Learn Something Different

Out of the blue and I find myself learning ASL sign language.

 

Something somewhere inside me must lie a dormant interest to learn the sign language.  Well, seeing that I have so much time on my hands or shall I say "broken leg" instead, I jumped onto youtube and surprised myself how fast I was able to pick up signing.

No, I do not intend to work with the less unfortunate deaf/dumb, but I guess I started it out of boredom, just like how I started this blog!  Any kind of extra knowledge is power, so I guess there is no harm learning something new.

To me, I believe learning how to sign is better than for me to learn another foreign language, as signing is more universal and would be used more widely.  Perhaps it could even come in handy if I ever get a stroke and become unable to speak (mom had one!) then at least I can still communicate with signing!

Since I got stuck into it, learning the basic alphabets first and then slowly introducing words/phrases I have built up quite a solid vocabulary of basic colours, numbers, everyday living phrases/words and hopefully will be able to hold a "decent conversation" soon.


Thanks to my broken leg ... I have learnt something useful and cannot wait to communicate with signing .... so let the fun begin!

Furrrrry Daughter

Snowy aka Snowball or Snow/Dog/Kiew Chai



A dog is a man's best friend .... how true!  Snowy aka Snowball (christened by my Bear friend) is not your average everyday pet dog.  She is a furry child to this family which makes her our furry daughter.  She responds to every name under the sun we can think of to call her depending on our mood swings and some other "pet" names are pretty basic ... "dog" or "kiew chai" in the Hakka dialect ... "snow" for short, but never you mind, Snowy always knows we are calling her!!!  She is a cross between a Maltese/Foxy breed and was gifted by Ray to Becky on her 21st birthday as a pup.  Moving on 7yrs in human life, Snowy is still sooooooo hyper and even more loving and caring as she matures with age ... you know, I could safely say Snowy loves us more than she loves herself!!!

 

She checks up on everyone in the middle of the night just to make sure everyone is alright ... she is by my bedside when I am crook, she is there waiting for you patiently to come home, and when she sees you ... she is soooooo excited, she is jumping all over with joy and I wish I could say the same for hubby!

Snowy is also a bed dog ... yesssss she sleeps around, so I guess you could call her a "slut" as well.  She knows who her masters are and where her loyalty lies, and when its proper bed time, you will find her in the most comfy bed in the house!



Sleepy head dreamy eyes ...

What else can I brag about Snowy.  She does an excellent job as a dog .. she barks at everyone and everything that moves .. what we don't see or hear, Snowy senses and is super attentive and nothing goes past her roving puppy eyes!!!  Since we are able to  differenciate her barking and mannerisms, we can tell what is happening around us, so Snowy is great value for money and beats the top shelf security systems!

I could go on and on , but I just wanted to say that for a person that does not like animals - I must admit Snowy has grown on me and now that I am bedridden, she is an excellent companion.  What more could you want, cause on a cold winter's nite, Snowy also doubles up as a hot water bottle that never turns cold!!!  Her furry warmth is so comforting and as you wiggle & dig your cold feet underneath her and as they warm up, you both know ... yessssss Snowy has got me and I have got her ... now we can close our eyes and get a good nite's sleep together!

You could open the doors wide, and Snowy will not run away ... accidently shut the door on her, and she waits quietly outside to be let in again. She must be so contented with her life and happy to be part of our family.  Snowy must know she is spoilt rotten too.  She knows this is her home, and she is here to stay! 


Taking pride - Snowy's moment of fame at R&R's wedding

Snowy has not hit the big screens, but in her own rights, she is our very own "Hachiko".



Snowy - playing dress up as of  the girls at the "Princess Theme" Bridal Shower!!!

 

 

 

 

Learning to Cook

Today, Rebecca Choong is officially aka Mrs Rebecca Misa ... well, I guess it is only right that if you married the man of your dreams, you would want to take on his surname!

 

Becky has always had it good in terms of home cooking .. my mom, her grandmother was an excellent cook and I guess some of it must have rubbed off on me & her!?! #cheekysmiles

In short, Becky has always been spoilt ... blame it on the "only child syndrome", so she never helped in the kitchen or learnt how to fry an egg!!!  She does not cook 5mins instant noodles either - perhaps that is because it is not her choice of survival food!!! Becky is just not domesticated, fullstop!

Well, shortly before grandma passed away, she taught Becky how to make Rendang (beef curry Malaysian style) by giving her verbal instructions with just guesstimate amounts for the various ingredients.  Becky must have good judgement, good taste buds, a hidden cooking flair, or a combination of all the abovementioned because she does  make a mean Rendang and she can also churn out some pretty awesome dishes when she does put on her Harrods apron!

Since I had my injury and have been under bed arrest, Becky has been at my back and call waiting on me hand & foot.  This means all my meals are catered including running my errands etc.  If she does not cook it or prepare it herself, she makes sure I get takeaway food.  Not only does she cook,   she ensures that I have a healthy balanced diet.  Currently, Becky is also playing "nurse", and she does a good job with "portion control" which is definitely a new meaning in my life!

 

So, if you think you cannot cook, look at Becky!  She has come a long way... I think she has even surprised herself!!! For encouragement, even her husband reckons she cooks better than Daniels in NYC #oneofthebestrestaurants.


Cooked to perfection beans & prawns ...crunchy & flavoursome!

Being someone's spouse, I guess it is always handy to know how to cook or one should learn how to cook, because the real way to a man's heart like the saying goes ..... is through his stomach!!!

 

 

Frustrated!!!

I have been tearing my hair out ... it has been more than 48 hours now and I simply cannot insert a picture in Blogger!  One week later, its no different ... so now I am cutting and pasting into my blogs and hope it works!!!!

Is there some way to do it?  I do not have the faintest idea and as such will have to put blogging "on hold" again.

Until such time I am able to solve this problem, I will be taking a "leave of absence" from in here.

If you are able to help me, please do not hesitate to leave me instructions or call me on 0413 216 238 and talk me through it.

Many thanks and have a nice day!

Nasty Trigger

This Trigger had me spinning in circles and I had to kick it soooo hard and it just would not leave me alone.  Yesssssss I was freaking out, as it was tugging and biting into my fins.  I just kept kicking and kicking and must have gave it a headache ... alas I managed to set myself free!!!

 

I guess I was just lucky ... I had a couple of friends close by when this happened, but they thought it would be funny to watch me being attacked, so they just kept their distance, and left me to battle my own war with this Trigger!

Nasty Trigger coming right at me before all our fighting & kicking started!!!

(Experiencing difficulties downloading pix of this particular Trigger I encountered! Hope copy n paste works forever!)

 

Some triggerfish species can be quite aggressive when guarding their eggs. Both the picasso (Rhinecanthus aculeatus) and titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) viciously defend their nests against intruders, including scuba divers and snorkellers.

Their territory extends in a cone from the nest toward the surface, so swimming upwards can put a diver further into the fishes' territory; a horizontal swim away from the nest site is best when confronted by an angry triggerfish.   The titan triggerfish poses a serious threat to inattentive divers due to its large size and powerful teeth.

To me .... the Trigger is more dangerous than the Shark!!

After some fierce battling & kicking ... the Trigger sank its teeth in and left its mark!!!

Just remember when you encounter a Trigger, it's not cute, its not pretty but it is vicious so just beware and be on guard!!!

 

Life on Mabul Island

If I had to describe Mabul in one word ... its a "Boomerang"!!!

 

I find myself going back and still wanting to return - like a boomerang!  Mabul is sooooo laid back .. not overly developed .. yesssssss its still very third world .. but island life on Mabul is just different ... the locals are super friendly, mostly sea gypsies and their homes are built on stilts above the waters of the Celebes sea.  They are mainly Bajau Laut and Suluk Muslims who live a nomadic lifestyle.

 

   

Living in their floating home ...

Typical home around Mabul

Geographically .... Mabul is a small island off the south-eastern coast of Sabah in Malaysia. The island has been a fishing village since 1970s. Then in 1990s, it first became popular to divers due to its proximity to Sipadan island. 

 

My acronym for MABUL stands for: 

Most Amazingly Beautiful Underwater Life

 Mabul is arguably one of the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the world.  Flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ringed octopus, mimic octopus and bobtail squids are just a few of the numerous types of cephalopods to be found on Mabul's reef.
 

Many types of gobies can be found including the spike-fin goby, black sail-fin goby and metallic shrimp goby. Frogfish are everywhere - giant, painted and clown frogfish are regularly seen along with almost the whole scorpion fish family. 

 

If you wish to see all the above critters, Divemasters - Nikolas and Shanti together with the rest of the team at "Uncle Chang" will only be toooooo happy to take you and show you what amazing creatures lurks beneath the waters.  Nikolas is an exceptional Divemaster, with underwater photography skills which rival  a National Geographic photographer! 

Experiencing difficulties uploading courtesy pictures from NC - this is a cut n paste and hopefully it will stay!

If you don't go .. you will never know .. so make Mabul your next holiday destination!

Experience the ultimate difference at Uncle Chang's

Sunset from Uncle Chang's in Mabul
 

 

 

Break a Leg!!!

Whilst on holidays, I fell inside a boat ... yesssssss I slipped on life vests strewn in the front of the wet boat floor and since the mishap on the 14/11/2012, I have bed ridden. Dr Andrew made me promise no weight bearing on my broken leg till the 24/1/2013!!! 

I dont know how I have managed the past 7 weeks to stay sane and positive confined to my bed ... having a shower is the highlight of my day... but I guess MOM's spirits must be hovering around me and giving me the strength.  (My mom passed away peacefully in September 2011 ... she suffered a stroke and was more or less bed ridden for 7+ years, and right now, I am "re-living her day-to-day pain").

The rest of my holiday is ruined .... I had to leave Mabul ... when I arrived at the hospital in Tawau, I was told I have to undergo an operation.  AN OPERATION???  For the love of God, I am on holidays ... I know I was in escruciating pain, but surely - it is nothing a cast cannot fix???

Slowly, reality started to sink in ... I can forget about my onward journey to party in Bali and Kuala Lumpur.  I was sooooo looking forward to my Jarimenari 4 hands  double session massage as well as attending A & A's wedding.  Like they say **** happens! 

When the learjet arrived to transport me in celebstyle to Singapore, I knew my injury must be quite serious.  A learjet ... I thought maybe they meant a helicopter like in the "Flying Doctors" but to my amazement, it was a learjet!  The jet ride is an adventure in its own right ... I guess its not everyday someone gets to go in one unlike the Airbus 380, so this experience was a bit more special.  How ironic!?!

My sweet ride to Singapore in the Learjet in celebstyle!

So .... I spent the next 10 days in Raffles Hospital in Singapore.  I had an operation on the 16/11/2012 and I am now a proud owner of some new "hardware" (titanium plate and 13 screws) on my communited right femur.  Luckily for me, Raffles Hospital is like a 5* hotel. 
If you know me well, food plays a very important part in my daily life.  Who says hospital food tastes like crap???  It was good even when I was on the diabetic option! 


Some of the meals I picked off their daily changing menu!

I had one of the best Orthopedic Surgeon money can buy in Singapore, Dr Andrew Dutton.  I guess you could say instead of having a  super fun filled holiday in Bali and KL, I had a CHANGE OF PLANS and had a very relaxing "body rejuvinating holiday" instead in Singapore!!!

 

 

 

Famous Barracudas in Sipadan

This is one destination that has been on my bucket list for a very long time, but because of the tedious journey, I have always put it off until Nov 2011.

Before I went, I said: I will gladly hang up my flippers if I get to experience being in the tornado of barracudas.

This was last year when I went to Sipadan for the very first time.  Well, although I saw the barracudas .... but I was in the tornado of jackfish instead, so I guess that does not really count for my drastic decision to pack up snorkelling/diving forever!!!

 

 

So last year, Nov 2012 I made the journey again .... and yessssssss it is worth the long haul.  Somewhat 2nd time round, it did not seem to take forever getting there ... perhaps it was because most of the travelling was done in the dark! (night time).

 

As we jumped into the warm inviting waters of Sipadan, within minutes we swam into a huge school of bumperheads .... turtles were everywhere in every direction and you wished you had more than one head or a head with a few pairs of eyes!!!  Then the jackfish came along .... and yesssssssss I saw the barracudas TWICE IN THE ONE DAY and I did get to be in the centre of its swirling tornado!  I was soooooo excited and my adrenalin pumping .... I could not believe I was in the middle of it all .... then I found myself instead of being still ... I was spinning myself round and around in a "on the spot circle" amongst thousands of barracudas and I was gobsmacked.... what an awesome experience!  How nice was it compared to swimming up close and personal to a whaleshark??? .... the comparison is totally different!!!  So far, I have been lucky I am able to travel extensively to experience both, not to mention other critters in the underwater world.



My hand presentation of Barracudas...

If you are a diver or a keen snorkeller, don't look past Sipadan.  It has almost everything you can wish for to see underwater, and you definitely will not be disappointed!!!  Am I going to hang up my flippers??? NO - NEVER for as long as I can still do it.  I guess I lied ... I think I am going to go back again for the 3rd time when I am able to walk without aids!!! *winks*

 

 

The Wedding

 

Since I just posted the bridal shower pixs, I guess its only expected of me that I post the wedding photos next ... and whilst I am still in the blogging mode, I better do it before the "lazy mode swing" sets in again!

The day started out wet, but luckily for us by the time we got all our hair and make-up done at Miss Foxy, the sun started to shine!

Yesssssss you guessed it!!!  We were running late for the church - The Priest was standing at the front of the huge doors of St Mary's Star of the Sea .... but he did not have his arms folded - so I guess that was a good sign *winks*

For a Catholic ritual... I thought the ceremony was short and sweet with Strings playing in the background.  The day was "freezing cold and windy" but regardless, everyone braved the weather and even shivering children did not stop themselves having fun running around.

As mother of the bride, I was just glad the ground was dry!!!!  The gown Becks wore for the church has a long lacey trail that sweeps the floors!!!

 

I wanted the "Asian" style wedding for them that filled up the Palladium at the Crown, but in hindsight, I can appreciate now, that a wedding is a celebration with those nearest and dearest to us.  We do not need all the relatives and friends from A-Z in my address book.  It was an "intimate" wedding ... that is what the couple wished for and it turned out to be a great day of celebrations and everyone made their special day a dream come true!!!

Here comes the Bride ...

All dressed in white ...

Afterwards, we all returned to the Blackman's hotel in St Kilda for the "Chinese Tea Ceremony". 

Penthouse Garden Suite @ Blackman's Hotel, St Kilda

Just a perfect day that went by tooooooo fast! 

 

- Dinner reception was held at "The Willows" in St Kilda. 

- Meet & Greet evening gown - pearls and lattice gown by Collette Dinnigan. 

- The wedding cake from French Lettuce in Carlton.

- "Cheong Sum" from designer, Kenneth Hoong of Butterfly.

Cheong Sum by Kenneth Hoong of Butterfly

 

Evening Reception "Meet n Greet" Pearls & Lattice Gown by Collette Dinnigan

8 tiered floral spiral (orange & chocolate mud) wedding cake by French Lettuce

 

For that intimate feel ..... Dinner Reception was held at "The Willows"





 

 

Long Overdue Bridal Shower Photos

Its 2013 ...HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!!!

No excuses for being slack posting pics from the bridal shower held in August LAST YEAR, but I guess, its better late than never!

We had a "Princess Theme" for this shower.  Here are a few snippets ... and we had a blast!  For those brides getting married, don't pass out on having a "shower" as you might think it is unnecessary or toooo hard work, but trust me, its loads of fun and definitely alot of sweet memories .... down the track! 

The Bridesmaids ... dressed up as Mary Antoniette ... Princess Kate ... Cleopetra

Polariods - taken with Bride to Be with a personal message from each guest

 



Bunting of the couple.....yessssss all hand made by The Monkey In Me!!!



I hope these snippets were worth waiting for .... it was definitely worth all the effort and everyone had the best time .... especially ME!!!