Simply Me

Marinated Baked Pork Chops

2012-01-28T07:13:00.001+08:00

This dish is so super delicious and so super easy to make, it's definitely a keeper!

The sauce goes fantastic with rice and/or bread!

Found this recipe online and improvised on it a little and BOOM!, I suddenly have a family favorite!

The hubs loved it so much that he slurped up all the sauce with bread AFTER he had it with rice! Even Renee finished up her whole bowl of rice easily.

This recipe serves 3 but the hubs and I are big eaters, so it could serve 4 as well.

Ingredients:

6 pieces of lean pork chops, trimmed.
2 tablespoon white soya sauce
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoon brown sugar
4 tablespoon tomato sauce
2 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170'C.
2. In a small bowl, mix the soya sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, tomato sauce and lemon juice together until properly blended.
3. Place the pork chops inside a medium sized baking tray and spread half of the sauce over them. Make sure sauce is evenly spread and meat is covered.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, covered.
5. When done, flip the chops over and spread the remaining sauce over them.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, uncovered.
7. Serve with rice and/or bread.

The pork chops can be substituted with chicken as well.

Hope you all love this dish as much as me and mine do!

Do share with me if you think there are ways to improve on this recipe to make it even more va va voom!

Happy CNY 2012

2012-01-24T01:49:00.001+08:00

(pic was taken early this morning when we were all still fresh and energetic)

After a long 1st day of visiting different relatives, I finally have time to sit back and relax a little.

And also to take some time to wish my readers (if I have any), a very Happy & Prosperous Dragon Year ahead!

Tuna Casserole

2012-01-20T01:18:00.001+08:00

Over the pass 2 days, I whipped up pretty tedious dishes for dinner so for tonight, I decided, why not do something simple? Besides, I still had a packet of pasta that was very near expiry and we didn't want that to go to waste now, do we.

So here's the recipe for my homemade Tuna Casserole.

Serves 2 (but my 'serves 2' can really serve 3 or even 4 small eaters).

Ingredients:

2.5 cups elbow pasta / macaroni
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can of tuna (drained)
1 small can of cream of mushroom soup
A handful of crushed potato chips (I used Lay's Classic)

Method:

1. Cook the pasta until al-dante or soft. Drain.
2. Mix in the mushroom soup, tuna and 1 cup of cheese. Mix well.
3. Pre-heat oven to 180'C.
4. Pour the pasta mixture into a 9' x 3' baking tray.
5. Sprinkle the remaining half cup of cheese on top.
6. Lastly, sprinkle on the handful of crushed chips.
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
8. Done!

Simple. Filling. And takes less than an hour to whip up.

The tuna can also be replaced with chicken or beef or just plain vegetables.

If you're replacing it with chicken, just change the mushroom soup to chicken soup.

And if you're replacing it with beef, just use liquid beef stock instead.

Hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

2012 and a little more

2012-01-12T19:39:00.000+08:00

It's so funny how one tiny little baby can turn your whole world upside down.

And make you wish that you had more than 24 hours in a day.

Just to get basic daily chores done.

And maybe squeeze in some 'relax' time in between (if you're real lucky).

But then, I really don't have such luck.

Therefore the lack of blogs.

But I do have time to tweet.

Ample of time actually. When I'm breastfeeding.

So currently, that's where the blog is happening.

Limited to 140 words of course.

Christmas passed by really fast.

In fact, I counted down to Christmas sitting on the floor at Godma's, cleaning poo from Dylan's ass.

I also counted down to the new year sitting on the bed upstairs in Sarah's room cleaning poo from Dylan's ass.

Yes. My life is interesting like that.

Dylan saying goodnight to 2011

My last meal of 2011 - mummy's famous mai fun tong, ipoh salted chicken, char siew and siew yoke

Renee experiencing her first ever hair cut in 3 years 4 months plus.

She got a bob!

Dylan's first yawn for 2012 (i think)

The Rodrigues clan came back from Oz so we cousins all gathered for a group pic

Random pic of my keychain stuffed in the car door's pocket

Queuing up for my late lunch.

Drive-throughs are what I frequent these days with Dylan in the baby seat.

Hubs brought me grocery shopping at Ben's @ Publika

Food village @ Publika

Bought Chatime.

Ordered 3 drinks and asked for double pearls for all.

Heard the counter girl tell the customer behind me "Sorry. No more pearls" as I was walking away.

Hahahaha!

Little baby cousin Jordan not so little anymore.

He's one of the lead actors on Oz's famous Dance Academy!

Renee on her first official day to school

So that about sums up what I've been up to since 2012 began.

Nothing interesting.

Just the usual ho hum of family life.

But I love my little family.

No matter how insane they drive me.

Random Happenings

2011-12-13T18:31:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday

The four of us went to Empire for Christmas shopping and dinner.

For the first time.

As a family.

It was fun but it was also stressful.

Had to feed Dylan in Madam Kwan when SK wanted to stop there for early dinner.

At 6pm.

Of course, only he (and Dylan), had their food.

And then when we stopped at Lameeya for proper dinner at 8.30pm, Dylan also woke up for his next feed.

I thought there was a nursing room in Tangs and rushed there with a wailing Dylan.

Only to be told that there was NO nursing room in Tangs and that the ONLY nursing room available was one floor above at the OTHER END from where I was -_-'

Well.

At least now I know where the nursing room in Empire is.

trying on clothes before leaving for Empire.

still could not fit into any of my skinnies.

damn!

Renee and Dylan in the twin stroller for the first time.

both deep asleep when we arrived at Empire.

Last Sunday

Was Shanya's baptism-cum-fullmoon do at Godma's house.

We didn't go to church for the baptism.

But we made it to Godm'as house for the fullmoon luncheon.

As usual, we arrived late.

Lunch started at 2pm.

We arrived at almost 3pm *blush*

my first ever taste of macaroons.

and it's the famous ones from Nathalie Gourmet Studios.

i'm no longer a macaroon virgin!

Shanya Charisse Ravindran.

Born Oct 26th, 2011.

Weighing 3.55kgs at birth.

at home before leaving for Godma's house.

holding her precious pringles.

waiting for me to finish feeding Dylan.

a fully-fed and satisfied Dylan.

Daddy carrying Dylan for the first time.

See how stressed up he looks.

pretty scarves from Chiang Mai.

souvenirs from cousin Michele.

picked a turquoise one for Sarah, a reddish-orange one for Jodie and a psychedelic one for myself!

4 generations in the family.

grandma, me, mummy, Dylan, Shanya, Godma, Lynette & grandpa.

Random Pictures

testing out my new toy ;)

So u think I am very free?

2011-12-08T05:47:00.001+08:00

Yes. Looking after a house, handling a 3yo toddler and managing a newborn all at the same time is the easiest job in the world.

That's what people think. Isn't it?

Here's the reality okay.

I feel like a fucking feeding machine! Out of 24hrs in a day, I think I spend 18 freaking hours just on feeding and burping alone.

The remaining 6 hrs is used to bathe and diaper change Dylan, bathe and feed Renee, bathe and feed myself, tidy up the house (because nobody helps me!!!) and do the laundry ie. wash, dry, fold, put back in wardrobe. And all these done around Dylan's unpredictable sleeping times.

Yes. There is no 'sleep' in that list because there IS NO SLEEP!

There is no sleep during daytime because if I'm even lucky, I get at least 2 hrs straight to rush through my shower, prepare lunch and make sure Renee and I have our food.

Usually, before I can even finish lunch, Dylan wakes up dy and I end up spending the next 2 hrs feeding him and trying to put him back to sleep.

When he finally goes back to sleep, I get to finish up my already cold lunch, wash up the dishes, do laundry, tidy up the house a bit and give Renee her bath.

Usually though, I only get to finish up my lunch, wash dishes and bathe Renee before he wakes up again. Then the next 2 hrs is again spent on feeding and trying to put him back to sleep.

If I'm lucky, I get to do laundry and tidy up house. If I'm not, then that will have to wait till tomorrow, or at most times, I rush through it while leaving Dylan to wail away in his cot / basinet.

And then it's rushing to prep and feed Renee dinner, wash up dishes and then prepare Dylan for night wipe down and bed time.

All through the nite is the same thing. If I'm lucky, he sleeps straight 2 hrs before his next feed so I get sleep as well. But again, that's usually not the case.

He feeds, fusses, burps and sleeps. By the time I get my mind to relax and fall asleep, he's awake for his next feed.

Either that or I have to change his diapers.

Either that or it's because I have a snoring machine AND a squealing machine in the same room as me.

And by the time I get to have some decent sleep, it's time to wake up and start the day all over again.

No. I'm not complaining.

After all, it was my choice to stay home and look after my own children and my house.

But DO NOT, for a second, think that I'm very free at home.

DO NOT, for a second, think that I'm getting so much sleep that I 'should' wake up earlier to get more things done.

Because I am NOT free and I'm certainly NOT getting enough sleep!

So please, bear with my 'lack of patience' and my 'absentmindedness' okay.

Because I think I'm doing a pretty good job as it is already.

Unless you think you can do better?

MyCameraCouture.com

2011-11-28T19:40:00.001+08:00

Was looking around for a nice strap for my camera but couldn't find any available here in KL. The one that I found and really liked cost about RM200 plus.

It was different from the usual black straps that comes free with purchases of camera, but not so different that I was willing to part with that kind of money for. And so, I continued my search.

You know how went you visit a site and it comes up with a list of links related to the site you're on? Well, I went onto eBay to see if the strap I liked was selling for cheaper but it was still the same price, and underneath it there was a whole list of related links and one of them was MyCameraCouture.com.

It's a website selling only camera straps, all personally designed and custom-made by the owner of the site itself.

And I found soooooo many that I liked!

The designs were soooooo much nicer.

AND the prices were also sooooo much cheaper!

So I bought myself 2 straps.

As a delivery present to myself.

I calculated the dates, and knew that I would be receiving it a few days after I gave birth.

Perfect!

And true enough, about a week after Dylan and I were discharged from the hospital, I received a parcel in the mail. It was from Canada.

My camera is totally rocking it's new look.

And I'm totally loving my cam's new look.

Oh.

And both straps PLUS shipping cost me only RM180 plus.

Juggling

2011-11-24T00:08:00.001+08:00

So it's almost 6 days since Dylan joined our little family and he's been a joy to have around. No doubt the day and night feeds, the pooping and the changing of a million diapers a day has tired both SK and I out but we're not complaining.

In fact, so far Dylan has been a pretty easy baby to handle. He wakes for his feeds and when he has had enough, he sleeps for 3 hours, allowing me to take my shower, have my lunch, feed Renee her lunch and even some extra time just to sit back and relax a little. I hope i didn't jinx it by blogging about it.

What does tire me out emotionally to no end is the juggling of balancing out the time and attention spent with both my children.

Dylan is a baby. Obviously he needs my attention more. But Renee is also feeling slightly left out. She's been extra sticky and cheeky, craving for that attention that was all hers once upon a time ago.

And I try so hard not to do anything that might make her feel even more left out. Whenever I'm done with Dylan, I try to spend time doing things with her. And when she gets cranky and wants only me and nobody else, I try not to snap at her or scream at her or tell her to go to daddy/nana/kung kung/etc because like I said, I do not want her to feel like Dylan has taken me away from her.

She's a good girl. She helps me while i change Dylan's diapers by soaking the cotton balls for me and passing it to me when asked. She kisses Dylan off and on at her own free will, she snuggles up to him when he's asleep and she's so proud to tell people that Dylan is her baby brother.

So i do what i can to make her still feel loved and part of the family.

It's taking a toll on me but this juggle is worth it.

Dylan...

2011-11-19T05:46:00.001+08:00

As of Nov 18th, 2011, my status has been upgraded once yet again - Mummy 2.0

It's now 5.30am and I'm up feeding my newborn baby boy, the second child God has blessed us with.

I've forgotten how wonderful it feels to be holding my very own newborn baby and what joy it gives. To actually imagine that this little baby was formed inside me, it's just such an amazing feeling that words cannot describe.

This little wailing creature has only been in my life for less than 24 hrs and yet, I already know that I will sacrifice my very own life just for him.

My feedback on the Banjaran Weekend Getaway - Day 1

2011-09-22T20:02:00.004+08:00

Okay.

I take back my words.

I was wrong.

I ABSOLUTELY ENJOYED BANJARAN AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING BACK AGAIN SOMETIME SOON!!!

view from reception area

Day 1:

We agreed to meet up with parents and sisters at the Sg. Buloh R&R at 10am and head up to Ipoh together. The night before we left, Jodie called me and told me that mummy was prepared for us to be late and to arrive at only 10.30am (because we're always late).

Of course when I heard that, I was determined to prove them wrong and show them that we weren't always late la. So I told SK to get everything packed and that we will leave the house by latest 9am!

Miraculously, we did leave the house by 9am!

Ok. 9.30am.

But important thing was, we got there before them and even had time to have breakfast!

So take that. Hmph!

We arrived in Ipoh at about 1pm and stopped to have lunch at one of the coffee shops.

Restaurant New Hollywood.

Nama glamour saja tapi memang coffee shop.

And SK insisted that he's brought me there before during our dating days but I have no recollection whatsoever. He must have mistaken me for one of his many girlfriends. Player.

our private plunge pool

We each had our own villas but each villa was so big I think all of us could have stayed together in one. But they only allow 2 adults per villa that's why we had to take 3.

So mummy and daddy had one.

Jodie and Sarah had one.

And SK, Renee and I had one.

The villas were so big and gorgeous we were 'Ooh-ing' and 'Aah-ing' at everything.

Upon entering the doors to our own respective villas, we were greeted with the gorgeous view of our own private plunge pool.

A huge living / dining area faced the pool, facing the open greenery that surrounded the villas and of course, the spectacular caves around as well.

We were surrounded by lush greenery, hot water springs everywhere and really tall natural caves.

warm water pool outside our villas

It was raining when we checked in so we spent the afternoon checking out our own villas, unpacking our toiletries and just getting used to what was to be our 'home' for the next 3 days.

When the rain slowed down, we headed out to the warm water pool and just lazed there for the remaining daylight hours.

We had huge lizards lazing around the pool with us.
Talk about being one with nature.

the lizard that lepak-ed with us

We also tried out the hot-springs dipping wells but it was soooooo hot, I couldn't even put my feet in for more than 5 seconds!
I really do not know how mummy, daddy and SK could sink their whole bodies in.
Just sitting around it was making me perspire.

So while the 3 of them dipped in the BOILING HOT WATER, Jodie, Sarah, Renee and I sat squatting down around the well like monkeys, afraid to have our feet touch the water.

Sarah did try putting her legs in for more than 10 seconds and they came out RED.
Like boiled lobster red.
In her words, it was so stressful!

surrounded by natural hot springs that was too hot for people to be allowed into it

We then went to check out the Dr. Fish Spa, which was a shallow pond filled with tiny fishes that eats away your dead skin when you soak your feet inside.

I happily enjoyed having them pick at all my dead skin that I didn't even realize that one part of my feet started bleeding.

They were freaking chewing on me!

I never went back again after that.

the dipping wells where the 'cooler' water were, kononlah. Was still so HOT!

We had dinner at The Pomelo, their in-house restaurant.

Too lazy to drive out for dinner after the long drive from KL and Renee was sleepy as well.

It was buffet-styled dinner and I was expecting 'light, healthy dishes' as was stated in their website so I wasn't really looking forward to it.

But boy was I surprised when I saw their array of food!

There was Acar, Kerabu Mangga, Kerabu Chicken Feet, Cold Cuts, preserved fruits, tom yum seafood soup, steamed rice, ayam masak kicap, ikan pedas, stir-fried vege, ginger beef, and all sorts of desserts, cakes, fruits and puddings!

Of course the variety is nothing compared to our 5-star hotels in KL la but for a retreat, the food was good enough lor.

So that was Day 1 of the Banjaran weekend getaway and so far, I was already falling in love with the place.

Hotsprings Retreat

2011-09-09T21:03:00.000+08:00

photo taken from Banjaran's official website

Exactly a week from today, my parents, sisters, hubby, Renee and I will be heading to the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Ipoh.

Reason why we're going on a family holiday is because my youngest sister, Sarah, will be back from London for 3 weeks and the parents wanted to go somewhere where the family could....erm....bond.

So mummy chose this place.

From their website, I could tell that this is quite a high-end, luxurious place that without my parents paying, I doubt I would ever be able to afford to go there on my own. I mean, it's stated there RM1,800 per night per villa! Now, WHY IN THE WORLD would I want to part with RM1,800 just to go to this place? I'd rather use the money and do something more interesting....like go to Perhentian and spend a month there.

Anyways, in a way, I was kindda looking forward to going so that I could spend some time with the family but when I also found out that one of their policy was "No children under 8 years old allowed", I was a little taken aback.

Ok, so you are a high-end, luxurious spa retreat whatever and you don't want noisy children running around for fear of disturbing your other guests who are actually there to meditate bla bla bla so you don't allow children under 8 to be there. Ok, I understand.

Mummy managed to get them to make an exception for Renee cos we're taking 3 villas for 2 nights each so just do your own calculation to see how much they are gonna be earning from my parents for just next weekend alone and NO, FOOD IS NOT INCLUDED.

By the way, food served in the spa retreat is nothing that would satisfy a hungry pregnant woman. Because they are all into wholesomeness and health, of course, the food there is organic healthy stuff. I'm talking "light, healthy & nutritious dishes" here. Adding to that, their restaurant is not 24 hours so I don't get to order in-room service after 10pm.

10pm!!!

I GET HUNGRY EVERY 2 HOURS!!!

So now, not only do I have to deal with their "light, healthy & nutritious spa cuisine", I also have to starve myself??? I'm gonna be smuggling in A LOT of instant cup noodles and chocolates. And please don't give me the whole "instant noodles not nutritious for your baby" crap. I'm gonna be eating NUTRITIOUS, HEALTHY, LIGHT food all day long so yes, I get to enjoy a little junk at nights k.

I've also told hubby to drive me out to Ipoh town after 10pm to have supper and tapow whatever I can back to the retreat. Hopefully I dont get caught smuggling unhealthy food in. Worse, hopefully they don't LOCK UP THEIR GATES to the outside world after 10pm!

Anyways, putting the food aside, I was really looking forward to going and dipping in the hot pools cos I do so love hot water, but then I was told by my gynea that I'm NOT ALLOWED INTO HOTSPRINGS FML!!!!!

Apparently, anything above 39 degrees in temperature will send my baby into a high fever and spasms because although outside temp is only 39, my core temp is always 1 or 2 degrees higher.

So, let me list it all down here:

1. I am pressured to run after my 3-yo the whole day to make sure she doesn't run around, scream / laugh / cry too loudly so that she doesn't disturb other guests,

2. I have to put up with 'light, healthy dishes' which is only served 3 times a day and starve in between meals and at nights, and

3. I am not allowed to enjoy the hotsprings.

Erm....remind me again why I'm going there?

Oh yah, to BOND with the family.

You know, seriously, I'd rather have the money and spend a whole month in Perhentian, and I might even have balance to spend on shopping!

At least at Perhentian, I get to spend 1 month there, EAT ALL I WANT ALL DAY LONG, and Renee is free to behave like a 3 year old without me having to thwart her every action.

Having said this though, I appreciate that this trip is paid for. That's all.

Prawns in Chinese Rice Wine

2011-09-05T17:56:00.002+08:00

Had a few friends asking me how to make this dish since I tweeted about it.

It's actually very simple and I got this recipe from my late yeh-yeh.

It was his favorite dish to cook and each time we went back for family dinners, this dish will definitely be there.

So here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

About 20pcs of big prawns (cleaned and heads removed but still shelled)
2 cloves garlic - diced
3 tablespoons white soya sauce
1 table spoon Chinese Rice Wine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon cooking oil

Method:

In a small bowl, mix the white soya sauce, Chinese Rice Wine and sugar together.
Heat up the wok with the cooking oil.
When wok is hot enough, stir fry the garlic until golden brown. Add in the prawns and stir fry till prawns are cooked.
Turn to slow fire and pour in the mixture of soya sauce, rice wine and sugar. Slowly stir fry for another 5 - 10 minutes.
Serve hot.

See. Easy peasy!
And taste good.
Well, I like it anyways.
Hope you do too!

Asthma

2011-09-05T17:30:00.000+08:00

About 2 weeks after our Perhentian trip, Renee was admitted into hospital for having lungs infection which then confirmed her as asthmatic. She had to be on the neubalizer every 3 hours for 3 days and 2 nights to clear up the congestion in her lungs .

At the same time, I was sick myself. Had the same problem, lungs congestion (so now we know who Renee takes after), nose was so totally jammed up I had to breathe through my mouth and I lost hearing in my right ear. I was also on the inhaler to clear my own lungs.

So imagine what a great condition we both were in during that time.

Entertaining herself with the cartoon channels and the iPad

Had her finger pricked for blood sample

Being a good girl holding her own neubalizer

Almost a month after being discharged, her condition has improved a lot. Although she is still on the inhaler at home and on some other medication to ensure that her lungs are kept clear, she's stopped coughing, and she's back to her active self again.

I have also stopped giving her Vitagen and ice-cream but then again, she is just a child so being the bad mummy that I am, I occasionally sneak her an ice-cream cup or two as treats.

Other random pictures I took:

Renee sunnies shopping while her mummy was shoe shopping

At the playground

Being her usual cheeky self

Painted my toe nails purple with silver french

The stupid frog that jumped on my right feet giving me a fright

I Saved A Life Today

2011-08-05T14:35:00.001+08:00

Found a little baby catterpillar on my greens today.

What should I do with it?

Should i kill it?
Should i drown it?
Should i keep it in a jar for Renee?

Hmmm...just drown it, I thought.

I started running the water n while waiting for the container to fill up, I watched the little caterpillar.

It crawled up and down the leaf, trying to find a way out. And then i thought, what am I doing? It's just a baby. If I gave it a chance to live, one day, it will turn into a beautiful butterfly.

Afterall, God gave it life. Who was I to take that away?

And so, i turned off the tap, took the leaf with the caterpillar on it and brought it out to my garden.

Here you go, I told the little baby caterpillar as I watched it crawl from the leaf onto the leaf of my bamboo plant. Go live, survive and come back and visit me one day when you've all grown up.

Island Getaway

2011-07-19T22:50:00.001+08:00

We're leaving for a short island holiday tomorrow night. Our destination - Perhentian!

Both SK and I have never been there before so we're kindda excited. Apparently, almost all the people I've spoken to claimed that it's far better than Redang and Lang Tengah, and I do so love both those islands.

I've been to Redang twice. First time was back in 2003/4 (can't remember), to Berjaya Redang with the ex-boyfriend. My second time was with SK where we stayed in Laguna.

I've also been to Lang Tengah twice, both times with SK. The first time was before we were officially dating so it was like a 'scandalous' getaway *naughty grin*. The second time was last year May, just after my stupid maid pulled her 'runaway' stunt.

Both islands were...ARE gorgeous, so for friends to tell me that Perhentian is way better, I really cannot wait to find out!

We've decided to take a drive there instead of flying, which is really fine by me cos I love long car trips. I even drove to Koh Samui once back in 2004. 15 hours drive non-stop except for meals and loved every single minute of it!

But this time, because of me being pregnant and having Renee with us, we'll be making a stop overnight at Kuala Terengganu before starting off for Kuala Besut jetty early next morning.

Bags are all packed and Renee is as excited as me, so we're just waiting to push off our journey!

Can't wait to have my tan back! Before motherhood, I used to be known as 'the girl with the permanent tan' cos Sk and I would go to the beach like every other weekend.

Hopefully, i get that 'title' back again!

A Lazy Sunday

2011-07-10T18:54:00.000+08:00

After an eventful Saturday yesterday - eventful meaning me busy checking my Twitter and Facebook updates on the Bersih rally going on in town and surfing news channel to see if there were any coverage on electronic media as well, followed by a rushed Pasar Malam visit to tapow my favorite snacks and food and then another rushed dinner where Renee fell asleep halfway through with a mouthful of noodles, and then followed by a rushed grocery trip to Tesco *phew*, we decided to take it easy today and not do anything.

Well, not literally do nothing.

The hubby and daughter are outside right now, washing the cars while I'm inside attempting to copy the Rio movie and a few other videos onto my MacBook so that I can later sync it to my iPad. This is, of course, all for hoping that these movies and videos can keep Renee occupied during our long drive to the East Coast next week.

I'm hoping I don't screw anything up on my laptop and ipad as well as the DVDs while attempting to do this 'copying'. It's my first time and I'm an IT idiot.

Anyways, while waiting for the files to copy, I've posted some pictures of dishes that I cooked over the pass month.

We actually tried catered food for about a month, paying RM200 per month for 2 meat dishes, 1 vege dish a soup but after 2 weeks of eating it, we got bored. Same taste, same style of cooking....eeks. So we cancelled it and I had no choice but to start cooking at least twice a week because eating out is oh-so-expensive!

'Black rice' - a mixture of vege, meat, rice and black sauce all cooked together

Sour & spicy chicken gizzard with cucumber

Baked marmite pork ribs

Home-made wantan noodles with stewed chicken feet and vege

Nothing spectacular la, I know, but coming from someone who couldn't even boil rice not too long ago, I take this as a vast improvement in my culinary skills.

I've even made chicken rice a few times and will be attempting to make my own Nasi Lemak this coming week. Hope it turns out yummy.

I never really know if the food I cook is yummy or not because hubby says everything is delicious. He has to. He don't have a choice. Else I mengamuk and stop cooking and we have to eat out every night....which is really fine by me. But not to him. So he'll have to continue loving the food I cook and I'll never find out if its really that yummy unless I have a party come over.

Maybe soon?

June '11

2011-07-08T15:20:00.006+08:00

With this blog post, I hope that I can actively start blogging again - at least one post a week, if not one in two weeks?

Life has certainly been very busy for me, even with Renee spending most of the hours a day in daycare, I would have thought I would be able to have much more free time, but I guess I was wrong.

The more time you have on your hands, the more things you'll find that you have to do. Apart from trying to maintain a company, handle freelance writing jobs, keep the house clean and finding time for my own social life, I now also have to deal with the occasional morning sickness, nausea, body aches, hunger pangs - the oh so normal symptoms of a pregnant woman.

Yes, as of this week in July, I am already 19 weeks pregnant. But we're talking about the month of June here so let's move on.

Was almost 4 months pregnant in this pic

First week of June, I turned 31.

Godma threw a BBQ dinner for me and my cousin Chris (who's birthday was a day before mine) at her place and all I had to do was show up. Birthdays these days are not like how I used to have it anymore....unless I am willing to leave Renee with someone and go out and party. But I'm not. I'd rather stay home and have a boring birthday.

Towards the end of June, the three of us, hubby, Renee and I, decided to take a day trip down to Melaka because I was craving for their Sate Celup.

But instead of a 'day trip', we ended up arriving in Melaka only at 5pm!

Ya, blame it on the pregnant woman who didn't want to wake up earlier.

First pit stop was at the Melaka Zoo for Renee!

Seen here taken with the Mandrills

Renee had a blast!

She kept going on and on about wanting to see the monkeys, and the elephants, and the giraffes. Well, life was easy for her since she was carried most of the time where else I ALMOST FAINTED from the heat, the uphill-downhill walk and having to keep up an active conversation with her at the same time!

BUT I MADE IT!!!!!

And so, to reward myself....I had an eating spree!

First meal for the night was this!

Jonker Walk

Nasi Lemak. Assam Laksa. Nyonya Laksa. And Mango Cendol!

The Nasi Lemak was SK's. The rest was MINE!!! Hahahahaha!

So yummy!

After putting some food in my tummy, I wasn't so cranky anymore so we took a walk around Jonker Walk, bought snacks here and there to munch on, bought more knick-knacks for Renee to play with, bought some Angry Bird t-shirts for Renee and Zach and my Godson, Roy. Unfortunately, the shirt I bought for Zach was too small and the one I got for Roy was too big. But oh well, he can grow into it. And it was also because of this shirt that Roy called me 'Godma' for the first time!!!!

Not once but many many many times!!!

After Jonker Walk, we took a drive down to the Portugese Settlement for the St. Pedro Festival.

They had live performances going on on stage and the dancers were cheering on for people to join them and the music was soooooo loud the base was practically shaking my body up and down and I think the baby inside my tummy was dancing to it as well.

We stopped for our second meal of Portuguese Grilled Fish.

Actually, SK was't hungry but I really wanted to eat so he had no choice but to eat it with me, else I would not have been able to finish such a huge piece of fish. But then again, even with both of us eating, we still had to tapow half the fish home...so I had it for dinner the next day. Hahaha!

Right after that, we went for our Sate Celup.

The restaurant that we wanted to go to had a queue so freaking long that if we waited, we wouldn't be able to eat till the next morning, so we opted for the next best one...

Didn't satisfy my sate celup cravings though....but better than nothing. Gonna take another drive down one of these days to have the sate celup that I want.

OMG

2011-01-28T19:17:00.002+08:00

I just realized that my last blog post was in November last year.
Which means that I totally skipped Christmas and New Year here.
And also I'm actually blogging for the very FIRST time from my MAC Book Pro.
Although I bought it like in October last year.

So yes, my new year resolutions....

To blog more
To make more money
To have baby number 2

Ok. Wish me luck.

Or at least pray for me yah.

Thank you very much.

Bai.

Good Ol' Happy Days

2010-11-01T13:40:00.000+08:00

A few weekends ago, we decided to go try something new for dinner.

We ended up in The Good Ol' Happy Days Bistro & Cafe in Taipan, Subang.

From outside it looks really nice....like it came right out of 1970s movie.

Well, it's suppose to look like it came right out of a 1970s TV sitcom anyways....called "Happy Days"!

They had the whole look....

Black and white checkered floor tiles, vinyl red plastic seats, a jukebox belting out old songs, pictures and memorabilia from that era decorating the walls and even their menu carried names of old-time singers eg. Jambalaya Hank William's Mushroom Soup, Nat King Cole Double Barrel Lamb Rack, James Brown Texan Ribeye....you get the gist.

They definitely got the whole American diner atmosphere going on and I felt myself singing One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock ROCK!...

The only thing missing were waitress on rollerskates!

There was a HUGE mannequin of Fonzy, the main character of Happy Days, near where they sat us and when my little 2 year old coward saw it, she started crying and clinging on to me for dear life. So we had to shift tables.

Honestly, it was quite scary looking la and if I were a kid, I'd cry too.

But I took a picture of Fonzy and whenever Renee gets naughty at home, I will show her the picture and say "Behave yourself or Big Man will come catch you!".

So far, it works like a charm.

I just hope Renee doesn't get too smart too soon to realize that there is no such thing as Big Man.

Anyways, I don't know if it's because we went at the wrong time or it was just our luck but most of the food that we wanted to order was either "Finished" or "Out of Stock".

So we ended up with not much of a choice and had to order whatever that was available. Maybe that kind of ruined our whole mood and we weren't feeling quite so 'happy' anymore.

I can't even remember what I ordered.

SK had the lamb rack which wasn't really good (cos according to the waitress, it was the last one), I had some steak burger or something and Renee had Fish N Chips.

Nothing worth shouting about.

And let's just put it this way. It cost about Fridays/Chilis price but the portion that comes is like a kid's meal size. Yah. Imagine how tiny Renee's kid's meal was when our adult's portion was so small already.

In my opinion, the food is not worth the money.

But if you want to go for beers with friends and sit around listening to music from an era long ago but not forgotten, then it is a nice place to go to.

Well, I would go back for drinks anyways....not for the food.

The place makes me feel that much closer to Elvis.

Today

2010-10-21T22:41:00.001+08:00

After almost 2 months of being dropped off, kicking and screaming, at the daycare, today, she jumped out of the car, ran into the house, turned around to wave at me, and disappeared behind the door.

Not a single kick.
Not a single scream.
Not a single tear.

Today.
I cried inside.
My baby doesn't need me anymore.

WAIL!!!!!

Starf*cks!

2010-09-14T17:19:00.000+08:00

It's so weird cos I'm like sitting here, in Starbucks, for the past 4 hours, trying to do work, but instead of using their Internet connection, I'm stuck using my pathetic Maxis broadband.

WHY???

Because their f*cking server is down and they didn't bother informing me about it even though they saw me walk in with my laptop!!! Like HELLO, walk in with laptop means want to use your connection la stupid!

If I knew, I wouldn't have bought a drink and my lunch.

Why spend an extra RM25 to sit in your stupid outlet when I could have saved the money and ate at home if I was gonna end up using my broadband anyways???

I know you guys wanna make money la...but sometimes, being honest to your customers is good too okay. Then at least your customers have a choice of walking out or to stay.

Off to 'school'

2010-09-10T21:08:00.001+08:00

Renee officially started school on Sept 1st. Of course, she's only just turned 2, so 'school' here actually means daycare.

They feed her, bathe her, change her and even put her down for her nap. They also have 'lessons' like maths, languages, arts & crafts and music & songs.

Most importantly, when Renee is there, she gets to interact with other kids her age, and to me, that's very important.

Because I want her to learn to share and communicate with other kids. Just being alone with me for the pass 2 years, she has had all the attention to herself, all the toys to herself and had nobody else to talk to except me and sk.

And i've seen kids who grew up alone without being around other kids. They are loners and selfish and always keep to themselves as they are not used to being around others.

I do not want Renee to grow up to become like that.

Even though it was, and still is, hard to let her go, it also helps that I get some 'me' time to myself when Renee is away at school, and I've come to realise that it actually plays a very important role.

I'm less mang chang and more patient and I do not take out my frustrations on Renee and SK as much as i used to.

The first 3 days, I cried as much as Renee did, perhaps even more, but as the days wore on, I've learnt to actually enjoy this new found freedom. The freedom of not having to worry about feeding Renee, or watching her while I try to do my things, or whether or not she's watching too much or too little tv.

Of course, it also helps alot to know that Renee is settling down in school as well, and does not cry for as long as she did the first few times.

But the pass 2 days marked a GREAT improvement because the teacher successfully managed to put Renee down for her naps!

Even SK has problems putting her down to sleep because Renee is so used to having me put her to sleep (not to mention her need to suckle me to sleep), that he sometimes had to purposely take her for a drive just so that she will fall asleep!

So I was quite worried about that. And it really didn't help with the fact that for the first few days of starting school, Renee fought to stay awake pass her nap time to wait for me to pick her up only to fall asleep upon reaching home. And that would usually already be about 6.30 pm 7pm, and she won't wake till about 8.30pm 9pm, only to fall back asleep at 2am.

So you can imagine just how it screwed up her timing.

And I wasn't sure how long this would last for and it worried me beyond words because I definitely did not want her sleeping at 2am everyday.

So when the teacher called me up 2 days ago to inform me that she has finally managed to put Renee down for her nap (and she slept for 1.5hrs at that!), I was overjoyed!

It also comforted me in a way that Renee actually trusted her teacher enough to allow her to put her to sleep because to me, that meant that the teacher was treating her well and not abusing her - and kids don't lie about these things.

Overall, Project Daycare went better than I expected and I'm really glad to have found a place that both Renee and I are so comfortable with.

I only pray that I don't cry on the day when she can say "Bye mummy" and walk in on her own without a backward glance at me.

The month that was

2010-09-09T15:04:00.000+08:00

Okay, I actually wrote something else before this but thanks to BlogPress and it eff-ing up on me all the time, I ter-deleted it. Too lazy to rewrite what it was. And this was suppose to be posted up last week but I don't know what's wrong with BlogPress so I'm now actually retyping this using my laptop.

Basically, something about me starting work based from home and of Renee starting daycare, which I will blog about in another entry cos its damn emo and this blog is suppose to be about happy clappy things.

And of course, also about all the things that happened since my last post on HFM.

First up, Renee turned TWO on August 22nd! My little baby is not so little anymore *sniffsniff*

The theme, as you can see on her birthday cake, was Elephants & Penguins, so we had a two-layered cake, the bottom layer being jungle themed for the elephants and the top layer snow themed for the penguins!

Everyone enjoyed the cake because it wasn't too sweet nor rich so yes, money well spent! Haha!

The cake was from www.heavenlyonearth.blogspot.com and you can get them to customize any kindda cake you want. Damn nice. Go check out this Burberry bag they made. Looked so real!

Anyways, we celebrated her birthday with friends and family one day before her actual day at KFC Subang Parade and it was HAVOC!!!

All the kids everywhere!!!

Sorry la but this was the first kids party I ever organised and it seriously almost made me swore NEVER to throw another one ever!

And the worse part was the stupid mascot.

Dah la Renee scared of it right. But the stupid chicken was just standing there during the cake cutting session and did not wanna move. I tried telling it to get out of the way so that we can have a proper family picture taken without it's beak in the way but either his costume was too thick or he pekak, he didn't lor. So Renee was crying throughout the cake cutting session.

And even then, I had to snatch the knife out of the damn mascot's hands/wings because it didn't wanna give it to me.

Hello! Your birthday or my daughter's birthday? Stupid chicken.

(ok...ok...think happy clappy thoughts.....happy clappy happy clappy....)

One week later, we celebrated SK's 32nd birthday!

I decided to bring him to Sunway Resort's Sun & Surf Cafe because I remember how much I loved it when I was there a few years back.

We used to go there for like every occasion we could think of. Grandpa's birthday. Family dinner. Parent's anniversary. Just for fun. So to me, it was a place that brings happy memories and laughter to me and I wanted to share that with SK as he has never been there before.

SIGH....

BIG disappointment.

The spread was only so-so.

The oysters weren't even fresh!

The place was dirty.

I don't even know what the hundreds of waiters and waitresses do there but they sure did not do what they were suppose to do lor.

And.....wait for it...

THEY WERE OUT OF BABY CHAIRS!!!

Excuse me but I called up a few days in advance, made reservations and informed you that I will be bringing a toddler with me and that I would need a baby chair.

So why was it when I arrived that not only did I have to wait for my table when your restaurant was PRACTICALLY EMPTY but was also told there were no more baby chairs for me???

FAIL BIG TIME!!!

Imagine when I tweeted about this, I wasn't surprised from the response I got back. All was about their own personal experience dining there and all NEGATIVE feedback!

You should just CLOSE SHOP.

And to think that you charge RM98++ per person. What a shitload waste of our time and money.

Sigh...sorry b, shall let you decide on the venue next year. Don't wanna disappoint you again.

Omg, this post is suppose to be a happy post, why am I so angry?

Anyways, our birthday present to Renee was this...

We brought her for Sesame Street Live presenting When Elmo Grows Up in Bukit Jalil Stadium and she absolutely loved it!!!

Even I enjoyed it!

Brought me back down memory lane...

"Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away,

On our way, to where the air is sweet!

Can you tell me how to get

How to get to Sesame Street"

Only thing I regretted was not buying front row tix.

Because judging from the way Renee reacted to the KFC mascot at her birthday party, we didn;t think it would be wise to get seats too near the stage.

But I would have enjoyed being up close and in their face =)

The whole show lasted about an hour plus and it was fantastic!

The lightings & sounds were perfect and the props....fabulous!!!

The three of us enjoyed it thoroughly!

The only thing that I was a bit upset about was that the cast did not come out for a meet and greet session.

It would have been nice to take some pictures with them.

And finally, we went up to Frasers again!

But this will come in it's own seperate post as well. Soon. I hope.

HFM

2010-08-01T01:56:00.000+08:00

Yup, my little baby girl is the latest victim of this annoying virus going around targeting kids.

She's got the whole works.

Started off with a fever that peaked at 38.5 degrees. Followed by horrible splotches of huge white ulcers inside her mouth and tongue and of course the red spots on the feet and hands.

Its really heart-breaking to see my little girl go through this because, seriously, at my age and with one teeny weeny little ulcer on my tongue, I'm already whining away non-stop. What more having a whole mouth and tongue full of it.

But she's strong. And thank goodness for us and her, she's still eating and drinking as normal, although she may be cranky at times, especially during her sleep.

So i guess its either the ulcers aren't hurting her that much, or she has a super high threshold for pain. Whichever it is, its a good thing.

Looks like i won't be starting her in daycare as planned. Not until she's fully recovered.

Brave strong girl

2010-07-28T00:23:00.000+08:00

Next week marks a new chapter in my life as a mother, and in Renee's life as a child.

She's starting daycare.

I know it may not be anything big to most of you, and most mothers do it so why can't I, right? But it IS big for me. A very big and difficult step to take.

I'm extremely attached to Renee. Like really super-glue attach. I carried her for 9 months and in this 9 months, I was on complete bed rest throughout my 1st trimester because I was bleeding.

I think the fact that I stood a very high chance of loosing my then unborn child made me cling on and willed my body harder to be strong. To make sure that I did NOT lose it.

And when I won that fight, the next obstacle came. In my 2nd trimester, I had to do a blood test and my results came back bad. The baby I was carrying had an extremely high risk of being down-syndrome.

I had to go in for further tests. And the waiting for results period drove me very much to almost depression. The doctors said we had a choice to terminate the pregnancy should the results come out bad. And that was what almost killed me.

I was already in my 20th week. I already knew that my baby is a 'she'. I already felt her moving inside me. I already loved her. What would I do if she was down-syndrome? Would i want to continue with this, knowing that we're all gonna suffer together when she's born? Shunned by society? And who's gonna look out for her if something happened to me?

But to terminate the pregnancy? How could I kill my own child? Who am I to end a life? A life that i already loved?

But praise God, we won this war again. Further tests showed her to be a normal HEALTHY baby girl. 5 fingers 5 toes and a very prominent forehead.

My third trimester came and my baby was breeched. She didn't turn. And what made it worse. She had already pooped inside. Which made the very waters she was swimming in toxic. And so I was scheduled in for a c-section.

I have been fighting obstacles after obstacles from the start of my pregnancy till the very end. And that made me just that much more attached to Renee.

I drowned through fear of losing her 3 times and yet, 3 times we managed to break through the currents and inhale fresh new air.

So I guess in a way, its made me a little psycho. About always being there to protect Renee.

I gave up my career to be a stay-home mom. I looked after Renee all by myself with no help from anyone from the day she was born up till now. And she's turning 2 next month.

I don't even trust my parents or SK's parents to look after her even for a few hours. Wtf I don't even trust SK to look after her.

So yes, sending her to a daycare is a very BIG thing for me.

I've been mentally prepping her for it, telling her that she'll be going to 'school' next week, got many friends to play with, teachers to teach many things. Mummy will come back and pick you up after 'school' is over. Be a strong and brave girl.

I'm just praying and hoping that I'll be the braver and stronger girl.

Anyways, some random pictures I took here and there.

Renee made me decorate her Elly with my flower hair-ties.

A small snail I found while prepping veggies for dinner.

We went for steambot in Klang that still uses the traditional method of charcoal to heat up the soup.

In F21's dressing room. Loved the look but only got myself the top. I mean, who am i kidding. Can't carry off that college girl look anymore.

Renee has learned to climb on top of the tv table but has yet to learn how to climb down.

Chocolate feast with my baby girl before heading back to OUG for dinner.

I is so stupid

2010-07-24T18:10:00.000+08:00

The iPhone is THE MOST complicated thing in the world!

I mean, its also awesome. It keeps Renee entertained in the car and while i take my shower because it has all these cool educational apps that she can play with. I get to download all these other apps for myself which I could not using a normal mobile phone.

Its just that this phone is in a world of its own. Just downloading ringtones itself is a bitch. Being so used to other phones where I could just save the song or have someone bluetooth it to my phone and I can automatically use that as a ringtone already, I almost cried when I first found out what I had to do to convert songs to be recognized as ringtones for this phone.

Even my bluetooth earpiece refuses to even wanna pair with this phone and I do not know why so I'm stuck using the conventional handsfree that came with the phone, wires everywhere.

And last night. OMG!!! I almost went crazy. Renee was playing with my phone and I didn't know what she did but she managed to lock my rotation mode.

Which means that my screen stayed lock even when I turned the phone sideways. So I couldn't even use landscape mode to type or view stuff.

And what was even more frustrating was the fact that I didn't know how to undo it!

I searched through the Settings in the phone, clicking here and there and when nothing happened, I did it all over again anyways just in case something might miraculously happen on the 2nd and 3rd try. Nothing.

I even googled it "Enable landscape mode iphone", "Unlock locked landscape mode ipone", "Landscape mode iphone"....bla bla bla but everything that came out all said the same thing - download this app or that app for extra landscape keyboards or games or what not.

Urgh! I was so close to throwing the phone away and strangling Renee at the same time. But she's just a kid. Didn't know what she was doing. Just a very smart kid.

And I'm the type of person where if I don't get something settled the way I want it to be, I won't be able to sleep. At all.

Like when I'm already in bed, comfy and snugged and then I notice that the curtains are a little crooked, I'll get up just to straighten it, else it'll be bugging me the whole night. Or if I notice that my brush, perfume, make up, watever is not placed in its right place or is a little out of its place, I'll need to rearrange it back. Or if my shampoo finishes first before my conditioner does, I'll go mad cos I won't know what to do with the remaining conditioner. Yes. I'm crazy like that. SK says its a disease. That I'm diseased.

So just imagine what not being able to undo what Renee did to my phone was doing to me!!!

I was going crazy!

I even posted on twitter and facebook, hoping that someone somewhere out there would be able to help me.

And someone did

I thank the stars and moon and sun and planet for creating such a smart kind nice person and for letting this person be my friend because he saw my fb shout out and replied with a solution!

All i had to do was double click my home button, swipe the multitask bar to the left and VOILA!!! the unlock button was there!

Such a simple solution.

So. Renee's not that smart after all.

I IS JUST STUPIDER.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blog test from iPhone

2010-07-23T01:55:00.000+08:00

I just downloaded this BlogPress app that allows me to blog fr my phone.

So this is just a test blog to see if it works.

I hope it does.

Cos this ain't no free app k.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Persiaran Setia Prima,Shah Alam,Malaysia

Changes

2010-06-22T21:50:00.000+08:00

I'm actually looking around for a daycare centre for Renee.

Yah.

I know, right.

Damn freaking selfish of me.

First, I chose to sacrifice my career to be a Stay At Home Mom.

Thinking it would be all the better for me and for my baby.

And then, because of the choice I made, Renee got used to having mummy around her all the time. She got used to getting first class treatment and first class attention and first class food and first class everything.

And then now, because my maid ran away and left me suddenly with a whole house to maintain and on top of that, a 22 month old toddler to chase around, and I just cannot cope anymore, I'm just gonna throw her into a daycare centre.

To me, that's just really selfish.

But I don't have any other choices.

Everyday, I'm trying my best to keep the house spotless (because Renee tends to pick up random things from the floor and put them into her mouth). But each time I clean one room, I walk into another room to find that Renee had either spilled milk all over the floor, or Vitagen all over the sofa, or left a trail of biscuit crumbs from the living room to the kitchen to the dining area, or something.

And it makes me blow my head off.

And then *POW* I'm suddenly on a screaming rampage, yelling at the top of my lungs at this little girl (who has no idea why her mother is screaming at her again), smacking her hands (or legs, whichever made the mistake), getting out of breath for yelling so loud without stopping to take a breath, and then finally, crumbling down onto the floor and asking myself over and over and over again, what did I ever do to deserve this.

And when I've calmed myself down and Renee is still too scared to come near me, I pick myself up and start cleaning all over again.

And I know that this is just not healthy.

Not for me.

Not for Renee.

I clearly need to go for anger management course.

Or something.

Whatever.

So, which is why I've decided that the best option for this is to send Renee to a daycare centre.

I mean, it's not gonna be that bad. She gets to interact with other kids her age. Get involved in fun activities all day long. Be surrounded by people other than me. It'll be good for her. Might teach her to appreciate me more. And maybe be more disciplined too.

It'll be good for me too.

I'll be able to have 'ME' time, something which I never had much of since I gave birth.

I'll finally be able to focus on growing my own company and be independent instead of depending on hubby. Perhaps in a way, it'll lift a slight burden off hubby's shoulders about being the only one bringing in the money for the family, and we could all be happier.

Also, I wouldn't be getting angry and shouting all the time.

Which means that the time I spend with Renee will be healthier, happier.

And I wouldn't be so mang chang with hubby as well.

BIG sigh.....

Honestly though, although I know this is the best way to go (afterall, Renee is already almost 2), I really am NOT looking forward to sending Renee off to a daycare centre.

I've gotten so used to be the one looking after her since she was born, the thought of someone else taking over the job now (even if its only for a few hours during the day), someone else feeding her, changing her, cleaning her, playing with her, soothing her when she cries, putting her down for her nap.....sighs....just makes me wanna cry, you know.

I mean, how will I know if they're doing their best for her. How will I know if they're feeding her top quality food, or cleaning her properly, or comforting her the right way when she cries?

Something as simple as being there to monitor her temperature every hour when she has a fever, or patiently feeding her and making sure she finishes everything in her bowl, or trying different ways to soothe her when she's sad until she stops crying. These things only a mother will be able to do for her child.

But I know, time will help.

Only time will be able to help me let her go.

It's definitely not going to be easy the first few days, for both me and Renee.

But children adapt to changes easily.

And as for me, well, I'll just have to keep myself busy until I get used to the idea of someone else looking after Renee to ease my mind and my time for me.

Dear Blog,

2010-06-18T16:24:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month since the last time I updated you.

No, of course I have not forsaken you. Please. In fact, you've been at the back of my mind everyday, buggin' me and remindin' me that I have you to come back to.

But.

I have been extremely busy since my last post.

First, my stupid maid ran away.

In fact, she ran away a few days after my last post.

So I was, AM, left with the house cleaning, food preparation (dicing onions, slicing carrots, cleaning chicken, etc), cooking bla bla bla....everything that you, stupid useless maid, should have been doing....on top of looking after Renee and meeting deadlines for my articles!

Second, Renee had been falling sick on and off and needed constant attention.

It's not funny lor, having to watch over a sick child, taking temperature every hour, making sure the fever doesn't get too high, and feeding her medication on time.

Damn stressful.

On top of that, still do housework, vacuum, mop, clean, scrub.....argh! Everything that you, stupid useless maid, should have been doing!

Third....well....*ahem*....I shall stop here because what I'm about to say might offend certain people. Ok, for sure it will offend certain people. Of course, the certain person I'm talking about doesn't read blogs and most definitely does not even know that this blog exists, but I do know other people read this blog and other people might tattle tale back to the person that doesn't read blogs so I shall stop here.

Confusing, no?

Anyways, so yes, the pass month has been extremely busy for me, physically and emotionally. Majority of it caused by you, stupid useless maid, for running away!

But life goes on.

And my life went on anyways.

So here I am today.

Without a maid.

Cleaning the entire house every 2 days.

Cooking separate meals for the family.

And still able to meet deadlines.

Of course in between, I'm screaming like a psycho bitch mother.

Neighbors 5 houses away must think I'm mad.

Renee must think I'm mad.

But seriously, sometimes, she does drive me mad.

Like for example, this morning, she somehow managed to spill milk ALL over the floor, the sofa, her toys and on herself!

All within 10 minutes.

All when I was in the kitchen making her lunch.

Already I was tired from bending over slicing carrots and spinach.

And crying from dicing onions.

And oily from frying chicken.

I walked out into a MILK FLOODED living room!!!

Wouldn't you get all psycho bitch too?

p/s: note to self - must update blog more often or watever left of readers will really go and read someone else's blog and leave this blog empty and lonely

I'm going to the beach!

2010-05-04T18:53:00.000+08:00

The last time I was at the beach....as in PROPERLY by the beach (Penang in Aug 09 not counted cause it was raining the whole time we were there and I didn't go into the sea for a swim cause it was so murky)....was so friggin' long ago that I can't even remember when it was exactly. Neither can I remember where.

See. It was THAT long ago.

Krabi in 08 also not counted cause I was suffering from all-day sickness and didn't enjoy myself one bit.

So, I think it was Redang in 07 before I got married.

Yes. THAT long ago.

ANYWAYS....we're heading to the beach again!

And I'm sooooo terribly excited that I can't sleep every night just thinking about it.

We're heading back to Lang Tengah.

The very same island where the hubs and I first went for our scandalous getaway before we were even officially dating. Hah!

That that, we brought ourselves, 2 bottles of JD and a whole lot of mixers.

This time, we're bringing ourselves, a 20 month old terrorist and a whole lot of diapers & wet wipes!

The boat transfer from jetty to island is via speedboat so SK is a little paranoid la.

I don't blame him.

I mean, the big buffalo can't swim.

And he knows very well that if anything happens to the boat, I'll save Renee first and he'll have to fend for himself.

But fortunately for him, the boat provides life jacket for cacat swimmers :-)

Unfortunately, they don't have one in Renee's size.

SO.

He sent his unemployed wife (whom he thinks sit at home doing nothing) on a wild-goose chase to look for a swim vest for Renee.

After searching high and low, twitting friends for help and bla bla bla....I FINALLY found it.

At Mothercare, BSC.

But I got the one in red with blue lining instead.

And it cost me RM178!!!

It better work man!

I also bought Renee beach toys, you know, the pail, spade, gali-gali stuff...

Oh yah, I almost forgot, all the pharmacies and supermarkets in this state don't believe in selling sunscreen lotion for kids wan issit??!!!

Guardian, Watsons, Jusco, Parksons and Cold Storage in 1U sells sunblock for almost ALL sorts of people, from the vain, to the old, to the sporty EXCEPT for kids!!! Stupid!

BSC Guardian and Cold Storage also don't have.

Subang Parade also don't have.

Pavillion also don't have!

In the end, I found it in the Guardian near my house.

This area may be ulu but not as ULU and STUPID as you big malls in KL and PJ area.

Hmph!

Ok, anyways, I'm so excited!

Leaving this weekend!

And this will probably and last post for now until I come back....unless I wanna be a little more rajin...and IF the stupid Maxis boradband don't kaput on me again.

Soon soon....

2010-04-19T18:48:00.000+08:00

It's not that I forgot about this blog.

I didn't.

I just got myself a new toy.

The iPhone 3GS that's it.

*BEAMS*

So I'm online via my phone most of the time and hardly come on using my laptop that's why no new updates.

But I PROMISE there will be updates soon!

PROMISE!!!

Keep coming back k!

Don't leave this blog to read another more interesting blog ya!

Hehehe...

My style

2010-03-19T19:02:00.000+08:00

A couple of friends have been asking me what I wear and how I accessorize myself when I go out with my 19 month old daughter, because they just can't seem to match comfort + fashion when they want to go out with their kids.

So I've decided to start posting down what I wear when I go out so that they (and all other mothers out there who wants to know) can have an idea about how I match comfort + fashion for myself.

Of course, I'm not the most fashionable mother around and I'm sure there are many others out there who has their own personal style and still look absolutely fabulous. But since I've been asked, I'm proud to share a little bit of my own fashion.

Simple lunch with Kathryne and Sam @ Delicious, 1U

top: cats whiskers

harem pants: random thai fair

bangles: diva

watch: nooka

Renee

top: mothercare

jeans: old navy

I swear, harem pants are THE MOST comfortable thing ever created!

They're tapered at the ankles so there's no trouble with stepping on the edge of the pants or having to fold it up when stepping into a wet public toilet. And the best thing is, they're so baggy it feels like you're wearing your pyjamas out.

I matched this outfit with a pair of beige wedges.

They were only RM25, which to me is DIRT cheap.

Am so glad I bought 2!

She killed for the 1st time

2010-03-17T17:12:00.000+08:00

See this millipede here?

Ya, we get a lot of them crawling into the house from our garden outside.

Anyways, I think Renee killed it's father last night. Or mother. I dunno, they all look the same to me. Ok, so maybe killed isn't really the right word to use for what Renee did. I think MAULED might be better.

Hmmm...in fact, it could be a younger sister or brother that she killed. I didn't really see the size of it. In fact, I didn't even know my 19 month old daughter was committing murder until she came screeching happily up to me and then dumped the two-halves, intestines spilling, dead worm on my lap.

And I was in SHORTS!!!

So please forgive me for not taking a picture of the deceased.

I tengah hysterical!

Make a Pinata out of him

2010-03-11T16:30:00.000+08:00

Omg, did you read the papers today???!!!

Crazy man armed with hammer walks into a kindy and whacks children in their heads!!!

*click here*

Okay, fine, so the news didn't say anything about the man being crazy but C'MON! Which sane man would walk around bludgeoning 6 year olds in their heads with a freaking hammer??? Only someone absolutely crazy and out of his mind can do something like that!

I mean, why would he want to do something like that?

What can a child ever have done to him to make him so filled with anger?

Anyways, the police are on the lookout for him now and I pray they catch him fast.

You know what they should do to punish him?

They should tie him up and dress him up as a Pinata and then set loose a group of baseball bats-wielding 6 year olds on him.

Hah!

If I can't even control my 18 month old girl when she's swinging her plastic hammer around at me, I definitely wouldn't wanna be caught in the same room as a bunch of 6 year olds swinging their bats at a Pinata man.

Cheesecake-in-a-Cup

2010-03-10T16:31:00.000+08:00

On Monday, I invited my family over for dinner.

I made a feast of steamed ginger chicken, baked dori in butter and lemon sauce, sambal tumis sotong, vegetables and lotus roots soup.

On top of that, I attempted at making dessert.

Cheesecake-in-a-Cup.

Sounded easy enough.

And it surely wouldn't be much of a mess.

Or so I thought.

Because 5 minutes into making it, THIS happened :

And this is just 30% of the whole mess.

For me to be able to take a picture of the WHOLE mess, I needed a wide-angle lens, and I didn't have one.

My whole kitchen was covered in cream cheese and yes, literally my WHOLE kitchen.

The walls.

The ceiling.

The floor.

The window grills.

The back door.

The appliances (as you can see from the picture above).

The stove.

And.

All.

Over.

My.

Maid!

Me?

Hah!

I had an apron on.

But the mess was not in vain.

Whatever that was left in my mixing bowl was still enough.

And I'm proud to say that my attempt at making dessert was not only successful but it was DELICIOUS as well!

So here's my recipe (just try not to make a mess like I did ESPECIALLY if you don't have a house-help to help clean it up).

CHEESECAKE-IN-A-CUP

(recipe serves 4 - 6 pax)

Ingredients

250g cream cheese

250ml plain natural yogurt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Fruit Layer

1 cup finely diced fruits (you can use strawberries/kiwi/bananas/grapes)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

6 - 8 pcs digestive biscuits (broken into small pieces)

Method

1. Place cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice and grated lemon rind in a mixing bowl and using a balloon whisk, beat until smooth.

2. Chill for 10 minutes while you prepare the fruit layer.

3. Combine diced fruits (please stick to one type of fruit), sugar and lemon juice. Mix it up then set aside for 5 minutes to let fruit soften slightly and exude its juice.

4. Divide broken digestive biscuits into 6 small glasses. Spoon a layer of cream cheese mixture over the biscuit, followed by a layer of fruits mixture. Top with another layer of cream cheese mixture. Then garnish with a slice of fresh fruit.

5. Serve immediately or cling-wrap and chill until ready to serve.

I hope you have as much fun making this as I did!

Runny nose & flaming throat

2010-02-27T16:34:00.000+08:00

I just realized that it's been almost a year since the last time I fell sick, so I guess it's about time that I did anyways. Considered quite healthy for falling sick only once a year so I shall not complain.

But I do so HATE having a sore throat. No spicy food. No goreng-goreng stuff. No yummy OILY dishes. Just reduced to having soupy, light things that can't even keep me full for long. Urgh.

I'm drowning myself with preserved mandarin orange peels though, cos it works like magic for me, especially for sore throat. I just hope a cough doesn't follow in on this later.

Proud but NOT vain

2010-02-25T17:46:00.000+08:00

but then, I can't help NOT gloating about it...teehee!

Scene 1#

Walked into a little boutique in 1U last week to get some flip-flops and was browsing through some of them when sales girl approached me.

"You look too young to be a mum"

"I'm not. Looks can be deceiving"

"Seriously. You look only to be 18"

18!!!

EIGHTEEN!!!

LAPAN BELAS!!!!

SAP PAT!!!

Boleh tak?!

Scene 2#

Looking at some DVDs in SS2 when a friend of the DVD guy walked in and started playing with Renee. Then she looked at me and asked...

"Your sister arr?"

"Sister??? Hahahaa....no la, she's my daughter!"

"Haaarrrr??? Sure a not??? You so young wor"

"I'm turning 30 soon. Not young lorr"

"Haaarrrr??? 30??? I dun belief you. You look like 20 only la"

TWENTY!!!

That's like 10 years YOUNGER than my age now!!!

So. Damn. Happy. Can. Fly!

So you tell me la, how NOT to gloat about it right?

Hehehe!

Ok, ok...I shall stop gloating for now.

And tell you about the CD I bought for Renee from Subang Parade few weeks back.

It's suppose to be a compilation of the top 40 famous children nursery rhymes and it had all the songs that we grew up singing, like Baa Baa Black Sheep, Old McDonald, Rockabye Baby, ABC, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and etc etc.

And then right, there was this song that goes like this:

Donkey donkey, I beg you, please don't say hee-haw (hee-haw) ya, stupid donkey still sang

I shall beat you, I shall beat you, please don't say hee-haw (hee-haw)

Hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw, why you sing so loud? (so loud) ya, donkey talks too

I shall beat you, I shall beat you, please don't say hee-haw (hee-haw)

SK was so frustrated with this song and he kept saying, "Already say don't say hee-haw, the donkey still wanna say"

"That's why when you scold people, you say "STUPID DONKEY!!!", because donkeys are stupid lorr!"

And then, there was this other song that goes like this:

Elephant, elephant, why is your nose so long

Oh, I think that's because my mother's nose is also very long

Elephant, elephant, who do you like most of all?

Oh, I think I like my mother most of all...

I NEVER grew up to songs like that lorr...

Stupid right.

You know why?

Locally produced.

Renee's Diary

2010-02-09T19:07:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, I decided to be very naughty because Mummy didn't allow me to watch PlayHouse Disney. She wanted to finish up her True Blood Season 2 and was watching episodes after episodes after episodes.

I don't even know what is so nice about that show.

It's so dark and gloomy.

There are no colours....EXCEPT red colour....and that colour only comes out from people's necks, dunno why.

And worse of all, no Mickey, no Pocoyo. Just some ugly, white man with weird teeth.

So I tahan......

I know Mummy expects me to sleep about 5pm, but I decided not to.

I kept my eyes open and stayed awake till 8.30pm.

And then fell asleep.

I could hear Mummy telling Daddy that she wanted me to sleep through till next morning, but no, you think I'll let Mummy go so easily? Hmph!

I WOKE UP AN HOUR LATER! HAH!

You should have seen the look on Mummy's face.

She was so upset because then she knows I won't sleep till 3am.

Since she likes to watch vampire show so much, I shall let her become vampire too.

But Mummy and Daddy came up with a BRILLIANT idea.

They decided to take me for a drive to A&W, hoping that I would fall asleep in the car-seat.

Yes, I agree that the car-seat is super comfortable and I always fall asleep in it.

So we went down to A&W in PJ at 12.30 midnight, and I was still awake when we reached. So Mummy and Daddy said, let's bring her down for some ice-cream, let her run around a bit, then she'll definitely get tired and fall asleep on the way back.

So I had ice-cream.

And curly fries.

And lots of water! Mummy made kakak drown me with water....crazy.

And we even bumped into Uncle Chris and Aunty Shandy. Aunty Shandy was having midnight cravings. Must be because my soon-to-be cousin Kaye in her tummy was asking for some ice-cream too.

We left A&W about an hour later.

And Daddy took a slow drive home.

I could feel my eye-lids getting heavier and heavier, my head dropping.

But guess what???!!!

I PREVAILED!!!

Much to Mummy's disappointment.

HAHAHAHA!!!!

This will teach her to watch her CDs when it's MY turn to watch TV.

Baked Dory Fish in Butter & Lemon Sauce

2010-02-04T22:16:00.000+08:00

That was what I made for dinner tonight.

And it was such a success that it was half gone before I could even take a picture of it.

But then again, better to have it eaten than not at all.

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

- 2 dory fillets

- 2 large onions thinly sliced (for onions lovers. If you're not one, then 1 onion would be sufficient)

- 1/2 lemon

- 2 big tablespoons of butter

- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

- 1 clove garlic diced

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 tablespoon of dried basil

- a pinch of white pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180'C

2. Grease the base of baking dish with some butter

3. Cover the base with the onion slices and place fish fillet on top

4. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan with the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and basil. Do NOT bring to boil

5. Pour the sauce mixture over the fish and sprinkle some white pepper on it

6. Place in oven and cook for about 15 - 20 minutes

7. Scoop out fish on another plate and pour remains of sauce over it

Next time, instead of putting it in the oven to bake, I'm gonna try grilling it. And a tip for all butter lovers, putting in more than 2 spoonfuls of butter is a MUST try.

Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did!

What annoys me most

2010-01-29T17:23:00.000+08:00

I'm at this point in my life where what annoys me THE MOST is people telling me to go back to work. Seriously, why don't you learn to handle your own life and leave mine the hell alone!

I'm sorry if I sound angry here but I am seriously annoyed.

After all, this is MY life we're talking about.

And if my husband is not even making a fuss about it, then who are you to tell me otherwise, huh?

It's not like as if I'm depending on you for food or clothes or a roof over my head.

But if you want to provide me with these financial aids, then by all means, go ahead, and you can have ALL the say you want about me going back to work.

Perhaps you meant it as a joke.

Perhaps you did not.

But I'm sorry to say that you got me at the wrong time.

You do not know the first thing about what I plan to do with my life and how I want to live it. You don't even bother to ask.

So do me a favour and just butt out.

Perhaps YOU should get YOUR life straightened out first because as far as I can see, it's much more screwed up than mine will ever be!

So take that!

So what if I have a maid?!

You know, people seem to think that my life is all easy peasy just because I now have a maid to help me out. Well, think again!

Because UNLIKE most people who get their maids to do everything in the house, I don't. I'm still in charge of my house, of the people in my house, and how I like things to run in my house.

It's absolutely annoying when I get comments like, "Wah, nowadays you very free la, no need to do anything, maid do everything for you".

Correction.

I may have a maid, and she helps me clean the house, but other than that, I do everything else myself.

First and foremost, I look after Renee MYSELF!

I feed her, bathe her, change her diapers, entertain her and play with her, teach her, read to her, take her for her evening walks, cut her nails, watch over her. In short, Renee is still MY responsibility and I still do my motherly duties as I should.

So, NO, I'm NOT VERY FREE.

Please ar, I'm not the type of mothers that leave the maid to do everything, including look after their children ok. In fact, the last person I trust to handle Renee is my maid....or anyone else for that matter, except my hubby.

The most I'd do, is to ask the maid to watch over Renee while I need to go online, and even then, I make sure they are within my eye sight and hearing distance.

And I cook the meals in the house.

Yes, my maid helps me prepare the ingredients, dice the garlic, onions, what not, and sometimes, I ask her to cook the simple dishes, like fried eggs, or stir-fry vegetables, but that is ONLY if I'm busy with Renee or when I have to put Renee down for her nap.

Other than that, I do all the cooking myself.

So, please, think again before you come tell me that I'm very free because I have a maid.

A maid is a maid.

Not a chef.

Not a babysitter.

She just helps me keep the house clean.

That's all.

So, take that!

She....

2010-01-27T23:35:00.000+08:00

...made me go through each song on my playlist and while each song started, she shook her head to tell me she doesn't like it and to skip to the next

...shook her head to every song that I played for her and when I completed one full cycle on my playlist, she made me repeat it again, and again, she shook her head to every song that played

...made me go through my playlist 5 times while she shook her head at every song

...refused to eat her lunch and clamped up when the spoon was near her mouth

...spat out every single grain of rice which I successfully forced into her mouth, and then opens her mouth for more, only to spit it out again

...made me go through my playlist another 3 times

...made me stop, take a deep breathe and count to 10 countless times that day, to stop myself from strangling her

...kept trying to pull my laptop onto the floor

...she sat down and screamed her head off when I did not give her what she wanted

...really made me feel like killing her. Like REALLY KILLING HER!!!

And then, she...

...made me laugh when she imitated my maid catching mosquitoes

...made me smile when she knew I was angry and came to kiss me and hug me

SIGH....

how do I deal with this every single day?

Still a student

2010-01-26T20:09:00.000+08:00

Over the weekend, hubby dropped me off at One Utama so that I could have a little bit of 'me' time, while he brought Renee back to see his parents who lived just around the corner.

I was ecstatic!

It's been too damn long since I last walked into a shopping complex without my entourage and I just felt so absolutely free! No Renee for me to worry over, or watch over, or ran after, or scream at. No maid to stress me up, to give me a headache, or give me cause to fear she might take the opportunity to run away.

And so, I happily spent the next 2 hours window shopping (no money) and oogling at things that i really liked but cannot buy.

Of course it wasn't that bad la.

I did buy myself a nice dress for CNY, and some casual tops to wear with either leggings or shorts.

I bought batteries for Renee's new dressing table which can 'sing' and light-up.

And I bought some recipe books for toddlers, to help give me more ideas on what to cook for Renee. I think she's bored with eating the same old thing over and over again. And I don't blame her.

While paying for the books at the counter....

Cashier: Do you have a student card?

Me: *speechless*flattered*shocked*spluttered* Excuse me?

Cashier: Student card?

Me: I'm not a student

Cashier: *shocked* You're not? You look so young!

Me: *laughs* Thanks...but these books are actually for my daughter

Cashier: You're a mother??? But you must be at most 25?

Choir of angels singing!

Me? 25?

Sheer happiness!

And it took me a hard time convincing her that I was turning 30 this year.

I should go out more often without Renee.

It really helps boost up my self-esteem.

My latest obsession

2010-01-22T19:21:00.000+08:00

I WANT this bag sooooo much it hurts!

I WANT it soooo badly that it's made my everyday life just absolutely horrible because I don't have it.

I've never WANTED anything so bad in my life before.

Erm....ok, let me rephrase that.

I've never WANTED anything so bad within this one year before.

I told hubby if he got it for me, I'd never ask him for anything else for the next 3 years....

And right after I said that, I burst out laughing.

Ya, I know right....

I can't even believe myself, what more get hubby to believe me.

But I seriously NEED this bag.

It's a matter of life and death.

For me.

If I don't have it, how to go back to work and look professional?

HAhahahahahHAHAHAHA!!!

See, make excuses to get it also I laugh dy.

How la!

So much for proclaiming to the world that we are a peaceful country

2010-01-08T17:30:00.000+08:00

...and that we live in unity.

WHAT UNITY?

One word and it has caused churches to be burnt down and cars being attacked on the street. So stupid!

First of all, I don't understand why the Christians insist on using the word "Allah" when they can easily use the word "Tuhan" instead, and especially when they know the word itself has caused so much conflict with the Muslims.

Second, since when did the word "Allah" belong to the Muslims?

Is it written down in black and white anywhere in the book of life?

And why is it that such harsh destruction be used to show your anger? Burning down churches? Attacking cars on the road? I don't see masjids being burnt down or your cars being attacked. So who's the barbarian here?

Is this the way YOUR Allah taught you?

To destroy and burn and wreck things to get your way?

Because honestly, I don't think any God, or Allah or Buddha want things to happen like that.

So, is it really Allah that you're 'fighting' so hard for?

Or something else?

Bzzzz

2010-01-01T18:56:00.000+08:00

As I came down the stairs one day, I heard a loud buzzing sound coming from behind the curtains. Sweeping them aside, I found this...

...a brown-stripped winged dragonfly sitting at the bottom of my sliding glass doors.

I have never seen a dragonfly like this before and I was quite impressed by it. For a good 5 minutes, I was kneeling on the floor just looking at it. And the amazing thing, Renee was squatting down right next to me looking at it too. Without moving. For 5 whole minutes!

I was so impressed to be impressed by a dragonfly which was impressing enough to even impress Renee *grin*

Impressive, no?

I also want to announce that the 2nd issue of Critique is out!!!

YAY!!!

It looks soooooo much better than the first issue.

And I must say, the contents has improved a lot too.

Or then again, maybe I'm just biased because they used RED as the background color for the cover and I do so love red...

So, why don't you go to your nearest Coffee Bean and grab a free copy and see if this is better than the first yourself!

It's coming to the end of the year

2009-12-29T22:03:00.000+08:00

...and it's that time again to make new (or unfulfilled) resolutions.

So, here are my resolutions for 2010:

1. to secure my first deal for my new company

2. to get myself a blackberry (ONLY if I successfully fulfill resolution #1)

3. to wean Renee off breastmilk...hahaha!

4. to try for baby #2

5. to save as much moo-lah as possible (hubby will probably laugh his head off when he reads this)

6. to unpack all my boxes on my upstairs landing

So, wish me luck...

On another note....

I really have no idea what's going on through her mind but my maid told us that she's 'setengah gila'. Yes. She did. Last night.

I was so numb I didn't know how to react so I continued eating my lobak.

But hubby hit the ceiling.

So, it's end of the year and everyone's happy and I'm stuck with a maid who's half crazy.

This is my life.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Chris & Shandy

2009-12-07T20:19:00.000+08:00

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

My little baby cousin Chris got married yesterday and it was a huge affair!

Nissan Skyline as the wedding car, followed by a Ferrari, and BMW Z4, and so many other fancy cars I don't even know....the guys at the wedding had a great time oogling the pretty cars, the pretty girls and the even more gorgeous bride.

Me?

I was too busy running after Renee that I didn't even have time to eat.

Such luck huh.

So, now that Godma's children are all married, it's mummy's children next.

Well, I'm off the list.

Next comes Jodie and Sarah.

Hmmm....

It was my first time to 'yum cha' yesterday and I was so excited!

My next time would be when Cuz Doug and Jane gets married in 2011.

Some relatives asked me, in between no chance to yum cha?

And I replied. "Well, Sarah's still so young. So definitely 2nd time will be Doug's wedding"

They asked back, "What about Jodie?"

And I said, "Aiyah, I think I drink Renee's tea also belum drink Jodie's tea lah!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Unless YOU would like to prove me wrong *grin*

It's Christmas time

2009-12-06T21:32:00.000+08:00

It's the first Christmas we're celebrating in our own home this year and it's so exciting!

Buying our own tree, putting up decorations in our own humble abode....

So I started asking around where Christmas trees are cheap.

Some told me I could get a 5" tree for RM200.

Some said RM350 for a 6" one.

And hubby even suggested a LIVE tree from IKEA, for only RM149 and it includes FREE delivery too.

But I was thinking, where the hell am I going to put the LIVE tree inside my house?

Cos what's the use of getting a Christmas tree if I had to put it outside in the garden right?

In the end, I found out that Petaling Street sold Christmas decors at a terribly fantastic price, so off we trooped down one weekend.

I got my 5" tree for ONLY RM35.90!

Party or what?!

So I happily came home and started putting up the tree.

I totally forgot about the fact that I had a little anak yang sungguh terror.

Each time I tried to put up the decor on the tree.

She reached up and pulled it back down.

caught red-handed!

It took me so long to put up the tree, I almost gave up and just give her all the balls to play with.

My theme this year....

...red and silver

Next year, I'm going for blue and brown.

SO NICE!

I went back to Petaling Street the following week and bought even more decorations.

I so feel like Mrs. Claus now!

CritiQue

2009-11-24T19:37:00.000+08:00

It's OUT!!!

I guess for it's first issue, it's not too bad la, except that I still don't get why they had to choose who they did for the front cover. Not really one of my favs. And not a very good move especially for the very first issue, y'know what I mean. Oh well...

It doesn't really come across as a lifestyle magazine though.

I feel that the colours aren't bright enough, everything's like gray and white - BORING.

Looks more like The Edge than a lifestyle magazine.

But it's new and I'm sure they'll improve as more and more issues are out.

.
.

I should have submitted a nicer picture of myself though.

This one looks terribly awful!

I look mad.

.
.

My very own article!!!

.
.

So remember, first two issues are free and are available at all Coffee Beans!

Go pick yours up today....

Of dead fishes, cute dogs, singing maid and CRITIQUE!!!

2009-11-17T17:01:00.001+08:00

Last week, I bought Renee a fighting fish.

It died last night.

And I didn't even have time to take a picture of it =(

Today, I went to the pet store nearby to see if I could get Renee another one.

They don't sell fishes there.

But I saw this one dog. So OMG cuuuuuuute!!!

It's a grey and white miniature chi-hwa-hwa.

Only 2 months plus old.

Female.

Going for ONLY RM980!!!

I soooooooooo soooooooooooo soooooooooooooo absolutely wanna get it!!!

But will have to discuss with hubby first.

And hubby sure say "NO!" wan =(

But still, if I don't try, I won't know.

So....*fingers crossed*....

My maid is singing in an irritating high-pitched voice to Renee right now.

Indonesian songs.

And it's annoying me to the very core of my bones.

Should I stop her?

But I don't want her to feel like she can't even sing to Renee.

And not like she knows any English rhymes.

Imagine her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is super high-pitched Indon slang mewling noise.

But it IS irritating me.

So how? What to do?

On another note, CRITIQUE will be out in Coffee Beans from tomorrow onwards!!!

The first 2 issues are free but it will be available in news-stands nationwide from Jan '10 onwards.

Be sure to grab your free copy when you see it cos yours truly here has her very own FOOD column in it.

It's a monthly magazine, so watch out for my monthly gastronomic adventures...I promise you nothing but PURE fun!!!

The river that wanted to be a pond

2009-11-15T16:33:00.000+08:00

Before we bought this place, we asked the developer if the river flowing in front will flood should there be days of continuous rain and they very confidently GUARANTEED that it wouldn't flood at all. In fact, I quote "The river was built to PREVENT floods".

see, we have water-trees

Well, last week, I had to rush off to SJMC for some private & confidential reasons (PLEASE DON'T ASK MY WHY) and after spending the whole afternoon there, I came home to find this!

even the walkway is down under

My river has turned into a POND!!!

Wtf guarantee no flood river to prevent flood nonsense??!!!

It wasn't even raining like for the whole morning and afternoon lorr. It was only raining cats & dogs for like less than 3 hours, and the river went over the brim.

that's the bench I always sit on to cut Renee's nails...it's a water-bench now

Can you imagine what I would have come home to if it rained the whole morning and afternoon??? I would have come home to NOTHING. My home would be gone! Flowed away with the currents on the flood prevention river.

Hubby called the developers and fucked them up upside down inside out and you know what was their measly reply??? "We are discussing how to overcome this problem now".

Wah, by the time you're done discussing, I'll have my very own indoor swimming

pool lorr.

MURDER!

2009-11-06T17:46:00.001+08:00

Did anyone read the news about a baby's head found in the trash, body missing, suspected to have been mauled or eaten by dogs?

http://nst.com.my/articles/20091102193958/Article/

Gosh! I am so bloody angry with the person who did that to their own child! I won't even refer to her as the 'mother' because no mothers in this world would do that to their own baby!

I wonder how you felt when you saw the news about YOUR baby's head being found in the dump, body missing because it was eaten by dogs.

For your good, you better seriously hope to hell that the baby was already dead before the dogs ripped it apart, cause when you're in hell (which is DEFINITELY where you'll be going), you would want to be dead too before your head is ripped apart by huge savage beasts over and over and over and over again.

But if baby wasn't dead yet and instead was shivering in the cold, starving, surrounded by smelly stinky garbage, being bitten little by little by red ants, totally defenseless, before finally having the dogs come and end it's misery in a snap WITH a snap, I curse you to the MOST TRAGIC DEATH EVER!

Not that I don't already curse you, you sick excuse for a woman, but I curse you such a tragic death that you will feel it even after when you're in hell. I hope your body rots away slowly but surely, and each piece that rots away causes you extremely excruciating pain that no amount of painkillers can cure and you can't even kill yourself to escape the pain. And when you finally do succumb to death, it will happen all over again. And each time the process repeats itself, it will be a hundred times worse than before.

Hmph! See how you like throwing away your baby just like that again!

I seriously don't get it lorr.

I mean, I understand if you're scared or something, but then, during the throes of passion, never think arr? Never occurred to you that this is something that COULD happen meh? Even contraceptions are only 99% safe. And then, when you do get pregnant, instead of being responsible, you KILL your child, the MOST INNOCENT life in the picture.

Where's the logic in that???!!!

And even if the baby was a result of you getting raped, you shouldn't take out your anger on the baby lorr. The least you could do was put the baby at someone's doorstep, and then run and hide and keep a watch until you know the baby is in safe hands.

So stupid!

No matter how educated or well-brought up a person is, the minute she does something like that, be it throwing your baby in the garbage, or leaving the baby at the side of the road, or even abortion, you are NOTHING. You are worse than nothing.

URGH!!! I TOTALLY HATE....FUCKING HATE....PEOPLE LIKE THAT!

I don't know how you can go on with life after doing something like that to your own child, how you can continue living everyday pretending that you never committed a murder.

But one thing I DO know, you won't have an easy time on judgement day, THAT'S FOR SURE!

***

Okay.....B.R.E.A.T.H.E.........

Anyways, there's something weird happening to me. The whole right side of my body, from waist downwards, is aching in places here and there. My right hip bone when I bend. My right knee when I kneel. My right ankle when I walk. Hell, there's even an ulcer on the right side of my tongue.

Now how weird is that.

What's happening? This is so scary.

It's like I really getting old.

Sigh...some things even I just can't deny.

I had a dream, a song to sing...

2009-11-05T21:02:00.000+08:00

Last night, I had a dream.

In it, I was holding my precious second child.

She was beautiful.

Thick black hair and huge dark eyes (totally opposite from my first born).

And....she had a name...

We called her...

...Cadence...

Someone flirted with me

2009-10-31T00:38:00.000+08:00

Went to upgrade the software on my Maxis Broadband yesterday in Pyramid and the guy that serviced me FLIRTED with me!

Since I've given birth to Renee, I haven't gone anywhere without her so naturally, people knew that I was married and that I was already a mum.

But last night, hubby was at Fridays with Renee and so, I was alone when I walked into the Maxis shop.

The guy was already smiling at me even before I got to his counter but he was polite enough to proceed according to procedure, asking me the right questions until he got to the part about payment method.

"Oh, no worries about that, it's autodebit from my husband's credit card"

"You're married???!!!" he stares at me with shock, hands in sudden pause motion above his keypad.

"Erm...yes, I am. Is that a problem?"

"You don't look married. Are you sure you're married?"

"Yes, I'm very sure. I even have a daughter"

"How OLD are you? You look so young!"

"Old enough to be your mother"

"But you MUST be only 24??!!!"

"Well, no, I'm actually 30"

"Aiseh, then no chance dy lah...."

"Excuse me???"

There was a pause. Then...

"...aiyah, nevermind la, I still give you my number. Any problems, you can call me personally"

***

Bought this from Diva and am totally in love with it.

It can be used as a bracelet...

...and anklet....

...and even a necklace!

LOVE LOVE!

And the best thing, it's so soft that I can wear it and STILL carry Renee without feeling uncomfortable or anything.

My little fussy eater

2009-10-22T22:01:00.001+08:00

Renee's been acting really weird the pass few days. She's not eating as much as she used to. In fact, she's hardly eating at all.

Usually, she finishes a whole bowl of porridge/rice and has second helpings even. The pass few days though, she's been taking in only like 3 - 4 spoonfulls of whatever it is I'm feeding her, and then she starts screaming, or pushing the spoon away, or fidgeting in her chair. She just refuses to eat.

So, at first, I thought maybe she isn't hungry.

But the minute I take the bowl away, she demands for biscuits.

And she can eat up to 10 pieces of biscuits in a go. Just like that.

So how could that mean that she isn't hungry, right?

And this went on for 2 days and so I decided enough is enough.

Afterall, she cannot be just eating biscuits and nothing else.

And what kind of mummy would I be if I allowed this to continue?

So today, when she started her nonsense again, I refused to give in to her and I forced the food down her throat. She started screaming and crying but I held down both her arms with one hand, and forced her mouth open with the spoonful of whatever I was feeding her with with the other.

Her tears and mucus and whateverelse body fluids that could come out of her came out and spilt into her bowl but I still continued scooping and feeding, scooping and feeding, scooping and feeding. In the end, she finished the entire bowl and that was when I released her arms and took her off her high-chair.

And I had to do this like at both lunch and dinner time.

I felt so bad, seeing her crying and screaming but I just had to make her finish her food instead of just getting full on biscuits.

Is this considered child abuse?

Sigh....

I'm trying to be the best mummy I can be but sometimes, she makes it so hard for me.

Fashion on you, Fashion on me

2009-10-21T21:08:00.000+08:00

A whole load of 'paid-for' merchandise came in the post for me yesterday and I was so excited! I've been waiting like forever for package number 1 to arrive and about a week for package number 2 and they both arrived on the same day so it was like a double-happy-clappy day for me.

Package No. 1

My Dell Inspiron Mini 10v in Passion Purple!

It's a super sleek 10 inch netbook and it's so small that I can practically pop it into my handbag and carry it around with me everywhere I go.

Of course, I'll be totally unsociable and a bore to hang out with now that I don't need you to entertain me anymore. I've got a new Mini to entertain myself with! (Okay, that sounded wrong).

I chose a cool purple color but decided that I didn't like all my finger prints being plastered all over it, so......

.....I 'zing-ed' it!

Doesn't it look absolutely cool now?!

Love!

Package No. 2

My purchase from BaciBoutique.

One pair of skinny, super skinny, ripped jeans....in white.

And I'm totally in love with it because...I don't know....I just love it! It fits me just nice, like a second skin and I absolutely love the ripped out parts because it gives such a rough edge to the whole look.

I also bought the retro looking tank/dress top because it was so RETRO!

And since mummy bought me like so many colorful leggings from London, I needed more long tops to go with them and this was just right. Love the whole black and white theme going on.

It's a bit lose for me though, so I'd need to either wear a tube top inside, or a funkier bra. Whichever. Hahaha! I don't care. I love it still.

By the way, can anyone spot my daughter in the two pictures above?

*Hint* She was digging through my drawer of undergarments.

Hung out at Pearly's last Friday and she made these DEEEEEELICIOUS cuppacakes for me. Absolutely yummy, not too sweet and the texture was just perfect.

So, anyone interested, do let me know and I'll pass on the good news to her.

And yes, Pearly, am doing free advertising for you *winks*

A Day out

2009-10-08T23:01:00.000+08:00

So, there was this one day when hubby and I decided to bring Renee to the zoo. Yah, I know right. Like the zoo? But anyways, we went, thinking that maybe it was a public holiday and it was Raya, that everyone would be out of town, like back in their own hometown, you know.

I should have known better.

In fact, I should have read all the signs that pointed to impending doom the minute we started our journey.

The first sign. The Fillet-O-Fish we bought from the McD's drive-through on PLUS highway. I opened the box, looking forward to sinking my teeth down into the yummy warm burger, feeling the melted cheese wrap itself onto my upper jaw, but this was what I got.

HALF of my 'warm, melted cheese' was STUCK onto the damn box.

Like HALF!!!

And tried as I could to dig it up, it just wouldn't.

So stupid.

I cannot believe that idiot McD workers don't even know how to slap a cheese on a bun properly. It doesn't take a genius to do it.

Even a cock-eyed person can do it.

I don't even know what kind of people McD's have working for them.

Sheesh!

So THAT itself spoilt the start of my day.

And the burger wasn't even delicious.

The second sign was the wrong turn hubby took and we had to make a HUGE-ASS circle around the whole of KL before getting back onto the right track. I should have asked him to just go straight home.

The third sign.

The THRONG of people crowded at the entrance to the zoo.

The THRONG of cars crowded at the entrance of the entrance to the zoo.

Sigh...

Stupid stupid stupid.

Should have just gone home.

Save the RM45 entrance tickets for something better.

But nooooo, I was adamant on showing Renee the giraffes.

...and the camels...

...and the bears, and orangutans and what not.

In the end, she saw the giraffes. And the elephants. And the bears, orangutans, camels, flamingos, deers, kangaroos, lions, tigers....

She fell asleep the minute we got to the monkey cages. Which was only a QUARTER of the zoo, by the way.

And missed out on the sea-lions performance. And the reptiles section. And the aquarium section. She didn't even get to see her favourite horses.

So much for bringing her to the zoo and paying RM45 for entrance tickets.

Even my maid wasn't impressed with the way our 'national' zoo looked.

The animals all looked half-starved and depressed.

The were huge signs telling people NOT TO FEED the animals but you could still see everyone throwing popcorn and bread at the animals.

It's just so sad that Malaysians are so stupid. They don't know how to read. Or maybe, they're just blind.

But ALL of them? Blind?

I'm so thankful my parents brought me up well and taught me how to read.

Because I think my family was the MOST CIVILIZED and intelligent people at the zoo.

1# We didn't push and shove

2# We didn't feed the animals

3# We aren't blind

But seriously, everyone at the zoo were pretty much uneducated.

Feeding pop-corn to bears for heaven's sake!

How much more stupid can one get?!

At the lions' and tigers' enclosement, there was a wide stretch of river to seperate the animals from the railings where people stand to stare. Hubby asked me if the water was deep enough to keep the animals at a safe distance from the people.

I stared at him and said, "Looking at the way people here are behaving, I think the reason for the water is not to keep the animals away from the people, but more for PROTECTING the animals from the people".

After all, which idiot would jump in and swim across to take a closer look?

.
In the end, we spent only about an hour - an hour and a half (at the most) at the zoo.

We ain't going back.

I'm not neglecting you, I just don't know what to do

2009-09-30T00:49:00.000+08:00

Oh dear, and here I thought that with a new blog, I'd be a bit more 'rajin' in updating. Looks like my new blog is being neglected as well.

To be honest, I have loads of things to blog about. Tonnes of them.

But if only I was allowed to.

Most of them are personal.

And not being able to talk about it to anyone, or even to blog about it in my own site, is eating me alive.

What's the use of having a blog then right?

If I can't even use it to vent out my own frustrations.

Lost

2009-09-16T16:50:00.000+08:00

It feels like as if I lost 2 people in the pass few days.

My Yeh-Yeh is definitely gone and there's nothing we can do to bring him back.

But I know deep down inside he's very much happier wherever he is because he no longer has to listen to Mama rant and nag and moan and groan about the whole world to him from morning till night.

The 2nd person I feel like I've lost is not dead.

In fact, he's in China.

And will only be there for a year.

And yet, I still feel a deep lost.

And I don't know why.

*Sigh*

You know, I've got this cousin that's really stupid.

On the day of Yeh-Yeh's cremation, after everything was done and we were about to leave, he came up to me and told me this.

Him: You know, Amy (his wife) can feel all these supernatural things and she told me that Yeh-Yeh is feeling very hot.

Me: Hello, he was cremated. Of course he's hot!

Damn stupid right.

Bye-Bye

2009-09-12T14:53:00.000+08:00

September 11th, 2009.
Friday.
Aged 85.
Leaving behind a wife.
2 sons, 2 daughters.
2 daughter-in-laws, 2 son-in-laws.
5 grandsons, 6 grand-daughters.
2 great-grand-daughters, 1 great-grandson.
.
We'll miss you greatly.

Fraser's Hill

2009-09-09T16:24:00.000+08:00

.
Cool, fresh air.
Birds chirping in the morning, crickets singing in the night.
Deep silence after midnight.
Cool sunlight dancing in your hair.
.
.
A place where life is relaxed and slow.
Total opposite of the city life that we're all used to.
A place where my sisters and I grew up as children.
Of course only on weekends as we school on weekdays.
.
.
The last time we were up there was about 10 years ago. Or maybe more.
So being there again after so long, the rush of memories almost knocked me over.
Only this time, I'm not there as a little girl anymore.
But as a mummy sharing her childhood with her daughter.

Dickhead

2009-09-03T19:41:00.000+08:00

A week of drama.

Maid's husband left her for another woman.

Of course she's an emotional wreck.

Who wouldn't be?

Here she is, working her ass off so that she can support you and your son and what do you do?

You run off with the first woman you see.

You think she wants to come here and work as a maid?

She's only doing that because her old job back in her own country wasn't paying enough.

And you weren't doing what you were suppose to be - supporting her!

Men.

So stupid.

Useless, freaking, ungrateful, brainless jerks who only think with their dicks.

Got brains for what?

Oh yah, forgot, you're brainless.

And because of you and your dickhead, I lost a whole night's worth of sleep.

Like LITERALLY a whole night, okay!

I had to stay up till 6am to console your grieving wife.

Whatever.

She's better off without you.

Thank goodness for her, I'm a good Ma'am.

And thank goodness for me, we're going away for a little weekend holiday tomorrow.

Hubby Turns 31

2009-08-31T00:31:00.000+08:00

We were originally supposed to celebrate at Tamarind Hills but I think staying home everyday with nothing to do made me forget that there is still a whole world of people still hustling and bustling about, working hard, using up every precious minute they have and only occasionally stealing a little time here and there to rest a bit. And so, because I forgot about that little detail, I took for granted that I wouldn't need to make a reservation and so, I got lazy.

I also totally forgot that it was Ramadhan month. Stupid.

And so, by the time I actually called Tamarind Hills, it was already full. And so was Tamarind Springs. So, no choice la, we ended up in Sri Ayuthaya - again.

Even then, we had to wait for our table. And it wasn't like as if I did not make a reservation. I did. And they had the cheek to ask me if I wanted to sit downstairs, like where all the other outcasts-who-didn't-make-reservations were booted to. Of course not!

So stupid.

Just because they have a little more customers than normal and they cannot handle.

Of course I got upset lah.

Lucky for them, I love their food. So I would never boycott them. My lost.

But I didn't stay upset for long cause they found us a nice little table at a corner. And that's also because I told them off.

Hubby said, "Gone la, now our food's gonna have extra ingredients on it".

Well, whatever it was, it still tasted good.

Happy 31st Birthday, Darling!

Simply Me

2009-08-29T18:32:00.000+08:00

I guess I'm kindda like having my own little 'Merdeka' celebration. You know, a new blog. New layout. New me.

I've never really admitted to it but I've been in self-denial eversince I got pregnant with Renee. I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I was no longer who I used to be and the fact that I got upset whenever someone told me that 'I looked like a mother', that says it all. The fact was, and still is, is that I AM a mother.

But today, I'm shouting it out loud that I AM a mother and I AM proud of it.

Yes, I do miss my partying days where I could be out all night drinking myself senseless.

I miss the times when I could just dash out of the house for a quick shopping spree without worrying about anything or anyone else.

I miss the hours and hours I used to spend by the beach, soaking up the sand, with nothing else in mind.

I miss my freedom.

But then, I found a new kind of freedom.

The freedom of being a mother.

And this is who I am now.