It's Christmas time again!

December's my favourite month of the year! I love seeing pretty Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas carols playing at the malls. Not forgetting shopping for presents...more window shopping this year as we need to budget for our baby! Can't resist snapping pictures everywhere I go. Here are some of them :)

Hubby and I attended a wedding at Prince Hotel last weekend

Christmas deco at home

Christmas at the malls! TL - 1 Utama, TR - Pavillion KL,
BL - Prince Hotel, BR - The Curve

Even as we celebrate Christmas this year let's not forget the real meaning of Christmas.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

It's a boy!

I haven't written for ages! There have been quite a lot of changes in my life over the past few months. 4 months ago, I found out I was expecting. What a surprise! One of my prayers after that was, 'Thank You Lord for having the confidence in us to take care of a child!'

Thank God, the first trimester wasn't that bad, I didn't really have morning sickness but felt tired most of the time. Some days, I could lay in bed all day. I was also as hungry as a horse all the time and had food cravings. My cravings were for my usual favourites - nasi lemak and spicy food!

I was off to Sydney for 2.5 weeks when I entered my second trimester and spent some quality time with my relatives there. I've wanted to revisit Australia since I last went in 2006, and took the opportunity when my cousin Mindy said she was going in October. Morever, I must go before the baby arrives.

I'm now 20 weeks pregnant and we've found out that it's a boy! Hubby and I are getting more excited now, and I have recently begun to feel the baby kicking inside me. There are lots to prepare for, and I really have no experience taking care of babies, so I need to learn as much as I can and keep my ears open to advice from experienced moms.

I really thank God for His blessing as children are a gift from Him. And even as our family grows, hubby and I must always remember to teach our children to love Him wholeheartedly.

Here are some pics from my Sydney trip:-

Sunbathing kangaroos in Sydney Wildlife World

My new found friend Rory from the dog park

Pancakes on the Rocks... real yummy!

Having a feast

And the classic... koala bear :)

Bersih 2.0

Something extraordinary happened in Kuala Lumpur on 9 July 2011. Thousands of Malaysians came out on the streets of the capital to demand for clean and fair elections. They had 8 simple requests:-

1. Remove dead people and multiples of the same person from the electoral list
2. Postal ballot open and transparent to all
3. Use ink that cannot be erased in vote casting
4. A minimum 21 day campaign period so that voters can better weigh their choices
5. Fair media coverage to all parties (not just the government)
6. Public institutions (judiciary, police, etc.) must be impartial in upholding the law and human rights
7. Stop corruption
8. Stop dirty politics

So the Bersih 2.0 committee organised a peaceful street rally and welcomed citizens who supported it to join it. Unfortunately, the government declared the assembly illegal and got everything prepared for the citizens on the day.

The videos below show what happened on 9 July 2011.







It saddens and shocks me to see the government spraying tear gas and water cannons at their own citizens. The citizens just wanted impartiality and the right to exercise democracy properly in the country they belong to.

I feel proud that Malaysians have the courage to stand up for righteousness and I will continue to pray for a country where truth and justice prevails.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:34

Canvas Painting

The wonderful thing about not having a nine to five job is that I get to do anything I want during a weekday. I met a friend for lunch at the mall today and checked out my favourite art shop after that.

Lo and behold, there were stacks of white canvases in different shapes... just waiting to be painted on. I couldn't resist the temptation of creating my own masterpiece and bought a square canvas and a set of acrylic paint.

Upon arriving home, I excitedly got my palette, brushes, water and rag cloth ready and started painting my classic 'heart'. The 'heart' was created in Adobe Illustrator previously, and not on canvas yet.

So I started sketching... and painting. 4 hours later, I was done. Here's my 'heart' on canvas.

Nursery Visit

Stephanie and I went plant shopping in Sungai Buloh a few days ago. Steph's the perfect person to go nursery hopping with as she knows everything you need to know about plants! Do check out her very interesting blog here and nursery directory here.

Thanks to Steph's advice, I managed to choose a few hardy plants that won't wither so easily.

We also took lots of pretty pictures... here are some of them.

Holiday Home Updates

It's been nearly a year since we started Holiday Home Malaysia. I'm really glad we started this and we've had guests from UK, USA, Russia, Australia, Russia, Canada, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and of course Malaysia so far.

There have been many memorable guests, such as a Russian family whom we communicated with via email even after they arrived because we couldn't understand each other verbally and so needed the Russian - English translator on the internet.

I really thank God because He has blessed and guided us tremendously through this new endeavour and it has been an eye-opening and enjoyable experience for us.

Thoo and I are constantly thinking of how we can improve the place and feedback from our guests have been really helpful. Recently, we've added new bedlinen, DVDs, kitchen utensils, plants, a clothes rack and more cushions.

Here are the latest pictures.

Dog's Miraculous Rescue

A dog was miraculously rescued from the sea yesterday, 3 weeks after the devastating earthquake and tsunami destroyed his home. What an incredible miracle!  

She was even reunited with her overjoyed owner soon after!

Amazing stories like these really warm my heart and I'm so inspired by the people who made it happen - a thumbs up to the coast guards for their incredible rescue!

Japan's Tsunami

A massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan last Friday and as of today, over 3000 people are confirmed dead and more than 8000 missing. The world is growing very concerned about the nuclear reactors that have malfunctioned at Fukushima, exposing dangerous levels of radiation into the atmosphere. The lives of thousands of Japanese people have been changed in a split second.

I'm touched reading about how the Japanese have maintained their good values during this time of adversity, helping and encouraging each other to remain strong. I really feel for them, and am praying for God to bring healing to this nation. May the whole world stand united in helping Japan.

Here are some pictures from the internet (courtesy of CNN, Getty Images and unidentified sources):-