We are Family

Oahu Hawaii: Hanauma Bay, Dole, Polynesian Cultural Center, Swap Meet, Bishop Museum (Day 14-16)

2014-04-10T13:14:00.001+08:00

Day 14: Hanauma Bay and Chinatown

Determined to check out the wonders of this top rated attraction, after yesterday's failed attempt (hanauma bay closed), we made the trip there again. At 10a when we arrived, parking was full. Hubby dropped baby and I off at the scenic outlook stop opposite the entrance to the bay, and drove off to find parking. As I walked up to the entrance, the staff manning the gate flipped the sign that said "parking full", and suddenly parking was available. I immediately called hubby and told him to drive back. The parking guy said there were eight spots open and once eight cars had gone in he would close entry again. Well we got a spot.

That was quite exciting, compared to what we were about to experience snorkelling in the bay. We queued for over half an hour for our tickets. While waiting for our turn to watch the compulsory video, we chatted with a volunteer. Her fav snorkelling spot on oahu is actually sharks cove, and not hanauma bay. The video was informative, but if I didn't understand English, I would have been confused by the scene where a dude was shown stepping on coral then stepping off coral... Walking down to the bay, we saw snorkellers trampling the coral. I was horrified. Snorkelling there was the worst I've seen anywhere. Dead coral, poor visibility (<10 ft), and few fish. I was lucky enough to spot a large moray eel however. This hanauma bay has been loved to death.

We stopped at uncle clays house of pure aloha for shaved ice, then hit Chinatown for fruit. As the fruit shop lady calculated my haul of longans, rambutans, pomelos etc, I told her about the kahuku farm fruit stand's outrageous prices. $1 for one rambutan? $10 for an avocado?

Mei Sum Dim Sum Restaurant for pre-dinner dim sum. I haven't had dim sun for over a year, and thoroughly enjoyed the selections they had: har gao, siu mai, char siew pao, and stewed chicken feet. Baby adored the chicken feet. It's a delicacy that when prepared properly, tastes indescribably wonderful.

Below: chicken feet and other dim sum

Day 15: Dole Plantation and Polynesian Cultural Center

We planned to surf the North Shore in the morning then head to the PCC for the rest of the day, but were pleasantly derailed when we stopped at Dole for a 'quick look'. It was a total tourist trap, with everything and anything pineapple you could think of and more that you wouldn't have. It was interesting to browse through their gift shop, but we didn't buy anything. We picnicked there (nice picnic area) then had pineapple ice cream for dessert.

We spotted the Helemano Plantation sign next door and went to have a look - it was forlorn and deserted. I was the only visitor there. I found out it is a non-profit organization for Downs Syndrome folk. A buffet lunch featuring fresh produce from their vegetable garden is served every day at their (on site) restaurant, which also looked empty. I bought a Royal Hawaiian pineapple here at half what the next door Dole gift shop was charging. And some toys for baby, from their thrift shop. I wish more people knew about this place.

Below: baby getting acquainted with panda at Helemano plantation

At the PCC, we handed over our entertainment book coupon for a discount off Samoan Island Packages (admission, island luau, Ha show.) Regularly $75 per person, our coupon got us $50 off the second package. It's also good for BOGO admission. The entertainment book paid for itself twice over with our visit to the PCC- paid $15 for it.

The canoe show was lovely, and we got to watch the shows at Tonga (drums), Tahiti (wedding - we renewed vows!), Samoa (coconut and fire making, very funny), and New Zealand (music). Dinner was good for what we paid- Kalua pork, taro, taro rolls, chicken, poke, etc. Dinner entertainment was great. Baby enjoyed the music and drums.

Below: me with one of the dancers. :D

The Ha Breath of Life Show was good too. The dancers did a fantastic job. I can't imagine how these students put in full days like this six days a week and still be so energetic and enthusiastic. The fire twirlers were amazing to watch. A loooong day though.

Day 16 (Saturday): North Shore

We went back to Haleiwa where hubby rented a surf board ($7/hr) and hit the waves. Baby and I had lunch and chilled on the beach. After that, stopped at Matsumotos Shaved Ice to redeem our free ices (free with our surf lesson with Blue Rush Surf School). The ice was coarser than what we had at uncle clay's (which was fluffy and light), but psychedelically colorful.

Last stop was Sharks Cove to snorkel. This time the waves were big, cresting the barrier that forms the sheltered snorkelling lagoon. We got tossed around a bit and had to be careful not to get dashed against the rocks. I saw schools of small fish but not much else.

Below: turtles at Laniakea beach

The highlight of my day was watching three whales do whatever it is whales do which is pretty awesome to watch even if it's from a distance. Water spouts, tails in the air, breaches.

Day17: Mountain biking Kualoa Ranch, Aloha Swap Meet, Bishop Museum

Hubby was dropped off at kualoa ranch for his mountain bike ride ($112 after the 10% online discount, 9a-3p). Baby and I had lunch at the Waiahole Poi Factory - Kalua pork (smoky, rich, delicious), pork and fish lau lau (yummily fatty), poke (tasty), haupia (ok), and poi. I was looking forward to trying poi and was kinda disappointed. It was cold, liquidy and gloopy. I love anything taro and cook often with it, and had expected a sort of warm mash that would absorb/complement gravies or sauces. The lau lau was warm outside but cool inside, and parts of the Kalua pork were cold too.

We spent nearly two hours and covered 3 miles at the swap meet. Bought some clothes and souvenirs. Prices were ok. $10/shirt/dress.

Had only an hour and a half to spend at bishop museum. Could have easily spent a day there. The planetarium show was informative and fun, and the science center was meili's fav.

Off to meet hubby at waikiki where we changed into our new clothes and took one last pic at the beach.

Then to the airport for the long journey home.

Aloha Hawaii...

Oahu Hawaii: Beach Hops, Byodo-in and Pearl Harbor (Day 11-13)

2014-04-04T16:26:00.001+08:00

Day 11
We walked to Kalama Beach (10 minutes from our rental), and along the beach to Kailua Beach. Pleasant walk on soft sand. Saw heaps of kitesurfers. Back to the rental for a late lunch and napped with baby. She napped for nearly 2.5 hours and I was glad for that because sleep would help her recover from her cold. When she woke, we drove 20 minutes to check out Waimanalo Bay State Recreation Area. Apart from a pair of bodyboarders, we had the entire beach to ourselves. It was gorgeous. Soft soft sand, but bigger waves and windy. Stopped at Whole Foods for some groceries on the way back to the rental, and had pasta for dinner.

Day 12 - From Kailua to Haleiwa, Coastal Drive
Drove up the east coast, which was a very scenic drive. Stopped at Byodo-in, a replica of a 900 year old temple in Japan. We arrived shortly before 10 am, and there were only two other cars in the parking lot. About 15 minutes after we had entered the Byodo-in, the tour buses arrived, so I think we did well with timing! It has well manicured grounds, and probably would be very interesting to those who have never seen a temple before. We have visited actual temples all over Asia that are larger and that house practising monks, and don't charge a $6 per entry (they are free to enter), so we weren't blown away by the Byodo-in. By the time we left, the parking lot was full and cars were circling the lot.

We stopped briefly at Malaekahana State Recreation Area, hoping to spend some time at the beach there before lunch, but decided against it in favor of letting baby continue her nap. It was very windy and rough surf there.
Lunch was shrimp scampi from Giovanni's Shrimp Truck at Kahuku. It was good - decent size shrimp, well cooked and loaded with garlic oil that the two scoop rice soaked up nicely ($13 for a dozen shrimp).

Met up with hubby's brother at Waimea Bay and had a nice time at the beach there. We parked ourselves on the far left of the bay where we could watch people jump off the big rock into the water. Hubby also did some rock climbing on the cliff face fronting the beach. He didn't go all the way to the top - there seemed to be a homeless encampment on the ridge there. We all took turns snorkeling. There are two resident turtles.

Waimea Falls was next. I think $15 for admission is kinda steep. It was like an arboretum, with the plants all labelled with their scientific names.
Last beach stop was Sharks Cove where hubby went for a quick snorkel. He spotted a six foot long pipefish! He was very excited about that. The water that evening was calm and visibility very good.
Dinner was at Luibuenos - we ordered the fish tacos ($7 each) and were disappointed. The tacos were very small and not particularly tasty. Hubby's brother thought the tacos at Killer Tacos were better.

Day 13 - Pearl Harbor
As soon as we could, we left the rental for Pearl Harbor. Baby has been waking around 8 am, and we left at 9.30 am, after breakfast and doing laundry (a quick swish and rinse, then hang dry in the yard). We pulled in to the parking lot at 10 am and it was already full. Hubby dropped me off to try get tickets while he attempted to find parking. I got tickets no problem, which was pretty awesome considering how I'd agonized over dragging baby out of bed early to be first in line for walk in tickets. We visited the free museums at the visitor center and had lunch while waiting for our turn to visit the USS Arizona at 12.45 pm. Baby was unfortunately a little chatty during the movie viewing, but dozed throughout the ferry ride and memorial visit. It was a solemn time for me, and I felt close to tears thinking of those young men who died. An average age of 19 years old, they were just boys.

After the USS Arizona visit, we took turns seeing the Bowfin submarine. I found the kid's audio much more entertaining than the adult's one. We paid $6 each for admissions (reg $12), using our Entertainment book coupon.

Talking to the staff at the ticket and information counter, I found out that the busiest days are Mondays and Tuesdays, because that's when the tour buses come. The slowest days are Saturdays and Sundays. We visited on a Wednesday. The 1500 tickets allotted for walk-ins that day, ran out at 2 pm.

Picked up hubby's brother at Waikiki, and headed out to Hanauma Bay to snorkel, but found out on arrival that it was closed due to tsunami warnings. After taking some pics and seeing what we could see, we went to Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha for some shaved ice. It was delicious and refreshing. I loved the lilikoi (passionfruit), but the strawberry and mango were good too. That was followed by dinner at Mama Pho's next door. Meili ordered the kid's chicken pho and attacked it with gusto. It was okay for pho, the soup base much sweeter than the pho I've had in Vietnam.
Dropped Jeff off at the airport and said our goodbyes.

Oahu Hawaii for a Wedding: Day 7-10

2014-04-01T09:54:00.001+08:00

Day 7: Pre wedding dinner and sick baby

Had my hands full taking care of poor sick baby Meili

We still managed to get out to the beach for a little bit.

Pic below: Jungle girl with extreme bed head attacks mango

The pre wedding dinner, where the families of the bride and groom and the extended American family all met for our first dinner.

Day 8: Wedding Day

The wedding wasn't until late afternoon so we spent some more time at the beach. Baby's worst day yet. Chest rattling cough and stuffy nose. Super clingy. The beach time was good for her though.

The wedding

Bowing ceremony

(these pics were taken by Beth, youngmin's big sis).

We had an incredible dinner at Roys Waikiki that night. I ate too much.

Day 9: Sea Life Park

The families of the newlyweds left for Korea early morning, and the remaining American family got to hang out with the newlyweds for the day.

We got six dolphin encounters at $65 (reg $120) thanks to our Makai card, and four admissions at $10 (reg $30).

The kids, mom and newlyweds were happy about being able to interact with the dolphin.

Day 10: Move to Kailua Rental

Dropped the family off at the airport for their trip back to pittsburgh brrrr. And checked out of waikiki gateway, checked into a lovely studio rental at Kailua. We got lucky with our flurry of last minute quote requests - were offered a week's stay for $580 all in and grabbed it. We cancelled our slightly pricier waikiki prince reservation for this. So glad to be out of waikiki. No more extra parking expense!

Pic below: yard with picnic table where we had some steak and salad for lunch.

Kailua beach

Oahu Hawaii for a Wedding: Day 1-6

2014-03-27T15:37:00.001+08:00

After months of planning and packing we are finally in Hawaii! It has been an eventful couple days. Of note, a hike up Diamond Head, visit to KCC farmers market, surf lesson on the North Shore, trying to find free parking in Waikiki (and failing), tasting new foods (loco moco, poke, Cuban empanadas), and getting food poisoning. :/

Here are some pics of our adventures so far.

Surviving a 2 x 5 hr plane journey with our ten month old who currently speed crawls.

Hiking Diamond Head

first time surfing! That's the ever awesome Matt of Blue Rush Surf School.

Baby Meili approves of her high chair from Goodwill ($3).

That brings us to the end of Day 6. Another ten days left to this once in a lifetime trip...

My White Valentine Wedding: Part Two

2012-09-24T04:30:00.000+08:00

Note: This is continued from Part One (on how I nearly missed my own wedding).

The day of the wedding was a little... erm... chaotic.

The stately facade of the wedding venue belies the state of controlled chaos within

Mom and Dad, Ma and Pa, Jeff and Spencer were mostly downstairs in the church kitchen and dining area preparing food and decorating the reception venue.

Clockwise from top right: Mom laying out the reception decor; Ma putting together the salad; Pa taking photos of everything; Dad and Jeff taste-testing the lasagna.

The reception looked so beautiful. *sniffle*

The exquisite wedding cake made by Dolores Austin; Ring pillow bearing our engraved titanium rings; Stunning
decoration put together by my crafty Cousin Yoonie.

I was kept busy doing my bridesmaids' (Ariana, Faith and Courtney) make up.

Twenty minutes to the wedding march and I still hadn't changed into my wedding gown yet; Courtney had her hair
professionally styled!; Carver is not liking his bow tie.

Houston We Have a Problem
I was kept so busy in fact, that I didn't have enough time to finish my own make up. I got as far as slapping on some foundation and lipstick, and was applying shadow to my left eyelid, when I was called to 'Get Out There!' and do that walk up the aisle.

Oh dear.

I walked down the aisle with my left eye-shadowed and my right eye bare, a chalk-white face (no time to put blush on my cheeks) and looking generally disheveled. I didn't have time to straighten my hair so it was frizzy and all over the place. Of all the days to have a bad hair day.

Erm, maybe nobody will notice if I hide behind this veil.

The Ceremony
Fortunately, everything else went as rehearsed. My Pa handed me over to Spencer who was waiting up by the altar. Mom read a passage of scripture from the Bible.

Pastor Barbara led us in saying our vows.

I choked up just a bit while saying my part of the vows, looking into Spencer's eyes. Do. Not. Cry.

Then before I knew it, Spencer was lifting my veil back and kissing me. Did I just miss Pastor Howard's "And now I pronounce you man and wife"? *blur*

Pastors Barbara and Howard Ravenstahl led us through the exchange of vows.

Post Ceremony
Everyone was invited to partake of holy communion.

Then we all went downstairs for a Chinese Tea Ceremony. This was not very well rehearsed. Actually it wasn't planned at all. But I think everyone found it entertaining enough. Everyone seemed to be serving tea to everyone else, and red 'ang pow' packets of money randomly exchanged hands.

In a Chinese Tea Ceremony, the newlyweds serve tea to their elders in exchange for words of wisdom and red
packets. Then the newlyweds receive tea from the young 'uns and have to dole out red packets too. Clockwise from
top right: John and Janette Clark, David and Dorcas Lim, Ernie and Colleen Armor; and the Newlyweds bestowing
an 'ang pow' to Courtney.

The Food
Thanks to the efforts of Chef Jeff and Mom, the food was delicious and plentiful. No guest left hungry! The deer lasagna was hugely popular but it was good that Jeff also made beef lasagna and veg lasagna for those who did not fancy partaking of bambi.

The Entertainment
Jeff, who was also Spencer's Best Man, gave a heart-warming toast.

The entertainment for the night also included Spencer and I cutting the wedding cake and attempting (but only partly succeeding) to feed each other some of it. I am not posting any photos of that disaster hehe.

Spencer and I also entertained the guests with a dance. Spencer picked an extremely long Malay love song - he didn't realize it was soooo long. We shuffled around on the dance floor for six long, awkward minutes!

Please end. Please end.

After that first dance, everyone got down and partied hard. I can't imagine this sort of thing happening in my church in Malaysia Charis Christian Center. :O

Dad with my Ma, tearing up the dance floor. Uncle E and Aunt Colleen giving stiff competition behind.

Father and daughter on the dance floor

Carver and I.

Papa leading Mama in 'The Shuffle' . Wow it's getting hot in here hehe.

Jeff with his girls: Evangeline, Faith, Ariana and Courtney

Farewells
Time flies when you're having fun and all too soon we were bidding our guests goodbye and safe travels. But not before we'd captured photos of us with each and every one of our guests who had made the time and effort to witness and share our happiness, and who gave so generously the lovely gifts that we treasure till this day. We love you all. Thanks so much for coming!

Photos were taken by Andy Mitchell and Papa. Videos (coming soon) taken by Damon Dlubak and Mark Dempster. Thank you!

xoxo Grace and Spencer

Next post: Honeymoon #1

My White Valentine Wedding (that I almost missed!): Part 1

2012-09-23T06:12:00.002+08:00

With Jeff and Kim's wedding happening in less than a week, I've been feeling sentimental.

You know, I'm not exactly the sentimental type.

An auspicious wedding date

Spencer and I decided on a Valentine's Day wedding in 2008 for three reasons:

Because it is an easy date to remember.
He didn't want to wait anymore.
So everyone would think we are uber-romantic.

At that point, I'd not seen him for nearly five months. Five months prior, when he visited me in KL to celebrate my September birthday, he also sprung a very romantic proposal that we get married. I guess I said 'yes'. :)

Invitations

Mom suggested Faith Lutheran Church as our wedding venue. We loved that suggestion and went with it. Spencer invited everyone in the family, all his friends and colleagues, Mom and Dad's friends. Basically anyone he could think of. That came up to about 70 people hehe. Most everyone lived close by. Except Ma, Pa, my side of the family, and myself. :p

Cousin Yoonie designed the beautiful invites.

Behind the Scenes

Mom ordered the cake, wedding decorations, made cookies, prepped fruit and salad for the wedding and everything.
Chef Jeff cooked veg, beef and deer lasagna. He also doubled up as Spencer's Best Man. And he made assorted gourmet chocolates for the wedding favors.
Yoonie also designed and hand-crafted stunning boutonnieres, bridesmaid bouquets and the bridal party wedding table centerpieces. She also crafted the wedding favor thank you cards.
All the family chipped in to help. We couldn't have done this without them. Thank You Family.

Travel Plans

The plan was for me to fly in to Pittsburgh for the wedding, then we both fly to California for our honeymoon (at the same time spend some time with Beth who couldn't make it to the wedding).

Pa, Ma and Faith would be fly in to Pittsburgh a few days before the wedding. This would be after their tour of the Grand Canyon and their visit with Pastor Ray Johnson and family at Mustard Seed Ranch.

I missed my flight.

Yep. I wasn't feeling well, thus my brain wasn't working as well as it usually does. Which is to say, it wasn't working at all. I arrived at KLIA at 6 pm to get on plane to the US. But that plane that had left for the US at 6 am that morning.

Uh oh.

I was in imminent danger of missing my own wedding!

The nice MAS people let me on the first plane out next morning.

On his end, Spencer had a fine (read: awful) time rebooking my connecting flights.

It could have all gone horribly awry.

But we all know it didn't :)

I arrived in Pittsburgh after a 30 hour journey, two days before the wedding.

The Nights Before

We packed the chocolates Jeff made, into boxes for the guests.

The assorted hand-made chocolates included chocolate ganache truffles, coconut clusters, even a curry powder one!

We added ribbons and personalized thank you tags to the wedding favors.

We had a wedding rehearsal at church.

We had a family dinner at Shanghai Tokyo Restaurant.

Up next: The Wedding Day. Some things never go quite as planned!

Jogoya Japanese Buffet Glutton Fest and Engagement Party!

2011-10-12T01:32:00.005+08:00

Special occasions call for special makan places. After us kids all veto-ed Mama and Papa (who wanted to eat at home 'Save money mah'), we descended upon Joyoga Japanese Buffet Restaurant at Starhill Gallery for my sis Eirene & Ben's Engagement Party. Most of us hadn't been before, and actually, I haven't been in Starhill before! Like rusa masuk kampung only. I got there at 6 pm, but decided to wait a few minutes before entering the Starhill parking just to make sure I got in after 6 pm (flat rate RM5). I drove nervously down the road behind Starhill - the road itself was marked with arrows going the other way (i.e. one way street) but the Parking Signs were the other way. Confusing!

Baby Z and gang arrived early to get a headstart on the buffet

We reserved a table for twelve - four men and eight ladies. Just so happens, it's 'Ladies Month' where from Mon-Thurs, lady couples get a buy-one-get-one free! At RM88 (before the 16% tax), it's a good deal.

This place is huge, and takes some navigational skill. You gotta go forage for the food and there seems to be a station proffering foodstuff tucked away in every corner. These things take time, and I was glad that the management didn't tell us to leave after our two hours was up! I heard they sometimes do that if it gets packed.

I tried all sorts of food, and ate as much as I could. Which sad to say wasn't as much as I usually manage, because why? because not been well and haven't been exercising, so small appetite. I still got my money's worth. Jess gave Faith and I a tour. There's Japanese, Chinese, Western cuisine, BBQ, Teppanyaki, Dim Sum, Bar, Desserts etc. There were a bunch of clips on our table with the table number 65 on them. We're supposed to drop a clip in the bowl for whichever cooked-to-order dish strikes our fancy and that said dish will magically appear on our table moments later. This only applies to some of the food stations. The rest, we still have to forage ourselves. Such hard work! Oh ya, we found that this table clip system is open to sabotage - after we received a THIRD dish of Fried Fish Skins that everyone denied ordering, we began to suspect that Somebody was taking our clips and moving them into the bowl saying 'Order Your Delicious Fried Fish Skin Here!'

Drop your Table Clip in the bowl ok!

I loaded up first thing on the sashimi: Salmon (5 pc), Tuna (4 pc), White fish (4 pc), Tilapia (3 pc), Clam (3 pc), Octopus (3 pc), Squid (3 pc), Scallops (5 pc). That's 30 pieces of sashimi = RM60. Korean Oysters on the shell (3 pc, huge, plump and juicy), loads of lobster salad, scallop carpaccio, raw seafood salads.

I took note of the pandan coconuts on every table and made a point to hunt for those next. These coconuts are probably the hottest item in Jogoya and seemed always in short supply. Thirsty diners would skulk around the drink station waiting for the next binful to arrive and would hijack the bin's contents before it made it to the serving area. I wish I'd got a photo but I was too busy trying to wrestle some off the server myself! I put away about 5 coconuts (RM25), and so did every else in our party. The server resorted to delay tactics:

Grace : Excuse me, when will the coconuts be replenished?
Server : In 10 minutes

(10 minutes later)

Grace : Hi! Are the coconuts in yet?
Server : In 10 minutes

(10 minutes later)

Grace : Any coconuts?
Server : In 10 minutes
Grace : But you said that 30 minutes ago wor...
Server : (realizes I'm not leaving without a coconut) How many you want?
Grace : Four
Server : In 5 minutes

Five minutes later, when I returned, he disappeared into the walk-in-chiller and surrendered four hapless coconuts to me.

My second round, I got two giant clams, 3 monster bamboo clams, 2 prawns, and a humongous snail (RM16). I put that in a bowl of miso soup (there were choices of XO soup and tomyam soup, which was delicious) and brought it back to our table where the waitstaff lit a personal burner to cook up. My third round, I got some palate cleansers below - salads, different thai salads and more of the lobster salad. Yumm!

By that time I was feeling quite full and decided to start working on desserts. I nibbled bits off everyone else's dessert! I sampled 6 varieties of Haagen Daz and New Zealand Natural ice cream (Tiramisu was my fav. Rum Raisin, Berry, Macadamia, Choc, White Choc, etc), tiramisu, scones, black forest cake, blueberry mousse, pandan layer, cream puff, mango pudding (not recommended), ais kacang (not so good), kuih talam (blech), hot chocolate, bread pudding. I'm probably gonna pay the consequences of eating all this stuff tomorrow, because I don't do well with gluten, or sugar, or dairy...

After everyone had maxed out on their stomach capacities, we sat around interrogating Ben on how he had planned to pop the question and got every single juicy detail out of Ben and Eirene. Nice! Can't wait for the wedding! Congrats Ben & Eirene!

More pics on Facebook

Peace!

BBGS Reunion Class of '92: The Ones That Do Not Age

2011-10-08T20:57:00.006+08:00

Quickie post! Am on Cloud 9, having just got back from a wonderful reunion for fifteen of us BBGS classmates Class of '92 (and kids!). Hosted by Evelyn Leong at the Go-To place for all your party needs - Party Moo Moo @ Solaris Dutamas.

Everyone literally looks the same! I can barely believe how ageless all you ladies are. In fact, in this pic, Stef looks eleven years old!

Stef looks 11 years old.

After a chow down of a hearty Malaysian spread, was the Cake Cutting Ceremony.

Everyone wants to help cut the cake :)

I had special ordered a chocolate cake from home-maker Lina, who is selling baked goodies to support her three young kids, and her husband who recent went for brain tumor surgery. The cake was beautifully piped with our BBGS badge. It was chocolatey and moist, not too sweet, with a semi-gooey choc ganache topping. Highly recommended, good price and good cause too (For info on ordering, Click Here Miralina's Cakes).

Nisi Dominus Frustra. Such detailed and lovely piping.

By the way, Party Moo Moo specializes in balloons - there are like a gazillion balloons of every imaginable design in this place. You can order a bouquet of helium balloons for anniversaries, birthdays, etc and delivery is free (I like!). Check out their website HERE

You even get to walk your horse and elephant balloon:

Sue Ling walking a horse and elephant balloon

We all had fun 'balloon sculpturing' - twisting balloons into puppies, flowers and helicopters (advanced level one hehe).

Beginner level balloon sculpturing 'How to Make a Sausage'.

Then it was time to put down some bones (on top of the RM20 we each banked in before the event). Fortunately we had accountants who helped calculate how to cover the costs from those who couldn't make it that day, etc etc. Each of us tambah RM43 more. Now, some of you may think it kinda steep, but I think it's all good because we got a comfy kid-friendly/safe place where we all could relax, mingle and catch up with each other for a few hours.

Thank God for our Accountants, or else we would still be trying to figure out the costs right now.

Till we meet again - possibly next one at FRIM? :) Thanks Lai Ying for organizing, and for all of you who made it today, and who made it special...

For more pics check out my Facebook Album

Bye for now Party Moo Moo - see you again soon!

FRIM Canopy Walkway & Waterfall Picnic Fun with Kids!

2011-08-20T22:59:00.020+08:00

FRIM is where I've worked and played for 12 years. Today I got to spend a few wonderful hours catching up with my BBGS schoolmate Suk, get acquainted with her lovely boys, made a new friend - Claudine - and get to know her beautiful girls. And all this in my 'playground' - FRIM, where the air is fresh and cool, and every breath invigorates me. Can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning!

Click to enlarge. More info on entrance fees and attractions HERE

A few days prior, I'd recce'd the trail I figured would be good for the kids (two 7 year-olds and two 9 year-olds). I did that while noting plants and etc along the trail that would be interesting to point out. I love kids and was really looking forward to giving these 'city kids' a nice first experience jungle hiking.

My first introduction to the kids went something like this:
Suk: Kids, say hi to Auntie Grace. Auntie Grace, can you tell them what you are?
Me: Hi! I am a Bug Doctor!
SW: Isn't that an Entomologist?
Me: Erm... that too!

(Kids nowadays are so smart. And these ones were
ridiculously well-behaved too! Sweet!)

FRIM is a 600 ha green lung just half an hour north of Kuala Lumpur, and is an ideal visit for city folk and tourists wanting to experience what it is like in a tropical rainforest. Miles and miles of well-maintained hiking and mountain biking trails of various difficulty to choose from (including a 'Steroid Hill' that I have yet to enjoy) set against a lush backdrop of forest that looks like it's been there for millions of years. Few people know/realise that FRIM is actually a huge forest plantation and most of the trees were planted about 90 years ago :).

We bought tickets to the canopy walkway at the Souvenir/Gift Shop. Adults $5, Kids $1 (foreigners are charged a little more). Our first stop was at the bridge over the Arapaima Pond. There are a couple of monster arapaima fishies in that pond that measure up to SIX FEET long. I started clapping my hands and everyone did too. So festive. Then we saw a few of them glide sluggishly towards us. Not much of a performance, but the kids seemed to like it. Sorry - I didn't bring any fresh fish for you today! I mean the arapaimas. After that we hiked along the Salleh Trail and saw the National Geographic 'Wow spot' where the kapur trees (Dryobalanops aromatica) exhibit the amazing phenomenon of 'crown shyness' (see below).

Scientists think each kapur tree puts out chemicals that tell the
other trees 'Gimme my space!'

The kids also got a crash course in jungle survival:

Lianas (those twisty long curly wurly things) are a source of clean water
Don't put your hand (or any body part) on anything without first looking to make sure there are no thorns or nettle caterpillars!
If a leech bites you, you will not die :)

Next was the Canopy Walkway. Getting to it involved a huff and puff up steps to the top of Bukit FRIM. Good thing we re-fuelled on Twiggies before tackling it. The hike up there is excellent training for those who want to take on Mount Kinabalu! I tell ya, those kids are actually mountain goats in disguise. They literally sprinted up that hill. Us grown ups were like siput snails compared to them (hey just enjoying the scenery mah!). It being the fasting month (Ramadan), the trails and canopy walkway was deserted. Normally weekends would see a line of people walking/queueing up the hill and canopy walkway, but today only got 15 people when we got to the Canopy Walkway start.

After enjoying the gorgeous views from the treetops (25 - 30 m above the forest floor), we started down the hill. Once again the kids sprinted down the hill. Us grown ups had a nice long heart-to-heart session about knee problems and surgeries on the (slow) way down. A short break for snack and freshening up at the small waterfall at the base of the canopy walk trail, and we continued down the Waterfall Trail to the Sungai Kroh Picnic Area. I enjoy this part because it's more 'wild 'n natural' compared to the other trails that are quite 'manicured' and civilised (just ignore that huge water pipeline that runs down like a white elephant in the middle of a banquet hall). My VFFs (Vibram Five Fingers) are proving to one of the Top Buys of 2011 (thanks hubs!) - like going barefoot but with grip factor x100.

Ended with a pleasant picnic at the Sg Kroh picnic area. The kids quickly wolfed down the yummy sammiches then proceeded to cool down in the wading pool. One track mind, these kids. Us grown ups helpfully finished off the tasty nasi lemak, cake, wafers and the kettle chips. We also discussed setting up a business where I can be the CEO, and lead nature walks for families and city kids :).

Also check out my blog post on the Kepong Botanical Gardens in FRIM - another great place for a family outing and picnic.

Peace.

I Love Barbie: Filched my little sister's secret stash!

2011-08-16T22:33:00.005+08:00

Last week I messaged Faith on Facebook.

Chair: Faith, do you have any Barbie and Ken dolls? I need them.
Faith: I don't have Ken. I have Snow White, Cinderella, bla bla bla
Chair: OK, I will collect from you next Sunday.
Faith: ??

On Sunday, my little sister obediently handed over a colorful suitcase.

Oooh... I wonder what treasures await me
inside this colorful suitcase?

I played it cool in front of her. Once I got back to my apartment, with trembling fingers
I unzipped the suitcase. Would she be in there? The One?

PHWOAARRRRR!! Barbie Mother Lode!!!!

In quick succession, I went through the dolls, becoming increasingly disheartened as potential candidates were cast aside. Not good enough.

Heap of discarded Barbies

Then. My heart skipped a beat as I laid eyes on her. Perfect!

The One

I have plans for you, my sweet....

Stayed tuned for true tales of the shenanigans she and I get embroiled in! (Update 18 Aug 2011: Here's our first venture!)

Peace!

P.S. Hey it would be great if you clicked on any ad here and I'll get a few cents from the advertisers. Thanks!

Happy 40th John!

2010-04-19T09:59:00.002+08:00

We had a low key birthday celebration for John last week on 12 April 2010. Jess made a beautiful and delicious coconut cake that we all enjoyed. Then we went for a leisurely bike ride at Moraine State Park. It was a gorgeous day - sunny, warm and clear. Dinner was at Rey Azteca's where Dad, Arianna and Carver joined us. Happy Happy Birthday John!

Here's video Spencer and I put together for you bro! John's Bday Video

Peace

P.S. Hey it would be great if you could click on any ad here and I'll get a few cents per click. Thanks!

Assateague Island Holiday

2008-08-22T03:43:00.007+08:00

A glorious week (9 - 17 Aug) at the Chincoteague beach where Jeff (Spencer's bro) lifeguards.

Journey to the beach
Spence and I drove 7 hours to Chincoteague, joining the rest of the Clark family who had been staying at Jeff's since the week before. Chincoteague is a little town that connects to the Assateague National Park Island. Jeff has lifeguarded there for over ten years and works for the Park Service. The Clarks holiday at Chincoteague every summer.

The beach
We cycled (about 45 minutes) to the beach most days. This is considered the most beautiful beach on the east coast. Hordes of tourists descend upon its fine white sands every summer. The water was a bit too cold for me (60 deg F = 15 deg C) but it was nice and sunny.

I spent most of my time digging big holes with Courtney.

Carver, Ariana and Courtney were very brave. They boogie-boarded, dove into huge waves and somehow
avoided getting hypothermia in the frigid waters.

Spence surfed the waves in his kayak. In the pic below you can see him executing a kayak move in the background while Courtney is boogie-boarding a big wave in the foreground.

Kayaking Chincoteague Bay
Jeff works after hours with the Oyster Bay Outfitters leading kayak tours of the bay area. Spence, Ariana and I tagged along on one of them. It was a one hour sunset paddle on the calm waters of the bay area, which is like a huge nursery for fish, and great for oysters and mussels.

Three's a company
After two days, Jan, John, Carver and Ariana left. So Courtney, Spence and I continued to entertain ourselves by burying each other in sand. We also went for two of the many (free) tours run by the Park Service - the Lifeguard Rescue Demo and the Marine Explorers. The Marine Explorers was a 2 hour hands-on tour where we learnt about shore-dwelling animals. The inland marsh shore and sandy sea shore were conveniently located right across each other so we explored both habitats. Very popular with families, the kids enjoyed digging for sand crabs and clams (seashore) and sifting through mud for snails and worms, netting crabs and fish (inland shore).

Crabbing
Catching these blue crabs is a lot of fun. We bought these bait hooks for $3 each, and the instructions say to use chicken necks as bait. This is probably why chicken necks cost so much at Chincoteague. The Fresh Pride mart (the only grocery in town) was selling necks for $1.70 a pound. (Chicken thighs cost 89 cents a pound). Obviously I didn't buy chicken necks to use for crabbing. I bought a whole chicken, deboned it and used the bones as bait. (Smart huh?)

The crab hook

You need to push the hook through the bone firmly to make sure Mr Crab doesn't get away with the bait.

Thread meat and bone if possible, through crab hook

The bait is lowered gently into the water so as not to startle the crabs. Lower the bait all the way to the bottom. I kept some tension on the string, so I could feel when a crab pinched on the bait. Once it gets a good grip with its pincers, and is chomping at the bait, it won't let go unless it's startled. I would slowly raise the bait until just below the surface of the water (any higher and the crab lets go - doesn't like to be out of the water). A sneaky sidesweep with a long-handled net and ta-daaa we have a crab!

The unsuspecting crab is already inside the net!

The female crab (sally and sook) have 'painted nails' - bright red pincer tips, and looking on their undersides, a larger 'apron' (actually a reduced abdomen) than a male (jimmy). More blue crab ID info.

'Doncha mess with me!'

The crabbing spot was probably over-crabbed. We kept catching the same crabs that we released (too small, < 5 inches). By the fourth or fifth time we caught them again, they already had names, e.g., Jimmy One Claw, Miss Sally. Altogether, we got three crabs. These were kept alive immersed in water and in a cool place. We had delicious steamed crab for dinner. Slurp.

Home again
Our beach holiday was over all too soon. I'm now back home where I have been 'nesting' (as Spence calls it), i.e., cleaning, moving things around, arranging the kitchen and house the way I like it. Spence has to ask me where everything is now! It's all good. I'm also having a nice time working in the yard. We have 1.5 acres here with an apple and chestnut trees, blueberry bushes, grape vines, garlic, a quince bush, asparagus, etc. Except for the blueberries, everything else is suffering from lack of TLC (tender loving care). I've been put in charge of landscaping the garden and will definitely be writing more as we progress on creating our 'edible landscape'.

More soon!

P.S. Hey it would be great if you could click on any ad here and I'll get 1 cent per click, from the advertisers. Thanks!

Our Three Flavor Wedding

2008-07-12T20:00:00.022+08:00

I got to be the blushing bride thrice over with my man.

First, a romantic Valentine's wedding in a lovely little chapel in Pennsylvania USA, witnessed by about 50 family and friends (including my Ma, Pa and Faith who flew from Malaysia to the US to give me away).

US Valentine Day Wedding

Three months later, halfway around the world in Malaysia, we had a joyous celebration with Christian, Chinese and Malay ceremonies, in the presence of 1000 family, friends and FRIM colleagues. Jess and Daniel put together an absolutely beautiful Wedding Slideshow for our Perkahwinan Tiga Rasa. (Photogs: Melvin, Daniel, Irwan and Sadat).

It was one of the happiest days of my life.

My beloved family worked days and nights to transform the bare Dewan Alwy into
a gorgeous wedding hall. Pic: Dining tables on both sides of the aisle leads to stage. On stage, a set of peachy organza-wrapped chairs for Chinese tea ceremony and pink pelamin with golden 'thrones' for Malay bersanding ceremony. Exquisite glittery backdrop centerstage. For more behind-the-scenes on how all this came together, here's Jess and Daniel's account 'Mountain man and jungle girl'

From badminton hall to Dream Wedding Venue

Spencer and I arrived a few hours before the wedding. I quickly did my hair and make up and changed while he put on his tuxedo.

We had a great time chatting with friends who arrived early.

UPM B.Sc. Pertanian '99 coursemates and kiddies.

We started with the Christian ceremony, where my Pa got to give me away second time. Reverend Lawrence Yap blessed our marriage and pronounced us husband and wife. Spencer kissed me on the cheek... twice!

Can I kiss again?

After the posy toss and cake cutting, was the Chinese Tea Ceremony. We served hot fragrant tea to Popo and Kung Kung and elders in the family in exchange for angpow red packets filled with $$$.

Chinese Tea Ceremony

After a quick costume change, we commenced the Malay bersanding ceremony. It was very festive with the kompang hand drum band, silat martial arts exponents and a troupe of my beloved Ento Unit colleagues, who doubled up as part of the welcoming committee complete with peachy outfits!

Looking good in pink... erm I mean 'salmon' :)

The merenjis ceremony was special, and I truly cherished that event... The beautiful pelamin was the perfect backdrop for countless photos taken with friends and family.

Can fan harder ah, hot la.

Here is the wedding slideshow with lots of photos of many of you who attended (you will need speakers to enjoy the Malay and English love songs that accompany the slideshow). Click on this link to view it: Wedding Slideshow

Here are some photos of all you lovely people.

FRIM colleagues (36 pics)

Church friends (16 pics)

School friends (11 pics)

Family (16 pics)

To all of you who sent your warm congratulations and well wishes...
To all who gave so generously...
To all who shared with us our most special day...
...a big, big, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts...

Can carry meh?

2004-07-04T16:41:00.002+08:00

I can't believe it. It's less than a month now before I get on the plane to the US to start school.

Plane ticket ... check
I haven't even bought the plane ticket yet. I was told that I need to fly on a US carrier since Fulbright is paying for the ticket, and they haven't told me if Continental that stops over in Japan, co-share, qualifies as a US carrier. Still waiting.

US Visa ... check
I haven't applied for the visa yet. I went to the photo shop and they took some photos of me to stick on the application form. At least the US embassy people will be nice to me and expedite the process. My appointment is this Thursday. And, it will cost me nothing, since Fulbright is paying for it.

Clothes ... check
This is the fun part. Since Fulbright wants us to be 'cultural ambassadors', I have been picking out baju kurungs, kebayas, and other batik stuff to strut around in while I am there attending social events and such. Aside from that I have also picked out some more practical/functional clothes that I can wear to lectures, and other campus activities. Probably have about 15 kgs of clothes now!

Cuti-cuti Malaysia promo stuff ... check
Still on the 'cultural ambassador' theme, I have been told to stock up on brochures and audio visuals on Malaysia and way of life and whatever else I can think of that I can use to promote Malaysia. Apparently Fulbright scholars are expected to be sociable and make every effort to go out and tell people about our home country, e.g. in churches, at university. I packed some FRIM t-shirts and batik, but am stumped as to what else I could give my hosts. I think all this stuff comes under "tugas rasmi" and I will see if FRIM can help with the shipping...

P.S. Hey it would be great if you could click on any ad here and I'll get 1 cent per click, from the advertisers. Thanks!

Papa's Father's Day Dinner at the Pantai

2004-06-20T22:39:00.003+08:00

No, it's not a beach resort...

Papa had an accident and is in hospital now. He was fixing the water tank at the Serdang house (rented out to UPM students), and as he walked across the roof beam, he slipped and fell through the ceiling to the floor below. Not far to fall, but on the way his left side hit the beam and he fractured the 6th to 9th ribs. Very drama, because the whole house full of the Chinese students who were springcleaning in preparation to move in.

When Mama called me I was at Popo's house preparing salad for the Father's Day BBQ gluttonfest, so after that I went to check him out - Pantai Hospital very close by only. After we confirmed the fracture and that he had to be warded for the night, then I went back to tell Popo and the rest. Then I packed a bunch of meats and other foods for his dinner. He polished off two lamb chops, two pork chops, Kungkung's Lo Ngap, chicken, fish, garlic bread, salad (organic one) and fruit.

Faith also helped to eat.

I also help.

Mama also help.

So we finished most of the food. Saved Aunt Josie's apple pie and Popo's soya bean drink for supper later.

Mama managed to confirm the soya bean drink wasn't too sweet by drinking half of it.

Halfway through, Popo and Kungkung and Kenneth came to visit and Popo will be making him some lunch tomorrow.

Kungkung sit down on the chair.

Popo sit down on the bed.

Kenneth stood around trying to look useful.

Then the phone rang, and it was Makro wanting to order something and Papa said he "ada hal" sekarang, so Mama will take care of it tomorrow. Wait lah, once the whole Taman Midah knows, and the church knows, problem - there will be 10 million people trying to visit him. That's why he decided to take the 2 in one room for $110/night, instead of the 4 in one room even though it was $65/night - because feel sorry for the other room mates kena kacau (disturb them).

Right now, the son of David, i.e., Justin, is attending to his father, while waiting for Mama to return with the essentials - towel, Bible, handphone charger, snacks, and what have you.