Most shocking!

My boss' daughter just got married (the solemnization ceremony) over the weekend (the reception is this coming Friday). It was supposed to be a happy and joyous day for her and the family, but, unfortunately, bad luck struck. The house was burglarised in broad daylight by a professional thief in clear sight of everyone without raising the slightest suspicion of anyone.

The burglar, suspected to be a woman, blended in well with all the guest which included relatives and friends of both the bride and groom. She spoke to a few people like she was very much at home and fitted in like she was one of the relatives.

She spent most of the time in the bride's room, even during the time that the bride was changing attire to get ready for a reception after the akad nikah (solemnisation of marriage). She claimed that she was the bride's nanny when she was very much a baby and the bride probably could not remember her.

The bride did not suspect anything as she thought that probably the lady was really her nanny and a close relative of the family which she has not met in a long time. Her mum (the bride's) at that time was busy entertaining guests downstairs and had left everything to the Mak Andam (the bride's make-up artist) to take care of the bride.

When the family left to go to the reception hall which was just a 5 minutes walking distance from the house, all the rooms were locked up. The CCTV managed to catch the lady opening up the Master Bedroom which was made up as the bride's room that day, like as if she had the key, but an aunty of the family said that she had all the keys to all the rooms with her at all times.

The burglar managed to steal the 'mas kahwin' (dowry) worth RM1001.00, a set of diamond earrrings which was part of the `barang hantaran' (gifts to the bride) placed on the trays. Luckily the bride decided to wear the multi-tier gold and diamond necklace which her new mother-in-law had just given to her after the solemnisation ceremony for the reception. If she hadn't worn it to the reception, that would have been quite a huge loss as it was estimated to cost quite a few thousand ringgits.

Also stolen were several handbags which were left at the bride's room for safe-keeping, which included cash worth RM2000.00 which a relative coming all the way from Kota Bharu brought with her to be spent throughout her stay in Kuala Lumpur. Gone too were all the handphones that were left on the table during the solemnisation ceremony.

Luckily the 'Wang Hantaran' (money to the bride) was in a check form, and so was not touched. If it had been in cash form, that lady could have gone on a shopping spree as usually, 'wang hantaran' nowadays are no less than RM10,000.00, especially since both the bride and the bridegroom are doctors and both come from a very well to do family.

I wish I had a photo of the lady thief to post here so that everyone will be wary of her presence should anyone be having a wedding ceremony in the future. A friend actually managed to catch her on his camera as he was snapping photos away with his camera, but it (the photo) is now in police custody.

So, those of you out there planning to have a wedding soon, do be wary of such characteres that blend too well with the family and friends.

The wedding reception for the couple will be held this Friday, and I just hope that everything will turn out well for the family, and hopefully, no more untoward incidents happen.

One project, too many mistakes.......

When I went to class at EPAL yesterday, I found that the instructions in the book had not one wrong instruction, but TWO!

Yup, not only were the sizes for the months wrong, but even the sizes for the numbers were also wrong. It was supposed to be smaller than the 3" x 3 1/2" as stated in the book. It is supposed to be 1/4" smaller all around. Oh dear! And I had completed all the numbers. All 31 of them!

Now, not only do I have to redo the months, I also have to redo all the numbers too! *sigh*

By the way, the correct size for the months should have been 3 1/2" x 5". I only wished that they could have put up a sign or something in the class or told us about it when we bought the kit. *sigh*

This must be one of my longest project so far at EPAL. It is already nearing the end of January, and I still have not even started on the second January project which is the ABC quilt. So, out of frustration, I sort of started on the ABC quilt yesterday by sewing the ABC paper piecing to the fabric.

But, I did not work long on it, because, as I stared at the uncompleted numbers and months in front of me, I felt like they were staring back at me, bugging me to complete them. LOL!

So, last night, as I sat watching OCEAN THIRTEEN with my hubby which ended at about 1.00am, my hands were busy unpicking all the numbers.

This morning, I started sewing them again into smaller sizes.

Now comes the tedious part of trimming off the batting, turning them inside out and sewing close the opening. That's what is going to take me ages to finish. *sigh* Never mind, finish I will so that I can get on with my other projects. And, this morning, I was supposed to be working on the Anniversary gift. *sigh*

I am still contemplating if I want to ask Tini (of course I will be paying for her services *smile*) to help me out to redo the Months, as she just got herself a new JANOME 350e! But, first, I need to get new fabric that matches the one that was wrongly marked off and embroidered.

For the moment, I am trying to see if I could salvage the small size months. It's time to get creative! LOL!

Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!

I made a mistake marking off the center point for the months for my calendar project! Uurrghh!!

I read and re-read the intructions several times, and I did the marking off in class, yet, I ended up with a HUGE mistake! Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!

The intructions in the book clearly stated that I am to measure 3" x 3 1/2" center to center, and I am to mark off 12 points, for 12 months. That was what I did. I sent for the months to be embroidered many weeks ago, but I did not touch it since I got it back as I was working on the numbers (the 31 days in a month).

I only opened it again this morning to work on it, and when I put my template on top of the months did I realised that the months have been embroidered too close to each other, leaving no space for any allowance. Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!

It was not the mistake of the person who embroidered it as she had embroidered it where the center of the month is supposed to be, where I had marked it off as per the intructions.

It was only at the last portion of the book did it say that I am to leave a 1" gap between each month, but, how am I to do that when I don't even have enough space for any seam allowance? Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!

So, OK, maybe I should have read the whole book first before starting on the project, but, I had marked off the center according to this diagram here.

And, even if I had read the whole book first, there was no where in the diagram that a 1" gap was supposed to be included. Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!

If I were to go ahead and cut it according to the spaces that I am left with, than I would end up with a very small `monthly' piece to put it on the center of flower where it is supposed to be. Well, come to think of it, maybe it wouldn't look too bad, but.... *sigh* What do you think?

Looks like I really need to go to class this afternoon, regardless of whether or not I had finished my homework. I need to resolve this and I hope the teachers can help resolve it for me. *sigh*

Yee Sang for properity

It is a belief among the chinese that the higher you toss the yee sang, while wishing for luck and prosperity, the better. It is a practice that has evolved from a tradition to a fun practice among families members, friends and business ssociates.

Though I am not a chinese (well, I do have part chinese blood in me. Maybe that explains why I love yee sang so much! *grin*), but, yee sang is a dish I look forward to come every chinese new year. I just simply love the taste!

To those unfamiliar, yee sang is traditionally a serving of julienne vegetables and pickles and thinly sliced fish enhanced with peanuts, and is almost always served during the Chinese New Year to usher in luck. I like it best served with slices of salmon! Yum!

So, today, my hubby, knowing how much I love yee sang, took us out to lunch at Sakae Sushi Bangsar Village II for Yee Sang. What can I say, it was yummy! Just simply could not get enough of it!

Usually my hubby and I would have yee sang at Sushi King where the helping is rather small, and I would end up taking two bowls. *grin* But, at Sakae Sushi, the helping is big (and so is the price. *grin*), and even after sharing it with my hubby, there was still plenty not just for seconds, but thirds too.

The only other dish I had besides the yee sang was salmon sushi and cawanmushi. That was enough for me!

My hubby took a bento set, which I managed to take a little dip in too, and was delicious too.

My son went for the Kiddy Meal which was named Fire Engine, as it was served on a fire engine shaped plate. I think it's so cute!

Here's a close up of the hash brown. Cute, huh? LOL! *grin*

By the way, the ordering system at this restaurant is a sign of how far we have come, and how advanced our technology is.

They have set up this computer screen complete with mouse at every table, and all you have to do is to click on the menu of the item that you want, and hit "CONFIRM ORDER", and tadaa! your order has been taken and you will be served shortly!

Now that's technology!

Soon a robot will be serving you instead of a real person. And, I am sure that won't be long coming to Malaysia!

A full weekend ahead?

I am posting this entry at Starbucks. It feels odd. It's been a long time since I came to Starbucks to stitch or surf the internet. I have been going to classes at Quilt Gallery to work on my LOVE quilt as Aiman attends his Saturday activities classes. I have been doing that since I started on Aiman's Soccer Quilt, and later, continued with the LOVE quilt.

I just realised how much I miss coming to Starbucks to catch up on some stitching or surf the internet, not that I regret going to the clases at QG as that is also knowledge gained and projects gets done....well, almost. *grin* My LOVE quilt is still very much a WIP (Work in progress) at the moment. *grin*

I still have the quilting to be done, and it will be a long way before it will get completed, unless I spend this long extended weekend working on it. But, this weekend, I already have other things I need to do, besides my usual household chores.

As usual, Saturday is going to be filled up with Aiman's activities - his art class, engineering workshop and others. On Sunday, it being the eve of Chinese New Year, the maid won't be coming in as the boss is already on leave, him being a chinese. My house might not get swept and mopped this weekend, *grin*, but, I hope to get some `homework' done on my Calendar project so that I can to drop by Epal in the afternoon while my son goes to his robotics class and my hubby goes to the gym.

My hubby `warned' me about skipping class this Sunday! LOL! So, I'd better get to work on my calendar as soon as I get home after lunch. *grin*

I hope to spend Monday working on the Anniversary gift, though I won't be able to work on it until the wee hours of the night, or is that morning (as I usually would do if I really need to get some crafting done on weekends) as we will be spending some time over at my in-law's house as my father-in-law will be going out of town this weekend, and my hubby wants to keep his mummy company. *grin*

Aiman also wants to watch "Bedtime Stories", and we promised him that we will watch it over this long weekend.

Wow! I have so many things planned out, I wonder how much of what I plan actually gets done! LOL! We will have to see, won't we? LOL! *grin*

Happy holidays to everyone in Malaysia!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Here's wishing all my chinese friends and readers of my blog, Happy Chinese New Year! May the new year brings you happiness and good fortune always. Have a prosperous year ahead!

To the rest of my friends and readers, Happy Holidays! Those going home 'balik kampung', have a safe trip, and HAPPY CRAFTING!

Clipart resource - http://www.101kidz.com/holidays/chinese/

18,400 hits, and hopefully, still counting!

Wow! Thank you, everyone!

When I started this blog in January of 2005, I didn't expect to have that many readers following my blog.

Yeah, I know that some may say that 18,400 hits isn't that much, since many have hits in the 100,000, but, hey, I am already very thankful as it is!

Thank you so much, everyone, for making my blog a place that you drop by on your journey of blogs. *smile* I have learnt a lot, and I hope that I will learn even more.....

Yup! I started this blog on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 with this posting....

"Hi! This is my first attempt at doing up a blog. Hmm...is that the right term being used? Well, anyway, hope this is the fisrt of many more to come......."

I only posted my second posting six months later on Thursday, July 21, 2005 with a posting on, what would you expect ......."The AF Fever is back..." LOL! *blush*

Hey! I just realised that my blog is now 4 years old just 8 days ago!

That's a cause for celebration! Ok, I'd better think of something.......

Time to get cracking on this one too!

Aznil and…......who?

After almost two weeks of listening to Aznil and Din Bramboi, I think I have had enough!

Aznil alone is ok, but I simply cannot stand Din Bramboi! I simply cannot appreciate Din Bramboi’s jokes which I sometimes find very silly and at most times annoying, especially when he kept on interrupting Aznil at almost every sentence that Aznil speaks.

Does he not know that he isn’t actually funny? Hmm..okay, I take that back, Maybe some listeners find him funny. I must be the very few that simply cannot appreciate his….eerr….jokes!

Sorry, Era.fm, but you just lost me as a listener in the morning. Like as if it matters to the management of Era.fm actually…….

With Fara Fauzana temporarily ‘out of the way’ *wink*, on leave, to perform her umrah, I am now tuning in to Hot.fm on my morning drive each day that I go to work. I think I can get use to FBI (Faizal Ismail), but, Fara…hmm….maybe I should just give her ‘another chance’ when she comes back from performing her umrah. LOL! *grin*

Hot.fm is definitely my companion on my evening drive home, ever since Kieran was permanently slotted for the evening drive home with AG. He and AG always make me smile, and it’s good to listen to both of them as I drive home after a stressful day at work.

At the moment, I am only tuned in to Era.fm at night when Reza comes on air from 8.00 – 12.00 in the evening. Someone left a comment on my blog a few days ago at my earlier posting, “Kieran vs Reza vs……Linda Onn”, saying that even Reza might be booted out from Era.fm anytime soon. If this is, in any way true, than looks like I won’t be tuning in to Era.fm anymore. Era.fm will lose me totally as a loyal listener….after almost 9 years!

Hmm….I wonder if that actually matters to the management of Era.fm, as I could only be a grain of salt in a pool of water. I am sure if it does matter to them to lose people like me as a loyal listener, then I am sure they would have ‘listened’ to us, and try ‘to please us a little’, but, looks like they just don’t care…… *sigh*

Progressing too slowly

I have been working on this calendar project for almost 3 weeks already, though not diligently.

I have not been crafting at all last week. I was in Penang on Wednesday, and I was working late on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I came home too exhausted to do anything else except to get dinner ready.

Today I skipped class at Epal for the 2nd Sunday in a row as I did not finish up the `homework’ that I was supposed to do. My hubby said that I am setting a bad example to our son – skipping classes and not finishing my homework! LOL! *grin*

When I gave him the reason why I did not want to attend class was because I had been busy and thus did not have time to do my homework, he said that I am just like my son – likes to make excuses! LOL! *grin*

OK! OK! I will find time this coming week to work on my project so that I will be able to attend class next Sunday. *grin* No more excuses from me next week…I hope! *grin*

Anyway, here is my progress so far…….

I have completed putting the calendar together.

I just need to hem stitch the binding to the backing piece. I also need to sew the buttons on the appliquéd squares and the watering can.

I also have yet to sew any of the plastic button studs on the days (the rectangular patchwork squares) in order to attach the numbers of the month. That’s 31 studs to sew times 2 as I have to sew the studs on the number pieces as well! Gulp! *grin*

On the numbers itself, I have only gotten so far as to sew the top, the batting and the backing piece together, and have cut up the numbers individually. I am now trimming off the batting so that when I turn the inside out, the number pieces would not turn out too bulky, which I have started a little bit, but still a long way to go.

After that, I have to sew the number pieces close where I had left an opening to turn it inside out. That’s 31 numbers to do!

Not to forget, I also have 12 months to stitch and do exactly what I am doing for the numbers!

Boy! When I started out on this project, I did not think it was going to be so tedious to do! LOL! What have I gotten myself into! *grin*

But, complete this project I will, as I have to set a good example to my son! *wink*

BTW, while I was sewing up the top, batting and backing piece together for the numbers, I discovered this very useful foot called the satin stitch foot. It is different from the open toe satin stitch foot used for patchwork and appliqué.

This satin stitch foot is a clear plastic foot with a center groove making it easy to see the path of stitches that you have to stitch. It makes stitching these numbers almost a breeze, especially when maneuvering curves.

On the progress of my LOVE quilt, like I said earlier, I did not do any crafting at all last week, so I did not work on the LOVE quilt either. But, the week before that, I did work on it.

In fact, I went out to buy a foldable table at CARREFOUR so that I can set up my SINGER sewing machine downstairs as I needed a surface that is smooth so that the quilt will move smoothly across the table top.

Before this, I have been using the dining table to work on my quilt and because the surface of the dining table is covered with a table cloth, the quilt always gets stuck, and it becomes heavy. I almost twisted my wrist trying to maneuver it around while quilting.

I could have removed the table cloth, but then it would have exposed my glossy table top which have yet to have a single scratch on it since I bought it some 16 years ago. I want to keep it scratch free for as long as I can. How about putting a glass top to protect the top? A new foldable table specifically dedicated for my sewing is an easier and cheaper option, I think. *wink*

So, here is the table all set up for sewing. I have also set up another plastic foldable table which I have had for years already as the quilt is big and I need to lift it off the floor.

Here is the quilt all ready to be quilted.

I am about 1/3 done on the quilting, though I might want to hand quilt some motifs on the center of some of the blocks, because I have never tried quilting motifs before. All this while I have been quilting only straight lines, except for small practice pieces which I did when I attended a very basic free motion quilting class at Quilt Gallery more than a year ago.

I really need to get back on this LOVE quilt too as it has been hanging around in the dining room for far too long. I just don’t want to end up it being a UFO (Un Finished Object)! LOL!

Time to get my act together! *grin*

Looking neat and tidy with TUPPERWARE!

Two nights ago, my brother personally delivered the TUPPERWARE I ordered from him at TUPPERWARE2U, and I immediately unwrapped everything and started organising my baskets of garlic, shallots and dried chillies.

My brother even helped me to unwrap and transfer the things into the new containers, as I think he was excited too, me being one of his first customers to buy from him at TUPPERWARE2U since the launching of his website. *grin* I even got a free gift! *grin*

I think my garlic, shallots and dried chillies now look so neat and tidy!

I can't help feeling excited each time I go into my kitchen to see the containers nicely stacked up. LOL!

I might even buy one or two more to put in other dried stuffs, and I'll be getting more discounts now that I have signed up to become a member of TUPPERWARE! LOL! *grin* Nope, not to sell, but to buy! LOL! I don't think I have the cut to be a good salesperson. I simply lack talent in that area! *grin*

I am glad though that my brother makes a good sales person, or has the talent to make anything sellable. I think I can take advantage of his talent to market my product of AZNIQUE one of these days.....*wink*

Cupcakes to complete the birthday!

Remember I said that I felt that something was missing or incomplete (read the comments at the posting) when we did not buy a cake for my hubby's birthday recently?

Well, I made up for it yesterday when I bought 3 pieces of cupcakes from CUPCAKE CORNER, a cafe owned by ICCA (Internatioanl Centre of Cake Artistry) at Kota Damansara. I bought two banana cupacakes and one blueberry. The cafe doesn't sell the normal size cakes. It is, in fact, not actually a cake house, but a shop selling baking stuffs and is also a cake decorating and baking center. It runs cake decorating and baking classes. Check out it's website here - http://www.2decoratecakes.com/

I got excited about the shop, and happy to finally be able to buy the cake to make my hubby's birthday complete. So was my son. The only person who was not showing any signs of excitement was my hubby, and he commented that who's birthday is it really that we were more excited than him about the cake! LOL! Well, here's a photo of him play acting his excitement! *grin*

Men! They just want to show that they are macho, when, in actual fact, they love being showered with gifts and being given attention! LOL! *grin*

Anyway, we came home (we arrived home quite late last night due to.....what else?..work! LOL! *grin*), and after having a shower and doing our prayers, we lighted up one candle on the 3 little cupcakes and sang my hubby a belated birthday song.

My hubby happily blew the candle, and we dived into the little cupcakes.

In my opinion, the cupcakes were tasty, but a little too sweet for my tastebuds. I love the simple decoration though. It coincidently matched the T-shirt that my hubby was wearing last night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY again, Dia!

Feeling blue...or, is that turqouise?

I went to town today to pick up my dress for a wedding function I will be attending at the end of the month.

I am feeling a little bit upset as I did not like the dress I had custom made, despite having it repaired twice. I think the cutting and style somehow no longer suits me as I am getting rounder *sigh* Yeah..fat! I know LOL! I use to be able to carry dresses of this design quite well in my younger days and when I was a lot slimmer. *wink*

Now the dress is making me look even rounder! LOL! *sigh*

Now I have no other turqouise dress to wear that is suitable for a wedding as the theme is turqouise and the host had made a special request that all those involved in helping him organise the event wear the same colour theme. *sigh*

I am contemplating if I should go to town next Friday to look for something off the rack, but it that might cost me a bomb. The custome-made dress already costed me a hand and a leg. *sigh*

Thanks, Tini, for suggesting that I should check out the boutiques at Mydin Mall. I will try to drop by there this weekend.

Hmmm.....there's still the day after Chinese New Year, and the wedding isn't until the 30th of January. You think the shops will already be opened by then? Hubby did say that we can go shopping on that day, right, Dia? *wink*

It's TUPPERWARE2U all the way!

My brother and his wife, Sufia, have just launched a website to sell TUPPERWARE products, and in support of his business venture, I am introduing his website here for those interested to purchase any TUPPERWARE products.

Just click on the banner above and it will bring you directly to the website. Oohh! I am already excited for my brother! LOL! Maybe next he can launch Product of AZNIQUE? *wink*

I have been a buyer/user of tupperwares ever since I could afford proper storage systems because I like the way they stack up nicely on the shelves. These red set are at least 15 years old already.

Next, I intend to purchase these to organize my shallots, garlic and dried chillies.

This is how I store them now.........on the counter top of my kitchen cabinet. *grin*

Time to get organize, huh? *wink* OR, an excuse to spend? LOL! *wink* No, I am just giving my dear brother moral suppport in his business venture.....*wink* What are sisters for, right? LOL! *wink*

You think you could give me discounts, dear brother? *wink*

Happy Birthday, Dear!

It was my hubby's birthday on 9th January, and we celebrated it by taking him out to dinner at the Dome in Subang Parade.

I had the usual Chicken and Mushroom Pie, while my son also had the usual Fish and Chips. Very unadventurous, aren't we? LOL!

But, my hubby decided to try somthing else - Pumpkin Soup and Fish in Tumeric Sauce. The verdict? He said that the Fish in Tumeric Sauce was just OKAY. So, I guess going for something that you are very familiar with would always be a safe bet. *grin*

Earlier on, my hubby and son presented him with a birthday present which my son had chosen. I am amazed that my son actually knows what his dad likes. It was his suggestion that we get my hubby a book, and when I asked him what kind of book, he suggested that we go to MPH and look for a book on Military or History, my hubby's two favourite subjects.

When we got to MPH on the Friday, 2nd Janaury, the day I took leave, we found 3 books which I thought that my hubby would like, but my son made the choice of this book on TANKS, while I had thought that the other two books would have been a better choice.

I must say it was a very smart choice by my son as I hubby could not let the book down since getting it on his birthday. *smile*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sayang! Hope you will have a great year ahead! Hugs and lots of kisses from me and Aiman.

Basket project completed!

Yup, I did it after struggling with some parts of the basket at home on Friday night. I completed the basket in class on Sunday, 4th January.

I am amazed at how Tini managed to do it in 4 hours when it took me 6 hours (2 classes at 3 hours per class) in class and about 3 hours at home to complete it. I salute her at the speed that she managed to do it.

I spent Friday night unpicking most parts of what I did earlier as I was not pleased with the way the basket looks. The board did not fit snugly like it should. Sewing up the handles to the basket was driving me nuts! LOL! It looked pretty easy to do, but I bent a couple of needles before I finally managed to sew the handles to the basket! LOL!

Well, it's done now. *smile* It looks like a very nice basket to put in sewing things, right? *wink*

On another project note, I got back the piece I sent to have the numbers, days and month be embroidered at Epal. I could have done it using my Janome MC6500 machine, but it would have taken me ages and wouldn't turn out as nice. I sent it to be embroidered using the computerised JANOME 350e machine. It was done by one of the students there that has the machine, and I think she did quite a good job of it, despite making two small mistakes.

I did the applique work myself on the flowers, stems, leaves and the water can using satin stitch on my JANOME 6500 machine. They don't look too bad too, huh? *wink* I hope to work on it this weekend.

BTW, I went to Mydin last weekend as I needed to get some embroidery threads for my applique work. I could not buy just the colours I wanted, but I had to buy 4 packs in order for me to get the colours I wanted to match the fabric that I am doing the applique work. I also bought 2 packs of variegated embroidery threads.

As the pack contains one or two of the same colours, I ended up with multiples of the same colours. So, after sorting out all the colours, what I have multiples of are what you see here. There are 7 more extras in black, white, yellow and purple that are not shown in the photo.

I intend to sell this off should anyone want to buy them off me. I don't think I will be doing lots of embroidery or applique work that will warrant me needing more than one spool of thread of each colour. So, if anyone is interested, do email me and we can `talk' business. *wink*

Oh, and I also bought this lovely special edition Olfa Rotary Cutter at Quilt Gallery two weeks back. Yeah, I already have two rotary cutters (one cutter in each of my sewing box), but I could not resist this one as it was a Special Edition. I could not even find it anymore on eBay. So, since QG still has it, and there are only two more left, I thought...hhmmm...why not! LOL! *grin*

Back to school!

For some reason last Saturday, Aiman was feeling all nervous and anxious about going back to school on Monday, 5th January. He usually looks forward to going to his Saturday activities classes, especially the Game Maker class, but, last Saturday, he simply refused, saying that he just wants to stay home all day.

For a boy as active as him, and he gets bored easily despite spending the whole day out of the house, that kind of behaviour of suddenly not wanting to go to his Saturday classes sounds odd.

He said that he was afraid of meeting new people. My guess is because his best friend has transfered to another school, and he feels lonely, but he couldn't explain how he was feeling. Despite reassuring him that many of his other friends will still be around, it did not help to ease the anxiousness that he felt. He cried again last night after the magrib prayers. All we could do was reassure him that everything will be OK, insyaAllah.

I told him that I will be sending him to school and I will wait for him until tea break. He can look for me should he need me.

This morning, when we reached school, he suddenly felt shy to have his mummy carry his heavy bag to his class, and told me that he will carry everything himself. He told me to go home. He wouldn't have been able to carry everything, what with the art bag, the homework folder, and a school bag that weights almost a ton!

He finally relented when he saw other boys' mummies carry the school bags too. *grin*

When we got to his class and loaded up his locker with his books, he shyly chose a table somewhere in the middle and sat quietly. He did not bother chatting up with any of the other kids despite one or two of them coming up to him to chat.

I called him out to tell him that I will be waiting for him at the school cafetaria until tea break and left.

When tea break came, he was all cheerful and running around with his friends. The anxiousness that he felt just two days before was no longer apparent. He has forgotten all about his fears the other day. *grin* Kids! LOL!

I wish him all the best, and wish him a successful year ahead. We love you, Aiman!

Kieran vs Reza vs….Linda Onn?

Ever since Kieran left Radio Era.fm about two months back, I noticed that Era.fm seems unsettled in their scheduling of time slots for the deejays to come on air. I would hear Reza in the morning, and then I would hear him again at night. I would be hearing Ray in the afternoon, and then, next morning, he is back on air doing the morning drive slot.

There were days when I would switch on the radio, no matter what time it was, and I would be hearing Nana’s shrieky voice. I can’t seem to find when Linda Onn comes on air. She used to be slotted between 2 – 6pm, but, that time slot was sometimes taken over by Chams or Rizal.

I can’t figure out which deejay is at which time slot anymore. For the last two weeks, they have been promoting that the Morning Drive to Work or Pagi Di Era will now be taken over by Aznil and Din Bramboi. I don’t even know who Din Bramboi is!

It seems that Era is doing a big revamp of the whole station, taking in some new `voices’, while, at the same time, giving some of their long time loyal deejays the axe. I only recently found out that Linda Onn has been transferred to their sister station, Sinar.fm at 96.7 (within the Klang Valley).

It seems that she’s (Linda Onn) not happy there. She feels unappreciated, after all her efforts, in part, to put Era.fm at the number one spot. Is it maybe because Era.fm felt that she is no longer an asset to them when she failed to clinched the Most Popular Radio Deejay award at the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian last year, after winning it for 5 years in a row, losing out to Fara Fauzana from Hot.fm?

They have also taken off the air their weekend deejays like Ezzy (can’t figure out how to spell her name correctly) and Mira (I think that’s her name). Even Aimee, their new deejay, has been transfered to XFresh.fm.

They brought in Burn from XFresh.fm to take over from Ray for the C30 (daily top charts) slot. Now Dina, the 1st runner up in Malaysian Idol, is hosting the Weekly Top Charts with Nana on Saturday, from 2 – 4 pm instead of it usually being aired on Sunday, 9 – 12.00 noon, with a repeat on Sunday at 10.00am.

I heard more new `voices’ will be joining the radio station soon in their efforts to remain the number ONE radio station in the country. I think Era.fm is desperate to remain in the top spot as Hot.fm is fast gaining momentum to reach the top spot. Now with Kieran, a big name in the local malay station fraternity, a part of their family, they could easily push over Era.fm to the number two slot at anytime. Thus the reason why I think Era.fm is doing a huge revamp of their programming, time slots and deejays. They need to remain current, fresh and interesting to attract new radio listeners and keep the current ones loyal.

My personal opinion of this as a loyal listener of Era.fm in the last 8 years or so? I am a little confused with the new set up and time slot.

For a start, I still don’t like listening to Nana’s shrieky voice, and would change the channel each time she comes on air, despite many attempts to bear with it, when I find nothing else interesting on the radio at any other stations.

Burn is slowly gaining a place in my heart, or, shall I say, ears, as I listen to him at night while I work on my crafts or do work on the computer. He’s pleasant to hear.

I like having Reza doing the morning drive as opposed to Ray and Adi whom I find boring and uncreative in their presentation. I like listening to Reza’s voice in the morning on the drive to work (of course, Kieran would always be my first choice *grin*, but he has been slotted for the evening drive over at Hot.fm).

I especially find it amusing at the way he handles “Kena Kantoi”, where he would call up listeners to play pranks on them. I find myself smiling, laughing too, to a certain extent, when I listen to him playing up the pranks. *grin*

I can’t tell now when actually is Reza’s time slot. I use to catch him on my drive home in the evening on some days, but, there are days when that slot is taken over by Chams. I hope Reza does not remain at the evening drive home slot as that is also the same time slot as Kieran and AG over at Hot,fm. It also seems to be Linda Onn’s time slot over at Sinar.fm.

Now, I am torn between who I want to listen to in the evening, between Kieran, Reza and Linda, but Kieran would definitely be my first choice. *wink*

I think Hot.fm has got it when they teamed up AG with Kieran, calling themselves ‘Jawa Rangers’. They are almost as good as the KnK team over at Era.fm when Era was on it’s way up to the number One spot some 5 years back.

However, I have yet to find an interesting channel to listen to in the morning on the drive to work, as I am not a big fan of FBI (Faizal Bin Ismail) and Fafau (Fara Fauzana). I think I’ll wait come this Monday morning, 5th January 2009, when Aznil comes on air with Din Bramboi. Maybe they will make a difference to my morning drive?

A basket project and a quilt find

Today I took the day off to give my MIL another day of break (I was back at work on 30th - 31st December 2008) before school starts next week when things will start to get hectic for her.

So, I decided to go to Epal for a short while with Aiman in tow, with the hope that my calendar embroidery will be done so that I can work on it. Unfortunately *sigh*, the lady who was supposed to pick it up to do the embroidery did not come to get it.

However, she did come in while I was there, and I asked her if she could get mine ready by Sunday. She said she will try. Oohh! I do hope she will get it done by then, because I so want to get the calendar ready in time for the new year to put it up in my office, and it is already the 2nd of January!

For some reason, I kind of expected that the embroidery might not be ready by today, and so, I came prepared to do the January project - the basket.

I got started on it and could have finished it if I had stayed on till 6.00pm (assuming that Aiman would be able to last that long..LOL!), but, I had to leave by 2.00pm for lunch and to do some shopping.

I am hoping to drop by Epal again on Sunday, hopefully the embroidery will be done by then. If not, then I will just have to work some more on the basket project, or, maybe start on the other January project - the ABC quilt.

On another note, while I was cleaning up Aiman's bedroom today, I came across an old quilt project I started maybe when Aiman was less than 3 years old as it was an ABC quilt, made using panel fabrics I bought at Quilt Gallery. I just simply love the bright colours of this panel fabric! Don't you?

I had already done the quilting part - a very basic straight line quilting. Unless I decide to quilt the ABC's, what is left to do is only the binding. I think it won't take me more than a day to do it by machine, if I actually get down to it.

I think I will try to complete it sometime this year, and maybe give it to my niece who will turn one this March. It will all have to depend on my work schedule within the next month or two.

I will put up photos of the completed quilt when it's done. Hopefully readers of blog will not have to wait another 3 years to see me complete it! LOL!