What was, What is, What will be....

Piano Lessons for Children & Adults

2013-07-28T21:33:00.000+08:00

If I've not mentioned it before, would like to do so now:
I'm a piano teacher, and I'm currently looking for more students to fill up my free slots.

Here's more information:

Piano Lessons for Children & Adults

* Fun & Relaxed Lessons
* ABRSM Syllabus
* Practical & Theory
* Individual/ Group (Theory) Lessons
* Children & Adult
* Beginners Welcome
* Reasonable Fees

About the Teacher:
* Qualified with 7 years of teaching experience to students as young as 4 years old as well as working adults
* Dedicated and responsible
* Lessons can be conducted at Teacher's Home (Near Admiralty MRT)
* Lessons can also be conducted at Student's Home (Woodlands/Sembawang/Yishun Area)

You can call/sms me (my name's Jaime) @ 91997734 or email me at jmeelim@hotmail.com for any enquiries.

Freebie: CNY Printable Cute '福' Cookie Jar Labels and Ang Bao Packets

2010-02-08T04:15:00.009+08:00

Here's something nice for Chinese New Year!

I came up with this idea to design a cute and 'professional' looking label for the new year cookies after a lame attempt last mooncake festival to fool my sister that the mooncakes were store bought instead of home made. She remarked that one look at the label, and she knew I made them! I just printed out the names in black and white on a small piece of paper and stuck them on the box then.
So, here's my attempt for a more polish and professional packaging!

I'm really satisfied with them, so would like to share them with everybody! The labels comes in 3 sizes, Large (about 9cms in diameter), Medium (6cms) and Small (4cms). It's been sized to fit an A4 paper when printing!*

Labels

I'm so psyched with the labels, I decided to design matching Ang Baos (Red Packets) as well! I chanced upon this template a couple of days ago at yokebakery.com. An origami heart shaped red packet! How apt - As this year Chinese New Year falls on the 14th Febuary, on Valentine's Day! So, with the template, here's my design with 3 different backgrounds! Go for a more traditional but chic look with the flowery background! Or stand out with the bold and modern stripes! Are you a die hard romantic with a penchant for everything 'hearts' on Valentine's Day? - How about the hearts background? Leave a message or your name at the back of the Ang Bao to the one you're giving it to, making it more meaningful!

You can find the folding here.

Ang Bao 1

Ang Bao 2

Ang Bao 3

Hope that you'll like the designs and find them useful. Only 6 more days to CNY. I'll be back in my hometown from tomorrow, so here's wishing you a very Happy Chinese New Year! Huat ah!

*I don;t have the time to tkae the pictures of them on the jar yet! Will update once I'm back from my hometown! :)

Credits:
www.yokebakery.com - Heart shaped Ang Bao template.
www.shabbyprincess.com - Digital scrapbooking papers and embellishments.

Fresh From the Oven...

2009-01-16T15:41:00.004+08:00

What I've baked for CNY so far:

..::Green Tea Jewels::..

..::Green Peas Cookies::..

..::Pineapple Cookies::..

That's it... The cookies are ok.. The Green Peas Cookies taste the best.. The Pineapple Cookies are ok, Hubby commented that the filling are a tad too hard.. I find the crust too crumbly too.. I added a little too much water, because it was so hard to press it out from the cookies presser. My arms are still sore now.. Wanted to make more.. Arghhh.. too tired (lazy) to do so.. :)

On a brighter note:

My Fatt Koh/Huat Kueh smiled!!!! I did it this morning..

..::Fatt Koh/ Huat Kueh::..

Yay! So happy!! I'm trying 'proving' a batter for something else right now.. If it works out I'll post the picture.. :)

A Good Start For The Year!

2009-01-15T09:43:00.004+08:00

Had a pleasant surprise the other day when I opened the mailbox! A letter from Cleo stating I've won a Maybelline Hamper set worth $100! Wow! I've never won anything from a magazine in my life! I don't always join those contests in magazine, but still... Yup! It's a great way to start the year! :)

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Started my New Year baking yesterday. I only did the shopping yesterday itself, so I started rather late. Make a few 'Fatt Koh' or 'Huat Kueh' that doesn't 'Fatt/Huat' and a batch of Green Tea Cookies that just tasted ok.. I expected more..
Oh well, gonna bake more later.. Hopefully things will turn out better today...

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Yay! We're gonna take our family portrait this weekend.. Not gonna say much first so not to 'jinx' it. It's sooooooo hard to arrange all your family members to get together, when now everybody is working (especially my dad!). But I think I manage to do it.. Keeping my fingers crossed everything will work out as planned! I'll update on this soon.. :)

Ok.. I'm off to start my baking!!!!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year and Happy 6 Months Old!

2009-01-09T10:32:00.002+08:00

Yes! I know, I really should update more often.. and I will.... try..

Wow.. before you even realize it, our Piglet Chan is 6 months old today! I was telling Hubby a couple of days ago, how I missed our little 1 month old Piglet Chan.. :)

A little update, at 6 months, Aiden:

1) Is able to pull himself forward a little, go backwards with ease.
2) Rolls around a lot, moves himself in 360 degrees like crazy!
3) Loves singing.. but of course in his own little language! We discovered that he loves oldies.. be it Chinese or English.. lol..
4) Loves eating his digestible biscuits.. give him 1 and he stuff all right into his mouth at a go, like we've not fed him for ages.
5) Simply adores going out, he smiles like there's no tomorrow if you bring him out. Keep him at home for a whole day, and he'll be grouchy like hell..
6) Loves his walker.. he can move around with ease now.. his latest stunt was moving sideways like a crab.. god know where he learned that from..
7) Smiles and laugh a lot more these days.. but his laughter are still those soundless ones.. you can see his mouth open really big but not a squeak will come out.. and he throws a whole lot of tantrums too.. this son of mine have a really mean temper.. hmmmmm..
8) Loves his ABC flashcards.. you can flash it repeatedly for a hundred time in front of him and he never gets tired of them.. so much more better than any other toys!
9) Still couldn't sit on his own unsupported... but he's on his way there..
10) Weighs 8.5kgs and about 70cms in length.. everybody was complaining how heavy he was.. recently, he decided to go on diet and started refusing his milk..
11) Recognizes his family, but is a little wary of strangers. But he warms up to them quickly, especially if you are fair.. lol..
12) Have both his double eyelids already! For the longest time, he had single eyelid on the right eye and double on the left.. yup! They both are double eyelid now! Lol..

I thinks that's about it.. will updates with photos soon.. Ciao! :)

Happy 4 months old Darling!!

2008-11-10T11:58:00.002+08:00

Aiden turned 4 months yesterday!! How time flies! I feel I'm missing so much of his progress not being there by his side everyday! My mum, knowing how much I missed him, gives me a detailed report everyday of his progress..... I can't wait for the day when I can bring him back here for good, and have him by my side 24/7... Don't think it'll be anytime soon though...

Been really down these past few weeks.. Nothing seems to be going my way, be it at work or my personal life... my only bright spark is little Aiden boy.. He's the only thing right now that makes this depressing world a little brighter, makes life a little more worthwhile to live on.. Right now, I'm only looking towards the weekends when I can see him, touch him, hug him, kiss him...

Aiden's milestone so far:

1) Aiden lifted his head by himself even before he is one month old! Thus earning the nickname Stiff-Neck from my mum..

2) He started smilling slightly after his first month. This son of mine is one cool bugger. He hardly smile, but when he does... Awwww.. it'll melt your heart.

3) He started talking at about 2 months.. his vocab has doubled since. Just recently, he kept going 'Buuu Buuu' when he wants to be carried.

4) He flipped on his own just last week! And he will drag him self a couple of inches forward when he's on the mattress. So amazing!!

Aiden's Birth Story

2008-10-16T16:48:00.004+08:00

It's really hard to imagine two such imperfect people could create such a perfect little thing. We were anticipating Aiden's arrival since the day we knew we were pregnant. But as the days drew nearer, everything seems surreal! It's very hard to imagine the both of us as parents. But the moment when he first popped out, all worries and self doubts we had before just vanished. Our lives are now complete...

I've actually asked Aiden if he'd prefer coming on the 6th (060708 - nice number), 7th (070708 - It's Junior's birthday, we were wondering if Aiden wanted to share his birthday with gor gor) or the 8th (080708 - hehe.. just fancy this date too). Of course, as usual this little naughty boy of mine did not response. He's probably thinking he should be the one deciding as and when he should appear, not us.. Lol.

July 5th 2008
Have had Braxton Hicks the past few days. But I was telling Aiden not to make his appearance today. It's because I wanted to attend Junior's 1 year old birthday party! And I did! Angel kept saying that Aiden's probably waiting to come out on the 7th. I told Aaron, 7th also good la.. cos Pearl, Daniel and Sarah was in town that weekend. I wanted to meet her the next day.

July 6th 2008
I was feeling great. No signs of baby coming out. We went ahead and met up with Pearl, Daniel and Sarah. Pearl's pregnant again with her 2nd child! So happy for them. Spend the day eating! Had Katong Laksa for lunch then we went over to Hagen Daz for ice cream. I was eating up a storm! Went home and still no signs that baby is coming anytime soon.. Discussed with my Mum, and because I kept having the feeling that baby's gonna pop out soon, she agree to come over the next day.

July 7th 2008
Dunno why, but everybody seems to think that today's the day.. Aaron called every other minute from work, asking me if I'm feeling anything.. No lehz.. Just Aiden kicking away in the tummy. Aaron went to pick up my Mum after work. When she arrived, I told Aiden.. ok.. Grandma's here.. you can come out le.. He responded with a kick!

July 8th 2008
After anticipating for so many days.. I guess the both of us lost a little of the enthusiasm. Aiden just might have decided to wait till his due date, which was still 5 days away. Aaron called less often today, I guess he's more assured now that he knows that my mum is with me. As for me, I was making plans with my Mum to go shopping the next day. Aaron had a dinner function that night, so he was home rather late.

July 9th 2008
2.30am - Aiden woke me up with a really hard kick. Patted my tummy for some time but he refused to settle down. Decided to go pee, hoping he'll settle after a while. The moment I stood up.. water leaked out! I stood there, panicked for a while then quickly rushed into the bathroom. I called out the Aaron, 'It's time!' He jumped out of the bed immediately. 'You sure?' Wow.. this is the first time I've seen him so alert straight after waking up! Just then a bigger puddle of water splashed out. Yes, I'm sure..

3.30am - After bathing, we woke my Mum up to inform her, then made our way to the hospital. I was worry about not having something to eat, because I was feeling a little hungry by then. Made Aaron stop at the petrol station to get me a drink and some bread. When we arrived at the hospital, I was wheeled to the temporary ward. All the way there, the amniotic water was still leaking.. I thought that when the water bag burst, the water would come out all at once. Apparently I thought wrong. It was really messy..

5.30am - I've started having contractions since 3 plus, but it was really mild and was about 5-6mins apart. While in the temporary ward, I was really distracted by the lady next to me (we were separated only by a curtain). There she was, moaning so loudly.. she seemed to be in a lot of pain.. *Shudders*.. Some nurses came in and wheeled her away. A few minutes later I was wheeled into the labour ward as well. Yay! I was re-united with Aaron. He brighten up at the sight of the armchair.. probably thinking he can have his nap there later.

6am - Doctor came in to check and I was only 1cm dilated. The pain was increasing by then, but still bearable. The nurse asked if I wanted breakfast. Yes! I was hungry! But by the time the food arrived, the pain has worsen, and I've lost my appetite! Ate a little, then past it all to Aaron. He finished it up, then told me he's still hungry. I told him to go have his breakfast first. He went off and I managed to take a nap.

1pm - The pain was getting really bad. Took laughing gas, but besides of making me high and had me laughing deliriously, the pain did not subside. Yes, I was in great pain but laughing away..
Had a jab on the thigh too.. that didn't work either..
Then they had the nerve to send me lunch, I felt like throwing it back to them.. Who in the world would want to eat when their in so much pain! Oh.. Aaron ate it..
I was thinking this is probably it! The doctor's coming soon, and baby will come out and yay! I can rest! The nurse came and check on me, then told us I was only 2cm dilated!!!! What the... this is not it?!?!?! Baby is not coming yet? She smiled and told me worse has yet to come.. OMG!!! Give me epidural now!!!!!!

3pm - The doctor who administer me the epidural came and went.. I was in bliss.. It took away 85% of the pain, which was a big deal. Managed to catch some sleep. Aaron did too..

7.30pm - Doctor came and check.. I'm fully dilated! The nurses told me to push.. So there I was.. pushing, and pushing... and pushing.. OMG.. I was totally exhausted.. and my gyne wasn't even here yet... The nurse was supporting me on my right and Aaron was holding on to me on my left. I remember the nurse kept giving me lots of encouragements.. I kept on nodding to her then turn to Aaron and tell him I can't do it. Aaron kept patting me.. At one point I think I actually doze off from exhaustion!

8.15pm - Doctor finally here.. She said 'Let's do it! Push!' Geez.. what did she think I was doing the past 45mins? So, I pushed and pushed and pushed..

Aiden finally made his appearance at 8.34pm and no, I didn't cry when I first saw him.. I think I was too tired to do so.. So that was it.. after more than 15 hours of labor.. we finally met our son! :)

p/s: The next day a lady came and did a survey asking at the scale of 1 to 10, how do I rate the epidural, I give it a full 10/10.. because I felt it saved my life.. I couldn't imagine going through so many hours of labour without it. I guess my threshold of pain was really low.. anyway, my salutes to all mummies who managed to give birth naturally without anesthesia. You guys are amazing!

PhotoFunia

2008-10-16T13:53:00.008+08:00

Thanks Elise for the link! I found this site when I was browsing through your photos in Facebook. :)

These clever people used a photo detection technology and superimposed your face into pictures. Exactly like what Aaron loves doing using Photoshop! But these saves you the hassle! There's over 60+ pictures for you to dabble with. You can appear on TV, Billboards, In the Museum, or as Jack Sparrow and Superman. Do try it! It's fun! PhotoFunia

Yay! I'm Back!

2008-10-14T16:49:00.009+08:00

Yes! I'm back! And I've so much to tell!!!!
But first, introducing the newest member of the Chan Family... Piglet Chan, my little dumpling:

::5 days old::

Name: Aiden
Weight: 3.255kgs

You'll not believe it that I lost a large portion of Aiden's photos in the camera! The stupid memory card had to suddenly show an error! Nothing can be done and in the end we decided to just reformat the memory card! *SOB*
Luckily I've printed out some of the photos and we've some in Aaron's Hp. Sigh.. but still a large portion is gone.. :(

Well, anyway, stay tune... I'm gonna post the gory details of my birthing experience next!

Piglet Chan's popping out soon?

2008-07-01T14:12:00.006+08:00

Been experiencing Braxton Hicks the last couple of days.. Is Piglet Chan joining us soon?
But.. I wanna attend Baby Jr's first birthday party this coming Saturday, and dear darling Pearl, Daniel and daughter, Sarah is in town this weekend..
Piglet Chan.. think you can hold on a couple of days more? Haha..
Cousin Eldon's little baby boy joined us on June 14th, 3 weeks earlier than it's EDD! Congrats dear cousin!
Cousin Don is now officially married to the love of his life, Cathy on June 19th! A very lovely affair in Conrad! Congrats dear cousin!
Hubby's colleague's wife who's due date is later than mine have also given birth... yesterday.. Congrats!
Yeah, can't wait to see my darling Piglet Chan!!!!
Think my next post will most probably be with Piglet Chan's photos.. So stay tune ya! Boy.. nine months sure passed by real fast.. gonna miss my big round tummy.. :)

加油，四川人民!

2008-06-09T11:00:00.002+08:00

Hello!

2008-05-28T11:06:00.006+08:00

It's been EONS since I update! I've been fine if you're wondering... Piglet Chan and his daddy is doing well too..

Many things happened during my absence from this blog..

*Two of my uncles past away recently. It's like a gloom cast over our otherwise sunny world.. While 3 of us cousins are preparing the arrival of our little ones, another is preparing for his ROM next month, we are to face the passing of our closed ones as well..

*Mum and Dad went on a crazy shopping spree in Shanghai recently.. they came back with tons of gifts for everyone. I got some jade accessories and a set of the Beijing Olympic 2008 mascot plushes! How cool is that! Aaron received a few really nice T-shirts and even Piglet Chan received two pairs of leather made shoes! Will update with pics on these..

*I'm a waddling BLIMP right now.. Piglet Chan is approximately 2kgs from our last check up. The tummy is getting really heavy, and I get tire just walking from the kitchen to the bedroom.. Ok lah.. that's a bit exaggerated... but I do get tire easily.. To top it up, I've been bugged with flu, cough and sore throat this past week.. Lost my voice the past few days.. In the better days, I'm just a bloated, bulbous-nosed, waddling blimp.. suffice to say I'm not in a great shape now.. Haha! Other than that, I'm actually doing great! Can't wait for the arrival of Piglet Chan..

*Yup! We still can't decide on the name for Piglet Chan.. We've got so many feedbacks from family and friends, it's a little confusing right now.. And I'm telling you.. Piglet Chan doesn't react to any names other than.. Piglet Chan! Oh dear..

*Piglet Chan is constantly letting his presence known.. He kicked everytime his daddy talks and put his face near him.. He'd also acknowledged his XiaoYi, my sis.. It's funny looking at their reactions everytime he kicked!

*Cousin Don is getting ROM next month! Anna and Dave in August! Raymond, Aaron's work buddy is having his AD next month as well! Congratulations all! This waddling blimp have got nothing to wear!!

*Cousin Eldon and Adelyn's precious is scheduled to arrive late next month too! After that will be my turn.. Arghh.. 46 more days to go.. The thought of it.. *shudders*.. I can't wait to see Piglet Chan.. but I'm not sure I'm ready to go through the birthing process.. yet..

*We're supposed to have packed everything for the hospital stay by now.. but.. nope.. nothing's done yet.. haha! I don't know what we're waiting for..

*Aaron's been really really busy lately.. with work.. Poor thing's been working really hard so that Piglet Chan will have a better environment to live in when he's out! That is why he have not been blogging lately.. All this Mummy and son can do is to give moral support.. Sweetie.. Jia You!!

*We've bought loads of stuffs for Piglet Chan.. My mum say we're already spoiling him before he's even born! Haha.. I've yet to buy necessities like diapers, milk powder.. but he'd already have so many toys and clothing.. Ha..

*Ooohhh.. I nearly forgot.. I hit my big 3-0 this year! I'm no longer in my twenties.. Lol! Hubby took me to this really nice Thai restaurant at Railway Mall call Sweet Salty Spicy and we have Wagyu Beef! Yummy! Picture's in Hubby's phone.. I'll post them up.. one day..

*Sis came over to stay for a week while Mum and Dad were away in Shanghai. It was fun having this whirlwind of a girl around for company.. I didn't realised how alone I was these days.. That one week past by really fast and before we know it, Mum and Dad are back...

That's about it.. The flu's really pulling me down.. Feeling really drowsy now.. Haha.. Think I'll go take a nap (never in a million years thought I'd say that at 12pm!).. Will update soon.. Ciao!

Naming Piglet Chan!

2008-03-25T09:58:00.006+08:00

With just slightly less than 16 weeks to go before we welcome our boy into this world, one thing we talked about most these days was what to name him. You'd think naming a baby is easy.. but this mummy just simply can't decide! I want a name he'll adore.. not be ashamed but be proud of.. Hubby said that is impossible, since any names can be turned into something to joke about nowadays.. we might as well choose something we like..
We're still calling him 'Piglet Chan'. Hubby said if we still can't decide by the time he's born, we shall just name him thus, since he should be used to it by then.. Lol! I don't think he'll like us very much.. Ha!
Anyway, here's a few names we've shortlisted:

Aiden/Aidan/Aidn - Little Fire (Irish)
Ashton - Ash Tree Town (English)
Kieran/Kieren/Keeran - Little Dark One (Irish)
Keagan/Keagen/Keegan - Descendant Of The Fiery One (Irish)

What do you guys think? Any input?

OMG!!

2008-03-12T21:55:00.006+08:00

I was surfing around for a nice baby ticker to put in the blog.. and I just realized something!
I'm way past into the mid of my pregnancy!!!!!!

According to my due date:

I've been carrying our boy for 157 days, thats 22 weeks and 3 days, and
I've only 123 days, that's 17 weeks and 4 days before our boy pops out!!!!

OMG!!!!

p/s: This Mummy is super proud of herself! I redesigned the blog skin all by myself albeit taking the whole day...

Practice or Practise?

2008-03-11T22:56:00.004+08:00

There is often confusion over the words "practice" and "practise". I've always used the sentences - 'Please practice more!' or 'You need more practice!' in my student's progress book.. Where else I've seen most other teachers uses "practise" instead.
I did some checking and came up with these:

In order to understand which to use, you must know the difference between a noun and a verb. This is because "practice" is a noun; whereas, "practise" is a verb. "Ice" is a slippery thing, whereas "ise" is not a thing - so remember that practice is a thing and practise is a doing word.

A LITTLE TRICK TO SPOT "PRACTICE"
Try using the word "preparation" (or "lessons") instead of "practice". If the sentence still makes sense, then "practice" is almost certainly correct.
(This trick works because "practice" is a noun, just like the words "preparation" and "lessons". )

A LITTLE TRICK TO SPOT "PRACTISE"
Try using the verb "to prepare" (in its various forms; e.g. "preparing, prepared, prepares") instead of "practise". If the sentence still makes sense, then "practise" is almost certainly correct. However, if you find yourself using "preparation" then you should be using "practice", because both are nouns.
(This trick works because "to practise" is a verb, just like "to prepare". )

Examples:

You need more practice. (Correct)
You should practise more. (Correct)
They practice in the office for 10 weeks and are then sent out. (Wrong)
Keep practicing that stroke until the whistle blast. (Wrong)

So for me:

Please practice more - Wrong
You need more practice - Correct

Right? Haha.. I need grammer lessons...

Sources: Grammer-monster.com

Updates..

2008-03-11T13:29:00.009+08:00

We're having a BOY!!! We've started some shopping and shortlisted a few names. Baby is constantly kicking everyday! And he have opinions too! We were at the Taka Baby Fair past Sunday, and he kicked non stop when we picked up some things for him.. Hubby said he's telling us which to choose and not to.. Ha! Sometimes, when I was laughing, it felt like he wanted to chew his way out of my tummy! Haha!
Cousin Chia Ling came over for a visit to Singapore.. We haven't met for dunno how many donkey years! And she still looks the same! Hubby said that talkative-ness really runs in the family.. we were talking like there's no tomorrow! Ha! It was really great to catching up with her after all these years..
Met up with the usual Makan Gang for dinner at Finalmente Gastromania. Hubby wrote about the place the first time we went with Chia Ling here. Had lots of fun catching up with the gang... Hope we'll be going out for another makan outing soon..
Hubby and me went to catch The Leap Years last Sunday! It was a good show! Typical romantic story, but I like it! I wanna read the book now..
Have been reading up on the elections in Malaysia, biggest upset ever for Barisan Nasional (BN)! Mum's hated MIC head honcho is OUT! Happy her! Man.. now I wished I went back and did my part for my country too! Who knows.. my vote could've made an even bigger impact! Haha!
Hubby will be away for the week due to work.. Haiz.. had a sleepless night last night! Unlike mum and sis, I don't suffer insomnia. I just don't believe in sleeping too much because, to me, sleeping more than 8 hours a day means we're wasting a lifetime away (how long do you think one can live?)... Before me and Hubby were together, I slept less than 6 hours everyday and Hubby must have at least a 9 hours of a good night sleep with naps in between in the day! Now, we meet halfway, I take normal hours night sleep and Hubby gave up on his naps.. except when he's away for work! I can't seem to get a proper night rest when Hubby's not around... I wouldn't worry normally, but now have to consider my little one....
Laptop's been acting crazy nowadays.. I think it's gonna conk out on us anytime now.. I'm already telling Hubby what kind of laptop I want next.. But must save money for the baby... We've more or less decided on the stroller, playpen, car seat and many many other stuffs we wanna get... so that will have to be the priority! So, we're keeping our fingers crossed the laptop won't decide to die anytime soon..
Been having some mood swings lately.. One minute I'll be happy and the next, worried.. sometimes sad.. This is especially bad when Hubby's not around.. Mum and Sis kept reminding me not to let my mood effect me.. So, I'm keeping myself occupy.. by watching TV.. I should do the housework instead.. but I'm too lazy! Ha! I'm coping.. so no worries.. just that maybe sometimes I need somebody to talk to.. and Hubby's not easy to reach when he's at work.. I guess it's times like this I wish my family just lives around the corner.. :)

That's all.. Ciao!

Chingay Parade at Woodlands.

2008-02-24T23:22:00.005+08:00

We were just turning into our car park just now, when the parade came along the main road of our house! They buzzed by so quickly I didn't managed to get a good look, so Hubby turned the car and chased after the parade! We caught them along Drive 70 and had a good look at the floats! It brings back those fond memories when Mum and Dad brought me to watch the Chingay parade in Penang along Gurney Drive every Chinese New Year. I was still very young then, but I could still remember those beautifully lighted floats. They look very much bigger then though, maybe I was much smaller then, or have the floats shrunk? Hmm...
Managed to catch a couple of pictures using Hubby's phone when the parade stopped for a while at the junction. As you can see there were lots of people!

..:::People mountain people sea:::..

..:::An F1 Float:::..

All you need is... support!

2008-02-24T21:52:00.007+08:00

Just came back from dinner with the cousins.. Hubby is busy with work projects right now, so here I am, blogging again.

From the day we found out that we were expecting, I realised that it's very important to surround yourself with supportive people! Not only your Hubby, and family but friends as well!
Hubby, bless him, was surprisingly ecstatic about our little one, though we've not plan to start a family so soon. Mum, Dad and Sis were very happy, excited and concerned as well. Mum, is worried, as a Mum always does, about my well being because I'm not staying anywhere near her. You can hear her concern, when talking over the phone. She'll keep reminding me not to lift anything heavy and eat healthy. It's so heartwarming to know that no matter what, you'll always have her to turn to! Sis, is adamant to have a little niece, so she could play dress up with. Dad on the other hand, wants a little boy with nice long hair!
Support from my cousins comes in another form! Cousin Eldon and wife, Edlyn, we've recently learned, is expecting a baby boy who'll join this world about 10 days earlier than our little one. Cousin Ming and wife, MeiLing is also expecting their precious a month after us! We share informations on pregnancy and motherhood as well as supporting each other when there's worries and misgivings. We are all, after all, first time parents!
It's also important to have support from friends around you! It's great when you hear from long time friends, sending regards when they hear of your pregnancy! I'm especially grateful to pretty mummy, Angel, who gave so many valuable advices.. Thanks babe! I can feel your enthusiasm through the sms's!
There are days when I've lots of doubts if I'll ever make a good mother. There are days when I'm unsure if I'll be able to cope when our little one comes along. But having supports from family and friends definitely make it easier and eased those doubts! I still don't know if I'll make a good mother, but I'll definitely try my very best! :)
Enough mushiness.. below are two scans of our little one:

..:::9 weeks old:::..

..:::12 weeks old:::..

You can see the hands covering his/hers eyes at the 2nd scan.. cute huh! The doctor says the baby's shy! Ha! If he/her is anything like the father, I seriously doubt so..
The 2 scans were taken on our 1st and 2nd visit. On the 3rd visit we didn't do any scan, but the doctor let us hear the heartbeat. It was super endearing to hear the heartbeats going thump thump thump.. and it was super fast! This coming week will be the baby's 20th week.. and we pray to see a healthy baby on the scan this Tuesday!

First Kick!

2008-02-24T11:27:00.004+08:00

We felt our little darling kicking for the very first time on Friday! I've been feeling fluttery in the tummy the whole day, and at night, after I came back from work, had my dinner, bathe, and settle down to watch Survivor, I put my hands on my tummy.. I've to admit I've been doing that for many weeks, since reading in the forum that some mummies have actually felt their babies moving around.. Suddenly.. 'thud thud thud'! I quickly grabbed Hubby's hands and put them on my tummy! He was so excited when he felt it!! It was amazing! Our baby's moving around!
We'll be seeing baby when we go for the check up this Tuesday.. Hopefully we'll know if baby's a Mickey or a Minnie by then.. Can't wait for Tuesday!
Gotta go, was supposed to go to the Singapore Airshow with a bunch of my cousins today, but we didn't manage to get the tickets. So, instead will just go out for lunch, hang out at my aunt's place and then out again for dinner.. Ciao!

Farewell..

2008-02-22T14:29:00.003+08:00

B-E-T-R-A-Y-E-D!

Really, where did I go wrong? If it was something I said and done then tell me so.. Why take such great effort to avoid seeing me, talking to me.. and when we do meet act as if nothing's wrong? Don't tell me nothing's wrong, because a friendship doesn't come to a standstill just like this. I tried.. making thing's right.. I don't know what to do anymore.. If we could never be as we were, then, I guess that's that..
Thank you for being there when I needed a friend most. If I can't be a part of your life anymore,
I wish you the very best.. You'll always be my friend..

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2008-02-21T21:29:00.008+08:00

It's Hubby's birthday today.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!! Me and our little 'darling' celebrated with him at home today.. Here's a little something I did for Hubby for his birthday..

..:::Chocolate coated Strawberries:::..

It's my first try, and I obviously needs more practice. Hubby, being his usual chivalrous self said they looked wonderful and tasted great..

Orange Jello, Anyone?

2008-02-19T18:12:00.014+08:00

I saw this in How About Orange and decided to give it a try. Here's a step by step guide:

You'll need:

3 big oranges
One box of orange flavored jelly powder (about 100gm)
400ml of boiling water

I'm supposed to slice the oranges lengthwise, but clever me sliced them horizontally. That's why I had trouble removing the pulps and caused a hole at the bottom of one of the oranges.. Use the kitchen wipe to blot the rinds so that they are kept dry.

Mix in the jelly powder with about 200ml of boiling water. Stir them together then add in the rest of the water. The directions on the box of the jelly powder actually calls for about 500ml of water, but I wanted the jelly to be firmer. I'm not too sure if it makes any difference, but the consistency turns out alright.

Place the rinds on any containers you have around to keep them upright.. I use cupcake cases. It works well.

Fill the jelly as much as possible, as they shrink a little when set. Leave it out to cool then place them in the refrigerator.

After the jello are set (about 3 hours or more), you can remove from the fridge and slice each half into another half.. and you can serve! Easy, and I'd bet it'll be a hit with children.. The big kid in this house certainly loved it! Ha!

Mummy and Daddy Loves You!

2008-02-19T17:45:00.006+08:00

Our first purchase for the baby.. Very cute mittens and booties!!

We both can't wait for the arrival of our little darling!!

"Nien Nien You Yu"

2008-02-17T12:59:00.011+08:00

Didn't do any CNY baking this year, but we made agar-agar in the shape of fishes to be placed at the alter during the new year..

..:::Step One - Pour in cooked agar agar into mold, add in coloring at desired spots:::..

..:::Step two - Wait of agar agar to set, coloring will spread beautifully:::..

..:::Step three - Once set, remove from mold and viola! Your fish is done!:::..

I just realised that I've yet to wish everybody a Happy Lunar New Year! Here's wishing everybody a wonderful and fruitful year ahead.. May this year be a year of great abundance to everybody! Huat ah!

..:::Fish anyone?:::..

Bling it on!

2008-02-17T12:35:00.005+08:00

Sis is really into bling bling nowadays.. She bought packets of crystals to bling up her hp the last time she was here.. While back home for CNY, we thought it would be fun to bling up my mum's pair of Nike with the leftover crystals.. The result:

..:::Before:::..

..:::After:::..

Sis likes it so much, that she's wearing them now.. Lol..
Her pair of Nike is sitting at home waiting for me to buy more crystals to be bling! Ha!

My Valentine..

2008-02-15T10:22:00.009+08:00

Didn't do much, I slept the afternoon away, teach at home in the evening, while Hubby prepared dinner... the result:

..:::The centerpiece:::..

..:::Dinner:::..

Hubby made mushroom soup, main course consists of Ratatouille, apple cheese sausage and bacon wrapped tenderloin with mushroom sauce. We substituted the wine with Ribena, because Hubby said I had too much wine during CNY back home.. :( Hubby even bought passion fruit and cream for dessert but I was too full to have them.. Ha!
The utensils were placed that way because I'm left handed.. in case some of you haven't noticed..

After dinner we settled down and watch The Amazing Race Asia and after that it's off to bed! That's how we spend our Valentine's, at home and inexpensively.. thanks to Hubby! Love you sweetie..

I'm Back!

2008-02-14T22:29:00.005+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I've stepped into my 2nd trimester, and those puking and heartburns have left me in peace (thankfully!)... Hubby just cooked a sumptious and romantic candlelight dinner for two to celebrate our 4th Valentine's together.. I'll update more with the pictures tomorrow (hopefully..), getting ready to go to bed.. I'm becoming a pig.. sleeping early and waking up real late.. Ha!

Yay! We're Expecting!

2007-12-17T12:26:00.004+08:00

Yay! But I'm in misery.. I've been plague with never-ending puking, heartburn, bloated-ness.. Am praying all this (the morning sickness) will end soon.. Sob!

I'll update when I'm more up to it..

Rockapella and Deepavali..

2007-11-14T12:52:00.008+08:00

We went to the Rockapella concert at the Esplanade a fortnight ago.. I've loved their work since I first heard their Christmas compilation 3-4 years ago.. So, it was my greatest pleasure to be able to watch them live.. After the show, me and Anna queued up for autograph from these 5 man band..

We had lots of fun! Rockapella, please come again soon! Ha~!

We spent Deepavali roasting Tandoori drumlets for dinner..

We made a lot~!~! Because we included Anna and Dave.. but they didn't come back that day... and in the end Hubby and me finished everything!!! LOL!!

The irony..

2007-11-06T23:39:00.000+08:00

"So engrossed were Donald and Daisy into each other and their newfound hobby... all Minnie could do was an utter of sigh.."

Is Minnie expecting too much?

Flower Power!

2007-11-01T18:50:00.002+08:00

I vamped up Hubby's computer area with some flowers..

Hubby hated them.. Ha!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T23:19:00.001+08:00

Hubby and I decided to do some pumpkin carving today... As it's halloween, most places have already ran out of pumpkins for sale. So, we made a few phone calls to Cold Storages around our area and later found out that King Albert Park's branch have some pumpkins left for sale. We made a quick trip there.. When we arrived there, there's still a number of giant pumpkins, a couple of medium pumpkins and a few small ones.. They also have really tiny ones with printed face and feather on them.. really cute. The good news was all pumpkins were on 25% off the original prices.. Guess it was a good idea to do pumpkin shopping last minute.

..:::The giant pumpkins and the tiny one:::..

We went home with a medium sized pumpkin and a small one. This was the first time we ever carved a pumpkin, so, we weren't sure that it'll work.. I've printed the stencils for the pumpkins earlier on. After dinner, we started work. Here's our results:

..:::The small one's a bat and the big one's a looney pumpkin:::..

..:::The lights off:::..

It's much easier to clean and carve a larger pumpkin.. the small one is really difficult to clean.. Needless to say we were both happy with our work.. It's really easy, but time consuming.. but we both had loads of fun..

Next year, we'll do it earlier so that we can decorate the front part of the house..

..:::Arghh! Hear me roar!:::..

Happy Halloween!

Fancy yourself an artist?

2007-10-31T16:51:00.000+08:00

Wanna create a great work of art like Picasso? Try this - Mr. PicassoHead. Great.. if you have nothing better to do..

Check out my work - Happy Family.. lol..

The Kids..

2007-10-31T10:22:00.000+08:00

The small one is my student, after lesson, waiting for his mum. The big one, well... you know who.. both so engrossed in an online game on my laptop... so kiddy... I mean the big one.. Ha!!

Seafood Herbal Wine Steamboat

2007-10-29T11:18:00.000+08:00

I read about this place from molemole's blog, which I linked from 9. Hubby and me, decided to give it a try yesterday. We reached at about 5.30pm, because we wanted to catch a movie after that, and already it was rather packed..

..:::Nomin Seafood Restaurant, 31/33 Teck Chye Terrace:::..

..:::The menu:::..

..:::The wine and liquor used in the steamboat:::..

We ordered the steamboat ($30) that comes with a platter of seafood (which includes fish, squid, fishballs, prawns, crabs, frog legs, scallops, sea cucumbers, vegetables and straw mushrooms). Hubby was worry it's not enough for the both of us.. since we declined having rice.

..:::The seafood platter:::..

The soup was delicious!!! I loved herbal soup.. and with the wine, it's yummy! Even Hubby says so.. Midway through dinner, both our faces were red, though we didn't really feel the effect from the wine. I guess it's because of the heat as well..

..:::Hubby's face was really red in this picture, but he's too dark to see.. ha!:::..

..:::We finished nearly all the soup!:::..

At the end of dinner, we were both very full! Maybe because we finished the soup till the very last drop.. haha! The steamboat, together with 2 drinks came up to $34. All in all it was really worth trying..

We went to watch a sneak preview of 'Stardust' after that. It was really nice! Light hearted and funny.. Do go and watch!

More pictures..

2007-10-24T20:05:00.000+08:00

I'll upload soon on Flikr. Then you guys can download from there.. Bear with me.. Ha!I know I'm slow..

Meantime, enjoy..

DINNER NIGHT 1

DINNER NIGHT 2

Half A Year Late...

2007-10-21T22:37:00.000+08:00

Ha! Better late than never.. Enjoy..

More to come..

What's in my Ipod...

2007-10-21T10:10:00.001+08:00

4 wonderful albums:

..:::Tony Bennett - Duets, An American Classic:::..

So many singers of different genre croning to classics like "Put on a Happy Face" (with James Taylor) and "Sing, You Sinners" (with John Legend). This album was destined for great success. Tony Bennett, at 81 is as fit as ever. My favourites, besides those mentioned earlier, are "Lullaby of Broadway" with Dixie Chicks, "Just in Time" with Michael Buble and "For Once In My Life" with Stevie Wonder. Arghhh! Just love the album!

..:::Michael Buble - Call Me Irresponsible:::..

I've been a fan of Michael since I first heard him singing "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart". His first album, Michael Buble, was really light and fun, It's Time was more romantic, Call Me Irresponsible depicts a much more mature Michael. My favourite? Hit song Everything, of course! Haha! "Wonderful Tonight", "I've Got The World on a String", and "The Best is Yet to Come" are really good too!

..:::Hairspray OST:::..

I loved the movie! Love the soundtracks! Brings you right back to the 60's (Not that I was there, but I did grow up listening to Elvis, Beatles and Carpenters..) My favourites are 'I Can Hear the Bells', '(You're) Timeless to Me' and 'Without Love'. This album's great for light and easy listening..

..:::The Secret OST:::..

Did you guys know how well Jay Chou could play the piano? I sure as hell don't before watching this movie! I had no idea he was classically trained. Other than starring, directing, and creating the story for the film, Jay also took care of the music, which plays a key role in Secret. Talk about talented.. I never did pay much notice to him before this.. let's just say my respect for his talents just raised several notches.. Look out for 'Piano Duel', 'Piano Duet' (my ringtone now), 'Secret' and 'Xiao Yu's Confession'..

New Gate!

2007-10-19T12:41:00.000+08:00

We just recently repainted the main gate! From this:

..:::The gate, before:::..

To this:

..:::The gate, after:::..

Not bad huh.. Did it with lots of help from my dad and mum.. Thanks Daddy and Mummy!

..:::Love the new gate!:::..

Botak Jones's Coming to Woodlands!

2007-10-03T19:35:00.000+08:00

Read it from 9

Hubby, you hear that?!?!?!

Lol.. he'll be whopping around!

Sigh.. haven't had the mood to blog since hubby left for Taiwan.. He'll be back in less than two weeks though.. :) Miss you baby...

Might be baking again tomorrow.. will post some pics if I do..

Ciao!

Bye Bye, Love...

2007-09-24T02:07:00.000+08:00

Hubby just left for Taiwan... missing you already baby! Be safe and come back soon... and don't forget my pressies!!

No QC Lehz!

2007-09-21T09:32:00.001+08:00

..:::Layered Strawberry Jam Spongecake:::..

I used the exact same amount of ingredients lehz... but it turned out very sweet... No QC!!!!! And my decorating skills still sucks! Arghh!

Make A Paper Plant!

2007-09-19T19:32:00.001+08:00

..:::The Bamboo Tree.. made this last night:::..

..:::The Cactus, this is easier than the bamboo tree:::..

Found the templates from Epson Hong Kong. You'd just need to print out the templates, cut them and paste them together! It's great for killing time and looks really cute! I found the pot for the bamboo tree a little harder to do though, and my end result does look a little sloppy at close inspection.. hehe.. Oh well.. Do try it if you like paper crafts.. there's also animals, buildings, plants and many more..

Spongy Cup Cakes

2007-09-16T17:34:00.000+08:00

Got this recipe from fellow blogger Baking Mum. Do check out her amazing blog!

This is really easy to do! The texture's really light and fluffy, and if you're into cakes like Ji Dan Gao, you should really try this! If you're not just add a drop or two of vanilla essence or any other flavoring, I'm sure it's just as nice!

..:::Paper cups lined with baking paper:::..

..:::The ingredients ( recipe below ):::..

..:::The cakes in the oven:::..

..:::Cooling the cakes:::..

..:::Viola! Great to whip up and serve if you have unexpected guest coming over:::..

The recipe:

Ingredients:

4 eggs
100 gm cake flour
100 gm castor sugar
12 gm spongecake stabliser (about 3/4 tbsp)
25 gm milk
90 gm melted butter

1. Put all the ingredients except the melted butter into a mixing bowl.Beat everything on high for at least 7 mins until ribbon stage. This means that if you use your whisk with batter to write an "8" on the batter won't sink in but will appear visible for a while. This will be the right constitency for your batter.
2.Add in melted butter at this stage and mix in thoroughly.
3.Line some waxed papercups with baking paper. Pour batter into the lined cups abt 3/4 full and bake it in a preheated oven at 190C for about 20 mins.
4.When done, remove the cake from the cup immediately and leave it on wire rack to cool.
5. Makes about 10 cups depending on the size of the paper cups.

Recipe from http://bakingmum.blogspot.com

So, I was so happy of my success that I made another batch, only this time I bake it in a 8" round baking tray.

The moment after I took this photo, the cake deflated like a balloon! I've never had success with cakes... Arghhh!! Don't ask me why... Darn! And I've prepared the whipping cream too! So, I cut it into half and did up half a cake......

My decorating skills sucks too.. as you can see in the pictures below.. Hur Hur..

Oh well... I shall try again.. Sigh..

Shanghai Mooncake

2007-09-14T13:34:00.000+08:00

..:::Shanghai Mooncake with Green Tea Paste Filling:::..

Not a very satisfactory result.. :(
The filling's too small, the crust is hard as rock! Not flaky enough.. no buttery taste! Will try again next week. Will post the recipe if it turns out better...

Darthsalacious in the Papers!

2007-09-12T18:43:00.000+08:00

Hubby's post on CPL Dave Teo was featured in Digital Life. You can read more here.

Beef Stroganoff

2007-09-11T11:55:00.000+08:00

Chef Hubby tried this for dinner last Sunday.. it was yummy!

BEEF STROGANOFF

Preparation time: 15mins
Cooking time: 20mins
Serves 4.

Ingredients

600g rib eye fillet or rump
1/4 cup (30g) seasoned plain flour
375g fettuccine
60g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
300g button mushroom, thickly sliced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup (60ml) red wine
300ml cream

1. Pound the slices of beed between two sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or rolling pin until half their thickness. Cut each slice into strips about 1cm wide. Place in a plastic bag with the seasoned flour and shake to coat.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the fettuccine according to the packet instructions until al dente.
3. Meanwhile, melt 40g of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for 2 minutes. Add the beef in batches and cook for 5 minutes, or until evenly browned. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Heat the remaining butter in the pan and add the mushrooms, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, or until soft and lightly browned. Add the tomato paste and the red wine, stirring continously for 2 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced. Add the beef, stir in the cream, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for a futher minute, or until the sauce has thickened. Serve with the fettuccine.

From Quick and Easy Tasty Meals in Minutes.

MidAutumn's Cookies.

2007-09-07T13:35:00.001+08:00

Mooncake Biscuits/ Koong Chai Pneang.

This is my first attempt making the biscuits. It's really easy actually, but takes a lot of time.
Makes about 15.

Ingredients:

200g golden syrup
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 tbsp alkaline water
50g corn oil

300g plain flour, sifted
Thick soy sauce (for colour)

1. Combine golden syrup, alkaline water and sifted bicarbonate of soda in a basin. Add oil and mix with a wooden spoon and allow to rest for 4-5 hours.

2. Add thick soy sauce and stir well. Fold in sifted flour gradually and mix evenly to form a smooth, soft dough. Do not knead. Let dough rest for another 6-7 hours.

3. Divide dough into small portions. Dust with flour and press into figurine mould. Knock out and place on greased baking tray and bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 8 minutes. Remove tray from the oven and leave for 1-2 minutes. Brush biscuits with eggs glaze and bake again 6-7 minutes or until golden.

Recipe from At Home with Amy Beh.

..::: Before baking:::..

It took much longer for the mixture to stand than stated in the recipe. I waited about 4 hours before mixing in the flour. Then another 6 hours when I first tried putting the dough into the mould, but it was much too soft to be moulded. In the end, I left it overnight, before moulding and baking it. I added the heart shaped Quins for fun.. Ha!

..:::After Baking:::..

..:::After cooling the biscuits:::..

No comments on these biscuits yet as no one has tried them yet.. except for me.. I find them quite ok...

Dinner Last Night..

2007-09-07T13:02:00.001+08:00

Pasta with Beef Ragu.

Preparation time: 10mins
Cooking time: 1hour 30 mins
Serves 4.

Ingredients:

100g streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
800g lean beef mince (I used 600g and there were enough for 4 persons)
500ml red wine
1 can pasta sauce (I used Prego's 300g)
400g pasta
Grated Parmesan, to garnish.

1. Heaat a large deep frying pan. Add the bacon and cook over medium high heat for 2 mins, or until soft and just starting to brown. Add the onion, garlic and bay leaf and cook for 2 mins, or until the onion is soft and just starting to brown.

2. Add the mince and stir for about 4 mins, or until the mince browns, breaking up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the wine, pasta sauce and 1 cup (250ml) water and stir well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 40 mins. Remove the lid and cook for a further 40 mins, or until reduced to a thick, glossy sauce.

3. About 20 mins before the raguis ready, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a rapid boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente. Drain. Serve the sauce over the pasta and garnish with a little grated Parmesan.

From Quick and Easy Tasty Meals in Minutes.

Tonight's Menu..

2007-08-28T22:32:00.000+08:00

Gumbo Ya Ya.

The only Gumbo I've ever tried was from Botak Jone's. This recipe is slightly thicker, but still quite alike. I replaced the Creole Seasoning with Cajun Seasoning, because I didn't have enough ingredients for the Creole.
This recipe could feed a dozen... I've cut it in half and there's still enough left for two generous helping after feeding the four of us!
Cooking the roux (pronounced as rue) was quite a challenge too! It was rather freaky, firstly having no idea what it was until this morning when I was researching the recipe. And the smell! Cooking butter with flour till it turned dark mahogany is rather smelly! For a while there I thought I did something wrongly! Ha!
Well, I got rather good reviews from the family (Hubby) and friends.. If you're up to it, do give it a try too!

Lunch Today...

2007-08-23T17:09:00.000+08:00

Hubby came home unexpectedly early today.. so we were able to have lunch together...

..:::Mutton Satay and Cheese Sausages with Brown Rice:::..

That's what was in the refrigerator...

Appreciating whatever time I can spend with Hubby.. because next month he'll be in Taiwan for work for a whole month! SOB!

An Unreturned Book...

2007-08-23T13:25:00.000+08:00

So... I was back at my mum's place a week ago... Aaron was taking a nap, my mum and my dad was busy cooking lunch. There I was, nothing to do...

In the dining area, there's a tall bookcase, containing both me and my sister's books back from our childhood days.. Boy, did we read a lot then, I was thinking.. I went through some of the books for old times sake.. There's Enid Blytons, Nancy Drews, Sweet Valley Twins... hey! A couple of books from Shakespeares..

Hmmm... what's this?

This was a good book! I flipped the first page:

HAHA!! And I've held on to this book for at least 12 years.. Pearl, I'll return it to you the next time we meet k.. LOL!

I'm Loving It!

2007-08-21T09:07:00.001+08:00

I'm so hooked on this game right now.. It's not easy to play though.. you'll have to raise the cattle, provide the cattle feed, butchering, manage the restaurant, keep the higher management happy, while trying not to bankrupt the organization! It's fun though! Try it! Click here.

Making money in a corporation like McDonald's is not simple at all! Behind every sandwich there is a complex process you must learn to manage: from the creation of pastures to the slaughter, from the restaurant management to the branding. You'll discover all the dirty secrets that made us one of the biggest company of the world.

Va-kyüm klEn-ner

2007-08-18T22:30:00.000+08:00

Ha! We finally bought the vacuum cleaner after a year moving in.. Hubby was complaning that there's too much hair on the floor, that no amount of sweeping will help... So off we went and got ourselves this:

..:::See all the hair in the plastic container on the left?:::..

No more excuse for not cleaning the house! Ha!

The 'Lalang' In My House!

2007-08-16T16:57:00.000+08:00

Hubby's been eyeing to get rid of the Pussy Willows ever since after Chinese New Year..

Yesterday, he finally made the move after a trip to Ikea.. Hubby chose and arranged everything himself...

..:::The Lalang:::..

We Heart Fish!! Chapter 2

2007-08-07T23:01:00.000+08:00

Tuesday, 7th August 2007, 9.30pm.

My talented Hubby cooked these:

into this:

..:::Seafood Paella:::...

Armed with my new cookbook I bought last Sunday, I tried this:

...:::Catfish with CousCous Crust (seen here with Paella and a dollop of Tartare Sauce):::..

Yummilicious!!!

Motor GP Racer Wannabes...

2007-08-07T21:20:00.001+08:00

Hubby, my sis, and me were driving over to the restaurant from my mum's place for dinner last sunday, when we came across these two guys...

They looked set on becoming a GP racer.. now all they need is a racing bike and a track to race on!

Aurelius Adam Junior Tan

2007-08-07T17:59:00.001+08:00

Exactly 1 month old today.. Congratulations to Mummy and Daddy, Angel and Adam!

We Heart Fish!

2007-08-07T17:51:00.001+08:00

Monday, 6th August 2007, 9pm.

..:::Cobia in Buttered Almond and Chips:::..

Dinner @ The ZON Regency Hotel.

2007-08-07T16:43:00.000+08:00

Sunday, 5th August 2007, 6.30pm.

That was where we had our wedding dinner over at Malaysia. The perks included a complimentary food tasting for 1 table. We didn't have the chance to go there before the wedding, so now, after 4 months, Hubby, me, my mum, dad and sis, Anna and Dave and my Xiao Jiu (Youngest Uncle) and his family made a trip there to taste the food we didn't have the chance to try during the wedding..

I love the service they provided during the wedding. They were very accomodating and friendly. So much better than service I had for the dinner over here in Singapore!

The food was rather nice too.

The meal started off with a combination platter - 4 Happiness Combination; I didn't manage to take a picture of this, because everybody was so excited that the food was there.. we just digged in.. LOL!

..:::The rest of the course: Shark's Fin Soup, Crispy Boneless Almond Chicken with Thai Spicy Sauce, Steamed Garoupa "Teochew" Style, Baked Imperial Tiger Prawns, Braised Lingzhi Muchrooms with Dried Scallops, Golden Mushroom & Spinach, and, Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf:::..

The Steamed Garoupa was the yummiest! Everyone couldn't get enough of it! For desert, we had Chilled Sago with Pumpkin & Cream of Honey Dew.. yummy!

My dad's a good friend with the manager there now.. lol.. I made him a promise that we'll celebrate his 60th birthday next year. My ever cool-never-say-much daddy, just smiled and nod..

Sun, Sea and Sand!

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

Had a little getaway just a few days ago. We made a trip to Bintan, with Anna and Dave. It was absolutely fun and relaxing.. Here's some pics..

..::: On the ferry going to Bintan. It was spacious and comfortable to ride in:::..

..:::The view from the ferry:::..

..:::Yay! We're at Bintan after a 55mins ride on the sea! The weather was great!:::..

..:::Bintan's one and only town, Pasar Oleh Oleh, catered specially for tourist. There's a wet market right behind the town where you can get resonably priced food!:::..

..:::The lobby of Bintan Lagoon Resort, where we're staying:::..

..:::The swimming pool:::..

..:::The villas, we stay in one that's similar to these, only slightly smaller. We have a buggy to ourselves too! So fun!:::..

..:::The beach.. where we spend most of our time!:::..

..:::There were many small fishes near the shore, we even spotted a stingray! So we tried a little fishing by the shore, but gave up soon after.. we went swimming instead! Ha!:::..

..:::I fooled around with the sand.. see Hubby's agonizing face? I told him to hold his breath so that the abdomen area doesn't crack! Haha!:::..

..:::Anna and Dave went crab hunting when we were fishing.. there's tons and tons of crabs there.. small though:::..

..:::Water there is really really clear.. we were chest deep and you can still see clearly all the way to your feet:::..

..:::My greatest feat this trip? Lifting Hubby up! Lol!:::..

..:::We had so much fun that I didn't want to come back.. definitely have to go back there soon!:::..

Read more about it from Anna's blog. Ciao!

Goodbye, Wai Mun..

2007-08-02T15:08:00.000+08:00

You'll be sorely missed by your loved ones...

Wai Mun, Our Prayer's With You...

2007-07-19T20:54:00.000+08:00

Wai Mun, my secondary school mate, June's husband met with an automobile accident two days ago. We're all praying for him to wake up soon.. Please do pray for him too..
June... miracles do happen.. stay strong!

Depressed...

2007-07-12T16:00:00.000+08:00

Been having flu and sorethroat these past few days... feeling really down too..

Couldn't seem to find the will to do anything.. just so blardy lethargic!... Arghh... HELP ME!

Clumsy Me...

2007-07-03T10:16:00.000+08:00

It's Anna's birthday today. Happy birthday girl.. Have a wonderful year ahead..

So, I made a batch of cupcakes as a suprise for her last sunday... When it was done, I dropped half of them on the floor.. Arghhh! How clumsy is that??

Blueberry cupcakes in ice cream cones.

Topped them with blueberry buttercream... see the bits of blueberries in there?

Half of them on the floor, and later, in the dustbin... Sighz...

Dave made Choco Cheesecake for Anna! Hehe... now you'd just need to start cooking for her too!! Lol..

The crust was super yummy! The cheese melts a little too quick though...

More Fish-y Dishes...

2007-06-30T21:02:00.000+08:00

As promised the Assam Pedas I whipped up a couple of days ago... It was alright... nothing to wow at...

Assam Pedas Fish

Hubby went to fish again on thursday night with his fishing buddy, Raymond. Came back with another 3 seabasses.. So, today, we both cleaned the fish (Our professional fish cleaner, Anna was at work!) and fillet it ourselves! We decided to bake the fish this time.. and the outcome turned out very well! It was DELICIOUS!...Yum yum!

Baked Seabass with Garlic Butter Herb Bread Crumb Topping.

Let me know if anybody wants the recipe.. it's really delish!

Up to..

2007-06-27T22:19:00.000+08:00

Drinking:
Chrysanthemum Tea - Iced, of course... Hot hot day today... Arghh..

Eating:
Home-made cupcakes - Ha! The more you bake, the more you eat...

Reading:
Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince - I'm re-reading this in anticipation of the 7th and final Harry Potter's instalment.

Watching:
Hong Kong Drama Serial - my favourite... once I start, I couldn't stop.

Enjoying:
Fishing - Suprisingly for a impatient girl like me, I rather like it! Won't stop till I catch a fish as big as Anna's! Lol!

Anticipating:
Harry Potter and The Order of Pheonix (Movie) - Somehow I don't think the movie will be as good as the book. How much can you follow exactly like the book was written in 2 and a half hours? Especially when the book is as thick as the length of your middle finger? But still, I'm waiting in anticipation...

The Sea Hath Fish for Every Man.

2007-06-27T20:51:00.000+08:00

Well.... in this case the pond hath fish for a girl.. Read about Anna's first 'big catch' here.

Everyone's catching the fishing fever now.. lol..

Anna was so psyched about the fishes that she descaled and gutted the fishes all by herself.. I was only in charged with the cooking

So, two of the fishes went from this:

to this:

Beer battered fish and chips.. Hubby said some said it was kinda silly to cook them this way, considering these are fresh seabass we caught.. but we were worry that it'll have a muddy taste.. It wasn't muddy.. was kinda good actually...

1 more fish left, gonna try Assam Pedas tomorrow.. update soon!

Connie Talbot

2007-06-26T10:09:00.000+08:00

Saw this at jOhO's. It made him cry... well my eyes were not dry... she's just so incredible... watch..

How many six years old can sing like that???? She didn't win in the end.. but I don't think we've seen the last of her.. here's the semi finals where she sang 'Ben' and the finals with 'Over the Rainbow'...

Suffice to say, Britain's really got talent..

The 1 Minute Test!

2007-06-26T09:28:00.000+08:00

Answer here. Got everything right?

Berry-Nice

2007-06-14T22:08:00.000+08:00

Just finished baking for the day! Phew! A very hot sweaty day to spend in the kitchen...

Baked a little cake for my daddy for Father's day. The cake's in green tea flavour because both my dad and mom loves green tea!

Saw some really nice juicy strawberry in the supermarket and decided to give strawberry cupcakes a try too. It turned out berry-nice! Lol.. wanna try?

...:::The strawberry cupcakes in the oven. I put mashed strawberries in them.. turned out yummy!:::...

...:::Decorated them with fresh cream with a dash of strawberry flavour...:::...

...:::And topped with half a fresh strawberry... yummy!:::...

...:::My Father's Day Green Tea Cake.:::...

...:::Anna helped with the fresh cream, I was hopeless at it. The dark green's green tea cream cheese.:::...

...:::The leftovers I made into cupcakes...:::...

The next time I'm baking will probably be for Anna's birthday.. yeah it's coming soon.. lol.. so stay tune!

I'm a Right-Brainer..

2007-06-13T21:04:00.000+08:00

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (60%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.
Left Brain (28%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Left-handed but a right-brainer.... Well, I'm never really logical nor articulate.. lol.. Anyhoo, try it, it's fun..kinda..

More photos...

2007-06-10T23:18:00.000+08:00

Everybody have one.. so hubby bought one for me too... Shrek ears!

...:::My Lilo doll wearing the ears:::...

...:::When she's not wearing shrek ears, she's a bunny:::...

...:::Close shot of Scrump:::...

Went fishing with Hubby again today. Didn't catch anything but got some shots..

...:::Punggol.. there's lots of fishing fanatics there:::...

...:::Hubby's tamban got chomped off:::...

...:::The Chomp Chomp Monster bit off the whole body and left the head!:::...

...:::My new beginner's rod from hubby:::...

That's all! Going to watch Shrek 3 tomorrow.. can't wait.. will update again soon.. till then, Ciao!

Wedding Album

2007-06-06T12:42:00.000+08:00

Some pictures from my wedding album.. I've loaded them and more in the wedding website as well.. Will load the pictures of the actual day soon.. do check them out okie..

Just photos...

2007-06-05T17:02:00.000+08:00

Yeah.. there's a lot to tell about but I'm lazy to type.. so I'm gonna let the pictures do the talking..

My sis's 21st birthday came and went...

The cuppies I made for her.. with Anna's help of course..

We tried making green tea cupcake.. a great success!

Went fishing with hubby....

Be a photojournalist!

2007-05-18T14:46:00.000+08:00

This is a promotional game for Superman Returns. In it, you are Jimmy Olsen, trying to get a good shot of Superman for the Daily Planet's front page. The picture's my best shot so far.. It's fun.. try it here.

The Picnic, the Sprain and a Whole lots of cakes...

2007-05-15T14:13:00.000+08:00

The first weekend after the wedding was blissfully relaxing.. we lazed around till rather late in the morning, had our breakfast and Aaron headed off to his bi-monthly football with his pals. He sprained his knee that day, more on that later...

I was at home getting ready the ingredients for the garden salad pasta we planned to bring for the picnic. The picnic was a last minute plan after we came across the advertisment SRT's 'Shakespeare in the Park' - A MidsummerNight's Dream. We went to Ballet under the Stars sometime back and had a wonderful time.. so, we gathered some close friends and bought the tickets for the play.

By the time Aaron was back, Anna was also on her way back from work. A phone call from her asking if we wanted lunch, Aaron replied, "I'm still quite full lehz.. maybe a munchy.. One BIG MAC MEAL.. UPSIZE PLEASE!"... lol...

Hubby, tanned from fishing the previous day..

By early evening we made our way to Fort Canning. It was a warm evening.. You can't even feel a little wind.. The spotlights around the area didn't help either..
We chose a spot rather near to the stage, thinking that it would be a good spot to watch the play.. how wrong we were.. the play revolves around you.. walkways were built right till the end. The best place to be seated would be right in the middle.. in front of the mini stage..
It was still a great show though.. I've not came in contact with Shakespeare ever since secondary school. A MidsummerNight's Dream was one of the play I remembered reading but have little memory of...
Check out hubby's review on the evening here and Josephine's here.
All in all it was an enjoyable evening.. something we would definitely like to do more often..

Pretty rainbow in the park

I was talking about the sprain earlier on.. Aaron got a nasty kick from someone he played football with and sprained his knee.. I didn't know about it, he probably thought it was not a big deal... boy was he wrong, by late evening, after the play, he couldn't even stretch his leg! He had to limp all the way to the car park and from our apartment's carpark to the house... The best thing was, he didn't see the doctor until tuesday.. because he was too busy at work on monday.. It was probably he couldn't bear the pain any longer, by then, you can see the swell around the knee area and when you touch the area it was tout and hot. The doctor said there's some damage on the ligaments, nothing that rest won't cure.. Some painkillers and a week's mc in his hands, he limped back home.. The next few days, he was the King of the House.. nahh... he'd pretty much took care of himself.. as he always does.. It was great having him around more often though.. The week came and went in a blink.. and he's back to work today..

After the success of the cupcakes we had.. me and Anna decided to take on something a little harder.. since Mother's Day was around the corner, we had these made..

The cake I decorated for my Mum.

This was done by Aaron.. not bad for a first timer huh..

Aaron helped around in the kitchen. Now, he's a professional in making chocolate ganache, the topping for the cake. Needless to say, both our mums were impressed with our decorating skills..

My sis, Jo, drew this of my mum on her Mother's Day card.. pretty decent actually..

I'm so psyched with baking right now, that I've decided to bake cakes for the rest of the year for every special occasions.. hur hur... people beware..

Here's more cakes.. done by Nana:

For Mother's Day..

Dave's Birthday Cake

Sarah

2007-05-06T01:07:00.000+08:00

Pearl, my best-est buddy back from secondary school, came for a visit to Singapore with her hubby, Daniel, her sister, Ruby and her daughter, Sarah recently.
We've not seen each other for nearly 10years and this was the first time I met Daniel and little Sarah.

Now.. Sarah's a product from outer space.. She's sooooooo cute and adorable.. it'll leave you utterly speechless.. This ever smiling little girl, whose vocabulary consists of Wow! and Awesome! had every human being in contact with her at the palm of her hands! At 1 and a half years old, she have already mastered the sexy eyes wink.. Don't believe me? Watch this..

This girl's a natural! She belongs in front of the camera! What are you scouting agents doing!?!?
"Mai-tu liao!"

Suprisingly, she was rather attached to me despite this was the first time she met me. She was quite reserve with Aaron initially, but quickly warmed up to him, before you know it, she was doing the sexy eyes thingy on him!

Aaron didn't dare to carry her though.. Aiyoh.. like that how to be a father? I plopped her on his lap and quickly took a picture of them just before she, mummy and daddy boarded the plane back to KL.

Well, Pearl, it was great seeing you after all these years.. Daniel, a pleasure to meet you too.. You both make a great pair! And little Sarah is simply wonderful! I'm missing her now! You guys take good care of yourselves.. Me and Aaron will be coming to KL to visit you guys soon!

Cupcakes Galore!

2007-05-04T14:48:00.000+08:00

Jolene's birthday's coming soon.. and she made me promised her some pretty cupcakes.. well since it's her 21st birthday and she had been such a wonderful and helpful sister lately.. I'd gladly oblige..
Here's some test runs me and Anna made last night.. We're going to the Midsummer's Nights Dream in Fort Canning this Sunday.. These will be dessert!

6 Days Since..

2007-05-04T13:14:00.000+08:00

It's been 6 days since the wedding.. and I'm so relieved that it's all over! No more stress and worries.. heavenly!

The wedding went rather well despite glitches here and there.. I didn't get much sleep nor able to walk and breath normally till the 30th, on monday. Thanks to all the family members and close friends, we had a long lasting wonderful memories of the ceremony and the two dinners..

I would really like to convey my deepest gratitude to a few people over here, who'd selflessly lend a helping hand during, before and after the wedding:

My mum and my dad: Thanks to the both of you, we had a wonderful wedding dinner in Johor. I know how strung up and stressed you both were settling everything over there by yourselves. Thanks also for your understanding, that we both couldn't help much financially and in person as we both were trying to get things done over here!

My two wonderful bridesmaids - My sis Jolene and my sis Anna: Jo- Thanks for the helping hand on both the days.. you were wonderfully attentive and noisily fun to be around.. I'm really grateful to have such a wonderful mei in you!
Anna - Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!!! A million thanks couldn't convey my gratitude. You've taken sooooo many days off just to help me settle all the nitty gritty stuffs.. I'm so blessed to have another sister in you.. Know that you'll have all the help you need when it's your turn okie!

My wonderful cousins: YiQi, JingJing, YiWen, IRing, ILee, Ming, MeiLing, WeiShiong, JiaHer - without you guys, the wedding would never be so much fun. Thanks for all your supports. You guys travelled so far and wide just to accomodate me.. On top of that, you guys turned into impromptu emcees, photographer, videographer, usherer, and driver without as much as a grumble. Both me and Aaron are so extremely touched!

Aaron's wonderful band of brothers : 9 - Thanks for all the help on the montages! Because of us, you have to rush up and down, in and out... and as if that's not enough... you didn't get much sleep either.. *HuGz* (from Aaron)..
Faye, Rayson - Thanks for helping with the photographs and video.. *HuGz* from me.. :)
Noel, Chris S, Chris T, ShiXing, Dave, Vincent - You guys have to down cups of chilli juice, lemon juice, bittergourd juice and pure ribena just to help Aaron into my mum's house. Thanks also for being there during the dinner to help usher, being the emcees, settling the AVA, and helped Aaron downing more liquor. You guys are the greatest! HuGz!
Ah Beng and Marcus - You both have a wonderful looking Fits! And Marcus, your horn Rawks!! Lol..

To all of Aaron's and my relatives... who'd helped financially and spiritually. We have so many wonderful aunties and uncles.. who cares so so much for us.. Thanks and We Love You guys!!

And last but not the least... My Wonderful Hubby: I know how stressed you were the last few days befor the wedding. Having to settle all the montages and video well wishes from friends, and also the seatings and list of attendees for the dinner. I know I didn't help much as the days draws nearer and I grew more and more uptight.. but I really do want you to know that I do appreciate all that you've done and that I am really really happy with you.. you're right sweetie.. at the end of the day.. even if we don't have anybody else.. we still have each other.. and my wonderful family!!! LOL..

We didn't manage to break even over here in Singapore (we were not even close!) but both Aaron and I agreed we had the greatest time of our lives that night! Thanks everybody.. for making an appearance and lending your support on our special day!

We made a profit on the other hand over in Johor.. unfortunately.. we didn't pay for the dinner.. Lol.. money's all my dad's and my mum's. Of the 15 tables.. both Aaron and me only knew our relatives there.. All others were my mum's and dad's friends.. but their support and warm greetings were so sincere that you'd feel that you've known them all your life.. Thanks again.. we had a wonderful time..

I cried on both nights.. if anybody notice.. they were tears of joy.. On the 2nd night of the wedding, I met again my wonderful aunt who'd moved to Kelantan some years ago.. I missed her so much..
There, I met again my shushu and shenshen.. whom I've lost contact for ten over years and have just recently got back in touch..
My cousins and uncle and auntie travelled all the way from Penang just to witness our joy.. It's a wonder I didn't cry throughout the wedding.. LOL..
How wonderful the feeling is, to know that it was your wedding that draws your family ties so much closer..

All in all.. how do i rate my wedding? A 10/10.. simply because it's MY wedding.. I love everything.. from the chinois settings to the old fashion YUM SENG! It's a once in a lifetime thing.. call me old fashion.. but I would never miss it for the world..

So it's now back into reality.. me and Hubby's bent on settling all our debts before this years out.. To those of you who wanted to know when's Jr coming along.. well.. no plans for him/her so far.. we want to be in a better financial position first.. unless.. well.. accidents do happen.. LOL..

10 more days to go..

2007-04-18T17:05:00.000+08:00

Here's the lists of the things we've done so far:

Made plans and arrangements with the wedding entourage.

Guo Da Li.

Chose our wedding attires.

Send out all the invitations.

Planned the menu.

Made arrangement for the make up artists, confirmed the wedding bouquet, decorations for the wedding car, and completed all the diy stuff for the wedding.

Here's the list of things that still needs to be done:

Confirm the attendance list and the number of tables for the dinner(s).

Complete our montage to be shown during the dinner.

Choose our walk in songs.

Pack the house!!! - We're having our tea ceremony here.. so it must be clean!

Make a trip down to Chef Chan's to test out the projector and sound system.

Collect our wedding attires, the wedding photo album, the wedding bouquet, the car decor..

All the other nifty things like getting my nails done, my trail make-up and hairstyles, choosing my jewellery and so on..

Ok, the list of to do is way longer than the list of things we've done!! Lol..

Of Birthdays and Weddings...

2007-04-11T16:47:00.000+08:00

OF BIRTHDAYS..

Today's my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Daddy!

Mine came and went a week or so ago.. Aaron invited his Xiongdi's over to our house to discuss the wedding details.. and celebrated my birthday as well! Everyone came with a gift.. Thanks a lot guys!

I received 3 handbags this year! And I love each of them. Aaron bought me a Benetton bag, Mummy and Daddy gave me a Guess! handbag, and ShiXing, Chris T, and Ninja gave me a Puma bag. I received two sets of perfumes, one from Aaron's Aunt Lucy (it's a birthday cum wedding gift) and the other from Faye and MeiYi. Both these darlings (Faye and MeiYi, not Aaron's aunt) also gave me a super cute and pretty Tomy Nohohon ShuangXi figure! I'm going to put it in Toshi before the wedding..

Got a very lovely picture frame from Anna and Dave, a box of chocolate from Chris S, a bottle of white wine from Noel and... a Stitch Kiki Ippatsu from 9 and Josephine!!! I love it! Hubby blogged about how everybody enjoyed playing with it... do check it out..

That's not all.. Hubby told me I still have a present from my in-laws whome just came back from their trip from Taiwan.. and Jo! You still owe me my birthday gift!..

OF WEDDINGS...

The wedding's in less than 3 weeks.. I'm getting very nervous..

There's a lot to do, but I'm not that busy until I had to stop to catch my breath.. I do still have time to go to work, I still have time for hubby, and I still have time for myself.. but the free time I have, is just a blur.. I'll grow very lethargic.. a little lost, and feel completely clueless! Maybe it's the nerves..

Have I got everything ready? That's what everybody's been asking me.. I don't know.. I'm just doing everything that comes to mind.. keeping my fingers crossed that no last minute things will crop up..

I made some wrist corsages for my sisters (jie-meis) for that day.. Oh.. did I mentioned our theme colour is blue? So my jie-meis and Aaron's xiong-dis (brothers) will be wearing blue that day.. there's gonna be a whole lot of blues! Hur Hur..

I love the shade of blue! It's really bright and cheery, but as Nana commented that it might clash with other shades of blue! Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.. as I do everything else.. Check out the butterfly... cute huh...

17 more days! Arghh...!!!

Attention Family and Friends..

2007-04-10T00:53:00.000+08:00

We started a wedding site in mywedding.com

Do check out the website! I've uploaded the photos of our ROM back in 2005, as well as some information of the upcoming wedding.. Check it out ya.. and remember, to sign the guestbook before you leave okie..

Aaron and I will keep updating the site, so do visit more often!

P/s: To all that's involved in the wedding party, I've actually lifted your photos from friendster (hur hur.. hope you guys don't mind!).. If you want us to post a better picture of yourself, just let us know.. okie!

Memories..

2007-04-05T21:53:00.000+08:00

These were taken when Hubby and I were first together.. back in 2003.. I thought all was lost when hubby's old laptop crashed, but clever me saved them in an online album and forgot all about it.. Lucky hubby remembers..

Care Bears... Shine!!!

2007-04-05T15:22:00.000+08:00

Some pictures of my Care Bears collection I took a couple of years ago.. Since then, I've gave up the 10" ones (the biggest ones) and have add a number of 8" (medium ones). Stopped buying them about a year plus already. Still love them of course, but since we bought the house and the upcoming wedding, we learned to prioritize. They're all still in the boxes in the study. Really need to get a cabinet soon..

Wedding Preparation Step 3...

2007-03-28T14:34:00.000+08:00

We initially agreed on not taking any of those pre-wedding photos.. Not that I didn't want to.. just that we wanted to save some money.. So until last weekend, our plans were to go ala-carte.. look for the gowns, suits, car decorations, hand-bouquet, etc separately.
Suprise suprise.. it could actually cost a lot more.. doing ala-carte.. I mean, when you get to choose.. of course you would want to have the best of everything..
Taking a package from a bridal shop could save you a lot more.. if you know where to look, that is..
Our main concern was to look for a shop that takes quality photos and provides nice gowns at a reasonable price.. we are after all on a tight budget..
So on sunday, we found the bridal shop that meets to our requirements.. I chose my gowns for the photoshoot, and yesterday, we had our photoshoot and chose the photos! We'll be getting the montage for the album 10 days later.. now.. who says you have to get the package 6 months beforehand? LOL.. one word of advice though.. it's stressful.. don't follow our footsteps..
So, Step 3.. take your pre-wedding pictures, get your wedding and evening gown, confirm on your make up artist, photographer, videographer is partially done..
Updates soon!

He Loves You.. Not..

2007-03-22T11:30:00.000+08:00

A good friend recently got dumped, and the reason cited was because she was unreasonable, stubbornly stubborn and always refuse to give in. This got me very bothered, not only because the girl's my friend.. but there's this feeling, a something restless that kept bugging me.. and I didn't know what was it, until I woked up this morning, and I realised... I've been in her shoes!

My last relationship before hubby have been exactly like that.. and when it ended, I was left bewildered, wondering where did I go wrong.. for when he ended the relationship, his reason was ME! I'm stubborn, I'm selfish, I won't give in, I'm... well he obviously just can't stand me.. The thing is, I've been like that since the day he knew me... I did not think that I hid that from him.. When in the beginning I'm independent, it turned to stubborn later. I was carefree and embrace life, that turned into me being very selfish and want things only my way.. How did all the good and positive things about me turned into negatives in just a matter of months?

It wasn't until I knew Hubby and being together with him that I realised that I was not wrong, it was probably the wrong person in the wrong time in the wrong place? I'm still the same person I was years ago, I'm still as stubborn as I was before, as hot headed, as unreasonable (yepz, I do admit it) at times and I'm happily with Hubby for 4 years. Our temperaments and characters are as different as night and day, and we've learned over the years to admit and accept each other's shortcomings. With my temper, there's no denying that we probably fought and argued more than most couples do, but at the same time, I felt, the arguments does bring the relationship to a higher level, everytime we had an argument, after sorting things out, we learned something new in each other. Hubby had never sought to change me, to bend me into his ideal 'Stepford Wife', but instead embrace who I am, and from there, together, we learned to meet each other halfway... ok, maybe he comes 3 quarter way.. lol.. That's what relationships are all about..

I'm not condoning that being a girl gives you the right to be stubborn or temperamental. Even I, am learning to change my bad habits and temper.. but one could not turn into a mild tempered person overnight! And honestly, doesn't most guys have tempers themselves? Or as stubborn?
I think both parties should seriously reflect on their own characters before judging the other. Leaving a person because they couldn't stand the other's character is not a reason.. not to me anyway..

What I'm trying to say is, my dear dear friend, if the guy could give this kind of reason for the breakup, I really don't think he loved you as much anyway.. Hubby would have probably left me a thousand times given this reason.. You'll meet the right one.. the one that can really accept you for who you are.. it's just the matter of time... In the mean time, pick yourself up.. don't follow my footsteps and drown misery.. till now I still regret the months I've lost and the weight I've gained dwelling in my own misery back then..

Wedding Preparation Step 2...

2007-03-20T21:09:00.000+08:00

Step 2 is to print the wedding invites and it's nearly done and most of you will be getting the invitation by next week..
The invitation is created by Hubby from scratch.. and we're really proud of it. We've send it out for printing (Hubby's friend Heng is doing it, and he's really impressive.. contact me should you need his service!). Aaron made me promise not to post out any pictures of the card until all of you have received the invitation, but I can't resist it... so, here's a little glimpse of it.. I took it with our wedding rings.

We set out with the intention to make something that is different from all other invitations. Something that is chic and fun yet still oriental and chinois. I think we did it, well, you guys can judge it for yourselves soon.
Oh well... on to Step 3.. I've about a month left and there's still ton of stuff for me to do.. wish me luck people! Lol!

Toshi

2007-03-19T12:07:00.000+08:00

Some pics of Toshi..

Beautiful

2007-03-18T13:40:00.000+08:00

This song's in Jim Brickman's The Disney SongBook album. Wayne Brady from Whose Line Is It Anyway? is the singer. Hubby and I are totally crazy over the show.. when it was still showing on channel 5. Wayne's not only a great singer.. he's a natural comedian, so talented.
Read from somewhere All 4 One sang this song first, only the lyric's a little different.. I'm not too sure..
Anyway, I plan to slot this song somewhere during the wedding dinner.. When it's a nice song, should share with everybody..

Home for the Holidays

2007-03-17T21:27:00.000+08:00

Some pictures I took back home during CNY..

The day before CNY:

New gate paint! Daddy painted it himself.. nice huh..

Daddy hanging up some new year decor..

Hubby cleaning Toshi..

Pooh welcoming 2007..

Reunion steamboat dinner.. Yummy!

Pretty decor at our front door..

1st Day of CNY:

My cousin Shawn starting fire for the BBQ...

So there we were, BBQing...

When it started to rain... lol

BBQed Ribs.. yum yum...

Fireworks.. and my little cousin..

Make a Guess..

2007-03-05T09:19:00.000+08:00

Lifted this picture off Multiply posted by a long time friend in her site. This picture was taken when I'm 13, during Sec1. Thanks Susan Melissa, hope you don't mind I lift it off your site.

Make a guess and find me?

Gosh I look Obiang.. lol.

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

2007-02-16T00:13:00.000+08:00

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true

Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true

This is one of my all time favourites.. I've loved this song for as long as I can remember.. Found this performed by Disney Channel's Circle of Stars... Dylan and Cole Sprouse (Zack and Cody) is so adorable.. Enjoy..

P/s: Going back home tomorrow for CNY, won't have internet access till I come back.. so Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone.. Ciao!

Hubby's present..

2007-02-14T21:54:00.000+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everbody!!
Nothing much happened during the day today.. I did some cleaning, The meal was yummilicious.. This is the best Valentine's yet~!! then decided to stay at home for the rest of the day... Nana's on her way back to Penang for Chinese New Year as I'm typing now.. Have a safe trip Nana! Hubby's on course today, so he didn't manage to give me a call the whole day.. but he came home with a suprise!

Hubby came home after work with a bouquet of sunflower, one of my favourite flowers:

It's really pretty. He then proceeded to cook dinner..

It's a full course dinner with New England Clam Chowder Soup, Beef Steak, Potato Gratin and Zuchinni Mushroom Saute. Oh.. and red wine too..

The meal was yummilicious... Thank you sweetie.. This is the best Valentine's yet~! Muackzzzz!!

A-Z of our Love

2007-02-14T08:25:00.002+08:00

Airport, the place where we first met. You thought I was kinda cute.. I thought you were really quiet.. we ended the day exchanging only a couple of sentences...

Book, the one you gave me for our first month anniversary together. You painted it yourself, filled it with sand and some seashells. You wrote a lovely poem. It was the prettiest book I've had.

Changi, you woke me up very early one morning and said you had a suprise for me.. you brought me there and we witness our very first sunrise together.. I' ll never forget this sweet experience.

Diamond Ring, our engagement token. You went through a lot of trouble to get this. It was very thoughtful of you to include both our mothers when you chose this ring, I've been wearing it ever since, never once taken it off.. have I told you how much I like it?

EPL, you're obsessed with it. Football was a foreign word to me till I met you! Now I know what's offside, rightback, leftback... see how much I've learned from you?

Mount FABER, that's where you brought me to for our first date, remember? This was also where you proposed... you wanted to bring me up to the peak, but it was a Saturday night and it was kinda packed that night, in the end, you'd had to settle proposing mid-hill. You were so ill at ease then.. lol..

Gifts, so many I've lost count.. you've given me expensive ones, cute ones and suprising ones (remember the plastic flowers?), no matter what it is, they were all wonderful, simply because they were from you..

Hong Kong, our very first overseas trip. I had so much fun.. we made the best memories there..

I Love You, have I told you that lately? Remember that everytime we have an argument will you? I really do love you..

Joy, that's what you bring to me, every minute of everyday.. Having you around is the greatest gift of all..

Kisses, you shower me with these without fail every morning.. These morning ritual made everyday so much more easier to go through when you are not beside me..

Laughter, yours is the wackiest, and craziest. Especially those that you cracked yourself up with.. Hearing your laughter made my live seems so much more meaningful..

Marriage, that's what we've got ourselves into for the pass two years.. and it has been a wonderful two years.. thanks to you..

New car, our current one a Honda Fit. This is the third car we've had together. First a PajeroMini, then a Mazda 323, and now the Honda. The first two had bring lots of memories.. the laughter, the tears.. I know this third one will make the memories so much more colourful and meaningful..

Online, that was how our love blossomed, our chat in IRC leads to our first date. I'll have you remember I was the one who asked you out first..

Pajero Mini, that's the car you were driving when we were first together.. this was also your nickname online when I first know you..

Roses, blue ones to be exact. Those were the ones you bought to proposed. It was so so pretty..

September 18th, 2005. We said "I do". And I still do..

Tampines, where I was staying when we were first together.. you were staying in Woodlands, the trips you made every night from Woodlands to Tampines, just to be with me.. you're the sweetest guy a girl could have..

Urban Exploring, your hobby, your life.. while I don't go exploring with you, you do know you have my full support, don't you?

Valentine, this is the 4th one I'm spending with you, each year it's as sweet as the first, you'll always be my valentine..

Woodlands, our first home, we spend a ton on this house, but it's like what you've always said, it's our hideaway, it's all worth it.. truth is, you're my hideaway.. home is where you are sweetie..

X-citing, that's how I'd describe my life with you, even till now I'm still learning something new about you everyday..

You, "you complete me", you really do..

"Zzzzzzz", that's what you do every night.. Well sweetie, I'll never exchange the snores for all the money in the world.. Muackzzzz..

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Of names and cookies and invites..

2007-02-07T16:28:00.000+08:00

J	Jolly
A	Arty
I	Influential
M	Misunderstood
E	Explosive

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

Explosive sums it all.. ask hubby and he'll readily agree with all four of his hands and legs up!

We went online and decided to try pineapple rolls...guess what?!? It worked!

Have been busy baking these past few days.. me and Nana first tried baking cream cheese cookies and guess what?! It failed. Then we tried almond crisp and guess what again... we failed!! We're totally blaming the stupid cookbook I bought a few years back but have never used. We went online and decided to try pineapple rolls...guess what?!? It worked! It's so totally the books fault! They look kinda nice.. we can't seems to get the size the same... well, they're not only edible.. I would say they are rather delicious actually.. Muahahaha...

Now nobody can say we didn't put the oven into good use.. lol..

Was digging something for hubby in the unpacked boxes a few days ago, and came across the invitation card we used for our ROM. It's by Hallmark and came in a pack of 6 sets. Each set consist of a outer pink velum cover, two empty cards to personalize yourself, and a ribbon.

Me and hubby are still at odds on whether to use the invites given by the restaurant for our wedding dinner or to get them printed ourselves.. We've discussed and have a few great designs in mind.. now we just need to check out the cost.. will update on the outcome...

Double Happiness..

2007-02-05T09:58:00.000+08:00

We're doubly happy over this weekend... One was because of the arrival of our new TV. Yay! It's fitting nicely on the feature wall..

Pretty huh..

The second reason has Aaron reeling over the moon.. Our new car is due end of this week.. Yay! Our baby's a Honda Fit.. Everything's lovingly handpicked by hubby.. can't wait.. our first brand new car!

Went along with hubby for his weekly football games Sunday morning.. I retreated back into the car after half and hour.. the heat was getting to me.. lol

Lastly, a pretty picture of the "twisties" bamboo we bought in Chinatown..

Wedding Preparation Step 1.... Part 2..

2007-02-02T14:27:00.000+08:00

We were so psyched up with the guest book and ang pow box, we made a matching pen holder!

Now on to step 2!!

Wedding Preparation Step 1....

2007-01-31T14:15:00.000+08:00

Is to complete the ang pow box and our guest book! So here it is! Thanks to Anna for her great help!!!

The Ang Pow Box:

The Guest Book:

Anna did the buttons herself for the book! At the end we were both patting ourselves at our back for the job well done.. suffice to say I'm proud of our work! Now on to the others... more updates soon.. Ciao!!

The wedding date's changed!!!

2007-01-30T17:21:00.000+08:00

Don't ask why, it's a loooong story... but it's official.. our wedding's on the 28th of April 2007.. no more changes this time.. *snickers*