A new book...

after a year of not buying books!!! I really (REALLY) miss reading books. Not that I don't read no, its reading for Owen; Ladybird books of Mother Goose and jack & the Bean Stalk etc. So the very recent and 1st purchase of the year is....

Am reading till the Jojo part. So far its quite interesting. Can't wait till my new book shelves arrives from Ikea!!

What work!

Hi all! See I can stand!

I know, I know. I haven't been blogging lately. Was side tracked by Owen, stitching a new curtain and organising a steamboat/Chinese fondue party just yesterday for hub's friend. Owen's doing great now. He's getting more mobile by the day. Its just really amazing to see how babies learn stuff just like that!!! He's now crawling super fast, learning to stand and cruise at the same time. now the cruise part, I think he'll have to sharpen it up a little bit more. He keeps letting go of whatever he can get to hold himself steady, to "free stand"! Its really scary, coz he's fallen so many times and mostly to his head area. But thank goodness he almost always falls onto the carpet! So now, he's getting to know the "art of NOT falling" on his head but his bum (cushioned by diapers!). Now I understand why mum said I was a handful!! Hmm.... May be I tend to get into more trouble than sis?

Can you see my teeth? Owen with cheeky smile...

As for the stitching part, sad to say I've only done less than half on my 1st piece of curtain ever since 3 weeks ago! :(( But still I can foresee that I'm not going to leave it as a WIP for long. In fact, I've planned or shall we say drawn up a list of things to do/stitch this year. It will be:

1. 
   
   
   My kitchen curtains.



2. 
   
   
   The gold & yellow on red Chinese calligraphy: prosperity.



3. 
   
   
   A gift for my secret partner: Birthday gift exchange.



4. 
   
   
   Joan Elliot's "Home is where your honey is".



5. 
   
   
   
   My other WIP which turned into an UFO: the 9 Koi....

My WIP curtain. Still on 1st piece.

So you see, I don't think I'll have time to watch another no brainer HK VCD/DVD (which SIL so kindly lend me in case of boredom). In fact out of 25 movies, I've only seen 2 of them and almost fell asleep.... Seriously, I don't think I'm ever bored. There's always something to do; keep all 4 eyes on Owen, stitching, some bakin' & cookin', browsing on-line shops and only when I have time read blogs & blogging.

A close up. Design from De Fil en Aiguille mag issue 21

About the Chinese fondue. Actually one of hubs friend will be having a stomach reducing operation soon. Once its done, he won't be able to eat normal food, just really small and liquidise foods. Why stomach reduction, coz this guy is huge. I mean he is big and he doesn't wear a jacket during winter even outside coz he's always HOT. This guy sweats during the coldest months.... He's been telling us that he really needs to get it done. I think so too, for obvious reasons; he's health is suffering

Anyways, preparing food for 2 big guys, 3 adults and 3 kids alone is a "field day" for me. Especially when you have a crying 7 month old and a husband who is glued to the TV due to Australia Open (tennis) is double.... That's why I was telling hubs, the next time we are only allowed to have max twice a year for gatherings of this kind if it involves me cooking/preparing food and doing the cleaning up alone. Its not that I don't like doing it but I really hate it when he leaves almost everything to me and then expect me to do things at the very last minute!! Men, when they aren't in the food business is totally useless & clueless....

To start off the year

For the start of 2008, I would like to post this article which was emailed to me just moments ago. Although a little on the sentimental side of things but its so true isn't it? We're so "driven" by material things that we sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses.

Food for Thought to start the Year
by Anna Quindlen

This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author , Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD.

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two , your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk , or your life on a bus , or in a car , or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind , but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night , or when you're sad , or broke , or lonely , or when you've received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up.

I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me.

Without them , there would be nothing to say to you today , because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone , and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten , at best mediocre at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life , not a manic pursuit of the next promotion , the bigger pay cheque , the larger house.

Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon , or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside , a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water , or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love , and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure , it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever , and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too , then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives , our days , our hours , and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our kids' eyes , the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey , not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal , and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it , completely and utterly. And I tried to do that , in part , by telling others what I had learned.

By telling them this:Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness , because if you do , you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived".

Christmas market

A wooden tower

This is an overdue post due to the laziness in me these past few days.... :p

The Edelweiss Chalet

We went to a Christmas market in Montreux on Sunday. Thinking that it will be packed, we took a bus there to avoid the overcrowded car park. Took us about 15 mins to get there and Owen was enjoying the scenery all the way... It didn't snow or rain so its all good besides the grey-grey skies.

Owen with papa and the reindeers! opps... and mousse also!

Once we hopped off the bus, the whiff of hot wine fills the winter air. Its basically red wine mixed with spices - to "spice up" the winter body I guess. Its delicious when they can get the mixture right, otherwise we'll be all tipsy or worst too much spice! There were stalls selling all kinds of hand-made presents and food/drinks. One I find particularly interesting is a stall selling glass items. The guy who made them even blown/torch glass decorations/jewellery items to order. Then there's one stall selling Christmas tree hanging glass balls (do you call them glass balls or globe?). Now these balls are different coz one could see there's a figurine inside it. Its so cute with Santa and reindeer inside. But since we've got an-ornament-pulling-little-man at home, i don't think I'll get a 15CHF glass thingy! Would want to sneak in some pics but it would be too obvious.

Look at the GIANT WOK!!

Ice skating rink

This year's decoration isn't as nice as last years. May be things are getting more and more expensive? But there's a small nice skating rink right next to a Finland cottage restaurant. OH! And there's also a "traditional" Swiss cottage restaurant as well. All made up just for the market. Went in for a meal of cheese fondue with friends there just 2 weeks ago. Its always crowded.

The rows of stalls

I think Christmas market will be even better of there's snow and lots of decorations. Am crossing my fingers that for next Christmas, we'll try to go to Strasbourg for their market. Heard its one of the best... Or may be even to Lapland (Finland) for its Santa's home?!? hehehehe...

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Owen and Santa! Merry Christmas to you all! :D

Yes its the time of the year... Its Christmas next week! Its been freezing these past three days, with maximum temperatures at 3°C during the day and below 0°C by 5pm... BRRR..... With such freezing weather, its nice to stay in and do some stitching, baking or playing with Owen. hehehehe...

Am completing my ornaments. Yes I know it taking such a long time to finish them since its just small stitching. But when your little one is teething, is just hard to find the time to stitch or even cook! He's got two little bottom front teeth popping up now and it hurts when he bites! Especially when we're still breastfeeding him - OUCH! So now its to the bottle s-l-o-w-l-y....

Surprisingly he doesn't have fever, diarrhea or crying all the time. But he's a bit agitated and cranky and always sticking to his mama! Just the day before yesterday night, he'll only sleep if he's on top of me or right beside me. Its just seems so sweet but boy I didn't get to sleep comfortably! I had to make sure that either I don't roll over or move.

So the next day in order for him to sleep soundly in the evening, I brought him to see Santa! He was so surprise to see an old man with a very long and white beard. He just kept staring with his mouth open! He didn't even cry while taking a picture with Santa. I guess he's still figuring out whats all the fuss about and who's that man in red whom he just sat with!! hehehehehe..... It will be Owen's first Christmas this year. I hope that he won't be pulling any more ornaments down from the tree!

So here's wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A JOLLY NEW YEAR! May all your wishes come true and may you be blessed with good health, lots of joy and love!

My, My...

It has been raining since Friday evening! Its been grey, windy and down right depressing whenever I look out the window... sigh. No wonder every time when its winter, there's bound to be some people doing crazy things like suicide etc; a mare boy shooting shoppers and killing himself....

Well to me it DOESN'T have to be depressing weather or mood wise. TO PEOPLE HAVING HISTORY OF DEPRESSION: GET HELP ASAP! We've been busy these past few weeks. I for one have been experimenting with recipes from a French baking mag I picked up while we were in France. The result, will never try their recipes any more!! The measurements (not to mention instructions!!) are a bit off and therefore, the sablé (French Butter biscuits) biscuits turn out to be less than OK, although edible... Then the chocolate "tongues" didn't look like any where near a tongue! Looks more like a splat flat porcupine!!! Seriously, its not that I had trouble understanding them. In fact I even had hubs translate them just so that I didn't get them wrong. May be I should try again the next time...

Fruit cakes... Yes it cracked a bit... Must be from the fact I tried to jam in as much dried fruit & nuts!!

There's a taboo from my mum saying that, if your baking didn't turn out well today, don't try to bake again until several days later; otherwise it'll turn out horrible as well! So better be safe than sorry, I made fruit cake the following weekend. You know the ones that has to go through the "aging" process? That's the one. Got the recipe from Joy of Baking site. Been brushing them twice a week and I really hope that it'll turn out well! Hubs: "Well babes, it does smell OK" is the reply I get whenever he wants a taste of it... Sorry babes. Its not old enough to be eaten yet! hahaha...

Our 1st tree ever!

Oh! Did I mentioned that we got a real pine tree? Its our 1st tree after all these years here. And since its impossible to get decorations for Chinese New Year (unless online), we thought why not decorate a Christmas tree instead although we don't celebrate Christmas. Besides, if I were to decorate for CNY, my ang mohs neighbours will be wondering if we opened up a Chinese restaurant instead of celebrating CNY!! LOL! So far, we've put up all trinkets and 1 of my stiched ornaments. I still have 3 more to go... sigh.

Some of the tree deco...

Just hung up 1 of my stitched ornaments...

The charts looks so simple and easy to do, but it took me longer to frog and to redo the whole thing. So for now there's no pictures of them yet. Will do once I finish them and hang them up on our tree. We didn't really managed to find ornaments that we wanted, so will have to make do with whatever I could get my hands on from our nearby super market. Will do better next year with hand made glass ornaments, for the moment its all plastic, clay and natural pine . I was also afraid that Owen will pull, play, bite and or swallow them as he's starting to learn to crawl and is grabbing anything he could get his hands on to "taste" them in his mouth! We're praying that he won't pull the whole tree down!!

Look at this!

This just came this morning for me. They are from Anna Lalitha of NNC for its 1st Anniversary gift exchange. Aren't they pretty? And it came in a pretty silver box with a bow! I love boxes with bows... Boxes with bows/ribbons always has something nice in it....

In fact I'm wondering if I'll ever use them, as I'm afraid to get them dirty! Hmm.... May be I should find something to protect them?

The weekend was spent...

There were only 2 halls like this...

At an annual craft market/workshop on Saturday afternoon and meeting up a dear friend who is going back home for some R&R after 5 years spent here. Oh! Ive also received some goodies bought online on Sat morning! There aren't so many pictures here since my battery died on me half way through! ARRGGHHHH.....

Isabelle's Workshop mainly on patchwork

The craft thingy is unfortunately an annual thing but might as well is, since its done on a very small scale here compare to the ones held in France etc. It was organised by Creavenue. The stalls were mainly selling items for quilting, patchwork, jewellery, scrap booking, card making, clay modeling and wooden crafts. I seriously think people like Janet, Nik or BJ from NNC would go ga-ga from the amounts of quilting fabric they could find here! And mind you the fabrics are just so pretty that I too bought 2 x 1/3 yard cut for future projects. The lady posing with her patch work, Bea Weiss (I think she is Bea; speaks only German & little French) manning her quilt/patchwork stall. She made this pretty little houses and others for sale at the market. Selling at if I'm not mistaken at CHF300.- plus, depending on design! My, my....

L'ädeli's Workshop - Bea Weiss with her houses. Aren't they pretty?

Bernina's stall

On the sewing side, there's a Bernina stand. I so wanted to get one of these machines but they are just too expensive. And plus for my limited knowledge of sewing (can-sew-but-not-good-at-it type), I'd rather wait till I am an expert and am using it often to get a Bernina Aurora 430. Well one can always dream no? hehehehe...

Just a little something I bought

As for stitching, its a pity that they only have 4 stalls there. Most of them are selling kited charts, threads, aidas and linen fabrics. Unfortunately they only have linens under 14 counts.... But still got 2 fat quarters of Aida; a red and a rustic piece. The red piece will be for CNY next year; mental note to me to look for a nice prosperity calligraphy... And the rustic piece will be done up with Joan Elliott's Home is Where Your Honey is chart from her Cross Stitch; Sentiments ans Sayings.

A close up look at the 1/3 yard of fabric

And oh! I finally get to own Dentelles et Rubans by Anne Van Damme and Les Samplers en rouge et blanc by Issabelle Vautier. Even though I'm not really into samplers at the moment, I find that there are some item I could see myself stitching later on. Why I bought the lacey book; am preparing to sew a kitchen door panel curtain before CNY next year. Now I'm browsing for fabrics, linen that is affordable. Linens are so expensive but the material is really worth it in the long term. Perhaps a heirloom later on?

The goodies that arrived....

On the goodies I received; , 2 small jar of Horlicks, 600ml of Ribena, 1 pack of crumpets & soft biscuits, and a pack of dark brown soft sugar. Its been ages since I've drunk Horlicks and Ribena.... Just reminds me of home. Why I boguth brown sugar? I can't find them here in Switzerland! Ii wonder how Swissy people live without brown sugar. They are soo good on pancakes, bread, puddings and great to make fruit cakes with! I think will order some more Marmite, more Horlicks, Ribena etc when they are gone next year from MyExpatShop.com. For the moment I'm just sipping from my really big glass of Ribena.....

Our sunshine so well behaved while mummy browse....

All in all I have to say this, Owen was so well behaved during the entire market trip! Hubs and I were amazed at how quiet and observant he was... I think its partly because he was "entertained" by the ladies at the market while being held by hubs, that I was left with so much time browsing! hehehehe.... And here we were worried that he would find it boring and cry!! Hmm... Should bring him more often to craft markets....

A week in France : Paris and Rochefort

Kisses from 1st aunt!

Last week was one of the first time we took Owen to France. The drive which usually take us 5 hours has taken us 6 hours to arrive in Paris, where my 3rd SIL lives. We've never taken such long drive before with him in tow. He was sleeping almost of the time but was really wide awake and crying for the last hour before we finally arrive. I think its normal that he cries since he's not really used to having such compact space of the baby basket (complete with car safety harness of course) and its not really interesting to look at the grey sky all the way! We tried carrying him out of the car but with the cold wind blowing, it wasn't really a good idea....

I was so glad once we reach 3rd SIL place as he started to cry even louder! Once we got to her apartment, he was pretty distracted with all the attention that his 3rd aunt and 1st uncle showered on him, that he forgotten that its feeding time! hehehehe.... For the first time in months we went out for dinner without Owen! We have a self volunteered baby-sitter; my 3rd SIL.... So much as change within the space of just 1 year. The last time we were there was end of Oct 2006. The tram lines are working wonderfully, traffic is less dense, there's seems to be higher crime rate (day-light muggings!), higher exchange rate (1 Euro = 1.67 CHF, used to be 1 Euro = 1.50 CHF) and the usual restaurant we go to isn't as good as before.

Looks like underwater carpet no?

We actually took off the next day to Rochefort, where 1st and 2nd SILs lives. The car ride was endless. Took us 5 and half hours instead of the usual 4 to get to 1st SIL place. In this town nothing much has change, except that they cleaned up the place a bit. Whenever we stayed over at their place, I would wound up with dust allergy! So this time no watery & itchy eyes. Just sneezing and runny/blocked nose, which is OK since it smelled funny - old houses built with wooden flooring covered up with carpet and not well ventilated. The building has an air well, but its pretty much useless since there's NO AIR coming in!! Yes, you can say I don't really like staying over at their place but we only go there once every 2 years may be? So can not complaint lor!

My St. Jacques crêpe.. YUMMMYYY....

His traditional ham & eggs...

I really like Rochefort, La Rochelle and its surrounding area. La Rochelle started off as a fishing village that turned into an important port centuries ago. Much like Melaka. Rochefort however, is where the French arsenal; ie military harbour is. Both are very touristic town in the summer time with the seaside facing the Atlantic ocean. Now is the low season, so more locals than tourist; which I prefer. Its also THE place to get fresh (AND CHEAP) mussels and oysters! Am not a fan of oysters, but where else can you get big fat & fresh mussels at less than 7 or 8 Euros a kilo? Has something to do with the cultivation of these babies at Île de Ré I think.... Besides these two places, there's also Île de Ré, Royan, Île d'Oléron, Fouras and Brouage & Marennes. All are pretty much will be full of tourists during summer time.

Look! I have an orange star-fish on my arm!

Owen's orange star-fish... Looks more like a pin cushion though.

We stayed for 4 nights at 1st SIL place. Dined with family mostly; more Vietnamese food (which I grew to like)! But still managed to cram in a big bowl of mussels (small in their terms) in a "rustic" restaurant at La Rochelle, and a very (VERY) delicious crêpe on the next street where we stayed, amongst all the Viet food. Besides eating, we managed to visit the La Rochelle Aquarium. It was my 1st time visit AFTER having been there 4 or 5 times!! I guess hubs were to lazy to bring me... :p This aquarium really beats KLCC Aquaria! Reason? They have more interesting fishes (like the pirana!!), several big tanks and good information source about the species, and why people should not put on their FLASH while taking pictures of fishes or any other animals....

Can you find a fish here?

The ride back to Paris was a long one (so was the one back to Swissy land). I didn't have time to go stashing this time round. Partly because we didn't have time, its difficult to shop when you have kid whose still not on the bottle yet, due to the exchange rate and currently I can't find what I like just yet. May be the next time when we spend more time in Paris, then perhaps.

The winds of change

The sunshine of our life!

As I'm doing the dishes, I listened to Owen cooing and playing with his papa. There's a certain mixture of feelings that some what crept up on me then. It surprised me as well coz I'd never thought that I'll feel this way. A great feeling of perfect contentment, of feeling that I've achieved one thing out of many that I'm really proud off and happy to sacrifice for: of my time, of my precious sleep etc.

I still remember when a friend of my mine asked me this question; "So are you going to be just happy being stuck as a full time home maker? Why do you want to even study so much and in the end become like your mother? Don't you want to earn back what you have given so much time into?"At first I was stunned as to why is she questioning my choice of how I want to lead my life and what right has she got to asks me these question when she is no better than I? Well at least to my eyes....

My lavender is still blooming and its already Autumn!!

Well, Daphne let me answer your questions. I am my mother's daughter. There's no question about it. My mother worked hard all her life to give us a life that she herself could never have when she was my age. I in turn got to enjoy the fruit of her labour. I in turn intend to give a better life for my kids that I could never have in this life time. The cycle never ends!

Home makers this time and age is no longer uneducated women/men. People choose to do this for numerous reasons. Some do it for as long as they live and some for a certain time/years. While most are doing two jobs ("official" work and home maker) at once by themselves, some have the luxury of hired help, most are DIYs and a few lucky ones with free (kids/other half)help! The point is, once you are married and have your own place with kids on top of that, you'll have to be a home maker like it or not. Its your OWN family, you have the responsibility to take care of each and every member of that family of yours.

And so is my Greek basils...

Yes I may not be ENTIRELY happy with the choice I made but still would I give it all up just for a big office with a nice view (and BIG salary) and come back to an empty home? May be not. One can not have everything they want. Its my choice, I know that I have to live with it and am satisfied with how things are going so far. One should appreciate the things: both tangible and intangible, and the people they have around them. Who knows these could all be taken away or gone the following day? How about you friends? Are you happy with the things you've got?

This is AMAZIN'!

Take a look at this kid! i think one too many "dance machine" games no? hehehehe... He is just amazing this kid! I wonder if my kid could actually move like that in 3 years time? hmmmm... Just a thought...

Things just for fun

I belong in Rome guys!

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

And guess what? I have a RED BRAIN! hehehehe...

Your Brain is Red

Of all the brain types, yours is the most impulsive. If you think it, you do it. And you can get the bug to pursue almost any passion. Your thoughts are big and bold. Your mind has no inhibitions. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about love, your dreams, and distant places.

What Color Is Your Brain?

Oh Look! Its D-A-R-K.....

After having a not that bright and down right plain blog, I've decided to change it. I've actually been meaning to change it ever since forever..... I really think its good to change.

May be I've been meaning to change some aspects of my life but I haven't figure what else to change yet.... I think I'm just happy with the way some things are but definitely NOT my wardrobe. As I am in the process of getting down my winter clothing's, I notice that most are NOT in my SIZE!?! How could this be? Oh! I remembered. I had a baby. NOW THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING! Mental note: clothing shopping this sale season AND try not to max out my credit card this time....

Hubs can say whatever he wants about it, but I'm going to remind him that he owns more clothing items than I do. What man owns more than 4 winter jackets? Although he could ask me: why do I own more shoes than I wear them? Well I guess I'll have to tell him these: I LOVE shoes and I need them! That's the only item that fits me when I'm feeling FAT or THIN..... Let's face it, women need shoes for all occasions, something like lipstick/gloss! You don't wear a bright RED lipstick to the beach don't you? And besides, when or where would I be wearing my lovely boots? Not back home in M'sia I won't. So there. Its good for a change isn't it?

Cake anyone?

A walk with papa....

How time flies! It just seems like yesterday when he was born and it was just YESTERDAY Owen turns into a three month old....

To celebrate this "occasion", hubs asked me to make something special. So I decided to bake some cup cakes! The original recipe was suppose to make 1 round cake but one could actually scoop them into paper cups and may be alter them a little right? Instead of the cake being plain chocolate, I've added orange rind and some chocolate chips to it. And also I find that adding fizzy water and or beating egg whites till stiff peak really adds to the moist of any cake!

The frosting tha "flops" downwards!

This looks better no?

Its also the 1st time I've done cakes with frosting. Usually I don't frost my cakes coz frosting are sooo.... messy to handle! But since its for Owen (or rather his dad) and we have a dishwasher (YAY!), why not? The frosting turns out quite good and very sweet (as with all frosting). Now I've never made frosting before and this recipe I got off the Internet requires that the chocolate be melted with butter and milk. At first I thought that is looked a little too liquid but then after cooling it off a little in the FRIDGE, it looked better. That's AFTER I scoop a table spoon of them into the pipping bag and onto 3 of the cakes!!! I was like; Dude, what the hell are you doing man? Mental note here; next time, wait till frosting is a little bit cooler to pour them into the pipping bag and start pipping!

My chicken in "action"....

Potatos and carrots gratin

The weekend sees me baking as well; baked chicken with potatoes and carrots seasoned with rosemary AND a dish called potato and carrots gratin (or any vegetable with white sauce and cheese). Why baking? Well it seems that with baking I could actually cook everything one time go! I think its also the fact that the oven is "strategically" placed on my height level (thus no need to bend), and not to mention that we have 2 oven, a small on top of the big one. I'm really happy with our new apartment.... I do hope we're staying longer here. Moving is a NIGHTMARE when you have too much stuff and kids along!

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!