Blogging again (for the next 2 months)

This is my first post typing on my iPad. Sucks! No choice tho as for the following weeks till nov I'll not hv access to my pc. I'm going to try doing an entry a day so it's more like a journal or d day's reflection. I want to try and capture all the moments with d boys!

10years ago...

10 years ago, i fell in love with a little town called Hillsboro, situated in the Northwest of Oregon in the NW, this place has etched a very deep longing in my heart. It was my heaven on Earth.

When i graduated in 2001 and travelled up north to Penang for a job, it was my first time leaving 'the nest'..i was seeking for excitement, adventure and most of all freedom. Landing my first job in Intel, at that time, was a dream job for most, but to me, was excitement of something to discover and unknown. When i started work, almost immediately we(new hires) were told that the company was going to send us  to the US for training as we were the pioneer group of the CPU design team in Penang..Nonetheless, i had no idea what this meant, i didn't even know where Oregon was pinned in the map.

When we arrived, it was winter...days were short and nights very cold..driving on the other side was a challenge..but every weekend was filled with things to do and see. There were 70 of us, and we grouped during weekends for trips. My first time visiting Mount Hood, we were giggling all the way when we saw snow dirt on both sides the road leading up. Stopping halfway to put on the chains on the tires were 'scarry' and we thought something bad was going to happen. Upon arriving at the Timberline lodge, it was snowing and we were almost knee deep in fresh soft snow. How esctatic I was! Catching the first snowflakes in my palm and observing..WOW..realizing for the first time in my life what a snowflake actually looked like! Giving myself the 'Ohhhhhh'...no wonder i see this patterns on Christmas back home..ah..it was a bliss! I was totally in love!

Mount Hood - Timberline Lodge

My Apartment at Hampshire Downs

The place i worked was about 5minutes walk from my apartment. I had a cozy 1 bedroom apartment all to myself and a car. I bought a bicycle which i would cycle to work, and back for lunch break sometimes. After work, I would sometimes cycle around the neigbourhood. I remember vividly it was spring 2002, how the flowers bloomed along the path, and how clean and refreshing the air was...I had never had those in Malaysia, unless if i drive all the way up the highlands maybe. I also didn't ride my bike very well before, but it was not a problem here, as bike lanes and pathways were safe and smooth.


I had never eaten a baguette or loaf of bread, besides the regular Gardenia bread. Seeing my first loaf, i never knew those were real bread and edible..i've only seem them in picture books..and boy were they hard! Later learnt to enjoy these 'crusty' and 'aromatic' bread...dipped in herbs and oil...food never tasted so good...my first taste of wild alaskan salmon, first 10oz steak, hand tossed pizza, tonnes of diff cheese...blah blah blah..

God gave me many blessings, to be able to return to my little heaven on earth, year after year, since 2002. My son Jayden was born in Sep2007 and we finally returned to Penang in Mar2009. It has been 3.5yrs! Anyway, i'm soooo excited..i'm going back! God is so good to me...i've asked him so many times...finally after 3.5yrs, the chance is here. This time we're going as a family, with hubs and my 2 boys..I want to try to blog every event that takes place in this 7 weeks again to recapture memories and for keepsakes..after all, who knows how many more years?

Coupon Thief is Back!!

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!

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

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

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

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...