Art Competition

Pu3 entered a National Level Art Competition last week. It was a bit frustrating because boleh pakai oil pastel sahaja, no color pencils allowed. Padahal color pencils yang boleh buat outline and shading untuk naik kan gambar after pakai oil pastel. Oil pastel flourecent pun tak boleh pakai....


Time pun hanya sejam... normally 1 1/2 hours baru cukup. So Pu3 kena buat cepat2 and with the limited tools yang boleh pakai, the outcome was not to her satisfaction. After submitting her painting, dia dok mengadu kat Helena, dia kata tak cantik.... lepas tu sebab nak cepat, ada parts yang tercomot sikit.... pastu complain lagi .... rupanya throughout dia mewarna, perut dia sakit...... dia suruh Helena tolong gosokkan perut dia.... alahai....


Helena pujuk dia.... Wan and Atok pun pujuk dia..... nampakla dia tak puas hati.


So it was a sweet suprise when it was announced that Pu3 won FIRST PRIZE..... yeay...... syukur alhamdullillah..... in a Kebangsaan Level some more..... and tough fight with chinese students yang memang well known good in their ability in art.



More than 100 students took part. Pu3 is sitted 6th at the 2nd row (from top).




To Pu3, this is not her standard.... hehe.... tapi janji menang kan.... hehe.... sebab budak2 lain pun problem jugak bila tak dapat pakai pencil colors.





Pu3 dapat bag sekolah, books and stationeries. Elok sangat sebab dah 2 weeks Pu3 pestered me for a new school bag..... hehe




Ini pulak painting yang Pu3 menang 2nd place for State Level (ingat tak yang painting Anastasia yang hilang and tak menang tu? Its the same competition.... tapi masa buat entry dulu Helena tak ada gambar)
Rugi pulak i dont have pictures of Anastassia's current paintings. Kalau tak boleh share sini.... Last year punya adala.... nantila Helena cari....

What's going on with me at the moment

I dont know what to write about... so I'll just share what I'm feeling and thinking right now.


1. Went to my tailor yesterday, was told that she does not accept any more tempahan..... but since I'm a regular customer, she'll accomodate..... This is a yearly affair actually, me coming to her at the last minute..... hehe..... So, if sempat, I'll shop sekejap masa lunch break today..... today break 2 hours...... if tak sempat, I'll do it tomorrow.

Opssy..... just realized, Mia wouldnt be able to choose her own material.... mmm..... tak apala..... I hope I can get one which is to her liking....

I proposed to hubby that this year's theme to be turqoise or blue.... depending on the designs kat kedai nanti..... hubby approved.... yeay.... takyah argue color..... hehe


2. Anastassia will be sitting for her ICAS exam next week..... (Its an Australian Assessment Exam)...... have yet to print out past years questions. Pu3 was also selected to sit for this exam..... tapi si kecik ni dok simpan the fee and form in the bag. Bila dah tarikh tutup baru dia teringat..... bertuah betul..... so takdapatla dia sit for this exam....


3. This weekend is Grading Day for Pu3 and Zaryff. Pu3 will go for the Blue Belt.... Zaryff for the Yellow 2 belt... Need to find the time masukkan tali jerut in Zaryffs Taekwondo pants. He took it out because tali tu terpanjang sebelah.... aiyah..... now seluar tu longgar and menggelebeh..... nampak pulak spender dia...... hehe, Dulu Helena buat donno, nak teach him a lesson (malas pun ada) hehe... tapi nak grading ni... kenela betulkan balik..... Nanti tak selesa pulak dia buat grading tu.....


4. hmmmm...... hehe.... dum dee dum dee dum...... mmmm..... okayla... okayla..... I plan to visit Mia this Saturday...... hehe..... Nak kasi duit laundry, nak kasi kasut yang i dah hantar cobbler, (baru pakai 1 week dah kene hantar cobbler..... heishh......) nak kasi semangat pasal coming exam..... okayla kan....... hehe.....


5. I would like to thank Cikgu Jimi..... for the percubaan paper and most of all for giving MORE than what i expected..... Cikgu, I shared the paper with Panitia BM and she will share with the rest of the standard 6 girls..... i hope its okay with you.... The CD is fantastic!! The book is such a GREAT book! Terima kasih banyak2 cikgu, kebaikkan cikgu Jimi, yang Helena hanya kenal in the blogworld ni..... memang tak terbalas..... thanks again..... (opps kebaikan.... satu k or 2 k? hehe.... in case you're wondering, i got A1 in my SPM BM paper.......hehe)


so okayla for now.... have a good weekend you all!

Visiting Mia

There are changes to my visiting schedules with Mia now.


Mmmm its a bit embarassing but, I would like to admit here that ever since Mia entered boarding school last year, I never failed to visit her EVERY WEEKEND. (hehe....) Padahal I'm the type who thinks that when kids masuk boarding school, we should leave them be, jangan visit selalu sangat. Let them be independent. This was what my parents did when I was in MRSM, they visited once or twice a month.....and yeah it worked out pretty well with me.


It all started with me helping Mia with her laundry masa dia baru masuk Form 1. So every week kena datang ambik laundry, right. When I stopped doing that just before fasting month last year, patutnya tak payah datang every week dah.... but I guess dah jadi habit pun satu, Mia suruh datang bawak food pun satu..... hehe


So 2 weeks ago, I made a decision. and for the first time.... I did not visit her. It was quite an accomplishment for me tau.... hehe.


I do not plan to visit her again this week, tapi mmmm..... i wonder whether her pocket money is enough.....

Things that happened last week

CORRECTION : Pu3 demanded me to correct my previous entry on the Spell it Right Junior Competition. She spelt the word " mistreat" with a double "s"..... and not as what I wrote earlier.
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Lots of things happened last week. Some good, some bad. But mostly good.


A friend betrayed me last week. Hmmm.... i got several "I told you so's..." from my other friends. Do not want to dwell on this. Dah terjadi tu dahlah.....


I made a big decision last week. Well, to me its big. I have stopped Pu3 and Zaryff from Smart Reader. It was quite hard to reach to this decision as I have been sending the kids since 2002. Dah 6 tahun! Mia and Anastassia finished Level 10 and both of them benefited tremondously from this program. Especially Mia. Pu3 is now at Level 8 whilst Zaryff is at Level 6.


Memang sayang to stop them, but kesianla actually the timing of the classes tak kena with Pu3's schedule. So dia nampak penat. Kesian Helena tengok. Nampak penat sangat, i know she likes the classes but timing tu yang tak kena..... Apart then that, the class is like at the other side of town, because Helena mmg akan hantar to the best place (to me), although there is one very close near home.


After the decision was made, I felt as if a huge burden were lifted of my shoulder. Phew..... Yes, let me admit here that sending both kids for Smart Reader to a location quite far from the house, is very-very tiring. Very rushing, and kerja-kerja lain memang tergendala on the days ada SR. Its very time consuming...... For example, on Wednesdays, both Pu3 and Zaryff have classes, at different times. Lepas tu, money wise, I need RM20 just to send them to and fro. RM20, if I used the smaller car that is. Kalau pakai the big car, it'll be RM30. But to me, when education is concerned, duit tu not an issuela sangat......


Now, that we are free from Smart Reader classes.... I feel that there's more time for me, kids have a more relaxed schedule..... and hey..... there's more family time together too......


Pu3 who was upset at first, is now okay with the idea. I told her that she can just continue where she stopped anytime she want....... Zaryff pulak jerit "YIPPEE" was grinning ear to ear..... hehe. But i told them..... I will photostate theirs sisters SR books and they will have to do the exercises with me..... so at least dapatla sikit additional knowledge tu......


Oh Ya...... Papa's durian tree started berbuah this year.... Yeay!!!!! Sebenarnya ada satu pokok aje....... tanam kat hujung pagar....... I remembered that he planted this tree masa Mia in Kindy. Mia was asking about durians and I guess Atuk planted one just for Mia and Anastassia (and other future cucus - Pu3 and Zaryff, yet to be born).


And last week the first durian fell, and now yang dah gugur ada la dalam 15........ and nampak around 80 more kat pokok tu...... Papa now ada kerja baru petang2...... driving from one neighbour's house to the other...... kasi durian..... hehe....


I guess my dieting have to wait again..... hehe.

Sweet Sweet Pu3.....

Pu3 was in the papers recently. She got 3rd place in the NST-RHB Junior Spell it Right. She was frustrated as she aimed for the top spot to get the laptop..... so had to console her.....



The day after the competition, she woke up early, sebab nak tengok papers. (She was interviewed by the reporter right after the competition) And she was upset to see that her picture tak ada, despite posing here and there for the photographers.... alahai..... Helena pujuk..... dah ada cerita pasal dia dalam paper tu.... kira okayla..... But she was happy bila a week later, bila out of the blue, keluar pulak gambar dia..... hehe

Pu3 mispelled the word 'mistreat'. She spelled it with a double 's'. Helena mengaku kat dia, that Helena ada terpikir nak go through with her the words yang ada 'dis' and 'mis' supaya dia tak confuse..... tapi since I was busy with entah apa2.... i forgot about it....

So in the end, she blamed me for getting 3rd.... hehe.... okayla..... blame mama la.... i dont mind.... hehe..... I'm very proud of you dear, you made my day just standing up that stage...... immaterial menang ke tidak.....

Pu3 was calm but mommy was a bundle of nerves...... hehehe

Pu3 receiving the RM500 mock cheque......

Zaryff was supposed to enter the competition too, but puas Helena pujuk, dia taknak..... yang geramnya, masa tengok the competition, dia boleh kata.... ala mama..... kalau Zaryff masuk, pun Zaryff boleh jawab..... taklah susah sangat...... la..... rupanya he thought it was as difficult as the Tahap 2 punya Spell It Right which we went to see last month...... sigh........

Anastassia.....Anastassia.....

In the midst of preparing Pu3 for her Taekwondo hari tu, Anastassia came to me and said.....


"Mama, I was chosen to represent the school for Story Telling this Monday" she whispered.



"WHAAAAT?????"




"I didnt go for the audition, Mama..... really I didnt..." Anastassia said with a low voice.



"Then how come you were chosen? I thought your teachers and I agreed to one thing last week...... that will be no more competitions for you! Until UPSR!"



"Mama, betul Mama, I didnt go for the audition. So while the other girls auditioned I was doing my homework. Then someone came asking for me and said that the teachers asked for me. I went and was told that they want me to audition. I auditioned and I was picked." she explained.



"Sigh...... Anastassia....... let me call your teacher...... awak tarik diri ok...."



"Please Mama..... all this time its only BM competitions..... I want to try out competitions in English" Anastassia pleaded.



"No...... Anastassia..... You've went all the way to Hong Kong for your English Drama..... nak experience apa lagi..... you HAVE experienced it" I said, my suara dah naik.



"Please Mama..... please....... I promise I wont spend much time preparing" Anastassia pujuk I lagi.....



In the end I gave in..... dengan satu syarat.....



"You can only spend one hour ONLY preparing for this" I said with my no nonsence voice. Rasa nak sakit dada pun ada ni.....



Anastassia smiled, then grinned..... then skipped to her room..... siap nyanyi-nyanyi lagi...... sigh....



Sigh...... yup, the preparation was a brief one, i guess memorizing the story in English is easier for her compared to if it were in BM...... Dulu her Bahas, Pidato and Syarahan took quite a long time to memorize.....



Below are pictures for the ASEAN STORY TELLING COMPETITION...... organized by Kementerian Penerangan. It was shown on TV and it was also in the papers.

Anastassia..... she mesmerized the audiance with a a story entitled The Rabbit with the Mak Toom Tree, a story originated from Thailand.



Anastassia with her glass trophy and RM200 win. She got 3rd placing.



Anastassia actually aimed for the top spot. Seriously, she could as she did everything perfectly. Overall she was the best among the participants. However, she was a bit too fast in telling her story, it did not reach the minimum 7 minute time alocated. So minus point on the timing. Her English teacher also said that Anastassia slang may have contributed to some points deduction also.

Anastassia.... Anastassia......

Arghhh.... its already July!

Just got a call from Pu3's Master yesterday. He said that Pu3 was selected to compete in the selections to go for the Taekwondo Remaja Kebangsaan in Penang!

Alahai.... pening.... pening.....

Obviously this is a great opportunity for Pu3..... Mia dapat pergi Kebangsaan dulu pun masa dia dah std 5. But I have to take into account Anastassia's preparation for UPSR.

Peperiksaan Percubaan UPSR 2 akan diadakan mid July. Clashes with Anastassia's Choral Speaking in Trengganu. So arrangements has been made to allow Anastassia and her friends yang involved to take the exam the day after the Trengganu trip..... Sigh..... from experience, I know they will reach their school around 11 pm.... mesti penat..... next day nak ambik exam pulak tu...... sigh..... timing tak kena betul.....

The Taekwondo competition in Penang would be in August. Memang to me, August is strictly for Anastassia. UPSR trials will be in August. Penting sangat tu..... and i cant let Pu3 go with the State Team macam tu aje.... this is Taekwondo..... a sport known for injuries...... bukannya badminton..... I need to be there to oversee her fights....

Entahla..... hubby volunteered to accompany her..... mmm.... maybe i need to learn to let him handle the kids ..... but all the way to Penang??..... sigh...... Tapi what ever it is, provided if she get selected la kan......

OK la tukar cerita.....

Mia did something new last week. She acted in a Sejarah Drama! First time Helena tengok dia berlakon and well.... biasala being a mom.... rasa emotional pulak Helena ni... see her doing new things..... doing things out of her comfort zone.

She was Hang Jebat and in the scene ada 2 benda klakar yang tak disangka happened. First, masa nak bersilat.... her samping menyelorot jatuh...... Helena tak perasan but the whole dewan laughed..... Nasib baik Mia tak panik and just kuiskan the samping at the side angrily..... making the audience clapped for her unscripted move.....

Then, masa dia died in Hang Tuah's lap...... masa nak tukar scene, Hang Tuah had to drag Mia ke tepi..... tapi Hang Tuah tak tertarik.... hehe.... puas dia nak drag Mia, Mia tak bergerak langsung..... the whole dewan laughed again coz.... kelakar la tgk Hang Tuah beriya2 nak tarik Mia..... and Mia cant help coz she supposed to be dead, right? Hehe..... Yang buat lagi kelakar..... pengawal2 lain yang mati next to Mia, semuanya senang ajer di tarik off stage..... hehe....

Mia as Hang Jebat. Mia's voice lain betul masa berlakon ni..... yela dia kena garaukan suara. Boleh tahan jugak dia berlakon.....

Hang Tuah's confrontation scene with Hang Jebat. This was before the bersilat scene, sebelum samping dia jatuh...... hehe



They lost tapi to me.... it was the best play I've ever seen.........





Last Tuesday, Mia and a bunchful of other actors got rewarded. They went to see the Broadway Teater - The Beauty and The Beast at Istana Budaya.

Mia got 2nd for the Lalulintas Shell Competition.