Yumiko’s Neighborhood

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! (I guess knowing me, you will not believe it too!)

I am not a fan of any artiste.

But last Thursday afternoon, while doing the clothes as usual, I happened to watch Jay Chou's first directed movie, 不能說的秘密 (SECRET) on the Mio TV channel.

I was so mesmerised!

It is a romantic film (not surprisingly). But it was well-made! I love all the piano pieces in the show.

Even after the movie, I was still thinking about it since I did not catch it from beginning. And I noted the name of the movie and year of production. (I bet it would have been a well-known fact for many people).

So on Saturday, my dear hub, found the DVD pretty easily (I presume it was cos it's JAY CHOU).

Sacrificing my usual Sunday afternoon nap, I watched it the next day- TWICE!

And my dear hub with me... who will watch it a thousand times with me if I would like to! Thanks dear!

Guess what, he did not need to wait long! We caught it again on Sunday night on Channel U.

And, I watched it again on Monday afternoon. heh heh...

I saw the making of the film and found that most of the pieces in the movie were composed by him, and played not by any music in the background, but he was really playing every piece! Hearing all the positive remarks about him from the crew and artistes, I am impressed!

Goosh, seems like I am becoming a fan already!

Here's a mini slot from the show which I like!

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.

I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.

Cheers,

daisy

...And the other two sitting right beside them!

He woke up with a fever on Sunday.

Eating was even more fussy than usual...

Not mentioning about the routine- SUPER OFF!

Did he catch a cold (due to his newly shaved hair)? Or he caught LA's cold virus (she woke up with runny nose and cough that morning as well).

We realised his fever was pretty random; as high as 39 plus to almost normal around 37.

Nevertheless, his appetite grew worse by the week; barely eating and drinking his milk! But doubled his water intake- surprisingly!

Then, he even fussed being put down for naps... and cranky even at play.

Just when I almost have had enough, thank God for my dear observant hub, who saw the more than usual drooling and rejecting the milk bottle, on top of all those unusual symptoms, and we concluded that our dear boy could be teething.

The most feared hurdle for parents with boys I have heard so far... wake up screaming in the middle of the night, knowing totally how many teeth the child has had (without counting the teeth but the number of increased fussiness periods) etc.

Looks like the boy's third and fourth teeth on the upper jaw are breaking forth!

Gear up Daddy and Mummy!   

But thank God that through it all, he still slept pretty well through the night- God's grace and mercy for us!

We deliberated on this issue for the longest time- sending LA to play group.

Parents nagged us. Friends asked why.

One reason why we decided that I stay at home is to be able to teach and bring the kids up myself- not merely education, but moral values as well- which we hold more firmly in. Exposing her too early into the world may mean a whole baggage of trashy values and habits to clean up later.

The delay in sending her there is also due to the worry of various transmitting diseases that her young body may not be able to fight off- we may end up paying both the school and the doc, spending what we will be saving if she stays at home and less heart ache and trouble nursing her back to health.

To Ad, she will have a lifetime of schooling to do, and he want to spare her of this agony as late as possible.

And lastly, for myself, I will miss her.

But seeing the need to prepare her for school and also spending more concentrated time with Lucas, we finally made the first payment for school in Jan next year.

She always replies 'Yes' when we ask her if she would like to go school. But I reckon that she probably saw the kids playing toys in the few schools which we visited during some of our morning walks.

For now, it's more preparation to do; build up her immune system with the necessary jabs, supplements, toilet training, double up on keeping her hygiene practices etc.

And mommy letting go when the time comes.

吃不下！

Literally!

It has been two months since Lucas started his porridge diet. But he is STILL FUSSING- every meal!

We have tried everything we heard what works for friends; ikan bilis, anchovies, scallops, mee sua, cabbage, sweet corn, celery, onions... This is far more favourful than LA's short porridge regime!

I realised, it is not just the flavour. The texture is essential too!

Today's lunch, he rejected his 'what-seem-to-be-working-ikan-bilis' porridge. It was cooked slightly shorter than usual, so it is a bit runny like Teochew porridge.

After two mouthfuls, he did his usual swift turn to the side- his outrightly 'no-give-face' rejection.

Ten minutes was my last straw.

Before I dump the whole bowl of porridge, I decided to try removing the excess fluid in a heated pot over the stove and added a spoonful of his soy veg cereal to thicken it up.

Presented in a different bowl and stirring to get rid of the heat in front of him, this little boy leaned forward from his chair to peer into what I thought could be something 'smelling yummy' to him. And he licked his lips almost imeddiately and jumped in his seat impatiently to want to taste it.

For the rarest times, he cried not out of protest to stop eating, but wanting to another mouth of the 'yummy porridge'.! Needless to say, he finished to the last two spoonfuls within ten minutes.  

He's a Gourmet! Just like his Daddy! :)

Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.

We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you for being so patient.

~daisy

Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.

This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!

Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.

Can't wait to read your posts!

~ daisy

This is not my first foray into bracelets, but I think it's my first big-link item and I guess it's acceptable.  I'm not sure how much I like it - i may or may not keep it in its present state.  There's too little on the chain.

The companion earrings turned out much better - I don't have copper backings for them, but that can wait for a while.

The other day  there were 2 jewelry stands at school, selling the usual costume/'junk' pieces.  I found a couple dollar-bin things to part out, as well as this awesome ring for $4!  The original "stone" popped out that day but being the veteran of cheap jewelry that I am, I saw this as an opportunity to make it into something cooler.  So on goes the Bead for Life bead, as well as some bone-looking rounds and amber seeds.  Nothing valuable, breakable, or irreplaceable.

Good craft move!  If it wasn't for the bra strap showing, I'd call this my dust jacket shot ;)