jess all better.jpg

jess all better.jpg, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Praise God! Jess' temperature did not go beyond normal body temperature this afternoon and evening. She's all better now! Thanks to all for praying in Jesus' name for her healing.

Jess unwell...

image_00131.jpg, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Jessica is having fever for 3 days now... Probably viral in nature. We're at the paeditrician to let the doctor have a look at her.... (15 mins. later) Just came out from the doctor's room. Confirmed not measles, just viral fever. Will have to monitor her for the coming days. Thank God nothing serious.

Have you seen him?

Have you seen him?, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

This is my cousin living in Kuching... With his Taiwanese Superstar hairstyle (so said my wife).

Gong Xi Fa Chai

image_00127.jpg, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Gong Xi Fah Chai! It is officially the year of the dog in Malaysia. The skies were lit up with a colourful display of fireworks. Noisy firecrackers were everywhere (with car alarms going off!) A moment to savour and marvel at as we usher in the new year. May you and your family have a blessed year!

The lemonade we love!

The lemonade we love!, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

My brother and I were out buying breakfast and remembered the icy, cooling, thirst quenching lemonade that we like. It's at the Tabuan Jaya Thompson Corner. Why we like it? It's super 'thick'... one cup can make two! It's super refreshing!

A late start

A late start, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Upon checking in at Miri airport, we were informed that our flight was delayed. Bummer! We had to wait an extra hour which means no home cook meal in Kuching as planned since we will be arriving very late in Kuching. So we had our impromptu dinner at one of the airport cafes. A simple meal before leaving Miri.

Flying to Kuching

Flying to Kuching, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Finally we are in the air, at 8:35pm. Josh is sitting with my brother and they are having fun with something. So glad we are on our way! Kuching, here we come!

Booster Seat

In our humble opinion, this is one of the must have for parents with toddlers! We find it so practical that we bring it everywhere we go (as it is also portable)... so today, it's going to daddy's hometown! The picture shows that it is all "wrapped up" (or rather stringed up) and ready to be checked-in to the plane. Josh used it when he was younger and now Jess is using it. Thank God for inventions like this.

Joshua's Master Piece!

So here it is... a very colourful picture coloured in Crayola crayons. He's getting very good in colouring now (as in trying to colour within the lines) and he likes it too.

Dinosaurs?

Yup, that's what Josh is passionately passionate about now... actually since 2 years old! He just adores these extinct reptiles of long ago. Hence, being a good mummy and daddy, we helped him learn more about these things. Now Josh has books (factual & cartoons) about dinosaurs, toys (from others and from us), DVDs ("The Land before Time" and "Dinosaurs" are his favourtites) and the dinosaur-related list goes on. Recently, Playhouse Disney Channel has started airing "Harry and His Bucketful of Dinosaurs" and Josh simply loves it! It's a cartoon show that comes on every Saturday and Sunday, so by default, Josh now knows the days for the weekends. :)

I managed to find this picture of the cartoon on the internet. It is for kids to colour it in. I have made a few prints for him for the coming holiday. I'll try to post up his "artwork" when he is done colouring it. He is a happy boy!

What fascinates kids?

So what do kids find so facinating? Well, besides sweet things and staying up late, Josh & Jess both love cartoons. We allow them some TVs but not for prolonged periods of time. Both Josh & Jess grow up with the Winnie the Pooh series (I still wonder why a boy-bear is called Winnie).

Now they are watching "Piglet's BIG Movie". Why do they like it? Perhaps the friendly, smiley faces of the cartoons, nice songs, amazing adventures that the cartoon characters seems to have... who knows what goes on in their little minds! One thing for sure is that their minds absorb things they see & hear like a sponge! It's true. That's how God has wonderfully knitted them in the womb. Amazing eh?

Educational Toilet!

We went out for dinner tonight and was using the restroom at one of the cafes in Miri (which shall remain nameless). Well, I was rather surprised to see a chart about sheep meat on the toilet wall!! It was educational whilst easing myself but.... it's just too weird to find such "reading" material in a restroom!

Sunday Lunch at Tasty Point 2

Sunday lunch at tasty point 2, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Yup, it seems that this is our favourite haunt for Sunday lunch lately. Simple menu but nice foods. We should have shares in this café. Depicted in the pic above are my brother and my sister in-law in the foreground and Joshua in the background. Joshua is wearing one of his favourite "Bob the Builder" shirt.

Chinese New Year Ticker

So it's about a week now to the new year (lunar calendar of course)! I've inserted this ticker to remind us how many days we have left of this "year".... Count down time!

Coffee Bean in Miri (waiting...)

So where is Coffee Bean in Miri? Well, I just took a shot of the soon to be Coffee Bean pic. It is at Bintang Plaza (where Parkson Grand is) and Coffee Bean is located near the main entrance of the plaza. It's shown in the pic above; where wooden planks are used to cordon off the construction area. I'm waiting anxiously for it's grand opening!! Anyone knows the opening date?

Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup

Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Having lunch at a restaurant (Taiwan House). It's famous for its beef noodle and teas. It's actually an expanded version of a tea house.

It has been a hectic and busy week for me. But am glad that the weekend has started for me. So where was I in blogging... oh, yes, food review of Slippery Senoritas. So what did we have? I had the rib eyed steak (well done cause I dislike raw meat!) whilst my wife had a mediterranean dish (can't quite recall the nam, but if I do, I will edit the post here).































Picture above is the rib-eye steak. Presentation of the food was pleasing to the eyes. There were some steamed veges like cauliflowers, carrots (the usual). So how was the meat? Since I had a fantastic steak whilst I was in Houston, Texas in December, I felt that the meat was a bit dry (not juicy... maybe it was the well-done effect??) but the marinade was good.

My wife found her pasta dish interesting as there were layers of aubergines (brinjals) in her dish!
















I must say that we were very impressed with the ambience of the place.. well decorated, nice mediterranean music, etc.. And oh, they have an outlet in Penang too. Here's the address :
LotB3A The Garage
No.2 Penang Road
10000 Penang
Malaysia
Tel.: 04-263 6868

So for the Penang folks out there, you may wish to dine there and share your experience.













































All in all, we had a wonderful evening.

Slippery Senoritas

Slippery Senoritas, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

Wht a name! It's a mediterranean restaurant in miri itself... The first ever! It's pretty new. This is a very cosy, relaxed and chic place. Decors r elaborate. Hv yet to eat my food so will give the review later.... Nice place.

Red everywhere

We were at Bintang Plaza late this morning and red was the colour everywhere... from clothings to posters to McD.. Oh, McD is naturally red! You get the picture. Yes, CNY is just around the corner, a big celebration for the chinese community all over the world. To me, red doesn't just signify prosperity (blessings) but also the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross for our sins. Praise God for His love and Grace upon us! Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, shedding His blood as the ultimate (a one time sin sacrifice for all eternity) "sin-cleanser" and Jesus, rising from the dead on the third day, conquering death! And we can be saved from sin! Hallelujah!! Isn't the colour red great?

Tired Eyes

At breakfast this morning, Josh said the cutest/funniest thing in our kitchen! He was eating those tiny tangelos my wife bought at the market this morning. My wife was sitting beside him having her cuppucino. Then Josh exclaimed, " This coffe makes my eyes tired!" We paused for awhile and wondered why he said what he said. He wasn't drinking the coffee (of course!). Then it dawned on my wife that as he was peeling the skin of the tangelos, the juices sprayed on to his eyes and causes the eyes to sting (hence normal reaction for the eyes is to close them). Since he was enjoying the tangelos so much, he attributed the stinging sensation in the eyes to the coffee that he is not allowed to drink! Ha ha ha... so tired eyes in Josh vocab means eyes closing! Clever little kid!
















The tangelos... small, little, mini oranges. But they are extremely sweet!
















You can see how tiny they are in comparison with the lock.

Best tiga masam drink in Miri

Best tiga masam drink in Miri, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

This is the best 3 masam drink in Miri I reckon. This can be found at Dudok Café. We decided to have dinner here tonite but the other chef that does the ala carte menu is not around. :( major bummer cos we were looking forward to the belacan kangkong. Anyway, there other fried dishes are tasty too!

Simple but nice decor.

Woohoo! Got my 19" LCD monitor!

I got a phone call from my wife this afternoon at work. It went something like this :

My wife : Dear, did you buy a computer? There's someone here delivering two boxes of err.. computer.
Me : Computer?? No-le...
Then it struck me...
Me : It's the LCD monitor, not computer.
My wife : Two boxes is it?
Me : Two boxes? Can't be leh, but nevermind. Accept it and I will look at it when I get back home.

After hanging up, I was so excited as I suspect that those boxes are the LCD monitor (was wondering what the second box was!). Indeed, when I reached home, there it was... two boxes with the Dell logo on it. Dell has delivered the goods I bought on-line for the first time... just within 6 days! Not bad considering I'm in East Malaysia. So here are the pics of my 19" Ultrasharp(TM) Flat Panel LCD monitor. BTW, the second box was the power chord.
















Immediately set it up for the potrait look! Loved it.. and still loving it! All the blogs I visit looks so different and ... err, nice!
















This is a slim beauty... images are crisp and sharp. Not noticed any ghosting yet. The best part I reckon is that I get to replace my old 15" LCD monitor which was beginning to show signs of "tear" i.e. can visibly see three vertical lines across the screen already!

It's pitch dark here!

It's pitch dark here!, originally uploaded by Yong Family.

This pic is not a mistake... It's taken outside my house... We r experiencing a power failure rite now n it's pitch black. This occurrence is rather rare. So now I blog thru my pda! Wonders of technology.

Healthy and Happy evening at park.

Today the weather's been great and we decided to go to the park to exercise. Bulatan Park to be exact. There were a lot of people there.. old and young. Had a good run and feel great after the exercise. Josh also had a run on his bicycle... but only for a short while. I guess he's still not quite use to it yet. Jess wanted to be carried most of the time so Eunice and I took turns to jog. It was a nice evening, healthy and happy evening!

Lunch with the Pangs and Lees

We had lunch with Geoffrey, Eileen and little Jia En (baby Gabrielle) Pang, Thompson, Julie, Shawn & Nigel Lee and Halina. Lunch was at PBC restaurant...it was a nice breezy/cloudy afternoon. So that was nice as it was almost like a perfect afternoon!
















In pic above are the Pangs; Eileen, little Jia En and Geoffrey.
















In pic above are Helena and the Lees; Julie, Nigel and Thompson.
(Shawn's hand can be seen in this pic. Do you see it?)

Hole in the tree!

We went to Piasau Boat Club just before lunch time... It was a cloudy afternoon so we let the kids play at the playground at the club.















One good feature about the club is that they have a playground that suits my children's age. There were a few Little Tikes toys around... which they love!
















Mummy keeping a watchful eye on the kids.
















There goes Josh and Jess... bouncing, swaying, bobbing in those spring-coil held ride!

















Here's Josh on the swing...































And Jess on the dolphin... I mean swing shaped in a dolphin!
















Something interesting happened at the playground. Josh and me stumbled across a tree with a "hole" in it. Josh was curious as to what was inside and to my amusement, he shouted "Hellloooo...Anybody home?" That really put a smile on my face. So I joined in his curiosity and said, " Could there be a rabbit in there? Or a prairie dog? Or perhaps.... creepy crawlies?!" At that point, he decided to get up and run! Ha ha ha... Josh don't like spiders i.e. creepy crawlies! Anyway, we both had a good laugh about it later. Also reminded him not to stick his hands into holes like that for we never know what could be inside them!
















Above the picture of the tree with the hole.
















This is a pic of Piasau Boat Club compound. It is by the beach, so over the trees is the South China Sea.

Beef Jerky anyone??

Beef Jerky... this is something the cowboys of the west take their pride in as one of the "greatest food" then and now! It is strips of dried BBQ beef marinated with various flavours i.e. from black pepper to teriyaki sauces (as pictured above)! Got this packet from Houston, Texas when I was making a business trip there in December 2005. My opinion of beef jerky? Well, I still prefer our Bak Gua or Bak Poh (dried BBQ pork meat - also marinated with different sauces and sometimes even coated with honey... yummy!) and Chinese New Year is round the corner when we will have our fill of Bak Poh and other yummy delights! Yeah for CNY!! Fyi, CNY will be celebrated on 29/1/06 (Sun).