Take time to smell the roses....

I was admiring the long stemmed pink rose that Ruth presented to me for Valentine's day. Although it's a little wilted (she hid it inside her schoolbag), it was a nevertheless something very special. She also presented a bar of Cadbury's chocolate to hubby. These were Ruth's first Valentine gifts to us and it was a very touching moment.

I stopped for a moment to smell the rose. Something beautiful, fragrant and powerfully compelling. It hit me hard that we had all been real busy catching up with the ebb and flow, the mundane routine of life that we hardly took any time to appreciate the little, perhaps, sometimes insignificant things in life.

Hubby never really like chocolates, but Ruth's gift touch him in a special way. He unwrapped bar and proceed to share the contents with us. We had something real sweet and beautiful to linger on.

Kong Hii Fatt Choy!

Happy New Year! Kong Hii Fatt Choy! It's already four days into the new year, but still not too late to wish everyone the best of this auspicious occasion and may the year of the Golden Rat ushered in health, wealth and prosperity to all.

We finally made the trip to join John and mum in Mukah for the reunion dinner. Sister-in-law is a good cook and we enjoyed a sumptuous spread of yummy food. John had "open house" the following day, so we had double the portion of curry chicken, rendang, masak merah, cakes, biscuits and other delicacies. It's no wonder that we just could not help putting on a few fat pounds after each new year festivities.

We then proceeded to Sibu and Sarikei for another round of "pai nien" before returning back to Bintulu today. Visited all of hubby three sisters and an auntie in Sarikei. Ruth also took the opportunity to call on his tuition teacher. She collected lots of "angpows" and seems to be smiling all the way to the bank. It will be a tidy nest-egg for her future education.

It's back to the routine of work for me and school for Ruth tomorrow. Time really flies when you have fun doesn't it?

Just a line.......

It had been quite sometime. Been real busy with office work and supervising Ruth's school work. Plus the fact that she had been down with a bout of asthma, flu and coughing. She's still on medication and hopefully will recover before the coming Chinese New Year festivities. With my hands full, I guess it will be the last minute shopping for the usual new year goodies, savouries, cakes and biscuits. We will be leaving Bintulu to join John and mum for the reunion dinner in Mukah before continuing the next leg of our trip to visit hubby's sisters and Ruth's tuition teacher in Sarikei.

Hubby will be leaving for his new posting in Malacca by 1st March and Ruth will be facing her first semester exams in the same week. It's a real challenge for Ruth in her new class and hopefully she will put her best foot forward. With hubby home only once a month, it is also a major adjustment in our daily routine..