Upside Down

Because that's how I feel right now. Upside down. Topsy Turvy. Hurricane in my head and all around me.

You know how people always say "Life is like a wheel; one day you're up, the next you're down?" That is SO TRUE!!

Last week I was walking on sunshine. New promotion, spa doing well, kids being adorable, house renovation on warp speed, hubby all romantic. Nothing could touch me, I was invincible.

This week?! Huh, let me tell you about this week.

1. My exec is on mc for 2 weeks, my boss is still on maternity leave and my bigger boss is on a 2 weeks course. That leaves ME to handle all the issues, meetings, presentations, training sessions, and everything in between. For days now I've been eating lunch at my desk because there's too much paperwork to do and one hour of eating outside is such a luxury.

2. My brother might have dengue and is still pending results from the hospital. Seeing how my office is near his college, I had to skip lunch, take him to the hospital, get him registered and then call my mom to see the doctor with him. I really hope he'll be fine.

3. The girls are sick. Coughing and coughing like there's a frog stuck in their throats. Dina has it bad. It usually gets worst at night, OF COURSE when everyone needs to get some sleep. Hopefully they're much better today. How I wish I could take a day off and take care of them. Dina cries everytime I go out for work that it KILLS me. Sob...

4. One of my spa staff...well, let's just put it this way. Some people, you help them and bend over backwards for them and instead of thanking you and counting their blessings, they find a way to fuck you 4 ways from Sunday. To make a loooooonnngg story short, GOOD RIDDANCE!! Luckily we may have 2 more new staff coming in, so there's a silver lining there.

So, this week I'm really tired. Going to Penang tomorrow for a training session, flight @ 6.55am!!! Uwwaaaaaa!!! Can't wait for Friday for my girls day out with my girlfriends. I haven't taken a day off in 2 months!!

ps: I'm writing this at the office, while photostating some forms I need to bring to Penang. Murphy's Law applies, the more tired you are and the more you really want to go home, the more shit happens. The photostate machine just went on a craze rant and messed up my forms so now I have to START ALL OVER AGAIN. I wasted 100 pieces of paper that can not be recycled (Al Gore, don't kill me!).

Golden Horses - Pictures

OK, so Blogger is showing me some love tonight and letting me upload the pictures from our mini vacation at the GH. Please bear in mind most of the pictures were actually taken by the girls, so excuse the lack of focus.

So for dinner we ate at the hotel because my parents were too lazy to drive out and find food. We ate at the Carousel Cafe, hence the carousel horses all over the place. Of course, the girls wanted to climb and get on top of the horses but seeing how they were mounted on a 2 meter ledge, yeah, I think the hotel management would have frowned on that.

Oya, they not only had carousel horses but also carousel bears. There's a picture of my little bear, acting and posing like a bear, in front of the mounted carousel bear.

They even had carousel emus!! Like how crazy is that? Yeah..not so much actually. Dania took this shot (and the ones above). She couldn't understand my directions to hold the camera vertically. I don't know why; the lady at the far end of the restaurant heard my instructions pretty clear.

That's me writing in the comments card. Decor = eh. Atmosphere = ok. Food = nice but too little a portion. Damn, I was still hungry after my meal (3 very tiny lamb chops with french fries), that I finished off not only the girl's dinners but also my mom's too. And the prices weren't actually cheap either.

Also, to add to the "festivity" of the place, there was a large group of 20 people there celebrating someone's b'day. If I wanted to eat dinner and listen to people sing drunken versions of happy birthday and then get my ears blown off by loud crackers, I would have gone to TGIF.

Some final pictures of the girls in front of the hotel. They sure loved the horses.

ps: No pictures of us at the pool because..well, I was busy getting my groove there too. I conquered that slides like nobody's business..Hahahaha..

Horses, Tooth and Pregnant Women

So many things have happened in the last week, I don't know where to begin. So Heather, this may not be much of an update but I'll try to please your royal arse because I'm full of love like that.

1. I still owe the rundown on our stay at The Golden Horses 2 (nearly 3!!) weeks ago. I have some pictures of the girls but everytime I try to upload, Blogger refuses to show me some love. So in a nutshell, hotel so-so, architecture = nice, rooms = ok, hallways = musky smell, pool = FABULOUS!!, food = too small a portion + expensive. Grade 2.5 stars (out of 5). Thank god it was free (thanks ayah!!)

2. Oh, Dania had her first tooth out last Monday. Yeah!! Apparently her baby teeth are extra strong but because one of her bottom front permanent tooth had started to come out , we had to go to the dentist to yank the baby tooth and make way. She was such a trooper!! Even when the dentist put that HUGE needle to her mouth, she didn't flinch (unlike her squeamish mother). So now Dania's going around the neighborhood, showing off the gap in her smile.

The dentist was really nice and did a lot to sooth Dania's fears (or rather, her mother's). She explained everything to Dania and praised her when the job was over. I was so happy with the results that I decided to get some professional cleaning on my own teeth. All in all, we were both done in 20 minutes and it only cost us RM100.

Info on the dentist: Klink Pergigian Nurul, No 24-1, Jalan Puteri 4/2, Bandar Puteri Puchong. Tel: 03-8061 6184 (appointments may be required)

ps: I wanted to take pictures of Dania but the battery in my camera is dead and I can't seem to find the charger. Grrrr....

3. Business at the spa has been good. I mean, REALLY GOOD!! Ever since Ida and I started our aggressive marketing (spamming friends and chasing pregnant women in shopping malls with our flyers) and we got into all those magazines (yes, more than one!!), people have been walking into the center EVERYDAY!! Who thought there were so many pregnant women around our area in search of post natal care?!! Heeee. So on an upside, business has been coming in steadily and the staff are all excited. On the downside, Ida and I found out that we need more staff. And soon. We're looking to interview and hire some this week or the next. Also, with all the running around, I haven't had much of a weekend with the family of lately, something the girls have grumbled about since recently.

But it's all good. Work has been good, in fact I was promoted as of last week. Which was kind of expected and definitely hoped for but then I've learned not to put too much hope into anything when it comes to work rewards. But my bosses were angels and really helped push me for the position, so now I'm like bonded to them for life!! Hah!!

So, yeah, it's been good and busy and that's why I haven't been updating which is kind of lame because I want to write all this down and be able to remember how it was and what it felt like, so Heather, thanks for the push.

Dania's 6th Birthday Party - Pictures

Thanks to my brother, I FINALLY have the pictures from Dania's birthday party.

Which was held in May. 2 whole months ago!!

Since I've already blogged about the event, here are just some of the pictures that captured the mood.

Dania, Dina with their Pakngah (my bro) and Naqib (hubby's nephew)

Great! All my balloons are popping!! Don't blow them so big!!

All the kids decided to stay outside and colour. The parents thanked me for this coz for once they got to stuff their faces in peace. Heh..
Man, this party is soooo chick-infested!!

Dina showing off her masterpiece. With IT the Clown sucking up space behind her.
There were pictures to colour and crowns to decorate. So yeah, I guess the kids had a nice time.
Dania and her masterpiece. AGAIN with IT entering frame.
Dania and her birthday cake. Both look magnificent!!

The girls playing "Statue". Don't they all look adorable?

My favorite picture of the girls. Sometimes I wish I could just keep them like this forever.
Dina celebrating...Woohoo, it's time to open the presents!! Look ibu, I have my very own Princess coin box. Yeah!!
Hubby: But the coin box is pink and pink is Dina's favorite color. So this belongs to Dina.
Dania: Huhhhhh?!!!

Hubby: That present also belongs to Abah. Your friend gave it to me.
Dania: Buuuttt......uhuk..
It's my party but my father is taking all of my presents.
Dania happy again because her father got his ass kicked by me and had now been banned from the gift unwrapping ceremony.
Dania's first and only doll. Which now sits in a box in the spare room. What can I say, my kids are not "doll" fans. (But still, thank you to whoever got her that doll. She really did like it. When the kids get their own room, I will make sure the doll gets lots of playtime)
Dania's a rock star, thanks to her Pakngah!!
Last but not least, a present from the Queen Mom!!
Dina doing her best Avril punk pose.
All in all, it was a great day, just fit for a Princess.

Anwar - Shabery Debate

Last night hubby took control of the TV (very rare occasion) and made me watch the live debate between PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Information Minister Shabery Cheek.

OK, let me get this out in the open. I hate politics. I hate politics in the government and I hate it in the office. I hate all the cronyism, back stabbing, ass kissing that is involved. I hate all the scandals, conspiracies, cheats and lies that people do just to stay in power. I know it's a necessary evil thing but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

So last night, begrudgingly, I watched the debate with hubby.

And boy was it fun!!

I can't give you a rundown of what was debated because as usual, my many voices in my head were interfering with my concentration, but in a nutshell the guys debated about the recent fuel hike.

Snippets of what I heard (do not confuse with understand).

.....Semangat 46...

....Norway...higher capita income...

....Petronas...funds misused...

....new government today, price down by 50 cents tomorrow....

Add to the confusion, hubby was yelling at the TV, stupid minister, answer the question lah...

I dunno who won the debate but I think Anwar had more solid facts to back up his arguments. Shabery looked kind of lost on stage and whenever he couldn't find anything to support his arguments, he turned and personally attacked Anwar for past stuff. Huh.

This guy did a better job at summarizes the whole thing.

http://www.thekualalumpurtraveler.com/anwar-shabery-debate-my-two-cents/

image taken from Malaysiakini

Arte Y Pico

By the grace that is KelticKaos, I have been given an award. Though I have no idea what this award actually means, I could give a fark. Because for the first time in all my blogging years, someone saw it appropriate to acknowledge my insane ramblings. To give praise to my inner voices, who keep talking nonsense all at the same time.

I am truly humbled by KelticKaos's description of me. Never in my whole life has anyone called me "sweet". I've been called by my teachers "loud", "rambunctious", "energetic", "dedicated" and of lately "a MILF" (Hah!! This was not by any of my teachers, though) but never sweet. But I like it. I like it very much. I too consider KelticKaos my kindred spirit, for our shared love for Edward Norton and all things 80's and cheesy.

I need to select 5 other blogs who I deem worthy of the award. Which on one hand is not that tough because there's a lot ..I mean, A LOT of worthier blogs than mine. But on the other hand, is actually rather tough, because I only get to name 5 and risk the wrath of others who I do not mention. If it were possible, I would submit KelticKaos's name again but then that would just turn into somewhat like a tennis rally and just confuse people (or only me).

So here goes, my choices for the Arte Y Pico Award.

1. Basa Basi Nano Nano -Famil cracks me up. Usually with his paparazzi-styled handphone taken photos and also with his cooking skills, that sometimes puts me to shame. A friend of mine also mentioned that he's kind of cute but believe me, I'm not going to be the one telling him THAT!!

2. Casa Arina - I like Anamiraa because she tells it like it is. And a lot of her posts I can relate to.

3. Crash Test Mommy - There's a big chance that Jenny's already been given this award by someone else because she has a league of faithful readers. But I like her blog..no, I LOVE her blog so I'm taking my chances and hope I ruffle her feathers with this. Also, she takes time to personally email me responses to my comments. PERSONAL EMAILS!! How lovey-dovey is that?

4. Moby's Musing - Moby is my virtual pal from Singapore. He has 3 kids, all below the age of 5 and yet he still has time to update his blog(s) everyday. I wonder where he finds the time/energy.

5. The Simple Dollar - I love Trent and his no nonsense finance blog because he makes me feel like I can take control of my finances. Other words, my life too. The way he writes simplifies all those money mumbo jumbo for me. It was partly because of his advice, I took the leap of opening up IREE Touch with Ida. If that isn't having a great impact on someone's life, I dunno what is.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go practise my Arte Y Pico speech. And get ready to go on Oprah.

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Here are the Rules, if you choose to follow them:

1.Pick five blogs you consider deserving of this award, whether for creativity, design, interesting material, or contributions to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Name each nominee and link to his/her blog.

3. Show the award and include the name (and link to his/her blog) of whoever presented you with this award.

4. Link to the Arte y Pico blog so everyone knows the origin of this award.

5. Post these rules

IREE Touch in Pesona Pengantin - July Edition

For those who are tying the knot this year, check out this month's edition of Pesona Pengantin (the Bumper issue). It has lots of wedding gown designs and everything you need to plan for your wedding.

You'll also find our very own IREE Touch promotion. Just answer a few simple questions and send in the form to stand a chance to win RM320 worth of spa vouchers. That's a lot of foot baths!! :D

We're off for a free hotel stay tomorrow at the Golden Horses, thanks to my dad. The kids are excited and can't wait to jump into the pool.

Till then, have a nice weekend everyone!!

Dania's Yamaha Exam

Nearly 3 weeks ago (yes I know, almost stale), Dania had her Yamaha exam. She had approximately 1 month to practise to play 5 songs and learn to sing 1 song by herself. Thanks to her diligent mom, she managed to learn all the songs she needed to. During the exam, she was a little bit nervous, maybe because she was the first student to be called up front.




Here are some videos of her playing the piano and singing her song. Eventhough there were some mistakes, I'm really proud that she didn't give up and tried her best.


(editted: Blogger can't upload any videos right now. Their system is messed up. Grrr, so instead I'll just put up some pictures until the whole thing is settled.)

....And I'm Not Saying He's Gay....

I'm in the office, first one here coz it's 7.40am and no one in their right mind comes to work this early. I have an afternoon meeting somewhere else which I should have got straight to but instead had to come to the office first to pick up some presentation slides. For the afternoon meeting. Which I have a dreaded feeling may last up to midnight. God help me!! And forgive me for the incoherence in my sentences, it's just waaayyyy to early in the morning to be sober.

I knew this was coming, I knew I had to wake up early this morning and be freaking early to work but still I slept late last night. All thanks to Youtube and delightful video clips of the wonderful comedian, Kathy Griffin.

I just love her!! I give you one of my favorite clips where she disses Ryan Seacrest.

My Top Actors

I've just come out from a business case meeting and as usual, my head is spinning from all the numbers and calculations and justifications for the numbers, blah, blah, blah....

So in order to detox, I present you my list of "Must See" actors who I have major crushes on.

1. Edward Norton

Must I say more? What is there not to love about this guy? Not only is he yummilicious, he's also actually very talented. Just watch his st-st-st-stuttering breakthrough performance in Primal Fear. Than go watch The People vs Larry Flint. Then go watch American History X. And then come back to me and tell me how many actors can be that dynamic. .
This guy has been nominated for 2 Oscars and won various other awards, so obviously he's not just a pretty face. Plus I've always had a soft spot for guys who are slightly geeky but still easy on the eyes. I've watched nearly all of his movies (even the really bad Death to Smoochy & Keeping the Faith) and he has yet to fail in making me swoon. I [Heart] Edward Norton.

2. Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd is one of those guys where you see him everywhere but just can't place from where. I love him because he's funny but not in an obnoxious in-your-face kind of way (hint: Robbie Williams).
Although he's been stereotyped into the typical romantic comedy kind of movies, he manages to make each character unique. Just watch Clueless, The Object of My Affection (that's when I really noticed him), Knocked Up and Over Her Dead Body. He's one of those actors that you check out when the rest of the acting is bad. He makes bad movies bearable because of his cheekiness, good looks and genuinely good acting. I [Heart] Paul Rudd (but not as much as Edward Norton).

3. James McAvoy
This came as a surprise because I don't normally go for the pretty boy type. I've never had a crush on Tom Cruise and Brat Pitt has never tickled my fancy.
But there's something about James that I find very intriguing. Maybe because he's Scottish and I find Scottish men and their accent very sexy (go see: Sean Connery). I hardly recognized him in the first Narnia movie and thought his character had a rather creepy feel to it. Then I caught a few snippets of The Last King of Scotland and was blown away. When I saw the trailer for Penelope, I fell in love. I have yet to watch Atonement but plan to soon. Must remember to have lots of tissues. Oya, I'll be getting free tickets to see Wanted so YEAH!!

4. Robert Downey Jr
Even before Ironman and his facial hair, I've loved RD Jr for his acting. I think the first movie I saw him in was Only You, the one with Marisa Tomei.
I remember watching that tape until the reels almost fell apart; I kept rewinding to the part where he's on his knees and looking up to Marisa with his big blue eyes. Then I saw him in Natural Born Killer and his natural giddiness as an over enthusiastic journalist really had me. By being in US Marshall, Gothika and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, he made me watch movies I would normally avoid. He even made me watch Ally McBeal again, when I had gotten sick of the over-drama and forever whiningness of the series. And I love him for that.

5. River Phoenix [RIP]
Eventhough he's long gone, I still hold a place in my heart for River Phoenix. It's not easy getting over your first crush, especially when they go away so suddenly.
I remember exactly how I got to know about his death; my dorm mates, bless their hearts, pull me into the dorm and told me quietly and with much respect of his death. Apparently they had known for days and had deliberated on ways to tell me so I wouldn't freak out. I cried for days after that. I still have a newspaper cutting announcing his death in one of my old diaries. Out of all of his movies, I especially love his character from Stand By Me.

CarcaMarba

So many thing to write about but so little time. Work has been hectic as we've been preparing for an Exco presentation and since my boss is on maternity leave, I've had to be the hands-on, go-to person. Which is fine. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, ya?

I still have Dania's Yamaha Exam and Concert photos and videos to upload. That's going to be so stale by the time I get around doing it.

Oya, just to let you guys know, IREE Touch is in the media!! We're in this month's edition of Pesona Pengantin, page....I forgot, but it's somewhere in the back. One whole page in color!! Please check it out. Just answer a few simple questions, cut out the bottom part of the ad and send it in to the address given and you can win IREE Touch spa vouchers worth RM350. Of course, buy the magazine first (duh!). But it's the Bumper Issue so there's lots and lots of really great articles and fashion pictures inside.

What else? Oya, I have free tickets to go see Get Smart (I know, old movie but that's why the tix are free) which I really want to watch because I think Steve Carell is hilarious. JUST.NEED.TO.FIND.TIME.

Time. Where are you?

Other than that, things have been pretty normal. How have you guys been so far?

Three Confessions Quiz

I read this on KelticKaos's blog and decided to do it. My confessions may not be as dramatic as hers but still required a lot of soul searching on my part.

Rules: Post three (3) confessions in your blog or journal. They can be as personal as you want them to be, so use your discretion. Write about your habits or idiosyncrasies, or something you did as a child... Anything at all. Most importantly, however, they must be something you've never written about in your blog or journal before. Once finished, tag/invite three different readers to do the quiz on their blog or journal.

1. First confession
I daydream a lot. And I mean a lot. When I'm in the shower, I practise my Oscar speech. When I'm driving, I pretend I'm a guest on Oprah. Although lately it's been the Ellen show. When I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I imagine my conversation with Edward Norton. Usually we're stranded airline passengers and we get talking to pass the time and he falls in love with me (but of course!!) but I can't marry him because I don't want to live a celebrity's life and I don't want him to quit acting because that's what made me fall in love with him in the first place...blah..blah..blah. So you can see why it usually takes me 1 hour to actually fall asleep.

2. Second confession
I once put a few drops of washing liquid into my brother's milk when we were kids. I think I was 8 and he was 5 at the time. I was mad at him for something, most probably my mom had scolded me for something HE did. [Hints for moms; Do not blame your eldest for everything that happens in the house, he/she WILL take it out on the actual perpetrator behind your back]. I remember not feeling at all guilty at the time, but I was praying for my brother's life that night when he couldn't sleep because he had a tummy ache.

3. Third confession
After three miscarriages, I fear I may never be able to get pregnant again. A subset of this fear is the fact I may never be able to provide hubby with a son. Although he says he doesn't mind. Which is probably true. But still, a part of me would feel like a total failure for not having more children / a son.


I'm supposed to tag three people but I'm not going to. Anyone who wants to do this tag, let me know in the comments and I'll come visit your blog. Here's to reading better, juicier confessions than mine..tee hee hee..

Kids Say The Darnest Things

JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: 'Mom why have you got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?'

MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old she didn't remember any more. Melanie said, 'If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six.'

STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom good night. 'I love you so much that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window.'

BRITTANY (age 4) had an earache and wanted a pain killer. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a child-proof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: 'How does it know it's me?'

SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. 'Please don't give me this juice again,' she said, 'It makes my teeth cough.'

DJ (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: 'How much do I cost?'

MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple that were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: 'Why is he whispering in her mouth?'

CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, 'I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?'

JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: 'The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt.' Concerned, James asked: 'What happened to the flea?'

TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for a while and then asked, 'Why doesn't your skin fit your face?'

The Sermon
I think this Mom will never forget... ...'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust...' He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

Thanks to Jenny for the funny email..:D

The Truth That You Can Wear

Maybe I should get one of this. I wonder if it comes in blue....