Papa's Birthday 2013

A note of gratitude that I get to be at home to celebrate this with J today, because I almost had to go for a work assignment and would miss this totally.  Thankfully I checked the work schedule and it was possible to do a day-trip tomorrow instead of an overnight trip.
And this the rewarding view from home for today, in celebration of J's birthday.  A beautiful sunset and a simple celebration at home with a birthday cake, some home-cooked spaghetti and a special drink: lychee in 100 Plus (lychee syrup removed in an effort to cut down the sugars).

Taipei Study Trip

J and I had the opportunity to go on a study trip in Taipei.  It is a self-development course that strengthens ties and redefines our attitude in life, and lasted for 4 days.  Since this was our first Taipei trip, we decided to take the opportunity to do some sightseeing as well.

Yangminshan National Park

Vegetable farm

Bamboo forest

We visited our dear Malaysian friends who are working there and stayed with them.

When it was time to attend our study course, we made some new friends.

Hotel coaster, drawn by my Taiwanese friend Jing

All in all, it was a tiring trip because we really, seriously studied.  Our attitude in life is learning whether it is in or out of classroom setting.  Because of this our relationships flourish, our lives are fulfilled, and we would not have missed out on anything.  Truly blessed.

5-Striped Blue Tailed Skink

This photo that I captured while hiking at Yangminshan National Park, Taipei, is worth a post all by itself.  While it looks like an ordinary "cicak" (house lizard), it is actually a 5-Striped Blue-Tailed Skink.  What a great opportunity to meet this little creature close up!

The Peninsula Bangkok, July 2013

A memorable but short working trip, staying and having meetings in one of the most beautiful hotels in Bangkok.

Afternoon tea at The Peninsula

Birthday 2013

A special celebration at home with my family is how we always celebrate our birthdays.  Nothing better than being at home with our loved ones and being thankful for each other and all that we have.

Rainbow

"Mummy, the rainbow likes me.  It is following me..."

Such innocence from my dear Baby Xin, growing up too fast.

And the rainbow, teaches us to stop, and seize the moment.

Refurbishing my kitchen worktop

After many months of suffering from leaking taps and leaking water from a poorly sealed sink, we finally got our kitchen worktop, and part of the cabinet bottom replaced today.
We were fortunate to be able to find a kitchen cabinet contractor that would even do this refurbishment work, all thanks to the contact of my good blogger friend, Anie.
It took almost 1 month to do the measurement, quotations and preparations, but finally today was the installation.

Installation

 The entire length of the worktop was replaced, due to the leakage causing water to seep in and make the kitchen worktop swell.  It also looked dirty and unstable.  Parts of the kitchen cabinet flooring under the sink also rotted.

The replacement took an entire day.  We reused our existing sink but the taps have to be replaced and thoroughly checked by a plumber on another day, in order to let the sealant to dry properly.

This is the result after replacement.

Looks good as new now and we were very happy with the handiwork.

Kidzania Visit - Kai!

Wei and Yuan have been bugging me to take them to Kidzania for the longest time, and finally I took them today.  I wanted to choose a day when it was not really a national school holiday, and yet my kids were off school this week.  Also I am thankful to be able to utilize a voucher that I got from the Curve during a shopping spree, which gave me a 10% discount if I buy at the counter.

Lining up to deposit their hard-earned Kidzania currency

As they are old enough, I let them in unsupervised at 10am and came back to fetch them at 5pm.  They had varied experiences.  Yuan practiced being a HitzFM DJ and Wei was a judge, a TM employee and a CSI investigator among other things. At the end, they decided to deposit their earnings of the day into the Kidzania CIMB instead of spending them, hoping to cash them out on another visit.

CNY 2nd day 2013

CNY 2nd day and J is bitten by some hardworking bug - he wanted to finish furnishing our computer room, which we had turned into a sleeping room for Wei and family study room.
We bought the 2 Snille swivel chairs, along with the cheaper cushions to make the chairs cosy.  And the 2 Ikea Lagra lamps that hangs from under the loft bed with LED bulbs (4.3W, at RM33.90 each.)  Here is the outcome after the installations.

Ikea Snille Chairs at the 2 desks under the loft bed

The desktop by the bookshelf which is filled with books

A note about Wei, who just turned 11 end of last year, but looks big and tall.  He could not get into the Ikea Smaland play area anymore.  Instead this time, Yuan and Baby Xin, who is already 3 years old, went in this time.  Wei was quite devastated because he did not expect not to be let in after not being in there for so long.
Although he looks big, he is still a small boy at heart.

Lazy the Snake on its owner's bed

So he had to go into Ikea with us the adults instead.  For this CNY, we bought him that Ikea red snake soft toy to cheer him up.  We named the snake Lazy, teasingly after its owner (which he protested, but the name stuck).

Thank you Celcom

When I converted the corporate handphone line back to personal line, I had to choose 1 of the many packages available.  Since I wasn't working anymore, I chose the simplest voice and SMS package at RM48 per month.  Little did I know that the old iPhone that I was using actually uses data line when the cellular data is turned on.
My first bill came up to a whopping RM320+ because the data that was used hit the maximum monthly cap at RM250.  So I called the Celcom careline to request for a waiver, since I had used a little data without knowing that the data costs was so exorbitant without the data package plan.  I was asked to email an officer and thankfully, after a week, was able to get a one-time waiver of the RM250!
Thank you Celcom!  Now I am a satisfied customer and I feel much better about upgrading my package with Celcom when I start work later.

Errands Day

Wow I completed quite a number of tasks today.
First I went over to the new company to collect my offer letter, then to do my medical check up.  I was fasting from last night so by the time I finished I was really hungry.
Then to Harvey Norman to claim the free antivirus software that they promised in lieu of the cash rebate that they didn't give me for my Windows 8 upgrade.
Then to Ikea to choose a suitable lamp for our revamped computer room cum Wei's room.
J installed it later in the night. We chose the LED light bulb which costs RM33.90 but only consumes 4.3W power, it also emits less heat and is longer lasting.

Catch Up Blogging

On Dec 17, 2012, I stopped working at the company that I was at for 6 years.
It came to a point where I decided that resigning, without a job, was actually better than going through unhappiness on a daily basis.  And from then on until today, I've been in a blissful, wonderful break.
So many things happened and so many things I did, but I was unable to move ahead with my blog, paralyzed in time while I collect my thoughts.
And so this is a catch up post, where now I put back, retrospectively, all the events and things I did that I am most grateful for!

Sunset at Aonang Beach, Krabi

Dec and January have been good and I hope that in the advent of a new job, coming soon after the Chinese New Year break, that I will continue to keep being grateful for the little and big things in life, especially my supportive family and friends.  Thank you!

My New Toy

Finally, after deliberating over many models and types, J bought me this Toshiba Ultrabook from Harvey Norman. I was looking for an affordable laptop below RM2000 for my blogging, options express and iTunes needs and chanced upon the Toshiba brochure for Jan-Feb 2013, where this model, U840 ultrabook is offered, at the right price.

Toshiba Ultrabook

One thing I like about the laptop is its sleek, thin features and light weight (about 1.59kg). And the speakers are great Harman Kardon speakers so that I can really enjoy my music.

And the keyboard is more resilient than the Acer Ultrabook which J is using, where many a times there are "dropped letters" when typing.

Thanks, dear hubby for this laptop! Love it, and hope that this will encourage me to blog often.

Krabi trip

What better way to declare to yourself that you are on a break from work than a holiday trip?  The problem was, J had his company trip to Beijing and was unable to take more leave for our trip in January.  So I asked for his blessings to go with some girlfriends, and he agreed.
We went from Jan 19-22 on a shoestring budget trip to Krabi.
Sun, sea, Thai massage, kayaking, foot scrub and pedicure, what more can girls ask for?
Yummy Thai food of course.  It was totally bliss for 4 days.