Jia Wen & her cousin sisters. From left to right: Ni Ahn, Jessica, Te Sha, Jia Wen & Jade 

Picture taken at Prema's wedding eve 

My farniest face! 

Hello! 

Take a bow! 

She's got the world's slimmest handphone! 

Cheeeeeeeezzzzeeee! 

Don't I look tall? 

Cheeky face! 

Happy face 

Also my pathetic face

Sad face! 

Smiling face 

Farney face! 

Jia Wen drew this supposedly a picture of her daddy today! 

Listening to Daddy's heart 

Doctor Ooi Jia Wen in the making 

See, I can even reach the steering-wheel! 

Accord is definitely my favourite 

Mummy, do you like Jazz? 

Daddy, you also love this car right? 

Daddy, can we get the CRV? 

Daddy, I love this car! 

Lemon Cheese Cake

This month has been a cake-making month for me. Let me recap, 3 lemon cheese cakes and 1 (or was it 2) chocolate cake(s).

Why 3 of the same cheesecakes? I have only recently learnt how to make cheesecake and so far it has been trial and error. The first turned out too hard - too much gelatine and too little 1 less block of cheese so it was more or less a lemon flavoured cheese jelly. The second cake had too little gelatine so it turned out a bit too soft and the biscuit base was a bit too hard. So tonight, I made another one with the intention to bring it to my cousin's wedding party tomorrow so I am hoping it will turn out good if not perfect.

It is now sitting in the fridge - if it doesn't turn out well, I'll say that I bought it from some unknown cake shop but if it turns out well, I will say I made it lah.

Damn, I should have taken pics of the cheese-making process!

Hot Chocolate

Friday morning - grey skies with slight droplets of rain and unusually chilly. Hence the hot chocolate and hot banana muffin which I swallowed in less than 30 seconds. Obviously I am not at home unless a cup of milo made hot enough can pass as a hot chocolate and banana (mashed?) with wholewheat bread can pass as a muffin, I am not at home.

For the past 1 week, Starbucks in Jusco Seremban has been my second home since Jia Wen started "school". We enrolled her into Vital Years and since Monday, I have become Jusco's new friend (not necessarily best-friend). Jusco Seremban is the nearest time killer I have. So armed with my sister's notebook, here I am sitting in Starbucks trying to sip my hot chocolate as slowly as possible.

Soon Jusco will award me with "Best non-spending Shopper", or either that they'll permanently ban me from coming here. Imagine 3 times a week times 4 weeks a month equals to 12 times to Jucso in a month! That's a lot and very soon it won't be fun walking here anymore. I'll be so scared of Jusco!

Starbucks is beginning to be an expensive way of killing my time and surfing the net. Do you think there's an opening for a barista to work 2 hours a day 3 times a week? Maybe I should inquire.

By next week, I will have to look for a cheaper alternative to kill my time. Do you think I am able tap into Starbucks' wireless facility from McDonald's which is just 50 meters away? But do they have a power point where I can use so that I don't have to rely my batts? Let's see, 1 large coke + 1 large fries should come up to about RM5.00 which is still less than Starbucks' tall chocolate frappachino. But having McDonald's 3 times a week isn't the healthiest option.

So now I really need to be al-cheapo and look for a healthier option (for me and my wallet) and maybe sit on a bench somewhere preferably upstairs so that it won't be so obvious that I am tapping into Starbucks' wifi. Well, I think my wallet will force me to be al-cheapo lah so the next time anyone of you do go to Jusco Seremban and see someone on a bench with a notebook and nearby a Starbucks, it's me!

At least Starbucks gives me RM1.00 discount for carrying a Jusco card and the parking there is free!

I was FOOLED alright

Believe it or not, it's about a week to 1st April and I have already been fooled! Thanks to my friend Meng, he really got me fooled into believing that he was going to get married in 8 days time. Got this email from him this morning:

Dearest friends,

Some of you may have noticed that I have been rather busy in the past few months.

Well, there is a reason for this. I would like to inform you that I will be getting married soon. I wont elaborate on the reasons but the wedding is in 8 days' time.

The card and venue details are attached with this mail. Sorry i dont have time to print any invitation cards due to the lack of time.

I really hope to see you guys on that day.

Best regards,
Meng

As unexpected as it was, the first thing that came through my mind was "shot-gun" is it? Hahah.. I didn't even know that he was seeing anyone steadily. I was really fooled and really believed it so much that I called him immediately after reading his email (obviously before I saw his "invitation" attached to the email). As he didn't pick up his phone, I believe the message I left on his voicemailbox went "You've got to be kidding me! I didn't even know that you were seeing anyone and now you are getting married... NEXT week?".... at this moment, the attachment loaded and this message came:

You fell for this so easily!!

8 days later it’ll be April 1st.

So I consider this the privilege to have fooled you first (not that it’s too difficult anyway)

Meng, Meng thanks for perking up my morning!

Update

A friend of mine told me to "go up-date your blog lah".

Done! :-D

Caterpillar... stretching imagination

Dear Friends,

A big hello from Caterpillar - Stretching Imagination Sdn. Bhd. We would like to inform you that we will be opening on the 4th of April and would like to extend a warm welcome to come discover what Caterpillar is all about!

Caterpillar - Stretching Imagination is a unique concept of combining a children friendly cafe with an activity studio for everyone to stretch their creative imagination while enjoying themselves! Classes offered are varied:Salsa and Belly Dancing, Fitness Workout to World Music, Funk Hip Hop, Toddler Fun and Baby Fun with Orff Schulwerk Technique, Percussion Explosion, and even Cookie Art! Please do browse through our activity schedule, description of classes as well as fees. You will see that we have implemented a "10 or 20 pass concession card" instead of a monthly or semester fee rule as to allow more flexibility for parents.

Caterpillar will also be serving wholesome healthy home-cooked meals without any MSG and preservatives, with less salt and sugar, all in a relaxed comfortable ambiance, where you can have the option of allowing your child to play, socialize and even participate in fun activities like story telling or arts and crafts.

As parents ourselves, we understand the need of having a children friendly 'playhouse' - where one can dine andsocialize or participate in activities or the option of a "creche" service.

So do feel free to contact us Ann 012 3301161, Judy 0123950500 or Sania 012 6310766 for more information.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL SOON!

Ps: Caterpillar is situated at Sri Hartamas (old section of Sri Hartamas), facing the Petronas Station. Same row asSaffron Restaurant, Kidz Grow and the Bakery.

Celebrating the differences

Took this article from The Star today:

Men and women are different animals. What was crystal clear for thousands of years has now been muddied by the quest not just to get equal rights but to emulate men. But differences can be interesting and funny. Sauce for the goose and sauce for the gander.

Love

Love is one of the saddest mismatches between men and women. Men are constantly in flight from it, ducking around corners and shipping out without leaving a forwarding address. Then, one day, they give in. As soon as they stop fighting it, they decide it's the best thing that ever happened to them. They relax, enjoy and put on weight.

With women, it's the other way round. They love the pursuit. Whole industries are based on this appetite in women - underwired bras, hair conditioners, bridal magazines. But when she's landed him, she becomes restless and insecure. One minute she thinks he's the hottest item in town, lusted after by every woman, the next he's a charmless couch potato who nees firmly taking in hand.

For a woman, love is a state of mind, a "Does he? doesn't he?" condition of anxiety. It has just about anything to do with sex. For a man, love is a state of laundry and catering. Like comfy old shoes, it frees his mind and soul for other concerns, such as work and football. He doesn't need to be told he's loved because he's already convinced he's irresistible. His mother told him.

Friendship

Ask a man whether his best friend is gay and he'll say: "Don't know. Never thought about it. Bloody good bloke." This is one of the facts of life that makes women wonder which planet men come from. Women know everything about their friends. Shoe size, menstrual cycle, details on every relationship they've ever had.

Men are put on edge by that whole needy emotional business. Women are baffled by the depths and shallow turns in men's conversations. They are just not interested in whether people are menopausal, annally illiterate, gay, or having an affair with the window cleaner. They are interested in the Premier League, and whether to buy another Volvo or something a bit more sexy.

Health

Around age 13, girls learn a formative lesson. Each month they bleed and they don't die. The impact of this regular miracle is profound: no matter how much of a hypochondriac she may be, compared with a man, she will seem like a cock-eyed optimist.

As far as man is concerned, if a virus has his name on it, that's that - a bottle of whisky a week and fried steak every night isn't going to alter the odds.

Sick women are usually very ill. A woman who takes to her bed needs regular reassurance that the second jumper aren't being washed at the wrong water temperature. She may need oxygen and the last rites, but first things first. A man who takes to his bed may just be having an in-grown toenail. Or indigestion. He needs a darkened room and woman. Preferable his mother.

Careers

Boys grow up expecting to be like Daddy. Even if he's a stuffy old banker who catches the 8:17 every morning, or a discarded steel worker who trudges to the job centre twice a week, the idea is planted that men have to be breadwinners so women can have babies.

This biological arrangement roots a man deep in the world of work and women in dozen places all at the same time. As well as her job, a career woman keeps an eye on relationships - with friends, family and men - and her ear alerted to her reproductive clock.

A man defines himself by his work. That's why the loss of it is so devastating. Men are plagued by the voice of the workplace demon: "Real men work late. Real man get ulcers and always carry a pile of report to front at on the train."

Housework

Some men think housework is like circumcision. It hurts, but you only have to do it once. Some woman think housework is a career. They are both wrong. Men know stuff has to be done: coffee mugs have to be rinsed under a tap and the rubbish needs to be put out on Thursday. Sheets get changed, floors get swept and Halley's Comet appears. But there are no recorded sightings of men scrubbing around cup handles or washing curtains.

Woman have a stronger grasp of what is involved in preventing a house from turning into a rat-infested midden because they ahve more hands-on experience. Women build up complicated housework disaster scenarios in which dirty dishes and floors lead to social ostracism and death from typhoid. They make a big deal out of technical expertise.

"I'll do it!" cries haus frau. "You'll only make a mess of it."

Sometimes men are very smart.

Sex

It's a pity we can't experience one week as the opposite sex. If we could, women would be begging to change back before the week was up. Sexually, there is no hiding place for man, except in chastity. What you see is what you get and, let's face it, its design is comical.

From the moment man drops his shorts, he knows the jury is out. It may be an affectionate jury, but still he fears a disappointing verdict. The sexual act is essential to a man's self-esteem, so man who can't perform isn't comforted by the thought that he is kind, considerate and clever with his hands.

Women are different. Their bodies are full of labyrinthine secrets and delights, sex is less stressful - and they can always fake it. Women need afterplay: cuddles, smiles and an eternity ring. They love a warm, blurred boundaries that follow fabulous sex, whereas a man feels the tentacles of expectation curling around him. That's when he needs to get up, shower and make some phone calls.

SO TRUE!

Parenting

Read this in The Star's Weekend today;

Dads are more fun than mums. Dads do roller-skating, big fry-ups and excellent presents like a doll that wets its nappy or tickets for movies. Mums sew in your name tapes and check your hair for nits. But dads don't necessarily have more fun because they mainly see you on weekends and they're hardly ever around for your big moments.

Men are usually bowled over by fatherhood. Even if they've been in on the preparations right from the pregnancy test, they are still undone by the sheer theatre of the birth and the experience of holding that little bundle of joy in their arms. Women get ecased in motherhood through nine months of round-the-clock intimacy.

When a woman first meets the joker who has been playing volleyball with her bladdere, she can forgivably think: "Right. Yeah." A man thinks, "Oh my God, I did this."

Dads know that children love to be tickled, thrown in the air and pushed down steep hills at great speed. Mums know this makes children sick. Dads think that teenagers are idle, unwashed liberty-takers who are screwing the family into appalling penury. Mums know that the teens is "just a phase". Mums and dads make a great combination.

The Baha'i Fast

The Baha'is around the world started fasting on the 2 March and this will last for 19 days (1 Baha'i Calendar Month) ending on the 20 March where we will then usher in the Baha'i New Year - Naw Ruz on the 21 March. 21 March also marks the beginning of spring in the Northern hemisphere.

Here's something to read about The Baha'i Fast:

The Bahá'í Fast The Bahá'í fast is established in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and occupies much the same preeminent position that it does in Islam. Several passages in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh lay stress on its importance, listing it with the obligatory prayer as among the greatest of the ritual obligations.

According to Bahá'u'lláh Himself, the Bahá'í fast is adapted from the fast ordained in the Bayan. The Báb's fast, mentioned in both the Arabic and Persian Bayans, occupied the last month of the Bábí calendar, the month of `Ala', roughly 2-20 March. Believers were to fast from the age of eleven (numerically equivalent to huva, `He') until forty-two (bala, `Yea'). Children could fast until noon for the first eleven days. Those over forty-two were exempted from fasting. Those fasting had to abstain from food, drink and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset -- preferably from slightly before sunrise until slightly after sunset. No exemptions are mentioned. The real meaning of the fast, the Báb said, was abstention from the love of other than the Manifestation of God. The continuation of the fast was contingent on the acceptance of Him Whom God shall make manifest.

Although Bahá'u'lláh accepted the fast of the Báb, He altered the details of its regulations in many important respects. The Bahá'í fast is binding on all believers from the age of maturity, which for Bahá'ís is fifteen, until seventy. There is no provision made for children fasting. The following individuals are exempted from fasting: Travellers, providing their journey is to last at least nine hours or two hours on foot. If they break their journey for more than nineteen days, they are only exempt for the first three days after their arrival. If they return home, they must begin fasting on arrival. The sick. Women who are pregnant or nursing. Women who menstruating, who must instead repeat the phrase `Glorified be God, the Lord of Splendour and Beauty' ninety-five times between one noon and the next. Those engaged in heavy labour, who are advised to be discrete and restrained in availing themselves of this exemption.

These groups are also exempted from fasting in Islam. Bahá'u'lláh does not require missed days of fasting to be made up later, nor does He mention abstention from sexual relations. An individual who is exempt from fasting at any part of a day is exempt from fasting the entire day. Smoking, `Abdu'l-Baha explained, is called `drinking smoke' in Arabic, and so smoking is banned while one is fasting.

The fast is binding on Bahá'ís in all countries but it is an individual obligation, not enforceable by Bahá'í administrative institutions. The secondary regulations of fasting, such as the prohibition on smoking, are at present only binding on Bahá'ís of Middle Eastern background.

Bahá'ís are allowed to fast at other times of the year but as this is not encouraged, it is rarely done. Bahá'u'lláh permitted the making of vows to fast but preferred that such vows be `directed to such objectives as will profit mankind'.

While in Edirne Bahá'u'lláh revealed a number of prayers for fasting (munajat or alvah-i-siyam), although one of them contains a reference to `Akka. These prayers, some rather lengthy, are the most important statements on the spiritual meaning of the fast in the Bahá'í scripture: for example, '. . . Thou hast bidden all men to observe the fast, that through it they may purify their souls and rid themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee . . ' Fasting itself is only acceptable if it is done purely out of love for God.

Jia Wen Jia Wen Jia Wen

She's only TWO and she's already in her "non-stop asking" phase! The whole day, she'll go "What's that sound", "Who is that", "What's that", etc. I don't know whether she's being inquisitive or just irritating, but at this stage I am going to go with "being inquisitive".

Like this evening, she sat with me in front of the TV just flipping through MTV, Channel V and Hitz.TV. She asked me who sang all the songs we saw. So I had to tell them that it was Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, Westlife, Madonna, etc. She'll repeat all the names too. She can say "Ricky Martin" very well. I wonder whether all the information were absorbed and the next time she sees anyone of them, she'll know who there are and maybe shout out "Backstreet Boys"! That would really be nice isn't it but I won't be surprised when that happens knowing how fast kids pick things up.

She asks for Madonna's "Hung-Up" all the time and she demands it as though I control what song comes next. She's so in love with Madonna.

We were watching Nigella cooking on TV and she asked me what ingredients she had, so I had to go like "flour, herbs, nuts, cake, etc". Amusing.

Jia Wen is growing so fast and mentally, I think she has excelled so much in the last few weeks. I wish I have a video recorder built into my brain or head or something that I can record all these at all times. It would be nice to able to take pictures (and then able to print it out later) all the spontaneous smiles, all the cheeky faces, all the flexible moves, dance, etc.

Everyday she comes up with new words, new tricks, new questions, new knowledge and it is refreshing. I know I should archive these stuff somewhere but there's just too many and I guess there's no way of archiving all these without planting a memory card into my head and perhaps an optical lense or something of that sort into my eyes. Oh yes, don't forget a USB port somewhere in my body (not my ass of course). Anyone up for that challenge? I don't mind being the guiney pig. Plus if you have to put the USB port into my ass for any technical reasons, I guess it's not so bad. It is impossible to hold a camera all day and even if you could, those smiles just won't happen.

Our small girl is growing up - FAST!