Big Bookshop Warehouse Sale and a Meet Up with "Blog With Yan"

After the Big Bad Wolf Books Sale, Mommy still had another book warehouse sale to stalk. Yes, it's the one by Big Bookshop held at Subang Avenue (last day of sale was 9th Dec 2012).

That day on 7th Dec, Mommy purposely took leave to attend the sale, do some shopping plus meeting up with Yan of "Blog with Yan" - all settled in one day! Mommy parked the car at Subang Avenue because parking is free (by the way, parking at Carrefour Subang which is in between Subang Avenue and Subang Parade is no longer free!). First Mommy did shopping at Parkson in Subang Parade (but ended up not buying anything there). Then at noon, Mommy met up with Yan at McDonalds in Subang Parade itself, together with My Little Sprouts (Mommy didn't mention My Little Sprouts in the blogpost title because we are sisters-in-law and we see each other every weekend!).

Here's our meet-up photo and boy, we had a good chat......aunty chat!

(From left: Mommy, Yan and Alice Law from My Little Sprouts).


Here are the kids! (From left: Juan Or, Juan from My Little Sprouts and Yan's two princesses, April and May). Both Juan Or and Juan were on the noisy side whereas April and May were very well-behaved.

After the meet-up, Mommy headed back to Subang Avenue for the Biog Bookshop Sale.  Here's what Mommy got:

The book with Tiger picture is in hard cover and selling for RM2 only! The T-bots colouring book is RM2.90 and the rest of the books (storybook, sticket and activity books) are RM3 each.

The Superman colouring book is RM4, Growing Up Royal is RM6, and the rest are RM8 each. The Green Worm book at RM8 is not very cheap, but Juan Or kept pestering for it just because there's a wriggly soft toy worm extending from it. 

And finally the RM10 books. Mommy will be blogging more about the Diana's fashion and style book soon (together with Mommy's collection on William and Kate) for Willie a.k.a Reptoz's benefit. ^_^

Total amount spent was RM59.90. Price-wise, overall, of this sale is about the same as Big Bad Wolf, but of course both places offering entirely different books. However, this sale has very little people visiting it as of the time Mommy went, probably because the bulk of people had gone to Big Bad Wolf?

Big Bad Wolf Books Warehouse Preview Day Sale (6th December 2012)

Yay! It's the yearly Big Bad Wolf (BBW) sale again! This time, it's at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC). Juan Or and Mommy have been waiting eagerly for this sale, more so for Juan Or because Mommy has been telling him about it long time ago but not wanting to bring him along since he was still very young and quite a handful to handle. Mommy decided to bring him along this time round because Mommy needs him to help filter the choices of children's books, otherwise Mommy may end up buying 'everything'!

For entry, Mommy tagged along with My Little Sprouts because she got the preview pass. Doors are only opened at 12.30pm, but we only entered at 1.00pm to avoid the long and massive queue. Books are aplenty and placed according to genre. BBW also provides customer service as in providing boxes for you to contain your 'loot', and thereafter you can get a number card indicating the location of shelf where they store your 'loot' (so that you can continue shopping without having to lug the books around!).

Variety-wise, undeniably, there is aplenty. Price-wise, Mommy would say it depends on books - some are still quite expensive, but some is a steal. It all depends on what you are looking for and your priority. Here is Mommy's 'loot'.....

The RM3 books (cheap!), except for Thomas the Tank Engine book which is RM5 (quite expensive considering it's just a thin colouring book but since Juan Or pestered, never mind-lah!). The 'Lady and the Tramp' and Winnie the Pooh' books are in hard cover.

Here are the RM8 books, all in paperback.

Here are the RM10 books - one is a book with cut-out models to make various dinosaurs and the other two books are hard cover, thick glossy pages type of books......cheap!

The RM12 ones.....the Transformers one is a full-colour comic book requested by Juan Or (reasonably cheap only) and the other one on Madame Chiang Kai Shek in thick paperback. For the same Madame Chiang Kai Shek book, Mommy saw one labelled (probably mislabelled?) as RM15 while the rest of the same books are RM12.

This time round, Mommy found a good selection of choo-choo train books for Juan Or. All of them are in hard cover, full colour glossy pages which normally would easily cost more than RM100 per book (or even RM200) outside. The top row one are RM20 each, bottom row left is RM25 and bottom row right is RM35 (but consists of 2 books in the box set).

So, how well did Juan Or cope with Mommy's shopping for books? Well, whenever Mommy stopped to browse books, Juan Or would complain and say,"Mama, why walk-stop, walk-stop!?" Because he posed this question too many times, finally Mommy told him,"Don't make Mama regret bringing you here. If you complain some more, then next year's Big Bad Wolf, Mama will come alone, you stay in the daycare!" He kept quiet and sulked upon hearing this.

After 2 hours of walking and browsing, Mommy decided to bring Juan Or upstairs to see whether there is any bench to sit. Well, there's none but we found some Gintell vending massage chairs! We were also lucky that the particular massage chair we chose does not 'cry' throughout the entire 1 hour that we sat there. Along the way, we met Cleffairy too and chatted for a while.

So how much 'damage' did the 'loot' cost? RM166.25 after the 5% OCBC cardholder's discount. After reaching home, Mommy checked the figure again and found that apparently the cashier has forgotten to key-in the three RM3 books! So consider it as an RM9 gift from BBW! Or consider it as an RM9 advertisement fee for blogging about the sale! ^_^

The Future of Chatting is Here - WeChat!

In the past, Mommy's chatting tool comes in the form of Yahoo Mesenger. Shortly after the initial 'match-making' between Papa and Mommy via Papa's mum,  we went through the getting-to-know-you-better stage via Yahoo Messenger all done from the computer. That was 8 years ago. Fast forward to 6 years later, Mommy ventured into chatting via Facebook, but that's still very much done through the computer. But now, just recently, Mommy discovered WeChat! WeChat is an app used in smartphones to connect friends across various platforms. What's striking about WeChat is that it allows chat in both text and voice forms and the best part of all is that it's FREE for download with absolutely no advertisements! ^_^

The WeChat app is useable in many platforms such as Android, Windows, iPhone, iOS and Symbian. The app has got a clear interface and is user-friendly. Mommy didn't have to take too long to get comfortable in using it, considering Mommy is not that tech-savvy a person....hehehe!

What this app is in store for Mommy is that since it supports multiple language and has the group chat function, Mommy foresees this to be a good tool to stay connected with Mommy's students in the university. Imagine certain class announcements that has to go impromptu but it's not yet the lecture day? Well, this tool definitely solves the problem to make sure Mommy's students are up-to-date about what Mommy wants to convey to them. The best part of it all is that it is free to use with unlimited texting and voice messaging with photo and video exchange function!

Otherwise, for leisure, if Mommy wants to get to know more new people,  there's this Shake function whereby you merely shake your phone to make new friends! See who happen to also be shaking their phones and voila! Those who respond to the shake can connect and make friends!

Does this get you interested now? Why wait!? Go check out WeChat Malaysia's Facebook page here for more tips on how you can maximize your use of this app in your social, working and even family circles! By the way, you can see photos of the recent launch of WeChat at Velvet of Zouk in June 2012 in the Facebook page. Happy chatting! ^_^

*Wink! Wink* If Juan Or sees this iconic speech bubbles, he is sure to say the bigger green one is Mommy and the smaller white one is him! His quote: "Mama speech bubble, Juan Or speech bubble" ^_^

"Life Support System" Revisited - Part 2

The re-revisitation of the "life support system" of infants - or Chinese-ly known as neh neh was still in Mommy's mind because it's the last day of the Triumph Lingerie Warehouse Sale at SS2 Mall. Still hungry and eager to know whether or not there were last-day deals available, Mommy made her way to SS2 Mall alone right after the usual Sunday morning family outing.

Since it was a Sunday, there was no traffic-jam at all from Sri Petaling to SS2. Parking was totally a breeze this time because as soon as Mommy took the parking ticket, someone was reversing out from the nearest parking lot! For these two auspicious things to happen, Mommy believed today's purchase at the sale is good omen. ^_^

About good deals happening on the last day, the only good deal was buy 3, free 1 bra for Amo brand only. Too bad, Mommy already bought them on the 1st day without such deal. Anyway, Mommy didn't plan to buy some more Amo. As for Triumph brand, there was no last day deal, but there were new designs brought in which were not seen on the first day. These are halter neck tops that come together with the Maximizer bra already inserted inside and can be worn either as a camisole-of-sorts or if daring, worn on the outside to give the hot look!

These halter neck tops were sold at RM60 each and the matching panty at RM10. According to the salesgirl, the non-discounted price for the top alone was RM159! There were three designs available, so Mommy grabbed all three! Time to go sexy with Papa! ^_^


There was this bra and panty set too with the ribbon strap over the neck, and the material looks very much like the material for making swimsuits, so you can actually double it as a bikini too!

Each bra was RM40 and the panty at RM10, and available in 3 designs, but Mommy grabbed 2 sets only.

Mommy also went for Triumph brand's range of Maximizer bras with detachable straps, half cups with lacy design - the dark blue ones for RM30 each, the dark blue-brown one for RM60 and one Stretty panty for RM10. As far as Mommy knows, Triumph Maximizer bras with plain design, i.e., light brown colour without any lace sells for at least RM55 at normal price. So imagine those lacy ones - they are going to cost at least RM99 each at the very least, but usually more than RM100!

Total damage was a lot so much so Triumph gave Mommy 2 free gifts, each containing a Stretty panty! (Luckily the free gifts were still available even though it was already 2+ pm!)

*Papa had better not be reading this!* ^_^

"Life Support System" Revisited!

"Life Support System" - yes, also known as neh neh - the life support system of infants. Yup, Mommy went for the Triumph Lingerie Warehouse Sale (26th June - 1st July 2012) at SS2 Mall on the first day of the sale, right after work.

Lately, Mommy has been becoming more fashionable and tended towards spaghetti strap tops for casual wear. Wearing spaghetti tops also mean preferably wearing strapless bras so that the bra straps don't stick out like a sore thumb! So Mommy decided to go to this sale to buy more bras that can go for strapless option.

As usual, Juan Or was very excited, not because it's to do with the "life support system", but rather because he enjoys outings!

Upon entry into the Triumph's enclosure, the security guard will seal your handbag's opening using those plastic fasteners. Each customer is provided with a transparent plastic bag to let customers throw in whatever selected lingerie.

While Mommy was busy browsing and choosing, Juan Or occupied himself by monkeying around the bra racks.

How's the price of the bras like? Well, for the Triumph bras, the lowest price found so far starts from RM25 or RM30 (can't remember!) whereas for the Amo bras (also under Triumph), the lowest price Mommy could find was RM15. Many of the bras are in a jumble and Mommy could see that the sales assistants were trying very hard to rearrange those bras only to find they got jumbled up in no time at all! As for Triumph panties, although the cardboard tags showed that the price starts from as low as RM5, however, after digging very hard, the lowest Mommy could find was the RM8 ones.

Yes, Mommy's mission to look for thick padded bra that can go strapless was a success. Here's Mommy's yield for the day - total damage was RM175.

The stripey pink bra - RM15, light purple bra with black lacy design - RM15 each, brown and grey bras - RM25 each. All the bras are Amo brand with underwire and thick padding. Only the pink and purple ones have extra padding inserts that are detachable.

The sale starts at 11am and ends at 8pm. Parking at SS2 Mall is free, but be warned however that you may find it very difficult to find back the place you parked your car (but it's easy to find a parking!). In fact, Mommy's head went on fire after searching high and low repeatedly for the level where Mommy parked the car, simply because there are no signages to indicate which floor to take to reach the desired level. Grrrrr!

Some Random Developmental Updates of Juan Or

It has been a long time since Mommy updated about Juan Or's development.

Previously before Juan Or started kindergarten in 2012, he refused to chew his solid food (except for white rice which he loves!), so Mommy had to 'mash and blend' everything (in Mommy's mouth!) before giving it to him. But now, he is capable of feeding and chewing himself already, except for the more fibrous veges whereby Mommy still has to process them in the mouth first.

So here's a photo of Juan Or proudly feeding himself. These photos were taken when we had lunch at Coconut Flower Restaurant (Telok Gong).

The other dishes we ate were mantis prawn,...

kangkung belacan,

and Papa and Mommy's \all-time favourite - steamed mud crabs!

Unfortunately, the only dish Juan Or knows how to eat is the kangkung belacan. As for the other two dishes, he refused to even give a try.


Another developmental milestone for Juan Or is that he is already able to 'build his own city' by joining his Thomas and Friends' railway tracks to form a combination of junctions, underpass, bridges, etc., only thing is that he is still not able to join the tracks to form a complete circuit. So far, they are only open-ended tracks.

DIY Haircut for Juan Or

Last time when Juan Or was still with the babysitter lady, she would normally take Juan Or to a neighbour hairdresser lady (in Sri Petaling) who charged RM5 for kid's haircut. Now that Juan Or is no longer with the babysitter, and daycare centres don't go to the extent of sending your child for haircut, Mommy decided that Mommy will cut his hair instead. So Mommy referred to this practical blog, Almost Frugal, for the how-to.

The first time Mommy cut Juan Or's hair was on Chinese New Year Eve, January 2012, at the in-laws' house. Because Mommy was the one doing the cutting, Mommy couldn't take any photos of the process then. But here was the end result.

Here's another pose!

Fast forward to 2 months later, Juan Or needed another haircut, but Mommy just couldn't find the time to cut his hair because Mommy would normally reach home late from work and weekends mean that certain priority housework needs to be done first before our weekend outings. On top of it all, Papa always wants to start going out early for our outings to avoid road jams and confusions. All these don't leave much time for Mommy to cut Juan Or's hair. Cutting hair in the in-laws' house is also no-no for Mommy because MIL would uninvitingly add her comments here and there as Mommy does the snipping, and not to mention, Juan Or would act fretful (e.g. wants his neck to be dusted with powder again within very short intervals) whenever the grandparents are around. So what's the next best move? Ask Papa to cut Juan Or's hair instead! ^_^

Here's the process......snip, snip, snip left!

Snip, snip, snip right!

Snip, snip, snip from the front!

Snip, snip, snip near the ear! The only problem with cutting this boy's hair is that he kept on moving his head, such that there were occasions of nearly snipping his skin, otherwise is the snip went a little too much.

Ta-dah, this is the end result!

Looks like Mr. Coconut Head, right? Something like the kind of hairstyle whereby you use a halved coconut shell, put over the head and then snip away all the hair that comes out from the coconut shell! ^_^

Having Fun

Children love lazing around with one another and Juan Or is no exception.

Here's one that Mommy caught when Juan Or was sitting at the kindy's sofa waiting for his "girlfriend' to arrive. Then one of his kindy-mate, TYK, who is a year older, came and join him. Both ended up lazing around with one another!

Anyway, they still posed for a proper photo together.

Here's another have-fun-lazing-around photo, but this time with his cousin, Ah Xuan from My Little Sprouts!

A "Girlfriend" for Juan Or!

Ever since starting kindergarten, Mommy noticed Juan Or has a 'girlfriend' already! Yes, you are reading it right....a 'girlfriend' at this tender age! Every schooling day, Juan Or would insist on sitting at the sofa of the reception area and wait for his classmate 'girlfriend', TYY to arrive.  Sometimes, Mommy would teasingly ask him if he wants to go into class with one Tiffany (also his classmate) or not. He shakes his head and insists that he wants to wait for TYY only!

Finally when TYY arrives, they will hold hands and walk into their classroom.

And she will help Juan Or to put his water bottle on the cabinet, ......

and also help him with his school bag!

What a sweet girl!

But what baffles Mommy is after the 'morning ritual' is done, both of them go their own way - she does her things and he his things, and don't really talk to each other in class! O_o

DIY "Raincoat"

Brushing Juan Or's teeth has always been a get-wet affair. Why? Simply because Juan Or always refused to bend his upper body forward whenever he rinses his mouth. Then he would end up having a wet patch on the chest part of his T-shirt and sometimes even at the groin area! Otherwise, when Mommy brushes his teeth for him, he would initially bend forward, but later forgets and gradually has his body straighten up again. And there you go, the toothpaste would go drip, drip, drip!

Because Mommy was so fed up of having to change his clothes after every teeth-brushing session (which adds to having more laundry to wash too!), Mommy decided that enough is enough! Here's how.....

First, get a huge plastic bag. It doesn't matter whether the plastic bag has handles or not.

Make a curved cut at the centre end of the plastic bag (the end that is opposite to the handles). The hole created will be the neck-hole.

Cut open both sides of the plastic bag. This will serve as opening for the arms to pass through and also ease putting the "raincoat" over your child. Alternatively, you can merely cut two holes, one at each side of the plastic bag to be the arm holes, but putting the "raincoat" on will then require a bit more effort.

To give a neater look, you may trim away the handles of the plastic bag. Otherwise if your plastic bag has no handles to begin with, just ignore this step.

The "raincoat" is now ready to be worn over your child.

Of course you will find the neck hole to be loose and water may seep through during the teeth-brushing process. To fix this problem? Simple, just use a clothes peg to gather and fasten the loose neck hole, thus leaving no gap for water to seep through.

There you have it, no more spills!

Can even afford to have toothpaste dripping all over the chest now!

No more wet clothes after brushing teeth!

And most of all, "dry clothes" equals to "happy Mommy"! ^_^

Why Does Mommy Want to Excite Her Senses with LG Cinema 3D Smart TV?

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed quite some time back that Mommy has been lying dormant from the blogging scene for quite a while. Yes, the last post was on 1st March 2012 and now it is already mid-May. Yes, it's two-going-to three months of not blogging about what's going on in Juan Or and Mommy's life. Many things have gone by in our lives that are still pending to be blogged about. Please excuse Mommy too for not spending time to visit your blogs. The past few months have been really, really demanding and stressful in Mommy's working life because of some reshuffling matters in the management of the department where Mommy is in charge of. On top of all the administrative, management and students' pastoral care duties that Mommy has to shoulder, Mommy was asked to teach a new subject. And teaching a new subject means spending a lot of time to prepare for it. Till today, the preparations are still on-going while the lectures have started already.

Here's how Mommy's work station look like everyday. So many things to do, so little time!

Indeed, since the start of 2012 till today, Mommy has been feeling tired after all in a day's work because there are always different kinds of issues waiting to be resolved for the next working day. Even after all the mummy responsibilities (e.g. bathing and feeding Juan Or dinner) are done for the night, Mommy noticed that Mommy can hardly keep awake barely 1 hour into watching TV! Because of this, Mommy needs to have her senses excited so that Mommy can sustain her wakefulness when watching TV at night. Thus, here comes the latest talk of the town.......... the LG Cinema 3D Smart TV!


This 3D TV is purported to be the next generation TV because of its smart-share features (share contents from your PC and smartphone, point, click and you are in control! No need to walk here, walk there), brighter screen (can heighten and excite Mommy's senses better after a hard day's work!), lighter and more comfortable 3D glasses (remember how Mommy complained about heavy 3D glasses when watching Adventures of Tintin?), and flexible viewing angle (so that Mommy can still view the TV comfortably while attending to Juan Or's needs!).  Not just that, Nuffnang and LG are giving Nuffnangers the opportunity to party with the LG Cinema 3D Smart TV on this coming 23rd May 2012 at GSC Signature, Gardens. If given a chance to attend this party, then this is an opportunity for Mommy to party and unwind! ^_^

If you want to know more about this TV, click here.

Feeding Mommy

Somewhere in mid-February, we had a family gathering-cum-eating in a steamboat restaurant in Bandar Puteri Puchong. Grandpa, Grandma and Little Sprouts' family were there too. Nothing unusual transpired in the eating session except for this.....

Juan Or was eager to do role-reversal. Usually, it was Mommy who fed him, but now he was eager to feed Mommy.

See how he prepared the spoonful of food to be fed to Mommy.....

After scooping them into Mommy's mouth, he patted Mommy's head and said,"Good girl!" ^_^