Need A Good Laugh?

Yesterday as I was looking for some cake recipes, I stumbled upon this very funny blog:

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

There are lots of lovely photos...like this cute little dinosaur sitting on a cupcake...
But there are mostly photos of badly decorated cakes which will keep you rotfl...like this cake with very unappetizing frosting...

The name of the blog is Cake Wrecks and the blog description is "When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong", so I think you get the idea.

Have a look at all their photos...laughter guaranteed.

Healthy Organic Food

My friend MK brought me to this cosy little shop in Damai Perdana, somewhere in Cheras beside SJK (C) Taman Connaught 2, which serves daily lunch at RM5 using organic food...read: vegetarian. I am not particularly keen on a vegetarian diet as I enjoy meat (a lot!), so I was a little hesitant when MK invited me to have lunch at this place...what more a meal prepared using no salt or seasoning!

Surprisingly, the food is good, although a little bland. But as soon as the tongue adjusts to the lack of seasoning, I begin to taste the natural sweetness and flavour of the food...which makes me wonder about how much seasoning and (artificial) flavouring we actually have in our daily food.

Tried their 5 Colour Noodles. Although I was quite full that day from a heavy breakfast, I was surprised that I did not feel bloated as I finished the rather large portion of noodles.

Tuesday is Nasi Lemak day...and it's brown rice with dhall curry, vegetables, roasted peanuts and a half slice of hardboiled egg, plus soup.

The other plus point is that Sam, the young owner, will come and chitchat as if he was an old friend while we have our lunch. Ask him anything about organic food and he'll be pleased to answer all queries.

Nope, I haven't turned into a health food fanatic yet...still love my meat..but this is a nice alternative when eating out :)

Poor Little Car

Speaking of cars...I seem to be getting my little car repaired quite a lot over the past few months, and it's going to the workshop again tomorrow morning.

Had a tyre puncture today.

Found TWO screws in my tyre...imagine that! And I have a pretty good idea where it came from since my neighbour across the street is renovating his house and his contractor is extremely messy - leaving planks, sand and bricks everywhere along the street...annoying all the other neighbours as well.

The bad news is hubby is out of town for a few days for a seminar. In theory I know how to change a tyre, but I have never changed a tyre before in all the years that I have had my driver's licence (hey, what are brothers for...and I have 2 of them!) Had to ask my brother-in-law to come over and help, since he stayed about 10 minutes' away.

The good news is hubby didn't drive...the company provided transportation. So I could use his car. I had line dance class this evening and I didn't have to cancel class :)

CoolTeen was all grins because we were actually on the way to his tuition class when the puncture occured, and because I wasn't too far away from home I could drive slowly back to the house. By then he was already 15 minutes late, and the class is only one hour. By the time I reverse hubby's car and send him, he would be about half an hour late for class...so I told him he could skip class for today. When I told hubby over the phone that I drove with a flat tyre I could almost imagine the dollar signs that must have flashed in front of his eyes as he asked, "You didn't damage the rims, did you?"...oops.

Multi-Purpose Vehicle?

There are many types of cars....

sports car

sedan

convertible

luxury car

sports utility

minivan

and then there's this....

Saw this funny scene as I was driving home this afternoon...someone sunning all their matressses and rugs on this car. Miss PreTeen wondered if it was safe for the owner to leave all the doors open like that, but I think no one would even plan to steal this car...unless he had the time and energy to lift away all the mattresses first!

Busy Start To The New Year

Feeling guilty that I haven't been blogging very consistently lately...still getting used to a new weekly schedule, both mine and the kids'. My calendar is packed to the brim with all kinds of activities...school, tuition classes, music classes, dance classes, sports, church activities, doctor's appointments, etc. Miss PreTeen has taken up basketball this year and is also in her school marching band, so she stays back in school quite a lot. CoolTeen hasn't started staying back for any extra-curricular activities yet but has tuition classes 4 days a week. I am quite pleased that at the moment there is no clash of the time in their activities and I can still manage fetching them to and fro...with a little help from hubby on certain days, of course.

Hubby has also been very busy and has to travel quite a bit this month.

So life has been hectic, but it's always good to squeeze in some time with a friend/friends to help keep me sane...haha.

If there is one thing I've learnt in life, it's this - Life on earth is never perfect, but treating setbacks as challenges and discovering ways to overcome them and move forward is definitely better than indulging in self-pity.

Yes, raising kids is tiring and often times frustrating, but it's also a time when we can 'relive' our younger days as we spend time with them. I remember hubby buying a toy train set for my son when he was about 3 or 4 years old and both of them having fun setting up the train tracks all over the living room...don't know who had more fun,though. I remember winning the much coveted tickets for David Archuleta's mini concert last year and bringing my daughter to watch her favourite singer perform...how we screamed along with all the other teenage girls and sang along to his songs!

Yes, parenting can be fun...but often times I wonder why on earth do people want so many kids(!)...especially during times when as a parent I have to be strict...when I have to discipline my kids for their own good...when I am viewed as the 'bad guy' in their eyes...sigh...but having said that, I wouldn't trade having kids for anything else in this whole wide world!

Weddings To Remember

I have been to quite a number of weddings...church weddings, Chinese wedding dinners, Malay bersanding...in fact, I was a bridesmaid thrice (ever heard of the old saying "Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride?" Well, I'm living proof that it's not true!)

Weddings are such happy occasions. A friends once mentioned that she loved looking at wedding photos because everyone looked so joyful.

I have been to a wedding where the groom sang "I've Finally Found Someone" (by Barbra Streisand) as the bride walked down the aisle...awwwww. Then there's another wedding where the groom did the "YES!!!" pumping action with his fist just before he kissed his bride...wow!

I remember my own wedding where my teenage cousin videotaped the tea ceremony and church ceremony for me for free (so nice of him)...but he ran low on battery just before the church ceremony began (!)... he recorded me walking down the aisle (then switched off the camera to save battery), recorded the exchange of vows (then switched off the camera) and recorded my hubby and I walking out together...all the important parts (smart fella!)

Here are videos of some very unforgettable weddings...anyone want to try this on your wedding day?

Sound Of Music...Not!

My kids always say that I drive terribly. I think even my car radio is on my kids' side now. Lately it switches off itself whenever I roll over a road bump and allows me to listen to only half or parts of a song on some days. It also stubbornly refuses to let me listen to the songs on my car MP3 player. After a few weeks of tolerating all the disruptions to my song-listening pleasure I decided that I had had enough.

I resorted to violence.

Took a book and gave the radio a few whacks the other day, then it worked fine again.

Until the next day.....sigh.

Guess it's time to send my car to the workshop again...seem to be going to the workshop quite a lot in the last few months :(

First Week Of School

I have survived one whole week of school!

School may be stressful for kids but it's also stressful for us stay-at-home moms as we juggle our timetable around to fetch our kids and accomodate all their extra activities...tuition, co-curriculum activities, music classes, etc, etc...not to mention slotting in our own activities (yes we have a life too, other than being driver and maid...haha).

Traffic was chaotic for the first few days of school as the moms of the Standard One kids accompanied their child to school. Not having an understanding of the traffic system around the school, cars were parked everywhere and cars headed for the school gate from all possible directions blocking cars heading out of the school area...resulting in traffic coming to a halt for at least 15-20 minutes. I was annoyed to find that my favourite parking spot (where I park when I fetch my daughter after school) had been taken and I had to park quite a distance from the school.

Traffic was no better at CoolTeen's school, and it was a bumper to bumper crawl to the school gate before and after school.

After the 3rd day, there was finally some order to the traffic flow and after one week of school I have drawn up a neat little routine. This year both my kids finish school at almost the same time everyday...so I fetch PreTeen first, then rush off to CoolTeen's school. Thankfully their schools are nearby, just 5-10 minutes away.

Tomorrow is a new week. CoolTeen has transferred to a new school and finally looks forward to going to school.

Places To Eat

Went to Cameron Highlands a few days before the new year with my family, sis-in-law and parents-in-law. Yup, we seem to go there quite often...it's one of my mum-in-law's favourite places as she loves cool weather.

We stopped by Bidor for lunch on the way up. My dad-in-law and I were looking for duck noodles. The last time we came to Bidor, we ate at the famous Pun Chun restaurant, but we found better tasting duck mee at this corner shop at the same row as Pun Chun.

At Camerons, my brother-in-law recommended that we try this restaurant in Brinchang called JEW MAY YEW where there's steamboat dinner at a reasonable price. The steamboat was ok, lots of vegetables and fishballs but small portions of meat...but the dish that made it all worthwhile was their fishhead curry. Generous portions of fish and vegetables...just plain delicious and I think from now on I will eat it every time I go to Camerons!


My dad-in-law's sister also told us about this little restaurant located at the Brinchang wet market which is famous for all kinds of pau and their specialty is Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun...very popular with the locals. Need to reach there before 9am as tables are few.

Happy New Year 2010

2009 has been a busy year for me - full of opportunites, challenges, good times and some sad times - but all in all, a good year...and I am looking forward to 2010...a brand new year and exciting possibilites!!

Here are my wishes for everyone...

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-endocrinologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your gynecologist, your plumber and the tax dept.

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere in the rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there may you find a parking space.

May Friday evening, December 31, find you seated around the dinner table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends, ushering in the new year ahead. You will find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May you wake up on January 1st, finding that the world has not come to an end, the lights work, the water faucets flow, and the sky has not fallen.

May you ponder how did this ultramodern civilization of ours manage to get itself traumatized by a possible slip of a blip on a chip made out of sand.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.

May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, and may your cheque book and your budget balance and may they include generous amounts for charity.

May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parents, your friends; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

May we live as God intended, in a world at peace and the awareness of His love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

A Very Happy New Year to All!