Friday expedition, Part 1

Has anyone ever tried one of those skin analysis things that the cosmetics/skincare companies' booths often have?

I've often wanted to do that, at least for the sake of finding out the 'true' condition of my skin. Last year, as I regretfully realize that I was approaching my 'tiga-puluh-sen' years, I noticed my skin was beginning to show some signs of needing more special care. When I was studying in the States, I used Clinique for my moisturizing needs (especially perfect for the Midwestern winters, I tell you!), but found it to be too rich for use here, so I switched to Oil of Olay. For years I've been happily relying on Oil of Olay for my skincare, but I realized at that point that it was no longer adequate for me. So I started using Biotherm, the Biosource and Aquasource line plus Source Therapie for normal/combination skin... I did that without trying out the skin analysis thingie though, so kire main agak-agak aje la keadaan kulit sendiri....

This year, after more than 8 months of using Biotherm and needing a fresh supply, the promotion booth set up near the KLCC lift area was extremely inviting hehehe... I figured this was as good a time as any to check out my skin condition after months of using the products. Yesterday being a Friday, I'd already surveyed the display setup while on the usual Friday ronda-ronda with my friend, so on the way back from work, I stopped by and did the analysis... and the result?

My skin was not that dry (which I already knew by now hehehe), but apparently the range I was using is no longer that suitable for me!!! I need something that will provide me with increased moisture, so that the elasticity is increased... The recommendation? The Age Fitness range!

I had visions of that meaning I have old skin (oh no!!) but the consultant assured me that's not the case (yet!) But the analysis did highlight the area I've been neglecting (my eyes.... it was THAT obvious on the machine wooo..... got wrinkles, augh!), so she recommended the eye serum as well. Luckily for cleansing purposes, the Biosource range is still OK for me to use...

All in all, my supposed 'supply top-up' came up to quite a hefty sum.... huwaaaa!!! But this being the Isetan sale period, I did get the pretty white handbag and the miniatures as gifts, plus a few other extras... plus Isetan vouchers for each RM100 spent on cosmetics. So, not too bad la kan?

Tu la... masa memuda dulu (beberapa tahun dahulu aje le hehehe... am still young ok!) malas nak jaga kulit muka... nak cleanse pun punye la seksa, lagi la nak guna toner la, serum la... tahu letak moisturizer aje! Nasib jenis jarang pakai makeup... kalau tak sure lagi teruk muka kot! Now I'm paying for those years of neglect... huwaaaa!!!

And so, my shopping expedition for the day was over...

Hariz is 2!

Our handsome boy is now 2 years old... Happy Birthday Adik!

Among the things that I pray for on this day....

1) May our cute, adorable, active, cheeky boy continue to be the fantastic person that you are

2) May you grow up to be a good, God-fearing, well-mannered man, who treats everyone the way they should be treated

3) May you always be Mama's boy! Heheheh... any girl hoping to be with this man, watch out! You gotta win me over first beb...:p

4) May you find your life's purpose as you go on this wonderful journey

There are so many others, so let's just leave it at that...

Mama, Abah & Kakak love you!

Kutu oh Kutu...

Do you do Kutu?

We do! I say we, meaning my colleagues and I who are all bag-crazy hehehe...
It started in January... a group of us yang memang kaki handbag were just talking about the state of our finances in relation to our constant desire for bags and more bags. Someone suggested we start a kutu (for those not familiar with the term, it's basically a mutual fund collected from all the members on a monthly basis, for a certain amount of money. The duration of the kutu depends on the number of people involved, plus the sum we wish to get per person. Some of the rules may vary according to the group).

So anyway, after mulling over the idea, 5 of us agreed on the proposal. The kutu started in Jan 2009, and will run till at least June 2009 when all the members have received their share (yea, i know... 5 people, but 6 months? Two of the ladies decided to band together and pitch in another share, so technically they get the money twice. Genius, no? Hehehe...)

And I was lucky recipient No. 2!!!! Whooohooo!!! So I got my cut last week, bile gaji dah masuk, and I spent an enjoyable week thinking of what I'd like to do with the money. The stress I was feeling at work more than fuelled my shopping intent, as a means to relieve my tension.

And the result? Tadaaaaaa!!!!

















Behold my latest acquisition!!! The Parker Op Art Convertible Hippie, but in Khaki/Brown (seen here is Light Khaki/Sand - apparently the brown is not available on coach.com, but is here in the KL boutique). Gorgeous, just gorgeous! At first my friend and I spent a delightful hour browsing the Radley bags on sale at Isetan last Friday, but before I made my final selection, I just had to go and see if the boutique had put up the latest Spring collection for display. And it had! So my kutu's fate was sealed.... and to be strictly honest, I had to top it up a bit... hehehe...

If some people feel we are wasting our money during these hard times, that's entirely their opinion. Our rationale for doing this stems from the fact that it's actually a form of forced savings, since we'll have to fork out the money every month, and at the end of the day we've got the lump sum for us to do as we wish. We may or may not buy a handbag as originally intended, but if we do, at least it's from money we've saved over that period. And if we don't save it pun, it'll sure flow out of our wallets for other purposes without us noticing.... sob, sob...

Lest anyone else thinks we're spendthrifts, just for the record we've already paid off all our monthly obligations, put aside the necessary funds for savings, and have some money left over for our daily expenses... we're not mindless shopaholics, ok?

Sigh... Honestly, the high from that single purchase will be enough to sustain me through some tricky situations anticipated this month.... reliving the experience - bliss!

Potluck Party Ooh La La

Just hosted a potluck gathering at our place yesterday...

For the first time ever, we had a big bunch of people over (all Hubby's siblings, plus families, plus my parents-in-law), and man, was the house packed!

In Seremban, my in-laws' big house provided plenty of space for the kids to run around and play to their hearts' content, without disturbing the grown-ups' conversation. Yesterday, no such luck!

Earlier in the evening, the bigger kids went down to the pool, supervised by Hubby, his brother and his wife. Everyone then came back up to enjoy the potluck spread. We had sate & fried mihun, rendang & puding cendol (courtesy of my mum-in-law), nasi Arab, KFC, cakes and fruits galore, thanks to my bros & sis-in-laws. We the hosts provided the drinks and disposable ware hehehe... We were all pretty stuffed by the time the conversation turned serious.

We were discussing the family's plans for a group holiday this year. The last time we had such a trip was almost 3 years ago, so it was high time for another one. The general consensus is to have an outdoorsy holiday, to give the kids the experience of being in the great outdoors, sometime in Nov or Dec. It can't be any earlier, cos 2 of my sis-in-laws are delivering babies in April & June, and some of the kids have major exams coming up. So in the end, 1st choice was Eagle Ranch, PD... if that's a no-go, then someplace similar to that la yang kena dicari... As per our tradition, we'll be buying gifts for the kids, so guess who volunteered for that job??? :)

Anyhow, during this discussion, we had to put up with the kiddies watching TV just a few feet away... the hubbub, omigod! Kalah riuh sekampung! Hehehe... nak halau suruh main tempat lain, takde tempat dah! The rooms are all filled with things, so no room to play in as well. So the adults had to manage the discussion as best as we could. Nasib baik none of the neighbors complained heheh...

After the fun and frolic, spent this morning vacuuming and mopping (well, Hubby did the vacuuming heheh... thank you baby) up the mess, and after a spot of ironing, finally I could sit down to do some office work (and surf the web, obviously :p)

Feel like unwinding with a spot of window (or actual?) shopping later today.... and Hubby said yes! :) Whoooppeee!!!!

Are you brand loyal?

Me? Yes, I admit I am... if I like a particular brand, then I'll stick to it no matter what people say. I especially hate it when people start dissing what it is that I like, without a valid reason.

Example? Tudungs. I am a Munawwarah fan, I'm proud to declare. If you see me at work, you'll see me in various shades and types of Munawwarah tudungs... is it because I'm a snob? No... I just love the ease & simplicity of the products! They make my mornings so much easier!

Now, the reason why I stick to Munawwarah, and ONLY Munawwarah, for the particular styles that I wear, again, is simple. QUALITY. Of course, with that, comes the price. I mean, you can't get good quality at pasar malam prices can you? Not that I haven't been tempted to buy any of the imitation products... I have, but I just never actually made the purchase, cos I just can't close my eyes to the difference in quality.

Anyway, that's my personal choice, so lantak la kan... and I don't care when I see others wearing the imitation stuff, cos to each his own budget and preferences... but as a loyal customer, it pi$$es me off to no end to see & hear other people promoting their replicas, and at the same time badmouthing the original! I mean, hello! If it weren't for that, where do you think it'd come from??

I absolutely hate it when people start saying 'This one is worth buying... I've bought Munawwarah tudungs before, but this new item is a better buy cos it's the same quality, but cheaper'.... 'I paid so much for the tudung, but the awning patah'... 'It's supposed to be good quality, so I'm surprised it got berbulu even though I only washed it a few times'.... Look people, just because the quality is already good doesn't mean that you can simply plonk it down willy-nilly and not get the awning all bent! It also doesn't mean that you can simply sling bags across your body & chest, rubbing against the tudung till the material is stressed out (aw, you know what I mean kan...), and then claim the price you paid doesn't correspond to the quality. And you know why it's cheaper? Cos you only copied the design! Sometimes it's not even cheaper, if you compare them apple-to-apple...

Forgive my emotional rantings hehehe... but I say, if you wanna hawk your product, don't pour sand into other people's rice bowl la... it's not professional, and it's distasteful. Find other ways to promote your stuff. And to those who've bought the tudungs and made remarks similar to the above, I say take a look at how you handled the stuff first before blaming it on the items... after all, BMW owners don't simply lenjan their expensive wheels even though they're top-notch, right? You gotta give it love & care folks...

Hehehe... anyway, that's just me, and just one brand... don't get me started on any others that I favor :p Lest anyone thinks I'm a fanatic & lazybum who loves the sarung-kepala-aje kind of tudung, I do wear the usual styles as well hehehe, so there is some variety there ok...

Anyone else have strong feelings about this?

Stressed Out!

Have you ever been in those situations where you are trying to maintain your superiors' face and not show that they didn't do what they're supposed to do, but with the expected result of making yourself look like a stupid idiot?











Well, I've been in that situation many times... is it because I'm a pushover? Am I being too nice? Whatever it is, to me, I should be covering my superior's a*# in front of other people, even if they didn't do what they were supposed to do, ie review & comment on my work, provide guidance & direction on what we're supposed to do, and a bunch of other things a superior is supposed to do... That's my principle - if my subordinate messed up, and it was detected in a public arena (eg. meeting) and it was something that I missed, then I would own up to it and not blame anyone else. Even if I was not involved in it, ie she did it on her own without needing my input, I would still hold myself accountable for it when dealing with others. After the meeting/discussion/whatnot, I can have my own talk with my staff on reviewing things within her own area, but I would not, repeat, NOT, blame her in front of others.

Unfortunately, we seem to have many people who are more than happy to just point out, 'Oh, I mentioned this to her already, but she didn't put that in', or 'I'm sorry, my staff messed up' - to all and sundry!!! No consideration given whatsoever to the person's feelings & face... I wonder, when they say these things, do they think about how it makes them look to the others? They look IRRESPONSIBLE, with no sense of ownership... not to mention being completely poor examples of leaders who cannot maintain their staff's self-esteem, among other things...

Forget about any thanks or even recognition for doing work beyond our own area of accountability (ie of a higher level)... what they see is just the things we didn't do, or did do but not well.... somehow the thought that it's not even ours to begin with no longer comes to mind, because everything is/has been delegated to us in the name of managing work effectively, and thus the accountability is ours, without the reward/recognition.

Oh why am I even bothering to say all this? Because this is the only avenue where I can voice out my feelings. I know it makes no difference to say all this here, but then again, it makes no difference to say it to the powers-that-be at work as well... only my colleagues know (and some, understand) what really takes place in the office...






Anyway, once again, my colleague and I were in a bind - do we answer truthfully, and make our superiors look bad in front of a higher authority, or try to cover as best as we could, but with the definite result that we look like unthinking idiots who don't know how to do their work?

I admit, I'm not the smartest at work, nor am I very good at strategic matters and stuff... but it's one thing to know and admit that I'm not smart, and another thing to feel stupid and small in front of my peers! I don't think any of us will feel good if people in our own department can make remarks like 'I don't see the value-adding activities that you do here'. Just because you don't seem to understand what we do, doesn't mean that what we work on doesn't add value to anything or anyone!

I'M SO STRESSED OUT!!! I NEED A DOSE OF RETAIL THERAPY!!!!

Tummy bug strikes again!

I spoke too soon...

Amani came down with the (suspected) same bug... How did we know? She woke up at 5.30am yesterday, and threw up all over Hubby (and our bed... huwaaa!!! The smell of the cod liver oil she ate the night before was so very strong!) Poor thing, she partially threw up while still lying down, so ended up with a lot of the vomit on her face and in her hair, besides the rest being spewed on her poor father. Hubby had to give her a shower so early in the morning, plus shampoo her hair. The clincher that she had the same bug we all did, was the pseudo-diarrhea later on.... had to put her in diapers again (taken from Adik's stash of course) to be on the safe side... Her reaction to the diaper proposal was a surprised 'Eh?' Not a shocker, isn't it, considering she's been fully toilet-trained since she was 3! Hehehe... sian anak mama... the indignity of being a diapered kid again!

It became quite clear that we were going to see Dr Altaf that morning... our regular schedule was out the window, what with cleaning up the vomit, Febreze-ing the bed, washing the vomit-stained clothes and blanket - all before taking our own showers! We eventually left our place at 7am. Omigod! The crawl on the Federal Highway was just torture! I just can't understand how a colleague who stays in Shah Alam as well can leave home at 7am and reach KLCC around 8.30. It took us 1 hour just to get from Shah Alam to Taman Tun!

Amani threw up again in the car, and again after her light breakfast... by this time we're pretty sure she'd have to stay home from school. Since Hubby has a big meeting today, and I've got a program taking place tomorrow, our duty roster was decided thus: Hubby would stay with her on Monday, and I'll take my turn on Tuesday if she's still not fully recovered.

So guess where I am today? At home, with my darling daughter!!! Thankfully she's getting better, but we felt it's better to be very sure that she's OK before we send her back to school... She's had her breakfast (2 pieces of chocolate-smeared toast), taken her bath, and is now lying in front of the TV watching 'Animals are Amazing'.

What about work? I've got things that I need to do (don't we always?), but work will never end... Right now my daughter needs me, and I'm gonna be there for her...