Professional Shots - As Promised

Wow..these photos are much better when viewed full size (almost like 3D)...hmmm...i need to be better friends with TS kekekeh...since the cameras are so expensive and troublesome to 'process'...Thanks TS, we love them!!

Woodburn Tulip Farm

It's been 5 years since I last visited the tulip farm, my first experience in 2002 was breath-taking and i was so taken in by the endless rows of tulips overlooking the horizon. We went to the Tulip Farm in Woodburn last Sunday, and it was great sunny weather. Sadly though, it didn't really keep up to my impression a few years back. The flowers were still pretty, but fewer. Our friend TS is a very experienced photographer with good 'gadgets'...so we were lucky to have our pictures taken together. At this point though, he has yet to process the photos to share (I will definitely update this blog with his 'professional' shots) which Wye insist he should get a better camera, as when we get to compare photos taken with both cameras and their effects...we'll see.


We spent a couple of hours walking through the rows of tulips. Some bigger bulbs were the Hit for photos (bright orange and red), while there were rows of dark purple tulips which weren't as popular. The girls LK and Y bought some tulips to take home after the trip. There were many species of tulips and bulbs for sale there. Loads of ppl visited that day, mostly gathered at the food stall (long queue for curly fries, burgers, elephant ears and ice-cream) and kids busying at the Free Games corner. I had my face painted for USD1 hehe...just for fun. We then headed for lunch at Mc D's and the Factory Outlets for shopping after. It was an enjoyable ( a little tiring for me) trip, and first time getting sun-tan this year!

Portland Waterfront

Did you really believe we glued our bottoms on the TV the whole weekend? Well...sort of did..hehe..

We were suppose to meet our friends HF and PS at Woodburn Tulip Farm on Sunday, unfortunately it started raining again, so we changed our minds. Wye suggested taking a stroll downtown Portland at the Flea Market and Waterfront. Considering we havent' been there since i got pregnant, because the ride on MAX was nauseating...we decided to give it a try since i've been feeling much better. When we arrived at the station, we both realized we didn't have any CASH...hehe..it wouldn't be a problem usually because they accepted card payments, but the machine somehow rejected both our cards!! Then large droplets of rain started, so we rushed into the car..and drove downtown instead ;)

The Waterfront is actually our first 'dating' place back in 2002. We both would take the MAX train downtown to the Flea Market, take a walk, enjoy the breeze by the Willamette river, watch people skating/biking and then spent the afternoon at the River Place Restaurant (now called Marina Fish House) where they serve Happy Hour Bar Menu at really reasonable prices before doing some window shopping around.

Can you spot the little bunny at the right corner? Since it was Easter Sunday, there were people giving free treats along the walk way...Unfortunately, most shops were closed on this day....so we didn't spend very long in town, and headed home to continue our PB marathon...kekekeh..

Weekend Marathon - Prison Break

As usual, when friends recommend certain movies/series to watch, i tend not really be bothered to listen....you know like i really never understood how good something on the screen can be, or how ppl keep chasing for each episode release...hehe just not that type. Or maybe i will start an episode, like i did with Sex and The City years back, and decided..nah...what's so great? So, pretty much the same story when HF and PS recommended Prison Break to us, a couple of months back. We got the copies (hehe) from them, and stored it safely in our hard-disk. Did we listen and start watching? Nah...we told them, hey we have other things to watch...let us finish those, then we'll watch 'your' Prison Break ;)

And so, last Saturday, we got up in the morning, raining and all, and decided without much to do, we'll watch an episode of PB. And i guess one lead to the next, full of suspense and we ended up watching 8 episodes in a row, before giving in for Lunch!! I've always enjoyed movies like Escape fr Alcatraz and Shawshank Redemption, so PB was GREAT. Loved the plot in Season 1, and PS was right, Michael Scoffield is kinda 'not bad' looking...hehe... I won't go on about PB in detail, but don't start if you don't plan to sit in to finish!! We're almost done with Season 2 now(it's been 5 consecutive days), but sigh....Season 3 will have to wait until Feb2008 for full release...URGHH!!!

Our Cozy Apartment

Yesterday was a busy day, we spent half the morning at the hospital for my routine check up, waiting, seeing the doctor, waiting again, taking blood test etc..And then i worked the next half day babysitting 2 girls...at a nearby house...So i tot i will write two postings today...

It's Good Friday and the forecaster predicts a beautiful weekend and Easter ahead >60degrees. Wye and I went out for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in Hillsboro and then took a short stroll at the park..he was really tempted to take the rest of the day off...and WFH ( Work from home) hehe...it's such a nice sunny mood!! Anyway...that didn't happen, and i'm now home alone...blogging. So i've decided to take some pictures of our lovely apartment to share...hehe..Our home is a spacious 2bedroom+2bathroom apartment and we've been living here for more than 7mths now...it does come fully furnished, but we added some minor details here and there to make it 'homey'..

The picture above is our bedroom ensuite bathroom, and the kitchen+handmade flower deco ;) This one below is the second bedroom (which is just an empty den now) and the guest bathroom, dining room and living room area (where we spent most days lazing in front of the TV, or napping on the sofa bed) .

Of course i would share with you some pictures of the sweet tulips and vegetables i planted in the patio...The tulips were planted since Sept last year and it went thru frosting and winter from a tiny onion bulb into a 1foot tall plant now...we bought 2yellow bulbs and 2pink ones, but i think the yellow's showing off first. Well, the vege which is actually a few varieties of lettuces ( Wye thinks there's no hope in having them for salad) hehe...coz the pot is kinda small for the growth were planted a few weeks ago...so i'm just hanging on to them..

The Exterminator!!

Spring has definitely sprung...and so has all the insects which have been hibernating all thru winter....Eeewww....the spiders, the ants, the bees, we even found a dead tiny rat!! they're out from nesting and intruding into our lives appearing in every corner and cracks!! We alerted the apartment maintenance and they promised to send the EXTERMINATORS' which i tot was a mighty word for those tiny creatures...but none the less Thank God for those 'combat' poison...hehe..These silly ants think they're FREE food and feast on them, after which they will bring it back to the nest, and RIP...And of course the life of ants, the other ants in the nest will eat those dead ants...and the flow continues until each of them RIP...kekekeh...I know this sounds mean...i recall reading about the Red Fire Ants in Penang Kek Lok Si recently where the monks had so much trouble with them, but yet could not exterminate them because it was sort of 'killing life'...so some volunteers has to quietly go into the temple to kill it for them......



Anyway...i really hope our 'pest' problems are in control at least for now...i hate those black ants!!

Story of Sophie

When i came to Oregon in 2004, i worked as a nanny for 3 wonderful children Sophie 2, Gareth 7 and Tyler 8. As the 2 boys were at school most of the time, Sophie and I spent the days together and we had lots of fun. It was then my first experience hands on with a toddler, and the best ever. She was such a cute little girl and said the funniest things as she was just learning to speak..and i remember her calling me 'My Gwace'...and Wye, she just called him 'Alah'...for some reason we both don't know. Thinking about her just makes me laugh even till now, how she'd eat anything at all but look disgusted when i tried to feed her 'bak kut teh' and the time when she 'pooped' in the pool while everyone was having a pool BBQ...gosh!!

I was pleasantly suprised today, when i received an email from Tomi (the children's mum) and she was so sweet to sent me pictures of Sophie. She is about 5 1/2 yrs old now...and sure look very much like a grown young lady...hehe...

Myself and Wye love her and missed her alot..and we have decided to name our child ( if it's a girl) Sonya ( which also mean Sophie)...

Chicken Rice Anyone?

Think most blogs can't be complete without some pictures of FOOD!! Here is my creation of Hainanese Chicken Rice to tempt your taste-buds hehe...It comes complete with soup (from the chicken), fragrant oil rice and garlic-chilli sauce. Of course back home in Malaysia, this would have been no big deal, walking out to the stall to 'ta pau' RM3 chicken rice which is convenient and delicious... and i do miss the 'Siu Kai Fan' in Old Town PJ...BUT here in US, hmmm....being able to cook is a valuable talent (definitely cannot live on burgers and steak alone!!), not to mention economical..'grin grin'..Wye thinks this dish is super yummy, he even recommended cooking it for my in-laws and friends. Ladies, want to know the secret?

Toys'R'Us Buy1Get1

Our friends Adeline and TC (who are experienced toys shoppers) recommended checking out Toys'R'Us for good deals...sure enough the next day after our little discussion we saw the advert of Buy1Get1Free for Little Tikes toys ( which is really expensive back in Malaysia and hard to find varieties)...so we didn't stop ourselves from splurging the first time for our baby who is still about the size of a grapefruit in my tummy hehe... We spent more than USD100 on toys alone...And guess what? This week they're having another super deal for FisherPrice toys which is also cool...but nah..we've got to get the more essential stuffs first..and ti's going to cost us a BOMB!!

My First Piece of Blog

I've always wanted to write a blog, to share my life and thoughts... But always thought it's not easy, you know to write something interesting ppl would like to read about, yet the same time, not to reveal too much about oneself for fear of being too personal. I guess on the outside, appearing to be confident and cheerful doesn't always mean the same inside which could sometimes be afraid or unsure...

BUT i am going to start this new 'page', thanks to the support of my husband Wye (who promised to read every article and be my loyal reader) to telling you more about my life and daily rumblings here in the US, at least i hope to be faithfully updating this until i'm too pregnant to do so..heheh..