Farewell IV

Yes, it is yet another farewell for a colleague and good friend.

Today, we went to RSVP at Park, Park Hotel Orchard (former Crown Prince Hotel) for its buffet lunch. It has semi-buffet ($19++) or semi-buffet + main course ($28++). Its semi-buffet has a range of appetizers, salads, healthy greens, fresh seafood, two kinds of soups, various kinds of bread and an array of desserts and fruits. If you go for the semi-buffet + main course, (which I went for) you could order one of the following: sea brass, tenderloin, veal, chicken, penne, spaghetti. Plus if you have DBS card, it is a 1-for-1 deal, really worth it. =)

Today is Liz's farewell lunch. There were seven and a half of us: Bai Rui, Liz and Greg, Clara and Stanley, Kin Meng, me and Juliane (my girl, thus the half, lol). Before lunch, we were catching up with one another, such as how was the new job?, how's life at u-know-where?, etc, etc. When everyone arrived, we started tucking into the buffet with gusto! Hahaha. I really enjoyed the appetizers and salads. Most of my friends enjoyed the fresh seafood selection: prawns, mussels, crab, oysters. I really liked my Chicken main course which was cooked in 2 ways - thigh confit in soy-ginger and breast as roulade and baked. Yummy. Juliane ate quite a fair bit too and she liked her desserts and grapes. I was very good today, I didn't touch any of the desserts. I only tried minute amount from Juliane's desserts and found them all too sweet. Hmm, I guess that is a good sign for me. Lol. Here are pictures of the lovely desserts which I can't take any more :P and my chicken main course.





After lunch, we presented Liz with her present and card. We got her a set of Japanese bowls (5 pieces) which she could use in her new home. She will be getting married at the end of the year. Congrats! Here are our lovely photos. :)













We lingered at the restaurant to chat further, catching up with each other on what's happening and future plans. We only left when the restaurant closed. It is sad to see another one of us leave. But I am very sure we will keep in touch as we have all become such good friends!

PS. It seems like I am forever organising farewells for good friends. Hmm, just wondering who is going to organise mine when it is my turn to go? Lol. A good friend mentioned he would organise it in the journal room, if not the Admin Blk foyer! Oh dear. Lol. Maybe I will organise my own farewell and invite good friends to come. Will you come? Hahaha.

Sentimental Fool

"The Ghost Whisperer" never fails to make me shed a few tears every Friday. Although I hate crying, I can't help but continue to watch the show. I know I am such a sentimental fool. It is my Achilles' heel.

In line with my sentimental mood now: a few quotes that I like

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk being called sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave, he's forfeited his freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free.
Leo Buscaglia

In the hours of distress and misery, the eyes of every mortal turn to friendship; in the hours of gladness and conviviality, what is our want? It is friendship. When the heart overflows with gratitude, or with any other sweet or sacred sentiment, what is the word to which it would give utterance? A friend.
Walter Savage Landor (1775 - 1864)

Our whole life is an attempt to discover when our spontaneity is whimsical, sentimental irresponsibility and when it is a valid expression of our deepest desires and values.
Helen Merell Lynd

Pasta Dinner

I had to go to Takashimaya to get something tonight. So we took the girls out for dinner as well. As we both got home from work quite late around 7:30-ish, we only arrived at Takashimaya 8-ish pm. We took the girls to Pasta Cafe, Basement 2 of Ngee Ann City because they were hankering for spaghetti.

We ordered the following to share:
a New 1+1+1 Combo ($22.90++): Mushroom Soup + Seafood Pesto Cream Spaghetti + Bacon & Potato Penne Gratin.
The Mushroom soup was full of bite as mushroom were chopped finely and blended into the soup which was thickened with cream. The girls enjoyed the soup.


The Seafood Pesto Cream Spaghetti was average. Nothing spectacular. But I do like the creamy sauce and of course the seafood - half a slipper lobster, a prawn and a mussel.
The Bacon & Potato Penne Gratin was actually quite nice, not too cheesy. The penne was cooked in a light tomato base, and grilled with cheese. The bacon was crispy and the penne was not too dry.


Grilled Tender Pork Loin with Apple ($18.90++).
It is boneless pork loin grilled with apple and cheese in an egg coating, resulting in an egg omelette look-alike. The pork loin was served with sweet tomato concasse. I thought this dish was quite interesting with the apple, cheese and the pork but the tomato concasse seemed a bit too much, overpowered the unique combination.


The girls shared a Meatball & Sausage Spaghetti ($14.90++) which came with homemade chicken meatballs and chicken sausages sauteed in a special tomato sauce. The girls enjoyed it but I thought it was a tad too sweet for my liking.


I also ordered a Potato & Leek Soup which came with two pieces of garlic bread. However, I didn't get to drink much of the soup as the girls had almost finished it up. I had gone off to Taka to get my stuff after ordering the food. Thinking I would save time but came back with my soup almost gone, lol.


For desserts, the girls shared a Strawberry Short Cake. I didn't try it but it looked nice. Hubby ordered a single scoop of coffee ice-cream which came with corn flakes, nuts and he ordered marshmallows to go with it. I only tried a teaspoon but found the coffee ice cream too bitter. :P The girls however enjoyed sharing the ice cream with their father.





Hmm, strange, most of the dishes with the tomato sauce, I seemed to find them too sweet. Could be the result of my sugarless diet. :P

PS. I have yet to get my sugarless mooncakes. Must really go get them! Lol.

Tremors

(Updated 13 September, 10:51pm)

No, not talking about the movie "Tremors". Although it is quite funny to watch (being a comedic monster movie), the original "Tremors" actually spun off 3 more from it, lol.

Ok, I felt the tremors again at 7:53am, or maybe slightly earlier as I just sat down next to my laptop. The lamp post next to me was shaking. Hopefully it is the aftershocks and not another earthquake. Fingers crossed. I wonder how it is in Indonesia, must be quite bad for them.

Updated 13 September 2007, 10:51pm.
What I felt this morning was actually another earthquake in Indonesia. Hope the earthquakes will cease.

By the way, the various "Tremors" movies are "Tremors", "Tremors 2: Aftershocks", "Tremors 3: Back to Perfection", and "Tremors 4: The Legend Begins". (Yes, I have seen all four, lol.) There is also a Tremors: The series. Hahaha.

I Feel the Earth Move under My Feet...

"I feel the Earth move under my feet!"
No, I am not singing to the song of Martika. I literally felt the Earth moved under my feet. I felt an earthquake this evening at about 7:15pm. It lasted for at least 4-5 minutes. The tremors we felt were from an earthquake in Indonesia measuring 8.4 on the Richter scale.

I was sitting down to have my dinner when I started to feel giddy, kind of like having vertigo. Then I noticed that various objects in my flat were moving, like the chandeliers moving to and fro, my mother's antiques in her display cabinet shaking, the plants "trembling", our Chinese cabinets' handles "clanking" away. The chair I was seated on was moving ever so slightly and the floor was shaking too. Lol. I told the girls that we were experiencing an earthquake. But they couldn't feel the shaking at all. They are probably too young or not sensitive enough to feel the shaking sensation. But they could see the things moving around in the flat. Lol.

Once a teacher, always a teacher, I immediately seized this golden opportunity to explain to the girls what was happening and the concept of an earthquake. I also showed them pictures of the effects of earthquake such as shaking and ground rupture, fires, landslides and avalanches, and tsunamis. (Ah, the wonder of Internet.) They seemed to understand pretty well. Smart girls. Lol. I think they deserve some praise for their quick understanding. Hahaha.

This is not my first time experiencing an earthquake. I don't mean just feeling the tremors of an earthquake that is happening in a neighbouring country. I experienced my first real earthquake when I was in Taipei, Taiwan during my yearly visits to see my mother's family. I think I was in Secondary 1 or 2. It was pretty scary that time. The whole bed was literally shaking away. My first thought, however, was not that of an earthquake but that of a scene from 'The Exorcist' where Linda Blair's bed was shaking because of demonic presence. Hahaha. Yes, I watch too many horror movies. Lol. Anyway, that was a learning experience for me.

"I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you're around" (I Feel The Earth Move lyrics)

Oh dear, now the song is stuck in my head. Hahaha.

Travel Bug II

Still hunted by the travel bug, lol.

Am thinking of going away at the end of the year. Quite a few destinations in mind:

• Dubai: To visit my mentor, Evelyn who is now working there and who has been asking me to visit them.
• Brisbane: My second home. To visit my uni friends: Clare, Zarinah, Lachlan as well as my markets!!
• Sydney: To visit my best friend, Min. We last saw each other in 1998! It would be absolutely wonderful to catch up with her and hang out together.
• Melbourne: Many fond memories of long road trips and shopping.
• Perth: Never been there before and I could also visit an old friend, Colin. Lol.
• Mexico: To visit a professor who has been asking me to visit him. I would love to look at the Aztec and Mayan ruins.
• Taiwan: To visit my relatives.
• ??

Still thinking of places to visit, still dreaming of places to visit, ...

Any suggestions for a lone traveller?

Travel Bug Attack

I have not been away for a holiday since 2005.

2005 was one lucky year where I managed to go overseas twice. First, in July 2005, I went to a conference in The Netherlands and after the conference, I stopped over and stayed in London for a week. I really enjoyed myself, visiting my brother and his family, and of course, just wandering round London on my own. I was really recharged when I returned to Singapore.
Later in December 2005, we took the girls to Brisbane for 9 days. The girls totally enjoyed themselves but it was tiring for us, the parents. Hubby vowed never to bring them overseas again until they can care for themselves. Lol. That was my last trip overseas.

I am dying to go away somewhere again. Travelling is a way of recharging and reconnecting with myself, thus I value this "quiet time" very much. Travelling is also a perfect chance to further myself – to learn more about the world around me. I like to be immersed in a completely different world. Oh yes, besides the travelling that I enjoy, I also enjoy the airplane rides (the more turbulent the better, just like roller coaster rides, hahaha, :P) and airplane meals! Yes, Friends have commented that I am really weird. LOL.

Did this Blogthing about my Travel personality.

Your Travel Personality Is: The Adventurer

For you, travel is how you learn about the world. And you like to learn the stuff that's not in guidebooks. You truly have wanderlust. When you're not traveling, you're dreaming about where you'll go next. And your travels are truly legendary - they leave you with stories you'll be telling for the rest of your life!

What's Your Travel Personality?

Hahaha. So true of me.

I AM JUST DYING TO GO SOMEWHERE.

Aussie Day

I woke up rather late this morning around 10am. I thought might as well take the girls out earlier and maybe come back earlier to continue my work again.

We couldn't decide where to go, wasted half an hour thinking. The Central? Nah, been there so often. Hmm, Liang Court? But not much choice there. Vivocity? Too far, by the time we get there, will be quite crowded. Holland Village? Would be quite crowded too. We couldn't decide on the place so we switched to thinking about what food to eat, maybe that would make thinking about where to go easier. Lol. Japanese? Aiyo, eat almost every week. Korean? Girls were whining, "We don't want Da Chang Jin". Chinese? NAY! Western? Hmm, can consider. Ok, so we could have Western. Now back to where to go? Sigh. Another thinking session. Lol.

We just decided to drive around. First stop to Dempsey Road to have a look. Lots of eating places there, bound to have one that suits us, no? Well, quite a number of possible places but next time perhaps. All seemed quite crowded because people were there for brunch. Before we left, hubby said to me, "You like this Dempsey place, don't you?". It caught me off guard for a while. Huh? He continued to say, "It is so Aussie-like, so carefree and relaxed". Hahaha, he is right. Dempsey does remind of places I have been in Australia - Sydney, Melbourne (Lygon Street, etc) and especially in Brisbane where I was studying, like Milton, Paddington. The non-hurried, relaxing, carefree kind of atmosphere. Sigh. I miss Australia. I want to go back :(

Hubby decided to go to this restaurant at Time@, Millenia Walk. Sigh, anywhere also can, now that I am feeling down. He brought us to Outback Steakhouse, an Australian theme restaurant. OMG! It's, it's so AUSSIE!! Hahaha. That brought some cheer back in me. The decor, the atmosphere, the spirit - all so Aussie, so relaxing, so casual, so laid back! G'day, mate! Lol. I was actually snapping photos round the restaurant like a darn tourist. Hahaha. Fair dinkum, mate! Lol.







Looking through the menu was even more fun - names of Australian states and cities (Cairns, Queensland, Alice Springs, etc), lol. We ordered the following:

For Aussie-tizer: Bushman 'Shrooms ($14.90++) - fresh mushrooms breaded and deep fried and served with a spicy ranch dressing dip. This one is a winner! It tasted a lot better than it looked which wasn't fantastic. The mushrooms were really fresh and the juices are sealed in within the mushrooms. So be careful when you bite into it. :) You should eat this dish while it is hot too, otherwise, it becomes a little soggy because the juices has seeped out (but it's still ok). The mushrooms went really well with the dip which was a little spicy but creamy and yummy. The crunchy outer layer and the mushroom, together with the dip, makes it a great appetizer and it certainly whet up the appetite for MORE. =)


I ordered from Down Under Favourites: Alice Springs Chicken ($22.90++). It is grilled chicken breast and bacon smothered in mushrooms, with melted Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese on top. It came with a honey mustard dressing and Aussie chips. But I had the chips changed to cole slaw. The chicken is really DELICIOUS. LOL. The chicken breast was grilled just right, not too dry with its juices sealed in. The bacon was crispy and the cheese was cheesy but not over-powering, which is nice, lol. When taken together, it is perfect. I found the chicken tasty enough on its own, without having to dip into the dressing, which I found a tad too sweet.


Hubby ordered from Grilled on the Barbie: Chicken on the Barbie ($18.90++). The chicken breast is seasoned and grilled, served with BBQ sauce and fresh veggies but hubby changed it to mashed potato. He said his grilled chicken was a tad dry but still acceptable. Instead of dipping his chicken into the BBQ sauce, he preferred to dip into the honey mustard dressing. The mashed potato was quite good. It is the first time I have eaten mashed potato that has its skin mashed in too. It gave the mashed potato an extra bite.


The girls shared from Joey Menu: Kookaburra Chicken Fingers ($9.90++). It has three strips of chicken, served with chips and honey mustard sauce. The girls enjoyed eating the chips and the apple juice that came with their kids' meal. Lol.


We were given a free dessert because we had spent over $60 (and paying by credit card). It was a real surprise! We ordered the Cinnamon Oblivion ($12.90++ but free for us). It is vanilla ice cream covered with pecans and cinnamon apples topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce. There were little bits of Bushman Bread (toasted and cubed) tossed in. Thumbs up for this dessert! The bread really added a different dimension to this dessert. The caramel, the cinnamon apples, the pecans all blended well with the vanilla ice cream, making it exotic in taste. Yummy, yummy. (Yes, yes, I know I am over my sugar intake for the next two weeks. Lol. Let me indulge, JUST for today. I promise.)


On the whole, the food was great. The atmosphere was really relaxing and friendly and Aussie. Hahaha. Coupled with the excellent service too, we will definitely be back again, soon. :)

***
With a sugar high, I walked a bit at Millenia Walk (with family tagging behind, lol). I haven't been here for five, six years. Not enough, needed to walk a bit more.

We went over to Marina Square. Again, I haven't been here for just as long! So MANY new shops, and the layout is all different. :P After walking around for about an hour, we took a break and had tea at Chocz. The girls shared a Black Forest cake, hubby had a Mocha while I had my Lavender Flower tea. Lavender is good for lifting exhaustion, stress and anxiety; soothing headaches and migraines; calming of nerves. The tea is just perfect to round up my day. =)

***
So much for going out earlier to return home earlier to do work. We only returned home at 5pm. Looks like I have to burn the midnight oil again. :P

Taking a Break

I am still working away in the night, or rather in the early hours of the morning. Am trying to finish my work by tonight if possible or at least before Monday. I want to get it out!

Taking a break now. Nothing relaxes me like writing a blog post. Lol. Don't have to think much, just write from my heart. :)

Feeling hungry. Let me go see what's in the fridge. Be right back. :P

***
I'm back. Had half a chicken pie. Didn't dare to eat too full since it is so late at night now.

I weighed myself on the scale. Realised that I have lost weight again, only 46 kg now. It's not intentional. Hmm, I guess when I injured my knee, I avoided walking too much. Thus, I didn't raid the fridge as much at home or go for tea at work because of my knee pain. Interesting how an injury can change one's habit. Lol.

Ok, enough of break. Back to work. Looks like I may work through the night now that I am energised. =)

Catfights!

No, I am not involved in any catfights. Lol.

I have seen catfights (literally) when I used to stay on a landed property near the junction of Stevens Road and Bukit Timah. It is a scary sight and sound. Meow! Meow! Slash, slash! Meow, MEOW! Especially in the dead of the night. *Shudder*

I grew up with my brother. So we didn't really have "catfights", it was more of throwing punches and bites. Lol. But when my girls came along, when they were mobile on their own, I witnessed my first catfights. I was amazed! Survival (female) instincts or what? I don't know. Hahaha. My girls had their first catfight when they were 2 and 4 years old respectively. What was the fight about, I couldn't remember. All I remembered were they were using nails to scratch each other bloody and pulling each other's hair out! I was dumbfounded. It took me a while to recover before I could react to break up the fight between them. Oh, I had trouble pulling them apart. Pulled one away, the other would rush forward to try to scratch or pull hair. Until I had to bring out the CANE! Only then did they stop. Lol.

Although they are scared of the cane, kids being kids, they continue to break into fights every now and then. Hopefully, when they get older, they will be less incline to fight? Keeping my fingers crossed. Lol.

Dinner Gathering

Juliane's Godfather, Anthony is back from UK on business trip and we all met up for dinner. Unfortunately, the girls are still recovering so they stayed home.

We met at Paragon at 7:30pm. However, as The Soup Restaurant (Chinese) was packed, we went to Tambuah Mas Indonesian Restaurant instead. This is the first time I am ever in an Indonesian restaurant. Reason being, I can't take spicy food so I have always avoided such restaurants. Being more familiar with the restaurant, Anthony ordered the dishes: tahu telur, yellow chicken curry, prawns, satay and of course, steamed rice. I am pleasantly surprised. The dishes weren't as spicy as I thought it would be. But then it could also be with every mouth, I had a sip of water. Hahaha. I thought the yellow chicken curry was nice, especially the gravy, really yummy with rice. But so sinful, full of coconut milk :P

Over dinner, we talked about work, family and holidays. Anthony talked about their holiday plans to travel a bit in Europe before they return to Singapore next year. So nice! Another good friend, KL joined us around 8:30pm for dinner. More talking and eating ensured. :) Around 9:15pm, Anthony took leave as he had to get to the airport for his 11:30pm flight back to UK. We promised to email each other and meet up again the next time he is back.

We remained at the restaurant and chatted with KL. One interesting topic came up. KL was saying that her parents mentioned that once her brother was married, he would willingly fetch his wife to places but not the parents. For that, I defended hubby. He is the total opposite. He would willingly fetch his mother to places but not his wife, i.e., me. He would ask me to take the cab or worse, take the bus instead. I am not joking. Just like the other day, I said I would like to get some mooncakes. He told me to take the bus to Takashimaya and he would meet me there. Hello, I injured my knee, can't walk properly, remember?! Sigh. Anyway, he did eventually come to pick me up to go get mooncakes. Feeling guilty, I think. Lol.

We soon parted ways with KL close to 10pm. On the whole, this is a good day for me. Had the famous Chicken Rice for lunch at my workplace, tried Indonesian food for the 1st time, had fun catching up with good friends. Always good to end the day with good food, laughter and fun. =)

Mini Outing

This week is the school holiday week so I have no counselling. I have actually planned to go for movies, shopping (window, lol) and such but all plans were scrapped because of my knee injury. Sigh.

After having rested my knee for most days of this week, I decided to make a little trip to the city to run some errands in the afternoon. I decided to take the bus, rather than the cab. I thought it is time to test out how my knee is recovering. Hmm, going up the bus wasn't much of a problem but coming down the bus presented a little bit of a problem. My knee kind of "locked up" and there was slight pain. Yikes. Anyway, I went to Takashimaya to look for gift ideas because I needed to get a gift for someone. I saw a few potential items but I will need to think about it. :)

Next errand on my list - to look for sugarless mooncakes. Takashimaya Square B2 is having now selling Mooncakes from the various hotels, restaurants, cafes and bakeries. I know, so far, only Marriott Marriott Hotel and Habour City Restaurant sell sugarless mooncakes. However, after walking one big round, I could find neither of them. I guess I may have to go to their respective selling points to get their sugarless mooncakes. I was really disciplined while walking my round. I resisted trying all the samples. Three cheers for me. Lol.

My knee was starting to feel a little stiff as I have been on my feet for almost 1.5 hours. I decided to take a rest and have a nice pot of rosebud tea at Coffee Club while waiting for hubby to come after work. When he arrived, we went to Swiss German Sausage Bar for dinner. I ordered a Pork Bockwurst ($9.20) which came with 2 pork sausages, sauerkraut and rosti. Hubby ordered a Sausage Platter set meal ($13 now) which came with 3 different sausages (Pork Bockwurst, French Chicken Garlic, Nuncher Weisswurst) and pasta. Along with the set, also came a free soft drink and a choice of soup or salad or dessert. Hubby chose the soup which was clam chowder. The sausages were quite tasty. But I was very full after just 1 sausage, quite filling. Or maybe it's because I finished all my rosti and sauerkraut which I like very much. =)



After dinner, we bought some pies and buns back for the girls. We also got a box of (two) 4 Yolk White Lotus Paste mooncakes. The yolk is what I love most about mooncakes. The more yolks, the merrier it is, LOL.

Images around Singapore II

I have my camera in my bag wherever I go. I don't want to miss out on the chance to take nice photos... Lol. Just some photos I have taken around Singapore of HDB flat, Clarke Quay, flowers, nature.

Who Stole My Crackers?

Owing to my new diet, I am now snacking on healthier snacks (I think, lol). I would stock up on crackers from Carr and have a tub of low fat cream cheese in the fridge. Every now and then, when I get “hungry” or rather just itching to eat something, I would take a cracker or two, slap some cream cheese on top. Ah, simple delight but yummy. Lol. That would satisfy my “hunger” for some time to come.

Yesterday morning (Tuesday), after the girls left for kindergarten, I decided to have a few crackers and cheese for a light breakfast. When I looked into the fridge, I saw my cream cheese but my crackers were no where to be seen. Ok, maybe someone moved it to the other fridge. (Oh yar, we have two huge fridges at home because we entertain so much that we need the space to store the food.) Ok, it is not there either. There was still 1/3 of the crackers left, about 10-12 pieces. How could anyone finish all that between the last time I had them (Monday night) and Tuesday morning?? Felt very puzzled and vexed about my missing crackers... I was craving for crackers and cheese. :(

While relaxing with the girls and watching Discovery channel in the evening, Juliane whipped something out of her school bag and asked if we wanted to eat "hot hot" wan. Huh? What is she talking about? Lo and behold, in her hands were my missing crackers!! (The crackers were seasoned with black pepper, thus "hot hot" or spicy to her.) There were only about 4 or 5 crackers left. Hahaha. The little girl has actually brought the crackers to kindergarten to share with her friends. That is generous of her. But I had to tell her that next time, she has to ask for permission first before she brings anything from home to kindergarten. Who knows, what she will decide to bring from home to share with her friends??

***
Juliane's generosity reminded me of another incident. It involved Marieann and her generosity too. Marieann was then in Nursery 2 (2006) at her previous kindergarten. Being the oldest in class, she sometimes helped the teacher to maintain order in the class. One afternoon, when her father went to pick her up, she asked him to buy her 3 Princess DVDs. Her father was perplexed as he had just bought her 1. She explained that she was helping the teacher to keep her classmates quiet. For those who were noisy, if they were to keep quiet, she promised to give them the Princess DVD! Her father was speechless! LOL. She was very generous, with her father's money! Hahaha.

Going Sugar Free

I have been going sugar free since 11 August 2007, for 3 weeks and 3 days. Ok, there were a few teaspoons of dessert here and there spaced out between the weeks. I had it under control. Lol. :P

As you all know, it was initially very difficult for me going cold turkey. I was feeling lethargic, emotionally volatile, having headaches and cramps and so on. Now, those symptoms are gone. Happy! =) I am finally getting used to doing without real sugar. Lol. But to be honest, to satisfy my craving for sweet stuff, I have been taking sugar free items suitable for diabetics.

I find the sugar free selections at Tierney's, Jason's and NTUC Finest pretty good. For cookies, Joseph's Sugar Free Cookies range are good, actually taste like the real thing such as the chocolate chip cookies. For wafers, there is this German brand, Veelmann which is very good. Simply delicious! :) There are also sugar free jams. The strawberry sugar free jam I bought tasted just like the normal strawberry jam. Have been taking sugar free soy bean milk too, which doesn't taste all that bad.

I have also become more conscious about reading the nutrition food labels. Never knew there is so much information there. Upon comparison, I realised I have been taking lots of unhealthy stuff in my food in the past - high sodium, high fat, high sugar, high carbo, ... :P Definitely will be more careful in my selection of food now. Indirectly, my girls will benefit too because they always like to share my food (don't know why though) and they will be healthier too. Hahaha.

Now, if only I can find sugar free cakes and ice cream, my sugar free world will be perfect. LOL. Ok, maybe I am asking for too much. But I guess I can go for the next best thing - sugar free mooncakes! Hahaha.

PS. Oh yes, the sugar free items are much more expensive than their usual sugar laden counterparts. But I guess that is the price to pay in order to be more healthy. No pain (from the pockets), no gain (for health). Lol.

Updated 5 September 2007, 12:25am
I just realised that there is another place I haven't tried looking for sugar free stuff there - Tanglin Mall's Market Place. It is the closest one to me, yet I'm too lazy to walk there :P. The other shops are actually en route to my home from the counselling school. I guess in a way it is easier to drop in on them since I am passing by them, anyway. Lol.

Busted Knee II

Never realised a busted knee would result in an old friend of mine contacting me from Perth, Australia. Lol. This is the wonder of technology and blogs. Hahaha.

Thanks, Colin for your comments. It is really nice to hear from you! No lah, I am not still complaining about the aspirin you gave me after so many years. Hahaha. But you must admit, it is quite funny when we both look back at that incident now. =)

My knee is getting better. Sometimes, the pain is still there but it is definitely more bearable now than a few days ago. Sometimes, I would forget myself and walk too fast. Or like today, I ended up with the wrong foot on the steps and I jumped down the step so to avoid the pain from the bending of my busted knee. That action of mine drew a horrified gasp and shaking of his head from a good friend who didn't know what to say to me. Lol, :P Ok lah, I should be more careful while my knee is trying to heal and not do funny things like jumping down the steps. Promise.

So my knee is getting better. Thank you, my Friends, for all your concerns.

Painless Sunday

Today is a day of rest for me. Literally, for my knee.

Woke up in the morning, my injured knee was a little stiff. Thank goodness, I haven't suffered from any leg/ calf cramps lately (usually on the right leg too) , otherwise I won't know how to tolerate the pain from the cramp and from the knee. Hahaha. Must really give thanks. Applied the gel, took my anti-inflammatory medication and my painkiller, put on the knee guard and all systems on the go. Lol.

So far, I seemed to be taking well to this painkiller, haven't broken out in any allergic reaction yet. Shhh... better don't speak too soon, lol. Well, that was what happened with panadol. I was initially okay with it and then one day, anaphylaxis (the most severe type of allergic reaction) just hit me! Now, only the children's paracetemol suspension is safe for me. But then, I also can't take more than 1 teaspoon or the allergic reaction would kick in too. But with just 1 teaspoon, it doesn't help much to relieve pain (or fever, depending on what I am taking the paracetemol for). I can't win, huh? Lol.

Am thinking about finding out if there are other painkillers out there that I can take without causing me a severe allergic reaction. It seems my body doesn't do half measures. It has a mind of its own, "Hmm, allergic reaction? Hell, let's a party and go for the most severe kind". LOL. I would have to undergo a patch test. Sigh. Why can't just use my blood and see the reaction?? See how lah. Definitely don't relish the idea of being poked with various drugs to see how I would react. Yikes.

So far, so good. No pain from my knee except once this evening when I walked too fast. Ouch. Getting kind of worried as I would finish my painkillers by tomorrow morning. I hate the feeling of pain. Oh no, am I getting reliant on the painkiller? Lol. Really hope I will be okay, lol. Keep me in your prayers, ok? Thanks. :)

Chinese (Dim Sum) Lunch, Japanese Dinner

***
Dim Sum Lunch
After seeing the doctor, it was almost 11am. So we or rather I walked very slowly over to Shaw Centre for Dim Sum at East Ocean Teochew Restaurant. It has been a while since we last had dim sum. We had Char Siew Pau, steamed carrot cake, siew mai, chicken glutinous rice, mango prawn fritters, fried white bait, and the girls' Ninja Turtles (actually it is shrimp paste made to look like turtles, lol). It was a fairly quick lunch and hubby sent us home by 12pm before he went to see a dentist.




***
Japanese Dinner at Sho-U, The Central
In the evening, we decided to go out for dinner. Well, we (the girls and I) slept throughout the afternoon and so we were well-rested and have energy to burn. Lol. We went to The Central. We tried out a Japanese restaurant called Sho-U. The decor is really striking, there are 3 seating sections: red, black and white. We were led to the white section which faces the river. Nice view.

We ordered the following to share.
For appetiser - Lotus Root Chip with Tuna and Kanpachi (Sho-U recommendation, $15++). It is fresh tuna and kanpachi slices, placed on top of lotus root chip which add crunch. However, we didn't realise the tuna was raw. So hubby had all the tuna while the girls and I could only eat the lotus root chips. Lol.


For sashimi - Maguro ($12++). This dish hubby had it alone. It came with 3 pieces of tuna. Hubby said it was very fresh and nice.


For seafood - Unagi Tofu steak (Sho-U recommendation, $16++). There is a whole piece of unagi (river eel) sandwiched between silken tofu and lightly fried like the Agedashi tofu. It is then cooked in sweet teriyaki sauce and presented with grated Japanese yam poured over the tofu. This dish is really refreshing, nice and healthy too. A new twist to the Agedashi tofu with the unagi (I think, although they didn't say it is Agedashi tofu) and the fresh grated yam gives it an added texture. I like this one very much!


For hot pot - Soy Bean Shabu Shabu (Sho-U recommendation, $25++). This soy bean soup (therefore the soup is white in colour) came to the table with ingredients such as tofu, mushrooms, spinach, bak choy in it. You could order either chicken or pork slices to cook in the soup. We ordered the pork slices. There is also a vinegar sauce for us to dip the cooked ingredients. They didn't mention but I think the vinegar sauce is flavoured with yuzu, thus giving the pork slices an extra omph when dipped in it. A very healthy soup, not oily, not salty but yet still full of flavour. I like this one too!


For staple - Kinoko Tsukemen ($12++). It is the hot version of cold soba. The green tea noodles is dipped into a hot and thick mushroom broth. The green tea noodles went very well with the broth. A very healthy and refreshing combination. I could finish this one on my own! But alas, I have to share with the girls. Lol.


For dessert - Chef's Plate of Speciality Desserts (Sho-U recommendation, $15++). It is a trio of dessert. Usually, the chef will pick out the desserts for you so you just have to wait and be surprised! I highly recommend this dessert for all who have a sweet tooth and like to be surprised! =) We made a special request to the chef for strawberry stuff and we were obliged. Our trio of desserts had a chocolate panna cotta with strawberry sauce, strawberry ice-cream and strawberry mousse. The girls went wild, well, me too but I had to control myself! Ok, I did have a few teaspoons, not more than 5, I assure you, my friends who are concerned for my health. :)


Overall verdict: the food is very nice and healthy (at least those dishes that we ordered) but can be quite pricey. Maybe once in a while is okay for the pockets. Oh, as usual, some photos of us. :)

Family Outing to the ...

DOCTOR'S! Lol. Yup, you didn't read wrongly. Lol. :P

Juliane has a bad cough with running nose, Marieann has a stuffy nose, hubby's throat feels funny and of course, I have my busted knee. We were at the doctor's in the morning. He is my family doctor as well as an old family friend so I call him "Dr Tan Uncle". Uncle was really surprised to see all of us, "Wah, family outing, huh?". Hahaha. Juliane and Marieann both have the same thing - a cold and hubby is just starting to have a sore throat. As for me, I am all healthy except for the knee. Must be all that multi-vitamins, fish oil and what-not supplements I have been taking since knowing I am pre-diabetic. :P A blessing in disguise, huh? Lol.

As for my knee, it is neither arthritis (e.g. gout, rheumatoid arthritis) nor torn ligaments/ muscles/ tendons. THANK GOODNESS. Hahaha. Uncle was bending, twisting, and turning my right knee to diagnose what was wrong. It seemed my knee cartilage on the underside of my knee cap is inflamed. This is mostly likely due to trauma. Well, I did have a really big bruise just above my knee cap but I couldn't remember how I got it.

Anyway, I was prescribed anti-inflammatory medications and a Voltaren Emulgel to apply to my knee. Uncle took a long time before prescribing me the medications because he has to make sure non of them contain aspirin, panadol, amoxicillin, and salicylate because they would give me anaphylaxis (the most severe type of allergic reaction, I usually react within 30-60 minutes of exposure. Ain't I just so "lucky"? :P). Thus, he often has a big headache prescribing me medication. Lol. :P I also have to wear my knee guard for a week. I was also told to avoid walking up and down stairs and to have rest. Oh dear, my work place is full of stairs!! Hmm... maybe work from home for next week. :P

Updated 1 September 2007, 10:30pm
My knee seemed to be feeling much better now after the medications. But I am still walking very slowly and with a slight limp. Don't want to overwork it.