Sweet things...

Having fun with mummy....

Its nearly the end of summer here. It doesn't really feels like its summer anyways, with the frequent rain and cloudy weather. But we need to appreciate what we've got and while it lasted... So we were basically having all our lunch and dinners on our balcony when its not raining or windy.

Opps... Papa you want to join in too?

Speaking of which, Owen is getting cuter by the day! hehehehe.... Its really amazing to see babies grow and passing each mile stone with such joy and laughter! He didn't really want smile and laugh for the first two months or so... But then lo and behold, he started to laugh/smile to us rather than in his sleep! My heart really melt away whenever I see him smile/laugh. He has such a cheeky laugh at that.... I do hope that he'll be able to keep his smile/laughter like this when he's grown.... *sigh And he is such a "talker" now. The house doesn't seem all quiet and boring now..... Except when he's sleeping that is.

Home made Tiramisu. Looks good no?

Its been awhile since I've made Tiramisu for hubs. So last weekend I made some; a small and a big tray. The small tray goes to hubs (ALONE!?!) while the big one went to our apartment block BBQ party potluck. I actually wanted to make Thai papaya salad, but seeing that its all old ang mohs in our building, I'd rather not. Don't want to have the ambulance ferry them to the hospital for the burns on their tongue! The potluck was a good one, where we get to meet basically all family members living here. And there was the food.... Sayang never bring my camera there! BUT there's another potluck coming this X'mas, where the menu would be cheese fondue (I LOVE FONDUE: cheese AND chocolate!) and or raclette (pronouced as ra-ke-let): ham and or steamed potatoes topped off with melted cheese.... YUUMMMMYYYY!! I PROMISE THERE WOULD BE PICTURES THIS TIME!

My nasi lemak... too bad no sambal petai!

Its also been awhile since I had nasi lemak. I remembered the 1st time I made nasi lemak. It was rather uncook.... But this time it taste not bad (according to hubs). Would love to make sambal udang petai but instead made curry chicken to go with the rice. Hubs really detest petai and the ikan bilis. Never mind-lor... more ikan bilis for me! hehehehehe....

How can anyone do this?

Just today I received an e-mail from a friend with a video attachment. This video attachment is horrible! It shows a girl student, whom I think is about 13 or 14 years old, doing something that a child of her age is not supposed to do with a teacher in a school toilet! This video I think was taken by someone, a teacher seemingly, who seemed to know what and where they are doing it. Finally when they were caught, the girl seemed to be bleeding was comforted by a female teacher, while the male teacher walk as if nothing is wrong! There's however a male voice on the background (male speaking in fluent Malay, apparently A TEACHER who was filming this video!) scolding the girl ;"Nak bogel? Bogel sekarang! Tak nak cikgu... Apa tak nak cikgu? Dah buat tapi tak nak pulak! (appearently the girl doesn't want to be filmed) Banyak cakap buat apa? Nak cakap depan kamera-lah!" I mean what is wrong in this description?

A paedophile pornography video is spreading on the Internet via e-mails and the person (a women at that!) who sent this file (where the file was originated from) has the cheek to say "Berhati-hati.. Bebudak sekarang lagi expert dari kiter dedulu..."! Again, what's wrong with this description?

My questions are these;

1. Why go to the trouble to upload this video online (video was taken from a mobile phone, judging from poor image quality) and spread it through e-mail in the 1st place? What does this person gain from it?


2. Why is there a women involved in sending the original e-mail? I've always thought that a women's role in society is to protect and guide children most of all. Has the role changed ithis decade? What if this happens to their very own children?


3. Why was a teacher filming this and doing this despicable act in the 1st place? Children in school are suppose to be safe. Teacher's at school ARE SUPPOSE TO KEEP THEM SAFE rather than do harm to them.


4. Why was the girl blamed? Seriously, when we were 13 or 14 we didn't know any better. I don't think the girl know any better either. She's just A CHILD, for goodness! Did the teacher try to find out first why she did it before being scolded? May be she was "forced" to do because if she doesn't the teacher will do something else to her?

As a parent, I'm utterly shocked to see such thing happening in our schools. As an adult, I also shocked to find out that a friend sent it to me (for what ever reason, I fail to know as I don't enjoy receiving such e-mails) and are forwarding it far and wide! Hence I returned the e-mail to the original sender and to the friend.

Paedophile is a serious case here in Europe and I bet its the same in places like Cambodia, Vietnam etc. But what are we doing to protect our children in Malaysia? We spread e-mails like this! How un-moral could this get, when we Malaysians pride ourselves to be morally educated!?! The irony is this could be happening to your child or someone you know. So please if you EVER get such e-mails, return it to the original sender and ask them what if it happens to their own child. Would they want videos of their child to be spread far and wide as well? Think not.

Thanks Mum!

Mum and I...

From today onwards, it will be just the three of us here. Mum just got onto the plane this morning heading back home to Malaysia. I'm pretty sure that she's glad to go home after spending more than 2 months here in Switzerland. But at the same time a little sad to leave us again, especially Owen, since we'll be only going back in 2 years time and since we've just been home this year.

As for me, I'm a little sad and happy to see her go. Sad because I'll be a little be more lonely with no one to talk adult with except baby talk and to share some of my deepest thoughts with. There are still somethings we don't share with our husbands like we share with our mums. Happy because I know that its really boring for her here; no common kaki to chat and to go out with, no Chinese TV drama to watch and basically just nothing much to do! And I know that she misses my dad, although she doesn't show it. At least at home I know that my dad and sister is her personal taxi, she has a garden to tend to, a dog to walk with, neighbours and friends to chat to, go for morning walks or breakfasts with etc. Suddenly it dawned upon me that my life here is so much quieter than the one she leads!

Three generations....

Dad and sis kept on asking me if I'm going to be fine with the baby after mum leave. Well, I'm sure I'll be able to handle things as time goes by, just as did mum handle it when she had me and sis. I think I'm better off now compare to the time mum did when she had to take care of me, my sick grandmother, dad and the rest of the family (grandpa, dad's younger brother and sister and not to mention my adopted elder sister). When I think of it, I can not imagine how she's able to carry out daily tasks and still had to listen to complaints from my uncle and aunt?!? All i can say is, if she's able to do it, why not me? The only person that's going to complaint about things not going as smooth as before is only hubs. So I consider myself lucky.

They say one could see how much of their mother they resemble than they think they are. When I see my hands, I see my mothers'. Except with less wrinkles! hehehee... The saying; You are your mothers' daughter, rings true in every women. In fact I sometimes catch myself behaving, thinking or even talking like mum, it scares me!

So here I'd like to say; Thanks mum for being there for me, for reminding me about things that I should care more about, for being a great b&#%hing/shopping/cooking/TV drama watching partner, for being the person you are and for loving a pain in the neck daughter like me!

I'm BACK... at home

For my little hunny-bunny!

After being in the hospital for a week, both of us are so eager to get home ASAP. The first 2 nights at home for Owen was a big adjustment. It smells and feels different from what he's used to, in this case the hospital feel. He cries non-stop for 45 mins or so before he falls asleep. He cries ONLY after midnight. With three of us carrying him around our small apartment and humming (not singing, can not sing mar!) lullabies, he still refuses to sleep at times. When he cries, I seriously think everyone in our block wakes up!! But then again, what can they do when a baby cries like that?

The first 3 weeks of his life, was my life in hell as he wakes to feed every 2 and half or 3 hours. This guy feeds slowly (I mean real slowly). Which is good for digestion but bad for us in the middle of the night. He'll fall asleep half way through! So with the help of a visiting mid-wife, we finally made him a little bit more alert when its feeding time rather than falling asleep all the time. As part of post-natal care, you get 10 visits for breast feeding and or child care advices from these mid-wives (fully trained experienced people), and its fully covered by your personal insurance.

Hmmm... Shall I cry again tonite or not?

For the moment he's quite easy to handle, except that he makes this funny of noise each time after feeding and while sleeping. Sounds just like long hmms, like going to the loo for the big one!According to my mum, its the "piglet" noise! hehehehe... But for hubs, its just "too" noisy for him; "why did he just cry out loud?!". But seriously, which sounds less in the middle of the night; the long and low hmms or the loud and sometimes even louder cries? Men, I just don't get it sometimes....

Owen sunbathing...

For those whose wondering about my confinement month... Well, honestly its just plain boring but I think I could gt used to it! hehehehe.... Yes, I did wash my hair and shower but only every 2 days since we have hot water. What I don't really like was the rice wine my mum literally forced me to drink every day. And its even cooked with my meals (made together with lots and lots of ginger)!!! I think I was drunk everyday, together with Owen! If you're wondering, did I taste my own breast milk? Yes, I did and I made hubs taste it also. He says it taste like low fat milk with ginger (thanks to mum!). Well this low fat milk is actually full of useful calories and vitamins.

We were moving within a few weeks after the hospital stay. Moving home is not a very pleasing experience. Especially when you have a crying baby getting use to the new "smell" of the place! At the moment we are getting the feel of our new home and I'm still getting the hang of my "new" kitchen... hehehehe...

I'm BACK.... from the hospital

Our baby boy

Pheww... Its been a long time since my last blog. Weelll...... Have been pretty busy these few month; first with the arrival of our baby boy; Owen and second with the moving into our new home.

Our son was born 10 days later than the expected due date, thus this little guy weights 3.99kg at birth. We didn't expect (well I) at all for him to be this big a size. Even from the look of my tummy during pregnancy, we were expecting him to be max at 3.5kg. Hhmmmm... I wonder where he could be hiding inside me. Anyways, the delivery was provoked, or induced as some people put it, in an ungodly hours of the morning!! My water broke just as I was about to enjoy my breakfast IN BED. I've NEVER had breakfast IN BED before, and guess I will never get to enjoy it huh? As my contractions were getting closer and closer (in other words, more and more painful-lah!), I regretted not having the peridural anesthesia in the first place. In what seems like hours of work, I finally agreed to take the peridural anesthesia but I had to wait for the anaesthetist, which took another hour or so for him to arrive. All I was thinking of that time was; "Where the hell is that guy?!? Go toilet also not that long-lah!!"

The proud papa

It was basically 6pm in the evening, when they (mid-wives and doctors) told me this: "The baby's head couldn't go thru, you have to have a C-section". I wanted to shout at them: "WHA-LAU EH! You guys put me through basically 6 hours of work and finally you tell me this?!? Wouldn't it easier for everyone if you've told me earlier?" Owen was born 2 and half hours later. The operation lasted only 30 mins!! If I've known earlier, a C-section would have save everyone the work, time and pain.And its a good thing that its done finally, as the umbilical cord was around his neck when he came out!

Kiss.....

Can't say he was the most adorable baby there as I was too tired to notice anything, and all I wanted to do was to sleep! Hubs was with me since early in the morning and he was so excited to be tired I think. I only saw Owen pretty much later for his first breast milk, after they cleaned him up and do whatever they had to do with him. Hubs got to give him his first bath on the same night he was born and me on the third day. The nurses were nice enough to show us how to bathe, dress and feed him.

As I was feeding him, I've realised how big (and round) he look like! And it got me thinking, where in the world was he hiding inside me as throughout my pregnancy, my tummy don't look big at all even at full term! Breast feeding for the first time really hurts, my nipples were so soar after the 3rd day... :( We ended up using the nipple shell as mine were bleeing a bit, as this little guy is so greedy and need to learn how to latch on properly! hehehehe....

One of my many dinners; Mashed potatos, steamed carrots, Vegie & tofu squres with fresh fruits and a fruit milkshake (not with ice-cream but milk)

What can I say about the stay at the hospital? For C-sections, I had to stay for 6 days (not counting the delivery day) as they had to remove the stitches. There's only 1 thread to remove and I was lucky that they some what forced me to get up the next day after delivery so that its less painful during the removal process. Okies enough about this, not to scare later mums to be... I've had my share of tasteless and overcooked hospital food throughout the years (and more to come, I think). But this time round, the food was not bad at all! We even have the whole week menu posted in the rooms. That way, no surprises (if you know what I mean). I get tell them what I don't eat etc once I was admitted, which is great. I remember I didn't get to do this when I was admitted in University Hospital years ago. But of course don't have Asian food, only Mat Shalleh food-lah!

How cute is this dessert?

As days past by, it was time to go back home. While checking out, the nurses at the nursery were abit sad to see Owen leave. He's the only Asian baby around, and since he's such a big sturdy boy, everyone just loves to carry him around!

Stitching Competition!

Just a little note out to stitchers out there. One of my dear friend, Barbara, who owns The Sanguine Store, is having a stitching competition using Carrie's Thread. I won't be participating, unfortunately due to a busy schedule ahead... *wink *wink

Now to access directly to the competition Do's and Don'ts, click here. You could e-mail Barbara directly from there to ask any questions that you may have. I hope that you guys will enjoy stitching the chart, as its a really lovely chart! Good luck!

Finally!

Its over! Thank goodness its finally OVER! I'm talking about the French Presidential Election. It has been going on and on for several week/months now. And basically I'm getting sick of hearing about it every other day!

And mind you the French can go on and on about it. Be it what is Mrs Royal is eating to what Mr Sarkozy is wearing (what colour and why!!). If I were to elect a candidate, I don't really care what he/she is eating or wearing. What matters most is what he/she is capable in doing for the country. Gees! Talking about something to talk about. More like something to gossip about no?

Well no guessing game here who won anyways. My curiosity is that why didn't the left wing won the majority veto when Mrs Royal is such a popular choice with the people? I think it has a lot to do with their socialist policies which I really think quite "traditional" in terms of catching up with the times now. Its not that I disagree with them but honestly it needs polishing up a little.

Like the one with the generalisation of the 35 hours work week. My logic is that, if you want to earn more, then work more. She logic is that of not everyone wants to work more to earn more..... Hmm.... Yes its true that if one works more, they won't be able to have the family life they wanted to have. But what about those people who don't have children? Or don't want to have children? These people are a plenty here in Europe. We can not condemn them to earn the minimum no? Its unfair to singles/married people without children. what are they going to do with all those "extra" holidays they have when they can't even go off for a nice vacation just because they are earning the minimum wage?

Are people now just happy to be earning the minimum wage? May be. May be not. I'm sure many young/middle aged people aren't. Living costs are going up every year and not to mention consumerism. People may want to earn more may be not just because to buy things or go for a round the world tour but for a better retirement later in life or for better education/well being of their children.

But then again, it is a fact that the more we earn, the more we tend to spend! Its a fact and I think one has to be disciplined enough to put something aside. I know myself, I tend to be succumbed to spending on little things I don't really need at times. That's unless I spent at least 30 mins in the store staring that that thing and at the same time snapping myself out of it! which in any case happens not that often.... That's why now I've resigned myself to staying in instead of going out for no reason and stitch! But I still have to keep myself out of online shops from time to time! ARRGGHHH!!.....

Cake anyone?

Which is better? Cake with flash?

Lately I've been on a "house arrest" by my gyne and hubs. Its soo..... BORING to just stay at home and almost always doing stitching (well this is not boring but strains my back from time to time). So I decided to bake a cake for tea yesterday.

This recipe was borrowed from Amy Beh of Kuali.com, called Orange Raisin Butter Cake. Hmm.... I don't think its suppose to be called that way though since I've used more cherries than mentioned in the recipe. Why not Orange, Cherry and Raisin Butter Cake? And mind you we don't have cherries yet. More like have to wait till end of May or June for fresh cherries to arrive at the market place.

So instead of fresh cherries I used FROZEN ones! hehehehe... The miracles of food technology now! And since I don't have self-raising flour on hand, had to mix my own.... Nowadays, I like using slightly brown cane sugar than white sugar. I think it has to do with the taste. Plus I heard that white sugar has more calories than cane sugar since white sugar here are produced from a kind of sweet potato. Anyway, I don't really care from where or what its produced from, I just like the taste of cane sugar better.

OR without flash?

And the final result? 2 loaf of really nice smelling cake baking in the oven ready for tea! A nice break from stitching I could say so myself no?

Finally finished....

This didn't take me long to finish actually but then again knowing how lazy I am these few weeks.... I can feel someone staring at me with a rotan liow!.....

We haven't really decide yet on the name so this will only be 100% finished and framed hopefully before end of June! My wish now is that this little one will come not too late and not too early as I'm beginning to feel the hot flashes now and then. Yes its spring here but doesn't really feel like spring, as its suppose to rain but there's been not a drop for a few weeks and the temperature has been climbing steadily up!

So next on my list is to actually finish my 9 koi crap!! Its been an UFO since last year..... And then actually start on our wedding sampler... Hubs has been saying for quite some time; Wei! You stitch for your friend wedding sampler but for us nothing is it?.... Its not that I don't want to but can not find a nice one up till our trip to Miami recently. And mind you, I actually over spent on stashing while we're there that I'm now on a stash diet till after Christmas!! What did I buy then? Well, actually these stash I think can lasts me till after Christmas.... I actually bought enough stash for the whole year of stitching and some sewing..... :p I know, I know.... But I like to plan ahead but the thing is about seeing them through the finish line is a bit hard. So I'm crossing my fingers!

Can't wait any longer!!

Was meaning to put up a picture of the my finished Forever Friends Wedding sampler a week ago. But since its going to girlfriend who got married last month, I'm now not even sure if it has reached her safely or not?! So decided to go ahead and post this picture... What to do, can not tahan liow! hehehehehe... I just hope that they will like it.....

May you grow old together!

As soon as I got this mailed out, I got out a birth sampler for our little angel. Got this some time back while in Paris on a stashing sale spree/summer sale.... Well I can't say its a sampler, but got the chart just because it looks cute and it was on SALE! So now I'm going to put it into good use! hehehehhe....

A baby bunny in the making....

I just wish I could make another trip this summer again for the sale in Paris. But then again may be not, as I can not imagine myself maneuvering the stroller (with all the baby stuff) in Paris metro stations alone! And on top of that, that place is not very child/stroller friendly place..... So I guess I'll be on a stash diet for sometime till may be Christmas or after New Year? Pray that I can tahan till then! But then again, can go on-line shopping what?! hehehehehe....

Purchases for the kid

Do they look familiar to us Malaysians? Except of course the model baby-lah!

Was browsing the net yesterday looking for some kiddy stuff online. Just doing some online window shopping, if you know what I mean.

So I just simply typed on Google search for "baby rocker/bouncer" and guess what? I found it online selling for Euro 300.- plus including DHL delivery!!! I was so shocked to actually see the price of this item produced an Australian company (not entirely sure here), that I had to check out the price again; TWICE! There's a similar product, this produced by a Swiss company which costs about CHF200.-. And mind you, this product has been around for only a few years back, say since 2004 or so? And as far as I can remember, baby rocker/bouncer existed in Malaysia since I was born! And that's about more than 25 years ago!

The online product I saw doesn't look as solid as the ones we have at home. And ours even have wheels attached at the bottom and its much bigger in size compare to theirs! My point is; WHY DIDN'T WE MALAYSIANS MARKET THIS STUFF OUT TO THE WORLD AGES AGO? We could have "sapu" the market up first than let the ang mohs make a huge profit out of it.....

Its not that we don't have the capabilities to actually change the product to suit the market, its just that I think that either we're just too concentrated on our own country that we forget about there's the rest of the world out there, whose money we could earn from. OR we Malaysians are just plain too lazy to think about the global market until recently? And recently, I can tell you there's only a handful of products listed as Made in Malaysia and most of them consist of food items! I haven't seen any Malaysian Batiks around here either, be it in France or Switzerland, since they make so much hype about marketing this art to the world a few years back.

And why are they only making these so called "road-shows" locally and yet their main objectives are going globally.... There are so many exhibition or road-shows they could find out and join. Like the Eclat De Mode, Interselection, World Food Show in Paris, HANDARBEIT & HOBBY in Germany, Hobbycrafts-Birmingham, the U.K etc... Perhaps joining trade shows aren't enough, due to the costs etc. Perhaps, what we really need is a better chain of supply, i.e. better websites which is updated frequently for a better and safer online shopping experience? I mean if other SMIs around the world can do it, why not SMIs in Malaysia? Think about this, they (the SMIs) could go directly to their customers, cutting off the need of the middle man, thus cutting out the cost. B dealing directly with the customers, they could also find out what's the current market trend etc because there's communication.

Oh well! Its always easier said than done isn't it? But I believe that if there's a will there's always away. So for now we're just content in getting the crib instead of the baby rocker.

Choosing baby names...

Its hard work I tell you! There are so many names that one can find online these days and for free! I don't understand why they still produce baby names book anyway? I seriously don't think its worth the money to buy them as you'll be only using it for say 2 or 3 kids (or more if you like) and will either give them or throw them away.... And let me tell you, even if you buy it, you don't necessary choose a name from it! This is because may be the names are too "unique"/special to even say it out loud (on top of your lungs) when you're angry at him/her later for being naughty....

There's always the telephone directory if you don't have internet excess or go temple (Buddhist/Hindu) for the priest/monk to help one choose a name. But then again this will cost you several Ringgit as you need to make a small "donation" to them. OR do what one of my friend suggested, go thru the Bible (no pun intended here)! One will bound to find a name there right?

As for us, we're still looking around online. Chose a few of them that we like and could actually say it when we're angry. Why a few? Because from there we can stream it down to the ones we really (REALLY) like and that can be translated into Mandarin. Why translate an English/French etc sounding names into Mandarin? Well let's just say, when you're born Chinese, you'll always be a Chinese no matter how "banana" you turn out to be later in life! Plus I find that it's better, short, sweet and simple to look at; be it on the birth certificate, ID, driving licence etc. Our reason is why have long names? Why complicate things? I'm not saying that by having an English/French name on top of Chinese ones aren't nice but its just too long don't you think?

Recently, one of my SIL called and ask us what are we going to call our baby. So hubs just casually say the ones we chose and that we're not definitive on any of them, although we already have one special name in mind but didn't tell her yet. She was like;" all of them is nice but too American/English. Don't you want to have a French name?". Its not that we don't want a French name, just that we find it difficult to translate it into 2 syllable in Mandarin! And plus you don't need a French name to be French or have French nationality! Look at Johnny Hallyday! His name isn't French, more American than French and yet he's the famous French singer! Or Bruce Willis, his is more French and yet this actor is American. So my point it, you don't have to be that particular nationality to have the name!

Names play vital part in our lives. Without them, we can't tell who is who! Naming children happens to be the job of the parent of the child in question nowadays. Unless of course you have to follow "orders" from your ancestors, like this generation have to have this name included and next generation have to have that name included etc. Then my friend, you're in deep waters liow.... Sometimes the business of naming a child could turn a family upside down with different opinions from every family members; "this name too common, not nice, to difficult to pronounce" etc. My sister was basically on the verge of break down every time her in-laws talk about this matter before Evelyn was born! This is just because want to "jaga hati orang tua" a.k.a, give face to old people. I though that I won't face problem this until now from my SIL!!!

My thinking is, we'll be the ones facing our kid 24/7/365 for the rest of our natural lives. What has naming our own kid has anything to do with you? I don't recall us saying anything when you guys were naming YOUR kid?! And its not that the name you chose for your kid is any nicer than the one we choose for our kid.

There! Got it out of my system. Advice for future parents; naming your kid is YOUR OWN BUSINESS. Even though other family members, especially parents, siblings or in-laws, may have their own opinions, just listen to them but name your child as you want in the end. OR better yet, just tell them, "Why don't you have your OWN kid to name after?"

3-D ultrasound...

Our little sleepy head....

Yesterday was an exciting day for both of us... We went to see an ultrasound "specialist" for a 3-D of our angle. Learnt about this place from our birthing class just this week. Another couple wanted to do it but I think was scheduled at a later date.

Its really amazing to actually watch your baby before he/she is even born! The best part of the entire 1 hour or so was we get got to see our baby yawn and in action on the over projector from the ultrasound. Needless to say both of us were just speechless as we watch silently. I didn't know babies could yawn or make funny faces while being inside....

The best of all is we get a CD and DVD, with 2 print outs (from any image we choose) for the price we paid. Which is not cheap since its just for the "fun" of it. Apparently here, these images can not be considered as the official ultrasound scan that our doctor uses. Well to make the "photo album" the images taken were 1st "cleaned" up by the technician. Its like using a basic Photo Shop or Paint Shop Pro to lighten, "cut" away unwanted "hats" etc and to "turn" the image around. No, we can not add or make major changes to the image, like drawing a moustache or making the eyes look bigger etc. Any ways, we can't even see the eyes here since its shut!

There are some difficult part when it comes to this. Sometimes the baby in question, is hiding some where in there and we can't seem to see him/her/them! We almost couldn't see ours face-to-face but with some chocolates, our baby was at least "reacting" to the taste! hehehehehe.... Ah... the wonders of cocoa! I hope our baby will not fall for chocolates that soon yet though.....

What I've been up to lately...

Hmm... Its difficult to precisely put it in order. Well let me start from the time I got back from home, a.k.a Malaysia. For the 1st week, lots of washing and cleaning to do around the house. You can never leave a man alone too long at home; the only thing he'll do for you is vacuum the place. Laundry? lets just say he does only his own when he HAS/FORCED to do it. Coming home was not all relax, take it easy and all. I had to rearrange stuffs that we got from home. Basically almost half the stuff belongs to hubs. I didn't go crazy this time, unfortunately....

WIP - Forever Friends wedding sampler

Then there's an annoucement made by my dear friend whose getting married in a weeks time. I was planning to stitch a wedding sampler for them as gifts at least a month before their wedding but she decides to "drop the bomb" on me just as we were about to fly back..... So its a rush job for at least a week now. Well not exactly a "rush" thingy if you consider how many hours I put in to stitch it; 2 hours max and not everyday..... I can hear my mum saying; "Get your lazy bum together and get moving!"

We recently enrolled ourselves in a course that's called; preparation for birth. Which teaches and discusses everything about being pregnant, the development of baby for 9 months, positions of giving birth, breastfeeding methods to taking care of him/her on returning from hospital. Mind you, there's just 8 classes in which both of us have to attend in the evenings, once a week. Its nice to get to meet other expectant mothers but its even better to get to know how to "do it" and what to do when the time comes. Just pray that hubs don't get all panicky etc by then! these classes are conducted by a mid-wife (a certified one-lah!) and is reimbursed at least half by our personal insurance, which is GREAT!

And then lately, we've been a little busy looking up on baby products; clothing's, cribs, strollers and what nots. There are so many brands out there and wide range of prices that comes with it. Baby products are not cheap every where in the world, be it from Canada, to Malaysia to Australia! So we decided to make a list of only necessities and not niceties. We seriously don't think a baby is going to care what his/her room will look like, in what colour combination and does it have laces or cars. Amongst the few things we got was a sturdy crib, along with its mattress and sheets, a tub, a stroller and also a child/baby car seat.

Babies grow up fast as well, in a month or two, expensive and most likely 1st hand clothing will either not fit them and or worn only once or twice, which is a waste of money. So what I did was to take in hand-me-downs from my sister and sister-in-laws. Its not that I'm being stingy, it just that I don't see the point of buying new and or expensive clothing for babies. But when they grow older, may be, may be not. I remember the time when we wore hand-me-downs from my cousins. The only time mum bought any new (or sew) clothing for us was before Chinese New Year and during the once a year grand sale. The maximum both of us could buy was 3 pieces each, which already costs a bomb for my dad.

Oh well, we'll just have to see how far we can stretch our budget for our kids as they grow. For the moment, I just got half the clothing from my sister, some 2nd hand ones from a shop selling them and only 3 brand new ones. I'm still waiting for more clothing to come from my sister-in-laws when they come over for a visit this June.

Was a really short trip...

Welcome to the Year of the Boar! HK Times Square.....

Its been a month since I've up kept anything here. Reason being I was back home in KL for the whole month of Feb, just in time for CNY. Well a month came and went! How time files!

The first week when I arrived, was sick! That's a really great way to began the week, no? I'm blaming my sister for not telling me she's recovering from flu BEFORE she decides to pick me up from the airport... But then again, if she didn't come pick me up, I won't be able to get to see my adorable niece, Evelyn! She's a ball of fire right! Have a feeling that she'll break lots hearts later...

The little angle in disguise with mummy...

This time around I feel the weather is not like the usual CNY time weather. It used to be hot and dry come every CNY but this time, its cloudy, rainy and really humid/heavy. I was really uncomfortable, added up with the double body heat and the weight of it all. Man... I can tell you the whole month I was grouchy like Oscar in Sesame Street!

To add up with the grouchiness, I had to re-faced the way Malaysians drive on the road! Sad to say even with what the traffic police etc is doing now, it's still the same scenario 2 years back! People just don't signal to where they want to go. Better yet, they don't know which lane they are suppose to be in or go to, and queue cutting is just so normal now. Crossing the street via pedestrian walk way is just as hazardous as crossing without it! There's once I was crossing half-way through the zebra crossing at IKEA parking. This middle aged guy in a big BMW won't even let me cross through it. He just make sure that HE CROSSES FIRST by speeding just 2 meters across the bumper to make sure he gets there! I mean, wait a minute. Its just 4 more steps for me to cross!! sigh... Selfishness and being too proud is the key word here. Everyone does it and have it in them, even my dad! So this time around he got both ear full from me...

Then the signboards going to IKEA or any other places: Putrajaya, Cyberjaya etc. Really bad! I mean how can you place them on the junction? Isn't it suppose to be at least 5 or even 10 meters BEFORE the junction? And what's with tress covering all those signboards? Ok, may be the municipal wants a green image for their town, but its not really funny when drivers gets lost at the same time wasting fuel and time. Petrol isn't dirt cheap now.

Hubs and the tank

Any ways, places that me and hubs did go to was the KLCC Aquaria. How can we sum it up? Entry ticket was RM28.- for Malaysians and RM38.- for non-Malaysians - EXPENSIVE! Why? Because besides their "main attractions; the underwater tunnel, the seemingly small aqua theater, the "trapped" weird and wonderful creatures/tube tank and their over BIG gift shop, there's really nothing to shout about. What really disappoints me is that there's no enforcement of camera flashes being used for picture taking and the noise kids tend to make while on their visit. Didn't they know, camera flash lights, plus the shouting and screaming of kids could stress the animals/fishes/reptiles etc? Needless to say, we didn't enjoy our visit there at all.

Look out for the shark!

The crystal clear pool.....

What we did enjoy was the numerous makan trips, window shopping and also our visit to Avillion at Port Dickson. Avillion was expensive but the place was great for a weekend get away from the city. We took the water chalet and it was gorgeous! The open shower concept, which brings in natural light into the whole bathroom area, reminds me of back at my maternal grandparents place in Kuala Pilah. I really like the property but too bad the sea is a bit off to swim in. Well, we'll just make do with their lovely pool instead!

Hong Kong night light....

We did however make a quick trip to Hong Kong to see my brother-in-law. Was our first trip there and surprisingly it was not as cold as friends tell us this time around would be. What can I say about Hong Kong? Many people; people mountain, people sea, lots of skyscrapers, tiny walkways, great shopping places; so many shops, so little time and MONEY (!), good food; if you know where to dine in, and clean streets with no sign of traffic jams! And did I mentioned there more taxis than privately own cars? And get this, any Tom, Dick and Jane could be seen with a Louis Vuitton bag. I've never seen so many LVs around, even in Switzerland! And I don't know if its fake or not! Any ways, I'm not bothered as am not a fan of LV, Gucci and Prada. Too common brands and too many fake goods around....

Well that's the resume of our trip. Was fun but tiring and short. There are how ever some points I may leave out. Will blog about them the next time eh?

The sun, sea and sand II

The other thing about Miami is that almost everyone owns a trunk (the giant ones) or a Bentley. We've lost count of the numbers of these vehicles that pasts us by one find morning at Jerry's having breakfast of pancakes and what nots...

I love pancakes, American style! Its so soft and tasty with maple syrup or tiny dots of salted butter.. hehehehe... Then there's pretzels... Oo.... I miss Auntie Anne's pretzels at home. Funny I can't seem to find them here in Miami. And you should have seen the rows and choices of snacks, cookies, soft drinks etc they've got on their supermarket shelves!! Can fight with M'sian Giant or Carrefour anywhere! One thing that seems to be missing is the choice of yogurt. Well coming from an overflow of milk country, i.e. Switzerland, the choice seems really limited. May be US consumers aren't that adventurous on their yogurt choice?

Back to the trip. I did managed to do some shopping. Well not much since we've got only 1 luggage with us. We went to The Cross Stitch Station on our second day. This shop was supposed to be close on Mondays but Janet, the owner, was nice enough to let us in! THANKS A BUNCH JANET! I took my time (but not really my own sweet time as hubs was waiting!) browsing through her charts (there were so many!), kits, floss etc. I wanted to buy so much stuff but I kept reminding myself that I'm here to get what I need and there's just simply no space to get everything here! *sigh.... In the end I got some of The Gentle Art and Needle Necessities over dyed threads, a 28 count Zweigart rose fabric, some charms and charts from The Sweet Heart Tree (The Love Sampler), Forever In My Heart (Words to Love By) and a secret chart by JBW designs. I'm amazed this time at myself at not actually causing a meteoroid crater on my credit card!

Later on the second last day, we went deep sea fishing. There's a whole lot of difference between deep sea fishing here in the States and back home.... Here we're facing the Atlantic and back home we're basically on South China Sea. The vessel used was a fiberglass made boat that has the navigation area on top part of the boat. Back home I'm used to the solid type of vessel made out of wood, where passengers seat at almost the same level as the navigation area.

Going out of port to get the fishing spot was ok for me. BUT once they start casing out the lines, I'm starting to get sick. There was no anchor and so we're just drifting on choppy water. And it just so happens that today the sea a little bit more "agitated" than yesterday. So you can imagine the vessel rolling on waves and me (and the other passenger) turning green by the minute. In the end I puked in the sea....Good thing was I didn't have lunch or heavy breakfast. Otherwise it's much worst. As I was puking, I could imagine the disappointment on my dad's face and him saying "Still can not tahan after all the fishing trips ah?". Right after the puking scenarios (I had several of them), Carsten (hubs' colleague) and hubs caught their fish. That's after 1 and half hours of waiting and watching me puking! Well I can say at least it wasn't a disappointing (and disgusting) outing! But it was really tiring for me as I fell asleep while on our way back to the marina....

That night itself, we went out to Mango's, which is by the way a cool place. There you'll find hot servers, they'll take turn to dance on the bar! Seems like a lot to do; serving food and drinks, follow by the knowledge to dance well! There were a couple of hubs' colleague trying to dance with them, but they were too good....

Overall we had a great time in Miami. I just wish that I brought in an extra bag to stash!!

A trip to the sun, sea and sand I

ShannyKhoo
Please click above to go to my album...

Remember a song by Will Smith about Miami? Well, we just got back from there on Saturday. Was there for a 6 days, which I think was more than enough for the pocket!

We took the flight from Zurich at about noon or so and got there in the evening of Miami time. Couldn't sleep or rest much in the plane as it turns out we have 2 "monsters" sitting in front of us and a pretty angel behind us. The 2 in front was going on and on and on; Mommy look! He took my car, mommy! I'm hungry, Mommy! etc. Plus they decide to throw empty cups and plastic forks/knifes around, which happens to fall either behind (us) and the front passengers. Yes the kids are active and why are they that active? Coz mommy decides to give them Coke instead of water, that's why! It was really astonishing to know that some mommy didn't know about sugar rush effects of soda in kids and how kids get all kinds of bad teeth, gas and what nots from consuming sodas/sugary drinks. Here I promised myself, I WILL NOT GIVE SODAS/CAFFEINATED DRINKS TO MY KIDS BELOW THE AGE OF 8 FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER! I also will not let others, be it friends/family to let them have it, even if they'll say "a little its ok" or "just a taste, its alright no?".

Any ways, the arrival was ok. Had to go through a long line of immigration check, a long wait for our 1 bag at the luggage collecting belt and finally a really quick taxi ride to the hotel by a really nice taxi driver. We stayed in The Shore Club hotel along Miami Beach area. The hotel was nice but really (REALLY) expensive for what it was. Thank goodness hubs company got special rates and we're only paying 1 of the 5 nights. Normal rates goes about USD500.- (or more) including taxes. We got lost looking for the room! It turns out that, we had to go thru a garden bar, then a bar/restaurant thing before getting to the lifts to get to the rooms... So weird... The corridor was really too cold due to air-conditioning (reminds me of Malaysia) and the room looks like a chic, up-scale hospital! It was white everything, except the flat screen TV, the cement like floors and some wooden towel hanging structure.

Once we got settled in, we decided to some dinner around the corner at Jerry's Famous Deli. As it turns out this place is open 24 hours a day, sort of like our mamak stall cum kopi-tiam lar! The deli was in this 30's or 40's style, where you find diner style seats but with also really cold air-conditioning. The food was good but just simply too huge a portion for us to finish. Drinks came in the size of half a littler! So after that, my wish to have a small slice of dessert came to a halt as I couldn't even finish my salad. But then again what's small to the Americans?

The next day we decide to walk about the beach area for a bit as it was cloudy and windy at the same time. The chances of swimming are pretty slim. The funny thing is that, after hearing so much about the obesity problem they have in the States, we didn't really find them fat here. But then again, Miami is a state where you'll find most common bikini clad women with long legs, and six pack chested men. Not to mention where plastics make people beautiful and it comes cheap too! After the beach, we took a cab near the outskirts of down town area and walked all over. Mind you its a lot of walking here. Everything is situated/placed far apart! Even crossing the roads, we had to walk really fast with them having at least 3 lanes on each side and the lights changes fast as well!

Well there's really nothing to shout about the day time scene here in Miami and plus its a public holiday (we found out later; Martin Luther King's day). We went to the touristy Bayside Market area which also a port where many fishing boats/yachts are docked. Then we walked all the way to Little Havana, which took us about 40 mins. According to the concierge, this area is mainly populated by Spanish/Caribbean community with speciality shops etc. But since its a public holiday, we didn't really get much out of it. But then again, Miami seems more people speaking Spanish than English! When we landed at the airport, it (Miami International Airport) seems like we're in Mexico or Barcelona. Its not that I've been to these places before, but what I imagined it to be.

More to come...

Its a waiting game...

I'm getting really impatient these past few weeks. Reason being:

• I can't wait to receive an exchange item from Emily from a stitching group I joined (NNC, Malaysia) organised by Margaret. And at the same time can't wait till my partner, Margaret receive hers. That way I could finally put up the pictures here, since its my very first exchange.
  
• Can't wait till this weekend for a little trip to Miami. Never been there, so I'm pretty excited about it. Been doing some summer outfit shopping, which is by the way difficult to do since we're winter now. And plus, with my new figure, I definitely have to get new clothes! Now I'm worried that my very nice (and sexy looking) Lee jeans will not fit me after the being preggers! EEIIKKKSSSS! So I'm promising myself now NOT to get too fat and join a gym club once my angel comes....
  
• The gyne check up again end of this month. I want to know how he/she is doing and a quick picture to show the family. Could feel it kicking and moving about inside, which is kinda of strange being a first time mum here.
  
• To go back home and see the family and friends I miss so much for the past year. I'm already counting down the days that past me by since before Christmas! The 1 person I would like to meet very much is my pretty niece, born last May and whom I'll like to get to know better than pictures sent over. I'm already buying pretty dresses for her! I just love dressing up little girls! Tie her hair and make her all cute and pretty like a princess..... Its just like playing dress up with dolls when we gals were little ourselves but this time for real.

You see, all of the above needs time to sort itself out. So at the mean time, what I can do is just wait till the time comes. Being impatient as one of my character, it is just frustrating for me to play time game as I can't sleep at night at times. Its may be I'm thinking too much then about what to do the next day, the following day or the next week even to fall asleep! So at the mean time, I'll just put up a pic of him/her while waiting for the next time to come...

Our little one at 13 weeks old, relaxing in mummy's tummy....

Its the season...

Many of you are wondering by now what I'm up to these days as I'm not rambling anything new these past few weeks (of may be months?). I think its the season of being busy to get things going before the end of the year and perhaps to begin a new year with a new project, etc?

Since we're about a weekend away from Christmas (YIKES! Its THIS weekend!), I've been browsing the shops with hubs for the past few weekends. Its forever lots of people busy with their Christmas shopping lists, some as along as an A4 sheet of paper (both sides). I can't help but wonder, do they really need to buy gifts to EVERYONE on the lists? May be they have a big family and loads of really close friends?

Any way, there's this particular day as I was rushing off to get to the post office when I saw something that really puts me off. A child was making a scene on one of the toy shops in a department store. The mother was at wits end in trying to clam her child and explaining at the same time why she won't buy a particular toy for Christmas. But the kid won in the end. What amazes me is that kids these days seems to "demand" something particular just because every kid in town/class got them during Christmas or birthdays. I mean come on! Even though at such a young age of consumerism, I still feel that parents have the right to say NO to their demands, right? Why do they give in? It is because when as kids, adults did not get what they wanted so in turn they promised to give EVERYTHING to their kids? But I thought parents knows what's best?....

There's once when I was working, a teenager actually snubbed at a gift (apparently a box of high ended chocolate) from his grandmother given to him on his birthday! And get this, the teenagers' parents didn't even said a word! Now that was not nice at all and in fact how very strange.... Whatever happened to respecting your elders, receiving gifts (no matter how trivial it is) with gratitude and "its the thoughts that counts"?

May be its the age of commercialisation of festivities. There's no secret that companies now make huge profits from consumers come every holiday (or non holiday) season. Shops and major shopping centres will all be light and or gear up for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Christmas, Valentine Day, Easter, Mother's day, Father's day etc minimum a month or two ahead of the actual dates of such festivities. I bet right after Christmas this weekend, Chinese New Year songs, red deco and other goodies will be all line in and light up every where. And then we consumers will be once again busy lining up the shops not gifts but to buy Mandarin oranges, soft drinks, biscuits, new clothing etc.

Man.... We are forever buying and having headaches of what to buy! Why of course, its just the season to spend and spend, even if we don't have the years end bonus (those who have them, LUCKY YOU!). For this, I have only one wish for everyone: I wish that people will spend within their means to enjoy the spirit of the holiday season. No matter how much big or small your salary is, its always the thought that REALLY counts when buying gifts for people you love. When receiving, please receive them with gratitude for it might be the last gift that person is going to give you.

HERE'S WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR!

Memories of family holidays

Have you ever talked or think back on your family holidays taken a what it seems like not that long time ago, either during your childhood or teen years? Recent conversation with my mum over the phone some how lead to us back to memory lane on our family holiday trips we've taken during our school holidays.

I remembered the time before we took that 5th (or was it the 6th?) trip to Tioman Island.... I was going on and on about why we shouldn't take that trip to the same place (again) and that we should be going to places anywhere besides the beach! Back then, my dad loves the sea (and still do) so hence our holidays photo albums will be full of pictures either on a fishing boat, in the sea swimming or on the beach building sand castles (looked more like sand huts to me). But we did make that trip any ways, despite my complaining, we did had fun and that's just coz we had other kids to play with. I still can not imagine a 9 year old kid would sit still for hours, waiting for the fishing rod to move..... Hmmmm still can't do that now! But I did catch my first fish with my dad on one of our Tioman trips and I remembered how I puked after that on the smallish fishing boat we rented... YUCK! Not a pretty sight for those fishes looking up from below, I know. Still get seasick now.

Then there was trips to Kota Tinggi, Taman Negara, Kenyir Dam, Redang Island etc.... I can still remember there's this place called Mimaland or was it Minaland? Then there was this driving trip to Penang with my dad's friend and his family in our Toyota station wagon. The trip was a long one as we stop by at various places namely Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, Maxwell Hill etc before reaching Penang. It was especially long one for 4 adults rather than the 4 kids! Back then, the back seat belts did not exists yet and road safety rules aren't that strict. But then again, road safety rules still isn't that strict in Malaysia coz we still see kids jumping up and down on the back seat and mums holding their babies in the front seat!! Call me a safety fanatics if you will, but just look at the way people are driving these days and plus with their selfish attitude on the road, no wonder road accidents are on the rise these few years.

Now where was I? Ah yes, family holidays. I remembered the look on my sisters' face when she saw pacat for the first time when we're on the Taman Negara trip! hehehehe... Lucky never run around screaming like gila.... Otherwise it'll be difficult to look for her amongst the tress and bushes, jot to mentioned tigers and gibbons! We hiked up and down hills, trekked in the jungle, crawled into a cave (Gua Telinga) and swam in the rivers. It was so much fun running for shelter before the rain could reach us even though we're soaked through in the end and were shivering from cold! I never knew the jungle belalang and even nyamuk was much bigger than town varieties.... That trip we took taught me the importance nature, to respect it and to protect it. It somehow changed me; from the products I buy/use to deciding if walking 2 blocks to the shops would be a better idea than driving.

But we did enjoy al of our trips together as family despite the arguments at times before, during and after those trips... Now when I look back I really think that its not the destination that matters most, but its the company that make that trip special. I really think that its great to be able to bond with them and be able to see them in a different light, away from day to day stressful situations. Now my hope and wish is that, I am able to revive those special moments with my children. To teach them the importance of being a family, of respecting places/people they visit and protecting them. But then again, will my future children able to see real life pacat in the jungle still?....