Reflection

6 hours and 11 minutes until hubby comes home from Aussie.

OK, so he'll be here for only 18 hours and 20 minutes until his next trip to Europe but seeing him after 7 days apart even if for only a few hours will be like heaven.

Yes, I miss my husband madly. I mean, what wife (in a normal loving relationship) wouldn't, right?

I've always thought myself as a self sufficient kind of woman. I take pride that I have a good education, have a career, have my own money. I don't need a man to take care of myself financially.

I know how to change a car tyre. I know how to pump petrol into my car. I know when to fill up the tyres with air. I know how to work with a screwdriver. I can do basic maintenance around the house (the fact that I don't have the time is another matter).

I have a great family (well, some of them are ok...the rest, eh...material for another blog entry). I don't have a lot of friends but the ones that I'm close with (real and virtual) are awesome.

Yes, that would mean you...and you.

If push came to shove, I could probably live a good life, just me and the girls.

But it would be lonely. Really lonely.

I wouldn't have someone to discuss the girls with. Someone to help discipline them. Someone to help sooth their tears. Someone to watch them grow up with.

I wouldn't have someone to tell my plans, my goals, my dreams, my fears. Someone to hold when words aren't sufficient or needed. Someone to plan holidays with and someone to blame when things don't go according to plan (heee).

I would still be me, just not so whole.

I'm a "single mother" for only 3 weeks. That's 3 weeks to long for me.

So this post goes out to all the single moms in the world. I salute you for your strength and perseverance.

*Just saw this documentary about this single mom with 4 kids, two of them are mentally disabled and she likes has to work 3 (three!!) jobs just to put food on the table. Meleleh jugak air mata aku menengoknya. Aku Alhamdullilah, anak2 aku semua sihat mental dan fizikal. Itupun kekadang aku pening dan malas jugak nak jaga dan layan. Lepas ni kena taubat, have to be a better mom.

**Why the topic Reflection? Because of what I saw and what I've observed from other people, I always have to pause and reflect on my life...and realise that I have it really good...even, make that, especially when I feel like whining about stupid things.

She Makes Me Proud

I need to find or buy a new battery charger for my camera because I'm missing out on a lot of photo opportunities.


Take for example, Dania's Sports Day last week. It was hot and humid and everywhere you turned, the smell of twenty sweaty kids packed in a sardine tin tickled your nose.


But it was also a great day for my little (not so anymore) girl.


She got first place in the colouring competition. Her teacher asked whether they could keep the art work to hang it in the classroom. Since my fridge was already plastered with so many handiwork, we gave the winning piece to the teacher to share with her friends.


Dania also got first place in one of the events; I think it was the "Big Shoe" event. Her team got second in all the rest of the events.


But the best thing about the whole deal...the one that made me super proud of being her mom, was hearing her teacher tell me "Dania's such a great sports person. Very dedicated. And she's really good at encouraging her team mates. Even when they don't get 1st place, she rounds up her friends for a group hug. She'll make a fine leader one day."

THAT'S my girl.














*Old photo

We Are Sick

Hubby is away for 3 weeks.

While he is jetsetting around the world (Australia, London, Italy, France, Switzerland), the girls and myself have been coughing, sniffling and drowning ourselves in all types of medication in a bid to get ourselves out of this sick swamp of phlegm and snot.

Graphic enough for ya?

It's bad enough I caught the flu from the girls but it [the flu bug] seems to be making it rounds in circles and has reattacked Dina. Reattacked? Is that right? I can't think of a better word...actually I can't think at all. The medication has me drowsy which called for a miracle that I could actually drive myself to work this morning, without crashing into anyone or anything. When they say DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY WHEN TAKING THIS MEDICINE, they meant small cars too, I suppose. Now how the hell am I suppose to drive myself back later?

I really should have taken today off also (I took MC yesterday....and slept for like 8 hours after taking the medication...it's THAT drowsy) but I felt guilty about missing work. That's me, the work douchbag sometimes. Now that I'm here, I realise no one really misses me here. In fact my officemates are probably more irritated that I AM at work, thus spreading my germs with every hacking cough I take.

Sorry guys. But it is my nature to share...:D

So anyway, here's my post...something to put up till I'm more sober and can think straight. I dunno who to blame for all this sickness anymore; Mother Nature? processed food? my parents for not having "Eric Banner-like" genes to withstand all these germs and viruses? Whatever it is, I hope it all goes away soon, especially for the girls' sake. It's not nice cleaning up vomit and phlegm, even when it's coming out of someone as cute as my girls.

Because Spastic Love Knows No Boundaries

Calling Rina Samsudin who has buried herself in Africa!!

Dudette, if you consider yourself a part of the baby seal pact team, you shall rise from the dead and email me!!

The sexy walrus has spoken.

That is all. Carry on.

Concrete Head

"No comment. I am an ordinary person. It's unfair for me to make comments when there is already a minister."

BLOODY HELL!!!

People are asking how come this thing happened AGAIN when the highway was supposed to be repaired during the time YOU were the Works Minister. What the fuck do you mean when you say you have "no comments"? Concrete is falling from the sky onto the roads and people's cars and you just shrug your shoulders and point at someone else?!!!!

Stop hiding and lying, you no-balls, hideous-toupee wearing, bad breath SOB and tell us which of your cronies got this tender and how many percent went into your Bahamas account?

Roller Coaster

You know that wheel of life? It had me going up and down so many times since my last post, that I'm ready to throw up from it all.

DOWN
Last Thursday, I had a really bad heartburn/gastric attack. I guess all that eating lunch at 4pm and running all around caught up with me. I was suffering the whole morning until I dragged myself to the clinic. The doctor gave me 3 types of pills and some liquids to keep my stomach acid down. Since it was even hard for me to breath, much less function at work, I took MC and spent the day eating and sleeping. Still the pain persisted at times.

UP
Luckily I had Friday off. Girls day out with my pals, Liza, Noresh, Lin, Zai and Akish. Lunch was at Ittallianes, which was marred by "hair in our pizza" incident. Yuck!!

It had been ages since all of us had been together so of course there was a lot of catching up to do. Among the topics discussed/gossiped about:
1. Latest make up trends - again complete with make up sharing session
2. Reminiscing about our "lost" youth and ways to get our groove back.
3. Hairs on various parts of our body - complete with Show n Tell session (heee!) 4. Ways to get rid of the abovementioned hairs - lots of sharing experiences
I'm pretty sure we talked about a whole lot of important issues but I was too drunk from lemon tea to remember. Oya, since I still can't find my camera charger, no pictures either. Girls, email me the pictures. Especially the ones where I look fab!!

DOWN

My maid...is sick. The kicker is...she's been sick for quite some time. Since before she came to our house. Her illness - Hepatitis B!!!

Of course eventhough she's been with us FOR A YEAR now, we only just found out. No point in talking to the agent and trying to get our money back. The only thing to do is to send her back and hope that none of us caught the bloody thing.

So yesterday I had to take a day off and run to the Immigration to cancel her working visa. Then I had to take the kids to do their blood tests. Then we had to send the maid to the airport for her flight home.

So now I'm maidless and angry and tired. Fuck it!!

UP

I found 20 cents on the sidewalk today.

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.