country issues

every country has its own issue. philippines for one is suffering from corruption, rebel attacks and natural calamities. america is busy with its upcoming elections. malaysia... well, malaysia has its own share also. just recently, there has been an issue of Malaysia Today being blocked by the government. there seemed to be an article that was quite offensive to the local malays, especially the government. the offending article was written by raja petra kamarudin. the offending article title went like this; "malays, the enemy of islam."

Check out Malaysia Today, the full article and comments.

Well, who am I to judge whether this line is true or not? Who am I to say this quote is true if it is, at all? I'm just a foreigner in this land, a spectator in all things happening. I may be able to agree in most of this quote, but who am I to judge the Malays? I don't know them well...

All I know is that I look like Malay and when the locals see me, they automatically stereotype me. Like what happened in Carrefour today when we did our general grocery shopping. I was trying to pull out the trolley that was inserted to the other trolley. Usually when you insert a coin in the lock that connects to a chain that's attached to the other trolley, it would unlatch the chain. But today, the chain that was supposed to connect to the other trolley was broken so it wasn't attached to the other trolley at all. But the trolley got stuck with the other trolly so i had a hard time pulling it out. There was an old Chinese lady behind me and told me to insert a coin so I could pull it off! She didn't even know the situation. She assumed I was stupid enough to not know how to do it. All because I looked like Malay.

stereotype. bad. political issues. natural calamity issues, language issues, lack of amenities issues, discrimantion issues, criminal and civil issues, power struggle issues... nowhere to go. they're everywhere. so better stay and appreciate the good things a place can offer and be optimistic. and pray a LOT!

it's me,

ikea sale is over

we missed this year's ikea sale. they would usually have it in the month of august, joining the rest of the country in having sale. but the sale month is over and we haven't gone there yet. i like their decorative items, different kinds of candles and Votive candle holders. most of the things in the house are from ikea furniture mall. one more thing about going to ikea is... you get to eat some swedish meals. normally, we would go there for lunch and after lunch, that's when we do our (window) shopping. they have show rooms for every part of the house: living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, office rooms, kids' rooms and more! maybe i'll try to go there for pre-Christmas sale. Maybe I could make it this time. i love their Christmas decorations. you can get Christmas decorating ideas there too that are either traditional or trendy.

it's me,

how to take care of your hair

I used to suffer from split-ends and sun-bleached hair when I was a teenager. You know when you're a teenager and there's media saying to have a beautiful hair means more people admiring you, more friends you'll get... you certainly would get insecure, especially if you don't have the kind of hair to die for. I admit, my self-esteem was low because I didn't have that perfect hair. One day, I just woke up thinking I have to do something about it. I started to think of ways on how to take care of hair. My hair is oily so I have to find out which product was the best one for me. But here are a few tips to have that hair-to-die-for:

1. if you have an oily hair, don't apply oil after washing your hair as it will make your hair limp and dry on the ends.
   
2. putting oil on your hair and going outside exposing it to the sun can burn your hair, thus more split-ends will appear and the more it will get sun-bleached. i was actually thankful that bleaching hair became a trend. my hair fit in even though i didn't have to bleach it.
3. wash hair carefully and thoroughly. not doing this may result to dandruff.
4. don't comb your hair too much when it's still wet. the hair follicles are very tender when wet so when you keep combing, it will cause split ends. i read this from a magazine I used to read when i was in college.
5. you have to choose the right brand for your hair, especially when you're susceptible to hair fall. well, sometimes, hair loss is genetic so you will have to undergo a Hair Loss Treatment. There is website that does hair loss products review so you might want to check it out. they will advise you of a different treatment for a different hair type. they will also give you idea that herbal treatment is better than chemical treatment. and I agree. doing treatment the natural way is the best.
6. best of all, relax ad let your hair down. sometimes, when you're stressful, it affects your hormones and it will have negative effect on your skin, giving you skin problems and all that.

there was indeed a time when i got what i wanted: a hair that's to die for. and guess what, it's just the same. i still have the same friends. but what made the difference was that i got a bit of attention. and i enjoyed it. hehehe. have i told you i could be "modest" too?

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stress-free travel

traveling can be stressful if you don't know anything about the place you going to travel to. so i have a few tips to do before you pick up that bag and hit a new place:

1. find out about its people, what are they like, what sort of culture they do believe in - sometimes it helps when you know a bit about the culture of the people that you're going to visit too. in France, if you speak English, they consider this an arrogant gesture. but if you try to speak French even if it's up side down, they will be happy and entertain you like crazy.
2. learn a bit of their language, especially if English is not their native tongue or not their second language.
3. find a guide or a friend in the area. they can help you a lot in getting around.
4. search the internet about the place, how to get there, where to stay - same goes with the place that you've gone to. you may want to know what's the latest happenings, latest development and such. if you are going to Rome, you can search for Hotels in Rome in the internet. You can especially find a good deal when you search romaclick.com. The company is based in Rome so you will be assured they know everything about Rome, where to stay, how to get around easily.
5. find out about the currency and compare against your local currency so you'd know how much you'll be spending.
   

This is all about it. Hope this one helps.

it's me,

fireworks

we just came back from my brother-in-law's place for a family dinner in bandar parklands, klang. it's the first time they're hosting a dinner after getting married and it was quite impressive. my sister prepared a 10-course meal! and everything she cooked was very good. kudos to them! after the dinner, we had to send two aunties to petaling jaya and kuala lumpur. you know if you're from malaysia, you would know how far in between these places are from each other, and from our place too. but i enjoyed the ride. we got to see some fireworks made for merdeka (independence) day celebration. it was cool. going to sleep now. chao!

it's me,

Mortgage Interest Rates

My husband has finally seen the Lexus car that a friend is selling for 60,000RM. He was quite impressed with it. Not only it looked beatiful, it's cheap too and at the same time, for 9 years of being used, the owner of the car used only 140,000kms. It's not bad at all. But unfortunately, no matter how cheap the car was, we still cannot afford to buy it. Although we can take a car loan, but it's not advisable for us to do that as we're still paying for our mortgage for our house loan.

Mortgage nowadays are very high. That's why before purchasing a house, we must first need to acquire mortgage rates. Let's take a look at US mortgage rates. They give you details on the information and current news about home loans and mortgage interest rates. They give information on the best lenders that are available. They also have a list of mortgage blogs that have information on rates and interests of home loans. It is best to find out about all these before purchasing a home. We can compare notes, experiences, and ratings just within one website. This is just a recommendation in what to do before deciding which lender to apply with for house loans. It's always better to search for information on interest rates than purchasing straight away without knowing anything about it.

Q-Dees Merdeka Day Celebration

It's my son's Merdeka (Independence) Day celebration today at Q-Dees. They are to wear any traditional costume. Last time, for his cultural day, I put for him an Indian costume called Kurtas. Today, he's Filipino.

Doesn't he look cute in Barong Tagalog?

I took photo of his favorite friend also who's wearing a modern Chinese traditional costume.
His teacher was very happy to pose with him. She is wearing an Indian costume called saree.

Here's more of him.

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skywatch friday - foggy day

Foggy day at Genting Highlands

Genting Highlands (Malay: Tanah Tinggi Genting ; Chinese: 雲頂高原) (1700m above sea level 3°24′6.51″N, 101°46′2.62″E) is a mountain peak within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia and is home to a famous mountain resort by the same name which can be reached by car from Kuala Lumpur in one hour. It is also accessible by the world's fastest and South East Asia's longest cable car called Genting Skyway (3.38km).

I and family were on our way to Genting Highlands. It was foggy when I took the shot. That's why it looks a but gloomy. But what is Highlands without fogs? I love the weather there. It's just perfect for a family getaway with lots of games for kids to play with.

pls leave a comment after you put your name in linky. thank you.

it's me,

website hosting

Do you blog? Do you write your journal online and share it with friends? Do you have your own domain? If you have, does it have a good service? Or... are you looking for a better website hosting? Nowadays it's a trend to write updates on a website or a blog. I love blogging. It's an outlet for me, being a stay-at-home mom. You know when you're a mom and you want to share an update about your family or kids' milestones and development, you can't help but share it with friends, right? Moms, do you agree or not? So blogging is just the answer to this. You just give your link and your friends will see how you are, how your kids are doing, and stuff like that.

Lately, I have been buying my own domain. I guess it's worth buying domains because not only can I share with friends about family updates, I can also earn more money from it. You know, when you have your own domain, it's better for paid blogging than having a free hosted blogs. Well, you too can have your own domain. You just need to know which webhost is better to use. They personally look for different web hosts available online and rate them. In fact, the publish the top 10 web hosts. That means, it's easier for us to decided which webhost is the right web hosts for us. Some of these webhosts come with free domain. So you don't have to look around finding and spending for a domain. So if you're looking for a good webhost, try checking the web hosting rating first... then you can decided which one is the best one to invest with. You can actually visit their website and read the article on the best control panel.

Ramadan Month for Malaysia

Every year in the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar, known as Ramadan, Muslims around the world abstain from food, drink, smoking and other sensual pleasures from dawn to dusk. At the end of the day the fast is broken with prayer and a meal, and is resumed the next morning.

In Malay, fasting is known as Puasa and breaking fast is Buka Puasa. They break fast at 7:00 pm with prayers and a feast. This is the time of the year when Malay food is available everywhere. I love it also. I get to buy Malay food or kwey kwey everywhere. In Subang area, there's Buka Puasa stalls in SS 15. I and husband would usually buy buka puasa food coz they're just so good.

One thing with Ramadan month in Malaysia though is for me to be careful where I eat and when. I look like Malay so I'm not supposed to be seen eating during Puasa month. That's why I need to carry my passport everwhere we go just in case the authorities decide to check on me. It has happened many times (but not to me yet) and to be safe, I just need to carry my passport to show I am not Malay.

The food in the image is called Nasi Lemak. It is rice cooked in coconut milk (instead of water) and served with friend chicken, chicken rendang or daging (beef) rendang with half an egg, anchovies, peanuts and cucumber. This is one of my favorite Malay food.

it's me,

My Travel Blog

My travel blog is up and running. I have created it for the purpose of writing down the memories and experiences we had as a family. My husband's nature of work requires him to travel. I get a chance to go with him. Before I gave birth to Samantha, I and my boy would always tag along. And when Samantha came, it has become a bit of a challenge to travel as a family. In that blog, I have written about our travel in the Philippines and in Thailand. Thailand used to be my second home. I really loved it there. I had a lot of colorful memories when I was there. And also, the fact that Peter and I dated in Thailand made the place more special to me. Of course, I have blogged about the different places we've gone to in Malaysia. Malaysia is such a beautiful country. I am so blessed to be living here. Of course, the first few months was really a challenge to me because of my lost passport and I got really nasty experiences with the Immigration officer.

I'm still going to blog about travels here though. Such a pity if I don't write about NYC Bus Charters. NYC Bus Charters is a leader in transportation industry in the US for over 20 years. They provide experienced drivers that are courteous and friendly. They have quality transportation too. The services include hotel transfers or transfers between airports for domestic travels.

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facial steam

do you crave for that extra glow on your face and yet hesitant because you can not make that appointment just because you don't have enough budget to do so? well, fret not, you can do it all by yourself. you just need dried herbs, water to boil and a spaghetti-type pot. the procedure is easy. boil the water, mix in the dried herbs and with a towel draped above you head, put your face at 6 inch distance from the pot. if you do this weekly, it would be good for acne treatment.

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she's moving

finally, 4 more days and my friend is going to the US to be with her husband. it has been a long wait for the two of them. her husband went back to US three months after they got married. i know it's hard to be away from your husband, especially when you just got married. i am happy for them. they are finally going to restart a family life together. in times like this, one can't help but check out movers New York and check what they have to offer for movers.

it's me,

no 2 moons tonight

i've been in watch for the two moons to appear tonight. sad to say i didn't see them. planet mars is supposed to appear in the sky, and will be close to the moon. there has been a circulation about this: two moons on august 27, 2008 at 1:30am. i went outside just now to check. :( i didn't see any. is this another hoax?

but i have read that two moons really showed but it was in 2003. it was true. they said it was spectacular. that's why i was hoping to see this time. but i didn't see any. :( too bad.

it's me,

health is wealth

I remember when I was still single I used to be very conscious of my weight. One pound gained and I'd go berserk. Last time I remember taking appetite suppresant pills. It worked really well because I didn't have appetite for food at all. I couldn't even swallow food. I have really lost weight that time. And it was truly effective. The effect? Memory loss. I couldn't think properly. I easily forgot things. That's the set back. I have gained my desired weight and yet I have lost my memory. I stopped doing it right after I noticed the changes in my memory. I realized that what we need to do was lose the extra pounds to be healthy, not the other way around.

Now that I'm considering to lose weight again, I'm searching the internet about the best ways to lose weight. Oh wait, I found this program that is very interesting. And it's better than Weight Watchers. In this program, you can actually eat more food! Ayayay! My weakness! Not only you can eat more food, you can also lose weight at the same time. Hmmm who wouldn't love this program? You lose weight and at the same time, eat the food you normally enjoy eating.This is way better than Jenny Craig. The Fat Loss Guru is absolutely awesome in a sense that weight loss is fast and keeps you healthy. It does rule out obesity, hormonal imbalances and serious health problems. Now, that's what I call refreshing. And it's very easy to follow the plan too. You don't need to have an experience in any dieting program or you don't need to be a genius in following their program. For me, losing weight with health benefits is indeed a good deal. If you're planning to go diet and looking for a better diet program, check out Fat Loss Guru.

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Samantha's New Boots

Everytime we go to Mothercare store in Subang Parade, Samantha would usually go to shoe area and take the pair boots. She so loved that pair of boots that when taken away from her she would scream like crazy. Is she going to be another "imelda?" Hehehe. Well, last week, I finally got her a pair of boots. She was so happy that she only takes them off when she goes to sleep. And when she wakes up, that's the first thing she would look for (aside from milk, of course).

it's me,

Blowfish Shoes

Do you love shoes? I do. I love wearing trendy shoes but I would go for the ones that look nice on me. I can't simply wear them just because they're trendy. There are quite a few styles nowadays that look awful on me, especially the pointy ones. I love sandals. Not only because it looks nice on me but I feel comfortable wearing them.

Here's a new trend of line of shoes that I found worth checking: The Blowfish Shoes. They have nice and trendy Blowfish Women's Shoes and Blowfish Designer Shoes. I just checked them out. I personally like wearing sandals. And I found they have some nice, sexy and trendy sandals available. Blowfish is a line of shoes from the designers of famous brands. They have quite a few retailers like Urban Outfitters, planet shoes, and they are even in Victoria Secret! If you're like me who loves shoes, you might want to try this new trend of shoes: Blowfish. I'm sure you'll be hooked with it.

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Genting Highlands

We have finally gone back to Genting Highlands after 1.5 years of not going there. Samantha was only 5 months old then and Schenker was 2.5 years old. I am glad we have gone back there. The boy has made such a leap of improvement since the last time we were there. He now exhibited an independence in taking rides (he has finally overcome his "cautiousness" - to put it mildly). He absolutely loved the bumper car ride. In fact, he took it twice. He loved the car ride too. Our girl wanted to do them as well. She was screaming because she so wanted to join her brother in all these rides but she's too small and too young to be left alone with another child. So we refused to give in to her - for her safety. One thing for sure. She enjoyed her carousel ride.

We were just inside the indoor theme park. We didn't go to the wet theme park because we didn't bring with us our swimsuits. Maybe next time. I'm sure the kids will love it there too.

it's me,

Legos @ Toys R Us

Legos at Toys R Us is having a sale. I know, I know, my blog is full of sale, shopping and such. What to do, Malaysia is in sale. Just want to let some parents (with small kids) about some sale that I know of. So this time, from August 27 to September 7, 2008, Lego and some other branded toys will be having a warehouse sale at

2nd Floor Dataran Hamodal

Jalan Bersatu 13/4

(Behind Colgate)

This warehouse sale is organized by toys r us.

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shopping month

Yey, it's shopping month in Malaysia. There's already an ongoing nationwide sale. That means, it's time to move up that butt and start hitting the shopping malls! I don't like going for shopping but my husband is encouraging me to do now because there's a lot of sales going on. Hmmm... probably, I'll just listen to him. He said I work so hard to earn from my paid blogging it's a pity I don't give myself a treat. So yes, I am going shopping indeed. Most probably, I'm going shopping for kids' clothes. I always end up doing that. I saw this shorts from rocawear and I thought it would look nice on Samantha. Pink shorts. I love it. There's a lot of items available at rocawear. They offer discounts too. This shorts used to be 34$ but now it's only for 17.99$! They have such big discounts, hey? There's a lot more discounted offers at Rocawear. Check them out before they're sold.

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bye bye nappy?

my boy hasn't been wearing nappy during bed times for a couple of weeks now. i am happy coz then we don't need to spend extra money on his nappy. he has been toilet trained since he was 3 years old. Yes, i know it's that delayed, but we wanted to train him only when he was ready. we didn't want to push it. we didn't want to force him. so we just waited until he was ready enough to do it on his own. you know when you wait, you avoid some unnecessary stresses and pressures, for both sides. there's a lot of advantage actually when you wait. the best advantage of all is that it will be very easy to potty train a child because he's ready.

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wine tours

We just finished the bottle of Mulberry wine my new sister-in-law gave us. It was sweet and had a full taste. I just loved it. It's a home-made wine, by the way. Her family has been making wine for the family. I tried searching how to make a grape wine in the internet, but it looked a bit confusing and complicated. So probably what I need to do now is go for Sonoma Wine Tours. It would be cool to visit wineries. But with so many wineries nowadays, we don't know which one is the best winery to tour around to. At Sonoma Valley Wine Country, they will give you the richest experience possible in touring their own winery. When touring wineries, it is best to spend the day with professionals and friendly guides who can give you all the information about winery. They offer such good services. When touring around their winery, you could gain knowledge in making a good wine and gain tips on how to taste wine, for a reasonable price.

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Mindanao Update

There has been an unrest status in Mindanao, especially in Iligan. The rebels attacked the place and so many people died of the killings! That was very sad. All people in Mindanao were in fear because any minute, at any place, the attack could happen. But glad it is over now. The rebels had moved back to their own headquarter. I hope and pray it won't happen again. Such a tragic event for the people living in Iligan.

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Build Your Own Custom Homes

It has been almost two years since we moved in to this house. And it has been like our own home since then. We were hoping that the owners of this house would love Holland so much they won't come back. Sad to say, they're really coming back because from what I heard, they prefer living in Malaysia than in Holland. Now we have one more year to stay here. Our contract ends next year, our third year. Should we build our own house? My two brothers-in-law bought a house in Putra Heights and will be ready next year. Should we buy a new house?

Actually, there's a website about building your own custom homes at unbelievably low prices! At Schumacher Homes, the promise of custom and value. Nowadays, if you say you want a custom home and get value at the same time is quite impossible. But with them, it is reachable. Isn't that amazing? You can have you own custom home at a reasonable price! You might want to check out their website. You can design your own home online, too.

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Happy Monday

I slept early last night. I didn't plan to. I was just putting the kids to sleep and I dozed off. I just woke up. It's a fresh new day. Thank God for His mercy and grace and for having me wake up fresh and happy. Oh by the way, today we're going to collect my visa from the Immigration Office at Shah Alam.

My boy is going back to school. His one week holiday break was over. He's now hesitating to go to school... what with not having school and the jalan jalan he did last week, who would want to go to school? Hehehe.

Anyway, you all have a good week!

it's me,

my kids are back!

this afternoon, we decided to send our kids to their cousins' house. their grandmother (amama) was there and she's been wanting to spend time with our kids so we sent our kids there. i stayed at home because I needed to finish some posts. according to my husband, when they reached the place, my boy straight away told my husband to "please you can go now, daddy. come back later to pick us up." LOL! well, he can be that demanding. but actually it's not my point. just happy with his being okay to be left alone in other's house now. we don't have that kind of problem with my girl. as long as she knows somebody, she's fine to be left behind.

having without kids for a few hours helps a lot with my spending time with hubby. we were able to watch one movie without interruptions from kids. i had time to write some opps too. now they're back. i'm off to put them to sleep. be back later to post some more opps.

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Web Hosting Rating

I bought another domain for my other blog at wordpress. I bought the domain from wordpress it self. I bought a domain for it because I wanted to monetize that blog. Having a wordpress free blog and monetizing it at the same time is impossible. A lot of paid blogging companies don't accept wordpress blogs because wordpress free hosting company doesn't allow their free hosted blogs to be monetized. I regret buying from wordpress because even though you own your domain, they still don't allow you to monetize it. In fact, that blog got suspended. I haven't even started monetizing it! Those paid posts were my previous works from other paid blogging companies. I should have bought from another webhost... or I should say, I should have checked a web host rating before I bought a domain. This web hosting rating is a rating by an independent customer where they recommenr the top 10 web hosting companies. They are rated according to customer feedback whether they are satisfied with the service or not, whether it is affordable and most of all reliable. With a lot of web hosting companies coming up these days, it is a challenge to know which one is the company that you can trust. This is such a great idea. The ratings would be a great help for customers. Not only they provide ratings, but a complete information on web hosting companies as well like webhosting providers, web hosting promotional and discount vouchers. They will list down also the companies that offer free domains. If you want to find our more, you might want to read this article. It will be good to check out their site before deciding on which web hosting company you want to use.

scenic sunday - a view from KLCC

We were in Kinokoniya Bookshop at KLCC last Monday. I took this shot from inside the shop. The circles in the middle of the big pool by the way are the water fountain base. It's supposed to be water fountain but works only in the evening. It's called the dancing fountain by KLCC (Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre). Hope to be able to take a photo of the dancing fountain at night when it's working.

it's me,