0 He is 9 months old

My little precious is 9 months old today. He is more active, an expert in crawling, and now he can grab a hold on any furniture that is within his reach to stand on his own. There were times i saw him trying to let go off his hand from the furniture, but he always ended up fell to the floor sitting or directly lying down. Poor him, if he hits the floor hard he will squirm hard. His fingers also can pick up smallest thing on the floor like ants, therefore it is never advisable to let him play alone even on the floor because he might picked up dirts or any dangerous insects.

His favorite thing to do is to squish a box filled with blocks. If he is given a soft pillow or toys, he will grab them hard to his body and kiss it. He has his favorite pillow which he likes to hold and throw his body on the bed with it. It very pleasant to see him playing happily and rolling over and over with his favorites.


Since he is very attached to his caregivers which is my mom, he could not stayed any longer than 15 minutes if he went to co-sleep with me at night. I feel frustrated at times but, i am used to this already since this has been going on since he was 7 mo. Therefore, i really cherish every seconds i spend with him.

He is also like an anti social kids now. Whenever a stranger came on him, no matter how many tricks they tried on to see him smiling, the encounter will only end up hearing and seeing him giving the 'n' shape mouth, crying. But, when he is around familiar faces, he is more than happy to make people laugh. He also babbles, mama papa now and usually cried out loud, like deep, aarrr, that could send any people coughing if trying to imitate his very own language.

He eats two times a day now, rice porridges on daily basis. Porridges must be cooked with various vegies, chicken, anchovies or fish as protein resources. Of course there were a lot of times he does not has his appetite but all my mom and me can be is to keep being patience. We also gives him snacks to chew on like the Milna rusk. It melts on his mouths and gives parents sense of relieves that he will not choked. He looks very beautiful when chewing.

Since i only get to see him on weekend, i really going to spend quality time with my son when i am home. I really can't wait for his next milestones. It is truly exciting and challenging at the same time to have and nurture children but he is the one who makes my day.

How about you? Do you have baby too? How old is she and what does she do at the age?

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0 Boarding Manila

Come day three on my trip to Philippine , check out from Marlim Mansion Hotel then went for 2 hours ride in a van to Manila. We were scheduled to be out to Manila on Sunday to avoid the bad ass traffic jam in the metropolitan city of Manila. It is called the heaven of cheap shopping in Southeast Asia , purse is aching to be wide opened and to burst , mind is unstoppable visioning what  city of Manila could looked like since i had been google-ing Manila and all its richness of attractions months before. Huh! By the way, let the pictures says it all. Warning, it is a long post with rolls of photos.

San Guillermo Parish Church, The Sunken Church

We dropped by at a Catholic church on the way to Manila. We were not
able to have a look around inside  because they were having
Sunday mass at the time we arrived. So we went to
a mini museum just next to the church. This church also called as the sunken church
 as it  is half-buried by lahar flow in 1995 due to Mt
Pinatubo eruption. Now the second floor window has been
replaced as the doorways of the church.

 BBQ Pork Street , Manila

This kitchen has the largest fireplace i have ever seen. It is so
hot in here.

The first restaurant that we found along the BBQ Pork
Street of Chinatown. The Mila Mila's lechon
Restaurant. For a 5-6 person , it could costed up to P6500

Chinese Cemetery , Manila

Behind me is one of the largest grave in the cemetery

Don't get it wrong, this is the second oldest cemetery in Philippine
 not a human race residential , it is actually a residential of
the deaths. Built around the World War II and had witnessed
many executions at those times. It was built to bury the Chinese
who were denied by the Spaniards in Catholic cemeteries. The resting  places here
could be said is looking far better than the houses of the Philippine's
second and third class citizens nowadays. As there were many homeless citizens
in the street of Manila.

Tricycle: Still the main transportation for the working class

Despite the usual Toyota and Honda vehicles around the city,
and the pollution, many still choose to travel around the
city with tricycle besides jeepney. Moreover, there
were more of these than the jeepneys moving around the
city of Manila

Fort Santiago: Intramuros

The girls just bought a brimmed hat before going into the park. The hat costed
P200, and the it costs P75 for the entrance fee to the public park and the
fort.

The Kalisa, one of the famous old transport in Philippine. Take one round of the park
with this with only P 50.

Stairway to the rooftop of a cafe in the park.

Some street of the park. I think they might be souvenir shops , i can't be too sure
since we only had one hour to have sight-seeing of the park and the
fort therefore, we did not cover every corner of it.

In action with the gunpowder magazine

Me, in actions again with the martyrs monuments.

Overlooking the main gate from across the Pasig River 

At the main gate of the fortress. It served as the premier defence fortress to the Spain
Government during their reign. 

At the Rizal statue in Intramuros

Who are we kidding here? :)

Roman Catholic Cathedral of Manila

At the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Manila. We were so damn
unlucky we cannot go into, since it was under renovations. Enormous beautiful
building there.

It seems like i could reach it but the reality was we can't make any more
time to visit the Ocean Park since we ran out of it!
There were long lines to get in here on Sunday.

We can't get any nearer to the monuments of Jose Rizal. 

I was so surprised to see there is security guards guarding the monuments. By the way, they were not just any securities, they are called the Knights of Rizal. They looked really tough standing on their foot, God knows for how many hours a day.It also comes to my mind if jobs like this would sell in Malaysia?

Some food-porns

I love, love Chow King food! 

The Big Breakfast show in Makati Palace Hotel. I thought that we were the big eaters in that cafe
on that morning.

I am forgetting how much calories had i take during this holiday.
Imma gonna just eat a hell lot of thing for my first breakfast in Manila.

It seemed like I can't take off my eyes from this statue next to our table
in one morning in Makati Palace Hotel. So beautifully carved and blinks .
Can i just finished my food yet?

Mother Mary Chapel , Tagaytay City 

Overlooking the monument of Mother Mary

Inside the chapel. Beautiful!

At the center of the chapel

This is my cousin. I know, they looked almost alike! Only that my cousin
is the modern Mother Mary with glasses.

Taal Volcano

My humble mabu (horse) that brought me for a safe and serene ride up to
the crater of Taal Volcano. 

Just reached the crater, exhausted.

The crater of Taal Volcano. The view is mesmerizing and if you could see,
there is a cute island inside the crater lake. 

Cam-whoring at the peak, forget those who waits below. They thought we took
an hour to reach the peak, actually we had our activity up there. There were four of us initially, Lina (my cousin, Sherry , Linus (Sherry's husband) and me
but only Sherry and me ended up riding the horse to the peak.

Goodbye for now

The lighting commercial globe in front of the Mall of Asia.

Fulled after enjoying my last breakfast in Makati Palace. I was so not
ready to leave Philippines to go back to the real world of mine,
Malaysia.

Cultures

I can see that any restaurant that serves Philippino's cuisine will have grilled baboy,chickens, beef and fish. Foods are cheap and almost every restaurants that i went skipped the service and government tax. Toilets were all cleans and there were no single toilets with wet floors. I really mean to compare, why do in Malaysia we have to pay 30 cents each time we went to the public washrooms that is wet, foul odored, and with poops and urine on the floor? I never pay any pesos nor sentimo to go to the washrooms no matter how many times in Philippine and it was waaaaayyy cleaner than those we had in Malaysia. One can see many beautiful people here! Just like what we see on their tv soap drama! I am so looking forward to go back to Philippines to visit the other islands and yes, shopping til I drop again.

Kisses,
Jessie Voo Proud momma

2 Passport to Clark: Subic Bay

Mabuhay, Philippine!

Overlooking the crazy busy  street of Clark at night from jeepney. Gah, it is like
sardines can  in here. At least we tried this cheap old mode of transportation
in Philippine after we went to the mall to check in to
Marlim Mansion Hotel. Hey, does anyone reading this post understand what
it says in this picture?

This is my first time traveling to other country. First country i chose is the closest to my home soil, Philippine. Is Philippine exotic, beautiful, or fun-tastic? Aww, i had seen this 'fun-tastic' signboard all the way to Zoobic Safari Zoo at the Subic Bay Naval Base.

Zoobic Safari Zoo on 2nd day. Don't bother to ask what i did on the first day in Clark, Philippine. I arrived on 4.10 p.m..My friends and I only got to visit the shopping malls and shop Chef Tom's pop corns to bring back home. One can never get this in Kota Kinabalu.Then, check in to MArlim Mansion Hotel.. Trust me, nothing to tell about the hotel.So far, so okay.

This safari zoo is located in Subic bay where the duty free shops are in!! Haha, my main reason to visit Philippines is to shop til i drop. Well, this post is nothing about shopping. shopping is another story on another post... Well, Subic Bay was 1 hour away from Clark city and was used to be the US Navy forces in 70's, closed down in 1992 to become tourist attraction and now the navy's bunkers become animals houses! This safari zoo is nothing like the Lok Kawi wildlife zoo. This safari highlights more on their tigers which smells like million dolars. Me and my good friend were planning to go photo session with the tiger but, we really can't make it because of the foul odor of the tigers. So, what can i do, was to take picture from afar. Believe it or not, the odor were so foooul til we can't even sip the soup for our lunches which we took in one of the restaurant in the zoo. It smelled like a tiger meat just had been simmered in together!

The Philippino style cuisines. Delicious grilled pork chop and chicken chop.
Except to the soup, smells like tiger.

They had this animal shows that can sound almost like the animal show in Lok Kawi wildlife zoo, but it has nothing in common. The seats were far more comfortable which is cushioned and it feels like sitting in the stadium though i never seated in any. Animals that performs were not only of the wild ones but also pets!Cats, guinea pigs, pigs, dogs, parrots, python, hornbills, and ducks. I never knew that pets could pulled off such cute shows like running around and even forgetting their steps.

At one of the souvenir shop in the zoo. There were more during on our way to the tiger
safari ride.

At the pavilion of the zoo , while waiting for the animal
show to get started

On our ride around the safari. The eyes behind us looked a little bit
intimidating.

Walking over the crocodiles in Croco Loco. I never see so
many crocodiles off tv!

A Siberian tiger
"Sorry, dude. We know you already keep your patience
toward (us) the human race. But your smell so foul today. Nay,
we can't be any nearer to you to take even a photo with you."

I really don't understand why i took this photo of me. It is not
like you are going to be able to study
the map here. It is way too small, or can you?

Visitors also had the chances to go face-to-face with tigers in the safari rides. Visitors will be put into caged 'jeepney' (modified bus and jeep). Tigers will go near the jeepney and tried to get you while you were riding in the jeepney. I was so excited to be surrounded by tigers but there were none of the tigers that came to our way. I guess because there was no one in our jeepney offers chicken meats to the tigers. I saw hands coming out from the other jeepney with meats, i wondered where they get that and that is so daring of them. there were even tigers that ride with the jeepney on its top. i guess the tiger was so used with this game and therefore taking granted to rest on the transportation instead of scaring us or chasing over moving vehicles. 

Inside the caged jeepney that takes us for wet and wild ride to
the tiger safari
Everyone was waiting anxiously for tigers to come on on us but  flatted.

The Subic Bay has many duty free shops in where i shopped for my little one mostly here at Royal Duty Free Mall. Though they used US dollar currency, but the things here was way cheaper than the one sold in KK. After this visit we went back to the hotel to rest for tomorrow's tour to Manila. Sight-seeing plus shoppingggg!!

0 Road traffic rules are meant to keep us safe

I stated in my 'about me' , that i am not well with rules. But what about rules that determined our live and death? I meant, for rules on the road. It is meant to keep all the road users included the pedestrians to be always safe. Does not matter if we are involved in an accident that is caused all by our ignorances or by other people's but accidents brings so much losses to people involved. Bank is being broken, lives are at risk, and even insurance claim procedure can be a pain in the ass to be over with.

 Why i post this? It's merely because my frustrations and angers that i kept inside when my husband was involved in an accident in Pitas which he was knocked down by a car at a roundabout. This very car drove by a teenager, without license and the car is not even his. He was taking shortcut in a aroundabout at the very time my hubby which riding a motorbike only was crossing the roundabout when they had a collision.

According to reliable resources, he fell from his motorbike, and get himself a 3 inches puncture wounds at his left thigh. This wound is believed cause by the unpadded pedals. He can't stand up and was sent to the hospital right away by an ambulance. He bled a lot hell of it. When i was called to go the hospital, relieved that he was still conscious to call me and the kids did not run for his life. I asked for settlements outside the police station which he would not have to be compounded by police but agreed to pay all hospitals bills, motorbike repairments, his flight ticket to Manila, and payments for the travel agent, and a 'pampasan teladan '. No insurances claimed in this case. I mean the kids did not drive his own car, the car 's road tax is expired, and unemployed. He could be jailed for these and for risking others life.His father was the one who settle the payments for him. Of course he did not pay all the settlements altogether, but the kids have signed a statutory declaration in front of the vice district officer of Pitas and his father settled half of it excluding the motorbike repairments and hospitals bills. I was hesitated at first whether to loosen up him a bit on the settlements but, there is no way i can win it with someone who really cannot settle all of the claims.

 Meanwhile in the hospitals, my husband suffers lots of antibiotic shots, and excruciating pain everytime the wounds is cleansed. He can't walked himself to the toilet for the first five days. It was so heartbreaking seeing him like this. He was so excited about our trip to Philiphines but now, there is no way he can walk himself for more than 5 minutes. Until his wounds was reviewed by an orthopedic only then, his wound was stitched inside out. After that only he was able to find courages to walk himself to the toilet but still he can't move his thigh muscle properly and in pain. It has been 6 days! As i watched him walked in lame, i always had this very evil wishes to the kids who knocked him. But, i do hope from this accident, he learnt his lesson well. I do not know him, but i do hope that he would abide the road laws next time he sits behind a wheel again. I can't be mad, can't scold him more than i had in at the bottom my dark heart, because what is done, is done. I am thankful enough that my husband is alive, and still able to hear and response to my nags. He was so hopeful to go for the trip to Philipines once he was able to go the toiLet by himself. The toilet was a meter away from his bed! No way! As i frustrated i was that there is no way he will be joining me, i believed he is more hurt than me that he had to be left behind this time. People might say that i was kinda cruel, but we made a deal that if he's out from the hospital, i will be going anyway. Which he would be discharged on the day before we supposedly departed. I am so sorry,hubby. Get well soon, we'll figure out something to spend the holiday together once i am back. Kiss, kiss.

 If only the kids had not been so selfish thinking that he and his friends 's nasi goreng pattaya were the only things matter in the world, at this moment, we would spending quality times with our little son at home, would be travelling together and how times would not be wasted to stay in the hospitals for a week. My husband too would not have to suffer from 8 antibiotic shots daily. Seeing him in pain is excruciating, but i just have to force myself to be strong for him. Tonight would be my last night attending him before i departed to Manila with goods friends and my cousins who take my husband's place. Sweet dream, darling. Oops, he is awake and need company to the toilet. Here i come, hubby.

1 Travelling Abroad: 10 Tips on Packing

I know! I am not bragging here , but i am just sharing tips. At this moment,  I am as anxious as the students for this exam to be over , holiday to be started. Well, this is my first time travelling oversea with my hubby. We are going to Philipines! My good friend, Sherry had emailed me the itinerary for our travel package which we will be abroad for 5 days and 4 nights. Ouh! I can't wait for this. Soon after i read that email, i googled on every places that we are going to go and they make my heart races! Before going to sleep, I was thinking of what i am going wear, head to toe,  which i have my cousins to make me a crochet hat for a horse riding to Taal volcano. I know, it will be an amazing trips ever. Okay, i might google on principles of what to pack to Philipines too. That's 

1. Comfort must comes first.  Pack cloths with cotton fabrics that is wrinkled free and absorb sweat like sponge. No, it is not necessary did that.

2. Pick cloths with basic colors. Rationale is, it will be easy for me to mix and match. But, it is okay to pack bright colors like red or orange if you are heading to the beach or it is summer time. It is always summer in Philipine. 

3. Always pack at least a pareo or sarongs to cover up if you are going for swimming.

4. Perfect daytime uniform, shorts, skirts and tops! Pack extra tops to layer on other tops or can be wore on its own.

5. Dresses for a  night out either for dinner, or just chilling at pubs. Can be short or long. 

6. A cardigan. It is the easiest way to upgrade your look. You may use it to cover up at night outs, cozying in the plane, or if you dare enough, wear it alone with a pants for dinner out.

7. You may leave your expensive  accesories at home. Buy it there to get local treasures. If you in an islands, you might want to buy coral necklace or bangles to put on during the vacation.

8. Bring only at least two pairs of shoes. One for a casual sandals, which you will wear during the day. You want a comfy one to walk on  around. The other one is dressy one to wore at night out.

9. Roll your clothes to be pack in the luggage. You will be thanking for this as it 'll save more space to the luggage.

10. Take a hat. Vacationing is one excuse to wear a wide brim hat as you would not looked ridiculous.  I already bought one for myself. It is not wide brimmed as i was imagining that i would get one like that, but it is just not possible with crochet as the brim will fall down to my nose. 

My crochet hat hand-made by my cousin, Hani.
(source: photo shared to my facebook timeline
by Hani Jaisham)

There you go. You might have other ideas on what to pack for vacation. It all depends on where we are going abroad. What i wear on the vacation and my make ups, i will upload soon after my vacation is over. Oh la la la.....let's do the packing!


Kisses,
Jessie Voo Proud momma

0 Soft and Smoother Lips Every Morning

Ever waking up with dry chappy lips? Loved one kisses us in the morning sayimg 'i love you, babe' but he gots dry lips, add on sharpy , cracky torn lip skin to kiss on. Gah! This is because our body tends to lose more water at night. That's why if we drink too much before going to sleep we going to end up finding ourselves in and out to the toilet in the middle of the night. To avoid this, people tends to reduce consumption of water at night. But the downhill to this is , dry lips in the morning. Tricky situation. One way to overcome this dilemma of dry lips is by applying Vaseline jelly on the lips before i doze off.

Vaseline petroleum jelly. It is very cheap, price between MYR 10
to MYR 20. It is a multi purpose cream too. 

The next morning , before i brush my teeth, i will brush off my lips gently with the toothbrush. Tadaaa...soft lips revealed. Woah, it was not comfortable when i first tried this method in, as it feels like i am having one too thick of lipstick on my lips all night. I am joking...it actually feels slightly creamier but will managed to sleep anyway with it. Vaseline never fails. And it works just as better as other lip balm.

Soft and smooth lips makes it easier to be applied on any lip stain. For very rich and creamier lip stain will give slightly  better looking on this lips as it provides smoother canvas.  If you haven't try this, go get a grab on this multi purpose jelly and put it on!


Kisses,
Jessie Voo Proud momma

2 Make Ups Quintessential

I used to hear "Beauty is Pain" since i was 16 year old when i first get my hair straightened, back in 2002. It is because back at that time, saloon only have the two ways system to straightened your hair which takes forever to finished. Imagine, i had been sitted in front of the mirror at 8 in the morning, i had to take to lunch with my hair  heavy with chemicals. The odor was so sharp that it hindered my appetites. Well, the results was all worth while by the way. It always is because who doesn't like soft, touchy hair?

Well, who says we need a whole big bag to have a complete set of make ups to look good?  If you are heading to work, classes or just an outing, we only need a small amount of make ups that accentuates our natural beauty at the right place. We do not want to be seen as trying too hard, or taken less serious off especially by our bosses, lecturers, our nerdy study group members, or maybe colleagues. But, in this post, i will only emphasizes on the quintessential in our daily basis make ups. We do not have to break the bank to look beautiful, we only need the right and suitable products for  our skin conditions. As for me, I only buy make up products that can be bought from local drugstore like Watson's, Guardian, Red City.....

Basics are , a makeup bag, moisturizer, sunscreen,  foundation, eyebrow liner, eye shadow of neutral and dark colors, mascara, eye liner, eyelash curler, lipstick, lip gloss and few brushes of different types and sizes. My version is...

The right bag that is easy to bring to anywhere

Neutral eye shadow color. This is by Za Dramatic Color in Gold. It is qute glittery which makes the eyes looked fairy but also can last up until 8 hours wear.

My favorites of all time, Maybelline Eyestudio Liquid Eyeliner

Currently I am using mascara from Za , Wide Eye Mascara in violet that gives the effect of long lashes. It has the comb-type brush. Well, once i run out of this tube, i always run for others since
mascaras is always developing. Or it might not.

An eyelash curler. I bought it from Cindy Beauty Corner that
is available in most supermarket in Malaysia. I have been using this curler for 7  years and
i only replace the rubber in one of the jaw.

I just switched to BB cream. I used to use the True White 2  way Cake by Za.  I just  kinda obsessed with BB cream nowadays.

Brow liner by In2It. I really loved this. The brush is very long lasting and
as well as the cakes. It comes in 2 shades, light and dark brown
which i think complimented the dark hair color and skin tone of Asian
women

My current favorite, lipstik by Za Plumper Lips in Pearly Pink .
I used a lot from Za right? That's because the quality of the products yet affordable.
Za products also are long lasting, gives you the color that
really satisfies.

To blend beautiful make ups effectively i am gonna need set of good brushes. Mine is  from Elianto.  From left, 3 shadows brushes, the foundation brush, and the blush brushes. I love the brushes from Elianto
because not only it is very affordable but also,
long lasting and soft to the skin. There are few empty pockets still that i will fill up soon. They are
on my wishlist..

These are the basic tools and  that you need in your make up bag.  Of course when you are someone who likes to look good with make ups and to get creatives, you gonna need more eye shadows color, fake eyelashes ( which i must have at least two pairs in my make ups drawer), pencil eyeliner, the mascara that gives different effects, and more lipstik color, lip gloss and more brushes. I forgot to mention the sunscreen. Mine is Za True White Sunscreen SPF26 A++. It is a must apply cream before the rituals of painting the face down started.

There you are, posts on how to put make ups on various style for various events will be coming up soon.




Kisses, Jessie Voo Proud momma