New Kid On The Blog

23-Jan-2009:

I'm now seated at Starship (a children's play gym at 1 Utama) and there's free wi-fi and I have my iPhone with me. Dom is totally enjoying himself. As a matter of fact he has enjoyed every moment since we came back to this land and there is not enough hours in a day. By the way, the entrance fee to the play gym is RM18. Some say it's expensive but I think I'll come back.

Anyway, yesterday I went to get some bras and the sales lady asked what size I am. Well, I used to be a 32A but somehow as I got older (perhaps after giving birth) I've *upgraded* to a B. So yesterday I told the sales lady that I'm a 32B and she looked at me skeptically, and with a few clever whisk and twists of her measuring tape she confidentally announced that I'm a 32C! Looks like I've *improved* again! She even went with me into the dressing room to confirm that she was right and I have to admit she was. Hehe! Can't believe I've been wearing the wrong size all these while.

20-JAN-2009:

Third day back at "Boleh-land" and everything is fine, except that I've been lying awake in bed for ages waiting for morning to come only to find out that it's only 3am. Daddy had been up since not-sure-when and he had just gone back to sleep. Meanwhile, Dominic is snoring and doesn't seem to be affected at all.

Our journey was uneventful and Gulf Air (the airline that we took) was better than expected. When we flew MAS previously, the journey took about 12 hours (direct flight) but this time, it took us 16 hours (including 1 hour transit at Bahrain). Something funny (but not unexpected) happened though. I was seated at the aisle, then Dominic, then daddy and the empty seat was at the aisle. A flight attendant asked if daddy and I could switch seats because there was a woman passenger who refused to sit next to man (most definitely a Muslim one). But because daddy was smart, he told the flight attendant to look for another seat instead, so that the 3 of us were fortunate to occupy 4 seats, which means Dom could lie down across 2 seats and he slept for a good time. Half-way through the journey, I overheard a stewardess speaking to a passenger: "Sir, you have to remain in your seat, you're not allowed to sleep on the floor". These middle eastern folks are sure strange! For the first time, I was offered the Malaysian landing card (which I've not even known existed) and suddenly I proudly said "we don't need it because we're Malaysians".

You know how I'm tired of the "stint" we're doing in the UK and I wish to settle down. Actually, it doesn't really matter to me if we settle down in M'sia or in the UK. However, this time round, it took me less than 3 days to realize that in many ways I would prefer the UK, except that there are people here that we love and I would love for Dominic to grow up with his cousins. I told daddy yesterday that there are only 2 advantages of moving back here (apart from the people we love thingy), i.e. (1) The weather (seriously I'm so sick of the English weather), (2) We can afford a nice spacious house here.

Alrighty, I probably should try to get back to sleep. :p

15-JAN-2008:

I'm so used to having hot debates in this *forum* that I actually feel a bit lonely today because no one has posted anything at all today. Those debates actually made my boring days a little bit more bearable.

So ... what have I got to say today? I had a haircut a couple of days ago. Did I mention that there's a hair saloon in my office? Awesome. Their tag line says "Get your weekend back". I just dialed an extension, made an appointment (basically I could have any slot I wanted because there was no businesss) and had my hair done during office hours. Despite the boring work (or lack of work), this is the best company I've ever worked for.

The hairdresser was a Thai woman and this time I only gave her high level requirements, i.e. something different and not boring. She did check how short I'm willing to go though. I don't have a photo of me but I can describe my hair. It's short at the back and longer at the sides. The sides frame the face, something like Posh Spice. :-D Well, at least that's how I looked two days ago. After the first wash, it's not so posh anymore. Haha!

I had a good time chatting with the hairdresser as well. I usually don't like to talk when I have my hair done but I noticed that recently perhaps I'm too deprived of female company - both at work (my workplace is so male dominated) and outside, that I readily chat with any female who is willing to talk to me.

13-JAN-2008:

Last week, Dom had this sudden craving for carrot cake. He must have had carrot cake in school and decided that he loved it. For 4 days, he bugged me for carrot cake and I promised him that we'll make one together during the weekend. Of course, I could have just bought him a piece of carrot cake but he said "Mummy, make a big one and keep in the fridge"! Besides, I wanted to let him see what goes into the carrot cake.

So on Sunday, we set off to work. Dominic was very helpful (although making a mess at the same time) and he actually contributed a lot. He was so proud of his cake afterwards.

First, he measured the flour (I told him to keep scooping flour into the scale until the needle points to the number I told him to stop). He did it all by himslef. Then he sifted the flour. Holding a coffee strainer in one hand, he scooped flour into it using a spoon and sifted it into a pot (pot because we don't have a large bowl). He took a while to do it, so meanwhile I grated the carrots. Then he added baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into the flour.

Next, he measured the sugar - the same way he measured the flour (and by the way, he pronounced it as 'flower' whereas to me it has always been pronounced as 'flaar'). Then, he beat the eggs (and then told me to put in the pepper - he was probably thinking about omelette). Finally, he helped to fold everything together (with help from me because he said the mixture was too sticky).

After we popped the cake into the oven, we made the cream frosting. It was the first time I let him use the handheld electric whisk on his own. After a short while, he said his hands were tired (so I guess we do need an automatic mixer after all).

When the cake was done, I told him to take a nap. I said that by the time he wakes up, the cake will be cooled and ready to eat. When he woke up from his nap, the first thing he said was "Mummy, need to check the cake"! Haha! I had already done the frosting while he was asleep (I hope he wasn't too disappointed about that). He ate the cake after dinner and he said it was tasty.

The photo doesn't look very good, I'm sorry. I just don't have talent in photography. All my photos look crap. Either that or I have a crappy camera. But the cake tastes pretty okay.

If you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here: http://wegottaeat.com/discover/recipe/64374

12-JAN-2009:

We finished all of our CNY shopping on Saturday. It was really, really quick! I basically just scanned for everything that was red and only at the sale section. I got a red skirt from Ted Baker at 50% (by the way, I tried on a size 0 and I couldn't zip up! Haha! That was very ambitious of me!). Then I got a not-so-red (but still red) top from Gap to go with the red skirt and another red dress from Gap. I'll be glaringly red this CNY!

For Dominic, I got him 2 red t-shirts and 2 pairs of khaki pants - all for under £15.

As for daddy, he found himself a discounted red shirt from Ted Baker.

Correction - my whole family will be glaringly red this CNY!

This is an out-dated post but there's a fair bit going on lately. On New Year's day, we drove out to this place called Cotswold (north of London, if I'm not mistaken). We did some sightseeing, had lunch, took some photos, took in the beautiful scenery, almost freezing in the cold, cold winter (honestly, this winter is the worst I've experienced since I moved here. When it's not that cold (like today), it rains! When I said "not that cold" I meant 8 - 9 degree C.

From Cotswold, we drove to Stratford (the birth place of Shakespeare). We visited the house that Shakespeare lived in as a child.

Then, we drove to the Mary Arden's Farm (which used to be the home of Shakespeare's mum). We only saw 2 other visitors while we were there. Maybe it was due to the cold weather or maybe it just wasn't as commercialized as the other 'urban farms' we've been to. Dominic was very eager to see some animals but there weren't many. We only saw 2 cows, 2 sheep, a few pigs and goats, a couple of hens and cockerels, 2 geese and some birds (eagles, hawks and owls). It was quite interesting though that the people manning the farm tried to live the life as the people back then used to live (as much as possible), by wearing the same clothes, cooking the same way and eating the same food. We were told that they also try to be self sufficient but I couldn't see how because there weren't enough animals and the vegetable garden was bare.

On Jan 2nd (Friday), I worked from home while daddy took Dominic out. I guess they had fun because when they came back, Dominic burst into the living room, very excited, telling me what they did and what daddy bought for him.

on Jan 3rd, we visited a couple of friends who just moved to Cambridge and bought a very nice bungalow with extra land enough to build another house.

Jan 4th (Sunday) was historical as it was the first time Dominic watched a movie in a cinema and also the first time I went to a cinema since giving birth to Dominic. We watched Wall-E - a Disney animation about the world in the future where there is too much rubbish and no more space for anything to live in, so the entire human population went for a long holiday (like a few hundred years) on board a space ship, where everything is operated and maintained by computers and robots. The people are very fat (because they don't do anything), they get everything by snapping their fingers and they eat lunch in a cup (with a straw). They also don't wear shoes because they don't walk. I wonder how these people have sex (they must have sex because there are babies on the ship).

Anyway, not even half way through the movie, Dominic said he wanted to go home, but we managed to get him to sit through the whole movie by whispering in his ear and talking to him about what's going on. Not bad for a first time, I'd say. By the way, daddy only paid £4 for the tickets (for all 3 of us) because it was at 10:30am.

Marian Keys - Anybody Out There?

I highly recommend this wonderful book which is both hilarious and heart-breaking. How often do you find a book that makes you laugh (aloud) and cry at the same time?

This is a very depressing story about a woman (Anna) who lost her husband (Aidan) in a car accident, but Anna lived in denial and she kept trying to contact Aidan by sending him emails and leaving voicemails on his mobile phone, therefore it came at a shock when Aidan's death was finally revealed (not really a shock for me because I flipped ahead and read the ending). And after Anna had accepted her husband's death she frantically searched ways to *contact* him, paying thousand of dollars to a 'medium' who claimed to be gifted. Somehow when I describe it here, the story sounds so common and boring. Although the general outline of the story is so heart-breaking, humour jumped at me at every page. And it relates (very realistically) the process of coping with the death of a loved one.

If it is really possible for us to contact the dead, chances are they will tell us that they are well, they are happy, they are in no pain anymore and they are in a better place. The only ones who suffer are the ones left behind.

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here

No price for anyone who can guess who wrote that. :p It's part of a song, by the way.

8-JAN-2008:

Okay ... daddy brain-washed me into buying the iPhone and so I did. I received it yesterday evening and so far here's what I think, just in case you're interested and you want to hear from someone who has used it.The iPhone functionalities are the same as the iPod Touch except that it has the phone functionality (making calls and SMS) and a camera - two things that I had on my old phone and hardly used. Other than that, the REALLY cool stuffs are all available in the iPod Touch, such as Internet, emails, You Tube, music, videos, photos, games, etc, etc. There are lots of stuffs in there which I haven't time to explore yet.

What I find really cool is that because I sign up with O2 (the mobile operator) for the 'Pay and Go' (which means pre-paid in M'sian terms), I now get unlimited mobile Internet access (free of charge) for 12 months (after which will cost £10 a month but who knows whether I'll still be in this country by then). This means that I can surf the Internet from anywhere (in the UK). Now, I think the iPod Touch doesn't have this capability (but you can still surf the Internet using Wi-Fi). Note: Wi-fi is not available everywhere but the 3G Internet is.

The iPhone is twice as thick as the iPod Touch and heavier. I think it looks a tiny bit longer as well, but only noticeable if you put the 2 side by side.

The iPod functionality is cooler than ever (at least compared to my old one which is the iPod Mini). You can play music as usual but now if you have a music video, it will play the video as well (otherwise it just shows the album art). The best thing is the integration with iTunes. Where previously you need to purchase songs from your computer then sync it to the iPod, now you can purchase songs (and rent movies) directly using the iPod.

The Internet browser (it's called Safari) is great! It supports all sorts of Java Script or whatever and the web page looks exactly the same as you see in the computer. Mind you, I can also access Dom's nursery webcams. Of course, because the screen is much smaller here, it also allows you to zoom in and out by double tapping on the screen. Now, I can access my recipes easily without having to bring my laptop into the kitchen (extremely annoying especially while waiting for Windows to boot up or when the laptop runs out of battery).

Dominic's favourite is the integrated You Tube. He goes in, taps a video to watch (nursery rhymes or Little Einsteins) and when the video finishes, taps another one. Unlike the Creative Zen (which he normally uses to watch cartoons when we're dining out), the iPhone/iPod Touch comes with a speaker so he doesn't need earphones anymore.

I also like that the iPhone flashes up the SMS message when I receive one so that I don't need an extra key press to view it. As for the phone functionality, I hardly use my phone and nobody ever calls me (I only top up £20 a year), so really I think the iPod Touch is enough for me.

So brother-in-law, after reading my *review* do you still want the iPhone? You choose - if you really want the iPhone, you can have mine (pay me back of course - £340). But if you want the iPod Touch instead, I'm sure it'll be a gift from Saimun. :-)

7-JAN-2008:

This year, I made some preparations. A coupla weeks before Christmas, I ordered Debenhams vouchers with 8% discount (part of company benefits). After Christmas, there was a 20% discount on all items at Debenhams so off I went one day. It wasn't very crowded (mind you, I didn't go on Boxing Day) and most importantly I already knew what I wanted to get so it was a quick and easy shopping trip.

So with the 20% discount and the 8% discount from the vouchers, I got:

(A) This Anolon Infinite Circulon hard anodized saute pan with lid (but I also use it as a frying pan). I love it. It's the best pan I've ever owned. The only downside is the weight (very heavy) but I think all good pans are heavy. At least this one is not as heavy as the cast iron ones.

(B) An Anolon chopping knife (previously was using cheap Ikea one). Heavy but now I can chop chicken through the bones. Love it too but not as much as the pan.

6-JAN-2009:

If the definition of *success* is achieving one's aims and goals, I would have to say that 2008 was a rather *successful* year, only because I did not have any specific aims or goals. Looking back at the 365 days that I've lived through since the first day of the year 2008, I can't recall any significant events (except the bad ones) that is worth telling. Sure, it was a good year and there were numerous happy moments, but no significant achievement. However, at times good things happened unexpectedly, like how daddy got his promotion (but that wasn't my achievement, it was entirely his), or like how sometimes blessings come in disguise, for instance, when Dominic's nursery closed down and we were forced to send him to a better one.

Anyway, I made two resolutions last year: (1) To eat healthy and to exercise; and (2) To sleep early; which I self-assess as 60% achieved (which means I've passed), but I didn't set out any goals for the year which pretty much means that all my goals are 100% achieved *GRIN*.

This year, my resolutions are:

1. To learn to let go and let daddy take on most of the basic care for Dom. I'll need to remind myself that it's OK if daddy sends Dom to school in his pyjamas, or feeds him sausages and bacon for lunch everyday. I must remind myself not to be bossy and let daddy "do his thing". KPI: By the end of the year, daddy would have taken over the following responsibilities: Getting Dom ready for school in the morning; getting Dom to brush his teeth at night; and bathing Dom during the weekends. By the way, daddy has agreed (and already started) doing all those.
2. To continue working on last year's resolutions. I am eating so healthily now (by my standard) that I don't think I can ever go back to not eating healthy. I might just need to work a bit more on the exercise part, i.e. having less *lazy days*.

Finally, my goals for this year?

1. I'm tempted to say "expand my family" but that's not really up to me. Nevertheless, it is still my goal (I can't think of anything else), and if it doesn't happen this year, it will continue to be my goal next year.

Only 1 goal to start with because I'm really serious about it.

(But another one is starting in 2 weeks time *GRIN*)

5-JAN-2009:

All 3 of us had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. Since 11th Dec till now, I had only been into the office for 2 days (29th and 30th), and daddy, 2 days as well (22nd and 23rd). Dominic had been away from the nursery for 2 full weeks. This morning was quite tough for all of us (but there was no crying, only sleepy eyes and lazy bones).

I sent Dominic to the nursery this morning because daddy had to leave early. He said he wanted to stay home but didn't resist walking to the nursery. He was a bit distracted by the thin layer of snow that had blanketed our front garden the night before. When we stepped into the nursery, the first thing I heard was crying (not Dominic's). Many kids were crying, refusing to let their mommies/daddies go (but most of them were not crying). Fortunately, there was no crying (or whining) from Dominic and he was happy to be there. He still remembers everyone's name and was excited to see his friends. There are a couple of new faces today (among the crying ones). And that reminds me I need to log on to the web cam to spy on him now (can't believe I haven't done it the whole morning!).

Starting this month, Dom's nursery fee has increased by £100 per month. A little bit of increase is fine but I think it should be illegal to increase it by £100, but doesn't seem like anyone is complaining. And to be fair, the fee was pretty low before compared to the other nurseries in London.

2-JAN-2008:

Daddy must have read my blog about him being a *lousy daddy* for not getting Dominic anything for his birthday, because on Christmas eve, two packages arrived at our doorstep.

The first one is a bicycle for Dominic. My first reaction was that Dominic was too young to ride a bicycle, and so the following conversation took place between daddy and I.

Me: Don't you know every kid should ride a tricycle first before advancing to riding a bicycle?

Him: Is it? But this is a tricycle wat.

Me: No, it isn't. A tricycle has 3 wheels, this one has only 2.

Him: There are two little wheels behind.

Me: Those are stabilizers. They don't make the bicycle a tricycle.

Him: It's the same.

That's how it is talking to someone who doesn't differentiate feet from legs and insists that parsley and corriander leaves are the same thing. :-D

Anyway, as it turned out, Dominic is NOT too young to ride a bicycle. He can get on and off the bicycle on his own. He can paddle and turn left or right, however, often hitting the wall or furniture (we let him ride it in the house because it was warmer).

The 2nd package was the VTech Vsmile TV game console. Immediately, he abandoned the Wii (he has been playing Wii Music in the evenings) and the laptop (he sometimes plays games on the Playhouse Disney website). Daddy bought one of these for his 5-year-old nephew about 2 years ago and now he's *training* Dominic so that when we go back to Malaysia for holiday later this month, they can play together.

Daddy also bought an iPod Touch - really, really cool iPod with wi-fi, Internet browser, emails, and loads of applications (most of which are not free). He said at first that it was for me but he's considering giving it to his brother. It is now a battle between the wife and the brother! And if the brother throws in the white towel and declares defeat, I'm still not the winner yet because his next candidate is his father! I told him his father is too old to appreciate such sophisticated technology.

Seriously, I both envy and admire this husband of mine who has such close relationship with his family - the kind that only exists in my family when mum was still alive, which I only had 3 years to enjoy (at least I only remember those 3 years). With daddy's family, they don't say things like "Let me know if you need any help" but they know that you need help and they give it to you without you having to ask for it.

Anyway, the iPod. Not as good as the iPhone but I still love it. :-)

As for daddy, he didn't get anything. I'm sorry but he insisted that we DON'T celebrate Christmas (and then he went and bought all these stuffs). Really, it wasn't my fault, I was just obeying his wishes. :-D