Last day of the year...

Today is 31 Dec, last day of year 2007...

This year's new year eve is slightly different for me, coz the feeling is so different. Usually (at least for the past not sure how many years), I'll be busy helping out at sis' house for a new year eve party. Then the whole family plus some sis & bro-in-law's close friends will have a party and count down together, then ofcoz there will be drinking all night long....

Sis is not having a party this year coz the maid ran away and the new maid just came in & needed some time to settle down....But even if sis is hosting a party like before, hubby & I may not enjoy it as much as last time I guess...Why? I'll leave this to another day's post...

So what's happening tonight? Hubby's auntie is having a party and invited all of us to her house, so we shall be there together with our baby, then most probably leaving early so it wont disturb baby's sleeping time....No count down then? Yeah...most probably just counting down with hubby at home :(

2007 has been an eventful year for me. The year started with me being a new mother, baby was 3 months old in Jan; then I was breastfeeding till about March/April time; then some chemistry between my boss & I broke down & I got really pissed of him and work was just so stressful for me; lucky for me coz I then found some true friends at workplace which helped lighten up my days, then I changed job & went through a really tough learning curve (still goin through it actually); then hubby & I went to Europe for 2 weeks where I achieved my dream to visit Rome...

Besides, 2007 has been a "not-so-happy" and "drawing-away-from-sisters" year too for me....In my whole life I've never felt so distanced from my 3 sisters, especially my elder sister. Due to the many many miscommunications, misunderstanding & all, our relationships are no longer as close as before (at least that's how I felt)...So I really hope this will be improved in the coming 2008!

Nonetheless, I just want to wish everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The True Meaning of Christmas

I'm back from a great Christmas holiday, though not having vacation elsewhere, but the endless Christmas parties & fun in town made it a great break for me & family....

Belated MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you!

Came across this email about the True Meaning of Christmas and thought it serves as a good reminder for me while celebrating Christmas in the years to come, so decided to share this with you too...

Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that nowadays Christmas has forgotten....

FIR TREE - the pure green colour of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, representing the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.

STAR - the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Saviour for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise.

CANDLE - symbolises that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of Jesus who fills our lives with light.

WREATH - symbolises the real nature of love. Real love never ceases, like Gods love which has no beginning or end.

SANTA CLAUSE - symbolise the generosity and kindness we feel during the month of December.

HOLLY LEAF - represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Saviour. The red holly represents the blood shed by Him.

GIFT - God so loved the world that HE gave us HIS only SON... We thank God for his very special gift. The wise men bowed before the Holy Baby and gave HIM gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We should always give gifts in the same spirit of the wise men.

CANDY CANE - represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back lost sheep to the flock.

ANGEL - it was the angels that announced the glorious news of the Saviour's birth. The angels sang 'Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men.

BELL - as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring to guide us to God. The bell symbolises guidance and return. It reminds us that we are all precious in the eyes of God.

~ Author Unknown ~

What makes a good lover?

I've always had this question in me, trying to find out what factors will make me a good lover.... So today I'm just gonna write down my 2 cents worth...

Some people say the key to being a good lover is paying attention, and responding to the other’s verbal and non-verbal signals. Some people say man or woman with great personality and socialable usually makes them great lover too...but I dont really agree...Some people, especially women will say, a sensitive, caring and romantic guy makes a good lover...Some people may even think that good lover means skilled in bed!

I believe it's just one simple thing : CHEMISTRY!

It's just the buzz you get from someone when you’re with them. They may have some of the ‘qualities’ that you find attractive, they may have things in common with you and you enjoy their company, but without that fizz - that excitement you feel in their presence going on between you, I think it just wont work out...

A man usually gets sexually aroused by looking at a magazine, an x-rated movie, large breasts or long legs. His response is immediate and his reactions are physical. For most women, sex is not an immediate reaction. It takes at least 30 minutes for her to become aroused. She also needs to feel emotionally connected to respond in a physical way. For a man to become a great lover, he has to be taught sensitivity, tenderness and patience, otherwise there's no way for both to find the magical chemistry between.

I was reading some forwarded emails and found this interesting para about some pointers for women to remember when judging if your partner is a good lover:

1) A woman gets aroused by words - I don't know any man who goes into a bookstore and buys a gothic novel. Men are much more visual.
2) A man's hormone level is at the highest level in the morning; so many times he wakes up and wants to make love. Her hormone level is highest in the evening and that's why she likes to make love after they've had a lovely evening together.
3) After a couple makes love, a man produces a hormone that puts him to sleep and a woman produces a hormone that makes her wide awake. So she wants to cuddle and there he is snoring! So she thinks, "He's just using me."

The bottom line: we are very different and we need to learn, understand and talk about our differences. IF u cant find the chemistry, then talk about it. You may feel embarrassed the first few times but it's worth it. For a man to become a good lover, it's going to require the woman becoming a good teacher (sometimes vise-versa), then together, find the magical chemistry, and things will work out just fine...

Contentment

Have you ever, at any one time, had the feeling that life is bad, real bad, and you wish you were in another situation? You find life make things difficult for you, work sucks, life sucks, everything seems to go wrong?

After a conversation with one of my friends, he told me despite taking 2 jobs, he brings back barely above 1K per month, he is happy as he is. I wonder how he can be as happy as he is considering he has to skimp his life with the low pay to support a pair of old parents, in-laws, a wife, 2 daughters and the many bills of a household.

He explained that it was through one incident that he saw in India that happened a few years ago when he was really feeling low and touring India after a major setback. He said that right in front of his very eyes he saw an Indian mother chop off her child's right hand with a chopper.
The helplessness in the mother's eyes, the scream of pain from the innocent 4-year-old child haunted him until today....

You may ask why did the mother do so?? Had the child been naughty? Had the child's hand been infected? NO...it was done for two simple words - TO BEG!

The desperate mother deliberately caused the child to be handicapped so that the child could go out to the streets to beg. Taken aback by the scene, he dropped a piece of bread he was eating half-way. And almost instantly, a flock 5 or 6 children swamped towards this small piece of bread which was covered with sand, robbing bits from one another - The natural reaction of hunger!

Stricken by the happenings, he instructed his guide to drive him to the nearest bakery. He arrived at two bakeries and bought every single loaf of bread he found in the bakeries. The owner was dumbfounded but willingly sold everything. He spent less than $100 to obtain about 400 loaves of bread (this is less than $0.25 per loaf) and spent another $100 to get daily ecessities. Off he went in the truck full of bread into the streets. As he distributed the bread and necessities to the children (mostly handicapped) and a few adults, he received cheers and bows from these unfortunate.

For the first time in his life he wondered how people can give up their dignity for a loaf of bread which cost less than $0.25. He began to tell himself how fortunate he is. How fortunate he is to be able to have a complete body, have a job, have a family, have the chance to complain what food is nice and what isn't nice, have the chance to be clothed, have the many things that these people in front of him are deprived of...

Now I begin to think and feel it too after hearing his story. Was my life really bad? Perhaps...no, I should not feel bad at all coz I'm so blessed! What about you?

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, it is the realization of how much you already have.

When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything...they just make the most of everything that comes along their way, I believe...

Warehouse sales

Was talking to a friend who is a fan to all kinds of branded warehouse sales yesterday, and she told me she has been to many of those recently...it's like a warehouse clearance season or something! haha...

Actually I was also one of them too, who went to one of those warehouse sales last week, bought myself some nice Raoul shirts and Raoul ties for my hubby. Plus, I've gotten the Guess watch which I've been wanting to buy...now got it at almost 50-60% off the retail price at the same warehouse sale. Ofcoz I've got some clothes for baby too from Gap kids...

As I was queu-ing for the fitting room, I saw some ladies grabbed like 20 handbags as if they have not bought any handbags in their whole life...some men with some 50 shirts as if they have not worn Raoul shirts before...haha, I just laughed at them....

Well on one side I kept hearing some people saying that our economy is not doing good and economy in this country will soon face its downturn...Yet on the other side, I also kept hearing about how people has been spending hundreds or thousands of dollar in those warehouse sales or stock clearance 'events'....If the country economy is not doing good, I sometimes wonder where do these people get their money from to spend & spend without much consideration?

So, are you one of those who will go to these warehouse sales?

That "something" I would love to do...

If u have been following my blog, u might have realised that I've mentioned about this "something" I would love to do in some of my earlier posts ie. "My Dreams" and the recent one "What is your ultimate end in mind"...

So what is that "something" which I would love to do when I become a part-time housewife?

-> Wedding Planner!

I've always been wanting to be a freelance wedding planner, where I can help the couple in planning, organizing, coordinating and executing a stress-free wedding. As the wedding planner, I'll help the couple in selecting the wedding theme, source for suppliers, advise on venue, prepare timeline & budgeting, plan the entire wedding reception and coordinate the actual wedding day itenary....wow! sounds so challenging!

I fell in love with wedding planning when I started planning for my own about 3 years ago. Plenty of ideas on wedding decoration, wedding flower, wedding cake, invitation, favor, etc...but I could only choose one of each for my own wedding...what a waste!

Last time, people used to think that hiring a wedding planner will be costly, but this is no longer true. This is largely due to the fact that many soon-to-be-wed couples have begun to appreciate the services offered by wedding planners. More importantly, they have realised that by appointing a wedding planner, they will be relieved of a tremendous amount of stress and therefore will be able to better enjoy the months of preparation leading up to that very special day. The list of things-to-do can be overwhelming. This together with the well-meaning but perhaps unsolicited opinions and comments from family and relatives can very possibly drive couples up the wall...This is where a wedding planner can come to the rescue.

Perhaps the most important criteria in selecting a wedding planner would be ‘chemistry’. Being comfortable enough with the planner to have open, honest discussions and to be able to deal with the inevitable bickering every now and then is crucial in order to ensure that the planning process is smooth and to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

Well I do hope my last dream can come true one day, where I can be a part-time housewife while becoming a freelance wedding planner...

The nightmare is not over...

Today is the follow-up appointment for mum to see the doctor again...Since I have some work to do, sis sent mum to the hospital this morning.

At 11.30am, I called mum to check if it was done, and so happened they just came out from the doctor's room...

Mum said :"Doc told us the blowing test is still showing existence of bacteria in my stomuch. Then the blood test is showing even higher tumor-marking reading compared to the first blood test done last month. But since I'm not experiencing anymore pain, there's no need for any medication for now. Doc said just monitor the situation and come back if there's any unusual pain. Otherwise just need to go back in 2 months time to do another blowing test & blood test. If by then the tumor-marking is still high, then need to do another 'scope'."

Well I dont quite understand why were the tests results like this and even doctor couldnt really explain it...on the other hand, we can do absolutely nothing about it, except praying for mum...

I went to see mum after work and I can see the worry in her eyes. All I could tell her is not to worry coz nothing bad is happening and I'll pray for her...I guess that's probably the least I could do. I really hope she wont think too much about it...

What's your ultimate end in mind?

Lately I've been getting many calls from different head-hunters, asking me for different jobs in the MNCs of the industry I'm currently in. So I've been meeting up with these head-hunters to further discuss these opportunities...hough I'm not really looking for a job...

Well, some of them I was pretty interested and therefore went to the interviews with hiring managers, but then no news came back. Some others I thought the job was not as interesting or the offer was not attractive, therefore did not proceed with them...

Last night I was telling hubby that coming Monday I'll be home slightly late coz I have another interview downtown. He wasnt really too happy about it.

Hubby said :"Let me ask u this, are you looking for a job now?"

I said :"Not really, but since the opportunity came, no harm trying right?"

Hubby said :"I see that u've been meeting up with recruiters and having few interviews, but they all didnt work out right?"

I said :"Yeah...but I told u why each of them didnt work out whut! I'm really interested at this one which i'm going for interview on Monday."

Hubby said :"My dear, what is your ultimate end in mind? Didnt you tell me that all u want to achieve is to be a part-time housewife, where u can spend time with the kids & meanwhile do that something which u've always wanted to do without worrying about income? Arent we planning for another baby next year? So you are soon gonna be pregnant right? You wanna join a new company & have all those work-stress while u'r pregnant? Dont you like your new job now anymore?"

I said :"But u know what? I think with my capabilities, I can go further than where I am today. Besides, this is an Asia Pacific job and the package will be very attractive I believe."

Hubby said :"So is climbing up the corporate ladder your dream now? Do we need that few thousand dollars to support the family? Shouldnt I be the one worrying about our family financials and do all I can to support the family? I'm the man in this house, so let me do that, will ya?"

I thought for a while and realised : It's true! Why should I always think this new job I'm doing now is keeping me under-utilized? This job drives me crazy when there's project going on, and when there's none, I can work from home & live a stress-free life and spend some quality time with my baby! Yes...less pay, less challenging, but so what?

I'm sure many a times when we face the cross-road, not sure which way to go, we would appreciate someone to remind us of our priorities & dreams....
THANX HONEY!

From hospital to hospital...

Today is a busy day for me, though I was on leave...

Mum's appointment for the gastric test is today, so I went to the hospital with her early morning. Waited about 30 minutes after registration for her turn at the Diagnostic Department. Then the diagnostic specialist came with 4 "bags" (about 3' x 6' in size) and a cup of orrange colour drink. So what mum needs to do is to breath in, hold it for 5 seconds & then blow through a mouth-piece into the "bag". After the first "blow", she has drink the orrange colour drink and wait for 10 minutes before blowing the next bag, then subsequently blow the other bags every 10 mins.

After the "blowing" test, mum's blood was taken for blood test as well. All results will be out next week when we see the doctor on Tuesday. Pray hard that there's no more bacteria in mum's stomach...

We left the hospital at 11am. Mum & I decided to visit hubby's grandma in another hospital... Hubby's grandma was experiencing some chestpain and after being checked by the doc, she was admitted to the hospital yesterday. Her chestpain was caused by minor heart attack! An Angiography has also been arranged for her tomorrow and she seems worried...

What is an Angiography? It is a medical imaging technique in which an X-ray picture is taken to visualize the inner opening of blood filled structures, including arteries, veins and the heart chambers. The X-ray film or image of the blood vessels is called an angiograph, or more commonly known as an angiogram.

According to the doctor, during the angiography, decision will be made whether there's a need for Angioplasty - a mechanical widening of narrowed or totally-obstructed blood vessel.

Hubby & mother-in-law & the whole family are all worried about grandma. I just pray that everything will be alright tomorrow...

Simple, yet satisfying...

Since there's no meeting in the office today, I opted to work from home. I told mum about this last night so she said :"Why dont I cook lunch as well then u come & join us?" Well usually mum cooks dinner only & not lunch, but since she offered, I said Yes to her ofcoz...

Around 12.15pm, I drove to my parent's house which is about 5 minutes away from mine. Lunch was just about ready...To my surprise, mum cooked something which i've been craving for lately - Chinese pancake & sweet potato desert ("fan-shu-tong-shui" in Cantonese). This combination is perfect coz the taste of these two just go so well together!

The simple Chinese pancake is actuall made of flour & dried prawn. This meal reminds me of the tough times when I was young...Mum was always creative in her cooking, so she will think of many simple, economic, yet delicious food for us.

U know...sometimes I think it's not how expensive the meal is that makes you happy, but the taste of the food which is made by someone with her heart & love that makes it special. That's why my lunch today was really simple, yet truely satisfying.

THANX MUM!

Which beer do u prefer?

Last Friday, I was invited by bunch of friends to the Tuborg launch event in MardiGras bar...For those who may not know Tuborg, it's a beer by Carlsberg. It is apparently the number one beer in Denmark, and is the leading premium beer in several Eastern European countries and in Russia. But in Malaysia, it is not as well-known, so Carlsberg organized a big launch event to create some "rah-rah" around it.

Well it was free flow while stock last, so we had it as soon as we arrived at 7.30pm till around 9.30pm. Then since one of our friends is a Carlsberg Embassador, she bought more Carlsberg beer for us. It was a fun event with some live band singing & hip hop dancing on the stage too....

It has been a while since I last drank so much beer coz I was pregnant since Jan last year, then was breastfeeding for 6-7months, so those were non-alcohol period for me...Now that I can drink alcohol again, I dont usually drink beer coz I'm not a beer person.

But if I'm given no choice but beer only, I'll probably go for Heineken - a beer that’s been brewed in Holland since 1873. Why? Since I'm not a beer-expert, I probably cant describe it to the details, but somehow I prefer the taste of a Heineken beer better. My 2nd choice will probably be Carlsberg and now 3rd will be Tuborg...

What about you? Which beer do u prefer and why?

I would not have survived...

People who knows me may know that I met a terrible car accident 7 years ago, which almost took away my life...But people who are reading sharlydia's blog may not know this had happened to me before and so I decided to put my testimony down in my blog...And BTW please dont think that I'm trying to preach or something, haha!

4th July 2000

It was a fine morning, two days after my convocation when I was driving alone, heading to the kindergarten to pick my niece around 11am. That was all I could remember....

Something terrible happened a moment later…which until today I have no recollection of what had happened. Without knowing what had happened, I woke up in the hospital. I regained consciousness and felt the pain on my face, arms, legs, chest and almost every other parts of my body.

Then someone told me I met a terrible accident! I was shocked and could not really understand how this had happened. My family members were all around me. They looked sad, worried and anxious. They told me that I crashed into a lorry and that my tiny Kancil was totally damaged - beyond repair. Anyone who have seen the badly damaged car would not believe that I survived. No one knew how the accident happened, including myself. My memory got wiped away totally and I could not remember a single thing about the accident. I did not feel any fear or pain. Neither could I even recall what did I collide into nor where did the accident happened.

But whatever happened, I know that I was not driving alone at the time of the accident. God was with me, watching me. And He saved my life. He was in control of everything. Firstly, He arranged a good man to save me out from the car and subsequently contacted my family members. Not only sending me to the hospital, this man also kept all my valuable belongings. This man thought I was dead and that my right hand was broken!

Batch of miracles...
The first miracle that I experienced through this accident was on my wounds. God allowed every wound that happened only in the right places! It was as though they were perfectly measured somehow. Although they were serious wounds, they happened only at the places which otherwise could be a lot worse. The cut on the right side of my face caused my cheekbone to fracture. There was some bad internal bleeding. However, this cut was just few millimetres away from the main vein to my eye! The doctor said I was really fortunate that the cut did not reach the vein, which otherwise would have caused blindness. I also had a big cut on my right arm, which again was “perfectly measured.” The cut was just one or two centimetres away from the bone in my arm!

The internal bleeding caused by the injury on my face required an operation to fix my cheekbone. However, the doctors could not operate me because I had another injury in my lungs, which caused a great pain in my chest whenever I breathed.

According to the doctors, the punctures in my lungs must be closed before the operation on my cheekbone can be performed. Otherwise, another operation has to be performed to close the holes in my lungs first. The situation was crucial at that time as the internal bleeding was getting worse. A lot of church friends, including pastor came to visit me in the hospital and prayed for me. I prayed hard as well…asking God to heal me by closing the holes in my lungs. Again, another miracle happened! The holes miraculously got smaller until the operation on my cheek could be done and was successfully done too.

God strengthened my Faith
After two weeks in the hospital, it was finally time to remove all the bandages on my face. It was really tough for me to accept the fact that one side of my face is now full of large and small scars, reddish & swollen.

It took me a long time to learn how to control my emotions when I talk about the accident. It took me a long time to be brave enough to go out to start meeting people again. I blamed God, when I first saw myself. I asked Him why did this accident have to happen to me?

But soon, I found an answer to my question…God has a plan for me and my future. I know there must be a purpose for Him to allow this to happen to me, but as long as I trust in Him and continue to have faith in Him, He will bless me!

Many years had passed now and I realised I've really been blessed, being married to a man of my dream, having a healthy cute little baby boy, having a good job, living a happy life...My scars have faded alot too so they dont look as obvious as before...Thank God!

Before I end this post, I have to give credit to my hubby (who back then was my boyfriend) and my family members too, for taking good care of me, accompanying me, encouraging & supporting me during the most depressing & miserable time of my life. Thanx for loving me so much!

Will you keep the baby or not?

Over lunch yesterday, this conversation came up, about one of our colleague's cousin having a Down syndrome baby...It's always sad to me, to hear this type of thing coz somehow, I pity the poor lil baby, and also pity the parents...

Commonly known, Down syndrome is a genetic disorder, associated with the presence of an extra chromosome 21, characterized by mild to severe mental retardation. Affected babies have weak muscle tone, a low nasal bridge, and epicanthic folds at the eyelids.

Since one of the friends who was lunching with us, P is planning for baby next year, we also spoke about pre-pregnancy test, prenatal test etc. For Down syndrome in particular, there's normal screening test (usually done over a blood test of the pregnant mother) to try to identify those pregnancies at "high risk". These pregnancies are then candidates for further diagnostic testing - Amniocentesis.

Amniocentesis is usually carried out between the 14th and 18th week of pregnancy, which is around 4th month. This procedure is used to collect amniotic fluid, the liquid that is in the womb. It's performed in the doctor's office or in the hospital on an "out-patient" basis. A needle is inserted through the mother's abdominal wall into the uterus, using ultrasound to guide the needle. Approximately one ounce of fluid is taken for testing. This fluid contains fetal cells that can be examined for chromosome tests. It takes about 2 weeks to determine if the fetus has Down syndrome or not.

As we were talking, I have this question in my mind which I put it forth to get some feedback. What happens if the Amniocentesis result came out to be positive where your baby is highly possibly having Down syndrome? Are you gonna keep the baby or not?

This is a tough question. P said he will rather not think about this until he really needs to make such decision. Most of us kept quiet...I agreed with P. What do you think? Will you keep the baby or not?

Does height matter?

I went out clubbing with some friends 2 weeks ago when hubby was not in town. One of my friends M brougth her "new boyfriend-to-be" and introduced to us. He's quite OK-looking, but he was sitting down all night long while we were drinking & dancing away...

Around 1am, M said she's quite tired and wanted to go home, so she & her boyfriend-to-be G came to me to say goodbye. That was when I actually realised that G is shorter than M, quite a bit!

So on the following Monday while M was talking to me over lunch, this topic about G came up...

M said : G is really a nice guy, he is very caring & romantic too. He's very rich & successful on his career at his age, driving a BMer 5series and has another Merc which he offered to let me drive! But u know...he's shorter than me! But does height really matter?

I told M : It depends on your priority! Well if u always think height is one of the criteria to qualify your partner, then this bitter point will be there. But if u think his wealth & kindness is the utmost important and u'r sure that it wont bother u when people talk about his height comparing with yours, then by all means u should go ahead with him! But for me, personally, I've always wanted my partner to be taller than me. I've tried going out with someone with the same heigth where I have to wear flat shoes all the time, and I felt very uncomfortable when we bumped into friends...Maybe I havent really fell in love with him, that's why...

M said : Well, look at the Country GM of MNC 'X', his wife is taller than him! Look at CEO of company 'Y', the wife is so pretty and much taller than him too. They can live happily and the wives can enjoy their lives! I want to be like them too! Have a knowledgable & rich husband, so I wont need to work and can enjoy life! Dont care about the height lar...

I told M : Then u better spend some time seriously thinking about this. U'r talking about spending the rest of your life with this guy or are you talking about just going out with him for a while then decide if everything goes alright? Let's just say everything goes right, are you sure u'r ready to marry someone despite of all kinds of nonsense and "talking" about you guys behind your back?

Guys out there, would u mind if your girlfriend or wife is taller than you? Girls, do u think height really matters? I know some of you girls may say, well I think it's fine for height, as long as this guy loves you and treats you really well. But how often is this true?

Smoking is bad for health, isnt it?

When our parents were young, people could buy cigarettes and smoke pretty much anywhere — even in hospitals! Ads for cigarettes were all over the place...Comparing with us today, we're more aware about how bad smoking is for our health. Smoking is restricted or banned in a lot of public places and cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on TV, radio, and in many magazines.

Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more! Not to mention that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year! So why would people still light up? They love to burn their lives off? They want to test out their healthy lungs?

I really dont understand!

I may get quite emotional when I continue writing this, so please bare with me...

I recently found out that my dad is smoking AGAIN. He was a smoker since I was very young but he quitted many years ago since he had serious hypertension, high cholesterol, minor altery blockage and single kidney failure problem. Many studies detail the evidence that cigarette smoking is the major cause of coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. So we constantly remind him that his move to quit smoking was the right thing to do.

When I accidentally saw him holding the cigarette smoking away in the coffee shop, I almost fainted and I didnt know what to say! Should I confront & scold him for not loving himself & not loving us coz he will make us worry? Should I keep quiet & not do anything about it since it's his choice to burn out his lungs & lead more health issues to himself? I was definitely upset about this, but not sure what I should do or what can I do....

On another note, I have a loving, caring & romantic bro-in-law who loves his wife (my sister) and his 2 pretty daughters a lot. He's a business man and made quite alot of money (I guess), so they are staying in bungalow house and sis is a housewife. Everyone thinks that he's the best husband & best daddy, but I really dont think so. Why? Simple - He's a heavy smoker!

See...he's the only son in the family and sis is a housewife. His 2 daughters are 14 & 10 years old this year which I think they are still pretty young. So what happens if, one day bro got a heart attack or stroke? Who's gonna take care of the family finance? Who's gonna provide TLC (tender-loving-care) to sis & their 2 girls?

Well, many smokers will give all kinds of excuses for staying in the habit - Stressed out with work, it's already a habit, it's cool, whatever...But have these smokers thought of their family & their love ones?

Who doesnt know smoking is bad for health? But why these smokers are still giving those excuses? Why would they treat their lungs as the ashtray?

Europe Part3 - London

This is really a long overdued post, almost 6 weeks after I came back from Europe! Well if u have missed the previous posts about Paris & Rome, you may wanna check out Europe Part1 - Paris and Europe Part2 - Rome.

London was our last stop of the 2-weeks Europe trip. We arrived on 26 Sept and had our fun-filled 4 days in London! Actually...on 26th which was the day when we touched down, it wasnt as fun-filled coz both hubby & I were exhausted from the travelling, so we just settled ourselves into the hotel we booked in King's Cross, and then came out for a nice fish & chips dinner early, and rested the whole night so we can enjoy the rest of the days in London. BTW I must also say, the weather in London is pretty cold!

On 27th, we started our day with a great English Big Breakfast, then we took the Underground to our first destination - Big Ben & Houses of Parliament. It was AWESOME! And apparently "Big Ben" does not refer to the whole clocktower, but to the huge thirteen ton bell that strikes the hour. Attached with the clocktower is The Houses of Parliament which incorporates The House of Commons and The House of Lords & Westminster Hall. And this whole place including the Big Ben is also known as The Palace of Westminster.

Opposite the road not too far away from Big Ben is the famous British Airways London Eye! It was opened to public since March 2000, rising high above London's skyline at 135 metres, making it one of the tallest observation wheels in the world. I'll leave the pic to the end since we went back for the ride on 3rd day night and took some awesome pics of its night view...

Then we went on to visit the Tower Bridge, stood over the River Thames in London since 1894. It has become an iconic symbol of London and is sometimes mistakenly called London Bridge, though London Bridge is in fact the next bridge upstream and it's really very "normal" looking! haha! Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge, and I must say this is really a magnificent architecture.

After that, we walked to the Tower of London which has lots of hystory behind it and I'm not gonna put them down here...On the same day, we also visited the National Art Gallery and took some pictures at the Nelson's Column.

On 28th, we first went to the elegant buildings of Horse Guards, which were built in 1755 and was the original main entrance to the Buckingham Palace. The Changing of Guard took place at 10.30am that morning and those guards with their uniform riding on the horses were truely gorgeous! But we did not manage to watch the entire exchange process coz we rushed over to the Buckingham Palace through the famous St. Jame's Park, to witness the Changing of Guard parade over there at 11am!

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of The Queen. During the Change of Guard parade, The New Guard marches to the Palace from Wellington Barracks with a Guards band, the Old Guard hands over in a ceremony during which the sentries are changed and then returns to barracks. The New Guard then marches to St James's Palace leaving the detachment at Buckingham Palace.

By the time we finished witnessing the awesome parade, it was drizzling...dem! So we have to take a bus to somewhere indoor, which we decided on Harrods! When we got there, the splendid appearance of this luxury shopping mall really amazed me! And one thing I must mention about Harrods is its "BY APPOINTMENT" shopping experience - a truly bespoke Personal Shopping heaven offering an unrivalled luxurious service that is rare, stylish and indulgent.

After Harrods, the rain stopped, we then went to the Chinatown, close to Leicester Square. Frankly there was really nothing much there and I just cant wait for our flight on London Eye which we planned for that night. After dinner, we went to get our tickets & there we went on the last flight, enjoyed the beautiful night view of London city!

On 29th which was the our last full-day in London, we did only 1 thing - SHOPPING & SHOPPING! We were mainly shopping at Bond Street, Oxford Circus & Regent Street. The shopping experience was just amazing! I was overwhelmed by the sales going on in NEXT, Dorothy Perkins etc, and baby clothings in Mothercare, Marks & Spencers were just so much cheaper than here!

**I definitely look forward to another trip to Europe!

Longest weekend...

Last weekend was the longest weekend ever...Why?

Hubby has been away since Friday morning in Thailand attending a conference, so I've been spending the whole weekend at home with my lil baby. I did not bring baby out because the doc advised us not to do so for at least 2 weeks since baby was affected by pneumonia earlier.

I realised, to handle the house work & baby at the same time without a helper (who usually is my hubby) is not an easy task. I enjoyed the 100% attention I had with baby and the fun we had playing together without daddy around the house. I brought him to the park and let him walk around, and he was having so much fun!

Though I enjoyed spending quality time with baby, still, when baby was asleep, I felt so lonely...somehow I missed hubby soooooo much! And when u miss someone, time seems to just stop there! Indeed this is not the first time hubby is away due to work, but not sure why, I felt this past weekend has been the longest...

Hubby, I MISS U...

Is having a "fu-bu" something common?

I'm not so sure how many of you do not know what "fu-bu" is, but I guess it's better for me to just explain it here, just in case...*it's definitely not the brand 'FUBU'*

"fu-bu" is actually made up by 2 words : "fuck" + "buddy" = fu-bu

I started to hear people using this "word" more & more common these days, so I'm just wondering what the world has turned into...coz this is something that I definitely cannot accept!

What's the difference between fu-bu and one-night-stand (ONS)? The difference is :

• ONS is usually when u dont know the person u f***, and u dont really leave contact to know each other better or keep the relationship going.


• fu-bu is when u actually know this person, but not bothering if the person is married or engaged or whatever, and f*** each other when there's a need.

Hubby & I have a friend "C" who's married with 2 kids and wife currently pregnant with 3rd baby. No doubt he's a very very attractive man, especially when he starts speaking, but this doesnt mean he can have fu-bu! Apparently he has not only one fu-bu, but a few! GOSH...And more surprisingly to find out is, some are actually married women! I cant believe it!

Recently we also heard of another person "Y" who broke up a fu-bu relationship with a married man...She said she has been fu-bu-ing with this person for years without her real boyfriend knowing it and she really enjoyed it! Oh my God...I almost fainted!

Am I leaving in the cage not seeing the world or what? Have u also got a "fu-bu"? Have u have friends who are "fu-bu" of another person? Is this something really common now?

Problems with relationship

Was having lunch with a friend who's much younger than me, a junior who just joined the company as management trainee indeed...Somehow we clicked well when we first met and so we have been lunching & joking together for the past few weeks.

Today, she looked very down...not as cheerful as before and was extra quiet...True enough, something happened...Problems and complication with relationship!

She has been having problems with her current boyfriend and have tried breaking up with him for few times, but somehow got back together. Few days ago she asked for a break-up again after a big fight with the boyfriend, but then the boyfriend asked for one last chance which she agreed to....

What's her problem? She's quite sicked with the current boyfriend for being someone ridiculously uncourteous and not caring at all. At the same time, there's this guy in the same management training program ("F") who's really caring for her and he has expressed his feeling towards my friend too, knowing that she has got a boyfriend.

So now she's confused! Why? Because she cant let go of the boyfriend as yet though she's sicked with his attitude coz they have been together for 2.5 years. BUT she quite like this new guy "F" too! She asked me what can she do....

Well I told her to settle her problem with the boyfriend first and not get into another relationship while she's not even sure where her heart is going. This feeling with "F" is probably just crush, which will be gone over time...

When I was advising her, suddenly I was reflecting on myself...how often this "crush" feeling happened to me? yaya...I know I'm married, but let's be frank, it still happens and I'm sure it has happened to u too! But with some self-control, doesnt it always fade off over time?

Baby's first few steps...

It's just so wonderful to see your baby started walking "freehand", and not cruising along the furniture anymore!

Actually my baby started to walk few steps a time few days before he fell sick, and he was still "walking" while he was admitted in the hospital, but "walking" on the baby bed which was quite a big court for him...

Last weekend, I put the new pair of sandles on him and we brought him down to the park to "practice" his walking. AMAZING! He was walking & walking, ofcoz few steps at a time, but tirelessly walking! Hubby & I were laughing and we were soooo happy that baby was enjoying this learning. And finally I felt much better now since baby was discharged from the hospital as we watched him having fun!

I guess this is the sweet part of parenthood. The joy within me when I saw baby walking those few steps by himself is beyond description. This is a huge milestone for both baby and us as parents!

Soon baby is going to call me "mommy"...I cant wait for that moment!

*somehow my baby is still talking those "nonsense" at 13th month, but I guess that's ok...his time will come!*