Night shoppers?

What become of moms when they have little ones to manage and yet yearn to go out and shop during the Parkson Grand Members' Day sales yesterday? Well, they went out shopping at 9pm till the shop closed at 11pm! That was what happened to me and my SIL aka my downstairs neighbour last night hehehe...The offers for Bonus members were pretty good I must say. SIL got a cool shirt for Joshua and a lovely little pretty dress for lil' Moira all at 50% discounts! So what did Aunty J got? Well, I got my Ethan boy a pyjama set and a Nicole checkered shirt for me hubby :) Did I get anything for myself? Nope, I didn't coz I didn't see anything that I like (or rather anything that I like and fits me!hehe..). Well, thank goodness for that coz I don't want to end up having to burst my credit limits. Not good for me as I might end up checking out credit cards for bad credit. A big NO-NO! Having said that, it will surely comes in handy for those who have bad credits.

Cover girl!

Folks, quick go grab the February issue of TruLove magazine to read a feature about me on my wedding day!! ;) Nah....just kidding...this cover girl wannabe just fooling around with the Fake Magazine Cover from Jurra's blog ;p

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com Discount Magazine Subscriptions - Save big!

Be protected

I think most of us would have purchased some sort of insurance, be it life insurance, personal accident insurance, medical insurance, fire insurance, auto insurance etc etc...there are plenty of different types of insurance out there. A few months back I just bought myself (finally!) a medical insurance from a reputable insurance company. Medical insurance can be quite costly (I could have used the money for shopping!! Ha!) but looking at the high rocket price of medical fees, I honestly think it is a worth while investment. It is not easy to choose medical insurance from the market as there are just too many to choose from. You can get overwhelming with all the different terms and offers available in the market. But I guess for medical insurance, besides the obvious reasons of being affordable, comes from a reputable & stable company as well as offering good coverage of various types of illnesses, it should most of all have speedy Accident Compensation Claims. I have never experience of having to claim any of my insurances yet. So I will not be able to share my experience on claiming of compensation with you. But I do have a friend who is soon undergoing an operation in Sabah Medical Centre which all of us know the rates can be pretty hefty. But thank goodness she is covered! Anyway, back to compensation claims, as of now, she has nothing to worry about hospitalization fees as that is already settled when the employer’s insurance company issued the letter of hospitalization fees absorption to her :)

Tagging along game

I got tagged by Hannie again and this time I need to randomly select 5 of you to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!) It’s real easy!Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially

The benefits of Viral Linking:

• One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!
• Increase your Google PageRank fast
• Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
• Build your community
• Make new friends!

The Strategist Notebook, Link Addiction, Ardour of the Heart, When Life Becomes a Book, The Malaysian Life, Yogatta.comWhat goes under the sun, Roshidan’s Cyber Station, Sasha says, Arts of Physics, And the legend lives, My View, My Life, A Simple Life, Juliana RW, The Callalily Space, Petra, Summer in Blue, Confessions of an Army Wife, Bless’ Sanctuary, Happy Life, http://bless519.bravejournal.com/, La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine, Me and my Two Boys, My Life is Peachy, Chat, My Happy Place, Raising Sandy, I am Dzoi, Snapshots of Life, My BIG Picture, Welcome To My World, Hannah, Michellie, Lisa, Ris, Scotty’s Princess, REPAH, Misyel, Rhapsody, joanjoyce, read my mind, moms..... check nyo, Mommy's Little Corner, Nyumix's Blog, Rose, Agnes, Glad to be here, Good things in life...

5 lucky people I've chosen to tag:

1. Keaton's Dad
2. Life goes on...
3. Precious Moments...
4. Happy lil' people in the hse
5. Osindak

Enjoy folks! :)

Shopping headache??

After a close friend of mine came back from her shopping trip to Manila few months ago plus some raving stories of my other friends about shopping in Manila , I've concluded that Manila will be another "must go" shopping destination for me. I'm not sure when will that be but I'm sure I'll enjoy shopping there as I heard one can find more variety and things are pretty cheap :)

I've so far made shopping trips to Bangkok and Hong Kong. It was really fun going to these two places. Things are pretty cheap in Bangkok not forgetting the superlicious Tom Yam!! Of coz travelling with great company made those trips more memorable!! Hong Kong during the Summer Sales (which was on when we were there) offers great bargains too. Food wise, I love the porridge, mango dessert and dim sum there...the food was really delicious but some may find the food and things a bit dear if you convert the currency to RM (Thank goodness I was still earning S$ then). Talking about shopping, if your family practise gifts giving tradition on Christmas day, you should probably act on it while you're on your shopping trips...otherwise you may end up rushing and paying more as you'll probably just grab whatever you think is fine as Christmas presents...Another way to beat the rush and long que is to plan ahead and buy your Christmas presents on Black Friday site. You can start purchasing items from their site on the day after Thanks Giving. Do get yourself subcribe to their newsletter too so that you can get hold of their black friday ads ;p

New look :)

Yup, thanks to Foreign Beauty, I now have a brand new look for my dear blog :) She has actually sent me the new design on Sunday but I got stuck when I tried to get things up and running...but luckily Cindy was always there to guide me :)

To my dear blog designer aka Cindy, you've been great and wonderfully talented!! My sincere thanks for being patient to the fussy old me!! ;p

So how do you like the new look folks? ;p If you ask me, I soooooo like it very much!!! :) And yes, quick, join in the que to get her to design your blog theme as this creative girl is very high in demand!! Oh btw, did I mention her price is very reasonable too?? :)

Ooppss, it's 2.16am now...I was busy putting the widgets and codes on me new blog design just now that I've totally forgotten about the time.....time to hit the sack folks!! Sweet dreams everyone and see ya later!! :)

2 men + 2 babies

Here's a photo of Ethan with his grandpa & granduncle together with cousin Zach taken on Monday. Don't they look so serious?? Or probably they were forced by *ahemm*...to take a picture together hehe...just kidding...there were not forced to...I guess unlike we gals, guys are just a bit more reserve when it comes to taking pictures...I know my hubby is one camera shy guy! hehehe...

Better than good

I guess all of us must have gone through some sort of trainings in our life. Be it physical, mental, academic, professional (e.g. Sales Training) or emotional (is there such a thing actually?) trainings - we all been there done that. I'm a 'training' person as I love to attend trainings that will either help me in my career/ professional advancement or just purely for self improvement. On top of that, I enjoy going for training especially when the facilitator has vast experience to share and knows the subject well. Facilitator that has a good sense of humour wouldn't hurt too especially when you have more than a day kinda trainings.

Aki & Dodu

Last Sunday as I was visiting my downstairs neighbour, they told me that they are going to my parents home that evening. It got me thinking dropping by there would be a good idea too as it has been a while since Ethan last saw and spent some time with his Aki (grandpa in Kadazan). Ethan saw his Dodu (grandma in Kadazan) a few times last week coz my mom stayed with my bro with Joshua & Moira while SIL was outstationed for a few days. Anyway, Ethan enjoyed his visit especially when his Aki played "jumping about" with him and am sure it was quite tiring for my dad for obvious reason :) As for me, I managed to"ransacked" my old wardrobe and found my belts and a few clothing items to bring back hehe...sad thing is that there are still a few (a few is an understatement really!) clothing items that I still couldn't fit in :( When I shared this with the rest, my SIL said that's how it is after pregnancy...one tends to grow one size bigger...I was adamant (or rather too ambitious hehehe) to say "no, I'll fit in to my old clothes again soon!" I'll keep my fingers crossed and let's just wait and see okay...hehe...(but psssttt... I can see my Cadbury Dairy Milk - hazel nut chocolate bar next to my laptop now....hmmm...how to loose weight and fit into those clothes again!!??)

Little E so happy with his Dodu, Aki and cousins Joshua & Moira :)

Let's sing the lullaby...

I was browsing through this site when I came across one particular bed from their collections of Faux Leather Beds. See below a picture of the bed I'm referring to:

Wowww... red headboard with a matching footboard!! Have you ever thought of getting a red bed set?? I never thought of it till I saw this picture! So vixen isn't it?? It really goes with the name i.e. vogue coz a red bed is indeed very vogue...well, at least to my eyes :) But don't think the hubs would allow me to choose a red coloured bed...and I think Ethan would probably end up just staring at the red headboard when we put him on the bed!! ;p The good thing about this particular brand of beds is that not only do they come in double size and king size frames, they come in super king size frames too. I think that would be great to have at home (in a different colour though...) coz Ethan would have a much bigger space to move about during his play time :) Talking about bed, since we often play with Ethan on our bed and he is more active nowadays, hubby told me on Sunday that it was time to flush the bed to the wall for Ethan's safety. I agreed so he did just that...whatever is safer for our lil' E :)

Blogroll

Friends & Family + Blogs I Read

• A New Beginning
• Amelia
• Anything Goes!
• Being Stellar
• Bitterlysweet
• Can we get personal
• Chanel's Journal
• CookingMomster
• Dare to Believe
• Deana Cakes
• Dosh Dosh
• Dot Com Mogul
• Family of Js
• Foreign Beauty
• FridayCat
• Grin Mama Blues
• Glad2bHere.Net
• Hannie
• Happy Lil' People in the Hse
• Its a New Day
• Jacq
• Jewelle
• Jewelle Tan Personally
• Jo-N
• Julian & Morin
• Juramo
• Kadazan Bonita
• KadusMama
• Kampung Girl
• Keaton's Dad
• kennysia.com
• Kinabalu Home
• Life goes on.....
• Life is...
• Life is good
• Lisa's new life in Perth
• McEllen
• Mommy's life
• MommieCay
• Mum2CheekyBums
• MyChildrenJournal
• My shabby life
• MyUniqueSay
• Neneth's Masterpiece
• Neneth's Knitting Corner
• Nessa's Mumblings
• OLKgal
• Once Upon a Time
• Ordinary Days
• Osindak's Life
• PapaJoneh
• Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen
• Photograph by DorisJ
• Plain Jane
• Precious Moments...
• PropertyNet
• Quirin
• RantingsbyMM
• Rojak Librarian
• Sew Cute
• Share.Fun.Socialize
• Sindut's Lollygag
• Small Fish Big Money
• Static Alibis
• StoryMory2Share
• Sweet Cranky Angel
• ta66y's ark
• The collections gallery
• ...the Guru-Guru life
• The Wong Home
• Time to change
• Two Handed Octopus
• Ulai
• What's going on
• youPOS
• Yours truly, Ms Contrary

The red carpet

I like to watch Chanel E! on Astro especially when they talk about the red carpet like the upcoming Oscars Awards ceremony. What I actually like about this sort of ceremony is the actresses walking down the red carpet in their prettiest or could be the ugliest dresses. Not forgetting the 'bling-bling' that either owned by them or given or loan exclusively to them by the designers in return for some publicity or part of their promotion activities. Interesting to know some designers actually provides give free security guards to these super stars...well who wouldn't want to guard your precious stones right...furthermore some just have to have the security guards to ensure they get back their jewelleries after the event...kinda like Cinderella stories isn't it? Well, sort of coz you wouldn't look like a million dollar after returning the 'bling-bling' ;p

Anyway, I'm sure those that watch Chanel E! knows how much these superstars would go the extra miles just to look fantastic (which they do most of the time really...except some weird fashion taste or could it be just some publicity stint? ;p) on Oscars Awards day. Recently I saw in the news that some celebrities are opting for Liposuction to look good. Now that I have to see...Imagine the actress of Roseaane Barr in slimmer version...I think she would look very pretty don't you think? :)

This is what happened when...

...my facial appointment was cancelled due to staff annual dinner and I wasn't informed and on top of that I had 2 hours to kill during the long lunch hours on Friday...
If you asked me if it hurts? Absolutely NOT coz it ain't the real thing hehe...it's a non-permanent tattoo on my left ankle for the next 2 weeks hehe...I normally go for henna tattoo previously.. so this is the first time I'm having a sprayed tattoo :) So how do you like it? hehe... BTW, it only cost me RM6 for this one..

Well that is as far as I would ever dare to come close to being tattooed simply because I'm such a coward when it comes to pain. I'll probably cry a river or even cry a sea if I do really go for the real thing!! But having said that, surprisingly I managed to go through labour pain.... now that is one pain one just can't describe with words! But like all moms will say, the pain will be totally forgotten once you see your precious little one in your arms :) Too bad I couldn't see my little prince straight away as I had to go for an emergency c-section in the end though I was already 10cm dilated :( But nothing could describe the joy and happiness that I felt when the nurse brought Ethan to me and him opening his eyes (he was asleep then) and looked at me when I first called out his name :)

Remortgage

Have you ever thought to Remortgage your house to enjoy lower monthly repayment coz of lower interest rates? I'm not so familiar how it works really but I think I should find out more info on it. For all I know, if its really good and better than the EPF offer, I might ask hubby to consider such option in the near future. If you ask me, I'm not at all familiar with the mortgage industry in Malaysia but according to a news article in the UK, there seems to be mixed feeling in the mortgage industry in that country that left most of the home buyers and borrowers confused. They just not sure which mortgage to go for as there seems to be different forecasts for the UK economy and for Bank of England base rates. However, it has been reported that research showed that the two-year fixed rate offer seems to be the most high in demand among British borrowers. Hmmm...what about in Malaysia?

Out with the neighbour

Last Sunday, us 3, together with my youngest bro and family (who's our downstairs neighbour btw hehe..) went to Pizza Hut at Lintas Plaza. It was a last minute decision so as to fulfilled my so-called "promise" to bring Joshua out on that day. SIL asked Joshua to take an early afternoon nap as Aunty J was gonna bring him out. So without hesitant he quickly obeyed and took his nap hehe...We were supposed to go to Grace point with my big bro + family and my cousin + family. But the weather outlook at that time didn't permit the initial plan. Thus the Plan B to Pizza Hut so as not to disappoint Joshua too :) Too bad big bro and my cousin didn't join us as Allie wasn't well and hubby can't contact my cousin...Here are some photos for the sharing :)

Stay away from debts!

Yes, that's right, clear your debts as fast as you can (look who's talking hee..) as you don't want to accumulate your debts not forgetting the high interest charges and late payment charges. It's a pretty sad fact that there are many of us who are in some form of debts. I would however, categorise some debts as "good debts" e.g. housing loans while others are "bad debts" e.g loans taken from loan sharks purely for own enjoyment. We also sometimes see how some family would go the extra miles to celebrate any occasions. Sadly some end up having quite a lump sum of debts. But whatever it is, I think we all agree that it is always good to stay clear of any debts. I felt so relief and glad to be able to settle my supposedly 8 yrs car loan within 5 years previously. It gave me the freedom to enjoy my money a little bit more afterwards. But as my car is getting older now, we are considering changing my car soon...that means another round of car loan repayment period. Hopefully, we'll be able to do a bit of saving so that we can put down a bit more for the down payment. It would make the repayment period shorter thus us saving on interest charges. Anyway, maybe we ought to attend some sort of Debt Management Plans awareness seminars so that we can avoid being in debt or worst becoming bankcrupt!!

Photo of the day

Have you ever caught your precious little one doing some sort of a sign language? Or maybe just coincidently made some kind of sign language? I did and I somehow managed to get him doing it on camera the other day....hehehe...here's a picture of my precious Ethan with his...

"I love you" sign (well, almost hehe) from my precious to me ;p

Car booth sales

I've been talking about having car booth sales at my place for a long long time now... As my mom always complain, I have quite a bit of stuff at home and at my parents' home that I been wanting to get rid of.... Of coz some I've given to friends and relatives but I still have some left especially those that I've spent a bit of money and those that I'm reluctant to part with hehe...Anyway, I've always been a car booth sales person. I like to just browse around or buy an item or two especially the unique ones. I once saw a really nice vintage like gramophone in one of the garage sales in Singapore. I almost wanted to buy it but the thought of hand carrying it back to KK changed my mind. Too bad coz it would really make a nice piece of home decor :) Anyway, back to having a car booth sales, I think I should get things organize soon since I already have 2 volunteers (with terms & conditions that is hehe...they want to view all the stuff that I have b4 I start the sales coz they wanna pick and choose first! hehe..but fair enough I think). But since am staying in an apartment, I would need a suitable place to hold the garage sales...hmmm...I wonder if there is such a thing like Sectional Garage, you know, like a concrete sectional building for rent in KK like what the lidget.co.uk provides?

How evil are you?

Find out how evil or how angelic are you by taking on the "How evil are you?" test below :) Are you better than me or are you more evil than an evil is?? Go find it out yourself! ;p

You Are 32% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Drop me a line or two after your 'evil' test! ;)

Are you in debt?

I think most people just can not avoid being in debt no matter how rich (as you know, businessmen do take up business loans to run their businesses) or poor you are. It could be due to short term (hopefully!) debt from the use of credit cards, computer loan, personal loan or car loan, or it could be due to a long term loan such as taking up a housing loan (some call it investment while others call it a liability)...Some might even consider a loan such as study loan as an investment. But which ever type of debts we are in, we need to be able to manage our debt. This of coz is to avoid us being trapped in a difficult financial situation and worst if we have to declare ourselves bankrupt! Geee...I hope I will never be caught in any of the two situations... I must admit I do use my credit cards but I normally will try to pay on time as well as to pay as much as I can. This is to avoid facing the financial charges for late payment and the interest charges. I guess what is wise to have is a good Debt Managment Plan. Do you have one?

Latest developments of Lil' E

I had the priviledge of witnessing another new skill of Ethan yesterday while I was on leave babysitting my precious prince :) This time is him clapping his hands :) However, the way he claps his hands is not quite the usual how we clap our hands...have a look to see what I mean..

Besides clapping his hands, he also made a few attempts to lift his knees up while he was on his tummy yesterday. Another new skill hehe.....I guess he wants to start crawling already :) My precious will do a 'high five' when you put your palms up to him too. We've also noticed recently that he tried to push his body up sideway a few times...probably trying to sit??....

Diving Course on Promo @ RM650 only!!

Hey fellow bloggers and readers, in case you or your friends/ relatives and family members are interested, my bro-in-law (BIL) and his diving instructor friend is having a diving course promo at only RM650! More good news, if you have more people to sign up you'll be able to enjoy more discounts coz it’s BUY 5 FREE 1!

So quick grab this opportunity fast coz the offer is valid till April only!!

If you’re interested please email to Clement at clement@aparuholiday.com or clement_lim77@yahoo.com or call him at 019-8638565 today!

Here are some details of the course:

PADI Open Water Diver Course

This is the entry (beginner) level certification course for diving that will teach you how to dive safely and comfortably. Scuba Diving is a kick-start of an exciting adventure to the beautiful underwater world. This well-programmed diving course consists of both academic sessions as well as practical experience in open water. On completion of the said course, you will be awarded a PADI Wall Certificate and a PADI Certification Card. The rating will allow you to hire or purchase scuba equipments, get air fills and participate in scuba diving at any dive location worldwide. This rating is also the pre-requisite for PADI Advance Open Water course.

COURSE FEE:

RM650.00 (Min 2 pax)

The Open water course is the first entry level to dive independently with a buddy.

The course is divided into three main parts:

• Knowledge development
• 5 Confined water training
• 4 Open water training

Day 1

• Registration ,knowledge development (quizzes) and examination (Modules 1 - 5)
• Duration 9 hrs (Classroom sessions)

Day 2

• 3 Confined water sessions
• Dive 1
• Lunch break
• Dive 2

Day 3

• 2 Confined water sessions
• Dive 3
• Lunch break
• Dive 4
• Certification.

Course fee includes:

• Jetty fee (RM6.00), Park fee (RM20.00-local), (RM50.00-foreign) and boat transfer KK-park-KK
• Manual and PADI certification
• Equipments

APARU HOLIDAY TOURS SDN. BHD.
(Co. No. 655773-A) (KKKP 4000)

Lot 3A-15, 3rd Floor, Central Plaza, Jalan Banjaran,
Kepayan Ridge, 88200 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Tel: +6 088 242620 Fax: +6 088 252368
Hotline: + 019-8638565 (Clement), + 019-8506882 (Dominic)
Email: enquiry@aparuholiday.com
Website: http://www.aparuholiday.com/

OTHER SERVICES: . INBOUND TOURS . HOTEL RESERVATIONS . VEHICLE CHARTER/HIRE . SPECIAL INTEREST TOUR . EVENT MANAGEMENT

Pearl is 5 while Zach is 1!!

Ethan's lil' Aunt Pearl (but pssttt...you can't call her aunty coz she will get angry and starts sulking hehehe...I guess to her 'aunty' means old. So cute eh hehe...) just turned 5 years old on Friday while his cute lil' cousin Zach turned 1 year old :) Both children celebrated their birthday together at the Club House on Friday evening. It was a cosy and fun evening and one of the highlights on that evening besides the two birthday kiddos was the yummy roasted lamb especially ordered together with the person who manned the bbq from The Hut in Damai :)

An evening with the girls

I had another outing on Monday with 6 other former schoolmates at the Old Town cafe' in City Mall. It was another enjoyable evening catching up one another with topics ranging from of coz updates on our children, to choosing a nice tattoo design and getting a tattoo and the pros & cons of having tattoo, and etc etc...well, just typical girls-get-together topics basically ;p I didn't manage to stay long as I had to fetch my hubby and Ethan at 8.30pm. I was in a bit of a rush that I actually forgotten to foot my bill and when I told and asked one of my galfriends about the bill, she told me that they have shared the cost among themselves oredi!! How embarassing!! Sorry gals... next time I blanja teh-tarik ah ;p

From left to right: Jacq, Carol, Wek, Collyn, Eng, Marie and yours truly ;)

Not yet sitting on his own or crawling...

...but he is already trying to stand up...just look at my little boy...


He would try to slide himself down from whoever is holding him whenever he feels like "standing"....I wonder when he'll start to sit on his own or if he'll skip the crawling part totally as some babies do...

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and especially to my darling hubby :)

Afraid he is not

During the recent CNY celebrations, I was curious to know if Ethan would be scared of the lion dance or the noisy firecrackers....there I was all ready... holding him tight in case he gets scared or frighten but surprisingly both didn't scared him...not even a bit...instead he just looked at the lion dance and the fireworks/ firecrackers when there were two of such occasions at my big bro's place the other day...My little one so brave huh ??...Well, that's ma' boy alright!! :)

Here comes the tung tung chang...

The curious and not frighten Ethan ;p

Ethan doing his funny face and must be wondering what was that furry thingy beside him hehe...

Finally Ethan posing with the tung tung chang :)

Living in royalty

Got this photo in my inbox this morning and I thought...wow...the baby cot is really so royalty...I love those cute little soft toys....

Well, being the latest addition to the Sultan of Brunei's family recently (29th Jan)...this cot is of coz meant for a real princess! :)

This is how your baby cot looks like when you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth...

CNY Rewinded

A pictorial display of our activities during the recent CNY break:

1st Day of CNY - dinner with my in-laws-- sorry no photos taken as the workaholic paparazzi was busy eating and was on so-called unofficially off duty! Here's a photo of my lil' E instead ;p

Ethan in a playful mood :)

2nd Day of CNY -- "fun" session at big bro's & open house at Tosaraya

SIL, Big Bro & Allie

The hubs & Lil' E with him doing his funny face, AGAIN! ;)

Ethan with his grandma at Tosaraya

3rd Day of CNY -- family outing at Grace Point

Look at his mischevious smile ;p

Ma' boy & I...

4th Day of CNY -- open house cum house warming party at big bro's

Me mum with some of our close relatives

Family & friend

Ethan and his cousins...

So how was your CNY celebrations or CNY break?

Girls just wanna have fun

Prior before the CNY eve, we gals at work decided to doll up either in red or in Cheong Sam to signify the then upcoming CNY. Ultimately we of coz just wanted to have fun and take some fun pics together ;p Well, just like boys will be boys, girls will be girls too! ;p

Not ready yet lah....

Say cheese...

Happy Rat year!! :)

Ok, that's all for now...I'll update about our CNY break very soon...have to get things ready now as we're going to my big bro's CNY open house this afternoon...wonder if there'll be any fun gambling session...or if I would ever get the chance to have some fun at it...probably not since I'll have to take care of lil' E ;) Hmm.. maybe I'll have to consider online casino eh ;p Just kidding! hehe...

8 months he is!!

An UPDATE:
His weights 9.1 kg now :)

Yup, my precious prince turned 8 month old on the first day of Chinese New Year i.e. yesterday. I've yet to know his weight till his next visit to the clinic on Monday. So will update on that later.

As for his milestones, let's see his progress according to "What to expect the first year" by Murkoff et al (2003) :

By eight months, your baby... should be able to:

bear some weight on legs when held uprignt - checked

feed self a cracker - haven't let him try that but I do feed him crackers and I think he will be able to feed himself a cracker (I'm just worried about being messy hehe...)

rake with fingers and object and pick it up in fist - checked

turn in the direction of voice - checked

look for a dropped object - checked

...will probably be able to:

• pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other - checked
• stand holding on to someone or something - checked
• object if you try to take a toy away - checked
• work to get a toy that's out of reach - checked
• play peekabo - checked
• get into a position from stomach - only to and fro from stomach to lying on his back

...may possible be able to:

• creep or crawl - not yet
• pull up to standing position from sitting - not yet

So I guess my boy is doing okay and oh BTW, he has learned a new "skill" about 3 days ago....I'll let the picture below describe his so-called new acquired "skill" ;p

Gong Xi Fatt Chai!!!

Here wishing all of you Gong Xi Fatt Chai!!!

May the Rat year brings you good health, happiness and good wealth!!

Are you into medical tv show?

Many years ago, I used to watch Doogie Houser MD religiously (I guess you can sort of guess my age now eh...not that I mind if you ask me anyway hehehe..)...then came ER. I was really hooked with ER especially with George Clooney!!! He is such a gorgeous looking man!! (Don't worry hubby, you're still my number 1!! hehe) ... Even if there are re-runs on telly today, I would still watch some of the episodes especially those that I've missed previously.

ER must have been very successful as more medical tv shows started to appear soon after. One of them which I'm pretty sure you may be one of their big fans too is Grey's Anatomy (GA). GA is a big hit here and of coz there are House M.D. and Scrubs for those who fancy a jolly good laugh. Others include Nip/Tuck and 3 lbs. And if you're wondering why I didn't include "General Hospital" as medical tv show?? Well, simply because I find it more like a soap opera (*rolling eyes*) than anything else! I find it sooo utterly boring (yawn yawn)!!

Besides being entertaining, I enjoy watching all these medical tv shows as we can learn a thing or two from them. The scenes in ER and Grey's Anatomy are like real life scenes. Sometimes I do wonder if these actors had to go for some sort of medical training in order to embrace their on screen characters succesfully. Thanks to the Oprah Winfrey show, I know for sure that the actors and actresses for CSI do have guidance or training from a real former FBI agent... So anybody have any idea if these actors/actresses have to go for any sort of medical training?

Hubby on the other hand is not really a fan of medical tv show...he prefers movie shows and of coz his sport channels!! I wonder if Ethan would enjoy medical tv shows...who knows one day he may take the career path of becoming a doctor..if that happens, then I would certainly be very happy hehe...but then again...he will then have to experience a very hectic life style...hmmm...maybe becoming an engineer would be better....opppss am thinking too far ahead again...I should just let's him decide for himself what he wants to do in the future right... hmmm...

4 Mandarin oranges = a plate of rice??!!

Yeah, it's true and I was a bit surprise with this discovery thanks to the news article below. Anyway, I thought I should share the info with you especially if you or any of your family members are diabetic or has high sugar level...

The Star Online :Nation
Sunday February 3, 2008

Titbits can leave you a tad fat, says nutritionist
By AUDREY EDWARDS

PETALING JAYA: Here’s a sobering thought before the Chinese New Year: In terms of sugar content, eating four Mandarin oranges is equivalent to eating a plate of rice.

Even one orange has sugar content equivalent to a slice of bread, Prof Datuk Dr Khalid Abdul Kadir, consultant endocrinologist and professor of medicine at Monash University Malaysia, advises the public.

Orange alert: Experts warn that Mandarin oranges have high sugar content and should be eaten sparingly.

“It is easily absorbed and causes a huge spike in the glucose levels. So, be careful,” he warned diabetics.

Oranges aren’t the only problem for diabetics. Yee sang too, which is taken with a sweet syrup, should be eaten sparingly, he said.

“If you take too much, your blood glucose levels are going to be too high,” he said.
Individuals can gain an average of 2kg to 3kg by over-indulging in the two weeks of festivities.

Dr Tee E Siong, Nutrition Society of Malaysia president, has advised that it will be healthier to chomp on smaller portions of food instead.

The main problem, he said, is “gorging on the food”.
“It is difficult to lose the weight and the fat especially around the belly.
“And it can stay there until the next festival comes around,” he said in an interview.

Among the food that one should eat less are the fatty types such as the popular lap cheong, trotters, pork slices layered with fat or rich curries.

“Some pork dishes like trotters do not taste good without that layer of fat. So, eat less of it.
“When you are preparing the reunion dinner or serving your guests in the days after that, try having less fried food to cut down on the number of calories,” he said.

When it comes to alcohol, he points out that 100ml of beer typically contains four grams of alcohol, which translates into 14gm of sugar.

Another festive favourite that should be eaten sparingly is the nian gau (kuih bakul) because of its high carbohydrate content and it is also very sweet, Dr Tee said.

He said peanuts also have high fat content.
“There is no single ‘bad’ food. Rather it is a combination of it.
“Just be mindful of what you eat,” he said.

Among the tips from Dr Tee are using a smaller plate so that the usual portions will look bigger, have a little of everything during a buffet and stop eating before you feel full.

I hope I didn't spoil your CNY mood ;p But like the article said, just be mindful of what you eat and do use smaller plate and eat smaller portions... I just hope I can follow his advice ;p Otherwise it's diet time after CNY. As it is now, I've already put on weight as discovered when I stepped on the weighting scale last nite!! Actually hubby asked me to check my weight after weighting himself...He has put on weight too and I guess he was also hinting to me that I've put on weight too!! Ohhh nooooo....time to watch my diet again! I'm blaming it on my lack of discipline especially with the tidbits that I gulped down after every lunch :( Yeah...Aunty J has been naughty...time to put a stop on the chocs addiction!! But errrmmm...I'll start after CNY okay...hehehe...

All girls + 1 guy outing

Last Friday, a small group of us had a lunch date with an old friend of ours who is back from Beijing for a short family break. It was good to see WunKit (who's back from Singapore to celebrate CNY with her family here) after soooo many years too!! Indeed it was great to be able to catch up with each other after a long time...well, at least for me, coz I haven't seen them for months now...physically that is...normally we keep in touch via YM or MSN... Anyway, we are all so happy for Collyn's 2nd pregnancy and even more delighted to hear of the baby's gender :) Sorry I'm not gonna disclose it here as I'll let Collyn to announce that herself ...hopefully in her blog (yes, that is a big hint for you to update your blog more often Collyn!! haa...). And yes, she was the one who helped me to get my new red Chloe handbag which I soooo likey!! :) And oh I almost forgot... we celebrated Chai's birthday too... so once again Happy Birthday to Chai!!

WunKit, Maureen, Jess, Me, Collyn & Donn

Me, Collyn, Donn, Chai, WunKit & Jess

Count the candles if you want to know his age!! Sorry Chai for leaking your secret out!! haha..

Are kids today too spoiled?

A friend of mine forwarded a news article about parents being upset mainly due to their children being asked to clean the toilet in school when their exams is just round the corner. I find it such a waste of time to be upset over something that I would consider so insignificant in nature. Even if their exams is coming, how long would it take to wash the toilet? I don't think it will take ages and being part of a competition, how often do they need to clean the toilet let alone affect their exams!!?? When I first read the article, I was thinking to myself, what's wrong with students washing the toilet?? We all have toilets in our home and even if we do have maid to help us to clean our toilets, we ought to know how to clean them ourselves too. If Ethan were asked to clean the toilet in school as part of their duty during recess time (which was pretty common, at least during my time...) or as part of their school activities in the future, I would say "why not"? I would actually be thankful that he is being trained to wash the toilet. That is part of learning process and part of life where he'll learn to become a responsible and discipline person. Personally, besides home, I would think the school would be a perfect place to train our children for these kinda thing too. I don't believe that schools are meant for academic purposes only. I strongly feel that besides academic, schools should act like "parents" in some ways to train our children to become a better person. A school that teaches not only academic but also facts of life to the students would be in my A-list. After all, our children do spend quite of a lot of their time in school. I do hope such incident will not deter schools from letting the students to wash the toilets. I can't imagine our children coming out of the school knowing only about theories and formulas. That would be so scary because as we all know, in reality, it is a huge jungle out there. If they only know things from their text books, how on earth are they gonna survive in the real world!!?? So hellowww....washing the toilet is not a big deal okay... so stop whinging!!

Oppsss...have to do the dishes now while Ethan is taking his afternoon nap. I'm rather sleepy actually...how I wish I own a dishwasher so I don't have to do much. I think hubby would love the LG LDF6810 Dishwasher because of its metallic look while I would prefer a black looking dishwasher such as the GE GLD5900NWW / GLD5900NBB / GLD5900NCC Dishwasher :)

Photo of the day

Peek a boo!!

Xin Nian Kuai Le

Are you ready for Chinese New Year (CNY)? Have you gotten your red attire ready to wear during the festival? I know I have my red handbag although I haven't got any new red attire or any Cheongsam like attire in my wardrobe yet...Was supposed to go shopping today with my good ol' buddy but unfortunately the hubs has to go to work...so me stuck at home to baby sit our little E ... Oh well, hopefully I'll be able to sneak out for a while perhaps tomorrow to do a bit of shopping ;p If you ask me what I enjoyed most during the CNY season last year...I must say it was the gambling part hehe...I could play for hours till 1am although I was pregnant at that time ;p Once somebody mentioned that my baby might become a pro gambler next time but I replied saying that me gambling would probably help my baby to be a pro at mathematics! hehehe....Anyway, one of our favourite card games was Blackjack and talking about Blackjack, have you heard of online Blackjack casinos? Bobgambling.com is one of them and this site offers not only the latest software available in the market, it also provides the latest games features that you can get... If you want to know new updates from them, I'm sure they provide online blackjack news too...

Happy 11th Birthday!!

We celebrated our company's 11th Anniversary two weeks ago with a dinner reception at STAR. The event was graced by one of the Deputy Chief Ministers who represented the Chief Minister at the 11th hour... Western food was served during the evening and we were entertained by the combo from UMS. There were plenty of oldies songs but I must say the singers who are mostly students from UMS were pretty good...Anyway, when the VVIPs and VIP left and the function was over, we had fun camwhoring with our colleagues and our dear MD ;p

While I was attending the anniversary dinner, hubby and Ethan attended Joshua's 5th birthday party at the New Emperor Restaurant. That night, hubby sms-ed me to tell me that Ethan was not only the loudest boy but he made a little girl cried with his usual shriek and this ...poor little girl who probably got frighten by my aggressive boy! ;p