Worry is my friend

Trouble...
Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Feels like every time I get back on my feet
she come around and knock me down again

Worry...
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry
Sometimes I swear it feels like this worry is my only friend

*************

I realise I write better when I am emotionally challenged, be it jovial, depressed or mixed feelings stuffed in a can just like those delicious Ayam brand sardines, which reminds me that there is only one left in the cabinet. It is now a prized possession and will only be served on a special day. Funny on how a simple dish is treated as those served at Michelin star restaurants.

See how easily I get myself off-track from the topic.

I am trying my best to get out of this melancholy state but somehow it is proven hard. Maybe a trip to Disneyland will take away those unwanted emotions and vibes. A simpler way is to watch kids’ movies at the comfort of our home. One cannot help but be tickled by their stories. There are always scenes that will burst you into laughter. Either way, I bet the young lady wouldn’t argue as both are a hit to her.

I suppose I need to list down the things which are on my mind and apply what I normally do at work. I should prioritise those emotionally challenged issues and deal with them one by one. Slowly but surely I should be able to tick them off from the list.

Easier said than done, eh?

Sometimes it feels easier to manage your highly demanding career than your personal life. At work, in order to succeed, one has to remain objective and visualise the path. Emotions have to be put aside, especially when it comes to managing people. If we want our staff to fly high, we should provide constructive feedback even if they are hard to swallow. Similarly, if we think we deserve that promotion, we should walk into our superior’s room and present our case without hesitation.

It is much easier to be bold at work than in your personal life. No matter how many "mind, body and soul" books you read, you still remain clueless on what is best to do upon reaching a conflict or junction in life.

or perhaps I should ditch everything and get a tub of Haagen Dazs for the time being.

My sacrifice

We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh, how quickly life can turn around
In an instant

It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there

Cause when you are with me, I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others, we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice

***********************************
She said, "You are my treasure mummy. Nothing else matters."
And so are you honey. so are you...

Flashback of the past keeps playing inside my mind. The toddler who waited patiently at the station on her way to the nursery, not once complaining about the freezing weather. The girl who fought her eyes hard not wanting to fall asleep during the journey as it meant her mom had to carry her from the stop to their home. The young lady who simply knew the value of things and did not ask much even when she was in the shop which had all the things she desired.

For all the sacrifices she has done for me, the least I could is to fulfill her wish.

Hard to say goodbye

I handed in my resignation letter today, requesting for a shorter notice instead of the standard three months.

It was a sad moment and this was done with an MD whom I wasn’t close to (he's responsible for the welfare of the staff). I couldn’t imagine how it'd be had it been done with someone I worked closely with.

About 4 years ago I joined this place. I wanted to try something new and despite knowing I had to build new set of skills, it didn’t matter. I was willing to take up the challenge. The offer alone helped to improve our quality of life. My 1st job in this city was reasonable as it was already above London's average salary but raising a child with that amount single-handedly was tough. It was a relief to be getting the increment.

Despite working 50 to 70 hours per week, ad hoc travelling including leaving home at 530am to catch the 730am flight to another European city, specialising in two highly regulated sectors, ridiculous deadlines and managing expectation of different parties, I truly enjoyed working here. It is probably the best workplace I ever had. I love my job and my colleagues and superiors are warm and cool. An MD loves to hide things of another MD, which included his bicycle. One practices his golf swings on our floor. One prefers wearing bright shirts to work; pink, red, blue and green! One talks about his daughters' passion of handbags which thankfully they were only DKNY equivalent. Wait until they start asking for Mulberry or Channel. The senior PA who shocked me for driving a Cooper is like a sister and we often share our crush on McDreamy. When I was looking for a ring, a male senior colleague gave me a tutorial of the perfect stone; from colour to cut. Suffice to say mine was a triple X. *wink*

It is also a place where my skills were groomed to (almost) perfection and my talents were appreciated. I was given many opportunities and collectively, they moulded me. One of them included a chance to manage a deal originating from another European country, with participation from teams from two continents. Of course it also meant we had to work on shift to manage the different time zone.

All my hard work was recognised and paid off. The promotion which was given two years ago with a substantial increase in pay was welcomed with open arms. It gave a sense of pride to be noticed among thousands of people in London alone, especially when it was given during tough times. It meant I could save more towards the young lady's education fund, as well as investing in handbags and shoes (I should not forget to pamper myself, no?).

Good things must come to an end, so does this chapter of my life. It is time to move on. With a heavy heart, I am bidding farewell to the firm.

From sambal tumis to cakes with icing

I am still on Juara Lagu mode .*grins* Maybe I am just missing home badly that this music award gave a huge impact on me. The young lady even noticed the changes in me last night; "are you going to listen to Malay songs again?"

Yes, I have a side which is hard to comprehend. It takes small things like Ghost, Nur Kasih and Juara lagu to make me feel homesick. Dont get me started on food. People find it hard to understand my need to eat local food whenever we are out. My breakfast comprises croissants, pain-au-chocolat whilst soup, salad or panini are on my lunch menu. As for dinner, the young lady prefers Mediterranean meal i.e. baked fish, roast lamb, grilled chicken, pasta etc.

Thus, I will go to the extra length to get masak lemak cili padi or sambal tumis dishes during the weekends. It was only the other day that we went to have buffet at a Malaysian restaurant and I had 3 portions of soto simply because the cili padi with soy sauce was to die for. I swore my pants couldnt cope the expansion of my tummy. Nevertheless, it did not stop me from eating as if there was no tomorrow. *lol* Now, imagine if I were back home. I usually have 5-6 meals a day and even walk to the nearby stalls for the morning, brunch, tea or supper time to fulfil the craving for nasi lemak, roti canai, mee goreng mamak, to name a few.

Hmm, I wonder what my cholesterol level would be at the end of a month holiday.

Anyway, these days it is common to name and shame people who cross the wrong side of your path. I suppose this is the danger of internet as the information is made known to everyone. I am sure we have our bad days but do we really want to tell everyone about it? A few people have been dismissed from their workplace because they circulated something which was meant as a joke but it became out of hand (the info travelled as far to the other side of the planet!). It is quite worrying, especially when neutral parties are dragged into the matter.

There is always a proper channel to voice out our frustration, which could turn out to be more fruitful. Instead of trying to resolve the matter, readers will interpret the information differently and may backfire the writer.

On a happier note, we got our residency today. Phew! Now I can start planning on the move and filtering potential roles in the new city. Most importantly, I can tender my resignation. Finally we can escape this wintry weather. Everything was covered with snowflakes this morning! The cars looked like cakes with icing.

Hmm, somehow the last note makes me melancholy but I shall leave it for the next posting.

Juara lagu - updated

Catatan ini ditujukan khas buat sahabat handai yang berada di perantauan: D, Danial, IDB, Inah, Jumper, Aporn (Kak Teh dan Naz dikecualikan kerana mereka masih bercuti di tanah air). Juga buat pembaca yang berada di UK, Rusia, Jerman, Finland, Amerika dan Kanada.

Jangan lupa tutup pemain muzik 'mix pod' sebelum menonton video.

Tempat kedua jatuh kepada Yuna:



Tempat ketiga - Faizal Tahir:



Salah satu kegemaran saya - Estranged:



Ok, back to my usual mode. Another year was added to my age and it goes without saying that lunch with the young lady and the girlfriend was a must. Shopping was also added to our activities. Since I didnt do any damage at the start of the sale (except for the Tahari coat which was too yummy to resist), I took my revenge. I am sure MD loves having me as their customer. *grins*

I welcome any homemade cakes and cookies. *hint hint*

Juara Lagu

I have not been following our local music industry for quite some time. It was refreshing to read the review given by the newspapers' columnists. I was prompted to hear the songs which made to the finals this Sunday. Not bad, I must say. I see that there are more youngsters who are putting their fate for the awards, or perhaps they have been in the arena for awhile but my knowledge is pretty bad that I have not heard of them.

I've watched Yuna's performance when she was here. It wasnt really my thing (my adik2 dragged me into it) but she was good! I was told then that she composed most of her songs. I think I've heard Estranged before but the name did not ring a bell. Same goes to Faizal Tahir.

I took the time to browse the songs and artists who are gambling for the prize and found a few which are to my liking. I suppose this is me trying to support our local talents.

If you are watching Juara Lagu, do share your review, ok?

Have a good weekend everyone!

ps: I am in LOVE with my maple honey coat. *grins* I feel like I'm in The Devil Wears Prade movie. *lol*

Curiosity killed the cat?

Have you come across a situation where a person decided to walk out of your life and suddenly appeared out of nowhere, only to irritate you by asking inappropriate questions?

If that person was close to you, asking those questions wouldn’t be an issue. Yet when a friend left for months and suddenly comes back only to touch on sensitive matters, surely one will find it awkward. I find it quite ironic when people demand for privacy and expect others to understand their choice yet poke their nose into other’s life.

Similarly, you think that after years spending outside your country, one will have less prejudice towards people of different background. Unfortunately, some of us don’t learn. Instead of understanding and bridging the differences, we remain ignorant. By being so, one tends to ask questions which appear weird and irrelevant. Now, if only a person does his or her homework, they will start to realise that the questions don’t reflect the situation at all. If I may, it does sound stupid.

I suppose under these circumstances, curiosity killed the cat.

Maybe I am just one of those people who dont ask my single friends of their relationship status, the childless couple on having kids or those with one child on having more. Understand your audience before you start shooting those questions. If a person has given much thought on a decision, try to respect it. It doesn’t look good on you to be asking sensitive matters when your life is more screwed up than others.

I am getting too old for this. I can either reply a remark sarcastically or be ignorant. I think the latter is a better option as it saves my energy to do other interesting things. I foresee more questions arise in future but what the heck. I am sure I can create an invisible shield to steer away those arrows.

On a lighter note, I found a nice coat to keep myself warm during this brutal winter. My existing jacket has a torn and since I'm unsure when I can escape from this miserable weather, I better equip myself with proper attire. Upon googling, I realised it was a runway collection. Not bad, huh?

Fall 2009 runway collection by E Tahari

New Year ramblings

I’ve drafted a few posts but they weren’t good enough to be published. Nothing interesting has caught my attention or worthy enough to dwell into. When other people went out to see the fireworks wherever they were on New Year’s eve, we spent the night watching Jack Sparrow on the telly and went to bed soon after. Staying up for countdown no longer appeals, especially not with this weather. We rather spend the night cuddled under our duvet.

The year also promises new tv series which includes The Vampire Diaries, new season of NCIS and CSI NY. I hope TVD is better than True Blood. I tried watching it (TB) but somehow I lost the plot half way. Maybe seasoned vampires are not my thing.

There is also a new movie which I am keen to see, Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. It is based on a book and has something to do with Greek mythology, my kind of thing. *grins* The young lady doesn’t understand why I am eager to watch as she thinks it’s scary. I think Medusa played by Uma Thurman has put her off from watching. The snakes on her head look pretty damn good.

Resolutions wise, nothing in particular in my list. I just want to get our paperwork sorted so that we can move closer to the other half. I am also looking forward to the much needed career break. After ten and a half years in this profession, it is wise to slow down and spend time with my loved ones. It seems a few of my friends would like to do the same, one of them intends to enjoy the World Cup. I suppose when we have the luxury to leave our profession and enjoy the moment, why not give it a go.

Anyway, I hope the year will bring wonderful things to you and whatever you seek or wish for, it will come true. Let’s take a stroll into the year, shall we?

Percy Jackson's trailer:

The price of guilt

I was expecting myself to be queuing for hours on Boxing day to get the Devil’s handbag and shoes and of course, MD’s attire after. Alas my dream was crushed on Xmas eve. All of a sudden, a bug hit me and less than 24 hours I was forced to be bedridden. This lasted for a few days. I couldn’t even leave the bed without seeing black polka dots.

Hmm, I wonder why the mind decided to see so. It would have been nicer if it was twinkling stars or flying pixies.

The temperature finally dropped today but I still feel weak. The young lady has been putting a brave face. Occasionally I could see she cried silently, hoping her mummy to get better. She quickly wiped her tears before she got into the room, thinking that her mum wouldn’t notice her worry.

Why do kids think they can fool their mums, eh? They should know that we have radar for these things. *grins*

Anyway, as I was feeling guilty, I asked the nanny to take her out. Naturally the young lady refused to leave me home alone but I told her that she needed to check if mummy’s favourite DVD is out. It was a distraction of course.

When she got home, she was smiling from ear to ear. She got herself a new DS game. It was a small price to pay for a girl who had to go through emotional stress.

As for me, my purse was spared. I supposed it was not meant for me to spend this year. Perhaps next time yeah. *winks*

*Ms B will take a few days off to recuperate. She hopes she has enough entertainment at home to keep her sane*

The weather outside is frightful

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Christmas came early with the presence of white snowflakes in the middle of last week. By Friday, it was thick enough to disrupt the commute of the average Londoners i.e. those who live outside the city. Some of my colleagues decided to work from home, leaving those who had no excuse to do so to run business as usual. I reckoned it was just a reason to do last minute gift shopping.

I am looking forward to the long break but I still have a few days to go before my holiday. Hopefully it’ll be a quiet one at work but there is still a slight chance of hard labour. A few of my friends are coming over, one of whom I haven’t seen for a decade. The Bangkok lady and I took the same course back in uni and we were study-mates (amongst other things of course! *grins*). We either hanged out at our department’s library or the national one in the city. When we weren’t busy revising, which by the way was three quarters of the year, we went to the beach for their famous milkshake/coffee, the riverside for its Sunday market or a nearby town for its factory outlets.

The good old days....

Anyway, Love Actually was on telly last night. I love the movie, especially on the boy’s crush on his lead singer, leading him to dash airport security and bid farewell to the girl. I’m sure every one of us wishes for that moment, or had one and cherishes it till this day.

Until then, let’s enjoy those non-stop romance movies and not worry about the freezing weather outside. Keep warm dear friends.

Are you a wild thing?

Before I embarked on my journey to the west a few years ago, I was warned that the City could be depressing. The suicidal rates were high and in fact, this friend of mine knew someone who ended his own life while working here. I was unsure the factor of such but I was told that the weather was partly to blame. Apparently the likelihood of this happening was higher during this time of the year.

Yet minus the weather, December is always a month where most people are on their happy mode. In fact, one hardly has time to feel depressed as there are always Christmas lunches or dinners to go to or gifts to find. For us parents, we’ll be busy preparing for our kid’s school play which also includes enduring to their non-stop practising of the songs and script. Last Friday the nanny had a shock when the young lady said she had nine homework which was more than what she normally gets. It turned out to be nine songs for her play!

Even for us who don’t celebrate it, we look forward to the month as the majority of us are in holiday mood. Last week, there were only one third left in my department. Some even took the opportunity to have long lunches, a rare at my workplace. We usually grab a sandwich or a cup of soup and eat at our desk for a mere 15-20 minutes.

The best part of the month is not Christmas but Boxing Day when the much anticipated sales begin. It is when people will queue for hours and brace themselves for freezing weather just to get desired items which are on sale at 50 per cent off. Occasionally things may go ugly especially when two women want to get the same item. I suppose the sale season does bring out a wild thing out of us. *grins*

Speaking of wild things, the young lady has asked for a trip to the cinema to catch the latest movie, a story based on Maurice Sendak’s book. We didn’t have time this week due to commitments but I am hoping next week we can slot something. I trust her judgment and often, it’d be me enjoying the movie more than she does. Besides, I dont have much choice since the only movies we can watch should be rated PG or U.



Inside all of us is
everything you've seen
everything you've done
everything you've ever loved
There is one in all of us

Inside all of us is hope
Inside all of us is fear
Inside all of us is adventure
Inside all of us is a wild thing

The last month of the year

It’s that time of the year where one starts to reflect on one’s journey and milestones given that there were some goals laid at the beginning of the year. I’m sure most of us had something set in their mind, tangible or not. It may include a better job or for some people, any job will do, a new handbag or a pair of shoes, to save more money for early retirement (as if that will ever happen. It’s hard to kick out the workaholic habit), to loose or gain weight (failed miserably!), to revamp one’s wardrobe (must watch Devil wears Prada again), the list can go endlessly.

The only reason I am writing this is because I may go bonkers for staying home for another day. My hands are tempted to switch on the office’s laptop and check my emails but I know it will not be good for my health. I ran out of dvds (box set!) and did the laundry, so I’m left with no choice but to ramble on this topic.

If I recall correctly, I didn’t have any solid resolutions. There was nothing in particular that I wanted. At that point in life, I had almost what other people wished for; a caring, thoughtful and lovely daughter who picks me up without fail, a good-paying career which allows me to juggle my life as a single parent in a foreign land and includes a lifestyle of holiday, handbags and shoes (esp when the young lady is into trend), a handful of good friends who simply let me be me.

In a nutshell, I was content. I was grateful with the things that the One Above bestowed on me. With no set goals in mind, I simply allowed the journey to run its course and I was the passenger, enjoying the view.

Little did I know that it would take me to surprising places.

About a year ago, I decided to make a wish on my birthday for the sake of tradition. As I mentioned, you never know when the fairies would eavesdrop. I suppose they did as it was granted.

I wished for love.

Zombie bride

For over a week I disconnected myself from the outside world. Well, not entirely true. I just detached myself from blogosphere, emails and anything that fell under the same category. Some knew the reason for my absence and probably would do the same if they were in my shoes. When you are aware you have limited time with your loved ones, you’ll want to spend every single minute with them. If it meant cutting down time for myself and spend more with my loved ones, why not?

Although I was a bit crushed when I could not watch New Moon, no matter how much I emphasised on the sexy vampires and hot werewolves. I should have told that there were beautiful girls then perhaps a trip to the cinema was possible.

At least I was guaranteed home-cooked meals every day. I suppose it was a fair trade and it was nice to be pampered. I should have had that in the prenup.

Anyway, another glitch occurred a few days ago. I am currently under the weather and the past few nights have been a struggle. Thankfully the persistent cough only occur night time, thus I am able to continue doing my daily routine. However, I must say the lack of sleep (we are talking max of 3-4 hours every day!) has resulted me feeling like a zombie. I hope my current state as shown below is only temporary:

I am praying hard for a decent sleep tonight. Bonne nuit!

The love story so far

If there's a crisis, you don't freeze, you move forward. You get the rest of us to move forward. Because you've seen worse. You've survived worse, and you know we'll survive too. You say you're all dark and twisty. It's not a flaw, it's a strength. It makes you who you are. I'm not gonna get down on one knee, I'm not gonna ask a question. I love you, and I wanna spend the rest of my life, with you.




To love each other, even when we hate each other
Nobody walks out. No matter what happens
That we'll take care of each other, even when we're old, and smelly, and senile
This is forever

*Ms B and Mini B would like to thank their beautiful friends for their love, thoughts and support.*

Chocolat

“For a person who is about to make some big changes in her life, you are extremely calm. In fact, you are more stressed out on getting this deal done.”

Work has kept me occupied to the extent that my sense of feeling has gone numb. It is to no surprise that I’m being mistaken as ice queen at times. How can one be excited on something when she has many on her mind? It’s like celebrating your 21st birthday on your crucial exam or being told that you nailed that job while attending a funeral, although the latter seems dramatic.

Work is indeed a sanctuary for me to disconnect myself when needed.

So when I left the office not long ago, somehow the emotions that were deprived from making appearance started to surface. The twenty minute cab journey felt twice as long and I was again lost in my own thoughts. Forget about butterflies. It felt more like dinosaurs doing their salsa in my tummy.

Slowly the pictures of my loved ones emerged inside my head, making a slideshow accompanied with melancholy songs. I could see their smile and sense the warmth of their love. It took me awhile to realise that it may not be as scary as it seemed. If it is meant to be, things flow in a click. I suppose I need to trust the One above and let myself walk along this path.

While I try to keep my dam intact, let me share you what I grabbed today. I was looking for ideas to get something as a token of appreciation and my ten minute escape from work resulted to this:

I hope I got enough for everyone. I will use tomorrow for the much needed body TLC. Darn! I’ve already missed part of my beauty sleep tonight.

Six pence

It was another roller-coaster week with the young lady down with an almost-full-blown flu. Sleepless nights were expected and to make matters worse, I had another deal due by the end of the week. Somehow all those years of multi-tasking came in handy and we both survived. Phew!

As she was feeling bright and shine yesterday, we thought it’d be nice to go out and chill. Thankfully the weather was on our side, at least during the day. It started to rain in the evening and today, it looks like it’s a storm out there. Perhaps it is nothing compare to the Norwegian weather but for this part of the world, it’s close enough to be considered a storm.

Where was I? Ah, yes. While we were making our way to the nearest bus stop close to the famous park, something popped inside my head and I asked the young lady, “would you like to catch a falling leaf?”

Of course the suggestion was welcomed with a wide grin and sparkling eyes. There we were, running under the trees, trying our best to catch one. At one point we bumped into each other, making the whole thing looked silly. In between our giggles and laughter, I couldn’t help feeling how much fun we were having. I could sense people around us were smiling and somewhat envied our silliness, as if life was free from troubles.

Then, at the mall, there was a stage which replicated a music recording studio complete with props and anyone could come up and take photo. The young lady wanted to give it ago and she picked the guitar. I placed the strap on her shoulders and she was ready to be the next rock star. *grins* Her ‘band’ had another guitarist and drummer, both girls and younger than her. I think they had a singer too, a toddler who wanted to be close to his sister on stage.

It was definitely a good day and the crazy week we had seemed to have faded away. As I count my blessing, I look forward to a new journey...

Something old, something new,
Something borrowed, something blue,
And silver six pence in your shoe.

Picture equation

I am trying my best to avoid being this:

and this:



but it seems challenging. Maybe a cup of lemsip and a good night sleep will do the trick, as well as minimising human interaction.

Hmm, perhaps Edward Cullen and Jacob can kick some feel-good factor. Eh, I forgot. I thought I fancied Paul more.

Definitely it is time for stress reliever.

*Ms B is glad that her mini B made a speedy recovery after 2 days of high fever. She's truly a super girl.*

What about now?

Of late, I’ve been following a new series, FlashForward. I am unsure if it qualifies as ‘following’ as I missed the first two episodes and used the ‘on-demand’ to catch up. Occasionally when I’m too tired, my mind tends to wander while watching and I end up using the online to recap.

Well, at least I have something to occupy my time until Mentalist season 2 kicks off. The series have good looking asian men i.e. agent Cho and agent Demetri, both are Koreans if I’m not mistaken. I bet my Korean lover friends/readers will start googling if they have not heard of them. *grin*

What’s the relevance of this series and my post? Something has been irking me. Not too much but enough for me to share with friends (and you) about it. Because of my background, my decisions have always been made after thorough calculation. Ok, I lied. I had some situations where my actions were made on the spur of the moment but they were a small fraction as a whole. I mean, can you resist a good bargain on handbags and shoes? *grins*

As much as I feel glad that people are keeping tab on me, some questions should be dropped. Maybe they are concerned but there is a line between caring and putting your nose in where it’s not wanted.

So, instead of analysing the decision and situation, I wish they try to be me and see it from my perspective. Try putting on the “hat and shoes” and take a test drive. Only then they may be able to understand whether the option is safe or risky, good or bad.

As I told a friend recently, people around you usually say that they will be by your side no matter what but the reality is, we lead our own life. We have our own worries to handle and put our loved ones’ wellbeing before others. Often, it is those who are close to your heart who will be there through thick and thin, or to be precise, for the rest of your life.

In Flashforward, they are caught up with what will happen in six months time that they stop thinking about the present. If we worry about the future, of which in the series refers to someone dying, a wife with a new lover etc, we stop living for the moment. The future hasn’t happened and despite whatever consequences it may be, if we worry too much about it, are we not wasting our present time?

Thus, I choose to believe in my dreams, in the presence of those who are close to my heart.

“So live your life. Live everyday and know that the future is unwritten; make the most of it.”

Dreams come true

Take a look at yourself in the mirror, who do you see looking back?
Is it the person you wanna be?
Or is there someone else you were meant to be, the person you should have been but just fell short of.
Is someone telling you that you can't or you won't? Because you can.
Believe that love is out there.
And believe that dreams come true everyday, because they do.
Sometimes happiness doesn't come from money or fame or power. Sometimes happiness comes from good friends and family, and from the quiet nobility of leading a good life.
So take a look in that mirror and remind yourself to be happy, because you deserve to be. Believe that.
And believe that dreams come true everyday, because they do
~One Tree Hill~

Fairy tales pretty much form our life, from the start of the day until it’s time to say good night. A trip to a nearby shop often includes ponies and unicorn, occasionally a pagasus tags along. The last time I was told we had four ponies and a handful of unicorns, all live in a barn opposite our home. It keeps them warm during this cold weather and I’m sure they’ll enjoy its comfort when winter arrives.
At home, the role of house elves is commonly used and that gives her the ticket to tidy the place. She would love to do the dishes but I feel she needs to grow a few more inches before I allow her to do such. At the moment, she has been given the permission to grab her own snacks for tea and sometimes breakfast if I’m forced to stay in bed due to unavoidable circumstances. She happily takes yoghurt or cheese strings from the fridge or butter buns on the kitchen top.

Our morning walk to the school will be incomplete without greetings from squirrels, often trying to dash the road to explore another garden. One particular squirrel has caught our attention as it is always at the same spot and crosses the road just before we reach there. We have yet to name it as the young lady is unsure if it’s a male or female. So we just call it ‘squirrel’, so much for our creativity. We say ‘good morning squirrel’ and have a decent conversation with it, from school stuff to fruit of the day.

As it is autumn, leaves have started to fall which has led her to scrutinise her view to catch one. It seems lady luck will be on our side should she succeed. Sometimes she finds a penny on the floor and quickly picks, saying today will be a good day for both of us.

This is our life, where fairy tales come true, where magic and miracles exist. Sometimes it only needs a little bit of imagination and it takes away all the pain, sorrow, bad dreams...

If this was a fairy tale, just like Cinderella, I have yet to find a pair of glass slippers to attend the ball.

Between breakfast, beverage and soup

Amongst other things on my pile of to do list was finding a particular item. Once again I thought it’d be an easy task but oh boy, how wronged was I! None of the items I saw was ‘calling me’, thus leaving me with no option but to go to safe places or take a stroll along my favourite street.

They say you cant go wrong with breakfast. Unfortunately, the one I liked which I saw online was not available in store. The ones they had were not exactly my taste, thus I had to eliminate them (so much for wanting to be safe).

Then it was time to test beverage. It wasn’t bad at all. I found a few which met my requirement. They weren’t exactly what I was looking for but after trying, they turned out nice, thus stressing the importance of testing your goods before deciding. The store manager took the time to advise and gave me a range for consideration.

However, I stumbled upon something which truly represented me in soup. Her place was sandwiched between two big stores and had a huge bouncer standing in front of the door. Me and the buddy weren’t sure whether we should go in but Mr Bear (the bouncer did look like one!) smiled and asked if we wanted to. We seized the offer and just went inside.

There it was... the perfect thing... soup was all about attention to details which makes her items unique. I couldn’t help admiring her work and I knew instantly that I have fallen for it.

The question now is whether I should follow my heart or mind. Between soup and beverage, the latter has practical range. Affordability no longer applies in this equation but being me, my mind usually rules. Beverage is known for its superb quality but soup is all about individuality. My mind says I should go for beverage but my heart yearns for the presence of soup!

After a few days of tossing about the idea, I decided to end my sleepless nights. I picked up the phone and made an appointment... *smile*

Yeah I know.. Too many metaphors. *wink*

Have a good weekend friends!

*Ms B and mini B will miss their shopping-mates who are on their way back home. She hopes the bond she shares with her friend will continue between their chic girls.*