ALL ABOUT A LITTLE GIRL...

CH - Then and Now...

2012-02-10T11:47:00.001+08:00

Our recent trip to Cameron Highlands was my second trip there. My first visit was more than 3 years ago (in November 2008), when I was just 2y3m, immediately after recovering from chicken pox. We re-visited many of the places there and realized that while I have changed and grown a lot in since 2008, everything else there remain unchanged...

Brown sofa of Equatorial Hotel (EH)... then

Brown sofa of EH... now

Checked chair of EH... then

Checked chair of EH... now

Ultraman kiddy ride... then

Ultraman kiddy ride... now

Daddy-daughter bonding time... then

Daddy-daughter bonding time... now

The fruit and veggie replicas in the park... then

The fruit and veggie replicas in the park... now (re-painted)

Tyre swing in Strawberry Park Resort... then

Tyre swing in Strawberry Park Resort... now

Big wooden slide in Strawberry Park Resort... then

Big wooden slide in Strawberry Park Resort... now

At the Bharat tea shop... now

Cactus nursery... then

Cactus nursery... now

Our all-strawberry snacks... then

Our all-strawberry snacks... now

Lata Iskandar... then

Lata Iskandar... now

Family Holiday in Cameron Highlands

2012-02-08T16:48:00.000+08:00

We went for a family trip to Cameron Highlands for a 3D2N stay (5th-7th Feb) with Mah-mah, Yeh-yeh, Koo-koo, Koo-jeong and Hayley jie-jie over the long weekend. We started our journey on Sunday morning and the eight of us went in two cars. We headed to Ipoh for breakfast as planned and packed an assortment of Ipoh goodies up the hill resort for lunch.

Traffic was good all along the way until the final 6km of our journey. Inching uphill at snail's pace, it took us about 1.5 hours to move 6km to get to the Equatorial Hotel. Traffic jams and crowded places aside, the trip was overall good and enjoyable. Here are the highlights of the trip...

Had "donkey noodles" (hor hee) for breakfast in Ipoh... I call it the donkey noodle because "hor hee" sounds like a donkey's bray haw-hee-haw-hee-haw when it is repeated multiple times haha!

Checked-in to our Vacation Club's 2-room apartment at the Equatorial Hotel where we had our lunch of Foh San dimsum, egg tarts, JJ swissrolls and Pusing rice dumplings ... all tapau-ed from Ipoh

While the rest of them stayed at the apartment (which could only accommodate 4), daddy, mummy and I stayed at the newly refurbished hotel room :p

The traffic there was so bad that we didn't dare to drive anywhere. Luckily the Kea Farm was just a 5-minute walk from the hotel. We even had our dinner in a restaurant just within the hotel compound.

Checking out some of the stuff at a stall in the Kea Farm market

A strawberry popsicle treat

At the main entrance of the hotel lobby, ready to go for dinner. The weather was cool and just nice.

Dinner time... steamboat and bak-kut-teh to warm us up

Day 2 - Family breakfast at a coffeeshop in Brinchang

Some of the food that we had

We visited the Smokehouse... but they didn't welcome non-patrons so we just "lepak-ed" outside

Hayley jie-jie and I were fascinated by something on the wooden bench there...

A newly metamorphosized butterfly!

At the park in Tanah Rata

Sitting on a giant corn!

Got playground, will smile :) We spent about an hour here. It was scorching hot and some of us got sun-burned.

From playground to tea plantation... very scenic! (Bharat tea plantation)

Let's go down for a tea-plantation walk!

Daddy and I walked down to explore... and I asked "Is this a giant maze?" Hahaha!

Happy family :)

Tea-time! (at the Bharat Tea House)

More snacks... yummylicious strawberry waffle with vanilla ice-cream at Glory 78

Mummy, look! I see little fishes in the little pond

At the children's playground in Strawberry Park Resort

Colourful cacti at Cactus Point (a flower and cactus nursery)

Thorny beauties... different types of cacti all planted in one pot

Rows and rows of pretty flowers in the nursery

Day 3 - Walking on the deserted street of Kea Farm. Unfortunately, at almost 8am, the stalls were not opened yet. The early bird had nothing to catch! :(

We left CH soon after the ladies' morning marketing in Kea Farm. Stopped at the Iskandar Waterfalls on our way down to Tapah.

Lunch at Bidor before heading home to PJ... I had wantan mee (my favourite) as usual.

CNY 2012

2012-01-31T23:23:00.000+08:00

This year's CNY was just as ordinary as any other day. We did not do anything interesting or exciting and spent most of our days sitting at home. Here are some of the highlights...

1. The celebration started with a reunion dinner in Mah-mah's house on CNY eve. This year, Mah-mah cooked only 1 dish and the rest were contributed by the family (potluck). For the very first time in history, our reunion dinner was pork-free. There was no sight of the usual roasted pork and chicken dish. All of us decided to focus more on healthy, less-meat meals this year.

2. On the 1st day of CNY, we spent the whole day playing and snacking in Mah-mah's house... from morning until night. I brought along a big bag of toys and games from home to keep boredom at bay.

3. On the 2nd day of CNY, we had another round of family lunch (hoi nin) in Mah-mah's house. It was hoi-nin with a twist... we had a western fare of spaghetti carbonara, chicken schnitzel, salad, vegetable fish cakes and apple crumble for dessert.

4. On the evening of the 2nd day, we had a family gathering in Koo-Kong's house (mummy's 3rd Kau-foo). I met many of my cousins, including those who returned for their annual holidays from Australia.

5. Mummy and I "abandoned" daddy (cos he had to return to work on the 3rd day of CNY) and left for Seremban for a 5-day stay in Ah Ma's house. I had a great holiday and enjoyed spending time with Gung-gung, who played with me and kept me occupied for the whole 5 days we were there. Kau-foo also pampered me by buying me lots of toys.

6. Finally paid Auntie Shellie a long-overdue visit. Auntie Shellie is one of mummy's oldest and bestest buddies of nearly 30 years. We were supposed to visit her after she had baby Abbygail last year. Now, baby Abbygail is already 9 months old!

And now, the pics...

Last year and this year... I could still fit into my pink cheongsam (although it's a bit shorter now) so I wore it to my kindergarten's CNY celebration just before the school holidays started

Reunion dinner at Mah-mah's... ooh, I just can't wait! I love tossing the yee-sang.

Our dinner... homemade yee-sang, prawns, ikan gerang asam, mixed vegetables, sweet and sour chicken, fresh tofu with dried shrimps (x2), steamed dumplings with special sauce, fruit platter and chocolate cuppies

Dinner at Koo-kong's house... trying to get close to cousin Pei Wen (from Melbourne). I've always wanted to hold and carry a real baby.

Dinner with the kids at the "kiddy table"

Our dinner at Koo-kong's house... waxed-meat rice, steamed patin fish (x3), mixed vegetables (sei dai tin wong), mixed vegetables (lo hon zai), fried prawns and braised pig trotters

We had yee sang too. The only thing I like about yee-sang is the crisps... and 4th Yee Poh prepared this yee-sang with a generous heap of crisps! I loved it!

With 5th Yee Poh and the kids... Nathan and Alyssa are back from Melbourne too

Playing "pop-pop" with some of the boys (daddy included haha) in Auntie Shellie's house

With cute lil' Abbygail... although meeting for the first time, we were equally thrilled to see each other hehe.

Fireworks galore... every night without fail (for 15 days), we get to watch fireworks (some really spectacular, others ordinary) from our living room

Things I Say

2012-01-19T15:30:00.000+08:00

Which Is More Important?
After being told by mummy for the umpteenth time to do my writing (Chinese homework) and keep my play tent (because she wanted to mop the floor), I finally moved my butt and proceeded with my writing first. It was then mummy started her usual nagging...
Mummy: I told you to keep the tent... bla bla bla... how many times must I tell you... bla bla bla... do you ever listen... bla bla bla...
Me: But writing is more important ok!

Setting my priorities right... homework first!

It's the Prunes!
I usually move my bowel every alternate days. Sometimes, I will poop daily but twice a day is definitely rare, which was what happened one day...
Mummy: Eh, how come you poo-poo twice today? What did you eat?
Me: I think it must be the prunes.
Mummy: But you didn't eat any prunes today, did you? You also didn't eat any yesterday, right?
Me: But I did last time... long ago!

Her Black Stuff
I always help mummy at the check-out counter at supermarkets. While helping to unload things from the shopping trolley to the cashier counter, I pushed all the fruits to one side, shook my head and mumbled "You and all your black-black stuff!"

Mummy wasn't aware that she has chosen all the dark-coloured fruits... grapes, plums, cherries and blueberries and I was quick to point that out to her haha.

Beauty Spots
I have tiny little "white heads" on my face occasionally and mummy likes to pinch them to remove them. Every time she does that, I will protest (cos it's painful!). Mummy still does the pinching despite my repeated protest so one day, I came up with a new excuse...
Me: Don't remove it! It's my beauty spot!
Mummy: LOL!

Can you spot my "beauty spot"?

Singing Da Ca
Mummy was happily singing one of the songs from my JMC CD when I interrupted her one day...
Me: Mummy, you sing da ca!
Mummy: Huh??
Me: You sing da ca la. Da ca means wrong (putting a cross in Mandarin). You sing wrong!

Better Late Than Never

2012-01-16T16:18:00.000+08:00

After months (and years) of procrastination, daddy and mummy finally enrolled me for music lessons. My journey in music did not start out smoothly. It all started way back in my young toddler days when mummy tried teaching me the piano. It was a futile attempt that often ended in tears, frustrations and unhappiness. Mummy was impatient and fierce. I was slow and easily distracted. I couldn't follow her instructions and I disliked the way she taught me (wrong approach). After a couple of lessons plus many more re-tries as I grew older, mummy did not see any improvement in me so she gave up teaching me.

In early 2010 (when I was 3y5m), mummy decided that I needed formal music lessons so she brought me to a music centre only to be told to return later because I was too young (for the program of her choice). Later, somewhere in early 2011 (when I was 4y5m), mummy brought me there again. This time, mummy was very disappointed with the customer service of the music centre. Nobody attended to us after a long wait so we left. She tried contacting the person in charged via email but her email was never replied! Mummy was angry and upset.

She then went to inquire about this music program in another branch and was told that I was over-aged. How can I be "over-aged" when I was only 4+ and the music program is for kids aged 4-6? Mummy left feeling baffled this time.

Meanwhile, I began to lose interest in music and whenever mummy suggested music lessons to me, I would say NO and refused to go until very recently (late December) when daddy and mummy decided to "force" me there. They "dragged" me to the music centre again.

Finally, in Jan 2012 (at 5y5m and being one of the oldest in class), I was accepted into the January intake of Yamaha's Junior Music Course (JMC) for Book 1 (just in the nick of time, in their last available slot) and classes began in the first week of this year.

Solfege singing with a group of new friends

As of today, after attending just 2 lessons, I'm madly IN LOVE with music now. I could play the first few pieces in the book (I learned them all by myself) even BEFORE attending my first lesson. Now, I can play 70% of the pieces in Book 1. Most of them have not been taught by my music teacher yet. Mummy did not teach me too. I learned everything on my own by listening to the CD and watching the DVD a few times everyday. I love the catchy tunes and I sing and hum to them almost all the time.

Singing and playing the piano is my favourite pastime now

I practice the pieces on the piano very enthusiastically everyday. Of course, mummy's constant praises and encouragement motivate me too. Mummy regrets not enrolling me earlier. Anyway, it's better late than never, isn't it?

Kiddy Fun Land

2012-01-05T17:00:00.003+08:00

-Backdated post-

During the school holidays, mummy brought me to the malls quite regularly. Most of the time, I just tagged along while mummy did her groceries and other stuff. To make up for all those times when I accompanied her and endured long hours of boredom in silence, she brought me to these "kiddy fun lands" to cheer me up.

Kiddy Fun Land 1 - Jusco's Paper Town, 1 Utama
Despite being around for quite some time, this place is very well-maintained. Everything in it is clean, new and in working condition. Mummy doesn't mind letting me play here again and again...

This roll-roll-roll thing was very fun to play with!

Made myself a cup of tea in the very clean and tidy paper-kitchen... slurrrrp!

My handprints!

Having another ball of a time! Mummy brought me there early in the morning so there was no crowd at all :)

Kiddy Fun Land 2 - YuKids Island

Newly opened in The Curve, mummy took advantage of their opening offer of only RM10 for unlimited play time (she missed the FREE entry on their first 3 days of opening). This play land has the same concept as the Kid's E World in The Gardens where every play thing in it moves... they either rock, tilt or rotate.

I referred to this as "the most fun place in the world"!

Now you see me, now you don't!

Jump, jump, jump... how high can you jump?

Floating balloons!

"Geram" this very cuddly froggie

Resting on a rotating "drum"

Hanging on to this merry-go-round... it's not easy to ride on this!

Another 5 more minutes, pleeeeease?

I was very happy and contented after spending a few hours playing in YuKids Island. Mummy initially allocated 2 hours for this but I kept begging for "extra time" and stretched my time here to nearly 3 hours! As soon as we got home and immediately after my bath, I sat down and wrote this note for mummy...

I wrote everything on my own and asked for spelling help for the word "bringing". I also drew a cute picture of mummy and I holding hands at the back of this. Very sweet of me, eh? :)

First Day of Last Year in Kindergarten

2012-01-04T17:20:00.002+08:00

Today is the first day of my 3rd year in the same kindergarten, P&J. I love this kindy very, very much and told mummy "I wish I can study here forever". Well, mummy wishes the same thing too but that won't be possible, of course. All good things must come to an end and this year will my final year in pre-school.

First day of school, Jan 2012 - in K2 Hua Wen... do take notice of how my uniform has "shrunken".

First day of school back in Jan 2010... wearing an XL-sized uniform that I'm still wearing until today :)

Just two years ago, at 3 years 5 months, I was such a cute toddler when I started kindy!

Oh, how time flies!!!

Crazy Over The Smurfs

2011-12-31T15:36:00.000+08:00

I have fallen deeply in love with The Smurfs, thanks to mummy who kept "influencing" me into liking it just because it was her favourite childhood cartoon. It all started after she bought a DVD of old cartoon collection for herself besides the (then) latest animated movie DVD.

When I watched it with her, I was immediately hooked to the cartoon and claimed the DVD as mine haha!

Daddy has since added 2 more DVDs to my collection (more to come, maybe?)... I just can't stop watching them. I can watch them all day if only mummy allows me to (of course she doesn't!)

Soon, I was constantly on the look out for Smurfs merchandises whenever we went shopping BUT I never asked for any of them. I was happy with just looking at them. I even told mummy "This Smurf soft toy is so cute but I have so many soft toys at home so I don't want lah" and "This Smurf stationary set is so nice but I have so many of these at home so I don't want lah" I'm quite a sensible girl :)

And then... I spotted this in Cold Storage and pestered mummy for it! (simply because I didn't have it at home hehe)

Mummy bought this Smurf biscuits for me, also from Cold Storage... very crunchy and addictive!

The biscuits that came with a free cute tattoo

Clumsy Smurf tattoo...

Reading a Smurfs book in a bookshop

We also made Clumsy Smurf with Pyssla beads...

Look, I've turned into a Smurf! Nice, eh?

Here is the template for the Pyssla beads Clumsy Smurf that mummy "curi" from here (No, she did not make this on her own!)

Mummy did the outline for me and I filled in the blue and white part. It was tedious work for me! *wipes sweat*

Clumsy Smurf ready to be "ironed"...

Every night, I go to bed with this Clumsy Pyssla beads placed next to me and say "I want to dream sweet Smurf dreams tonight" :)

Emergency Hairwash at 3a.m

2011-12-30T22:58:00.000+08:00

A midnight disaster happened early this morning... I threw up suddenly while I was in my deep slumber. It happened so unexpectedly that I did not have time to reach for my "vomit bucket", which was conveniently placed right beside my pillow.

When mummy heard the all-too-familiar sound and came over to check on me, she gasped in horror! Almost half of the hair on my head was covered in thick, slimy, chunky, stinky muck! I must have vomited in a lying-down position. Feeling helpless and panic-stricken, she did not know what to do to clean me up. Wiping was out of the question because the mess was too extensive so she led me to the bathroom and gave me a good scrub... hairwash and bath... at an ungodly hour of 3a.m in the morning! The stench was so unbearable (and lingering) that mummy had to shampoo my hair twice!

Soiled! 90% of the time, disasters like this happens on a freshly changed bedsheet, including this one... ggrrrrr!

At the same time when this happened, mummy was also awaken by an allergy reaction which caused her whole body to break out in itchy, patchy rashes. She was sleepless the whole night and was scratching the night away before she came over to attend to me.

The itchiness drove mummy up the wall!

Mummy is still trying to figure out what has caused both our bodies to react so adversely. We did not eat anything new or unusual. Earlier in the evening, we had some coffeeshop food in a kopitiam at The Curve and we just ate ordinary stuff like toasted bread with kaya and butter, plain chee cheong fun and nasi lemak. Daddy ate the same stuff too but he was alright *baffled*

Anyway, mummy is glad that my body has efficiently expelled whatever toxin it was. I woke up feeling fine and I'm not sick. Oh yes, before resuming my sleep, I also apologized to mummy (for giving her work to do) and thanked her for cleaning me up :)

My Holiday Buddies

2011-12-29T13:06:00.000+08:00

Since the school holiday started, I've had quite a number of play-dates with friends. I played with Aaron (my classmate and best friend) most often because we lived nearby. We met almost weekly in each other's house to do nothing but PLAY and have fun!

The 3 Musketeers... with Aaron and Owen (also my classmate) in Aaron's house

I love playing with boys and I get along exceptionally well with them (it's rather obvious that I'm not a girlie girl)

Aaron's mummy prepared a healthy and yummy lunch for us... homemade pizza!

Aaron also came to our house a few times to play

Engrossed in V.Smile... we always waited for our turns and never fought

Aaron is a good lunch-mate too... whenever he's around, I ate a lot faster hehe (got competition)

Morning workout... cycling together in a neighbourhood park

Playground buddy

We also took the LRT to Amcorp Mall and spent some time reading together in BookXcess :)

I also had a great time meeting and playing with other friends outside home...

Having a ball of a time in Ikea's Smaland with Yan Yan and Heng Heng

Had lunch together in Sakae Sushi

Playground and kiddy rides with cousin Leanne

Shopping outing with Philip

Follow-up Eye Check-up

2011-12-24T23:16:00.000+08:00

After one month of wearing glasses, I went back to see the eye specialist (Dr S) again. Daddy and mummy were very delighted to be told that my vision has improved a lot! The specs has also helped to offset my lazy eyes. Dr S commended on my significant improvement a few times. However, I will have to continue wearing my specs and Dr S will monitor my condition closely. She will see me again (next check up) in another 8 months' time to determine if the MyoVision lens is necessary for me.

That's me sitting in the most unladylike manner tsk tsk tsk *mummy rolls eyes* I was watching Mr Bean on tv, feeling very at home while waiting to get my eyes checked at the eye specialist centre...

Eye tests again!

'Tis The Season To Go Mall Hopping

2011-12-23T23:51:00.000+08:00

Mummy and I have been spending lots and lots of time in the malls this school holidays... we hit the malls at least 3 times a week. Most of the time, it is just the 2 of us but sometimes, we meet up with some friends as well.

The Curve/Ikano/Ikea/Tesco is our most frequently visited mall. We can never get bored of this place :p

Christmas decoration in The Curve

A few weeks ago, I had a playdate with Yan Yan and Heng Heng

3-in-1... all three of us squeezed ourselves on this kiddy ride. Luckily the dog could still move hehe!

A Swedish Christmas in IPC

Christmas decoration in Sunway Pyramid

Every year, we "drive-thru" the streets just outside Sunway Pyramid to see the beautiful lights at night

Bright and colourful!

Christmas decoration in 1 Utama

Very nice "Under the Sea" theme

Since KL is out of mummy's "driving range", we were very happy to "tumpang" Aunty Rachel's car and tagged along on her trip to Pavilion and Midvalley last week. I got along very well with Philip and we played and talked a lot!

Sharing a joke with Philip

Christmas decoration in Pavilion

The main attraction here was the carousel (for me)

... albeit it was quite a lousy one with no music and the horses looked rather "old"

The United Buddy Bears... a must-visit since we were already in Pavilion

There were so many (143) of them, I couldn't decide which one to take photo with!

Alright, just settle with this Malaysia one lah

Christmas decoration in Midvalley Megamall

We bumped into cousin ZK at the maze... what a pleasant surprise!

Oh yes, not forgetting Citta Mall too. This is the most boring mall to me but mummy goes there almost every week for groceries...

Outdoor Christmas decoration in Citta Mall

Aaron and I "pak-tho-ing" in Citta Mall after a morning of cycling in the park together and breakfast at PappaRich here

Best friends :)

Mummy's Little Kitchen Helper

2011-12-22T17:07:00.001+08:00

It is the Winter Solstice festival today. Although we don't celebrate this festival, mummy and I made some "tang yuan" (glutinous rice balls) because mummy has not eaten this in a long time. The tang yuan that we made today is almost organic. Except for the ordinary glutinous rice flour used, the rest of the ingredients are all organic... from the peanuts, sugar, pandan leaves to the colouring (organic red dragonfruit juice).

Before making the tang yuan, mummy first made some peanut butter. After she had pan-roasted the peanut kernels, I helped her to remove the peanut skin.

100% homemade organic creamy peanut butter

Note: Peanut butter is very easy to make... just blend the pan-roasted peanuts into a paste (add a dash of sugar and salt for taste)

Next, she boiled some pandan leaves with sugar

Then came the most fun part! This was also easy to make... just add water into the flour and mix well. Mummy added red dragonfruit juice to make the pink dough

Roll, roll, roll the balls... I rolled all the pink balls (plain ones) and told mummy "this is like play dough but dirtier" haha!

Mummy rolled the white ones with peanut butter fillings

Done! All the pink ones were done by me :)

Tang yuan with pandan syrup

Yum yum... I like!

We have never made this before. Considering this our very first attempt, the outcome was not bad :)

Pricked By My Enemy!

2011-12-19T23:58:00.002+08:00

I hate durians. I do not eat it and I will run as far as possible from anyone who is eating it. Last Sunday, something happened at our usual fruit shop in Seremban when Gung-gung was busy picking some bananas while mummy was going through a crate of guavas inside the shop. Suddenly, they heard a commotion and when mummy came out to check what was going on, she saw me holding back my tears!

Apparently, while jumping around (I was restless like a monkey after a hearty breakfast) at the entrance of the shop, clumsy me had tripped over a small step right beside a pile of durians. In that split-second of my fall, I ter-grabbed a durian to support myself and break the fall. OUCH!

The scene of the thorny accident

Luckily it was only a light prick but it was painful enough to cause me a few hours of agony. Actually two of the "holes" were quite deep and were near to bleeding. I did not move my hand for quite a while until we reached home and Gung-gung applied some "magic" medicine on it haha!

Later that evening, I had pink polka dots on my palm hehe!

Oh yes, right after the accident, Gung-gung bought a few durians from that pile (for revenge) and they all had a durian feast at home. Of course, I quickly ran as far as I could, away from their stinky indulgence!

The Stairs Challenge

2011-12-16T22:30:00.000+08:00

It all started with this conversation...

Me: Mummy, are we going to move to a new house?
Mummy: Huh?? (No, we are NOT moving anywhere)
Me: I wish we can move to a house with stairs. I love stairs!
Mummy: Eh, our house also got stairs wat... in fact, there are so many, many, many stairs that you will give up walking on them!
Me: Really?

Heh heh heh... that's because we are staying in a high-rise... a 24-storey one to be precise. Our talk about "stairs" soon launched daddy and mummy into a new exercise routine. Instead of conveniently pressing the lift buttons everyday, they challenged themselves to take the stairs as often as they can (esp when they are not lugging heavy stuff like groceries).

Initially, walking up 8 floors to our unit was quite strenuous for daddy and mummy. However, for me, it was simply "no sweat" from the very beginning! I didn't even need to stop while the two of them panted and paused to catch their breath midway haha (that shows how unfit they are!)

One day, curious to find out how far I could go, mummy suggested going all the way up until I stop. Well, I never did stop. I walked and walked and went up and up and up until the top floor!

V is for Victory! I walked up 24 flights of stairs (equivalent to 400+ steps) without stopping! Is this a great feat or what hehe.

Walking up more than 400 steps was still effortless to me and I showed not sign of weariness. I'm as fit as a fiddle! This stairs challenge soon led us to another "expedition"...

Batu Caves!

We decided to stop here cos it was just along the road on our way home from Fraser's Hill.

Are you ready?

This is like only 272 steps away... of course no problem for me!

On the way up, we saw A LOT of monkeys as well as some banana peels littered all along the stairs. Slipping hazard... must be the work of these monkeys hehe.

Flashing my victorious smile... I did it again :)))))))

Inside the cave... we walked all the way in

Standing right under a huge stalactite *yikes*

View from the top

Time to go down... not for the weak-kneed :p

I counted the steps all the way down. Daddy and I counted 271 but we later checked and found out there were actually 272.

I had a good time chasing the pigeons there

Birds of a feather flock together

After a "workout", the sight of this pile of coconuts made me very thirsty hehe

Aaah! Refreshingly thirst quenching!

Weekend Getaway in Fraser's Hill

2011-12-14T00:50:00.000+08:00

10th Dec 2011, Saturday:

We spent a very relaxing weekend in a small, quiet and tranquil town called Fraser's Hill. (It's just too unfortunate that our visit to this idyllic hill resort was marred by the deplorable condition of the hotel. Hotel update: Mummy emailed the "Discount Company" to voice out our dissatisfaction. The "Discount Company" replied promptly, apologized and offered us a REFUND. Yay!!)

We left home in the late morning and took the Karak highway to Bentong where we broke our journey for brunch. Wantan noodles seemed to be the most recommended food to try there, according to results on Google search. We managed to find the best wantan noodle in town (the one in the unnamed shop next to the Chinese Town Hall). We also ordered some sui-gao (large dumplings) noodles to try.

Fork-licking good! (Mummy prohibits utensil-licking but I find this bad habit hard to kick!)

Noodles for brunch (RM3.60 and RM3.70). The wantan noodle looks messy cos daddy had it stirred (couldn't wait to eat) and then failed in his attempt to undo it back haha!

From Bentong town, it took us slightly more than an hour to reach Fraser's Hill. Daddy was driving at snail's pace because the roads were very winding, narrow and steep.

Along the way, we passed by many fruit orchards and saw hundreds of durian trees with fruits hanging on them. This was indeed a rare sight for city kids like me ;)

At the foothill of the long and winding road (about 10km) leading to the hill resort. There are now two separate roads to FH so we do not need to observe the odd and even hours for one-way traffic.

Finally there! The clock tower... the most prominent landmark of FH

This was my very first trip to FH well as daddy's. Mummy has been here twice before, the last was way back in 1991. Although this was her 3rd visit, she noticed that nothing much has changed. It is still as undeveloped and unspoilt as it was 20 years ago.

The very "cincai-looking" hotel lobby

Upon check-in, we were so disappointed with the miserable and shameful state of the hotel that we quickly settled down with our things and fled as soon as we could. We tried to minimize our time in the hotel and stayed out almost the whole day, exploring and walking leisurely around town. Basically, there wasn't much to see or do here... perfect for boring people like us who love to unwind and walk around aimlessly doing nothing hehe :)

There is a public golf course right in the middle of the town

Obviously, I am not big enough to cover or hide the bin hehe!

Taking a photo here is a must-do!

Yipeeeeee! *happy*

Pretty blossoms adorn this charming little garden

Good weather... it was very bright and sunny but we didn't feel the heat at all :)

We had 4 things on our to-do list... afternoon tea at the Smokehouse, playground-time for me at the Taman Awam (public park), horse-riding at the paddock and an evening at Allen's Water (a lake garden).

First stop... Ye Olde Smokehouse

Afternoon tea in the garden terrace

Look mummy, got swing! The service was quite slow so while waiting for our orders, we walked around the garden.

Devonshire tea set (RM18++) which came with 2 warm scones, strawberry preserve, chunks of butter, fresh cream and tea for one (but it came in a pot so we just shared)

Daddy also ordered a Chocolate Lava (RM4++)... oozing with warm, not-too-sweet chocolatey lava... yummy! The scones were very nice too.

The afternoon tea here was lovely and satisfying. We also went inside the Smokehouse for a self-tour...

A fine, vintage style sitting room

Cosy and homely interior

Next stop, the public park of FH... the main attractions here include a mini bike track, miniature golf and children's playground. There's a food court here too.

Our plans to the Paddock and Allen Waters had to be put on hold due to bad weather. Soon after leaving the playground, it rained the whole evening :(

After the rain... it was very cold and misty

After dinner, still reluctant to go back to our hotel room, we went for a spin and spent some time in town again

It rained the whole night and temperatures dipped to around 16-17C. Somehow, it felt much colder than 17C in reality! The next morning, the town looked like this...

Blanketed in thick fog. Notice how dull this picture looks? It was taken with normal mode and not set to black and white!

Misty, rainy, windy and chilly.... brrr!

Hampered by bad weather, there was nothing much we could do. We also gave up hope on going to the paddock and Allen Waters so we packed-up, checked-out and left. We took the same route back and stopped by Bentong (again) for lunch.

Both daddy and mummy are no foodies so they encountered a bit of difficulty finding food there. After circling the town a few times, daddy drove past a coffee-shop where we saw a mile-long queue. Curious to find out what these people were queuing up to buy, we parked our car nearby and got down to find out. Oh, it's chicken rice! The long queue simply indicated that this chicken rice was worth a try...

Daddy and I devoured these delicious meaty rice while mummy ordered something vegetarian for herself (mummy doesn't eat meat). The rice was indeed very tasty... fragrant and fluffy! (RM9.50 for both including a glass of herbal tea)

After lunch, we headed to a shop named Kow Po for some dessert. This shop is famous for its homemade ice-cream and local icy delights.

Mummy had cendol with durian and pandan ice-cream while daddy had ABC with peanut and coconut ice-cream (RM3.80 each)... however, they both look identical here.

Ready to attack! I had a single scoop of banana ice cream (RM2.80)... slurp!

Hotel From Hell

2011-12-13T00:23:00.000+08:00

*Note: This is a journal of our experience and NOT a hotel review. Therefore the name of the hotel will not be mentioned here. If you would like to know the name of the hotel, do leave your email in the comments box or if you have mummy's email/Facebook, do drop her a message :)

Recently, mummy bought a hotel package from a "discount company". At only RM135, the package came with a 2D1N stay in a hill resort, a 4-course dinner for 2 and a buffet breakfast for 2. After paying and securing the booking, daddy and mummy decided to read some online reviews about the hotel. Bad mistake. They should have done this before buying the package, not after. Lesson learnt. Some hotel reviews rated the hotel 6/10 but some individual reviewers gave the hotel very, very terrible remarks.

One of mummy's friends (who have stayed there before) even told her to bring our own bedsheet and comforter! Mummy knew then, that we were in deep trouble. Daddy and mummy prepared themselves for the worst. However, things turned out to be worse than the worst that they had expected! Yes, it was THAT bad. Although they have stayed in many budget hotels before, none of them came close to this *HORROR*. The following photos will do the talking...

We were given a 1-bedroom studio apartment. The apartment building looks ok from the outside, but inside, it is far from being ok!

The wall of the carpark... mummy thinks this looks more like a scene from a horror movie. Yucks-o-meter 1/10

The whole building is very old, rundown and ill-maintained and every single wall in the building has hideous stains such as this. Yucks-o-meter 2/10

Everywhere you look, you will either see moss or brown stains!

The one and only lift. It is... *holds breath*... awfully and nauseating-ly stinky! Yucks-o-meter 3/10

The corridor leading to our unit... pathetic! Yucks-o-meter 4/10

Eye-sore and horrid! Yucks-o-meter 5/10

Totally mouldy and moss-y! Yucks-o-meter 6/10

Our room... overall damp and dusty. Don't believe?

Here's the evidence... mummy ran a piece of tissue paper across the headboard of the bed and this was what she got. Yucks-o-meter 7/10

The living room... the cushions on the sofa look worn out and dirty *geli*. I was forbidden from sitting on it after my bath :p Yucks-o-meter 8/10

The tv... this was the channel (it's TV2, there's no cable tv, sorry) with the best reception and it was in black and white, extremely grainy and the only sound we could hear was zzrzzrzzrzzrzzrzzrzzrzzrzzrzz. We turned off the volume and watched blur, silent tv for 10 minutes. After that, we gave up and turned it off for good hahaha! (If not for Super Trio, we wouldn't have bothered watching it at all)

The balcony *no eye see*

The bathroom looks at least 3 decades old and has a hole on the door... sad!

The 4-course dinner turned out to be an economical fare of white rice with a selection of 4 dishes... chicken kurma, "kembung" fish, chilli omelette and stir-fried "kangkung". While we tried our best not to complain about the food, the sitr-fried kangkung was just too "sandy" (not thoroughly washed) for us to accept. Sigh! Yucks-o-meter 9/10

It was a sleepless night for daddy and mummy. While I snored peacefully between them on the very crammed queen-sized bed, both of them did not (and could not) sleep a wink. Daddy complained that his pillow was smelly. Mummy complained that it was too cold (about 16C although no air-con or fan) so the both of them stayed up the whole night, reading their books until 4am... *yawn*

The following morning, we went for our free buffet breakfast. We told ourselves to focus on the positive and hoped not to encounter or see anymore yucky things. As we were eating, both daddy and mummy caught a whiff of something unpleasant at the dining table. It was a foul "cockroach smell". They thought the smell was from the table cloth so they moved somewhere else but the smell still lingered on. When mummy lifted her cup and took a sip of tea, horror of all horrors, she discovered that the foul-smelling cockroach stench was from her cup!!! There, specks of black and brown stains were seen on a few parts of the cup. How could mummy not see it??? Mummy immediately felt sick to the stomach. She had a tummy discomfort the whole morning.

Utterly disgusting! Confirmed from this cup. After removing the cup from the table, the smell was gone. Gosh, mummy ate cockroach sh*t! Yucks-o-meter 10/10

Yucks to the max! How in the world did this hotel get a rating of 6/10? Mummy could not find one thing ~~good~~ not-unpleasant about this hotel where she could award 1 point to. All she can say is, this hotel is totally unfit for human occupancy!

While daddy and mummy couldn't wait to FLEE from this horrible place, I, on the other hand, was blind to all the ugliness and flaws. I even commented "I like this hotel... I want to come again!" Daddy and mummy *roll eyes* *shake head* *slap forehead* LOL!

Random Post

2011-12-09T14:34:00.001+08:00

Some random happenings and photos of me before my spec-ky days. Some are really outdated...

Deepavali cultural celebration in school... I returned home with a tiny "pottu" on my forehead and a henna mendi on my hand (I quickly explained to mummy why my "pottu" was red. Apparently my teacher had run out of black ones)

My new "killer smile" hehe. Putting the red ribbon (for tying a cake box) to good use

Last day of school! I had a great time partying with my little friends :)

Went on a joyride to no where with Gung-gung, Ah Ma et al and ended up in Nilai 3

A Pizza Hut moment (utilizing our free pizza voucher)

First time drinking Horlicks... loved it!

At the brand new playground of the (then) newly opened McDonald's in Citta Mall

Laughing over a silly word suggestion during a game of Scrabble with daddy and mummy

Cheapest Ever!

2011-12-05T14:52:00.001+08:00

Last week, mummy went on another book buying spree. This time, she got me some Chinese books from the Popular clearance sale in IPC (Ikano Power Centre). Priced at only RM1 each, these books were filthy cheap! How not to buy? In just under 10 minutes, mummy had easily ~~grabbed~~ picked 20 books for me...

More books for the bookworm... mummy painstakingly wiped and re-wiped each and every one of these books squeaky clean for me (they were all covered in dust)

Mummy chose mostly story books for me. All the books are very beautifully illustrated and come with "han yu pin yin" so that mummy can teach me how to read

Only RM1 for a hardcover book!

At only RM1, some books even come with an audio CD!

Me and my new collection of Chinese books... RM20 for 20 books :)

I can't read most of these books yet so I have to depend on mummy to read (and explain) them to me at the moment.

Lunch Notes

2011-12-01T15:58:00.000+08:00

When I attended Mandarin classes (stayed back after school) 3 days a week during the school year this year, mummy would pack lunch for me. One day, during our trip to Australia, this Elmo zipper bag attracted her. She found these zipper bags very useful (cute first, useful second hehe), so she bought a box for me.

Cute Elmo sandwich bags with free stickers

It all started with this... a personalized lunch pack for me! (Egg and organic lettuce burger with carrot sticks and fruit juice)

And then this... some written words here and there for me to read before I eat (Egg and organic lettuce sandwich *again* with banana and strawberries)

Soon, I got very interested in these little "lunch notes" and kept asking mummy for more..."mummy, can you write a surprise message for me tomorrow?" I called it the "surprise message" but mummy didn't do it very often for me... only when she had some extra time to spare in the mornings...

Mummy kept the Elmo bags (too precious to use them all hehe) and used these plain ones instead

Since I am a slow eater, mummy had to constantly remind me to EAT FASTER! (Egg, blanched organic broccoli and baked sweet potato wedges with grapes)

The simplest and most fuss-free "cincai" meal (2 thick slices of Danish loaf, milk and grapes)

Another simple meal (croissant, hard boiled quail's eggs, carrot sticks and grapes)

Steamed multi-grain bun, granola bar, egg, grapes and blueberries

Wheatgerm bread "sushi" with egg and carrot, cucumber sticks and prunes

The above are just some of the lunch notes that mummy did for me. Since the school holidays started 2 weeks ago, I kind of missed my pre-packed lunch with the attached "surprise messages" so I asked mummy to make one for me today. While we made the pancakes together, I tried not to peek when she packed the other stuff and wrote the note for me. When lunch was served, I pretended to be surprised hehe. I just love to play pretend!

The homemade pancakes that I helped mummy to make... together with boiled quail's eggs and grapes *happy*

The Bookworm

2011-11-29T22:34:00.001+08:00

I read first thing in the morning (esp when daddy and mummy sleep in during the weekends and I wake up earlier than them, I will read quietly in the living room on my own)

I read in the bookstores with daddy (usually in a mall) when mummy goes shopping

I read while taking my meals (mummy often has to shout and remind me to EAT!

I read during our hotel stays

I read before bedtime everyday :)

How not to wear specs, like that??

I am able to read books that are of quite advanced level, like this Enid Blyton's Mr Pink-Whistle series, which mummy started reading (and loved) at around age 10

*Reading updates at 5 year 3 months

Weekend Getaway @ Holiday Inn Glenmarie

2011-11-28T15:37:00.001+08:00

We went for another hotel stay last Saturday. It was somewhere very near home. Near home as in, well, let's just put it this way: Mummy wanted to take a photo of me when the welcome drinks were served. It was then that she realized the camera was left at home. Luckily her handphone was with her (she leaves this at home even more frequently!)

Refreshing juice and cold towels (photo taken with mummy's handphone)

The lobby and Cafe Terrace (also taken with mummy's handphone)

So apa lagi, we took a short drive home to get our camera :) Okay, back to the hotel room, there was a small glitch in the hotel's reservation system. After quite a long wait to check in, we were given a room upgrade to Executive Club :)

Our room number... not a very auspicious number for the superstitious Chinese hehe but we aren't superstitious, so no big deal for us :p

The room was very pleasant, comfortable and clean, clean as in dust-free (mummy's sensitive nose could tell if a room is dust-free or not)

The pillows came in "soft" and "firm" (two each)

The view from our room... a golf course. Nice!

When can we go swimming???? *sulk*

The view of the swimming pool from the entrance of our room

Wow, the whole pool to ourselves? Unfortunately, barely 2 minutes after getting into the pool, we felt raindrops on our heads... and soon, it was pouring!

Stranded in the little hut... we listened to the rhythm of the rain and waited patiently for it to stop...

... and it did! About 20 minutes later, it was clear blue skies all the way :)

Fun!

Come and join in the fun, mummy! But no, mummy was too engrossed in this page-turner (book) hehe...

The pool is all "ours"... yay!!

Dinner at Kites Restaurant. This was our third time dining here (using our complimentary vouchers for 2 adults). They did not charge me this time. When we dined here the second time, the restaurant insisted that daddy paid the child fare for me (children above 5 years old were chargeable)... such inconsistent regulations. Hmph!

The food here was so-so only... yet daddy and mummy spent hours eating and enjoying themselves!

When I got bored and restless, mummy bribed me with marshmallows to keep me quiet hehe :p

The bribing didn't last long. After a few minutes, I went over to her and whispered in her ears "Hurry up, mummy. I need to go to the toilet!" (for my big biz)! Of course, they quickly took their last bite and left in a hurry hahaha!

Let me tell you a secret, mummy... I need to "go"!

What about my "hotel homeworks"? Well, of course, I read my books and did my homework as diligently as usual...

This was the sight that daddy and mummy woke up to the next morning... I was quietly doing my homework (workbooks brought from home) after waking up earlier than them :)

My First Pair of Spectacles

2011-11-23T20:25:00.000+08:00

When I was a curious baby/toddler, I was called "The Serial Spectacles Murderer" because of the extensive damage I've done to the spectacles that belonged to the people around me. For the records, I have...

1. broken one of the lenses of daddy's glasses (not blogged),
2. bent and disfigured mummy's glasses,
3. twisted and damaged Ah Ma's reading glasses,
4. broken Mah-Mah's reading glasses, and
5. destroyed my first pair of sunglasses.

Of course, I no longer do any of that now so I can safely have my very own pair...

My very first pair of glasses... it's a pink half-frame, chosen by mummy and approved by me ;)

How do I look? I told mummy "I look kinda cute" :p

After putting on my specs, I saw some "new" things that I couldn't see before this. I looked out of the balcony (of our home) and said "Wow, there are so many new houses there!" Well, actually those houses have been there all the while. Now only I know (can see) haha!

More pics of me as a "sei ngan mui" (four-eyed girl)

* Bespectacled at 5 years 3 months

My Generous Friend

2011-11-22T14:30:00.001+08:00

Every now and then I would bring home some small gifts or party packs from school, given either by my teacher or friends. Just 2 days before the school holidays, I brought home some souvenirs as usual. It was from my classmate RP, who had just returned from a holiday to Hong Kong Disneyland.

RP gave me some candies, a sticker and a Disney Princess pencil

They all looked very ordinary, right? But when mummy saw the price tag still attached to the plastic wrapper of the Princess pencil...

... her eyes nearly popped out! This Cinderella pencil cost a whopping RM35!

Being a miser, mummy felt quite bad for letting me accept such an expensive gift from my friend. She definitely would not have bought it for me (she actually never bought anything for me during our trip to HK Disneyland last year) let alone buy it for my friends! *blush* She then made me thank RP again the next day and if I saw RP's mummy, I had to thank her too.

Isn't she lovely?

I loved the pencil very much. I held it and played with it the whole day...

... until I fell asleep... still holding on to my dear pencil! Haha!

Perfect Eyesight No More!

2011-11-21T11:36:00.001+08:00

20112011 may appear to be a special date for many but for me, it is a date that signifies a big change in my physical appearance. I am going to wear glasses! *sobs*

It all started many months back when daddy and mummy noticed something wrong with my eyesight. I was unable to see or read signs/notices that were quite a distance away (although they could). After many similar "tests", when they told me to read something from a distance and I failed to do so, they finally brought me to consult an eye specialist.

I underwent a series of eye check, eye test, eye dilation and eye re-test, and the results indicated that I have myopia (short-sightedness) with signs of lazy eye. According to the doctor, my vision may be correctable but I will have to wear a special lens (specially for kids) until I am at least 10 years old.

The preliminary test... to roughly measure my "power" (the degree of my short-sightedness)

Going through the "alphabet test" to determine the accuracy of my power

After my power has been confirmed, I had to wear these temporary lenses for at least 10 minutes to make sure the power was ok and did not make me dizzy

My power... it's about 200+ in both eyes

Mummy was very, very upset at the very thought of me wearing glasses at such a tender age. Daddy and her started wearing glasses at the ages of 13 and 12 respectively so they had kinda expected me to follow suit at around that age too. I am currently awaiting my new pair of glasses that we had ordered on Sunday (yesterday). Come Wednesday, I will be "four-eyed" for a very, very long time, no thanks to my addiction to the telly and bad reading habits such as this...

A bookworm with the wrong reading position (actually I don't do this often, mummy caught me doing this just once hehe)

While I Was Sick...

2011-11-15T20:45:00.001+08:00

- I missed a mini family gathering (with mummy's cousins) and did not get to play with my cousins ZK, ZW, Leanne and Timmy from Singapore.

- I practiced very good self-control and stayed away from food that I knew I was not supposed to eat, even though mummy did not stop me. She even offered me a papadom when she was having her vegetarian banana leaf rice (she had forgotten about my condition) but I declined and said "sick cannot eat this".

- I was dragged to 1 Utama for a half-day shopping outing (on Saturday afternoon) even though I was sick. I told you, mummy is BAD! Because I was not feeling well, my refusal to walk was understandable so mummy suggested using the stroller... yes, my baby stroller, which has been sitting in daddy's car, unused and untouched since almost a year ago! I missed my stroller very much so I agreed to sit on it...

The stroller is still able to support this overgrown baby. It did not collapse or fall apart hehe :p

And then the most embarrassing thing happened! We bumped into Aaron (my classmate and best friend). Gosh, I was so, so embarrassed (to be caught sitting in a baby stroller) that I didn't quite dare to look at him haha!

- I enjoyed eating my antibiotic (the white and fruity-flavoured Augmentin) and told mummy that "it's kinda yummy" *mummy rolls eyes*

- I recuperated really fast and got well in just 2 days. I fell ill on Friday night and by Sunday night, I had fully recovered. I also went to school on Monday the following day :)

Prone to Tonsilitis

2011-11-12T13:18:00.001+08:00

I developed a fever out of the blue yesterday night. Mummy gave me a dose of paracetamol and we went to bed together soon after. Before that, she also placed an ice-pack on my forehead...

Hehehe... very cold and "ticklish"!

Mummy slept like a log and did not get up to check my temperature at all! (what a horrible mum) This morning, daddy and mummy woke up feeling worried and upset because my body was still hot to the touch and they freaked out when they saw the thermometer reading... 40.1C! They immediately rushed me to my usual paediatrician's clinic.

Mummy was worried that I may have contracted urinary tract infection because I had earlier complained about "pain during urination". According to the doctor, I did not have any symptoms of UTI (urine colour and flow was normal). The culprit turned out to be my throat. The doctor gasped when she saw my very inflamed tonsils! This was obviously caused by heatiness. My whole body was so "overheated" that even my urine was hot, thus the burning sensation, which I described as "pain".

Now, mummy is very baffled as to why am I so prone to heatiness and tonsilitis. This is my second attack in 3 months (well, actually it's only the second attack in my life). I had my first bout in August and mummy doesn't remember me running such a high fever then. I don't eat fried food, I drink enough water daily, I take at least 2 servings of fruits every day, I drink homemade fresh fruit juice (with cucumber) quite regularly, I sleep well etc. What could be the cause? Daddy blamed it on the chocolate that I ate 2 days ago...

This poor Lindt chocolate bunny kena blamed although I only ate its ears! :p

I Love Them, I Love Them Not!

2011-11-11T16:38:00.000+08:00

Because I Have You
On the way to school one day, while walking hand in hand with me (we walk to school every morning), mummy felt very happy, blessed and contented so she asked me...

Mummy: Are you a happy child?
Me: Yes!
Mummy: What makes you happy?
Me: When I am with you, I feel happy. I am happy because I have you and daddy :)
Mummy related this to daddy and both their hearts melted.

Sick, Sick lah
It was raining one morning so we did not walk to school. Mummy drove me there and wanted to drop me off at the covered lobby area so that neither of us would get wet. I did not want to get down on my own and insisted that she parked the car in the open carpark and use an umbrella to go down with me...

Mummy: What if I get wet in the rain and fall sick?
Me: Sick, sick lah... after that, you will get well wat!
Mummy: *rolls eyes* *heart shattered*

Daddy's Back-Stabber
Mummy the fussy clean-freak wipes my bicycle (esp the tyres) after each ride outside, before it is allowed to be pushed into the house. While she was wiping my bicycle one day...

Mummy: *in complain mode* You always make me spend so much time wiping your bicycle. See, I help you wipe until it's so sparkling clean! (expecting me to thank her)
Me: Ya la, not like daddy.... cincai wipe only! (daddy was not at home then)
Daddy: *shakes head* *heart shattered*

Good girl or bad girl?

Our Weekend Getaway

2011-10-31T22:01:00.000+08:00

We went for a 2D1N weekend getaway in the Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel in KL last weekend. After postponing the stay a few times earlier due to daddy's busy-ness, we finally made it there on Saturday (29 Oct).

I love hotel stays!

The lobby of the hotel looked quite impressive

Daddy bought the hotel package early this year (we still have another night's stay in the Holiday Inn Glenmarie)

The room was pleasant and cosy

After checking-in to the room, we did not go anywhere but spent the whole day relaxing there. We buried ourselves in books, watched tv and stuffed ourselves silly with biscuits, msg-free potato chips and fruits brought from home. I also brought along my homework bag and kept myself very busy with homework :)

Dunno what motivated me so much... I spent HOURS doing homework (workbooks) quietly by myself in the hotel room!

Playtime with daddy dearest *so happy*

Wheeeeeeeeee!

I kept pestering mummy for a bubble bath! (We scrapped the idea of going swimming because the hotel did not have a children's wading pool!)

At 7pm sharp, we went for the BBQ Seafood-Night Rendezvous buffet dinner at the Planters' Inn

Some of the scrumptious spread

I was very hungry and walloped everything on these two plates... plus some desserts too

Some of the food that daddy and mummy took... they enjoyed the dinner very much!

While daddy and mummy spent 2.5 hours eating to their hearts' content, I just waited patiently... I was bored to tears *yawn* but I did not complain or hurry them until they were ready to leave hehe!

Desserts

Burning the midnight oil... Back at the room, after dinner and before bedtime, I continued to do my homework... without being told to :)

The following day, we had lunch at the Planters' Inn again to be eligible for the complimentary cake. We ordered and shared two Japanese rice sets with grilled salmon.

Our simple, healthy and yummy rice sets , also served with fresh fruits (not in the picture)

Delicious grilled salmon

A clown made this for me!

We finally got the cake! It looked big and felt rather heavy too...

It was "upgraded" to a 2kg Black Forest cake. Quite yummy but a tad too sweet... we brought it back to Mah-mah's house to share it with the rest of our family members :)

2nd Parents-Teacher Conference

2011-10-29T00:22:00.000+08:00

First of all, Miss S (my class teacher) mentioned that my social skills have improved a bit. She noticed that although I do attempt to be friendly towards the teachers, I still make minimal conversation with them. However, I am okay with my peers. I appear to be very chatty and playful when I am with my friends. She even mentioned Aaron's name in my report card, saying that I get very "hyper" whenever I am playing with him! *mummy rolls eyes*

As for my studies, I am still above the rest in class (quoting Miss S's remark in my report card). I am able to do all my school work independently. I am quite advanced in Maths and Reading (English). I told one of my friends that our reading book (Book 2) is too simple and boring. I can read everything in it from cover to cover even before it is taught in class! Little did I know that this friend of mine actually "reported" my comment to Miss S haha.

Miss S also mentioned that I have improved a lot in my Bahasa Malaysia. I am able to read and understand simple sentences now. In the first semester, I was still struggling a bit with my sukukata (due to confusion between English phonics).

My statistics... I think my attendance is quite good... I was only absent for 7 days in the whole academic year (3 of the days were because I ponteng-ed to go to Cherating and Melbourne)

Next year, I will be joining the K2 Mandarin where all the subjects (except for English and BM) will be taught in Mandarin. According to my Mandarin teacher, there will be a lot of reading and writing to do. I better brush up on my spoken Mandarin lest I get lost or left behind in class!

Little Sweet Treats

2011-10-21T13:32:00.001+08:00

I just love it everytime daddy comes home from work and says "I have something for you". This would send me running to him eagerly with both my hands cupped while daddy rummages his backpack for the little goodies that he has brought home for me.

More... more... more... just hearing the sound of the rustling plastic wrappers excites me!

Thanks to daddy's very generous visiting colleagues from abroad and colleagues who have just returned from business trips abroad, he never fails to receive something from them. Here is Part 2 of our collection... (Part 1 is here).

The most common goodies are chocolates from the U.S.

Fruit strips from the U.S

More chocolates from the U.S

Durian chips and durian egg rolls from Bangkok

Goodies from Japan and U.S

Snacks from Japan... scallop and black sesame rice craker

More chocolates!!

A big bar of chocolate from Australia (the Astro remote control is for size comparison)

Once, he also came back with a bag of goodies... (from a hamper that daddy's team had won in a team-building activity)

Junkies! Somebody was very, very happy that night haha! (somebody who's very deprived of junk food, of course :p)

Since daddy usually comes home when I am having my dinner, these sweets often become my motivation to finish dinner fast! :)

My First Concert

2011-10-17T13:48:00.000+08:00

My kindergarten's 30th Annual Concert was held last Saturday (15th Oct) at the Auditorium of The PJ Civic Hall. It started very punctually at 4:30pm sharp and ended about two hours later (as per the time stated in the concert programme). Each pupil was given 3 invitations so Koo-koo came along with us too.

In my dance costume... glittering white and silver sequined-top (with sexy bare-back), pink skirt and matching pink and white ribbons for my hair

More poses...

The concert was held at the Dewan Sivik Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya

Koo-koo helped to doll me up before I was ushered to the backstage

The opening song performed by the K2 pupils from all centres - The Heat Is On

I took part in the birthday-themed performance called Sam's Party. It was the first item in the programme lineup. This was my very first public performance as well as my very first appearance on stage... in front of a large crowd. I did not experience any stage fright and did okay... phew!

Hooray-ing after "Passing the Parcel" in Sam's Party.

Doing the "Hokey Pokey"

Doing the "Chicken Dance"

Video of my little friends and I doing the Chicken Dance

Some of the very lively and entertaining dances performed by pupils from different P&J centres

The grand finale... performed by all the pupils and teachers (I was hidden somewhere at the back). We sang "Ge Wu Huan Chang", Enjoy Yourself and Voice of Tomorrow

The concert ended with a big bang... with the popping of confetti and "balloon rain"

The hall was flooded with balloons...

... but mummy only allowed me to take one home

I Love You, Aaron!

2011-10-14T16:12:00.000+08:00

That was what I hollered (loud and audible enough to be heard at least two houses away) at the front gate of Aaron's house yesterday afternoon!

Aaron is my kindy classmate, best friend and playmate. We've known each other since last year. Somehow, we get along very well and enjoy each other's company very much (he's also an only child... lonely like me). Yesterday, we went out on our very first "date" (chaperoned by our mummies, of course) right after our school's concert rehearsal at an auditorium in town.

When it was time to say goodbye after spending half a day together, I blurted "I love you, Aaron" as naturally as "Goodbye Aaron, see you tomorrow". Both our mummies chuckled in amusement the moment I said that. While mummy found my "love declaration" innocently cute and funny, daddy found it "inappropriate". He "shame-shamed" me when mummy related the story to him. Hahaha!

What's so funny? We laughed and talked and laughed and talked non-stop in the car

Our concert rehearsal

Playing a board game together (we went to Jaya One for lunch after the concert rehearsal)

We shared a plate of spaghetti carbonara. After lunch, we also went grocery shopping together :)

Aaron and I reading a book together in our house during the last school holidays

The Return of the Sleeping Unbeauty

2011-10-11T23:40:00.000+08:00

Mummy had a very good laugh one evening when she saw me sleeping like this...

I had fallen asleep while doing my Chinese writing homework....

... and I was supporting myself with one hand on the floor like this... hahaha!

When I am too tired and sleepy, anytime and any place is a good place to sleep...

Shopped till I dropped...

Catnap right after dinner in Mah-mah's house

My favourite sleeping place besides my bed... daddy's car. Get into the car, sleep. I can even sleep during a very brief journey of just 5 minutes!

Remember this? This is probably my funniest and most awkward sleeping positions ever. I slotted myself between two sofa seats and slept while standing hahaha! I was 26 months old and down with chicken pox hence the white spots (medicine) on my face.

Books for the Bookworms

2011-10-10T23:48:00.001+08:00

Both daddy and I are bookworms. I simply LOVE reading! Reading is the first thing I do in the morning and reading is also the last thing I do every night just before going to bed.

Last Saturday, on our way back to Seremban, daddy and mummy decided to make a quick stop at the MAEPS in Serdang to grab a few books at the Big Bad Wolf Sales. With 1.5 million books on offer, the BBW Sales is said to be the biggest book sales in the world!

*Gasp* Looooooooong queue just to get in... we were halfway to the entrance from here

Once in, we saw only two things there... books and people!

Mummy and I spent most of the time browsing at the children's section where I picked most of my own books

While queuing at the check out counter, I saw this bank mascot and got excited... I wanted to have a photo taken with it

Well, 3 hours+ later and RM298 poorer, we were seen lugging 47 books in 4 bags... so much for a quick stop just to grab a few books hehehe! Our trip back to Seremban was further delayed by a massive jam on the KL-S'ban highway so guess what? We only had our lunch at 5pm!

Our stash... the left pile is daddy's while the right pile is mine (a few more not in this picture as they have already been given away as gifts)

RM5, RM8 and RM10 books

Some of the babyish books (Kipper and Noddy camera book) that I insisted on having

Only RM3 each!

Besides books, mummy also bought me this Hello Kitty bracelet kit (RM8)

The inside... an instruction booklet and some cute HK beads. Love those cute beads! <3

Do I like my books? Well, let's just put it this way... I read half of them on the very first day itself and the following day, I finished reading all of them from cover to cover :)

Trout Farm, The Nobbies and Our Shopping Loot

2011-10-06T00:16:00.000+08:00

Okay, okay, this is the last post of our Melbourne trip...

On the second day of our Philip Island trip, right after the beach outing in Sunderland Bay, daddy & mummy chose to go to The Nobbies while Mei yiyi and her family wanted to go fishing. I was given 2 options... to follow daddy mummy or to follow Mei yiyi's family. I chose to follow Mei yiyi's family (because I wanted to be with the kids) so off to the trout farm we went.

Rhyll Trout and Bush Tucker Farm

Look, I'm holding a real fishing rod and I'm... I'm fishing! It's my very first time and it could also probably be my one and only fishing experience cos daddy and mummy aren't into this...

See, I'm really fishing :) Waiting... at the outdoor pond

After waiting for about 20 minutes with still no sign of fishes, we (the kids) started to get a bit restless so we moved to the indoor pond...

David yi-jeong giving me a helping hand. Within 2 minutes, we felt something...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 once I caught a fish alive...

Catch of the day!

The whopping 1kg rainbow trout, the biggest catch ever in David yi-jeong's fishing history! (and it burned a small hole in his pockets too... yes, we had to pay for the fish and we were not allowed to throw it back into the pond hehe)

Meanwhile, daddy and mummy went "pak-tho" and took a slow drive to The Nobbies.

They didn't spot any seals but saw flocks and flocks of seagulls.

The Nobbies are the 2 rock islands

Nesting seabirds

The weather was not so good... it rained and was freezing cold! Daddy and mummy did not complete the boardwalk and left in a hurry because they were threatened by the dark clouds and strong winds

Lastly, we lugged home one large suitcase filled with nothing else but 20kg worth of goodies...

Thank goodness for the baggage weight limit or mummy could have bought even more :p

The heaviest... chocolates!

16 bars altogether (mummy only bought 5 bars, the rest were all gifts for family members back home)

The most expensive... nuts!

Most value for money (in other words, CHEAPEST)... fish oil! (These are very heavy too)

... and finally, the cutest of the lot!

~ The end ~

The Midnight Migration

2011-10-04T12:31:00.000+08:00

I have been sleeping on my own (in my own bedroom) since I was 3 years old. However, of late, I have been fleeing my room daily to co-sleep with daddy and mummy, no thanks to my incessant nightmares and self-scaring imaginations about monsters, ghosts and what-not.

Every morning, quite punctually between 3-4am, I would wake up, pack my belongings (put my bed buddies into the vomit bucket and bring them with me), take my bolster along, switch off the ceiling fan, sneak over to daddy and mummy's room, climb up their bed, squeeze myself into the tiny space between them and continue with my sleep. I have been doing this for at least 3 months now!

Mummy finds it amusing to see me repeating the same routine every day. The funniest is when she sees the vomit bucket right above her head on her pillow every morning. I bring the vomit bucket with me wherever I go because I am very prone to vomiting, especially when I cry or cough.

My bed buddies and vomit bucket

Some of my bed buddies inside the vomit bucket (they change every now and then)

Daddy and mummy hope that this nomadic habit of mine will stop soon. Although their bed is considered large (extended king-size), there is hardly enough space to accommodate the ~~three~~ six of us for a comfortable night's sleep. Why six?

... because joining us on the bed are 3 full-sized bolsters, which are nearly as "fat" as us haha!

Naughty!

2011-10-03T15:37:00.000+08:00

Daddy and mummy noticed a sudden behavioral change in me lately. I have been rather restless (cannot sit still and always jumping around), noisy, boisterous and mischievous both at home and outside... totally different from my usual quiet and passive self.

Today, I came home from school and confessed something to mummy...

Me: Mummy, today I was naughty in school so Zhang Lao Shi scolded me and beat me (hit my palm twice with her hand).

Mummy: Huh? *shocked* What happened?

Me: I scribbled on the table with colour pencil.

Mummy: Why did you do that? You know that's wrong, right?

Me: Yes.

Mummy: Then why did you do that??

Me: Err... I dunno, I'm just naughty lah!

Mummy: .............. then very good lah, teacher beat you!

This was probably the first corporal punishment I received in school. There might have been more but this was the first case that I reported to mummy.

See, naughty or not?

Just yesterday night, I did something that made mummy *shake head* and *roll eyes*....

I hooked a piece of partially eaten pretzel on the handle of my closet in my bedroom. It was left there the whole day and mummy only noticed it at night when she wanted to take my pyjamas from the closet

Puffing Billy, Emerald Lake & Knox City Mall

2011-09-27T14:26:00.002+08:00

Day 6: September 5th, Monday

Today was our last full-day stay in Melbourne. We initially did not have anything planned for today but it turned out to be an activity-packed day. The night before, Mei yiyi suggested we go for the Puffing Billy train ride to Emerald Lake and have a picnic there. We thought that was a great idea and agreed.

This morning, right after breakfast at home, we took a 60-minute drive to Belgrave, where the Puffing Billy train station was situated.

At the entrance of Puffing Billy

This is Puffing Billy, Australia's favourite steam-engine train... a train that REALLY goes chugga-chugga choo choo!

Boarding the train from Belgrave to Emerald Lake... Mei yiyi did not take the train with us. She drove to Emerald Lake and met up with us there later

Everyone sits like this on the Puffing Billy! However, when the train moved, I chickened out... yikes!

Since everyone really sat like this (also encouraged by the conductor), daddy and mummy decided to try it too... it was FUN! :D

I finally got the courage after watching how daddy and mummy enjoyed it... and decided to give it a try but not without daddy's hand near me for that added security. The train moved rather slowly so it was ok.

The train travelling across the countryside

Daddy and mummy also had a short chat with the conductor, who later plopped his hat on my head

At the Emerald Lake station... the choo choo train ride took about 45 minutes. We were "reunited'" with Mei yiyi and Alyssa here.

Doing the "stop, look and listen" action

The picturesque Emerald Lake that greeted us

Picnic time! Mei yiyi prepared some sandwiches and fruits from home. She also bought some muffins, doughnuts and spinach quiche from a town nearby

While we were enjoying our picnic (lunch), guess who came to say hello? Ducks! Alyssa and I had fun feeding them with bread

These two love birds (crimson rosella) were seen kissing and pecking each other on the tree right above our picnic table too!

And then one flew over to politely "ask for food" from us... so we gave it a grape

After lunch... more energy to chase ducks!

Walking to the playground with Alyssa

Can't get enough of playgrounds!

More pics of the beautiful Emerald Lake park

Mei yiyi also drove us to the Dandenong Ranges National Park which was nearby. Unfortunately, both Alyssa and I had fallen asleep in the car so daddy and mummy just got down for a quick walk...

Standing among these tall trees, daddy and mummy felt like elves ;)

More trees!

They also heard a loud and unsual sound and when they looked up, they spotted a kookaburra!

On the way home, we dropped by Knox City Mall... our holiday is not complete without a mall trip haha!

While daddy and I spent some time wandering on our own, mummy went to the departmental stores and supermarket for more shopping!

Kiddy rides! I'm still a baby at heart although I've already outgrown these rides physically. See, I wasn't able to squeeze my long legs into the ride anymore!

Again, I had problem cramming myself into this teeny-weeny shopping cart buggy!

Fruits galore!

Later in the evening, we had our very last dinner at The Pancake Parlour. It was Koo-kong and Grandaunt Carol's treat again. We enjoyed their company very much and couldn't thank them enough for being such wonderful hosts.

"Reaching New Heights"

2011-09-24T00:39:00.000+08:00

When mummy last measured my height last month, I stood at 115cm. Yesterday, when daddy measured my height again, I was 117cm! To make sure his measurement was accurate, he marked the wall and re-measured it with a measuring tape. Now, it's either mummy made a mistake or I just grew 2cm within a month!

Why the sudden hype about my height? Well, it all started when daddy and mummy saw me switching on the lights at home WITHOUT standing on a chair! (Mummy is not sure about other homes but the switches in our home are fixed at 160cm (5ft 2in) from the ground)

I am finally tall enough to reach all the switches in the house :)

This is yet another milestone achieved, a sure sign that I am growing well physically. For this, I have daddy and mummy's tall genes (1.88m and 1.75m respectively) to thank for ^-^

Physical development at 5 years 1 month: 117cm - able to reach switches by tiptoe-ing

Sunderland Bay, Wildlife Park and Family Dinner 2

2011-09-19T23:16:00.000+08:00

Day 5: September 4th, Sunday

It's Father's Day today. The Aussies celebrate FD on the first Sunday of September so daddy got to celebrate FD two times this year :) We enjoyed a home-cooked breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, baked beans, pancakes and fruits.

Happy Father's Day! The two proud dads and their kids

After breakfast, we spent the morning at the Sunderland Bay beach nearby (within walking distance from our house).

Walking to the rocky beach

It was low tide at this very rocky beach. During high-ride, this whole place would be underwater. The view there was spectacular (although it looked rather dirty and unpleasant in these pics)

Daddy and mummy taking photos of each other... we (the girls) were standing on the seabed of live seaweeds, kelp and other tiny sea creatures

A rock pool... there were many of such pools around the rocky beach

Here's what we saw in the rock pools... the water was so clear that we had a very good view of the beautiful corals, mollusks, fishes etc. in it... it was like going for a scuba-dive without getting wet!

A sea anemone (the red thing)

Daddy spotted lots and lots of these black morsels. Guess what are they?

Mussels?

Alyssa and I had fun playing and scooping sand and water. The water was icy cold. Brrr!

Next, we went to the Philip Island Wildlife Park. Upon entrance, we were each given a bag of animal feed hence a feeding spree we went. It rained on and off (just light drizzle) the whole time we were there so we just put on our hoods.

Watched from afar while daddy fed the cygnets. Earlier, I saw how mummy's hand got pecked (ouch!!!) by the black swan so I dared not go near any of them.

Daddy feeding the emu. Again, mummy and I were intimidated by its size (it was taller than me!) so we dared not go near it hehe!

Feeding a wallaby... aah! This one was very cute and gentle... I liked :)

Noticed this wallaby's huge belly? We suspected there was something in its pouch...

Just moments later... surprise! A little joey popped out to say hello to us!

*Sayang* Gently stroking a kangaroo while daddy was feeding it

I loved feeding this kangaroo the most. It was very gentle and "polite". I loved the ticklish feeling when it licked and nibbled the pellets off my hand.

A cassowary

Echidnas

We finally had a closer view of a koala... and it wasn't sleeping but busy eating instead hehe

Other animals that we saw in the wildlife park... dingoes, wombats (I fed and touched this too), blue-winged Kookaburra and pelicans

Our lunch back at the house... Australian specialties of Meat Pie, Vegetable Cornish...

... Lamington and Vanilla Slice for dessert

Soon after lunch, it was time to say goodbye to Philip Island and return home. On the way back, we managed to drop by a Chocolate Factory and tasted some of their choc samples :)

After reaching home and taking my bath (Bath facts: I only took my bath twice throughout our 5-full day stay there hehe! The weather was too cold for daily baths and mummy was afraid that I might catch a cold), we took a rest and later went to Ching yiyi's (Mei yiyi's sister) house for another round of family dinner.

Dining with cousins... at a mini dining table just for us kids :)

Food glorious food!

Having a ball of a time in Kai Yin's (Ching yiyi's daughter) playroom

Saoirse the tea-lady was busy pushing a cart of porcelain tea set

Weekend Getaway in Philip Island

2011-09-17T15:26:00.000+08:00

Day 4: 3rd Sept 2011, Saturday

We woke up quite early today and headed off to a 2D1N weekend getaway to Philip Island, about 90 minutes away from Mei yiyi's house. As the 7 of us (plus a few cartons of foodstuff) were unable to squeeze into one car, we went in two cars. We stayed in a very cosy vacation home that Mei yiyi had earlier booked from her colleague.

The vacation home in Sunderland Bay... the 3-bedroom house was absolutely clean, new, beautiful, spacious and very well-kept. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here!

Nathan, Alyssa and I "mismanaging some money" from the Monopoly board game (there was a big stack of board games provided in the house plus a cabinet-ful of movie DVDs)

We bought a 3-park family pass (it was more economical this way) for entrances to the Koala Conservation Centre, Churchill Island as well as the world-famous, must-go Penguin Parade.

1st stop... the Koala Conservation Centre

At the Koala Boardwalk (elevated platform for closer view of the koalas)

Too lazy to greet its visitors... all the koalas there were sound asleep so we did not manage to catch a glimpse of their faces... we could not touch them either as they were all sitting high up on the trees and out of our reach

Next stop... we had fish and chips for lunch. Mummy had whiting (bottom, left pic) while daddy had the local flake (shark meat) and both of them opted for "grilled" rather than deep-fried. We also shared some deep-fried fresh oysters, shrimps and a large box of chips!

Playing "watch out for the pirates" with Nathan at a playground by the sea, near the restaurant where we had our lunch.

Chasing seagulls at the beach

Seagulls, seagulls everywhere!

Bumblebees, bumblebees everywhere too!

Next stop, Churchill Island... a working heritage farm with lovely gardens

Beautiful countryside scenery

Two beautiful peacocks greeted us at the farm...

We watched a couple of "shows" too... this was the Working Dog

Sheep-shearing... I grimaced and asked mummy "Is the sheep in pain?"

Getting the feel of a clump of "freshly sheared" wool. Yucky, mummy. It's sticky and oily (contains lanolin)...

Whip cracking and boomerang throwing (we missed the boomerang throwing as we had "strayed" elsewhere)

More animals... I touched a piglet, a duck (daddy chased after it and caught it for me) and a black lamb

Some of the many pretty blooms in the lovely garden

Posing with a pygmy horse statue

Final stop... The Penguin Parade. Too bad, photography was strictly prohibited here so we did not take a single photo of the cute fairy penguins.

According to the weather forecast, it was going to be a very cold evening so mummy put on 6 layers of clothing for me! The weather turned out to be very tolerable and it was not as cold as expected.

We sat in the open, stadium-like seats and waited for the penguins to return from the sea. Soon after they have emerged in groups at the beach, we followed and walked (on platforms) alongside the cute and tiny little penguins as they waddled and marched their way back to their burrows. It was truly a wonderful experience. Our only regret was that photography was not permitted so mummy bought me something from the souvenir shop as a token of remembrance.

The only penguin photos we were allowed to take... the replicas!

One last pic before leaving... (holding a bag of souvenirs)

Mei yiyi took the trouble to cook us dinner again in the house. We just can't thank her enough for being such a wonderful host, guide and cook!

Homecooked seafood marinara spaghetti (cooked with fresh prawns, baby octopus, squid, mussels, fish fillet and salmon chunks), garlic bread and fresh garden salad

My new travelling companions... Squeak the penguin (cos it squeaks when squeezed). The two smaller ones were given by Mei yiyi (one for me and the other one for cousin Leanne back in KL). Mummy also bought me a story book and a snow-globe-like fridge magnet for herself