This was a Xmas gift from Greg. A colleague at work. Every MO received one. It was an adorable package: a hand sanitiser, an aromatherapy wax, a lotus cookie and a car air freshener. I super love it!
I can’t wait for the holidays..

Prior to the pandemic, I’ve already planned out my 10th wedding anniversary celebration . We were both going to lose weight, organize a kenduri at our house and wear matching batik outfits for our photos. However, things happened. COVID-19 rules our lives. Mr Husband was busy with his public health activities whilst I was busy on the clinical side of things. We managed to squeeze some family time interim but honestly, it could have been better.
10 years living with another human being is not a small feat. Have I ever thought of separation during this relationship? Of course. Especially on my period. But Patience and Sanity usually pulls me away from it. Covid-19 or not, a decade of love needs to be celebrated. If he is not going to be the first to utter those words , wishes or gestures, then I will be the one to do so and sprinkle some romance in the air. It’s tiring having to kick it off every time but someone’s gotta keep the wheel of marriage running.
I started with the watsapp wish in the morning. Sending him a snapshot of my wedding anniversary gift to him. This is to also hint him to get me a present if he hadn’t thought of doing so. (insert annoyed face here) If he is not getting me a flower bouquet, then he’d better get me a present for my 10th wedding anniversary. Then just like an excellent PA, I laid out the plans for the day.
I chose Casa Bonita Hotel for our staycation for new years weekend.
CASA BONITA HOTEL is located strategically at where all the viral eateries are. It is at Limbongan where the famous keria is. The keria man is also selling laksa at his shop. Other famous stuff nearby is the avocado drinks, soursop drink, the asam pedas lady, the mee bodo at tengkera. All this within walking distance to each other. We had wanted to do that but the exhaustion from work got the better of us that we practically just enjoyed the room and the food delivered to us.
Our room is the family suite. It has 2 double beds, a living room with a mini dining table, a fridge and a bath tub. At least my kids can enjoy that whilst being stuck in the room. I booked our stay via Agoda of course at RM225/night for 2 nights. The total came up to RM551.57 including tax and service fees.
I had wanted to book dinner at the in house restaurant but in view of us being health care workers, I thought we’d better stay in our rooms and reduce the risk of contracting the virus. This is because if a HCW gets ill, it may cause inconvenience to the work schedule if the HCW needs to get MC and such. Mr Husband instead arranged for dinner in our room by ordering this meal box from another hotel, Bayview hotel. At RM88, we get a selection of food that make up a meal for our little family.
This promotion is seasonal. I enjoyed the chicken the most followed by its Xmas crepe. The cornish pie was a bit bland but passable for a hungry tribe. It was a meal worth the money.
As for presents, I got my husband a portable massage machine for his back. He got me a Samsung Tablet A 8″ 2019. Lovely, I had always wanted one. I think it could be useful for my studies. I am still exploring its features and scrolling through apps that might be useful for my side responsibility as a student. Do recommend me good ones.
I have already made a staycation booking for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. I just hope nothing major will happen on that day.
Mother wanted to celebrate her birthday at Sama Sama Hotel. Again. She really loved the HiTea buffet there. It will be my second time going to the hotel but I think my parents have been there quite a couple of times. The rate so far is still the same.
We went a bit extra this time by getting her helium balloons, a bouquet of roses and presents. She even got a birthday sash. As usual, my younger sister L plans out the events. Food was great, what more can I say.
As for presents, my sister and I got her crystal bracelets from this store near my place. The place is called Crystal Corner. When I first walked into the store, I wasn’t really sure of what to buy. Or how to buy. The lady there was nice to help me out.
She inquired about my budget and suggest I start on the low side. Which was less than RM500. Low pun berlubang jugak poket. She then mentioned that people buy crystals for various reasons. It can be a piece of accessory, a house decor, for work, for health or for love relationships. I told her I plan to buy for my mom. I suppose the best indication, InsyaAllah, is for her general health. If not, purely an accessory.
I ended up purchasing 2 types of bracelet. One made out of Tourmaline stones and the other, Green Rutilated stones. The total price after a 20% discount, amounted for just over RM300. Coincidentally ,the store was having a 20 year anniversary sale, so I was eligible for a PWP RM20 promotion bracelet. I chose a brown one for myself. I wished I chose something better though. HA ha.
I plan to make a second trip there next month to get something for my birthday. I kinda fancied the Tourmaline bracelet. It looks so pretty. Of course, gold accessories is best but I have yet to find something nice to my liking. Upon purchasing the crystals, the lady did some sort of cleansing ritual in this big bowl which let out this loud ringing sound. Having read up on several websites later, I find that there are several ways of ‘cleansing’ and ‘resetting’ the crystals of its purpose. As a muslim, I will not delve further into that for fear of syirik but I guess it would be interesting for some. Perhaps, it would be enough to just follow instructions to keep the crystals clean, ‘neutral’ (if it is appropriate to say so) and exert its beneficial properties without having to overclaim or be too mystical about it.
The Hi-Tea Birthday Party was great. We have another get together in September to celebrate both my sister and Dad’s birthday. That will be in Melaka. This time I will plan the event and of course I would tell you about it too.