old treasures in the kitchen

i had another tiring tiring day. and i think today was worse than yesterday. yesterday, i was at least able to finish reading the day's paper, but today, i had hardly touched the paper. and i don't plan to read it at all. tomorrow, i am going to take a break and finish reading the 2 papers i will have. i am going to watch my amazing race and gossip girl and x-factor usa in front of the pc after finishing the necessary housework. that's it, i am not doing any extra tomorrow.

and i did not even have to bring the dog out for his walk at all. i had dad and uncle kam to do that today. so what the hell was i busy with??? .....

the dog wanted to get a share of what was happening in the house hence his snout had found a good resting place. he got super excited with uncle kam around and would climb all over him. and the dog barked when we put him on the chain....it only happened when uncle kam came. i think the dog was looking for uncle's attention. well, uncle is going to leave tomorrow. so beanie, you better say proper goodbye to him tomorrow.

i almost forgot to feed the dog his dinner but luckily he did not bark because he had gone for his mandatory evening walk earlier.

ok , we still haven't called the recycling truck yet. but soon because i have dumped a lot of things today as well.

but we are now reconsidering about recycling grandma's pfaff sewing machine. i did a lot of research online whether this could be considered an antique or not. according to a malaysian collector, things aged above 50 is considered antique here....but not in europe or america.
so is this machine here an antique in malaysia???

i found the serial number and also a website that gives the age of the machine according to the serial number. so according to the website, grandma's sewing machine was built in 1956. do your calculation and the age of the machine would be around 55 years old now. you really can't fault a well-manufactured product eh? as i said previously, this machine is still functional if the belt is replaced. dad said he would ask a restaurant owner who keeps antiques here in tm if he is interested. i hope he is interested and this machine will not go to waste.

now to the job that i did today. mission accomplished in one day. there was no way i could prolong it to another day. the mess would just drive me nuts.

this was the treasure i found. i was asking if we had pu-er tea leaves the other day, and dad said we only had green tea. and look what i found today. i found 5 pieces of them. 2 were smaller ones. uncle kam is going to take one piece away with him. and i am going to find out how to brew the tea online and make myself a good cup to relax while reading yesterday's paper. lol

so the mission today- get rid of unwanted stuff and tidy the big kitchen cabinet in the picture shown here. this is how it looked before.....or after i had started a while. it was such a headache. i threw away 3 bags of plastic, 2 bags of metal, and one big box of things which could not be recycled. that is the big brown box on the left of the picture. dad had sent it to the big bin 2 blocks away. phew!
this is the result after one whole afternoon of slogging. hahaha, the bright light really made the effect so much better in the picture. kakaa....

i still could not find a place to store the big bottle of oil, hence it is still sticking out like a sore thumb.
i also have to keep the plastic table there for the elderly to hold when they walk around in the kitchen. it is their support before taking the last few steps into the bathroom.

see the white teapot there on the table? haha...i am going to brew my tea in it.

ok time to sleep now. i have a class tomorrow morning. they are my excuse for not doing any cleaning tomorrow. i do need a break right? 2 places in the house done. next- under the stairs.

another day with full meals and bye bye sewing machines

aah choo.....

i think it is the sweat and the rain outside that is making me sneeze.

i have just mopped the floor downstairs. i just can't find another better time to mop it. grandfather is already sleeping and grandma is preparing to sleep. so when there is no one else running around in the house, it is time to mop. it is quite therapeutic as well. seeing the floor get clean is a satisfaction.

yesterday, i have forgotten to take the rice out of the rice cooker to be kept in the fridge. haha....grandma did it instead. you know me...i do not take rice, so i would not go and look in the rice cooker right. today? there is no rice to dig from the cooker because i did not boil any at all. there was still a lot leftover rice from yesterday, so i fried them in the afternoon.

here are the 3 dishes we got from the caterer today. dad said they should be enough to last till dinner. i guess both of us are really going to go on a diet to make that true. fruits should be my saviour. at least i am sure of having half a papaya every day now. dad only eats half everyday, and now that mom is not here to eat the other half, i will not be short of enzyme supply. it is going to be filling too.

this is mutton curry that dad bought back. extra just in case we do not have enough dish. well, we only managed to finish half a bowl, so there is another half for tomorrow. but damn, the mutton curry is really good.

and here is my carrot and egg fried rice. i think it is not soft enough for grandpa because grandma said he was very slow at eating them in the afternoon. opppps.

but they were really fragrant ok. grandma praised that it smelt good and it was not bad. i am not such a dim-wit when it comes to cooking ok.

for dinner, we had rich creamy durian. aunt from kl came with the maid and the maid made porridge for grandma and grandpa to go with the dishes. grandpa took some durian too. only grandma did not eat. dad had to drive someone to genting highlands but we left some for him. i am still very full now. burp.....yes, it smells of durian.

and since grandma complained of dizziness today, i quickly told aunt about it and we managed to get her to the doctor. at first she was reluctant to go since it was raining. but we persuaded and told her to get her blood pressure check. we have the blood pressure measuring machine at home but grandma's arm is too small already that we were not able to wrap the 'thing' on her arm.

aunt brought her to an indian doctor who is their friend. so of course getting that blood pressure check was only an excuse. i did not follow her to the doctor. aunt and uncle went. so of course aunt asked about her dementia. the doctor said that he could not prescribe anything for that because he is not in authority to do that. his recommendation is to see a neurologist and he recommended one in pantai hospital kl. aunt told grandma that she should do a 'full-body check-up' to determine her actual condition (her weakness and dizziness) but grandma refused. she said that she could not sit long hours in the car and she would get carsickness. so this is another uphill battle.

and we are advised to say 'yes' to all her hallucinations and accept whatever she says and sees. the hallucinations are not hallucinations to her. they are as real as all the happenings in your life. so i guess, just listen and not go against her words will do.

oh, grandma felt dizzy today because she got up too fast after sitting down for too long. so who wanna bring grandma for a fullbody check?? who can persuade her??

her condition is caused by lack of oxygen in the brain that causes imbalance in the brain. hence all the hallucinations. i think almost every elderly will have a possibility of getting this condition. so you better get your blood circulation running and flowing and maintain that till old. gosh, will those with anemia have higher risk since it is the blood that carried oxygen to the brain? better learn the headstand yoga pose now. no kidding.

this is one of the machines we have at home to measure blood pressure. we got 2 machines out to try on grandma but they just could not work. anyway, that reading was mine. healthy?

and finally, what is my day without some cleaning and throwing away things?

this time, i am on the way of throwing 3 sewing machines in the house. why do we need 3 machines you ask? well, don't ask me, ask those who want to keep them although they are not in used anymore.

this is the sewing machine which belongs to grandma in the kitchen. i have no idea how old this machine is, but it might be an antique in malaysia. i tell you, this machine is branded. it is from pfaff which is from kaiserlauten, germany. it is quite a waste to sell it to the recycle waste collector, but no one uses it anymore and the belt has broken too. i think we one replaces the belt, the machine is still usable. however, we have no place in the house to keep it. so if anyone is interested to get it, do leave a message here FAST!

this is a close-up of the wooden board which cover the machine underneath. can you spot some termites in this picture? gosh, the termites have burrowed deep into the wood and when you peel a layer after another, you get to see more termites. i was too engrossed in vacuuming all the termites that i had no time to take photo after peeling the layers.

in the end, we decided to detach the board from the machine. the other pieces of wood still attached to the machine are also infested by termites already, but not as bad.

so now the machine is out in the porch...just waiting to be collected. grandma has given her permission to get rid of it since she also sees no use in keeping it anymore. phew! i thought she would protest. but i guess after seeing all the termites there, one could not help but to just give up the machine. well, i do hope someone else will find all the 3 sewing machines i have here in the house useful.

tomorrow: time to tidy the kitchen cabinet. but please don't let me see any mouse!

aneboda done

another tired day. i have just dumped the laundry into the washing machine and now am waiting for the machine to do its job before i can hang the washings.

before that, i had thrown the rubbish in the house outside, threw the dog's unfinished food so as not to attract rats, washed the pots, boiled drinking water and locked the doors.

i hope i did not miss anything. tomorrow, the list is going to be lloooooonger. yup, mom is not here in the house already. she has left for melbourne tonight.

i am not worried about the house chores. it is the food supply that i am worried about. we tried the caterer today and we noticed that the amount of food given was really little. we ordered for 4 persons, but the amount given seemed more suitable for 3. what do we eat for dinner if all the dishes are finished at lunch?? i will have a big headache. i hate cooking. i really do. another alternative would be to go and buy the dishes ourselves in town instead of relying on the caterer. that would be slightly troublesome, but at least i can estimate the amount of food needed myself and it might even be cheaper!

it will be trial and errors these few days. plus, my uncle from germany is here, so i am sure i will perform my duties better. well, i can't embarass myself as part-hostess of the house. and thank god it is the durian season now. worse comes to worst, i will just have durians for my meal and let the others eat whatever dishes there are. i am pathetic huh?

ok the biggest satisfaction today is the assembling of aneboda chest of drawers from ikea. i got some outside help from quin who stopped by on her way back from kl. she helped me with the last few steps. sigh, and i thought with my brother being around, my job would be as easy as pie. he could not care less and was just reading the papers in the living room while i was assembling. hmmh....it was a great 'sauna' session though.

here are the pieces of loose boards and the base of the drawer already fixed at that time.

and ta-da the final masterpiece. it was really not that tough and i had fun doing it. now all the drawers are already full. i just couldn't wait to fill them. the last drawer is filled with all my hello kittys and remaining beanie babies, the second drawer is occupied by my brotbers' clothes and the top drawer is taken by all my bags. kakaka.

there is still work to be done in the storeroom. i still have to tidy things here and there but as of today, i am very satisfied. the room looks much more spacious now.

the next big project will be the kitchen. the cabinet is going to be one hell of a work and what am i going to do with the sewing machine there? yes, you heard me right, we have a sewing machine in the kitchen! whose house has a sewing machine in the kitchen??? uuurrrggghhhh!!!!

more beanie babies

i am very very very tired. i have just taken my bat 30 mins ago and that was 11p.m. for your information.

did a lot of stuff today in the store room.

we have sent the iron table across the park to my aunt. settled. when grandfather asked what we did with the table, we answered, 'sold'. it was easier to tell him that. explaining the whole story would be too difficult as we tried to tell him that 'we have given the table away' earlier. ok we shouted that to him but he could not hear. in the end, we used one word, 'sold' and he managed to repeat that, and with a nod of head, the message was sent.

threw away lots of travel bags which we had no use for. moved a few shelves and did a lot of wiping and mopping. eeewewww...........those mouse droppings. had to use bleach to get rid of those stains. well, the place is called a store room for a reason. most things which are seldom used are dumped there and you can imagine the dust and grime that have gathered. luckily my mom helped. now i have all the things where they are supposed to be and tomorrow, i can start building the chest of drawers. another day of hard work.

so all those beanie babies which i had packed yesterday in the ziplock bags went into this suitcase which is not usable anymore. dad asked, 'aren't you going to display all your bears?' gosh, where is the place in the house for that? mom laughed at me for just letting those beanie babies see the light of day for a few hours before chucking them back into darkness.

and today, while moving and cleaning those plastic chest of drawers, i found more beanie babies. i thought it was 1/3 of yesterday's but i was wrong. i had more than that!

see, i even had a bag for beanie babies. i think it was sent from the usa by one of those people i exchanged with. not sure anymore.

ta-da, 54 more. and no, unfortunately i do not have princess diana beanie babies. that must have been uk edition. i have a few anniversary editions here, usa limited edition, united nation, etc.

and now, all the beanie babies are in ziplock bags and in drawers. i wonder when is the next time they will get to see the light again.

one of the findings while packing-the moulds for my brother's teeth when he did his braces. these are for keeping for sure. i did not throw them away.

well, that's it for today. time to rest.

babies time

i was forced to unpack and to arrange all my beanie babies today and i could not have my own sweet time to cuddle each one of them!!! eeerrrgghhh!!! my brother lah! he refused to move those chest of drawers in the storeroom unless i cleaned the things in the iron table and of course the big box under too.

so that was what i did the whole afternoon and evening. well, my brother also got rid of half of his tee shirts but he finished waaaay earlier than me.

so this is the box which i kept my beanie babies under the table. how pathetic huh. they are so cute and adorable but have to be hidden.

they were in plastic bags in the box.

here are 3 big ones. i dun really collect those big ones and now i have forgotten why i bought them. those in plastic bags are from mcdonalds but i think i dun have the full collection for the bigger ones.

here are the rest of them. 99 .....and i think i still have a few in the chest of drawers in the store room. too lazy to go and check. so you want to calculate?? times that by rm19.90 each. and some i even paid higher price since it also included postage from overseas. yup i used to exchange them with collectors in the USA. i have a few full sets- world cup, birthday bears (all 12 months), flower series, country series, anniversary series, etc. they looked so colourful displayed on the table.

gosh, looking at them makes me miss them so much. i remember i used to go to memory lane stores every time i went out to the mall in my college days and to check out new stocks. then on some days, i had to calculate the allowance i had and decide which i would get when i was short of money. i was always short of money since there were new stocks every month. haha.

then when i started working, i stopped collecting because i realised it was quite a waste of money. you know lah, not being paid for the first three months of your work. since then i have never bought any.

fyi, beanie babies also come in the shape of other animals, but i only collect bears. gosh, i wonder how long they will still be kept in drawers. i tried looking on e-bay and not all bears fetch high prices. the highest is one called princess diana ...yes, the princess diana. you can buy that for US$999. hmmmm....do i have that? i am not sure. gotta check the rest of my collection. i dun think i will be selling even if i have.

so now all the beanie babies are repacked into ziplock bags i got from ikea. poor things. 10 of them are squeezed into a 6 litre bag and then sealed.

ok, while packing, i also found my first branded watch- musical from swatch which i bought using money i earned in form 4 during the year-end holidays working at the sawmill of my neighbour's. nostalgia....and now it is in the rubbish dump. sorry, can't afford to be sentimental and keep everything. it is not working already for ages although i sent it to be fixed in the store.

this is my brother's dragon ball cards collection. at first he told me not to throw them away, then he told me to give them away. phew! and i have found a taker. so these cards will be moving house soon.

so tomorrow, there will be some shifting and moving going on in the store room. somebody has volunteered to take the iron table. yippee!! i don't have to call the recycle truck. will just have to drop the table at my aunt's house opposite the park.

now this was lunch after grandma and grandpa took some. it seems that assam laksa soup is a good remedy to get rid of chesty cough because of all the ginger and lemon grass. so no matter how spicy it was, granma forced herself to finish one bowl and i had to force grandpa to finish his bowl. i just ordered him to finish whetever i gave him. he had no chance to say 'no' at all. haha...

and this? grandma in her delirious state asked, 'is this your dad's big brother?' she was snickering when she asked that. how scary. it seemed that my dad had a 'big boss or brother' now and both of them were scheming and up to no good. waaa.....if he was my dad's big brother..................................well you can finish the sentence for me.

ok i am going to watch another movie now. yesterday was 'the bridesmaid' which was really hilarious. today, it is going to be 'the help' which was not shown in malaysia but i love the book so much. it is a must read, about black maids in america.

bad bad bad temptations online

i did not have a productive day today. ;( with the emotional shake-up in the morning, it left me quite disoriented and by the time i finally had time to finish reading the day's paper, it was already mid-afternoon. then the recycle truck came to pick up all our junks and i was so relieved to throw away unused books and boxes and plastic and iron. woohoo....

i am going to call the guy to come again next week....i can finally get rid of the iron table in the storeroom because my brother has gone to ikea to buy the aneboda chest of drawers!!!

yippeee!!! i can't wait to start packing the things in the iron table and sorting out the storeroom and throwing more things away. but.....there is a mouse in the kitchen and i am worried that it might sneak into the storeroom. eeekk....please....let us catch the mouse tomorrow. i can't wait to unpack all my beanie babies and cuddle them before i put them into ziplock bags. what a waste huh....not displaying them after spending so much money on them. it cost me rm19.90 each. you can do the calculation next time when i reveal the number of beanie babies i have in my collection. get your calculator ready.

so i am unproductive in doing what i was supposed to do but i was very productive doing something which i was not supposed to do- surfing the net. see, i told you- my escapade.

and i checked out eason chan's wife website today. she called herself not a label whore, but all i see are labels everywhere in her site. talk about irony. how can she not talk about labels? she owns the boutique below which stocks all the happening brands in the fashion industry.

she models all the brands that the boutique sells in her website and labels them from head to toe.

and what is the meaning of liger? if you google, you will find the answer. it is an animal which is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress. i am not surprised that the name is chosen when she makes it known that she loves leopard prints and she also photographs herself with the panthere bangle from cartier quite a number of times.

ok she is really a bad influence. i did not bookmark her page. i think i have enough already. seeing all those beautiful clothes and bags and shoes will just make me lust for them. reminder: she get all her clothes and shoes and bags for free or at a discount. so don't envy.

but i still can't help noticing the few bags from celine which she carries ;) especially this nano luggage. it is so cute.....and expensive. i do love her style though. she dresses with an edge.

and there is no surprise if chinese youngsters talk about mbt (masai footwear technology) footwear too. her store sells them and she promotes them by wearing the different versions available. the shoes prices range from rm800 and above in malaysia. the technology used in the shoes is apparently good for weight lose and body posture. the elevated soles with thick cushions and unbalanced structure are its trademark.
so what do you think?? do you mind walking out in this kinda sole? me? haha...i want this shoes!!! well, just to see if it is effective to make my feet comfortable as i need to stand a lot in my job. the price has put me off since its release....but.......kekekeke.....

as i was googling about the shoes for this post, i found an online store that sells off-season mbts! yeah, they have seasonal collections too. aaaaannnddd......they ship for free to malaysia too!!!!!

after conversion, the price of the shoes is only about rm340. are you drooollling already???

go to here to see all the shoes....and don't forget to tell me if you are ordering because they are giving 7% discount for 2 items. waaa.....more discounts!!!!!

oh, if anybody wants to buy me a christmas present, the above is the pair that i want since i think it is passable for work and play. and my size is uk 6....remember it is uk 6 or europe 39. kakakakkaka....

now you know why i don't want to visit hilary's website again.
this swatch collection in collaboration with jeremy scott also caught my eyes. but i will just ogle them there and not do anything.

waaa...i wonder if i have generated a few more visits to her website in my post. well, just remember to control yourself when checking her out and stay calm when you see something you like.

you have been warned. ;)

mystery of the wet toilet paper....solved

the toilet paper in the bathroom downstairs has been getting wet for no apparent reason. the only reason we can think of is it gets wet when someone takes his or her shower.

grandpa does not use the shower head to bath, he keeps the water in a wide basin and scoops water from there.

mom says it wasn't her. dad bathes at night and sometimes he does wet it when splatters of water fly all the way to the wall. but i know it will be him because that is when the toilet paper gets wet at night.

grandma says it is not her when asked.

and finally......today, i got the answer.

i woke up at 10 today and did my usual stuff- turned on the pc, brushed my teeth, washed my face, went out to get my newspaper and made my breakfast.

as i was in the kitchen toasting my bread and making my cup of coffee, i saw grandma walked into to the kitchen without her walking stick and went to the bathroom. she only stood outside the bathroom and peered into every corner of the bathroom from where she was standing.

i had a feeling i knew what she was looking at. i was asking myself, 'do i want to interrupt her, or do i just let her stand there in her own hallucinations?' in the end, i interrupted her thoughts and asked her, 'do you want to go to the toilet?'

she was in one of her states of delirium and she said how dad had installed all those honeycomb bricks on the wall of the bathrooms and had nailed 'bugs' to spy her when she was in the bathroom. she said she heard knocking sounds on the ceiling which proved that things were being fixed to spy on her. i told her that those honeycomb bricks were there since the bathroom were built and she said that i was only told that by the scheming dad.

she said she sprayed water on the walls to cover those bugs.....so hence, the case of the wet toilet paper. then she went on to say that she had even hit herself on the walls to get rid of the bugs....i dunno how true this was. but i dun want this to be true. i dun want her to cause bodily injuries to herself.

she went on to hit her chest with her fists saying she has this kind of son.

then i said i wanted to bring her to see the doctor because she is hearing noises in her ears. she said she did not need a doctor because she is the doctor.

then i told her to go and sit down and rest. what if she stood too long and fall down again. she replied saying that just let her fall and die. gosh.....if only it was that easy to die.

finally i managed to get her to her chair in the living room and she mumbled there for a while and i just let her alone. she was lost in her own world. when the yakult lady came 10 mins later to send our weekly supply of yakult, she also did not heard her shouts from the gate and just sat there lost.

so here you have it, the kind of things i have to face at home. yesterday she sat there mumbling and talking in hokkien about things in the past. she was talking to no one in particular as she just gazed into space in front of her while i was there watching the korean series. aunt called when she was 20 minutes into her 'talk' and grandma gave her some false stories about me attending a big talk that day where many people attended. the fact is, i only went for a small meeting where i keyed in marks. i did not tell her what my meeting was about and she just came up with her own version.

it was so easy and convenient for others to just listen to my stories of grandma and then said that 'she looks all right to me when i come.' grandma is accusing my family of being the parasites and are only taking everything and not giving while her other sons and daughter are contributing. how do you think that makes me feel? yes, i know she is sick but when i heard some just say 'she is all right' that makes me just want to scream.

i am emotionally-shaken at the moment but i am not apologising for whatever i have written. if only life is as comforting as a bowl of macaroni and cheese and sweet as cakes.

i guess once in a while you can escape but the reality is always there. well, i escaped into my macaroni and cheese with choc cheese cake and chocolate fudge cake with my glass of chocolate milkshake after my meeting at secret recipe yesterday.

i am sure i will always have this kinda comfy corner to retreat to as i do have some great siblings and relatives and not to mention friends. so in the spirit of thanksgiving, thank you to those who support and cheer me up. and thank you to the internet too. it is the best escapade.

of postures and storage and babies(!!!!)

ok today's lesson will be on posture- the way you sit in particular.

the main thing is to sit up and stand straight. open your centre to everyone to communicate confidence and openness. do not slump and hide your centre as it shows lack of confidence or lack of enthusiasm.

here are the messages conveyed via your postures:

standing tall, back straight-

self-confident

standing with curved back and lowered gaze-

inferiority

leaning towards speaker during conversation-

interest

leaning away from speaker-

disinterest

relaxed posture-

positive attitude

both arms folded across chest-

protecting/ hiding/ disagreement

holding purse or file against chest-

protection

holding on to arm or elbow-

low self-confidence

sitting with arms and legs crossed-

defensive

sitting with head leaning on one arm-

bored

hands behind back with head lowered-

submissive

boring huh? but i think it in the end, your confidence is what will determine how you stand and sit and not the other way round, unless you can trick your mind to act confident, then you will consciously force yourself into the poses you want.

ok...update on spring cleaning today- cleaned a part of the store room and changed the arrangements of a bookshelf, and a few boxes. of course threw away lots of papers. vacuumed and wiped a bit.

i wish to make a trip to ikea. i want to get rid of a steel table in the store room and replace it with this chest of drawers.

at least with a chest of drawers, i can fill more things instead of pilling things up on the table. i wonder if it can fit into my car as the height is only 100cm. maybe i can put it on the left side of the car with the seat reclined. the price is only rm199 and i think it is a real good deal.i also want to get some plastic bags to keep all my ty beanie babies. what are they?? here they are:

i wish i have all the bears in the photo. unfortunately, i only nicked this photo from google. gosh, i have stopped buying them for a long time but trust me, my collection exceeds what you see in the photo. the only thing is they are not as updated and i also have special limited edition sets of the bears.

and as i was googling just now, ty now also have hello kitty beanies!!!! aaarrrggh!!! and they ship worldwide from the usa!!!! omg! they have exclusive uk collection too. i am so so so so tempted.

go to www.store.ty.com and search hello kitty. you are going to find them all there.

ok calm now. my beanie babies give me inspiration to name the dog, beanie. now you know. the name just came to me while i was in the bathroom and as soon as i came out, i went to the puppy (he was still small then) and called him 'beanie'. and he actually responded to the name. hence, he is called 'beanie' now.

gosh, i wish all my beanie babies. they are all in a box now. i can't wait to get that chest of drawers and start organizing my babies. i will definitely share their photos here!

p/s: can someone in uk help me look for those hello kitty beanie babies?? ;)

image tips for today

it's a fruit galore at home. we have bananas, guavas, grapes, rambutans and durians, not to mention apples and passion fruits. waaa......spoilt for choice and i really have no idea which to eat. so far, i have eaten bananas, rambutans and durians. i dun think i can think anymore for today....but the grapes will definitely have to be next as they are already soaked and if i don't finish them, they will be put back into the fridge.

did more spring cleaning today. it was filing and throwing away receipts and statements time.

and i found a file consisting notes my sister got when she attended a secretarial workshop. so why not i share some of the tips for working professionals on grooming and body language and management skills. after all i have all the time in the world to type on this blog now wahahaha....

so today's lesson is on image tips.

suits-

select high quality suits in navy, grey, black or beige.

skirt length should be no shorter than just above the knee or no longer than just below mid-calf.

mini skirts are not at all acceptable.

fabrics-

buy the best you can afford.

do a simple scrunch test to see if it is wrinkle-free.

blouses-

solid colours are the best.

wear light colours to complement your suits.

if suit is light, add a darker coloured blouse for an authoritative look.

hosiery-

skin tone or darker than skin tone to make legs appear slimmer.

sheer type support stockings is recommended.

shoes-

classic pumps with heels no higher than 3 inches.

leather is the best investment.

navy, black, burgundy or brown.

handbags-

invest in leather. choose classics rather than trendy.

navy, brown, black or burgundy. (personal comment: gosh this is so boring!!! i think if your suits and blouses are already in plain dark boring colours, bags in other colours can really lift the look but just choose one in solid colour.)

jewellery-

pearls, gold or silver only. no plastic or wooden jewellery.

no dangling ear-rings.

two rings are the maximum number.

ankle bracelet are not for business.

watches-

invest in classic style that blends with your business attire.

black lizard, gold or silver tone or leather is recommended.

hair-

shoulder length hair should be pulled back for a chic look.

consider your time, budget, hair texture, age and profession.

nails-

keep nails well manicured and use neutral or pastel colours for office.

perfume-

a little dab will do. if someone at arm's length can smell your perfume, you are using too much.

make-up-

use it to enhance facial features not to cover or colour your face.

neutrals add radiance and a fresh natural is recommended for business.

no more for today ;)

ups and downs in a day

i had quite a productive day.

managed to tidy some of my things, threw some stuff away...aaah...soul cleansing, did some workout, made some internet transactions....oohhh oooohh......shopping? wait and see.

bought travel insurance for mom and myself via the internet on chartisdirect website. it is so convenient. a friend who is working there told me about it and i just remembered while surfing today and decided to give it a try. i am not sure if it works with overseas residents because the website is registered under .my.

i am going to do more tidying and throwing....i wish i can throw one whole room away!!! daytime is the best time for me to do it. the sunlight that penetrates the window gives me the energy to move the body. have been running up the stairs quite a bit as well. purposely left the mobile phone downstairs so i can run down and up whenever there is a message or a call. going out for a jog is quite hard with the rain which comes almost every afternoon without fail.

i have a few kids asking me to bring them along and we were actually set to go at 4.15p.m. today. unfortunately, it decided to rain at 4.00p.m. and the plan was cancelled. however, i still managed to run at 6p.m. with the dog. haha...he was panting after i pushed him to run for 10 mins non-stop around the few blocks of houses here. sudden barks from dogs in the houses we passed by were a real scare but luckily it was all bark but no bite.

then i took out the dumbbell my brother left behind and decided to google for single dumbbell workout on youtube.

i only used 1.5kg on each side and my arms were already shaking after about 10 times repetition of the same movements. there is no way i can go to 2.5kg. i can barely lift it up then.

this video is really helpful and i plan to follow the steps taught. haha....i have downloaded it and it is sitting on the desktop now. one is recommended to do 3 to 4 times repetition of the whole circle. i hope i can but i don't want my biceps to be bulging too much after one month as well. it is a total body workout so hopefully it helps me keep fit.

on a sadder note now, grandma had another fall today after she went to the toilet. i think her legs gave way and she fell on her bums. no one knew she fell till she mentioned it. i was upstairs then and mom and dad had gone to wedding banquets. she managed to pull herself up but her bones ache now. i gave her some ointment to rub. she was quite down because of the fall. so those who want to call to console her can do so on tuesday. she will have aunt and uncle making their regular visits on mondays so she will have some listeners tomorrow.

she had quite a fare few visitors today. a neighbour came to chat with her. aunt and uncle from mom's side dropped by on the way to the banquet.

no one knows when an accident will occur but i guess we have to be more cautious. changing the mat outside the bathroom will be done tomorrow morning.

all light and cheery

woohoo....i am in a holiday mood now. really holiday already. all the work is done, everything has been handed up and i have started tidying the house.

yes, have to play house-cleaning first before i go off for the holidays. the weeds in front of the house have been cut with quin's help. phew.

next, have to tidy things in my room. i also have loose papers and books flying here and there. some clothes to pack and shoes to bring home. who knows where i can go gallivanting for a day or two.

i feel so light....not because i am thinner. definitely not thinner since i haven't been jogging for a while. the weather has been pretty havoc recently and today my room was wet because there was a storm while i was not at home and rain came through the window. sigh, so i have some wet things in the midst of being blown dry by the fan in the room now.

ok i am light because there is no deadline to catch. i hope this light mood will keep me optimistic throughout this coming holidays.

anyway, here are some random photos from today.

this is definitely a breakfast meal, but i had it for dinner. wakakka.....there is no other food in the house other than instant noodles and i don't think i can take so much of starch at night.

i had my lunch at 3pm today, a plate of fried rice with a piece of fried chicken. so a heavy dinner is not the way.

at first i thought of buying 6 pieces of nuggets from kfc for dinner, then i was too lazy to go out after i came back from my facial session at 7.15p.m. so in the end, my dinner consisted of two pieces of toast and preserved strawberry, an apple and a glass of soya milk. healthy? i call it LAZY.

new cardigan!! yippeee!! a long cardigan which is not like anything i have. ok....i did not go shopping. it is a gift! what a surprise. it is none other than my beautician whom i have only been going to for a few months!!! and i am the first to get the present!!! hahh...aa....what a privilege. the others will get theirs....but soon. does your beautician give you a gift??? i call it an early christmas present.

and on the subject of christmas, i thought my nail polish glitters look christmassy. but when i look at the combination of colours again, it reminds me of planet earth. kakaka....so i am calling them earth colours for now.

i am going to flutter around for few days more at the work place before i say 'goodbye' to everyone.

purple saturday

there is one more week to clock in at the work place and then the holidays will start.....but why am i not looking forward to this holiday at all???

i know.....- the thought of staying at home and looking after my grandparents is a big scare. what if something is to happen? and PATIENCE in all its capacity is needed too. i think i have lots of patience in me right? so i hope the full load i have in me can bear with grandma's state of delirium. maybe i can then blog about living with a dementia patient. hmmhh....then the kids will say i am airing dirty linen in public. but i am not bad-mouthing grandma right? people need to know about degenerative diseases of the brain. or else they are just going to use the word 'crazy' to describe these poor patients.

last week, in the star paper, there was a case where a grandma lost her mind and slashed her grandchild. and when she was conscious again, she saw all the blood and she took her own life by jumping down the flat. scary right? i am almost sure she also had some sort of delirium but unfortunately, her state was not realised by her family.

well, at least my grandma only loses her marbles once in a while now and her physical health is still ok. however, this week, her body is more slanted to the right and she is weaker in her movements. instead of lifting her leg to walk now, she is shuffling. and my grandfather? gosh, that is one stubborn old man. why can't he walk with a walking stick?? he sways from left to right looking for things to hold when he walks from the living room to the kitchen. and yes, he is also shuffling but with left right sways. i watch him swaying and keeping my fingers crossed at the same time that he does not fall or lose grip of whatever is stopping him.

so you get an idea how i will be spending my holidays now???

dun think about it first. back to present day.

so today we had our annual lunch at trolak country resort. i was not expecting anything grand. after all, we only paid rm20 each. as long as the food is edible and i have a great time, then i am satisfied. and luckily, those were what i got.

not everyone turned up...as expected. some were just not supportive and did not have team spirit. i will be so ashamed of myself if i don't support my colleagues who had worked hard to get all the lucky draw presents and to organize the do. you know, i want to be a role model to the young ones and every time i do something, they are at the back of my mind. i can't say one thing and do the other. that is one way of keeping me grounded.

ok....i am getting preachy there. now...let's go to modelling.....not role model anymore hahaha

the theme of the lunch was purple and of course i was not going all decked up from head to toe in purple. ewww......

above was what i wore. the dress is too short for work, but ok for other occasions. and i was using my new kipling sling bag which i got from england. take away the strap, i could use it as a clutch, although it is a bit soft....but still workable. can save money from buying a real clutch which i will only use once in a blue moon. and my booties, from clarks- the once in a while height lifter. an effortless look and simple ;)

the food was ok as we had chicken curry, cabbage, raw vegetables, tofu, prawn crackers, jelly, cakes, fish, omelette, and prawns. it was served buffet style so go ahead and eat as much as you could. i only had one serving....haha....with the plate so full, who need another??

everyone who came would not go back empty handed. lucky draw gifts...you have pendrives, hampers, kettles, toasters, containers, teapots, teeshirts, socks, bags, etc. and this time, the draw was kinda special. instead of calling numbers, we were called names of animals which were clipped on the pamphlets we got. wanna guess my animal?

i got 'singa' (lion) and everyone showed their approval of the name when they saw me walked out. hmmmhhhhhhh ROAR!!!

it was nothing expensive....just a lunch box and a flask.

everyone had good fun as smiles and laughter heard the whole time in the small but cosy hall. am i glad to have colleagues who know how to have fun. 5 will be leaving us at the end of the year and we wish them all the best.

and i have finally finished marking all papers. yipppeeee!!!! i can now concentrate on tidying the table and room and stuff before closing the year.

my favourite fruit now- organically grown in our own garden. tangy passion fruits!!! once you try one, you can't wait to get more! they are really sweet.

freed and exhausted

my brother came back from batam and he brought this back ;)

yeah, he went to spend a night there and to look for his friend who operates a cafe there. this is the first time i am eating this m & m with crispy filling. it is not chocolaty at all and like its name suggests, it is really crispy. i think he bought that from the duty free zone in jb. this product above is made in france.

i am finally free now from exam papers. last week, i confined myself and pushed myself to mark, mark and mark. now, the boulder is lifted from the shoulder and i can breathe.

hmm...i thought i could blabber here and talk nonsense, but i am lost for words. i guess i am mentally tired. i am just going to be dumb for the rest of the night and sit in front of the pc and let the movie do the talking, whichever it is.

bag no more....for the moment

photo taken from www.bagaholicboy.com

does your heart palpitate when you see the picture above???

well, i used to....but at the moment, it has no effect on me. that is chanel's special collection for christmas this year.

i am nonchalant with bags at the moment. hhahah....surprise surprise. my balenciaga purchase reminds me what a big hole i have burnt in my pocket and that bag is really an all occasion bag for me. well, it might not be suitable for dinner but then again, how often do i attend dinner?

how many ppl out there will starve to buy this bag above?? this is really an unreachable one.

u know how you 'admire', ok lah...envy those who carry designer bags? socialites, celebrities, media people, those who make the news, etc.

well, do you also know that these ppl get massive discounts to buy these designer goods as well?? i heard that media ppl get 30% discount at stores worldwide. that is a lot! and of course, celebrities will get theirs for free. so i guess, with this information, there is no point 'envying' them. in fact, i am so pissed off knowing this!!!! makes me wanna think twice before i buy another bag....or i find someone who can get me discounts.