Zoop’s Rantings On Life…

Day Out With Thomas The Tank Engine…

zoopslife on May 06 2008 | Filed under: Family, Food, Ian, My Little Emperor, Places

It was the May Bank Holiday weekend, so we have Monday off as well. We took Ian to see Thomas the Tank Engine on Sunday. Woke up quite early, as we were getting ready to go..guess what….it rained and rained…. arghhh….it was quite nice and sunny the day before…just my luck…

I was not gonna let that change my mind so we still went. It was at the East Lancashire Railway in Bury. That’s about nearly 40 plus miles away. Raining also means less people and not so crowded.

I thought that it would be quite a big event with lots of train models. But there was only one steam engine, which is Thomas at one end and Percy at the other.

It is open carriages and you just stand in it while it takes you on a really short distance and back. Ian loved it though.

Then the other 2 were diesel trains. We only went on one…can’t remember the name of the train anyway.

Empty…

Ian enjoyed himself…I guess that is the only thing that matters… but I think the ticket was really expensive. Not worth it, oh well just once a while it’s alright I guess.

Oh yes, the ticket was £34 for family ticket which can be used for 2 adults and 3 children (max). It’s the same if you buy individually. £12.50 per adult £9 per child (3 years and above). I also bought Ian a flag and whistle for £1.30 and a huge Thomas balloon for £6!! I know, i spoil him…hehe..

Anyway, after that we dropped by at the Trafford Centre, Manchester, just for some window shopping. Hubby won Employee of the Month at work. So he had £50 gift card to spend. Didn’t buy anything. Was going to get the Nintendo Wii Fit but it was sold out.

He didn’t want to get up at Early Learning Centre….screamed his head off

Cute remote controlled car with teddy……

So, just walked around and ate at the Tampopo restaurant there. This restaurant serves South East Asian cuisine.

We ordered a Tampopo Platter to Share ;i.e Tempura Vegetables, Bulgogi (marinated grilled beef), Gyoza (dumplings), Coconut Prawns, Satay, Yasai Gyoza.

Hubby had Nasi Goreng Indonesia and I had Thai Chicken Panang Curry and Miso Soup.

It was suppose to be real spicy curry but it was not. Ian had his own food….

When the bill comes, the total was around £35. Well, we used our £50 gift card. So now we still have a balance of £15. Not bad as long as it is free…haha….but nothing beats Malaysian/Penang hawker food…

Tags: Family, Food, holiday, Ian

Future Picasso???

zoopslife on May 05 2008 | Filed under: Family, Ian, My Little Emperor

Look Mummy…how do you like my drawing….so do you think I have a future in art? Any potential?

I can draw on my hands too…look..nice…..also tried a little on my clothes and maybe some on my face as well…just trying out on different styles and places…hahaha…

Luckily it’s water-based…just wipe with wet cloth or wash in water…if not…*smack forehead*

No Rest!!

zoopslife on Apr 28 2008 | Filed under: Family, Ian, My Little Emperor, My Rants..

Nowadays all I seem to do is work… that is why I feel so tired. I have so many things to do. Which can be a good thing though…in some ways. I am half-way through my course and also just started my driving lessons which is a drag….arghh… I have been looking for a new job as well.

Everything is going up, the price of fuel is the worse, there is strikes at the oil refinery so it affects the prices of fuel and everything else!! So, I have to be good and not go out nowadays… Other than that, I have been just tired… looking after Ian and also swamped with housework, housework and MORE housework!!

So weekends nowadays have been spent cleaning up the house and doing some spring cleaning. This week was clearing up Ian’s clothes. He has grown so much! Look at all his clothes!!

Anyway, I filled up 6 black bin bags full of his clothes. Put them in the box and up it goes in the loft! My loft is so full now!

So now, his wardrobe is clear…just very little clothes, which means I need to do some shopping for summer clothes…hehe….but I won’t be buying loads, because when I went through clothes that he has out-grown, there were a lot of them that still has tags on…..so that says it all..

As I was clearing upstairs, look at what the little monster is doing… He took his toybox. Pour all the toys out and sit in the box, took my throw and pillow and sit in the box and cover himself up….all sorts he would come up with.

I bought him the box and a chair from Ikea the other time. He loves them.

Then after all done upstairs, it’s hoovering and mopping the floors, changing bed sheets and wiping everywhere. I was tired at the end of the day.

So, put some curries bought from Tesco in the microwave and cook some rice to have with it. Chicken Korma with Naan Bread and rice for hubby and Chicken Jalfrezi with Naan Bread and rice for me….

Now dreading the start of another week….how I wish weekends will last…

Tags: Food, Little Emperor.., My Rants..

6th Contest!!

zoopslife on Apr 27 2008 | Filed under: Contest

This post will remain ON TOP until the end of the contest. For NEWER POST, please SCROLL DOWN!!!

It’s flower guessing contest again. In this contest, you have to guess the total number of stalks in this bouquet of carnations. Just to give you a tip, stalks does not mean the number of flower buds.

The prize in this contest will be a Lonsdale T-shirt worth £16.99 in “L” size.

The same rules apply:

You can have the same answer as anyone else. However, if you or anyone else and two other people guessed the correct answer, the tie-breaker will then come into play.

The tie-breaker will be the first person to comment on the results when it is announced.

Please leave your name together with a valid address/blog URL.

The contents ends in ten days time, IE: The last day will be at 11.59pm GMT on the 8th May 2008.

The winner will be announced the following week. If there is no winner, the prize will be given to ghe closest answer.

The winner MUST blog about their win in their blog or else they will not be able to enter any of my future contests.

Thank you and GOOD LUCK!

Tags: Contest

Who Won??!! The Results…5th Contest!!

zoopslife on Apr 27 2008 | Filed under: Contest

And the winner of the 5th Contest is…..drum roll…….GiddyTigress with the closest answer….£15.50! The belt costs £15!!! Congrats again…please email me your details..add…and I will post the item to you..

Also I would like to congratulate the 4th contest winner, Michelle, who has posted her winning in her blog here. Well, next contest..coming up….don’t miss it!

Tags: Contest, Results

I WON!!!!!

zoopslife on Apr 25 2008 | Filed under: Contest, My Rants..

Muahahaha….I won USD 15 from Sasha!! Thank you Sasha… It was from guessing the number of fruit…must go and buy lottery later….what good news..just woke up anyway…You can check it out from her blog here..

Tags: Winnings..

Feeling Lazy….

zoopslife on Apr 21 2008 | Filed under: Family, Food, Ian, My Rants.., My Shopping Addiction..

This weekend I did some grocery shopping and then some spring cleaning. Instead of buying fresh food, I have opted for frozen food this week.

It’s because the fresh food usually gets thrown out when I forget about it. But with frozen food, it doesn’t and I get to save a lot doing that. Besides, I have read in the papers before that frozen food and vegetables have more vitamins than the fresh ones…..so why not…

I also bought some vitamins for Ian. He is such a picky eater. He only eats Oatibix for his lunch and dinner, unless it’s chicken/ turkey nuggets with chips/ fries. I also give him yogurt. Not very healthy I supposed.

But he would not eat anything else except junk i.e snacks…biscuits. I have tried everything, so exasperated. Even if he eats junk, I try to give him healthy snacks like raisins, brioche, biscuits, unsalted crisps and etc…

I have almost given up now. He used to eat bananas and grapes but now it depends on his mood *slap head*. I really don’t understand why he is like that. But then again, he has been like that since birth even when I was breastfeeding him. He would take ages… stopping all the time.

So, I decided to buy this Eye-Q by Equazen. It is fish oil, it was recommended by a friend. Not cheap though, but there was an offer in Boots Pharmacy, £9.99 each. Buy 3, the cheapest free.

Before that he was on Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil. I have to mix it in his juice. It really taste yuck…hehe. I also saw this at Tesco the other day and thought that I tried it out as well. It’s Fruit and Veg in a sachet by Ultralife. I checked out their website….seems legit. So, I guess it is alright.

Anyway, it has been quite a lazy weekend. I did some spring cleaning and then just watch TV the whole day, catching up with my recorded series…Desperate Housewives, CSI, Criminal Minds…so many…haha…. Also did a lazy dinner, fish and chips…hehe….

Tags: Food, Ian, Picky Eater, shopping, Vitamins

5th Contest!!

zoopslife on Apr 12 2008 | Filed under: Contest

This POST will remain on TOP till the end of the contest! For NEWER post please scroll down.

In this contest, all you have to do is to guess the price of this Calvin Klein belt in £££££/ pounds sterling.

The prize in this contest is this Jane Norman bag worth £20!! The photo is a bit blur but it’s a great-looking bag! Don’t miss it!

The same RULES apply…

You can have the SAME answer as anyone else. However, if you or anyone else and 2 other person guessed the correct answer, the tie-breaker will then come into play.

The TIE-BREAKER will be the FIRST person to comment on “THE RESULTS” post when it is announced.

Please leave your name together with a valid address/blog URL.

This contest ends in 10 days time, i.e: the last day will be 22nd April 2008 at 11:59pm GMT.

The winner will be announced the following week. if there is no winner, the prize will be given to the closest answer.

The winner MUST blog about their win in their blog or else they will not be able to enter any of my future contents.

Thank you and GOOD LUCK!

Tags: Contest

Going Up..Not Coming Down….

zoopslife on Apr 12 2008 | Filed under: Food, My Rants..

Look at the price of the petrol and diesel….going up and up..how I wish that this is the share/stock price ,and there’s no way it’s coming down. The first picture was taken at the end of January. The second photo was taken this evening.

That’s why I have been so good…haha..no more well…less retail therapy or long trips….Not only that, I have been feeling tired lately so, just rested at home….

We had Wild Mushroom with Parmesan Rissotto this evening and boy did it make me feel unwell…probably the mushroom…indigestion.

Speaking of mushroom, I made these, Chicken with Roasted Vegetables in Mushroom Sauce. But did not get any indigestion……probably just my own tummy….

Tags: Food, Living, My Rants..

Snowing In Springtime..

zoopslife on Apr 06 2008 | Filed under: My Rants.., Weather..

Yay! It’s finally snowing here…but at the wrong time of the year…haha….it’s Springtime and it had been snowing since early morning.

Before I went to sleep this morning at 2am, I looked outside the win