hweiming's blog

Lush

2012-02-16T20:45:00.003+08:00

I first started using Lush products when I was studying in Australia. I love its soaps and solid shampoo because they smell really nice and they LAST for a long time. :) It opened a branch in Singapore in the late 90s but after a while, it disappeared. Ever since then, I have been buying and stocking up on my favourite Lush products when I go overseas such as Australia, UK, and USA. However, I discovered by chance recently that Lush has started a branch in Singapore again! I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked past the shop at Wisma. Finally, I can buy Lush in Singapore. :)

The Black Sheep Cafe

2012-02-15T22:01:00.000+08:00

My friends and I met for dinner and we tried this The Black Sheep Cafe. It is a cosy, quaint little cafe. Although little in size, this cafe's food pack a punch. :)
We ordered Duck Confit on Apple Rosti ($22.50) and Crispy Pork Cheeks on Sauteed Greens ($24). I loved the duck confit. The duck skin was crispy, the duck meat was tender and the mango relish complemented it well. The apple rosti was surprisingly tasty with apple in it, adding more zest to it.

I tried my friend's pork cheeks. OMG. It just melts in the mouth. Simply droolicious! Even by describing it, I am not doing the dish justice. You have to try it!

We wanted to try its Souffle for dessert but they were out of it for the night. :( We settled for Tiramisu which was pretty yummy too. I will definitely come back again to try its souffle lol.

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T00:54:00.003+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

Passing of Another Diva

2012-02-13T21:30:00.003+08:00

This time, it is the passing of a Taiwanese pop diva, Feng Fei Fei at 60 years old. She passed away on January 3 after succumbing to lung cancer. The news of her death was only released today in accordance to her wishes because the Lunar New Year was approaching and Feng Fei Fei did not want her fans to receive the bad news.
Feng Fei Fei was a huge hit with my parents' generation. Every Chinese in that age bracket knows who Feng Fei Fei is. Her fans know her fondly as The Queen of Hats because she loves wearing when performing. Rest in peace, Feng Fei Fei.

Death of a Diva

2012-02-12T23:35:00.003+08:00

I did a double take when I saw on Yahoo's Breaking News: Whitney Houston, Dies at 48. I almost couldn't believe my eyes! I told my mother and she was shocked as well.
I listened to Whitney's songs when I was growing up, such as Saving All My Love for You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, So Emotional, I am Your Baby Tonight, Didn't We Almost Have It All?, Where Do Broken Hearts Go?, Greatest Love of All, One Moment in Time, and who can forget, I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard movie. It is such a pity that her life is cut short. But I hope she will rest in peace and know that she has given pleasure to many with her beautiful voice and songs.

One Moment In Time (uploaded by Planetland)

Where Do Broken Hearts Go? (uploaded by AngelsFstyle)

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (uploaded by whitneyhoustonVEVO)

I Will Always Love You (uploaded by whitneyhoustonVEVO)

Staff Lunch 2012

2012-02-11T23:25:00.000+08:00

My good friend and colleague gave me a lift to our staff lunch at Mandarin Hotel. We arrived around 10.40am and therefore entitled to the Early Bird Gift lol. We could choose from either Shaw movie tickets, NTUC Fairprice $10 voucher or thumbdrive. I chose the voucher because I could pass it to my father who often shops at NTUC Fairprice. :)
There were a number of pre-event activities - glamour shots, caricature sketch, silhouette snipping, airbrush snipping and hair extensions. As a memento, I would always go for the glamour shot. :) I was actually lining up for the caricature sketch but it took too long. After 40 minutes, I was still in the queue. I decided to "cut my loss" and joined the queue for silhouette snipping. Within 10 minutes, I was holding my silhouette lol. :)
By 12noon, we were seated at our Table 21. :P It was the usual people at our table - DK, YZ, C, CD, G, K, S, and a new colleague, YX. The goodie bag was really good this year - Garretts popcorn, postit notes, pen - useful and practical stuff. :) The buffet was not too bad, had the famous Chatterbox Chicken Rice. Yummy! :) This year's MC was really good too. He was funny without trying hard and without being rude. We were all laughing so hard with his jokes and antics. :)
Our Table 21 was really lucky as well, with 2 people winning prizes from the top 25 prizes and 1 person winning from 26th-100th prizes. Not bad at all, considering there were about 700 people (70 tables) at the staff lunch, amounting to about one from each table winning something. And we had 3 prize winners from our table alone! :)
The fun ended at 3pm. I am already looking forward to the next staff lunch lol. :P
Oh, what I went as? I was Fiona from Shrek 2, the before transformation haha. :)

My PERI team - "Jasonette", "Fiona", "Ponyo", "Star Trek"

Decision Made

2012-02-10T20:09:00.002+08:00

Excitement is really building up at my work place with regards to Saturday's Staff Lunch at Mandarin Hotel. Everyone is discussing what they will be going as. I have finally decided who I will go as. :) I get to dress in my favourite colour too, Green! Haha.

What Are You Going As?

2012-02-09T21:27:00.005+08:00

That has been the most frequently asked question at my work place for this week! Lol. This coming Saturday, our organisation is having a Staff Lunch with the theme of "Going to the Movies". We have to dress up as a character in a movie that appeared in the year that we joined the organisation. :) I joined in 2004 and there were a couple of 2004 movies that I enjoyed watching such as Harry Potter 3, Van Helsing, Dawn of the Dead, The Chronicles of Riddick, Resident Evil 2, Alien vs Predator, Anacondas, Blade 3, and i, Robot, lol. Not exactly easy to dress up as one of the characters from one of those movies.
I have dressed as a Hogwarts student during one of my MOE HQ staff retreat (and won first prize for best dressed character! Lol) so I don't want to do that again. Let me think about it... I may go as a character from the movies or I may just go as myself. :)

Missing

2012-02-08T21:20:00.003+08:00

There is a new counsellee whom I am supposed to see once a fortnight. However, I have yet to see her because she was on medical leaves on those days I am supposed to see her. It has been four weeks since I started counselling in the new school year. I hope she gets well and I will get to see her the next time round.

Change of Holiday Plans

2012-02-07T21:16:00.000+08:00

We were originally planning to go to Canada in June. However, due to the girls' father, we are now looking at holidaying in Korea - mainly Seoul and Jeju Island. As English is not prominently/ commonly used by everyone in Korea, we will be joining a group tour to minimise inconvenience caused by language problem.
Have to start looking at the tour packages offered by the various tour agencies.

Yuan Xiao Festival

2012-02-06T21:51:00.003+08:00

My girls and I love eating tang yuan - balls made from glutinous rice flour, both unfilled and filled, as well as both sweet and savoury. We wouldn't miss festivals such as Yuan Xiao (15th day of the Chinese New Year) and Tong Zhi (Winter Solstice Festival) where making and eating of tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) are observed. :)
Today is Yuan Xiao Festival. My mother made glutinous rice balls/ tang yuan (unfilled) in brown sugar soup as well as glutinous rice balls/ tang yuan filled with minced meat and mushroom in chicken broth. We each had second helpings for both kinds of tang yuan! Yum yum! :)

Snow!

2012-02-05T21:32:00.002+08:00

We were on Skype with my brother and his family. My brother, using his iPad 2, showed us the thick layer of snow outside his window. The girls were really thrilled to see the snow. Juliane commented that she wanted to go to UK the next day to build a snowman and have snow ball fight! Haha.

Old Bones

2012-02-04T23:00:00.002+08:00

Age is definitely catching up with me lol. After attending Parents' Briefing at the girls' school in the morning, I slept for most the day. Yesterday's staff retreat at Universal Studio Singapore had a big part to play in my exhaustion lol. :P

Staff Retreat at Universal Studio Singapore

2012-02-03T23:44:00.005+08:00

This is the first ever staff retreat that is all about teamwork and play. :)
We gathered at Universal Studio Singapore (USS) at 9am. By 9.45am, we were seated at the boardroom in the Far Far Away Castle. Our deputy head gave a speech followed by the USS game master's briefing of the scavenger hunt. There were about 70 of us and were split into 7 groups. We set off from Far Far Away Castle for our 3-hours duration scavenger hunt. Each group had to answer 30 questions by looking for the answers around USS. It was really fun. I was able to supply some answers to the questions and my teammates were surprised by my "knowledge" haha. I only realised then HOW MUCH tv series and movies I have watched! Lol. :P By 1.40pm, we were back at the boardroom at Far Far Away Castle. Although my team didn't get top 3 places, I definitely had LOTS of FUN with my teammates running around USS.

Our PERI team (one member not arrived yet)

My scavenger hunt team: Orange Squash lol :P

After the scavenger hunt, we were free to stay in USS until closing time at 7pm. I roamed around on my own - taking photos and watching the live shows lol. It reminded me of the time I spent at Universal Studio, Los Angeles but USS is definitely much smaller than US, LA. I met another colleague who was also roaming on his own and we went on the rides: Transformers The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle (first in the world), Battlestar Galactica: Cylon and Revenge of the Mummy. Loved the roller coaster rides. I was laughing the whole time while my colleague was screaming away. Strange to hear a guy screaming like that haha. :P

Transformer, my friend and I

I watch The Mummy because of him lol :)

I had a really great time at USS, and getting to know a few more colleagues. I am one of the handful who have been with the research centre since 2003/ 2004. We are known as "The oldies" to the newbies lol. Because we are attached to projects and / contracts, there is always colleagues leaving every year. After a while, it gets really tiring trying to keep up with who are the new colleagues and who have left. This retreat definitely helps to bring colleagues together. I hope future retreats would be of this nature too. :) Fingers and toes crossed. :)

Blog or Facebook?

2012-02-02T21:43:00.003+08:00

Some of us have both a blog and a Facebook account. If you have both, do you have a preference for one over the other?
Seeing how often I have to send out a whole bunch of Belated Happy Birthday wishes through Facebook because I don't check in often enough, is evident enough which one is my preference lol. :P

The Mom Song

2012-02-01T20:07:00.003+08:00

OMG. This is really funny. :) My mother has said some of those words to me! And I am now saying the same things to my girls!!
Best reason ever when the girls are not up to standard: "It must be your father's DNA." Lol.
Best reason ever to give when vetoing the girls: "I'm the Mom, the Mom, the Mom, THE MOM!" LOL.

(uploaded by clcintxx)

Minister of Ponding

2012-01-31T22:25:00.002+08:00

Another hilarious post from mrbrown. It is an interview with the fictitious Minister of Ponding, Midas Jin Jue Lui (whose name in Hokkkien means lots of money). The humour in the video is likely by appreciated much more by Singaporeans because it pertains to recent happenings in Singapore. Click on the Yahoo link for the video.

Yahoo link: http://mrbrwn.co/zqSv7Z

Pay Cut

2012-01-30T22:14:00.004+08:00

I saw this on the mrbrown show and it cracked me up big time lol. It is a tongue-in-cheek post of the recent ministerial pay cut as perceived through a fictitious MP and Minister Midas Jin. Really funny. :)

(uploaded by mistabrown)

SCGS CNY Gathering

2012-01-29T21:44:00.003+08:00

Like every CNY, we have our SCGS gathering. It was held at Steph's place this year, from 12.30pm till 5pm. Unfortunately my friends didn't receive my email that my family and I would be late, arriving around 1.30pm. Hmm, wondering if it could be a problem with my iPad as I sent out the email from it. The email is shown as sent but none of my friends received it. Really strange.
At 1pm, my friend, Karen called up to check where I was because being late is really out of character for me. I am usually early, if not, on time haha. However, we were actually much later, arriving only close to 2.30pm even though we set off for Steph's place at 1.10pm. The girls' father had lost his way and he only admitted he was lost at 2pm and called for help. SIGH.
Thank goodness, my friends waited for us for the Loi He. :) Despite being really late, we had a good time chatting away and eating, of course lol. Karen's mee siam, chicken wings and kuah pie ti!! Never tired of them even though we have them every year! :) We also had foie gras and tau kua pau. :)
Unfortunately this year we didn't manage to take a group photo as Steph's kids had to leave for an art competition. Next CNY then.

Heathy Teeth

2012-01-28T21:38:00.004+08:00

The girls went for their regular dental check up. I went along with them, just to say Hi to my uni friend, Hoon who is our dentist lol. I am glad that the girls don't really have an adverse fear of dentist like I do. :P Yes, Hoon, I know I am long overdue for my dental check up. Will fix up appointment soon, I think. Haha. :P

Lucky Break

2012-01-27T23:41:00.003+08:00

I received more good news. My amended dissertation has been accepted for my PhD Oral Examination! There won't be any change to the date of my oral examination which was confirmed earlier. :) Have to start reading my dissertation again to refresh my memory because I can't remember all 300 pages of it. :P
I knew it! Seeing the double rainbows really brought me luck! :)

Double Rainbows

2012-01-26T00:21:00.000+08:00

There was a huge downpour on Saturday, 21 January, the Eve of the Chinese New Year's Eve. Not long after the heavy downpour stopped, a pair of rainbows appeared in the sky. It was a really beautiful sight. The first rainbow was a lot more prominent than the second rainbow which was quite faint.

Call me superstitious or what, but I always feel really lucky and a sense of hope whenever I see the rainbow. And there is TWO of them this time! Something good must be coming my way lol. :)

CNY 2012 III

2012-01-25T21:16:00.002+08:00

Juliane and Marieann has an extra day of Chinese New Year holiday!
Their school has given staff and students an extra day off on this 3rd day of CNY because of the good O Level results for 2011.
The girls spent the day with their grandmother catching up on watching "Lee San" lol.

Happy Chinese New Year 2012 II

2012-01-24T21:03:00.000+08:00

The second day of CNY is always the busiest for my parents in any CNY because family and friends would come to our place for the Hockchew Red Wine Chicken Soup mee sua. Not that my parents mind, they love cooking and they love the company. :)

The girls were happy collecting their Ang Pows (red packets or also known as Ya Sui Qian). Ya Sui Qian means money that can suppress devils and keep kids in peace and safe for a whole year. It is a tradition in my family. Every time, they received ya sui qian, they would place it into their pillow case so that they could sleep on them. I still do the same with mine lol. We would be sleeping on our Ang Pows until the end of the Chinese New Year period (15 days). :)

Happy Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-23T22:47:00.003+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year 2012
May the Year of the Dragon brings
good health and good fortune to all.

We woke up early and left the apartment by 8+am.
First stop of the day, before the visiting of family, was at the temple to pray for a year of good health and good fortune. :)
For the rest of the morning, we went to three households - my grand aunt's, an elderly close family friend's and my primary school teacher's.
By 12.30pm, we went back home resting lol. :P
In the afternoon, family friends came to visit my parents.
In the evening, we went to visit another close (elderly) family friend and her extended family. :)

Us in our Chinese New Year clothes :)

PS In the night, my mother and Juliane continued watching "Lee San" haha.

Chinese New Year's Eve 2012

2012-01-22T21:38:00.004+08:00

It is the eve of Chinese New Year. Every year, my parents would follow the same routine. In the morning, it is praying to the ancestors and asking them to protect us, their descendants. In the evening, it is reunion dinner. Every year, it is steamboat lol. Being older, the girls are now enjoying steamboat more, especially cooking their own food.

Our reunion dinner with the ingredients for the steamboat and the Yu Sheng with abalone lol

Addicts

2012-01-21T23:21:00.000+08:00

There are two addicts of Korean drama in my family. Juliane and my mother.
Juliane recently asked her father to rent the Korean period drama, Lee San, Wind of the Palace despite having watched it before. There are a total of 118 episodes. Julian would watch it after school. Despite having watched it before too, my mother would watch together with Juliane. Now, they hogged the living room tv to watch their "Lee San" everyday for several hours a day! Sigh.

Final Hurdle

2012-01-20T22:59:00.000+08:00

I received news of the final hurdle I have to cross in order to obtain my PhD. The date for my oral defense has been confirmed. I have two months to prepare for it. Wish me luck. :)

CNY Round the Corner

2012-01-19T22:28:00.002+08:00

Goodness, I just realised that CNY is round the corner! Need to buy CNY goodies for the guests when they come visiting. Need to prepare the Ang Pows (red packets). Thank goodness, the spring cleaning for my room has been done lol.

Jam

2012-01-18T22:21:00.003+08:00

It has been ages since I was caught in a jam going for my counselling. Usually it takes no longer than 20 minutes to get from my place to my counselling school. But today, it took me 45 minutes! I was stuck in the jam as soon as I hit Bukit Timah Road from Coronation Plaza all the way to King Albert Park McDonald's. :( Thank goodness, my father gave me a lift. I hate to think how much it would have cost me if I took a cab! :S

Somebody That I Used to Know

2012-01-17T23:51:00.000+08:00

Heard this song and found the music rather quirky and catchy in a way.
The original song is by Gotye featuring Kimbra. Their voices complimented each other well.

(uploaded by gotyemusic)

Here is Walk Off the Earth's cover of the same song. The group is amazing, great voices and five of them playing on ONE guitar! :)

(uploaded by walkofftheearth)

Horrific Accidents

2012-01-16T23:37:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, my mother, the girls' father and I witnessed a horrific accident. A white poodle was hit by a black car (Lexus maybe) at Holland Road going towards town. :( The cars over three lanes slowed down when we saw the dog running across the road. However, the car in the right most lane continued speeding and hit the dog and the car didn't stop! The dog was flung across three lanes and landed in the left most lane. It landed in a most awkward position. The other cars behind all slowed down. I only hope that the dog died instantly so that there was no pain. I only hope that the black car that hit the dog (and didn't even slowed and stopped) will have a huge dent!!
Today, on my way to work, near King Albert Park Mckkies, I saw the remains of a kitten on the road. It must have wandered onto the road and was hit by a vehicle. :( It happened in the morning because the body was still intact but not its head... Sigh.

Pet Owners, please make sure you keep your pets at home or on a leash if you bring them out for a walk. Car drivers, please slow down if you see an animal crossing the road.

Prep for CNY II

2012-01-15T23:52:00.002+08:00

My mother and I went to Ikea to get new cushions for the living room. The current cushions have served us for a number of years and they kinda look sad lol.
Not sure it is the usual crowd or everyone has the same idea as us, going to Ikea to get new furnishings for the home in preparation for Chinese New Year. There was such a long queue just getting into the car park, just as well we were not parking. The girls' father dropped us off at the entrance. It was really crowded in the store! The queues were long at the check-out cashiers as well as the queues for cabs.
I think the crowd would be much worse next weekend, the Chinese New Year Eve weekend. Not fancy going to Ikea then.

Prep for CNY

2012-01-14T23:23:00.003+08:00

Chinese New Year is coming. We all need to look presentable. Time for our haircut lol.
As there are 3 of us and we use the same hair stylist, we had to take turns. We were at the hair salon close to 3 hours, from 11.15am to 2.15pm.
I layered my hair to make it look less heavy but it also brought out my curls more prominently. Both Marieann and Juliane were spotting a shorter fringe and Marieann had a bit of layering too. Apparently Marieann takes after me and she has some natural curls too. Juliane was most envious of us because she wanted curly hair but has only straight hair lol.

Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T23:09:00.000+08:00

It is Friday the 13th today. I don't see it as an unlucky day. However I wasn't about to test my luck when I saw a ladder blocking my way today in the office. The maintenance staff were in our office today to check the wiring in the ceiling. The staff indicated that I could pass through but it was very close to the ladder. For practical reason, I wasn't going to try my luck. I would rather take a detour (longer way) to get to my colleagues' work stations lol. I will treat it as exercise haha. :P

Farewell and Take Care

2012-01-12T22:55:00.004+08:00

Min, Ben and Uncle have left for home today. Although it is a major drawback that my best friend is so far away, I am really glad that we have remained best of friends even though she migrated to Australia 20 years ago. Thank goodness for emails and cheap IDD calls lol. Maybe next time we should Skype haha. :) The kids could say Hi to each other. Oh yes, the kids have already made arrangements with each other that they will visit Ben and stay at their place this December! Min and Graham, you better get ready lol.
Till we meet again, farewell and take care, Min and send our warmest regards to all at home (in Australia).

BFF II

2012-01-11T22:33:00.000+08:00

My best friend and I managed to meet again! :) As her trip here is really short, it has been packed to the brim with meetings and meals with her relatives. I am really lucky to meet her twice. :) I think it is welcoming for her and her son that they could just relax at my place, other than at their hotel room lol. :P
We met again at Food For Thought (new eatery), Botanic Gardens for lunch before going back to my place. My girls were really happy to see Ben again. Thank goodness, they didn't have much homework so they could play Skylanders with Ben again lol. As for the adults, we chit-chatted while drinking my mother's Chinese tea.

Just after 4pm, we - Min, Ben, Marieann, Juliane and I - left for Ion for a little bit of shopping. We took the bus which was a thrill for the kids lol. Too many of us to squeeze into a cab. :P For this trip, Min has been busy buying things for others, back home in Australia. Today, she finally managed to get some things for herself! :)
After 6pm, we went back to their hotel so that we could say "Hi" to her father. I haven't seen Uncle for over 10 years! We chatted for a little while before leaving as Min and her family has a dinner appointment at 7.30pm.
It was a bonus to meet up with Min again and really nice to catch up with Uncle again. :) I hope it won't be too long before we see each other again.

iPad 2 or iPad 3?

2012-01-10T23:46:00.000+08:00

My brother and I would like to get an iPad for our mother so that it would be easier for her to skype on her own with her grandsons in UK. Currently she has to rely on me and my notebook. However, I am not sure if we should get iPad 2 just yet... Maybe we should just wait a while more since iPad 3 is rumoured to be out in spring of 2012 and we could then compare the two.

Settling

2012-01-09T23:35:00.001+08:00

The girls are settling down to their new standard respectively. They are also establishing their own work routine after school. It is a good start for the new year. :)

Food For Thought

2012-01-08T22:12:00.010+08:00

There is a new eatery at Botanic Gardens, near the Tanglin Gate. The former eatery vacated the premise for more than a year. Food For Thought is certainly a welcome sight and a great convenience to the residents around Botanic Gardens.
Food For Thought (FFT) is primarily a western restaurant but it does have a few local dishes such as egg and toast, mee rebus, rendang, laksa under local breakfast/ lunch items. I love its breakfast: Greek Yoghurt with choice of two toppings ($5) which I have had for a couple of mornings now. :) My colleagues at work would be delighted that I am at last eating healthy rather than having Mckkies lol. :P
We tried a few lunch dishes at FFT: Pulled Pork Burger ($8) which was fantastic (no pic); Bacon Potato Onion Salad ($10) which was light and filling at the same time; Laksa ($5) which was spicy with a kick (no pic); and Grilled Barramundi Fillet ($20) which was fresh and the mashed potato really creamy.

For dessert, the Red Velvet cake ($5) is a hands-down winner. :) The cranberry scone ($3) is good too, especially with the cream and FFT's unique dragon fruit jam. The spiced carrot cake ($5) is delicious as well, not too sweet.

Red Velvet cake, scone and carrot cake as take-away (will get better pics next time)

With FFT so close by, we would be visiting it frequently. It would weekly for me lol. Click here for the Food For Thought website if you would like to take a look at its Botanic Gardens menu. If you are in the vicinity of Botanic Gardens or at the Botanic Gardens itself, try Food For Thought. It would give you lots of thought for food. :P

BFF :)

2012-01-07T21:59:00.004+08:00

My best friend, Min is in Singapore finally. We have been friends since primary school and best friend since secondary school. :) We can talk about everything and anything. :) It has been so long since Min was last in Singapore. I do visit her in Australia but it is different when she is on my home turf lol. :)
My girls and I met her and her son at Botanic Gardens at 9.30am. We went back to my place, a stone's throw from Botanic Gardens and spent the morning chit-chatting (with my parents too) while the kids played Skylanders. We were all having a really enjoyable time. :)
Close to 1pm, we went over to Botanic Garden's newly opened eatery, Food For Thought for lunch. (I will write a separate post about the food at Food For Thought) There was more chit-chat during lunch and some time for the kids to run around in the garden before we sent Min and her son back to the hotel at 3pm.

The kids making funny faces

My best friend, Min and I :)

We made arrangement to meet up one more time before they return to Australia next Thursday. :)

Succumbed

2012-01-06T22:45:00.004+08:00

After a week of sleeping in separate room from Juliane, Marieann still succumbed to the cold virus that got her sister last Thursday. Sigh.
At least one is on the mend. Now I just have to make sure Marieann stays away from Juliane. I have to make sure I don't succumb too. :S

Excitement

2012-01-05T23:36:00.001+08:00

My best friend and her family are in Singapore! I am really excited and so are my girls. Ok it is not like I haven't seen her for ages, only just 7 months ago haha. :P We can't wait to see them on Saturday. :)

New Year's Resolution(s)/ Wish(es)

2012-01-04T22:00:00.000+08:00

Have you made any new year's resolution(s) for yourself?If yes, good for you. Do you always achieve your new year's resolution(s)? If yes, great for you.
Since years ago, I have ceased to make new year's resolution(s) because I seldom achieve any of them! :P Why set yourself up for failure for the whole year?! Haha. :P
Now, instead of new year's resolutions, I have new year wishes. All I ask for is that my parents are healthy for the new year, my girls are healthy and do well in school in the new year, and I am able to do my work well in the new year. :)

Back to School, Back to Singapore

2012-01-03T21:52:00.002+08:00

Today is the first day of school for the girls. They were pretty excited to be back to school as they could see their friends and classmates again. :)
Today is the first day my parents are back in Singapore. We are pretty excited as it means having delicious food on the dining table again. :)

Happy 10th Birthday, Marieann

2012-01-02T23:41:00.000+08:00

Happy 10th Birthday, Marieann
May all your dreams come true!

lots of love,
Mama, Papa, Juliane and Grandparents

Today is Marieann's 10th birthday. We celebrated her birthday at lunch at Aerin's Cafe & Expresso Bar, Raffles City. (Yes, we are back at Raffles City again lol) Marieann had her favourite dish, Seafood spaghetti in tomato sauce. I tried the Duck a La Orange and Juliane and her father shared a Hickery BBQ Pork Ribs. I totally enjoyed my duck leg with its crispy skin and duck fat lol. :P The sauce which was sweet and citrusy went well with the duck leg, making it less cloying. The pork ribs were yummy, tender and juicy. :) Marieann's spaghetti was good too as the sauce was freshly made.

I shared my dessert, Profiteroles with Marieann and Juliane. The choux pastry balls were filled with ice-cold Hokey Pokey ice cream, decorated with chocolate sauce and icing sugar and placed on grilled orange. It was heavenly! :) We wolfed down each of our profiteroles in no time lol. The girls' father had the Baked Apple and Rhubard Pie. The vanilla bean ice cream went well with the crispy oven-baked pastry and the sweet-sour mix of apples and rhubard. :)

As we had to attend a wedding dinner, the girls had dinner by themselves at home. However, before we left, Marieann made a birthday wish before blowing out the candle on her birthday cake. :)

First Brunch of 2012

2012-01-01T22:43:00.006+08:00

Well, technically it was lunch since it was close to 12pm. But it was the brunch menu that we ordered from at DB Bistro Moderne at Marina Bay Sands. It is the first time the girls are at Marina Bay Sands and they are in awe of the huge space lol.

Marieann had the French Toast A L'Alsacienne with caramelised apples and fromage blanc ($15) while Juliane ordered the Poached Eggs Benedict ($24). I had the Coq Au Vin with wild mushrooms, bacon and späetzle ($34) and the girls' father tried Fried Eggs Lyonnaises with duck confit, potatoes, mushrooms and salad ($21). Both the savoury and sweet dishes were absolutely delicious. Lots of flavour. :)

After lunch/brunch, we walked around the area, taking in the sights lol.

The girls looking at the replica of Titanic. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is currently on.

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T01:19:00.001+08:00

Here's wishing Everyone
a Happy New Year!
May all your wishes,
dreams and
new year resolutions
Come true in 2012. :)

Farewell, 2011

2011-12-31T23:51:00.005+08:00

It has been a really exciting last day of 2011 for us.
Today we celebrated Marieann's 10th birthday in advance because on her actual day, 2nd January, time is a bit tight for we have a wedding dinner to attend.
Marieann invited two classmates to join in her birthday celebration. We - Marieann, her two classmates, Juliane and I went to a soap making workshop. I had fun making my soaps and so did the girls. After the workshop, we had lunch at Sakae Sushi, requested by the girls lol.

Us before the workshop

Us measuring the ingredients needed for making our soaps

A photo while waiting for the soaps to harden

The girls and their soaps

Marieann and her soaps

Us with our bags of our handmade soaps :)

Our soaps - mine the pink ones, Marieann the light purple ones, and Juliane the dark purple ones :)

After her classmates left in mid afternoon, we went to get more boxes from Plaza Singapura lol. :P When we were done, it was just after 5pm. We decided to have dinner out instead of at home. Again, we did not make any reservation for dinner but decided to try our luck at Raffles City. We decided to have dinner at Skinny Pizza. Juliane and I shared a Sweet Corn Crab soup ($6). We ordered a Smoked Turkey Swiss pizza ($25) and a Squid Ink Paella ($18) to share for the family because Marieann was still quite full from lunch. The super thin crispy pizza was really delicious and did not leave one with the usual uncomfortable, heavy feeling of having food too rich. :) The paella was tasty too, right amount of seasoning and the ingredients generous. :)

It was almost 8pm when we reached home. There is still time for some final packing haha. :P All packing completed an hour before the stroke of midnight! :)

Farewell, 2011!

Life Saviour

2011-12-30T22:54:00.000+08:00

Toyogo storage boxes are my life saviour! They are really useful in helping me to organise my stuff as well as keeping them dust free! I have used 7 boxes so far. I definitely need to get a few more.

Girls' Day Out: Movie and Shopping

2011-12-29T23:05:00.004+08:00

Taking a break from my packing, I took the girls out in the morning for a movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked" and some shopping.

The movie was definitely entertaining, with certain scenes spoofs of famous movies, e.g. "My precious, my precious!", running away from a huge boulder behind one, lol. :)

(uploaded by FilmsActuTrailers)

The closing act in the movie(uploaded by arsenal1b)

After the movie, we had lunch at The Canteen, followed by some retail therapy for me lol. Needed something to spur me on for the spring cleaning. :P I got myself a new Kipling shoulder/ handbag. :)

Dust, dust,

2011-12-28T23:39:00.001+08:00

everywhere. :(
Stirring up lots of dust with the spring cleaning of my room... Sneezing, teary eyes, ...
Going through my Zytec D (antihistamine) like nothing. :(

A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song

2011-12-27T21:00:00.000+08:00

The girls bought this DVD - A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song. Apparently they have already heard the songs in the movie on YouTube before they decided to get it. I watched with the movie with them and I am surprised by the lead actress, Lucy Hale's voice. That girl can really sing! Below are the songs: Extra Ordinary (uploaded by DandinoTutorial), Run This Town, and Bless Myself (uploaded by WarnerBrosOnline) by Lucy Hale and Knockin' (uploaded by Nano591) by Freddie Stroma.

Hoarding

2011-12-26T23:47:00.002+08:00

We have finally finished clearing up the girls' stuff. Now it is my turn. I have accumulated quite a fair bit of stuff in my room, ok, quite a lot of stuff. But they are mostly the reading materials for my PhD, over the years (yes, making excuses). You can imagine the mess lol. My parents call my room the junkyard. :P
By the time I blogged this, I have managed to clear the study table in my table. Recycling one bag full of paper - all articles that I no longer need and have been hoarding! Bad habit, always thinking I might need it/ them later. I finally found the courage to throw (recycle) them.
More clearing to be done tomorrow. :S

Noisy Serenity Christmas Dinner

2011-12-25T23:36:00.005+08:00

Merry Christmas!

Busy with spring cleaning for most part of the day, we could only find time to go for Christmas dinner. We took a chance as we didn't make any reservation for Christmas dinner, deciding to go with the flow. We went to Serenity Spanish Bar & Restaurant at Vivocity and we were lucky to get a table. :) Unfortunately, we were seated in front of the stage where live entertainment was performing. So it was kind of noisy.
We ordered the Coca de Quesos (flat bread with cheese), Tortilla Espanola (Spanish omelette with potato and onion), Crema de Marisco (Seafood cream soup with mussel, prawn, dory and squid rings), and Suckling Pig, Turkey and Ham Platter for 2-3 Pax.

It looked kind of miserable, considering its price ($128++) but the suckling pig was good!

We were quite full after our Christmas dinner but there is always room for dessert lol. We packed desserts to go from Hong Kong Honeymoon Dessert. :)

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-24T23:17:00.003+08:00

It is a really wet Christmas Eve. Nothing will be better than snuggling under the covers reading on my Kindle with a hot cuppa. Unfortunately no such luck for me. The long weekend is the perfect time for spring cleaning! I was supervising and helping the girls in clearing and packing up the place since Chinese New Year is less than a month away (falls on 23 & 24 January 2012). Especially since my parents will be back soon after being away for 3 months! :P

The Hobbit

2011-12-23T22:47:00.000+08:00

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey trailer is out! :) I read Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (3 volumes) before I watched The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. But I always enjoyed the first Tolkien book I read, The Hobbit. :)
It is going to be a long wait though for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (part 1) as it is scheduled only to be released on 14 December 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (part 2) will only be released in December 2013. Long wait. :( Might read The Hobbit again.

(uploaded by ColliderVideos)

Wedding Request

2011-12-22T22:10:00.005+08:00

My mother's goddaughter's mother called up today with a request. My godsister who is getting married in March 2012, would like Juliane to be one of the two flower girls at her wedding.
Not a problem with me lol. I think Juliane will be excited about being a flower girl. :) Marieann and Juliane were flower girls at my friend, Theresa's wedding a few years ago but I think Juliane was too young to remember it and she didn't finish the walk lol. :P I am sure Juliane will do better this time. :)

Unexpected Surprise

2011-12-21T22:47:00.000+08:00

I received an unexpected surprise today. I was informed this morning that my revised dissertation has passed my academic group's internal review and has been submitted to Graduate Studies for the final review. I was absolutely delighted to hear that. Now I wait... hopefully for news of when my oral defence will be.

Saboten Japanese Restaurant

2011-12-20T22:05:00.003+08:00

We had dinner at Saboten Japanese Restaurant when we stayed at Ritz-Carlton on 17 December. We were lucky to get a table when we arrived because 15 minutes later, a queue had formed at the restaurant entrance.
Juliane ordered the Pork Katsu sandwiches, Marieann Tonaktsu, and I had the Tonkatsu tenderloin and oyster set. The katsu was really juicy, tender and delicious. :) But it is a tad too oily to eat regularly. :P

41 years and Counting

2011-12-19T21:33:00.001+08:00

Today is my parents' wedding anniversary.

Happy 41st Wedding Anniversary, Ma and Pa.

Weekend Staycation II

2011-12-18T23:18:00.005+08:00

While the family was fast asleep by 12.30am, I didn't sleep until much later as I was uploading the photos of our Ritz Carlton staycation onto my blog. There was a kind of serenity with the night view of Marina Bay before your eyes. It was by virtue of staying up late that I caught the light displays on the Marina Bay and on the office buildings close to 2am. It might be some sort of practice and preparation for New Year celebration.

I slept the latest but awoke the earliest. I managed to catch the sunrise, with it rays reflecting on the buildings along Marina Bay. By 9.15am, we were having our buffet breakfast at Ritz Carlton's Greenhouse restaurant. The buffet spread has both international flavours and local delights. We had a good hearty breakfast. :)

After breakfast, we lazed around in our room. I was looking up information on the Canadian Rockies while waiting for my spa appointment at 12pm. The girls were watching tv while waiting for the rain to stop so that they could go swimming. Their father was napping all these while.

At 12 noon, the rain had stopped and Marieann went to the pool for a swim. At 12 noon, my milk bath was prepared by the butler. :) Ah, it felt really nice and indulgent soaking in my milk bath for 40 minutes and overlooking the breathtaking views of Marina Bay from the 3 square metre octagonal window! :) My skin felt really smooth and moisturised after my milk bath. :) I finally know how it feels to be Cleopatra in a milk bath and I finally know how it feels to be in a bathtub in front of a huge window haha. :P

We checked out around 1.30pm. We enjoyed our staycation very much. The girls wanted to come back again next year and to stay longer the next time round lol. We shall see. :)

Weekend Staycation

2011-12-17T23:20:00.026+08:00

We treated ourselves to a staycation holiday at Ritz-Carlton Singapore with their overnight package, 12 Joys of Christmas. We checked in just before 4pm. We were wowed by the view from our window. Our room (upgraded) is facing the Marina Bay. :) The view from the bathroom/tub is even better (same Marina Bay view) lol. :P Often wondered how it would be like taking a bath with a huge window like that. I will know soon enough haha. :)

The Marina Bay view from the window

The walk-in wardrobe

The reflection of the famous bathroom/ tub window in the mirror

The famous bathroom/tub window

The Marina Bay views from our window

Welcome gift from the hotel

We lazed around in our room. The kids were playing on their father's notebook, I was updating my blog and their father was napping. We left for dinner just after 6.30pm. We walked to the nearby shopping mall, Millenia Walk and had dinner at Saboten Japanese Restaurant. Will say/ show more about dinner in another post.
After dinner, we walked around the mall for a while before returning to our room. The night view of Marina Bay is really beautiful.

At the Ritz Carlton retail shop

The Christmas tree at the lobby

Weekend Break

2011-12-16T20:36:00.002+08:00

Looking forward to our break this weekend. :)

Surprises

2011-12-15T20:37:00.001+08:00

Surprise 1:
The girls' father said that he would go on the trip to the Canadian Rockies too in June 2012. In addition, we would be going to San Francisco to visit his aunt and family.
Surprise 2:
The girls' father said he would drive while at the Canadian Rockies! This is a shocker, coming from a guy who has never driven in foreign land and much less left-hand drive and long distance driving. But it would definitely save a bundle when self-driving as compared to taking a tour, a saving of more than $1000 Canadian dollars.

Coloured Xiao Long Bao

2011-12-14T21:33:00.002+08:00

We had lunch at Paradise Dynasty on Sunday. We got in just before the crowd lol. Lucky. :) We ordered the Coloured Xiao Long Baos ($13.80) sampler set - original pork dumpling (white), cheese pork dumpling (yellow), foie gras pork dumpling (brown), crab roe pork dumpling (orange), ginseng pork dumpling (green), szechuan pork dumpling (pink), garlic pork dumpling (grey), and black truffle pork dumpling (black). The xiao long baos were delicious. :) We also ordered other dishes such as original Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, Chilled Assorted Egg Loaf in Yang Zhou style, Duck slices, Double-boiled chicken soup, wanton la mian, etc. Desserts were Souffle Egg White Balls stuffed with red bean and banana, Chilled Aloe Vera with osmanthus jelly in honey lemon juice and longan almond jelly. It was a very satisfying lunch. :)

Soup Craze

2011-12-13T22:51:00.002+08:00

Marieann is suddenly obsessed with cooking soup. She has been experimenting with various ingredients and cooking the soup with the help of the domestic helper. Guess who is the guinea pig? Poor me! Lol. :P

Christmas at the Gardens

2011-12-12T16:39:00.000+08:00

Here are some photos of the Christmas decor at the Botanic Garden.

Happy Birthday, YM

2011-12-11T20:29:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, YM.
Hope it is a great day for you,
fill with lots of love and great memories.

Love,
HM and family :)

Last Lunar Eclipse of 2011

2011-12-10T21:46:00.000+08:00

Tonight Marieann, my neighbour and I witnessed the last lunar eclipse of 2011. I am really glad that I managed to see it because the next one won't happen until 2014. And knowing life, who knows what can happen in the next minute. :P
We didn't travel all the way to Labrador Park. Instead we camped at our "front yard" - The Botanic Gardens lol. There are plenty of wide open spaces at the garden and with zero cloud cover tonight, it was perfect for viewing the moon. Best of all, there was no crowd! We could watch the lunar eclipse in peace while enjoying the cool evening weather. :)

Maximum eclipse - the moon in darkness

End of total eclipse - the moon reappearing

Overdue Team Lunch

2011-12-09T22:30:00.004+08:00

My team and I had our team lunch. Finally! :) It is long overdue because it has been so hard to find the time for our team lunch.
I would usually treat my RAs to lunch after a period of hard work in our project as way of thank you and also to build camaraderie. But for this lunch, besides the usual, it is also to celebrate my handing in of my revised thesis. :) We went to Swensen's for lunch. As usual, the highlight of the lunch was our huge Earthquake sundae! :)

My wonderful team!

Our Earthquake sundae with eight scoops of ice cream :)

Handed In!

2011-12-08T22:42:00.002+08:00

I handed in my revised thesis today at 11.15am. Finally!! :)
Now it is a waiting game. I wait for news of when my oral defence will be.

New Windows Phone: Nokia Lumia 800

2011-12-07T23:16:00.000+08:00

A new Windows mobile phone is out in Singapore today. It is Lumia 800 by Nokia. It looks really beautiful and sexy lol.
I am not someone who is into mobile phones but Lumia 800 is grabbing my attention because it is a Windows phone! I am currently using another Windows phone, HTC HD Mini. If I have to change my mobile phone, I would much prefer to change to another Windows phone as I am familiar with the functions.

Here's a Nokia Lumia 800 Overview and Hands On (uploaded by NokiaMobileBlog). I realised the video was recorded on my birthday. I think it is a sign lol. :P

Ariana Grande

2011-12-06T23:19:00.005+08:00

The girls have been listening to Ariana Grande and the songs that she covered on YouTube. I am really impressed with her voice! Powerful vocals! Here are two of the songs she covered, Grenade by Bruno Mars and Love the Way You Lie by Rihanna. (uploaded by osnapitzari)

Hiccup

2011-12-05T23:11:00.003+08:00

Met with a hiccup in the process of my dissertation revision. :( Hope the difficulty would be resolved soon!

Sarang Again

2011-12-04T22:01:00.000+08:00

We went back to Sarang Korean Restaurant again, this time for dinner. We pretty much ordered the same dishes as before. In addition, we ordered Bingsu, Korean style ice kachang (red bean, orange slices, pineapple cubes, mango ice cream, etc). :)

Wild Game at Brotzeit

2011-12-03T21:43:00.003+08:00

It has been a while since we last went to Vivocity. We decided to have lunch at Brotzeit, German Bier Bar & Restaurant. The current promotion is Wild Game Season. The parents tried the Wildragout ($38.50), game stew from deer and wild boar served with buttered spatzle, red cabbage and bacon wrapped fine beans. Marieann had the Pork Cheese Sausages ($18.50) served with potato salad and mashed potato and Juliane had the mini Pork Cheese Sausages. I really liked the wildragout. The meat was tender and the gravy went really well with the red cabbage and spatzle. :) Yum yum!

The Noose Christmas 2011

2011-12-02T23:49:00.000+08:00

When I first saw this on tv, I was tickled pink by it lol. For those who are not Singaporean, The Noose is a Singaporean comedy series. It is a parody of local news programmes with fictional news reports and a presentation mimicking that of the real news.

(uploaded by mediacorpch5)

Tap Reef 2

2011-12-01T23:13:00.003+08:00

OMG. There is Tap Reef 2! Juliane has asked me to kill off my Tap Reef and install the new Tap Reef 2. I am most reluctant to do so. I have spent too much time on my Tap Reef to suddenly give it up. Actually I have accumulated too much wealth (736,880,863 sand dollars to be exact) to let it go hahaha :P
So Tap Reef 2? No, thank you. I will stick with my Tap Reef.

The One That Got Away by Katy Perry

2011-11-30T22:38:00.001+08:00

This song is beautiful, The One That Got Away by Katy Perry. Guess everyone has "the one that got away"...

"In another life I would be your girl
We keep all our promises, be us against the world.
In another life I would make you stay
so I don't have to say you are the one that got away..."

(uploaded by KatyPerry VEVO)

Consider Me Gone by Reba McEntire

2011-11-29T21:25:00.001+08:00

The girls are currently listening to this song, Consider Me Gone by Reba McEntire. I am surprised that they are listening to country music lol.

(uploaded by RebaMcEntireVEVO)

Night Safari

2011-11-28T22:59:00.000+08:00

On Saturday 26 November, my girls and I went with my good friend and his wife to the Night Safari. It is our first time visiting the Night Safari. Thank goodness, the rain stopped by the time we arrived at the Night Safari around 7.30pm.
It was really fun and exciting seeing the animals in the dark. Somehow the darkness, the night, the stars twinkling in the sky just seem to bring about mystery and excitement. It was like going for an adventure lol. We went on a few of the walking trails, took the tram as well as watched the animal show. It was almost 11.15pm when we left. The girls fell asleep in the car ride home lol.
The girls enjoyed themselves tremendously at the Night Safari. They said that they like Night Safari better than the Zoo and would like to come back again lol.

Happy Birthday, Dinh

2011-11-27T23:52:00.000+08:00

Here's wishing my lovely sister-in-law, Dinh a most WONDERFUL and LOVELY birthday today! Hope the boys will pamper you with lots of surprises and presents! Mostly importantly, may you have a good rest today. NO housework! Haha :P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Lots of LOVE
from all of us in Singapore.

Farewell, Seunghee

2011-11-27T23:36:00.001+08:00

Another colleague is leaving. She will be returning to New Zealand with her husband and her young daughter, Molly. Although I haven't had the chance to work with her, I have had the opportunity to interact with her especially about things Korea and Korean. :) Seunghee is Korean. :) She helped to get my girls their lovely hanbok from Korea.

There was a farewell gathering at her place today for our workplace colleagues. My family came along with me. The girls played with Molly who is under 2 years old. They were having a great time! Lol.

Molly posing prettily for Marieann who took this photo

Seunghee, Molly and Francis, take care of yourselves in NZ. Sad to see you leave but who knows, we will meet in the near future, either in NZ or in Korea lol. :P Take care!!

Italian Lunch

2011-11-26T16:35:00.004+08:00

It was by chance that we went to Covelli for lunch when we were at Orchard Central because the girls suddenly craved for Italian food.
Juliane and I shared a lobster bisque while Marieann and her father both ordered onion soup. Juliane ordered a Hawaiian pizza, Marieann a Seafood spaghetti, their father Prawn risotto and I had Duck confit. The girls really enjoyed their lunch.

Good News

2011-11-25T23:29:00.003+08:00

My counselling school has 100% passes for their PSLE results! That is good news indeed. :) I am really happy to know that all my counsellees will be moving on to secondary schools. I hope they can get into the secondary school of their choice. :)

PSLE 2011 Results

2011-11-24T21:38:00.000+08:00

The results of PSLE 2011 are out today. I wondered how my counsellees fared. I sincerely hope that they can get into their choice of secondary schools.

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

2011-11-22T23:07:00.004+08:00

The girls' father bought them a new toy. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. It was a promise by their father to the girls. He promised that he would buy it if the girls passed their exams but he didn't specify the range of marks they had to get! Sigh. He also bought a PS3 station so that they can play Skylanders. Well I am sure he has bought for himself some PS3 games too.

New Korean Addiction

2011-11-21T22:24:00.001+08:00

My girls and I are now hooked on another Korean historical drama that is currently showing on Channel U lol. It is really a torture just waiting to know what happens one episode at a time. We managed to rent all 5 volumes of the Korean drama, The Great Queen Seondeok. :) That's a total of 25 dvds (3 episodes in each dvd) to watch lol. :P

20:11, 20.11.2011

2011-11-20T20:11:00.000+08:00

Another unique time and date. :)

Sarang Korean Restaurant

2011-11-19T21:10:00.004+08:00

We had lunch at Sarang, Orchard Central because the girls wanted to buy the Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack from a games shop at OC. However the stock was not in yet.

It was fairly late, close to 2.30pm when we had lunch. Not a lot of people having lunch then so the food was served pretty fast. We ordered Drunken Pork, Ginseng Chicken Soup, and Dolsot Bibimbap and for dessert, cinnamon pancakes. The food were delicious and the pancakes were yummy. We would be coming back here again for meals. :)

My Chinese Name

2011-11-18T22:14:00.004+08:00

This results of this Blogthings quiz is so eerily accurate! My Chinese name does have the Hui character in it!! :)

Your Chinese Name is Hui

This name, meaning intelligent and wise, fits you completely. You are very bright.
Enthusiastic and optimistic, you get a kick out of stimulating, intellectual discussions.

You could spend a whole weekend studying philosophy or interesting religions. You crave enlightenment. (NB: Actually, I prefer studying Wicca than philosophy! Haha :P)
You love that there is always more to see or do. The world is big, and life is long.

What's Your Chinese Name?

MIA Cooks

2011-11-17T20:11:00.004+08:00

My father left for Xiamen yesterday and my mother would be flying over from Taiwan to join him. My girls are already missing him because after my mother left for Taiwan, he would always cook what they wanted to eat, such as chicken rice, pineapple fried rice, laksa, and cuttlefish.
They hope both their grandparents will come back before the new year to enjoy yummy home-cooked food again.

Last Session of 2011

2011-11-16T22:09:00.004+08:00

This is the last week of school. Since last week, I have started wrapping up my cases. Most of the counsellees were sweet and told me that they will miss me. I will miss the counsellees too, especially the P6 counsellees as they will move on to secondary schools in 2012. I wish them all the best for their PSLE results.

Revised

2011-11-15T21:34:00.005+08:00

I am done with my revision. It is now over to my supervisors. My colleagues/ friends are really sweet and gave me a cupcake as a reward for my hard work. :)

The End is Near

2011-11-14T21:18:00.001+08:00

The end is near, very near...

Wish You Were Here - Avril Lavigne

2011-11-13T23:19:00.003+08:00

Wish you were here...

Holiday

2011-11-12T21:46:00.003+08:00

The holiday has started for my girls. Their school closed one week earlier than the other primary schools because it is a full school (both primary and secondary schools are on the same premise) and the Secondary 4 students are having their O level examinations. They are happy that they don't have wake up early in the morning. Me too as I don't have get up at 6am to wake them up! Lol. :)

11.11, 11.11.11

2011-11-11T11:11:00.003+08:00

You only see this once in a hundred years. I was updating the weather on my phone when it was the above time. It is pretty amazing to see it as it happened. :)

My Kind of Toast

2011-11-10T21:10:00.000+08:00

I usually have Ah Kun's toast without the kaya, just with butter. Always love the the taste of butter melting in my mouth. :) This what having butter with my toast says about me lol.

You Are Content

You aren't afraid to take responsibility for your actions - or place the blame on whoever deserves it.

People see you as both genuine and spontaneous. You are the real deal.

You want to experience the world without judgment. You are totally open to experiences.

You have a deep desire to play by your own rules and do things on your own terms. You can't be fenced in.

What Does Your Toast Say About You?