Post-Birthday Cake

This is the ice-cream cake we bought from Haagen-Dazs for the November babies in my dept (That's me! That's me!). We bought a 2kg Macadamian Nut worth RM 189. But because I have the membership privilege and it's my birthday this month, they sent me a 30% discount voucher for all ice-cream purchases. It's a one time coupon. So.. Make the most out of it la...

Oh by the way, there were 4 candles.. Not because I'm 40 years old or something (I'm still young!! I've just turned 26!), but coz there are 4 of us with birthdays in November. So each of us get to blow 1 candle. *lol*

Happy (belated) birthday to me,
Happy (belated) birthday to me,
Happy (belated) birthday to me,
Happy (belated) birthday to meeeeeeeeee.

Happy Birthday to Hammie tooooo!!

*grin*

On Being 26

I turn 26 years old today.

The older I get, the more I realize that birthdays are not just about blowing candles on the cake, receiving presents and painting the town red. The more I realize that birthdays do not only mark the anniversary of one's birth, but to acknowledge and to be thankful to the parents who brought him/her into the world.

The older I get, the more I reflect on the years passed by. About the relationships (family, love and friends) gained, lost and also renewed. About the sweet memories that never fail to make me smile. About the bitter times that still bring me to tears whenever I'm reminded about them. About the events that carved me to be the person I am now.

The older I get, the more I realize how truly blessed I am to be surrounded by my loved ones and friends all over the world. Some people tells me that one is considered lucky if he/she can find five really close friends. I am extremely lucky and eternally blessed to have more than 5 angels surrounding me.

Thank you...

.. for bringing me into the world. For bringing me up with endless love, care and sacrifices. For ensuring that I have all the best things in the world.

.. for tolerating my fiery temper the past 23 years and looking out for me like an elder sister would do, when it should be the other way round.

.. for making my life complete when you popped the question and gave me that ring. It does not matter if the stone was huge, small or there wasn't any at all. What matter most is that you accepted me despite my faults, you gave us those second (and third and fourth) chances in the past, and accepting me to share your present and your future.

.. for the lovely suprise you gave - the long distance call. You are definitely the only one friend who have watched me grown in every stage in life, right from the Care Bear days to the person I am today. For being the one best friend I never realized I had all along. We both look forward to meeting you soon!!

.. for being the bestest 'heng tais' anyone can get in the whole wide world. Whenever there is one person giving me trouble, there are five of you standing in front, protecting this "baby sister".

.. for accepting me, even though I do not dive, drink nor go clubbing. Yet we could still mass mail each other everyday and meet up for "yum char" and yak about anything under the sun.

.. for treating me like family and being able to share so much with you. Work wouldn't have been so bearable and fun if it wasn't for you guyz.

.. for all the SMSes and e-mails received from all around the world. Even a short "Happy Birthday" message was enough to bring a smile, to be thought of, to be remembered.

My birthday really would not have been so memorable if not for all of you. Thank you sooooo much!!! *Hugz*

Pre-Birthday Treat From Colleagues

The real day's on this coming Sunday. A colleague did this for me on behalf of the department. So sweeeeeeeeeet of her. Thank you!

The whole team gave me, Hammie and another colleague a lunch treat at Pan Bakery Cafe in the afternoon, in the light of our birthdays this month. *sniff* I'm reaaaaaaally, reaaaally touched!!! This coming Tuesday, we would celebrate it with a Haagen-Dazs ice-cream cake, courtesy of the company's funds. Muahahhaha..

Gotta go now. I'm meeting Sue for dinner tonight. Moorish has flown over to Paris for work (for a month! Lucky her!), so she wouldn't be able to come join us. :( So it will just be me and Sue tonight. Early celebration with her, coz I would be spending the birthday weekend, celebrating other people's pre-birthdays. Hehe..

Have a nice weekend!! Thank you to my fellow colleagues!!!! Love ya all!!

Joyful Earrings!!

I have something to tell you. I have a new hobby now. I'm making my own jewelry. YAY!

I seen a lot of people setting up stalls at Amcorp Mall's flea market, selling jewelry. I was tempted to buy some earrings, but either the designs were too fancy or the colors were just not to my liking. So I thought, hey, why not I make my own ones. That's when I started checking out on sites on how to make jewelry. Hehe..

With great help from Twinsmom (she provided the locations on where to get the supplies, thank you soooo much!!), some ideas from April, and of course, huge huge help from Mum (she, along with a friend, helped me get the supplies. I love you, Mum!! *Muakz*) I managed to make my first collection of dangle earrings. YAY!!

I started off reaaaaaally slowly, making my first pair while watching Super Rookie on 8TV. After a couple of times doing trial and error, they turned out like this..

My first pair of dangle earrings. Nice ah?

After getting Mum's approval, I went on making another 5 pairs (still was slow, but in a slightly faster speed. Hehe..).

My homemade collection. Think ok ah?

I'm already addicted to the idea of making my own jewelry - I get to create my own designs, to my own liking! I'll be getting more supplies and heh, will make a couple of pairs for a few friends as 'hadiah sampingan' for their birthdays this weekend. If you think there are some designs which you think I should try on, do let me know. I'll be happy to try them out! ;)

Note :- Sorry la.. Pictures turned out so blur.. What to do, lousy phone camera. Anyone willing to get me a better one for Christmas? Hehe..

The Seasons Of Love

As I looked upon the stars above
I prayed for someone to love
Then you walked across the room
In the romantic month of June

Climbed the highest mountain
Walked the path no man has taken
Swam the widest sea
Be all you wanted me to be

Spring has gone, so has summer
"Do you care for me?", I wonder
All you did was to huff and puff
I want to let go, I had enough

"I'm sorry, I'll change", you said
But my love, it's already too late
I've heard them too many, too often
The autumn leaves have now fallen

The snow falls, it's cold and wet
I think of all the memories we've had
But I must break free, I have to
Goodbye my love, adieu.

Note :- Dedicated to those who had reached the end of their relationships. May you be able to find love once again. *Hugz*

Baby Natalie

Allow me to introduce you.. Weighing at sliiiiiiiiiiiiightly more than 5 pounds (Yeah, she's THAT small!).. Chino's little princess..

Baby Natalie

She's soooo small... She's soooooo cute.. I just felt like carrying her in my arms.. *grin*

Chino's Princess Arrived!

A newborn has finally joined the Sunflower family. Hoooooray!

Received Chino's SMS after nearly 8 hours since I last spoke to him in the afternoon (Initially wanted to snap a photo of the SMS but.. The words came out blurry) :-

"Little princess safely delivered at x.xx pm x.xx pounds. Mother and baby healthy. Praise God."

Called him instantly and boy, he sounded soooooooooo exhausted. But of course, I could hear him grinning from cheek to cheek. Hehe.. It was already nerve-wrecking for me to wait for the good news, what's more he himself! I kept worrying and praying for them for nearly 8 hours since the wife was on labour. I was practically jumping around with joy when the news finally came! I announced it to my family and helped Chino spread the news around through SMS. He's my "heng tai", in fact, one of the closest among the 5 of them. That's exactly how a sister would react when her big brother's baby has been delivered. ;)

Aneh & I will go visit them tomorrow evening. We'll snap some pictures of them for the rest of the Sunflower family. FRG called me upon receiving the news. Long distance call from China!! Poor guy, he's been posted there for a couple of months now, he can't wait to come back next week and hopefully he'll still be around in Malaysia for Chino's baby's full moon celebration.

You know, although I had been psycho-ing them to have the baby delivered this coming Sunday, frankly speaking, I'm glad she arrived today coz I realized something. 22-11. Chino's birthdate is on the 22nd, his wife's birthdate is on the 11th. There's no any other better date than to have her arrived on her parents' birthdates combined. *grin*

Ooohhhh la la... I can't wait to see them tonight!!

Pray For Safe Delivery (Chino)

Chino's wife is on labour now. It's their first newborn (expecting to be a girl). Please pray for them for quick labour and safe delivery. Aneh & I will be visiting them at the hospital right after work tonight.

Darn.. I had been psycho-ing them & the baby to arrive this coming Sunday. Due date was supposed to be 1st December. Cheh. Hehe..

To My Sis..

Happy, Happy Birthday to you!!!!!! May you be blessed with lots of happiness and joy, and less stress at work. *grin*

Feeling kinda guilty coz I did not get anything for Sis. Really got to make up for that later. Mum's cooking a simple dinner and oh, she's getting a small cake too. Sis will be having an old friend over to spend the night. Hopefully she'll have a great birthday.

Happy Birthday, my dear Sis!! *Hugz*

Zouk Abuse - True Or False?

Recently I briefly read an article in the papers about a couple being bashed in Zouk for "making out in the men's toilet". It was through Sue this morning that I realized the girl mentioned was a batchmate during secondary school. According to her, her fiancee was sick in the toilet and needed help. But the Zouk Manager said otherwise.

Ju-Lee and her fiancee had been assaulted and beaten up. She had issued a petition and they're taking legal action.

So, Zouk Abuse - True or False? You be the judge. As for me, I've signed the petition.. Regardless of whichever party was in the wrong, no bouncers have the right to use violence against patrons. And I'm really sad to hear about Ju-Lee and her fiancee. I pray for them..

Sharing the Chinese Birthdate

It's fun knowing that there's someone else who shares the same birthday as you. It's memorable when you get to celebrate it with that someone else. It's even sweeter when that someone else was born exactly on the very same date, same month, same year as you. Which also means, sharing the same Chinese birthdate. The best part? When that someone else is a very, very good friend of yours. *grin*

Wan Nei is that someone else. Someone whom I've met on the first day of college back in 1997. Someone whom I've became instant friends with. Almost like sisters. Someone whom sat directly in front of me in class on that first day. Then we sat beside each other right at the back of the class throughout that year. And until today, we are still great friends. We celebrated our 18th birthdays together that year, right after our Finals. We celebrated our 25th birthdays together last year. Within the past 8 years, it was only last year when we both realized we shared the same Chinese birthdate. *duh* Of course la, if you're born on the same date, same month, same year, sure la Chinese date also same, right? *Double duh* Well, actually it was Wan Nei whom realized that fact first when she wished me "Sheng Ri Kuai Le" online. *smile*

Remembering that, I rang her up just now. "Sheng Ri Kuai Le, Jie Jie!!!" . I call her "Jie Jie" (Big Sister) coz she is about 5 hours older than me. Although it's just like any other day, like another birthday, it brought us much excitement.

"Sheng Ri Kuai Le!"
"Thank you, thank you"
"Sheng Ri Kuai Le to you too!"
"Thank you, thank you"

*grin* Our birthdays will fall on a Sunday. We will arrange to meet up then. Until then, "Sheng Ri Kuai Le" to Wan Nei and I. *smile*

No $$, No Renovation

Everything needs $$. When it comes to renovating the house, no $$ no talk. No $$, live with what you have. Got $$, then renovate with however much you can afford. Got more $$, even better still.

We've started renovation already. Well, going bit by bit. Starting off with the kitchens (wet and dry), then the back part of the house, then will proceed to repainting the wall fence and the exterior walls of the house. If got more $$, we'll renovate the bathrooms and redo the staircase. Oh, and change the kitchen cabinets. The problem is, no $$, how to do. We don't mind living within our means, make do with what is provided. Then again, parents will nag and say "Better do now. Next time move in already, then want to renovate, very ma fan. Very san fu".

Then when it comes to buying stuffs, got to go to a couple of places to compare the price, quality and the outlook. For instance, we spent one full day just to go look for curtains. We went to several places but ended up at Kamdar to tailor make them. That also at least RM 700 for the living room itself! Ricepot estimated his own house renovation will be at least RM 40k. That's helluva huge sum!!

I do wonder sometimes how could everyone handle the whole renovation thing. There's so much to plan, places to go, decisions to make, it can really take up a lot of time. And of course, not forgetting, $$$ dumped out for all these. I'm already drained out the past 1 week (It was supposed to be a freaking DeepaRaya holiday for me!). I don't know how long more can I take it. But if everyone else can do it, so can I, eh?

Cross Stitch Patterns

Just wondering, does anyone know where can I get cross stitch patterns around PJ/KL? I've visited Adeline Fashion (can't remember if that was the exact name of the shop) in Amcorp Mall. I am looking for patterns of mountains or koi fishes. There were a number of patterns available, but the patterns I want are quite limited there. Some patterns I found were Nine Koi Carp (this is nice, but it looked a bit fake) and Chinese Landscape (would be better if this is horizontal instead of vertical).

Does anyone know where else can I get them? I want to make a masterpiece for the house. Hehe.. I made a Galloping Horses for Inspector's family when they moved into their new house 2-3 years ago. Took me more than 1 month to complete it. I would want to start the project as soon as possible, so that it can be completed, and framed before the New Year (or housewarming!).