Life is ExCitiNg

Facebook and migration...

2010-03-14T23:14:00.002+08:00

So today we were in church on duty as host and one elderly lady came up to us and ask if we have seen a lady that we know. Ok, before I continue, let me tell you the wonders of facebook.

This wonderful programme has helped many socialise and post events of their lives on line. So what happened recently is that this lady and family has migrated to Australia, based on her facebook. Somehow, his husband's facebook also talked about missing his wife and son. I knew that the husband has yet to travel to Australia at that point so I assumed that the wife and son must have gone to Australia already ahead of him.

So back to my original story : the elderly lady asked if we have seen the lady and we said no. And I volunteered additonal info and said that she is already in Australia!. Lo and behold, the elderly lady protested and insisted that the lady is still in KL. I thought she didn't understand what I said so I repeated myself. Then this elderly lady mentioned that the lady she waslooking for is her daughter! At that point, we were so embarrased as we knew we were wrong! Haiyo!

So we saw the lady and the elderly lady later in church that morning. Yes, still in KL.

Moral of the story : Facebook does not give Facts! IT's called FACEbook not FACTbook! Even though it is called FACEbook, it sure didn't give me face this morning!

Where have all the years gone?

2010-02-13T15:37:00.002+08:00

So here I am flashing up another blog entry, after umpteen years... has it really been that long!? Tonight is the eve of the Chinese New Year. It's the end of the hardworking moo-moo year and the beginning of the roaring new tiggerific year!

The kids have grown up so much since the last post; Josh is in Standard Two now and Jess is in her last year of pre-school. Oh how the years go by! Jess is starting music lssons whilst Josh is undecided. Both love a game of Wii over the weekend with Josh dominating in most games except bowling, whee Jess is still the champ.

We have bought a place of our own here in the throbbing city of KL. Somehow, where we are, we get the serene beauty of the forest and enjoy cool, fresh air daily even though we are just 15 mins drive straight into Suria KLCC! It's really by God's grace! Never in my life would I thought of rearing koi fish but here we are, th house equipped with a pond and a few big koi fish to start with! We are blessed.

Ok, the reunion dinner is tonight. Better get ready after a game of Wii.... hee hee hee!

Happy and Blessed Chinese New Year, everyone!

And Josh graduates...

2008-10-23T22:22:00.005+08:00

How time flies. Our little boy has just graduated from his kindergarten. Yes! Our little graduate wore his mortar board proudly on 18-Oct. We are so proud of him for adjusting well to kindy life in KL and also for doing well too.

18th Oct. was a school concert cum graduation ceremony. His class did a chinese ribbon dance. He skillfully twirled the ribbon which was fixed to a stick.

Overall, he enjoyed himself and was so tired that he slept in the car after the ceremony. What a big day for our little boy!

Hari Raya holidays

2008-10-05T20:03:00.005+08:00

We have not been blogging frequently nowadays (stating the obvious) as Daddy now is maintaining another website... a less wordy site but filled with pictures. You can head over there by following this URL www.flickr.com/photos/imagix_2007

During the recent Raya hols, we headed down to the historical city of Melaka to feast on some Nyonya foods. Thereafter, we drove to Port Dickson and stayed the night at Avilion water chalets. You can see more of the pics of our little holiday at the URL above. I'm still loading my pics in there.

Little Baby Cousin

2008-08-21T00:27:00.004+08:00

Guess who came to visit? Baby Aaron with his Daddy and Mummy... all the way from Japan! (Well, not really directly from Japan but they are living there now. They went to Penang and stopped over in KL before flying back home.)

Anyway, Josh and Jess had a great time playing with baby Aaron. He is so cute and from what we see, he will be a tall boy! It was good to meet up and catch up with our brother in-law/brother and sister in-law.

Beauty & The Beast - The Musical from Disney

2008-07-10T20:36:00.003+08:00

The two adults had their moment when we went to watch the musical - Beauty and the Beast. It was held at the nice auditorium of the KL Convention Centre. We were looking forward to the show to see the props (since it is Disney), enjoy the singing and immerse ourselves with the ever popular songs of Beauty and the Beast. The show was supposed to start at 8:00pm but due to some technical difficulties, the curtains only lifted about 40 minutes later.

Overall, it was only so-so. Nothing to shout about. Props were nice but somehow, the magic was not quite there. We were surprised that there were parents bringing their kids for the night show. The musical only ended at 11:00pm. There was a really long intermission of 30 mins in between. At least we have watched it.... to see it a second time? I don't think so...

Princess Party

2008-07-10T20:20:00.003+08:00

A few weeks back, Jess was invited to a birthday party where the theme was Princesses. It was a rather interesting party in that all the invitees (girls only) assembled in a little beauty saloon before proceeding to the banquet table. In this saloon, Jess had her hair done up, make-up (!) and pedicure (!).

I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Take a look at our little girl... growing up very fast.

Our little princess' hair is all nicely done up... complete with a pink bow. And look, she has wings too!

Tioman, O Tioman

2008-06-14T11:49:00.004+08:00

During the school hols, we took a short break to visit the ever famous Pulau Tioman on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We took a flight from Subang airport and an hour later, arrived on the little island on the South China Sea. What greeted us was the breath taking crystal clear waters that surrounded the island. It was a beautiful morning when we landed on the island.

Since we were on the Berjaya holidays, a shuttle took us from the airport straight to the resort. It was a nice resort with a huge compound. We had to wait for quite awhile before our room was available as the check-in time is 12pm onwards. Anyway, the kids headed straight to the swimming pool upon arrival at the resort. They had a blast. The beach was also nice too with slightly coarse sand.

During our trip there, we went to a nearby island where it is famous for snorkeling (actually snorkeling is like the main activity at Tioman!). We didn't snorkel though but took a clear bottom boat ride instead. We could see the corals and sea life whilst not getting ourselves wet. The pilot for our boat dived into the sea and took a sea cucumber out to show us. It was soft and slimy! This is not a plant (despite its name) but an animal.

They also caught a little clown fish. Don't worry, all these were returned back to the sea to their homes. The kids were thrilled with all these sea creatures.

The three days spent at the resort was mainly by the beach and pool. Food was good. Well, for me, I had a very bad sore throat throughout the trip. So food for me was so-so. :( Never mind, the rest of the family enjoyed themselves.

Here are some shots I took with my camera. Enjoy.

Pulau Tioman with Pulau Renggis on the horizon.

Divers heading out of Tioman for a dive.

A Glimpse of Pulau Renggis

Jess' Concert Performance

2008-05-20T21:47:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday, Jess' play-school had her concert. It was her whole school with various age group performing their various items; ranging from singing, dancing and reciting poems. Here's a short clip of her performance. Her class was all dressed in green, to resemble frogs!

My niece, a Superhero!

2008-05-18T19:39:00.005+08:00

Ok, I bet the title of this post must have made your "eyes wide open", so to speak. Well, last weekend, we were celebrating Mother's Day in church and the theme was superhero (mummies being the ultimate superheroes on this planet!).

In the children's section, the teachers and helpers were all dressed up in all sort of super hero outfits. The most amazing was Mr. and Mrs. Incredible! And to my surprised, Mrs. Incredible was none other than my niece, Sarah! She did a swell job and the kids loved her!

Well done superhero niece Sarah!

Mrs. Incredible a.k.a. Sarah!

The other 'superheroes'!

Miri by night

2008-05-07T22:20:00.002+08:00

I was back in Miri last week to attend a course organised by my Company. It was refreshing to visit Miri and wonderful to see the clear blue skies of Sarawak. I brought my camera with me and with my new wide angle lens, manage to capture the heart of Miri by night. This shot was taken from the Petroleum Museum. Miri is still as I remember it.... good night.

Octopus anyone?

2008-04-20T18:36:00.002+08:00

Last night, we ventured to a Japanese eatery for our dinner at Suria KLCC called Sushi King for everything Japanese! Josh has been asking Mummy for Japanese food of late.

The restaurant was not too crowded and we manage to get a table to ourselves. Sushi King has this policy that if your food is not delivered within 15minutes of order, you will get a free Sushi King food voucher. So you can imagine how anxious the waitress was in taking our oreders when we were a bit indecisive at times! It was all good though as the things we ordered did come in time.

We had the famous veggie tempura set with rice, deep fried prawn with an omelet, 'unagi' (BBQ eel) with rice and lots of sushi (with mashed up egg & mayo - which Jess like, tuna, cucumber, smoked octopus, pickled baby octopus, and lots more. Yes, Josh was very adventurous with his food that night and he had a few of the pickled octupus. There was also octupus on the sushi as well, which he thoroughly enjoyed! One thing Josh disliked was the seaweed wrapping. Jess only ate the 'safer' things e.g. sushi with egg & mayo. She did have the eel though, which she liked (we told her.

It was a nice dinner and by the end of it, Josh and Jess was filled to the brim... with sushi!

Apologies for the bad pic above but this was the pickled octopus dish that we had.

Children of God

2008-04-13T20:27:00.003+08:00

Disney Characters on Ice

2008-04-06T17:08:00.004+08:00

Yesterday morning, we went to watch the annual 'Disney On Ice' production at Bukit Jalil, KL. The theme this time round was "Mickey and His Amazing Journey". It is about Mickey and his friends (Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy) traveling from continent to continent to introduce the various Disney shows. They showcased "The Lion King", "The Little Mermaid", "Peter Pan", "101 Dalmatians" and "Lilo and Stitch". The varied characters from land to sea were cleverly portrayed... with every character on skates! Peter Pan had characters fling above the skating ring and that added dynamism for us all. Here are some pictures taken at the event, though not very good pictures - due to the lighting and limitation of compact cameras.

The hosts; Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy.

The first show was "The Lion King".

"101 Dalmatians" had skaters dressed in spots and to make 101 'dalmatians', they had two life size dummies tied to the sides of the human skaters. It was quite a sight.

Do you recognise him? Yup, that' Sebastian the lobster in "The Little Mermaid".

"The Little Mermaid" had a very Jamaican theme throughout. It was beautiful to see the many sea creatures and sea shells.

The starfishes were rather cute!

Above is the story of "Peter Pan". Captain Hook had the crocodile behind him in almost all the scenes... tick, tock, tick, tock!

Finally, it was "Lilo and Stitch". Ohana means family and it means 'nobody gets left behind'! Stitch did his Elvis' song so you can imagine it was like back in the 70s... (or was it 60s?).

The grand finale had all the cast coming out in joyful celebration and frantic goodbye waves! It was a good show although I think last year's "Finding Nemo" was better. Jess definitely enjoyed the whole show whilst Josh was a bit indifferent. He still prefers his animals and dinosaurs.

Big Four...

2008-03-29T19:24:00.014+08:00

I wonder if you have noticed the tickers at the bottom of our blog; if you haven't, let me describe to you what one of them looks like... one of the tickers has a 'Butterfly' hovering just above the '03 Heart' and very near the '04 Heart'. If that doesn't makes sense, it is actually a ticker for Jess' age. So Jess is almost four, to be exact, she will be four in the wee early hours of this coming Monday of 2008!

(Ticker copied from below for those who are time-challenged to view it.)

Since her birthday falls on a week day, we decided to celebrate it in the weekend. We had her special Big Four day at an arts and craft centre. If you know Art Attack, well, this centre was birthed out of that show... it is a franchise in KL.

Jess had her friends from school, cousins and cell group to make her Big Four celebration an artsy affair! They all had a go at making 3D models e.g. a bag with Princess Ariel's picture on it (guess who's choice that was!), a yellow submarine, an Easter bunny, etc. They all look very cute don in their aprons, paintbrushes in their tiny hands and using small hairdryers to dry their crafts.

After an hour of craft making, we brought out Jess' cake. It has the 'Strawberry Shortcake' cartoon character on it ... this was on Jess' requests ; it must also be 'pink and round like a circle' (Jess' own words). The children feasted after the birthday song and cake cutting. They had french fries, chicken nuggets, egg sandwiches, cream puffs (this one is very yummy!) and drinks. As part of the birthday package, each child is given a party pack by the craft centre. Jess went home happy and tired... it was a big big day for her.

Here are some pics taken on the day itself.

Grandparents peering at the kids at work.

Besides the helpers / instructors of the craft centre, parents were there too to help their kids with the craft work.

The paintbrushes that the kids use.

Jess in her apron.

Jess painting her 'Little Mermaid' picture.

Jess painting the 'bag'.

... and now painting the handle; in pink, of course!

Some of the girls hard at work.

Claire at work.

Carol, painting the handle.

Amanda, her cousin enjoying her craft work.

Emily concentrating at her work.

Jasmine enjoying her work.

Clarrise with the hair dryer.

Big Jess! (there were two Jess at the party).

Iman working on her craft.

And some of the boys working their craft.

Josh painting his submarine 'top'.

... and then the windows to the sub.

He had an orange submarine!

Dylon painting away.

Aresh with his yellow submarine... work in progress.

Jonathan, the youngest of them boys!

Shah Nan with his dad... painting the propeller of the submarine.

After the craft was done, it's time to wash hands.

Some photo taking whilst waiting for the rest to finish up their craft work.

And here comes the cake!

Then the feasting began.

A group photo to remember her big day!
Happy Birthday Jess!

Kids

2008-03-03T20:04:00.003+08:00

Both Josh and Jess are growing up fast. It's been a year plus now in KL for both of them. Both have settled nicely into their schools. Both love the Kidzone and Toddlers Class in church. Both have grown taller... but Josh is still as chubby as ever! Jess loves princesses and pink. Josh adores his dinosaurs and dreams to be a paleontologist (so far).

What hasn't change though is that Josh sticks to his beloved shirt (security blanket we guess) whilst Jess needs her Mummy's "touch" daily. Their vocabulary has increased tremendously and both have increased their ability to better expressed themselves... but still has room to grow!

The rod is becoming more and more an ally for Mummy and Daddy... the kids greatest enemy! Despite their mis-adventures and mis-behaviours, what makes us love them still is that they are sent by God into our lives... precious gifts from above!

Josh and Jess would occasionally say, "Mummy I love you. Daddy I love you."
What more can we ask for?

We love you too.

Blessed!

2008-02-22T21:47:00.004+08:00

It's been more than a year now since we have moved to KL from Miri. KL being the capital of Malaysia has a higher concentration of people living in a small area (it is still a very big city in comparison to Miri of course). Lifestyle has changed in this fast paced city... a city that never sleeps. One thing that really strikes me is how different the lifestyles of the families in KL are.

We are currently staying in a nice neighbourhood where families dominate the households here. We are fortunate to be able to live in a landed property (renting of course) compared to living up in the skies in an apartment or condominium in KL. There are all sorts of homes in KL and the surrounding areas (Selangor) ranging from simple 'kampungs' and low cost flats to luxurious bungalows of two to three storey high. The condition of the houses here reflect the living standards and in turn, the lifestyles.

It still amazes me to see a family of 6 or more staying in a house of two or three rooms only; small and cramp. Then again, there are those who are working couples who live in nice, luxurious condominiums or bungalows with many rooms to spare. Some of these rooms are even converted to storage areas. There is no right or wrong when it comes to lifestyles. What is of most importance is who you are staying with and whose lives you are sharing yours with in what we call a home.

We are blessed because we have parents who care.
We are blessed because we have children to love, and who love us in return.
We are blessed because we have shelter above our heads and food to nourish our bodies.
We are blessed because we have cars to take us to where we need and want to go. And also sufficient finances to fund for petrol and the needs of life... and occasionally the wants of life.
We are blessed because we live in a peaceful, harmonious and pleasant place.
We are blessed because we need not weather the heavy rain when we go to work and come back from work.
We are blessed that we can come home everyday in a sheltered carpark; sheltered from the elements of rain and sun.
We are blessed because we are not forced to share our private spaces with the public in a crowded light rail transport.
We are blessed because we can make decisions and choices for ourselves, be it the simple everyday decisions we make e.g. what food to eat to the important decisions in life.

But what tops it off is this :
we are blessed because we know and believe in God who cares and loves us dearly... to the extend of giving His only Son to die on the cross for our sins (wrong doings and guilt). A God who asks us to call Him Father, where love has no bounds and is the epitome of Holiness. He is called Blessed... and that is why we are blessed!

God bless you... and start counting your blessings!

1st Day of the Year of the Rat

2008-02-07T12:54:00.000+08:00

Today is the first day of the year of the Rat. A sunny, hot and humid day greeted us as we woke up. This is quite the opposite for our other family members who are in Japan... snowing; and temperatures that goes well below freezing! So we can't complain...

We stayed up late on the Eve hoping to catch some firecrackers but lo and behold, there seems to be more law abiding citizens in KL nowadays! There was hardly any sound of exploding crackers... we did hear some a distance away though, but that was about it.

Here are two pics taken this morning...

After visiting our sister, we went to the Selangor Royal Pewter factory. We had lots of fun there and yes, the place was infested with rats! Pewter rats that is.... :D

Gong Xi Fatt Chai!

Chinese New Year Eve

2008-02-06T21:16:00.000+08:00

* Warning - For those who are overseas and are missing their reunion dinners, please either stop reading this entry or brace yourself for what is to come below... I hope your keyboards are drool proof! : D

Tonight we had our re-union dinner at home in KL. We are blessed to have Daddy's parents here with us. Daddy's brother and sister in-law are Down Under, so we miss them this dinner. As usual, both Grandma and Mummy cooked up a storm (with the help of our Cambodian maid) and we all had a scrumptous dinner. We had curry (prepared by Mummy), pork leg stew (drool, drool), crispy popiah, french beans with shrimp, cauliflower, "lap chiong" with leek, straw mushroom soup and a few other dishes. Yummy! Here are a few pics of the food we had tonight.

The spread of yummy foods we had...ranging from duck to pork to veggies...

Lap Chiong (the reddish looking meat) with leek above.

To accompany the meal, we had a bottle of white wine (Similon Chardonnay); fruity and not too dry. It was lovely. The kids did not drink of course... but had their soup instead.

For dessert, we had Fruit 'Agar Agar' (a type of jelly) and Ferrero Roche chocolate (The tray of chocolate was a gift from the Lais to celebrate the New Year. There was also nice BBQ pork, "lap chiong" and oranges in the offering. Yum Yum!)

After dessert, we had a video call with Daddy's brother and sister in-law in Australia. It was good to see them and hear them and exchange news with them. Oh, and Daddy brought out the expresso machine and all had coffee. Now we wonder if we will all be able to sleep after taking our caffiene for the week (?) in one night.

Oh well, tonight being the eve of the year of the Rat, we will stay up late to welcome the new year. MAybe there will be fire crackers and fireworks (?). Fyi, they are banned in Malaysia.

Let us wish all readers of our blog a very Happy and Prosperous (Blessed) year of the Rat. Some say that it is "Mickey Mouse" year but we shall say that it is the Year of the Lord's favour! 2008... a new beginning! God bless you all!

The Cousins

2008-01-21T22:44:00.000+08:00

I thought it would be great to start 2008 with my first posts on the kids.

Have a look below... you can click on the image to get a bigger view of them.

These wonderful kids are not only

our loved ones,

little treasures,

little angels,

our pride and joy

but

also

our

next

GENERATION!

End Well, Start Well

2007-12-31T20:33:00.000+08:00

It's been quite a while now since we last blogged. So many things have happened and the latest being Daddy typing half blind... no la, not blind but recovering vision. Don't fret, Daddy did not get an eye disease but rather had laser surgery done to both his eyes to correct his vision... so Daddy is now glasses free! So, if there are spelling mistakes here and there in this post, blame it on Daddy's eyes! :D

We had a great Christmas celcbration at SIBKL where the production "Timeless Christmas" finally aired. Daddy was in the choir and it was a great show. Actually, it was more than a show as many got saved! Praise the Lord for the great harvest of souls!

Daddy has also taken a new interest in photography and post-processing the photos using Photoshop. It's really interesting to try to master the art of "feeling" the picture to let it tell a story (or create and impression) on the on looker's minds. Anyway, you can view them by clicking on this link.

As Daddy types, the rain is pouring outside... reminds us of what the year has been, an outpouring of God's blessing on our lives in KL. We have managed to record our 1st anniversary being in KL in December. Now as we look forward to the next year, it gives us much to look forward to. Daddy will not write too much here as later we will be off to our Watchnight Service to usher in the new year with our church members.

So, here's a prayer to all of you that you will end the year well to help you start well in 2008!

Blessed New Year!
From the Yongs.

Penang conquered!

2007-11-26T21:14:00.000+08:00

Penang, the Pearl of the Orient.... we were on that island about two weeks ago. We drove up north from KL to Penang which took us 6 hours with lunch break at Ipoh (plus many loo stops along the way-la). We had chicken rice in Ipoh (what else!). Jess seems to be very fond of chicken rice nowadays. Anyway, upon arrival in Penang, we checked into The Gurney hotel which is located along Gurney Drive. A most convenient place to eat and get around.

Penang is famous for its food. I'll let the pictures tell the story of our travel. I'll add a few snippets along the way.

Fruity Ice Kacang on a hot sunny afternoon...

Penang fruit rojak... so delicious!

The coffee shop along "Swatow Lane" where we had our ice kacang and rojak. (It's located opposite New World).

The egg tart in this bakery is to die for (supposedly) but we never get to try it as they ran out when we got there. It's located not to far from Swatow Lane.

One of the places of interest in Penang is the butterfly farm.

"New Zealand" Poh Poh with Jess and Josh at the butterfly park.

Jess was fascinated by the butterflies.

A three horn rhinoceros beetle statue... to Josh's delight!

We went to the Youth Park where there were supposedly to be some "dinosaurs" there... well, there were, but only a few and they were rides (like above). Josh was a bit disappointed but both Josh and Jess wore themselves out at the playground.

Both Josh and Jess all tired .

We also went to the Spice Garden to buy spices.

And then off to the beach. This one is called Miami Beach!

We spent 3 days in Penang. It was a nice trip overall, relaxing and plenty to eat. On the way home to KL, we stopped by Cameron Highland. It was strawberry time!

We spent a night at Cameron Highlands and then headed home.
Relaxed and refreshed!

The Land of Traffic Lights

2007-10-18T18:00:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, we went on a trip to the land (well, actually a town) of traffic lights! Traffic lights?! Well, we were in Kuantan for a 3-day holiday, on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. We were informed that when we reach the other 'end' of the road where there are lots (and by that I mean like almost every few kilometers) of traffic lights we would have reached Kuantan. And yes, we can testify to that! It is true. :( But at least we know we have arrived after about 3 hours or so driving.

Anyway, besides being 'awed' by the numerous traffic lights, the resort where we stayed in, called "Swiss Garden Resort & Spa", is indeed a well equipped and well maintained hotel. The usual facilities were there and we enjoyed the very relaxing atmosphere at the resort. During the three days that we were there in Kuantan, it rained (drizzled actually) only on the morning of the second day. So we had very good weather otherwise.

The view of the reception area at night. It has very nice architecture and play of lights at the resort. IMHO, I think it is very well designed, reflecting a peaceful yet majestic ambiance.

From our room, we had a great view of the swimming pool and the South China Sea. Being on the highest floor (4th floor) we could scout out what goes on down below.

The view of the the two pools and the South China Sea on the horizon.

View of the resort from our breakfast area.

The little round pool above is the open air jacuzzi, almost in between the free form pool and the kids pool.

At night, the poolside is turned into a nice BBQ dinner place. The hotel is also by the beach where the sand is 'white' and fine. The kids loved the beach. Whilst the kids played on the sandy beach, Daddy took a nap on the beach chair under the shade of the trees on a breezy afternoon. Mummy, Grandpa and Grandma went to the spa to get their bodies pampered. Although we did not go into the sea as the sun was always blazing hot, the water looked very nice. We spent more time in the swimming pool (where there was some shade from the palm trees and the pool bar) than anywhere else.

Kuantan beach... lovely isn't it?

The kids enjoying the sand on the beach.

Pool time...

Josh learning how to swim... kick, kick, kick.

Jess enjoying the water.

Mummy giving Josh and Jess a ride on her back.

We also ventured to a waterfall nearby Kuantan, called Pancing Waterfall. The drive there from the resort was about 45mins. It was a very pleasant place to be to see medium sized waterfalls. There were also big rocks around and the sand around the area was very course. The water/pool was shallow enough to walk/wade in. The kids enjoyed the place a lot. It was also a nice place to try out some shots with my Canon DSLR camera.

The waterfalls.

Used a slower shutter speed to get this effect...

Look at the coarse sand. A bit prickly to walk on, but fun to play with!

On the way back to KL, we stopped by an elephant rehabilitation centre (Kuala Gandah Elephant Centre) near to a town called Lanchang. When we drove to Kuantan, we saw signs of the place and told ourselves to drop by on our way home. It is basically a small sanctuary for a few elephants to raise awareness to the public on how precious these 'giants' are. You can read more about it by following this URL Kuala Gandah Elephant Centre.

This is the main reception office of the centre.

There were not many elephants there but it was nice to see some wild life to end the trip. Let me warn you that if you intend to visit this place, the place reeks of 'natural' smells! :D

So our holiday to the east cost ended with a visit to Jumbo (or a few Jumbos actually).
Josh was happy... so was Jess!

A Concert

2007-10-08T23:15:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, Joshua and Amanda's school had a concert cum graduation day .. the graduation day was for the older kids (6-year old). We were all very impressed by our son's dance entitled "Scottish March" where he was all dressed up in a 'scottish' way (see the pics). He looked so cute! He has been practising this dance with Mummy at home but it was only during the concert that we saw how grand the dance was!

(They gelled up his hair and put a little make-up on him!)

Amanda on the other hand did the twist. Most entertaining as they have such diverse movements! Remember these are 5 year olds! It was really hard work and all the teachers who helped the kids danced did very well! Remember these are not dance teachers!

I think all parents who were there felt very happy and satisfied with their children's performance. Oh, on top of the performance, Joshua was also awarded the Best Improvement Award for his class. Hallelujah!

Well done Josh and Amanda!
And 'kudos' to the teachers too!

A Timeless Christmas 2007

2007-09-16T20:30:00.000+08:00

I know it's a bit too early to talk about Christmas celebration in September... but it is not for the SIBKL worship ministry a.k.a. Atone to start rehearsals for this special celebration. Today, I went for my second rehearsal (missed the first one due to some lunch appointment that ended up too late). I'm singing tenor in the choir together other brothers in-Christ. We will have all the 4 parts in the choir (SATB) accompanied by our very own musos... yes, strings too!

The Christmas celebration at SIBKL will be called "A Timeless Christmas" and it is indeed very exciting. I must say that the manner in which we started the rehearsal is excellent. We were all reminded that as we participate in this work, we are in the ministry of help... OTHERs first. We are in it to help others! Serving one another to help others worship God through the gifts He has given to each of us. We want to be like Jesus, whom being in very nature God, chose to be a servant when He was on earth some 2,000 years ago. He is our great example... but what is more amazing is that we have the Holy Spirit to help us. We all can do it because He is our strength! Hallelujah... which 'coincidentally' is the song title of the last song in our worship medley. It is just so exciting.... not so much in the production itself but in the journey that we are undertaking to help one another as Jesus would have us do. It's a learning and growing process... watch this space for more updates in days to come!

Melaka 2007

2007-09-02T19:48:00.000+08:00

We decided to drive to Melaka for a day trip during the Merdeka long weekend. Yes, another quest to look for good, mouth watering food.... this time the nyonya type This was the second time that we were in Melaka; the historic and 'full-of-one-way-traffic-flow' city. We were joined by my sister's family and we had a good time there. To beat the traffic, we went as early as 6:30am. The journey was easy and the kids (plus some adults) manage to get some shut eye during the journey before reaching Melaka.

Oh, we did stop by Seremban for breakfast. We had the noodles at "Yi Poh Restaurant" (it is a coffee shop). It is different from the Sarawak "kolo mee" as it was a bit salty, but it's still good. I guess this is Seremban style "kolo mee".

Opposite the restaurant, there was this corner bakery selling the ever famous 'sau pau'. Yes, very yummy. We prefer the bun type rather than the pastry skin 'sau pau' because the pastry skin was a bit too sweet to our liking.

We continued our journey after breakfast and arrived at the heart of the city of Melaka. We parked our cars at the Stadthuys... if you remember your history, this is the administration centre for the Dutch colony in the past. These are the buildings where the walls are reddish. This really gives Melaka its character.

The Anglican church, Christ Church, is still a church that has worshippers there. Yes, another historical site.

Walking around this area we spotted a windmill (in a roundabout), a nice fountain, nice colourful flowers and of course the ever famous highly decorated trishaws. Yes, the kids and the mummies went on a ride. It costs us RM6 to get from the Stadthuys to Fort Famosa.

The trishaw brought the 'entourage' to Fort Famosa rather quickly. This old man sure can cycle!

A snapshot at the fort.

A bit further away from Fort Famosa, there is a museum which is suppose to be the Sultan's palace back in days long ago. To enter, there is a fee. We decided not to go in as the kids may not find it too entertaining.

We were very hungry after all the walking around so we decided to have lunch... the ever famous chicken rice balls! We were at Jonker Walk where the famous shop was to be found. There are a few of them on this street but the best one (so we read) is the one at the end of the street, away from the temple. There's always a queue to get into the shop to dine there.

Above is a picture of the chicken rice made into balls! We found the rice cold and the chicken so-so. So we still prefer our chicken rice in KL. I guess it is the novelty of having the rice in the form of balls. Yes, we can actually say we ate 5 balls (or however many/few) of rice!

What better way to end a meal but to have desserts! We went for the ever famous cendol with thick gula Melaka and santan (coconut milk). The cendol is to die for! So extra yummy, creamy and refreshing! We love gula Melaka in our cendol.

So mouth watering!

We also bought the nyonya dumpling (chang), some pineapple tarts and gula Melaka itself at the shop to take away. If only we could take away the cendol, we would have. All these foods are nyonya foods.

After a good lunch (especially the dessert), we headed to the Melaka Zoo. We were told by friends that the zoo is really good. And we can second that now. It is so much nicer than Zoo Negara, judging by the variety of exhibits they have. The kids loved it!

There were macaws (even red ones)...

... white rhinocerous (didn't look very white to us! maybe tanned in Malaysian sun already!)...

... tapir...

... many different types of buffalos...

... giraffes...

... funny looking buffalos...

... clouded and black panthers...

... tigers...

... elephants and so much more!

It was a day well spent in Melaka. All were exhausted after the trip but all were happy!

Happy Merdeka and Happy Birthday!

2007-08-31T23:00:00.000+08:00

Today, we celebrate Malaysia's 50th Independence Day. We ushered in this new 'era' with an all night prayer meeting in our church, praying for Malaysia! It was wonderful to be in God's presence collectively, offering our prayers like sweet incense. Malaysia is blessed!

Besides the usual parades and jam in KL, there were fighter jets zooming across the KL sky. There were also helicopters carrying all the flags of the different states in Malaysia. Quite magnificent.

Not only did we celebrate Malaysia's birthday, my mum turned 68 today! Yes, she is a pre-Merdeka baby.. well 18 years before Merdeka that is. Anyway, we bought a birthday cake from Hotel Nikko (for a change from Secret Recipe) and had a 'Yong-Tau-Foo" dinner at Kepong. It was a delicious dinner. We all congregated back at our home to cut the birthday cake. Here are some pictures of the event at home.

The birthday cake... candles not representative of age! It seems to be the trend nowadays when one gets older!

All admiring the cake... and singing Happy Birthday!

I guess Grandma didn't manage to blow out the candles on the cake... the grandkids got to the candles first!

Grandma with grand kids!

Look at Marc... giving his best (cheeky) smile!

Picture time!

Langkawi 2007

2007-08-28T22:44:00.000+08:00

So, this is yet another delayed post... well, because we went to Langkawi last week. It was a good break! Langkawi is a beautiful island with lovely beaches. We really enjoyed our stay there. The kids loved the swimming pool and the sandy beaches. Mummy and Grandma (and Daddy also) went for spas. (Yes, I was influenced by my wife to go... it was my first ever spa!) Grandpa relaxed as well and had a blast with Josh and Jess. So everyone is happy. The only regret on this trip was the island hoping tour which we did not manage to go on. It was canceled as the weather was bad that morning.

So what did the Yongs do in that little island?

Besides the beautiful beaches (Pantai Cenang)....

... we managed to visit the Underwater world, which we thought had more exhibits than Aquaria in KL. Josh enjoyed the exhibits there and kept going back to revisit the exhibits when we reached the end... he didn't want to leave. He does have a passion for animals/sea creatures.

There were plenty of huge aquariums there! It magnifies all the exhibits in the aquarium due to the thick glass.

Yes, penguins!

Nemo was there too!

There were sea dragons.

We even reached the skies in Langkawi! Yes, the cable car ride and the tree top bridge/platforms were also a great hit with us. The temperature up there was so nice and cool. Elevation was 703m (above MSL). Clouds moved passed us as we traverse the bridge joining the two platforms that seem to magically hang in the air above the trees! The best part was that there was always a continue fresh cooling breeze up there.

Amazing, isn't it?

The kids also had their caricature done as well. Their first. It cost RM25 each, by the way.

Jess' caricature... made her look very mature.

Josh's still has his boyish look.

We also went to the town called Kuah (aka gravy) and saw the biggest eagle statue in the world. It was quite a phenomenal sight. The kids had fun with bubbles at that place too.

Bubbles, bubbles away!

One strange sight that we noticed about Langkawi almost everywhere are these bird's nests. We were told that they have been left behind by the birds since the eggs have hatched. Anyway, this is indeed an interesting sight on trees and also in shops!

Oh, and one last thing about Langkawi, drinks lots of water... it's a "hot" island!

Birthday

2007-08-13T19:57:00.000+08:00

We have been busy lately so the blogging world also had to wait. But we are back now and time for some updates.

We celebrated Mummy's birthday this month with a Baskin Robbins ice-cream cake. Lesson learnt is that don't buy an ice-cream cake if the room where you are having the cake is not air-conditioned to suit the temperature of the cake! Look at how the letters disappear under the heat. Second lesson learnt is try out the sparkly candles to see if they actually works i.e. sparkle. If not, return them!

Well, Mummy had a handphone upgrade as a birthday present and she is happy with it. Now Mummy can take photos with her phone.

The other major event is Joshua's sports day. We didn't take photos but only videos... more on that later!

Baskin Robbins did not mispell Mummy's name... it's the heat that melted the words!

No sparkles but still pretty.

The pearly white K550i Sony Ericsson Cybershot phone.

Aiya... tagged by Nick of Miri!

2007-08-04T20:16:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I kena tagged again. Here it is.

8 Random Things About Me

1. Started blogging about one-and-a-half year ago.
2. Been to both the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere, and now living in the middle (Equator-la).
3. Lived on an island for 18 years (Borneo Island-lo).
4. A Josephian true and true. From primary to secondary schooling years.
5. Love cycling... but not doing it... now. : (
6. The song Hosanna is currently my fav.
7. Green tea is the best beverage... my green tea comes from China.
8. Own two hydration pack bags... and more to come!

So that's it... pretty random don't you say?

Hosanna

2007-07-29T23:12:00.000+08:00

Just bought my 2007 Hillsong album entitled "Savior King". There's this one song called Hosanna that I find most interesting. The choir that I am in will be worshiping Him with this song this coming Saturday and Sunday. I can't wait to have the full worship team worshiping His majesty with this song! Awesome...

Here are the lyrics.
For the song, you may want to download it at
http://www.esnips.com/web/Hosanna

Be blessed!

Hillsong United - Hosanna

Verse 1
I see the King of glory
Coming down the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Chorus
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest (x2)

Verse 2
I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Bridge
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Calvin and Hobbes

2007-07-19T22:03:00.000+08:00

Have you ever come across this comic about a little boy called Calvin and his imaginary tiger called Hobbes? This pair is just so funny. They are my all time favourite comic. Perhaps I should start looking for them in the local bookstores again...

Here's a website I found which has more on them. Will you get hooked too?

http://www.simplych.com/comics.htm

A Wonderful Lunch Meet

2007-07-15T21:28:00.000+08:00

Today was a wonderful day. We had a very pleasant surprise when we met my nephew (whom we have not seen since I left for my studies in the UK... gosh, I can't even count it with my fingers... it's that long!), my niece (whom we know is in KL but have yet to meet... until today!) and my cousin (yes, we have met him earlier on... he also works in KL now). Plus, the kids had a blast as their cousins were with them at church this morning. Oh, and coincidentally, my sister was also visiting our church this morning and now have had the opportunity to catch up with the long 'lost' nephew and niece... (not really lost-la... added that to give it more uumph in this post! Ha ha ha!).

We all congregated at Ah Tuan Ee (a nice Nyonya restaurant located at The Curve) for lunch after church. It was good for everyone to catch up with one another.

Let me tell you a bit about my nephew and niece. They are Joshua and Sarah. Now, when we were young-er, we used to be play mates. We always had a good time using our imagination during our play times. Those were good childhood times. Life was worry-less and responsible-less too! The only thing we had to do was to remember all the titles of our uncles and aunties when we used to congregate every Friday night at our cousin's place! Yes, there are like a lot of them!! But it was all good as we showed our respect to them when we call their titles. I guess it is in our family tree that there were big families back then. So, as the oldest marry and have kids, the youngest would just be a few years of age. You can imagine how complicated that can get when the younger ones marry before the older ones and have kids! Nephews and nieces can be almost the same age as their uncles and aunties! This is almost the case with Joshua, Sarah and me. Joshua is now married and number one is on the way. Her wife is not with him now as she is travelling back to the Ukraine to visit her parents. Yup, I have an Ukrainian in our family tree... not to mention an Argentian too (that is for another post)!

Joshua and I were such good friends back then. Now, a lot of people always wondered if I chose my son's name to be the same as my nephew's. Well, to be honest, the number one reason I chose the name was because of its excellent meaning : "Jehovah saves"! I want my son to grow up knowing that God died for Him and loves him dearly. When we chose the name, we always knew that there was also a nephew with that name... and why not, since he is such a great 'kid'.

Chris, our cousin was also with us during lunch. He has been in KL for a number of years now. He has another brother in Kuching who is my age. His brother an I are really close too... more so because of our age. Joshua is younger but he was fun to play with (regardless the age!).

Looking back, we have all gone our separate ways to build our own families and chase our careers. One thing I'm glad that keeps us all together is the fact that we all belong to Christ and remain in Him. We are all bonded together, not just by family ties but even more strongly by the blood of Christ! Hallelujah!

Chris, Joshua and Sarah. (really geram that I did not bring my DSLR camera to capture more and better pictures!)

Big Josh and small Josh!

Lake Garden Butterfly Farm

2007-07-10T21:18:00.000+08:00

We were at Lake Garden, KL last Saturday morning to visit the Butterfly Farm. To date, we have been to three of such farms in Malaysia i.e. Penang, Cameron Highlands and now in KL. Both Josh and Jess were pretty excited about the trip.

It is basically a garden with a see through netting like canopy above it to keep the butterflies in. It also has a little Japanese garden. It was nice when the breeze is blowing but when it is still, it can be quite hot. The walk around the garden was interesting but I reckon that some plants seem to be a bit over grown. With a little more trimming here and there, the garden would actually look nicer. Here are some pictures we took to give you a glimpse of what it is like.

Yes, there were turtles too! Reminded us of Tommy, our turtle pet in Miri.

Favourite Lunch Places in KL

2007-06-23T21:45:00.000+08:00

After being in KL for more than half a year now, we have found two 'excellent' eating places that ALL of us like. This is for lunch. Both places offer rather limited menu but what they have, we are happy.

Little Penang Cafe @ Suria KLCC

This cafe is famous for its Penag food (of course!). Its motto says it all (see above). We like their Penang Fried Kuay Teow, Lam Mee, Rojak, lunch plates (variety of nice Peranakan food choices with rice) and their Ice cold Sian Chow (grass jelly). I'm salivating now! Yummy... no wonder I have put on weight! :(

One of the reason why we like this cafe is because it is at Suria KLCC. So after shopping at Isetan, eat lo. :D And then shop some more!

Old Town White Coffee @ Jalan Ampang

Now this outlet opened about a month plus ago. It has an excellent setting along a busy Jalan Ampang. It is not crowded and it is airy and cool. Great layout! Nice place to get away from the heat actually. Furthermore, we live in Ampang so this place is a stone's throw away. This chain of shops in KL is suppose to hail from Ipoh, where it is famous for that.

We like the Rendang Chicken Rice, Ho Fun, Xi Mut tea (ice tea in ideal milk), toast slices in kaya or ice cream, prawn mee, ice lemon tea, lemon tea and lots more. Again.. salivating here!

And one thing we like about these places is.... the clean toilets! Ha ha ha. Very important when you have kids!

Oranges... how do you see them?

2007-06-23T15:51:00.000+08:00

Oranges; Vitamin C power packed fruit in all its goodness! It's the best source of Vitamin C if you are having a cold or flu. BUT if you are coughing, this fruit doesn't really help as it thickens the mucus and makes your lungs work harder to expel the mucus in your throat!

As for eating it, one can slice it with a knife or just simply peel the skin with your bare hands to get to the juicy insides! However, I know that there are some people who do not like to peel the skin. As for me, I love it as I get the nice orange scent on my fingers after peeling and eating them. Lovely!

Well, have you ever viewed oranges like this? (Someone sent me these in an email and they are... well, artistic and cute!)

Good night!

For our friends Alex and Deluxe

2007-06-18T19:51:00.000+08:00

This post goes out to the soon to be newly wedded couple... Alex and Deluxe, our dear brother and sister in-Christ. They marry on 7th July 2007 (07.07.07), the same day and month that we got married, too!

ALEX & DELUXE,
May His love, peace and joy shower the two of you as you determine in your hearts to be each other's companion on life's journey upon this earth.
God bless!

Hope you like this little clip we've put together...

(BIG BIG APOLOGIES as the clip just doesn't want to come out!)

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Beads Galore

2007-06-17T17:22:00.000+08:00

Yesterday (Saturday), we went to visit our sister's shop at Plaza GM. It is a wholeseller's 'mall' located right in the town centre itself (off Jalan Raja Laut). We were impressed by the car lifts to access the parking lots on the 8th floor onwards. Yes, we actually drove our car into a lift; big enough for one car!

The full address of the shop.

My sister's shop is located on the 5th floor and it is a decently sized shop selling beads and all things related to these beautiful beads. It has beautiful display of necklaces, earrings, bracelets to beads of all sizes and colours, little hooks and various sizes of plyers. It was my first time visiting such a store. There were other similar shops in that plaza/mall but I reckon my sister's had the most variety and taste (bias perhaps?). My sister's shop also offers customise necklaces and bracelets. I think that is a good idea. Something different that will bound to attract customers to the shop.

Do have a look at the photos I took whilst we were there. Maybe you can drop by too and learn a thing or two about beading necklaces! Oh, and buy some of the lovely accessories available at the shop. :D

The shop layout.

Very accessible beads, that can be bought in plastic packages.

The smaller beads are sold in tiny bottles.

There are items for kids too.

Hearts of all shapes and sizes... and colours too!

The beautiful beads... better and more beautiful than those at Mardi Grass!

Can you see me in the reflection of one of the golden beads?

The shop sells some different type of crystals too. Hope you like the shot above.

They also have an array of earrings. The ones above are quite intriguing... I like the design on it. Reminds me of snowflakes or "silver" stained glass window design!

More earrings.

The picture above is one of my best shot of the day.

Cameron Highlands, Pahang

2007-06-14T20:31:00.000+08:00

We had a little holiday up in the mountains during the King's birthday-weekend; to the tea and strawberry moutain to be exact. Driving up to an elevation of about 5,000 feet above sea level, we were greeted by fresh and cool air. Low lying clouds were surrounding the mountains and it was just spectacular. A good change from the concrete jungle that we left 3 hours ago. It was a 3-day 2-night stay for us at a hotel called "Century Pines". The hotel is relatively new and comfortable.

Despite being part of nature itself, Cameron Highlands is highly commercialised. There were plenty of strawberry farms, butterfly farms, souvenir shops, vegie stalls, tea plantations and tea houses. All these lined the road side from Tanah Rata to Brinchang. If you know Boh tea, this is its hometown. There is also another big tea plantation here and it is known as Bharat tea; not as common as Boh tea I guess.

I'm going to fill this posts with pictures taken up there... so be prepared for a photo overload! Like they say, a picture paints a thousand words. So judging by the number of photos I have uploaded here, I think this is a novel! Ha ha ha... anyway, enjoy the photos.

Strawberries were aplenty up there. They even allow us to pick our own strawberries.

We had fresh strawberries... and then there was strawberries with cream and castor sugar. Yummy!

Then, there was strawberry with vanilla ice cream!

Oh, and not to forget about the preserved strawberries. Very nice! It was indeed a strawberry overload holiday! And did mention about the strawberry flavoured green/black tea and strawberry tarts?

Besides the strawberries, there were plenty of flowers and cacti up there.

These lillies can be found within the hotel compound.

There are plenty of roses.

This is the stunning Bird of Paradise. Beautiful isn't it.

There were orchids too.

There were pitcher plants here. I will tell you later why this is so important in Cameron Highlands.

Apple pie and ice-cream anyone?

How about this delicious scones with butter and pure strawberry jam? T-Cafe at Tanah Rata has the best scones ever!

We went to one butterfly farm. We have been to the butterfly farm at Penang and we can say that the one in Cameron Highlands is not as nice. There were not that many varieties of butterfly. But it was a nice change from strawberries! Jess was a bit terrified by the butterflies actually.

Together with the butterfly farm is also an inesct exhibit. Look at the one above. A bug with a design of an African mask on its back. Interesting eh?

Josh holding a stem with an insect.

Tea leaves!

We drove up to the Boh tea factory/plantation and had tea there in a little tea shop. Very refreshing break.

We hiked up to one of the tea "hill" and the view was fantastic. Acres and acres of short, stubby tea plants!

On our way home, we stopped by a water cress plantation and had a water cress lunch!

The picture above shows how the water cress is grown in Cameron Highlands.

One low light about our trip to Cameron Highlands is the numerous, ....

....

....

....

fly colony!

Look at how they stick to my car bonnet (it's because of the warm engine.. it is cool up there!). That's why the pitcher plants are so important in Cameron Highlands! Thank God KL is not 'infested' with these annoying insects of flight!

Someone turned 5!

2007-06-09T22:36:00.000+08:00

On 8-June 2007, one of the Yongs turned five. Yup, it was Josh's birthday yesterday but we celebrated it on a Saturday (9-June) instead. This was to enable Mummy and Daddy to better prepare for the birthday party. We had Josh and Jess' cousins over with their family for the celebration.

Josh enjoyed the night; albeit screaming and some 'fighting' among sibling and cousins! This is a five year old party-la. Josh had a dinosaur cake which he picked himself on Monday night. It was a very nice vanilla sponge cake with peaches in it. It was nice. Still have about a quarter left in the fridge, but it will disappear pretty fast I reckon. The kids loved the cake although Jess was too excited to eat the cake.

A very funny thing happened tonight. Whilst Josh was waiting to blow out the candles on his cake, Jess stood at the side and blew it all out before Josh could get a chance! Ha ha ha! Anyway, we lit the candles again and Josh blew it out this time!

Besides the usual presents, Daddy bought two angel fish for Josh (actually one was for Jess... just in case she started asking why only one fish!). It is like a special and unique birthday gift for Josh (and Jess)... hopefully something which he will remember. Ok, it's not a pony but who can keep a pony in a terrace house in KL! ;p

Here are some pictures of the celebration. Enjoy.

Some simple decorations with dinosaur cut outs. Mummy made them.

Joshua's dino cake.

Josh taking a closer look at his cake.

Jess standing innocently at the side.. but she had a plan, to blow out ko-ko's candle on his birthday cake! The clever girl!

Josh finally blowing out the candles on his cake. Amanda helped too!

Joshua's angel fish. Isn't it pretty?

And Joshua is five years old.
Happy birthday son!

What's in a Child's Name?

2007-05-30T21:05:00.000+08:00

Is there such thing as a belated tag?? Well, there is now. Dancing Queen tagged us a few moons ago (actually not that long la... still within one moon). This tag is to tell the blogger world why we chose the names Joshua and Jessica for our lovely kids.

JOSHUA
Upon conception, we bought and borrowed books on names for children and also surfed the web. We made up a list and I still remember Russel was one name that Daddy really like, besides Joshua. Daddy actually has a nephew called Joshua too and he was just good pals with Daddy (Daddy and nephew age gap was not too wide to be able to play together when young!). We also had names starting with letter "A" in our list but for the lights of Daddy, Daddy cannot remember them now! So how did we arrive at the name Joshua? Before he was borned, we finally decided on Joshua because of its meaning.

Joshua means "Jehovah (God) saves". It was very appropriate as we wanted to leave a legacy with our son that whenever he thinks of his name, he will remember that God is the one who came to us to save us from our sins. Salvation is so important! Another reason why we chose J is because we love Jesus so much that we decided to use the letter "J" for the names of our children.

JESSICA

This brings us to the second name; Jessica. Now this one is very interesting. When Jessica was conceived, we did not mentioned this good news to our congregation in church until much later. HOWEVER, one of our brothers in-Christ at our church had a dream that Mummy was with child and the baby is a girl! I mean at that time we didin't even know the baby was a girl yet. So when we shared with the church the good news, this brother then told us his dream. Jut imagine our delight! So when the time came to scan scan, we saw that the baby is a girl baby.

Back to the name. We had a dilemma on the name as we could not quite agree on the baby's name. We knew the baby would be a girl and we wanted the name to start with the letter 'J'. So after many many debates, we came to an agreement on the name only in the labour room (just after delivery... yup, with all the blood and everything). Then when we shared with the church her name, guess what? This brother again told us that he had another dream and that the name for the baby shall be Jessica!That was simply wonderful as it was a confirmation from God Himself on the child's name! Praise the Lord!!

Jessica means "Jehovah (God) beholds" or 'wealthy' or 'gift'. We liked the first definition that our daughter is our God's beloved! She is loved.... (well, God loves all of us and beholds us!). Somehow, the name Jessica is so befitting for her.

Ok, so I have explanied the meaning of the children's name and also why we chose them. I guess this is the end of the tag.

Who shall I tag? No more la.... tired already. ;D

Of Rabbits and Fijawas in New Zealand

2007-05-22T21:00:00.000+08:00

Whilst holidaying in New Zealand, we were staying with my in-laws in Auckland. My in-laws keep their garden very well, with plenty of fruit trees, vegetables, etc. Thay even have a pair of rabbits too, courtesy on my brother in-law. My brother in-law and sister in-law are moving to Japan soon but their rabbits can't go. *sob*sob* BUT on the brighter side, they are very well taken care of. When it is night time, my father in-law will move the rabbits into the shed for warmth. When it is sunny and bright, they are outdoors again! When both Josh and Jess there, they were giving them lots and lots of fresh vegies every morning. Josh and Jess just adore the rabbits. We had to tell them to give the rabbits their own names as the my brother and sister in-law gave them quite err, what shall I say, dumb names? If you are trying to guess it, just remember that the rabbits are named after a film. Anyway, the rabbits were just so well fed that they need to go on a diet when we leave! It's a rabbits life!

The two rabbits. Josh calls them Thumper.

Animals aside, this time round in Auckland, there were plenty of fijawas ; a type of fruit that has a green outer skin and very fleshy "insides". This fijawa tree in my in-laws garden fruits during autumn. It was the first time I had the fruit. I must say that this fruit is one that requires acquired taste. You don't eat the skin, only the flesh and the tiny crunchy seeds. It has a sour taste if it is not really ripe. Overall, it is a bit tangy and has an "interesting" fragrance.

Here are some pictures of the fruit.

My father in-law eating the fijawas. It is almost like a ritual when it comes to autumn that everyone in the house will have fijawas after breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is packed full of vitamins and fiber, so it is a good food to have.

The Eye on Malaysia

2007-05-16T19:40:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, we went to Lake Titiwangsa again to view the Eye at night. I also wanted to get some good night shots of the place. So I brought along my DSLR camera and my tripod... no flash photography; just playing with the exposure/aperture of the DSLR camera to hopefully get good shots.

We not only saw the Eye but also a laser show on the lake. Colourful lasers made such vivid pictures on a mist spray on the lake. Very spectacular. Of course the theme of the laser show is "Visit Malaysia".

Here are some of the pictures that I took, which I was very pleased with.
Enjoy.

This is the laser show, right on Lake Titiwangsa. Can you see the picture of dancers in traditional costumes?

The Eye, stopping to fill its gondolas with excited passengers.

Wow! Spinning real fast!!! No-la, actually this is a camera trick.. by setting the camera to long exposure time.

And finally, my favourite....

One More Mother's Day Entry

2007-05-13T21:36:00.000+08:00

Joshua, mummy's young and budding artist, just did another piece of art work, entitled Mother's Day (2007). The picture below demonstrates how much he loves his Mummy... quite a masterpiece, don't you think?

There are 2 hearts in this picture and some flowers. Well, the reason he drew and coloured the flowers is because he did not have any money to buy Mummy real flowers!

Mummy is happy...

Happy Mummy's Day

2007-05-13T16:36:00.000+08:00

Today, the whole, wide world is celebrating their mummies (the mother kind, not the Egypt type!). It is a tribute to these wonderful people in our lives, who have impacted, nurtured and shaped us... yes, cane and all but all that was necessary.

Today we remember our mums and wives who have become mothers. Here's a poem that my wife received via SMS from another mother and it goes like this :

Nothing compares
To a Mum's love,
She looks with her heart
And feels with her eyes,
A Mum is the bank
Where her children deposit
All their worries and hurt
A Mum is a cement
That keeps her family together
And her love lasts a lifetime

Amongst the many hugs and kisses from the kids, our kids made a few things for Mummy in school. Have a look at them.

This one is a card in the shape of a flower. Look carefully and you will see the shape of the flower are the soles (feet minus the toes) of Jessica!

This second love gift is also from Jessica. It's a letter or card holder made of paper plates. She painted them of course. Creative eh?

Joshua also did something special for Mummy. It's a heart filled with roses. The roses are made from crumpled red tissue papers. Again, very nicely done and with the help of the teachers.

And finally, we had one HUGE cake for Mummy from Secret Recipe. It's called Chocolate Indulgence, just in case you are wondering what it is.

To all our 'Mummy' readers out there (Shuk Vun, Cecilia, Dancing Queen to name a few),

HAVE
A
BLESSED
MOTHER'S DAY!

We are Back... Shoe Blog?

2007-05-12T14:06:00.000+08:00

We have disappeared for awhile. "Where to?" you may ask. Well, we took a week's vacation to the southern hemisphere; to an island which is really, really near to the South Pole. If you have not guessed it already, we were down under, no, not Australia but in New Zealand. We spent a week in Auckland and Hamilton on the North Island of New Zealand.

Adjusting to the hot and humid climate in KL is just one of those post-holiday blues one gets when the holiday has come to an end.

One of the highlights for my wife during this trip has been the shopping spree there. (I will blog more about the other aspects of our holiday later.) My wife bought some lovely shoes from Hush Puppies in NZ and she has asked me to blog about them. So here it is, a shoe blog, from a man's perspective. (Stop laughing you guys...)

I'll use the following pics to help me along. For your info., these shoes were bought during a sale so she did get a good deal.

Ah, those beautiful feet... who needs shoes? (Ha ha ha.)
Anyway, this is the first of two pairs she bought.

If you take a closer look at the shoes (in the next picture), you will see the cute little florets on the shoe. I would call these sandals, with fine thin straps to wrap around the ankle and feet.

It has an almost flat sole, so this must be comfortable to walk in... no heels here!

The second pair is more formal (less casual than the first) and has a golden brown colour to it. There is this silver flower motive right in the centre of each pair... a rather bold design. This pair has heels about an inch thick.

The picture above shows the two shoes side by side. Two elegant and pretty shoes from Hush Puppies. They must be comfortable (err, I did not try them on ok... just trusting my wife here).

So, which pair do you like best?
(Not that you have to vote...)

Kiddy Photos

2007-04-26T16:57:00.000+08:00

Since today is our Company Holiday (Our King's coronation day..."Daulat Tuanku"), I have decided to put up some shots from my 400D DSLR camera. It's amazing what this little baby can do!

Enjoy the funny and "amazing" moments ...

Jess in one of her playfull moods!

Our pretty little princess!

Mummy and Josh.

Amanda, Josh & Jess' cousin.

Marc, Amanda's little brother... also Josh and Jess' cousin.

"Too loud, too loud," cried Jess!

"Stop looking at me like that Cookie Monster!" exclaimed Josh.

That's all for now. Hope you have enjoyed the shots!

Kena Tagged... lagi!

2007-04-25T16:29:00.000+08:00

Ok, yet another tag.... this time from Dancing Queen in Miri.
This one is called Twelve Layers... sounds like a cake or something but too bad, cannot eat them. Hope I'm not revealing too much about me, myself & I!

Layer One : On The Outside
Name : Strong, Manly (that's what my name means)
Birth Date : 18 July, moo moo year (pile up those prezzies for me... you've been informed!) :D
Current Status : Married with kids
Eye Colour : Brown
Hair Colour : Black
Righty or Lefty : Righty

Layer Two : On The Inside
Your Heritage : Chinese
Your Fear : God
Your Weakness : Not a multi tasker... unlike wife.
Your Perfect Pizza : Aloha Chicken from Dominos (for now.. until I find another variant at another pizza parlour)

Layer Three : Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your Thoughts First Thing When You Wake Up : Weekend?
Your Bedtime : 11pm (but if CSI is on... can be midnight! Hee hee hee)
Your Most Missed Memory : my childhood days with my cousin

Layer Four : Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke : Coke
McDonald's or Burger King : Burger King! Those grilled meat tastes great!
Single or Group Dates : Single (never done group dates but going out as a group, yes la.)
Adidas or Nike : Nike
Tea or Nestea : Teh-C-peng
Chocolate or Vanilla : Vanilla, hands down... although Jess will strongly disagree with daddy's choice.
Cappucino or Coffee : Cappucino...yum!

Layer Five : Do You ...

Smoke : Nope, lungs clean clean.
Curse : Not a habit, thank God.
Take a Shower : every morning, every evening, thank you.
Have a Crush : err... no-leh.
Think You've Been In Love - Still am.
Go To School : Done that for 17 years liao... and no more.
Want To Get Married : Oredi.
Believe In Yourself : Yes
Think You're a Health Freak : Not yet... but started going to the gym in KL.

Layer Six : In The Past Month
Drank Alcohol : Yes, I like my wines...
Gone To The Mall : We are in KL now... so obvious answer... YES.
Been On Stage : Yes
Eaten Sushi : YES... I like my rolls.
Dyed Your Hair : No

Layer Seven : Have You Ever ...
Played A Stripping Game : Never, not going to either!
Changed Who You Were To Fit In : Nope

Layer Eight : Age
You're Hoping To Get Married : Oredi happily married.. no need to hope and hope again! But I got married before 30 years old.

Layer Nine : In A Girl/Guy
Best Eye Colour : black
Best Hair Colour : black
Short Hair or Long Hair : Short hair for guys, err... long hair for ladies(?)

Layer Ten : What Were You Doing
1 Min Ago : thinking about what to write in here
1 Hour Ago : thinking about how to rent a car during our upcoming hols.
4.5 Hours Ago : thinking about how to submit our Income Tax forms!!!
1 Month Ago : thinking of which DSLR camera to buy
1 Year Ago : thinking about moving to KL

Layer Eleven : Finish The Sentence
I Love : my Lord Jesus Christ
I Feel : good, blessed and content!
I Hate : the smell of 'old' cooking oil... yucks!
I Hide : my toes well as now i have these 'so called' "Crocs" covered up sandals!
I Need : a full suspension mountain bike... bad! Don't ask me why I need it... :(

Layer Twelve : Tag Five People
1. PW
2. Amy
3. Helen
4. Mag
5. Sabrina

I thought of including these two pics as they remind me of layers...

A Family Reunion

2007-04-15T19:51:00.000+08:00

My brother and my sister in-law arrived in KL on Friday night. Both Josh and Jess were very excited with their coming. It has been about 4 months since they last saw them in Miri. The weekend was spent with them shopping and of course, 'makan'. We had a good time and they will be leaving this coming Tuesday. We're glad that our kids have not forgotten their uncle and aunty and are still very fond of them. Having my brother and sister in-law in KL completes the Yong family... all of us are here... for now.

Here are some pf the pictures we took over the weekend.

Having lunch.

My brother and sister in-law.

Hey, who are these people down there?
Yup, we were at Suria KLCC.

2007 PC Fair at KLCC

2007-04-15T19:22:00.000+08:00

Yes! We (my brother and I) finally made it to the KL PC fair by Pikom at KLCC. I was just so amazed by the huge crowd and hundreds of booths that were set up there. They took up a few huge halls on the 3rd floor and a few more on the ground floor. Popular brands like Sony, Toshiba, HP, Acer, Canon and even Olympus (yes, selling cameras) were there. There were plenty of other brands there as well.

I have never been to such a big pc fair before... and honestly, it was really like a fish market! People were selling PC notebooks like selling fish! And people were just buying computers, notebooks and printers and carrying them home like they were give away items!

Anyway, I managed to get my CF card after battling through the crowd. It was quite an experience.

My First DSLR Camera : Canon 400D

2007-04-05T21:06:00.000+08:00

So, I have finally made up my mind... actually the excellent cannot-resist deal (and it really caught me off guard) helped me make up my mind. We were at GE Mall at Ampang having our lunch last Sunday. My brother in-law was with us and we sort of talked about DSLR cameras. (By the way, DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex.) He informed me that there is a camera shop on the ground floor of the mall. I was a bit skeptical about checking out the shop for cameras as I did not expect the prices to be reasonable. This is because this mall is known to be an 'ex-pat' mall... jacked up prices... bottom line is things at the mall are expensive-la.

Nevertheless, I went to have a look at the prices since we were there already. I asked for a list of prices of cameras that I was interested in. When the price for the Canon 400D came round, I could not believe my ears! I asked him to check it again and he confirmed it. I didn't buy it then but walked out of the shop bewildered! Such a good deal... should I get it? Should I survey some more? I told myself to wait it out so that I can think more clearly when the 'excitement' of finding such a good price dies down a bit. We went home but the whole afternoon I was thinking about the camera.

Finally, I cannot tahan anymore (I even went to the gym later that afternoon to take my mind away from it!) and went back to the shop after dinner and bought it. Do I regret getting it? Definitely not.

I am very pleased with the photos I have taken of my kids. They turned out beautifully... in low light some more! Have a look at the two shots.... worth it la!

Kajang Satay

2007-03-27T22:24:00.000+08:00

Two Saturdays ago, we drove to Kajang to have the ever famous satay there. We have been planning to go since January but could never fit it in our schedule somehow until then. It was, in a way, to celebrate my dad's birthday (not the real celebration as we will do the proper celebration this Friday together with Jess' birthday) and also to meet up with Siaw Ching, a lovely girl that my mum used to babysit when she was borned back in Kuching some 18 to 20 years ago! She is studying in KL now and it was good to be able to catch up with her.

We were at Kajang about 6:30pm and the restaurant was starting to get busy. We could see the 'satay man' BBQ-ing the satay over the fiery coal pit and the smell was tantalising. But with the free smell, comes the smell of smoke on your shirt and hair.

You may be wondering what is so special about Kajang satay (meat on stick)? Well, for starters, these satay are huge i.e. lots of meat on it. They do not skim on the meat here unlike most satay stalls I know back in Miri. It costs about RM 0.60 per stick. They do not only have chicken and beef but also mutton and duck... yes, duck meat satay, believe it or not (or maybe it is just me never seeing duck satay before)! Overall, we still prefer the chicken satay. One other unique thing which makes satay special is the peanut sauce. The one we had in Kajang was special in that they put sambal in it! This combination of the peanut sauce with sambal is to die for!

We enjoyed our satay eating binge at Kajang but we also learnt a trick. When you order satay there, please insist on 'fresh' satay. If this is not specified, the owner will give you satay that has been BBQ earlier on... so it may not be as tasty! Here are some pics of the satay we had... drooling already?

These are the chicken satay. They use lean meat... no skin at all! Lovely!

The kids enjoying their satay.. well, only Josh and Jess likes it. Amanda is happy with her noodles.

The peanut sauce. Ok, I may not have done justice to this sauce with this picture but believe you me, it is just so amazingly delicious!

Happenings

2007-03-22T20:59:00.000+08:00

Blogging in cyberspace is always very intriguing. Some say blogging is a creative outlet to express oneself but I think it is a wonderful way to keep fond memories of life in the digital world. Whatever it is, here's a quick flashback on what has happened since we last blogged...

1) Ibumie instant noodles taste great! Thanks to Dancing Queen who introduced it over her blog.

2) Finally bought my "World Through Your Eyes" album by Reuben Morgan. Purchased it from Cannaland, which is a fantastic Christian bookstore in KL! Three cheers to Francis who owns the place.

3) Still researching and doing a survey on prices of a decent DSLR camera. Thanks to all those who have given their opinions on the cameras. The prefered cameras at the moment that are being contended are Canon 400D, 350D and Nikon 40D, 80D. This effort is still ongoing... I would welcome more thoughts on this as it will be an investment that I will have to live with for a 'long' time.

4) Been to Bangsar Village. Great place! Nice foods.

5) Saw an awesome mountain bike. GT Avalanche 2006 model... (drool)! Question is when will I mountain bike again?

6) Bought tickets during the MATTA fair to jet to New Zealand for a holiday soon... yeah! But more $$$$ spent...

7) 'Registered' myself with the Worship Ministry at our church as they are doing a recruitment drive... very timely as I was wondering how to get myself involved and serving again in KL.

8) Hand Foot and Mouth disease seems to have veered it's ugly head in Jess' playschool. The school has been closed for two days this week. Jess is ok. She is protected (Jesus' blood!).

9) Kajang satay is just so delicious. We had it last Saturday in conjunction with my Dad's birthday. We will celebrate his birthday properly together with Jess' birthday, which is going to be the end of the month.

10) We attended a marriage seminar called "Heart of Marriage Part 2". This is run by our church and we had a blessed time learning and being refreshed! Highly recommended!

In short, we are all doing well here in KL. God is good!

Here is a picture from the Marriage Seminar. Dosen't she look stunning in her designer cheongsam?

A Fantastic Song

2007-03-08T20:02:00.000+08:00

I have been listening to this song composed and sung by Reuben Morgan called "World Through Your Eyes". It's just awesome! The lyrics are beautiful... here's sharing the lyrics with you.

(Oh, for those of you in Miri who knows Kenaina, she has the album!)

Hear the silence shout,
highest praise
God to You alone
All creation waits
On Your every word
Where time and heaven meet

Chorus:
Let me see forever
With eyes You've opened
Standing in the beautiful light
Hold me near
Hold me near to You
And let me see the world through Your eyes

In this perfect hour
I am changed
I'll never be the same
Help me follow You
And keep in time with the sound
Of heaven in me

Chorus :
Let me see forever
With eyes You've opened
Standing in Your beautiful light
Hold me near
Hold me near to You
And let me see the world through Your eyes

Hide me in Your love again
Let me hear the songs of Your heart

Kena tagged

2007-03-01T22:49:00.000+08:00

Ok, this is definitely the first time that I have ever been tagged... thanks to friend Helen, the patient one! It's a simple tag to describe 6 weird things about yourself. The rules also need to be posted in the blog so here they are.

Each player of this game starts out by stating 6 weird things about themselves. People who gets tagged needs to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read you blog!

The 6 things (some are not that weird I think) are :

1. My socks are neatly folded and stacked in a vertical position in my wardobe drawers... amongst other 'articles' in the drawer.

2. I clean out the toaster everytime after I am done toasting; to clear the crumbs from the toaster. Just won't do anything else until that is done!

3. My plate and spoon/fork are washed after every meal by... me!

4. CSI series on Astro is a must even though it has been a long and tiring day.

5. I am quite a neat freak when it comes to tidiness around the house.

6. Everytime we visit Ikea, I must buy at least an item before I leave the store!

So am I that weird after all? Nevermind, I have a wonderful wife and kids so I'm not too bothered whether I'm weird or not. I'm contented.

Ok, now rule number two kicks in...tag others.
1. PW
2. Eddie
3. Andrew
4. Mag
5. Amy
6. Sabrina

I've left messages in most of their chatboxes so that rule number 3 accomplished.
Over and out!

The sweetest thing...

2007-03-01T22:17:00.000+08:00

Just now, Jess came up to Daddy and opened her cute little hands for a hug and a kiss. I hugged her and returned her kiss on her cheeks. Then she said "I love you Daddy!" in her sweet little voice (still not very good with her pronunciation of words yet but Daddy can tell what she was saying).

Awww... my heart melted. Isn't that the sweetest thing?

She went off upstairs to get ready for bed, leaving a very happy and contented Daddy downstairs! Good night all.

CNY Outfits

2007-02-25T22:01:00.000+08:00

We hope your CNY celebration is going well... lots of renewed friendship and refreshed relationships! Good food too I hope. We decided to go to Port Dickson (again) with my sister and her family. The kids had a blast at the beach and the swimming pool. We adults just ate, ate and ate... lots of chit chat too. We had steamboat by the way. (Will blog on this separately later).

Just sharing a few photos of our kids in their CNY kit/costume.
So cute don't you think?

Here's Jess in a pink 'cheong sam'. This was getting ready for her play-school CNY party. She looks just so sweet.

Josh and Jess in red on CNY day. Jess found her oufit to be very airy! :D

Here's wishing you Happy and Blessed CNY ... we still have 7 days of CNY celebration to go! It'll all end on "Chap Goh Mei" (night of the fifteen). What will you be doing for "Chap Goh Mei"? Hope it will be delicious... hee hee!

Gong Xi, Gong Xi!

2007-02-19T18:35:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year to you and your loved ones and may this year be filled with God's wonderful blessings! A new year is always good as it spells a year of 'new-ness' or new beginnings for many. According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, this year is the year of the boar/pig or 'oink-oink'.

The pig or boar to many different tribes mean different things; to the Kelabit/Lun Bawang it is food (smoked, barbequed, stewed.. yummy!), to the chinese it is the suckling pig, 'siew yuk' (roast pork), 'cha siew' (barbequed pork - best one so far is at Jln. Alor in KL), etc... but to the muslims and jews, it is a no-no food (not halal). Anyway, besides being a discussion on food, the pig is also synonymous to character traits - similar to the zodiac. We, as Christians, don't believe in this though - our future and character lies in that of a 'new man' in Christ! Not in some foretold ways of living or having some good/bad character traits but to live like Christ ~ following His ways, believing in His promises, trusting in His leading and living a life of hope!

On Chinese New Year eve, after the re-union dinner, we were watching the Disney Channel and there was this cartoon called the Zodiac Race (or something like that). It is a story about a race among the 12 animals in the Chinese Lunar Calendar : Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, and is constructed in a different fashion than the Western solar calendar.

In this story, the rat made it first to the assembly and received the first year. Though the rat did a lot of trickery to reach first to the congregation. At first he tricked the ox to let him ride on its head. The ox agreed and they went together. Just when they were about to reach to the assembly the clever rat jumped off the ox's head and got through the finish line first. This is why the year of the rat is the first year in the cycle and the year of the ox is the second.

This is probably the reason why the first of the twelve years is the Year of the Rat then followed by the year of Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. This selection of animals delighted both Josh and Jess as they are big 'fans' of animals! Anyway, it was a lot of good fun learning a bit of our Chinese Lunar Calendar.

Oh, by the way, do you know that the chinese character 'fook' (meaning 'blessings' or more commonly known to many as the character of prosperity) is made up of three parts i.e. God, man and the field (garden - Eden)? This is a very popular symbol used during CNY ~ also on Ang Pow packets. So here's wishing you a very 'fook' year ~ a year of you with God in his wonderful plan (garden of promises) for you!

Oink-Oink!

So romantic wan... or is it?

2007-02-10T17:58:00.000+08:00

Just saw this on Docfiles webpage. It is so hilarious... Watch, laugh and de-stress!

Hero? Love? Or .. - video powered by Metacafe

To DSLR or not?

2007-02-10T17:15:00.000+08:00

Lately, we have been capturing a lot of 'kodak' moments with our Sony Cybershot digital camera (5.1 mega pixels). You can view some of those pictures here in our blog. We have had this camera for a year now and I must admit that this is a good camera but not perfect.

The challenge in using this camera is when trying to capture clear and well defined pictures in slightly poor lighting conditions or when the kids will only hold still for a fraction of a second! Most of the pictures will turn out blurry or have high noise content. It is disappointing when we know we will not be able to capture those moments again.

Furthermore, our kids seem to grow up so fast now (i.e. when I finish blogging about this, they would be all grown up and have their own kids already... ha ha ha! Not that fast la... or do I mean I type that s-l-o-w-l-y!).

I think this is the limit of automatic compact digital cameras. However, we love it because it is easy to carry around and the model chosen a year ago uses AA batteries (which are easily available if our batteris run flat whilst we are travelling).

I have heard fantastic stories of DSLR (digital single-lense reflect) cameras and have seen friends using them and giving such beautiful pictures. Are we missing out in capturing more precious moments with our kids at this tender age with only an automatic compact digital camera? Nowadays, DSLR cameras have gone down in price (but still in the RM '000 range) with better offerings than before. Two models come to mind; the Nikon D40 and Canon D400. Decisions, decisions, decisions... what shall we do?

Oh well, that is my current dilemma.... perhaps more research on the www would help.

Here is a picture of our current auto point and shoot compact digital camera.

Here is the Canon D400

And here is the Nikon D40.

An Outing to Bukit Tinggi (Colmar Tropicale)

2007-02-08T19:57:00.000+08:00

It has been a week now since we were at Colmar Tropicale resort at Bukit Tinggi, Pahang. Since it was a public holiday in KL (FT Day) and Selangor (Thaipusam), we decided to make a day trip there. Mummy has been there before but that was many years back. Mummy did say it was a nice place to visit. We drove our MPV there and it was an easy and pleasant drive; just under an hour from KL. The weather was perfect too; nice and slightly sunny, no rain!

There was an entrance fee of RM16 per adult and RM8 per child. This fee included entrance to the Colmar Tropicale, the Japanese Garden, Botanical Garden and the Rabbit Park. It was reasonable we think, so no regrets in paying. The place was very well maintained. Upon driving up to Colmar Tropicale (a French themed park), tall steeples greeted us at the horizon. As we got closer, we saw a castle! Wow! Castle with pine trees all around in Malaysia! How about that! It was just so unreal but wonderful. The air was cooler up there too.

When we entered Colmar Tropicale, it was like being whisked back in time to a little quaint village. Just the sight of the two rows of shops was quite something. There was also a fountain too at the centre of the square. Oh, there was something that was REALLY out of place in that village though... it was the rows and rows of red lanterns (I guess it is in conjunction with CNY) hanging in between the two shops. Have a look at the photos below.

Imagine the place without the red lanterns... I think it would be so much better!

There was a moat that surrounded the castle and swimming on the waters were swans! There were white and black swans. So serene. After the French village, it was Japan for us! Yes, on to the Japanese Garden which has a tea house. The tea house has a hostess dressed in her kimono and she serves tea... with a fee of course. They have what they call the tea ceremony in the heart of the garden. The garden was beautiful with streams all over. We loved it... even had a little lunch picnic there. I must say that there are no proper sitting places in the garden, I guess akin to the theme... no benches.

There was a pond with plenty of 'koi' in it. Lovely!

To Josh's delight, he found a funny looking earthworm! Hammer Head Worm??

After the Japanese Garden, we went across to the Botanical Garden. Nothing astounding there as most of the flowers and plants were not in bloom.

Next was the Rabbot Park. This was like Josh and Jess' haven. Rabbits were running freely in an exclosed little field (garden) and everyone was allowed to pet the rabbits and chased them around. Jess is really a brave little girl. She would just go up to the rabbits and try to pick them up. Of course it wasn't as easy as she thought as the rabbit would hop away from her! It was a lot of fun for all.

Daddy had to help a bit to 'capture' the rabbits for Josh and Jess.

Jess caught this white rabbit by herself! Well done Jess! Just look at her face... totally satisfied!

Oh, before we left, Josh wanted to ride the donkeys. There was a little stable there and it costs RM6 for a short ride. So to date, Josh has ridden a pony (at A'Famosa in Melacca), an elephant (at A'Famosa in Melacca) and a donkey!

And guess what else was there? A deer farm! We fed the deers through the fence. Quite an experience for the kids.

We had a great time together!

The Eye on Malaysia

2007-02-03T13:05:00.000+08:00

I guess we must have all heard about the Eye on Malaysia in conjunction with 'Visit Malaysia 2007'. So what is the Eye? It is a 60m high ferris wheel located by Lake Titiwangsa near Dewan Budaya. We used Jalan Tun Razak to get to the Eye last Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day for a ride in the gondola of the Eye.

The queue was not very long at 4pm so we were in the gondola after a short wait. It was also not a very 'hot' wait as there were adequate fans at the waiting area. The fee per adult is RM15 and children below 8 years old pay RM8. The Eye is 'new' and coated in white. Capacity of the gondola (that is what they call the indivual 'baskets' on the wheel) is 8 adults (max.) but I would reckon 4 adults and 2 children would be just nice. Oh, if you fancy a private gondola, you can book one for RM100! Steep... but I guess makes good money for the operator.

The gondola went around for 6 rounds and gave us good views of parts of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. It is also air conditioned so the ride was pleasant. We even saw a bird perched on the frame of the wheel whilst we were up there. All in all, it was a pleasant and smooth ride... a ONCE in a lifetime experience (note the capitalised 'once'). Have a pleasant ride if you are ever in KL and riding the Eye!

The Eye overlooking Lake Titiwangsa.

The PETRONAS Twin Towers at the background.

The ticket.

Mummy and Jess enjoying the view.

"That's all folks!"

Flora Fest 2007

2007-01-31T21:26:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday morning, we headed to Putrajaya as Flora Fest was on. This festival of flowers had floats on display (after the parade) and all sorts of flowers / plants to buy at an adjacent tent. Yes, there was a parade early in the morning but we did not watch the parade as we only arrived at the place about 11:30 am.

Anyway, all the floats were on display in huge air conditioned tents. We were thankful for the air-con as it was a hot and sunny day. Entrance fee was very reasonable at RM2 per adult. There were floats from all the states in Malaysia so it was very exciting to see the offering from each of the states. I must say that there were some very creative displays of flower arrangements that day. Some were magnificiently colourful but there were also some which were a bit plain.

All in all it was a beautiful morning!
Have a look at some of the photos we took.

Butterflies were aplenty on a lot of the floats!

From Malacca!

Flowers made from flowers!

I like this one as the fish looks like it is floating in the air!

A float from Sarawak.. Land of the Hornbills! Hoorah!

A colourful chameleon and a lizard!

Our national flower... the hibiscus.

This float is from Penang and won the best themed trophy. We thought that this float was the best among the rest! Well done, Penang!

What's outside Daddy's window?

2007-01-27T10:19:00.000+08:00

We have been in Kuala Lumpur for almost 2 months now. Daddy's office has huge window panels that overlook the 'golden triangle' of Kuala Lumpur. On clear sunny days, the view is really fantastic as one can see the famous PETRONAS Twin Towers, KL Tower, Chulan Tower, Lot 10 and lots more of the concrete jungle!

Here are some shots from Daddy's camera to show you how the view is like.

The picture below was taken yesterday morning.

PETRONAS Twin Towers, Chulan Tower and Prince Hotel.

The syringe looking tower at the background is the KL Tower. Marriott hotel is the one with the see-through dome at the top of the building.

The same view after lunch.

Fare.Net

2007-01-27T10:02:00.000+08:00

My colleague asked me yesterday about any local (asian) website to find good and reasonable fares over the internet. I have come across this site which I think is rather useful for travellers. It not only give comparison for air fares but also prices for hotel accommodation as well. This site is called Fare.Net. Personally I have yet to use it to plan for our holidays. I have added this website to my 'links' section as well.

Go check it out and tell me if you find it useful.
Happy travelling!

Fraser's Hill

2007-01-21T15:11:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, we drove up to Fraser's Hill to spend an evening away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It was a pleasant drive up the mountains with not too much traffic. The drive up to Fraser's Hill was windy but nevertheless scenic. We passed by a water reservoir (dam) which is the source of water supply for Selangor. We even spotted some monkeys sitting on the rails along the journey. There were lots of tall bamboo trees all over the jungle. Some were overgrown and lean quite precariously towards the small windy road! Too bad, no pandas!

We were up in the mountains by 5:30pm and were greeted by the cool mountain air and low lying clouds. We checked into our apartment that had a fanstastic view of the hills. Our apartment had a balcony that overlooks the hills. One thing we noticed was the rich flora there. There were also birds flying at a distance by the hills. However, after half an hour after we checked in, the rain came. We spent most of the time in the apartment watching telly... relaxing!

The rain did not stop and lasted through the night. When we woke up, it was still raining hard. I managed to catch 2 episodes of ER on the telly before we check out later that morning. We had lunch in the quaint town of Fraser's with the small/dwarfed clock tower at the centre of the mini roundabout. If we were to judge the town by the roundabout and clock tower, we would think that the people living there were dwarfs! (This is not true of course...)

After lunch, we proceeded back to KL. Traffic was not too bad and we had a nice drive home. We were relaxed.

Fishy Post Continues...

2007-01-13T19:32:00.000+08:00

We had a situation a couple of days ago. Jess was a bit too excited about feeding the tank gang that she poured the entire bottle of fish pellets into the tank! Oh no! Daddy only knew when he came home from work. The water was murky because of the fish food. Grandpa and Grandma tried to 'fish' out the excessive fish food but it was too late.

The remaining fishes (one red swordtail, two yellow libido and two tiger barbs) were swimming gleefully! They must think that they are in 'fish heaven' or something like that, having limitless supply of food! Just open your mouth while swimming and ye bellies shall be filled! But little did they know that this excessive food in their environment will eventually bring them closer to the actual 'fish heaven'!

So after dinner, Daddy emptied half the tank and change the water. It didnb't help much as most of the food was at the bottom of the tank together with the pebbles! So today, Daddy had to overhaul the tank. Everything was taken out of the tank and washed thoroughly. So now, we have a nice, clean tank once again. And the fishes survived this ordeal!

Remember the mysterious murders in tankville? Well, one day Mummy saw the yellow libido bullied the one and only remaining red swordtail! So it wasn't the tiger barbs at all! We were mistaken. The yellow ones did it! I went back to the fish shop and asked them why this has happened. The shop assistant enlightened me saying that this type of fish (libido) do not mix well with fishes that are smaller. They will attack them. I guess they are territorial animals, like dogs! We can learn a lot from the tank gang... yes, both Josh and Jess are learning that it is not good to bully others who are smaller or weaker.

Fish tank life lessons continue...

Pictures of the clean tank! Daddy has added a fluroscent fake plant and a coral background on two sides of the hexagonal tank. Notice the 'innocent' look on the yellow libido!

Can anyone advise what I need to do to capture good quality pictures of the tank gang using my Sony Cyber-shot (DSC-W5) digital camera? Fishes don't 'stand' still!

What's Your Flavor?

2007-01-06T09:43:00.000+08:00

We went to an ice cream parlour last night as a treat for Josh who has 'succesfully' completed his first 'week' in his new school. It was also a dessert time/night for the Yongs!

We were at BR (Baskin Robbins), just a small outlet here, to enjoy the treat. Josh wanted the strawberry flavoured ice cream whilst Jess wanted chocolate. We also ordered a banana split, which gave us three choices of ice cream flavours in the 'boat' (Daddy always refer to the Banana Split serving tray as a boat, 'cos it looks like one!). The choice of ice cream was French Vanilla, Chocolate and Old Fashion Butter Pecan. We had hot chocolate fudge, strawberry and roasted almonds (crushed) for the toppings... very yummy! Grandpa and Grandma had the cone ice creams... cherry flavoured ice creams.

Jess was licking Grandpa's ice cream whilst eating from our banana boat! We all enjoyed our ice cream and on top of that, we were given a 10% discount as Daddy paid using his HSBC credit card. So, if you are having a treat at BR, do try to pay with your HSBC credit card. You will be pleasantly surprised / rewarded.

If you have not already guessed, "What's Your Flavor?" is BR's slogan to demonstrate to the world that they have lots and lots of ice cream flavours (yes, more than 31 to choose from) to satisfy your sweet tooth! Notice that 'Flavor' in their slogan is spelt without the letter 'U'... you got it, it's American ice cream! Go check out their website and drool over their variety of ice cream flavours!!! http://www.baskinrobbins.com.my/home.htm

Choose, choose and choose your flavour!

An ice cream cone on the wall as wall lighting? How creative!

Josh enjoying his "Very Berry Strawberry" ice cream.

He digs into the ice cream with his plastic spoon...

It has some ice cream on it...

... and the ice cream goes into his mouth! Big yum!

Jess sampling Grandpa's ice-cream.

And Josh also want a sample too!

Jess posing for a pic whilst holding on to the ice-cream.

The Banana Split!

Jess digging into the Chocolate ice cream.

Yummy, yummy ice creams!

Kite Flying at Port Dickson

2007-01-04T13:12:00.000+08:00

On New Year's Day, we went to Port Dickson to have some fun at the beach. Josh prayed for a day without too much sun, a cloudy day but no rain... and breezy enough to fly kites.

God answered his prayers because the day we were at the beach, we could be out in the open beach from 8am until 11am without getting sun burn! The wind picked up and soon all of us were flying kites, courtesy of Josh's cousin, Amanda. We didn't go into the Straits of Malacca as the water didn't look appealing!

That day, even Jess flew a kite! We all had a picnic by the beach and had a wonderful, relaxing morning by the beach. I managed to catch a catnap on the beach chair that was there before we left for home.

All having a good time by the beach.

Josh running around the beach with no T-Shirt... and no sunburn after that either!

Jess flying a kite sitting down. Look carefully and you will see the string that she is holding.

Ah Teo (Amanda's dad) flying a kite. His kite went up high until we used up all the string!

Even Kung Kung flew his paper kite!

A thirsty moment!

Blessed 2007!

2007-01-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

Have a
Blessed 2007 everybody!

This is a new and fresh year to start/continue our lives...
Live for God!

We Have Fish!

2007-01-01T20:37:00.000+08:00

Ok, so we finally bought some fishes. The chosen ones are Yellow White Labido (2 pcs), Red Swordtail (4 pcs) and Sumatra Tiger Barb (2 pcs). We also remembered to buy some fish food. The vivid colours of the fishes look fantastic in the tank.

I wish I could say that the "tank gang" is a happy family but... the next day, two of the Red Swordtail were 'bullied' by the alleged Sumatra Tiger Barb pair! They lost their tails and eventually floated horizontally... lifeless! Later that day, another of the Red Swordtail was found 'murdered'! Oh, no! (And I specifically asked the shop keeper if these fishes could live in harmony and his answer was "Yes!". How disappointing for us!).

Anyway, the remaining Red Swordtail has remained strong and has manage to keep himself/herself alive. This 'tank gang' has added colours to our lives... with their murder mysteries and "I am King of the Tank" attitudes!! BUT seriously, we are glad to have these fishes as pets.. the YONGS' pets!

Here are some of the pictures of the 'tank gang'.

The 'Tank Gang'.

You must have guessed that the yellow ones are the Yellow White Labido and the orange (lone survivor of the clan) is the Red Swordtail.

We just love the long swaying movement of the Red Swordtail.

The two stripped suspects, Sumatra Tiger Barb.

P.S. "Dancing Queen", we did not come across any 'moonfish' but we will look out for them at our next fish shop trip(s).

A New Band Called "Starfield"

2006-12-30T17:31:00.000+08:00

**Ok, not the 'fishy' post yet... just hang in there, it is coming!**

My cousin Andrew just introduced to me a band called Starfield from Canada and I want to share this new discovery with you all. It's a 'boy-band' that exudes much youthfulness in their songs. How more shall I describe the songs? Well, it is funky, upbeat, meaningful, truthful, beautiful and most of all, gives praise and honour to our God, Jesus Christ. I do not have the album yet but will be on the look out for it in the market here in KL.

I'm looking forward to getting their album, "Beauty in the Broken"!

This is the URL to their website :
http://www.starfieldonline.com/

My New Card Reader

2006-12-30T16:16:00.000+08:00

* This is not the 'fishy' post yet.... but keep reading *

Yesterday I was at Low Yatt Plaza and bought myself a card reader. It looks real good and of course, it works!

There are so many digital stuff out there now that either works or partially functions. That was why I went back to Low Yatt Plaza yesterday; to return a defective gadget I boght earlier on (a USB Hub cum Card Reader). Went to get a refund but they say I have to choose another item! So I ended up with this nice looking card reader... and it works beautifully!

I made it 'stand' by placing some 'blue-tac' at the base of the device and this has helped the ergonomics greatly. I'm using this device now to upload my photos to this blog and also to my Digital Photo Album on my PC. All in all, it is a nice nifty little gadget... besides looking great of course! I'm happy.

It is "standing" in front of my PC speakers.

I love the LEDs that give the status of each card that is plugged into the device! Nice touch!

A New Fish Tank

2006-12-28T19:19:00.000+08:00

The kids have been visitng this pet shop called "Pets Wonderland" and have asked Daddy to get them pets. Both Mummy and Daddy think Josh is ready.... but which pet?

Josh was at A'Famosa Animal World (in Malacca recently) and he saw an iguana up close and loved it! He even stroked the scaly cold skin!! An iguana running around our house as a pet? No way we are getting that as a family pet even though Pets Wonderland sells them! Let's just say that reptiles are not high on Daddy's and Mummy's favourite animal list!

Josh up close and personal with the iguana!
Notice that Daddy was "behind" Josh on this!!

So we decided to settle for something more "homey"and can add some decoration to our KL home. We bought for Josh and Jess a hexagonal fish tank complete with lights, filtration system and a decorative piece. We will buy the fish later once the water has "settled" in the tank properly. Josh and Jess will choose the fish they like.

Here is a picture of the fish tank / aquarium without any inhabitants yet.

Once we get fishes, we will make a fishy post/blog next!

Jess' Favourite Animal

2006-12-26T19:48:00.000+08:00

During the holidays (Daddy's leave days actually because the kids are still on perpetual holidays at this stage of their lives), Josh and Jess visited Zoo Negara. It was quite near our home in KL and they both enjoyed the visit.

Jess has a favourite at the zoo. They are the elephants! She can say elephants in her cute pronunciation. There were two elephants we saw that morning. Here are pictures of Jess' favourite animal.

Watch these elephants stand on their hind legs.

I was too slow to capture both the elephants standing as I was just amazed by the huge mammals being able to hold their mass on their two legs! Jess was delighted to see them stand!

Meeting Santa and his beloved

2006-12-23T20:05:00.000+08:00

We were at Mid Valley Megamall today to see the beautiful Christmas decoration at the mall... and to meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus, in the flesh! When Mummy said Mid Valley, Joshua said, "Is that where we can see Bear in the Big Blue House?" As it turns out, the show "Bear in the Big Blue House" (on Playhouse Disney Channel) has a bear (of course) who lives in a valley called Woodland Valley. Josh noticed the similarity and since he doesn't know of any other valleys, he associated Mid Valley with Woodland Valley! Oh well, no bears here.

Anyway, we were there early. Josh & Jess' cousins were also with us with their mummy and daddy. It was their idea to visit the mall early today to avoid jams; both cars and people. Good idea indeed! We were very impressed by the decorations in the mall. There were gingerbread houses, snowmen, lots of gliterry decorations, etc.

The most impressive is at the Centre Court as shown above. The decorations are really elaborate.

Lots of decorative items dangling from the 4 or 5 storey high mall.

There were performances by dancers in really colourful costumes. They danced well too! Very entertaining... and the kids were very entertained too! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Yup, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus in the flesh. Josh and Jess were too afraid to sit on their laps. Hence, you see us on the sides of the couch. It costs RM10 to have a picture taken with them. RM10 also gets us a free Dunkin' Donut, a present from Santa himself and a 4R photo. Not bad at all.

Here is a picture with Josh, Jess and Amanda. Marc was in the stroller.

After the photo session, we walked around the huge mall and found a mini carousel. Amanda's daddy droped some coins in and all three of the kids (Marc was not keen on this ride) went for a short spin.

Here's one with Jess on the horse!