I really donno how I can last...

...through the day when we go for our year-end vacation with the boys. How to sit and wait for them to finish all the rides at the theme parks?? Universal Studios, Disneyland, Disney California, Legoland, Seaworld, Six Flags Magic Mountain... At the end of the trip, I will have roller-coasters coming out of my ears! As it is now, I'm falling asleep on a cafe chair outside the Games Arcade...and only 20 minutes has passed. Okay. Okay...not yet fallen asleep. But really feeling so sleepy....woke up early this morning for the boys' pre-season soccer training (actual season starts in Term 2), went to the gym, showered, had lunch in a Singaporean-style food court and now killing time until our movie starts in another 20 minutes or so... And I can kill time with fiddling with my iPad.

Maybe I should ask my chiropractor if it's safe for me to go on the rides as well... Queue and ride is so much more fun than queuing with boys and then staying back to wait for the rides to end, right? I am quite a roller-coaster girl, when i was younger. I love those that loop-the-loops, those whereby your feet dangle in the air...love the g-forces that pulls your heart down and go Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....
Or maybe I shouldn't risk my back. Lots of $$$$ already spent on my chiropractic adjustments. H said I shouldn't risk it...he doesn't want be to go arghhhhh for the rest of the trip. Oh well....looks like we are just gonna be Queue-ers for most rides...except for Its a Small World and other less thrilling rides that we can go on. H? He hates falling rides, ie he hates roller coasters. He, on the other hand, doesn't mind those turning teacups ride- which I absolutely loathe! Really do...those go around-round rides make me dizzy and want to puke!!

Okay. Gotta go now. Movie is starting in about 5 minutes... Gonna watch The Unstoppable...

If I were Living in the USA....

.........I would probably spend my days and nights SHOPPING. Shopping online. Shopping from catalogues. Shopping in the malls...in the factory outlets...etc etc. Do nothing but shop shop shop! I tell ya, there is really such a vast range of things to buy! But then, H would have to work doubly hard to pay for all my purchases!

As per my previous post, I'm starting to bid for auction lots at eBay.... I have to say that it is quite an adrenaline rush at the last minute, i.e. Last 60 seconds before the auction time ends. My heart went bit bop bit bop so quickly as I was putting my bids in, whilst looking at the timer ticking down...9s 8s 7s 6s 5s....and then wondering if the bid was successful. Hehehe... Cheap thrills.
Hey! Wait a minute! Not cheap at all! Already spent USD 57 just on stickers and shipping costs to Anaheim. Half I won at auctions. Half I did the "buy it now" or "best offer" option.

Anyway, I didn't win the 6000+ pieces lot that ended yesterday. Couldn't stay up. The winning bid was USD 40 ish. This is really a good price.. Even with the international shipping rates of USD 45, it's still cheaper than what I would pay to buy in Jakarta. The only thing is whether the postal service here would tax the items.... I guessed I really have to stay up if I want to get my hands on these lots... Or alternatively, go to bed early, then set my alarm to ring 5 minutes before the auction closes!

eBay Rookie

I have just signed-up on eBay yesterday... and proceeded to place bids on numerous scrapbooking lots. S2 saw what I was doing and then commented "You must wait only until the last 5 minutes, then place a bid a few cents above, then you will win". His dad asked him how he knew that... From "George Lopez", was the answer!

Obviously, I didn't pay attention to him... placing bids so that I was the highest bidder. There was one particular auction whereby there was only 40 minutes left, and I was the highest bidder then. H kept telling me to stay awake to monitor the bids. I didn't. And this morning, when I checked my eBay account... I lost. And you know what? The fella really only place a bid a couple of minutes before the auction closed. So I could have jumped-in with a higher bid. I lost by USD 1.00 !

Not only that, when I looked at the other lots where I had placed a bid... I had been outbid LEFT, RIGHT and CENTER. i have also been doing the NO-NO. I've been increasing my bid repeatedly yesterday... Basically, I drove the price up. SILLY ROOKIE!

I was kinda frustrated with being outbid, that I just went ahead and bought a 50 pack Jolee's Stickers at USD 19.99 without going through the bidding process. Told the seller to HOLD shipment until the other auction ends... in case I win, and then shipment can be in one lot...to our hotel in Anaheim (taking boys to Disneyland etc etc.. in December).

So now... I am not going to bid until the last couple of minutes. Looks like I am following my S2's strategy of putting a bid at the last minute, after all.

I am watching another auction that is expiring tonight... at midnight. Can I stay up? I will have to stay up! I wanna get the 6000+ pieces of scrapbooking stuff!!!!

WISH ME LUCK!

(Errr... I was going through my existing stash. Looks like I have quite a lot of stuff... so do I need more????)

"Bag Lady"

That's what my English friend called me yesterday - Bag Lady...... because bags were the only things I bought at the BWA (British Women's Association) Bazaar. I actually didn't intend to buy anything.... just go for the sake of going... as the entrance fee goes to CHARITY. I even declined H's offer to go to the ATM to get more cash for me! So yes. I was serious in NOT buying anything.

But But But.. you know with every trip out, one surely will tend to spend on things that we don't actually need. But I just love these fabrics that were used to make these bags.

This was my first purchase...

A bag (pouch? whatever you call it) for my iPad.

I really love this fabric pattern.

Next.... was this little bag for my Scrapbooking Supplies (pens, sccissors, cutters, glue etc etc)

The Pink goes with the Pink on my Scrapbooking Bag.

Whilst waiting for my friend to chose some fabric file folders, I rummaged through the box that housed Lunch Bags.... NOT that my boys would use lunch bags made of cute or beautiful fabrics. Then... I saw this bag. I contemplated whether to get it or not... but decided to just get it. I will use it to carry the boys' snacks when I pick them up for Mandarin classes, or after-football snacks.

And while waiting for the same-said friend, I went through the box with shopping bags. And saw this. Just thought that the cartoon pictures were sooooo cute...and had to get it.

A close-up of the cartoon depicted on the bag...

Island of the Gods, indeed!

As per my previous post, H and I went on a short getaway to Bali... Islands of the Gods. The moment we arrived at DPS on Wednesday (17th Nov), we were greeted with BLUE BLUE SKIES. For someone who came from a smog-filled city with over-cast skies, the BLUE BLUE SKIES certainly made me think that Bali is indeed the Island of the Gods! And at night...the moon was so big and round - soooo beautiful.

Anyway, our room rate at the Padma Resort At Legian came with airport transfers and we were whisked off from the airport in a jiffy. Why did I pick this hotel? Figured that since boys are not with us, I wanna explore the Kuta/Legian/Seminyak area. If they are, NO way I can explore anything. I would be lucky to even be able to dine at the hotel restaurants! They always want to have room service!!! Decided on Legian Beach. From there, surfed the WWW abit and decided on The Padma Resort as it is rated the #1 hotel on Legian on TripAdvisor, and the rate was sorta okay. We paid USD 169 per nite (inclusive of all taxes, breakfast and return airport transfers).

This is how our newly-refurbished deluxe room looks

They upgraded our room to the next grade level...which basically just means that we have a terrace that looks over some kind of pond.

This is the view from my terrace. The bottom part is actually the pond.

What we did next was to go jalan-jalan. Walked quite a bit...from the hotel to Kuta (through Poppies II, had lunch at Made's Warung. Wanted to go to Un's but it was soooooo empty in the day. So no fun lah! ) to Dicovery Mall at Tuban. H said "how come holidays with you these days entail lots of walking ah???". Walked back towards the beach just as the sun was setting...

Crowds admiring the sunset @ Kuta Beach

There was a lot of people on the beach...as far as the eye can see... People all waiting for the sun to set. H commented "what is there to see? Sunset is Sunset lah". This gadget freak only kept quiet after I told him to capture a nice picture with his Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Sooooo Romantic!!!

The Lovey-Dovey Couple? Of course NOT us lah!

Actually...didn't realise it until after we booked our trip. It actually somewhat coincided with our wedding anniversary. So can say this trip is for our anniversary lah. Heheheheh...

We had dinner at Bubba Gump as H wanted to have the baby back pork ribs. Can't remember what I had....but did have a yummy Mangolada - a mango version of Pina Colada. And walked all the way from the restaurant back to the hotel!

The next day, we chilled out at the Lagoon Pool for abit...discussed on our possible future postings etc etc. This talk did not go too well. Bleah! Almost ended up fighting so decided to go for a walk. We walked on the beach.... Again, walked a whole lot. Walked from our hotel all the way pass Ku-de-ta, to The Legian (which is actually on Seminyak) where we had a couple of drinks - H had a healthy banana smoothie and moi? I had a alcohol-laden Legian Sunset cocktail.

We then set-out to have lunch at Wah Wah Gourmet Burger and Wine Bar, which is situated between The Legian and Ku-de-ta (via road and NOT beach). Had read from online reviews that the joint is opened by a Shanghai designer/painter etc named Wah; and that the Wagyu tenderloin burgers are awesome. So had to give it a try.

Can't remember the names...but here's what we had...

Mini Wagyu Tenderloin Burgers with Foie Gras

Mini Wagyu Tenderloin Burgers with Crispy Prosciutto, Cheese and Quail Eggs

...all washed down with wine (H) and Wah-tini (Moi)

What's the verdict on the burgers?

Yummilicious!

Yes. A tad expensive for mere burgers ~ approx USD 14 - 16 per plate, but I supposed for Wagyu tenderloin, foie gras, prosciutto..... we shouldn't complain?

And what do you know? As I was getting out of the washroom to leave, I saw that H was chatting with a Chinese guy....who turned out to be Wah himself. We continued to chat for a bit, and he ended up losing a mug of beer to H over some silly bet.

I wanted to jalan around Seminyak abit more...but H would have NO more walking for the day. So we took a cab back to the hotel to have a rest. Errr....actually a PIGGY nap, waking up just in time for dinner.

Had made reservations at the Pearl Restaurant, a French restaurant attached to a small hotel on Double Six. Apparently, the French chef's parents run the hotel. Found out about this place from numerous online reviews, plus a write-up by a Bali-based food writer.

I have to say that the food was excellent. Pity I didn't take any photos on my conventional camera. H couldnt wait to dig into the food. He only allowed one session of picture taking with my phone. I had the Fish Tartare in Two Ways for starter, which was pretty good. I would have given it top marks if I didn't had the Tuna Tartare over at Nougatine New York. But I supposed not fair to compare with the NY restaurant as that chef has a 3* Michelin. This chef is really quite young. Read that he just completed his course/training at a 1* Michelin restaurant in France about 2 years back. Eh...did I mention that he is very good-looking??? If H was not there, I probably could eat him up as well! Hahahhaah...

How do I know how the chef looks like? He came out to explain the menu and to give some recommendations. And again, when we finished to check if everything was alright.

H had a lobster bisque for starter. We both shared a lamb shank and the Dessert Tasting Plate. Overall, the food was pretty good and prices reasonable (for French Food...not comparing with your average Kon-loh Mee). We would definitely come back to this restaurant when we are in Bali.

That's the end of our trip! We took the first flight out on Saturday morning. Yeah..two nights only, as my silly husband did a boo-boo. See my previous post as to how this boo-boo came about.

Dropped H off at the office on my way home from the airport....

And what did I have to do as soon as I got home?
Mark my boys' Math sheets...math problems that I have given them before I left...

So basically ... from BB to MM,

ie.... Bali Bliss to Marking Maths

Whatsa beena happeningggg???

School Mid-Term Break
Boys are having their one week mid-term break which started last Saturday (13th November ), and will be going back to school on Monday, 22nd November. Initially, wanted to take them to Jogjakarta to visit the Borobudur and Prabanan Temples. But with Mt. Merapi huffing and puffing away, that is totally OUT of the question. So how to entertain them for one whole week?
Do Math and English worksheets?? hehehehe.. Yeah. Made them do some.
And today, S2 has 2 friends over...and the boys are having a ball upstairs.


Grandma is HERE
Boys' grandma is here in Jakarta for a week..... She arrived last Saturday (13th November) and will be going home on Sunday, 21st November. Yeah. Yeah.. coincided with boys' mid-term break. As I said, initial plan was for ALL of us to go to Jogjakarta but that's not happening. So grandma just have to contend to staying in this traffic-choked city. And not only that. My silly H said to my girlfriend "must make use of MIL...to babysit the boys" so that both of us can getaway. Yup. Both H and I flying to Bali tomorrow...

Just to take the plane...
H was back in KL last week for work... and then he went to Macau for work/leisure. Only came back on Saturday....arriving 30 minutes later than Grandma. Just before he boarded the plane at KLIA, he texted me about getting away.... since my mom will be around to babysit! Floated ideas of flying to Paris. I was like "you gila or what? Really never sit plane before??" It's really literally flying there on Wed (as he has to work on Mon & Tues) and then back again... Besides, we are already going on a long holiday in a month's time. Told him NO. Furtherst that I will fly-to is either Bali or Phuket. I suggested that maybe just book a hotel in the city. That's also getaway what. He said NO. Okay. Then decided on Bali. Just as I was booking the flight. He was still thinking of Hong Kong or Perth. Really loves to fly so much meh? Anyway, booked to fly-off to Bali tomorrow and back on Saturday morning. And what do you know? He called me up and said that his boss wants to have a mandatory meeting on Friday afternoon... and off I went to amend our flights to return on Friday. And less than an hour later, he texted me and said the meeting has been re-scheduled again. You say lah. I get irritated or not? Anyway, not changing the schedules anymore.... so just go for two nights.
Wouldn't cause so much of a problem if we would have just booked a room in the city, right???

Am I THAT big?

What do you know?
S2 came home the other day with his class photo...... As he was going through each and every classmate, he commented about each and every one - she has a funny smile, she is very emo, he is irritating etc etc. Then he came upon this boy, CK and commented "this is the boy that called mom a GIANT". Ehhhh??? Am I that big? To be called a GIANT????
Looks like it is time to reach out for fat burner pills to work its magic. Certainly don't want to be known as THE GIANT around school!

My Bread Maker CONKED Out???!??!?

When I saw Wen's brioche on her FB page, I was rather inspired to make my own too. So... this morning, I trot out to get the necessary ingredients... milk, eggs, yeast yadda yadda yadda.. Came home and took my bread maker out from the kitchen cupboard. This white elephant has NOT seen the light of day for FOUR YEARS!

Happily poured the brioche ingredients into the bread pan in the order instructed by the manufacturer. Program 1 - Check. Loaf Size - Check. Crust Colour - Check. Then I pressed START. I saw that the mixing started and then it stopped. Waited for a few minutes. Ooooi?? Nothing happening. Flour is very still inside the bread pan.

See! See!

Then took out my manual to have a look at the time sequence. Okay..it says mixing will be 10 minutes. Waited till then... Eiiiiiii? Nothing happening leh!

Fed-up. Turned off the power and tipped the contents into my mixing bowl. Had to resort to kneading the dough by hand.

Dough rising....the old fashioned way....

I 'boh kamm buan' (mm kamm yuen) and tried it again..... this time using the ingredients for a simple loaf. Dumped everything into the bread pan and pressed START again.

ALAMAK! No mixing again. So how?
Tipped everything out again and started mixing and kneading by hand. *sigh*

I wonder if my bread maker is punishing me for leaving it in the dark for four years. Donno where to send it to be fixed also...

Anyway, here's what I made today...

Clockwise from Top:

Bacon & Onion Rolls from the Brioche Dough, Simple White Loaf & Mini-Brioche

Have to say that I was quite hardworking today. Not only I managed to sort out some photos in the morning, I was also at school for a meeting (I'm a Class Rep, remember?), did grocery shopping, made those breads above and even baked a chocolate cake.

Yummilicious Chocolate Cake ...of course yummy ler. The 70% chocolate bars cost a bomb! (Oops...forgot to remove the paper lining)

And not only that. I actually went to the gym in the evening!

Hardworking or not???

Do we need travel insurance?

As you know, the four of us will be going for our annual vacation in December. I was wondering if we need to get travel insurance. In addition to possible flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage etc... I am more concerned with the medical aspects of things. Will we be able to get the necessary medical assistance in the event of a travel emergency? I mean we will be driving 4 1/2 hours from Los Angeles to Las Vegas after all.......

My NICE Cupcake Holders....

Remember the cupcake holders that I bought in Melbourne in September? The ones that my H said "waste money"?? Well, regardless of what he said, I think they are GREAT!

Look! Look!

Don't you agree they are HANDY?

There was a time...

There was a time when construction of mega projects were everywhere in Dubai. I'm sure you've heard of Palm Jumeirah, Burj Khalifa, Emirates Towers, Dubai Ski Dome and many others. But with the recent crisis, construction of new mega projects have reduced dramatically. Many construction jobs were lost as a result. As many of these construction workers are foreigners, they had to either return to their home country or seek alternative employment in other countries. Not only construction workers were affected by the crisis. I know of a restaurant manager who had to return to his home country too.

Not feeling too good...

It's not my day. Actually, it's not my week.
I've been feeling sluggish and lethargic all week. And to top it off, my throat and nose don't feel too good. I have a funny feeling that it's all the toxins that has been accumulating in this old body of mine. On top of the unhealthy food consumption, the air here is not exactly clean and fresh either. Think I should start on a colon cleansing ritual to rid my body's toxins... start eating healthier and perhaps get an air purifier for my house.

I am feeling kinda depressed about my weight...

Have not been very happy with my weight lately. I think I eat too much and exercise too little. Yes. Yes. Nobody is to blame except myself. :-P
But felt worse today... even a little depressed after my lunch with a couple of THIN and SVELTE moms. And you know what?? They were lamenting about their tummies!
If you see them, you would certainly say "WHAT TUMMIES??"
Shucks! I really have to do something to get rid of all the excess pounds that I am carrying. From the recent lipofuze review, one can lose 10 pounds in 7 days! I wanna get my hands on them!!

Partial Loot from USA (Houston, New Orleans & DC)

Yes. Yes. Very back-dated. Been procrastinating...

These are some of the stuff that we bought on our recent trip (July 2010) to the States.

iTunes, Adventure Quest and playfish cards

Food Stuff from New Orleans

Lots of Intimates from Victoria's Secret

proactiv Facial Stuff

Cole Haan Footwear....
(Big Big Discount at the Outlets!)

Didn't take photos of H's Kenneth Cole shoe, my clothes nor S1's clothes.

I bought quite a number of skirts and tops from Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. Was frantically looking for a gift for my MIL at The Galleria Houston on our last day there... Went into Ann Taylor to find something for my MIL.... but came out with 3 pieces for myself. Sale maaa... Hahahahha...
Finally managed to find her something from GAP. But what do you know? It was too tight for her, and guess who ended up with the GAP top? Moi!!! Hahahahahha

Didn't buy any clothes for S2...as he doesn't seem to grow.. *sigh*
But bought quite a lot of GAP stuff forS1...but somehow that fella kept wearing OLD and UGLY stuff. If you look at him, you would surely think that this guy has only two T-Shirts! Don't want to buy him anything liow!!

Hair Loss after Child Birth!

I used to think that this was an old wives tale.... until I personally experienced hair loss from my bountiful head right after child birth. I don't mean one or two strands. It was in clumps. Boy! Was I in a panic! I quickly popped out to the shops to get bottles and bottles of hair loss shampoos.... And what do you know? It did work wonders! No more hair loss!

What is the cause of body acne?

Do you know?
What is the cause of body acne?
Is it caused by a hormonal imbalance? Bad diet? Stress? Or environmental pollution?
Whatever the cause is... It is a nuisance and can be unsightly.
I wonder if one can actually use the same acne creams for the face on body acne. Or do you think creams that are formulated specially for the body work better?

Horsey for Sale!

I was surprised to find out that quite a number of the boys' school friends are into riding. So much so that a few actually have their own horses. When one of them were leaving the country, the mom actually asked if I was interested... She was selling the horse, the saddles, riding boots, etc. I had to turn her down as I was not ready to have the additional monthly expense of maintaining the horse. Besides, the boys didn't seem too keen to take up riding. She did managed to sell her horsey in time....

Bundles of Joy...

I have been procrastinating.... My girlfriend, HT gave birth to a baby boy earlier this year and I have yet to get her a gift. I know. I know. What a terrible friend. But I figured that as another girlfriend, KL is expecting a baby girl due this December, I can search and purchase both gifts at one go. I was thinking of cute baby clothes complete with little hats. A set in BLUE and another in PINK. What do you think? I can get the online store to send the gift directly to HT in San Jose... and as for KL in Kuala Lumpur, I can hand-deliver them.

Crazeeeee Madness!!

This is really crazeeeeee madness!
What am I talking about?
Have a look at the two photos below.

The queues are MEGA long at the new Krispy Kreme at Siam Paragon. Apparently (as per my Bangkok friend), people queue overnight for these donuts!
GILA or not???

Actually... if you ask me, I don't really like Krispy Kreme. Neither do my boys. We all actually prefer J. Co Donuts. We find the Krispy Kreme donuts heavier and as per S1 "doughier". 4 Years ago, when my S1 first tasted Krispy Kreme, he actually wanted to write to them to change their recipe. Hahahahah...

Can't Board the Plane!

Yup! That's what H said... "You have to lose 3 kgs, otherwise you can't board the plane in December". He said that I need to lose 3 kgs BEFORE we embark on our 3 week vacation...so that I can put them all back-on DURING our vacation. He can forsee that I would be stuffing myself with all the Californian goodies. He does know me well.... Heheheheh...
Know any effective and safe diet pills that can help me achieve my goal?

Great Hotel Stays!

Okay. Okay. I admit that NOT all hotel stays are great. But don't you agree that some hotel stays are indeed ggggggrrrrreat? Especially those with the oh-so comfortable beds fitted with Egyptian cotton sheets. Once you jump onto these beds, you feel that you just melt into the bed. And in no time, you would be in la-la land till the next morning. How I wish that I could have such peaceful slumber every night. Perhaps I should go and get myself one of these beds and the sheets. Do you know how much they cost?

My Little Home Business...

My Cupcake business, that is.
Actually,...not even sure if it can really be considered as a business as I don't even have proper business cards! I am only relying on friends and word-of-mouth. I supposed I should get professional business card printing services if I am really serious with this home business. But the problem is that I have too many things going on to be fully focused on this business.

Our Collective Loot from BANGKOK

Please NOTE the EMPHASIS on the word COLLECTIVE, i.e. combined stuff purchased by the FOUR of us.... (actually hor, most of the barang-barang were Sis No.4's!!!!

Clothes for Sis No.4's Kids

T-Shirts and Dresses (mostly Sis No.4's)

Porky Powdered Stock for Dad

Ties for Sis No.4's FIL
Cotton Aprons (Mine is the Shocking Pink one on the Right)

Miscellaneous Stuff

(Eye Ball for S2, Scented Candles, Phone covers, Passport holders, Baggage Tags etc etc)

Sis No.2's Loot
(Apron, T-shirts for her, kids & hubby, Ben-10 bags for kids, etc etc)

Mom's Baju

Free Stuff from Boots

Purchased Stuff from Boots

T-Shirt for S1
(Don't you think the T-Shirt is so appropriate for a video game junkie??)

Another T-Shirt for S1

There's actually more stuff that are not photographed - NO Time lah... foods that Sis No.4 bought at the Food Hall for her in-laws (longans, biscuits etc), and more foodstuff from the airport (rice-crackers and biscuits)...