4 generations gathering....

It was the birthday celebration of hubby's grandmother. We'll celebrate it with her every year and this year was a special one for her coz she gets to spend it with two of her great-grandchildren.

Alden and Edric with grandmama and great-grandma, the star of the day.

A family picture....

Punyalah posing dia tu... with 2 of my cuz-in-law.

Alden refusing to look at the camera. Edric with grandpapa.

Alden refusing to sing Happy B'day song..

Thank God he didn't refused the food...

It was good to see you again...

I get to see my most beloved people in the world in the second weekend of New Year.

Me, hubby and the kids went to KL on Saturday late afternoon to meet up with Chris and her family. It was Melissa's family dinner before the day of her wedding reception. I sort of invited myself for the dinner coz I can't make it to her reception on Sunday. (Thick skin a bit when I called her mom to ask whether I can go for the family dinner instead.) Alden's school day starts on Monday and I don't want to rush back.

Chris and Evelyn were my housemates when we stayed in Michigan. Both of them are still residing in US. The get-together was fun. Wished we could chat the whole night through but I had to leave early coz it was way pass the kids bedtime. I wonder when will we be able to see each other again.


With Chris and Evelyn....little Edric joined in later...


Edric with Andy, Melissa's husband.




Alden taking the other kids hostage while Edric looks on.


The next day, we had lunch with my brother, foster brother and sister before traveling back to Ipoh. There is always not enough time when we want to be with the people we love eh. Sigh....

Hubby with Melvin (my Tai lou) and Joanne (my beloved 'Ah Sou'). Si Alden pula curi minum mommy punya iced mocha while mommy sibuk ambil gambar...

A little New Year Excursion

Hope the New Year will bring better news to everyone. 3 more weeks to go before Chinese New Year. More angpows to give away....:P
Gone were the years when I was the one expecting to get big red packets. Anyhow, I enjoy giving them to the little ones coz I can see the light of excitement shine in their eyes, just like how I used to be.

The first day of New Year was, well, normal. The whole family went for breakfast. Once everybody popped in the car after breakfast, Alden started making commands to his grandpa, as usual. ' Ye ye, I want to cross the bridge.' I think apart from his obsession with trains, his second favorite thing in the world is to go across bridges. It can be a flyover or the colorful bridge at the playground. The king has made his demand and the rest has to follow. He went across three that day. We were flat out by the time we got home.

Only manage to take the scene at the first bridge....this one overlooks Sg Kinta in Ipoh town.

'No, no, no...I still want to stay on the bridge!'


The view from the top of the bridge....


At D.R Park. Edric lookin wishfully at Alden, who was buzy crossing the playground's bridge (2nd one).


Grandparents and the grandkids....


At Gunung Lang Recreation Park...The lake was used for some scenes in Anna and the King.
We have to travel for a short disctance by boat to go across the park.

Another scene from an unwilling-to-leave-a-bridge visitor (3rd bridge).


The giant size catfishes in the Lake...what a sight!

Mom's little garden

When I went back home and saw mom's garden patches, I couldn't be happier. Seeing the growing plants always make my day. It was a refreshing sight.
Every morning when I wake up, I'll just walk around the garden and look for the ones that can be harvested. The rewarding feeling was awesome.

So people, try planting vegetables instead of flowers. (That's my mom's current philosophy. Flowers feed the eyes but vegetables feed your soul and tummy. It's convenient and we can minus the threat of ingesting pesticide too. Whatever we need, we pick them fresh from the farm.)

You don't have to have a large piece of land. You can always start planting in pots. Spring onion, brinjals, chillis and parsley are great potted plants. Tomatoes, bittergourd, okra and peas are a lot more trickier though.
But anyhow, just give it a try. I'm starting on mine soon.


Mom's parsley..She has 10 pots of them!
She often sell the extra harvest at the market.


Crazy tomatoes....extra sour too..

Sayur apa ni ah? I have no idea what's the name of this bean.

Harvest of the day....

Merry Christmas!

My Christmas Wish : Peace in my heart.

Somehow, unknowingly, I found peace. All the prayers sent up, I think I've received the answer.

Each time when I'm nearly in the brink of losing control, I'll tell myself 7 times 77 times. It's just something that caught my attention from an article in Daily Bread. It taught me patience.

I just want to wish all of my beloved friends and relatives that have supported me in the past few difficult months, a very Merry Christmas. Thank you very much for the care and love. May the faith, hope and peace of Christmas be with you always.

Crossroad

As depressed as I sound, I am really at the crossroads. Telan mati bapa, luah mati emak. Only a few of my clossest comrades will know the why I am like this.
Kindness in this world is difficult to find but I found it in the hands of strangers.
Human psychology is the least of my understanding. The harshness and softness of words can change the course of human lives. Some words are full of meaning but some uttered aimless and empty.
The motto that my husband opted : Respect and thou shall be respected; is this true?

I need to some convincing.

Well, I had my neucloplasty in the early September. Recuperated quite good and started yoga class in October. Thought I'm well into recovery. Somehow my nightmare is recurring.
Starting to have numbness in my right side of my jaw and neck. Right hand is hurting. Left foot doesn't work as efficient. I'm off for another MRI in 3 weeks time.
I have no idea what to feel right now. Better not think about it.

Remember to learn to use your body right. Posture is everything.

One step at a time...I guess...

Just had a review today. I went to SMC for a full body MRI and finally found the culprit.
I have a disc prolapse in between C6 and C7, which is compressing my spinal cord. Since my C4 and C5 are fused into a block, the orthopaedic is against the procedure of replacing the prolapse disc with titanium plate or bone block coz all my other cervical discs will be placed under further stress. He suggested to do a new procedure called nucleoplasty.

Neucloplasty is a procedure where with the help of an x-ray machine, a laser probe is inserted into the disc through a needle. The probe is used to evaporate part of the disc with the hope to retract the herniation that's indenting my cord. This is the least invasive procedure. I can only hope that the disc lifespan can last me for a few years to come. There is a high chance that I would be needing another surgery in the future to replace it coz it is already weakened. The MRI also showed that all my other cervical (neck) discs are degenerating. I wonder what else can go wrong.

I just talking to myself now. Guess this is the only place I can cry out for now coz I don't want to get all teary in front of people. Right now I think laughter will be my best medicine. I really miss my husband and Alden.
Gosh...I'm really blabbering to myself...