xmas with a bang

My Xmas morning started with a BANG this year! Yes, not small, but a big bang. The story was while getting ready ready for the trip to Albany that morning, I was busy geting all the presies ready to bring down for the trip. I was stacking one present on top of another on the table and while doing so, I accidentally dropped one small but heavy present on my glass top dining table.

What came next was like a slow motion movie, with me leaning over to catch the present, but being too little too late, that little but heavy present hit the table top and came a big crack on my dining table! Whoaaaaaaa! I stood there shocked before recomposing myself and calling out for my sister and hub to help.

Yes, my dinner table top was gone! Just like that! I felt silly, wasted to see a nice table gone in split second because of my clumsinesss! And when I opened up that present, it was one solid tea light candle holder that I dropped on my dining table!

Anyway, hub was really nice about it and reassured me we can order a replacement from the furniture shop. And not long later we started our journey to Albany. While sitting in the car, I couldn't help but thinking about what I had done and when I finally accepted that it was a careless accident, another thing broke!

This time my favourite little Canon IXUS 700 digital cam LCD screen cracked! Whaoaaaaaaaa (and this is by a million times)!!!!!!!! I had no recollection of how it happened, when it happened, and only discovered it when hub was trying to take pic with my camera! That was a second blow on my xmas day, whoaaaaaa!

By then, I felt shit and in complete shock how I could manage to damage 2 good things in one morning!

Anyway, after arrival back in Perth, we found out that the house insurance could help to cover for the damage dining table top...and errrr, as for my camera, it is still taking magnificent pictures, except for the crack LCD screen. Being such a good camera and such a nice b'day present from hub, I am going to get my camera fixed!

So, here's my "nice" looking dining table till it get fixed, ha ha!

And the cracked screen on my camera, whoaaaaaa!

But on a funnier note, this is what JD did tonight while trying to have some orange juice! Ha ha, hub spotted JD sticking a straw into an orange, and trying to suck the juice out! So funny, but yet so imaginative and clever!

all ready for chrissy

This year, being a bit older, JD has been able to participate in a lot more Xmas crafts at daycare.

JD has been bringing home his Xmas craftwork which so far includes:
- A bell
- A star for the tree
- A Christmas tree
- A Christmas star
- A Santa
- Picture of baby Jesus, and
- An angel

And I thought what a better idea to get JD to pose with all his artwork. JD loves taking pictures and seeing picture of himself on the camera. And when I thought he had enough of poses with his artwork, he demanded for more pics of him monkeying around! Ha ha, so much fun!

an early Xmas dinner

This year we will be going away again during Xmas. My sister is coming to Perth and we will all be packing into the car and heading off to Albany. That means we won't be spending Xmas day with my MIL and the rest.

So, in the spirit of good tradition, hub invited the family over for an early Xmas dinner. I was panicking the day before because I had not idea what to cook. So after exchanging a few text messages with my ma and sister, they helped me to come up with a menu:

- Potato, carrots, cucumber and apple mixed salad
- Fried chicken wings
- Minced pork and prawn on toast
- San choy bow
- Pan fried tiger prawns with chilli, ginger and shallots
- Stir fried mixed vegetables with chicken

I was knackered by the time I finished cooking. But everyone enjoyed the food and there was hardly any leftover. I love the tiger prawns the best becoz it was so fat and juicy just like those we get back home in Malaysia.

8 wonderful years

Today as I recalled, 8 years ago I married the man I love. The man I chose to share and spend my life with. A step that I still so lovingly cherish till this day.

Thank you for being my partner in life,
The friend that I constantly seek comfort in,
The wise person you are that I look for advice and encouragement,
The everlasting support through all parts of life,
Be it happy, sad, emptiness, confused, crazy,
A wonderful father to a happy little boy,
A man that I love.

8 wonderful years of marriage. May there be more wonderful years ahead of us!


The night before our wedding anniversary, hub did something really sweet. As I had a focus group to run at 7am the next day and some last minute changes to the discussion guide, I never got out of work till past 10pm the night before. Upon arriving home, I saw this beautiful bunch of red gerberas on the table. And if that wasn't enough to make my heart melt, hub has actually taken the trouble to squeeze me a big glass of fresh OJ because he knows that would be something I wanted to have every night and especially on a night when I have been working late. And then, if a big glass wasn't enough, hub said he has squeezed upto 2 bottles of OJ for me so I can have it the next morning, the next night, and the next morning and night again. How sweet!

Later that week, we met up for lunch at the Country Road Cafe...time alone for the 2 of us, bliss!

seeing thru her fears

This week, I recalled a move I took 7 yrs ago. It was a move that I have carefully planned for, thought of, with much trepidation but yet with excitement and knowing a chance to break into my wings of freedom, all over again. The move was buying my first home with hub, and moving out from his parents place after living there for close to a year. It was a great sense of relief for me personally, to have my own space all over again, to feel free in my own home again, to sleep in as I wish, to come and go as I wish...I have lived my life as an overseas student since I was 16yo, and pretty much living away from home since then. Adjusting to a married life and living with in laws came as a big shock to me. Suddenly the freedom I have had with me since a teenager was gone...it was pretty tough. Tough it may have been, but a situation soon I learned to accept and adjust to. But during those time, I carefully plan for a new home, working out the ins and outs of it, steps to take until hub and I were ready to put down out 1st deposit.

Needless to say, the months leading up to the move was long and hard. My MIL had great difficulty in accepting it and I almost became the bad person for the decision. I fought hard, standing firm on my decision silently, tears flowing in my heart most days, words cutting through like glass, but not to give in on the decision I have made. I knew it was for the better, and 7 yrs later, I knew my decision was right!

The reason I have recalled the painful experience was seeing my BIL and his wife going through the situation this week. Being there in the same situation before, hub and I have always given the advise of them making the move earlier on in their marriage. Almost 2 yrs on, they have had enough, and the move is inevitable.

I see two sides of the coin this time. I am happy for my BIL, to finally see him setting foot on a new journey, setting up a new home and anxiously waiting for the arrrival of their new bub in the not too distant future. New home, new baby, a new family life, parenthood...wow, what a wonderful and exciting journey ahead.

On other side, I feel sad for my MIL. Over the years, life has had its ups and downs. Sadly, she lost her husband to illness almost 3 yrs ago. It was hard seeing someone losing their life partner, her only friend and soulmate. Her life has always focus focused around him. Losing him was the biggest loss of her life. His passing has left a deep wound in her heart. Probably a wound that would never heal or that never wanted to be healed. She felt lost without him. And the loss was inconsolable, inreplaceable but inevitable. Somehow, I felt her true inner self has gone since his passing.

Since then, she pushes away love and warmth that came her way from people around her. No one's love and concerns can ever replace the love of her late husband. And to that, it's true. But I know she can open up her heart to the love of her children. The window to her heart gets narrow and narrower each day, and she felt no love.

Today, as I spoke to her, I sensed the aches, the fear of her living alone for the first time in her life! Being 60, and never being alone, that fear can be compounded. Fear transcends into anger at times, and sadly that's the way my MIL has been since the passing of her husband and more so now than before. I guess, it is a harsh reality for her to accept and I emphatize with that.

It is a change, and changes are hard. But we will all grow as a person. From dependent to being independent. It is a lot of learning to do for her. But the journey ahead will be better for everyone. But before it gets better, we need to embrace the change with an open heart and trust ourselves that we will come out a better and stronger person.

I have. And I know she will. And they will too. Just give it time. But I hope the time will not come too late.

yummy porridge

After not being in the mood of cooking for a while, I suddenly had an urge for pork and century egg porridge tonight. So, off I went to some lean pork fillets from the supermarket, century eggs and spent my afternoon happily simmering away a nice pot of lean pork and century egg porridge! And the best thing was the "yu tiao" to go with the porridge! It was gold! We all had second servings tonight, including JD!

fruits of labour

This morning while doing some cleaning up in the garden, I spotted these red juicy strawberries that have popped out from the seedlings I planted from a couple of months ago! Wow, I was excited and couldn't believe we have some fresh strawberries in the garden. Like any excited kid, I plucked the 2 ripest strawberries, rushed into the kitchen, gave it a good wash and tasted the sweetest strawberries I have had in a very long time!

Ha ha ha, it was so exciting! But, there is probably only a handful of strawberries in the patch at the moment, maybe I might plant more seedlings for the warmer months to come.

aftermath of a 100 balls

A long time ago, my sis Shirley's friend whom was an uncle himself to a few nephews and nieces advised her that..."If you were ever to buy toys for kids, DO NOT but those balls from IKEA". Yes, those advise were tucked somwhere deep in my mind until hub bought JD a bag of 100 balls from Toys r Us! While having some time to myself at home on Sunday, hub and JD got bored and went into the city for some shopping.

Few hours later, I heard a very excited kid running through the door saying "mommy, look, balls, daddy!" What he was trying to say was "mommy, look, daddy bought me a bag of balls". Ah, with 100 balls in the house, there will never be a moment of boredom for JD! But with 100 balls, it is a lot of picking up to do after each game.

So, now after each game of balls kicking, throwing, chucking, hitting, golfing .... I get JD to help me pack the balls away. That way, it is only fair, hee hee.