i shall not stop writing.

Apart from the magic mouse for my birthday, I guess turning 17 *ehem* [again!] this year has been a beautiful journey to that age transition...

Firstly, I am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight, although not really there yet... and seeing the photos from my birthday dinner really cheered me up. As I mentioned to the one, this toughcookie is finally back and he was so thoughtful when he said that I never really 'left' hehe... *awwww*

Losing weight after giving birth was an easy-peasy task for me then, with my first-born. I could already fit into my jeans after one month. So, this time, I never really thought I would balloon that much and was so confident to repeat the same feat.

However, I was proven wrong when much of the pregnancy weight didn't come off that easily despite the old wives' tale of losing fat while breastfeeding. As much as the scientific logic of it presents some truth, I do feel that it doesn't apply to everyone. Every mommy's body work differently and I find myself eating much much more everytime I feed little jj as I keep getting hungry all the time. Well, thanks to a supportive husband, I didn't think much about my weight and all I wanted to do was eat well so that I could transfer all that nutrition to my baby through my breastmilk. I didn't care that much if I was fat as long as the baby gets everything she needs and that my milk stock is continuous.

I must admit that as much as I didn't care much about my weight, it did affect me a little since EVERYONE would ask me what's wrong with me (my weight, that is)... relatives would ask me what I am eating, my mom's neighbours would blatantly point out how huge I have become and my dad didn't help much in making me feel good about my body. Still, I had never really worked out before and so, I did nothing much to tone up.

But I guess, after little jj turned one-plus and feeds less often from me, my hunger pangs decreased and many began to tell me that I have gotten smaller. *yeayyy!*

With my body issues taking a back seat, I feel good celebrating my birthday and proud with whatever achievements I've made, no matter how small or slow they were. I am proud of my age, and not afraid to tell anyone that I have turned 34 this year.

And little did I know, that I had another surprise in my inbox, in the form of a much-awaited message... I was told that I have been selected as an ambassador for MomBloggersPlanet, one of the more successful blogsite for mommies and WAHM, which I have been following for awhile. They had a search for 5 ambassadors, listing down roles that I would be responsible for, at a perfect time when I was scratching my head on newer ideas on how I can make my presence more visible in the blogworld.

I am extremely happy with this development and I look forward to contributing whatever I can to the mommies' community.

So, yeah... I forgot to wish me, Happy Birthday! :D

So yes... I turned 17 last Monday (nyeheh...!) and we had a nice, quiet birthday dinner.

I wasn't expecting anything for this year's birthday since I know that I have exceeded my gifts quota when I saw that piece of jewellery just after picking up another jewellery I commissioned a few months back. And I guess, it is better not to expect anything rather than get disappointed with expectations.

But... knowing the one, he would always love to shower me with gifts, no matter what the occasion might be. And you guys know how we never really surprise each other on our birthdays or anniversaries... it's just that way of life that I've been practising since forever, as I know it is just a waste of time hinting, assuming and expecting miracles to happen when all one can do is to just ask. I believe that this method saves a lot of trouble for both parties and us wifeys can be fair to our husbands by not making them guess since it more often leads to disappointments... that, I've heard and read a lot from many couples.

I guess the one was very happy with that arrangement since the start of our relationship as we'd both always get things we both need and want. This time, however, the challenge was in finding out what else I'd need. Frankly, if you were to ask me, I don't really have anything special that I truly wanted. But... the one's suggestion really got me excited and since we've gone all over to some stores which were out of this particular item, it was an easy decision to get it online as the delivery is pretty efficient.

So... the package arrived yesterday morning and though I was very excited to check it out, I had tonnes of stuff to do on the computer and decided to give the one the honour of installing it for me when he gets home from work :)

This, calls for a review soon....

In between the madness and hecticness of everything that was happening at home, I managed to include personal interest into my limited 17-hour a day, to keep me happy and sane. So, apart from taking care of everything and juggling translation jobs every once in awhile, I have managed to sew a few baju kurungs for my nieces, my mom and meself. Yeay!

I love how beautiful something looks which you create from scratch. And when you really love doing something, you'd maintain such clear focus in wanting to make it look perfect. I even threw in additional FOC beadwork for my mom as my fingers felt gatal and managed to create a very simple motif on her sleeves. Since she dons the tudung, there is little need to embellish the neckline as it won't be visible when she wears it. Little jj also loves looking at me sew as she was probably so intrigued with what I was doing - picking up little beads and all.

simple beadwork for mummy dearest.

And although I hardly wear baju kurung, I couldn't resist this one type of material that is usually used to make cheongsams. I saw somebody wearing a baju kurung with this material and I thought it looked really classy. So, one fine day while I was busy looking for Thai Silk, I saw this material (which I really do not know what it is called) and instantly felt that I should turn it into a baju kurung just to see how it looks on me. It is completed but madame's now fuller figure didn't quite give this slightly thicker material that classy finish as imagined earlier :(

How do I make the most of my chubby-ness? I mean, I have seen many slightly-heavier women who look really good with what they wear, even if their top or skirts cling to their skin. Is it the confidence and personality that shine thru them or is it due to the right outfits? I seriously do not know because at the moment, most of what I wear are from my pregnancy collection.

Hey... I only weigh 55kilos but with my really tiny stature, of a height that's only 5', 55 kilos does look hefty. And many friends telling me how 'fat' I am especially since madame was always so 'halus'. 

I need to lose 10 kilos for my ideal weight but since madame is not doing anything to lose that weight, why does madame complain and worry so much, right? ;P But madame does want to improve madame's look by knowing what to wear and what kind of outfits suit madame best. 

Anyways, as of Wednesday, 25 February 2009, my loyal and trusting Fruit, the 2005 ibook G4 has given up on me and I haven't yet decided if I'd want it repaired or to scout for something new ;D

hmmm... could it be because of those tiny fingers thumping on its

keyboard??... nope. don't think so...

Right now, I am updating from a 20" inch iMac that doesn't belong to me and the one and I were contemplating if we'd get another laptop or a desktop from Mac since this desktop is oh so lovely... simply gorgeous!

Meanwhile, I'll be busy for the next 10 days or so, translating and editing a book. Cheerios.