Being a parent

has got to be the most demanding, selfless job out there. We're talking 24/7 here, not 8 hours, 5-days walk in the park. Its a LIFE LONG COMMITMENT. First you gotta deal with them as babies - sleepless nights, wiping off their poo, bathing, feeding... Then you gotta deal with them as kids - more yelling, tantrums, daredevil antics which grips your heart in fear and puts u on your toes all the time. Then you gotta deal with them as teenagers - curfews, spending off your hard earned money just to find their way to fit in the' crowd'. And then all of a sudden, they're all grown up and are leaving the nest. Sigh. (or is it FINALLY!?) hee hee

What a journey.

One of my siblings is not your normal "teenage kid with issues". I'd say he's just different. So the way he responds or rather reacts to things is a little more extreme than your regular kid. My parents have been struggling for many years now - bouts of tantrums bourne out of frustration and constant feelings of inadequacy, put together with my parents' limited patience after all these years - is just about to tip the boiling pot now.

To my parents, I know things havent gotten easier. I'm sorry I'm not home much and even when i am, there's isnt much time. You're doing your best and I think you just need to be assured that God has a plan for him and its not just a hopeless trial. We know this is one of your toughest 'cross' (as dad always puts it *smile*) BUT you have raised us all 3 to be good kids with wholesome principles. We know right from wrong. Being different is not wrong, it just makes things confusing, difficult to handle and understand.

Take heart coz God is with us in our family and he will bring peace and comfort during your toughest moments.

Appraisal

I did a funny or rather uncommon thing last week. I asked my subordinates to appraise me, their boss. haha..

WELL, i just got their replies, all typed out and sealed in envelopes to conceal their identity (yea got em fooled! i know them well enough to know their writing styles).

Anyway, the whole idea of this exercise was to get some insight into how they find or feel about the way i've established their responsibilities, our team's work flow in management of current products and development of new products.

As expected, some were frank and gave constructive comments, whereas some didnt really put in quite the effort i hoped for. I was a bit disappointed there nevertheless, they all did agree on one thing - that I am efficient and decisive. (phew - bosses need affirmation too). One did comment that I am a perfectionist and it does drive her off the wall at times.

that's a problem that's been nagging at me lately. I have a terrible desire to get things done down to every single detail. I can't stand messy reports (even though data is most of the times accurate), i can't stand copies written without proper formats and I can't stand overlooks of procedures or incomplete filing and i can't stand delays!!! I guess the big part of it is due to my company's working culture. Make one mistake, miss out 1 procedure or a written email (proof that will need to be dug out one day) and someone out there, one day will pounce on you! Trust me, there are many nasty people out there.

Being a perfectionist is pure agony...

I drive myself nuts
I drive people nuts

SIGH
Anyone out there like me?

Pangkor Laut II

Here are more pics from our trip.

I like this close up pix a lot and think i'll blow and frame it up in our hall. Its actually the outer side wall of the jacuzzi in the pool area. The rocks used are in different shades but still maintain a very natural look. The effect of water cascading and bouncing off the rocks give an energetic feel to the entire pix. If you ever go to Pangkor Laut, see if you can spot where this pix is taken. *wink* There are lots of beautiful pixs to take if you are on the lookout.


View from our balcony

As you enter...

The bathtub to relax in

the sea villas... (with the crooked foundation ..)

Pangkor Laut

I just came back from a perfectly GORGEOUS holiday... Pangkor Laut certainly delivered what I hoped and expected.

Resort was beautiful, food was excellent and even though it was a school holiday, it was wonderfully peaceful. Guess coz this is more of a "honeymoon" destination. :)

We got up really early one morning - 6am (on a holiday!) just to catch the sunrise. Totally worth it!

Breathtaking sunrise

Sundown....

I love the architecture and landscaping of the resort too..

AND the food here is to die for!!! Total package was rm2.5K (4D/3N) inclusive of all meals. Brekkie was buffet style, lunch and dinner were ala carte but you could order anything so we both went for the full course - appetizers, mains and dessert. Our lunches (published price on the menu) and dinners averaged rm350/meal and one of the dinners cost up to rm 500! Wow, thank God we came via package so we both felt it was even more worth it! haha! 3 dinners and 3 lunches would have easily cost us rm1.8K! heh. SO to show you how good the food was, feast your eyes...

1st lunch @ Royal Bay Beach Club:

Caeser's salad for me. delicious! Fresh, crunchy lettuce with shreds of parmesan, croutons, sundried tomatoes, topped with fried garlic (rm45)

Nicoise salad for hubby - beef chunks at the side, tuna marinated with vinegar, cucumber, tomatoes and fresh lettuce. Hubby said it looked better than it tasted but i'm a sucker for presentation. hehe. (rm45)

Pizza for me: Galileo its called, dunno why but it sure was yummers. Its the thin crust, AUTHENTIC kind which i like vs Pizza Hut's 1inch thick bread (that's how they make you feel full while stinging on the toppings). galileo's topped with minced beef, generous amount of cheese and sundried tomatoes. mm hmmm. (rm42)

Hubby's Prime Beef Burger. Hubby's said the beef was juicy and delish, onion rings at the side were good too but the pickles were odd.. didnt touch it much. (rm50 - er i think. can't really remember)

We had ice cream and it was really good - if you ever go to Pangkor Laut you must finish every meal with their ice cream. The ppl don't really know the brand but they did say its imported from Switzerland. 2 scoops would cost you rm19.

NEXT.

1st Dinner @ Uncle Lim's.

Complimentary soup of the day. Crabmeat with eggs - absolutely delicious

Steamed seabass with ginger and soy sauce. I liked it but hubby said the fish was a bit dry.


House specialty: Deep fried soft shell crabs. Wasnt crispy enough but ok-la. not much of a fan but hubb's wanted something 'fried'.

Spicy scallops with asparagus.

We had veg too - just siew pak choy which came in a really big plate..

Needless to say, our gluttony won over reason...

Total bill came up to a cool rm500+

(opens eyes big big)

Diet Week:Day 3 & 4

hookays

i have been surviving WITHOUT rice for 2 whole days ok.. it feels like agesss.... sigh

Day 3: Veg and Fruits - all you can eat. bleh.. i stuffed myself with celery, broccoli, melons and grapes. (my boss wasnt very supportive and didnt agree to 'waste company money' to get me my salad during our department lunch outing.) So i had a sliver of beef, a small chop of lamb and er... a buffalo wing. But they were all miniature size - really!

So apparently day 3 'eliminates the potato' that was eaten on day 2 because we start to get our "carbohydrates from the fruits". System is now prepared to start burning excess pounds. WOo hoo!! We are still suppose to have cravings which should diminish by day 4. Hmm funnee coz i find that i lost my cravings for sweet stuff ALREADY! my coliks were all having TGIF's sundae which is full of vanilla ice-cream, whipped crea, caramel, nuts..... (in other words - heaven) but i DID NOT TAKE ONE BITE! ha.

Day 4: Bananas (up to 8) and milk (3 glasses). yeah, also the veg soup. I adhered to today's menu. wat an achievement! Cooked up a different veg soup. This time I added Green Pepper, China White Radish and omitted the cabbage. Hm... I think i prefer the soup I made on day 1. I think the radish doesnt suit this soup - gave it an odd, 'musky' or 'damp' kinda taste. I'll stick to the previous soup recipe except I MADE ONE BIG WHOLE POT and now my hubby has decided to ABANDON the project so i have ONE BIG POT OF SOUP all to myself.

yay.

oyea, bananas in Day 4 are suppose to replace the potassium and sodium lost during the past 3 days. (Which makes me wonder why did we all have to suffer and lose it in the first place? sense the resentment here? I'd better lose some serious weight i tell you). Oh and it says - you will be surprise at how easy this day will go...

yea.

Diet Week: Day 2

okies.... i started the day with:

- 1 large baked potato for brekkie. Wrapped it in aluminium foil and tossed it into the oven for an hour. Smelt absolutely delish with a generous amount of butter on top (SCS) and some McCormick's fresh herbs. mm mmm.

the rest of the day was not as great :( Day 2 is all about vegetables apart from the highlight for breakfast. So i had some stir-fried broccoli for lunch. Basically got through the afternoon with bottles of water to curb the hunger pangs... alright, alright .. so I had some milo.... and a cup of coffee. Hee hee...

For dinner, i reheated the soup from Day 1 ( it didnt taste so yummy anymore..) , stir-fried some brussel sprouts which were at least nice and crunchy, and had some pumpkin which i let simmer till it was really soft. WHOOPsss, those really arent dried prawns you see there - ok?



Hubby had some leftover kueh kapit! Hah! your secrets out too!

and for the first time in my life, i do believe i managed to drink 10 whole glasses of water.....

AND as of 10pm, i weigh 1 kg less than yesterday! Now is that motivation or what?

Diet Week!

Finally, I managed to convince my hubby to go on a 7-day diet with me. Reason for this? hee hee, we'll be going to Pangkor Laut, the luxurious resort owned by YTL group soon. (like next week) Soooo.. this trip includes non-stop eating at the hotel for all 3 meals... I can foresee us putting on some serious flab there, so to minimise damage... we are going on a diet this week in preparation for our non-stop eating holiday - ironic huh?

anyways, this is a tested and proven diet in my company. Most of the top managers have tried it and if followed to strictly, you stand to loose at least 10 pounds in a week! wah!

so day one was today.. but wahhhhhhhh!!!! :( i broke it :( partly coz i took a guest at our Church to lunch and not eating seemed 'not right'. BUT! i just ate a teeny weeny bit of beef and noodles lah.

Some basic 'rules' of the diet first:
1. coffee, herbal teas are allowed but no creamer or sugar!
2. 10 glasses of water everyday throughout the diet programme. this is a tough one for me.. usually i drink like just 4 glasses?
3. there's a vegetable soup recipe that we can eat everyday in unlimited quantities - i just made it and its YUMMERS!
Veg Soup Recipe (the original version)
- Onions
- Celery
- Green pepper
- Tomatoes
- Cabbage
- flavouring
- water of course

Day 1
NOTHING but fruits in unlimited quantities! Any fruit but melons like watermelon and honeydews are best. avoid those with high sugar content like pears and grapes. Er.. so me and hubby 'cheated' coz we were so hungry after a long day at church so we had our lunch ( his was worse than mine - curry chicken rice oozing with oil and coconut milk .. hmph.)

I didnt follow the exact soup recipe. We're allowed to subsititute any veg according to our taste but best to avoid beans as they are high in calories. i omitted green peppers coz i wasnt sure how they'd taste in soup. Added carrots and garlic, salt, pepper and some Know chicken stock cubes. hmm I didnt know celery would taste good in soup but it certainly added a distinct green taste which made the whole soup more flavourful.

So day 1 is suppose to prepare our system for the upcoming program. Sigh, I hope we survive coz I've had like 3 bowls of the veg soup and I'm still hungry :(