Popular Warehouse Book Sales

I am always thrilled to be in a book warehouse sales. As you all should know by now. 

Also I am not too thrilled about the Big Bad Wolf Sales nowadays because of the crowd. And their promotions. Someone mentioned that people are almost killing themselves in order to win the passes to get to the preview sales and they don't win any prizes either. True. Throw those people a bone la at least. 

On the other hand, they are geniuses in not having to do much for promotion because the fans who hope to get the passes will do it for them. 

Hehe. While I was one of em, but last year, I went for the preview passes and the crowd is just as maddening if I go to other days, so this year I macam malas beria to win the passes. 

Anyway, not dissing the BBW because I want to talk about the Popular Book Warehouse sales. Because I like variety. Also there are some redundant authors in some book warehouse sales, which I believe some publishing houses are not available in the BBW or MPH sales or even Penguin sales. 

Also... I haven't been to a Penguin Warehouse book sales for the longest time. Ade lagi ke? 

Regressed again! 

Last week my sister informed me that Viva Mall had these Popular Book Warehouse Sales ongoing where the books are at RM5. Dirt cheap. The cheapest ever. Ok. 

I remembered that last year I was planning to go when it was held on November, but hari nak pergi tu.. terberanak pulak. LOL. So didn't manage to go. 

And I wouldnt know about this if my sister didn't mentioned it to me, because didn't see this advertised anywhere else. I would have assume it would be held in November like last year. After this, this event would go up my radar. 

Because RM5 people! 

The place was airy, spacious and they provided trolleys!

The place was kinda organized, where it sectioned off the area to Teens, Romance, SciFi, Romance, Autobiography etc.. etc..

Pretty spacious and big eh.

Some of the book selections. The teen section have pretty good YA. It also have psstt.. A banned book section, where I got my Chuck Palahniuk book.

They also sold cheap stationeries where I bought a children picnic table for RM15 and these storage stool that Aziz make use as imaginary car and slide for RM30.

And the books I bought.

For the kids which is like RM5 for 2. 

Cheap kan and this is the only things I bought for the kids partly also, they have loads at home and Aziz seems always want to read the same books over and over again, so biar la dulu. No need to tambah.

Mommy die not content in reading the same book over and over again and the belows are my book.

Because of Jackie Collins recent death and reading of all the kind words that people wrote about her, I feel like maybe I need to be introduced to one of her work. I heard Hollywood Diaries was quite good so .. I picked this. There wre few other Jackie Collins there.

Angela's Ashes .. don't play play. One of the classic books that I feel like.. maybe I will need to read this for the betterment of my literary knowledge.

A few YA I picked at random because it looked interesting 

I tertinggal this book in the pic so I just lift the image from Google to include here because you know I like to keep track of my books. 

I counted, these are around 31 books plus 2 children books.

And I can't resist taking this too because the movie is cheesy fun and I hope the books are so too. And it must be like RM10 tops because the total of all these books are RM170. 

Those are crazy cheap. I had around RM250 on my wallet and was prepared to use the plastic cards, but when the tell me the amout, I was like. Huh.. I should have bought more. 

But I can't because Saif was screaming blue murder because he was hungry and Aziz was tearing up the place like what a bored 3 years old wont to do...  so I didn't have much time to browse ( and my trolley was overflowing) . 

But even in that short amount of time it was so worth the shopping trip! 

I would have up this blog post much sooner but I myself only knows this sale way too late, so I guess, til next year then!. 

Another option for cheap books

A while ago I tried Book Depository to buy some books that I am unable to find here. Actually I was so charmed watching Austenland ( if its in Astro, watch it because it is a charming chick lit), I felt like I have to get the novel too which is written by Shannon Hale btw . The cheapest option then was buying it from Book Depository and alang2 buying books online of course it have to be more than 1. Save duit parking and tol and minyak also! 

Anyway.. the other book that I bought is Libba Bray Gemma Doyle trilogy. Felt like, maybe I should buy one first to see if I like it. Then bought it later on. Also only the first book have discount. Hehe. 

Anyway, I read the first book and love it ( though it have its weaknesses), and bile time I nak beli the other 2 books, book depository still do not offer any discounts for these 2 book sequels. And our currency had gone down so much against the USD that it became reallly expensive. 

I tried searching locally but it was still expensive compare if I can buy it online, so I tried different online book sites and stumbled into BetterWorldBooks. From what little I read of it , it sells books but also generate social impact by recycling and promoting literacy around the world. I think for every book bought, it will donate a book to those who need it. So yeah, I am always behind organization that place importance on social responsibility and am happy to try this out. It have new and secondhand books in stocks.

I opted for the secondhand books for both of my books, because why pay more if you have the options to pay less kan. It does state in the page on the used book conditions, if its either have some signs of wear or some definite wear. Both of my books that I want, the books are in good used conditions so I am hoping it will be delivered to me that way. 

I am not gonna provide instructions because anyone which include my 11 year old niece knows how to purchase stuffs online. I used PayPal for my transactions. I was wringing my hands before buying because I don't know if I should buy it now or wait for the MYR currency to go up a bit, but I am glad I didnt wait because the MYR have yet to improve. Sigh. When I bought it was 3.89 MYR = 1 USD. Today is 4.40 MYR to 1 USD. Holy cow. Everyone is worried here in Malaysia on our economic state I tell you. Anyway... this is not what I want to blog about! 

It took a while but that is understandable for international shipping ( and the shipping is like book depository is also free!). Took around a month for it to be delivered to my front step. Literally. The postman put it right by my door last week. 

Mini cars not included

And this is the condition of the books that I bought. 

Yeah. I can live with that. Gonna wrap the book soon and the wear at the edges won't be so annoying.

I like that I have options beside the usual. Also during my online browsing for book sites online, found one locally Book Up, but I couldnt find the books that I want there. But I want to try out selling my books there. My bookshelves are running out of space. Will up a post on how it goes if I do end up selling. 

Ok. Thought of writing the book shopping spree I had done last Saturday, but this post is getting too long. 

Later. 

Monday random post

Ever since I sync my phone up with Google it is way easier to post pictures here. Tapiii limit gamba aku kat Google dah tak banyak, really need to find other way. Tunggu lah bile rajin nanti. 

So this Monday edition of a random post goes like 

Cats! 

When I got back from the hospital on Friday tu, baru lah dapat bermesra-mesra dengan the cats. However while the others bese2 je, found that Gollywolly just want to sit on the sofa. There is something wrong with Wolly when she wants to be on the sofa because that is not her favorite place. 

Rupanye demam. Can feel her body temp is warmer than usual. So the whole Saturday was spent on her terbongkang di atas sofa where all of us sit on the floor instead. The cats reign supreme at this house. I dah berkira2 if on Sunday she is still melepek tak bermaya I will bring her to the vet. Because I can see she is drinking and eating and her taik ok je (tak runny) . Anak kandung sakit, anak bulus pon sakit. 

But naseb baik on Sunday she seems ok. She still does not want to go out, but berjalan2 di rumah macam biasa and no longer as warm as on Saturday. Tak payah gi vet! Yes! 

Kurus sikit. Poor Wolly. My sister said tah2 die rindu kan mommy die. Heh. But dont think so, it is probably the haze. Wolly ni memang prone to sickness if the air is bad. 

Saif Condition.

Thank you for the well wishes and he is out of the hospital! Yeay finally discharged to my relief. All those days at the hospital make me really lethargic the whole weekend. And Saif is not 100% yet too. He is still pooping I think around once every 4 hrs. The doctor did say it would take sometime for him to fully recover. Poor baby! Hoping that he would get better as soon as possible. Thank God that is also the school holiday, so nursery die pon tutup seminggu. In the mean time he will be at home recuperating lah. 

Sekarang ni my husband WFH and take care of him, I will be on leave on Wed and Friday to take care of the kids plak. So harap by that time he will stop the non stop pooping. 

Time ni baru balik dari hospital . Immediately terus nak merangkak ke sana ke sini. We sampai rumah at the time around 2pm. I ingatkan nak put him to sleep la kan. Tadek. Sibuk die nak kesana ke sini . Lepaskan geram merangkak after being chained to the iv drip kut. Last2 die pengsan tertidur sendiri tengah2 ruang tamu. 

The doctor and nurses said to give him plent of fluids but tu pon susah amat. He only wants to direct feed kan, and I give him porridge kt rumah semua tolak. Last2 in frustration I give him nasi lembik dgn ayam kurma, baru la selera. Dan teh o pekat. Hahaha. Bagi tu solid la kejab taik die. 

Movie

Baru je recently watched 50 Shades of Grey. I avoided the book because reading about how a girl submit herself so readily to a man can make me all ragey but I am still curious for the movie because well,, it will consume less of my time. 

So sambil aku melipat baju and kemas baju, I tengok la the movie. And the critics are right . Sam Taylor Johnson, elevate the material, made it to a decent movie. Dakota Johnson makes us girls/women like Anastasia Steele as she is charming and lovable and sweet here even during the erotic scenes. And the weak link here is Jamie Dornan, Mr Grey himself. He was gile handsome masa Once Upon A Time, but here die macam meh. He is not convincing as a confident man. Basically he does not own the room he walked in. As for the naughty bits itself, it was meh la. Nothing really shocking and when Anastasia asked the worst of the BDSM, and that's it? Lepas tu die nangis when she should know what it is by now. Saying her feelings got hurt? I don't know y'all . You ask for it. And no.. it does not feel rape to me, but is it? is it? I guess it is about punishment and feeling shamed. 

I am so confused . 

I guess its the typical romantic heroine lead wants to change a guy who refused to commit. It only worked in the literary/rom com world. In the real world, you may turn out to be like that poor girl in Mont Kiara who died of asphyxiation. 

Dire.  

Mom's guilt

From Monday Saif was warded at hospital. 

It started from Thursday, like I said earlier when the nursery teacher informed he had a fever. But it then turned to full blown diarrhea and pukes all over the house. 

Husband brought him to the clinic and the doctor said it most probably is food poisoning. 

But the weekend he didnt get any better. And by Monday he was looking like this 

Which scares me. My sister said if the eyes looked sunken, that is a clear sign of dehydration. Brought him to the paeds and immediately the paeds saw him and his face is all serious instead of his usual jokey self and said to ward him.

Giving him random stuffs so he have things to play with.

Saif the next day and his cheek is getting fuller again to my relief. By this time he had refused bottle and only want to directly feed. Which is soooo annoying because we can't give him his ORS. Die punye other medicine pon we have to put quite an effort to force him to swallow it. And the ORS which is for me personally I HATE apatah lagi for baby. So he do not want his formula milk or plain water or glucose water. I can only force like half an oz of ORS water and that took a lot of effort. I even put a bit on his porridge lepas tu die rijek ok. And food is the only thing he wants aside from BM, which is actually pretty oklah . 

Anyway...  during the whole stay at the hospital he is still pooping every 2 3 hrs. Sehari standard berak dalam 10 kali ok. So the doctor is very reluctant to release him. He was tested for rotavirus but that aint it. And today the doctor said that Saif actually had salmonella poisoning to my horror. He can be discharged today, but he may still be pooping every 3 4 hrs. We need to strong armed him more to force the ORS water down his throat then. 

I think most people knows what salmonella poisoning is and the most probable culprit is improper handling of food ( usually from meat or chicken) , which place the blame on me because I also bekalkan food to him at nursery. I am very anal in washing hands and making sure my meat/chicken are cooked thoroughly. Who knows maybe the chicken was not cooked thoroughly. Oh dear.. or it can be from other people.  I am actually at a loss on where/when he does get it, but I also knows 

1. Needs more hand washing before and after preparing food and bagi food. 

2. Proper food handling. 

Sigh. Today I feel very inept as a mother. 

Keep Calm and Carry On , so overused yet so apt

WORK

Got nothing to do at office. Still wrapping stuffs. Oh my contract work here is gonna end soon and only 2 out of 4 people I believed are offered to continue. But I am fine about it because I don't think this is the job for me and am happy for the other 2 because this is great opportunity for them. It was always stated that they hired us so there are more people on hands during the business downtime tu.

I may or maybe not have a job after this. Waiting on an offer. Not too psyched about it, but I also do not want to complain much because people are losing their jobs right and left in this economy and soo many companies especially the one I want in KL are now in a hiring freeze. But like I said, there is no official offer yet, lets seen. In the mean time duduk ofis and keep calm and wrap books on.

KIDS

The nursery teacher whatsapp me informing me that Saif have a fever and bile sampai rumah found him fussing and crying and with a high temp. He was being very clingy. So mengantuk. He kept on pooping every 2 or 3 hours with intermittent muntah all over me sebab die nak tidur atas mommy die. Husband offered to take EL so I datang lah ofis and he takes care of baby. Saif at the cliniic now I guess. 

Aziz macam biasa die la. We are still trying to toilet train him, tapi sebab we all sendiri tak konsisten so tak berapa nak jadi. But during raya haji nanti the nursery and preschool tutup for a week, and we decided at the time. Tapi die resisted jugak . Macam last weekend tak pakaikan diapers kat die. Die punye lah marah. He came down to the living room and gave me his diaper cakap " Aziz bukan big boy!" Sebab bapak die cakap.. big boy tak pakai pampers. He was so uncomfortable not wearing diaper so we give him undie to wear. Haha. Ah well.. tengok camne lah nanti. 

FOODS 

MINE! ALL MINE! Husband punye teammates mana yang balik dari Turkmenistan bring back this whole plastic of chocolates for me. I especially love that Alpen Gold. I told him beli yang Alpen tu je, yang lain2 tadek takpe. Hehe.

My morning drink. Dan gua ni cheapskate. I don't use the whole packet in one mug, I usually used only half and keep it for another day or later in the day. Partly cheapskate partly I memang suke watery drinks. Haha.

Dan semalam I went to a cafe at my office to enjoy a chicken chop all by my lonesome. Sebab bile keluar dengan bebudak I usually akan order benda yang senang I nak makan satu tangan, satu tangan lagi sebuk pegang budak la ape la especially Saif clingy tu, So nak makan chicken chop kena la pandai cari time. Gitu. Haha. 

Huh. Semalam macam banyak je mende nak update. Tapi bile ade idea tu, time tu sibuk nak balik. SO malas. Heh. Laters then. 

Cerita basi time Merdeka weekend

I went back to JB that Merdeka day holiday. Saje balik sebab my mom rindukan rumah die. 

It gave me a chance to go to my favorite mall which is Holiday Plaza. This time I do not look for any phone cover. Eh.. I meant did not buy. Haha. The thing with using a lesser popular phone, there is not many phone cover for you. Yang ade pon is very basic like those plastic jelly or cheap looking leather stuffs. I remembered wanting to buy Note2 and was super excited that I can change my phone cover frequently. I got loadsss of Note 2 phone cover. Some are very nice. Sigh. 

Aziz drinking his sundae. Tu rambut tu dah nak start curly balik dah kat depan. So funny. His dad bought a those mcslurry but he was pissed. I was looking at shoes so my husband and the kids go to McDonalds first. When I reached there, Aziz was throwing tantrum because the Mcslurries ( aku type je malas check ejaan sebenar mcslurries)  does not have any red sauce or berries. Rupanye iklan mcslurries laici tu ade gamba laici, where laici kan merah. Die ingatkan laici tu strawberries and he is pissed that his ice cream tadek strawberry ok. So just bought a strawberry sundae je la for him. He really do like strawberries. Sebijik macam mommy die! 

At HP also I bought some simple bata shoes. I kan selalu pakai FitFlop but nowadays I can't wear my old yellow trust fitflop no longer. My feet and ankle punye sakit... I can barely walks at time. So just bought a cheap comfy sandal at Bata at RM35. Aziz pon nak join gak and he bought Upin and Ipin shoes at RM45. Haha. But so sad I can no longer wear Fitflop. Even wearing my new Fitflop is painful nowadays. So I said to husband I will put away my Fitflop for a while and after a month or two pakai balik to see if its just my old Fitflop or Fitflop in general that caused my feet and ankle to ache. 

This was in my Instagram and FB and people are intrigued. Karipap frozen tu biasa la, but kat pasar tani kat JB je people I would see multitudes of frozen stuffs. Yang wrapped with daun apetah tu frozen lopes ok! Aku memang ultimate favorite lopes ni, so I bought one. Dont care for apam because I never was a fan of apam. But di situ also ade kuih puteri ayu also which is also another favorite! But I decided against it because my freezer is jam packed full of stuffs. Frozen donut, frozen pie, frozen karipap, frozen popiah. . Kalau ade zombie apocalypse ( and if power is still running la kan), I would be stocked for at least a year! Which is why last weekend because aku nak kurangkan isi freezer I goreng the donut and karipap. Donut frozen is very nice ok. I used airfryer for my donut which makes it fluffy. I tried to goreng the donut, it is quite nice also, and not oily to my surprise but I rather airfried my donut pasnih.

The rest of the days at JB was nothing much macam biasa, gi makan yong taufu , abc ( which dihabiskan oleh adik aku yang pelahap), mee rebus. The weird thing is I didn't go to Angsana, which is very weird. Angsana tu macam a must go place whenever we family went back to JB. But this time more trips are made to the kawasan kedai area Jalan Padi Emas. Ade banyak kedai2 butik yang lawa2 and quite cheap. There was a new one that opened that have nice kurta. I like! ( and affordable too. ). So I grab one .

Oh we did went to the Hello Kitty Wonderland. Kan ade indoor theme park for the tots. I say tots because this park is very age appropriate for Aziz. It aims for kids from 3 to 5. Expensive too. Kids below 3 or 90cm is free. So all of us included Aziz cousin who we bring along amount close to RM250. Naseb baik Saif free. And we took only the Thomas and Friends park. Did not go to the Hello Kitty one because too girly for Aziz and the one with Thomas and Friends have more rides. Aziz went for every ride except the bumper car, because it is the only ride which requires the kids height to be at least 110 cm. He  is not quite there yet.

But he did have fun. He loves the indoor playground and especially the rides. So yeah, worth the money la. Boleh pulak la I tertinggal my phone at my mom's home at the time so no pics! But there is one from my husband IG. 

Boy having his time

A photo posted by @shammin on Aug 31, 2015 at 1:36am PDT

Is being slightly depressed is catching

Seems like a few of people I am reading in the blogosphere is feeling out of sorts. Which included me.

I am not gonna go into it, because I don't feel like it, but mannn... I wish I can just lie down and watch Friends.

Feeling so demotivated and fat and ugly and a mess.

Oh yeah.

Also its Saturday night but I am obsessed with what the hell am I gonna cook tomorrow. Such is the life of a wife. Macam mana lah jadi yang one of those fabulously rich and famous people who have personal chef. I know Jennifer Aniston have a personal chef who cooked very healthy but tasty meals for her. Bestnyeeeeer.

This is the only time/thing I am ever jealous of Jennifer Aniston. 

August book reviews!

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Two minutes and seventeen seconds that changed the world

Suddenly, without warning, all seven billion people on Earth black out for more than two minutes. Millions die as planes fall from the sky, people tumble down staircases, and cars plow into each other.

But that’s the least of the survivors’ challenges. During the blackout, everyone experienced a glimpse of what his or her future holds—and the interlocking mosaic of these visions threatens to unravel the present.

I first watched the series ( horrible series though I wish John Cho is in more worthy shows) then I saw this book on sale and thought ehh.. why not.

I was surprised on how much I like it. The 'sciency' part of it is easy to understand enough. The writing is simple , even the characters are simple. It is a bit weird towards the end but I guess eh ok je la.

The plot is simple, a worldwide blackout that caused all people around the world glimpsed their future 20 years forward is an interesting premise. I like it when it gave ala World War Z a glimpsed in how the world react to it. The characters all is just a simple straightforward characters, to me even the most 'passionate' of them are stoic in nature. Interesting premise but it could be more in terms of characters I guess.

If it's better than the really boring series. Then I am good. Hehe.

Celebutantes by Amanda Goldberg

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Synopsis: Twenty-six-year-old Lola Santisi, daughter of an Academy Award-winning mega-director and a former cover model, is Hollywood Royalty without a kingdom—or even a condo—to call her own.  This “Actorholic,” who also suffers from “Career Deficit Disorder,” is looking for more from life than what her famous last name has offered, namely her mother’s last-season Chanel hand-me-downs and the lurking shadow of her father’s fame. In her latest gig as a Hollywood ambassador, Lola’s stepping out of her Louboutins and into fashion’s ultimate combat boots to engage in LA's cruelest blood sport: convincing celebrities to wear an unknown designer's gowns to the Oscars.

Providing advice, emotional support, and even a new mantra or two are her BFF (Best Friend Forever) Kate Woods, an obsessively ambitious talent agent desperate to go from unter to über, and her BAF (Best Actress Forever) Cricket Curtis, a struggling up-and-comer trying to surpass her role as a coma victim on Grey’s Anatomy and overcome one rejection after another to become the next Cameron Diaz or Nicole Kidman, or the next anybody.  Together, they dodge fashion roadkill while navigating General Motors’ Annual Fashion Show, the Gagosian dinner at Mr. Chow, and more.  Ultimately, the week culminates at the über-exclusive Vanity Fair Oscar party, where the allotted time slot on your invitation marks how far in or out you really are.  But who will be left standing with job, heart, and stilettos still intact at the after-after-Oscar party?

Horrible. All of the characters are annoying. I thought I would be entertained with all the Hollywood name dropping because I am obsessed with Hollywood gossip. But I was not because most of it seems so smug. The book was full of it.

I have no inkling if most Hollywood artists behaved as appallingly as in the books, but because the main character Lola is such a caricature I felt like Hollywood is another planet in a romantic comedy land.

Everything about Lola seems to be such an exaggeration that no wonder people do not want to take her seriously. And this make the book bad because I can't stand her characters, the fluff name dropping and even the writing. Everyone here is so whiny it just makes everything.. wearisome.

Wait For the Dawn by Jess Foley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Synopsis: The story of a young woman who leaves her safe but unfulfilling life to work in a city far from home and begin a new life. Friendship with Guy Anderson blossoms into love but when Guy is called away, their passionate leave-taking has dramatic consequences for them both.

A very typical, a poor girl meet rich guy bla bla some hardship and happiness ensues.

Though there are many unnecessary deaths in this book. I especially object to the deaths at the end. Really... it reminded me of Anne Shirley complaining to Marilla that at their story club when Jane Andrews don't know what to do with her characters she will kill them off. Haha. That is exactly how I feel about this book.

Simple writing, ok characters, unnecessarily long, if it were a short story it would still be readable, all nicely tied up at the end which is a bit blah.

View all my reviews

Mixes

I cant think coherently. So I para-blogging (paragraph). Hehe

I like Boost. In fact sometimes I found like I craved for the juice. I don't care much about the smoothie or the frap type of thing. Tapi juice die very nice la. So heard nice things about La Juiceria. Tried it. And bleurgh sebab I think I chose something that is not to my liking. The ingredients are Orange, Turmeric, Carrot, Celery and Pineapple. But it should have just advertised only Celery sebab that is all I taste. Sekarang tengah minum Milo sambil intermittently sipping the juice. Hehe. 

Because the critical time for our job here is over our team here in MY have a lot of free time. So free that I decided to bring my books to the office. No . Not for reading , well yes, a bit of reading but only during lunch hour lah. But balut buku with plastic. I had always been very anal about wrapping my books before I started to read em, so with this much free time, I figured like.. why not lah. The only thing annoying is that my bags are full of books. Tapi tak banyak pon, Dalam 4  buku je kut I bawak everyday. Over sangat bawak banyak2. 

Oh yes. I am currently reading Sookie Stackhouse Series and it is very very good. The last BBW, I had finally able to buy some of the books to complete my collection so it is now time to start reading it. Because I don't want to get Sookie fatigue so I paced myself where I will read Sookie series in between 2 or 3 other books. 

Husband is whatsapping me saying that he brought Saif to his swim session setelah sekian lama tak pegi. Saif got a mild asthma for a while so we stop his swim session and didn't bathe him in the evening for the longest time. Haha. Sekarang baru ok sikit. Semalam bile weekend penuh, so I said to my husband bile die free and rase nak bawak time petang, bawak je la. Tunggu weekend susah sikit, we always have plans kan weekend. Weekdays tak ramai sangat orang. 

I feel really lazy to cook nowadays macam setiap kali balik macam penat semacam. Padahal no work tapi still penat! Haha. I think this was on Thursday ? Can't remember I was not feeling up to it and Saif was screaming, so I just said to husband beli la ape2. Aziz request burger and seeing him eating burger is so cute and also strucked me for many many time that he is becoming a boy. No longer a baby. 

There is a carboot market of sorts at Melawati every Saturday. It was an oklah. The usual secondhand clothes type of thing. I went there nak cari seluar untuk Aziz as he is growing so fast nowadays dan semua seluar die dah senteng. Dulu mak die keje kat Midvalley so selalu sangat la mak die bershopping kan. Nowadays no time sangat lah. Melawati lah kite. Hehe. Seluar tadek, barang kucing ade! Bought this cat scracther that have some sorta toy hanging inside it and the cats love it. I consider that RM20 well spent if they are using it. You can never know with cats! 

Oklah. Laters! 

A year without that tricolor fluffball

Whenever I think of Kurap, mata nanti mula la bergenang2.

Miss her a lot. Yesterday, it was a year exactly since she was gone. When Aziz was a few months old and she was wailing outside the door wanting to be let in to sleep on the bed together with me, I always feels guilty. Later I will stroke on her head and said, "tunggu ek... nanti 3 or 4 years later and the children are grown up, you can sleep with me again". 

I remember the time when she was feeling tired and I was still occupied with whatever it is on the computer she will meow nonstop asking me to be on the bed. Mesti naaakkk kena ade jugak! Padahal bukan tido atas kite or sondol tepi ke. Tak she just like to know I am on the bed with her. Mengada sangat. But that is why I love her. My husband used to say kinda like jokingly "I think in terms of urutan,, you love Kurap the most, second Aziz and third  me" . Haha. 

She is no longer around, and there is a hole in my heart that is yet to be filled by a cat. Like I said before, I have cats and I love them but Kurap is special and will always be special. Even though she is no longer around, I can still remember how her fur felt like when I stroked her. 

RIP Kurap. Maybe we will meet one again someday and you will have your teman tidur back. 

I wish audiobook is not so darn expensive

I tried out audiobook for the first time and I liked it! Hence the title. Ok .. let me just start on how I get started on audiobook when I tried to read ebook, but just failed. I like the idea of ebook, but whenever I hold my phones I will just itching to go to social media or games ( mainly Candy Crush, but I have a healthy obsession with Wordament and Plants Vs Zombies 2 too ). 

So yes. I stop using ebook. Maybe if I have Kindle, or it is so easy to buy here or ebook is easier to buy or I started travelling or posted somewhere that it is just insane to bring a whole suitcase of books that I need ebooks. That is the only reason I guess I will start using Kindle or Nook or something similar. Because I can't read on my phone people. My phone is to be used for only frivolous stuffs. 

I was reading a bookworm blog on how audiobooks makes her read or listen to more books ever since she had kids. Those who have kids will lament on how hard it is to find time to read books. I totally understand. I reject lunch hour with friends if it means I can get a good hour of reading on a book I truly enjoy. So I started to look for audiobook. Especially those that can be listened via phone. 

That leaves me 2 options. 

1. Audible. 

2. Audiobooks.com

Both are kinda the same. Both needed to be online ( wifi or data) for you to listen in. Both offers 30 days free membership where we will get 1 book credit ( = 1 audiobook) , but Audiobooks.com is cheaper. I think Audible is USD24.99 per month while Audiobooks. USD14.99 per month. Way cheaper. Though I had just take a look at the audiobooks site and it seems it only supports US?? But I can sign up for the free membership and listened in. 

Ok. So that brings me to the next point, we are all looking at USD and MYR and dying a little bit inside whenever MYR going down. So I tried out( only mampu) the free membership. I have to include my credit card details when going in, but then I cancel the subscription just before the 30 days end. Hehe. I also got another 1 book credit from reviewing the app. So yeay! 

The first book I chose... I decided on Amy Poehler , Yes Please. 

I enjoyed Tina Fey Bossypants and Mindy Kaling Is Everybody Hanging out Without Me, so I think this would be a good choice. I had only known Amy Poehler from her movie roles and the Golden Globes ( super excellent hosting jobs) , not from SNL and Parks and Recreation, but by listening to this book, I feel like I want to watch Parks and Recreation now. 

I usually reviewed a book by stressing on their characters, so am a bit of a loss on how to start one for an autobiography. 

So here's the gist of it, the book itself, it is funny, inspirational and entertaining. She gives us a look into a part of her in this book, while still keeping most away , as it should be. She gave good advice and good soundbites ( or quotes). And I like it when she talked of her experience in Hollywood and I can practically feel her warmth and radiance when she talked about her kids. 

Listening it in audiobooks, is super entertaining, though I realized I must have missed out on the photos that usually inclued in autobiography, but she makes listening it worth it. So yes. I get it why audiobooks is expensive. You must also include a gift of a story telling in it to make the listeners continue to listen in. Amy Poehler got that. She also included audio snippets from her scene in Parks and Recreation, roped in her friends and parents . My favorite part of the book is her mother telling us the struggle of  being a woman in the 60s and 70s. Where basically we do what we have to do. There are jokes, there is singing, there is a segment on book reading for live audience. Now my expectations on audiobooks is going to be super high because I started on such an excellent book!

The book is 7 hours 30 minutes. Very long but didnt feel like it. It took me around a month and half to finish it. While I try listening in at the office, it was quite hard because I need utter quiet and sometimes I strayed into social media sites. Haha. So I could not concentrate. Most people used their audiobook to listen in when driving. I found it in my case it would not work, I concentrated too much on the book and not on the driving that it can get quite dangerous. So I found that listening in to an audiobook when washing dishes is perfect! 

I hate washing dishes especially the kids botol susu when it piled up. I enjoyed it a whole lotta more when I am listening in to Yes Please. Terasa sangat productive ok. So yes... I think I would continue on this audiobooks stuffs, If I can afford it. In the mean time I will try some of the free books. ( though I think it might be boring) . 

I am saving my one book credit for Mindy Kaling new book! I hope it will be more than 5 hours. 

Tired out

I am feeling like this weekend I am not doing anything.. except maybe half heartedly cleaning the house.

Google ni sesuke hati je edit gamba aku online. But this is the hotel that we are staying. The blue line is the infinity pool. The pool is great. It even have one with a warm water which is a huge draw. 

Last weekend we went to Ipoh. My sister had booked us a stay at The Haven or Best Western Premier Hotel. It was a good hotel. We booked 2 apartment where one is the 3 rooms apartment and the other 2 rooms apartment. I didnt take pics much during the duration as they are kids everywhere! Haha. So one get overwhelmed. 

My mom was enjoying it the most because all of her cucu is there so she was really pumped for a pictures with all the cucu. It was really a chore trying to get 3 babies , 4 or 5 toddlers huddled for a pic. Tantrums everywhere! I don't think I will be putting up that pic up here because my sister dont really like pics of her children online, so I will only be putting up pics of my kids online and some of the cousins ! 

At their garden where the dino is a big attraction to all people various age and sizes. Aziz was disappointed that there were no monkey around. I was relieved, I don't fancy meeting one where it can grab my bags. 

We went to Memory Lane which is kinda meh because it was raining heavily on Saturday so alot of stalls are closed . Also went to Pasar Karat, just bringing my mom along to see what it is about. A bit disappointed because a lot of what makes Pasar Karat special is now just a usual pasar with baju bundles. 

While we dont venture much into Ipoh except once during lunchtime when we are trying to find place to eat but it seems like kedai semua tutup, so we went into Ipoh Parade. Macam biasa, beli buku sikit :D oh and Aziz birthday kek. 

With some of his cousins. He don't really care ok, he just meh.. and turn around to play with his sticker books. So cousin die datang and blow off the candles. With so many kids around, there are always a willing body. 

Anyway, I think my mom enjoyed it the most. She likes being surrounded with her cucu and kids and be on holiday where she don't feel the need to cook most of the time. Hehe. Though that did not stop her because she brought all manners of pots and pans and cooked lauk for all of us. 

Aziz is now 3

Yesterday was his birthday. 

And I can't believe how fast he had grown. He looked like a small boy, no longer my baby. Tapi maseh memakai diapers. Hehe. 

I only bought him a cupcake on Sunday and Sunday night tu brought out the cupcake for him to tiup lilin which is his ultimate favorite and the brought out presents. 

Die makan sikit frosting tu and then bile bapak keluarkan hadiah-hadiah terus excited lupa langsung die ade cupcake. Harus lah mommy habeskan cake kan. 

Besok tu we brought a cake to the school and I bought a box of cream puffs for the kids at school. Budak class Aziz I gave them a party pack. I cannot remember what is in it, though I remember buying jigsaw puzzles, M&Ms, chocolate Milo and I think bubbles kut. Husband tolong packkan semua party pack because I pengsan tido. Haha. Well, dalam kelas Aziz including him ade 10 orang je, so ok lah. 

Pagi tu I brought out the cake and took a picture of him and the cake. Decided on just a simple choc cake with edible image sebab senang teacher die nak potong nanti. Die excited tengok kek ultraman and duk tanye bile nak makannn kek ultraman. 

We forgot to include a camera for the teacher so hence no picture. As long as Aziz happy sudah. 

Anyway... can't believe he is 3. My sister was mentioning that before this he was not talking at all, and suddenly he cant shut up. Haha. 

He is a lovable kid and who favoured his dad in term of preference and looks. My husband he took me after me a lot dalam segi perangai. Hahaha. 

In term of intelligence. I don't know. I think he is clever maybe not Einstein genius, but as long as he is good and kind I think that he is a treasure worth having. He loves kittens. He always wants to bring one home. 

And every living thing he see he will always asked "Mommy die mana". Termasuk la dinosaur dalam Jurassic World. 

He loves his brother though like all big brother sometimes he thinks his baby brother is a nuisance. And 70% of the time, if I asked him to do something he will do it. I love him. 

Anyway he is still in diapers because mak die tadek masa nak train. I will do it. Soon. Haha. 

We cut off his curls sebab well his hair is getting long. Masa kat Balingian tu rambut memang curly habis sebab berpeluh dan aktif bermain. Everyone remarked on his curls. Ye la. Sakan kut curls tu. LOL. 

It is a bit sad on one hand that I feel like my firstborn is no longer a baby and relief on the other that he is not clingy that I can do stuffs and concentrate on my youngest. 

I feel like he is sturdy, kind, reliable little boy who will grow up to be a responsible, kind thoughtful guy. That is my wish and doa for him. And always ... berjaya di dunia dan akhirat. 

Tido with his presents. My husband said real life Andy. Duduk cakap "mommy.. main lah dengan Aziz" and gave me Woody so he can be Buzz.

Been a helluva time

... since I was working on the weekend. It is a business critical weeks so all hands on deck. I am not so busy yet. Kena standby je la. Poor husband and kids. 

Tadi otw pegi office around 9 am pon penuh kereta kat jalan. I predict by 11 am dah jem dah MRR2 because today is jam packed with open houses and kenduris. 

Ni pon sampai2 I lapor terus menjajar cari makanan and buy starbucks. Couldnt see the point in being in standby doing nothing at office. But that's the way it is. *rolleyes* So everyone bawak movie to kill the time and bordedom and I am watching Chris Rock standup comedy. Alang2 have to stuck at the office in the weekend while everyone is feasting on raya food!, I might as well be stuck here and laughing my ass off. 

Dah la lusa birthday Aziz, sian Aziz. But thats ok lah as next week we will all be going to Ipoh for some fun and I planned to buy a small cake for him as semua cousin2 die ade at the time. Baru fun sikit kan. Malam esok I will just buy a slice of cake somewhere for him. 

Saif pulak pagi tadi demam and malam tadi duk merengek2 sebab tak sihat kan, Gave him paracetamol and letak die dalam buai and terus die tido, and the house is a mess and Aziz .. well Aziz ni a good boy je. He is OK as long as I put Ultraman for him. Yeps. I am a TV mom. *hangs head in shame* 

But hey, my mom was a TV mom and all her kids turned out all right. Moga Aziz pon baik baik sahaja. LOL. Hmm ok lah. Maybe if I have something more to say I will write more. Nak tengok Chris Rock :D  *sshhhhhh dont tell my boss but hey.. we are here aight*

Oh I will end this with some words by Chris Rock . 

"Women needs food, water and compliments. And occassional pair of shoes" :D

Finished several books so...

Short reviews sebab not feeling wordy . Hehe. I like that I am reading a lot btw. Though I think I may have to start being choosy in what I read.

The Broker by John Grisham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis from Wiki:
The Broker is a suspense novel written by American author John Grisham and published in the United States on January 11, 2005. The novel follows the story of Joel Backman, a newly pardoned prisoner who had tried to broker a deal to sell the world's most powerful satellite surveillance system to the highest bidder.

- Simple quick read. Enjoyable.

- The main question or the plot device does not make any sense. But I enjoyed the book so I dont care much about the plot device.

- Characters are ok enough. Not fleshed out enuogh. I probably like Luigi more.

- The book just makes me want to go to Italy and hungry. Maybe John Grisham wrote this when he was in Bologna because je made Bologna sounds appealing and that is the only thing that stands out in this book.

Kill Zone by Jack Coughlin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Gunnery Sgt. Kyle Swanson, a top Marine sniper, is vacationing on a yacht in the Mediterranean when he receives orders to mount a top secret mission to rescue the general. But as the Marines prepare to land in the Syrian desert, they fall victim to a terrible accident. Swanson, the only survivor, then discovers they were also flying into an ambush. How did the enemy have details of a mission known only to a few top American government officials?   

Swanson takes off across the desert alone to find the captured general and realizes he is fighting a particularly ruthless and dangerous enemy: American mercenaries working for a very-high-level group of U.S. officials with ties to the White House itself, part of a clandestine conspiracy whose hidden goal is nothing less than total control of the American military. Their sworn enemy is the captured general whose fate now rests in Swanson’s hands.   


- The intro was horrible. I almost put the book down. Kyle Swanson was introduced kinda clumsily and it took a long time for me to warm up to him.

- The female characters is eye rollingly bad. But I don't expect much so I guess it was as good as I can get for this type of books.

- Once the action gets to the desert then the fun started! I believed it when it is stated the author used to be a marine, because the middle part of the book is the core strength of the book. The gritty actions, the wait, the suspense, the training. It feels real and believable and I can pictured it clearly.

- Would not be opposed to read his work again since the action part of the book is highly enjoyable.

- I howver have to really roll my eyes when a seemingly respectable army officer decidedly to take off her clothes and have sex with her superior ( not reporting superior but still... ) It is so random and sexist! I hate that and feels like a typical man fantasy. This only happened in porn lah.

To Catch an Heiress by Julia Quinn
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Caroline Trent is kidnapped by Blake Ravenscroft, she doesn’t even try to elude this dangerously handsome agent of the crown. After all, she’s been running from unwanted marriage proposals. Yes, Blake believes she’s a notorious spy named Carlotta De Leon, but for six weeks until her twenty-first birthday, when she’ll gain control of her own fortune, hiding out in the titillating company of a mysterious captor is awfully convenient—and maybe just a little romantic, too.

Blake Ravenscroft’s mission is to bring “Carlotta” to justice, not to fall in love. His heart has been hardened by years of intrigue, but this little temptress proves oddly disarming and thoroughly kissable. And suddenly the unthinkable becomes possible—that this mismatched couple might be destined for love

I maybe am tired of Julia Quinn. I don't know. The last few books by her I read, it just makes me want to squash something.

I think I may have pinpoint my problem with Julia Quinn books.

She tried too hard to make her characters witty.

She pushed the funny part too long.

The plot device that supposedly delay the 2 main characters to be together as soon as possible ... like in the first 2 chapter is getting more ridiculous by each book I read.

Not all girls have to be innocent = worthy of love. I think that is just my gripe with the whole chic lit/romance books in general.

The spy stuff is lame. I am sorry it is. If the hero.. can't remember his name ,is a spy, then I am a duck. He is lame. God!

I would enjoy more if the book heroine is Carlotta I guess.

It is just a list full of complaints because I cant seem to find a positive thing to talk about this book. Sorry Julia.



Daisy Miller by Henry James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis from Wiki:
It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates when they meet in Switzerland and Italy

I love this sweet little book.

Daisy Miller is a whirlwind. Even though the author wrote this a really long time ago, Daisy Miller even in the 21st century digital age, feels refreshing as a character, as a woman.

A woman who knows her own mind, who may wavers but can quickly made up her mind and stick to it. I love her.

The writing is simple, beautiful. The characters are evolved, complex even in their simplicity. A good simple quick read and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read classic but feels a classic book may overwhelm them.



View all my reviews