TIME & LIFE CHANGING

It has been a while since I last wrote about those exciting items that I bought from the Garage sales. Since then, I have some other interesting clocks added to my collection..

By now I have more than 40 clocks in my collection. All clocks are working and displayed to remind me that time will keep moving no matter what. If I want to make thing happen, I should make it happens today. Yes, there is always "Tomorrow" for us to catch up. We fail to realize that once "today" is gone it falls into "Yesterday" ans we are not able to gain back the day to our lives any more. It is not possible for us to duplicate, rewind or change whatever we have done or happened yesterday. There is no way that we can re-date today to be 5th August 2009 this lifetime

However, once a while, I like to remain myself in the past. Perhaps there are things that I like to keep, situation that I hope to change; Some not quite good action that I hope to recall or even to hold back some bad decisions or some sweet moment that I hope will stay.

This is why I love to take and collect my own photos .............Each photo tells me how my image change with the passing of days,months and years that will never return to my life any more.

Our image will never be the same with the clicking of time .......every clock tells me I have to treasure every second that I have .......

The following 2 photos are definitely not my favourable collection. However, they are here to remind me that I look terrible and uncomfortable with long hair. Perhaps this should be my attempt to allow my hair to cover my ears ! :):):)

Now, I feel so much better with short hair.

When the age number is "+", my hair is "-" (:(:(:

I love my silver hair at both side..... Not need to highlight !! :):):):)

IT'S MY LUCKY SATURDAY!!!

It's one of those days that we hope thing will move as planned, scheduled, and happened the way we wanted it to be . Yesterday was my normal routine for Saturday......Go Garage Sale. Nothing much could I expect during summer day. There is less garage sale to shop around.

But, it turned out to be even more interesting and exciting than I could have anticipated!

So, I got these pots that I can use when some of my plants need a bigger pots!!!

Asking price $10 ... my price $1.00

Asking Price $15....... My price $7.00 Come with dried flowers !

$2.00 for this original Painting ( No bargain. owner sold me cheap)

Then at our last stop, I spotted this wild peacock resting at one of the cars parked at the visitors parking lots. I went as close as possible so that I could snap the photos

As proud as Peacock ????

Say "Hello" to me ... " Do you have any food for me ? "

"Sorry, You are unexpected Friend, I don;t have anything for you!"

See How friendly is this proud peacock. I was touching its bead

I could have caught it home if I wasn't that aggressive & anxious to touch it !! :(:(

hmmmmm. if I ever have the chance to meet it again .. it will be mine....... for sure.

Meanwhile, I am happy with my 3 birds at home.... We love to look at them, play with them .. they are our darlings !! They give us joys & fun!! Ah Don tends to pamper "Forever" and I want to discipline her !! We have different approach to handle pets!! :(:(:(

See how beautiful is my "Forever "!!! She is growing Fast & "FAT" ha ha ha ha..

I love this picture. 2 parakeets are like penguins standing behind the " Forever "

"We are happy together at the patio. We like sharing food, fly a bit and back to get some foods but we do not like the idea of living in the same cage ! "

WHAT'S HAPPENED ???

This is how we celebrated 4th July 2009 and the Strasburger Family Reunion in Indiana!

There was a lot of fun........!!! Particularly when I have the chance to "Abused" the following people in the Pictures ! ha hahahahahah.. Just love it !!

We have a eventful and fun night together. I am thankful to everyone for being supportive and sporting in participating all games that I organised for the night.

The significant event was the decade celebration for members who are going to be 50, 60 , 70 & soon to be 90!!!!

We have jigsaw competition, newspaper dressing design contest, face painting . The most exciting one is the American Idol !!! You got to see how our judges worked their way to be real !!!

We casted th vote for the best & the Worst American Idol!! Gramma is the winner!!!

Ah Don will capture and edit into DVD.

Hmmmm... There will be more fun to view the video with sound effect !

DEADLY CACTUS TURN GREAT WITH FLOWER!

About 5 weeks ago, I bought this pot of cactus from an estate sale. It was completely neglected for months without watering. It was dry and part of the branches were turning from green to red and white.

I thought I might be able to save the plant with more care. The asking price was $10 and I bargianed to $3.00 ; it came with a rusty stand that required some touching up.

As soon as we took it home, I topped some soil and watered the plant every morning. I watched how the stems graudually turn from white to red then to green.......

Then one morning, I noticed a small bud coming out from one of the stems !! Gradually,it grows bigger and bigger. . When we left for Family Reunion in Indiana on 2nd July, I was disappointed and thought we might miss the chance to see it blooms into flower since we would be away for 5 days....... but, to our surprise... the bud waited for us as though it wanted us to witness the fruit of my effort.

The following photo was taken this morning before we left for work. It looks like the bud I is big enoughand should open or burst by today. The bud is very hard and solid.....we were anxious to see what are inside !! this is the first time I planted this kind of cactus. Certainly I couls not wait to see its tranformation!! It's strange to have such a big bud with unhealthy stems!!!

This evening, when we reached home, the first thing I did was to rush to the patio to see what happened to this bud ......I was so excited to see the flower wide opened ! It is so sweet and unique !!!! I love it.........

There are still some white stems that require more time to be good !
One small bulb is blooming soon !


I am so glad that all my plants are doing well.

I hope to have a place where I can have more plants in the garden rather than at the patio ! :):):)

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While we were away, our boss helped to take care of our Cockatiel " Forever". The 2 parakeets were doing fine at home. They were all excited to see us home. We are thinkingof getting another cockatiel for her company. "Forever" is definately our sweet heart right now. Our boss likes her very much too. She is growing fast. She is getting pampered by us only in the evening. She knows when she can get out from the cage and jump on our shoulders!

OUR 3 BIRDS

These are our lovely pets.... Putera, Puteri and the new comer "Forever" the cockatiel.

"Forever" is tame,discipline,sociable and smart. She likes to stand on our shoulders. Unlike the other 2 parakeets, we still can't get close to them even after 9 months They were very scared when we first tried to put "Forever" into their cage. After few attempts, now they are fine for this new friend to hang around in their cage for a while !!! Sooner, we need to get a bigger cage for Forever.

See, this is the favorable place for "Forever" She likes to play with the chain !

Ah Don likes to carry her around.. She is his new love !

I was teaching "Forever" how to kiss... hmmm.. this is my first lesson.
She is learning fast......

The weather is very hot this summer..... I don't like hot sun.... For the fun of walking and hopping from one garage sale to another I have to bear the hot sun and the dark skin. Look at my hands and the arms. There are multi-color tone ! :(:(

I stopped taking much picture of myself recently. I noticed that my face has changed. Well, I hate to use the word "old" but it is written on my face !! I like to look at my old photos.... I think some oldest photos gave me sweet memory. The reason for putting my ugly photos here is to allow me to view them I am more "matured".... like when I am 70 ??

Wait ! I don't think I will live up to 70 because one fortune teller told me that I will die at 67....and it's really not very far away from now;

Do I worry ? No ! I am ready for the day to come. 2 great stars passed away yesterday. It is shocking and sad to hear someone die. We have to accept that every one has to die one day when on gets old. I really people who have strong fighting spirit to survive. Definitely...it won't be me. If I were diagnosed with terminal illness, I would opt to die. I don't want to go through horrible treatment. I can't stand to suffer the pain and the process of treatment.

This is my decision and I am writing it in my blog ... I want to die beautifully if possible

I am thankful to have a good family, a lovely husband and a wonderful daughter and now I have 3 birds to play with. What more should I ask beside good health ???

Nicole's Graduation

The evening of the day after I arrived in Seattle my daughter Nicole celebrated her graduation from High School.


There were 589 students attending the graduation ceremony. It was not easy getting pics during the ceremony. However, below are a few of the scenes I captured.

Jaclyn Sings

The evening, of the day I arrived in Seattle, my daughter Jaclyn performed in the school's choir concert.

Below are some scenes from that performance.

Disney World With Dwang And Amy

WOW! Times flies when your having fun.



Anyway, finally getting some pics and video together. Here is the video when we went to Disney World. Spent the day in the Magic Kingdom.

OUR 4TH ANNIVERSARY !

When people get older,(I like to use "matured" instead of "old"for myself !) , people wanted time to move slower but it spins even faster than before !!

This is particular true in my situation. It seems like only a couple of days ago that I was thinking very hard to decide should I come to USA or should I just drop the idea. But, I am right here is USA for more than 4 years and today is our 4th Anniversary.


To mark this occasion, Ah Don bought a cockatiel for me 2 days ago and we named it " Forever" Since our "whatever" is gone; we want this cockatiel to be with us forever just like our marriage.

I woke up early this morning as usual to prepare my breakfast and cook lunch to bring to work. But when Ah Don came from from upstairs he gave me a big hug and told me that he is very happy to marry me !!... What a nice & sweet word !!

I think, we have learned and got to know each other very well . We are fully aware that a good marriage is 2 ways and we have to be sincere, caring and understanding to each other.

When I went upstairs to get myself ready for work .... then I saw a Coach paper bag on our bed...... OH OH OH!!! it is a lovely Coach bag from Ah Don!!!

I love this Coach bag...it is very nice and elegant. Thank You Ah Don..... but you have to stop buying any more handbag to me......hahahahahaha....

After work, we went to Bangkok restaurant for dinner. No wine for me.... as I would feel sleepy after a glass.....It was a nice evening, good food & good talk !!:):):)

Latest Edition To Our Family

Here is the latest edition to our family. We named the cockatiel, Forever. It is one of Ah Don's Anniversary gifts to BYL.

AH DON IS AWAY AGAIN

Ah Don seems to have more travelling recently..... first he went to Jason's house is New Jersey last month to help the painting work to his new house then it turned out he became a Door Fixer !! ha hahahah

For this trip, he went to Seattle to see his 2 daughters; So, I am left alone at home for 5 nights (to be exact .... 10th to 15th AM!!!! ) He is there to attend Nicole's graduation from High School; He is also there with his earnest desire to find out why the girls are mad with him lately.

One of the girls said " WE need to talk!" So I hope they will TALK it out loud and clear the air with open heart. There is no misunderstanding that can not be solved or clarified.

With that particular mission to accomplished, I decided not to join him for this trip. I believe, it's good for me not to set my hand. All I know is that I have not been their favourable person.

As for me, I have been a single mom myself. I know what would be the side effect of failing marriage. I brought up my daughter all by myself and taught her from very young that she has to respect and connect with her father no matter what; Do not blame him for not supporting her.One thing I could be sure he loves and cares for her; it was only during his bad time that he was unable to help out. I had a good job so that wasn't a problem then. With the respect and the connection that established, I am thankful that he is there for her since I left Malaysia.

As I am writing this, Ah Don sent me an Email that he is checking out from the hotel...so he is leaving Seattle this evening. Hope everything will work out fine for him. Poor guy, he has to travel overnight and be here tomorrow morning with red eyes!!! I will go to work as usual. Luckily, we have a new colleague Chris who is kind to fetch me to work!

Missing my Garage Sale is something that cannot made good like relationship!
For garage sale, once the things are gone... they are gone.. For relationship,there are times & opportunities for both parties to reconsider and reconcile before calling it off.

Hahahahaha... I have been reading a lot of letters to Annie and Abby that I think I am able to see the situation much clearer these days. I have learned to adopt "one step forward and 2 steps back" kind of thing....:):):)

My mother's memorial day falls on June 17th.....as usual I will draft my message for my brothers to insert in the local paper to mark this memorial day. This is the only thing that I can express how much I missed My mother. She was a great mommy on earth. I weep whenever I think of her. I was not by her bed side to see her gone.This has been my greatest regret in life. Even with her last breath, she told my siblings that she wanted to make sure that there is someone to take care of me after she is gone. Mom ..... your love for me is so great ! You are my role model forever.

Ah Don, if you are reading this.... I believe you must be the one arranged by my mom to take care of me, Right ?? :):):):):)

Memorial Day Weekend

Here are some pics from the holiday picnic in New Jersey. We were not there so I copied these from my nephew's facebook album (hope he doesn't mind).

Grandson Marc

Fun in the pool

Sons Jason and Chris

Granddaughter Brooke

Jayme needs to learn how to eat !!!

Grandson Hayden

Weekend In New Jersey

I spent last weekend in New Jersey helping my son Jason with his new house. I arrived Thursday evening and returned Monday evening. Most of the time was spent hanging new doors. Had to match the new doors to the old doors, cut a little off the width and/or hieght and chisel out the space for the hinges. It was tiring but felt good to see the new doors hanging all over the house.

The following is a short video of my grandkids. Marc is eleven and over 5 feet tall. Brooke is 6 and not a whole lot shorter than Marc. Hayden is 2 and of course is the cutest kid in the world. (Hmmm I think I said that about Marc and Brooke when they were 2.) Anyway, just a short video so you can see the kids being kids.

I AM ALONE BY MYSELF

Ah Don was invited by Jason to his new house at new Jersey. The house needs touching work. So Ah Don is there to "PAINT" the house ... Look like he is an expensive painter !! Definitely, he is going to share his good time with Jason & Chris together with 3 lovely grand kids there. Have not seen them since last X'mas! I reminded him we are no longer young! He has to do the work within his limit to prevent over strain himself and suffer later on !

Ah Don left on Thursday evening. The weather wasn't nice but he made it to Philadephia with 20 minutes delay. He will be back on Monday. I am all by myself for 5D/4 N with my 2 birds!:(:(:(

Today is Saturday and it's 10:30 AM!!!!!! Rightfully, we should be shopping around from one garage sale to another. !!! Without Ah Don around, I am unable to do that. Poor me!... I still lack the confidence & courage to drive at the wrong side of the road here !!!

I planed to make full use of this weekend to tidy my books and stuff so that I can list them in Half.com or ebay..... hmmmm but I was hooked up in the facebook and started chatting with one SGI member who is back to Malaysia.

Well.... this is exactly one of those unforeseen situation that could happen where we could be caught or out of hand when we are not disciplined enough or so not set up our priority clearly...... Sometime, we could be in a situation where it is difficult to say "NO"

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Now, I am back here... I want to talk about about my 2 birds....As any weekend morning, I took the cage out to the patio... opened the cage door.... sat there to watch them with my breakfast yogurt & banana in hand........I waited and waited, time passed by and none of them made any attempt to leave the cage !! I got impatient... put my hand in... then "Putera" came out right away,

"puteri" was unable to find its way to fly out. She remained in the cage running about trying to get herself out between the grills of the cage not knowing the door is wide open for her !Obviously, "putera" is smarter than "Puteri".... Poor "Puteri" was screaming for "Putera" to come back !!! "Putera" stayed out for a while and came back to the cage. Now they are both in the cage again.....Freedom is not what they want I guess !

Talking about "Freedom" ... It reminds me of my conversation with my lady boss yesterday in the office.

I said " Yo yo yo... so good.... without Don around..... I have full freedom to do whatever I want for this weekend ! "

Immediately, she asked me doubtfully " What can you do with your freedom, Margot ???"

OMG! I have not thought about it !! What a good question !!!...... That's right ! What can I do ?? I have no other friends, I can't drive, I don't even know where to go !!! so what's the freedom for ??? Oh dear, I am just like "putera" and "Puteri" have to remain indoors !! :(:(:(:(:( Sad!

This is definitely a "WAKE UP CALL " for me..... I need to look for the solution.

Now , I have to ask myself seriously..."Where can I go ? What could I do if something happen to Ah Don??? OMG! Since when have I became such a "helpless" person ?

Anyway, I am not going to allow this negative and fearful situation to affect my precious weekend alone... I need to shut down this thinking right now !!!

I would kick and promise myself to be sociable again..... I need friends.... I have to reconnect with SGI members again!!

Hmmmm, the best way to get away the thinking ..... I turn to my pic collection.

This is a lovely pot that costs us only $12 from the Garage Sale

( Original price was $256)

Reproduction of Victoria Princess Phone at $3.00; ebay is selling at $45 - $75

See ! I got these beads ( 21 0f them ) from the Parade

I must keep short hair !!

Don't know why my nose is getting wider.... hate it !

Don, Chris , Elida and me in Kronos

Oh , it almost 2:30 pm... have to get my lunch ! No Chinese Buffet ! "(: (: (: (:

MY MOTHER DAY 1Oth MAY 2009

Woke up this morning around 8 am, walked to my bathroom, without my glasses on, I saw something like a toilet roll near the sink. ( Ah Don & I have separated wash room for use ). When I got closer it was a jar of Peanuts wrapped with Message & and a heart created by Ah Don!!

Ha ha ha.. I could not stopped laughing !!! This is the first time he ever created such " wrapping paper " for me ! He is lazy to creat card !!! Thank you Thank You for making such a big effort !!A big Hug Hug to Ah Don!

Next, I have some other surprise downstairs..........Another jar at the Kitchen !!

After that, there was a classy black paper bag on my table !!

Guess what 's there ???????

It is a "Mont Blanc" Fountain Pen - Platinum Line!!! What a black beauty in my eyes!!!

I have been longing and loving to own a good pen !! And I think I have mentioned that accidentally to Ah Don when I bought one Cross Fountain Pen from one garage sale a couple of weeks ago. I have one pair of Mont Blanc Ball Points from my Ex Boss in Malaysia on my 10 anniversary. I used them only on good occasion. They are special to me .

Thank You and Love You for being so thoughtful !!

I will treasure this pen as much as our relationship!

I also know that it is very expensive and I always stop you from spending too much on me !

In the afternoon, we went for a good lunch ..... full baby Ribs with some wine; Unfortunately, after taking the wine, I felt very sleepy so we did not proceed with any other activities...

I asked Ah Don " Why the wine could make me sleepythese days?"

hmmm the answer is not very nice " Because..... you are getting OLD!"

Hey ! Stop it..... You use the wrong word.....It should me "Matured" Not " OLD " Understand ????

Sweet Mother Day Card

Not the Toilet Roll !!! It's Peanuts

Balck Beauty - Mont Blanc Fountain Pen

What I got for Mother Day 05/10/2009