As everyone in this world is preparing themselves to usher in the New Year, I can't help but reflect upon what has happened this past year. Saying goodbye always makes me sentimental. However, this year was an amazing year for me. It wasn't without it's hardships and sorrows, but like every year, my family and I managed to persevere through the hard times and celebrate the good times.

11 days are left 'til we reach the end of 2011. 11!!

God, 2011 went by super fast! However, I did manage to get a couple of my major resolutions done with and some are still a work in progress.

Like the other 70% of the world's population, I wanted to lose weight (like I do every year) but this year, thanks to my running, I have managed to lose 8kgs and I plan to lose at least 8kgs more! :) Once I started running, my goal was to enter a competitive race, preferably a 5km fun run, but I managed to raise the bar and joined not one but TWO 10km races and completed it without quitting, fainting, dying, etc. So yay to that!!

My other main goal for the year was find a bigger house to move to and I managed to do that as well! We now are no longer living in a tiny apartment but have finally moved to a bigger and much more comfortable house. There's still a lot of things to do to make the house homey. More in the decor work, so I'm planning to go shopping at the lifestyle concept store, SSF with my sister to check some things out. At least we can get inspired with how to decorate our place. From basement floor tiles to outdoor furniture, they have it all!

Anyways, another resolution I had was to get myself a camera. And I did!! But more on that later!!! I'm super excited but I won't blog about it just yet! ;) Stay tuned!

Okay, truth be told, I don't listen to Hindi songs. However at times, I do check out and post these songs because a) it has grown on me, b) it is annoyingly addictive, c) it's my blog and I post whatever I want to.

Anyways, this song wasn't only "all of the above", but it was different because this is the first Hindi song sung by Akon. At least, as far as I know.

Chammak Challo is a song composed by musical director duo Vishal-Shekhar as a part of the soundtrack for the 2011 Bollywood film Ra.One starring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal among others. The song, along with the rest of the soundtrack, was officially released on September 12, 2011.

However, the song faced controversy when the rough version was leaked on the Internet on May 31, 2011. The song is sung by international pop singer Akon, while the female vocals are given by Hamsika Iyer. Chammak Challo is also noted for being the first musical collaboration of Akon with Indian artists.

Here's the official full song for Chammak Challo featuring Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor from the film Ra.One.




Happy Music Monday, everyone!

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It's 5 days to go to Christmas and by the look of the traffic jam in town these days, people have NOT finished their Christmas shopping just yet. I wonder if there are people out there that are just re-gifting this Christmas.

To be honest, I have never re-gifted anything in my life before.. but if I were forced to re-gift something (for some reason), I think I'll probably give away some of my husband's black and milds cigars. He collects cigars, and they are in absolutely great condition, and kept in their package so perhaps that's the thing I'd re-gift. We've never re-gifted them, but during a birth of a baby, my husband will whip one or two out to pass to the father of the newborn. That's just how he is.

I guess, I frown upon re-gifting because it just shows how much someone doesn't appreciate the gift given and picked out for them. I can't remember one time when I received a gift so bad that I wanted to re-gift it to someone.

HOWEVER, when you do ponder about it, perhaps it is good to re-gift something when you think it would be a better use for someone else instead of hoarding it for sentimental reasons, right? Re-gifting is just something that not everyone can pull off. I know I couldn't. I'd probably feel so guilty about it that I'll probably say something to the receiver and make myself and the receiver feel bad. I'm THAT clueless.

If you are on of those people who can get this art of re-gifting down pat, then, more power to you! I heard Kim Kardashian is a BIG re-gifter. I wonder if she will re-gift some of the crazy expensive weddings gifts that she received to her fans.. Hah! Yeah. Right.

Christmas is the time for giving -- and no matter how big or small, expensive or non-expensive, it's the thought that counts. But there are gifts that just make for an awkward Christmas moment.

So if you'd like to avoid awkward moments in front of guests, here are 5 gifts that are best avoided.

1) Lingerie - As much as Agent Provocateur is on the list of your lady's Christmas list, this is best given only during intimate moments. You don't want your guests to see what YOU'LL be enjoying later that night. Your secret will out -- not only Victoria's.


2) Food - If it's the 15th food basket that someone unwraps, no matter how happy they are about it, the "OMG what are we going to do with this much food" thought will bound to come across their faces. There will be soooo many people giving food that the people receiving them will bound to realize they can't finish it and give it to someone else instead. Actually, it is a good thing. At least there won't be any wastage.


3) Toys (to children of friends) - If you're planning to have relatives/friends over that you haven't seen in a while, and are shopping for gifts for their children, make sure you know at least how old their children are. Giving a toy truck fit for a toddler, to a 6-7 year old, is a recipe for disaster. The parents of the child will feel badly and you'll feel even worse once the tantrum begins. You may disagree but I've seen this happen. Seriously, it was more AWKWARD than the MTV show. Toys will be great ONLY if you consult with the parents beforehand.


4) Pets - Pets are cute and sweet and we all love them. But giving them during Christmas might not be the brightest idea. There'll be lots of people, the pet might be uncomfortable and it can get quite chaotic. It might want to mark it's territory right then and there, it won't be housebroken yet and there's a ton of other reasons. A pet hamster, or fish, maybe. But dogs and cats.. might just save that for a different day. Boxing day, perhaps?


5) Exercise equipment - There's no better way to imply someone needs to get their workout on. And nobody wants to be reminded of that during Christmas. No matter how much your best friend says they need to lose weight.. you can help them out after New Year. AFTER the holiday season is over. Not when there's turkey and stuffing on the table.

You may not agree with my choices, but you gotta admit, there ARE better things out there to give, even if you DO run out of ideas!

I have just completed my move last weekend and throughout the process, I've gotta thank the husband for being such a wonderful person and such a pro at moving. He dismantled any furniture that needed dismantling and reassembled it once we arrived at the new place.

Plus, he put up some wall shelves for my son's room and installed some curtain railings as well. He is such a handyman. I never really paid much attention to his tools, I thought he only had this one, but apparently he has more than 4 tool sets! He even has one of those snazzy micrometers.. although it isn't a digital one. But still...

Next thing he's going to fix is install a water heater in the other bathroom and it doesn't even have a water heater point.. so he has to open up the electric source and what not.. I told him to hire a contractor to do it but he looked at me as if I was crazy. He's done it before and I should take his word for it because in our 8 years of marriage, we never had to hire a plumber or handyman to do any work that needs to be done. And I shouldn't expect things to change in years to come. ;) I love a man who's good with his tools! LOL!

I always love a good novelty t-shirt especially when they're really hilarious. However, despite loving them, I don't have one. I love it enough to give it as a gift, but I never personally have wore one. But never say never, right?

If you're looking for some unique and different novelty t-shirts, my favorite place would be ThinkGeek 'coz I'm just geeky that way.

I'm a fan of zombies.. and The Walking Dead

Who can resist the dark side when Vader puts it like that?

You don't need a sixth sense for this!

But it depends on your personality really. If you're looking for the crude funny t shirts, there's always FoulMouthShirts.com! LOL!

I remember when I was searching for formal clothes for my kids to wear for my brother's wedding, and it was easy to search for the whole tux, vest, bowtie and everything that goes with it, but what was hard for me to find was the perfect boys dress shoes.

I only managed to find my son's dress shoes at the last minute.. the day of the wedding. When everyone was busy getting ready, my husband took my son all across town to every shoe store he can find. It's not that they didn't have any, but it was either too big (for teens and adults) or too small (for babies and toddlers).

Anyways, we were lucky that we found one and both my son and daughter looked great in their formal wear.

If you're in Malaysia, Wonder Tots (they have an outlet at Sunway Pyramid and Empire Shopping Gallery) has an excellent choice of formal wear at an affordable price.

Searching for a job has improved immensely over the decades. Nowadays, with the help of the internet, there's no need to buy 10 different newspapers every single day just to find the perfect job for you. 10 out of 10 people looking for a job nowadays use online job searches.

In Malaysia alone, there's a ton of job portals to check out, like JobStreet, Jobberies, StarJobs, Jobs2u, etc. It doesn't matter whether you're looking to apply for Nursing Jobs or System Support & Documentation Jobs, they've got it all.

Personally, I'm always on the lookout for freelance writing jobs. If any of you know of any real good ones, feel free to let me know!