Thursday, December 31, 2009

Going into 2010

For those who play Farmville in Facebook, would know what flowers are these. Poinsettia! Yes, real Poinsettia; photo courtesy of Ms Lee from Australia. Thank you for sharing this beautiful flower photo.



What a year it has been for 2009.....

1. QUIT my job for first time in my 9 years of working life. Being a full time mother and spending more times to my 3 years + daughter for 9 months. It was tough but I am happy I am able to have more times and understand her more.
2. I am happy to be part of little gal's first year of her school life. I attended most of her Teacher-Parents Day (actually it is more like update of her progress from her class teacher), competitions and prize giving. I know if I were working, I would not have such times to go to her school and do all those stuff.
3. Learn to cook and experience new recipes. I am glad that hubby commented my cooking is improving. *wink*
4. Welcoming a new member to the family. Little gal has a little brother to share toys and play with.
5. Have obtained licenses to sell unit trust and insurance. So I am a certified UT and Insurance Agent!

As for New Year resolutions, it would be the same as before. Nothing new. Probably I have to add one more resolution. Save money for 2 vacations next year. Lol!

So, what is yours?


glitter-graphics.com

Monday, December 28, 2009

Happy working

After been in this company for slightly more than 1 month, I only managed to secure 2 cases for my company. It is not that I have been lazy. Most of my cases are pending and customers are to get back on their confirmation. I did do my follow up calls (but mostly on holiday for past weeks), and usually my customers’ comments would be rental too expensive, lots too small for their business, not enough parking spaces, many small lots, worry no sales and the list goes on. Time is tough but I did not lose hope. I treated it as a challenge. I have been in sales before and previously the target was way higher.

Compared to previous companies, this company is much better in sense it is smaller. Decentralized system, decision-making is faster and no red tape. Colleagues are helpful and no office politics around. Everyone is working in their respective cubicles but we mix around. One thing I like is that less paper works and meetings in this company unlike my previous companies. For me, meetings are waste of times and to be result-orientated, I would much prefer to use the times for meeting to call and meet customers, and close deals

You can say that I enjoy my job. I set my own targets, my own appointments and manage own times. Irregardless of everything, I am still planning to pursue my interest in business. Hubby and I have plan to do new business but that would not turn reality soon. We have not really sit down and discuss in details on our business plan, but we are definitely plan to do something.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Our Christmas Day

I love Christmas. I love Christmas Eve as that is where family gathered together for a Christmas dinner and toast. Luckily the night of Eve was cleared of rain, as it has been gloomy most of the day yesterday.

We bought a lamb leg from Tom's which cost us around RM150.00. A bit tough I felt or probably I have a bad tooth. I couldn't chew my lamb well last night. Ouch! However I enjoyed the grilled fishes and potatoes dish, compliments from my BIL.



This morning we brought Baby Jay to his first church outing. Since it was his first, we decided to stay in the children room which is on the first floor. Most of the time, he enjoyed what he sees, but he managed to take "eye shut" for 30 minutes.

Half way through the summon, I received a call from my dad (s**t, forgot to put my phone into silent mode but what the heck! The room was filled with noisy children so it was very rowdy and I hardly can hear the priest talking). My dad is suggesting to us to follow him to visit an aunt's house for lunch. Well, we obliged to the request since it has been many years since I didn't see this aunt and cousins. Actually this aunt was given away and adopted by a Bidayuh couple when she was a baby, but throughout the years, she still keep in touch with dad and other uncles.

So after the church, we went home to bathe Baby Jay and off we went to pick my parents and sis. It was about 30 minutes or more drive to aunt's house which is situated after Taman Kwong Khiong in Batu Kawa. So coincidence, when we reached aunt's house, we bumped into other uncles and cousins. So a very big family reunion we had; a lot of catching up, exchange of numbers and emails, snaps etc. I didn't know most of them, which happens to be my cousins-in-laws, nephews and nieces. Lol! You can say, how big my family is.....And Baby Jay being the youngest, was the centre of attention. Everyone asking about my little gal's whereabout. If she was there, I am sure she will be excited to play with her cousins.



When we reached home around 2pm, we were too tired and lazy to visit a neighbour's house. *paisey* Baby Jay has a busy day as he hardly slept. As I was typing this post, hubby went out to buy dinner from BIL's cafe. I don't feel like going out again after spending most of the day outside. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful Christmas Day. How do you spend your Christmas?

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Counting my holidays

I need holidays. I have been working for 6 whole days for past 5 weeks. Pretty fatique. And I lost count of what day is what day! Some days when I woke up in the morning, I have to think hard what day was it. Lol! Some mornings I just wish they were Sundays and I can snugged in my bed longer......

So I am looking forward to Christmas and New Year; I want to do nothing but rest and spend my times with my family. It is not that I don't like my new work. I actually enjoy it, as I meet a lot of new people and learn more from them. However once a while I would like to take a break; away from those deadlines and targets. *wink*

I am working whole day today, but will be creeping out early to get present for my little gal. Yeah, I haven't buy her present. Last minute Christmas present shopping. I couldn't wait to see her open her present on Boxing Day when she is back from hometown.

Here, I am giving a big warm ('cool'??) hug to all of you. Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!! Hope 2010 is a good year for all of us!!


glitter-graphics.com

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Winter Solstice & H1N1

It is time to have your tang yuen (glutinous rice balls) today. When I was small, my mother will get all of us to roll the rice balls into small round balls and throw them into hot boiling water prepared with syrup and pandan leaves. After that, we were to eat the rice balls with the syrup. I remember that I have to eat the rice balls according to my age; so if you are 15 years old, then you have to eat 15 tang yuen.

I remember last year I bought some tang yuen from supermarket. You know those with some black beans in them? Hubby enjoyed those tang yuen, but I do not quite like it. Too sweet I think. This year I did not cook any. I only knew that today is Winter Solstice when my colleague told me about it this morning! Yeah, I do not keep track of those Chinese special occasions.

When it is Winter Solstice, then you will start to think that Chinese New Year is just a couple of months away. Winter Solstice marking the end of Winter and beginning of Spring. Usually we would gather around the dining table and have dinner together, but as we grow older and who ever is married, move out from the house, we seldom uphold this tradition. However on this occasion, I did not missed going back to my parents' house for lunch this afternoon. As I expected, without fail my mum prepared the tang yuen for the family. And I did drink and ate few tang yuen, but of course I did not eat the numbers of tang yuen according to my years (age)! Otherwise I would not be able to eat my mum's delicious lunch if I drink a big bowl of the rice balls. Lol!



To a more serious matter, I heard from my mum today that H1N1 second wave started to hit the USA. So, parents, please be vigilant. There is vaccine for H1N1 but I understand that this vaccine is still new and not widely tested. One of my parents' neighbour just told her that her grandson (7 years old) was given the H1N1 vaccine in school in Taiwan recently. Less than a week, he was down with fever and just passed away. He was a healthy child but the school is required by relevant authority to give vaccine to all students!!

Another neighbour recently brought his children for vaccine in Australia after went there for holiday. The neighbour commenting that the vaccine there is much cheaper than ours. There were few cases of casualty in USA where children died after given H1N1 vaccine. So unless your child is sick, bring him or her to clinic. Do not bring your child for H1N1 vaccine yet. This is my personal opinion, and I am not trying to be judgmental to this matter as I am not expert or doctor to make comments. I am a mother to 2 children and as a parent, I am only concern for their health and safety. Unless this vaccine is proved successful and safe in containing the viruses, I would not bring my children for its vaccination.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The fruits reign again

Yes, it is that season again. Local fruits hit the market with fruitful harvests. Langsat, rambutan, durian, you name it, we can buy them everywhere from the road sides, wet markets, to people pushing a small cart in coffee shops asking people to buy them.

Usually I try to avoid those fruits because I cannot take too much of them. "Heaty". However I did take a few bites of durian and rambutans though. I don't really fancy the fruits but there are too many of those fruits around. For past 2 weeks my house is packed with durians. My BIL got them from friend so they comes in a big box. You can imagine the smell of the fruits in the house. Phew!

To avoid the fruits from been spoiled, we split open the fruits and keep them into containers to be stored away in fridge. Actually durian tastes nicer when it is eaten cold. Lol! Have you eaten the King of fruits?

Friday, December 18, 2009

Passport is not approved!

What is the logic here? Why I am not allowed to enjoy myself and catch up with old friends once in a blue moon?

I am complaining about my hubby. He does not allow me to go clubbing with my lady friends on Christmas Eve. His reason given is “family’s time”. Alright, I usually used this excuse when he gone out with friends at night, so now he is using the same excuse back to me. The only logic I can think about is that he does not want me to go and leave Baby Jay to his care. Baby Jay is also one kind. Demanding baby and loves people to carry him around. He is pretty strong now. Kick and cannot be still when he is carried or lied down.

It is not like I frequently go out at nights. Heard Jen is coming back to Kuching for Christmas so I would love to catch up with her. The last time we met was when she held her wedding reception a year ago.

Well, I wonder how should I get my passport stamped that night? Or maybe I get my friends for a lunch get-together instead. I actually much prefer a quiet place for meeting, rather than a noisy and loud pub. Hardly a great place to chat, don’t you think?

Sunday, December 13, 2009

The mood is not there...

Have you start shopping for Christmas presents? It is about 2 weeks away and I have yet to think or have the time to shop for my family.

My 6-days job requires too much commitment on my side and at nights and Sundays, I am taking care of Baby Jay. By Sunday, I am too lazy to go out. I have been driving most of the times from Monday to Saturday, so I would prefer to relax and stay indoor.

Maybe this year is slightly different than the previous years. It is a tradition every year to bring out the Christmas tree, decorate it with ornaments, buy and wrap presents for family members and place them under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. However this year would not be the same as my little gal is not around. She is the centre of attention last year when we bought a new 4ft tree and she helped in setting and decorating it. My SIL bought a new Christmas tree for her in Kapit, saw her photographs in FB. *smile*

No one take the initiative this year. The festive mood is not there. The tree is still in its box and so are the ornaments. I guess it has to wait for another year from the look of thing. Lol!

I was browsing through the Lelong.com.my the other night looking for some inspirations, hoping to find something good to buy for the Christmas. I have been thinking of getting a digital camera. I could not resist getting one as the price is low. But I guess that would be at the bottom of the list for the time being. Probably will get it next month, as I know I am going to put up a big hole in my pocket this month. Too much “withdrawals” than “deposits” this month. Headache!!!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Are they the cause?

My simple dinner. Cangkuk Manis Vermicelli and Bamboo Clams ("Tek Thang" in Hokkien) cooked in Chinese red wine.



One of my favourite dish of all times is cangkuk manis; I can cook it with egg, or anchovies. But I love my cangkuk manis the most with vermicelli. Hakka specialty.



BIL cooked this dish. Very "steamy" as he dashed a lot of red wine and ginger. It reminds me of my confinement day when I have to take a lot of those Chinese red and wine wine. Lol!! I usually love my bamboo clams to be cooked with curry powder, but I find this dish very appetizing. It brings out the sweetness of the clams. The clams are fresh and sweet, and with the taste of red wine, it added more sweetness to the clams.



Sorry if this bamboo clam looks obscene but I want to show how big those clams are. Telling you the truth, it is about the size of my little fingers. I love fresh seafood. Since I delivered my baby about 3 months ago, I have not indulge myself in much seafood for the fear of developing skin problems.


After delivered my baby, my skin has been extra sensitive. Is it because I developed allergy to certain food or change of hormone after giving birth? I don’t know about some mummies, but when I have my first child, I observed the 4 months of not eating certain shellfishes, belacan, etc. The elderly believed that for those undergoing C-Section, it is better to avoid seafood and certain food to ensure smooth recovery of the wound and prevent any skin irritation.




I did not observed the full 4 months of "no shellfishes" this round. Maybe I am getting bolder. Lol!! I don’t know what causes of my rashes but my guess is the former because when I take some seafood and sambal, I will have some rashes the following day. I took some sambal twice. The next day, both of my hands had rashes. Sometimes they are itchy and it takes time for them to disappear. I wonder is it because of my body’s rejection to seafood or do I have sensitive skin all of a sudden? Oh dear, how can I not taking those seafood for the rest of my life?? Anyone have such problem after giving birth?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Best Blog Award

Thank you mama mia for this beautiful award. It has been a long long long time since I received one.



Simple Rules to accept the award:
[1] Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.

[2] Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great!

I have not done much blog hopping lately since I started this new job. Just today together with a female colleague, we drove around Kuching for almost 4 hours to deliver invitation cards to customers and potential clients. I drove my car while my colleague gone out and deliver the cards. We stopped at 4 shopping malls, Carpenter Street and Indian Street; which both is rather the busiest streets in Kuching. Some more there was some convention happening in the city area with many polices around. So, jam, jam and jam. Some more it rained heavily when we were at our last destination around 1something.

While sending my cards in the shopping malls, I am tempted to window shopping a bit. Yes, cannot stand the temptation of Year End and Christmas shopping. Some more the ambiance and decoration in the shopping malls make me in mood for shopping. Well, what to do? Luckily I did not bring much cash with me, so at least I would not spend on the spot. Lol!!


Ooopppss. Sorry, sway from the main topic of this post. Yes, the best blog award. I do not want to say that I am the best. It is up to my friends and readers to judge for themselves.

When ever I am free at night, I will try to do blog hopping, trying to update myself with other blogs. I have been following some interesting blogs prior to me working, which mostly are mummies blogs. Here I would like to add in some of my existing links too as I feel they are best blogs around too. Please! I do not want to miss out on anyone as you are great in some ways and your blogs are awesome. So, do feel free to grab this award anyway. Nevertheless, for the sake of this award passing, here are my picks and they are in no particular order:

Deana
Dora
Osindak
A mom's diary
Kucing
Didi
Merryn
Mnhl
Mummy Gwen
Reanaclaire
Little Prince
Cynthia
Wonderful Life
Slavemom
Sue Jean

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Triple missions

First mission is to lose some weight. Yes!! My current weight is 53kg. Still some more bulges that I need to trim down. Maybe 2kg more would be ideal. *wink* To achieve my goal, I may need to watch my diet. Have a hearty breakfast, try to skip lunch (but if cannot, then take something light) and take light dinner (cutting down on rice and starch intake). Hmm, wonder if I can do it or not?? I have been taking vinegar for almost a month now. People said that vinegar help in get rid of those extra fat and burn them. Let see the result in another month time.

Second mission is to help my dad to lease his shop. He bought one shop in a new shopping mall. Talking about shopping mall, there has been some new shopping malls coming up. Everyone is going into shopping mall construction. I wonder with such population, can those malls survive?? Kuching population is still not that large and with shopping malls mushrooming around the neighbourhood area, it would prove tough to attract shoppers to the mall. I am now back into retail leasing, and after 2 weeks working, I am surprised to discover how much rental rate some malls offer. Sky-rocket rental irregardless of the size and location. On other hand, some even offers cheaper rate or discount for certain period.

Third. My resolution for new year. Yes, New Year is just few weeks ago. Have you start thinking of your new year resolution? I have think of mine. The most important resolution is to secure my shop and do a small business. Hubby and I have been thinking of doing business, and hopefully we would be able to achieve it next year. So, what is yours?

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Home's security

Funny thing is that even the houses are in gated and security enhanced neighbourhood, we heard that there was break-in in one of the houses there. How could such things happen? Aren’t the main purpose we bought the house is because of the security? We suspected that it was an insider job. How could we expect to stay safe anymore? Some more every month we are to pay for the service charges for security and maintenance of the housing area.

Even though our house is not ready, hubby has seriously considered installing alarm and security system. It would be a better alternative since we would not be at home during the day.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Shop and exercise

Yes! Got my pay today. Don’t you know how happy am I to see my bank accounts growing again? It may not be a lot since I just worked for a week, but the feeling of receiving the pay is great. *laugh*

Yesterday I bought few pants and blouses in The Spring. I had some Parkson vouchers so do not want to let them go wasted, I spent them all on my wardrobe. Just on my wardrobe I spent nearly RM400. Phew! Luckily I got my ATM with me. Who else, darling hubby…….He did not complained much on the pricing since it has been many
months I went shopping. Lol! Check out our shopping outing with Baby Jay here.

As I was commenting to Didi, I should start going back to aerobic classes. I miss those workouts and sweats. Hopefully I could find some times after work to do some exercises. I remember I only started to go to aerobic class after 1 year I had my little gal. So this time, I must not delay and start earlier.

Since I stopped exercising, I noticed that I get sick easily. For the past 1 year, I lost counts of how many times I catch flu, cough and sore throat. My immune system deteriorates after I stop exercising. I felt tired easily too. So I hope I can do some workout soon.

Friday, November 27, 2009

What I need

You know, once I have my pay, the first thing I want to buy is office pants. I still could not fit into most of my office pants, so I guess while waiting for me to get back to my previous figure, I could get new pants to wear now. Some more, it is Christmas Sales everywhere. I should be able to find good bargain around. It has been many months since I do my shopping, so it is time to get my wardrobe a changeover. And give my hubby and little girl presents each. *wink*

I guess I don’t have enough to treat myself to a facial. I can feel my pores are bigger and clogged. I don’t have time to do mask since I have Baby Jay. Then, I was busy with children and now busy with work. So maybe one of the Sundays I go and get my face a thorough facial and cleansing. *smile*

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Exhausted yet survive

I am exhausted and sick. My family members are sick too!

It has been 3 days since I started my new work. Orientation in the office for first 2 days and I have been contacting and meeting people to rent my shoplots. Some of my old customers even surprised to hear from me again after I went "MIA" for a year. It is great to catch up with some of them.

It is the season again. Not Christmas season, holiday season but the sickness season. Hubby has been complaining of fatigue and sick. So am I. I have not fully recovered from my sore throat. This morning I was shocked to wake up with my voice deserted me, but luckily I regained my voice by mid-day. I guess I will take my mum's advice to see Chinese sinseh for prescription since my family doctor's medication did not cure my sore throat. Or probably I have been taking too much heaty food lately. The cafe below my office serves nice Malay food. But you know Malay food. Oily and fried. Hahaha! Sinful but I am lazy to drive to go other place to eat.

However if I am not lazy, I can actually order take-away and go home, since it is less than 10 minutes drive from my office. Near right? I guess I have enough time to eat, shower and catch my breath in front of tv before punching in for work again. Lol! I actually did that yesterday. Bought Chinese economy rice from nearby coffee shop, ate at home, brought in my laundry, watch CSI:NY and went back to office; all within 1 hour!

I would be working the whole 6 days this week since the company did not observe some of the public holidays. My daughter was suddenly down with high fever last night, and still not yet recover from her fever this morning. Poor girl. She is going back to Kapit this Friday with her grandfather. Hope she recovered by then. I thought I could send her off this Friday morning, but it is a working day for me. Or probably I check with my manager, see I can come in later after sending my girl at the airport. Hubby is not feeling well too. You can say the whole family is down with sickness. The sickness bugs are circulating. Sigh!

Hubby cooked dinner over the weekend. Long time I did not try his cooking so I am not complaining. Lol! You know, he cleaned the whole fridge. What ever he can find in it, he will use and turn them into colourful and tasty dishes. Very home-cooked. I like it.



Mixed vegetables - guess what vegetables in this plate? A bit oily, but taste great.



A bowl of warm soup

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Back to the field

I got my internet back late Friday night. So, it was not a bad weekend after all! *wink*

Other than been busy with the kids, I cooked dinner on Saturday for the family. Since hubby was not feeling well(I told him he must be having hangover and having too much alcohol to fall sick lately), I cooked porridge last night. The porridge ala little gal's style. I added potatoes, carrots and mince meat into it, fried an omelet and we opened a can of black bean dace. Simple but nice dinner. I used to hate eating porridge when I was a kid, but now I am starting to enjoy this simple dish. Nothing other than porridge to warm your body on a lazy and rainy day.

Tomorrow is my first day at work. I start to work at 8am. Hubby would be sending both kids to baby sitter since it is not in my way. It is actually a few minutes away from my house but I stay in a very busy area with heavy traffics especially during the morning and after work, so I would not like to risk to being late on first day. And what hubby's reaction? He got no choice but to send the kids from tomorrow onward. It is his turn.

I am commenting to hubby just the other night that I would prefer to work than been a full time homemaker. Maybe I am not fit to be one; but after being one for many months now, it is pretty tiring. The chores are never ending. I never felt tired when I worked. So if I have a choice I would go out and work.

Some day I would like to be my own boss and having a shop. I am aiming to do it. It is never wrong to dream to succeed right?

Friday, November 20, 2009

Frustration

Alright, there is definitely something wrong with my modem (I believe) as I have not been able to assess to my internet for the past 2 days. So if you did not see me that often online, you know that I have been cut off from the blogging world. I must get someone to check on my modem. I know I pay my streamyx every month as it is charged directly to my credit card. Hmm, maybe make a complaint to TMnet and see what they can do with my problem???

Currently I am "tumpang" at hubby's office, following him meeting customers almos the whole day today. Phew!! Pretty tiring, and have been caught in rain twice. After today, I would not be stepping into his office that often as I start working next Monday. Oh dear. Come to think of it, it makes me anxious and excited. Anxious? Because I have not been working for almost 9 months and wonder how I am going to fit well into the environment. Excited? Because I can work, meet people and earn money again! Lol! I am happy that I got this job.

Alright, it is time to pick my two children. After running here and there the whole day, I am missing them that much. See you guys around and have a wonderful weekend!!!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Is she a hoax?

I just came back from sending my children away. It is a wet and cold morning; drizzle when I send my girl to pre-school and baby to babysitter's house. As I was approaching the junction turning to babysitter's house, I saw a lady was trying to stop the car in front of me. However that car did not stop.

My first instinct would be that the lady was having trouble with her car, as it was parked the opposite side of the road. She stopped my car too but since Baby Jay is wailing (almost his feeding time), I signalled to the lady I would not stop and in a hurry.

As I suspected, she was still there when I was out from the road junction. This time, I stopped as I was curious with her situation. My first instinct is to lend her my handphone. Maybe she needs to call tow truck or mechanic. She looked helpless and in despair. However, once I unwinded my car window, she was begging me. Instead of a car breakdown, she told me that her son has passed away and husband left her. She did not know what to do and ask for some donation. It is very unfortunate as that time I did not bring my wallet. So, I had to apologize to her. I usually bring my handphone and driving license out in the morning; unless I need to go to the market or buy breakfast then I would bring some money out. So it was a pity for the lady that I did not bring any money out this morning. From the rear window, I saw her stopping other cars while I was leaving the area.

Now that I am thinking about the whole thing, I am wondering whether she is genuine or just a hoax, solicit money from others. Even if she is a genuine, there must be other way for her to get money. Not begging on the road, causing jam on a raining day.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Going back to the field

In 1 week time, I would be working in the new company. 6 days a week, 8-5. And it means I have to wear office wear to work. I wonder whether I can still fit into some of my office wear. Probably not much problem with the shirt, but I have yet to trim much on my waist, so I wonder I can fit into those trousers or not. Lol! If not, the worse thing would be shopping for new wardrobe. *wink*

This week would be the last week of schooling. My little gal has been telling me this morning that they are having movie day, watching cartoons the whole morning. She keeps telling me that there would be movie tomorrow, need to close the curtains and switch off the lights. No more class, but activities and movie watching for the remaining week. There will be a sports day this Thursday. Hmm, I wonder my little gal will participate in any games or not. Maybe I will drop by and catch a glimpse of her Sports Day.

Next week she would be following her grandfather to Kapit for a month holiday. And it means I would not be seeing her for about a month. I am going to miss her. The last time I am away from her is last year in September when I was in KL for a 3 weeks training. And I would not be the only one that missing her. When I told her baby sitter that she will be away for a month, her baby sitter said she is going to miss her. Her baby sitter really loves her, treating her like her own child.

I am going to miss her, and will only see her around Christmas time. However I guess with my new work in hand, I probably will be pre-occupied more with the new working environment, people and culture. On other hand, I am concern that I may not be getting used with the job after been lay off for many months. It has been almost 9 months since I stop working. It may takes some times to get used to it again. I know I would eventually get used to it.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Great week

I just came back from breakfast with hubby. As usual, kolo mee breakfast at Green Heights. After that, hubby suggested we went to have a look at one house that he is in charged with. So we went to inspect the semi-D house in Star Hill. It has been there for 2 years, but luckily the condition of the house is still good although the grass grows as same height as me. *laugh* I wish I could own such house, but sorry. The price is way beyond my budget. Sigh!

Weekend is here! Again!! Lol! It has been a busy week for me, running here and there, meeting up with friends, gone to interview, and doing direct selling. Yes, you read it right. I am into direct selling. So I have been looking for people to join my network. Lol!

I received call from the company yesterday, they confirm to take me in. Offer-wise, it does sound attractive but it is more commission-based. So the basic pay is not of what I desired, but I guess with the current economy (although everything starts to recover slowly) I guess it would do for the time being. Maybe I will start working next week. However I am waiting for the employment letter; I will only decide once I look through the letter. I do not want to rush everything at the moment. I may be desperate to find work, but I am not rushing and simply "pick from the tree". *wink*

Monday, November 9, 2009

The interview and the kids

Thanks for the concern, my allergy has subdued. It only last for a night but boy!! What a night, but I survive.

I will be going for a job interview tomorrow. See what they are offering me. It is actually the 2nd interview; and tomorrow I would be meeting with the senior manager. I am supposed to go to the Registrar Office to collect my daughter's Mykid card but because of the interview I have to postpone to the day after. Same time, re-do Baby Jay's IC as there is a typo error there. We have corrected it once, but due to early input into the system (the wrong spelling), I have to manually get it changed again. So, it will have to be a few more trips down to the Registrar office.

As for this evening, since both kids are fast asleep, I have some times sorting out old photographs. Baby Jay has many photographs taken since he was born, and now I am free to group them into labelled folders. There is one particular photo I like the most. Baby Jay taken together with his big sister. It was taken about 2 weeks ago. Baby Jay was looking straight into the camera. Do you see the look-alike of sister and brother there? Do you like it? My princess and prince, posing for the camera! *say cheese*

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I see red, body is itchy and hot!

Oh dear! It started this morning, but I thought nothing of it till now!

It was a gloomy day today, with Mr Sun seldom came out to shine on us. Laundry is not totally dry again. Sigh! But that is another story. My Sunday is pretty usual, with exception that we went out for breakfast. For 2nd time, we brought Baby Jay out for breakfast. We went to Mitsu Tea House in RH for its Dim Sum. We ordered Cha Sio Pau, Har Kau, fried radish cake , and fried noodles. Baby Jay has been a very good baby. He did not wail or made noise, although he did cried for a while, but that was because he was sleepy. He dozed off by himself in his stroller while we enjoyed our breakfast. Supposed to go for grocery shopping, but we decided not too, since Baby Jay was asleep and hubby still concern on the H1N1 and bringing him to public places.

I noticed I developed red patches on my arms especially the elbows after the breakfast. I did not feel itchy so I did not bother much about it. Then as the day went by, I started to feel itchy on certain parts of my body. I still did not bother as I have developed few rashes few days back. I could not think of what I ate wrongly and I stop applying my usual body lotion on both arms and hands, hoping the rashes will eventually go away soon. But that did not happen and it is getting worse this evening! It is just like what happened to me during this year Chinese New Year in Kapit, when I suddenly developed rashes as I reached Kapit......

As I was typing this post, I am waiting for hubby to buy some antibiotic and cream for me. I am left at home with both children. Baby Jay has dozed off and little gal was lying on the bed after a long day. Oh dear! I am trying hard not to scratch those itchy parts. I still could not think what I ate that cause those irritation!!! Yes, I could hear hubby's car going into the car pouch now. I could not wait to apply those cream on my body. Hope those red rashes and itchiness go away!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Into the machine

It is year end weather. So as expected, there would be shower and heavy rain almost every day. And it also means that the laundry would not be smelling nice and dry.

I do my laundry every morning and if the sun is co-operative, then I will usually hang my laundry at the back of the house. Otherwise I will place them under the shed in case there is black cloud or when I am not at home.

Now with the purchase of a 10kg washing machine, I could even wash my curtains. No longer would I need to bring them to the laundry service. I save on the laundry cost, but boy! Curtains are sure heavy when they are washed; it takes my energy away just to bring them out to dry under the sun. It is indeed convenient to own a big load, but you also have some trouble taking your washed laundry from the machine. Why? Because you need to dig deeper since your machine is bigger! I wonder if my arm would grow few inches or not from the stretching? Lol!

This morning as usual I did my laundry and I discovered treasure in my washing machine again after the wash. Why? Because hubby left coins in his pocket.For umpth time, I keep reminding him to empty his pocket before throwing into the laundry basket. Probably I should do the final checking before throw into the machine, but I tend to rely on him to do it himself. Sometimes I also discover paper, tissues and even pen after wash. Oh dear!!! How forgetful is he?!! Why doesn't he leave some money for me instead? Lol!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Your handy first aid

It is always good to have first aids box at home. You never know when you would need it!

I have yellow lotion, children thermometer, bandages, cotton, eye drops, plaster and other ointments. They can come handy when you least expect accidents at home. Just the other day, my little gal has a minor cut on her sole. My bedroom floor is all wooden. You know, the long wooden floor of old house. As time passed, it tends to brittle and chirp on the edges and sometimes some wooden pieces will come out when I sweep or mop the floor. So my gal got a tiny bit of wood stuck into her sole one morning. Luckily it did not penetrated deep into her skin.

Thanks to our first aid box, we use a clipper to pull the wood out from her skin. It is just a minor accident, but knowing my 3 years plus daughter, she will make a scene out of it.

So it is great to have one first aid box at home. Even you have it, make sure you check the contents periodically. Just to make sure the items are not nearing their expiring date or have expired.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

R.I.P

Back in 2008, I blogged on a cousin who has cancer and underwent operation. Since then, she has not worked and spent time recuperating at home. We saw her few times then and she was gaining more strength and recovering well although she has grew thinner. Few months back before I went to deliver my Baby Jay, we met her and family were having dinner at my BIL's cafe. She was very energetic and chatty then.

So it came as a shock when we received the news that she has passed away this morning. It was a sudden. It was sad as her children are young. I wonder how they are going through the hard time. My heart goes to them. May my cousin rest in peace and God bless her family.

Problem is solved!

The virus has left me, although not fully, but they are almost gone. I am not that fatigue unlike the past few days. All I could think and do was to lie down and sleep. But family duty comes first. Who to take care of my kids if not me? So sick or well, rain or sun, I have to perform my motherly (and wifey) duty!!

To make me feel even better; thank to my SIL, I got a new Compaq laptop. She has few laptops herself and since I do not have any, she gave me her Compaq laptop. Now I am free to go online using the new laptop. It is much faster too since it runs on Vista. So no more competition over the pc during the weekend. *wink*

Hubby is free to play his games using the pc while I browsing internet and play my Facebook using the laptop. As for my little gal, she is my helper, keeps reminding me to check my farm and cafe. Yeap, my latest addiction is Cafe World. Every morning when she wakes up, the first thing she says is "Mummy, you want to check your cafe?". Not a good morning anymore, but to check my Cafe World! Lol! Even her daddy also shakes his head.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Cough cough sneeze sneeze

Yes, I am down with the virus again! Sh*t! It is a very tiring weekend for me, taking care of Baby Jay. Hubby is also not feeling well, I guess he got some virus from me.

Don't know what is wrong with Baby Jay today, he has been crying almost the whole day with not apparent reason. We checked the diaper, temperature, feed him, but he keeps on crying. It feels like he just want to cry. Some more the weather this few days also "crying", heavy rain in the afternoon.

This is just a short post. My brain is not functioning well, couldn't think of what to write.....Wait till I recover from my cough, sneeze and sore throat.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fighting over the computer

Weekend is here again. When everyone is at home, it means that everyone would be fighting over the pc in the room. Usually I try to avoid farming and harvesting my crops in Farmville and Farmtown in Facebook, so I do not need to be part of the competition. However, my little gal will always want to play with the pc when her dad plays computer games. So you know the rest of the story......

Hubby always scold little gal for touching the mouse and playing with his games every time he turns away. Hubby's current addiction is "Medieval 2". Sometimes little gal clicks this and that requests and makes hubby's army lost, which much annoys hubby, who fights hard in the battle. Lol! What to do? She is getting very good with clicking this and that, and ignoring my instructions.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Enjoy my food there

When you have a young baby, you cannot expect to spend much outdoor, not to mention, having a peaceful and decent meal outside. I can count my fingers on how many times I went out for breakfast during the weekend with my family. Lol! Most of the times, I prefer hubby to "tapau" and I eat at home as I don't really like to bring Baby Jay out.

One Sunday hubby managed to persuade me to bring Baby Jay along for breakfast. So we went to nearby cafe, called Yeow Kee at 101 Premier. It is about 5 minutes drive from our house so I agreed to his suggestion. By the way, that day was Baby Jay's first time went out with us for breakfast. Luckily he was well-behaved that day, listened to his surrounding and dozed off in his stroller. *wink*

Back to Yeow Kee cafe, I enjoy going there for breakfast and lunch as it offers many choices, from chicken rice, toasts, Taiwan-styled rice rolls, beef noodles and so on. However, it is very difficult to find tables and seats on the weekends.

If you are duck meat lover, then you must drop by Yeow Kee cafe for its duck noodle. This dish is recommended by my BIL, and I fall in love with it since the first day I tasted it.



The second time I went to Yeow Kee I remember to take photo of the dish to share with you. RM5.00 per bowl. The duck meat is tender and wantons are great. I love its big tang hoon too. Some people may don't like the smell of duck, but this dish is simply delicious. The duck is not that smelly, so don't worry too much about it. You may don't like the duck meat, but you will enjoy its tangy wanton.

Monday, October 26, 2009

New stroke, new name

You wouldn't believe it!

I change my Chinese name. Not really change it, it still sounds the same. Just add few strokes in one character and totally new strokes in another character. I couldn't change my surname, so that remain the same. Lol!

I got my new name last week from the "master". This master is the same guy that we consulted for our Baby Jay's name. It all started from there, when my SIL went to get the auspicious date and time for Baby Jay's delivery. Btw, Baby Jay is 2 months old yesterday. How fast he is growing every day. While consulting for a name for new baby, my SIL been a believer in such stuff, asked about her name. So that is how everyone in the family ended having new names (as in new strokes; the sound of names remain more or less the same). For better luck, the master said.

As for my old name, the master said I would be working and working my whole life, and a very frank person (meaning, I talk what I want to and will easily offend others). So my new name eludes those bad characters. Now I have to carry my new name in a piece of paper in my purse and a key chain tied to my house key. It is good thing, as I have yet accustomed to new new name. Some more, I am Mandarin illiterate. In future if anyone ask or want to know how to write my name, I just show them in that paper or on the key chain. However, I think I need to learn how to write it out.

I don't really believe in those stuff, and it costs a fortune to change a name too but since my hubby believes in those stuff, I just follow suit. Is it coincident or what? My SIL recently in good money luck, winning few 4Ds since she changed her name in July. Or is it something else? Hmm, I wonder my luck would change for good soon??

Friday, October 23, 2009

Bills and letters that never stop stacking up

I started to sort out the bills and letters that have have been accummulated around the house yesterday. Most are hubby's; i.e. credit cards statements, insurance, loan statement etc. It took me almost whole day yesterday to file up those documents in few paper files. Still, the letters never stop coming in. Sigh!

I also create one file under our house loan. Currently we only paying the interest which is around RM900+ per month. Mind you, we have yet to pay for the principal. According to the developer, the house should be ready by next month, but we have yet to receive any notice on the handover. Up to date, the bank has paid the developer more than 90% and after I checked my S&P, it left the last portion of the payment. Which means my house is nearly complete. Everyday I am checking the mailbox for the letter from the developer, saying my house is ready and keys to be collected from them. *wink* And from there, it would be a busy time; planning for the furnishing and furniture.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

"He" and "She"

I was explaining to my 3 years old girl the difference between boys and girls one day. I guess it was time for her to know the difference. I told her that a girl like her wears dresses and put on beautiful stuff. And boy wears pants and shorts. Girl usually has longer hair while boy wears short hair.

One day while I was changing Baby Jay's diaper, my little gal asked me about penis. She was curious about Baby Jay's penis and wonder why her little brother has it, so I told her that is a penis (I used "little bird" term for penis). I also told her that only boys have penises. That another difference between boys and girls.

I am very open-minded when it comes to sexuality as there is nothing to be ashamed of. So she was pretty comfortable seeing me walking in the room naked. *wink* Sometimes she will compare her breasts with mine. So I told her that mummy is a big girl called "woman" and when she grows bigger like mummy, she will have bigger breasts and becomes a woman like mummy. Sometimes she will take my bra, putting it on her chest and parading around. Lol!!

When she quarrels with her dad, she will use "boy" more than "man" to her dad. Like "Daddy is a lazy boy, always play computer games". Now she is becoming to be a great nagger like me. Lol!! Like the saying that goes "Boys will always be boys!"

Monday, October 19, 2009

The shopping goes on

Don’t you think that time is flying by us faster and faster each day? Now it is almost end of October and November is around the corner. Oh dear! And it means that hubby’s birthday, Christmas and New Year are what ahead of me.

In other word, it is spending time. Birthday present for hubby in November, presents for everyone on Christmas Day and time to shop for Chinese New Year which fall in February (in 4 months time). Oh dear, how I wish money would fall down from the sky so I have enough to shop. Oh yes, I am day-dreaming (or shall I say "night-dreaming"?) and thinking of the impossible again!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Riding the bike

Darling hubby has been on diet programme for a month now and he has lost 4 kg since then. Every day he would proudly show off his waist line to me. He can fit into most of his pants now.

I have to remind him now and then that diet itself would not do good if he did not exercise too. Hubby has a bad ankle so jogging is not a good idea. Swimming would not be good either since it has been raining almost every afternoon and evening, and public swimming pool is not open till later in the morning. So I suggested to him riding a bicycle instead. I told him to take out his mountain bike that has been idle in the store for many months now. The mountain bike was actually a gift from my dad. My dad knew hubby loves bike so he gave him one mountain bike last year.

After many days of nagging, darling hubby has finally took out his bicycle from the store last night. Hubby is thinking of riding at the nearby park early in the morning since most of the evening, we have heavy shower here. It is a better option as I do not encourage him to ride in the neighbourhood area. One reason is that there are many cars and dogs around, and secondly there are no proper bike lanes for bikers. So to be safe on a bike, it is advisable for him to bring his bicycle in his car and ride at the nearby park.

However when we checked his bicycle last night, we discovered that its bicycle saddle has torn and both tires are flat. So hubby may needs to change the bicycle saddle and both tires. It is coincident that we chance upon this wonderful online bikes store last night. Makaibikes.com is a great site as we found many nice bicycle saddles there. It is so much fun to shop at MakaiBikes.com because of its choices of bicycles and accessories and not only that. It offers free shipping and 30 days satisfaction guarantee as well.

Hubby is also considering to change the tires to SweetSkinz Tires. SweetSkinz tires are so stylish. There are so many saddles and tires to choose from Makaibikes.com. Darling hubby could not decide which one to get. Some more they are having sales till this Sunday 18 October, so it is a good bargain. Hubby must decide which saddle and tires to buy fast.

Hmm, probably I will get one bike myself, but unfortunately I do not know how to ride one. What a shame! All my family members know how to ride bikes and my dad is into bikes business now. I guess if there is a will, there is a way. Since I am not working and I have some free times during the day, maybe I can practice how to ride a bike. Probably I need to get those training wheels installed as I do not want to get myself hurt.

It is weekend again

And it means that:

1) the scolding and reprimand are starting again over the weekend. Extra works around the house for me too. Little gal will take out her toys and games. Sometimes she tends to ignore our instructions to keep them away. So usually I keep her stuff away at the end of the day to save extra work. Otherwise if you keep them, she will take them out again. She does that just to annoy you, sometimes I feel.

2) hubby is having a "me" times the whole Saturday and Sunday by sticking himself in front of the computer. We seldom go out, either we cook at home or hubby "tapau" food from outside. It is troublesome to bring a baby out. In other word, I am lazy to pack for his stuff and Baby Jay sweats profusely.

3) I couldn't win the games of "tv remote control pressing" with my little gal. She always gets what channel she wants to watch. I have been missing a lot of my AXN channel series for many weeks!

4)laundry will be piling up in the basket with cloth diapers. I have been seriously thinking of investing in dryer for new house. During rainy season like year end, it is hard to dry your laundry under warm sun!!

5) I couldn't take my afternoon nap as I like. Depends on the little guy's schedule, he is pretty active almost during the day

6) hubby will show no sign of two-ways communication. I feel like I am talking to a wall. He is too engrossed with his computer games.

7)I will spend 30 minutes or so feeding my little gal with food. She just slow like a snail when come to eating. She will put the food in her mouth as long as she wants. She is too lazy to eat, chew and swallow her food. If I let her feeds herself, most of the food will fall on the floor.

8) I will have to bath my Baby Jay with help of hubby. On weekday I do not have to worry about that as he is going to babysitter. But when come to weekend, I will have to do it myself; and I have to admit, I am not good at bathing young babies. Sorry to say that although this is my 2nd child, I still did not master the bathing skill. When I have my little gal, most of the times my SIL or hubby helped me to bath her. One holding her and the other bathing her. Only when she was able to sit straight by herself that I started to bath her by myself without help. Yeap, I am a helpless mummy when comes to bathing babies.

9) We will stay in our air-conditioned room. Baby Jay cannot stand heat as he sweats a lot and since he is still using Ellgy and did not use any lotion or powder due to his sensitive skin, he does not have that nice baby scent! Lol! So, we stay in our air-conditioned room most of the time. And last month's electricity bill amounting to RM500.00!! Imagine that! 3 air-conditions switched on during the nights (including mine 24/7 last month when I was in my confinement).

10) with all those works, I will have sore back by the end of the day. I couldn't help but get hubby to massage my back.

Happy weekend, everyone and to those celebrating Deepavali tomorrow, Happy Deepavali.



glitter-graphics.com

Thursday, October 15, 2009

What she eats

It is always hard to feed my 3 years old girl. She is choosy and tends not to be too adventurous when it comes to food. Some day she would like this dish, but other day, she will not touch it. So, it is pretty unpredictable to know what is her appetite.

Little gal loves to put her food in her mouth for as long as she likes. We say that she is lazy to chew and swallow her food. It takes ages to feed her one small bowl of rice. Most of the times, I have to remind her to chew and swallow her food.

So, to make life easier for her (and me), I usually cook porridge for her. She loves fishes especially those fried and crunchy types. I have to fry the fishes to perfect crunch, and break the fishes into smaller pieces for her.




To make her porridge more nutritious, usually I add some carrots and potatoes into it. That is what she eats most of the times. Funny appetite, right?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Online friends

I have few friends whom I keep in touch and chat via MSN almost everyday. But now that we are moving into Facebook, we communicate through it more often. I find it easy as my friends have Facebook accounts and they check their Facebook home every single day. So if one of them is not around, I would start wondering what is going on with him or her.

It is great to know what they have been up to, but I find one of them rather blunt in her postings. Every day she would boast about her appearance and love life. I find that rather absurd as she will keeps posting the same things all over again. She fine tuning her words in other way, but it all means the same. I know that everyone has the right to post what ever they want to on their homes, but please! Don’t they have other things better to do??

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Crawling needs

The other day, hubby's cousin gave Baby Jay a present. She was shopping at Little Lamb, and stumble on an interesting stuff. Baby knee caps for crawling babies. It may take few more months before Baby Jay knows how to crawl.



Aren't they cute?? I couldn't wait to get Baby Jay to wear them.

Monday, October 12, 2009

My workout

Both children have just dozed off. Sigh! A little time for me to go online before I would call it a day. With little gal the chatterbox and Baby Jay the demanding baby, there is nothing much I could do, left alone going online. So, am I glad that I have some "me" times during the morning and at night.

Sometimes I wonder what I am so busy about in the morning after sending both children away (little gal to school and baby to babysitter). I make it a routine to clean and mop the room every day. All the windows and balcony door are closed most of the times, and yet my bedroom is very dusty. If I did not wipe the surface one day, the next day, it will be coated with dust! Gosh!

I also lost count of how many times I walk up and down the staircases every day. One round I would fill up my thermo pot and bring it up to the room, another round, I would sterilise my children feeding bottles and another round, bringing up the laundry to be hung on my bedroom balcony. So you see, I walk the staircases many times per day. I treat it as a workout. Now my weight is around 55.4kg! Yes, losing some more kilos there.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Cruise inquiries

I asked my sister to help me check on the cruise itinerary as we planned to go for cruise during next year's CNY. My sister is in the travel agency, so she would have some access to information pertaining to the cruise. I did do some research yesterday but did not able to obtain information on the charges.

Many years ago I have inquired on the Virgo cruise, departing from Singapore. That time I was planning the trip with my sister but we did not go as I couldn't take leaves.

So I am eager to go for cruise this round with my family. We planned to depart from Port Klang, but my sister hasnt get back to me on the availability and charges. Which cruise should we travel in??

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Going for a cruise next year?

My PIL was thinking of going for a cruise during next year Chinese New Year. I overheard it from my SIL the other day, and she is checking on the package and travel itinerary on the internet. She is the organiser and is thinking of the Phuket package. I only get to know recentlt that this was confirmed plan for the Chinese New Year.

Meaning that we may be travelling to Singapore to board the cruise. And it also means that I have to renew my passport which long expired and make a new passport for my little gal.

Initial plan is to stay in Kuching next year since Baby Jay is small and we don't want to travel back to Kapit. Oh well, it is sudden change of plan from my PIL. I don't mind since I have always thought of going for a cruise some days. But the thought of excluding Baby Jay make me feel uneasy.

If we are to go, then Baby Jay may have to stay at babysitter's house. Don't you feel pity and guilty for the little guy, to be left behind and not to be with his family on his first Chinese New Year??

Monday, October 5, 2009

Happy couple

My brother-in-law has registered his marriage with his girlfriend of 5 years on this date. Firstly they gone to Commissioner of Oath for "sumpah" ceremony then to Chinese Association for the marriage certification signing. It took them the whole morning. I did not follow them as I have to pick my little gal from her school, but my mother-in-law came yesterday from Kapit to accompany them. Both is 23 years old. So as from today, they are married couple! And my parents-in-law got themselves another Hakka daughter-in-law. Lol! As for the wedding reception, they may do it a year later.

It just make me think of my own marriage registration date, more 5 years ago. We had it on my sister-in-law (hubby's sister)'s birthday, i.e. 10 June, so it is easier for us to remember. We did it at the Registrar, which required 21 days before we did the signing. It was just coincident that it fell on 10 June. And we picked this date as our wedding anniversary, not the wedding reception. I think it makes sense as 10 June is the date we become husband and wife. I don't remember much on the date when I first met hubby, when we went steady etc. I only need to remember one date, as there are other dates to remember as well like birthdays.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Busy me

Today is the 40th day and it means that Baby Jay is 40 days old. Some people observe 40 days confinement and usually wash their hair and take bath on 40th day instead on 30th day. But I don't, since 30th day I have washed my hair 4 times!! *wink*

Busy is another word to describe me. Damn busy with my new baby. He is super active in the morning, and will only sleep around 12noon for couple of hours. Fortunately Baby Jay sleeps longer during the night and only wakes up for feeding 2 to 3 times. His timing is pretty consistent, one around 12midnight (alternatively 1am, another around 3am (alternatively 4am) and sometimes around 6am in the morning.





So busy that I only have time for myself when the baby and little gal are not at home in the morning, when one sent to babysitter's house and another is at pre-school. Those few hours in the morning feel heaven (peace and quiet). *wink* But when come to weekend, oh dear! Hardly have time to breath and sit down.

I am also busy looking through the vacancy sections in newspapers and jobstreet.com, hopefully to be able to find a job soon. So far I have submitted one application. Meantime, I am "siu lai lai" staying at home, looking after my 2 children, and doing other errands.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

My old girl

The "old girl" here is my car. More than 12 years old Toyota Corolla, that has been faithfully bringing me to where ever I want to go. On the day I went to hospital to deliver my Baby Jay, my "old girl" broke down that evening. Under the heavy rain. My SIL drove my car that day and it broke down just at the big roundabout to BDC. I even drove it the day before and nothing happened. We sent the car back to my dad and he "kaw tim" my car and it stayed idle throughout my confinement period.

It turned out that the tubes to the water tank broke and leaked; so thank god it did not affect the engine. And now I am back to drive my "old girl" to send my girl to pre-school and Baby Jay to nanny's house and back. And hubby also scolded me "Why you didn't check this and that?" and I simply replied him "I only know how to drive the car." So in the end hubby just told me to remind him in the future to check on my car's battery, water etc so such incident would not happen again. *wink* I am leaving this checking stuff to him; he should know cars better than me!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Everything is bigger

I am commenting on my body after delivery. I am currently weighing around 57kg. After a week of looking after and feeding my baby, I am still not losing any weight. Baby Jay's night feeding is 3- 4 times per night and he is getting lesser sleep during the day time as well. I am having dark cicles around my eyes due to night feeding. Besides looking after him, I still need to do the laundry, cleaning the room and once a while cooking. I am not complaining, but am treating all those as exercises. So, when am I going to lose some more weights? Why? I couldn't fit on most of my old clothing! Very frustrating indeed!

Besides my clothing, I also have problem with my feet size! They are bigger! After delivered my 1st child, my feet size has grown from Size 5 to 6. Now, after my 2nd child, my feet size is no longer 6. I have to get new shoes. I am now wearing around 6.5, and depends on brands, I can fit into Size 6. Most of my current high heels and sandals have to stay idle in my shoe cabinet as I couldn't wear them. It is very sad as some is pretty new and only wore few times. What am I going to do with them if I cannot fit into them anymore???

Monday, September 28, 2009

Two is a crowd

When the confinement lady was here, everything was fine and manageable. But after she has gone, I was stuck with the children over the weekend. It may be 2 days but for me, it was 2 days of emotional torture!

One is naughty and active, and another is a demanding baby and getting cheekier himself. One has mind of her own and never listen to you, while another one needs your utmost attention and care. My patience is been tested here.

My daughter may be helpful around the house and adores her baby brother, but we couldn’t trust ourselves to leave her alone with him. Sometimes she is very mischievous, intentionally messing things around and making life difficult for us. Once a while she felt left out as we are more attentive to her baby brother, so Ig guess that would be the reason for her difficult attitude.

Back to my weekend, I had tough time looking after both of them. Furthermore, hubby was not around yesterday as he was flying to Sibu for a night to attend a friend's wedding reception. Some more I am down with cough and sore throat so it was a hectic weekend for me. It must have been the weather, as the haze is back. It has been very hot for the past week. Little J has also not recover from her cough bugs, but both of us has gone to see doctor yesterday morning. Luckily got my SIL to take care of Baby Jay for a while when we gone to see doctor.

After had settling one, another one needed my attention. Like I said, little gal is very active, and she would jump on the bed, making noises and chatting which wake up the sleepy baby. And once she finally tired and took her afternoon nap, it was her baby brother's turn to cry and did not want to sleep. Sigh! After everything, I couldn’t sleep or do anything else. I think sooner or later I will lose more weight, judging from the fact I am taking care of 1 growing toddler and 1 young baby. *wink*

My mum always tell me that it is easy to have children (conceive and give birth), but not easy to take care of them. Being a parent is a tough job. But when you see your children grow up and share wonderful memories with you, it is worth your sweats and tears. So mum, I think I better stop complaining. Now I know I was such a "pain in your @ss" when I was a baby. *wink*

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Delightful gift

As gifts to those relatives that gave "angpow" and hampers to Baby Jay on his "Full Moon", in return we are giving them boxes of mooncakes. At first, hubby was thinking of ordering cakes and give them out. However since Mid-Autumn is here, I suggested mooncake as gift. It does sound more meaningful to present them mooncakes instead of cakes.

So hubby bought mooncakes from Hei Yuet Thong. Hubby has tough time deciding what to get as they have many choices, but in the end we went for Lotus Paste. We love its packaging. Don't you like its Chinese ancient coin in front of the box??



Hubby also bought 2 mooncakes for me; one is Low Sugar White Lotus and another one is Golden Floss. I still like the traditional lotus paste mooncakes, but since hubby wanted to try new flavour, so I don't mind him buying them. I am not so much of an adventurer in trying new flavour, especially when it comes to sweet food like mooncakes.

We haven't taste our mooncakes yet. Maybe we keep it till the Mid-Autumn which is next week, where we can enjoy our mooncakes with lanterns and under a full moon! *smile*

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Free at last

Yay, finally I am out of my confinement. I woke up pretty early this morning, couldn't sleep. Too happy to think about today. *laugh* After 4 weeks, I am weighing around 57kg with waistline of 33". My weight before delivery is around 65kg. Gosh, lots of works to do to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, i.e. 51kg.

Baby Jay is 1 month old today and tonight we will be having a dinner to celebrate his "full moon" (1 month old) with my FIL and my parents. I have been sorting out my wardrobe since last night; not all (especially the pants) can fit me. Still have my tummy, haven’t slim down totally. I have been juggling on which dress to wear for tonight dinner, but after much consideration, I think I will go with the brown-patterns dress as it did not emphasize much on my tummy. How to get rid of the excess fat there??




I have a wrapper to be wrapped around the tummy after delivery, a present by a friend during my last confinement. But man, I couldn’t find the wrapper. I totally forgot about it till on my 2nd week of confinement, but I couldn’t find it. Some said it works in slimming down your tummy. I wouldn’t know whether it works on me or not, now that it is too late to use it.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Mind my English

I remember that there used to be a British comedy television series shown back in the 80s, titled "Mind Your Language". Wonder anyone still remember the English teacher, Mr Jeremy with his class full of foreigners? I love the series and if it is shown again in TV, I don't mind catching it all over again.

As a child, I picked up my English from "Sesame Street". English is not my mother tongue at home. In school days, I spoke mostly CHinese and Bahasa Malaysia. English is more like a third language to me then, till I went to college. There I learn to speak more English, but still I cannot escape the culture of Manglish, where "lah" is pretty common in every conversation.

Now that I have children, I try to speak proper english for the children's sake. I have to say that my 3 years old gal speaks better English than me. Sometimes she even have that American accent in here. Must be too much exposure to tv. I make sure she only watch certain tv channel, like Playhouse Disney and educational programme such as Barney.

Here I am still in confinement. I would be free in few more days, counting down to that day! then I can watch tv and catching up on some tv series. Lol! And not forgetting that I am missing this year's Raya feast. By the time I am out of my room, there would not be any Hari Raya Open House to visit. Anyway, I would like to wish all Muslim readers and friends "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri" too. Leave some curry, lemang, rendang, satay and ayam masak merah for me, ok? *wink*

During my confinement, I don't lie on the bed most of the time. So whenever I am bored, I will go blog hopping. I've missed out so much on other friends' blogs. The other night while I were blog hopping, I happened to stumble on one interesting blog. Hello English, a blog dedicated to provide some helps and insights on English. I have to salute the author for his dedication and work. Well done! Do you have any problem in teaching English in your class like what Mr Jeremy from "Mind Your Language" did?

Friday, September 18, 2009

Digging business

She has this habit since young and it seemed that she cannot help herself. She will do it anytime, anywhere irregardless of anything.

I am commenting on my little gal’s gold digging. Not the real gold, but those “gold” in the nose! Yeah, very unladylike. So I have been trying to get her to stop digging on her nose.

Last time I used to make fun of her whenever she did it. Like her nose will grow bigger and she wouldn’t look nice with big nose. It works for a while but then she forgets about it and start to do it again.

Her grandma even teach her to pinch her nose whenever she has the urge. Reason given by her grandma?? Beautiful nose. Hahaha! Yeah, I wonder if pinching her nose everyday, her nose will grow pointed and nicer?? Nay! But pinching her nose is definitely better than picking on her nose. It turns out to be habit, more than a necessary thing to do so.

What should I do?? How to make her to stop this “digging” habit?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

10 more days

10 more days, then....

....I would be taking care of my baby by myself

....I would be able to take my bath with heater, no more that smelly, blacky herb on my bath tub

....I would be able to go out (shopping!)

....I would no need to eat kacang ma and all those tasteless, heaty dishes!

....I would no need to drink air mata kucing. I miss drinking water.

....I would not get inflammation on my gum and teeth. Too much heaty food, I cannot stand them, and so is my teeth!

....I can touch tap water, how I miss those cold water

....I can wear shorts, and sleeveless top without fear of wind blowing on me. (I hope that they fit after all those months!)

....I can wash my hair after so many weeks! Yuk! I need to wash my smelly and oily hair twice, I think.

....I don't get intoxicated by taking too much Cognac Otard every other nights

.....I am back to my normal routine, i.e. housechore and errands

Am I happy or dread to be out of confinement?? Lol!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Through the ordeal

2 weeks into my confinement, and baby boy Jay is also 2 weeks old now. Today is my 15th day. Every day I am counting to the day I am out of my confinement. Both mum and baby boy are doing fine. I eat and sleep well although the first week was a pain-and-suffering period. Pain on the C-Section area, develop pain on my teeth and gum, no bath and itchy here and there. Luckily I got through that stage and now am very much pain-free and got more energy and strength to look after my baby. There still no bath for me, but I only wipe myself using damp clothes. I starting to take chicken this week, cooked with kacang ma herbs. I also can eat some vegetables and fishes now. For the past 2 weeks I took pork cooked with a lot of gingers and wine.



Let's me bring you through my delivery from the day I walked into the hospital ward on 25 August afternoon. My FIL was more excited than me and hubby and he nagged us to go to Normah Medical Specialist Centre earlier that day; excuses because need to register, etc. So instead of us checking in at 2.30pm, we checked in around 1.30pm. And I have to wait in my ward till 4.00pm that day as the doctor scheduled to arrive and operate on me around 4.30pm. Probably it is my second time, so I don't feel any nerves or panic. Luckily the attendants are very friendly and talked to me at the waiting hall and operation room, so they sort of calming down my nerves. But oh boy, I still can feel the cold air when I was wheeled to the operation room. Why it has to be soooooo cold!! And I wearing nothing but the thin dress. Bbbbbrrr! Cold!

The next thing I remember was I was warded back to my ward and pain on the C-section area. I was given painkiller so don't really feel that painful, but that night I kept awaken by the night nurses who came to check on me, change my urine bag, check the drip, and measuring my blood pressure. I think I lost count of the times they came into my ward. And hubby? He was sleeping in the next bed. We took the double bed since no single room, so hubby got to enjoy sleeping on a hospital bed! Lol! We stayed there for 2 nights. I wouldn't want to stay in the hospital that long, although the doctor said that they don't usually discharged patients if the patients have not yet empty her bowel. Er, if I don't do "big business", then I can't leave? But in the end, we left on Thursday morning.

We were fortunate that we choose to operate on 25 August as later hubby told me that doctor found that baby umbilical cord start to wrap around baby's neck and I have mild contraction that morning. So, it is a blessing!!

I have my first bowel movement on Friday morning, so it was not an issue then. *wink* As for baby boy, he slept almost the whole Thursday and Friday and did not wake up much during the night. Even if he woke up, he did not cry much, just making some funny noise (like how you start the car engine). But now he is 2 weeks old, and grow stronger and bigger, he started to cry out loud now when no one pay attention to him. Lol! He drank very little on first week and into second week, about 1 - 1.5oz. Just few days ago, he already can finish his 2oz milk. Soon, we may have to change him milk bottle to 4oz. He wakes up about 1 - 2 times per night for the time being. A very sleepy baby, I said.

Baby boy did not have any jaundice but he developed rashes on his body and face. My SIL took him to see doctor last Thursday and doctor said he has a very sensitive skin, like his daddy!! So we have to use new shampoo, from Ellg Extra Gentle soap and antifungal cream for his allergic skin. Luckily they work and his skin is improving.

Once a while I get too used to call my little gal, that I called my baby boy "her"! Ooopppss! Too used to it. Hahaha! Now that he is 2 weeks old, he is getting more alert and start to make more sound. Alright, if you want to see more pictures of my baby boy, I post them on other blog.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Introducing my prince

I am taking a break from my confinement now. *wink* I am into my 2nd week of my confinement and oh boy, how I miss all those technologies and gadgets, i.e. tv, computer, internet etc. A little update on my baby boy who was born last Tuesday afternoon. Yes, he was born a day after my birthday; chosen after consulting the fortune teller. As for the time and weight, we did not choose them. Lol!



Date: 25 August 2009
Time: 4.44pm
Weight: 3.338kg
Height: 50cm

The photo was taken on the 2nd day in the hospital. I haven't got time to sort out the photographs yet, but will do so later. Alright, better off for the time being, before my confinement lady sees me playing in front of the pc. lol!

Monday, August 24, 2009

I am still here

Yes, I am still very much pregnant. Just hanging around, didn’t do much lately. Making final checking and preparation for the arrival of new baby. I stayed at home more often now, one is that I have been forbidden from driving car and secondly it has been raining last week. So little gal stayed at home and did not attended school for 2 days as her dad cannot send her to school and I was banned from driving. But since it is school holiday now and due to A H1N1 fear, I prefer to have her stay at home more than going to school.

Didn’t update much on this blog for the past 1 week, not that there is nothing much to update on my part, but I am lazy to sit and type a post. Lazy to crack my head. Lol! Most of the time, I will be FB-ing and farming and also doing some blog hopping, checking out on other friends’ blogs. I have stop farming for time being; as I wouldn’t be able to look after my farms while I am in my confinement, right? Gosh, I am sure I would miss FB-ing and blogging during that period, but I guess there are other priorities that suppress and fill up my times to think or do other things. Family!!

Today is my birthday. One year older and hopefully wiser. I started my day by getting little gal to sing "Birthday Song" to me......Hmm, don't I feel great to hear my daughter sang "Birthday Song" to me?? Lol! Last night, my sis invited us to steam boat buffet. She just received her investment payout from her insurance policy, so she made it a double celebration; one for my birthday and one because of the payout. We went to My House steamboat which is located at Jalan Pending. Oh, I love seafood. So before I confine myself for a month or so, I better taste all those yummy crabs, prawns and fishes. *wink* And little gal??? She was more interested in the ice stick!!





Thanks sis again for the nice dinner! I love you! And not forgetting to thank Dora for introducing me to a nice digital scrapbook website. Congratulations to Dora too, she has upgraded herself to "Mummy" not long ago. Welcome to mummyhood, my friend.

How is my very first digital scrapbook?? I have been looking around for user-friendly digital scrapbooking site, but couldn't find any till Dora told me this site last week. Still a lot to learn especially on cropping, editing etc; haven't really get down to touring around for tips and guidance. Will embark more on it soon.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Ready to go?

For many months I kept receiving good wishes, advices, encouragements and comments from friends on my pregnancy. Thank you very much. You all have been wonderful in making my pregnancy a much better endured journey. I know that you are looking forward to seeing my baby as much as I do. I hardly can wait to welcome him to the world.

I am now at week 38 and has been gaining more weight than ever. I am like a big balloon now. Other than occasional discomfort on my lower abdomen, I don't have any health issue. However lately I develop some joint pains on my fingers and pain on my soles when I walk around. You may not believe it, but I don't have a single stretch mark or develop any itches on my tummy. A pregnant friend couldn't believe it until I shown my tummy to her last week. Hahaha! She just couldn't believe it till she saw that I don't have stretch mark. I don't have one when I was pregnant with my first child. But my skin on the tummy is darker than the rest of my body of course, and green veins are more visible there.

My bag is packed for the trip to the hospital; but unlike previous visit, this time round, I wouldn’t be bringing many things. I remember in the last trip, my bag was so full with many stuff that in the end I did not even use any of those stuff. You know, baby clothes, baby stuff, those maternity pads, baby diapers and baby milk powder (no one told me that private hospital does give out milk cans and I brought back 2 small cans of milk powder home). What to do, I were a first-time mother and an anxious, eager and excited one too! Lol! You can say this time round, I am smarter and only bring what is necessary.

Just few weeks ago, I was sorting out baby stuff from boxes and containers. I brought out my little gal’s cloth diapers and some baby stuff from hampers given by well wishers. Wow! The diapers still looks new and white. So I have washed all those cloth diapers and they are ready to be used. I still have few feeding bottles and nipples that never used, so those are taken out as well. What ever that can be used, I taken it out just in case.

We did not buy any baby clothing as we still can used little gal’s baby clothing. Luckily we bought mostly white baby clothing last time, so it is unisex and can be worn on baby boy as well. *wink* Baby stuff are very expensive nowadays and you know, baby grows up fast. Hardly can buy and keep so many.

Well, that is! More or less I think I have everything! (I hope, gulp) Somehow, I feel like I miss something but I don't know what it is. I guess as I go along the confinement, I will know what it is. At least if I miss out anything, I can get help from hubby or SIL to do for me. On other part, I have get my baby sitter to assist me in picking up little gal from her school when it re-opens for new semester next month. At least I am sure she is well taken of during my confinement.

Hmm, I wonder who the baby will look like? Like me or hubby? Whatever it is, all I hope is that he is going to be a healthy, loving and happy baby.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Hunting for bento

I have been extremely lazy to go out nowaday unless I have to. Weather plus my heavy body I don't like to move much. Except sending and picking my daughter from pre-school, I only drive to nearby neighbourhood mall to get groceries and necessity.

There is a 100 Yen shop that opened few months ago in RH Plaza. I visited the shop thrice and found that there is not much varieties in there. Probably the enterprenuer is still stocking up stocks as there is a notice that saying so.

Actually when they opened, I was pretty excited because finally I would be able to find a good place to buy bento stuff. But turned out, they don't have anything of that sort. Mostly are kitchen helpers, cutleries, cookery and Japanese noodles. I am looking for some cute bento equipment like those rice cutters and snack boxes, but they don't have them. Yeah, they have lunch boxes, but they are too shallow for my little gal to bring to school.

Hmm, probably I will make a visit soon and see whether they have stock up more products, and hopefully some bento stuff.