CoCo Thinking Out Loud...

I'm Moving!

2011-10-27T17:41:00.001+08:00

Just found out that my quota for my photos on this blog has reached it's limit. So the option they gave me was to pay for additional memory space. Normally I wouldn't mind paying, but their price plan was per annum!

20 GB - $5/yr
80 GB - $20/yr
200 GB - $50/yr
400 GB - $100/yr
1 TB - $256/yr
2 TB - $512/yr
4 TB - $1024/yr
8 TB - $2048/yr
16 TB - $4096/yr

Doesn't it makes more sense that I make a one-time payment for a specific amount of storage space? Why do they have to charge me every year? It doesn't make sense, so my solution was... GET A NEW BLOG!

So this is my new blog, CoCo Thinking Out Loud II.

It'a a little plain now, but I have to build it up slowly. So meanwhile, keep reading! Cheers!

Children's Day Party 2011 Part 1

2011-10-05T21:12:00.000+08:00

Jolie's class was having a mini celebration today, and the kids are asked to wear their own clothes to school, so I dressed Jolie up into a pink fluffy princess. I think she loved it!

Since it's a party, I made some carrot cupcakes topped with my favourite swiss meringue chocolate buttercream frosting! Isn't it pretty!?

Almost all other parents brought snacks and sweets to the party. There was so much snacks, it was enough to feed the kids for a few days! All the kids looked so pretty! Since it was a special occasion, the teacher allowed us to stay for awhile to take some photos. The kids have so much fun dancing!

After taking a few photos, I headed home. It's so fun being a toddler, so carefree!

Little House Pets

2011-10-02T20:15:00.001+08:00

Ever since I was a little girl I have a fascination for lizards. I would chase them down and try to catch them. I don't understand why people are so grossed out or freaked out by them. I could understand if they feel that way about cockroaches, they are gross and dirty and just, ewww... But lizards are clean and I love their smooth and cool skin! I case you're wondering, yah, I did managed to catch some, that's how I know.

Besides, lizards are great for your house as they eat insects! So they actually HELP you get rid of pest like ants and bugs! Why would I ever want to get rid of them? So I have about 2 lizards (I think) living under my living room sofa, but their eating habits have grown to become quite different from your regular house lizards. I noticed that they would come out whenever the living room is empty and start roaming around looking for food.

Looking for insects? NO! They are actually feeding on whatever bits of food that Jolie dropped on the floor! Somehow my lizards have decided that they are sick of yucky insects and decide to switch to bits of biscuits, cakes, rice, bread crumbs!

I have noticed this for quite awhile now, but one day, while my parents were over, I told them about my new house pets. Dad was so intrigued that he placed a few cake crumbs on the floor near the edge of the sofa. When we came back to the sofa a few minutes later, the crumbs were gone!

So one day I decide to lure my little pets out and try to take a video of them...

Aren't they adorable??? Haha... The only problem now is that every morning, I have to go around the living room, picking up their poop poop. Sigh, you think it's possible to toilet train them?

Keira's Full Month Party

2011-10-01T23:52:00.000+08:00

We were invited to baby Keira's full month party, so we dressed up Jolie in her fancy outfits and off we go!

We bought this necklace yesterday when we were out at Junction 8 Bishan. Jolie didn't get to buy a pair of cute shoes as they didn't have her size. She was pretty upset when we had to leave empty handed. I totally understand her frustration of finding a pair of cute shoes but can't buy as they didn't have your size! Sob... Ahem, anyway, we thought we cheer her up by letting her choose an accessories at one of the pushcart stores. She chose this very cute necklace that looks great on her!

We have already reached the carpark of the condo when we realised that we didn't prepare any ang-pao! So we had to drive to the stores nearby to buy some. Duh... Anyway, we finally got there and we were one of the first guests there! After awhile Char's mama finally carried the star of the day to party, but like all full month babies, she's snoozing away.

Jolie's at an age where she's quite curious about babies, and she would mimic all the adult's reaction and make her voice extra squeaky when she said, "awww... so cuuute!". I think it would take another two years before little Keira and Jolie can play together, by then Jolie would be the big sister!

Char Mama and little Keira.

Yummy food! The highlight HAS to be the mini eclairs. It's delicious! I wished I could eat more, but we had to save some for the other guests!

Jolie loved them like mad! I noticed that at every buffet, there's always not enough eclairs or cream puffs! At my next party I'm gonna make a whole tray of them!

After Jolie had her fill, she's all pumped up and ready to go crazy! She had so much fun running around and playing with balloons. She was so envious of the people swimming in the pool, but I didn't bring her swim suit, so she had to make do with just playing with the water. Poor daddy had to make sure she doesn't fall into the water!

Later the cupcakes char ordered arrived and it was really pretty!

Jolie was super estatic and got to eat a whole chocolate cupcake all by herself. After that, it was almost time for Jolie to take her nap, but I really wanted to see baby Vivian, so I waited for Winsome to arrive with her little precious. When they arrived, I was amazed how big baby Vv has grown! I got to carry her around like a little michelin baby, and I think she was a little dazed. I was a little surprised that she allowed me to carry her around without her Mommy.

Jolie saw me carrying the baby and wanted to carry too! She shouted "MINE MINE MINE!" and stretched out her arms. So I asked her to sit down and placed the baby in her arms. Baby Vivian must have sensed something was wrong and started to cry the moment I put her in Jolie's arms. Oops...Haha, better give Winsome back her little precious!

It was way passed Jolie's naptime, so we bade our farewell and sent Jolie to my Mom's place. It was fun, can't wait for the babies to grow up so that the girls can all play together!

fashionista

2011-09-22T10:08:00.000+08:00

In the past month or so, Jolie has grown to become very conscious of her appearance. We used to be the one to decide what she wears, but now SHE's the boss. Whenever she see us getting dressed up to go out, she would get all excited and yelled, "clothes!" Then she would run to her her cupboard and starts to dig for clothes to wear. But all her dresses are hung up quite high, so she would yell for us and demand that we carry her while she chooses her outfit. Sometimes she would stand on the floor while we show her the choices. "This one? This one? This one?" The little fashionista would then make a serious face and go, "errrrmmmm.... Yi Gor!" Which means "this one!" in Cantonese.

She is such a sporty girl, we were wondering if she would become a classic tomboy. But based on her choice of clothing, she turned out to be a very girly-girl, loving dresses which she calls, "dancing clothes".

Every time she dressed up, she would admire herself in front of the mirror, spin around and strike a pose. And whenever there's a new audience, like upon reaching her grandparent's place, she would strike a pose to show off her outfit first even before going inside the house, fishing for compliments.

Like all fashionistas, some of her fashion choices weren't really logical, like one day she spotted her winter boots that I hid above on top of the cupboard. She insisted on wearing them even though it was freaking hot. We suggested her to wear something light, but she insisted, so we let her wear them. It looks really cute though, very Korean pop.

She seems to really like this sun dress I bought for her from Taiwan. But the halter neck would be a bit too cooling for her if we were going to the shopping centre. So we had to improvise by letting her wear a top underneath.

By the way, she pee-ed in her pants shortly after taking these photos. -_-

Well, not all of her choices are good. One day, she saw my dad keeping the laundry and chased after him. She pointed at a colourful top that belonged to my Mom and put in on. She loved it so much that she wore it for hours!

My little vain pot... :)

Birthday plus Mid-Autumn Festival Party

2011-09-10T22:59:00.000+08:00

Tonight brother, sis-in-law and us would be going to my parents place for mid-autumn festival dinner. Before dinner was ready, Jolie took over the camera and started taking photo of everybody, starting with her "gong gong"...

Her goofy "Kau Fu"...

Finally, dinner was ready! Check out Mama's and Papa's feast! I commented that it was as sumptuous as New Year's reunion dinner, and Mom replied that it IS a reunion dinner! A mid-autumn reunion dinner.

After we filled ourselves with dinner, we cleared the table and brought out the cake Cobby bought for me. My durian Birthday cake! Yeah!

Happy Birthday group photo!

May all my wishes come true!

Dad and his wacky antics! Don't know where she learnt that, but Jolie likes to stick out her tongue when she takes photos!

Happy birthday to me!

Thumbs up for the durian cake!

Jolie never had durian before, so we wondered if she would love or hate the fruit or not. But after one bite, we eagerly asked if she liked it, and she nodded "YES!" Haha! It's official! We have a durian lover!

Amazing! 5 adults and 1 child and we polished off the WHOLE 20cm cake!!!

Even more amazing! After the amazing dinner, polishing off the whole cake, we even had space for Mooncake! Haha, but hey, it's mid-autumn festival, it was COMPULSORY. :) This year, we tried my very first attempt in making mooncakes.

It was pretty ok, but of course, it's not as excellent as the ones we bought from Orchard hotel, Huating.

Then Dad brought out the one that Sis bought from Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong. There was alot of debate on which one tasted the best. Dad liked the one Sis bought, Cobby and I liked the one that I bought, and bro, well, it all tasted the same to him. -_-

Check out the pomelo lantern that dad made!

Cool!

Another compulsory thing to do on mid-autumn festival. Play with lanterns. This year, Jolie got:

A Bee / Butterfly (I don't know what insect was it) lantern from my Mom.

Dancing lady lantern from my Dad.

In case you're wondering why we were laughing like mad, it's because of what Dad said. He was trying to get the dancing lady to face the camera, but dancing lady wouldn't turn, so he cursed in Cantonese, "TURN AROUND YOU @#$%!"

So while we concussed from overeating, Jolie took her bath and put on her brand new Dora pajamas. She's very into Dora now, so she totally loved her new outfit.

What a super fun-filled / food-filled night! We didn't let Jolie play outdoors with her lantern as it was super hot, humid and hazy. But I think she didn't mind. :)

Army Half Marathon 2011

2011-09-04T21:55:00.000+08:00

As the title suggest, this entry is not about me, but my darling Cobby's 2011 Army Half Marathon (AHM) Run.

This year, he bought a Nike+ Sportband, so he managed to keep a record of all of his practice runs and the actual marathon itself. Actually, he bought the pair of Nike running shoes at a sale. When he got home, he realised that the model he happened to choose allows the runner to put a sensor inside the shoe. So we went out to get the sportband. Quite cool actually, they would track all the runs, and the pace.

So his camp has been very "on-the-ball" when it comes to this year's AHM. They made it sort of mandatory for the men to go for practice runs around the camp three times a week, each time increasing in distance. I think it was 4km, 8km, 16km, every monday, wednesday and friday. I'm really impressed, as I suck at running.

I blame my secondary school for my phobia of running. Each time I think of running long distance, I'm reminded of my teenage years, running around the track for my 2.4km IPPT. I remember the sweat, the pain in my sides, the breathlessness, trying so hard to suck in air that I want to vomit. All the time I'm thinking...when is it going to end!? And when it's finally over, the PE teacher tells me that I didn't meet the timing and had to do it again next week. Oh... that mixture of pain and frustration and disgust! sob....

Ahem, anyway, back to Coby's run. Below is the route they ran. 21KM! Phew~!

This is the Nike+ record of Cobby's run that day. Quite consistent! Better yet, look at the timing! Less than 3 hours, not bad man!

The online program also lets the runner record down the little details of the day, so here was Cobby's thoughts.

I find it so funny that he would write the comment, "AWESOME" as it seemed very unlike him. When I asked him, he said that there was only a few options to choose from. Ah~ I see... But his note, "VERY TIRED" was definitely his own input. Haha... 2 words says it all right?

Anyway, I was very proud of him and asked him to pose with his medal. But he wasn't very enthusiastic with his medal, as he said that it was a medal of pain and reminded him of how painful the run was. Honestly, I was quite worried, as there was frequently news of healthy men who just drop dead after a run. So I kept reminding him not to push it, relax and take it easy. Thankfully he's fine. The only injury sustained was:
1. One mega blister between his toes
2. skin abrasions between his inner thighs
3. skin abrasion between his arms and the side of his torso
4. pain in his knees for the next few days

Amazingly, he didn't have ANY muscle aches. How is that possible!? If it's me, I would probably have to crawl around for a few days. I guess all the training did helped. Oh, I also made him put hansaplast on his nipples so that there wouldn't be any abrasions. :) You're welcome! Haha... Once again, proud of ya! Maybe next year we could bring Jolie along and go for the fun run.

Happy Teacher's Day 2011

2011-09-01T23:33:00.000+08:00

It's teacher's day soon, and I wanted to give Jolie's teachers a gift to thank them for taking care of my baby. So I have been looking around for the right gift. Unfortunately, all the presents are SO LAME! All were crappy fake flowers, cheapo towels and soft toys that weren't even cute. -_-

So I think I would do what I do best, which is to bake something. Practical and yummy! So I made a big batch of almond biscotti, which was perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

Then I put them into ziplock bags and wrapped them up in coloured tissue paper. These are the ones that clothing shops use to wrap up clothes. They are great as gift wraps, or stuffing into a gift box. Reuse, reduce, recycle! :)

I think Jolie should contribute some to the presents too, so I got her to scribble on some construction paper as background design, and I added the cut out wordings to make the front of the card.

Jolie also helped to decorate the inside of the card.

Before class started, I was talking to some grandparents. One of them said that her 12 year old granddaughter spent the whole night preparing almost 30 gifts for ALL the teachers that has ever taught her, from Primary one to six. It was her last year in primary school, so I guess it was her way to thank all her teachers. I thought that was really impressive, that a 12 year old would have such great personality traits such as generosity, gratitude, determination and perseverance to prepare so many gifts. Of course, I think the parent who had to help her out must have had a hard time too! Haha...

I wonder what kind of child would Jolie grow up to become? Would she be the grateful one? Or would she be the bochup type? Anyway, hope the teachers enjoyed their presents. Happy Teachers Day!

Singapore Presidential Election 2011

2011-08-27T22:01:00.000+08:00

Amazing, we have 2 elections within a year! The last one was the General Election, which was very exciting. This time round was the Presidential Election, which, honestly, wasn't as exciting for me. Personally, I could not make up my mind on who to elect, even when I was standing in the voting booth, staring at the ballot paper. Because I thought that all four candidates were qualified to be the next President of Singapore.

It's such a coincidence that all four candidates have the surname Tan.

Dr. Tony Tan
Dr. Tan Cheng Bock
Tan Jee Say
Tan Kin Lian

So on 27 August 2011, we headed to the same school behind our block to cast our vote. Like they say, voting is secret! But I will give you a clue on who did I vote for.

It's definitely a "TAN"
There's a 50% chance that he's a Dr.

Sorry, lame joke... Cobby taught me that. Haha...

That afternoon, while we were out, I want to commemorate this special day by enjoying a TAN-tart (egg tart) for tea time.

Hohoho.... another lame joke... Sorry, inspired by Bread Talk.

So anyway, for details on the Election, click here

Cobby and I hung out at Vivo City that afternoon, and saw that they were having the mooncake festival there.

We usually buy our mooncakes at the annual fair at Takashimaya, but since we were there, we might as well get it here this year.

We also bought these adorable plates from Daiso, aren't they cute!!??

For dinner we headed to one of favourite place, Peramakan, which was at Keppel Club. Ended up a little late to pick up Jolie that evening, but it was really enjoyable. :)

Jurong Bird Park August 2011

2011-08-14T22:20:00.000+08:00

Decided to go to the Jurong Bird Park! Once again, Jolie decided to choose her own outfit and went with this new sun dress I bought for her from Taiwan. Turns out to be the perfect outfit for a hot and sunny day!

Love the whole row of orchids and flowers overhanging the entrance. So matching with her dress!

We expected the weather to be really hot and sunny, so we planned to reach there early, but as usual, when you have a child, it's very difficult to stick to the timetable, so we ended up reaching there close to 10am. So disappointed, I was expecting a Mcdonalds breakfast, but there wasn't any outlets there! Boo! Only some crappy restaurant...

After breakfast, we started out with some adorable penguins. They were just about to feed them breakfast too! Adorable!

We went indoors to see the penguins, but the place was so packed with people. I always felt bad for the poor penguins, the enclosure was SO small, I wonder if they missed Antarctic, or where ever they were from, where they were free to swim in the open sea. Instead of standing around in a small room day after day, like a prison with no windows!

One of my FAVOURITE birds, owls! I always have a thing for owls, I wished that I could grab them and rub my face on their fluffy bodies! Of course, I could imagine that would be quite traumatic for the birds. :) But don't they look so beautiful? The room was so dark, my crappy camera could not take any proper photos! This was the best shot... I think I need to buy a better camera. -_-

We found a seat near the stage so that Jolie could see the birds in action

Giant pelicans

Vultures

Adorable macaws!!! They were very noisy though...

I think the highlight of the show must be this parrot named "Amigo" (friend). Coincidentally, we had the exact same parrot, with the same name when we were kids! How strange is that!?

After the show, we began our tour around the park!

At the show Jolie saw everybody drinking this mango drink, and naturally, she wants one too! Oh well, it's such a hot day. Besides, it turned out to be delicious! We had to fight with Jolie for a sip. :P

I think this canopy thingy is a new attraction at the park. It's like a giant bird cage where all the small birds fly around freely, and there are bridges all around for visitors to feed the colourful birds. On theory, it seemed like a good idea, but in reality, there were just too many people and the draw bridges were just too narrow. Visitors would like to stand on the bridge to feed the birds, but that would mean blocking up the way and others would not be able to pass. duh...

One of the bird was so funny, Cobby was trying to coax it down from the branch, but it was insistent in staying on the branch. So both of them kept reaching for each other, nearer and nearer, until the bird was drinking upside down!

It got so hot and sunny later when we got to the birds of prey section, that we saw one of the eagles taking a bath! It was so adorable seeing this huge bird of prey, fluffing it's feathers in the cool water like a giant chicken. Kind of envious too, as it so hot, I wished that I could take a bath too!

It's kind of sad seeing these magnificent birds of prey, kings of the skies, couped up in cages. I know their cages are very big, but compared to the infinite skies, this was just sad. Maybe the Jurong bird park could invest in a giant aviary for them, I think they need it more than the little birds. :(

It was almost lunchtime, so we skipped most of the other attractions and had lunch before heading home. As Jolie grows bigger, she is more capable of enjoying the attractions that we bring her to. Family outings are getting more fun, I just wonder how much of all these memories would she remember?

Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary

2011-08-11T23:24:00.004+08:00

It's our 4th wedding anniversary! 4 years ago we had our customary wedding, how time flies! This year, it was on a Thursday, a little odd, so we decided to put Jolie at my Mom's place and go for a fancy lunch instead of the usual dinner.

We decided on db Bistro Moderne, which is a celebrity restaurant at Marina Bay Sands.

For all the glory details of our delightful meal, click here!

Like I said, it was absolutely delightful and we left the restaurant very happy. But after that we didn't really plan on what to do next, so we just decided to go to takashimaya shopping centre so that I could get Cobby his present.

Oh, by the way, this is MY present. :))

9 diamonds to signify 长长久久. Haha, I just like the bling... Thank you to the most wonderful husband in the world! MUACK!

I know it's hard to match up to his awesome gift, but I'm a very poor woman you know! Besides, it's SO hard to find a gift for him as he's such a practical man with not much wants! The 'wants' that he have I couldn't afford leh, like a Bugatti Veyron,

Or perhaps, something that can fit in a box, like a really nice watch,

Sorry, I would need to buy more TOTO first. :P But what I can afford is a nice wallet to replace the one that he's using, which is all torn and tattered. (He requested it btw)

Sorry that I can't get him an equally awesome present, but I'm glad that he liked his new wallet.

After that we really have no idea what to do, so we drove to the Singapore Expo as we remembered that there was some sale there. But when we got there, we realised that they have all ended and the place was like a ghost town. duh...

So we decided to head back to my mom's place for dinner. It wasn't an exciting day, but I enjoyed it as I was spending it with my hubby and we get to celebrate our anniversary together, happily.

Happy National Day Singapore 2011

2011-08-09T23:28:00.003+08:00

Happy National Day Singapore!

A few weekends ago, we just happened to be around Marina Square in the evening when we realized that they were having a full dress rehearsal (or preview? not sure), so Cobby, Jolie and I walked over to the ArtScience Museum and had a SPECTACULAR view of this year's fireworks. It was splendid, even Jolie enjoyed it! She said that it was very "loud", but when I asked her if she liked it, she exclaimed that it was "beautiful". So I suggested that we come back again on the actual day and view it again.

But on the actual day, we chickened out as we feared that it would be too crowded and parking would be a problem. So after breakfast we decided to invite my parents to join us to go to IKEA. I was planning to dress Jolie in all red, like us, but she insisted on choosing her own outfit, which was a white frilly skirt and a lacy pink top. I don't know why I didn't take a picture, but she looked like she was going to a ball! Haha!

So we bought some stuff from IKEA and headed back to Mom's place. While Jolie was taking her afternoon nap, Cobby and I went to Yishun Golden Village cinema and watched the movie, Cowboys and Aliens. Well, the cast was good, you got Daniel Craig, who looked so rugged and cool as a cowboy, you got Harrison Ford and you got the beautiful Olivia Wilde. But somehow, the story line was just too weak, so it was like being given one bite of a cookie when you are starving, not enough.

But it was the first time we went back to Yishun Golden Village for a movie since we were teenagers, so it was really nostalgic. They recently revamped it, so the seats were super comfy and everything was very clean.

After the movie, we went back to my Mom's place to have dinner and watch the National Day Parade. I looooove national day parades, but I must be honest, the show was a super nooze! The camera kept shooting the main actors, so nobody watching at home could see the rest of the poor students dancing on the stage. I know they were trying to focus on the storyline, but I can't help but feel bad for the poor kids who spend so many weekends practicing.

But all was forgotten when the parade ended with the spectacular fireworks and everybody was singing the classic national day song, "We are Singapore, we are Singapore, we're a nation strong and free forever more..." Never fails to get me all choked up with emotions. :)

After that we (yah even us at home) stood up and joined the nation as we recited our pledge and sang our national day anthem. It's a great way to remind us how much our country meant to us and how blessed we are.

With that we ended another National Day. Happy Birthday 46th Singapore!

National Day 2011 @ Jolie's Playgroup

2011-08-08T23:08:00.004+08:00

Jolie's playgroup was celebrating National Day on the 8th, so over the weekend I made a National Day cake to bring to the party. It's not perfect, but I felt pretty proud of it.

Normally I would have informed the teacher 1st, but somehow, I lost the teacher's contact number when I upgraded my phone's software over the weekend. -_-

On Monday morning, the teacher called and asked us to come to class early as the chairman of the RC (sort of like the landlord of the play house) would be bringing a big cake to the celebration party. The teacher wanted to combine both class so that there would be enough mouths to finish the big cake.

When I heard the news my heart sank like a stone. Someone else would be bringing a big fancy store-bought cake?! I totally lost the confidence to bring my own little crappy looking cake, and I felt so depressed and disappointed. So I mob around the house, tweet about it, and felt more encouraged when I read my friends and family's advise.

I should be proud of my home made, over-flowing with love and pride for my country cake! Besides, what on earth am I suppose to do with it if I don't bring it to the party?

So Cobby, who was on leave today, headed out to Jolie's playgroup with us. When we got there, it was already crowded with parents, grandparents, children and even some siblings. Same thing, the crowd made Jolie a little anxious, but this time I was able to be with her, so she settled in soon enough. We bought this top just yesterday.

Jolie feeling very festive.

Soon the "other" cake was revealed. Damn, it's impressive...

The parents surrounded the cake, fighting to take a photo of it. It was quite scary when so many toddlers surrounded the cake, I was worried that someone would accidentally shove the whole cake onto the floor. But... that would have been advantageous for me! Then everybody would have to eat my cake! Muahahaha..! Ahem, sorry.

So we sang the birthday song and all the kids blew out the candles. I think the cake must have been coated with everybody's saliva. :P

Somehow, I was appointed as one of the cake cutters, so with so many mouths in the room, the giant cake was soon no more. When everyone had at least one slice of the big cake, suddenly someone noticed my little cake at the side. When I told them that I made the cake, they were so astonished. They thought that it was a STORE BOUGHT CAKE and was discussing where was it bought as it looked so nice.

**BEAMS WITH PRIDE**

One of the parents then asked if we can slice it up to try it. I was more than happy to do so!! So I happily served my cake and some even claimed that it tasted better than the big cake! Hohoho!! *floating a few inches off the floor* SO glad that I brought the cake!

So with the cake done, we all gathered in front of the flag and recited our pledge and sang the national anthem. After that, the kids started dancing to national day songs.

Cobby suddenly had some emergency at work, so he had to leave halfway through the party.

Kids dancing with little flags. There was so many children, that I helped out as much as I can, distributing the flags, dancing and singing with the kids, etc. Somehow other parents weren't so "Onz". Besides, I LOVE national day songs.

Later they distributed party poppers. I wasn't sure if the kids can handle the loud popping sound, or if it's safe for them to play with these little explosives. But with proper supervision, we managed to keep it safe and the kids loved it!

Jolie was so funny, she's tried to stuff confetti back into barrel.

Here's the teacher singing "Count on me SINGAPORE! Count on me SINGAPORE..." The kids only know how to shout "...PORE!!!"

Lesson learnt from previous attempt in taking group photo for toddlers. This time round I suggested that they sit down on chairs. Better, but still not perfect. This is pretty good for a bunch of 2-3 year old who had too much sugar.

Not bad leh, the chairman even bought gifts for the kids, which was a metal piggy-bank.

The parents got a Fila bag, which was pretty good, and a torch light with a burglar alarm. As expected, the kids got hold of the stupid burglar alarm and kept switching it on inside the room. Oh my gosh it was SO loud! Why can't people use their brain when they buy gifts? Give a kid a torch light with alarm? They would annoy you non stop! (fyi I have disabled the stupid alarm)

The flag was Jolie's art project for this year's National Day. I must say, after helping out in this party, my throat was all dry as I had to raise my voice over all the kids so that they can hear me. I asked the teacher how does she do it everyday? She replied, "with many many years of practice!" Hats off to you!

Anyway it was a great party, very fun and festive. I love National Days and I love that with each passing year, Jolie learns more on how to join in the fun with us.

Jolie's 1st Racial Harmony Day 2011

2011-07-22T23:53:00.003+08:00

Jolie didn't go to class until Wednesday due to the flu, so on Wednesday the teacher told me that they will be celebrating Racial Harmony Day on Friday. How am I suppose to find a traditional outfit for Jolie and prepare a traditinal snack in 2 days? So I just had to let her wear her Chinese New Year outfit and prepare something simple, like cornflake clusters.

This was the full outfit. Personally, I didn't like it cause it looked a little like pyjamas. Mother-in-law bought it, so out of respect I only let her wear the top with a pair of jeans during CNY.

When we got to the school, the entrance was like a Hollywood red carpet! Parents were praising each other's kids on how cute they were and snapping pictures, children were shouting in excitment. Jolie was actually quite excited when we left the house, but she got quite nervous with all the comotion. She wouldn't go into class, and when I got irritated, she started sobbing! What a party pooper!

The teacher had to carry her into the class...

Parents were asked to come back nearing the end of class for the party. All the kids were dressed up!

Some of the treats the kids had, my cornflake clusters, home made spring rolls and polar sugar rolls. Yumz...

Jolie really liked the home made tofu spring rolls! I liked them too, made by one of the mamas. Unfortunately, my cornflake clusters were a little too hard, so not very popular with the kids. :(

My pink Chinese princess. Wanted to dress up in my CNY clothes too, but I think I would be overdressed among the other mamas.

It's pretty cool, some of the Indian mamas also made their home made traditional treats, like this chickpea salad. All the adults love it, but only some kids knew how to appreciate it. But I think it's great to expose kids (and parents) to other culture's dishes.

OMG the classroom was so noisy! Kids screaming, parents chatting, teacher shouting...

The teacher also brought some henna and started to draw for the kids. But the Indian mama kindly offered to do it and soon, all the kids crowded around the mamas, taking turns to have their hands drawn.

Jolie's first henna! Well, this was actually her second one. The 1st one was destroyed when she accidentally smeared it. Later she would have her 3rd one as this one would be destroyed it as she swiped it onto her legs during the group photo. -_- (I understand it's educational, but seriously!? Henna and hyper 2-3 year olds don't mix)

A poor attempt to take a class photo. 2-3 year olds just wouldn't sit still!!!

Oh well, time to dance!

We stayed way pass her usual class time, so when she started going all quiet, I know it's time for her to go home and rest.

Our 1st class party. Quite fun, but my ears were really tortured by all the noise in that enclosed space! It felt instantly comforting when we left the noisy classroom into the peaceful void decks. Next year, I'll get nicer outfits for Jo and more kid-friendly treats!

2 X Party!

2011-07-09T23:24:00.003+08:00

Busy day! Got 2 parties to go to today. At lunch time, we're going to Zinc's baby full month party. In the afternoon, we're invited to Cobby's friend's son's 1st birthday party. So after breakfast, Jo picked a dress all by herself and we head out!

Check out my new heels from Taiwan! Very sweet and comfy!

We finally got there, but Jolie was too distracted by the playroom next to the function room and pulled me there.

So while Cobby was enjoying his buffet lunch at the function room, I was next door with Jolie. My stomach was growling as I watch enviously at the party through the glass windows. How I wish I could eat and hang out with my friends, but I guess I could only wait for Cobby to finish.

Finally I got to eat! Check out Zinc Dad's creation.

Baby Vivian was busy sleeping. She looked like an Angel.

After hanging out for awhile, we headed home so that Jolie could take her nap. The birthday party was 3-6pm at the Temesak Club, but Jolie slept so long that by the time we got there, the party was about to end! Thankfully we got there just in time for the cake cutting. The parents hired party coordinators to make it a Mickey theme party. Check out the birthday cake!!!

Balloon scupture!

The happy family.

There was also a balloon sculptor to make balloon creations for the kids there. He made an adorable lion for Jolie. Cobby and I were thinking of hiring one for Jolie's next birthday party.

The birthday boy. What big round eyes!

There was also a colouring station where kids can colour Mickey mouse pictures.

Mummy and baby posing for a photo!

Like I said, we were so late that we only hung out for awhile and we're off! Haha, but it was quite a fun occasion. Pretty inspiring too, gave us alot of party ideas.

We were suppose to go for dinner, but Jolie wanted to go play at the playground, so we let her play a little. It's the weekend anyway, let her have a little fun!

For dinner, we headed to SAKE sushi at Holland Village. After dinner, we pampered ourselves with a little Häagen-Dazs!

We couldn't finish, but it was a great way to end a day. Shiok!

Taipei Trip 2011 - Part 4

2011-07-03T23:16:00.004+08:00

Last day in wonderful Taipei! Like I said in my last entry, we have made reservation at the Hello Kitty restaurant. So the plan was to check out, have lunch, hang out awhile before heading out to the airport. But Sis suggested that we ditch the Hello Kitty restaurant and go to Danshui(淡水) instead. The Hello Kitty restaurant looks very interesting, but I wouldn't mind seeing another side of Taiwan. Besides, it's very convenient, just take a MRT train straight to the end of the line.

I really like how the scenery changes slowly from the grey city landscape into a lush and green sea side town. Our MRT definitely don't have a view like that!

We had to walk a distant to the 淡水老街 (old street), where there were plenty of tourist stuff like food, drinks, and souvenirs. On the way there, we saw a local restaurant named 大块牛扒(Big piece steak). Well, with a name like that, the food couldn't go wrong! Haha... So we thought we go settle our brunch there. It's pretty cool, the uncle would cook all sorts of steak at the entrance, so you place your order there and go sit inside.

It's awesome! It's like our coffee shop style western food, so it's a real good deal! One price for a steak with vegetables, pasta, soup and even free-flow of drinks! The stall was very vintage, filled with locals eating there before starting their day.

The soup was some sort of mystery vegetable soup, but pretty tasty. Oh and they serve warm mini croissants with the soup that literally melts in your mouth! My god, I wanted to eat the whole basket, but Sis told me to control myself!

Sis ordered lamb chops. Oh I forgot to mention that they add an egg on top of everything else. I think you wouldn't need to eat anymore after you clear the whole plate. -_-

I ordered their beef steak. It wasn't like restaurant standard, but it was pretty tasty. I could eat more, but Sis kept reminding me that there would be more food later at the 老街, so we just ate about half and headed out.

We didn't take much photos as we were busy shopping and walking. We were also a little concerned, as we were running out of cash. Haha, so we had to keep reminding ourselves that we had to control our spending. But it proved quite difficult as there were so many interesting shops! After walking awhile, I almost screamed and dragged Sis across the road because I finally spotted a cafe! I need my daily fix!

Check out the store owner's overweight golden retriever! He didn't even bother to move when I sat down next to him. It was pretty hot outside, so he chose the coolest spot in the store (under the ceiling fan) and just lay on the cool marble floor. Damn dog sure knows how to enjoy life.

When my order came, I frowned at how fancy my cappuccino looked. Then I checked the order form and realised that I ticked the wrong box and ordered a mochaccino. ARGH!!!

GREAT. The last time I had a mochaccino, I was 18 years old. Now my 1st coffee of the day was ruined! Sis asked me to order another, but I didn't wanted to waste more money. So I just drank sulkily. >_<

Anyway, we quickly drank and continued to explore the area. Maybe we shouldn't have eaten the steak, because there was so much snacks and food, but we were quite full and didn't feeling like eating more! But after walking awhile, we turned to the street facing the sea!

The place was very crowded with the Summer vacation folks, but I find that very festive. There were lots of people eating giant ice creams, so I wanted to try too!

Looks good, but its actually very bland, like watered down milk, and very icy. Not creamy or smooth. Threw it away after a few more bites. :P Sis ordered spicy grilled squid. I thought that they would be rubbery, but they were surprising soft, and quite good!

Ai-yu and lemon drink. Super refreshing and shiok on a hot day like this!

There was an uncle selling CDs of himself playing the aboriginal porcelain flute. There were classic Taiwanese songs and also newer songs. He even played the flute on the spot and he was so good! Sis bought his CD, saying that she likes to buy local music from different countries that she goes to.

We walked on a found a store selling local egg based cakes, but in Spongebob Sqaurepants design!

I bought these four designs. We were already going home, so I thought it would a nice breakfast for Jolie!

Cannot tahan, really curious how it tasted, so we decided to sacrifice Patrick the starfish! He was delicious! Very crispy on the outside, spongy and egg-gy on the inside! YUMZ~!

By then we have over-shot our time there and quickly took a MRT back to Taipei city. I think there's more to the place, but we didn't have the time. Their official website was quite boring, so I think this blog best describe the place. :)

So when we got back to the hotel lobby, I changed back into my jeans and we quickly headed to the bus station. On the way I bought two of those yummy rice dumpling from 7-eleven for my flight tonight. :)

When we checked in at the airport, we found out that Sis's flight was postphoned from 8pm plus to 10pm! So we headed to the cafeteria for dinner, and surprise! They have Hung Shifu Beef Noodles there! Cobby had asked me to bring Sis to eat the most wonderful beef noodles ever, but it wasn't in our itinery, so we didn't go. Imagine my surprise when I found out that they were selling it in the airport cafeteria.

Erm, well, it was quite disappointing, because the standard definitely wasn't as good as the one we ate at Maokong. That's the problem with franchise, the staff don't care that they were destroying Master Hung's reputation! Luckily Sis didn't order. :p So after dinner, Sis went into 'work' mode and killed time by going to the duty free stores to spy on their prices. She also found out that they have an executive lounge she can go to clear her work emails while she waited for her plane.

So when it was time for me to say goodbye, I felt a little sad. When will we have this chance again to spent time alone with each other? Not in the near future really.

This time round, I really enjoyed my flight alone. I had a great holiday, I'm going back to my family, this was great! But during the flight, my dinner didn't sit well with the shaky plane, and me watching movie on my netbook. So I threw up all my dinner! Thankfully I still had my rice dumplings, so while everybody slept, I was munching my dumpling and watching my movie. Sounds strange, but it was a great way to end my trip.

Taipei Trip 2011 - Part 3

2011-07-02T23:27:00.005+08:00

This morning we planned to go to MELANGE CAFÉ for breakfast. The popular cafe in Taiwan was well known for it's awesome waffles, beautiful interior, but also long queues. So we wanted to be there right when they open. Unfortunately, the exhaustion has finally started to catch up on me, and I was having some difficulty waking up in the morning. So by the time we headed out, it was almost 10am.

The place wasn't very far, a few MRT stops away. But when we got out, we went the wrong direction and ended up wandering around for 15 minutes before getting our bearings right and finding the place. Our happiness was short lived. The place was already full and there was a crowd hanging outside, waiting to be seated! -_- So we just took some photos while we waited.

Their menu was designed to look like a newspaper. Since we're waiting, might as well decide what we wanted to order 1st. There were SO many types of coffee, tea, drinks and yummy looking dishes! How to decide??

Most of the people wanted table seats, but we didn't mind counter seats, so we managed to get seated before many other earlier than us! Whoo hoo! The place looks so nice and chic!

Cannot tahan liao, let's order! Sis ordered this Iced Coffee Malange with Jelly (NT140)Yumz...

I ordered this Iced Dutch Water Drip Coffee (NT140). It's delicious! The coffee may be iced, but it's still very rich and strong. I think it's the iced coffee cube that made the difference. YUMZ YUMZ!

We also ordered this beautiful Smoked Chicken and Ham Pizza (NT130). It's yummy! It's cheesy, the meat was nice and juicy and there was a thick slice of tomato in the middle. Sis didn't like tomatoes, so I ate hers too. It's sweet, not sour like the ones in Singapore.

The single scoop of egg salad on the side was very yummy too! I think if they sell it by itself I'll order it too! Next, the highlight of the day, waffles! We ordered the Caramel with Ice Cream Waffle (NT130).

It surprised me. First, the texture was crispy on the outside, but dense and fluffy inside, more like a cake than waffle. Not your typical waffle. Next, there was a very slight almond taste, like in almond tea, so it was a little turn-off for me. Was it IN the waffle? Or was it the almond powder they sprinkle on top? I'm not sure.

I wouldn't say it's uber delicious, but it's not bad either. I think I prefer the ones they serve at Geláre. :) It was a great place, great ambience. We loved sitting on the counter, watching the staff prepare the delicious drinks and food for us. How I wish we have an outlet like this in Singapore!

I asked Sis what role would she play in a busy cafe like this, and she said that she would like to be the manager, bossing people around. Me, I would like to be one of the staff preparing the food. Because I like the idea that people are happy and contended after eating my delicious creations! That says alot about our characters huh!

Check out their mission statement, simple and straight forward. I like that.

Oh I wish we didn't have to leave, but we gotta head to our next destination, 五分埔 (Wufenpu Wholesale Market). So exciting! I've never been there before, so I can't wait! But we ended up being too early. The stores only open around 2pm, so we wandered around and ended up eating lunch again...

When we got inside Farmosa Chang, I was thinking, "Oh my god, I just ate a cheesy pizza, waffle and coffee. How can I eat somemore?" But then the food came...

They looked sooo good! This is one of my favourite Taiwanese dishes, 魯肉飯. (Braised pork rice) How to resist???

We also ordered the braised pork trotters, which was ass-kicking good, but we forgot to take a photo. After the meal we were SERIOUSLY full. But it was still early, how? So Sis suggested something super crazy, she wanted to go for a foot massage. I resisted and resisted, I'm very sensitive to pain! I don't even go to spa massages! But she insisted, so we went.

As if my hell wasn't deep enough, they decided to be "generous" and gave us complimentary back and shoulder massages! I wished there was someone to take a video of us two. It must be hilarious. Sis was totally enjoying her massage, complimenting her Masseuse and stuff. Me, I'm squirming about, with a permanent grimace on my face, pleading my Masseuse to be more gentle and wondering when it's going to end.

Then comes the foot massage. >.< They have comfortable arm chairs with your personal TV sets, so it's a good way to distract you from the pain. But seriously, my face was constantly frowning. Only my amazing 忍功 was preventing me from screaming and kicking at my Masseuse. I was SO HAPPY when it ended. Finally we went to 五分埔. This is the one of the very few photos we took there because we were walking non stop in that labyrinth of shops.

They have clothes for everyone! Male, female, children, even older ladies and dogs! There's also accessories, bags, shoes and even dancing costumes. What really irks me was that the shoes were all very small size, and majority(or all) of shops have a NO TRYING policy for clothes, so I didn't buy much.

I got:

3 tops
1 bag
1 pair of heels
1 T-shirt and 1 pants for Jolie

I guess most of the time was spent looking for another shop that sells a pair of heels that I liked, but no size. Also, I was hunting for a nice bag to replace the one at home. We saw one at the beginning of the walk, but we couldn't find another one that was better, so we had to walk backward to the shop.

By the time we left, it was already late afternoon. So we decided to head to Hello Kitty Sweets Restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, as it was a Saturday night, the place was fully booked when we got there! :( So if you want to go there, make sure you make reservations! Anyway, it's such a shame not to dine there, so we made reservations for lunch tomorrow, after we checked out. Yeah!

On the way back to the hotel, we saw this cute design on the MRT station walls. It features all the famous landmarks in Taipei. The Taiwanese are so good at making cute things!

So with our dinner plan spoilt, we decided to check out all the food outlets at the shopping centre below our hotel. It's pretty cool, like a giant food courts selling snacks, drinks and also restaurants. All the restaurants had long queues outside, so we decided to order our food to go and dine in our awesome hotel room. Tonight's dinner was Tonkatsu, Taiwanese carrot cake and Tau Huay for dessert. So we pigged out while we watched Glee. Shiok!

Taipei Trip 2011 - Part 2

2011-07-01T23:02:00.003+08:00

Today we go 九份(Jiufen)!!! I've never been to Jiufen, only heard about how much fun it was from Sis. Sis, having gone there before with friends, got confused and thought that I went there with her. Duh~ So when I told her that I've never been there before, it became a must-do on our itinerary. Because we had to take a train, we dedicated the whole day for this short trip. So 1st thing in the morning, we took a MRT to the Taipei Main Station stop (台北车站).

On the way there, we noticed that there seemed to be alot of children of all ages out and about. It's a Friday morning, why aren't they in school? Apparently it was the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER HOLIDAYS.

OMG...

Little kids were out for their school outings, teenagers going on short trips with their friends, parents taking their kids to nearby cities for fun. So all sitting seats for the train were SOLD OUT. Only standing seats were available, but it was a 40 minutes ride, so we tried our luck again by going to the actual Taipei Train Station. I've seen it on the outside, but I've never been inside before!

Well, it's the same response, sitting seats sold out, only standing seats. Then I decided, we're tourists! We can't let this little setback stop us from going to our destination! So we just bought tickets for the next train out to Ruifang (Jiufen stop). The only problem was... the next train arrives in less then 10 minutes!!!

OMG, we were planning to buy yummy breakfast to eat on the train, but now we only have time to sprint to the 7-eleven and grab anything that appeals to us. Long queue at the cashier! Argh! After payment we still had to look for the boarding platform. Where is it? Where is it? We were in such a rush that I didn't even have time to take a picture of the train.

It's not as squeezy as I expected, but of course, having cushy seats would have been even better. -_- So as the train moves off, Sis prepared some yummy 饭团 (rice dumpling) from 7-eleven while I drank my iced coffee.

Actually it's not so bad, we ate, drank, chatted, listened to music and admired the view outside. Before we know it, we've arrived at our destination! It's just like a very long MRT train ride!

When we've arrived, we walked across the street outside the train station and took a bus up-hill. Sis said that they've changed their crappy buses to these brand new, air-conditioned ones. You can even pay with the Easy Card (equivalent to our EZ Link Card). We took the front row seats, so we got a full view of the precarious ride up the narrow hills. It's like a scary roller coaster ride uphill. Many times I was sure the giant bus was going to hit the walls or cars parked at the side, but the bus driver just swerved pass them by mere inches. 历害, 历害...

Finally we were there!

The place was awesome! It was just rows and rows of shops selling food, drinks and interesting souvenirs. One of the first and also my favourite buys was the family of cats. At first I didn't know where to put them, but Sis suggested that I put them on my fish tank at home. Which was a marvelous idea! Look how cute they are!

We also bought interesting porcelain flute originated from their aborigines. Since it was near to Sis's birthday, I paid for hers as a present. :)

Oh I just love their winter melon drink. Best drink on a hot day! You can even buy them home! Just melt the blocks of concentrated melon drink (see at the back?) and you can enjoy the drink at home! So I can't resist and bought 3 packets. I should have bought them on the way back, as it was SO HEAVY, it's like carrying 3 packets of bricks! Thankfully I bought the recycled fabric bag Sis gave me, saved my hands from alot of pain!

The stall next to the winter melon drink was selling Taiwan sausages. Sis was trying almost every Taiwan sausage stall we came across. I'm not crazy about it, so I didn't really try. But the stall was selling wild boar meat sausage, and I heard it was quite good, so I took a bite when she offered. Oh my... IT'S DELICIOUS! Usually Taiwan sausages tasted a little sweet and artificial, but this one tasted like, like a sausage! It's moist and yummy, and delicious! Haha...

Came across something interesting. The dude would shave a GIANT block of peanut candy with a wood shaver and add it to ICE CREAM and wrap with popiah skin.

Awesome! So interesting! I was all excited until sis told me that it's a pretty common snack, you see it everywhere. -_- Wet blanket...

Another interesting snack, grilled abalone mushrooms. I thought that it would be dry from all the grilling, but when I bite into it, there was an explosion of juices inside my mouth! Yum! And it's a little spicy too!

It's not all food, there were lots of shops selling interesting clothes, handicrafts, souvenirs and also accessories! The shop that sells adorable figurines of Taiwan's aboriginal tribes also sells cute little earrings. We bought a few!

By then the narrow streets were starting to get crowded...

One of Jiufen's famous eatery is Lai Ah Mah's taro balls. I've always seen people eating taro balls on TV, so I wanted to try it.

Well, it's quite refreshing, we chose the mixed flavours with green bean soup base. I find the balls a little tasteless actually, like balls of chewy jelly. Only the sweet potatoes one tasted like, well, sweet potatoes. Because it's cold, it's a great treat on a hot day. We were quite lucky. Sis said that when she was there with her friends, they would be all sweaty and sticky. But we didn't even break a sweat, thanks to the sunny yet cool weather that day.

After awhile we came to an area that had several tea houses and cafe overlooking the pacific ocean. We ate so much that we couldn't think about lunch, but a nice cup of tea and a place to rest our feet seemed like a heavenly idea. There were air-conditioned ones but I kindda like the open-air type. So we enjoyed our coffee while listening to the insects chirping and the soft music played by the tea house. Definitely a great way to relax our senses from all the hustle and bustle of the main street outside.

Since we're resting, it seemed like a perfect setting for some music! Even though there were other customers at the next table, I gave my flute a try. :)

Haha, thank you, thank you...

With our feet rejuvenated, we started to head back. On the way back, Sis was busy looking at some fengshui stuff, so I finally got to eat my stinky toufu! Yumz... my 1st one for this trip, because sis wasn't too crazy about it.

After a few more stops, we got back to where we started and waited for the bus down. Unfortunately there was SO many people that we had to wait for SOoo long! Finally a bus came, it was a direct bus to Taipei, so we thought it would be great to have a ride all the way back to the city. But we regret that idea when the bus took off.

The stupid bus driver packed the bus with too many people, we barely had any space to hold on. Thankfully we were surrounded by ladies and not stinky or lecherous men... Worse, the driver was so reckless! He was speeding and swerving and braking so hard, all of us standing passengers were struggling to hold on to our dear lives! It was so bad, our palms were all red and sore by the time we reached the foot of the hill. Even though we weren't going downhill, the stupid driver was still driving the same manner! No way we're going to sit in this kind of bus all the way to the city, so we alighted at the train station.

The train ride back was just as eventful. We were thanking our lucky stars that the ride back wasn't as crowded. We even got seats! So we were enjoying the air-conditioning and about to doze off when the announcement came on. The train was terminating at the next station and we had to take some other train. WTF?! No wonder not everybody rushed onto the train just now!

When we got off, the locals just automatically moved on elsewhere, leaving the tourists looking all dazed and confused. We had to move to another train platform that indicated "Taipei" and hope that the oncoming train would bring us back to the city! So we got onto the train and relaxed again as the train trotted on. It was more crowded on this train, so we had to sit separately.

Sis was asleep and I was listening to my music, suddenly I looked up at the flashing digital sign on the train door saying "Taipei City". Our stop!!! I quickly yelled at Sis and we scurried off the train, only to find out that it was the WRONG STOP! Taipei City was the NEXT STOP. Oops... So we asked the staff how to get back to Taipei city and he said just take the next train on the same platform. Luckily it wasn't too long before the next train arrives. Haha... so malu~

It was already late afternoon when we got back to the hotel. We washed up and rested for awhile before heading out to dinner. Tonight we dine at 干杯Bar. Unfortunately, since it was a Friday night, the place was fully booked, so we put our name down and headed to a nearby Haagen Dazs to hang out.

So shiok, the place was so nice and tranquil, and we got window seats and free wi-fi! Of course, since we're there, we ordered waffles and ice-cream. Haha... dessert before dinner! It was so relaxing I was about to doze off. But we have one more stop, Ganbei bar!

It was great! They only got counter seats, so it's very cosy. Plus the staff are all very cool and friendly. So if you like BBQ food, beer and hanging out with good friends, Ganbei bar is a must-go!

Kill of the day...

Taipei Trip 2011 - Part 1

2011-06-30T23:07:00.006+08:00

Finally! After all the waiting, I'm finally going on a ladies only shopping trip with my Sister. We have never travelled together alone before, so this could be fun! But honestly, I was having mixed feelings. As excited as I was, I have NEVER felt so hesitant to go on an overseas trip. I have never been seperated with Jolie for so long and so far apart before, how would she manage? How would I manage? I promised to be strong, but I almost choked when I checked on her before I left the house at 4.15am. Yes, you read right, 4.15AM. Anyway, she had rolled onto the floor, but she was still sleeping! Haha, I quickly put her back to bed, gave her a kiss, whispered goodbye and left before I started to cry!

OMG it's my 1st time flying on my own, I should be elated! But I was all moody in the cab, and hungry! So after I checked in, I quickly found food. It's so early that even the stores weren't opened yet, so the whole place was so quiet except for a few passengers having breakfast.

That's my plane! By the time it took off, the sky was lighting up.

The four hour trip was pretty good. The seats were just as squeezy, but lucky me! I got the whole row of seats to myself! Whoo Hoo! So while everyone was being uncomfortable, I was stretching out my legs and watching movie on my netbook. It's like first class! I think God was consoling me for feeling bad earlier. :)

Reached Taipei and met up with sis at the airport. The bus tickets to our hotel was sold out, but the lady gave us waiting tickets. Heng ah, there was empty seats, so we managed to get to the hotel via the bus. The bus interchange was just below the shopping centre that was next to the hotel! And the MRT station is there too! Talk about AWESOME location!? Our hotel was called W Hotel!

When we checked in, there was this sign on the counter.

Sis and I were giggling to ourselves, saying that maybe we should have dressed like SPGs (Sarong Party Girl) and we'll get special treatment or something. Well, apparently it meant Starwood Preferred Guest lah...

So we went back to the hotel room to put down our luggage. OMG the place is so cool and stylish! We felt kind of out of place in our sloppy clothes, but we imagined we were in a J.Lo MTV inside the ultra cool lift.

The room was just so awesome that we didn't want to leave! But after settling down and a short rest, we headed out! It's already way past lunch time, and that last time I ate was 5.30am, so you can imagine how hungry I was!!! So Sis brought me to 度小月 for some 擔仔麵. Sis said that usually the place would be packed with customers, but since it was almost 3pm, the restaurant was nice and quiet while we munched on our VERY late lunch.

After a very yummy lunch, we've only got half a day left, so we went to 西门町(Ximending)!

I've been to Ximending so many times, but never alone with a female companion, purely for SHOPPING!!! It was great, we just went shop to shop, buying all sorts of trinkets for ourselves and also for Jolie. I wanted to buy a pair of jeans, but Sis recommended that I invest in a good pair from a brand called Big Train. I can't find the website, but their jeans and clothing line are super cool. The female jeans line is called Victoria, and I love the crystal studded designs on the back. :)

So after a few hours of shopping we headed to 士林夜市 (Shilin Night Market) for dinner. Sis knows a store that sells cold noodles, and wanted to bring me there. We were quite tired after a long day, and we promised to just go straight to the stall, eat and return to the hotel. But the place was a non-stop distraction of shops and delicious food!

So we finally found the stall. What a great idea to eat some cold noodles on a warm Summer evening! The stall is called 好朋友, which means good friends. The place was packed with customers and I can understand why! It's delicious! It's nutty, spicy and yummy and I love the cool and crunchy cucumber strips mixed with the noodles. Shiok!

After dinner we decided to hop on to a taxi to go back to the hotel. Unfortunately, the stupid uncle didn't really know where our hotel was and dropped us off at the wrong hotel! DUH~! We had to hop onto another cab to get us back. -_- OMG~ it's so good to be back to our wonderful room!

So I let Sis shower 1st cause then I got the chance to take a BUBBLE BATH! What a great way to sooth the aching muscles! After that we relaxed and watched GLEE on our 42"LCD TV. (Sis have GLEE in her iPod) Triple shiok!

By the way this was our "kill" of the day! Looking forward to the next day!

Lion King The Musical

2011-06-25T23:17:00.004+08:00

I've been wanting to watch The Lion King even before it came to Singapore, but somehow we just didn't get to see it until one Saturday. So as usual, we dropped Jolie off at Mom's place and headed to Marina Bay Sands.

I think MBS seriously lack mid-end restaurants. It's either food court or high end celebrity restaurants! The closest thing to a mid-end restaurant was a Coffee Bean Bistro, which was crowded! But we waited anyway and got a nice and cosy sofa seat inside.

Cobby had the beef steak sandwich...

I had the roast chicken pasta...

Food wasn't extraordinary, but it was alright. After lunch we went inside.

The hall was quite grand with the mirror-ed walls.

The inside was not as big nor as nice as the Esplanade, but the show itself was quite good. I think this was my very first modern musical. Others were classics like Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. The puppetry was excellent and the music was awesome, so overall, it was money well spent. Good!

Click HERE for more information about the show.

Cable Car Ride 2011

2011-06-24T21:53:00.004+08:00

We bought cable car tickets together with the tickets to the Underwater World when we were at Sentosa, but we didn't have time to ride it. So we went another day, today! I let Jolie wear her new Angry Bird T-shirt we bought yesterday at T3. She loved it! She would make Angry Bird noises like "Squaaawk!", and show everybody her new shirt. When I said I wanted to take a picture of her shirt, she stuck out her tummy like this!

The Mount Faber was flooded with tourists and their stupid buses, so we had to park quite far away from the cable car station. Damn... I grumbling under my breadth and giving Cobby the f*** face as we trodded uphill in the blazing sun. I guess you can say I wasn't exactly in the mood for a family outing.

Finally we got there and hopped on into the moving cable car. We've never been to the new cable car before, and it was quite nice! When we were in the cable car, moving through the sky, I instantly felt better.

Jolie was a little nervous when we just moved off...

But after a while, she got comfortable enough to explore the view by herself.

Tried to take a family photo, but the girl just would not stay still!!!

The weather was so hot and sunny! So we gave ourselves a treat of iced coffee and ice cream. But then it was lunch time already, so we bought some baked potato chunks to munch on. Such a sinful lunch! But then again, we're on holiday!

Countryside exploration!

2011-06-23T23:01:00.003+08:00

Today we were going to do something different, we were going to explore the Singapore's countryside! Starting with some wild life, goat! I've always heard about the goat farm, but I've never been there, so Hay Dairies was our 1st stop. If you want to go, you should go before 11am, because then you will be able to see this!

Yelp they are milking the goats. They looked bigger then I thought they would... After awhile it just gets boring, so we decided to explore the farm ourselves. Phew the place sure stinks!

There was just one route for visitors to walk through, which was between two long rows of huge metal "cages".

At 1st I felt kind of bad for the goats, I thought they would be happier walking around on the grass, grazing. I mean, wouldn't that make the milk taste even better? But then they say that they might get bitten by insects and get infection on their hoofs. But still, they looked kind of sad and bored!

Then we just turn the corner and realised that, that was it! I thought that we would be able to pat some baby goats or something, but there was a sign by AVA saying that visitors aren't allowed to come in contact with the animals. Boo!

Since we were there, might as well try the milk!

Apparently goat's milk is more compatible with the human's digestive system, and the lactose level is lower, so it's great for people who are lactose intolerant. (like Cobby and I) So here goes!

It's not stinky like everybody said it might, in fact, it tasted very light, like watered-down milk! Now we'll see if it makes us LS (lao-sai). :P

Next up, fish farm! We headed to Qian Hu Fish Farm, which was something Cobby really likes. To me it's just a giant fish aquarium. At first it was fun, but after 10 minutes of fish, fish and more fishes, I was like, yawn... But the father and daughter seemed to be enjoying themselves! Jolie seemed to really like the pretty stingrays...

Cobby pointed out this interesting aquarium decoration. The floating ball of moss looked like the floating mountains in the movie Avatar! It does, doesn't it!?

Finally we headed to the infamous Bollywood Veggies for lunch. Cobby's colleagues brought him there once and he liked it enough to bring me there too!

They have a few famous dishes, like their chicken curry, banana bread, and this interesting dish called moringa oleifera tempura. Apparently this is a super nutritious food, and better yet, it's quite delicious! Even Jolie, who's not very enthusiastic about vegetables, ate a huge portion of it!

With that we ended our countryside exploration. Jolie was getting really sleepy, so we did a quick stop at a plant nursery to pick up some gardening supplies before headed home.

While driving, I noticed that there were signs of some cute mascots on some lamppost. Later I found out that apparently several farmers at Kranji actually came together to form an association to promote awareness about the area. I think that's a great idea as so many people, even locals, don't visit our very own "countryside"! So next time if you run out of ideas on where to go on weekends, instead of wandering around aimlessly in another shopping centre, go enjoy some fresh air and get in touch with nature at our Kranji Countryside!

P.S. We did not LS. :)

SingKids Indoor Playground @ T3

2011-06-22T21:46:00.008+08:00

Next on our list of Cobby's June holidays activities was this indoor playground at Changi Airport Terminal 3. When Jolie saw the place, we had to hold her back! So exciting! It was a weekday, but there was a big group of children from some childcare nearby(I think), so it was quite crowded. But I think the excitement from all the other children was very infectious, so Jolie was very hyper.

There was a ball-pool...

An enclosure with giant balloons floating around...

A lighted "water-bed" thingy...

Her favourite, the roller cars. She's so good at it, she could easily drive thru all the other bigger kids! She's gonna be a very good driver I tell you.

Something different from the other indoor playground, some of their equipment would move. This one would rotate! So the bigger kids would hold on tight while it rolls.

This one would sway very slowly side by side.

Then there's the bouncing castle. I'm afraid that the bigger kids would step on her, so I hopped in with her. It was fun, but my legs got all wobbly when I got out!

There's also a toddler's section for smaller kids. There's a mini slide which Jolie insist on going down by her belly. -_- It's ok for me, but then other kids started copying her! Oops... Haha... bad influence!

I like this motorised see-saw. It just keeps on going up and down by itself, so you don't need a partner to play.

Besides, you can hug the bear as it goes up and down!

Jolie insist that I join her, but I was a little worried if the machine can take my weight or not, so I had to keep some of my weight off. :P

There's also a balloon room, but the balloons were smaller for smaller kids. I love it anyway, surrounded by colourful balloons!

As a parent, I think Polliwogs was safer, with locks at the gates and temperature checks and stuff. Besides, they have a place inside for parents to lounge with food and drinks. But my inner-child really liked the balloon rooms and the roller cars (wish I could try) and the motorised play-equipment! So if you are at T3 with your kids, go check it out!

Sentosa Day Two

2011-06-21T16:14:00.000+08:00

Good morning! Guess who had a good night's sleep?

Man... Cobby and I hardly slept a wink with Jolie rolling, kicking, sleep-talking and crying. It's only a queen bed, so there's hardly enough space for us three. Yawn... But man the view was great. Another beautiful day in paradise!

We went downstairs for breakfast and it was great. Nice outdoor seating, good food, and many squirrels scurrying around the trees!

After breakfast we went to the beach for a little fun on the sand and sea.

I went swimming in the sea for a while and asked Jolie to join me. At first she was super unwilling, even running away when I approached her. But when Cobby offered to come along, she reluctantly went into the water. Later, she REFUSES to get out of the water! Sigh...

After that we went back to the hotel to wash up. Jolie loved jumping on the bed...

Next up, the Butterfly and bird farm. There's a counter for you to feed the birds! The bird's claws were quite sharp, so I offered my arms for them to stand on while they drank the sweet water from the cup.

With that, we headed back to the mainland. We didn't do much, but honestly, you can't do much with a two-year-old. More importantly was that everybody had a good time, and I think we achieved that. :) There seemed to be more interesting things to do now at Sentosa, but not suitable for little kids. Hopefully Cobby and I could go back by ourselves sometime. :)

Sentosa Day One

2011-06-20T23:50:00.007+08:00

Whoo Hoo! We booked a night at the Siloso Beach Resort at Sentosa and our little family was going to have a little island getaway!

After lunch at Vivo City, we checked in early as we wanted Jolie to take her nap 1st. While she slept, Cobby and I got into our bathing suits and hopped into our private jacuzzi on the second level of our suite! It was so awesome... somemore got view of the Siloso Beach! Sigh, that's life my friend!

When Jolie woke up, we headed out to Underwater World! The staff instructed us to take a beach tram just outside our resort, but it was just 2 stops away! A bit duh, but it's always fun to ride a tram. There's a Ben and Jerry ice cream stall outside the Underwater World! How can we resist some yummy ice-cream on a hot and sunny day like this??

Just nice, the dolphin show was about to start, so we headed straight to the performance. Unfortunately the stupid amphitheatre was so FREAKING hot! There wasn't much proper shading against the evening sun, and there wasn't any fan on the pillars! Crazy stupid! We chose to stand right at the back to hide from the sun, but it was still very hot. So I asked Cobby to buy a little fan from the gift shop. Sounds clever, but we didn't expect that Jolie would take over the fan and just hold it in her hand instead of fanning herself! -_-'

When the show finally started, it was quite fun to watch. The dolphins were so clever!

After the show, I paid S$16.00 to take a photo of me patting the dolphin. It was so magical! It felt like... wet skin. Like human skin, but thicker. So weird!

The reason why I'm only showing the photo Cobby took was because the one the staff took was pretty bad. The sun was blazing at my back, so I couldn't see my face. Oh well, I didn't mind, I didn't like my pose in the photo anyway, besides, they refunded the money to me, so I got to touch the dolphin for free!!

So after the show we went inside to explore the Underwater world. I reached into the water to touch the stingray and Jolie grabbed my arm and yelled "NOOOOO MAMA!". I think its due to all those time when I told her never to touch the fishes in the fish tank at home. Either that or she's afraid that the fishes would hurt me? I don't know...

How nostalgic! I remember coming to the underwater world when it just opened. Now I'm back with my own child, screaming at excitement at all the fishes all around.

Before we went in, there's a man outside with 2 pythons where you can take picture with. I sort of chickened out, but when I saw that he was still there when we got out, I couldn't resist!

Interestingly, the snake was quite warm. He even purred! I think he wanted to crawl into the nearby branch and run away forever.

Jolie was a little nervous, but curious anyway. Oh, even more interesting thing was that the python's name was ROCKY! I used to have a dog that was named ROCKY too!

We couldn't think of anyway for dinner except for all those restaurants at Marina Bay Sands, so we settled for Chilli's.

Since we're on holiday, I ordered a Margarita. It's super delicious!

The food portion was huge! We couldn't finish the food, but it was a great way to end the day.

Funny, we didn't really do much, but we were quite exhausted by then. After a long wait for the stupid bus, we got back to Siloso Beach and decided to walk back to the hotel. It was SO SHIOK to get back into the air-conditioned hotel room!

Looking forward to the next day, meanwhile, "Live long and prosper!"

Family Day at the Temasek Club

2011-06-19T23:32:00.005+08:00

In conjunction with Family Day, the Temasek Club recently opened their new kids play area. There were also test-driving of cars, so Cobby suggested that we go check it out after Jolie's nap. Unfortunately, Jolie slept until 5pm plus, so by the time we got there, it was almost 6pm, and the car booths were packing up for the day.

It's ok, cause our main objective was to bring Jolie to the indoor playground. It's not very big, but it was quite fun. Jolie was a little nervous going in herself, so she dragged me in too. It's err... a little tight for me, but it's good that I went in with her as the bigger kids wouldn't let Jolie play until I asked them nicely to let her play. I don't think they would say no to me. Haha...

On the second floor, there's a toddler's play area.

There were also gaming stations, and my favourite, Wii and an Xbox Kinect! Ooo I always wanted to try my hand at it! At first I was a little shy, afterall, I'm being watched by people I don't know. But then other aunties were playing too, so if aunties bigger then me weren't shy about jumping around, why should I? So while Cobby played with Jolie at the toddler area, I was jumping around. So fun! (but the stupid game would take unflattering photos during the game and show it after each round - So embarrassing!)

We were about to leave, but Jolie spotted empty toy cars on the way out. She got in and that's it, we couldn't leave. Oh well, might as well let her play awhile.

Finally we managed to convince her to go, but on the way to the carpark, she spotted the open air playground and was whining to go play too. I didn't want to spoil the happy mood, so we let her play there for awhile too. She was so excited that spend only a few seconds on each station, so Cobby had to keep following around. I wanted to take more photos, but it's quite difficult when she wouldn't stay still!

When we finally got to leave, we decided to settle dinner at Adam Food Centre. Great place if you have a craving for Malay or Indian food! A yummy way to end the day. :)

Happy Birthday Vivian!

2011-06-16T23:56:00.003+08:00

Got an unexpected call from Zinc on Wednesday, saying that her checkup showed that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her baby's neck. The doctor suggested Cesarean, so I guess she wanted advise from someone who had been through it. We chatted for awhile, but the final decision still lies with her, after all, it's her body and her baby! But after I hung up, I was so worried for the baby that I just couldn't help but sms her that she should not procrastinate anymore and deliver the baby tonight.

A few hours later, we received a message from her that she was going to deliver the baby via Cesarean at midnight! Whao! I can't believe that her baby was finally going to be born tonight! So exciting! So I just gave her some final reassurance and wished her the best. I have complete faith in the hospital's medical expertise, so I was most excited and hardly worried anymore.

Since it was a midnight delivery, we could only visit her the next day. Perfect, as it is Thursday, which means we'll be going to MIL's place. I wanted to go by myself, but coincidentally, Cobby came home early that day. So not only did we got a ride to MIL's place, Cobby could join me to visit Vivian! She has such 福气!

Presenting... Vivian Loh!

She looked so adorable and precious!!! I wanted to pick her up, but she was sleeping. But after a while her mom said ok and I picked her up. She's so little! So soft, fragile and sweet! I wanted to run away with her, haha...

Sure brings back all the fond memories of when Jolie was like her, just a day old. I felt so happy for Zinc! Great job Mama!

Some of Zibby (Zinc's hubby) friends were there and Zinc helped them take a picture. First time I see the Mom help others take picture... Haha...

I didn't want to go, but it was already 7pm plus and poor Cobby haven't had his dinner yet, and Jolie was waiting for us at MIL's place. So we let Vivian have her milk and made our exit. Welcome to this world Vivian! :)

Polliwogs

2011-06-13T23:09:00.001+08:00

Heard a friend brought her babies to this place, so since Cobby took leave on Monday, we decided to bring Jolie there for some fun!

Located at East Coast Park, I was expecting to have the whole place to ourselves. Afterall, it's MONDAY. When we got there, we were welcomed with a full house of screaming kids and so many parents, the only seats left for us were uncomfortable bar stools.

Jolie was so excited, she couldn't wait for us to put down our things! But as excited as she was, she was still a little comprehensive about going into the indoor playground by herself. So she made us crawl (she walk, we crawl) along with her through the narrow tunnels and up and down the slopes. Personally, it was REALLY fun, I felt like a kid again, but man, it was tiring!!!

Cobby and I had to take turns to rest our poor backs. Sigh... old already! But Jolie was just filled with limitless amount of energy!

Interestingly, the place was populated mainly by Japanese mothers. It's like a big party for them, the whole group with their fashionable clothes and branded handbags. There's a no outside food rule there, but their table was filled with muffins, cakes, cookies, chips, along with some in-house food and drinks. So they were chatting away happily as their children go crazy at the playground.

I like the place and I would probably go back again with Jolie. I forgot how much it cost, but I like it that,

their gates are always locked for safety.
they check everybody's temperature before you go in, so no sick kids.
everything is relatively clean and new.
there is a lounge for the parents with free Wi-fi.
you can settle lunch there with kid-friendly menu.

Other than the adults suffering from sore bodies, everybody had a great time. Great place! Check out their website.

IT Show 2011

2011-06-11T13:59:00.001+08:00

I have been itching for a netbook for such a long time! My pink Sony Vaio has been such a faithful companion for so long, but it is so big and heavy, I wish there was something smaller that I can bring around. I know, many people asked, "get a iPad lah!" But honestly, ever since I got my Xperia, I discovered that I HATE touch-screen. I think it's my thick fingers, I just suck at it! So I take forever just to type a simple sms. I want something with a keyboard please...

My Sony laptop was working perfectly fine, so I just can't bring myself to spend another few hundred dollars on a Netbook. So several IT shows have come and gone but I still didn't get it. But we want to go check it out anyway. Just look at the crowd!

I thought this IT show would be the same as we pushed our way through the crowds. My mind was arguing away as we looked at different models. Buy! Don't buy! Buy! Don't buy! Buy! Don't buy! They were so competitive, they were almost the same prices! We were about to give up when Cobby saw the ones at Asus. Apparently they were the ONLY brand that have HDMI outputs on them, at the same price (S$399) and specs!

It was such a good deal, I just couldn't come out with an excuse NOT to buy! In fact, I had to walk away for awhile due to commitment fears. :) So after a few minutes, we went back to the counter and got the Netbook!

I love it that it's all white... Even the cables and battery are white!

It's so small, the whole thing could fit within my laptop's keyboard!

Yup, this post is blogged using the new Netbook. Small and convenient, which I love, but slower than my dear Sony. Also, I need to type harder than my Sony, so it sure takes a little getting used to. But I love it! Yeah!

Duck Tours

2011-06-05T23:32:00.012+08:00

Cobby and I walked pass the Duck Tours counter at Suntec on Saturday, so I suggested that we bring Jolie to the Duck Tour the next day. We booked a morning tour starting from the Singapore Flyer, but the skies were quite unkind, and it rained and poured the next morning. -_- As the Duck Tour involves going into the river, the staff said that it wasn't safe to conduct the tour in the rain, so they post-phoned our tour an hour later! What to do... just have to wander around, taking photos!

So interesting! There was a bagpipe band competition going on at the Singapore Flyer. They were so serious! Didn't let the rain stop them!

With the rain, there wasn't much places to go, so we just hung out at the cafe inside Popeyes.

Well, it didn't stop raining, but they started the tour anyway. Which made me wonder, we could have just gone for the one an hour ago right... duh. Jolie was fine until they started the engine of the vehicle. It was so loud that Jolie got all nervous. In fact, she started crying and didn't stop until one of the staff on board gave her some Duck Tour stickers.

The land tour was quite boring as it was raining, so the Duck was all covered up. Besides, the engine was so loud that we can hardly hear the tour guide talking. But everybody got excited as the Duck drove into the water!

Once the Duck got into the water, Jolie got more interested. She looked at the water outside and exclaimed, "Water! Swimming!" :) It's fun to be so near all the famous Singapore landmarks.

So the tour brought us all the way to the Merlion, took a U-turn and went back to the Flyer. With the rain flaps down, we couldn't capture a good photo of the Merlion! Seemed so quick, but an hour had passed! A simple tour, quite fun, but if not for the rain, it would be even better.

Some kids sitting in front of us were playing with a ball, looks quite fun, so we bought Jolie one when we got back to the Flyer. It's a pen, a shooting ball and even blows bubbles!

Didn't go exactly as planned, but it was quite fun to do something different once in a while. We felt like tourist in our own country!

Poh Ling's Birthday

2011-06-04T13:33:00.007+08:00

Jinah informed us that it was Poh Ling's birthday, so we "abandoned" our husband and children and met up for a girls night out. Sounds so happening, but it's just dinner with old friends.

We were supposed to meet at Clark Quay MRT station, but I couldn't even find the bloody MRT station cause I took a cab there. Has it been so long that I couldn't even find my way around that area? Die liao lah, became a auntie frog in the bloody well already!

Anyway, we finally found each other, but we stupidly waited in 2 separate groups for at least 20mins because each group was waiting for each other at different ends of the station. Duh...

We decided to dine at a Korean restaurant named Seoul Yummy at The Central shopping centre. And we were chatting like a flock of birds non-stop, we had to get everybody to shut up for a few minutes to order the food! The reason for all the excitement?? Our dear Jinah is pregnant! Everybody was talking at the same time, giving advise, sharing experiences, or just plain catching up. I think the customers in the restaurant must be quite pissed with our noise, thankfully we were seated away from everybody. :)

Before we ate, Brenda gave us each a packet of candy! So pretty! The jar belonged to Poh Ling, with a customised message on it! So "SWEET" right...

Since we were all Mamas now (with exception for Poh Ling), we just have to 已茶代酒. Cheers!

I must say, the food surprised me! I ordered the Kimchi soup set and it was delicious! The hot and spicy soup was excellent with the rice. Could have had another bowl, but I think shouldn't eat too much bah... :) Next time bring Cobby here.

Even after we have eaten, we continued chatting non-stop. I think it's a rare opportunity for us to share our parenting experiences, whether good or bad, it just feels so good to finally pour out our joys and frustrations to people who understands exactly what you are going through. But after awhile, I asked the staff to clear the table, because it's my turn to show MY present!

My Chocolate cup cakes! I made them that afternoon just for this and everybody was all "Oooo... Ahhh....". Hahaha... Of course, it's for birthday, so I even managed to dig out a candle for my cupcake tower.

I decided on cupcakes as I thought it would be easier to eat by hand, but the staff surprised us by giving us plates and spoons for eating the cupcake! Talk about good service! Thankfully, everybody loved the cupcake, except for Karine, who don't take any dairy or cow-related products. Anyway, I'm always happy to see people enjoy stuff I bake. :)

We sat in the restaurant until they were ready to close for the day! After that, Karine had to go, but the rest of us wasn't ready to go home, so we all headed to Jinah's home, which was just nearby.

It was crazy, we actually hung out at the park near Jinah's place and chatted until 2.30AM! For Brenda and I, both of us being home-makers, I think it has been years since we were out this late. For me, it was before I had Jolie! I felt so great and liberated, like a teenager again. I don't feel the least bit tired at all, I wonder what kept me awake? Or being a mom had trained me to make do with minimum sleep?

Anyway, it was about 3am plus by the time we got home as it took forever to get a cab. I felt so good! I think all mothers should find time to hang out together, as only we understand what we go through.

Well, that's that. A very happy birthday to Poh Ling, hope we didn't bore her too much bitching and rambling on and on about our children and husband. Also congratulations to Jinah, expecting her little bundle of joy. :) Thanks for organising this much needed group therapy! Haha...

Visit to the Art Science Museum

2011-05-22T09:16:00.006+08:00

I heard the Salvador Dalí's works was showing at the ArtScience Museum, and I have been itching to go, but Jolie has been sick, Mom needs to take care of Dad, and I didn't know if Cobby would be interested in seeing the exhibition, as the entrance fee was a whooping S$30 per adult. But I heard in the radio that you can see all other exhibitions inside with that one entrance fee, so when Mom offered to help me watch Jolie on Saturday, I suggested to Cobby that we go see it.

Turns out that OCBC cards have 20% off, so its S$24.00. Better than nothing... I mean, the admission ticket to the Louvre Museum in Paris only cost about S$17.50!!! (grumble...grumble...) Anyway, was very excited to finally be there. It's not very big, with a exhibition hall at each level.

We started with the Van Gogh Alive - The Exhibition, which was super cool. You don't see the actual work, but they project the paintings onto all the walls of their huge exhibition hall, and it moves according to the wonderful classical music played in the background. I'm not very good at explaining, but it was nothing like I've every seen before. It's like I'm walking inside all his paintings and I just want to just stand in the middle of it. Love it.

I was actually having a cold, no thanks my baby girl, spreading germs to everyone. The museum was sooo cold! We HAD to take a break for a hot drink and get out of the air-con rooms. What a relief to be sitting under the sun, suddenly it feels like we're in Europe again, drinking coffee in the cool weather.

Next we went to the Shipwreck exhibition, nothing much, but some of the stuff they found were quite interesting! From cheapo mass produced, everyday use type of bowls, which were super ugly, to these super delicate GOLD dishes that I so love!!! PRETTY!

Next we headed to my main objective, the Salvador Dalí's exhibition. What a wonderous exhibition! They feature lots of paintings and sketches, but I was really attracted to his sculptures. So beautiful, so strange and yet so much meaning behind them too! I love them!

Ah... finally, the famous melted clocks. Signifying his rejection to the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic.

Look, I look like a super model with legs that go on forever! Hahaha...

I enjoyed the exhibition so much! I have never seen any artist's work quite like his. On one hand, it's so whimsical, interesting and thought provoking. But on the other hand, some of his works were also very dark, disturbing and a little scary. It's almost like a horror movie, you want to see it, but yet you feel disturbed watching it. hmm...

With mixed feelings, we moved on to explore the rest of the museum. There's a small area on the top floor that discuss creativity, and visitors can make their own digital art creations using huge touch screens computers. I thought that it was just for fun, so imagine my surprise later when my "art" was featured on a huge screen at the end of a short film.

After the museum we headed to the shopping centre at Marina Sands and ate a very late lunch. It's a Korean burger restaurant called Kraze Burger. Not bad, but a little expensive. There's even a skating ring made of wax right next to the restaurant! I was itching to try, but it's been SO long since I skated, I was afraid that I would fall flat on my face. Hmm, maybe next time.

There's more to Singapore than just cinemas, so I think it's fun to do something different once in awhile.

Jolie's new toy

2011-05-15T23:10:00.001+08:00

Mom just bought Jolie a brand new toy stroller, which looks like real stroller really, made of metal and all, so cute! So when we opened it up, it was lacking a passenger, so Jolie went into my Mom's room, dug out Teddy Bear and placed him comfortably on the seat. (Teddy belongs to me when I was a child by the way)

It's so interesting watching how Jolie treats the stroller and the bear. She would gently tug the cover over Teddy and push the stroller around like Mama does. She would even sayang Teddy once in a while. So sweet!

So for the next few days, this was her fav, her BFF. She wouldn't go anywhere without Teddy in her stroller, even when we had to go to MIL's place, and even when we headed out to the furniture expo sale in the evening. I was thinking how fortunate Teddy was. During my time, Teddy never left the house. Now, he's seeing the world! Well, not really the world, but to him, how awesome the outside world must be!

Dad's Knee Operation

2011-05-13T23:54:00.010+08:00

Finally, it was Dad's turn to do his knee replacement surgery. Mom did hers a few years back and now, Dad's knees were in such bad shape it was time for him to do it too.

For Dad, I wasn't as involved in the whole process as when Mom did hers, as I had to take care of Jolie. So I only went on one appointment with him. The rest he went with Mom. This time round it was at Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital, which was very near our place, so everything was very convenient.

After several appointment changes, the surgery was finally set on Tuesday, 10 May 2011. I was supposed to put Jolie with MIL so that I can go to the hospital, but it turns out that Sis-in-law had to go for her check up, so I was stuck with Jo. After much discussion, everybody thinks that I shouldn't go since I had to watch Jolie. Besides, they didn't want Jolie in the hospital even when I suggested that she stayed downstairs in the garden.

It turned out to be the right decision, as the surgery was at 1.30pm, but it took so long, only close to 8pm did the hospital inform my Sis that Dad was out of the recovery room and sent back to his ward.

The next day, Mom offered to watch Jolie while I go visit Dad.

I must say, Dad seemed to take the surgery much better then Mom. He said that last night was horrible due to the pain and he had fever the whole morning, and the staff kept pressuring him to piss and threatened to insert a tube into his penis if he doesn't. Thankfully, he managed to do it by himself. o_o'

When I was there, the fever had subsided, the pain is controlled by morphine, and he looked good!

The next day I managed to visit Dad again after I dropped her off at MIL's place. When I got there I was surprised to see that Dad was able to bend his knee enough to sit upright. What a speedy recovery!

The nurses have also removed the bandages, so with the see-through plaster, we were able to see the knee itself. Cool...

The stitchings looked very neat and the wound seem to be healing very well, but it was still quite swollen. Doctor said that it would take a whole month for the swelling to completely subside!

Dad said that he had to do knee bending exercise everyday, but the physiotherapist commented that Dad was handling the therapy very well due to his daily cycling regime. I guess daily exercise does have it's benefits. :) By the time I left, it was already around 7pm, so I ate dinner at the food court with Mom before taking a taxi back to MIL's place again. Sigh, keep taking taxi, broke already lah...

It was a beautiful Friday, so after dropping Jolie off at playgroup, I took a bus to SAFRA Yishun for a swim. Oh my gosh I was in such bad shape! I was panting away with each lap I swam. But there wasn't time for lazing around, so I quickly washed up and walked across the street to the hospital and visited dad again. He was surprised to see me, but I was even more surprised as he was able to walk quite steadily with the walking stick!

In fact, he was doing so well, the doctor gave him the thumbs up and discharged him the next day. Now, he's at home, going for slow walks everyday. But we had to constantly nag at him to slow down, not to push himself too hard, fearing he'll over exert and hurt himself. In another 3 months he would be able to fix the other knee. If the next knee recovers just as fast as this one, he'll be off to Hong Kong again by the end of the year!

Happy Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T23:30:00.002+08:00

Mother's Day didn't start out how I wanted it to be. How wonderful it would be if on Mother's Day, a day to thank Mothers for their work everyday, that my husband would let me sleep late and make me breakfast in bed while he look after the kid. Instead, he had to sleep late because he stayed up whole night watching the election results. DUH... as if they won't be talking about it in every media possible in the next few days, or weeks to come.

Since he's slept only after 3am, it's impossible for him to take care of Jolie, so I had to wake up, wash and feed her while he sleeps. Oh well... I think we ate the bread I made the other day for breakfast, and we hung out at home until lunchtime before we move out for our Mother's Day lunch with my parents and Sis.

Since we were going to a nice restaurant, its a great opportunity to let Jolie wear her nice dress. Think she only wore it once or twice.

Sis booked a table at The Grand Shanghai restaurant. It's my first time there, and the food was quite good.

As usual, Jolie was running all over the place. I think, slowly, I'm learning to just go with the flow. If she's hungry, she'll eat. If not, just find other food for her somewhere else later. No used getting all pissed up about it. Anyway, she only ate abit before she dragged her Dad outside and ran about so much that she threw up. -_-" Sigh... Then she came back and ate some more before we left.

My parents and Sis helped watch Jolie while Cobby and I went for our salsa lessons. As usual, it was really fun and we felt so invigorated after the lesson. We went home to find Jolie still sleeping. We were supposed to go to MIL's place for dinner, but sis-in-law was still under the weather and MIL didn't have to mood to celebrate, so we didn't go to MIL's place that day.

Mom had already cooked some simple dinner, so we just ate there and went home after Jolie has taken her bath. A simple celebration. Happy Mother's Day!

General Election 2011

2011-05-07T23:39:00.001+08:00

Today is the day! After weeks of debate, today is finally the day we Singaporeans make a decision. Our polling station was located at the school behind our block, so after breakfast, we walked there.

This was my 2nd time voting, but still, it's very exciting to be part of something so important!

This was the very first time for Cobby, so you can imagine how excited he was.

We decided take turns as we couldn't bring Jolie inside, and I went 1st. I must say, the inside of the school was very nice! Feels kind of nostalgic really, I miss being a child with no worries. :)

Honestly, I was undecided even as I stood with the poll card in my hands. The last time I voted, I was in my 20s. I have just started working and didn't give a damn about politics. This year, thanks to the Internet, the Opposition parties have done a great job in putting doubts in my mind, forcing me to think about what they were so agitated about.

I read about the rallies and discussions almost on a daily basis, and suddenly, my loyalty was wavered. Suddenly, the Opposition parties were no longer crazy old uncles, screaming illogical complains about the government at the MRT stations, and our government doesn't seem as white as we thought they were! Also, I was pleasantly surprised at how vocal and passionate my friends are about politics. I had no idea! People were attending rallies, waving flags, wearing badges and even volunteering for the opposition parties! Such bravery, such conviction!

Personally, I finally understand what the Opposition parties are about now. They may not be the majority in Parliament, but they are necessary in keeping our government in check, a voice for the people. But... I vote like how I do appraisals. Did the ministers in my constituency do what they promised? What do are their plans for the next 5 years? Am I happy, as a citizen? I'm not a very good writer, but I found someone who was able to express exactly how I felt.

So I heaved a sigh, wrote a 'X' on my poll card, dropped it inside the box, and walked out to my waiting family. Well, that's that. While Cobby was voting, I found rabbits!

I think they belong to the school. Poor rabbits, the weather was freaking hot, and even in the shade, I can imagine they must be boiling underneath their thick furs. When we're done, we brought Jolie to Mom's place as usual and headed out for lunch at Carl's Jr. We were so hungry we managed to finish everything, which was rare!

After lunch we watched Fast and Furious 5

SUPER COOL SHOW!!! It's the same director as Tokyo Drift, so if you love it, you will love this show. Full of action and a great cast! I'm a fan of Dwayne Johnson (THE ROCK), so this show was quite a treat.

**stay after the show, there's more!**

After the movie we hung around the place for awhile before we decided to go back early. The weather was so fine that we thought it would be nice to bring Jolie to the open field near Mom's place to go fly kite!

Strangely, we couldn't get our kite to fly. I blame the kite, must be something wrong with it. -_-

The whole field was full of prickly mimosas and their torns were torturing my feet as we walked through it. When I found out that Jolie had blistered her toes, we called it a day and headed by to Mom's home. Sis was here for the weekend, so as usual, Jolie got new toys and gifts.

Mom cooked a sumptuous dinner that night, even got chilli crab! YUMS! What a great way to end GE2011!

Interesting people at my new hangout

2011-05-05T11:08:00.003+08:00

Now that Jolie spends 2 hours a day at playgroup, I have developed a dislike of hanging out at home. Instead, I would drop her off at school and cycle to the nearby McDonald's. Free Wi-Fi, free air-con, food and drinks are not free, but available within a few steps away. What's not to love about the place? In fact, right now, I'm sitting at Mac, typing away.

There's this girl just now who was sharing my seat. She bought a Breakfast deluxe, which as you know, consist of a full Big Breakfast, plus 2 slices of pancakes. She requested a clean piece of the wax paper, the type they wrap burgers with, and carefully assembled herself a burger.

She uses the English muffins for buns, placed the sausage patty on one bun, placed the scrambled eggs on the other bun, trim the egg till it's round and fits the bun nicely, seasoned it with pepper and chilli sauce, and carefully out two buns together. Then she folded the paper around her burger and tug it neatly away on her food tray. Satisfied, she proceeded with eating her pancakes and the remaining egg trimmings.

???

I wonder what or who the burger is for? Maybe she planned to bring it home for someone to eat? Or maybe she wanted to save it for lunch? I don't know.

Potty Training, a messy business

2011-05-02T23:18:00.002+08:00

On April 19, I finally took up the courage to start potty training Jolie using panties. I have been procrastinating for so long, but can you blame me? Just thinking of moping up her pee and poop made me want to delay her potty training for another day. But there's no escaping this stage of motherhood, so we started.

The potty was no stranger to Jolie, we tried letting her use the potty a few months back, but it didn't really take flight, as we still stuck with diapers. So this time I let her wear regular cotton panties, so that both she and I would know that she has wet herself.

I really felt like a broken record! All day long, I would keep repeating over, over, over and over again, the same few sentences.

"Jolie, if you need to shee-shee or poop poop, please do it on the pot-pot ok?"
"Jolie, do you need to shee-shee?"
"Jolie! NO! Don't shee-shee on the floor! Shee-shee inside the pot-pot! Shee-shee here(indicating panties or floor) bad! Shee-shee here(indicating potty)!!"

So the next few days were pretty stressful. In the beginning, I think she don't get it. But subsequently, I think she understand, but doesn't know how to control her "flow". Like they said, "when you gotta go, you gotta go!". Why I think she understand? She would actually stand somewhere beyond my line of sight, like behind a wall, and wet herself. And when I find her, she would look so guilty, and compensate by taking off her panties and sitting on her potty. Hmm... a little too late isn't it?

I tried not to scold her, afterall, she's still learning. But I need to let her know that wetting herself is wrong! Sooo... it's more like a stern, nagging. Sigh... so it's kind of a repetitive thing:

- asking her if she needs to pee(she would always say NO)
- her peeing on the floor, once she even pooped in her panties (Ewww...)
- me cleaning up while nagging at her
- repeat

It's not always bad, sometimes I would encourage her by making her seat on the potty, even give her a book to read. You never know, maybe after squatting for awhile, something might come out right? Most of the time, nothing. She would sit for awhile, then say "Nope!" and get up. Sometimes, with a book, she would sit longer, and would produce "results". Haha...

One day, on the 29 April, I was in the kitchen preparing lunch. She was begin very quiet in the living room, so I went to check on her. Surprise surprise! My girl had actually taken off her panties herself, sat on her potty and peed! When I got out, she was actually taking the potty dish out. I was so proud of her as I helped her flush away her pee into the toilet. Just when I thought what great progress it was, she surprised me further a few minutes later by producing me a potty of poop! All by herself!

OH JOY!! I was SO PROUD of her as I kissed and hugged her, and telling her what a good girl she was. Still I didn't think it was enough, so I rewarded her further with yummy cupcakes! But just as I thought that the potty training has completed, she wet herself again that afternoon. Sigh, I guess this stuff takes time, but I'm glad there's improvement.

So this is the situation now. We have our hits and misses. Sometimes she would just take off her panties herself and sit on her potty, but nothing comes out, so I don't know if she needs to go? Or maybe my positive reinforcement tactics was too effective that she hopes to be rewarded? Or she just likes to run around the house half naked. -_-

Anyway, it's really great to potty train your kid, diaper usage has reduced, so soon we won't be needing to buy diapers. So far she's only wearing her panties while at home. She still wears her diapers to her playgroup and while sleeping. I thought we should take a step at a time. :) We've gotten her to wear diapers at my Mom's place too, same, there were hits and misses, but it was a necessary evil.

I wanted to take some photos of her on her potty, but it seemed wrong to post half naked photos of my baby on the web, so I gave up on that. I wonder how we're going to potty train her when we're outdoors?

Visiting Sister-In-Law

2011-04-28T23:27:00.005+08:00

About a week ago, sister-in-law had been admitted to hospital after being diagnosed with Cellulitis, which simply put, is bacteria infection underneath the skin. Apparently she had been having fever for days, but had refused to go see a doctor. She kept eating Panadol, which made the fever subside temporarily, but as soon as the medicine wears out, the fever comes back, once even hitting a high of 39 DEGREES, but still, she refused to go see a doctor.

Finally, after almost a week of fever, her left thigh swelled up painfully, and she had to walk with a limp. So, she decided to go see the doctor, only after spending a WHOLE DAY at work. O_o When the GP doctor saw her, he immediately made her go to the A&E at the nearest hospital possible as they did not have the facilities to do blood test. At the A&E, the doctors immediately admitted her as she was having such high fever, they had to quickly do something before it kills her.

The doctor said that the bacteria could have entered her body through her thigh, which explains the swelling. All you need is just a little scratch, she doesn't even know how it happened! The next few days had been a non stop antibiotics for her, and she had to stay there for almost 2 weeks as the bacteria had entered into her bloodstream. The doctor said that if she had delayed any longer, they may even had to cut away the affected leg muscles! Horror!!!

Thankfully, she's on the road of recovery now, and I wanted to bring something to brighten up her day, so I brought Jolie to the hospital to visit her. Both Moms don't want Jolie up in the wards, so we hung around the lobby and waited her them to come down to see us.

MIL haven't seen Jolie for almost 2 weeks too, so she really lit up when she saw her precious grandchild. Naturally, the spoiling begins, so she bought her a balloon just because she wants it.

Jolie was a little shy and withdrawn at first, but after awhile, she's back to her noisy self again, and I can tell that her presence was worth a hundred bunch of flowers to my Sis-in-law. But she was still weak, so she could just watch as Jolie runs around the lobby.

After we said our goodbyes, I brought Jolie to the nearby Bugis Junction and hung out until Cobby joins us there after work. We had yummy dinner at MOF and for the first time, we ordered Jolie her very own kids meal which comes in a cute bear container. I think she liked the food container more than the food itself. -_-

The morale of the story? If you are having fever that last for 3 days or more, go see the bloody doctor lah...

We love waffles!

2011-04-22T22:00:00.001+08:00

After dinner at Shabuya at Vivo, we were craving for a little ice cream, so we stopped at Gelare and had ice cream with waffles!

Jolie dancing in anticipation as we waited for our waffles...

It's here! Yummy! What a great way to end a meal!

Jolie's 1st School Art

2011-04-21T21:56:00.001+08:00

Today Jolie came home from school with her very 1st artwork!

I don't think she did the whole thing, it's too perfect! But I do see signs of her handiwork, like the crayon scribbles behind the rabbit "fur". And I think she must have stick on some of the stickers.

Tried to get her to take a photo with her artwork, but she was too preoccupied with the TV. Thus resulting in a very forced smile. -_-

Looking forward to seeing more of her artwork!

Sandy Playground

2011-04-19T21:58:00.001+08:00

Nowadays almost all the playgrounds uses rubber for their flooring, but one day, while cycling around a different part of the town, I found a park with a playground with sand!

What a treat for Jolie! The only time she gets to play with sand is when we go to the beach, which is quite rare really. So she was quite excited when she got there. After a while, she took off her sandals, and giggled in delight as she wriggled her toes in the soft sand. I almost forgot how wonderful the sensation was until she "instructed" me to take off my slippers too. It was so cooling and soft!

When we were kids, all the playgrounds were covered in sand, and thinking back, they were rough, dirty and unsanitary. Kids back then would even use parts of the playground as a make shift toilet, like the inside of the tunnels. But playgrounds nowadays are much cleaner, with soft, clean sand, with the occasional branch or leaves.

So now we have a new place to go on afternoons when the weather is fine. I'm glad that Jolie still have the opportunity to enjoy herself in a sandbox, I think in future these would become a thing of the past. The only problem now would be to get her to leave the playground when time is up, and get rid of ALL the sand that is on her hair, face and even inside her diaper!

Toddler's Cookbook

2011-04-19T17:47:00.002+08:00

Running out of ideas on what to cook for Jolie really, so I went to the library near my home and found myself a cookbook for toddlers!

Hopefully it would give me more inspirations!

A Saturday by myself

2011-04-16T23:50:00.004+08:00

Cobby had to work today, but that is no reason for me to waste my weekend right? Besides, I spent almost the whole week with Jolie as she was sick, so I really need some "ME" time! So after putting Jolie at my Mom's place as usual, I headed to Vivo City by myself. I was thinking if I should call some friends out, but I was too lazy.

First stop, Page One bookstore. I found this really good book in the library about bread and I really want to own it. Since it's a Chinese and English book, I know Page One is the best place to find it. When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were having a sale on Jimmy Liao's books! I love Jimmy's works, but I was always hesitant to buy as I found them a little expensive. So after spending some time choosing, I decided on "The Sound of Colours". So happy!

Unfortunately, when I asked the information counter staff on my bread making book, they claimed that they didn't have stock. After wandering the store for awhile, feeling disappointed, a thought suddenly hit me. Having worked several years in retail and also dealing with systems and database, what has that taught me? Systems and database are rarely or never reliable. So I went to the bookshelf with all the cook books and guess what? I FOUND THE BOOK. It's quite amazing, there were so many books! How did I managed to find the book I have no idea. I just browsed for awhile and there it was, right in front of me.

I browsed the book store for awhile more, feeling very smug, before going for my tea break. The cafe was full, so I shared a sofa seat with a man who alone. After I've settled down, he just put on his sunglasses, prop up his feet and fell asleep! Maybe he felt more assured since there's someone here sharing his table. Haha...

Anyway, it's great as I got a comfy seat and a very quiet companion. Haha... It's just very funny as I was trying to open the plastic wrap of my Jimmy book. The stupid bookstore wrapped it up so tight, plus thick sticky tape wrapped around the book TWICE! My god, were they afraid that the pages would fall off or what??? So I was struggling to open the bloody plastic wrap and it was so noisy! SEESHA...SHESHHA... I feeling so frustrated and also stressed as I felt that I was disturbing my snoozing sofa-mate. I think he didn't mind. Haha...

So I just drank coffee, ate cheesecake, read my book and played with my phone until it was late afternoon. What a great way to spend a day out! So relaxing. :)

Salsa!

2011-04-10T23:21:00.002+08:00

It's quite unbelievable, but Cobby and I have signed up to learn Salsa! I have always wanted to learn this exotic and sexy dance, but Cobby always complained of having two left feet and I didn't want to dance with some stranger. Even when he agreed to go learn dancing (reluctantly) a few months ago, we didn't actually act on it. One evening during dinner, I was making small talk about the show "Dancing with the stars", when suddenly he said, "let's go learn dancing."

I was stunned by his sudden desire of course, but apparently he was feeling quite bored with the monotonous daily routine of work, home, work, home, work, home. So I happily signed us up for some Salsa Dancing! When we went to the studio to sign up, we saw an ongoing class. The students were SO GOOD! I saw the worried look on Cobby's face and I knew what he was thinking. So I asked the guy at the counter what class was that and he replied that that was the advanced class and they were rehearsing for their performance. Apparently they have been dancing for more than 5 years! I looked back at Cobby and I could tell that he was relieved. Know him too well!

When the day of the 1st class came, which was on a Sunday afternoon, I was feeling a little resistant. As usual, thinking that maybe this was a bad idea, and we should be lazing around at home or something. But we went anyway, and it was fun!

Everybody in our class was around our age, no old foggies. Most people were very friendly and fun, there were even people who came by themselves. I can understand single girls who want to learn how to dance for fun, but I was curious about the single guys who signed up. Did they really wanted to learn how to dance salsa? Or are they here just to pick up girls? Heehee... OK, I'm mean, maybe it's a little of both, nothing wrong with that.

Our instructors were supposed to be June and Jackson, the owners of the studio, but Jackson was away, so it was only June and a replacement teacher. It was quite intimidating as the dance looked difficult, but when they started teaching us, it was actually not too difficult! I looked at Cobby every once in awhile and he looked SO SERIOUS! But I loved it that he was putting so much effort into it.

During class, we had to rotate partners as different people have different styles. It was quite awkward as I have never danced with another man before, I was so SHY! Hahaha... I didn't even dare look into their eyes! But some of them are quite good while most of them were terrible! OK lah, give credit as it was our 1st lesson. One of the guys reminded me of Phillip, but taller.

Before we know it, 1 hour have passed and class was over! We were having so much fun! Can't wait for the next class to come! Unfortunately Cobby couldn't join me next week as he would be working. :( Also, my heels were too tall! Very hard to turn. Think have to get another pair. Shopping time! :)

Didn't take any photos in class for obvious reasons, so we posed for the camera when we got home that night. :)

My side profile looked so fat! Jolie photobombed us!

Seeing us dance, Jolie got into the mood and started dancing too!

Another fun day in our home. :)

New Scooter!

2011-04-05T23:39:00.000+08:00

It's Tuesday, so after playgroup, I brought Jolie to my Mom's place. I really liked Jolie's outfit that day. Very Summer!

When we got there, Jolie was surprised with a gift. My Dad bought her a brand new red scooter!

She was SO HAPPY! She previously have a 2nd hand scooter, but this was so much prettier and fits her better, size-wise. It was lunch time by the time we got there, so Mom asked Jolie to sit down and take her lunch. I said that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to separate her from her new scooter now, and I was right. She loved it so much she wouldn't leave it alone the whole day. She placed her feet on the scooter and slowly but surely pushed herself around the house. She ringed the bell the whole day, telling everybody about it. The only time she's not playing with it was when she too her afternoon nap, exhausted.

Later that afternoon, Mom couldn't take it anymore and decided to make Jolie's uniform a little more fitting.

So far, EVERYBODY said that her uniform is ugly and I find it so funny that Mom finally decided to take action and do something about it. I know it's a little big, but she grows so fast! Why bother to change into a smaller size? (anyway, not much difference after alteration)

That night, even as we left for home, Jolie insist that she rides her scooter to the car. I had to take it away from her by force as it was too dangerous to ride in the carpark. Sigh...

I was quite surprised that Dad would fork out over $40 to buy her the scooter. He explained that the sales staff was very helpful and friendly. I agree with him. Sometimes people don't understand that good service made all the difference. Even if I wasn't planning to buy anything, with the right attitude, the sales staff can make a difference. But still, I think it's very sweet of Dad, who's usually quite thrifty, to buy a gift for Jolie. Does she know how much everybody loved her? :)

Picnic at Botanical Garden

2011-04-02T21:52:00.001+08:00

Our time every weekend seemed to be fully occupied. On Saturdays, we'll put Jolie at my Mom's place while Cobby and I go "pak tor". On Sundays, Jolie goes to Cobby's Mom's place. So I was feeling a little guilty. Many young families I know would usually spend their weekends out with their kids, are we spending too little time with our little Princess, as a family? So one Saturday, after Jolie woke up from her nap, we headed out to Singapore Botanical Gardens for a little family day out.

It was freaking hot, so I was worried that maybe this was a bad idea. But we were stuck in a traffic jam for so long that when we finally did get there, it was already late afternoon and the sun was reduced to a beautiful golden hue over the trees. It's been so long since we've been there, I forgot how beautiful the place was!

We found a nice spot at grassy clearing and opened our picnic mat. It was such a picturesque scene! Families with children all around the grassy hills. Some parents lazed on their picnic mats while others played with ther kids or blew bubbles.

There was this beautiful tree next to where we were sitting, I loved how the giant branch hung low enough to sit on. The pattern on the bark was so gorgeous!

But we got off after taking the photo, as there were so many ants near the roots, so not romantic!

We bought some chicken wings and sweet pears for our picnic, so we settled down to munch 1st. I was feeling so relaxed that I laid down on the mat as I ate. Jolie saw and mimicked me by lying down next to me while she ate too. Hahaha... that girl!

After she had her fill, Jolie was off! We bought a ball along and she had a great time playing with her dad. The place was great as there was so much open space for her to just run around without us worrying. I actually bought a brand new bubble gun along, but I didn't realise that it needed batteries, so we couldn't play with it, DUH!

As I have said, it wasn't too hot as the sun was setting over the trees, but it also meant that it wasn't long before the sky started to darken and it was time to go for our dinner before heading home. Interestingly even as the sky was getting dark, there was still quite alot of people coming into the park. Anyway, eventhough it was short, it has been great fun. What a fun and economical way to spend an afternoon with your family, not forgetting healthier too! There were also a few young couples there, so romantic! Definitely better than wandering around aimlessly in a shopping centre too.

We should definitely do this again! :)

Morgan Freeman

2011-03-31T23:20:00.001+08:00

Just went for my facial the other day and my beautician laser-ed away some, 'meat spots' on my face. I don't see them, but apparently she says that my face was covered with them. They're small, but if ignored, they would grow bigger with time, she says. I wasn't really bothered with them really, but since she strongly suggest I do it, OK loh.

It's quite a scary procedure, not because it's painful or anything, it's not, they slab on some cream to numb the spots. It's the sensations. I can actually FEEL the laser "drill" into my skin! The beautician is quite careful, but what of she sneezes? Would that burn a hole right through my face? Ewww... On top of that, you can SMELL it. It's that awful smell of something burning, worse when you realise that that the thing that's burning is YOU. Weird right...

The next day, your face end up looking like it's covered in freckles.

(It's more obvious in real life than in pictures) Usually she would only do a few. But this more experienced one decided not to waste time and did a whole lot more. Somehow I'm reminded of Morgan Freeman and his freckles when I look in the mirror!

However, when the burnt skin peels away, revealing fresh, new, flawless skin, all the irritating bits are forgotten.... Nah, I still don't see any difference! Maybe I'm conned... Hahahaha...

Earth Hour 2011

2011-03-26T23:04:00.002+08:00

How time flies! Another year has gone by. Looking back at last year's post, Jolie was still so little. :)

As usual, since it was a Saturday, Cobby and I went gai-gai during the day. Nothing much to do, so we hung out at Marina Square. While we were there, there was a rock climbing competition! It was quite entertaining to watch the youngsters crack their brains, trying to find a way to climb up those walls with minimum places to hold!

I wanted to get a pair of sunglasses for when I'm riding my bicycle, so I found this one. (Excuse my bad hair and lack of make-up...)

For dinner, we ate at the Singapore Food Trail below the Singapore Flyer. That night we went home and got quite sick. I vomited my undigested dinner and felt better after that, but poor Cobby suffered from diarrhoea for the next few days! I know we ate alot of stuff that day, but my main suspect was the dinner. -_-

Anyway, the place was super crowded, so by the time we fetched Jolie home, it was just minutes to Earth Hour! I quickly showered and managed to come out in time. So we proceeded with switching off all the lights and power switches in the house. But it was such a warm evening that we brought the fan into the study room and just hung out. I can't remember what we did last year, so I dug up some of Jolie's leftover candles, put them in a tupperware and lit them.

As you can see, the wind from the fan blew so much wind around the room, the candles burnt out within minutes. So we had to hang around in the dark. Seriously, I need to buy some torch lights. -_- By the way, this Earth Hour made me realize that my new phone DOES NOT HAVE FLASH LIGHTS. WTF??? There was only a little 'phone light'. SO LAME! I miss my Cybershot. :(

I think Jolie was a little puzzled why we were sitting in the dark doing nothing and demanded that we watch cartoons. How to explain to a 2 year old about Earth Hour??? So we brought out Cobby's tablet PC and let her play Angry Bird.

I think the lights of the tablet PC was a little bright, but we played for only a few minutes before it was time to go back to civilization! Yeah! As usual, we were reminded of how wonderful electricity was and we thank all the dudes who invented air-conditioning, TV and the Internet. :)

Sick, sick, sick!

2011-03-24T12:13:00.002+08:00

Have'nt been updating my blog much as the whole family has been taking turn being sick. First it was Jolie, then she passed the virus to me. It was so bad, I lost my voice. It even hurts to breath! Just when the both of us were getting better, Cobby fell victim to the virus. Now that Cobby's feeling better, Jolie's nose started leaking and the dreaded cough is back again! Worse, I've got the flu again. When will this cycle ever end!?!?

Jolie's 1st day at playgroup

2011-03-21T15:58:00.003+08:00

Alot of friends have asked about Jolie's 1st day at school, and I'm proud to say that she handled it much better than I've expected. Days before school started, we would ask her if she wanted to go to school, and she would always answer with an excited "YES!" On the morning of her 1st day of school, I was a wreck! It was as if I was preparing for MY 1st day of school. There was that familiar constant twist in my stomach as I looked at the clock for the hundredth time.

1 hour to go, 45 mins to go, 15mins to go!

I don't know why I was so anxious? nervous? excited? See? I don't even know what the heck the emotion was! I think there was a mixture of fear and also anticipation. Anticipation for that 1 hour plus all to myself! It's funny how the parent seemed more stressed out than the child, who was quietly enjoying her morning cartoon as her mother hung on the verge of an emotional meltdown.

Finally the time has arrived and I quickly change her clothes. Looks like the clothes were too big. :P I thought that I was going to get emotional again, thankfully the nerves in my stomach overpowered any other feelings that threatened to pour out. We have to move out!

It was the 1st class after a week long school holiday break, so most students were excited to return to class. After the jumble to check the mouth, hands and feet of all students, they were allowed into the play area where the teacher's assistant poured out 2 whole baskets of masak-masak (toys). How can any child resist? Jolie's curiosity overcame her shyness as she slowly walked to the giant pile of toys and squat down to play with her head bow low.

After awhile the teacher offered her some puzzles and she sat on the table and started playing.

The girl next to her showed her how to put the puzzle pieces in and I wanted to hug her in gratitude. This is exactly what I wanted for Jolie. Other than the mental stimulation, I wanted her to interact and socialize with other children, instead of just the adults in her life. Besides, a new friend is just what she needed in a strange new environment.

After awhile she got bored with the puzzles and went back to play with her masak. I can sense her shyness melting away as she played, and I smiled in relief.

She was doing so well that I was starting to get a little bored! As I fiddled with my new smartphone, the teacher seemed to share my sentiments and suggested that I take my leave. So I told Jolie that I'm going off for awhile, but I will come back later, OK? The little brat didn't even turn around to look at me when she mumbled "okay...", and carried on playing with her toys.

As I stepped out of the school into the bright sunlight, there was a jumble of emotions inside me. That's it? All that anxiousness and nervousness and she didn't even attempted to make me stay? I was feeling so proud of my independent little girl, yet sad and hurt that she didn't need me by her side. Also... FREEDOM!!! Short, but hey, I'll take it.

Then... lost.

What am I supposed to do now? Lunch is done, so there's no reason to go home, so I cycled to MacDonald's and hung out in the air-conditioned restaurant, ate fries with a cool drink and played with my phone until it was time to go pick up Jolie.

When I reached there, class was still on going, so I peeked through the window and saw my girl having a snack.

I wanted to continue to peep through the window, but it felt kind of weird and the teacher thought that I was some psycho until they found out that it was me. So I smiled in embarrassment and hung out on the void deck instead until the class was dismissed.

When the door opened, Jolie was the 1st one at the door and she ran into my arms, screaming, "MAMA!!!" Then we were hugging and kissing each other like we've been separated for years as the other Moms and grandmas led their child home. DRAMA sia... I don't care what they think, I just felt SO happy to be with my girl again and SO glad that she felt the same way too.

A new citizen

2011-03-21T15:23:00.002+08:00

Congratulations to me! For I am finally a citizen to the world of smartphones! No, I did not buy me an iPhone, but a brand new, Xperia X10.

I'm not so good explaining all the technical stuff, so check out their website if you're interested. Anyway, I have been craving for a new gadget for a while now, it's just that I was so torned and confused!

tablet PC or smart phones?
iPad or Samsung Galaxy pad?
iPhone or Xperia?

Finally I decided on getting a smart phone. But I wanted something different, so instead of an iPhone, I got a Xperia X10. Furthermore, I got a $100 voucher from Starhub for me to renew my contract, so we headed down to Plaza Singapura to get my new phone!

After waiting forever, I finally got it! It's beautiful, but I was worried at first. My new data plan wouldn't be activated in another 24 hours, so I didn't have any Internet connection. Besides, it looked so intimidating! So many functions and buttons on the touch screen and I have no idea what most of them do!

Oh my god, did I make a mistake to buy this phone? Yes, after the promotions and the voucher, the phone cost ONLY S$68.00. Previously, changing phones was like, moving your home from Sembawang to Punggol. Minor inconvenience, but most things were different yet same. But owning this new phone was like, migrating to a whole new country where they speak a different language and everything works differently! But Cobby reassured me that I just needed some time to get used to the phone, and when I have the Internet running, everything would turn out fine.

True enough, when we got home, my phone came alive with the detection of our home's wireless broadband, and we've been best friends ever since! I have joined the army of smartphone users, and have succumbed to activities that had detest me before. My phone is never far away, my face is constantly buried in my shiny touch screen. Every spare time I have would be spend exploring the endless types of apps.

My infatuation with my new toy has unfortunately caused some distance between Cobby, Jolie and I, so I compensated Jolie by getting some educational apps and letting her watch cartoon via YOUTUBE. As for Cobby, perhaps he could be seduced into the dark side into getting tablet PC? Join us... Muahahaha...!

Playgroup

2011-03-07T09:40:00.003+08:00

It was a warm and humid afternoon and I was preparing Jolie to take her nap when my mobile phone rang. I wonder who it could be as, sad it it sounds, I seldom receive calls. The caller asked for "Jolene", and I hesitated. Usually I would just slam the phone down on wrong numbers, but I just have a hunch on this one. So I gave her a few seconds to correct herself, and as expected, she was looking for me.

It was the lady from the playgroup, happily informing me that they have "worked things out" and was then able to take in Jolie as their student. Without even asking me if I was still interested, she went on about what documents do bring, how much money to pay and when she starts school. So I wrote all the information down, said my thanks, hung up the phone and got back to the task of patting Jolie to sleep again. As we lie on our sofa in the quiet house, with her sleepy head on my chest, I can’t help but burst into tears.

It sounds quite cliché, but I do see flashbacks of Jolie in my arms, a delicate little infant, so fragile and so dependent on me. How she has grown bigger and more beautiful day by day, running and laughing. I know, I probably watch too much movies, but the thought was enough to make me weep uncontrollably. My baby’s grown up and going to school! My rational brain gave me a disgusted grunt and wanted to slap some senses into me. “It’s only 2 hours! Get a grip on it!” she says, but my emotional brain wouldn’t hear it. “My baby’s leaving me!” she wailed.

It has been quite a journey, this preschool hunt. I started looking into it since Jolie has turned 18 months, but decided that she was just not ready! Who’s going to pat her to sleep? Feed her milk and food? Change her diaper? So we shelved the idea until she turned two. In a blink of an eye, we celebrated her 2nd birthday! Even though I know that I could teach her just as well, I know that she could really benefit from socializing with other children. Even with that excellent rational, I couldn’t help but procrastinate a little. Everyday I was coming up with stupid excuses not to go playgroup hunting. “I need to do more research, it’s too hot, it’s raining, we had to go to my Mom’s place, etc.” It really made me realise that it was ME who wasn't ready, not Jolie.

Finally I ran out of excuses. Even as I was all prepared to go, a little voice whispered in my mind, “Maybe we could go another day?” But I can’t find a reason why, so we went out and found a suitable school for Jolie that day. Damn.

So here I am, weeping. Jolie looked at me all puzzled, and then started to give me hugs and kisses, hoping to make me feel better. I hugged her even tighter; will she be just as sweet to her silly Mama when she’s all grown up? So now we’ll just have to wait for the dreaded day to come. Perhaps I could look at this in a different light, after all, I have been granted 2 free hours everyday. It’s not a lot, but it’s free time nonetheless. A change is coming. Time to embrace it. :)

Henderson Wave and DNA Bridge

2011-03-06T15:30:00.004+08:00

On Friday morning, Cobby was on leave, so we chio parents for breakfast. After breakfast, we decided to have an impromptu trip to Henderson Wave!

Even though it was only 10am plus in the morning, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky! Freaking hot and sunny! But the bridge was as beautiful as I remembered it to be, and it was less crowded as it was, afterall, a weekday morning.

I can understand why so many people would love to take their wedding photos here. The surrounding was so scenic and the bridge was so beautiful and rustic and romantic all at the same time! You know, on a cooler day, if you lie down on the sides, the wind would blow through the gaps, and it would be like an air-conditioned lounge chair!

Thankfully my Mom was always equipped with her trusty umbrella. Kept Jolie from having a heat stroke.

Took a great photo with my phone, unfortunately I put on the wrong shooting mode and ended up with an over-exposed shot. :(

The bridge was taller on one side, so it was sloped downwards. Poor Cobby had to spend most of his time stopping Jolie from running full-speed down the bridge! That girl was out of control!!! But she was having too much fun to care about her life and death.

Another day, my parents and I were reminiscing about good steak dinners we had in the past, so I suggested that on Saturday night, we all go out for a good steak dinner. So on Saturday, after Cobby and I had finished our movie in the afternoon, we headed back to Mom's place, picked them up and headed out again to CHIJMES for dinner at Hog's Breadth Cafe. After a stuffing dinner, we drove to Marina Square, parked the car there and walked to the DNA bridge.

We have been there during the day, but the visiting the bridge at night really feels very different. There were lights everywhere, the reflections on the metal frame, the beautiful night view of the cityscape, the lighted Singapore flyer, even the Marina Bay Sands looked so beautiful at night!

Sometimes I wonder what tourist find so attractive of our little island. It's nights like these, where you leave the comforts of your couch and TV, and you go out there and see what the tourists see, then you can be reminded how beautiful our Singapore has become within these few years. I felt like a little like a tourist that night, looking around with "Oooo and Aaahhh...", and I can't help but feel a little proud to be part of this country that all those people around were complimenting.

Of course, I think the person who had the most fun that night has to be our little Jolie. We think it must be the ice cream that was giving her the sugar rush, because she was running, screaming and talking (in her baby language) at full speed!

As usual, poor Cobby had to be the one who had to chase after her. Thank you my dear! 辛苦了! When we finally decided to go back, ALL of us were totally beat, if I had known we were going to walk this much, I wouldn't have worn my stupid heels! Jolie was way past her bedtime, so as tired as I was, I had to keep her awake until we get home. Which was close to an hour of games, making funny faces and tickling her. EXHAUSTED...!

I admit that this was all very fun, but seriously, I think we can limit outings like this to just once or twice a month. I think I'm getting old. :)

Jolie loves to paint!

2011-02-25T21:51:00.000+08:00

Jolie loves to paint! But we only do it once in awhile as, you can imagine, it can get pretty messy. I try not to limit her on what or how to draw, as the experts say it's better to let the children's imagination run wild as they express themselves creatively.

I do love watching her paint. The other day, she was painting a very "angry" painting. Every stroke she made was accompanied with an angry "Hmph!" So she was going "Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!..." as she painted. So funny.

So this is the end result.

After I picked up the drawing paper, I found little colourful footprints on the floor. So pretty!

I keep a photo record of all of her artwork on Facebook, as I planned to make it into a photobook later in her life. Wouldn't it be cool to see how her artwork evolved through the years?

Relax man...

2011-02-23T15:48:00.001+08:00

Took Jolie out for a McDonald's breakfast today, it's nice to come once in awhile, but nowadays her appetite has grown to a point where I would need to order two hasbrowns as she could easily gobble down one by herself, leaving poor Mama with none!

Just outside, there was a cat totally enjoying a morning nap right in the middle of the pavement. She just slept on, oblivious to all the humans walking around her.

Everybody was so amused with the Diva cat and I think everyone, including me, was so envious. Lying there on the ground on a weekday morning, don't giving a damn about the world, just relax... Aren't you envious?

Jolie's wacky dance

2011-02-19T23:32:00.002+08:00

Whenever the lights started flashing on the National Day 'flag', Jolie would start dancing even though there were no music. As usual, the little Princess would demand that everybody get up and dance with her. I just love her wacky dance moves, like "washing the windows", "the shake", "the march" and "the slide". Best of all, when she's done, she would switch off the lights, take a bow and demand that everybody clap for her. Such a diva!

A New Haircut

2011-02-16T23:22:00.001+08:00

Gave Jolie a new haircut today. Since she's so anti about tying her hair, or even clipping her hair, I thought, might as well cut it shorter! So in addition to her fringe, I cut the back part shorter too. I actually wanted to cut it way shorter, but it was more difficult than I expected as my stupid scissors was not meant for cutting hair.

I know many people send their kids to hair dressers nowadays, and I think they could do a better job than me. But I guess I'm just old fashioned bah. My Mom used to cut all of our hair until we were teenagers, so I guess I'm following her footsteps. Besides, it seems a little silly to pay a hairdresser just to cut an inch of hair when I can do it for free. It's not that bad? And I don't hear Jolie complaining! Or am I just stingy? Hahaha...

Cute Ning Ning

2011-02-15T23:00:00.003+08:00

It was late in the Chinese New Year, but I have yet to go visit my godmother. So Mom and I decided to do it on a weekday by ourselves. Since it's still CNY, I baked a Mandarin Orange Chiffon Cake and brought it over for everybody to try.

My Godmother was helping her son to watch over her 16 month old daughter, Ning Ning, which I have never seen before. My Mom kept saying that she looked just like her father, and she was right! She looked so adorable!

She looked so sweet and smile-ly next to Miss Grouchy over there.

Jolie was busy playing with all of Ning Ning's toys and wasn't too friendly towards her. I guess she was not too happy about how Mom and I were gushing at how adorable Ning Ning was. She is such a little sunshine! I wanted to carry her, but Jolie wouldn't let me and motioned to push Ning Ning away from my arms. When I put Ning Ning down, she quickly climbed onto my arms, reclaiming back her Mama. Her jealousy is always flattering and cute. :)

Little Ning Ning swaying to music.

Godmother said something about how these 2 would grow up together like how my Godsis and I did, and I find that notion quite nice, like a new generation with new connections. It would be so cute to see them play together when they grow bigger. :)

Valentines' Day 2011

2011-02-13T22:54:00.003+08:00

It's Valentine's Day again! It's a little embarrassing, but I had forgotten to get Cobby anything for Valentine's Day this year. Makes me feel like such a selfish wife, especially since he has arranged for a nice dinner on Sunday, a day before the actual day.

To be fair, it has been pretty hectic, with Jolie's birthday party, followed by Chinese New Year. Before I know it, Valentine's Day had arrived and I didn't have any opportunity to go shop for a present! Besides, it was impossible to buy a present for Cobby! He doesn't seem to like anything! Well, the things that he might like would be impossible for me to buy, like a branded watch or a maybe a car or something. I'm out of ideas really.

So anyway, my dear sweet husband arranged a seven course dinner at a Japanese-French fusion restaurant, DOZO. So Jolie was left with MIL while we enjoy a little romantic dinner.

It's kindda funny because when we're there, the restaurant wasn't opened yet, so the customers, ALL COUPLES, stood outside waiting. After awhile we got in and got a lovely seat next to the window. The table was a little wobbly, but nothing that can't be solved with a little folded serviette.

So we ordered our food and started eating. Nah, no alcohol that night, this was just something to cleanse the pallet in between meals. Wonder why there wasn't any drinks menu that night?

So while eating I asked if he had gotten me any present. I was hoping for a "NO" as it would lighten my guilt a little. But a cheeky "I don't know?" response was a definite yes. So even as I was feeling a little more guilty, I couldn't help but become more and more curious. I'm always quite good at spoiling surprises, so Cobby has been getting more and more careful on not giving me too many information. So we spent the next few courses discussing clues about the gift, until Cobby stopped the game as he didn't want me to spoil the surprise.

My tempura "fan" that comes with my main course. Cute!

The meal ended with a delicious chocolate fondant cake and Jasmine tea. For a full details of my delicious meal, click here.

When we got back, I immediately asked for my present. Why wait? Look at the cute wrapping paper... :)

I was guessing a new handphone, so when I saw the label on the box, I was a little disappointed. Huh? Jewelery again? (Chey~ I sound like a little spoilt bitch hor~) But then the curiosity lingers, what could be in such a big box?

When I opened a little box inside, I gasped in surprise.

A heart shaped diamond ring! I was so touched and happy as I have wanted a heart shaped diamond ring since I saw the one that Xiaxue got for her engagement. I thought it was so cute and unique and nagged that I wanted one too. Of course, it's not as 'bling' as Xiaxue one but I was happy at the fact that not only did he actually heard my grumblings, he even remembered it and made an effort to go look for it for V-Day! (it had to be ordered from Germany or something, so it took awhile to actually get the ring ready.)

So it was a very Happy Valentine's Day for me. I should really find a way to make it up to him though!

A Church Wedding

2011-02-12T23:42:00.009+08:00

A university classmate invited me to her church wedding and I was delighted to go! This was my 2nd church wedding ever, 1st time was Cobby friend. I'm not sure if I ever mention this before, but I'm a real sucker for weddings. I guess I'm a romantic who has watched too many Hollywood movies! :) The wedding has alot of processes, so here are just some of the hightlights.

This sounds silly, but I was a little excited to be there. It was grand church, very bright, new and clean. We don't know anybody there, so we just sat there and read the bible. Oh my Christians friends would be so happy for us, but we were just curious. It's like reading a story book really, the chapter on Genesis.

After awhile the procession started. And I was so happy for her! She looked so beautiful and happy! Reminded me of my wedding day. :)

A wedding dress with a long train is PERFECT for church weddings...

Then comes the singing of the hymns. Cobby was a St. Andrew boy, so he surprised me when he knew how to sing one of the songs.

Exchanging of the vows and rings.

I find this part quite meaningful. When the bride came in, she was led in by her father on her left and given to the groom, which was on her right. After the exchanging of rings, they switch places, signifying from now on, the husband would take the father's place on her left, and also take over the role to love and care for her. So touching right?! Sob sob...

The two emcees had to sing the hymns. The lady was OK, but guy was singing like he's auditioning for Singapore Idol. So drama! It's so funny, but I guess he's just passionate.

Overall a very enjoyable experience. It's shorter than the 1st church wedding I've been, so it's kindda short and sweet.

Somehow church weddings are just so romantic! I even know some people who would consider converting into Christianity just to have a Church wedding. I think that is SO SHALLOW! Anyway, I really love it. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Wearing MaMa's Heels

2011-02-12T23:25:00.000+08:00

What is it about children and their desire to wear adult's shoes? Jolie just love to wear my, or sometimes, her Dad's shoes. Stomping around the house with her huge shoes. That day at my Mom's place, she wore my heels. But I guess they were a little high, so she used the shoe horn as support. Her mouth looks funny as she has food in her mouth. Another one of those irritating things that she likes to do nowadays. -_-

I vaguely remember myself as a child, always wearing my Mom's shoes too. I can't remember why, but I guess it's the desire to be like the adult in our life. Wearing their shoes, clothes, even my Mom's huge 80's sunglasses. Somehow it feels very glamorous, maybe we can't wait to grow up and have such 'cool' stuff of our own!

River Hong Bao 2011

2011-02-07T23:11:00.000+08:00

Seemed like yesterday when we 1st brought Jolie to the River Hong Bao. Since Cobby was on leave, and we were in the CNY mood, we chio MIL to this year's River Hong Bao. But on the way there, we dropped by The Salvation Army and donated some of the stuff we didn't need from our store room and a few of Jolie's toys and kiddy cars. She have so many, I'm sure she wouldn't miss a few of them.

Say goodbye to your kiddy car baby!

After picking up MIL, we're there!

Like last year, I think we went there a little too early, so the afternoon sun was quite fierce! Why do we keep repeating our mistakes!?

Hoho! A TOTO outlet! Surely we had to give it a try, after all, it's Chinese New Year! Tis the season to gamble!

As you can imagine, we didn't win. Oh well, take it as charity! Jolie didn't really bother, just happy to have the whole ice cream to herself! (no lah, I ate abit too)

She was amazed to find the giant drums all around.

Giant coins too.

But most of all, she just loved to run around the open space of the floating platform. Run baby run!

Check it out! 1st time in history! An Olympic runner in heels! This is for all the women out there. Shopping is a form of sport too!

There wasn't much, but we had alot of fun there anyway.

So shiok, a human couch to settle into.

Come again next year!

CNY 2011 day 2 & 3

2011-02-05T23:24:00.000+08:00

Bro said to meet in the morning for mahjong, but had to cancel as he had stayed up all night playing mj with his friends. BLAH~! So on the 2nd day we hung out at home, and only headed out to Cobby's aunt's place after Jolie woke up from her nap. Jolie wore a baby pink mandarin collar shirt with her jeans. MIL asked me why I didn't let her wear the matching pink pants. (She bought the clothes btw) I just thought that they look very much like pajamas! :P I wore a red top with my brown frilly short skirt.

Her nickname was Yishun Auntie as she lives in Yishun, so we spent the whole afternoon there. Jolie was so curious, constantly peeping at one of Cobby's cousin as he was taking a nap. She must be wondering why this person was sleeping in the middle of the day when everyone was up and about. But she was also very considered, making the "Shhhh..." sound, knowing that someone was sleeping. :)

I tried my luck at playing 钓红点, which is a card game Cobby's family love to play. This was my very 1st time playing with his family, so naturally I was very nervous. At first I was winning, but when I started losing most of Cobby's money, I quickly gave up my seat back to him. Oops, sorry dear!

After dinner we headed back home as MIL didn't want Jolie to stay up so late.

The next morning we headed to my Mom's place for mahjong session with bro. Jolie all ready to go!

Check out her new shoes!

Simple ensemble for the 3rd day.

We were early, so we started playing cards with my parents 1st. Apparently, MY MOM knew how to play 钓红点!!! I didn't know! Man, should have let her teach me instead of Cobby, at least no need to pay so much "school fees". Just when you thought you knew your parents, they surprise you again! But thankfully, the god of fortune was smiling at me, so I won $2 that morning on cards.

When bro finally arrived, (late as usual) we started playing. Dad was our reserve player that day, so he just helped anybody play whenever we need to stop for awhile. Like when Mom needed to cook, Bro needed to go toilet, me needing to put Jolie down for her nap, etc.

So we played until Jolie woke up from her nap, which was 4 plus. Not bad, won $11! Jolie posing for the camera while the rest played on...

After that we headed to Cobby's Hougang Auntie's (a.k.a. Ah Bu) place. Yes, you guessed it, she lives in Hougang. So clever! MIL was already playing mahjong there, so we just sat around. After awhile, Ah Bu chio us to play 钓红点, but since I was an amateur, we played only half price. Not bad, not bad, was pretty lucky, in the end I won $20 before stopping for dinner. YEAH!

They say I've officially graduated, so I was pretty pleased. But I think I was just lucky. Poor Cobby didn't do so well this New Year, keep losing money. But it's good! The Chinese would say that 破财挡灾. You lose money to block the bad luck, or you're not losing money, just losing away all your bad luck. I guess it's just a way to make everybody, especially the losers, feel better. :) Hohoho! Happy New Year!