Looking forward to the weekend!

I am so happy that Friday is finally here! I so looking forward to the weekend!

It's been a terribly hectic and stressful week! I come home so exhausted, the TV has been watching me almost every night this week! LOL!

I just can't wait for the end of the day where I can just kick off my heels and take it easy. I am also looking forward to tomorrow because Corine's coming down with my bag which I had made at the last bag making class. She took it back with her to Penang to have the leather straps sewn on as I am no expert in working with leather.

I am also excited as I will be doing another bag with her tomorrow for one lucky niece whose birthday is coming soon. *wink*

Anyway, before I get all excited, I had better brace myself for another stressful day today as I have two very high profile project meetings to attend today.

Today is not going to be an easy day, but, I am praying for strength and God's guidance to let me go through today with ease. Amin.

NNC Stitching Bee in Ipoh

For the first time, NNC had its Stitching Bee outside of Kuala Lumpur. The idea was mooted during the last stitching bee by Margaret and Janet , but, unfortunately, Margaret was out of town during the time the NNC Stitching Bee was held in Ipoh. She was having a good time, enjoying herself whole heartedly in London while she attended her daughter’s graduation.

The Ipoh Stitching Bee was held on the 17th of July. It started out with about 7-8 people responding that they were coming, which was actually a good enough crowd. Unfortunately, when the day came, Mel couldn’t make it as Nigel was down with the flu, and Sabariah’s body took a toll when she was working overtime the week before. Ratna from Sabah said that she was coming, but for some reason , she never made it to the bee that day. Zarina got held back by some family commitments.

Finally, those that did make it that day were just the 4 of us – Paul, Janet, who played host for the Bee, myself and Radha who came all the way from Alor Setar.

Paul was there first at 9.45am, followed by Radha and Janet.

I arrived an hour late as we kind of woke up late due to a crisis the night before when our bathroom door suddenly locked itself and we couldn’t find the key , despite looking for it everywhere until 2.00am.

Aiman excitedly woke up at 6.00am, eager to get started on the journey to Ipoh, but we had to tell him that we might not be able to make it as we couldn’t use the bathroom until we could get to a locksmith (we have 2 other bathrooms but all our toiletries’ were in the master bedroom toilet). Aiman got up to his mini clothes rack, flipped through his clothes, and wah lah! He found the keys! LOL! *grin*

We rushed to get ready, and we were finally out the door at about 7.45am. We dropped by for breakfast at the Restoran Jejantas Sungai Buloh, hoping to get a quick meal, but, unfortunately, the service was very slow. The queue to pay and order the drinks took us almost 30 minutes! We quickly rushed through breakfast, and when Paul smsed me at 9.45 am, I was still an hour away from Ipoh.

I finally got to Starbucks at Ipoh Parade at 11.00am. Sorry, guys!

As soon as I sat down, I showed some of the works that I have been working on, though there wasn't much. But, I did pass on to Janet my blocks for the nine-patch block swap.

We didn’t stay long at Starbucks as adha had a bus to catch at 3.00pm, and thanks to me for being terribly late *blush*, we had to start on our shopping trips to some of the craft shops Janet frequents as part of the programme for this Stitching Bee.

We got into 2 cars, one driven by Janet and the other by Radha’s lovely daughter who was doing her housemanship in Alor Setar.

Before we went to the craft shops, Janet took us for a round of Tau Foo Fah at a small end lot shop.

I was amazed at the line of cars that were queuing up, waiting for their orders to be taken like a drive-through service.

I understood why though, as the tau foo fah was really delicious!

We visited two craft shops which, unfortunately I could not recall the names of the shops. They were across from each other. One shop was more into bead works and cross stitch, while the other shop carried things for weddings hantaran and other craft works.

We were not allowed to take any photographs in the shops, which was really a pity as it could have gotten them some free promotions and advertisements. I guess some people are still ignorant of the power of the internet.

At the first shop, I bought 2 meters of 14ct aida. I suddenly got bitten by the cross stitch bug again and want to work on a sampler where I had bought the chart on my trip to Melbourne more than 3 years ago. I will blog about it in my next posting.

I also bought quite a lot of DMC threads as they were cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur and I needed them for the sampler project I Intend to start on.

At the next shop, I bought a glue gun. I have been wanting to get one for quite some time, but simply could not find the time to make my way to a craft shop to get one earlier.

After the visit to the 2 shops, Radha had to part ways with us as she had a lunch date with her daughter and her friends.

After we said our goodbyes to Radha and her daughter, Janet , Paul and I decided to make our way to Nagoya as Janet said that they are having a sale. But, we decided to stop by for lunch first at Old Town White Coffee. There, my hubby and son joined us.

Shucks! My hubby just spoilt my plans to tag along with Janet and Paul to Nagoya! LOL! *wink*

We parted ways at the restaurant. I went back to our hotel (we spent the night in Ipoh for my hubby’s 21km run on Sunday) while Janet and Paul made their way to Nagoya to add more to their fabric stash! *wink*

Despite the small turnout at the Bee this time around, I am still happy that we had it. It was a change from the usual one we always had in Kuala Lumpur. Someone was even suggesting that we have another one outside of Kuala Lumpur, this time to Kuantan where Aw had just opened her own craft shop. It’ll be part of our agenda for next year, for sure! *wink*

I wish to thank Janet for hosting the Bee and for bringing us around to the craft shops. Thank you too for the delicious tau foo fah. Thank you too to Paul and Radha who came all the way from Kuala Lumpur and Alor Setar respectively for the Bee.

The next time we have it out of Kuala Lumpur, I hope we will have a bigger turnout. For the next Bee in October, however, it’s back to Kuala Lumpur! See you guys then!

A pillow for comfort

Some time ago, Paul posted at his blog on a comfort pillow he had made. He said,

“People usually make these pillows or comfort blankets for children who are hospitalized to help with the 'suffering' both physically and emotionally. I thought this was a great idea for adults too, because after all we all have that little kid still in there somewhere waiting for a hug.”

I sheepishly asked if I could hug it as I felt that I needed to be comforted after having to go through all the crisis and challenges at work since the beginning of this year, and Paul answered, “Of course you can.”

Little did I know that the pillow was already on its way to me then! LOL! It was my belated birthday present from Paul! LOL! *blush*

The pillow arrived at my office about two weeks after my birthday, and here is the lovely pillow!

As usual, Paul did a great job of the embroidery work which he did by hand, unlike this writer here who now uses the embroidery machine more than by hand! LOL! Paul also did a great job of the sewing, more so now that he too has bought a sewing machine, not that his sewing was terrible before this! LOL! People, don’t read between the lines, ok? LOL! *wink*

Thanks, Paul, for the birthday present. Love it! Now I am going to give it another hug! *grin*

Uniquely Kenari Villa!

My mum had just ventured into a business to run a guesthouse (you can read it here), and we, as in my mum herself; of course, all my siblings, cousins, relatives etc are all excited about it. I wrote about it here in my blog to promote the guesthouse, and my brothers helped set up a webpage for it. You can read about it here.

I wanted to do something for my mum’s guesthouse which will make the guesthouse special, and not like any other guesthouses you get in the country. I wanted it to have something more significant which people will know that it is uniquely Kenari Villa.

So, after much thought and ‘discussion’with Em (you know, my embroidery machine, Em? Yes, we discuss! LOL!), we decided that specially embroidered towels would make the guesthouse special.

I set about looking for some reasonably priced towels as I don’t want it to be too expensive that it will tempt guest into absconding with them as souvenirs *wink*, but neither do I want something cheap that they can’t even absorb enough water to dry you up. *grin*

I finally found some, but I could not get them in enough numbers of the same colour, and so, decided to go with 2 different colours – cream and peach. I had to do some sort of designing, though not much can be done as I do not have the embroidery design software (maybe it’s time that I get one? *wink*), and here are the results.

What do you think?

The fonts were from the machine itself, while the tendrils were part of my collection of designs that I have been buying online from Embroidery Library ever since I had Em.

I just love the fonts. I am glad that the machine came with it.

I presented the towels to my mum when we met up at a cousin’s daughter’s wedding last weekend, and I can tell that she is excited about it too! Right, Ma? *wink*

Ma, I wish you all the best in your new found business venture, and I hope that the towels are able to add that little touch of uniqueness to the guesthouse. Hugs!

On the road again.....

Yup! I am on the road again, this time to Ipoh and Kedah.

I have written about my Ipoh trip that coincided with my birthday on the 8th on June and the dinner I had with Janet, but I did not get to show photos of the hotel where I stayed in.

While in Ipoh, I stayed at Impiana, or formerly known as Casuarina. It is said to be a 4-star hotel, but I heard many complaints from my colleagues who stayed at the hotel with regards to their service, and the hotel room itself. A friend of mine had her costume jewellery stolen while we were there.

I was told that the hotel had gone through some major renovation, but still the room did not actually look like it was newly renovated, especially the bathrooms. My complain was the food served for breakfast. They had served bread, yet there was no toaster and the Sambal Ikan Bilis was so salty and dry like it was re-cooked over and over again over many days and served to us over and over again throughout the 3 days that we were there.

I am glad that the lunch served was nice that some of us even helped ourselves to seconds.

I would only stay again at Impiana only because it is the only decent hotel in Ipoh. I was told that the others are far worse. But, we might just be trying out The Heritage Hotel when we go to Ipoh again next month for NNC’s July Stitching Bee and my hubby’s 10km run. I just hope that it will be a better hotel, but already I have read a few bad comments on the hotel online. So? Hmmm.......

Anyway, last week, I was on the road again, this time to Penang and Kedah. I took a flight into Penang on the 16th of June so that I can visit some of my project sites before heading to Kedah for a function, but not before we dived into some juicy and yummy durian! *grin*

I visited 3 projects in Penang, and then drove to Alor Setar to visit another project site before I checked into Holiday Villa.

Wow! This hotel is lovely despite it being quite old. The bellboy told me that it had just refurbished a few months ago, and it was obvious that it had gone through some major renovation.

I really liked the hotel room, though the view from the room wasn’t so great. LOL! *grin*

After waking up at 4.30am to catch a 7.30am flight and visiting 4 project sites, followed by a discussion after dinner, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillows. The room being so cosy just made my sleep much more comfortable, as I sometimes suffer from insomnia when travelling and would get up at 3.00 or 4.00 am and not being able to sleep again until it’s time to get up! LOL!

The next morning I attended a function to officiate an orphanage by His Royal Highness the Sultan of Kedah.

I would have taken a photo of when the Sultan was already seated during the ceremony, only that at the last minute, the protocol officer made me sit right across from the Sultan throughout the function. So, I had to sit prim and proper and definitely taking a photo of the Sultan when you are just seated right in front of him is a big No No and against protocol! LOL!

Seen here are some of the female orphans from the orphanage preparing to sing in the function while waiting for the Sultan to arrive.

I was also invited to have lunch with him, and again I could not snap a photo. I should have handed my camera over to a junior officer, but it slipped my mind to do it until I was already seated in front of the Sultan! LOL!

Having lunch with the Sultan was a very big honour but at the same time, I had to eat ever so prim and proper that I left the function feeling very hungry! LOL!

When I dropped by Pekan Rabu to buy snacks to take back to Kuala Lumpur, I bought myself a packet of fresh bahulu to eat while waiting for my flight as the airport in Alor Setar has no Golden Lounge and the snack counter has yet to operate.

I had actually planned on meeting up with Radha while I was in Alor Setar, but our timing was out. Radha was busy at work when I arrived in Alor Setar on the 16th of June, and on the 17th of June, I had to rush to the airport to catch my 3.20pm flight after the function. Radha was still at work and by the time she got off work, I had already arrived in Kuala Lumpur! LOL!

Maybe another time when I am in Kedah again.

Missing Abang

Err...since when did I have an abang, a brother? LOL! *grin*

WE had an Abang when this cute orange cat called our house his home some 3 months ago when our back neighbour left him and his 4 siblings who were hardly a few weeks old to go off for their Chinese New Year holiday. They came over to our house looking for food.

Ever since then, Abang and his sisters have been my son’s and our companion each evening when we come home from work and my son from his Atok’s house.

Even my hubby would spend time just looking at them play and he said many times that we can sometimes learn from the animals when we saw how caring Abang is towards his sisters who still crave for attention when their mum left them when the sisters were still very much ‘infants’.

Seen here is my hubby giving the kittens their bath. Such are our attachments to the kitties.

My son rushes home to see then, and I wake up on the weekends hearing them meowing in the kitchen asking for food. They are such a joy to watch although I do sometimes get annoyed when they start doing their business in my vegetable garden! LOL!

But, about 3 weeks ago, the mother delivered two more kittens in our back kitchen. We didn’t even get to see the little ones before she took them away when the kitties were just about a week old.

During that first week after she had the kitties, she was hostile towards her other kittens but not Abang. Abang was the caring one, and I think, because of that, when she took the little kitties away, Abang must have followed her to where ever to take care of them like he did when the mother left her 4 earlier kittens at our house in the care of Abang some 3 months ago while she went gallivanting to God knows where.

Now Abang is nowhere to be seen. The 4 kittens still come daily for their food, and the mum would pop in from time to time, but without the two new little kitties and Abang.

My heart yearns for Abang. I cannot help but wonder where he is and if he is okay.

I just hope that where ever he is, with or without his new siblings, he is okay and whoever has him will take good care of him. I miss him, and I hope that someday he will come home to Mummy.

A Brazilian birthday treat!

As promised by my hubby, last Saturday, 12th of June, 2010, my hubby took me out on a birthday treat. He wanted it to be different from the usual treat we would usually have at Victoria Station, The Dome or Outback Steakhouse. He decided that we should try Brazilian instead.

So, we made our way to Damansara Jaya to a restaurant called Carnaval Churrascaria. It is located in the same area as Atria Shopping Complex, should anyone be curious to want to give this restaurant a try.

It is buffet style, and you can take anything you want at the salad bar which also serves rice and other accompaniments, but, the highlight of the restaurant is not what’s served at the salad bar, but, the food that comes to you on a skewer served by the waiter and waitresses.

They come to you every few minutes to serve you all kinds of meat, garlic bread and pineapple on a skewer. The foods served on the skewers are unlimited for as long as they come up to you and you can eat as much as you want if your tummy can take it.

For drinks, we had Calamansi with honey and lime. Seen also in this photo are the sauces for the meat.

I had to stop eating even before they could come around for the second round as what was served up on the skewers were really a lot. They had grilled Garlic Lamb (my hubby had 3 servings of it!), beef, chicken, sausage, chicken ham, lamb (which was really delicious!), garlic bread (which was also very yummy!) and pineapple. I think there were more but I just can’t recall anymore, and my tummy was so full that I had to get up and walk around! LOL!

My son ended up having diarrhoea the next day due to eating so much food that night! LOL!

Thanks, hubby, for the birthday dinner treat with a difference!

I don’t mind going there again for the second time, only this time I am not going to take so much of the food from the salad bar so that I can enjoy the food served on the skewer more!

Birthday presents and birthday treats!

I was in Ipoh on my birthday, 8th June 2010, attending a conference. My hubby had driven me there with my son on Sunday, 6th June. My hubby left with my son on my birthday itself as he had to work the following day. It was sad that he had to leave, of all days, on my birthday itself, but I understand that he has other commitments to attend to and he promised me that he would treat me to a good birthday dinner on Saturday after I come back from Ipoh.

As he left Ipoh in the morning while I was still in the conference, I came back to an empty hotel room during lunch, and I felt a pang of sadness, missing my son and hubby tremendously. What a way to spend a birthday! *sigh*

I couldn’t help but cried *grin* the minute I heard my son’s voice over the phone, but had to keep my cool as I did not want my son to know how much I miss him as it might affect him too.

My son had given me a soft toy cheetah the day before which he made my hubby buy for me at The Lost World of Tambun, a theme park where he had spent the whole day with my hubby the day before. The cheetah too looks lost and forlorn, so that makes two of us feeling lonely! LOL!

There was a family dinner organised as part of the programme for the conference, but since my own family had gone home, I did not feel like joining the dinner. I am glad that at least I had made dinner plans earlier with Janet.

Janet picked me up at precisely 7.15 pm and we made our way to this restaurant called Restoran MP in Greentown.

It offered all-you-can-eat BBQ Steamboat Buffet, complete with ice-cream and many other desserts. I would have taken some photos of the food that we ate, but since we were seated quite centrally, I decided against it as I did not want to end up being told off by the waiter/waitress like what happened at this restaurant in Kelana Jaya when we went there for my father-in-laws birthday in February.

I think many people are still very ignorant of the power of IT and the publicity it can bring had that restaurant (in Kelana Jaya) allowed me to take photos and blog about it. I was practically promoting the restaurant free of charge! But, I guess the Manager just lost his chance, and for sure, I am not going there anymore!

Anyway, back to the dinner with Janet, the only photo I managed to snap was this plate of mini cakes Janet had taken for me as she wished me Happy Birthday. *smile*

After dinner, Janet showed me around Ipoh town and the area where she is staying. I realised that Ipoh isn’t such a small town after all! LOL! I thought that the only shopping complex in Ipoh is Ipoh Parade, but I also found out that Ipoh has a huge Jusco and the area surrounding it was so full of life! *grin* It seems that the area where we first arrived in Ipoh was the old town area which was more subdued, it being where most of the offices are.

Janet sent me back to my hotel at about 10.30pm, where, after a good warm shower, I headed straight to bed, hugging my cheetah.

Thanks, Janet, for such a lovely dinner! See you in July when we have our next Stitching Bee!

When I got home the next day, after a much needed rest from all the travelling and two whole days of sitting in a conference and going project site visiting, I opened up the much awaited birthday presents which I got at the Bee in May from Rose, who is my partner for the Birthday Gift Exchange, and from Janet and Margaret.

From Rose, I had received this box full of treasures filled up to the brim with a pair of slippers, two balls of pink yarns, a plastic container for knicks and knacks, a Lizzie Kate chart, a chart for beading works, 3 skeins of yarns, a packet of beads, a packet of needles, a length of pink and brown fabric, a birthday card and this very lovely pincushion.

Here’s a closer look at the lovely pincushion/biscornu. I just love this pincushion and it is already sitting in my showcase of all the lovely things my stitching friends had given me.

From Janet, I received this lovely handmade set of beaded necklace and earrings, a mini birthday card and a lovely piece of pink fabric. I must go through my closet to see which clothes will suit this lovely set of jewellery!

From Margaret, I received this very lovely pinkeep, 2 pieces of pink fabric, and a packet of dark red ric rac.

Here is a close-up of the lovely pinkeep.

Thank you, Margaret, Rose and Janet, for all the lovely gifts!

Next posting – the birthday dinner treat from my hubby!

A year older!

Err...are people usually happy when they get a year older? I dread each year when it is my birthday because I feel like that even though a year had passed, yet, I still have yet to achieve many of the things and target that I have set myself in the last 40 odd years of my life.

Yes, I have achieved my ambition to become an Architect, a profession my late father had wanted to become, but instead he became a lawyer, or, rather taught law. Though I am not actually practising as one (as an Architect), but, I have experienced all the stages of the design process and I have designed many buildings before I got promoted to become a Design Manager, and after that, a Project Manager.

I thank God for all the blessings that He has given me. I have a wonderful and loving husband and a great son! Although I miss my late dad very much, but I am very thankful that I still have my mum and I hope that she will still be around for a long time to come, staying healthy and happy all the time.

I am thankful to have such wonderful siblings. Although we rarely meet, everyone being so busy with work and so on, but we know that we can always count on each other should the need arises. I am also thankful to God for giving me such great in-laws. I am blessed indeed! Syukur Alhamdullillah.

I am thankful too for all the wonderful friends who have been with me through thick and thin, through sickness and in health, through happiness and sadness. You are all true friends. I couldn’t have asked for more. You all are great! Indeed I am blessed.

The first 6 months of this year has been full of challenges and crisis on the office front. I felt like I was tested to the limit, so much so that there was a time in May when I just felt like throwing in the towel. I felt like I don’t want to work anymore. It wasn’t worth it. I felt so unappreciated and no one seems to understand what I was going through. It was tough.

I prayed and asked God to give me lots of patience and strength to go through all the crisis and challenges, and I thank God for giving me that strength and patience to go through it all. Though the crisis at work has not totally subsided, but, at least I am beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that that light at the end of the tunnel will shine brightly, as bright as the morning sun, and hopefully very soon too.

I have been crying flood of tears for too long. It’s time for the rain to stop to give time for the sun to shine on to dry up the path for a brighter future, God willing, insyaAllah. And that is my birthday wish. I also hope to always be surrounded by all the people that I love and always be in good health and wealth so that I am able to do all the great things that I love to do, and that includes to someday set up a small craft business for when I am retired from the government service.

Hmm..... would I be too old by then? Nope! My 72 year old mum had just set up a business running a guesthouse just days ago! Congrats, Ma! I wish you lots of success!

So, nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it!

I am looking forward to a great year ahead and many more great years to come!

Kenari Villa Gueshouse is open for business!

Planning to go to Kota Bharu this school holidays? Bringing the whole family for a wedding in Kota Bharu but can't get enough rooms in the hotel to house everyone? Want to stay in a house away from home? I may be able to help solve your accomodation problems!

Come stay at Kenari Villa Gueshouse at Lorong Merican, Telipot! It is located behind the Rennaisance Hotel, Kota Bharu and Billion Shopping center.

It is a double-storey semi-detached house with 7 bedrooms, all with attached bathrooms and a playground for the children to unwind. No, make that a place FOR YOU to unwind as the children are out playing in the playground! LOL! *wink* It is just the right place for the whole family to relax and enjoy.

You definitely don't have to worry about where to park your car as the car porch can house 5 cars! Definitely just the place to stay when you come from outstation to attend a wedding.

To save cost of buying food, you can cook your own food as the house is equipped with a gas cooker and a refrigerator, and don't worry about having to bring back your dirty laundry as the house is also equipped with a washing machine. Now doesn't that spell a house away from home? *smile*

Come stay at Kenari Villa, and the houseowner cum Manager cum you name it - my mum *grin* - will make your stay a comfortable one!

Read here to know more or to make reservations!
http://kenarivilla.blogspot.com/

Door gifts and lucky draw gift

I should have posted on this a long time ago but I kept getting distracted by the other activities that I wanted to blog about. Even though it is like 2 months...err...make that 3 months behind in the news, but I still want to blog about it as I must show off *wink* all the lovely things I got in the Door Gift bag for the Anniversary Meet.

So here they are......

It really got everyone excited upon receiving them and were acting almost like little kids getting a bag full of sweets! LOL! *wink*

I wish to thank everyone who contributed to the door gifts. Thank you so much!

As if getting the great goodies in the bag was not exciting and lucky enough, I got even luckier this time around when I drew the lucky number for a book on felt flowers courtesy of Diane who had sent it through Margaret with a request to have it drawn during the Anniversary Meet.

Diane thought that the book would be just perfect as we had just completed making felt flowers as part of the requirement for the Anniversary Gift Exchange.

Here's the front of the book.

I just love the book! I can already imagine what I want to make, only I don’t know when I am going to make them! LOL!

Thank you so much, Diane, for the book! Hugs!

Can I tempt anyone to have Ikan Bakar with me? *wink*

I was in Melaka two weeks ago, and since by the time we were done with the meeting, it was already 7.30pm, we decided to have dinner before heading back to Kuala Lumpur.

This was the spread we ordered.

Doesn't the spread look delicious? Yum! I am licking my lips and swallowing my saliva just looking at the photos! LOL!

Here are the two people who followed me on my trip to Melaka - Shah in white and Afifi.

While we were there ordering our food, I managed to just catch a glimpse of the sun setting.

It was a beautiful sight and so serene. I missed by just a few minutes to take a photo while the sun is a little bit higher. Oh well!