When Zerlynde was Born

Welcome Zerlynde


Zerlynde at 1 Day Old


Angry Zerlynde

Welcome Shaun Oon!

Liew Yang gave birth to a baby boy on 29th October, 2005 at the Penang GMC. The whole family was at the hospital to greet the baby who arrived shortly after 3pm. We were all overjoyed to see the newborn whose eyes were opened almost immediately after his arrival. He is one very curious baby indeed.



Kenzu, Kitty and I visited our nephew again earlier today. We planned our visit to be from 7pm onward as 7-8pm is designated as "Baby Show Time". Shaun appeared to be very sweet and calm at first. Later however, we saw the other side of his temperament when he started howling at the top of his voice, his lips quivering in anger! I think he was hungry.

Cool Cats

Zerlynde is 14 months old



Zerlynde with her favourite person, her cousin Jonathan

Sexiest Men Alive

1. Keanu Reeves [d.o.b. September 2, 1964]
2. Hugh Grant [d.o.b. September 9, 1960]
3. Colin Firth [d.o.b. September 10, 1960]
4. John Cusack [d.o.b. June 28, 1966]
5. Jude Law [d.o.b. December 29, 1972]
6. Tom Cruise [d.o.b. July 3, 1962]
7. Leon Lai [d.o.b. December 11, 1966]
8. Bae Yong-joon [d.o.b. August 29, 1972]
9. Andy Lau [d.o.b. September 27, 1961]

* not necessarily in that order.

A Pleasant Surprise

I stumbled upon something earlier today! What a pleasant surprise..... and such a co-incidence too that it should be discovered just at this time...

Ceremony of Roses by Neale Donald Walsch

Officiant: Kenzu and Hooi Lin have come here tonight to make public their love for each other; to declare their choice to live and partner and grow together – out loud and in your presence, out of their desire that we will all come to feel a very real and intimate part of their decision, and thus make it even more powerful.
They’ve also come here tonight in the further hope that their ritual of bonding will help bring us all closer together. If you are here tonight with a spouse or a partner, let this ceremony be a reminder – a rededication of your own loving bond.
Kenzu and Hooi Lin have told me their reason for getting married. Now, I want to ask them one more time, so they can be certain of their understanding and firm in their commitment.

(Officiant gets two roses from table…)

This is the Ceremony of Roses, in which Hooi Lin and Kenzu share their understandings, and commemorate that sharing.
Now Hooi Lin and Kenzu, you have told me it is your firm understanding that you are not entering into this marriage for reasons of security…..
…that the only real security is not in owning or possessing, nor in being owned or possessed…
…not in demanding or expecting, and not even in hoping , that what you think you need in life will be supplied by the other…
…but rather, in knowing that everything you need in life… all the love, all the wisdom, all the insight, all the power, all the knowledge, all the understanding, all the nurturing, all the compassion, and all the strength… resides within you…
…and that you are not each marrying the other in hopes of getting these things, but in hopes of giving these gifts, that the other might have them in even greater abundance.
Is that your firm understanding tonight?

Kenzu and Hooi Lin: It is.

Officiant: And Kenzu and Hooi Lin, you have told me it is your firm understanding you are not entering into this marriage as a means of in any way limiting, controlling or restricting each other from any true expression and honest celebration of that which is the highest and best within you – including your love of life, your love of people, your love of creativity, your love of work, or any aspect of your being which genuinely represents you, and brings you joy. Is that still your firm understanding tonight?

Kenzu and Hooi Lin: It is.

Officiant: Finally Hooi Lin and Kenzu, you have said to me that you do not see this marriage as producing obligations, but rather as providing opportunities…
… opportunities for growth, for full Self-expression, for lifting your lives to their highest potential…
…that this is a journey through life with one you love as an equal partner, sharing equally both the authority and the responsibilities inherent in any partnership.
Is that the vision you wish to enter into now?

Kenzu and Hooi Lin: It is.

Officiant: I now give you these red roses. Give these roses now to each other as a symbol of your sharing of these agreements and understandings with love. (Hooi Lin and Kenzu give one each other the roses.)
What symbols do you bring as a reminder of the promises given and received today?

Ringbearer: (brings the rings)

Officiant: Now, Kenzu and Hooi Lin, please take these rings you wish to give, one to the other.

Kenzu and Hooi Lin: (takes each other’s rings.)

Officiant: Kenzu, please repeat after me.
I, Kenzu…ask you, Hooi Lin…to be my partner, my lover, my friend, and my wife…I announce and declare my intention…to give you my deepest friendship and love…not only when your moments are high…but when they are low… not only when you are acting with love…but when you are not…
I further announce…before those here present…that it is my intention…to be with you forever…that I will love, honour and cherish you…all the days of my life.
(The Officiant turns to Hooi Lin.)
Hooi Lin, do you choose to grant Kenzu’s request that you be his wife?

Hooi Lin: I do

Officiant: Now, Hooi Lin., please repeat after me.
I, Hooi Lin…ask you, Kenzu…to be my partner, my lover, my friend, and my husband…I announce and declare my intention…to give you my deepest friendship and love…not only when your moments are high…but when they are low…not only when you are acting with love…but when you are not…
I further announce…before those here present…that it is my intention….to be with you forever…that I will love, honour and cherish you…all the days of my life.
(The Officiant turns to Kenzu.)
Kenzu, do you choose to grant Hooi Lin’s request that you be her husband?

Kenzu: I do.

Officiant: Please then, both of you, take hold of the rings you would give each other, and repeat after me: With this ring…I thee wed…I take now the ring you give to me…
(Kenzu and Hooi Lin exchange rings)
…and give it place around my finger
(they place the rings around their fingers)
…that all may see and know…of my love for you.

Officiant: And so now, inasmuch as you, Hooi Lin, and you, Kenzu, have announced the truths that are already written in your hearts, and have witnessed the same in the presence of these, your friends and loved ones – we observe joyfully that you have declared yourself to be…husband and wife.
Kenzu and Hooi Lin, out of this world, you have found one another. Your destinies shall now be woven into one design, and your perils and joys shall not be known apart.
May your home be a place of happiness for all who enter it; a place where the old and the young are renewed in each other’s company, a place for growing and a place for sharing, a place for music and a place for laughter, a place for kindness and a place for love.
May those who are nearest to you be constantly enriched by the beauty and the bounty of your love for one another, may your work be a joy of your life that serves the world, and may your days be good and long upon the Earth.
Kenzu, you may now kiss your bride….

Master of Ceremony: Next, the Bride and the Groom will light a Unity candle. May we invite the mothers of the Bride and the Groom to come forward so that they can be part of the ceremony.
(Both mothers are given the tapers who then hand over the candles to the wedding couple)

Officiant: Now Kenzu and Hooi Lin, The flame of this candle, symbol of your own lives, will no longer burn as two separate flames but as one flame, symbolizing your unity and oneness with each other.
May this flame now burn strong and forever bright in your lives.

Master of Ceremony: We wish to now invite the newly wedded couple to have their first dance.

2nd Wedding Anniversary

Kenzu brought Zerlynde and me to Shangri-la's Le Brasserie for dinner to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We both had a sumptuous meal. I chose salmon whereas Kenzu selected steak for our main course. Zerlynde who was sleeping all the way from home woke up in time for dessert and had her fair share of chocolate chips.


My hubby's such a romantic. I was greeted by a lovely bouquet of roses at my office!

Our Celebration of Love

Today Zerlynde turned 14 months old. Today also mark my second wedding anniversary with Kenzu.

Exactly two years ago, Kenzu and I tied the knot, signed the papers, exchanged wedding vows and rings and threw a party to celebrate our love joined by family members and closest friends.





For our wedding song, Nielsen Chapman Beth's "All I Have" was perfect.

You can say you love me

And I'll believe that's true

Trusting you is easy

'Cause I believe in you

There is nothing I would miss

As long as we're in love like this

CHORUS:

All I have is all I need

And it all comes down to you and me

How far away this world becomes

In the harbor of each others arms

I feel like I've known you forever and ever

Baby that's how close we are

Right here with you is where my life has come together

And where love has filled my heart

You know I'd go anywhere

As long as I have you to care

CHORUS

Ooh-and with the love you bring

I never want for anything

I found what I've been searching for in you

Kenzu is my heavenly gift. He is kind, gentle, accepting and compassionate, and he loves unconditionally. He is patient, understanding and make no demands of anybody. He is determined, strong and powerful yet non-forceful. And he is always pure in his intentions.

I must have done something really good in my last lifetime to deserve him now!

MusicVideos provided by Music Video Codes

Please click here to listen to "All I Have"
Please click here to watch the "All I Have" Music Video

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil II

Got round to watching Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at last. Hmmm.. it's not bad, not as good as the book though. And those who've not had the chance to read the book beforehand may find it a bit difficult to catch on what's happening as one scene rapidly skips to another.

What I gained/learned from watching the movie:

• I now know how Savannah looks like; the buildings are beautiful and a sense of mystery and old charm permeates the air.
• I re-discovered two lovely songs in the soundtrack - Alison Krauss' This Time the Dream's on Me and k.d. lang's Skylark.
• The soundtrack comprises solely of Johnny Mercer's songs.
• There is a Lady Chablis.
• I fell in love with John Cusack. He's so sexy!

Oh! And I didn't know Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil caused such a huge sensation in Savannah! To elaborate, Midnight written in 1994 by one John Berendt, is a work of nonfiction. All the characters are real and their stories are true. When the book was published, Savannah saw a significant increase in the number of tourists in town. I am not surprised! I told myself after the book and the movie that I must visit Savannah one day. Midnight in my opinion is the 90's equivalent to The Da Vinci Code.

On a Saturday

It's Saturday. So hubby and I brought my parents to Gurney Plaza to do some shopping. We didn't go to too many shops. Hubby was stucked at FOS for about an hour, so I brought Zerlynde to the toy shop across. There was a keyboard on display, so Zerlynde fiddled with it for half an hour or so. She really liked it. I must let her play with the piano at home more often! Our next stop was Parkson Grand. Mum and dad looked for a glass butter container but there was none. Hubby got himself a Cross pen. I bought Zerlynde a Snow White tumbler.

Chopin in the making


Zerlynde's Snow White Collection


We went to Prontip for dinner. Invited a couple of friends to join us. The dishes were good except for the steamed fish thai style. The pork rendang was brilliantly done. We adjourned to our friends' house for drinks after dinner. Zerlynde spent the first hour sleeping, then she woke up to play with 3 year-old Louis, our friends grand-nephew who was staying over that night with his parents.

Vocabulary II

Bee, Bear, Mouse, Pig, Ai-yoh, Pain-pain

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Such a wonderful book.... Oh! And the soundtrack is equally dazzling, with numbers like Paula Cole's Autumn Leaves, Cassandra Wilson's Days of Wine and Roses and Diana Krall's Midnight Sun. Am sure I have the DVD somewhere... must watch must watch...

Yippee! Our DVDs arrived finally!

I had to make a trip to the Customs earlier today to rescue my order of 14 DVDs from the USA.

You see, since Zerlynde was born, I had acquired a new hobby, internet shopping. I do that at night after she's gone to bed. And let me tell you, internet shopping is really really bad for the pockets. One can shop on and on and still not drop, unlike normal shopping where one is faced with all sorts of impediments like shops closing or husbands pulling a long face or feet giving way, indirectly keeping check on one's spending. But that's another story for another day.

So, anyway, after having waited in the queue for 20 minutes to discover I was in the wrong post office, and having had to fork out more than RM100-00 in taxes at the Customs, I finally returned home with the precious DVDs for Zerlynde.

We watched Fisher-Price Musical Baby and Classical Baby Dance together. Then Zerlynde went for her evening bath leaving me to check out Fisher-Price Baby Moves. Later, we watched Classical Baby Music and a re-play of Fisher-Price Musical Baby. And just before I started blogging, I couldn't resist checking out Classical Baby Art and Baby Genius Favorite Nursery Rhymes. Oh! The Americans make such brilliant baby educational programmes.

Hmm.. what shall I play for Zerlynde tomorrow morning? They say too much tv is detrimental for kids. So maybe I had better read her some books instead.... Question is, can I resist?

The Lemonade Kid

Brought Zerlynde to her first ever concert yesterday afternoon, presented by a kindergarten called The Learning Garden held at Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra in USM. The first play was a Chinese one entitled "The King's Donkey Ears". It begun spectacularly with an opening dance by a stageful of little girls and boys all dressed in the most colourful of costumes, displaying their talents. Though the dialogue was a bit slow, I must say I was thoroughly impressed with the overall production. The lightning, the costumes, the soundtrack, the props and the choreography were brilliant, not to mention the wonderful little actors and actresses and dancers. Zerlynde was similarly impressed. She was totally absorbed, it being her first time in a concert. I caught her watching the stage in wonderment without a blink. She looked enchanted.

Next was the nursery and playgroup presentation "The Happy Children Band" followed by a Bahasa Melayu play called "Bawang Merah Bawang Putih", a cinderella like story. I love the Malay dance and thought the teachers did a really great job with the props and costumes. Alicia, a good friend's daughter was the lead actress Bawang Merah. I was amazed at how well she acted.

The highlight of the concert "The Lemonade Kid" did not start until past 4-30pm. We were there since 3pm and I was worried that Zerlynde might soon start to fuss. To my pleasant surprise, her interest didn't waver one bit and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching the little cowboys and can-can girls and what-nots on stage, shrieking in delight and bouncing excitedly on my lap every once in a while. I myself was impressed at the characterisation of One-Eye Jack. Hard to believe the actor's 5, maybe 6 years old!

The concert ended at about 5.30pm. Zerlynde was still wide awake by then. Although I had doubts initially whether to bring her seeing as she might be a bit too young, was I glad I brought her. She was such a good girl, never once did she kick a fuss. And that concert had definitely opened her door to a larger world.

After this first trial, we now know we can bring her to more concerts, without fear of her disturbing the other audience.

Musikgarten

After one month's absence, Zerlynde resumed her Musik class earlier this evening. She seemed a bit shy at first and was very quiet leaning against me, just observing her Musik teacher. Soon after, she warmed up and started beaming away and interacting with Winnie and Isaac, her classmates. Towards the end of the 30 - 40 minutes session, she was fighting over the mallets with her teacher!

I love attending these classes with her every Thursday since we signed up in mid-July. There's no strict structure to these lessons. The babies were exposed to a variety of movements; swaying, rocking, bouncing, swinging and dancing. They were introduced to music of many genres and were encouraged to echo the teacher's pitch and rhythm. Occasionally, we get to play peek-a-boo with those transparent colourful scarves provided. Zerlynde's favourite part is when she gets to experiment with the various musical instruments; rattles, rhythm sticks, jingle bells and drums. This evening, we were introduced to the resonator bars. Both mother and child were intriqued with the magical sound they produced. No wonder Zerlynde refused to let go of those mallets.

Many friends asked whether it's in fact too early to start Zerlynde on Musikgarten at 11 months. My response is consistently "definitely not". Some parents send their babies as early as when they are in the 4th month! And it's not music lessons per se. It's really more about exposing the babies to the enchanting world of music and movement, and enriching their experience in the learning process.

And don't suppose for one moment that the babies all follow intructions obediently and give their undivided attention to the teacher freely. It's usually complete chaos in there, I tell you!

Butterflies by Rose M. Salinas

I look for the dancers I came to see,
but no one stands out, it's not like I thought it would be.
No kohl darkened eyes or flowing gypsy hair
nor gold coins adorning swirling skirts that flair.

Instead, I see several women seated at a table so quietly.
Conversing softly - they look so ordinary to me.
Bedecked not in jewels but in caftans, plain and dull.
All just kind of average, no special presence or hypnotic pull.

But as I turn to leave something catches my attention
just a sliver of sparkle - not really much to mention.
Then bare toes peeking beneath the hem of their covers,
reds, pinks, and purples like petals on flowers.

In the blink of an eye, a desert wind seems to stir across the room.
The music begins, zills raise, covers drop, and a rainbow of colors bloom,
as a flash flood of coins and bangles shimmer across the floor.
Now, this is more in keeping with Middle Eastern lore.

Before my very eyes, these ordinary women, why they could be you or me,
emerge like butterflies from drab cocoons, beautiful and sensual for all to see.
The magic takes hold as the rhythmic drums pulse through my heart,
and my head swirls dizzily with each beaded skirt.

All that was hidden is now revealed, not just flesh or the glitter of their wear,
but that secret self, the essence of being a woman, self-confident and self-aware.
I want -- no, I need -- to be one of them, to feel that inspiration,
to be secure in the knowledge that each of us is a unique and exotically beautiful creation.

© Rose M. Salinas, 1998

Belly Dancing

I have been looking around to join a dance class for the past 6 months. Fitness One's schedule is unsuitable. Fitness Studio is too far. Heritage Club doesn't seem to have much to offer. So, thanks to my ever resourceful mum (who must have spreaded the word around with the result) that my cousin's wife turned up at our front door one fine morning about a month ago to share with me about this amazing dance class she is attending.

Now what is amazing (according to her) about the dance is that it focuses on trimming our waists and enhancing our (ahem!) breasts and hips; in other words, it is the answer to every woman's dream of having a figure 8. My cousin's wife, Shiao Huey hails from Taiwan, so she spoke to me (a banana) in mandarin. I am proud to say that I caught the gist of what she's saying, assisted by her half demo half explanation of how those steps might concentrate on burning those stubborn fat surrounding my tummy and waist.

Anyway, what with Zerlynde catching chicken pox and my busy work schedule with a KL trip thrown in the way, it was not until last evening that my cousin Choo Choo and I paid the dance instructor a visit to enquire about the dance course. It transpired that this "amazing" dance is no ordinary dance. We're talking serious Belly Dancing here!

So, after work today, I headed straight to the instructor's house situated 5 minutes away from my home, meeting my dance buddy Choo Choo there. Neither sandalwood-scented incense nor veiled exotic goddesses greeted us at the door. What we found instead was a group of 15 women age ranging from 15 to 60 all dressed in sweat pants and short tight t-shirt baring their midriffs, the dress code for the class. (Our dance instructor donned on an extra hip scarf for effect)

To cut a long story short, we spent an hour learning new steps, shimmying (a new vocab I learnt just now from a Belly Dancing website, link provided here) our hips and making complicated arm movement. How did it go? I'll just say that it's SO VERY DIFFICULT! My abdominal muscles weren't co-operative at all, I lost my arms when I focused on my hips and how on earth does one shimmy gracefully? Was I glad my sisters and mum were not there to witness my humiliation. Our instructor Elaine was very patient and paid us newcomers extra attention. I was fairly embarassed at being so stiff (a revelation even to myself!) To prove my point, I couldn't even touch my feet with my hands when my legs were outstretched.

Despite all said and done, I shall brave the great challenges ahead and shall persevere and shall practise whenever I can. And I shall start shopping for a Belly-dancer costume too as an incentive, haha. Who wants to bet if I'd still be shimmying my hips three months from now?

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Our little darling's favourite song..... Click on the link below to see her interpretation of the rhyme.

Zerlynde's latest craze

Of Shadows and Magic

Zerlynde discovered her shadow recently. About 2 weeks ago, I switched off the main light in our bedroom leaving only a tiny light on. Instead of being lulled into sleep, she caught sight of her shadow on the wall and started playing with it, trying to grasp it with her hands.

Last Friday, my hubby exasperated that she was still awake at 1 am, switched off the main light hoping it would remind Zerlynde that it's bedtime and not playtime. To his frustration, she found her shadow again and started to follow it around from one corner of the wall to another. As much as she was fascinated with her new discovery, I was fascinated with her curiousity and playfulness. I watched her for awhile, then showed her how to form butterflies, rabbits and other animals using my hands and fingers. She soon followed suit, moving her fingers and watching her shadows danced in sync. It must be a great enlightenment for her at that precise moment when she learnt that shadows are somehow linked to her!

As I was experimenting with shapes and shadows, my mind inevitably floated back to when I was 5, maybe 6. My father used to fascinate us with what he could create using only his hands, a bit of light and an orange wall. He was our hero then, always enchanting us with various tricks and magic shows. One of his most intriquing tricks was the one about the broken toothpick and the hanky. He would fold a hanky over a toothpick, then broke it into pieces and let us feel the broken pieces with our fingers. When we later unfold the hanky, lo and behold, the toothpick would still be in one piece! I remember I would spent hours pondering over such like phemonema.

Today, my father is still a great conjuror, except he now keeps the magic alive for his grandchildren.

Good bye Lenin!

Hubby and I watched a German movie last Friday screened at the Malaysian-German Society in Penang. A friend brought us there insisting we must give German movies a chance. We were initially not very enthuthiastic and planned to leave after 15 minutes. But as soon as we sat down, we were mesmerised by the film and didn't leave until 120 minutes later!

Movie sypnosis: East Germany, the year 1989: A young man protests against the regime. His mother watches the police arresting him and suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. Some months later, the GDR does not exist anymore and the mother awakes. Since she has to avoid every excitement, the son tries to set up the GDR again for her in their flat. But the world has changed a lot...
Summary written by Benjamin Stello

This is a great film - funny and touching at the same time. No wonder it won the most successful film of the year in 2003. A must-see!

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Click on the following link to find out...

Vocabulary

Zerlynde's recent acquisition are "flower", "ple" for "apple", "meow" for "cat", "ss" for "grass" and "moon". She loves her Baby Einstein Poems for Little Ones book. It introduces her 5 words; apple, cat, grass, flower, snow and moon. And I love the poems in the book.



The Apple Tree by Galway Kinnell

It's the fall, the unfallen apples
hold their brightness
a little longer into the blue air, hold the idea
that they can be brighter


The Cat and the Moon by W. B. Yeats



A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine,
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight....

My Loves by Langston Hughes

I love to see the big white moon,
A-shining in the sky;
I love to see the little stars,
When shadow clouds go by.

I love the raindrops falling
On my rooftop in the night;
I love the soft wind's sighing,
Before the dawn's gray light.

On Children by Kahlil Gibran

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And He said: Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Happy Birthday Hubby

We threw a party at our KL home to celebrate my hubby's birthday last Sunday. There were about 25 of us; family members and close friends. Hubby cooked some prawns Vietnamese style and made some pomalo salad. Mum fried some beehoon. Our friends brought us crispy duck, crispy pork, lamb curry, crab porridge and a Haagen Dazs cake. It was a great feast. The prawns and the pomalo salad were the first to go as you see, hubby is a very good cook!

Live Like It's Heaven On Earth

Hubby and I were invited to a friend's birthday party last Saturday. It was held at the 1st floor of Strudels at Bangsar and was a very grand do indeed. The evening's theme was "Wild Colours, Dancing Feet and Swivelling Hip" and the spirit for the evening was "Dance Like No One Is Watching, Love Like You Will Never Get Hurt, Sing Like No One Is Listening and Live Like It's Heaven On Earth. So I put on my brightest lime green and pink dress and brought along my pair of dancing shoes.

The place was decorated with multi-coloured balloons and crepe papers complete with a "Disco Ball" right in the middle. And there was a DJ who spinned us the most fantastic of songs. I knew he was my type of DJ when he played "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Dancing Queen" and "You To Me Are Everything" all in a row. Hubby and I danced like no one is watching!

A few of us also sang a song for the birthday girl, a combination of Girl from Ipanema and Downtown. It wasn't perfect but we sang like no one is listening!

My friend R truly lives like it's heaven on earth. She celebrated her sizzling sixties that evening but she didn't look or behave a day older than 40! My salute to her!