Friday, September 30, 2011

Alexis & Lana's wedding

Alex, Lana and their handsome son Rafi

The next wedding was Alexis & Lana's in Miri. Hubby went a day earlier to 'happy' with his friends. I stayed home to finish up the cake and cupcakes I promised Lana and Alex for their wedding dinner.


Altogether, I made a small chocolate cake with a topper, 28 regular sized chocolate cupcakes and 80 mini red velvet cupcakes. The delivery was the hard part! I had Hubby bring over the finished regular cupcakes and the un-iced mini cupcakes while I brought over the rest. All the while I was praying that the components survive the plane ride in one piece!!

On the morning of the wedding, I flew over and Hubby brought me to the Marriot where the wedding was going to be held and where we were also staying. Hubby got us upgraded to a really lovely room which even had a kitchenette! The best thing about the Marriot is the wonderfully soft bed with plenty of plush pillows!! There were quite a few other friends who flew in for the happy occasion.

But, first things first, we went to the banquet hall to set up the cupcake tower and I did some last minute piping. Thanks to Hubby, we managed to get everything assembled in no time. I'm really happy that Lana and Alex loved the whole thing! :) I especially loved the penguins on top!


So anyway, back to the wedding. Lana being Australian, the whole event was very modern, and not the strict, traditional Chinese ensemble. It started with cocktails behind the hotel, by the sea, followed by the exchange of vows at sunset! It was a beautiful and touching ceremony.

This was followed by the traditional Chinese dinner at the banquet hall. Everything was well and pretty much civillized for the front part of the dinner. Once the formalities like the speech and toast were done, everyone started to loosen up!

There was drinking...

It started with the loud 'yam sengs' which were promptly replied with even louder, "Ozzie ozzie ozzie oi oi oi's!"!

After the dinner, some of the older guests left, and the rest partied on until the hotel staff started giving dirty looks way after they turned up the lights at 1am!! :)

dancing...

singing...

what wedding would be complete without the 'boys' singing their school rally, "Sons of St. Joseph". (FYI that is a St Thomas boy being 'manhandled' at the bottom of the pic!)



and plenty of love all around!

The next day, there was a lovely lunch at the Piasau Boat Club right in front of the beach. The guys started drinking from 2pm and we stayed until night fell, waiting for the gorgeous, romantic sunset. This is one of the reasons the guys just love a buddy's wedding, it's an excuse to start drinking early in the day without running the risk of being called an alcoholic! :)

We bumped into Elena, an old classmate who's supposed to be all the way in New Zealand! Fancy that!

babies' day out; L-R: Jaeden, Rafi and Evan

Aunty club :)


The lovely day ended with a fantastic crab dinner and more drinks (of course) at a pub near the hotel.


The next day we met up with SIL and adorable Hughie for brunch and some cold desert. Then it was back home on the lunch time flight.


Now I'm gearing up for the next trip to KL for our cake workshop!! Just feel a little guilty leaving the kids behind so often these two months... I predict I will be assuaging that guilt with lots of presents soon!

Lih & Kelly's wedding


September has been pretty fun for me, cause Hubby and I had two out-of-town weddings to attend. Then next week, SIL and I are attending our first ever cake art workshop in KL! We are extremely excited!! We will also get to see a wedding cake decorating competition and be able to squeeze in a trip to a huge book fair (Big Bad Wolf book fair)!

Every time we travel, the kids will stay over at Grandma and Grandpa's. Luckily my current maid is quite good with the kids, so with Grandma, Grandpa and the maid, I can leave them behind without any worries! We're really blessed to have this option!

So the first wedding was Song Lih and Kelly's in KL. Song Lih is Hubby's buddy who also happens to be my kindergarten classmate!!

Hubby was in KL earlier for work, so I met him there two days before the wedding. We decided to spend the first night in Genting! Plenty of yummy free food, (Haagen Daz ice-cream, wine and cheese)... though the term 'free' here is debatable! ;)

Then we went down to KL and stayed at a new hotel, Empire, where the dinner was to be held. It's in Subang and is a very nice hotel. There is also Empire shopping mall at the same building, so all was good! :)

So that was the night before the wedding and we just did some shopping, then went out for drinks with friends who also came over for the wedding and other friends based in KL. We went to the Sunway Lagoon area for the night scene.

Hubby and I and a few of the rest studied in KL after Form 5. Some of us went to Taylor's college (Hubby and Song Lih did SAM, South Australian Matriculation, and I did 'A' levels). Taylor's College is in Subang while Hubby stayed at Sunway, so all these places brought back lots of memories! (Hubby especially has lots of 'adventures' to tell!!)


The place has changed tremendously in terms of roads and buildings, but some things remain the same. We had dinner at BubbaGump, Hubby and I have been meaning to try the food since we spotted an outlet when we were in Hong Kong. Then we had drinks with pals till 3 am! which is the time they had to close!


After that we walked over to Spectrum apartments where Hubby and friends used to live! It was new when they were there (circa 1995) and now it's a seedy, run-down place! When Hubby was there, Sunway Lagoon was already in existence, but Sunway Pyramid shopping mall was not yet done. Sunway then was a whole lot of empty space and just beginning to come up!


So at 3:30am, we were having Maggi mee goreng mamak at Sri Bidara, which is still there after all these years! I haven't been out till 4am for eons!! Awake at 4am for feeds yes, but out, eating and drinking... nope... not for ages!!

So anyway, the next day, we went over to Song Lih's house for the tea ceremony, then it was back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!


The dinner was held at the hotel's Chinese restaurant which can also be accessed through the shopping mall. It's is a nice restaurant with good food. There was the usual "yam seng'ing" and merry making.

After the dinner, it was back to Sunway for even more drinks! It was fun to meet up with old friends, some whom we haven't seen for years! And also hilarious to see their drunken antics!!

Then it was off to another mamak at 3:30am for even better Maggi mee goreng! (the previous night's was a bit disappointing) FYI Maggi mee goreng mamak in Kuching is nowhere near what you get in KL! Which is why we were throwing our diets down the drain... hahaha..

So that was it, we took the lunch time flight home the next day.

Home Sweet Home!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Tooth fairy income

Something happened the other day which made me realize that Claire and Eva's only monetary income was from the Tooth Fairy! We do not give them pocket money, since they do not need it at all. Maybe just the occasional loose change to put in their coin boxes.

We only started giving Annie pocket money when she began buying her own lunches at school, when she was 8.

So anyway, a couple of days ago Claire and Eva were sitting on the floor counting and comparing the money they had in their wallets and coin boxes. They had money all over the floor and were busy calculating away.

Then, after a while, I spied Claire counting her teeth!!!

Hahaha... I guess she was doing an estimate of future income!!


And later that day, when Annie and Claire were telling me what they wanted for breakfast the next day, Claire just said, "Nevermind lah, just make something hard so my teeth can come out!!!"

Lol!

Ocean Resort, Lundu

Grandpas chillin' out!
Three weeks ago, there was a week of school break which coincided with our national day and Hari Raya. We decided to go for a beach stay over. We went with Sis no.3 and family. Sis no.2 had to cancel last minute cause of the awful virus that we passed to her!! Sorry! :)

Anyway, we've always been going to Damai Beach or Damai Puri Resort, which are hotel resorts. This time we thought we should go somewhere else for a change. There aren't many choices here, and in the end we decided to go to Ocean Resort at Lundu. Dad had just been there for a trip with the residents of his current pet charity project, "Home of Peace", an old folk's home.


Well, Ocean Resort is around an hour's drive away from Kuching. It's a more rough and tumble kind of resort, definitely not hotel standard, but still clean and well-equipped nonetheless. A bungalow with two bedrooms and a sitting room and kitchen costs RM220 a night (RM280 on public holidays). They also have barbecue pits in front of the bungalows and the beach is just a stone's throw away.

When we got there and the kids found out that there were only two small air conditioners in the bedrooms only and no tv, they wanted to go home!! Hahahaha...

But after the first day of sea and sand and barbecues and bonfires, Annie decided that she liked it more than Damai! (Though Eva still insists we go to Damai next time, as she doesn't even like grass!)


On the second night, there was a blackout, and luckily we had a bonfire going right in front of the bungalow. We also had lanterns, as it was mooncake festival the next week. So the power outage was kind of fun, as  the kids got to play with fire!! Eva and Solomon were a bit scared though. It only lasted a while, so we still had air conditioning in time for bedtime, thank goodness!


Another highlight of the trip was the DURIAN!! There were plenty of durians everywhere, at the Lundu market and selling along the roads. We saw vans full to the ceiling with durians!! They were selling much cheaper than in Kuching. Hubby had just bought durians in Kuching for RM18 each, and they were selling at RM6 at Lundu! And they were even nicer! (though of course not as nice as our very own Poh Kwong Park ones!)

So everyone had their fill of durians and satisfied their cravings! :)

Here are the photos then...

Got fish??!


beach footy..

Building shelter from the midday sun!!

Lifeguard on duty

Kung Kung loves the sea

Everyone had a blast

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Eva's first Tooth Fairy payout

2 teeth = RM10 x 2 = Tooth Fairy getting broke...

I forgot to mention that Eva got her first Tooth Fairy payout a couple of months ago.

There was a slight problem though. Her two front, bottom teeth were still very much intact, but I spied two permanent teeth starting to sprout out behind the two milk teeth. I decided to wait and see if the milk teeth would come out in their own time.

However, after a few weeks, the baby teeth were still very sturdy and the permanent teeth were getting bigger, and not having enough space to grow, they were growing more and more crooked! What strong, stubborn milk teeth! :)

Now I, like most of my sisters have been 'blessed' with ginormous teeth, so we have been through the two-year torture of orthodontic braces. I had to have four, yes four, perfectly good teeth wrenched out of my jaw bone! (ai sui mai mia... so they say...)

So, I was very worried that if Eva's baby teeth did not drop out to make way for the permanent ones, she would end up having to use braces in the future! When I called the dentist, he said to just wait. After waiting another week, I just decided to bring her to the dentist to have a look.

The dentist said we could wait some more, but since we were there, he could just pull the milk teeth out, cause they were already a bit shaky, and there might be some pain and discomfort later if the teeth still do not come out. But, pulling out teeth would be plenty pain and discomfort eh??

So anyway, we decided to pull! Eva was very brave. I think mostly because she was not expecting to have her teeth pulled, as I told her we were just going to let the dentist have a look. So when I told her the dentist was going to do  the extraction, she didn't have much time to digest the information. She did cry a bit before and after, but on the whole was very, extremely brave!!

That night she got to put her teeth under her pillow! :)

motorcycle maniac


Ever since Hubby bought his motorcycle, Solomon's been obsessed about motorbikes! He wears his helmet first thing in the morning and rides his tricycle down to the car park when we leave the house for school! He parks his tricycle next to Daddy's (though he claims it's his) scrambler.


There was once he even wore it to the chicken rice restaurant where we had our lunch after school! He'll take it off periodically to scratch his head! :)


Then at night, he'll be wearing his helmet and zip around the house in his tricycle at high speed, at times drifting! He'll tell me, "This is real motorcycle!", even pretending to turn the ignition on and off.


Eva and Solomon have gone on rides on Daddy's bike, and when Daddy is around, Solomon will demand rides daily! Even I haven't had a chance to go for a ride, while Claire and Annie don't seem to be interested.  :)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Brain Scan


Oh ya I came across this photo and remembered that I forgot to mention Annie did a brain CT scan.

Remember the Super virus a couple of weeks ago?? Well, the night before Annie got sick, she knocked her head really hard while getting into the car. By the next night, she was complaining of a bad headache and was also having fever and vomitting! These are the classic symptoms of a brain hemorrhage! Although we were pretty sure it was due to the virus, since we were all sick, one can never be a hundred percent sure.

Cousin Timothy, Benedict, Ethan and also Allyson I think have all done brain scans after serious falls! Timothy was admitted because there was some bleeding, but luckily it was not severe and the bleeding subsided on it's own! If I'm not mistaken, Allyson had a hairline fracture... I think...

So, for peace of mind, Hubby made sure we did a brain scan to rule out brain hemorrhage, even though the MO at the A&E and the paediatrician a few days before that told us there was nothing to worry about. I was worried as well, because Annie seemed to be in great pain. The thing is I cannot gauge the severity of her pain very well, as she has a very low pain threshold. But she was in near constant pain for a few days!

You see, Hubby had a best friend in primary school who passed away a few days after playing rough with some other boys. The exact cause was not determined, but suspected brain hemorrhage. So, it's kinda scary I guess.

So anyway, the scan showed that everything was normal. I thought it would be an expensive MRI scan, but it was a simpler CT scan which cost RM300+. It's a good thing we did it, cause after that Annie's headaches got worse and she was still vomitting! So at least I didn't have to worry until my brain hemorrhaged!

Sis no.2 and kids later got the same virus (eheh.. sorry...) and confirmed that the headaches were constant and terrible, even with regular paracetamol!

Luckily everyone is okay now. Unfortunately Sis no.2 and family had to cancel their trip to the beach though.

Anyhoo... isn't that CT scan machine thingy cool?? Looks like a time machine! hahaha...

Mimi


Mum's dog, Mimi passed away a couple of weeks ago. SIL gave her to us when she was just a wee little ball of white fluff! We can't remember exactly when, but Little Brother is pretty sure it was the year before I got married, so that would make it 1999. That means Mimi is 12 human years which is equal to 84 dog years!

I initially named her Miaw Miaw, but mum said that was a bit 'chek ak' so we renamed her Mimi! :) As a puppy she loved chasing the mop about the house, and sometimes latched on with her teeth and then she would become part of the mop!

She was supposed to be a house dog, but somehow ended up outside. She was never clean for long, cause she liked rolling in the mud and hanging out under the car! During the rare moments when she was clean, white and fluffy, she looked more like a sheep!!


Anyway, a few weeks ago, she started getting weak and disorientated. First to go was her vision. Even though we brought her to the vet and she was on medication, things went downhill from there.

Well, at least she got to live to a ripe old age, and she's keeping mum company now.

Bye Mimi, send our love to mum! :)

Monday, September 5, 2011

Holiday over

Well, we just had a one week school holiday which coincided with the Hari Raya and National Day festivities. We took a trip to the beach and it was lots of fun. Will write about it when I can find the time to organize the photos.

Now it's back to the rat race, and things are pretty crazy hectic right now. Firstly, Sidekick left, after about a month (wasn't very sure about her and in the end she herself didn't want to continue)... and one of my pharmacy staff is leaving on short notice...

Then, I had a revelation. Why should I rush about like a headless chicken, day in and day out. Getting frustrated at slow-poke cashiers at the supermarket and always nagging at the kids to move faster!! I'm forever looking at my watch and counting the minutes, not to mention the frequent car accidents I get myself into!!

I was also inspired by Sis no.4, who just left a long, good-paying career, and of course Sis no.2 who has been full-time mummy for a while. I too want to join the Housewives Club!! I want to have more time for the kids and myself. More importantly, I want to have quality time, and be a happier mummy, not a stressed-out, forever-shouting one!

So this means.... yes, close shop. It's kinda sad, cos the shop has been like a second home to me for 8 years! Also it would seem like a waste of my education, so maybe I might still use my licence for wholesale jobs. Then maybe make cakes on the side... who knows...  I will miss the shop though, but not the stress and the occasional lousy worker and idiot customer!! Hahaha...

I only mentioned the idea of this to Hubby, and he fully agreed and as is his style, he wants to close as soon as possible!! I was thinking like maybe a year or two to slowly let go?? Hahahaha..

Well, we'll see what happens next. First I have to pick up a new Sidekick later, then do a stock check tomorrow... then advertise some more to find a replacement  for my staff... Busy, busy...

What's going to happen?? I'm not too sure yet... but it's kinda scary and exciting :) We have to embrace change, otherwise get stuck in a rut and live a boring life eh??!

So, here's to change!
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