i've changed and imported all posts to a new place. i'll leave this blog for the time being and then delete it when i think it's time.
so, please update your feed/link or whatever you call it ok. see you guys over there.
Friday 17 October 2008
Thursday 16 October 2008
IWCB & Asian Ladies' Meeting
on tuesday i went to an International Women's Club Bratislava at Crowne Plaza, right smack in the heart of town. got to go only because the nice jap lady who invited me came over to our place so that she could help me with baby & her pram up and down the bus. she took 2 buses to reach our place - it was so nice of her.
anyway, it was my first time and she was the one who introduced it to me. her husband works with Sony as well, and she was one of the people who came over for bak kut teh at our place for dinner; she's Kaori-san. she and her husband had twins (one boy and one girl - kau tim, close shop!) now 8 years old and attending the international school here.
when i got there, the meeting was held at the coffee house and it was quite noisy - ppl chattering and laughing and all that. all women, the only 2 men there were the photographer and the other is the dance instructor who was there to promote dancing classes.
the only seats available there were away from the counter where they served coffee and a distance away from the white baby grand piano. there was supposed to be a small concert that day. after taking our seats and putting Arielle down, she wandered off on her own, more like wobbled off, where she found new friends and toys to play with. afraid that she would be rough on the other babies, i quickly sat down next to her on the floor and grabbed her. it was from there that i started talking to other mothers, but more like started to talking to their babies first. ahhaha... why do we do that?
it's good to find that there are other women who are also in my kind of position. husband working, we stay home all day with baby in a foreign land, where language and food and culture is all new.
would be good if i can join the club; they've got a few activities planned out for the whole year and i'll get to meet ppl with the same kind of needs as me. but it's difficult for me to travel alone with baby and having to take the bus. in add'n to that, i'd like to get more acquainted with ppl from church and see where i can fit in to serve first before occupying myself with other activities. at least with church activities, aylwin and i can go together with the car.
there is also another club for women, it's called the Asian Ladies' Meeting and they meet once a month. an Indonesian lady from our church had invited me, but i told her i wasn't able to go. i'm sure it'd be nice if i could; maybe they have sambal and nasi lemak.... hmmm...or laksa, or curry...
anyway, it was my first time and she was the one who introduced it to me. her husband works with Sony as well, and she was one of the people who came over for bak kut teh at our place for dinner; she's Kaori-san. she and her husband had twins (one boy and one girl - kau tim, close shop!) now 8 years old and attending the international school here.
when i got there, the meeting was held at the coffee house and it was quite noisy - ppl chattering and laughing and all that. all women, the only 2 men there were the photographer and the other is the dance instructor who was there to promote dancing classes.
the only seats available there were away from the counter where they served coffee and a distance away from the white baby grand piano. there was supposed to be a small concert that day. after taking our seats and putting Arielle down, she wandered off on her own, more like wobbled off, where she found new friends and toys to play with. afraid that she would be rough on the other babies, i quickly sat down next to her on the floor and grabbed her. it was from there that i started talking to other mothers, but more like started to talking to their babies first. ahhaha... why do we do that?
it's good to find that there are other women who are also in my kind of position. husband working, we stay home all day with baby in a foreign land, where language and food and culture is all new.
would be good if i can join the club; they've got a few activities planned out for the whole year and i'll get to meet ppl with the same kind of needs as me. but it's difficult for me to travel alone with baby and having to take the bus. in add'n to that, i'd like to get more acquainted with ppl from church and see where i can fit in to serve first before occupying myself with other activities. at least with church activities, aylwin and i can go together with the car.
there is also another club for women, it's called the Asian Ladies' Meeting and they meet once a month. an Indonesian lady from our church had invited me, but i told her i wasn't able to go. i'm sure it'd be nice if i could; maybe they have sambal and nasi lemak.... hmmm...or laksa, or curry...
Foggy
it's really foggy today; it usually clears when it hits 10am, but it's already 3pm now; the view outside is still a bit blur. has been foggy a few days now but today's fog just wont go away.
tot i can take Arielle out to the playground today. i was advised to take the opportunity to go out more now before winter comes and i'll won't want to leave the house entirely.
Saturday 11 October 2008
Autumn's near
the season's changing, and autumn is coming. the tree outside our apartment door has begun to change it's colour. and on the way to vienna, all along the highway, the sunflower fields which was once green and blooming when we first arrived, have now turned brown. some of which the farmer has harvested and now is field is laid bare.
when i look at them, i start to wonder about God's awesome creation. why did God create 4 seasons in some countries not all, and why 4 seasons and not 3 or 7? it's so amazing and wonderful to be looking out at the fields of 'gold'; it's really beautiful - wish i could stop and take a pic but it's the highway; and then think but not being able to fully comprehend what God had it in His mind when He created all of these, and all you can do is just wonder and watch in silent appreciation and admiration.
all of a sudden i was looking back and remembering how i got interested with this God that i thought i've known about nearly all my life back then. my mother as a catholic would tell me stories of Jesus and his mother Mary, and some of the parables in the bible. she would teach me things from there and it was nice to hear the stories. at that time, i've known what Jesus has done on the cross and about salvation and stuff; but my heart was closed and there was a moment when i even despised having ppl to talk to me about it - enough already, it's the same story, what's the big deal!
when i was in form 6, i was active in school with stage performances and sports. i remembered that my friend Mel and I had just finished performing a song (Eternal Flame - The Bangles...hahaha!), and then there were 2 guys after us singing with the acoustic guitar. out of nowhere, the melody just hit me and i was so captivated by the tune! it's just a simple song but oh so nice... it really got me. not sure if you've ever had that feeling of 'falling in love with a song' (LOL!!) but at that moment, it was that for me. they were singing from Jars of Clay - Love Song for A Savior.
upon asking around, a friend told me that it's a christian song. dunno what it was suppose to mean when i didn't hear any utterance of Jesus or God, and to my knowledge, aren't 'christian songs' choir-like and sombre? but it was at that point that i had second thoughts about Christianity and that maybe i haven't got it figured all out. a christian friend jumped at the opportunity and gave me the album with the song in it, a cassette then, and i listened to it everyday in the car. and then he introduced to me the Daily Bread articles, not the devotion itself but the separate booklet that comes with it and that was how i got to know more about God and then came to accept Him later on. My life has never been the same then....and it all started with a simple song.
'You are God in heaven, and i am here on earth,
so i'll let my words be few, Jesus i am so in love with You.
And i'll stand in awe of You, yes i'll stand in awe of You.
Jesus i am so in love with You' by Matt Redman
Friday 10 October 2008
My old blog
after so long using FB, i went back to check on my Friendster acc and found that my old blog is still there! hahaha...
don't know what to do with it, so i just updated some of the features in there. i wondering if i should pick up from there... but i've already started with this one.
is there a way to combine the 2 blogs into 1? any geeks can advise?
if i have a choice, i think i'll prefer to use the one in friendster, coz it's more friendly for some one like me who doesn't know much about this kindza stuff.
don't know what to do with it, so i just updated some of the features in there. i wondering if i should pick up from there... but i've already started with this one.
is there a way to combine the 2 blogs into 1? any geeks can advise?
if i have a choice, i think i'll prefer to use the one in friendster, coz it's more friendly for some one like me who doesn't know much about this kindza stuff.
Thursday 9 October 2008
30th Sept - Arielle turned 1!
have been caught up reading my romance/thriller novel that i've neglected my blog...hehehee... long time never read this kind of books liao.
upon finding out that it was Arielle's birthday, Soo our Korean friend took a day off to take us out! :) what a treat to be finally out of the house on a weekday.
we went to Pandorf, Vienna by taxi - a place where designer outlets are (MNG, Zara, Nike, Polo are considered the least expensive as there are other high end designers yang ada gaya, mutu, keunggulan & wang). the shops in this place is considered cheaper than in Bratislava - not sure why tho.
we spent the afternoon shopping there and i bought my first pair of boots - which later became my birthday present coz ayl dunno what to get for me. oklah, accepted lah... can be considered reasonable coz it's close to RM500 (euro99) when converted. hehehe... i had a nice girl time with Soo and we talked about God and about our hometowns.
we got home at 5pm and then i started cooking for dinner. Yooni, Soo's husband joined us as well and he brought with him 2 boxes of local cakes (Marlenka)! it's hand made and really nice tho a lil bit on the sweet side; honey, milk, caramel i think, and nuts.
i didn't let Arielle hold any chicken drumstick like what my MIL suggested... hahaha... is it supposed to be a chinese custom? messy lah, a lot of work to clean up later. after dinner we sang Arielle her 1st birthday song and then opened some presents. Soo & Yooni were so generous. They brought 2 birthday cakes, and they also bought Arielle a nice dress from Polo RL. so nice of them.
from us, we really wanted to get her a gold chain or some kind of jewellery for keepsake, but over here it's really pricey and most of it are not nice. maybe we went to the wrong place? dunno... but ayl says that we'll get for her when we go back to Msia, hopefully he remembers. so, i took up what peich suggested, i'll make a scrap book for her with pics from when i was pregnant which includes her pics in the womb, and continued till she's 3 y.o.? see how la... she's got sooooo many pics i dunno how to choose! what do you guys think? gimme your thoughts ...
upon finding out that it was Arielle's birthday, Soo our Korean friend took a day off to take us out! :) what a treat to be finally out of the house on a weekday.
we went to Pandorf, Vienna by taxi - a place where designer outlets are (MNG, Zara, Nike, Polo are considered the least expensive as there are other high end designers yang ada gaya, mutu, keunggulan & wang). the shops in this place is considered cheaper than in Bratislava - not sure why tho.
we spent the afternoon shopping there and i bought my first pair of boots - which later became my birthday present coz ayl dunno what to get for me. oklah, accepted lah... can be considered reasonable coz it's close to RM500 (euro99) when converted. hehehe... i had a nice girl time with Soo and we talked about God and about our hometowns.
we got home at 5pm and then i started cooking for dinner. Yooni, Soo's husband joined us as well and he brought with him 2 boxes of local cakes (Marlenka)! it's hand made and really nice tho a lil bit on the sweet side; honey, milk, caramel i think, and nuts.
i didn't let Arielle hold any chicken drumstick like what my MIL suggested... hahaha... is it supposed to be a chinese custom? messy lah, a lot of work to clean up later. after dinner we sang Arielle her 1st birthday song and then opened some presents. Soo & Yooni were so generous. They brought 2 birthday cakes, and they also bought Arielle a nice dress from Polo RL. so nice of them.
from us, we really wanted to get her a gold chain or some kind of jewellery for keepsake, but over here it's really pricey and most of it are not nice. maybe we went to the wrong place? dunno... but ayl says that we'll get for her when we go back to Msia, hopefully he remembers. so, i took up what peich suggested, i'll make a scrap book for her with pics from when i was pregnant which includes her pics in the womb, and continued till she's 3 y.o.? see how la... she's got sooooo many pics i dunno how to choose! what do you guys think? gimme your thoughts ...
Thursday 25 September 2008
Arielle got new shoes
hi everyone... here i want to show off my new pair of shoes that daddy got for me... see my poses... ehhehe... i look cool and rugged at the same time right?
it was getting really cold and the shoes brought from home wasn't warm enough... so mommy said to daddy must buy liao, before the weather gets even colder.
SEE ... i'm walking with them!!
it was getting really cold and the shoes brought from home wasn't warm enough... so mommy said to daddy must buy liao, before the weather gets even colder.
SEE ... i'm walking with them!!
Monday 22 September 2008
On the Water here
it's really different from back home. both taps (one in the bathroom and in the kitchen) have hot & cold water and the water here is safe for drinking without having to boil it first.
however, when we first arrived, i thought it tasted really funny. not sure if it's because of me being so used to drinking RO water, the water here has a salty and stale taste. on the first week going to church and meeting our new korean friends (Yooni & Soo), they have mentioned something about 'tears from the stone' regarding the water here, and that even if we boil them, the certain ingredient in the water still remains. so we decided to buy a special bottled water for babies for Arielle.
it's called Lucka and it's about euro3.20 for 6 bottles of 1.5L.
just last week i found yellow coloured sediments when i dispense the water from our electric water flask. when i opened it i found a lot of these things submerged in the water we take to drink everyday as well as for making baby's milk. of course, i took out the plug and stopped using the flask. however, because the tap's hot water wasn't hot enough to make hot drinks/baby's milk, i started to use a small pot to boil the water whenever we needed it. after a few boils, the base of the pot became yellowish as well.
there's also the case where when the water dries up, there's a kind of water stain on it. one of the pics below is from our shower cubicle, as you can see the marks of the water when it's dried up. it's like as if there's a mixture of soap and water dried up and then you have the stains.
don't know what to make of it currently, our korean friends don't take from the tap, they buy and consume bottled waters only. so far for us, we didn't get any stomach upset from it and everything's fine except on the yellow sediments upon boiling.
however, when we first arrived, i thought it tasted really funny. not sure if it's because of me being so used to drinking RO water, the water here has a salty and stale taste. on the first week going to church and meeting our new korean friends (Yooni & Soo), they have mentioned something about 'tears from the stone' regarding the water here, and that even if we boil them, the certain ingredient in the water still remains. so we decided to buy a special bottled water for babies for Arielle.
it's called Lucka and it's about euro3.20 for 6 bottles of 1.5L.
just last week i found yellow coloured sediments when i dispense the water from our electric water flask. when i opened it i found a lot of these things submerged in the water we take to drink everyday as well as for making baby's milk. of course, i took out the plug and stopped using the flask. however, because the tap's hot water wasn't hot enough to make hot drinks/baby's milk, i started to use a small pot to boil the water whenever we needed it. after a few boils, the base of the pot became yellowish as well.
there's also the case where when the water dries up, there's a kind of water stain on it. one of the pics below is from our shower cubicle, as you can see the marks of the water when it's dried up. it's like as if there's a mixture of soap and water dried up and then you have the stains.
don't know what to make of it currently, our korean friends don't take from the tap, they buy and consume bottled waters only. so far for us, we didn't get any stomach upset from it and everything's fine except on the yellow sediments upon boiling.
Friday 19 September 2008
Vienna with Chih Wei
last week CW came for a visit and we fetched him from the vienna airport which is about 30-45mins away, like the distance from kajang to klia. it was a cold and windy night, and as usual either being CW or being msian, he's late for half an hour.
'the plane was late la', he said...
but was ok coz baby was asleep for 20mins in the car. on reaching home, he sapu ayl's maggee mee curry stock. good thing his appetite's not like ayl's... hehehe...
anyway, it was our first time to drive around bratislava town and vienna the next day, and even with the gps (ayl finally is a proud owner of a Garmin)... we got a bit lost, overshot for 30mins.
so we reached vienna and the first spot we went to is to Stephensplatz again, the only place we know as of now. it was really cold and it was windy, think it was 11degs or at most 15degs. was a good thing we made trip back home from church to get arielle's hat before we headed out. otherwise, she would've caught the cold. then we pau her like bak chang. regret i didn't get my gloves as well, my fingers were close to numb and had to push the pram so can't keep it warm in the pockets like what everyone else is doing.
on sundays, all shops are closed except for the restaurants and the souvenir shops. because we had to walk around, it was too cold for me so we went hunting for a scarf... which made all the difference!!
this time our trip took us inside the infamous cathedral, spent quite some time there looking around the marvelous art the whole building embodies. made us pondered about those who have dedicated their life into creating this; the house of God. nearly every tiny detail were skillfully created.
great example is the stairway, just that alone would take years to complete. the design of this stairway is the same as the building's exterior.
walking around, we also started to discuss about the controversies of having idols and altars and then what we know as Protestants according to the Bible.
heading out, we were greeted with a fellow wearing a traditional costume; there were quite a few of them walking around outside the cathedral but they didn't quite catch our interest until one actually approached us. he was talking to us about a concert and trying to sell us tickets to it. honestly, if it wasn't for CW, we'd have walked away and not take up anymore of his time... and if it wasn't for CW, i wouldn't have gotten the chance to watch the concert. :) i've always wanted to go for the petronas philharmonik back in kl but never got the chance to. so when CW insisted that we are to go, i was overjoyed and excited!! i'm actually really going to see an orchestra concert here in vienna! it's another dream come true! God is so good!!
then of course you're wondering how to go with a baby lah... well, let's just say we made do and all went well. though we were a bit disappointed when we entered the hall, it was small unlike how we had imagined it to be. but the music and performance (ballet and singing) was fantastic!! when/if you go to vienna, you must must go for the concert! it's a compulsory!!
*more pics of our trip in ayl's account, facebook*
'the plane was late la', he said...
but was ok coz baby was asleep for 20mins in the car. on reaching home, he sapu ayl's maggee mee curry stock. good thing his appetite's not like ayl's... hehehe...
anyway, it was our first time to drive around bratislava town and vienna the next day, and even with the gps (ayl finally is a proud owner of a Garmin)... we got a bit lost, overshot for 30mins.
so we reached vienna and the first spot we went to is to Stephensplatz again, the only place we know as of now. it was really cold and it was windy, think it was 11degs or at most 15degs. was a good thing we made trip back home from church to get arielle's hat before we headed out. otherwise, she would've caught the cold. then we pau her like bak chang. regret i didn't get my gloves as well, my fingers were close to numb and had to push the pram so can't keep it warm in the pockets like what everyone else is doing.
on sundays, all shops are closed except for the restaurants and the souvenir shops. because we had to walk around, it was too cold for me so we went hunting for a scarf... which made all the difference!!
this time our trip took us inside the infamous cathedral, spent quite some time there looking around the marvelous art the whole building embodies. made us pondered about those who have dedicated their life into creating this; the house of God. nearly every tiny detail were skillfully created.
great example is the stairway, just that alone would take years to complete. the design of this stairway is the same as the building's exterior.
walking around, we also started to discuss about the controversies of having idols and altars and then what we know as Protestants according to the Bible.
heading out, we were greeted with a fellow wearing a traditional costume; there were quite a few of them walking around outside the cathedral but they didn't quite catch our interest until one actually approached us. he was talking to us about a concert and trying to sell us tickets to it. honestly, if it wasn't for CW, we'd have walked away and not take up anymore of his time... and if it wasn't for CW, i wouldn't have gotten the chance to watch the concert. :) i've always wanted to go for the petronas philharmonik back in kl but never got the chance to. so when CW insisted that we are to go, i was overjoyed and excited!! i'm actually really going to see an orchestra concert here in vienna! it's another dream come true! God is so good!!
then of course you're wondering how to go with a baby lah... well, let's just say we made do and all went well. though we were a bit disappointed when we entered the hall, it was small unlike how we had imagined it to be. but the music and performance (ballet and singing) was fantastic!! when/if you go to vienna, you must must go for the concert! it's a compulsory!!
*more pics of our trip in ayl's account, facebook*
Friday 12 September 2008
Ordering Pizza
the other day we got back quite late from kai-kai around town and then decided to order a delivery instead of cooking; thought it'd be faster. ayl called up a few pizza places that we got from a book called Easy Bratislava and we managed to get someone on the line after a lot of tries. it was a public holiday and there was some sort of festival going on that was why maybe they're really busy.
anyway, after ordering, aylwin asked for how much it was and then how long it would take to arrive at our place. the answer...2 HOURS!! crap! and to think that it'd be faster to order a delivery!! we didn't cancel the order tho, after so much difficulty trying to get them on the phone and all, plus we were curious!
so we had some tuna sandwiches while waiting for the pizza. when it came, it was worth the wait. :) here's why.
ayl put the fan and the laptop to compare the size of the pizza... ahhaha...
it was really really good and it smelt great! a lot of cheese and the crust was thin but it wasn't like thin until lembik that kind. i had 1 and half, and it was enough. ayl crazy had 3 and then he suffered ... hahaha...
we ate it for 2 days since we only got out pizza near 10pm that night and after the sandwiches we were already full. will surely order it again, but of course, 2hours ahead in time and prolly with more ppl to share it with!
anyway, after ordering, aylwin asked for how much it was and then how long it would take to arrive at our place. the answer...2 HOURS!! crap! and to think that it'd be faster to order a delivery!! we didn't cancel the order tho, after so much difficulty trying to get them on the phone and all, plus we were curious!
so we had some tuna sandwiches while waiting for the pizza. when it came, it was worth the wait. :) here's why.
ayl put the fan and the laptop to compare the size of the pizza... ahhaha...
it was really really good and it smelt great! a lot of cheese and the crust was thin but it wasn't like thin until lembik that kind. i had 1 and half, and it was enough. ayl crazy had 3 and then he suffered ... hahaha...
we ate it for 2 days since we only got out pizza near 10pm that night and after the sandwiches we were already full. will surely order it again, but of course, 2hours ahead in time and prolly with more ppl to share it with!
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Arielle learning to walk
it started last week when she suddenly stood up and took her first step and then bump fell unto her butt. we've also been encouraging her to walk on her own by holding her hands and walking with her.
will put up more videos of her doing that but in the meantime, here's one of her walking on her own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVw9u2A9cQ
and some of the funny things she does at home when the papa's not around. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQJmQzaA8BQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9lY45vPGSI
besides that, i made a few dishes on my own for dinner which i think is worthy of showing off... ahaha!!
was looking through leona's blog and didn't know what else to cook so i adapted leona's recipe for tomato koay teow (thanks leona!!) and used whatever i had in the fridge. the other 2 is chicken cashew nut and sweet & sour pork with pork rib sauce.
will put up more videos of her doing that but in the meantime, here's one of her walking on her own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVw9u2A9cQ
and some of the funny things she does at home when the papa's not around. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQJmQzaA8BQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9lY45vPGSI
besides that, i made a few dishes on my own for dinner which i think is worthy of showing off... ahaha!!
was looking through leona's blog and didn't know what else to cook so i adapted leona's recipe for tomato koay teow (thanks leona!!) and used whatever i had in the fridge. the other 2 is chicken cashew nut and sweet & sour pork with pork rib sauce.
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