I've been blogged about!

It isn’t everyday that you get featured in a blog with over a million readers, albeit indirectly. It wasn’t so much of a particular feature about yours truly here but just a snapshot with one of a discerning member of the blogsphere. None other than Vernon, Mr. Manager himself. At the risk of sounding & acting like a crazy teenage bopper, I am attaching a link here to Mr. M's blog that has moi featured as one of his fans! Ha!ha! Anything for a brief escape from my normal 8-5 life in front of the computer (even though some of us in our department have been "blessed" with 2 LCD screens see pic., (the better to work with multiple worksheets my dear!!!)) in my exciting life in the Budgeting and Planning World.

You see, a bunch of us has taken to visiting his blog rather frequently, even on a daily basis when we are not in a crazy cycle, to see how other people in a totally different industry works or rather just simply live! Besides, Mr. M provides really good updates on American Idol episodes that we missed and also as much as I hate to admit, the AF concerts too! The period leading up to Ning Baizura's wedding was very intersting too, so that we get to ooohs! and aaahs! looking at the wedding preparation and all. As good as reality tv. So back to my point, so we have been dropping in at his blog every so often, when the opportunity for us to attend the Sectetaries Week in JV Marriot that had Ning Baizura as the artist, we figured, being her manager and all there is certainly a good chance that Mr. M would be there. When we spotted Vernon all alone smoking we thought, why not??? We just wanted to have a picture with him so that I could post it in my blog, didn't expect he would reciprocate. Nice one! So just wanted to share with you my 2 seconds of fame. As if!!!

Weekends nowadays

One of the To-Do-List for weekends nowadays is to ensure that the kids finish their homework. When I say kids, I also meant my 4 year old! Goodness, I cannot remember having to finish any homework when I was four. Well I was not even in school when I was 4. Nowadays even this little guy feels stressed out. He asked me on Saturday evening, is the next day still a holiday. When I said yes it is, he said, while his sister is doing her homework, he also needs to do some work. But he will need my help with the letter e cause it is a bit tricky for him. My poor boy.

An Inconvenient Truth

Last night, as I was channel surfing, I stumbled upon, Al Gore's documentary/movie on HBO regarding Global Warming. It was a truly disturbing and an eye-opener for me. The truth is really scary, and what is more distubing is the fact that the movie was produced in 2006, already the earth was in a pretty bad shape then, and if you listen to the facts presented, our Mother earth is deteriorating at such an alarming rate daily, I wonder what the stats are showing now, just about 2 years later. Check the website and the trailer of the movie if you missed it.

This next two paragraphs are taken directly from the website:

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?

Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.
We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

.... click the weblink above for more facts about global warming

It makes me wonder how as one individual I could contribute to reduce pollution. Even though we may think that we are not contributing much each time we take action to "go green", I guess if each and everyone of us do our part, it would definitely add up to something.

This website, also has a section that provides good information on how we can take action. They have points broken up under these categories:

1) reducing impact at home

2) reducing impact while on the move

3) bringing about change locally, nationally and internationally

4) 10 simple tips to take with you

Some of the tips as a quick reference are:

- Use an energy saving light bulb

- Drive less

- Recycle more

- Check your tires more - it seems that a properly inflated tyre could improve gas mileage

- Use less hot water

- Avoid products with lots of packaging

- Plant a tree

- Turn off electronic devices

Let's do our part to save the world for our future generation.

Reading while eating

Do you have this habit? I do, well at least when I am eating alone, even at home and especially when I am in a restaurant alone. If it is the latter, I will make sure that I have a reading material with me before I will allow myself to be in that situation, eating alone in a restaurant that is. Nothing is sadder than eating alone, if you have to stare at other people having a good conversation at the other tables throughout your meal.

I came across this website that discussed the Best and Worst Food to eat while reading!! Check out the website for the western version, below is my Malaysianised one:

Best food to eat while reading:

1) Food that can be eaten with fork and spoons like nasi goreng, pasta, spaghetti etc
2) Chocolates
3) Toasts
4) Cereals
5) Curry Puff and other kuehs

Worst food to eat while reading:

1) Roti canai, Thosai, Puree and the likes
2) Nasi campur with fish that was not de-boned (asking for trouble here), or any other dish that requires you to look down at your plate before taking a bite
3) Chips /crisps – it tends to get oily
4) Fried chicken from the well known fast food company – eventually you’d end using both hands
5) Kuaci( Sunflower seeds) and Pistachios – you need to shell them and again you will end up using both hands

Do you have any other food that you can think of to add to the list?

Birthday Greetings

It's my hubby's birthday today! Happy Birthday Dahlink and many happy returns of the day. There's nothing more that I can give you other than a dedicated blog post to you.

Here's a poem for you on your special day.

The things we feel the deepest,

Are the hardest things to say,

But dear husband you must know,

How much I love you anyway.

And now that it's your 34th,

I'm hoping you'll know too,

How much I'm wishing happiness,

With all my heart for you.

My Dearest Jack,

My Darling, with a capital D,

Just a little poem to tell you,

You mean the World to me.

You're thoughtful and caring in so many ways,

Nayli and Zarif are lucky to have you as their Dad,

That you're my wonderful husband,

Makes me daily feel so glad.

Because you're such a good man,

In spirit, and in charm.

I'm so lucky to be your wife,

By your side, arm in arm.

Our family will be joyous,

Our hearts forever one.

I'm thrilled for us - it's glorious,

A life that's good and fun.

Jack dear, I'll say again,

Without prompting, without cue,

You mean the world to me,

My love, I'll be forever loving you.

Secretaries Week with Ning Baizura @ JW Marriot, KL

My boss's Technical Assistant (we don't have a Secretary in our dept) was kind enough to let me tag along today with our company's Secretaries Week groupie for this year. They have chosen JW Marriott, KL this year whose featured artist is Ning Baizura and her protege Nikki.

while waiting for the coach (from left to right):

Azleen, Me, Zila, Izam, Fida, Sarah, Linda @ G-Ha

Before the meal was served

Ning Baizura is really a first class entertainer. Her voice was really powerful and she was very good with the audience. Quite an entertainer. Even her protege Nikki was good. When they performed their duet, "Drama", it was spectacular.

Lovely dress, Lovely Bod too!

The Dynamic Duo performing Drama

just a short video, my arms were too tired to hold on any longer

Ning sang quite a number of songs, beginning with her early hits. I was quite surprised that I knew most of her songs. Yes, I do remember buying her album back then, when she just started. There was no other singer who sang like her, there still isn't actually, even till now. She even did some cover versions, a few timeless English songs. Of course she was superb.

Before the show, we had a chance to even take a photo with Vernon, Ning's Manager. A bunch of us at the office have been his loyal readers of his blog for quite sometime now. He looked somewhat shocked when we approached him for a pic. He must have thought Ning would be the only one who will be sought out for photos that day. Puhlees, for a blog with more than a million unique hits... he should not be so surprised!

from left to right: Zakiah, Leen, Mr Manager & Me

The meal was good, we had what seemed like an endless 18 course Chinese Meal, well not exactly 18, but you know what I mean. Thank goodness I am not on a diet, so I managed to enjoy every course to the max. Yummy!

from left to right: Zila, Izam, Me and Zakiah

the fish course

last but not least, one for the blog!

Another cook in the house yaaalll!!!

I usually do the cooking at home, however when we happen to buy Bawal Emas at the market, my hubby will most often than not insists that he cooks. Which I totally have no problem with. I never say no to a day off from cracking my head to come up with the menu of the day. So when there is a Bawal Emas in the freezer and I am so clueless as what to cook that day, I'll just check with "Chef Wan" if he is in the mood to whip up his Special Steamed Golden Pomfret, then I will be free for the evening. The only setback is that I have to endure a whole mealtime of : "Wow, Papa is so good at cooking!", "Wow, this is sooo delicious Papa!", "Kids, you want more of the fish, it tastes really good huh??? Of course it does, I cooked it... blah! blah! blah!" and so on with lots of raised eyebrows and sneering looks at yours truly here. Oh, whatever as long as I don't have to cook. Perhaps I should find another dish that he likes so much and would only rather have he himself cook them. "Yang... what do you think about learning to cook chilli crabs from Ateh???"

Steamed Golden Pomfret

by Chef WMZ!

Baby Checklist

Preparing the arrival for a newborn should already be a breeze for me, since this is my third one. However, I still need to prepare the necessary checklist to ensure that I have not missed out on anything. Even though, I should be able to re-use the stuffed I used for Zarif, there are a couple of things that needed to be re-borrowed (since I borrowed them then too) and newly bought, cause these things were either borrowed before and now are no longer available, or these things were already missing or thrown away a long long time ago.

My list consists of different categories such as:

1) Things to buy
2) Things to borrow
3) Things to find/look for at my mom’s place otherwise, need to be listed under category 1 or 2
4) Things to pack for myself for hospital stay
5) Things to prepare for baby to go back home
6) Things to prepare for Confinement Period

I can't provide my actual table here so, I have cut and pasted a one big list of things that I need to get hold of before I deliver.

1. Avent Sterilizer - still cannot decide on either the Microwave/ the Electric
2.Avent New born Starter Kit – bottles and teats
3.Containers to store breast milk
( Either Tupperware Ice Cube Box (never used before, idea was just introduced to me)
Or Anakku Small Bottles (as previous 2 kids))
4.Handkerchiefs/Small Towels & Napkins
5.Hooded Towels and Normal Towels
6.Baby Toiletries:
o Bath Gel
o Baby Lotion/Oil
o Cotton Balls/ Pads
o Cotton Buds
o Diaper Rash Cream
o Baby Wipes
o Diapers Newborn – Mamy Poko
o Baby Comb
o Bath Sponges – Mothercare
o Thermometer
o Baby’s clothes hamper – perhaps 2 new pails with cover
7.Biscuits for me –during confinement
8.Baby Carrier Cum Car Seat (newborn to 12 mths)
9.Bottle Warmer – Avent - borrow
10.My Sweater for confinement
11.Manual Breast Pump Avent - borrow
12.Electric Breast Pump Madela - borrow

13.Confinement stuff:
o Minyak Herbanika Nona Roguy RM85
o Akar Herbanika Nona Roguy RM80
o MakJun – makcik urut or Phytonatal NR RM100
o Herbanika Barut Cream RM45
o Minyak Berubat Mustajab 130ml RM27
o Honey to add to Akar Herbanika RM29.90 (Himalaya)
o Uncang Cuci Herbanika RM85 X 2 (only 15 bags per pack)
o Herbanika Lulur – serbuk utk mandi (RM50)

TOTAL RM586.90 ( I may have to re-think this list!, Amazing what you find out when you list things out, like whether or not I would want to spend all that money on these things, or could afford to, sigh?)

p/s there is a good product usage guide by a consultant on their official website, in Bahasa Malaysia.

14. Sanitary Napkins
15. Socks
16. Kain Bengkung
17.Makcik Urut – decide and book
18.Thermometer - getting from Dept (I am not in Planning Dept for nothing)
19.LV Diaper Bag – hah!ha! in my dreams only RM7K - MAJOR WISHLIST item (font colour rather bleak, as bleak as my chance of getting one)
20.Nasal Aspirator
21.Baby Bath organizer - Mothercare
22.Cot Things - one new set of cot bumper and bedding co-ordinates
23.Breast Pads – to look for the olds ones otherwise, buy!
24.Diaper Bag/ Mummy’s Bag – to be decided!!! If item 19 does not materialise, as if!

25.Bags and stuff on standby for hospital:
- Mine
o Pajamas 2x
o Socks 2x
o Stretch Pants – FOS/Reject Shops 2x
o T-shirts 4x
o Tudung
o Hair Band
o Sanitary Napkins
o Glasses Homewear
o Contact Lenses
o Underwear 3 days + 3 nights worth
o Camera + Charger
o H/Phone Charger
o Bengkung
o Bed Protector
o Good set of Baju for going home
o Towels (bath, face and hand)
o Snacks for hospital for kids
o Picnic Mat for visitors
- Baby’s
o Baby Clothes for going home
o Baby’s Zipped up suit for going home (Afif’s green)
o A few Muslin Wraps for use
o Small Towels

- My Toiletries
o Facial Wash
o Moisturizer
o Night Cream
o Lipstick
o Body Cream
o Shower Cream
o Feminine Wash – Travel Size
o Minyak Herbanika
o Minyak Mustajab
o Uncang Cuci
o Toothbrush
o Toothpaste
o Shampoo
o Deodorant – Travel Size
o Perfume Crabtree – Purse Size

26.Things to be done at Mak’s house:
1. Move Cot
2. Prepare the mattress – to put out in the sun for airing for a week or so
3. Look for old baby clothes – bring home and wash
4. Find the old bedding co-ordinates plus blanket and other usable stuff
5. Bring home Nayli’s Mobile for Cot
6. Find the bath tub

I think I have thought about everything, but I still have another month or so to go through everything and add anything else that I have forgotten.

Shopaholic? Me?

Am I really a shopaholic? Am I really an overbuyer as opposed to an underbuyer? Which category do I belong to? Well it really depends on a number of things really:

1) The amount already charged in my credit card at the moment – I know this doesn’t really make any sense. For me if I have just cleared my credit card, I would be more reluctant to spend. If however, I have charged more than RM1,000 currently I would go “oh well, another RM200 won’t hurt”! I guess an advice to myself here would be to keep a minimum amount in my credit card then.

2) If I have to spend cash – I tend to be rather reluctant to spend with cash in my purse only, especially if it is a big purchase, so perhaps I really should leave my credit card at home more often.

3) The mood that I am in – if I am in a spending mood then nothing can stop me, ha!ha! provided that I have the means to spend be it cash or plastic.

4) If I am at the shop to buy a few expensive items – then I will start to splurge on even unnecessary stuff, nice to have things with the thought that,"Well, I am spending this much money anyway, so why not add a few more small purchases".
*At then end of the day, being a shopaholic as I am (ok I admit it, why else do I relate to the Shopaholic series so well) it really doesn’t matter if any of the 4 factors above does exist, if I see something that I like and I think I can afford it or if I think I will have some money coming in to clear the credit card in the very near future, I will BUY it!!!!



Hence, I find this post in The Happiness Project Blog to be rather interesting.
11 tips cutting down the number of things you buy. Check it out.

Hot Wheels weekend

Zarif was lucky last weekend cause his father went on a hot wheels spree during the Mattel Warehouse sale. Look at what the boy got this time. Inspite of me warning the father to not buy anymore tracks, he got them anyway, 2 infact, luckily it wasn't as big as the T-Rex and the Spider thingy that he got last year!

Still takes up space though. Organizational nightmare. Whatever makes them both happy, I guess.

These 1st 2 pictures were taken September last year. My how different Zarif looked then, much thinner and perhaps taller now. My boy, growing before my eyes. Sigh!

Below are some pictures of his Hot Wheels car collection as of to date. Same collection just different angles. Don't worry it wasn't me crouching on all fours snapping the pictures!

5 boxes altogether

Car Yard