A new thing to try

I have been battling with my face problem for the longest time. Have tried so many things, from the cheap ones to the not-so-cheap ones to no avail. Well, sometimes it would work for a few days but then, it was always back to square one. So three days ago as I was googling on natural face cleanser, I stumbled upon oil cleansing method. So decided to give it a try..the verdict? Well, it has only been three days but I think my face is a bit, teeny tiny bit clearer. Maybe it is working or maybe it is just my imagination...we shall see in a few days' time.. Hopefully this works for me. I really envy people with flawless skin. I am not talking about the 'fake' flawless natural makeup, this is pure flawless skin. I have a friend whose skin is so supple and soft ( it looks like it, no way I am touching somebody else's face, as obsessed as I am with it!), and of course I had to ask her what is her secret and of course I was green with envy when she said "Oh! I just wash my face with soap".. Soap??? If I were to wash with soap, and we are talking about a simple bar soap, my face would flare up like crazy the very next day! Anywho, with this new experiment of mine, I know I can't achieve the perfect, flawless skin but I hope at least my adult zits would vanish or at least, won't decide to visit me every so often. Once my son asked me, "mommy, are you still a teenager?" I was thinking was it because I look young for my age 😉. But, my son quickly zapped me back to reality by saying "because you always have pimples like a teenager" 😩😩😩😩😩. Always hope for the best and keep marching on!

Thoughts for today....

It is a gloomy and dreary saturday, not so cold according to the forecast but not sunny, that is for sure. Definitely not a day to be out and about. Was flicking through the channels and there was nothing interesting to watch. With hundreds of channels that we have, there is still nothing to watch! Well, actually there are movies I want to watch but over here, if it is rated R, it is a definite no no for the kids. Langsung takde penapisan, it being violence or nudity or language, so that is out of the question! So settled for a very very old movie, wayyyyy back in 1980.. Superman II! Since the new superman movie is coming out soon, maybe should get the kids acquainted with this classic movie and mommy also needs to refresh some memory, I was 6 when this movie came out. Gosh! It was THAT long ago... What amazes me is the technology that the west had way back then in the 80s, the special effects, the imagination, and even the script and the acting. And they have progressed in so many ways and has conquered the movie world. Compared to what Malaysia has now, it is sad to say that we have gone backwards in some ways. We had the P Ramlee's movies before and they were very entertaining and quite educational but now we rarely see good quality movies. Safe for a few great Malaysian movies such as Bunohan, some Yasmin Ahmad's movies and ....hhmmmm..what else? (Maybe there are a few more that I haven't seen), our movies are mostly about orang kaya rebut harta, rebut laki, dengki sana sini, mak2 datin rambut oren karat and tinggi macam bee hives, and lots and lots of love stories.. I mean, the west pun ada love stories too but they way they translate it into movies are way more interesting and less annoying. The screenplay is not the same all the time like most cerita melayu and the acting is of course, way much better. I know some might disagree with me but come on, you have to admit most Malaysian actors and actresses are selected based on their looks and not their skills. Don't get me wrong. I do watch some malay movies but as I mentioned before, so much improvement is needed. Okay, this is not a movie but this came to my mind as I am typing this. Adam dan Hawa.. Confessed that I was not going to watch it anymore but could't resist watching the last few episodes.. 😉. Anyway, the last episode where they had their first baby.. The baby shown was at least three months old!! Padahal baru je Ain tu bersalin. Siap boleh main cak cak with baby...did the director think that we, the watchers are stupid??? We can see that the baby is definitely not a day old. So tidak logic okay??? And there was one scene where they went for honeymoon, and Ain said something like this, "hmmm..it is so privacy here". Seriously??? Editor..tidur ke? And then, Adam said something and he said the word spoil and 'sEpoil'.. Memang la sEpoil muka hensem cakap macam tu...😫. Malay movies and dramas really really need to improve! Hehe..kutuk kutuk tapi tengok jugak kan? Ye la, kalau tak tengok, macam mana nak kutuk..actually nak komen bukan kutuk.. Anyway, nak tengok superman now...

Twenty 13

So, it is twenty 13 now..three days into the new year and this year I have two resolutions..hmm...will see how long it will last...the two are to exercise more ie swimming, running and whatever that i feel like doing in order to achieve a healthier self ( oh and that also includes a healthier spiritual self too) and also, again like a broken record, to write more. So, went swimming yesterday, didnt get many laps done btw, got so out of breath and also spent quite some time talking to Alex, the lifeguard. He was telling me about his cat and I was telling him about our cold freezing trip to Philly. I think I swam for about ten laps and I was so tired last night, my legs ached a bit. So out of stamina I tell you! Need to get moving more..☺. And now to writing, well, this is my first entry for twenty 13 and I hope, really hope, there will be more entries for this year..here in my blog or in my notebook which I like to call the writer's notebook where I have all my ideas, story lines, rage writing 😠 and what not. Also this year I hope we will be heading home for good..really miss my family and also the food!!! Been here for three years and I think it is time to feel the hot Malaysian sun again. However, before heading home, I hope that we can travel as much as possible in the USA because once wee're back, I dont think we have the money to come back here for a holiday and it is too far too!!! The west coast is still alien to us so California, vegas here we come, In syaa Allah. Ready to go!!!!

I am one worried mom

My son is now in the process of applying for middle school and of course I want him to go to the best school for him. The middle school process in new york city is comparable to college application process. You have to fill in a form and put your five choices and depending on the schools that you have selected, you might be called for interviews and tests. It is so stressful not only for the kids but also for the parents. It is highly competitive as there are only a certain numbers of seats in the top schools and the applicants are getting more and more by the year. Ok, that is for the public school application. Now, we have also been trying to get him into the international school and that is a another process that is giving us headache. he had to sit for this Independent School Entrance Examination for two and a half hours, comprising of Math and English. We had some practice done on the sample questions and even though he didn't get everything right, he managed to answer most of the questions. Come the real thing, he said he didn't get to finish quite a number of questions as he was spending too mich time double checking his answers because he was really scared he might answered them wrong. I was so upset because he was supposed to answer all and then checked the answers! He is a bit of an overthinker so he would always take longer time going over things and that has caused him some marks. I have been reminding him time and again about his time management, that he should know how to time himself in tests and he had sat for his state exams twice and he had done really well. I guess he got freaked out about this test and he was being too careful. Well, he got most of the questions that he answered right, that is good but the fact that he could have gotten more marks if only he tried to answer the remaining questions. Anyway, we got the results and it is not as good as what he had gotten on the practice test (I think). A few days after the test, we went for the interview and it was a family interview. While he did conduct himself well, he was so nervous in the beginning that he kept looking at me for answers when the director of admission was asking him questions. Anyway, the process had passed and all we can do know is wait and hope and pray for the best. Tawakkal is what we do now. I keep on reminding myself that whatever happens, it is for the best. But still, until we get the results, I am going to be one worried mom.

Bread making

For the past two weekends, I have been learning to make homemade bread and it had been fun. Kids got involved, they love punching down the dough and kneading..well, actually more of playing with the dough. The outcome was better the second time,"practice makes perfect". It is a nice feeling to be smelling the bread baking in the oven and to know that something simple yet delicious is about to be done in a few minutes. The best feeling of all is when my hubby and kids enjoyed the warm bread and nearly the whole loaf was attacked within minutes.. For me, that is a huge achievement! Am not a huge fan of cooking, i mean i dont hate it but i dont love it either but there are times when i want to try new things and when it comes out great, I am a happy bunny!! So far I have made the basic white loaf so next project, at the request of husband dearest, is the dinner rolls and cinnamon raisin bun (well, the second one is my request to myself). So maybe soon we will not be buying bread from the stores anymore, maybe just maybe...:)). Nothing is impossible. Who ever thought I would be making my own bread? Not me, for sure. Cooking used to be so foreign to me before! Everything related to making food was and sometimes is still scary to me but I have to say I have come a long way. Last week, I made fish curry and hubby said that it was delicious! Yeay! Then we told our daughter the story of the very first fish curry I made, it was when we were still dating and oh my, it was a disaster. It was sweet and the fish was all falling apart! I was living with my aunt at that time and well, she freaked out too. she wasnt a good cook either and both of us were trying to "fix" the curry by putting salt, then sugar, then salt again then sugar again because the taste was so weird! we didn't have tome to make a new one so by the time hubby came,we had no choice but to serve him the horrendous dish. my aunt and I were trying to read his face when he ate it. he was a good actor I guess because not only he ate as if it was okay (he didnt say it was delicious but he didnt say it was bad either), he also had a second helping of the unedible dish. I couldn't eat it myself. Yeap, it was THAT bad! Then I told my daughter that if your dad hadn't eaten it, maybe I wouldn't have married him. Hahaha.

Running day today

Yeay..at last today I went running at central park..for someone who lives fifteen minutes away from this iconic park of new york city, I am sure a late, very late addition to this popular sport at this popular park...hope that makes sense..hahaha..actually, it is not that I haven't been to central park before..been there tons of time..but not for running..only walking and strolling and people watching. So now since I am determined to start running and son dearest is also in his school running team and it was such a nice day today, we decided to go running. My daughter went as well and as usual she would be sprinting away, (running is her way of walking)and I was shouting from behind, asking her to slow down..it was a good run and I was sweating which is really hard to do in fall or winter...there was a lot of people running and was happy to finally be part of the "group". Hopefully this new hobby will last even though not sure when the next time I can go running at the park as the temperature will be dropping starting from tomorrow. Well, if there is a will, there is a way right? Talking about will, boy, did I have a lot of will power today..today is BLACK FRIDAY!!! And I didnt set foot in any store.!!!..walking to and from central park, we passed through so many shops and there were people everywhere with shopping bags and there were sale signs everywhere in every single corner!! Arghh!! Wish I could go but then was thinking that there wasn't anything that I REALLY want or need for now and don't really want to drag the kids and brave the crowd..they will be whining till my eardrums burst anyway plus the "banker" is at work today despite the thanksgiving holidays!! So no black friday for me then.. Hopefully tomorrow wil still ada some leftovers..:)).. Willpower for tomorrow lain cerita..:)) Smile and the world will smile with you!!!!

Knitting project

So I have decided to resume my knitting project after nearly three years hiatus..determined to make hubby his scarf which I have promised...hmm...almost three years ago 😉. A few days ago, I wanted to order some yarn from this online shop. And then I just realised that I don't have a clue of what type of yarn to get and how much of it needed to make a scarf. So kenala buat homework dulu..spent more than an hour doing that. It was a bit confusing because there were so many conflicting infos. So I took the leap of faith and followed this particular website, it looked reliable enough. Okay, done with the homework, off I went to the shop (in the virtual world that is) and found this craft shop that offered free shipping with a $40 purchase. So now pening with the decision to buy up to $40 la pulak. Eventually the yarn I wanted to buy to make the scarf came up to only $15. But nak free shipping punya pasal, I decided to get yarn for my self and my daughter..(my son not a fan of scarves). Dah siap pilih all the yarn, still tak cukup syarat..the yarns were cheap to start with and ada sales on top of that. So decided to buy some felt fabric that my daughter needs to make her dolls' t shirts. And then I made the $40 mark..phew, macam lari marathon..😊. So now eagerly waiting for it to be shipped, of course free shipping comes with its downside, 7-10 businees days!!! Jenuh le menunggu. So in the meantime, I am practicing my knitting skill or rather the lack of it. And after reading up on knitting, I discovered new stitches and techniques. And there are sssoooo many different types of stitches..well, the basic two are knit and purl, but the combination of those two can make the other many wonderful types of stitches. Last night while we were watching our Saturday night movie, I was busy practicing all these new discoveries, rasa seronok la pulak..as I am typing this pun, macam tak sabar nak start knitting..hahaha..new found love? We shall see..... Discovery is a wonderful thing...