Hop Around with Me

Though it is a little late but it is better late than never!

Here I would like to wish all readers of Hop Around with Me...






Remember to check out my new Bento blog!

The start of 2009 is not as good as expected. Though I have a few orders but they are lesser than my expectation. In fact I did not get that many CNY orders this time though I still get a lot of birthday orders.

I has been discussing with hubby about doing some A&P for my cupcakes and probably throwing in one or two promotional product as part of the project. The thing is, with the worsening economy, I wonder if people in this tiny island can still splurge on unnecessary stuff.

The news just announced that more job cuts will be announced in the next few days...

Tough year ahead...

Gosh! Time certainly wait for no man! One year has passed before my eyes and all those yearly bills are up again for renewal or payment. *sigh*

This year with the worst economy crunch looming ahead, we definitely have to make a lot of changes to things we have been purchasing and things that will be purchased. In fact we are trying to spend wisely and frugally and not buying anything that is unnecessary in our household.

In another two months our car insurance will be up for renewal again... Though we have a small cc car but it still eating into our monthly expenses. Therefore, we are thinking of getting a cheap auto insurance if possible.

Oh my gosh!!!! Just realized that St Valentine's Day is just 3 weeks away! Time really flies when we are busy with activities!

Well, every year I will have headache of what to get for my dear hubby who is a real fussy pot! One thing is, he don't like to celebrate all the birthdays, Valentines or Christmas. I call him 'alcheapo'! :P

Anyway, I still will get him things quietly. I have given him a few silk ties in the past years which he rarely wear unless he goes overseas for conventions. I also bought him some shirts, which he warned me not to get any... again! :( He's a simple man and he has most of the stuff... so what shall I get him this year huh? *crack brain*

Ok, we will be leaving for Ipoh on Sunday morning but I've yet to pack anything. Since we are going for just one night, I figured there aren't that much to pack. I only need to pack 2 sets of clothing for both my boy and myself which I will try to fit into my Samsonite luggage. The rest will be stuff for my my mom.

Since we will be going to KL the following week, I told my mom that I will get her more stuff later which she told me to get for her neighbours as I do not have time to shop the past few days. They likes those Penang 'pheah' (local biscuits) which I don't fancy... :P

I have been spending Chinese New Year eve in Penang for the past 3 years since I got married four years ago... we were married after 2005 Chinese New Year... that's why. And this year, we will be celebrating it with my parents and my uncles in Ipoh which is my hometown. It will be so fun as we will have dinner in the restaurant and not steamboat at home! It is crazy to work the entire day just to have dinner isn't it? :P

We will be driving back to Ipoh on Sunday morning, which is the eve. Then we will go for dinner at my actual hometown in Tanjong Tualang which is a famous place for Big Head Prawn. It has been a while since I last go back there so it will be fun to see the place again... wonder what else have changed.

Hubby said he will bring the car for a wash tomorrow and get it polished as well. Probably I will remind him to check all the performance parts too... just in case. Can't afford to have the car break down on the highway!

Two months back when hubby told me we have to make a trip somewhere far across the ocean, I was elated but it was a short lived one as a few weeks later he said the economy is bad and we have to KIV our plans. Of course I was devastated... :P

Then today he told me that we have to go as he cannot push his frequent flyer points as they will deduct 1000 points every time he push his points forward. It is so difficult to accumulate those points so it will be a waste if they get deducted.

Therefore, our plans is ON again! Yiiipppppeeeee!!!

Now, where shall we go??? New York? Germany? France or Down Under? Hmmm....

With Chinese New year just a week away, I have yet to complete my baking project. This time round, I decided to get premixes from the bakery supplies shop rather than doing my won recipes as I really do not have the luxury to mix them myself. You can say it is an easy way out!

So far I have only completed the cornflakes cookies which required very minimum work. Just mix the ingredients and put them into small baking cases and bake for about 10 minutes. I have a few jars sitting on the counter top and they are looking extremely inviting!!!! I have been sneaking a few out every time I pass by that counter top!

In the next few days I will be doing a few others which will be just as inviting. Tell me how to lose weight like that??? Even Leptovox can't help me this time!

The words are out... there will be more jobs cut in the coming months and that is not only the small fry but the giants. There are more and more retrenchments looming ahead and everyone is fearing the worst.

A huge part of our economy is dependent on the manufacturing sector and if the world economy is weak, it will definitely affects ours in time to come. It is a domino effect as it is all about supply and demand. When the supply is more than demand and there goes...

Tell me where to find the mood these days? Hubby is getting grumpier than before as he felt his job is at risk if the economy continue to spiral downward. I think, even if I don a piece of sexy lingerie I won't be able to turn him on! :P

Initially we have planned for an oversea vacation either to US or Europe but due to the current economy situation, we need to put on hold all our plans. I was kind of disappointed since we have not been to any long vacation for the past 2 years.

My mother in law has been asking me to join her to Germany at my sister in law's place if hubby is not free to go for any vacation but then again, hubby won't agree to that... after all, he still have to pay the airfare for both my boy's and mine. My sister in law can't come back too since her kids has started school last year so only my mother in law is visiting.

Earlier while we were in a conference with her, she was telling us that the weather at her place has gone crazy. It has just started to snow again. The weather was so cold that they needed extra heated mattress pads. She was hoping to come back for a short vacation to hide from the crazy weather but the airfare is still expensive and hubby advised her to not spend too much as the outlook of this year is not too rosy so she should save the money.

Though getting insurance policies here is quite common these days, there are still quite a lot of other policies which are not available yet in this part of the world. For example, the key man insurance policy.

Maybe some of the MNCs here do have such coverage but not that I am aware of. Probably in the aviation industry where the risks are much higher as compared to many other industries. So far I have not heard of such policies sold locally. Well, I may be wrong and ill informed.

Personally I find having such policies is good and beneficial to the company as losing key personnel, be it through retirement or accidents can be a headache sometimes.

May 2009 brings us better financial outlook and world peace! :)