Welcoming Spring: Magnificent Magnolias @ Xinzhuang Park

We have been enjoying lovely spring-like weather in the last few days. On Saturday, the mercury rose to a warm and sunny 20C! It was a good day to resume our favourite weekend activity - park-visiting. We went to Xinzhuang Park, which is about 20 minutes' walk from our home...

Main entrance of the park

It is a star-rated park... one of the better ones in the city.

This park is supposed to be famous for its (pink) plum blossoms but at the moment, only the magnolia trees are in full bloom!

Close-up of the white magnolia flowers

Magnolia trees in different shapes and sizes

The weather was absolutely perfect... sunny (but not hot at all!) with clear blue skies. 

These pagoda-roofed huts are all over the park. Many elderly folks were seen lepak-ing here, either playing traditional musical instruments or even dancing!

Ancient Chinese garden

A striking-pink dunno what blossom

Nice park... scenic, serene and shady

Spotted a group of people in ancient Chinese costume... probably part of a filming crew 

Bonsai garden (only one plant here, oops...)

Paddle boats for rent

Roar! :)

Happiness is...

... going for 下午茶 (afternoon tea) with mummy after school...

Afternoon tea and shopping. 

Just the two of us. 

Only on Fridays.

Only when I get all-correct for my weekly ting xie and spelling ;)

Worsened Myopia

I went for an eye check-up 2 weekends ago after complaining to mummy that I couldn't see the writing on the white-board in class. We went back to the same hospital where I had my last check-up done in April 2013. 

After a brief examination by an ophthalmologist, we were told that the power on both my eyes have increased tremendously from R1.75/L2.50 to R5.00/L6.00... in just 11 months! To confirm the accuracy of this prescription, I was put through the torment of eye dilation. I HATED this procedure because the eye drop caused very uncomfortable stinging sensation in my eyes and I had to do it like 5 times! 

After the eye dilation, my eyes were re-tested and the same result was obtained, confirming the accuracy of the earlier prescription. Now, how did my eyesight deteriorate so drastically? And over such a short period of time? Daddy and mummy were just as baffled as they were upset. Too much reading, maybe?

I was then referred to the in-house optometrist (the hospital had their own optical centre) and he too, expressed shock and concern over my drastic power increase. He suggested more outdoor activities and encouraged me to play sports like ping pong or badminton. Daddy immediately went to buy a ping pong set after that haha!

Last Saturday, we went back to the hospital to collect my new spectacles...

My new specs... Nice?

The new frame is quite similar to my old one... so I still look pretty much the same

Cartoon-themed (喜羊羊) frame that I picked on my own... I love it very much!

The very kind, friendly and helpful optometrist spent close to half an hour talking to daddy and mummy, giving them advice and tips on proper eye care. He also gave us 2 eye charts so that we could do a home-monitor regularly...

Our home looking like an eye clinic now 

My Bestie, Trisha

One of my best friends in school is Trisha. She was the very first girl who talked to me when I joined this school as a new pupil in Grade 1 last year. Everyday, I come home from school telling mummy Trisha Stories. Day in, day out, it has always been "Trisha this...", "Trisha that...". 

Last week, Trisha and her family moved back to their home country, India, so I have lost a good friend at school. News of her leaving Shanghai saddened me since January this year. I kept counting down the days left to play with her :( On Trisha's last day of school, we had a farewell party for her in class. I also wrote her a note and gave her a small gift...

Ooh, I have hopes of visiting India! 

Trisha and I during last year's Sports Day

Trisha and I were partners in a Science project

We now keep in touch through emails. I wrote her a short email a few days ago and was very thrilled to receive her reply! :) 

My Precious Pet Worms

Recently, I brought home a cup of earthworms from school. It was part of my Science project where I learned about earthworms and their habitat. As soon as I reached home, I laid out the rules for mummy to follow.

1. They need to stay in a dark place. Do not open the black paper (cover) ok!

2. They can only eat wastes and wet leaves.

3. They cannot eat chilli or anything spicy. They also cannot eat garlic, onion, sour things and dairy products (teacher said). 

4. They dislike vibration and rough movements. I guess they must have hated the bus ride home just now hehe...

It didnt occur to mummy how much I loved and adored these squirmy little creatures until this conversation took place the following morning before I left for school...

Me: Mummy, later remember to feed them lunch, ok?

Mummy: *teasingly* OK, I'll pour some milk in later.

Me: No! Milk is a dairy product and they can't take it.

Mummy: Then I'll chop some garlic for them...

Me: NO! Cannot! 

Mummy: *still wanted to irritate me further as usual* Oh, they like sour things, right? Maybe some lemon juice will do. 

Me: Noooooooo!!! I have a hidden camera in the house and I can see you. I also have a hidden hammer that will come out and bang your head if you give any of these! 

Mummy: @-@

A play dough worm that I made before bringing back the real ones. Notice my wrong spelling for "anus" and "segmented" hehe...

Me and my precious wormies...

The habitat that I made on my own by filling a plastic cup with alternate layers of sand and soil. Teacher gave me 4 worms to put inside.

Can you spot Worm 1? ;)

Weekend Getaway

Last Saturday was mummy's birthday. Birthdays don't always fall on a Saturday so when the chance came this year, daddy booked a 2D1N stay in a hotel in the city. Good hotels in Shanghai are actually quite affordable. For only RM200+, we got a nice room in a 5-star hotel, inclusive of buffet breakfast for 2 (FOC for me too).

It was a wonderful weekend of total relaxation and fun. We lazed on bed and snacked on our favourite food all day long. Nothing could be more blissful than this! :)

The big, cosy bed!

The standard room was a bit small but comfortable enough for us (cos no luggage)

Some of the activities that kept me occupied 

Teatime at the lobby

I enjoyed the buffet breakfast very much!

The Evils of Ngaku Chips

I am not a food person and eating is not the most important thing to me. Even when I'm hungry, I never bother to look for food/snacks. During this year's CNY, while both daddy and mummy over-indulged in food and suffered horrendous 3-day and 7-day diarrhea respectively, I "under-indulged" and ate a lot less than them. Very often, mummy had to shove cookies and other CNY tidbits to me and tell me to "EAT!" Well, she shoved almost everything to me except this...

Ngaku (arrowhead) chips... my favourite! I think this is about the only festive snack that I ate without being told to :p

Last Sunday, the 3 of us munched away half a container of ngaku chips and few handfuls of muruku in one sitting. Mummy should have known better. I am very prone to throat infections whenever I take fried food. The same thing happened in previous years too. After eating chips --> developed sore throat and fever. This year, although mummy did try to balance things out a little by making me eat one whole cucumber before taking the chips, the inevitable still happened. I developed a high fever of 39C+ after coming back from school on Monday evening. Sigh! This persistent fever lasted 3 days and I had to skip 2 days of school :(

No thanks to you... you bad, bad ngaku chips!! 

Ngaku chips and other junkies that we hand-carried all the way back to Shanghai (almost half of these were shared with daddy's colleagues). 

Despite the high fever, I did not see a doctor. Mummy diligently made me cucumber and fruit juice and voila... I got well without any antibiotics (only took some paracetamol to keep the temperature under control). 

Sick... looking all flushed with rosy cheeks :)

P.S. This is the first time I fell sick in winter and it is no joke. I shivered in the cold although I was wrapped up like a mummy and the heater was on. It was difficult for the fever to subside because I couldn't sweat. I hope I won't fall sick in winter again!!!

CNY Hometrip

We went back to Malaysia for CNY from 25/1 to 8/2. It was quite a busy and eventful 2-week break for us. First of all, it felt great to be able to escape the wintry coldness for a while, nevermind the scorching hot weather back home. We love the sun and the heat more than anything else... no need to put on layers and layers of clothing, no need to dread bath time, less laundry work for mummy etc. haha! 

However, 14 days seemed a bit short and time flew by so quickly that we did not manage to meet everyone on our "to visit" list. Besides spending time with our loved ones back home, we also did a lot of eating, shopping, running errands (esp banking) and commuting between Seremban and PJ. We even managed to squeeze in a hotel stay at the very last minute! 

Here's a summary of what we did, in photos...

Started the trip with an unusual snack... munching on blanched broccoli at the Pudong Airport haha! Mummy had this one last perishable to clear from her fridge, that's why ^^

HOME SWEET HOME!!! On our first night at home... Oh, I missed my bed so much! 

At the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra where we watched "The Mozart Experience"

Do re mi... with cousins Jeremy and Hayley at MPO

CNY in Mah-mah's house

CNY in Yee Por's house (with Ah Ma's family)

CNY decor in The Curve

CNY decor in Sunway Pyramid

Indulging in one of our many makan-makan spree

2nd day of CNY... "Hoi nin" in a Korean restaurant with Mah-Mah and Koo-Koo

Hotel stay in PGH *yawn*

Enjoying the sun and the pool 

We took the KTM Commuter twice... to and from Seremban-Subang Jaya

Seeing double... mirror effect in a cafe taken by daddy ;)

With cutie pie Abbygail... one of mummy's bestie's daughter 

Finally, we went for a night swim in our apartment pool.... one last warm dip before we returned to freezing Shanghai the next day. Nice! 

Guess what? Snow greeted us just one day after our return to the Mainland :)

Puke Princess and Her Justification

In our recent flight back from Hong Kong to Shanghai (we flew Cathay Pacific and had to transit in HKG from KUL), I played "Puke Princess" again after having this meal on board...

I enjoyed the meal very much (especially the dim sum from mummy's tray)...

However, I started feeling queasy towards the end of the flight and as the plane was "circling in the air" preparing to land, I did it again. This time around, the air sickness pouch was already on standby so it was a mess-free affair :) As mummy was putting away the partially-filled puke pouch, she teased me...

Mummy: See, you wasted the Haagen Dazs ice cream and all the nice food. They are all inside here now *pointed to the puke pouch*

Me: No! I've already tasted and enjoyed it so it is NOT wasted. Even if I didn't vomit this out, later when I poo-poo, it will also come out of my body wat...

Mummy: ..........