12 days of Christmas

This is too funny, have to post it on my blog...

Our Little Precious

Dylan is 1 month old today!

They are my babies...

DJ's Fullmoon Party

HoHoHo...

This is the time of the year when Christmas shopping used to be on the top of our to-do list. Not sure if I will be doing alot of it this year as we have a new addition to the family and he will be taking up most of my free time from now on.

Have the Christmas tree up yesterday and Baby Dylan has already gotten present from his grand parents. Oh well, guess we all know Dylan is the No. 1 in the family now...

Dylan @ 3 weeks

We're so amazed and stunned when our baby did this...

With some encouragement from Uncle Patrick and his daddy, Dylan lifted his head more than once to entertain us. Mummy's very proud.

Bundle of Joy!

Richard and I are parents now! Baby Dylan James Rodwell was born at 3.30pm, 2nd November 2007, weighing 3.25 kgs (7.2 lbs).

We are doing well. Dylan is 1 week old today. It has been a great and emotional first week for us as new parents and we are definitely looking forward to more.

Rich's 37th Birthday

It has been a busy week for us indeed... with all the birthday celebrations that my husband was given. Besides celebrating at Senja and Tabush (with the Ho's), he also had one boozy night out with the boys. You can just imagine, we were all caked-out last week. And of coz, not forgetting all the cards and angpau from our parents.

It gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling everytime he blew out the candles. My big baby is getting older and wiser, we hope :-)... Honey, I love you...

Colin Farrell, not bad at all...

Your celebrity soul mate is someone who's Bold
Who's Your Celebrity Soul Mate?

Baby, pregnancy, baby, pregnancy and more baby and pregnancy

This is day number 219 and I am 31 weeks pregnant! I have 61 days or 9 weeks left, and are 77.5% of the way there. Baby's age since conception is 205 days or 29 weeks.

3D scan - Baby @ 30 weeks

This is how my 31 weeks pregnant belly looks like...

Baby and pregnancy - its all I ever post of lately...

Opposite Attracts??

April 26

You lucked out the skills to succeed in almost any arena. Put you in almost any business or classroom, and you'll rise to the top. You're driven and intense, but you also know when to kick back and cooperate. Your ability to adapt to almost any situation is part of what's going to make you a success. Your strength: Your attention to detail Your weakness: You can be a little too proud of your successes Your power color: Turquoise Your power symbol: Arrow pointing up Your power month: August

October 3

You are more than a big ball of energy - you are a big ball of hyper. You are always on the go, but you don't have a type a personality. Instead of channeling your energy into work, you instead go for fun and adventure. Witty and verbal, you can have an interesting conversation with anyone. Your strength: Your larger than life imagination Your weakness: You tend to be pretty scattered Your power color: Lime Your power symbol: Lightening bolt Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Bali, 30 July - 5 August 2007

As always, Bali was great and it was much busier this year round compared to our previous trip a year ago. Good to see that the island is gradually getting back to it's pre-bombing state. The villa that we stayed in was gorgeous, a three-bedroom with a lovely pool and outdoor dining and living area (has been pretty lazy with the camera, hence no pictures were taken).

Our one week stay has been packed with activities, dinners, parties and shopping. Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves very much and we're glad that we have made the Bali trip as this would be the last overseas holiday for this year, before the baby is born.


The one and only picture of Rich and I by the beach...



The Little Prince Ryan who is 5 months old and has been a star. He is just so so adorable.

37" waist

5.5 Months Pregnant & 3.5kg Over Weight

Current Mood:
- Good

Latest Update:
- Baby and I are doing fine.
- I was told by the doctor that I am over weight - for the first time in my life... Need to watch my diet a little. Not good to get too big.
- Planning for another mini holiday to Bali. We need to get as much travelling in as we could coz I wont be allowed to fly in 2 months time.
- Will start my pre-natal yoga class next week.

Pangkor Laut, 4th - 8th June 2007

We had a wonderful holiday... Everything was just perfect...

Baby @ 17 Weeks

Tag: My fans

Started my blog on July 11, 2006, very much has changed since then. To begin with, I am now 17 weeks pregnant and cant wait to be a mommy... And recently I have been tagged by Evelyn aka. Sunshine, a lovely gal whom I got to know years ago in my ex-company.

So, who are my fans whom has been reading my blog since:

June - She is a super mum, if you ask me. We knew each other for almost 5 years now and it just feels like we have known one and other for a lifetime. She is great, everything you wish for from a best friend. I am so glad that our husbands get along fantastically well too. And of coz, not forgetting their adorable kids - Jamie and Mark. I enjoy spending time with them.

Dianne - Stumbled upon her blog accidentally a year ago I think and I was going thru a rough time then as well. Read and instantly loved the way she expressed herself, I found it extremely brave and honest of her to be able to share her feelings. The letter she wrote to her future baby once made me cried...

The Rodwells, my in-laws in UK - They are the loveliest people I have ever known. Even though we speak every other day, I still find it very handy to keep them updated via my blog with pictures and videos.

Angie, Jean & Mun - We are childhood friends, known each other since Grade 2 (8 years old) and still keeping in touch and try to meet up whenever we can. Must keep up this beautiful ritual. 2 of them will be having baby end of this year, how exciting!!

Sylvia & Vnus - Both are my faithful silent readers. Sylvia is a mommy residing in Singapore, her precious little daughter, Amber is keeping her busy enough. Vnus is in Bangkok, my loyal ex-account executive who was my eyes and ears when I was managing the Thailand office years ago. Start your own blog ladies, plsssssss.

Evelyn - My newest reader.

Now, I am gonna tag:
- June
- Mun
- Dianne

Updates

Current mood: Exhausted but excited.
- Exhausted because I have not been sleeping well, woke up 3 times last night to go to the loo.
- Have been under the weather these few days as well. Down with sore throat, flu and cough.
- Excited as we are going on a mini holiday the week after next to Pangkor Laut for 5 days.

Picture:
My 16 weeks pregnant belly (what do you think?)

Have a good laugh with Elmo

Rich got me my second birthday present this afternoon, you will never guess it - Tickle Me Elmo by Sesame Street. Very cute, isn't it? And it has 5 different versions of laughter and moves. It is truly a toy not only for kids but adults too.

12th Week Ultrasound

Hello Everybody!

I am a little apprehensive still about posting this fabulous piece of news - we are 12 weeks pregnant as of today...


'You may not see the family resemblance yet, but you will in about 7.5 months...'

How Cluttered Is Your Mind?

Your Mind is 35% Cluttered

Your mind is very free. You've liberated yourself from most worries and problems.And even if something does start to clutter your mind, you're easily able to let it go.

How Cluttered is Your Mind?

What Tarot Card Are You?

I am The Empress... so I was told

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents, beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Western Australia, 15th - 23rd February 2007 (Part 1)

I have always wanted to visit Australia and we have decided to spend CNY away this time round. The air tickets and one hotel stay were free, redeemed with our painstakingly accumulated air miles and loyalty points.

Day 1, Thursday
The flight took approximately 5 hours, which was longer than what we expected. However, we did not really mind that as we both were all geared up for the trip.

Perth was cooler than I anticipated when we first landed - 16 degree Celsius during summer was pretty rare, we were told. Checked ourselves into The Melbourne Hotel located in the heart of Perth city. We came across the hotel online and it looked pretty decent and all, especially since it has been around for 105 years (we were expecting something like Carcosa Sri Negara).

Disappointingly, it was not what we were used to when we travel. So, we checked out the next day and checked into somewhere nicer...

Day 2, Friday
The Outram Luxury Hotel is located near King's Park and Subiaco, which is the up-and-coming happening area in West Perth. We loved the hotel and their service. Complementary drinks and canopies available everyday.

Spent the day shopping and wandering around Subiaco and we bought 2 beautiful landscape photographs as remembrance. Lunch and dinner were good but almost everything shuts at 4pm in Perth. A very laid back city and it took us a while to get used to it.

Day 3, Fremantle
The Fremantle Market, a place not to be missed if you were in Perth... so we were told. To be honest, the scenery was nice but the rest was really average if you ask me. Had lunch at a famous fish and chip restaurant (I cant even remember the name, it shows how impressed I was with the place...) and its just a little too touristy for my taste. Oh well, a tick of the box anyway.

Day 4, Sunday
Started our self-drive tour down south to Margaret River. The journey took us 3 hours and the drive was pleasant enough, just that it was a bit hot and I got tanned sitting in the passenger seat. My left shoulder is darker than my right, to give you some idea.

Along the way, we stopped by a few towns for a look-see. Lunched at a restaurant by the beach in Bunburry and the view was simply amazing. One thing we are used to on this trip was long lunches, can take up to 2.5 hours, enjoying the beer, wine, views and each other's company.

Drove thru Busselton and visited the jetty... Stopped for coffee and ice cream.

Finally, arrived at The Merribrook Retreat at 4.30pm. Our room key and map of the hotel were left at the reception area as the office closed at 4pm, what's new? The retreat is set in the middle of a wild life reserve park of 190 acres and there are only 9 cottages available. You can just imagine the amount of space we have, the place was simply stunning. There were hares, kangaroos, different kind of birds, ducks, swans around us (these were the animals we encountered, I am sure there are plenty more that we missed). This is as close to living in the wild as anyone could get.

We rose early as breakfast was served every morning in the main house from 8 - 10.30am. This was also a time for guests to get to know one and other and chit chat. Eating out in Margaret River is limited as all vineyard closes by 5pm, most of them only do lunches and only a hand full of good restaurants in town serve dinner. So, the guests were encouraged to buy food and wine and use the kitchen in the house. Loved the atmosphere, reminded me of the days I spent back in university.

Day 5, Monday
Began our vineyard tour around Margaret River, we enjoyed it tremendously.



Had lunch in Leeuwin Estate, the best meal we had on our entire trip to Western Australia - food was amazingly good and the view was unbeatable. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw the Malaysian flag being raised at the courtyard as we walked in, after we found out that the Malaysian Tourism Minister, his wife - 'Puteri Gunung Ledang' and family were expected to lunch at Leeuwin as well. Just hope that they were not on any 'official visit', if you know what I mean...

Western Australia, 15th - 23rd February 2007 (Part 2)

Day 6, Tuesday
Took a drive further down south along Caves Road toward Jewel Cave. There are 2 other caves worth a visit beside Jewel - Mammoth and Lake. We picked the best one to go to coz once you have seen one, there are more or less pretty similar.

Since it was Rich's first and my second caving experience, we had lots of fun during the guided tour that took us 45 minutes. Another tick of the box for us.

Driving back from Jewel Cave, we stopped and took a few pictures of the famous, hundred year old Karri Forrest. They have white trunks and incredibly tall. The scenery was definitely worth stopping for.

Day 7, Wednesday
Started our journey back to Perth after breakfast. By the time we returned the rented car, we had practically travelled approximately 1,000km.

We were booked into The Intercontinental, Burswood initially, but when we got there, we were then told that our booking was done for Holiday Inn (the sister hotel 500 meters down the road). As you can imagine, Rich was not a happy bunny at all. Unfortunately, there were no chance for an upgrade as all the rooms were fully booked.

Therefore, we have no choice but have to checked into Holiday Inn. Honestly, neither of us have ever stayed in any Holiday Inns before this and it was not that bad after all as the hotel is only 1.5 years old. We did have a tiny view of the city from our room.

Day 8, Thursday
Had lunch at Fraser's, allegedly the hardest restaurant to get into in Perth. Great food and beautiful view of the city as it is located on a higher ground within King' Park. Off for a walk in the park after 2.5 hours of lunching. The walk was surprisingly nice coz of the lovely weather and without realising it, we had spent the whole day in King's Park.

Headed back at 5pm for more food, drinks and a good rest. We were very contended for doing nothing, pretty much very laid back like the locals.

Day 9, Friday
Checked out by noon and had lunch in Coco's, South Perth before we head off to the airport. By this stage, we were really looking forward to going home.

All in all, it has been a great holiday except for a few hick-ups on service, nothing works after 4.30pm and hotel booking. Our favourite leg of the trip is definitely Margaret River, by far. Another tick of the box, but cant see us going back to Perth for a while.

Asian Zodiac - Tiger

Every year nearing Chinese New Year celebration, we will come across magazines, articles on newspapers and even tv talk shows having some kind of free 'fortune telling' whereby our luck for the year is being analysed according to each Asian zodiac (there are 12 different zodiacs according to the Chinese).

This year is the year of the Golden Boar and apparently the zodiac with the best luck overall this year is the Tiger. And since I am a tiger myself (and most of my friends), I did a little reading on the net.

Years:
1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998

Character:
Brave and courageous, the Tiger is ready for any challenge. Nothing can tame their adventurous and rebellious spirit. A supreme optimist, they pursue their goals with fierce intensity. Tigers are admired for their vibrant and playful personality.

Famous Tigers:
Rosie O'Donnell, Jodie Foster, Emily Dickinson, Natalie Wood, Stevie Wonder, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe, Demi Moore, Sun Yat-sen, Garth Brooks, Rush Limbaugh, Lionel Ritchie, Kenny Rogers, Mel Brooks, Tom Cruise, Queen Elizabeth II, John Steinbeck, Jean Kirkpatrick, Paula Abdul, Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter Gabriel, Charles Lindbergh, Marco Polo, Mark Spitz, Ludwidg van Beethoven and Roberta Flack.

Happy Chinese New Year to all. We will be away in Perth for 10 days. Catch up for low sang when we get back.

Gong Xi Fa Chai...!!

the trouble with crabs...

A lobster wanted to marry a crab, but the mother disapproved. "My dear, crabs are so common. They don't have money and, moreover, they walk sideways!"
"Just meet him, mother" said the lobster...
She later turned up with the crab, who shook hands politely and walked in an absolutely straight line into the drawing room.
"But I thought crabs always walked sideways!" exclaimed the mother.
"They do", replied the crab. "But I'm drunk..."

Platinum Parking

For RM8 per entry, it saves us so much time and hassle trying to find a parking space in 1Utama New Wing, especially on a public holiday like today. The allocated parking area is right by the entrance to the ground floor and guards were being stationed there as well.

All you need to do is present your platinum card, from any bank, slot it into the machine, get your receipt printed and off you go... Its just that easy.

They should have platinum parking in all the shopping mall and platinum restrooms as well for that matter. Now, all I need is a platinum card...

'Melenggang Perut'

Attended a very fascinating Malay ceremony today at the Seri Menanti Palace in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan. Its called 'Melenggang Perut' - literally means 'to swing stomach'. It was performed on Tunku Myra who is 7 months pregnant. The whole idea behind this ceremony is to determine the gender of the baby and to bless the mother-to-be for a smooth delivery.

There were 2 stages involved where the first was only witnessed by female family members and friends. Myra was lying in the middle of a holding room and was surrounded by 8 midwives. Each midwife took turns to feel and rub her stomach. Once that was done, the head midwife used a scarf and wrapped Myra's stomach and was swingging and cradling it before she threw the scarf up in the air. Women who are married and plan to have children meant to be catching the scarf - it is very similar to catching the bride's bouquet. There were 7 scarfs all in all and I caught one as well... :-)

Then, all of us adjourned to another ceremony outdoor where the men were already seated. Myra was escorted in and the midwives performed another ceremony where she was bathed in water. The highlight of the whole ceremony was when a coconut was being slash opened, this was meant to determine the sex of the baby. If the coconut juice squirts upwards, means its a BOY and if it goes sideways, its a GAL. They are expecting a boy, we all knew that already, from the scan... That concluded the 'Melenggang Perut' ceremony.

Lunch was served and of coz, lots of protocols involved as the former king was there. A band was playing and everyone seem to be having a good time.

Glad that we went, it was quite an experience.


PS: If you have not noticed, the husband and father-to-be was not being mentioned and has nothing to do with the whole ceremony at all.

Eye On Malaysia

I am sure most of you have already knew that in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007, a giant ferris wheel has been installed at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. The Eye On Malaysia is 60m-high with 42 gondolas, located by the bank of the Titiwangsa lake itself is quite a sight.

It cost 3 of us RM31 to get on and we stayed in the gondola for at least 20 minutes, not a bad deal at all and we did not queue for more than 10 minutes prior (compare to the launch day, people lined up for an hour just to get on it). We were able to see quite a few parts of KL and a good view of the KL Tower and the Twin Towers but nothing beyond that unfortunately. The SkyBar at Traders Hotel will give you a better view of the city.

Well, I have done my bit to support the country for the rest of the year.

Now, lets see...

According to Wikipedia, New Year's Resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. The name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year's Day and remain until the set goal has been achieved, although many resolutions go unachieved and are often broken fairly shortly after they are set... Hope that does not happen to me though.

Well, I have been giving a lot of thoughts to this (not an easy task mind you) and my new year's resolution is to be focus and persevere in whatever that I am doing and to stick to a particular project(s) of mine for as long as I can.

Having said that, the abovementioned is very generic and broad and I am trying to identify a few areas that is more significant to myself for the time being and that includes:-
My personal and family life
- Married life has been a real bliss for the past 1 year plus and of coz, there are still more to improve and learn personally. I need to be more patient in general.
- And I think I am ready to take the next step towards planning for a family. Again, this is not entirely up to me, so fingers crossed.
- Spend more time with my mum. We are going on a holiday some time in March, just the gals and it will be fun.
Business
- Hope the business will take off this year and of coz, we are prepared to put in the hard work. Although it is a bit of a trial for us at the start, I somehow got the feeling that this might just be it.
Friends
- Good friends are hard to come by, we knew that already, so the commitment to spend more time together and keeping in touch is vital. To my friends out there, I want us to see more of each other this year.
Self improvement
- To widen my horizon, read more about wines especially and anything under the sun that might or might not interest me.

Good luck to me in achieving all the above. Not that difficult really, a little patience and perseverance might just do the trick.

Happy New Year everyone... xxx

Angie's bday @ Nerovivo

Celebrated Angie's belated birthday cum our xmas gifts exchange/ get-together (whenever we can) today. Food was yummy, again... Really need to lose some weight once all these holidays are over.

New Year's Eve @ 7ate9

Checked ourselves into The Ascott on new year's eve so that we don't have to worry about getting home after the new year celebration (you know, the usual road blocks and contemplating to drive or not after a few drinks). The rooms are pretty good for what they are charging.

Had dinner at 7ate9, the restaurant/ bar just located at the ground floor of Ascott, very convenient indeed. Food was good and there was lots of alcohol available. The place started to fill up at 10pm. Did the usual, like everyone else around the world did... countdown and watched fireworks from KLCC at midnight as we ushered into year 2007.

Happy New Year to all and hope this will be a better year than the last...

Boxing Day

Guests:-
1. The Ho's - Pat, June, Jamie and Mark
2. The Cranshaw's - Andy, Wai Quan, Meiyi, Ewen
3. Our neighbours - John, Irene, Raymond, Agnes and friend
And plus 4 Rodwells... Never have so many people in the house at one time before.

Again, Rich had decided to cook instead of cater, so we have been working in the kitchen since 9am before guests started arriving from 12 noon onwards. Can you imagine the mess we had in the kitchen?? Nevertheless, I think we have done a good job on the food front and managed to dish out Rich's signature lasagne, 4 different types of bruchettas, spicy sausage pasta, turkey porridge (I made that, for the kids mainly), salads and oysters.

A great fun having everyone around, almost... in the house but it was sure hectic as hell. I have not been doing so much grocery shopping prior to this before, our fridge was full of food that things might fall out each time when one opened the door. So glad that they all have been consumed eventually. And the washing up, oh my... Need I say more??

We were exhausted at the end of day and need another glass of wine just to chill and relax. Great having everyone around on Boxing Day though.

Christmas

Christmas Eve

We had a fabulous xmas eve dinner at The Oggi, Regent Hotel. An all Italian affair with a very good set menu. However, it was a little pricy for my liking, many thanks to mum and dad who picked up the bill.

Went off to June's for drinks after dinner and the kids had a blast opening their presents. Mark and Jamie performed their dances, very impressive I have to say. And of coz, not forgetting the hilarious guest dancer - Jack!

It was surely a tiring day for all of us. Slept through the whole xmas morning and finally woke up at 2pm.

Christmas Day


My husband have been slaving himself in the kitchen getting xmas lunch/dinner ready for all of us. He enjoys cooking during xmas and of coz, the food was delicious! On the menu were turkey, roast and mashed potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sprouts, stuffing and to top it all up with yummy gravy and not forgetting champagne and wines. We stuffed ourselves so much that none of us were having any dinner after that.

The most exciting was of coz the presents, which I have been dying to get my hands on, they have been lying at the bottom of the tree for the longest time. Done pretty well this year, received a pair of T&C earrings, T&C coffee table book (very interesting) and cosmetics from my in-laws, a digital camera and a clutch bag from my husband.