I love Penang you can go to the beach anytime and enjoy the fresh air. Last Saturday, I took my children to the beach to play some sand. They love it and didn’t want to go home. Great whether, not too hot.

Funny thing is that my hubby wanted to visit the Spice Garden. His friend told the direction, it is near the hotel, if you drive along, you won’t miss it. Hello, there are so many hotels in Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang. Anyway, we couldn’t find it because it is like hitting an ant in the desert. Today I came back to office and did a Google search. Here is the URL with a map: http://www.tropicalspicegarden.com/ . Trust the man to ask for directions.

Oh well, will attempt to visit it next week and hopefully can bring back some great pictures for you. As for now, enjoy our beach weekend….

I love Photoshop as it helps me to edit photos or any images. It can help to do a digital makeup on the photo. It can beautify a picture. It is not hard to learn the basic of this tool but if you want to advance to the next level, do get books. My hubby just got a few books on it, mostly tips & tricks. He is into photography. Hey look at what he did to a photo.

Now you see it, now you don’t. All the slime from the nose is gone.

Before:

After:

By the way, the top logo is done using Photoshop too. I just don’t have time to play around else I can create more fun things. Like this one that I did years ago:

I bought a Toy House for my children last weekend. They were having fun with it. I don’t usually buy many toys for them but somehow they have accumulated 2 boxes of toys, from shampoo container, empty boxes, spoons, medicine bottles, cups and etc…etc.

Anyway, the Toy House is something special, it has a house, lots of furniture, a family and a dog. Tim just step on the chair and it broke. It is a cheapo toy house made in China which cost last than RM50 and quality is not as good as the branded ones. Oh well, as long as they can have fun with it, who cares about quality.

Here are some pictures of it:

Baskin Robbins gave 31% discount on 31st of every other month. Have you ever walk into Baskin Robbins on the 31st? Please don’t. There will be lots of hungry people there. There are people who want to taste every tub of ice-cream there is and cannot make up their mind which to buy. Next person in the queue will be cursing and swearing. There are also people jumping queue. Poor BR staff had to service all these hungry folks.

Anyway, there is a trick to all this. You can walk in anytime to BR and tell them you want to pre-order your ice-cream. No one will be there to disturb you. You can do all the tasting you want and look at every tub ice-cream. You can even take precious time to choose which ice-cream you want without any anger or frustration in the environment. You can tell the staff that you want to pick it up on the 31st. The staff will give you the discount.

By the way, you can walk in on the 30th too, of course in the month where there is 31st, you will also get the 31% discount with the ice-cream. I walk in on the 30th July and got myself a tub of World Class Chocolate and Coconut. No one was there to disturb me. I had some ice-cream for my son to taste too.

Next month (August), national day special, you can walk in on 29, 30 and 31st and also get the 31% discount. If you want to avoid the hungry crowd, pre-order your ice-cream.

I asked my son, which ice-cream he wants, showing one usual brand and BR. He pointed at BR. Wow, children these days, know how to eat branded stuff. He loves ice-cream. My gal loves anything, so she enjoys it too.

I received a letter yesterday saying I won a BRAUN THERMOSCAN from a contest that I participated months ago. I was so happy. However I already got a Braun thermoscan. It is really helpful especially you have baby or toddler who is having fever.

I am probably going to sell this for a lower price, anybody wants? Take that money and go treat my family to a nice dinner.

So far, I have won handphones, luggage bag, trips, thermoscan, toaster, a few hampers and lots of soft toys. It will be good to win some $$. Opps, I shall not be greedy.

I can remember that when I was in primary school, I took part in McDonald’s colouring contest and I won first prize. They sent me lots of McDonald’s goodies and a membership card that is good for that year. It would be the first time I ever win anything.

Lots of mothers asked me how to loose weight after pregnancy. I am the wrong person to ask because I want to gain weight, not loose it. Here is my chart of weight.

First Son
Started: 48 kg
7th Weeks: 51 kg
10th Weeks: 53 kg
17th Weeks: 57 kg
21st Weeks: 59 kg
25th Weeks: 63.5kg BP at 98/55 (low pressure)
29th Weeks: 65kg (Warning from the doctor!!)
32nd Weeks: 66kg
34th Weeks: 66.5kg
36th Weeks: 68.5kg
38th Weeks: 68.5kg
39th Weeks: 68.5kg
40th Weeks: 68.5kg (Addition of 20.5 kg, WOW!)

Baby delivered at 3 kg, that will be 17.5kg to give away. I weighed myself a day after my delivery, the weighing machine told me it was 59 kg. Imagine 9.5 kg lost, 3 kg go to my boy and where did the 6.5kg went? Water? Placenta? I donno.

Second Gal
Started: 50kg
6th Weeks: 52kg
9th Weeks: 53kg
12th Weeks: 55kg
16th Weeks: 57kg
21st Weeks: 60kg
24th Weeks: 62.5kg
31st Weeks: 65.5kg (Durian Season)
32nd Weeks: 66kg
34th Weeks: 67.5kg
37th Weeks: 68kg
38th Weeks: 69kg (Addition of 19kg)

Baby delivered at 3.8kg, that will be 15.2 kg to give away. I lost my weight pretty fast this round as I was very diligent in breastfeeding my gal. She gains lots of weight. Now she is 13 months and weight 11.5kg.

Now I am at 46kg, I need 4kg. I been eating a lot of buffet and durian, but no help. Any free lunches around? Anyway, bottom line, as long as you are healthy, weight is not a big problem. Health is my priority. Hey if you loose all the weigh and you look like unhealthy, it is very scary. I have a colleague like that, he was very fat, with tummy and all. He went on a fruits diet. Now he looks horrible, saggy looking and like a drug addict. Have a balance diet and do lots of exercise!!

I received this in my email today and wish to share with all of you:

Subject: FW: The Interview

In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11).

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events…terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said OK.

Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with “WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.”

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it… no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in!!

Johnna Brown, CTC
World Wide Travel Service
11 South 1st
Walla Walla, WA 99362
(509)525-8040 / 1 800-283-9987

I have been busy this week. FIL had a bad accident. A lady knocked his motorbike down and left him there. She gave the worst excuse that she is late in picking her son up. What a cruel person? She can leave a injured person lying on the road, bleeding and drove away.

My FIL called his family and friends to help. He was taken to General Hospital (GH). He wanted GH because he gets pensioner benefit, as he was a government servant. He was taken to do X-ray. After the X-ray was done, he was pushed to his wad. Nothing was given to him, no medication (pain killer), and no wound dressing. He has a broken shoulder bone and some crack ribs. Nurse just put a bandage sling on to his arm and hand to prevent movement. He lied on his bed for more than 6 hours and still nothing was administered. He was also denied food, in case surgery is required.

When my hubby and I visited him, he was in a painful state. We persuaded him to switched hospital. Finally he gave in. We had to wait for the doctor to discharge him. While doing that, I went to the other hospital to arrange to receive him. I was very upset with GH as we were not allowed to keep the X-ray. GH claimed it is their policy. What a silly policy and inhuman one too??!! Imagine my FIL had to go through another round of excruciating pain for X-ray to be done in another hospital.

After a long day, finally X-ray was done, specialist was called in, he said he was not critical and surgery is not needed. He told my FIL to get plenty of rest. He also was given an injection of painkiller when he arrived. When it was all done, it was already close to midnight.

Now he is feeling better and he was discharge today. It takes minimum 3 months for him to recover. I was happy that I could help him. My company were entitled to corporate rate for the hospital for parents and parent in law.

It is always a wonder why older generation refuse to get insurance. My FIL does not have any insurance. If anything happen, it will be out of the pocket money. Anyway, for the sake of your children, think about your own insurance.

I must say I am not a very bright student in my school days but I managed. I am not a straight A person. In fact the first 2 years of my secondary school, I treat it as “Honey Moon” year. Hey who can achieve what I did? I have 9 different grades for 9 different subjects. Children, please do not follow my footstep.

When it came to SRP (now called PMR) year, I got number 1 throughout each term. My brain suddenly started to go on high speed. Came Form 4, another “Honey Moon” Year. I just developed a liking for Mathematics. I love solving problems. My math books were practically traveling from one classmate to the next. I did well in both Add Maths and Modern Maths.

After Form 5, I did a pre-U course and went into High School (similar to Form Six Upper) in Australia. I don’t know how, I managed to get into their public school. I just had to pay Aus 100 for school fees. Dirt Cheap but I have to bare all the expenses and accommodation. My sister was working there, she sponsored me. I did very well in High School there and got a scholarship for Bachelor Degree in Computer Science for 4 years. Last year was a research year.

It was a totally different experience in studying overseas. I learned to be independent and had the opportunity to learn another culture. In fact, there were lots of students from different countries, like Hong Kong, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Korean & Japanese. Last year of my studies, I got to work as a tutor in the University and earn a lot. Earnings were more than my first job salary. Too bad, I had to come home. In fact I miss home. Home is still the best.

Thanks to my parents for all the support they have given to me! Now I have to pass it on to my children. Tough but I am working on it.

Today I brought the kids to the Bon Odori festival in Esplanade in Penang. The place was filled, few hundreds people were there. Parking was nearly impossible. God provided us one, although it was a distance walk from Esplanade but it is sure better than none. We reached there about 8pm.

Lots of food stalls around and hungry people too. There was a popular stall selling mega huge balloon and water balloon that they played like a yoyo. I got my son a big balloon. My son played for a while and passed it back to me. I can see $$ flying away, anyway, it was for charity.

The place was dark, not enough lighting. Fortunately, they placed lots of tables and chairs.

There were dances & performance. Many people joined in to dance. Lots of Japanese people around. Mostly there were in Kimono. Too bad, no kimono for sale else would have gotten one for my gal. I saw so many Japanese children in Kimono, they were very adorable.

Fireworks were started sharp at 9pm. It was beautiful and real loud. My children enjoyed it. People started leaving once the fireworks was over, so did we.

Venue: Esplanade
Date: 16th July(Saturday)
The program:

17:20 Arrival of VVIP
17:30 Speeches…bla bla
17:45 Launching by some Japanese guy plus chingay show
17:55 Inspection of stalls by VVIPs
18:25 1st session Bon Odori dance
18:50 1st Awa Dance session
19:15 Drum demonstration
19.35 2nd Drum demonstration
19.55 Dance performance by Msian Jap Soc.
20:15 2nd Bon Odori dance session
20:40 2nd Awa Dance session
21:00 FIREWORKS display
21:10 3rd Bon Odori Session
21:30 Lucky Draw
21:45 Sayonara