Even if I was not tagged by my Sister, I will still hijack this meme from her blog.  I find this meme very different from others.  They are quite informative and reveal something that happened before I was into blogging.  I took sometime to follow all the previous link (kaypoh ma) and when I ended up on AnnieQ’s meme (sorry, lazy to dig the link.  She is on my blog roll anyway) I was quite surprised to know that her first pregnancy was a success from IVF.  And my million dollar question to her was, “did you asked the doctor to give you twins or it just happen that you have twins?” Very interesting meme right?  Here goes my meme:

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Thankful and thrilled!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Nope.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? Initially I was shy to reveal my age cos everyone thinks getting pregnant at 25 y/o was a bit too young. But now, they envy me cos now I CAN FLY!  Hokkien say “ho miah”.

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Missed the monthly thingy and the pregnancy test kit says it all.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Daddy lor.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes.

9. DUE DATE? 13 April 2000.

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? At one time, puke till blood vein burst. Lucky from 4th month onwards everything is back to normal.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Wah, nine years ago man!  I can’t even remember what I ate 30 days ago.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Refer to question number 11.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD SEX? Girl.

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? I was stunt when the Gynae told me it’s a girl.  And later before i left the room the Gynae ask me again, “Are you alright?” LOL, I think my behavior is very obvious.  I have to put on a fake smile.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? Twenty Three!!! 23!!!  I was around 40kg and by the 3rd trimester I was 63!  You can’t believe how bad my stretch mark is.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Baby don’t shower.  They take a bath daily.

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? Now I’m lost.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Nope.  All went well.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Private Hospital in Klang. (I almost want to give a cheeky answer again. LOL)

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? Hmm… let me see.  From the minute I started to realise the twitching was a contraction till the baby delivered to this world is about 7 hours.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Daddy.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? The Gynae, Midwife, Nurses, Daddy.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Not very natural leh.  It was vacumn.

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? What is that painkiller that make you drowsy and sleepy?  So drowsy till you can’t open your eye to push and you keep on drifting in and out? And I swear I will never let them poke me with that meds again.  Reason, refer to question number 23.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 3.5kg.

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 2 days earlier than the schedule date

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Kharsyn.

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 9 years and 8 days old.

This tag came just in time from Lian during this current petrol price hike period. I believe every household is taking some measures to live as frugal as possible since the cost of living is going to already shooting at ceiling height. What cost cutting measure did you take? All along, we have been living in a very frugal lifestyle. So if I were to be more thrifty, I think my kids will ended up eating bread only.

1) Domestic Helper
After 2 incidents of having a stranger living with us and all the horrifying nightmare, I finally sent home my maid of 9 months. No. 3 was only 7 weeks old then. Since that day, I did all the house chore myself and occasionally Hubby will help out. Financial was constrained during that time, so I’ve never thought of getting a hourly maid. Good thing though cos I am so used of not having a maid at home. To me, having a messy house won’t die. Having them in my house added more stress. That one I can die! At the same time, they can be very expensive cos they go round your house breaking electrical appliances and food always runs out SO fast. I wonder why. Nowadays, I do get a hourly maid that is charging RM10 per hour. Not on weekly basis tho. Something like 3 months once when I needed someone to clean the greasy kitchen.

2) Transportation
This is our biggest expenditure. I tried to drive at 90km/h now and not hitting the break abruptly. We are cutting down travelling out from Klang on a weekend for shopping. I think Aeon Bukit Tinggi, Klang has everything we wanted. Have a shopping list so that I don’t miss anything and safe me extra trip to the shops again.

3) Food
Kids started to bring Bento to school. I don’t save much there cos the food I put in the box for them sometimes cost more than their pocket money but I get to control what they eat. Noodles at the cafeteria contains so much MSG. On the other hand, my lunches is more expensive than the kids. So I do save few Ringgit there. Even if I had lunch outside, I tried to go for frugal food. More greens for me, definitely. That way, I get to jaga badan sikit la! Talking about bento, it was supposed to be a frugal meal. Other than investing in bento boxes, good thing I am not so crazy over their accessories yet which is costing a heaps! I tried to go a bit creative like rolling up the food, cutting them with cookie cutter, skewing them, etc… Sometimes, kids needed a little pampering like McDonald Happy Meal. However, we does that less often now compare to previously which is like a weekly affair.  Joining the Kids Club, we are entitled to a free cone or fries or apple pie with purchases.  Kids can have the burger, while I can have the apple pie 😉 .

4) Shopping
I hardly shop for clothing nowadays even during the Malaysia Mega Sales. Hubby bought mostly branded clothings for us from outlet store in States. They are really cheap. A piece of OshKosh t-shirt is equivalent to the price for a piece of Kiko t-shirt in Malaysia. Guess t-shirt is selling at about $7 to $10. Not that he bought a lot. Just two to three pieces each person to wear on CNY. Good thing kids doesn’t mind wearing hand-down clothings from their cousin. At the same time, SIL from Singapore used to buy Giodano for the kids. Giodano in Singapore is so cheap! Shopping in Malaysia sucks big time la! When choosing where to shop, I go the one that give me good rebates like Jaya Jusco and their Member Day Sales is such a crazy event.

5) Income
I was bitching with the nasi lemak seller one day when the nasi lemak biasa has increased from RM1 to RM1.20. “I pun mau jadi peniaga. Bila barang naik, mereka ikut naikkan harga. Orang makan gaji macam kami ni, gaji saja tak naik.” Good thing I have commercialized my blog. If not, life will be more difficult.

6) Electricity
From using the electric kettle, we have switched to using the stove kettle. Air-conditioning is switched on from 9pm to 2am only.

7) Water
Never wash your dishes bit by bit. Do them when they start stacking up or when you are running out of spoon. lol. Drinking cup is non greasy. Just rinse and put them away. Some lazy bugger will dump them in the basin together with other greasy dishes. I have a bad habit of saving the water from the last rinsing whenever I do the dishes. I used them to wash the kitchen towel (for cleaning the table).

8) Holidays
The local ones we went is usually from our timesharing package. Even the Pangkor trip was free. Hubby just pack us all into his luggage. *sticking out tongue* Should we or shouldn’t we go on with our plan this year? That is the question now.

What more can I do to be more frugal? I have been holding back my plan to get a new lens and the external flash. I am pretending I did not hear about the Galvanic Spa from NuSkin. I recycle almost anything now even little bits of paper. They do contribute some weight on the scale.

I decided not to pass the tag to anyone. If you like it, JUST DO IT!

I so love this meme all thanks to Planet Kambing! This is not the usual boring meme with lots of Q & A to answer. But then I was really wondering if others even bother to read the meme especially those 70Qs meme. Gosh! Ok, back to the aluminium foil meme. You are supposed to aluminium foil yourself or your kids like my case, took a pic and post them up. This is not a tough one. Just put on your thinking cap and start to imagine it’s Halloween.lol.

The Angel and The Devil

Sorry for the wacky pic. I tried to get the kids to pose for another shot but son’s horn suddenly gave way and I have no more cellophane tape way to mend it. Plus we was supposed to leave for a day trip to Pulau Ketam and I was in a hurry.

The next five person that I think is wacky:

1. Athena
2. Jazzmint
3. Sasha
4. Kamkuey
5. Mott

I don’t know why lately my link is not showing up in Technorati and almost miss this Meme from Wuching. So here you go, a simple Five question meme to be posted on a Friday. Lame!

DO YOU PREFER…

1. To watch or participate?
I am no busybody. Usually I will just watch. But comes to housework, I would prefer to RUN!

2. Malls, catalog shopping, or the Internet?
Wuching is right. This meme is for women only. Malls all the way for me! Woohoo! *syok sendiri*

3. A bath or shower?
I would prefer the traditional way to use scoop. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush from the water above you. You know how sometimes a shower can potong stim when the water pressure is low.

4. To talk to people by telephone, in person or by e-mail?
Telephone.

5. Typing or writing?
Both also lazy. Voice recording can ah?

Now to tag:

1) Montessorium Mum
2) MizzGrace
3) Day-Dreamers
4) Giddy Tigress
5) Athena

Give face a bit ya. This is my first Meme for this year. hehe…

Well, the weekend is here again. Have fun everyone and say hi to your Mom for me 😉 *muaks*

p/s:  This meme is to be posted on a Friday.  And that is an order!  Hmm… I wonder who started this meme tho.

I felt loved when Lian spread her love to my blog. Thank you so much Lian and I am so sorry to kept your love for so long. Ya, ya, I know I am selfish *sticking-out-tongue*. It’s time for me to spread the Queen’s love to all….

jutz1BlogisanyoneOuttherelittlemissmaycheeserland.comBernardChan.NetChristine
DashesofKamkuey EatFirstThinkLater BabeintheCity Let’sgetWokking! BlaBlaBlaBlaBla Kookyculinary Thefoodpornographer TheLamentsofaBrokenHeartedSilhouette
Danurasana Oliviasy Titoki’sSecretDiary ofduckiesandfroggies

After spreading my love around blogsphere, it is time for me to pass down some awards given to me by BlurMummy. Thank you once again, Sweetie.

The originator of the Nice Matters award states that it is meant for “those that are just nice people, good blog friends, and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others, that are there to lend support, or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!”

SimpleAmerican ifantabulous Yenjai.net Annie’sDoubleTrouble MamasbagofTricks Hishgraphics GiddyTiger BlurMummy theRazzler GroovyOlives Mott’smutterings Chiwiland TheObnoxious5xmom PlanetKambing JustBloggingAround AsZewtAsItGets Dakotaism.com Wuching.com

After listing 36 Bloggers, I still have a handsful of nice people, good blog friends, carrying friends, positive friends out there. It’s impossible for me to list everyone down. So if your name is not here, please don’t get offended ya?

By the way, for all the bloggers that I’ve penned down your name here, please pass your love and awards ya?

If I had a time machine, Wuching wants to know which year of my life would I want to go back to.

Well, all I can say is, I love my life now. I hate my yesteryears. I’ve just started to enjoy life a bit compare to previous year. No more worrying for little babies as they are all grown up now. At least I do not have to help them out in simple chores like spoon fed during meal time, bathing (just need more yelling!), picking up after them and so much more. And since children are all growing up, I get to go on holidays without worrying. Isn’t that great?

Financial wise, Hubby is doing a little bit better now. With his recent promotion and new angmoh boss, I do not have to stings on my purchases. Well, after so many years of saving, I deserved some pampering too 😉 .

This year could marked as … Happily Ever After. I just need to keep my finger cross that every other year will be as perfect as today. No more, no less. Just ngam-ngam (just right).

Now, for the tagging of The Time Machine:

1. DrBernardChan
2. East Coast Life
3. Simple-America
4. Pelf-ism
5. iScrapbook

And I was tagged by Simple-America for some Scary Movies. All I can say I am a scardy-cat. No way I’m going to watch horror movies! So far, while watching the 5 minutes preview of Exorcist, The Piano, The Eye or The Ring, most of the time, I had a pillow covering half of my face. lol. Hey, I’ve watch the 5 minutes preview of Pontianak on 1-Utama big screen while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Those Made-In-Malaysia film is still acceptable. Not that scary.

Anyway, I don’t really have time for TeeVee. Really! Most of the time, the kids will be hogging the TeeVee. What else can I say *sigh…

So, how was your halloween ? Care for some scary movies?

1. Kamkuey
2. Giddy Tigers
3. Albie Wong
4. Jonzz

This is one of my favourite type of meme that is very interesting and yet very unusual from Health Freak Mummy. Nothing too personal as asking too much question about myself.

So this is what I’m supposed to do :

***INSTRUCTIONS: ***
1. Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given below.

2. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.

3. Don’t forget to read the archived post and leave comments.

************************

Link ONE must be about family
Christmas Eve with Love Ones (I went thru my December archieve and started to read all of them. I love Christmas. That’s the only time we meet, had fun and rebonding our love among sibilings and my parents. I can’t wait for the next Christmas.)

Link TWO must be about friends
Blogger’s Meet: Picnic in Morib (I choose this link cos this is my first time meeting up with real people that called themselves “Blogger”. Such a privillage!)

Link THREE must be about yourself:
Me and My Significant Other: A Twisted Meme (Go read horrible attitude and temper I have)

Link FOUR must be about your love
Me and My Significant Other – Part III (I presume the “love” is my other half. First ever mushy-mushy post that I’ve wrote.)

Link FIVE can be anything you like
Malacca Zoo Trip (How about my latest addiction? I’m into a bit of scrapbooking now 🙂 )

Here I need to tag 5 people
1) Mott
2) Che-Cheh
3) Cynthiafoo
4) RamblingMoo
5) King’s Wife (Time to update your blog lor!)

and 2 new acquaintances (actually not so new but still consider new)
1) Pretty In The City
2) Loopy Meals

~ Start copy ~

It’s very simple. When you receive this tag, copy the whole list and add your own shopping tip to the bottom and pass it on.

1. Wear comfy clothing when you’re shopping. You don’t wanna fuss with too many laces and buttons when you’re trying clothes on. http://rinnah-marketplace.blogspot.com
2. Choose stores offering some kind of reward program, e.g. purchase points, rebates or store coupons. Knowing how the program works and when to use them will save you a lot of money in the long run. http://kakishopping.giddytigers.com
3. Always ask for a discount or bargain, especially when you pay cash for big purchase like furniture and electrical items, you will be surprised how much lesser you have to pay. http://leahschrader.com
4. Kids is a no-no when come to shopping. http://jessieling.com

~ End copy ~

I’d like to pass this tag to:

1. 5xMom
2. iFantabulous
3. My Two Girls
4. Baby Sasha’s Mom
5. Lian