Is your child materialistic??

As I was scanning The Star Online this morning, I came across this interesting news article on a study to examine whether child materialism is linked to self esteem. According to the study, there seem to be direct relationships between the two i.e. if you have a low self-esteem child, the probability for him/her to be more materialistic is higher. This seems to be more apparent for those between the age of 12-13. The rationale behind this was said due to these teenagers trying to make up for all the frustrations that they face during that stage of their life. However, one of the researcher did mentioned that "...giving children positive signals from their peers can boost their self-esteem and lower levels of materialism. "

I do hope my baby will not grow up to be a materialistic child as not only can it put a big hole in our pockets, it would not teach him to appreciate things around him later in life too. Hmmm...do you think buying branded stuff for him will influence him to be materialistic in the future? Oh btw, here's the news in full.

November 30, 2007
MYT 3:00:44 AM

Child materialism linked to self-esteem - study By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - How much children focus on having the latest gadgets and designer gear may have more to do with their self-esteem than peer pressure, targeted marketing or bad parenting, researchers said.

In two studies reported in the Journal of Consumer Research, they found that materialism spikes in early adolescence and declines by the end of high school, mirroring the years children are most prone to teen angst.

Between the ages of 12 and 13 children try to compensate for low self-esteem through material goods that they think will make themselves feel better, or that they think will raise their status among their peers.

"While peers and marketing can certainly influence teens, materialism is directly connected to self-esteem," said Professor Deborah Roedder John of the University of Minnesota.

"As parents, if we understand that, it helps us cope with the frustrating experience of having a 12, 13 or 14 year-old who is always asking us to buy them expensive clothes, and expensive computer equipment," she added in a media interview.

John and co-researcher Lan Nguyen Chaplin also showed that giving children positive signals from their peers can boost their self-esteem and lower levels of materialism.

They brought the children together in a summer camp setting and asked them to write down positive adjectives about their peers, such as "smart" or "fun". When the 12 and 13 year-olds read the pleasing descriptions of themselves, it drastically reduced the high levels of materialism.

John and Chaplin measured self-esteem by asking the children to rank to what extent they felt phrases such as "I feel good about myself", or "I'm just as good as anyone else" applied to them.

To find out how materialistic a child was, the researchers asked them to make up a collage to answer the question "What makes me happy."

The children that chose more material goods such as money or brand names over sentiments such as being with friends or no homework were seen as having higher levels of materialism.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters

Timber!!!....

Unlike Joshua, who loves to hold his little sister Moira while taking picture, Daniel, cousin of Moira & Joshua from SIL's side was too afraid to hold Ethan...so see what happened when I tried to take pictures of them together during Joshua's 4th birthday last Sunday...

My poor Ethan falling on his side like the falling timber...hehehe...

Daniel, Mei Mei, Joshua, Moira and my baby ;p

An option for you to consider

A friend of mine was telling me the other day that she is thinking of expanding her business over the net. But she wasn't sure how to go about it. So I was telling her that first of all, she needs to get a domain name for her business to look more professional. Secondly, she needs to choose which ecommerce software to adopt after getting her site ready. If you do a search on the net, you'll find there are plenty of shopping cart softwares that you can choose from. One of them is Ashop Commerce which is one of the leaders in hosting shopping cart software in the US. Choosing this provider would simplify your online business as it offers from A to Z solutions for all your online business needs. Choosing the right ecommerce software is very important as it could affect your customers' confidence in your business transactions. But if you decide to choose Ashop Commerce, it will certainly save you from all the frustrations when your business goes online. Most of all, you don't need to open a merchant account which can be pretty expensive if you're just starting your online business. Furthermore, your customers will feel comfortable purchasing from you as they can easily trace the shipments of their goodies from your site too.

It's play time!!

This morning, I put Ethan on his gym activity matt (a gift from my wonderful colleagues. Thank you folks!) to let him play on it. Let's see how it went..

My busy little bee...

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the cutest baby of them all??

Errrr...I think hubby forgot that this gym matt is meant for babies only hehe...

Of coz mummy doesn't want to be left out too...so here us saying "cheese" (well, I am while Ethan just stared ..) to the camera man aka hubby ;p

We had to say "see you later sweetie" to Ethan as we went off to work :(

Little pink dresses...

A colleague of mine, Jurra, started making pretty little dresses for her daughter Maya a few months back. She even made little dresses for some of our colleagues as gifts for their little girls out of her own interest. But that interest made great impressions on the mommies including yours truly that we started asking her to make dresses for the little girls in our life :)

See the cute little pink dresses she made for my nieces, Moira and Allie ...

Moira's dress

Allie's

Aren't they just pretty!!! :) Can't wait to see Moira & Allie in their dresses!! Will try to upload pictures of my nieces in these dresses soon ;p Thanks for the lovely dresses Jurra!! :)

Good morning Ethan!

Here's a video taken last Friday morning...due to the rainy wheather, Ethan was still fast asleep but I had to wake him up to send him to his grandma's ..

You can tell he was still a bit sleepy in the video hehe.. and yet he still managed to give me a little smile ;p My darling sweetie pie.... hee..

New skill??

See, my Ethan trying to hold his own bottle during feeding...

Yay...finally...oh look at his pinkie! So cute! haha..

Errr ...what is he is trying to do??....

"Mummy, how come this taste yummy?"

I guess sucking his thumb seems more satisfying... must be finger licking good eh Ethan...hahaha...

My baby has been trying to hold his own bottle during feedings a few weeks ago. But I guess he doesn't know how to control his grasp just yet...BTW, he likes to do a "2 in 1" as he likes to insert his thumb while feeding too (see photo #3)!! Tsk tsk tsk...haha..

New skill you think?? Almost but not quite ;p

Happy 4th Birthday Joshua!

Just a birthday wish for my not so little anymore nephew i.e. Joshua :)

Posing with the birthday cake :)

Family Day at work - 2005

Me & Joshua - 2005

Hope you had a blast during your party today! :) We'll wait for your mum to upload more pics on her blog ok!

FOC at PC Fair 2007 ;p

Look what have I got for FREE at the PC Fair today ;p

Free photo print with colorful frame around it.. So cute isn't it!! :) You can choose any frame you like and oh BTW, its free 1 printing per person only okay...Have a nice weekend everyone! :)

Oh if you're interested the PC Fair started today till this Sunday (23- 25 Nov). The opening hours is from 10am-9pm except for Sunday i.e. 10am - 5pm. Venue: Sabah Trade Centre :)

Answer these questions

Again, thanks to StoryMory2Share, I got tagged and this time I have to answer to these questions:

1) Name one person who made you laugh last night?
My hubby :)

2) What were you doing at 0800?
On the way sending Ethan to his grandma's house

3) What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Visiting booth at the 3 days PC Fair starting today in Sabah Trade Centre.

4) What happened to you in 2006?
Got married and got pregnant soon after ;p

5) What was the last thing you said out loud?
Capat! Nanti ramai urang tu! (Be quick, else there'll be too many people!)

6) How many beverages did you have today?
Since beverages exclude water (I'm neither a coffee nor a tea drinker), only 1 cup of ice Milo at McD ;p

7) What color is your hairbrush?
Navy blue

8) What was the last thing you paid for?
LCD monitor cleaning kit for my laptop for RM10 at the PC Fair ;p

9) Where were you last night?
At home after having dinner at MIL's

10) What color is your front door?
Mahagony brown

11) Where do you keep your change?
Coin compartment of my purse as I'm too lazy to carry a coin purse ;p

12) What's the weather like today?
At this moment - surprisingly a bit sunny (after few days of raining) and windy

13) What's the best ice-cream flavour?
Vedablu's Belgium chocolate!!

14) What excites you?
Shopping of course and seeing cute stuff for my baby!! ;p

15) Do you want to cut your hair?
A trim perhaps and probably big wavy curls at the bottom or maybe just color it...oh the question was whether I want to cut my hair only...sorry got carried away hehe...

16) Are you over the age of 25?
Oh yeah, way passed 25!! haha..

17) Do you talk a lot?
Generally, YES! ;p

18) Do you watch the O.C.?
Errrr...wat's that?

19) Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes, at least 1 in my mind now

20) Do you make up your own words?
No..not really..

21) Are you a jealous person?
Depending on the situation

22) Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'A'.
Alice

23) Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'K'.
Kevin

24) Who's the first person on your received call list?
My hubby ;p

25) What does the last text message you received say?
From Anne telling me our booth (PC fair) is next to SSL's

26) Do you chew on your straw?
Occasionally

27) Do you have curly hair?
I wish! ;p

28) Where's the next place you’re going to?
The ladies ;p

29) Who's the rudest person in your life?
None in my family but occasionally I do meet some rude strangers.

30) What was the last thing you ate?
Sinful McD's chicken meal!! ;p

31) Will you get married in the future?
Renewing my vows with my hubby would be nice ;p

32) What's the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
Eerrrr...I haven't been to the cinema for more than a year now...if on telly, I haven't got the chance to actually watch a movie in full as I'm always doing something in between...hehe

33) Is there anyone you like right now?
Like as in general? If yes, a lot of people hehe...If love-like, of course my hubby and my baby not forgetting my family and friends ;p

34) When was the last time you did the dishes?
This morning

35) Are you currently depressed?
Not that I know of hehehe...

36) Did you cry today?
Friends call me the lady with the heart of stone so what do you think? ;p

37) Why did you answer and post this?
Just to return a favour to my dear friend *eyes rolling* and becoz I'm in a good mood coz TGIF!! hehe...

I'll end this tag here but if you wish to share your answers, please, by all means ;p

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

I was just talking to my hubby on the way to work about putting up the Christmas tree this morning. We've decided to put it up next weekend coz December is just round the corner and so is Christmas! Yay! It's the time of the year to be merry and jolly!! :) There will be family get together and of coz X'mas gifts exchange especially for the children! :) This year will be extra special for us as it will be our first X'mas with our precious baby Ethan. So double yay! ;p

Talking about Christmas, as much as joy and happiness it brings, it can be pretty errmm.. how should I say, costly (?) especially if you're the type who would get extravagant gifts for your loved ones. It’s no harm at all if you can afford it. But I do know some friends who though may not be able to give gifts lavishly but yet insist on doing so. I guess they just want to give the best to their loved ones. But in the end, some of them end up having short-term cash problems. Perhaps what they need during this time would be payday loan, a fast cash advance to last them till their next wage comes. I haven't really started my X'mas gifts shopping yet, who know I might end up having to resort to payday loan too! But hopefully not...keep my fingers crossed ;p

The Age that I wish my Child Will Stay To Be

PapaJoneh tagged me on this but I must say, my special journey as a mom has just started since my precious Ethan is only 5 1/2 months old. Nontheless, I shall try my best here ;p

Like PapaJoneh, I would not like to have my baby stops at a certain age as I would like to see him growing and learning new things in life. It would be interesting to see how he grows and what kind of person will he grow up to be. Will he look more like me or my hubby? Will he be as patient as his daddy or will he be as bad tempered as his mom? ;p Will he be as tall as his dad? In short it would certainly be interesting and exciting to know what kind of man he will turn up to be later in his life :)

Nevertheless, for the 5 1/2 months since I had my sweetie pie, I would say I like him most in his current age. Not that I don't like him before (I've always love him since day one and will always love and adore him very much - the feeling keeps growing everyday!) , but previously he was too little to understand, be alert or be appreciative of the things around him. Today, my precious is more alert, more playful, more generous with his smiles, able to response to you with his ohhhs and ahhhhs and gurgles, likes to be cuddled and sang to when he wants to sleep (I love to hug and cuddle him to sleep!!), able to move his body towards me and sometimes excitedly when I'm about to carry him (shows how much he misses me...ahhhh...) and most of all I just SUPER DUPER LOVE it when he gives me his GORGEOUS SMILE first thing in the morning!! It's a happy feeling that I just can not describe with words...it is what some people may described as the melting moment or joyous moment ...but for me its so much more than that...it just gives me that fulfilled, satisfied, contented, warm and happy feeling deep inside my heart... certainly a great booster to start my day even during these gloomy & rainy days! ;p

My baby when he was 2 weeks ++ (Photo by Jewelle)

My baby now

Me and my baby taken this morning :)

So folks, now that I've shared mine, won't you please share with me your stories on the age that you wish your child will stay to be or if you prefer "the age that you like your child most since born" :)

• ta66y's ark
• Osindak
• Happy Lil' People in the Hse
• Sindut's Lollygag

Health tips

Osindak wants me to give a tip on health.

Copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.) Share one of your own health tips (tip on how to be more healthy) with others. Try to make your tip short but informative. Tag at least 2 person.

1. Be happy - Everyday health and beauty
2. Be contented with what God Bless us - chanelwong
3. Be faithful - Ruth
4. Laugh a lot - Chinnee
5. Take time out for rest and relaxation - Kiasumum
6. A real work out for sweating - Dora
7. Exercise (walk, jog or swim) - Deana
8. Eat at least 5 times (small meal) a day and not 3 times big meal. Jenn
9. AVOID fizzy drinks! - osindak
10. Think positively- Aunty J

I'm tagging:

• Prettykismet
• Static Alibis

My first X'mas gift!!

Yay! I got myself an advance X'mas present!! Wanna know what did I get for myself? Here it is...

Yeah, my blue topaz set - another addition to my collection ;p

As we grow old...

Have you ever wondered as you grow old and wrinkly who will care for you? Or have you ever wondered how should you care for your loved ones especially when they need special care? In general, as Asian, we have it in our culture or it's a norm that we would normally look after our elderly as they grow old. However, you will find that this trend will soon disappear as most elderly people are becoming more independent nowadays. This is true especially for those who used to work in their younger years which are pretty common in this day and age. I supposed having worked before with better financial standing made them more independent. As I think about it, I might be one of such generation which I would prefer to live my life independently with my hubby. Not that I don't want Ethan to care for me but I figured things would be different during his time. With the ever increasing oil prices, his financial commitments may probably be steeper then ours or our previous generations. What's more if he has his own family in the future. What should I do then? Well, one way is to start thinking about the care options that are available. I can either consider care home or residential care. Upon arranging the right kind of care options, I would then need advice from care experts especially on funding for my care. Of course tips and reviews by the experts on care would be useful to me too and joining a forum that discussed about care experience and knowledge will be to my advantage too. But where can I get such info? Well, look no further as Bettercaring is the site to visit to answer all your concerns about care.

Little changes in life...

You know, a friend of mine YM me as I was about to step out for lunch. One topic that we "talked" about was regarding my precious Ethan in which I happily reminded him to follow my blog for my sweetie pie's developments :) But what caught my attention and made me ponder and think was when he said:

K: if i'm not mistaken...u were not into blogging ur life out to the world before...a baby can make a difference huh..

J: ya! hahahaha...

Yes, it is true that previously I would never thought of blogging my life to the world as I'm quite a private person ... but how can you not talk about your baby when you have a cutie pie like this in your life...

You will definately talk about him 24/7 with endless topics if you can!! See how a cute little baby can make a difference in your life hee...Oh...according to my friend, he will start his blog once his dear wife is expecting. I can't wait!! :)

Customized beddings for a unique you??

Looking at Ethan size, I think most people would not be surprised if I say his baby cot is too small for him. Not that he can't sleep in it anymore, but with him starting to roll over on his own, the baby cot seems a bit too small for my chubby precious Ethan. He either gets his feet stuck in between the bars of the cot or he can only manage to roll over half way if he is too near to the other side of the cot. So MIL suggested that we get a single mattress and put it on the floor so that he has all the space he wants :)

So, of course with a new mattress, my baby would need at least a couple of bedsheets to cover the mattress. And being a person who are into beddings stuff, this mommy happily went scouting for cute Kids Bedding just the other day. I actually went to the shopping malls to get his beddings but if you're the type who prefers to shop at your own convenient time without rushing and getting stuck in the jamm, and you prefer to shop from home or even from work, you may want to consider Vision Bedding. This site offers unique kids beddings that they can customized according to your needs too. Awesome isn't it! But if you would just like to buy off the "rack", you can choose one such as this:

As you can customize the beddings, why not use your family photos. Imagine you have your kids beddings with your family photos on it. That would be cool isn't it? :)

3 cousins with 3 different expressions

Ethan with his surprise or "takajut" look, Joshua with his happy smiley look and Moira with her big round eyes and ermmmm dono what expression and always sweaty look ;p

This photo was taken at their Dodu's & Aki's place last Saturday evening when we went over for a short visit and had a nice dinner prepared by my mum - chicken with black soya sauce and fish curry with brinjal & ladies fingers. Like they say, mummy's cooking is always yummy! It was a nice small get together. Too bad big bro and family were not able to join. Otherwise, I could have taken picture of all 4 cousins. Yeah.. Allie was not in the picture..next time perhaps ;p

Oh here's another picture of Joshua and Ethan...look at the same face expression...hmmm...

Why the sour faces oh???...not happy with Aunty J/ mummy forever taking pictures is it??? hehehe...

In dire need of cash for emergency??

Have you ever experience of having to dig high and low for some cash for some emergency situations? I know I have and I know it can be pretty frustrating especially if you need to come out with the cash in such a very short time frame. If the cash you need is minimal, your family and friends may be able to help you out. Nevertheless, sometimes as desperate as you are, your family and friends maybe in the same shoes as you are i.e. short of cash too. So during times as this, what can you do or what should you do? Well, what you need is actually to apply for Payday Loans or in other words, a super fast and easy cash advance loan in between pay day and without credit to help you handle during "fragile" situations. Normally, payday loans allow you to have advance cash from as little as $100 to $1500 to help you cover your emergency expenses and other unforeseen costs till you get your wage at the end of the month. However, if you’re having problem as to which payday loan company to approach, PayDay Loan Quotes may be able to help you as this site offers free service to match you with a suitable lender from various lenders. What is more interesting is that if they can find you a match, your application can be approved within minutes upon submission!

What kinda girl am I ?

As I was blog hopping, I came across this test from Ratu Suraya's Have It, Be IT. Guess what type of girl Aunty J is?

You are a Career Girl!

You may not be a CEO yet, but you're well on your way to success. You take your career seriously, and you wouldn't stop working for any guy! An independent woman, you pay for your own car, clothes, and housing. And men appreciate that - at least, the ones as driven as you are.

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Tolo is out!

Yeah, that's the name of Ethan's dragon soft toy which hubby bought from one of his outstation trips. Actually, I didn't really like the name Tolo. Been finding suitable name for this dragon toy but haven't find anything suitable yet. It was either too common or just not right hee... if you're wondering, yes, practically most of his toys have names especially if they are out from the toys' box ;p One was named after Aunty V and so it is called "Aunty V" hee...

Anyway, u may ask why Tolo? That's the brand stated on the dragon's body and label. Never heard of it too but apparently it is a Hong Kong brand. Hubs bought it from Mothercare during the sales even b4 Ethan was born. Tolo is one of my favs among his toys as not only it is cute and colorful but it is also good for Ethan as it features things like rattling sound, peek a boo mirror, crinkly sound, in and out of pocket flower etc. Good for his senses :) When checked, it is also made in China but at least it is not the plastic type that may content lead.

Anyway, my baby seems to like Tolo as he gets excited when ever we let him play with his fluorescent dragon ;p

Ethan exploring Tolo ;p

"Yikes!! Mummy help me...I'm being attacked by Tolo!! HELP!!"

But wait, let's post for mommy first hehe..

And yes...as usual everything goes into his mouth nowadays ;p

If you do have suggestions on what to name this big eyes dragon...please share with me ya :)

Social gambler??

I know you've heard of social drinker but have you ever heard about being a social gambler? Hmmm...I haven't too but I would describe myself as a social gambler coz I only gamble during Chinese New Year (CNY) :) Reason being, its the time of the year again where everybody especially from hubby's side get together for food and some fun which include a little bit of gambling - all for word that spelled F-U-N :)

But that is only during CNY, other days my gambling mood will be on the "off" mode. But with the much talked about technological advancement, online gambling is another avenue for the avid gambler to enjoy their interest. I for one think gambling is too risky as I'm a risk adverse person. But I guess for others especially the risk takers, gambling probably gives them adrenaline rush that satisfies them. There are just so many online gambling or online casino on the internet nowadays. I sometimes wonder if people really win any $$ from playing online casino. I would never recommend online gambling simply because it is too risky especially if you have limited disposable incomes and it can be pretty addictive too. But if you're into online casino and yet a careful gambler,Pro360.com may be useful for you as this site which has been established a decade ago filters and reviews almost 3000 online casino (or some people call it casino online??)to online gambling. Thus, saving you the time and effort in finding the game experience, trust score and bonuses offered by each casino.

8 random facts about Aunty J

Ok, this is a 2 in 1 tag as I've been tagged twice on 8 random facts about myself by Osindak and Deana.

The Rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
2. Tag eight people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
3. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs

So here goes :-

1. I'm a stubborn old cow when I need to be or want to be ;p
   
2. I DO NOT take raisins simply because I don't like the texture when my teeth sink into the flesh - it feels yucky to me ;p
   
3. I'm a typical Virgoan - perfectionist and like things to be in order and like to plan ahead which can be annoying at times hehe...
   
4. I love EGGS!! I can eat eggs anytime of the day but have to refrain myself now as I have high cholesterol :(
   
5. I still can't swim although I've tried many times to learn from swimming coach and friends - guess I'm afraid of the water or rather from drowning ;p


6. I'm a librarian by profession and am proud of it though am no longer working in a library environment. But my previous jobs help me a lot in my current job especially in terms of doing research :)
   
7. I got married late at 35 years of age (yeah, I'm not afraid to tell my age hee..) and enjoying my life with hubby & my 5 mths ++ old precious :)


8. My mum, myself and my precious baby Ethan are all born under the year of Pig - yeah 3 generations of piggies! Good fengshui people said ;p

So that's 8 random facts about me.

Once again I'm gonna break the rules coz instead of tagging 8 people, I'm just gonna tag 5. And as Deana nicely put it, this is juz to get to know you better hee..So folks, you're tagged:

1. Hannie
2. StoryMory2Share
3. Kadazan Bonita
4. Happy Lil' People in the Hse
5. Fran

Yeah, if I've tagged you b4, here I am striking you again!! Haha!

Soul to Sole: Bringing Beauty to its Feet

Yes, that was the title of Jimmy Choo's slides presentation at the recent IWEC 2007 . How true indeed as his creations were made to beautify thy feet. Just look at some of his must have and to die for high heels. Simple yet elegant and oh so lady like... I can imagine myself walking in his shoes and feeling like a princess, so graceful, confident, sexy and beautiful...

Before attending the congress, I was hoping and wishing that there will be some lucky draws and that maybe just maybe I could win a pair of Jimmy Choo's shoes. Or maybe he would give away some of his beautifully crafted shoes to some lucky participants including me...but unfortunately, that is just a wishful thinking of mine as none of it ever happens...sigh...

Anyway, let's talk about the designer himself, YBhg. Prof. Dato' Jimmy Choo, OBE is a remarkable person who made his first shoes when he was only 11 years old! His dad was a shoes designer and naturally following the footsteps of his dad coupled with his own interest, he pursued a career in the same field as shoes designer. Trained at London College of Fashion, which was then known as Cordwainers College, the 46 years old Penangnite graduated with distinction. He started his shoes making business in an ex-hospital building in Britain.

His brand name started to emerge tremendously after Vogue did an eight-page spread featuring his quality footwear in 1988. Since then, he never looked back and of coz his most famous client is the late Princess Diana, whom he worked for about 7 years. During those years he was not allowed to tell anybody that he was the shoes designer for the Princess. It was only after she passed on that people knew who made her elegant sexy shoes..

Jimmy Choo is no longer involved in the fashion house that he first founded. Initially, he sold half of his shares to the lady who once featured him in the Vogue and his niece. However, the former Vogue friend i.e. Tamara Mellon bought the fashion house completely in 2001.

Today, Jimmy Choo is helping budding shoes designers and makers in Malaysia by setting up an institute for shoe making. He is also involved in many charity works as he believes in giving back to the community. He is also a proud Malaysian who doesn't mind to promote Malaysia wherever he goes. In fact during the Congress, one of the speakers, Maria Brown, MD for Asian Food Channel asked him if he agrees to be in AFC show featuring Malaysian cuisines in which he happily agreed. Another speaker i.e Chin-Ning Chu requested to take a photo with him so that she can show to her publisher that she actually met Jimmy Choo - she has a chapter in her book (The Art of War for Women) that used Jimmy Choo's name to represent the word "high heels". Jimmy Choo is also a fun and witty guy as he kids many times during his talk. When asked about where does he gets his inspirations from. He said " As long as you love what you're doing, the inspirations will come naturally". Among all the speakers, he was by far the most popular one. People were queuing at the mic eager to ask him questions. The speakers even requested the MC that they wanted to take pictures with Jimmy Choo right after his talk.

And of coz yours truly didn't want to miss out too as I shamelessly went to the front and took pictures with him for remembrance. Mind you, I wasn't the only one as there were some prominent people i.e. Datuks who were as eager as me too! So people, disappointingly to say that I didn't get a pair of Jimmy Choo's shoes but at least I managed to take a couple of pictures with him hehe...

So that's my not quite up close personal with Jimmy Choo folks! ;p

Fascinated by their success & humbleness

Recently, I feel fortunate for being able to attend the International Women Executive Congress 2007 at Magellan Sutera Harbour. I thought it was one of the best of such events that I've ever attended especially with many great "practical" and "real" speakers! Their talks were not just some airy fairy kinda talks - you know those with "gigantic" jargons and "unpractical" theories. But rather, theirs were very practical that just simply use common sense. Indeed these lot are very successful and yet they are all so humble and down to earth. I'm truly amazed and admire them for being who they are. I supposed starting from the bottom and having struggled to get to the top made them appreciative of what they currently enjoy. Perhaps knowing how hard it was for them during their challenging times made them want to help others too.

They have such amazing distinctive qualities in them that I would be very delighted even to acquire a fraction of their qualities. Those that really caught my attention include:

Chin-Ning Chua , the famous writer of The Asian Mind Game, Thick Face, Black Heart, The Art of War for Women. She believes one should love thyself, know thy enemies, don't care what people thinks of you especially if you have the will to do what you want to do, and know how to face defeats. A very determine lady that even being a dyslexia with poor English grammar (as claimed by her) did not stop her from writing books - as she said, why should she worries about her English language as she has her editors to worry about that. What is more important is the substance of the book i.e. the information, not the English language :) She also believes that gender is not an excuse to feel insecure or intimidated in the men's world. According to her, men being men, they would love anything that brings in income for them, it does not matter if you're a male or female and that includes dogs! ;p

Maria Brown, a former journalist for BBC who (together with her Singaporean partner) were daring enough to start the first food channel in Asia i.e. Asian Food Channel (am pretty sure some of you enjoy watching this programme i.e on 703, Astro) in a foreign country in just 3 months time after submitting their proposal!!



Jimmy Choo, need no introduction as he is the renown shoes maker for the late Princess Diana. I truly admire this man more after his talk but shall write no more here as I'm dedicating an entry for him alone after this - my up close personal with Jimmy Choo! ;p Did I get a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes??!!! Come back for my special entry!! ;p

Ibu Mooryati - The successful business woman who founded the Mustika Ratu empire. Turning 80 yrs old (though her complexion looks like she's 20 yrs younger than her actual age!! Good bye SK2, hello Mustika Ratu??!!) in a couple of month does nothing to stop her doing from what she enjoys doing i.e. business, studying and being a politician. FYI, she only started her business at the age of 45 from her home garage. She achieved her Doctorate at the age of 79 (and I thought am too old for doing my MBA! Duh..), and is now an active politician in Indonesia.

Datuk Bridget Lai , our very own Sabahan iron lady who is the Group Chief Officer of Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad. A person who attributes her success to focus and determination and willingness to constantly learn and try new things. This former bank scholar who started her career as a bank teller does not like to stay put in a comfort zone. Definately a go-getter lady!!


I am a believer of life long learning too and indeed event such as this was very enlightening and refreshing besides educating! Kudos to Yayasan Sabah & Quest Learning for such an interesting event! Thanks to my colleague "D" and my MD for giving me this wonderful opportunity! ;p

Ethan, Adriana & Adam

Before Peggy & baby Adriana went back to KL last Thursday, we visited Izah & baby Adam again on Wednesday evening. We wanted to take pictures of the 3 little babies together as it is not easy to get them 3 together...Unfortunately, we didn't manage to capture pictures of the 3 babies alone... Anyhow, here are some photos for the sharing :)

MIL with all her DILs and golden pig grandchildren :)

My prince with his daddy

Me and my precious

Cute baby Adam

Adriana with her grandma

Me + Ethan & Peggy + Adriana

MIL with Izah & baby Adam

Adam: the new baby on the block