punching in to work. She was in her good self, telling me about a blind date that she had yesterday. So I asked her whether there is any progress from the 1st lunch date, which she not so sure herself too. I was also teasing her on getting flowers either today or tomorrow since Valentine’s Day is just tomorrow. Hahahah! I wouldn’t go into details of her private life, otherwise she will kill me if she read this post and knew I share it with other bloggers!!

Her blind date story reminded me of my own dates. Ok, I don’t have many blind dates, mind you but I can remember one funny incident concerning a guy who trying to ask me out for lunch. It goes like this. This guy was doing advertisement for my company few years back (before I dated my husband). He was a friendly man, but on a shy side. We did meet up discussing on the project, and once over a lunch. After the project finished, he asked me for a lunch date. He asked few day in advance of which I accepted. No harm of rejecting, since it is free lunch and he is a nice guy, I think.

Come to that day, he supposed to call me, which he didn’t! I were been the thick face wouldn’t want to call him up to find out what is the problem, right? So, in the end, the lunch is cancelled and he only called me up few days later to apologize! Gosh! I was thinking to myself, thank god we didn’t go out for lunch, knowing what type of man he was that time. Irresponsible and male ego! Both criteria immediately turn me off. He was strike off from my “potential” list! LOL!

Another funny incident involving another guy. We went out for few dates before he asked me to be his girlfriend. Well, I didnt accept wholly, thought I need some times to consider his proposal. Anyway, somehow I found out that he still with his girlfriend and they never broke up! The funny thing was that I bumped into his girlfriend when I visited him at his house during a CNY! Imagine how uncomfortable the situation I were in? When I found out, I was not that sad or disappointed, just angry with him playing on "both sides of the boat"! What is wrong with men? Maybe he want to make sure we go steady before breaking off with his girlfriend? Or other reason?

Alright, now I am really mumbling on nothing, just boring past relationships that never happen! And guess I am a bit sexist here! LOL! Hope I didnt bored or offend you especially my male blogger friends.

Anyway, just want to wish those singles and still searching for Mr or Ms Right "Keep searching, and never give up", and those that have found their other half "Happy Valentine's Day" and "May Everyday a Lovey-Dovey Day". :)

Messes Around

My office is like a spot been hit by tornado with all files and papers scattered around and unarranged tables since yesterday. It is even worse than tornado as we cant hardly walk around without bumping into some furniture and bruising ourselves here and there.

New boss, new office layout. Change of feng shui I believe? In other word, we need to get ready our office before new boss coming in this Friday! We have been busy moving our tables, files, computers and other stuff around the office from one corner to another corner but still nothing was done till late yesterday. Why? Only 3 ladies in the office, we need men strength to move those heavy items around. Sigh! Talking about moving things on 5th day of Chinese New Year!

I moved my computer over to my new spot late yesterday afternoon, using my ex-boss’s table temporarily while waiting for people to help in moving my table over. Thank god I can use my pc and online, otherwise I don’t know how to survive without my blog and not visiting my blogger friends’ blogs! Oh boy, I know I am becoming addicted to blogging world! *wink*

Countdown to 3 more days to get everything settles down otherwise I cannot imagine the new boss’ face when he sees those messes in the office. With new layout, everyone would be stationed at one open space instead of staying in own cubicles. No privacy, instead everyone would be facing one another! LOL!

Weekend Menu #5

Want to know what family and I have up to over the CNY holiday? Check out here and here

I did manage to cook a decent dinner on the 2nd day. We were lazy to go back to my parents’ house for dinner as the rain kept pouring non-stop that day.

From left (clockwise): Smoked Eel (Unagi), Stir Fried French Beans, Egg with Spring Onions, and Chicken Soup with Chinese Mushrooms

Hubby also takes turn to cook in the kitchen on 3rd day of CNY, but he been a more adventurous than me, he loved to venture into Western cooking. Just thank god, he didnt turn the kitchen upside down and clean after those messes himself. :)

Hubby's own version: Sirloin Steak with baked beans, scrambled egg, and salad for our dinner

Cold and wet day

It has been raining on and off yesterday and this morning. Thank god now the rain has stopped and the sky looks clear. We didn’t go visiting that much on 2nd day as it was rained like dogs and cats (or is it cats and dogs?) yesterday. Very lazy indeed. We just spent our afternoon at my parents’ house.

Spent almost whole day at my parents’s house on the 1st day, helped my parents entertaining and serving the guests. Mostly my relatives and parents’ close friends came on 1st day. 1st day was a very good day for visiting as it was sunny the whole day. Darling hubby also helped out in serving the guests. My mum said he is her “personal helper”! LOL!

My sister was in KL since Wednesday, she is coming back this evening. So we didn’t get to see her during reunion dinner. And as for my mum who is lacked of one helper at home and my brother also going out doing his CNY visiting, she is pretty grateful for having me and darling hubby around to help out! As for little gal, she is busy playing, messing around and greeting those younger guests! Yes, she is getting some ang pow too! She was so busy the whole day that she only took her afternoon nap very late, around 4pm something!

Here I am in my office, working half day today. Little gal was with me in the office, trying to entertain herself with office stationery. I just passed her some colouring pencils, papers and calculator to keep her busy. However that only can keep her attention for few seconds, and then she start harassing me by pressing on my keyboard! I was actually fighting with her over keyboard while typing this post! LOL!

There would be a lion dance performance at the shopping centre downstair later, around 12.30pm. So 2 more hours to go. I am bringing little gal to have a watch at the lion dance later, hopefully she was not scared by the lions!!

Me By Four

Thank you, Nyumix for passing me this interesting tag “Me By Four”.

4 jobs i have had :
A daughter to my parents; Currently as Asst Marketing Manager, a wife & a mother

4 movies i watched over and over :
Alvin & the Chipmunks; Happy Feet; Harry Potter movie series; Lord of the Ring

4 places i have been :
I been to KL, Nilai, Terengganu, and other country would be Singapore. Pity me hor, never really got chances of travelling a lot!

4 people who email me :
My sister, brother, cousins and friends!

4 favorite things to eat :
My mom’s cooking; My own cooking; Curry, Chinese Economy Food.

4 places i would rather be :
My bedroom; my kitchen, my parents’ house and shopping complexes

4 things i look forward to this year :
Find new job, moving to new house, earn more money and vacation in oversea countries

I would not be tagging anyone, so who is interested to try this tag, please feel free to do so and pass along to your friends!! :)

Breakfast of Mee Sua

Been a Foochow, hubby's family would have mee sua as 1st breakfast of a New Year symbolisize good health and luck for the new year. So, not to disappointed my hubby, I cooked Mee Sua this year too. My first attempt at cooking mee sua but it is very easy to prepare.

First you have to prepare the chicken soup. I cooked the soup on the Eve night so I do not need to rush to prepare it on 1st day of CNY. Here is the recipe:

1 chicken thigh; few slices of ginger; Chinese mushrooms (soaked and sliced); enough water; cooking oil; Hard boiled egg; Mee Sua

1. Firstly, stir fry the ginger till fragrant. Stir fry the mushroom for few second.

2. Add in the chicken then pour in water enough to cover the chicken. Take note I did not chop the chicken thigh but you can chop it up and use any part of the chicken. The best is still Chicken Drumsticks!!

3. Simmer the chicken soup till chicken is tender. Turn off the heat, add in salt or MSG to taste and stir the soup well.

4. In a separate wok, boil water. When water is boiled, add in mee sua. Once mee sua turns translucent; scoop out the mee sua from hot water and transfer to a bowl. Add in chicken soup, mushroom, chicken meat and hard boiled egg.

Ta da!! Time to eat it while it is hot!! You can also add some Foochow red wine in the soup for more flavour.

A token of appreciation

Every year my company will be giving away something to their Chinese staff as token of appreciation for the hard works and loyalty. I remember the first year when I joined the company, I received a big basket of fruits and vegetables, consisted of leek, Napa cabbage, mandarin oranges and pamelo. I didn’t took photo of the basket, but it really impressed my mum. She kept the basket with its items till they rot!! LOL! Every year since then, she using the same basket for decoration purposes during CNY.

Few years back each of us took a box of Lo Kum or few pamelos with Nian Gao home. Nothing impressive compared to the first year where we have the fruits and vegetables basket.

This year we got this nice box of Japanese Mixed Mo-chi. Next to it is this year CNY card. Round shape, a rather unusual card right? Care to share some mo-chi with me?

Pass It To The Front

My new online sassy friend, My Sassy Mind asked me to join her in this game - Pass It To the Front. A very simple game, just pass it along to your friends and let the list grows longer!

* First copy and paste it.

* Do not remove any content.

* Just add One word related to your blogs.

* If you don't like the concept Pls! say no?

* Our main goal is we are going to circulate our number of friends.

* The more people join the "pass it to the front" the more links we generate.

* Lastly write only one word "short" for your blogs...

* Keep it simple and short,i know some of you have more than one blogs.

* the color is only black,gray, or white plssss avoid using any color okies.

1. Filipina 2. Stories 3. Abroad 4. Halfway 5. life 6. culture 7. interracial 8. Foreign 9. Filipino, 10. happymomiam 11. miss sassy mind 12. kuya roger 13. pinaymama 14. janese 15. Space of Reality 16. A Life In Bloom 17. All In Korea 18. AC Associates 19. Angel Noah 20. Angelika's Blog 21. Catsy Carpe Diem 22. Clumsy Mommy 23. Cool Stuff 24. Cubicled Playground 25. Dear Me 26. Denz Techtronics Blog 27. Femikey Journey 28. FF Productions 29. Free Text Messages 30. From Jos Desk 31. Frustrated Dancer 32. Fyrnz Humble abode 33. Gagiers Striking Zone 34. Glamorous Cha 35. Sweet Temptation 36. Hanguk Umsik 37. Hello Pinas 38. Honestly Fresh 39. How To Live Lovelife 40. Ideal Pink Rose 41. Joliber's Make Money Online 42. Make Money Online For Free 43. Michelle's Small World 44. Mind Body Spirit N Fluttering Thoughts 45. Pig's Tale 46. Pinay Wife's Den 47. Ramblings Dumplings 48. Rose' World

Ok, I passing this baton to my friends: Jen, Agnes, Big Fish Chin and Billy's mom

Affordable Eyeglasses for Everyone

I have been wearing glasses when I was in Standard 5. My parents discovered that I have some problems reading words on blackboard in schools and sitting too near to television at home. Thank god they brought me to optometrist to rectify my short sightedness (myopia).

Just last year I made a new glass for myself. A treat for me after using the same glass for years!! Reason? Lazy to go to optometrist and select a suitable frame from their counter displays!

Fear no more, I discovered a wonderful site which offers not only affordable frames and lens for adults and children, they have wide selection for you to choose from. Check out Zenni Optical $8 RX Glasses and discover what they can offer you. Great Discovery: Zenni Optical provides shipping and accepts international orders too. Instead of going out to buy eye glasses, you can browse for your favourite frame and lens and have it sent right to your door step!!

Symbolic food

What do people serve during Chinese New Year? Some “lucky” foods play a major role during the Chinese New Year celebrations.

1. Serving a whole chicken during CNY symbolized family togetherness

2. Noodles represent a long life, and an old superstition says that it is bad luck to cut them

3. Both clams and spring rolls symbolize wealth; clams because of their resemblance to bouillon and spring rolls because their shape is similar to gold bars

4. The Cantonese word for lettuce sounds like rising fortune, so it is very common to serve lettuce wrap filled with other food

5. Tangerines and oranges are passed out to guests to symbolize luck and wealth

6. Pamelos in Chinese sounds like the word “to have”

7. Fish plays a major role as the word for fish “Yu” sounds like wish and abundance. So it is customary to serve fish with head and tail attached on Chinese New Year eve to symbolize a wish for abundance in the coming year.

8. “Nian Gao” (sticky rice cake) are popular due to their sweetness that symbolize rising abundance for the coming year. Finally the round shape signifies family reunion.

(This article is extracted from The Borneo Post, 2 February 2008 issue)

Family ties in this time of the year

When is a better time to rekindle your relationships, but during festival season? Yes, you may busy with those last minute shopping and cleaning the house for the CNY, but yet again, you are looking forward to it. Why? Because you would be able to meet up and celebrate this auspicious day with your family members.

After married, I seldom have time to visit the side of my family. Occupied with work and responsibility of a wife and mother, I don’t have the extra time to visit my parents. What a shame, although we live very near, only 20 minutes drive distance. Once a while, when I missed them, I will call up and try to catch up with them. However we make it a must to have breakfast or dinner together at least once a week. Good enough?? *wink*

I am looking forward to CNY as I would be spending times with my parents, and little gal with her grandparents. Not only that, I am able to meet up with my uncles, aunties and cousins that I seldom meet up now. Same time, visiting my friends who I have lost contact after having little gal. I know my parents are looking forward to spend time with their only grandchild as they have ready a spare room for us in case we planned to stay overnight or little gal want to take her mid-day nap! LOL! I only knew this from my sister when she slipped this information to me few weeks ago!

For me, family ties are very important and it is getting to show some distinctions in my life now that I am a married woman. It takes me for me to be married and have kid of my own, to understand and appreciate what my parents have sacrifice for me all those years. Bringing me up to who I am now, funding me through colleges and love me unconditionally. I am very grateful for what they have done for me! Even as I am married, they still worry about me in term of relationships with hubby and financial aspect. So, that’s what people always said “no matter what, you are always their children in their eyes!” They just cant stop worry about you! LOL

Besides celebrating CNY with my parents, I would be able to enjoy myself with my mum’s delicious and home-cooked food! I do miss my mum’s cooking, ok? She usually prepare Lo Ark (Braised Duck), Spring Roll served with lettuce wrap, and Curry Chicken every Chinese New Year. Not so sure what is on the menu this year. No worry, I shall update you on the reunion dinner this Wednesday evening, ok? So, stay tune!! :)

What I love and hate

Billy’s mom tagging me on my love and hate affair. So, not to waste any time, here it goes:

1) I love to eat: anything as long as it is not too salty, sweet, bitter and sour!
2) I hate to eat: internal organs of pork and chicken!

1) I love to go on: a cruise. Hubby and myself have been planning to go for many years
2) I hate to go on: a bus especially if the ride is bumpy.

1) I love it when: my hubby surprised me with dinner date or a gift
2) I hate it when: my hubby is not punctual

1) I love to see: my little gal dancing and moving her butt
2) I hate to see: long queues

1) I love to hear: soothing music especially before dozing off at night
2) I hate to hear: neighbours quarrel like they want the whole neighbourhood to know it!

Alright, I would like to tag the following persons: Hye, Dann, and Windy