Valentine's Day is here!

Have you been scratching your head over what to give your loved ones for Valentine's Day? However perfect your other half may be for you, aren't there things you wish he or she knows more of? Your preferences... your likes and dislikes... your favourite taglines... your lousiest moments...

Well, look no further for this will be the perfect gift! With this, your other half will certainly know what you want them to know!

No kidding!

How can this be possible?

How about.... YOU are the author of this book? Yes, YOU! Other than the title and a few quotes, this book actually consists of blank pages for you to fill in. Brilliant idea? I think it is.

With a catchy title and humourous quotes, I cannot help not picking it up and wanting to buy it ;)

Look at the top... 'Less than 1000 000 copies sold worldwide'

Look at the bottom... Tan is the Author whose known for his PHD (Penang Hokkien Dialect)

Look at the quotes... found on the first few pages of the book.

I discovered this book at January's Little Penang Street Market. The author is generally well-known for his "Learn to Speak ... Penang Hokkien Dialect (PHD)" but it was this very book on display that caught my attention the most.

Initially, I thought it is like one of those self-help books like those from Allen and Barbara Pease (i.e. "Why Men Lie and Women Cry) ... but no, this is much more interesting.

While you can get "Learn to Speak ... Penang Hokkien Dialect (PHD)" major bookstores like MPH, this particular book is only available through mail order.

Price? RM5 each plus RM2 postage and handling charges. Want one? email the author himself.... tanchoonhoe@hotmail.com or call him at 012-482 0038.

Hurry! Valentine's is just around the corner ;)

And, to quote the back cover...

Women, get this perfect gift for your men. Write down everything you want them to know, accompanied with messages of love e.g. "I will always love you even though your snoring disturbs my sleep"

Men, get this perfect gift for your women. Write down everything you want them to know as well e.g. "I always feel embarassed sharing a table with you when you start digging your nose while waiting for the food; but no matter what, I will always love you!"

Let your curiosity get the better of you and buy three books for triple the price of one and have three times the laughter!

Please note that this is not a paid review. It is just something I've discovered that I wish to share with you. I know this could be a little late for a Valentine's gift.. problems with camera delaying this post.. but hey! who says it must be for Valentine's?

DIY or buy? Buy or DIY?

As far as my promoting babywearing goes, the slings does not have to come from me. I even encourage interested parents/caregivers to DIY their own slings. I would even help them work it out ;)

So, then, rises the questions...

1. Why DIY when you can buy?

I'm not sure how many of you would actually like to DIY your own slings. Indeed, I'm not even sure if the DIY link I've posted on my blog months ago is attracting any attention... it's not a post... it's a link that stays on the right hand side of my blog under 'Babywearing Sites'... yes... the one named "Sew your own sling" and it's got links to sew all sorts of slings ;)

If you were wondering at all... no, I did not have enough luck to stumble upon this when I was trying to DIY my sling. It was much, much later that I saw these links. The Peek-a-Pouch comes from a combination of techniques and tests but the link that started it all for me was Stacy's instructions.

Anyway, why would anyone DIY their own slings when they are readily available on the market?

• unique fabric ... basically, you can choose whatever you want
• saves money ... though this might not always be necessarily true
• you know your size and your preference best!
• your sewing machine is already up and running... so, this will just be another sewing project ;) that is, if you are attempting to DIY something that needs to be sewn
• Not sewing? You can always just cut up some fabric for a no sew sling!
• loves experimenting.. it's fun!

2. Why buy when you can DIY?

So, now that there's so much 'advantages' to DIY, why would anyone buy instead of DIY-ing?

• fabric you've never seen/ hard to get
• don't have time to visit fabric store ("What is this?! Where are they?!")
• have customer support ... though this might not always be up to satisfactory results
• doesn't want to spend money and time trying out and experimenting the different types of fabrics
• "I don't sew and DIY is just not my thing!"
• "Ok... I sew but by the time I lug the sewing machine out, cut the fabric... work out how to sew... actually get time to sew... actually have a will enough to finish it... my baby no longer needs a sling"

That's all I could think of now... any more to add?

Please note that 'buying' does not necessarily mean buying from a Malaysian vendor. It just means 'buying', be it from Malaysian vendors or importing them from overseas.

The first ever Malaysian Babywearing Workshop

In my quest to make Malaysia a pro-babywearing community, I have long wanted to have frequent gatherings and workshops... just to share the babywearing love.

With these workshops/meetings, I am hoping to meet up with interested parents and/or caregivers to dicuss on anything babywearing related.

Whether they already own a sling is not the most important. The main thing is whether they are willing to try it out. So, at any time, they are encouraged to bring along their baby carriers, slings or even just a piece of cloth.

Babywearing need not be expensive. If you can wrap/tie, even plain old bedsheet can do the job. Just so you know, though, for a simple tie, the fabric needs to be at least 2.5m long and about 25" wide.

Whether they have slings of other brands is not important, too.... many would think that because I am selling pouch slings, they would need to be my customers to attend... NOT TRUE! Peek-a-Pouches are the type of slings that have and still helping with my parenting days. Selling them as an option to those who cannot sew and as a way to promote babywearing. In time, I hope I could sell enough to help me fund more babywearing activities... still dreaming of a Malaysian Babywearing Conference ;)... perhaps, I might just wake up one day and get a call from someone wishing to hold it? At the moment, all I can do is... Dream on...

Anyway, for the very first babywearing workshop in Penang, we have a very kind couple willing to let us use their place for the meeting. That will be the best option for now... definitely better than having kids roam around a mall/cafe, I believe.

Topics include:

1. Benefits of Babywearing
2. Carrying Positions
3. Various types of slings (pouched, ring slings, mei tai, podaegi, wrap)

Not sure if this is a good thing but in a way, I take these workshops seriously as anything we discussed matters in the babywearing lifestyle. So, yes, handouts and information leaflets are to be given out to participants.

Then again, we shall all be having fun as our little ones mingle and share the fun ;)

Can wait for it to actually happen! Hope this marks many more meetings to come ;)

Want a babywearing meet near you? At a time you prefer? It's all possible. Just gather at least 5 participants and we can make it work ;)

Tagged

Hmmm... It's been a while since my last tag... This one is from BzBee

1) I love to eat:
This first one is already so difficult... lemme see... is there anything I don't love to eat? *LOL*

Ok, ok... if I must name something.... it would be pizza! Just imagine, this Momma here can down a regular by herself ;)

2) I love to go on:
A holiday by myself... that would be the ultimate holiday for me ;) No need to think of anyone else beside myself... do whatever I want to do, go wherever I want to go, eat whatever I want to eat... selfish? you know what I mean... just the most carefree vacation one could get

3) I hate to go on:
Shopping trips in a crowded mall where all you ever seem to do is walking from one end to another.... walking, avoiding the crowd ... walking, avoiding the crowd... and walking until you are so sick and tired that you just leave without achieving much.

4) I love it when:
I sit on the rocks by the sea, hearing the waves lapping on... thinking of nothing... staring into the blue, blue sky...

5) I hate it when:

I see people waste anything... electricity, food, water... anything! Perhaps, I have grown up with a Granny who would only switch on the lights in the room we're in... leaving the rest of the house dark... but, hey! it saves electricity!

6) I love to see:
The smiles on faces... priceless how they can brighten up my day even when they are total strangers

7) I hate to see:
Ill-mannered fools... especially those who call themselves 'educated'... wonder where they got their 'education' from

8) I love to hear:
My little Arthur calling me "Momma"... in the exact tone that I'd imagined my child would call me even when I was little... from the cartoons...

9) I hate to hear:
Lies

Barney and your child

Who would have thought one will need to go through the episodes of Barney before letting our little ones watch them?

Most of the time, I would accompany Arthur and watch with him those VCDs on Barney, Pocoyo, Baby Einstein etc. etc... never once did I think that there are any bad influence in them... until last Christmas (yes, been wanting to post this but kept forgetting).

Last Christmas, Arthur's cousin, Jung was here with us for a week. Jung is 5 1/2 years old and had been attending a nursery in KL for more than 2 years now.

Want to know what he thinks of Barney in "Fun Ways to Play Safe"? I never thought of it this way but to quote Jung...

"Yi yi... (auntie in Cantonese)... why this Barney so lazy? Kept asking the children to pick up the toys while he himself sing and dance and not helping at all...."