Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Columns r up!


It's taken some time ... but the pillars are finally up on the first floor... soon they will be putting up the roofing... ;-). we have beloved friends mos n liz coming to visit from kangaroo island in australia next march.. hopefully the house will be livable by then.. fingers crossed!
Martin has been up the ramp and is mighty pleased with the views... we can actually see (to the right) mt. kinabalu (highest in south east asia) from our 360 degree balcony... and to the left is a birds eye view of our river snaking off into the horizon.... all in all, we cant wait for the day we get to sit on our balcony and have sunset drinks n laughs with friends n family... ;-)

Friday, December 19, 2008

CHRISTMAS SHOOT!

As you probably hv received our christmas cards by now (i apologise for the ones we accidentally missed out!), you'll know that we always go to the studio to do our annual photo shoot.. good excuse to glam up and take pro pictures.. esp since martin has plenty of family n friends who dont get to see us often or at all for the last few years..

we were going to make a trip back to uk in 2009 but i didnt anticipate getting preggers again so early... so martin might make a solo trip back but the kids n i will have to wait a few more years at least...

Martin is back to working full time.. he's good at running the resort but he doesnt really enjoy it... would rather be home with besra on the couch watching mickey mouse for the 100th time! hehe... ;-) or pottering about the land.. speaking of the land.. we found a local guy who cuts the grass at our place once a month now and this makes martin feel better as he worries the grass doesnt get cut n the mozzies will multiply.. the house itself is taking its time but that suits us.. will have a roof soon... then walls.. and so the story goes.. ;-)

as for me.. the pukeymonster in me resurrects its ugly head almost every day still but i'm coping... this new baby has a lot to answer for! for the first time in my life... i'm prone to rashes and acne.. something completely unheard of if you really know me.. sighs.. for some time i was a bit annoyed at having gotten pregnant so soon.. but my feelings have taken an about turn when i heard that my colleague who's expecting too suddenly lost hers... and she had a great appetite with no morning sickness... i guess it made me more thankful for the good things in my life, how ever unexpected.. ;-) anyway, scanned again last week and while i've lost 5 kgs to date.. the baby in me is growing at an expected rate with a good strong heartbeat and so far everything is going good... *counts her blessings again* ;-)

anyway, christmas is a time to reflect on family n friends and the year that was.. man it was a rough year... but things seemed to have fallen into place and i'm sooooooooo grateful for that. i love my husband, my baby girl, my baby-to-be, my baby's nanny/my companion, my father n mother, siblings, best friends, very good friends, friends, martin's family n friends... hehe.. basically everyone! so i figured i'd better write it down so everyone is clear on that! hehehehehhehe... MERRY CHRISTMAS, YA' ALL.. AND HAVE A FANTABULOUS NEW YEAR AHEAD.. !!!!!!!!!
One Big Happy!
Gooooooood daddy... listen to your little girl and all will be well.. ;-)

Boo! After about 100 shots baby started really enjoying the photo shoot... was hard work changing 6 outfits and hairstyles!


Here's a family shot with our beloved nanny included.. we dont know how we'd function without her! Thanks a million Aunty Marji!




Monday, December 01, 2008

I've joined the ranks of the aged... :)

My 31st birthday has just gone by... and i'm so happy lotsa ppl remembered! the night before the 28th my family n i went for steamboat which basically is a communal pot of boiling soup in the middle of the table and we cook and eat as a family.. hehe.. and the moment i stepped out of the restaurant... yup.. everything was upchucked into the nearby drain.. how wonderful, money not so well spent eh!
on the day itself, the power above was smiling down on me cos i didnt puke once.. sighs.. happy days are upon us? maybe, keeping fingers crossed that the worst is over. had lunch with paul, mior n chit at secret recipe.. and shopped for a bit. good food, great conversation, who could ask for more?
martin started work early so that he could finish early then we all went out for pasta n pizza in town.. dropped by a shopping mall and baby was doing her hooligan act by running from martin to me n back again in the shops and inevitably, yup, she fell n split her bottom lip with her two front teeth, cried, got blood on daddy's hanky, and then proceeded to puke all over his back as martin carried her. puking is her signature style this girl.. sounds familiar eh? hehe.. sighs.. daddy was less than happy as you can imagine. anyway, her lip is healing now n she doesnt seem too concerned so all is good.
anyway, good time was had by all... wonder what i'll be doing next year.. party at our finally completed house maybe? ;-)

Friday, November 14, 2008

6cm Wonder..

He/She's shy!

This little thing is showing its back view, head, bady and tiny legs and arms.. such a wonder to think that this life is me is causing so much hormonal chaos resulting in my puke fits.. sighs... scanned last monday, doc said all is well, heartbeat is strong and development is just right for a 12 week feotus. i've been craving beef and more beef up until recently.. and they say the more carnivourous you are the more the chances it will be a boy. ;-) in fact, i'm pretty sure its a boy. to contra that, the doc said that its lodged on the left hand side of my womb and some hotshot doc in canada did a big study and found that there is a 92% chance for a female child if the placenta begins on the left. hehe... like they say though.. what will be, will be. i dont mind. frankly i prefer a boy cos besra is so obviously daddy's little girl.. and i'd like a mommy's lil boy for a change! hehe.. ;-)

Anyway, the doc gave me a jab to stop the hideous puking but it didnt work... now though i feel better.. but dunno how long this good spell will last. in fact, had to run out of the registration hall a few mins ago and puke in the drain. sighs. will the joy never end???

right, at the end of the day i should be glad all is well.. fingers crossed that the ride will be smoother after this... *wink*

Thursday, November 13, 2008

home.. as of nov 2008!!!


This is what home looks like as of this month.. the piling has long since been done, the foundation laid, the pillars erected and now they are building the base of the 1st floor... what they do is they somehow manipulate steel rods to make the skeleton of the floor but they do it about 3 feet raises first, martin says so they dont break their backs, then we guess they will lower it into the 1st floor before dumping tons of cement on it then finally we will have a floor to walk on! next up which the contractor says will start at the end of the month is the intricate roofing work... yay!

will have a home to be proud of soon and everyone's invited!!! there'll be plenty of guest rooms and we welcome everyone to come over and stay with us... and now with cheap longhaul flights available soon, everyone can fly! ;-) anyway, just thought you guys would like to know our progress in the home dept. hugs n kisses to all! cheerios!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Besra's 2nd Happy Mickey Mouse Birthday!

Happy 2nd birthday to our darling daughter.. Besra! Everyone blow now!Oooo.. Can't wait to chomp into Mickey Mouse!
Yummy! Look mum, i can feed myself cake!

Besra's turned 2! and it was a cosy n lovely party... with lot's of nice presents for baby including a big pink bicycle she can't ride yet! hehe.. thanks everyone for the lovely cards and presents and thanks too for the gifts from aunt sue and uncle glyn... Besra is one lucky lil girl!
As you can tell, she's really into Mickey Mouse, especially those interactive cartoons. She even answers all the questions Mickey asks her. She one clever little thing! She's come a long way since her birth from 1.8kgs to 17kgs now. Anyway, she had a brilliant time.. our lil girl is growing up so fast!

Monday, October 13, 2008

When i'm least expecting it...

I'M EXPECTING!!! 1.18 cm, left side of womb, heartrate 175 beats per min
3D Imaging.. just a lil cluster of cells at the moment...

Well it's nice to know Besra will have a sibling soon.. but it does throw my world into a chaotic tailspin! I'm back to being as martin 'lovingly' calls me.. A Pukey Monster! keep throwing up anything, everything and nothing.. and have 'decorated' the school gardens more than a few times now... sighs..

We are both happy to have another one.. although it is a bit early.. wanted to wait for the house to be done first before embarking on my 9 month pukey journey but hey.. i guess martin's tadpoles just couldnt wait. he's been going round telling everyone that they wear tight shirts with a huge letter S on the front... that's how super his taddies are!

As for Bes... she doesnt quite get it yet... but what warms my heart is how she treats her little play baby doll... puts it lovingly in her pram.. pushes her about, feeds it milk and even wraps a nappy around it.. so i guess she's telling us she's ready for a little baby sibling!

Anyway.. the lil one is abt 1 cm long now.. just a cluster of cells with a heartbeat of 175 beats per min.. aloysia who accompanied me to the gynae was really impressed when we heard its lil heartbeat... t'was so fast! she was doubly amazed with it pulsing away at full speed on the ultrasound screen. as of today, i'm 7 weeks and 5 days pregnant.. and baby is expected on 27th May 2009... gosh.. how many pukey more days is that??!?!?!??!?! sighs.. the joys of being pregnant eh... grrrrrrr!

Anyway, we shall be thankful for little miracles.. just everyone out there keep your fingers crossed for me that the nausea stops cos i really cant take all this upchucking. sighs.. as always, hugs to all!

Friday, October 10, 2008

The good ol days... heheh blast from the past!

Thanks Doria for this great pic! Walpole Castle.. what a long time ago that was..this pic was taken in my salad days.. hehe 23 years old.. at St Mary's University College, Twickenham, London... 2000. sighs.. that was our group.. one thorn (Zaki) among a bunch of gorgeous roses! hehe.. now almost all of us are married, have kids and basically gone on with our lives.. hehe.. as for me, i did the unthinkable, ie.. i'm still working for the government of Malaysia as a bloody English teacher! who would have thought eh... everyone would have pinpointed my name as first to abscond.. hehe but i did better than that, i brought my man home and planted him firmly in malaysian soil! heheheheheheheh...

to all of you guys in the pic, i luv ya all!!! god bless and keep in touch! if you're reading this drop me a mail ok! queendrey@gmail.com cheers! hugs all round!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

7EVEN SAILFISH!!!






As you can tell, Martin had the time of his life end of Sept when he went for a 3 day sailfish angling trip to Kuala Rompin, Johor (West Malaysia) accompanied by his best buddy Chris, NZ Noel and David. He chalked the highest number of sails landed totalling 7 sailfish ranging from 25 - 40plus kgs. Martin had never caught billfish before and he says their acrobatic feats in the water were simply stunning. makes me wish i had been there so i could say i caught one too! Everyone took turns landing fish and the camaraderie was brilliant according to him.. men and their hobbies eh! says that it's definitely in the fishing calendar for the years to come. cost Ringgits 8900 for all 4 people to go (inc accomodation, day meals, transfers but not flights and dinner) so if anyone is up to it, contact martin to plan a trip for next year!


Monday, September 22, 2008

Our Foundation...


The house is coming along well... considering it has been a year marred by increased prices of raw materials, contractor's difficulty in getting legal workers (sabah govt is conducting a mass raid of immigrants hence the huge exodus of labourers) and money woes with the world economy facing its current financial uncertainties. that aside, everything is just peachy! on last inspection we now have 4 men working on the house, they've laid the foundation down on top of the piling that was done using mangrove wood... we have a river adjacent so we definitely need to fortify our grounds or one not so fine day our house will sink! by next week we might be able to see the 1st floor!


just to tell you more about the design, i have to give credit to martin for envisioning a square-shaped house with a living, dining and kitchen running through the middle and various rooms on each side with french doors that open out into a 360 degree balcony that goes all round the 1st floor.. the house is built on stilts (as is the common local design) with two rooms downstairs, one for martin's fishing stuff and a self-contained studio for our help.. soon we'll have a groundsman cum driver in addition to baby's nanny. hehe.. sounds like we're living the high life but actually, i work all the hours god sends to pay bills.. and martin is about to start a full time job at the resort in the capacity of manager. he's going back to work full time on a trial basis so he can decide if its really what he wants to do.


anyway, the house is a work in progress and will be for at least another year or so.. we might have a DIY party to get friends round for some painting and tiling.. hehe.. hopefully by 2010 we'll be able to advertise it as a B&B on the global market as a Haven for Nature enthusiasts and martin can take them for guided bird-watching, nature and fishing tours. At the mo it's just in the pipelines so will concentrate on getting it finished first. hehe.. i want to name it "SanctuaRyver MountainView Lodge".. but martin hates the idea... help me tell him he's wrong and its actually super catchy!!!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

My baby loves bananas... ;-)


In fact it's one of the first words she learnt!!!

Group pic... bye bye Khai Ma Beatrice! Enjoy UK!! Hugs to Uncle Lick!


Overprotective mum at work..

This was a lovely day out at Manukan island last month with Beatrice and Rick who were going away (again!) to UK. i pretty much didnt care that ppl were sniggering and pointing at me with my huge umbrella.. we dont know if besra tans like me or burns like martin and frankly, we dont care to find out! hehe.. fun time had by all.. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! baby is such a water baby!

Monday, September 15, 2008

CHECKs this out!


This is another pic from Alex's post wedding file.. a few days after the big celebration we all went out for a simple dinner to bid Aunty Hin off.. she so lovingly flew over just for Alex's wedding so this was our way of thanking her... She represented all of my mother's sisters... speaking of aunts... doesnt baby look fabulous in her checkered outfit?? thanks aunty cheng for the pretty outfit! you can still see the scars on baby's face but it's much better now.. this pic was taken about 3 weeks plus after the incident.. anyway.. kiss kiss hug hug to anyone who's reading this especially my aunts!!!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Alex's Wedding in June

THE FUN BUNCH... A BEAUTIFUL BRIDE, DRUNK GROOM AND HAPPY GUESTS!!
GODMAMAS N GODKIDS... ADORA-BUBBLE!

Alex and Jo finally tied the knot.. what's more Jo is now 8 weeks pregnant! hehe.. man they work fast! lol... it was a brilliant wedding in the sense that i was the MC and i didnt make a mess of it.. lol.. the church service was simple but nice, and dinner was quite fun cos i tortured them to do the twist, pledge their love and even kiss for 20 seconds in public.. hehe. at least they have fun memories to cherish forevermore. Congrats again Alex & Jo and baby-2-b!!!

Better Late than Never! He he ;-)

Catch me, daddy!!!
Baby Besra and Baby Natalia my goddaughter.. playing with rubber duckies in da pool!
Another year has gone by and daddy has celebrated his 44th.. hehe.. we had another cool bbq party in front of our apartment. this time we started early at about 4pm so the kids could play in the playground and have a little dip in the blow up pool. last year we could fit 3 babies in the pool but now there's hardly space for two!! babies are getting bigger as we speak.. it's an amazing phenomenon! hehe..

baked a chocolate ganache cake for hubby.. he only likes chocolate so i guess i'll always bake choc cakes for him for the rest of his life! hehe.. well as long as he eats it then it doesnt really matter eh! tons of ppl came over to celebrate and i have to say, gosh lots of people love martin here. hehe...
all is well with baby.. the terrible twos are upon us even though she's just over a year n ten months. with nanny marji she's a proper little lady but with us she goes into 'manja' or lovingly spoilt mode. her shrieking at the top of her voice to get something she wants is quite embarassing. plus she wants to be carried to-and-fro apartments just for fun which is driving martin bonkers! hehe.. when she cries, she only wants daddy.. lol.. bad for me cos she clearly loves him more and good for me cos i dont hve to lug around her 16kgs everywhere!
besra is still very much into puking every chance she gets. we spoil her in a sense that we pick her up at the slightest whinge.. she has a knack for holding her breath and forcing herself to vomit (residual effect of my 7 month long morning sickness?) but we pick her up immediately or she spills her guts out everywhere making more work for everyone!! and believe me, cleaning up baby puke is no ride in the park! esp when she does it in the car (martin rightfully insists she wears a seatbelt and she hates it!) or like the other day at the Cat Show... noodles n milk all over the floor.. eeeeeeew!!! the joys of parenthood!
on the plus side her scars have healed very very well.. i'll include a close up later and u can see for yourself.. hehe.. i love my lil girl!!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

My world is aligned once again... happy sigh..

Finally... gosh.. finally i see the light at the end of my five month long trek down this lonely tunnel. it's been a series of not very good news to put it mildly, since february early this year. for those not in the know.. i work as an english teacher with the govt.. but my life became hell when the ex principal of school T decided to block my promotion by demoting me. i fought the case at the top level (thru the director of education, sabah) and was relocated to another school nearby so as not to be further victimised. well the tales of woe continued because the principal of school P is best friends with my ex principal so i think they conspired to make my life a walking nightmare! the biatches cooked up a way to reject me from even entering that school so i was practically school-less for 2 weeks before the department intervened. they promised to absorb me into school P on condition i apply for an immediate transfer out plus agree to teach home science instead of my english language qualifications. sighs.. so i bit the bullet and accepted it on accord that i'd get another school closer to home (which they promised me!)

that was in march so by june i'd finally recieved the letter and it stated there school G which is in bloody beaufort.. 80 plus km from where i live! What the F*&%!!!! i'm not going out into the sticks just to teach english! honestly, fate hasnt done me many favours this year up until now though.. the principal of school M, a school which i've been trying to get into, has been a complete godsend! he personally took my case under his wing and finally after two weeks of sleepless nights, the ammended transfer letter arrived. when i reported to the school he gave me my timetable (all english subjects- phew!) and i immediately started teaching! hehehehehehehehe what a relief! i havent felt so helpless of my own fate my entire life until this happened. its really taught me to appreciate little miracles.

well, like i said, life is looking up. baby's scars are less obvious and seems to have healed pretty well considering. she's one smart little cookie and i'm so proud to be her mother. she's got such a loving and happy nature that it's truly infectuous. besra now has quite a large lexical corpus (jargon talk for vocabulary.. hehe) which includes: sit, run, jump, give, wash, wipe, eat, drink, sing, write, shake, clap, follow, hug, kiss, dog, cat, ball, juice, chocolate, book, frog, duck, truck, peanut.. oh and her favourite: 'NO". hehe.. very adamant little thing when she wants something. she's taken to screaming at a pitch that would have mariah carey giving her a stading ovation! quite embarassing when we go to densely populated enclosed areas such as restaurants and shopping malls. hehe.. baby makes me so happy i could burst but then again, i bet most if not all mothers say this! ;-)

martin has turned into an almost full time grass cutter aka human mowing machine. he's taken to waking up at dawn (well some days..almost!) and driving to the land, then proceeding to armour himself with full overalls, gloves, wellies, hat and full faced welding mask! quite funny but hey, it does the business. his RM250 toy, the japanese make strimmer seems to be working a treat. comes home drenched to the core and i think he'll be back to his fit and slim pre-marital look. now where's the bread and butter so that i can fatten him back up! lol.. anyway, the truth is he loves doing it and its doin him good!

anyway, you can expect more regular updates from now on... now that my life is taking shape again. i've joined a gym with my buddy aloysia and we go sweat it out before our lectures at uni.. u never know... maybe i will be slim one day! hehe.. anyway, fingers crossed nothing bad will happen anymore.. dunno if i could take it. sighs.. cest la vie!

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Martin & his team..

Just a quick review of past fishing exploits that had to wait until now cos martin was too lazy to use his own camera hence had to wait on other people's pics to come through (thanks for that noel).
first pic is of team FishBorneo.com at the Labuan International Fishing Tournament last april where we came 3rd overall (no cheating: yay!). hooked 4 escolar (oilfish) biggest being abt 35kg out of the 6 winning fish we submitted. and a good time was had by all (again thanks noel).
other pic is of a gorgeous ruby snapper roughly about 10kg. me the poor fisherman's wife had to hack it down into fish steaks... martin brought abt 50kg of fish home that took me abt 4 hrs (till midnight!!) to clean, fillet and pack as you can see in the pic. (he really did marry the perfect woman! esp cos no one else could put up with his stinky hobby) oh and we finally invested in a chest freezer to keep his conquests fresh. thanks aloysia (lady in red shirt) my bestest buddy who helped with the fishmonger's dirty work.

overall martin has done quite well in tournaments this year.. next trip should be sailfish catching at kuala rompin, west malaysia.. with his good buddy Chris from england, noel NZ and another guy called David. Supposed to catch up to 80 sailfish in a day.. we'll see!

My lil devil angel!


How sweet she is.. even if she's dressed up like a cheeky devil here! i think this is a brilliant picture.. captures her spirit perfectly. this was before the accident but i assure you that she is just as playful and happy. Martin went to labuan for fishing last month (where he won 3rd place for the team event) and brought the horns home. they light up but sadly they dont flash. hehe.. anyway, really cute!!

Everyone has been absolutely great. baby's the proud owner of so many new toys, clothes and even a blanket hugging bear from auntie michelle. i walked around CitiMall yesterday looking for white pantyhose for baby (she's a flower girl for my brother Alex and Joanne's wedding next week) when suddenly i was pounced upon by some friends who had heard about poor baby Besra. It was great to catch up with Cynthia, Sophia, Theresa and my dear dear home science teacher Mrs. Gertrude. i could really feel the warmth and caring aura emanating from them all.. t'was very comforting!
Also went to a briefing yesterday about becoming a trainer and assessor for Aviation English. apparently they were warned by the internation civil avaition org that all aviation personnel needs a level 4 qualification in spoken english or they can't fly/work. that was in 1999 and the dept of civil avaition has done absolutely nothing since. Hah! now a private company has been given the momentous task of certifying 50,000 pilots and air traffic controllers BEFORE 9 march 2009. that's under a year! geez.. anyway.. whatever happens, it's a great way to make some spare dosh. money is always a good thing! hopefully it will work out cos it sounds really interesting and fun! plus u get to fraternize with pilots.. ooooooo weeeeeee! THANKS ROSLYN for opening up that window for me! HUGS!
oh and i cant end the blog without rattling off abt how annoyed i am with the new fuel price.. it used to cost 83 ringgits for a full tank in my lil vroom vroom which gave me about 550km. i filled it up yesterday and dammit: 115 bucks literally to be burnt up into thin air! sighs.. paklah and his great ideas! will just have to drive less and spend less on other stuff.. anyway, cest la vie!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

life changes in a split second... sniff2

for all of you out there whom we havent contacted personally as yet, this entry will help clarify things. we're sorry we didnt call sooner but i think you'll understand it was a stressful time. we got back from our week away on sunday about 1 am.. slept and woke up in our cosy bed at about half 6 and i waited for baby to wake up cos i missed her so sooooo much. anyway we spent the better part of the morning opening presents and playing with her new toys and mickey mouse soft toy. it was a sunday morning like so many others.. one big happy family.

for all mothers out there who will surely understand, the unthinkable happened. one second i was on the phone and martin was in the room when suddenly our dog was on top of baby biting and growling. martin rushed out and threw cindy into her cage and i had dropped the phone, grabbed baby, screaming 'oh god no!'. it was a pretty harrowing experience cos baby's face was covered in blood and there was even blood in her eyes. i think she was really shocked more than in pain because i read somewhere that adrenalin helps numb the pain. within minutes we were on the way to the hospital. luckily she slept on her nanny's shoulder most of the way after crying for a while. there is nothing more horrifying than seeing your baby hurt especially when we feel so helpless to ease the pain.

at the emergency ward, baby was looked at properly and it was agreed that the plastic surgeon would fix the damage which included 3 deep punctures (two on forehead, 1 on chin) and other teeth scratch marks all over her face. if u look carefully one of them was about 1 mm away from her left eye. thank goodness the doc said her sight was unaffected. i dont know how i would have dealt with that. thank god for little miracles.

day one in hosp we had to wait 6 hours before they could sedate her cos she ate at 9am. it happened at about half 10am. by 3pm martin accompanied her to the op room and they cleaned the wounds. we expected them to give her stitches but they said they wouldnt until they were sure there was no infection from the dog saliva. she came out with patches on her face with some kind of clear surgical cellotape.

i have to say i have the bravest baby alive. sighs.. in the emergency ward, she sat quietly on my lap watching me cry then took her face towel and wiped my tears. god that made me cry even more. she didnt cry or touch her open wounds at all, instead she laughed and played and ran around as if nothing happened. god, i hope she never remembers any of it because trauma is one thing she can definitely live without. and in the following days she did exactly the same, laugh, play and ran around as if she owned the hospital and the nurses were her audience. she is truly amazing.

day 2 was for observation and injections while on day 3 doc said she was ok enough to have stitches. 36 in total. damn that's alot. 36 fine stitches which hopefully will fade over time. just listening to baby laugh out loud now while watching tv with daddy is amazing. makes you really appreciate the little joys in life.

for everyone who visited and send well wishes, gave baby presents, kisses & hugs, we are touched and thankful. who could have expected such a turn in events. as for poor cindy, she just lost it in a moment of madness. we could spend ages pinpointing where the fault lies but i guess there is no point. it happened. shit happens and in the words of shelley blew, build a bridge and get over it. cindy was taken to the vet and put peacefully to sleep. it will be some time before we are used to the new routine, but we are all concentrating on baby getting better soon. next monday she needs another session at the hosp to remove the stitches.. and that will be another trying time. just glad that it will be alright soon. fingers crossed.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Penang & KL 6D5N - Romantic Getaway!

This has been the first time we've made a trip without baby.. miss her heaps but baby Besra is in good hands. ie Nanny Marji and great friend Aloysia.. ;-) We left on monday 26th for Penang and spent 3 days there.. hotel was a bit of a dud.. crowded and old and dead fish everywhere on the so called sandy beach!.. but the tram ride to Penang hill with English Cream Tea saved the day! On Wed we flew to KL and stayed with Ashley the hot mama.. was great to meet up with her & family esp Ryan boy (who insists Besra is his girlfriend!) and Lyanna (Ash's gorgeous twin) as well as the lovely lili..was fab to catch up after so long. thanks Suanie for the great pic! glad to see that we are all plodding along happily almost a decade after graduation.

Thurs morn we went to visit Contessa aka titi at her place in Shah Alam.. her 2.15kg baby Baby Bayu Iman Rania was a little darlin! (will add pics later).. Now in Aunty Sharon's house in Subang Jaya.. will be flying home this evening and about time too.. Holidays are fine if u minus the fact the pockets get lighter (retail therapy!!) and taxi people try their luck on ya! hehe.. oh to be back in my own bed and cuddle baby again! weeeeeeee! and i bloody miss my car! Vroommmmmmm!




Thursday, May 22, 2008

Marsha..our distant relative up close!



Went to langkah syabas resort last sunday (18th may) to see marsha.. hehe.. so cute. what made it more memorable is that all the girls got together after wayyyyyyyyyyy too long! hehe.. audrey & besra(1yr 8mths), vicky & krystel (almost 2) and luvy & natalia (2yrs 5mths)... soooo much fun.. and yummy english sunday roast! nothing beats a big chunko meat on yorkshire pud!!! weeeeeeeeeee we luv ya marsha!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Us with grampies! & my 2am ramblings..

Another picture taken from the day we had a mini party for aloy and jo. my mom belinda and dad jimmy were definitely enjoying themselves. it's the little things in life that we all cherish so much because life is indeed too short and if you're not careful, it'll pass you by in a blink. baby loves granma and grampa lots!!!

been thinking about it... friends mean so much to a person, especially true friends. it is sometimes logistically and logically impossible to be with every friend each day but that doesnt mean that we dont hold them dear at heart. since i've faced so many problems on the workfront, i've really come to know just who will step up front for you and who in my time of need, just shied away. anyway, to get to the point, some of you read 'the return from absence blog entry', and contacted me and honestly, i was so touched.. ashley and shui han.. you know who you are, big hug! miss you guys and will definitely catch up soon.

ah friends, a close friend of mine had a cancer scare recently but they managed to remove it. luvy, i'm praying to the powers that be that it wont recur. beatrice has had a tough time with her dad in hosp recently undergoing an angiogram. he's out now, doing well so my fingers are crossed there too. another best friend, vicky, is having family problems and i hope too that it will be solved soon, the giant step now that her family knows is a welcome relief so soon there will not be any more hiding away. so many lives which could all do with a bit more happiness and a lot less worries, you're always in my thoughts.

with the recent cyclone in myanmar with 60,000 either missing or dead and the earthquake in china yesterday killing abt 10,000... its just so frustrating that natural disasters rob them of their peace of mind. and it kills me to know that the junta militia is refusing aide simply because they are too stubborn and regimented at the expense of innocent human lives. all of which makes my problems pale in comparison. i guess it puts things in perspective.. that yes i lost out to a biatch ex principal who as good as engineered my being axed. and yes, its turned my whole world upside down and left me in a state of limbo. but hey, look what good came out of it (job opportunities left and right-- applied for teaching post at uni and was offered a position in a exams dept of education office). and gosh it makes you so thankful for the perfect little that you have like a loving husband (albiet an annoying one), a gorgeous and highly intelligent baby, a fantastic nanny for baby, a house-to-be and my various part time assignments with the Uni, college as well as the advertising agency (which is fantastic cos i'm starting to see my work published in the papers, as flyers, banners etc). the long and the short of it is that i'm definitely counting my blessings. nothing worse that looking a gift horse in the its mouth, so the one up there, if you can hear me, thank you for the joys in my life and please spread the happiness around as my family and friends would really benefit form them. oh an pls do something abt my ex-principal and the junta. may karma hightail towards them and bite down on their butts so resoundingly hard that they never knew what hit them! sighs.. if wishes could be made to order... hehe. anyway, i still believe in the intrinsic good of mankind, and that people only do bad things because they are trying to save someone else... u know like in le miserables: john valjon (wrong spelling i know) stole bread because he was desperately hungry. ok, enough rambling. time for bed. its abt half 2 in the morning and i couldnt sleep... now, i think i will hit the pillows and cuddle up to hubby. g'nite all!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

When you gonna take me fishing daddy..


Look! I'm all dressed up in my mickey fishing shirt... hehe. This is one of baby's new looks.. simply adorable.. and you bet she gets what she wants when she pulls this face.. LOL. One day soon daddy's lil girl will be catching her first fish!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

1st April.. Happy Birthday!



we celebrated Aloysia n Joanne's birthday on a sunday 30th march.. we had tons of food and good times! cheers to the two of you!! Good food, great friends, fantastic family, what could be better!!!

Play time!!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Peekaboo! Don't worry baby, mommy's gotcha!

Celebrated Aloysia's and Joanne's birthday on sunday 29th April
so had the family come round and baby had fun at the playground.
It was a nice homey, comfy and lovely day.
There should be more sundays during the week! *wink wink*

Baby's first trip to the University Aquarium


This was baby's first visit to see the big ol fishies in the big ol tanks. actually it was a small aquarium with small tanks but from her point of view, hey, everything's gigantic!! we had fun that day pointing out the fish and waving at strangers. it was an impromptu visit cos actually, we were checking out the beach at the campus where martin was supposed to have a fishing competition the following weekend. guess how many fish he caught on that day. nada. none. tiada. elek. hahahahahahah.. but he said it was fun anyway. fishermen are weirdoes and i married one!!!

Baby & Daddy at land..


This was taken the day they were measuring out our 40 by 40 ft house. Martin bought baby's shark shirt even before he met me. hehe.. how sweet.. dont they look so rugged together?? LOL.