CarpeDiem

Coupon Thief is Back!!

2007-08-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

We're back...we've been missing for a while....reasons: None, just plain lazy!! Hehehe Of course the other reason is...well, i'm getting bigger each day, and have less interest sitting on the PC blogging...nah...Not True!! It's all i do all day, sit in front of my PC, surfing, chatting, busy-bodying...

What's new? Nothing much, my mum and mum-in-law (yes, both) will be coming in 3weeks!! And i'm due in 5weeks!! It's getting a little harder to turn around in bed..hehe..besides that, i'm still moving around easy...(doctor adviced 1hr walk/day), but the household chores ie laundry, vacuuming, rearranging stuff, cleaning has been passed down to dear husband...;)

My dearest Wye, at the beach, (see his new haircut, guess who did such a good job?? Hint Hint: Home Styled!!)

I've not posted some pics of me for a while...so here a some taken recently...few days ago..at 8mths....one last month!! We're having a picnic watching Hillsboro Airshow, a major event every yr in August. Us being cheapskates just got our mats, and camped outside the airport (didn't get tickets)...still manage to get some good views of the Blue Angels on air!!

Me again, sitting at my favourite chair, in front of the PC!! Heheh...i look huge from the side profile huh...

And then of course, our new project this week was getting FREE Gerber Baby Food!! Target has been our 'superstore' almost everything can be FREE with the right combination of coupons and timing!! Although we didn't do anything illegal, sure feels like a 'coupon thief'...!! Well, not sure if our baby will start on solids so soon....but seems like baby food is good and yummmy for adults alike...kekekeh...

How much can you buy with USD18?...Alot!

2007-06-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is a trick learn in order to save money on diapers!! Most parents have been telling us how much is spent each month just on disposables...Lucky us, Target (supermarket) is offering some good deals on Pampers. And if you are slick to combine these discounts with other manufacturers coupons, you could save big $$...So, i took the advice of a friend (expert coupon collector) and spent this whole week collecting coupons and bidding them on Ebay....It's my first time doing such, and was getting a little nervous when i realized i was spending almost 25bucks just on coupons alone! (These coupons are actually free and can be collected from newspapers, but since i needed many, it's easier to bid them off Ebay, and boy were they HOT items) So, i was getting worried, What if my coupons didn't work at Target? What if i get caught using too many coupons for my purchase? What if they arrived late after the promotion ended? Anyway, we waited almost a whole week, for all of the coupons to arrive by mail, there were 5 different kinds, when we got all our bullets ready, we headed for Target.

My heart was beating really fast at the check-out, (the trick was to get a young naive cashier, who doesn't know much about coupons policy) and we were lucky. She scanned all the items in our cart, and the total came out to USD268. ( We bought 15pks diapers, 25pks wipes & baby toiletries) And then, slowly, i took out my coupons, and she took more than 60 coupons...guess how much the total was? USD 18 was it a Good Bargain!! I quickly paid her cash and left asap...Total savings after deduction of coupons bids = USD 225

Fruits of Summer

2007-06-20T16:15:00.001-07:00

There is an island about 15min drive from our home called Sauvie Island (soh-wee) populated with acres of farmland and vegetation. We heard the strawberries were in season for U-pick, and didn't want to miss the chance, because they don't usually last very long (4weeks maybe). So, we got our coupons (yeah, everything here works with coupons for a little discount) and headed to the farm. Not only were the strawberries ready, the rasberries were also available for U-pick. Greedily, we picked almost 10lbs of berries, and headed for check-out. To our pleasant suprise, they cost us merely USD3!!

We took some to our friends TC & Adeline to try. These were the Mt Hood strawberries which were high in sugar content, small in size but super sweet. Too bad, these guys don't last very long after being picked, they become mushy and start leaking juices. So, after getting them home, we cleaned them, had some fresh ones, and saved the rest in the freezer for 'smoothies'...hehe...maybe they can last until my mum comes in Sept??

Up Close & Personal

2007-06-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...i wonder what my mum will say about this blog exposing hehe, that's why i'm putting this photos up on small scale for some friends wondering how i look now... That's me pregy at 6mths, getting fat but ppl still tell me i look great all the time...(eh dun hurt my feelings la..sensitive la...haha...)

No connection to the above title, just want to intro my super yummylicious high cholesterol seafood porridge...hmmm....made with 3lbs of prawns, clams and cod fish!! We ate the whole pot kekekeh...

Lavender Valley & Lost Lake Trail

2007-06-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we drove to Hood River to visit Lavender Valley. Our main goal was to harvest some lavender (haven't done it before) for making potpurri and relaxing pillows. Unfortunately, when we arrived the lady told us the flowers were not ready for harvest until July. She recommended that we return to the valley in July when all the other fruits are also in season...well, sounds like a good plan and i can't wait to pick cherries again!

We continued our drive to the Lost Lake Park (30min fr the valley) recommended by our friend HW some time back. This is actually the second time we attempt this trail, the first time we went in Nov, it was closed in winter. This time we successfully got into the campsite. There were many trails to choose from and a map to guide us into the park. Of course, we opted for the easy trail which is actually a 3.2miles walk around the lake. The weather and view was beautiful, and you can see in most photos, Mt Hood became our background attraction ;) And Wye still had his tan from Hawaii.

Although it was pretty much shady between the trees, with guided paths most of the way and nice scenery along, this 'easy' trail did take us more than 2hrs to complete. When we were 1/3 of the way, i was beginning to think ....ooo Gosh..this is a very big lake to cover....how about turning back?? But with some encouragement and silly jokes told by Wye we made it around. We were leisurely enjoying the beauty of nature, and sat a few times to rest ( hehe everyone thought i needed to)....and took some silly photos!!

I thought the trip was fun, and good for me. We headed back to Columbia Outlet for some shopping and our day ended with a nice filling dinner back at Wong King's 82nd St...

Hawaii Babymoon 2007

2007-06-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic, 5 days vacation to Oahu, Hawaii during the Memorial Day weekend. Since we didn't really have a honeymoon after our wedding ceremony last November, Wye decided to call this our 'babymoon' hehe..probably our last vacation with just 2 of us. I'm a week shy of being 6mths now, so i'm getting quite big for the photos...hehe

We arrived on a Friday which was a good day as most of the hotels by the beach in Waikiki had open stage performances and dance, and it was busy and festive. We spent the rest of the day just walking along the beaches, enjoying the beautiful sunset and sea breeze.

The next morning, we took the bus to the US Pearl Harbour Memorial, where it all happened on Dec 7th 1941. As it was Memorial Day, you could imagine how crowded the place was, and security was tight, we were not allowed any bags in. The memorial was built on top of the sunken USS Missouri battle ship, and there was a boat to take us out to the actual spot for Free. There were some other museums and the bowfin warship which required an admittance fee, so we didn't go...hehe..anyway we were in a tight schedule for the other half of the day.

A friend of Wye recommended that we attend a Luau ( Hawaii ceremony of welcoming guests). It was pretty expensive USD98/person for a half day event, lei (flower ring)making, performances, hula dance, cocktails and dinner. But i guess, a trip to Hawaii is not complete without on of these excellent performances. We were taught how to weave our own flowers, got some souveniers for games which included a Kokuina necklace, and had 'poi' and 'lomi-lomi' for dinner.

On Sunday we decided to take a short trip to Honolulu downtown district. We climbed up the Aloha Tower marketplace for a nice view of the piers. There were a few cruise ships and yatchs docked by the harbour, and it was luxurious. How envious!!

The Chinatown in Honolulu was just about the same as any other, busy, with grocery shops and restaurants, so we decided not to spend time there. We then headed back to our hotel room at the Hyatt Regency where we had a bottle of champagne ( which was complimentary as i told the front desk we're on honeymoon...hehe) Of course, Wye had the courtesy to finish the whole bottle, no alcohol for me ;(

The next morning, our 4th day, we decided between Diamond Head Crater and Hanauma Bay. We chose the latter to spend our lovely day. Diamond Head Crater is actually the world's biggest crater from an erupted volcano years ago, and a recommended hike. Unfortunately due my physical condition, (the hike required headlamps into the cave and steep steps to the peak), we decided against it. The bus ride to the bay was about 1/2hr for USD2. It was a spectacular view from the top when we arrive, as you can see from the photo below. Hanauma Bay is one of the most popular places in Oahu for snorkeling. We quickly saw our introductory video at the information center before rushing off to the beach. Wye and I could already see the little fishes and reefs just off the beach with 1-2foot of water. It was great to spend the afternoon picnicking and sun-bathing. We got acquainted with 2 Malaysians from Oklahoma and ended up sitting together.

The last day finally came, sad to leave our holiday behind. Wye decided to spend the entire day, just sitting at Waikiki beach one last time ( of course he took hundreds of photos of girls in bikini and guys on surf-boards...ahem) We took the late night flight back to Portland and arrive the following morning....sigh..it was a nice needed vacation ;)

We're Half Way ;)

2007-05-04T00:20:00.000-07:00

I have been lazy updating my blogs, have to admit. Actually, there's a couple of posts i started, still pending to finish hehe...Wanted to share with everyone, this week, i'm at 20weeks of my pregnancy..yay..that's half way. We had a scan last week, and we're expecting a baby boy...haven't thought of names yet. Also this is the first time i'm feeling the baby move, it's really exciting. My stomach is getting bigger ( i put on 6lbs since), and i've had the first stranger asked me at the store when i am due, so i guess it means i'm 'showing'...hehe

Day Trip to Seattle

2007-05-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

This blog is past due....We spent a wonderful relaxing trip to Seattle last, last Saturday with EL and Aunty K. Thank God the weather was lovely, we started our journey at 8am after breakfast. Arrived at Corelle Kitchen Outlet at 10am just in time (thanks to EL, i haven't been there) And we bought some dishes and extras. Continue to Seattle, arrive at Pike Place Market about noon. We were hungry by then, and had a nice lunch of clam chowder and fish&chips at a restaurant with seaview. The place was quite crowded, at it was probably the first warm sunny weekend of the year!!

We took a nice stroll at the market, Aunty K and I wanted to buy some fresh wild alaskan salmon to take home. That's when i learned the difference between the 'cheap' salmons i buy at the supermarket are farm-raised. These ones are caught fresh daily from the Alaska Sea...The market ppl provided 24hr cool-pack to keep the food fresh. But we got ourselves a shock with the price. $6.99/lb for farm-raised salmon Guess how much were the wild alaskan fillets?? $21.99/lbs!!! Way over our budget.. Sorry Wye...let's stick with farm salmon.

We then took a walk around the Waterfront and Piers....just some souvenir shops, restaurants and seagulls along with many tourist. EL suggested we drive to the other side of Seattle, i think ti's the West (not sure) where we enjoyed a nice view of Seattle landscape. There were lots of ppl at the beach, diving, cycling, skating, beach volley, and BBQing...what fun!!
Aunty K then treated us with some chocolate chip macadamia cookies and we had hot-chocolate with whipped cream at the cafe for tea...Our next place of interest was of course back to the Seattle Space Needle (as Aunty K have not visited Seattle before)

Our trip ended with dinner...Surprise...Fish&Chips and Clam Chowder AGAIN!!! We arrived back in Hillsboro 12am ....ah...forgot about the Rite Aid FAR sale..would have been a good time ;)

Professional Shots - As Promised

2007-04-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-04-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-04-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

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..