Sun, Sand and the Sea

You cannot close the year without going on a holiday. Christmas time is when we normally head out for one and this year's destination ... Port Dickson.

On our way to Corus Paradise Resort for a night's stay, we stopped by Seremban. Most of the shops were closed since it was Christmas but we caught one for lunch.

The hour long drive was accompanied with heavy rain.

That's Uncle admiring the splendor of the wide ocean with me. We just couldn't wait to jump in although I had my reservations.

The clear blue sky was a sight to behold and it's the same sea that took many lives 5 years ago when the tsunami struck.

While waiting at the lobby I just couldn't help thinking about the second wave of the H1N1. With so much fear, what were we doing at a beach resort?

The town was lively with a fun fair across the PD Walk. I had a blast and took the opportunity to get on as many rides as possible as it was cheaper here.

An interesting discovery was this Christmas tree. The ornaments were leftover decorative items from Hari Raya. Cheers to the PD folks for their cost saving initiative.



Here's a video of some serious adrenaline rush at the resort's play area, gearing up to 2010 World Cup.

Picnic @ Titiwangsa Lake Gardens

Last weekend the Malaysian Vegetarian Society held a food carnival at the Titiwangsa Lake Gardens. It was a low-key affair as stalls were limited. The 2 hours spent shopping was a time of extraordinary pleasure for Grandpa and grand uncle as they are staunch vegetarians.

We had our own little picnic with the goodies we bought. The weather was fantastic, so I got into my moves with increasing agility. Uncle had a tough time keeping up.

There are days in a week I go with no meat for religious reasons so I was substantiating my points to Grandpa on meat for a growing child. He didn't look convinced at all.

Then I took it to a larger audience, Daddy backed me all the way...

We were late for the morning rides. The trainers were lazing around and we could see horse drawn carriages available sitting idle. We didn't want to wait till they opened for the evening rides so we decided for some Christmas sight seeing. Next time horsey!

We drove to Pavilion, downtown KL. The decoration was eye popping.

This time around, we were on the dot for the 15 mins Christmas act the Pavilion has put up themed A Royale Christmas. The show was interesting with elaborate costumes and a wonderful Christmas tune to go with their dance routine.

Radio Show Recording

It's the season to be jolly and the mood was in full swing everywhere. Thanks to my Uncle's Uncle who was kind enough to secure some additional tickets, we made it to the recordings of a Christmas special at the Radio Television Malaysia.

It was organized by Minnal FM, a popular radio station that caters for the indian listeners. A string of popular singers were roped in and all the DJ's played host to an entertaining fare.

The event took place at the Auditorium Perdana where leading artists in Malaysia today started their careers singing in competitions held here.

The set was not elaborate as it was made for radio but it created the needed ambience for the audience who were there. Santa was there but he was not exactly what we had in mind. An indian guy with a fake mask on and his dance routine ... I don't want to get to that.

Here's a clip from the show.



It was a great success as the show did exactly what it intended to, get the Christmas fever going.

It was a laudable effort by the oldest Broadcasting player in the country. "My Loyal Friend".

My New Nighty

I'm often called 'nosey aunty' for my rantings and comments. Now to make it look real, I've gone one up by imitating the dressing.

It's the famous 'Butterfly Nighty'.

Preschool Application!!

Goodness! This kid submitted a letter applying for admission to the Director of a premier preschool. She must be around my age.

Do I have to write one eventually? An extract of the first few lines shown in the screen capture below.

Lilybell (the applicant) and I have one key similarity, we started our early experiences at Gymboree! I'm going for a bottle of milk ... Read the full letter at the link below.

http://kareems.tumblr.com/post/252655104/preschool-application-essay

Visitor from the Wilderness

The Daphnis nerii is a moth of the Sphingidae family. The Oleander Hawk-moth are normally seen in wide areas of Africa and Asia.

This picture of the moth was taken from Arkive (http://www.arkive.org). An interesting site with a large collection of wildlife images from around the globe.

And you might just be wondering why am I writing about this ... well I guess the little fella decided to stop by Kepong on it's migratory trip.

It was found clinging on to Daddy's pants. They are known to feed on nectar from variety of flowers. Daddy's pants must have smelled like one, thanks to the floral scented fabric softener.

Karthigai Festival

Earthen lamps are lit and placed in every Hindu house to signify the Full moon day in the month of Karthigai. This 3 day celebration is often termed as an extension to Deepavali.

I was surprised that there were recipes which are made on this occasion. The Peanut Ladoo (Verkadalai Urundai), Puffed Rice Ladoo (Pori Urundai) and Appam to name a few.

This year the spirit of the festivity was dampened by the monsoon season as rain came pouring just about nightfall. Plans to light up the garden had to be put aside.

We resorted to placing them in the porch and daddy had a field day for his enthusiasm to capture the beauty of the light, was seen readjusting all that we've done.

It wasn't an SLR camera to begin with but the angles he got into for these shots was a bit much for a camera phone. To make it worse, he needed a model for some of his ideas.

This model got paid in hugs and kisses from the Art Director himself.

Gardening Kit

With a huge Lawn comes heavy maintenance! It's not an easy task to upkeep one's small patch of land moreover with a fairly large collection of flowers and ferns.

With good green fingered family members it was not much of my worries until recently. Daddy got me a Gardening Kit. It's meant for play and make believe but it was built in a sturdy material making it ideal for the real deal.

With it's own set of gloves (meant for 6 and above) and little pots in various sizes I was able to emulate a gardener in action. For starters I thought it would be a good idea to test it on a little plant and the closest I could get my hands on were the curry leaves.

Whether or not I'm built for this is yet to be known ... Well at least based on the survival of the plant.

Tiffin

An afternoon meal ... a definition that originated from British India. It's widely used for between meals snacks mainly among people of indian origin.

So when these quick bites are packed into containers, they are themselves called tiffin carriers. At lunch today in a restaurant located in Tropicana City Mall, shock came with a lid on.

The order for Nasi lemak Rendang came in a Tiffin Carrier! It was a surprise as we expected the meal in proper plates. The presentation was certainly unique but we were not running of to school or work to have lunch packed like this.

Poor daddy had a tough time enjoying his lunch moreover with a fairly large spoon that came with it.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

The Tropicana City Mall was filled with cheers from the crowd at the Junior Unity Rhythmic Gymnastics Carnival. It was right after playgym and we wanted to burn time window shopping that we bumped into the event.

The participants were all getting ready and practicing their routine before executing their finest display on the floor to woo the judges.

What they all had in common was a stick frame. I'm not far from that and blessed with reasonably long legs for a girl my age, I think I might have found an avenue to showcase my 'moves' from playgym and home.

It takes alot of practice especially with their footing to help them create that butterfly effect when they take off and land. These girls makes it look so easy.

The freehand routine seems doable as I've attempted my share of it on bed and the sofa. I've had my bruises and bumps but the hoop and clubs requires massive concentration.

I got the height and with proper attire I could have grabbed a decent finish but I'll save that till I decide if this would be a good activity to participate in.

Here's the link to the article on The Star Metro.
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/11/2/central/5005482&sec=central

Fruits of Labour

It was a pleasant surprise to us all. Nothing on a large scale ... not a bad start for first timers.

Post Deepavali Makeover

My hair was starting to block my view and I'm prone to colds lately thanks to the difficulty in getting it dried after shower. So after much consideration and a heavy heart ... I sacrificed.

Happy Deepavali!

I woke up this morning to melodious Deepavali songs and greetings that were played over the radio. The lovely smell of incense got me right out of bed.

Everybody got ready for prayers so right after shower I couldn't wait getting into my lovely pink 'Pavadai'. We headed down to the Kaliamman Temple, Grandma wanted to perform the Gowri Fast prayers here.

After sending grandma home we all headed down to Batu Caves. This year's Deepavali is a special one as it falls on the last Saturday of the puratassi month. The last time this occured was 65 years ago!

I payed homage to the Great Hanuman and prayers at the Saniswaran and Venkatachalapathy Temple. The crowd was greater in number for Deepavali and the puratassi prayers.

Everybody honoring the lord were served with traditional banana leaf vegetarian meal. I had a share from Daddy's serving which was good enough for I dozed off in the car. The next thing I knew it was 4 in the afternoon and aunty had her guests.

We spent the night at my uncle Sarvesh's place. We ate delicacies made by his mom and played firecrackers till late into the night.

The next day, we had a small gathering over lunch at my place. Uncle Sarvesh and his mom and dad came over. After lunch we caught up with some of the Deepavali specials on TV.

Deepavali - 1 Day to Go! - Second Half Report

It got busier in the evening with a number of final touch-ups before the big day. We almost forgot the beverages for the guests. It's easier to serve them with packet drinks ... hassle free.

Daddy and aunt gave their cars a good wash. It was a much needed scrub removing bird droppings and accumulated dust thanks to our neighbour who's having his house renovated.

The thing about droppings ... the cars were not parked under any tree and yet there they were. The birds must have had tummy trouble during flight.

It was not just the cars that got a good scrub ...

Right about 11pm the fireworks got started. We could here explosions from a battle field with occasional flashes in the sky. As for us, we didn't go for any artillery, ours was just a pistol.

Here's a shot of it ...

Deepavali - 1 Day to Go! - First Half Report

Just a day to go and suddenly we begin to realize a number of unfinished work. Late last night we got all the cards and decorative items hung up. I was just assisting as it would have been an uphill task for me by myself.

We were overwhelmed with the end display.

If you notice in the background of the picture above, that's my crib! Afternoon naps are taken there. I'm starting to avoid it as I grow for the fear the spring might fail me.

We took this opportunity to give away some old and usable clothes for charity. They have these donation bins located around my neighbourhood. We stocked the boot with lots of stuff to be given away by today as the collection is on Sunday and should reach the needy soon after.

For lunch daddy prepared Poached Mackerel garnished with pan fried onions. It looks like the real thing doesn't it? ... The truth is it ain't no Mackerel, it's Veggie soy fish.