To blog or not to blog, thats the question.

Its been that long..

2010-10-10T10:11:00.002+08:00

Was editing my facebook profile and saw me blog address.... click on it and realised I have not blog for a really long time, 2 years 9months 6 days 8 hrs 10 mins (and counting) to be exact. Was kind of excited to blog again, however, I have been sitting here for the past 15 mins and my mind is blank....................................................................... I have totally lost touch, mind is still blank ................................ anything to do with facebook??

I will be back... hopefully shortly :)

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T18:24:00.000+08:00

Happy new year everyone!

I have been too busy with my facebook to blog... hahaaha! Those of you who have not gotten an account, should get one immediately. Its fun and a great way to keep in contact with family and friends. I have even found a couple of long lost friends in facebook. Really cool.

I will come back to blog some day.

Mini chocolate fudge cake

2007-10-10T12:03:00.000+08:00

Here is my creation! The pictures are not very well taken as my camera is dying.
Baking the cake is easy, making the fudge and trying to maintain the right consistency to spread onto the cake needs a little effort. Next attempt, BIRTHDAY CAKE.

Verdict from testers... the cake is not sweet and fudge has just a nice balance of bitterness and sweetness.

Biscuits, jellies and etc.

2007-10-07T21:59:00.000+08:00

Baked some biscuits (American version of scones) on friday. The first batch I added garlic powder. I did't like it because of the garlicky after-taste. So for the second batch, I did not add the garlic powder. They tasted much better. Well, at least to my liking. Speaking of baking, I finally managed to get a chance to use my Matfer Exopat baking mat that I got my hubby to buy, during one of his work trips to France. This mat is a great kitchen tool. Bakes well and everything comes off easily after baking.

I also baked some blueberry muffin but not the usual way. Added sour cream to the recipe and baked it in a 9" square pan. I pour only a little mixture to make a 1" thick cake. Once cooled, I slice it into two pieces, spread some jam, put the two pieces together like a sandwich. Then I cut into smaller bite-size pieces. As usual, my no. 1 fan... Aloysius, could not stop eating it. Hubby (who is not a big fan of muffin and cakes) said it was nice. Ashley preferred the biscuits. The texture is lighter than a regular muffin. No pictures as I forgot to take.

Made konnyaku jellies today. Its easy to make and taste great too. Again, no pictures as my camera is not functioning propoerly. If the camera decides to cooperate tomorrow, I will take some pictures.

I have plans to bake chocolate fudge cake and make another batch of jellies tomorrow but then again... it depends if I am in the mood when I wake up tomorrow.. hehehe. Stay tuned.

Birthday wishes

2007-09-10T19:19:00.000+08:00

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, AUNTY DIANA!

Though my posting is late... my chocolates and sms was on time... hahahahha! Hope you had a wonderful birthday on September 5th minus the sprained arm.

Also not forgetting my beloved sister... Beatrice. Your special day coming up on Setpember 12th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU TOO!

Lastly to my nephew, who is turning one on September 16th...... HAPPY BIRTHDAY WITH LOADS OF HUGS AND KISSES!

Vacation - Los Angeles and Taipei

2007-09-10T14:38:00.000+08:00

Finally computer is working normal.. so I am able to load photos from our vacation to LA and Taipei in August.

We spent 5 days in LA and one night in Taipei. The first day was spent shopping at Desert Hills factory outlet, 2 days at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, 1 day at Universal Studios and last day more shopping around hotel area. It was a rather cram trip... but still fun. In my opinion, you will need 3 days to cover disneyland alone and another day for (DCA). As for universal studios, 1 day is enough. The kids got to take pictures with some of their fave characters like Sulley from the movie Monsters Inc., Scooby Doo, Spiderman, Count Dracula, disney princesses, The Simpsons family, etc.

The kids had loads of fun taking all the kiddy rides and some not so kiddy... like the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Ferris Wheel at DCA. We thought the Ferris Wheel was just a normal ride, not if you take the swinging gondola. As the wheel rotates, the gondola starts swinging left to right and some times moving forward or backward... the swing can be pretty scary, just short of going round 360 degrees. Felt like puking after the ride.

From the above picture, you can see the Ferris Wheel on the right. On the left is the roller coaster ride called California Screamin'. Aloy and I did want to go for it but decided not to after the ride has some malfunction which left some people getting stuck in their carriage at the top of the ride.

Here are some more pictures.

At Universal Studios, we took the studio tour which bring us round the area where filming is done. For example, we get to see the original movie sets where Steven Spielberg filmed his blockbuster, "War of the Worlds." Studio Tour trams pass through a small town devastated by an elaborately choreographed 747 airplane crash, dramatically surrounded by still-smoking wreckage and shattered debris. They used a real 747.

We also got to see the cars from the movie "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" and the place where they filmed "Desperate Housewives". See if you can recognise the houses below.

Next our night-stop at Taipei. We arrive Taipei at about 6 plus in the morning. Once we checked in the hotel, we went out for breakfast, had beancurb milk, yu tiao, xiao lao bao and shao bing. Its definitely much more delicious than the beancurb shop in Geylang. After that we went back to the hotel for a short rest before heading out Shihlin Night Market and Ximenting. Its was more of a eating trip than shopping. Here are what we ate.

Coffin Bread - A thick slice of bread with variety of topping of your choice. The bread is being pan-fried till crispy.

Smelly tofu - Guess this dish does not need further introduction. Surprisingly, its not smelly when eaten and tastes quite nice. Aloy tried and like it.

Stew beef noddle

Oyster mee sua

Oyster omelette - I prefer the Singapore version.

Meat ball noddle - The meat ball was very springy

My 3rd attempt at Jellyhearts

2007-07-10T16:17:00.000+08:00

On sunday I tried my hands at jellyhearts again. Everything came out PERFECT! No floaties. The 2nd attempt went quite bad, there were many floaties, more than the first time. Lucky I have enough nice looking ones to give to my cousin, Rachel... as I have made them specially for her. Elaine... don't get jealous here now.. hahahah. I will also make some for you when you are back.

After this 3rd try, I finally realised that making jellyhearts need loads of patience. You definitely cannot make them in a rush. After pouring the cheese and placing in the strawberries, I locked up the fridge doors to prevent my kids from opening them. As you know, kids have the habit of opening fridge doors just for the fun of it. With the doors closed for at least 2 hours, the cheese was able to harden up properly and therefore holding down the strawberries firmly. So when I pour in the jelly, the strawberries will not float up.

I have also managed to find square paper cups for the jellyhearts. Next will be to find either 1" or smaller heart-shaped cutter, to make smaller jellyhearts.

Prawn fishing

2007-07-02T14:59:00.000+08:00

Bought my kids for prawn fishing on Saturday. We had great fun and everyone managed to fish a prawn or two. We spent about 2 hours and got 33 prawns. Well.... actually we only caught 7 prawns. This was what happend... after 2 hours, we retured our rods to the counter and pack the prawns into a plastic bag. Then a man came over to see our 'catch of the day' and asked how much time we have spent to catch the prawns. My hubby told him 2 hours. He replied saying, "2 hours and so little prawns, come let me get you some more". He just took our bag of prawns and walk all the way to the back of the ponds. At first we thought he was probably another customer, who has caught tons of prawns and was kind to give us some. Turned out he is the boss. He went to his storage area (where he kept all his supplies of prawns), took a net and scope a big bunch of prawns into our bag. We were lost for words with his generousity. Plus the 15 prawns that my hubby caught the day before, in total we had 48. The next day, we invited some friends over for steamboat. Yummy!

Aloy's first poem writing

2007-06-29T11:51:00.000+08:00

Aloy was learning poem writing in english class this week and his homework was to write a poem. He has to write just one paragraph with 4 sentences. Since we were having so much fun figuring out rhyming words, I asked him to come up with another paragraph. hahahahha

Here's his creation:

"I wish upon a star
so that I could buy a car
to travel around the world
to find my precious pearl.

I wish upon a star
so that I could buy a guitar
to play a funny tune
for the looney toons."

My princess turns 4 today.

2007-06-27T11:16:00.000+08:00

Cheese cake and Jellyhearts

2007-06-18T09:27:00.000+08:00

Last saturday, my sis and I had our first attempt at baking cheese cake and jellyhearts. I would say we were a little ambitious, making 2 trays of classic cheese cakes and 6 sets (20 pcs each set) of jellyhearts.

The cheese cake turned out fine except for some crack lines towards the end of baking time. My sis said it was not cheesy enough. Uncle Paul said it was ok. So I guess, its always "one man's meat, is another man's poison". As for me, I felt the biscuit base was kind of soft, not crunchy enough... maybe too much butter or the butter was too warm when I mixed it into the biscuits. I wonder if the type of sour cream used have any effect on the cheesy taste. Recipe called for premium sour cream. I used two types of sour cream. One tub of premium sour cream and 1/3 tub of light sour cream. Anyway, since I am not a big fan of cheese cake, will need some time to digest this batch before having another attempt.

As for the jellyhearts (aka strawberry hearts). They turned out better than the cheese cakes, except for some floating strawberries (aka floaties). I have yet to figure out why there are floaties. At first I thought maybe its because I did not wait for the cheese to harden enough before pouring the jelly or the jelly was not cool enough. My sis left hers in the fridge longer than mine (4 hrs, recipe only called for at least 2 hrs) and jelly was left to cool till room temperature, she also has floaties. Hmmm... maybe the next round, I will leave the cheese in the fridge to harden for a bit longer than 4 hrs and then pour the jelly in just before I go to sleep. Maybe I should also pour the jelly with the container in the fridge, so that everything is done in a cool environment.

Those who tried the jellyhearts like them very much. Its great seeing the happy and smiley faces when they bite into the jellyhearts. I will definitely make some more very soon.

Discovery Centre and Zoo

2007-06-13T18:23:00.000+08:00

Brought the kids to the Discovery Centre and Zoo yesterday. Initially we just wanted to go to the zoo but was raining. So not to dampen the kids' spirit, we brought them to the Discovery Centre. Nothing much to see really. But the kids have a good time at the mini driving centre, complete with traffic lights and pedestrian crossing. Spent about 2 hours there, by then the rain has stopped and we decided to hop over to the zoo. It was already 3 plus when we got to the zoo, however we still managed to catch a few shows and take the tram ride before closing time at 6pm. We wanted to continue with a visit to the night safari but changed our minds as everyone was already very tired.

Birthday wishes

2007-06-08T16:00:00.000+08:00

May everything happy
And everything bright
Be yours on your birthday.
From morning till night,
And then through the year,
May the same thing hold true
So that each day is filled
With life's best things for you!

Happy Birthday ELAINE!

Anything and Whatever

2007-05-29T19:30:00.001+08:00

I guess everyone must have seen the ads on TV for Anything and Whatever. I was wondering what kind of drinks they are. It turns out that Anything is a carbonated drink and Whatever is a non-carbonated drink. You won't know what you are getting until you open the can. There are 6 different flavours for each.

I bought 6 cans of each. So far, from Anything, we tasted root-beer, cherry, cola and lemon-lime (similar to 7-up) and Whatever, we tasted chrysanthemum tea, lemon tea and green tea. My kids are having a kick out of guessing what type of drink is in the can and wanted to open all at once. Of cos I said no.

Dinner at Seletar Airbase

2007-05-29T17:49:00.000+08:00

Last sunday, hubby brought us to Seletar Airbase for dinner. The restaurant is called Sunset Grill & Pub. Al fresco dining while watching planes taking off and landing. The food is ok... I like the buffalo wings. The wings are marinated with spicy sauce then deep-fired. There are different level of spiciness, from level 1 to 10. According to the staff, level 3 is like chili padi. I only dare to try level 2. If you have kids with you, or friends who can't take spicy food, ask the waiter to put the spicy sauce on the side. Thats what I did.

I only have two pictures (fried mushrooms and buffalo wings) to show, cos I was so busy eating that I forgot to take pictures of the other dishes (rib-eye steak, BBQ ribs and Fish & Chips).

The restaurant opens everyday (except Tuesday) from 4pm and last order is at 9.30pm. Its advisable to make reservations especially on weekends. We were there about 5.30ish and already saw a couple of tables with reserved sign on them.

Here is a map of the restaurant.

We saw a plane parked need the restaurant... so brought the kids there to take some pictures.

TaeKwonDo Competition

2007-05-29T17:12:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, aloy had his first TKD competition. There were 3 categories - Listening command, Pattern command and Sparring. He only took part listening and pattern command, as he was not qualified for sparring just yet. He came in second for the listening command. I was a little worried for the kids in the sparring category. Somehow, it just seem so violent even with protective gears on. Anyway I was like telling aloy... " Its not the WINNING that matters, its the participation that COUNTS!" ;)

Public and School Holidays for 2008

2007-05-26T22:01:00.000+08:00

I have inserted the above information on my sidebar. Hope it will be of help to plan your (long awaited) vacation for next year.

Pop quiz from your Royal Highness Duchess E

2007-05-26T20:14:00.000+08:00

Just got conned into reading my cousin's blog. I GOT TAGGED!!! So... whats this taggy thingy all about? Can someone please explain? Anyway, here are my answers.

a) What were you doing 10 years ago?

Making preparations for my wedding. Yes, its my 10th wedding anniversary come 15th Nov.

b) What were you doing 1 year ago?

Recovering from my lost.

c) 5 snacks you enjoy.

Don't really snack much.

d) 5 songs to which you know your lyrics off your head right now.

Gosh.. err... hmmm.. can't even squeeze one song out of my brain, don't ask me for 5. hahahha

e) 5 things you would do if you are a millionaire.

1. scream
2. scream
3. scream
4. scream
5. scream and hopefully don't go crazy before i can enjoy my good fortune.

f) 5 bad habits.

1. Like Duchess E, can never get up early in the morning. I guess it runs in the family.

The next 2 are contributed by hubby, since I could not think of any.
2. Spend too much time in front of the computer.
3. Too lazy to exercise

4. Me goody goody, no bad habits....hehehhe

g) 5 things you like to do.

1. Sleep. Shorts naps also can.
2. Reading
3. Playing the piano
4. Buying things for my kids (and of cos myself)
5. Supper

I could go on and on, cos I got more than 5 things but I will spare you guys.

h) 5 things you will never wear, buy or get new again.

1. G-string/Thongs. I just don't get it. How comfortable can it be, when it feels like there is something stuck between yr butt the whole day. Go with seamless panties.
2. Since I like buying things (see answer 7-4), I can skip this question.

i) 5 favourite toys.

1. Yes Duchess E, definitely hubby
2. My kids and nephew, Jerome
3. Ipod
4. Piano
5. Computer

School holidays and baking

2007-05-25T17:15:00.000+08:00

Its the school holidays again! No plans to travel overseas. Well, actually I wanted to follow hubby to Paris next week but since I want to coach aloy on his english and chinese (as his grades have dropped slightly), decided not to. Well there is plenty of opportunity to travel in future. Son's school work is more important. I have already gotten additional assessment books and aloy is also mentally prepared to spend more time on school work this holiday.

As for recreation... probably bring the kids to the zoo or maybe night safari. I think ash has not been to the zoo yet. Or maybe pinic and cycling at ECP again. Probaby send aloy for a 2-day adventure camp. Waiting for registration to open. Was also thinking of sending him (and maybe ash too) clay modelling workshop.

As for me, I also have activities for the school holidays too....hahahahah. I have this baking craze recently... just signed myself for two baking workshops. Strawberry hearts and classic cheesecake on 3rd June. Chocolate fudge and almond choco cake on 10th June. Once I have tried the recipes at home, will post them on my blog.

I got to go now... got to settle some TV disputes between my kids.

My angel

2007-05-24T10:33:00.000+08:00

23 May... its exactly one year since my angel said goodbye. I still feel sad every now and then, when I think about her. Yes, time will heal but its gonna take a long while before I can talk about her without wanting to tear. She will always be remembered.

My gifts on mother's day

2007-05-19T17:00:00.000+08:00

The week before Mother's Day, I went to buy pork floss and chinese sausages from MeiZhenXiang (hope I get the spelling right). Guess what they were promoting.. heart-shape bak kwa (BBQ slice pork). They specially made these for Mother's Day... they were so cute looking that I cannot resist not buying.

For Mother's Day, Ashley made me two bangles from papers and insist that I must wear them. Of cos I obliged. Aloysius made me a... hmm.. don't exactly know what to call it. Something to hang on your key pouch or bag. He personally hang it on my bag. If you like to know.. yes its still hanging there. Lastly... hubby got me a Tiffany loving heart pendant.

Ashley's gift

Aloy's gift

Hubby's gift

Hubby's trip to Amsterdam

2007-05-19T16:18:00.000+08:00

Hubby travelled to Amsterdam last month... wished I could go but can't becos aloy's mid-year exams was round the corner... sob sob. I only have photos to look at for now. I must say the photos were pretty well taken, can even use them as wallpaper for the PC, which I did. Imagine, the photos already look so good, it would definitely be feast for the eyes being there personally. Enjoy the pictures.

Origami galore

2007-04-09T16:16:00.000+08:00

Just the weekend, I went to Jurong Point mall for a moive (Mr. Bean Holiday) with my kids. Its an easter treat for them since I didn't managed to get any chocolate easter eggs for them. Would you believe it... all the eggs were sold out, I tried NTUC, Liberty and Cold Storage... nothing left. I was looking for Kinder Bueno Surprise. They have toys in them, which the kids liked. Since they were all sold out, I was willing to settle for normal eggs but those were also not available. Actually its my fault, I should not have wait till the 11th hour to get the eggs. So... without the eggs, I could not go ahead with my plans for a teasure hunt (for easter eggs). The hunt has been postponed till next easter.

After the movie, we went to Popular bookstore to look for origami stuff. Got more papers of various sizes, patterns and colors. However, I could not find the origami books that I was looking for... (like the origami boxes and flowers) will try out the major book stores when I head to town next time.

Here I have made cup-holder, gift box, heart and coaster.

Origami craze

2007-04-06T17:25:00.000+08:00

It all started with the rose... then the box... then aloy ask me to make him a star. I made the ninja star. It actually flies quite well if thrown quickly. Now aloy and ash are running around the house throw stars at each other.

The rose thingy again!

2007-04-05T23:15:00.000+08:00

Told my sis that I have tried making paper roses. She saw pictures of it and asked me to try to make smaller ones, like maybe size of a 5 cent coin. I was like... huh? are you crazy...? Anyway, I went ahead with her suggestion. My fingers started to cram when I was just about to finish folding the rose... phew! I have put all three sizes together.

Size of paper used:

White rose - 13 x 13 cm
Bigger orange rose - 10 x 10 cm
Smaller orange rose - 5 x 5 cm

The smallest one is soooooo cute. The height is about 1.2cm.

Orange rose

2007-04-05T15:37:00.000+08:00

Here it is, I have used color paper to make the rose. The size is smaller than the white one.

Folding a paper Rose

2007-04-05T13:42:00.000+08:00

I always wanted to try my hand at folding a paper rose. I actually managed to do it. Some steps are pretty difficult to comprehend at first but after a few tries managed to figure out how the fold should be made. Lots of patience needed here. I will try with other colors later. Next, I will have to figure out how to make the stems and leaves. Hmm.. maybe I will try making a bouquet for my mummy as Mother's Day gift.

Easter egg project

2007-04-04T11:56:00.000+08:00

For easter this year, I got the kids to make easter eggs. We had great fun and of course the occasional disagreements on what colors to use, how the design of the eggs should be. Here are their master pieces.

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK, COCKOO DOODLE DOO...

2007-03-18T19:14:00.000+08:00

In the middle of my dinner (moments ago), ash came up to me and said she has learnt a new song.. tick tock, tick tock, cockoo doodle doo. tick tock tick tock, cockoo doodle doo.

Ash: mommy, i just learnt a new song - tick tock, tick tock, cockoo doodle doo. tick tock, tick tock, cockoo doodle doo.
Me: Thats nice... Next time when u wake up and koko (aks aloy) is still asleep, u can climb up to his bed and cockoo doodle doo him.
Ash: Really?
Me: Yes... and do the doodle doo really loud.
Ash: Ok.. so next time i can wake koko up for school.
Aloy: Mommy, then if i wake up before u.. i will also cockoo doodle doo to you.
Me: Ya right, try that on me and see what I will do to you.
Aloy: You won't send me to school right?
Me: Yes, i won't send you to school.

(Btw, not being able to go to school is like a catastrophe for him)

Then all of us starting laughing and trying not to choke on our dinner.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY LUM

2007-03-14T22:26:00.000+08:00

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday tooooooooooo Miss Lucy Lum (aka Rachel)
Happy happy birthday to YOUuuuuuuuu!!!!!!

Wishing you happiest, great health and wealth too!

FAMILY VACATION TO BALI 2006

2007-03-14T16:55:00.000+08:00

Didn't have time to load pictures from our Bali vacation... well actually its more like I was too lazy. Since today I am in the mood to blog.. thought I take some time to load some pictures. Missy D... these pictures are loaded specially for YOU!

CYCLING AND KITE FLYING

2007-03-14T14:27:00.000+08:00

Its the week long (term 1) school holidays. Brought the kids to east coast for cycling on Saturday. Finally aloy has learnt how to ride a bicycle but still need more practise... as for ashley, she too has figured out (that cycling is moving the legs in circular motions and not up down up down) but on 4 wheels for now. Taught her how to use the brakes and bell. Then she started ringing the bell every time she sees anyone coming towards her, even if they are not obstructing her way. I guess people will just think is cute seeing this little girl constantly ringing the bell, if its an adult, people might think this person is a nut-case. When we got home, aloy was proudly annoucing to madelyn that he has finally learnt how to cycle and she is the only person in the family who don't.

Then on Monday, we brought the kids to west coast for kite flying. Luckily, I bought two kites cos aloy's one did not really survive long, did a nose-dive into the ground and torn apart. All of us had a fun time, trying to launch the kite into the air (not an easy task if there is not enough wind), keeping the kite up, getting it higher, and not getting ourselves entangle with the string.

Took some videos...

I think to kids, they don't always have to take a holiday out of the country to have fun... doing simple things like cycling and kite flying are also as fun, especially if they are done together with mummy and daddy.

Next few activities on the list...
1) Botanic Gardens
2) National muesum
3) Nigh Safari

ALOY WANTS A HANDPHONE

2007-03-04T13:03:00.000+08:00

Aloy is bugging me to get him a handphone. Why does a 9 year old kid need a handphone? His reason, to call me from school if he had to stay back or if his lesson finishes early, he can call me to come pick him up. I think... its more like everyone has a handphone, I also must have one. Seems like a couple of his peers have handphones. I told him, if he needs to call me, there is always the public phone. And school will give advance notice if he needs to stay back, so I will know what time to pick him up. Then he asked when will I buy him a handphone, I say when he turns 21... hahahhah. I told him that I got my first handphone when I was 25 years old.., so he should not be compaining. Of cos didn't mention that handphone was not available when I was 9...heehee.

He has pyscho god-pa (aka my bro, Mark) to get him a handphone. God-pa say if he gets band-1 (grade A) for all his final-year exam papers, he will get him one. I was like ya sure... CEO (aka aloy's daddy) will not approve it.

I guess this handphone issue is here to stay. So... will he get the handphone this year or till he is 21?????? stay tuned.... hahahhaha

2006-11-29T13:04:00.000+08:00

I am wondering if my kids are watching too much television. Today they turned Ashley's bedroom into a sort of club house. I think its more of a cafe. To enter, you need to swap some cards. Then I overheard Aloy picking up the phone and talking to someone... mentioning that there are some monster/aliens appearing down town and needed their help. Next Aloy was calling for Ash, that its time to transfer form. I popped into the room and asked what they were doing. Aloy said he is transforming into Robin (a character from Justice League) and Ash is transforming into Bloom (a character from Winx Club) and they are off to fight crime. You can hear all the speical sound effects of fighting. Wah... hahhahahah..... I am trying my utmost best not to laugh and look serious.... ok go fight. Kids.. they sure know how to entertain themselves. Brings back memories of my childhood days too, when I will play supermarket with my siblings. Anything in the house is for sale... and using the money from the Monoply game. We even had cheque books.

Aloy just came running into the room telling me that his pet tamagotchi (aka Robin) is sick but refused to take his medication. By the way, tamagotchi is an elelctronic pet. Apparently its so sick that it just died and gone to heaven. So have to reset the gadget. Aloy was abit shocked for the moment when I told him Robin is dead. However, facial expression quickly change as he knew it can be reset and a new pet will come along... and its a boy again (the first one was a girl and he wasn't really happy about it). This time, he name it Beast. Happily went to feed and play with it again.

Its time for Ashely nap. Got to go.

2006-11-28T13:48:00.000+08:00

Its been quite awhile since I have last posted any entries. Have been receiving reminders from friends that I have not update my blog. Its the lazy bug.... plus its the school holidays.. plus I have been busy scanning music scores into my computer...

Finally settled everything for my trip to Bali (with hubby and kids) in December. After reading information from the website... still have not figure out what we are going to do there. Maybe just laze around the pool or the beach whole day. Maybe we will take up my cousin's suggestion, submarine ride... I don't know. Anyway, at least we are going somewhere :) Promise I will take lots and lots of pictures.

Yesterday, I borrowed my sis's mp3 player (Creative Zen M). Was thinking of getting one, so borrowed hers to try it out. I am deciding between this model or ipod. I kind of like ipod cos its slimmer and lighter. The thing missing from ipod is the radio function, which creative has. Was playing with zen all night... quite a cool gadget. At least I can listen to music or audio book or watch movie while waiting for my kids to finish whatever classes they are attending.

My mind not in the blogging mode right now. Continue some other time.

2006-10-29T20:50:00.000+08:00

My latest craze, korean drama - Princess Hour. The crown prince and princess are so cute, especially when they get on each other's nerves. Not only am I crazy about the show, also love the songs in the show - "Perhaps love and Stay". I have attached the MV from youtube for your listening pleasure. I think Ashely likes the songs too cos she will try to sing along whenever she hears the songs playing... yes singing in korean.... hahahha.

Stay

Perhaps Love

I am trying to find the music scores for these two songs, so I can play on the piano. Talking about piano... my lessons are coming along fine. Enjoying myself.

2006-10-11T18:25:00.000+08:00

Its EXAMINATION time! Stress, stress and more stress! Not my exams but Aloy's. I think I am more stress than him. Actually I am not really stress from preparing Aloysius for the exams but rather stress from his constant whinning. Complaining day in and out that he has to do more revision than usually. Just getting him to learn his spelling for the exams is a chore to me. Was I like that in my younger days? Don't recall that my mum has to constantly nag at me to study. Or maybe my mum give up on me.. ahahha! Anyway, I turn out ok, though deep down in my heart, knew I could have done even better. Just not hardworking enough. Thats why I always tell Aloysius to pay a little more attention to his school work. Then again, which kid would listen to that kind of advice.

The Russell Peters show came at a good time, helps to release some of the exam stress. I was laughing non stop throughout the entire one-hour show. I bought his outsourced DVD, so anyone wish to borrow it, let me know. Imagine, he was suppose to perform only 1 show, end up he did 5 shows and all tickets were sold out. By the way, Dom Dom, he will be in Australia in December. He is performing in Melbourne but tickets are all sold out. Unless you want to drive/swim/walk/fly/hitch-hike to Brisbane, maybe able to catch him. Check out his website - www.russellpeters.com.

2006-09-29T09:40:00.000+08:00

DAMN! Just when I thought I have done the coolest thing on earth by putting music on my blog, just found out that it does not WORK!!! Seems like it only works on my own computer. Argh..... Considering I spent more than 2 hours reading help pages and sourcing information on the web. After finding the html code, still had to figure out where to put it on the template. Now back to the drawing board :(

I will not give up... GOT TO GET THE MUSIC PLAYING ON MY BLOG!

2006-09-28T00:21:00.001+08:00

Guess what... I managed to figure out how to put music files onto my blog. Cool! As advised, you will have to click play to listen to the music. Don't want the music to auto-start because some people might not like to have any background music while reading. I will change the songs from time to time. Hope you will enjoy the songs that I have selected.

2006-09-27T14:38:00.000+08:00

I think I am becoming a mouse potato. Spending most of my waking time in front of the computer... either playing games, blogging, listening to radio, chating with friends. Occasionally I am even having lunch in front of the computer... very unhealthy! You will not see me at the computer only when my hubby is home cos he will be the one hogging it... hahaha!!!!

I bought tickets to the Russell Peters show. [For those who don't know him, Russell is a standup comedian. His jokes are real funny, especially when he does different accents. Check out his video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRFwyw9GvvY).] I booked the tickets online from sistic last week. Drop by their outlet (at Jurong Point) to collect the tickets last Saturday, however their system was down and was told to come back in 10 mins. I went back in an hour, the system was still down, so told the lady I will come back another day. Went down today... the system is still out of order, the lady don't know when it will be up again, asked me to try another outlet at Jurong East...hhhmmm. What luck. Anyway, I have until 6th October to collect it. The show is on 7th October. Can't wait!!!

Oh... my princess is up from her afternoon slumber... got to go entertain her. She will probably want to use the computer too, to play her elmo games. Now I have another contender for the computer!

Blog again soon.

2006-09-24T17:51:00.000+08:00

Finally got hold of a photo of Jerome. Photographer aka aunty Beatrice not providing enough... (GET THE HINT!!!) haha.

2006-09-22T16:24:00.000+08:00

Had my 2nd piano lesson today. Learnt to improvise on 2 pieces of music - 'Wonderful world' and 'If we hold on together'. Really enjoyed my lesson. I have asked my teacher to search for the music scores for 'For the first time' and 'I finally found someone'. Hope she is able to find it, if not maybe she can write out the scores for me.. heehee. My goal... to be Joseph's wedding pianist. He is getting marry next year September. Joe was suggesting that maybe I could play the piano for his march in. Wah liao, that is a tall order for me man! Lets see what happens in the next couple of months.

Oh! Lee clan's first heir, Jerome, entered into this "chaotic" world on 16th September. No pictures to pose yet.. anyway, got to get his parents' permission before I can post them on my blog, least I get slap with lawyer's letter.. hahahah. Jerome looks sooooo cute and quite handsome I must say. He looked even cuter when he starts to cry. I will put up some pictures soon (, since everyone is so eager to see Jerome, especially aunty rachel).

Ok, I am going to play 'old maid' with ashley now. For those who don't know what 'old maid' is, its a children card game. Least you get any wrong ideas. Will blog again soon.

2006-09-06T11:25:00.000+08:00

My friend asked.. how is SAHMs better than working mums? There is no better off or worse off.. just what you want in life. I chose to be a SAHM because I wanted to spend more time with my kids, plus there wasn’t anyone to help baby-sit them. Leaving them totally under the maid’s care is not an option for me. I am lucky to be able to choose to stay home and still have domestic help as well. Hubby say, my job is to be with the kids, spend quality time with them, as he don’t get to do that enough.

Here (in my opinion) is a list of differences between SAHMs and working mums.

SAHMs:
1) More time with kids
2) More time with spouse
3) More time with self
4) Can take vacation anytime of the year
5) Sufficient sleep
6) Don’t have to worry about datelines
7) Dont have office politics to bug you
8) No lunch hour rush time, can have extended lunch and tea break every day
9) No stress from work

Working mum:
1) Less time with kids
2) Less time with spouse
3) With less time with kids and spouse = no time for self
4) Limited annual leave, so means limited vacation. Want to take leave also must depend on work schedule
5) Everyday not enough sleep, worst when there is overtime or urgent reports to do
6) Datelines, datelines and datelines
7) Politics, politics and more politics
8) Limited lunch time, can’t take extended lunch or tea break unless boss not in town.. hahaha
9) Stress from work

With the above, does it mean SAHM is better than working mum? You decide for yourself.

I believe, you lose some and you gain some. I think the biggest think I lost is not been financially independent. I am the kind of person that buys what I fancy.. buying for kids, hubby or self. Now, I have to watch what I spend… because I am spending someone else’s $$ ;) Though hubby never say anything to my sendings… still its different. Well, I am slowly getting used to it. Spending less and more wisely... its a virtue.

Anyway I am happier now than when I was working. I am blessed.

2006-08-29T11:31:00.000+08:00

I am so happy! Finally found the sheet music for Tong Hua (Fairy Tale) by Guang Liang. Played it on the piano this morning, lovely piece of music... however, I still need some more practise. Anyone out there also looking for the sheet music, let me know, I will email to you. Talking about piano, I have signed up for a pop piano course. First lesson starting 8 Sept. The staff at yamaha mentioned that I will probably skip some levels as I already know how to play the piano. Whatever, I just can't wait to start :) My first step to becoming a freelance (wedding) pianist??? Anyone wants to hire a pianist? Hahaha.

2006-08-29T11:26:00.000+08:00

ALEX complained that I have not updated my blog for a week liao. So I am UPDATING now. Hahahaha.

Hmm what should I write about... no inspiration. What was I busy with just this weekend.. hmmm? Ah yes, busy chauffeuring people around hahahah. Had to drive hubby to airport, then drive my kids to Jas’s kid’s birthday party, then drive Aloysius to his swimming lesson then finally drive to airport to pick hubby. Thats what I did on Saturday, driving. Sunday was not that bad… hubby took over the driving part. Actually nothing much (or unusual) happened to write about.

I noticed that cake shops have started promoting their moon cakes. I have checked the calendar. 八月十五falls on October 6. Time to buy my durian moon cakes. No, I am not crazy about durian nor mooncakes… just that this shop, 727 makes a mean durian moon cake. Tried it once in 2004 and have been longing for it every 八月. Surf the web and found the address and tel number (of the main shop). Here it is for those who are interested to know –

Shop name: 727 Cakerie
Address: 22 Yio Chu Kang Road, £01-01 Highlang Centre
Tel: 64872777

PS: Don’t blame me if you don’t like it.. one man’s meat maybe another man’s poison.

Jas just had a baby girl 2 months back, Vera. It has been a long time since I last carried an infant. For a moment wonder if I could handle but hay… Vera fell asleep in my arms… hmm… such a nice feeling. Maybe I should pop by Jas’s place more often for hands on training… because I will be helping my bro baby-sit his kid sometime early next year. Anyway bro’s baby will be 4 months when I start baby-sitting, so will be easier to handle. Speaking of babies, my aunt just gave birth… everyone around is either pregnant or just gave birth or going to give birth.. hmmm… not that I am feeling sad… just a weird kind of feeling which I don’t know how to describe. No worries, mentally I am ok. I still do feel a little sad at times when thinking about my angel. On the whole I am alright. Guess this kind of weird feeling will never go away.

2006-08-22T15:29:00.000+08:00

Got to give myself a pat on the back... managed to wash and vaccum my car all by myself today. Well done bren bren! Must say I was very very tempted to have it washed at the petrol station. It sure was tiring but a good way to workout. Wonder if my muscles will start to ache later, hahaha. When I got home from washing the car, Madelyn (aka Auntie Lyn, my domestic helper) was like, "Mum why you go wash car, want to wash, ask me to wash". (I left her a note saying that I went to wash the car, while she was preparing Ashley to take her afternoon nap.) The way she put it was like I have committed a crime. That leads me to think, is washing the car a domestic chore??? Subjective, I guess in Singapore context it is.. cos most employers make their maids wash cars. Madelyn's priorities are to care for the kids, cook and clean the house, never thought of asking her to wash the car. My friends say cannot be too nice to the maid, they will take advantage. My opinion, treat them like how you would treat your family, in return they will work properly. Anyway, I am blessed to have a helper thats not giving me problems (touch wood), considering most of my friends always have something to complain about their maids.

2006-08-22T12:55:00.000+08:00

Uncle Paul read my blog and send me a msn saying my blog has too much details on the time I go about with my daily chores... thieves may come knocking on my door, so I have replaced the timing with X.XXam/pm.. haahaa. Thanks Uncle Paul.

2006-08-22T09:39:00.000+08:00

This video is real funny... ! But I don't think it will be funny if it happens to you. Thank God my kids are not like that. Anyway, I believe the way children behave depends entirely on how the parents (themselves) behave and how they educate their kids.

2006-08-21T09:42:00.000+08:00

You know when u don’t have a blog site, there seems to be tons of stuff u want to write about.. now started one.. brains went blank… hahaha how ironic.

Didn’t feel like having home-cooked food yesterday, so went out to pizza hut with my kids. It was a bad choice, well not the food but the day to eat out. There was some teenage talent contest going on and the stage was just outside the restaurant. The supporters were screaming their lungs out when their idol comes on stage, the noise level was really unbearable, so much so that I have totally lost my appetite. No matter how delicious the sweet n spicy chicken drumlets were or the cheese whoozing out from the pizza, I just could not enjoy. At that point, wish I was back home having my peaceful home-cooked dinner… hmmm. Swear I will not eat out during weekends, unless its somewhere QUIETER!!!

Got a sms from my old pal, Hwee Teen (aka Jamie but I still prefer to call her Hwee Teen) yesterday night. Suddenly memories of my school days came flooding back… those were the best days of my life. The only childhood or rather teenage-hood friends I keep in touch with are Hwee Teen, Linda, Melanie and Lienna. I think, the only person that I constantly keep in touch is only Lienna… as for the other three… sms once a blue moon. This is extremely terrible. Got to do something about it man. Some times I really envy my bro… he is still in close contact with his primary school mates (since primary 1, would u believe that). In fact the whole bunch of them goes on vacation together once a year.

Talking about keeping in touch, my hubby and I organized a national day get-together with his camp mates. I was just casually asking him about have a party on Aug 9, since he is in town for the holidays .. its amazing that he managed to get everyone (well almost) at such short notice. Though I was very tired from all the preparation and playing host, it was worth it. (Actually I enjoy hosting parties at my place.) Its nice to meet up with old friends after so long.

Everyone is always busy with their life. Someone just have to make the effort to do something to keep the friendship constantly burning. So to my friends that I have lost contact, if you happened to read my blog, PLEASEeeee send me an email so that we may be in contact again.

2006-08-17T14:22:00.000+08:00

Before I continue blogging on and on, got to post a picture of my bundle of joy.

2006-08-17T12:20:00.000+08:00

Finally I have started to blog like everyone else. Hubby said its just a matter of time that I will do this. Basically, other than playing computer games and suduko (yes I am a suduko addict), next best entertain would be to blog??? I have been a SAHM (stay at home mum) for about a year. Its really a mix feeling... on one hand I really feel like going back to work and the other hand.. tai tai life is great too. Whats my daily routine like you may ask ….

When hubby is overseas –
I will have to chauffeur my kids to school. Which means I have to wake up by 7.30am latest… yawnnnn... my princess starts school at 8am. Back home by X.XXam, drink my coffee, read newspaper then its computer time. At about X.XXam drive out to fetch my princess from school, back by X.XXam then at X.XXam its time to send my prince to school. Back home by X.XXpm and the rest of the day… computer computer computer, take nap, take high tea, etc, then 6pm drive out to fetch my prince from school, back home by about X.XXpm. Have dinner, coach my prince on school work, watch tv and then go to bed.

When hubby is at home –
Pretty much the same as above except no need to be driver to my kids.. hee hee, hubby does the driving. I will wake up about hmmm latest 10am (or till the sun starts to burn my butt… hahaha). And throw in some outings to makan places or shopping (with hubby) here and there.

Isn’t life just great or so it seems.

I do get bore some times… lately being thinking of picking up music lessons… or rather brushing up on my piano wif professional help then I do freelance like playing for people’s wedding or at lounges (I don’t know)… pick up knitting… study some thing (like diploma in law)… learn to roller blade… 101 things to do but need help to jump start.

To be continued...