the number 9

The girls had playdates over today.

Dolce came over and stayed for a couple of hours. She lives in the same neighborhood as ours and used to go to the same daycare with Emma.



Imani (in picture below) and Ava were Annabel's playdates and they also live in our neighborhood.



This is what it turned out to be if you left 5 super-hyperactive young girls playing in the playroom for 2 hours.



I had the playroom door shut and dare not to go in.



Someone got to clean the room fast before I have a heart attack.





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After the playdates, we spent the entire afternoon at the pool.



The girls took a break during the "Adult Swim" time and played at the playground right beside the pool.





It was a relaxing weekend and we finished up our day with a take-out BBQ Ribs dinner from Famous Dave's BBQ.

Yum, it was finger licking good. I have never eaten so much in a long long time.



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Oh by the way, today is our 9th Anniversary. Happy Anniversary, MrT!



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more short posts...

Our neighborhood's pool opened for the summer season on Saturday.

The girls got up very early in the morning with full of excitement and can't wait to go for a swim. They have been waiting for the Memorial Day weekend for the longest time.



At 12 noon sharp, with their bikes and swimsuits on, off they went to the pool and spent the entire afternoon there.

I'm so glad the pool is open now - the girls can spend most of their summer afternoon there.



MsA is going to be in the swim team this year, so expect to see more pictures of her and her swim mates.



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No Sambal Sotong for dinner yet. I have been lazy in the kitchen lately. Most dinners were cooked on the grill - burgers, hotdogs, steaks and chicky boobies.

Found some fish paste at the Oriental store and I was crazy for some Yong Tau Foo.




So, Tau Foo Pok with fish paste cooked in soy & oyster sauce were my dinners for the past few nights.

Not as good as my mom's but hey, I can't complaint much.

Will try to do a full version of Yong Tau Foo with eggplants, chillies, ladyfingers and silken tofu. Only when I'm not too lazy!



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MrT went out and bought an electric guitar a few weeks ago and was talking about taking up a guitar lesson by watching YouTube.

I know it can be done and I'm sure he can do it. Wish him luck!



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At 3-1/2 years old, I guess this is the age that most kids loves stickers - just like Robbie Williams adores his tattoos.


How do you like my tattoos...??


Only if they are real...


and PERMENANT...!!!!



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Got to go now.



The girls are bugging me to go to the pool. Agaaaaaain!

So long Folks!




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some short posts

The date has been set.


Tickets are bought and paid for.


Luggage? Not packed yet.


No, it's not my trip back to Malaysia but MrT and the girls are going to Canada in 3 weeks to visit his sister and her family.

Grandpa and Adele will be there too. Woo hoo!

Sort of like a family reunion.

Me? Can't take time off work. So I will be staying home. Alone. All by myself. For a week. Yikes!



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I have been lazy on blogging lately. Kind of lack of mood, I would say but all is well for me and the family.

These are a few pictures of the youngest, MsEmma goofing around in the house.






Her hair gets alot lighter during this time of the year and it will turn completely golden brown when summer approaches.



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Last Sunday, we were out for a late breakfast at Denny's on the other side of the town.

The Oriental store is just across the road from Denny's, so we make a quick stop to get some stuff.

Guess what I bought that day...???



Four medium size sotong costs approx $3.80 - very the cheap, man.





I think some Sambal Sotong should be in order this weekend.

Can someone share a good Sambal Sotong recipe with me?

Or should I just do a simple Fried Calamari?



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As promised, here's my Hazel contact lens.


WARNING.
Be prepared to view a picture of my BIG eyeball with Hazel color contact lens.







How do you like my Hazel contact lens?




I kind-of-sort-of like it. It matches my fake brown hair. No?


What's next? GREEN!




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outstanding news

This soon-to-be 4-years old in August young lady...



Yes, this messy little girl.....




has been accepted by the elementary school in our area to attend a Pre-K program this fall.



All we gotta do is to fill out this form and return it to the school by May 22nd (a reminder to self).




and these two girls will....



go on the same school bus....



attend the same elementary school.




You can tell I'm very EXCITED!!!!

With that being said, we will save $500 a month on daycare. That's SIX GRAND a year, babe. WOO HOO!!!

Time to browse the Kohl's catalog and do some serious shopping!





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Rustic Furniture

We are in the midst of arranging our furniture in the den and I couldn't believe we have so much junk in our house.

Many of the unused and unneccessary stuff have been either packed and put away in the attic or some just simply trash for us.

What I really wanted for our den is some rustic furniture which I recently fall in love with.

Ah, I can imagine myself coming home from a long day at work, kick back and relax on this comfortable ottoman.

Malaysian Dream Girl - Final Three

It started with 12, 9 was voted out and now only 3 remain.


Who are the Final 3?


Enjoy the last photoshoot from these 3 gorgeous girls - who one will be crowned Malaysian Dreamgirl Season 2 on the Season Grand Finale this Friday, May 13th 2009 at The Curve Shopping Mall, Petaling Jaya.


I'm absolutely, totally, completely, _______________ (fill in the blank), impressed with the last Safari theme photoshoot by Svenson.



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We start with Dawn.

My ALL-TIME favourite girl. I love her pose. Look at those sexy legs. Eh, where she bought those stockings?



I'm not too crazy about her hairstyle this time. Kinda weird looking type of hairstyle. You know, look exactly like she's wearing a half-cut coconut.



But but, I'm still rooting for her. I have very high confident in this girl to be either the winner or the 1st runner-up.

Go Dawn... Go Dawn... Go Dawn...



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Next is Pinky.

WOW... WOW... WOW... were the 3 words that first came out of my mouth when I saw this picture.



This picture could win her the title of Malaysian Dreamgirl Season 2, man. The best picture of her so far. Agree?

If you watched the video while she was shooting this photo, you will know why I gave her a pad on her shoulder. Go watch yourself lah at http://www.malaysiandreamgirl.tv/

Very impressive, Pinky. *clap clap clap*



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Last but not least, my Most Favourable Juanita.

The photo was okay. For some reason, I do not like her hair. Macam orang gila, babe. Also macam like 2 weeks tak cuci rambut type of hairstyle. Look closely, perhaps can see some kutu. Haha!



Again, I'm not much into this photo. Maybe it was too bright, no shadow contrast on her face like Pinky's. Or could it be the plain background leh...? Entah le Labu!

But but but, I still think she will be our next Malaysian Dreamgirl Season 2.




Hard to say man. Dawn is coming pretty strong too and I have started to like her alot lately.


It's either Dawn or Juanita.


Wanna know who's our next Malaysian Dreamgirl?

Make sure you will be there at the Grand Finale on Friday, May 13th 2009 - 7:00 pm at The Curve.

Darn, you Malaysian are so lucky. Wish I was there to witness this special event. I have to wait till May 17th 2009 for the show to be aired on the internet. *Double Darn*

Oh yeah, to those who are planning to go and give a little support to our fella Malaysian, take some photos and show me in your blog ya.




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How To Stay Young

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them!'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle.' An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's

4. Enjoy the simple things

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help

9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity


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a beauty

My eldest daughter, MsAnnabel - school picture 2008/2009






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strawberry picking

One thing I like about living in the United States is there are plenty of festivals year round. Chilli Cookout Festival; Watermelon Festival; Brunswick Stew Festival; Greek Festival; you named it, they have it!

Saturday, it was a Strawberry Festival at the Chesterfield Berry Farm, about 30 minutes drive from our house.



It was a nice day out with temperature in the mid 70s (I love Springtime!) and the ride out to the country was magnificent. So quiet and peaceful.



We left home at around 11:00 am...


and got there just about time for Strawberry lunch.


This year, the owner has done alot of work for this strawberry picking event.


And they start charging entrance fee - $5 per person which pissed me off.


We used to get in for free and pay $1 per person for the hayride. So instead of paying $4, we ended up paying $20. FTS!


While the girls played in the moon bounce....


I had MrR to snap some pictures.


Since it's a farm and out in the country, there are all kind of farm animals for the kids to see.


It wasn't that hot but I guess bunnies get thristy all the time. No..??


The bunny warren (house).


Next to the bunny warren, there's this chicken farm and the girls went crazy about the livestock.


The turkey was trying to have some "good" time with his mate.


Thought it was an ostrich but I was wrong. It's an Emu.


The brown cow produces chocolate milk...


and the white one 2% milk. That's what most kids would believe. Ha ha!


We have to pay for the horsee ride, so we passed on that. The sad horse was hungry anyway, so we proceed to...


let the girls have some fun with duck race.


They both won the game and got to pick a prize.


We walked around for a while and then decided to....


get on the hayride.


Grabbed the carton for the strawberry picking...


we then hopped onto the back of the truck filled with hay...


and off we went to the strawberry field for our strawberry picking session.


After 5 minutes of hayride, we reached rows and rows of strawberry plants with...


huge and juicy strawberries...


waiting for hungry picker like me...


to savour the freshest strawberry in the world.


I ate....


and ate so much that I'm sure for the next two days, my bathroom will have some kind of strawberry scent. Ha ha. Very funny!


The girls continue to pick and I continue to eat...


and finally, I had enough strawberries and the girls were done picking.


We took the hayride back to the main farm and paid $6.81 for these strawberries.


On the way out, the girls got some free balloons from MsClown...


while I took the opportunity to snap some final pictures around.


Snack bar...


and food available for purchase.


Lip Smacking Beans - that sounds good.


We thought about getting some lunch but there wasn't much of a choice for the girls, so we left the farm and had a quick lunch at Sonic.

The End.





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