A few days ago I met my former boss and of course after the courtesy questions, he then asked what I've been doing since I stopped working 4 years ago.

Once I told him that I am now a fulltime mother, I could see "comments" in his eyes which my imaginative self thinks meant, "What a waste...". So before he could ask if I'm interested in paying a visit to the office for current opportunities (which I'm not), I excused myself.

Later at home, I chit chatted with a prominent businessman for a bit while he waited to see my father in law, and he too asked me why I no longer worked.

Again, I definitely felt a heavy few seconds of silence on his part when I declared that I am a fulltime mother.

And to add insult to injury, today Eu asked me, "What is your job?".

She dismissed my "I'm your mom" answer with "I mean, proper jobs. Like engineers or doctors.."

Excuse me!

But it's easier to explain to Eu as she knows the kind of work that being a mom involves. And I will make sure that even if she grows up to be a successful career woman, she will not look down on the job of being a fulltime mother.

By the way : If you're like me and you're a fulltime mother and unlike me, you're sick of having your lives revolving around only the kids, then why not consider a side business like selling whole life insurance?

I watched this movie, Elizabethtown once last year and although I find the beginning a bit strange - not knowing whether it's a comedy or drama - it progressed well and I ended up enjoying the show.

But while I thought the chemistry between the two main roles were fun to watch, what I liked most about this movie were the songs.

This song especially gives such a feel good vibe and this is a lovely video too :

Last Tuesday was a double celebration for us.

Not only was it His Majesty the Sultan's birthday, it was also my nephew's birthday. Being the dramatic singer that she was, Qi entertained our household with a spirited "Happy birthday to kor-kor and Sultan..." many times a day, for several days beforehand.

In fact, she led the rest in singing the birthday song during our small dinner and blew 4 of the candles when the birthday boy took a wee bit too long making his wishes...

Although we didn't make it to the capital city to join in His Majesty's celebration, we spent the day watching the live telecast and news of the happenings while discussing on who seemed to have lost weight (I wonder if she used appetite suppresants like generic Phentermine), who does not seemed to age and who should fire her fashion advisor.

Anyway, wishing both of them a blessed and bountiful year ahead!

One thing I learn when it comes to choosing paint - and you have small kids - choose one that is washable.

Just today - and not for the first time - Eu spotted some scribbles on the wall again. Since Eu has tasted the result of writing on the walls, I immediately knew that it has to be Qi's handiwork.

Yet she could denied it innocently - and if you didn't know her any better, you would believe her too. It's just that she'd made the mistake of openly hiding something behind her back and telling me that there is "Nothing, mama" with a straight face - for too many times.

Anyway, the point here is - if you are painting your room, get those washable ones so you can easily get rid of scribbles. Of course, keeping away pens from small hands works just a well too.

We had the first report card day for Eu recently.

Both of us were pleased that she managed to obtain a position in the top ten of her class - since it was her first term of going to school (and I am not one of those visionary moms who took the trouble to teach their kids the alphabets and numbers even before they started school).

Funnily enough, Eu was the one who was not happy about it and bemoaned the fact that she was not in the first position.

It's quite a change as she was not quite so competitive before. In fact, she always chose to be the "assistant" in whatever role-playing games they have. She is the nurse while Qi is the Doctor and such things. Now that she's in school, she would even insist that she "leads" the way as we walk to her class. And you must just imagine how detail-oriented a.k.a bossy she has become when she instruct Qi and their cousin when playing.

Her teacher has no complaints about her and I'm glad that she can now converse longer with the rest in Mandarin (although not so happy when she demand that I, "Say it after me, mama! WO...")

So far, school has a been an interesting experience for her.

*By the way, you can get plenty of fancy shower faucets here.

For the benefit of those of you, who like me a few minutes ago, have no idea what air tools are, here's the simplest explanation courtesy of Wikipedia :

Pneumatic tools or air tools are tools driven by gas, usually compressed air supplied by a gas compressor.

Pneumatic tools can also be driven by compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in small cylinders allowing for portability. Pneumatic tools are commonly cheaper and safer to run and maintain than their electric power tool counterparts, as well as having a higher power to weight ratio, allowing a smaller, lighter tool to accomplish the same task.

* Picture of an "air hammer"

So those of you who enjoy doing DIY work at home, have you got one of these?

I was told that the current airfare from Brunei to Los Angeles is close to $3K. That's about twice the fare to London and three times to Dubai - as I was informed by a friend.

Spending $10K just for tickets is a bit too much since you'd probably need at least another $20K for expenses. What's more, if you're like me and you prefer to stay in hotels (imagine getting a taste of some of the exotic las vegas hotels!) rather than save by staying at friends' or relatives', I doubt we could even last a week in one state with $10K for expenses.

Besides, I'd rather spend that money on countries which I've never visited before - IF we can really spare that much for holidays these days.

The middle-incomed family among us can stop dreaming about long-haul holidays for a few more years.

There is a lovely house being built in our neighbourhood.

Not only does it have a very different design concept from most houses that we see around here, the most interesting feature about it is how it managed to look like an American wooden but is in fact, a concrete house.

When we first saw how the Indonesian builders expertly turned the brick walls into looking like wooden planks, I told my my husband that we can now consider having a "wooden" house for when we have the means to build our own home.

It has always been my dream to live in a lodge-type house (preferably with a mountain view and temperatures that never exceeds 20°C) but as you know, our weather and environment can be harsh on wooden houses.

However, since having our own home is not possible in the near future yet, I'll just be content with wooden furnitures - now if only I can convince the folks at home to invest in some patio furniture.

Even when Eu is at school, peace is not a sure thing in the household.

Because for the past few months, Qi is beginning to overtake Eu as the exuberant singer in the family and she can sometimes sing with so much gusto that you have no choice but to give her a "Shhh!!".

The difference between their style of performing is while Eu is fond of making hand and body gestures (with a lot of twirlings), Qi is a soulful singer with hand tightly clenching whatever she can pretend is a microphone with eyes squeezed shut.

And this is one of the latest song in their repertoire (be warned, it's a Disney song) :