Archive | December, 2013

Goodbye and Hello!

31 Dec

2013 – the end is here. As the world gets ready to say goodbye to it and usher in the new year, I must admit I am ready to say goodbye and hello at the stroke of midnight.

To sum it up, my 2013 has been mixed with ups and downs. Happiness, sadness, shock and delight were some of the emotions I experienced but not just limited to these words. Most moments were filed away at the back of my mind and the rest (and some) shared when I started this blog in June.

So, “Bye 2013 and here’s wishing all to an exciting Happy 2014 New Year!!!”

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The Shoe Queen

30 Dec

Within three days, I bought two pairs of shoes yet I remarked that hubby was more of a ‘Shoe Queen’ than me simply because his shoes were cluttering the shoe closet and there was just no more space for my newbies to reside.

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I can’t help it, they were on sale!

On Saturday night, I was looking at the shoe closet assessing the space, trying to figure out where to fit in my latest Rockport shoe and yet another pair of (Footjoy) golf shoes but men shoes were just hogging the space. Therefore, I commented “Aiyoh! Daddy is such a Shoe Queen!” to M1, who was seated nearby listening to the drama.

M1 sniggered at that comment; hubby denied the accusation and told me to count. So I did.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine! You have nine pairs of shoes in here!” I said incredulously.

“Wait… You count yours!” He shot back. And I did.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Heels do not count.” I said.

M1 was laughing non-stop and discreetly muffling the sound.

“How can you not count heels?” he demanded. “Aren’t they shoes too?”

Well, I guess if I do include them plus some from the next closet plus the rest outside, I guess I am the undisputed Shoe Queen. But still… he runs a close second.

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A Belated Gift

27 Dec

It’s Boxing Day and I had gone to play golf in the morning with the hubby. And obviously I did not open the laptop to play Candy Crush considering it’s an early morning tee off and we shouldn’t be late. But for the record, I have been stuck at Level 500 and it has been most frustrating. These pass few days, being the Christmas holidays with the festive mood, I am hardly working so I have been trying to conquer this level at every opportunity available.

Fast forward to the late afternoon. I came home from my golf outing and routine was normal, playing five unsuccessful rounds of Candy Crush on the laptop before moving back to the iPad for Zookeeper Battle and checking emails. Everything was normal; then in the evening, I reached for the laptop again and launched the game for my usual five attempts at Level 500 but suddenly, I find myself leap-frogged to Level 501!!! Surprised, shocked, taken aback, I couldn’t believe it!

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Notice the non-star at Level 500 and question marks for tickets?

Eh? What’s going on? I have been stuck at Level 500 for sometime but out of the blue or is it out of pity, I have been gifted with this! I have gone on to Level 501 without completing Level 500 and without even asking for tickets to go on to this latest chapter, Ice Cream Caves.

A belated Christmas gift? A computer glitch? A loyalty reward? Whatever it is, gee, thanks King.com! I just hope you don’t reverse what you just did for I have gone on to Level 506. A gift’s a gift, no taking back, belated as it may be.

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Should I Do It?

26 Dec

As we countdown to the end of 2013, I am contemplating to just update my iPad Mini to OS7. I must admit I have gotten used to my iPhone4 by now with the new interface because it’s all conditioning with daily usage. But I still don’t like those ugly green and blue message bubbles.

My immediate concern is if I leave my iPad as is for too long, my eventual free update may not kick in. Is this a silly thought? Not very tech-savvy, huh? The other concern is more of an irritation than anything else. I simply don’t like those little red dot numbers sitting at the top right of an app. Yes, my Setting icon has the red dot with a number one in it.

The last concern is most of my apps are upgrading to the OS7 look and feel and if my iPad is still in OS6 mode, well… would things still work? Again, not very tech-savvy, huh? As it is, Papa Pear Saga is not working at all on the iPad.

So to squash all this unnecessary concerns, I should just do it, update my iPad Mini once and for all before the year ends!

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Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

24 Dec

I cannot believe another year has gone by so fast! Wasn’t it just yesterday the whole family was visiting the US – the adults catching up with some of our dearest friends and the children seeing what I deem as my favorite places from my college days? Wait a minute, that was last year! Dang.

The past few days I was reminiscing about this time of the year and out of the blue, the song by Band Aid (Do They Know It’s Christmas?) popped into my mind! Wow. That was dinosaur years ago. Watching the music video when John Taylor (of Duran Duran) fleetingly appeared made my heart skipped a beat even after all these years. Sigh…

It’s such a classic and oldie now, that song.

This year I decided to host the family Christmas (eve) dinner, relieving my only sibling of this annual duty. I look forward to the usual happy, fun and boisterous occasion despite the reduced head count (the twins are away in college and the younger niece, at camp). The tree is up, the presents are in place, the wine chilled and the food prepared with love. This time of sharing will no doubt be cherished.

This year has been significant for me, in many aspects of my life. For starters, I tried Candy Crush (in March) out of curiosity and look what happened? I became so addicted to it, I qualify to be called a professional candy crusher. I also started this blog (in June) and have been going strong ever since. With 4,851 views and more than 200 ‘Likes’ so far, I must be doing something right.

This year also marked my M1 turning Sweet 16 and my M2 fairing well in her UPSR exam. Children aside, Hubby and I traveled a fair bit—not to new destinations—but to near and far and enough to keep our sanity in check to balance up the work stress that we face daily.

And this year I made more new friends compared to any past given year. Pretty unusual but then again, golfing friends are a unique breed and it’s nice that it has developed into wonderful friendships over many outings and dinners beyond the fairways and greens. I also rekindled old friendships, thanks to technology for making the world smaller and reachable. For all these, I feel truly blessed and yeah, it’s been a significant year for me.

So I’d like to end this significant year by wishing all—from the bottom of my heart—a happy Christmas and a merry New Year in its truest sense! Hope your 2013 was equally significant for you to reflect back in years to come with fond memories and a smile on your face.

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R-E-D

23 Dec

Recently, I found my old Palm T device and decided to boot it up, which was a good thing for I discovered many recordings that I did of the two girls when they were very young.

Listening to the old voice recordings brought much laughter and memories back.

M2 was just kindie-going when she first learnt how to spell. I guess ‘RED’ is the first one a toddler learns in school. And along with it, they also learn how to spell their name.

It was at a family Christmas gathering that we put her on the pedestal, proudly to show off what she has learnt that first year.

“Spell your name,” I gently coaxed her.

Loudly and confidently, she went,“R-E-D. Mabel Red!” Surprise caught everyone then laughter broke out in the family.

“Mabel red?” I asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes. I am Shiny Red Apple,” she beamed at me. Well, it was Christmas, spirits were high and happy, we all had a good laugh about it.

Ahh… Such memories.

M2 is twelve this year (how time flies!) and no, we won’t put her on the pedestal this coming Christmas.

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It Ain’t Over

20 Dec

I thought my candy crushing days met its end four days ago when I reached Level 500 in Facebook. Thinking I would take my time to do so, I had not been opening the laptop to attempt to finish it. After all, the updates have been really slow especially on the iPad.

But this morning I was surprised to see, in Facebook on the laptop, the saga has continued until Level 515! Yay.

I guess it ain’t over! And ever since I have been having problems launching the Papa Pear Saga on my iPad, it’s back to crushing candies for me.

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We Want Toys Too!

19 Dec

Not too long ago, I bought another new orange toy for the Roo: an orange colored chew cow but kept it as a spare for appropriate moments. Normally, toy purchases are not given to him immediately, the release timing has to be just right.

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So several days passed by before the appropriate moment presented itself. Time to bring it out for him to play with then! When M1 saw, she lamented, “How come we don’t get toys anymore?”

“Yea, Mummy, we want toys too!” echoed M2.

“Well, you two have been asking for books all these while, that’s why no toys,” I pointed out.

“We want toys!” both said in unison.

“Something that we can play with and not put on the pedestal,” M1 emphasized.

“Hmm. I get toys for you for Christmas then,” I offered.

They may have grown up but still a child in some ways. Toys it will be for them this Christmas then.

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Done with Candy Crush?

17 Dec

Yesterday, I reached Level 500 of Candy Crush in Facebook and should be completing it anytime soon. And for Dreamworld, its subset game, on the same day too I completed Level 65 and now, have to wait for the update. But do I want to? Does this mean I am officially retiring from the game?

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The end is here

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To go on or not??

Then again, I do hope an update will be soon or else I have nothing to play! I can’t seem to get into the Papa Pear Saga, it’s just not the same. As for Zookeeper Battle, I have also lost some steam in my efforts after completing my 3000th battle. Sigh.

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Home Sweet Home

16 Dec

We went to the airport last night to fetch M1. She was due to touchdown at 7.55pm. Ten days had gone by really fast. During that time, we only heard from her a handful of times as the host family that she was staying with does not have wifi, nor the places that she visited. Basically, contact was occasional but we were not worried.

Her last SMS to me that Sunday morning stated that she will see us in 9 hours. Methinks she can’t wait to come home. I tried to not to keep looking at the clock yesterday, keeping busy meeting some friends, even having lunch with my mother and later, doing some paperwork.

The airport is a place of only two emotions, hubby commented when we arrived at KLIA – one of happiness and the other of sadness. And most times, in opposites in the Departure Hall and Arrival Hall. We stood at the Arrival Hall observing returning travelers and it was interesting to note the many facial expressions and body language of mixed emotions.

Ah! There she is. A smile splits her face, a happy feeling surged in us and a sense of completeness enveloped me. My baby is finally home.

Tired from the long day, enriched from the exposure and experiences for the last ten days, maybe wiser and definitely happy, nothing beats the best feeling of knowing you’re finally home, and home sweet home awaits.

Welcome back M1!

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