Picnic in the Park

Sparkling sun, some puffball clouds, a monopoly travel set, McD meal for two, frisbee, iPods, books, trusty mat, snacks. All the essential elements required for the (almost *) perfect picnic. Oh, and a nice big luscious park, of course.

* My definition of perfect would be a picnic by the beach with powdery white sand, crystal clear water; corals + marine life in abundance, fit for snorkelling. I miss Berjaya Redang.

Eureka Moment

I have gone through 32 years of my existence believing my name to be meaningless. So when everyone proudly explained the meaning of their names - paradise, the fair one, wise, this that and the other, I had nothing zero nadda zilch to share.

Lo and behold, thanks to this website that shall not be named, I have discovered that my name actually has, not one, but two meanings!

Woohoo.

The Arabic meaning is "noble" while in Irish it means "lovely" (albeit slightly different in the way it's spelt). Not only does my name have meaning(s), they are beautiful meaning(s) too. How wonderful is that.

This made my day. I must now live up to my name(s); not that I ever had any problems being lovely and noble. Heh.

Har-hars Under the Stars

We were at the Open Air Comedy Night at Canada Park last night and I am so glad that we, well, I insisted really, made the decision to go.

You know how it is, you come back home from work, you get busy cooking and smell like eau-de-fried noodles, then sit down for dinner, wash up and half an hour later, all you want to do is plonk yourself in front of the telly and subsequently collapse into a pile of snooze. Especially true for lazy-bones-IK (!).

I was feeling sluggish too but forced myself to get dressed for this event. Since the show started at 8 p.m., we had lots of time to get there really.

We arrived and realised that a big crowd had already gathered. It was a good turn out and we had no choice but to take a spot at the back but it wasn’t too bad as there were big screens available to aid viewing for the backbenchers.

Got our spot, spread out our ever so reliable picnic mat, got the snacks out and we were good to go.

There were five comedians; Patrick Monahan, Michael McIntyre, Jeff Green, Shappi Khorsandi and Adam Hills, out of which I thoroughly enjoyed three who were truly truly ab fab! They were so hilarious; I was guffawing and rolling on the grass. They each had about 30 minutes to perform and the entire show ended at approximately 10 p.m.

We felt bad for leaving Prince during that whole time, constantly wondering if we should dash off after the 3rd act as it was 9-ish by then. Is this God’s way of preparing us, should we ever have our own tot I wonder? That guilt-ridden feeling a working mum would experience for leaving her child behind to attend social activities. Eeeks I don’t think I’m quite ready for this yet. But I digress. (Note to self: Need to sort this lifestyle change/adjustment pronto.)

Alrighty, back to subject at hand - in a nutshell, the whole show was a blast, we had loads of fun, watching it under the stars did it for the romantic fool that is me and Michael Mcintyre, Adam Hills and Shappi Khorsandi were simply ace!

Some Pretty Shoes for these Old Feet

The summer sales have depleted my bank balance.


But aren't they just so gorgeous?

***

On a different note, the weather was lovely today despite the bleak outlook from BBC weather forecast. We had some errands to run this morning - some clumping litter for Prince and a bit of grocery. Got what we needed and after a brief stopover at the local Starbucks for some mango passion fruit frappy and iced mocha late, with the sun shining, we were all set for a picnic at Greenwich park.

With our picnic mat, and a new frisbee to try out, we found a nice spot in the beautiful vast green park. It was a definite day-out for there were already a bountiful of people, children on bicycles, babies in strollers and doggies eager to be released from their leash; each unit at their exclusive spot. We snacked on some crisps and enjoyed our cool drinks, tossed the frisbee around, people-watched and chatted the time away.

It was good fun being out in the sunshine, thinking and doing absolutely nothing but before long we had to get back to reality - I had household chores to tend to and some nasi ayam to prepare while IK wanted to catch his F1 race!

Catsitting

A friend and his family have gone back to Malaysia for three weeks and have appointed us as catsitters to their adorable kitten, Prince. Whoopeedoo.


I have had many kitties in my life but none as manja as Prince. When he wakes up, he'll try to find a spot on your lap and shoves his little head to your fingers indicating he wants to be cuddled and rubbed while he purrs very loudly. His purrings sound almost like a speedboat engine!

He is awfully playful and is hyper active, often amusing himself with marbles, balls, his little stuffed tiger, pens, strings, and even his own tail! It does not take much to keep him happy.

This morning, he came over to my side of the bed and woke me up with his loud purrs at 5.45 am. Fat chance of having a lie-in over the next three weekends. Heh.

We have only had him since Wednesday night but he has adjusted well to us and the new surrounding so his owners don't need to worry about this little tyke!

Mr. Stork

Well I guess the joys of motherhood have started to s l o w l y sink into me; I am starting to find this notion of having a baby fairly appealing and I’m guessing the maternal instincts have finally kicked in as I am starting to seriously consider this big responsibility of bringing up another person and simultaneously nurturing a soul, as the next step in my life. Either that or it is because a few I know are about to ‘pop’ soon and I'm feeling left out. I do hope it isn’t the latter!

So yes, I have been thinking about this for the last couple of months, mostly reading books on the pretext of knowledge-seeking but gradually being drawn to the concept of being a mummy to possibly a mini-me. More recently I have been contacting + emailing friends far and near to get tips; them sharing their experiences, advice, and me obtaining some form of reassurance that I too, am capable of handling such a huge responsibility.

This may sound cliché but all my mummy friends will say it is so worth it. And how when their bundle of joy flashes a smile, all memories of labour pains, sleepless nights and signs of fatigue-ness are almost instantaneously forgotten. Wow. Magical indeed.

Based on discussions IK and I have had over this ‘idea’, I think I have sort of decided that this may be the right time for me, God willing of course. Actually I was waiting to feel ‘ready’ for it but many have advised me that I will probably never feel ready. So I have given up on that and have resigned to the fact that since I am open to the idea now more than I have ever been in the past six years of our marriage that this must simply mean that it is the right time for me.

Truthfully, there are countless times (I can change my mind every 2/3 hours in a day) when I still I freak out thinking about it - am I really prepared? When overwhelmed, I'll think, 'nope, not in a million years' or 'maybe in a different lifetime'. Other times, I'll tell myself that I cannot control everything, I should just go with the flow.

Although having said that I still feel nervous and scare myself silly when I read the book and the gory details they provide. I’m sure the experience for each person is different but I cannot help but to worry about hair-loss, constipation, varicose veins, water retention, lower back aches, tiredness, morning sickness, memory lapse, loss of brain matter (as it is I am a scatter brain, imagine if I do get pregnant), putting on excess weight (oopsy, another blonde moment), major lifestyle change and more importantly, the baby's health. That was merely Part 1 of my worries, they unfortunately come in 3 parts.

Here’s Part 2: The childbirth itself. Gawd it is so petrifying it’s not funny. The episiotomy, the crowning, the contractions, perineal trauma, basically all the pain that is involved. Oh bl**dy hell. Remind me again why some women go through this over and over again?

Those wretched pregnancy books. This is where ignorance is truly bliss. But no I had to keep reading the gruesome + horrific details and frighten myself to death. Oh but there is hope I’ve been told. Epidural. Enough said.

For the records, I’ve changed my mindset and thrown caution, worries and fears of pain out the window – millions of women have gone through it, survived it and some even go through it twice/thrice over, so it has to be okay, right? Right?

And finally Part 3 of worries: Bringing up the child itself for the next 20 or so years of my life. Yikes. I agonise over the fact that I will not be a good mummy as I have a tendency to spoil them rotten. Clearly I need to be more logical and sensible i.e. think with my head, not my heart. Can I, will I?

I fret over the financial aspect; can we afford a child – diapers, medicine and formula, will we have enough money for his/her education, will we have enough to be able to go on nice holidays?

Then's there's the well-being - will we be able to nourish his physical, mental and spiritual needs? Will the bambino turn out alright - a good child who is thoughtful, loves me to death, is a clever one who plays the violin and graduates first class as a brain surgeon. Is that too much to ask for?

I know this is premature, but for the fun of it, names have been agreed to be either Emily (so she can buy key rings bearing her name when she goes abroad) or Iskandar (boys don’t care much for key rings) * Teeheehee *

But of course, all this can only happen if He wants it to. I hope whatever we decide, He will give us His blessings.

Blondie

This is me having a blonde moment – where is this elusive summer? It is mid July, almost August even and yet no sign of the sparkling sun.

The reason for this eagerness (and some what impatience) is mainly due to clothes. Yes, the outfits I wear.

Being in UK has made me realised that getting dressed every morning is a lengthy and tiring process. First I need to check the weather forecast for the day, then decide on skirts/trousers depending on temperature, to wear an extra layer of cardi or not, the right jacket depending on wind, so there's thick, medium or light to choose from and finally the shoes - stockings with heels, no stockings, flatties if alot of walking involved, comfy sneakers for longer outings (therefore no skirts as these don't go with each other), etc etc etc. All the while ensuring the colours are well coordinated. Don't even let me get started on the timing of the outing, it can sometimes have all four seasons in a day - what an amazing country eh. The synchronization of my daily attire is such a chore and very time-consuming, even I get exasperated sometimes.

Anyways back to my whining on the current weather situation. I have all these light colourful happy clothes collecting dust in the wardrobe, waiting patiently to be paraded in. Yet sadly, everyday, I end up with my drabby set of proper office attire. It is becoming all too dreary, I need some colour!

IK finds all this incomprehensible and chides me when I moan about not having anything nice to wear. He says I need not be inspired to go to work by always wearing the ‘perfect’ outfit. Bah. What do men know? As it is I have to drag myself to work each day. Having pretty skirts help ease the grief I feel every morning despite what IK believes.

Here’s praying for long lunches in the park, floral summery dresses, strappy sandals and cool pineapple-lemonades!

The Cotswolds

And so we were over in the Cotswolds for the weekend, a country side retreat, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It is a region in the midlands, with houses built from golden brown Cotswolds limestone with typical steep roofs, stone mullions and dormer windows. One of it's famous villages, Bourton-on-the-Water, has many traditional Cotswold houses that are apparently three to four hundred years old.

First destination on the itinerary was supposed to be Stow-on-the-Wold but we did not do a proper stopover as planned, we merely drove through as it was just a little village with mostly eclectic shops and pubs. We headed directly to Bourton-on-the-Water instead, which is approximately a 30 minute drive away. Bourton is often referred to as "the Venice of the Cotswolds" due to its six little bridges built across the River Windrush.



It has been voted as one of the prettiest villages in England and I can certainly vouch to that. The quaint and charming little cottages/pubs/ice cream parlours/eateries strewn by the river are ever so delightful.


Our first stop was the famed Only Cats shop, recommended by MIL; a shop that sells merchandise/souvenirs/paraphernalia relating to kitty tales + anecdotes and funny (no doubt famous too) feline quotes e.g. “I'm not asleep, I'm thinking” (har-har) printed on fridge magnets. A must-visit for cat-crazed people (like us!).

Then we moved on to have a bite; al fresco pub grub at a local pub seen in photograph below. Isn’t it just so pretty?


With happy tummies, we headed to the Bourton Model Railway Exhibition and Toy Shop specialising in model railways and accessories. It has over 500 square feet of model railway. Here, memories of playing with train models we each had as a kid came flooding back, but you can rest assure that it was nothing as big as this one!

We then made our way to the Model Village. This model village contains a 1/10 scale model of the village, a further scale model of the model village, and a final scale model of the scale model of the model village. Makes sense? Er, even I’m confused now.


Had a great time, strolling around in the Italian fashion, seeing and being seen, whilst being able to window shop too. Everything happened by the river though; there were families having picnics, people sun bathing, the young + old chatting and relaxing. It was a joy to see kiddies in their wellies, splashing about and wading in the river (the river was less than 1 feet deep). Even the doggies took the opportunity to cool themselves in the warm summer weather by taking a dip! Heck even we were tempted to jump in, the water was that enticing.

It was certainly a nice scenery change from Canary Wharf, where all things are new + made of steel vs. limestone quaint cottages with lots of shrubberies, trees and beautiful summer blooms. If only it weren't as far, I'd definitely make Bourton my weekend getaways.

A Fool and His Money are Soon Parted

The Gap sale is making a fool of me. Bah.

69 today

Happy Birthday Papa, can't wait to see you in October!

'Pulut Durian' Sequel

Thought I satiated my cravings when I had some during the recent holiday, but I was clearly off the mark.

Over the weekend, we were at the oriental supermarket to get some fish balls and I caught a glimpse of the smelly fruit in a little pack of four ‘ulas’ on display in the next aisle. Immediately the brain registered it as yummy; me want some pulut durian.

Now, enticed and tantalized with thoughts of the creamy sweet taste of the concoction (although having had some a month ago already, what is wrong with me), I knew I had to have some. Thankfully they sold the glutinous rice at the supermarket to go with the dessert. I hadn't a clue how to cook it, but mum’s expertise was just a call away.

Strange thing is, before I went away, never did I ever crave for durian or pulut durian for that matter. I hardly ate durians at all. Strange what takes over you when being cast away from your homeland. Only then do you pine for familiar surrounding, sight and sound (and food in this case).

Since Sunday, I have had three helpings with today being the last and final portion. I think I have gone overboard cause mid way through the serving, I felt ill. I take that as a good sign as this will guarantee that my next craving for this will not be anytime soon.

Er, I hope.

Tribute to Winnie

Tribute to Cleo

Yoooohooooo...

I can see yooooooooou

In the Garden of Eden

Winnie chilling on her favourite garden chair and Cleo just being, Cleo!

B.A.U. (Business As Usual)

Good news from home. The kitten has been adopted. What a huge relief.

I hope they will love him as much as we did, considering he is such a lovable fuzzball to have around. Feel sorry when I think about his early separation from his mommy/being abandoned at such a young age; Dr Ee said he was about 4 - 6 weeks old when we found him on the 28th June.

Anyways, I'm pleased he’s had a happy ending. He truly deserves it.

***

Bad news - I caved in. I'm such a weakling wimpy wimp. Could not even hold out for one day *bangs head on wall*. Less than 12 hours ago I boldly blogged about the promise to be careful about my spending/resist temptations/etc. So much for that; I bought a pair of shoes from Jones' sale at lunch. Boo me.

***

Moving on to other matters, I have slowly adjusted to my 'other' life here after being back for five days. I think it gives me great comfort to know that the stray kitten has found himself a good home. This has instantaneously helped restore my sense of well-being. Huzzah.

It's back to my old weekend routine. Wonder what IK wants to do tomorrow?

A Tragic End to the Perfect Holiday

So the Holiday is well and truly over.

It's been doom and gloom the minute the holiday ended last Sunday. First, the flight departed KLIA an hour late. It was a full flight - no hope of hogging two seats each. Landed in Heathrow late and it took 2 hours to clear immigration (there must have been like about 5000 people in the queue, I kid you not). Then a bomb scare was reported as we collected our baggage and headed to the arrival hall, toward chaos everywhere. Finally, we had to hop on a train to Terminal 4 with heavy suitcases in tow to catch the taxi we booked (he could not linger around Terminal 3 because of the chaos and it did not help that we were about 3 hours delayed).

What an ordeal.

Then for the past four days there's the missing home bout that I have to cope with, jet-lag battle, and to top it off, going back to work with month-end deadlines looming. SIGH. Been trying to get into the swing of things, but progress is extremely s l o w.

Here's what I'm missing:

1. Two weeks of nasi lemak/cucur/kuih/roti canai/teh tarik/steamboat overdose. Ho hum, I’ve put on weight instead of lose some.
2. Two weeks of cat-company. Those two bags of fur are such joy to have around.
3. Two weeks of meals prepared for me, instead of by me. Loved it.
4. Two weeks of Channel E! I'm now celebrity-savvy.

And what I'm not:

1. Rude infuriating Malaysians who do not understand the concept of/believe in queuing. I have absolutely zero tolerance for this.
2. Bad bad service, how I loathe this and how I never fail to attract them.
3. Public toilets. Euww.
4. Heartbreaking sights of stray cats and dogs roaming the streets. Unlike in the UK, where you have the Cats Protection, Battersea and RSPCA that you can always rely on; they really care for their animals. I know it's a long shot but I hope Malaysia will/can come up to the same level instead of merely claiming to be a 'caring' society.

We had the 'opportunity' to re-live our pre-London lifestyle for a week by rescuing a stray kitten abandoned right outside mum's gate. To-date mum still has not been able to find a home for him. I pray someone will take him soon, he is real easy to care for and is a cute little fellow who's very very playful, what's there not to like? *Fingers crossed*

There was also alot of damage done because everything is cheaper in Malaysia - MAC, Loccitane, Bobbi Brown, strangely even British brands like Topshop/DP/FCUK. Well, almost everything except Tefal, as mum pointed out.

I was home in time for the Mega Sale Carnival and I came back here to the beginning of summer sales. How disturbing is that. Note to self: Must not shop, bank balance needs time to recover from Malaysia trip.

Glad that it's Friday tomorrow; need to stop feeling miserable. The weekend could just be the remedy.

I'm Depressed

Miss home terribly. I especially miss the therapeutic company of these two furry-funsters.



Don't know when I'll see them next. Boohoohoo.