9 years have passed in a blink of an eye

My hubby and I just celebrated our 9th year wedding anniversary a few days ago. How time flies!!!! I have known my husband for about 5-6 years as friends before finally dating and marrying him. I know it does not count but you can say our friendship is in its teens (after all your husband should always be your best friend).

Being parents to 3 beautiful children, we of course had to plan our anniversary carefully. Thank goodness to an angel of an aunt of mine who babysitted our kids we were able to celebrate it this year. We have not really celebrated the past few years so this time it was better planned. Dinner was home cooked (that's always the best anyway). As both of us love meat, for sure dinner was Steak!!! We bought 2 generous portions of Angus Grain Fed Ribeye steaks to grill and with it we had vegetables and chips. Hubby did all the cooking because he's a much better cook than I am. The meal was 11 on the scale of 10. It was heavenly!

Later we went to watch a movie, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We both enjoyed the show however after knowing that the re-make of 'Clash of the Titans' was coming soon, Percy Jackson seemed to be more a teenage flick. We had about an hour to kill before the movie started and so we went to have some drinks. It was so nice to be chatting and laughing away without any distractions. No kids screaming for attention, crying kids to comfort or telling off to be done. I really miss chatting with my husband which when I look back was how things started off for us. We got to know each other through endless conversations over the phone.

Movie finished close to midnight and we could not believe how tired we were. Plus the fact that both of us were working the next day was not comforting. However it was a lovely night and I look forward to celebrating more anniversaries with my pride and joy of a man, my lovely husband!

Football

I got to watch my eldest, Hazim play football yesterday evening. He has been going for football practice only a few times and his dad usually brings him there. So on my day off I told myself to make the effort to be there to see him play. There were many kids on the field from probably the age of 4 to teenagers around 15-18. All being trained at different levels. My son is at the beginner's level with a group adorable little fellas around his age. It was such a cute sight to see them chase the ball around.


Here is the picture of the group of kids warming up. Before this they ran around the field 2 rounds but my Hazim ran only 1 round and walked the other. I hope he will develop better stamina in the future to run the full 2 rounds. Hopefully he's more sportslike like his dad but if takes after me, I'm hopeless when it comes to sports.


Then after the warm up, the kids practiced going around cones and kicking the ball into the goal. Hazim got a bit distracted and soon a group of little boys were basically foot deep in a puddle of mud (Hmmm! Mud seems to be more fun to them). I was at the side of field wishing I could tell him to stop playing with the mud but then what fun would that be. Boys and mud, its just happiness through and through.

After that the kids were split into two teams and played against each other. Hazim opted to be the goalkeeper which I think was not a good idea. He was so bored since the game was more at the other goal than at his goal. He ended up playing with the cones, talking to the bigger boys playing behind him and when the game finally moved towards his end he actually called out to the players to "shoot the ball to me!". Shoot the ball to the goalie, I think my son has not grasped the concept that he was supposed to be defending the goal. Aargh! the antics of my child that bring that big smile to my face.

Here's my little footballer.

Tea and beautiful jewellery by Nishi Murli

I have always thought myself as a simple person but what girl/woman does not love beautiful jewellery. Last Saturday, my cousin arranged a small tea function and invited a quite well known jeweller named Nishi Murli to introduce her wonderful designs to the ladies attending. She brought with her a few of her beautiful semi-precious stone collections of which I liked more than just a few, I liked many. I attended with my little girl who also loved almost all the necklaces and bracelets on show. She really is a girly girl. Does she take after me, maybe a little... I remember my mum telling me that I never liked wearing pants and always preferred dresses and skirts. However I think she's more like her aunt (my sister in law) who is very ladylike in every way...unlike me.

Anyway I did bring my little camera to snap photos of the jewellery in hope to expose Nishi's collection to more people. I think her jewellery is just gorgeous and simple and can be worn to brighten simple outfits most effectively. According to my cousin, she has quite a following in India, Dubai and Jakarta.

I had a hard time controlling myself from buying anything which was so difficult especially since I had my eye on 2 or 3 necklaces. I tried 2 of them (one in the picture below and the one on my daughter). I also love the gold chain with the knot with hanging stones below it in the picture above...lovely isn't it?

Nishi's assortment of necklaces and bangles

Me (with a lovely gold and white pearl knot chain) and my sunshine

My little princess wearing a gorgeous gold knot and pearl chain

The tea function was quite a success and hopefully there will be more functions like this to come. Maybe with Nishi's jewellery again or maybe with other ladies doing business showcasing their products. This is a good way to assist businesswomen in their endeavours as well as raise publicity for my cousin's restaurant, Enak KL.

Important 2010 resolutions to start working on

On the way home from work yesterday I was reflecting on the things I need to focus on this year. Here is the list I managed to come up with:

• Eat healthier to lose weight
• Get better skin products
• Must exercise - any form of it (swimming, jump ropes, walks)
• Less procrastination
• Read more books this year - target at least 15 books
• Get that sewing machine out of the box and work on developing a creative hobby
• Be more patient with the kids
• Have more family based activities
• Treat myself to at least 1 expensive gift

Let's hope I get all of the above done!

2010 Aries Horoscope

According to Shine from Yahoo my 2010 overview is as follows:

Year 2010 Overview

A lot of last year's difficulties, if you think about it, boiled down to a lot of fiddly little details getting in the way of you realizing your dreams. Let's be honest about it, Aries: struggling with the small stuff just isn't your style. In the next year, you'll find that a lot of these pressures ease off, to the point where your biggest issue may be other people's ability to keep up with you!

The months surrounding your birthday will bring more than the usual amount of Spring Fever. You'll be facing an urge to bust loose from your limitations and, properly handled, that energy will push you to new highs as far as you General satisfaction with life. The summer will find you speaking your mind more with those who are closest to you. You may not have been shy about expressing yourself before, but it's as if you needed to find just the right words.

In the past, knowing what you want out of life and getting the co-operation of those closest to you haven't always gone hand in hand. That theme will carry on throughout much of the year, and will come to a peak again in December. At times there may be frustrations, but if you keep a level head, you'll probably find that those around you really are on your team, ultimately.

Year 2010 Career

Brace yourself for big changes in your work and money life, Aries! This is the year when a lot of your past potential and promise come out. Two eclipses in your career sector (one in January and one in July) will set the stage for a major shift. Some of this will be the fulfillment of things you've been working on quietly for some time, and part of this will simply be thrust on you by circumstance.

Either way, change is good, and will lead to a greater sense of long-term fulfillment on your part. Pluto also continues its long-term travel through your job zone. Pluto is a planet that demands a deep and committed response, whether you thought you were ready for it or not. This isn't at all necessarily bad or difficult news. No one is every 100 percent happy with their work and money life, it seems, and that basic sense of mild ongoing dissatisfaction can be what propels you towards greater career heights. June and July may see you seriously contemplating a change in direction as far as what you do for a living. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities.

As far as actual cash on hand, the news appears to be more good than bad -- especially in September and October. The last year probably wasn't too comfortable (but lacked any serious shortages). The next year will provide stability. No big lottery wins, in other words, but lots of chances to get smaller expenses in line. Keep an eye on the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Year 2010 Romantic

There's a lot of activity in your love life this year -- you'll be a little like a Ram in springtime! Most importantly (and regardless of what state your romantic life is in now), Saturn in your house of committed relationships is going to have you closely questioning and examining any partnerships you may currently have. If you have nothing on the go like that now, you will still find that your attitude towards long-term commitments is likely to undergo a lot of change. You will likely find you take the entire subject more seriously -- or the subject will take you more seriously!

If there is an existing committed relationship, your partner is going to be a valuable source of grounding for you this year. Old issues will be bubbling to the surface (especially in September and October) that may prove to be a challenge. More likely, though, what will be challenged are your preconceptions about that other person in your life, what they mean to you, and what responses this should draw from you.

As far as the potential for new romance (or injecting new life into an existing one), July and August bring new life. If there was ever a year to find new love on summer vacation, this is it!

Regardless of the state of your love life, you'll certainly be drawing a lot of attention this year. The first three months of 2010 will find your stock rising with others. If you're looking to develop something new, January through March is your best time to be in circulation. Chances are excellent that love will find you.

Hmmmm! See how it goes

How my littluns have grown

I was looking through some old pictures and realised how my kids have grown. My eldest will be going to proper school next year and is no longer the babbling baby I held in my arms but a conversant little boy. He still has the interest in cars from when he was a little till today. I believe his collection of 'HotWheels' cars must now be more than 100 cars. That's because his dad also has a penchant for these little model cars too.

Here's a picture of Hazim around a year old and the latest picture of him (school registration photo). Can you see how much my boy has grown? Gone are those chubby baby cheeks.

My princess also has grown. Now she is going on 5 years of age (which is very soon). She's my girly girl. Always insist on wearing pretty dresses and loves putting on make-up. In fact I think she's more adept at putting on make-up than her own mummy. Here's a baby picture of her at around 4 months and her latest photo all dolled up with lipstick.

Last but not least my littlest. The baby of the family. He's now my babbling baby. Now he's already walking and trying to communicate. Before I know it he's going off to school. How I wish I can freeze time and have them at this age forever but life goes on.

2009 is coming to an end

The year 2009 is ending and it's time again to think of what to plan for 2010. My new year's resolutions and changes to make as well as changes that will no doubt happen for 2010.

Firstly my eldest will be moving from kindergarten to school (standard 1) and I still have not gotten over how much he has grown. Not to mention the fact that he is going off to school.
We have already bought his school uniform, shoes, bag and stationaries but have yet to go and collect the school book list. That has to be done soon as by January the queue to buy books will be really long, for sure and furthermore confirmed by school staff.

His 1st day will be on Saturday, 2nd January 2010. I believe this is basically an induction day to welcome the new students to school and get them acquainted with their teachers. I am excited to see how he interacts with other kids and also the teachers. However knowing my son's personality he will not be the shy one hiding in the corner. He would probably be the one out there making friends.

As for me, the normal routine will change as Hazim goes off to school. I will have to get up earlier to settle him for school, then get the other 2 to Kindi and off to work .... that is a definite change...which maybe better as I get to work earlier and get to leave earlier from work too.
















Hazim at his last Christmas Concert at the Kindergarten

His sister will probably have to get use to not having him around at the the kindergarten. A good thing too as she will probably grow more independent and possibly grow more into her role as big sister to little brother , Zaim.

Now for the New Year Resolutions:
1) Shed the weight by sticking to that dreadful cabbage soup diet
2) Be more pro-active at home and at work
3) Do things immediately (less procrastinating)
4) Get the house more in order
5) Stay in touch with friends

I will add on more to my list soon but I think these are the most important ones on my mind