Perfume

My very first perfume was bought when I was 20 years old. I was making a trip to UK by myself and on the way back to KL, I bought this Clinique's Happy from the duty shop in Singapore. Ever since then, whenever I have chance to travel to overseas, especially Europe, I never fail to buy some perfumes back home because they are so much cheaper. I like the scent of the perfume. It makes me feel good and refreshing. Even my 4 years old daughter found the perfume smell attractive too; "Mommy, you smell very nice!"

Perfume is a luxury item to me. I would not buy it unless I really like it so much and within my budget. Other than the nice smell, the shape of the perfume bottles can be attractive too. I remember I wanted to buy this perfume from Jean Paul Gaultier so much because of the perfume bottle. It is a crystal ball with a lovely female doll in black evening dress inside. My other favorite perfume bottle is from Moschino. Since most of my perfumes are bought in overseas, looking at each of them reminded me where I have visited. Some perfumes are limited edition, some could be no longer available in the market. Thus perfume bottles make great collectibles. There are many types of perfume bottles - antique perfume bottles, vintage perfume bottles, new and stylish perfume bottles, in crystal, in glass, in many beautiful and decorative styles. I think getting one of these beautiful crystal perfume bottles make a perfect Christmas gift for my perfume lover friends.

Good luck? Bad luck?

Read this story from an article from Choices and Illusions by Eldon Taylor. Like it a lot and would like to share with everyone.

An old rancher back in the Civil War days was just barely getting by. His wife had died giving birth to his only son, and he himself was somewhat crippled with arthritis. His son, therefore, did most the work around the ranch. Now, this rancher was a really nice man, and everyone in town liked him.

One day, the boy was out tilling the ground when lightning struck near the mules. The mules bolted, and the old harness could not hold them. The harness broke, and the mules ran off. Without the mules, the rancher and his son would not be able to get their crops in, and they were barely making ends meet as it is was. The whole town turned out to commiserate. "Such bad luck" they said. But the old farmer said, "Good luck, bad luck; who knows?"


The next day the mules came running home, and behind them came a whole herd of wild horses. The farmer and his son seized the opportunity because horses were worth a lot of money. Armies on both sides of the Civil War were paying a lot of money for horses. They ran outside and opened the corral gates. When the horses and mules were inside, they closed the gates. This time the whole town came out to congratulate them. "Such good luck!" they said. But the farmer just said, "Good luck, bad luck; who knows?"

The next day the son went out to break the horses, as nobody would buy a horse he could not ride. However, the very first pony he mounted simply sunfished and switched over. This means that he went up facing west and came down facing east, and then reared completely over backwards. The boy was lucky he wasn't more seriously hurt, just a broken arm and collarbone. This time the whole town came out to say, "Such bad luck." The old farmer simply said, "Good luck, bad luck; who knows?"

The very next day the army marched through town and conscripted every able-bodied man. Of course they did not take the farmer's son, because his arm and collarbone were broken. The whole town turned out again: "Such good luck." The old farmer simply said, "Good luck, bad luck; who knows?"

The army was heading to Shiloh. Not many lived through that battle. You just never know what is good luck and what is bad luck. But when your bones are broken, you tend to think only of the pain, the inconvenience, the discomfort and so on.

The point of this little story is obvious--and I think of it as just simply, "Stop and smell the roses." Every moment is precious and when we take advantage of each one--our concerns and worries disappear. May you know peace this holiday season and treasure every moment of love and joy that you experience and share!

Reading eBook

Hb gave me a smart phone recently for my last year's birthday present. Yes for last year birthday even though it came one year later. LOL! Alright won't talk much about why it came one year later, back to this smart phone. First thing I install is an eBook reader app.

There are lots of free ebook readers app out there. I got the one with more free fiction ebooks for the readers. Hehehe. I just don't feel worth it to pay USD$5-10 for an ebook. Not to mention some are even cost more than $10. I rather buy the paper copy from BookXcess with much cheaper price and more selections. Hehehe. Alright back to eBook reader, after comparing a few, finally I decided to install Kobo ebook app  on my phone. And right after register an account, I download one fiction book to read (will blog about this book in another post).

I have few ebooks in PDF format but I never complete reading any one of them. Why? Because whenever I open it subsequently, it always back to page 1. Zzzz.... Don't expect me to remember which page I stop reading previously. And sometimes I may need to leave my place halfway when reading. Upon returning, I have to search through the whole page to search where I stop. So after few attempts, I just gave up.

However reading ebook from smart phone is totally different experience. First there is bookmark. And it will always open back the same page where I stop last. As compared monitor screen size and smart phone screen size, obviously it is easier to look for the paragraph where I stop last much easier. Most cases, I will finish reading the whole page before I stop because it won't take you much time to finish a page (the screen is so much smaller). Some readers come with dictionaries feature, so you can check out those new words easily. Some come with night reading mode. You can also set the font to be bigger or small size. You can also read more than one ebook at the same time and switching them as you like to. More important, I can read whenever I go without carrying a book with me! I can read when I'm waiting for my food to come at the restaurant, in the car during traffic jam if I'm not the one who drive etc. Basically I can make use of the waiting time to read. But the down side is, the phone battery run out very fast if I keep on reading non-stop. Hehehe. But so far can last until I finish reading the whole book. Anyway, I'm happy to find another source of reading without spending money. ^_^

Btw, even if you don't have any smart phone or iPad or other ebook readers like Kindle, you still can install most ebook reader application on your desktop and read the eBook from your PC too! Some ebooks are in PDF format where you can read without the ebook reader. Some only available in the specific format for that you need to reader for it. So if you want to get some free books to read, you can always install the ebook reader app on your PC and download the ebooks to read. Some you can just read from the website too without having to install the app. But then you have to stay online to read. Most of the ebook reader apps are free. You only pay for buying the ebooks. Since it's free, you can always give it a try and get a free ebook to read. I have not tried install one on my PC at home so I can't share on this part. But if you don't like it, you can always just uninstall it.

My colleague asked me "How come you are not playing games on your phone?" Oh I have no interest on the games. I prefer to read! And yes, I'm still reading the paperback books the old-fashion way! I still enjoy reading the "real" books. :) I have bought quite a few books from BookXcess and BBWS recently. I definitely want to read all of them. Btw reading eBook from phone can be very addictive, even more addictive than  reading paperback. Because since it's not a physical book, I won't realize how much I have read and how much more to go. I will just continue reading and reading, until I did not realize it's been hours since I have started reading. LOL! eBook is another way that I can read anytime and anywhere. And I wish there are more fiction books available as free ebooks! :D

Happy reading!

I've raised my hand. How about you? Let's Get on board!

Early last month when I went to BookXcess to get some books, I was stopped by a lady halfway when I was in a hurry to leave (hb was waiting for me at the roadside since it was a quick 15mins shopping for book). I thought she was trying to ask me to sign up for new credit card, as I was in a hurry I did not really want to stop. But instead she told me I just need to enter my name, email and contact number for the Stop the Child Abuse campaign by UNICEF. Oh just that simple? OK so I filled up the details without asking much details of the campaign and left.

Few days back, I received an email from UNICEF. UNICEF has started a nationwide movement called "Get on Board" to provide the public with the information, insight and resources to stop child abuse. This knowledge will empower everyone to protect the children in our families and communities. The more people who raise their hand to be counted, the stronger the campaign becomes to deter an abuser from hurting a child.

Average of 7 children in Malaysia were reported to be victims of child abuse each day in 2008.  Statistics show that there has been a rise in reported child abuse incidents. Moreover, these numbers could merely be the tip of the iceberg because many cases are believed to have gone unreported. Some may even have been reported to the authorities but remain unproven. Neglect is the most common form of child abuse in Malaysia, followed by physical abuse and sexual abuse. Failure to provide care and supervision has become the most frequent cause of death among children. What is most disturbing is that many child abusers are parents, immediate family members, relatives or foster parents of the victims themselves.


Child abuse distorts and destroys a child’s development and has serious consequences that affect the child for life. Unchecked, child abuse leads to a disturbed adulthood. At worst, it ends in the death of the child. In between these two possible consequences, many children live their lives neglected, unwanted, unloved, fearful and without hope. Evidence shows that the physical, psychological and behavioural consequences of child abuse have a serious impact, not just on the child and the immediate family, but on the community as a whole.


Child abuse is not someone else’s problem. It is OUR problem. We can do our part to help and make a difference: By learning more about abuse. By talking about it and raising awareness. By asking questions and staying alert. By minimising opportunities for abuse. By getting involved and reporting abuse or any suspicion of abuse. Children need love and support if they are to grow and develop to their full potential. They need protection from abuse which can distort and destroy their lives.

Get on Board is a "peoples' campaign" by UNICEF to provide the Malaysian public with the knowledge, insights and resources to stop child abuse. The digitally-driven campaign, a first by UNICEF in the region, aims to unite 100,000 supporters to raise their hand in support of children. We hope the Malaysian public will embrace this campaign as their own, and support and promote it in their own unique ways to ensure a safe and protected childhood for every child in Malaysia.

You can become a Campaigner for Children by hopping on the bus, and rallying others to join us on our journey to end child abuse in Malaysia. UNICEF has prepared materials for you to use to help spread the word and to get as many people as possible to sign up for children. Here are some of the things you can do to promote the campaign for children:

• Blog about the campaign.
• Donate your Facebook status message or change your profile picture to the picture of your designed hand.
• Email you friends. (We even pre-made an email template for your convenience)
• Create conversations on Twitter.
• Send a letter to the Editor of your daily newspaper.
• Organise a sign-up at your company, college, place of worship.

Every choice we make on behalf of children today, impacts their tomorrows. With appropriate attention and guidance, children can flourish in safe and protected childhoods. Get on Board and help us spread the word to stop child abuse today! What will you do today that is more important?

Jealous? Or possessive?

Wherever we go, eat dinner at parents' house or outside in the restaurant or walking in the mall, most of the time Lynn will say

"Mommy I want to sit with you"

"Mommy I want to hold your hand"

"Mommy sit here (point at the chair next to her)". 

She will definitely choose her beloved MOMMY. The only time she wants papa is to ask papa to carry her. Hahaha.

How about didi? This boy usually won't choose or maybe still don't know that he can choose. He's fine with either papa or mama.

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Back at home......

"Mommy I want you to switch on the light for me."

"Mommy I want you to go down take for me."

"Mommy I want you to take."

"Mommy I want you to sleep with me."

"Mommy I want you......"

She's not saying please, because all those things she can do it herself but instead she wants me to do for her. I think, this is her way of feeling me loving her if I fulfill her requests. 

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It was a lazy Sunday morning; me and hb were lying lazily on our bed. Lynn climbed up our bed to join us, lying between both of us. Hao saw it and came up too. Hb caught Lynn and hugged her tightly.

"No no, boy boy friend and boy boy friend. Girl girl friend and girl girl friend. Papa with Hao. Me with mommy."

"No, boy and girl. Not boy and boy and girl and girl." Papa said.

Whenever hb hugs me...

"No, papa you cannot marry my mommy. Only me can marry my mommy." 

 Not sure where she get the idea hugging = getting married? LOL!

"But Papa and mama already married." Papa said.

"Cannot. You cannot marry my mommy." 

 And then she will try to push papa away from me. LOL!

Oh my dear Lynn, whether mommy sits with you or not, whether mommy holds your hand or not, whether mommy do things for you or not, mommy always loves you!