The other day, I was walking to the train station, and of course, being human, I do peek into people’s homes/garages/gardens. Mainly to admire how neat some gardens and garages are. The lawn always impeccably neat, tools – be it for gardening, car or DIY is neatly placed on vertical walls. Even car and motorbike batteries (saw some odyssey pc 680), were neatly stacked up, like it belonged to a car workshop.

I often admire people who spend the time to maintain them neatly. I have so much problems trying to maintain an order in my garage. I think it’s because it’s being controlled by two people. Me and Mr.T. He and I have completely different concepts on how things should be organized, unfortunately.

I have decided to let him take the lead… and see how it goes. He has maintain some kind of order..but I just wish it was just abit more neater.

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It is going to be a mad week ahead. I will share with you why.

This coming Sunday, I have decided, out of my brainless head, to run for the Mother’s Day Classic. Last year, I ran for the Mother’s Day Classic. I trained like hell for the Mother’s Day Classic, and pretty much, everything went downhill after that. Yup.

I just got lazy. You don’t see much of my “Begone Fats” posts anymore do you? Well, it is simply because I have been totally lazy. So much, for the saving my heart yada yada yada business.

I much rather go shopping for flat screen tv mounts, than train for this run.

What makes it worse..is that my son will actually be running with me! I don’t know how I’m going to

1) motivate him

2) keep up with him

3) finish the race.

I know I’ll probably take it r-e-a-l slow..and see how it goes. But what if he gets impatient with me?

To top it off, I have to work in the evening after that.

Geez… WHY!!!!!!!!!

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Can you believe it? Not one of my boys wanted to see this movie! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!???

We’ve watched, Thor, Iron Man 1 and 2, and Captain America..and we were soooooooooooo anticipating this movie because of all the ending of the individual movies..and when the day came, for me to stand in line with the stanchions, NOT A SINGLE PERSON (except Mr.T) wanted to see this movie.

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!

WHYYYYYY?? I asked.

I don’t like Thor, was one answer.

I don’t like Captain America, was another.

I don’t want, was the last.

WHAT THE HECKKKKK???!!!

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Today… I had a huge scare.

My imagination does go beyond the normal realms…so it was a super huge scare to me.

I went shopping and as I returned to the car, I couldn’t see the iPhone. Let me explain abit about this iPhone. It does not work. As in the Sim part does not work. It is a 2nd hand phone, which Mr.T used for a while, before passing it on to his father, who used it awhile and then passed it on back to him, but because the Sim card reader was corrupted or whatever have you.. it just doesn’t work.

BUT! It works just like a iPod, where you can take photos, go on whatsapp, read mail, etc. So, that’s what I use it for. My mini iPad, if you must call it.

When I didn’t see that bulge in my pocket, I really panicked. I couldn’t go trackback into the mall, because I had to pick up the boys. I spent all that time, agonizing, that someone might find it..and because I was stupid enough not to password lock it… I knew that everything could be accessed.

You know how it is..all your emails and facebook access is already there, because you can’t be stuffed to login over and over again.

What made me really anxious was the photos. All the photos my husband ever took of my boys were in there. I had never bothered to download it, because I normally don’t take the phone out at all. It stays at home. Not only that… I had photos of my friends’ babies. Every single cherubic photo was in there..and suddenly the world of predatory paedophiles just opened wide in my face. I felt so utterly gutted. I felt, as a parent, deep regret and guilt. I just had to find the phone.

The moment, I got the boys…I told them, and we all went looking for the phone. We scanned the entire mall, asking all the helpdesks, and leaving my info.

They knew I was sad… and the little guy tried to comfort me. Bless him.

Without any good news, with a heavy heart, I called off the search, and headed off home.

My eldest, ran into the house..and found the phone, at an unlikely spot.

I just dropped on my knees, and gave all of them big hugs! First thing I did… put the password code in again.

Phew!

Viewed 1845 times by 406 viewers

Met a friend today. She was sharing how this year has gone from bad to worse. She lost her mother and uncle within a week. Her husband’s mother suffered a massive heart attack. Her best friend’s father’s cancer came out of remission.

In stark contrast, this year has been many blessings for me. I have had many friends who have given birth to happy, healthy babies.

How has it been for you, so far?

Viewed 1882 times by 415 viewers

No.3 continues to amaze me! During the easter break, I decided to teach him the first 10-15 words. He’s got that in the pocket now. It seemed too easy for him. Unfortunately for him..Mama here decided to take a break and not do any more flash cards after that. She delegated the work to his elder brothers. They, too got bored after a while. Then, mama here found some ‘reading eggs’ CDs at the library and decided to borrow it and let No.3 have a go at it.

He’s still having a go..and thoroughly enjoying it. I don’t understand where is all that brains coming from..seriously..I wasn’t the smarty pants in the family (I failed alot of subjects wayyy back then). I’m glad that he’s taking the interest by himself.. I just wonder how far will he go.

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Tomorrow is a big day for No.1 Yup..he trained for this..and let’s hope he’ll be in the top 25. His cross country will start at 1.30pm and you betcha I’ll be there, cheering him on. Seems a bit silly..going to cheer someone at a cross country, but we really just like to run..and why not?

Our next official ‘first’ race will be the Mother’s Day classic. Yup..I am mos def. not ready for it, but I will be taking it slow. Hopefully he won’t be too fast, because there are a couple of uphills that are seriously tough.

While my other two boys will be playing their puzzle rings, me and No.1 will be panting our brains out come Mother’s Day.

Wish me us luck!!!

Viewed 2482 times by 513 viewers

I know Season 5 is out. But, I’ve been marathoning from Season 1-4. To be honest, I never actually watched the series in its entirety. Always bits and pieces, here and there. I never followed the story line and could never understand the magnetic pull of it.

Well.. I got bored one day, and found that my library had all the seasons..and decided, why not? I’m up to season 4 right now..and it’s really hard not to watch it all at once.

I’m puzzled, why the teacher, Ms. Farrell (?) exited without so much of a scene. Just a walk into the darkness.

I’m happy to see Peggy’s character developing. I don’t actually like her..but it’s growing on me. Joan is another one that I really like. Of course, I don’t like Betts. She’s got a mean cold spirit in her… I mean, her character.

Funny how I just blabbed on and on about the ladies..and not much about the men. Well..what can I say? They’re all mostly drunk all the time! LOL!

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I am stupid.

Stupid to have signed up for it. Not only that..stupid to have asked my pumped-up-I-am-going-to-be-in-the-top-25th-position-for-my-crosscountry son, if he would like to join as well, and of course, he said YES!

Well..a couple of days ago, we went for a run. And he outpaced me by at least 100 meters. I could not even catch up to him! We had a race to a specific wall light fixture at a neighbour’s house..and he won! It was a combination of him being in front, at least 100 meters..and running uphill. Who would be able to catch up? Okok.. anyone else BUT me.

Sigh…

Viewed 2768 times by 547 viewers

Oh..I went shopping the other day. Of course, online shopping, which means, sit on my ass, and move my fingers around. I did try actual shopping. I didn’t like the prices in the shop..and I got really nervous, and just had to get out, because I didn’t want to look like I was some cheap ass.. well, I am, but ah ..nevermind.

So..anyway..back to shopping. It was for my niece and god daughter! So nice to say that. Girly clothes!

They were all so cute..I wanted to get everything!! It just so unfortunate (or perhaps very fortunate), that they didn’t have the sizes I wanted. I got 4 dresses, 1 head band and super cute charm bracelet!

All so super cute!

ARGH! I could eat myself! I should really restrict myself.

Online shopping can be so addictive! Fortunately, I have all boys..and that helps curb it ALOT!

Viewed 4246 times by 787 viewers

Although I started my eldest with abacus lessons when he was young, I find he is still struggling with Maths. It’s been 3 years of taking it and although he does do normal math calculations well..he struggles when it’s written maths.

And then..that pulls his normal math calculations down, because he then starts to make very careless mistakes as he loses more confidence in himself!

We just started division..and he keeps telling me how worried he is with it. I’ve been going through with some exercises with him, and so far so good, he seems to understand the concept and is doing ok with it.

But, when it comes to written, sometimes, I even struggle! It’s a wonder to me, because I was really super good in Maths!!!!!

It just gets so complicated. :S

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It’s World Autism Day tomorrow! Today, we participated in a World Autism Awareness Walk that started out in Alexandra Gardens, and ended at Birraraung Marr. If I could give everyone a trophy, I would go get some trophy cups online, and pass it on. It was really great! There was a 1.2km walk and then there was the 0.6km ‘cheat’ walk. I have to admit, I went through the ‘cheat’ walk, only because 1) I had to beat horrendous traffic to get to Alexandra Gardens. It so happens that that was the day of the

a) International Flower and Garden Show – don’t estimate the number of people who attend this show..it is CRAZY HUGE!

b) Etihad Stadium was having a footie match – yes..CRAZY HUGE!

c) Peaceful protests of all kinds going on – CRAZY MAD!

and 2) we were the last of the line..a line that took forever to start. So, we decided to go through the ‘cheat’ walk just to reach to the other side, so we could release the balloons..and of course, make everyone wonder what it’s all about!

It was fun. The kids had a blast..mostly from rolling down a grassy hill.

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Ok, so I’ve actually imposed a happy face streak as a motivational tool for my guys. What’s a Happy Face Streak? Basically, every single day, if my angry buttons have not been pushed in a major way, they each get a happy face.

For every 10 happy face, they get to play their e-games, till their eyes pop out. Ok..I lied, there is still limits imposed.

But! If they get one unhappy face, it means, they start ALL OVER AGAIN. Yes..they have to earn 10 happy faces again.

Hence, the streak.

I’m trying to maintain a consistency in their behaviour, hence I’m not going with a total number of goods they have done, instead, trying to get them to behave consistently so that they continue this good behaviour.

It does sound harsh… 10 happy faces, for 2 hours of playing their electronic devices. I did it for a couple of reasons.. one, mentioned above. The other… was I wanted them to be less dependent on their devices, and instead, play. JUST PLAY.

Which they have been doing. So much so, they even watch less TV now. They only watch it IF they want to chill. Like totally chill and relax. Which is not that often.

Pretty much a win-win situation to me. They don’t see it that way, obviously..but hey! When they are playing..they don’t care!

Please do also note… my anger tolerance is pretty high. It now takes quite a lot for me to be angry. I can only thank God for that.

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I’ll prepping my dinner for tomorrow. Yup.

I’m going to be reading those lipo30 reviews in the meantime, because this dish I’ll be making will taste so good, I’ll be eating like a pig! What is it? “Ayam” is Chicken, and “Sioh”.. I have no idea. I know it’s a nyonya dish (comes from Malacca, Malaysia). I am just glad that I have that Thermomix. Without it, I wouldn’t be making it at all!

It involves roasting the Coriander seeds, so it imparts a wonderful aroma. Thereafter, milling it to fine powder (hooray for Thermomix’s powerful 10,000 rpm blades – that makes it possible in 30 seconds). Then, you would need to chop up 20 shallots (who me? Noooo..the Thermomix!), and then finally marinating the roasted coriander powder, shallots, heaps and heaps of sugar, salt, dark soy sauce, tamarind juice and pepper, overnight. Tomorrow, it will just be roasting it in a hot oven. Meanwhile, the leftover marinade will be simmered down, in my wonderful temperature controlled Thermomix, into a thick sauce.

I SO FEEL LIKE HESTON BLUMENTHAL RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s how I feel when I’m cooking with the Thermomix. I always say, it makes bad cooks, good, and good cooks, GREAT! (I’m the former. Really!)

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My eldest is into it.

I’m into it.

That is, “Draw Something”. It is seriously addictive.

Sometimes, I get lazy and draw shitty stuff.

Sometimes, I get ambitious and draw the nicest, most colourful things.

Today, was one of my lazy days..and my eldest decided to play on my behalf. That is, until he drew an adjustable spanner wrench, which looked like a wooden chopper. I know sometimes, it is hard to draw out what is in your mind..because in your mind, it is beautiful. It is perfect. But, when it comes to execution, it just… looks like shit. And basically, his came out pretty.. unusual. No one would have thought it was a spanner.

I became ‘unlazy’..and started drawing again.

What’s your favourite to draw? Mine is puke. I love drawing the outflow of puke. It is too funny.

I also recently decided to draw animated answers. It is fun…everything drawn is in sequence…so, I erase one position, another is created in sequence. It is pretty cool to me. No shame, no shame..I love it!

Viewed 4302 times by 811 viewers

With a vengence, Autumn suddenly blew in. Just when I was getting used to the summer heat and enjoying my time on my Polywood Adirondack Chairs, it’s suddenly too cold to stay outside.

Honestly, I sometimes, wonder …. when will I acclimatize to the weather quickly? When summer was rolling in, I was moaning and groaning, enjoying the cold weather. And just as I was enjoying the summer heat, the coldness sets in again.

That being said, I can’t wait for the leaves to go all golden, brown, bright red and yellow. I love playing with autumn leaves, in the park, with my boys… it is so fun!

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I’m referring to of course, my DLSR. It’s still new to me, even though I’ve had it for 3 years already. New because there are just so many functions I’ve never used before… and plus, I don’t use it as much nowadays. It’s funny how differently oriented a nikon and a eos canon cameras is. I mean, yea..the camera functions are the same..but I couldn’t figure out where the ISO was, or the apeture was.

To be honest, I didn’t even figure out where the timer function was, until just recently. That’s how new this camera it is to me!!!

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As the little one is growing up, he’s definitely more independent! He dresses himself up, he does his toileting himself, in fact, this lil guy trained himself in terms of potty training. It used to be a pain going to the supermarkets with him, as he would insist on scanning all the items, but not at the barcodes itself!

Well..this time round, whenever he’s holding the barcode scanner, he would hone in straight to the barcodes. Instead of screaming in frustration that the self check-out machines weren’t working! I have to say…departing from 3 is sad, because he no longer gets the ‘chance’ to behave like a baby anymore..but being 4 is just magical, because even if he gets frustrated, he understands my point of view, and throwing a tantrum is no longer an option, because he knows it won’t affect me.

I’ve been waiting for this age. I am so going to enjoy him now…and next year.

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I had a very odd feeling today. Mr. T and I went out, first to drop off the boys at their Saturday Chinese Class (yes yes I KNOW!! I’m terrible, but I’m learning Mandarin through them..and they’re such sponges, they are doing so well with this language!), and I went over to my aunt’s place to pick up some food. Mr. T suggested a shopping stop, since we were passing the DFO anyway.

*rolling eyes*

So, we did. He tells me, I should get some running sneakers. Ok, I say. I look through..na da.

He is disappointed. He is.

Tells me, I should get a handbag. Ok, I say. I should.. my handbag’s handle is completely gone.

And we walked into Oroton. I never walk into Oroton. But we did today. We start browsing around..and I see something I like. Nice handles, and spacious inside. I look at the price… silently gawking to myself.

He pays.

Odd feeling comes in. It’s very rare that we splurge like that. Actually, it’s just rare that he splurges on me. But he’s feeling good today.. and it’s nice to see that. But I tell him, no more. We are spending no more. For today.

Just so odd. I’m happy to surf and buy online to some discount online jewelry store..but not physically go into shops and buy something. It’s when I physically  take out cash to pay for something other than necessities, it makes my head spin. Odd.

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I see this boldly advertised in one of the swim school’s ads. Thing is… I wonder if they were sensitive to those parents who actually lost their child to drowning despite them fencing pools. I know of a parent who almost lost her child in such an incident. In fact, the child was blue, when the mother fished him out. She performed CPR while the neighbour called 000. So..he was almost gone. Thankfully, I still see him around, up to his tricks.

But, everytime she walks past this big poster, I often wonder if she thinks about that life-changing day.

I do.

I mean, I think of her child. And how scary it must’ve been.

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You know..it strikes me as funny, that there are so many people out there taking supplements. I admit..I have been one to try as well. I did, I honestly TRIED. I failed, naturally, because, I’m not a very disciplined person when it comes to taking pills. I forget about it.

If someone were to suggest taking a diet pill, say Numia, I would.. but still forget about it, in few days, despite the fact that I have a goal of losing weight! But, week after week, I see catalogs from pharmacies, boasting cheaper prices for their fish oil supplements, calcium supplements, brain-enhancing supplements, whatever supplements.. it just amazes me how so many people will actually buy them.

Back then. Way back then..there were no such thing.

Why oh why are people so into supplements? Do we really see the benefits? Or just a placebo effect?

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Well, that is what’s on one of my ‘funny t shirts‘, and that happens to be one of my favourite t-shirts, which I wear to death sometimes. Yes, it gets revived again and again, in the washing machine. When I wear it, I do get funny looks, yes I do. But, but, but, if you care to look at the back of the shirt, it says “Russell Peters”. So there.

‘Nuff said.

Viewed 1388 times by 371 viewers

My son’s piano teacher is pretty strict. Awesome but strict. She’s got very nice leather furniture..and the other day, a cat sneaked into her house and tore up all her leather furniture! She was so frustrated. She just stopped me and asked me, how to repair leather furniture? Of course, I could not answer her, as we don’t have any leather furniture in my home. Cats are nice, but they have pretty sharp claws..and it ain’t pretty seeing torn up furniture!

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I know, I know… LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR.

And there shouldn’t be ANY excuse.

But sometimes, my kids exercise, by playing outside, with their bikes, scoots and skateboards..and they really need to make noise..because that’s what kids do. And this stinky neighbour, uses his daughter as an excuse to say that she finds them too noisy. Erm..excuse me?

In fact, he has a friend that comes over. Blocks the shared driveway. Sits and smokes to high heavens, exposing all of us to secondary smoke.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

I’m pretty annoyed, because I have never once complained about this behaviour. He has a cute lil dog that runs over, which I don’t mind..because it’s just a dog… how is the dog going to know what’s good or not? But I just found out that he yelled at my other neighbour, just because their dog ran to our driveway.

Erm..hello? What’s your problem?

Geez.. Me no likey me neighbour a lot.

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My Boy….. yes, my boy…he can run! We woke up again, very early on a school and did our morning run. It felt nostalgic to me, as I remember when I used to sneak away when he was a lil bub, to do my runs. Those were the days when I slept with him, and if he didn’t see me, he would bawl his eye out. Look at where we are now… by my side, running together. Never did I think I would see this day. I have to say he’s pretty good at it… in fact, he’s got quite a lot of stamina in him. We raced up a hill (the last leg) and he actually won!

I think I need to check myself in, into the inpatient rehab center for slow-running moms. Because it is not the one time he has beaten me. He has done it several times already! Or lordy lord!

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Of late, I’ve been inundated with lots of work. Not just house work (ha! ha!) but, lots of admin work, which I don’t do very well. The one thing about doing your own business is you really DIY your own admin work. And with my type of business, there is a lot of receipts that I have to input into a spreadsheet, which is pretty darn annoying. Because I’m doing all this work, and yet I’m sending it off to my accountant to do my taxes for me. *rolls eyes*

I wonder why I earn money to pay someone off to do something I can do myself! Oh well… I guess, my creativeness in numbers doesn’t show up as well as my cooking! HA HA HA

Anyway, every day of the week for this coming week will be busy busy busy. I thought last week was busy, but this week is even busier, because I have to also go down to the city. Which is something I don’t do often, because I don’t. I’ll be going down for a dental appointment, and paying loads of money for it. I’ve often wondered if my dentist is paying new york medical malpractice insurance, hence, the need for charging exorbitant dental rates!

Sigh..it just pains me so, to see money flying out of my pocket, like dry leaves during autumn.

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My cousin, who just arrived for a holiday, last week, had a minor accident. Her car, which hadn’t been used for a year, obviously wasn’t in great position. It was raining at the time she had her accident, so I guess her brakes weren’t working as well. Anyway, the lady she hit, was driving a Merc. And my cousin’s car? A 1990 something Toyota. Or was it Nissan. One of those. This lady just bought her Merc 2 weeks ago, when she stepped onto this land. Yup..new migrant, new car.

She had no clue what to do next. Was she thinking of going for a car title loans jacksonville? Who knows. At the very least, my cousin had some kind of car insurance, and luckily, the Merc had very very little damage, perhaps just a scratch on it. What can I say? German Technology..the best in the world. Hee hee…

Anyway… my cousin’s gone back..and her poor parents are left here…and I supposed, stuck. Poor folks.

Viewed 2281 times by 462 viewers

One of the lessons I want to learn in my lifetime, is the guitar. Not the classical, but a bass. Yea..I like the bass guitar, and I would really like to learn how to play like I do when I’m playing the air-guitar. With heaps of style. In a epiphone dot studio. On the street. Somewhere. Anywhere.

Then people will come up to me, and tell me how cool I am. Asian lady, playing a bass guitar. Pay me my dues..and I can buy me a meal.

That’s when I’m 60, officially taken off the soccer mom list, diving straight into freedom.

Oh yea.. I’m getting there. With my set of drums too. By then, I will put my hearing aids somewhere else… and play as loud as I want.

Oh yea…I’m getting there.

Viewed 2764 times by 545 viewers

No.1 and I have been doing alot of talking lately about more adult things. It has been very interesting, having those mature type conversations with him. One of the things we have been talking about is careers. Not so much, astronauts, or jet pilot fighter (well..he still wants that, but I shot it down on the account that I told him he needs perfect eyesight, and he pretty much blew his chances when he started wearing glasses).

Anyway..the very first job, he wants to be is a wait-staff. Yes.. a waiter, or bus boy, as they call it in US. Not considering walmart careers, or woolworth food stacker, but a wait-staff. Then he asked about how restaurants make money. I explained to him the whole business of making money – with expenses and profits..and he was blown away. He then decided, he needed to learn how to cook like Jamie Oliver (yes..I sneaked that in) and then become so famous, he will have restaurants all over the world, and earn lots of money, by ordering people around.

I am, truly, a wonderful story-teller. And mother.

Viewed 2778 times by 561 viewers

I have stacks of Fabs. I should get a shop and name it “Stacks of Fabs”. (OMK..I just checked..and the name is available!..QUICK..whoever who wants this name, buy it quickly before I do – hee hee)

I had a very short sewing stint last year… but somehow ended up with lots of contemporary fabric and lots of kooky ones too! I have one drawer (a very big one) that is exclusively for this mountain of fabric I have.

I guess…I have to buy that online shop first.

Viewed 2770 times by 538 viewers

And yes! We have started a worm farm! Or rather a worm cafe, as the name of the worm box suggests. I did some research online and checked out Bunnings for the worm farm containers..boy, they cost a BOMB! So, I googled somemore..and found that our local councils actually sell worm farm containers AND starting worms as well! Now..isn’t that amazing! I never knew they were so into the environment! Hahahh..they would have to be, because they are the ones that are encouraging use to reduce, reuse, recycle, in the first place.

Well..there you have it.. you can easily start with a Worm Farm starter kit, and some 1000 worms. And some sodden newspapers, since I didn’t have a ‘worm blanket’ (ooh la! la!). In the Worm Farm starter kit, there are three beds (aka containers), 1 tap – for releasing worm pee (holy juice for plants!), 1 worm bed – something we had to soak in water for 15 minutes. We got bored, waiting for that 15 minutes and decided to use our garden tools to break it up and mush it up quicker.

Then we laid it down on the first layer..and dumped the worms, laid some sodden newspapers…and that was it! We waited a day to let the worm familiarise themselves with their new home.. hee hee.. and today, we gave our first scraps ~ banana peel, pear core and a green tea.

Happy as clams, we were. I hope they are too!

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Ok, she’s not out yet..but I am excited. Pretty excited. Ok..VERRRRRY excited.

The first female in the family. The first child born out of a tummy that is NOT MINE. While I won’t get to see her probably until next year… I am so glad my brother and SIL is blessed with this baby. She is due pretty soon, and I think my brother will be handing out al capone cigars. Or rather, he would like to think they were.

Nevertheless… we are all excited. I’m not sure how my dad feels about it. Being a granpa for the fourth time…. I was hoping by now, he would be more understanding of how lil babies behave, instead of expecting her to smile all the time at him. He would take it personally if she did cry at the sight of him. HAHAHAH..but it would be nice to see him and her interact. His first lil granddaughter.

SO EXCITING. I AM SO EXCITED! A GIRL!!! I CAN NOW BUY GIRLY CLOTHES FOR MY NIECE! I CAN SAY I HAVE A NIECE!

WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

You can all tell how deprived I am.

Viewed 2261 times by 471 viewers

There you have it. I heard it over the radio today. Melbourne is in Recession.

Jobs are on the decline. I hear ya.

Taxi fares are going up, as they haven’t gone up since 2008. Seriously? You guys have the most expensive fares in the WORLD! Taxi Fares in Malaysia are the ones that needs to go up!

I think, we should all invest in gold and silver bars, just to be safe. Ok.. I don’t know if having bars will actually be beneficial..because I have been watching too much doomsday tv lately. But… I think our money is shrinking and having some bars… at least that won’t shrink that much. I think.

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Yes I do. The problem is..I never bother in taking care of them.

I have weak nails, skin flaking off, and the dryness .. would just about put anyone off. In fact, I can’t do pedicures because sometimes, the nails are so weak, they would be falling off! NO NAILS to colour!

I wish..I would take the time to take care of them..but I just simply haven’t got any time! Plus, I brutalize it even further by pounding it on the roads for days. My poor toes..they must really hate me. I guess I could never understand why anyone would want to soak their feet … and be completely useless for half an hour?

The only time I would soak my feet, would be after a super super super long run. At the same time, I would’ve passed out. So, the time is not completely wasted.

HA HA HA!

Viewed 3759 times by 635 viewers

I had a run with my eldest son. Never thought I would get to do this..but he was really game for it. He not quite 10, but wants to start training for cross-country, which only starts in Term 2. Apparently, he wasn’t very happy with last year’s performance and really wants to improve his timing dramatically. Well.. after he shared this with me, I asked if he wants to join me in my morning run, and he said yes! I said, you would have to wake up at 6am, y’know? And he was so excited.

I knew this guy wouldn’t have a problem with waking up..he’s one of those people that literally jumps out of bed. Just like No.3. No.2 … not so much. Heh.

Anyway.. it was a pretty good run. I thought he would give up half way…but we just kept going on. And on.

The best thing about running with your son, is not just the companionship..but, the motivation. His preserverence motivates me, and my ahem! ‘experience’ motivates him. Plus the fact, we can do our ‘symphonies’…and no eyelids would be batting away. *cough*

Towards the end of the run… we had a race uphill..and the boy won! Imagine that. Beating his old mother. Heh.

It was fun.. I wonder if we will do it again.

Viewed 3678 times by 623 viewers

When my inlaws were around, we were invited by one of their closest friends to have dinner at their place. Now, these folks are the nicest, humblest folks you’ll ever get to meet. Though the wife seems strict..she is after all, a teacher, she is the nicest and most giving person you’ll ever have the pleasure to meet. The husband, is well.. the same! Their adult kids were also invited and honestly, I had a good time. Good food, good company.

We were then invited to take a walk to one of their kids’ home, about 5 mins away. Why not? Have the after-dinner walk. I was ahead of the line because my kids were walking too fast, and I was passing this lovely old home, with it’s sprawling garden, and thought to myself..how lovely it would be, to have a home just like this? Small home, but huge garden..the kids would just have a ball because there’s so much space for them to play in.

Well, guess what? It was their home! I could hardly contain my excitement as I walked through the luscious garden, filled with lovely veggie patches, a tropical corner complete with banana trees, one of those wood pergolas, a pool, cubby houses, and still space for the kids to have relay matches there. The lady of the house took us around for a tour of the home. It may look small from the outside..but it was a really huge home. They had 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and the biggest dining table I had ever seen, so you can well imagine how big their dining room was! It was built in the early 1920′s, but it has been restored so well, especially the kitchen, that it felt like a really homely home. I have to admit..there was envy. I had envy..this young family, had the pleasure of living in their dream home, but I had to put that aside, because I too, have a lovely home. Even if it was 10 times smaller than theirs.

Once you’re in there, you can’t help but imagine what it would be like to live in this kind of home… one can only dream. And dream of winning the tattslotto!

Viewed 4025 times by 647 viewers

This year round..the summer’s hasn’t been too bad. In a sense that there weren’t thaaat many sweltering hot days. To think that I’m from a tropical country and would be able to withstand such heat. I’ve become a woose. A complete woose. Just that the heat here is dry as a desert and I get so sleepy every single time the sun hits midday.

Today, being 37deg C, I took this brochure labelled “DFTCorp.com hydraulic hose“, and used it to manually fan myself the entire day. My home is not equipped with ceiling fans, and I was just too lazy to drag the portable fans from the kids rooms.

And..of all days.. I decided to be diligent with my kids on their homework. S-I-G-H. It’s just that this is the one weekend I have, that I’m not working and I just want to make sure my kids are not falling behind in their work. I was hot. I was bothered. They were hot. They were bothered. The fact that the little one was completely banned from playing the iPad, did not help. =.=

Ah well… hopefully, we’ll see some cooler days next week!

Viewed 3340 times by 549 viewers

Who knows?

I stopped running sometime in November…and resumed it about 3 weeks ago. This time round, I don’t even bother religiously record down in dailymiles. I used to, last year. Not this time though. Just seemed like I like to keep track of the miles I ran… but it was just to no point.

I completely lost all mojo to run. And yes… I commanded the brain NOT to think about what it would do to my heart. I JUST STOPPED.

I only resumed running… for a VERY VERY bad reason. Simply because, I looked fat in the family photos. I KNOW. So superficial.

Sigh. But.. I’m not used to seeing me in this size. I struggled wearing sleeves, that were too tight.

Well… I just one day..woke up, and thought..I would just run. And that I did.

I haven’t stopped yet. I won’t. For a while. Not until I fit into my sleeves again. Hah!

Viewed 2741 times by 472 viewers

This is my 5th month as a Thermomix consultant and I have to say, it has been truly eye-opening. Coming from a family with zero allergies or food intolerances, I have been cooking for families with all kinds of allergies and food intolerances. And I find that I have to be creative in finding the right alternative, so that not only the texture looks right, but the taste as well. You can’t compromise taste, because if the tongue is not happy, then the customer isn’t happy!

For instance, I have an upcoming demo where one of the guests is intolerant to gluten. I wonder if they have seen the austin food allergist or any allergist around, because to be intolerant to gluten, just breaks my heart! If you like bread, or pastries or cakes… to miss out eating on those would be hard. But luckily, there are alot of gluten-free alternatives available, and one of it is the Torta Caprese. A lovely gluten free dark chocolate cake, made from almond meal, is really decadent and super easy to make on the Thermomix! You can even make your own almond meal! Easy!

Anyway… at least, these people are aware of their allergies and intolerance..I just hope that I never have to face a situation where if they did not know and ate something that would cause a reaction. I better put my finger on 000!!!

Viewed 6191 times by 842 viewers

Already?

I have been enjoying this long break from school. Because the youngest is older, and virtually takes care of himself already. Because my inlaws are here, and are willing babysitters. Because my MIL cooks for me, while I take this time to experiment with my Thermomix.

However, it will all end soon. And I will end up with a real backache. The morning rush – whipping up a hot lunch, whipping the kids into getting ready in time, doing the laundry, dropping everyone off at their schools, at the right time. The prepping of dinner. Well..technically, it should be easier. And from what I noticed, it has been easier to prep dinner, thanks to my Thermomix. The house chores. The after school activities. The too-short weekends.

You know.. perhaps I should schedule in a back surgery….. sometime in the middle of this year, just so my inlaws would return and well.. take care of my kids for me! When they come, they thoroughly spoil me. Now they are leaving.. I know I will feel the weight of it all.

But… it’ll only take a week for me to adjust..and I will be on super-mom mode again. Crossing those fingers, toes and eyes!!!

Viewed 6106 times by 831 viewers

Yes, we revamped our whole ground floor, after the floor repairs. We have streamlined everything and have everything ‘hidden’ away. In fact, there are no more toys. All the toys have been moved to their individual rooms, and everyone is happy. If they do bring their toys down, they are meant to bring it back up. It’s way less messier, and easier to clean. The kids have been quite cooperative about the whole thing. I find that there is more room for them to play their toys. For instance, they choose to play beyblades..then, it’s just beyblades. In fact, they can focus on playing for hours.

Lego is another one. Love that Lego. HOURS, folks. HOURS!

Not only that, our backyard garden is also undergoing a revamp. Installing some log cabin furniture have not been ruled out yet, but we’ve sourced a old wooden bed frame, and will be using that as some kind of deck. It needs a lot of work.. A lot. And a lot of time. A lot.

At least, we are happy with the changes.. evolving as they go along.

Viewed 7113 times by 913 viewers

It’s the 2nd day of Chinese New Year, and it has been HOT HOT HOT! Of course, back in Malaysia, it was extraordinarily hot. As we went visiting relatives, I would really dread going into the super hot car, especially with crisp new clothes on. It was excruciatingly hot. Parking a car under the shade of tree was the most coveted spot of all. But it’s hard to find, since we always visited in a huge group, which meant, many cars. That’s one thing I really missed about CNY. Going all over the town, visiting our extended relatives, with our cousins, and aunties and uncles. We also had a tradition of taking a huge family photo every year. And we would see ourselves grow in those photos. Pretty cool.

Missing it all so much, I have resorted to looking up CNY videos on youtube. And it is just great that you can actually download vids now via youtube downloader, so I can mix it up, and play it for my kids. Of course, it’s all in a different language, and my kids really get a kick out of listening to kids their age, but in a different language.

I wonder what my kids will remember of their CNY celebrations. Not much, I suppose. Since we don’t do much visiting around here.

Well.. Happy Chinese New Year..and I hope this year of dragon will bring much luck, happiness and health to all of you.

Viewed 7131 times by 925 viewers

I’ve had my DSLR oh..for… a number of years now. Will not say, because it’s just a tad embarrassing as I’m about to reveal something.

I never learnt to use it properly.

I have bought and borrowed books on the functions of using the DSLR.. but somehow, it never stuck to me. It would swim in my head. But I still could not understand how to manipulate each setting to suit the photo opportunity. More than often, I’d just stick to the Auto *gasp!* or…. the “No-Flash” Auto *faints*.

Hey..it’s not like a PC Tablet..where you can easily use your fingers and nothing absolutely goes wrong. Well.. most of the time anyway. With a DLSR, if I fidgeted with one of the functions, all hell breaks loose, because suddenly you can’t take a picture. Either too dark or too bright, or too whatever.

In fact, I kinda abandoned using the DLSR for awhile, because I was just .. tired. The iPhone seemed pretty easy to use. Why not? Especially when you inserted filters in them, suddenly everything looks so… artsy-fartsy.

Until, a few weeks ago, when my young 13 year old cousin asked me how to take a shot with her DLSR. DANG!

I… acted professionally by taking her camera, and fiddled with the ISO. Mumbled something about increasing her ISO to allow more light in. Or whatever.

It somehow worked.

I was like.. what?

Shit. You mean I know this shit?

It like as if, my synapses (or whatever that connects our brain cells) suddenly connected all the dots.

And just like that.. I knew how to use the “M”, “A”, “S”, “P” modes. And I’m enjoying it now.

Who knew.. balancing out all those buttons would give you great shots.

HAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHH!!!!

Viewed 8366 times by 1031 viewers

Well..I’ve been away for so long. It’s already post Xmas and leading up to New Year.

Tell you the truth, I’ve never been so happy to be back in my own house. I finally slept in my own house, 6 days before Xmas. I was so glad, despite it being dusty and dirty. If anything… I was happy to be cleaning again! Hahahahah..never thought I’d say that! We finally got our house in order, 4 days after Xmas. There’s still stuff to do..but about 90% of the stuff have been sorted out, thrown, donated and thankfully, everything has its place now.

Pre Xmas, I was pretty frantic because I didn’t actually get that many Xmas presents yet. Every year (and this would be the last tho..sniff), we have our Xmas celebrations at my uncle’s place, and that’s where the huge exchange of gifts happens! If I had known, I would have shopped at Personal Creations online, because it just makes getting gifts easier! Oh well.. I just hope with my bad memory, I’ll remember all this for next year.

Viewed 9206 times by 1142 viewers

Today, more and more mums are operating their own businesses from home thanks to the
advances of the internet and e-commerce technology. Whether they’re making careers out
of passions and hobbies or continuing along a successful career path, mums are tapping
into their entrepreneurial spirits and running some of the most successful small business
enterprises to date.

If you’re running your own business, you’ll be looking for innovative ways to grow your
operations such as by expanding into new markets. Maybe you need to upgrade your
obsolete equipment or you need to improve the efficiency of your production. Maybe there’s
a new bit of innovative technology that will really give your business an edge over the
competition.

If you’re looking to get new equipment for your business, you’ll find that you have the option
to buy or lease equipment, but what’s the difference? And more importantly, how can you
determine which is better for you?

Difference between leasing and buying equipment

Leasing is a type of equipment finance. When a company leases equipment for their
business, they’re paying for the use of the equipment and don’t actually take ownership
of the asset. This is similar to how your business might lease office space or a company
vehicle and you make monthly payments as per the agreed upon terms of your lease.

Meanwhile, buying equipment means paying for ownership. Unless you can afford to
purchase the asset outright, many businesses will prefer to go on a finance program that
allows them to pay for the purchase of the equipment over an agreed upon period of time.
Purchasing equipment may also require a deposit upfront or a residual payment that must be
made at the end of the term.

How to determine what’s best for you?

Deciding on whether to lease or buy equipment will depend on your individual operations
and financials. For many small businesses, cash flow is always at the top of mind and having
enough capital to purchase equipment upfront could put it under undue strain.

One of the most important advantages to leasing equipment over buying is that the monthly
payments you make may be tax deductible as an operational expense. Your financial
adviser will be able to help you determine which form of financing is best suited for your
business.

Do you lease or purchase equipment for your business?

This is a guest post written by Paige writes about technology and finance on behalf of a commercial
equipment finance company for businesses. She is based in Sydney.

Viewed 10110 times by 1221 viewers

It’s coming close to moving back home..and despite how anxious I feel about the progress of works..by hook or by crook, I’m moving back. And so..my thoughts of moving on with my plans have been flying off my brains. I walked into a music shop yesterday, with the intention of getting more info on second hand pianos. I could hear someone testing out an epiphone in one corner of the shop, and saw so many pianos that were just waiting for a new owner..much like puppies in a pound. So many around..but not all are in excellent condition.

I walked away, a little more knowledgeable than when I first walked in. I also walked away, wanting a piano badly. I learnt to play when I was younger. Around 8-9. And then as fast it began, it stopped. My mom thought I was wasting my time. Sigh.

Anyway… I’m looking forward to it..because I want to start playing it all over again. I will self-teach..since I know the basics.. hah! I’m always winging it!

Viewed 11576 times by 1364 viewers

Everytime I think about it..big fat tears do come rolling down. We can’t move back by December. The repairs on the floors is taking longer than expected..and the fact that I can’t put up my Xmas tree on the first weekend of Dec, is making me really sad.

And I have been taking it out on the kids. I feel even crappier about this.

We will have to move out of my SIL’s house..and into another home, as she will be back from her holiday soon. I’m just glad that we took out home insurance and everything will be paid for. That’s why it is so important that you get insurance, even if all you own is a motorhome. Best to get a motorhome insurance, than to have zero compensation, if anything were to happen.

It is very depressing.. I can’t even find the Lego Advent calender, because the entire house is in a mess. We have been opening the Lego Advent Calender on the first day of December, for three years now. Sigh..

Viewed 14267 times by 1618 viewers

When people meet me for the very first time, it’s hard for them to comprehend I have three kids. And not exactly young ones either. It’s hard because they think I look so young. But they fail to see my wrinkled eye skin, my worry lines, my white roots showing (on days when I do not remember to highlight my hair)…and of course, my lack of energy! LOL

I am not saying I’m a good lookin’, young, hip n happenin’ kinda person.. I’m just saying what other people say to me. The most unfortunate thing is, instead of taking it as a compliment, gracefully, I just frown and say..NOOOOOO..you got it all wrong! And I go on about how I need reading glasses sunglasses, and how I really like my nanna naps (even though it’s a super rare occasion when I actually get to take one).

Sometimes, I really feel my age. But..it’s just a number, right?

Viewed 15796 times by 1767 viewers

So, because of the scheduled floor repair works ongoing, we have all moved over temporarily to my SIL’s 2 bedroom unit. And I am lovin’ it! Having a smaller place to maintain is just heaven sent! My SIL has gone off to Europe for her well deserved 1 month break. My boys love sleeping together in one room..but I’m not so sure I want to maintain that practice, because when one wakes up..everyone else wakes up. And..it’s Day 11 ..and we are a wee bit cranky..because of all the accumulated lack of sleep.

Staying at someone else’s home, I’ve noticed the little differences. Like you would never in a million gazillion years find eyelash growth products in my home, but you might just find it in hers! I can never find a hair dryer in my house…but in her vanity drawer… there is at least 2 hair dryers (pro style), and at least 2 curling tongs, all professional series. Before you go on wagging your finger on me, for looking through her stuff, I was actually looking for a nail clipper..which I also found in abundance of (strange enough, I can never find one in my house, because mine has legs and are really mobile).

So… yea, I love the fact that I have much less to clean. I even love the fact, that I have no schedule to keep. In my own home, every single day, I have to do a chore, or it’ll just stack up ..and it’s a nightmare! Here…whenever I feel like it..I’d vacuum, or clean the kitchen/bathroom when they look really grotty. Hee hee… shhhhhhhhh…..

Viewed 12052 times by 1461 viewers

Two months ago, I bought myself a Thermomix. What’s a thermomix? It’s the world’s smallest, smartest, mobile kitchen. Honestly, it is. This is not some marketing hype that I’ve made up, just because I made this my business. A German technology, but it’s a true work of art. I wax lyrical about it, not because I know the technical details, but these very same details, made me appreciate the technology that went into it.

It minces, grinds, sautes, steams, kneads, weighs, stirs, mixes, mills, and so much more. It’s at least 10 kitchen appliance in one. I’ve made so many things in it, I can’t even believe it myself. Dishes that I always thought were tedious to make, are so much simpler now. Check out what I cooked here!

If my business grows, I may need to hire my husband and put him on a payroll program. He’s been so supportive so far. He has taken over the kids and some of the chores, when I’m out doing demonstrations (yes! I do demos – where I cook up 6 dishes in 2 hours!). He’s also designed my business card, and helped with some great marketing ideas. He’s truly awesome.

Like any business, I was really stressed about the continuance of it. But what I’m going to do is..just to go with the flow and do whatever it takes to make it. Whether or not, I actually make it… we’ll have to see. I know it’s probably not the right business philosophy to go with..but it’s really no point stressing about it. Just plan, and do.

And the best thing is… I get to enhance my cooking skills. I never ‘loved’ cooking..but hey, now I can do tons of stuff, without sweating it out. Sweet.

Viewed 12921 times by 1584 viewers

Well, to be honest, I never in my million years think that I would be cooking up a storm! And that’s for work! I had planned in my mind to look out for Dental Assistant Jobs. Why? Because I had a relative that, with zero experience and knowledge, who managed to secure a job as a Dental Assistant. I do know she is a well-organised person, so that did help her secure the job.

Anyway.. back to me now, I am yes..cooking up a storm. And it’s been fun, even though it’s now my business to do so. See that FB Page on the right? Yup, just click on it, and you’ll get to see all sorts of yummylicious dishes I’ve made so far. Note though..they are mostly Asian dishes, ones that are a little too tedious to make. But with my Thermomix, it has made my life easier! I am a happy Thermomix consultant! Who knew that I would have this opportunity and also help improve my cooking skills!

Viewed 11808 times by 1498 viewers

Lately, I have been a real muddled up mama. I decided to start my own business earlier this month. It has been, chaotic! Well, at least in my mind. I know on the outside, I look as calm and collected as a turtle…but, in that brain of mine…I have been Ms. Scatterbrains!

I was lucky to be in the right frame of mind to get a birthday gift, for my eldest son! It’s a junior mountain bike..and it was only because I was the lookout for a discounted bike. If I had no idea what to get for him, my poor boy would’ve ended up with nothing!

Viewed 13265 times by 1595 viewers

Today, I attended a funeral for a little boy. I got the news last week that lil Rex passed away in an road accident, and in that same day, I actually received two other really bad news.

It was hard for me to break the news to my No.2 that his little friend passed away. I knew I would cry, but I didn’t know what he would react to..me crying, or his friend, dead. So, I tried to tell him, in a very matter-a-fact way..but I didn’t do very well either. He took it quite stoically. He quietly asked the questions, and I tried my best to answer him.

Today at the funeral, he asked who was in that white box, and I broke down, telling him it was his lil mate. His eyes wet, but he didn’t want to cry. We took the balloons and released them and asked if Heaven was really way up there. I said…yea, I think.

I think this poem reflects best what God has for those who leave us… and I can only pray for his family that they will seek comfort in Him, as they mourn and cherish his memories.

I’LL LEND YOU A CHILD BY EDGAR GUEST

“I’ll lend you for a while a child of mine,” He said.

“For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he’s dead.

It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,

But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?

He’ll bring his charms to gladden you, and should his stay be brief,

You’ll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief.”

“I cannot promise he will stay; since all from earth return,

But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.

I’ve looked the wide world over in My search for teachers true

And from the throngs that crowd life’s lanes I have chosen you.

Now will you give him all your love, not think the labor vain,

Nor hate Me when I come to call to take him back again?”

“I fancied that I heard them say, “Dear Lord, Thy will be done!

For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we run.

We’ll shelter him with tenderness, we’ll love him while we may,

And for the happiness we’ve known, forever grateful stay;

But should the angels call for him much sooner than we’ve planned,

We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand!”

Viewed 15978 times by 1909 viewers

I like the new CSI team. Now, I have nothing against Lawrence Fishburne, but I really like Ted Danson’s character in the CSI : Las Vegas team. I found Fishburne’s character too dry and they didn’t have chemistry each other.

With Danson, his character is quirky, and looking at how he and his team examined through the material handling of the evidence, their banter was easy to follow and appreciate. I am definitely going to follow Season 12 of CSI.

With all the shows out, I am a happy person.

Viewed 11696 times by 1610 viewers

Mr T is a real shoe fanatic. He loves his shoes..and even though he doesn’t buy them as often as he would like to, he does check out all the latest shoes designs. He also loves going to factory outlets, and getting himself some pretty good deals. Honestly, if I’ve not said it enough, I will say it again. This man can shop, seriously. He is the man you want to take shopping.

Now, with famous footwear coupons available online, I am pretty sure he’s scouring the net for more deals!

As it is, our tiny walk in closet…has a section just for his shoes! Yup..mine’s all thrown into a cheap plastic bag. Sigh…

Viewed 11008 times by 1573 viewers

Well, the reno will start after Melbourne Cup Day.

Yup. I have got to not only move my entire ground floor and scatter them all over the other parts of the house. I have to clear my garage, yup, that means throwing away a lot of stuff, and also reorganising stuff around. Like the kids bicycles, the rud tire chains, the gazillions of racquets (tennis, badminton, squash)!!!!! I never knew we had so many racquets until I started re-organising.

I actually like this unplanned spring cleaning. I am throwing away so much stuff..and giving away so many baby stuff. Lord knows why I am keeping them!!!!

Viewed 9144 times by 1401 viewers

..and it’s right to be wrong.

That’s what I’ve been using to push myself. People who think are right, are people who are trying to stay within a comfortable realm. I need to be a person who is wrong all the time. That way I can find out what’s right.

Just like if you’re buying insurance online, you need to look through all the different companies that offer and then make an informed choice. It’s hard.. to decide actually. I’ve dug myself into a deep hole, and I really need to find a way out. By hook or by crook, I need to come out of this, with my head held high. And without disappointing anyone else.

This is by far, the hardest thing I’ve done. It is bewildering to me that I can handle everything singlehandedly, but I can’t ask for what I want.  In fact, this journey has taught me my true strengths and weaknesses. And boy… it’s scary to know that your weaknesses isn’t something you can necessarily master! Well, scary to me, i.e. I’ve always been the “so? you can do it? just do it!” kinda person. Now it’s more like a .. “I really don’t want to do this anymore”… what is going on?

Viewed 9253 times by 1437 viewers

Yes..the running has hit a wall. I have refused to get up to run. For 3 weeks already. It’s a bad thing. It’s something I’m not familiar with. I just refused to get up. It’s like… having one of those huge ATV Tires on me, paralysing me. I am hitting a mental block.

My brain just can’t seem to understand that the running is good for me, my heart, my body.

My brain tells me, I need to forget about everything and just go to sleep.

My brain, knows, something is not right with me.

I’m only beginning to realise that it’s not a normal problem.

I’m only beginning to realise that I need help.

I’m now trying to fix it by talking to my best friend..who I forgot I had for a while there. My dear Mr.T

He’s now trying to help fix me.

It’s kinda working..but I keep hitting the same wall.

Thing is this..why on earth am I doing it over and over again, despite knowing the results I’ll get.

Hopefully this wall will get smaller and smaller…..

Viewed 7753 times by 1347 viewers

Well, actually it’s been bursting with colours for a while now. Strange how flowers can still bloom in the chill of winter (and spring!). But it’s always nice to take a walk and look at all the different flowers and their colours.

I think if anyone had their anniversaries during this season..it would be the absolute best times to have one of those anniversary flowers delivery. Seeing a vase full of tall beautiful stems is always refreshing in a home. Actually, my youngest son has been plucking all kinds of flowers from my poor neighbours, and passing it on to me… and I always place it in one of my glass bottles (because I never got around to buying a proper vase – I actually don’t have the space to store it..believe it or not), on top of our dining table. It always makes all of us smile.

So..for now, my current favourite is the pussy willow, which I spotted at a friend’s place. It was my very first time seeing it LIVE..and blooming with flowers. Gorgeous. Just Gorgeous!!!

Viewed 8963 times by 1478 viewers

I really wonder sometimes, how sites that give things for free, make money. Other than the usual ads, blinking on their sidebars… if nobody clicks on them, how do they earn money?

There is a page in FB, that organises free apps for people to download every day. And these are not your run of the mill apps..these are pretty top rated apps. So, how does this individual receive remuneration? I get that free online dating sites, will eventually earn their commission, either by affiliated programs or by selling info off to third parties. But… if it’s done via FB, and let’s say, I block all my details to 3rd parties, which include pages I like…how do they earn any money?

Just like Twitter and Pinterest. I can’t for the life of me figure out…how do they earn any money, since they don’t have any ads. How are they able to sustain their databases, and costs?

Viewed 8947 times by 1455 viewers

The whole story? Well, I’ll start with the middle part first. And then the beginning and the end.

The middle :

No.3, who is also 3, is on the play structure, at his brother’s school playground, which is metal and is stomping his feet. Another kid joins him. Now, this kid has facial deformation. My sons’ school has a variety of kids with disabilities, and we are all used to seeing people who are look different. So, my No.3 is stomping the structure, shouting, “Monster! Monster!” and pointing his finger at him.

The kid, immediately says, “I’m not a monster.”… and I say to him, “Ahh.. he’s not saying you’re the monster, he’s the monster” as I point towards No.3.

The kid looked unconvinced, and left, and ran towards the sandpit.

I felt shitty. I felt crappy because no matter what I say, he will still think my son had just made fun of him.

The beginning :

No.3 happily runs to the playground and climbs the play structure. He is stomping his feet very loudly, because he loves the sound of it, and is shouting very loudly, “Monster! Monster!” and points to every kid that is climbing the structure. He does it over and over again.

The end :

No.3 is still shouting, “Monster! Monster!” and pointing outward. To no one in particular. Then says, “I’m a HAPPY MONSTER!”

..and this was when the bell rings, and everyone runs to class….

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I have been highly demotivated lately. HIGHLY.

Nothing will make me wake up, get out of my warm bed, into the cold morning and run. It is actually just that very act. The getting out of bed. Once I’m out..I’m ok. I start the run, literally in what I wear (because I actually go to sleep in my tracks – muahahahah). So, there’s nothing to change into..just put on some socks and shoes and out I go.

And yet…. I have not been able to get out there.

I blame the other people. YES I DO. I blame that woman with her dog. I blame that man who constantly runs in his shorts and singlet, in this freakin’ cold weather. I blame that other man who does his walks.

I don’t want to see anyone when I run. I just..want to run solo.

Ok, I shouldn’t be blaming other people.

I blame the fact that I’ve not been well. I’ve been having different types of cold/flu for the entire month. I’ve not been able to stop coughing for a long time now. It’s hard to sleep.

Ok, I shouldn’t be blaming that either.

I have no more excuses. I have been eating far too many chocolates and chips.

I have been dreaming of eating creamy cakes…. I don’t know why. At least, it’s just dreamin’…not the real thing.

MUST. GET. UP. TOMORROW!

Viewed 8561 times by 1428 viewers

I often see them with businessmen, or under the noses of trendy youngsters in the coffee shop.  But the good news is that mums can use iPads too! There is a range of apps that are designed for mums. Whether you’re a technology friendly mummy or a self proclaimed technophobe, iPads have much to offer the modern mum.

The iPad is very simple to use. If you’re familiar with Apple or have an iPhone, then you’ll have no trouble working out the system and how to navigate your way between applications. Even if you’re completely new to the world of computing, the iPad is incredibly straightforward to use.

Ever wanted to check your email or Facebook (or read your favourite blog!) but don’t want to leave your kiddies alone in the next room? The iPad2 is completely portable.  I love that it’s slim and light and you can connect to the internet wherever you go. It can also store all your photos and precious family happy snaps.
But most importantly, there are a number of ingenious apps specifically designed for you and your kids. Here are some of the kinds of apps that are perfect for mums to get the most out of their iPad.

• News apps – It’s easy to feel like you’ve lost touch with the wider world, but there are a number of apps to help you get all the news you need in one place. Most major news providers have their own apps, but there are also news aggregator apps to give you all the headlines that interest you in one place, like News360 for the iPad.

• Functional apps – If you’re a mum, it’s likely that you’re time poor. There are a number of apps to save you time and provide convenient services. Download your bank’s app, and you can do all your banking remotely. Shopping apps, taxi apps, public transport apps and even apps to check on the queue at the doctor’s office are also available.

• Recipes and cooking apps - Find recipes, pictures, tips and hints from cooking and recipe apps. There’s nothing like a little inspiration at the end of the day!  The Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List App is free, provides recipes and collates shopping lists for you – it’s too easy!

• Games - Did you know that according to American research, 82% of American gamers are adults and 42% of those are female? If you help make up this statistic, you’ll love the games you can download and play on your iPad. And your kids will too! There are tons of educational, fun and exciting games for them to focus their attention on when you need a moment to yourself. Educational apps are designed to help with your child’s development in an interactive and engaging way. Teach them how to count, read and recognise shapes and colours on the iPad.

• Books - An iBook application is part of the iPad operating system, and you can download books for you and your lil’uns at the iBookstore. Teaching your children to read on an iPad helps make the experience fun, and online learning books can be interactive, and help foster a love of reading. You can also download other book reading apps, such as the Kindle app, and purchase books from the Kindle bookstore.

So yes, mums can use iPads too! If this has whet your appetite to try an iPad, chuck it on your birthday or Christmas wish list. Or, did you know you can also rent an iPad? When you rent technology, you don’t have to pay a significant sum upfront. Rather, you get the iPad straightaway and spread the cost with monthly payments. iPad rental works in the same way as laptop or computer rental – it’s easy and cost effective!

Do you already have an iPad? What are your favourite apps?

Viewed 6884 times by 1225 viewers

..all you want to do is, sleep. Because that’s what nature intended. Your body’s not well… it slows down your mental capacity, it slows down your physical capacity..just to store up the energy to fight the infections. True?

Well, I started getting sick on Monday night. I could actually feel myself getting sick. Y’see, my No.2 son was down with the gastro on early Sunday morning. Poor lil man, was chucking his dinner at 5am, at the loo. It was actually his very first time puking, so I was really surprised that he knew he wanted to puke and knew what to do. Just glad there wasn’t a huge mess (just a tiny bit) to clean up. Not so glad he wasn’t feeling well.

Well… tried my best to avoid getting infected, but I guess we just shared the love. So..on Monday night, the queasiness in the stomach started building up. I knew. The entire night… I was either too hot or too cold. I knew. At 6am, I immediately sat up, ran to the chuck bucket (which was actually for No.2), and well, chucked. I was amazed..I thought there would be less, because it was well over 8 hours since I had my last meal.

Well… the entire morning, all I wanted to do was sleep. I couldn’t. Had to prepare breakfast and school lunch. No.2 seemed fully recovered at this point. Had to drive kids to school. Had to pick up some groceries. Came home and crashed on the sofa. Slept (rather unsuccessfully) for 1/2 hour, No.3 was trying to comfort me..not knowing that he was just waking me up alot. After giving him his lunch, I crashed again… for about an hour. Again, rather unsuccessfully.

Then, school nurse calls, and asks me to pick up No.2. Ahh… another chucking session. Right. Hauled my ass out of there, and because it was only 1/2 hour to end of school.. decided to sleep in the car, waiting for No.1 .

Then, No.3 tells me.. his tummy hurts. Oh boy. I instantly got better. It was that instant. The minute he puked (into the chuck bucket that seemed to be our best mate now), I got wayyy much better.

It’s funny…how adrenalin just wakes one up, in an instant.

I remained 100%, right until No.3′s bedtime.. which was thankfully early. We decided we would sleep with each other since he wasn’t well..and I wanted to monitor him. It went well… except for my incessant coughing.

That was my frutiful first half of the week. No more puking episodes from either of us.

The amazing superpowers of a mother. Which I never knew I had.

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Men with all their gadgets can be really fussy about their sound systems as well. Mr.T isn’t a freaky gadgetry guy…but yet, he always insists on great audio. The other day, we were at Ikea, and decided to get a bookshelf for his never ending supply of books. Then he decides, yes, he needs to buy bookshelf speakers.  So there.. we had to go shopping for one as well. The current big (and I really mean big) old fashion (pre-digital) tv in our bedroom lacks good audio. Or so he says. I wouldn’t know, because I’m already deaf. I hardly watch TV anyways. Most of the time, I’m stuck in front of the Mac.

We’ve yet to find ones that he likes, but..I have to say, he is relentless in finding the perfect one. Then, why is it so easy for him to give up when I ask him to find that one thing on the shopping list?

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Do you have the time, please?

It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a watch. Not that I don’t like wearing watches, I’m rather loyal to my watches, actually. Not that I have many. I only have one. Of course, when I was a kid, I had many plastic-ky watches, but when I turned 18, my father gave me a Tag, as a gift. I kept wearing that Tag, till 5 years ago. After that I just stopped wearing a watch. Nothing happened to that watch, it’s just that the batteries ran flat….and I never got around to getting new ones. I can’t believe I never bothered shopping for watches. In fact, I quite like watches, but I just never got around buying one. I kinda liked one of the ladies’ bulova watches, but again, it looks very similar to my Tag, and I guess, I don’t really want to replace it. It was my father’s gift to me… holds great sentimental value for me.

I guess…that’s the kinda person I am. I tend to stick to one thing at a time. Like Mr.T. Who else would put up with my nonsense. And for that matter, who would put up with his? Heh.

Viewed 6754 times by 1218 viewers

Lately, I’ve been pinning. And it’s taking up my internet time.

Can you imagine…. I have X amount of internet time..with pinning, eating into it.. it’s like..I have less time, interneting! Ha ha.

But seriously, it’s addictive. While I’m already out of this phase, the wedding phase, it is really nice to see the various wedding invitations there are..

And this is the nicest one I’ve seen so far… it says everything!

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Plus, pinning has actually inspired me to make actual things..as you have seen in my blog. I am also in the progress of making something, which is kinda of a fail at the moment..but not to worry..perseverance will see this project be completed and gifted!

What’s your favourite thing to pin?

Viewed 6705 times by 1376 viewers

Well… not me. My mother.

I wonder if she’s taking her pills. That is to say, her thyroid pills. She has thyroid imbalance, specifically, hyperthyroidism. Four years ago, she started showing symptoms of it..but she didn’t know what it was. When she visited me, while everyone else was shivering, she said she felt hot. She ate like a horse, but she looked like she was starving herself. Seriously she was losing a lot of weight. When I commented on her weight loss (she was all skin and bones at this stage)..she scoffed at me, and said..but I’ve been eating so much. And it was true..she was always hungry. But..she was always going to the toilet (for the No.2). Plus..she was always stressed out and it came to a point, when we got into a minor argument..her hands would shake alot.

Then, when her friend, a doctor visited her… she suspected it was hyperthyroidism…and true enough..after a few blood tests, it was. Then..she was prescribed pills and took them rather diligently. This was a person who never took a single vitamin in her life…she never believed in them. Then, when my brother got married, she stopped taking her pills, saying she was fine. And trust me… when you’re planning a wedding..this is not the time to stop taking your meds. She was so highly strung, she was not aware of it. It was as if she was another person.

My point? If you start displaying out of ordinary symptoms.. do a blood test, see a doctor. Don’t wait too long. (This is a courtesy reminder to me…seeing that I tend to overlook my health. Alot.)

Thanks.

Viewed 6124 times by 1308 viewers

Today, I struggled to write a letter. This letter is to be read to my dying aunt. Last week, she was having a time of her life, with my mom and her other cousins at a nearby retreat. Today, she is in the ICU, preparing for her death.

She started vomiting blood about 4 weeks ago. At that time, when she visited the doctor, they could not find anything wrong with her.  She went back to living like normal. Then, towards the end of the retreat, she started vomiting voluminous amounts of blood. This scared my mother, naturally. She immediately rushed back to her home country, where she was warded in ICU. The doctors could not find anything in her lungs, but confirmed her lungs were 50% damaged.

So damaged that blood was leaking into her lungs and will probably be the cause of her death.

She has already made arrangements for her funeral, sending out emails to people telling them not to feel bad if they can’t make it.

I… am at lost. I knew that I wanted to write a letter, but I didn’t want to make it sound like she was actually going to die. It was an irony that I could not get my head out of.

To me, it was simple. A person should know the kind of person they were to other people, before they die. I didn’t want me telling people, the kind of person she was, after she had died. I wanted her to know it herself.

So, I wrote a letter. I typed out the words, I backspaced. I typed out more words, deleted, typed… ..and it was the simplest letter I could write. Straight from my heart… and not as if she was dying..and I was giving up hope. I told her what a wonderfully kind, generous spirited person she was. I thanked her for sharing her practical cooking methods with me. I thanked God for her.

It has been pretty heartbreaking. She is one of the feistiest women I know.  A tiny woman. An English teacher. Don’t mess with tiny English teachers. They are really powerful.

While I can’t believe this is happening.. I am glad I told her how I felt about her. Now, she knows.

She is one very special woman. And now, she knows.

Unofficial update (5th Aug) : this is via the grapevine… she is out of the woods. We are waiting to see if the doctor will discharge her tomorrow. Yes, her lungs are still damaged. Yes, she will still cough out blood. But, if anything… small miracles will happen, as they are now.

Viewed 6114 times by 1331 viewers

yes yes… me not happy.

So much for ‘Begone Fats’.

Sigh..this winter..has seen me transforming into a sloth. And a hibernating bear.

I can’t seem to get my big fat butt out of that door, at 6am. I just can’t. The moment the alarm rings, I snooze. And I actually sleep through the snooze, till it’s 7am. It’s amazing how I can actually be awake at 7am, on the dot.

Plus, my dear Mr.T has been coming home with lovely Hong Kong Egg Tarts…which only means.. more layers of fat on my thighs, and tummy area.

I gotta remember my original goal..which is to reduce the risk of a heart disease. I gotta remind myself that I can just die if I don’t take care of my body.

Will I be able to wake up tomorrow and run? Or will I stay sloth-y.

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I can’t believe it…and you may not too, seeing that my kids are fairly older. But, I’ve never actually made playdough at home before. I’ve made it at kinder..for the kinder kids, but not for my kids.

Selective, much?

Well… Mr.T asked if he could have some playdough, because he had to create something using something pliable..and I opened my gargantous mouth and said, I would make that playdough.

And he said.. Ok, need it tomorrow.

Dang!

Well, I didn’t want to do it the over-the-stove way. I really wanted minimal washing up and in the least time possible.

Found this great method ~ google, you’re the best! xox

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1/2cup salt

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tbs cooking oil

Mix it all together. Put it in the microwave for 40 secs. Knead it again with your hands. You’ll find it’s still sticky. Put in the microwave for 10-15 secs. Knead it until it becomes pliable. You may have to microwave for another 10-15 secs. Depending on how sticky the dough is. But once you’re kneading it and it all becomes more playdough-y.. it’s done.

Drip some drops of colour…and wah lah!

Not bad for 5 minutes!

Viewed 5583 times by 1353 viewers

This is strange, I have to admit. Not sure why I want to share this out, but oh..what the heck.

I never forgot a particular episode in my life. It happened when I was about 13. I was invited to join a friend at her parent’s country club for a bit of a swim. At that time, I was wearing braces, and was worried that I would lose them while swimming. For some silly reason, I took it out, wrapped it in a piece of tissue, and tucked it into my swimmers. Yes..silly.

And so there I was, having fun, jumping off the board, chasing each other.

And when I checked myself for my braces, it was gone! GONE!

I started to panic. And panic good. I went underwater, all over the pool.. wishing I had one of those under water metal detectors, but I could not find it anywhere. I was also embarrassed, because hey.. if someone opened up that piece of tissue, that someone would be pretty disgusted by it. But I really scared, because of the nagging I would get from my mom.

I could not enjoy myself after that. I went home, really scared, tail tucked between my legs. And for some reason, I blocked that memory out. So, I can’t tell you what happened.

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It’s July! It’ll soon be August!

Gahhhhhhhhh. Mr.T’s birthday is coming up. What can I get this man? He likes quirky stuff. I can’t get him conventional mens cuff links. I’d have to get him the most unconventional cuff links ever created! Perhaps upcycled from some obscure part of something – perhaps a camera dial? Well.. there are books that I can get him. But wait! I just remembered, I’ve already sent him off for a 3 week “no wife, no kids, binge and sleep all day” holiday!

Well.. sorry, Mr.T. It’s payback time. Heh.

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Three days ago, as I was starting a punishing run, it felt really good. Despite it being cold, and it was a punishment, for slacking off the entire week before (yes.. the warmth of my bed was just too much a temptation to leave). I was getting into the groove, listening in one ear to my favourite songs..the other ear was to hear potential ‘danger’. I bumped into a regular ~ she walks everytime I see her, a very tall lady. She gasped in shock of course, not expecting me so close… and I felt terrible for scaring her.

I then bumped into my good ol neighbour, Graham. I like this man. He’s honest, likeable and helpful. He was walking his dog ..and I am guessing the dog ‘recognised’ me, as he didn’t bark at me. Phew.

It was still dark, and I always carrying my handy torch with me. Y’know..for just in case… a handy weapon..or just a torch!

After going the umpteenth round around my block, coming around the corner and going through a barricade, I screamed for dear life. Because just a step away was this person and her seeing eye dog. Now… here’s the thing. I felt absurd, thinking to myself, how is it I did not see her?! I muttered my sorry’s…but I just couldn’t figure out how I didn’t see her, and how she ‘saw’ me! Wasn’t that just ironic? Hmm…I really don’t like running in the dark. But at the same time..it’s actually better for me to run in the dark, because I don’t have expectations of when I’m going to end the run. I just run, till I’ve reached the end..and most of the time, it’s before I expect it. Isn’t that the best kinds of run to run?

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I made this for a Teacher we have to farewell this Friday. I think I have been very lucky this far, to have met with a lot of dedicated teachers. I think my kids are a lucky lot…even though they might not know it. The ones that have taught them have been strict, but fair and very kind. I always make it a point at the end of the year, to give them something from the heart. This time, it will be earlier as she will be leaving the school to complete her studies AND have a baby. I’m not sure if she’ll accomplish the first one, but the second one will definitely be accomplished whether she likes it or not.

It’s not hard to make this. I saw this on Pinterest, and was immediately taken by it. The rainbow colour did it for me. My favourite colours are the rainbow colours. I found the frame, discounted. Crayons, heavily discounted. The only expensive item was actually the white cardboard. That cost a fair penny. But.. all in all, less than AUD$10. Not bad. Took me a whole week of nights to complete this… had to do this in ‘top secret’ mode…I could not let my preppy into it OR he would blab this surprise out to her. I’m ETERNALLY grateful to have a husband who is into craft and has alot of his supplies/tools lying around for me.

I could not just do an A (which is the first alphabet of her name).. I had to insert the names of all her students, for remembrance. She has managed to teach my son to read! I don’t know how…but after 2 terms, my boy knows most of the 100 words, and is reading simple books. Something I don’t think I could do on my own! And with 22 other students too ~ one of whom is autistic as well! She’s a real wonder woman..and so young too (well, not that young.. but anyone younger than me, is young.)

I’m not sure if she’ll be happy to receive this. I can’t control how she feels. But I can control how I feel..and I felt awfully happy doing this, awfullly happy with the end product..and awfully happy giving it away to her. I think she deserves it. And a whole lot more.

Viewed 7144 times by 1366 viewers

Just finished “Ape House”. By Sara Gruen, who also wrote “Water for Elephants”. It was a little disappointing.  It was basically a very sensationalized story about bonobos being exploited for money. According to dna experts, although bonobos and chimpanzees are in the same family, they are completely different species. They are extremely rare and very very clever. Apparently, to write her book, Ms. Gruen spent some time with Bonobos who could ‘speak’ in American Sign Language. I really liked the parts when the main characters interacted with the bonobos, but I didn’t quite like the story line per se.

It was all over the place, and the ending was unexpectedly dull.

Ah well.. at least, I have Benjamin Mee’s “We Bought A Zoo”… within the first few lines, I knew I hit a winner.

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I can’t believe it. You won’t believe it.But Halloween is creepin’ in. Slowly but surely. Via Pinterest. Predominantly the users are from US, hence ideas on how to decorate for Halloween have been dotting Pinterest. We don’t celebrate it per se. But, I’ve gone to parties when I was younger. We had to rent our costumes, because for some reason, it never occurred to us that we could make it. Then again, I never had the patience to sit down. Let’s see… I’ve friends who rented nurse uniforms, similar to the Kill Bill ones. I rented a huge afro, and just wore my brother’s clothes. Heh.. I was trying to be a rapper. Well.. not that easy. Female, skinny as sticks, big afro and chinese. Funny, at most. But mostly, sad.

Ah.. how fun it was, to be young.

Viewed 5797 times by 1171 viewers

For the past few days, I’ve been having intermittent problems with my internet connection. I’m not sure if it’s my modem, their wireless routers, or my mac per se. Everytime I call the support line, they will not know how to handle me, because I own a Mac, and not a Window PC. Frustrate some?

Well, I’m really annoyed because they should train a few people to be well-versed with the Mac, and pass my call to them. But that being said, most of the time…well, all of the time, actually, all they need to do is to reset their port, and my connection would be fine.

But of course, they make me go through the whole shi-bang procedure of powering down and up my Mac and modem. They keep saying that because it’s a wireless, and a Mac (like it’s a baaaaad combo deal), they can’t really help much. But no matter what, at the end of it, I’ll ask politely if they could reset their port. Because, within a few minutes… it’s a “Ta-da!!!!!” moment.

Ach.

Viewed 6370 times by 1190 viewers

You know.. it’s just like a volcano erupting. And without any warning.

All it took was a teeny tiny Lego piece, lying on the carpet. That’s all it took. Time and time again, I’ve nagged my boys to always put their toys back to where they belong. Their Legos have a place where every coloured piece belongs to a specific container. But, time and time again… lego goes walking everywhere. And not just that ONE lego..every lego piece is having a run, jog, doing their monkey bars..at the most unfortunate of places. Where big people’s feet can get hurt easily.

Sigh.. if there was a testosterone cream for women to balance out the hormones that I’m feeling it right now, I would have bought it ages ago.

But..here’s the thing.. why don’t kids just listen to us parents ONCE, like they do with their teachers?

Yesterday, when I helped out as Parent Helper.. I did a bad thing. I threatened the kids. YES I DID. I was so pissed off at their attitudes – granted they were only in prep, but they were so noisy! So I told them.. TO ZIP IT. Because if they did not ZIP it…. Mrs. XYZ won’t let them out during snack time.

Yes..I furiously whispered this, “IF ANY ONE OF YOU WANTS TO STAY IN CLASS FOR SNACK, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND MAKE A LOT OF NOISE”.

They all looked at me, wide-eyed…shook their heads and ZIPPED THEIR MOUTHS!

Yes.. my group was the quietest group there. Because they were so quiet, I could move around to the other groups, where the same threat was used.

Soon..all groups were quiet. And yes..everyone was congratulated for being so quiet.

Yes oh yes..this is what PMS can do. Don’t make this Tiger mom ROARRRRRRRRRRRRR!!

Sigh.

Viewed 5596 times by 1120 viewers

Guess what? My car’s not big enough! Despite it being a MVP, I find as my boys grow up, there’s just no more boot space! I will have to install a suv bike rack soon, because the bikes can’t fit in my boot anymore. What with all the other stuff that goes in, balls, shoes, bags of extra clothes, etc. It’s amazing..how many things kids accumulate. I’m pretty sure that if the boys grow up, everything will be scaled down once again.

Funny… families are just like balloons – inflated and deflated.

Viewed 4752 times by 978 viewers

What I miss is shopping. Unfortunately, not shopping here…but in Asian countries. If you’ve ever shopped in an Asian country, you’ll understand what I mean. They have so many brands, products and kookiness. For example, in a Daiso shop, which is about $3 for every product, you can find anything from anti aging products, shoes, pots and pans, and of course, household efficiency products. Hah… I found a weird angle toilet brush that helps you wash the under of your toilet rims.

Fascinating, eh?

I love shopping in $2 shops, Daiso and 100 yen shops. It’s amazing what you can find.

Viewed 4755 times by 985 viewers

Been in this funk since Tuesday. I can’t seem to get out of it.

I don’t get it.

Why don’t I want to jump out of bed and run? WHY?

I used to be like this. You know why I like best about this? When I put on my iPod shuffle, and that music just envelopes me…and keeps me running. Most of the time, I’m on a quiet time…just me and God. I always enjoy this quiet time. Everything on my mind comes out… and it keeps me running.

But..lately..it’s like..I’m so out of funk. I cannot get out of the bed.

Cold? Perhaps..but it has never stopped me before.

PMS? Perhaps…but it normally lasts 2-3 days max.

What then? By hook or by crook, tomorrow morning, I will put up a status… that I’ve run 5.5.

I WILL!

Update : I made it. I almost didn’t. No.3 woke up screaming and crying around midnite (when I was going into deeeeeeep slumber) and was hard to console. I woke up 5 minutes late, rushed out, and managed to complete 6.1km in record time…. because I only had max 40 minutes to run. Which I did in less. Yay to me. Pats self on back… carefully so as to not pull any back/shoulder/neck muscles.

Viewed 4371 times by 943 viewers

Yesterday, I saw a seriously seriously funny show on ABC1. It was only half an hour and was about Lawrence Leung, who basically debunked psychics by sharing with us their trickery and con tactics. But there was one segment which really wow-ed me. It showed one guy driving blindly on an actual road.

This guy, put a couple of silver dollars over his eyes, and duct taped his eyes over and over again. And he then wore a blindfold.

And then he got into the driver’s seat. Lawrence Leung sat behind and was t-e-r-r-i-f-i-e-d!

It was hilarious..but this guy could really drive, turn corners, turn into roads, AND park, without a single incident. It was so amazing. His secret? He listened to the road. But, he must’ve had exceptional hearing skills…because I know I would’ve just hit something, within the first 10 seconds.

Well… the most hilarious part was when Lawrence took over the wheel blind, and that same guy sitting behind. You should’ve seen his face..he was T-E-R-R-I-F-I-E-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With caps on!!!!!!

And yes, Lawrence did hit a car. HILARIOUS!

Viewed 4147 times by 905 viewers

Oh..my 3 year old is growing up fast. In the first term… I found him to be really whiny and just generally disagreeable with everything. But, lately, he’s been more and more cooperative. He understands a lot more now, he ‘gets it’ when I say we have to say goodbye to the toys/shopping mall cars-trains/whatever.

He used to sob his heart out when he had to leave the shopping  mall cars/trains/bikes. It was like I tortured him there and then. Even with the gun-like barcode scanner at K-mart’s self-serving counters. He used to scream when we had no more products to scan..I mean, hey! Mom can only buy this much yea.

But, now..he’s just a little sweetheart..with his lil ‘ok-goodbye-seeyoulater’.

Of course, he’s still a little terror to his brothers.. but that story is for another day.

Sigh.. I’ve been looking at his baby photos and just feel he’s growing up too fast. Baby lust? Perhaps…but I’d rather just hold someone else’s baby.

Viewed 2627 times by 707 viewers

Oh… I’ve been looking forward to this upcoming winter break. Not because of the break per se, but more like the fact that we booked to go for the Lego Bricktour, which is in the city. It’s already on, but we booked at a date where we can all go as a family. I could go with my boys, but it would be more fun if Mr.T is around, so I can dump all the boys with him, while I savour all the lego creation. Ha ha.. I’m such a lego nerd.

Well..that being said, I’ve been contemplating on going for Disney on Ice. Oh! I remember, sans kids, I would just book  the Cirque De Soleil tickets and The Lion King tickets, without much thought. Just like how I booked my U2 tickets, without a thought in the world, UNTIL I paid for the tickets, then I realised … who the heck is going to babysit my kids. And since it was months away, I somehow managed to get both my parents to agree..that a trip to see their grandkids was wayyyy overdue. And that was how I went for the U2 concert. The power of suggestion. Heh.

If I could get the James Taylor tickets or Tim McGraw tickets, I would consider paying for their plane tickets this time. Hahahahah…

But no, we are now only thinking of kids. And their concerts. And yes..my No.2 has been bugging me to watch Yo Gabba Gabba..but I told him it was completely sold out (and over by the way). Which he doesn’t believe, because he still sees the poster everytime we go home. Darn that poster!

Sigh.

Viewed 2045 times by 589 viewers

It will be a busy week ahead. This weekend, I’ll be having a gathering. But I have a deadline to complete a newsletter and distribute it by Monday. So..that means, I won’t have time to look around for eotech 512s or thinking about them. Also, there will be a birthday, 2 concerts back to back and a new gym class for No.3.

I don’t know why..but things always happen when Mr.T isn’t around. For some strange cosmic reason.

But.. as usual, I will soldier on, because it all needs to get done. Somehow.

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Yes, the one that I’ve given Mr.T, who’s birthday isn’t till August, but hey, he has a break right now, and he had to take advantage of it, because you only turn 40 once.

And it is a getaway present. Yes, I’ve sent him away. Back to his basketball buddies. He’s been pining for them….that boy seriously needed to talk shop with them. The US NBA, the shoes..oh! boy..not only girls love shoes…these guys really love their shoes. Particularly basketball shoes. Mr.T has more shoes than me…all his buddies have a shoe fetish..and I don’t mean high heels.

Well.. he’ll be gone for about 3 weeks…away from all the nagging, the responsibilities, the everyday horrible food that I cook! ugh!

Truth be told, I’m not packing shit that he’s away. I’ve been doing this for a long time.. occasionally he’s there to help, but really…. I’ve been doing a long time. As long as I don’t have to call roadside assistance, then I’m quite happy.

The best part of him being away? A couple of things :

1. I can sleep in peace. No more machine gunning snores waking me up….and leaving me grumpy the next morning.

2. I can cook whatever and my kids will eat whatever. With him around, I really have to think what we ALL have to eat.

So, in a way..it’s a holiday for me too!

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Oh my.. seriously, I must be living under a huge rock. I stumbled on comedy on ABC..and it is hilarious. I started watching “We can be heroes”, and at first, I thought it was real! I didn’t think it was a mockumentary! Oh boy..Chris Lilley’s chinese-english speaking accent is so spot on! HAHAHAHAAHAH.. I often think it’s hard for caucasians to copy asian’s accent with perfection, but Chris’s accent is spot on! I haven’t actually seen Angry Boys, but I read in the papers, it bombed.

Well.. then again, the papers could be talking about SSDI, Masterchef’s shitpots, and bizarre psychic predictions, and I could’ve missed it. Ah well.. at least I’ve got something to watch at nights now.. heh.

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Why oh why are boys sooooo antsy in their pantsies???!!!

They can’t sit still and eat.

They can’t stand still and wait.

They can’t be still when they are supposed to.

WHY!???!

I know they are boys. I know they are active. But why can’t they just for once just sit down, with their bottoms on the chair, legs in front and eat, without having to move around their bottoms, legs and hands? I just wonder when their normal testosterone levels kick in, how much more antsy will they get?  Do you know my eldest son has literally broken every pair of school shoes we’ve given him? Yes..every half term, we’ll find alligator shoes. Can you imagine, he would need 2 pairs every term? And he wears out the knee pads on his pants and it constantly has holes in them. I constantly have to sew on patches on that area, just to cover up the hole..and just so I don’t have to fork out money to buy those expensive pants!

I’m really tearing out my hair with him and his ‘activeness’. And he can’t help himself! Arggghhhh!!!

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Yes. I have a rather strange dream career, one that probably would not be fulfilled in my lifetime. Maybe it’s not so odd for kids to hear me say this, but would be for adults. I’ve always wanted to be in the military, police force or become a firefighter.

It’s the order that lured me. I’m a big fan of order.

Maybe that makes me a control freak, but I don’t really care..that’s what I am. The other day, I got excited as I looked through the government website for jobs. There was an opening at a police station near my home. It was just one of those junior management jobs, but I thought I could do that. Granted I should be aiming higher, but I wasn’t so sure anyone would hire this mom who has been out of work for 9 years already. But but but… the hours were reallllllly bad. From 10am (which was good) to 7pm (which was really really really bad).

So… there goes my dream. I know. I’m weird.

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Rest in peace dearest Ah-Ma (paternal granma).

Getting the call at 10.50pm is something I never want to get, but did nevertheless. Mother told me how you passed away peacefully in your sleep, holding aunty’s hand and smiling. All I could think at that time, was my childhood times when I holidayed in your Penang home. How it was always hot, dusty and humid. But, you did your best to entertain us, even though it included bringing us on a ride to the stock broker’s office..it was still fun, because the offices had air-conditioning.

I remember your cooking..and how I devoured it. It was so different from my mom’s, I never knew why then, but now I know. You, being a Hok-chiew, cooked differently from the Cantonese. My love for Hok-chiew food came from you. And plus, you made the bestest tomato egg sandwiches ever. I tried to replicate it many a times..but it is never the same as yours.

I remember your feisty attitude, even though you were only 4 feet 5. You were tiny.. next to me, but yet, even Dad couldn’t match up to your anger. Don’t ever mess with Ah-Ma.

I also remember one night, when you were all alone, and I told you I would stay a night with you. My mother raged because she thought I was taking sides. I took off to your place anyways… but you advised me to go back to her. Sigh.. how heavy my heart felt, leaving you by yourself.

I loved it when you came to my home, you would help me with my laundry..and you always always folded my laundry in a way, that never needed ironing. When you came across the lil guy’s rompers..you were puzzled, because you didn’t know how to fold it in a way that was neat and tidy. And you would spend hours just trying to get it neat! Oh..bless your dear dear heart.

Times when you became disoriented and thought we were back in Penang again, and how we could walk back to your home. Sigh…it was the Alzheimer’s talking. It wasn’t you.

So many many memories.

I wish I could bid you the final farewell… but that is not to be. I am so sorry. I really wish I could. I just have to thank Dad for thinking of skyping from the funeral parlour. Perhaps I shall see you in my dreams and I will be able to say good bye properly?

Ah Ma, I pray that you are in heaven with Kong-Kong now… united with him.

Take care.. I will always always always love you.

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Well…when you have a second hand car, one cannot expect it to be trouble-free. Actually, I consider myself lucky that it doesn’t really need a major overhaul, perhaps just a check with the brakes, upgrade the tyres and of course… do the usual engine check.

When we got my SIL’s car, we thought it would be trouble-free…thinking that she serviced it and etc, etc, etc.

But guess what? When we did the whole RACV check thingy.. we had to replace several items, costing us an arm and a leg! We had to call around for estimates, before we committed to fixing it. Gosh.. I did feel kinda ‘cheated’ in a way, because it seemed like she never cared for the car at all! Well, at least the car is updated now… and at least, I know that when we drive her car, the car will not break down in the middle of the road!

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Dear Olivia,

As we sat together today, under the beautiful warm winter sun, waiting for the school bell to ring, to begin our motherly duties, it was hard for me to answer your questions. You looked tired. Not just tired. But dog-gone tired. I could see it in your eyes. Just weary to the bone.

Having a daughter is never easy. Y’know the saying, “A son will marry away, but a daughter will always remain a daughter”.. I will never know this, as I do not have a daughter. But, I am a daughter myself, and so I do know of the cold wars between my mother and myself.

I hear your cries for a daughter who would just not hear, but listen to your wisdom. I heard it from my own mother and chose unwisely. Facing the wrath spewed like lava, was always an ongoing tumultuous time in our household..and the aftermath of it, was always sub-zero degrees. An ice-pick would crumble under those conditions.

But I also remember, the times, when my mother’s words rang true, stinging me like a thousand bees, feeling remorseful, but yet prideful, not willing to back down.

Oh Olivia, how can I tell you that your daughter will come around one day, and tell you, you were right all this time. And how she regrets not ever listening to you. Or maybe she will not, instead will humble herself to you.. one day. Not while she’s still a teen..but perhaps, just perhaps when she becomes a mother herself. Or maybe it would be too late. And there will be regrets. Many regrets.

Oh Olivia, we can only be the best we can be, and we will have to let our children learn for themselves, that we tried. We tried our best to raise them as good kids.

I wish I had this answer for you then. When we were sitting under the warm winter sun.

Viewed 3199 times by 830 viewers

Can’t believe it took me this long to write about my ‘first’ run. Ah well..better do it before I forget. Took a train to the city. It was cold. So so so so cold. Plus, I didn’t want to carry anything with me, as I wanted to go light. Didn’t want to use the cloakroom either, because the lines are usually so so so long. The train ride was pretty inspiring, as it kept filling up with runners at each station. All in their various pinks. And so early in the morning too… imagine, on a Sunday morning, train being filled up to the core with ladies (and some men too!).

Reaching there, I realised what a huge event it was. There were scores of people all over the place! As I walked towards the start line, I had to pass through tents of people selling different life insurance types, bank accounts, to get to the very important, porta toilet.

Interestingly, there were lots of porta toilets, but people tended to stick to the ones closest to the main area. Anyway… huge crowd!

Going to the start line was pretty… awesome. It has been a long time since I ran…and seeing the start line, made me really nervous. Somehow, I managed to spot a friendly face! Phew! Problem was, I forgot her name. My bad… I even had lunch with her the week before. See..how bad my memory is getting? It’s just awful. But, luckily, she remembered my name… and we chatted and cam-whored while we waited for the gun to go off. She was telling me, in Sydney, there’d be heaps of clothes all over the place, as people throw off their tops when they start. Well.. guess, us Melbournians love our clothes too much..or it was just too cold.

At the start, I couldn’t even run properly. My legs were heavy. In the 2nd km, there was an incline and I was already puffing my heart out. I couldn’t imagine that my weeks of training around my hilly area didn’t do any good! Well.. in retrospect, I think it had to do with the cold weather. And not being warmed up.

Well..after that torturous incline..it was pretty ok. Even as we looped around the course, and going up the incline again, wasn’t too bad. I had a pretty good run overall.. I felt pretty good about myself.

Seeing the finish line made me cry so much. Never thought I finish a race. Never thought I’d start running again.

8km – 47min 01sec. So happy with this time.

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One week before my period, I need a big dose of hormonal acne treatment. One week before my period, I get these cravings to eat everything sweet, sour and salty. Thank God for Sweet and Sour Pork!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the one week before my period, I get extremely edgy, irritable and am constantly in a terrible mood! But I give plenty of warnings to my kids. I always say, “Don’t make your mama angry today, boys. Not TODAY!”.

But, of course, bless their lil hearts..they forget. And then they face the terrible wrath. I shivered as I wrote that. I really think I need to keep my anger in check. Here’s the thing.. when my period is heavy, I get ‘hell hath no fury’ anger. But, when it’s light… I don’t get angry at all. So, every other month, my kids get a break. I guess, 6 out of 12 months ain’t bad.

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Being a migrant, I often wonder how Aussie can my kids get?

I am fourth generation Chinese, born in Malaysia, and have assimilated very well with the Malaysian culture and lifestyle.

Following the footsteps of my great-grandfather, I have moved to a different country, raising my children in a different country. How did my great-grandparents, from China, adapt to the life in Malaysia so well, that I’ve grown up, not feeling any segregation from my other fellow Malaysians? Will I be able to achieve that for my kids, and their kids, and their kids?

It’s a question I often ask myself. As I see my kids in classrooms with different tones of peach, light browns and dark browns, I wonder… will my kids be considered Aussie kids?

Being in Malaysia, I had friends of different tones of light browns and dark browns. Chinese, Malay, Indian, Mixed Malay-Indians (Mamaks), Mixed Malay-Chinese, Mixed Chinese-Indians (Chindians) and Eurasians. I could pop into their homes at any time, their parents welcoming me and inviting me for a meal/snack. To me, that was being Malaysian. Absorbing everyone else’s culture, while maintaining one’s own identity.

Here… from what I understand the Australian culture is to :

- go for picnics/Barbies – check.

- go for beaches during summer – check.

- eat Vegemite – I have bought a jar (reduced salt, nonetheless), but have yet to open it. For some reason, I am deathly afraid of it.

- drink lots of beer/wine – Well, not lots, just one or two is alright.

- greet everyone with a “Good day/How’s your day?/How’s it going?” – check.

- support an Aussie Rule team – well, the kids and Mr.T do. I can’t understand the game at all.

- go ballistic on sports – well, again my kids are way ahead me on that. I just like to run.

What else I have not included? Please help me out here. I’m at loss, because other than the ones mentioned, I don’t know what it means to be Australian.  Well…my kids have plenty of time to find that out for themselves. But in the meantime, I shall try my best to raise them to be decent, kind humans. Yea…

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I recently received a wedding invite, and included was a little note telling me to head to the David Jones’ Bridal Gift Registry to select a gift.

For once in my life, I wished there was something more interesting than giving the couple, a piece of diningware from The Royal Doulton. How about some baseball gifts, for the groom, perhaps? I mean, every single time I look into the Gift Registry, it’s always something that the Bride would like. Where’s the Groom’s say in all of this? Is he not part of the wedding?

Sometimes, I really think people forget why they have a wedding in the first place. It’s a union between a man and a woman. It’s not a party where you’d have to please every single invited soul!

I swear, if my kids get married, I’m gonna make sure that the gift registry would include something fun for both of them. Oh yea.. a meddling mother-in-law I will be.

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As an update to this post, what has No.2 learnt?

He knows that I can get really really really really really really sad when I hear that he’s binned the lunch.

He knows that I can get really really really really really really annoying, as I constantly ask him if he had binned his lunch.

He knows that I can get really really really really really really pissed if I knew he was lying to me.

And he knows that I keep to my word.

Basically, he was binning his lunch, because …… *drumroll*.. he wants to play with his friends. And also because I usually give too much for him to finish.

So, for the past week, I’ve been giving ‘just enough’ portions, as opposed to portions I’d like to see him finish.

And for the past week, he has been completely banned from playing any electrical game devices. He can watch, but he can’t touch. And it shall continue, so that he is aware of the consequences. Of course, he also knows that if he ever binned his lunch again, all he’ll get is peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He can bin that sandwich as much as he wants..but that’s all he’s getting.

He has very pitifully asked me if he could play his DS, but of course, NO.

I hope he will learn his lesson this time. *crosses fingers*

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It’s been a slow week for me. Really slow. It must be the big P. It must be coming.

My legs have been heavy. My stomach cramping up all the time. Not only that it aches as well. In one of my runs, I had to divert very quickly to the outhouse at the park. And what do you know, at 6am in the morning, in the dark dark park, I saw 4 people doing some sort of weight training. It scared the beheebus out of me, I’ll tell ya.

The man in charge flagged me down and told me to be careful as I ran down the slope. I had my earphones on (with “Beauty in the World-Macy Gray) and a very bad stomach ache. He told me, that there was ‘waste’ and I had to be very careful.

I was like, “Hur? Ok, I’m  not going”. I mean..waste.. yucks!

Then he said, “No no..it’s ok, it’s just that I didn’t want you to trip over the weights!!”.

Ohh…weights. Not waste.

Phew!

Well..so that was my eventful run. To the outhouse, in the middle of my run. In the cold cold cold cold cold dawn. In the dark. Thinking of whether I should be switching my webhost. And of course, could not stop thinking about how I’m going to manage transferring all my domains properly. You see..these are the boring things I think about, when I’m busy at the loo.

And oh! let’s not forget the ‘decapitated torso’ I thought was rolling towards me. I actually screamed so loud.. I scared myself. It was just a furry friend..who ran away the second I screamed. Poor fler. Poor me.

What a week. What a horrible week to run.

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Recently, a friend was telling me she had to go for a Ultrasound. Now… usually, an ultrasound means, one is pregnant. But, my friend has been using contraceptives, and has been experiencing symptoms of losing hair, irritability and frequent periods (4 within a month).

With frequent periods, I would normally think it could be fibroids. But, the results of her ultrasound show that everything is a-ok. She was relieved, but at the same time, was wondering if it could be early menopause. But, I’ve always thought with early menopause, one would feel hot flushes, headaches, itchiness… so, I wasn’t sure where her  loss of hair was coming from.

She’s now going to see a dermatologist, to check her scalp condition. You know.. I’m beginning to feel my age everytime I talk to her. Soon, I’ll be needing veralyze to minimize my wrinkles. Sigh..

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Half an hour ago, my second child made my heart break.

After asking him 10x to tell me the truth, he finally did. My heart still feels so heavy and sad. I am truly truly disappointed. And yet, my dishwasher decides to beep and tell me the dishes have been washed. Ah, technology can be so cold.

Yes, you might have guessed it…he has been throwing away his lunch and most of his fruit (real fruit) snacks away into the good ol bin. I had this experience once, with my eldest. But he’s a very sensitive child, and he knew that doing it again would really break my heart. So, he never did.

Despite a rocky start in the beginning of the year with No.2, I thought this binning the lunch was over. Well, apparently not. He has been doing it every single day.

Let me share with what I make for them – fried rice, fried noodles, pasta bolognaise, asian style pasta, Chicken, Lettuce and Deli Mayo sandwiches, and Hardboiled Egg and Deli Mayo sandwiches. Yes… most of this, I prepare late at night and early in the morning. Firing up the ol wok.

I am so disappointed because I’m always so rushed, in the morning, with the little time I have, I always make sure they have a good lunch. Boys can get so hungry. And every day, he comes home telling me, he’s hungry.

Now, I know why.

Sigh. I just broke down and cried in from of him. I did not know how else to tell him that the lunches I have made for them were all made with, love. And he just threw it away, so he could play with his friends.

Motherhood is hard.

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Well, what can I say? I have ants in my pants. A lot of moms, who’s kids are all at school, have started to get jobs. One by one by one. I have 2/3 in school, but I am still waiting for the third one to be in primary before I consider taking a full time job.

In the mean time, I was already thinking of all the possible online courses I could take, perhaps an online nursing degree, or a dental therapist, or even a dental nurse. The area I live have a high number of doctors and dental clinics, so, yes, working near my home is a main criteria.

Then again, if I didn’t want a stressful work environment, with screaming and diseased patients, I’d go for the simple stuff, like the cashier at the $2 shop. Did I tell you how much I love the $2 shop? It’s just simply amazing what you can find in that shop. And these are pretty good stuff, if you take it out of the shop, and put it in your home, no one can tell it’s from a $2 shop.

So yes, those are the options I’ve considered. Heh.

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Being female and all, every month, some of us go through our usual raging hormones. Well, I do anyway..and so do some women I know. I know not all women go through a fit of rage… but, I do and well, it’s usually not pretty. I’ve been sharing this with my aunt, who happens to work for a well known TCM company.

She’s here right now..and she’s really sweet. She bought me a couple of her company’s product. And one spectacularly named product is “Heat Expulsion Powder”.

Whoa, right? When I first heard of it, I burst into laughter. “Heat Expulsion”? Sounds like some supersonic power from a Street Fighter character. What? Street Fighter too old school?? ah.. excuse moi, then!

Anyway… it’s incredible what they name their products. I mean if its testosterone cream for women, how appropriately would you name it? Hmmm…

Well, here’s an image of the “Heat Expulsion” :

Sorry, the picture’s fuzzy.. blame iPhone.

So, does it work? According to her, it does. She had a really bad sore throat, and when she took it, within the day, it went off. Kinda dubious to me… but, it works for her. Does it work for me? I’ve taken it.. and so far, nothing. She claimed my skin looked fresher/brighter..but I beg to differ. I think it still looks the same. But, I’m not as tantrumy as I normally am at this time of the month.

Being an extremely heaty person, perhaps I need more of this stuff for it to really work. But I seriously would not want to overdose on TCM. Who knows what their side effects would be.

Viewed 3710 times by 884 viewers

We’re into the 4th week of Term 2 of school, and I have to say… still a blur to me. Kids have started taking Chinese classes. Thanks to slacker mom here, I’ve put off Chinese classes for a very long time. But, this year, I vowed that my 2/3 of my kids would do it, because it is so so cheap. Only $65 a year. Yeap..and they have to use the same textbook for 2 years. I don’t know if that’s a slacker school..or what, but I’m glad. It’s seriously cheap. And plus, I’m learning myself too! Learning how to pronounce and read the characters, is very very hard.

With that, I’ve also decided to help out Mr.T with his school work too. Poor fler. For the past two weeks, he’s come home with an absolutely miserable look on his face. He is beyond stressed, and he hates it, because he is actually paying to be be stressed. So, I’ve decided to help out where I can with his class project. He is designing this new fangled bike, so I guess I’ll leave all the technical drawings with industrial bearings and what nots to him, while I just do some research online.

I have to say, it’s really hard. I don’t know why it’s not a group project, but I suppose if it was, there’d be a number of slackers who’d get a good grade. Bad news for the slackers, they don’t won’t get to absorb the learning process, and won’t get much out of it. Ah well…

So, the eldest kid just finished half of his Naplan, which I did not help him prepare for it. I told him, to wing it, and if just do his best. There goes my “Tiger Mom” status. :S

The second kid is doing well… with his reading and also Chinese. Must say, I’m quite impressed with him.

The third? Well..he’s just learning whatever the brothers are learning. Hopes he will absorb everything, and make life easy for me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..

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My lil guy, although only 3 has a rather odd problem. Ever since he was a baby, he’s gone swimming and he’s been having these ring-like fungal infections on a off-n-on basis. So, today, I decided once and for all to get him to the doctor and confirm what it was. Which of course, he sends me packing to the pathology to perform a skin-scrape. I found a pathology so close to my home, I thought I would be in and out within minutes.

Wishful thinking.

There were already 3 patients waiting, and I picked up a Time magazine, which had a pretty interesting article about bombs and  which metal detectors was used in scanning parcels sent via commercial flights.  Will it be able to scan every single parcel? As it is, I read that only 80% of parcels via commercial flights are scanned. Kinda scary if you ask me.

Anyway..so, I had to wait for half an hour, and the lil guy finally gets scraped. It’s harsh, getting a skin scrape. She had to scrape till he bled. And the lil guy was a real trooper. He did not cry, wail or whine. Very proud of him.

So… I’ll have to wait for another two weeks for the results. Will update then.

Viewed 3850 times by 878 viewers

I really swear…. there are no more decent postcards anywhere in Australia. I say this because I actually have been looking to buy unique looking postcards to send it away across the seas to faraway places. My boys have been corresponding all over the world with other similar aged kids, by exchanging postcards.

I think there’s something endearing about sending off a postcard and definitely a very exciting surprise when one actually receives a postcard!

I’ve been searching high and low for whimsical, cute postcards, that is impossible to find. I am already thinking of postcard printing it by myself, because I really want to find postcards that reflect the Australian culture, lifestyle and uniqueness.

It’s come to a point, that when I source a cute looking postcard, it’s got words at the back, I just stick over a piece of paper..and write on top of it.

Sigh… so, if u come across a postcard that is blank at the other side…. keep it. Write on it. And send it off. Make someone on the other side of the world, happy.

Viewed 4388 times by 1018 viewers

My first official run is coming up this Sunday, on Mother’s Day. I’m a little anxious about it, because I don’t know if I’m really ready. I signed up for the 8km, but only have been training 5.5km on a not-so-daily basis.

In fact, for the last week, I’ve not been able to run, because I injured my knee. I was helping out in the kids’ PMP (Perceptual Motor Program) and can’t believe I screwed up my knee from bending down and getting up one too many times. Kids are little..and I don’t like yelling them instructions from above. I like to talk at eye level.

So, there I am, hobbling about, about to consider signing up for a massage therapy program. Of course, I didn’t, only because I simply don’t have a time what with the bus-schooling the kids all over the place.

5 days later, the knee felt much better. Boy, was I relieved. I wasn’t looking forward to running with a cranky knee for 8km, on Mother’s Day.

So, yes.. definitely a little anxious but looking forward to running in the Mother’s Day Circle, and I will be running with my pink tutu, with little purple ribbons to represent the people who’s lost their lives to cancer.

Wish me luck?

Viewed 4314 times by 1013 viewers

They definitely go hand in hand. Don’t they?

Today, I was at a meeting, and someone mentioned about a parenting course, that teaches obnoxious kids to calm down using a 1,2,3 method.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely feel that when it comes to tantrums, maturity plays a huge part. Not like I read it in some youthology reviews, but hey! it’s common sense, no?

You see, my lil 3 year old, he was crazy crazy crazy in the first quarter of 2011. I mean, if you’ve been reading this blog, he’s been screaming, yelling and throwing massive tantrums every time we go out. It has come to a point that I really didn’t want to go out..and if I had to, three words come into my mind all the time, ‘Brace, Brace, Brace’.

But.. this 2nd quarter, the lil guy has been really cooperative. Really.

In that short space of time, he’s matured a little bit more. Just a little bit, because he still cries, but he calms down fairly quickly and just makes the best out of the situation.

And all I have to do, is be consistently quiet. Yup, don’t say a word, just shuddup. Ok, ignore the lil bugger until he gives up.

Today, I helped out with the school newsletter…and normally, he’d be pawing me, wanting this and that. Today..(and for the last few sessions), he happily amused himself, and also foraged for food, by himself. All because, in the first few sessions, I just basically told him, I have to do this first, then we’ll go. I ignored all the whinging and whining other pleading requests.

He’s a good kid, this one. He was good when he was a baby, then he turned into monster and now, slowly, he’s turning back into a good kid again.

When I look at him, I just love his cheekiness, and 3 year old cuteness. I don’t want him to grow up. I just want him to behave. Ha ha ha… yea. Right.

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Sigh.

You know..sometimes, one of the things that never really lets go of you, is your tax. The thing is, even though  you think you’ve done your taxes, but something always comes back to you when you least expect it.

For some reason, our tax department has sent us a 2009 tax extension form, even though we filed it in 2009. We are pretty up-to-date with our taxes, so it was really surprising to us that we would receive that. Now, we have to dig up our older records, which we filed away wayyyy back, and have to figure out, what went wrong. Hopefully, there will be a step by step guide somewhere online, that we can refer to.

I am just glad that we don’t have other items to consider, like property/rental investments. We just have to track down our medical expenses, donations (not like it was alot). Guess what? Even educational expenses (like uniforms, papers, printers, printer inks, computers) are tax deductible and I have to find all these receipts all over again. Gosh.. I don’t even know where to start.

As it is, my memory is pretty bad, luckily, Mr.T’s memory is pretty good.

Together, I am pretty sure, we’ll figure it out.

Somehow.

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Honestly, I will never have the patience to be a teacher. I salute all teachers all over the world, it’s probably the hardest job, next to being a mom.

Have been helping out in son’s PMP (Perceptual Motor Program), sort of like PE (Phys Ed), but .. with more structures and has a lot of techniques behind it. I had to ensure that all the kids were involved in their mini activities (groups of 3-4 kids each cycle), and no one was mucking around.

I think some kids are just devil material, only because they refuse to l-i-s-t-e-n. No matter what, listening is not part of their skills set. These kids have a propensity to go against the rules. I am absolutely knackered, and on the verge of losing my voice. How do teachers do it?

HOW?

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*groans*

I have been running too many times, I think. I have this terrible mentality that if I miss out on just one day, everything is screwed up, which is pretty screwed up to me. I should not be obsessed with running..but, for some reason, I am. I just stress out if I don’t run..and unfortunately, I actually binge!

On chocolates!

Gah! I hate easter…. I get too many chocolates, having to keep it away in the pantry, makes it harder for me not to sneak a few here and there.

I didn’t run today, so, I wanted to run tomorrow, but I just busted my knee..and it feels like last time (during the U2) concert. Now, I have to wait it out and hopefully, by the Mother’s Day Run, it will be healed. I need to get some urban clothing – running pants, for that run. I can’t be running in trackpants that have holes in them, can I?

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Around my neighbourhood, there is a street of shops and I love walking by them. They are all owned and managed by the owners and more often than not, I will see the owners manning their shops. There’s nothing nicer than getting served by the owner, because they know, returning customers are the best.

Right by the florist, who by the way, has the loveliest display of flowers, I’ve ever seen, is my local swiss patisserie. I frequent this shop a fair bit. They bake the yummiest swiss rolls and mini quiches. They aren’t very creative with their cake designs, but their cakes are really heavenly. Well, earlier this year, when I walked down to get some mini quiches, it was closed! To my surprise! They put up a notice saying that they had a fire recently, and it would take up to 3 months to repair it.

Unfortunately, it’s past the 3 months, and my favourite patisseries’ shades are still drawn down. Every day as I pass the shop, I would hope to see the shades drawn up, because I really miss their mini quiches and swiss rolls.

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There’s nothing absolutely better than online shopping. For a girl who hates real life shopping, online shopping is a breeze! Y’see… I really hate real life shopping because it is so tediously boring! I have to walk for miles, and end up not buying anything! Whereas, with online shopping, all I do is click, click and click..and I’m there. Like the other day, I was skyping my aunt in Singapore, about the lack of food warmers available here. Then, I thought, hey! go online..and that I did. I found a 470ml Thermos food warmer for only AUD9.00 ! Unbelieveable, huh? Yea.. of course, with shipping it’ll cost slightly more..so that’s where the power of buying more comes in. If you buy more, they will provide a discounted or free shipping.

If you actually go looking for coupons, go no further. At Overstock.com online coupon is always available and up-to-date. There is nothing better than typing in a coupon code at the checkout page. For those, who buy their groceries online, and trust me, there are lots of busy moms here who actually do that, you can get free grocery coupons as well. For some women, I must say, gone are the days of cutting up grocery coupons, because it is so convenient now.

As for my Thermos food warmers, I’ve asked around the group of mothers I know, and we’ve decided to collectively buy them, and just save on shipping cost. Thank goodness for the stronger Aussie Dollar… it seems alot more cost effective to buy online now.

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As I am consistently running more these days, it’s still not as easy to wake up in the cold cold morning. I have to be honest and tell you that I have to mentally repeat to self  this : “You will not regret running. You will regret sleeping in.”

And yes, when I start running, in the darkness, it feels awfully good. I’ve always liked running by myself. When I was younger, I used to have a run buddy. I had lots of good run times with her. I could really be myself with her. If I needed to walk, she’d understand. If I needed to run faster, she’d understand. If I needed to fart..well, she’d understand too! We’d pace each other..and it was just great to have her as a motivation.

It’s not easy to find that one person who you’re comfortable running with.

So sometimes, I do see some regulars running about. Particularly, this lady. She’s fast tho. Most of the time, she’s in her shorts and singlets, even though it’s freaking cold.

The other day, she happened to go in the same direction as me..but running on the other side of the road. I was glad… I wanted to pace with her. It’s great to have someone pace you…it just pushes you to go beyond your comfort zone. And that’s just what happened. I started pushing myself up the hill, chasing her..until I caught up and ran ahead… and then I lost her.

Sigh.

I went back to my old pace again. Slow and steady.

I really wish I had a young dog, sometimes. At least, I can chase it..and finish my runs faster.

Anyway… my progress so far? I have been looking beyond maternity clothing, and started looking for slimmer cut tops and jeans. It has been looking real good.

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Today, I plucked a 3 year old girl from the deep end of a pool. My 3 year old was having his swim lessons, and all 6 of them, were at the deep end, learning how to do the survival circle. There were 2 instructors, meaning only 2 kids at a time, gets to go into the pool. The rest were meant to sit at the sides, shivering their little bodies out, waiting for them.

I happened to be playing with my iPod, with my other son, when I noticed at the corner of my eye, a little pink swimsuit, slipping into the pool. Instinctively, I stood up, and fished her out of the pool. Within that few seconds, everything slowed down. I could hear, the older instructor yelling at the younger one, to get the little girl. I remembered trying my best to yank her out, but she kept sinking down and all I could think about was, ‘Should I pull her hair, if I can’t reach her?”. But, as she bobbed up trying to hold the sides, I got her by the armpits and literally fished her out. She flashed a huge grin..and I wondered to myself, “Did she or did she not purposely go into the pool?”.

Having had the chance the observe her the past few days, I did notice this little girl was quite a water baby. At the shallower end, she would dive into the water..and well, stay there. She just loved going underwater.

But, what really got to me was how fast I reacted. I was really surprised at how fast I yanked her out. The other ladies that were sitting next to me, weren’t even aware that the little girl slipped in. Until I yanked her out. I am just glad that I reacted instinctively and quickly. I know some people can go into shock and just cannot do a single thing, and regret it for life later.

I have seen a whole group of people watch another boy drowning. I was in the pond with him, and he was pulling me down, to keep himself afloat. I tried to save him, but I wasn’t strong enough. He was stronger than me. I yelled at everyone watching to help me. But they were all in shock to see this drama happening in front of their eyes. Luckily, my at-that-time, boyfriend, swam over and pulled him away from me…and together we brought him to shore. He was already turning blue. Just in time. He is still alive, to this day.

Have you witnessed an event like this and tried to help, but couldn’t?

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My boys go through so many school shoes within a year. Especially my eldest. I honestly don’t know what he does, but term after term after term, he comes home with holes in them. Either at the soles, or the toe area or where the laces end.

What does he do with them? Who knows? More often than not, it’s just him, playing with his friends, all sorts of activities. I sometimes do worry about the growth of his feet and wonder it’s growing well. I mean, the shoes we buy for him aren’t the cream of the cream. It’s the el-cheapo Kmart/Target ones. I mean, the guy goes through more shoes than I’ve done in my lifetime! He literally wears them out!

I think, I need to get him proper shoes. Like, not just cheap quality shoes, but really good ones that will last for at least one whole year, instead of just one short term.

I stumbled on this video, on how to expertly check if your child’s shoes is fitted properly. The one shown here is for boys, but there is another one for girls as well. Just browse around, and you’ll find it. I never knew that running your finger over the top of the shoes, to see if the leather makes a ripple effect, tells you that the width is the correct size. I, more often than not, just check for toes! Well.. you be the judge, and I suppose you’ll see for yourself, how you can fit your own child’s shoes, like an expert!

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Can never be told upon.

One has to walk a mile in the other person’s shoes to know what is appreciation.

My eldest, has little patience when it comes to waiting on other people. Most of the time, we wait for him. Me and his two younger brothers.

He goes for tennis lessons. We wait for him.

He goes for abacus. We wait for him.

When he was the only one in school, we waited for him.

Now that the younger two are older, and have their own little activities as well, the tables have somewhat turned on him.

The youngest is now taking swim lessons, on his own. A small victory for me, as I have been going in the pool with him, ever since he was 18 months old. So, these school holidays, he’s the only one who’s taking the week long swim lessons. Rightfully so, since the two elder brothers have been going for it the past three years. I decided no more for them, only him. He needs it more than them now.

And so, I bring my troops along, and the eldest whines. Why do I have to go? I’m going to be so bored when he’s swimming and I have to wait.

I fumed, and said, “For three years, your little brother has waited for you. He watched you in your swim lessons, and whatever lessons you took. He just waited for you. For three years. And for one week, you will wait for him. This is your chance to see what your brother goes through.”

He wept. Oh how he wept.

I asked, “Why do you weep?”

He answered, “I didn’t know, I didn’t know he had to wait for me, and had to be bored all that time”.

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What banks should do is have a kiddie/interactive area.

Or just a huge ass TV, huge carpet and put some kid show on. Seriously. When you have to bring your kid in for that rare banking occasion, it really sucks when he starts playing with the stanchions/velvet ropes, and bring it all down.

That’s right, folks. The last thing you need is to untangle your kid and everyone behind/in front of you from that.

But then, the problem with their TV/kiddie area would be, that it would extremely difficult to get them to go.

Sigh.. it’s hard to bring toddlers anywhere, without attracting some kind of attention.

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Gosh.. every single day, I’m running in and out of the house. Every single day, I forget something.

Like today, no, yesterday, no, the day before. No.. for a long time. I pass this discount office supplies shop EVERY SINGLE DAY on the way to school. Every single time, I pass it, I tell myself, “Get. Printer. Ink! Get. Printer. Ink!” And every single day, I forget! EVERY SINGLE DAY!

ARRRRGHH!! I’m running low on black ink, and I know once I print out my newsletter, the ink will run out.

Ok, no matter what.. I will get it tomorrow, only because I just blogged about it!

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Last Friday, I went out for a lunch, with a friend. Something I don’t do often, simply because I can’t afford the time! But, this was the one time I really wanted to eat out, after being completely sick of eating instant noodles, and plus, I wanted to catch up with her for a long time. I do see her every week, but it’s often a 5 min meeting.

So yes, I wanted to eat out at a nice place, and I wanted to have a nice long chat with my friend.

I chose Thai, because I love everything spicy, and there was this dish they did, which involved a lot of Vietnamese Basil.

I am a devout Thai Basil Fan. Devout. I love it so much, I can actually eat it everyday, IF my wimpy lil bush would just grow, into a HUGE one.

So, there we were, digging into our yummy food, talking about everything from new jobs to Medicare part D plans. Towards the end of the meal, I realised one thing. How disappointing that Thai Basil dish was. What used to be full of rich Thai Basil flavour, I could only see ONE leaf in there. Which was a huge letdown to me.

So, I did the one thing that would completely rock my world. I am making my very nice Taiwanese 3 cup sauce pork ribs, tomorrow. It involves a huge bunch of Thai basil, marinating with lots of sauce.

Oh yea.. tomorrow, I’ll be in Thai Basil heaven. Yum!

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I should have been more aware of my body. It usually gives me signals BIG TIME.

The cravings came in first. I wanted to eat chips so badly. Not just any chips. Thins’ Chicken Chips. Then, I just had to eat chocolates. The fun sized ones. Like 2-3 of them. It always happens, just a week before Aunt Flo comes around. Always.

Today, a meltdown, a real screaming-till-I-became-blue-in-the-face meltdown, in the car, with all three boys. There was a birthday. For some reason, my boys always have a cry during such happy occasions. No.2 was the invited guest. It was at one of those big indoor playground space. The food was being served and everyone was taking their seats. No.2 insists that he has to sit on a red chair. Fine. I direct him to an empty red chair. It was party food… chips, nuggets and sausages. All the kids were digging into it. Mine picked up his sausage dismally, and dropped it. I walked off, telling him to eat whatever he can. I had wanted to check on No.3, who was by himself at the toddler area.

He runs after me, wanting to play with his elder brother. I tell him, he needs to stay with the birthday boy, during this snack time. He cries.

Sigh.

I tell him, very nicely, that the birthday boy would be really sad if he didn’t see him around. Did the ‘place yourself in his shoes’ thing. He began to understand, and went back to the little room. He runs out again, crying. Someone sat on his red chair.

I almost blew it. I told him, because he ran out in the first place, someone else took his spot. I had to squeeze myself into that room, find an empty chair. It was blue.

Cries again.

Wants red chair.

Almost blowing it, but not quite yet..not in front of so many parents, right? Had to maintain some level of coolness.

Had to ask a sweet little girl (who sat in his red chair), if she would mind swapping the chairs. She was very obliging, nodding her head. I had to swap it..it was very crammed in there, I hope you can understand how exactly I was feeling.

Sat him down on his red chair.

Cries again.

WHAT IS IT NOW?

He wants his cup of water.

ARRRGHHH!!!!! That sweet little girl had his cup of water, and I really didn’t want her to drink from it, because he had a cough.

I asked again, nicely..oh! I can see the murderous looks coming from her mother. I betcha the mom must think I’m some nut-job, taking away so many things from her daughter. I don’t blame her..I would’ve thought the same thing.

I wanted to explain..but, y’know.. I was really at the boiling point.

The end of party. I had to drag No.3 out of there. Gassed up with lots of cordial and cake, nothing like sugar and overtiredness to create a huge tanty. Honestly..leaving that place, I had to keep that plastic smile on…. saying, “Not in front of the parents, not in front of the parents’.

In the car, I just basically blew up.

A huge explosion of hormones, spewed all over the car.

Right there in the middle of meltdown, one of the mum friends’ words started floating in the poisoned air. During her parent helper time at school, she had witnessed No.2 giving up his turn at the computers, to her son. She commended him for being so caring.

Instead of stopping myself short, I just let my emotions get the worse of me.

Sad to say, it did not stop there. I told my kids to say their prayers and put themselves to bed, because I just did not have the courage to look them in their eyes, kiss them goodnight, sing their lullabies and tell them I loved them.

I hate my hormones. Just hate them.

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Being a migrant here, I came knowing I would only 1-2 friends I could reach out to, and would have to step out of my ‘cave’ and make more friends. Me being me, I can work up a conversation… but I can’t be a good friend. Well, I would always try, but it seems like I never step up to the plate.

Life always gets busy for me, what with the house, kids, (online) work and whatnots..so, I tend to forget to make time for friends. I would have all these thoughts of sending a simple “Hello?” email, but I more than often, don’t get around to it.

But recently, I had the opportunity to meet up some really old friends. From school days. It’s been a long while…and it was fantastic, just chatting with them. One of them lives here, and I took the opportunity to ask if she did buy stocks online. I have always been interested in investing, but never got around to actually asking anyone. She mentioned the importance of a broker, a trustworthy one, and she did recommend me, one.

It’s funny, but it’s like we were in a time warp, and even though, this was our first time, meeting up after leaving school..we just filled in the gaps and moved on from there!

You know, even though we all may have our Facebooks.. where we are supposed to get connected, it’s so much more fun connecting in real-life. Talking one on one, observing a myriad of expressions, laughing out loud IRL, I wonder… will our future future generation be able to enjoy all of this?

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Being in PMT for so long, makes me anxious for Aunt Flo. I want Aunt Flo to arrive early, so I can feel better. So I can stop eating chips. So I can stop eating chocolate. So I don’t have to think about getting some back acne treatment, because all the hormones flying around is. not. helping.

Well, it’s the new month tomorrow..and I am hoping I will see the light at the end of this horrible tunnel by this weekend. Because I have been a seriously grouchy monster!

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It is amazing.

I am watching the Comedy Fest right now. Yes, RIGHT NOW. And these three guys, one of who is wearing a black & mild shirt, playing just 4 chords, and all sorts of songs are coming out of it! And these are all top 40 songs! Just learn these 4 chords, and you’ll bound to get a hit. Well, that is, if you can sing in the first place.

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I recently met a new migrant. Like, brand new. Fresh out of the oven. I am always so amazed with new migrants and their fearless adventurous spirit. I guess, if one is ready to pack up and leave their home, there’s only one way, go forward.

The one thing I knew would be the biggest hindrance for my family was, finding and renting a home. I started early, and actually roped in my SIL to help me rent a place. I know, I was sneaky like that. It did help that she was actually already working here, so it would be easier to get a place to rent.

But this lady, who just flew here, didn’t know the geographical difference between  Outer Banks rental homes and Fitzroy rental homes, just picked a suburb, and managed to secure a rental home! Just like that!

I’m pretty sure that she had someone who helped her, because I know it is extremely difficult for new migrants to get a place to rent because there is no way the agency can perform a credit check. With no employers to refer to, it is even harder!

I wonder, how creative can new migrants get, in order to rent a place?

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I just met a friend, with 2 kids in tow. I knew she had been working before, so I didn’t realise she recently left her job, to do two things :

1. Take care of her young girls, and

2. Start a new business.

She had all these ideas bursting out of her head. She had taken the necessary accreditation to get qualified. And, she is very determined to get it started. She had scoped around for quotes on webhosting and the development of her new website. I asked her several questions, and it was clear she didn’t think about protecting her website, ideas or online presence.

Here’s the thing, I understand how hard it is to actually set up a business, and network with real people. To consider an online presence, one also needs to work it out from point A to point B. The other thing is.. she is only one person. It is more often than not, quite difficult to manage everything on your own. There comes a time, if she needed to take a break, what then? the business takes a break too? Clients don’t like it when a business takes a break. Nobody.

So, after my discussion with her, it was clear she really had to sit down, think and map out a concrete business plan, one with numbers, projections and what-ifs. It’s not easy…running a business.

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Just when I thought I’m just getting over the terrible twos..yes, No.3 has been really reasonable with my rationales and explanations on the whys, wheres, whos and whats. I was literally, jumping with joy.

This is about No.1. He’s 9 this year, and he has been a real sweetheart, growing up. He is very observant, understanding and an overall easy going kid. In fact, most times, I won’t bother going for parent-teacher talks simply because he’s been such a happy-go-lucky kid, always with friends and always able to overcome sticky situations.

In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a subtle changes in him. I know, coz my mu-um radar is constantly up.. and I can feel it. It’s like he’s wearing ray bans, pretending that we can’t see him under those shades. It’s the little things. When I ask him a question, he’d immediately go on the defense. When I ask him to complete a task, he becomes defiant. He is getting moody and temperamental.

Is this the beginnings of tweenhood/teenhood?

Do I have to now consider learning how to handle power-struggles in tweens/teens? I never thought I would have to consider it until he turned 11. Yea.. wishful thinking.

I hope I’ll find the time to have a one-on-one talk with him. I do enjoy talking to him…. I enjoy his point of views and his rationale. I hope this won’t ever stop.

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Lately, I’ve been receiving a number of baby shower invitations, and I have to say, it has given me baby lust. My 3 year old, whom I’m immensely proud of at the moment, has gone through leaps and bounds in terms of maturity.

Let me explain.

Last week, was his first week at kinder. Prior to that, all he’s been doing is follow us during drop-offs and pick-ups. It involves a short play at the school/kinder playground, then a walk to the car. There was no chance for him to stay in a classroom and interact with the teachers and kids.

So, last week, when I dropped him off at 8.30am on Monday, he was in tears. He was bawling his head off, because he mistook “kinder” for his brothers’ school. He screamed to me, “Not this school! Kor-Kor*‘s school!”

Sigh. It was the same scene on the second day of Kinder. The teacher had to peel him off me, made us say “good-bye” to each other…and he had to watch me leave, saying “Mum’ll be back soon, ok?”. All this was done on purpose by the teacher, so he would understand “good-byes” and “I’ll be back to pick you up”. Developing trust, is one of the things we also learn in kinder.

Oh..my heart was so heavy, when I left. My first two kids never went through a crying spell. They happily trotted to class, and waved their good-byes to me. Such confidence. So, you’ll have to understand this lack of confidence in No.3, was pretty heart-breaking for me.

The kinder teacher (Oh, how I love her so), texted me, and told me he was fine after a few tears. Though I was comforted by her words, I just had to see him, to believe it.

When I picked him up, he was ok. OK. Smiley, happy and relieved to see me.

This week, as I dropped him off at kinder, he confidently said his good-byes and headed straight to the painting area. Even his teacher was pleasantly surprised. I had a huge woooooosh of relief.

Then, it was swimming session times. Ever since he was a wee bub, I’ve taken him to swim lessons. I always had to get into the pool with him, and he loved the whole thing. Since he turned 3, he was upgraded to the normal lessons. No longer bub classes. He was a little puzzled at my fully dressed self, as he stepped into the water with new teachers.

I expected him to wail his heart out, screaming that I’d go change and join him. But… there was nothing. He enjoyed his entire swimming session..and had a ball, jumping into the deep end.

Wow. My heart was bursting with so much pride and tears.

I can’t believe how fast he has grown.. from a lil bub..to my lil independent boy.

Hence, the tinge of baby lust. But do not worry… I still vividly remember the days when I was sick to the bone, while being pregnant with all three. Not something I’d do again in a heartbeat. Maybe a tinge.

*Kor-Kor – big brother

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I love baking. At the moment, it’s just the simple stuff. The simpler the recipe, the better for me. I have many time constraints, but I also have 3 hungry tummies to fill. Most of the time, I’d prefer to make stuff for them, instead of serving store bought stuff. Also it is unbelievably therapeutic, as it always gives me an excuse for me to say, “Mu-um’s busy baking… away with you children!”.

I ‘inherited’ a couple of really old kitchen appliances, like a “older-than-me” hand mixer and “30-something”  kenwood mixer. Yea.. I used to think I needed brand-new appliances, to bake..but, those two oldies, really helped me bake quite a lot of stuff.

Until.

Yes, there is an ‘until’. First, I unsuccessfully tried to whip up some butter. The only problem was, the butter was still too hard, and turning the kenwood on too long, only meant a near death situation. Near death, I say, only because this poor old fler was in the ICU (a very good repairer) for 2 weeks, before it came back home again. While it works well now, I’m much more careful about overusing it too much.

Then, the old hand-mixer was over-used. That was about 3 recipes ago. I think I was trying to make some cookies, instead of using the kenwood, I used the hand-mixer and well… never thought I’d say this but, I killed a handmixer.

*sorry!*

That would not be the end. No.. I’ve also killed a blender. Yes.. true story. And that was 2 recipe ago. Yes, cookies again. Because I killed my hand-mixer, for some strange reason, I thought I could use my blender to mix up a batch of cookies. I think all that smoke must have had an effect on me ol’ brains.

So, I decided to buy me a really cheap hand-mixer, and really hope it wouldn’t end up like it’s predecessor.  I guess, I have to go easy on the volume.

Here’s something I baked this afternoon, incredibly easy..and a real yummy treat.

Cheese Trunks (supposed to be sticks..but well, I got greedy). They look like shortbread bikkies to me…only it’s savoury.

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Dinah, I am doing it! For the past 10 years or so, my home organisation/administrative skills were disastrously haphazard. I’d only file when I see a huge pile of paper on my dining table. Then I’d spend hours just punching holes, dividing them, and then putting them into their files, according to the separators.

Not any more!

Thanks to Dinah’s FB link on organising your filing, I knew this was the way to cure my haphazardness. It was easy, dead simple, and takes less than 5 minutes to do.

I got myself 2 ring files, one for home and one for kids. I get so much paperwork from school, it begs for a file of its own. I got the ones with pockets, to slot in any outstanding letters or bills I’m supposed to pay attention to. *ahem*

I added in a pencil/pen case, yes yes..Batman, it was either Batman, Dora or The Simpsons. Batman just won, plain and simple.  This is where mu-um’s stationery is, and nobody else gets to touch it, or use it, or anything with it, because it is mine and I’ll be damned if any of my stationery disappears on me!

I downloaded a free monthly calender from annystudio.com (Thanks Anny.. I was just too lazy to do it myself). This is where I’m supposed to highlight any bills to be paid (which is also located in the pocket).

Once the bill is paid, it’s crossed off and I immediately file it into its’ separators. It’s pretty empty in March somehow..I haven’t gotten any bills yet. YET. Thank god, I am starting in March…when the pile isn’t a fire hazard as yet.

I will never ever have to worry about spending hours filing away again! EVER!!!!!!

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Now, as you may or may not recall (it’s ok, I forgive you, too many blogs out there..life gets busy), I mentioned something about my jelly belly and how if I sucked it in, it would not show.

Well, that’s the thing. I find all my clothes fit better, around my fat arms (those capped sleeves aren’t as ‘find-a-vein’ tight anymore), around my thighs (when I wear my jeans..and how it used to stretch out like mad) and of course, my waist.

And then.. every single time, I get happy with the evident fat loss…I check out the weighing machine..and it constantly stays the same.

57kg.

It’s been like that for 2 years now. I used to be much less than this. Okok.. Just about 5kg less. I was very happy with 52kg.

Very happy.

Sigh.

Are my scales broken? I’m inclined to think so, as it seems possible for me to lose fat, but not weight?

But all weight aside, I’m happy. Because having fatty tissue does no good for your heart.. and I want to keep my heart pumping as long as I can.

Update : OMG I JUST REALISED ONE THING! I CAN WEAR WIDE BELTS NOW. On the outside!…not that I will, but now I have a waist..and I have OPTIONS! Tee hee…

Viewed 4642 times by 1020 viewers

In 2 more sleeps, my littlest guy will turn 3.

*heaves a big sigh*

For the past 35 months now, I have been slowly packing up his babyhood, and I think this weekend, it will be all done.

There were the quick changes of sizes, from 00000 to 000 to 0 to 1 to 2. He’s still in between 2 and 3, and sometimes wearing his brother’s 4. The shoes..oh! the shoes. They were so tiny and cute. There was the babyish toys, the play mats. Then came the packing up of the portable cot, that had been semi-permanent in our living room. This was when he couldn’t stand being confined anymore and wanted to get more involved with his brothers.

Yesterday, was the rejection of the Ikea high chair. Yes…I still place him in there during lunch and dinner, because the lil rascal is a grazer. So far, he’s not been running off, when he sits at the dining table, like the rest of us. So far.

The last reminder of his babyhood, would be his cot. Yes..he still fits in his cot, a pretty big cot..and he likes it in there. I know he’ll be ok on a normal bed (not toddler tho – weird), but seeing him in the cot, makes me believe my baby is still a baby. But, that has to go, I have already reluctantly accepted it.

Soon, he’ll be 3, in kinder, and growing too fast for me. As much as I want to see him grow up, I sure love how he loves cuddling with me. My bigness enveloping his smallness. It always makes him feel safe, I believe.

Honey Bear, Mama loves you.

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Be forewarned, there are some unscrupulous traders/people out there who are returning change with Euro 50 cents. If you can see, they are almost similar in size, and colour. If you just pocket your change, you might not even notice.

My mother in law, received her change with this Euro 50 cent coin. She was livid, when she got home and realised what happened. My MIL is a very very careful person, she doesn’t like to be conned, because it makes her look vulnerable. But, even I would not have noticed.

Just how much is a EURO 50 cents worth in AUD currency? A quick check with a currency website – xe.com, shows that it is

0.50 EURO = 0.684071 AUD

Definitely much less than One Australian Dollar.

I’m not saying it happens frequently, I’m just saying to check your change, the next time you get them. It just sucks to get less than what you bargain for! Another view of your change.

Viewed 5198 times by 1109 viewers

After getting fined hundreds of dollars, and demerit points deducted for doing less than 10km/h (*curses*), I decided I have to pretend that there are whistler radar detectors out there, waiting to catch me. Yes, I’ve been driving Ms.Daisy and drivers behind me aren’t a happy lot.

In fact, people are most annoyed, when I follow the speed limit of 50km/h, in one of a very very straight road, which has no traffic lights. I can’t help it.. it was here I was caught twice doing 55km/h. Can you believe it? Sigh..

Viewed 4519 times by 982 viewers

After being a SAHM for so long, I have often thought about working part time once all my kids are in school. I know I have to be mentally prepared to be job ready.

Why?

1. Job opportunities : What on earth could I qualify for? I may be underqualified or overqualified for quite a lot of jobs

2. Job interviews : I really hate job interviews. I often feel the need to burp or fart, in that very very small claustrophobic or very very big intimidating interview room.

3. Work wardrobe : This is something I sorely lack in. I have nothing appropriate to wear for a job interview, much less, work.

4. Time management : Can you imagine how OCD I’d get because I won’t have time for my house chores. You would think, with a steady income, I’d be a little bit more happy. Sigh..

I could go on and on and on, but you know what? That’s just part of life. My Aunt (who is really more like my cousin, since she’s so close in age), has moved on to the next phase of her life, as all her kids are in school FULL TIME. She managed to obtain one of those jobs in health care, as a dental nurse. She had ZERO qualifications, yet, they were willing to give her training.

I really have to start preparing myself, NOW. I have 2 more years. Hee..

Viewed 4125 times by 961 viewers

“Angin” in malay, literally means, wind.

To say it metaphorically, in malay, it could mean lots of things, like

‘makan angin’ (eat wind) ~ to take a holiday,

‘masuk angin’ (in wind) ~ the chips/crisps/bikkies/cookies have gone stale or it could mean, that your body has indigestion, or your body is feeling cold,

‘keluar angin’ (out wind) ~ fart,

So you see, there are lots of meaning behind the very simple malay words.

My lil ‘Angin’ refers to my youngest lovable monster boy. His mood changes in a blink of an eye. It is at this stage, that drives me batshitcrazy the most. Ok perhaps too premature for me to say, but for now, it is.

For example, yesterday, I decided to avoid the school pick up and had instructed the two elder boys to walk up to where I parked. To avoid a massive tantrum from my lil “angin’, I brought out two long pieces of chalk, with me. To occupy his time, drawing on the walkway.

He was delighted. The entire time, he was busy, drawing his circles and lines. And then, he dropped one of them. It broke into half.

You know what’s going to happen. You know it.. TAKE COVER!!!!!!! All hell breaks loose.

He demands that I fix it back.

I said weakly, knowing what would come, “But, I can’t. It’s broken”.

He pushes it to me, and DEMANDS THAT I FIX IT!

I tried so hard tell him, that once it’s broken, it’s hard to fix it back to the way it was.

This goes on for about 5 minutes.

Then suddenly, I decided to ask him to fix it. I told him, I’ll try to fix it, then you try. We’ll try together.

And just like that… he was ok with it.

As I congratulated myself on the miracle that just happened, I also asked myself this, as an ‘experienced’ mother of three, why did I not think of this earlier? I just have to work out a solution with him..and stop being so negative.

D-uh. I think I left my brains in Aldi.

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It often bugs me how some men like to freely offer their unsolicited opinions. On matters that has NOTHING to do with them.

Honestly!

No.3 has issues. Issues leaving school. He absolutely hates leaving his big brothers’ school, after the drop off. We walk in together, as No.2 just started prep, and well, I like to see him getting settled in. Ok, I admit, he’s already settled himself in quite well, and doesn’t really need me. But still.

So, anyway, back to No.3. He absolutely bawls everytime I take a step towards the gate. He clings onto my one or two legs, with all his tiny might and tries his darndest to pull me backwards. This lil tyke is strong!

I often pretend I’m a horse on blinkers, pretending not to see anyone else who crosses my path. It can be pretty mortifying, you would think I had tortured the kid, right there and then.

So, today, I walked away. I just walked away and hid around the first corner. No.3 is just going berserk, but still holding on to the gate. I know whatever I say, won’t calm him down, so I don’t really want to try. I wanted to give him time to compose himself, and walk to me, when he was ready.

Anyway, a group of people were passing through, and suddenly, one of the fathers said, “You know, you should really control your kid.”

I was flabbergasted.

Then, the brain started spewing out expletives, and very nicely, I shall say, that I felt that he should get some male enhancement surgeries, after I was done with him.

I don’t know why parents like that think that toddlers are controllable. If I had shouted at him or smacked him in the face, in public, do you think that, that would really help? These little tyrants have a mind of their own now. They can’t express what they want, their maturity levels are not quite there yet..and you expect them to comprehend everything you say to them?

Harrrumph!

Honestly!

Viewed 4596 times by 1058 viewers

A few days ago, I had a glimpse of my future. I kid you not. No no no..I did not have visions or dreams of that sort. I literally saw it in the mirror.

When I first started on my Begone Fats journey, I had a pregnant belly. I was so pregnant, even if I sucked in the belly, I’d still be pregnant. It has been hanging around like a bad smell for so long, I was in serious denial, hiding it with flowy clothes, jackets. Winter was like the best season ever!

Ever since, my MIL left, her lack of good food became one of my top fat burners. Now that I’m back on cooking, and I tend to cook healthier stuff (yes yes..less fried, less salt, less TASTE!!!), so it was easier for me to burn off my fats.

And yes..in that mirror, that steamy steamy mirror, I saw a glimpse of my future. A flat belly.

I just had to suck it in. But at least, I saw it.

So..hell yea! I am even more motivated now!

BEGONE FATS! HELLO HEALTHY HEART!

Viewed 3975 times by 992 viewers

I had a friend, whose family moved to UK, for the love of riding. Seriously. The entire family loved horses.

They wanted to rear thoroughbred horses and ponies and they decided to make it their livelihood. With just their savings, and many prayers, they uprooted themselves, and started investing in a huge farmland and house. They also had to consider costs of breeding and rearing thoroughbreds of which, the more significant portion was their UK horse insurance and pony insurance.

She lamented how expensive the premiums were, but knew that if anything were to happen to them, she had the assurance of the insurance. That was about a decade ago. Right now, she’s laughing all the way to the bank, because her hard work and investments have paid off. She is able to relax, and enjoy just being with her horses. I do admire her faith, and her willingness to slog it through, even though her future was uncertain. How motivated can you get, if you had everything to lose, and nothing to gain?

Viewed 3183 times by 862 viewers

I fell in love with Grown’s facial moisturizer 2 years ago..and never fell out of it. I love it so much.

I know it’s no anti-wrinkle cream, but I just love the smell of geranium, camelia and a hint of orange. Usually, I’m a simple Ponds girl. I don’t really like perfumy moisturizers, and alot of them in the market has too much of it. However..Grown…has so many wonderful products, and every single one (except the lip balm which has watermelon) is just so grab-able!

However, it is not cheap. In fact, if I can’t get it on a discount, I refrain from buying it. As I don’t have a decent inflow of income, it is considered a luxury. Hence, luxurious items are on the far back burners.

If I win a gazillion dollars, this would be considered my staple.

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Sleeping.

Such a luxury. And yet, sometimes it eludes me. After 8 continuous years of interrupted sleep, I am not able to fall asleep as easily, even if I’m doggone tired. Perhaps it’s because I don’t sleep when I’m sleepy? I only go to sleep when I’ve done all my work. Like right now, I’m super sleepy. I so want to sleep, but guess what? It’s only 7.37pm.

By the time, I actually get ready for bed..I think my body would have to readjust. And the only thing that acts as sleeping pills at the moment is, reading. And it has to be a super boring book…and I literally have to force myself to read it.

I remember only being able to sleep really well…during my holidays. Sans kids.

Oh..I’m a bit grumpy today, because my eldest kid decides that 5.30am was pretty good time to wake everyone up. And yes.. I was super anal in the morning. agh!

Viewed 9918 times by 850 viewers

I am seriously going crazy. I have been having tons of problems with all my plugins.

The problem? It does not appear in my plugin admin page.

Yup, nothing appears.

It is driving me insane. I’ve tried deleting it off the cpanel. And reinstalling them. But nothing appears!

It is driving me crazy, because I’m looking for a comment reply plugin, and want so badly to install it, but nothing freaking appears! Instead of drafting up  zenmed reviews, I have to focus on fixing my plugins.

Arh!

Viewed 2392 times by 668 viewers

We had the most wonderful weather this weekend. It was cool enough to be Autumn, but the summer sun was out. I could not stand being in the house, me on my Mac, Mr.T on his wacom, kids stuck like glue on whatever gadget they had their hands on.

I basically THREW everyone out of the house… and we all chased dandelions and butterflies.

Well, Mr.T was summoned to mow the lawn. Butwewon’tgothere.

SO! Yes.. the whole entire afternoon was running after dandelions that was flying too high for us to catch.

It felt so free. Uninhibited. For 2 whole hours.

I think mostly because I didn’t schedule any chores to do for the day… so, it was very relaxing. A rarity in my life.

Kids slept like logs that night. Even the lil one who wee-ed through his nappies, and slept through the change!!!

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Oh yea..we did a few days of heat, but compared to the summers I’ve been through, it was practically nothing! Nowadays, the temps drop so low at nights, I feel the need to turn on the electric blanket. I remember feeling most of the heat coming through Feb, Mar, and only feeling the pinch of Autumn in April.

Now with mother nature’s tumultuous behaviour, the world, well this part of the world, is just going crazy!!!

The only relief I have, is that when I run outside, it’s quite enjoyable. Nothing like the cold crisp air to wake you up and run faster!

Viewed 2598 times by 714 viewers

Wow. What a ride I’ve been on.

It’s Day 6 on the 31 days to build better blogs, and sometimes, I do still feel overwhelmed, with the number of tweets coming in and getting work done. I have to say though, Louisa from Everythingisedible.com is a phenomenal organizer. On a daily basis, she’ll post up daily tasks on Aussie Mummy Bloggers’ Forum and encourage everyone who’s participating. I’m not sure what she’s on..but I sure as hell, would like whatever she’s having!

As it is, I’m still trying to feel my way around twitter. Truth be told, I’m realllllly bad at it. It’s like everyone’s tweeting at the same time..and it’s mind boggling trying to read everyone’s tweet. I do feel awful not being able to tweet or retweet as much, because when I open up Tweetdeck, I just have so many tweets to read..and I do try my best to keep up..but it’s almost impossble!

If you are reading this, I want you to jump into this wagon, because it’s still not too late to hitch on this ride. Yea..I’m talking to you, Cyn!!!! This is a perfect opportunity to meet more bloggers, get fresh with them, make more connections (twitter, FB, forum), look over templates, refocus on your blog journey, get fresh new perspectives on how to maintain your blog juice..ah! just so many positives to mention!

What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve ~ Clement Stone.

So.. get your butt moving, and join in 31days now!

Viewed 2962 times by 789 viewers

It’s only February, but trust me..this is already on my mind. I can’t help but think about gifts that people might like, want or need. The problem with me, is that I really hate last minute buying. And the other problem is, I always go through it! No matter how many times, I plan this, I will always always always miss out someone, just because I’d say I will get to them.

Impulsive buy is never a good thing. Mr.T, dear Mr.T, was working really hard during the Xmas season last year. I knew he would have NO time to get anything for me, because he was literally up, from 8am to 9pm, every single day, right up to Xmas. He was doing retail, so hence the retail hours.

But, he did come back with gift. He thought it was one of the best food storage, that I would like. It is basically containers with vacuum pumps on them. He made friends with the neighbouring kiosk, and got a staff discount. Ha ha ha.. I chuckled when I heard that. Mr.T, when he turns on his boyish charm.. no one is safe!

But, yes.. the brain is still churning on the never-ending list of possible Xmas gifts. When do you start planning? Or at least, think about it?

Viewed 2297 times by 649 viewers

3 weeks ago, Mr.T went for a work retreat. Actually, it was more like an excuse, I bet. He left for the country, pretty close to Mt.Buller. He was meant to call me, to inform me of his safe arrival, but it wasn’t until close to 11pm, that I realised I had NO missed calls/sms from him. So, I send off a SMS (yes yes, lazy wife), and couldn’t wait to go to sleep. As I drifted off to slumber, the dang SMS comes in. “Tired, but here”.

Duh..yea.

Anyway, when he returns, he tells me about the whole experience. The one thing that struck him deeply, was the affection between the dogs and the owner. He was particularly smitten by one of their dogs, and asked me if we could get a dog.

Honestly, I love dogs. I love cats. I love all animals. I’ve taken care of 2 dogs, taken in many stray cats, an iguana..and several pet fishes.

BUT!

With three kids and a small backyard, it will be absolutely chaotic for me to take care of pet. I know it takes alot to consider a new addition to the family.

Let’s see :

1. Unconditional Love

Pets should be your part of family. They love you unconditionally and you should too. Period.

2. Health

You need to consider vaccinations, dog insurance or cat insurance, hair care, nail care and annual worm checks.

3. Expenses

This is a big obstacle for me. I know just how expensive dog/cat food can get, and you won’t want to give a family member, crappy food unless it’s the very annoying aunt/uncle that doesn’t stop blabbing about their greatness.Plus, additional expenses for health reasons and housing them.

4. Time

You’ll need to spend time with them, playing with them, and taking them out for walks. Time, which I don’t really have at the moment.

I had to let Mr.T down gently, by telling him, for practical reasons, it would be cruel if we did get a pet. The funny thing is, he’s never had pet in his life! So I’m wondering… what gives?

Viewed 3043 times by 791 viewers

I love to bake, whether or not it comes out good enough to eat, it doesn’t matter. Baking calms me down. It makes me happy while I’m sifting the flour, or mixing the batter, and the best bit ~ the fragrance of the baked product wafting through my entire home.

I’ve dealt with alot of baking fails, enough to come up with these 5 easy baking tips, that will help it be a happy success!

1. Rise Yeast Rise!

If you’re baking bread, and you need your dough to rise, but it’s winter and it’ll probably take days before you see any action. Put your oven temp to the lowest, for 20 minutes. Switch it off, and and put in your dough. Within an hour, you’ll have a nicely risen dough. Yay!

2. Revive Your Dried Brown Sugar

If your brown sugar is hard to break up/dries up, place the sugar in a zipped lock bag with a piece of bread. Microwave it for 15-30 seconds and wah lah! It will be moist again.

3. Buttermilk your Pancakes

Pancake Parlour’s main ingredients are Buttermilk and Flour. It’s so easy to do. Buttermilk is essentially 1 cup of milk, with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice/vinegar. Let it stand for 5 minutes..and you’ll have buttermilk! So yum in pancakes!!!!

4. Sinking Blueberries

It’s lovely to add blueberries into muffins/cupcakes..but it really sucks if it’s all at the bottom. What I do is, toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour. Eureka! Nice spread of blueberries all over your muffins/cupcakes.

5. Cleaning is a bitch!

Yes, it is. But it doesn’t have to be. Just get 2-3 pieces of kitchen paper towel (Handee is really good for this), wipe through all the bowls and cutlery used (oily only). The Handee Paper Towel can be wet, and is strong enough to re-use to wipe again. It will be so much easier to wash off, without having to deal with all that grease.

Now.. please please please do share with me, what are your easy baking tips.

Viewed 3989 times by 986 viewers

All this hype about being a Tiger Mom.

Phish. I’m Asian. I had a Tiger Mom. I know all the secrets. Yupp.. right here *pats on the head*

My Mama, member of the original Tiger Mom Associations, had high aspirations for me. It was fully supported by Bull-headed Dad.

Here’s the list of the top 3 must-dos as a Tiger Mom:

1. No such thing as fun.

I had a Mandarin tutor. Bearing in mind, my parents spoke NO mandarin themselves, nevertheless, I was meant to speak the mother tongue. Well, turns out I was a pretty dumb kid, and the Mandarin tutor got really frustrated with me, and he decided to do colouring during our classes. Now..it was way better than learning how to write the ‘ting xie’ (chinese characters). But, when mother found out, it was off with the tutor..and I am fully grown now, with just a smattering of spoken Mandarin. If someone actually spoke to me in Mandarin.. I would literally space out..and say the usual “no speaking mandarin’.

In retrospect, I wished as hell, my mother forced me to learn..because it’s such a challenge now, for me to converse in Mandarin. Now, I constantly have to buy batteries for my Mandarin-English speaking dictionary. Sigh..

2. Practice, practice, practice.

Yup..I had piano lessons. Organ lessons. I practiced every day. It really hurt. I used to hate practicing. Now, I’m just glad I know how to play.

3. Get all As

Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, I was a pretty dumb kid. I would periodically FAIL in alot of my subjects. Everytime report card time came around, I’d be shivering with fear. Because it was inevitable, that the cane would appear. I would be caned (yes, with a thin bamboo cane-rod), repeatedly. Child Abuse? Nah… it was a norm, to be caned. Right up to high school. The only As I have were for Maths (thankfully, I loved numbers) and English. The rest were all Cs, Ds and of course, FAILS!

Then something changed. Once I stepped into Uni, I started getting As (I know.. it was a miracle, I was accepted into a good Uni). I just started getting As. I learnt that I don’t learn via rote or memory. I learn via application, which was how Uni works. My parents were, at last, relieved.

Now, as I’m a mom myself.. and while I do have bits and pieces of her in me, I find myself to be more of a Paper Tiger Mom.

Really fierce on the outside, but a super softie inside.

I do want my kids to grow up resilient, challenged and strong. But at the same time, I don’t want that to stifle them by restricting their life. So, their pleasures include plays in the park, beaches, sleepovers and running amok in the house and cleaning up their own mess. HAH ~ the (paper) tiger mom in me just won’t let go.

What about you? Did you have a Tiger Mom? Or are you one?

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Thanks to Louisa who kickstarted the whole “31 days to build a better blog“  via her blog and Aussie Mom Bloggers..I would like you to join in. Yes.. It’s only Day 1, and there’s still time!

In his book, Darren Rowse (Mr.Problogger himself) outlines what you need to do on each and every day. I can’t say much, because I speed read and I am such a last minuter.

So, this morning, I’m churning all sorts of thoughts in my head, wondering what my elevator pitch would be. I find myself drifting to wondering why I visit other blogs… and what’s on my rss reader’s list.

Truth be told, there is an eclectic list, but one common thing is humour.

And I love it.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a single man, or a mom of 6, as long as you’re funny, you’re on my list.

I had to refocus… and I figured out, that despite my blog being a bowl of mixed nuts, the short tag line is this :

I write to make you laugh and cry.

The elevator pitch :

A small island, a dot in the internet world, where I reluctantly blog about my life. I write from my heart, and sometimes, a muddled brain. Well, mostly.

I have many quirky answers in life, and you might just find it here. Or not. I mean to be light hearted and funny, but if I’m not…please don’t come after me with a pitch fork. I’m a paper tiger mom! HEAR ME MEOWWWRRRR!

There. That’s it.

Viewed 2463 times by 754 viewers

I know..what on earth has it got to do with my Begone Fats journey.

Well.. I just signed up for the Mother’s Day Circle 8km run, thanks to an inspiring and dedicated runner, Naomi.

The main reason for  participating in this run, is because I wanted to run for everyone I’ve known to be affected by Cancer. Not just breast, though I know this run is specifically for cancer..but what can I say? I’m weird like that.

Cancer survivors, cancer warriors (those who’ve lost their battles), carers and friends.

I’ve decided to compile a new playlist of all their favourite bands and songs, and have been sending out emails to family and friends and asking them if they had a favourite band/song. When that song comes out, that particular run time is solely for them.

So, I write to my cousin, asking more about his mom and what her favourite tunes were.

…and another guy replies. An old friend, from high school. That’s over 20+ years ago. Yea..I’m shockingly old.

And he tells me that I’ve got the wrong guy..bla bla bla..and by the way, he’s also a cancer survivor too..nose cancer.

My jaw drops as I read it.

He has two gorgeous girls. We’ve never spoke much about anything else, except for jokes and his girls. I can’t believe how superficial I’ve been with my friends on facebook. Yea..we’re connected, but are we, really?

I joined the Mother’s Day Circle, with great fear and trepidation, because it’s been a long time since I ran in runs. Now, as I’m reaching out to many people connected to cancer… I’m grateful, privileged, honoured and humbled.

I’m not sure if I’ll be crying all the way during the 8km long race. Who cares..I’ll pretend it’s my sweat rolling off my head.

Viewed 2611 times by 782 viewers

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my “Begone Fats” journey. Essentially… the fats stubbornly remain. Mr.T, dear Mr.T, tells me that I look much skinnier. Problem is I happen to have a small face, so when people see me, they instantly think I’m slim. But, it’s all rather deceiving.

I’m like a squished ‘on-the-top’ toothpaste. Ah.

Anyway.. what’s on your playlist, when you go running?

Mine’s a mish-mash of all kinds. I tend to play the same thing over and over and over again. I am not sure why.

1. Queen’s Concert. This album lasts for 2 hours. 2 hours!

2. Robbie Williams – One of his latest albums. I particularly like “Lola” alot. And I sing outloud to it. Much to the detriment of the sleepy people.

3. Pulp Fiction’s soundtrack. I know…. odd. But..hey, keeps me running.

4. Mixed tape from a dear friend, which includes my favourite song from the 80s – ‘It Might Be You’ by Steven Bishop (Soundtrack from Tootsie).

5. Daft Punk.

I know. It’s just a oddly mixed playlist. But somehow it gets me running. It gets me thinking. It gets me singing.

Daft punk has a special role here..it makes me run faster…because I imagine I actually am in a movie..and imagine (again), that someone’s chasing me. I know.. daft. But it works. And I finish so much faster on those days.

So..what’s on your playlist?

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How interesting it is for me to see where enterprise social networking has exploded into. When I started working in a bank, wayyyy back in the 90s, I think there wasn’t such a thing as twitter, facebook or friendster. The mobile phone was huge and bulky in comparison, and it had twiddly lil antennas that I’d love to twiddle with during drinks.

I worked in a department that developed intranet banking systems for corporate clients. It was essentially only for corporate banking clients (who actually paid for our services ~ guess they would the right to come down hard on us, if something did go wrong! ). I had a great time working there, building a system that was bare minimum, to a user friendly, feature friendly online system that was super secure. No one could ever hack into it, because each and every single line was from our client’s server to the bank’s server. All our clients loved it, because they were dealing with moving huge sums of money, and they had no qualms using our services. Unlike some banking systems that relied on existing phone lines that could be easily tapped into, even if it was ‘secure’.

Now that I’m out of the game, I wonder just how advanced are the corporate banking systems now. Our biggest challenges were, at that time, not being to provide instant services, as most of our systems were not interfaced then. I’d also like to know if it incorporated a micro blogging software (which is similiar to twitter), to provide as alerts to clients or for clients to report an error/problem instantaneously. It would be interesting to see if enterprise microblogging would be taken up within the corporate circle..seeing that it’s such a huge thing on the internet. Seeing that security remains the biggest challenge, I wonder how are banks dealing with the advancement of hackers and their systems.

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Ah…

No.2 just started prep and today, was his second day in school. Now, when No.1 started school, he was ever so excited. Couldn’t contain his excitement as he stepped into his class, and at the end of the day, he wanted more of it!

This will be his fourth year in school, and he is still so excited to go to school. Sometimes, I really wonder about this energizer bunny. He just loves his teachers, his friends and all the activities.

No.2, was excited to go to school as well. He was. I knew it. He just didn’t show it as much as his big brother did. He’s a little more cool about things, sometimes nonchalant about new things.

Today, he tells me just how bored he was at school, and that he thought I was late in picking him up.

I could not help but laugh at him. It must have been such a long day for him, just this one day… I wonder how much more days like this would he be able to take before he starts rebelling against school.

I just hope he’ll be able to make good friends and enjoy himself when he’s at school.

I met many moms there who were sending off their youngest ones to school as well…and already they are bored at home! I guess, after taking care of kids full time for 5 or more years, having nothing to do at home, does make one wonder about our abilities.

They are looking for part-time work, but the thing is, they don’t want anything too stressful. But with this economy, I’m not sure if that’s what employers would want. I’m sure they would prefer their part-timers to defer thinking about office decorating ideas and leaving it to the professionals. Work should mean adding value to any company. And adding value is never easy peasy stuff. I personally think that in no matter what job you’re in, you should give it a 100%. Because what you give in, is what you’ll get out with.

Now..how did I end up writing about my son’s experience at school to, work?

I don’t know..at this point of time, I’m also cracking my head on school-lunch ideas for tomorrow.

Jumbled thoughts… not good.

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Last night… was, the first time I’ve ever experienced a home flood. My home.

I was coming out of a shower, when I realised that my neighbour was yelling in Korean. I had no idea what it meant, but, I knew it was serious.

I ran out of my room, and almost slipped in my laundry room, which was already filled up with water, about an inch high. I started panicking and did the first thing on my mind :

Save my mac. I am serious. My mac has all my work, my photos, and if it were ever destroyed, I’d be completely devastated. Of course, I have backup external hard drives..like 2-3 of them, but both of them were attached to the mac, and I guess, if one died, all of them would die as well!

Now, being a mum of three… I realised that was pretty selfish of me, to just think of my stuff. I then, yelled to Mr.T, to pull the TV/DVD plug off. Yup… saving the TV/DVD for the kids. If it died… my kids would go amok.

Sigh… I am such a terrible mum. As the water started seeping into the living area, I yelled at my kids to stay upstairs.

It was pretty scary, seeing the water rush in, without any warning. I tried my best to push the water out, but it was just building up.For the next three hours, my inlaws, Mr.T and I tried our utter best to do whatever we could to minimize damage. And when I heard that there were more storms ahead, at midnite and dawn, I decided to sleep on the couch, just to be on the watch.

I am so exhausted now. I just did my massive clean up..and I’ll tell you, I never seen so many tiny toys under fridges and washing machines before! And yes..it was my first time, since I moved into my home, cleaning up the unders-of-my-whitegoods.

My laundry room was the hardest hit..and is now the cleanest and neatest room EVER! I feel like sleeping in there tonight. Right now, I would love to get into one of those soaking tubs, just to zen out.

My FIL and Mr.T have been working their asses off, to clean out our drainage and gutters. My MIL has been taking care of the kids, while we were doing the massive clean up. I can’t thank my inlaws enough, for their time, support and help. They are truly, one of a kind.

Were you affected by the torrential rain (thanks to cyclone Anthony and cyclone Yasi)? Share your story!

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My inlaws, have I mentioned? are angels!

They’ve continued to give give and give, without asking for anything in return. In a couple of weeks time, they’ll be returning to their home, and I will sorely miss them. I’m not part of their flesh and blood, but I will miss them the most.

I’ve been thinking of giving them a digital frame, featuring their favourite people in the world, their grandkids! It’s been really hard to come up with a great gift for them, and I know they love to look at photos, so, I know they’ll love this without having to flip a photoalbum.

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I really don’t know what’s hitting me. Hormones? Maybe.

Who knows.

I am really really missing the Chinese New Year celebrations. I’m missing my dad and mom. Strange thing is… when I’m with them, they drive me up the wall! But… having spent my New Years with my inlaws for so long.. I really miss spending my CNY eve and first day with my folks.

We had a really big spread today (as we normally do, in such festivities), thanks to my mother in law. She cooked up a HUGE storm..and it all tasted sooo good. After dinner, the family got down to watching our wedding DVD. It’s the first time anyone’s seen it, since our wedding..oh, about a 100 years ago. Everyone looked so young and happy.

My kids saw us, young, in action for the first time. I saw both my paternal and maternal granmas so young and in action. My maternal granma left us early last year, and my paternal granma isn’t doing so well. She has Alzheimer’s and isn’t so mobile anymore. I almost cried when I saw them sitting together at the dining table, talking to each other and joyous, soaking up all the good vibes in that ballroom.

When my folks came late last year, I had a huge fight with my dad. The problem with both of us, is that we have the same temper. As they flew off, it was unresolved.

As we are so alike, we felt bad about our actions. And we sent emails, roughly about the same time. Mainly gruff-like cryptic apologies, both of us, not wanting to assume responsibility for starting the big fight. As we skyped earlier today… it was good to have a conversation with him again. Without that heavy feeling inside.

I don’t know how long we have.

But..then why is it, every single time we meet… we fight like cats and dogs! I love that guy..but he really drives me up the wall alot of times! I really need to find some kind of zen inside… peace out..so I don’t get agitated with him!

But at the same time, I really miss them when I have to talk to them on skype.

Hmm..Family.

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In the morning, a breakfast scene :

No.1 : Mu-um, Is it because of your running, your tummy is not so fat now?

Mu-um : Oh (absolutely beaming) yes! I think so.

No.2 : Where mu-um? Where?

Mu-um : Where what?

No.2 : Where’s your not-so-fat tummy? I can’t see it!

Mu-um nods wisely : Yes…that’s why it’s called the not-so-fat tummy.

In the evening, watching The Biggest Loser premier episode :

No.2 : Mu-um… look! look! Your tummy looks like theirs now.

Mu-um mumbles sadly : Yes son..yes, let’s not remind mu-um.

No.2 : Is it because you’ve eaten so much that your tummy is now so fat? Again?

No.1 : But no! Mu-um has been exercising…so her tummy is getting better!

Mu-um thinks to herself : Oh! I think I shall run abit more tomorrow morning!

Kids .. have a way of inflating and deflating my ego.

In a way, I want my kids to learn that we can’t magic erase away our weight problems. We can’t sink into the comfortable spot where we think it’s acceptable to be unhealthy. All weight problems can be worked out, and while it will take time to work it out, IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT AT THE END OF THE DAY. Just don’t give up, and look for online support. People with similar issues who take running as their way of getting high.

I like running alone, but in a way, when I run, it’s like I have a group of them in my head, and they are running with me, in spirit.

I sound.. schizo. Sheesh.

Join the blog hop below..if you’ve started your weight loss journey.

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There are words there in my title, that I fear. First being, ‘test’ and second, ‘pap smear’.

I really abhor ‘tests’ because I never ever do well under pressure. *shivers*

I have not done my pap smear in a very long time. I won’t tell you how long, for I fear you might just wag your finger at me..but it’s been really too long. Having a pact made with a friend, we were going to do it this year, by hook or by crook. I decided to bite the bullet and just get it over with, asap. I booked in for an appointment today.With a lady doctor.

Yesterday, I was quite jittery. Haven’t not done it in ages, I had this strange idea that perhaps shaving the netherlands would be a good idea. After all, which good GP would like to beat around the bush?

I decided to shave. Then, 1/4 of the way, I decided it wasn’t such a good idea…. as I then remembered how itchy and pokey it gets. Obviously, doing 1/4 of the way, it would seem quite stupid to stop, for said lady doctor might be sniggering mentally about this oddly shaped bush.

Sigh.

Had to go through with it. Such a regret. I often wondered why people go full monty.. I mean, aren’t there consequences they have to live with??!!! As it is, I  have no more dignity left, after showing my netherlands to the whole hospital (ok, I exaggerate, just the surgical ppl), three laborious times!!!!!! These medical people must have seen it all already..Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphillis, what’s one more healthy bush???!!!

Sigh.

And, well then another horrible thought came to mind.

I hope and praaaaaaay that I won’t fart in her face as she’s sticking her speculum into me!!

Oh! The Horrors!

That being said…have you done your pap smear yet? If not..I’ll be wagging my finger at you, until it’s done!

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Sometimes, someone else’s bad luck is your good fortune. The way events are separate yet, inter-connected in some weird hoodoo voodoo movie way. I say this because if my sister in law did not get involved in a minor accident, and decide to get a new car before fixing her old car, Mr.T would not have gotten the business opportunities he had today.

That old car, which is about 10 years old, was instrumental in bringing him from point A to B. Heck, it’s not a Chevrolet Equinox, or  a fancy Mercedez Benz MI 550 or a snazzy  Honda Cr-Z Ex or even a Honda Minivan, it’s just a really banged up car, that will be carefully maintained from now on.

We’ve had to fix the front, had to change some parts of the engine, gotten new tyres, spray painted certain areas that have been sunburnt.. some DIY, most by the mechanics. When we decided to take over her car, we were worried about our financial position. We were just afraid that we might not be able to sustain any more expenditures.

But in retrospect, it is very odd, how things were fated to happen, without us realising that there was a silver lining on that very dark cloud. So, the next time, you go through a spate of bad luck… have faith that, things will turn around for the better. Because things always do, when you have faith.

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Now, this I did not know. As I normally follow the chinese calender, it came to a huge surprise to me, that it is the Year of the Cat for the Vietnamese, and not the Year of the Rabbit! In fact, they have no such animal in their calender!

Which is ironic, because, the story of the 12 animals is somewhat like this (I can’t personally verify this, but this was what I’ve learnt growing up). The emperor who wanted to rename the lunar calender according to animals (making it easier for people to remember), announced that the first 12 animals that reaches him,by the first day of the new lunar year, will get the honour.

The cat, who was very excited about this, asked the rat to wake him up early so that he could make that journey early. However, the sneaky rat ran off, by jumping onto the ox, who started the day before, knowing it was a long and arduous journey. Hence, the cat never made it, as he slept too long and was too late. And the rat was first, while the hard working Ox was second.

So, as you can see… this obviously defies what I’ve known all my life. Which calls for wine. Which I will able to savour once I find the roger wine opener. But seriously, what would you do if you’ve known that one thing all your life, which you’ve always thought to be true…turns out that it probably isn’t.

Recently, someone told me that there was a recent discovery on the astrological zodiacs. There are 13, not 12.

So… people who rely on their horoscopes on a daily basis, could have gotten it all wrong. I’m just saying.

If you like to read more about the Chinese Zodiac, here’s the friendly wiki link.

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For some reason, this lunar year, I feel a deep need to celebrate Chinese New Year in a meaningful way. When I was growing up, I remember hot sticky days, travelling for miles, on trunk (country) roads to my granma’s place in Penang Island. The journey was long, hard and bumpy. Upon reaching there, my granma, granpa would get us in and feed us wonderfully home cooked food. We would sleep in my aunt’s room, four of us, it had mosquito coils and that electrical mosquito repeller as well. Fan on full blast, it was always hot hot hot.

Then, within the next 15 days, we’d be travelling back and forth to various relatives’ homes, eating lots of Chinese New Year cookies and receiving our precious ang-pows (hong pao/red packets which has money in them). We had to wear new starchy clothes, making it realllllly uncomfortable and stiff. New shoes..that would bite onto our skins, making it painful to walk. We’d have to bring the customary gift baskets (pretty similar to easter basket gifts), which had mandarins and even more cookies.  Travelling in heat filled cars, with black smoke and gassy fumes, windows rolled down.

But… the cookies was always something we’d look forward to. One of my favourites was the Pineapple Jam Tarts. I had a reallly bad craving for it recently, and decided to make it this year. Asked a friend (Thanks Charmaine!) for her recipe…and I have to say, it’s like making an epic movie.

Took me one full day just to make the jam. Ok, I had lots and lots and lots of distractions….

Making the pastry was another dramamama moment for me. I have never in my life made pastry before. I have watched my mother make it. I have seen lots of TV celebrity chefs make it. I have even seen kids on Junior Masterchef make it. I am quite comfortable with cakes, muffins and pancakes. But… not pastries.

It took me 3 4 5 6 days to muster every imaginable courage to making it.

Now I know why these tarts are expensive. They are hard to make. I think they take more effort than macarons.

Anyway… I’ve done it. And I get to savour the fruits of my labour. Unfortunately, I don’t have baker’s luck, so let’s just say, I’m at the beginning point of the learning curve.

But, I did enjoy the process of making it. It made me reflect on many moments I’ve had with my family, during this time. I want my boys to celebrate this special festival with their grandparents.

We will be having our family reunion dinner on the Eve of New Year, which is this wednesday. On the first day, the boys will dress up in new clothes and serve tea to their elders. We will hang around the whole day..and hopefully, we’ll play several rounds of gin. Heh… I should go get me a mahjong set.

(opps made a boo-boo there…. it’s 2011.. not 2010. obviously, I’m still living in the past).

We made these firecrackers this afternoon. Firecrackers are meant to scare away evil, leaving only good for the new year. It was easy to make them, with the abundance of red angpows that I have. The pineapple jam tarts have two significant meanings too ; firstly, to have a sweet new year and pineapple signify wealth luck and good fortune.

In a few days time, I will be baking my mother’s fruitcake. I had many many many good memories of us baking it in her kitchen. Late at night, I would sneak down into the kitchen, and take a few slices of cold fruitcake. It always tasted so good, with milk, in the hot hot night.

Cherish moments, relive memories.

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When I started running, there was no focus on distance. Just timing. I only had between 30-50 minutes window of running and I had to just do it within that time. As I improved on running, which also meant less panting and slowing down and breathing heavily like some sex-maniac, I started wondering just how far I was actually running.

I looked into eBay for pedometers. I saw some really super cheap ones. I think the one I got cost AUD1.50 inclusive of postage. Pretty darn cheap, eh?

Well… cheap is what you get.

Let’s see the various distances I’ve been running. Mind you, it’s always been the same route and I had never deviated from it.

From Clockwise :

1. This was the first time I used it. Evidently, after this run, I patted myself on my back many a times. I knew intuitively that I was running that distance, I had my confirmation.

2. My subsequent run. Evidently, I was sorely disappointed.

3. My third run. I was VERY annoyed. After running like shit for 35 minutes and this was how far I went?

4. I really gave up. I threw this cheap pedometer away. I just ran. It was giving me too much grief. Plus, those darn buttons are so tiny, it was really hard for my fat fingers to start them up.

Well… just how far did I run, then?

I found out using this neat pedometer. It’s the Google Map Pedometer. Isn’t it so super cool?

(click on image to enlarge)

Yea..I’m only happy because it truly confirms how far I have been running (that’s 4.8km for those who like me, can’t see that great anymore). *ahem*

Now, I’ll only have to run another 200 metres, to make a round 5km. And if I’m mad enough, run the same route twice… so that I make it an even 10km.

What? Me, crazy???!!!! Naaaahhhhhh!

Here’s a blog hop I’m participating in (first time in a very very long time)…..

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Those of you who’s seen Oprah’s bonanza giveaway episodes will know what I mean. Getting something for free, just by being in the Oprah show.

When you have friends who, out of no reason, gives you home cooked food, you get the warm fuzzy Oprah moment. Just by being their friend.

An hour ago, a good person and friend, decided to pass on 2 Australian Open tickets to me. Personally, I have almost zero interest in Tennis. I enjoy playing it, but I’m no good with keeping scores, or the players. Let’s just say, I’m no good with names. Especially tongue twister names. So, I don’t bother.

But, my mother in law is a fanatic. She loves watching tennis to bits. She knows every player, man and woman. She knows the scores, percentages and how fast their serves were. She’ll probably know if Serena Williams (who is by the way, injured) is wearing one of her diamond tennis bracelet. She is the ultimate spectator tennis fan.

We’ve been trying to convince her to go watch it live, since she’s here. She adamantly refused. She gave the following excuses :

1. It’s too hot. I won’t be able to stand the heat.

2. You can’t move around, when you’re watching a match. You must not distract the players. I can’t do that..I have to go to the toilets.

3. It’s too expensive. It’ll be a waste on me.

Well… having two free tickets solved all of that.

When her husband (my FIL) told her about it, her face lit with up a glow of happiness. It was like she was having an “Oprah” moment. Two absolutely free tickets to watch her favourite players in live action. I am so glad. She deserves it. She has worked so hard all her life. She has been the one giving and giving to everyone who crosses her path, every single day. Yes, when she’s here, she cooks every single day for us. She takes the effort to make my favourite meals.

I am glad. Today, she is the receiver.

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When I started running in November, there was an elderly gentleman who would also take a walk. Almost everyday, I would bump into him and we’d shout out our ‘good mornings’. It was something I always looked forward to. I suspect, on the days I don’t see him, I’m busy thinking of what to write for my alli review. Sometimes, I have so much on my mind, I really zone out. Plus, with Queen rock-n-rollin’ in my earplugs, sometimes, it is really hard to focus.

Then, in December, I never saw him. It was… almost like I missed him. I must admit, he is quite a handsome (genteel-like) fler. I bet he must have been quite a hunk when he was younger. *Ahem*

Anyways, 2 days ago, a little white puppy ran out of his home, and I scared it to death, as I was stomping like an elephant down the path. Poor puppy, he yelped and ran back to it’s owner, and lo behold..it was that elderly gentleman!

We were so awestruck with each other, that all we could burst out were, our “good mornings!”. Just like before.

I have been tempted to write a note to him, telling him that I really ‘missed’ him. Problem is, he lives in a unit where there are two homes..and I certainly don’t want to look like I was stalking him, as I’m not sure which home he’s from!

Does any of this make sense?

I am just a typical Asian mom, who drives/parks badly, yells at her kids at any instance and cooks very ‘fragrant’ food. Why do I feel like I had a connection with this elderly gentleman?

Perhaps I have been thinking of my paternal granpa, lately. Just like this gentleman, he is tall, dignified and walks purposefully. In most of my half-marathon runs I did in my early years, were all dedicated to his memory. Perhaps..it’s a sign.

*sigh* I do miss him.

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What a mouthful!

I know it’s a crime to scavenge through other people’s junk. I know. Admittedly, I’m no saint. But this bicycle looked so forlorn on the nature strip, I had no choice BUT to save it. Plus, we have been thinking of getting a bigger bike for No.2, seeing that he is 5! The few things I knew we had to upgrade were, we had to get new wheels (thank god the inner tube was alright), new bell, replace the handles (too girly for No.2) and pedals, and of course, give it a fresh coat of paint. Only because a purple bike…was out of the question for No.2.

Problem was this… Mr. T, is colour blind. Yup, to him that purple, is a black. So, he saw no point in painting it black. There is a lilac cover (over the chains), which he thinks is white. So… he didn’t think the bike needed any re-painting.

Hm.

I’m sure you must be wondering why don’t I paint it black (hmm…reminds me of a Rolling Stones song now…) myself, thing is..I don’t do arts and crafts. I sew, but I do not do arts and crafts, because all arts and crafts I do, end up, looking reallllly crappy. So yea.

Ah well.. guess, No.2 will have to live with it. Hope this will teach him some level of resilience. Ahem.

Do focus your eyes now on the piece of furniture on top of the blue tub. Don’t look at the mess my garage is in. LOOK AT THE PIECE OF FURNITURE!

It was also dumped on the nature strip. It is a retro phone/seat furniture. Isn’t it just so retro? I love it. It has lost one leg, I guess that’s why it was dumped unceremoniously. Mr. T has sanded it down, we’re in the process of looking for new legs..and I’m going to replace the seat with some cool looking designer upholstery fabric. And… I betcha..it’s going to look really nice.

Sigh..I have to stop scavanging other people’s junk! I guess the difference is I don’t actually place an economic value on it, like most professional scavangers do. My difference is just to upcycle, recycle and reuse.

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It’s probably been exchanged four or five times. Yup, we finally have ownership over the car. Well, almost. Doing the transfer this Friday, and we’ve already received our car insurance quotes, and will be activating it this Saturday.

The car, that took us around Melbourne, when we first arrived. It belonged to my sister-in-law. We kinda abused it, travelling far distances with it. It’s been through a fair bit of scraps with my sister-in-law. Let’s just say, she didn’t really take care of it. At least, we got her to replace the battery.

I just hope that it’ll last us for another 5 years, before it really becomes a junkyard car. Heh.

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I am truly finding it hard to wake up.

Truly.

It’s like my alarm aka mobile phone, will alert up right up to 5.50am, and then it just stops.

I then wake up at 6.45am, and know it is just too late to start a run.

It has been such a struggle to wake up.

I’m almost tempted to take some weight loss supplements. But, I must persevere. And just need to wake up.

Funny thing is…when I start running, it is an awesome feeling. It’s just waking up.

I wonder how I’m going to do it, when the kids start school…because I really need to start running at 5.45am, so I’m back by 6.45am. Right now, I only start at 6.05..back at 7am. Which isn’t good, because of the amount of time taken to shower and dress. And prepare breakfast and lunch.

And she drones on and on… unnecessarily.

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There is a sense of helplessness, for me during this time. Knowing that there are friends who are going through the worst times of their lives, and not being able to help them.

Every minute, when I’m free, I’m glued onto some online news site, trying to watch the latest updates and how bad it is going to get. The photos we see, are just heartbreaking.

The death toll is heartbreaking, especially when it comes to unsuccessful rescue missions.

The power of water. It is as if it is enraged, and wants to sweep everything in it’s path and carry it through to nowhereland.

You want to help, and right now, if you feel money isn’t good enough, trust me..it is. Go here, and find a way to help someone build their home back, brick by brick, plank by plank. One more brick from you means, someone gets to sleep in their own homes.

My kids’ prayer for tonight, is that the Good Lord keeps everyone safe. Let them find food to eat. Let them have shelter to rest. Give them energy to face the tomorrows.

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Lately, it has been really really muggy. A point where the humidity sticks to your skin, before you even start running. It is not easy to run when it is muggy.

I am so slow now. There is no spring in my step.

It’s like the heat is dragging my feet to the ground, making it sticky and harder to run.

I try to look forward to certain houses, the ones with pretty address plaques. The ones with pretty flowery gardens (but they tend to smell like manure). The ones with prettiness all around.

I know. I am coming up with all kinds of excuses to not run.

But guess what? Yesterday, I decided to take a measurement. I never bothered to take measurements other than the first day.

I lost 1 1/2 inches off my beery belly! Yup, from 33 to 31 1/2 inches.

I never thought I’d lose anything!

But, my ol’ heart is now a little further away from some heart disease.

Yay to me!

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Fedup with all the uniformed iPad covers that are on sale, and green-eyed at what Etsy has to offer, I decided to make my own iPad cover, and after my efforts at making the sleeves, today, out of the blue, I put life into an old project that I was working on last year.

What happened was I made 2 prototypes. The first one was too big. Luckily, I used some scraps and it was for practice, so it wasn’t a waste. The 2nd one, I used a really gorgeous print fabric…and found out it was too small. I don’t know what to do with it… but I have to salvage the fabric somehow. I can’t let it go to waste.

This 3rd prototype is by far, the most better looking one, and it’s still abit tight, but it’ll do for now. I have much to improve on, but this is for me…and I’m quite happy with it.

What do you think? It has an elastic band, just like the moleskine.. hee. I prefer this to the magnetic snap, but I am not sure how ‘elastic’ it would last. Like I said earlier, much to improve on, and I have more ideas on how to make it look better. I am also planning to make it for the kindle, and the Galaxy Tablet PC.

Is it alot of work? Yes. I must say… it is alot of work!!!!! But, I guess, if I keep to a production line, it should work like clockwork.

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Ever since my FIL came, I have been bugging him to help me get rid of some really ugly looking plants. They are spiny long desert plants and they are all over my garden.

I wanted some really pretty looking flowers placed in flower boxes, along my garden bed. Instead, he left it alone..for weeks. Until yesterday, I saw him tending my garden. Instead of yanking out these spiny long desert plants, he took some twine and tied them up into bunches.

I must say… it looked quite pretty somehow. I was quite surprised at how this simple act turned my garden around. He told me… all you needed to have is a creative mind working with what you have. You don’t need new things. Just new ideas.

Do you now know why I love him so much?

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Ok, perhaps I’m using it as an excuse, but I’ll do whatever it takes to minimize further damage to my knees and back. Heeeeeeee….

Let’s see… Dec 1 – U2 concert. Inadvertantly damaged knee cartilage. Ran the following day, causing further damage. Rested 3 days. Ran the next. Did not do any good. Hurt so much, almost cried everytime I walked hobbled. Decided to rest until it hurt no more. At that point of time, I had no idea whether I would actually recover as I honestly thought I permanently damaged my knees.

I ate omega3 and glucosamine pills. I wore this tubular knee support thingy, that is similar to compression stockings which helped provide extra support to my knees.

I laid off running for more than 2 weeks.

As I tried very hard to start running again, since the pain has gone, it dawned on me, how impossible it was for me to WAKE UP! Even though, I tell myself, I won’t regret it..and I’d regret it if I did not wake up… I just fall back asleep!

So, it’s been a slow start to getting my butt off the bed. It’s Jan 9th..and so far, I’ve only been running 5 days out of that.

In November, when I started this…I ran every single day.

Now… I have to get back my mojo and try my best to run every single day.

God help me.

Please.

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It’s only Day 3, but already there are people planning their holidays. Actually, when it comes to holidays, you should plan it at least 1 year in advance.

To save money, to book out dates, to look forward to something.

My MIL shared with me something interesting the other day. During her days in England (which was many many years ago), even if you had no money, you could still go on a holiday. All you have to do is, pay at least 50shillings to the travel agent on a daily basis. Once you’ve gone for your holiday, you just pay up the rest of the amount, as and when you have some money. It is similar to a payday advance loan scheme. Only difference is that it’s not with a financial institution but with the travel agent.

Isn’t it interesting that, back then, businesses can evolve to suit the market’s needs. Only now…it’s more strictly governed, because of the numerous scammers around.

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LOL.

So like me… Since it will be the last post for the year, as if, it actually means something. Ok, it’s supposed to…seeing that this is my blog. I have been more active in this blog than before. I suppose next year, I should be more candid and really focus on more posts. Then again, I shalt not make any promises, for I’m terrible at keeping them. I will just go with the flow.

Goodbye 2010, I have gone through a spiritual journey, which I hope will deepen in the following years of my life. It’s still baby steps for me, and I keep stumbling on so many things. I am indeed very blessed this year, as my family is intact. My relations with my inlaws have improved tremendously. But my relations with my parents have somewhat gone a little south. This has sadden me, and I hope I will be able to curb further bad behaviour from myself.

I leave you with this picture..and I want you to ask yourself this.

Why is it that boys (big and small) will get sand in all parts of their wetsuit, while girls..(well, just me, I suppose) won’t? I was in the beach/water in my all fours, I tell you! And yet… nay the sand.

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As we go closer to the new year, 2011, people go around asking if we have completed our resolutions for the year. Unfortunately, whatever resolutions I did make early this year, has gone poof! I can’t for the life of me remember them. I won’t be making any for the new year, as I know I will forget it. I’d rather go with making promises like this :

1. By age 60, I would have seen Disneyland, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo.

Yea… these three there are my childhood wishes. I have not made any wishes since, as a young adult till now. Ok..I just lied there…but, heck, I can’t remember any of them! I think it’s always very important to fulfill childhood wishes, then we can all die happy.

Career-wise… my past career has been quite understated. While I achieved much, I just wonder, if I had ever excelled in my physics or chemistry, I wonder, if I would be doing more with my brains than what I am doing now. I did not have the fortunate luck, in finding a suitable physics tutor, Chemistry tutor, but, I did find myself an excellent Math tutor. She was the absolute best. I did really super well in Math, because of her.

Would I have been a supergenius scientist, who would discover a cure for cancer? Sigh… who knows the endless possibilities of what we can do with our brains, right?

Well, anyways…

Happy new year, everyone.. a clean slate. I hope.

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Ok, by now, you’ll know I’ve been doing since beg Nov. So… it’s already 1 week after the U2 concert and my knees still hurt so bad. During the U2 concert, I was standing for about 4-5 hours, and half way through, my knees were really hurting already. I thought, it was just the normal strain/pain, that would go away after 2-3 days.

I took a day off running after U2, and started running but it hurt so bad. So, I took 3 days off consecutively, because I had stuff to do early in the morning. The following day, I started running again, and it hurt even worse, especially going downhill. I’m really not sure what’s happening to my poor ol knees (besides old age), but I really want it to heal. Going to get me some glucosamine, and eat my omega pills, supposed to help with joints.

Gosh…I sound like I’m so old already. Not to worry..I’m still pumped up about my running and will def. resume it once the knees heal. In the meantime…I’ll be doing strengthening exercises – closing up my diastasis recti (already 2 1/2 fingers, from 3 fingers!).

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Oh! We had a lovely Xmas lunch, yesterday. The weather was perfect to a T. Cool, cloudy, making it really nice to eat al-fresco, with good friends and family. I must have had a really good time, because I’m normally really stressed with cleaning up after a get-together, but yesterday, it was so stress-free, and so little to wash up for some reason, I really had a great time.

I was unable to take any photos, because I just didn’t want to bog myself with taking good photos. So, these memories have to be stored in me old brain. Short of passing around some romeo y julieta cigars, the Xmas lunch spread was really good.

I roasted Turkey, had a simple Pasta Salad, created a really yummy Thai Prawn Salad (only because I wanted something sourish, salty and sweet), barbequed the Chicken drummets, Beef Chipolatas, Sweet Corn and Garlic Bread. My inlaws made yummmmmmmy pork meatballs, fried vermicilli and mashed garlic potatoes.

All in all, a really really good spread and I’m so glad the Turkey wasn’t dry as the desert. Just nicely moist.. forget about sharing the recipe, because I just simply whacked it all.

I have been extraordinarily busy during the days, leading up to Christmas, which had NOTHING to do with Christmas at all. I have not been able to run, because I was up so late, trying to finish up these.

We are selling these in a kiosk, in one of the shopping malls here..and I’m very pleased that most of them have been sold. I’m also glad that my MIL actually approved my craftmanship, because she is my ‘hero’ in terms of sewing and craft (and cooking as well). Then again… it’s not that hard to sew them. I believe these are much much harder to sew, and she is truly gifted.

Now, I’m stuck with lots of Turkey..and I’m wondering what I should cook up for lunch with it.

(oh… and I’ve been running since beg. Nov.. I had scheduled my posts one month ahead)

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Do you know what they are? No? Well, check it out yourself here. Or google Diastasis Recti, and it’ll basically tell you what it is.

After my first child, I knew I had this problem. How? I had a friend who was teaching other moms how to ‘fix’ their abdominals, through her exercise classes. She explained to me what they were..but because I could not find the time nor someone to watch him, I never made it to her class.

Fast forward to No.3, and sad to say, the situation is just worse than ever. My muscles are so far separated, I don’t know if it’ll ever be joined again, through exercise.  I have at least three fingers separation. That’s just “at least”. My belly hangs over my pants/jeans..which makes it look really awful. It also makes it hard to wear clothes..because, there is a pouch. Which creates a pouch in my clothes.

Even though I have been running for quite some time now, I’ve been hoping that I was burning off some fat..at least around the tummy area, but I have to be realistic. I do know that it’ll take more than 3 months for me to lose significant fat…maybe even longer. Sigh…

This “Begone Fats” journey is definitely going through its motions..and there are days where I feel completely demotivated. Like these past few days… the tummy still hangs there.

So..today, I did some research and found that I could not just lose the tummy fat. I had to fix my diastasis recti first. I am now going to do some modified pilates exercise, or more famously known as the Julie Tupler Treatment. I have to constantly think of sucking my belly button wayyyyyyyy into my spine.

I have to get my 3 finger gap to a 1 finger gap. That’s my secondary goal now.

Goals updated and recap :

1. Get the heart healthy again.

2. Get 3 finger gap to 1 finger again…and then 0.

3. Drink lots of water and eat lots of fiber.

Wish me luck, folks!

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As the year ends, lots of new stuff will be happening for the new year. Quite a lot, that I’m not looking forward to in particular, when it comes to paying the yearly bills, BUT, it must be done. For it is to be safer than to be sorry.

For example, I’m completely paranoid about the safety of my home. I’m always checking to see if my doors are locked, because even though it ‘feels’ safe, I’ve been burglared before, and it didn’t feel nice, feeling the intrusion of some stranger. I’ve gotten my home and contents insurance, which also includes laptop insurance, down to a pat. Funnily enough, I don’t have much jewelry or anything precious like that..I just have alot of computers in my house. That being said, no point having it stolen, and getting a replacement, if I didn’t back it up somewhere, right?

Yea…I have been doing nothing but backing up lots of photos on Flickr, and on external harddisk drives. The problem with the latter, is that it might just break down. The former is much more dependable. Pay for the Pro service…and be assured.

How about you? Are you looking forward to the new year?

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I was so enthusiastic in the first week. Let’s see, we’re only in our 2nd week…and I feel that level of enthusiasm dropping. Rapidly.

The colder the weather gets, the harder it is for me to peel myself off my warm bed and go face cold conditions. My dexter-licious alarm wakes me up with its’ signature tune at 5.45am. I snooze. 5.50am it wakes me again. I snooze. 5.55am, by this time, I just tell myself, “You will not regret it”.

And so, I get up from bed, put on my running attire, head out the door and run.

With hands tucked into my jumper sleeves, and hood on. It’s that cold.

And it’s true… I feel less sleepy during the day. I actually feel more energetic. I used to feel very sleepy at around 2-3pm… but not any more.

I definitely sleep better…I used to be a light sleeper, whenever the rain hits the roof, I’m up. Whenever the wind howls, I’m up.

But… the fats have yet to go. I am being realistic..as it took about 6 years of not doing anything. It’ll probably take another 12 years to get me back in my pre-preg state. Hah!

I just have to remind myself my ultimate objective : Reducing the risk of heart-attacks.

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This is the last week of school, and it’s always a mad rush, during this time. I have to rush off so many things, and prepare for so many things. You would think I have November to do all this, but what was I doing? Nothing.

Well, not nothing, but everyday stuff that makes me busy every single day. Lord only knows what it is, because I have a bad memory, and won’t bother trying to recall anything!

I just realised I only have 10 days left, well, 9, since today is practically gone. I have yet to buy Xmas presents for 4 boys. I’ve gotten all the gifts for the girls, just not the boys. Of course, I’m not talking about my own family. We join another 3 families during Xmas, and there are 4 boys there, ranging from 6 to 9. Imagine, a house of 7 boys (3 including mine). What a riot it is. Luckily, my uncle has a huge home and a equally huge backyard with a huge tennis court. We basically throw all of them into the court, and let them fight it out.

Then, we throw them into the family room, and let them fight it out on the PS3, or Wii. Let boys do what they like to do. Fight. It. Out.

Surprisingly, last year, they started playing monopoly and some card games…which went on pretty well. Perhaps we should bring our board games…and see how it goes. Ah well… another 9 more days…I have to prepare for Xmas presents, Xmas dinner. I am feeling the tiredness already.

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Well, it looks like we are definitely taking over the car. Mr.T drives it so often, it’ll be completely unfair for my SIL to bear the running costs of maintaining it. At the moment, she’s already paying for the car rego, and of course, the comprehensive insurance.

I have to go dig around for a cheap car insurance quote, soon, as it is about to expire. I sure hope that with all the running costs for the next year, it won’t eat right into our household budget! :S

Also, I hope that this car, won’t suddenly break down or be in need of a major overhaul…coz that would surely break our piggy bank!  Sigh….I worry for the new year, financially. I wonder if we’ll be able to pull through it without feeling like going under.

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It’s been a week! I’m at Day 7.

I almost didn’t even want to get out of bed this morning. Forget what you’ve read in my earlier posts… Everyday is a different day.

Yesterday was a killer day for me. The heat and humidity was burning my brains, the pollens in the air were making my nose and eyes leaking like mad. Plus, the eldest had a carnival day at school, which meant spending the afternoon outside under the sun, and wonderful pollens.

Many sneezes and a massive headache later..I was exhausted. I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning, because I was tired and I thought it was raining.

But..somehow, I made my body get up, changed and was out of the door within minutes!

And..the rain made everything new again. I kept not help but think about various exercise programs I should be doing.

Anyway, the pathways were all wet..and all the snails came out, from one end to the other. It was so cute..as if it was some major snail highway.

When I started, I notice this pair of snails. The smaller guy was behind the bigger guy. I chuckled..wondering if Mr.Small was honking Mr.Big to speed it up. Guess what, by the time I came back, Mr.Small overtook Mr.Big..and was charging the way!

It’s been great…smelling the various fragrances that the flora has to offer, breathing the cool crisp air…

running out of breath by the time I’m finished with it.

Ok I digress, but I had this idea for a “Don’t speed” ad.

Background audio: You hear the sounds of a roaring engine starting up.

Scene 1 : 2 snails, raring to go. 1 big, 1 small

Background audio : You hear screeching tyres..

Scene 2 : The big snail moves ahead first. The small snail right behind him.

Background audio : You hear someone yellin’ “Move it, pops!”

Scene 3 : The small snail overtakes the big snail, sneering.

Background audio : You hear *Crunch* and fading car engine

Scene 4 : Both snails crushed with a running script “Speed kills”.

MUAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH..you saw it here first!

Ok..pat myself on the back, and I’m back with it tomorrow. No rest for the wicked.

..and today is my birthday!

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I don’t want to bore you with so many daily updates..so here’s a summarised version :

Day 4 was the day, I felt no more pain. Yup, my muscles was getting used to all the exercise..and I wasn’t hobbling anymore! Woo hoo..way to go!

Day 5-6 was absolutely freakingly good, even though I had my period..I had no back pain..I had minimal period pains. I only had stabbings of it for 30 minutes..and then it just went off. I don’t remember getting bad period cramps when I was younger…but I def. remember getting bad cramps these past 6 years. So.. exercise makes it less crampier? Who knows..let’s see next month.

I’m feeling real good. REAL GOOD. SO GOOD..SO NOT TIRED.

I smell the trees, the poo (Yea..I think some fertilizers really stink), the roses (literally) and see some strange junk like the odd chair, part of a table or even stranger, thule bike racks. The truck that comes to collect all the odd junk has come and gone, but yet, people still put them on the nature strip. Go figure.

I wake up like clockwork every morning at 5.45am. I don’t even feel sleepy…and I just literally walk out of the house..because I have everything ready. I come back at 6.45am…all sweaty and smelly..and my boys can tell me that. Hah! At least they know now!

It feels great. I feel great. I don’t see any visible results yet…but I’m optimistic that I will see results by Xmas. Definitely.

Begone FATS!

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Oh..it is scary!

I first noticed this, a few days ago, while I just started to warm up. I noticed this blue Mazda, trailling slowly, and it would disappear into a lane.

I obviously didn’t think much of it, but I thought it was kinda odd for a car to be going so slowly so early in the morning. As I turned a corner, I saw that same car again…and again, it was moving r-e-a-l-l-y slowly. Y’know..like cruising. Watching me run.

Gosh.. my mind went into overdrive and started planning my emergency routes and escape plans, which was basically, run like hell into someone’s home and knock wildly, while screaming my head off “SOMEONE’S TRYING TO CATCH ME!!!!!!”, throwing someone’s modern furniture towards the blue mazda.

If that doesn’t scare them off, then..I don’t know what will.

But, as I ran further, I didn’t see that car anymore.

Phew… I felt relieved and a little bit stupid. For being so dramatic about the whole thing. I partially blame CSI, Criminal Minds, NCIS.

Well… over the next few days, I have been noticing the same blue Mazda..and I swear..it was like it was stalking me! I tried very hard to out-run it… and every single day, I would lose sight of it.

Then, yesterday….. as I was running, the car slowly passed me. It slowed down even further..and as I ran closer to it..my mind was in panic mode.

What to do?

What to do?

What to do?

It was like I could not run away from the car, I was drawn to it, like a magnet…most horrifying feeling. Knowing impending danger was imminent.

The man stuck his hand out of the window and…………………

Threw a rolled up piece of newspaper into someone’s driveway.

Boy! I felt silly.

But relieved.

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How did I end up with a beer gut.

Honestly? Laziness. and the fact that I had a third pregnancy. Ok, I won’t use that as an excuse, just plain laziness. But…there’s the fact that it was hard to find the time, and energy to actually exercise. I have no family support here unless my inlaws come over. So… I basically have to do everything here.

So after the third pregnancy, the gut stayed. Initially, I thought it was just y’know, after the baby effect. I thought the gut would go, just like the 1st and 2nd pregnancy. It never did. I just look like I was having another baby. Sigh…

Many aunties had congratulated me…only to be told it was the other “F”, not ‘fetus’.

So, it has been on me, like an unwanted child. And I kept telling myself that I can make it go away, I just have to start exercising. I just need to do alot of cardio..and if I did that..it would go away.

It got to a point, where I just forgot about it..especially during winter. It was easy to hide it under the layers. But now as the days are getting warmer, it’s just not so easy to hide it anymore. And it’s just not nice to have a beer gut, when I’m not pregnant!

So..my short term goal is to be rid of this gut. My long term goal is to keep on with this 6am walking/running program, everyday.

So..what do you think? Will I be able to get rid of it by Xmas?

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Yesterday, I watched a terrifying terrifying documentary. TERRIFYING. It’s called the Diet Doctors (I think some show from UK). Anyways… in its’ first season, there was a lady who had a beer gut. And her beer gut looked exactly like mine. Yes..I have one. In fact, I shall let you in, on a terrifying secret.. it’s 33inches. Yup… I also gained 2 extra kilos on top of my ‘normal’ weight. To be honest, my ‘normal’ weight is the one I’ve finally accepted after having 3 kids. I’m not quite happy with it..but hey, I wasn’t doing anything about it..so I decided to embrace it.

Here’s the thing… women with beer bellies..have a higher, much higher chance of getting a heart related disease. This really shocked me, because not only do I have a genetic disposition to getting a heart attack..now I’m increasing my chances of getting it sooner. I started thinking to myself… this is a preventable disease…unlike cancer. This is something I can do to prevent from happening..and why am I not doing anything to prevent it?

They say most of the time, the body tries to get the fat away from the heart as far as possible… in most women, it ends up at the hips. Not for me… everything is going to the belly…and I decided to end this fat gain. I don’t want to die too early. Ok, rephrasing it..I don’t want to die from something that could be prevented in the first place. If it was cancer…well, ok. But, not because of my diet and lack of exercise. These things are controllable..and I will live! Live to see my kids grow up..and hopefully not screw up.

So, today..was the first day I started my 1 hour exercise.

Where do I find the time you might ask?

I wake up an hour earlier…and do it. That’s the only time when NO ONE needs me. It is a great time to do my brisk walk, because it’s cool..and I get to listen to all my favourite music.

I was so excited about my plan..that I couldn’t sleep a wink last night…but managed to wake up and take off. It was wonderful! 1 hour… of brisk walking..and because I am quite a reluctant walker..preferring to run instead of walk..I almost broke into a run several times..but had to remind myself that this is the first time I’m actually exercising, in 5 years.

Yes.. 5 years of neglect. No more, my dear heart.

Be gone beery belly.

Be gone fatty thighs.

Be gone wobbly arms.

and sadly…be gone… my junk food. I can’t eat you anymore. Only on special occasions.. which would be controlled tightly. How I wish they could be like foods that burn fat!!!

C’mon ppl…give me some rah-rah love. I will do this every single day..no matter what. And one day..I shall start up my marathon training…….. again.

Do not worry, I’ve decided to blog it as part of my weight loss journey, so you’ll get to hear all my updates.

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You know..sometimes when I’m goggling for stuff, I don’t go beyond the first page. I guess I’m really really lazy. Even if I’m really looking for a specific item, if I don’t see it on the first page…I just try other types of search terms. I mean, all those websites that appear on the first page must be either been really lucky to have hit the right words or they must have used some seo services.

I’m guessing if you use a service like say from seo Harrogate, then it must have paid off for them, because I’m sure I represent at least 70% of lazy farts who don’t go beyond the first page. But I often wonder just how many common search word tags would they include. I have googled from some pretty interesting stuff…and most often than not, wiki always appears. Is wiki lucky or they have clever people?

Hah… what about you? Will you relentlessly look for something, ie., go beyond the first page? Or you are part of the 70%* lazy farts party.

*I completely made this up, and it may be so true, just because I posted this on the internet, and everyone seems to think the internet tells the truth.

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Yay!!

Now, my kids have new playmates! My mom, when she first got here, remarked how she felt so much older. Not because my kids look bigger/older, but because the air here is so dry, that her skin feels like leather! She quickly asked about anti wrinkle creams that work for me. I just told her I’m using ponds… yea, I’m all a very simple kind of girl. It works for me… quite well actually.

Anyway, I can tell the cold weather has helped them in one area… sleep. When I was in Malaysia, I noticed they had really restless sleep. I mean, my folks would wake up around 3am, potter around the house..and then fall asleep again at 5am. And they’re up again at 6.30am..to prepare breakfast.

Here…they can’t even wake up at 7am. Which is a pretty good sign… I hope they’ll enjoy their holiday here…that is, to say, I don’t chase them off yet. Yea…I’m still up to my OCD-ness… sigh…

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Melbourne weather is … really crazy. Last week, it was so hot, I had a constant splitting headache. The only migraine relief, was to sleep. This week? It was like Winter all over again! Now, it’s getting warmer, but it’s very very very wet. Nothing but constant showers. It’s really nice to sleep in..but alas…. when you have kids, you just lose sleep. Constantly.

It has been forecasted to rain tomorrow, late afternoon/evening. Which happens to be the U2 concert night. I sure hope that it won’t happen. Yea… sometimes there is prediction fail.

Also..no rain for Saturday, please… we’re having a barbie!

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When my aunt visited me, she remarked that my complexion had somewhat improved. Save for the fact that I really needed a blackhead remover, or at least, go for a facial massage. I told her, I didn’t do anything..except that I have been eating more and more fruits. To be honest, I’m quite lazy when it comes to cutting up and eating fruits. The only person that will do it is, me…. and I have decided to FORCE myself to eat more fruits instead of sinful chocolate..to beat my sugary needs.

So.. like I mentioned earlier, eating more fruits does help in our internals… and I guess, external too. Of course, there are tons of stuff circulating around, saying which fruit is good and which is bad… to be honest, I can’t be bothered anymore. Just take everything in moderation.

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I have this regular delivery guy that comes so often… it’s embarrassing to say the least. Why? Because I get the feeling that he thinks I’m a mad online shopper person, who has nothing else better to do, but to BUY STUFF and get it delivered all the time.

Thing is this, I’m a reviewer..and I get alot of my stuff delivered via courier. I also do ‘some’ shopping online, via eBay, etsy or the book depository. I mean..hey! if I wanted to get one of those radar detectors, why not, right? I mean, we have SO many hidden speed cameras around, (and not that I really speed anyway, but getting fined, when you’re only going 5-10km/h over the speed limit, is so annoyingly expensive), why can’t I?

Which brings me to one incident, which happened a few months back. I was driving within the speed limit, when the car behind me tailgates me, as if to hurry me. On that day, it so happened that my internal radar detector was on, and I somehow knew that there was a speed camera along that road, so I decided to keep within the speed. This car literally wouldn’t let up..and kept on tailgating me.

Thankfully, there was a speed camera hiding in a car…and that car, backed off, after seeing it. Hmph! I think he better thank me for not getting a fine!

Well, back to my delivery man..yea, I wonder what does he think I am? An online shopper addict? How can I tell him, 70% of the delivery orders are for my reviews? Hmm….

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I have to say, when I first started researching for slr cameras, I wasn’t so sure what I wanted. There were so many models out there..that for a newbie, freaked me out. I had a friend who, thankfully, helped me out..and I’m happy to say, that I’ve settled with a really good slr.

The other thing that I’ve learnt along the way is that, during the first year, I’d take gazillion photos. GAZILLION. When it comes to memory… that’s not a good thing. I had to constantly upload them into my Mac and delete them. And then, back up my Mac..with a external and DVD as well.

However, lately, I’ve noticed that I don’t take as much photos…I just look out for good op photos..and snap it quickly. I don’t aim to cover the entire event from start to finish..because I found that I tend to skip through alot of photos during post-processing. Of course..it could mean, I’m just going from lazy to lazier. Heh..

So..yea, two main things I’ve learnt : 1. back-up and 2. quality, not quantity.

Do you have any lessons to share with me?

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For boys ages 3-10.

And I kid you not, because I know they will absolutely love them.

No, it’s not your usual branded stuff like Lego, Thomas Trains, Nerf, etc etc etc. It’s usually handy stuff that boys LOVE to play with when they find it in the house. Think about the most popular toy that most boys would like..and that would include a laser light. Yea..boys would fight over guns with laser lights, right?

Well..then, don’t get the gun..just get a torchlight! Don’t you find that boys or kids, in general, just love playing with torchlights? They love going into dark rooms, and turning on the torchlights, making shadows or playing ghosts or hunting treasure with their imaginary binoculars, right?

Of course, the other one to get are the night-vision goggles..wooahhhhhh….. I’m telling you, the boy who gets this gift..will love you for LIFE! You’d be the coolest relative, ever!

If you’d asked me what to get for a boy, I’ll tell you in an instant. If you’d asked me what to get for a girl…I’d be fumbling…. girls are so alien to me. What would you get a 12, 10 and 5 year old girl? Please share… because I’m desperate!

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No. 2 said, “I will do it myself”.

I’m thinking..yea yea.. that won’t be for another… hang on a minute. That’s next year! I looked at him in the mirror, unable to believe that this boy, who just turned 5, will turn 6 next year! For some strange reason, I could not picture him all grown up!

I remember him being a gorgeous lil baby with his luscious lips, always ready for his breast-milk, and was the best sleeper in the world! I never had any trouble sleep training him, because he just loved to sleep! As he grew up, he would love giving me lil hugs and kisses..actually, and I’m very grateful for that.

.. I wish I could keep him little..but I know I have to let him grow up.

Today, he had a playdate with a friend…and he couldn’t stop talking about it. The funny thing was, he had so much fun playing with toys that he already has here. I think it’s because they were of the same age, and they obviously could play because they had the same level of maturity!

Ah… I wonder what mischief he’ll get up to…when he starts school.

Here they are..my lil child slaves, shelling peas. I didn’t realise No.3′s finger was sticking right through..quite cute. He was adamant in joining the pea shelling. Tee hee..

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Yesterday, a good friend sent an email to me, alerting me to a new version of credit card scam. I am amazed at how easily obtainable our personal details are, as the scammer managed to tell my friend, her identity card number! But, I suppose when we give out our personal details to people who say they ‘need it’..we never really know if they do, right? Like for instance, security guards who need to take down our details whenever we enter workplaces.

Anyhoo, I decided to share this with my folks as I had thought they would not as street smart. Turns out, they were more savvy than me..as they had just received a call the day before, about their ‘fraudulent shares’. My father listened to the scammer speak for awhile, then told him off and slammed the phone down. Apparently, the scammer had the cheek to call back and request that he didn’t slam the phone down. But it was my mother who picked up the phone…and she then slammed it down.

All I can say is.. what’s next? Will people be asking, “Is acai berry a scam?”.

There have many numerous ways of scamming people off..and the amazing thing is, it never stops! The scammers just get more creative and with all our personal details at hand..I think we really have to be careful who we give our information to!

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And so it will be soon.

Xmas.

The dreaded time of year..where one has to suddenly rush about, getting gifts. We have had 11 months of thinking and planning, but do we actually get them? No… in the last minutes, we pray that shops are still open (and yes, they are! how convenient)..and buy whatever we think is gift-able.

For Mr.T .. it’s not that hard. It’s either a wallet (not quite the rfid blocking wallet, just a regular wallet) OR a special design book that I found online. Wallet because the one that I liked, has been abused, and is now quite tattered and torn. The current one that he’s using is.. well, too small..and it’s been in the wash a few times and losing it’s glitter and glamour. Ahem.

The special design book… I know he wants it. He’s been looking at his friend’s copy..and it’s not an easy to book to find in bookshops. Plus the book I found online, has free delivery. And it’s really cheap. Ahem.

It’s an easy choice, ain’t it?

Which one do you think I’ll get?

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Yea… I’m cursing Christina Yang who’ve given up her scrubs because for the past 8 episodes, she can’t seem to get herself together and be a damn heart surgeon! I don’t get it..for the past 5 seasons, you see her as this tough, non-emo, what are you crying for character..and now, you see her… just freezing each time she has to even look at some scrubs set?

In case you’ve not been clued into what I’m talking about.. I’m talking about Grey’s Anatomy.

I don’t understand where her character is going? I’d understand she having a meltdown..but her quitting and talking crap to McDreamy? Soon, she’ll be telling people where to buy medical scrubs, just so they get off her back?

Geez Louise! Are they trying to kill her off? Why don’t they do it NOW! Meredith doesn’t seem to be a very good friend at this stage, either! This show..is getting off it’s rockers.

You might want to ask me NOT to watch it. But after watching 7 episodes, I can’t help but finish this damn season! Arrrrrr!

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