10 Habits of Happy Couples

1. Go to bed at the same time
Remember the beginning of your relationship, when you couldn’t wait to go to bed with each other to make love? Happy couples resist the temptation to go to bed at different times. They go to bed at the same time, even if one partner wakes up later to do things while their partner sleeps. And when their skins touch it still causes each of them to tingle unless one or both are too completely exhausted to feel sexually excited.

2. Cultivate common interests
After the passion settles down, it’s common to realize that you have few interests in common. But don’t minimize the importance of activities you can do together that you both enjoy. If common interests are not present, happy couples develop them. At the same time, be sure to cultivate interests of your own; this will make you more interesting to your mate and prevent you from appearing too dependent.

3. Walk hand in hand or side by side
Rather than one partner lagging or dragging behind the other, happy couples walk comfortably hand in hand or side by side. They know it’s more important to be with their partner than to see the sights along the way.

4. Make trust and forgiveness your default mode
If and when they have a disagreement or argument, and if they can’t resolve it, happy couples default to trusting and forgiving rather than distrusting and begrudging.

5. Focus more on what your partner does right than what he or she does wrongIf you look for things your partner does wrong, you can always find something. If you look for what he or she does right, you can always find something, too. It all depends on what you want to look for. Happy couples accentuate the positive.

6. Hug each other as soon as you see each other after workOur skin has a memory of “good touch” (loved), “bad touch” (abused) and “no touch” (neglected). Couples who say hello with a hug keep their skin bathed in the “good touch,” which can inoculate your spirit against anonymity in the world.

7. Say “I love you” and “Have a good day” every morningThis is a great way to buy some patience and tolerance as each partner sets out each day to battle traffic jams, long lines and other annoyances.

8. Say “Good night” every night, regardless of how you feelThis tells your partner that, regardless of how upset you are with him or her, you still want to be in the relationship. It says that what you and your partner have is bigger than any single upsetting incident.

9. Do a “weather” check during the day
Call your partner at home or at work to see how his or her day is going. This is a great way to adjust expectations so that you’re more in sync when you connect after work. For instance, if your partner is having an awful day, it might be unreasonable to expect him or her to be enthusiastic about something good that happened to you.

10. Be proud to be seen with your partner
Happy couples are pleased to be seen together and are often in some kind of affectionate contact — hand on hand or hand on shoulder or knee or back of neck. They are not showing off but rather just saying that they belong with each other.

Made In Penang Interactive Museum 美因槟廊3D馆

8.1.14 (Wed)

3 days ago, we went to Made In Penang Interactive Museum, together with my cousin who came to visit us in Kulim. 
 

Made In Penang Interactive Museum (Chinese: 美因槟廊) is one of the latest attractions to open in Penang in late 2013. It is housed in the historic Behn Meyer Building at 3, Weld Quay, George Town. The museum had its soft launch on 1 November, 2013.

The Made In Penang Interactive Museum is another first for Penang. The museum showcases three-dimensional interactive art on the two levels of the building. The ground floor houses the Diorama Gallery while the upper floor the Penang 3D Gallery. In addition, there are Interactive Kiosks and a Video Presentation. (adapted from here)

It was not hard to locate the place as it was located near the Weld Quay Bus Terminal. 

The Made In Penang Interactive Museum is within walking distance of the Weld Quay Bus Terminal. From the terminal, cross Weld Quay by the Weld Quay pedestrian bridge, then continue north along the road until you arrive at the Behn Meyer Building on your left. It is the third building from Bangunan Syed Putra.

It was a good idea to come to Penang Island on Sunday as you need not pay for parking fee and weird enough, the traffic was smooth and not crowded. Before going to the ticket counter, you will pass the passageway in the Made In Penang Interactive Museum.

At the Waterfront is a 3D art along a passageway in the Made In Penang Interactive Museum. It depicts a scene of the George Town waterfront at the turn of the 20th century, when it was a bustling harbour. The three-dimensional street art shows the façade of George Town shophouses on one side, and the wharves on the other. Painted on the wall are Chinese junks and other sea-going vessels.

 

Then, you will see the ticket counter once you turn right. There was also a small food stall in front of the ticket counter, mainly selling Penang authentic food for eg nasi lemak, cendol, white coffee etc. 

The price of ticket is as below.

 

(note: you are not allowed to bring water and umbrella into the gallery)

The Diorama Gallery occupies the ground floor of the Made In Penang Interactive Museum. At the opening of the museum, it showcases seven beautiful dioramas that depict the lifestyle and traditional trades in Penang, particularly of the foregone era.

There are four interactive kiosks at the Made In Penang museum. At two of these kiosks, you point your entrance ticket to the sensor, and it will project a three-dimensional image on the screen. The images are of Komtar and the Penang ferry. At the other two kiosks, you just need to stand near the screen, and you will see yourself wearing vivid coloured masks of Sichuanese opera. Abby enjoyed herself here.

Next, we went up to the upper level of the museum where all the 3D graphics were. Here, you could see all the people busy taking photo with the murals and enjoying themselves. I was amazed to see how the 3D graphics work and had lots of fun.

I loved this shot!

Made In Penang Interactive Museum 美因槟廊3D馆

3 Weld Quay
10300 George Town, Penang
Phone: 04 262 6119

Open daily from 9am to 6pm

You can also read here for a more detailed blog on Made In Penang Interactive Museum.

Kemunting Lake View Restaurant 甘文丁湖上美食馆

8.1.14 (Wed)

Yesterday, I took my cousin to Kemunting for lunch. Initially I wanted to bring her to Restaurant Kolam Ikan as it was nearer to my house, but Hubby suggested we should go to Kemunting Lake View Restaurant if wanna enjoy the nature and to let the children feed fish. So, after picking Abby from Kindy, we drove to Kemunting (about 20mins) and reached the restaurant "safely". (it was my first time driving there and glad that I could locate the place based on Hubby's help and my memory)

Useful signboard

I think this should be my 5th or 6th time having meal at Kemunting Lake View Restaurant. And, if you are not local, you might have a bit of problem finding this place and it is located at a secluded place. So, usually we will only come here when we have guests or feel like eating fresh fish. The view here is very "green" with fish ponds surrounding the restaurant. 

I guessed due to weekday, so there were not many customers. We ordered steamed catfish清蒸白须公, 三味金凤鱼，vege and egg. The price of the fish is much more cheaper than Restaurant Kolam Ikan. And you can also feed the fishes for RM1. Abby and Ian were so excited and happy to feed the fishes especially Abby, she jumped up and down when she saw the fishes rushing for the food!

Food here was good especially the fishes. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer the 三味鱼 here due to the tasty sauce. The bill came to RM65.80. The owner here was very friendly. If you also want to eat fresh fish, come and visit me in Kulim!

Verdict out of Five (1-not good, 5-very good):

1. Quality of food: 5

2. Ambiances: 4

3. Audiences: 4 

4. Price: 4

5. Services: 4 (family business, friendly staffs)

6. Hygiene: 3

 

 

 

Kemunting Lake View Restaurant 甘文丁湖上美食馆
Plot 1635, Jalan Simen,
Kampung Kemunting
Dusun Karangan,
09700 Kulim, Kedah
Contact no: 04 405 6046 / 017 405 7551 / 019 472 1183
Business hours: 11am - 7pm (closed on Wednesday)

三個故事 說穿了 人性

一、 甲不喜歡吃雞蛋，每次發了雞蛋都給乙吃。 剛開始乙很感謝，久而久之便習慣了。習慣了，便理所當然了。 於是，直到有一天，甲將雞蛋給了丙， 乙就不爽了。 她忘記了這個雞蛋本來就是甲的， 甲想給誰都可以。 為此，她們大吵一架，從此絕交。

 

二、 有一年，很熱的夏天，一隊人出去漂流。 女孩的拖鞋在玩水的時候，把拖鞋掉下去了， 沉底了。 到岸邊的時候，全是曬的很燙的鵝卵石， 他們要走很長的一段路。 於是，女孩兒就向別人尋求幫忙， 可是誰都只有一雙拖鞋。 女孩心裡很不爽，因為她習慣了向別人求助， 而只要撒嬌就會得到滿意地答复。 可是這次卻沒有。 她忽然覺得這些人都不好，都見死不救。 後來，有一個男孩將自己的拖鞋給了她， 然後自己赤腳在那曬得滾燙的鵝卵石上走了很久的路。 還自嘲說是鐵板燒。 女孩表示感謝，男孩說，你要記住， 沒有誰是必須要幫你的。 幫你是出於交情，不幫你是應該。 女孩記住了男孩的話， 自此以後學會了對施以援手的人銘記在心， 並給以更大的回報。 很多時候，我們總是希望得到別人的好。 一開始，感激不盡。 可是久了，便是習慣了。 習慣了一個人對你的好，便認為是理所應當的。 有一天不對你好了，你便覺得怨懟。 其實，不是別人不好了，而是我們的要求變多了。 習慣了得到，便忘記了感恩。

 

三、 傍晚，一隻羊獨自在山坡上玩。 突然從樹木中竄出一隻狼來，要吃羊，羊跳起來， 拼命用角抵抗，並大聲向朋友們求救。 牛在樹叢中向這個地方望了一眼， 發現是狼，跑走了； 馬低頭一看，發現是狼，一溜煙跑了； 驢停下腳步，發現是狼，悄悄溜下山坡； 豬經過這裡，發現是狼，衝下山坡； 兔子一聽，更是一箭一般離去。 山下的狗聽見羊的呼喊，急忙奔上坡來， 從草叢中閃出，一下咬住了狼的脖子， 狼疼得直叫喚，趁狗換氣時，愴惶逃走了。 回到家，朋友都來了， 牛說：你怎麼不告訴我？ 我的角可以剜出狼的腸子。 馬說：你怎麼不告訴我？ 我的蹄子能踢碎狼的腦袋。 驢說：你怎麼不告訴我？ 我一聲吼叫，嚇破狼的膽。 豬說：你怎麼不告訴我？ 我用嘴一拱，就讓它摔下山去。 兔子說：你怎麼不告訴我？ 我跑得快，可以傳信呀。 在這鬧嚷嚷的一群中，唯獨沒有狗。 真正的友誼，不是花言巧語， 而是關鍵時候拉你的那隻手。 那些整日圍在你身邊， 讓你有些許小歡喜的朋友， 不一定是真正的朋友。 而那些看似遠離，實際上時刻關注著你的人， 在你快樂的時候，不去奉承你； 在你需要的時候，默默為你付出、關心你的人， 那才是真正的朋友！

 

Food hunting in Penang - Sister's Char Koay Teow, Air Itam Laksa & Lebuh Keng Kwee Teochew Cendol

5.1.14 (Sun)

Today we welcomed our first guest of the year, my cousin MeiYi. We picked her up from the Penang Airport around 9.40am and headed to Georgetown for food! 

 

First stop - Siam Road Char Koay Teow. I knew about this Ah Pek, frying koay teow using charcoal at Siam Road from a blog that I followed. The stall is located at the intersection of Anson Road and Siam Road. If you spotted the Hock Ban Hin Cafe, then you are near the stall, because most of his customers will order a plate of char koay teow and eat it at the Hock Ban Hin Cafe.  However, the stall is closed on SUNDAY!!! Gosh..was a lil disappointed. (the blog mentioned above said it is open from Tues-Sun) So, we decided to go for Lorong Selamat Sister's Char Koay Teow. As Hubby was driving, we passed by Macalister Road and I saw the Sister's Char Koay Teow at Lam Heng Cafe (one of the recommended stall by most food bloggers). I quickly stopped Hubby and we had our breakfast there. 

 

As we walked into the cafe, there were not many people yet. Not sure if it was too early or because it was a Sunday morning. Anyway, our purpose here was to try the fried koay teow. We ordered 4 plates. One of the specialty about the Sister's Char Koay Teow here was they added shredded crab meat besides big prawns. But, we were surprised to see that n old man was the one frying the koay teow. So, I asked the owner of the cafe and was told the old man was the son of one of the sisters. (one passed away last year and the other was too old with heart attack sickness) We also ordered one bowl of "Hokkien Mee" (aka prawn mee in Penang) Hubby and cousin liked it. 

Second stop - Air Itam Asam Laksa, another must eat food when you come to Penang. The stall is located near the morning market besides Kek Lok Si. The stall is open from 11.15am to 7.30pm. However, finding a parking was not easy especially during public holidays. With RM4 per bowl, you could find rice noodles, vegetables, cili padi, lemongrass, onions, peppermint topped with spicy mackerel based soup. I liked the sour and spicy taste of the soup..delicious!

 

Third stop - Made in Penang Interative Museum, located near the Weld Quay Bus Terminal, the latest tourist attraction in Penang. Will have a separate blog on this later.

Fourth stop - Teochew Cendol at Lebuh Keng Kwee. I always like cendol as dessert, especially during the hot day. It was not hard to spot the Penang Road famous teochew cendol, especially when you see a long queue of people, awaiting for their bowl of cendol under the hot sun. My cousin chsoe to eat her cendol beside the stall while I "da bao" the cendol in the cup and enjoyed it inside the car.

Fifth stop - Penang Street Art. We went there during last November. But since we were around the Penang Street Art areas, so we decided to just quickly 'visit' the famous wall painting. There were some new additions to the wall paintings for eg The Legoman, Bruce Lee kick etc. However, I was surprised to see that the Legoman wall painting was actually a sticker, and not hand drawn. And, the sticker almost came off due to the hot sun. We managed to stick it back using a creative way..hehe..

FInally, after a long day under the hot sun, we went back to our house and rest!

A useful link on must try food in Penang.