Year of the Ox

24th January, 2009 - It's Chinese New Year Eve tomorrow .... seems like just yesterday we celebrated the year of the Rat and now we are ushering in the Ox!

This morning, our family gathered at parents' place for the once a year affair of a reunion meal. It sure has been ages since we started having early reunion meals, well .... we have more girls (4) than boys (2) in the family and with the girls having to go to their hubbies' reunion dinners, I suppose this is the best arrangement ... after all, with our big big family, we are so used to having celebrations and well, I sure am glad that our parents actually made it a point to have all their children stay near them, which I believe is what made our family a very close knitted one ^_^

So, after prayers and offerings to our ancestors, we had a pot luck gathering this time around ... mom cooked my favourite ginger wine chicken and steaming hot pork rib soup with turnip, Connie's "Wang Choi Chao Sau" was yummy ! (I couldn't resist 'ta pau' some home :-), as usual my longan jelly and spaghetti pun nearly habis (sampai tak cukup kuah ... aisay ... next time shall cook more sauce ya :-)

After that, it's "lou sang" toss with all good wishes for a better year : health, wealth, happiness, joy, career, education, etc. It was so noisy and well, everybody was kinda shouting all sorts of good luck wishes while mixing the "yue sang" with their chopsticks held as high up as possible ... "lou lou lou ah !!!!'' .... he he ... that was fun ^_^

And last but not least, it's Angpow time !!! Of course, the kids were all excited when we started our Angpow giveaway session, with the kids lining up one by one to wish mom ... in Teochew! Ha! That was sure a tough call for my kids :-) sorry lah, have not been teaching them the dialect. Luckily the aunties and uncles helped out ^_^ Hmm ... looks like its time to expose them to the dialect, starting with me of course ... ha ha. Still could recall the looks on the faces of my Chinese relatives back in China when we visited them many years back ... they were so surprised I could actually speak the dialect so fluently, thanks to mom and dad of course .... ^_^

Here's a toast to all my family, friends, colleagues, business associates and clients !!!! May the year of Ox be a prosperous and happy one ^_^

A Visit to the Old Folks Home

18th January, 2009 - Today, I visited the Ampang Old Folks Home together with some other PIBG members. We had 'lou sang' together with the residents there. After which we proceeded to distribute some goodies to them in the form of lunch, mineral water, angpow and mandarin oranges.

The home houses some 60+ old folks with no family, approved by the welfare department, stays and eat there for free. They were given the freedom to go in and out of the home without any curfew like some of the other old folks home. Any extra money or angpow they have, they are free to buy whatever they fancy. There were 6 elderly men and women who are bedridden and well, each one of them had a sad story. The eldest of them all is a woman aged 93+, still strong but had to be confined to her bed after she fell down and broke her legs. Another elderly man is blind in the eye and had to be guided in his movements.

Aren't we all blessed with good health? Not to be taken for granted though ..... Glad I came ^_^

20km Marathon

18th January, 2008 - A few weeks back, I received a call from a close friend asking if I would be interested to take part in a Marathon. Without even thinking twice I said, ok and put down the phone ! What in the hell was I thinking? ME? ... who hardly run or jog? Hey, she must have caught hold of me when my mind was so so engrossed in work ! Yup, that's how I remember that fateful day ... ha ha ...

So, here I was, tossing and turning in bed the night before the big day ! Not because of the anxiety of the event but rather something at work was keeping me awake, figuring out how to tackle the issue on hand.

The big day finally arrived today. Without a single practice, I beria-ia saje, konon-konon nak berlari sejauh 20 km ? No joke, huh. A friend commented, sure or not? 20 km leh, not 2 km ah, my dear ! Ha ha ... just do it lah. I only set out to finish the 20km, that's all.

When the whistle blew, all participants were seen excitedly running ... up and down the jogging path through Lake Garden - Jalan Duta - Bukti Tunku - Lake Garden. After 2 minutes, I was panting away already! Just had to slow down ... ha ha ... almost immediately wanted to give up? No way! I set out to finish the race ! So, there I was, trotting along and could see myself lagging behind more and more till I am among the last 10! Aisay, what to do, just walk lah. I don't mind walking, but running is just not my kind of sports ya :-) I was already thinking of the long dip in the bath tub filled with hot steaming water at home ! Guess that was what prompted me on ...

Soon, some participants also started slowing down and started walking too. A big sized guy came up to me, looked at me and commented : wah, you can walk quite fast huh. My reply : you should see me in my high heels ! Ha ha ha ... We encouraged each other and walked on, at a good pace ... until I lost him, that is.

Anyway, to cut the story short ... I made it ! YES ! I finally made it after more than 3 hours !!!! And carried home with me, the Finishers Medal ! Even the old folks also managed to finish the race in much shorter time than me ... and that was in the 30 km category ... WOW ! Kudos to all the marathon runners especially the veterans ! Keep it UP ! See you all again next year ???? NOT unless I can help it ... ha ha ha ....

After that, my muscles were so sore, I had to book myself into AsiaSpa and got Kristi, my favourite masseur to work on my whole body especially my calves and thighs ! Had a good body scrub ... and the soak in the jacuzzi was so heavenly ! Thank God I survived ... ^_^

It's A Double Success Day !

17th January, 2009 - Today is the pre-Chinese New Year celebration at the kids' school with colouring competition for the Standard 1 and 2s and calligraphy competition for the Standard 3, 4, 5 6 and not forgetting the adults too.

It's also a day of celebration with Mandarin oranges and angpows for everyone ! The kids sure had fun and beamed happily as they throw CNY wishes. They are so so adorable ... could feel the excitement and joy as I went around passing them a red packet each. The CNY song on the stage was also enjoyable for me though I could hardly read the lyrics. So, I just "lah, lah, lah, lah" away lor, LoL ... Wow! What a way to kick start the CNY celebration :-)

Today is my first attempt at calligraphy on the red strip of paper and well, I participated just for the fun of it. When some friends commented : Ei! Wah, you cannot write chinese also participate ah, good la you. Ha ha ... yup, that's me. I said, oh well, I cannot write but I can copy mah and I am here to have fun. I mean, how often do I get a chance to do this?

And so there I was, sitting at the desk with newspapers laid out, a thick chinese calligraphy brush, black ink, 2 strips of red paper and of course, the two chinese verses (with 7 chinese characters each) to be written. No pressure at all as I took part in the event at level 10 ! The first to finish my masterpiece, then off I went to have fun looking at the rest hard at work ... especially the kids ... found Bob colouring away furiously and seriously. He looked up, met my eyes and mommy gave him the thumbs up to encourage him ... well, I thought his work came out quite nicely heh ^_^ Hmm ... this boy has got my artistic genes !

Alas .... when Bob's name was called out as one of the winners in the colouring competition, mommy jumped up from her seat and excitedly looked for him, rushed over to congratulate him before he went up the stage ! Next, to my surprise, my name was also called out ! Ha ha ... who would have guessed a non-Chinese educated girl like me also can win oh? When I later told my sister, she was happy for me .... and mentioned, ah, maybe they just want to encourage you la ... Ha ha ... whatever it is, I was a proud mother and a proud 'artist' of the day !!!

Goal Setting

1st January, 2009 - This morning I woke up early to meet a close friend and move on to another friend's house. Yup, it's a beautiful Friday morning and I was asking myself what the heck am I doing waking up so early on 1st January when everybody else seem to be in their deep slumber still????

Off we went to A'Famosa for a 3 day retreat with the purpose of goal setting. During the ice-breaker session, I introduced myself as Zombie Odelia ... well, that was exactly how I felt at that moment (after many days of late nights working feverishly to meet deadlines !)and ... immediately regretted having sent such negative energy out to the crowd !!! My, my, my ....

On that first day, my eyes were closed most of the time (to conserve energy or I'd get burnt out ... hmmm ...) but my ears were open. I know it's kinda disrespectful towards the speaker but I just couldn't help it ! Anyway, when my name was called to answer some of the questions posed, based on the topics being taught, I was able to reply without any hesitation ... he he ... compared to some who were wide awake and could not answer !! I guess that sort of gave the speaker an indication that I was actually paying attention ... ^_^ On the last day, I took the opportunity to apologise to her during the 'car wash' session (where anyone can approach another person to 'wash' him/her with whatever he/she wishes to convey to the other party who can only listen in silence). So, I guess it turned out ok ... with her, I mean ^_^

We were asked to fill up our dream book (before setting our 2009 goals) within 2.5hours ... and guess what? Instead of sitting down at a quiet corner like the rest of the participants, I took the opportunity to dive into the swimming pool. Phew ! Glorious cooling water ... missed swimming so so much ! It really felt very good, to be in the water again after so many weeks ^_^ Ha ha ha ... that was when I had inspirations gushing into my mind about my DREAM ... just like the long shower I took when I wanted to write a love letter for my mom. Instead of writing them down, I took out a box of colour pencils and started drawing after an hour in the pool ... ending up with 33 pages in my dream book. I suppose, as a Cancerian, water really brings me out ^_^ Ha ... took another half an hour dip into the pool (couldn't resist the temptation ...) before I got out, bathed, dressed and ready for the next session.

After 3 days filled with games, sharing and fun, I finally managed to set my goals for 2009 ! Now ... to achieve the goal ... JUST DO IT !

New Year Eve Countdown Party

31st December, 2008 - It's the New Year Eve Countdown Party, finally !! The long awaited day to mark the end of 2008 and also the good start of 2009!

The New Year countdown party was a blast, with Dash enjoying himself thoroughly. We were at the charity dinner and dance party hosted by Kiwanis Club of Bangsar and boy ... haven't had that much fun in years! Sumptuous 8 course dinner with various performances : fashion show, international dancers lead by Francis & Tam who were champions > 100 times and are Malaysian Guinness Book Record holders, some hit songs by the talented 2007 Astro singing competition champion (ha ... can't recall her name now), violin child prodigy, a very nice song by a 9 year old girl .... Dash pestered me to buy him many of those party poppers and spray cans for the countdown and showered poor mommy with those foam and paper sprays while we were all dancing away ! Can't believe I could still dance the Cha Cha and Twist after so long ^_^

Another Success At Work

26th December, 2008 - Yup, that's right. Today I had a surprise check banked-into my account ! The client for whom I have been providing financial services to for 6 months decided to be generous and gave me 2 months' bonus. Yeh yeh !

This sure calls for better services in the future for which I am glad to provide to the best of my ability ... Yup, why not, so far he gets his financial reports on the day I receive the bank statements, I suppose that's efficiency heh. Ok ok, I shall not be too boastful here ! Just that I feel very happy when my clients appreciate my work ^_^ Hmm ... maybe I should ask for an increment soon ....

More successes and blessings coming my way ! I just know it :-)

Surprise Birthday For Mommy Dearest

11th January, 2009 - Tomorrow it's going to be mom's birthday and this evening, I received a call ... to attend a surprise birthday celebration for mom .... Made her so happy :-) The kids were happy too, of course lah, got pizza and KFC as the main dishes !

The best event of the day : ta da ... prize money of RM10 for every distinction in the last exam ! Wah .... lost count of how much angpow mom forked out that day, hopefully the children will keep producing good results :-)

Well, mommy is going to be 64 tomorrow, 24 years my senior ... yup ... so both of us share the same chinese zodiac, Rooster. That's why we have a lot in common too ... apparently, Rooster will have a good year of the OX ... Yippeeeee ^_^

Graduation Day

11th November, 2008 - Graduation Day was celebrated today, at the school.

Jenny and Joey graduated from primary school and kindergarten

... and to top it of, both Dash and Jasmine also went on stage for their respective "Best Improvement In The Class" awards. Needless to say, Mommy is so proud today, so proud of my little darlings !!!

Oops, not forgetting, Egan, my photo-memory nephew also went on stage for "Best Improvement In The Class" award too !

Kudos to all of you Scholars ! Keep it up !!!

First 3D Movie

28th December, 2008 - Today, we watched our very first 3D movie : Bolt !! I was as excited as the boys when we first put on the special 3D glasses ... ^_^

The movie was about super-dog Bolt. For Bolt, every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue - at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the canine star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet - a cross-country journey through the real world. Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and with the help of two unlikely traveling companions - a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens and TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino - Bolt discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero.

Well, the kids and myself enjoyed the movie very much and the 3D effect ... well, this will definitely not be our last 3D movie ya boys? ^_^

A Little Nasty Accident

25th December, 2008 - Christmas eve celebration ended with a nasty accident. Jgan, my little nephew ram into the sliding glass door and got himself a few nasty cuts !!! He ended up with 25 stiches on his right leg/thigh ... thank God it was on his leg and not some other vital organs. It was quiet a scary incident when I think back but we all learnt a lot. At least, now I know I am capable of getting the boy to calm down, explained to him what to expect when we were at the hospital and well, he too co-operated.

He is only 8 years old and despite the pain, he did not cry out loud and when asked to do breathing exercise to ease the pain and divert his attention, he could do it. His mom was so worried and kept weeping, couldn't stand the sight of blood, so I offered to stay in the treatment room with her boy for which I am glad. Guess what? After the whole ordeal, the boy asked to stay at my house instead of going home with his mom. Well, he must be scared to go home, for my brother, his father is sure to scold him ... so, he stayed with me that night while I nursed and well, pampered him. The next day, I made his father promise not to scold him before he came to visit his son ... ha ha ...

Felt guilty actually, for it was in my house that the accident happened. Good thing my brother is a very understanding brother. He apologised and even offered to compensate me for the damage. Phew! Glad that it's over. I had to remove all the 4 panes of sliding glass door and decided not to replace them. Guess, I'll get all the other glass doors laminated soon ...

My Girls' Birthday

24th December, 2008 - It's a day of celebration :

Jenny's 12th birthday

And it's also Jasmine's 10th birthday

Ice-cream Cakes for the day : Sure lah gasak everything !

After a sumptous BBQ with lots of other food like Pauline's world famous potato salad, green salad and fruits salad, longan jelly, sphagetti, fruits, ribena ... it was time for our Christmas Gift Exchange .... with mom as Santarina ...

So Long ... Farewell

19th December, 2008 - This evening, we celebrated Dewi's farewell, at a quaint little restaurant in Serdang serving only buffet BBQ cum steamboat. Yup, kakak Dewi, our very reliable maid, the one in pink. With her support and never tiring effort in making our home a real cozy home sweet home, I was almost in tears when her hubby decided for her not to extend her contract. It almost felt like I am losing one of the family members !

Yup, she was that precious to all of us ... my children and family (including mom, yup, you heard me right ... mom who never really trust a maid trusted her so much that she's not fidgety about leaving her in mom's place, anytime ! which somehow influenced my level of trust with Dewi too). Even my neighbour friend told her that if ever she decides to come back to work, to please work for her !

I suppose it's not easy to find such a dedicated and caring maid these days, what with all the bad publicity/news in the media and personal experiences of close friends and family.

Let me just share how dedicated she is : I am almost hands-free from the household work except for the weekly marketing at the supermarket or wet market. She washes, cooks, sends the kids to tuition classes, get the kids ready for school just so that Ms Odelia gets to enjoy more sleeping hours, changes bulbs, drill holes in the wall for the many photo frames and curtain rods, ractify plumbing problems, does the simple re-wiring just like a electrician minus the exorbitant costs ... she even guides my 5 children's BM homework ! She is also very alert and any instructions given to her is as good as done. She is also a very caring person ... when I am down, she is also sad, even shed silent tears for me, I know.

I hate to lose her but at the same time, felt happy for her to be re-united with her hubby. Here's wishing you, kakak Dewi ... lots of joy and happiness in your life, may you be blessed with little darlings soon ^_^

We also kinda bid farewell to Joey, the little cute and adorable one. She's going to stay with her dad, my younger brother, this coming 2009, starting primary one there. Hmm ... kinda sad to let her go after one year with us. She never fails to lit up a smile like the one in this photo. Aint she so so cheek-pinchy? Also very manja when she's in her good mood, comes hugging and all .... a beauty pageant in the making huh? Life has somehow thrown some challenges her way, making her grow up fast and independent for such a young girl.

Here's wishing her a great bright future and may her childhood days with her dad be as joyful and blessed. Hope to hug you soon, dear Joey ... Love, ku ku Odelia ^_^