Aaaahhhhh boxing day sales.

Ever since I came back. I've never bothered about boxing day sales. I've put it at the back of my mind and never thought about it anymore. That is until this year. My brother and his family are in London for the sale and deymmnnnnn... I'm so jealous. It's not that I want to buy anything in particular but I miss the rush of bargain hunting and other than warehouse sales, boxing day sales is where you can get really and I mean.. REALLY good bargains. That is if you're early enough.

In those days, I would go to the shops as early as 6.30am. I don't really have anything in mind but I always get something that is absolutely worth it. I remember I got a coat which I wore through out my uni years for just 20quid. Reduced from 70 quid. BLISS!!!. That coat got me through some really heavy rainy days and cold winter days ok and it's still in good condition. I'm not letting that coat go ever. Even though I won't be wearing it anytime soon. But still... NEVER.

And then there's that black lacy work shirt with faux pearl buttons that was about 10quid reduced from 30quid. I still wear em till today and I luurrrvveee that shirt.

And not to mention the bags I used for my uni years that could fit my notes and books. Each was about 10quid. Still in good condition till today ok!!!.. I gave one to my sis and she used it for her classes, and the other one I used as my diaperbag. hehehe.

I miss boxing day sales. Maybe that's the reason why I'm in such a spending mood lately.

Sigh.

Do do do??!!!

Why is it when I have something that I half heartedly want to do but is important to do I instantly find something else to do that gives me a reason to procrastinate from doing that important thing that I'm actually supposed to do.

Banyak nye to do??!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHA

This chorus is in my head.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need

-You can't always get what you want, Rolling Stone-

Anyhooo.....

May everyone finds the silver lining in their clouds today.

Tsk Tsk

Sad isn't it. When one is blinded by revenge. When friends become enemies. When you have to see the person you care about plunged into darkness and there's nothing you can do about it.

3 layer tea a.k.a Teh Si Peng Special

OK truth be told.. even though I go back to KCH every year.. I've never heard of this tea nor have I been introduced by this tea by my father,cousins, uncles or aunties. None of them ever told me about this tea. What I do eat when I get back is Mee kolok, Laksa Sarawak, Sotong kangkung and of course my must have ais jagung...aaaaaa sedaaaappppp. (ooppsss dah lari topic)

Soooo imagine my surprise when my husband suddenly asked me about it because apparently his colleagues said this tea is so damn famous in KCH and everyone who goes there will have it. WTH??!!! kenapa aku tatau hah???

Anyway.. asked my Dad about 3 layer tea who is a born and bred sarawakian and he himself didn't know about the tea. Then I decided to google and found out that its actual name is Teh Si Peng Special.

Must ask Dad about it first thing in the morning.

Anyway.. had my first taste of it in


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Wait for it ( To quote Barney from How I Met Your Mother.. Damn I love that show)

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Chicken Rice Shop at Tesco, Mutiara Perdana!! HAHAHAHA!!! I've never tasted the original(the KCH one laaa) sooo can't compare but the one I had was pretty tasty.Must ask cousins to bring me when I go back next year!!!!

Two's a company, three's a crowd. Maybe not.

Catching up with friends with your little one tagging along is never easy. Especially when she's at an active age and there's nothing interesting for her to do at the table. The only time it is easy is when she's asleep. Then you can chat and catch up in peace. Otherwise, you have to divide your attention between your friend/s and your child/ren.

How do I handle it? Well, I would usually warn my friends beforehand that I am still listening to her even if I seem distracted with my child. Of course giving the appropriate responses does confirm that you are still involved in the conversation. But it also helps to have my husband around to distract the little girl. I try to bring some distractions along, like her colouring book, or toys, but sometimes it doesn't work because she wants mummy to play with her too. Sometimes I try to suggest to friends to get-together at a kids friendly restaurant/cafe. It's much easier if there's a play area so that she is distracted and have a good time herself.

Of course I don't always bring her along especially when I'm not in the mood to multi-task or when I'm at a non-child friendly place.

Cornlour Gloop

OMG... I had so much fun doing this!!! and of course Azalia had fun too.

It's soooooo much fun.. and messy but It's sooo worth it.

Ok nampak gayanye mak dier lebih dari anak

Got the recipe online.. buy didn't follow it exactly. Basically all you need is for every 1 cup of Cornflour u add about 0.5 cup of cold water. But 1 cup is not enough to play with so I made about 3 cups.. hehehe.

You don't actually use exactly 0.5cup of water. Just add the water little by little till you get the texture. When properly mixed it should be solid looking but when you put your fingers through it becomes liquid. We loved the texture and just played and played with it. We poured and scooped them with spoons, cups. But the best is to play them with your hands. We even add some colouring to make them more interesting although the colour did stained our hands because we played with them too long.

The kitchen was a mess afterwords but the fun was worth it. Definitely will do this again. Oh to avoid and distraught over ruined clothes (due to the colouring) don't wear good clothes. I took the easy way and let Azalia play with only her pampers on.

The kite project

This wasn't in the list but Alia wanted to buy make one because she saw Barney playing with it on tv.

So I went to the back of the house and took out 6 sticks of lidi from the penyapu lidi(washed of course). Asked my sister for some tracing paper(thank God for a sister who studies architecture..she has loads of them) and took my scissors,some threads, twine and glue and went to work.

The only thing I allowed her to help with is gluing the paper to the kite's frame and scribble on them.

The kite can't fly, is messy looking but did she care.?? nope. she was contented enough with pulling it along with the twine. hehehehe. Will definitely get her a proper kite once she's older but for now.. I think that's sufficient. hehe

Free educational online games - for 1.5 to 3 year olds

Azalia loves the computer because she sees her parents always in front of one. So... since she wants to get in the action too I went hunting for educational games online that could be beneficial to her while she is in front of the computer. I found these and she absolutely loves them.

1. Fisher Price
2. Starfall
3. Youtube - loads of nursery rhymes, sing-a-longs, ABCs and 123s and Alif Ba Ta!!!

Hehe.. You tube isn't actually a game but she loves it too. Playhouse Disney Channels takes too much time to upload so I've kind of given up on them. But I have no problems with these sites.

Will update once I find more. We've actually introduced these sites to her since she was 1.5 year old. Before that we used baby smash so she can smash the keyboard all she wants.

Making friends

Ooh I did make this one project during studying period.. (heheh) It's fun, easy and cheap!! well that is if you already have a colour printer. If not you can print black and white and you and your child can colour them.

Anyway.. It's PAPER DOLLS!!!

Printed them out from this making friends website. Loads of dolls, clothes,hair and accessories to choose from. Really fun!! We printed them out, glued several dolls on a cardboard and then play mix and match the clothes and accessories, glued them all together and there you, a complete paper doll!!

Azalia certainly had fun choosing who wears what and even named them and also she gets to play with glue. Scissors is of course a no no and only mummy gets to use them. This is certainly a project that can be done anytime.

Hubby's 9 days Perth trip - it's still not over yet.

To keep me updated on his trip, Asa finally updated his blog. Extremely jealous hokay with the things they did there. They even stayed in cottages and made trips to farms and a petting zoo. YOU OWE US A TRIP ASA!!! Kumpul duit cepat!!!

You can check it out here. It's quite comprehensive if anyone wants to visit Perth and plan on things to do.

Sugar cookies project done!!

Cookie project done on 11.12.2009

It was a mixture of failure and success. Purpose of the project is to let Azalia mix and stir and pour and play with flour and the of course the cooking cutting bit.

The failed part
The recipe I used turned out to be sticky. Tried to refrigerate it but I think I need bigger cookie cutters. It still got stuck in small corners of the cookie cutter.

The success part
It was fun getting all messy. The flour is EVERYWHERE!! because I let her do the mixing. In order to have fun, everyone needs to just chill and just say.. "It's just flour" teehee. Cookies turned out to be delish by the way and Azalia loved them. Cookie cutter-ed some of them, shaped some into a ball, and piped them too.

MUST DO THIS AGAIN!!

The recipe:
170g butter. softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2.5 cup flour
1tspn vanilla extract
0.5tspn salt
1tspn baking powder

Cream butter and sugar, mix in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour,salt and baking powder. Pre-heat 200 degrees celcius, and bake 5-8 minutes (till the sides are golden brown)

We were suppose to decorate them but Azalia ate all the decorations. Sheesh. Maybe next time

1 down..more to go. But first.. PROJECTS!!!

Since exam is over, I've got a lot of things lined up for me and Azalia.

Several projects have come to mind whilst studying (gile tak focus kan!!) and it's high time I execute them.

Here are some of the ones I have for Azalia

1. Cookie project
2. Cornflour gloop project
3. Building cardboard house/car/whatever project
4. Swimming lessons!! (shu nnt saya sms mtk nombor instructor ye!!TQ!!)
5. Photo album (half completed.. need to complete it A.S.A.P)
6. Sand and water corner. (But I think my parents object to this and Azalia don't seem to like sand very much. Kotor kata nye. aisehman)

And these are my projects

1. Photo albums - UK trips, Spain, Italy and Paris trips and of course graduation.
2. Wall shelves in my room.
3. Notice board in front of my desk
4. Put pictures in frames and find a place to hang them or place them


Aaaahhh these should keep me occupied till results comes out. And then it's back to hitting the books. Sigh.

Hairy hair hair...

Did you know most of the human hair wig/extensions comes from INDIA!! Yerps. If the label says INDIAN HAIR than it really is an INDIAN'S HAIR.

And did you know they have MALAYSIAN HAIR as well. Apparently it's the highest quality of human hair available in store for wigs and extensions. Some hollywood celebs actually prefers MALAYSIAN HAIR for their hair extensions. Bet you didn't know that.

And do you now how much they buy it for??? the cheapest is FREAKING 1000USD!!!

I'm keeping my hair long and selling them. Enuff said.

Oh and why am I suddenly talking about hair??

I just watched Chris Rock's documentary GOOD HAIR. Watch it. Seriously. It's funny, interesting and you learn a lot about black women's hair.

On Sleep, Auswaya, Koawa and Kangawoo

Arghhhh Azalia's sleeping timetable has gone haywire.

She gets so excited now at her babysitter's (dah besar suka main, and got friends some more untuk main..) that she takes her 'afternoon' nap the earliest 5.30pm!!! SAY WHAT??!!!!

That means she'll wake up around 7-8pm and mestilah mlm tido lmbt!! Even if we get into bed aroun 10pm she'll be tossing and turning because "Alia tak ngantuk lagi lah"

Sigh.

Anyway... I don't know who told her but Alia now says "Abah dekat Australia (actually she pronounce it Auswaya). Mom and I actually said Perth so maybe my dad told her. And Asa called the other day and told her he saw kangaroos and koala and she got all excited and said to me

"Alia nak pegi Auswaya. Nak tengok Kangawooo, koawa. Mak ikut ok. Abah dekat Auswaya. tengok kangawoo..koawa. Alia nak bg makan kangawoo, koawa."

HAHAHA Asa you owe your daughter a trip to Auswaya OK.!!!!

Plus.. Azalia now says she goes shopping at my sister's room because there's loads of interesting stuff there in her and mesti confirm nak bwk keluar dari bilik punya!!. hehehehe

Azalia's firsts

I might need this for future reference(a.k.a another kid or two)

So here goes.. on top of my head

First smile - about 2 mths
First word - abah, about 8 months
First crawl - about 6-7 months
First rollover - about 3-4 months
First step (belum jln lagi) - about 9mths
First walk (no assitance)- about 10 months
First food - 6 months
First tooth(actually 2 teeth popped at once) - about 5 months
Developed an affection towards her security blanket - 1 year
Starts sucking her fingers - 4-5 months
Know her ABCs,123s - 1.5-2years
Know her Alif Ba Ta's - 2+ years (hehe ini mak dier lmbt introduce..oops)
Can say Bismillahirrahmanirrahim and recite doa tidur fully!!! - 2.5 years
Starts talking.. A LOT - 2 years
Developed an affection towards animals = 1.5 years
Starts potty training - 2 years - still in progress
Start being cheeky - 2 years

Will add as more is being explored and as and when I remember them. HAHAHAHA

YEAY!!!! my Azalia is 2.5years old this month!!!!!!!!

Random thoughts

I see a flaw in the power of attraction (the secret y'all).

You know how the mind wanders, well imagine if you're mind wanders and start to think about something negative.. like... you're driving and suddenly you start thinking about the possible of ways of getting into a minor accident (eg. bump into the car in front of you or scrape the side of your car with something .Well.. if you believe in the power of attraction you seriously don't want it switched on at that time do you.

Just a thought.

Look at me!! look at me!!!

Azalia always had 100% attention from her grandparent ever since birth. Of course this was because she was the one and only grandchild until the birth of my nephew about 4 months ago. Everytime he would come to visit, Azalia would be overjoyed but this joy quickly turn into a competition in getting that 100% attention from her grandparents back. Of course they would dote on the new addition endlessly since he is not staying with us and comes for a visit only 2-3 hours once a week.

At first Azalia would play with him along with the grandparents, but after awhile.. she would be bored since the boy can't even roll yet so she would want to play other things. But since the grandparents are still not bored with the baby, she would insist the baby goes to "mama dier" and would make gestures to pick the baby up and give it to the mother.

I find that the only thing that works here to avoid hostility towards the baby is for someone e1se to give her the attention she needs. Of course at first she resist because she wants the attention from grandpaw and grandma.. but one must not lose hope. Sooner or later she'll realise that resistance is futile. HEHEHE.

But of course kengkdg mak nye pun nak main dgn baby so sometimes she has no choice but to learn to share.

Aaahhh sharing... teaching that is a whole other entry on it's own but I think we're nearly there.

Two weddings and lots and lots of friends

Went to 2 beautiful weddings yesterday and met lots of old friends from school, college and uni.. It was good. Had a dose of singlehood again as I attended both weddings alone since Asa is away and left Azalia with Mom the whole day.

It was fun seeing people I haven't seen in ages and catch up.

World Wide Weirdos???

My geeky uncle warned us against putting photos of our family online. Apparently he had a dose of being 'investigated' via the web. He was eyeing for a job in a certain country and apparently during the interview the interviewer mentioned something about his interests and hobbies which he of course didn't put on his resume but it was on the web. Of course it wasn't anything bad but it just freaked him out a bit that they actually went online to check his background which I'm sure what most people are doing in this day and age.

It got him thinking that maybe it's not a good idea to put everything online. Some things like your family should be kept private because there are some crazy people out there who would do crazy stuff. One time I came across a person's blog, who used someone's daughter's pictures and claim it as their own. There are even people who uses other people's photos and claim that it's their family etc.

Weirdos I tell you... weirdos.

Anyhoo...It is one's personal choice what they want or do not want to publish in the World Wide Web. I however have decided to not put up photos of Azalia anymore.Plus.. I'm too lazy anyway.hehehehe

The secret lives of Moms

Secret Lives of Mom was the topic in Oprah on Thursday and oh how I agree with EVERYTHING they talked about. From the whole handling your kids, feelings on motherhood and how having children affects your marriage, your relationships... it's all soo true.

Truth be told,in the beginning it wasn't easy for me or Asa. We struggled, we were tired and still are sometimes because parenting doesn't stop AT ALL.. and there are times when we feel guilty for complaining BUT regret never came across our mind. I remember one time when a friend asked how it is having children and what came into our mind was... it's good..great in fact. The first thing that came into our mind were the good things not the bad. Weird right??!!

I actually bask in the joy of motherhood about 1 month after I deliver because before that my body was a wreck. It did after all go through labour. Plus there's the whole breastfeeding thing and that keeps you occupied until you get the hang of it. Asa on the other hand had to juggle a very emotional me, the baby(but Azalia was a very calm baby) and work and the adjustments took time.

Along the way sure there were tempers flying around, the merajuk-ness for not getting the attention that we want (I'm talking about adults here people not the child) but we made a pact to NEVER GO TO BED ANGRY. I think that helped.. A LOT.
We would settle whatever dissatisfaction that we had and put it to rest. That is why I think we survived my baby blues period because we had good communication.

They also talked about our own expectations of what mothers should be and how we always always try to achieve that expectations and don't give ourselves a break. I admit.. I had my own expectations. I didn't have anyone else my age for me to compare or exchange stories with. And I struggled because I didn't know whether what I did was right or wrong. But there is no right or wrong. You can buy a whole shelf of parenting books and still struggle. I believe those who wrote the book also struggled themselves that's why they wrote the book because after much trial and error they finally think they've got it. But different families have different ways, so there is no one right way in being a parent. Even to this day I still question some of the things I do and what impact it has on my daughter.

That is why breaks are important. And the moms in the show insists they are. Being a parent is 24/7 and it's for a very very very long time. Imagine if you don't get breaks.. you can go a bit cuckoo you know. Giving yourself a break can also make your marriage stronger. Honestly it was hard at first for me to give myself a break. Sometimes I need to be reminded. One time Asa had to insist it's time for me to take a break because at one time.. I was crabby and tired and stressed and it affected both my husband and my daughter. But once I did take them...I became relaxed and happy again and ultimately a happy mother results in a happy father and a happy daughter. Now everytime I find myself needing a break, I just take them and I'm very thankful I have a husband who understands, encourages and fully supports me in doing so.

Whatever it is... being a parent is never easy. Whoever said it's easy has a whole army to help them with it. But good things never comes easy and the unconditional love that you give and receive from your children are the bestest most greatest feeling one could ever imagine. Seriously.

So to all parents and me.. give yourself a break. . It's going to be one looonnnggg roller coaster ride.

To the loo.. and back...

1.Diarrhea

2.Husband not around till the end of next week.

3.Period cramps

4.7 days before exam.

It's going to be a sucky sucky 7 day 'holiday'.

My little chatterbox.

I'm making it a habit to have a conversation with Azalia before we go to sleep since that's the only time we give each other 100% attention. Other times, either she's busy with her toys or tv or I'm busy with my chores or tv.. hehe

I just love being able to have conversations with her now.I would ask about her day, what she thought about things she did that day and things she likes or dislikes. It's so interesting to see how this little girl tries to verbalise her thoughts. Sometimes when she doesn't want to answer any more questions she would say

"mak tido.. dah night time. esok ckp. alia ngantuk"

hehe.. my baby girl speaks like a grown up.

I've also noticed that she can recognise words now. She might not know how to spell yet, but at least that's a start.Mom has been reading Glenn Doman's books. She insists I give his techniques a try. Maybe I will. In mom's effort to use Glenn's Doman's techniques in building a child's physical abilities(he also has techniques on reading and maths), she let Azalia loose at the mall the other day. Ape lagi.. the little girl ran like crazy and who was the one chasing her??... my dad.. HAHAHAHAH...

Another funny story, one time, Asa tried to hide Azalia's picture album from her because she kept playing with them, I asked Asa where it is and the little girl was standing between us just waiting for her father to answer me. He answered me in English hoping that Azalia won't understand and before I could budge, she beat me to it and gleefully took the album from its hiding the place. Hampeh betul lah. Doesn't Asa realise that the girl watches Playhouse Disney channel religiously. Of course she understands English. Maybe we should start spelling since she doesn't know that yet.

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak to everyone.

Run freeeeeeeeee

At one point in my life I actually wanted to aim for the Olympics. The event was 100m. I used to love running. Not jogging.. no no.. I hated jogging. Never had the stamina. I loved sprinting. I loved the speed. I was quite good at it too. Won several medals when I was in KK and Sibu. I had a dedicated coach to train me. I wasn't too good on my own.I needed the encouragement..the support.I never complained how many days in a week my coach wanted me to practice. I loved it. But I didn't have one in KL. That was when I stopped.

I miss it though. I miss practice. I miss the morning breeze rushing through my face as I sped towards the finishing line. When I ran.. nothing mattered. It was exhilarating. The adrenaline pumping through my blood..what a rush. I felt so free. I miss that feeling.

I never really enjoyed other sports as much as sprinting. Too bad I stopped so early. Kind of regretting it actually. But what to do.. I just have to let bygones be bygones.

10pm ramblings

I've been subcontracting babysitting services to my parents due to the fact that I've still got tons to read. Ntah bila ntah nak habis. Well at the pace I'm taking my papers I think it'll be quite a while. HAHAHA.

It's ok.. I've got what 5 years with the company so till then I'm not going nowhere so might as well just take this exams one at atime?? yess?? no??? papojelah.

Hubby's working late AGAIN tonight. He's been coming home around 11pm lately. We haven't even had a decent conversation this week. Just some short phone calls at the office. Azalia's getting used to it. Now whenever we're home, she'll go straight to my parents because both mom and dad would be busy. But I try to make time. At least an hour just playing with her and I still read to her before she sleeps. Yes she sleeps rather late this past few days. Selagi mak nye tak tido anak nye pun join sama. Haha. But never after 12am. No no.. I can't even function well if I sleep later than that (dah tua) ape lagi si kecil tu. She needs her rest if not she'll be either

1. too stubborn or
2. too cheerful. This is fun to watch but she still won't listen to you. She'll just laugh and laugh and laugh at whatever you say.

Oh well...it won't be too long. Just 2 weeks baby!!!! just 2 weeks more!!!!

Responsibility : Your stuff

Came back late monday night. Wasn't in a good mood. Mom told me Alia lost the cover of one of her marker pens. She discarded the pen and said

Alia: Nanti beli baaanyaaakk lagi

Atuk: Alia ada duit ke nak beli??

Alia: Alia takde duit

Atuk: Macam mana nak beli takde duit??

Alia: Mak ade duit. Mak beli lah.

haha..Great. No way I'm letting her think it's as easy as that.

So.. of course I didn't let her get away with it. Told her sternly that there's no way I'm getting her a new one just because she was careless. Insisted that she looked for it (well at least help me look for it). She followed me around the house while I was looking for it. Apparently she lost it because my grandfather made fun of her and she threw it to him. Sigh. (Temper temper.. need to control that. I'm certain she got the temper from me but must teach her to control it. it's still a WIP for me apetah lagi si kecil tu..haha)

After awhile of searching, still didn't manage to find it so found another pen cover and luckily it fits so at least that one pen doesn't go to waste. Azalia was indeed sorry as she looked at me with a sad eye and kept on saying

"sorry mak... sorry mak"

Of course I forgave her but I also confiscated her pens and told her that she can only play it with me around.

Anyway, I bought washable markers because she got interested in playing with my permanent markers and some of her clothes got damaged .I'm hoping that these markers don't stain. Then again if it does, she just have to learn to be more careful with her clothes. How else is she going to learn to take good care of her stuff.

Easy peasy strawberry sorbet

Stock up on those strawberry the next time you're in Cameron Highlands. Freeze them immediately when you get home and you can enjoy the strawberries for months!!!

Made this for Azalia because she loves ice cream and it's a great way to give her a healthy one.

Ingredients:
(for about 1 mug)

1. about half a dozen FROZEN strawberry's
2. about 1 tblspn of honey or less if you prefer it to be less sweet. (to replace sugar)
3. some water (dun make it too watery. Just enough water to make it easier to blend)

Blend all ingredients together and eat before it melts.

If you can't finish it just put what's left back into the freezer to enjoy later.

And it only takes you about 5-10mins to prepare.

It's Wii time....

Azalia now plays Wii.

Her favourite much to my dismay is Raving Rabbits. Hampeh ah Asa pergi beli game tuu...

Now whenever she wants to play, she would take out the console and cd casing from the drawer and say

"Mak, nak game rabbit"

If I were to answer

"Mak tak pandai on"

She would take the console, point it to the tv and say

"Mak tekan ni,tunjuk sini,dah on dah"

Haih anak ku.

Lagi-lagi sabar

This morning, Azalia was in front of the computer watching my cafeworld.

Me: Alia mandi

Azalia: Tak nak

Me: Alia mandilah

Azalia: Tak nak (adamant tone)

Me: Alia mandi now!! (Stern tone)

Azalia: Sabar mak sabar.. *cheeky face*

Yes kawan-kawan.. what do you say to that???

nevertheless I dragged her lembik body(yes dier sudah pandai melembikkan bdn to make it heavier for me) to the bathroom where she took her barbie and bathe her as well.

Babies, babies and MORE BABIES

4 babies next year!! WOOHOOO!!!

Am so excited that my group of friends are finally having babies!!!!!

Now to plan for their baby showers.. heheheh I got so many ideas all lined up already!!!

Before I wasn't so into planning anything but now that Azalia's all grown up (hehehe poyo je baru 3yo) I have my hands free and time to do my own things. YEAY!!!. Plus I can also involve Azalia in these things. DOUBLE YEAY!!!

But I still want more babies. Production will definitely start once my 6month resting period is over. That means...... MARCH??!!!..aiyak.. lmbtnye lagi!!!!

YEAY YEAY YEAY

p.s: Nak check out Isetan YE sale lah.

Money is the root of all evil.

Today is not a good day. I am seeing and hearing too much of what greed can do to good(or so I thought) people around me. You see it in the papers, you see people you don't know getting involved with it but when it happens in front of you..it really effects you.

I think the real test of a person's honesty and integrity is to give them the opportunity to manage money that are not theirs. Then you will see whether they are fair and honest or selfish and just plain greedy.

Today is just not a good day.

Funny conversation

This conversation is funny because
1. She brings her blanket a.k.a blankie everywhere
2. Azalia sucks her fingers (not thumb ok.. fingers.. yes with an s.. her right middle and fourth finger..)
3. She also has a bantal busuk at her babysitter(nek wan)'s place.

We were in the car and I thought I left her blankie. But it was with her, so I decided to just ask her what if I left it.


Me: Alia kalau blankie takde dekat rumah nek wan mcm mana?

Alia: Tak apa.. bantal ade

Me: Kalau bantal takde blankie takde mcm mana?

Alia: Alia nangis lah

Me: Kalau nangis pun takde jugak mcm mana?

Alia: Takpe tangan ade

Me: speechless...

Looks like she won't be giving up sucking her fingers anytime soon.. huahuahua

Cuti cuti malaysia!!!

Waaaaahhhhhh

I have 2 weekend getaway planned for early next year already and it only took me 1 hour??!! HAHAHAHA

We're going here and here.

I'm sooo happy.

Hope everything goes as planned.

All Time Favourite Books

In no particular order

1.The Time Traveler's Wife -Audrey Niffenegger.
2. Flower's for Algernon -Daniel Keyes
3. Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruis Zafon
4. All Jeffrey Archer's Short stories collection
5. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

A very tiring weekend.

I've never done a pedi-mani simply because I think why pay for something I can do myself. Anyway, had my first pedi last Saturday afternoon because it's a girly session with friends and the bride-to-be so why not.. it's for the girls.

Anyway, my feet looked all clean and smooth and the nails are so shiny after that I thought.. ok I guess it's worth the RM65. Then come Saturday evening. In-laws called and said the house banjir, so since I was having dinner with the girls, Asa went back after the water subsided to check out the damage and on Sunday I went to help with the cleaning up. I thought it was just water and maybe some daun or ranting (yes it was my first encounter with a flood so I don't know what to expect) then I saw the mud... WHOAAHHH I not only had my first pedi that weekend but my feet also was treated with a mud bath.. and for FREE TOO!!!!!!!!!!! hehehehhehehe

Yeah... the banjir was quite bad. The water level was knee-high and mud was EVERYWHERE. On the floor, inside the cupboards, it was pretty bad. But thankfully we managed to clean up the floors on Sunday and that took the whole day. There was A LOT OF MUD.

Haih...Malaysia's town planning sucks. They don't really put much thought into the drainage system do they. Kita kan iklim khatulistiwa. Sheesh.

I hope it doesn't happen again. If it does.. please not this bad or worse.

This is really random.

Azalia's sleeping habit has gone haywire ever since Eid. She now sleeps very late in the evening around 4 or 5 whicn means she'll only wake up around maghrib. And that usually means she'll sleep the earliest 10.30pm at night.

But we usually wake her up around 7.45 in the morning just when we're about to leave the house so.... she's getting around 9 hours of sleep at night and 2-3 hours of sleep in the evening so in total it's still more than 10hours sooooo I think we're good.

Azalia has memorised her ABCs and recognised them for quite awhile now. She knows how to count but is still confused when we showed her the numbers. She's only starting to learn Alif Ba Ta and I'm in the process of teaching her to read/spell. I'm quite clueless on the proper way do this but am spending a lot of time reading to her and pointing which words goes with which pictures. She loves her books. Especially her animal books. She loves animals. She knows a lot of them already and I only wish I can bring her to see them more often. Maybe we should have pets. OOooooOOOO Let's have rabbits!!!!! but sape nak jaga??? ngahahahahaha

Cats are a no no due to husband's allergies. Sheeesh. If not, cats would be Puuurrrrfect.

Rain rain go away

One of my attempts to teach Azalia to hit less is to teach her to be patient. I would stroke her chest and say "sabar, sabar" everytime she starts to get angry.

The other day we went to the playground and she wanted to go the the other side of the lake. Just as we reached there, it started to drizzle. I told her to run as fast as she can to the car. While running I would say "cepat cepat..nak rain dah"
Half way, she stopped and said

"Mak, Alia penat. Alia tak boleh run. Sabar mak sabar, sabar. "

Hehehehehe.

The Budget

I know..it's a bit late and the excitement has died down but I just have to say this.

BUDGET 2010 SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!

Come on..the RM50 p/a service tax charged to credit card to encourage savings is a lot of bull. Why not charge it to those who do not pay on time or simply just increase the interest rates on CC. People like me only uses the CC for convenience(and the points..hehe)and the RM50 though seems small is still unnecessary.. arghh

And the the re-introduction of the RGPT!! OMG!!! how fickle can the govt get. First, in 2007 you scrap so everyone got excited and invest in properties then when you see a lot of people have bought properties with the intention to sell them you think "oooo I shouldn't let go of this chance to collect something from their gains" so you re-introduce the RGPT.. a bit like leading people on here don't you think. Plus.. what about those who sell because they have to and not for investment purposes.. why not re-introduce the RGPT with a clause that it doesn't apply to those who have held the property for.. let's say.. 10 years.

Aiseh....

But to be fair.. let's say hurray to the RM500 tax relief on broadband subscription and RM1000 increase in personal tax relief.

I know time is tough and the government should start increasing their income but shouldn't they decrease their expenditure and wastage too??!!!

Has everyone forgotten the AG's report!!!!!!

Hitting is NOT OK!!

My little girl has developed a habit of hitting people she doesn't like to our dismay.

She doesn't hit just for fun, she hits because these people(adults mainly, she's really good with babies and kids younger than her) are teasing or pinching her which she really hates. I told her to just say no to these people and walk away but she resorts to hitting them after saying no because she noticed that even when she says no they still continue to do it.

She's a kid but she already knows what she likes and she doesn't like and she doesn't like to be touched by people she doesn't know. Hurray for me as it means she won't simply run away with strangers but the hitting... OMG, it can be quite embarassing.

I want her to respect her elders but I also wish her elders can respect her wishes but I know.. people like to tease little kids. Takkan nak marah plak kat org lain kan. I try to explain why she behaves the way she does, and hope that the other party would stop but certain people finds the reaction funny and won't stop. Even my grandfather and aunt does it for fun and now they are on her hate list.

Seriously. I can see the difference between how she treats them compared to my other aunties and uncles. She's a feisty kid and I'm glad that she can defend herself. But she has to learn that there's a line that she cannot cross, there should be some respect even to those you don't like and there should be some self restrain. But she's not even 3 and is it fair to expect someone that age to understand all this?.

This is a work in progress and I have faith that she will learn to understand and stop but for now it's a relief that she doesn't hit her peers or those younger than hers.

Old Friends by David Banks Sickels

There are no friends like old friends,
And none so good and true;
We greet them when we meet them,
As roses greet the dew;
No other friends are dearer,
Through born of kindred mold;
And while we prize the new ones,
We treasure more the old.

There are no friends like old friends,
Where'er we dwell or roam,
In lands beyond the ocean,
Or near the bounds of home;
And when they smile to gladden,
Or sometimes frown to guide
We fondly wish those old friends
Were always by our side.

There are no friends like old friends,
To help us with the load
That all must bear who journey
O'er life uneven road;
And when unconquered sorrows
The weary hours invest,
The kindly words of old friends
Are always found the best.

There are no friends like old friends,
To calm our frequent tears,
When shadow fall and deepen
Through life's declining years;
And when our faltering footsteps
Approach the Great Divide,
we'll long to meet the old friends
Who wait the other side.

Natrah

Does anyone know if it's a musical or a play?

In some papers, I read it's a musical. But in some saying it's a theatre(does this mean it's a play.. I dunno).

Anyone knows??

Cuci the Musical - the review

Cuci was good. Good not great. The acting was good but the singing.... sigh....what can i say they are movie actors not Broadways. But Adibah Noor's singing was good and even Awie sounded good in his duet with her.

Afdlin's voice was a bit shaky in the second half of the show. I guess the stamina is not there. But he did sing quite well in the first few songs.However some songs seems out of place and the choreography mcm tak kene in certain scenes.

But nevertheless it was still enjoyable. Would I recommend it? Well.. if you're looking for a great musical.. don't bother BUT if all you want is a good time the show definitely gives you that. The show definitely made me laugh. A lot. And loud. I think some of my friends were a wee bit embarrassed.

Mood Swing Alert!!!

It's one of those days. One minute I'm all cheery and the next grumpy.

And leaving my phone at home when I have to see friends tonight does not help AT ALL!!.

Sucky sucky feeling... ooo so sucky.

Can I binge?? Please let me binge. I want my sister's choc chip cookies. huhuhu.

p.s: Babysitter's age finally caught up with her. I feel guilty having her babysit my daughter. But she takes such good care of her. Maybe it's time to send her to the nursery.

Energy Vampires

They are people who suck the energy out of you. You know... those whiny, never-stop-complaining, demotivator and whose life sole purpose seems to be bringing everybody down with them. Yep.. they are the energy vampires.

I've had my share of encounters with this energy suckers and I used to just distance myself from them. But what if you can't. What if it's the person working next to you and you have to be with them aallll daaayyyy longgggg.

Honesty should be the best tool to get rid of these suckers. Tell them off and even if they don't think there's anything wrong with them, at least they'll stop harassing you.

I did it and of course there's a lil bit of guilt for hurting someone else's feelings. But it was either my feelings or hers and of course I chose mine first.

Nothing in particular.

Even though I'm not having a baby anytime soon due to the 2 misses I had this year, thus womb need time to heal etc etc... I still find myself looking for baby names for my future child(ren?) hehehehehe

Sounds a bit sad innit. But I can't help myself. :p

Anyways... people at home are taking turns going outstation. Only the daughter and I are stuck at home. Maybe we should go off galavanting somewhere tonight. Naaaahhhh. Let's just seat back and enjoy the quiet and serene surroundings at home.

Anywaaaayyyy,... GOT TICKETS FOR CUCI THE MUSICAL!!!

BUT...

It's not the seats that I wanted because GILE CEPAT HABIS THOSE SEATS I WANTS!!.. Danggg!!!!

Setia Alam is sooo far

Had to work last weekend. But not at the office..no no.. at the disaster recovery centre in Bukit Jelutong. First time going there and the map looked so..easy??

Hampeh.

Took the wrong turning and ended up into NKVE and straight to Setia Alam 4kms away.

Sheesh.

I'm soooo bad with maps.

That was not the worst thing that happened

NOOOO..*geleng kepala*

While trying to figure out the map, I accidentally swerved into the next lane and only realised it when I hear a "screeecchhh!!!". Nasib tak accident. Felt SOOOOO guilty. Sorry sorry. Seriously sorry. huhuhuhu.

To Glee or Not to Glee

TO GLEE!!!!

I'm currently addicted to the show. Well.. not the whole show. I find the high school drama petty and somewhat annoying (I am old.. I know). But I love the musical performances!!!!!!

The actors are so so talented.

I love musicals.

I wish Malaysia brings in more West End or Broadway musicals. Or even have more of our own. BRING P. RAMLEE THE MUSICAL BACK!!! or at least the soundtrack..sheesh

I have to catch Cuci the Musical. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Remember this..always...

There's no point worrying in things you can't control.

Important thing is to usaha, doa, tawakkal.

If things work out..Alhamdulillah.

But if it does not, redha and remember.. Allah knows best.

To market, to market

Having a spouse who works till late at night sucks.

So mother and daughter decided to go out by themselves and spend some mullahs.

To quote daughter "Wow bestlah shopping"

Seriously.. that's what she said.

I don't know what title I should put

Anyway..... notice how when I'm nearing exams I would re-do my blog.

Talk about procrastinating.

Under construction

Yep...I've closed down the old one but I'm keeping the name.

We'll see how this works out.