Lost World of Tambun

It's been a quiet school holiday for me as this month I haven't really been working as my mum was in KL and the kids were at home with me, making lots of noise and making it impossible for me to make business calls when they would come calling "Mummy,........" or they would start bickering.

Hubby has been busy with his work as well even though he was on leave for 2 weeks. We only went for a local break in Penang and Ipoh while some of our friends are travelling to Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, Disneyland, etc.. We have to be prudent in our spending and I too didn't want to spend so much on a holiday this time round.

It was a pleasant family day we have at Lost World of Tambun and for the kids, it didn't really matter where they go as long as it's fun, fun, fun! And boy, did they have tons of fun in the sun and water from morning to the late afternoon when it began to rain a little.

Dinner that night was barbeque buffet which was sumptuous and delicious. It was a good time together with other families and my business associates. It's been tiring, and we are all sunburnt, but it's time well-spent after those month long of 'babysitting' the kids :-)

Short visit to Penang

This holiday, we didn't make earlier plans to take the kids anyway except for my company's family day in Ipoh. So we decided to head up to Penang first prior to the family day and visit my sis there. Ever since she had her baby, we only get to see her once in a blue moon. Our visit to Penang is always about food and of course spending time with my little sister.

Seafood and other Penang local food are always a must, though this round we didn't have time for muar chee, cendol, ice kacang and many more. Due to time constraint, we go to our usual asam laksa place at BB near Sunshine Square.

The kids remembered the fishes and the turtles at the aquarium and so we took them there, only to find out that the place is under renovation. The turtle and huge aquarium was still open though and I don't understand why the kids just simply love watching the turtles swimming around. It's a pathetic sight though when we see adults and teenagers acting like hooligans, touching and even hitting on the turtles and disturbing a tiny little alligator there. Was really pissed with these uncivilised people.

On our way to Penang, we stopped at Bukit Tambun for dinner and on the second day, we ate at Teluk Kumbar. It was a satisfying meal and the price was pretty reasonable too. I would say that the food at Teluk Kumbar or the one somewhere near Batu Maung is so much more better than Bukit Tambun.

A special seafood laksa in Bukit Tambun (can't remember the restaurant name, but it's not very deep inside the road), which is cooked in tom yam soup. This is very nice dish.

Crabs with a tinge of tom yam taste. I personally still prefer sweet and sour style, chilli style or kam heong style. It's still good, just that my taste bud was yearning for something else. hehe

Steamed prawns at Bukit Tambun. Very fresh and nicely done

Never tried this style before. Clams in some special cili and lime sauce. Kinda nice, but again, I was dying for the clams in ginger and wine sauce or chilli clams.

Everybody's favourite. Perfectly done, and not so rubbery like some places. The kids love this.

Assam laksa is always a must in Penang.

Brendan and Eryn sitting on the swing by the beach while waiting for our food to arrive at Teluk Kumbar.

It's year end already

In just a few days' time, it will be another brand new year. While I try not to think too much about it and enjoy my December break, it's now back to reality.

Anyway, Christmas this year was a quiet affair for us as we had to skip a Christmas lunch and headed to Penang to visit my sis there.

Christmas set in when we took the kids to Midvalley, Sunway and Curve to see the decorations. The constant bickering at home is already driving me up the wall this holiday season, and their frequent pestering to go 'kai-kai' to see Christmas decorations is just those little delights for the kids. Just having the opportunity to step out of the house to go 'kai-kai' for them bring so much joy to their little faces.

The kids were moody at Sunway except for the second time when we sent to Sunway Lagoon night park where they were beaming with joy.

Eryn loved her photo with the 'golden angel' taken above.

Midvalley was packed with people but I personally loved the ambience there.

Gardens was more quiet which makes it more soothing.

Dentist visit

I finally took the kids to see Dr Priscilla of Pristine Dental yesterday.

It was a surprised that Brendan took it so calmly and sat with his mouth opened wide without a tinge of fear being shown. He had two patches done up in his baby molar and it's due to accumulation of food particles between two teeth on both side that caused the little cavities. It was a difficult place to brush and hubby and I only started flossing the kids teeth in recent months.

Eryn, on the other hand was an even bigger surprise when she threw a tantrum before going in to see the dentist, and didn't want to go on the chair, unlike her previous visit. All this was due to us asking her to stop seeing the root canalling magazine. sigh!

After seeing her kor-kor having his teeth done, she then quickly climbed up onto the chair and opened her mouth wide. While Dr Priscilla was cleaning her teeth, she started giggling non-stop. She had one big hole on her bottom right and a very tiny small one at the top right. The patching could have caused a small pressure on her tooth, I think, that she started crying after her bouts of giggles. She refused to open her mouth to get the second one done and used her hands to cover her mouth. Though the doctor says that that can be done at another time, I decided to get it done once and for all. It took a few minutes before we manage to persuade her to open up with much difficulty. double sigh!

The bill came up to RM260 for both kids for both molar patches each. A little pricey, but worth the trouble and the TLC shown by Dr Priscilla.

Scary, but just had to get it done. triple sigh!

Holiday mood

Yes, we're all in a holiday mood at home. I haven't been getting much work done, and been at home busy with the kids and doing some reading while the kids turn the house upside down! haha...

It's a wonderful feeling and after visiting Midvalley yesterday, it makes me so dreamy of Christmas and not doing anything. Oh boy, just can't imagine the hectic schedule I'll have to draft for myself come 2010.

I took this photo at Midvalley using my camera phone. My own camera has almost gone kaput and though I do wish for a brand new one, I've decided to just stay put with my ever-handy handphone with a camera function. Never mind the lousy turn-out. Afterall, it's the memories that are for keeps..

Lack of sleep kills!

Time and again, we hear of health issues arising which we normally tend to ignore till it's too late. I've been hearing news of acquaintances with heart problems and cancer for the past one year.

Today, I received an email from one of my ex-boss which is as appended below. This is getting scary and people are just way too ignorant about their precious life.

This story reminds me of a top CEO guy in Malaysia many years back, who died upon touching down at the airport, after coming back from a holiday with a fiance.

Here's the story which appeared in newspapers in India not too long ago :

Ranjan Das Passed Away on Wednesday, 21-October-2009
SAP India CEO Ranjan Das Dies After Gym Workout

Carried : Wednesday, 11-November-2009
What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India . He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road . Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India . However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out'.

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).

The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of 'Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep'. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the
key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:

* Short sleep duration ( less than 5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.

* Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

* Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

* Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

* Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

* Sleeping for less than 5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for less than 6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I've been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don't like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line ).

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising ( marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him. If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set
the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep.

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the  same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail/article to as many of your colleagues/friends as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.


Source : news

TwoPixels anniversary giveaway

"A picture paint a thousand words", especially with photos, which brings tons of sweet memories.

I first came across Two Pixels when it first started out.

TwoPixels was started by Jazz and Sue, two wonderful women I know through the mummy blogsphere, who self-taught themselves to take superb photos through their special touch and very attentive details. They're so specialised in taking beautiful photos, focusing on babies, children, families and even pregnancy. I remember a friend, Caitlyn, telling me that Jazz and Sue are just so patient, creative and they're very good with babies.

TwoPixels is giving away three photo sessions and I just have to participate in this contest. I simply can't resist a photo session with the two lovely mummies. The only time I had a real photography session was for my wedding album taken about eight years back I think. Our family has also not taken one before.

TwoPixels creates a memory for a life through their natural shots, made to pefection in their self-learnt skills which I've never seen. So, I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be one of the chosen one (^-^).

Happy anniversary to you, TwoPixels! All the best in the coming years!

Dentist Dentist here we come

It was about a year ago, when we were experiencing Eryn's tooth problem. I called up numerous dentists and finally found ourselves the best dentist for Eryn with the best advice I've ever heard after many attempts in finding a suitable dentist for Eryn.

Lately, Eryn has been complaining of food getting stuck in her bottom right molar while Brendan seems to get food stuck in his molars on both side. Their molars seem to have small holes which could be the cause of food getting stuck. So far, there's no pain, but we will have to nip the problem, if any, before it gets worse.

The kids used to brush their kids on their own but now, hubby and I have taken the task of brushing it again and flossing it as well after they've brushed their teeth.

Looks like I have to take the two kids to Pristine Jalan Gasing. I called them up and booked a time for them some time next week and it was such a great pleasure to know that the nurse, Ms Prema, actually remembers Eryn.

academic result

Brendan and Eryn did extremely well in school and was positioned number two and number four respectively.

During the exam week, Brendan came back from school everyday saying that he can't answer some questions and don't think he can get good results. Well, I scold him to pay more attention in class instead of disturbing his little sister all the time. Deep in my heart, I wasn't particularly concern whether he'll be at the top in his age group especially Mandarin, since I can't read Chinese and was never the top in my class. I was placed in the top class through school but was never the top in class due to the pressure I felt from the top students and my involvement in extra curricular activities and practice in sports and netball.

Coming out from school, I was satisfied though, for being all-arounded and I didn't do too bad at all. Likewise, I would hope my kids to be well-rounded as well instead of being too studious. Emphasis would still be placed in their studies still, without giving the pressure that they're already facing in school.

Anyway, for Brendan to achieved 2nd place was indeed a surprise for the school principal and teachers and for me and hubby. The subject that pulled him down was Moral, which was really wierd for us. He achieved 100 for mathematics, 91.5 for Chinese, 98 for maths, 89 for BM and 82 for Moral. A big, big clap to you, Brendan.

They have very tough questions like identifying the Abdul Samad building, Twin Tower, Planetarium and KL Tower and stuffs like grammar errors and spellings. I think I only studied what Brendan is studying now when I was in year 2 or year 3!

Eryn was an even bigger surprise at 4th place as she only started school middle of this year. She has adopt a keen interest in books now and achieved 100 for Maths, 94 for English, 98 for Mandarin and 88 for English.

I wasn't very happy with the academic based in the beginning, but am now very pleased that I sent them there cos they seem to enjoy their kindergarten school. The teachers are very patient and kind in guiding them in all the reading and writing. They only need to come home and play and watch TV, without having to do any homework. For Brendan, going to primary school will not be the same anymore. I hope things turn out fine.

An example of Brendan's chinese paper - I don't understand what it's all about.


A page taken from Brendan's Moral paper - I don't understand this as well.


A page from Eryn's BM paper. "Ekor"?

kaya fun

Whenever we go back to our hometown, my mum will make a big pot full of kaya (a sweet and creamy coconut pandan jam cooked in gula melaka). Brendan and Eryn loves the kaya so much and will wait for their grandma (my mum) to finish cooking the kaya before they pester grandma to give them the empty pot.

They just love to lick from the pot. We pour the kaya out into a few jars but the kids only want to lick it from the pot. And they'll lick it clean. Brendan says that it's more fun to eat it that way. Oh boy!

When Brendan and Eryn knows that grandma is making kaya, they'll go chanting "I want kaya pot! I want kaya pot!" If only the kaya they want is the malay word kaya that means "rich". hehe

Brendan's entering Standard One

It was a tedious hassle more than two months ago when I learnt that my application for Brendan into SJK(C) School A was rejected. Thus, began my journey for appeal, going to School A and School B, the other school that Brendan was assigned to.

So, up and down I went, again and again. In my appeal form, I have to give two options for the appeal and all parents were advised by the parents to put two options in case the first option for School A was rejected.

Imagine, 90% of the application to School A were rejected. All because another school, let's call it School X, was undergoing renovation and were therefore, transferred to School A and School A has to be transferred to School B! I do wonder why can't they just transfer School X to School B instead.

So, back to my appeal form, I decided to only put one option and that is back to School A despite hearing that it's quite impossible to go back to School A. Well, I decided that's the way I want it to be and then, the waiting began.

I have yet to received the second letter, but went direct to School A yesterday morning to check for myself. The teacher was very doubtful that I could get it and went through the list, which is not in alphabetical order, one by one, and at page 3, I decided to help the teacher to search for it and immediately stumbled upon Brendan's name!! The other teachers were surprised and asked to double check on the full name and IC number.

Boy, am I glad to see that, but there were fury coming from other parents nearby, who were still appealing for the third time.

I don't know how good School A is as claimed by some parents, but the convenience is something that I've been asking for. I personally felt that our local kebangsaan school standard has dropped, unlike my time, when our teachers were so good.

In my search for schools early last year, I've checked out a few kebangsaan school and found that the teachers can't even speak proper English, what more teach! Oh dear... I can't read Chinese myself, but am glad that Brendan's current kindergarten principal is a well-qualified educator, who is able to provide some tutoring to Brendan in his early years.

It's going to be a new challenge next year. We'll see how it goes.

My boy turns 6

This post is so over-delay cos' Brendan celebrated his 6th birthday 2 weeks back and I'm only posting this up now.


I was looking back at old photos of Brendan and he has just changed so much, not just the look but the personality and his own independent decisions in knowing what to do at times. Then, looking back at my own pics then, I can see that I'm getting older as well!! aaarrgh...

Now, that's the sign of 'growing gracefully' cos I didn't know that I've aged (knock head!). I mean, the tell tale signs are there, I'm having backaches sometimes and getting tired and lack or energy at other times. To think I was a school sprinter and sports girl. Where has all the vim gone? I know! It went to the kids! haha



Anyway, just want my boy to grow up and enjoying his childhood fun..

girls will be girls

My little Eryn can be quite picky as to the type of clothes she wants to wear. On weekends, she'll want to wear a dress as I normally tries to avoid letting her wear a dress in the daycare as she runs and climb like a monkey. Imagine a girl in dress behaving so tomboyish. Nothing bad about that, but I don't trust perverts out there.

Whenever we go out, she'll sometimes request that she only wear a dress or skirt and not pants. She'll says, "all my girl friends wear pretty dresses every time". Oh well, she's a girl afterall. So, I'll let her be, depending on situation, but definitely not when we go to the park and swing on the monkey bars.

She likes to play make-up, comb her hair and look at the mirror, dance, sing, play princess and do the things most little girls like to do.

Monopoly

Now that I've left my full-time job and do my own business in freelance media and also, being in the financial services sector, I sometimes, teach my kids the value of money and the importance of not spending unnecesssarily.

And there's no better way I've found than the game of monopoly. Though, my kids may get frustrated when they're out of money and cry when they lose, the games somehow taught them the importance of proper planning and knowing what to invest when their monopoly money runs out.

At only age 6 and 4, I would never expect them to really grasp the importance of savings until Brendan came up to me and say, "Mummy, I think we don't buy this because it is not really important. We save the money and buy it next time ok?" or when Eryn came up to me in the shopping mall and say, "Mummy, I like this beautiful dress but no need to buy because I think it is expensive.."

Oh well, I was pleasantly surprised at their mature thinking. Well, they don't always say these unless something strucks their little mind, like the game of monopoly. Anyhow, instilling this experience is somehow fulfilling for me as a mother.

I remember starting my first investment into unit trust in my early 20s and buy my own insurance at the age of 20, and I'm glad that my own kids are beginning to understand the importance of savings at an even younger age.

naked fella next door

Oh boy! Our backdoor neighbour is undergoing some renovation and there's some contractor worker staying there at night. And this fella always walk around the house naked, except for his underwear. And there's no curtain over the windows.

What's he up to, I wonder.. He'll walk around like superman, drinking water while standing IN HIS UNDERWEAR, walk around IN HIS UNDERWEAR, scratching his crotch while IN HIS UNDERWEAR... aiyo

I'll always ask hubby to quickly come and stand with me when I'm washing dishes in case he sees me and thinks that I'm watching him. So susah payah have to close curtain now..

Eewww...........

Damn it!! It's so disgusting. Disgusting!! Must grab my camera next time and record it down.

Concert 2009

It's Brendan's and Eryn's very first concert and it was such a wonderful feeling having to attend my own two kids' performance 2 weekends ago.

Brendan was in a Mexican dance and he has grown from a very shy boy to a boy that is willing to dance in front of the crowd. Though his movements were a little stiff, he did give his very best and it was such a wonder how he has changed over two years.

Eryn, on the other hand, seems to be the 'leader' of the dance group, ever so talkative and so confident in her dance. She loves to dance and her body movement is just so natural. I'm considering sending her for a dance class - probably hip hop or modern dance. Ballets would be too rigid for her. hmm....

cooking made easy!

I finally found the way to save tons of time cooking yummy food, without needing much oil and eating it healthy.

Hubby has been telling me to get this cooker, but I had repeatly told him that I wasn't interested until I recently saw the demo done by our babysitter at a birthday party. She cooked 2 different dishes - marmite ribs and curry chicken. The marmite ribs were just simply delicious, one of the best that I've ever eaten, and all it needs is only 30 minutes in the cooker. The curry chicken was surprisingly lip-smacking good, with just 45 minutes cooking time in the cooker. She even made cheese cake using the cooker too! Altogether, there were 3 cookers. She just left it there for the whole 45 minutes, and only opening the curry chicken and ribs cover once to stir it a little, and that's it! No oil was added as well.

There are weekend cooking classes and recipes available at their outlets as well. We can even cook "pak cham kai", porridge, soup, and yummy dishes with it.

I was so convinced I had to just get one on the spot. I'm perfectly thrilled by this new found secret and just have to share it here. It's the buffalo brand smart cooker and it cost me RM768, but I'll be assured of nutritious food, easy cooking while I do my own stuffs and tah dah!... ready to eat..

Our babysitter is happy to organise a cooking demo for any group of mummies or anyone who is keen to learn more at her own house or at your own place. . I'd be most happy to join as well to see what new recipe she's introducing. hehe...

Love is in the air

This sight made me felt so warm and feeling good. I was eating my KFC, when out of the blue, Eryn started hugging Brendan.

Back at home, when Eryn give Brendan a hug, he'll scream at her. When Brendan tickles Eryn, Eryn will start whining for me. Oh boy! It was always a little battlefield at home. They tend to chase each other round the house and play 'catch me if you can', sometimes driving me up the wall with their non-stop action!

But this particular day, they both were just so good and I can't help but pull out my camera phone to snap photos of them.

Such a pretty sight, don't you think so?

medical attention?

My little girl was sick the whole of last week. She started having fever on last Monday and on Tuesday, we took her to see the dr and her temperature was at 38 degrees. She had fever, flu, cough, sore throat and was feeling very lethargic. We enquired on H1N1 and the dr says that she was merely having the normal viral infection and shouldn't be having H1N1 as the main concern would be for suspected patients who have just returned from infected countries as well as those who have direct contact with someone who is having H1N1.

We were relieved and were given the normal flu, cough & throat medicine for her. 2 days later, her fever hasn't gone down, and instead went up to almost 39 degrees. We send her to a 24 hours clinic in the middle of the night and was merely given suppositories to immediately reduce her fever.

By time time, I was furious as I requested for a blood test and was denied one, as the dr was not willing to do one. We sent her to a paeditrican the following day, for her third check-up and this dr too says that there is no need for concern. Our request for blood test again was denied. So, what does it take to get an ACTUAL medical test done?

There are so many deaths happening among children these days and what does it take for the medical centres to give prompt and MORE concern for such cases?

After having fever for one week, Eryn's fever has gone down, but I had shudder to think if something could have happened to her.

And with so many people coughing and hacking and sneezing around me, do I continue life as usual without being paranoid?

Lunch at Jogoya

Hubby and I took some 'couple time' off on one of the weekdays recently to have a Japanese buffet lunch at Jogoya Restaurant at Starhill, KL.

It was hubby's first time and a second time for me. I wasn't much excited this round compared to the first round when I ate and ate. Hubby and I love the sashimis, grilled eel, steamed garoupa, fresh oysters, steamed crabs, stir-fried beef and the soup. The garoupa was as big as me and the oyster was huge. The fragrant coconut was very nice - sweet and refreshing. The free flow of Haagen Dazs didn't seem to be satisfying as it was very hard to scope out from the ice-cream tub. Oh, of course, there's lots to offer - the tempuras, stir-frieds vegetables, claypot stuffs, pastas, handrolls, sushis, grills and teppanyakis, alcohol and wine, coffee and tea, fresh fruits and more..

I guess I shouldn't have taken my breakfast that morning and should have went on an empty stomach to fully feast on the spread they offered there.

Happy Mother's Day

Tomorrow morning, we'll all be going back to my hometown to celebrate Mother's Day with my mum as well as her birthday celebration.


As I was driving to work this morning, I heard a live call on radio about this lady who lied to her mother about busy to avoid going back to visit her mother during one Mother's Day weekend. Her mum was really upset. The most unfortunate thing that happen in that same week was that her mother passed away very suddenly and she didn't even got the chance to see her to say goodbye for the last time. It brought tears to my eyes to think of that.


Today, I had lunch with two lovely mothers and bought quite a number of gifts to give away to some friends who are mothers. Most of them were surprised by the gift, but for all that these mothers went through, and for all their devotion to their families, I thought that would bring joy to these lovely mummies...


Here's wishing all mummies, Happy Mother's Day to all.


Would love to share this story tand some beautiful verses that I received via email quite some time ago.


As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother".


But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars." The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."


He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."


She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.




The Mother's Day artcraft card that my darling Brendan made for me :-)

Pulau Ketam

As it was a public holiday last Friday, the whole family joined some friends and their familieis for a half day trip to Pulau Ketam. We boarded a ferry we booked from the South Port of Port Klang early in the morning to avoid the crowd.

It was the first time for the kids to ride in a ferry or a boat. In fact, it was hubby's and my first time going to the little Island. As we didn't want to go far and didn't want to spend unnecessary money to go on a trip admist all the jam and crowd, we decided to go 'local' after debating whether to go for an outstation trip or somewhere nearby.

It was quite a pleasant experience for us but I think the place could do better, with rubbish strewn everywhere under the houses. I see bottles, baby diapers, packages of rubbish all over. These stuffs takes hundreds and hundreds of years to be disposed of.

With only a population of around 20,000 people, the place is actually quite tranquil. Transportation is only via bicycle on land, with no sight of any vehicles or motorbikes on the road. There isn't much things to do there but the number of visitors coming to the Island after lunch hour does surprise us. We found out that most people go there to see the sunset and for seafood. I personally think that the seafood in other places are much more delicious.

On the way back to mainland, we made a quick stop at the fish farm. The most scary thing about the place is that it is guarded by 5 rottweilers. We were all told not to touch anything at the fish farm as the dogs will come charging at intruders who touch the things there, thinking that thieves are in action. This is because they are trained to identify thieves who normally come in the middle of the night to somehow steal some of fishes and things on board.

Overall, it was worth our Labour Day break outing.



The ferry we took to Pulau Ketam

Visit to the fish farm, which is on floating platforms and drums in the middle of the sea

Our very fresh seafood lunch.

Boats and vessels in the water.

The small little village in Pulau Ketam

Sound of Music

I came across this video on youtube and was overwhelmed with joy just watching the video.. Imagine how much this could turn someone's dull day into a bright one! There were more such similar stunts and I'm so amazed at this video that I just have to share :-)

It was a publicity promo for a Belgian tv program that is looking for someone to play the lead in "The Sound of Music" musical. Performed in the Central Station of Antwerp, a city in Belgium, more than 200 dancers performed to their version of "Do Re Mi" on the morning on 23rd March 2009.

Superimposition

Just for the fun of it :-D




Eryn and her princess dreams..




Brendan & his various 'poses'

Poh-poh's garden

My mum has interest in all things related to health and herbs and plants with medicinal value. so much so that she's taken to planting some stuffs in the little garden and balcony of my parents double storey house back in my kampung.

My favourite would be her little apple tree and the mulberry tree. The apple is small, but surprisingly sweet and crunchy and doesn't taste like apple at all. My kids love it so much.

The fruit from the mulberry tree has an extremely sweet taste! Brendan didn't like the look of it and didn't want to eat it but Eryn took a bite and kept asking for more. I learnt from my mum that the tree has medicinal values and the leaves can help anemia, dizzy spells, constipation, kidney problem and many other health problems.

My mum has what you call 'green fingers'. Her soil are extremely fertile as she uses only organic fertilising, through decomposition and natural fertiliser. There's corn (yes, the sweet and expensive type of jagung), strawberry, limau purut, to herbs and vegetables like kesum, mint and many more I can't recognise.

I've suddenly developed a love for certain herbs and plants, and wish I have a big garden for all that. I need a bigger house, well... a bigger garden actually.

Chap Goh Meh

It's chap goh meh (the 15th day of the chinese lunar year) and it happens to be a holiday! Wow, another year has passed and I shudder to think that age is actually catching up slowly, but surely.

I'm no longer that energetic person I used to be, going here and there and visiting here and there. I'd rather stay home and just take it easy. Actually, I attended the Selangor open house for the first time in my life at Sunway two days ago, not even knowing what I went there for. I was taken in by my aunt who told me to take my mum and kids to see some lion dance performance. The lion dance troupe were superb but the crowd was madness.

I remember CNY the way it used to be when I was little. My grandparents house were in the middle of some kampung, surrounded by lots and lots of trees and neighbours were far apart. My grandma and aunts would slaughter dozens of chicken and ducks and prepare a grand feast. We were always so excited on the first and second day of CNY, waking up early, shower and dress in our new and beautiful clothes that my mum would make for us.

Most of my 13 aunts and uncles would turn up at my grandparents' place. We kids will have a hell of a time, running around the kampung like we always do. Firecrackers were aplenty. We also observed the traditional CNY stuffs like not sweeping on the first few days of CNY, not washing our hair on the first day, and eating what we call CNY food which actually bore meanings.

Those were the days....

credits here

Full bloom

After coming back from hubby's hometown, we came back to KL for a few hours before we headed back to my hometown on the third day.

The biggest surprise that greeted me was the plant that I almosted wanted to throw away for a long, long time. The flower bloomed and was swaying from side to side, as though, waving its petals to say a little "Hi!" to me!

Oh, this is definitely a good sign of great things to come...

2009 - year of the Golden Ox

I hear the sound of firecrackers from afar. But there's not many of it and it seems pretty quiet this year compared to the past year.

This year, we left for KB on Friday night 9pm, stopped for an hour plus at a petrol station near Gua Musang and proceed back to hubby's hometown. We arrived there at around 6am!! I hate the long journey there. Oh boy... CNY in KB is very different - the mood is not really there, maybe the chinese celebrate it in their own way, the Kelantanese style, and food is basically Kelantanese food. Well, not the typical chinese celebration but more of the Kelantanese style. The migration of chinese from China to this part of the world has definitely changed their mindset and lifestyle, even weddings are different! At least for me.....

We headed back to Kluang on the 3rd day of CNY, i.e. on Wednesday. That's always the most wonderful part of CNY where we get to embrace the full chinese new year atmosphere. Food was aplenty, and my dad will cook up a storm of dishes. Prawns, hainanese chicken, mixed vegs, fish, noodles, sea cucumber, spring roll and more are a must every CNY. All home-cooked and yummy..

It was a great time of get -together once again. We had a gathering in an aunt's house. Out of the 13 aunts and uncles and 41 cousins plus around 20 grand-cousins, only a quarter of us were there, but that was enough to bring up the mood and environment.

The kids had fever in KB caused by viral infection, followed by cough and flu. Brendan even vomitted a few times. There's lack of water there and I suspect that the water there is very unhygienic. Overall, they enjoyed their trip - the eating, the playing, the dancing and more..

I'm just hoping that this Ox year will be one that will wade through the rocky waves and comes out bullish in the coming years...

Family gathering - part of my mum's family

Brendan and Eryn with my good friends' kids. Brendan and Keysha are born 2 months apart. Eryn and Chloe are born 2 months apart as well.

Brendan & Eryn playing with some of my cousins' kids

The kids buckled up in their seat belts with their poh-poh behind.

Chinese paper lanterns

Over the weekend, I did some simple paper lanterns and luck fishes to be hanged around the house as CNY decorations.

I took out some old ang pow packets and started doing it just for the fun of it. I use recycled and unused ang pow packets for my DIY decorations.

Here's some simple instructions on the lucky fishes which is easy to make for kids and adults alike. Err.... I hope it's simple to understand here :P

The paper lantern the kids helped to make. looks kinda messy but it's great fun!