And now I reveal...

Honey finally lent his expertise into our blog, finally, finally, we're almost done with niki blog 2.0! There's still abit of kinks here and there but we're getting there. We truly hope you like the new look of our blog and that you have a swell time visiting.

And now back to construction!

C'ya!

What I Am with Will.I.Am

look who's rubbing shoulders with ernie! me & Niki have listened to it countless times now. and it's just too, too cute have a listen here . who can resist sesame street characters grooving with a super star? love it.

image via sesamestreet.org

Ai Sei Man!

I've been doing some changes to my blog and it's not going so well, I need to do alot of construction and the one with the IT degree (nudge, nudge, honey, you're e/ IT whiz!!) is not helping!! Hmmmpphhh!

So be patient ya, as I iron out the kinks!

C'ya ... off to do mummy duties!

You can take the girl out of the kampung, but never the kampung out of the girl!

Lots of time I can't comprehend my obsession with a certain food, and the food is assam laksa, an old school mate and I actually has a fb conversation over it, which lasted several posts. Even now as I am writing guess what is on my mind, I'm feeling a bit peckish, and it's nearly lunch, can I convince Vicky to eat with me later?

Suffice to say that you can take the girl out of the kampung but never the kampung out of the girl!

On a totally unrelated note/post.

Last weekend, we took Niki to KL, actually I think this is only like the 2nd time we took her to the city. In her mind she thinks that KL is like another state or something, which is geographically correct in actual fact.

So we booked a night's stay in the Concorde, and showed Niki around town, we took her to KLCC, the KL Tower, went around Bukit Bintang, it was so much fun! And I must say the newly refurbished Concorde is really not bad, and the breakfast spread was excellent -- they had nyonya laksa too :) (we are Malaysian, food will always be important, we are very comfortable with this fact!)

However, we found that the roads were in need of a bit of repair, and not fun at all when walking in a pair of platform espadrilles! Do something about it DBKL, afterall it's the city centre and tourists walk it!

Our would be graduate

Two days ago in Niki's Comm book, there was a note from the school that today they'll be having a photo session for this year's graduates in their robes. Students would have to be in school bright and early, per usual for Niki's kindy.

I sent her to school as usual and lo & behold there were a lot of parents there probably feeling the same thing I am, of anticipation and excitement of seeing our offspring in the graduation robes, and so as Teacher Wang suited them up we parents were peeking through the doors and the windows and snapping photos.

There was a sense of parental pride in the air, some parents came armed with cameras that looked like paparazzi types, you know those super duper looking ones with long lenses and built in what not that could even capture a fly in moon, and then there's me armed with my trusty camera phone. Hhhmmpphh, mine takes nice photos too, people!

Anyways back on track, so as Niki's class piled into a line to head over to the school field where chairs were already lined up for the smaller kids to sit, guess who's sitting for sure. While the taller kids stand at the back row. All of children looks so excited, I am too, Niki will soon be completing her four year pre school course :)

Obsession

Niki : Daddy, I like the Lotus, wanna buy it? Please get one

Daddy: I think we need to ask mummy what she thinks.

Niki: I already know what she's going to say, she's going to say "no"

Daddy: Then we better come up with a plan how to get her to say "yes"

Niki: Ok, agreed!

Daddy: Check out the car Niki, do you like it?

Niki: Yes, of course, we can roll down the window and we can get the wind in our face & hair! and Daddy, there's only two seats, poor thing Mummy can't join us!

Daddy: Ya lor.

Mummy: *fumes*

Niki and her father are both car enthusiasts, mummy not so much.

Surprisingly enough Niki and her dad agrees on a lot of things when it comes to fast cars, and has several times tried to strong arm me into agreeing with them that a sports car would look nice in our porch, to which mummy thinks *what??!!??*

Anyways they are still cute when we took a detour to a showroom in PJ for a look-see, can you see them beaming at the car?

To Chinese or Too Chinese

Writing exercises

And so school is out, and I am porting my daughter to office with me, the working mum dilemma so to speak,.

Anyways that's got nothing to do with my post for today, as to pick up where I left off about sending Niki to a private school instead of public school, and so as most of you know she's now heading to a private school come January 2011 for her Primary 1. But one of the criteria her dad and I have is that Mandarin must be a compulsory subject, since she's progressing very well in her chinese medium kindy right now.

It's a "I told you so" and "I should have know better then" situation but it's never too late, I had the opportunity to take up Mandarin during my primary school days but I wasn't serious and instead loads of time I just scrapped through the exam. I didn't care and look where it has gotten me now, I'm a "banana" and it's not something I'm proud of. And so, I feel it's important that Niki takes her Mandarin language classes seriously and I'm proud to say the she's much better a student than I, must have taken after her father in terms of seeing things through, which I thank God for every day!

To us, Mandarin is not only an additional universal language but it teaches the young ones about discipline, consistency, accuracy and diligence, all these are good qualities to be instilled, and even is the usual gripe is "wah, so much homework" ... and this sentence is usually uttered to herself in her thoughts by your truly, never my little one.

Even now for homework she's got another 4 pages to write, and ten words to learn for her spelling, she takes it all in stride. That's why even when she's in Primary 1 we want her to continue with her Mandarin studies.

To us, it's To Chinese, and never Too Chinese.

What a Gem!

on arrival

our villa & the view from it

Vicky, Niki & my in laws

blissful evenings

Niki, soon turning 6!

We had the most wonderful time during our short break to Terengganu last weekend.

First off, Terengganu is overall beautiful, the people there are also pretty warm as was the weather, which made it a perfect beach holiday. On the downside, all of us are at least 4 shades darker than before, and well Niki is hardly recognizable.

Our flight out was super early, and we arrived on the island by 9:15am! Thank goodness our villas were ready, and we were able to check in immediately after gulping down our welcome drinks.

By 9:50am we were already in the water snorkelling, for Niki they had kiddy gear, so she could snorkel too, and apparently saw a clown fish amongst the many, many types of fishies we saw.

The resort which is privately owned had only very few chalets making it really private and not too popular as in the case of Redang.

Gem is actually known as Pulau Gemia, and we could just as easily canoe over to Pulau Kapas, which we did, and we managed to snog (minus Niki & my in laws, of course!) and snorkel there as well :)

And the corals were alive! One night Niki & Vicky even guided a sesat hermit crab back to the sea.

The lushness of the place was breathtaking, it was so unspoilt, so natural and sea smelt salty & the sand was powdery and fine.

We already miss it, and hopefully not too long from now, we can go back again.

To Gem Island we go

This Friday.

An island off the east coast.

Snorkelling.

Coral.

Hatchlings.

a beach hat, a book and iced tea.

Serenity.

Bliss!

How Do You DO It?

I actually like "how-to" articles.
Women folk are a curious bunch, eh?
Anyways for similar like minded women, here's one I read recently by the below author.

HOW-TO BUY OR SELL A HOME
by susan of persimmonandpink.com

I'm only a second time home buyer and at the moment quite content with our current property. However, I have a love of following the housing market as well as watching shows regarding selling and buying homes. Nerd that I am, I find the thrill of the sell and the hunt exciting! (Tell me I'm not alone?)

Here are a few tips I've taken while watching many episodes of house hunting and selling shows. They've helped change my perspective on updates and remodels we do on our own home, as well as looking at potential homes from a different perspective. Here they are:

BUYING & SELLING
• Buy the worst house on the best street to stretch your dollar and get into an area you desire.
• Make sure your renovations are new and fresh before putting your home on the market.
• Treat each house as an investment property and you as the tenant to look after it.
• Your investment property might not always be in the place you want to live forever.
• Buy close to a city center or close to where people work—there will always be a demand for housing.
• You must invest in renovations.
• Buy near an area you desire. Demand for that area will drive up prices in outlying neighborhoods.
• When selling your home know your competition. Follow the market in your area and know what similar houses are selling for. Be realistic when setting the price of your home. Better to attract many buyers with a competitive price and sell quickly than lose potential buyers and later have to lower the listing price anyway.
• Think 3-5 years ahead. Thats how long it takes for suburbs and trends to change.
• Shop in areas with potential, even if they are not already established.
• When buying a home, be prepared with a list of what you will and will not compromise on. Sometimes location will have to give, other times its house size/quality. Its almost impossible to get perfect location and the perfect house for your budget so know which one you are willing to compromise on.
• Take emotion out of it.

Aren't you fired up to sell and/or buy a house now?! Do you have any good tips to add?

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." - John Wooden

Nearly Six

Niki wants to be an artist when she grows up.
Type of artist? TBA
My not so baby anymore baby, is turning six soon.
A lot of people asks me why not add to the brood?
Why add, when we are contented with what we already have.
It's not the quantity but the quality, people.
That said, I am already struggling with the challenges being thrown at me.
And with a little girl who won't be little for long.
One step at a time, eh? One step at a time.
Till then I'll enjoy my little girl who's by her piano playing Heart&Soul for my listening pleasure as I write this.

Collages of Sarawak

last day in town

scenes of Kampung Giam

can you say sarawak laksa and kolok mee?

seafood makes great dinners

us

walking all over town

Life in a Bidayuh Village

Most times I consider myself a city girl. Other times, not so much. Afterall I am from a small town up north.

Recently my family and I were blessed with the opportunity to just live simply. I must admit I myself was a bit apprehensive with the prospect, I simply can't get rid of the creature of comfort in me. I'm not sure if I can live simply as much as I want too, I found that I enjoy all the trappings of modern city life, such the AC, warm showers, warm soaks in the bath with a good book in hand, and till a certain extent carpet flooring & hairdryers! But there is also a part of me that craves simplicity.

Sometimes we really need to strip away the unnecessary add-ons in life and live simply.

And I guess, that’s what I felt when we headed down to Kuching recently for a Bidayuh holiday. We were warmly welcomed by Phyllis and her family. Phyllis is Vicky's second cousin's wife actually and after years & years of city living, they uprooted their family and went back to her hometown of Kuching. Phyllis then started her own homestay business in her village, known as Kampung Giam in the Penrissen area.

It makes me reassess what I need in order to survive. It makes me realise what I CAN and CANNOT live without. It makes me choose. And cull.And I realised that indeed I can live without a lot of things!

I found that living in a Bidayuh village; with less makes me focus on nature, and its pleasures.

There’s just something intoxicating about waking up at sunrise and breathing in the morning air, our bedroom window overlooked a beautiful mountain. It is heavy, dewy, cold, and rich with the smells of wet wood, damp earth and grass. Surrounded by lush trees and the cocophony of birds and inserts it was indeed a piece of heaven on earth.

Short of a better word, the nature retreat was simply amazing.

I now believe that living simply brings about a certain kind of happiness and contentment.

We should really do it more often.

And I should at least try a little harder to bring some of that contented simplicity back into my normal life. Sometimes we forget, no?

Last but not at all least I would like to thank Phyllis and her family for making us the most amazing meals, and sharing with us their life for a few days, and your warm hospitality was awesome.

Land of The Hornbills

Our Sarawak trip was one for the books, I'll post it all up soon, photos and all! Just came home from a four day, three night nature retreat .. Just know that it was such a great experience, and this from a self-professed "not at all a nature person" .. !! So Much Fun!

Kuching here we come!

yummers
city of cats

This morning Niki told me this "Mummy, yay two more days of school!" She's pretty excited with our forthcoming trip to Kuching because poor girl hasn't been on one single getaway this year.

This Thursday, we're heading down to Kuching with Siva & his family, my in laws, and Vicky's cousins and their respective family, too. Told Niki it's gonna be a nature holiday, I don't think she would know what to expect until we get there :) and the little girl has never swam in a river before ... and that is all set to change this weekend. I'm not sure how my city slicker of a daughter will fare in the great outdoors, well we have to wait & see, ey. So watch this space for future posts.

However, before we head down to Kampung Giam, we're staying the night over in Kuching town first, and we booked ourselves into a boutique hotel, right in the middle of town, so that we can explore Kuching and well eat their famous Sarawak Laksa, and Sarawak Kan Pua noodle. It's always eats over everything else with us.

Two more days .... :)

Team Edward, but Team Jacob sure is making it difficult

Whinning to Vicky that I want to watch Eclipse in the cinema instead of waiting for the DVD to come out. After much cajolling and some arm twisting Vicky at last agreed to make it a family outing & watch Eclipse together with Niki and I. Of course, we bought the Lurve seats, I mean c'mon it seats all three of us most comfortably :)

And I must say Eclipse is so GOOD, good for Jacob fans coz Taylor Lautner was just clad in a pair of cut-offs nearly 3/4 of the movie, there was very little else and heck alot of abs to be seen! Young adolescent girls will indeed be driven into a frenzy by the smouldering looks he casts at Bella. Niki at her age, just finds it nauseating ;-) And yeah, Jasper don't look all constipated anymore coz he more lines in this movie.

But some things never change for example, longing looks between Edward & Bella still is going strong. A lot of luuurrrrvvveee there :)

Conclusion: The movie was good but nothing beats the paperback!

Colmar Tropicale

Here's a review from Tripadvisor, "a" because the rest was all pretty much bad.

This is actually one of the nicer ones...really!:

Starting on a positive note this place potentially has a lot going for it - a mild climate, views of the hills, and an impressive imitation of a north-eastern French village. I lived in France for years and have travelled through Germany and Switzerland too, and I was amazed by the standard of the replicas of traditional European architecture. I have never been to the original Colmar, but the architecture is very true to the NE France/south German/Swiss German region in general.

Unfortunately, there are many bad things that spoil the experience. So many things in fact that it is hard to know where to start. Most annoying of all were the vastly inflated prices in the restaurants. The sort of prices I might expect to pay in central Paris or London. They are really exploiting the fact that they have 'trapped' visitors on site. There is no excuse for this: the place is not really isolated so it should be easy to get fresh food delivered there (indeed it is surrounded by farms able to supply fresh vegetables). The restaurants also tend to run out of food at unpredictable intervals. Regularly, the chicken restaurant runs out of chicken and is seen turning people away. Each night at the Colmar is a fight to get a table anywhere. In general there are simply not enough restaurants or tables for the volume of people visiting the resort. The Japanese restaurant up on the hill does not even bother to stock sushi during the weekdays - despite the fact nearly everyone going there requests sushi (the other food they had was very low quality - including the possibly the worst bowl of noodles I have ever had - but extremely expensive).

We rented a family apartment, which was spacious and pleasant. Unfortunately hot water had a habit of disappearing half way through a shower. when we arrived at our room there were no towels or coffee yet provided: we had to ask for these to be brought up. The second day the room was not cleaned until after 5pm, and then only after we phoned the front desk to complain (as they swept the floor dust was flying showing how poorly the room is usually cleaned). The really annoying thing though was the noise from the pub, which played sports matches and pop music on a big screen TV out in the square VERY loud up until midnight. What are they thinking?? This is a family resort, families with small children in rooms all around the square, and people who have come up for a nice quiet holiday away from the city - and they have to put up with this.

Among the other things that bothered us:

That the rabbit farm has the cheek to try to charge us RM 3 each after we already paid so much for rooms etc. on site, the low frequency of shuttles (once each 30 minutes).

There is no internet in the rooms despite the prices - and even the e-centre at one end of the square demands RM 30 just to get online (it was empty every time i passed by). The Chateau outside the village has free wireless, but I was told it was unavailable during my stay because there was a conference at the Chateau. in the end I just sat outside the Chateau in the darkness with my laptop, to check my email.

I really wish the resort owners, Berjaya, would get its act together and bring this resort up to standard. I feel they are just exploiting the fact they have this lovely little gem of a resort, to rip people off once they have got them through the gates. It may work for a while, but eventually this will catch up with them.

my heart was telling me to just go, rather than mull over the place. I'm glad I listened to my heart :) It was a quick and fun getaway. Either that we were so desperate to get away that we can stomach almost anything! We managed to escape paying for the bunny farm per head charge simply because there was no one on duty when we went, and I consider us lucky coz RM3 is daylight robbery!

Though the food there kinda, hhhmmmm, how shall I put this gently, yeah the food really sucked, but then we were hungry and hungry people can't really complain. I had the worse ever fish&chips to date! And you would think you can never ever go wrong with fish&chips! Ho Hum!! but apart from that alot of fun with my two usual suspects!

Feeling bad

I have so neglected you my darling blog, I miss how much I used to write and how much emotions I used to pour into you. It's ridiculous for me to blame time, or how little time I have right now. I have so done you wrong, Have I abandoned you completely, I hope not, can I still count on you to listen to me and let me write all of my feelings down here so that I may remember them when I'm 80? I have to.

How Similar Are These Two?

Like Father, Like Daughter, Niki & her Daddy

Ammu's wedding reception

Here's some shots of Niki & all her cousins walking in hand in hand (Jaden was Niki's date!) with the wedding couple

The kollam and the beautifully transformed PJ Civic Centre

Clockwise, Pic 1: Vicky (looking yummy) with Ann and Reyvathi, Pic 2: Niki and the gang (all the cousins were the wedding couple's entourage), Pic 3: Ahem! Mr & Mrs Vicky and Pic 4: Yanusha serenaded by Ananda (btw, Yanu have you washed your hands yet?)

28th May 2010.

A beautiful, balmy evening, a perfect night for a wedding dinner.

All of us were dressed to the nines, I must say it was quite the red carpet event, sans the paparazzi, of course. With cars pulling up & beautiful ladies in the evening's best escorted in by their equally dapper looking men, it was quite glamourous. Of course the groom and the bride up the ante by pulling up in a white, sports convertible ... being a girl I only know that it's a Toyota M-something, something with a large horsepower behind its engines, it was quite an entrance!

Ananda, THR DJ extraodinaire was the evening's MC, and boy were the girls excited. I haven't met him before and I finally found out what the fuss was all about, quite the looker that one, and with his satin smooth voice I think it set aflutter many a young girl's heart. We were seated right out front so we had nice views of the man ;-) heeheehee

As the whole event was being photographed by professionals and my clutch was too dainty for the cam, here's some really fuzzy photos from my cellphone, if you squint hard enough you might get a glimpse of what went down :)

And the gang of us after the ball, had an after party at Uncle Chilli's and we partied the night away, ah, the glam life does suit us well ;-)