Lizee's Secret Garden

What I did this summer-Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Four weeks ago, we went on a trip to Milford Sound to usher the new year and celebrate our anniversary. We left home on 30th December and began our road trip to the south, away from shaky Christchurch. As usual, the journey through the Mackenzie country was nothing short of spectacular. We drove through a picture perfect highway with snow capped mountains in a distance and fields of sheep as far as the eye could see.

After a three hour drive, we finally stopped at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo. The little chapel, named after the Good Shepherd of the New Testament, was built by the European sheep farmers to commemorate the ‘good shepherds’ of pioneering days. Despite being my 4th visit to the chapel, I couldn’t resist taking lots and lots of photos. Let me just show you the decent ones plus the ones taken from the previous years.

Summer 2010

Winter 2011

Summer - December 2011

After half an hour of photo shoot, we continued our journey. We had planned to stay in a cabin next to Lake Tekapo but most of the motels were fully booked. The only ones left were the expensive suites. It didn’t really surprise me ‘cos summer is the most peak season in NZ and it was the school holiday. The fact that Peter Jackson was filming a movie at the site also made the area even more crowded. Have you heard of the Hobbit? That’s the movie they were filming.

We had a quick toilet break at Lake Tekapo town area before heading straight to Omarama. It was getting pretty dark when we left and the kids were already getting restless. I looked at my watch and was surprised to see that it was already 9.15 pm. As the sun set deeper into the valley, we could see a ray of light piercing through the clouds. It was a magnificent sight. Hubby pulled over to take pictures of the glorious sunset and the kids were absolutely wowed by the view.

After a brief moment of 'wow' and 'wahhh', we drove another 10 km before we finally reached Omarama, our pit stop for the day. It wasn't hard searching for our chosen accomodation, the Heritage Gateway Hotel. After checking-in and getting our luggage sorted, I quickly prepared dinner for everyone. The menu: instant food. Ready made lasagna for the kids and noodles with veggies and fish for the adults. After a satisfying dinner, everyone went to bed, exhausted. Well, everyone except me.

Sleepy Alden

I don't know what got into me but I just couldn't sleep. I was probably too excited about the trip to Milford Sound. After tossing and turning in bed for an hour, I decided get up and watch 15 episodes of Pretty Little Liars. That's how I ended up sleeping on the couch.

source

There was more excitement the next day but I'll save that part for the next post :)

Agony

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:45:00 +0000

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

- Ernest Hemingway

I'm bleeding alright. Can't wait to finish my thesis.

Wool Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:44:00 +0000

Dear Alex

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. Reminiscences of our wedding day this morning made me smile and think “wow, we’ve come a long way”. We’ve been together for 9 years, married for 7 years and blessed with two kids. Aren't you glad we said "I do" ? I am. Thank you for continuously putting up with my crap and loving me the way you do.

1.1.2012

Love,

Your soul mate

Friday Fingers: Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:15:00 +0000

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

I shop, therefore I am

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:36:00 +0000

"you know that thing, when you see someone cute and he smiles, and you heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down hot toast? Well, that's what it's like when I see a store. Only it's better."

- Confession of a Shopaholic

Yes, this post is all about shopping.

Recently, a Christchurch perfume wholesaler organised a 4-day fragrance and cosmetic sale in the city. I knew the response was going to be crazy, it being Christmas and all, but that didn't stop me from going. Here's a glimpse of what it looked like.

Make-up section

Nail polish section

Despite the shop’s unappealing presentation, the turnout was massive. Women of all ages, from teenagers to senior citizens turned up at the sale, all eager to get their hands on something. When I got a closer look at the items, I could see why everyone was possessed. So many designer perfumes were sold at just a fraction of the retail price and cosmetic items like lipstick, mascara, eye shadow and foundations were sold for less than $10.

When I saw the nail polish section, my heart skipped a beat. LA Colours and Sally Hansen were selling for only $3 each! There were heaps of women crowding the long table, but I wasn’t bothered. I quickly joined the circus and created a mental shopping list. All I wanted was to get 3 nail polishes; 2 Sally Hansens and 1 OPI. That's it. I had bought myself an early Christmas present the week before so I wasn’t planning on making a splurge. My plan was to follow the list.

When I got to the table, I was hit with amnesia. List? What list? I ended up doing what I do best and that was to shop compulsively. The first brand I searched for was Sally Hansen, simply 'cos it was the cheapest. I searched through all the boxes but I couldn't find any. Not even one. I soon discovered that all the nail polishes were selling so fast, only a few colours were left. Unperturbed, I continued searching through each basket and after some serious digging, I managed to get a few decent colours; red, pink, brown, peach, a top coat and a pink cracked nail polish. When I put them in my shopping basket, a familiar feeling of euphoria overtook me. Bliss!

After nail polish, it was time to hunt for cosmetics. I headed to the cosmetic section and struggled my way through the isle. Too many devoted shopaholics around was indeed nauseating. Everyone was on a shopping frenzy, digging for their own treasure.

I got a bit disoriented at the sight of so many people but I continued digging for my treasure. It wasn't an easy task 'cos all the make-up were jumbled up in boxes and sold like vegetables. It felt like I was at tamu Dongongon. Although there was a sign that said "Do not open the products", most of them were opened and tested. This made shopping 100 times harder cos I needed to scrutinize each item carefully. After some serious effort, I got myself a cheap Revlon mascara and a blue eyeshadow palette from Maybelline. Mission accomplished!

Next, lipstick. I spent about half an hour scanning and testing different brands of lipsticks before I ended up at the Calvin Klein section. I'd never bought a CK lipstick before so I thought I'd give it a try. It was only $8 each. I found a perfect shade of pink while sampling the testers and quickly rummaged through the boxes to find a new one.

Apparently, a blond next to me also wanted the same colour. I heard her saying "Mesmerize, Mesmerize, Mesmerize" while searching through the boxes. It wasn't easy finding a particular colour amidst hundreds of lipsticks but the blond and I were dedicated. I kept on digging even when my tummy was oozing with acid and when I needed to pee the voice in my head said “nature call can wait. Must get that lipstick before the blond gets it!” After what seemed like an eternity, both the blond and I found Mesmerize! YESSS!! That was probably the best shopping orgasm I had this year.

After digging for lipsticks and nail polishes, I got a bit tired. My tummy was grumbling and my bladder was going to burst anytime soon. The stupid warehouse didn't have a toilet or a cafe so there was no way I could ease myself without leaving the premise. Because I hadn't bought anything for hubby, I decided to suck it up for a few minutes more. I changed my hunting mode to turbo and began shopping like a dude. I sampled a few fragrances, looked at the prices and quickly chose 3 for hubby. I did this in less than 10 minutes! Efficient kan? I couldn't leave without rewarding myself so I took 3 perfumes as a token of self-appreciation. And then I was done!

When I got home, the first thing I did (after going to the loo) was show hubby what I bought for him. He smiled and said thank you. When he asked me what I bought for myself, I said "Cat kuku sama make-up seja". I didn't show him everything cos he was busy watching a rerun of Manchester United vs. QPR. Plus, I didn't want to see that raised-eyebrow expression on his face. Hehe.

Since I didn't show them to hubby, I might as well show them to you.

for hubby

for myself

early Christmas presents for myself

my two-hour effort

The shopping trip was more challenging than what I'm accustomed to but my scavenging effort was really worthwhile. What's a sale without a dose of chaos right? :)

180 posts and counting

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:37:00 +0000

3 years ago, I decided to create my own site. I didn't know anything about blogging then but I really wanted to learn and be part of the blogging community. I was very much inspired by Carol and Deb who both had their own cool sites and after following their stories, I was determined to write my own. I thought, "how hard could it be?"

Contrary to my assumption, blogging wasn't as easy as it seemed. It took me several months of contemplations and self-doubt before I finally garnered the courage to publish an entry. Other than my sister, I knew that no one else read my site, but posting something on the web made me feel so exposed. It was as if I was baring my soul to the entire world. Because of this, I was pathetically self-conscious when I first started. I would draft a post, proofread a million times and then let it rot in my draft folder. After some time, I realised that no one really gives a shit about what I write. The level of self-consciousness gradually decreased, giving me the courage to find my writing voice. After months of writing self-indulgent posts and reading other people's sites, I slowly became addicted to the blogsphere.

I think what I like most about blogging is having my voice heard. Even if nobody hears me or reads my stories, at least I have the pleasure of telling them, without anyone interrupting me. While drafting a post, nobody can shut me up, boo at me or tell me that my story sucks. That’s a pleasure in itself, don’t you think? There's something to be said about being able to have your say. I think it's very therapeutic.

I look forward to writing many more self-indulgent posts in the future and celebrating heaps of blog anniversaries. To those of you who read my blog, thank you for your love and support. I really do appreciate your readership.

Friday Fingers: Tribal Prints

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

I know it can hardly be called a tribal print but that's as far as my creativity goes.

37 months later

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Last month marked the 3rd anniversary of my arrival in New Zealand. I remember the first time I set foot in Christchurch Airport, I had a feeling of excitement I'd never imagined. I didn't know what to expect of the people, the place or the NZ life, but I was so psyched to find out.

The first 365 days - Settling Down

My first impression of Christchurch was that it reminded me of the film Pleasantville. Everything looked so picture perfect, it almost felt like I was in that movie. Have you seen it?

Anyway, hubby and I decided to live in a suburb called Kaiapoi so that we could be close to Esperanza, a Sabahan whose sister was my close friend back in UPM. We'd known each other for quite some time so it was nice to have at least one Sabahan friend in Christchurch. Before getting our own shack, we crashed at Es' place for a few days. She and her husband were really kind during our stay but we didn't want to invade too much of their privacy. For this reason, our house-hunting process was done in a rush, as in, we surveyed 4 houses, saw one that we liked and immediately put a deposit on it. After getting all the paper work sorted out, we moved in right away.

3-bedroom house in Kaiapoi

Just us three

The first 9 days were nice and peachy. We settled in, bought furniture for the house and made it look like home. Things changed on the 10th day when I took a pregnancy test at home. The result said: You're knocked up! My reaction to this was: HABISLAH SIA!! I know that sounds like I'm a horrible human being but I really wasn't prepared for it. The thought of having a second child was scary because 1. I was in a new town, without any family support, 2. I had to look after a 2 year old hyper-active boy and 3. I was supposed to focus on my study. It was madness.

As usual, hubby comforted me and said that everything would be okay. I guess the brief counselling worked cos I began telling myself the same thing; that everything was going to be fine. After a couple of days, I started to embrace my pregnancy and told my family about it. What I found hard about being pregnant was not being able to fulfill my pregnancy cravings. Asian restaurants were limited in Kaiapoi, so getting authentic Malaysian food like kon-lau-men, nasi lemak or fish-head curry was an impossibilty. Because of this, and the fact that I had morning sickness throughout the second trimester, my pregancy sucked a lot.

After enduring eight months of unfulfilled pregnancy cravings, Alva was finally born. I was so thankful that she didn't show any signs of kobihis symptoms. Nasiblah! Anyway, right after I delivered, my family came for a visit and helped me out during my confinement period. Another few months went by and before we knew it, we'd spent a year in Christchurch.

The second year - Finding that Comfort Zone

The second year was definitely nicer than the first. Some of the things that made me happy were: 1. I managed to adapt to the weather and food, 2. After delivery, I could see my toes again! 3. Alva turned out to be a very settled baby and 4. Hubby and I moved to the city.

We realised that living in Kaiapoi wasn't cost effective as I needed to commute from Kaiapoi to Christchurch every single day. For that reason, we moved to the city and rented a two-bedroom house 1km from the Uni. I loved the idea of being close to the CBD cos there were more things to see and do. China Town market was only 10 minutes walk from home and most of the Chinese restaurants were close by.

As I explored more of Christchurch, I started to feel more settled too. I knew where to find Asian food supplies, get the freshest fish in town and find boutiques that had the best bargains. Another reason why I felt happier was because we had more flexibility to explore the South island after Alva was born. When she turned 4 months, we started to go on road trips during holidays and weekends. Barbecue picnic with friends at the park also became a regular thing for us.

Shanttytown, West Coast

Arthur's Pass

Wellington Zoo

Castle Hill

Queenstown

Fox Glacier

Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo

Limestones at Castle Hill

Barbecue at The Groynes

Months went by and before we knew it, we'd spent another year in Christchurch.

The Final Year - Shaken and Stirred

The third year was definitely the most challenging. Like other Cantabrians who were affected by the February 22 earthquake, I had to go through a lot of changes in life particularly in the areas of my study. My office was damaged, my data inaccessible and the whole campus was closed for a few weeks. It was a hard time for everyone. Things slowly picked up in June but they were never the same again. It took the uni 4 months to recuperate from the disaster and another 7 months for everything to go back to normal.

Despite all that gloomy setbacks, I do have a couple of things to be grateful for. After the big quake, mom came to stay for 3 months to help out with the kids. She did all the cooking, babysitting, cleaning and nagging. Hehe. After she left, dad took over and came to stay with us for 2 months. Dad's a bit laidback in the babysitting area but I didn't mind it at all. Example of being laidback? He'd let the kids EAT Milo and dip their fingers in the peanut butter jar. Siok kan?

Sis and Carol also came for a short visit in September. Thanks to them, hubby and I could travel to Wellington without the kids, and get our certs from the Malaysian High Commissioner. All in all, I was pampered for 5 wonderful months.

After everyone left, it was time to focus on my thesis and spend more time with Yoda. The pressure started to pick up when Yoda told me to get two chapters done by September. Things got so very hectic, I hardly had time for anything else. Two miserable months went by and before I knew it, I'd spent three years in Christchurch. Amazing how time flies eh?

Living here has proven to be a very enlightening experience. I know from time to time, I complain a lot about what's lacking in Christchurch bla bla bla. But then, if I could do it all over again, I'd probably take the same path.

It has definitely been an interesting journey so far and I reckon things will get even more exciting as my submission date draws near. Wish me luck! :)

Friday Fingers: Aqua Green Gradient

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 09:46:00 +0000

I did this in less than 20 minutes.....

My favourite FF design so far :)

Feeling Christmassy

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:38:00 +0000

I put up our Christmas tree two weeks before advent in the hope that it would evoke some Christmas feeling in me. I think it probably did, but the feeling didn't last long. You can't blame me really. The kids don't get along with the Christmas tree at all.

They were very much in awe of it when I first put it up, but after some time the novelty wore off. It has now become their favourite spot when playing tag and on many occasions, it has fallen over. The tree has gone through so many hardships, it is now crooked. Plus, the ornaments are all over the place; as in they have no common theme.

Despite its shortcomings, the tree somehow serves its pupose - as a reminder that Christmas is drawing near. Deep down, I do feel excited about the season but I'm trying hard to stifle this excitement. If I don't do that, all hell will break loose. What will happen? Well, knowing me, I'll probably shove my thesis aside for a month and start doing Christmassy activities like shopping, planning Christmas outings, thinking about my outfit, contemplating on what to do with my hair and just waste time entertaining myself.

All the above activities spell DANGER.

I can't afford to waste time cos I have to to finish my writing asap. That's why I need to focus on my work and NOT let the festive feeling take control of me. I have managed to do that until today. This afternoon, my family and I went to this wonderful Santa Parade along Riccarton road and since then, I've been feeling crazy-excited. How could I not? The performers at the parade looked so cheerful in their Christmas outifits, smiling and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I couldn't help but feel the joy.

I had planned to take heaps of photos during the parade but after only 15 minutes, the battery went dead. I had no choice but to use my cell phone. The culprits behind the weak battery were none other than the Alden and Alva. They unplugged the battery charger from the socket before the battery was fully recharged and neither hubby nor I were aware of this. It was frustrating alright.

Having said that, the photos didn't turn out as bad as I thought. These are some of the okay ones I took.

Yeah..The Christmas feeling is definitely in the air now. Although I'm not spiritually prepared for it, I am certainly enjoying the warm feelings and happy thoughts brought by this parade. Happy Advent everyone!

Friday Fingers: Inspired by Design

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:31:00 +0000

Bida, but I am too exhausted to try another design. I'll do better next week :)

My Litttle Menace

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:05:00 +0000

When I was a kid and I did something wrong, my parents spanked my ass. My mum did most of the spanking and my dad would be her loyal accomplice. We never had a conversation about why I was spanked or the justification behind the punishment. I was supposed to figure it out all by myself and learn my lesson.

Back in those days parenting seemed so easy.

Today, bringing up a child is as hard as rocket science. Best example? Alden. As some of you know, Alden is an EXTREMELY cheeky boy. Of course, in this context, the word cheeky translates to nakal, galangas and kai chai. Those are the terms used by my mum, sis and dad to address my boy. Because of his cheeky personality, the school referred us to the ministry of education for an intervention programme to help minimise some of his disruptive behaviours.

Yesterday was our fourth therapy. As usual, Alden and I checked in at the clinic (ministry office) reception at 9.00 am and waited for M, the child psychologist. When Alden saw M, he immediately said hello and smiled sweetly. He looked so motivated and interested in what was going to happen. We proceeded to the session room which had a one-way mirror and a video cam. I thought the mirror thingy was cool cos it reminded me of those interrogation rooms in CSI. The mirror was necessary as M needed to do the observation without Alden knowing.

As always, M demonstrated how we should play a game and laid out the instructions on the board. When she was around, it was obvious that Alden tried his hardest to impress her. I know he's just a kid but it looks as if he has this huge crush on M. From time to time, he'd turn to the psychologist and said "I like your skirt M", "I like your shoes M. So nice!" or "I like your hair M". The best compliment was "I like you. You're so pretty".

I guess this is a good thing. At least he's keen about the therapy.

During the session, we played five games altogether and throughout the games, he had to sit crossed- legged on the floor, facing me. I was in charge and had the say on who goes first, which car he should pick, etc. The rule was to take turns when playing and if he doesn't play properly he will need to sit on the chair. That's a time-out.

In our previous sessions, he had quite a number of time outs but yesterday, only one. He behaved the whole time, even when M left the room. M said this was a vast improvement and it showed that Alden could really control his own behaviour if he wanted to. I was so happy to hear this.

After our final game, M told Alden to go to school and bid him goodbye. I dropped him off at 10.30 am and rushed to the office to get some work done. I only had two hours to do my thesis before the kids get off from school. After spending only 40 minutes in the office, I got a call from school. It was the admin clerk. Apparently, Alden was being 'difficult' in class and since the substitute could not handle him, I had take him home.

I couldn't believe this was happening after such a great session in the morning. When I got to school, I braced myself for the inevitable - complaints from the teachers. According to the clerk, Alden threw his food on the floor, cried loudly, took all the books from the book shelves and threw them all over the classroom. She said Alden was being 'impossible'. As a mother, it wasn't easy for me to digest all this. Makes one feel like a failure you know.

I asked where he was and was told to go to the hall where the juniors were having an assembly. When I got there, I saw the little menace standing by the door, with the teacher aide. He spotted me and quickly got out. Outside the hall, I had to endure another round of complaints from the teacher aide. When I saw him smiling mischievously, all I wanted to do was strangle him. Gerigitan describes my feeling at that time.

In the car, I gave him the silent treatment. Since I couldn't get hold of M immediately, I decided to hide all his toys and books when we got home. I also banned TV watching for the entire day. I wanted him to know what he did was wrong and that it had negative consequences. This should teach him, I thought.

WRONG.

Instead of crying and feeling remorseful, he started playing with my nail polish collection and pretended they were airplanes. The TV remote became a rocket and his drink bottle became a truck. He seemed fine without his toys. Happy even. Needless to say, I was a bit annoyed.

When I thought about my unfinished work, the complaints from the teacher and the therapy session, I just felt so frustrated. I called sis to let it all out.

And That was yesterday.

Today, he is so much better. No tantrums and no calls from the school. I had a chat with Mrs. Waterman about yesterday's incident and she told me not to get upset. She said from time to time, kids have bad days too and yesterday just happened to be Alden's. She's such a sweetheart. After a nice little chat with Mrs. Waterman, I left the classroom feeling a bit lighthearted.

I realised long ago that parenthood ain't easy but these few days have just been super challenging. I think it doesn't matter if you have 3 kids or 13, parenting is one tough job. Well, hubby and I have 16 more years to perfect this skill with Alden. One day, I'm sure we'll get it right.

Friday Fingers: Classic French Manicure

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:16:00 +0000

A manicure success made possible because of this kit....

It took me 3 hours to get everything right but it was worth the effort :)

Friday Fingers: Neon Orange

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:58:00 +0000

The nail polish I used was actually very bright and neon-ish. Unfortunately, it isn't reflected in the photos. I blame the lighting.

Wordless Wednesday: Wake Up Call

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:38:00 +0000

I sent a message to my sister through YM at 9.35 am this morning. That's 4.35 am local time. Is that too early? Hehehe.

Sorry cha! I didn't mean to wake you up. I just didn't know who to disturb. ^__^

The Random Eleven

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:08:00 +0000

A tag from Kay

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1.You must post these rules. 2.Each person must post 11 things about themselves in their journal. 3.Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post. And create eleven new questions for the people you tagged to answer. 4.You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post. 5.Go to their page and tell them you have tagged HIM/HER 6.No tag back! 7.No stuff in the tagging section about “YOU ARE TAGGED IF YOU ARE READING THIS” YOU LEGITIMATELY (a.k.a REALLY, TRUST, WITH ALL HONESTY) have tagged 11 people.

11 Facts about me

1. I am the second child in my family.

2. I have this habit of twitching my toes and crossing my big toes with each other when I concentrate on something.

3. I'm quite good at playing the classic PACMAN game. It took me a lot of serious practice to be this good ^__^

4. I loved watching Sesame Street when I was a kid. My favourite character was (and still is) Count Dracula. Eleven bats! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

5. I always feel a lump in my throat when I watch the final scene in Toy Story 3. You know the part where Andy says goodbye to Woody? I'd always imagine Alden going off to college one day, leaving me and hubby in an empty nest.

6. I have katsaridaphobia. It simply means a phobia of cockroaches. This fear originated from a very negative experience with the insect many years ago.

Short flashback: I was only 5. It was a school day and I was waiting for the big Tadika Ria Yayasan Sabah bus to pick me up. Mum got my backpack ready and started putting on my shoes. Nothing happened when I slipped into my left shoe but when I slipped into the other pair, I felt a weird tickling sensation inside. Here's the horrible part. When I told mum about it, she just shrugged it off and said something like "bah, capatla, bas mau sampai suda". I guess she wasn't paying attention. I was forced to endure a few seconds of this yucky feeling before mum realised that something was really wrong. When did it hit her? When I started whining and wiggling. Mum took off my shoe and gave it a thud, and out came this ugly brown cockroach. My amused mum started laughing and squashed it with my shoe. The same shoe that was soiled by the cockroach just a millisecond ago. Insensitive? No?

Thanks to the demised cockroach (and mum), I was scarred for life.

7. The first thing I'd do after coming home from a shopping spree is trying out all the stuff I bought.

8. The one English teacher I can never ever forget (even if someday I go senile) is the ever so famous Mrs. Lee from St. Francis Convent. We used to call her 'Bull-dog'.

9. I know it's not a new song but Low by Flo Rida always makes me want to dance.

10. To me, the best part of going out/ attending a function is dressing up and putting on make up.

11. I love Zumba.

Kay's Eleven Questions

1. Do you read your monthly zodiac?
I used to but not anymore.

2. Organized or messy?
Messy.

3. Hot or cold?
Cold (drinks, weather, dessert)

4. Feng Shui believer?
No.

5. Bad habit that you still trying to curb?
Doing things at the last minute.

6. How does winning a million dollar will affect/change you?

1 million DOLLAR?! That'll help me fulfill so many dreams. I'll start by appointing 6 research assistants to help me write my thesis. Once I get that done, I can start enjoying life. I'll get my dream house, walk-in wardrobes, a personal masseuse, do heaps of shopping and just share the joy with family and friends. The possibilities are limitless :)

7. What kind of music accompany you when driving on long distance?

i. Without the kids - A mixture of R & B and Alternative
ii. With the kids - Barney, Jollyphonics songs and lullabies for kids.

8. Do you have regrets about something in the past?
Yes. But nothing significant enough to be worth remembering.

9. How do you take a compliment by someone you dislike?
Gracefully, I guess. I'd smile (unsurely).

10. You love yourself? Why?
I love myself because I own ME and I always make myself happy :)

11. Do you mind telling your age? *wink*
We were born in the same year Kay *wink*

My 11 random questions:

1. What is the most foolish thing you’ve ever done?

2. KFC or McDonald?

3. Favourite age you have been so far?

4. Name one celebrity you can't stand.

5. Choose between these two super-powers: 1. Being invisible or 2. Being able to fly

6. Do you talk to yourself out-loud? If yes, when do you normally do it?

7. Favourite cartoon character of all time?

8. Do you have the habit of passing on chain letters/ emails/ texts to your friends?

9. What's your favourite junk food? Pick one.

10. Do you believe in luck?

11. What's your idea of a perfect day?

The randomly chosen 11 in alphabetical order:

- Dee

- Debra

- Edith

- Ennie

- Isabel

- Jipp

- JJ

- Mimi

- Tina

- Vera

+

Kay (just so I could see her answers!)

Have fun! :)

Friday Fingers: A not-so-flowery Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:41:00 +0000

This week's Friday Fingers has been challenging not so much because of the floral theme, but because of the crunch-time mode I was in. My days have been so hectic from Monday to Wednesday that I barely had time for myself. I thought I could squeeze in a nail-painting session after meeting Yoda yesterday but Alva fell sick when we got home.

After a trip to the doctor, we found out that Alva had caught an infection. She was given paracetamol and some antibiotics but was cranky the whole day. While she was taking a nap, I thought I'd take a little break and start my FF effort. But nah, she woke up only minutes after I started. She was so restless the whole night, I had to cuddle her to keep her settled.

Today, Vava is feeling a lot better. It seems the infection has cleared off. Last night was a nightmare. I was worried sick because she was breathing raggedly. It freaked me out seeing her like that but the nurses whom I called said it was because of her fever. I'm so glad she's recovered now.

Okay. Back to my FF story. So. I continued my effort this morning while the kids were playing in the living room. This time, I decided to have a blue base with lots of white flowers to match the background. I was just about to create a white petal when Alva lunged at me out of nowhere. She was running from Alden who had turned into a nasty monster. Like the one in Scooby Doo.

Things started to get messy when they saw what I was doing. Alva kept saying, "Wow mummy, so pretty. How about me?". I couldn't concentrate cos Alden was also driving me nuts with his questions.

Alden: Why you painting your nails mum?

Me: To make it look pretty.

Alden: Why?

Me: Cos I like it when it's pretty

Alden: Why you like it mum?

Me: I just like it okay.

Me: You like green?

Me: No

Alden: I love green. Green is my favourite colour. I love blue too. Blue is my favourite colour.

He then takes a red nail polish.

Alden: Oh! I love red! Red is my favourite colour too.

and the black nail polish...

Alden: Oh!! Blaaack! I like BLACK. Black is my favourite colour mum!

Me: Mmm...

He takes a white nail polish and says....well, you know the drill. I have altogether 12 nail polishes.

What Alden does, Alva follows. Alva takes a yellow nail polish.

Alva: I like orange. Orange is my favourite colour. You like orange mummy?

Me: That's not orange. It's yellow.

Alva: Lello?

Me: Yellow Alva. YE- LO

Alva: Lello?

Alden: You like yellow mum? (menyampuk)

Me: Alva, it's YE - LOW

Alva: Yellow?

Me: Yes. (Finally. I sighed in relief)

Alva: You like yellow mummy?

This very exciting conversation was repeated for, I dont know, 10 times? I had to stop the mental torture so I cleared my stuff and decided to take everyone out for lunch. My treat.

After lunch, hubby and the kids sent me to the office so I could work on my thesis. I was so eager to get there cos I had snuck a bunch of nail polishes and dotting tools in my bag without their knowledge. Hehe. My plan was to spend an hour doing nail art before I start writing my thesis. It was a great plan!

When I got to the office, all lovely thoughts about my beautiful flowered nails came to a screeching halt. Two of my colleagues were in. Crap! I can't possibly paint my nails with them around. I forced myself to work on my thesis and not think about nails.

Tick tock Tick tock.

After 4 hours, my colleagues finally called it a day. By that time, my excitement had totally dwindled. Plus. Hubby was going to pick me up in a bit so there wasn't time to even clean my nails.

When I finally got home, it was dinner time. After dinner I just sort of laze around with hubby and the kids. I tried putting them to bed early but they were so full of energy. They only got to bed around 10.30. Not good, I know.

After the kids were asleep, I thought I'd just hit the sack, yet for some reason, I wasn't tired. I reckon it's because of the coffee I had at 7.00. I'm not a coffee drinker so I get all hyper whenever i have a cup. Mentally, that is.

One of the outcomes of my hyperactivity tonight is this

Yeah, I finally got around to doing my Friday Fingers. I'm not so crazy about the colours but am too lazy to redo everything.

It's been a very very long day for me. I think I'm going to hit the sack and call it a day. Have a lovely weekend :)

Wordless Wednesday: Never leave a cake unattended when Alden's around

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:48:00 +0000

Finger lickin' good

Friday Fingers: Lines and Dots

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:51:00 +0000

As usual, I was indecisive with the pattern (lines or dots?) so I came up with this.

The polka dots were easy to do cos I used a proper dotting tool. The vertical lines was more challenging cos I had to keep my hand steady. Not an easy task! I was too lazy to use a scotch tape so some of the lines are a bit cacat.

How about you? Are you joining this week's Friday Fingers? :)

A birthday letter from a friend

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:03:00 +0000

Dear Alice,

As of today you have spent 33 years on this planet. I know you totally don’t feel like you’re thirty three and I'm here to tell you that it's perfectly normal. I also know that you're very confused as to why you still feel like you're in your mid twenties. Again, this is not unusual. I don't think anyone out there can give you a straight answer as to how a 33 year old should feel or behave.

I wouldn't say that you're in denial cos that means you're pretending that you're not aging. You don't deny your age. In fact, you concede to the physical changes caused by aging. So what's wrong with you? Well, the thing is, your emotional maturity doesn’t match your chronological age. I believe a lot of women suffer from this. Those species from Mars are even worse. They refuse to act their age until they are nearly 60.

Despite not having sufficient emotional maturity, you seem to be doing fine so far. You're married to a man who adores you. You have two wonderful kids who amuse you, a loving and supportive famiy, loyal friends who'd help when you need them and this blog which helped forge so many virtual friendships. What else could you possibly want? Okay, so maybe you don't have that fancy schmancy walk-in wardrobe you've always dreamed of but that can wait. You just got to be patient. For now, you should count your blessings and thank God for everything.

To be honest with you, I think you still have a lot to improve. One of them is to learn how to relax and go with the flow. I know you're uptight about your paper work every day, so much so that it impedes your ability to function in society. Like, when you meet new people at a barbecue party and they ask you "So what are you studying?" you'd give them a long chronological report of your research. You'd get so engrossed in explaining how some of your samples almost screwed up Study 2 that you don't notice the look of disdain on their faces. Stop it okay. Not everyone likes to hear about your thesis. Next time, just say hi and talk about the weather. That always works.

The second thing I'd like to point out is your habit to procrastinate. As your friend, I'm begging you to kill this habit once and for all. Seriously. You'd get so much writing done if you'd just stop wasting your time doing other stuff or watching that silly drama called Pretty Little Liars. Come on la, you're not even the target audience. The only reason you watch that show is because you love its wardobe. My advice: don't dilly dally anymore. There's no time like now.

My third advice is don't fret over the small stuff. One thing you should learn is to pick your battles with the kids. Before reacting, assess the situation and then decide whether it's worth getting mad or not. For example,

Situation A: Alden doodles on the wall using unwashable crayons. Red crayons. The verdict? Petty. Don't get mad. Just walk away and let your husband deal with it.

Situation B: Alden empties a bottle of eucalyptus oil by pouring it all over the soft toys and then he takes your lipstick and smears it on the doll's face. What do you do?

Shout.

At the top of your lungs.

Although daily babysitting isn't a bed of roses, you should enjoy the wondeful time you have with Alden and Alva. The kids will never be this age again. Before long, Alva won't be able to fit herself into that tiny toy box anymore. When Alden turns 13, you will never hear him say "Wanna lie down on your tummy mummy." When they both enter their teen years, you'll never get to play hide and seek with them anymore. Cherish these adorable moments for they will become wonderful memories in the future.

I know at the moment you feel as if time just whizzes by and that there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything. As I said before, relax. Some things are beyond your control and if you can't get it done, never mind. Don't let it bother you. Eventually, all will be well.

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. Happy birthday my dear.

Yours truly,

That little voice in your head

Friday Fingers: Pink October

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:22:00 +0000

I couldn't decide on one design so I made these.

A little messy

Design from left: a bra, polka dots, pink ribbon, more polka dots and a flower

Love your boobies ladies :)

Something About My Hub

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 07:50:00 +0000

Two months ago, I moved into my new prefab office. I was placed in Hub DB04, together with 5 other privileged post grad students. I use the word privileged here because we share the hub with our very own Dean and administrator who each has their own offices in the big room. Next to DB04 is DB02. That's where Yoda and Obi Wan are placed.

Despite being under close scrutiny of two jedi masters, I loved my new hub because 1. I scored a nice window seat at the corner of the room and 2. There are two printers in this hub which makes printing jobs very convenient. For several weeks, everything seemed perfect.

One day, one of my senior colleagues, Mr X, saw me at the cafe. We hadn’t seen each other for quite a while so we started talking. When he discovered that I was placed in DB04 he said “Wow. Together with J? How did you end up being in that hub?” I felt confused when he admired my good fortune, feeling a little smug but at the same time suspicious that it was too good to last.

“I don’t know. J decided on the placing. She was the one who put me there,” I said.

He raised one eyebrow, “Well, good on you Alice.”

A few days later, things started to change. More and more people began to occupy the other hubs and when this happened the frequency of visitors increased too. DB04 became the centre of attention cos that's where the admin office is. Heaps of students came to see the administrator regarding all sorts of matters such as facilities, claims, building access, etc. Before long, I couldn’t focus on my thesis anymore. The noise wasn’t so bad but I am easily distracted so the slightest interruption can disturb my train of thought.

Motivated by this issue, I decided to move to DB06, the hub next door. DB06 looks exactly like DB04, minus the two small offices for the Dean and administrator. It's also a bit further from Yoda and Obi Wan's hub so they can't peek to see what I'm doing. Hehe.

This time around, I scored a window spot at the right corner of the room. This suits me perfectly cos I love a window seat, be it on a plane or in an office. Every day, I come to work happy, eager to write thousands and thousands of words on the spreadsheet. I normally come in around 9.00 in the morning and leave by 12.25 to pick up Alden from school. I don't get a lot of work done in the span of 3 hours so when hubby comes home around 3.30pm, I'd continue my work at the office till 8 or 9 pm.

My research assistant normally comes with me in the morning

I love coming in after 4 or 5 cos the hub will be totally vacant by then. It's not that I don't like having people around. I just like having the freedom to do whatever the hell I please when I'm working. While writing my thesis, I can talk to myself out-loud, sit with crossed-legs, munch on a bag of chips noisily, surf social networking sites without guilt and scratch that terrible itch on my back without being discrete. That's what I call office bliss.

I am most productive between 4.30 to 7.00. When I say productive, I don't mean a flawless 10 pages of academic awesomeness. It means that within this period, I am able to produce something coherent and readable.

My problem starts at 7.45 pm. Why? Because it gets dark by then and this changes the whole ambience of the room. My hub has a lot of tinted windows and when it gets dark these windows look like mirrors. It's so creepy. Have you seen a scene in a scary movie where a timid heroine sees a reflection of a ghost in the window? That's what freaks me out.

The lighting sensor in this hub isn't helping either. The motion sensor light will only turn lights on when the room is occupied. When I'm moving around, the sensor recognizes thatsomeone's in the room. When I'm sitting quietly or when I'm just typing on my computer, the lights go off cos there's no movement. What happens then? I have to stand up and jump around like an idiot to get the light back on.

It's going to be Halloween soon and these past few days they've been showing sneak peeks of the scariest movies on TV. The last sneak preview I saw was The Grudge. Damnit! I should've changed the channel when I had the chance to. Now that I think of that, a creepy figment of my imagination is starting to get a hold of me. Just imagine tinted windows - reflection - the Akkkkkk sound- Ju-On - Scream 4. CREEPY! Thank God I have my rosary with me.

It's now 8.45 pm. I think I'll stop right here before the lights go off again. Happy Deepavali everyone.

Friday Fingers: Monet's Blossoms

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 05:24:00 +0000

without glitter

with glitter

I know it's not as perfect as Chegu's blossoms but that's as far as I can go. Like Monet's paintings, my nails look beautiful and complex from far away, but up close, it's a bit of a mess.

Anyway, these are the tools I used to recreate Chegu's design. The sponges will be used for next Friday's nail art and the blingy beads for the week after next. Am I painting my nails on a weekly basis? Yes I am!

I guess this nail art thingy isn't just a fling. We're going steady now :)

Heartstrings

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:58:00 +0000

Dad and sis left Christchurch at 1.00 am today. Although I know it won’t be long before we are reunited again, the separation feels unbearable right now. It wasn’t so bad when mom left in July cos I knew dad was coming over for a visit. True enough, when dad came in August, I was back to feeling high.

The whole time he was here, it felt like I was back at home. It has nothing to do with the home cooked meals I had every day. Rather, it's the warm, fuzzy feeling I get when he's around. I have hubby and the kids with me 24/7 but from time to time, I miss being with my family.

When sis, Carol and her mum came over to join dad in September, I was ecstatic. Sis and I were both so psyched about this trip cos we've been talking about it for months. Although she only stayed for 3 weeks, we had an awesome time catching up. What I enjoyed most was having our midnight chats, talking about our childhood and just goofing around with the kids. She’s only been gone for 17 hours but already I’m missing her.

These are some of the pictures I was looking at while trying to pull my heart out of this gloomy state. They were all taken yesterday while we were at John and Kathy’s for lunch.

There’s a huge contrast between what I felt yesterday and today. Funny how I get to experience the same emotion every year. I cried when Alden, hubby and I left for Christchurch in 2008. In 2009, I cried when my family went back home after staying with us for a month. In 2010, the same thing happened when I had to return to CC after spending two months in KK. And then there was last night. It was so sad saying goodbye to dad, sis and Carol. I really felt like asking sis to stay for a while longer.

Last night's farewell is probably the saddest I've ever felt. But never mind. I'll recover from this momentary depression sometime soon, if not later.

Gaji Buta

noreply@blogger.com (Lizeewong) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:50:00 +0000

Pada hari ini, sia akan mengarang dalam Bahasa Melayu. Kenapa tiba-tiba tukar angin? Sebab sia mau mengumpat puas puas pasal perangai pekerja pemalas di Malaysian High Commisioner, Wellington.

Kemarin, sia sama hubby pi pejabat MHC untuk dapatkan cert of good conduct. Oleh sebab kami awal, kami sempat jumpa Dr. R, Director of Malaysian Student Department in NZ. A very pleasant man. Dr R jemput kami masuk office sementara menuggu appointment jam 10. Masa sesi bercerita, Dr R bagi kami borang pendaftaran mengundi untuk pilihan raya this year. Tapi oleh sebab telampau banyak cerita, nda sempat kami isi. Sekali tinguk jam, pukul 10 suda.

Cepat-cepat kami turun bawah jumpa receptionist. Bila kami bagitau appointment kami, dia bilang konsular belum datang. Dalam jam 10.30 baru dia sampai. The first appointment was at 9.30 am, booked by an Indian couple and 1 jam dorang tunggu tu Konsular. TERUK kan?

Lepas tu Indian couple pulang, kami punya turn pula. Masa tu dekat pukul 11 sudah. Tu konsular suruh kami taruh semua dokumen atas meja so dia buli semak satu satu. Selepas menyemak semua dokumen, dia suruh kami sign tu surat declaration. Oh ya, masa sign tu form, si hubby tertaruh tu borang daftar undi yang ada carbon di bawah surat declaration. Apalagi, spoil la tu borang. Sia jeling dia tajam-tajam tapi dia senyum-senyum saja.

Anyway, lepas semua borang kena sign, tu konsular halau kami secara lembut dengan ayat ini "Your documents will be ready in the afternoon. Come back around 3.30 to 4.00 pm". Hairan juga sia kenapa mau tunggu sampai 6 jam for a stupid cert. Kenapala nda suru tu Commisioner sign terus supaya kami nda payah ulang alik pigi office dorang kan? Kalau dekat ndapa juga. Ini, saaaaaaaana atas bukit. In the middle of nowhere.

Hubby cakap daripada berkulat di waiting room bagus pi jalan-jalan di kadai. Kami pun naiklah bus nombor 7 pi bandar. Sampai bandar, kami terus cari tempat makan sambil ambil-ambil gambar macam dua orang bujang honeymoon. Hehe. Siok jugalah. Lepas 2 jam, sakit suda kaki sia. Gara-gara mau begaya, sia jalan jalan pakai kasut boots dari semalam. Apalagi. Cedera parah muscle di betis. Bila sia minta kesian sama hubby, dia start ceramah pasal "Jenis kasut yang sesuai untuk travelling". Terus sia switch off sia punya deria pendengaran.

Dipendekan cerita, kami balik hotel lepas kepenatan menyukat kaki lima kadai. Hubby modop di cushion lepas keboringan menunggu turn main Playstation di lounge. Bila hubby snoring macam bunyi helicopter, sia buat-buat nda tau. Tu orang putih yang duduk sebelah kami balik-balik tinguk hubby and then tinguk sia. Last last dia cakap sama sia "He must be very sleepy". Sia Ya Ya saja. Bak kata pepatah Melayu, sapi punya susu, lembu dapat nama. In this case, hubby punya dengkur sia yang dapat nama.

Around 3.30 pm hubby terbangun. Kami pun bertolak pi MHC office. Kami kira mau ambil gambar depan tu pintu besar tapi sia takut office tutup. Nantilah sia bilang. Kami kelam kabut masuk office jumpa tu receptionist. Sekali kami sampai, dia bilang "Sorry ya..The officer haven't sign your form yet...He on the way..just wait in the room.." Itu kesalahan tatabahasa disengajakan ah. Begitulah cara dia bercakap.

Kami pun masuklah dalam waiting room. Tau-tau ada 3 student lain yang menunggu. Semua pun desperate for the cert of good conduct. Masa menunggu tu, sia teringat pasal borang pendaftaran mengundi. Sia kira mau minta borang yg baru, so sia tanya la tu receptionist. Dia cakap dia nda tau pasal tu form. Sia kestau dia sia pi minta sendiri la sama Dr. R. Sebelum sia naik tangga, dia cakap "Eh, if can, please take one for the guy inside the room. He also ask me the same thing just now. And please give me one copy. Next time when people ask I know".

Sempat lagi dia mengulun sia. Sia cakap Ya saja.

Sampai office Dr. R, sia kena bagi 2 borang saja. Bila sia minta extra, Dr. R bilang nda buli bagi suka-suka. Tu pelajar mesti mendaftar dulu dengan Malaysian Student Department. Tu receptionist pun dia nda mau bagi. Hmm. Kotoh.

Masa on the way balik p waiting room, sia singgah kaunter untuk bagitau tu inai apa Dr. R bilang. Dia terpaksa ok saja la. Sampai ja di waiting room, sia tinguk semua orang masih menunggu. Masa tu jam 4.50 pm sudah. Semua tunjuk muka boring. Sia kasi keluar lah notebook. Hubby pula ambil satu buku dari rak and start membaca. Tajuk tu buku "Perutusan Penting" dengan gambar Tun Mahathir di muka depan. Concentrate dia baca (kunun). He was that bored.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

1/2 jam berlalu tapi masih belum ada batang hidung ni orang. Sia tertanya tanya juga siapa ba ni orang penting ni? Gerigitan betul sia. Imagine la, dari pukul 11.00 pagi lagi kami tunggu belum juga siap-siap. Tu Indian couple pun mau start mengamuk suda. Dalam hati sia "Nah, ni kali la". Sia ingat dia mau make a scene..sekali nda jadi pula dia punya riot.

Dalam pukul 5.45 petang, sampai juga tu orang penting. Masa dia masuk tu, sia tekejut katak. Dalam hati sia, Ya ampun, begini ka muka orang kerja embassy? Kau tau apa dia pakai? Baggy T-Shirt, jumper, sweat pants and jogging shoes. Kamu pernah nampak kah gambar orang zaman batu dalam buku Sejarah? Macam ni na ba.

Source: google images

Begitulah rambut dia, macam nda pernah jumpa sisir. Sia bukan kondem style rambut kembang but this one kan, ketara kelam kabut ba. Muka dia berminyak-minyak and she looked all sweaty. Don't tell me she kept us waiting cos she went jogging? Panas terus hati sia tinguk dia.

By the way, cara dia jumpa kami punyalah main RUDE. Masuk masuk ja terus kasi ampai dokumen atas coffee table sambil announce "Come and collect your documents. Just take your IC, Passport, receipt and one copy of the cert. The rest is mine".

Nda senyum langsung. No apology whatsoever. 7 jam lebih kami tunggu ah.

Lepas collect semua tu documents, sia terus kasi masuk file. Nda pun sia cakap Thank You sama dia. I don't think she deserved it. Dia tinguk ja kami semua, as if waiting for a word of gratitude. Tiada satu pun yang layan dia. So she left. (Masa sia tulis ni entry baru sia tau dia tu Head of Chancery).

Hubby cakap "bah, marilah pi airport terus". Masa sia sibuk kasi masuk notebook dalam luggage, tu inai receptionist di kaunter pi cubuk kami di waiting room. Sia ingat dia mau wish kami a good trip home. Tau tau, ada udang di sebalik pintu. Dia bilang "Excuse me, the last person please switch off all the lights ah."

Aik? Bukan kerja dia kah tu? Punya besar tu waiting room. Mana kami tau mana tu suis semua. Sot. Hubby cakap sama dia "We are leaving soon". And then dia reply "Yeah, but I'm leaving now". Kelam kabut dia balik kaunter packing barang dia. Kami pun cepat-cepat angkut beg kasi tinggal tu office.

Masa kami keluar, dia tinguk-tinguk kami tapi nda juga dia berani cakap apa-apa. Cubalah kalau dia suruh sia tutup lampu, masa tu juga sia suruh dia google receptionist's job description! Kerja dia apa, duduk ja depan kaunter satu hari. Dalam satu hari pun 2-3 orang ja visit tu MHC. Pathetic!

Kami keluar dari MHC office dengan perasaan gerigitan yang teramat sangat. Telampau geram sampai ambi gambar pun lupa. Itulah topik kami dalam bas and kapal terbang. Masing-masing melepas geram.

Dan begitulah ceritanya orang makan gaji buta.

I am so tempted to write a formal letter of complaint to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and tell them about the poor work ethics displayed in this Kisah Benar. Wait till I get my visa.

For the time being, this entry will do :)