It is yearend…

It is year end and I cannot imagine how time flies…

Early of this year, it was JL’s first time in his primary school and AL’s first time to kindy. It was a mixed emotional feeling seeing how big the kids had grown up. On the early morning of the first day of school, both of them were wearing name tags. They were wearing their name tags for quite some time. Now, their teachers knew their name without having to refer to their name tags.

In a matter of few months, they would be moving to the next phase. My kids were growing up too fast, way too fast…

Trying to be slim or …?

A lot of woman especially after giving birth is having hard time to get rid of the extra developed during pregnancy. Some would opt for diet, slimming centers and exercise. Some even tried to wear corset to keep their body in shape especially in order to fit into a body figuring clothes. However, I wondered whether corset was used to keep a person slim or sexy because there was a lot of new type of corset which was very revealing such as cupless corset.  As for me, I would not even dare wear it even under my clothes.

Christmas is coming…

Yes it is only mid October but we are already planning for Christmas. The kids are also excited, looking forward to set-up Christmas tree. JL’s exam has over since last Friday and holiday mood is in the air… We are now busy making plans such as presents shopping and also what food to cook…Everyone is looking forward for this occasion.

How nice if we have snow for the kids to play and having the white Christmas mood. We, over here dream of snow but some places who have a lot of snow will dream of having sunshine like us. It will be nice to have little of everything because too hot is not nice and too much snow too is not good as the weather will be wet thus all vehicles’ need to be fixed with snow chain to drive on the wet road.

Anyway, one day I hope I can bring JL and AL to experience snow to make JL’s dream come true.

JL, Mummy will try …

My 2011 birthday

My birthday was on 02 Oct and it took a long time for me to write down. It was a very simple celebration where my sister booked for Sukiyaki buffet in Pavilion KL on my actual birthday 02 Oct Sunday. After dinner, we gathered in our apartment for cake eating session. It was strawberry chocolate cake. My sisters and BIL presented me with a lot of blouses which I could wear in office without having to iron.

My beloved hubby and kids gave me big kisses and hugs just after midnight. I had lots of birthday wishes via sms, whatsapp, FB etc… All these wishes from family and friends were far more precious than cash or even October birthstone opal jewelry. I feel so blessed.

Cloth Diapers

After using AL’s to Cloth Diaper (CD), I loved using CDs. The hassle of using cloth diapers such as washing etc…initially has become a standard routine. I am not complaining and PaPa also supports the idea of using cloth diaper.

AL was potty trained at about 2 years old and I was sad because I missed seeing her wearing all the cute CDs. AL also loved her CD that she still wanted to wear that I had to hide all the diapers away.

Using CD is good for both, our pocket and also health. I hope the advantages of using CD on babies and kids will be extended to adult diapers, so that adult who needs to use diapers due health problem will be able to enjoy the benefit of using CD.

My watch went for service…

PaPa made his time to KL town to get my watch fixed. This watch was very precious because we bought together when we got married more than 8 years ago. PaPa got it fixed and it was not that cheap but it came with 1 year warranty plus our priceless memories.

We bought our Tissot watch (unfortunately the watches were not momentum watches), both male and female, for about RM 1k which was a good deal back then. Even the lady who took the watch for service check didn’t believe that we bought both watch at that price. I hope the watch will be out from hospital soon and I miss wearing my watch.

Electrical wiring

After minor renovation, PaPa was busy with his work that he still unable to complete wiring in AL’s room. He wanted to do a proper extension with cable cover.

Currently, all the basic wiring is completed and well-covered. It is good to cover all the cables not only for safety reason but also to make it look neater. For this time, it is more important for PaPa to get his work report out for his customer first.

World of Digital

In the world of technology, everything is digital from photos and now to digital scrapbook. I have never been into scrapbook because being not that creative. However, this never stops me from admiring other people’s creative work. I admire those people’s detail, meticulous and hard work. From hardcopy scrapbook, now I am admiring those who into digital scrapbook. I would like to give a big applause to all those creative hands and minds that made simple photos to creative meaningful piece of art.

Minor accident

Not too long ago, during AL birthday, we had a minor accident on the way to Shah Alam to collect AL’s cup cakes from Aunty Jo. Well the accident wasn’t a major loss but our stationary car was waiting in turn to turn in to a round-about when an impatience car from behind though that our car was going forward a little bit, inching into the roundabout, the car move forward and bump our car from behind.

We actual stop moving to the roundabout due to an oncoming car speeding and the car behind us couldn’t not have seen that other car on the roundabout. The result an accident happen, only both our cars were involved and thank God nobody was injured. We called our regular mechanic, the collision estimating to about RM200++ because the mechanic said he have to see the physical damaged to give a better estimation.

There was a short debate or argument with the behind car about the estimation because no exterior damage was seen on both cars, but from my experience, internal damaged of car frame was a definite. To cut the long story short… we went to the back car’s mechanic to get his opinion and estimation. Well this other mechanic said collision estimating RM300++ for the repair. We settle for a minimal amount due to good will and the change of heart from the back car co-driver (he was furious and adamant that we were cheating him).

Lesson learnt not to judge a car collision by the exterior. The car behind was surprise to learn that all the bracket for the front of their car was broken and that will cost even more and by the looks of the car and the number plate, the car behind just collected the car from the car dealer not more than a day or two ago.

Sweet tooth

JL and AL have a sweet tooth. Due to this, there is little self-control when something sweet comes along the way. If we don’t stop them, the lot will go missing in day or two. There are some other way to go about this sweet tooth as I was reading, an appetite control but there are also some concerns whether it will be effective. Back to the drawing board, as for now, we limit or don’t buy sweet stuff at home. Once in awhile, we will indulge but that we have to wait for a blue moon (like in the movie Smurfs).

Sam Sok’s Career

Well JL & AL’s uncle took a new turn in his career. He decided that working in a factory is not going to be his cup of cake (note not tea). Literally speaking cake as their uncle is a baker. He took this offer for a reputable hotel in Kiassuland that had Food Preparation Worker Jobs offers. Last heard he is adapting well and working hard. The kids won’t see him that often anymore and we pray for the best for him in his future endeavor.

Security

Every morning before leaving for work, must make sure to remember to bring my rfid badge. Well if I forget, will only mean, no entry to company grounds or worst still no work can be done. This is solely due to the company’s new introductory of clock in with employee’s RFID badge to access the company’s servers. In this cutting edge technology, there is the potential trouble of people stealing information from your RFID badge; therefore there is a need to protect the information in the badge itself and the company has yet to do anything. Well that is a total different story for the company’s security encryption.

Working from Home

Moving office back home has some benefits but there is also the down side to it. Most of the networking equipment was unplugged and packed for moving. Upon arriving home to set-up the office networking, somehow the network work was not link to the printers but we had internet connected working. We relied on the usb cable to do printing for the initial, later to use a network cable tester to check the cat-5 cable used to connect the printer to the network hub. Well problem solved. The network cable was actually bitten by some rodent in the old office, hence once move the signal in the cable was lost. Conclusion to this problem was replaced with new cables and recrimped the network plug as we still have half a drum of cat-5 cable sitting in the store.

New budget…

The new budget announced last week was a major surprise to many. The incentives given were more to help the lower income. The more surprising part of this announced budget was that, there were no changes of the sin tax. Alcohol and cigarettes prices won’t increase, making a lot of jolly good fellows out there during happy hours. That too make backwoods cigars price to stay the same. With all the extra effort to raise concern about health issue pertaining to the consumption of liquor and smoking, there will be break for next year.

Like KorKor

AL sometimes wants to dress-up like her KorKor but sometimes she wants to be a princess. Every night, she refuses to wear her pajamas instead she prefers to wear like her KorKor – a cotton shorts and a singlet. She also wants to wear the same color of cotton shorts like her KorKor. Hmm… will she ask for La Femme prom dresses when she is a teenager or still wear like her KorKor still?

Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

This is so far the easier & the creamier vanilla ice cream recipe that I had come across without having to buy an ice-cream maker. This recipe is Ideal for anyone without an ice cream maker. Due to the absence of milk in this recipe, the ice cream does not crystallize in the freezer bowl.

Thanks to Lee Siu for sharing to me.

Ingredients:

2 vanilla pods (or other flavor)

500ml double cream (another word is whipping cream)

70g sugar

3 egg yolks

Methods:

1. Halve the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the pods to the cream and bring to the boil, then add the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl then slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture.

3. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into another bowl and whisk in the vanilla seeds. Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until set.

For those who can’t get the fresh vanilla pods, vanilla essence can be replaced by just whisk 1 tsp of vanilla essence after pouring the mixture through a fine sieve in Step 3. Though the taste might not be as good as using the vanilla pods but your ice-cream will still be creamy.

Initially I tried using milo to flavor the ice-cream because I couldn’t find vanilla pod. The ice-cream was very creamy but too milky because milo+whipping cream = a bit too milky. However the kids still love it and requested for chocolate and vanilla. I bought more cream to try this weekend, maybe using vanilla essence and pure dark chocolate. I also bought macha from Shojikiya with the intention to try making own green tea ice-cream.

Handy Manny Handy PaPa

PaPa is our handy person at home. Even though we are staying in a small apartment but we have lots of tools from plumbing, wiring to carpentry.  

PaPa loves to check out hardware shop for new items and he will see item as small as screw, Martor USA box cutter to heavy duty drill and many other items.  Most of the item in our apartment and including minor car maintenance is done by him.  PaPa will take initiative to learn something new and do it. It is a matter of practice and practice…

Pharmacy

The role of pharmacy has becoming more prominent now as people are more educated and informed on medical knowledge. Pharmacies are better equipped from daily usage product, supplement, special medication, medical equipment, dental supplies and many more just to mention a few.

Now, a lot of people purchase medication, supplement and even daily items in pharmacies. Seeing the demand, the amount of pharmacies started to grow like mushrooms everywhere.

Wood Flooring

Our whole apartment’s flooring is very basic tiles with not even parquet. It is easier to maintain but cold. Seeing my sister’s apartment floor being laminated with wood, the whole apartment except for the kitchen and bathroom, it made me tempted to laminate our sitting room area. The kids love to roll on Sam Yee’s apartment’s sitting room’s wood floor because it is not cold like our apartment’s floor.

The price of wood laminated has dropped as compared to last time. Besides lower price, the selection has increase making it hard to make decision. There is quick step flooring from US. Hmmm… when the time comes and when we have enough sufficient budgets, then only we will survey. For time being, there is no plan due to uncertainties of the current economy.