In loving memory of my dearest Pohpoh

Cheong Mee

12.08.1933 - 23.08.2007

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother.

A loving, wonderful and selfless person who placed others before herself. One who genuinely cared and devoted herself to every single member in the family. One who loved without boundaries, unconditionally.

The one person I'll always remember...my beloved pohpoh.

We took this picture during Mid Autumn festival last year. Grandpa + grandma + dad n mum + us kids.

Us kids fooling around.

CNY 2006

Rest in peace pohpoh. Everything is well taken care of.

I love you!

Forever

The day has been a freaking surreal one.

The first part of the day was going by so quickly that I barely noticed that it was almost 5pm when i was done with all the running around. We had a huge event on today and besides liaising with the PR and media ppl, I was in between counselling, trying to consolidate some stuff for the campus news and website, as well as edit some write ups.

As soon as I was at my workstation, i felt compelled to check my mobile. I saw missed calls and I couldn't recognise those numbers.

Little did I know when I returned the call that my cousin sis would say this (while crying), "Cheche, pohpoh is gone".

I was stumped. I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. I had to ask her to repeat herself just to be sure.

I wasn't expecting this at all. My grandma was getting better I thought. I just saw her on Sunday and she seemed heaps better than the Sunday before that.

I was in a state of shock and denial.

I had to speak to my aunt to clarify just to make sure that what i heard from my younger cousin sis is true.

It seemed that my pohpoh had difficulty breathing and she didn't suffer for long. She left within 10 mins...and she had most of her grand children with her at the time. It's school holiday now, and the kids were home with her.

My pohpoh has been very strong. For the last 2 weeks since she was hospitalised, she has been trying to conceal her pain and uncomfortableness. She was always smiling, despite the fact that she was suffering.

She had sleepless nights due to the pains in her body. Her feet were swollen (since the fever), her hands were bruised from the drip, and her legs were in pain due to an old injury.

She used to toss and turn every night. And she barely got to sleep. And she had almost zero appetite to eat - we had to coax her to eat everytime. Outwardly, she seemed strong, internally she was weak.

In a way, we're relieved to know that she no longer has to go through this. She has been really very strong for us. And I know that we have to be strong for her too.
:
:
:
:

We have just left grandma's house. It seemed like it's such a long day today. Earlier, time seemed to zoom pass. But when we were at pohpoh's house, it seemed as if everything was moving in slow mo.

It has been raining the whole day today. It's as if the world's crying with us too.

This is the first time I've seen so many adults crying - my mum, aunts, uncles. And the more we cried, the more it rained.

This is the first time we have to deal with death. Death in the family.

Tell me, how does anyone deal with such trauma?

:

:

:

Someone from the funeral parlour came to dress and made up my pohpoh. And she's now in the coffin in the main hall. We'll be having a Buddhist ceremony tomorrow night.

Everyone's upset.

And most of us can't accept the fact that she's gone. We kept talking about her, reminiscing the good ol times we had together.

My pohpoh was a wonderful, loving and selfless lady.

I miss her so much..so so much.

I miss hearing her call my name - a name that only she can pronounce properly. I miss seeing her smile and call me her little princess. I will no longer be able to experience all these.

:(

These will only be memories from now on. Memories that will always be etched deep in my heart.

Forever.

I love you pohpoh.

Forever.

Eat, eat and eat

My outings for last week was all about eating, something which i absolutely love.

But somehow, i found myself not able to eat as much as i normally would.

I think it's cos i was down with flu, cough, and a bad sore throat. How timely huh?!

The company had a lil celebration at Sunway Tower Hotel. We hit target for every single intake so far. Kudos guys!!

L-R: Christine, Me, Alice and Sue Ann

You'll know what I meant when you see how lil i was eating...darn those viruses!

My cold platter

Mushroom soup is damn good for cold!

I was so full, I thought to end the makan with a chocolatey dessert such as this one.

Then i was tempted to try the HK style spinach wantan mee. The broth and the noodle were damn good but the wantan was so so only.

It's mooncake season again. I had my favourite black sesame mooncake that nite..

If you've been following HRH, you would have noticed that this is such a scaled-down serving of what i'll normally consume. :P

Yes, i know i'm a certified glutton.

Happy Birthday Theresa!

It's our dear Theresa Soh's bday today.

We had an early celebration with her on Wed nite at the Curve. Cos she's fully booked for Thur, Fri, Sat, etc.

1st stop: Drinks at Laundry

Me, Theresa, Celine

The night before, Rahul took a picture together with me, with his tongue sticking out as if he wanna lick my face.

Me trying to emulate him here.

The four of us. Gosh, it's so sunny in here..

Celine and i bought a necklace from SugarPoppins for the bday gal. She was so eager to open her pressie. But she couldnt cos it's a tradition for her to open at midnite every year.

Then we hopped over to The Apartment.

While Theresa and Celine were in the ladies, I decided to surprise the bday gal with some cute cupcakes.

So pretty rite?

Theresa chose the pink one with cute pink hearts (strawberry with choc chip flavour), I chose the one with purple roses, Celine got the row of pink roses, and Rahul didn't have a choice. Well the rest of the cupcakes was butter vanilla flavour.

Cupcake - RM4 each.

Me drinking tea. Trying to resume to my non-alcohol routine. =)

May all your dreams be fulfilled. Have a happy and wonderful birthday Theresa!

xoxo

Carrie

Happy 1 year anniversary

Without realising, I've been blogging for a year already!

This baby blogger has just turned 1 year old in the blogosphere! WOoHoO.

Time flies. And time heals.

I've learned a lot during the past year.

I've learned to share and express myself through this lil blog of mine. I thought this is a safe outlet for me to express myself but sometimes i find myself getting bitten by mad, hungry dogs.

I've learned that one can never please everyone - someone is bound to criticise you for something. I've learned to ignore baseless criticisms and learn from constructive criticisms. I've learned that only feedback from certain people that matter matters.

I've learned that some things are not worth my while. I deserve the best! =)

I've learned that having the love and support from my friends and family is enough to shield me through bad days. I've learned to accept myself for being me. I've learned to celebrate every lil achievement.

I've learned to appreciate each passing day.

*And when the going gets tough, the girl can always go shopping right? :P

Letter to my darling kai ma

Dear darling kai ma,

Muaks muaks kiss kiss. How are you?

Mummy just told me that she called you to let you know that we’re now in Singapore. Uncle isn’t feeling well and mummy has been really worried. Grandma is here as well to take care of us.

It’s been a week since I arrived in Singapore. Mummy said that you’re planning to come over to see me. I am so excited. It would be so nice to see you again kai ma, I miss you. =)

Kai ma, mummy said that your grandma isn’t feeling too well. How is she? I hope great grandma will recover soon.

A lot of things happened lately. Firstly, grandma passed away….and we all had to fly over to New Zealand. Daddy was most upset. I miss granny :(

On a brighter note, mummy has enrolled me into a baby talent competition (there are over thousands of babies throughout Australia who applied) and I have been shortlisted as the top 65. So wish me luck kai ma. I’m gonna be a model!

Kai ma, I’ve included some pictures so as to cheer you up….

Me taking a bath in grandma and grandpa's house in NZ

Love it =)

Me wearing my tudung/jubah. Sexy or not? :P

Mummy and me

I love road trips!

Do i look cheeky enough to be a model?

Kai ma, i'm gonna take my nap nap first. *yawn*

XOXOxXOoXoXO

Jazzlyn

Wedding dress hunting

Shukz told us that she has decided on her wedding gowns for her photo shoot next month. When it slipped that she has chosen an electric blue gown, we all got a lil worried.

We (as in Mich, San, Siew Ching, and moi) told her that we'll go with her to the bridal shop for a second opinion. San, being away in Melby will just have to give her two cents worth from the photos that I'll be posting here.

Shuk's bridal shop is one of those ones in SS2, name of which I shall not mention for fear of being bashed up (tell you why later).

A friend told us that those bridal shop chains are opened by the local triads/players for money laundering. No wonder they're mushrooming like crazy. :P

Anyway, you'll notice that most of these pictures are of pretty poor quality cos I curi-curi took those pictures. Halfway through, one of the salesgirls saw me and she warned me not to take pictures. She then left and went downstair. 5 mins later, this guy came up looking stern and all warning me not to take pictures again.

So..no names shall be mentioned here.

OK, without further ado...

Here's the showcase!!

Gown no 1.

Shuk and I saw this dress on the mannequin and I urged her to try it on. It has just arrived and I'm in love with it. =)

I love how this gown flows so nicely. Unlike those "pom pom" puffy dresses. That's so 80's.

We're not choosing this gown for the photo shoot cos it's way too subtle - which means the details will not show at all in the photos. We reckon this will look nice on the wedding day itself. Simple and chic elegance.

But then again, it's too early to decide on one yet, cos her wedding is in Feb. By then, there will be more new arrivals to select from. :P

Love the bejewelled heart-shaped tube.

Gown no 2

Shukz chose this dress for its very apparent flower applique details.

Very pretty!

Gown no 3

I didn't quite like this number cos of the ruching on the side of the skirt. Looks pretty weird to me.

Awww...my best friend is getting married.

Mich likes this dress on Shukz. She reckons Shukz looks really feminine in this number.

Gown no 4

I call this the "playful dress with a modern twist". Shukz calls this the "layer cake dress". The skirt reminds us of a Chanel number.

Not the conventional wedding gown eh?

Gotta admit it, not everyone can carry this dress well lest u wanna resemble a wedding cake. Shukz did a great job.

Camwhoring together-gether!

Gown no 5

This dress was newly hand-picked too.

But she's not taking it cos her hubby-to-be, HY reckons that it looks like a nightgown.

Gown no 6

I love this gown for its sheer simplicity. Very John Galliano! Love it. But again, she won't be choosing it for the photo shoot. It's more of a wedding day gown itself.

Gown no 7

Mich hand-picked this gown for her. We reckon she has chosen too many tube dresses. In fact, they were all tube dresses!

Mich was spot on when she chose this halter number.

Pic: Mich passing another gown for Shukz to try.

You can see that the clarity of the photos started to deteriorate. That's cos I got busted for taking photos. I then curi-curi take the shots from afar.

Gown no 8

This tube gown with lace embellished details gave Shukz a very fairy-tale princess aura. You have to get this one gal! =)

Just look at the details on the train...so darn beautiful!

The dress we've all been waiting for...

Introducing the highlight of the day...

*drum roll*......

The electric blue evening gown.

Nice wat right? It's a keeper babe. You can definitely carry this off. Good of you to decide on this piece to break away from the conventional ivory, pink, soft pastel shades.

Random pictures!!!

Me camwhoring as usual.

Mich getting teary-eyed cos her best friend is getting married. *sniff sniff*

San, we miss ya!
[oh btw, Siew Ching didn't join us in the end cos we were done by the time she reached SS2].

More random pictures!!!

This is just a tiny portion of the selection. Imagine having to hunt for that perfect dress...damn stressful eh?

I like the lacy cap sleeve on the 3rd gown (3rd from left).

Gowns I would never be caught dead wearing!

Gown no 1

Gown no 2

Gown no 3

Gowns that I might wear...

Gown no 1

This chinese number cos i love the mandarin collar and lace details. Very simple yet classy.

Gown no 2

I love the lacy embellished details as well as the soft pink empire trimmings. This gown is actually for sale RM3200. Any taker?

The bodice. So sweet right?

The train.

Gals, did you fall in love with any of the gowns? If yes, which one(s)?

You know my choices, tell me yours.

~*~*~*Bubble tea*~*~*~

After the dress hunting session, we decided we had to sit down, have a cold glass of bubble tea just to chill. Fuh..trust me, gown hunting wasn't an easy task.

I brought some of the latest accessories from SugarPoppins for the gals to view. [err..excuse me for shamelessly advertising SugarPoppins - i can't help it:P].

Shukz fell in love with this green glass beaded necklace [NC013] RM39
[she nabbed this piece along with the necklace below]

She bought this gold bronzy beaded necklace on the spot. [NC018] RM25

This 2 tier necklace with gold and amber crystals is really sweet.

[NC021] RM30

All of us like this one. [NC015] RM39

Mich reckons this piece will be snapped up really fast.

3 tier dark silver necklace with beads, pearls and tassle [NC016] RM39

~*~*~*Drinks at apartment*~*~*~

Later that night, I met up with Shukz and the gals at Apartment for drinks.

Hah! This is something I'm really proud of!

People, I did not drink a single drop of alcohol that night! I had good ol' blackcurrant + ginseng + vanilla tea. [good girl right?]

Just one more week to go and I'll be able to declare and call myself "A woman of her words". heheeheh. :P

Shukz wearing the necklace she bought from moi - NC018. Me wearing NC013.

Michelle, Ivy, Shukz

Siew Ching, Michelle, Cindy, Ivy, Shukz.

It's really a small small world. Cindy and Siew Ching are good friends. Shukz and Siew Ching are close pals. Shukz and I are best pals. Cindy and I are good cheemuis. It's so weird how we're all inter-connected.

I was told to put this caption "An astray full of ciggies" and not to mention anything else. OK..