Busy Saturday

Boy! Did the Saturday roll by too fast. I felt sorry we could not meet up with Elizabeth and baby Marcus who's in Charlotte this weekend. We've been on our feet since Friday getting stuff ready for the fence. Mother-in-law took me to the nursery to browse for plants while the men worked hard putting the fence up today. Then we went over to in-law's house to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. Since the weather was so wonderful today, they decided to have a BBQ outdoors. It was good for the kids too as they could roll around on the grass and not whine at the dining table. The boys had a blast. The breeze got colder as the sun disappeared so we had to eat our ice cream indoors. Here's some pictures. I've been teaching Cooper how to use the camera and he's getting pretty good at it for a 3 year old.

The mink is going home

The game is fair.
The "Ballsy Mink" is going home!
Glad there wasn't enough time for us to hear her sing her monotonous version of 'Unchained melody" again.
Who do you think is next?

Meme-ing

Ok, Fio, I'm stealing this! :)
Melissa explained to me that "Memes are questions you see on someone's blog that you take back to your own and answer. Someone sees the questions and your answers on your blog and takes them back to their own"

So here's mine....

My ex has the ability to make me laugh till I cry. He is thinking of getting a Boston Terrier and he can buzz his own hair. I've been told that dogs resembles their owners. Hmmm...

Maybe I should quit my job and stand at the corner of a stoplight holding a sign saying "Desperate and hungry. Need a dollar for sushi".

I love listening to people talk about their travel adventures. A well-traveled person who has seen so much of this world and yet at the same time incredibly down-to-earth possess a unique gandhi-like aura about them.

I don’t understand why some people tend to borrow things and not return them and I don't understand why that affects me so easily.

I lose interest in a converstion when someone starts bragging.

People say I’m generally a shy person. This may also mean I'm unapproachable and aloof because I don't make small talks easily. I am trying to make the effort to talk to people more now. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes not. I guess it also depends on the reaction I get from the other party. It's a two way traffic.

Love is a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection.

Somewhere, someone is sitting on a potty.

"I will always love you" is not exactly the best thing to hear. It is usually a prelude to a goodbye.

Forever is eternity and beyond.

I never want to be so caught up in my daily life that I forget the little things that really matters .. a beautiful sunset, the smell of rain, the rustling of leaves, the smiles on peoples' faces and the sound of laughter....

I think the current US President has too much ego and his upper lips are too thin.

When I wake up in the morning I want to go back to sleep again and wish it was Saturday.

My past makes me what I am today. Sure, I have made mistakes but I have no regrets. It has been a wonderful ride even with all the bumps and falls.

I get annoyed when I get my period. And I really hate it when it comes when I am about to go on vacation, or hiking or caving or doing outdoorsy stuff.

Parties are for a change in routine and people watching. But it is a pain in the ass having to clean up before and after the party.

My dog is dead. Poppy was an important part of my life and I am glad our paths crossed.

My cat is Trouble. That's his name. So go figure. Trouble is my husband's Maine Coon. Being a dog person, I am slowly growing to like this cat, which is a big achievement and bewilderment.

Kisses are the best when you’re in love.

Tomorrow, I have to work! Ugh

I really want to retire soon and work on little projects, have an art studio, sit on the balcony and paint all day, listening to the birds chirping and not have to worry about deadlines and work emails.

I have low tolerance for people who act like helpless dumb bimbos and utilise their flirting skills to get their way in life. I want to throttle them. But more so, I cannot tolerate men who fall for that.

Broken Mailbox

A construction truck ran over our mailbox yesterday.
I came downstairs in the morning and saw our mailbox laying helpless on the ground through the glass panels.
First reaction was "$%^&!! "
By the time I got outside, the culprit had stuck our mailbox back into the ground. But I managed to catch a glimpse of the name of the company on the truck before he drove off.
Our brand new mailbox now has a dent on the front and a broken side and it sways in the wind. It is still usable but kinda pathetic.
So I called the builder. He said we have to deal directly with the culprit.
I called husband. He said " Call the police and file a report"
I called Chad, the Sales Rep who sold us the house. He said "Don't worry, I'll call the contractors and get them to take care of it"
Phew!

Wanna trade?

Man trades up paperclip for house

Seriously, this sounds totally crazy, and I'm like, "Why didn't I think of that?!" :)

On that note, I have one yellow clothes peg that I would be willing to trade for...

-One big Rock for the garden

-Lawn care maintenance for 10 years

-a Lasik surgery

-Someone to scrub my bathrooms every week

-a Porta Jon built for a car (don't ask me how)

Any takers ? :)

The Happy Wanderer

A little Chihuahua wandered into our yard the other day.
My first assumption was that he belonged to the neighbors who just moved in on the adjacent street because we saw that they had 4 or 5 similar breeds in their garage one day.
So I picked the little guy up and walked over to their house and rang their doorbell. And 5 dogs came running to their front door. I counted again... yes 5! So this little guy must not be theirs.
So I stood on the walkway thinking what I should do now.

Then from afar, we heard voices shouting. So Jason suggested I follow the voices because they seem to be calling for an animal. Here I am thinking there must be a better way because walking aimlessly around the neighborhood in the scorching afternoon sun with a dog in my arms who seemed to be getting heavier by the minute might not be the right solution. But I did it anyway.

I finally saw the shouting people 3 blocks down and waved my hands like a crazy maniac, gesturing to them ,pointing to the little guy I was carrying. When I saw their relief and delightful smiles, it just made me feel good.

His name is Peanut, and a real sweetie.
I'm glad he did not pee in my arms.

Happy Easter!

Before going to church this morning, I told Jason that we should drop the cheesecake off at my in-law's place first. He said "We'd be better off DROPPING the cake" Ha!

Anyways, here's Greg blowing his candles on the disastrous cheesecake we made last night.


And some Easter cupcakes my mom-in-law made.


And Cooper and Wrenn eating those cupcakes.

Gardening madness

Whether it is Pre-Easter energy or just pure enthusiasm, we spent the entire afternoon trying to transform our yard into a decent piece of land. When we moved into the house last month, the builders had sodded the yard and put dry hay all over. So after much proscastination, and with the Godsend help from my in-laws, we raked up all (or we tried to) the hay and put them into garbage bags and got rid of them. Easier said than done. Firstly, it was windy. Secondly, the more we raked, the more hay we got. And after the fifteenth or thirtieth bag, I felt like I had aged another 50 years. And I tell you, that hay can scratch you! Too bad that it's still Lent season but I was cussing.
Jason rented a rototiller (sp?) to break up the hardened soil so that we can lay the sod on top. And I think that mean machine will make his arms and back hurt tomorrow morning.

We had also gone to Lowes in the morning to buy more sod and garden stuff and I managed to coax the husband to let me buy flowers. I was determined to plant my flower bed and two big planter pots on the main door. So I got me some petunias, daisies, and I cannot remember the names of the rest because my brains are fried now. Well, to those who know me, I am the one capable of killing even the hardiest of all plants, including cacti. So you would think I must be out of my mind to even want to try growing FLOWERS! So we'll see whether or not I still have a flower bed by next month (or next week).

And as I type, I can feel my fingers aching and blisters popping up, and I hear my husband downstairs groaning trying to get up from the sofa. Ok, I know age is catching up, but we are in bad shape!
Well, atleast our yard is almost decent now. You can atleast see some green grass instead of just dried straws.

You would think after all that hard work we will just collapse right after dinner. However, we were assigned to bring a dessert for tomorrow's Easter family lunch and somehow, we got coaxed into making a cheesecake. Insanity! I have never baked a cheesecake in my life and I don't know when was the last time Jason baked one. And yours truly read the recipe wrong, so in the midst of putting all the ingredients together, we had to drive out to the grocery store at 10pm just to buy another block of cream cheese. (More cussing)
We got home, feeling poofed and my superhero husband started whipping up this cheesecake. I only helped with cleaning up the mess he made. Anyways, since we were also celebrating my brother-in-law's (Greg's)birthday tomorrow, I decided to write something on top of the cheesecake. Disaster strikes! Here's our cheesecake ---->
(More cussing)
Well, we tried.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Sayonara Bucky!

Aww... Sweet Bucky's going home!
(Sorry, folks in M'sia.. for ruining the suspense) =D

For the love of Char Siu

Char siu (Chinese BBQ pork)is usually served as one of many dishes in a Chinese main course.
We have been trying to find Char Siu like the ones we love but have been unsuccessful in our quest so far. The ones we get here are usually very bright red in color, probably all artificial coloring. So Jason and I decided we will have to try and make it!
Well, I have never attempted to make Char Siu and never thought I would one day have to make it. We bought some Country Style Pork Ribs and Jason marinated them overnight with a jar of Char Siu sauce . Then I filled a roasting pan with 1/2-inch water and placed a wire rack across the top of the pan and laid the marinated pork on top of the rack. I roasted the pork at intervals of 20 minutes, brushing marinate (+ kicap manis) over the pork each time I turn it over. After an hour or so, its done! We now have our Char Siu! Mission accomplished!

Bring on the popcorn!!

The builder finally agreed to replace us with a new microwave! Yippee!!
I never realised how much I have taken a microwave for granted till now!
Anyone care for some popcorn?

Some Pathetic.. some Good

The day started out pretty bad. I was supposed to go into the office today, and somehow my panic attacks started even before I could drive out of the neighborhood. That's pretty bad. So I stopped at the closest McD's for a breather and started driving again. Barely 2 minutes, and I had to make a U-turn and head on home. Sigh.... what am I gonna do with myself!
So, I told my boss I had to work from home again. Which was actually good coz' I was swamped with projects with tight deadlines. But still, I felt rather mad with myself for not being able to get over my panic attacks.
Here's my text message conversation with my husband after the above incident:

Jason : Did you make it to work?
Me: No =P. Had to make a U-turn and come home. Eating ice cream at home now.
Jason: What did you tell your boss?
Me : That I am pathetic and she should fire me.
Jason: And what did she say?
Me : She said "YOU'RE FIRED!" (in Trump voice)
Jason : Now you are kidding.

Good news is.... the builder agreed to replace our microwave, so they are sending someone out here tomorrow. And Whirlpool will be sending someone over tomorrow too to look at the rust/burned spot inside our dryer. I know it sounds like we are having lots of problems with our brand new appliances lately huh.. Oh well...

And here's a picture of our bedroom set that arrived yesterday. Decided to take a picture while it is in its neat state. It will never look this neat again. Sad news is, they will have to replace us with a new dresser which will take another 2 - 6 weeks because the middle is broken. Yup, seems like everything we get lately is broken!!


Another good news is.. my husband is the better cook between the both of us. He chops up onions and carrots faster than me. And tonight, he said it was "his" turn to cook, so he made a meatloaf and revamped it a little using "kicap manis"(dark sweet sauce) and his specialty Rib Rub. It turned out really great!

And the really really good news!!.... LOTS of babies born recently!! Sophie and Brian had their little Elise last night, my cousin Daniel and Anne had their Lynette the day before, and Pow Ying and B.G had their second baby girl last week, and not forgetting Chris and Elizabeth had baby Marcus last month! How wonderful! Congratulations on your newborns. May you enjoy the incredible Love, Joy and Sheer Happiness new babies bring.

Still no microwave!!!

I called Sears yesterday to "re-confirm" the schedule for tomorrow and they told me to call them AGAIN today to re-confirm what we have already confirmed last week and yesterday. They were supposed to send someone over tomorrow to get our microwave working. After talking to their automated voice machine and being passed from one person to another, and then put on hold for 5 minutes, I finally spoke to a human :
Man : Ok ma'am, we have you scheduled for tomorrow. We will call you tomorrow to set a time.
Me : Is it not possible to set a time-frame now for tomorrow?
Man : No, ma'am. We will have to call you tomorrow to set a time. It will be between 8am - 5pm.
Me: Thank you. I will be anxiously waiting for your call between 8am - 5pm then.

(10 minutes later, phone rings)

Man : Ma'am, I am calling from Sears to re-confirm if you have received the spare parts for the scheduled repair tomorrow?
Me : No, sir, I have not received them. Weren't your guys supposed to bring the parts with them tomorrow?
Man : No, ma'am. We will not be able to repair your microwave if you have not received the parts.
Me: Then, are you able to check if those parts have been shipped?
Man : I'll have to put you on hold ma'am while I check on my computer.

(3 minutes later)

Man : Ma'am, the parts are back-ordered and have not been shipped to you.
Me: Do you know how long it will be before they can be shipped?
Man : No, ma'am.
Me: Okaaaay, so we do not know when this microwave can be repaired. Sir, if it makes any difference to you at all, we have not had a microwave to use since we closed on the house on Feb.17. And why are your brand new microwaves faulty? Is there any possibility at all we could get a refund or a temporary unit while waiting for the parts to arrive?
Man: You will have to call our Customer Service, ma'am.

Aaaarghhhh.....

I am so tempted to walk over to the model home down the street with a bag of unpopped popcorn and tell the Sales Rep, "Oh, Hi Chad, no I am not here to buy another house. I just want to use your microwave because the brand new microwave that you guys gave us doesn't work and it's taking too long to be repaired! And I really really need to make some popcorn!!