Growing Appetite and Achy Hands

I am in my 30th week, 3rd trimester, now. Went to the doctor and he told me, that I cannot have anymore chinese herbs in my third trimester! I wanted to say, I haven't really started yet... But of course I smiled and kept quiet. I have a few more bottles of bird's nest that I will finish up within these 2 weeks before I really follow his advise. 

Baby is about 1kg now and I am very glad to find that her head has gone down and she is no longer in the breach position like last month. That means she is engaged in the position ready for her birth. Although it's still 2 months away from her due, it lifted up some worry in me. All my other babies got engaged in the head down position quite early.

Lately, my appetite is really growing. I feel hungry and am not satisfied with my regular meals. So I have to buy snacks and eat supper at night. Sometimes, after eating, I am so full that my tummy feels like it's going to burst! Partly because the baby is also getting bigger and sometimes, her position in my womb stretches my tummy a lot. Just for last night, I had lok-lok (truck parked at Prima Kajang) and soup kambing (at Sup Power Ali, Kajang) for supper after the regular dinner! This sup kambing soup along Jalan Semenyih had caught my attention for a long while. Finally last nite we went to try it out. To me the soup is too spicy/hot and that covers the other spices. But the price of the sup kambing was RM3.50 only, pretty cheap and a plate of bread was RM1. Then when we reached home, we still had taufu fah and soya milk.

In office, I will be snacking a lot too. One day I had instant bihun at about 5 pm before going home for dinner. I do feel pretty guilty but I promise to go on a diet right after the baby is born! Or maybe after confinement la, I promise!

Apart from the increased appetite, late pregnancy also cause water retention and achy hands (or carpal tunnel syndrome). My legs now look like they belong to an elephant. Especially at night when I sleep, I would wake up in the middle of the night because of extreme pain in the arms/hands. Carpal tunnel syndrome is when water retained in the body get redistributed in your hand (when you are lying down) and that put pressure on the nerves of the hand, causing pain and numbness. I have this in my previous pregnancies as well, but it was more pain in the wrist. This time is pain on the whole hand. Even regular use of the hands is sometimes hard, like using the chopsticks or typing is difficult sometimes. *Sigh*, lots of changes happen to your body during pregnancies, you men out there should be so glad you cannot get pregnant and appreciate your wives for carrying your children!

Ok, forgive my complaining, every baby is precious and every baby of mine is worth more than diamonds. They are blessings from God.

Celebration is (almost) over...

So the water dragon is officially marching into the year. Had a fantastic week for my chinese new year break. Went hometown for a few days and had rounds and rounds of Texas Poker, Black Jack and In-Between with brothers and parents. I think in the end, I made some money, very little though :). Kids had a great time playing fireworks and messing around at home with the cousins (all boys!). My sister did not go back this year, so there was only one girl, my 4 year old, there. She was always getting bullied because she was the only girl, she was crying and complaining every other hour. Poor thing, hopefully next time my nieces will come along so the girls can have a gang of their own.

I also had the chance to meet up some long lost classmates from secondary and primary school, thanks to Facebook. We had 2 tea/coffee sessions. Most of them are in S'pore, KL or still in BP. Glad to hear most of them are doing mighty fine. Hope to see you girls again, maybe next CNY?

Delicious Soup. As usual, forgot to take pix, this one from link.

We ate at home most of the time. My kids and us are very big fans of soups and so for one dinner, I cooked fish maw/bladder, mushrooms and scallops (ingredients were from a gift pack from brother to mum) soup, slow-cooked with pork ribs (recipe here). It was delicious, even the kids loved it, surprisingly (because I thought the taste would be a bit strong for them). I never knew how to cook fish maw and only got acquainted with it through my MIL in recent years. I will be trying that again soon, when I get to buy some fish maw and scallops. But, actually, the things we snacked on most during the week were bak kua and 100 plus. Not too healthy...

Yee Sang in Fortuna Palace, Prima Kajang

We came back on 4th day of CNY and proceeded straight to dinner with hubby's family. 2 tables at Fortuna Palace with my in-laws and sister-in-laws and their families. My eldest sister-in-law's hubby's treat! I heard it was RM1200 for both table! Pretty hefty but maybe because it was CNY period lor.

It was a great week spent with family and friends for me.

I have started work since Monday. So back to the usual routine. But CNY goes on for a few more days and ends on Chap Goh Mei. Next Monday and Tuesday are public holidays and that coincides with Chap Goh Mei, so it would be more celebrations with family. A small fortune was spent on angows for the nieces and nephews and a larger fortune for my parents and in-laws. But what the heck, it's once a year only. Anyways, my bank account is a bit deflated and to make matter worse, all the children fees, i.e. kindy & piano, have been increased! Plus there are assessments and taxes to be paid for the properties every beginning of the year. Sigh, more money going out... sian ah...

Part of the relatives, my kids are in the pix too. Me? I am taking the pix.

Since we are back to reality, we have been thinking of how to make arrangements to take care of the additional bundle of joy which is coming in 2 months plus time. My hubby is really reluctant to get live-in help, which I kind of agree. We will leave this as the last resort only. My hubby tried to ask for aunties living nearby but so far no avail. We asked one of our church lady and she seems willing but she has not given us an answer yet. We still have a few more months before we really need the extra help at home to assist my MIL. And yesterday, we heard some good news that my workplace is setting up a nursery/kindy. Construction is currently underway and I hope it will be ready in a few more months so that can be one option for us. It's within the campus compound and it will be easy for me to check on the baby (or even my 4 year old daughter if I send both of them there). So I really hope the centre will be operational soon enough. This is a really positive step that the company is doing as staff benefits. I just hope it will be affordable or subsidised!

Lastly, my daughter's 4th Birthday is in a few weeks. Too tired to do anything big (sorry girlie girl), so most probably just cake and pizzas with family and in-laws. And I will bring her out to pick up a big present on the day!

Gong Hei! Gong Hei!

CNY is just a few days away. I have done most of my shopping for new kids clothes and they have been pre-washed and are drying now. I couldn't find any nice cookies on sale this year, no colleagues were selling. So I finally decided to make some. For the last 2 nights, I have been slogging to bake my peanut cookies and green pea cookies. I will continue for one more night to make the ever so easy, cornflake + honey cookies and then I am done for this year. At least my MIL and my mother will have a few types of cookies from me. I still have some more shopping to do, buy mandarin oranges, buy bak kua (dried BBQ meat) and prawn crackers, part of the gifts to my MIL and mother. I do this every year... Angpow money is not prepared yet, I have yet to go to the bank to withdraw enough cash for all the angpows.

I will be going back to hometown again for CNY and probably stay 4 days while my hubby will come back earlier since he has to start work on the 3rd day of CNY, pathetic :(. Anyways, the boys are always super excited to go to their grandma's and are planning on getting more guppies home. Half the ones we brought home the last time have gone to heaven. And they want more....poor guppies.

Would most probably be too busy these few days for any blogging, so I take this opportunity to wish all of you out there a Happy and Prosperous New Year of the Dragon, "Long Ma Cheng San" and "Gong Hei! Gong Hei!"

Chugging into 2012

Oh wow, it's yet another week and it's Friday the 13th today. Not that it is particularly significant but supposedly it is when creepy things happen. Oh well, I highly suspect nothing spectacular will be happening tonight. We must probably will call it a night early since the boys will need to rise early for a one day 'camp' organised by my hubby's company. Already I am pretty tired and it's just 8.30pm.

Anwar addressing supporters after his acquittal on 9th Jan 2012.

Let's do a recap as of happenings these 2 weeks before we start chugging into 2012. We have the very unexpected news about DSAI's acquittal last Monday. I had a feeling that he would be acquitted but most people predicted that he would be jailed! Anyway, it's happy news for the country as it finally made some sense. Not that I think our judiciary suddenly become independent but rather that the ruling government realised that jailing will be worse off for them.  Last I heard, the prosecutors would be appealing but has yet to be approved by the AG. I would think dropping the appeal altogether would be wiser move. Else any possible good vibes that was obtained from DSAI's acquittal will be nullified. I hope that all the drama and nonsense will be chucked away once and for all. Let the people decide on real issues affecting the well being of the people and the country instead of such trivial and disgusting matters.


Apart from that, the last I heard is that the poll will be not be as soon as we have thought. I would think that the PM will be wiser to call for election sooner rather than later since the positive effects from the BR1M money and DSAI's acquital are still fresh on people's minds. It would make very little difference to average Janes or Joes like us, I guess. Anyway, most people have got who they want to vote for already etched in their mind. Nothing will change their minds. It would be the fence sitters that both sides need to fight for. The fence sitters could very well tip the scales for either sides.


Enough of politics. Had Christmas cum CNY dinner with my colleagues yesterday at Fish Village in Semenyih. I think the food there was ok but not spectacular. The fishes were pretty nice and we ordered 3 styles. The bill came up to over RM21/pax, which is also oklah. I would hesistate to recommend to friends for the food alone but if they are looking for a different environment, it's pretty nice there with lakes all around. 


It's less then 2 weeks before CNY. I have got some new clothes for my daughter but haven't got anything for the boys yet. So will need more shopping within this period. No time for cookie making this year, probably just buy some. So much to do so little time. Need to do some serious shopping this weekend! I will stop for this entry, getting sleepy, nighty night.

11.11.11: Beautiful Date

11.11.11. a beautiful date and many got married! The PM announced the day will go by without the Parliament being dissolved. Well, it was expected. Looking at how things are, BN is not ready to give back the mandate to the people yet. But it won't be that far off after all. In a few more months at most, early next year. With so many things not going well and Bersih & Co demanding electoral reform before the 13th Election, it would be unwise to call for election now. Although I am doubtful real reforms will take place but at least, there will be some cosmetic stuff to make the illusion of some sort of reforms. However, if the will of the people is strong enough, even though there could be some rigging and dirty tricks, I think and hope that it will still lead to change!

This week, a good friend of mine from primary school invited me to her wedding in Singapore. I did not hesitate to accept because it has been so long since I saw her and also all our other friends will be there too. So I am going to Singapore in 2 weeks! Lots of planning to do, buy tickets, book hotels, etc. Sincerely, I am so glad to hear she is getting married and told myself I won't miss her wedding. When I got married years ago, they all came down from Singapore and BP to attend my wedding too (in Kajang).

I am keeping it short for this entry, have many things to do. Have a nice weekend y'all.

Single Days

This week, I met a few new people at an external training. Amongst them are 2 single ladies and I can't help but think about the times when I was single. Kind of miss it. I have some old classmates who are still single and I would presume living their lives to the full. They can travel easily and enjoy companies of friends at any hour of the day/night. They can go to pubs and chat their heart out. They can go for food hunting during weekends and have short trips to Penang or Singapore with minimal preparations.

I remember back in the days when I was single, I was also carefree. I had a few colleagues who were close to me in my old workplace and we would go out almost every night to cafes and pubs. Go hunting for good food every where and people watching at popular places like Bukit Bintang, etc.. During the weekends, we will plan some other activities, maybe a short adventure to nearby place, or go someone's house for some feasts. All of us were single and did not have much commitments (financial or otherwise) . We could afford spending money and time like that then. Those were the days...

Most of us have moved on to other companies, some have got married, some haven't but we have grown apart sadly. We also seldom keep in touch but I think that is probably my fault mostly, for not having the effort to do so. So if you guys are reading this, I want to tell you I thoroughly enjoyed your companies then and wished we could have stayed in touch. Just like my friends in school and university as well. There was a period of time we see each other almost everyday. Then there were also my online friends, whom I have spent countless hours chatting with behind the comfort and safety of my PC, most are long gone. Now, people keep in touch with Facebook.

But life is so. Things changes, people grow apart, new people come into the picture and new friendships and relationships take precedence. To people whom I had the privilege of forming friendships/relationships with in the past and present (and future), all you guys made my life interesting and colourful at one point of time, you all contributed to who I am or will be as a person, I really want to say thank you. And I hope I had done or will do the same (even a little only) for you.

Of course, I wouldn't change a thing about my life because it brought me here now. I have a family and three kids whom I love so dearly. They are the center of our lives but once in awhile, I am allowed to day dream about those single days, right?

Race: Human Race

Are we getting to be less Chinese by the generation? In a sense, it is true. But what is exactly defined as being of Chinese descent?

Interestingly, I read recently in the MI article, YB Hannah Yeoh, whose husband is of Indian descent, is challenging the matter of defining a race in the birth certificate of their new born child, in court. I think it is about time these things are being set right. It is not right to ask parents to define a race of their child in mixed parentage cases like this. It's like, do you love your mum or your dad more, choose one and then define his/her race as your race. It's so unfair, to make a choice, especially on behalf of your child. I definitely support this couple's challenge in court to allow them to define their child race as "Anak Malaysia". Let's make it right once and for all! Better still, abort race all together, and don't make it any legal need to define someone's race.

But before you get any idea that I am ungrateful to my ancestors or that I am 'nut who forgot it's cover/skin' (kacang lupakan kulit), I am not saying you should forget about your parentage altogether. I am saying just that there is no need to define it in any legal/formal document. Because, in some situation, you are neither this race or that.

So back to my question, how do you define someone as of chinese descent? Someone who speaks chinese, act chinese and has chinese ancestors? To me, aside from my name, my look and food preferences, I think I am not distinctively chinese anymore. My values and my outlook in life is not typically chinese, I cannot read and write chinese, I am not familiar with chinese history or the many cultures, etc.. But if there is anything I think I would want generations after me to retain as chinese descendents, it would definitely be the food. Followed by the non-religous chinese festivals and then by the language (including the different dialects).

For example like the recent Duan Wu Jia, it's the 1st time I tried making 'chung' or dumplings with my mother-in-law. I think this is something wonderful of the chinese culture to be passed down to the next generation. I definitely will try to do that again and teach my kids at the same time. Next on my lists are to learn to make other types of food like yong tau foo, chu kiok cho, making rice wine, etc..Let's hope to hear about that soon.

Back again to Hannah Yeoh's dilemma. Some may argue that you should choose the race of your father and define that as yours because this world is still male dominated. But that is hardly right, in case you don't know, Beyonce sings: Who run the world? Girls!. So I will look forward to a good solution to her case in court but I won't put my hopes up too high. This is Malaysia afterall. But in the meantime, I want to believe in you, Beyonce...

Trust me?

Do we really, honestly trust each other? Do husbands and wives, parents and kids, lovers, siblings, friends trust each other? Do neighbours and co-workers trust each other? As much as I would like to say I do in my own capacities as a wife, a parent, a sister, a friend, etc., I really don't think I can honestly answer it in the affirmative, 100%. But then again, nothing is 100%.

Lately, I have seen and experienced some of the ugly sides of not having trusts between people. Since these things aren't exactly things to be shared out, let's just take it at a general level. Trying to find out how to define trust in relationships, I found many interpretations. These are what strike me as most aptly described.  

1) Trust is both and emotional and logical act. Emotionally, it is where you expose your vulnerabilities to people, but believing they will not take advantage of your openness. Logically, it is where you have assessed the probabilities of gain and loss, calculating expected utility based on hard performance data, and concluded that the person in question will behave in a predictable manner. In practice, trust is a bit of both. I trust you because I have experienced your trustworthiness and because I have faith in human nature. (Source:ChangingMinds.org)

2) Trust means to believe. I trust you, means I have no doubt in my mind about your honesty, integrity and credibility. No relationship can survive without trust. How to develop and keep the trust in a relationship forever, because as soon as the trust breaks, the relationship breaks. Trust is the foundation on which a relationship is built. If you don’t trust a person, howsoever you may love him/her, your relationship will not survive, because you have no trust in him/her. (Source: yourromanceguide.com)

Some of you may have gone through some teamwork trainings at work, where the trainer will ask your fellow colleague to 'receive' you while you allow yourself to fall faceup onto your back? The purpose is to illustrate how to trust your co-workers. Frankly, I never like doing that fall. Not because I don't trust my co-workers but I don't have confidence in their strength to hold me from popping my eyeballs off head. Moreover, that is just physical trust, the things that matters more are the emotional and sometimes financial stuff.

So what's the point of all my 'shiok-sendiri' ramblings? Actually, there isn't. Just want to 'ngam' (means 'runggut' in malay or 'nag' in english) a bit. The truth is, when someone (especially your family/loved ones) display some form of distrust in you, maybe it's not just his/her problem. Maybe we didn't do enough to make him/her feel that you are absolutely trustworthy. Since nothing is absolute, we can never do enough, can we?

In short, no one can trust another 100%, but achieving 99.99% is good enough. For those who have been facing this issue of trust with people you care about or people you are forced to care about, then maybe re-examine if we have done enough to gain that person's trust. If everything else fails, there is always someone you can absolutely trust, 101%, and best of all HE has no problem trusting you back! Happy trust getting!

Happening Day!

It's Friday, hooray. There are many causes to celebrate this day. It's the end of the working week and the start of the weekend. In addition, we are celebrating Labour Day on May 1st and so we are getting Monday off too. Hooray. Besides that, many a good things are also happening today.

First up, iPad 2 is out for sale in Malaysia today! I heard people have queued up in Mid Valley since last nite to get their hands on one! Great excitement going on and those pads are selling like hot cakes. Me? I am not going to spend hours waiting in the queue, I can wait a few weeks. So I took the easy way, ordered it online through Apple Store today. In 2 to 3 weeks times, it will arrive (hopefully).

Next, who doesn't know today is THE day. The royal wedding day of Prince William and Kate. It's going to start at 10am UK time (or 5pm Malaysian time), if you want to stream it live you can go to the Youtube Royal Channel. Else, go back home and watch on your TV, I am sure there will be some if not all channels showing the wedding. Local news station have sent reporters to cover the event live which to be is kinda waste of money. I am sure the foreign news would already be covering the whole event in great detail, wouldn't it be better to just show their coverage. But what the heck, it's a celebration, so the more the merrier. My best wishes to the royal couple. Thanks for the invite but I cannot attend since England is pretty far from here. Send my love to Grandma Elizabeth, :P. 

One last thing I would like to highlight is this interesting TV show on TV8 which I think you should catch, every Wednesday at 9.30 pm. It's Showdown 2011!! I watched most part of last year's Showdown too. You will not be disappointed, I promise.

Dancing is like way out of my league, further then the moon, maybe all the way in Pluto. Keeping my hands and legs in coordination poses a huge problem for me even when I try to follow the aerobics videos. So I am convinced that these people are genuises in their own right. I think I am in love with this group Elecoldxhot. Amazing talented and cute guys. But then again, all of the top 12 groups are talented beyond my imagination. So do watch out for the show. Watch out also for the all girls group, Panic (sexy!) and the favourites, HMC Phlow. I am begining to pay more attention to local productions like this one which shows there is quality and substance in some of our local entertainment. So give local TV a chance, will ya! Peace and out.

  

Not all Bad

Didn't I say life is unpredictable just 2 post ago? MACC has another death in their hands. This time a custom top officer was found dead on Wednesday morning at MACC KL office, after he supposedly fell off the 3rd floor onto the badminton court of the 1st floor. That makes it 2 floors only?! Hmmmm, MACC has just gotten more trouble in their hands now even when the TBH RCI is still ongoing. One death is already one too many, now 2? I don't want to make any assumptions, but let's hope this mysterious death will not take 2 years to be solved. Like I said, I am no surprised anymore. Malaysia memang boleh! However, condolences to the family of the dead man and may justice be served.

Ok, nuf of the bad vibes. Let's go for a few nice things happening. I made my 1st wearable blouse for myself and wore it to office today. This really is a positive development as my previous 2 attempts were not too satisfactory. I know now that patterns and precision are important in dress making. I will try making more stuff soon.

Some may already know that I am a MacD fan. Now MacD is giving away free sausage mac muffin with egg for breakfast with coupons, again! Last month, they gave 2 free big breakfast with RM5 purchase. We had that a couple of times last month. This new free giveaway is valid from April 1st to April 13th, so go find out before the end of the offer. Yippie!! Thanks to my friend for the tip offs.

Up next, we have American Idol's latest news. Pia is out and everyone is surprised because she is really good. But like I said before, everyone is good is time round and all of them deserve to be in the finals. But she's out and there is no 'save' left. Hmmm, I do not know who I should make my favourite this season. But frankly, I do not really care for I already have Adam!!!

Lastly, we will be off for a holiday next weekend with the kids. Already booked the hotel with Agoda, so look forward to a nice break on the highlands.

iPad 2 and Penang brighten my week

I came across several things that interest me this week. Firstly, iPad2 is coming out! So our plan to get an iPad is going to be KIVed for awhile. Might as well wait for the new one which is faster and lighter at the same price. I am quite happy with my iPhone4, so many apps and almost flawless touchscreen technology. From what I know and seen, iPad is just like a bigger iPhone, so I am pretty confident it will be a fine piece of device too. So a couple more months to wait for the 2nd generation iPad to come to our market. See Steve Job launching it below.


Next, the not-so-great matters. The RCI is ongoing on TBH. I follow it closely through Malaysian Insider tweeter. So far, it has been really discouraging to read. Looks like all the gonvernment experts are aligning their reasonings to basically wash the MACC and police off any responsibility on the matter. Unbelievable. Then thare is the DSAI's trial which is again depressing. Depressing because the reality in this country is that common sense and fairness seems non existence in some people. The more I read and follow on these matters, the more sad I feel.

But life is not all bleak. I read Patrick Teoh's blog and he was singing praises about Penang. How clean and how happy people there seems to be. He even called it a different country! With all the negative things we hear from the mainstream media, it's nice to get an alternative view about how the state is doing. Being in Selangor, I think that the state is doing ok, at least we are enjoying free water for awhile now. There should be more improvements to come and I do hope they get a chance to prove it beyond the next election. And maybe we can all 'migrate' to Penang then, only problem is that it is already pretty congested there.

Late Nights

Lately I have been sleeping late, way later than I usually do. I don't kown if it has got to do with the supplement I am taking or just me trying to catch some alone time.

Well, last night, I was sleeping late again. The TV was on in the room and I was checking the latest house prices on my iPhone. I watched Julie (I like her, she's funny and pretty, see pix) and Zher on 8TV Quickie and they were introducing this 20 something pretty lass who is a fulltime blogger (her blog). I am still quite puzzled. I always thought blogging was just for fun. I still cannot imagine making it as a living but apparently some people do. In fact, many people do, nowadays. I know it's from the advertisements posted on their blogs but I just cannot register that in mind. To me, when I go to any blogs, the advertisements are just automatically ignored in my trained mind. I guess I have trained my mind well, :P.

So, back to blogging. I always take it as a personal journal thing. Never really thought anyone would read it or pay much attention to it. So I rattle on about stuff that sometimes makes little sense to others or just plain boring. But who cares, it's my blog and I can do what I want! That's the power of Internet, it empowers anyone and everyone to have their own space in the cyber world. I admit, it feels great to see something I wrote comes published on the web, even if no one else cares. Plus I have promised myself that I will continue to blog, just to know I have the will power to sustain soemthing when I put my mind to it.

Let's go back to late nights. I have had more time to laze around, reading online news and blogs, look up stuff on the internet. It has been great. I think I will make this a habit. After all, I read that adults do not need that much sleep in a day, 6 hours will do and I am getting about 7.

This weekend is my little girl's 3rd birthday. Time flies, she is now (reluctantly) going to kindy and is whiny and bad tempered (nothing like me :P). But she is my darling, I am guilty of spoiling her. But nowadays, I just ignore her when she shows her temper, maybe she will learn that she doesn't get what she wants by crying and stomping her feet. But for her birthday, we will spoil her once more. I think I will bring her to Toys r Us to pick up whatever she wants. We will not be doing a big celebration, just small meal with families. Happy Birthday to my girl, mummy, papa and your kor kors love you lots. That's her in her pretty CNY gear, ain't she a doll!

Organised Mess

A week has gone by in a blink of an eye. Probably because Tuesday was a public holiday. The kids have replacement for school on Saturday, I am glad. At least we have some peace and quiet for a few hours, :P.

Been pretty busy at work. Looks like anything that no one else like to handle falls onto me but I am ok with it. Overall, I still have the freedom to do things the way I like doing. So I am not complaining.

Apart from work, it is the usual chaos at home. The house is an organised mess. The clean laundry sits on the sofa until I have time to fold them up. The kids books are stack haphazardly in the bookcase. Shoes are stack up into a little hill on top of the shoe rack. See the pix, we are not that bad, yet. I do try to get everything off the floor and give the floor a sweep before we go to bed. I am not praticularly housecleaning person, and it doesn't help if I am the only person doing the cleaning. Kids are still too young to really help. I will be glad if they can clean up their own toys and books. Hubby does help, occasionally. But I understand, he works till pretty late recently, so I don't push him too much. Hourly cleaners seems a good idea but that would also mean organising them to come in on the weekends for a few hours on a regular basis, but we are usually out on weekends. We do have a schedule for housework but keeping to it is another story. Guess for now, we will have to live with this and try to keep to schedule.

I am thinking of setting up some short term home improvement targets. The doors need a new coat of paint since we moved in 3 years ago! We even bought the paint but never got around dong it. The exterior of the house as well. Paint has been sitting in the store room for 3 years too. I think spending more time cleaning the house and doing some painting would be time better spent then going to Tesco every weekend. We'll see how this will come about. Not particularly pushy on these matters.

Back to Normal

Yeah, things are back to normal. No rushing to get this and that done. CNY is almost finished but to me it is done once I started work which was the 4th day of CNY.

Now I have more time to plan and do some things that I want to. Like starting a new project to make a blouse for myself! So everytime I have some free time, I will be sitting at the sewing machine and doing something. Of course the product is still elementary but I think with more practice, I can make something that I can really wear out of the house :P.

Kids are like their usual selves, naughty and noisy. I am starting the 2 boys on their Mandarin tuition this week, hopefully the teacher we found is good. Had difficulty finding Mandarin tuition around here.

We were looking at our expenses for the kids: tuition, piano, kindy fees, allowance to the in laws for taking care of them. Phew, that's a pretty big amount. As they get older, we will have even more tuitions etc.. It is just scary to think about it. Hopefully our pay increment can cover for the increase in expenditure.

Talking about increase in expenditure, wonder if it is the same in other places? The coffee shops around my place had increased their prices by about 10% in the start of 2011. Wish money grow on trees, then I will have no money worries....

Busy Gong Hei Fatt Choy

Tomorrow is eve of CNY and I am at home taking care of the kids while trying to bake my butter cookies. Managed to do some laundry and bathed the dog. Made the kids sleep now I have a little time to rest. Soooo tired. My throat is also starting to ache, an onset to getting sick, :(.

I baked 2 types of cookies only this year, peanut cookies and butter cookies (see pix). Just do not have the time to do more. But nevertheless, still have a whole collection of cookies mostly bought. Soon they will be distributed to my in laws and my mum. We don't keep much for ourselves.

Still have a bunch of shopping to do, 'bak kuah', mandarin oranges and pants and shirts for the boys and their dad, shoes for myself, may not be able to get everything before CNY, as long as the kids have new clothes and shoes. The oldies can wear anything. Need to change new notes! Gosh, million of things to do! I am going to get a little rest and then up again to get more things done!

So happy reunion dinner to all celebrating, may you have a blessed new year of the rabbit.

Unspeakable Tales

Oops, meant to be back but took a longer break then anticipated. But I am back! Well, I have been well and about just after one good day of rest, the flu seemed to be suppressed for now. Busy with cleaning, cooking for the family and even stole some time to sew a little last weekend. But this weekend I am going to be going full gear, have to start and finish all my cookie baking! BZ BZ BZ...

But in between being occupied with all the usual stuff a working mum would be, I have been researching on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), one of the many psychological problems defined (Suffice to say, every home has some unspeakable tales, 家家有本难念的经). Anyways, the more I read about it the more I have empathy for the surferers and even more empathy for the people who live with them or being harrassed by them like in the movie Fatal Attraction (staring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas).

Truth is, everyone suffers from some of the symptoms some of the times, but BPD people have most of them, most of the time. Can you recall the last time you were extremely angry or disappointed? Remember how bad you feel? Well, BPD people feel like that most of the time. What a sad way to lead one's life. I found a number of resources, mostly in USA and I have ordered 2 books online on the matter which were not available at retail stores. I hope to get them soon. For those interested to know what BPD is like, see this video.

In Malaysia, Counselling and Psychology is still at its' infancy. I think people are still reluctant to get counselling or psychological help when they have emotional or psychological problems. I think the stigma of being called a 'nut case' is what is holding people in Asian countries from seeking mental health consultation. But I truly believe, sometimes, people do need to talk to people who can help, especially when they do not have anyone else to talk to or who can understand them. Marriages or even lives can be saved.

The important thing is take care of yourselves before you can take care of others! More updates soon, hopefully. Nevertheless, life goes on, happy preparing for Chinese New Year!! Rabbit chase away the Tiger.

Supermom is taking a break!

A good friend of mine just commented that I am 'supermom'. I guess I am trying to do too many things at one time. Mayday! Mayday! Supermom is coming down with a flu, :(. Heavy and aching head, stuffy nose and painful throat. Guess I am not invincible after all.

Chinese New Year is just 3 weeks away and I haven't bake any cookies, yet! I am getting worried. But I think I will just bake 2 or 3 types at most this year. The rest of it I have ordered from others. I usually will give my mum and mother-in-law many types of cookies, so I baked a few batches for each type for the last two years but this year, things seems to be happening too fast.

I am also planning to make some dresses for my little princess on my new Singer and also trying to make something for myself for the new year but I really am pressed for time. Maybe I should be less ambitous. Trying to concentrate at the sewing machine is hard to do today, I feel so tired but I still have so many things I need to do. My body is protesting, I guess it is really time to take a good rest and leave everything to another day or week!

Supermom is taking a break!

Lucky 4

Busy busy weekend. The kids had their pre-Christmas party with the rest of the kids of our BEC zone on Saturday. Parents have to bring in food for potluck for the kids. I have been asked to prepare fried chicken but I decided to make roast/baked chicken wings instead, healthier for the kids. So on Saturday morning, we had breakfast with the in-laws then off we went to buy chicken from the near by factory that slaughters chickens. I always get my chicken there as it is fresh since their just slaughtered them. I think is is also a little cheaper than the retail palces. 3kgs of wings were cleaned and marinated before they went into the oven. It turned out okay but if I had marinated them longer, they would be better.

In between baking the chicken and going to the party, we had to go to Metro Point to report a problem with our sony Bravia LCD TV which is 9 months old to the retail shop. We also had lunch at Sushi King after that. The management of the buidling has put up the tallest Christmas tree in Kajang in the building, it is really pretty.

After the kids' party, when the kids were getting ready for bed, I went present shopping. When I got home, I had to wrap the presents until past midnight, so now we have a lot of presents under our little Chirstmas tree, waiting to be opened on Chirstmas day.

On Sunday, after church, we met with my sister and her family in Metro Point (again). I am surprised that they had many activities there, there was Santa distributing sweets and taking pictures with people and also there was an auction for electircal/electronic stuff and some lucky draws and games. I was lucky as my name was the first to be picked out for the lucky draw and I won a RM10 voucher for waffles (which we redeemed already). My hubby tried at the games and got a little Hello Kitty thingy to hang on the phone. So we were pretty happy how the afternoon turned out.

In the evening, we left the boys with their 'por por' and we went for BEC zone dinner with my daughter. The food was pretty good for the price we paid, and I ate quite a bit. Guess who got the 1st lucky draw of the night? My hubby! So he won himself a mug. We were really happy to be lucky 3 times in a day! But that was not the highlight. Right about the end of the dinner, my number was drawed and I won a pretty large and heavy present which we have yet to open. We are guessing it is a vase of a clay statue since it is pretty heavy. We are saving it for Chirstmas before we open it! So there you go, 4 times lucky in a day! What a nice day! We do not know what significance it brought but we were nevertheless pleasantly surprised at our 'luck'. What a way to end a busy but great weekend!

Carolling at dinner.

Do it Anyway

I found a prayer card at home which was distributed in church some months back. Never got around reading it until last night. It carries among others, a famous prayer credited to Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It was said to be found on the wall in the Children's home directed by Mother Teresa. Here is how it goes:

Do it Anyway
By Mother Teresa of Calcutta

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

As I was doing a search on this, I found that there exist an original version slightly different and it goes like this:

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Apparently, Mother Teresa have rewrote part of the original to make it more spiritual. But I am especially touched by the last verse in Mother Teresa's version, it is so true. So when you question yourself for doing the things that your consience is telling you too, while others are doing things against their (assuming they have) consience and are apparently doing well in this world; or when you are getting angry at the selfishness and inconsiderations of others, you can reflect upon this.

It is never between you and them, it is God who will be your ultimate judge.

Have a blessed Christmas.

My Hometown, Bee Pee

Am back from sending the boys to my hometown to their grandma and grandpa. It was a real nice break at my hometown although it was a short 2 days. Didn't get to do a lot of stuff but it was nice being home, doing nothing, just relaxing. It is also good we didn't do much stuff as we have left the memory card of my Nikon at home while we cart the camera along. We couldn't take any pictures of our trip. Darn! So here is a pix I got from the net of Tasik Y which we went for our morning walk, this is a must for all our trips there. Many things have changed since I moved to KL in the University days. This park has been upgraded tremendously, with a big extension to the side and facilities added. It is now a favourite site for many, especially the elderly, to have there morning or evening walks, including my mum. There have also been many changes in terms of shopping places, such as Carrefour and a few other malls. There is also standalone Mac Donalds building when during my time at home there was none. Many improvements, it is now almost like a city. Too bad we would not be able to find well paying jobs there or I wouldn't mind going back there for good. Will be going for another quick trip there this weekend to fetch them home and then it will be Chinese New Year before we go back there again. When we have more time, we will make sure to visit Minyak Beku, the beach not too far away from BP town, maybe during CNY.



Looking back this 2010 that is coming to an end, I am surprised how fast it went. I am at least happy with one thing, I did continue to blog as I said I would. It has been more than a year and I have managed to write up something almost every week. Other than this small achievement, I do not think I have accomplished anything significant for the year! Resolutions never really work, so I should just quit making them. So the coming new year, I just wish for God guidance in everything that I do and in any decisions that I make. I also pray for the health and safety of all my loved ones. May all of them have a great year ahead, with God's grace.



This will be one of those short portings, I got lots to do and too little time to spare lately. Hopefully things will improve soon and I will have more to say.