Happy July 4th!

Happy Independence Day y'all!



"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

Scooters and Such

Denice and Duncan miss their bicycles back home. When the neighbour's grandchildren ride their bicycles on the road outside, Duncan will run alongside and race with them. Or he will push the bike from behind one of them.

I bought them these scooters so they can at least ride around the patio and burn off some excess energy. These scooters can be folded and if they are still in good shape by the time we leave, I will pack them in our bags and bring them home!

Did you notice the pair of shoes that Duncan is wearing in this picture? He sometimes like to put on Denice's shoes, especially those with heels, and wear them around the house, with Denice screaming after him telling him to take them off!

Those shoes actually belong to their older cousin, and they were already a little torn but Denice wanted them so the cousin gave them to her. She loves to hear the clacking sounds the heels make as she walks on the tiled floor. Bugs me, though!

* Change topic *

This morning I met a Chinese lady and her two kids at the supermarket. I had heard of her from my hairdresser and the owner of a coffe shop near the supermarket. Actually, I had already seen her eating with her children and relatives at another coffee shop one morning. I suspected she was the one my hairdresser told me about, but I didn't feel like butting into a family enjoying their breakfast!

The two kids gave her identity away. Who is she? Just another local woman married to an American and home for the summer vacation!

I really wanted to get to know her better but she seemed in a hurry. And didn't seem all that interested in getting to know a fellow Sarawakian living in the States! I was quite disappointed. She used to live in California but now lives in New Mexico.

Oh well.

Dreaming of going on a cruise!

I am not much of a sea traveller because I get a little sea sick but that does not stop me from dreaming of going on one of those Mediterranean Cruises. I'd love to go on one of those cruises that stop at places in Spain, Italy and even Jordan and Turkey.

Before we had kids, Doug and I talked about at least going on an Alaskan cruise because being on the West Coast it is at least closer and cheaper. But we have not really got down to planning on going on one because so far most of our vacation has been spent visiting my family in Malaysia.

Next year, Doug and I will be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary, and maybe we can finally go on one of those European Cruises and also use that opportunity to make that visit to my cousin who lives in France. My in-laws might be willing to baby sit the kids while we take that cruise!

Cruises from New York do not seem like a bad idea either because firstly, they don't cost as much as those cruises to the Mediterranean or Europe. Secondly, we don't have to travel that far to catch a cruise.

We have friends who were on a three-year work stint here in the US and in that period they managed to go on an Alaskan Cruise as well as a Caribbean Cruise. Makes me feel ashamed that we have not been as motivated as they when it comes to going on one of our dream cruises!

Since we are not planning on visiting Malaysia again next year, a European cruise or at the very least an Alaskan Cruise, is a great possibility!

Lookee Here!

One of my favorite activities when I am home visiting my parents in Miri is to go for a shampoo at my favorite hair salon quite close to where my parents live. As is their custom at this salon, I was handed a couple of women's magazine for me to browse through while my hair is being shampooed.


This is the latest issue of Nona. I love flipping through Nona and looking at the pictures of the beautiful models and the rich and famous in Malaysia. Guess who was in one of the pictures featuring a Mother's Day do in KL?


Recognize the lady standing on the left? Yes, she is none other than our blogger friend, Ruby Ahmad! "Hey, I know her!" was what I told my hair dresser!

Er, does anyone know of some do I can be invited to so I can also appear in a Malaysian women's magazine? Heheh.

Happy Father's Day

Send this eCard !


To my father, and my kids' father - Happy Father's Day, with Love from all of us!

My internet connection sucks!

My internet connection SUCKS!

TMNet dial-up sucks. Celcom Broadband sucks. The alternate number provided by TM sucks. There is no DSL service available where my parents live. And my parents' home is a little too far from the nearest free Wi-Fi hotspot. So all in all, connecting to the internet is an endless frustration!

I am homesick for my reliable DSL (not the speediest, but reliable) from back home!

I have not been able to do much blogging ... things take forever to load, and then there is the stall ... nothing seems to move.

Arrgghh! The internet connection here SUCKS! Big time!