Away

Gonna check-in for a seminar at 11am this morning. Our day begins at 7am and ends at 10pm for the next six days.

It's a boot-camp! What have I gotten myself into?

A Visit to the Highlands

We had some family time up at Cameron Highlands over the weekend. We have not seen our babee since she left after the CNY break so this short vacation is really long overdue.

Our must-visit place every time we go up there

Must-have English Devonshire tea featuring yummy scones
served with butter, cream and strawberry jam

Hubby's favourite pastime up there
besides tinkering on the computer

The flowers up the highlands are always a joy to behold

'Bee caught taking a photo of me

Another must-visit place for us is the Boh tea plantation near Habu but this year we decided to try a new place so we went to the Bharat plantation instead since it was on our way down to Simpang Pulai. It was such a disappointment. The place was hot; there were plenty of flies and too many people polluting the air with their cigarette smoke. We're never going back there.

'Bee and I at the Bharat tea plantation

More Than A Thermometer

Nowadays it's very hot, even in an air-conditioned room. I sit directly under the air-con so it's even worse me but nobody believes me whenever I complain of the heat.

I was determined to get a thermometer so I could garner proof that where I sit is warmer than the rest of the room.

A friend happened to be around when I mentioned in passing that I wanted to buy a thermometer. He stopped me and promised that he would give me one instead.

Here it is. As you can see I received more than a thermometer.

The thermometer shows the temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit.
See how it is where I'm sitting!

Give it a turn clockwise and, voila, it becomes a clock showing the date and time

Give it another turn and it's an alarm clock

One final turn and it becomes a timer

It's simply marvellous and I love it! Thanks, Peter.

In For The Long Haul

Moms are in it for the long haul although, most of the time, the ROI is appallingly low. The pay is only considered plenty simply because moms are amazingly easy to please and they do not think of returns in monetary terms.

A surprise hug or an unexpected "I love you" is enough to revive a mom's flagging spirit and make it all worthwhile.

Princess & Friend

Our neighbour has just acquired a pet dog. The first time they met, Princess was very fierce, barking and scaring the poor thing. Now they've become friends.

Princess pays a visit to her injured friend

"Oh, you poor thing!"

"Let me kiss it better"

What a colourful cast!

Fame Up

The ex-St. Georgians were invited to dance in the opening number for Fame Up which was held at Dewan Budaya, USM, from 16-18 April 2010. The musical production was part of the year-long celebration commemorating the 125th anniversary of St. George's Girls' School

Though we were only back-up dancers, it did our self-esteem a world of good to know that people were willing to pay RM100 per ticket to watch "old" girls dance.

Actually most of the girls are still pretty young. I was the second oldest
and most of the rest are in their twenties and thirties.

The pricey tickets were only for the first night where the proceeds went to charity. But then we had the satisfaction of performing to full house on the subsequent two nights.

Showgirls surrounding Darshini (current student). She sang
"Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" for the opening number
which we danced to

Lillian and I, playing with some feathers we found
in the dressing room

In the midst of the busy weekend, I also attended a wedding, a wake service and also a vocal training class conducted by our special speaker after service on Sunday.

I was in such a rush that I forgot my shoes on the last night! Thank God we had a guest who was kind enough to turn back on his way to the show to collect my shoes for me. He arrived just in time. Phew! What a relief that was.

BTW, all the ladies agreed that our shoes were really killer shoes. They're not high but the pointy-toes squashed our toes. We all need a foot massage today.

The killer shoes

Eugene Loo & Serene Lee Wedding 17/04/10

This wonderful couple tied the knot today at Trinity Methodist Church.

This wedding was one of the few I've attended that managed to start on time. I had just turned into the car-park when I heard cars horning to herald the arrival of the bride. I wasn't late 'cos it was only 9.55am and the wedding was supposed to be at 10am. The bridal party minus the bride was already in position at the entrance so I had to bulldoze my way through them.

Page boy with flower girl

The ring-bearer

Flower girl no. 2

The bridesmaid

I love the open lace work and the long train on the wedding gown

The happy couple with TOPians in the background

It was a simple ceremony and even though the pastor was not a registrar of marriage, and they already had their marriage solemnized elsewhere, the couple signed the Church Wedding Certificate. I think we should have that at our church. It makes the ceremony much more meaningful for the couple and it also makes the marriage covenant doubly binding.

The pastor also informed the guests that there is an official photographer and that photography is only permitted from where we were seated. I think that's another good practice because there is nothing more annoying than having other people mess up a nice photo of the couple. Of course, the pastor was very diplomatic and the reason given was that the solemness of the occasion ought to be respected.

So that's the first wedding I've attended this year.

Nyonya Laksa Party

Lillian held a laksa party on 11 March to say "thank you" to all those who made her birthday bash such a success, and also for the sake of those who missed the party.

One of her guests gave her a kebaya for her birthday and insisted that she has a nyonya themed party in order to feature the new kebaya. So some of us very sportingly dug out our kebayas and sarongs while the birthday girl creatively produced a nyonya birthday cake.

Tada! This is the nyonya birthday cake. The ladies loved
the tiny anthurium floating candles she used on her unusual cake.

Some of the guests who came in kebayas

Lovely fortune cookies from the birthday girl to thank her guests

Mom would be so pleased to see her daughters
and one grand-daughter in sarong kebaya.
Jewel is actually wearing one of mom's kebayas!

The special laksa Lillian ordered was so scrumptious it was gone by the time I thought of taking photos.

I am so greedy. I always forget to take photos because I am too busy polishing off the food.