Monday so soon....

It's Monday so soon.... Had another hectic weekend which also included an off day last Friday for Wesak day. It's going to be school holidays for 2 weeks starting next week and we have no plans yet on what activities to do with the kids. Probably a weekend day out to the Zoo or a picnic at the waterfall.

I have tested my new Nikkor AF-S VR 55-200 lens. Even with VR, I still have problem getting pictures which are sharp at the maximum zoom. But overall, I am still happy with the lens at the price I got it for. Still need lots more practise though. I haven't downloaded the pictures from my camera, will share when I do that.

Today, I also like to share with you a great and really hilarous site, Ask Sister Mary Martha. It's a site by a Catholic sister (in USA) who gives people advices on patron Saints. She is such a funny lady, makes mundane matters interesting. This is a must visit site for Catholics (and everyone else) who are looking for good 'fun' pages to visit in this vast and largely crazy cyber world.

Lately, the sermons by the Priests in our church touched on contributing time to church activities such as BEC, the various ministries, etc.. The priest when interviewing me after my conversion a few years back, did not insist about me getting involved in serving the church since he knew that I had young children to take of. However, I still feel that we (meaning my hubby and I) should do more. We do try to join most of the BEC activities. I even offered my help to the website committee for the church but looks like there isn't much to do. I do hope with the kids growing up, I can afford more time and effort to contribute to other church ministries in a few more years' time. I will certainly keep my antenna up, scouting for areas where I can be of service.

Lastly, to end this post, I would like to relate back to my last post about Bad Malaysian Drivers. I am proud to say that I have consciously been stopping myself from cutting queues for the past weeks. I will persist....

Bad Malaysian Drivers, me included

It's only Tuesday but I felt apt to do an entry on my blog about something that I happened to think about this morning and coincidentally read about as well in an article in Malaysian Insider (How to greet pedestrian by Colin Boyd Safer). It is none other than about driving ethics in Malaysia. The article spoke about the dangers drivers posed to pedestrians and I definitely agree. Malaysians are bad drivers, especially so in KL.

How could a person be this very well-mannared individual off the road but when he/she gets into the car, he/she has a totally different temperament! It is particularly common in the big cities in Malaysia. I have to admit I am one of those guilty. But I definitely have compassion for pedestrians, especially children. I will defintely slow down to let a person cross the street, provided it is safe for him to do so. I have once, in my University's days, tried to cross a busy street. This kind driver stopped to let me cross but just as I rushed past his car, an on-coming car overtook him and nearly knocked me dead! From then on, I am very careful when to stop and let a pedestrian cross. I do not want my act of kindness to turn into a disaster for the person trying to cross a street. One thing I hate when I do stop to let a pedestrian cross the street, instead of walking briskly as I would expect, this person walks slowly as if afraid to lose his/her composure/style. Sorry to say this, your grandfather does not own this street and when you 'mati katak', there will be no style at all!

I am especially worried when I see young school kids walking by the roadside or crossing the streets by themselves when I send/fetch my son to/from school. Kids are kids, they are playful and sometimes, their concentration span is short. Walking/crossing the streets by themselves is just too dangerous. Parents, kids under 12 should not be allowed to cross the streets without the help of an adult!!

As I said earlier, I am guilty of being a bad driver. Not for having bad driving skills, but for having lack of patience. I have to confess, I am guilty of cutting queues whenever there is a traffic jam. I just cannot sit patiently and see others cut queue while I wait in line. And for that I really admire those who can wait in line. I will always cut in and out to find the fastest lane, or even drive on the road shoulders or ermergency lanes. I will never cut queue in other circumstances but in the car, it's like I am a different person. I do not know if I can change or am willing to change. I am challenged every day when coming to work. I will try to be patient and wait in line, maybe, someday.

On a entirely different matter, I just got my new 55-200 Nikkor lens last night. So I will be testing it out soon and also bringing it along to my vacation in Cherating next month with the girls. Will upload pictures soon.

Nanny 911 to the Rescue

We have been really at wits' ends, trying to instill some discipline into our kids. My two boys are really naughty and their little sister follows whatever the big brothers do. So the whole house is, to say the least, always in disarray. I have tried using the 'magic wand' (i.e. the rotan/cane) but the results were always temporary. After the tears from the pain were dry, they go back to the same ways again. I am not really against 'corporal' punishment to discipline kids but when the effects are not lasting and the experience is painful to the kids and heart wrenching for the parents, we really need to revise our strategy. I will still reserve the 'magic wand' for circumstances that calls for it.


Now, we really needed a new strategy, to make the kids listen and obey without me losing my voice and my sanity (I know nobody said raising children is easy). So came a TV show called 'Nanny 911' to the rescue. The show is about a household with crazy kids and 'about-to-lose-it' parents calling Nanny 911 for help. A nanny (from England) will be flown to the family (in US) to help them in one week. With the nanny's help, within the week, the whole family gets turned around, the kids become better behaving and the parents have better control of the household. We love to watch it together with the kids and I wish I can really call Nanny 911 to rescue us. But since we can't, we have decided to do some of the things the nannies recommended, by oursleves.



We have implemented a reward scheme. Firstly, we set down a set of rules of DOs and DON'Ts. When the kids do something they shouldn't or do not do something they should, they get a 'thumbs down'. But if they do something right, they get a 'star'. So they will accumulate the 'stars' and 'thumb downs' for the week. Each 'thumbs down' will be squashed by a 'star'. By the end of the week or even within the week they can redeem rewards using the 'stars' they have collected, after they have paid the 'stars' due for the 'thumbs down' they received.



We have been getting very good response from the kids so far. They really value their stars and they will try to earn their stars by doing the right stuff. And when I reminded them that they will be given 'thumbs down' if they misbehave, they instantly stop. I have not used the 'magic wand' at all and I cannot remember raising my voice, for the whole week which is a miracle! Well, I know it is not a new concept. But seeing it being done in Nanny 911 kind of motivated us to do the same. Of course this system isn't really working with my 2 year old girl but it works wonders with the 2 brothers of hers and she does what the boys do. So when they behave, she does too (to an extent). Nevertheless, the outcome is still great! So, we will see if we can 'retire' the 'magic wand' for good or at least for a good while....

Sad Sad Week

This week had been filled with worries and tears as we watched and could do very little. A young boy has been called to the Lord. A young boy whom 2 weeks ago was still seemingly fine. It hurts to suffer a great lost of a good behavouring and bright young boy who would have had a wonderful future in this world. But we trust in our Lord, Jesus Christ, that You have heard and continue to hear all our prayers for this beloved child.

To You, O Lord, we humbly entrust this child, so precious in Your sight. Take him into Your arms and welcome him into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping nor pain, but the fullness of peace and joy with Your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

News from both sides

It is going to be a busy weekend. We had plans to 'do up' our little garden at home. Bought bags of imported pebbles and drawn up some design but looks like that is going to have to wait. We had received several news from both sides of our famlies.



My sister-in-law is in labour now as the doctor induced her since her blood pressure was high and getting dangerous to leave the baby in her. I feel this should be straight forward, if the drugs don't work, the doctors will perform C section on her. So I think I should hear of the birth by the end of the day. God bless her and the little baby who will soon be born.



This morning, I also received heart breaking news. A young member of our extended family has fallen ill. We can only offer prayer and moral support. Please join me in this prayer.



Prayer for the Sick


Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the sick, we turn to yo in this time of illness. O dearest compforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. Dear God, we place our worries in your hands. We place our sick under your care and humbly ask that you restore your servant to health again. Aboc=ve all, grant us the grace to acknowledge your will that whatever you do, you do for the love of us. Amen.

Sensational Gaga.... and Adam!

Who doesn't know Lady Gaga? She has taken the world of entertainment by storm not just for her catchy tunes that rings in your head but also for her weirdness in her style of dressing. I was browsing around as usual, when I saw the dresses she wore for the MTV VMA 2009, outlandish is an understatement! I do think it's a bit overboard but still she is really talented and her music is great. I love her all the same. Even my children can sing her songs although the lyrics are hmmmm, let's say, I don't get them...

She reminds me of Adam Lambert although he is less crazy in his attire but being a man does set a limit unlike Lady Gaga. Anyways, both of them are great entertainers for the moment and I love them both.

Watch out for Adam's performance in AI 2009 when he was invited as mentor for the top 9 contestants. Another great performance! I am going to get Adam's CD when I go shopping this weekend in PJ, I couldn't find any around where I stay.

Looking forward to the weekend, we plan to go PJ to visit my mum and brother and for a little shopping too.

Passive Income, I want...

Time for a weekly dose of my 'pretty much nothing'. Yesterday, I visited this interesting blog and read the article about financial planning for retirement. This is a timely article as I had been having nagging thoughts about planning for our retirement for awhile. The entry talks about passive income as opposed to saving an amount of money for retirement. I basically understand passive income as getting money while not working. Renting properties is one type of passive income and he also suggested REIT. I also know from MLM people that their scheme is a passive income too and can be so for a few generations! But I am not an MLM capable person, that's for sure. I will need to look for other avenues.

The blogger recommends 2 books to be read, both by Robert Kiyosaki, “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “Cashflow Quadrant”. We have the 1st one but never finished it and don’t know where we put it. But I am determined to find it and finished it… before the end of the year!

I must admit, I am bad at finances but since my hubby is no better, we both have to work together on this no matter how much we dread it. I know it’s going to be of ultimate importance when we are too old to work anymore. We cannot rely on the hope that our kids can afford to take care of us financially. Gosh, I cringe thinking about this and I hope it’s not too late to start doing something about it. God help those who help themselves....