I Vote for Scotty and Lauren

It's true this season's American Idol features the best of the best - there should be a final season where they bring together all those who were fantastic who didn't win - for example - Melinda Doolittle, remember her? And another one is Diana Degarmo - they could also bring back Jennifer Hudson but I don't seem to like her music now - her albums all don't appeal to me.

But for now, my vote's for Scotty and Lauren - I am sure somebody is going to whip up stories about them being teenage sweethearts - that guy Scotty - so young but boy can he flirt! When he sings and holds his head that way and makes his eyes those limpid pools that seem to only see YOU....and then curl his lip abit....hahahahahhaha! Not that I'm susceptible to his charms - I'm a happily married woman!

And Lauren - gets prettier everyday....they first thought they'd make her edgy and rocker but then decided to go down the other path of pretty young girl with a touch of class and elegance - Beautiful! And she sounds good too!
I hate Haley, I think Jacob has lost his magic and James,.....well, gotta give it to James lah, he does sound ok. Who else is left? I think Paul McDonald should have been kept on while Jacob should have left in his place. I think it was a shame Casey left - he sounds wonderful and he takes great risks with his music and with himself. I don't know why the last week's song didn't get him through, I loved it!

What A Difference A Laugh Makes!

Today is the Labour Day May 1 holiday - it's a Monday and I am home alone with my son. He's past 4 months old now and a regular little firespark. He smiles, babbles, laughs and throws tantrums like there's no tomorrow. He seems to have quite a temper - I guess I can't really expect any different knowing myself and his father :) Last night, he was asleep when the thunder rolled and he woke up howling - not cos he was afraid but he was adamantly angry that the thunder had disrupted his sleep! He kicked up a big old fuss - I was out to dinner but that's what Mother In Law reported. By the time I got back, he had been placated, pleaded with, pacified, fed and rocked to an uneasy sleep - all of which resulted in failure except for sleep.


But then lo and behold, when I look over him and smile, he opens his eyes and smiles back! Everyone is astonished by the change in behaviour - yes, this is how children behave with their mothers and somehow, it makes it all worth it.

I feel I have been remiss at capturing some of Julian's moments. We don't own a video camera but have been taking some pictures on camera and on phone. And I do keep a diary of how he progresses.....but time flies so fast and he changes almost instantaneously. I'm not even home during the work day to see what he does!

Now it seems, he loves being lifted up into the air by his armpits - he laughs so cheekily and with such abandon - I WILL have to take a picture of it. Also, one week ago, I discovered he also enjoys being sucked (with loud noises, mind you) in the crook of his neck......When you turn him around, his mouth is open in a big O of silent merriment! Only this morning, he had awakened and was talking to himself for quite some time - what sounded like perhaps 2-3 sentences.....I was sitting up in bed, just listening to him when his dad asks, "Did you hear that??" from under the blanket. I did indeed and I would pay anything to hear it again. So today, he is in a talkative mood - babbling away to the TV, to me and to his fingers..... :)

He's getting a big big for his baby bath already so I've gotta look at the next step and also gotta start preparing the safety gate and think about where he can learn to crawl now....The biggest thing I worry about is the dog and dog hair downstairs.....and also the fact that his maternal grandparents don't see him all that frequently. I really wish for them to have a close loving relationship...

My friend just asked me via email today, how is my life, aside from Julian....I don't know how to respond - my life aside from Julian? Sounds tacky but there isn't much aside from Julian; or at least I feel that way - there's work - which is going well since I am now working on a new product and have more avenues and opportunities to show creativity and a supportive boss who allows me to take risks and teaches me lessons.....there is gym - where I'm trying to be disciplined and go 3 times a week, I would love to go and try out a group exercise class, and am finishing up on my introductory personal training classes - how do I tell my personal trainer that I am not going to spend another RM4k on lessons with him???, there is singing - which is great once a week though my biggest hurdle is getting over the mindset that I'm not good cos that's holding me back even while my vocal teacher keeps telling me every week that I have the talent, and most importantly, there is family - my husband, my parents, my sister, my parents in law and of course Julian falls into this category - I mean, Julian isn't a category in and of himself - hehehehheeeeee.....So, of course, I don't have as much time as before with hubby and of course I don't have as much mall time and weekend easy peasy let's just go activities and of course, I don't go back home to Penang as much anymore.....because yes, it's true - the little one DOES take up a lot of time and alot of EFFORT - make no mistake. But when I tell you it's worth it, it's worth it.

No other mother will be able to explain what that means 'It's worth it!', and I can't myself cos language has not yet created a word or even words deep enough or broad enough to encompass and convey the emotions you feel.

Daddy is also feeling it now, I can tell - his most telling sentence - 'It feels good to know I'm coming home to wife and child'.

My Drain Cover is a Lilliputian Head

which basically means, my hairfall rate is through the roof! It's scary to see the trail of hair strands my head leaves....especially when hair is wet. Yucks! My drain cover was a GIANT lilliputian head about 3 weeks ago and now it's become just a normal sized head....It's so bad, I actually cut my hair! So now it's a short short bob!

(It's true - the Chinese saying - when you baby starts blowing bubbles with his saliva, your hair will start to drop) I just hope it knows when to say 'When!!!!'.

Also, I don't think I boasted about this but I achieved pre-pregnancy weight by the time my 3-month maternity leave was up. Now I'm just looking forward to more weight loss to achieve my dream weight....8 more kgs to go!

Ramblings

Aiya, so many things I wanted to say and now when I actually have Blogger in front of me, I can't remember a single thing!

Oh yeah, there was a joke my sis told me - whenever one gets new work to complete - hit the DEL button - DELEGATE! HEhehahahahhahaah

Ummm...let's see, I don't have time to do anything much now except watch the baby. Think I'm going through Mall Withdrawal Symptoms! It's been ages since I've actually spent a whole day in the mall like I used to, even JH misses it I think......NOT! Muahahahahhaha....

There seems to be so little time in the day....even to write blog posts...ok, I can't seem to get the juice, shall stop here. and live to write another day. ....byeeee....

American Idol 10

I love Scotty and Lauren.....no surprise there since I'm a Country & Western fan...but seriously this year's contestants were all pretty good. I don't feel much for James too - very Adam Lambert but his singing and songs sound the same all the time - the same went for Pia whom, I feel, the public couldn't really relate to - she seems quite cold on stage....and so has left.

I don't understand why Stefano's still there - a voice that's good though common.

I wonder who will be last man standing - Scotty? Lauren? James? Please please- not James!!! Not Stefano!!! Jacob's last latest song Bridge Over Troubled Water was good but the ones before also all sounded same......OKlah, Scotty also sings the same songs, in the same style with the same facial expressions lah......But I love him - SO THERE!

RPetra

Do threats work? Or bribes?

My 3 month old BABE!

MilkADeal

Yeay for Milk A Deal - so far I've bought vouchers for mani pedis as well as set lunch for two. So cool!
MilkADeal and Groupon are just two services in Malaysia who are channels for commercial businesses to advertise their services and wares at discounted prices to encourage traffic flow to their outlets.

The first voucher I bought was for a Mani Pedi RM35 for a service that was 'worth' RM75 at Jac and Jans. Buyer beware though - if I had Googled Jac and Jans, I may have found out that they are an old hair salon near Jake's at Bukit Damansara and their Mani Pedi was performed by 2 old Indonesian women who probably wash hair at the salon. My friend and I were asked, not very politely or useful-ly, to sit in any of the hair styling seats....since we weren't sure where the nail activity centre was, we thought we were being asked to sit on the bench to wait cos we sure as heck couldn't see any nail 'chairs' with the sinks and stuff. Lo and behold, yeah, sit at the hairstyling chairs and two women carried out some nail baths that looked like they were bought 5th hand and caked with dirt and yucky stuff. Mine had a strand of hair in it. I pointed it out to my old woman and she said, "Oh, only 1 strand!" to which I replied, "Yeah, well it ain't mine and I don't want it curling around my feet!". Guffaw!

Needless to say the expertise is not there and my friend had a crooked French Mani. Colours to choose from were sorely lacking and there weren't any dryers. My friend got some hairdryer time on her fingers though. Oh by the way, there is a Chinese woman there whose face could curdle milk!!!!

We were just so glad to get outta there! I didn't even wait til my nails were dry - we were off to an almost just-as-bad lunch at nearby Victoria Station.

Don't even get me started on that - my lamb was inedible - I WILL NOT GO TO VICTORIA STATION EVER AGAIN!

Now I am NOT dissing MilkADeal, I think it's great but it would be even better if the staff got free services for each promotion that is being offered and they get to decide if the promo is genuine and some comments by the team can be inserted for the unsuspecting public to decide if they wanna spend hard-earned money buying. For example, my comment for the Jacs and Jans service would be:

A simple amateurish service with limited colours performed in a hair salon environment. For RM35, don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

True Fitness

Guess What! I joined True Fitness again! With a Gym Buddy! Yeah, the last time (like yearsss ago), I joined with 2 gym buddies who flaked out on me! But now, I am serious and I hope Gym Buddy (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) is too! So exciting!

I am back to pre-pregnancy weight but hope to lose some more to my ideal weight cos god knows I wasn't ideal to begin with....hahahhahaha.....And the thing is I do actually enjoy using the gym. I may not always enjoy getting up the willpower to GO to the gym especially when it's early in the morning or raining...but I enjoy using it for sure! The toned muscles and sleeker body all make me feel mucho proud. I love the elliptical and I love using the weight machines too....the only thing I hate in the gym is the treadmill! Hahahahhahaha.....So, here's raising a glass (of water) to my 2 year gym membership!

Great shows on TV

I mean Astro of course! I just caught the first few episodes of 'The Big C' starring Laura Linney and I think it's great! I think she makes the character extremely believable and she has just the right look (Casting Director - good job!) of hope and sadness and she looks just like the woman next door, the Jane on the street who could be struck with cancer. Bottomline, she encapsulates the outer as well as inner images of a woman with cancer.

I also really like the new 'American Idol Season 10' - didn't think I would cos I never really liked Jennifer Lopez but hey, she and Steven Tyler are really good judges! They bring a cool and knowledgeable camaraderie to the set. I never thought Paula Abdul had the chops to be a judge on a singing show (I mean, she knows how to sing???  Dance yes, sing no), never did like Kara DiGuordi (don't even care enough to check if I spelled her name right), Ellen Degeneres geez, even worse - Ryan Seacrest did mention to Oprah that she brought the viewer's or participant's perspective but how can a judge on a Singing Show not even have any singing experience???? So yeah, the new line up is good - I do miss Simon Cowell but less and less now. Hhahahahaha.....

And last but definitely not least - so far, I have watched probably like 2 full episodes of 'The Biggest Loser'. I got very upset when every time I switched the TV on, all that seemed to be showing was this terrible show which bore no relevance to my life, was ironic at the very least that so many couch potatoes were watching other couch potatoes try to lose weight - probably while munching popcorn and guzzling soda.....and suddenly lo and behold, one day I happened on 'Losing It with Jilian'. I, of course, know her from the former show and thought, wow! what's so great about her that she got her own spin-off??? And upon watching it, I can understand - the lady is good looking and buff and has got enough charisma and balls to pull off the persona she has on the show - she can berate you til the high heavens and all you wanna do is show her you can do what she wants you to do!

So there - the fruits of my maternity leave! :)