Why I Have Not Been Doing My Ramadhan Log

Hello there,

Perhaps you have noticed that I am no longer doing a Ramadhan log since a few days ago. This is because I have not been able to fast due to health reasons. I came down with gastritis starting from Day 6 when I did not manage to have Sahur before fasting. I started to feel discomfort but managed to push for 2 more days of fasting before I had to stop because the pain got worse with each passing day. Then since yesterday I started having a bit of a sore throat. Ada2 saja ni. Sigh...

Believe me, I am not taking a free pass. Far from it, I am anxious because one, I am not able to take advantage of gaining Pahala. Two, I am worried about not being able to 'ganti' my fast in the future. Tau la, ajal ni bila2 boleh datang. Thirdly, tidak best la puasa bukan di bulan Ramadhan. Orang lain makan, kita menahan air liur. Bagus lagi puasa ramai2. Senang sikit. Yes, superficial I know but undeniable.

So, yeah, just wanted to put it out there in case anyone is wondering. See you in the next post. Cheers!

Love,
Phy

The Miracle Of Ayat 1000 Dinar

Hello hello..

Before I go on with this post, I just want to make a disclaimer. I am not saying that the Ayat 1000 Dinar works by itself. Reciting the Ayat 1000 Dinar is merely an effort to find misplaced things. What makes it possible for us to find it is still Allah SWT's will.

I have been losing a few things the past 2 weeks. First, it was an RM50 note, then my medicated eye drops and lastly, my Mac Fast Response Eye Cream. It was so infurating and upsetting to lose things one after another and it was up to a point where I concluded that I was either being more careless than usual or there is a 'toyol' in the house stealing things.

Fortunately, I managed to recover my RM50 note. It turned out my mum found it on the kitchen floor and was unsure if the note was hers or someone else's. She forgot to ask us because she was so busy.

As for the 2nd and last item, I remembered that I always, always put them both in the side pocket of my handbag. During my seach I don't know how many times I emptied out my handbag, looking for torn seams in the lining and what not. I also went to the extend of going through all the storage compartments in my room. Still, nothing.

It occured to me to check the Longchamp handbag that I was using the month before but I dismissed that thought because surely I had emptied all of its contents before I folded and stored the bag right? Right!

My sister advised me to use the Ayat 1000 Dinar to find the missing items. How it's done is by first, stating your niat (intention) to find your missing possession. Next, recite the Ayat 1000 Dinar 3 times and then search for the item.

I did read the verse 3 times but I was so tired of seaching already that I just though that if the items are around, I will find them during the course of my daily activities. The thing is, something told me to do things properly, to through the proper steps and not be complacent. It kept bugging me throughout the day but I just ignored it.

A few days later I decided to listen to my inner voice and did the steps properly. I also prayed that if the items are lost, let me accept that it is no longer my rezeki to own them.

10 minutes into my search, I gave in to my instincts and looked through my Longchamp bag. Sure enough both my eye drops and eye cream were in it's side pocket. How crazy is that? I couldn't believe it! I was so happy I literally jumped up and down half a dozen times. Needless to say, my dad and Sophie looked at me like I had lost my marbles.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Then again, in Islam there is no such thing as coincidences. I do believe that God aids us as long as we ask for it and believe that He will, insyaAllah. That instinct we have? That is one of His ways of communicating with us. Pretty awesome huh? If you would like to give this a try, below is the Ayat 1000 Dinar.

"Dan sesiapa yg bertakwa kpd Allah, nescaya Allah akn mengadakan baginya jalan keluar serta memberinya rezeki dari jalan yg tidak terlintas dihatinya. Dan sesiapa yg berserah kepada Allah, maka Allah cukupkan baginya. Sesungguhnya Allah tetap melakukan segala perkara yang dikehendakiNya. Sesungguhnya Allah telahpun menentukan kadar dan masa bagi segala sesuatu."

Have you ever lost something that meant a lot to you? Do share in the comments below.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this post. Until the next one.

Love,
Phy

Are You Ready For Ramadhan?

Hello there..

To all my Muslim readers out there, are you ready for the month of Ramadhan? I will be honest, I am a bit nervous. Tau2 saja la, biasa sdh makan macam pirahna 4-5 kali setiap hari kan. I hope I will have the extra patience and stamina to keep up with Sophie for the duration of the month ni. Huhu.. InsyaAllah...

My tangible plans for Ramadhan is super simple which is to make sure I have dates at home. A lot of people overlook this humble dried fruit but through my personal experience, I find it to be utterly essential during the fasting month for Sahur and breaking fast. I think I will elaborate more about it in an upcoming blog posts.

As for my spiritual preparations, I have plans on two things that I would like to achieve during the month of Ramadhan but I won't be sharing them with you just yet. Nanti nda jadi bikin malu jak. Huahuahua...




So how about you my dear Muslim readers, are you geared up for Ramadhan? What day will the 1st of Ramadhan fall on in your country? Do share in the comments below.

Thank you for reading this post. See you soon. Cheers!

Love,
Phy

Imotiv vs Bloglovin' App

Hello hello...

I have been using Imotiv since the day when it was still NuffnangX almost a year ago (or is it over a year ago?) While I loved the fact that I could read updates on the blogs I follow in one place, I still find it difficult to read all the updates because I follow a lot of blogs. I wished that I could separate the list into two. One for international beauty bloggers and the other for my local blogger friends.

Then about a week ago, I discovered Bloglovin' and I decided to follow my list of beauty blogs using it. Now I am officially hooked!! Here's why:

Your newsfeed only shows you posts that you have not read. You can also mark a post as 'read' if you want to skip reading a post that uninterests you and it will disappear from your feed. No more clutter on your feed!

At one touch of an icon (on the top left corner) you will see the total posts that you have not read. You will also see a list of the blogs you follow and the number of new updates each blog has. You can also search for other blogs to follow, change your settings and log out from that same menu. Talk about convenience.

In your feed there is also an icon on the top right corner that allows you to 'refresh' and 'mark all as read'.

When you are reading a post, this same icon gives you the option to 'like', 'visit blog', 'unfollow' and 'share'. It's so easy to use and fuss-free, I feel like crying tears of joy. Dramatic, I know but it is so refreshing not having to scroll down endlessly past post that disinterests me/I have already read like on Imotiv.

I wish that Imotiv would improve its app to be more clean and user-friendly. Also, recently Imotiv has kept jamming up and each time I back out of a post to go into it's main menu, it would exit completely. Bikin tinggi darah sy jak. Huff!

I hope you give the Bloglovin' app a try especially if you're an avid blog reader. Honestly, it will change your life! Oh, and don't forget to follow this humble blog while you're at it okay? Hehe.. Sempat lagi self-promote.

Thanks for reading this post. See you in the next one. Cheers!


Love,
Phy

A Hunk Of Pinky Minty Love

Hello there..

I have always loved pastel colors with pink being my fave of all time. However for reasons I can't phantom, the color minty green has caught my eye a number of times the past few days. It goes well with pink too! Check out these photos of food, decor and accessories that combine the two.

Nice right? What's your fave color combo?

Love,
Phy

P/S: All photos are courtesy of Google.

My 27th Birthday Dinner..

Hello..

Just a brief update on my birthday dinner last night. Normally we would dine at Juta Hotel for special occasions but I decided to go to Pizza Hut for dinner.

As you can see, we ordered a LOT of food. Oleh kerana tamak haloba menguasai diri, there is no nice 'before' photo, only the messy 'after' photo. Hehe..

Ada baby kuwik idung.. Haha..

The only bummer is that there were sooooo many things unavailable from the menu. We had to change our order like 3 times at least. E.g. We ordered the daily special (main course) but that wasn't available. They have a dessert daily special and when we ordered that, the waitress said that the sundae will not have the wafer. So we changed the order to a single ice cream in strawberry flavor. At the last minute the waitress told us that only chocolate and vanilla flavor is available. Doesn't that make you want to scream? Booooo Pizza Hut Keningau! You need to be more efficient in updating your stock items.

Oh, but I met one of my best friends from highschool there whom I haven't seen in years. That part was good la aside from being with my family.

Have you celebrated your birthday this year? Tell me about it in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading. Cheers!


Love,
Phy

My Fears, Hopes And Dreams For My 27th Year

Hello hellooo...

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you would know that today is my birthday. 3 years left of my 20's. OMG, I can't believe it!

This birthday in the state I am in (jobless) makes me feel old. I mean, my other friends are practising law, medicine, almost completing their teaching bond and what not. They are climbing up the ladder in their field whereas I am still flailing, grateful if I could just have a job. If I was in this position 4 years ago when I was in my early 20's, I might not feel that bad but now it just sucks really.

I keep wondering, what is it that I am supposed to be doing? What am I meant to do? I know that I am not one to climb the corporate ladder as I can't stand the pressure or fake friendships. Numbers are okay but filing payment vouchers are the pits. I don't have the patience required to be a teacher. I love writing but someone told me that I couldn't write to save my life. Not that I believed her 100%. She is, after all just a withering b*tch who spits poison.

Oppss.. I still feel the resentment, yes. Sorry about that. I digress. Aaannyywaysss.. I hope with all my heart that my luck will change for the better in my 27th year and beyond. May I be in good health, discover my calling and rake in big bucks out of it. Last but not least, let me get married to a wonderful as well as compatible man and live happily ever after with my darling baby Sophia Mikhayla. Amin.


Happy birthday to meeee!!

Love,
Phy

My First Interview In Months..

Hello there..

As some of you might know, I have been unemployed for a few months now. I've submitted my CV to a few banks and hotels but got no response until last Friday. I had my first interview last Monday.

I would say that it went okay. I am about 80% confident of securing a post there insyaAllah. However, the interviewer couldn't really give me a definitive answer on when I can start if I get accepted.

I am keeping an open heart and mind. Allah knows best, insyaAllah. I have done what I can do. If that is the best place for me at this time, nda ke mana juga rezeki tu kan..

Keep your fingers crossed for me peeps. Cheers!


Love,
Phy

The Voice Season 4 - Who Are You Rooting For?

Hellooo...

Did any of you watch last night's The Voice? I did but ala2 merajuk gitu because my main 'kuda' Judith Hill and second 'kuda' Sarah didn't make it to the top 6. I had expected all of my husband *cough*, Adam Levine's team and only that 16 year old from Blake's team to make it. Tau2 the opposite happened! Nooo...

I swore that I wouldn't watch The Voice again after that unfortunate night. Tp last2 semalam gatal juga tu tangan tekan channel 721 (AXN HD gitu). The 'hubs' still has Amber on his team so as his wife I am obliged to watch and give moral support right? *sila muntah jika perlu* Sebagai tanda boikot dan tidak setuju, I put on my Beats Audio earphones on whenever Blake's team sings to stop their voices from violating my ears. Childish, I know but I am still pissed.

Anyways, I am so happy to know that Amber has made it to the next round. She is the underdog of Adam's team compared to Judith and Sarah but she is surprising everyone with her performances for the past 2 weeks. I, for one am delighted. I hope she wins. Sasha is a great rival but the people of America seems to be gravitating towards Country singers this season so Amber still has a chance at winning.

Who are you rooting for The Voice Season 4?

Love,
Phy

Cikgu! Apa Khabar?

Hello all...

This morning I had breakfast with my family before going to the bus terminal to go back to the Big City when I saw a familiar face coming out of a book store. It was my Math and Science teacher Cikgu S. He was one of my favorite teachers of all time during primary school and without hesitation I immediately called out to him, "Cikgu!" When he turned around I held out my hand to shake his and proceeded to ask how was he, where is he currently teaching and all.

I could see that he didn't recognize me immediately but he smiled and chatted amicably just the same. I think he only began to place me when he saw my parents. Then my sister greeted him. He had been her teacher as well. Then guess what? This random Chinese guy passing us stopped and greeted him too! "Apa khabar cikgu?" he asked.

It struck me right then and there just how much people this great man in front of me had touched during his life as a teacher, just how big his influence was and still is in the community. Oh, how huge his blessings must be as in Islam we believe that when a person teaches no matter how small or simple *teaching in this sense is not confined to the classroom*, he or she will get blessings or pahala. He or she will also get pahala when the person he or she taught passes that knowledge to another person and so on. In other words by sharing knowledge with others, we get cumulative blessings as long as we do it with pure intentions.

I don't know why but meeting my former teacher today set me thinking how lucky teachers are especially those teaching young children the basics of counting reading and writing. These basic skill are what we as human beings use every day in our lives, whether it is to count how much is the price of an item after discount during sales season *ahem* or stringing two words to make a sentence, a paragraph, a blog post, etc. Each time we use these skills, whoever it is that taught us get blessings. How cool is that?

To all the teachers out there, the world now is not as it was during our time and certainly not like the times of our parents. There are new challenges in facing this new generation of young people that you call students. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be a teacher at this time and age. If you can, please persevere. You have no idea how much power, how much influence you hold in your hands. What you are doing is a noble thing.

One day, most of the monsters students who once had snot running down their noses/whom you had sent out of your class at least 5 times in a month will grow up to become distinguished and learned gentlemen and ladies and you had a hand in making them as such. One day you will be just like Cikgu S, and have your former students coming up to you to greet you, shake your hand. If all else fails in giving you motivation, just think that one day they might even be teachers themselves and they will know what a pain in the behind it can be. (^^)

Until the next post, cheers peeps!

Love,
Phoebe

A Tale Of Me And The Lion Dance

Hello all..
When I was a little girl I used to be petrified of lion dances. Iyo lah, dengan bunyik dorom besar dorang, the cymbals lagi. The beat was so loud my heart in my chest seemed to reverberate to the rhythm. Every time I heard the sound of the lion dance I would cry and pull my dad's hand in a bid to steer him in the opposite direction to get away.

I was about 6 or 7 years old when a group of lion dancers came to a clothing shop where I was in to perform. I wanted to run away but I couldn't because I was trapped somehow. There the 'lion' was, prancing and dancing while batting its eyes *which was actually cute but to the cowering me at that time, it was a terrifying sight* when it suddenly opened its mouth and I SAW A BOY'S FACE. My jaw literally dropped. I was puzzled enough to cautiously make my way closer to the dancing lion.

It's mouth opened again and I saw a flash of the boy's face once more. My eyes dropped to the lion's legs and I SAW SHOES. "What trickery is this?" I thought. Only then did it dawned on me that THERE WAS A PERSON INSIDE THAT LION! Which meant that that boy was the one controlling the 'lion' and it's not a 'lion' gone berserk to the loud banging and crashing of the drums and cymbals after all. Oh, to be fooled all those years! I felt like smacking the 'lion'. Macam la tu 'lion' sengaja tipu sy kan. Lol..

Since then, I no longer feared the 'lions' of lion dances and in fact I came to like them a lot. I appreciate a well-made 'lion' costume and love the bright color combinations. When there's a lion dance performance I would always stop to see them and I could watch a lion dance competition on CD for hours. I admire the skills, creativity, concentration and team spirit the dancers need to have in order to compete. Even just for performances, some 'lions' can be so cute in character *skipping about, tilting their head from side to side while blinking* and realistic that it's easy to forget that they are not really alive.

Breath-taking...

The cutesy Southern lion..

I don't like the Northern lion costume though. They look a bit too demented fierce for my taste.

The rabid fierce-looking Northern lions.

Okay, this is a random thought but I think it would be really cool to learn how to perform and take part in a lion dance. Not the acrobatic stunts God forbid, but just the simple prancing-about-blinking-and-looking-pretty type of performance on flat ground. That would be sooooo cooolll especially since I have never seen a girl perform before. Is it because girls are not allowed to do it? Paling kurang pun I would like to be a part of a well-performing lion dance team walaupun sekadar jadi tukang pungut angpow from the shopkeepers. Yang penting, be a part of it.

Were you ever afraid of lion dance performances when you were young? Or were you that little bugger who would wrestle out of your mother's grasp and run up to pat it *showoff*? Do you have a memorable experience with a prancing 'lion'? Share it!

Before I go, here and here as well are videos on lion dance performances for your enjoyment. Cheers my dears!

P/S: All photos are from Google.

Love,
Phoebe

Ramblings of A Smitten (Demented) Mother..

Hello hello...
Okay, I am about to launch into a rave about Sophia's progress and if you're not into such stuff, feel free to click the 'X' button okay. I won't take offence. As you may know, I spent about a week at my hometown to be with my princess Sophia. She will be 11 months by this coming February 5, 2013 and I am sooo amazed by her learning progress.

She loves to stand and climb. She could actually climb up the couches all by herself! Masalahnya she hasn't learned how to get down safely be herself yet so we really have to keep an eagle eye on her at all times. She also could pick things up while standing now. She would hold on to the coffee table's rounded edge and bend/squat down to pick the object up. The most amazing thing to me is that when she can't reach an object because it is almost under the table, she would stand back up, adjust her position by taking a step back and bend down to try again. She actually could figure that out!

One of our morning and evening activity would be me playing hide-and-seek with her. I would run to hide behind one of the chairs and she would run after me in a baby walker *I know some people disapprove of the usage of baby walkers. Don't judge me, I will tell you more on the baby walker in a later post*. There are 2 single sofas with a coffee table in between them. I would run and hide in one of the sofa and when she 'catches' me I would jump up and run to the other sofa to hide *such a good form of exercise for me, I tell you* . On the first day she went with the motions but by the 2nd day, she actually figured out that she could 'catch' me by peeking in between the coffee table at me instead of running around to the other side of the sofa! Pandai pula dia cari shortcut. Lol..

One of her upper front tooth has popped through her gums, making it her 3rd tooth so far.

She doesn't like being in the baby cot 'cause she cant crawl freely but when I let her out she would go into the places where she shouldn't be. Tempat yang tidak boleh pigi la yang dia paling suka mo explore. Barang yang tidak boleh pigang la yang dia paling suka mo pigang. I will be honest, taking care of an active 11 month old is quite tiring. Itu belum lagi pandai bjalan sama blari kan. I really have high respect for both SAH (Stay At Home) and working mothers who juggle work, toddlers and housework. I don't know how they could manage. Belum campur urus husband. Kalo ada baby kecik lagi? Pengsan. I guess what gets mothers through are their love and devotion to their child(ren) and family as a whole.

Anyway, here are Sophie's current photos:

Duta Coach..

Sophie the burrito baby.. 

These are taken from my Instagram. I don't have many new photos of Sophie because dia pantang nampak handphone and camera, mesti mau pigang. Bila sudah pigang tu nda mau lepas. Kuat betul tangan dia. Sigh.. 

This is all for now folks. Thanks for reading this post. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and 'Like' my Facebook Page (Phoebe_Sophie for all 3). I am also on NuffnangX. Cheers!

Love,

Phoebe

Officially Jobless

Hello there..
As of January 15, 2013 I am officially jobless. Let me just start off by saying that I have no problem with the company at all. I resigned on my own accord due to unfortunate circumstances. As much as I loved what I was doing, loved the privilege of being part of the company, etc.there was no mutual benefit for me to stay. I wasn't getting what I needed especially since I had zero experience in the field and that greatly affected my work performance.

Initially I felt sad at losing such a well-paying job. The pay had not only enabled me to pay off my financial commitments and provide for Sophie, it had also enabled me to put aside money for both me and Sophia's savings. However, I take comfort in the fact that all of this was meant to be. I was meant to get the job, meet the people I did, and yes, I was meant to only work there for a short time. I know that there is something good in the experience for me. I just hope that I have learned all that I needed to in that experience (InsyaAllah) so that I wouldn't have to go through the same situation again in the future (Nau'dzubillah).

I am glad to get a fresh start in the earlier part of 2013. Now I am just looking forward. I don't really have a plan that is set in stone. I just want to lay back for a while at the moment and recover as well as dive into myself to discover who I really am, undefined by my work or any other external factors. I would also like to get in tune to my spiritual side and build a better relationship with Allah SWT. I know that good things will come my way this year insyaAllah.

I am currently thinking of my new year's resolution. I know, I know, it's already the middle of the month, etc but it's never to late to resolute and make good changes in one's life eh? Might do a post on my New Year's resolutions next.

With that being said I wish all of you working people happy working and enjoy your lunch break. Cheers!

Weight Loss and Job Update..

Hello there..

As the title indicates, this post is going to be about my weight loss update, or rather, how I'm doing at achieving my weekly goals, etc., and my job update. My health-related goals were to drink up to 2L of water for the 1st week. I must say I kind of failed terribly. I think I just fulfilled that goal 3 days out of the 7 days of the week. If I didn't forget to drink water, I would be in a situation where it would be inconvenient for me to do so (long distance trip so want to avoid to many visits to the loo), etc.

For my 2nd week my goal was to reduce my non-water beverage to 2 cups a day on top of the 1st week goal. I had no trouble doing that and in the process has found my new 'best friend' that would help me with my 3rd week goal and that is to reduce my food consumption by a quarter (I know, funny. Haha..). I have been using this product for a week so I have kind of achieved my goal for this week since last week. That friend is...

Red Guara by DCL

I think some of you might already know this product. This is a drink that is used to reduce one's food intake by helping us to feel full sooner and for a longer time. I know what you guys are thinking. Si phy main buyuk! Guna produk untuk kawal makan. Weh, apa salahnya kan? It's not that I have any disillusion with this product. Like I said before, there is no one magic pill, drink, etc., that enables us to lose weight without diet or exercise because if there is, Oprah would have known about it by now and shared it as her favorite things.

Anyway, I find that this product really works but being an emotional over-eater, I did slip a time or two. Meaning I kept eating despite feeling full. Believe me I got my reward for that alright, with acid reflux or pedih ulu hati (I think) especially if I take a lot of buns or any flour-based or 'yeasty' foods. Its so not fun and not worth the pain. So you see, product like this can help you but you still need will power and make good food choices in order to really lose weight.

I haven't weighed myself yet so I am not sure if I have actually lost weight but I do feel that my clothes fit me slightly better. We'll see in a month.

As for my job, well today is my 3rd day on the job and I am already stressed. I have gone to see the GM for a redrafted programme review, barely learned to use Microsoft Outlook for internal email (and email etiquette on top of it) and Skype. I've written 2 articles, chosen photos for the articles and printed and reprinted what seemed like hundreds of changed programme copies. Its a bit hard for me because this is a detail oriented job whereas I am not a detail-oriented person.

A dot, comma or missing alphabet can result in wastage from reprinting. Sakit jiwa okay. Sayang bah tu kertas. Bila it is all because of me lagi jadi gitu terus tambah2 agi rasa stress. I wouldn't be surprised if one of these days I will get nightmares of alphabets, full stops and commas coming after me with pitchforks. I know, I cant really complain. After all, I did ask for this job right? I did want to break away from Finance right? I do want a bigger pay to improve Sophie's future right? I did want to learn something new right?

Missing Sophie is not helping either. I really need to focus on this job but I keep thinking about her, wondering what she is doing, if she is sleeping or eating well, looking at her photos and videos, etc. On top of all this I just found out that I lost my pendrive with all of my photos in it. I remember using it yesterday and taking it out of the USB Port. I think I did put it in my bag but this morning I couldn't find it. I just hope that it got misplaced in the car or at home and not here at the hotel. While I don't have anything incriminating on it, I certainly don't want it to fall into the hands of irresponsible people. I can't wait to go back home and look for it.

Oh well, I guess this is all for now. Thanks for reading..

Love,

Phoebe.  

P/S: I am in no way or form affiliated with DCL. I bought this product with my own money and my comments on it are fully my own from my experience.

Long Time No See...

Hello peeps..
Long time no see... I have been on a 1 week hiatus because I went back to my hometown during that time and despite having more time on my hands to laze about *cause Sophie was being fully dotted on by my mom* the line was just too crappy for me to post anything.

Anyway, in case you didn't know I have a beauty blog that has been lying dormant for some time. I want to start doing some beauty related post again and need your opinion on whether I should shut down my beauty blog and do beauty post here on this blog or continue to maintain both blogs? Your feed back is most appreciated.  ^^

Oh, some Sophie updates. She has now 'found' her voice and is gurgling and babbling all day. It's so funny and cute to see her babbling at her fist and everything she sees. Sometimes I feel like she is trying to talk to me. Sophie is starting to suck her fingers too. I read that it's normal and shouldn't be stopped because it's a way for babies to self soothe themselves. I am still unsure of whether to let that habit be or curb it.

She is also smiling so much now. She's such a cheerful little thing. Except when she's hungry or is startled that is. That's when her Dragon side starts roaring. Hopefully those powerful vocal chords of hers will be a blessing to her one day. InsyaAllah, Amin.. Hehe..

Last but not least, Sophie has now become a jie jie (big sister)! No,no, no.. I haven't had another child but my cousin did. Welcome to the world baby Atheliya Zilli (sy eja hentam2 jak ni okay, karang sy kasi betul bila sy sudah tau spelling sebenar.. Hehe..) She's such a little thing. Looking at Atheliya made me miss Sophie when she was a new born BUT at the same time I am glad that Sophie has grown and is stronger now with a few milestones under her little belt. Does that make any sense? Hehe..

That's all for now. Have a great start to your week peeps! ^^

Love,
Phoebe

Tu Lah, Len Kali Menipu Lagi..

Hello hello..
Harap kamurang suma sihat. Yang nda sihat tu, get well soon okay.
Untuk pengetahuan kamu, kawan kamu si Phy ni adalah insan yang pelupa bila masuk bab2 makan ubat. Paling useless la orang bilang. Kalo Dr cakap makan 1 bijik ubat 4 kali sehari, hari pertama jak sy berusaha dengan gigih untuk makan ubat on time. In 3 days time makan 4 bijik ubat sekali sehari la jadinya. Memang teruk.

Untuk dijadikan cerita, waktu sy dalam pantang dulu, sy lambat makan ubat cina yang bikin pecah darah dan buang angin sebab nurse di KKIA larang makan ubat2 macam tu. Kononnya, bikin tambah tinggi sakit Jaundice baby. Apa lagi, beta pun gumbira juga lah sikit sebab beta kan paling lembap when it comes to taking meds kan. Sudah la kena makan hari2 for 30 days. Adoi... Confirm 100 hari baru habis.

Selepas anak yg genap 1 bulan, sy pindah. Daripada 3 jenis ubat cina tu, 1 jenis tu sy belum buka pun cuma sy tau, ubat ni bersalut lilin. Mummy sy pernah cerita,dulu pantang dia simple jak. Ubat yang dia makan pun yg jenis berlilin. Oleh sebab sy berniat untuk makan ubat tu bila sy sampai at my new place, I asked her how did she ate her pills (the one yang ada lilin), and she said that she just chewed it.

A month later my mummy asked me, have I taken the Chinese meds? Not wanting to be scolded I decided to tell a white lie and said yes. I felt bad and 2 weeks later *yes, it took me that long, even while feeling guilty.. sigh!* which was a week ago, I decided to finally take the Chinese pills.

The pills.. 

 10 pills per box, individually packed in boxes..

Wax..

As you can see in the 3rd picture above the pills are enveloped in a ball of wax. I felt unsure on how to take it. Do I really want to chew it like my mum did? Do I want swallow it with water? But then it's huge! wanted to ask my mum again but how can I when I've told her I had started taking them? Huhuhu... *Ah, the consequences of lying*. I decided to try and chew it and tentatively bit into it but found that it's hard. 

Bite marks.. Haha...

Then I had this idea of cutting it up into segments then swallowing the sections with water. However when I tried to cut it up, it suddenly split..

Laaaaa.....!!!! Rupanyaaa...!!!

Slightly larger than the other 2 types of pills...

Bahahaha... Speechless.. That's what you get when we tell little white lies. They come back to haunt us and bite us in the behind when we least expect it. Padan muka kan? Len kali menipu lagi.. Huhu.. Moral of the story? Honesty is the best policy!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog.

Love,

Phoebe..

Pressures Of Motherhood..

Ndamau Keluar Rumah Sudah La...

Hello,

Petang tadi waktu melayan permata pujaan hatiku Sophia nangis sampai ndak keluar suara (cranky, mungkin dia rasa nda sedap badan lepas kena jarum) terdengar bunyi kecoh di rumah sebelah. Suara perempuan dewasa teriak2, lepas tu hempas2 barang dan suara dua budak nangis2 sambil panggil "Ibu!" balik2. Boleh dengar ni apa yang dorang cakap. *Bukan sengaja sy mendengar gia, suara dorang tu yang kuat betul. Lebih kuat dari si Sophia teriak lepas sudah menggandakan kuasa Boboboi dia untuk tarik nafas*. 

Terdiam sy sekejap. Terbayang pula segala2 drama Melayu yang sy pernah tengo dari darjah 4 sampai tingkatan 3 *belum ada Astro lagi daa masa tu*. Berpikir juga ni, apa kes? Anak2 dia tu meraung2 "Ibu!" sebab mama durang merajuk jak atau sebab mama dorang pengsan-sebab-terlampau-marah-bila-bawa-pigi-hospital-baru-tau-ada-penyakit-yang-susah-mau-kasi-ubat-lepas-tu-anak2-dia-menyesal-lawan-cakap-dia? Sorry, bukan menyumpah, tapi ter-imagine sebab mama dorang tiba2 senyap.

Last2 redah juga lah dorang. Baru ja sy mo hembus nafas lega, tiba2 sedar something. Rupanya kalo cakap kuat sikit pun jiran satu blok blh dengar pula. Oh noooooo!!! Menyesal, menyesal seribu kali dua bahagi empat campur lima! Kenapa? Sebab kawan kamu si Phy ni suka menyanyi. Kalau suara macam Mariah Carey tu ndapa juga tapi ni lebih kepada Maria Si Penjual Kari. 

Adoooiiii.. Apa punya soi daaaa... Sudah lah kawan kamu si Phy ni kuat berimaginasi. Siap terbayang nyanyi lagu Enya di Caesars Palace, lagu Adele di Royal Albert Hall, etc. Hm, memang padan la. Entah2 hari2 sy kena maki jiran ni sebab malar jak buat konsert nda berbayar. Punya la hai bikin malu. Nda mau keluar rumah sudah la sy. Kalo ya pun keluar rumah dan terserempak ma jiran, sy tunduk gaya alaf Bawang Merah Bawang Putih jak la. 

First Experience: KKIA Kota Kinabalu

Hello all,
Today I went to KKIA *Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak ye tuan2 dan puan2, bukan Kota Kinabalu International Airport* Kota Kinabalu as baby Sophia is due to get her Triple Antigen jab (2nd month). I had planned to register and follow up there as well. When I arrived at KKIA KK it looked pretty quiet. It was only until I stepped in that I saw it was busy as a bee hive.

I went to the counter to register and they asked me where am I living in? I told them and they referred me to another KKIA. I tried reasoning with them because as someone who doesn't have my own transport, I can hardly expect boo to drive me all the way to the KKIA they suggested when it's almost time for him to go to work. It just wasn't possible. In the end, they relented.

I noticed that each room is named after places in Sabah such as Manukan, Tugu, etc. I was referred to room no 2. I didn't have to wait long and the nurse who attended to me didn't ask too many questions. The only thing is they tried hard to convince me to go to another KKIA for upcoming monthly. Their reasoning is that the meds in their KKIA is already allocated for babies their area. If they give my baby immunization shots at their KKIA, then a baby in their own jurisdiction wouldn't be able to get their shots.

So I asked them, how do you know exactly how many babies are in your jurisdiction? "Oh, we look at the birth rate in KK" says the nurse. Okay, fair enough. However there's just something about that kind of reasoning that doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm being a smarty-pants but while I understand that KK covers a lot of ground up to the point where they have to divide into a few areas and set up KKIA's in those areas so that KKIA KK won't be swamped, I have to ask:

If you rely on the birth-rate, what about those who are staying within KK's jurisdiction but went back to their hometown (let's say Ranau) to give birth and would follow up at KKIA KK? Their baby's birth would then be counted in Ranau's jurisdiction not KK's. The numbers wouldn't match up and their meds wouldn't be enough anyways right?

The smarty pants tahap Boboboi in me also thinks that surely they would order more stock for medicine rather than order just enough to cover the birth rate in KKIA KK's area. Surely. I mean, that's the basic stock-keeping right? If your demand is 30, you order 35 or 40, maybe even 50 just in case. So nda la bah sampai ada kes baby nda dapat kena immunize sebab tiada stock ubat. If they really ordered just enough meds based on the birth rate of KK, I would be amazed at their lack of foresight.

Aaaaannnnyywwaaayyy, on the plus side everything was fast (maybe they wanted to get rid of me ASAP, who knows) and in 30 minutes I'm out the door with baby Sophie immunized and clutching a bottle of liquid pain killer for babies as the Triple Antigen shot will make her feverish. Huhu.. *Bracing self to weather the fever storm* All in all, they were very efficient and none of the nurses were rude. I was happy with their service.

Thanks for taking the time to read this entry.

Love,
Phoebe.

Do You Believe In Horoscopes?

Hello peeps..
Yes, yes, long time no see. I'm so sorry *Sob sob* (TT). It's just that the Internet has been really slow lately and I've missed my weekly indulgence at the cc due to being unwell and lack of transport. Story of my life.

Anyway since the Year of the Water Dragon came around, there has been a kind of frenzy surrounding it. This year is said to be a good and prosperous one and it seemed that wedding venues and hospitals are being booked to the max in China for weddings and childbirth. *Don't take my word for it though because I heard this from a friend* 

All these predictions of good prosperity and health has made me think about horoscopes and how it can affect people *such as making couples working hard at making babies. The men are surely smiling from ear to ear from now until the month of March 2012*.

Are you the type of person who religiously believes in, pores over your Lilian Too Feng Shui handbook/English horoscope manual and let it dictate every move you make? *"Oh, sorry my love but I can't go on a date with you tonight. My Venus is tip-toeing over the Milky Way and it's bad luck for me to be around people for the next 12 hours"* Or are you a disbeliever who thinks that horoscopes are a waste of time and that anyone who believes in it is a fool and a half?

For me personally, I like to think myself as being in the middle. This is simply because I feel that there are uncanny truths about the characteristics of my sign (I'm a Cancer and Tiger by the way) and some predictions can be spot-on. I am guilty of reading my horoscope at the back portion of my magazines and there are still times when I compare my sign with my crush's *Oh, Horatio Caine!* or a significant other's. Juvenile, I know. *Stop giggling, you do it too and you know it* (^^)

I always take the good *"Yay, it says that money will come rolling starting in March!"* or the coincidences *"No wonder I'm in a bad mood the past few days, it's written in the stars!"* and reject the bad *"What, it says that I will lose money in an investment? Pish posh! This is cr*p"*. I don't let it control my life though. Or at least I try not to let it. Seriously.

I do feel that horoscopes can help give people hope in their lives, especially Chinese Horoscopes with it's yearly (instead of monthly) forecasts. It enables people to have something to look forward to. As long as it's not supposed to be your bad year that is.

So regardless of whether you are a hard-core believer of horoscopes, an equally hard-core disbeliever, or even a neutral person like yours truly *cough*, I wish you all Gong Xi Fa Chai and cheers to a prosperous year ahead. Wassalam.

Lots of Love,
Phoebe