School Has Started and Back to Routine

The second semester has begun and it's back to the daily routine for the work at home moms. It was a relief cos I don't have to scratch my head to keep little junior busy since he isn't allowed to watch the TV all day.

In two days' time, I'll be busier cos DH will be away for his first missions trip. He is very excited about this trip and had started packing his bag since the weekends. I can see the enthusiasm in him and am very blessed by his desire to serve in simple ways. He prepared himself well and did all the necessary shopping for the trip including getting a raincoat, a manual old-style fan and simple treats for the kids.

We had a very nice Father's day celebration in our friend's house and the kids and dads had lots of fun in two inflatable pools. They gave the dads a garden spa and we even had to bribe the boys to 'scrub' their dads at first! I didn't know what to get for DH and looking back, I should get him one of those binoculars for his missions trip.

Since I won't be joining him for the trip, I can support his team in spirit by committing myself to a morning prayer everyday. With work at home and lots of tasks at hand, I don't think I have much time to laze and relax.

Work At Home Back from Camp

After two weeks of in and out from home, I'm finally sitting in my home office clearing up some outstanding assignments and overdue errands. School holidays aren't so great for work at home moms sometimes cos the daily routine is disrupted.

After being in Malaysia for ten years, I finally attended my first church camp here and it was an awesome decision. I have DH to thank cos he wanted us to experience church camp here before our big move. The speaker, Pastor Sam Firina was a great speaker and coach who outlined the simple concepts of how we can live in the favor of the Almighty. It was a great time of renewal and restoration of the core of our hearts and I am so blessed.

Clayton had a great time at the children's church and the teachers from Penang Christian Centre were great too, as they imparted the simple truths of obedience and attentiveness in the kids. I have teacher ST to thank for her sacrificial and undaunting efforts to stay throughout every kid's session that she didn't even attend any adult's service. God bless her faithfulness.

Now I'm back at home and need to settle few things for mom and the home. There are messes to be cleared and I would have to find out more about sell merchant account for the online business too. Not sure if I can take Clayton to Toy Story 3 before holidays end but we'll see. As soon as I sort out the photos, I will post few here too...

Saturdays and It's Still Work Time

This morning, I got as usual on a nice Saturday morning, prepared brekkie for Clayton and waited to send him to Fly Kidz for his gym class. How many work at home moms don't keep track of public holidays when it falls on Saturdays? I'm one of them!

So as you may expect, I drove all the way to Solaris just to realize that Fly Kidz gym was closed! I didn't even know it's a public holiday! Well, as 'blur' or 'sotong' as I may be, it's a Saturday and it's school holidays so I don't even expect it to be a rest day.

Today is one Saturday I need to finish all the outstanding assignments so I have no choice but to let him enjoy some computer games. Anyway, it's school holidays and he's done his Chinese reading so he deserves a little reward. I need to do some writing and complete a review before my trip on Monday. I know nothing about testosterone booster so I'd better do some research online first.

I hope to spend some time with mom next trip as she isn't feeling too well. Besides, I have a big task in convincing her to make a trip to Taiwan before my big move. Let's hope she says YES to my suggestion! It would be nice for her to spend some time with Clayton in a holiday while there's opportunity.

Weekends for the Work at Home Mom

It's the weekends again and though I work from home, my mind automatically goes on a 'rest mode' when it's Saturday.

Saturdays are relaxing. Kitchen is closed and we hang out in our regular joints, take it easy and laze around the house. Somehow, you don't feel that guilty when you are lazing about on a weekend but the guilt is evident on weekdays. My favourite chocolate store, Royce, had opened up in Tropicana city so I'm been indulging a bit. I hope I won't need fat burners after two boxes of soft chocolates in 2 months. I love the soft texture of Royce chocolate... yummy!

Since I'm off to Singapore on Monday, I should just clear up some work and do some packing this weekend. I look forward to my shopping time during the Great Singapore Sale period and meeting a couple of girl friends over lunch. Clayton is always happy to be back in Singapore and he still likes taking MRTs and traveling in public buses. He is such a good traveler and I thank God for that. With the iPhone being a good entertainment device for him, I can now shop in peace in my favourite boutiques when he's with me.

So here's a good weekend to all and may all work at home moms close their kitchens and pamper themselves with some good times.

Work At Home Mom & Food

In our home, we eat in on the weekdays and the kitchen is closed on the weekends. This arrangement can be tiring if you work at home mom cos you need to set aside at least an hour or more to prepare dinner for the family.

As such, I look forward to weekends as that's a break for me and I can indulge in my favourite foods. These days, we avoid going to mega malls and we prefer to go to neighbour ones to get all our necessities. Being stuck in traffic or driving in circles for a parking lot is never too fun and it's time consuming too.

These days, there are two favourite hunts that we frequent. One is situated near Aman Suria called Betty's Mid West Kitchen and the other is WaterLily in Tropicana. Betty serves very yummy pork ribs at the most affordable prices. We love the homestyle cooking and casual environment... nice people too. No frills and just good food.



Salad with BBQ Squid



BBQ Beef Pasta at WaterLily

WaterLily serves contemporary Balinese food which is affordable and good. The BBQ beef and chicken are my favourite plus the satay lilit. WaterLily also serves western dishes with a balinese twist while the local Balinese dishes remain the popular favourites with their diners. Be warned that portions are quite huge so you may want to order to share.

With all the meaty dinners on the weekends, I may need to start looking at fat burners if I don't exercise enough. So I'm stopping here to head to my rebounder for a good bounce and oh yes, the mid term school holidays are here again and there'll be no more rest for the work at home moms :(

Brief Thoughts on Tropicana City Mall

After being here for 10 years and more, I still dread to visit the post office where the waiting is long and the service is still as inefficient as before. Since I work from home, I only drive out for errands and I avoid visiting post office and banks.

But my woe of posting letters is now solved with a Pos Malaysia now opened in Tropicana city. I had to send something to my dear sister in UK and guess what, at 1pm, I was the only two customers. Not too good for the business but it's good for me :) In the last few months, we have been patronizing the mall on a regular basis due to the convenience and close proximity. We have then since avoid traveling to Bandar Utama due to the bad traffic at the highway. I mean, you don't want to waste more time outside when you are a work at home mom... you just want to quickly get home and get things done!

Chocolate lovers may be happy to know that the Japanese chocolate store, Royce is now opened in Tropicana. You can spot it by the pure white and blue shop interiors. Basically Tropicana city mall is great for serving the basic shoppers' needs. Buy your groceries and household clamps from Carrefour and grab a book at Borders. Go for a manicure at Color Culture or have a Japanese dinner at Sushi Tei. It's a pretty convenient mall to be without having to navigate through the jam and crowd.

Ok I am not paid to promote the mall but just thought I would share it briefly here. So work at home moms, take note of the 'not-so-crowded' post office if you need to pay your bills or mail your parcels.

Work At Home Mom Packing Up for the Move

In preparation for the big move, I've started to do some spring cleaning and packing away some old clothes. The thing I love about being a work at home mom is that I can do a few simultaneously.

So when the internet was out few days ago, I took time to pack away some old clothing and that was when I decided to call the movers for some boxes. I don't like to get to stress up with packing and throwing things out last minute so I thought I would start early. More so, I'll be away at least once every month from this month onwards right til October.

With so much to do on the personal front as well as at work, I am feeling tired before the clock hits 12am every night. Sleeping at midnight is norm for us but I'm not sure if age has a part to play but I am getting tired much earlier than that! The irony is, I can't seem to get to sleep right away even though I'm tired. Sleeplessness seems to be a common problem for many people who usually end up with sleep aids. I tried valerian root many years ago but somehow it didn't worked on me!

Tomorrow is a day off for little junior so I work be able to get much done in the home office. The only way is to allow some computer leisure time and that should allow me to finish some urgent work before we head to Singapore next week.