"Locked" at Home

As alarming as my topic of this entry may sound, my children and myself have been "locked" at home since Monday. In direct words, we self-quarantined ourselves.

Why is there a need to do so? Many of you will be asking me in return. Reason is Shawn has gone for swimming last Friday and he started having fever, flu, sore throat and coughs on Sunday. We tried to give him plenty of fluids, rest and some Panadols, but his fever never subsided. In fact, it turned furious on Monday morning in the wee hours and shot up to 39 degrees celcius. We sponged him and had ice-cubes wrapped with towels placed on his head to prevent the heat from going higher.

Early Monday morning, I quickly brought Shawn with James and Lucas in tow all to the clinic for immediate medical assistance. James and Lucas both have flu and cough individually but minus the fever. Doctor informed me to stay indoors, avoid public areas and to refrain myself from others with a minimum distance of 3 feet away – for the fear of any potential AH1N1 virus that I might carry.

Though Shawn is not a confirmed AH1N1 case, and his fever subsided in the afternoon till the wee hours on Wednesday morning (that’s right – early this morning). I had developed mild fever since early Tuesday morning till present, as my mild fever did not go away. I made another trip to the doctor’s early this morning fully dressed ready to work right after I obtain clearance from them that I can go in to office to work. I think you should know the answer why I have time to blog about this when I am at work – yup! No clearance was granted as my mild fever has to be monitored by the doctor.

So, I thought of sharing some information I found via the world wide web with all, since most of us still can’t draw the line between a common cold and the much feared AH1N1 influenza and some health tips to keep ourselves at bay from the viruses :-

Common cold, is a contagious, viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, primarily caused by rhinoviruses (a picornaviruses) or coronaviruses. It is the most common infectious disease in humans; there is no known cure, but it is never fatal. Though it is never fatal, here are some recommended tips on how to avoid and cure it.

Stop drinking cold drinks, cold water, ice cream , yogurt, chocolates etc. instead, drink warm water, ginger tea, or hot coffee.

Every 4-5 hours, drink warm milk with little turmeric, salt and butter in it. It will help to make your throat smooth which will help you to breathe properly. Gargle with warm water with little salt in it. Do it as many times as you can.

Make sure that you get plenty of fluids. They say that cold drains your body fluids. Rehydrate yourself by plenty intake of fluids. Try orange juice and hot tea with lemon and honey.

Get a plenty of rest. It will do well. If you feel your feelings get worst, seek for experts’ recommendation and follow it for easier recovery.

Acute pharyngitis or sore throat can result in very large tonsils which cause trouble swallowing and breathing. Some cases are accompanied by a cough or fever. Most acute cases are caused by viral infections with the remainder caused by bacterial infections, fungal infections, or irritants such as pollutants or chemical substances. It may also lead to serious disease if not treated well. Below are some ways to prevent and cure this :-

Take a glass of water and put it in the microwave and heat for 40 seconds (I would personally suggest boiling it instead). Add two teaspoons of salt to the warm/hot water and stir. As the water is still hot and tolerable to you, gargle the salted water. Gargle for five seconds and repeat till the water in the cup is gone. Repeat this process four times a day. This makes the pain of the sore throat subside moderately.

Avoid sweets. But preferably, try hard candies or cough drops. Eat fruits and drink plenty of water.

Just like common colds, it is advisable to get plenty of sleep. Take a rest until you can get through the pain.

Flu keeps you stocked in bed. Influenza or flu, can be transmitted though cough or/and sneezes. The most common symptoms of the disease are chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort. Fever and coughs are the most frequent symptoms. It may get serious if not aided immediately. Here are some tips to avoid the virus from spreading.

Since it can be transmitted, avoid sharing drinking and eating utensils with people who are sick. Wash your hands before eating to keep germs away.

Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably those with Vitamin C to boost your immune system.

Plenty of water. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Herbal teas and diluted fruit juices are good options for increasing your water intake.

Get enough sleep, plenty of sleep. Stress and lack of rest are mere causes of flu because it weakens your immune system.

Take a multivitamin every day to make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals.

Regular exercise is proven to enhance your immune system and to avoid you from getting these diseases. Schedule yourself from mild exercise to hard. It will help you stay physically and mentally alert.

On that Fateful July 25th...

I have a real tough time to write this, even summing up the energy to recall the incident would make my heart thump like crazy and my palms and feet would break cold sweat. You’ve got to picture how nervous and restless I am now with my 2 legs folded up and tucked beneath my thighs, occasionally wiping both my sweaty palms on my hand towel as I proceeded to type the entire incident – taking a minute or two break at every interval to peek on other websites to calm my nerves down. It is certainly taking me longer to write than to speak-out on the actual thing – and I really want to get this through and never to have to remember it again so that I will not be haunted by the memory of the case.

This happened on a Saturday, on the 25th of July 2009. It was the same day which I had a long list of errands to perform and the same fateful day of my life that is marred by my greatest frustration ever. I had it all planned and organised well so that all of our errands can be completed that day. Having said that, it was also a day which I carried the most cash with me as I planned to settle off my car instalments, bills, terminate my Celcom 3G broadband and also purchase both skincare and some medications as well.

Usually, I will not bring any handbags whenever I were to go out and will only use wristlets. But it was also because I had a lot of items and things to carry, which explains why I opted to bring a bag to store all my stuffs in case I left out any behind. It was as if I had it all in my head, I told Nick that I was carrying lots of cash with me that day and asked him to be alert as well. I had asked him to bring me to the banks first so that I could drop off all my cash before we head to Gurney Plaza that morning, but he mentioned that it was out of the way to turn to the banks and suggested we could do it on our way home as the route will pass by the banks. So, I went according to his plans. We had our lunch and purchased both my mom’s and my own skincare items at Lóccitane Gurney before we left that place. On the way home, I told him that there are 2 options to purchase our much needed vitamins from either in Farlim, Air Itam (which is a little out of the way but cheaper) or in Island Glades which is on the way. And Nick was thinking to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, he suggested Farlim as there is a place where we can get some fresh veggies that are brought down from Penang Hill for sale in the afternoon at the indoor wet market in Farlim. I went along with the idea as I too thought I could get my another month’s supply of detox medication from a branch located right in front of the indoor wet market.

When we reached that place, Nick stopped me to walk-up and get my detox medication while he and James waited in the car. I came down quickly not long after getting my supply and hop back into the car. He drove over the border to the indoor wet market and parked right in front of the entrance. By that time, James was already in dreamland – so, Nick asked me to stay locked in the car and he will hop down to get the veggies, so I agreed. After Nick left the car for about 15 minutes, James woke-up asking where is his daddy. And me being silly to think and allow Nick to do the wet-marketing has started to feel the guilt of having a man to do a woman’s job. I asked James to join me and got out from the car and met Nick inside the building to complete the marketing.

We came out together, but Nick was having both his hands full with a week’s groceries, so I had to take care of James and opened the car door to safely put James into the car. At the same time, I was careful to have remained between the cars during that time when Nick was loading the groceries into the booth of the vehicle. God had me this time – I was quick to have noticed Nick was going after something that fell on the ground when he opened the booth, and me being always kiasu if he ever notices that there were cars or moving vehicles beside him when he chased after the balloon James had got from his walk at the Gurney Plaza. I walked out from my “safe zone” to be the eye for Nick without realizing I was actually being watched. Nick too was caught off-guard. He quickly tried to load the balloons back into the booth with his hands still holding onto the other groceries. So, I chipped in to help him to load the balloons into the back-seat when those snatch-thieves decided to strike at that point of time.

Initially, I felt a very light tugging feeling on my arm when I was half-way through with my chore, and I thought it was James that was pulling on my bag – so, I did not immediately reacted to pull back in case James were to trip from my force. But then again, I felt that the tugging was a little too strong for a 3 year old, and that’s when I noticed that it was those culprits that were pulling on my bag. I was really caught in a state of shock, and I could not say anything even to call for help other than to scream “hai!”. My immediate reaction was to pull back my bag knowing I could not afford to loose my bag, but my other hand was not free as I was holding on to something. They forced the pulling and the other culprit decided to turn on his fuel to hit for a run on the bike as at that time Nick had turned back.

I could not feel anything if I was hurt in that moment, but just to recover my snatched bag. And that bloody culprit has got the cheek to even give me a smile right after relieving my bag from my arm. I could not find any stone that was within my reach to take and hurl at that b*stard (mind my words please), even to take off my shoes was considered but I was wearing a buckle-up heel and can’t take off in time to have it hurled at them. Two Indian ladies that crossed the road told me that they saw these 2 culprits were watching us from a distance (but why didn’t they care to sound us even from the distance? – are Malaysians that caring by the way?), and another 2 guards for the indoor wet market just stood there and shouted back at those 2 culprits when they saw them sped off. They did not immediately start their bikes and tried to catch-up with them either. It was with my almost begging request, they did so.

Well, to end the story – Nick took the car to follow on the trail but we failed to locate them, neither did those 2 security guards. Went we walked into the nearby police station to lodge the report, those police officers can tell me that it was 2 malay youngsters riding on a black Honda EX5 that did that unspeakable act but they fail to catch them. My question here is – why aren’t our Malaysian police doing their job? They can setup “booby traps” to bag these idiots rather than sitting there in the police station saying that by the time they reach the scene, these people are gone for good. I lost more than RM6k in that incident, had the troublesome hassle of cancelling all my cards, accounts, reapplying for my IC and driving license – but most of all, had the worse trauma I could get. I had sleepless nights right after the incident, and I have to admit – my degree of faith in God has also shrunk after that toll.

On Understanding Shawn

In early July, we were having a little hiccup with Shawn and his progress both in school as well as at home. Shawn was turning to be a little violent during our absence at home with his younger brother, James and our maid, Ann whenever he is being denied from anything. His tempers would flare and he would hit both Ann and James – forgetting himself for that moment, and only to recover a while later asking for forgiveness for his emotional breakdowns from the two of them. And when we are at home, he would be so timid and could not even share his thoughts, emotions as well as feelings with us. He also behaves the same timid way when he’s at school too. This has alarmed us tremendously, especially when I caught him throwing mild tantrums at himself in his own room once which he then refused to share what has caused him to be so emotionally pent-up and built-up.

Shawn being a “special” child that is on a daily prescription of Ritalin to control his attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and to have such disturbing emotional flare-ups – is something that would require our immediate attention to get it resolved soonest possible. We spent hours talking to him, understanding the deeper him on what had kept him so emotionally upset and worked up within him that could have possibly caused the emotional lash-out.

And the findings we’ve got was that he is coping hard in school – the particular government school that he was attending. He gets isolated from his teachers because of his disorder, being unable to sit still or concentrate in class. They practically never care to be bothered about him, or more so on lack of time to spend when they have over 30 children to teach in their 30 minutes to an hour of class. On his schoolmates, he gets bullied all the time. Can you imagine your son returning home from school every week with a new issue to tell you? Issues such as a shoe-print on the front or back of his white shirt (indicates that he is being kicked by another), swollen lip, swollen eye, once even with a bloody lip, school shoes marked with dirt, mud and even cow-dung caused by others stepping on his shoes (he will be busy apologizing and explaining to us the moment he step through the door with those shoes), his spectacles have been replaced umpteen times caused they were broken due to either he’s being punched in the face, eye or pushed to somewhere. Worse of all, he does not know how to express when he’s back home with us. He can only say, “my friend hit me mommy”, and when I asked “why would your friend want to hit you?”, he would then answer me “because I asked him to line-up when he cut queue”. I would always advise him in return “It’s ok Shawn, if they bullied you because of that, you have to report him to your teacher”, he would then either keep quiet or answer me “I reported him to the teacher, but the teacher never bothered also”. But, like any moms, we’ll tell him to forgive and forget about the incident.

There were many times too which we as his parents tends not to understand him entirely. He has an issue to concentrate in class, and mostly unable to copy down whatever homework, notes or assignment given by the teachers. Thus, unable to complete his daily homework. With that, comes the red-marks on all his activity and exercise books where the teachers take the “extra” trouble of complaining to us that our son is not performing or not concentrating enough in his/her classes so much so that they drew extra large question marks and wrote sarcastic notes that Shawn is literally not paying attention in their classes. Of course, as blind as a bat would be – we took care of our faces more than understanding our son. We had him lectured, punished, locked in a room to think and even to some extend of disciplinary actions for those “red-marks” in his books. We did not actually spent time having heart to heart talks with our Shawn.

Having understood our own mistakes, and upon understanding Shawn’s scenario entirely, I frantically search for an alternative option to proceed with Shawn’s future education. Nick even suggested me to be a SAHM to care and mend for Shawn if there are no other alternatives. But, God was gracious, I managed to still draw my memory to Joanna, a lady whom I’ve met during the United Marriage Encounter which I have attended back in 2007 who dedicated her time entirely to home-schooling her 2 boys in Sungai Petani, Kedah. Though, I had last spoken to Joanna more than a year ago on the home-schooling option for Penang folks, I was prepared to be disappointed again when I took my chances to ask her again this time round if she would have any knowledge if someone here in Penang that offers the same home-schooling program. I was not disappointed this time round, in fact, I was overjoyed when Joanna replied me “You know what Mabel, I have just the right news for you – three weeks back we went for a dedication ceremony for Cecelia, a lady who attended the same 2007 UME together with you has now started the program in Penang”. I was leaping with joy as I heard the news.

I wasted no time, and immediately contacted Cecelia, proceeded to obtain all the information and gathered all knowledge to go about with this option before I break the news to Nick and his family. I also took Shawn to see his regular specialist, consulted the specialist on my alternative solution for Shawn and had his medication changed. All the time I had been asking Shawn if he wants to change to a new school, his response was always the same despite how creative I post the questions to him – they were all “wait first mommy, I want to see how is the new school, teachers and friends first”. With that, I was determined to have him exposed to the new school environment, teachers and friends, and boy... you should see my immediate relief when I saw the real Shawn reappearing between his new found friends and new environment. That reassures me that my choice for him had been right, and I made no attempts to further delay his arrangements. I had him stopped from the government school with immediate effect, returned all his books and belongings of the school, and purchased him a new laptop for his new chapter with the centre. All of this happened within a week’s time.

Oh yes! I almost forgot to mention. Sandra Rocco shared her experiences with School of Tomorrow program with her daughter, Indiana in KK, Sabah – I was so awe with the school’s program and elements that were the key driving factors for the children that they teach. I was literally burning with desire if the same program can reach me here in Penang. Little did I know that both Joanna’s and Cecelia’s centres were operating under the same big umbrella! I only got to know about it when Cecelia gave me a hand-out to read more of the school’s program, and the information that was printed behind the hand-out reads www.schooloftomorrow.com ~building lives for the future~

The Whirlwind of Life!

Apologies for my long absence and silence. There has been a string of happenings in my life which I really do not know where and how to start also since there was a short re-lapse in my memory. But, I’ll try to capture those happenings as much as possible in almost chronological order for the understanding of all.

The Passing of a Dear One...

To many of us, grandparents have always been our source of love, refuge when we are disciplined or punished by our parents, but most common of all, the place where we are mostly "spoiled".

I've lost a set of grandparents from my paternal side at a very young age, and my grand-dad from my maternal side returned to God back in Sept year 2003 on my wedding anniversary date. That demise was a devastating piece of news to me as I do have a very special bond with him and given the special title of being his favourite grand-child - I really did miss him a great deal. Even through to this date, thinking about him would bring tears to my eyes because of that special bond we had. Now, I only left a grand-ma from my maternal side as my last surviving grandparent.

As for Nick's (my dear hubby), I had not met his paternal grandparents before because they had passed on before I got to know him. Leaving his set of maternal grandparents as the pair of grandparents that I bonded very well with before and after I got married to him as they are so close to my own set of maternal grandparents. But his maternal grand-dad left us back in Nov year 2002 when I was still in Guangzhou, it was a blow to me as I remembered I was crying and calling up the airlines to get the earliest flight home at the same time.

Late yesterday I got the news that Nick's last surviving grandparent had passed on. Nick's grand-ma has that special place in his heart, and I know how bad it must have wreak his heart getting the news. We were both still working when we got the news. But due to tight deadlines and criticality of our work commitments, we did not take off immediately. Nick still work till almost 7.00pm, while I stayed till almost 10.00pm at the office to clear up all my urgent lot before I disappear for the rest of the week.

Nick was holding on very well throughout yesterday, so have I. But, both of us broke-down early today crying profusely over the news and over the reality of Nick has lost the last and dearest grand-ma and that made me lost my grand-ma-in-law too.

To our dearest Ah-Mah, though you have returned to the Lord, but you will be dearly missed, remembered fondly and live on in our hearts... love always...

15/06/2009

The Dire for Slower-paced Life

Life has been very hectic for me over the last few weeks. And looking at the coming weeks, I do not think it will get any better anytime soon.

With the thought in mind that my maid has intention to head home for good by Q3 next year, and that my battalion of monsters will be left unattended until I can resolve what's the next solution, coupled with my ever-demanding work, I really do not know when I can actually catch a breather.

And thank God that I have temporarily decided to put my studies on hold till I can get a better grip of my hectic life and weakening health. Else I guess it will be too much for me to handle.

Shot Gun Marriage Do Not Last?

Saw the entry made by Bonnie last week called Shot Gun Marriage = Divorce, and thought it was an interesting topic to make an entry about, or more likely to express further on what Bonnie had expressed earlier.

While many elders will think that most shot-gun marriage will not last, I seriously believe that there is no factual proof to what they claim too. There are marriages that was built from some solid years of courtship, and had some years of blissful married years, but still tears apart despite the years spent in nurturing it.

In other words, there is no rocket science when it comes to predicting how long a marriage will last by just looking or judging the individuals from the cover. In fact, each have their own story to tell, and none will be similar. It also takes both partners to love and comprise, and to come to a stage of acceptance to each others' shortfalls, before moving forward to make the best of what they've got to make the marriage work.

Who says that marriage is a bed of roses? Marriage is NEVER a bed of roses. In fact, marriage is where the next level of commitment and responsibilities set in. Real honeymoon is when both partners have come to a stage where all flaws are being accepted, unwillingness are being straightened and new understanding of each other are being achieved. To reach this stage will not be easy - for some, it would be easier if both partners have the same or similar platform of understanding where both can embark on further developing their relationship further, for others, both parties needs to make adjustment to fit themselves into the marriage and to make the relationship last.

Changes are constant in a marriage whenever a new member is added into the family, whenever there's new changes that will test the marriage from the financial standpoint, whenever there's emotional changes that affects one or the other, and whenever there's external pressure that will apply indirect stress to the marriage.

Each phase a couple endures together when they face with these changes/challenges will elevate the relationship to a new level, and the passing of each phase will successfully enable both partners to understand each other better when the next challenge arrives.

I like to quote my favourite quote when I mention this, "everything happens for a reason, and each reason always has a GOOD reason laying behind it". Things or events may not appear favourable in our human eyes, but I always believe that it is a blessing in disguise to prepare us for the next challenge. The same principle applies to our own relationship with our life partners. We just need to remember that each challenge will only bless us with the experience that will strengthen the marriage, and it will always takes two to do the Tango.

New Excitement

I had been complaining non-stop about being unable to catch sometime to go for my Twilight Saga book hunting.

Well, yesterday I tried my luck with Popular bookstore and got my eye on the only Saga bundle which was priced at RM188.90 for all the 4 books. Pushing my luck a little, I tried to ask the store helper if there is a discount on the bundle since it is being placed together with the stash of books which were on 20% discount. What I got was not something which I had wanted to hear - "I'm sorry miss, the bundle has no discount unless you are a Popular member, then you are entitled to 10% discount. But the 20% discount applies to the other loose copies placed together at the counter".

I felt bummed, still not willing to fork out RM190 for 4 copies of books which I knew I would hardly read-through after once, I went back to the counter and flip through those loose copies in vain to get hold of the 4 books which I had wanted to get so badly. To my dismay, I managed to find Book 3 and 4 only which were priced at RM68.90 (before the 20% discount). And since I have not even started reading Book 1, how on earth can I jump to Book 3? I squashed the thought and returned the books back on the counter, and made my exit from the bookstore as quick as possible before I go ahead to make that purchase.

Back home, I went online to search for the Twilight eBook copies. And to my delight, I found all 4 copies downloadable from a good-Twilight-samaritan who so freely shared her PDF copies with all individuals out there. So, now I have the complete set which are in eBook format - thanks to "dchen". And I am thinking to get it printed out for my easy reading pleasure.

Now, I can't wait to get my hands on them and start my reading spree.

A Sweet Surprise

Birthdays have always been birthdays to me. Call me old-fashion when it comes to this, but I do strongly believe that birthdays do need to be celebrated - but not necessarily to spend lavishly.

When it came to my birthday recently, Nick had "pre-booked" me to have a weekend together - and we did. Basically, I had wanted some "two of us" time since we are always surrounded by our 3 musketeers in general most of the time.

So, last weekend we did spent sometime together - on Saturday, we caught some time with my parents (my dad returned from Singapore to spend a day with us), was surprised by an impromtu visit by an uncle (my dad's close friend) from KL who watched me grew-up and had a hearty lunch with them. We went to several aquarium shops hunting for some saltwater fishes for our newly setup tank, and even went for a test-drive on a new vehicle which we then subsequently decided to buy. And to top the day, my mom cooked a fabulous dinner for us too.

On Sunday, Nick brought me out for some really "two of us" time together. We had a quick and delicious lunch at Nando's, pick-up our movie tickets for the Star Trek show at Queensbay and happily giggling our way to the theatre holding our pop-corns and drinks just like kids - and had a great time absorbing the movie entirely. All in all, I really had a great time and did not think that there would be something extra since I had clearly mentioned to Nick that we can do away with the cake since I had added a couple of pounds from my recent ice-cream and cakes frenzy appetite.

But, little did I know that he had planned a little surprise for me at home. He had the cake collected, picked up my kids from my IL's and bought KFC for both my children and maid who simply enjoys those fried chicken meals. And just like I mentioned, he said "birthdays will always be birthdays, and it will be incomplete without a cake to celebrate the occasion".

Such a sweet surprise.

How Well Do You Know Your Husband

This is really an interesting tag which I've got from Sandra. Basically, it was good to remind me on the little things that most of us (wives) might tend to forget after some years rolled by into the marriage.


1. He’s sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
- News, CSI, any good documentary on Discovery, Animal Planet or National Geographic channel concerning deep sea fishes, air-crash investigation, I Survived or anything that picque his interest.

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
- French dressing or thousand island sauce.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
- Any food that is too spicy for him to handle

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
- Anything new to him, he's pretty adventurous when it comes to food.

5. Where did he go to high school?
- SRJK (C) Chung Hwa Confucion

6. What size shoes does he wear?
- Men size 8 i.e. 42 European size

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
- Dead corals and sea shells

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
- Anything that is a good-combo. He's pretty adventurous when it comes to food. Which include once turning his sandwich to a sushi complete with wasabi!

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
- Green apples and "bak chang".... they are his favourite

10. What is his favorite cereal?
- Combination of cornflakes with rice pops.

11. What would he never wear?
- Anything that makes him look odd or different obviously.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
- My man is a dull sportsman. The only sports he plays is backyard futsal.

13. Who did he vote for?
- Aside from the dutiful vote he needs to cast, there is no other vote he does.

14. Who is his best friend?
- Boring guy, hardly mixes around eventhough I have encouraged him. Home is his best friend.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
- Shopping and spending money!

16. What is his heritage?
- Pure chinese right up to the roots

17. What is his favorite colour?
- Yellow, yellow dirty fellow :p

18. What is his habit?
- A morning visit to the loo is a must :p

19. What is he proud of?
- His wife (...not boasting, he always tells me that) wahkahkahkah....

20. Lastly, do you think he will read this?
Definitely not! He's totally not into blog, and aside from other aquarium bloggers, he has no interest reading blogs.... hehehehehe...

The Love of a Mother

The love of a mother is the greatest love found beside the love of God to mankind. And God has been loving and thoughtful to have blessed each wonderful soul with a mother to nuture, love, care and protect us since the day we were born into this world. A mother’s love can be compared to God’s love for us. God’s love is not static neither it is self centered; it reaches out to draws others in. And a mother’s is none other than the same way as God's undivided love - it is unselfish, undivided and endures everything. The strength of a mother’s love is entirely independent of the past, the present and of the future, and above all - it is the purest of all emotions.

Since today is Mother’s Day and to all of our mothers, we would wish “Happy Mother’s Day”. And in conjunction to Mother's Day, I would like to post a beautiful lyric from Helen Steiner Rice here to wish all my beautiful, gorgeous and wonderful blogger mommy friends, friends and relatives out there an awesome Happy Mother's Day!

A Mother's Love

A Mother's love is somethingthat no on can explain,

It is made of deep devotionand of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfishand enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy itor take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgivingwhen all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falterseven though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believingwhen the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beautyof the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secretlike the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendoured miracleman cannot understand

And another wondrous evidenceof God's tender guiding hand.
- by Helen Steiner Rice

And I would like to leave you a thought for the week too :-

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” — Washington Irving

Have a Blessed Mother's Day peeps!

A New Obsession

Handbags and bags, no doubt has been one of my "items" when it comes to shopping... BUT, never before had I ever even thought of spending more than RM200 for a bag.

Lately, I started developing an obsession over wristlets and bags......... and mind my crazy mind, I have been spending quite a lot within a week with my purchase of 2 wristlets, 1 large satchel and 1 large tote. And what is worse, they are all branded....

Speaking of maintenance which was a quiz I took in one of the facebook applications, the result was indicating that I am of 50% high maintainance and that I should start living a life! Oh my! I seriously think my answers were excluding the less than a week's expenses poured for my crazy and latest obsession. *feeling of guilt is slowly seeping through - with my tongue sticking out*

Good grace! I even asked the seller to search for a Fendi wallet for me which I saw priced at USD455 *which I seriously think I am loosing my mind*.

Guess before I am thinking of splurging my cash to that over-priced wallet, I better think of using that money to much better use - such as changing my ten years refridgerator.

Should get a better grip of myself.

Time... time... Precious Time

Time is always ticking and whatever that has happened in the past hour, can never be rewinded nor be brought back again. I have been living with this statement in my mind over the years since my late teenage days. And maybe it was also the reason why it made me different when compared to a lot of people at my age then.

I always appear stronger, tougher and more mature in my thoughts and decisions since my then days. This is because I know, if we do not live life to the fullest or to treasure even a single moment spent in it, we will live to regret over a simple or stupid decision we have made earlier.

So far, I am proud to say that I have never regretted over any of my decisions EXCEPT for not paying good attention in school during my secondary school days - mainly due to the fact that I was too playful then. This was also the turning point for me to buck-up and move on in life and telling myself never to repeat the same stupid action again.

Even like now, for the reason that I have decided to forgo my intention to continue with my Masters, I seriously do not feel a wee bit of regret, because I know whatever decision that I make now, I am sure to have given it due thought.

I am the type of character that is persistent and adamant at getting what I want to accomplish within the right timeframe given, if not for a shorter period - and done with perfection. Can say that I am a perfectionist when it comes to delivering whatever task that I choose to lay my hands on. And if I do not achieve my goal or the standards that I have set for myself, I would get pretty upset over it. But, I also have something which counters this rigid feeling of mine. Let's say I have decided to do something, and I did gave it my best shot - yet, I could not achieve it, when I release it or give-up later - I will have no regrets because I know I did my best. Likewise, if I choose to give-up without giving it a shot - I WILL regret it for life! And this is something which I have not been doing for a long period of time - for as long as I can remember.

So, right now - I am seriously going to put some precious time for my family, and not going to miss out on catching on my kids' growing up years after I have decided to let go the pursuance of a Masters degree. And I am 110% sure that God is going to make both my family and work life a great phase in life which I will never forget.

Have a great and productive week ahead peeps! And God bless ya!

Latest Cut

I believe I reviewed about my earlier hairdo experience with Hair Perfect, and results were horrifying despite after spending an exhorbitant RM408.00 just for a professional hair-cut, colouring and its combo-treatment which crumbled my entire crowning glory in just under 2 hours to be exact.

Just Saturday i.e. 18th April 2009, after my orthopeadic consultation, I had decided I needed a "spirit-lifter" and went for my much-needed hair cut after not having a hairdo ever since my incident which was in mid-January 2009. This time, I was comtemplating either to get my haircut done at Extreme or APT ~ which both also are well-known hair salons with their own academy for learning. And as Nick was having an intention to visit an aquarium mall, which is located diagonally opposite APT, I decided that I should give them a try.

Their professional cut was only RM43, and an additonal RM5 for the wash too ~ this is considered reasonable compared to where I used to patronize back in 2005 and 2006 i.e. Baptain where the professional cut alone is RM55 without a wash too.

I was immediately ushered in and given a selection on the choices which I wish to have for my hair, and the professional hair-stylist was instantanously summoned to attend to me. Pardon me, I forgot to get his name ~ silly me! He greeted me with a smile and asked me of my intention. Without further a-do, he felt my hair and suggested a style and thickness that will suit me best - and asked if I am fine with his suggestion, which I gladly agreed.

So, he went on to snip away my extra length, gave me a personalised hair-wash (which in many hair salons will be handled by the helpers a.k.a. shampoo assistants), blowed-dry my hair and continue to complete the haircut to reach the perfect style that he has recommended.

The best part about this salon is, they DO NOT sell or pursue you to use their products, and neither do they literally "force" you to do some kind of treatment, or colouring if you do not have any intention to do so. They strictly let the customers rule!

The only question the stylist asked me was, what option would I like to have for my choice of shampoo, and when I voiced "scalp-care", he mentioned he has, and that will be an additional charge of RM3 - which I am happy to know. So, the total bill was only RM51, and this was the end result... complete with my mineral make-up look...

The Contemplation

Hmmm..... what's running in my mind these days? I really feel like giving up on continuing with my Master's considering that my workload is widening and my health is deteriorating.

It was just yesterday morning I made the decision after my scan results were made known to me. I am now on long-term glucosamine/condrophil prescription due to hereditary arthritis, and an old spinal bone fracture that has been causing excruciating pain whenever I sit on hard surfaces for a period of time. The sad part is ~~ nothing can be done about with these two findings other than taking precaution and care. As for the old-fractured bone, if the pain has reached a point where it is unbearable, my only option is to get an operation done to remove that out-growned portion which has been causing my pain.

As for my hereditary arthritis, other than long-term on glucosamine, I will need to take a continuous span of 10-14 days of painkillers (without stopping mind you) to subdue the inflammatory as and when there is a potential flare-up. And this will be a long-term routine for me also.

And what will happen if I choose not to take the painkillers to stop the flare-ups? The answer is: more injuries will happen to my spinal bone which will result in more pain for me as the years piles on. And those "injuries" will continue to deteriorate the state of my spinal bone, and the worst result will be very visible in 10-15 years time from now - which by then, there will be no option other than to undergo an operation if I do not take the adequate measures now.

Saddening news isn't it? Anyway, whatever it is, I am sure God has His ultimate plan for me. He knows what I can endure, and what I can't endure. Studying for my master's will require me to sit a lot, and to spend long hours either at lecture halls, or at home on weekdays and also on weekends.

Honestly, if I choose to stop studying - no doubt I DO feel the "pain" of letting go, but I believe it will definitely be a better option for me in preparation of what is expected from my family by mid of next year. Studying allows me with very little or practically "zero" time left for my children, and what more with this bone issue of mine ~~ I can NEVER carry anymore heavy things, which will include my children *boo hoo hoo...*. But, anyhow I still believe ~ my family and children needs me more than anything else in this world. And no doubt as much as I love to add an extra paper for my qualification, I just do not have enough time capability to accommodate or satisfy that need of mine.

I still have yet to call up the university to inform them of my decision as I am still 50:50 over the entire issue ~ I am a practical stubborn Choleric Sanguine who likes to control everything without at times trusting to let go of the reins to God for control! (still remember my closest brother-in-Christ called me a stubborn mule!). But to proceed with it will need me to bear an extra brain and pair of hands ~ that is for definite! So, what should the decision be peeps?

The Impossible Thought

Sometimes I just wished I had more than a pair of hands and an extra brain. Time is so inadequate for me these days, and I can hardly accomplish what I need to do within the deadline with my current physical ability.

Sounds shocking I know to you, but I have been struggling pretty hard to cope with both my workload and my study load in between my family commitments. Most of my friends really salute me for what I have "dipped" my head into.

Sure is tiring, but I believe God has His plan for me with what was laid in front of me. I am sure that He will not test me beyond my limits. If I could breakthrough this stage, I strongly believe I will achieve yet another milestone in my life.

So, till then..... I might not be able to blog that often - no doubt I actually have lots of stories to share but allow me to "figure" myself out to that right momentum before I could afford to squeeze another activity into my already overflowing daily schedule.

It's Earth Hour Today!

Yes! I have to agree that I have been pretty silent about the entire issue on Earth Hour 2009. My silence does not mean rejection towards the drive, it was more like observing how other Malaysians take accountability over their individual responsibility in making the earth a better place for our children and their future.

Though the drive might just require everyone's participation in switching off the power and lights for just one hour - but people... I believe we can do more than that don't we?

Many of us tend to blame others whenever a mishap happens somewhere around the globe. We do not see that WE DO play our part in "destroying" our beautiful mother earth. As the knowledge world gets wider, as people gets more technical with developments, and as individuals swarms for higher education - we have forgotten the simplest of all rules which allows us to be able to still enjoy the beautiful parts of mother nature - preservation of the basics! I tend to get the perception that as technology grows, the intellectual part of humanity dropped - technically I mean. What happened to their rational mind of preserving the best of mother nature for our future? All forgotten? Or is it unimportant?

Earth Hour is not only a drive to encourage people to turn off their power for just that one hour, BUT it is a move to initiate what is expected from each individual who participates in the event thereafter. Though our part might be little in our own perception - do not forget, Rome was not build in one day my friend. If each of us, takes accountability over our own actions and decisions, we can certainly make a different to the environment and to the people around us. Just as the saying goes "Good practice starts from HOME".

So, friends and people out there... let us join hearts and hands in taking on this drive to the next level. Think thrice before we make a decision - IF it helps to save mother nature for our next generation. The simplest and basics can start with our own daily routine and practices - save power, electricity, and use environmental friendly products. For WE can MAKE the DIFFERENCE!

New Growth

I did not blog about loosing hair after a hair appointment at a very well known hair saloon earlier. The case happened when I had wanted only a simple haircut done in one of Charlize Theron earlier styles. The hair stylist which I have pointed out to do my haircut is of a professional level which I have read people raved about his skills. His name is Eddie from Hair Perfect.

I have to admit that Eddie indeed is a skillful hairstylist given the fact that he could finish a haircut within 15-20mins in accordance to your hairstyle requirements. But, he can get pretty upset if he suggest you to do more than what you have intended for, and when you do not agree with his suggestions. This is based from my own experience.

I walked in on a Sunday morning at 11am for a simple haircut just a week before the CNY festive season. And Eddie was suggesting me to do a colour on top of my haircut, as he insisted that with my jet-black hair, and the style that I had opted for - the lengths and shape will not stand out without some hair colour *sulking*. I told him politely that I do not want to colour my hair and that my hair only needs a haircut and nothing else. And just I've said that, he said this to me in cantonese "If you want me to cut your hair, then you have to let me do as I have suggested". Boy! What a statement which did not catch me at that time as my mood was pretty patient! I did not walk out, but instead succumbed to his threat *hitting my head hard*. I am a real dumbo!

He charged me for a haircut, a hair-colour job, and a combo hair treatment - all for RM408.00!!! And me and my then stupidity and patience - paid for that bloody blood-sucking price.

Well, having said that, not only the price paid is not worth while - it was indeed the worse of all move that I had decided for him to colour my hair with what he promised to be one of the best brand of hair colour and hair care products - Keratase. My hair started to take effects after the chinese new year. It started dropping. And it is not a small volume, the volume is high which ends up a handful of fallen hair each time during each hair wash. And it was alarming!

Thank God I was blessed with a headful full of hair. At every occassion since my childhood days, hairstylist has been complaining that my hair is too thick, too much and not easy to colour as it is jet-black in colour, which indicates a healthy crown. I started loosing a large volume of hair, and up to a point where I myself felt that my head is very light and my hair is a lot thinner than what I used to feel. I went berserk... ballistic, and frantically called a friend who is an outlet manager for the L'occitane boutique at Gurney Plaza asking for advise and help. He was with a hair care products supply company before, and he had been trained well on hair textures, characters and hair care before - so, I had my emergency hair guru which I practically ran to for help instantaneously.

He explained that each strand of hair is protected by a layer which seals the strands natural colour and protects it from UV lights and other harmful atmosphere. And at each hair colouring process, hair saloon will use the white lotion a.k.a. developing lotion to "open" up this layer of protection, which thereafter will not be "closed" - just to inject the colour that we want into the body of the hair. Being an Asian, it is natural that our hair's content has the natural tones of red, and it will certainly be a lot easier for saloons to inject both brown and red tones to our Asian hair compared to other ethnic groups.

What made my hair drop is that the colour-sealing process which most hair saloon proudly advertise is "hair treatment" that they claim to seal your hair colour and to clean out the remaining chemical. All those that they say are all lies!

The agent that is being used on your hair is really a chemical agent to seals up the hair colour BUT it will harm your hair. What agent is it? It is silicone. What will the silicone do to your hair? It covers your hair with a layer of silicone, so that you will feel that your hair is smooth and silky and soft to the touch after the treatment. But the silicone also acts as a layer of plastic that bars your hair from breathing and repairing. And what's worse? It weighs down on your already weak hair after the hair colour process and thus, causing the hair follicles to give way and the hair will start dropping.

When I was briefed of all this information, I made a very clear decision for myself. Hair colouring is totally a non-value-add to my hair health, and I will not divulge myself into another phase of stupidity to colour my hair again. And he guided me on what products to use to help me with my hair growth, what to strengthen my hair, and even shared a little secret on how he make some homemade hair serum for scalp and hair care with me.

Now, thanks to Zowie, I crowning glory is starting to grow lots of new hair again.

Darling Lucas

Normally it is a custom for us to take some studio pictures of our children when they are small just for keepsake purposes, and to remind us of their baby/toddler look. We have not been taking a lot of pictures of little Lucas as our Canon Ixus camera has been giving us numerous problems with the its functionality due to infrequent usage. In fact, this is the second time a Canon Ixus camera has let us down badly. Looking at the price we have paid for both units, and the outcome of its stability and reliability - Canon Ixus is seriously a bad choice of a digital camera for us.

As for James, in fact I took a lot of his baby pictures as well as video clips when he was younger. But I do not have any to share or show as it was all been stored in my personal laptop before the entire hard disk crashed earlier last year. Now, we are left with a handful of James's baby pictures which includes a few professional studio shots that was taken when he was about a year old plus.

Now, I am not taking the risk of using a semi-functioning digital camera that could potentially fail me again nor having them saved in my laptop hard disk without a back-up disk. I basically brought little Lucas to an old but famous photo studio to snap a couple of professional shots just to capture his 6 months old look. And here it is...

Lucas looks very much like Nick a.k.a. his daddy when he was young. Most of our relatives, family members and friends has been commenting that little Lucas is the exact cookie mold of his dear daddy. And I really have to agree to this statement, especially when I dug out Nick's childhood photographs and see the exact resemblance of how Lucas looks now - there is no doubts that our dear little Lucas is the exact replica of his daddy's looks.

Detours...

Something which I have been doing for the past week whenever a tele-conference that I attends gets boring or the topic of discussion is non-related to my area - digital scrapbooking!!! *LOL*

Geez... I think I am getting pretty engrossed with digital scrapbooking lately and I have been downloading and purchasing quite a number of tools too to help with my digital passion *grinning sheepishly at my silly expenditure*

Here is the another piece I did when I was going through the teleconference yesterday afternoon. Looks simple, but the picture captured both Shawn and myself as of last month on a morning before Shawn left for school, and I left for work.


Shawn basically look very much like me in his facial features, skin tone, teeth and nails strength as we both were blessed with the benefit of having loads of calcium injected when we were both in the expecting stages. I can still recall gulping down multiple glasses of fresh milk with fresh eggs when I was expecting Shawn daily. And for myself on the other hand, my mom went for weekly calcium jabs for the first 3 months when she was expecting me. That explains why we are so calcium rich *smiles*

Down & Out

I was down and out over the past few days - since Friday till now. Reason? I was actually having a prolonged sorethroat that appears to be "now you see it, now you don't" over the last couple of weeks, and all hell broke loose when I ate glorious Thai food on Thursday afternoon when dining with some of the visitors from Bringham Young University (BYU) .

As a matter of fact, I am still having a slight sorethroat with very mild fever right now even after I have completed a 4-days course of antibiotics that started since Saturday morning. Thank heavens that I had yesterday as my replacement holiday from the last Prophet Mohamed's birthday, where I get to rest an extra day before resuming work today.

You'll be thinking how on earth I can blog while working *lol* - I am at present attending a teleconference call and finding the topic of discussion is deviating to areas which is of not my interest. So, in short - stealing bones la... a.k.a. curi tulang *LOL*

The Brothers...

Today is pretty relaxed for me as I am working on the island today for an activity on job placement organised by a MNC company. So, I am able to find a little breathing time in the afternoon for me to do some digital scrapwork for my 2 older boys.

The picture was taken about a month back when we dined at A&W at Gurney Plaza - looks peaceful here. The age gap between Shawn and James is about 5 years plus, and sad to say, they do not really bond very well. Constantly, they will be fighting or arguing over every single thing *faint*.

Usually when we arrange for an outing, it will be very hard to bring all of them along without having to settle every single one of their squabble - right from the ride out till we return. That is why, it is very exhausting to have a complete family day. And most of the time, if we were to bring both the brothers out, we can't be bringing the baby along because of the split attention required in "toddler/child-sitting" these 2 brothers.

Till age and maturity sets in for both boys, I guess both Nick and myself will be having this "challenge" till then.

He's officially OUT!

Yes! James has successfully transitioned into his baby brother's room 2 nights ago. Yea... you might be thinking what trick did we used this time to lure him out from our room. We tried talking to him that he is a young man now and that he should be just like his elder brother, where he should be sleeping in a proper bed rather than a baby cot.

And to reward him if he successfully move over to a room, he will get a little study assistant which will be a learning computer - and voila! It just happened that very night!

So... it's mission perfecto for us!

How to Peel Him Off?

James... our second boy is now entering his fourth year, and is still sleeping with Nick and myself in our room. We are now facing tough time in peeling him off and getting him to either bunk-in with his elder brother, Shawn or start sharing the same room as his baby brother.

Bottomline, none of the above seems to interest him at all! He just would not budge! He is adamant at sleeping with us and he said nothing is going to change that *faint*.

Shawn on the other hand... you can call me cruel... I had been letting him sleep on his own, in his own room since he was a baby. Yup... and that was like since he was 1 month old. I might sound cruel, but that has made my Shawn a very independent boy. He had since been sleeping on his own till now.

You might be asking how did James developed this clingy habit and why we allowed it to happen. Well, James WAS supposed to be our 2nd and last addition into our family, and he was super-clingy to his dad even when he was only 5-days old. You might be thinking that I am exaggerating, but I am telling you the truth. James did not want anyone else to carry him aside from his daddy when he was so ill with his little body completely covered with serious eczema. And poor Nick had to carry him for the whole night! Yes! hear me... the whole night right up to 5am! He did not allowed Nick to lie down either, and only wanted to be held by the daddy. Spoiled little brat right? And the father?.... yup... he allowed his little boy to be spoiled too.

Since a baby, Nick has been taking care of James every night - especially for his night feeds. That was how James ended up in our room. And I believe you might be thinking what happens to little Lucas now. Lucas is a wonderful gift blessed by the Lord in His utmost right timing. He is not clingy to anyone, and anyone who takes care of him is fine for him as he always smiles sweetly to everyone that cares for him. And he sleeps with our maid every night now (due to space constraints la...). In fact, our maid is sharing the baby's room as we only have 3 rooms in our apartment.

So, back to the topic now.... how to peel James from being so clingy with us? Both Nick and myself are still cracking our heads on how to lure him out from our room. We believe as he grows, we should not be showing any favouritism in giving him the benefit of feeling closer to us compared to his two other brothers. They are all equal in our hearts, and James should not be getting any extra. Moreover, as he grows, it is not proper for a child to be sharing room with his parents as well as I do not want the little boy to "witness" anything extra which he is not ready to know now *lol* - hey, that is speaking from several experiences which some friends had shared with me.

We tried on several occasions to let James sleep with Shawn - sharing the same room and same queen sized bed. James freaked out, wanting the elder brother to hug and brush his hair non-stop with his hand for the entire night! And poor Shawn has konked-out middle of the night due to tiredness from doing so. We figured that Shawn will suffer lack of sleep if being put together with James, and end up... James is back into our room again.

Now... while we try on other possible methods to lure him out from the room... Anyone out there that might have better suggestions, please do share with us ;)

A Breath of Relief

Finally, I have managed to "kill-off" another one of my many assignments just a while ago. It is indeed a big relief for me especially over the last two weeks I had been worrying if I could complete this assignment before the end of this week.

You can imagine the stress I went through this morning. I got up quite early to start working on my quarter-done assignment this morning. Had both my breakfast and lunch while I work through my assignment on my laptop, and only getting up to ease myself at the restroom every now and then when nature calls *lol*. I even encountered several system hang-ups during the course and it just freaks me out and causes me more tension *imagine at a point I was so frustrated that I banged my desk!* And now, boy! Am I really glad that I managed to complete the 95 paged assignment by 4.45pm just now.

As for tonight.... hahahahaaa.... I am going to relax and rest my tired brain, eyes and fingers! Till tomorrow before I embark on my next assignment, I am going to free myself off my studies and spend some quality time with my family.

Will also spend some time to update on my family developments later.

Silence for the past 2 weeks

I have been missing out on blogging almost for the last two weeks. Reason? I have been extremely busy with my work and had been pretty ill myself as well.

Work is overwhelming BUT is certainly exciting. Why would I say its overwhelming? Looking at my capabilities, strength and level of endurance - what I am facing now is really chicken feet. Overwhelming is because of the amount of stress I put on myself on completing my work tasks within my working hours and keeping my after-work hours solely for my studies.

I had wanted to complete my 2nd assignment before the mid of March, but health has been keeping me away from getting my goal accomplished. Being ill for the past 1 week plus has definitely kept me abstained from taxing my health further. Not to mention that I had to refrain from eating the normal choice of food that I prefer. All in all, it is indeed a great hassle for me to balance both my health and my commitment perfectly, like I had always wanted to take charge/control of. By the way, I am a true-blue Choleric Sanguine for those who do not really know me.

Since early last week, my mind had wanted to push on, but my body and health way screaming its way out. That's when all hell broke loose and I was down with fever on last Wednesday. Imagine, I still sent my colleague a sms at 6.30am telling him I'll be a little late as I will be dropping by to the clinic first. Guess the doctor knew it better than me, he issued me with a MC and prescribed me medication and that kept me glued to the bed for the rest of the day!

I am still not back to my good health as of now, still battling with a stubborn-and-would-not-want-to-go-away sorethroat and my on-again-off-again sinus problem. And it is because of these 2 issues... and the medications, I can't keep my eyes open to work on my way-behind-time assignments. And to make matters worse, me and my silly and constantly worried mind, is working up all the unnecessary stress for myself.

Aside from my silly attitude, maybe its also because of mind exhaustion, I get really tired right after work. I can't face my books even if I still have that 20% strength remaining in me. My mind is void of ideas and words, what more with analysing power for my assignments. So, Facebook and some blog reading have been my window for de-stressing during these two weeks.

Well folks, till I can find time to gather myself again. Pardon me for my missing-in-action updates and blog-commenting till then.

Best MOM Award

Running the award that was awarded to me by Bonnie (sorry Bonnie for uploading it so late... please excuse me for my partially impaired typing ability due to my sore finger >.<)

Agree with what Bonnie has said in her blog. Every mom will always work within all means and all wits to provide the best and only the best for her children. That's why we have "Mother's Day" to remind all of the unending and undying love a mother has for her child/children.

Rules:

1. Show the award logo in your post.

2. Pick a picture you have with your kiddo(s)

I'll pick a picture which I've snapped with Shawn just a couple of days back before I left for work, and before Shawn left for school... *psst... it's kind of pretty hard for me to gather all my 3 boys for a snap off-hand - but that doesn't mean they are loved less or not remembered*

3. Post should include your best experience as a Mom.

The best experience I had as a mom came was when Shawn made me the first hand-made "I Love You Mom" mother's day card when he first attended nursery back in year 2004. Though it was hand-made, to me it was - priceless! Imagine the card was cut, coloured, written and drawn from the little hands of my little boy is something money cannot buy. Since then, Shawn has been making me more hand-made cards and other little-little gifts such as stationery holders that gets more creative and artistic every time.

Also, not to miss out. Since at the age of 3 years old, Shawn has been bringing me flowers he picks whenever he goes to the playground to play. And lovingly leave them on my dressing table and dropping me a note saying "Mommy, you are as pretty as these flowers" *awwhh... don't that melt a mom's heart?*

4. Nominate other blogger moms out there that you consider the best mom, like yourself.

I'll like to nominate Hooi Ling and Guat Khim for the best mom award too. You ladies I know, goes beyond your limits to provide the best for your little ones.

Our 2009 Valentine's Dinner

I did not blog about the valentine's dinner I had with Nick on last Sunday earlier as I can't seem to find anytime to do it then. Frankly, after being with Nick for over a decade, we actually never had any out-of-home valentine's dinner - minus out our dating days okay... Reason for it is mainly because we both understand that love is where the heart is. So, flowers, chocolates, lavish dinners are not a necessity for us. Knowing darn well that most business will take this opportunity to raise their prices to cut-throat tags and love does not need all these to sustain or to fuel it further.

All our past valentine's celebration had been done cosily at home. And most of the time, I will be the one who prepare our own full-course candlelight dinner. But, our dinners will definitely include our kids and our maid - so, its not really a two-person kind of celebration. But hey, our kids and our maid are part of our family and our loved ones too. Speaking of our maid, she has been with us since Shawn was born, that means 9 years with us. That's why it is more like a family and loved ones proper sit-down dinner than a 2-person lovey-dovey valentine's dinner.

So back to my story..., earlier in January when the church I am frequenting organised an event for married couples called "A Moment Together", I pounced on it. Not that I had been longing for a quiet moment together with Nick, it is because the venue for the event is at the place where we both met - Hotel Waterfall. The place is not some kind of posh hotel or restaurant, it is more like a cosy little restaurant located in a motel, as the hotel is an old hotel from the 70's or 80's days. Having a dinner for 2 at a place where we got to know each other would be a great memory. And all the more when we have never revisited that place ever since we met, it would definitely be a memorable one.

At the dinner, since it was a church event, we were not alone as we do have plenty of other couple friends around too. Every couple is seated at a table for 2 persons, and the table is decorated with a candle pot sitting in a wine glass, rose petals strewn on the table, a cut-out butterfly marking out table number, and a box of ferrero rocher in a heart-shaped container. And we got a very nice table located at the corner of the room - pretty cosy.

The restaurant had been blocked-out by our church event, and the room is filled with hot air balloons, soft music and is dimly lit for that cosy and romantic atmosphere. Every couple dressed up for the event in their best suits and evening gowns. We have gentlemen donning their tuxedos and coats, and ladies wearing their best evenings gowns. *Ahem... forgive Nick and myself for not dressing up, as I had been busy the entire day in rushing my assignment till I completely forgot about the dress-code for the event - silly me*. I still remember Nick asked me on what attire should he put on for the dinner, and my reply was "Ah... any outfit is possible, just put on a collared t-shirt will do, or anything that you feel comfortable in". Thank God that Nick did not put on his usual 3/4 pants that he feels most comfy in :p

As I've mentioned, the event was a church event - so, it was filled with games, best-dressed man & lady of the night, sharing session and dance ;). Couples were asked to answer quizes and questions about their partners *without discussion* and to find out on how well they know each other. The dinner had been a great event for both the church as well as for Nick and myself. We had a great time reminiscing our earlier days together.

Here is Nick deep in thought with the questionaire... *apologise for the picture quality as it was taken from my mobile, and the room is dimly lit*

And here is a picture of myself captured by Nick on his mobile camera... *I know, I know... I look washed-down... I'm blaming it on my assignment - lol*

Lucas's 6 months to-be Milestones

I guess I've missed out Lucas's development when I had to totally isolate myself from my family for the past week. Lucas's rough motor-skills have definitely improved by tons, as he can gradually control his hands and fingers over his toys and other items that interests him. Here's a video that I captured today when we were at Gurney Plaza this afternoon. And oh yes! He concentrates intensely also :p



Aside from his rough motor-skills, Lucas is now seeking for more attention. He doesn't like to be left alone - so, he will be making noise and calling out for attention whenever he is being left to play alone on his playmat. And Shawn had been really sweet at devoting his care and attention for his little brother, and at the same time helping out our maid in baby-sitting his baby brother whenever he's done with his homework and at play.

As for physical developments, Lucas can now almost on all 4 - ahem... all 4 means his 2 hands and 2 knees *lol*. He can "reverse" when he's laying on his stomach, and he "reverses" whenever he props himself on all 4 and hit backwards. I do not have a chance to capture his video when he's doing this - will post it IF I happened to "caught" it later.

And here is how Lucas looks like now...

Hectic Week

I've had the most hectic week of my life for the last few years. I have left the study world for quite some years back, and now as posted in my earlier post - I have embarked on taking my Masters starting early this year.

Everything has been 90% new for me this year - a new job, new chapter in life and a new mother again (well... kind of ler since Lucas is a week away from 6 months). All in all, life in the past week has been overwhelming for me.

It all started with a total of 7 assignments to complete. And out of the 7, 3 are those which requires summarising of 10 journals each i.e. 30 journals *pengsan*. To be frank, I did not start on any of them since I was tasked with them :p - so, the result..... I had to rush like a mad-cow this past week to settle 1 of them which is due tomorrow. Since last Saturday I had to work because we conducted the first session of open interview on a weekend to avoid clashing with normal work hours, so Sunday was the day that I obediently sat in front of my laptop to start working on my first assignment. And guess what? I only got to finish summarizing 3 journals in the whole day! So, what happened to the remaining 7? Right... I told my boss on Monday that for the whole of the past week, I will be leaving on the dot to rush home and work on my assignments >.<

And I did! Since Monday evening, I have been diligently sitting in from of my laptop, working on my assignment, having my dinner right through my assignment, and really "dumped" and "ignored" my 4 boys (3 kids and 1 old kid) *LOL* till yesterday evening. Thank God that I managed to complete my assignment by Friday morning, got it tape binded and have the courier pick it up from my office to be sent to the Uni by this Saturday morning. So now... I can catch a breath of air before I start diving into my next assignment again tomorrow.

Pardon me for my absence in blogging, and also to visit some of my blogger friends' sites during this time. But, I'll take my chances to update the blog whenever possible.

Adios!

Expressions of LOVE

This is an interesting topic that I heard on air this morning through Mix FM - it goes with this question "Why do men always have to be the only person who has to spend lavishly on each Valentine's Day?" - why? hmmm... What is your opinion? And what will be your thoughts?

For me, it will be simple - LOVE is where the heart is. Gifts are a mere sign of showing affections one has for the other person. It need not be necessary expensive gifts or lavish dinners just to weight on how much your affection is for a person. To me, its the thought that counts. The gift could just be in a form of a self-prepared meal, a self-made card or even a simple but touching note will be just as meaningful when it is done, prepared or written with a loving thought. This gift to me is PRICELESS!

Just as the definition of LOVE elaborated in the book of 1 Corinthians 13, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres - Love NEVER fails.

Having said all the above, the conclusion to the question above - NO, it need not always be the man only who spends for Valentine's Day. It is just an activity or day for both individuals to remember a day by with fond memories... so, a small but sweet gift that acts as a memory token will do. And as long there is sincere love, everyday is Valentine's Day!

Taking this opportunity to wish all my blogger friends, friends and loved ones out there a very Happy Valentine's Day!

5 Things You Don't Know About Me

Got this tag from Sandra again after the "25 Random Things About Me" in Facebook. Hmm... I think for the first time that I am sharing so much about me by listing it all out by lined items *LOL* - but, hey.... its interesting. This is how we get to know each other better, and this will be the platform to greater friendship ;)

1. Just like Sandra, I learned both ballet and piano during my elementary school days. But I guess I was build for tougher stuffs... so, I was practically dropped out from those classes and what was taught to me was returned back to both tutors :p - maybe also because I had two left foot *yikes* that's why I can't dance tempo steps...
2. Was not the prim and proper type of little lady since my girly days. I played and wrestled with the boys from my nursery days till eermm.... end of my elementary days... (I think..).
3. Hates mathematics! Don't give me figures, I will NEVER figure myself out when I'm stucked in it. Still remember once I brought home a math paper which I scored only "19" marks and my dad practically shot up the ceiling :p *LOL* - anyway, still hates them.
4. My no. 4 is SO, SO, SO like Sandra... the gift of reading people, their expressions, verbal communication method, body language, eye movements, habitual characteristics and so forth... from all these, I could practically read 90% of the person. Most of the times my circle of close friends are "picked" through this "feeling" that I have.
5. And just the opposite of Sandra's 3rd item. I CAN sing.... heehehee.... but not up to the contest-entering-type of level lar... Represented my high school's soprano choir team back then.

And since I have the flow of words, I am revealing another 2 more things that you don't know about me - in short, I want to make it a perfect no. 7 *lol*

1. As grown-up (or matured) as I may be, I still have some really childish habits that I can't feel off. I still sleep with using a pillow to hug, and a most of the time whenever I travel, I pack along my little pillow as well. My best friend still teases me "eh... you & your bantal busuk => smelly pillow" *AHEM* excuse mua... my pillow is NOT smelly ha... it is being washed and sun-dried often. (I think both my elder boys picked this behaviour from me... Shawn has a favourite pillow which he fondly call "pillow penyek" a.k.a. flat pillow, and James with his smelly bolster) *LOL*
2. And as tough as I may be, but I can't watch any thriller or horror movies. People will be shocked by my screams rather than by the movie.... kahkahkahkah...

Fast-track to Beauty Tips...

As we all know, Valentine's is peeking round the corner and many of us ladies are practically like "OMG! How on earth can I look great with such little time?". Well, here are some tips which I got from my Cosmo's mags, and other beauty tips readings which I think helps a great deal in giving that last minute much needed fix :-

Get a Sexy Body

1. To de-bloat, try this quick detox diet. You’re going to have five meals a day for two days. For the first four meals, whip up a shake made of a) a scoop of protein powder equaling 20 grams of protein, b) a handful of fresh or frozen berries, c) a teaspoon of flaxseed oil, d) ice and water. For the fifth meal, grill or bake four ounces of lean protein (fish, chicken, or turkey breast), one and a half cups of steamed vegetables, and five nuts or olives.
2. If you’d rather not stick to a strict diet, simply eliminate simple carbs (white bread, rice, pasta) and sugar. Also, resist sprinkling salt on your meals — sodium causes you to retain water.
3. Drink at least four cups of water plus four cups of green tea (it’s a great fat burner) each day. And nix alcohol, which is high in calories, slows down your metabolism, and makes a mockery of your willpower.
4. Don’t eat later than 8 p.m. Chowing down at night will leave you puffy and sluggish the next day. Plus, it interrupts the production of the growth hormones that your body produces at night, which decrease body fat and build muscle mass.
5. On that note, get between seven and eight hours of sleep a night to give your body enough time to make those growth hormones. Even just a couple nights of good sleep will make a big difference.
6. Two days before the event, start increasing your workout to 90 minutes. Do 30 minutes of cardio, followed by 30 minutes of weights, and then finish up with another half hour of cardio. This will give you instant definition. Can’t swing 90 minutes? Aim for one hour.

Make Your Skin Glow

1. Exfoliate your entire body in the shower the night before the party for smooth, gleaming skin.
2. The fastest way to fix puffy eyes or dark circles: Brew two green tea bags, and let them cool. Then lie down and place them over your eyes for 10 minutes. The caffeine will tighten the tissue and reduce swelling.
3. If you have a zit, shrink it on the spot by wrapping an ice cube in a thin dish towel and resting it on the pimple for three minutes. This will alleviate inflammation and redness. Then cover the zit with a dab of lavender oil, which will dehydrate the blemish and kill bacteria.
4. To fix dull and peeling lips, try mixing honey with coarse brown sugar, and use it to exfoliate your lips. The sugar will roll-off the dead skin and honey will act as an agent to repair your skin.
5. Sleep is as crucial for your complexion as it is for your figure, so don’t skimp on it. Your body replenishes skin cells and produces collagen and elastin (which keep your skin strong and plump) while you’re sleeping.

Happy trying!

How Do I Love My Husband?

Running the tag which I've received from Bonnie earlier this week. Since it's in conjunction with the Valentine's Day which is just a week away from now, this topic is going to be a very appreciative topic for me to review the reasons on why I decide to be part of Nick's life, and to be his life companion.

• I love him for the boldness hidden behind the shy-prone outlook. The perfect blend of shyness and boldness that keeps me intrigue in our relationship.
• I love him for placing the family above all else when it comes to making any decision.
• I love him for allowing me to participate and be involved in major decision making issues and that my thought, advises and ideas does weight to him.
• I love him at how fatherly he can be when he babysits our children. When I say babysit means he really does babysitting from A to Z... including nappy changing, making milk, bottle feeding, bringing the children to the doctors, bathing them & so on...
• I love him for being homely as he is. Home is his comfort nest, he cleans, repairs, decorates and improve everything within our home.
• I love him for being so straightforward, honest and truthful without any hidden agenda.
• I love him for the patience he has whenever my temper flares.
• And I love him for being himself... true to his personality, true to his nature and true to character.
  

I guess if I were to go on, the list will just continue without an end. The most important liner that we should always bear in mind - Yesterday is history, and nobody knows what tomorrow holds for us, better it is for us to remember this day with the blessings that has been bestowed upon us, rather than speeding through life and least noticing the wonderful strawberries that makes this marriage and life so sweet and meaningful to live.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...

My 10 years of Marriage

Sometimes I am just amazed at how fast time really flies. To be exact, Nick and I have been married for 10 years and 4 months as of January 2009. We did not really celebrated our 10th anniversary in any special way as I was still in my confinement after delivering Lucas. I actually sneaked out and we had a quick lunch at TGI Friday's at Queensbay Mall to mark our 10th anniversary last year. Nick also got me a nice little diamond ring that has a GIA certificate too *grinning dizzily*.

Many of our friends actually never expected for both Nick and myself to tie the knot at almost lightning speed 10 years back. I was the extrovert, ever-so-flamboyant and known as an ex-party animal type of person, whereas Nick was the introvert, shy and quiet where he spent most of his time at home with his schedules filled with only boring activities such as reading comics, watching the norm programs that's aired on national TV and clocking in to bed at 10pm *lol... I can't imagine I had such a goody-two-shoes as my hubby*. We were more like what Paula Abdul's number of "Opposites Attract" rather than the more commonly found couples that shared lots of common interests together.

We both met at a casual friends' hang-out where never even at the back of my mind could imagine I would end up going out with such a boring and not-so-good-looking chap. Can you imagine I was so mean... at a time I even blatantly told Nick that if I was given the score card to rate his looks, I would have rated him "0" => zero. And poor Nick was asking me softly in return "Then, why did you choose to go out with me still?" I told him that it was his inner beauty that attracted me to know more about him and it was also that part of his personality bowled me over. And you know what happened after I answered his question? He melted like butter.... wuahahhaahahaaaa....

Well, what basically was the inner beauty of Nick? Aside from being quiet, shy and extremely low in self-confidence when it comes to courting girls. Nick does not gamble, womanize, smokes nor drinks. He is the pure goody-two-shoes kind of guy. Believe it or not, he does house chores such as washes the dishes, cleans the toilets, helps me with the laundry - yup, including folding clothes, does gardening and bathe the kids. He is also a darn good handyman - my mom simply adores him whenever she needs a small fix on leaking water taps and pipes, electrical points and even to the extend of repairing some electrical items.

So, you guessed all those traits bowled me over? Nah.... not so much of those. I had 3 previous relationships before I start-on with Nick. They were none close to the beautiful traits Nick had. Most of them were practically fanatic about career, sports or cars, and the feelings and thoughts of a woman will normally be the last item on their list to consider thinking about. Nick allows me to speak my mind, values my opinions and shares part of the decision making process. He is a family-oriented type of person where sports, cars and other personal interests will come in least important when it comes to prioritizing his loved ones. So, now you know what keeps me to him.