did you catch this?

i'll be the first to admit that my relationship with my parents is far from perfect. we don't always see eye to eye. i'm not the most obedient of children & yes sometimes i get into a shouting match with my mom.

but here's something to read & reflect on:

thanks mumsie & daddy-o,

for being there for me even when i say or do things that hurt your feelings.

love you & God bless.

i so emo today hor?

etha*n in action

here are some of my favorites

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this is one of the husband & baby looking into each other's eyes.

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isnt he a ball?

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these are 2 pictures of father & son again. do they look alike?

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here's etha*n looking lost & forlorn on the day grandma & grampy left for sabah.

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this was taken at the airport after sending grampy off.

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my son the poser.

***

told you he's a poser. this was taken in his playpen at my mil's.

i have a 3 month old cutie pie

my son is 3mths old today. time really flies by in a hurry.

i've been back at work for a month now. getting back into the work mode hasnt been too difficult for me. probably because it was busy the moment i stepped into the office --so i didnt have time to indulge in any "still in holiday" moods.

i do feel guilty coming back to work though. cos my mom is still here helping me with baby. as i've been telling my friends, i never knew being a mom would make me feel guilty all the time. i feel bad towards my mom and i feel bad towards my son.

now, i feel envious cos my son is close to my mom. hes not closer but i would say equally close to her as he is to me. but it is cute though to see him being close to his grandparents. my mom of course is an expert at parenting after 6 kids and 5 grandkids (plus also grandnieces and grandnephews). so she has this knack for talking nonsense and gibberish which etha*n responds to. he gurgles and chortles in reply. in fact hes also close to my dad. my dad makes it easy for kids to like him though. hes always telling jokes or taking them cycling or teaching them badminton or gardening or walking them over to the mamak shop for some roti canai. of course thats with the older grandkids lah hehehe. with etha*n, my dad switches the astro channel to 866 (i think) which is one of those radio channels (for old people) and dances with etha*n. so sweet hor?

my parents are leaving this weekend and then it will just be me, the husband and etha*n. i can cope with him but i wonder if i can cope with him AND with everything else in the house. i hope we get into a comfortable routine for everyone soon.

new arrivals

i am happy to announce the arrival of little miss kaitlyn who belongs to one of the loveliest couples i’ve ever had the pleasure to meet in this lifetime.

congratulations to you both!

F.O.I.L.E.D

thats what happened to my plans for father's day & the husband's bday.

i got him undies & boxers last week. undies for his bday & boxers for father's day. token gifts really as we agreed to get something else later. also, i got him a cake & was treating him to a bday dinner.

anyhow, what i didnt know was my husband is a snoop. ok lah it was my fault. i left the gifts on the bed in the guest room but in my defense, they were wrapped in a jusco plastic bag & stuffed into a fancy paper bag as well --double whammy there right? but he went snooping. the snoop.

so come friday when we were about to leave for dinner, he asked if he could wear one of the newer undies. huh? & so he confessed that he already knew what i got him & blamed me for leaving them out. the temptation was too great he said. hah! hes usually so very blur about these things. & he doesnt go into the guest room much. why oh why did he decide to be adventurous that day?

eventually, it came out that he also knew about the cake that i ordered for him. said he saw the receipt. argggghhhh!!! i was laughing so hard i started crying. & then i punched & slapped him (on the arm of course) for spoiling my surprise. it was foiled. ciss...

sighhhh...

with much dissatisfaction, i plotted on how to surprise him today (his actual bday). guess what i ended up doing? i got up early & ironed him one office shirt & hung it in front of our bed so he didnt have to iron it himself. i know it doesnt seem like much of a surprise but i dont iron his clothes. ever. so this was like the exception lah. anyways he was surprised. so i got what i wanted...

the other spoiled plan was my dinner plans. the shop i wanted to take him to, a rib place in dsara heights, closed shop. how disappointing. so we ended up in victoria station for steak. ughhh!! their meat looked & tasted like it has been in inventory for too long. i was even more disappointed. sighhh...

& yet another spoiled plan: the cake i ordered? well, it didnt turn out the way i wanted to. it tasted nice but not as nice as what i really intended on ordering. how come? well, the cake i really wanted is apparently no longer in production. so, they were doing me a favor by reproducing it just for me. but when i collected it, it looked just like a normal marble cheese cake. so saddd... i guess if i really want the same cake, i have to get it in sabah where we found it in the first place.

despite all the hiccups, the husband & i had a lot of laughs. lucky for us, we found everything funny. i was a little sad that none of my surprises came through. but thats ok. i hate surprises myself.

now...

my bday is coming up next month. i've hinted on what i want. since hes such an unpredictable snoop, i cant leave anything to chance. im gonna paste pictures of what i want, phone numbers & addresses of where to get them & what flavor cake i wish.

hihihihi...

the poor thing.

too lazy to update so here are pictures

as you come to my front door & ring the bell (or bang the padlock against the grill which is more effective cos the doorbell doesnt work) you'll be gaily greeted by my christmas wreath which is placed strategically over my peephole. so i can see you & you may not even know it! careful, dont be digging your nose!!

as you enter my humble abode, you'll see our christmas tree.

here without presents;

and here with presents galore.

and this is one of the christmas stocking hanging over my mantelpiece (ok lah, no mantelpiece so its hanging underneath my tv supported by the cabinet doors. everytime we open the doors, it falls off.)

here are the happy faces of the niece & nephew. can't you see, they're just brimming with joy. & they told me "aunty, my cup runneth over." NOT. hihihi...

heres my gift from the husband who calls himself King Leonidas. ptoooiii!!

& heres my gift to him all wrapped with ribbons.

this is one of the little people on new year's eve. liliputians.

flatulence

ahhh… the power of the fart. you might be wondering why on earth i found the need to blog about this. it is my belief that The Fart has for far too long been taken for granted in creating happiness in human relationships. have you ever noticed that a fart, especially a loud one, has the astounding ability to bring a smile and even a fit of giggles on? of course this is usually accompanied with the thumb and fore finger pinching the nose or, if you’re more lady like, with one hand making a fanning motion in front of your nose. in my case, its always a slap on the husband’s lap or shoulder, reprimanding him for his lack of manners.

farts have played a major role throughout my pre-married life and more so in my early married life (actually, i’m still in my early married life). there are times when i get angry with the husband for farting (especially if its somewhere in the vicinity of my face), under the duvet covers (which have a way of wafting out of the folds), in the car or just a bit too loudly. but most times, it’s always a giggle fest. usually when it’s yours truly releasing the airbombs. hihihi…

the husband has rather active bowel movements. so sometimes when he farts, he goes “uh-oh… i hope its not a shart.” a shart being a fart with a bit of shit. hihihi… i know that most women, myself included, are often embarrassed with releasing bodily emissions cos its un-ladylike. i know of people who still malu-malu to do certain things whilst their husbands are in the bathroom. hey, its understandable. i am too.

its funny though don’t you think? how men are often times more relaxed about these things? but heres the thing: i am less self-conscious about these things more and more and these days, i can give as good as i get. so husband, although i wont do it in the presence of others, theres nothing stopping me from flatulating (if theres such a word) under the duvet. so watch it.

what you can do, i can do twice!

great news & more wisdom

muahahaha...

i could do a jig right now if i werent so miserably sick.

the event scheduled for this friday, the event which was keeping everyone busy for the last couple of weeks, has been cancelled! yippee-yai-yay!! woohoooo!!

happiness.

& bcos of this cancellation (albeit a last minute one), i have been able to indulge in my sickness. i kid you not. last week i was having all this heat-y body related sicknesses but i couldnt give in to them. i couldnt even take mc. no time. so, since the cancellation, it was like my body just gave in. haha... a full blown cold came on 2 days ago, yes with all the runny cum blocked nose & the never-ending sneezing & the coughing & the changed voice. everything lah. i took half the day off yesterday cos the office ac was exacerbating things.

im back at work again today all sick & woozy. but i got my colleague to tape up the ac vents so its all good now. something is wrong with the office microwave though. tried heating up my chicken porridge but only the bowl was heating up. ciss.

oh ya. 2 more wisdom teeth are planning to make an appearance. awww shites.

thank you for the man

a couple of days ago, the husband commented that we need to have a fight. that it's unhealthy to go for so long without one. ready when you are babes *wink*

the husband says that i should thank God every day for giving me a man like him *blink blink*. hmmm...

i agree. but maybe not every day lah ya. hihihi.

lucky for me, the husband hasnt yet shown any hint of expecting me to be subservient to him. to be at his constant beck-&-call. to cook, clean, wash, iron etc while he watches tv. he has actually been very good with picking up his share of the chores. he irons his own clothes (& occasionally, mine too). does our laundry (wash, hang & fold). cooks me breakfast. does the dishes. takes out the trash. makes the bed.

oops. now it seems as if he does everything & i do nothing. heh. i do work too ok. sometimes. & i cook. ok mostly its eggs & sausages but i do cook.

i dont want to jinx it so i wont ramble on it for too long.

so sweets, i am happy to have you. thanks for all the help with the housechores.

i love you forever,

for better or worse (but i prefer for better),

in sickness & in health (prefer you in health too).

you're luckier to have me ;-)

new family, new traditions?

around this time of the year of every year, i start thinking & anticipating for christmas. i know i know, it’s still so very far away. we’ve barely gone past raya & deepavali yet. but i’m impatient. maybe this anticipation is triggered by seeing other people preparing for their own festivities. religion aside, festive feelings are festive feelings. the excitement, the anticipation. the warm feelings of spending an important occassion with loved ones.

this year will be my first year celebrating christmas as a married woman. i wonder what sort of traditions the husband & i will have for ourselves. obviously he’ll want a bit of his own & vice versa.

his traditions
- decorate home with christmas decorations
- set up nativity set / crib (i dont hv this)
- put up christmas tree & place wrapped presents underneath
- attend mass on christmas eve night
- serve a meal of beef stew & bread at home after mass on christmas eve (i dont hv this)
- serve fruit cake & home made wine for guests (i dont hv this)
- leave for a 2 to 3-day holiday with his entire extended family (about 30pax) on christmas day (i dont hv this)
- they don’t really have a set time / day to open presents

my traditions
- travel back to my childhood home in sabah few days before christmas eve
- decorate home & garden with fairy lights & christmas decorations
- put up christmas tree & place wrapped presents underneath
- attend mass on christmas eve night
- head on to a hotel / fancy restaurant for a nuclear family dinner
- head home in time for midnight, sit in the living room in front of the christmas tree, wish everyone merry christmas & exchange gifts
- hold a christmas open house or visit relatives for the remainder of the season

not that much different yeah? so i guess it shouldn’t be too much of an issue… & we’ve agreed to alternate between spending christmas with his family & with my family every year. but i think i’ll want to also add in the option of spending christmas in our own home too.

2007 - the husband’s family (usually means traveling some place with his aunts, uncles & cousins too)
2008 - my family (usually means going back to sabah)
2009 - in our home (here in kl)
2010 - the husband’s family
2011 - my family
2012 - in our home
and so on & so forth…

why the 3rd option (of spending christmas in our own home)? well, when we have children, i’d want my kids to be able to have the same nostalgic memories i still have about spending christmas with my nuclear family as well. so i guess it’s a good balance no? its certainly a fair one to alternate our christmas celebrations this way --so neither side of the in-laws feel slighted. of course on those christmases which we plan to spend in our own home, either side of the in-laws are more than welcome to spend christmas with us if they choose to.

i remember when i was much much younger, my sisters who are 7 & 6 years older to moi respectively (old farts) used to bake butter cookies & pineapple tarts & shortbread cookies & chocolate chip cookies & the house would smell larvely. then ah, i used to go into my mum’s room, put on a cassette (yes yes, not a cd) of christmas carols & sing at the top of my voice in the dark. sing till i was hoarse. sing till someone screamed at me to shut the hell up. hihihi…

of course there were the christmas decorations. one year, my parents got a set of these tree decorations of santa clauses with sacks on their backs. like a real sack which can be opened up. of course its small lah. but enough to put in maybe 2-3 candies inside. so anyhow, that year, we placed gula-gula susu (with the blue & white wrappers) in these mini sacks. you know the sweets that basically taste like chewy condensed milk. needless to say, the ants had a very merry christmas themselves that year. also during christmas, we’ll sometimes get pretty shiny christmas crackers & boy did i love those.

i love my trips down memory lane & i want my kids to have the same thing. not necessarily an exact replica of my own experiences but i want them to have their own memories of spending christmas in their childhood home as they grow.

anyways, i’m already thinking on how to decorate our home for christmas. at the moment, although the apartment is far from spartan, it’s still not very personally homely as yet. i want my home to look cozy & warm. gotta work on that now.

newbies in the house

i'm very happy to announce that 2 of my loveliest friends have recently added new members to their respective family units.


baby devon (27 september 2007)

&

baby eva (1 october 2007)


congratulations to the parents of these two newbies!!

the sweetest thing

over the weekend, the husband & i played hosts to my brother and his wife. true to his musician-self, the husband took us to a pub in sri hartamas to be entertained by a live band. what’s the name of the band again ah? i forgot lah. whatever it is, the songs they played were of the country music genre. siap dengan cowboy hats & boots lagi wei. but they were really good!! i was pleasantly surprised. the pub was a little empty though, by my standards lah. except for this cicak which was hiding under our table. actually it wasn’t hiding lah. it was just there waiting to be stepped on. which i did as we were leaving the pub… after having successfully avoided it the whole night. ughh.

the husband did the sweetest thing which was also a bit embarrassing for a sober person, which i was, that night. he requested for a special song to be played & when they started playing it, i was like “eh?? what’s going on here?”, bcos i didn’t recognize the opening melody while he had this knowing look on his face when he pulled me to the dance floor for a twirl. the empty dance floor. in an empty-ish pub.

romance –very.
shyness –also the very.
sweet –isn’t it just??

crazy by kenny rogers (roasters)

girl, there are no words to say

what i feel in my heart

you, you're on my mind night and day

and it hurts me when we're apart

when you're not here by my side

there is nothing in this world for me

i guess i'm crazy, crazy for you can't you see

and although you may think it's crazy

here is where i want to be

i will always need your love

now, i can see every dream

when i look in your eyes

and though things never are what they seem

there is one thing that i realize

that there's no doubt in my mind

we can make this love go on forever

i guess i'm crazy, crazy for you can't you see

and although you may think i'm crazy

here is where i'll always be

and i need you with me

'cause you are the dream

that finally came true for me

and all my life there'll be no one else

if i looked all my life there could be no one else

and for the rest of my life all i need is you

this song is special to us bcos, one night long long ago, when we only just started our fling-ing, he said

“don’t be scared okay, but this is the song i was planning on singing to my wife on our wedding night”.

awwww… sho shpooky…

& yes, i was a bit freaked out when he started singing it to me then.

but no more. it’s our special song now.

(love u babes **kiss**)

in fact, he sang it for me on our wedding night.

albeit a bit drunk. says he cant remember it even, if not for the wedding pics.

tsk tsk…

of little people & carefree-ness

this is charlie (middle back) & his angels. drew barrymore (left), lucy liu (right) & cameron diaz (front)

i gotta say i really love this one. never fails to make me giggle when i look at it.

charlie is really a shy one. so i was quite surprised to see him dancing away with the girls in this picture. maybe he's shy bcos he's the only boy in the group. he never calls me despite having a mobile. says he forgot my number. what a heartbreaker.

drew is the im-game-for-anything type. she doesnt feel shy at all & goes around the house dressed in whatever was featured in this year's school concert. sometimes it's a garishly-pink-tutu-type-fairy-dress, sometimes its a green indian lengha. it's nice to see kids like this. confident in her own skin. she'll join in a dance performance despite the fact that shes actually part of the audience & not the performer, this one.

lucy. now lucy has an almost adult self-consciousness. its true. you know how adults won't do certain things bcos we worry about how others would look at us, right? like me, i malu to go up & sing in front of people. ahhh, lucy here is like that lah. however, shes the assertive one in the group. the lady boss. she has a tough outer shell but is a softie inside. she lives far far away & apparently according to her mama, everytime she returns home from a visit to malaysia, she'll sit in a corner crying cos she misses her family here. poor soul.

cameron is the youngest in this picture. shes got a rocker-type voice. hehehe. shes very entertaining simply bcos shes so teeny but she has the biggest voice & is the most vocal. she fought with a 30-year old guy & told him "sia magic ko jadi harimau!!". hehehe. she just moved here from sabah & is feeling lonely. i should go visit her one of these days.

i remember yesteryears (which wasnt too long ago) when i used to do "young" things with my brothers & cousins without a care in the world. pretend we're kungfu fighters. climb over my mum's white picket fences & get rips on our dresses (the girls lah, not the boys). go traipsing into the hutan belukar to look for biji getah (rubber seeds) & hearing scary animal grunts. trapping colorful dragonflies in our jam jars till mum threatened to fry them & feed them to us. catching frogs in the rain. climbing guava trees. making mudcakes with our saliva (euww i know but thats what we did!! whats euww-er is that the boys always came & destroyed our mudcakes by throwing it at each other. THEY didnt know what made the tanah soft & malleable hahaha!!).

so nice to reminisce. i hope the world doesnt change too much that kids these days & in days to come dont get a chance to do these things in their childhood. although of course the world has already changed. it used to be a safer place kan. now, everyone is rightfully paranoid. so sad.

ok im done for today. tomorrow is merdeka day --fiddy years of independence & we get only one day off . ciss.

off to brazil now.