Enter the Year of the Dragon 2012

First of all .. I would like to wish everyone a blessed KONG HEI FATT CHOI :) Just had my reunion dinner with my hubby's side of the family and as usual the home-cooked food was awesome! Unfortunately this year there is no authentic Hainanese Chicken Rice (my hubby is a Hainanese and yes he has a flat head hehe). After the reunion dinner, we went over to my side of the family for round 2 (more of for coffee and dessert). I have always loved a reunion dinner - not only the food, but the idea of having your close family members surrounding you on that day. :)

For the year of the Water Dragon, my wish is to (no I am not superstitious if you are wondering) : 

1. Have a baby (God-willing).
2. Build up my 'war-chest' aka savings.
3. Have an astounding bonus and increment.
4. Continue to improve on my work (as per my appraisal).
5. Lose weight and tone up via the gym.
6. Eat healthy.
7. Travel more.

Not impossible to achieve right? Yes, I am a very practical person. :) No point setting targets/goals which is beyond your reach. At least that's what I feel la. 

Anyway, gonna end abruptly here. Gotta wake up early tomorrow to visit my relatives. 

HEADING TO JAPAN NEXT WEEK~!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Love;

Mrs Lee

101 Guide : Applying Japan Visa

Now don't start rolling your eyes. Japan visa is one of the most troublesome to obtain ok! Granted that you don't have to pay and the validity is for 3 months. Thank God I asked the travel agency way in advance so we won't be caught offguard.

For those kiamsap like me who booked via PYO Travel, you would need to do everything by yourself. Below are the requirement which you would need to apply for a visa to enter Japan for the purpose of a holiday:

1. An original visa application duly complete. Tips: If you are unsure of how to fill-up certain section, it is best to leave it and filled it up at the embassy with the personnel's guidance.
   
   
2. Original passport with validity of 6 months. Yes, you are suppose to bring the original for them to sight.
   
   
3. One passport size photograph - NOT JUST ANY NORMAL PASSPORT PICTURE OK! It has to be (4.5cmx4.5cm) with white background which is taken within 6 months from the application of visa. Tips: Remember to tell the photo studio that this is specifically for Japan Visa, and they will know what to do.
   
   
4. An original company letter stating your position, period of services, purpose of journey, length of stay, and guarantee of expenses. [For those who are not working, you are required to write a self-explanatory letter about your trip to Japan]. Yes, you may proceed to roll your eyes now. Tips: For those who are working, you may refer to your HR, they would be able to assist. 
   
   
5. Personal saving account / FD / current account statement with mininum credit RM7,000 (CTC by the bank) and must show the applicant's name, account number, and current balance. Yes, you may roll your eyes again. How the hell can the average Joe provide these kinda balances??!!?!?!
   
   
6. Copy of marriage certificate to show the relationship between the main applicant and the person accompanying him/her.
   
   
7. Confirmed flight booking / itinerary from your travel agent or airlines company. Tips: For those following tour, use the tour itinerary. 

All documents must be arranged in that order. Collection of the visa would be 3 working days.  

And if you think that is not bad enough : The embassy of Japan has the right to request for additional documents or call for an interview!! 0_o

That being said.. I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY JAPAN TRIP ON THE 30TH OF JAN~!!! weEEeEeE~

The Travel-Junkie;

Mrs Lee

Review : TVB Series - Bottled Passion

Disclaimer: All pictures and videos are from TVB.

The series totally caught me by surprised. Not much adverts and promo was done on this show. But yet, the storyline was amazing and was a breath of fresh air.  To top it off, the cast are not your usual "siu sangs" and "fadans" but yet the series was very captivating. Highly recommended!! However, don't put in too much hope for the ending though (it sucked big time). Here is the official site. 

The Cast Worth Mentioning: 

Raymond Wong as Lee Ho / Tung Pun Sin. Apparently, he was the third choice for this role - this first two being Bosco Wong and Moses Chan. In my opinion, Raymond did exceptionally well for this role (my Dad thought Bosco would fit the role better). The character is not easy to be portrayed simply because he has to be evil to seek revenge by using and playing with the hearts of women. And yet, the character has to have a conscience. It's like a villain who has a good heart. 0_o I think with this performance, more doors will be opened for Raymond Wong to take on more lead roles. Oh not to mention, he is sangat bergaya too with a hot body (watch out when he goes topless .. I forgot which episode). 

Nikki Chow as Tsui Sum. I would say Nikki Chow improved in terms of acting. She usually does comedies so for such an emotional character, she did alright. At least you feel her emotions when she got played out by Tung Pun Sin.

Rebecca Chan as Tung Kwok Hing. To me, the entire series hinges on this character. Of course Rebecca Chan is a veteran but the producers casted the correct actress. She is perfect for the role! Her performance is flawless! She is so evil and scheming. And she is the epitome of those traditional mothers where the son is more important than the daughters. Interesting character. Thumbs up!

Excerpts Worth Mentioning: 

(may contain spoiler)

Throughout the series, I love how to scenes are being played out whereby they show the ending, then rewind backwards to show what transpired that caused the character or situation to be at its present time. Very creative indeed. 

I also like how Tung Pun Sin go around breaking women's heart. His choice of words. His gestures. All very charming and well played out. :) If I was one of the women, I would fall for him too. Definitely. :p

Of course, I also find Raymond Cho and Claire Yiu roles as husband and wife as well as brother/sis-in-law to Tsui Sum quite amusing. Their roles lighten up the otherwise too sombre series. Their constant bickering is quite hilarious. 

The Ending: 

(may contain spoiler)

SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS!!! 

(1) Tung Kwok Hing was caught and put into prison too suddenly. She eventually died from a heart attack. How typical. *roll eyes*

(2) And the most ridiculous of all is ... why the hell did Tung Pun Sin NOT go to the hospital to get his wound (he was stabbed) treated?? He would rather crawl (yes!! CRAWLED!!) aaaaallll the way from the heart of Guangzhou to the pier where he crawled himself into a sampan and rowed himself to the middle of the sea and die. 0_o like WTH?!?!?!?! Doesn't make sense at all!

So yeah.. as mentioned, Great Main Cast. Great Storyline. Sucky Ending. 

Typical TVB.

TVB Addict;

Mrs Lee

Pressure Cooker

Recently both me and Bear has been bombarded with the "When are you having a baby" question. I know family, relatives, and friends meant well, but it is quite pressuring at times for me at least. Both of us do not have a planned dateline as to when we wanna have a baby .. we are taking the "if it happens, it happens" approach. 

Of course personally, I would love to have one of my own. Trust me on this, I ADORE children!! But when month after month comes and I don't get pregnant, I do sometimes get terrified worried that something may be wrong with me. But then again on the other hand, we have not been "trying" per say .. so I guess my worrying is not justifiable. 

I don't want to be blaming people, but this occasional paranoia does stem from the pressure that (I feel) I am getting to conceive in time for the Dragon Year. Sometimes, I hope our loved ones would just take a seat back and let both of us enjoy our companionship and if God willing we would have our own bundle of joy. In our own timing. Unpressured. 

P/S: Dread the on-coming CNY, where people would ask again. sigh ~

Love;

Mrs Lee

The Year That Was 2011

Last year was an awesome travelling year for us :) .. which inevitably resulted in me not having sufficient leave for Christmas :(.

(1) Pangkor Island - January 2011: For our second honeymoon.

(2) Singapore - April 2011: To watch The Lion King Musical. 

(3) New Zealand - August 2011: Highlight Trip of the Year! Beautiful country. Experienced snow for the first time.

(4) Le Meridien Khao Lak - September 2011 : First year anniversary plus my birthday. Romantic getaway.

And that pretty much sums up what 2011 was for me. Loads of travelling. Loads of bonding with Bear. And looking forward for more this coming 2012!

Oh.. did I mention that we will be heading off to Japan on 30th Jan? :p

Love;

Mrs Lee

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas *hugs*

And I am working all the way until the 23rd :( Quite sad lo... cos everyone is already on long leave including those who don't celebrate Christmas but want to fight for leave with me. It is quite depressing to some extent when you are already in the mood to be jolly and merry, and you are force to work and not only that, having to relieve your entire team. *max stress*

Since it's almost the end of the working day, I shall not whine about it. This year, I am starting a tradition - a celebratory Christmas dinner that is .. complete witht he stuffed turkey roast chicken (we don't like turkeys), roast beef, mash potatoes .. yeah you get the drift. :) It's quite exciting actually to be hosting a party like this for my immediate family and kick-starting a tradition that will last for generations. *proud*

And no, I am not cooking. I'm buying. Heh~ *excited*

Presents bought, Christmas tree and decor has been put up, Michael Buble Christmas CD has been bought, and the food has been ordered. I've also send a small Christmas gift to both of my sponsored kids in Indonesia and India. Yes, let's not forget the poor and needy ... after all that's what Christmas is all about. :)

Looks like my Christmas preparation for this year has been done (except for wrapping the presents). And here's to wishing you a

Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year~!

P/S: I STILL WANT MY WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Love;

Mrs Lee

How to Plan for a Baby Shower in Malaysia

The proud daddy and mummy to be :)



Yes, if you notice the title .. I have explicitly stated in Malaysia. Why? Because it is so darn hard to plan for a baby shower here!! There are not enough of resources and information that is relevant and available in Malaysia unlike those overseas countries!! :(

But being the resourceful person that I am *ahem*, I refuse to give up and somehow I managed to pull together a simple and splendid baby shower for a good friend of mine. First for the group. Kau tim everything within a week (cos there was a last minute change of venue - initially was suppose to be a BBQ session in my condo but because of the rainy days, the plan was scrapped off at the last minute). 

And of course, being the nice person that I am, I shall share on tips, pointers, and a how-to guideline on planning for that perfect baby shower without breaking your wallet. *heart*

(1) Theme / Decor:

Initially, I was thinking of hiring those professional party planner to do up a simple decor for the venue. Alas, the pricing was from RM1,000 onwards which is waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy over the budget. So, I opted to DIY instead.

The theme that I had in mind was Yellow Rubber Duckie and trust me I was searching high-and-low for those damn ducks. And it was so darn expensive - around RM20 for a pair. Ridiculous! Refusing to give up, I stumbled upon a toy shop in Old Town PJ (a treasure trove for cheap toys, wholesale arts & crafts items, and junk food) and bought these duckies at a discounted price of RM2.00 each (retailing at RM2.50 each) :p

Direction: The shop is located in the same row as BSL Supermarket in Old Town. Drive further down, you will see a shop on your left selling toys called Hew Sun. Alternatively, you may drive further down along the road and look for a shop named Lin Wah (they sell cheaper).



Quack! Quack!

Of course, the yellow rubber duckies in itself is rather plain, so I bought pink ribbons (cos the baby is a girlie) and tied them to the duckies. To further decorate the place, I bought a few mini carriages and pink glitter butterflies to be put around as centerpieces. The carriages cost RM2.50 each, and a packet of 10 butterflies cost RM9.50.

My pretty carriages decked in pink butterflies.

Direction: The shop is next to McDonalds in Old Town.

Note: For those who has the budget, you may contact and engage in the professional assistance of Razzle Dazzle Party Box or Parties - Party Planner.

(2) Favours / Gifts:

Was thinking on what favors that is cute and affordable to give out to the guests and as I was googling, I chanced upon a site which sells relatively cheap favours - House of Favors. Their service is pretty efficient too so you need not worry about reliability. I bought these cute acrylic pacifiers for RM7.20 for a pack of 12. They come in pink or blue colours. The pacifiers can also double up as decor pieces as well.

Cute blue acrylic pacificiers *heart*

(3) Customized Cakes / Cupcakes / Cookies:

Did you know that cupcakes are so darn expensive over here?? For standard customisation of a box of 20-30 pieces of cupcakes, please be prepared to fork out at lease RM90-100. Yes, you may gasps now. Fortunately for me, in my true blue kiamsap-ness nature, I somehow managed to find one which serves decent pricing and yummy customised cakes/cupcakes/cookies. They are Babycakes by Good Eats and is based in Shah Alam. Really nice and accomodating people. Will definitely purchase more from them in future. :)

For a minimum order of 25 pieces of customised cupcakes (without fondant), it cost just RM1.50 a piece! What a bargain!! And I get to choose two flavors - I chose orange and vanilla. Yums~! Taste-wise, the cupcakes were delicious! :)

Taste as good as it looks :) *ngom* *ngom*

Aside from that, I also ordered customised cookies for each of the guests. The cookies are SO CUTE!! The cookies are individually packed and comes with a customised tag too! Minimum order is 20 pieces for RM2.50 per piece. If you want to insert sticks (like a lollipop), it costs RM3.00 per piece. This makes GREAT gifts and favors for any occasion. I asked for baby rompers and milk bottles. Noticed that the rompers are customised with the parents' initials? So cuteeeeeee ~~!!

Cuteness overload~~!!!

(4)  Poster aka "Guest Book":

Got this awesome idea (in my opinion) from my own wedding not too long ago. Instead of a guest book which will be kept under the bed to collect dust, why not do a poster where the guest can sign their names and write congratulatory messages? That way, the parents can put up the poster and post as a memento.

The poster was of course DIY by yours truly. Pretty simple - just buy the frame from IKEA at RM19.90, and buy a small baby clothes (you may be creative and use a baby bip, napkin, rompers, dress etc) and "frame" it up! I bought the cute baby-top for RM10.00 in a small kiosk in Plaza Damas. Simple, cute, and unique. :)

Nice, eh?

(5) Venue:

This was the toughest because it will ultimately make or break our budget. Plus, for a small pax of 20 people, it was really difficult to find a venue where we could book the entire place. After much toiling searching, I remember driving pass this quaint English-like cafe in Plaza Damas when I go for my Kim Gary lunches during the weekdays.

The said cafe is none other than Elise Coffee & Tea House in Plaza Damas. Quickly called the owner up, and thankfully the venue is available on the date. And the major plus point is I can take the entire venue as it fits comfortably 20-22 pax. Secondly, the pricing is very reasonable! I only need to spend a minimum of RM600.00 only! Unbelievable! :D

What did i tell you about being cosy and English? :)

The buffet costs RM38 per person and it consists of 9 dishes. The array is fantastic and tastes pretty good too:

1. Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
2. Mushroom and Shrimp Spaghetti
3. Pan-Fried Lamb Shoulder
4. Mash Pumpkin
5. Stuffed Roast Chicken
6. Mini Sandwiches
7. Salad with Apple Cider Dressing
8. Tiramisu & Chocolate Mousse (as dessert)
9. Lemongrass (drinks)

Yummylicious

The desserts are kept chilled in a chiller. Presentation wise, it looked really really yummy! It taste yummy too actually. :)

Here are the simple decor that I DIY earlier, just put them randomly to make the already quaint and pretty venue to look more "baby-friendly". Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome. It matches with the settings of the cafe. Coincidentally, the cafe has also Christmas-y decor which has been put up. It suited the occasion perfectly! 

(6) Games:

Don't forget the games too ya! It makes the baby shower so much more fun and it brings everyone closer together. I've googled for them and came up with 4 simple games; (i) Don't Forget Daddy! (basically it's a game on how well do you know the Daddy), (ii) Finish up the Nursery Rhymes, (iii) Baby Animals, and (iv) Baby Shower Charades. All of the games threw us into fits of giggles. :)

Nursery Rhyme  -Failed!

Baby Animals - Failed!

And there is the 101 guideline on how to plan for a baby shower.
Good job Geri! *pats self at the back*

The Group *hugs*

Love;
Mrs Lee