At the threshold......

I woke up with a start. Six months of 2007 had gone by! Time really flies. Taking stock of the past half year, a lot had happened. Ruth embarked on her secondary school education, a new phase in her life. She seems to be adjusting fine, although she still faces occasional hiccups in her assignments and projects. Hopefully, she will continue to put in more effort and diligence to excel in her studies. Studies aside, she has also matured into a more responsible and sensitive young lady.

Recently, I experienced pain in my left breast. Consulted our family doctor and she advised me to go for a breast examination and mammogram. A quick check-up at her clinic revealed no lumps, which was a big relief. I am still waiting for the appointment to do the mammogram. It is a fact of life, as age catches up, ailments seems to "pop" up almost anyway. In addition, I have been also been very busy with work at the office. With several on-going projects, it's both a busy and stressful time. Work! Work!

Hubby's real busy since the beginning of the year. He's travelling most of the time, so I had to manage the household almost alone. Marketing, paying bills, supervising Ruth's studies had inevitably became my part and parcel of my "job". However, we are blessed with a good maid, who helps to keep our home spick and span, including preparing the meals.

Well, so much updates on the past. Let's just face the unwritten future a day at a time and count our blessings.

Notes

Ruth finally got back all the results of her mid-terms. She recorded a slight improvement in her grades and managed to "squeeze" herself into one of the top three positions in class. Now, she can call mum and claim her prize money of RM200.00. I reminded her not be remain complacent but to continue to put in more effort to improve those papers with poorer grades.
It's real hard work to remain competitive in school!

On ya! We did not get to visit my brother John in Mukah during the last Gawai holidays. John had a prior appointment in Kuching, so we decided not to make the trip. Mum suggested that we drop by during the coming National Day holiday at the end of August. Let's see if the trip materializes this time round.

Hubby's again going for a series a meetings and seminars for the next two weeks'. He's real busy with work and goes travelling so often that our friends would usually ask whether he's back home if they happen to meet me or Ruth in town or church.

Layers

Visited Bintulu's newest and largest shopping mall after church today. Since it is Father's Day, Ruth suggested that we treat hubby to lunch at the new Marry Brown outlet. Gosh! the queue's really long...long and it took us almost an hour before we could place our order. Ruth complained that the fried chicken was too salty for her taste buds and hubby was fuming over the slow and inefficient service. Well, it would be quite sometime before we will drop by for another meal. The mall was thronged with shoppers and visitors all eager to explore the new supermarket, shops and outlets. I dropped by the new bookstore hoping to get some novels and cookbooks but after checking the price tags and my budget, I can only afford to go back if there's a sale.

Ruth's busy with her school homework and assignments. She has yet to receive all the results of her mid-terms, so mum's promised reward of RM200.00 will just have to wait. She's already "dreaming" about all the stuff that she could buy with the money, but I reminded her that she could only call mum when she has fulfilled all the terms and conditions of the prize!

We will be planning a trip to Kuala Lumpur in mid-August to attend hubby's long service award ceremony. It will be a grand affair with lots of dignitaries, VIP's, officials, etc. After working with Petronas for fifteen long years, hubby's getting along fine with his job, although he has to do quite a bit of travelling.

After holiday blues

Ruth's back to school. After a two weeks' break, she is less than enthusiastic for another term of assignments, projects and examinations. Her tuition classes resumed last Friday and she had been dragging her feet to complete the homework assigned by the teacher. It will take a few days for her to adjust to the routine of school again. It's also back to the routine of supervising her schoolwork.

Hubby's cousin from Sarikei visited us over the weekend. She's a florist and beautician by profession and owns a flower and bridal shop in Sarikei. She offers wedding and make-up packages for bridal parties and business had been good, especially during holidays. She was even invited over to Bintulu to "make-up" a bride and her family members before their banquet last Saturday evening. Her two sons came with her, so Ruth's got plenty of company. And the best part of it, the maid and I need not have to worry about fixing meals!

Mum's back from her tour of Russia. She had a good time, visiting places of interest and sampling new and strange foods. She bought gifts for everyone, including a new leather handbag for me. Thanks mum!

Events..........

Time flies. After a 4-day break, it's time to return to the normal routine of work. We enjoyed our trip to Sarikei, met up with Ruth's aunties, cousins and other relatives. The birthday bash was a grand affair, with 150 invited guests, friends and relatives. Plenty of good food, camaraderie, fun and karaoke sessions. Hubby's uncle was the happiest and the octogenarian just could not stop smiling throughout the happy occasion. All his daughters are good singers and they really liven up the whole occasion.

We returned to Bintulu the follwing day as hubby had to fly to Penang for another meeting, He's real busy and will be travelling for most of the month. So, we had two rest days at home, catching up with some reading and shopping. Ruth managed to complete the draft of her history project and is busy trying to complete the rest of the assignments given by her teacher. On yes! Hubby's sister-in-law and niece togther with her children dropped by for an overnight stay before driving back to Miri. The children were a naughty and noisy lot.. They clogged our master bedroom toilet and I had to spend the day trying to clear all the mess. Ugh!

Ruth has started to keep a diary. She recorded the highlights of each day and hopefully she will keep up with this good habit. She will be back to school next week and anxiously waiting for her test results which will be distributed once classes resume. Hopefully she will do better this time round..

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