Sumbebejo's Old Blog

I AM MOVING!

2009-07-09T11:51:00.003+08:00

HI ALL, I WILL BE MOVING OVER TO THIS NEW BLOG http://sumbebejo-2.blogspot.com/ . THIS BLOG WILL STILL BE UP FOR VIEWING. SEE YOU!

OUR 9TH ANNIVERSARY AND UPDATES

2009-06-05T13:54:00.018+08:00

We celebrated our 9th Wedding Anniversary on 3 June 2009 at Sakura, RP. Wanted to have it at Vienna but I was down with a flu so went somewhere near. Can't believe it's almost a decade (Dear, it's next January 2010 then 10 years!)! Some commented that we behaved like newly weds..... always sweet sweet! I must say every family has their own "difficult Bible" (nan nian the jin) and we're definitely have one! I think in order to enjoy sweetness to the fullest in a relationship, we have to endured "sourness", experienced "saltiness" and most importantly erased bitterness! Forgiveness is the number one thing that every couple should learn to release and received. Notice that I didn't mention forget cos even God remembers incidents.... see the Bible for every sin that those great man of God committed! They are written for us to learn something from. Ok, I shall not "preach" further....haha.... HAPPY 9TH ANNIVERSARY DEAR!

We had a belated Mother's Day Celebration with my mom at Holiday Inn Hotel. We bought all the moms necklaces and tarts.Of course, ang paos too! The buffet at Holiday Inn wasn't that good so don't think we'll be back again.

Mother's Day Celebration

Had Japanese buffet in JB again 2 weeks ago. Gil was with us too. See pics below.

Aunty Cindy was back from Perth for her lasik and she wanted Geylang durians so we brought her for a durian feast.

We were invited to Von's school for a Movie night dinner. The students from Shatec were really polite and service was good. Hopefully they remain like this when they start work....hee! Von & Les sang a duet at the dinner.... awwwww..... so sweet! Here are the pics and vids.

Videos

Les had craving for crabs last week so these were what we had for dinner.

Did a mini drama with my cell kids during the children programme. And these are the pics of the princesses...haha!

My aunt invited us to her place for steamboat. I like the trays that she used. Very good idea for preparing steamboat.

Had dinner with Gil at Kim Gary, JB. This was her Typhoon style noodles....huge!

Tom and I had these:

I had craving for bibimpap so had this Korean stone rice from Foodfare food court. Not too bad but I still prefer the one at Bugis.

Dinners I prepared for us:

1) Gil's mom gave us some yummy vegetarian food. I love the crispy thingy! I steamed some chicken for my meat lover hubby.

2) Curry chicken and Ham & CS omelette for some friends who came over for dinner.

3)Steamed meat balls with CS, stir-fry chilli french beans and curry potatoes.

4) Steamed Pork ribs with black beans and Balacan Brinjal with prawns.

5) Mee Hoon Kueh with minced pork and anchovies.

6) Teriyaki Chicken rice with crab stick salad and stir-fry cabbage.

Woohoo.... this is a really long post due to my lack of motivation to blog these days cos I am addicted to Korean dramas. Watched Boys Over Flowers (finished it in a weeks and I am in love with Ji hoo!), Queen of Housewives (finished in a week and it made me laughed and cried so much !). Now Tom (yes, he's a Korean drama convert!) and I are addicted to "Likeable or Not". It's 172 episodes and I am at Ep 94.....haha! Ok got to continue with my drama marathon now...bye!

BREADTALK

2009-05-23T23:12:00.006+08:00

No, these bread were not from Breadtalk. They were bought fresh from the oven at my fave confectionery in JB. This was the first time we get to try their buns beside the coconut ones and the ever gorgeously baked banana cake! They might look like those ordinary buns we get in Singapore but the "springy"/QQ texture of the buns were what made them so extraordinary and desirable... *drools*! It was raining heavily in JB today so I told Tom to decide on what to get while we waited for him in the car. He bought RM 20 worth of buns (see below)!

Ok, I shall let the pics of the buns do the talking...

1) Mini Plain Buns - Tom got these for Jo cos my little darling liked his buns plain! They came in packs of 12 and I thot they were really cute.

2) Cheese Buns - These cost the most among the buns and I tasted the most ordinary. Jo liked the burnt cheese and he literally peeled them off the top! Tom ate the bun...haha!

3) Kaya Buns - They were nice and the kaya was home-made. Tom liked it.

4) Red Bean Buns - I am not a red bean lover so these didn't appeal to me. We bought them for my FIL.

5) Peanut Buns - Thee were my second favourite. I like the generous portion of peanut filling. They tasted really great with the bun. No wonder these were their signature buns. Yummy!

6) Otah Buns - Tom & I agreed that these were the best among the lot! The otah was big and thick. It wasn't like those that we had in Singapore where the otah was normally dry and burnt. It was juicy and fresh..... we heart it! Will get more of these the next time.

Tom mentioned that they even had curry and spicy shrimps filling buns that he did not get and they were the types that I liked! Anyway. we'll be back for more and I will do the choosing the next time... hee! Will update soon with more yummy stuff and happenings. Nite!

OVERDUE PICS AND NEW ONES TOO!

2009-05-11T22:54:00.022+08:00

PICS GALORE......... yes lots of pics especially food ones!

Will start with the latest!

Mother's Day Celebration 10/5/09 (Sun) - we celebrated Mother's Day at Kim Gary HK Cafe, City Sq, JB. We had been eating there quite frequently and even signed up as their life time member. So members had their privileges. They were giving 50% off the total bill if there was a mother present in the group. It was one of the cheapest meal we had in JB. We paid RM 36.95 for 3 set lunches and peanut toast which was like SGD 15.60.... super cheap! Tom bought a pair of shoes as a gift for me... thks dear!

On Saturday, we were invited to Nicky's 21st birthday bash. I couldn't believe that this little imp had grown up! I've known him since he is a Primary school kid! Anyway, the Indian food prepared by his mom was fantastic! Here are the pics.

Video of the cake cutting ceremony

We brought my FIL to Kinsahi, Pelangi, JB for dinner last week. This was the only branch that served normal Jap food as well as vegetarian ones. It was his first time eating Jap food. It was a pleasant evening with my FIL.

Last Friday, we had our first cell dinner at Lerk Thai to celebrate Mother's day. It was my first time trying their food. I must say I very much preferred Siam Kitchen and Joe's. The food just lacked the Thai element but the company was great and we proceeded to my place for dessert. Had fun chatting with the couples and Jo had a good time with the kids.

My cell members (not all were present).

The side dishes

The mains

Now for some overdue and random pics:

Had dinner at Pasta Mania and ordered their kids meal. It came with a croc but Jo insisted that it was a dino. It had been his companion since then! Btw, my dear son is now Day-toilet trained at home and he can sleep on his own without my company.... happy!

Some pics of Jo and I

These are pics of our past dinners at Kim Gary ever since we became members! See if you can spot which pics were taken by Jo.

My dear boy loves their Nissin noodles so this is what he will always have when we're there. I think Kim Gary makes yummy pork chops and mushroom rice!

These are our fave bakes from JB. We loved the soft and lovely banana cake. Most importantly, it's Jo fave too! He can eat at least 2 slices of it which is rather rare if you know what I mean!

Had lunch with Gil at LJS and did some shopping too! She was my best shopping companion and friend! Pics of my fave fries.

Dinners:

Chicken & Taiwan Sausages rice. I wanted to make Chinese Sausage rice but ran out of them so decided to try them with Taiwan ones. Tom loved it and think it will be one of our regular rice dish.

Wanted to try making the fish with egg that I had at Kim Gary but guessed I added too much egg...hee! Anyway, it tasted alright and I will give this dish another try the next time. Jo liked the crab stick salad and he had a small bowl of it.

Did some stir fry dishes and as mentioned above, I ran our of CS so replaced that with TS. Am glad that Tom liked the chicken and TS dish.

Sometimes after having so much good food, we wanted something light and simple for dinner. So this was our simple dinner comprising of Egg with TS and all the usual salty stuff to that went well with plain porridge.

I wanted to clear those instant noodles that we didn't like so instead of throwing them away, I made them into fried noodles!

Had porridge dinner at our place with Nicky and he brought a very appetising dish made from bean curd and canned pork. It was so yummy that we had the left overs for dinner the next day!

After having the Tuna Prata at Mahkota, Melaka, I had to try making one myself. It turned out well. Honestly, I preferred my version. Tom was all praises for it. He said we must add this to our dinner menu! I thot so too cos it was really easy to prepare...hee!

I shall end this post with a pic that is not food related. This is an angel Hp decorative made by Gil as a Mother's Day gift to me (not that I am her mom!). I loved it.... Thks Gil! Btw, the crystal sticker on my Hp was bought from Daiso. I think it goes well with the angel.

MELAKA TRIP (1/5/09 - 3/5/09)

2009-05-06T22:14:00.011+08:00

I have been rather lazy to blog these days. Thks to Facebook cos it's easier to post pics over there. Ok, on to my short getaway over the weekend. This post will be purely about our trip to Melaka (Malacca....whatever!).

Day 1 - 1/5/09 (Friday)

We set off to Melaka about 7.30am last Friday. Stop at our fave confectionery shop to grab some banana cake for breakfast. Then off we go with Tom's trusty GPS leading us to Melaka (like real!). After about 4 hours, we arrived at our first stop for lunch. After hearing much comments on blogs, we (rather I) planned for us to try the well-known Bibik Neo Restaurant's Nyonya food. I must say I was rather disappointed with the food. Guess with high expectation comes great disappointment! The only think which I thought was nice was the cincalok omelette but most things taste great with eggs anyway! So don't think we will be back here when we visit Melaka again.

We checked into Hotel 96 (wonder if they are affiliated to Hotel 81...haha!) at about 2 pm and lazed around till about 4 pm. We decided to shop at Mahkota Parade Shopping Mall and have our dinner there. Didn't buy much stuff but Tom had his first foot reflexology that evening after much coaxing from us (we told him he needed it...."evil grin"). It was pure torture for my dear hb.... think it would be his first and last try!

We had our dinner at a Char Chan Ting Hong Kong Cafe. It was simple food and we went back to the hotel after a short walk around Palawan Mall. Gil & I had body massages at a parlour next to our hotel while Tom & Jo catch up with their beauty sleep. I didn't know it was Gil's first "skin to skin" massage..... hahaha.... she was shocked and clueless about what to do when she was asked to remove her clothes.....lol! I had to assure her that they would preserved her modesty and cover whatever that needed to be covered but her masseur didn't really do that! Anyway, I enjoyed all the kneading and rubbing. We decided to try their foot reflexology the next day. I had a good rest that night apart from some minor disturbance from Joash.

Day 1 pics

Video of Tom being tortured

Day 2 - 2/5/09 (Saturday)
We woke up at about 8 am to wash up and had our buffet breakfast. It was simple fare and I didn't eat much cos I wanted to save space in my tummy for more yummy treats at Jonker Walk. I was dying to try their Chendol and Laksa.

When we arrived at Jonker Walk, most of the shops were closed so we decided to visit the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum first. The "trusty" GPS brought us round and round the street till we stopped to ask for direction. Finally, we managed to find a parking lot and it was right in front of the famous LW Pineapple Tart shop. Yes, we were overwhelmed by the smell of freshly baked tarts. We took pics of the record breaking ginormous Pineapple tart and proceeded to buy boxes of the miniature versions together with other stuff. Then it was on to the street for some shopping and food. We found the much raved bout Jonker 88 Chendol and Baba Laksa. There was already a queue outside the eatery. I didn't think the chendol was super fantastic except for the strong gula melaka taste and I didn't really enjoyed the highly-recommended and over-rated Durian Chendol. But the Baba Laksa was good! I love the gravy and think tuna with laksa really tasted great!

We finally found the museum after walking under the sun for half an hour. Jo was drenched in his perspiration. It was a pity that they didn't allow photography so no pics from the museum unless "someone" decided to post some "illegal" pics on his blog...keke!

After the viewing, I felt rather Nyonyaish. I have always thought that I was 1/8 Peranankan cos I have seen a pic of my great grandma in Peranakan costumes. But after checking with my aunt, I found out I was 1/8 Thai! My GGM used to dress in Peranakan costumes cos she had a neighbour who was a Baba and taught her how to prepare Nyonya food.... no wonder my grandma seemed to be able to prepare some Peranakan cuisine when I was young. Ok, back to the trip, we shopped for a little while more and bought some cute souvenirs as well as the famous Aik Cheong coffee. Overall, I think Jonker Walk is worth the visit especially at night when everything comes alive! Hope we will be back for night visit instead the next time we're here.

Day 2 pics (Part 1)

We left Jonker Wall about 1 pm. My loving hb dropped us ladies at Palawan Mall cos we needed more retail therapy and kindly offered to take care of Jo and get him to nap at the hotel. I loved shopping and chatting with Gil. She was a really great shopping kaki. And she loved trying new food just like me.... we're foodies by nature! We ended up buying beauty products at Guardian! Tom came and picked us up at about 5 pm for dinner.

Dinner was at Capitol Satay Celup Restaurant. When we arrived, there were already people queueing. This famous eatery was so popular that they even had signs put up to warn people of "imitations"...haha! We waited for about an hour before we were brought to a table right in front of the food.... how blessed! This was our best meal for this trip. the peanut sauce was very good and it went well with almost anything except the century eggs. Gil & I liked the meat balls with otahs. We had coconut drink to cool us down after a "heaty" meal. We bought more drinks at a provision shop nearby and Gil had her cold coffee craving fulfilled too. We were back at the hotel earlier than expected and started to take pics of our loot and ourselves! Then it was on to our foot reflexology (my first time!). It wasn't that painful and didn't give me that element of "shiokness' that I had the day before. Think I preferred having a full body massage.

Day 2 pics (Part 2)

Day 3 - 3/5/09 (Sunday)

We woke up at about the same time as the day before and had our last brekkie at the cafe. I had a heavier breakfast cos we had decided to rest at the hotel and drive straight back to Singapore. The road back was pretty heavy for our eyes but we tried to stay awake to make sure Tom was not dozing off. We reached JB about 2.30pm and I hinted to Tom that it was early and how I wished to have my nails done. My ever sweet hb despite being tired out from driving did not protest and drove us to Holiday Plaza to get our nails done (Thks dear!). Gil had hers painted in candy pink for the first time and mine was in dark purple. I have always liked her nails... think she could be some nail model! We were back home before 6 pm.

Day 3 pics

Overall, this trip was mainly an exploring one cos we hadn't visited Melaka for almost 10 years! But it's definitely another place that we will visit again (wish the weather isn't so hot!). And to end this, I want to say a big thank you to my dear hb for driving us around without complaints and taking care of Jo while we ladies get ourselves pampered from head to toes. "Thks dear, more to come ya!"

UPDATES...... FINALLY!

2009-04-14T00:13:00.014+08:00

It's been almost a month since my last post. Btw, the sad issue is over..... I've moved on and feeling thankful that things did worked out..... for now at least!

I've many pics to upload so will let them do the talking and I will type lesser....I hope..... hee!

Let's start with my new cell. We are settling in our cell well and I even had an opportunity to take the kids for their programme.... they're really an enjoyable bunch..... not to mention adorable!

This is my CGL's daughters' birthday celebration. The older girl Isabelle was too shy to let us sing her a birthday song while the younger one was all ready to pose for us..... so cute!

Video of us singing her a BD song

We celebrated Gil's birthday too. Since she hadn't been to Tony Romas, we decided to bring her there for her birthday treat and we also got her some nice-smelling gifts! The night before her actual birthday, we got Jo to sing her a birthday song (see Jo's blog for video). She has been a one of God's greatest blessing to us and especially to our dear son.

Von, Les and Kei came over to our place with crabs for dinner. They wanted to fulfilled Kei's cravings before he flew off for his holiday in Perth. Actually, it was just an excuse for us to indulge in high-cholesterol food (the crab roe is so yummy!)...hehe!

Last Saturday, we celebrated our nephew Ryan's 1st birthday at their place. It was a rather short party and we went shopping after that. The little toddler was feeling rather grouchy which reminded me of how irritable my son was on his 1st birthday celebration....sigh! Anyway, here are the pics.

I love this pic of Jo jumping in my nightie. He kept pretending that he was in a sack race...see his blog for more!

Let's move on to more yummy stuff.

This is Ayam Penyti from NTU food court. I decided to have this for dinner instead of my usual Jap food while waiting for Gil's lecture to end. It was cheap and good!

My 5th uncle just opened a chicken rice stall at some canteen and my dad brought some over for us to try. It was ok for me cos I think the rice wasn't cooked well! But the chicken was nice.

We had this super shiok vegetarian fish curry for dinner one of the nights. It was prepared by Gil's mom and we loved it! Thks Aunty Pauline and Gil!

We chanced upon this Japanese restaurant in JB while searching for Leisure Mall. It was a restaurant serving Japanese buffet which cost about RM45+++ for dinner. We thot it was a good deal cos the food was served hot and there were a large varieties of food to choose from. We liked the ambience too. I felt they have an interesting concept of displaying their food with pics and using cards to make orders. The service was pretty good too! Think we'll be back when we have craving for Jap food. See pics below.

I cooked quite often these days and sometimes even lunch. See if you can figure out what they are...haha!

Tom brought his mom for Easter Hokkien service on Good Friday and we had dinner together at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, Sunplaza. Jo enjoyed his Ah ma's company. The food was ok and Jo liked the bean curd dessert. We might be back to try their dim sum. See how happy Jo was that day. I could tell that my MIL was glad to have our company. My hb was also happy to be able to spend some time with her.

On Saturday, I had Easter rehearsal in the noon and followed by Peace Mission at home. Actually, it only my SIL and kids. We watch Little Rain but did not have an opportunity to share much cos they were hungry and in a rush to go back. We had dinner at Hans. Kuen and Fiona visited us after dinner with their new pet hamster! I was reminded of Snowball, my first and last pet. Jo had fun playing with the hamster and it's cage...see his blog for more!

One last pic before I sleep. Went JB today for pedicure and shopping. Gil was with us too. I love her nails.... I think the colour look sexy on her! This is my short and stubby looking toes with a colour that my hb had chosen. It's quite sweet actually!

I shall end this post with a song that I heard during Easter service. It was sang by my Choir director.... his voice was really "power"! I found the song on Youtube and David Phelps's voice was so "WOW, WOW, WOW"! I was almost in tears while listening to him sing. Here's the video and lyrics.

NO MORE NIGHT BY DAVID PHELPS

NO MORE NIGHT

The timeless theme, earth and
heaven will pass away. It’s not a
dream, God will make all things
new that day. Gone is the curse
from which I stumbled and fell.
Evil is banished to eternal hell.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying
again. And praises to the great "I
AM." We will live in the light of
the risen Lamb.

See all around, now the nations
bow down to sing. The only
sound is the praises to Christ,
our King. Slowly the names from
the book are read. I know the
King, so there’s no need to dread.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying
again. And praises to the great "I
AM." We will live in the light of
the risen Lamb.

See over there, there’s a mansion,
oh that’s prepared just for me,
where I will live with my savior
eternally.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying
again. And praises to the great "I
AM." We will live in the light of
the risen Lamb.

All praises to the great "I AM."
We’re gonna live in the light of
the risen Lamb.

GOOD NIGHT!

INVISIBLE WINGS

2009-03-28T00:10:00.002+08:00

I need invisble wings...... I need strength..... it's tough..... I am trying hard to move on...... hate those feelings...... hate those thots...... hate those images..... hate xxx ........ don't ask me what's wrong, tell me to be strong.

SO NOT IN THE MOOD...... @_@

2009-03-27T00:05:00.002+08:00

I am so not in the mood to entertain anyone,
I am so not in the mood to work,
I am so not in the mood to laugh,
I am so not in the mood to upload pics,
I am so not in the mood to do chores,
I am so not in the mood to move at all from my bed...........

BUT

I am so in the mood for shopping,
I am so in the mood for holidays,
I am so in the mood to bum around,
I am so in the mood to indulge in yummy food,
I am so in the mood to kick some butts,
I am so in the mood for a wholesome debate (some call it quarrel or finding trouble!),
I am so in the mood to just "stone" in front of the TV...................

Want to know why am I so moody? My dear boy is down with a high fever and I am sneezing away...... even my Hb looks irritating even tho' he is not doing anything...... I can't get to sleep cos have to wait till 1 am to take my son's temperature and hopefully no waking him up for medicine. I think I am PMSING big time too ...... yes the crazy "aunty" is coming............. I seriously could do with a break!

WOMEN VS MEN AND THE USUAL UPDATES

2009-03-18T16:26:00.021+08:00

*Cough*, *Cough*....... that's what I have been suffering from for almost 2 weeks and hopefully I will recover fully soon cos I need to sing and teach! Think my dear son has caught my coughing bug too... poor boy!

TOP 5 NEEDS OF WOMEN
1) AFFECTION - Saying "I LOVE YOU", hugs and kisses on a daily basis cos it's never enough for us!

2) CONVERSATION - We need verbal attention and it is best given 15hrs/week. (Yes, talk to us, not about yourself only but listen to our stories too!)

3) HONESTY & OPENNESS - We know it when you're not telling the truth..... our instincts are so scarily sharp!

4) FINANCIAL SUPPORT - At some point of their lives, women need to know that they can rely on their spouses for financial support without them working. (I agree ...keke!)

5) FAMILY COMMITMENT - Women love men who cares about the family especially the kids.

TOP 5 NEEDS OF MEN
1) SEXUAL FULFILMENT - It doesn't mean they are lustful or beastly, they are just wired that way.

2) RECREATION COMPANIONSHIP - Men likes playing..... a couple that plays together stays together. Find something in common that you both like and do it together. And this is best done 15 hrs/week! (Tom and I are thinking of getting a Game set now...anyone knows where we can find a cheap and good one?)

3) ATTRACTIVE SPOUSE - They are not shallow, just that they appreciate beautiful things. It's the way they are made..... (haha!)! It's not enough having a good heart, you got to take care of your physical body. The bible says that men looks at the appearance and God looks at the heart....so men are not God, they want their partner to look good. (I thot this was funny!)

4) DOMESTIC SUPPORT - It's every men's fantasies to come home to a wife that's all dolled up at the door and the house is neat, quiet and filled with well-behaved children. As you can tell, their fantasy can never be fulfilled (unless we're "Stepford Wives"!) Asking men to do housework is almost like Jesus going to the cross...hee hee!

4) ADMIRATION - Men need women to admire them. They want women to tell them that they are good. It has to be genuine cos they can tell! Find something good and heap on the praises and encouragements! You need to feed their egos. (Sigh.....men & their egos !)

Do you agree with the above points? I sure do after listening to Ps. Kong's sermons for the last 2 days. Btw, this is a research done on men & women for a period of 25 years so should be quite accurate and Ps. Kong even had verses from the Bible to support them. If you're interested in these sermons, go watch them online at http://store.attributes.com.sg/tv.php They are inspiring and not to mention, entertaining!

The sermons at CEFC (where I worship) were fantastic too. We're going through the Book of Numbers and last week was on "Consecration". I have learnt that it's more than just being set apart..... it's not letting the good life rob you of a God life..... it's being separated for good things not just abstaining from bad ones.... etc........ something to really reflect on!

Ok now for my usual updates.

We had a mini BBQ at our place on Saturday using a disposable pit and think this might be a quarterly affair. Hopefully, we don't get complains from our neighbours! I love the portobello mushrooms and bacon that Gil bought....super shiok! I thot my wings were delicious too!

Food from JB.....

1) "Zu Lin" Herbal chicken. They were extremely salty but were extremely yummy too. Had these like more than 5 times already.

Our favourite Claypot Chicken Rice from City Sq was no longer heavenly, it was almost hellish..... even Tom didn't finish his food. Think you can tell the difference just by looking at the pics right? The portions, the taste and even the prices had changed. You had to pay for vegetables now! The salted fish had shrunk too.... sigh..... think they changed chef and tenant.... the crisis is really hitting everyone badly!

We were so dissatisfied that we had to hop over to KFC for snack after that. I thot the fries look really cute and small.

On Sunday, my mom invited us over for Chicken Rice dinner. I always love the soya sauce chicken that she braised. So well marinated and tender! I was so hungry that I had forgotten to take pics of the full feast except some while she was cooking. We even had leftovers to take away. And that plate of meaty stuff you see in the 2nd pic was our lunch from the take away. And there are still more for today's dinner!

MY HOME-COOKED FOOD.

This was one dinner that I really think was bad cos the anchovies in the spinach dish were slightly burnt so they tasted bitter. The steam egg with minced pork didn't turn out the way I wanted it. Nevertheless, my ever encouraging Hb finished all while I just took a few mouthfuls.

I tried preparing "Lup Mei Fan" with mixed rice and it turned out pretty good! At least there some healthy stuff in it to make me less guilty about eating the high in cholesterol sausages! I cooked a bowl of fish balls soup with vermicelli too.

I have always love asparagus so this dish was enjoyable. Made some really huge Siew Mais for protein too.

Prepared these mini buns with tuna and sausages for brekkie before service. We like the soft and sweet buns.... think will get more from Giant, JB.

Started my belly dance lessons 2 weeks ago and it was fun tho' tiring . My knees were aching from all the twisting. Here's video to end this post..... I'm sure you will enjoy it..... yes, it's a never been seen footage of my Hb doing the exotic belly dance....lol!

A VERY DROOL-WORTHY POST!

2009-03-03T23:52:00.014+08:00

Been visiting our neighbouring country quite often this month ever since we got the car. And think we're getting quite good in getting around JB. We'll be exploring Malacca in 2 weeks' time to fulfill our craving for traditional Peranankan food. We're still not gotten over "Little Nyonya"...lol! Here are the delicious food we had during our JB trips.

We liked the "Zi Cha" food and Curry Fish Head from Teck Sing Seafood Restaurant. These were what we usually order (Herbal Chicken, Curry Fish Head, Sambal Tapioca Vege) except the Fried Sotong. We had it for the 1st time and the last too!

We took a break from JB on the 2nd week cos Jo had a bad flu. But we're on it again the following week....keke! We had the famous yummy Ginger Chicken and Bak Ku Teh at an old and stuffy eatery. The last time we were there, Jo was extremely cranky till he screamed and cried non-stop cos the heat was too much for him. Now that he is a year older, we decided to brave the heat and had our lunch there. As usual, the place was packed and warm with hot claypots boiling at the stoves. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meal but the heat was seriously unbearable. Jo was a little cranky but we managed to "cool" him down with Ribena sweets and Polky biscuits..phew!

After lunch, we went over to Giant to grab some groceries and hopefully some aircon! Jo fell asleep in the car while we were on our way to fulfill our coffee craving at Old Town Coffee Cafe, City Sq. It was a newly opened branch. My ice coffee was perfect but not the toast.... think our Ya Kun Toast is way better!

Then it was window shopping and we met some old friends. It was a short but good catching up with them. We were rather full from the coffee and toast and had a light dinner at the "Pokemon" Jap Restaurant...hee! We always liked the Okonomiyaki from this place and ordered one to share. We found a very sweet looking (PINK!) Korean cosmetic shop and decided to checked it out. We bought a gift for a friend and I would be back to get some of their pretty beauty stuff too!

On our way back, Jo suddenly became a "Merlion"..... yes, he vomited his undigested chawanmuchi right into my hands and the car seats..... you should see Tom's face (heartache look)!

I shall continue with more food pics despite the yucky incident above. Yup, my home-cooked food!

1) It was Stir fried Broccoli with mushrooms, Chai Po omelet and nuggets on Tuesday after work. We have not been having broccoli for some time and this was yum!

2) On Wednesday, we had Pasta with Minced Pork in Prego Mushroom sauce. Simple and nice.

3) On Thursday, I decided to make Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots Stew. Tom loved it so much that he licked up every drop of the stew.....haha.... he wanted this for dinner everyday. I thot it was very good too but I simply hate cutting onions and I had to put on my "Cutting Onion Suit"! Jo was pretty amused by me!

4) Made this Croissant with Tuna and Crabstick filling for Sunday Brekkie before service.

That's all for my very drool-worthy post. I feeling a little hungry now.... oops..... better get into bed soon before I reached for the fridge! Good night.

GENERALLY IRRITATED.....

2009-02-20T23:09:00.011+08:00

I am feeling generally irritated cos Jo was down with flu and cough for 3 days. He couldn't sleep well for 2 nights already and I hope he will have a good rest tonight! Took his temperature just now and found out that he had a slight fever. He also just vomited a moment ago and we had to clean him up! Btw, I am typing this in his room cos he is wide awake after vomiting... sigh.....

Ok, maybe I should just update and made myself a little happier looking at the pics I had taken.....

First up... Valentine's Day. Tom and I don't really celebrate V.Day cos we think the food and flowers are simply overpriced! We decided to spend it with our friends instead.

We had dinner with the Soh couple on V.Day eve who were back from Perth. Aunty Cindy came back for lasik and Uncle Willy for biz. We wanted to catch up with them so we brought them for some zi char cos AC requested for crabs and hawker food! I love being around them cos they are such "authentic" people.

On Valentine's Day, Tom gave me a pleasant surprise with little gifts of clips hidden in the house. Tho' it wasn't anything expensive, I really appreciate the effort and love. Towards noon, we went across the Causeway with Gil for our fave Claypot rice at City Sq and also Mani/Pedi at Holiday Plaza. Gil was ao sweet to gave us a V.Day present. She is really like a younger sis to us! Jo included her in his artwork on "Family" during Sunday School and I think she was touched! (See his blog for the artwork.)

Gil gave us this cute Salt and Pepper couple. Thanks Gil!

We have been leaving Jo at Sunday School on his own for 2 weeks already and so far he is doing well with minimum crying. Now we can fully enjoy the service. We're also finally joining a cell after months of waiting...yeah...and my CL is named after the purple dino.... how cute! (I can just imagine Von's expression @_@ now). And we even have a cell google account... cool ya? Btw, my CL used to be some "big shot" in Microsoft, just like Barney the dino in the world of kids entertainment scene! First cell meeting will be at our place next Friday cos the host will not be around...I am excited! Tom and I will be auditioning for Bk-up Vocalist and Musician in the Worship Ministry. And mine will is just this Sunday! Actually, I am getting the jitters cos I have not been singing for 3 years ..... scare scare!

In the evening, we went over to my parents' place for Yong Tou Fu Steamboat. My mom prepared everything herself and it was one super yummy steamboat! She even went to the extent of cooking everything so we needn't have to wait for the food to be cooked...just popped the food in to warm it up...she's the best! I just love family gathering like this one...cosy and relax!

Dinner I prepared this week:

Forgotten to take a pic of the fried bee hoon I cooked so this is what I packed for lunch the next day. XY came over for a visit and she had this for dinner with us too.

We had these for dinner yesterday. As you can tell from the pics, we are trying to eat healthier food...see the red and brown rice? We're even thinking of jogging!

Hmm, blogging really helps me feel less irritated. In fact, I am in high spirit now..... see how my mood can swing from one end to the other.... blame it on PMS! That's all for tonight and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jo will sleep thru' the night so we can all rest well! Here's 2 songs that I missed and loved after a friend mentioned it on Facebook in my "Notes"....

Masterpiece - Atlantic Star

Me - U = Blue (Glenn Medeiros)

SOME UPDATES & THOTS

2009-02-11T13:13:00.011+08:00

Time to update my blog...here's goes......

We had chili crabs for supper 2 weeks ago during CNY. They were delicious and cheap...3 for $25 plus 5 buns! Think we'll be getting our crab fix from this Zi Char stall at Khatib from now on...hee!

My Gu Ma invited us for a Popiah party at her place. Her "made from scratch" popiah were fantastic with more than 10 yummy (expensive) ingredients in them. We had a fun time wrapping these huge popiahs!

Pics of us at her place

We bought a 2nd hand Toyota Corolla recently. Jo had outgrew the van and there isn't much space for his growing legs so we decided to get a car (which means we are not having another kid!). Last Tuesday after my work, we made our maiden trip to JB in this car cos I had craving for the heavenly Chicken Claypot Rice! We did some shopping too.

This super shiok Chicken Claypot Rice with a generous amount of mushrooms and a big piece of salted fish is found at City Sq Food Court, JB. We were so satisfied...cheap and good...keke!

I love this limited edition Rose lipstick from Bodyshop, City Square (JB). The cover is so pretty and the lipstick taste great..haha!

Christine invited us to her place for CNY dinner and Yu Sheng last Friday. It was good time catching up with my ex-cell members.

Video of us "laoing" Yu Sheng

On Saturday afternoon, we drove into JB again. This time Gil was with us. We had Yu Sheng and Dinner at Kinsahi. And of course more shopping again! Btw, we're going JB this Friday for the claypot rice...woohoo!

Videos of us "laoing" Yu Sheng and talking....haha!

Now for some home-cooked food:

1) Sesame chicken with mushrooms and Long Bean eggs. Somehow these food reminded me of my confinement days. I would have these almost everyday at that time but I still never gotten tired of them!

2) Since I have a pack of Chinese sausages(given by my dad), I decided to cook the Cantonese style "Lup Mei Fan" yesterday. I added some chicken thigh meat and mushrooms (Yes, I luv mushrooms!)too. Tom loved the LMF so much that he requested that I prepared more rice (3 cups!) for his bento the next day. The winter melon soup was tasty too. Tom, my non-soup drinker HB drank almost 3/4 of the soup! Think these dishes will be added to our regular dinner menu now!

3) I woke up at 5.45 am this morning to packed Tom's bento. Content: LMF in thermal pot and 2 bottles of home-brewed chrysanthemum tea. Think he will have a very filling lunch today.

Had been inspired by 2 sermons recently. One by Ps. Kong on CNY and another last Sunday by Ps. Edmund Chan. He made me want to read the book of NUMBERS.... yes, I never knew that book in the Bible can be so interesting even tho' I read it 3 times already. Going to start reading it again!

Did I tell you I had some crazy dreams these days.... I dreamt that "Xiao Zhu" (if you know who he is) was my BF several times these week...must be too much "Bai Fen Bai" these few nights...haha plus he's so super charming! And last night, I dreamt of DINOSAURS.... thanks to Jo's recent Dino craze.... Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus...... just to name a few! Wonder what will I be dreaming tonight????

Ale and Asher will be coming at 4 pm today...yeah..... so happy! We'll be picking Gil up from NIE and having dinner at NTU in the evening. Yuppee, more cheap and yummy food...... haha..... just in case you think I have a cheapo taste bud, you're so wrong! But with this financial crisis going on, it's really time to save up! I have even traded my Kikkoman premium soy sauce for Lee Kum Kee's superior soy sauce..... Tom was impressed...hahaha! I am such an Obasan.... bye!

ALL IN ONE LONG POST - JO'S BD, RD, CNY...ETC!

2009-01-28T22:35:00.018+08:00

Been missing since my last post cos January is the busiest month for us..... Jo's birthday, our anniversary, spring cleaning, Reunion dinner and CNY.....phew.... but it wasn't all work and no play.....I had lots of fun catching up with friends and love ones during this festive season! I shall update all in this long post.

16/1, Friday - Peter, Tracy & Nat (from Perth) visited us on that day and we updated each other on our happenings. Btw, P & T were our marriage counsellors and till now, I still think they are the best marriage counsellors I have ever known. Going to miss them lots.

17/1, Saturday - We celebrated Jo's 3rd birthday a week earlier so as not to crash with Reunion Dinner night. I am glad that Jo enjoyed his party and we had a great catching up with some old friends. Jo received so many pressies that our storeroom resembled a mini toy shop! For more pics, pls go to his blog (see links).

I baked some mini donuts by using muffins pre-mixed packs and packed them as party favours for our guests. I thot they were cute!

18/1, Sunday - It was CNY shopping in JB for us. Gil came with us too. Bought lots of CNY goodies and hampers for our family members. And I must mentioned this, I found the best Claypot Chicken Rice (IMO) at City Sq food court..... I tell you, it was soooooooo good that I almost grew wings on my back and flew to heaven...LOL! Am drooling just thinking about it but too bad, I was too attracted to that pot of rice till I forgotten to take pic of it...will do that the next time. We also had a nice dinner at Kinsahi Japanese Restaurant. This branch at Pelangi was way better than the one at City Square and they even served vegetarian Jap food.

20/1, Tuesday - We had an advanced Reunion Dinner with my family at Kam Boat Restaurant, Marina Square. As usual, dinner was late at about 8.30 pm cos most of them were used to being fashionably late....sigh!

Video of us "laoing" Yu Sheng

23/1, Thursday - We had an advanced 9th Anniversary dinner at Sakura, RP. This branch is quite new and I like the view of Admiralty park from the restaurant. The food was fresh and they served items that I had not seen at other branches like oysters, laksa and hot plate stuff! Think we'll be back cos it just a short drive from our place!

25/1. Sunday - We skipped church that day and did our spring cleaning in the morning. Then it was Potluck Reunion Dinner with the Tans cum Jo's actual birthday celebration. He was so happy to see Thomas, Annie & Clarabel on his cake! Dinner was early as most of them had something on in the late evening. Am glad cos I could paint my nails and do my mask so would be ready and "prettified" for CNY the next day!

Videos of us "laoing" Yu Sheng at my in law's place

26/1, Monday (CNY) - We woke up early to get dressed and visited my parents and aunty first. Tom and I were looking forward to my dad's Cantonese style Chap Chai that he would cooked every CNY. Tom loved my mom's pineapple tarts so much that he asked me to get the recipe from my mom...... they were really yummy! We also had lots of delicious food awaiting us at my aunt's place. I loved the feeling of being home and surrounded by all the first class (IMO) home-cooked food that I missed so much! My sis' BF commented that he didn't have so much good food till he met my sis..... hmm.... that's what Tom said too when we were dating!

Then it was off to my in laws' place. Jo fell asleep in the van and we decided to let him sleep in the van for 45 mins before we went up to their place. Jo always enjoyed the company of his cousins, especially the girls!

CNY Day 1

Rachel, our pretty God daughter visited us in the evening together with some of our young friends. Missed this gal from down under. Gracia popped by too after her dinner. I had a hard time understanding their Aussie slang! We had "Ham and Crabsticks" Yu Sheng when everyone arrived. Jo threw a really bad tantrum that night cos he was tired out by all the visitings and sleep deprivations!

Video of us "laoing" Ham and Crabsticks Yu Sheng

27/1, Tuesday - We had CNY lunch at Aunty Leow's place and Jo had a great time playing with Nana the dog.

That's all for the updates and we'll be having more visitations this weekend! HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

"JESUS CAMP" AND UPDATES

2009-01-14T00:11:00.005+08:00

We visited the zoo last week cos we wanted to bring Jo for a splashing good time but the pool was closed so we ended up at the playground. Jo had a fun time sliding and working on his gross motor skills... keke...job hazard la.... honestly that was on my mind when he ran and tried out the different exercise equipments! Here's some pics. You can view more pics on his blog.

Roy visited us on that same day and we had a good time catching up. After chatting with him, I decided to search for the movie "JESUS CAMP" which he mentioned during our conversation. Thanks to Youtube, I managed to watch it on Sunday. I was speechless and almost shocked after watching the movie. It kept me thinking and wondering... my mind was filled with these words "scary, huh??, too radical, politics vs faith, crazy, irony, irony, irony..... what you condemned most is what you might commit most"! Want to know why..... go watch it on Youtube.

Missed service on Sunday. Actually, we were almost at the steps of the church but Jo did not have a good rest the night before. He was cranky and dozing off during breakfast so we decided to bring him home for a nap. He slept a straight 3 hours which explained why I had time to watch the above movie on Youtube. After his nap, we went out to meet the "Little Nyonya Fans" who were at the Peranakan Museum. We were late so we picked them up and had dinner at Ma Maison without entering the museum.

I prepared a bento for Tom last Friday. Bento content: Assorted sandwiches with lots of love, chicken on sticks and 5 char siew baos.

This was our simple dinner on Monday... Steam egg with crab sticks and lots of fried chicken. I wanted to clear all the nuggets in the fridge before CNY! Time for spring cleaning..... sianz!

We'll be celebrating Jo's 3rd birthday party this week end as his birthday falls on CNY Eve and so is our 9th Anniversary. I will be busy preparing and baking for his special day. Wonder what will my dear get me this year...";) wink"????

2009-01-06T23:29:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year! Ok, I know I am a little late but it's the thoughts that count ya?? Just let me update a bit.....

Met up with my Secondary School friends last Tuesday. We have known each other for 18 years! It's amazing how we managed to keep in touch with each other (thks to Facebook!). We gathered with our family members at the newly wedded couple's place. I really do miss this group of people who have played such a big part during my most impressionable years....luv them!

We had dinner with the SS Club on New Year Eve at Jerry BBQ & Grill restaurant. I didn't really enjoy the meal cos it was so stuffy and the food was nothing to rave about. Think the Tiramisu and Spicy wings are the only 2 items that I really enjoyed. After dinner, it was back to our place for some count down.... actually more like just lazing around!

I am back to work today and just realized that I had take 6 classes this year! The centre didn't want to squeeze all the classes in a day so now, I am teaching on Thursday as well... maybe it's better cos it's less tiring but poor Tommy had to rush home early.

So what's my New Year Resolution.....hmm....... "2 seconds passed"....... none! I don't really believe in making resolutions cos I don't keep them anyway! "I don't know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day. I don't worry about the future, every cloud is silver lined....". Sometimes I wish I am more of a Thinker! A little recap on what I did in 2008.

1) I started working freelance.
2) I celebrated my 8 anniversary.
3) We celebrated Jo's 2nd birthday.
4) I had my first fracture on 3/3/08 (Mich's birthday).
5) Celebrated my 31st birthday.
6) Took a few months to consider if we want a car or another baby.
7) Jo had his worst case of fever - 40 degrees.
8) Undergo Homeopathy treatment for my ezcema and am glad I did.
9) Met up with old friends and made some new ones too.
10) Attend a new church and Jo started his first Sunday School.
11) First Christmas with Tom's family
12) First time being a "confinement lady" for SIL.
13) Sis had her first BF.
14) Had my hair cut and rebonded in JB for the first time.
15) Became a Thomas' fan with my son (reluctantly!)
16) Joined Facebook.
17) Visited Barn's niche and "celebrated" his 5th birthday.
18) Made Bentos for Tommy.
19) Watched more movies than I did before I had Jo..... keke.... thanks to Tommy!
20) Taking public transport with Jo on my own.

That's about all that I can remember. Going to upload some pics on Barn's blog now so let me end this post with a picture of a bowl of Hot Stone Rice from Northpoint...... really delicious!Can you see the hot steam??

IT'S PARTY TIME!

2008-12-29T15:45:00.006+08:00

I can finally find time to upload the hundreds of pics after a busy Christmas week! So here's some updates from the parties!

We brought Jo for a hair cut on the 23rd and had a Family Christmas dinner at Sakae. We wanted to try their Teppanyaki Set meal for 2 and we're happy that we did! The food was super yummy and value for money. Tom and I decided that we'll be back for this teppanyaki meal again. Jo was all excited to see the indoor playground and his fave aquarium at the restaurant.

Then it's party after party from Christmas Eve onwards......

It was Christmas Eve with the Tans in the Afternoon. I was the organiser and am proud to say that it was a success! Think we're going to have this every year. Jo just loved playing with his cousins. Btw, don't you think my little white tree is sweet and cute? I took lots of pics and even video of it..thks Gil!

Part 1 with the Tans

Part 2 with the Tans

Then after the party, we rushed off for a BBQ Party. But it rained what seemed like forever that evening so we changed our plans and had it at our place instead. So it was grilling and more grilling for me. Rachel prepared lots of yummy dishes and even kebabs for BBQ. Felt bad that we couldn't finish the kebabs. My fave food for the night were NUGGETS.... I didn't know grilled nuggets tasted so delicious! I am going to do that with all my future nuggets! We had a simple carolling and ended the night by watching Coffin.... no, we didn't make a mistake, it's not Halloween.... yes, it's Christmas! Gil and I chatted till 3 plus in the morning and I cleaned up my place till about 4 plus...... Food crumbs are so hard and irritating to pick up...grrrrr!

On Christmas morning, we decided to let Jo open his pressies instead of waiting till Boxing day... actually, it was more like we (the parents) wanted to see what we got for Christmas..... Jo was just an excuse...kekeke! Here are our gifts from the 2 Christmas Eve parties.

I really like the frame that Rachel did for us. So meaningful and sweet! "Dear Ra, I think you missed a letter "n" for the word "can"....hee....no worries.... we still love it lots. thks girl!"

In the evening, we went over to my Aunty's place in Tampines for another round of party. It was great food and heaps of fun! My family members are mostly High "I" so we were entertained with lame jokes and silly (and loud)conversation ranging from movies to our childhood....hahahaha!

Part 1 with the Sums/Angs

Part 2 with the Sums/Angs

Can't wait for the next Christmas..... oh..... and also looking forward to our New Year Eve's dinner with the SS Club on Wednesday. Ok, am going out soon.... have to wake my Prince now.... tata!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARNABAS!

2008-12-28T14:20:00.002+08:00

Today is Barn's 5th birthday. I think we might be having a party if he's still around. Miss you my precious little boy! Dear friends, do visit his blog and drop a message on his tagbox. Thks.

http://barnabastanyongen.blogspot.com/

UPDATEZ AND SONGS OF X'MAS

2008-12-22T22:16:00.008+08:00

I had been busy organising parties and getting my house cleaned up. Spent 3 hrs just clearing the thick layer of dust on my bookshelves and shoe rack today! I was scratching non-stop cos my sensitive skin couldn't tolerate the dust....haiz...... I am not made for housework...keke...... think Tai Tai's lifestyle would be more suitable for my delicate body ...... "dream, dream, dream, dream, dream..... dream........"

The year-end concert for my K2 kids was finally over. I am having a break this month and will start work again next year...yeah! Some pics and videos of the concert below:

Videos

Had Dim Sum buffet at Dragon Gate Restaurant with Gil's family last Monday. Jo had a great time and only had his nap at about 5pm.

Met my ex-colleagues at CWP last Wednesday. They were unable to contact me for a gathering as our ex-principal came back from NZ for a visit cos I changed my Hp number. Strangely, I actually brought Jo out to CWP that morning to meet my SIL. I seldom go out in the morning on my own and it was a real surprise when I met them. Couldn't even recognize some of the teachers and my dear Principal made me named them one by one....haha! We took some pics together and updated each other on our happenings. Jo had fun playing with the little princesses.

I had my hair cut and rebonded in JB. I can only say it's cheap and well done! Gil & I had our nails done too. We're ready to party!

Pics of us in JB

Showing off my hair....btw, it's the 11th time I rebonded my hair and this time was the cheapest! Nice??

Started to cam-whore with Tom too. My right eye was swollen that day.... can you tell from the pics?

Tom had a really bad ulcer attack last week and lost his appetite so I prepared some minced pork porridge for his dinner and bento. See, everything is soft and easy to chew!

Since we're on the topic of food, I shall complain about this awful Wanton mee that I had. It was suppose to be famous according to the TV programmes. The sauce is too sweet and the noodle too hard. The wanton contained only a small dot of pork and the char siew were hard and yucky! I didn't finish my noodle. Jo had the prawn noodles which was slightly better. This stall is at Bugis Street area..... please avoid it at all cost.... think Gil will agree with me! The food looks ok in the pics cos my cam is good...hee hee!

Here's something yummy. Tom & I liked the Mochi puffs from Chewy Junior, NP. I usually avoid cream but the cream they used was almost like ice-cream.... shiok! You should try them if you like chewy stuff.

I found some funny Christmas songs on Youtube. Even Jo laughed while watching them. Here they are....

12 days of Christmas

Single Girls - Jingle Bells Parody

One last pic to wish all my friends a Merry Black and White Christmas!

# Please excuse any typo mistakes cos I am typing in the dark while waiting for Jo to sleep plus my neck and back are aching from lying prone.

NICHOLAS

2008-12-19T15:34:00.003+08:00

Feeling lethargic..... not updating. Just want to post this recent song that I like by Nicholas Zhang. Think he is quite charming...hee! Btw, I had my hair cut to shoulder length and rebonded it for the 11th time..... ya, I am a rebonding addict! Will upload more pics when I am in the mood. Realised that I 've so many gifts to wrap and I haven't even started to wrap anyone of them...tsk.tsk.... here's the song.....

張棟樑 -- 不甘示弱

MY NEW BABE AND JB TRIP

2008-12-10T23:09:00.017+08:00

Presenting my new "baby"..........

Canon IXUS 85 IS.... isn't she sexy and slim....I am not kidding, she's the slimmest among her IXUS kakis...haha! It was a real surprise for me when Tom brought this babe home and hid it in the cupboard. Blur me, didn't even notice it when it was placed right in front of me...... anyway, what's new! I was so glad to have it earlier cos I could take pics for my short trip to JB. So, all the pics from this post onwards are all taken with my new cam.

SHORT TRIP TO JB: 5th - 7th Dec 2008

Day 1 - I had to attend a full dress rehearsal in the morning and was exhausted (Aunty visited me the day before) by the time we drove in to JB (Thank you Uncle Kishore for the Trajet.). The hotel room wasn't ready even tho' we're late. To cut the long irritating story short, the room's aircon was not working and Tom had to give them a piece of his mind before they gave us a new room. When we finally settled down, it was almost dinner time and we're famished! Since Kei and Ra will be late, we decided to meet them at City Square. We had Japanese food at the "Pokemon" restaurant at the mall. Been there 3 times and the food was still good. Ra and Kei had dinner there too and we went to do some shopping. Went back to the hotel after dinner and do all the usual stuff like watching TV and snacking. Jo slept really late. Both Gil and I didn't have a good sleep... thanks to Jo's terrible sleeping patterns and flying leg.... poor Gil.....she was so tired the next day.

JB DAY 1

Day 2 - We woke up to a very full brekkie at at the hotel and drove all the way to Kota Tinggi and we almost lost our. Well, it wasn't very fruitful cos the water looked yucky! Then we had lunch in a Hong Kong Cafe at Jusco, followed by shopping at Toys'R Us for Jo. Bought his favourite Thomas and Bob the builder toys but kept some away. It was definitely cheaper as compared to Sg. Went back to the hotel for a little break before heading o Tebrau Garden for our Seafood feast. The dinner was ok. I felt that the standard of the food had dropped drastically. Told Tom that we must explore other seafood places the next time. It was back to the hotel again and we decided to punk Kuen this time round. All I could say was that this punk did more than I could imagine..... think it's time for me to step down from the punk scene!

JB Day 2

Day 3 - Jo woke up early and disturbed everyone. We had breakfast at the hotel while Ra, Mich and Kuen had instant noodles. We checked out earlier and went Holiday Plaza for shopping. Gil and I had our nails done. Brave Mich left on her own after shopping cos she needed to meet her bf for dinner. We wanted to have A&W Root Beer Float so badly so we kept searching for the restaurant and we're rewarded with not just floats but curly fries too! Did our last shopping at Giant before heading home. I bought my first Christmas tree there ...... Jo will be so happy to see it on Christmas. Gil paid for it first cos I didn't have money with me and she decided to give us the tree as a Christmas present...Thks Gil!

JB Day 3

On Monday, we celebrated my mom's birthday at Hotpot Culture. The food was alright but I prefer Chuan Fa's steamboat. Finally, we get to see my sis' bf. In the evening, we went Courts and Ikea to do some shopping with my aunt and mom. Btw, today's my mom's actual birthday.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Pics of our lunch at Hotpot Culture

I miss bento-ing and will start doing that again this Friday. Tom will be happy to hear that. Going to be real busy with 2 Christmas parties coming up but at the same time, I am looking forward to them. Here's a song to get you into the Christmas mood..

Alvin & the Chipmunks

UPDATES

2008-12-03T12:28:00.019+08:00

Here's my back-dated and latest updates with lots of beautiful pics of people and food!

15/11/08, Saturday - Qiang's 21st Birthday Celebration @ Allson Hotel

Nice food and great company. They served mostly local fare and my DH enjoyed the buffet very much. As for me, I wished there were more varieties! Qiang had lost 30 kg after entering NS for only 3 months.... the Army is the best slimming centre! He used to weigh a hefty 113 kg..... I want to join the Army!

Pics of Qiang's BD

Cake Cutting Ceremony Video

After that weekend, Jo fell sick and I caught his bug too! My dad got me these from his China trip. Sweet ya....he's the best!

22/11/08, Saturday - Dim Sum Buffet @ Dragon Gate Restaurant

We had Dim Sum buffet with Kenneth on Saturday morning. This young man had just returned from his Taiwan Army training trip and we're glad to be able to catch up with him. He is another life testimony of why the Army is the best slimming centre ! Jo & I were still coughing during lunch and I was having a terrible headache. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the Dim Sum. Dragon Gate has always been one of my fave place for these bite-size snacks.

Pics of the Dim Sum

We did not attend Church the following day cos Tom had an emergency case to attend and I was too terribly ill to get out of the house! For the whole of that week, we stayed at home so as not to spread our love around. So It was home-cooked food from Monday to Thursday. Yes, I was craving for my own cooking...hee hee..... Our niece and nephew came over for an overnight stay on Friday.

Monday's dinner - Steamed Minced Pork with Mushrooms, Baby Asparagus with Fish balls and Rice.

Tuesday's dinner - Prepared this simple Seafood Udon in Miso Soup cos I had to work that day.

Wednesday's dinner - Japanese Rice bowl: Long Bean Eggs, Crab sticks Salad and Grilled Eel Fish. I love long bean eggs and had been craving for it for a long time! Tom had a ginormous bowl of it. I cooked 2 1/2 cups of rice that day and think Tom ate almost 3/4 of that pot of rice! Quite scary ya?

Thursday's dinner - Pastries made from Roti Pratas: Tuna and Sausages. Creamy Broccoli and Shrimps with Udon. I had fun making the pastries cos they were easy to prepare and yummy! Will make this for my upcoming Family Christmas Party.

Video of my puffs

28/11/08. Friday - Dim Sum Lunch @ Mayim with SIL Anna

I met up with my SIL and had a nice Dim Sum lunch. She highly recommended this place. Jo & I took a bus and MRT to West Mall..... No, you're not seeing things, I single-handedly brought my son out..... haha.... no big deal? But it was a big deal for me alright..... I am not a very independent mom and I am not ashamed of that fact....keke! My DH loves me too much to see me "suffering" on public transport with a tot in hand. Btw, I take public transport if I am out on my own. Jo was so excited throughout his ride on the train and kept talking about Thomas non-stop....... poor boy, his mom is the cause of his "suakuness"! Back to the dim sum. I felt the food was pretty good. Would like to try their lunch and dinner menu too.

Pretty SIL Anna, "Antique" Utensils, Various Condiments and Delicious Century Eggs Porridge.

Tasty Shrimps Chee Cheong Fun rolls, Chicken Feet and Fatty Pork Ribs. I tried one little "toe" of that feet thingy and thot was quite good but did not take anymore as I wasn't used to sucking feet! The Pork Ribs was a great disappointment cos it was too fatty...yucks!!

Deep-fried Shrimp Dumplings, Juicy XLB, Crispy Carrot Cakes but we were too full to eat that Glutinous Rice. Brought back for Tom and he said it was very nice.

30/11/08 - Dinner @ Shokudu with the Gang

We ordered lots of food to share. Honestly, the food wasn't as good as it looked! But the curry was still "shiok"!

We're so glad to meet up with Rachel who had just returned for a holiday in Sg. This babe is still as crazy and fun to be around with. Somehow, I think she is quite bored back here. Everyone has to work and most of her kakis are in NS. Anyway her Bf is around so can keep her company.

We were cam-whoring after dinner.I wasn't in the best of mood to pose for pics so I am not in the pics below. We bought those donuts from JCo for our dear Ra who had been craving for them in Perth!

That's all for the update. I need a break now...neck aching from lying down to type cos Jo wanted me to sleep with him in the room.....tsk tsk....

* Latest update: I am soooooooooooo happy...... getting my new cam in 3 days' time cos the old one was beyond repair..... love the Canon people for advising my Hb to trade in and top up $ for a new one and love my hb for taking their advice. We're getting Canon IXUS 85 IS! HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY NEW LOVE

2008-11-29T15:40:00.011+08:00

Like my new blog skin....so me ya? This post is dedicated to my new "love" of the moment...... yes all things cute and miniature! I have not been updating cos my son and I were down with flu and cough for the last 2 weeks and I am soooooooooooooo tired from taking care of him and myself.

Ok, let me introduce my new hobby...........

These dough models that I created while playing with Jo sparked off my interest....... Cute? Can you tell that they are cakes?

Now for the new love.... Re-ment miniatures. Initially, I wanted to start with one box but realised that it was much cheaper if I bought the whole 10 sets so I got the Rainbow Deli series from Taka which I've been coveting for a long time...... they are super adorable and "real"! Here's the pics of my first collection .... dear, more to come ya, and oh, a showcase to put my little treasures will be nice too... hehe! (The pics are taken without flash so they appeared a little dark.)

Meatloaf/Hamburgers & Minestrone Soup

Berry Patch Yogurt & Avocado Salad

Casserole & Pot Pie

Fries/Hash brown & Spaghetti

Pumpkin Gratin & Pumpkin Pudding.... and not forgetting my little Pumpkin too!

Cheese Croquettes..... I think Jo looks so deliciously model-like in this pic!

Recommended Desserts

Golden Chicken and Popcorn Shrimps

Bagels and Cream Cheese.... this set made me the saddest cos I realised that I had thrown 2 tiny spread knives away unknowingly...boo hoo.... *tears*!

Btw, all sets comes with it's own special card and menu. Re-ment boxes are not marked in some places so you have to risk buying replicas if you're not getting the whole set. If you're interested to know more, these are the websites to view the minis:

http://www.re-ment.co.jp/products/index.html and http://www.re-mentusa.com/

And "NO" I am not advertising for them but I do wish that they would give me some free minis if they ever see this post...... fat hope I know! That's all for now. will update on the next post with tons of my beautiful pictures of real food and people...keke........ will be meeting Rachel and the gang for dinner in the evening so got to start preparing now.... sayonara!

TOM ON TIME MAGAZINE?

2008-11-19T16:03:00.005+08:00

Jo was sick this week and I had lots of sleepless nights. His fever has subsided and hopefully, he will stop coughing soon. Can't really update much this week cos I am feeling too tired to think or type. Ok, here's another pic to make Tom happy (he complained I chose a very ugly pic of him on my previous post!).

"Dear, this time I put your handsome pic on Time Magazine...... you happy a not...kekeke!"

TOM THE COVERBOY OF VOGUE????

2008-11-12T17:10:00.003+08:00

My DH was rather amused by the pics that Beary put on Facebook. So I decided to amuse him further....... presenting the Coverboy of Vogue...................

Dear...... don't kill me ok!

MY NEW LOVE....NEW COLLECTIONS.... NEW HOBBY...WHATEVER!

2008-11-11T12:39:00.002+08:00

I just love these cute little things.... I want them all..... yes, a new hobby, a new collection........ is coming my way..... and plenty of burnt pockets for Tommy too. Will update on my new love soon!

TAGGED BY NIECE REBECCA TO DO THIS

2008-11-10T16:13:00.006+08:00

My dear Niece Rebecca tagged me to answer these questions. So here goes.....

1) Do you have secrets?
Yes....plenty!

2) Would you fall love with a boy younger than you?
Yes, I am deeply in love with my son...haha!

3)Do you enjoy going to school?
Hmm..... yup but minus the exams and tests!

4)What is your current dream job?
Dream job??? A job that allows me to do what I like with dream pay! Honestly, I prefer no job with dream pay....yes, $$$$$$$ drop from the sky will be good!

5) Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Depends on what type of love you're talking about.... my BF is a female and I am not heterosexual!

6)Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
I have answered this question so many times. Of course loving and being loved by someone is the best but if I have to choose, that would be, being loved by someone! I am that ego...keke..... too tiring to love someone who doesn't love you! I believe in "I loved because He first love me!".

7)Will you forgive the person who will play around with your feelings?
I won't allow myself to be played around. Trust me, once I notice that I am being "played around", I will plot a "little revenge" as a punishment for him and turn the table around....muahahahahahah.... I am capable of that! After that I will forgive and forget him forever and ever......

8) If the person you like knows that you like him/her, what would be your reactions if he/she says "yes"?
That would be "HALLELUJAH!" But exactly what did he say "yes" to?????

9)Is there anything that made you extremely happy?
Many things.... I get happy easily!

10) What takes you down the fastest?
Aeroplane????? Escalators, my legs????? Haha... ok, i know what you mean....hmm.... when someone I love is sick or dead.

11)How would you see yourself in 10 years time?
Using a mirror?? Hee, I am getting more and more corny. Alright, the answer would be older!

12) Who is currently the most important people to you?
My hb and son.

13) What is/are the most important thing(s) in life?
a) My salvation
b) My family
c) Heath
d) Wealth

14)Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Single and rich and in great health! Married but poor is a quite scary esp if you have kids!

15)What's you favourite colour?
PINK

16) Would you give your all in a relationship?
Not married = not all, once married = no choice but all!

17)If you fall in love with 2 persons simultaneously, who would you pick?
The one who loves me too. If both love me, I will pick the richer one.

18)Will you confess to the person you like or love?
Depends.

19) Tagged 5 persons whom you think should do this quiz.
Troublesome..... Just do this if you want to after reading.

A POST WITHOUT PICS......

2008-11-05T22:56:00.004+08:00

My neck is aching, my eyes bags are growing and my face is bombarded with pimples! These are sure signs of sleep deprivation!!! Ever since we got Jo a new bed, he had been waking up every night to look for me and insisted that I sleep in his room. Think my neck ache is from sleeping on flat mattress for long hours.... ok, I know I am spoilt but I miss my bed!

Tom is on reservist till 11 November and I had to attend to Joash all by myself. Really tiring *~*....... but I am happy that Tom can book out every evening. At least I can have some rest...... not really actually, Jo wants me most of the time! So glad that this is his last reservist....yeah!

Read about a Childcare teacher who punished a 4 year old kid with chili padi for attempting to throw a block at another kid yesterday. This teacher was apparently suffering from depression... preggy and with 3 children. She should have get help from other teachers instead of taking matters into her own hands. I can almost say her career in early childhood ended the moment she did that...... all that studying is going down the drain........ no one will employ her since her pics are all over the news and Internet..... gone la! The poor child also might suffer from some school and chili padi phobia. I was thinking if someone would to do that to my darling prince, I would surely take some of that chili padi and smear them all over her eyes and tie her up so she cannot wash it away and wished that every of her dreams be filled with chili padi running after her..... hee... I am that wicked! Honestly, this is one of the major reason (beside health and cleanliness) why I am not sending my boy to school yet. I have been a preschool teacher and had seen teachers using very negative words when scolding the kids. Some even resort to physically hitting the child. I remembered one of my K2 boys was given a slap on the face by another teacher in the BASC cos he was making too much noise and running around. When the mom complained to me, I was really frustrated. So glad that my Principal fired her on the spot! Trust me, I have seen (I am teaching enrichment classes now in some centres) countless non-speaking 2 years old being "abused" in childcare centres...... left in a dark classroom, locked up in a cupboard, pinched and being pushed around......etc...... grrrrrrr.... the worst part is that they can't speak up for themselves. That's the reason why I never want to work in a Childcare centre....too stressful!

On to happy things...... we're going for a short trip in JB from 5th to 7th Dec....... looking forward to to the nice brekkie, cheap seafood, beautiful nails and of course shopping too!

Oh, I had a pregnancy scare this week cos I felt puky and sleepy. And to add on to my anxieties, I had cravings for Chong Pang Bak Chor Mee! But all was well when my "aunty" visited me this morning...... keke..... what a relief!

Feeling hungry now...... need my Bak Chor Mee fix badly........... the chili.... the extra vinegar, the garlic..... the mee.... the minced pork..... the liver........ the mushrooms.......... the, the, the..... THE END.

*Realised that I forgotten to add this in..... for remberance of this historical moment..... CONGRATS MR PRESIDENT OBAMA!

A BUSY WEEK!

2008-10-31T12:23:00.017+08:00

It has been a busy week for me. I spent 2 days cleaning Joash's room to get it ready for his new bed. I had to clean up the dust and lay his bed with clean sheets when it arrived yesterday. The room reminded me that my dear son has grown up so much in 2 years! After revamping his room, we proceeded to clean up the storeroom too. It was really messy and I had to throw lots of stuff away. Took us nearly 4 hours and we had dinner at about 9 pm. But looking at the organized storeroom did give us a sense of satisfaction...haha!

See the happy Jo sitting on his new bed. Do hop over to his blog to see his revamped room!

Let me go back to last week to show you why my week was bustling with lots of activities.

Last Thursday, we decided to give Von and Les a surprise birthday BBQ at my place. Well, guess they kind of guess it.... anyway we're glad that they enjoyed the BBQ. I prepared most of the food so was really tired after the whole thing! I must say the teriyaki chicken that I marinated was really yummy and think Von liked my fried bee hoon too. Even the ice-cream seller liked the wings. Kuen said my head grew big after all the compliments....lol!

Video of Von and Les at the cake cutting ceremony

Video of Jo blowing out the candles

I woke up early to prepare Tom's Bento on Friday. Packed some of the leftover wings and fried been hoon that I had set aside for him. I also made some sandwiches and buns for another bento.

Saturday was another busy day for me. It was my Cousin Esther's wedding day. I had to iron the clothes that we're wearing for the evening. When Jo napped, I painted my nails. I even had to prepare Jo's dinner with my newly painted nails! Then it was dressing up time before we rushed off to Pan Pacific for the wedding dinner.

I was told that my Gu Ma (whom I have not met for many years and was angry with everyone in the family including me over many petty things such as wedding photos and visiting!) My cousin's family had to endure 2 solid hours of scoldings when she invited her to the wedding. Thankfully, my 6th Uncle (another relative that I have not seen for more than 10 years!)was there to persuade her. My 6th Uncle tho' he ws the youngest appeared to have quite a lot of "power" in the family..... haha....yup, my dad's side are typical traditional Cantonese..... the type you saw on TV..... very fierce and fussy! Nevertheless, I liked my uncle cos he was always laughing and making jokes. Met my Cousin Anthony too. He is the Director of California Gym in Singapore and he gave me his name card so that I can use the gym for free anytime.......yeah.... but don't think I will do that...pai seh you know! Seeing my Gu Ma at the wedding was like meeting the "Dowager".... can be quite scary but I did took some pics with her with the help of my 6th Uncle. As usual, she was very dressed up and for your info, she is almost 70 years old and don't look one bit like it! She does Yoga and well, I think she also had some cosmetic surgeries to maintain her youthful look. I enjoyed the food at the dinner especially the Sharkfins.....so shiok... many big pieces of crabs and fins! My Cousin married a rich guy whose dad own an oil rig.... lucky girl. Her proposal story was pretty much like mine... normal and typical! We went home rather late and Jo was quite grouchy throughout the wedding.

Pics of the Wedding

Videos taken at the Wedding

On Sunday morning, we brought Jo for the Child Dedication service at CEFC. He wasn't very cooperative due to lack of sleep from the night before. You can see pics of him at the service on his blog. In the evening, we had dinner with Gil, Ben and Mich at Ajisen, Bishan. Was glad to be able to catch up with busy Mich cos hadn't seen her for some time. She was as usual, very "tair" to her BF....lol!

Monday was slightly quieter cos Tom had to work in the morning. In the evening, we had a Sum family gathering at "Da Tong" restaurant to celebrate my dad's birthday. We waited for our Gu Ma till almost 9 pm cos she was in JB! We were stuffing our hungry tummys with peanuts while waiting. Food was served immediately uopn her arrival. Even though I was hungry, I didn't really like the food tho' they were ok... wish they could be more generous with the salt. This time, I didn't take any pics of people except for the food.

Tuesday was a bad day for me. To begin with, I had to work even tho' I was very tired (Jo has been waking up in the night for the past few days!)! And to add on to it, I broke a bottle of Kaya while preparing a sandwich for Jo and cut my toe. I had a hard time trying to pick up the glass pieces with blood dripping out from my toe and at same time shouting for Jo to keep away! Tom came back in time to help clean up the remaining mess! This wasn't the worst thing that happened ..... one of my students pooed in class and left behind a tiny piece of his "digested material"...guess who stepped on it??? ME, with my already injured foot.....@$#%#&@&%%$#$@@!!!!!!!!!!!! My mood was really foul that day and couldn't even enjoy my fave Korean food at CWP. Jo stepped on my injured toe while we're shopping at the Pasar Malam and it started to bleed again....grrrrrr! Went home and slept early without using the computer.

So that's my week. Interesting right? I want to have a good dinner and stone in front of my lappy tonight. Btw, I had a massage this morning using my massage seat and felt more refreshed. I gtg, Jo has woken up from his nap and screaming for me now!

DAD'S BD AND JIN JIN DE....

2008-10-22T22:57:00.007+08:00

Have been detoxifying for almost a week already. Hopefully, I will have a leaner and healthier body soon!

Made this bento last Friday morning for Tommy. Tom liked the Tuna onigiri. I thought it tasted quite yummy too. Packed some sandwiches and sausages in the other bento box. Tried making a heart shape egg but as you could tell from the pics, I failed because the egg was too small....haha...in the end, it looked kind of deformed!

Tom came back early that afternoon and we decided to visit the zoo. At the entrance, we were told that the new Kidzworld was officially opened on Wednesday. So glad that we made this trip. Kidzworld was awesome! Plus everything was new and clean. Tom & I enjoyed ourselves as much as Jo did. Will be back again with extra clothes to change! Check out Jo's blog for more pics.

We celebrated my dad's advanced birthday on Sunday at Soup Restaurant. As usual, the food was good. I never get tired of eating at this place cos they served simple and light dishes....just the way I liked my food! My dad ordered quite a number of dishes and out of 8 dishes, 3 were vegetables.... haha.... think we're all getting more health conscious. My dad used to feast on Char Siew and Siew Yok but ever since he was diagnosed with diabetes, he had became more conscious of what he ate. My mom was so sweet to bake my dad a birthday cake..... quite cute la except for the Rocher that was sticking out of it..lol! After dinner, we went to the car park to "drool" over my dad's new Honda "something"..... sorry, I don't know much about cars! You can see him posing with his new "wife" in the pics below.

Saw a little girl in the bus that reminded me of Barn yesterday. She looked too young to be wearing spectacles and I also noticed a hearing kit in her pocket. He grandpa was carrying her. As I was standing rather close to them, I noticed lots of poke marks on her little hands. Think they were needles marks. If I wasn't wrong, she could be a premature baby. Seeing her made me think about Barn. I could actually feel tears welling up in my eyes at that moment but I managed to hold them back. Maybe it's nearing his birthday, that's why I am feeling a little emo.

Well, these were what we had for dinner today. Wanted to prepare something simple and decided to search through the freezer. I found these gems....Unagi, Muar Otah from Gil's mom and 2 Mexican drumlets! I also heated a can of baked beans to make it a more complete meal. So instead of a simple meal, we had a full and scrumptious one!

I had been sleeping at 2 am for the last few days. Must start sleeping early to avoid premature aging...hee.... going to collect my passport tomorrow morning and am looking forward to a nice dinner too!

Going to end with this song by Harlem Yu..... very touching!

静静的

ON A JAPANESE FOOD MARATHON!

2008-10-16T12:07:00.009+08:00

Yes, that's what I've been eating for the past one week...... Mostly Japanese food. It was Sushi Tei with Shawn and Adelyn on Saturday. The food was better than I expected and the portions were huge! Luv chatting with Ade and Shawn. They are not your usual "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord" type of Christians. They are real people with real problems in lives to deal with. Shawn, an almost 50 year old single man working in church whose unpretentious and straight-forward way of speaking always tickled me. Ade, a confident and strong lady used to work in church and she is always the type of person that every boss hates to do without. She gave Jo a bag of Baby Gap shirts on that day..... lucky boy! Our dinner was on her too. Hope to meet them soon again.

We gave Regina a birthday dinner treat at Tomoe Japanese Restaurant. All of us ordered bentos and Regina enjoyed her Unagi Bento very much. This is one place that we dined in quite frequently. Simple and nice Japanese fare. Suling was with us too. after dinner, we went over to Tong Shui Cafe for some drinks while waiting for Calvin. A group of kids were there and they were Thomas' fans..... Jo was elated to see the little engines on their tables. They even shared their toys with him.

On Monday, we had a cheaper Japanese meal at NTU foodcourt. We were so happy when Gil told us our fave Jap stall was reopened at the new food court. Well, the prices had increased by 50 cents due to higher rent but Gil & I still thought it was worth the money.... yummy! Jo had the famous fish ball noodles and Tom had "xiao wan guo" noodles plus Chicken chops. The best part was that our food cost us less then $20....cheap, cheap, cheap! Will be having our dinners here every Monday now when we picked Gil up from NIE. See pics below for our scrumptious dinner.

We took a break from Japanese food on Tues and had Korean food at my fave stall in CWP's food court. I always order their Saba and Chicken hotplate whenever I am dinning there. Think I am in love with Saba these days....hee..... but I will gladly give the Kim Chi a miss!

Then it was back to Japanese food yesterday when I met up with my "very long time no see" BF. Miss this girl sooooooo much! I am really glad to see her smiling and looking as gorgeous as ever. We literally gorged ourselves with food at Shokudo. We spent about $60 and that's a lot for just the 2 of us. It was her first time there and she liked the food. We had a great time catching up. Ale had to eat every 2 hours (Doc's advise) cos she was soooooooooooo super thin .... weighing only 38kg..... goodness, I am almost 20kg heavier than her loh.... I looked like some sumo wrestler beside this sexy babe. After our heavy lunch, We went for a walk. And within less than 2 hours, she was feeling hungry and had a waffle (the big one hor!) and ice-cream at Gelare. See pics for our feast at Shodoku....you'll be horrified!

My beautiful friend and I. We looked like Milk and Chocolate beside each other.... it's not difficult to tell who's the Chocolate right?

Monday's Bento: Indo Mee with Sotong/Prawn balls and fried chicken. Some pastries (baked by Suling) and sandwiches.

Some people commented that I talked way too much about food these days and I am becoming more and more "Xian Ci Liang Mu"...haha..... Maybe my wifely and motherly instincts are finally showing up after almost 9 years of marriage. In other words, I am becoming more "Aunty"...die la.....

But all is not gone for me yet, here's the girlish side of me...hehe. Saw these Bambi Swarovski Crystals while waiting for Ale at Raffles City and I fell instantly in love with it. These must be their prettiest crystals they have ever created..... The Bambi Collection...... so sweet especially the pink butterfly on Bambi's tail! Couldn't resist taking 2 pics of it secretly with my hp!

These 2 pics were from the website..... so cute right?

These were what I saw....they even have Tinkerbell but didn't take any pic of it.

It will be another Japanese meal tonight cos I am cooking Seafood Udon in Miso Soup....yeah!

JUST FOR FUN & A DREAM CAMERA!

2008-10-10T13:43:00.005+08:00

I read a book on poetry today;

It really made my day.

The author mentioned that one of the hardest word to rhyme was "purple";

It was indeed difficult and I hid away like a little "turtle".

Hee.... I've got nothing better to do on a sunny afternoon! See if you can find more than 2 words that rhyme with "purple". Sorry, "turtle" not counted!

I found my dream Camera (saw this on XX's latest advertorial post). It's the new Canon Powershot E1 in my favourite baby pink!

Product features:
Dimensions: 101.2 x 63.8 x 31.4 mm
Weight: 160 g
Resolution: 10 megapixels
Zoom range: 4
Digital zoom: 4
LCD size (new): 2.5 inch
Max. image resolution (new): 3648 x 2736
Max video resolution (new): 640 x 480 @ 30 fps

I want it, I want it!!!!!!!

SOME UPDATES & RANDOM THOTS

2008-10-09T12:16:00.017+08:00

I am back after an eventful weekend. Jo had a bad fall and I had a hard time getting him to take his medicine. Anyway, he has recovered and I am glad it's over! You can check out his blog for pics and more details.

Let me start with my food updates:

Fried some bee hoon and sotong ball eggs for dinner last Thursday. Kept some for Tom's Bento the next day. Tom had a huge bowl of it!

Friday's Bento: Tuna sandwiches with chocolate buns. I tried using seaweed to decorate the bread. Packed the bee hoon in a thermal flask with some pieces of chicken. Tom said this bento kept him really full!

Found these mini donuts at Sheng Shiong and bought them for Jo to try. He only wanted the chocolate donut. But right now, he refused to eat any of it. Think he preferred those with cream on them.

Ever since Ajisen took the Paiku Ramen off their menu, Tom & I had a hard time choosing other stuff to eat when we're there. Last Sat, after bringing Jo to the Homeopath, we had our lunch at Ajisen, IMM. Tried their Seafood Ramen and felt that it tasted like seafood ramen...haha....yes, boring..nothing to rave about. I missed the juicy Paiku and crispy garlic! Why must they take their best selling Ramen off the menu!! We also had our usual side dishes. I was surprised when Jo asked for some noodles. Thot he would be in too much pain to want to eat anything.

Monday's Bento: Made Crab sticks and sausage buns for Tom's bento. Packed in a chicken glutinous rice, swiss rolls and chocolates too. He requested for more of the sausage buns the next time cos he liked them!

Picked Gil from NIE on Monday and we went Jurong Point. That was our first visit to this big mall. It was so crowded. Well, no surprise cos there were 3 food courts and even a mini Japanese street food area. Think you can find almost all the fast food places here too. We settled for Kopitiam Food court, the biggest food court in JP. The food was pretty satisfying for us. Gil's Tom Yum noodles were so potent that she had to remove her jacket. DH had minced meat noodles which he claimed will never go wrong if you couldn't decide what to eat. I had a delicious bowl of Curry Yong Tao Fu. The curry was really thick and "shiok" but the stall owner was irritatingly rude! Tom & Gil bought a massage thingy from OSIM too. Think we will be here every Monday after fetching Gil.

The Japanese Street

Cooked some pasta for dinner yesterday. I tried replacing the whipping cream with full cream evaporated milk and the pasta turned out quite nice. But I still think using whipping cream to make the sauce is still the best choice although it also the more expensive choice!

That's all for my food updates.

Some really, really random thots:

- I hope I am doing the right thing....
- I need to start doing that again.......
- Missing someone, wonder how is she?
- The hardest thing to do is to keep someone else's secret, esp the deep dark ones.....
- When you have more, you just suddenly don't feel like having another one again.
- I hope it works for me......
- Will I find my footing soon?
- Is it true that you're really "making use" of people? Hope not cos I really respect you.
- Kids these days are so smart and opinionated
- Slimming down is just so hard
- So happy to see him doing well.
- Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!
- I think I am falling for you...... (don't think too much, it's not a man!)

Ok now on to something lighter. Mamma Mia is the must watch movie of the year(IMO)! Watched it yesterday and feels like watching it again. Luv the songs and dance! I have always love musical and if you like Hairspray, you will like this too! Even tho' the songs are not from my generation (yes, I am that young...keke!), I simply enjoyed it. I never know Meryl Streep can be so agile...really funny to see her prancing around! And Pierce Brosnan must be the sexiest man alive....oh my goodness, he is so charming...... those to die for dimples and that killer smile.... I swear if he ever asks me out for a date (fat hope I know!), I will forget Tommy for a day (kidding dear, kidding!)!

MAMMA MIA - TRAILER

MAMMIA MIA - THE BEST SONGS

Signing off, THE DANCING QUEEN

UPDATES, DARYL'S 21st BD & PICNIC @ WEST COAST PARK

2008-10-02T14:24:00.007+08:00

Went JB on Saturday with Gil. We had did some shopping at Popular, City Sq and had dinner at Kim Gary. Think we might not dine there again. the service was real bad and the food wasn't exactly fantastic. I've forgotten to have my Robin Baskin's ice-cream. Must remember the next time. As the Causeway wasn't jammed, we reached home within 20 minutes from JB!

Attended church on Sunday and had a great time as usual. It was Children's Day special service. Kids between 7 - 12 years old were allowed into the sanctuary. As Jo was too young, we were told to go the gallery. Anyway, Jo didn't attend Sunday school that day cause the Speaker Nicholas Choo (Liang Zhi Qiang look alike) was entertaining enough to capture his attention! The kids were also giggling and enjoying the service. I had the privileged of attending this anointed Children Pastor's workshops twice and was quite surprised to see him in church. The message was about making a difference no matter how young or old we are. I was touched by the real stories he told. I must say I was rather impressed by the effort that CEFC made to honour the kids and teachers by dedicating the whole Sunday service to them...applause!

In the evening, we were at Ben Loo's place to celebrate Daryl's 21st birthday. There was an excellent "execution ground" near the party area and we had fun sending "Showers of Blessings" over Daryl..... muahahahahaha! Think Ra & Em would love to be there too! See pics below......

Regina came over to our place in the afternoon on Monday and we had fun chatting and applying the black mask again! Calvin joined us for dinner at Causeway point in the evening. This girl really has all the luck with guys!

Celebrated Children's Day with my kids on Tuesday. We play lots of games and they were high from all the laughter. I also made a mini note board with some note pad and laminating sheets. Bought markers and erasers to go with it. The kids love them and I gave them some time to draw on the boards at the end of the class. I was tired out from all the games and standing.... think I am getting old!

As Wednesday was public holiday (Hari Raya cum Children's Day), we decided to have a picnic at West Coast Park. Gil, Kuen, Daryl, Dawn, Justin, Jerome, Ruby and kids were with us too so it was quite a big group. Gil prepared some yummy sandwiches and I fried bee hoon and nuggets. Ruby made some super "shiok" orange juice and bought ice lollies and watermelons. Joash was the happiest. He was flying kite, kicking ball, running and more running, playing at playground and sucking on ice lollies! I think we should bring him outdoor more often tho' I hate to be under the sun! Here are the pics.....

Video of me flying kite and someone screaming away at the back....no. it's not me, see if you can guess who the person was...lol!

Like I say, I hate to be under the sun cos I get "burnt" easily. In fact all of us had sunburn. Tom, Jo and I was all red and dark after the picnic. Presenting the "TANS"....lol......

From left to right: Mrs Tan, Junior Tan and Mr Tan..... lame ya!

In the evening, we had dinner at Siam Kitchen. I always like their green curry and simple food. Did some marketing and Jo was also throwing a terrible tantrums till my ear drums nearly burst from his screaming (I had to carry him and he wanted only me and no one else...grrrr....)! This boy is really testing our patience.

From left to right (Top): Keropok,Green Chicken Curry, Yellow beans and Garlic Kang Kong.
From left to right (Bottom): Spring rolls and Deep Fried Garoupa.

DINNER & BENTO

Cooked this Seafood Miso Udon for dinner last week and Tom luv it. He finished every single drop of the soup...think miso is rather appetising! Jo wanted some too.

Tom's bento: Macaroni with Crabsticks, Finger food, Chocolate Buns and Chicken Glutinous Rice

"LIVE" FOOD & BGR

2008-09-26T12:49:00.016+08:00

Went to the zoo yesterday morning. Jo wasn't really in the best of shape but judging by the way he kept saying he wanted to go to the zoo again in between sneezes, I think he really enjoyed this trip! Will bring him to see his fave elephants the next time.

Here comes the "LIVE" Food bits....hehe....

We had dinner at Chuan Huat Steamboat Buffet Restaurant on Wednesday with Gil, Von and Les. This was Tom and my second time there. Love the varieties and like the fact that I didn't have to grill my own meat cos there were 2 chefs in the restaurants doing that for us. There were also some cooked food and desserts. The eclairs were excellent (I don't usually like sweet stuff but these were heavenly!) and we had several rounds of mango puddings cos you need to pay for drinks. Oh ya, got to agree that they have the best (IMO)Tom Yum soup around. Made all the food taste so yummy! I must say the price of $18.90 nett per pax was very reasonable for the kind of food they served. They even gave each customers one portion of crab and some "live" prawns for the steamboat. Will definitely be back for more.

Video of my failed attempt to capture the "Live" prawns struggling in the hot soup......hahahahha...... call me psychotic!

I had another round of "live" food fun while cooking Okonomiyaki for the first time last night. Don't worry, it's not really alive! Here are some pics.

Before putting the toppings

Verdict: Tom liked it and said it was better than what they were selling outside! But well you know, he's my hb so his opinions are biased but I like it ...keke! I felt that the batter can be improved and the next time, I will use less egg and put in more ingredients. Here's a video of my bonito coming "alive"!

A bento I did this morning at 4.45 am.

Kaya & Butter Sushi Bread and Heart Shaped Sandwiches with Crab sticks filling.

Mini Curry Buns and Siew Mai with some snacks plus 4 big Pork Buns. Tom needs meat to fill him up.

BGR

A couple of my young friends are getting into relationships. These people are really funny, they broke off and get attached at almost the same time. Being their "older friend", I tended to be the first to know when they got hitched! Well, I am happy for them. Their relationships are interesting too. Ranging from super complicated to extremely "xin fu"! My only wish and even prayers are that they are happy in their new found love and for some "old love". Yes, being happy in a relationship is important. It's what keep it going too. But do remember your friends around you. They are your pillars of support and God's tangible help and comfort in difficult times. So keep up with those friendships that you have built over the years. You never know when you will need a shoulder to cry on or even someone to laugh with over the stuff you're experiencing with your BFs or GFs! Here's a cute video for all the love birds out there!

DISNEY COUPLES - A MOMENT LIKE THIS

NON-EDIBLE FOOD VS EDIBLE FOOD

2008-09-22T12:18:00.005+08:00

NON-EDIBLE FOOD

With the recent recall of so many China products, I am becoming more paranoid than ever. I really wonder if those unethical China manufacturers can sleep peacefully with thots of dead babies floating in their mind! Think it's time to boycott China products but most stuff are made in China....... such a dilemma..... haiz..... Anyway for those who doesn't know what are the recalled products, here's the list...... (Disclaimer: These may not be true cos I received them via chain smses. So take it with a "big" pinch of salt...lol!)

1) Dutch Lady Sterilised Milk esp the Strawberry flavour ones (And it happens to be my son's fave..... grrrrrrr...... have been giving him this milk for more then a month alr! Got to throw them all away.)

2) M&Ms chocolates (I was eating some when I received a sms saying that they have been recalled!)

3) Snickers

4) Mento's Yogurt Bottle

5) Dove chocolate (Haha, Gil used to buy quite a lot of these!)

6) Oreo Wafer Sticks

7) Mon Milk

8) Wall's all natural mango ice-cream

9) Mini Poppers ice-cream

10) Magnum Ice-cream (Eva must be fuming mad now!)

11) Moo sandwich ice-cream

12) Mini Cornetto (I have a box at home and I gave them to Jo as treats. Now Tom is the only brave soul who is still eating them!)

13) Youcan Ice-cream

14) White Rabbit sweets (I have been eating these since young la!)

Hopefully, the list stops here.

Now for some EDIBLE FOOD.....

Dinner last week: Fried rice with shrimps, egg and CP Mexican Drumlets

Used the left over fried rice to prepare Tom's Bento the next day. Added some chicken and sotong balls to go with it. He requested for some buns too.

Nowadays, my bento are prepared at 4.30 am..... yes, it's that early cos Tom has to be at work by 5 plus! This was what I cooked this morning. I made some threadfin congee and added in chicken and sotong balls to go with it. Tom requested for the meat buns again. Think it's easier for him to eat when he's on the go. I also packed some Coco Crunch and snacks (sponsored by Gil) for him to munch on.

That all for my food post. Gotta get Jo to nap now and have my lunch after that.

I'M DROWNED IN THIS HUGE LOAD OF PICS!

2008-09-17T12:54:00.011+08:00

I am back after a week of activities ranging from birthdays parties to baking adventures! This post is loaded with pics.

11/9, Thursday - VISIT TO HUILING'S PLACE
We wanted to pass an ang pow to baby faith for her 1st birthday. My goodness, she is sooooooo sweet and cute! Jo had fun playing with all her "baby toys". We had Pelican pizzas for dinner. It was good. I think I beginning to like their pizzas more than Sarpino's..... esp the Mayo chicken pizza....delicious!

12/9, Friday - BAKING COOKIES WITH REGINA
It was fun, fun, fun, fun baking with Regina. We were a little too generous with the butter and eggs! Nevertheless, the cookies were nice and chewy (Von & Ken liked them.). We had Sarpino's pizzas for lunch that day and I think their pizzas has lost their touch.......haha! I liked the Pepperoni Pizza tho'. Prepared Unagi Don for Regina again cos she liked it a lot especially with loads of teriyaki sauce.

13/9, Saturday - DAPHNE'S 21ST BIRTHDAY
We were invited to Daph's 21st birthday party at AMK CC. She was all dolled up for her big day. Jo loved playing with the balloons. I thot the food was really good...... this gal was so generous! To Daph: Hope you had an unforgettable birthday..... btw, have you made your choice *wink*???

14/9. Sunday - ANDREW'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
We celebrated Andrew's birthday at Tomoe Jap restaurant and Gil as usual, had a great time "bullying" him. This was my 3rd time at this restaurant and I will still be back for more. Rus brought us to Icekimo for ice-cream. Jo was the happiest! I must say the ice-cream was not as good and varied as Island Creamery but the Horlicks ice-cream was yummy! Will come back for it when I have the craving.

15/9 - BAKING MUFFINS WITH REGINA
The electricity in my block was shut down in the morning for some maintenance works. I met up with Regina at Causeway for lunch. Bought Jo a Thomas VCD too. Wanted to get our baking stuff from Phoon Huat at Sembawang but realized it was closed when we arrived so we headed back to CWP to pick up our baking items from Cold Storage. We were pretty creative with our blueberry muffins especially Regina who was so generous with the toppings! I must say the muffins turned out well and we're going to bake more the next time but with less of the crazy toppings. In the evening, we had dinner at AMK Hub. Regina wanted to cooked the Unagi don for her family so we went marketing at X-tra large NTUC Fairprice to buy the ingredients. Calvin and Gil were with us too.

Reg the aunty doing her shopping!

16/9, Tuesday - LANTERN FANTASY 2008
Met up with Suling, Calvin and Regina plus her niece and nephew after work for Lantern Fantasy at Chinese Garden. The theme was "Hello Kitty". I felt that the lanterns were not as much as the previous years and it was kind of boring after a while. Jo showed no interest in the lanterns cos he couldn't recognised the characters and my hb and Suling were totally numbed to cutesy stuff! After the exhibition, we went over to IMM for late dinner.

Some gifts I received over the week

Name Frame from Ale

Melody Pouch from Regina

Agnes b. pouch and CK undie from Suling

Didn't have much time to prepare more bentos this week so this is the only one I did very early in the morning.

I felt tired just typing this post. The pics took me over 2 days to load...... ok that's all folks. I need a break now!

SOMETHING TO DO B4 SLEEPING......

2008-09-10T00:04:00.002+08:00

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Not that I know of.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Last week while watching Korean drama

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
No......

4. WHAT IS YR FAVOURITE MEAT/POULTRY?
Chicken.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
1 at home. 2 in heaven.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Of course, I am the best!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Sometimes...... ok maybe slightly more then sometimes...keke!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes, I would luv to have them 4ever.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Siao, spend $$$$ to frighten yourself... no way!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Hmm...... Cereal Prawns counted a not???

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
I wear sandals most of the time....need no untying.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
The joy of the Lord is my strength! So I am strong.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Chocolate chip and mint ice-cream

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their smell.

15. RED OR PINK?
Pink..... of course!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF?
My eczema filled back! Can't wear bareback clothes at all.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Barnabas, my late son.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
No, it's ok.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Not wearing any pants or shoes now..... in shorts and blouse....honestly, you don't want to know what I am wearing now!

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
A mouthful of crab stick salad that I was preparing for Tom's bento tomorrow.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The sound from my fan...haha!

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
White cos I can lighten every colour and make them all pastels.

23. FAVORITE SMELL?
Joash's hair.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My hb.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I took this from somewhere and I like that person's blog.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Synchronised swimming.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Mostly black with some reds...... all natural.

28. EYE COLOR?
Black

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes, Acuvue daily.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Most seafood and Japanese cuisine.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings. Like I say, I will never pay $$$ to frighten myself.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Meet Dave

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
A mixed of orange, pink, blue and beige.... and it's not exactly a shirt.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter, can't take heat plus I would really luv to see and touch some snow.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs cos they are less wet.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Ice-jelly...... Btw, I am not sweet tooth.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
My friends.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
My hb.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
How to potty train your child in one day.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
I don't use a mouse so no mouse pad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Nanny by Adrian Pang

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
A tie between my son's laughters and my hb's snores.....haha!

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
So hard to choose cos don't really know them well, not my era so neither!

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Perth.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I am a MOTHER...so mothering is my special talent! But I do have other talents, too many to named them out...... talk abt over-confident!

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Singapore.

47. WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD DO THESE?
All who read my blog!

GOODNITE!

I HATE IT WHEN MY CAM BLACKOUT!

2008-09-08T23:20:00.003+08:00

Sianz............ my cam blackout on me today! Made me really iritated cos I wanted to download all the pics of Jo's 1st vist to the Underwater World...grrrrrr.................... will be sending it for repair on Wednesday. Wonder how long will it be "warded"..... I need to take pics almost everyday. Hope it will not blackout forever............ if not will have to spend $$$ to get a new one. Actually I am coveting this cam below, I know this model is quite old already but I liked it cos it's pink....hee............anyway, I just hate to be without my cam!

UPDATES.......

2008-09-05T22:20:00.006+08:00

Yeah, time to update my blog. Let me start with some complaints...... Jo has been really trying these days. His temper tantrums are horrifying, not to mention deafening too! Btw, he threw one just an hour ago.............grrrrrrr........ My patience is wearing off! He is also not in the best of health with his constant coughing for the last 2 days. I need a break........ yes, retail therapy will be great! Ok....on to something else......

Dear XY and ZY came over to our place to collect their Flyer voucher. ZY was exhausted and fell deeply asleep so we decided to entertain ourselves at his expense....muahahahaha! Here's what happen... Jo was one of the culprits too.

We spotted some interesting sights on our way to church.......... see if you can figure out why I say it was interesting. I liked the water filled cross we saw on a patch of grass....... a great reminder to fix our eyes on Jesus. A good start on a Sunday morning.

Ps. Edmond Wong (I am not sure if he's pastor.) preached about finishing well. I liked his corny jokes which ranged from "undying love" to "dieting"....... had us laughing. Jo was excited about Sunday school and kept asking us to bring him there. Lunch was on the church again and we managed to meet some new people during lunch too. I am looking forward to attending CG.

After attending a baby's first month celebration on that afternoon, we went orchard to have dinner with Gil and friends. It was my first and probably last time eating at Thai express altho' we only had prawn toasts. But I tried some of Gil's and Ken's food and found it not to my expectation of Thai cuisine. Danny the Home Econs teacher with cute dimples was quite funny and easy going to chat with. Maybe we should really organised a Potluck party for singles....well. I can provide some of the "singles"!

I prepared my first Alfredo Sauce pasta from scratch on Monday and the result was fantastic! Tom luv it.... me too! I am so glad to succeed on my first try. But the cream was rather expensive so will try replacing the cream with evaporated milk the next time.

Darling Regina came over to our place to seek "refuge" for the last 2 days and I will be seeing her almost everyday till the 18th. This girl is such a funny and jovial girl. Felt younger with her around too! I promised to cooked for her and these were what I prepared for our 2 lunches.

Day 1: Unagi Rice Bowl

Reg brought a pack of Shiseido black mask for us to use while Jo napped. I looked so horrid in my shower cap and ugly PJ! This mask was very hard and painful to remove after it dried up but was excellent in removing blackheads plus it's cheap, $1 only. The amount was enough for 2 of us. Wanted to get some but was OOS.

We were supposed to have dinner at my place with Danny and Suling. Suling was sick that day and Danny had a long meeting till 10 plus. But we bought food enough for 5. We had a super full and carbo-filled dinner!

I cooked porridge with some assorted finger food on the 2nd day. That bowl of super black porridge belonged to Reg cos she added loads of dark soya sauce! I was so glad to see Jo eating the porridge too... happier than winning lottery!

We had dinner at PS with Reg's friend at Carls Jnr. Did some window shopping and found cute buttons and nice hats at Spotlight.

These are the 2 bentos I prepared for Tom last week.

This was my first attempt in making Onigiri. They were soft and nice to snack on when fresh but turned really hard after putting them in the fridge. Poor Tom had to eat them for his lunch!

Made some Ham and Crab sticks salad and Sotong Balls to go with the onigiri too.

Spoke to my Homeopath about our plan of having another kid and she assured us that she had medicine to prevent all the pregnancy risks........ hmmm........ so should we try........ at least not now....... I hope I will be chosen for the Xndo challenge..... need to slim down before planning to try again. Honestly, I lost some sleep just thinking of all the risks I had to face........ yup, I need the the courage and strength to face my giants!

I am going to watched my Taiwan drama on Youtube now......nite!

THE MAN OF THE VINEYARD

2008-09-04T14:06:00.005+08:00

Not been blogging for some time cos I am so addicted to this Korean Drama that I had to finished 16 VCDs as quick as I can! A really sweet drama by Korean actress "Yi En Hui" from "Gong". Feeling so in luv now...... feel like working in a vineyard...keke.......

I like this song from the show.........

Will update soon...... with lots of pics as usual!

JB TRIP, CEFC 30TH ANNIVERSARY, MY GRANNY'S BD AND MY USUAL UPDATES

2008-08-27T09:05:00.013+08:00

We went JB for a shopping and pedicure trip with Gil, Daryl & Dawn. I simply adore my pink and "bling bling" nails but my dear boy stepped on it while jumping around me. So I had to get a nail polish of a similar shade and some bling gel from Skin Food to repaint it....GRRRRR! We had KFC (Holiday plaza) for lunch and dinner at a Japanese Restaurant (City Sq). This was my 2nd time at the Jap restaurant and I must say the food was good..... felt really full and satisfied after dinner! We did not have any extra space for Baskin Robins' ice-cream which I so badly wanted to eat.... well never mind, will try it on our next trip to JB. Here are the pics.

On Sunday morning, we attended CEFC 30th Anniversary at Suntec Convention Hall. Was glad that we went. The testimony by Gurmit Singh (yes, PCK!) really touched my heart and at some point gave me goosebumps cos it could only be the hands of God moving in his life... A MIRACLE! Btw, he mentioned that he loved singing and I managed to record some parts of his song presentations..... I tell you...he has an amazing vocal!

Gurmit singing 1

Gurmit singing 2

Ps. Edmund's sermon on "Going Forth with Joy" encouraged me to find Joy in God in whatever circumstances I am in.... quite a timely message for me cos I have been pondering whether I should have another one...... I need the faith and courage to go thru' the whole ordeal again!

In the evening, we managed to get an "appointment" with Ps. Benny with the help of Danny (Thks bro!) Tho' we waited for almost an hour cos he had another meeting before us, it was all worth it! Good things are worth waiting for...hehehe.... we had fun sharing and as usual, Ps. Benny gave some wise advices. One of which was on finding a the right spouse. He mentioned that we needed (actually directed to Suling & Regina cos I am married!)to choose between a Playmate, Partner or Soul mate when choosing our other half. I personally felt that all 3 are important. Your spouse needs to be someone that you can have fun with, work with and share with! Anyway, he prayed for all of us and we left his room feeling refreshed and encouraged.

After meeting him, we went to Allson Hotel for my grandma's birthday buffet dinner at Cafe Fountainbleau. Tho' the spread was simple and and mostly local fare, I enjoyed them. The salmon was fresh, the double boiled soup was tasty and my favourite was the laksa! Even the black pepper beef and fried fish were good. I had a great time chatting with my aunties and cousin Jolen. My prince ate some crackers and rice. His gong gong even managed to bribe him with 2 servings of ice-cream..... you should see how happy he was that day!

Dinner at Allson Hotel

Ok now for all my usual update on food and finds.....

Went marketing at Sheng Siong last week and was surprised that they had become so organised and clean. There were more space and stuffs to look at. We bought the yummy otahs too. I think we will be buying our groceries from SS now cos the things are cheaper and have more varieties to choose from.

Bento and dinner I prepared last week.....

Content: Caramel corn, kaya buns, Rocher, Glutinous rice, sausages, curry buns and Otah sandwiches.

Black bean with prawns, sotong balls and mushrooms fried rice. I also deep fried some prawn paste drumsticks. Packed some for Mich who was in a rush to fetch her darling.

My SIL came this afternoon with her "na shou" sambal prawns..... it was really hot but very addictive......shiok! We chatted for a long time and decided to visit her at her place next week. Yeah, I can see my nephew Ryan!

Shall end this post with 2 "congrats":

1) Happy 21st Birthday Rachel, welcome to adulthood!
2) Congrats to Daphne for graduating with As!

UPDATES AND SOME USUAL FOOD STUFF

2008-08-20T13:10:00.014+08:00

We had dinner with Von, Kei, Leslie, Dawn, Daryl & Mich last Friday at IMM. Been some time since we met in a big group. So it was dinner, shopping, ice-cream and lots of teasing! Can't wait to see them again.

We were invited to Gil's grandma's birthday celebration at Amoy Street Hawker Centre. Her mom has vegetarian stall there and we were treated to a fabulous lunch of vegetarian cuisine and some other non-vegetarian food that her aunt brought. Btw, her mom's stall was featured in a variety show that hunt down food stalls with long queues. She got a thumb ups from each of the participants...... and even the handsome Alvin! Here's some pics I found on my table (a gentle reminder for Gil to laminate her photos...haha!).

Birthday Lunch at Amoy Street Hawker Centre

Saturday's evening was spent at Causeway Point with Von and Gil. We had dinner at the food court and went shopping for belts. Tom bought 2 belts for me.... happiness! Von had some make- up done by Estee Lauder workshop and I thot she looked really sweet that day (she seldom, almost never put on make-up most of the time). Pics of her are for sale below... ahem..... purposely made them small so "you" won't be satisfied looking at it...... $100 for a piece.......kekekekeke (private joke)!

Went to church on Sunday morning and had a great time. I was hesitating to bring Jo for Sunday School cos they had a HFMD case last week. But my darling little boy kept saying, "Mama, I want go Sunday School, see teacher!' Can't tell him "no" since he seemed so enthusiastic about attending his class. I am glad he enjoyed Sunday School. CEFC was so generous. They provided free lunch for the whole congregation the last 3 weeks! But we had our lunch at Vista Point instead cos wanted to have something warm.

In the evening, Ken wanted to get a helmet somewhere near Mustafa so we went Lavender Hawker Centre for dinner. Gil and Nicky were with us too. At first, we wanted to have a light dinner but after seeing the great variety of food stalls, we ordered a whole table of food! But we were rather disappointed cos the food was definitely below average except for the carrot cake which was not even highly recommended by some variety show. The only item we didn't tried was the wanton mee cos the queue was too long plus the plain looking noodles and char siew didn't look very appetising. Don't think we will dine there again. After dinner, we went shopping at Mustafa. It was a bad choice cos the place was really packed with mostly males, hate the feeling of being look from head to toe and worse still having close bodily contact(abt one cm away!) with them. The noise from all the chattering were also rather unbearable. Weekdays are still the best time to shop at Mustafa.

Since it was early, we went to our SIL's place after dropping Gil home to collect my Tupperware loot.... double happiness!

Dinner at Lavender Hawker Centre

Pics of Tom's birthday presents for me

We went NIE to fetch Gil on Monday and had dinner at one of the NTU's cafe. The food was ok and I liked the simple and cosy decor.

We invited 2 pretty ladies to our place for dinner last night. Had a good time catching up with them and reminising the past. Regina was such a sweet girl, bought us lots of goodies! Didn't know she went thru' so much at such a young age. But am glad to see that she had matured and became a stronger. Sophia (I prefer to call her Suling!) who brought the lovely apple strudel will be taking a Diploma in some baking school and we are looking forward to order Joash's 3rd birthday cake from her. Think we're going to meet up soon again and hopefully my dear bro DS will be there. Here are some pics of us...

I had recently became a neat freak after watching "Nu Ren Wo Zui Ta". Started to pack my stuff and storing them neatly. This was what I did to my collection of earrings and necklaces. Did you notice that my hangers are all in the same directlion? I have also cleared all the mess in my kitchen cabinets and fridge. Hopefully, I remain this neat for as long as possible!

Bentos I prepared this week for Tom.
Content: Heart shaped ham sandwiches/butter & jam sandwiches and sausages. Fried vegetarian bee hoon with crabsticks and ham plus fried chicken on picks.

Content of this morning bento: Ham and bread on picks. Kaya & curry buns. Some left-over fried rice with prawn rolls, chicken and pieces of ham. Did you notice that all the food were packed in Tupperware boxes? Luv them!

Bought this Limited Edition Cream Soda Caramel Corn from Daiso. Tasted sour at first bite cos of the fizzy powder but turned sweet the moment you chewed on it.... nice!

Finally, some crazy pics of Tom & I

You better brace yourself for this next pic

TATA!

Hope I didn't frightened you too much.......lol!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND OTHER STUFF

2008-08-14T11:19:00.018+08:00

Yup, it's that time of the year where you either feel depressed over the fact that you're a year older or happy that you're a year wiser. For me, I believe in growing old gracefully....keke...... ai ya, I still look young what... just a step into the early thirties! I received lots of smses on my birthday. Thanks everyone who remembers. The first person who messaged me wasn't my hb tho', I was actually quite surprised to receive an sms from him. This post is mostly about my 31st birthday celebrations with family and friends.

First celebration, 10/8 (Sun):
I gave my dear family a treat at Joe's Kitchen Thai Cuisine. Have decided on this place after much reading up of various food blogs. Seems like a good place to enjoy affordable Thai food. I must say IMO that the food is slightly above average. Next time, I will give the super spicy mango salad, the below average tasting green curry and the "hard like tapioca" Brinjal a miss! But I will order the super crispy fish, the awesome wok hei taste Thai Kang Kong and the juicy Prawn cakes again. I liked the Crab Tang Hoon but found the tiny bits of shells in the tang hoon cumbersome to remove! So will order the Tiger Prawns version the next time. I also want to try the Deep Fried Stuffed Chicken which looked so tempting and the highly recommended Tom Yum Soup with Fried Fish. Overall, I like the friendly lady boss and most importantly, my beloved dad loved the food. We had a complimentary tapioca dessert which I don't really fancy. Gil bought my favourite Chocolate Banana Cake from Secret Recipe all the way from JB! I thot I wouldn't have a birthday cake this year cos everyone knows that I didn't really like cakes with the exception of CBC. Thanks Gil for lugging such a huge cake back (she walked in, not drive!) as birthday gift for me. Jo loved it too..... see pics of him licking up the plate below. And yes, I've got lots of lovely pressies from them.

Dinner at Joe's Kitchen Thai Cuisine

2nd Celebration, 11/8 (Mon):
We're going up the Flyer! That day was my SIL's birthday. She invited us over for a sandwich cum cake cutting party. I got her some facial masks as a gift. My niece and nephew bought a cute Eeyore mug as a bd present for me. During dinner, we casually chatted about our free August babies' treat on the Flyer with the coupons and my BIL gave the green light for my SIL to come with us! My SIL was elated cos she seldom had the chance of going out on her own. So off we go before he changed his mind! The ride on the flyer was pleasant but I couldn't take any nice pics cos it was too dark. Think the best time to go if you want to take pics would be before 7 pm. Jo was captivated by the lights from all the buildings around us. We went for supper at Long House after the ride.

Celebrating my SIL's Birthday

A Trip to The Flyer

Videos of our ride on the Flyer

Third celebration, 12/8 (Tues):
Tom had make reservation at Ma Maison for my birthday. I was really looking forward to a meal at this popular Japanese Western food restaurant. We were greeted by a pleasant looking Japanese lady when we entered the restaurant. I noticed that there were lots of Japanese in this place so I reckoned that the food here must be good cos even Japanese dine here. I like the interior decor, kind of nostalgic and cosy. The service was excellent too. We had Camembert Cheese, Hotplate Hamburger Steak and Squid Ink Pasta. The cheese was lovely and the honey, vinegar and black pepper dip goes very well with it. The hamburger steak,their signature dish was IMO, PERFECT. But my fave would be the Squid Ink Pasta......... I heart it even tho' there were only 3 pieces of squids, 1 piece of chicken and 5 pieces of mushrooms (yes, I counted them!) but the pasta was the star of the dish! The prices were also reasonable. My only complain is the portion of the food.....guess this is the place where you go for the quality not the quantity...hee..... honestly, I think I can finished all 3 items by myself! We actually went Macdonlad for some fries and ice-cream after a short window shopping...... we're big eaters!

Well, the day didn't end just like that, I had a "not so surprising" surprise by my wonderful young friends who came over to my place while I was getting Jo to bed. They brought ice-cream from Island Creamery and sang me a birthday song. Thanks guys and gals for the treat. We also had donuts from JCO.

Dinner at Ma Maison

A surprise visit from my dear friends

My Pressies!

I AM SO BLESSED....... COUNTING MY BLESSINGS EVERYDAY!

Other Stuff

Dinner at our usual Sembawang food centre

Painting with Joash (see his blog for more)

I am going to start a small area here for me to put up the sermons that I heard on Sunday. Mostly in quotes and short points plus my personal reflections. This is a sermon by Ps. Ann Chan.

Title: Rekindling Your Spiritual Passion (2Cor 7:8-16)

1. We can lose our passion gradually or even suddenly. The ease of life should produce more gratefulness and thankfulness but we often neglect that.

2. In order to come close with God, we need to come clean with God.

3. Godly sorrow = repentance of heart = help us to understand our spiritual well being. Worldly sorrow = Death and Destruction

4. Four critical needs for today:
a)Renew: The need to BREAK IN (v8-9)
b)Repent: The need to BREAK WITH (v10)
c) Refresh: The need to BREAKTHROUGH (v11-12)
d) Rejoice: The need to BREAK FORTH (v13-16)

5. When was the last time we enter into solitude with God?

6. What is worse than coldness of heart? It is the veil in our heart/the enemy/effective block to spiritual progress/our wants. Remove the veil...... for the pure in heart shall see God.

Most of us were in tears and went on our knees to ask God to rekindle our passion and forgave us for stubbornly holding on to the veil. I need to see Him again. While praying, I saw the Lord holding up a sign that says,"Welcome back". Make a certain breakthrough in me Lord, I am coming back ........

We sang a song written by Ps Ann and Ruth Ling during service and it really speaks of how I felt.

I was surprised to find this video of the song on Youtube (Btw, this is not CEFC and Ps Ann)

Make A Certain Breakthrough © Ann Chan & Ruth Ling 2006

In my life of searching for the plain and simple way, Many paths were so winding, the roads were never straight, Then the Spirit of God broke through and healed my broken wings, And showed me the way into His heart

Chorus
And I know that God is leading in a clear and certain way, My one life for your purpose, Jesus, I offer up this day, To follow you completely, to do all that you say, Cleanse my life, fill me up, And use me this day, Make a certain breakthrough, Make it today

In these days of danger, Lord, we rest upon Your grace, With Your tender and skillful hands, You shape this stubborn clay, Yes You calm my inmost being, giving courage to hope again, And to build this one life in power and faith

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE! FOOD & BEAUTY STUFF.....

2008-08-09T23:07:00.010+08:00

Just a short post on National Day. We went to my SIL's place this morning cos Jo wanted to play with his cousins. Think he liked their company a lot. I also bought myself a $10 blouse at one of the booths in Civic Centre...... happy! We stayed at home to watched the NDP on TV and I fried some bee hoon for dinner. Here are some snippets of the parade..... mostly fireworks....... don't ask me how I got these pics......keke!

Our NDP dinner at home

The masks I ordered online from a forum had arrived while we're watching the parade...... 140 masks altogether.....scary ya! But 100 of them belong to Gil! These masks are so much cheaper to get online from a BP (80 cents each). Gil bought them at a shop and they cost $1.50 for one mask! Another cheap buy....... yeah!

Thot of a dear friend today. "DLYM, it may appear tough and confusing at the moment, I believe it's another opportunity to bring your focus back to HIM again . I truly hope you will be able to sort out all the emotions in yr heart and mind and stand up for what you know is the right thing to do. Don't rush, give God a chance to speak and walk with you thru' this seemingly hard time. we'll be there for you."

Ok back to food. I packed 2 bentos for Tommy this week. Presenting my masterpieces.........

Star shape sandwich with tuna filling, sausages and cherry tomatoes on picks.

Oyster Sauce noodles with fish balls and Fried Chicken on picks. I finished preparing these bentos at about 5.45 am! Guess what time I woke up????
Dinners I cooked this week...................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!

BARNABAS' 4TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY

2008-08-06T15:23:00.003+08:00

Today is Barn's 4th Death Anniversary. If he's still around, he would be 5 years old. Time flies but the memories of him are still fresh in my mind....missing him. I have dedicated a song to him on his blog. Do leave a message for him on his tag box. Thanks.

DINNERS, LUNCH & 1ST SERVICE @ CEFE

2008-08-04T23:11:00.018+08:00

Let's begin with the dinners I prepared last week.

Stewed Potato with Pork, Stir fried Garlic stems, instant fried chicken and rice

Lor Bak & Stir fried Sweet Peas with Crabsticks

I packed 2 Bentos for Tommy on Thursdays for his breakfast & lunch. If you noticed, I finished my packing at 6.10 am which means I woke up at 5.30 am to prepare them...... good wife right?? No???? Content of Bentos: Soft meal bread with Crab sticks filling, Cherry Tomatoes, Hot Dog and Fried Chicken on picks. Thks to Von for the food dividers and picks. Tommy liked the presentation and finished up all the food. I kind of enjoy arranging the food in the bentos and I definitely derived some joy from all the praises from my hb...hehe...

We had a Farewell Dinner in Cell on Friday. Yup, we''ll be attending CEFC in Woodlands. Really appreciate my cell for all the effort in organising and giving us the blessings to move on. Even though we're not in the same church, our friendships will continue ya! It's been 11 years in YMM and we had grown and served together..... going to miss our family in church. But I am all ready to meet new friends and start serving again in CEFC! Here the pics of our last day in cell....

Daphne gave us dinner treat on Saturday for our birthdays at Sun with Moon at The Central. Have been wanting to try their food after reading so much positive comments. Well, I definitely enjoyed the company more than the food. I had Japanese Seafood Pancake and I didn't like it cos the flour was too thick and uncooked. But Tom & Daph's Beef with rice was pretty good. The rest of the stuff we ordered are just so-so only but I liked the way they presented the food (see pics).

I have only one complain.......their service...... really not up to my expectations..... first of all, I found it strange that the guy who took my orders insisted that I read out the items (the names were quite mouthful for me!) that I wanted instead of the numbers beside it.... hey, so what are the numbers for..... Lucky numbers for 4D is it! The waitress seemed a little blur and served us the wrong dessert .... well to us, that's alright but what I felt irritated about was the guy who took our orders (btw, I think he's the manager!) came over to apologise and asked us who was the one that took our orders.....duh????? Anyway, I wasn't in the mood to scream at him cos I was too happy to be in the company of my dear friends who took the time and effort to give us this surprise dinner....luv them lots lots! We went for a stroll along Clark Quay and I felt like a tourist..... goodness, how come it changed so much already! THANK YOU DAPHNE & CK FOR THE WONDERFUL TIME AND DINNER!

Dinner with Daphne & CK

Bungee at Clark Quay 1

Bungee at Clark Quay 2

Attended CEFC (Woodlands) first service on Sunday. The building is big and beautiful. The 1000 seating at the English side were full by before the service even started. What was even more surprising was that more than half of the congregation were first timers at CEFC.... and mostly Woodlanders like us... amazing...they really did their ground work well to attract such a big crowd. I enjoyed the P&W and I wept when the choir sang "Be Thou My Vision"......Was reminded to to set my eyes on Jesus again! Didn't sat thru' the whole service cos I had to accompany Jo to Sunday school. Jo was in the 3 years old class and there were lots of kids and parents in the room by the time we were there. Jo had a great time and made some new friends. Tom and I had decided to take turns every week to accompany him till he is ready to be on his own. According to Tom, Ps. Edmund preached a good and convicting message. I am very impressed with all the LCD Tvs airing the live service at the lifts, corridors and even outside the toilets.... you won't miss out anything! Hope to join a CG soon.

In the evening, we visited my in laws and had the famous Hokkien Mee @ Toa Payoh Lorong 1. Tom & I used to frequent this place a lot when we're dating. Their biz is so good that you have to call them to make advance order if you don't want to wait! They have a branch in Yishun too.

We went to pick Gil up in school today and had dinner at Fish & Co (IMM). Tom had craving for Fish & Chips which is very rare! The whole shopping centre was freaking cold! Had to asked Gil for her jacket to keep Jo warm. My dear little boy looked so cute.... he attracted so much attention as he paraded down the shopping areas.

Saw on a food blog where the blogger tried taking a picture of lemon drop and decided to see if my "Lao Pok" Camera can do the same..... lo and behold.......I did it..... fun....cheap thrill you might say......kekekekeke!

Jo has recently rejected all forms of meat and fish, vegetables and even his fave fish balls..... he only likes his carbs (sometimes he doesn't want them too!)! I am very upset and felt like wacking him (which I did countless times!). Now he is having a cough from too much ice-cream.....sigh.... and he refused to take his "sour" (according to him!) cough mixture. Will have to bring him to see Terjinder, my Homeopath tomorrow instead. This boy is really testing my patience..........grrrrrrr..........

Being a mom is like having a "SPA" everyday....... read on and you will understand why......

Eyebrow Threading

Aromatherapy

Body Wrap

Facial

Micro-dermabrasion

Don't you agree? Good nite.

A WEDDING AND OTHER STUFF

2008-07-30T13:10:00.009+08:00

Goodness, I've got so many photos in this post and most of them are pics of me...hahaha......."Zi Lian"! Skip this post if you're sick of seeing me....lol!

Last Friday, sweet Von came over to our place to pass me my advance birthday present. She and her dear friend bought these bento accessories for me...... I was thrilled..... luv them especially the fruits food dividers...kawaii-ne! Thks Von and friend.

On Saturday, we attended Thiam Seng and Jeni's wedding. Tom led the worship for the wedding ceremony. I must specially mention here about my most helpful friend Michelle! She doesn't even know the couple but still willingly became the keyboardist and MC for the dinner....... amazing right.... that's her..... always willing to go the extra mile for those who need help! Here's the pics from the wedding.....

I am all doll-up for the wedding

Jo & I...pai seh to take too many pics of myself so got my son to pose with me....keke!

Ok....here's the wedding photos.....

Videos of their wedding....

March in

Jeni saying her vow

Kiss the bride

March out

We had dinner at my aunt's place cos my mom cooked chicken rice and char siew. I took some pictures of my aunt's Swaroski crystals' collection and souvenirs that she bought from the many countries that she had visited! They were a real feast for the eyes!

Haha...not forgetting myself too!
My mom bought this lovely fruit and rose hips tea for an after dinner treat....refreshing!

Cherry Season is here, yeah! My Sil bought some sweet cherries from Giant for us..... btw, cherries are my favourite fruit. They look really pretty too!

More pics of Home-cooked food by me.....

Daphne and friend will be bringing us for dinner this Saturday....looking forward to it! I am now having headache choosing a place to celebrate my birthday with my family (it's a tradition for the BD person to give a treat on her BD in my family!). I am deciding between Joe's Kitchen, Thai Cuisine or some other food. Do give some suggestions....must be nice one hor.... better still if it's cheap and good..... and no Beisheng pls..... want something different! Have a good day my dear friends!

3 TOUCHING VIDEOS.....SOB, SOB...

2008-07-27T00:48:00.004+08:00

1) This video reminded me of Barnabas......

2) This video reminded me of God's love and grace.....

3) This video reminded me of friendship and how God can turn the impossible to possible...don't know why but this video made me cry the most....

Ok, go dry yr tears...nite!

A LOT OF ME IN THIS POST....... A LITTLE BIMBOIC TOO...LOL!

2008-07-25T12:11:00.006+08:00

This post is a lot about me.....haha...... Let's start with "Me Moving On"....... yes....to this new place on 3rd August..... looking forward to the smell and clean toilets of this newly constructed building plus the beautiful cross......... Nice ya?

Went shopping for Jo's toys on Sunday at Toa Payoh (See his blog for more!). Did some window shopping too. Gil got ME a bottle of Small Pea Body Spray as an advanced birthday present. She bought a Cucumber Melon spray for herself. I luv the sweet smelling fragrance. Thks Gil!

We had dinner at our current fave eatery in Toa Payoh. Tried their Special Seafood Toast..... nothing special at all...... but their chicken was still as good..... like the curry too!

I realized that I have quite a number of facial products...... and I am still adding on more....... maybe a mask and a night cream might just complete my collection....... the older you get (turning 31 soon), the more you need to take care of your skin plus my skin is not exactly very healthy! As you can tell, I am a great fan of Avene products cos they are made for sensitive skin..... only problem is that they are rather pricey! Recently bought a Silkpro blackhead remover....been searching for one that suit my vulnerable skin and found this exfoliator that can soothe sensitive skin.....yeah....not cheap too....50ml for $21 plus. Loreal Lip & Eye makeup remover is fantastic too...... bought this yesterday........ cheap and good...... perfect for removing waterproof makeup! Btw, these are just for my face, you haven't seen my hair and body care products yet....keke!

I rebonded my hair for the 10th time yesterday. Been on a hunt for a reasonably priced and good salon cos my previous salon has increased their prices......$350 for rebonding......crazy or what..... are you trying to rip me! I found out that rebonding prices have increased even neighbourhood salon are charging $250. Finally found this salon in Toa Payoh that is well furnished, clean and more affordable ($200 nett). I was quite skeptical at first but seeing that they used Loreal products brought some relief.

Before I had my hair done, I went for my favourite Hot Chocolate at Delifrance....... just the right amount of chocolate and sugar for me..... it comes with a chocolate chip and coffee cookie. I couldn't finished it cos it was a pretty big cup. It was nice to have a drink peacefully..... a good 15 minutes break for me.

Back to the salon. I must say that this is one of the best hair service I ever received compared to all those biggies (JY, KM, JZ....etc) ....... let me explain my verdict:

1. They were friendly but not fake....... you know how some people can be too friendly!

2. The salon is clean and well furnished.

3. I was told to put on a canvas robe before my hairdo and she also covered me with a big canvas sheet before doing my hair. My clothes was clean and dry right till the end. I was also served water with lemon and also a tray of snacks. They even asked if I wanted tea, coffee, green tea or milo! Very thoughtful right?

4. The toilet is clean and nice smelling. I didn't even know that behind the cupboard-like door was a pantry and toilet!

5. The hairdresser will tell you what she put on your hair and what it does..... it was the first time I was ever introduced to the chemicals that were placed on my head! So comforting to know that they are using good products.

6. No hard selling of hair products...... something which I hated at JY salon. My hairdresser Vivien even gave me some tips on hair care. She is a very "devoted" hairdresser....refused to have her lunch until my hair is done at 6pm! I kept asking her to eat but she said she wanted to make sure her job is done before she can settle down for a meal.

7. There are lots of good magazines to read..... I found 女人我最大 magazine on the shelf! Had a great time reading them.

8. They played nice soothing music and had me humming away...... "I see your true colours.... blah blah....

9. At the end of the session, a warm towel was placed on my neck to release pressure and cleaned up whatever residue that was left behind...... very considerate to look into such details.

10. Most importantly, my hair look great! It's not easy to achieve good rebonding results on hair that has been damaged by rebonding chemicals 9 times! Btw, the shop is called "Cabello Casa".... with a name like this, you wouldn't really go wrong!

At the salon:

Here's me flaunting my new hair do with Tommy.......

Some pics of food before I end.....

TA TA!

UPDATES...... SOME SONGS.....

2008-07-19T21:46:00.013+08:00

Not been blogging this whole week cos Jo wasn't feeling well and I was totally absorbed in watching my current favourite Taiwan serial drama 命中注定我愛你 the last 3 days..... IMO the best Taiwan drama serial so far...thks to Von who told me to watch it. This is the first Taiwan show that doesn't have very hunky actors or extremely pretty actresses...... just ok looking. In fact the Lead actor looks a little like Sim Koo and the Lead actress has the late Anita Mui's features. I think Dylan is quite cool looking..... like him a lot! I just luv the story line...... I was crying, laughing and angry all at the same time while watching the drama.... some parts are really heart warming! Ok ok....updates.....

Had dinner at my aunt's place last week. She taught me how to make these kueh using left over porridge! So economical and not to mention delicious, especially with the cai po.

Last Saturday was my dear Hb's birthday. We wanted to celebrate at Vines but changed our minds after walking past Chuan Fa Steamboat Restaurant....keke...... saw the wide spread of food and decided to cancel our reservation (Vines is just few doors away)! I think it's better to make reservation earlier and ask for air con area.... if not, you'll be perspiring like siao! Both Tom & I liked the Tom Yum soup...... not too spicy and very appetising. Will be back again. Here's some pics of what we did on his birthday.........

First stop: XY invited us to attend a Blue Ribbon Fun fair cos she had an ice-cream booth there. We bought Jo a Strawberry cheesecake ice-cream and I went to get my ankle stained with Henna.....haha..... not very nice cos I think the young girl was tired as she seemed to be trembling throughout the time she was drawing on me!

Took a pic with Jacelyn Tay at the fun fair promoting the new product, Neostrata so went over for a pic with her. I hate taking pic with skinny people...... makes me look really fat! She isn't like very pretty but I like her fair and almost flawless skin....*envious*......

2nd stop: Let's start with some lovey dovey pics.......

At Chuan Fa Steamboat Restaurant

We visited Hinghwa last Sunday. Wanted to catch up with some old friends but guess most of them had left and some had meetings to attend. We didn't stay back to chat cos Jo was tired. Some pics of Jo & I before service.....

In the evening, Gil gave us a treat at Sakae Restaurant as a birthday gift to Tommy. We ordered our usual faves and some new items like the Miso clam Soup and Garlic Rice. The soup was disappointing but the garlic rice was fragrant and soft plus I like the Sakura shrimps..... heehee....Gil thot they were dried shrimps..... haha.......(want to know why I am laughing? Check out her blog). Thanks Gillian for the the treat!

Dinner Treat at Sakae

Some pics of my simple home-cooked food for Tom & I:

Before I sign off...here are some songs that I like from 命中注定我愛你.... ..... cute, sweet and heart warming.....

九十九次我爱他

心愿便利貼

半情歌－元若藍 (This is my fave song from the show)

Hope you liked the songs too!