trashing in blog

There were many posts which i did not put up.

Some two weeks ago, hubs and I made memories with the children. We add 3 more badminton rackets to our collection and played a casual game. The children enjoyed it so much and asks why we started so late.

Hubs bought our dog for a "saloon" hair cut and now she's looking so good.

Hubs did his final year for the reservist.

It was hubs birthday (with his mother - lunar calendar) last Thurs. Eunice helped me make a homemade Durian birthday cake for them.

I'm so into Heroes as well as reading heroes of faith (John Bunyan - author of Pilgrim progress).

We (children and I) visited Cole - Anny's second offspring. As cute as a button. It was nice catching up with Anny and teasing Dayne.

Treated myself to an iPOD nano and Nike armband. That should motivate me to do more jogs now. Running 2km is not an issue anymore. I am gonna stretch it further.
Also bought some knee guard to cushion the impacts of runs.

bee-see

On top of the children's and work schedules.. suddenly, there are like added items for me to do.

3rd - hubby has farewell, gotta fetch him home after fetching son from class.
4th - got to buy durian to pass to friend, she will do up the cake for hubby
4th - take over the tab to do up April's birthday celebration for the dept
5th - hubby's and MIL's birthday. collect cake, arrange people to meet, delegate stuff for people to buy and prepare.

6th - want to totally nuah!

Wonderful Morning!

Hubs needed to reach Nee soon camp at 7.30am. We were early when we set out, which is a rare on a Saturday.

The morning view was so beautiful! There was no chance to take any pics as hubs friend arrived... but to describe it a little of what was seen..
The sun shines from the back of some rolling clouds. The dash of orange, yellow rays on the white clouds and the grey blue sky was breathe-taking. The patch of green grass in front of the MRT station had a layer of morning mist.

God says it all. The creator of everything. Thank you Lord for such a beautiful morning with such a sight.

Distorted?

I met up an ex-colleague (about my age) over lunch today. We weren't exactly close before, I was in sales and she was my marketing support. There was more work talk than personal sharing when we were.. well.. together.

She's now with another company and since she's in town, we arranged to meet another colleague and myself for lunch. Over the lunch chat, I soon learnt that she's determined to not be married, not have children and aims to die at the age of 45, if she does not die by then desired age, she will take an injection to end her life. She set this "plans" about 5 years ago which means she is still pretty convicted with her "plans" It didn't seem that she's joking or depressed and I am not a guillable(spelling?) person as well.
What really bothered me was the fact she said it like it's really casual and there is no way anyone would change her mind. And she's accepted Christ. I'm not trying to do any bashing upon religion but it's really disturbing to see someone who has known and loved Christ decide on something she knew would disappoint Him.
It was quite a depressing session. The other colleague who went along for this lunch is having marital problems. Apparently, she's already at the non-speaking stage with her spouse.

I however declared loudly that they will be in my prayers. As much as I have no idea what to pray for as I will never know what is best for them but I'll definitely ask God to give them a loving touch.

It was a long weekend for me as I was on leave on Friday. The morning half of the day was spent at father's niche. Without a doubt, we all miss him although there was significantly less tears. Mother did a prayer routine and I must say that it is impressive that she has , for the first time in her religion life, been so sincere and hold fast to the faith with God. I firmly believe that father is at rest in peace but mother just wanted to recite the petition prayers to God for the dead.

We headed for lunch at a Pu Tien restaurant. I am assuming that we went to Pu Xin which IMHO is quite outstanding and at $20 per pax, it's satifying. If the Pu Tien Seafood serves much better food, I reckon there's certainly something to look forward to. will upload some pics on lunchlater.

We spend the rest of the afternoon really lazing, nap, surf net for the Japan trip, watch Tee Vee.. then it was dinner at Man Fu Yuan restaurant with hub's parents and eldest sister. The service was first class and out of the many courses of dishes, the steamed Soon Hock is my favourite. the bill came up to be about $40 per person. That is with priviledged card, vouchers discounts.

certainly felt like a glutton for eating so much rich and expensive food. Not sure if there was any relation but I had insommnia on Sat morning... at 8am, I felt so drugged (food intoxication) that it was almost impossible to make me do any runs.

Thank God for partners who motivates. I was literally dragged out of bed, did a 1.8km jog and felt more refresh to conquer the day.

The day saw me through Isaac's birthday, PTN in church and cell meet up till 1am!

As much as I felt concussed, I promptly went to church at 9am to do my SS service. Love the kiddos. They are ever such encouragement to me.

The shopping experience at the new Giant at Tampines left me a really bad taste. It was simply too congested, noisy and dirty to have me talk about any great discounts.

To make up for the poor afternoon, I made fried fish soup for dinner after our walk at the park. That gave some comfort to start the week that is to come.

yay.. i made it

On Mon, I managed to scrap through 1.4km run. I told myself in the mirror that I'll do 1.8km and I clocked 2.4km today!!!!!

but I took 45mins to do that, heh. jia you!

Food adventure

We had been feasting!

Last Saturday, we went to Wild Rocket with our nephews and kids. Hubby volunteered the treat cos he's forever so generous to his nephews and nieces, besides taking care of the children. The place is a bit of a maze to find though and by the time we arrive (after swimming) at 8pm, we were starving.

The verdict:
Talk about fusion food! The soup impressed me the most, it was cream of lotus root with wolfberries. It looked like yam paste but the taste is so comforting. Usually when we double boil the clear broth - lotus root soup with pork ribs, the ingredients are not consumed. The kids took no time to finish up. Good tips for me to start blending soups.

The softshell crab did not leave me much. I'd say the pepper sauce was good.

For the main course, we all gave thumbs up. The interesting orders was prob hubby's Laksa preso which looks italian (spaghetti with some green paste), smells like laksa, taste ... well both Asian and European. And my dish, the squid ink linguine. yep, not the kind of food you'll order with clients. My teeth were all inky aftermath, looking the part of pirates.

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It's oyster night on Tuesdays at Greenwood Fish market and Bistro. We would not have done this dinner on other Tuesdays cos Nathan has classes. Hubby was suppose to treat but since he has to give the best of the crop to God first, this time, I took up the tab. That will give us another excuse to feast next month ;P

Verdict:
The atmosphere reminded us of the Fisherman's wharf in Australia (tassie or Melbourne or Sydney). It's fish market that serves great fresh seafood.

The calamari does us in. It came with very complimentary salad at the bottom of those fried sotong pieces. I almost ordered that as desserts, haha. The corn soup, er, not our type. The oysters at that price and fresh, I could have at least 2 dozens. I had to control myself. We shared 15, I cannot register how many I had, I just take, dig, slurp the whole time. I won't be surprise if I had 10 and hubby had only 5. The pics are little dark as the ambience was suppose to be romantic.



The mains were red miso cod for hubby and lobster linguine for me. The cod with the red miso sauce was great when you start eating but not sustainable.
My dish was tasty, it had a dash of chilli padi in the linguine and the lobster was the size of my palm. Oiishi neh!



the cod (grilled with red miso) and mashed sweet potato



the lobster

surprise!

I did mention that today is the official blog day for me. As I am writing this, Nathan is at the Mediacorp's audition for Spellcast. It's just for the experience, afterall it's gonna be quite fun for him to take a look at their studio.

Okay, now for the surprise news.. *drum rolling* i won 1st prize for a reward programme I was enrolled in... a trip for 2 to Japan!!!!
I've never won anything so grand before and it's really a treat!

things I do when bored.

I resolved one request. today is offical blog day for me!!

hmmm.. hubby's bd is on the 5th of the month. IS that no wonder we are always missing the point by that little bit? my life is a bit of surprises ... good and bad ones.

Your Birthdate: December 31

You don't love lightly. For you, love is always a serious undertaking.However, you are able to love many types of people. You can bring out the best in almost anyone.Love surprises you often. You never know when or where you'll find it next. Number of True Loves You'll Have: 2 Number of Times You'll Have Your Heart Broken: 1 You are most compatible with people born on the 4th, 13th, 22nd, and 31st of the month.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourbirthdatemeanforyourlovelifequiz/">What Does Your Birth Date Mean For Your Love Life?

Your Birthdate: April 5

People wouldn't take you for a passionate person - and that's where they'd be wrong.You can develop deep emotions quickly, and you're the type most likely to move in with someone after a few dates. Number of True Loves You'll Have: 5 Number of Times You'll Have Your Heart Broken: 5 You are most compatible with people born on the 5th, 14th, and 23rd of the month.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourbirthdatemeanforyourlovelifequiz/">What Does Your Birth Date Mean For Your Love Life?

so uncanny... he made his moves to "steadified" our relationship after 3 dates. And yes, he's a passionate man. Does that mean I'm not so compatible. Aiyah, married liao, too bad.

Meme

Kinda early to blog but I just wanted to take my mind off that Vietnam lead and the RFP that is driving me half nuts.

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1.Is your default picture your natural hair color?
No picture on this blog. but my hair is coloured.
2. Where was your default pic taken?
N.A.
3. What's your middle name?
Don't have one.
5. Honestly, does your crush(s) like you back?
nope, always not successful in that department.
6. What's your current mood?
somewhat tired.
7. What color shirt are you wearing?
Green.
8. What makes you happy, honestly?
Good friends.
9. Are you musically inclined?
I think I can sing quite okay. Can only play one song on Piano.
10. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day- what would you be?
A beautiful cat.
11. Ever had a near death experience?
er... I think so.
12. Something you do a lot?
watch TeeVee.
13. What's the name of the song stuck in your head right now?
Inspired by the cross. By A2J
14. Who did you copy and paste this survey from?
Ickleoriental.
15. Name someone with the same b-day as you?
Mei Yan.
16. When was the last time you cried?
Sunday. I missed my Dad.
17. If you could have one super power what would it be?
Do everything at the speed of lightning. I like to get things done quickly.
18. What's the first thing you notice about the OPPOSITE sex?
Height.
20. What’s your biggest secret?
It'll not be a secret anymore if that was said.
21. What's your favorite color?
yellow... white...
22. When was the last time you lied?
huh?
23. Do you watch kiddy tv shows or movies?
with my kids, yes.
24. Do you have a best friend?
Used to. I thought.
25. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
I'll have a more positive outlook of life.
26. What are you eating or drinking at the moment?
Mineral water.
27. Do you speak any other language?
Mandarin.
28. What’s your biggest regret?
Never thought of it.

how many and much is good...

I had my nephews over the whole of 9 days last week. They are 12 and 10. It gave me the chance to see if I could take care of 4 children as if they are of my own. It was all good, as it turns out, they were very obedient and great boys. Meal menu planned, laid down some simple houserules, went through with the 4 kids on their school tests/spelling etc... hey, I'm a pro!
It is not bad an idea to have so many kids in the house, we were able to fill up the monopoly and risk boardgame players. We had more exchanges of ideas on the TV programme we were watching. The house was filled with more laughter and quarrels. But overall, there was more energy filling up the space. But it was still such a short time to access whether it's a joy or pain to have that many children of my own.
I was and am content with just my 2 kids. I'm definitely stopping at 2 and have zero intentions and desires to have more. However, I don't deny that it's a joy to have more kids.. Whatever, God gave us children as like talents. We would need to be good steward over them.

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Nathan had shown some great improvements in doing some discipline work on his own since this week's school break. He read the Bible and did some home assessment without my asking! That's showing really good signs of maturity.

I had some me-me time at the jog but there were some mental block when I did the rounds, I could only wrap up with 1.4km today. I did 1.9km last fri. Somewhat dissappointed that my stamina did not build up since but the goal is to do 2.4km by end of this week.

AT work, though it was planned that my trip to US was gonna be mid April, it might happen earlier.. uh oh. my boss will let me know when I'll be fed to the sharks.
So Jeff, if you are reading this, I may make my appearance earlier than I'm willing to.

Hubby is super stressed for his work but he had some great news to share. He's promoted! Thank God for His providence and blessings!

going for that trip

My RO asked me if I am ready to go USA (alone) office for two weeks this morning. He mentioned this last month but it still felt too soon for me to tackle the tasks alone there.

I started this new portfolio barely two months ago, to be exact, it's only 7 weeks in the job. That is inclusive of the Lunar new year week! He thinks I'm ready, me thinks otherwise. I asked for another 4 weeks, which means I'll be meeting the US folks in April... I am actually both apprehensive and excited.

Apprehensive probably because of home..Although I've discussed this with the family, I'm not really sure if my hubby can cope. Especially now I am doing most of the fetching, guiding, coaching, planning etc. You see, Mums ALWAYS know better.
Besides being at home to make sure things are in place, I am definite going to miss my darlings. During the 4 days when my hubby and I was in Macau last Dec. As much as I enjoyed just being the two of us, I had wished that the kids were with me. I had thoughts of how they would enjoyed the walks, what they would say about the desserts, how their eyes would have delighted if they saw the height from the tower, how they would look in their cold weather clothings, the things we could have taught them... oh but not without the thought of them fighting each other, heh.

Excited cos.. for one, I've never travelled to USA before. And two, it's great learning experience for me. Not that it'll be easy and non-stress though cos I would prob be fed to the sharks of my colleagues there.. haha. It's business and in all honesty, being on a holiday and on work is an entirely different story. nonetheless, I would have mark this as yet another milestone in my career, an achievement for myself. yes, I'm a mum but also that career woman I set out to be when I wanted to finish my business degree.

Now you see, the struggle of women. We are that female who was groom to work in the society, we are also the female who has inclination to be more sensitive to caregiving.

Indonesia Earthquake, Singapore Tremors

Tremors were felt in different parts of Singapore at about 12 noon today.

the first time, I was in the toilet doing the big business. I did not feel anything. The shit did not go anywhere else either.. And if anything would have happened then, it would be totally unglam.

the second tremor, we were discussing over the Nike sports outfit someone bought. Totally distracted by the thought of shopping. Did not felt it too.

But hubby's entire department were evacuated and asked to work from home. They activated the Continuity of Business (COB) process.

I'm still in the office, working.

something to think about..

we were having dinner on Sunday evening when Nathan asked a question all of the sudden.

The question:
Mum.. if we do something which we are not suppose to do. Would (in my head I was thinking he would ask - would God know) it be lying if I did not tell it?

Without a doubt, I said yes. Omission is also lying.
I did not go further into detail that there could be "white lie" which happens when you access the situation. I did not even probe him!

But later that night, I ponder upon this stange question he asked.

- is he hiding something from me?
- have I done something which I'm not suppose to and did not tell it to another person and he somehow know it (I could be unaware.. usually I will tell)
- did he want to tell me something else but I did not probe.

well, I left it open. He is already going to be 10 in October. He is really an intelligent boy who is also sensitive. I really hope that he would have by now develop the habit of telling me things instead of having to probe before sharing.

And this boy was so sweet. there is this debate the arena which I encouraged him to watch. This week's topic is Mother Knows Best. Mothers should stay at home to raise children.

He says that both parents knows best, mum just know better than dad.
Thanks alot for that confirmation son! haha

Busy with what..

These days, I'm glad that exercise is getting to be part of my regime to get back in shape. Mon, Wed and Fri 10pm - runs. Slowly increasing from 1.5K to 2K.. hope to get to the 5K, 10K in 6 to 12 months time.
Alternate fridays for cheong.

Thurs is Pilates. Got to work out those muscles to strengthen back and get that protuding tummy and flabby arms out of the way.

Weekends exercises will need to depend on the children's schedule.
Let's see..both kiddos will be doing Wushu and Ballet on Sat morning respectively. Afternoon will rest a while before going for swim. Oh, oh.. I did 3.5k (wrong), 500m swim. I felt my arms really aching.. and enlarged! But I will continue to do that and try to cut down on eating. all in the name of vanity, heh.

After morning church, we will need some rest after lunch. It will be grocery shopping for the week till 5pm and the kids will have their Jap and English class in the evening after dinner. Perhaps i'll squeeze in a do at home pilates during the evening slot. I'll alternate that with trying out of new recipe.

Well, after penning it down, I feel that life now is more in control. There is more me-time and family time besides office work. Yeah!

Food for thought and stomach

Sat morning, we were at tampines round market for breakfast. Ah girl is having her usual Soya milk with "You tiao" when she blurted, "Mummy look, they sell Sushi here too". I look up and indeed she was not entirely wrong, there it is... if you read the hanyu pinyin that is. in English Tasha says it is: Elephant rich Japanese sushi (heh)

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some time ago, the hubby took pains to queue two hours for this ...

It's really good and at S$1.20, it's such a bargain!

And the indulge before CNY even started.. Toast's chocolate cupcake! although steep at S$3.75, it's a reward food when you need it.

me, the monster or ...

Over the weekend, on Sat nite to be precise, I went into some hormonal rage. I realised that it was due to PMS later really.

After the dinner at Harbour city, well it had already kicked off some sparks between the hubby and I. It was just that my head was flooded with pain and I said things that provoke him, of which I had totally no intentions and did not think it was. Now, that IS a problem issn't it.
Then, in the middle of the night (1.40am) , my headache just grew and turning to him, I asked for the tiger balm that I thought it was at his side of the bed. He flared up and scream at me. I recalled being too hurt by his uncaring reaction and at the same time, afraid that he will hit me out of rage - something he had done before. All possible negative thoughts came all at once. That I did not come from a blessed family (ridiculed by my MIL a few times), that I was not someone who do work, home well. I could not hold friends together. I have no close girlfriend. No one ever replies the emails I send for encouragement etc.......
the thought of growing old with the hubby seems super bleak after I sat down at the living room to recover from the verbal blows. I felt I did not want to continue my marriage life with him at all. I proposed a divorce. Now, to think of it, I was whining for attention but did not know how.

Then, he was also not forgiving to the fact that I am so insensitive to his sleep routine and threatened that if I leave, he and the children will leave Christian faith.
I felt..... so sad or rather in mandarin 委. Throbbing with headache, not only was I not being understood and taken care of, I was repremanded for kicking a fuss and at the same time threatened.
Then, I swallowed whatever feeling I felt at that point and ask for forgiveness for disturbing him from sleep. I got some medication to treat my headache myself. We were in bed at 2.45am.

He did express his regrets later in the morning and tells me he loves me. I did not answer and it could hurt him alot.
If you ask me now what my feelings are. I am numb. I know it must be Satan's attack but I don't know what to feel towards the hubby. I need no advise for now cos I will snap at any which comes along. That could signify that I still grudge him for treating me that shabbily.

Anyways... it's over right. yeah, it's just once in a bluemoon huge marital fight. Sometimes, it emerge with victory, sometimes, like this one, I emerge more disillusioned ever.

funny how we turned out

15 years ago, when pondorosa was a common place to date. This friend,G, brought me to view the panaromic view of Singapore from Swissotel, then this hotel was by some other name. He asked me if I could be his special girl. I could not recipocate and felt really really really bad telling him I could not. Because he was really a nice guy and gave me tons of encouragements when I was down. No, I never regretted us not being together. And yes, we are still friends after that. Afterall, we really almost grew up in the same family church.

After I move out of that church, there was a few times we met but was not really able to chat. We had the opportunity to stand by the roadside and spend an hour sharing each others lives yesterday. He just finished a project for the company I'm employed and I just returned to the same company after a year out.
There were some mutual friends we brought up during our conversation. And we had to admit that it was strange how some of us took on vocations that is totally..... unexpected.

to digress a little.. it made me recall how I had a huge crush on friend, J that many moons ago. He was then a promising and talented pianist, I loved his humour - I doubt he could share mine cos I was not very vocal at that time. He had lotsa charisma (my opinion) and he also sings really well. Come to think of it, it is easier to swoon girls with great singing skills... right??
Anyhow, he didn't like me the way lovers do, I was just a friend, a good friend. He blatantly tells me that when we are older, we would laugh about how, you know, we did not get together. I did not think it was gonna be that way then. Not that I was bitter.. really. I thought being 30 is old and I'll never reach that age fast enough. haha.
Oh, I still treasure the drawing of a cartoon of me.. He remains now a sweet friend of mine. We were never soulmates anyway. Hope to meet up with him in USA when I visit the place.

there is also M, who is a dear, dear, dear friend of mine. He is so ever cynical and have all sort of weird ideas. We are not so in touch now but i have tons of memories of the way things were.

So there, we have now friends (some may be distant friend) who are pastor, entrepenuer, MNC employee, MOE teacher, SAHM, rich sales person, church worker, designer, lawyer, immigrants in USA/Australia....

some of us who did not know what be inspire, some of us are already what we inspired to be...

edit:

here is the pic which I still have from J.

Lunar New Year

Whee..with the 2 days holiday that is right after weekend, there were 4 full days to rest and not think of work. I liked the way my holidays turned out.

This year, to respect that fact that my dad passed on last March, we intent to keep CNY celebration lowkey... not as if I am in the mood too. I practically left most of the CNY stuff to my hubby, he got some goodies, put up the deco and bought the flowers. He almost bought the tulips just for me.. so sweet of him, but I didn't allow that to happen.

flowers for his mum, 20 roses at 10 bucks!

Friday nite saw me going home at 5.30pm (almost sharp) and we took the kids out for our own nuclear family dinner at soup restaurant at the airport cos it's near. It's the first for the kids and the hubby (cos they are forever tempted by sakae sushi to try others food) and they loved it. The soup has so much goodness, the begger's ribs were finger linking, the chicken and the ginger sauce so refreshing, there were 2nd, 3rd, last helpings to the claypot tofu, the veg if the kids eat chilli would have been great but it was delicious too.. we polished off the dishes and every bit of rice. So satisfying with the capital S that we did not have room to snack on Popeye wings .

We had a round of family boardgame before we hit the z-land.

The next day, the hubby and I were inspired to jog at the nearby park since we had no obligations/classes to rush. it's first for me to run continously for 2km. Nathan who is usually most unkeen to work out, ran with me too. We felt superb-ly refreshed! We promised ourselves that we must do the jog more often.

The reunion dinner with my hubby's extended family was pretty standard. At his mum's place, "free" healthy homecook food (steamboat) - what more can I asked *wink*. No, I am not complaining but every year, I always lament that it did not feel like a reunion dinner as each will take their bowls of rice and veg and sits in front of the Tee Vee. Those who mahjong-ed will rush thru meal so that players can play longer... well, that IS the tradition for their family, I guess.

The following days were bits and pieces of visitations.. there is however one which was memorable cos I almost teared on the spot. We went to my MIL's second's bro's home, he saw my girl (the only grandchild who is willing to pay visits this year) and started pouring play gifts .. poppers, fuzzy yo yo, etc. It reminded me so much of Dad as this is prob something he would have done if he is still around. I really still can't bear the thought that he's not around anymore.

Day 3 was mainly for ourselves. The hubby and I jogged again without the kids, they wanted to laze around in bed. I stretch an extra 500m to add my previous 2km.. (in hopes to rid the accumulated goodies fat). oh, and I managed to get the speakers for my ipod before before heading my mum's place. with that, it wrapped up my New year.

I did not feel like I was dragged in to work on 4th day of lunar year, so that is a good sign. Cheers to the rest of the months to come!

VD outing

Intially, the hubby wanted to bring me to Kusu Island.. It's strange how he came up with this idea.. insisting that the lagoon there is one of the best spot to swim and relag, but apparently I was totally NOT keen. For one, looking at turtles are not really romatic, right? For two, we can always check into Sentosa for some lagoon fun.

So he went along with the idea to have breakfast at Vivocity, then did almost the whole day of shopping. He did try to book a couple spa but the appointment available was at 9.30pm and will have to end the session at 11.30pm. With the thought that those spa-ers will be dog tired by then and the spa-ees (us) may not enjoy the fullest, we did not go for it.

The budget for the spa however did not go to waste.. *hee*

4 beautiful pcs for 200 bucks.

my favourite piece.

3rd level of the mall, there is a pet safari.. and look how some dogs are dressed for CNY.

see those ears on the poooodle

hey, what nice tail you have there Maltese