A Mountain of Clothes

Hubby and the kids are having a week's break for the Chinese New Year and so am I...that means no cleaning, cooking or ironing for the entire week...or until I feel like it :)



My laundry basket is overflowing with clothes that needed folding and ironing, and I thought I would just turn a blind eye to it for a while since the weather has been really hot these few days...but hubby (being the neat one) couldn't stand it anymore and decided to do a bit of ironing today.

So with great pleasure I quickly gathered all the clothes hangers for him and went upstairs to surf the internet in peace while the kids kept themselves busy...it's always good to look busy in case dad needs them to help out!


When I came downstairs, I noticed that the air-cond was turned on in the room where hubby was ironing...no wonder I didn't hear any complaints at all about the weather!


After lunch we visited some friends in the Sri Damansara area and then headed to Ikea. Decided to catch a movie at CineLeisure...Bride Wars, a comedy about 2 best friends who become worst enemies all because their weddings had to be on the same day and at the same venue.

Home To Home

Yesterday we went on a visiting spree...


Visited my parents first. We still carry on the tradition of serving tea to my parents before receiving our angpows. I don't think many families hold on to this tradition any more, so it's kind of special.

This is the tea set that my parents used on their wedding day to serve tea.

Then we went with my parents and brother to my aunt's house in Subang Jaya for lunch. My aunt loves to cook and there was so much food leftover! Took home some of her lovely cake and roast chicken.

Next we visited my cousin and his family, also in Subang Jaya. Had a wonderful time catching up. This cousin and I are only 1 year apart in age and we used to play together when we were little. It was fun reminiscing about the naughty things we did during Chinese New Year!

Later in the evening we went to my mom-in-law's sister's place in Segambut for dinner. Ate a lot...I think my new clothes are going to get tight very, very soon...with the way I am eating and eating!

Gong Xi Gong Xi

The first day of Chinese New Year began with lots of fireworks being set off from 12 midnight to almost 2 am. Caught a glimpse of some of it through my bedroom window just before going to bed.

Had lunch at my in-laws' place, then went home and watched the August Rush DVD that I bought on 1st January...talk about procrastination,haha! If there was anything wrong with the DVD I wouldn't be able to return it since I'm only given 2 weeks from the date of purchase to do so. The movie was really touching...a must-see for people who "love music more than food"...to borrow a line from the movie :)


Made dinner reservations at Outback Steakhouse at Bangsar Village for the 8 of us, in-laws included. Decided to have Western food on 1st day of Chinese New Year...for a change.


The food was OK but they sure have very large knives for their steaks! (See how large and long it is compared to the ketchup bottle) Kept reminding Mr CoolTeen to be careful as he sometimes uses the knife as a spoon to scoop food into his mouth...don't intend to rush to the emergency ward to re-attach a tongue!

Reunion Dinners

A red ox made up of LEGO parts, constructed by my nephew.

This is the first year we are having Chinese New Year reunion dinner without my granny, so it's kind of strange having a quiet reunion dinner with my immediate family instead of a noisy one with all my aunties, uncles, cousins and their kids. Ate at the restaurant beside the Desa Waterpark on Saturday.


The next day we had reunion dinner at parents-in-law's place. Mom-in-law cooked up a storm with 2 types of chicken (Mr CoolTeen's favourite), prawns, broccoli, lettuce with spring roll filling and chicken soup...yum! I brought a duck dish and sis-in-law brought salmon Yee Sang. This is the beginning of my 15-day eating binge (after all, it's only once a year that I get to do this...eat like there's no tomorrow!).

CNY In 2 Days' Time

Went to MidValley Megamall to watch the performance by the acrobats from Hubei, China. Every year MidValley usually has very good stage performances for the Chinese New Year celebrations, but this year's stage act was rather simple compared to the previous years.


Contortionists with bones of rubber!


This 15 year old girl can balance a 200kg vase on her feet...imagine if she were to kick someone with her very strong leg (ouch!)

Went to the market this morning to get some mandarin oranges for hubby to distribute to his staff...managed to get the tiny ones which are really sweet.


Mandarin oranges all stacked up in my trusty (and rusty!) little trolley.

Here's wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous Year of The Ox...eat, drink and be merry!

Chinese New Year Preparations

Chinese New Year is just round the corner, and I am busy cleaning the house and baking cookies. Hubby likes to decorate the house so he bought a few stalks of the curly bamboo plant from the market (no, he didn't go marketing...just tagged along to the morning market with me after breakfast at the mamak shop).


Adding some gold strips...




And a few little birds and ribbons...voila!

Tried some new cookie recipes and thankfully they turned out OK. When hubby tried to eat some, Miss PreTeen promptly reminded him, "Dad! Those are for our guests!" :D

Butter cookies before adding chocolate icing


Green tea and poppy seed biscuits

Another One Of Those Signs

Had a busy week, still trying to get used to the new routine now that my kids are in morning session school. Mr CoolTeen has caught the flu bug and missed 3 days of school...much to his delight. Saw this outside the doctor's clinic...





A garbage bin with a sign that says we can't throw rubbish into it...like what a friend of mine said the other day..."sign for dummies, by dummies"!

Signs...Funny Ones

My sis-in-law sent me these pics through email:



Err...how many hours are there in a day?


Ladies...use this toilet at your own risk!


Would you go to a doctor with this name?


That's right...put a signboard right above the escalator, then warn people about it!


Duh...!

About Pedestrians and Bridges

When we were down in Singapore last November, my children were quite amazed at how the people in Singapore cross the street in an orderly manner, very unlike here in Malaysia where we cross the street wherever and however we wish!

It always amuses me to read in the newspapers about folks complaining about the lack of pedestrian bridges and when the bridges are built, people still prefer to dash across the road instead of using the pedestrian bridge...'too far', 'too many steps up the stairs'...we hear them complain.

There is a very nice pedestrian bridge near my son's school and I don't remember seeing anyone use it at all...most people would just cross the road right underneath this bridge.

Then there's this bridge which has no staircase on either side. Makes you wonder what the bridge is there for??

I Survived!

It's Friday and I survived a whole week of waking up at 5 am...! Am currently having panda eyes from lack of rest, and I am glad that it's the weekend again. Driving around very early in the morning is no fun because my night vision isn't that good...almost bumped a motorcyclist off the road the other day! Can't wait till the Chinese New Year school break when I can sleep in for an entire week!

A Day In The Life Of A Mom

Yesterday the kids started school again after a 7-week break. Of course Mr CoolTeen and Miss PreTeen were rather sad that their holidays had come to an end...now it's back to homework and tuition classes again. And for me it's the end of sleeping in...sigh

What happened yesterday:

5 00 Wake Mr CoolTeen...had to give him a few smacks before he finally opens his eyes.
5 10 Prepare breakfast
5 40 Send Mr CoolTeen to friend's house to catch the bus with friend's son.

6 00 Reach home

6 00 - 6 20 Prepare breakfast for hubby and Miss PreTeen
6 30 Wake Miss PreTeen...it's easier to wake her up because she's a light-sleeper.
6 45 Tie Miss PreTeen's hair...grr! I think her hair has a mind of it's own!

7 00 Bid hubby and daughter goodbye (hubby sends Miss PreTeen to school before going to work), and hop back into bed for a short snooze :)

10 00 Go to son's school to get exercise books...can you believe it? I forgot all about buying his exercise books until Sunday!
10 45 - 11 15 Queue to buy books...wearing high heels,aargh!
11 45 Reach home and prepare lunch

13 00 Fetch daughter from school...man!The sun is scorching at this hour!
13 50 Fetch son from school

16 30 Send Miss PreTeen to tuition class
17 00 Prepare dinner...got distracted, burnt the honey chicken wings,oops!
18 00 Scrub burnt wok :(
18 30 Fetch daughter from tuition class
19 00 Dinner time!

20 00 Send Mr CoolTeen for tuition class
20 15 Line dance class...we moms need exercise, need to fit into our new clothes for Chinese New Year!
22 30 Fetch son from tuition
23 00 Alter the buckle on kids' uniforms...too loose
00 30 Sleep ZZzzzzz

Love Chocolate Cake? Read On!

One of hubby's friends gave us a moist chocolate cake from Chocolat World in Ikano. When I cut a slice to taste...wow, one of the best that I've tasted in a long while!

And you know what's better than great tasting chocolate cake?

It's warm chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.





Just pop the slice(s) of cake into the microwave oven for about 10-15 secs (SECONDS, not minutes...unless you want crisp chocolate biscuit instead of cake!) then add a scoop of ice cream on top.....deeeelicious!!

First Day of 2009

Sharp at 12 midnight there were pretty fireworks launched from the hill near my place. Tried to take some photos but as usual the night mode on my camera isn't too good, so I ended up with this pic...sigh!

Went to sleep soon after that because we had to wake up early for Sunrise Service in church at 6.30 am. Did not dare to close my eyes during the service (even during prayer) in case I fall asleep!


Some kind ladies in church prepared a simple breakfast of sandwiches and brownies to go with coffee and tea...yum!


It's time to keep away the Christmas decorations.

Our drummer perching precariously on his drum throne trying to reach the deco placed on top of the ledge.

Went home and had a short snooze before heading for the Pavilion shopping mall in the heart of KL city for some window shopping while hubby had lunch with some of his former schoolmates.