Monday, October 31, 2011
Most touchscreen smartphones look somewhat the same at a glance - large screen with only one (or two) button. So when I saw my brother-in-law's phone for the first time, I thought he was using an iPhone just like the rest of us. I looked again and noticed the screen. It's slightly larger than mine. Turns out, he's actually using Samsung Galaxy S. I took it, belek-belek a little and thought, "Not bad".
And then he began talking about the newer version: Samsung Galaxy S II.
Apparently, it has a larger screen than the previous one - 4.3" Super Amoled Plus (whatever that is, but that is so large)! Although it is larger, the new technology uses less space and consumes 18% less energy than the previous display, and it's one of the thinnest, longest lasting smartphone to date. The large screen would be easier to play games or watch videos or even for reading, like this guy here, who uses it to read his lecture notes.
Apparently, it has a larger screen than the previous one - 4.3" Super Amoled Plus (whatever that is, but that is so large)! Although it is larger, the new technology uses less space and consumes 18% less energy than the previous display, and it's one of the thinnest, longest lasting smartphone to date. The large screen would be easier to play games or watch videos or even for reading, like this guy here, who uses it to read his lecture notes.
There's also Photo Editor too (not sure whether it's an app that you have to download or if it's included in the camera feature or something). You can crop, add special effects, adjust the brightness, contrast, etc of your photo, just like Photoshop. For someone who likes to take photos and share it with others on Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc, this would be useful.
My favorite feature has got to be the Voice Solution. It's like iPhone 4S' Siri and it enables you to actually talk and command your phone to do major functions like calling, messaging, scheduling and launching apps without you having to do it manually. It's like having a personal assistant! SO cool!
I wonder if it could shop for me.
"Search asos.com. Buy Bow Blouse With Spot Print, size UK10".
That would be even more cool! Ngeh ngeh ;p
How would you use the Voice Solution feature?
Check out http://www.samsung.com/my/lovegalaxysll to see other features, shared by Samsung Galaxy S II users.
Labels: Advertorials, Gadgets
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 12:00 PM | 
Friday, October 28, 2011
Ayra used to get so many mosquito bites on her arms and legs a while back. She didn't get those mosquito bites at home tho; it usually happened when we went to the parks or anyone's house that's surrounded with lots of trees and bushes. I'm not talking about 2-3 mosquito bites; I'm talking 12-13 bites at a time (yes, I actually counted them)!
I wish I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Those damn mosquitoes were having feasts on my little girl! GRRR.
Some of the mosquito bites on her leg
(picture was taken a few months ago)
My poor girl. It was heart-wrenching and very upsetting seeing her scratching her arms and legs vigorously (sometimes she even cried because of the itchiness), which then turned into nasty scars. People probably thought she was being abused! Sometimes sampai muka dan telinga pun kena. Kesian sangat!
It wasn't just the scratching and scarring that worried me, but I feared dengue as well. I remembered my mom pernah pesan dulu, do not take dengue fever lightly because it's deadly! But Alhamdulillah, those mosquitoes that bit Ayra were normal mosquitoes - not the deadly ones. But that doesn't mean I can just ignore them. In fact, we must all be aware of this issue, whether or not you have kids because dengue affects not only babies and children, but also adults.
Last year alone, the dengue death cases in Malaysia had doubled over the past 10 years. It's scary! Who would've thought such a tiny creature can actually "kill" you? Nauzubillah.
Image googled
Dengue virus is transmitted to humans through Aedes mosquito bites. The virus is not contagious tho and it can't be spread directly from person to person. It's a person-to-Aedes mosquito-to-another person pathway. Some of the symptoms of dengue include high-grade fever, severe headache, severe joint and muscle pain, pain when moving the eyes, skin rash and bleeding from the nose, gums and under the skin. If your child especially, is down with a fever and hasn't recovered after 2-3 days, terus bawa pergi jumpa doctor please. Sometimes we tend to take things lightly and think that it's just a normal fever, lepas makan ubat nanti baik la, bla bla bla... But what if it's not? What if it's something serious? Menyesal tak sudah nanti (this is a reminder to myself too). It's better to be safe than sorry.
There are precautions that we can take to prevent mosquito bites, as well as their breeding grounds, such as:
1) Using mosquito repellent. There are mosquito repellents for babies as well so use that for them. I've been making it a routine to apply this on my children especially when we're going out and now Ayra doesn't get mosquito bites as many as she did previously. Pay extra attention to ears, necks and ankles as well.
2) Store water in containers with lids. Do not store water in open containers because Aedes mosquitoes breed in clean water. In fact, always empty stagnant water from pails, trash cans, flower pots and old tires because those could serve as mosquito breeding sites.
3) Use mosquito nets at home, especially for your baby.
4) Limit exposure to mosquitoes by staying indoors 2 hours after sunrise and before sunset. I always make sure that I close all windows by 6pm because Aedes mosquitoes are daytime biter and they usually "attack" around sunrise and sunset.
When it comes to preventing dengue, it's everyone's responsibility and preventative measure must start from home. To make it worse, there is currently no vaccine for dengue so the best thing we can do is to prevent it. Prevention is (always) better than cure. There's no doubt about that!
You can find out more about dengue at http://www.gayahidupsihat.my.
Labels: Random Stuff
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 10:00 AM |
Monday, October 24, 2011
I was busy sorting out some stuff in our room when Ayra came inside, pointed at her forehead and said, "See? Makeup!". And then she ran off to the other room.
OMG.
I left her with some papers and coloring set in the other room earlier to keep herself busy while I do a little bit of unpacking. Ini kerja dia!
This is not makeup la kakak!
Went to their room and was shocked again. Not only did she color herself, she colored her baby sis as well!
Very pretty, girls. Very pretty. -_-
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
OMG.
I left her with some papers and coloring set in the other room earlier to keep herself busy while I do a little bit of unpacking. Ini kerja dia!
This is not makeup la kakak!
Went to their room and was shocked again. Not only did she color herself, she colored her baby sis as well!
Very pretty, girls. Very pretty. -_-
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 3:47 PM |
Thursday, October 20, 2011
I have never made cheesecakes in my whole life, even tho it's my husband's favorite. Bukan susah pun kan, but I don't know why I haven't tried making one. That is, until a few nights ago. Don't know if it can count as cheesecake because this recipe by Nigella Lawson is SUPER easy and quick to make. But the name is still cheesecake so yea, I guess I finally made a cheesecake!
This recipe doesn't require baking, so don't worry if you're not a baking queen. Trust me when I said it's super easy. And it's heavenly too! My husband keeps on asking if there's anymore left (I made those 3 nights ago).
Oh by the way, the name is actually Cheesecake In A Glass, but I used ramekins instead because I don't have those fancy glasses, hence the name.
You need:
200 g fresh strawberries
1 tsp superfine sugar
1/2 cup shortbread cookies
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tbsps icing sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Put the shortbread cookies into a ziplock bag.
Oh, funny thing about the cookies. I texted my husband to buy shortbread cookies and he thought it was a type of bread. He said he couldn't find one. I said no, it's cookies, not bread, so he searched again at the supermarket and bought.... panda.
Panda shortbread cookies!
Hentam saja lah.
So anyway, put the cookies in a ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin (I don't have one so I just bashed with my fist!) until you have a bag of sandy crumbs.
Next, whisk cream cheese and icing sugar in a bowl. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice and vanilla, then whisk again gently. It's almost ready now.
Divide the cookie crumbs equally and put at the bottom of each ramekin (or glass).
Spoon a few dollops of cream cheese mixture, covering the layer of cookies.
And finally, top with the diced strawberries.
Looks pretty, no? I think it'd be perfect for dinner parties. I could already imagine serving this as a dessert for my housewarming party or something.
YUM!
Labels: Food and Recipes
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 10:00 PM |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
My house is in such a BIG mess. There are boxes and plastic bags and luggages everywhere... coz we're moving out soon, insyaallah (yay)!
I have a few stuff that I MUST let go, mostly my clothes...
Yes, I'm selling all of those. Hurry, check out Shopper's Sanctuary (don't forget to check out Older Posts as well).
Baby girl shoes coming right up!
Labels: Sales and Shopping
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 10:17 AM |
Monday, October 17, 2011
My husband is a HEE-UGE fan of football.
That photo was taken by my husband when he went to watch Manchester United's game in Bukit Jalil. I'm not sure when tho - probably a couple of years ago?
So anyway, there will be 2 winners monthly who will be able to experience "The Ultimate Man Utd Experience" contest. They will each get a VIP ticket, return air tickets, accommodation, Old Trafford Stadium tour, visit Manchester United museum and best of all... a possible chance to meet and greet Man Utd players (subject on players' availability) and a visit to their dressing room! Kipas-susah-nak-mati (die-hard fans) pasti akan jadi gila, especially girls. I can already imagine them, leaving fan-love notes on their favorite players' lockers!
At first it kinda annoyed me a bit, especially when he screamed "GOAAALLLL!!!!!" at the top of his lungs while punching his fists up in the air. If I have a heart attack, I could die instantly. -_-
But now I'm used to it. He understands that I love shopping and I try to understand his love for football. He allows me to shop until the mall closes while he babysits the girls at home, and I let him watch football games at the stadium with his kekasih gelap, ijaicool. See? We're compromising.
But seriously girls, if you wanna see your man being emotional, sit with him when he watches a football game. One minute he would cheer happily (sometimes even clapping his hands), the next minute he would bark at the players. Oi, passing la bola tu! Apa benda main macam ni! OUT!!! Suddenly he's the football coach, coaching from in front of the TV (as if the players could hear him). It's hilarious, I'm telling you! And when their favorite team lost the game, guys can get so upset as if someone had died! Haha. Oops... I mean, sorry.
Anyway, my husband's favorite football team is the world's number one football club. Manchester United! Well if I had to pick a football team, I would also choose Manchester United because it's my husband's favorite team, and also because the handsome David Beckham was a former player! :D
That photo was taken by my husband when he went to watch Manchester United's game in Bukit Jalil. I'm not sure when tho - probably a couple of years ago?
When I first heard that Manchester United was coming to Malaysia, I was like, "Wow. They're coming here to play football? Really?".
But I was even more wow-ed when I heard about "The Ultimate Man Utd Experience" contest. Malaysian Man Utd's fans will have the opportunity to watch their live matches at Old Trafford in the UK for FREE! Apparently, Mister Potato has become the Official Global Snack Partner of Manchester.
It's such an honor for the company to be associated with an iconic, global brand like Man Utd. And in conjunction with that, Mister Potato had just came up with new packaging on their products, featuring Man Utd's players (like Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Park Ji-Sung, etc) and also a few new range of chips.
New Mister Potato Crisps flavor: Fiery Hot & Spicy
The new range: Mexican Wave Chips
The Mexican Wave Chips comes in 4 flavors: Mexicana Cheese, Ole! Hot & Spicy, Viva Seaweed and BBQ Fiesta, but I only managed to try 3 of them. My favorite is the cheese one because I just love cheeeeese! In fact, I'm actually munching on them as I'm typing this.
Can't stop munching. Help!
If you would like to try your luck to win "The Ultimate Man Utd Experience" contest, you just need to buy any Mister Potato Man Utd edition products and get the SMS code card that's inside the pack, like this:
Answer the question that's on the back of the pack (really simple question!) in BM and follow the instructions prompted. Then submit your entries either via SMS or online (FREE) at www.mister-potato.com. I prefer submission via online because it's free and easy. So hurry, go grab Mister Potato contest pack and join the contest now! Good luck!
Labels: Advertorials, Contests
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 1:30 PM |
Went to this, yesterday morning.
Books for me (lots of chick lits)
To be honest, I've never heard of BBW before (except in Little Red Riding Hood).... until last week, when a few friends mentioned it on Twitter. They were having massive MASSIVE sale on books and everyone was raving about it - it's basically a heaven for book lovers and being one myself, I didn't wanna miss it!
We only managed to go there on the very last day, which was yesterday. We arrived at 10.30am and it was already packed with people.
The first thing I saw when I entered the hall was this!
Shopaholic books for RM8 each weh!!! I just have to get 'em (even tho I've read them). In fact, all novels were only RM8 each. Crazy, right??! But since it was the last day, most of the good books are sold out. Banyak buku yang tak pernah dengar (to me, at least). If only we went there few days earlier....
Shopaholic books for RM8 each weh!!! I just have to get 'em (even tho I've read them). In fact, all novels were only RM8 each. Crazy, right??! But since it was the last day, most of the good books are sold out. Banyak buku yang tak pernah dengar (to me, at least). If only we went there few days earlier....
I didn't get to browse the books betul-betul tho - what with the crowd and my kids and my bags. Challenging betul! And I couldn't find the books I wanted - parenting, children and desserts books especially. Like I said, there were a lot of unfamiliar ones. But I saw so many books by Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver and I thought to myself, I'll take it later. Nak browse lain dulu. What I was thinking??! Of course the books were all gone by the time I went there the second time. Bahhh! Menyesal! >_<
I couldn't help glancing over at other people's loots while browsing the books. Saw some interesting books and I wondered how and where did they find those books. Aku round 2 kali tak jumpa pun! Anyway, people were carrying boxes, trolleys...some even brought luggage! I only brought my Envirosax shopping bags. There were still room for more books actually but I couldn't tahan anymore - the kids were cranky, the crowd was getting larger and my shoulders macam nak patah from all that carrying.
Can you imagine how I carried all those in the crowd of people -
my handbag and pink shopping bag on one shoulder, orange shopping bag on the other shoulder, while carrying Raina in front. I think I carried 20kg altogether!
Seronok dapat bebas dari kesesakan!
So here are my haul:
Books for me (lots of chick lits)
And for my girls (seriously, tak banyak children books yang tinggal)
All 16 books for only RM122. It's totally a steal if you ask me! Despite not being able to get the books that I really wanted, I'm still very happy with my purchase! I will surely come again next year (kalau ada. Mestilah ada lagi kan?).
Labels: Books, Events/Activities
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 11:00 AM |
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Went to watch The Secret Life of Nora at Istana Budaya last Saturday. I haven't watched any movies, live shows and whatnots for months I think (that's pretty normal when you have kids) so I jumped at the chance when I was given complimentary tickets to watch this one!
Went there with my sister, Wani
This is only my second time watching musical theatre (I'm not really the artsy type) but I really enjoyed this one. The Secret Life of Nora is set in a glitzy and glamorous 1960's Malaya and it features star-studded casts including Tiara Jacquelina, Aznil Hj Nawawi, Adibah Noor, Tony Eusoff and Broadway heartthrob, Ryan Silverman (he played as Raoul in The Phantom of The Opera).
The story is about how Nora, a popular but protected prima donna, becomes a spy and involved in a mission to help uncover an evil operation with the help from a suave British secret agent, Roger Foss. Here are some photos of the scenes, taken from The Secret Life of Nora Facebook page.
This is the scene where Betty (played by Stephanie Van Driesen) sings Kau Yang Menulis
in Nora's dressing room. Her voice reminded me of Disney Princess!
One of my fave characters is Aznil.
He's just hilarious! (he always is, isn't he?)
The sexy dance
Girls performing aerial choreography. Hebat!
Tiara Jacquelina has a powerful voice and I never knew she could sing really well! And Aznil... Haha, he's the funniest! He's the bad guy in this story but a cute bad guy. You see, he has a lisp problem and he cannot pronounce the letter 'R' correctly so it sounded like 'W'. Nora jadi "Nowa". Russia jadi "Wassia", Raub jadi "Waub" and so on. Sumpah comel gila, macam budak kecik pelat! The audience were laughing out loud sebab tak tahan kelakar comel! I actually enjoyed every minute of this play - the beautiful sets and costumes, the melodious songs, the dancing, the graceful aerial choreography, everything - and so does my sister. In fact, she's planning to watch it again for the second time!
It was a 2.5-hour show (with a 20-minute break in between) by the way. We managed to snap some pics after the show...
No, I wasn't poking my nose ;p
Ryan Silverman is sooo handsome! I saw him later after the show just outside the hall (he changed into a simple t-shirt) but I was too shy to ask for a phota. Damn! (plus, he was with a lady - his gf or wife maybe?).
There were a few The Secret Life of Nora goodies on sale too, such as notebooks, t-shirts, posters, sunglasses...
My sister couldn't resist trying on some of the sunnies
And posed in front of the booth ;p
I was being interviewed about the show.
As usual, I was quite nervous. Man, I hate being nervous!
Met a few of our readers too
We were waiting for the photo and autograph session with the casts but there were none.
Snap pic dengan ni pun jadi la.
The Secret Life of Nora is actually the first bilingual musical in Malaysia and it is staged at Istana Budaya from 29th September - 16th October 2011. There'll be 3 additional shows on the 20th October till 22nd October 2011 at 8.30pm (no matinee shows). Tickets can be purchased at Istana Budaya Box Office or online at airasiaredtix.com. Go watch it, I recommend it!
Labels: Advertorials, Events/Activities
She slipped off her pink stilettos at 9:00 AM |