Our short workoliday…

Before I start on our short work cum holiday, would like to write about Kylie’s new bicycle. I got it with my credit card points recently. I always get one bicycle each time during the credit card special points redemption each year. However, Apah had to buy the accessories which did cost quite a bit to make his face turn pale…

We dare not let her cycle outside without supervision as her legs are still too short for the bike.  I know I said I don’t like to buy anything from the Barbie range for her but they do not have many choices for the girls bicycle accessories. Since the bike had a Barbie theme, must as well get the Barbie accessories lorr…

For the recent school holidays, we went down south as it was due time for me to visit my customers from Melaka to Muar to Batu Pahat and finally Johor Bahru. I like to bring along the kids so they can experience what I experienced before when I was a kid. This is to let them know, holidays don’t come free.

My dad used to bring us along for his visits to the customers when we were kids. I remember we had more stops before and we dare not complain very much, despite the heat and the long journey. In those days we didn’t have the the luxury of North-South Highway and the many clean toilet stops so can you imagine where we stopped for toilet breaks?? My dad used to scare us with weird weird stories about wild animals coming to lick our buttocks in order to make us speed up the process and don’t dilly dally!!

However, despite the comfort the kids had they still complained when I stopped to talk to my customers. I had to remind them by asking them to observe the customer’s shop and ask them to count how many machines there are and tell them that the machines are bought from me. Without the sale of machines, NO HOLIDAY! (for Kylie’s case, I have to say no HOTEL, as she doesn’t really understand what is holiday but she sure knows what’s a HOTEL!)

We stopped at Melaka for the 1st night. We had a good corporate rate from Apah’s company. The journey from Batu Pahat to JB was quite a long one due to the after hour jam. Couldn’t make it to visit the customers, so I called them to inform that I will see them on Sunday instead. By the time we reached the hotel in JB it was late. Was meeting another customer for dinner but he told me to take my time. So I had a hair wash at the salon in the hotel and was slaughtered charged RM68 for it! I could have like 4 washes with that amount with my regular hairdresser! Darn! But what to do, Amah got to look good marrrr…..

The customer treated us dinner at this Thai restaurant which was close to our hotel. The food was good and the ambience was better! Definitely a must go when you go to JB.

Saturday was a day in Singapore. Collected my supplies from my usual supplier (so it was not totally for fun la) and off we went to Chinatown to collect my pre-ordered bento accessories.

The Disney cookie/bread cutter was cheaper in Takashimaya.  Kai Kai in Chinatown was selling at SGD9.90 (but I had a 10% member discount so it worked out to be similar oso la) while in Taka it was SGD8.90 nett. My collection has reached a level where I do not have enough space to store them anymore! So I think I will stop buying from now on…(as if…)

It was Saturday and the roads were congested as everyone was going towards city centre. We decided not to park in Orchard as the parking fees are exorbitant. So we decided to park in Suntec City Mall since their parking charges are considered the most reasonable at SGD1.07 per hour. We hopped on the MRT to Orchard to visit my favourite Takashimaya and to meet a buddy for lunch.

I was thinking of getting the WMF pressure cooker but the sales girl was not around to help me and I didn’t notice any special buys..so I guess I have to wait till the next sale. We rushed off to Marina City to meet my long lost primary school friends. That was the first time I met them after ..eh hem…many years (you do the calculation). We had a good time chatting and that left me only time to shop at Carrefour Suntec! We bought some food stuff (imported instant noodles, etc) and a new bicycle helmet for Kieran. It was really a cool one and the boy was so happy with it, he started wearing it in the car!

Before going back to the car, Apah wanted to get a pair of shorts and look at what happened to the kids…

Kylie was so tired she knocked out on the trolley! We bought some packed sushi for snack in the car as Apah was worried of the jam on the causeway. It was not as bad as the previous trip I made and we crossed over in over an hour.

Once we reached the hotel, we decided against going out for food, so we cooked some cup noodles which I bought earlier on. Thanks goodness they had the non spicy one for the kids. (It was a prepacked Korean cupnoodles pack which I saw them selling here in Jusco but it was about RM1+ more expensive compared to Spore’s price. Hahaha…that was “huge” savings alright! I must say the hotel we stayed in JB was very good. Probably it’s still new. The service was good and the price was very reasonable. It was the Paragon on Jln Harimau.

The next day was customer time before we left JB for Melaka again. Tried to make the trip more relaxing and decided against going back straight to KL. Dinner was at Ole Sayang, packed with tourists (probably made famous from the Spore Drama series, Little Nyonya). Had to wait for the table and the food was quite good I must say.

We had morning breakfast with an old friend whom we have not seen in quite a while. And then off we went back to check out and onward to the Melaka Zoo.

We were sooo tired after that and Kylie knocked out immediately!

We stopped at Ayer Keroh rest area for lunch so she just had a short siesta..The queue at the A & W was sooo long even though it was not so long and they didn’t want to serve the waffle due to short of staff! WTF! Always liddis during that time of the year la…We shopped at the Al Ikhsan shop in the rest area (ya Amah must shop everywhere!) and bought Kieran his new crocs. couldn’t wait till HK. We didn’t have time to get them in Spore either so no choice la..

Kieran insists that he’s not tired and doesn’t need to nap but after a while…

Inzago Day 3 continued…

Ok la ok la…here’s a picture of the rooftop at the Duomo…I have a few more but too lazy to load la…

Dinner was back at Inzago, they had someone drive me back all the way from Milan. It was about an hour’s drive. The driver had 2 other passengers and all 3 of them don’t speak English. So can you imagine how I feel the whole journey..sienz…

Timing was just right, I had enough time to take a shower and get ready for my dinner date. Dinner was at this restaurant beside the river. The photo below is on the bridge near the restaurant. Behind me is a Villa with many many rooms…neh those rich rich mia people’s house with many rooms for relatives to come stay…

Below is the photo of the restaurant…partly on stilts..so romantic hor…

We had a bottle of white wine…

The food was good, but again I’m too lazy to post all the photos…but I have to post this one..Tiramisu…tasted heavenly….

I am not too comfortable in sharing the photo of my dinner date, the marketing manager of my supplier (not so nice larr) so..got to let you guys guessing la…middle aged Italian guy, tall, lean, sleek, greyish hair ala Richard Gere…..hmmmmm….(eh the waiters pun damn gaya looking!! wokay!)

Sooooo sad….

I was at KLCC yesterday and met up with some great company for lunch. Lunch and catch up time was great, but was cut short as one of the participants had another appointment.

So what is a trip to KLCC without visiting my favourite shoe shop, Pedder Red. To my disappointment, the shop is no longer there, yes, chup lup-ded, tutup kedai, closed shop, bankrupt..Oh nooooooooooooooo I was almost wailing!! Now the only way to get those shoes are from Singapore (not sure if they are still there or not) but for sure can get in Hong Kong. My shoe shelf is no longer shoe-xiting once my older Pedder Reds RIP….

Gimme back Pedder Red! Ok ok, I really didn’t help much as I only bought their shoes when they were on sale. Never bought full price before…sorry la..I know they still make quite a bit even on sale geh..come on..open up in a place where the rental is not so high lor…Please??? Please?????

Frankfurt Day 1 – 2

The flight delayed again, Mana Ada System mia pasal (MAS) as usual. The flight is 1155 but boarding starts like 1150! WTF! I was wandering around the duty free shops wondering what to buy for the guys, even thought of buying a bottle of whiskey but then I changed my mind since I don’t drink (just in case they make me drink with them), so I just got them liquor chocolates instead! hahahahaa…

The last time I flew MAS was last August and this time round I noticed they no longer use the cloth pillow cases for the cushions! I know they had massive problems washing these tiny blue cushion covers and with costs so high, they now use the cheapy fibre covers which I think they throw them away after use. However, I could smell the stench of the used pillow! Bleah!

Food was ok and I of course chose the nasi lemak (coconut fragrant rice with chilly) and assam fish (spicy sour fish) since I will be in Europe for a week!

Clearance of customs & luggage was quick and there was a Merzedes cabs waiting. The cab cost Euro 24 for a short 15 minutes trip to the hotel. The hotel was lovely, located amongst a housing area and it had a very homey & cosy feeling. Look at the flowers around the hotel! It was lovely! They even asked me to have the breakfast eventhough breakfast starts with the room next day. It was simple and good wholesome breakfast, with homemade bread and a variety of cold meats & cheese. The butter was the best, I could eat chunks of it and don’t feel it’s butter!!! Soooooo yummmmmeeeee!

Check out the garden around the hotel!

Went for a tour around the office and factory of my German supplier and then we went for lunch. It was an Italian restaurant, and food was so so and we waited like so long for it. After food we headed to the city and I was quite disappointed with the city, really no big deal.

We walked about a little and then had these! The beer was really good, for me who usually do not have much liking for beer, I kinda enjoyed the beer here.

There was this street which was like an open market (similar to our pasar malam “night market” but only more sophisticated, all the stalls were able to fold in can be towed away by a car!) Check out the wheels beneath the counter (selling various ham & sausages, so NOT HALAL)

After the beer, we headed back to where the hotel was, and dinner was nearby the hotel. We met some colleagues halfway and went straight to the restaurant. Dinner was great, had pork cordon bleu, very porky and meaty and rich!!

The weather was cooling, though it’s summer already. The walk back to the hotel was good. I can’t believe I couldn’t feel really tired and jet lagged! However, I woke up really early the next morning as it was already bright at 5 am!!

Here’s one of my loot from Italy, as said, will post one item per post! Can you notice that I’ve actually put in the cover wrongly???? Super blur!

Bottega Venetta iPod case, really a steal at Euro110 from the Outlet store at Florence

Happy Christmas to me…happy Christmas to me…

I just couldn’t resist getting myself a gift for Christmas. Actually I’ve been looking to buy this for quite some time but just didn’t know which one to get until I came across this really good sales guy who looks like Jay Chow! He was so good he convinced me that I should get this thing..but then I didn’t buy it immediately and still gave it some thought over a week..then I read in that this lady too was getting it and I then decided that I shouldn’t delay further…so I got myself this on top of many other stuff (yes yes Amah has been shopping…n shopping…)…the downside was and the most potong steam (anti climax) part was that I got it slightly more expensive than hers and she had more freebies!!! blek!

zheng zheng zheng…..*drum roll*….

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I’ve been playing with it the past few days and captured some photos..here are some…still learning la…gimme chance ok…

 

 

Good thing about this camera is it has auto functions for idiots like me!

I want to take this opportunity to wish all my friends, relatives, everyone…a very happy & blessed Christmas & a wonderful year ahead in 2008!!

 

Tags Marathon…

The Age That I Wish My Child Will Stay To Be!

Got this tag from Mummy in Vain  like yonks ago…but been really bz…(ya ya excuses excuses…) Of course when they just eat, sleep & cry…when they don’t know how to run away from you and we can kiss them non stop and they don’t complain, that you don’t have to punish them….gone are those days…

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7 things about me

Another long overdue tag from Chinnee

1. Just like Chinnee…I’m also a very stubborn strong-willed person.

2. I am a shopping freak, each time I go out I must buy something…
3. Just like Chinnee again, I make the decisions most of the time in my household..
4. I love travelling…(to shop… )
5. I’m really tough, will not take no for an answer
6. I have very bad temper and will flare up easily, so don’t step on my tail toe
7. I love food and enjoy cooking & baking to try out new recipes

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 To cane or not to cane?? 

Fresh new one from Malaika’s mum. I use the rod in many forms, anything long & skinny besides the cane and of course the clothes hanger comes in handy at all times!

Instructions :
**Start Copying Here**
Tag 5 bloggers
1st – You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.
2nd – Let the blogger know that they have been tagged by leaving comment in their blog.

1. Miche does not spare the rod.
2. Msaufong spare the rod but not the VOICE.
3. Lemonjude reasonably spare the rod.
4. Shoppingmum spares the rod.
5. MummyInVain does not think of sparing the rod
6. ChewLee would like to spare the rod, if possible.

7. Laundryamah thinks that sparing the rod will spoil the child!

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20 wu leow/mo liu/EFNTD Questions

 Mamapumpkin wants to ask me 20 questions…here goes..

1. Do you like rainy or sunny days? Why? – Rainy days so that I don’t have to water the plants and sunny days to dry my laundry!
2. At what age do you wish to marry retire?  – Now? Can ah? Please God…pleeeaasssssssss
3. What colour do you like the most? – RED
4. If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one? – Can you please take me to Japan before I’m like stricken with a deadly disease??
5. Where is the place that you want to go the most? Why? – Japan (refer to No.4
6. Which part of you that you hate the most? – No where…love every part of me me me! Blek…
7. When you encounter a sad moment, what would you do? – Get a wretched feeling and probably tears would well up in my eyes..
8. What are you afraid to lose the most? – Well of course my family
9. If you win $1 million, what would you do? – Spend it all!!!!!!!
10. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her? Or would you keep it to yourself and observe from afar? – No way, go get em!
11. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you. – She has done a very good job bringing up her pumpkin, sacrificed her career for family and such a sweet person
12. What are the requirements that you wish for your other half? – To not be so negative, and not be be a scrooge!
13. Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most? – I think I’ve mentioned this before in one of those earlier tags…not spending enough time with my late dad..
14. Which type of person do you hate the most? – I try not to hate but really dislike selfish people
15. What is your ambition? – To retire soon and get to travel all over the world and bring up my kids well (aiya travelling so much how to bring them up well hor..blek)
16. What is the thing that will make you think he/she is bad? – Bad manners & selfishness
17. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be? – See my kids suddenly so loving and obedient! (dream on….)
18. Christmas is coming, who do you like to celebrate with? – With my family & friends
19. What do you think is the most important thing in your life? – God
20. My question: What brand of toothbrush do you use? Oral B

I’m not coming up with a question cos I’m not tagging anyone lor…

Last Weekend…

We had 2 birthdays over the weekend, and we have another birthday this coming weekend!

It was my father in law’s birthday on Saturday and we went to this porridge steamboat restaurant in Subang SS15. The food was not as good as the one in Cheras, the one we went with Annie & family. It was as usual difficult to handle Kylie as she was getting restless as we were cooking the food and she was as usual, playing with the cutleries, climbing out from the baby chair..then start to scream when we restrained her…(me so embarrassed of her and most of the time don’t even bother to look at her..)

As for the boy, he was chatting away with grandpa..

The cake that was baked by yours truly…quite yucky lor the appearance n there was some mistake in the process also…blekkk

 

Then on Sunday it was my cousin Liz’s son’s birthday. Again we had time to kill before the party and Apah made a mistake by suggesting One Utama…cos lunch was expensive (again) and of course Amah went to shop again! Lunch was great, Japanese and at a new place…

yummmmz…

but my time digging into the old stock at Zara was even more shiok! Despite the fact that they r really stingy with their discounts, even after so long after the sale, the stuff I bought were like only about slightly over 50% but not more than 60% off! And while I was still decided which to buy out of the pile I tried on..

that’s my cuzzie playing magician entertaining the kids!

 

then I noticed a few containers such as below…..errr what’s going on?

the kids at the party.. 

 

Kylie wearing some head band…that’s quite unusual as she usually doesn’t like anything on her head.. 

 

have u guessed what was the fish in the containers for? No it’s not for a game…it’s the party pack to take home! 

 

 look at the excitement..”I can’t wait to squish u lil fishy….” 

 

I quickly set up the pond (which was bought initially as a deco item with no intention of rearing any fish!) 

 

Since it’s supposed to be a deco item, we don’t have the filter…so that was temporary measure until I bought the filter last night!

 

Downunder Day 7..errr another long one..

Easy going day for me, another buddy (school mate from Form 1) came to pick me up to visit her house. Thank goodness all my friends were staying around the same area, like 10 to 20 minutes drive from one another). We caught up at her place for a bit and then went out for lunch. She bought me Shanghainese food for lunch and we ate too much again! The minimum order for the dumplings were like more than a dozen pieces leh but only of us to gobble eat them up.

 

Mind you, the size of the dumpling was kinda big compared to ones here…

 

Bob’s Kitchen famous for the dumplings located at Glen Waverly

After heavy lunch I went off to the city to meet another buddy who’s going to bring me shopping. Yeah she’s the culprit to my breaking my vow of not buying anything…yes, Angie, I’m so eating up my words, “I will not buy anything one la, crazy meh, the exchange rate x 3 leh!” Well, the first stop was Myer, our favourite hang out during uni days (should be libraries, tutorials or lecture halls, really). I was to meet Ms W at the front of the store but I was early and saw something interesting in front of Myer, Bourke St Mall. I don’t remember there was this figure here the last time I was here..something new again? So can u tell me if it’s a real statue or someone dressed up for art’s sake?

The moment Ms W saw me she immediately took me to Myer to grab some off season bargains. Yes branded goods like Chacharel, Alberta Ferretti, Donna Karan etc going at more than 50% off…unfortunately or fortunately I couldn’t find something to die for so I didn’t buy anything from there! But Wendy is not about to give up as Amah the shopping queen did NOT buy anything! So she brought me to another smaller mall called Australia on Collins.

Ms W has a VIP card to Country Road (Australia’s home brand) and Amah can’t resist visiting this store. However, I find the brand has sort of lost its appeal or maybe all of their clothes are now made in my ancestors’ homeland. During my student days, there used to be at least one range that are made in Australia but now..zilch..and the material used are no longer that good as before…such a disappointment..BUT BUT, I still couldn’t resist their signature canvas bags. Since the VIP card has a promotion offer, meaning if I buy above AUD150, AUD50 is automatically deducted, so I ended up buying 3 bags! (one as a gift la…)

The pants next to the bags was mistake and a buy under pressure from the DFO in Homebush, Sydney, a David Lawrence 3/4 pants made in my ancestors’ homeland, way overpriced for its design and material, well to comfort myself, the cloth does feel really good!

After Country Road, Ms W still did not give up and strived to continue to encourage Amah to contribute more to the Australian retail economy. Ms C another old friend turned up to meet me and off we went… There was this outlet located on Collins St, called Luciana, or something like that la..It carries off seasons branded bags and shoes, Amah’s so dead cos that’s Amah’s greatest weakness, BAGS & SHOES!!!! But really, how can Amah resist these…..

There was a much higher version (I think 4.5″ heel) for this pair which I soooooo heart-ed but due to practicality, I bought the 1.5″ kitten heel version…Ungaro at RM250..I think it’s a pretty price!

Then there was another pair also Ungaro, golden straps and sooooo comfortable…price was cheaper than the first pair…cannot resist lor.. The orange Nine West was bought on the last day at the DFO in Melbourne, err can’t remember the place but it was not too far from Springvale. Also a good price at AUD39, about RM110+/-..

I can’t remember how long ago was this bag from but it was so gorgrous and at a really good price, about RM600+ for a Prada Sling bag! John, you tell me if it’s a steal or what??

Since I bought 3 items, plus Ms C bought one pair (a pair of Tods wedges supposedly in my size, BUT somehow didn’t fit me!! DARN!), we managed to bargain down the prices somemore! And I was able to claim GST refund at the airport, which is another errr…alamak forgot how many percent but quite good la!

So Amah shiok or not??? As if not shiok enough, Ms W was so sweet to treat me n my great hosts in Melbourne a beautiful seafood dinner at Boxhill. Pictures in the next post la! Tired la me…

Downunder Day 4

As usual the day started slow due to gathering of the people together and then decide where to go etc..so today we took off to DFO, something like the factory outlets in US but only smaller…it’s located at Homebush, not accessible via public transport so both my cousins drove us there. Cousin Wai is not working and Cousin Yin took off to actually take us around! So sweet of them huh!!

I had Sheridan bedding & towels in mind and went on the prowl….but first stop was Pumpkin Patch, just a leather belt and socks for Kylie. Bought bathroom floor mats, hand towel & face towel as it was like unbelievably cheap even after conversion, like RM3 for the face towel, Sheridan wor…Bought also comforter cover and bedsheets for mom.

Went to the closest shopping centre from this DFO (but I can’t remember the name leow!) and guess what? There was Ikea in that shopping centre! The moment we got off the carpark and started walking in the centre, I could smell the same ol’ familiar wood smell from Ikea!! Amazing, the smell is universal!

 

Amah siow siow just went up there to take pictures only la..didn’t buy anything there of course! We had dim sum yum cha for lunch, it was as usual, YUMMIE and FULLFILLING! 2nd Aunt had problems with her feet so she didn’t join us and sat downstairs! After lunch was the time the group went haywire. Too many people making too many comments and suggestions ended up in Cousin Wai getting kinda agitated, especially with Mr.D! Who’s this Mr D??? Well he’s a supplier cum friend of many years and he tagged along this trip, much to my and my cousin’s dismay! He was just occasionally useful as a porter otherwise, a nuisance and a BUM! We were all so annoyed with him, my apologies to my dear cousins that I brought him along! Never knew he could be so iiiiirrriitating!

Check out the salad bar of a deli in the shopping centre..so many choices!

Nevertheless, we sent the older folks back while the younger and more happening gang decided to go to the Fish Market to taste the succulent and fresh fleshy oysters!! By the way, we took the tram from Central Station. It cost AUD4 one way to Fish Market but the tram conductor didn’t inform us that we should get the return ticket at only AUD1 extra! So bad lor…we ended up paying AUD8 each two ways!

 

We had to rush back as Cousin Yin’s wife had actually prepared food for dinner like 2 days ago which we couldn’t make it the past 2 days, so today was like absolutely the last night and we MUST be there to eat the loot if not……..and we must be early too in order to show that we were committed to go there for dinner!!! It was a feast alright, and we sang karaoke after that! Errr,,,the karaoke songs were kinda like OLDIES…not exactly my era but this will not stop Amah from singing lor! muahahahahahhahhaha! Thanks to Cousin Yin and wife for their hospitality and their new house was simply awesome! The last time I visited it was just like wooden frames and the finished product was great!

Now it’s homework…tag la what else?

Well, since I didn’t get to meet Sweetpea so I will “quai quai” do the tag…

It’s a very simple tag. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.) Write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general. Tag as many people as you want.

1. Look, read, and learn. http://www.neonscent.com/****
2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. http://www.bushmackel.com/****
3. Don’t let money change ya! http://www.therandomforest.info/*******
4. Always reply to your comments. http://chattiekat.com/******
5. Blog about what you know & love. http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com/******
6. Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary. http://shinade.blogspot.com/****
7. Blog about something educational http://climateofourfuture.org/***
8. Be yourself; others will follow http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/ ***
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain http://cubicledenizen.blogspot.com/***
10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organised! http://erishaling.blogspot.com/ **
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!! http://www.leslieho.com/ ***
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy! http://groovy-olives.com/blog****
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic. http://www.jessieling.com/**
14. Don’t clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT’S IRRITATING. http://oliviasy.blogspot.com/
15. Don’t comment for the sake of commenting. Some looked too fake and its a big turn off! http://sashablablabla.blogspot.com/***
16. Share something interesting and you will gain more readers. http://judychow.blogspot.com/***
17. Blog real and true story and never copy others posts. http://mylovelymummy.com/
18. Always remember the main reason you blog. http://sweetpeamy.blogspot.com/
19. Have fun and don’t get too serious when you blog! http://laundryamah.wordpress.com

Check out my Garden

Yes it took me quite some time and some help from Zaramama & Angie and finally I managed to put in my Slide! Ayooo..but I still don’t know how to put in a single photo lor…yelp!!

Anyway, Angie once said that the plants from Ikea will not survive upon reaching your home. But thank goodness mine not only survived but grew & bloomed very well! However, some of my plants which I bought from Sg Buloh died-ded on me! Sobs…

Anyway here’s some photos of the plants..have more but too lazy to upload la..