What's new - just say it!

[think2create]

[delphine]

This is so cute Christine!

[Oleta]

This September 1st my brothers and sisters and I will be celebrating our Mother's 90th Birthday!(We are throwing a big party!) I thank the Lord for her long life and good health. She has always acted and looked 15 to 20 years younger than she is. Mom is a very cheerful person, loving to kid around with others. (Even the young teenagers at church love being around her.) I think most people have felt better after talking with her, when they've been down. I'm certain that her cheery spirit and the Lord are what has gotten her through some very hard times in her life.
I'm glad she's my Mom and she's still around for us to show how much we love her.

[delphine]

That is indeed a blessed age!

I can not imaging a parent of that age.

Wish her all the best and have a great day!

[think2create]

Oleta, I hope your Mother had a wonderful birthday. I hope the family had a blessed time celebrating with her. God bless her!
You are very fortunate to still have her.

[angelwings13]

A great big Happy Birthday to Oleta's mother... God Bless her, keep you healthy and happy... and most important enjoy your time with her now....

[think2create]

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would share my thoughts on our stay here in Malaysia.

We are 13 hours ahead Chicago.


Lately, we have just been driving around trying to get to know our way around.

Marc, my husband, will start work on the military base in Butterworth on Monday.

We haven't had time to do much sight seeing as of yet. We have, however, done much shopping . LOL.

Theres this mall I really love...The Gurney Plaza mall in Georgetown...its 7 levels....amazing & classy. Very spendy though.

Seafood is very cheap here as one would expect and we have been doing a lot of eating mmmmm....I think I have gained 10lbs. LOL But, I am also getting tired of seafood.

Maylasia is primarily a Muslim country but not as strict as Saudi Arabia. Many other religions are accepted here. I saw two Catholic Churches and a convent, a few Indian temples and many Mosques of course. It is Ramadon here. A Muslim religious holiday like Lent. It lasts the month of September. They fast all day and stay inside until about 7pm. Then, they go out and they can eat at 7:30pm. We hear the prayers over a loud speaker from the mosques several times a day. We call him "Wailing Harry". We could even hear him in our hotel room on the 18'th floor.

Malaysia is a mix of Asians. The history here is pretty complicated. The Malays consist of so many different types of indigenous tribes influenced by the Islams, Portugese, Japan, Dutch and British. The population is 30% Chinese, 8% Indian and the rest are Malays.

I have seen the beautiful resort areas and the ugliness of the dirty and run down cities as well.

The see on the west side is pretty polluted. People dumped their garbage into it for several years... it's very sad. They have just started a law here where people will be fined for doing that. You see a lot of garbage along the shores and dead fish.

When you are looking for a bathroom, it is known as "Toilet" not bathroom not restroom just "toilet". Some stalls offer american syle toilet seats and toilet paper. The majority of the toilets here are ceramic holes in floor and you squat and then use a hose with running water to rinse. I have done it that way, it is not what I prefer though...LOL Can't get use to it.

I am starting to see how much we take for granted in the U.S.A.

I've had Chinese food that is exceptional...the best ever. Nothing compares to it in the states.

The driving here is crazy....Cars are right-hand driven on the left side of the road. That takes a lot of getting use to.
The first week we had a nice chinese guy show us around and drive us places if it was to far to walk. Otherwise, we walked everywhere. Even now, though we have rented a car, we still prefer to walk as much as possible. The very first day we got our car rental, Marc, my husband, my daughter and I got into a car accident. He tried to turn right and someone behind him tried to go around on his right side and hit the right side of the rental. Marc was the one who received the 100.00 RM ticket. So, the Malaysian moral of this story is: when someone else hits your car, you get a ticket. So, don't let anyone hit you. Seriously, the driving her is absolutely "nuts". It is totally out of control. Motorcyclist own the roads and they are like pesty flies all around your vehicle....you just want to hit them.....they cut in front of you, never use their blinkers and they sandwich in between you and the car next to you. They are everywhere around you. They think and act like they own the road.

Marc got stung by a jelly fish his first day swimming in the sea. It bothered him for the rest of that day. Everyone says we need to go to the East side of Island to swim where the water is crystal blue and there's snorkeling and scuba diving.

Ashley, my daughter, enjoys horseback riding up and down the beach.

We have been jet skiing...FUN.....we all enjoy it. Ashley loves driving it. Once, her and Marc went out and she was driving and took a turn to sharp at a fast pace and they both fell off. When they got back on, they saw a huge jelly fish and some
dolphins playing around. They sat still on the jet ski and just watched them for awhile.

After staying in two hotels, we are now in a 33-storey Resort Service Apartment called Sri Sayang on the north tip of the Island. Two bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and a balcony with a panaromic view of the beach, sea and lush green hills with a spectacular sunset view. The only bad thing is, we don't have a microwave, toaster oven, oven, dishwasher, washer and dryer nor hot water in kitchen. People hang thier clothes out to dry. The furniture is uncomfortable. It's not as clean as I am use to, but oh well, it's not forever, right. We paid one months rent so far. Friends of ours told us about another apt. complex down the road and it is much cleaner and better furnished. It's a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath with cable, but no internet hook up or WiFi. All the aptartments here that we have seen thus far have no ovens and no hot water in kitchen.

The half bath has a shower head but the whole bathroom floor is the shower floor. So, you can shower while you are on the toilet... LOL We prefer not to shower in that one. It's a bit strange for us.

The area is infested with geckos...not that I have a problem with them. I think they are cute...they're just everywhere. Even some in the apt. Lots of wild monkeys as well. Every now and then you will see them.

I wish I had a camera to capture everything I have seen. We are waiting for our data download cable and charger. Got the above pics from web. There is so much I want to take pics of.

There's so much to take in and I am ready to absorb it all....