January Updates

THIS

can pay for our wedding expenses

can pay for an all expenses paid Europe trip + the bag I desire and maybe more

can pay for our renovations (all furnitures included)

can pay for the COE of our new ride!!

January has been fabulous and I am grateful for the blessings! We just secured our new ride last evening. It was a tough decision between owning a coupe for a honeymoon couple vs owning a 7-seater for family building. At this point in time, 11 months away from our wedding and any potential family building (with His blessings), we thought a 7-seater would have been great. But that means we will never be able to own a coupe until we are old and toothless and saggy, when the kids have grown up... how many times have u seen a chio car whiz past with the roof down only to see a balding old ah pek behind the wheels?! ;p N doesnt want to look like that. We are only youthful once! So YAY! to our FIRST (and perhaps the last) 2 door ride!

And anyway, a Honda Stream or a Toyota Wish is worth as much as a Continental Coupe, and MORE than a Continental 7-seater now. It isnt wise to get the Japanese 7-seater at the moment.

We also sold my 2-wheels ride in mid Jan.

This chio-ster fetched a whopping $480!! (down $20 from the $500 cos we wanted the lady to take a cab home. Riding alone through Mandai at 9pm isnt exactly very safe with the dark streets). Lucky we bite on to our base price and refused to let go to the many offers at $200-$250 only. O_o"

We also rendered half a day of help last weekend for an event organised by the Parkinson Disease Society of Singapore (PDSS) at TTSH. The disease is basically a brain disorder which affects smooth and coordinated functions of the muscles. Patients suffering from the disease have stiff facial expressions (sometimes they STARE, but they dont intentionally mean it), walks with a shuffle, have slow movement, have difficulty balancing and have muffled speech. 

Research is still ongoing on the prevention, diagnosis and cause of the disease. It is heartwarming to know that there are these dedicated people who care. 

I have always been the wimp with an uncontrollable tear duct. Maybe it is a cancerian trait. Seeing the toothless old man selling tissue laugh heartily makes my heart wrench. I knew I was in for a free-flow when I agreed to go help out. But seeing the zest for life some of them have, and the selfless love from their family members they got, I knew I was in no position to cry. Something held those tears back.

I guess I made the right choice by agreeing to go volunteer half a Saturday. It opens up an inner enlightenment towards life. And money cant buy such experience.

Later on that day, I kinda rescued a poor maltese at Sinaran Drive. It was wandering around by itself outside the private houses. Bearing in mind the JUST DO IT motto I have set for myself for 2011, we stopped the car and went down to check the doggie out. Carried him 3 houses down before a maid spotted the dog and hurriedly claimed him back. O_o" MAIDS. 

Booked my bridal package with SG Bridal. We haggled quite a bit and got a pretty good bargain for Package B but eventually decided to pay for Package A instead. Cos we do not need 2 albums with 15 pages and 31 different poses EACH. The practical decision made in the nick of time! Although it means having one less outdoor scene at the Kota Tinggi waterfall...The album's just gonna seat under the bed next time anyway, we had to be rational. Paid the deposit for my MUA and got a FURTHER discount too!!! MUA pushed down her price by $76 in order to round the figure to a rounded sum! Who rounds DOWN figures to the nearest hundred and by so much?!

Grabbed hold of a CNY imperial robe for my little prince.

Oh my. How handsome is he!

But he is TOO FAT! Cannot button! So I trimmed down his fur (for 2 hours) last Saturday and forego a morning ride from ECP to Changi. The sacrifices mummies make for their babies..But I accidentally cut his balls O_o""

He was enjoying every bit of the blow-drying process. He fell asleep... Z.Z" and seemingly forgot about the cut on his balls. HEH. We went car shopping after that to final confirm our choice...

Tissue cost $2 for 5 packets last week. Inflation? ;p

Today's the last day of January 2011! CNY's here in 2 days' time! Wishing all a fruitful, loved, and blessed CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Tissue counter: 25 (18+2+5)

Daisies

Got to love the vibrance!!

(For N's mum, who turns xxth today)

Girls JUST LOVE to receive flowers, no???? Although we all claim it is a waste of $$.

I lost about 600 calories last evening - that's about an hour's ride worth of lost. :)

But they have been restored DOUBLY over luncheon. *burrrrp*

Mouth Restaurant-ed again with all the high calorie (aka salted egg yolk) stuffs! I know. at this age, we all gotta watch our diet already... But heck. You should see how the cardiologists eat, those that I had the honour to dine with anyway. PORK BELLIES!! PIG SKINS!!! YEah.. and they are the people who help solve your artillery blockage. ;p

**BUUUUUURRRRRRRPPPPPP**

Some things are worth risking some calories for :)

***a peeka update of Murphy***

Loves how he seems to understand when he is the subject of photography. He'll just keep very still while you point your tool at him! SMART BOY!

And after googling sooo much about doggie tuxedo for my wedding, here's what I chanced upon at Daiso!! READ. S$2 shopwide!!!!

A BOWTIE!!

And Murphy sure knows how to strike a charming pose...

And I think he looks happy wearing it. That's his HAPPY face!

Strap is adjustable with blunt hooks at end. super dog-friendly! :)

Now I m  just left with his coat/tuxedo :):):)

Excuse me, who are you?

10 years down the road...I might wake up to this fei zai beside me...face puffed beyond recognition...

N assured me this will be in 10 years' time... :S

Simply because we have been pigging out A LOT. Weekdays and weekends. And when things start to get a little less active for us, I cant imagine the worst!

alot of chinese foods these 2 months! yummmmmeh!! Cant hide chinese roots!

Tunglok Signature (Vivo) - 15 Dec 2010 (Wednesday)

Forget the lobster. Aint worth the moohlah$. Mango sago served in young coconut with a vanilla icecream is worth returning for... we went back the following week ;p

Tunglok Signature (Vivo) - 22 Dec 2010 (Wednesday)

Their bamboo clams are LOVES!! They do it better than NO SIGNBOARD, and cheaper too!!! :) And of course! the dessert! :):)

The Asian Kitchen (NEX) - 9 Jan 2011 (Sunday)

With sooo much praises for this place that N&I repeatedly go back to.. brought my parents to this outlet near homeland to try. Now i have got 3 must-order dishes from this place!!

1. salted egg yolk french beans

2. the danghoon that is named ants climbing up the tree (directly translated from chinese). Dont be fooled by its cheena pok name. It is super yummy!

 3. Crispy garlic sweet sour pork!!! (NEW)

Nonya and Baba Peranakan (Vivo) - 6 Jan 2011 (Thursday)

Over at No Signboard last week and was surprised by the crowd - mostly ang mohs! I think thats the default place most hosts would think of bringing overseas friends to for a local feast anyway... I think most locals would, like me, prefer the usual kind of chilli crabs served in any kopitiams and which gives a better value for $$$ (more egg-y).

I wonder what's for dinner this week :):) Definitely an-hour long bike session later this evening! huffpuffhuffpuff! All in the name of moooore food!

Design Ideas - Green Pad

Another reason what to love about our HUGE balcony space.

I envision it to be alot of wood and greenery. And space. It would be best with a seamless flooring transition from the living space, or with foldable aluminium glass panes. I like to have an open space with a lot of natural lights.

And we will have plants..

Cant wait to get the keys :)

A lesson - Dont be apprehensive

Just paid $12 for these.

It is probably no big deal but I feel kinda relieved that I walked back to return the $ to the old man who was selling tissue at the bridge.  

Must have misheard something cos he said yi kuai san mao (S$1.30) while holding up the unopened tube of tissues. I dug out 2 $1 coins and told him to keep the change. It did appear a little weird to me, so I think I repeated the price twice to him and both times, he nodded.

So off I went, feeling all so good about it...until I realised that he must have said yi kuai san bao (S$1 for 3 packets). Brushed it off since I had already walked off halfway and was already nearing the office. And lunchtime was already overstretched. I will go back the next day.

But I was feeling bad. That $2 more could easily be his dinner money. So I texted N and I said a silent prayer. N urged me to go return the $ immediately. I told him I would go back the next day to return the $.  I told him the lunch crowd was over - "What if I go there and he has already left?" And halfway through our texts, it began to rain...so I got a little more apprehensive about going back - "It has already begun to rain. He should have left the bridge already..."

He pushed me a little and told me to JUST GO ahead, and if he is not there, at least I have tried. At least I have done SOMETHING.

I DID. I walked back. And when I reached, he had already packed up and was starting to walk away. I was just in time to pass him his deserved earnings.

Now I am glad I made that timely decision to walk back. Had I been another minute late, I might have missed him. And that $ might just make his day end better. :)

What about you? Have you ever experienced such aprehensions before? Do you always think about all sorts of possibilities which held you back on your actions? If you see an injured animal on the road, will you stop your car or think that maybe someone else will stop and help?

DON'T spend too much time pondering. JUST DO IT.  

I havent made any new year resolutions. But for this year, I resolve to buy tissues more consistently from people who deserve the help.

Tissue counter: 18

Ring of LOVE 25 Dec 10

We got our wedding bands on Christmas 2010!

Had nothing much to do on Xmas Day and we decided to hang out around Yishun for a tee wee bit, largely drawn cos they have a Wendy's there! It was seemingly a weird place to hang out in cos we bumped into JacQ (and her fiance) inside Sookee and she exclaimed in astonished shock what were we doing there?!?!?! Apparently Yishun is not an IN hangout place ;p Maybe we are just 2 boring foggies, with one of us turning BIG 3! this year, and Orchard Road is getting toooo crowded and happening for us.. :)

Anyway, N decided to pop into Sookee while waiting for me his mighty, always fashionably late da xiaojie to arrive ;p and he kind of decided to buy SOMETHING, ANYTHING on the spot. We decided on something practical for everyday wear :)

AND it came with a FREE GIFT!!

Wedding band holders! I almost kicked myself in the leg for thinking about the wedding pillows SS had been tasked to SEW and for laughing at HIS poor plight. ok. It was very mean to be laughing at N's buddy. ;p But here we are, with a FREE wedding band holder, and there he is, a BIG MAN going to SEW his own pillow. Tell me, who wouldnt be laughing?!?!

HAHAHAHAHA!

Been researching quite a fair bit on the tiny details of the wedding. But nothing's firm up yet.

1. Murphy's coat!!

The smart and suave tux will look really cool! But am worried it ll be too hot and the material too stiff for him.

Something stretchy, soft and snug like this will be a bit more comfortable. Best if it is in cotton but I cant find anything like that yet..

This will look damn cool! He can be the little furry BEST MAN! I wonder if mum can make magic with her machine and fingers - do a whole cotton suit that looks this formal for him... hmmmm...

Can imagine him being EMO throughout though...It's not good to have a glum face at your wedding right?! ;p

Maybe something simple, like these, will do. He can prance around in his full soft and furry glory.

Life's full of choices - they just make your life complicated! HOW?!

2. Corsages

Most likely will be DIY-ing them. Am just thinking y corsages always need to have flowers and made in sucha way that they can only be worn once?

Obviously I cant wear them anywhere else after the wedding..

Something like this will be good. There is still a flower (clay one though) but can be worn as a costume jewellery too!

This would be PERFECT! Simple (yet elegant) for everyday use after the wedding!

Sure hope to get my hands on some materials and start creations soon! But with the numerous post-work commitments...and chronic nua-ness syndrome on days that do not have commitments....betcha this would take a while to commence... *YAWNS*

3. Hand Bouquet

We will be getting our bridal package from JB. So it would be quite troublesome to get my fresh bouquet from there. Seeking alternatives. Fake flowers, feathers, crystals will be fab and something different!

actually kinda like this feather, crystal, rosette combination

Cost quite a huge $$ to fly them in. So I will need to DIY.

But I dunno how to piece them into a ball at the crown?!

N asked me if I have been doing my homework for the wedding.. ALL THESE! and all these while, he only had ONE thing on mind - what should be our wedding car?

O_O"

That's why men are from MARS and women are from VENUS aint it? <3 

DE(the)-grading system

Over a Nyonya and Peranakan dinner last evening with 2 other of N's work acquaintances last evening (who are non-Singaporean), we came up with our own versions of the Singapore academic grading system to fool them!

I was quite impressed with the bout of silly ideas we could come up with that instantaneously!

Before that, a glimpse of what we had for dinner (after our round of chillax at Pacific Coffee - they were having 1-for-1 from 6pm to 8pm!!)...

Nonya Prawn Roll!

our favorite Nonya dish!! YUMTUMS and goes super well with the sweet sauce!

Ayam Bua Keluah (Chicken and Betel Nuts) 

A very distinctively Nyonya dish! But not everyone takes a liking to the nut cos of its bitter and rather unique taste ;) I like to mix that into my rice.

Beef Rendang 

N's favorite, I think.

Fishhead Curry 

Chap Chye - a mixture of assorted vegetables 

Kang Kong  

always a favorite ;)

And, the classifications of the grading system that we came up with on the spot:

A - ATROCIOUS!!!

B - BAD!!

C - Cannot make it!

D - Damn Good!

E - Excellent!!!

F - FANTASTIC!!!!

Carrying a tiny one...

The reason why I look up to N all the time - his courage venture into the unknown!

him - at ease

me - careful hor! dont drop or twist her neck!

He has always had the JUST DO IT!, you never know until you try, what's there to be afraid of attitude. He is the pushing force behind many of my life-changing decisions, like plunging into the deep blues (I never liked that bottomless feeling beneath my feet).

I still look up to him in many ways.

Here's one:

The Man, who knew how to carry that tiny little thing!

The Man, who calmly placed little Le Chun onto his arms amidst all the gan cheong "BE CAREFUL!! Fragile!!" worrying cries from the yi pos (grandaunties).

She continued to sleep verrrry soundly, so I gathered either she is a pig or he must be really good at this :) I placed faith in my man :)

I also wanted to pick up this KAWAII little bundle of joy that night. But I'm scared. Perhaps this new year's resolution will be to learn to pluck up that courage to pick her up. What's so difficult about that anyway!? Murphy also grew up well under me during his puppyhood!

SEE?!

I could hold him so snug and secure! HEH!

2010 in pictures

Alot had happened during the year - Made new friends, lost some too. Mahjong proper. Cooked and baked alot. Travelled a lot. Laughed alot. Ate alot. Nothing could be better than having these pictures to explain the exciting journey in 2010 in summary.

BABIES 

officially became an Aunty twice this year and had a lot of parenting (well kind of) experience. Makes me wana have one myself if God is kind enough to bestow us with The Gift :)

Little-est addition to the maternal family turned 1 month on 1.1.2011!

The Strawberry Temptations I couldnt resist on the 3rd day of her birth.. haha! Strawberry Feets! :)

Became a closer Mummy to my own furkid by knocking off on time and going home earlier more often :)

BESTIES came back for a short visit!! We made merry and acted silly at a random rooftop in the heart of town and hang out like the good ole days!

(whew! N could still hoist me up in 2010!!!)

Got LUCKY and won a S$20 shopping voucher with this photograph on Mari's last day in Singapore!

TRAVELS

Down Under (for work and play!)

Made friends with a cute furball Down Under!

Stayed in Cherrie's appartment in Surrey Hills

Ate the MOST FANTASTIC pork ribs I have ever eaten!

Vietnam

Did an all-girls trip with Dia, YP and MY. Saw The Exotic French Coloniel architecture I was lemming about :)

Crawled through the Cuchi tunnels! (not through this pot hole though. did it the tourist way!)

Korea

Went on a holiday with my dear :)

Got my first Prada (gift)! :)

Manado

Did our annual dive trip for 2010 spontaeneously! We just met 2 other friends who flew in from Jakarta over at the dive resort and dived the days away! (Not on a 'school' trip!)

Caught OUR first beautiful sunrise one of the mornings

Went forest tracking and saw the SMALLEST monkey in the W.W.W!!!!

Played with a PUFFERFISH!!!

Created another lovely memory :)

PAKTOR

Developed a queer hobby which became our dating focus...

It is queer, like this.

WUIS came home for a bit! And we caught up over the hippest drink in town!

WEDDING PREPS

Settled on a date and booked our banquet!

Received the letter from developer!!

Bought our wedding bands on Christmas day!

My first YATCH trip on 10.10.10 for Shum's ROM!!

All dressed to fit the Tiffany theme!

My first PULAU UBIN trip spent riding on a mountain bike on the dirt trails!

The FIRST round of HOUSE WARMING started amongst the cavers! We spent the past 2 years attending weddings, this will be the start of the next 2 years doing home visits... and thereafter, should be the pop showers! :) Life's great growing old together :)

And the year ended off with a homey countdown to prepare for KYSM's WEDDING on 1.1.2011!!!

Congrats KYSM! They look a fab couple! And look at that gorgeous FUSHIA dress!

Made 50 CUPS of STRAWBERRY MARSHMELLOW CUPPA on 31.12.2010 till 1.1.2011

They were well received during the baby shower!! :) People came to tell me it was NICE. :) Twas well worth sacrificing a countdown and my beauty zzzz for :)

Spending time with FAMILY...

...and DEAR (although he made me angry that day...we made up the very next day) ;p

and of course, Murphy!!! He is in every bit of my life!! :) And he already has a dinner appointment next Thursday! O_O" My boy's popular like that..he gets dinner dates and I become chauffeur! hrmph!

And to summarise 2010 in words, I got BANGED!

and HORNY!!!

alright, JUST KIDDING!!!

Life's short! Laugh more! Kill that angst! :)

2010 had been FAB overall! 2011's gonna be sooooooo muuuuuuch better!!!

HOME and WEDDING! :)