善心从同理心开始

从小都一直看着爸爸妈妈做善事，很自然地也养成我们四个兄弟姐妹的善心。在组织了自己的家庭也想把爸爸妈妈的信念代代相传。

做善事是发出与内心，是一件很自然的事。所以，在教养孩子关于慈悲，我们并没有很刻意地教导。其实，父母只要善用机会教育，在日常生活中引导孩子，那已经很足够了。

我本身认为要引导孩子的慈悲心首先要培养他们的同理心。那是因为如果孩子能够站在别人的立场感受，用他人的角度看事，懂得同理别人后，慈悲心就很自然地被启发。

现今的孩子不但聪明伶俐而且才艺超群但是人缘且不佳。我觉得这是以同理心有很大的关系。打个比方，有些小孩会这样说“我不喜欢你，你好臭。”这样的一句话，孩子很显然地没有同理心。孩子懂得做自己是好事，但是父母应该教导孩子在展现自我的同时，也要对他人多一份的体贴，这样才不会伤害到他人的感受！

培养孩子的同理心，我们首先能带领孩子观察他人的情绪。通过观察他人的情绪可了解到自己的反应，可能对他人所造成的影响而顾及到他人感受。

再来，要求孩子参与家事。这可让孩子更了解到父母身心状况，孩子也会发现自己有能力照顾他人便给予付出及关怀。

最后，在慈悲心的培养，我们要给予孩子正确的观念 【行善并非要做伟大的事，慈悲必须行有余力，要从生活中的小事做起】记得，父母也须要给予鼓励因为当孩子得到善的回应，他的慈悲心更为滋长而会持续行善！

*此文的内容只供参考。须知每个小孩都来之不同的生活环境和家庭背景所以教导的方式也肯定因人而异。

Gula Melaka Jelly, a Malaysian Delicacy!

To me, this dish is like making MAGIC! You will understand what I meant once you try this at home (^^)

Ingredient

20g agar-agar strips

200ml thick santan

200g gula Melaka/palm sugar

80g sugar (my sugar measurement is 20g)

1200ml water (I didn't measure the water, I only make sure that all the agar-agar strips are all in the water)

4 pandan leaves

1/2 tsp salt

Methods

1.) Place water, sugar, agar-agar strips, gula Melaka and pandan leaves in a roomy pan and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer until agar-agar strips completely dissolves, about 8 minutes.

2.) Remove the pandan leaves.

3.) Stir in the salt into the coconut milk and pour this into the jelly mixture a little by little.

4.) Return the mixture to the heat and bring it to boil and turn off the heat immediately.

5.) Pour the jelly into a glass dish or jelly mould and leave undisturbed until set. The jelly should separate nicely into 2 layers (a clear gula Melaka layer and a coconut layer)! This is why I said it's MAGIC!

Simply love the aroma and the taste! Oh my, the aroma filled the whole house!!

Easy Banana Cake

My friend bought me some banana and it turned up to be too ripe so, I decided to use it to bake banana cake. Survey a few recipes and end up very very headache with the recipes as all the recipes are very very different. Didn't know which recipe to use but in the end, decided to use the easy recipe.

Ingredients

180g butter

180g sugar (I use 140g)

2 eggs

250g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

220g  mashed banana (I use 320g)

50g evaporated milk

Method

1.) Cream butter and sugar till light and creamy.

2.) Pour in the eggs gradually and beat till creamy.

3.) Add in evaporated milk and mashed banana and mix well.

4.) Add in the cake flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and beat for a while.

5.) Bake at 180 degree for about 50 minutes or until cooked.

Egg Tart

Looked through a few egg tart recipes and decided to try this recipe as it's using least sugar and egg. Very satisfied with the outcome ^^

Ingredient & Method

A) Skin : 140g butter
               1/2 egg
               70g icing sugar (I use 50g)
               200g plain flour
Mix all the ingredient and knead it into a dough. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes. Then, press the dough into the mould. The edges should be slightly higher than the tin. Bake at 160 degree for 8 minutes.

B) Egg Filling : 140g sugar (I use 100g)
                       300ml water
                       4 eggs
                       80ml full cream evaporated milk (I use normal milk)
Boiled the sugar and water. After the sugar water has completely cooled down, add in the milk and egg. Mix well. Then, sift the mixture 3 to 4 times. Pour the mixture into the baked tart skin, about 80% full and bake IMMEDIATELY. Bake at 160 degree for 20 minutes. The egg tarts are ready when a toothpick can stand upright.

小野花

“妈咪，我们回来了！这是送给你的！”原来是小花儿，五朵小野花！看着女儿晒红了小脸蛋，手上拿着小花儿，心中有一些说不出的感动!

这是小野花，很不起眼的小野花，经历过许多的风风雨雨然而还是生存着。虽然不值钱但是意义重大，虽然不起眼但是它是女儿第一次为我亲手摘下来的小野花。孩子这小小贴心举动真的让我甜在心头。我把小野花放好，摆在客厅的桌上。没想到，真的没想到。。第二天，小野花居然变了样！！孩子觉得小野花好厉害因为不用水，不用太阳，不用施肥都能变成另外一个样子。。哈哈哈哈。。我就是喜欢孩子那单纯的思想！

谢谢你们的小花朵。。妈咪希望你们也像小野花一样那么坚强。。有一天，你们也会变成一朵独特的花儿。。妈咪永远爱你们噢！

Non-bake Lemon Oreo Cheesecake

A few years back, I learn to make this from a friend. My family love it so much, especially my hubby. The best thing about this recipe is that you can modify it, putting any ingredient that you like as long as the basic ingredient is used.

Basic Ingredient
250g Cream cheese
200g Whipping cream
40g Icing sugar
1tbsp Gelatin powder

The Base
8-10 pieces Digestive biscuit (use oreo biscuit if you want an orea base)
5tbsp Melted butter

Additional Ingredient
10 pieces Oreo (crush to pieces, big or small)
5tbsp Lemon juice

Method
1.) The Base: Put digestive biscuit in a zip bag and break it. Then, add in the melted better and mix well. Press the mixture in the cake mould to form the base.
2.) Dissolve gelatin powder in 1.5 tbsp boiling water.
3.) Break the oreo into pieces (big or small pieces) for later use.
3.) Whisk whipping cream until light and fluffy. 
4.) Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy.
5.) Add in gelatin mixture and beat til mix well.
6.) Add in whipped cream (Beat with low speed for 30 seconds)
7.) Take out some of the cheese mixture. Then, add in the crushed oreo and stir well.
8.) Add in the lemon juice into the remaining cheese mixture and stir well. 
9.) Now, you can mould the cheesecake in whatever layer you like.
10.) Chill for at least 4 to 5 hours or preferably overnight.

Hubby's Birthday Celebration 2013

For sure, everyone will headache when it comes to celebration, at the very least once a year. I'm the one who is always headache when it comes to celebration, really had no idea how to make it a special one. A surprise party? No..no..I do not want to trouble anyone. A big feast?? Well, he is at the bolder line of high cholesterol, a big feast is sure not a good idea!

In the end, we had a very simple celebration at home. I make a non-bake lemon oreo cheesecake for hubby as requested. It has been years since my last baking of it. Luckily, it tasted good, at least suit our taste! The kids were so eager to try out the cheesecake, holding the spoon while singing birthday song! YengYeng is overjoyed too, looking on at the lighted candle. Although it is a very simple celebration, we are happy and contented for being able to celebrate it together. Nothing is more precious than spending the special moment together! Hopefully, for the many many years to come!

原来，金龟包是"感恩之宝"!

今天一早就急着起身做包子给老公和孩子。这是我第一次做，本身不是爱包之人但是想学做的原因是老公和孩子都喜欢吃。今天学做乌龟包是因为老公很想吃，再加上这个月是九王爷诞。

趁老公和孩子还在睡梦中，我已经在厨房里打仗，时间很紧凑。眼睛一直望着钟点，害怕孩子上学迟到。做到一半又冲冲忙忙地叫孩子起身准备上学。老公便帮我打点孩子而我就继续做包子。

好不容易终于完成了！很兴奋！孩子也很兴奋！拿了一个给孩子试一试。。大女儿说“MMmm..很好吃!" 我开心极了！轮到二女儿试吃。。她说“MMmm..一点点好吃。。一点点不好吃!" 我自己也咬了一口！哎哟，包子有点硬也不够香甜！是个失败的糕点！！

我有点失望。。也许，女儿知道我失望也看到我满头汗。。她坚持要把包子带去学校吃！！这一刻，我很感动！感动因为女儿很懂事。。感动因为女儿很体贴。。感动因为女儿懂得爱。。感动因为女儿的善解人意。。我也只能说：感恩！感恩！

今天的金龟包虽然失败了，但是换来了我们之间更深一层的爱，这是无价的。。

Easy Butter Cake

I love to bake alot but considering our family health, I decided to create my own healthy recipe. Yup, it is sure a very daring and very meaningful experience for me. And I'm very very happy with the outcome ^^

The ingredients are:

200g cake flour/plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
200g unsalted low-fat butter
100g castor sugar
3 eggs
1/2tsp vanilla extract
70ml fresh milk

1. Sieve cake flour together with baking powder and salt, sat aside.
2. Beat the eggs and sat aside. Normally, they use 5 eggs but I reduce to 3 eggs.
3. Beat the butter well. Then, add in the sugar. Use medium speed and beat it until light golden colour. I reduced the sugar from 170g to 100g. So, if you have a sweet tooth, perhaps you can add in more sugar.
4. Add in the beaten egg into the mixture and beat well (add in little by little, about 3 to 4 times) then only add in vanilla extract.
5. Add in the cake flour into the mixture and beat well (again add in little by little, 3 to 4 times).
6. Finally, add in the fresh milk and mix well.
7. Preheat oven at 160 degree for 10mins,
8. Bake for 20 mins at 160 degree, take out and use a knife to slice a little bit at the middle of the cake. Then, put it into the oven again to bake for another 20 mins. (You want to omit the slice part, it is okay..then, you have to bake the cake at 160 degree for 40 mins.

Some people found it kinda hard but it is up to my taste. Anyway, you can try it as it is much more healthier than any other oily butter cake. Happy Trying! ^^

*We do not guarantee your outcome.

Orange Jelly

As it is hot these days, we decided to make some orange jelly. It is very easy to make and of course, the kids loves it so much.

The ingredients are:

5 BIG orange (with thick skin)
10g Jelly powder
600ml water
400ml orange juice
7tbsp sugar
a little salt
2tbsp Sunquick Oren (for colour effect)

First, cut the big orange into half and squeeze out the juice. Then, dig out the flesh. After that, pour the water, orange juice, sugar, salt and jelly powder in a pot and bring to boil. Then, add in the Sunquick Oren for colour effect or you can leave out this step. Finally, pour it into the orange skin. 

The kids enjoyed scooping from the "orange bowl" ^^

过动症 (ADHD)

注意力不足过动症 (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)简称过动症 (ADHD)是一种神经生理失调状况，以儿童为主但也会在成人身上出现。

根据美国心理学协会(American Psychiatric Association)，过动症分为三类；

• 注意力散涣主导型(mainly inattentive)
• 活动量过多或自制力弱主导型(mainly hyperactive-impulsive)
• 混合型(combination)

过动症主要症状包括：

• 容易分心，注意力不集中
• 记性差，丢失重要的物件
• 无法遵照指示
• 处事马虎，粗心大意
• 无法按时完成课业
• 不爱思考，拒绝完成靠脑力的工作
• 活跃过度
• 无法长时间坐下或安静用餐，喜欢上课时随意走动
• 将周围搞得乱七八糟
• 常常坐立不安
• 无法安静地玩游戏
• 说话喋喋不休
• 冲动
• 无法耐心等待
• 问题还未问完就急于回答
• 常打断或打扰他人
• 缺乏组织能力，无法把自己想说的话，想做的事具体地表达或规划出来
• 读写困难，包括写错字（常多一画或少一画，拼字错误等），阅读时会跳行或无法理解文意等

有些孩童冲动与缺乏注意力但没有过动的症状，他们患有注意力缺陷障碍(Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD)。ADD于ADHD不同，ADHD孩童的过动症状比较明显。

若您的孩子都有以上的症状，请不要马上断定您的孩子是过动儿因为这些症状在正常的水平以及ADHD水平之间很难辨认。加上，孩子必须在两种不同的设置下为6个月或以上被观察。

家长应该询问您们的儿科医生或家庭医生建议您们到儿童及青少年精神科医生，以便提供孩子一个全面的评估，并且诊断以及提早治疗此症。备注：过动儿也可能有其他精神疾病，如品行障碍，焦虑症，抑郁症或躁郁症。这些孩子也可能有学习障碍。

没有适当的治疗，孩子可能会在课业上落后，社交也可能会受到影响。治疗方面可包括：

• 认知行为训练（可帮助孩子建立自尊，减少消极的想法，提高解决问题的能力）
• 行为矫正训练（可帮助孩子控制侵略，调节社会行为，并提高工作效率）
• 社会技能训练（可帮助孩子学会待人处事，沟通技巧，并提高人与人之间相处能力）
• 家长教育（可帮助家长学习管理技巧，控制负面情绪，提高亲子之间的互动）
• 药物治疗（可帮助孩子提高注意力，集中力，目标导向行为和组织能力）

本人不鼓励以药物治疗，一者可说药物没有问题，二者可说药物含有副作用，三者可说药物有害人体。药物治疗因人而异。

目前，没有一定的原因可造成过动症但是，它被认为是涉及遗传和环境因素之间的互相作用。莫些情况下，被认为感染或脑创伤。

*此文的内容可随着时间的转变和科技的发达有所不同，有待参考！谢谢。

Cheeky Tots

We planned to spend our holidays in Penang but in the end, we decided to cancel the trip due to the overflow of people and tight budget. The girls were disappointed because they were so looking forward to spend a day or two in Penang and this will be our first trip since Yeng Yeng was born.

To make them happy, we took them to the cinema to watch "Despicable Me 2". They enjoyed the show and of course, pop corn too.

On the second week of holidays, we took them to Cheeky Tots as promised. It is newly open in Ipoh. We spent around 4 hours there, really worth the money. We had lots of fun there. The kids were overjoyed and excited. Until today, the kids still recalling the fun time they had over there. And of course, they keep on asking me to bring them go there again. I promised them that I will bring them go again but have to see their behavior. 

As a reminder, if you are interested to visit it, do remember to bring a pair of socks, including adults. They only allow those who wear socks. In case you have forgotten, don't worry, you can buy from them. Do remember to apply for their membership too as it is free for now! Well, for more information about Cheeky Tots, click the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/cheekytotsipoh?fref=ts

Here is some of our pictures!

The Kitchen.

The Music Room

The Big Toys

The Riding Section

Baby Section

Adults and Food Section

When You Have A Baby

When you have a baby, many things change.
You behave like a Big Baby, do silly things you never did before.
You make funny faces just to make little ones laughs.
You make even funnier faces or perhaps weirder faces just to make her laughs even happier.

You sing lullaby to her and she is your first audience.
Even with a hoarse voice, you still sing to her.
Trying hard to recall every childhood song that you had learnt, just to sing to her.
Then, you start to sing with silly movement, which make both of you laugh.

When the little ones make coo-coo sound, you follow her to coo.
You coo non-stop, silly enough to make her thought that it must be a "Magic word".
You smile by just looking into her eyes and you laugh when she smiles at you.
Every single little action she did, you give her an "over-reacted" big applause.

When you have a baby, this is how silly you could be.
Silly enough to make you and her happy without a reason.
Oh God, isn't it wonderful!
To have a little ones around!

人生观点

读了一遍文章，觉得很有意思。希望女儿能读到此遍。


（一）对你不好的人，你不要太介怀。在你一生中，没有人有义务要对你好，除了我和你妈妈。对你好的人，你一定要珍惜、感恩。
（二）没有人是不可代替的，没有东西是必须拥有的。看透了这一点，将来就算你失去了世间最爱的一切时，也应该明白，这并不是什么大不了的事。
（三）生命是短暂的，今天或许还在浪费着生命，明天就会发觉生命已远离你。因此，愈早珍惜生命，你享受生命的日子也会愈多。与其盼望长寿，倒不如早点享受。
（四）爱情只是一种感觉，而这感觉会随时间、心境而改变。如果你所谓的最爱离开你，请你耐心地等待一下，让时间慢慢冲洗，让心灵慢慢沉淀，你的苦就会慢慢淡化。不要过分憧憬爱情的美，不要过分夸大失恋的悲。
（五）虽然很多有成就的人没有受过太多的教育，但并不等于不用功读书，也可以成功。你学到的知识，就是你拥有的武器。人可以白手起家，但不可以手无寸铁，紧记！
（六）我不会要求你供养我下半辈子，同样的我也不会供养你的下半辈子。当你长大到可以独立的时候，我的责任已经完结。今后无论你坐巴士还是奔驰，吃鱼翅还是粉丝，都要自己负责。
（七）你可以要求自己守信，但无法要求别人也守信；你可以要求自己对他人好，但不能期待人家也对你好；你怎样待人，并不代表人家就会怎样待你，如果你看不透这一点，只会给你增添不必要的烦恼。
（八）我买了26年的六合彩，还是一穷二白，连三等奖也没有中过，这就证明人要发达，还是要努力工作才可以，世界上并没有免费的午餐。
（九）亲人只有一次的缘份，无论这辈子我和你会相处多久，你一定要珍惜共聚的时光，下辈子，无论我们爱与不爱，都不会再相见。

嫁妆

记得有一天在网上看到一条钻石项链，那是一条非常美丽的钥匙项链，第一件事就是想把它买下，准备送给以后21岁生日的女儿虽然女儿如今才6岁！！那条项链可是Tiffany and Co. 的产品，当然价格不菲！心想我有三名可爱的千金，那我应该买三条项链，一人一条才公平。但是，我可没有那么多钱呀！一条我都买不起啊！

这时突然想起妈妈在我出嫁前所说过的一番话“女儿，妈妈什么都给不了你而唯一能够给你的是教育，你最好，最华丽，最有价值的嫁妆便是这些年来我给予你的教育”。当时，年少的我只能铭记在心里。

从相识，结婚至今已有三名女儿，经历了不少的风风雨雨当然也有雨过天晴的日子，让我在生活上的不同阶段成长了许多，逐渐领悟妈妈那番话隐藏的含义。

想成为一位在事业上以及家庭中的佼佼者可不是一件简单的事。不管什么性别，在于知识，态度或身心上都必须达到一定的程度。知识，避免不了是成功的首要条件，而拥有好的态度以及好的身心是取得知识最基本的必备条件。所以，不管是在于规范教育，家庭教育或是身教都不能忽视。

教育，对我来说是世上最庞大，杀伤力最强的武器。教育，可说是无害又能说是有害的武器。对的教育，它能让这个世界变得更美好而错误的教育，它能把这个世界在一瞬间变成地狱。

对或错误的教育不是你或我的定义就是正确的。不同的父母，不同的孩子，不同的家庭背景就会产生不同的教育。错以对纯粹在于各人不同的观点，没有所谓的正确教育方针。

而我，想像父母那样，不只是教孩子读书写字，家庭教育便是时时刻刻，有意无意地进行着。恭敬，礼义廉耻是我们家中首要的家庭教育。我也想像父母那样，一点一滴，慢慢累计，直到一天把“教育”当成嫁妆送给女儿。我深信那会是最有意义，最有价值的嫁妆！

Sports Day 2013

Both Syuen and Ning was so looking forward for the Sports Day. Every day they will ask me when is the Sports Day. And every day, they will tell me how hard they had been practising in the school.

Week after week, day after day..finally, the Sports Day took place on the 29th of June 2013. Both girls woke up early that morning, feeling excited! Even I was feeling excited too! Ning Ning was a little bit down as she is only 4 years old and there was no category that she could take part. I told her that she could take part next year and this year we can be Syuen Syuen supporter. Although Ning Ning couldn't take part, I can see that she enjoyed herself on that day too, running here and there with the cousins.

As for Syuen Syuen, she is overjoyed to be the first winner. I saw her jumped so high after winning the run. She is really really happy!

After the Sports Day, I asked her how she felt. She told me that she is very happy because every time when they were training in the school, she only managed to get number three and this time, she got number one! I laughed and told her that it is always okay if we lose. There is always a winner and a loser, the outcome is never important, what matters is that we have tried our best and be participation. I'm indeed proud of her!

Saturday Morning!

I always felt bad that the kids had to be in the office every Saturday morning, doing nothing at the office while I was busy with my work. So, in order to make them fully used their time, I always allowed them to bring their toys to office. And to keep them active, their bikes are always in the office.

Every Saturday morning, they will cycle outside the office compound. Luckily, the compound is spacious! All I need to do is keeping an eye on them. After the ride, they will play their toys in the office. This is the time when I can do my work while they play with their toys. Well, sometimes they quarrel over small matters and complain to me..this makes me nuts!! With the works in hand together with their endless complaint and noises really drives me crazy!!

Trying to resolve their complaint or any quarrel is never a wise choice, it makes things worse. I let them handle themselves, let them resolve their problems. I do not want to be the judge, judging who is right..who is wrong..I do not want to be the peacemaker, helping them to solve every single little argument. I'm confident that they can handle themselves.

In the meantime, I noticed that they got creative with or without their toys. Ning Ning is more into imaginative play while Syuen Syuen is more to creative play.

Ning Ning always had story line in head and she could imagine many many things which is "invisible" to us. I always saw her open an "invisible" door and step into another place, it's kinda funny. She acted like Charlie Chaplin!! Sometimes, with her toys, she could came up with story. I especially love her story about Mr. Crocodile driving all the small animals to school!

Syuen Syuen always loves to play with every little stuff that she managed to get her hands on. Even a broken stuff could be a useful stuff once in her hands. She is creative though to make use of the unwanted stuff. She loves to keep "rubbish" and sometimes, we make fun of her by saying her a rubbish collector. Then, she will always respond that they are not rubbish, we shouldn't be wasteful! Hahahaha...This is what she did after she found the broken armchair! Happily, they took turn to pull one another.

To keep them more occupied, I brought them some art work to do in the office. They enjoyed it and they learned to be patience through art works.

At the end of the day, they will help me to clean the office, from wiping, sweeping to mopping all by themselves. I'm sure proud of them.

Our Lovely Yeng Yeng

Since the born of Yeng Yeng, life is great. She brings us happiness, laughter, a different dimension of life and above all the completeness of our life.

She is a very happy gal. She loves to smile alot, far alot than you can imagine. Simply love to see her smile with all her coo-coo, ee-ee and ahh-ahh.

Although she is now 52 days old, she reacted much more like a 3 month old baby. She seems to understand the word we said, responding every word we said. The way she smiles while responding with her baby talk and her mesmerizing eyes really melts our heart. And the way she complains while crying makes us burst into laughter.

We are blessed to have her. All we wish for is that she stay healthy and happy. We love you, Yeng Yeng! 

原来幸福也可以很简单

有时候会问自己到底我怎样的生活算不算是幸福呢？特别是当我独自一人照顾小孩而丈夫忙着做工直到深夜才回家。心里总是想着为何这么不公平，我也要上班的啊，为何总是我要赶着回家照顾小孩和打点一切大小事务呢？？心想如果有个佣人那有多好啊！但是，家里多了一位陌生人，我会很不自在。也不想因为有了佣人孩子变得娇生惯养。如果小孩的衣食住行都是佣人一手包办，那么我可不是错过孩子的成长过程？？看来家务和照顾小孩的事还是亲力亲为来的好！

有时候看到男士送花送礼物给女士，我都会在想如果我老公也懂得送花送礼物的话，那是有多么的浪漫，那我就会是世界上最幸福的女人。但是，结婚以来那么多年，老公从来没有买过一朵花或任何礼物给我，这比起拍拖时还要糟糕。拍拖时，老公还会买花买礼物哄我开心，难道婚后就不需要这些甜蜜的举动吗？？回想过去，老公根本不是一位浪漫的男人，也就是因为他不够浪漫，是一位很老实的男人，也不会甜言蜜语不会拈花惹草的个性深深吸引了我。就好像，妈妈形容他为快要绝种的恐龙一样！所以，如果要把送不送花或礼物来衡量幸不幸福，那是有多么肤浅的想法啊！

后来又想，有钱是不是就是幸福啊？？能住在大洋房，驾大汽车，想买什么就买，想出国旅行就出，那算不算幸福呢？？有钱真的很好，有钱万事通！深入一层的思考，钱其实是一个很可怕的东西！它能让一个人丧心病狂，它能让一个人贪得无厌，它能让一个人变得无情无义，慢慢地把你变成魔鬼！看来财富和幸福根本扯不上瓜葛

那幸福到底是什么？？幸福是一种什么样的感觉？？它的味道是怎样的？？

直到那天晚上，像平时一样，我下了班，赶着载孩子回家后便开始在厨房下厨。下厨时，不轻易地听见老公和女儿的对话。俩父女竟然在那儿打情骂俏！那一刻，感觉很幸福！！原来幸福是这样的。对我来说，幸福就是当一件很不耀眼，很简单的举动都能让你在心里甜蜜蜜地偷笑，嘴角很自然地往上扬，那就叫做“幸福”！

而幸福的感觉和味道就好像当外面下着倾盆大雨时，你和你心爱的人在一间温暖的家中享用着热乎乎，香喷喷的私房菜，让你觉得很安全，很温暖，很舒服。。原来，幸福也可以很简单！

Chinese New Year 2013

Just like previous year, we had a big feast on the Chinese New Year Eve. And again, we had three tables of these delicious foods. Thanks to our big chefs, my mother-in-law and eldest sister-in-law. You are the best!

After the reunion dinner, we chatted and laughed while having from tea to wine. (Oopss..this is not advisable to mix tea and wine together, a bad example). When it was past midnight, we played fire-crackers as a symbolic of a prosperity year ahead. This year, we had the "Kong Ming" lantern as an add-on. We wrote our wishes on the Kong Ming lantern and lit it to the sky.

We had our vegetarian breakfast at my mother-in-law's house the next morning before heading back to Pontian, Johor; my hometown. After six to eight hours of driving, finally we were home. We spent 4 days in Pontian. We spent most of our time chatting, laughing, eating and drinking for the past few days with my siblings and my parents. My youngest brother and my mum cooked delicious foods for us. We were so happy and I felt blessed to have them and being able to spend a few days with them happily.

We also had the opportunity to watch lion dance and dragon dance at one of the Karaoke Clubs in Pontian. There were 5 lions and 1 long dragon. The girls were overjoyed to watch it as this is their first time watching it at such a close distances.

My father bought us supper one night and I was amused by this food. It is called the nasi pulut apom balik. It is very very delicious. I personally found it very special and unique, and of course very delicious! I want to eat it again the next time I go back.

Time waits for no man. It was time to head back to Ipoh. Mum prepared some Chinese New Year cookies, Mandarin oranges and her homemade walnut cake for us to bring back. Mum also homemade the rice wine for my confinement after delivery. I really felt blessed to have such a lovely mum! I love you, mum!

Rich or Poor

I came across this article when I was teaching the students. And I would like to share this very meaningful article here in my blog. This is how the story goes.

One day the father of a very wealthy family took his son to the village to show him how the poor lived. They spent a couple of days and nights in one of the poorest houses in the area.

On their return to the city, the father asked the son, "How was the trip, son?"

"It was great, Father."

"Did you see how the poor lived?" said the father.

"Yes, I did, Father," said the son.

"So, tell me what you learned from the trip?" said the father.

"I realized that we have one dog but they have four dogs. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden but they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden but they have millions of stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front garden but they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on but they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants that serve us but they serve others. We buy our food but they grow theirs. We have walls to protect us but they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

"Thanks for showing me how poor we are, Father," added the son.

~The End~

Chinese New Year Preparation 2013

We decided to decorate our house "red and gold" this Chinese New Year. Still keeping these two golden lanterns from last year as they are still in good condition, moreover they were quite pricey too :P

Other than the lanterns, we hung some lights decoration too. We had small little Chinese lanterns and some pinky flower lights. It looks like a very elegant Victoria style necklace when we switched the lights on. Nice!

This year, we wanted to do something 3D on the gate. I bought the couplet and the two very cute big snakes from pasar pagi, altogether costed RM18 which I think it's a great bargain for me..hehe..Feeling a bit dull, I made a few 3D stars to add some spice to it. At first, I was thinking to hang the stars but hubby suggested to tie them on the gate. We are satisfied with the result, it is beautiful :)

This year, we bought some plants too. We bought some imported red anthuriums and spider lilies. They are lovely, really bright up my day.

Then, I tied some red ribbon on the bamboo tree which we bought last year too. Somehow, I feel that the bamboo trees are malnutrition. It should be lush green, I guess that we need to work more on taking care of it.

Lastly, a picture of my two little princesses, making noisy asking me to take a photo of them. Here, wish all of you Happy Chinese New Year! Cheers!