The start of new things to come

It may be 2010, a brand new year, but no fresh routines seem to be carved out (yet). The Sunday started off lazy. Fatigue from the whole year's work and all the partying probably ate me up and took over me as manifested by the time I got up today. Well, it's not too bad -- 11am :).

The day progressed with grocery shopping and heaps of overdue filing and laundry. Felt good with the amount achieved though it didn't seem apparent. Sometimes such feelings are difficult to measure empirically. The warmth of the sun caressed me as I made my greatest achievement -- READING more than 3 pages! for those who don't understand what so magnificent about this feat, I seem to have an "illness", and that is I'll fall asleep after reading 3 pages of any nature. Be it a feature article in a magazine or the latest episode from Twilight, you won't find me past 3 pages! Hopefully the bug leaves me in 2010 as one of my resolutions is to READ MORE!

2010's a good start for some. In particular Big Brother....won his first Toto of the year! Though not too big a deal, but still a handy sum to start the year. Fatty also won a tiny sum. Thinking that luck may just overflow to my side of the pasture, I decided to place my bets on my car plate number. Am not a gambler. In fact, this probably happens once in a blue moon. I guess, what's mine will be mine. You've guessed it -- I did not win the lottery :(.....Big Brother was nice enough to share his joy. Brought me and sweetie to Coffee club for desserts and coffee. Sweet.
It's the soccer season again and I treated the boys to some Taiwan delicacies -- WASABI CUTTLEFISH. Awesome stuff which brought tears to many! haha
The day wouldn't end off nicely without food. Calorie laden dinner tonight was at Joo Chiat. There's hordes of stalls along the stretch, each with their tantalizing spread.


Service was not to my delight. Someone must have stepped on the old lady's tail as she was rather snappy. There was one large table at a corner but she said it was a dead corner thus wasn't big enough for the 5 of us. Next, a family of 4 came and instead of asking us what we'd like for dinner, she allowed them to place their orders first! They were obviously acquainted but still!!!! The food fortunately came rather promptly. Ba Kut teh wasn't all that fragrant. In fact, it's more like pepper soup than anything else. I asked for a refill but was told to wait. Only upon asking twice did the refill come. Efficiency -- Zero. Fish head curry seemed to be their specialty as everyone seemed to be having it. It was enough to appease my cravings but it was a tat too sour.

However, this meal inspired me to plan my menu for Chinese New Year. Hopefully I can find time (and budget) to cook for my family again and prove that I'm not some prima donna. My culinary skills would be put to the test in feeding some picky tastebuds. Am already thinking of trying out assam fish, prawn paste chicken, garlic prawns...just to name some. It's not too early to think, it's afterall only a month more! CNY is on Feb 14 which coincides with Valentine's day...which probably means some love birds wouldn't get to celebrate it on the day itself!
The night wouldn't be complete without desserts. Thus, I had to do my nightly shopping. Was checking though updates on Agneselle and guess who I saw? MY COUSIN! OMG! Agneselle invited three lucky buyers for dinner. I think she must hv spent heaps to be one of those "lucky" buyers! The world has become smaller because of the Internet!

A wonderful start to 2010

HAPPY 2010!!!
This is the first post of the year and it didn't come easy as it's the first time blogging using my Mac! At long last, I'm using it. Am still rather confused by the various shortcuts and functions and am certainly not inclined to using the mouse. I'm constantly reaching out for my mouse but end up grabbing air! But an apple mouse cost close to $100! Ridiculous! Was struggling with getting the photos into collages but failed miserably. Apparently the previous software (Photoscape) which I was using doesn't have a Mac version! So if anyone has any suggestions, PLsssssss let me know!

Sweetie and I decided to spend NYE cuddling up at home. Seems like maturity has kicked in and he's not longer in the league for rowdy parties. It's been a few years now that we've missed out on the yearly NYE party which is held at Bayshore. I missed it quite a bit but am pretty thankful to spend the new year with my dearest. Am tremendously blessed that we've pulled through yet another year and I guess it's pretty special to start the next one quietly together. This is the time we say our prayers and show our thanks for having each other in our life. Above is the scrumptious meal we whipped up together. (well, technically, majority were by me...he was napping the whole time! That PIG!)
Tried two different ways of frying Prawn Paste Chicken. Taste wise I think I've attained 88% of the kungfu, but texture's really needs improvement. Tried using cornstarch flour and no flour....two different results, both of which I'm not too pleased with! Hopefully I can perfect it soon and whip up a mean meal during CNY.
Philippine Lala -- AWESOME stuff! The meat is succulent and the juice which oozes out as you stir fry is heavenly sweet! coupled with the ingredients, the aroma is to die for! One taste of it and you'd be begging for more! Doesn't come cheap though --- $10.90 per kg! In fact, the whole meal was quite exorbitant -- $20+..haha.....

After the tantalizing dinner, we sorted out some technical stuff. Imported files from PC to Mac and from Mac to PC. sweetie had a hard time figuring out how to import my emails over. Thank goodness I have a computer engineer as a husband! Being a tech-deficient person, all I know is drag and paste! oh n Ctrl Alt Del! haha The Fireworkz @ the Floating platform on Marina Bay was awesome. A whole 8 mins display which led us to a new year.


Cheers to the new year! Sipping away my favourite wine. Really hope that 2010 will bring more hope, luck, achievements and milestones!

NEW YEAR DAY!...How else to start the new year but Shopping!!! Mind you, sweetie was the one who suggested that we visit the newly opened 313 @ Somerset. Honestly, with an array of shopping centres sprouting out these days, I don't understand what's the big fuss over 313. The shops are disappointingly the same old thing which you'd find at any other major shopping mall! Nevertheless, I bought heaps! haha
Overwhelmed with excitement when I saw the 3 storey Forever 21!!!!! I almost gave an exultant leap when I found out that there was a sale going on!!! Bought a few dresses...yeepee!! New Year clothes...can't wait for the rest to arrive through mail! *wink*...It's an addiction I tell u...my wardrobe's already bursting at its seams. Have been procrastinating about donating my old clothes. Somehow, I feel most charitable organisations can do with more money and not clothes!
Plus, they are so new and well maintained, I'm a wee bit reluctant to part with them. Thus the three big bags of old clothes are still lying quietly in my store room.
FINALLY! Gladiator heels! Sweetie chose this for me. Claims that the rest looked Chin-cheong. Sometimes he gives pretty good advice. note, it's SOMETIMES.

My Loot! 2 pairs of shoes, 3 dresses and a top. Not bad not bad...a good start I say!
Next up, for a totally different experience, I pestered sweetie and brought him to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It must be at least 10 years that I've last visited that place! It's HUGE! THe light afternoon breeze touched my cheek as I entered the familiar park. I could hear the chirping of birds, oblivious to the people observing them. Fresh air filled my nose and cleared my mind. It was truly an experience of a different kind.

Sweetie didn't need much persuasion in photo taking. The tee he was wearing however was of a totally WRONG colour! Camouflaged real well!! haha...
There's even a stage for performances in the middle of a lily pond! Several groups of people were laying on their mats, enjoying the serenity.
Not bad if we could do some yoga at the park!
As the sun rose higher into the sky, it gave me a deliciously warm feeling -- not too hot, not too cold. Regulars in the park clustered in their favourite areas. Children ran round boisterously whilst their parents gossiped about the latest scandal of their neighbourhood. Young couples settle down in quiet "secluded" spots under the trees, admiring each other, totally ignoring the rest of the world. I drank these sights in and went deeper into the park to see gigantic trees standing in the middle, their roots resilient and spreading. It's such a joy to be escaping from the urban life and not weaving through crowds of people.

Did you know that a ginger flower looks like this??

Time seemed to tick away especially slowly today..not that it's a bad thing....we had dessert treat from Big bro @ Coffee Club. A sweet start to the year. My resolution for the year..hmm..haven't really sat down to think, but certainly hope that finances, career, health, love and family aspects will be smooth and flourish. Hopefully milestones will be made. It never hurts to dream right?


Dreams can often become challenging, but challenges are what we live for. But I can't dream forever. Spent 2009 dreaming for quite a bit though some achievements have been made (The biggest yet is my affirmation of my teaching skills in Creative writing). Hope 2010 spells more action. Afterall, action is the foundation and key to all success.

Life is a series of steps. Things are done gradually. Once in a while there is a giant step, but most of the time, we are taking small, seemingly insignificant steps ont he stairway of life.

Ralph Ransom