Teamwork, confidence, unity at Lion Dance Competition

Yesterday, the town was as quiet as a baby who is sleeping soundly.
Today, the same town was as busy as the vehicles were building up like an army of ants.

People was busy coming to see the Lion Dance National Competition at Mahkota Parade today.

I like to see this type of competition although it has been held in Malacca for years.
The mixture of excitement and enthusiasms in the heart of us is burning up instead of fading away.

Jumping on the stilts is not a easy task without professional training. Jumping over the bench made me afraid. Jumping on the stilts can make my heart pound a couple of miles an hour.

Watching the contestants jumping, carrying their teammates seem scary yet the audiences were so eager to cheer on them.

Lion dance competition attracted so many audiences with "Oh" when someone was falling from the stilts. The sound of clapping hands was getting louder when some of them perform certain 'we-thought-they-are-going-to-fall' moment!

I always thought that sport was the biggest thing to attract Malaysians to unite at the same place. Then, today I realize that Lion Dance Performance or Competition also attract Malaysians from all around the state to come together, giving confidence to everyone.

Watching the people beating drums and so forth makes me understand how much time and effort they had put in to produce such an awesome performance today. I should manage my time better too.

Today, I understand the power of working as a team, confidence in oneself and unity is infinity.

The most important thing is that: Lion Dance reminds me of Chinese New Year:)

I was at Mahkota Parade:)

The so-many-judges with few nice trophies.

This is Chinese New Year Tree:)

One of the performance I'd recorded just now:)

Unexpected visit by the Siblings

Late evening, the 2 siblings came to visit me.
They are still young, so they rather stand outside of my empty-neighbour house than standing directly infront of my gate.

And why do I say it?

Because my uncle was at outside and shouted:
"Hey Jocelyn, your friends came to visit you!"

I looked out... saw no-one but my uncle.

He shouted again and finally I went out and spot the two human creatures:)

Well, the 2 siblings were my daycare tuition students for 2 months last year. It's nice that we can click immediately. Not really. Initially, it was hard because I still did not know their behavior yet.

After getting to know them as time goes by, I treated them with different personalities based on their behavior. Everyone is different and things would never work if we treated everyone the same way. I realize that we must be flexible.

Anyway, the brother praised my cookies! Nice but I felt shy too:)

It was nice to see them again.
Thank you for the unexpected visit yesterday.

"It's not about the uniform, it's about saving lives"

"I choose to join Kadet Bomba" said by my brother.
"Why don't you join Kadet Polis? The uniform is nicer." my mother suggested her opinion.
"It's not about the uniform, it's about saving the lives of people." my 13-year-old brother replied.

The brother in the house

My younger brother does have a goal. He is ready to chase his dream of becoming an ambulance driver. Why? 
Because he loves to save people. Being a police was his dream too but his heart strongly wants him to be an ambulance driver.

I feel small because I did not have a goal when I was 13 years old. I went to school, met my friends, talked and talked.

Google: Walt Disney was an ambulance driver.

Is he really serious with his goal? Oh Yes...
Whenever I went to the hospital for treatment for months, he would stand at the main entrance, watching every single ambulances came and went. He got so excited and remembered every single car plate of the vehicles.

This brother is good in remembering places and face features of people. So, there was no problem for him to guide my mother from Seremban to Malacca *1 and a half hour journey*. He said he loved and enjoyed doing so because he wanted to be a bus driver one day. From bus driver to ambulance driver.

His goal motivates him to study hard now. Oh that's right...
Everyday, he is so interested in doing his homework in the evening compared to last time. Now, he kept saying the motion of things are influenced by the art of Science and kept explaining to me.

He told me:
"Now I have the heart to study hard because my school is located next to the private hospital."
Not only that, he too said that:
"Sitting 'near' to the medical centre gives me inspiration to be 'smart'."

Perhaps, he has different goal one day. 

Now, what's more important is that, his current goal motivates him to study hard.

Make our oatmeal cookies at home

After trying to make our very first potato cookies at home, Mum and I decided to make oatmeal cookies. I was not that interested because...

I thought that:

1. It's hard to form the oatmeal cookies' shape. Oatmeal cookies look like stones with uneven shapes. *It must be hard*
2. The recipe wrote: Mix sugar without specify brown sugar or sugar. But we mixed them both into the bowl. I prayed everything worked. Else, we made again.

Luckily, mother successfully convinced me to involve in making oatmeal cookies.

As a result, the 'thought' faded away after:

1. Mother taught me that by using 2 teaspoon to drop the mixture of oatmeal cookies on the tray, the shapes were indirectly formed.
2. Mixing both type of sugars did not affect the taste of the cookies at home. I guess, the recipe summarize sugar as brown sugar and normal sugar.

Another night filled with laughter at the Library with 13-years-friends

"See you in February!"
That's the last thing my friend said when they visited me at home...after my surgery in December.

"Wanna join us at the Library at 9p.m"
A message sent by another friend yesterday, when I was at home.

I was excited and looking forward to go out, although it was only 6pm when the message reached my phone. Because I did not have idea what to wear since my cousins kept calling me 'Aunty' nowadays. Anyway, when the clock strikes 9, all of us gathered at The Library.

It was nice to meet them again, see their faces, see the change in them...although there was hardly any change in us...yet. The only change was one of them stays permanently in Australia now and going back in 2 weeks time.

So we were planning to order food and there ordered Pizza which is temporarily a 'No-No' in my food list. Thank God my buddies understand me, never say anything when I ate Oat Cookies first.

As usual, there was too much laughter filled in the air like July. One girl's husband tagged along like old buddies. One boy's girlfriend clicked immediately like awesome buddies. So, that was a nice night with laughter and some heart-to-heart talk.

Awesome because all of us loves taking pictures. We love the camera. 8out of 8 of us. 100% of us:)

Pretty mama:) We born on the same day!

4 Ladies:)

:)

With friend's gf. We used to work at the same place.

My buddies of the night without me... I was the photographer.

6 exclassmates:)

becomes 8 'classmates'

Experience with Potato Cookies at home

Potato cookies are the love of my family members. From mum to my youngest brother, we love it to bits. But the problem is, we only get to eat those cookies once a year.

So, mother and I make a team: Try and bake different type of easy cookies before Chinese New Year arrived in February. Thanks to this blog, we manage to trace the awesome recipe.

How was the experience?
Oh well, it was awesome because I never know that there are few ingredients with few simple steps to produce awesome, delicious and yummy cookies.

Everything went smoothly?

1. We made it like a cute big round ball. Yes, big. We forget that those cookies will expand when heating them in oven! So, there's the first thing we keep in mind when we bake it for the 2nd time.
2. The dough was extremely soft due to the fact that the ingredients are mixed into butter-icing-sugar-mixture when beating. Mother thought it was impossible to make it like a ball shaped initially. But it can that I think that's the unique part of these cookies.
3. Mother taught me to use the fork to press against the cookies to form shape. *Simple thing that I have no idea.*

Mother and daughter potato cookies:)

This is the recipe I found here:

Ingredients:

• Butter - 125g
• Icing sugar - 40g
• Potato starch - 125g
• Plain flour - 80g

Method:

1. Beat butter and icing sugar until fluffy and lighter in colour.
2. Sift in potato starch and flour, mix to form a soft dough.
3. Roll into small ball, arrange on lined baking pan.
4. Press with a fork.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 150C for 20 minutes.

 My brother said it was not bad.

This cookies are special. Because it's so soft until we will eat it non-stop, endlessly, without a big full-stop.

 

Happy Birthday Adeline, 201314 :)

Happy Birthday, Leng Lui Adeline. 

Actually, I never realize that 201314 brings such a special meaning for people who understand Mandarin.
I just remember 4th January is my dearest best friend's birthday....until

I intepret 201314 in Mandarin. Ahh, 201314 means 'ai ni yi sheng yi si' which means love you forever.

I am so happy that we both were the new students back in 2001. We have been friends for 12 years!  Luckily we both still live in Malacca and that's why I get to hang out with you and the buddies whenever we are free.

You are a sweet and kind person. I like your style. You are so brave and never afraid to speak up.

I appreciate our friendship. The 5H-6H buddies forever.

The buddies

The buddies

The buddies

Adeline and yours truly in 2010.

Happy Birthday my dear!

Melaka Raya Old Taste Becomes Fresh Taste

Sister was kind enough to introduce us to Melaka Raya Old Taste Cafe yesterday.
Ahh, I mean my real sister. I know some of my friends do not know that I have a big sister until I mention 'sister'.

There are so many OLD kopitiam: Old Town, Old Village, Old Malacca and Old Taste until my eyeballs repeatedly rotate in 360 degrees.

Old Taste transformed into Fresh Taste early in the morning. It feels nice to sit down with the morning fresh environment in the town, although town sounds more like a hassle and bustle city.

When it comes to food, I prefer not-so-oily food nowadays.
So sister ordered bread and a cup of coffee.
Mother ordered Nasi Lemak whereas yours truly ordered Fishball Meehoon and a cup of sugar free Milo.

What we think of the food?
Mother loved her Nasi Lemak. I simply loved my Meehoon soup. Never did I know that the soup was not so oily. Thank God.

My sister gave zero comment. Perhaps she always come to the kopitiam. Besides, she loved to nag and nag and nag ever since she was young.
So early in the morning, there is something wrong if she does not nag. I guess nagging run in my paternal family. So, I do not blame her now.

Me and Sister. We hardly take picture together nowadays. SO i guess this is a precious picture of us.

Sister with her morning breakfast.

I just love this. You gotta try it!

Mummy loved Nasi Lemak

If you are wondering where to eat in Malacca?

Come and try Old Taste Cafe in Melaka Raya.

"22th Birthday GiveAway"

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am joining a GiveAway by Anis Athia.

There are so many awesome gifts to be given to the lucky winners. You may be the one of them.

Wanna join? Click on the banner[below] to enter the link:

 Click on the beautiful banner to join GA:)

Good Luck to everyone.

"In Form 5, I want to ride motorbike to school"

Today (2-1-2013) is the day Joshua Lum go to secondary school, as a Form 1 student.

I woke up early to wish him luck and gave him RM 1 as a new beginning for his school journey. Mother had given him few Ringgit, so I can never give him more. Or else, he would buy some junk food in school.

It feels weird that he enters secondary school now. Deep in our heart, he is still a baby boy. Sounds silly but that's true. We went to his kindergarten, primary school and now secondary school.

Mother was worried that he would not adapt to this new school. Well, he is the diamond boy of my mother. The apple of my mother's eyes.

Big Josh surprised us with his new personality. He loves this school, although this is his first day. He makes new friends, go to the canteen with his new friends and starts to write on his notebook to jot down things to do.

He may not been in the top class, somehow what's most important is that, he enjoys his school, his class, his friends and teachers. So he will have the mood to study hard. That's all that matter, you know.

On the way back from his school, he saw few seniors went back with motorcycle. So he told my mother:" When I go Form 5, I ride motorbike to school."

There are good and bad. Good because he thinks far. Bad because he thinks of looking cool now.

Joshua with yours truly in January 2012

Temple in January 2012

1.1.2013

Today at 6.30am:)