Weekend Snapshot 6

A joyride to Kuala Lumpur center

The Petronas Twin Towers used to be tallest twin towers in the world until they built the twin towers in China in 2003. Now, it's the 2nd tallest.

Can the next generation change the world?

Spotted this huge ad in Suria KLCC. We posed for the camera straight away. Can you tell the contrast between us and that on the ad? They look like they're the ideal ones. We look the opposite. Hehe. :)

Have a Wonderful and Blessed New Year 2008 to all Weekend Snapshooters!

Q-Dees

Yey! We finally enrolled Schenker boy!!! I am so excited. I think I am more excited than he is. Weeks before yesterday, we've been preparing him, telling him he's going to school soon... that he's going to meet new friends, learn ABC's and 1-2-3's and more. There was one time he said, Mommy, I don't want to go to school. I asked him why. Because, he said, I might cry there. I didn't say anything. But after he said that, every night when we have a family devotions, I prayed aloud that Schenker would like his school and that he wouldn't cry there...

Yesterday, we decided to visit the school (Q-dees - just a flew blocks away from our house - thank God!) coz the next shool year intake is already in January 2008. It so happened that his cousin Joshua was in the house, too. So we all went together to check out the school again. Of course, like any other kindies, it has a playground... but unlike any other kindies, it has a swimming pool. The boy saw everything... and so I asked him whether he likes the school or not. He simply said, Yes, Mommy I like it. I think I will not cry. Phew!

So today, we registered him, took his school uniforms (and a gymn uniform which he's been wanting to have for awhile now), his text books and everything.

Wow. I am a first time mom who has a first-timer son that's going to school. I can't believe I am sending him to school already. Well, more like I can't believe I have a son that's going to school already! You know, when I tried his uniform for him, to see which size could fit him... when I looked at him, my heart swelled with joy. and yes, pride too.

I.Have.A.Son.That's.Going.To.School!



Ok. Ok. Before we got him, DH and I talked about our kids' education already... what style we're going to use... whether we homeschool or send them to a real school. We weighed everything, asked friends around... made our "feasibility study." There are pros and cons of both sides. But at the end of the day, it is according to our personalities and principles that matter the most. It's also according to our convenience and perseverance. I am not a type of mom who is so resourceful and can go around putting my boy to different classes here and there if I homeschool him coz he needs to have a social interaction among his peers (kids his age). And I don't drive. And I don't think i can ever drive on Malaysia roads. LOL. So coward I am. That's why I'm thankful that one of the best kindies in Malaysia is just a walking distance from our house. That's why we decided to send him to a real school. Not that homeschooling is not real. I just can't find a right word for that.

The only thing is, the training school which hubby is directing starts on the 7th of January. And on the 8th, all the students are going to Cameron Highlands for a 3-day retreat. I thought we could tag along coz Samantha hasn't been to Camerons yet. But we must prioritize his school now. And the sadder part is: Schenker's school starts on the 7th of January! His daddy is not going to be there with him on the first day of his school. Daddy has to go to work.

Anyway... like what I said, I am very excited. I just wonder what it would be like for him, especially on his first few days (can be weeks or months also... waaahhh!). I really pray for smooth transition for him coz he's so attached to us. One friend told me I have to persevere for the first couple of months. I thought it's too long for an adjustment period. That's why it's called perseverance. LOL.

I haven't gotten over it yet so i'm saying this again. I have a son that's going to school! LOL!

Christmas Tradition

And so we have started the tradition. Had a Christmas dinner on the 25th December. Everybody had fun. We missed Ramesh and Dewi though. They were in Perlis, Dewi's hometown for Christmas. Anyhow, we had fun. Kids' cousins just came back straight from Terenggano so you can just imagine having four kids in the house. Our Schenker got his 4th bicycle, a Christmas gift from Amama and Achacha (grandma and grandpa) This one is really big... but of course, it still has a support wheels. He absolutely loves it. Samantha loves it too. hehehe. I think she was more excited to see the bicycle... she was running around it, and wanting to climb over it straight away. My boy, on the other hand, was studying it first, checking the wheels, turning the pedal round and round, checking the boxes in front and at the back, and appreciating the mirror in front. That's what he was most excited about. The mirror. LOL. Have I told you I have a vain boy around? Hehehe He checked the bike thoroughly before sitting on it.

It was a very memorable and very touching Christmas. I am so glad we stayed at home. Of course, I still wanna go to Thailand. Maybe next year. We will definitely do it. In fact, we have it scheduled already! Hehehe.

Hope everybody had a Blessed Christmas... felt the presence of God during the celebration. We did. That's why it was so special.

Now is the preparation of the coming New Year. Hmmm... looks like I'll be busy on the 1st. Hubby's family and relatives usually gather on that day. Since we got married, the gathering place is in our house. This year is not an exemption. So had to prepare for it.

Here's wishing everybody a fulfilling and prosperous New Year 2008!

Perfect for Me

New Year is coming soon. In fact, just 4 more days and it's here. It is yet another celebration. But with Christmas celebration just recently happened... with buying gifts and food for Christmas, do we have money left for the New Year's celebration? Some must have saved for it... some must have spent everything for Christmas. For those who are relying on their jobs to get salary, they have to wait for payday to be able to buy things again for the New Year's eve celebration. Most paydays are at the end of the month. So what do we do?













Being a stay-at-home mom and just depending on my husband's salary at the end of the month, this payday loan is just perfect for me. Don't you think so?

My Christmas this Year

Had another lovely and special Christmas eve. Hubby and I decided to take a joy ride around KL (Kuala Lumpur). We brought with us some tid bits and drinks... just in case we got hungry while driving.


Went pass Bintang Walk... a special request from me. I love passing by there... the place was grandly lit. It's a tourist area.. and on a high-end one. Signature malls are all around too. We saw lots of people wearing Santa's hat. We didn't know that there was something going on there.So we went straight to KLCC... saw the dancing fountain, took photo of it. Good thing we reached the place at 10. They turn off the fountain at 10:15pm. We're just in time to take photos. Me and my hobby... (yes, hobby, not hubby) hehehe.Went inside Suria KLCC. It was magnificent. They have the tallest and biggest Christmas tree. They decorated with silver and purple (which was not my cup of tea) but we took photos anyway. Then we went outside to see the dancing fountain. Lots of people hanging out there.
After we went around, we went back to Bintang Walk... this time, my camera battery was out already. Then we realized people gathered there to have a Christmas count down. So the street we were driving at was packed... So on the 12:00 of Christmas eve, we were in the car, witnessing the fun people were making (spraying artificial snow on each other) and listening to a Christmas song, "It came Upon a Midnight Clear", something like that. It was special coz hubby and I just love joyrides. People are spraying artificial snow at our car as well... It was really fun.

I wonder if all these people really know what they're celebrating about. We drove home at 1:00am. Had pringles and coke for Noche Buena.

We're going to a friend's house for Christmas lunch today. And tonight, we're going to have Christmas dinner with hubby's family. His other brother has two kids now too. This time, with kids around, we wanna set a tradition. Have a Christmas dinner on the 25th of December, read the Christmas Story before we eat. Open gifts after dinner. It really depends on us on how to make our Christmas celebration special. From this Christmas onwards, we make sure the kids know why we're celebrating what.

Speaking of which, I'm just glad that Schenker knows the meaning of Christmas already... that it is Jesus' birthday we're celebrating. So he asked us last night whether Jesus is coming to our house today for his birthday. hehehe. Cute.

Today is Christmas... and I am blogging! LOL. I really have to go now.

Blessed Christmas!!!

The 7 Christmasses I Wasn't at Home

I haven't been home to Philippines to celebrate Christmas for 7 years now. When we think about it, especially we, Pinoys, we could get very lonely, homesick and nostalgic to think that our folks back home are having a grand time celebrating Christmas. I have been there, done that. But it was last year that i realized that no matter where we are, it depends on us on how we make our Christmas special.

I wanna make a summary of my 7 Christmasses that I wasn't at home:

1. 2000 - I was in Phuket, Thailand, celebrating Christmas with different kinds of people from different parts of the world. Our team decided to mix our tradtitons. It was really special... we got to have Noche Buena (midnight meal), hear the Christmas story (by an american friend) and had South African and Chinese food. We exchanged gifts as well. It's universal, hey?
2. 2001 - Hubby visited me that time. He was still a friend. But it was already special... whatever reason, only two of us knew ;) On the 25th, we organized a party for orphans. It was a joy to give joy to these lovely kids.
3. 2002 - We were engaged. Went to Phuket church to celebrate Christmas with friends
4. 2003 - We were married. And we're already here, in Malaysia. I was telling hubby how we celebrate Christmas at home... but I told him, we didn't have to do it. But I asked a favor of waking me up at 12:00mn. Just for the sake of being up on the eve. He woke me up. he gave me a surprise by preparing a candle-light Noche Buena. Had strawberries and chocolates with wine. Very romantic. Of course, lovey dovey after that. (Cheeky grin ;))
5. 2004 - Our lovely Schenker's 1st Christmas. Also, hubby arranged for the ukm/upm team to come and have noche buena with us. without me knowing it. They prepared the food, too. It was very sweet of them. I was surprised again.
6. 2005 - we invited the ukm/upm team to have noche buena with us. we had fine dining then. and we had kris kringle... and of course, we gave each one of them their gifts.
7. 2006 - Samantha's first Christmas. My parents came over to celebrate christmas with us. Dad said it was very memorable. Early evening of Christmas eve, we were invited to a christmas dinner by my Ninong and Ninang, Alan and Maggi Tan. They invited other people too that made the dinner international. My dad really appreciated it. When we got home, we had wine and chocolates for our Noche Buena... plus a crying Samantha. (LOL)
8. 2007 - I'm gonna write this in separate entry coz it's a bit long.

I kept saying 7... it's actaully 8 years already. LOL. Nevermind. No need to edit. Show public my forgetfulness. It just shows that during this 8 long years of not celebrating Christmas at home, I still enjoyed them... Of course, i craved and missed it... but sometimes... i'm having too much fun it overrides the nostalgia.

Like what I said, we may be away from home... But it does depend on us to make Christmas... every Christmas special.

Timeless Christmas

Last Saturday, we were invited to a Christmas program at SIB. The theme of the program was Timeless Christmas. They were actually promoting a program to give gifts to the orphans. It wasn't what I expected it to be since the last program I saw at SIB was really superb and extravagant. But it didn't matter. Our boy enjoyed it so much.

Also, the program got me to thinking... what really makes a timeless Christmas. Is it a special celebration we do at home? Is it the giving and receiving part? Is it a special family gathering? When you come to think of it, it's quite true actually. But in all these, if we consider only these, then we miss the essential part: the birth of our Jesus Lord!

I just saw this video of Indescribable where the preacher spoke about how big God was... and how small we were by decribing God using our galaxy - the milky way and it's size. You know, I'm into astronomy and all that... so I was so amazed at how he described God... and in the end, he showed how this great big God decided to make Himself small and become like us. It was an awesome video. You will end up really worshipping Him... in awe. This has indeed set me for Christmas. If you want a free copy, pls let me know. I am very willing to send you for free... my Christmas gift. hehehe. Serious. Available to the first 5 who'll tick me. Just let me know how to send it to you.

And so... what makes a timeless Christmas? It's the great big God whom we know that became tiny weeny small to live with us... only to die for us to save us.

Timeless. He is timeless. It's He who makes Christmas timeless.

How's Your Health?

One of the things I and hubby like doing is doing hospitality which includes member care. Care in a sense that we make sure that the person we cared for are being cared for wholistically. We make sure that they have proper support and encouragement. Of course, we care for their health as well.

One time, one of our friends suddenly got illness, a tumor in the ovary. She was so hesitant to go to hospital for one main reason: no money to pay for the hospital bill! We then realized the importance of health insurance. From then on, we really encourage our friends to have health policies.

No matter how old we are, we should have health policies. One of the main reasons I said yes to a health policy was because I gave birth to two kids. In my health insurance, both of them are covered too. We don't know what will happen next. The most important thing is, we are secured in knowing that our bills are taken cared of.

Insurance Skeptical

Insurance Policies ? I must admit many , many years ago I was very skeptical of insurance policies. I really didnt think it was important. In fact, I thought they were a scam, trying to make money out of innocent people.

But today... I no longer think that way. I really believe in the importance of insurance.... for many reasons. Today, I & my family have various kinds of insurance policies. Insurance gives you: Security especially in times of need especially on retirement; Your family is 'cared for' when you leave earth for heaven; Funds to send our kids to college; House can be covered in case a fire breaks out or robbery and a whole lot more.

There are many insurance policies to choose from. The most important is its low rate and security. So what we need to do before we apply for life insurance of any policies is to compare the policies and rates. Now with the advantage of internet at homes, we can do our insurance shopping and buy it online... at the comfort of our home.

I'm In!

So I'm finally in. Hubby's approval received. Obviously, I'm starting now, doing my assignment: research how to make money from my blog.I am excited and overwhelmed at the same time coz there are millions of information from the internet about making money from your blog.

Now, I'm starting with blogvertise. It's very easy to sign up. You just need to have paypal so they can send you the payment. Once you're approved, you will be given assigment to write or review about products or companies. Then you will get paid. Isn't that cool? I just can't wait to earn money from what I love to do: blogging.

Weekend Snapshot 5

My two boys ready to go to church.

My girl and hubby playing in the church lobby while waiting for the church to start. (We were a bit early).

Everybody loves weekend, it is the time for leisure, recreation and other religious activities. And when everyone is having a grand time, you want to capture it and share it with others. That’s why Weekend Snapshot is here for you. Come and join the fun here

Sepang Goldcoast

The family went to Sepang early this morning... we were invited by friends. Actually 4 families went. It was so much fun! Went to the beach... but didn't swim coz it was low tide... We flew kites instead! Our boy was really having fun coz it's his first time to fly a kite.

You know, my son's favorite show nowadays is Hi-5. So I show him the Hi-5 Christmas. And they show how to celebrate a Summery Christmas... and one of them was to build a sandman on the beach (instead of a snowman). So... after our boy got tired of flying his kites, he aske me if we could make a sandman. And so did we.


Our girl had a great time in the sand as well. The only thing was, we had to keep watching her coz the sand sometimes ended up in her mouth! But it was quite an experience for her. Playing in the sand for kids is fun.

We're supposed to go for lunch with them... but we decided not to coz we had to go home early. Hubby was invited for a Christmas dinner by a friend (Germany Ambassador).

We're not going to Thailand and yet... we have lots of activity to do lining up. Everything works for the better indeed.

It's So Red!

It was a success! Yey! So glad the party went well. Everybody had fun. Actually it's a pot bless (pot luck) party so each one brings one dish. We decided on western food... I simply loved Anni's garden salad... coz she always sprinkle it with feta cheese. Aletta's pasta was very good. Samantha loved it like crazy. We had KFC chicken too (Jac didn't have time to cook, so she just ordered from KFC. The Ng's brought beef steak which was good also. Kwee heong made fried rice something... she named it but forgot what it was called. I prepared something for cocktail though. So everybody had something to munch before the dinner. We sang a couple of traditional Christmas songs (Silent Night, Holy Night and Joy to the World!). After that, everybody shared (almost everybody, that is) about why is Christmas special this year... which was led by my hubby.

After dinner we had games! Everybody had fun. We did Taboo, if you know the game. We almost didn't wanna stop playing the game. But of course, we had to come to the highlight of the party, and I'm sure you can guess what: the exchanging of gifts!

I got an Il Divo Christmas CD!!! That was awesome! I loved it. Peter got a box of nice chocolates; Schenker got a box of like so many cars and he loved it! Samantha had an educational one... animal wooden puzzles.

All in all, it was a success. Everybody had something red to wear. So it was really a blast! Of course, before everybody left, I gave each one a Christmas Surprise!

Have another thing to do tomorrow... a family affair. Will post more then.

And oh... we're not going to Thailand. We're staying home for Christmas.

Craving...

Guilty... that's how I felt this afternoon. I splurged so much on calories! That's what.

I had two fried eggs (sunny-side-up) and very rich Milo this morning; had two plateful of Angel Hair boloignese (left over from yesterday's meal) and a glass of coke for lunch; took a 2-hour nap with my daughter (hubby took my son to his work) and when we both woke up, i was craving for sweets so I ate toblerone and if it wasn't enough I ate one bowlful of Magnolia ice cream (vanilla flavor loaded with choco chips)! And yeah, washed it down with another glass of coke. Can you believe that? That's why my weight has been steady.

I felt gulity... so I decided to have an all-vegetable (with rice) for dinner. I had blanched okra (american english) which is lady finger for British English, fried cauliflower ala fried chicken style (that means it's coated with flour with egg), steamed carrots (mainly for my daughter) and fried soya bean curd. Hubby was happy we had all these vegies for dinner. He didn't know the story behind it. LOL! Well, I did tell him the story afterwards though.

Anyways, spent the whole afternoon preparing for tomorrow's Christmas party. I also made potato salad in advance. It's always nice when it's a day old. :) All the flavors will sink into the potatoes; prepared the giveaways (I call it a Christmas Surprise!) and washed all the rugs. Hehehe. And oh yeah... finally, totally finished off my decoration. LOL! I told you it would take a long time for me to finish it. I touched it up a bit with the stuff I bought from Ikea.

Suffice to say, I feel very accomplished today. Ready to party tomorrow!

Weekend Snapshot 4

I love serving English Tea. Everytime we have guests at home, I'd serve tea. Last weekend, our couple friend (both Malaysian Chinese) dropped by to visit us. They got married last March (in their early forties) and they wanted us to "watch over" their marraige. I felt incapable as we're only in our 4th year of marriage... but maybe, as a couple (very young at that), we have impacted them. It's great to be a blessing. :)

This is how I serve tea (the English way?)

Details of my table centerpiece

I have different kinds of tea: earl grey (my and hubby's favorite), ceylon, darjeeling, english breakfast, different kinds of Chinese and Japanese tea... etc. Pick your choice. I'm serving with my mother-in-law's indian biscuit. Hehehe.

To join the weekend snapshot fun, click here (ws).

My Sunday

It's a long day today. Continued with our Christmas shopping. Went to Subang Parade. But before we went there, hubby surprised me by taking the family to ikea! I love ikea... lots of nice stuff for kitchen and stuff for kids, too. Well... almost all the household stuff you can see there. I love their showrooms, but photo-taking wasn't allowed. So I can't show you here. We had Swedish meal for lunch. Yum!

Spent the whole afternoon there. I tell you, when you go to ikea, you will never come out empty-handed! LOL! Well, for me, at least. Bought gifts for my nephews Joshua and Joel there, and for my Schenker too. Went to Ikano also to find something for Samantha... found a nice dress there for her.

Hubby then took me to starbucks. Love their frapuccino, esp Java Chips. It has been my favorite since Phuket days.

On the way back home, we dropped by Subang Parade to finish off our Christmas shopping. Now everything's complete. I also got some stuff for Christmas giveaways for our team's party. Yeah, I'm gonna host the party again. I love hosting parties and dinners. Loved hosting fine dining until Samantha came. Fine dining requires very detailed preparation so when another baby came, I couldn't do it anymore... physically and time-wise not able... Maybe when Samantha grows bigger, i can go back to it. I just love fine dining. That's all. :POkay, back to Subang Parade. It was a good timing when we were there coz there was a carolling show and Santa Claus went around greeting everybody, and giving candies to kids. Schenker shook hands with him; Samantha was scared. Hehehe.

We had dinner there. And yeah, we had Chicken rice if you ask me what we had. :D Went home feeling tired but accomplished.

I told you we had a long day. But a good long day at that. Hope everybody had a lovely weekend too!!!

Christmas Shopping

Finally, we started our Christmas shopping... as hubby promised to do it on Saturday, so we did. Went to Sunway Pyramid last night. But having kids in tow made our shopping a challenge. Nevertheless it was fun. Our girl enjoyed it the most, touching things here and there. She's just very curious, always wanna have her hands on something.

Sunway Pyramid's architectural design is Egyptian Pyramid inspired. So you can see a lot of intricate carvings, can see the huge phoenix outside the mall, too... and the roof has big domes! But... Sunway Pyramid is too huge for me to shop nowadays. Good thing we knew where to buy what. Otherwise, it will be impossible to even buy one thing. Went to Marks and Spencer's. They have reasonable buys and bought gifts there for the 3 men (FIL and two BILs). Bought one for hubby too. Of course he knew what I bought for him already. I asked him first what he wanted for Christmas. Hehehe. Saved the headache of thinking what to give.



Will do the rest of Christmas shopping in Subang Parade. It's easy to shop there. It's not a big mall. So it's not tiring to shop. And I know where to get things by heart!


Hubby asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him I wanna have a book written by Tolkien. LOL! The title is "Children of Hurin." Hehehe. I like all these non-fiction books, esp by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have 4 of his books already (Silmarillion, LOTR Trilogy and The Hobbit). I'm actually saving these for the kids when they grow up. It's a nice read. And i can talk endless about these books... but back to my Christmas wish...


I so wanted this book. But I told him, it's not worth to buy it. It's hardbound book and it costs like $$ to buy now. So I told him of my other wish. Which is not hard to buy. (I mean not hard in the pocket). LOL!


Will go again today. We were planning to do it again after church. But we missed church today. :( too bad. We missed the Christmas program. Everytime they have programs and shows in the church, it's like they have an international show. They actually practise for months and they can really spend for costumes and backdrops and some effects!


Okay enough rambling. Time to go shopping again...

Happy Sunday everyone!!!

Bad Headache

Just came back from shopping. And no, it's not a Christmas shopping. Just a normal general grocery shopping. And I'm having a bad headache. Cannot do my rounds tonight.

Well, I haven't been doing since last week. A friend borrowed my laptop. So I'm using my hubby's... which I could only use at night time. So I'm quite limited.

Also, our wifi/adsl modem is not fixed yet. So, I'm using dial-up. Pity me, huh?

That's why i can't read long entries, if ever I have time to bloghop. Sorry. Maybe, next time when I have time to do my usual rounds, I can read everything.

Really bad headache. This is all for now.

What Rose Represents Your Love

Your Love is Represented by a Yellow Rose

You primarily express your love through friendship and caring.This doesn't mean your romantic relationships are platonic - they just start that way.You need a lot of freedom in relationships. So if you do happen to send roses, they don't mean much.

What Rose Represents Your Love?

This was a tag from Lalaine

I wanna tag Mitch and Rac. When you have time, that is. Thanks!

What to do with the gifts we don't like?

Admit it. Whether we like it or not, we get gifts that we don't normally use or we don't normally like during gift-giving time in some way or another. Not all people who give us know us that well. But of course, we'll be embarrassed to let the giver know we don't like what we get, right? I'd feel a bit funny if you tell me that. (hint, hint). And of course, 'tis Christmas... and it doesn't matter if we like the gift or not. It's the thought that counts! and the giving heart (and maybe the receiving heart as well).

So, what do we do with the gifts we don't like? or don't use? hmmmm... I've come up with few ideas:

1. don't keep them!
2. you may give them all to me. (lol!)
3. seriously... recycle it.
4. give to less fortunate kids/women or people in general
5. keep it as a "guest give away."
6. donate to "salvation army" or any orphanage nearby. i'm sure those kids will be happy to get whatever you give them.
7. or if you know a friend/family member that like that gift, give it to him/her. it's yours already, you can do whatever you wanna do with it.
8. again, i say, you can do whatever you want with it, just don't keep it until it turns into a waste.

We must consider ourselves a "channel" of blessings. You'll amaze you'll find yourself happy when you give. We find it more meaningful to celebrate the birth of Jesus by making other people happy too, right? Also, not everybody can afford to buy and give "nice" gifts. So we should take that into consideration.

And yes, for the giver (hint hint again). don't simply give just for the sake of giving, okay? hehehe! last time, I got a box of a "sample" of whatever-that-cheap-girly-product's-name-was for a Christmas gift. LOL! Can anybody beat that? LOL! Of course, I didn't complain. I just gave it away! And made my sister happy.

Have a happy heart in gift-giving-and-receiving this Christmas season!

what am i into now?

anxious,

excited

mixed feelings

overwhelmed

getting impatient

but trying to be patient

anticipating...

that's how i'm feeling

right now

if you ask me

what state i'm in.

in fact

i've lost count

of my days of Christmas.

please bear with me.

i'll be back

to my normal self

and to the world of blogging...

in no time at all!

Nativity Display

Having said all about Christmas decos and stuff, I realized I missed one more thing: the Nativity set! I don't have one... and here in Malaysia, I don't even know if it's in the market! Arrgghh!!!

It should be the main deco for Christmas, the birth of Jesus (nativity) set. So sad I dunno where to find one. I should have bought when I was in the Philippines two months ago.

Maybe next time... next year. Will ask somebody to buy it for me.

For the meantime, story books (about the birth of Jesus) especially for my kids will do. Yes?

Christmas Decorations

I think I have (almost) done my Christmas decorating. I'll just need to add up a little bit of this and that to here and there. (LOL! I'm amused with my phrase). Although the trend nowadays in decorating is using symmetrical design, i still used the traditional decorating. I love red and that's a good thing coz red is ever present in Christmas colors. The decorations in my house are combination of earth colors and deep red so it's not really hard to decorate my place. Just accessorize here and there with a little bit of green (for leaves and the tree itself) and some dashes of gold... and voila! You can already feel the Christmas spirit in the house!

I would like to thank my boy for helping me with the decorations. We both had fun doing it. Moments like these can make lasting memories. I'm sure it will in mine... I hope it will on him, too.

Also, the boy has his first christmas gift this year, from his friends Gabriel and Gareth. They are so fast! LOL! I haven't even taken a breath after decorating my house. And yeah... we got our first, too... and it's a bit grand. A huge and nice (white) rag from no other than my favorite furniture mall, Ikea! It can be used as a carpet, too. Hmmm... I wonder if we ever wanna use it now... knowing that we have toddlers around the house, probably I'd think twice in laying it up on the floor. And it's way too big (and bulky) to be kept. So how? hmmm... Will have to think of ideas on what to do with it. Will be right back here if ever I come up with a solution.

It's 4:29 am... and I'm not sleepy. The flu tablet I took was supposed to make me feel giddy and sleepy. I'm still up and about. Alive, awake, enthusiastic!

Nevermind. I'll just finish this up and I'll go to bed.

Okay... bye for now! Good ni... errr good morning, everyone!

weekend snapshot 3

We are so blessed to be living in a place where the park is just right in front of us. We go there almost everyday. I took this photo of my girl on the seesaw and slides last weekend though, when I and hubby went to play basketball. Sorry, no photo of me and hubby playing basketball... we weren't properly attired. :) So here she goes...

... my brave little girl.

And yeah, our Christmas tree is finally complete! Hurray!

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On the 6th and 7th Day...

It was very quiet... as the kids were still down with fever and flu. Yeah, virus has attacked the household again. Spent my time cleaning a bit and trying to tie up loose ends (sorting out the study room and tidying up the store-room-cum-maid's-room-to-be-converted-into-kids-room) before the new year starts. Somehow I have the idea already on how to do it up. I just need time to do it. Maybe I spend less time blogging so i can do whatever I wanna do... for a start. How about that? Hehehe.Today I was surprised to get a Christmas card from my friend Debbie.... a pleasant surprise, indeed. I worked with her last time in Phuket, Thailand. She had to go back to the US to join her husband. It was 7 years ago since she parted. And she surprised me today by sending a card. Very sweet of her. I just wonder where she got my new address. My guess would be from either Aisha or Vivienne. Thanks for the card Deb... I love it.

Back to Christmas cards... gone are the days when everybody's busy making (real) cards. Nowadays, due to the comfort and convenience of the new technology (internet), we can easily send virtual cards. I like that, too... but it still feels nice to get a real card from friends and family. Will probably do that, too. And have to do it a.s.a.p coz Christmas is fast approaching!

Am I Ready?

I have been thinking... Thinking out loud actually... and it had to be loud enough so hubby could hear it.

Been thinking about monetizing my blog. "What??? NO way!!!" was the reply. So I wondered out loud why not...

He laid down all the reasons why he thinks it's not good (which I thought were very silly and not true) until it came down to: "I thought you wanna blog to have fun only? If you blog to earn, you will lose the fun and be pressured to write something just so you can earn." True in some point. But in monetizing your blog... does it really pressure you? Does it really take away the fun in writing? Hmmm... will have to ask Mitch. She's been there; done that.

Anyway, since I don't have hubby's blessing, it has to be put in the back-burner. I'm not totally shrugging off the idea of it. Just wanna have my hubby's full blessing so once I start (with his go signal), I know I would do well. And also, maybe I'm not ready yet.

Now what I need to do is gather all the info I need about earning from my blog... then only I lay everything down to him... again. And see what his reaction would be.

On the Fifth day of Christmas...

Everybody's down with a fever. Except this writer. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?Sometimes I think it is unfair that everybody else except me can just lie down and rest (and recover) while I do my own usual thing... being sleepless and tired... blah blah blah...

But hey... what am I talking about? I should be greatful I'm up and healthy! and that's the best thing! LOL!

So what did I do today aside from taking care of three sick babies? Hmmm... I cleaned the house a little bit... just a wee little bit. Put up some things for the house deco. Since my boy is sick, he couldn't participate with the house-decorating this time.

It was raining the whole day. I got a chance to listen to the raindrops. Love the sound o'them. Makes me feel nostalgic... Back to my childhood days... used to "shower" in the rain with siblings... go to the river at the back of our house and have a swim... or just plain playing in the rain. I love those days. I wonder if my kids could have that kind of childhood too... just stay around, playing, doing nothing about those "educational, stimulating" plays until it's primary school years. Hmmm... I think with everything so advanced now, kids don't have time to just laze around. Thay have to have something productive (and educational) to do!

Anyways, I came across SIL's blog and she named those she didn'tt want for a Christmas gift this year... and to think I gave one of those last year for a Christmas gift to her! LOL! Blogs really do help. At least now I have a hint of what not to buy for her.

For me, anything will do (asus, ka plastic! hahaha!). Seriously. My "love language" is quality time. As long as you are there, spending time with me, it's enough. I am happy already. Of course, gifts can be a plus too. But not really major. So you give me something... anything, it's not a disappointment.

I feel very appreciated when you talk to me and be there for me. Hmmm... does that explain the late night chatting online with friends? I guess so. But now that blog fever is on, no need to chat that much. you can get updates already thru reading friends' blogs. That explains my being "invisible" a lot these days. I blog hop everytime I go online. :)

I feel I'm being reflective today. Blame it on the rain! Hehehe.

Have you noticed my banner? It does crack me up. I do love it though. That's why it's there. (Original verse goes like this: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord - Joshua 24:15)

And please, don't laugh at my greeting section. DH thinks it's not so nice. So I have to change that. But that stays until I can make another nicer one. I'm not into digital scrapbooking yet. The best thing about DH is he'll tell you point blank what he thinks is nice and not so nice.

I love to be a blessing... so any design (except my entries -hehehe) you see from my blog that you think is nice for your blog, too... grab it! (I also grabbed them from other blogs - result of my bloghopping). Too many resources from the internet, easy access to ready-made designs, templates, etc... it's hard to be original. LOL!

I know I'm being chatty tonight. But I have to stop and sleep. Good nite friends, and be blessed!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

My boy got excited when I announced this morning that today, we're gonna put up our Christmas lights.


Here's our tree with the lights on. It's prettier to have lights, yeah?

I prefer doing a few things at a time... to get my boy excited everyday. I actually did a couple:

1. light up the Christmas tree
2. took out the small Christmas-tree-cum-candle-holder. I placed it on our dining table. This was a gift from MIL two years ago. I love it. My boy loves blowing candles... so this keeps the candle light safe inside. :P

And where's my little girl and what's she's doing while Mommy and Kuya were busy putting up the decos?

There she is! Busy chewing the small gift she pulled out from the tree. Hehehe.

I think I'll only finish decorating the house near the real Christmas day. Hehehe. It's okay. It's fun this way. I can have something to do with my kids everyday that relates to Christmas.

And no... I haven't started with my gift list yet. Dunno when to start. Gift buying is fun, esp when you can afford to buy "nice" things for everybody... and a little bit stressful when you're in a minimum budget. I'm in the later part. :( Sad. But of course, I believe that the essence of Christmas is not just about giving and receiving gifts. It's about remembering God's love manifested on us, the birth of Christ Jesus our Saviour. Let's celebrate Christmas with a grateful heart!