A Very Crowded Pre-Ching Ming

Went to visit my grandma's grave this morning at Nilai Memorial Park, thinking that we would go one week earlier to avoid the Ching Ming crowd next weekend.

Guess everybody had the same idea...

Traffic already started piling up from the highway before the entrance to Nilai Memorial. Once past the gates, cars are parked on every bit of grass available and people are unloading lots of stuff from their car boot. Some look like they were coming for a picnic carrying food and drinks, and PreTeen even spotted someone bringing a large blanket!

We were there at 9 am, thinking that we would stay for about 50 minutes to an hour the most, before sending PreTeen for her ballet class at 10.30 am. My parents were early but most of my uncles and aunties were caught in the jam and only arrived close to 10 am. We thought it wouldn't be polite to leave just as they arrived, so we stayed until 10.10 am before excusing ourselves.

It took us about 45 minutes to exit the Memorial Park as there was a bumper to bumper crawl on the way out. PreTeen had to miss her ballet class but we still had to make it back for CoolTeen's haircut appointment...yup, he only cuts his hair at this salon where I need to call up to make an appointment because the hairdresser is the one who washes, cuts, blow-dries, colours, perms the customer's hair. CoolTeen likes the way she cuts his hair (and she knows that I want his hair neat) and her rates are pretty cheap because it's at some low-cost flats, so she's pretty busy on the weekends.

We were about 15 minutes late for his haircut appointment and there was already an elderly lady in the salon perming her hair so we had to wait until the hairdresser had finished putting the elderly lady's hair in curlers. Hearing that I was late, the elderly lady proceeded to tell the hairdresser how she never likes to keep people waiting and how she would always call if she knew that she was late...and she went on and on while I stared daggers at her back. Ok,ok I know I was late but I had apologised and I didn't need a complete stranger to indirectly lecture me about being on time!! (especially when hubby practically flew us all the way back from Nilai while I kept my fingers crossed that there wouldn't be any speed traps along the way, and I really didn't have any other time to bring CoolTeen for a haircut because of our busy schedules). Hubby is reading this and he says that I should have added "We would have got back faster if I had driven"...very funny (frowns)...

A Simple Birthday Celebration

Celebrated CoolTeen's birthday on Sunday although the actual day is today. To celebrate our kids' birthdays we usually take them out to eat at a fancy restaurant and throughout the years they have always had Western cuisine. CoolTeen loves chicken chop but PreTeen is more of a Fish 'n' Chips kind of girl.

So this year we asked CoolTeen where he wanted to go, and we were rather taken aback with his reply...



That place can be rather crowded during dinner so we made reservations for 8 pax as we usually invite hubby's parents and siblings along. The waiter was rather perplexed because I don't think many people make reservations before turning up...it's like making dinner reservations at McDonald's or KFC...!



We asked CoolTeen why he chose that place...he said he could have chicken rice (!) and order a few of his favourite ice-blended chocolate drinks. The drinks are rather pricey so whenever we go there he usually gets to order only 1 drink but because this was a special occasion he could have as many drinks as he liked. Hmmm...glad to know he is using his logic and reasoning skills. (I think maybe he didn't enjoy all the attention when the waiters/waitresses came to sing him a birthday song at the Roadhouse Grill last year)

We like the food at Pappa Rich, so we didn't mind at all and it was also easier on the wallet compared to the restaurants that we usually celebrate birthdays in.

What is a birthday celebration without a birthday cake? So after dinner we adjourned to our place for the mandatory candle-blowing and cake-cutting session. I had bought his favourite chocolate cake from Chocolate World in Ikano Power Centre (it's really good) and was planning to bring it to a nearby bakery for frosting, but being busy throughout the week I had totally forgotten about it! So I had to make do with just candles and a little plastic "Happy Birthday" sign, but CoolTeen didn't mind (phew!)



Can't believe that in a year or two hubby and I will be entering the next phase of parenthood...sitting in the car beside our teenage kid as he drives...Scary!

Great Tips!

A friend posted this on Facebook...thought I would share it here since it's really funny and helpful at the same time...

How to get ready for work in just under 5 minutes! (no kidding)

Caution:Bad English

My sis-in-law bought Miss PreTeen some shiny stickers to decorate her handphone. As with most products nowadays, the stickers came with instructions in very bad English. Being from a Convent school where most of the teachers spoke to the students in English, I have had the privilege of being exposed to good English since primary school. So I totally agree with those who lament about the poor standard of written and spoken English nowadays...and I used to get rather agitated whenever I read something in broken English, especially instruction manuals (how am I supposed to assemble something or learn how to use it when I don't understand the instructions??)...but I have since learnt not to get so worked up over such matters,

and not knowing whether to laugh or cry over it...

I just put it on my blog...

I didn't know that adding stickers to a handphone could get so violent...

2. Please tear the cell-phone which stick the back of the sticker.

*Take it down from paper card and please pay attention to not being injured.

• When sticker is assaulted by brute force, acrylic will come off from the cell-phone...

Simple Yet Touching

This video has been circling around through email and has been viewed over 2 million times on YouTube...it may take a while to download but it's worth the wait...I love how no words are spoken but the message gets across loud and clear...simple yet touching...

Orange Recipes Needed

One thing about us Chinese is that we are always so willing to 'give and take', especially during Chinese New Year. I bought a box of mandarin oranges because it is a tradition to give mandarin oranges when I visit friends and relatives during the 15 days of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

I bring a bag of oranges and New Year goodies to my brother's home, and his wife gives me another bag of oranges and goodies in return.

I bring a bag of oranges and New Year goodies to hubby's aunty's home, and she gives me another bag of oranges and goodies in return.

It's the same wherever I go.

In Cantonese it's called yau lei yau hui (roughly translated as 'what comes in must go out')

So it's back to square one.

I still have a whole big basket of oranges, not to mention jars and jars of cookies...cookies I eat (no wonder I can't seem to shed the pounds after Chinese New Year!) but mandarin oranges...not so keen.

Hmm...got to find some recipes using mandarin oranges....(hubby said I should have thrown them all into the lake on Chap Goh Mei...he doesn't know what it symbolizes...haha).

Where Have My Babies Gone?

Miss PreTeen celebrated her 12th birthday 2 weeks ago, and she told me that very soon I would not be able to refer to her as PreTeen in my blog. She suggested PrettyTeen since I refer to her brother as CoolTeen.

It seems like only yesterday when I became a mom, how I enjoyed confinement food, how when I first bathed my new baby I gripped his little armed so tightly that it turned blue ...for fear of dropping him into the water in the baby bathtub, how I stayed awake on nights when either of my kids had fever, how excited hubby and I were when baby started to call us 'mama' and 'papa'....

In 2 weeks' time we will be celebrating CoolTeen's birthday.

My babies have both grown so much. Even PreTeen is a little taller than me now...or so she says. As long as I have high heels, I can still be taller than her...but not for very long...looks like very soon I'll be the shortest in our family :(

Not A Pretty Sight

Opened the front door of my house early this morning to find this thing at my doorstep, courtesy of the neighbourhood cat...yucks!!! (and guess who had to get rid of it while the rest just look on and make comments)