MIA

Wow! It's been a LONG time since I blogged!!! Sure hope that I can come back more often. I'll try to shorten the events that had happened since May of last year....

• Rediscover the fibroid that was causing heavy bleeding whenever I had my period.
• Parents visited, went for a wonderful vacation at the sand dunes, Wildlife Safari and Crater Lake.
  
• Had a laparoscopic hysterectomy....and so thankful to have my mom here to take care of me and my family.
• Lucas got into the waiting list to see Dr. Freeman (child behaviorist at OHSU)
  
• Kids going back to school. So happy with the teacher Yesmin has this year!
  
• Coping with 4th grade homework!!! What a HUGE change!!
• Kids birthdays...so thankful for my friends who came and helped!
  
• Husband's first birthday party in God knows how many years! So thankful he came home from business trip, just in time for his birthday, which happens so to fall on a Saturday!!
• Took a last minute winter break vacation. Our first time not celebrating Christmas at home...but a WHITE Christmas for sure.
• Yesmin's skiing has improved so much that she's going on the "half pipe" and her instructor said she is ready to go to the higher lift!!! ---- NNNNOOOOOOO!!!!
• After having kids, this is the first time for us to stay pass midnight...and at a friend's house. The kids did too!! Very sleepy, but it was very fun!
• I have picked up a new hobby!!! Needle felting!!! Thanks to my friend, Christy! :P Hope to have a store on Etsy soon.

There's the summary of my interesting life in the past 8 months. Hope you had a wonderful 8 months too!!!

Birthdays!!!

March was another busy month. Started out with my turning another year WISER --- I hope!! ;) I was so tired from all the Chinese New Year baking, I didn't even felt like making any thing for myself this year. Luckily, my very sweet hubby went to Cheesecake Factory and got my favorite carrot cake cheesecake and 2 other slices of cakes for himself and the kids. We had a simple celebration. The next day, hubby had to fly off to Taiwan for work!! :(



A friend/neighbor, K asked if I could make a cake for her son's 7th birthday. Of course I said yes! Lucas will be in kindergarten in September, one year after that, he'll be in school full day. I 'd love to take these 2 years and gain as much experience as possible, so that by the time he's in school full day, I can possible start my business, get my kitchen license...etc. So, I jump on any opportunity I get. Back to the cake, K requested for a Mario cake. I Google and found MANY adorable Mario cakes to get an idea on the characters. Went to the Decorette Shop to look for a cake topper, but they didn't have any...so I checked online...WOW! It's expensive!! Forget it! But I really needed a Mario figurine...cos' I knew I wouldn't be able to make HIM! So I went to Toys 'R Us...thank goodness they have ONE Mario left!! Phew!

Honestly I really like the idea of having a toy figurine for the cake, instead of making ALL of them out of fondant...reason behind that is that after all the cake and icing are gone, the birthday child will still have a toy to play and remember with!! :) So, I started making the other characters. It's so fun, cos' they ARE SOOO CUTE!!! :D And I sure LOVE the edible markers!!! They are so convenient for the little eyes!!

I didn't make Mario, he was from Toys 'R Us!! :)

See the fluffy clouds?? I learn that trick from Melody of My Sweet and Saucy. If you're in the Long Beach area, check out her bakery!! I also thought about using marshmallow for filling up the inside of the cloud ---it'd be fun when the kids bite into it...but I didn't wanna go out and buy a BIG bag of it.

K told me that the kids were debating as to who gets to eat WHAT!! :)

Two days before she pick up the cake, K called and asked if I could make her daughter --- Ellie's birthday cake!!! I was nervous about it, since I only have a few days to work on that. Poor K, have both kids' birthday ONE week apart!! Try organizing 2 birthdays in a row!!! Yikes! I'm already complaining about the birthdays between Lucas, Yesmin and Nd(Lee)...which is 3 weeks part from each other's. I told her that I can't make detail fondant decorations like Mario's, but a simple and fun one should be alright. The nice thing about K is she isn't picky either. On the day she picked up Mario cake, I showed her the cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse...and I showed her 3 choices that I thought would suit Ellie best.

Other Baked Stuff...

A friend asked if I could make a doll cake for her 2 year old back in December. Of course I would. I'd take any chance to practice my baking and cake decorating skills! So, I told her to go get a doll...that way, N can play with it after the cake has been eaten...and not freak out if she sees that the "doll" doesn't have feet when the cake is gone! She bought a Snow White doll. We dressed her up in an evening gown in PURPLE! :P The little princess was so happy, I heard. :)


These are some baby shower cookies I made for a best friend in L.A. It's a surprise gift for her and her baby shower guests. I was supposed to attend her baby shower this past weekend. However, the cost of the airfare is way above my budget. And since we do plan on bring the kids to Disney this summer, it'd be a good chance for me to catch up with her then and I'd also get to see the baby!! I made these with Elisa Strauss' Chocolate cookie recipe. It's DELICIOUS!!! Cos' she uses melted dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder. YUM!

Baby buggy

Knowing how bz my friend is going to be, I send her an e-mail telling her to make sure to open up the package 'cos she's the type who can stand NOT opening a present/box for a couple of days!! And since I had paid over $40 for the shipping (as usual, I didn't make them until last minute, hence using the express mail instead of the priority mail service), so that the cookies get there in time for her baby shower, AND not rot in the box!!! True enough, she was in such hurry, she didn't open the box even the day after she received it...however, her hubby, who should now be awarded with the title "Cookie Hero of the Year," asked if she knows what's in there, and thought they should open it that morning (the morning after they received it)...she still insist it'd be fine!! Thank goodness for his persistence, he opened the box which was sitting by the window with the sun shining in!!! :P He had figured that I might have sent some "food stuff"!!! :) LOL ....I'm so honored he has made an equation of Jenny's parcel= Food!!! ;)

Bib - the ribbons on the bib aren't very clear in the pic

Ladybug Cake

Early last month, a friend's friend asked if I could make a cake for her daughter's soccer team. She specifically requested a ladybug cake. How cute is that? Of course I said yes!

I thought of making a whole ladybug cake...but figured might not be enough to feed everyone. So, I decided to make a quarter sheet cake with 6 ladybugs, representing the 6 girls in the team. My husband had commented that he hoped there isn't ANY boys in the team! :P


L was such an easy "customer." She left it to me to decide EVERYTHING. So I picked a yellow cake with chocolate butter cream filling. I had so much fun making them! :D

One of the Most Important Job

Yesterday was the first day of school. I can't believe she's going into 3rd grade!!! Her 2nd grade teacher was looping up with the class, so it wasn't like we didn't know who to expect this time. But it was excited to see who was gonna be staying and leaving (there was a big reshuffling of students in the school due to many reasons).

However, the job I wanna talk about here isn't the teacher. We all know how IMPORTANT a teacher's job can be, and we treasure all the teachers out there, no doubt. This OTHER important job I'm speaking of is the BUS DRIVER ~ who very day fetches our kids back and forth. Really, so often we forget how important their job is, and being a school bus driver, isn't just busing these kids to and back from school...it's more than that!

You'd know what I mean if you have chaperon a field trip. The noise and the behavior of these kids can sometimes be extremely overwhelming! We've had 2 previous bus drivers who hardly ever smile at you, who'd honk REAL loud and fierce because the 1st time my daughter, then in kindergarten, was dropped across the street, and I DID NOT know that I had to wait for the bus driver to make sure both sides are clear before we are allowed to cross. I know they meant well for the safety, but if you had looked at HER face, and how LOUD she had honked at us, you too would be scared!

Anyway, last year we had this AMAZING bus driver name Dee Dee. She's friendly, she's nice, she drives safely, and she gives the kids warnings when needed. Every morning, she greets the kids when they get on the bus, and say goodbyes when they get off. Sometimes she'd even chat with them about their day, their siblings...etc!!! She even keeps 2 books, like I Spy, or Where's Waldo type of books, for the kids to read in the bus, if they wanted to (what a great idea, isn't it??)! And of course, on those special occasions, she'd have a bag of candy/cookies for each kid & their sibling, whether or not, the sibling(s) is on the bus too.

So, at the end of last year, I had asked her if she could possibly bus our route again? Many parents have had the same question for her :) She told me that it is unlikely, since our route is the "popular" route, for whatever reason. Plus, the way they pick the routes are by seniority, so she's very unlikely gonna be busing our neighborhood.

However, yesterday morning, when we waited for the bus to arrive...guess who was driving the bus??!!! Yeahhhh!!! It's Dee Dee!!! =D You could tell how happy all the parents at the bus stop were!!!



Thank you Dee Dee and we LOVE you!!! :)

The Golden Years

Not long after our return from Malaysia (yes, I still haven't blog about that trip...in fact I have SO MANY things that are backdated!!), a friend told me that she and her sister-in-law were planning a 50th Anniversary for her in-laws. She later asked me if I could make a cake! You see, I'm not a professional baker. I'm still experimenting. I'm ok with baking for my family and experimenting, but when someone PLACES an order with me, that's A LOT of pressure! Anyway, I said yes! (Which I later question myself if I was just too excited and still haven't overcome the jet lag??! :P )




So, I brought some magazines over for her to look at, to chose the design, talk about the flavor, size..etc. She also came over to my house, and that's when she saw my Yellow cake (the cake I submitted for the State Fair competition), and she liked that design. She needed the cake for 60 people. She called up some local bakery and asked what size would best feed that number of people. They told her a 12" and a 9". Yikkeess...I have never made any cake bigger than a 9"!!! I have covered a 12" dummy cake for the Oregon State Fair cake decorating competition. But THAT was a Styrofoam! I didn't have to worry about a Styrofoam! Nevertheless, I figured this is a great opportunity for me...and I better not screw up!

I broke down the days into making this cake. There was the chocolate cake for the 12" cake and butter/vanilla cake for the top. They are both filled with raspberry buttercream, and covered with fondant. Originally, the number "50" was supposed to be upright. I place toothpick under the numbers to help them stand. As I was placing the other decorated pieces, the number 5 started to "cracked"!!! *sigh* I knew I had no time to make another "5" (gum paste might have worked better in this case), so I had no choice but to lay them down F-L-A-T! :( The design also included fondant roses, which I'm pretty pleased with, but still need to work on placing them on a toothpick/wire stem and working on the calyx. I hand painted the other little golden flowers, the numbers and the pearls with petal dust.

When the cake was done...all I have left to worry about was whether it will stay in one piece all the way until they cut the cake, and if they liked the taste of the cake! It was difficult for me to be the judge...cos' 1st of all, I always set higher expectations for myself...2nd, I don't like to eat cakes...I liked the buttercream I made, that I know (it was a meringue buttercream), but cake?! It was hard for me to judge...I'm not a cake person, I only like to make them for others, I'm VERY picky when it comes to cakes. I like desserts and pastry, but I don't really have a sweet tooth...so, that makes me even pickier!!! :P

Anyhow, I was nervous the whole night....until I saw her e-mail giving her thumbs up! *phew* :) I'm so grateful for A to give me this opportunity.

We're Back!!! =)

It's been a while since my last post (no counting the MIA one of course). The kids and I have been away since June 24. We went back home to Malaysia for the Summer!!! We just got back 3 days ago...and I am still recovering from the 15 hour time difference... I go to bed at midnight-1 a.m. and wake up at 4-ish! *sigh* I need a nap SOON :P I will be blogging about the trip soon, I hope! :P

Anyway, after our long flight back home the past Wednesday, a friend of ours was really kind to pick us up from the airport, even though it was closed to midnight. And when we opened the front door, this is what we saw...


Our neighbors have made a banner for us! How sweet is that?! They even got us some milk, cereal, bread, and fruits ready!!! You can't ask for a better neighbor than this! We're so blessed!

Thank You

It's been a month since my neighbor, John, passed on. And I just want to take this opportunity to thank those of you, whether you left me a comment, called me, or just dropped by and read about how wonderful he was, and how much he meant to our family on my previous post. A BIG THANK YOU to all of you. It meant a lot to me, to know that we all still TAKE time out to CARE for others.

John's funeral service was on May 7, a week after he took his last breath. It is still difficult to believe that he is gone, that we will no longer be able to see him. It's not something that is easy to do...I can't imagine what and how Retha must be going through. Even for me, the fact that when I look out the window now, he's not there in his garage fixing his dental equipments; or when his son or daughter-in-law, unlocks his car with the keyless entry remote, the sound that goes "churp-churp" reminds me of John...cos' that's what I have been hearing all the years, and knowing it was John!

We're all moving on with our daily lives. Retha has gone back to her routine, though I know it won't be the same for her...there will be some "new" routine for her from now on...but she's trying her best. She's going back to her aerobic class and oil painting class, so that's good. I have also gone back to my routine, and getting busier than ever with our big trip back to Malaysia closing on. We all know that John would want us to move on and be happy...like he had told me the day the kids and I visited him at his home --- that he is in PEACE with what was coming, and don't be sad.

So, once again, THANKS to all of you who cared. Your kind words and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Happy 55th Anniversary John & Retha... A Happy and Sad Story...

John and Retha live across the street from us. They are in their 80s and 70s respectively. They are one of the loveliest couple you'll ever meet.

When we decided to stay back in U.S. and start our family, we knew that the kids are going to miss out on growing up with grandparents. Both Nd(Lee) and I, grew up living part of our childhood lives with our grandpa and grandmas, so even thought we know how precious those times were, it was something that we had to sacrifice. So, when we moved to our current house almost 7 years ago, we felt like a blessing for us to have them just across the street.

Our kids call them "grandpa John & grandma Retha" simply because we didn't want them to be referring them by their first names, and calling them Mr. and Mrs. would be way too formal (this is one of the cultural difference that I often have to explain to others WHY my kids are referring every adult as aunty or uncle even though we aren't related).

When we move here, Yesmin was just about 2 years old. We visited them now and then (not as often as I should have), help each other here and there, like any neighbors do. Retha is always willing to babysit for me, even though some times it's last minute. They'd bring gifts for the kids on their birthdays and Christmas. And when their grand kid, who's Yesmin's age visited, he'd come over and play too.

As for John, like ALL grandpas, he'd be the one that spoils the kids (not that Retha doesn't, but I guess as a mom herself, she knows 'more' on what to and not to). Every time Yesmin and I went over, John is ready with a lollipop! I often wonder how MANY lollipops does he have? Cos' their grand kids are in Texas and California. And I was also cuirous if HE eats that much lollipop to have 'em around every time we're there?! I mean, he was in his late 70s back then, as healthy as he could be (mowing their steep lawn, reparing dental equipments in his garage, shavoring snow in winter), but still, sure he's gotta becareful with all the sugar if he's eating them. Finally, one day he 'confessed' to me that, every time he went to the bank or post office, if they have a basket of candies on the counter, he'd take one home and save it for when Yesmin visited. It didn't stop with Yesmin of course. When Lucas came long, he didn't have so many lollipops, but still, I remembered once when they babysitted Lucas, that boy gotta enjoy ice-cream & a cookie with John! ;) *still shaking my head, smiling each time I think of it* --- see how blessed we are?!
Oh, by the way, they have a photo of the 2 of them taken in a studio some years back where, the 1st time I saw it, I really thought John look like Richard Gere, just an older Richard Gere. =)

About 2 years ago, one day, I realized that John has suddenly aged. Still, he was out and about doing his things, except for mowing the lawn. He pays our other neighbor's teenage son do it, which I was really glad...cos' the slope on their front lawn IS steep! Anyway, other the usual cold, arthritis (cos' of old age), he was fine...it was usually Retha, who has asthma that needed more medical attention.

A card with an angle flying to John and Retha's house - Yesmin made for John after our Monday visit with him.

Sometime around mid- late March, John was diagnose with Pneumonia, and was admitted to the hospital for a couple of days. I didn't even know until after he came back. We all assumed he'd be fine then. Then came early April, he was admitted again for Pneumonia, but came back with a shocking news. The doctors have misdiagnose his symptoms. He is such a fighter that he doesn't complain about his pain! The truth is John has lung cancer! He doesn't even smoke, nor his family history that he knows of, has any form of cancer. That week, happened so to be spring break for schools in California. All of their kids (the 2 youngest, and the oldest one from Bend) and sons and daughters-in-law and grand kids were back here to visit them, thank God! The doctors didn't know how long the cancer has been there, but they now know that it wasn't just arthritis that has been keeping him awake at night, or doing some other activities, but the cancer has been the culprit - it has moved into his spine and bones. The Wednesday after the kids' visited (their oldest son and his family now lives with them, they moved from Texas right before his 1st trip to the hospital for the Pneumonia), they had an appointment with the Oncologist. They were told that John would have 3-6 months time... It was hard to accept that kinda news, but still, at least they'd still have SOME time left to be together AND to handle things, both physically and psychologically - not emotionally, cos' I don't think anyone can ever prepare for that.

The kids and I went to see him the Monday afterward. He laid on the couch, tired, but was still talking to us...telling me how well I have raise them, telling them how well behave they are, and how hard working Nd (Lee) is. He said he was happy that we had come to pay him respect!! He spoke like it was the last time he'd be talking to me, and that BREAKS MY HEART!!!

On Wednesday, the hospice service sent a portable potty and a walker for him. I went over to see if Retha needed a hand (both their son and their daughter-in-law works, so they're by themselves). John was in bed. And as a gentleman that he is, he wanted to STAND UP to greet me! I had to stopped him. He spoke a little...he was so tired, and he had barely eaten since Sunday, just water, and Ensure!

The next day, I got a call from Retha, not wanting to give me a shocked or wonder what was going on, told me that later that afternoon, there'll be an ambulance here to pick John up, and they'll be bring him to a facility to get the medical care that he needs. She also told me that things didn't look good, as he has been sleeping a lot, and not eating, barely drinking. She had also asked the hospice nurse, based on her experience, how long more John has...and she said a few weeks, no more than a month. I started sobbing... I called my other 2 neighbors who are also close to them, and inform them of the situation. Called Nd(Lee) at work to come home early, so that he could go visit John before it's too late, as he (Nd/Lee) had planned on visiting him on the weekend. Later, our neighbor Diane who's a nurse, went over to check on him, only to find out that the hospice nurse had told Retha to give him a very strong pain medication, that he hasn't taken YET (he has been taking 2 others), the full doze (it was anywhere from 1-4 pills) as Retha had called them because John had been very anxious and agitated the whole morning. So, Diane, figured (based on his color, his breathing, and his heart rate) that it could be the medication that has knocked him out. We all crossed our fingers and toes, and prayed that, that was just it. He was still asleep when Nd (Lee) got home, and we went over with Yesmin to visit him (Diane has graciously volunteer to babysit Lucas as it might not be the right time for him, and I am so thankful for that). John barely woke up.

Next day, Lucas and I dropped by late morning to see him again. He was SO MUCH better. Retha told me that he was awake earlier in the morning, drank more water and Ensure. So that was GOOD! That's a good sign! Also, their other 3 kids (they have 4 kids) who live out of town, would be here on Sunday. Saturday, we stopped by again, with both kids and Nd(Lee). John, though was tired... still knew us, remembered all of us, but could barely talk...it was mainly mumbles. All these happened just LAST WEEK!

We all have been telling him to hang on, and hang in there, as today, April 30th is his and Retha's 55th Wedding Anniversary! And the night before he was admitted to the medical care center, he had told Retha his last good-by...Retha asked him, if it was time? He told her no, not yet...

You see, about 4 years ago, I saw these pair of fondant love birds on the book cover of "Fun & Fancy Cake Decorating" by Kate Sullivan. And the first couple that came to my mind was John and Retha. I SO wanted to make them one for their anniversary, to surprise them...but for 4 years, I DID NOTHING! NOTHING! WHAT THE F#$@ WAS I WAITING FOR???

2 nights ago, I had started baking the chocolate cake...John likes chocolate...once I had made truffles and send some over, Retha told me she has to keep an eye on HIM & the truffles! Though I knew he would not be able to eat, I was hoping, wishing, and praying that he would wait, wait till after their anniversary and that he could at least take a small crumb of it. I finish decorating the cake late last night, going to bed, hoping that I won't be too late.

This morning, after I dropped Lucas off at school, I went to Party Depot to pick up some plates and utensils for them to celebrate their anniversary there in the center. I came home, took the photos of the cake, and head back out to John's. As I walk to his room, I was optimistic and at the same time, also had a weird feeling in my stomach. His room door was closed. I knocked. Retha opened the door, I mumbled Happy Anniversary, only to realized that the hospice nurse was there talking to them, I felt like I was invading their privacy, but it should be fine...at the same time, I got a split second look at John and everyone else in the room...he's got oxygen tube hooked on his nose, everyone (all 4 kids) eyes were red and watery....I crumbled...I walked to the side, and quietly ask their oldest daughter, Denise, what's going on? She told me, this is probably "the day"....

No, no way, this can't be true! I was sure they got it wrong. After all, his condition had been going up and down, sure he'd turn around later, if not tomorrow! --- They figured that their dad, had been really HANG-ON to his dear life until TODAY, THEIR 55TH ANNIVERSARY, like he had silently promised his wife. The people from the center came in with flowers and card for their anniversary, and Retha was relating all these to him, describing all the details of the flowers, card and the cake I made. I felt like SHIT! And she was still SO STRONG, holding on to all the emotions. His youngest son wanted to go out and get champagne to celebrate their parents anniversary, cos' his older brother had to leave soon to go back for a meeting or something, and I had to go pick Lucas from preschool. I told him not to and that, he should stay put, and Rod, the older one suggested that he'd pick it up after the meeting, on the way back. We sat around chatting, Denise walked out to answer a call. I got there at 10:25am...at about 10:45am, John's breath started to get very short and slow, LONG INTERVALS...all I heard was someone said "Oh no, this is it"....I still can't believe...I didn't know what to do, Retha wanted to go call the nurse, I told her I'd do that, and got Denise.

In my heart, I feel like maybe John has lost track of time and date, but soon after Retha told him about how we all brought things over to celebrate their anniversary, and that his son will bring in the champagne, he then knows that he has kept his promise, and he has done all that he could - to hang on for ONE MORE YEAR with his wife. On this beautiful sunny Spring morning, at 10:55am, John passed away peacefully, with his wife of 55 loving years - Retha, and his kids - Denise, Rod, Glenna, and John Jr. by his side.


HAPPY 55th ANNIVERSARY TO YOU- JOHN AND RETHA. OUR DEEPEST, DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO YOUR FAMILY. YOU WILL BE MISSED DEARLY, JOHN. IT'S BEEN OUR HONOR TO KNOW YOU AND BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE YEARS YOU HAVE SPOILED OUR KIDS, TAKEN CARE OF US, TREATED US LIKE WE'RE PART OF YOUR FAMILY. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. WE LOVE YOU!

Jenny, Lee, Yesmin and Lucas

Prayers...

I just received a sad news from my opposite neighbor... her husband was just diagnosed with lung cancer. He's 80 plus years old, have been in pain. This news came as a surprise to their family and even us. Living across from them for almost 7 years, he's always been able to do a lot of things by himself, repair dental equipment, drive himself here and there, mow the lawn..etc. Past 2-3 years, we did realized that he has aged, but never thought about this! One thing I am glad is that all 4 of their kids and their family are back here. He'll be back from the hospital tomorrow. I am keeping HIM and his family, especially his 70 plus year-old wife in my prayers. They have been in MANY ways, like grandparents to our kids. If you are reading this, please do me a favor, take a minute and pray for him ~ John Kimbrough.