BabyShern, May adn Sasha in her Tag & Such blog (btw, why nowadays people always have more than one blog huh?) presented me with this cool badge :

Thank you thank you thank you. It’s such a great honour. I wonder if my old calcium deficiant bones can still rock, but I’ll try!!

(Borrowing the pom-cha-cha rabbit from eHon)

And now, my turn to pass on the badge! There are lots of wonder mums, super mums, multi-tasking mums out there who rock. It’s hard to choose, but then I’m always amazed how these full time working mums can cope without a maid, and yet they still rock! So, this is to :

Michelle
Mom2Ashley
Jessie
Vien

Simple American has given me this meaningful tag. 

A blogger with the tag, Idham has pledged to contribute RM127 to the Darul Izzah Orphanage for every completed meme, how can I not do this? This meme MUST be completed by August 26 2007.

What do I have to do? I only have to complete 17 (yes, only SEVENTEEN) sentences from the list below, and then I drop Idham a comment to say that I have completed the meme . So I just fill in the blank info for the list below and Idham shall contribute RM127 to the Darul Izzah Orphanage! Easy Peasy. Here it is:

1. A person is only as good as  ….
2. Friendship is always at its best, when the friends stick around even when you are in difficulty.
3. To love is to give, and never expect anything in return (I’m talking about motherly love, girl/boy kind of love is different).
4. Money makes me …
5. I miss …
6. My way of saying I care is by spending time with a person.
7. I try to spread love and happiness by loving my children, and hope they will be happy, and affect people around them.
8. Pick the flowers …..
9. To love someone is to accept the person as it is (something which is very hard for me to achieve).
10. Beauty is …..
11. When I was thirteen, what I remember the most was trying to adjust to an all girls’ secondary school. (Where are the boys?)
12. When I was twenty one, I remember having a horrible boy friend and gosh, am I glad those days were over.
13. I am most happy when I hear my girls’ laughter.
14. Nothing makes me happier than … (see 13)
15. If I can change one thing, I will change my age of having my first kid. So I can have more energy to play with them, and I could enjoy their company earlier.
16. If smiles were equal to blessing then I’m very blessed as I get lots of smiles from my girls.
17. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could afford holidays all the time and not worry about work or money?
18. If you want to be … then you have to ….
19. Money is not everything but …..
20. The most touching moments I have experienced is experiencing the birth of my girls; nothing can describe the emotion I feel when they were placed on my tummy/arms after they were delivered.
21. I smile when I know my kids love me and need me.
22. When I am happy …. (see 13, 14)
23. If only I don’t have to ….. 
24. The best thing I did yesterday was to bring the girls to the park, and then let them have some fun.
25. If I ever write a book, I will give it this title, “My Two Girls” (what else?).
26. One thing I must do before I die is to visit the Grand Canyon
27. Doing this meme, I feel like I’m doing something good.

And now I pass this on the following people. You too want to help the kids at the orphanage right?  And of course you the other people, you can volunteer to take this meme on if you so please. I tag:

Michelle
Milkmaid
Yvonne

Hope you can do it since it’ll help some orphans.

Thavara peeks through the windows of the school, wishing she was inside, sitting on a wooden chair and reciting her lessons.
Unfortunately, her family is too poor to give her an education.
Every day, together with her family, she scavenges the streets and dumping areas for food.
Thavara is not alone.
Close to 120 million children around the world are like Thavara – they do not receive an education due to poverty.
For most Malaysians, it is difficult to imagine how much education can mean to a child. Without education as a stepping stone, poor children grow up bound in the vicious cycle of poverty.
You can help change that.

The 30 Hour Famine is a global movement against hunger and poverty.
It is an experiential, lifechanging camp aimed at spreading awareness about global poverty and raising funds to improve the lives of needy children and communities.

The 30 Hour Famine brings together people from throughout Malaysia to experience the life of a person living in poverty and hunger.

For 30 hours, you enrich your life by doing something practical for those in need. Only 30 hours in support of changing a child’s lifetime,
30 hours in exchange for a stable and bright future for a child,
30 hours to give a child like Thavara reality instead of empty dreams.

Besides doing a good deed, it looks like a lot of fun to me.

This year World Vision Malaysia’s 30 Hour Famine theme, ‘hungry for HOPE’, was born out of the desire to brighten the future of children like Thavara.
With the support of corporate sponsors, celebrities, participants experience an amazing time together, bound by a vision to help those who have been neglected.
Fancy being involved in something special this year?
Why not fast for those who are hungry for hope?

Date : 15th – 16th Sept 2007
Time : 12pm (Sat) to 6pm (Sun)
Venue : Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil, KL

To participate, contact World Vision Malaysia at (03) 7880 6414 or click ->

Note 1: Text and photos from World Vision Malaysia and nope it’s not PPP (it’s a sin just to think of getting rewarded for this).
Note 2 : I’m nursing and can’t join this event. Hopefully you can join in and participate and blog about it.

A

V E R Y  

H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y 

T O

A H   M A Y

I wanted to get you some Asam Laksa, I wanted to get you some Apam Balik,
And those lovely coloured Ang Ku Kue, and an Ais Kacang to cool you down
……Too bad they all can’t get into the post….

So instead,
together with Zara and Zaria,
we wish you a
HAAAAAAAPY BIRTHDAAAAAAAAY
And hope, your guardian Angel will give you more Apple stuff you desire (and at the same time tossing in A My Breast Friend for your multitasking need).

This greeting is brought to you together with Alphabet Albie.

You know I have two beautiful daughters Zara and Zaria. I also have this other “daughter”, she lives in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and her name is Hairegulihan Tuerxuntuohuti. She’s my sponsored child from World Vision Malaysia(?????).

Our relationship started sometime in 2003. I didn’t have a child and I wanted one. I went to World Vision Malaysia website, and selected to sponsor a girl from Xinjiang. They found me Hairegulihan.  I wrote to her just once, in the very begining, and sent her some little gifts. Some how after that, I got very busy, and stopped writing to her (Yeah yeah, I know, it’s no excuse).

My other ‘daughter’ – Hairegulihan

Called it good karma, I got pregnant in 2004 (after 6years of marriage), and blessed with Zara.

Every year, I get a progress report from World Vision with her photo telling me how she’s doing. There’s this hapiness that I experiance every time I receive her progress report and see the smile on her face. Happy to know that some one far away is benefiting from a small deed I’m doing.

Hairegulihan’s latest progress report

World Vision Malaysia is trying get 5000 child sponsors this year to celebrate their 10th year anniversary. As a sponsor, your contribution together with others are pooled together to be invested in long-term development programmes that will give your sponsored child, his/her family and community a brighter future.

How much does it cost to sponsor a child? RM50/month.

If you are interested, click on the icon below or check out their website to get more information. You can also choose to do a one time donation to this trusted organisation which will use your fund appropriately to help those needed.

Change a child’s life today! click ->

I’m going to pop soon, and here is what we’d been doing, to spend time with Zara as the only child before the arrival of no. 2.

Eve of Christmas Eve : We had dinner at Eat Work Shop, and I had my roast turkey! It was good! The owner, Marcia, even threw in the turkey wing for free! After that, we took Zara to hotels (The Saujana and The Holiday Inn Glenmarie) to check out the Christmas decorations, and she really had a good time, since these 2 hotels were very spacious and quiet, and she can run around freely.

Christmas Eve : The big family dinner was supposed to be 3 tables at a Chinese restaurant. My eldest sis decided not to join us and my youngest sis got admitted for dengue fever the day before. So the dinner ended up being a small one, with only King’s Wife’s family and ours with my dad. Dinner was err.. cut throat price in Overseas Restaurant and not nice at all!

After dinner, we adjorned to the hospital to visit my sister and open up our presents together with my sister’s family.

On Christmas Day : Zara was kept busy playing with her Christmas presents in the morning. We then went to have lunch with my dad, and later dinner with Daddy’s friends. Whole day of eating and outing!

She and her favourite present, the singing pink car, from Chloe, our neighbour

On Boxing Day : Daddy went back to work. I brought Zara to Kidzsports with Tuyam and then to the Pet Shop, per the requests of the little girl. Bought myself the Allerhand bag (Christmas present from Daddy), and end my hunt for the perfect bag for carrying Zara and baby’s things.

Best of all! Zara and I are both very happy to receive these from Domestic Rat and May. Thanks Ladies!

Zara loves the doggie; I believe the Chocolate lolly was supposed to be a raindeer, but it has melted. 🙁 Zara was however, very keen in tasting her first lolly pop.

I’ll be going in to the hospital on Thursday to get induced. Today (Wednesday) will be my very last day spending with Zara before the arrival of baby. Some how, I feel a bit melancholy. After this, she will no longer be my only child, where all my energy and attention has been channeled to the last 2 years.

Wish me a safe and quick delivery, will you?

Zara is helping out in the house with some of the lighter chores.

When she’s in the mood, she puts away her toys by singing, “crean (clean) up” after the mess she created.
She helps to bring new diaper to us when she needs changing and then tosses her used diaper into the bin.
She helps me bring my book to me, or passes me the remote controls when needed.
She helps pass out cutlery during dinner time.

Last Friday, I saw her helping out at the kitchen. She was peeling off the skin of Petai beans. Tuyam said although she’s very slow in her progress, she was able to peel off the skin of about 10beans, helping out a little, and keeping herself occupied.

Just hope she’ll be able to help out more when the baby arrives. *grin*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helping my friend out here.

She has a litter of 4 homebred miniature schnauzer puppies (colour : salt & pepper) for sale.

I would love to have one, but I don’t think I have time to care for dogs who needs quite a bit of attention (unlike cats).

If you are interested, please contact : 012-2005658 / 012-2961099 or mc_foong@yahoo.com / omtarre@yahoo.com

You can also check out her add here.

My mum was very stern.
She used to pinch us under the table when we told on her (to my grandma, her mum).
She used to scold us (for our carelessness) when we informed her we’d hurt ourselves, before treating our injuries.
She used to cane us, when we were younger, and got naughty.

My mum was a good cook.
She baked, and cooked, and could whip up a feast for my father’s big entertainment parties.
She made all kinds of Chinese new year cookies, roasted her own roast pork and char siu.
She made all the dishes my dad still misses after all these years.

My mum was a very nice person.
She did a lot of charity sales.
She helped out a lot in church.

My mum was a good daughter.
She spent twice a week with my grandparents, bringing them for movies, meals and visiting friends.
She spent hours on the phone with my grandma, talking about anything under the sun.
She brought them for holidays.

My mum loved kids.
She was a kindergarten teacher, and a principal, without pay.
She baby sat for friends’ kids, for free.

My mum was an animal lover.
She cared for all the strays I brought home.
She let the kittens sleep on her belly while she watched TV.

My mum and my dad made a loving couple.
They fought, quarreled, but they had their arms around each other when they went shopping.
My dad never remarried because he still misses my mum.

My mum was how my mum should be.
She gave me advice on my relationships, left me alone to decide for things.
She nursed my heart breaks with me, brought me to Australia to ‘forget about things’.
She chauffeured me to work.
She bought me Taiwanese children story books, Japanese pop cassettes, Esprit clothes when she went traveling with my dad, she knew I love them.

My mum was a considerate mum and daughter.
She had cancer of the kidney, had a surgery to remove one of her kidneys, went for chemotherapy.
She kept her situation from us, her four children and her parents, for seven years,
She only had my father informed.

My mum was a strong believer of Christ.
She went to church every morning.
She said the rosary upon waking and before sleeping.
She abstained from meat (except sea food) every Friday.
She went for pilgrimage tours.
She said her faith helped her endure her cancer, she said she felt no pain in all her treatments.

My mum left early.
She had a relapse and we were finally informed of her illness, and within 3 days, she passed on, without us having time to react.
She had not seen any of her grandchildren. None of her grandchildren has experienced her love.

My grandma was immensely sad.
She refused to come to our home, the memory of my mum was too hard to bear.
She refused to speak to my dad, blaming him for not telling her any earlier.
She refused to stay healthy; she bathed in sadness; she joined my mum 3 years later; fulfilling my mum’s wishes, she was baptised before she left the world.

After being a mum myself, I realised what both these women had done for us, caring for us, loving us. It’s a shame I only knew this so much later. And I have not reciprocated the love the way I should. It’s a loss for Zara, as she cannot experience the love of a maternal grandma, the way I did.

Remembering them on Mother’s Day, and my mum’s upcoming 13th year death anniversary.

I have been tagged by Jesslyn and Geetha. Only for you ladies..

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
“..sash of scarlet and gold across the right shoulder and a grey..”

– The Drink and Dream Teahouse by Justin Hill (reading current book esp during pumping sessions)

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Zara’s photo pinned up at my cubicle.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Kind of glance at American Idol, while at King’s Wife’s place. Don’t really watch TV (oh, not counting those VCD, DVD that Zara watches).

4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
6:30pm

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
6:30pm

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
People talking on the phone to families.. it’s passed office hours, everybody is calling their girl friends/boy friends or family.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Stepped out of the office to return stroller to Jasmine.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
My blog, Yahoo messanger screen (having a conference with Seng Kor, May, Lin Peh, Lil Patchi, Jomel).

9. What are you wearing?
A shirt and a skirt.

10. Did you dream last night?
I didn’t.

11. When did you last laugh?
Yesterday, when Zara did her counting in One Utama.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Company promotional and motivational posters.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Hmm.. don’t believe there’s any.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Just another tag I’m obligatedto do for those who tagged me.

15. What is the last film you saw?
The Down Fall (of Hitler)

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Buy a property in a nice gated community and move there!

17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
Loads..

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Stop children from dying or being abused or being sick.

19. Do you like to dance?
Yes. Did ballet for a few years.. but now only dance jigs for Zara.

20. George Bush.
He ah..? Lousy gaomen.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Zara

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Alessandro (but when I talked with Daddy about this when I was pregnant and didn’t know the sex of our child, he was strongly against this name.. sooo…)

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yes! Definitely! Don’t mind Australia, England, America, Canada.

24.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
“Ahh.. you..”

25. Five (5) people who must also do this meme in their journal.
– anybody
– somebody
– busybody
– everybody
– or just nobody
You like it, you do it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ . ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok. Am done with this.. Have been very busy at work, so the lack of response to some of the comments I recieved, and the delay in me visiting your blog, but I still try to catch up, sometimes reading a few posts at one go.

Tomorrow, I’ll be off to Bali, back next Tues! Woot!

Some of you would have known by now that a blogger SCB (Lisa) went into coma since 8th April.

A few of us visited her today in Gleneagles Hospital. She’s breathing on her own and her heart rate is normal, but the cause of her collapse is still unknown. She seems to be responding to voices, as when Seng Kor called out to her, she heaved a big sigh (just like yesterday with Jomel’s visit).

Linpeh is collecting well wishes and voices of bloggers, and will be compiling them into a CD. We hope it will get played to SCB (Lisa) and will rouse her from her deep sleep. For those of you who are interested, please record your voices, and send them to xymalaysia@yahoo.com.

Most of my readers I believe are parents, voices of your kids singing, or talking would be good too, especially since SCB (Lisa) has a daugther. I will be sending Zara’s singing and well wishes.

Please remember her in your prayers.

About the Linpeh’s project, please click here.

Note : Mamabok is calling bloggers all over the world to say a silent prayer for SCB (Lisa) tomorrow. 19th April 2006 – 1pm (M’sia time); 19th April 2006 – 2am (Canada Time).