I'm due today!

Hubby and I have been trying for some months after we are married. We had no success and consulted a doctor friend. Most people wouldn't care to go for check-ups because it's only been a few months of trying. However, due to our age, we want to get pregnant soon and were concerned that there would be risks if we waited too long. So, both of us were checked and found out that hubby's sperm count is very low. It was not easy to receive the news. Basically, we can't have baby through the natural way but need medical assistance to achieve a higher chance. 

After much consideration, I did 2 times IUI - Intrauterine insemination. It doesn't give me much pain but some discomfort. I had to self injection the day before the insemination procedure. But each time I did the treatment, I was given hope and that hope was crushed each time my pregnancy test showed negative results. We chose this procedure as it was cheaper and the procedure was shorter. But the chances of getting pregnant is too low for our case. 

Dr encouraged us to go for IVF/ICSI which cost more but will give us a higher probability of conceiving. We gave it a try. In Dec 2014, I took the treatment. It was not an easy journey for me. The daily injections were giving me the toil. It was not painful but emotionally draining. We had hoped and prayed for a miracle. But when we received the news of my blood test, I was heart broken and broke down in tears. 

We continued to pray and ask God for a miracle but we weren't as diligent as my mother in law. It's almost like... "Ok God.. if You give us a child, we will be happy and glad but if no baby, we will still continue to love You and serve You". And in August 2015, I found that I was pregnant! Naturally! You can't imagine the joy it brings to our family! My doctor was delighted too!

So to cut story short...it has been a great 9 months experience carrying my miracle baby. Baby is due today but she doesn't want to see mommy and daddy yet! She must be having a good time and feel really comfortable in my womb. Hahaha.. but we are so excited to see her! Can't wait to hold her in my arms. 

Valentine's dinner at Zakka Loft

We didn't plan anything for Valentine's dinner this year. Hubby just came back from a business trip and was tired. But we made it a point to have a special dinner together. We went scouting for a restaurant around Bandar Baru Medan, hoping to find a good restaurant with decent price and not too crowded. 

First stop, Food & Desire.. heard it serves great food here. But we had no chance at all that night. It was full and even though we saw a few empty tables, it was also fully booked. Saw my friend having dinner there and was told that she booked her table 2 weeks earlier! >.< Then, we went to check out a few restaurants along the same row of shops. Hmm.. maybe Japanese or Korean? We tried Michelangelo's pizzeria, no luck. Although the boss told us the waiting time is only 10-15mins, we were too hungry to wait. 

So we hopped in to Zakka Loft opposite the pizzeria, which was quite empty. I thought, why not? I ate here before. The food is not too bad. It's just that the menu does not have much varieties. Zakka Loft serves some healthy drinks and mostly bentos. Hubby ordered a chicken curry bento and I order smoked duck toast. I did not like my food at all. The only thing I like was the nachos that serve as a side. =.=' The salad taste funny to me with sour plum powder and the taste did not match with the smoked duck. The toast was slightly burned and the smoked duck was too dry. I had to 'steal' my hubby's curry sauce to eat with the toast. Hubby said his bento was not bad. Next time, order bento to be safe. 

Smoked duck toast at around RM16.90 (can't remember the exact price)

The restaurant was decorated like a playroom. There are carrom (strike & pocket table game), jenga (wooden block stacking game), card game and this on the floor which I forget the name. 

wall decoration

When we first stepped into the restaurant, we didn't know where to sit. The layout was a bit confusing to me.. there are big tables which can fit in 10 people and low coffee table with sofas. There is not many table for 2 so we opted for a big table with high chairs so that we could eat comfortably. 

Overall..it was Ok. After all, we just wanted to fill our stomachs and had some time alone since it's Valentine's. *wink*

obligatory selfie of the day

Zakka Loft Cafe opens every day from 1pm to 11pm except on Mondays. 

Address : 2, Jln Medan Ipoh 1C, Medan Ipoh Bistari, 31400 Ipoh, Perak.

Tel: 013-4888503

LASIK, to do or not to do?

My hubby loves to see me without glasses. He said I looked much prettier without them. If I wear contact lenses, I'm always complaining about having dry eyes. I can only wear contact lenses on special occasions. One day, he told me he wants to pay for LASIK for me and said that he will work harder to get better incentives in order to finance the treatment for me. I'm touched and really wanted to do it..well, of course wives want to always look good in their husbands eyes.. =)

But I hesitated because I read that if you are planning to get pregnant within the next 6 months, you are not eligible for LASIK. Furthermore, it's something to do with the eyes, if something goes wrong..it will affect the rest of my life. But what worries me the most is that my dry eyes will get even worse after LASIK. Some people say they have to deal with dry eyes for 3-4 yrs after LASIK and that's for normal eyes. For people with dry eyes like me, it might be forever and that's scary.

After looking through the internet for information on LASIK, I called up two clinics in Ipoh to inquire. 

1) Lee Eye Clinic in Greentown

- Usual price at RM6K for both eyes and now, they are giving a RM300 discount.

- Screening test is RM120, but now they are having promo, and it will be RM60. Need to call for appointment as the tests need 3hrs. 

- For contact lens user, need to be off from contact lens for at least 10 days. 

2) Chew Eye Specialist in Fairpark

- Promo price at RM3999 for both eyes. (Very good price, right?)

- Screening test at RM150. No need appointment for test. 

- Told the girl I just wore contact lens just 3 days ago. She said never mind, can do the test. I was puzzled over the differences of the 2 clinics.

Anyway, I went to do the test last Saturday at Chew Eye Specialist. The clinic was very full. I was told that the tests need 2hours. I thought probably there's a lot of tests! I was wrong.

First thing they checked was my cornea thickness. It has to pass a certain thickness. Otherwise, you will be eliminated as candidate for LASIK and it won't be necessary to do the other tests. My cornea thickness is good and I was checked on my eyes topography. After that, I waited to see the doctor. 

Once I was in the doctor's room, I told him I have dry eyes and that I need to put eye drop many times a day. He said he will do an extra test to check the tear production of my eyes. I saw him writing "Schirmer test" on my examination card. After he checked my eye vision, he asked me to wait outside because the other tests require to put some kind of eye drop on my eyes and will affect the dry eye test.  

Later, I was called into a room by a lady. Probably a nurse. She placed two strips with scale of 35mm on my eyes. I did this test at Dr Gill's in Fatimah hospital before and immediately I sensed that something is wrong. The strips were irritating me so much till I teared up. The strips were placed in such a way that my eyelashes could touch them. I think it's supposed to be placed pointing downwards as in this photo below. But it was pointing upwards. I couldn't even blink or close my eyes!

I couldn't find any google image that show the strips pointing upwards. The reading was between 8-12mm. I didn't believe the results and asked the nurse to fold the strips slightly so that they point downwards and so she did. Weird..she supposed to know what needs to do. And that results was 1-3mm for both eyes!!! I was puzzled because the nurse listened to my suggestion to redo the test. She wasn't even sure of what she was doing!

sorry about the eyes looking like vampire... =.="

When i was called into the doctor's room again, the doctor told me I'm qualified to do LASIK. The tears production was 8-12mm. I was full of doubt. I thought it was 1-3mm. They have taken the first measurements to conclude that I'm eligible for LASIK. But in fact, I think I am NOT qualified! 

See the picture below  I found on the net. It says that I might have severe dry eyes. But then, even at 8-12mm, I still have dry eyes. Shouldn't the doctor treat my dry eyes before conducting LASIK on my eyes? I'm so confused and lose confidence with this clinic. 

Another puzzling thing is that the doctor told me my spectacles vision power is overrated. I have checked my eyes multiple times at different places. All gave me similar results. How can there be a -1 difference? My right eye vision is -2.0 and my left eye is -3.0 but he said the actual power are -1.0 and -2.0. He suggested me to reduce my vision to -0.75 by LASIK due to my age as I might develop "Presbyopia" (nearsightedness). I'm thinking what's the point if my vision problem is not that high, only reduce from -1.0 to -0.75? And I have dry eyes problem? 

After all this, my decision is NOT to do LASIK. I need to confirm my vision first and treat my eyes dryness. I think they are more important at this point of time.

Btw, I forgot to mention that I have to pay another RM65 for doctor consultation and RM20 for the Schirmer test. So, in total, I paid RM235 for the pre-LASIK screening test! I thought she told me it was RM150. Should have just told me it costs RM215 in my earlier phone inquiry. All patients need to meet the doctor for consultation la! It's not even an option! Hmph...

2014 - New Year, New Role

2014, a year to look forward to. 

(Sorry...>.< this post is kind of late as it's almost March now)

A new life, a new beginning, a new role, a new house, a new car..

(haha..not entirely new as it's a 4 months old car)

Looking at my wedding ring, it is unbelievable 

how things have progressed and 

how God has brought us together. 

It is still hard to sink in all..  

I still find it amazing and hard to 

believe that I'm a wife now. (really?! I'm a wife now?! :P)

Our first Valentine's celebration at Missing Marbles. 

My darling arranged a dinner here with the restaurant manager. They prepared a special table for us and give us a pot of Sweetheart Hoya plant or Hoya Kerrii which I forgot to take photo. Below is a photo I found on "google image". This plant is so special! It has heart shape leaves. And I found out that it will bloom some kind of waxy flowers if we take care of it properly. Unfortunately, we put it under the sun and the leaves got burned...:( Maybe next year Valentine's I'll get another pot (?!) 

Valentine's Day Idea

This year is my first Valentine's with my husband. So I want to make it special. On little paper hearts that I cut out from pink color papers, I write down love notes for my husband. 

Some of the notes that I wrote...

1. I love your cheeky face =)

2. I only have EYES on you!

3. You are my SUNSHINE

4. It's awesome to spend my life with you

5. Let's grow old together! :)

I hide these hearts in places where he can find them in the morning before he goes to work.. for example on his wallet, in the handkerchief drawer, near the light switch and all over the washroom mirror. *grin* I did this all while he was reading on the bed. He hardly notice I was doing all this! >.<

But he found out the notes on the mirror in the middle of the night. Though I wanted it to be a surprise in the morning, I love seeing him all happy and he giggled while saying "darling, I saw your loves on the mirror.. I love them!"

He loves the love notes! ;D And I'm glad cuz I love it too as the notes helped me to focus on the things I love about my husband. 

Registration of marriage - 08.12.13

Ah... How time flies...

Finally, we have reach this important moment 

~~ our registration of marriage on 08.12.2013 ~~

It was a simple ceremony with our parents and friends to witness the signing.

It only took us 5 minutes to sign the papers.. 

no exchange of vows or rings yet as these will only be done 

on our actual wedding day in the church. 

We are half way to become husband & wife...woohoo! :P 

so happy to be called his wife. ;D

Although legally married, marriage without exchanging vows & rings 

and witnessing by our family & friends, it seems incomplete. 

Never the less, it's an important day to remember. 

Counting the days till we exchange our vows. >>>>> 11days

Our Pre-Wedding Photos

May I now present you my best friend, my lover, my soul mate...my fiance and husband-to-be, Andrew. *grin* I'm counting the days! It's going to be in 32 days time. Exciting and yet nervous at the same time. Wooh! ;D 

Before I go into details about the wedding preparation..let me first show you our pre-wedding photos. Photographer was Sam from France Taipei Ipoh. I would say he is a professional. Worked as a wedding photographer for the past 10 years plus. The photos proved to be good quality, perfect moments captured.. we like our photos very much. 

I have chosen 6 gowns - 1 outdoor and 5 indoors. I was skeptical to the dark brown gown at first but it really looked good on me. It bring out my fair skin. *wink*. The below white gown was the front part of the the gown with the sexy see-through lace at the back. You can check the gown from my previous post. I especially like this hairstyle with tiny braid at the top. 

Outdoor shoot was actually mostly done indoor. hahahaha..because we are afraid of the sun and hate sweating. :P We did it at his uncle's house, on a hill but most of our photos were actually photographed in the house. And most of our photos are not really for the scenery but mainly to capture our faces and the feel. 

I love these pictures! Love the hairstyle..love the poses...especially love the moments with my fiance. :)

Weird phone call

Today I received a very weird phone call from an unknown telephone no. At first, I hesitated to pick up the call. Never the less, I picked up the call after a few seconds. 

A girl greeted me in Mandarin. Although I wasn't properly chinese educated, as a Malaysian, I could understand and speak simple Mandarin and I'm very sure she's asking for me and I answered, "Yes, speaking". 

But I could not understand what she was telling me after that.. =.=' 

I think she was asking me to attend something at Time Square. 

So, I told her politely.. "I'm sorry, I couldn't understand what you have just said." And guess what I got from her?

"Do you want to die??" Ouch!! I wasn't prepared for that. That's so rude! And she hung up after saying that to me. Where's her professionalism as a telemarketer? But what puzzled me is that the call was from Hong Kong! A number starting with +852-9423-XXX. 

Pre-Wedding Photoshoot at France Taipei Ipoh

My fiance and I had our pre-wedding photoshoot last Friday, 23.8.13. I was excited the whole week and couldn't wait to take the shoot with my fiance. I did my manicure & pedicure at La Zen the day before the shoot. Took 1.5 days off just for this special day. I feel that it's really a milestone in my life and an important day to remember. Even though it's not the actual wedding day, but the closeness during the photoshoot seems like we are already married. Lol... :P I don't mean the physical closeness, but the feeling and how we have enjoyed the shooting together. 

Our appointment was at 10:00am. I was nervous what will my make-up artist do to my hair and eyes. But my doubt was washed away when I was ready for my outdoor shoot. :D My fiance was all smile and his eyes were literally glittering in awe. hahaha.. ok, ok.. i'm a bit exaggerating here but he did look very happy when I stepped out from the makeup room. :D

Mandy was my MUA. Yuki, the famous MUA from France Taipei that many brides had talked about in the bridal forum, was there to help around too when her client had gone for photoshoot. They are both very professional and precise in their work.

Our photographer was Sam. I'll have to see the actual photos before I can comment on his skill. 

Here's a preview of some of the gowns that I've chosen for the photoshoot. I still prefer white gown to the others. The actual photos have to wait for the photographer's photos as these were taken using mobile phone. (updated here)

I've enjoyed the shooting very much especially because my fiance enjoyed it too. We had fun trying out different poses. Some easy and some really difficult. But overall.. it's a once in a lifetime event that I will never forget. :D

Pre-Wedding Photoshoot Package

This is one of the most important part of a wedding - to choose the pre-wedding photoshoot package. Most people will survey a few bridal studios to compare prices, gowns and services included in the package. But my fiance and I did not take that option. At first, we wanted to check out Bridal Collection as his sister just signed the package with them and highly recommended this place. On our way to the shop, we passed by France Taipei Ipoh and the displayed gowns caught my attention. We went in to have a look at their gowns and what they could offer us. We didn't think twice and straight away, we signed with them. The package is reasonable and affordable to our expectations. Our package price is RM2,388 and include:-

• 6 gowns for photoshoot (5 indoor and 1 outdoor)
• 2 gowns for actual day wedding (include 1 designer gown)
• 35 chosen and edited photos
• 10pgs of 10x30' album 
• 10pgs of 12x16' album 
• 2 x 12x16' photo frame
• 1 x photo frame with 1x5R photos and 2x6R photos
• 1 x family portrait with photo frame
• 1 x 26x48' poster
• 1 x guest signing scroll
• 1 x DVD with 2 songs
• Car decoration, 1 corsage, 1x bridal flower bouquet
• Include eyelashes for make-up except ampoules 
• Outdoor photoshoot only Ipoh area
• Extra photo at RM30.00/pc. Soft copies of only the chosen 35 poses are given, otherwise, they are sold at RM7.50 - 15.00/pc depending on how many you buy.

I think the package is quite a good price. We do not want to hang the big photo frame in our bedroom, so we removed that. We also did not want the 'ji mui' photos. (but later on found out a lot of people want our photo to keep as memory) We replaced them with 5 more poses, a bigger album for the 2nd photo album, family portrait and 1 designer gown which we think are what we want and like to pay for.

Christy is the sales exec who serves us. I'd like to praise her for her professionalism. Her explanation is clear and she did not push us to take up the package. We feel very comfortable talking with her. Yesterday, I had my wedding gown trial. I chose my 6 gowns within an hr and 15mins. That's super fast in my opinion. But the credits go to Christy who know what I like, what will look good on me and she helped me dress up and undress in split seconds. My fiance and my best friend were very helpful. They gave the thumbs up when the gown look good on me and no-no look the moment I stepped out with a gown they don't like. So, in a short time, we have chosen all the gowns.. which include 3 white gowns, 1 light blue, 1 red cheongsam and 1 brown princess gown. 

No photograph is allowed. But my fiance managed to take one from behind.. :P but only a blur one. The nice photos will have to wait until after we have our photo shoot. ;)

This will be my outdoor gown. :D We chose a slightly different style with frills halter neck and some buttons at the front. Hope the photos will come out great with this gown.

I had a splendid time trying wedding gowns at France Taipei Ipoh. Will update more on my photo shoot experience in my coming blog post. ;D

MaDly in LovE . . . . . .

I'm engaged. Yes.. you heard me right, I'm not joking! :D 

God is gracious to me. I didn't do enough to deserve all the blessings He has showered upon me. But His grace is ever loving and ever flowing in my life. He loves me and I know it, He understands and knows my heart's deepest desire. 

Each time I look at this wonderful man that God has put in my life, I can't stop smiling and give thanks to God. I said to my Lord, "If You are willing, I'd love to serve You and worship You with the man of my life... I'd love to build a family with him" and by God's grace, my prayer is answered, well..partly, because there's no children yet. On that part, I'll have to pray much harder! hahahaha...

At His appointed timing, I met the love of my life... in church. :P And I know instantly that he's the man whom God has prepared for me. Someone asked me "Are you sure he's the one? Are you certain to marry this man?" I said, "Yes, I'm very sure!" I don't know how to explain it, but I just know it. God's peace is with me.

By now.. You'll be asking who's this wonderful guy? :-)
I'll introduce him when the time comes. For now, I'll call him A. *wink*

The 5 Love Languages

Recently, I've discovered that love languages are actually divided into 5 different aspects. Well, sort of discover because I think I know, but I've never really given much thoughts about it and I've never really think about which of these love languages are my emotional preferences. These love languages do not have to be a romantic relationship, it is how we express love and affection with our loved ones like our families, friends, or special person.

The 5 love languages are :-

Words of Affirmation

Quality Time

Receiving Gifts

Acts of Service

Physical touch

Well..somehow, after realizing this, I have started to think about how I'll response to certain situations that will make me feel loved but still, I find myself a complicated person. LOL.. i don't really know what I prefer. So, I checked out "the 5 love languages" website and came to know that they have a quiz for you to find out your love language preferences.

All the while, I thought "words of affirmation" is my love language. But after completing the quiz, I realize I actually prefer quality time with my loved ones. ;D But yeah, our love languages may change at times depending on the situation. But all in all, I agree with what the author of the website is telling us - discovering our love languages will help us to connect with our loved ones and enhance relationships in our life. So, why not check out the quiz and find out your love languages too? ;D

Adventure with BBQ cake

It was a lovely Saturday morning and perfect day for baking cake. I've already planned the baking session with mom as 'sifu' the day before. The cake was for a CNY gathering on that night. Everything went well from weighing the ingredients, cutting the peaches & plums, melting the butter and mixing the ingredients together. Not long after the tin of mixture (not yet become a cake) was placed in the oven, disasters kept coming! First, the oven went 'pop!!' and before I knew it, mom was shouting, "The oven exploded! Your cake, your cake!". I was washing my hands in the wash room when the explosion happened. Not sure what happened to the oven though... and before we checked the oven, we quickly save the cake first. 

Everybody started to think of solutions. (everybody here include mom, me, my sister and an aunt) We tried calling the nearest aunty to our house, but she has no oven. Tried another aunty, but she's out in town. We must cook the cake as soon as possible, otherwise the mixture with all the fruits inside will sink and I can't imagine what will happen to the cake! I was so nervous! 

Mom was quick in thinking of a solution. She suggested using a wok to cook it. At first, I thought she meant steaming the cake which is absolutely no good for a crumble cake. But actually, she just meant heating the cake in a hot covered wok. I took this photo as fast as possible and cover the wok with a lid. ;D But a few minutes in the wok.. gas went off! While changing to a new gas cylinder, we really wondered whether the cake can still survive or not.. lol

After 15 minutes of cooking the cake in the wok, the temperature still did not rise to the desired temperature. It stayed at about 130C, but we required 175C. And the crumble was melting slightly. Not sure who came up with the idea of using the BBQ grill. We were brain-storming of whether we should cut the cake smaller and bake the cake in the oven toaster, and someone suggested grilling the cake. :D But we couldn't start up the grill! I thought that's the end of the cake... but glad that the BBQ grill was able to start-up after a few more attempts. hahahaha..

Checking the cake in the BBQ grill

Anyway, the cake was a success though it was a bit burnt at the bottom from the fire of the BBQ grill. But glad that everybody enjoyed the cake and the humour behind the cake baking adventure. ;D

Cooling down the cake after BBQ

Taste yummy! The crumble, the peaches and plums all came out OK after moving from oven to wok and to BBQ grill

Random post

* 酸角糕 = Acid horn. Can't stop smiling when I found the English translation of this China product.  ;D It's actually Asam Jawa or Tamarind. 

* J is now "legally" married with Matt. They signed the paper on 4.1.13. If you read the year first, it will be 13.1.4 and in cantonese, it sounds like 一生一世, which means everlasting. Saw their photo in newspaper the day after their ROM. However, as it's Chinese tradition to have the groom with his entourage to "fetch" the bride on the actual wedding day + having tea ceremony + wedding banquet , they are still not "officially" married yet.. (Ya, Chinese tradition is a bit complicated..) and the actual day will be in Dec. I'm so looking forward to that day. ;D

slightly blur cuz I took the picture from the newspaper

* Did not use gloves for an analysis the other day and my fingers became so dry and lost its sensitiveness. Thought it will be a fast analysis and I won't touch any chemicals. Wearing gloves are sometimes quite troublesome when handling things like opening bottle insert or peeling labels or holding tiny things. But yeah.. i learned my lesson. No more bare hands when handling chemicals especially toxic chemicals like chloroform. Oops.. 

* Visit a colleague's new born baby. Cute, tiny little girl.. ;D

* Was at All Inn Dessert some time ago with a group of friends. Didn't manage to post review on time. Anyway, we had a good chat but they don't have the normal types of '糖水' (cantonese for sweet soup) like 花生糊 (peanut paste soup), 紅豆沙 (red bean paste soup) or 黑糯米粥 (sweet black glutinous rice soup). I was expecting those but probably they are sold out or they don't have it at all. Can't remember whether they have it in the menu. Those in their menu are too fancy for me. Haha.. just not dare to try la! To be safe, I ordered "Dates, Aloe Vera & Longan" dessert which was slightly too sweet. Well..it's not too bad and not too expensive. It's actually a nice place for a quiet, chill out time with a few close buddies. "wink"

CNY decorations

Finally! The decorations are ready! ;D 

The firecrackers really took us some time to combine together. They just didn't want to stay at their positions and kept messing around. We later  found an easy way to stitch them together with the all-purpose cellophane tape. Added a crane in the centre of the lantern. It also took us some time to hang it as it was not easy to reach the ceiling with only a stainless steel stool.

Close-up of the lantern with fire crackers

After hung up onto the ceiling

A bigger view of the decoration

More lanterns were made later and hung on the ceilings.

This lantern has three stars (by KP) and a smaller lantern at the bottom (by SC)

Took me quite awhile to stitch this together. There are one little crane in each of the lantern and two fishes at the bottom

Decor on the wall

Now, you can really feel the festive mood swinging in. Hope this will liven up the working environment and reduce some work stress. ;) Thank you all for the contributions.. I hope this activity helps to build up team spirit among fellow co-workers too and instil cheerfulness in everybody who's working in the office. ;P

Preparation for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Have you start preparing for the festive season or are you not in the mood yet? ;P

Our office is already getting ready with the decorations to boost the mood. It seems that most of us were still sleepy and couldn't really concentrate at 8 o'clock in the morning (probably because everybody else does not need to work today since it's a public holiday - Thaipusam). We decided to do a bit of art work and decorate our office for the coming CNY. Well..not everybody was sleepy, some were already working diligently.. lol. Well, we were also contributing in some ways too.. it's a good team building activity too! But of course, the difficult part was left to be done after office hour. >.<

So here are some decorations that are still not finished yet. They will be hung up the ceilings tomorrow. 

Lanterns I made

Crane by Coco and ribbons

Small little fans and fishes contributed by YT, SC and Coco.
The stacks of cylinders will be made into fire crackers (by YT)

This is my idea.. but YT helped hung them up ;P Looked more like a wedding than CNY decor..hahaha..

 Below were how our office looked like last year CNY.

Big "福" on the glass window. 

Three big lanterns along the office. 

Wall decoration by YT

My 2012

2012 was an exciting year for me. My sister said she sees changes in me over this year, in a good way of course! And she is proud of me! :D This is my first time writing back about what happened in my life in the previous year. For the past few years I started this blog, I haven't done this before and I think I should start writing one cuz it's good way to remember and count the blessings that I received from God. I'll summarize my 2012 by month. 

January

I spent New Year in Auckland! Isn't that awesome! hahahaha! Food in NZ was sooOooo good! I can imagine myself getting fatter and fatter if I stay there too long! Read more about food I had in NZ here! 

And then, there was Chinese New Year. There were a lot of food gatherings, reunion 'yumchar'/dinners and happy time. lol... Evie's wedding was in this month too! 

February

Seems that because of Chinese New Year, I didn't blog during this month. But I had a nice dinner with my best mate, J at Friends Cafe and I postpone this post to March. Nothing eventful this month because I spent too much during CNY! lol..too broke to spend more. Oh yeah...I started paying mortgage in Jan. That's why I'm broke. :( 

March

I bought my first smartphone! Something I wanted for a long time but only decided then. Why did I take so long to decide? What was I thinking? 

I'm so happy with my phone and it's been faithful to me until now. *fingers crosses*. Not much trouble except for a few glitches that I've posted here. 

April

My first visit to Aeon Station 18, the biggest shopping mall in ipoh. 

Sis was here in Ipoh with her children for vacation. We had dim sum at Foh San, shopping in almost all the malls in town (lol), playing with the kids and eating good Ipoh food. :D I've also discovered the famous Wan Tao Long which used to sell this iced dessert opposite Pasir Puteh (Tai Wo Yuan) market. 

May

Sabah trip with mom!! :D It was a fun and exciting trip. So long never been to a trip with mom. Hmm..we should organize a family trip soon. It's been awhile I have not travel with both sisters and mom together. 

And this month was my first encounter in online shopping. View my first experience here. 

Visited mLab 2012 at KLCC with my colleagues and.... my uni friend whom I've never met in 7 years came to visit and gave me a box of Godiva! lol

June

My braces were off! After wearing for 1 and half years, finally, they were taken off and I've got my retainers too. 

My cousin's wedding was in June too. It was a really big family gathering. I took 1 week off to spend time with family and relatives who came back from KL, Singapore, overseas. 

July

July was the month I did some backlog blogging. ;P 

August

Sis and her family came to visit Ipoh again. Everytime they are here, I'm just too busy playing with the kids and no time for blogging. ;P They are just so cute and growing up too fast! 

Oh, I baked some cakes too! And that's no ordinary cake. It's "apricot, dates, banana, almond and pistachio cake"!! :D But only one time. hahahaha! No more baking after that. Maybe I should try again soon. 

There's also Raya Open House that my colleagues and I were invited to. Having traditional malay food and a feel of kampung house.

September

My birthday celebration which I did not blog about. ;P I had a small birthday lunch with a few friends at the Artiste in De Garden. Not going there for food any more because the food is just too salty. Maybe for a drink and chat but not for big meal. 

October

Celebrated J's birthday at Capucino Cafe. Read more about what we had at this cafe. I changed my blog outlook in this month too. ;D

November

My friend accepted Christ on 23/11/12!! Praise the Lord! I took up the responsibility of being her mentor. By God's grace, we hope to finish the lessons before my friend leave for KL to finish her studies. Let's hope for a new beginning in the walk with God for both of us!

Tried this new B.E.D cafe in town with mom which we will go again and again in future! ;D Good food, good coffee, cozy place to hang out with friends.. just that they only open at certain hours. Check this out! >>> B.E.D cafe

Visited my sister in PJ. Lots to share here but I guess I have to do some backlogs again. 

December

And finally, it's the last month of 2012. Everyone was talking about the end of the world on 21.12.12. So, we survived and still is living as usual. lol. No la! God has His own time and Jesus will come back without anyone know when. So, there won't be any fixed date or time for us people to know. Therefore, for now, live as best as we can and share the love! 

And yes, we had a "Christmas Love Movement" that our family organized for Vision Home, Ipoh. We collected rice, diaper, milk powder and specific Christmas gifts for the children. In addition, we had extra cash for the children's education fund and the home general fund. :D 

Not to forget I had a wonderful Christmas time with my family. Here's a glimpse of our Christmas dinner table and a night scene of Kinta Riverfront where we spent on one of the nights during the Christmas holiday. 

Sorry for keeping you so long. I know...this is a really long post! :D Again, Happy New Year to you all and may God bless your 2013!