My 1st Chinese New Year Journal!

2010 is my first celebration of Chinese New Year (aka CNY) as a new parent. I was so excited that I started counting down days ahead! And then as CNY gets nearer, I blogged about CNY stuff, like CNY Tradition & Customs, CNY Paper Art, the Do's & Don'ts of CNY, and my last minute rush in DIY CNY Lantern!

In case you don't know, CNY is celebrated for 15 days and 28th February is the last day of CNY! Now let me flash back the previous 14 days that goes by superbly fast!

CNY Day 1:
* Stayed at home didn't go anywhere... Practically became couch potato, hogging the TV, digging up the CNY foods and crackers.. Hahahah... Oh, btw, Ben received red packets from his beloved grandma (aka MIL)
(Image taken from http://www.synergizedsolutions.com/simpsons/homer.shtml)

CNY Day 2:
* Visited hubby's grandma and aunt. Spent almost the whole day there, just chatting, snacking and enjoying the CNY mood. Ben received more red packets from hubby's grandma (aka MIL's mother), hubby's aunt and hubby's aunt's DIL (this is getting confusing! :P)

CNY Day 3:
* Visited my brother (they just moved into a new house) - had a very bad experience while traveling - kinda spoiled our mood. All sorts of bad things just keep getting worse... our toll pre-paid card is not working, then our car air conditioning is not working, then we're stuck in the middle of a loonnggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg highway with absolutely no way to U-turn and you can practically see miles and miles of cars stuck in a massive slow moving jam, and then you're slowly being cooked in the car at 5pm and your baby starts fussing.

Anyway, once we reached my brother's place, we hang around until 9pm and head home... hubby sort of did a McGyver thing by bypassing the wires from the air-cond to the car battery (his dad used to open a car workshop long ago so he knows his stuff) but the bypass failed half hour into our journey home.

There's absolutely no way to salvage the air-cond and for the next 1 hour, we continued our journey with Ben wailing and crying (hot and sweaty and he's hungry) By the time we managed to stop the car at the roadside (previous roads does not have lamp post so we did not stop the car), I quickly breastfeed Ben at the backseat and he continued sleeping until we reached home... and I cleaned up Ben and changed his diaper and all and he's still asleep until the next morning at 10am... Poor boy!

(Images taken from: http://waynefontes.com/2009-articles/november/twfe-presents-the-detroit-lions-facepalm-awards-for-week-9.html & https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX4LmRw8TFlqXTkyll4yuPKpQWGomN4OSP_LaVRpZ0Laok3PHURO-fUmV2Nh2h4OEWsb7ZUhv8lAGfgOklx-9pUc1c6H7xjf4KaqI0QjTs_6j53KCuHO_rqbmnea6KSo1PZMQZZRXuIM/s1600-h/scream.gif)

CNY Day 4 to 6
* Ben and I stayed at home - no point going out in a car without the air-cond. Don't want to risk another episode of baby crying and daddy's flipping out cos he can't concentrate on the road with the baby wailing next to him... :P

CNY Day 7 (Everyone's Birthday!)
* Hubby's aunt lend us her car so that we can go for a family dinner at hubby's brother's house. Ben was so curious cos he's never sat inside the car before, and everything looks so different! Had a small family dinner with brother in law and sister in law, aunt, MIL, hubby's granma, hubby's cousin, niece and nephew.

Btw, we suspected this is the day when I got infected with the flu virus... :( Read on...
(Image taken from http://www.comments.zingerbugimages.com/glitter_graphics/birthday_candles.gif)

CNY Day 8
* Nothing much to report as we're still at home...

CNY Day 9 (The day I finally found it!)
* Hubby and I went out for an hour, leaving Ben under the care of MIL, we braved through the hot car (well, we went out at night so it's not that hot actually, just a bit stuffy) to look for presents and party stuff for Ben's upcoming 1 year old birthday party.

We went to this small shopping mall about 10 minutes from our house and look around this shop which is selling stuff quite cheaply (most of which are made from China) and I finally found (well, ok, ok, hubby found it! :P) the wall stickers I've been looking for ages! And I got a pretty good deal from it! Very cheap and I absolutely love it!

CNY Day 10
* Hubby's car air-cond got fixed! Finally! After days of him going to and fro the workshop only to find out they are still not open (still celebrating CNY) it is finally fixed! Hooray!

CNY Day 11
* Start having sore throat, runny nose & nose block at night. Couldn't sleep until 5.30am cos I can't breathe comfortably while lying down flat on the bed, so had to sit up and rest... This is not a good sign... :(

CNY Day 12 (aka The day I ate turtle jelly)
* Hubby left for an appointment with a client. I started having chills and feeling feverish. Told hubby to come home as soon as he can as I'm feeling feverish. He got home 2 hours later with turtle jelly for me to eat. Said it can soothe my sore throat. Went to clinic and took the medicines diligently. Well, the turtle jelly did work and my throat doesn't feel sore anymore after eating the jelly!
(Image taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guilinggao.jpg)

CNY Day 13 (Sucking Ben's Snot with My MOUTH)
* Ben started coughing and having runny nose - but it's not that serious. It's kinda like a one two time thing, once in morning, once at night. So far, he has not been coughing since morning. He did have some runny nose in the afternoon... which I had to suck his snot out with my mouth, using a nasal aspirator.

Yes... I sucked Ben's snot with my mouth. As gross as it may sound (please skip this part if you feel gross about it), it is actually very effective! Beats having MIL suggesting that I should use a Q-tip and poked Ben's nostril and dug out the snot!

There's actually 2 tubes, one where you put in your mouth, the other into baby's nostril. You mouth one tube, then aim the other tube into baby's nostril and suck in air - the snot will NOT go into your mouth!

But sadly is, Ben does not like the nasal aspirator. He wriggles and pushes the tube away... so much that he started crying and more snot coming out, and I felt more urge to suck it all up. At night, I told hubby about the snot-fighting-wriggling episode... I told him it made me feel like I'm snot-raping my son... Gross.... :P
(Image taken from http://www.taime.com/taime/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1141)

CNY Day 14 (Was supposed to visit my eldest aunt)
* I was supposed to visit my eldest aunt since I missed the family gathering they held last Saturday (CNY Day 7). She stayed quite a distance from my house and the thought of borrowing someone's car did not even cross our minds! Dumb-dumb full time mummy!! :(

The day before, I called up my eldest aunt asking her whether she'll be at home cos I planned to visit them and she told me her family will be going outstation for a family trip and will only be back on Sunday afternoon (time not definite). Then she said there's no need to rush to visit and since I'm still sick, don't just rush because of CNY, I can drop by anytime. Oh-kayyyy then... just as well, don't want to be scolded for spreading my illness around... :P
(Image taken from http://helloform.com/blog/page/3/)

CNY Day 15 (also known as Chinese Valentines' Day)
* Do not foresee any activities other than slight chance of going out for window shopping (if Ben and I are up to it) cos don't feel comfy going out while we're still recovering from our illness. But have to think of replenishing our grocery stuff as it has been almost 3 weeks since we last went grocery shopping... Hmm....

Acording to Wikipedia:
The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as yuán xiāo jié (元宵节), otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Rice dumplings tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival (read another site here for more details), and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns. This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.
(Image taken from http://myzest2.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html)

So there you have it... my 15 days journal of my 1st CNY celebration as a new parent! Btw, Ben received quite a good sum of red packets this year. We will be depositing it into his own savings account after this.

Hope to have a better (and healthier) CNY next year! :D

My 3rd Friday Follow!

Woohoo! This is my 3rd week of participating in the Friday Follow event (I'm at #79 this week in the McLinkly list)! Come join in the fun if you want to get more followers for your blog!
Here's how YOU can join the celebration:


* Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky on all three of their pages. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.
* Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots. They will follow you back.
* Follow as many blogs as you like.
* Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow.
* Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow.

Great fun! I hope to meet more and more bloggy friends from this fun celebration! So what are you waiting for?! Go and link yourself up! Go, go, go!!! :D

In the Eye of Needle Art!

Wow... I just stumbled upon this wonderful and amazing artworks! Today, I'd like to share with you guys these amazing make-me-speechless-in-awe artworks by Willard Wigan. What is so amazing you ask? Take a look below...

Now, did that catch your attention or what?! It's the Statue of Liberty IN the eye of a needle! I repeat, the Statue of Liberty in a needle's eye!!! If this not awesome, I don't know what planet you are living on! Now, let's find out more on the creator of this artwork and of course... a look at some of his awesome artworks!

According to Snopes.com:
Willard Wigan was born in Birmingham, England in 1957 and is the creator of the smallest works of art on earth. From being a traumatized and unrecognized dyslexic child, he is now emerging as the most globally celebrated micro-miniaturist of all time and is literally capable of turning a spec of dust into a vision of true beauty.

Willard can create a masterpiece within the eye of a tiny sewing needle, on the head of a pin, the tip of an eyelash or a grain of sand. Some are many times smaller than the full stop at the end of this sentence. Many are even smaller still, with some being completely invisible to the naked eye yet, when viewed through high power magnification, the effect on the viewer is truly mesmerizing.

Willard, who is completely self-taught has baffled medical science and been the subject of discussions among micro-surgeons, nano-technologists and at universities worldwide. His work is ground-breaking — partly because of the astounding beauty of vision which challenges the belief system of the mind and partly because it demonstrates that if one person can create the impossible, we all have the potential to transcend our own limiting beliefs about what we are capable of.

He works in total solitude at a quiet retreat in Jersey mainly at night when there is a greater sense of peace in the world and less static electricity to interfere with the immeasurable precision and tolerances required to create the pieces.

The smallest sculptures can only be measured in thousandths of an inch which is why they can sit, very delicately, on a human hair three thousandths of an inch thick. When working on this scale he slows his heartbeat and his breathing dramatically through meditation and attempts to harmonize his mind, body and soul with the Creator. He then sculpts or paints at the center point between heartbeats for total stillness of hand.

He likens this process to "trying to pass a pin through a bubble without bursting it." His concentration is intense when working like this and he feels mentally and physically drained at the end of it. Willard Wigan works with materials such as toothpicks, sugar crystals, and grains of rice and sand, spending months meticulously carving his materials into micro-figures like the ones displayed above.

Now let's take a look at his awesome-awesome artworks!
(* Images from: http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/microscopic.asp)

Statue of Liberty in the eye of a needle!

Elvis on top of a pin head.

Boxing ring next to a match stick head.

Girl with balloon is standing on an eyelash glued to the top of a needle. EYELASH!!! Gosh!!

Now more on his awesome-awesome artworks and an interview article with Willard Wigan!
(* Images from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/blast/2004/jonathan/willard_wigan/gallery/1.shtml)

This image shows the cast of Peter Pan on a fish hook.

This image shows Snow White and the seven dwarves in the eye of a needle.

This image shows The Thinker on a pinhead!

Amazing, huh? I think that must be how we looked like to God! Hmm...
Hope you enjoyed this article and find it inspiring! :D

I Just Had Turtle Jelly...

I was having runny nose, blocked nose and sore throat since yesterday. It was so bad that I couldn't sleep until 5.30am cos my nose was blocked and runny at the same time and I just couldn't breathe comfortably. When I woke up at 11am this morning, I lost my voice. I can barely managed saying something without feeling like I had just shoved a sand paper into my throat...

Hubby left for a meeting with his client and I texted him to come back as early as he can cos' I'm feeling feverish and need to take a medical leave from being a full time mummy today. My joints and muscles are aching and I felt very tired, not to mention cold and the sore throat is not even getting any better.

When hubby returned home 2 hours later, he brought me this bowl of black jelly - what we Chinese called Guilinggao.

According to Wikipedia:

Guīlínggāo, also known as Tortoise Jelly or Turtle Jelly, is a jelly-like Chinese medicine, also sold as a dessert. It was traditionally made with the powdered plastron (shell) from the critically endangered turtle Cuora trifasciata^[1] and a variety of herbal products, in particular, China rootsSmilax glabra (土伏苓, Tu fu ling).^[2][3]
(commonly known as "three-lined box turtle", or "golden coin turtle", 金錢龜)

Although the golden coin turtle (Cuora trifasciata) is commercially farmed in modern China, it is extremely expensive;^[4] therefore, even when turtle-derived ingredients are used in commercially available guīlínggāo, they come from other, more commonly available, turtle species.^[1][5]

More often, commercially available guīlínggāo sold as a dessert does not contain turtle shell powder at all, despite the product name and the prominent turtle images on most brands' labels. They do, however, share the same herbal additives as the medicine and are similarly marketed as being good for skin complexion when ingested.

I just want to clarify that the one I had is definitely NOT from the critically endangered type, in fact,  judging by the price we got it for, it's definitely not even any turtle shell powder or anything of the real deal at all! I repeat "commercially available guīlínggāo sold as a dessert does not contain turtle shell powder at all, despite the product name and the prominent turtle images on most brands' labels."

I just want to say after eating the jelly, the sandpapery feel on my throat is gone. I feel so much better and my voice is more stable now, no more cracking up and out of pitch.

After having the turtle jelly (which is bitter by the way), hubby brought me to the clinic and doctor said I had flu, prescribed some flu medicines for me and I was back home chowing down a bun so that I can take the medicine and have my afternoon nap. Hubby passed Ben to MIL while I have my nap. I could barely remember seeing MIL and hubby in my room, MIL gently putting Ben next to me (he was asleep) and I continued on my sleep.

I also would like to thank my MIL and hubby for taking over the care of Ben - who is being such a good boy today for not giving any problems to his sick mummy. I do however, feel I still need some rest as I woke up from my afternoon nap when Ben wakes.

Have you tried any weird remedy to cure any of your sickness?


* Note: Please do not think this post is not in any way trying to encourage anyone to eat turtles or any parts of the turtles at all. Just because the name consists of the name turtle, doesn't mean it's made of them. We love turtles too! So to anyone who is trying to condemn me for this post, please don't get me wrong.

Artwork Inside Toilet Paper Rolls...

Wow... I never thought that people can actually create art out of the insides of toilet paper rolls!

This amazing artwork created by Anastassia, an artist living in Paris. These models take few hours to make and require lots of patience. It requires cutting out tiny shapes, using tweezers to get the needed shape and then fit them inside the toilet rolls to make these detailed models. She uses paper of the same color as the roll which creates an illusion that the paper figures are a part of the roll.

The contrast of light and shadow adds an interesting dimension to these; the roll is being slowly turned towards the camera at an angle revealing just tiny parts of the sculpture at a time. Her creations seem to be inspired from everyday life as its evident from her artwork; lady sitting in a living room with a cat, students listening to a lecture or passing through a street market. Here is her blog and flickr page.

Enjoy!

(*Selected images are taken from this site: http://www.crookedbrains.net/2010/02/design_12.html)

Amazing Mini Origami!

Oh wow! I'm so excited I stumbled upon this article! I love origami but mini origami?!!!
This is such an awesome thing! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! :D

Amazing isn't it?
I think the mini crane is even bigger than my son's booger... :P
A 2mm mini crane?!!
If I even dared to do the 2cm crane, I think I'd end up with cramps on my finger!! :P
I did wonder whether I could just cut a small scrap of paper and crumpled it up so that it KINDA look like an origami... hmmm... wonder whether I could pull this stunt off... :P But seriously, the mini paper boat above is just so awesome, don't you think?!

(* Notes: Images are all taken from the article posting at http://funkydowntown.com/amazing-mini-origami/)

Oddest Medical Conditions...

Wow... I just came across this article on the Net and would like to share it with you guys. Like the article said, "The next time you complain about having the common cold, think about these maladies." So here it goes:

#1: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Looking in the mirror and seeing your head and hands five times their real size may not mean you have "gone mad," but instead are suffering from Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS).

The most prominent symptom of AIWS is metamorphosis of the body, seeing parts much larger or smaller than they really are. Visual perception of other objects, such as buildings or cars, can look tiny to someone suffering from AIWS.

Other symptoms can be distorted time perception, or time seemingly going by very slowly or quickly. Someone with AIWS might feel distorted touch perception, for example feeling like you are standing on spongy ground when it is actually concrete. These symptoms are most commonly felt at night.

Scientists are unsure of the causes of AIWS, but think there may be a link to migraines. Currently there is no treatment for this syndrome, but regulating your sleep patterns and incorporating healthy eating habits has shown to lessen the symptoms of AIWS.
(Image taken from: http://memetician.livejournal.com/)

#2: Progeria
Brad Pitt's role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was based on a real life medical condition. Progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome, is a disease that accelerates the aging process when a child is 18 to 24 months old.

As the child grows, some symptoms include hair loss, a small face, thin skin, loss of body fat, and a short stature. Children with progeria age six to eight times faster than the average person, and rarely live past the age of 13, due to heart disease.

Only about 100 cases of progeria have ever been formally diagnosed in medical history. The odds of being diagnosed are roughly one in 8 million. Researchers are coming closer to answers recently discovered the cause of progeria in 2002. They believe it is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA, which makes the Lamin A protein. A effective Lamin A protein causes instability of cells which appear to lead to the process of premature aging.

Although a rare disease, there has been more awareness thanks to Hollywood. Will Smith sent $25,000 to the Progeria Research Foundation last year.

(Image taken from: http://xenoargento.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/curious_case_of_benjamin_button_baby_poster.jpg)

#3: Werewolf Syndrome
Hypertrichosis, a rare genetic condition also known as Werewolf Syndrome, causes a person's body to be covered with thick, matted hair. You can read more from: http://thehumanmarvels.com/?p=105
(Image taken from: http://amazingdata.com/8-most-bizarre-rare-skin-conditions-skin-diseases/)

#4: Tree Man
Dede Koswara, the Indonesian man known to the world as "Tree Man," constantly battles woody bark-like growths, which cover his body.

Having been largely freed from what doctors said was an extreme case of the sexually transmitted disease human pappilomavirus (HPV), Dede's life began returning to normal after surgery - doctors removed 13 pounds of warts. He was diagnosed by American dermatologist, Dr. Anthony Gaspari. After the surgery, Dede's hands — once an indistinguishable mass of scales — were able to once again hold a cell phone and a fishing pole. But just four months after leaving hospital, Dede spoke to Metro.co.uk of his dismay to find the warts were fighting back.

"Those (warts) that were removed are growing again and started to reappear after I returned home," he said from his home in the West Java village of Tanjung Jaya. "I'm not desperate but I want to recover."
(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=4)

#5: Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder
Dr. Sandra Leiblum, former director of the Center for Sexual and Relationship Health at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and author of "Principles and Practices of Sexual Therapy," first coined the term ‘persistent sexual arousal syndrome,’ which later became persistent genital arousal disorder.

Leiblum defined persistent sexual arousal syndrome as "intense feelings of genital congestion and sensations that are typically unaccompanied by any conscious awareness of sexual desire" in an article published for the Women's Sexual Health Foundation in Cincinnati, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating women and doctors on conditions that may impact sexual health and function.

Paradoxically, she wrote, sexual activities intended to relieve the symptoms can reinforce the sensations or provide only temporary relief. In fact, Leiblum said, the sensations can last hours or even days, and they truly are unwanted and intrusive. Persistent genital arousal disorder affects women of all ages. It isn’t known how many women are afflicted, because many feel too embarrassed to speak with their doctors.

(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=5)

#6: Parasitic Twin
Lakshmi Tatma was born joined at the pelvis to a “parasitic twin” that stopped developing in her mother’s womb. The twin had no head or brain, but Lakshmi absorbed the twin's limbs, kidneys and other body parts. It took doctors 27 hours to operate on Lakshmi.

During the surgery, which took place at the Sparsh hospital in Bangladore, India, surgeons removed Lakshmi’s extra limbs, transplanted a kidney from the twin and reconstructed the girl’s pelvic area. However, she will require more surgeries and rehabilitation, especially as she grows. Lakshmi was named for the six-limbed Hindu goddess who represented wealth and prosperity. Lakshmi is now attending school, and playing sports.
(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=6)

#7: Foreign Accent Syndrome
This is a rare syndrome that affects only people who have had strokes – they emerge from the stroke speaking in an accent different from the one they used to speak.

It can happen if a stroke damages the parts of the left hemisphere of the brain related to speech production. Foreign Accent Syndrome was highlighted in last year’s "Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences," when a woman from Ontario, Canada had a left-sided stroke and began speaking in an East Coast accent.
(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=7)

Here is another article on other oddest medical conditions (I shared out 2 of them here):

#1: Blue Skin Disorder
A large family simply known as the "blue people" lived in the hills around Troublesome Creek in Kentucky until the 1960s. They were the blue Fugates. Most of them lived past the age of 80, with no serious illness - just blue skin. The trait was passed on from generation to generation. People with this condition have blue, plum, indigo or almost purple skin.

#2: Walking Corpse Syndrome
It is a syndrome of mental depression and suicidal tendencies, in which the patient complains of having lost everything: possessions, part of or entire body, often believing that he or she has died and is a walking corpse. This delusion is usually expanded to the degree that the patient might claim that he can smell his own rotting flesh and feel worms crawling through his skin. The latter phenomenon is a recurring experience of people chronically deprived of sleep or suffering amphetamine/cocaine psychosis. Paradoxically, being "dead" often gives the patient the nation of being immortal.

I Finally Found It!

Yes!! After searching high and low for it, I have finally found it!

This is what I've been looking for:

Ok, it may look kinda small here... but it's actually pretty huge and long that I have to stand up, and point the camera downwards in order to take the whole picture.

So, anyway, what it is you may wonder?

It's a wall sticker!

A VERY-VERY-VERY cheap wall sticker which I have finally found after searching months for it!

I've seen them being sold in shopping malls for way-way-way higher price than what I bought it for(some are being sold for 10 times more!), which is why the long search to get this very-very-very cheap and cute wall stickers are finally paying off!!

How cheap you may ask?

Hmmm... look at the picture, now look closer at the right hand side... the selling price is RM 2.90 (Malaysian Ringgit)!

OK, if you convert it to USD, it should be around USD 0.8514 as of the currency rate now. Less than a dollar! Cheap! Cheap!

FYI, in my earlier post, hubby and I are planning to convert one of our spare rooms to be Ben's baby play room... and I have this idea to stick all this cute stickers onto the walls.

Now that I've finally found it... oh, I am so so happy and delighted that I can't wait and decided to use one and stick it to our bathroom walls - just to try it out first :D

The instructions to stick these stickers are:
1. Clean and dry the wall surface with mild soap and water. Make sure that the surface must be flat.
2. Peel off the stickers.
3. Apply the stickers to the wall surface (up to your own creativity on how you want to arrange the stickers)
4. Press the stickers firmly to squeeze out any air bubbles.

Now, this is the end results of my 1st wall stickers attempt in our master bathroom:

Please forgive me if it looks ugly...

Well, its my 1st attempt in doing this kind of stuff and mind you, I'm taking this picture at night without the camera flash, so it kinda looks yellowish due to the soft light used in our bathroom.

The 2nd picture is taken with flash :D

Anyway, I love it!

Can't wait for Ben's playroom to be ready so that I can stick more of these wall stickers! :D

** P.S: Btw, after the bathroom walls have been decorated, I carried Ben in and showed him the new decoration on the walls and taught him by showing him the tiger, bear, fish and donkey which he dutifully pointed back to mummy after few attempts of teaching him to point each of the animals. So cute! :D

So what do you think of the wall stickers? Any other ways I should have decorated it? Appreciate your feedback on it! Thanks! :D

Happy Birthday Everybody!

Happy Birthday to everyone!

Yes, I really mean it... everybody is a year older TODAY! (well... this is according to our Chinese lunar calendar... :D)

Anyway, today is the 7th day of Chinese New Year, also known as 'Yan Yat' (People's Day or Common Man's Birthday).

According to Wikipedia:
The seventh day, traditionally known as renri 人日, the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older. It is the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten.

This is a custom primarily among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore. People get together to toss the colorful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.

Of the recent years, this yusheng dish has been more and more popular, sometimes, days before we started celebrating Chinese New Year, we would have already toss this raw fish salad to celebrate the coming CNY festival. Now, this is what a yusheng looks like:
Yusheng , yee sang or yuu sahng (simplified Chinese: 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng), also known as lo hei (Cantonese for 撈起 or 捞起) is a Teochew-style raw fish salad.

It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients.

Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. While versions of it is thought to have existed in China, the contemporary version is created and popularised in Singapore in the 1960s amongst the ethnic Chinese community and its consumption has been associated with Chinese New Year festivities in Singapore as well as in neighbouring Malaysia.

So again, I wish you all Happy Birthday, one year older, one year wiser! :D

My 2nd Friday Follow!

Oh yes! This is my 2nd week of participating in the Friday Follow event! Come join in the fun if you want to get more followers for your blog!

Here's how YOU can join the celebration:


* Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky on all three of their pages. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.
* Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots. They will follow you back.
* Follow as many blogs as you like.
* Comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow.
* Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow.

Great fun! I hope to meet more and more bloggy friends from this fun celebration! So what are you waiting for?! Go and link yourself up! Go, go, go!!! :D

Talkative? Addicted to Blogging? Me?

I stumbled upon this website that has tons of quizzes and stuff and took this "Find Out If You Talk Too Much In Your Blog" quiz.

What you need to do is just enter your blog URL and you'll get the results. The rules of the quiz is:
This test will count how long your blog posts are and compare them against other bloggers. It's a fun, easy way to see if you're a long-winded blogger, or if you tend to keep things concise.
One thing to note: in order for this to work your blog must have an RSS feed that shows full posts, not previews of posts.

My blog result is:
383% longer? Oh wow.... THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY THREE PERCENT?!!! Am I that talkative?? Really??

And I also took another test on how addicted I was to blogging... which is kinda accurate cos' I love blogging and it has been one of my daily activities (when Ben is asleep) which helps me get through the tough day... Anyway, here it goes:68%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Is It Really THAT Big??

Everywhere we go, we always hear people saying this about Ben:
* Oh wow! Look at his BIG eyes!
* The pupil so BIG!
* Wah! See his BIG eyes!
* Big eyes like his mummy!

Just the other day when we were out at a mall, I was queuing up to pay the parking ticket and hubby was in the mall holding Ben. When I returned back to them, there are 2 Chinese guys (around early 20s) who are staff at one of the shop there just playing and gazing at Ben and keep saying in Mandarin (which hubby and I understood some) that Ben's eyes are really BIG and cute.

I mean, come on... Is it really THAT big?

Just take a look at this picture of Ben and tell me the truth... is his eyes really THAT big? I'm not kidding you. And I'm not trying to fish any compliments or anything.

Maybe its because I'm at home with Ben everyday all the time that I don't realized or noticed any difference with his eye size... Or maybe its because I have big eyes too that I don't realized Ben's eyes are big as well...

But I honestly really don't think his eyes are THAT big. OK, maybe its a bit bigger than normal babies I see when we're out during family outing but, seriously, there are times when people just stopped and looked and walked on and seconds later still glanced back to look at Ben! There are few times when people actually stopped and gaped at Ben...

Now, take a look at this picture of me and Ben...

On the left is me, at 6 months old... I was just learning to sit up straight then. Now, on the right is Ben at 7 months old, also has mastered the sitting up straight milestone by this age.

I don't know... but I get a lot of ppl telling me that he has my eyes and because of that, (I think) Ben has inherited my crying ability as well. It's kinda like a superhero power - which seriously, should not be abused cos' our crying ability is really scary. We cry on demand, no reason or tools required, just a little bit of tears and you'll see its as if flood gates have opened.

But, seriously... back to the topic of Ben's eyes...

Is it really THAT big?
Hearing all this 'big eyes' statements kinda make me feel like a weirdo mum...