One of my favourite features in this design is the kitchen island. I like the open and airy design of the living and kitchen area...
(image from display home)
What you think? You like?
Tuesday, October 30, 2024
I like islands
In case you're curious, here's a peek into the house design we've selected for our home. We're making some changes here and there, but generally this is what the layout looks like...
One of my favourite features in this design is the kitchen island. I like the open and airy design of the living and kitchen area...
(image from display home)
What you think? You like?
One of my favourite features in this design is the kitchen island. I like the open and airy design of the living and kitchen area...
(image from display home)
What you think? You like?
Sunday, October 28, 2024
Tidy eater
It's been a while since we took Christopher out. And today all the men in his family besides Christopher were down sick. Diana had to stay home to look after them, so hubby and I picked Christopher up to go to church today.
One of my (occasional?) readers is probably curious to find out how well her son behaved today without his parents around...
Well, I'm happy to report that he was a very good boy. It was pretty much like a normal routine Sunday. Dropped him off at the Little Bubbles room, he didn't even make a fuss when we said good bye. After church, we took him with us for lunch with the youths. He ate a small bowl of hor fun and kept himself amused playing with his cars. Some of the youths also helped to entertain him playing car racing on the table.
One thing I admire about Christopher is that he is the tidiest eater compared to other kids his age. When he took a mouthful of hor fun, he used his teeth instead of chomping down with his whole mouth, lips and all. The hor fun had a lot of gravy, so after almost every mouthful, he would reach for his napkin to wipe off the excess gravy from his mouth himself. He would have none of that mess dripping all over his chin and cheeks like most kids.
What a clever boy!
One of my (occasional?) readers is probably curious to find out how well her son behaved today without his parents around...
Well, I'm happy to report that he was a very good boy. It was pretty much like a normal routine Sunday. Dropped him off at the Little Bubbles room, he didn't even make a fuss when we said good bye. After church, we took him with us for lunch with the youths. He ate a small bowl of hor fun and kept himself amused playing with his cars. Some of the youths also helped to entertain him playing car racing on the table.
One thing I admire about Christopher is that he is the tidiest eater compared to other kids his age. When he took a mouthful of hor fun, he used his teeth instead of chomping down with his whole mouth, lips and all. The hor fun had a lot of gravy, so after almost every mouthful, he would reach for his napkin to wipe off the excess gravy from his mouth himself. He would have none of that mess dripping all over his chin and cheeks like most kids.
What a clever boy!
Ingenious 'Throne'
Hmmm... in the midst of all the exciting things that have been happening lately, I might have neglected to announce to my readers that hubby and I have purchased a block of land in Success (fantastic Suburb name, eh?) to build our home.
Much of our time lately has been spent poring over house designs, home ideas and fixtures and fittings. We finally decided on a builder (after many tearing of hair and teeth-gnashing sessions) who are probably not perfect, but after weighing out the pros and cons, we made up our minds to use this one because they had the house layout we liked.
Anyway on Friday we were at the Spring Home Show at the Perth convention centre to get more ideas for building our home.
One of the cleverest things we saw was this...
Clever idea, eh?
I think it would be cool to have this in our water closet, so people can immediately wash their hands after using the toilet, instead of touching doorknobs and other stuff as they make their way to the bathroom to wash their hands.
But hubby pointed out (and I agree as well) that there is a higher likelihood of people splashing water all over the floor when they wash their hands, which means more cleaning for us... these are things to consider as here in Australia we will not be able to afford a domestic helper.
Of course the other obvious thing to consider is the price tag.
Wanna guess how much it costs?
.
.
.
SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!
That's over 3 times more expensive than an average toilet bowl.
Any feedback? What do you think? Should we get it for our home?
Much of our time lately has been spent poring over house designs, home ideas and fixtures and fittings. We finally decided on a builder (after many tearing of hair and teeth-gnashing sessions) who are probably not perfect, but after weighing out the pros and cons, we made up our minds to use this one because they had the house layout we liked.
Anyway on Friday we were at the Spring Home Show at the Perth convention centre to get more ideas for building our home.
One of the cleverest things we saw was this...
Clever idea, eh?
I think it would be cool to have this in our water closet, so people can immediately wash their hands after using the toilet, instead of touching doorknobs and other stuff as they make their way to the bathroom to wash their hands.
But hubby pointed out (and I agree as well) that there is a higher likelihood of people splashing water all over the floor when they wash their hands, which means more cleaning for us... these are things to consider as here in Australia we will not be able to afford a domestic helper.
Of course the other obvious thing to consider is the price tag.
Wanna guess how much it costs?
.
.
.
SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!
That's over 3 times more expensive than an average toilet bowl.
Any feedback? What do you think? Should we get it for our home?
Saturday, October 27, 2024
Equipping ourselves
Today we made a shopping expedition to Koorong to take advantage of our 30% discount card and came back with this truckload of stuff!!!
This is probably our biggest splurge on Christian resources in ages... most of it was youth resources, to get more ideas for our O2 ministry- hubby had the brilliant idea of getting his group to build a model of the tabernacle together to learn about the Old Testament. We also bought a board game which should be useful for ice-breakers and activity nights.
We also shopped for Christmas pressies for the kids in our discipleship groups... I decided to buy a Bible for one of our kids and a comic book 'Gospel of John', while hubby got some Frank Peretti teen novels for the ones who like reading.
.
.
.
Later we were at the UWA service to listen to Dr Carl Wieland from Creation Ministries - an amazing ministry dedicated to educating people about Creationism. I used to subscribe to Creation Magazine as a teen which really helped answer all those 'hard questions' about where the Bible stands in today's mainstream evolutionary theories.
Anyway, we were on a roll... so we bought this set of three books to learn more about Creationism versus Evolution...
These should be really helpful to us if we get bombarded by any such 'hard questions' from our youths as we are now going through a series on creation and the book of Genesis.
This is probably our biggest splurge on Christian resources in ages... most of it was youth resources, to get more ideas for our O2 ministry- hubby had the brilliant idea of getting his group to build a model of the tabernacle together to learn about the Old Testament. We also bought a board game which should be useful for ice-breakers and activity nights.
We also shopped for Christmas pressies for the kids in our discipleship groups... I decided to buy a Bible for one of our kids and a comic book 'Gospel of John', while hubby got some Frank Peretti teen novels for the ones who like reading.
.
.
.
Later we were at the UWA service to listen to Dr Carl Wieland from Creation Ministries - an amazing ministry dedicated to educating people about Creationism. I used to subscribe to Creation Magazine as a teen which really helped answer all those 'hard questions' about where the Bible stands in today's mainstream evolutionary theories.
Anyway, we were on a roll... so we bought this set of three books to learn more about Creationism versus Evolution...
These should be really helpful to us if we get bombarded by any such 'hard questions' from our youths as we are now going through a series on creation and the book of Genesis.
Fishy meals
Mum brought over some lovely fish from KK when she and dad came over on holiday a couple of weeks ago... including this succulent ikan bawal putih.... mmmmmm.... steamed and drizzled with a bit of soy sauce... perfecto!
Whipped up this recipe for fish cake on my own... minced fish fillets, mashed potato, chopped chives, flour, dash of milk, egg, salt and pepper... then pan-fried with some olive oil... yummy!
Whipped up this recipe for fish cake on my own... minced fish fillets, mashed potato, chopped chives, flour, dash of milk, egg, salt and pepper... then pan-fried with some olive oil... yummy!
Tuesday, October 23, 2024
What's your favourite book?
Top favourite books voted by the nation...
1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. The Bible (Various Contributors)
4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
6. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling
7. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
8. The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
10. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
(In Bold Text = books I have read)
Hmmm.... I've read 7 out of the 10 top books... not bad eh? *wink*
Check out the remaining top 100 books. I only read 31 out of the 100 though. This top 100 is a pretty good list. Many of the books are those which I've always wanted to read but simply haven't got round to it yet.
For me, the top books on my list would include...
1. The entire Chronicles of Narnia... especially 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis
2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3. All works of Roald Dahl
Because these are books that I would want my children to grow up with!
1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. The Bible (Various Contributors)
4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
6. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling
7. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
8. The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
10. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
(In Bold Text = books I have read)
Hmmm.... I've read 7 out of the 10 top books... not bad eh? *wink*
Check out the remaining top 100 books. I only read 31 out of the 100 though. This top 100 is a pretty good list. Many of the books are those which I've always wanted to read but simply haven't got round to it yet.
For me, the top books on my list would include...
1. The entire Chronicles of Narnia... especially 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis
2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3. All works of Roald Dahl
Because these are books that I would want my children to grow up with!
What does the Bogeyman look like?
BaÖ LuØ says: hey
BaÖ LuØ says: sorry
BaÖ LuØ says: was taking a nap
Serene says: did the bogeyman come n haunt u?
BaÖ LuØ says: that's was soo long ago
BaÖ LuØ says: hahaha
BaÖ LuØ says: good one
BaÖ LuØ says: my friend read that...and she hasn't let me hear the end of it
Serene says: how come ur friend wants to read my blog... quite boring coz its all insider stuff. can she relate?
Serene says: how did the bogeyman look like again?
BaÖ LuØ says: donno
BaÖ LuØ says: she said your blog is very funny
BaÖ LuØ says: she say she likes how you turn simple everyday stuff into an adventure
BaÖ LuØ says: bogeyman had chalk white skin
BaÖ LuØ says: no eyes....or rather black eyes
BaÖ LuØ says: and wore pilgrim clothes
BaÖ LuØ says: surprisingly...the idea came from a disney holiday special
Serene says: disney??? wat kind of disney show would scare kids like that?!?!?!
BaÖ LuØ says: donno
BaÖ LuØ says: it wasn't suppose to be scary i think. but the bogeyman was terrifying for a kid
Sunday, October 21, 2024
The Bogeyman
When you were young, were there any monsters you were deathly afraid of?
I can't remember if I had any monsters I was afraid of, but I can certainly remember my youngest brother's deep seated fear of... THE BOGEYMAN...
Have you ever heard of The Bogeyman?
We have no idea how the idea of The Bogeyman got stuck in Paul's head. But I remember that for one period, he refused to sleep by himself or be alone in a room. In the afternoons when Sam and I were at school or tuition, Paul would always want to take his afternoon nap in the maid's room while she was ironing clothes.
I remember we used to ask him why he didn't want to sleep in his own room and he would reply "Because The Bogeyman will catch me!". He could even gave a detailed description of what this Bogeyman looked like... which for the life of me I am unable to recall now. Perhaos he will enlighten us when he reads my blog.
I thought his pet fear of The Bogeyman was very cute and amusing... but apparently his fear was very real. I confess that Sam and I sometimes amused ourselves by teasing him "Watch out!!! The Bogeyman is outside now!!!"... hehehehe, poor kid.
Anyway, he eventually got over this fear and The Bogeyman hasn't been back to haunt us ever since.
I can't remember if I had any monsters I was afraid of, but I can certainly remember my youngest brother's deep seated fear of... THE BOGEYMAN...
Have you ever heard of The Bogeyman?
We have no idea how the idea of The Bogeyman got stuck in Paul's head. But I remember that for one period, he refused to sleep by himself or be alone in a room. In the afternoons when Sam and I were at school or tuition, Paul would always want to take his afternoon nap in the maid's room while she was ironing clothes.
I remember we used to ask him why he didn't want to sleep in his own room and he would reply "Because The Bogeyman will catch me!". He could even gave a detailed description of what this Bogeyman looked like... which for the life of me I am unable to recall now. Perhaos he will enlighten us when he reads my blog.
I thought his pet fear of The Bogeyman was very cute and amusing... but apparently his fear was very real. I confess that Sam and I sometimes amused ourselves by teasing him "Watch out!!! The Bogeyman is outside now!!!"... hehehehe, poor kid.
Anyway, he eventually got over this fear and The Bogeyman hasn't been back to haunt us ever since.
Saturday, October 20, 2024
Ageing Gracefully
I believe one of the highlights of my parents' recent holiday in Perth was catching with their old cronies from their university days.
(Uncle Lam Kee Hing, Uncle Chia Yu Chiang, and my dad)
I always like to meet these old university friends of my parents. Strangely, I always enjoy just listening to their chatter, even if I don't always know all the people and events they talk about...
Typical conversations with my parent's old MU mates might sound something like:
"Eh, so what happen to that fler?"
"Which fler?"
"Haiya, that fler lar... the one who always hang around with that 5th College gang"
"Ooooh... thaaaat fler... yaaa, I bumped into him one time when I was in KL last July... joker lah that fler, still looks the same!"
"Remember how we used to hitch hike from your hometown all the way up to KL?"
"(*Shaking head*) The crazy things we did!"
It may sound very dull on paper. But somehow I always enjoy hanging around listening to them jest at each others' greying hair and joking about how they were not as young as they used to be, reminiscing old times together... rejoicing in each other's joys and achievements over the years, and even emphathising with each other even as they share about the difficult times they went through.
It speaks of a testimony of friendship and comradeship that has stood the test of time.
Although these uncles and aunties are from the 'older generation', they have a freshness and vibrancy in their spirit. And I believe it is the Goodness and Grace of God that has enabled to stay 'young at heart' and to 'age gracefully'.
20 years from now, I hope I can say the same for myself.
Anyway, here are some interesting and amusing snippets from my parents' conversations with their old uni cronies:
*Fler = Manglish way of saying 'fellow'
(Uncle Lam Kee Hing, Uncle Chia Yu Chiang, and my dad)
I always like to meet these old university friends of my parents. Strangely, I always enjoy just listening to their chatter, even if I don't always know all the people and events they talk about...
Typical conversations with my parent's old MU mates might sound something like:
"Eh, so what happen to that fler?"
"Which fler?"
"Haiya, that fler lar... the one who always hang around with that 5th College gang"
"Ooooh... thaaaat fler... yaaa, I bumped into him one time when I was in KL last July... joker lah that fler, still looks the same!"
"Remember how we used to hitch hike from your hometown all the way up to KL?"
"(*Shaking head*) The crazy things we did!"
It may sound very dull on paper. But somehow I always enjoy hanging around listening to them jest at each others' greying hair and joking about how they were not as young as they used to be, reminiscing old times together... rejoicing in each other's joys and achievements over the years, and even emphathising with each other even as they share about the difficult times they went through.
It speaks of a testimony of friendship and comradeship that has stood the test of time.
Although these uncles and aunties are from the 'older generation', they have a freshness and vibrancy in their spirit. And I believe it is the Goodness and Grace of God that has enabled to stay 'young at heart' and to 'age gracefully'.
20 years from now, I hope I can say the same for myself.
Anyway, here are some interesting and amusing snippets from my parents' conversations with their old uni cronies:
- Real names of people: Sek See, Chako--an Indian fler... HAHAHA!!! I laugh so hard when I heard these names. Anyway no kidding, these are actual bona fide names of real people they knew! They must have endured a lot of hardship in their childhood... I salute them, and at the same time wonder "what on earth were their parents thinking???"
- My own parents used to hitch hike interstate across Malaysia during their holidays to save money... Yes, it's TRUE! the other MU uncles and aunties confirmed it because they were all doing it together! Usually it was government vehicles, like vans or delivery trucks that stopped, never the shiny expensive cars. But things were safer back in the 70s... they wouldn't dream of doing it again or letting their kids do it now... nowadays can get kidnapped, raped or get your kidneys stolen by crazy people.
*Fler = Manglish way of saying 'fellow'
Bittersweet...
Parents are gone. Left on Tuesday.
It was one of the best holidays. Nothing fancy. Just hanging out with them. Soaking up each other's company over food, coffee/tea, funny movie, walking around the City/Swan Valley/Swan River/etc...
I started missing them the moment they disappeared into the departure gate at the airport.
When we arrived home, I felt a wave of homesickness knowing that I will not see them again for a while. I snuggled up under the quilt on their mattress in the guest room and shed a few silent tears... just a teeny bit.
For a moment I wished I was a little girl again, not having to think about the cares of the world... about work, mortgages, house designs, bills, what's for dinner, the future... but just be able to feel completely safe snuggled between my parents in bed.
How nice if we could slow down time and be able to savour our favourite moments for as long as possible. Or even be able to travel back in time and relive our most memorable childhood memories.
But life goes on. It was back to work again tomorrow.
Strange how the most lovely and beautiful moments in life are often leave behind a slight ache in the heart afterward, which can almost be described as a kind of sweet pain. Bittersweet.
It was one of the best holidays. Nothing fancy. Just hanging out with them. Soaking up each other's company over food, coffee/tea, funny movie, walking around the City/Swan Valley/Swan River/etc...
I started missing them the moment they disappeared into the departure gate at the airport.
When we arrived home, I felt a wave of homesickness knowing that I will not see them again for a while. I snuggled up under the quilt on their mattress in the guest room and shed a few silent tears... just a teeny bit.
For a moment I wished I was a little girl again, not having to think about the cares of the world... about work, mortgages, house designs, bills, what's for dinner, the future... but just be able to feel completely safe snuggled between my parents in bed.
How nice if we could slow down time and be able to savour our favourite moments for as long as possible. Or even be able to travel back in time and relive our most memorable childhood memories.
But life goes on. It was back to work again tomorrow.
Strange how the most lovely and beautiful moments in life are often leave behind a slight ache in the heart afterward, which can almost be described as a kind of sweet pain. Bittersweet.
Wednesday, October 10, 2024
Terrible person?
I feel like I am such a terrible person for feeling the way I described in my previous entry... horrible? selfish?
Well feelings are feelings. If I could control feelings, I would never ever have to feel happy or sad.
Hopefully I did enough to not act according to feelings but instead try my best to do what is right.
*Repentant*
Well feelings are feelings. If I could control feelings, I would never ever have to feel happy or sad.
Hopefully I did enough to not act according to feelings but instead try my best to do what is right.
*Repentant*
Tuesday, October 09, 2024
Sunday, October 07, 2024
MIA a bit....
Parents are here from KK on holiday. Having a really good time spending time with them. Chatting, eating, laughing, cooking...
So blog entries may be a little sparse, so please bear with me :)
In the meantime, check this out --one of the cleverest things I've come across on the net!
www.sketchswap.com
So blog entries may be a little sparse, so please bear with me :)
In the meantime, check this out --one of the cleverest things I've come across on the net!
www.sketchswap.com
Thursday, October 04, 2024
The Mom
Anyone who is a mom, who will be a mom someday or who has a mom... you simply have to watch this...
Especially for moms-in-training and moms-to-be --crash course on everything you will be repeating every day to your kids for the rest of your life...
Funny? Didn't I tell you? hehehehe....
Especially for moms-in-training and moms-to-be --crash course on everything you will be repeating every day to your kids for the rest of your life...
Funny? Didn't I tell you? hehehehe....
Wednesday, October 03, 2024
Is it just a fad?
Hmmm… a small pop up message just showed "You received a new email from [friend]@email.com". Ooohhhh… email from an old pal, let see what he's up to. I open up the email and read this: "I've just added you to Facebook, please click here to join Facebook"
Cheh. I've been receiving quite a number of such emails lately. Do you know what that means? My geng is moving to a new social network. Should I follow?
Cheh. I've been receiving quite a number of such emails lately. Do you know what that means? My geng is moving to a new social network. Should I follow?
"First is the well-known loyalty problem. People want to network on the site their friends network on, and if their friends move from, say, Friendster to Facebook, they will too. Friendster is the cautionary tale - the pioneering site that somehow became uncool and never recovered. Success can be fleeting when it comes to social networking…" >>more
As much as I am tempted to follow, I can't help but wonder if this is another fad. Look at my poor neglected Friendster profile. I haven't updated it in eons. But just a while ago, it was the hottest thing in town. I was racing against hubby to see who had the most number of 'friends'. And now… you can even hear a pin drop in there… gone are the glory days of Friendster…
"In many ways, Friendster pioneered the whole concept of social networking that has since taken the Web by storm. Without its trailblazing, I find it hard to imagine sites like MySpace and Facebook having the enormous draw they currently enjoy. The last few years haven't been particularly kind to Friendster, however. Sure, it still gets traffic, but, at least in the U.S., it has been eclipsed in popularity…" >>more
"Teens are tire kickers — they hang around, cost you money and then leave," said Paul Kedrosky, a venture capitalist and author of the blog 'Infectious Greed'. Where Friendster was once the hot spot, Facebook and MySpace now draw the crowds of young people online…" >>more
Apart from the constant stream of join Facebook requests I get, I hear about it everyday at work too. A couple of my colleagues have gotten into it and all I hear is "I've got (such and such number) friends, how many have you got?" and "you should join Facebook Serene, it's really cool!"
How long will this craze last? Will it fizzle out eventually and leave me high and dry like Friendster, or is it here to stay?
"MySpace! No, Wait, Twitter! No, Wait, Second Life! No, Wait, Facebook! ... Is it just me or is anyone else sick of the lemming-like flash mob behavior marketers display every time some "really cool" new thing comes along? It's like a shiny new object syndrome. We can't keep our hands off the new toys… Again, I just wonder when Facebook will lose its luster, the fickle nature of marketers sets in and we all start salivating over the next new shiny object…" >>more
"Today, Google controls much of the Internet ad market. But major growth is occurring in the social networking area, so that looks like the next battleground… Google is not to be outdone in the social network market, however. Rumors have it the search giant is planning its own major move within weeks, basically aggregating all of its Internet properties -- including search, email, photos and social network site Orkut -- into a new social networking hub…" >>more
Facebook… I can hear it calling me… my friends are all on the other side beckoning. I take tentative step… went on to the sign-up page, filled in my details, and then I paused just as I was about to click the 'sign-up' button…
I can't do this. Not yet. I feel like I'm selling out (again).
Social networking is definitely the next thing that's here to stay. But the question is which one?
Maybe I'm making too much of a big about this. Just sign up lar! If it lasts, then good… if not, just jump on the next bandwagon. *shrug*
Anyway, just in case if you ever need to abandon Facebook in the future for whatever reason (if only lar… I said 'IF') here are 10 ways to abandon Facebook forever
Tuesday, October 02, 2024
Joining the club?
They say its contagious. Now 2 of my close girlfriends have officially stepped into their new motherhood status, I feel like joining the club too!
Anyway, we've been talking about it a lot about it… but no action yet. Seems like having a baby is more complicated that I used to think. My friend who has 2 boys said that we need to go for health check-ups and get a blood test even BEFORE we attempt anything. But another mommy I spoke to said, haiya… no need lar… just hentam only lar!
Which reminds me of a joke I heard in high school:
This grandma was asking her granddaughter when she was going to have kids. The granddaughter replied "grandma, is not that simple, we are very busy with our career, business travel, studying MBA… No time! Too busy!". The grandmother looked very puzzled, and she leaned over and said very gently… "honey, it only takes 15 minutes, you know!"
*Teehee!*
We giggled like mad as girls when he heard this joke. But its no laughing matter as adults anymore… having kids is really more complicated that you think! And it's not just about the 15 minutes.
But I think we are slowly mustering up the courage to plunge into this new parenthood adventure. Once we're in, there's no turning back, you know! But don't worry lar, I also wanna join the club.
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