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Stress-related blindness?? March 21, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 13comments

Last Monday, my hubby told me about a rather strange email he had received from a very good friend of his. He deemed it strange because although my hubby and this friend of his get along really really well, he couldn’t, for the life of him, understand why that email was sent.

The email went something like this:

Subject: I will be busy this week

I will be busy the whole of this week because I have to host my friend Lewis on his 2nd trip to KL

And attached in the email was the following picture:

I, too, thought it was a rather odd email but we figured that our friend was just up to one of his crazy antics again.

It wasn’t till the next morning, just before I dropped my hubby off at work, that it suddenly hit me… that Lewis in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Mr Lewis Hamilton!! With the Formula 1 hitting Malaysian shores this weekend in Sepang, everything suddenly made perfect sense! That email must have been a bragging tool for my hubby’s friend! D’oh!

It’s a wonder why and how we didn’t realize it when we saw the picture…turns out that our friend actually met Lewis in the same plane and of course, who wouldn’t ask for a photo, eh?  He says that Lewis is a really polite and soft-spoken guy.

So there you have it…a truly “duh”-fying moment brought to you courtesy of The Giddy Tigers. Over and out.

Have a blessed Good Friday, everyone!

X marks on the lormaikai March 8, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 10comments

Here’s wishing LB the very happiest birthday today!  May you have all the lormaikais you have ever hoped for and all the Canning Garden chee cheong fun you ever wanted…sorry, I don’t have a picture of the ccf though.  Never mind, soon you will be back in Malaysia so you can eat as much as your tummy can hold, can?

How very coincidental for LB to have his birthday fall on polling day today.  In a few hours’ time (of course after I have had a good good night’s rest), Malaysians will throng polling centers nationwide to queue up and put the X where it should be.  Pity though about the cancellation of the use of the indelible ink on the fingernails of voters.  I was hoping to take a picture of my index finger with the ink marking and posting it proudly here too.

After the elections, come the results.  And the entire nation will be waiting with bated breath to find out the outcome.  I will certainly look forward to the cleaning up of all the posters and banners that have littered the roads for the past few weeks, that’s for sure.  Well, until then…I’m calling it a night now.  Remember to vote wisely…

All red, all ong, yeehaaa!! March 4, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Memes & Tags, Relax & Celebrate , 14comments

Although red is one of my favorite colors, I have not been wearing a lot of it lately. And this being tagged by Slavemom has reminded me of that. I don’t know why myself. Maybe I just didn’t take any photos of myself in red that much anyway. Too bad I can’t tell from photos what color underwear I am wearing though, otherwise…

Anyway, my hunt for a photo of myself garbed in red finally resulted in this one, taken sometime mid of last year. Aiya, already posted in Ethan’s blog, no need to post again, kua…? Coincidentally, Ethan was dressed to match my outfit (and so was my hubby). Yes, we like to plan these little little things… hehe…This was a red cheongsam I had tailormade for Chinese New Year some years ago, and thankfully can still fit into.

But to satisfy the requirements for this tag, I MUST put up a picture of someone in RED, yes? Ethan looks good in red…so here’s an oldie but goodie, taken when he was only 4 months’ old. This was one of his favorite rompers and I love seeing him in it.

Okay, now who’s up for more ONG ONG Red??? Must tag:

Simple American - how not to tag the birthday boy?
Rinnah - always a good taggee
Paik Ling - because I finally spoke to you today!

START COPY HERE

Here are the rules:

1. Post YOUR photo wearing red, may it be a red top, bottom, the least would be red accessories if you hate wearing red… If you can’t find one, you still have an option. Either post your Significant Other’s photo or your child’s photo, if you have one. Of course, they should be wearing red.

2. Let us know the reason why you were wearing red that particular day. Was it your birthday? Is red your fave color or was it the shirt that you first saw in your closet that day?

3. Tag 3 people close to your heart. By the way, they have to be in your blogroll. No cheating heart pleaseeeeeeee!

4. Once you’re tagged, could we please keep it going - just for this month?

END HERE.

And, finally…here’s wishing Simple American the very best birthday ever! Miss reading your posts…please make a comeback to the blogosphere!

C’mon baby let’s get away February 26, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate , 19comments

I’m back from my very short two-night escapade to KL..no..more like Damansara because that’s where we were most of the time anyway.  In short, it was a very fruitful and eventful trip, the excitement of which started even before we left Penang on that Saturday morning.  My hubby noticed the air pressure in one of the rear tyres of our car was diminishing more so than the rest, and it was a good thing that he noticed a nail stuck to the tyre right before we left.  Not wanting to tempt fate, and taking this as a sign from God, we drove to the tyre shop and had it patched.  We decided to have dim sum brunch after that since we were already hungry.

Off we headed for KL after that.  Surprisingly though, Bidor still called out to us, and we simply had to stop for a quick bite there.  The lure of the Pun Chun wan ton mee was too strong, even though it is now priced at a hefty RM5.25 per plate! The quaint little town of Bidor was already decked in election posters and banners, much more so than in Penang, I would say.

This time round, hubbs and I decided to take Monday off from work, so we had more time to spend in the Klang Valley.  It was a good thing we did, because we managed to achieve a lot of things:

 

 

Alrighty now…it’s high time for me to lose weight.  Hopefully before the polling date…

My New Year reflections February 11, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 18comments

 

After five days of non-work, coming back to the boring, humdrum life of the office seems such a waste. Well, we are all still very much in the festive spirit of the Chinese New Year, and there are still ten more days to go of angpow giving, and receiving (for some)…and cookie eating…

I’ve already lou-sanged four times thus far, and still counting. Every time has been different from the one before. This year I have tasted vegetarian yee sang, jellyfish ones, salmon ones and the conventional fish kinds. Of course, eating yee sang is merely the tip of the iceberg where my Chinese New Year food experience is concerned. It started with the reunion dinner in Ipoh, where I stuffed myself full of scrumptious home cooking from Mom in Ipoh. Felt like a cow after that. The tau-ewe-bak dish I had cooked and brought from Penang was also added to the array of dishes that filled the table. Then I also had cookies non-stop. We traveled to Taiping on the first day of the New Year where there were so many varieties of pineapple tarts beckoning to me. With all this eating and stuffing, it is no wonder that I found my red cheongsam a little bit snug today. SIGH.

It was a splendid feeling to be back with our loved ones for the New Year. Even though the weather was scorching hot ala Chinese New Year weather, and even though I lost one of the hooks on my brand new pair of silver dangling earrings just less than thirty minutes after I had put them on. Yesterday, I checked with Forever 21 (where I had bought them from) but they told me they don’t carry *spare parts* for their earrings. Guess I shall have to convert the earrings into a pendant or something.

Yes, the balik kampung experience really was a joyful occassion, save for the traffic jams here and there and even though on the morning before we left Taiping for Penang on the second day of New Year, we discovered that the back of our car had been vandalized. Someone with really really itchy hands had scratched the surface of our car, and spelt out the “HA” on the boot. Probably wanted to wish us Happy New Year or something. We are just thankful no one was hurt though.

We returned to the comfort of our home after a marathon day of visiting relatives in Penang.  We had two whole days to laze around and enjoy.  And since it was still the New Year period, I got myself a brand new 2.2 liter electronic rice cooker.  Here’s to more days of chicken rice ahead!  Is it bad that I am already looking forward to the next stretch of holidays?

Usher in the mousey year! February 6, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate , 17comments

Have you gotten everything ready for Chinese New Year yet? Got all the pongkams (mandarin oranges), cookies, pussy willows and cherry blossoms? Got all the spring cleaning done? Got all the new new red red “ong ong” clothes and underwear washed and ironed out? Heh.

Me? I’m almost there…

The rush to get all the necessary new ringgit notes has finally paid off. All the running around from bank to bank, taking numbers and waiting in line, … an annual routine task for me, I’d say… well, since I earned the right the give angpows away, that is. And finally, on Monday, I reap my harvest…Love the crisp feeling and smell of the new notes. Love how smooth they feel in my hands. Love it love it love it! Next up. Packing them into angpow packets for distribution.

Yes, Chinese New Year is definitely a time of giving and of eating. This year, we will spend our Chinese New Year reunion in Ipoh, my hometown. This is the first time I will be back in Ipoh for the reunion since I got married about three years ago. So definitely a lot of eating involved there. Looking forward to the yee sang, jiu hoo char and too thor th’ng. Very the festive indeed.

Like all previous Chinese New Years, we have also prepared New Year hampers for our parents. We also gave a similar one to Ethan’s baby sitter. Preferring instead to have our hampers consist of nutritious food items instead of sweets and candies, we got these hampers from Eu Yan Sang, nicely wrapped and delivered to our doors. Love the sparkle and joy on the faces of our parents when we present it to them. Actually I am secretly wishing someone would give one to me too… hehehe…

So, to everyone celebrating Chinese New Year, a very Keong Hee Huat Chye, Kong Hei Fatt Choy and Xing Nian Kuai Le to you. To everyone traveling home on the roads, drive safely and remember to rest if you are tired. And to everyone enjoying the holidays, have a good well-deserved rest.  Now, bring on the food!

Wordless Wednesday 005 January 30, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , 15comments


~ Wordless Wednesday ~

Red red ong ong angpows January 29, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 15comments

One of my pre-Chinese New Year activities, apart from boring old spring cleaning, is collecting angpow packets. I normally start this activity about a month or three weeks before Chinese New Year. Everywhere I shop, I would ask if they had angpow packets to give away. Sometimes I have to *adjust* my purchases just so I qualify to get the angpow packets. Such is my determination to get the angpow packets that I want. Of course, I normally ask to see what the angpow packets look like first, because then I will know if it is worth the while to get them. When I told my hubby I was gonna ask my facial center if they do give out angpow packets, he asked me if my hobby is now collecting angpows. Hardihaha.

This year, I have amassed quite a good collection to date. I’m hoping to get a couple more designs because I am not done with my shopping yet. Plus, I still need to go to my other banks to get some new notes which CIMB bank did not have.

Once I am ready to pack the angpows, I will then assign a specific design for a specific angpow amount. All angpows of the same design (and in this case, same content amount) will be grouped together and placed in my bag. This way, I can easily produce an angpow of the correct amount when the situation calls for it. No need to rummage and peer into angpow packets to check the contents before giving the angpow away.

And what do I do with the rest of the angpows? I don’t know yet. Make more Chinese New Year decorations?

Spinning makes me giddy January 28, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 14comments

 

It all started with just a comment.  A simple one, at that…she had come over to my blog because she saw my name in Simple America’s blog.  And the rest, as they so clichély say, is history.  Over the span of several months, our friendship blossomed.  From simple “Hi there” google chats to phone calls when I found myself in KL, it’s amazing how we click even though we have never met each other.  I’m also constantly amazed at how similar we both are, in our interests and whatnot… in fact, she’s just like a little sister to me. :)

Who am I talking about?  Yes, today, my dear friend Rinnah, whom I have gotten to know a little bit more better during the past year, is celebrating her birthday (your 21st, right Rinnah? *grins*).  Happy Birthday Rinnah! One year wiser and one year prettier!  May you have many many more spinning blogging moments in the year ahead!

Psst…Any leftover birthday cake?

Prosperity plants & pasta January 26, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate , 16comments

Maybe it was because I kept seeing Chinese New Year ads all over the TV.

Maybe it was because I just sent out a whole bunch of Chinese New Year cards on Friday.

Maybe it was because I felt the living room lacked some Chinese New Year “ong”.

Maybe it was because my hands were itchy.

Maybe it was all of the above reasons in one way or another, but most probably it was because we were gonna have Ethan’s early birthday lunch celebration today, so my parents are here in Penang for a visit and yeah, so are my parents-in-law. Double the stress! So what to do, what to do, what to do? I mopped the house and gave the living room a facelift lo, like any good daughter/daughter-in-law would do.

The prosperity plant we had had long since dieded… so okay, we cheated. We bought a healthy-looking one from Jaya Jusco two days ago (RM23.80), and all I had to do was just to scoop out the old soil and replanted the new prosperity plant. The ceramic pot of course remained. The plan was working flawlessly, and I beamed with pride when MIL exclaimed, “What a healthy looking prosperity plant that is!” Unfortunately, my hubby let the cat out of the bag when he retorted, “We bought it from the supermarket laaaa!” Bummer. *grumble grumble mutter mutter*

Next, the space in the living room where once the Christmas tree stood, had been empty for about 5 days now. I took the tree down on Monday and on Friday, I brought out our pussy willow stalks in a tall vase. Fine, it was last year’s but they still look good, so I thought, “Why not?” After hanging the decorations and turning the vase a few times to ensure a perfect angle on the pussy willow stalks (hubby helped a bit with the aesthetics too), I was glad. NOW, it looks like Chinese New Year… well, save for the mandarin oranges we have yet to buy though. Do you think I have got enough decorative elements on the stalks or do I need to make some more?

On a rather unrelated note, isn’t it weird why I would crave for something Italian and cheesy when it is Chinese New Year season? When I work from home, I have the luxury to experiment in the kitchen, and pasta was the main course for lunch on Friday, as I cooked up a mushroom and herb pasta dish. So yummy, so cheesy, so calorie-laden, so…. Okay, okay, so you caught me again. I had some *help* making it (of course I “kah liu” with cheddar cheese and margarine - I didn’t have butter) Still good, no? Works for an Italian-food lover like moi!