CNY Decorations in the Office

Chinese New Year mood is officially ON! 

This year we bought ready-made decorations to save time. All of them are sponsored by YT. 

 

Except for one big 春 wording on the glass wall hand-made by Elaine using red packets. 

Hope these decorations will boost up the mood and cheer up everybody in the office. 

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. 

Sangkaya Signature Coconut Ice-cream

I love ice-cream and a few of my favourites are mint with chocolate chips, chocolate and coffee. I'm not a fan of coconut ice-cream and if I have a choice, I wouldn't choose coconut flavour. But this is an exceptional. I have never tasted any coconut ice cream so rich in flavour and so creamy. This will be my first ever coconut ice cream that had shot up into the top of my ice cream flavours list. It was a treat from my husband's brother. I'm glad he brought us there. =)

 

Err...No.. You can't find this in Ipoh. The shop is located somewhere in Damansara Uptown. I saw an outlet at Sunway Pyramid which I think it's more convenient for many as it's quite difficult to find a parking space at Damansara Uptown. Price of a bowl of Sangkaya Signature coconut ice cream is about RM10. The bowl is actually the coconut shell..which is the reason why the ice cream tastes even much better. I'll definitely eat this ice cream again. =)

Wrapping paper from RM2 shop

There is a boom of RM2 shops mushrooming around Perak. I like to check out the place from time to time for good bargain. Sometime you may find things that are really worth the 2 ringgit but sometime, it could be more expensive than buying elsewhere. 

This wrapping paper was bought from the RM2 shop nearby Ipoh Parade. They came in 3 pieces. One pink, one blue and one gold. If you use the other side of the wrapping paper, it's silver color. So you get 4 colors with RM2. Not bad huh?

I've used it to wrap some gifts during last year Christmas. Aren't they classy and expensive? Haha..

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

Chest of Drawers

Looking at my chest of drawers, I feel really fortunate to have engaged with a trustworthy contractor who has done a great carpentry job and at a reasonable price too. I liked a white color chest of drawers from IKEA. It has exactly the size I wanted. But to get that, I need to travel about 3hrs to Kuala Lumpur as Ipoh does not have IKEA and then, carry it back to IPOH and assemble it myself....and it's not cheap too. With the addition cost from the travel, that's just too troublesome and too much effort. 

IKEA Birkeland Chest of 6 Drawers with size 109x52x112cm (WxDxL) at RM1090 (£200)

It's a beauty, isn't it? But too bad..It's out of my reach...

Some other chest of drawers I found on the web that I liked

Hubby and I tried to search for a suitable one in our local furniture stores but none suits my requirements. They were either not the right size or the color does not match our room's color or they were too expensive. In the end, we asked our kitchen cabinet contractor, Hisham, whether he could spare some time and fabricate one including installation within a week as we wanted to have it before the wedding. (This happened last year dec 2013 and after all other renovation jobs were done)

I drew a sketch of the chest of drawers I would like to have and consulted Hisham. Consultation with him was a brisk. Everything I asked for can be done. Since I wanted big drawers of different sizes, he suggested to use a better quality drawer slide to hold the heavy drawer. I'm ok to pay extra, as long as the drawers are stable and last me at least 10-15 years. (so greedy)

So, after waiting for 1-2 weeks, the chest of drawers are completed. It is fixed permanently to the wall. The color material also matches with our wardrobe and dressing table. Very nicely made! It cost me RM750 but I have everything I wanted for this chest of drawers. Size was 110cm Width x 110cm Height x 52.5cm Depth. Drawers size from top to bottom: 20cm, 20cm, 25cm, 30cm

Top drawers: Hubby's and toiletries; 2nd drawer: mine; 3rd drawer: Hubby's shorts and Ts; bottom drawer: Towels

Up-close with nature

I like nature but the hot weather in Malaysia makes it hard to enjoy outdoor activities. I hate to be sweaty and the scorching sun in the afternoon. However, it was a pleasant day when we visited The Haven Lakeside Residences and Taiping Zoo 2 weeks ago. There was little sun and it didn't rain either. 

We stopped by at The Haven for a short while before we headed to the zoo. The place is exactly like what it was advertised on billboards. The limestone hills surrounding the residences are so awesome. It is so peaceful and calm standing there, enjoying the picturesque scenery. 

Taiping Zoo is about 1 hour drive through the highway. It's wise to arrive at the zoo early if you want to see active animals because most animals will probably be sleeping in the afternoon. (that's what we experienced during the previous visit) 

We managed to see quite a handful of animals that were very active and interactive as well. The elephants were playful and were taking bath in the pond. It was fun watching them played. We saw a pair of Orang Utans. One looked like meditating at a corner and the other was resting on the tree. From their looks, I think the one on the tree is a female. Look at the hairstyle!

The tigers were sort of like giving a performance as they were swimming from one side to the other side of the pond in their enclosure and then, walked up the hill and then, back to the pond again. This routine was repeated many times by 2 of the 3 tigers. They were not afraid to show off their swimming talent. It was excited to watch them. =) 

I love to see the sun bear the most. It walked toward us thinking that we had food in our hands. My husband would really love to touch it if it wasn't for their sharp claws that looked really dangerous. We tried to make it to stand up and raise its hands so that the crest is shown. It did! But I wasn't fast enough to take photos. What a pity...

We also saw giraffes, zebras, camels, hippopotamus, crocodiles, monkeys, birds and a lot more. I think this is the best zoo to visit in Malaysia. Not that we have a lot. There are only two zoos and the other zoo is in Kuala Lumpur. I haven't been there since primary school. I wonder how it is now because I heard a lot of bad reviews about it. 

Taiping zoo is open all year round from 8:30am to 6:00pm. Do visit with family and children. They will love it! 

STG Boutique Cafe

My dear husband brought me to a nice cafe situated in oldtown, Ipoh. He kept it as a surprise and I only know where we're heading to when we arrived at the cafe. 

So, here we were at STG Boutique Cafe (Jalan Tun Sambanthan). 

The cafe was quite empty when we arrived. There was only one table with 3 guests. After we ordered our food, I took my time taking photographs of the cafe's interior. It has a classic style, with an elegant and serene feel. I felt a constant need to sit straight, cross my leg and speak quietly when I was there. =P

Husband and I had photos taken each while we waited for our food. Unfortunately, we forgot to take a selfie together. Aiseh...because I was busy photographing the macarons. 

We had a pot of Sabah Tea Geranium flavour to go with our food. Didn't know what is geranium and found this picture on google image. Beautiful flowers. 

The cafe manager suggested us to take this tea flavour and i think she did very well. Haha.. It was said that geranium is excellent for the female reproductive system. I'm TTC now. So you know how this excites me when I found out about its benefits. The aroma also helps calm the mind and body. No wonder i felt so calm yesterday. Hehehe... oh, i think the tea was selling at RM14 per pot. Can't remember exactly.

I had Valencia chicken with a touch of citrus. I love everything with citrus flavor. That's why this dish is so appetizing to me. The poached egg on top of the chicken breast was beautifully cooked. But remember to eat together with the chicken so that the yolk will melt in your mouth. At first, I was skeptical to the chicken breast but it was soft, tender and juicy. I'll definitely recommend this dish to anyone who likes chicken breast and citrus. Selling at RM25.00, it's a great deal. 

Husband had Chicken Roulade which he highly recommends. He loves it so much that this was his 2nd time ordering the same food. He had it once with a customer. 

My husband knows I like cakes and he ordered a chocolate lava cake for dessert. I got to say it was a lovely gesture from him. The chocolate and vanilla ice-cream were really refreshing after a full main course. 

While my husband is settling the bill, I had the opportunity to tour the first floor of the cafe. Here, they have several rooms for private function and there's a big hall for big parties & celebrations. I was wondering why the cafe is so huge from the outside. Now, I know why...

Overall, I was very satisfied with the food and very happy indeed to have enjoyed the meal with my husband. 

Tittle Tattle Houzz

Pssstt...... Let's have a cup of coffee and a chat at Tittle Tattle Houzz. The newly opened cafe (actually not so new now cuz this post was kept in the draft folder for 2 months already!) is family operated and it's located in Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh. Situated opposite "Aberdeen Cafe", the place has ample parking space during the weekends. But it's only opened from 11am till 5pm, so make plans to go early. Otherwise, the best dessert will be sold out! 

The owner of this cafe is a genius in art. She made all these wooden decorations and glass bulbs for the plants at the entrance of the cafe.

All the interior designs are done by her too. You will notice she loves butterflies! They are all over the walls. :) Even the air-conditioner is decorated. First time to see this in a cafe. Brilliant idea! The walls are also decorated with newspapers comics! 

My sister loves this chair. She posed for me to show that this chair is so comfortable for reading and have a sip of coffee. :D

See the girl in action? She's the owner of this cafe. She's busy preparing our drinks. *wink* The menu is on the wall. You can also view the menu from a tablet /ipad in front of the register. 

Now, may I present you the delicacies of this cafe? I love the tiramisu so much! It's the best dessert here. Selling like hot cakes! If you are late, you won't get to taste it. What I love about this cafe is they put a lot of thoughts in ensuring the food & drinks are at the best quality. The cold drinks are served with ice cubes that won't melt and glass that won't have water condensation at the external wall! This way, the cold drinks will always have the same taste without ice melting and watering the flavour and the glass / table will stay dry throughout the customer visit. So cool ideas! 

The address and contact number of the cafe :-

Notice the button on the business card? :-)

42 Foodies Italian Restaurant

I have never been to 42 Foodies personally prior to this but one of my friends said it's quite a nice place and the food is not bad too. But in terms of price, it could be a bit pricey. It was in my list of must visit restaurants and so we decided to have Coco's birthday dinner there. =)

I tried their lasagne.. not a good choice. Small portion at RM18.50. That's ridiculously expensive. The spice they used was too strong and overcame other ingredients of the food. Couldn't even taste the beef and tomatoes. But cheese portion was quite a lot. I love cheese. =D

Coco had grilled chicken. It was not bad. Sauce was great. But she doesn't eat salad. So i helped myself with it and I love the salad! KP had the burger and she likes it. Can't remember the price of the food though..cuz went there in April! (=.=" this is a backlog post) 

from top to right: burger, grilled chicken and beef lasagne

our table number and a cup of water

The restaurant interior is very nice. I personally feel it's a nice place to chat and get cozy with your mate. Hehe.. The walls are blue color or is it mint? The color gives you a soothing and calm feeling. The paintings on the wall are very nice too. If there's only one of them, it would be too plain & dull. With a few in a row, they look really stylish. It creates a good background for photos! 

We didn't prepare a cake for Coco. We had the restaurant's dessert instead. Thank God she doesn't mind and loves the pancake with ice cream and chocolate topping. It's super delicious! Gone within seconds! (We were worried the ice-cream melts and eat faster lor...!)

Address is :-

Jalan Hussein Nordin, Taman Kin Mee, 31400 Ipoh (Behind a row of shoplots opposite the Velodrom Rakyat. Near to Petronas in Fair Park.)

Tel: 05-547 7442

Opening hours: Tues to Sunday from 11:30am to 3:30pm, 6:00-10:00pm

World Cup 2014

One of the cafes we frequented for lunch have flags of all the countries who made it to the World Cup 2014 displayed in their cafe. We were told that the owner of the cafe bought the flags online. He must be an avid football fan. He even supplied football jerseys to his waiters and waitresses. I saw him with football attire today. Should have taken a photo of him with his Brazil colors jersey. 

I'm not a big fan. But I support Germany! Go, go, go, Germany!! =D

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...

Fun time with my nephew

Children are adorable. They grow so fast! Only a few months had passed since the last time I meet my nephew and niece, and they have grown so much! 

I was seated with the boy on the back seat of the car on a trip out for dinner because he always disturb his sister and they will end up fighting. Usually not long after that, one will be sulking or crying or yelling.. Haha.. sibling fight. 

So I sat with the boy while the sister sat with my husband. (it's a 7-seater car) We played, had some fun and took a lot of selfies. He's such a cute and handsome little guy. Missing his cheeky face and bluish tongue. 

Make up like a Super Star

Just a week ago, I needed to attend an annual dinner and I happened to find this amazing deal on groupon. I wanted to look good on that night and a professional make-up service from Super Star for RM28 is just too good to resist! =) 

I booked an appointment 2hours before the dinner so that I've ample time to get ready with my dress and accessories. I did my hair for an extra RM15 which I think it's quite reasonable. 

What I want to comment is their superb service. Hair was done simultaneously as my make-up. I was ready in an hour, fully dressed with accessories and shoes. But because I did 3 of my fingernails while waiting for my turn and they weren't properly dried, I spoiled them. Super Star helped me to fix my nails and even applied all the other 7 fingernails free of charge! It surprised me as they also offer manicure & pedicure service. The lady said because I brought my own nail-polish, they did it free of charge. But they really do the full application, with 2 layers of nail polish and 1 layer of top coat! 

So, you asked how do I look? I'm satisfied with my look..not too much of make-up and looked more natural. My hair was great too..the most important is my hubby loved it! (",)  This was actually taken after the dinner..so..my oily face had messed up the make-up but the hair still look great, right?

And here's a photo of me and my handsome hubby at the dinner. 

Side Shields for Glasses

I've been searching for side shields from all our PPE suppliers, but none has this item in their list of products. It seems like it is not a common item in our local laboratories or workplaces. Safety goggles are very common but our workers complain of headache, dizziness, pain at the ears, discomfort, etc after wearing the goggles for hours. 

Some are short-sighted and need prescription glasses. We allow them to wear their prescription glasses as safety goggles as it is better than without wearing any glasses for eye protection. However, a safety goggles is still a better eye protection equipment. Someone recommended us to use side shields with our prescription glasses. 

I found some quite suitable side shields but they are actually quite costly to import from the US. It is because we are buying a small amount and the shipping cost is too expensive. If anyone of you know of a source, do recommend. Thank you! =)

1. From Tasco, USA, which cost USD2.70/pair. 

2. From Northern Safety, USA, which cost USD1.08/pair. 

3. From Amazon, USA. Price is USD4.00/pair. This is so expensive!

4. This is a more flexible version of side shield looking at the design. It can be worn for any type of prescription glasses! Selling at USD0.79-0.90/pair, seems like a good bargain.. if there's a distributor in Malaysia or nearby neighbors, it will be great. From Northern Safety, USA.