Birthday Note

This was what I received! :D

Emails are like almost passe now and boy am I glad to receive one from my gf! <3 

XOXOXOXOXO! 

Thanks for this little surprise! Can't wait for our Saturday outing!

Mothers are Slaves to Children

In a way lah, isn't it so? 

Here is a good example. 

LOL.

Learning to Talk

I think my little one is starting to talk with coherency.

The other day she was saying something like "ah ta ta" at the dining table when my husband and I were having dinner. We were both very puzzled. What is "ah ta ta"?

Then she realized that she wasn't getting the response from us and she paused for a moment.

The next word that came out of her mouth was "菜" (vegetable).

LOL! She wants us to give her vegetables from our plates!

And then on another day, she said "1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9!" and happily missed out the '6' and '10'.

She even said "yio...li... sa!" (1,2,3 in hokkien)

Oh oh, and one more... this is the ultimate of all the words she said.

"Papa.... may I use your coin to put in my piggy bank?" 

Win.

Enough of Thin Models

You know, I have enough of looking at thin girls modeling their blogshops' clothes.

Let's get this straight, not everyone is thin. Why can't we have more medium sized ladies doing the shoot and have clothes that cater to them? Not just medium, but large, and extra large. What? It's a fact that not everyone on this world is categorized as S.

Sometimes I see a piece of clothing that looks nice... sibei chio...but when I take a closer look... oh , now I know why it's so pretty... cos that girl is thin. All thin girls carry well most of the clothes. Simply because they can fit in them. The models are mostly thin and tall. But you know it, most Asians are petite, short and some are not S-sized.

I was a XS before. Yes, trust me. Then I upgraded to S... then M when I was pregnant and then L currently (for bottom wear). I've been through the XS-L stages and I had worn those fitting apparel before.

My point now is.. why ain't there more blogshops featuring M-L sized ladies? Like this confirm they (shop owners) will earn more right? I for one, will definitely shop at their sites. Just because I had enough of seeing thin girls as models.

Use real people to model real clothes. That will be awesome. Thank you.

Climbing The Ladder

This is how mischievous my toddler is. Sometimes I wonder if I gave birth to a son instead.

She feels victorious. Look ma, I climbed this while you were in the storeroom!

Haze And Kitty Craze

Haze struck Singapore quite badly this year. PSI went as high as 371 and may go even higher. This is just the start... it started on 13 Jun and it's only 20th today. Reports estimate the haze will worsen and will drag over September. Jin jialat.

And here's a funny thing that I found on FB.

CUTE RIGHT?

And there are people who said... the haze stops everything but one...

The Q at Mcdonald's for the weekly kitties.
LOL.

Today was the first time in my life I had to queue so long at Mcd's. T_T" Horror man. And kept having the fear that it would get sold out right before I reach the counter.

Thank God .. I managed to get the Kitty! :D

Here's a print screen of my girl adoring her latest kitty. :D Well, the wait was worth it when I see her face lighted up.

What to do... the haze is so bad, I can't bring her out! So I could only get her toys and water colors. Talk about water colors... I suspect my daughter doesn't have my genes in this department. She used the clear water to draw on the sketchbook instead. LOL. I have showed her how to use the water colors but ... yeah... as clueless like her daddy. LOL!

Okay, hope you guys have a good weekend ahead! :D It's hazy out there, so do drink plenty much and wear a mask!

Hair Bands

Ta da! Flowers in bright colors!

Pretty right?! Pink, dark pink, gold and white!

Just pluck any flower out and you just paste it on a plastic hair band to accessorize your hair!

And I added chain to it to make it look unique! Hand made mah... gotta make it as unique as I can!

Here's a few more that I did!

不错吧？(Not bad right?)

Unfortunately my girl doesn't like wearing hair bands now... so I have no idea why I'm making so many. Haha. I don't mind selling them away if anyone likes it. :)

Alright, that's all for today's post! Photos are pretty much explainable.. it's just linking or pasting. :D

Kimmy Seaweed

If you like seaweed sheets, then you may like this.

My mom got these convenient seaweed packs for me and the flavor is good! Ain't salty and it's just right! Even my toddler loves it upon her first try!


Now, I have to search the supermarkets to see if they carry it... My mom got them from the food expo some time back and that's why we have no idea which supermarket actually carries it.

Will update once I find it! :D

Birthday Gift

And here's my second birthday present of the year!

I really can't bear to use it!

Thank you so much Shirley!

Uniqlo

They have ongoing sale to celebrate their new branches' opening... Their new branches are located at City Square, Jem, and Suntec City.

And here's what I got!

All these for about $118! Not bad right?

And when you purchase more than $100, you will receive a free tote bag in their new color! Blue! They used to roll out red ones. It's a good buy but this means that I can not shop anymore for this month till daddy gets his pay. :P Oh well, I do need these new clothes. So, it's worth it.

Loreal Extraordinary Oil - I really bought it!

There was a promotion going on at Watsons! Instead of $23.90, I got them at $14.90 each! Such an irresistible offer, of course must grab!

L'oreal should really get me to advertise for them sia. LOL.

Even done a short review, got their online sample and now buy their products!

Alrighty, gonna open one up and use when I'm done with my hair mist!

Fathers' Day 2013

It's that special day of the year. And it has been 2 years going to 3 since my dad passed on.

Cancer of the gall bladder took his life away on 22 Jul 2010.

The illness even took away his sanity in the last few months. It was pure torture seeing him degenerating. I chose to run away in fear. I dare not witness the process.

I dread heading to the hospital for the daily visits. To be honest, I hate it. Why? Why of all people it has to be my father?

I still have not let go. I see the direction I'm typing towards and I know... I must not have let go. I keep questioning....

If he were still alive, he would be in the joy of having 3 grandchildren, of which 2 are twins! I'm boasting as there's no cases of twins within my paternal relatives. He would be delirious. Lol.

Sadly, he didn't live till this day. All we could do is... imagine.

I was not close with my father. But I respect him a lot. They say a dad is a son's first hero, and a daughter's first lover. But I would say he's my role model. And he has been strict to all of us. And he taught his children to be polite and sympathetic. And to lead a honest and stable life.

I have to hand it to him for bringing us up with his multi-jobs' meager salary. My brothers took up part time jobs to help with the household expenses. My father taught his sons to be responsible and pro-active. To know how to take care of siblings and help each other out. I knew I was the gem in the family.. for I need not hold any part time jobs just to help out. To be honest, I knew I was overly pampered. And I loved the attention I got. But I didn't act like a spoilt princess. I knew my parents try to give me the best in their capacity. And I am thankful for that.

When I was 3+, my brothers stayed at home to do their homework whereas I got to wait for my father at 8pm downstairs every day. And then I would hop into my father's delivery van and off we would ride to East Coast's drive-thru Mcdonald's and order fries. Sometimes my father made me order, which I was so afraid to do so. LOL. What was that black thing that has voices coming out? It was the speaker. LOL. And when my parents have extra to spare, they would also order burgers for my brothers as supper too.

Sorry bros, I end up eating most of the Mcdonald's share.

Then when I attended Primary school, my father would fetch me whenever possible. Do you know it is so hard for him to do that? He will always be in the vicinity with his delivery truck whenever I was released from school. I did not know how he managed that.

And there was also the daily trips to CDC during my PSLE. I had chicken pox during the final exams. It was a long ride from our residence to CDC... and he would have to get up early just to drive me over in his motorbike. How did he do that?

And I grew up... I became slightly rebellious but still within limits. Then I later felt that he was biased towards my older brothers. I know that's silly. But I was a teenager and in my early twenties. All I had was emotional rage. Why did I do that?




Then I finally start earning my income... Give me some years to save up and we could go on holiday with my pay. But that trip never happened.

He was gone too soon.





Earlier on I was in the restaurant having dinner alone. Looking around me were all families with dads. My kid's father is outstation and won't be home till late Monday. I just felt a tinge of loneliness and jealousy. Just a bit.

Do cherish your first hero and lover while you can. For they could just be gone like the wind... too fast, too furious. ;)


Happy Fathers' Day, Pa.

Girl in Kitty Frames

So here's my kiddo in hello kitty frames.

And one more..

Haha. That's how moments are carved.

L'oreal Extraordinary Hair Oil

I recently blogged about the online sample which you can apply for and I received mine a few days back!

This little sachet allows 4-6 applications! So far I've used twice and once on my toddler. I must say... the results are pretty satisfying.

First thing that I noticed is that there's hardly any residue on your palms after application. A super plus point. Other hair oil products leave a sticky icky feel and you have to wash your hands immediately. But this product... is the bomb. Most of it is left on your hair ends... you hardly feel the oil on your hands.

One thing I didn't like is the smell... I just felt it smelt too oily. Not much of a pleasant fragrance I would say but I'm fine with it.The smell doesn't linger.

My hair feels extraordinarily smooth. Serious man.

Here's a picture to show you.

Not bad leh. Less frizzy!

The product retails at $23.90 .. or was it $26.90 ... I can't remember but at watsons for a limited time you can get it at $14.90! I'm considering to buy a few to keep. Hoho. Just thinking only lah. I think it works better than my bottle of hair mist that has similar properties. At least the bottle smells nicer! LOL.

My Birthday

You know, as one ages... the list of want-to-buy for birthday gets shorter.. at least it happens to me. Less of items... want more of quality time.

Most of us would want that dress, that pair of shoes, that watch, that diamond ring... that yacht trip. But for me, I just want a few days of good company. Add a lovely meal to it.

Knowing that my hubby would be at a lost again this year, I told him we could catch premiere movie ... it costs quite a bit, $25 per seat. But it's worth it.

"Now You See Me"

It's a good show, with an unexpected ending to it though I would say the ending was quite abrupt. There's mystery and people with good minds. You really need to stay focused to catch every bit of it. There's not a moment where you can go for a toilet break. LOL.

And that sums up my birthday for this year. Haha. Super short ain't it?

It's A Bad Day ...

It was a very bad start for me today.

The construction beside my block started its heavy duty drilling again since morning and only stopped at 630pm. It made my head really uncomfortable. And what's more... it's the first day of my period as well. Double bonus.

And here comes the triple bonus.

My girl kept whining non stop. She cried whenever she's near me. I tried playing with her, humor her... but all ended up in fake tears. And luckily my housekeeper helped me a lot today.



The only time she didn't cry as hard was when I told her to go to the playground with me. T_T"


And what comes as the forth bonus is ... daddy told me he can't be home tonight.

I was like WHATTTTTT?! This is the last straw!

And what's more it's the Dumpling Festival... or rather the 端午节。 Families should get together and eat dumplings!

My face literally, almost, went black.


I went for my part time job earlier this evening .. and I met three lovely angels. They gave me a bottle of H2O isotonic drink and looking at them together makes me happy... it's an image of a lovely family. Their daughter is just so cute ! Her voice is so pure and melodious. :D

I feel blessed... even though I had a shit day.

For being able to breathe, to see, to hear.
To walk, run and sweat.
To witness how caring a family can be towards a stranger (me).
To hear the voice of a lovely angel.

The little things count. I know I can be full of complaints but I do count my blessings. Being able to breathe is the topmost blessing I ever receive.

And after meeting the angels, I went home. I was still feeling moody and continued with my shower with my girl following me. And then came the good news.... Daddy is coming home. *throws confetti*

But he will be home like near 11pm. Well, better than nothing. :D

It's a bad day... but it ended off well.

Thank you God.

Air Con Filters Are A Good Investment

Look at this... and you'll definitely want to start getting some filters for your units.

This is what happens to mine for 2 months (regular usage).

I was horribly shocked when I saw how black the sheets were. Then I realized that it was a good investment.... cos I checked the inner roller and it's still clean! If there were no filters, the rollers would now be choked with dust. I tell you, it was very tiring to use cotton buds to remove the dirt... and now with the additional filters, there's no need to clean the roller so frequently! Super happy!

The one pictured is by 3M.. but it's very costly, like $28? And so I went to Daiso to buy some cheaper alternatives! I can tell you the results in two months' time... and we shall see if it works! IF it does, then Daiso ones are certainly a good alternative for those branded ones in the supermarkets. Daiso leh... everything $2 only! Monthly throw and change also way cheaper!

And the funny thing is... I didn't realize they came in 2 sheets per pack... i just happily cut them to the size i need and realized that I have used an extra piece. T_T" Never mind, I pasted 1 sheet on my housekeeper's room's unit and for my girl and my rooms... I used 2! (Daiso packet instructions say we shouldn't use more than 2 or more... but heck) So we can see the difference by then!


Seriously ah... if you have air cons... it's a wise choice to get some filters.. protect yourself (environment) and the unit too. As I said, the rollers can be choked with dirt and dust. So... go shopping for filters now!

Lipice Sample

Link here.

Fever

My girl is struck with fever. It's not that serious but I'm worried it may get worse.

My housekeeper told me that the little one feels warm since morning when she woke. And after her lunch we tried to make her drink Dhamol. She puked all her lunch and it gets worse the second time. She was very annoyed and frustrated. We stopped that and made her go for her nap after milk. We made her sleep from 1-4pm.

She was OK after the nap... slightly warm and I brought her out to get us some bread for breakfast tomorrow. And that was the only time she managed to sweat. I was thinking.... is it really good to let her sweat it out? I think it's good in a way.

I'm skeptical when people put on the Internet suggesting parents to make their child sweat the fever out... They are already so pek cek (annoyed) and you still want them to sweat it? And then make them unable to sleep well the whole night cos of that? The worst kind is making their child sweat underneath the blanket... and without a fan.

I believe in sweating it out when they are engaged in activities... not when they are trying to sleep. Let the sick child sleep well.... in a well ventilated room. If it's stuffy like mine (due to location), just switch on the air con if possible and adjust the temperature accordingly. My child is ok with fan at nights... but she sleeps better with the air conditioning.

And now I'm praying hard that her fever is under control... and that she can sleep soundly till tomorrow morning. I dread hospital visits. The last we went was when she was at her 9 months mark. Terrible experience. Poor child trying to sleep and the nurses keep coming in to feed her medicine and taking temperature. And then the daddy fell ill in the hospital too! The jialat thing is... he can't see any doctors there as it is a hospital solely for women and children. He had to travel far to see a doc.

Please get well soon kiddo. :)

Days Were Used to be Much Simpler...

It's not that hard right? If some one doesn't pick up it means that they are occupied.

Her First Hair Cut by Professional

And so here's my girl having her hair cut ... finally done by a professional hair stylist.  All the while I have been trimming her hair and I'm hoping that she gets to experience a professional hair cut this time round. LOL ( actually mummy is lazy. )

When it's done...

Kawaii right?!

:P

Skip That Phone

Skip it!

In our modern society, one is often too dependent on their smart phone for entertainment, communicating and etc... I'm highly dependent on it for Facebook-ing and whatsapp-ing. I'm like a slave to my phone.

You know, sometimes we should just leave that smart phone back at home... and just head out without thinking about it.

When I was a teenager, there was only Nokia black/white phones with customized melodies that sounded like pressing keys on the keypad. There was much freedom back then. I go to the library, to the community centre, to the supermarket without it. All I had was the company of my parents, and myself. There was so much free time on hand.

Now? I find myself checking the phone once every 10min! Check, ok, check!

And I only had my first mobile phone in the first year of my tertiary education. It was getting common so I thought I should get one to mingle with my mates.

Long story short, just now I left my phone at home while out on my part time job. My pouch feels lighter! And I got my job done way faster! In 30min, I went out and am back at home for my shower. Normally I would take about 40min.

O_O

I admit I am still dependent on my phone to reach family and friends. But it's good to just 'discard' the phone at home and go out for a walk.

You never know what pleasant surprise you may get!

Making Me Smile

It's not hard to make me smile. I've gotta admit that I do have my temper, and my patience runs very thin with my child. It's very exasperating that she hasn't learn to talk properly and most of the time she will just cry and scream to express herself. And when she does something that's unexpected... it will just make me smile.

Like there was once I choked on water and I coughed hard. She came up to me and started patting me on my chest and back. She's just two! I'm glad that she's sympathetic and consoled me.

And there were times that I mess up the table or the floor, she would get me tissues almost immediately.

And when she puts in her dirty laundry whenever I use the washing machine. She tips toes just to flick and push the laundry in.

When I am done with my food or have wrappers to throw, she would volunteer to discard them into the bin or put the dishes on the basin top.

And then a few days ago I was carrying her to sleep for her afternoon nap. Suddenly I had the urge to cough but I fear it would wake her up again. I couldn't hold it in and coughed once. The semi asleep toddler pat my back. And went to sleep again.

Little things that she does.... make me smile. I do not expect much. I just want her to grow up well and healthy. Be a good citizen, know her goals and what she wants to do with her life. :)

I just hope she starts to talk real soon. Really pek cek one when she cries and we just don't understand.

:P

Durian Season

OH YES! Durian Durian I love you......~

Though my mom says the durians from the season's beginning is not that tasty... but I still wanna try some! Oh, that seed in the middle, it's black. That explains why it's so dark. It ain't spoilt.

Neighbors

It's either good or bad ones. And of course the neutral parties.

Neutral parties are those who just smile and say bye kind of neighbors, plus they won't pop by for a chit chat. I'm perfectly ok with them. I mean, if there's no common topics to talk about, why force a new friendship out of it? Hey, at least they do SMILE and say hello. In this modern 'aloof' society, this gesture is considered good, more than enough.

And I'm blessed to have a few good neighbors. They bring us food... lend a ear and basically does what a good friend will. We can even trust each other with our house keys! We help each other time to time. Awesome, right?

Unfortunately, there has to be some black sheeps. Last evening I witnessed one such neighbor. I was at my tiny balcony for a breather and the opposite couple thought I was staring at them! How would I know? Because in a split second, I saw the wife (who was carrying her baby) ordered her husband to quickly draw the curtains! And while he was doing that, I realized that they were staring at me. What the..... ? This event took place very quickly, like under 10 seconds. Just for a fraction of a minute, they think I'm a stalker, someone perverted who likes to view into their house?! Hello? You have kid, I have one too! What's up with these people?

And then there's the one who stays above me. Since their first day moving in, we are never on good terms. They made so much noise into the late night and when I approached them twice, and explained to them nicely that I have an infant who is trying to sleep, they didn't bother and continued making a ruckus with their furniture till midnight! And since then, every night, they allow their kids to stomp all over the house, making my toddler's sleep an unbearable one. Tell me lah, so inconsiderate right? And we did try to make things work....

We gave them our toddler's birthday cake personally. The mistress saw us and even gave us a black face, like we owe her a lot of money. She took the cake and slammed the door on us. Tch.

We did try our best to be nice neighbors. But such people take us for granted and even 变本加厉 (become worse). In the past we smiled whenever we see the people from that unit.... and when there's no positive response from them, I have stopped smiling at them. I just don't care. Can't be bothered when I've tried so hard for 2 years.

Oh, and there's the bad smoker neighbor. Who always dirty my balcony with the cigarette ashes. How nice.

These 3 are the worst kind of neighbors ever. And luckily I have another equal or more amount of good neighbors to balance the mood out. I tell you ah, once you have your own flat, the best thing you can ask for is to have decent neighbors. Whether it be left, right, up or down.  Or even diagonally up or down.

That being said, I still think that it's best to establish positive ties among all. Don't start off  by being a C* nonsense person and make everyone dislike you. You have to stay here for at least 5 years, make it a pleasant time for you and everyone else lah!  这样子日子才好过！

Ok, rant over.

Shopping at Giant

I know, it's mundane.

But other than the usual grocery shopping we bought this!

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It's not mine lah... it's my housekeeper's. Her luggage that she brought over went kaput.

This is huge. It's 28" capacity. And it costs $79.99. What I like is the 4 omni-directional wheels. Weeeeee!

And one other item that I got...

很可爱leh! (Cute) Look at the front of the shoes! The small huts and clouds!  These shoes cost $16 (minus off a few cents). I bought a size bigger so that she can still grow in them. I just needed a covered shoes for our Genting trip soon. :D

Ok, that sums up our Giant shopping.