Resolutions!

I have not been much of a blogger lately. My internet is down at home and also I cant seem to find my camera cable. Tt has been a frustrating journey getting the telecommunications department to do something about it. I tried being polite, angry, rude, and sent a few emails across. Got a reply to one today and they said they will get it up and running. But when, I need to no when! But that aside I am not going to let this ruin my holiday spirit! So I have to steal some time during work to blog. Everywhere I go there seem to be some christmas songs playing, the shopping complexes are all decorated with christmas decorations. And people are genetally more relaxed, and happier during this time of the year. There is something hopeful and warm about year ends. Something refreshing that we can get things right again. When I was younger year ends were about holidays, sleeping till late mornings, and just lazy days with family and friends. Now being a mother it means planning fun time for my children and catching up with friends. I just love year ends. We will be having friends over to stay for the next few days, so it is going to be a noisy and fun time for the family. My resolutions will be to be happy in the 'now' and to spend fun time with family and friends! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tooth Fairy's Visit!

The tooth fairy visited my 5 year old yesterday! My son, Arjoonha lost his first tooth the night before. We were woken up early Monday morning by Arjoonha who was so excited that when he checked under his pillow. The Tooth Fairy in exchange of his tooth, left him an hotwheels car a card and 10 bucks. He was all so excited that the Tooth Fairy knows exactly what he wants! He is hoping more tooth to drop to enjoy further rewards! But I told him it only happens to the first one! But the joke is our maid, Awi from Indonesia was equally excited as she thought Tooth Fairy is for real, and said solemnly that it never visits her village in Indonesia! I had a hard time controlling my laughter!

THEY ARE AT THE SAME TABLE AND NOT TALKING!

When my husband and I wasdating back when we were in Penang Island, we used to go everywhere in our honda motorcycle. We will talk and talk and talk more, wherever we are! For meals most days we go to our favourite shop tucked away in Bayan Lepas, and used to watch couples both young and old at other tables. One of the games we used to play is to create imaginary lives by looking at other couples. Once we noticed this couple with 2 children at the table having their meals. They look probably married for 10 years or so, and throughout dinner they only uttered 2 words or so. And I remember telling my boyfriend then, that I hope we wont get to a point where we wont have nothing much to say to each other. That would be very sad!

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE

I may come across as being adventurous and independent; but I realized that I am such a coward when it comes to changes. I need the push, the kick, the pull and the encouragement to take the first step, and once I am there right in the middle of things I adapt pretty fast. So I am in a few changes in my life now...and keeping fingers crossed that all will turn out great, and my friends can tell me I told you so. And luckily for me I have friends around me who are willing to bear with my moans and groans and fears...and just encourage me through it.

I HAVE MOVED!

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Moving house is indeed stressful! And I only moved 45 minutes away from where I am now. How do people move to another country or continent! Dont think I will survive it! Gosh it is amazing the amount of things we manage to collect in that small apartment of ours. Yes we have finally moved to our new place, and it is slowly beginning to take shape. Slowly but surely we are getting settled in. New neighbours, new lanes, new schools, new markets, new playgrounds, many new things to adapt too! Will post more stuff later! Just to say I am back! I have a new colleague in my office, so a few changes in life, and i realise I am not very good with changes!

A visit to the man in White.

Arjoonha (my eldest one) has a skin condition and it looks like brown patches on his body. It started when he was 6 months old, and we have taken him to many doctors who was not able to diagnose it. Then about 2 years ago it was diagnosed as Uticaria Pigmentosa, which is a harmless condition which will eventually disappear as he reaches puberty. I am not sure if I imagined it, but I thought the spots were becoming darker, and I was concerned if it would be something more serious like skin cancer, especially after watching the episode of Oprah on skin cancer. So I decided to take him for another round of check up. I could have kissed the doctor when he said it was nothing to worry about but to bring him for quarterly review to observe it. He also gave him a topical cream to help fade the patches! Arjoonha was excited that he can have the day out with me. So we had fun having breakfast at the Starbucks which was located at the hospital; yes hospital is much fun nowadays! I remember my own mum taking me to hospital for routine checks as I had bout of sinus when I was a child. But it was not as easy as I have it nowadays. In those days we did not have a car, so my mum has to take me in a bus journey of almost 2 hours, and we have to stay at a relatives place to attend to the hospital appointment. I remember the highlight of the visit when my mum and I enjoy the delicious bowl of soup noodle at the hospital cafeteria!

Simple and Old Fashioned?

Serious about Pictionary

Arjoonha took a picture of a cat




Shopping complexes are perpetually crowded all year round in Malaysia. It is either we are spending money always, or during our free times sadly we do not have other useful activities to do. We really should have better things to do in life then going to the shopping complexes as a ritual; such as putting your time to good use, having friends to visit or willing to have you around, or you having friends over or maybe volunteering for a useful course...If week after week if we only have the shopping complexes to visit then it is time to reevaluate our lives, our values and maybe our everything. Yesterday we were invited to a friends beautiful home, away from the buzzing noise of the city. It is nestled in a real pretty green area of Seremban. We really did not have any plans, except to visit.So we had lunch, we had tea, children played to their hearts content in the large compound, we played pictionary and we had the old fashioned fun! It was really refreshing. I am indeed grateful to be surrounded by good friends who are willing to have us around!

HEART vs POCKET

Got the keys to our hew home, and now the real work starts. Met the contractor last night and we went through on what needs to be done. I realised what I want a lot to be done(yes Louis you were right all along, I do want a lot). I was thinking with my Heart and not with my Pocket. So the list went on and on, and mind you we have not even come to the part of new furnishings yet! I will be receiving the quotation on Monday and will 'sit down' before viewing it, in case I faint with shock. If you are wondering why my husband is not mentioned here with the contractor, BECAUSE my husband is from Mars. He believes in 'simplicity' to a fault. If I leave it to him, we will move into that house as it is, with its lavender exterior and worn out floors and broken doors...! (Then again I wish I can be like him at times so I will not have the burden of wanting all in order...). I am feeling anxiety attack as there is a lot to be done..and decisions to made...

Say NO to ISA! : If it is to be, it is up to me.

I live my life at times bordering on "If it is to be, it is up to me' or 'Who died and made me King?'. Yesterday I chose the former! The Internal Security Act a draconian law has been used again in this so called democratic country, and 3 people have been jailed. With the ISA you are denied your right to engage a lawyer or to defend yourself! People are crying injustice and are telling the government that they will no longer tolerate such abuse of power. So Siva and I went to join the candlelight vigil last night to release those who are held and to give them a fair trial. The rain and the presence of police did not dampen the spirit of those who wanted to stand up for what they believe in. The presence of the police was intimidating but the spirit was high. This is my first time joining such a vigil and it was indeed a special experience.

Old Friends, New Friends

Arjoonha my oldest boy makes friends easily. Nothing makes him happier then playing with friends other then watching TV. My youngest one Bharath tags along happily. We live in an apartment and the only common place to play is in the swimming pool or the little play area around it. So my children spends many a day basking in the pool. Arjoonha has a group of friends he plays with and for some reason he chooses friends who are much older then him. His partners in crime are Ruby, JR and Joon Joon. He is going to miss them much once we move to our new place next month,and I am sure they will miss him too. I sure do hope he will make good friends in our new place. Speaking about friends, 2 very old friends from my primary school has managed to get in touch with me via facebook. How cool is that. And we have not met for like 25 years! We are meeting for lunch tomorrow and I am so excited! Must take lots of photos!

Acts of Friendship

I received an expensive gift from someone and it really did not mean much. A friend braved through after work traffic jam to get me some petrol as my car stalled in the middle of the highway, another sends her husband to pass me some medication that I needed,one friend gives me a lift everytime I do not have the car to get to work, and another sends me home when I still do not have a car to get home from work, a neighbour sends her daughter who is studying for nursing to give my mother a good rub for her backache...I find the most valuable of friends are those who do things for each other. The gift of time and skills are the most valuable. Recently I went to a friend's son's one year old party. And being new parents, overwhelmed at throwing a large party, they forgot to charge their cameras. I offered to get the photos of the party, and later sent it to her in a CD. She was so very grateful to be able to capture the precious moments. If we do not to things for others or have friends who do things for us, then we really need to take a moment to wonder why we have not welcome people into our lives, and the kind of human being we have become...And that to me is truly scary!

It's raining, it's pouring..the old man is snoring...

I havent been much of a blogger recently. I have been busy with getting tenants for my current apartment and managed to get one. So one thing off the basket. The weather has been glorious, not many may agree; but after months of bright sunshine and blue sky, it has been raining heavily daily, and I so welcome the cool cosy weather. It is perfect when it rains over the weekend, like for now. I am at my dining table with my laptop, and hubby and sons are sleeping in the room. So the house is perfectly quiet. I am at my happiest now. I have been going through house magazines to choose colours and furnitures that I would like when I move to our house sometime October. There are so many to choose from, and so much to do, that reminds me to get a Gantt Chart up, so all will get done. We had pancakes with butter, honey and strawberry jam which I got from our recent trip to Camerons, this morning for breakfast. Family loved it so that made me happy. Here is the recipe:

2 cups of white flour
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
4 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
200ml water
50ml milk

Whisk all up, and heat up a skillet or a non stick pan. Pour a ladle full of batter and cook till golden brown on both sides. Serve it hot with butter, honey, maple syrup or fruit preserves.

My camera is out of battery, so will paste photo later.

Brown, Black, Yellow, White...Purple and Blue? The colour of Mankind

In recent times in our country racism has taken a turn for the worst. It has existed all the time. One tend to feel his race is superior to others, and feel more comfortable and secure surrounding oneself with their own race. It is a strange 'herd' syndrome! It is stranger still when those who claim themselves to believe in God or at least in their own mind thinks they are religious to be racist. I would have imagine the basic teaching they would have been exposed to is love mankind as all are God's creation. I suppose being in the faith I am in with multiracial followers, and having good friends of multiracial background, I find it difficult to feel that one race is superior to the other. Daily in our newspapers we read teachers being racist to students of different race, and in work, we have employers demanding to wanting to hire people of certain race not because they may be smarter or bring value to work, because they are comfortable surrounding themselves with their own race. Still baffles me...I suppose until we truly believe that we belong to human race and we are all the same regardless of colour or race, till then mankind is nothing better then wearing loin cloths and living in the cave! And seriously dont waste our time going to places of worship to bow and pray when we cant respect another being as equal.

Low Time, High Time...All times

I have been feeling a little blue lately. Not sure who the culprit was, PMS, being in love with Gerard Butler, something someone said, Ms Chong...I am not sure. Today I am down with a cold, and my nose is blocked, eyes are teary, house is a mess, political climate in our country a real pain in the you know where, but I am feeling happier. Not sure why? I feel more certain, more in control and definitely much happier. Hope this cold will clear away...I want to breathe in the weekend. Does chicken soup really help with cold? I am going to make me one anyway!

Movie struck! PS: I love you

I cried my heart out for this movie. PS I love you was the perfect movie.I am so in love with Irish man now, and I want to visit Ireland! It was all so beautiful.The songs in the movie was also beautiful. If you are looking for a movie to curl up on the sofa with, on a nothing much to do weekend, then stop your search. Go and buy a DVD and watch this movie.Gerard Butler was all so hot here! Go to youtube to listen to the tracks. Here is the URL. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDQj_des6Gs

Cameron Highlands Trip

Tea plantation




Aveetha, Arjoonha, Shervin and my brother Thiaga




This trip nearly got cancelled as mother in law (mil) was not well. But hubby asked to go without him as the kids have been looking forward to this for the last 2 months. So we went to Cameron's and on the way we stopped by at Ipoh and visited my aunt and cousins, and that was very nice. Kids got to meet the relatives. After a 1/2 day visit we headed towards the higland. The weather was pleasant but at night pretty cold, about 15-16c. But there were too much of development going and the authorities should keep a tab so that they dont destroy the beauty of this place. The tea plantation was indeed breathtaking. Kids enjoyed the long walk there (I decided to stay at the tea shop and drank hot tea, and stuffed myself with scones). All in all it was a good holiday, with my brother, mother and sister's family!

Family That Eats Together Stays Together

Not that easy for all family members to come together for dinner. With both parents working, children with extra classes and schedules I suppose this has become more difficult. We try to have family dinner time at least 4-5 times a week. Reason why it is not 7 times a week is, sometimes Siva(my husband) works till night. My youngest son Bhaarath is only 2 but he can eat by himself, with some mess of course. During this time we ask each other about his/her day. Other then saying prayers together in the mornings and evenings this is the only other time where we sit down together to do something as a family. I sure do hope we will continue doing this even when the children are all grown up!

What happens on some Sunday mornings!

We normally have friends over for devotionals or simply for breakfast over at our place on Sundays. This Sunday I was in a lazy mood, but then got a call from Gina asking if there is anything going on. So invited her over with another friend and soon we were all at my place chatting and having breakfast. It was a treat as Gina brought along her cutie-pie son and we were all goo-goo, ga-gaing over him! Sorry forgot to take pictures of Joshu (gina's baby).

Aidan's 1st Birthday

Bhaarath not comfortable with the father's new image



Siva was influenced by the recent Hulk movie!

Aidan & Brit

Having fun on the bouncing castle


We were at Aidan's 1st Brithday today. Aidan's mum is Brit and we went to University together and I just realised that we have been friends for 15 years! We had so much fun at University doing innocent crazy things, and had fun as working adults,and been through each other's weddings and delivery and now attending each other's party or the kis party and live about 20mins from each other. So we had a blast of a time at the party both adults and children. Children had great fun in the bouncing castle and playing football! Will attach photos, have some technical glitches. Great party Brit...though you look like you can do with a good long break..Not an easy task to put up a party for kids.

Mydin please be environmentally friendly

I do grocery shopping at Mydin weekly. I try to reduce on the usage of plastic bags and bring my own bags to cart the goods. Yesterday when I at the payment counter and asked the cashier to use the bags she refused saying that it is Mydin's policy to used plastic bags. Gosh..! I was furious and tried explaining to her, but she just could not comprehend. So the supervisor came over and made some sill facial gesture and I told her again that I do not want to use plastic bag. And then people started looking at me as though I committed a crime, for not using plastic bags. So I made some fuss and noise and then they allowed me and I came out there determined to send an email to the local tabloid and Mydin. If their policy is not environmental friendly then they better start doing something about it!

Every Stranger a Friend we have not met

We meet people daily in our lives, everywhere. Everyone we meet has some interesting story to share or experience we can learn from . I am one who loveeesssss to hear about other people's lives. Some may call this as being nosey, but I like the term being inquisitive! My son's swimming instructor(I am referring to her as M in case she does not want me to mention her on this blog) is a German lady who has been in Malaysia and married to a local and has 2 sons. So we meet briefly almost every Sunday and exchange some niceties in between the classes. Today Arjoonha had his swimming class, and in that one hour he was with her I quickly made a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Okay I am going to post this recipe later. At the end of the class it started raining, and also she did not have another class after my son's. So I invited her over for tea at my place. It was a perfect, cosy weather to have someone over for hot tea and chocolate chip cookies. I got to know quite a bit about her. Such interesting details as to how she backpacked throughout Indonesia, and ended in Malaysia accidentally and met her husband who is a town planner by accident. And 11 years later married with 2 boys. Also I got to know more about her life in Germany and some of her political views and priorities in life. And as mothers do we ended our conversation discussing about our children. Now M has become more then just my son's swimming instructor. It's amazing what a cup of tea and cookie can do on a rainy day.

A Typical SATURDAY: Counting my blessings!

With so many uncertainties around us, sometimes a typical weekend is a blessing indeed! Today we had a typical SATURDAY. We woke up slightly later then normal. My eldest son Arjoonha is an early riser, so by 730am we are all up. He gets excited about preparing breakfast for the family, so I try to get him involved and we usually have toast, scrambled eggs, baked beans and sausages. Then some lazing around in the pyjamas and some playing. Then Arjoonha is sent for his children's class and in that 1 hour I will prepare lunch, such as sandwiches or spaghetti. Today was chicken sandwich day. We have lunch together, then the kids are allowed to watch a cartoon, while the adults get some rest, reading time or computer time! After that we normally head to my mother's and spend the rest of the evening there. The children get to meet and play with their cousins and I get to catch up with my mum and sisters, and the husbands are normally in the background having tea, reading, napping or taking the kids to playground. We normally head back home after dinner, and children will doze off in the car and have to be carried back home. This is how we spend a typical Saturday!

Simple Chicken Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients
Chicken breast or fillet
Fresh grounded pepper
Salt
Honey
Lettuce cut into small pieces
Onions slices
Cucumber slices
Tomatoes slices
Pickles(optional)
Cheese slices
Bread: white/whole meal, or pita bread
Dressing
Tomato/Chilli Ketchup
Mustard
Mayonnaise

Marinate chicken with salt pepper and honey and leave it for an hour
Then roast the chicken in an oven till all brown and tender
once chicken is cooked cut it into slices
Then pile up the bread with layers of chicken, cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, pickes, cheese and put on any dressing that the family likes. You can also toast the bread if you like. If you feel you will need more vegetables for lunch you can serve the sandwich with a bowl of salad that you family loves!
This is a simple wholesome meal with chicken and vegetables, perfect for quick lunches. This is also perfect for take away by wrapping it into cling wrap so that it will remain fresh when you are going out!

Other then chicken you can also use egg!

“Every man dies - Not every man really lives.”

Today could have easily been Friday the 13th. I came to office excited that it was a Friday and looking forward to the weekend, but then a friend of mine was very upset about something and she was really down, then I received another call with news of someone I know having ovarian cancer, and then another news that my hubands good friend is in ICU with a lung failure with a slim chance of surviving. I am a little shocked with all these news, as me or my loved ones could have been one of these people. Life is so fragile and unpredictable, and it puts us to shame that we worry about trivial things like if my butt looks big?? I wonder what will go through our mind when we are on our deathbed? Death comes unheralded, and I must remind myself of this the next time I start worrying about some trivia matters! Live life!

Come over to my place...

I remember my mother bringing me along to visit families, for reasons such as someone is not well, funerals, births, or just visiting a friend or family whom we have not met for some time. When we were younger we did not have a car, neither telephone,so we were not able to inform the family before visiting. We used to take the bus or cab for the visits. The families will welcome us happily, and will serve us tea and biscuits, or if nothing is available then they will quickly run to the shop and get us something. Nowadays with the ease of having a car and all, casual visiting is almost a forgotten art.I have heard of people who says that they were upset as they had friends just dropping in without letting them know or given a short notice. I wonder is it because we have lost the 'community'feeling and are too caught up with our busy lives, or maybe it is true that life is indeed very busy, with career, traffic jams, more demands to earn more, etc...? We felt tired after work today but had a neighbour in hospital down with dengue. So I thought to myself what my mother would have done? Sigh...I have to visit the neighbour, so we went to visit her with a copy of the Oprah magazine to cheer her up. She looked happy that we visited, and I was glad that we did. We were able to show the kids the importance of caring and visiting, although they went to bed nearer to 10pm and not 830pm!

Monday Blues..House and Holiday///

Yesterday I had a serious bout of Monday blues. I really mean blues! My colleagues can vouch for this. I was feeling down for no reason,sad for no reason and my spirit was truly low. Came back home and was cheered with the faces of my boys. I was saved by the prayer session we had that night, which made me feel immediately better. The power of prayers... I felt my spirit being refreshed and gladdened. So today I am back with better spirit and goodwill. Yahoo, we are signing the S&P tomorrow to seal the purchase of the house; it is 17 days with no TV in my house. Still contemplating if I should introduce it after 21 days or drag it to another 30 days. And I am also looking forward to our holiday next month to Cameron Highlands...Okay it may not be New Zealand but a holiday nevertheless! No pictureslah today...let me see if I can get something on Cameron Higlands..

Water, water everywhere

There are no shortage of beaches and water activities in Malaysia. When I was younger I used to live in Sitiawan which is 1/2 hour from Lumut and Pangkor Island. So we do go to the beach, though thinking back we really should have gone more often. I tried to learn swimming by sneaking out of the house to join my friends at the naval base but that failed. Then later at University a friend taught me swimming. So I picked up some breast stroke, and was beginning to feel at ease in water. And I did some snorkeling back then in Pangkor and Redang and fell in love with it, and even thought of taking up Diving(haven't found the guts and company yet). So as soon as Arjoonha was old enough I decided to enrol him into swimming class. Now he can do breast stroke and back stroke and is very at ease in water. Bhaarath is such a natural. That boy must have been born under water. He can dive and put his face into the water with ease. End of last year we went for a holiday to Pangkor and went snorkeling. The guide dropped us at a point and we had 2 choices either to hike up a hill or swim around the island to reach the snorkeling spot. So out of 20 of us, 6 of us decided that we would be able to swim across. And yours truly was insane enough to do this. I really regretted this temporary insanity of mine, 10 minutes into the swim. The current was strong, waves were strong, and I was thinking this will be how I will die. The Star tabloid will carry the heading, "Stupid woman drowned due to being over confident'!. It was one hour swim and my limbs felt alien to the rest of my body. Okay...what was good was, the underwater scene. The beautiful fishes! But then I was not able to see the bottom of the sea at all and heart missed a beat... Anyway I survived and later when I was calmer I felt good for being able to do it. I made a decision then to take up some lessons to brush up on my swimming skills.

Arjoonha's Sports Day 2008-Qdees

Prize giving: Trophy and spiderman toy!


The march past



Arjoonha with Ms Chow



We were at Arjoonha's sports day today. When he was a 6 month old baby he developed a pigmentation condition which leaves small dark patches like those marks left by chicken pox all over his face and body. Whenever someone meets him for the first time they will ask about these spots. So when he first heard of sports day at 4 years old, he thought it was to celebrate the 'Spots'. He came home excitedly to tell us that there will be a 'Spots' day. Now that he is 5 and all grown up he knows better. So we were out from 8-12noon today. Bhaarath was excited to tag along and to to see his big brother sporting. It can be pretty hillarious to see antics of the 'Kiasuness' of parents these days. They tried to squeeze through to take pictures, or shout across for their kids to smile. One father who was standing beside me was calling out to his 6 year old daughter. "Rachel, Rachel, Rachel smile,smile...put your cap on properly,stand straight, smile, smile." The poor girl was looking around embarrassed with her father's antics.And then there was another mother, who kept on going to the area where parents are not allowed to wipe the sweat of her 5 year old son, continuously". I can almost imagine the boy growing up to be all nerdy and soft!. But there are also some composed and nice parents, who let their children sweat a little, or just let them be kids. I chose them to speak to and hang around with. After all this is sports day and a little sweat and dirt wouldn't kill anyone.

House Hunting-Hunted

Remember I mentioned that I may have found a house after all. Yes it has been decided and the loan has been approved, so awaiting for the S&P to be signed and then money to be disbursed. We will be moving into our new home some time end oct, once Sheroz's year end examination. So working backwards we will need to get many things sorted out. Meeting up with the education department for transfer, changing of utilities, changes of addresses for all bills, renovation work, informing friends of move(oh yeah,we receive healthy amount of visitors to our place, whom we enjoy their company very much), furniture shopping, and much more...

IDIOT BOX Saga continues...

It has been 13 days without TV at my home. Kids were kind of restless the first 5 days or so. Slowly they are getting into a pattern or accupying themselves with other stuffs. I am seeing more toys being taken out and played with. I see them playing amongst themselves more. In the morning Arjoonha has been focusing on breakfast and all. So seems like worth the experiment. Siva and I are also sleeping earlier then usual. Hmm..so what do I do now, do I bring back the idiot box into our lives, or to leave it completely behind? I do believe TV in moderation and with guidance can be a great learning tool, but it's sometimes a challenge to set the limit, even for myself. I get hooked to E-News and in finding out which celebrity is divorcing, giving birth..etc. Let's give it another 20 days or so and let me enjoy the bliss of not having TV for some time! What do you think?

To Copy or Coffee

During my 2nd year university break I took up a temporary position as a secretary at Standard Chartered. I was reporting to the Sr VP of International Corporate loan, a real good looking guy. About 2 weeks into my job, he called me over and asked me for some coffee. So I eagerly went to inform the tea lady. She asked me if he requested for white or black. Being so young, I thought everyone only drank coffee with milk, so I went to my boss and asked him white or black? He looked at me really funnily, and then mentioned 'white', and added is there other colour? I smiled politely and said okay, and informed the tea lady. So she brought the coffee over and passed it to him. And he called me over and said where are the copies. And at that point I wanted to piss in my pants, literally piss, and was so embarrassed that I am sure my face was red although I am tanned! He actually asked me to make copies of the earlier document he passed to me and when I asked him white or black he was wondering what other colours can the photocopy print be in but I thought he wanted coffee!!! How I wished I just could drop dead and never have to work for him another day. But I continued to do so for almost 3 months, and he even threw me a farewell party at Chilli's when I left.

Bra Story

Friday is here again! Yahoo...! I thought I will share something funny. When I was younger we lived in this Chinese New Village kind of a house. It is not fenced, has lots of places to run around and surrounded by lots of trees. One of the chores I do is to pick up the clothes from the clothing line when I returned from school. So I came home on a Friday afternoon, and picked up the clothes and then mother asked me to run an errand to Ah Kow's shop to get some sago. So I took my bicycle (we cycle everywhere those days), and cycled passed some houses, and pass the Chung Cheng Chinese primary school (it was after school hours so students were outside the school waiting for school buses), and then I reached the shop. I parked my bicycle and strutted into the shop and bought 50cents worth of sago (yes 50cents actually meant something then!). So Ah Kow gave me the stuff and I took it and swung my head (I used to wear my hair in a ponytail), and I felt something swinging across my face. And I felt the earth opening up and swallowing me alive. My mother's bra was stuck to my hair and hanging as an extension of my ponytail! I was so embarassed that I did not look anywhere. I took the bra, shove it into my pocket and cycled with a dead pan face... The sago kuih did not taste good that day!

DOWN WITH THE IDIOT BOX

Today is the 6th day with '0' TV time in our home. Not that I have become an over responsible parent, but the astro decorder is faulty. Our first reaction was to get it fixed so we can enjoy having the kids leave us alone for a few minutes, or Siva get all glued up during CSI or House screening time, or me having the 'me' time by watching celebrity gossips! But we decided otherwise and thought this will be a brilliant time weaning kids of TV and also to see how the family functions without it. The greatest mistake I made as a parent is to let my sons have meals in front of the TV! Although I have limited the kids to 2 max 3 cartoons a day but still had tough time feeding kids without the TV on. So the last 5 days has been blissful. Instead of TV it has been replaced with books, and board games, and just doing things together. The kids are also forced to look at toys that normally they ignore and they play with each other more. Experts says kids below 2 years old should have no TV time, and above 2 no more then 1 hour. But most kids I know spend hours in front of the TV, watching adult shows that are inappropriate for their age. TV promotes too much violence, risky behaviours, sex, alcohol and drugs. So if you think your kids are watching too much you can try some of these:

1. limit the number of and kind of shows they can watch and stick to it.

2. set a good example by limiting your own tv viewing.

3. use good judgement on the kinds of show that a young child can watch (for instance too much sex in james bond, but young kids watches this freely)

4. come up with a family tv schedule and choose shows that they whole family can enjoy

5. talk to your child about what he or she sees

6. offer fun alternatives to TV ; board games, play dough, physical activities etc

Bottom line is limit your TV time...and I can say this bravely because we dont have a TV for now, and I hope for a very long time! Share with me if you have great ideas about limiting TV time.