7 random things

Well, it's a long time since I have been tagged. :) So, thanks to Zooropazoo for tagging me AND giving me an award as well!

To accept this award I must:
1. List 7 random things about yourself

2. Share the award with up to 15 other bloggers

3. Link to each of the recipients and let them know they’ve won via comments on their blogs

4. Thank and bring the love back to the person you won the award from by linking back to them.

So, let's get down to it.

1) I love musicals. I get more into it when both my eyes and ears are involved.

2) I kinda love my job. Flexible hours and not much stress.

3) I love dogs and had one all my growing up years.

4) I was a little plump as a girl and in my older years gained weight again when I was in Australia. (Lost it all now!)

5) I used to love ice kacang. Never could turn one down. But now find it just a bowl of sweet vege.

6) I was born in Penang but only stayed there till I turned 8.

7) I have had almost every hairstyle you can think of save for botak!

Won't tag anyone coz rekcon most bloggers would have been tagged already. So....

Disciplining is a hard lesson to learn

I find I am frequently doing this since my son turned 2.

In the late of the night, I would stroke his hair and pray for him. And pray for myself that I would have the wisdom to bring him up to be a sensible boy, a lovable boy and most importantly a boy after the heart of our Father.

It always happens in the late of the night. Mostly coz I cannot fall asleep after (usually) an incident that had just happened before we retired for bed.

Last night, it was because I whacked him for shouting back at me when I told him to pick up his toys. He has been very rude for the pass few days and last night was the final warning. Then he shouted back at me that he doesn't want me anymore and that he wants his grandparents. For which I nearly threw him out of the door to go look for his grandparents.

Of course he cried. And of course he put away his toys while crying. And of course after that I hugged him and spend some time with him.

But then when it was time to sleep, he sat in the corner sulking, asking me to go away coz I always scold him. He wants daddy to put him to bed. For which of course I didn't give in. And he grudgingly brushed his teeth and changed into his PJs at my count of 3. He fell asleep by himself while I was brushing my teeth.

With the 2 kids asleep, hubby and I discussed the best way to discipline our son. It is harder coz with Caylee around, we cannot always give him the attention he desires. Yet, that isn't an excuse for shouting back at his parents.

And Caylee reacts very badly to loud voices or to her kor kor crying. She will also cry in empathy until she is out of breath.

Sometime when it happens and someone else is dealing with Caylee, I can at least look him in the eye and talk quietly but sternly to him until he does what is requried of him.

But when I am holding Caylee, and the situation is in dire need of remedy and he totally ignores me and shouts back at me.....oooohhhhh.....

I am thinking in my head consistency in punishment and not emotional punishment. But sometimes it is so hard not to react when both kids push you to the limit, and you are all alone, to reign in that irritation threatening to explode in your face.

Oh Lord!
Give me wisdom.
Give me patience.
Give me understanding.

@ Empire

The effect of having 2 kids is that the camera battery runs flat now. So, the following pictures were experiments from my 2nd hand 'new' phone. At least now I know how to take pics with my new phone and that they turn out pretty well.

We went to Empire this weekend. Have been wanting to go for quite sometime now but well.....Had lunch at Tarbush coz i have been wanting to try this place. Previously, the only establishment was in KL. So I am quite glad to see it in Empire. The food is quite nice.

Tarbush Salad (RM10)

I didn't like it coz I don't like yogurt in my salad!

Lamb Arayes (RM16)

My dish and I loved it. Nicely spiced.

Hubbies Tawook Sandwich (RM 12)

He didn't like it coz it had too many onions.

I felt it quite blend after my lamb.

My mint tea (RM3). Very nice.

Sweet and minty!

There really isn't much in Empire (at this moment) in terms of shopping, so we concentrated on the FOOD!

The Loaf is now at Empire. So hubby couldn't resist getting some pastries for tea and breakfast tommorrow.

Tropical Stick and California Raisin was on promotion.

Cranberry Cheese was oozing cheese.
Managed to snap a pic of it before the little boy ate it all up!


Raspberry Swirl

Christopher is (still) down with cough and flu. Whenever he falls ill, I always find myself desperate for immediate solutions. And this leaves me always willing to try something new. Wai Yin told me about this remedy when she first gave me the plant. But I forgot. Upon her reminder, I decided to try it.

Surfed Oregano Tea and goodness, some recipies are really tedious. I took some and used some and improvised.

Plucked some young shoots of my oregano plant. Rinsed it once in Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 times in hot water. Then cut it up into strips directly into the pot of boiling water.

Boiled until the tea turned a little brown. Added some honey and spoon fed it to Christopher like medicine.

It actually doesn't taste that bad. But I only let him drink it once so I can't really tell the effect.

Reckon Tong Sum, Yuk Chuk, Longan and Pork ribs herbal soup still is easier to down for my little one. And hopefully with soup I can get him to eat more rice.

He has gone down so much now and his appetite is so bad, it breaks my heart. But he is in such a rotten mood i.e. rude and bad tempered that I just let him starve, and just give him milk, when he throws food at me or spits them out. Sigh....

All he wants to eat are lollipops. And that sure can't help him fight the virus/germs invading his body.

My last weekend

It's my last weekend before I go back to work.

My colleague asked me that day if I am ready to come back.

Seems there is a whole LOAD of work waiting for me.

I told him "Yes, I am ready.

When my kid cries the whole morning

and I just want to take a break.

But NO, I am not ready.

When she coos and giggles and talks to me

and then goes to sleep like she should."

I would certainly miss her smiling face during the day.

But maybe I will appreciate her waking times more in the evening.

Now, isn't that a cute face?

The day after

Yesterday was my sister's wedding.

The night before, all of us were tossing and turning in bed going through our minds what we had to do only the next day.

Reckon all of us (as in the Hoong family only) had only 2-3 hours of sleep. We greeted each other the next morning with HUGE black bags under our eyes.

It was an adrenalin high for me. I had lots to do, tasks which I ticked off 'done' in my head. And I carried the ang paus everywhere I went as well as the bags of presents.

I was more stressed as the glorified MAID than when I was the bride! And tears threatened to overflow more often than when I, as the bride had to say my vows or make my speech.

Now, my son is down with a cough and flu (courtesy of my cousin from Australia). My parents have left back to Ipoh, towing him along. Poh Poh feels it better to quarantine him from Caylee since she is due for her shots this week.

After the rush, I am at an all time low. And without my son to occupy me, I am listening to songs all too sentimental to bring me out of this valley. Maybe I need to sleep.

Your highest investment

My sis was lamenting over the amount of money she has to fork out for her wedding this coming weekend.

And in my head, I was thinking "She has to let it go!"

Weddings are expensive. You hope to recover the cost of your dinner but if you want a beautifully decorated church, a good enough lunch after church, wine for dinner and red packets to go around, they all require BIG $$$.

I would rate a wedding the 3rd biggest 'investment' after a house and kids' education. The 4th would be a car and the 5th a holiday.

But I do know a couple who has a more expensive car compared to the apartment they inhabit.

What are your investments? And how do they rate in your life?

Crazy me?

So the truth be told : I actually like to do house work.

When I had Caylee, hubby agreed that he would bring all his working shirts to the laundry to be ironed. It worked out quite well for the first few weeks after my confinement. I could restrain myself from ironing the huge pile of clothes accumulating on the iron board. Hubby usually waits about 2 weeks before he brought all his shirts out to be taken care of.

After 1 month, my desire to take care of the clothes overcame my need for rest. It's a relief to me that the ironing board in the storeroom is empty and what a satisfaction to see the many many clothes ironed and hanged.

Strange as it may be, I also enjoy the 'workout' that comes with mopping the floor and the satisfaction that the floor is now clean.

I love hanging the fresh clothings out to dry and enjoy taking it back when it is warm and crisp.

I also love cooking and baking. And don't really mind the 'minor' cleaning up after that!

But...
don't ask me to sweep!
and...
don't ask me to hand wash anything!
and...
don't ask me to deep fry!

Maybe I am not that crazy after all. How about you? I know many wives now don't do the ironing.

Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant

The 2 Cheah brothers always 'argue' as to where to eat whenever we have to celebrate an occasion. The ones Bro2 suggests sometimes is not suitable for kids, so Bro1 overrides. And sometimes Bro1 suggests which Bro2 agress reluctantly and then complains later!

Well....the last Fathers' Day, the suggestion came from my mother inlaw. Bro2 didn't take up the suggestion so Bro1 did the work instead. Booked the table and surfed the net for their famous food.

It was a typical chinese restaurant. NOISY and PACKED!!! THe food was alright...there were some special dishes.

The tofu was REALLY good. It was crispy out side and soft inside.

Very different vege!

Searched other blogs and they called it 'dragon leaves'.

The BBQ pork was really good! But quite fatty!

And it came with tempura like long beans (which my son loved)!

Steamed chicken.....alright lah with the chilli sauce!

We actually ordered a fish as well. And sat there waiting for it. Only to be told 20 minutes later that they have run out of fish! Sigh...

So, will I go back again? Maybe. But definitely not on an occasion date in case they run out of fish again!

Parking sucks big time....so if you ever go, go early! There are very few parking places given the restaurant is facing the main road in a residential area.

Dragon Star Seafood Restauran, 54a & 54b, Jln SS1/22Kampung Tunku
Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7877 6673

What do you read for?

Which is of more importance to you? The plot or the use of words?

I got to admit that most of the time I read books because of their story line. After all when deciding which book to purchase, we only can rely on the sypnosis lying somewhere in the book.

However, when a book reaches my hand, I seldom neglect it merely because the sypnosis isn't that intriguing.

So, when my sister gave me this book - The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende, I read it with an open mind.

And for once, I must say the plot isn't anything to shout about but Allende writes in the most poignant way, making me sad when I reached the last page.

And becuase I am not reading to chase the plot, I read each word patiently. I let the words roll in my head. New words stick to my mind as I commit them to memory of usage.

And the way she ends is very much how I love to end all my stories as well. Rounded.

So, next time you see a book by Allende, do pick it up for a read. I felt so much more enriched in my word bank and so much more in touch with emotions before this undescribable.

Can't wait to buy more of her books.....

H1N1

Took the H1N1 immunization jab this morning. And now my arm hurts like mad! :(

Now I know how terrible the pneumococal shot is for my kids. It only hurts when the meds get into the blood stream!

Whoosh....and I am having trouble carrying the 5.3 kg baby!