i shall not stop writing.

Last Sunday we had to force ourselves out of the apartment as TNB was doing some maintenance work at our condo and there would be a power outage from 10am-3pm.

We were pretty lazy to do anything at first since we were already out almost an entire day the day before. But... since both our pwincesh and the little munchkin cannot stand the heat these days, we knew we had to find something to do outside.

At first, we even thought of going for a 'picnic' at our poolside... you know, just to swim all day, have lunch from McD's, bask in the sun, and then swim summore... but it's fine if there were just the one and I... it wouldn't be very comfortable for little jj, though, as she'd need her nap and all.

So, by 10ish, we were out having breakfast at our favourite Restoran Subang, opposite FAM. We took our sweet time, have the car washed just behind the restaurant and just lepak. It has been awhile since we relaxed like this. Usually, we'd always be pressed for time, wanting to rush here and there trying to get as many things done as possible. It was a nice change to be able to sit, read the papers, enjoy the food and not worry about what comes next.

We were still contemplating on 2 things... to head over to my mom's place which was just 10 minutes away or we could either head on to IOI Mall, Puchong (because we've never ever been there!) or Mines Shopping Centre because it was far and little jj could enjoy the view of the water way ala Venice or we could just go 1 Utama again because we know what we could do there. When we got into the car, the one suddenly suggested Sunway Pyramid since it is huge enough to while away time until electricity comes back on at our place and also because it has been such a long time since we went there.

So, Sunway Pyramid it was.

First up, definitely and always, the IT section. Since years back, Sunway Pyramid's IT section has always been said to be comparable to the shops at Low Yat. Thus, most of the gadgets that we own came from here, if not the Digital Mall at Section 14, PJ. The one could spend hours in this section especially if he drops by his favourite gaming shop. Heck, even choosing a suitable mouse for his netbook takes awhile before he settles for something he really likes. As for moi, my opinion doesn't really count since I am not a techie geek and have not much techie knowledge, and that my choices are always based on cosmetic factor hehe... so, yeah.. take that orange mouse because it is tiny and cute or that bright red laptop because red is gorgeous ;P then again, I am biased in some stuff like I only use Nokia phones after a not-that-great experience using the Sony Ericsson's K700i and the Motorola's Motoming, and I only use a Mac computer because I think they are the best in terms of its processing system, gorgeous factor and value for money. So, I am not much help in this department ;P

When it was almost close to lunch time, we decided to grab something for little jj since all of us are still full from the big breakfast we had earlier. I suddenly remembered my best buddy, Ai Mei, whom I met on Friday, mentioning this delectable cheese hot dog pretzel from Auntie Anne's. She said that her Jeremy loved it and I thought of giving it a try.

So, there I went, queueing up for the hot dog when the one then gave me a signal that little jj was fast asleep in her stroller hehe... grabbed an additional lemonade and snack for us all to rest our feet before embarking on our journey to dunno whichothershops.

I think we scoured every single inch of the mall! hehe... oh, and I made sure to drop by one of my latest favourite outlet - Marks & Spencer. See... their clothes have always been too large for me but recently, I just discovered that their clothes sit well on my [slightly] heavier bod and their jeans/pants look so perfect on me. If you've never checked them out, you should... they have improved a lot on their designs and they do not look as boring as they did before. Then again, I think our local distributors were the ones who brought in them boring designs from the UK.

I was looking high and low for some of their collection I saw in their catalogue but was disppointed when I checked out their outlets in 1U and KLCC. What do you know... the one in Sunway Pyramid actually has a better variety in their store! Well, at least in my opinion.

The jeans and pants that I've bought in M&S are really smart for us moms with tummies because the waistband is placed so perfectly on our problem area and your tummy will not look bulgy. You know how it is with those low-waisted pants/jeans which will give you that 'spare tyre' look especially when you sit down???... hah... no more of those when I sit ;) Oh, for those of you with 'thunder-thighs', their pants and jeans will fit you well too :)

I also think that their fitting rooms are roomier here... could it be due to the fact that they are built with the Arabs in mind? I mean, we all know the nearby Sunway Resort Hotel is always a popular hangout for those from the Middle East.

Little jj had a really good sleep and woke up around 2 hours later when we were all trying out some healthy fruit concoction just a floor above the skating rink. They were giving out some free-tasting mixed fruit juice and since we were already pretty tired from walking 20km (kidding!) we decided to give them a try.

While we were there, we even caught a couple who ordered just one drink and played a game on their respective iPhones, with each other... kind of reminded us those days when we were dating where we always played scrabble on our Palm, using the infrared to connect to each other after we've formed our words ;)

When little jj woke up, I fed her the hot dog and boy, did she love it... she ate 3/4 of it. I was surprised that she could really eat that much :D

It was almost 4pm when we decided to make a move. But before we left Sunway Pyramid, we went over to their babies' changing room (I love their baby room, as reviewed here before).

When we got home, the electricity was already back on and instead of continuing work, I decided to join my boys and pwincesh in the pool.

I've always been a person who likes things to be well planned according to time and specific schedules so that I could plan out when (and how long I'd need) for house chores like laundry or even work that needs to be done on the computer. But sometimes, in cases like this, it sure was fun to be able to just relax and not be restricted to time. Of course I can't do that all the time because I'd need to prioritise my tasks as I could never tell what will happen next with the baby and deadlines I've committed but it sure was welcoming to be able to just put any worries aside and deal with things as and when.

As I've mentioned in my brief post yesterday, I shall be wearing a fake "Chef" hat for the enquiry that I am featuring in this week's Toughcookie Thursdays. I am not very sure if the question is a test to what I can feature in this column or that this person sincerely thought I could help her. So here goes...

I like this question because I always love a healthy meal, simply because I hardly exercise and that as a wife and mom, it is my duty to encourage a healthy diet in the family. Plus, since being at home forces me to be creative with the food that I prepare, I have come up with something simple, healthy, yet tasty and very quick to prepare. As you didn't specify what your husband likes to eat, I am going to answer your question based on my understanding on what you're looking for - a healthy fix that's easy to make.

Firstly, the ingredients... it is good to have these items in check as they totally would make preparing easier and the end product, tasty too...

clockwise from most left: triple washed salad, loaf of bread, sweet relish, mayonnaise, aluminium foil, turkey/chicken toast and cheese :)

I would suggest using the triple washed salad (there is a 7-leaf type and a 12-leaf type) because you do not need to wash them. Just cut off the packet, pull out them leaves and they're ready to eat. And if you're an environmental-friendly person, you may want to just use a food container instead of the aluminium foil. I like aluminium foil as it makes things easier for your husband so that he does not need to clean up the food container and then forget to bring it home...

As for the chicken/turkey toast, you can find them around the meat/chicken section of the supermarket. They come sliced in a frozen pack and they are ready to eat cold.

Spread the aluminium foil and place bread at the center.

Oh, I am telling you, it feels great to be able to do something good for yourself... and that doesn't involve a big hole in your pocket. Well, a small teensy weensy damage but nothing worrying ;)

See, I've been wanting to go back swimming for the longest time. The last time I swam was when little jj was about 8 months in my tummy. I was heavy but I floated gracefully ;P

I've always believed in the power of swimming. It must be my best strength training yet because firstly, I never could commit going to the gym regularly. The most was 2 months straight and after that, I kept paying the monthly fees without even showing my face at the gym. Secondly, I just hate the stress of looking for parking and now that there are much more commitments at home, I don't think I have the time. Thirdly, you practically do not sweat from swimming and you can even run in the pool where the heavy load of water makes it a perfect resistance to your movements, making you use most part of your muscles. And when you're tired, you could just lie on your back and float in the pool, with the calming sound of water around you. It's so relaxing.

The best part about staying in a condo is the ability to use the swimming pool. I have always loved the water... since young I always had an ambition to be like our then national swimmer, Nurul Huda Abdullah, who kept winning golds in SEA Games and all. I swam so much that my shoulders became much broader than normal girls my height. But, that ambition became just a dream as I wasn't as fast as most people in swimming. But swimming has always been a part of my life and I just cannot look at a swimming pool without the urge of jumping into it ;P

I haven't been swimming since the baby was born partly because I had difficulties to handle the demands of a breastfeeding baby and loads of work day and night. Partly too because I had body issues... I was still on the chubby side and didn't feel all that comfortable with the way I looked. Of course, these things come in a phase and I managed to get out of it after about a year as little jj drank less from me and my appetite started to be more manageable as I become less hungry. Still, I have always dreamt of getting back into shape and there are no better shortcuts (and cheaper too!) than to swim. I figured out, even with work to be done at night, I could slot in swimming for at least an hour every alternate days so that I have more energy after the exercise and that no one will see my bulges/stretch marks at night. Haha but as usual, there are those excuses after excuses especially since the pool at our condo is ice cold at night.

But but but... seeing another friend my age all geared up to lead a healthier lifestyle (and to obtain a leaner body), I suddenly felt so motivated to actually get off my butt instead of complain and feel bad about myself. I mean, you can't keep on blaming the entire world on your issues and there are things that you need to take control because they are all under your control, really.

I digress.

Yesterday, I put on my old swimming gear that I haven't worn in years and it was so difficult to get in and out of it. But I persevered. I needed to swim.

I got out of the apartment, went downstairs and headed to the pool when I realised it was pouring. Heavy rain, in fact. Damn... it was already so difficult to fight with the inner voice inside my head as it kept telling me to rest at home... that I had so much work to do... and that I could just swim the next day but I fought hard with it... and was totally frustrated at the outcome. It was too dangerous to swim and I did not want to get sick. I guess that is a legal excuse, isn't it?

So worried that it would put off this spirit in me, I kept thinking about Dilla who's on her way to a better self and off I went to get a new bathing suit which I got for only RM58 after a 50% discount. I thought that was a real good sign for me and there I was, happily swimming away after I had cooked dinner for my angels and fed little jj her dinner.

At first I only did half a lap... and then 1 lap non-stop at the swimming pool that's probably half the size of an olympic pool. I then did 2 laps non-stop, enjoyed the peace and serenity and then surprised myself with a possible 7 laps non-stop for 20 minutes (I lost count on how many laps I actually did). I did a relaxingly slow front crawl all the way so that I didn't use too much of my energy and I forced myself to stop so that I didn't over exert myself as I had plenty of things to do tomorrow... can't afford any cramps in my muscles.

After I was done, I went back upstairs and made sure to take some photos of those flabs to see how far I'd go from tonight.

We shall see...

I guess it all takes some little courage to just get up and go do what you've always known you had to do. Once you have gone past that hurdle, it would give you enough strength to keep going, InsyaAllah...

Thanks, Dilla... you don't know what a big influence you had on me.

When I started to discover how little jj would focus on animation on TV like Wonderpets and especially those aired on Kelab Disney Malaysia on TV3, both the one and I considered including cartoon channels in our cable TV subscription.

Little jj was only around 16 months old then and she was very selective in the programmes that she would really watch. I only allowed Playhouse Disney for her and since then, she has started to discover many things she liked from the many quality and educational shows aired on the channel. She likes Handy Manny for the catchy tunes the tools and him would sing while performing their repair works and she'd laugh at Mr Lopart's antics and his pet cat, Fluffy; Special Agent Oso for the Paw Pilot’s tips and countdown; Safety Patrol for their annoying habit of scrutinising everything; Word World for their unique word-forms and usage of the alphabets; Chuggington for their upbeat tunes; the funny Ooh and Aah before any show starts; and others. Most importantly, her favourite would be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for simply put, the star of the show – Mickey Mouse.

In conjunction with the public holiday this Saturday, 1 May 2010, Playhouse Disney on Astro’s Channel 613 will be airing their programmes with health-themed episodes from 9.30am to 1.30pm. Four special short-form prorammes like Mickey Mousekersize, Dance-a-lot Robot, Tasty Time with Zefronk and Adventures in Nutrition with Captain Carlos will also be shown throughout the day to add zest to this health campaign.

I guess this must have something to do with Michelle Obama’s initiative at fighting the increasing rate of child obesity and creating awareness about health as early as preschool years.

I know my little one totally enjoys the exercise sessions on Mickey Mousekersize. They make it look so much fun. And since dancing is a natural skill that a baby would develop, those catchy tunes that accompany all the activities always managed to capture her attention. She would move her body left to right and even twirls to the rhythm.

Tasty Time with ZeFronk is an animated short series where the host, ZeFronk, presents a healthy cook show from his house. Since she loves accompanying me to the kitchen, she is always fascinated with the show.

I look forward to discover the new show, Dance-A-Lot Robot, a combination of animation and live action programme where a robot teaches preschoolers simple original dance steps to the music of Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh.

For those of you with a child who’s a little bit older, Adventures in Nutrition with Captain Carlos spotlights a six-year old boy who shows how healthy meals and regular physical activity make him feel like a superhero.

I guess since her usual Saturday’s class at Kizsports is cancelled due to the public holiday, it would be great to sit infront of the TV and do those activities with her at least for an hour or two in the morning. What better way to start inculcating healthy habits (if you haven’t yet!) when everyone is around this Labour Day ☺

Enjoy watching them with your little ones!

I never knew that large pores are due to the skin being very dehydrated and that the pores are open because they’d want to trap in more moisture from the environment. That makes so much sense. I was always told that large pores are due to skin being very oily, which is only less than half the truth.

How did I know this? Well, after 4 loyal years (minus the 1-year plus from my final trimester and the months after) of sticking to one beauty therapist, I had decided to explore new ‘territories’.

I know many of you treat facials as a luxury but for me, ever since I was in uni, facials are a must. It started with once in 3 months sessions and later making it a monthly ritual. I always tell the one (or anyone else for that fact!) that beauty doesn’t always come naturally… women would usually need to work to be beautiful (and I am not talking about the saying, 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder’). Let’s not talk about vanity… this is more of one taking care of one’s appearance. Being vain and being careful about one’s skin’s health are two separate traits.

I had always had a problem skin type. Though it always appear to be smooth, it is usually congested and oily although I hardly get acne or pimples. My body seem to produce too much oil through my facial skin that I’d get milia or bumps around the chin and cheeks.

Throughout the years, I’ve tested so many beauty products out there, starting with those cheap retail products you can find in our local drugstores, to those carrying expensive brands. Therefore, I used to be able to point out the little details of each range of specific brands if you’d want to try them out – those include Shiseido, CD, Biotherm, Clarins, Clinique, Lancome, EA, Origins, Estee Lauder, Aveda and Dermalogica. I said ‘used to be able to’ since that habit of changing skincare was dropped many years ago. Then, I would change my range of skincare as often as 2 months, if I find that the bumps around my face are more than before. Yes, Dermalogica helped to improve the overall health of my skin but they only worked for a good one year and since I only started working then, their facial packages + products created a big hole in my pocket (or rather, a big ditch in my credit card statements). More often than not, I would quickly convert back to cheap over-the-counter products once my skin has improved to condition my skin to use cheap products like L’oreal or Oil of Olay and the likes of those.

I went to many facial therapies but they all had something I didn’t like – either they were too pushy for packages, the experience wasn’t truly relaxing or that the facials didn’t show any marked improvement. Worst of all, my only concern has always been the extraction process… due to the much congestion of my skin, I have always needed to go through extractions in facials – which many beauty parlours either didn’t provide such service, their extraction was too painful or that they didn’t do proper extraction, making the skin area much worse. I didn’t like Leonard Drake as they’d squeeze you to sign up for so much of a package and always end a facial by asking you to sit through Chinese tea while they push for product sales. But what I didn’t like most was that they didn’t provide me a personal service – you’d always need to share a room with another customer, you’d hear other people talking, the cleansing and extraction process were done by a different set of staff and I didn’t like it that they’d always give me students/newly graduated students to prep my face as their techniques were always inconsistent. For the amount you need to fork out, those issues are important to me.

I was also once duped into going to Bella. They advertised a free treatment and wounded up getting pressured to sign up for their exorbitant packages. Vivienne, the marketing manager was so blatant that she even took my credit card to swipe 2 grand worth of facials. I was pretty new in that marketing tactic and didn’t do anything much to stop her. The only thing good about the experience with them was that their Repercharge skincare actually did work on improving my problem skin and I learnt from them the wonders of Azulene mask and clay cleanser on my stressed oily skin. This Azulene ingredient can be found in Aveda's hydrating mask, which is much better than the Dermalogica's hydrating mask that many swears by. I left them soon after I have exhausted all my sessions.

Clarins Insitute was heavenly. But they didn’t do anything much to help my skin since they didn’t believe in extracting the impurities. Therefore, my skin kept getting congested. I only went there a couple of times.

I checked out Estee Lauder’s outlet at Metrojaya’s Mid Valley when they were handing out 50% vouchers for their opening but I wasn’t happy with their highly priced sessions when they didn’t do extractions nor massages.

While working in the finance industry, I met a woman who’s skin was so lovely. She recommended me this beauty therapist who’s based in Atria, Damansara and I was hooked from the start… her facials are only RM150 and she would work on my face even for 4 hours, just so that all the impurities are gone and my skin was prepped really well so that I don’t go out of her salon with red blotches all over. She was so good.

But, me being a woman, I strayed a bit after the skin has improved and found another love in Shiseido the Salon @Sogo (it has closed down due to change of management, as I was told then). Ivy, my beauty therapist wasn’t anything to shout about but she wasn’t bad either. She only extracted what needed to be extracted, put on the double mask every time I visited and their packages were very modest. What’s best, they allow several partial payments not necessarily to be paid at every next session. I guess, that was the longest salon I’ve ever been loyal to… the salon didn’t push any products and I was truly comfortable with Ivy.

When it closed down, I went back to Atria and my skin improved tremendously.

I stopped in my final trimester because I was having so much discomfort from the grueling 3-4 hours of lying on her thin, hard bed and I felt that the extractions could make the baby stressed. Once I stopped going for one session, I kinda broke the habit and I became ignorant of my skin.

After more than a year, I started frequenting her salon again but find that I no longer am game for all those painful extractions. I felt that she worked on my face much more than what’s needed as she would prick on almost every tiny bit of my congested pores although most of them are not very visible and can be extracted later when they are more mature. My visits to her became pretty stressful as I always dread the painful needles and metal prong she’d use on me.

When I got the recent chicken pox from little jj, my skin went berserk from the calamine lotion that I had to slather continuously. I also couldn’t wash my face properly since I was afraid that the pox would burst and give me permanent marks… I went on to put aloe vera gel on my face and although it did make my facial skin softer, I could see that the upper dermis looked truly dehydrated. Hence, I told myself that it is time to take care of my skin again, properly, and that the current skincare product with glycolic acid that I was using might not be suitable anymore due to my fluctuating hormones.

So, seeing how a friend’s face look super clear and gorgeous, I decided to try out SKII. My reasoning for SKII is because it would also target pre-aging treatments and I am going into my mid-30's... therefore, it is high time for me to start an anti-aging ritual. SKII only worked for awhile and I was back to getting bumps on my face. In fact, I got a few acnes as well. Therefore, I think it is still too rich for my oily skin type.

When I met my friend, Nicole and saw how much her face was looking so plumped up and hydrated, I was desperate to try out her new therapist who’s salon is at BSC itself, one of those places I don’t mind going to often. And, since the salon uses Thalgo products which is well known for its marine properties, I thought that this is one brand that I haven’t tried and would wanna try ;)

A few calls to the salon and me not getting any replies, I quickly did some googling on the net and found some rave reviews on Lancome Beauty Institute at Bangsar Village II. Unfortunately, their contact number was nowhere to be found in the net and I had to call up their counter in KLCC to get their number. Since I used Lancome products before and they never gave me any problems, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try them out since I need to get my face treated before Raya comes.

So, with an open mind and the intention of only trying out one treatment as I still wanted to try out the Thalgo salon, I drove over to BVII yesterday morning and headed out to the Lancome Beauty Institute. Oh, what a beautiful experience indeed. For someone who’s been here and there, this experience deserves an entry of its own!

Ok ok... I have not been updating this blog due to moi being so overwhelmed with work. Yes, that is good for the wallet but as much as I have been multi-tasking, I find that the 24-hour a day limits me to only multi-task for housework, chores, the family, work and work and work... at times even skipping my responsibility to cook or even fold those clean laundry that has been piling up on the trusted sofa.

Blogging is a passion but passion will not work when the mind is occupied with so many issues and the body is tired.

But but but... today, tonight, I am desperate. When I am desperate, I feel strongly about something, I must write. Hence, my presence here tonight.

I am desperate.

Little jj has just recovered from an eye infection due to a throat infection and her blocked nose. But after a week, her nose became stuffy again and I am seriously questioning the benefits of breast milk.

Now now now, ladies and breastfeeding extremists... I don't mean to insult anyone or anything. I am questioning it since she has been breastfed exclusively almost a year and yet now, close to turning one, her antibody is not as strong as I thought a breastfed baby would react. Furthermore, I expected her to be strong since she was brought into the world with moi never having to take any drugs or meds throughout the pregnancy until the day she was pushed out.

And, as a concerned mommy, I am trying to find ways to avoid more meds being fed to her. Hence, I have turned to Vicks vaporub.

Now I know jolly well that Vicks vaporub cannot be used on babies under 2 years old when I read its label a long long time ago. But, I recently got a forwarded mail when little jj had her eye infection + throat infection + stuffy nose that Vicks, when slathered on a baby's feet can help the baby sleep better.

Now that the 'bug' had returned, I decided to do just that... slather the rub on her feet and cover them with socks. But, I do not see any clear improvements and decided to google to find out if it is true that Vicks cannot be used on an infant.

Annnnd.... that search resulted in what I realised, something that I want to get my hands on. Pronto. And, that the forwarded email that I received on the advise to rub vicks on an infant's feet is in fact, an urban legend, which you can jolly well read here. (Tips to people who has nothing better to do: Stop spreading emails like this to concerned mommies like me!)

So, here's what I really need to help my baby in times like this...


Unfortunately, as I found out, this little thing is not sold in our Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku land, for heaven's sake.

And, I was too late to place an order with another caring mother who was ordering in bulk to share the cost of postage from the US.

And... when I clicked on the checkout tab on Amazon.com, I was informed that they do not deliver this to Malaysia. F*ck.

So, I guess, we're back to how we would normally handle this - a visit to Dr Lee tomorrow to get a stronger medicine, forcing it down on little jj while she battles with me and daddy mercilessly and crying like she has just been abused, and me, again, seriously questioning the research on the benefits of breastmilk.

Yes, I so can see hate mails coming in on that last statement I just made.

I have been extremely lazy with my updates. Since returning from our vacation, there has been way too many things to document and I just don’t know where to start…

All I can say is that the vacation was a much overdue one for me… my last break was in November 2007 when I was already in my very early pregnancy and didn’t even know it. From then on, it was work, work and work for me non-stop as compared to my usual habit of taking a short break twice a year from work.

I was afraid about the flight to London since I was all on my own… but my worries were unfounded as little jj behaved extremely well… of course, there would be those restless moments here and there, I mean who wouldn’t, right? Even an adult wouldn’t be able to sit still for a full 12 ½ hours flight. But she was alright… she slept when she’s supposed to, played on her own in her bassinet, sat in the bassinet nicely while I fed her the 2 meals given on board… and best of all, she let me ate peacefully when my meal came. There were not much interruptions from her except during those times she was awfully restless and I had to play Toy Story on the in-flight screen over and over again just so that she could focus on something instead of crying for no apparent reason.

The English lady sitting next to me praised at how well she behaved as compared to another baby further in front of us who wouldn’t stop crying at many intervals.

But, if you were to ask me to do it again, I might hesitate… I wouldn’t be twice lucky and I think that belief may be true since little jj gave us a whole lotta nightmare during the flight home… it was either that her daddy was present and she knew there was an extra set of hands to take care of her, or she was very insecure with the darkness throughout the flight (as the flight home was a night flight). She barely slept 2 hours in 2 occasions, but that was also contributed by that drug we got from her paediatrician for her to relax during the long haul flight. So, basically, all throughout the balance of 10 hours when she's awake, I could clearly hear her crying and screaming in daddy’s arms while all I could do was to get better quick - I fell sick immediately as I board the plane and my body temperature shot up in an instant. Everytime I felt better, I took her away from daddy and all she wanted to do was to hold on to me.

It was truly very tiring.

little jj's bad hair day - 10hours of crying, screaming and struggling

while sweating profusely once we touched down at KLIA

But, despite her usual nature of not trusting strangers and unfamiliar environment, she warmed up instantly to London’s cold air, was at ease at Eju & Muzzie’s (thank you, Eju and Muz!!... we can't thank you guys enough for that warm hospitality...) and allowed us to toughen her up by taking her out almost an entire day, every day thru the entire week of our stay… I fed her where ever we decide to take a rest from our journeys that she has somehow gotten used to being fed out of the comfort of her home instead of every time wanting her usual chair and that familiar environment at home.

little jj and abang noah, warming up with the battle

of the pacifier, just after we reached their home.

I guess that vacation somehow wasn’t just a good one for me but brought out the best in her as well.

For more details on our vacation, I would rather let little jj update her blog, yah ;D soon… she says ;P (update: little jj has updated her blog)

When we got home, I got busy with unpacking and doing the laundry in so many batches… there were those of the one’s from the pile at home, those from the trip, my clothes, little jj’s worn clothes and little jj’s new clothes. I practically only managed to finish everything in 4 days! It helped a lot that my parents were kind enough to volunteer taking care of the little munchkin that day we arrived so that we could all get our rest.

Then, there was cooking for little jj as her puree stock has either depleted or expired and so I turned to Annabel Karmel again for the next phase of puree recipes – 9-12 months.

As we all recovered from jet lag (with little jj affected the worst), I could only prepare them purees after 10pm with only 2 days to whip up her food as the home made chicken stock could only last for 48 hours in the fridge. With jet lag, and a baby who’s cranky all the time, coupled with bags and stuff strewn on the floor of our living room, cooking 2-3 types of food after 10pm was a chore for me. But, we’ve all lost weight from the amount of walking that we’ve done, and I just had to take that step so that we could stuff little jj back to her normal baby fatness (eheh!).

So… as you’re all always eager to see what I whipped for little jj, enjoy the photos….

First, there was that 'First spaghetti Bolognese' which I didn't manage to take any pictures since it was already after midnight when it was ready and I was dead tired. I only made one meal the first day due to tiredness...

Next was...

the result...

More to be made this week - which entails fish and lotsa vege...

This week has been a truly hectic one after such a remarkable time away with my soulmate… he’s just flown back to London this morning for another official meeting and I only wished I was able to stay back in London for another week and return home with him next Thursday. But, we all have our roles to play and one cannot be too dependent on something or someone.

That also came with the realisation of how things are really not permanent in life… one small step that looks so harmless could change a situation forever, if not for a long duration.

We all do what we could do and would have to be wary of our surroundings. That way, we do not take things for granted and hurt those we care about unintentionally. I guess sincerity should always be taken with a strict hint of caution and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly… I’ve always avoid being presumptuous in the many things I do but thru the journey, there will always bound to be mistakes. In the end, we either learn from that mistake and hope it will not repeat, or if we do not learn from it, repeat and face the consequences.

Life is too short to sweat about the little things. But for one who can be a perfectionist, we thrive for every little details. Sometimes, our details may not hit the notes of another person’s details so what should the outcome be, then?

Circumstances may sometimes blur the vision, preventing us from seeing clearly. In the end, I think some of my principles in life would definitely make me conscience free – to not rely on others and do what you must do for yourself even if that meant having to go thru trying times/suffer on your own… at least you know you don’t owe it to anyone but yourself... you'll come out a winner because you made it on your own and you don't need anyone to make you feel guilty since there are no reasons to pin you down. In that space of time, you could turn so arrogant for you are strong and powerful and I only hope that I don't forget to think before I act on something, if ever, I am in that position.

Oh well, life's like that... we learn, we move on, we fall, we get back up... and hope that the injury won't be so bad. But even then, we hope that the injury will heal quickly and the scars will remind us of what we did or what we didn't do. Reflect, and learn.

I'm a little late to respond to this tag I received. In fact, waaaay late. But I did promise to do it and I don't ever like to break a promise. Hope this is better late than never, ya although I think the Breast Cancer Awareness month is already over. Thus, we'd still remember to have our monthly 'check up' at least in the shower or before we go to bed.

Thanks, Emily for sharing this tag with me!

And to all my fellow bloggers who read this message, please feel free to grab this tag and help spread the breast cancer awareness. Thank you!


This one is all about breast cancer, which everyone knows is one of the most life-threatening diseases today. I’m doing my part in spreading awareness on breast cancer by sharing some scary yet so very true facts on breast cancer. Ladies, do take note!

* One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.

* Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.

* Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.

* Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.

* Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74.

* Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.

* Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.

Above facts taken from Women’s Health Organisation Forum.

And now here is the tag and the rules:
1. Put the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Now my turn to tag, in no particular order…

Nour
Jannah
Ana
Anis
Sherie
Nina
Emly