London - Dec 18, 2009

Today Jasmine leaves London for Hamburg, Germany.

Papa accompanied her to Heathrow T5.

Her flight was delayed by 1 hour due to the heavy snow the night before. Flight was only 1hr 45mins. The foster family was waiting for her at arrival airport.

London - Day 2 /Dec 17

Woke up at 6 sumting am. To our delight, it was snowing

!!! 3 of us MY Jakuns were standing at the window, looking at snow drifting down. Well, cannot blame us cause it really was the first snow for us.

Travelling by trains / underground / buses is very very convenient in London, but a bit expensive (for us at least) Day Ticket for Zone 1 & 2 is Pound 5.70/pax. Children under 16 - Pound 1.00/pax.

After breakfast, we set out to explore London city.

First stop at Enbankment to see

Eye of London (or London's Eye) whatever lah

Parliment

Big Ben

Tower of London

Clock

London Bridge

(which luckily did not fall down while we were there)

St Margaret Church

PS: remember the luggage dragging we had to do on arrival date. We laughed ourselves silly when we discovered that there are 2 big lifts from the train track upto the exit level...Bodoh betul! Goblok, Mong Kang Stupid Doof!

London

Flight MH004 departed @ 12nooon for London, after a 2 hour delay due to some technical problems.

The 12 hours flight was uneventful, with movies, tv programs etc to keep the passengers occupied.

Arrived Heathrow Airport T4 @ 4pm (12 midnite).

Going thru Customs was a breeze and we got onto the train for Earls Court Station, where our B&B is located.

Walked 20 minutes from station to B&B in the slight drizzle and very very cold temperature. Have to drag our heavy luggage thru many flights of steps.

Checked in, freshened up and slept at almost 8pm (tat's 4am MY Time)

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

If I am lucky, I will have my first experience of seeing snow tomorrow. Well, if not tomorrow, hopefully it will be on Friday then.

But definitely my first white Christmas!!!

Almost Done!

Today is a holiday in Selangor, thanks to our Sultan, whom is celebrating his 64th birthday.

Went downtown to get some stuffs for our forthcoming trip. Tumpanged hubby's car to save $ and the inconveniences of public transport. Meant that we have to leave home at 7am, arrived Imbi Market at 7.45am, had our breakfast - mine was kopi o with butter/kaya toasts. We still have an hour to kill before the shops open at 10.0am.

Loitered around Lot 10 for half an hour and decided to walk to Pavilion to see the Christmas deco there. Went to the Loaf to get a cold drink but main purpose was to sit comfortably. The iced cappucino is no good & very diluted.guess an ex-PM is no good in coffee drinking...stick to Starbucks anytime.

Managed to get some thermal wear, shoes (or rather boots) and other stuffs.

Now, to stuff all these into those suitcases!

Christmas Time is Here

Christmas Christmas time is here
time for toys and time for joys..

I've changed the blogskin to reflect this festive moods
I've also changed the songs to get into the season feel

Christmas is a season of celebration for all ages.

2009 is almost over

Today is already Dec 7 2009...three more weeks and we bid good bye to 2009 and welcome in 2010.

For the past almost one year, life has been quite uneventful and i have to really count my blessings.

My youngest daughter set for her UPSR and I am glad that despite her weakness in BM, she managed to pass the subject and gets to study at the school near home ( and I do not have to be the unpaid chauffeur for the next 5 years).

My eldest daughter is sitting for her SPM these few weeks and she is really being extra hard-working and been mugging books. I pray that she will get good results and be accepted to do her chosen course at a college of her choice.

Despite the economy slow down, I am glad to say that our family were not affected by it.

I have made new friends, keep in touch with existing buddies and renewing relationship with old acquaintances.

GOD is smiling over my family and has definitely send his guardian angels to us!

SRJK (C) Chong Hwa, Setapak

Yesterday I went for a LD Party at Chung Hwa primary school in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

Hubby was our willing guide/navigator to this venue as he was eager to visit his alma mater primary school.

This is the first time he set foot on his school after graduating in 197? According to him, the place has changed completely. The old school block is gone and now replaced with a 4 storey building and multipurpose hall.

Multipurpose Hall

Headmaster Office

Brightly painted corridor

Multipurpose Hall

Multipurpose Hall

The only remaining structure from his time is the Basketball court

.

Graduation Day @ Food

The Class of Std 6 had a party after their graduation ceremony. Parents were encouraged to contribute foods and my daugther requested for cake.

I scratched my head and wondered what type of cake should I bake..I have done cupcakes before, so perhaps a normal butter cake since they are the easiest. But alas no, my daughter had it all planned out for me, she requested chocolate moist cake, which I tried once several months ago.

Had to dig out my recipe.

The cake batter was easy, the tedious part was the chocolate fudge, it took me one hour of stirring&stirring on a double-boiler to get it to the right thick consistency..
The effort was worth it cause the cake was lovely and the fudge make the cake better. It was gone in a jiffy. The Asst HM did not get to taste it and she look so dissapointed that I promised and baked her and the teachers another cake the next day!
Hahaha..my eldest daughter said I 'bodek kaki', which I 100% disagreed! Let just said it's nice to cook and bake for people who appreciates them..

Have a nice weekend and Happy Holidays !

Another Graduation Day

Yesterday my second daughter had her graduation day @ SJK Kuang.

The ceremony started at 9.30am, but I (as usual) was there only at almost 12noon, just in time to catch my daughter&classmates singing

performance. Before that, 3 young ladies recited a poem, which I do not understand since it was in Mandarin, but from the expressions of the teachers & pupils, it was a rather touching one. Some Std 6 pupils were sobbing openly. When they sang SEASON IN THE SUN, there were more red-eyes. A further 3 Chinese songs, made the situation even more emotional. Even I was teary eyed at one stage.

This is a good sign as I believe that children should be grateful and thankful for all the hardworks the teachers have done and contributed throught out these 6 years. This attitude will contribute towards their spiritual growth to be a caring society.

Another chapter in my daughter's life. A fresh one begins in the new school term of 2010.

2009 - the year both my daughters graduated!

Graduation Day

Today my daughter has her graduation day at school. Nowadays I noticed that many schools has this ceremony for their Fitfh Formers before the SPM exam.

For this occassion, the students could choose to be dressed up formally, meaning like one is going to the office.

My daughter managed to get her attire organised..after almost a day shopping!

Presenting the lady herself in her OL (Office Lady) look..





sigh..she is definitely growing up and sometimes I am proud to know that she will contribute to society soon.

It's November

Never realised that time flies so fast..today is already Nov 6 and we are only 59 days into the new year..wow..

2010

sound scary but exciting. In the movie 2012 is the year SEI KAI MUIT YAT - end of the world..so that gives us basically 2 more years to enjoy (or abuse) Mother Earth..

Emails has been circulating around that all the predictions as per the movie will come true..

I am more of the optimistic type. Year 2012 will come and go, hopefully peacefully and uneventfully .. normal daily activities go on, the earth will still continue to spin on its' axis and the sun will still rises in the EAST.

Enjoy the weekend..

Kornet Pizza

In Italy, they have introduced a pizza, which instead of having a round dough base, it has a cone shaped pizza base.

Ingredients are still the same, meaning they stuff the cheese, meat and what nots into the cone and you can eat it like an ice-cream.

I saw in some advertisement bulletins (those that you get a ton per week thrown into your mail boxes, whether you like it or not) that this type of pizza has hit our shore..

Have yet to try them..

anyway, for us Malaysia..the word Kornet means also something else..hahaha..if you don't know, go ask your Malays buddies..(and a word of advice, ask from the Melayu kawan of same gender ok....

it's definitely the case of one man's food, another man's XXXXXXXX

My Breakfast

This is the most yummy tummy filling sandwich I had for breakfast today..

And it's special cos my daughter made them for me (and of course her papa too)

While biting into it reminded me of the time when I had to wake up 'a bit' early to make breakfasts for her,when she was in kindie, primary and secondary

Time passes so fast and now she can make her own breakfast (& lunch and dinner too)!

Wish that they do not grow up so fast sometimes, as I longed for the time when they were toddlers and I detest the day they will leave home for greener pastures!

Mothers - it's a tiring job but a fulfilling one ! Wor

Ministry of Sound One Year Anniversary Party

I was there on Oct 16 for their 1st anniversay bash.....thanks to my cousin whom got me the VIP passes...love you for this Jess...

Free flow of cocktails and finger food from 9pm-11pm..

Both of us entered at almost 10pm, the place was getting crowded..

The media was there to cover the event.


By eleven something, the crowd has grew and both levels were occupied. Everyone was standing around, drinks in hand and chit-chatting.

This is my first clubbing after humpteen years..was hoping to shake a bit on the dance floor lah..but unfortunately I found out that people nowadays do not go to clubs for dancing, even with good music. They are only there to see and been seen.

When I left close @ midnight, only 4 people were on the dance floor..

BORING !!!!

Home Made Sushi

Last Saturday, my daughter made sushi, from the pearl rice I bought from Kim.

First, she rolled out the oblong shaped rice balls

wrapped them with seaweed, top them up with what ever she fancies and

Cupcakes for my Girl

My girl has a gathering/picnic at her friend's place tomorrow. They (like over 20 hormone raging 13 years old) are going to have water balloons throwing and plan to get really really wet.

I think it's okay for kids to have some fun in the open space, run around, maybe even take a fall or twos and enjoy each other companies , rather than to be a couch potato or playing computer games. especially those on facebook, which is so 'lame' like selling and buying friends.."'

This evening I baked them some cupcakes, which Sabrina requested. And since I am free, I thought why don't I add some extra features on the cupcakes..

There is a webpage I like to read, where they have lots of lovely cakes recipes and decorations, using royal icing, fondant and butter cream etc..

Roped in my eldest daughter and her friend to help in the finishings........and our result :

Ok lah...a bit cacat but since it's mine 1st try at royal icing ..result not so bad loh rite?

And in case you cannot make out what that is...it is Hello Kitty..Malaysia version with pink and purple noses instead of yellow ones!!!

Friday Morning Jam

This morning, I left home @ 8.40am, thinking that I could reach office by 9am..hopefully before my boss does.

Well, like the saying…people plan, heaven decides.

When I turned into the main road leading out from our neighbourhood, I saw two long lines of cars at the golf club junction.

Seeing cars making U-turns at the golf club junction, I followed suit and thought that smart me will use the industrial park road instead. Once I turned into the junction of the industrial road, aiyah..another long line of cars, which was hardly moving. Argggggh..what is wrong with the traffic this morning.

I made another U-turn and took the kampong road to Hospital Sg Buloh Toll Gate. Entered and exited in less than 5 minutes, continued my journey on the main road, which was surprisingly smooth, and was in office in less than 10 minutes. In total, it took me 35minutes to reach office and I have to pay RM0.70 for toll.

And , my boss’s car was already in the parking bay when I arrived..

KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

KEYS TO A

SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

The following article is the result of an

accumulation of 78 years of marital experiences.

If these thoughts can help some young person

to build a foundation for a strong marriage,

or help to heal a broken marriage,

our prayerswill have been answered.

Key 1

One of the foundations of a lasting marriage is to

BE COMMITTED

to each other and to making the marriage work.

A generation or two ago, marriages were stable

and divorce was not as widespread as it is today.

We believe this was due to the commitment of people

entering into the marriage relationship.

Divorce should not be an option.

There are situations, of course,

where there is abuse and infidelity which cannot,

and should not be tolerated.

Not in every case, but in most cases, if discernmentis used in

Key 2, this type of abuse will not be found.

Key 2

One of the most important keys to

a successful marriage is to

CHOOSE THE RIGHT MATE.

2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Young people get caught up in the romance and the

physical attraction, and they don't consider whether

the object of their attraction will help or hinder

them in their spiritual development.

Of course, the foundation for choice

should have been laid years before.

Just because a person falls in "love",

doesn't necessarily mean that person you "love"

would make a good spouse.

Hormones need to be governed by reason.

God made us creatures of choice.

In fact, our lives are a product of the choices we make.

Galatians 6:7-8

Key 3

An admonition for young people.

REMAIN SEXUALLY PURE UNTIL MARRIAGE.

Your marriage will have a greater chance of success

if you do. Young people today who are taking a stand

against pre-marital sex are to be applauded.

Ephesians 5:3-5

Key 4

Early in the marriage a couple needs to

ACCEPT GOD'S PLAN FOR THE FAMILY

Let Christ be the head of the family,

and let the husband be the spiritual leader in the family.

A loving husband will not be overbearing.

Ephesians 5:22-23

Key 5

DON'T WITHHOLD LOVE AND AFFECTION

or use it as a weapon to get your own way.

God has given specific instructions about the

physical relationship between husband and wife.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5

Key 6

LISTEN TO ONE ANOTHER.

Keep the lines of communication open.

Few things can be more detrimental to a marriage

than the refusal of one of the partners to discuss problems.

Work it out together if you can, but don't hesitate to get

outside help in the form of Christian counseling

if it is required.

Key 7

DON'T NEGLECT YOUR SPOUSE

while you are raising your children.

Long after the children have left home,

you will need each other.

A loving relationship must be built

while the children are growing up.

Key 8

Money can cause problems so

COME TO AN AGREEMENT ABOUT

THE HANDLING OF FINANCES

Sometimes this is a joint effort,

but sometimes one partner is

better equipped to handle the family finances.

The other partner needs to defer to the one with this gift.

Key 9

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH

so that you can enjoy

your relationship with one another

for many years.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Key 10

GIVE EACH OTHER ROOM

FOR INDIVIDUAL GROWTH

and for personal likes and dislikes.

One may be a sports fan, the other may not.

Not all things have to be shared.

Key 11

BE WILLING TO SAY, "I'M SORRY"

when you are wrong.

Truly mean it, and try to make improvements.

Key 12

BE WILLING TO FORGIVE

when you have been wronged by your spouse.

Matthew 6:14-15

Key 13

Make every effort to

ARRANGE FOR THE WIFE AND

MOTHER TO BE IN THE HOME

during the years when the children are growing up.

A working mother with young children is actually

holding down two full time jobs.

She has little time nor energy left for

her husband at the end of the day.

Titus 2:4-5

Key 14

As parents

SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN THE

DISCIPLINING OF THE CHILDREN

Failure to do so will cause the marriage

and the children to suffer.

Key 15

Hold your spouse in high esteem.

MAKE POSITIVE REMARKS

ABOUT YOUR MATE

TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

taken from

http://gardenofpraise.com/keys.htm

Go on 2nd Honeymoon at State's expenses

This article had me choking on my Nescafe and laughing out loud..

The Star Newspaper, N3
Terengganu government is offering to foot the bill for couples in trouble marriages to go for a second honeymoon in order to save the marriages.
Read the whole article : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/13/nation/4888413

If they think sending quarrelsome & about to divorce couples for a 3D/2N trip can patched up their marital problems, they are sure simpletons. Please do not waste the tax payers money, which should be better spent on more MEANIFUL charitable cases.

Successful marriages takes a lot of hard work, couples have to learn to understand and accept each other behaviours (especially the bad grouchy ones after a hard day at work). Whatever one partner does, it must be on voluntarily basis for the spouse and must not resent it.

We are all FLAWED and if we have an attitude ‘what wrong’s with our spouse’, we need to think about ourselves and perhaps, there might is something ‘WRONG WITH US’. It’s not difficult to say sorry (even in cases when we really don’t need to)

Last but not least - make love A LOT!!!!! It is a great stress reliever , keeps you close and a good calories burner too…

The "recipe" for a successful marriage?
Ingredients:

3 cups Tenderness

4 cups Commitment

3 cups Respect

2 cups Trust

1 cup Consideration

1 cup Courtesy

2 cups Support

2 cups Praise

3 cups Cooperation

1 small pinch of in-laws

1 realistic financial budget

3 T of "I am sorry"

1 cup Contentment

2 cups of open and honest communication

1 cup: Confidence

Encouragement

Compromise

Supportive friends

Blindness to each other's faults

Individual interests and hobbies


Flavor with occasional tokens of your love and a dash of happy memories.


Mix in mutual activities and hobbies
(like line-dancing my dear hubby)

Stir well and remove any specks of temper, jealousy or criticism.

Sweeten well with a generous portion of love and keep warm with steady flame of devotion.

Garnish with I love you


*Never serve with a hot tongue or cold shoulder.

PS : Please feel free to improve this recipe with more ingredients!




A man's greatest treasure is his wife (Proverbs 18:22)




I love you dear dar!!

Food Walk

Introducing my daughter to beautiful & bountiful Kuala Lumpur

We explored Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Went into the arkeds to look for kebayas, which she would like to wear when she is a temporary Hamburger (!) this year end.

Walked to the alley where the weekly Saturday night market is.

Food and food and more food

FRIED POTATOES

nice and very original potatoes taste..RM2.50/stick

Chips and nuts

muruku, muruku where are thou?

sweet & sinful Indian tit-bits
can never resist the pink coconut candy

continuing on, Jalan Alor for pork innards noodles

love the sinful & unhealthy taste of garlic & pork lard

Daily Scripture

Love this daily scripture..now I can be proud of my graying glory as it is the experience and splendor of old age!

Enjoy the nice weekend!

Indonesia Threaten to Invade Malaysia!

As reported by the MSM, a group of Indonesians (BENDERA) is threatening to invade Malaysia over some issues which they are not happy with!

But I thought that the Indonesians have already invaded & infiltrated Malaysia many many many eons ago.

every nook, corner, kampung, city, town, they can be seen!

On the KTM, on the Rapid KL, on Monorail, on Star LRT, on the road,

At the pasar malam, pasar pagi, at the bazaar, at shopping centres, games archades, you see them!

and they are also in some of our homes and some hold VIP positions ..

So what this bouhahaha over Indonesia invading Malaysia..they have already landed lah!

tat's my 2 cents worth on this matter!

Happy MoonCake Festival

This year Mooncake Festival is on October 3rd, 2009, which is lunar calendar the eight month 15th day. The Chinese Mooncake Festival is actually called the Mid-Autumn Festival in China.

But since we Malaysia have no autumn, winter etc. this occasion is known as Mooncake Festival.

On this night, the Chinese will eat mooncake, as the round shape of the mooncake, with its smooth texture signifies family unity, blessings of prosperity and abundance of love.

Children will be seen walking around the neighborhood in

their colored lanterns, normally in red and in various forms

of designs. A bright lantern signify that life will always be bright, full of lights and good hopes for the future.

TANG CHIEW JEI KUAI LEH

Damansara Village Steamboat Restaurant

Today we celebrated MIL’s birthday…her birthday is not actually today, but on 1st October. Since that day would be a working day, and according to Chinese (with so many nenek’s pantang), it’s better to celebrate a birthday earlier.

This birthday cake was bought from King’s Kepong Baru outlet…they were having 40% discount, so hubby cepat cepat go beli.. Boston Cheese Cake.
Dinner was at Damansara Village Pulau Ketam Steamboat Restaurant. In most steamboat dinners, the seafood are frozen stuff.

At this restaurant, the seafood are ultra-fresh..they have live crabs, prawns, mantis prawns, giant clams fish and lobsters, all kept swimming and jumping in tanks until they are ready to be served.

We decided to have their signature Drunken Herbal Pot as the steamboat soup. For this soup base, they will add-in wine, kei ji, dong kwai, cilantro, ginger and black fungus. For this, it's an addition of RM20/=.

They offer different menus and we ordered the one for 8-10 paxes, which was at (i tink) $$179/set..( I dunno how much since i was not the one to pay the bill)

Side dish of

Hoong Jau La-la (Cantonese for red wine la-la)
Red Wine Steamed La-la.......

a subtle blend of Chinese red wine, herbs and ginger marinate a mix of giant Sar Pak (giant clams) and local la-la.

To keep the kids occupied while the soup is boiling, they have a little 'fishing pool' with guppy fishes to keep the little ones entertained.

There are also some cages with bunnies, iguanas & chickens to amuse the junior customers.

And btw, this restaurant is operated by Patrick Teoh's daughter & son-in-law, you know the Patrick Teoh - the man we listened on redifussion while growing up!

Kuala Kubu Bahru Trip

21st September 2009 -

It's was the Hari Raya long weekend holidays.

My kawans from line dance group, took this opportunity to visit Kuala Kubu Bahru. The purpose of this trip was to makan-makan and main-main.

Left our residential area before 10am and had a smooth drive along the old Rawang/KKB trunk road. After a short drive of less than an hour, we reached Kuala Kubu Dam. This dam was built to replace the one damaged in 1883.

below is an excerpt from wikipedia :-

Previously, there was a town called Kuala Kubu nearby. In February 1883 the Kuala Kubu town was destroyed by a great flood caused by a broken dam near the town. Many of civillians were drowned and lost their home. Among others included a district officer of Kuala Kubu during British era, Cecil Ranking. However, the old town was severely flooded and most of the old town's facilities were damaged beyond repair. A Buddhist temple and a mosque survived the flood. The old town has since been known as Ampang Pecah, or Broken Dam in the Malay language. The tragedy was probably known as Tragedi Kuala Kubu by local civilians.After the tragedy, the British government decided to build a new town near the old town. The new town was named Kuala Kubu Bahru, with Bahru meaning "new" in the Malay language. Residential houses have been developed since the 1980's in the previously abandoned old town, or Ampang Pecah. Most inhibitants are from the nearby new town of Kuala Kubu Bahru. The redevelopment of Ampang Pecah, the site of the old town, was a natural progression on the organic growth of the new township of Kuala Kubu Bahru. A monument was built here to commemorate the Kuala Kubu tragedy.There is now a new dam, Sungai Selangor Dam, north of KKB which has created a huge new reservoir and taken away about 9km of the old KKB to Fraser's Hill road.

Now I know why the little village is called Ampang Pecah ;-)

The feel of kampung on Hari Raya

y jalan jalan 2 weeks ago brought me to Mid Valley. They were just setting up the Hari Raya decoration.

The celebration is themed “The Rah Rah is back in Hari Raya” and has kampung scenes of the 50s around the large mall.

The houses and stalls, drawn in caricature-style, like a page from Lat’s comics, with kampung houses, roosters and hens, coconut trees and wooden fences.

Over at 1Utama - new wing, the deco depicted the scene of the coastal kampung, complete with sampans, fishing nets etc.

life size sampan, doubling up as kiosks

(like this best, it's like treasure chest from the ocean)