Chinese New Year

Been a couple of days since I updated my blog so this entry is going to be really long.

Wednesday was a crazy day even though not as crazy as Tuesday. After dropping the kids to school, I went to look for BCA. Went to 6 of them and all were offline. Crazy, right? I think I need to have an account elsewhere other than BCA.

I reached Jelambar earlier than the others and I only got out of the car as soon as Ivan arrived. The menu Afen cooked is the same every year. I wonder why she doesn't change them =.=

As u can see, ayam kecap is the family recipe hahahaha....

Stayed there till 10.45pm and the traffic was really bad. I was late in fetching the kids. Only arrived in BBS at 12pm. Luckily the kids were not grumpy since they still have friends to play with.

We left the house again at 3pm. When we were near Senayan, saw this bus carrying fanatic soccer supporters :

I really can't imagine what will happen if the bus really rolled over to one side. It's really scarier when u see it with your own eyes. It was tilting so much to the right that it gave me goosebumps just seeing it.

Went to this new dermatologist that my FIL recommend.

The place was at Jl. Sisingamangaraja (phew...I finally got the word correct.... find it really hard to remember hahaha) It was a private practice but it looks more like a dump to me. Seriously, the place needs major renovation. But you won't believe how much they charge u judging from the look of that place! We were only inside the office for 5 mins. Prof. Karnen just asked me some questions regarding Cecil and then proceed to look at her. After that he just said, "Okay, untuk tau alerginya terhadap apa aja, nanti anaknya ditempelin patch dan mesti ambil darah. Nanti Jumat balik lagi untuk tau hasilnya ya bu." I nodded my head but still sit down. Then the Prof. said I'm good to go. Was surprised coz it's the fastest check-up Cecil ever done. Anyway, we went to the next room to have the patch sticked on her back. Cecil cried when the nurse took some blood from her and Casey kept teasing her about it. Went to the cashier and I was told, "Buat hari ini totalnya Rp 1,4 jt ya bu. Nanti Jumat biayanya Rp 800K." I stared at her in disbelief. This is so far the most expensive doctor Cecil's been to =.=

The journey home wasn't a smooth one. We were stuck in Permata Hijau for like almost 2 hours =.= Only arrived home at 8pm. By that time, we were tired and dead sleepy.

07th Feb 2008

It's the Chinese New Year. Kids woke up early and straight away went to my FIL's room to collect the hong bao. Hahaha... Woke Sam up to get one from him too. They really got a lot from my FIL this year. Well, even Sam got hong bao but like me, his is in the form of time deposit too.

We left home at 10.30am to my dad's house. Many were there already. Emmy with her kids, Ayau & Cin2 with their families, Awan, Amin & Amei. The house was really rowdy. This pic below was taken with my nephew and nieces:

At 12pm, the food that Sam ordered from Dragon City came.

There were more actually but the food won't fit into the table hehehe... Sam ordered for 15 people. Luckily the portion was huge coz he didn't counted my cousins in. The restaurant charged the whole package the same price as reunion dinner meals. I think last year one was better but I didn't dare to complain coz Sam's the one paying for all :P

Not long after lunch, all my cousins went back. Followed by Afen. Before we were about to leave, my cousin, Phewen, came over with her family. She has a boy of 5 and a girl of 3. Was surprised when she said she's 5 months' pregnant now. It's been awhile since I last saw her. If u guys see her pics back to when she was still a teen, you wouldn't believe how much she changed. In our family, she used to be the prettiest one of all. Guys were all crazy over her and if there was a guy who was interested in me or another cousin, she would find it as a joke (kinda hurt my ego back then coz I was like the ugly duckling among the girls in the 'Lim' family hehehe). Anyway, she's twice my size now and dressed so old-fashioned. But who am I to judge.... she's having a great family and she seemed really comfortable with the way she is so I'm happy for her too. Wow...3 kids.... Talking about kids, I met her hubby in Ranch Market a month ago and he thought I was pregnant! When Phewen first saw me, she asked, "I thought u are pregnant?" I said, "Hell, no! What in the world gives u the idea??" She replied, "Well, Rudy met u sometime ago and he told me that you look like u were pregnant." YES!!!! That is such a blow to my self-confidence. I know I've gained weight but I didn't know I gained that much until I gave that kind of impression to others. *gloomy*

Anyway, from my dad's place, we dropped Sam in the office. Then went to fetch my MIL coz we were going to Puri Mall to have Cecil's glasses repaired. Met up with Ci Yan, Maria and her family there. We ate again in Bakmi GM. Sam came over about an hour later and David and Vivi also joined us.

While waiting for the driver, I took a pic of Casey sitting so sweetly in front of Cafe Oh La La.

I have to continue yesterday event later this evening coz I have to go. Am late for Casey's dentist appointment.

DamN TraffiC

I just got home. Geez the traffic was really nuts. I find that I keep trying to supress my anger more often these 2 days. Today wasn't better than yesterday but at least I don't have the worry I had before anymore. I'll just go and rest first and hopefully tomorrow I'm able to blog properly. BTW, Happy Chinese New Year in advance ^.^

One of My LowesT MomenT

Today I felt like I'm really being tested. I have to swallow my pride and do something I have promised myself that I will never do so u can say I'm at my wits' end having to change my mind. To tell the truth, it's really embarrassing for me but hopefully by end of the month or early next month everything will be back to normal again. Phew...it's been one hell of a day. And today I realized that I had been such a fool. Have u ever helped out people when they were down but then all your kindness seemed to be forgotten just like that? It's not like I expect them to say, "Oh Ivy, u are my saviour, u are my God... I worship the ground u walk." Oh well, it's hard to go into details and I don't think I want to anyway. I want to just wake up tomorrow and hope things will be so much better than today. Thanks again Yon for being the place to let out all my anger. I owe it to your advice in taking a huge step today.... to let go and never to look back at all... and I mean never. Damn the person who ruin the day for me today.

Oh well, back to happier subject. I'm stuck home today. Well, that's not a happy subject actually hehehe.... but I did get a great news from my FIL. He's giving me a sum of money for my hong bao ^.^ And I'm not talking about the same amount as I get for my monthly pocket money (which to me is already a huge sum). This is so much more. He gave me a sum of money to put into time deposit last time and this time, he actually gave me more than twice of what I got end of last year. It's really crazy I tell u. I can't believe how lucky I am to have a FIL like that. One setback is that the time deposit will be kept by Sam so I won't actually feel like I own it but I will get extra pocket money in my bank every month in addition to the one my FIL gave me. Even if I ever get that position as a manager, I will never earn this much! Hahaha... So this is really a GREAT news. Itung2 ga pa2 deh.... rugi dikit untuk mendapat hasil yg lebih banyak, bener ga, bener ga? hihihi....

Yesterday, I brought Casey to Dr Jani for a check-up. Went to Criollo first to get the Chinese New Year package I ordered for him. Normally I bought a fruit parcel for Dr Jani during X'mas but since he was away last X'mas, I thought might as well give him one during the CNY. This is how the package looks like :

The whole box

When opened....ta daa....

Choco Hazelnut Cake inside the red box

I ordered another cake for the kids and me coz if u guys have a bite of it, u will agree with me that it's just simply the best. The chocolate cake isn't too sweet. It's soft and moist yet if u just have a tiny weeny bite, u find yourself in my shoes and can't stop eating it. Today, we are left with half of it so screw the diet for the time being. It's 'food-galore-for-me' week!

The pic above is my cooking : Stir Fried Black Pepper Beef. Don't look at me in awe first. I owe it to the ready stock black pepper sauce sold widely in supermarket. I just love cooking when it's that practical. Who wouldn't? Well, probably I'm speaking for myself coz the friends I know who enjoy cooking or baking (yes u ladies, Livy, Amy, Gina & Suli), they love doing everything from scratch. So opposite of me Anyway, this sauce is delicious and I only need to add onions and green bellpeppers. So easy, right? Cecil loves this one a lot.

And this morning, I have already prepared all the hong baos since Chinese New Year is just 2 days' away.

Sam's been pretty generous this year so I don't have to fork out to give to my nephews and nieces hehehe....

The morning and noon I spent mostly in BCA. Damn the bank was so crowded today. Even if u are there just to print your account book. It was really so frustrating. That's why I said today my patience was being tested to the limit =.=

Fenny came over at 2pm to give the kids something for the Chinese New Year : CNY Cupcakes! Hihihi....

Haven't tasted them yet coz I was busy eating the choco hazelnut cake. Can u believe it I only eat instant noodle today??.... and only once.

Tom Yam instant noodles..... my favorite flavor of all ^.^ Okay, gotta go down to cook dinner now. Expect a change of skin in a couple of days (or even tonight) coz I'm getting sick of this one.