PRECIOUS MOMENTS..

My Little poet

2012-05-22T23:25:00.000+08:00

Exam is over. Lessons has slow down a lot in school, teachers are busy marking and compiling the results. 1st semester is almost come to an end in a few days time. My girls are bringing back a new batch of text books and work books from school.

Having a free time during her computer class lesson yesterday, Crystal lets her inspiration flow and became a little poet, sketches of drawings and poems for Pearl, Mummy and Daddy. She showed her works to me last night, instead of giving her complements, I questioned her instead. Questioning her where did she copy the poems from. Because the poems are too nice for me to believe that they were written by her at this age. Her poems go like this:

[To Pearl]
When I am down,
and maybe frown,
You always help me before dawn,
You have the crown,
The crown of love,
and may the Holy Spirit come to you as a dove.

[To Mummy]
You really love to cook,
Take your apron from the hook,
You know how to read cook book,
But I only know how to read a story book.

[To Daddy]
Please do not give up,
I'll help you fill your cup,
With the help of a job,
we can finally not mob.
{not mob?? what does it mean?? She said she was trying to figure out the last sentence, but couldn't make any sense out of it, hahahaa...]

I especially like the one for Pearl, it shows how appreciative she is towards her little sister, when she is down Pearl is always there to cheer her up, it shows the closeness between the two of them. How sweet!! Keep up the good work my little Poet!!

Throw up after drinking Stale Milk

2012-05-19T14:55:00.002+08:00

Our local government has been giving out free milk to the pupils since I was in Primary School, I do not know whether other States in Malaysia doing the same or not. We appreciate the good gesture from the government in providing nutritious milk to the students over the years.

However, milk is a very perishable item, it turns bad or stale easily. It will do more harm than good if the cartons of milk turn stale due to improper handling during storage and logistic.

Our girls like to keep these free milk in the fridge and consume them while cool. There were two occasions that Crystal have had diarrhea for no reasons because we were having the same food, why only her having stomach upset?? After chit chatting with parents at school, I gathered that the free milk from school was the culprit. I have since stopped my girls from taking them altogether since last year.

It was reported in the News today that 100 pupils throw up after consuming the free milk from school, it was no surprise to me as my girl has suffered from it twice before.

The pupils are suffering from stomach pain and vomiting, all this can be avoided only if the parties handling these milk are sensible enough to make sure they are kept fresh as required. I have seen a normal lorry truck delivering milk to the school, these milk will then placed at the corridor in the school for many days before they are distributed to the pupils. The Health Ministry should consider having these milk be transported by a refrigerated truck and distributed to the pupils as soon as the cartons milk arrive to the school.

Pearl was asking for our permission to drink this packet of milk last night which she brought back from school and kept cool in fridge, we were glad we stopped her from drinking it, or else she could be suffering from stomach upset too. I showed to my girls the news so that they are aware of it.

The Nutrition Benefits of EGGS

2012-05-14T14:17:00.000+08:00

My girls always ask for Scrambled eggs as one of the dishes in their meals, they will eat more rice and finish their meals faster if there is scrambled eggs. I was worry at one point I tried to skip cooking eggs even they asked for it. I told them that we can not eat eggs everyday, too much eggs would not be good for health, I remember ready an articles about it.

Today, I checked on one of my emails, I received this so called the nutrition facts about eggs :

Malaysia's top nutritionist on eggs, Very Important, EGG is good for cancer too. Dr JB Lim is the current TOP Nutritionist in Malaysia .

Dear all, Thank you for asking me. Sometime back someone asked me the same question about eggs and its effect on health. I have already written and replied to him or her in a lengthy article supporting the nutritive and health benefits of eggs. I also gave scientific updates on more recent findings some of which are correctly given here as sent to me. However the author of the article need to give at least some references of papers published in scientific journals to support the claims even though they are right. But to super-summarize what I wrote last time in just 13 lines without me having to go all over again explaining the complexities of physiology, biochemistry, nutritional pathogenesis related to eggs and waste time and effort again, below are the yes points about eggs in human nutrition. But I have to leave out some minor no points since the positive benefits far outweigh its negative values.

1. Eggs and milk are among the best foods for the body especially to a growing child.

2. Eggs do not cause an elevation of blood cholesterol

3. Eggs do not clog up the coronary vessels as once thought. In fact the opposite is now true

4. Eggs are low in energy value, and is a factor to consider in the formulation of a caloric-restriction diet

5. Eggs protein quality is extremely high, and has a very high nitrogen-retention value. Hence it is extremely useful in post-surgical care, trauma, and in post-management of hypovolemic shock against negative nitrogen balance

6. Eggs contain vitamin D in its natural form. The benefits of vitamin D require several chapters on human nutrition in medicine to discuss. And I refuse to repeat

7. Eggs are cancer-protective, especially for breast cancer

8. Eggs are very rich in sulfur-containing amino acids methionine which is a very crucial amino-acid in blocking damaging free radicals. These are directly linked to the pathogenesis of heart disease, cancers, DNA damage, all degenerative disorders, and accelerated aging.

9. Eggs protect against fatty liver, slow growth, macular degeneration (degeneration of the macula area of the retina in the eyes. This is responsible for central vision for reading, face recognition and detailed vision), edema (water retention), and various skin lesions

10. Eggs promote healthy growth of nails, hair and skin

11. Eggs are rich in tryphophan, selenium, iodine, and riboflavin (vitamin B2)

12. Eggs selenium content is cardio-protective against Keshan disease, cardiomyopathies (diseases involving the heart muscles, cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), myocardial dysfunction (poor heart function) and death from heart failure.

13. Eggs are protective against Kashin-Beck disease (osteoarthropathy), myxedematous endemic cretinism (mental retardation)

14. The list goes on…on! Regards, and ask me no more on eggs. I have lots of other questions awaiting answers.

jb lim 4:35 a.m. 24 August, 2010

This is one of those articles that may make one go to extreme and consume too much. Remember -- anything that is consumed too much is bad for your health. Do everything in moderation.

Malaysia First Day Covers

2012-05-09T13:59:00.000+08:00

I used to collect First Day Covers whenever there were releases some 10 years ago. I kept them in a box like a treasure, these collections are meant to be for my children. After many times of shifting, I could not remember where I have placed them, I will have to search for them from the boxes in the store, hopefully they are still as good as new.

Due to frequent to the main post office lately, I have come to notice the issues of First Day Covers. I couldn't afford to queue like most people do as I need to rush to work after I have posted my mechandise, what I did was to ask from counter on the very next day to see what's left. They usually have some stock left but the chances of getting the complete set is slim, so long there is cover envelope and stamps that's good enough for me, and I am allowed to use the First Day Cover stamp chop all by myself, stamp as many and however I want to.

Here are the First Day Covers I managed to get in the recent months. I am selective of which First Day Covers to collect, I do not collect all the releases :D

Yes to Life, No To Drugs, released on 27.02.2012

Underwater Life, released 21.03.2012

Malaysian Antarctic Research Programme, released on 08.03.2012

Tissue papers in the laundry!!!!!

2012-05-07T22:52:00.000+08:00

I do most of my laundry over the weekend. I thought I could finish them off and take a nap as soon as I can, as I need to "recharge my batteries" on weekends. Upon hearing the pip sound from the machine telling me that it is done for me to hang them up to catch the bright sun light. I got stressed out when I saw this.....

tissue papers sticking on the clean clothes, on every single piece of cloth and pants. Meaning I have to remove the broken pieces of tissue papers off from this bunch of laundry.

Can you imagine how troublesome it is to remove them?

At the end I took more time than usual to do my laundry. This packet of tissue could be from one of my girl's school uniform pocket which I gave them to bring to school, did not realise that it is still in the pocket, I should have checked every pockets before putting them to the machine, my fault :(

A trip to Desa Cattle Farm at Kundasang

2012-05-06T00:22:00.000+08:00

During the school holiday in December last year, we made a day trip to Desa Cattle Farm in Kundasang. The last time I went there was in my high school year, it was a school outing. As far as I can remember the place has not changed much in the last 20 over years except having a bigger building now.

On a uphill not far from Tamparuli town, we stopped by an orchid farm. The orchids are well grown, looking at those orchids, I can't believe they are all real, just too perfectly grown to my eyes. The price are very reasonable too, but I did not buy any because I don't think I have got the time to care for it.

We have taken a lot of photos so let the photos do the talking.

the owner of the orchid farm serving tea

entrance fees needed to enter to Desa Cattle farm, this is the little pondok collecting entrance fee

It was a public holiday, the farm was very crowded with people and traffic was congested

The milking area

The milking cows look skinny

Fresh cow's milk for sale. Exactly what we get from the supermarket, there are only two flavours, plain & chocolate

we bought 2 cartons

souvenirs are sold here

the road leading to the farm from the pondok entrance

the place is cool and refreshing

Our Dog named Lucky

2012-05-04T00:32:00.001+08:00

One fine weekend some 6 months ago, Clet found a puppy that he likes, we named him Lucky. Our girls loves to have dog just like their daddy but still need to learn how to take care of them . Our dog, Lucky is too playful and adventurous for our girls to handle him, they have to run away from Lucky all the time to avoid him from biting their legs.

Lucky is very attach to us, he would be the first in line to come inside the house when we open our door, Just like any puppy, he likes to bite shoes, pull the plants down, dig the flower pots, bite anything that he can reach, scratch the car, and even open our shoes racks to pull our shoes out, bite the floor mat and many mischievous acts. He always find the opportunity to zoom out from the gate whenever we drive our car in or out, we have to call him and sometimes chase him back, we were not pleased when he did this during the rush hours to school in the morning. I also realised that we have become a nuisance to our neighbours when make so much noise early in the morning.

Lucky is trying to force himself out from the gate. He is a cute little dog whom always greet us at the gate when we come home, he is just too active to be handled.

Well, Clet finally decided to place Lucky at the back yard, he arranged to carry a big dog house from my sister house for Lucky 2 weeks ago. It took 4 men power to get it placed at our backyard. Though he would not feel as comfortable as he was at the front porch, we do feel more relax, less stressful and no longer a nuisance to our neighbours anymore. It is time for him to guard our backyard. Be good Lucky!!

Total Black Out in Kota Kinabalu

2012-05-01T17:28:00.003+08:00

The electricity supply was off at 3am in the morning for the whole of Kota Kinabalu areas, I was also told that other districts like Labuan, Tawau also having the same problem.

I came into the office in total darkness yesterday morning. This is my office desk. We haven't got any emergency light installed, even if we have one, the power would have been exhausted after 2-3 hours. Nothing much can be done in the office as most of my work is highly rely on computer. After many hours of waiting, the power only resumed at 11am at my workplace. Some areas got their power restored as early as 7am, I believe Tanjung Aru area was the last place to get their electricity supply back.

We do not know exactly what happened, I hope this will not happen again, as it has caused so much inconveniences, the traffic was terrible without traffic lights, all of us could not get enough sleep due to stuffiness, just imagine life without out electricity supply for hours.

Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) 2012 at Kota Kinabalu,

2012-04-23T14:01:00.004+08:00

It was not our plan to visit the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) yesterday, it just happened that we went to our nephew's new house near Kingfisher Park, it was still early when we were headed back. Our girls were not very pleased that we have to go home so early. Since Likas Sport Complex where the MSAM is located is on our way, we thought why not have a look. The place so jam packed that we nearly gave up the idea. Clet has to drive around to look for a parking while we proceeded to the exhibition hall so as not to waste time.

There was a long queue at the registration area, I asked my girls whether they really want to go in, Crystal said "Mummy, don't give up so easily", I guess they just want to be out and about on Sunday. After registration, a passport is given to enter the exhibition hall. We are supposed to get a stamp on the booklet from each and every exhibitors in order to redeem an umbrella, I was not aware of that because I did not take the time to read the requirement, my concentration was more on keeping my 2 girls close to me avoiding them from missing from the crowd.

While waiting for Clet to join us, I took photos of our girls with the latest Range Rover at the UMW booths, a nice and expensive car, cost near RM400K. After Clet has joined us, I managed to quickly queue at the Sime Darby Food's counter to get a stamp and a free gift.

A stamp chop from the Sime Darby counter and a free pack of Alif Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi (Spicy Yellow Chicken Curry) seasoning mix. Don't know when I will be cooking this, because my 2 girls still do not take any curry dishes.

Before exiting from the exhibition hall, there was an investment game for the children, Crystal wanted to play the game, she brought Pearl along to queue up, they got their chance to play operation surgeons to earn money. The game aims to let children know the concept of earning, spending and investing. At the end of the game, there is a redemption centre where children can redeem their presents, I think the presents given is depend on how much money the children have got at the end of the game. I find this kind of investment game is beneficial to children if there is a briefing given on the purpose of the game.

Here are the goodies that Crystal and Pearl got from the game.

Crystal brought this note pad to school this morning, telling me she treats this as an ipad....very imaginative!

Watch Korean Dramas for FREE at Maaduu.com

2012-04-22T01:09:00.000+08:00

I like to watch Korean Dramas. The first Korean drama that I watched was All About Eve, I watched that twice and bought the whole series too..This was some 10 years ago when I was not a mum yet.

After having Crystal & Pearl, I just haven't got the time to watch any Korean dramas, and most of the time our TV is on with Barneys, Barbie Princesses, or other cartoons series, which has different kind of fun too :D

Some time this week, I found out from my colleague that we can watch Korean dramas for free on Maaduu.com. I got to know it because she always watches the dramas on her computer during her lunch break. Just have to join as member and we will be able to watch Korean dramas from FREE. There are so many dramas to choose from at this site. The signing up is very simple, can be doing within a minute.

If you are a big fan of Korean dramas, look up for Maaduu.com.

Home grown Egg Plant

2012-04-18T23:53:00.000+08:00

I can't believe my eyes when Clet told me that my Egg Plant tree is bearing fruits. Surprise is because we do not give much care to it after it was transplanted to our backyard yet it produces crops. We have harvested 4 eggplants a couple of weeks ago. It is flowering now, I believe we will be having more eggplants soon.

The seedling for this plant was given by my colleague who is using worm's fertilizer for her crops. She gave me another seedling yesterday, this time is a tomato plant, it is still in little plastic container waiting to be transplanted.

This eggplants are truly organic produce as we do not using any form of pesticide and fertilizer

The New Proton Preve

2012-04-18T00:00:00.000+08:00

The much anticipated Proton Preve was launched last night. If you have not seen the newly launched Proton Preve, here are some photos, they look really really nice to me, very elegant yet sporty. The prices ranging from RM60K - RM73K depending on the model. At first sight I thought it would priced at near RM90K.

After sharing my views with my colleague, she would prefer to buy a Toyota Vios which is a foreign brand with a price similar to Proton Preve, simply because the earlier is a Toyota, not Malaysia made. After so many years of our government's efforts to instill and promote Buy Local Products, it doesn't not seem to change our people's having the mindset of foreign products are much more superior than Malaysia made. Though she prefers foreign brand, but she is driving Malaysian made cars..hahaha..simply because local made are more affordable.

Looking at the pictures, I really like to have the Elegant Brown one

I am attracted to this one - The Elegant Brown

More pictures & features here

The Millionaire Next Door

2012-04-14T23:04:00.000+08:00

Not sure whether our next door neighbour is a millionaire or not, they do not seem to be one but we never know they could be a millionaire with their unrealised assets.

It is definitely our dream to become millionaire. That' why this book "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas J, Stanley and William D. Danko, has become the phenomenal #1 bestselling book, more than 1 million copies sold! This book is to unveiled the surprising secrets of America's wealthy. This is the book I am reading at the moment at a very slow pace; a few pages during my coffee enema time and private business moments.:)

So far I learnt that the high income earners are not necessary wealthier than the lower income groups. Budgeting, control spending and investment in assets/stocks are the main fundamental keys to achieving a millionaire dream. I have only read 1/4 of this book still a lot to discover the secrets of become a millionaire...

This is the cover of the book:

A glimpse of its content page:

The back cover of the "Millionaire Next Door"

Instant noodles once in a while

2012-04-13T23:55:00.002+08:00

I do not know the nutritional value for the instant noodle, if there is any at all. People has been saying eating instant noodles do more harm than good. My family's consumption of instant noodle has greatly reduced after reading an article pointing out how unhealthy it is to eat instant noodles.

After reading through the whole article, Crystal has refrained herself from taking instant noodles ever since ( I think it was more than 6 months ago). Before that she is a big fan of instant noodles. Now she would discourage her little sister, Pearl, not to eat instant noodles as well.

I do keep a pack or 2 of my favourite Laksa Maggi mee in the cupboard, that would be my 4-5 months supply. Just to get them ready in case we need a quick meal just like tonite, we had it as our supper for Clet and myself, we haven't had our proper dinner after bringing our girls to the park for a sweat out. They had their Spaghetti Carbonara, milk shake and ice cream at the park's eatery. I had Fish & Chips but the portion is too small for me to treat it as my dinner. And Clet cooked my Laksa Maggi mee,

and I finished it all, just for once in a while.

Remedy for phlegmy cough

2012-02-23T14:27:00.000+08:00

One of my mum's friend gave her this natural remedy for phlegmy cough a couple of months ago. The ingredient is simply Unsalted duck egg, water and rock sugar, a slice of ginger is optional, double boil all the ingredients for one hour. My sister gave it a try last week and it does relieve the phlegmy cough problem for her daughter who has been coughing for months and my dad whom is a asthma suffer, felt the relieve too, and my dad love it and asks for more.

My mum knows that I am having a bad cough since Chinese New Year and not getting any better, she asked me to try it too.

As the ingredients called for the Unsalted duck egg, it is hard to find unlike the salted duck egg which is plentiful in the market. My sister only managed to buy some at the Inanam tamu. I got 3 eggs from her.

The ingredient : Unsalted Duck Egg, Rock Sugar

I bought this pot especially for this purpose

the ingredients are all in my new pot now

Here you go into a bigger pot with half filled water ready to double boil for an hour

After an hour, the duck egg is now boiled and the rock sugar is all melted, very sweet.

A small slice of ginger can be added to it if you do not want too much of the cooling effect of taking this. I have taken it last night and have not feel any obvious improvement on my cough yet, like any other natural remedy, one can not expect to have miracle cure instantly. I still have got 2 more duck eggs, I shall try them all to see whether this formula will do any good to my sensitive airway problem.

Need cure for Hives, the allergy

2012-02-21T23:34:00.000+08:00

It always very tiring and mind exhausting when our kid is not feeling well, Crystal has been suffering from allergy since December last year, I believe it is the kind of allergy called hives which usually come after midnight when one is resting, the itchiness is hard to bear and it is burning hot on the areas where the hives attacked, the more you scratched the faster and wider it spreads on the body. What she is suffering now is exactly what I had experienced when I was a kid till my adulthood. I am really sadden with the fact that she has inherited the hives from me. It is disturbing me so much every time I see her suffers from it. She has been having sleepless nights that she has to absent from school the next day. She is taking a sick leave off from school today because of the nasty hives attacked last night. She woke me up 3 times after midnight to ask me to help her spray the acid water on her body which she finds has a bit of relieve of the itchiness, but acid water alone can not do much help, the hives covered the whole of her back on the 3rd time she woke me up. I think she only managed to get some rest just before the alarm clock rings. While she is weak and lost her appetite, she got diarrhea and has to visit the toilet 3 times today. She has to take the allergy control herbs and also the diarrhea today.

We have tried to clean her room, take supplements, change washing powder, shower soap, refrain her from eating certain food, bathe with herbs and so on, nothing seems effective. The hives come back a few days after medication.

At the moment she is taking alkaline water and the acid water for skin for the past 1 week. Thanks to our nephew and family for offering the alkaline water.

I have searched through the internet to find cure for hives, but to no avail so far. My parents have brought me to Chinese and Western doctors for treatment during the time I suffered from hives but no one treatment can give me a cure. I had undergone many traditional treatments that aunties, uncles, grandmas have recommended to my parents, some were pretty weird, I tried them any way with the hope that they can get rid of the hives. The hives attack was serious that I fainted in my bedroom without anyone realising because it was over midnight. I have to take medicine to control the hives and later of the years I undergone a serial of Chinese medical treatment. It slowly went disappear when I was in my 20s. I could not go back to this Chinese doctor because he's no longer around. He was already in his 90s when he treated me with the help of his daughters.

I am sharing this here with the hope that anyone whom could share and know the treatment of hives. There are many of us hives sufferers out there desperately need cure. Suffering from Hives is depressing and disturb our daily lives.

Largest Room For Rent Website

2012-02-17T14:26:00.000+08:00

This is an interesting site that I have come across on room renting advertisement website for the Malaysian. In my opinion, iBilik is some what have more advertisements on room rental than Mudah.com. There is a whole long list of rooms for rent advertisements to browse through instantly without having to buy a newspaper. I believe this is by far the largest room for rent website in Malaysia. At the time of writing this post, the number of room for rent advertisements in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur alone are at 40,209 and 43,504 respectively.

Sometime end of last year, my colleague, Kathy's home has hit by a bad flood in Lido area. The flood has left her home in a bad condition that she has to move out in order to make way for major renovation. Now she is in midst of looking for a room to rent. This would be the right site for her to search for the right accommodate.

iBilik has fast becoming the largest and No.1 Room For Rent, Home Stay and Short Term Rental Database website in the country. It is FREE to post your advertisement, just register yourself with the site and start placing your advertisement. How I wish there was such a website many years ago. I still can remember I have to go through the trouble of placing a room for rent advertisement on the newspaper, to go to the news office, I had to find a parking at the busy street, at the news office, I have to queue to be served. A small column of hardly noticeable advertisement cost pretty expensive for just a day placement, a day gone by and there is no inquiry at all, pretty frustrated. Now, there is this site providing such a convenient service for both advertisers and those who wish to find a room to rent. It is also a good site to look for a short term place to stay if you plan to travel to any of the major towns within Malaysia.

Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-23T23:34:00.000+08:00

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

GONG XI FA CAI

MAY THE DRAGON YEAR BRINGS GOOD HEALTH,

SAFETY AND PROSPERITY TO ALL OF US,

AND PEACE TO ALL MANKIND.

Not much decorations have been put up at our home this Chinese New Year, have been busy with works and other daily chaos. We have just put away our Christmas trees on the eve to make way for some Chinese New Year decorations. Lanterns are up few days earlier but the Dragon figurine is still very much lying on the table.

The Chinese believe that there should have some food on the dining table to welcome the brand new year, symbolizing the abundance of food throughout the year. Here are some of the goodies I placed on our dining table to attract the good chi to our family.

Fine Dining venue at the Republic of Texas

2012-01-19T16:57:00.000+08:00

The month of December till Chinese New Year is the season to be jolly, thanks giving and to welcome the brand new year. Celebrations would not be complete without good food, and gathering with families and friends.

During these festive season period, many restaurants are offering special menus to cater for those who prefer to dine out. Many working class mothers are too busy to prepare a set of complete meals for their families. Not to mention the time to shop for the ingredients, time to prepare and cook and clear up the mess after the meals. As a working mother, thinking of all these tasks is enough to make me tired.

Being a busy business lady, a friend of mine who lives in Texas was telling me that they had a wonderful Christmas meal at the Republic of Texas, its banquet restaurant Dallas with her families and friends, a truly fine dining experience. Its Republic of Texas Company Store also offer over 100 gourmet Texas made products and fine foods. Of the Republic of Texas Foods, the gourmet smoked meat looks particularly delicious to me. It is also a good place to get hold of Texas wine, there are wide varieties of wine to choose from, a toss for a good year ahead.

Those who love Mexican food, you could try out its Mexican Cuisine too. I also noticed on their website that a 10% discount will be given for all orders till 31st March. If you are thinking of holding parties at home, try find out from them on the catering menu or the party delivery menu, they cater for groups as small as 10 to as big as over 1000 guests. Let them handle the tedious part of any functions, that is, the preparation of food and drinks.

I have told my friend that if I visit Texas, please bring me to the Banquet Restaurant Dallas for a taste of its gourmet smoked meat dishes!! :D

For the Longans and Tangerines

2011-12-19T23:26:00.002+08:00

All because of the fault of a dog chasing after a cat. It is a usual thing that our neighbour's dog chases after their own cat. The cat will jump, run for its life and hides under the car, the dog will keep barking and find its way to get the cat.

This usual dog and cat chasing scene has turned out to be a little disaster when the dog ran on the drying cement in front of our car porch. The renovation work is in progress to enlarge entrance and fix the gate for our house. As you can see the naughty dog has left his many foot prints.

Our neighbour felt bad about what their naughty dog has done. They sent over some longans and tangerines over to us to apologise despite we told them earlier that it is not a problem we could touch it up again the next day.

Since they are sincere in sending their apology, it is hard for us to refuse their gift of apology. I can tell you those longans are sweet and juicy, Crystal loves the mini tangerines, I have to stop her from eating too many for reason being that too many will cause one to cough.

Roasted Turkey for Christmas

2011-12-19T14:02:00.005+08:00

Christmas is here in less than a week time. Time flies so fast and so many things to handle that I find myself haven't got time to get things done for Christmas this year. I am still deciding on what presents to get for the kids, Clet is busy with our front gate renovation, so he hasn't got the time to spare on the Christmas presents this year, luckily I have got crystal to help me on getting some girl's accessories done as gifts, yes, she handmade them, I helped her on the beginning and finishing touches (will post it in my next post).

Christmas is not complete without some kind of feast in the celebration. Some may think having turkey is a must in the Christmas menu. If you have no plan to roast your own turkey (which is a lot of work and know hows). Here are 2 places you could order a cooked/ roasted turkey in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Borneo Turkey is where you could order a cheaper organic turkey, the cheapest is RM120.00 for a 3kg roasted organic turkey with free side salads. My colleague has ordered it last year, she is thinking of ordering it again this year.

Christmas Carolling

2011-12-16T14:24:00.004+08:00

We have been busy for the last 2 weeks or so. Our girls started their carolling after we had a short trip to Tawau. They were having fun going house to house sending the good news on the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is the first time they joined the Kids of the Kingdom's carolling group. This is the youngest carollers from our church, kid age as young as 3 years to 9 years, parents are advised to accompany them during the 4 days of carolling. Inevitably we as parents join in as part of the carollers as well. The kids are so very excited when receiving goodies, food & drinks at the church members' houses that we visited.

Crystal continues to join the elder group of the Children Liturgy's carolers this week. It's our turn to welcome them to our home on Wednesday. I bought some chocolate biscuits and packet drinks as goodies for them to bring back.

As carollers, our girls brought back bags and bags of goodies. Now our home are filled with goodies, pray and hope that with God's Blessing, our coming new years will be sweeter than previous years. It's truly an experience for Crystal and Pearl this Christmas for joining the carolling.

Lighting Fixtures

2011-12-01T17:24:00.006+08:00

I always like the coziness of the hotels' room, of course I mean those with at least 3 stars hotels. I realise that it is because of the effect of the lighting fixtures, and the type of lights that the hotels choose to use in their rooms.

Some of the lights that they used are very simple not those fancy types but yet able to give their guests the welcoming and coziness effect. The lighting fixtures are just at the right place. Usually there is a lamp shade by the bed side, down lights at the door way, small lamp just right on top of the dressing mirror, and of course one in the wash room. I realise that they use dim lamps and bulbs to achieve the warm effect which we can also do the same for our home.

As I do not have bed side lamps yet, to have them would sure lift up the warm and coziness for my bedroom. As for my front porch, I would like to fix an antique outdoor wall light, that will give a total make over look from outside.

The Macarons has arrived!!

2011-11-30T22:37:00.005+08:00

I would like to say a big "thank you" to InspiredMom who recently organised a free giveaway contest at her blog. I am very overwhelmed to the fact that I was the winner in this contest. when I first saw the contest, I told myself that I want to have those Macarons and I followed through with what are the requirements to be a winner, and I did it!!!

I have won a pack of 12 pieces petit Macarons in assortment of six flavours, that is Cafe, Pistache, Framboise, Chocolate, Vanilla, Citron. I received it this afternoon, just a day it was sent by courier, it was securely packed, I received this box of Macarons without damaged. Perfect!!

I have heard and seen so much about Macarons in website advertisement, recipe and food websites, blogs and magazines, honestly speaking, I have never tried the Macarons before. For one they are consider luxurious treats and secondly, hardly find shops selling them in where I live.

Blogging can be rewarding. I earn some extra money through sponsored posts and most importantly I earn friendships through blogging.

Into the Fifth day of Detox and Rejuvenation Program

2011-11-30T21:10:00.005+08:00

Just an update on how I am doing with my annual Detoxification and Rejuvenation Program (DRP).

I am now into my fifth day of Detoxification & Rejuvenation Program (DRP) today, I decided to do just 5 days this time, that means today is the last day of my Detox. One would ask whether I feel any difference after the fifth day of strict fruits & vegetable diet supplemented with vitamins in the package. I would say YES. I feel much lighter, not only slimmer, I also feel much relieve on the neck strain and headache problem that I have been suffering all this while, and I wake up more refreshing even with lesser hours of sleep.

I am more at ease in following this program as compare to last year (which I completed the course of 7 days). Probably I know what to do and what to expect in this time round.

Do I crave for food?? YES, definitely, but my will power is strong enough to resist those food placed in front of me while having dinners together with my family for the last 4 days. Craving for food is always the biggest challenge in carrying out the DRP.

If you have gone through a strict diet like what I do, I am sure you will crave for your favourite food. I can tell you that there is one food that I crave the most in these 5 days. I have told my hubby and he will bring me there after I am done with my DRP, hopefully tomorrow.

I am really craving for this Fish Soup with Rice Vermicelli that I used to have for breakfast at one of the famous eatery in town.

Let me show you what I really craving to have….

Is this mixed fish meat and fish balls soup with rice vermicelli, dip with the mixture of light soy sauce, chillie padi and calamansi juice. Yummy…I am droolling now!!!!

This is the coffee shop in Bandaran Berjaya, Kota Kinabalu, famous for its Mixed Fish Soup