Narnia Kid's camp

One week more and I would be back to school...It is the school holidays now.

Today, went to Marianne's workplace to help out in a kid's camp, jointly organised with "Focus of the Family". I was there to help take pictures. There were about 70 kids who signed up and the camp started about 2pm. It was according to the "Chronicles of Narnia-the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe" Theme. The kids had loads of fun!

The camp commandant was Jerry-the finalist from Singapore Idol who professed he was a Christian in front of the media. He did a great job as he was full of enthusiasm.

Anyway, we also had tea time for the kids where they sit according to their groups on a mat and have butter cookies, sandwiches and drinks. We tried to make it similar to the show where Lucy had tea with Mr Tumnus, but of course, with some local flavour added to it by having sardines sandwiches and packet drinks! haha..

One of the last games involved the kids using Narnia money to buy things from the supermarket and decorate someone or something to make Narnia come alive. It was fun seeing the kids involved in different creative works.

Ended the camp about 6pm. CT met me at Marianne's workplace and we had dinner nearby before we took MRT back home from City hall. It is about 30 mins journey back home to punggol via MRT and LRT. Quite convenient.

Camera Phone

I was given a new camera phone by my dad. Actually, he owns it and when I saw it lying in the house, I traded my phone with his as he does not know how to use the complex functions.

The Nokia camera phone has proved very useful to me as I love taking pictures and it is difficult for me to bring my bulky manual digital camera all around wherever I go. So, sometimes when I see something interesting, I just simply snap.

One friday morning (a few weeks back) when I was supermarketing with my mum at Giant (one of my favourite past times), I saw this interesting fish called the hairtail fish. The tail of the fish is practically as long as a hair..very unique. So, I quickly used my camera and snapped a picture.

Last week, I have also been taking my Punggol LRT to the MRT station to have lunch and dinner appointments with my friends. Took pictures of Punggol as well before it becomes more developed.

I believe, in a few years time, the empty plots of land near the MRT station would be shopping malls...

That is what I enjoy- to see something develop and grow. Very interesting. But right now, I am very happy with my countryside lifestyle in the over-populated Singapore.

Took picture of my visit with my dad again this week to "Society Of Physically Disabled" for his physio session. He was made to remove the top cup and place it on the other side by turning his body. Took him a while to do that.

Just yesterday, I visited Marianne and my god-daughter as Marianne did not have to work. So, I went for a short while and was amused as Marianne bathed Phoebe. Amazed at the fact that she has so many toys to play with when bathing, and also that she understands so many more things now and how to speak up.

I was even given a bath as Phoebe splashed water on me and she kept laughing. Ha!

Janine's 1st month party

Yesterday, I cooked a hearty breakfast with Grapefruit juice. Check this out! As you can tell, it is Italian bread with fried eggs, and whole slices of luncheon meat with lettuce. I was inspired to cook this from a HK drama serial I watched where a couple went to an eatery to have this for breakfast and the gal was complaining that her mom uses whole slices of luncheon meat, rather than small bite sizes of meat. So, she was telling how much she would miss her mum's luncheon meat sandwich when we goes to US. Haha...So, that is why I pan fried whole big slices of luncheon meat.

It is definitely yummy..but I felt so so full after eating this. Tat was why I drank grapefruit juice to appetise my stomach.

Today, is my niece's first month party. The actual day is actually 2 days later, but being usual Singaporeans, we are all so busy that weekends are better for most people.

Went first to my parent's place to take the car together to Bukit Timah where my brother stays. But before that, we had to help carry my dad to the car.

We went earlier to play tennis. Played doubles with my cousin, and my god-sister, Chloe. My dad took Chloe as a god-daughter during his stay in SGH as she was his physiotherapist. She happens to be the same age as me, from HK and coincidentally, she is from the same church as me! Never knew..

That is Chloe helping my dad in the picture, with the helper and my mum, while CT is in the car pulling my dad.

We played for about an hour, as my dad was the umpire and scorer. My dad is a very good in tennis. Actually, my dad is an all-rounder who plays well in all kinds of sports. I am very sure he would very much love to play with us.

While we were resting, my uncle and auntie wanted to play. It was real fun watching them play as they were improperly dressed! Haha...

Above is my uncle playing in long sleeve shirt and pants.He used to be an accountant for many years but is now retired and happily taking care of his huge collection of orchids in his garden. When I went to his house one day, he passionately showed me his collection and told me a lot about orchids. I, myself love orchids but I am not sure whether I can take care of them..Simply amazed at how my uncle can take care of so many of orchids. Think it was about 100s of them.

This is my aunt. She is playing tennis without her high heels. She has been a teacher all her life and is still working in MOE in the CCA department, mainly looking into band. My parents all say my bro and I got her genes. Haha..

Anyway, we had a great time playing. My god-daughter, Phoebe came too! I was feeding her while CT was feeding me!

During the party, dad was holding Janine..

Brought Phoebe out to see the Koi fishes and playground as well..

Phoebe is only less than 2 years old and she already looks quite tall. Kids really grow up very fast!

Belated V-Day dinner

I have not started work yet and thus, have a lot of time with my family and run errands for them and for myself. Just this morning, I walked to Sengkang and did my supermarketing there as the NTUC there has more variety. compared to the one in Punggol. So, I did my grocery shopping there, bought a Toman Fillet Fish for dinner and got a big deep pot for myself.

I have always wanted to own a deep pot for soup. I always use a slow cooker for my soups but sometimes, I prefer soups that are thick, thus needing a pot of soup over a big fire. Once I bought the pot and walked back home, I immediately cooked soup with it!. I cooked papaya pork rib soup which I was very pleased with becasue of the natural sweetness and thickness in the soup. I boiled it over the big fire for an hour plus reducing the big pot of soup to 3 bowls of soup. I added peanuts, north and south almond seeds, honey dates, pork ribs and cut papaya. I have even planned my next soup to cook with this pot! Cant wait!

Last night, I finally celebrated V-Day with CT. Well, it wasnt actually a celebration cos it was just a usual dinner...but it was meant for that purpose. Anyway, we went "Outback Steakhouse" at Millenia Walk. I was hugely disappointed maybe because of my hugh expectations I have developed from eating in US so many times.

"Outback Steakhouse" in US serves larger portions at a cheaper price, with excellent service all the time! However, "Outback Steakhouse" in Singapore serves smaller portion at an expensive price, with very poor service! So of course, I was hugely disappointed with service in Singapore. I went into the restaurant earlier than CT as it took him a while to walk from City Hall MRT station. The waiter did not even bother about me-did not even ask me whether I wanted a drink or not while waiting. I was totally ignored. Nevermind about that. When we needed to order, we had to grab the waiter's attention by standing up and waving our hands frantically.

When the food was served, the waiter did not even notice that CT was without his cutlery. He just placed the food and left as if we were invisible. He should have asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?" People in the service industry need to learn to open their mouths and talk. I can understand that they might be shy but if they are shy and refuse to talk, they should be in another line.

I was disappointed with the portions because in US, when I order a main dish, it comes with free house salad or casesar salad. In Singapore, we have to pay for ordering a salad. So, when I ordered my main dish, all it came was one small piece of steak and my side dish, which was garlic mashed potatoes. Can you imagine paying S$30 for a small piece of steak and a spoon full of mashed potatoes? I was still hungry after eating though paying so much.

And again, to ask for the bill, we had to catch the waiter's attention..sigh..very tiring. When the bill came, it indicated that we ordered beer! Crazy! When we approached the waiter that we did not order, he seemed puzzled as if we were lying..Our tables only had ice water..where ever did the beer come from? Glad we had 20 Voucher from Maybank which helped reduce the price a little...If not, I will got nuts paying so much for a lousy meal and service. The food was tasty but disappointed by everything else.

I do wish Singapore will one day introduce the tipping service and hopefully, waiters and waitresses will thus serve better, despite their race as the foreigners sitting opposite our table seemed to be served much better as the waitresses were filling their cups for them and always going to their table.

Nobody came to our tables except during ordering and paying. Sigh..

played tennis

Today, ran errands by going to Maybank at Siglap to apply for a new card, then had lunch next door- Ampang Niang Tou Foo. Yum. I love "Yong Tau Foo"...

After that, went Parkway to change our US dollars leftover to Sing dollars and bank it in straight as we had so much leftovers. We were even so scared of getting robbed as we carried the stacks of cash from the money changer to the bank.Sigh of relief once we cash deposited it into the machine, thought still skeptical since machines may fail. Ha..

Went Korkor's condo at Bukit Timah after that to see the baby and played tennis. Actually booked the court from 3-4pm, but since I was there early and no one was playing, we played from 2-4pm. Boy, it is tough playing in such weather! I was perspiring so much and feel so faintish from the scorching heat...Made me miss USA and the wonderful weather!

I played against Korkor and CT and they also 'bullied' me by pairing up against me. Or rather, I should feel honored...as I won them both during individual games. It was all for fun and we had a great time.

Right after we played finished, someone took over the court but it rained and started pouring suddenly. Poor people-chose the wrong time to play.

Janine was sleeping so soundly and her hair seemed to have grown thicker. How adorable.

After bathing at Kor's house, we went for church service and then, had dinner at my mum-in-law's place. Loved home cooked food.

Time spent with family

Today is V-Day. CT and I had discussed that we would not like to go out for dinner on this day because of the crowd and the exorbitant prices! So, we decided to spend this day with my family and I suggested cooking for my family.

I went Siglap early. Had lunch there and when my dad and mum went for physio, I went out to Parkway and ran some errands. I bought an exercise mat for CT as his V-Day present as we wanted to get one. I also collected some photos which I sent for development a week ago. When my parents came home, I gave them the photos. It was actually all the pictures of the accident leading up to today...showing the progress of my dad's condition. I thought he would like that as it is a reminder of how God has been good and how much He has healed him.

I prepared bak ku teh for dinner..there was also Lo Hei, steam fish and I did tang yuen as well. I love the peanut ones. Made red bean soup with lotus seed to go with my tang yuen. I had the red bean paste since US trip but never had the chance to use it. So, I finally decided to use it up today since I was going to do tang yuen.

I wanted the dinner to be simple, but in the end, we were all so full! Haha..

I invited Esther for dinner as well and we had an enjoyable time stuffing ourselves.

Took Mary Beth around

This few days have been raining. I left my house at about 10 am, took the bus to my parent's place. My dad's friends were there visiting him when I arrived. I went there to collect the car and then drove to pick up my friend, Mary Beth.

Mary Beth is actually CT's immediate boss' wife. She is probably about high 20s, just got married. She is from Chicago, US and has moved with her husband here for about 3 years for his work since they are setting up a new chemical plant here in Singapore. I knew her when we were in Knoxville, Tennessee as our husbands went there for work. So, we, wives went out together during the day time.

I went up to her apartment opposite Tanglin Mall. It is a very new apartment with modern design and modern looking pool. Very nice... i went up to her house and saw her pet rabbit which she just got. She got this place unfurnished and had to buy all her furniture and kitchen ware here.

After touring a nice place, I took her to Parkway parade for lunch. I wanted to bring her there as she has not really been to the East side before and I was familiar with the East since I grew there all my life..

Had lunch at Crystal Jade Kitchen and ordered seafood hor fun, steam pork ribs, veggies with 3 diff types of eggs and this dish had century egg which I wanted her to try! Haha.. With my influence and guidance, she ate it and did not think it was that bad. I told her that a lot of things are all in your mind and if you tell your mind it is not that bad, it wont be.

After that, we went to the Pet Shop as she bought some stuff for her pet rabbit. Then, I took her to Giant and with an adventurous mood, I took her to this durian puff/tart shop and asked for a sample. She gave us and I told Mary Beth that a lot of people do not like this and it is very strong smelling. Then, I told her that I find it sweet and bitter, and the texture is like cream puff. So, with this idea in mind, she tried and she could take it! I felt so proud of her.

Then, to pass the test, I went to this durian seller in Giant and asked for a durian fruit to let her try and Mary Beth took a little and felt it was ok. After looking around in Parkway, I drove to my mum's house to pass her my lunch leftovers and introduce her to Mary Beth. So happen, my bro was around too. So, I showed her my family members. But too bad, my dad was not around as he went for rehab.

Anyway, after tat, I showed her my house in Punggol before going to Yew tee to visit a friend with her. Her name is Angeline, CT's colleague's wife. She gave birth to a daughter few months ago and I have not had the chance to see the baby.

So, took this opportunity to go with Mary Beth since they have met each other before.

I told Mary Beth that today, I brought her to many expressways. We travelled ECP, TPE, SLE, PKE, KJE just within 4-5 hours! I was quite amazed at myself as I have not done that before...

Angeline's daughter's name is Nathanielle. We talked and ate New Year goodies. Yum.. Here is a picture of Angeline, Mary Beth and baby...

At about 6pm, I dropped Mary Beth at Yew Tee Mrt station as she didnt want to trouble me to go all the way to town again and moreover, my mum needed the car by 7pm. So, I was rushing. On the way to my mum's place for dinner, I picked CT up from Tanah Merah MRT station.

Had dinner there and then, rushed to bible study at a house in Bedok which starts at 8pm. What a busy and long day!

Rest Day

Sunday is our rest day as our church is on Saturday. So usually on Sundays, we would rest at home, do marketing in the morning at Punggol Plaza where they have open/wet market only 7 mins walk from my place, and at times, we would visit our families.

But today, Marianne, Joshua and baby Phoebe would be coming over for lunch. I invited them over. Cooked Yong Tau Foo, veggies with fresh scallops, braised duck and a soup. I bought the duck down at my block at Prime Supermarket as they have a small shop in the supermarket selling roast pork/char siew/roast chicken/roast duck/braised duck. I loved that store cos if I do not know what to cook, I can always buy something like that to add dishes!

Phoebe was as usual curious and running around during lunch time. She was checking things out in my house and she especially love dogs. So, she spotted my soft toy dogs all over my house and got them into the living room. Haha.

After a while, we went down to my house park. It is a nice big park. Phoebe had a own small little basketball, while CT brought the big normal one down to play. It was hot and sunny...

We also gave Phoebe some shots at the hoop...but she would just aim the ball on the floor.

The adults were playing and shooting hoops and there was a time when Phoebe saw us playing and clapped for us... so cute.

After playing a while, we went back up to our apartment to cool off. They left shortly after while Esther came at about 330pm. I was resting in bed. Esther said she would drop by to visit me. So just sat down in the living room and talked. Also watched TV at the same time as I still have my Star Movies and HBO channel. Cool!

When Esther left at about 6, I started reheating dinner. We just had the leftovers from lunch.

Day of travelling

Today as usual, is our cleaning day. I am in charge of the toilets, mirrors and cleaning the dust off tables while CT is in charge of vacuuming the floor and mopping the floor-more strenous. After every washing, I will always emerge from the toilet, wet! haha..Because I get on my knees to scrub the toilet floors and clean the basin etc..so the water always splashed on my shorts and T-shirt.Anyway, I love getting wet.

After cleaning our house, we always get a sense of satisfaction. We left the house at about noontime. Took LRT and MRT to Little India station visa the North East Line. We wanted to go Sim Lim to get a hard disk for my laptop computer as the hard disk crashed when I was in US. We had lunch at Tekka Market- Hainanese Chicken Rice and Po Piah. Yum.

I love looking at the computer stuff and gadgets in Sim Lim but after a while, I do not really like it because it is crowded and messy. So, I will feel confused in that place. There are just too many shops selling the same things.

After buying the hard disk, we took a bus from Sim Lim to Bukit Timah to visit my bro, Pam and baby. They stay in "The Tessarina" along Bukit Timah Road. So, it was a straight bus down the road. Very easy. The baby was crying at spurs of moment suddenly but overall, quite quiet.We stayed there till our church service was about to start. Then, we took a bus back up to Adam Road.

What a day of travelling! Had dinner at Adam Road Food Centre, famous for its prawn mee and nasi lemak. CT and I had nasi lemak..yum yum. Unfortunately, I did not bring tissue paper. In US, I never had to really use tissue paper as the places we ate always had napkins/serviettes on the tables to take.I wish Singapore could do that..

Lunch with friends

Today, I met up with Marianne and Esther for lunch at Stamford House, City Hall. It is a small shop called "Curry Favour", serving Japanese curry. Yum. I quite like the food.

For me to get to City Hall, took me only about 25-30 mins. I took a LRT just outside my house to the MRT station. Then took a train from Punggol station to Dhoby Ghaut which is about 15 mins. Then, from Dhoby Ghaut to City Hall is very near cos it is the next stop. So, when people comment how "ulu" Punggol is, I actually feel it is not and I like where I am staying as it is away from the crowds but yet, convenient in some way.

After lunch, I went home by the same way. No bible study tonight because of Chinese New Year. But heard the group meeting at Boat Quay for dinner. CT and I wanted to rest and spend more time with each other, so we did not go.

Cooked hor fun today. My first time cooking that. Quite fun.

accompanied dad

Today, I drove to my parent's place to return the car, had lunch and accompanied my dad for his physio at "Society for the Physically Disabled" (SPD). My mum pays for the transport to bring him there and usually it is either my mum or the maid who goes with dad. So, this time round, I sat in the van with dad to SPD.

Mum drove her car to SPD and waited for us to arrive. My mum came along as after the physio session, I would be going out with mum to settle my vocational license and dad would follow the van home alone. My mum has ordered a van for my dad so that she can take him out in future. So, this vocational license would allow me to drive mini buses. Cool cos I love to drive...

When we arrived, the physiotherapist was not around yet...but we were kept busy as my mum introduced me to all the nurses there..

Of course, I did not leave my camera at home.. This place is like a gym..very neat.

The first exercise, my dad was made to stand up with the help of 4 people. His record so far was 7 mins standing and today, with all our support, he managed to stand for about 8 mins plus.

I must say it wasnt easy to get my dad up. The physiotherapist had to pull him up while the lady helpers, including my mum had to push his buttocks and knees...

After that, my dad tries to use his arms by pushing on the bar. At one point, the helpers and physiotherapist were not using much strength as compared to previous times..and we were all so happy. My dad said he felt that his arms were aching from using it. That is a very good sign as it shows that my dad has gained more strength to his arms.

You can see from the second picture below that my dad is not leaning unto the physiotherapist body already as compared to the first picture..

After standing for a few times, he did some shoulder exercise next by lifting a stick one by one onto a ladder like thingy. Since he has no feelings on his fingers, his hands had to be wrapped up with bandage to allow him to 'hold' the stick.

It took my dad a very long while to get unto the next level. It was not easy..but whenever I see my dad performing the task, I could see his determination in his eyes.

He also played 'basketball' during physio..

The last exercise he did was just exercising his arms by rotating forward. It is like cycling but done with his hands. This machine shows the strength and speed you put in..so my dad kept keeping his speed at 20% until when the physiotherapist said last minute to go..I could see my dad increasing strength and it went up to 50%... Seeing my dad giving his all, really thought me a lot...

I remembered when I was in the van with him to SPD, I asked him if he feels excited every time to go for physio and he said yes as it is another opportunity to strengthen his muscles. He seems to be enjoying whatever he does and I am just glad he continues to have this hope as he fixes his eyes on Jesus.

CT off today

Today, CT took leave as he wanted to rest and just have a longer holiday. So this morning, CT and I went to Rivervale Mall at Sengkang to close some of our UOB bank accounts. We discovered we had too many bank accounts to keep track and rather focus on a few. After that, we took bus 27 from Sengkang to Tampines MRT. It is only about 25 mins ride in the bus.

Then, we met my mum-in-law at Bedok MRT to go to Hong Leong Bank. She needed to do some stuff at the bank with CT as it is a joint account with him. I left shortly later while they were still waiting in the queue as I needed to go buy roast chicken for my family. We would be going to my parent's place for lunch as my bro and Pam would be discharged from hospital today and they would be going there for lunch with baby Janine. It is so that my dad could see the baby.

So I told CT that I would wait at the bus interchange where 608 bus leaves. After I bought the roast chicken and sat in the bus interchange at the bus 608 stop, one old man sat down beside me and started asking me for the time. After that, I started asking him if he has eaten and whether he stays near by or not. He started opening up immediately and told me about his poor eyesight and how he has no one to talk to. He told me that he comes to the interchange area at about 5/6am in the morning and stay till late. He would have his meals here before he goes home. He said that no one ever talks to him. He also said that he is just waiting to die and even if he dies, no one would know.

I felt very sad hearing his story as I tried to cheer him up. He kept mentioning that I have made his day. He said luckily I am here today and I talk to him... Well, to me, is not luck. I seldom wait in the Bedok bus interchange and seldom open up to people and talk to them...but dunno what made me do so today... I suggested to him some things he could do, like going to a community centre or make some friends while he is here..I also shared with him that he should always think positively and started telling him about the train accident I was involved in with my family and how my dad is so positive despite not being able to move.

Then, he mentioned that because there is someoone who cares for him...He said that no one cares or bothers about him.. After that, I felt he was quite right as without family or friends in one's lives..it can be quite miserable. So, I started talking that it is not mainly about people caring for my dad that made him so positive..it is Jesus who gives us the peace and joy.

Anyway, when CT and mum-in-law came, I did not even realised as I was too caught up with talking to him.

Took bus to my parent's place and had lunch there. Met my ex-church mates who were there visiting my dad. By the time I was there, dad already carried Janine. But managed to get this picture from my brother..

Baby Janine was asleep the whole time through..how shiok.

Anyway, after lunch, I borrowed mum's car and drove to Parkway Parade as my mum-in-law needed to put some stuff in the safe deposit box. I dropped them first before I went to find a parking lot. We went to "Giant" after that to look see and buy some stuff that we need back home.

Then, dropped my mum-in-law back at Simei and drove back home to Punggol.

Rest in Punggol

Whenever CT has no work, we would still wake up quite early. Latest is about 8am but we usually wake up around 730am. I would prepare breakfast and then we would either head to the study room to check our emails or watch some TV.

At 1030am, we went to Doc John's place just 5 mins walk from our house. Doc John is CT's friend for quite a number of years already. He is a youth pastor cum worship leader, now serving in Prinsep Presbyterian Church.The church is actually a National Monument. Anyway, we would always catch up with his family-wife and 2 year old daughter, Aint. Even more so now since they moved from Tampines to Punggol once their contract was up. They are from Phillipines but got PR here. Doc John as you can guessed from his name that he is a medical doctor. Well, used to be...

Their daughter Aint is very cute with 2 huge eyes... She is 2 years old and can carry conversations quite well in sentences already. I remember when she was 1 year old, she could already read books. Amazing!

Anyway, after dropping by at their house, we went to Rivervale Mall at Sengkang. We walked there as there is a overhead bridge from our house across the TPE to Sengkang. Took us about 10-12 mins walk..

Went there to eat at the Food Court. We both had Jap food. I ate salmon with rice bento set, while CT had chicken cutlet udon soup. After that, we shopped at NTUC Fairprice before taking a free shuttle back home. Yes, they have a free shuttle bus that ferries people from Punggol to Sengkang and back. So, quite convenient.

So, the rest of the day, we just relaxed and spent time together 'recharging' our energy from the past few days of visiting.

Since we were at home, I have been taking sunsets of my house. Unlike US, I cannot see the whole vast sky from my house..but I am just glad I can still see a little.

This is the view as I cook, from my kitchen and some are from my living room balcony...





I love looking out of my window now and then to see what people are doing in the park and just catching sunsets...and lately, there has been a lot of wind coming in to my living room..So, it has been really nice and relaxing.

More relaxed

This morning, I had the car as my mum lent us the car whole day yesterday. So, we drove back to my parent's house, picked my mum up and then we went to the hospital to see baby Janine. Pam looks normal and it does not look as if she just gave birth. She was walking around as per normal.

Pam upgraded to a deluxe suite and it was very cosy place. I was sitting on my brother's bed and just resting. Haha..When we arrived, we went to take the baby as the hospital staff took her to do some tests..

The baby was sound asleep and just watching her sleep makes me want to nap nap as well..


She has a little rashes due to enviromental changes from the womb to the outside world.

After visiting Bro, Pam and baby Janine, we went to visit a relative together as we do so every year. This aunty would make for us carrot cake and yam cake... Too bad my bro would miss it this year as he loves eating it. We met up with my relatives there as well.

After pigging on lots of carrot and yam cakes, we went back to my parent's place to spend time with my dad...

Tonight, went to mum-in-law's place for dinner. She invited her side relatives over for dinner. I did not eat much as I was still full. Left at about 830pm by taking a cab home.

I am just glad today is not so tiring as yesterday's. Tomorrow would be better! :)

First day of Chinese New Year

This morning, woke up and got changed for the new year. I did not buy any new clothes as I still have quite a lot..so I just grabbed whatever comfortable clothes I had and donned it. Initially, I chose a pants and a blouse. But when we were leaving and went into the lift, I was swarmed with people who were dressed so nicely..and all of a sudden, I remembered the 'standard of dressing' for Chinese New Year.

So, I told CT that I better go up and change to something nicer, rather than pants. CT agreed and added that I dressed as if going to market. CT then helped me to pick out clothes to wear for the long day.. It is a struggle trying to choose clothes that is nice but yet comfortable so that I can last the whole day.

Anyway, in the end, I chose a long skirt and blouse. To match a skirt, I had to put on my high heels..sigh..what to do-got to sacrifice the comfortability to look nice.

Couldnt grab a taxi..was quite pissed as I was dressed nicely and had to stand in sun with my high heels waiting for a cab. In the end, I just found a bench near my house carpark and just sat down doing nothing. I was tired even before the visiting started. My legs were already sore and aching..sigh. Not used to wearing high heels.

Anyway, I decided to call my mum to come rescue us and she did. We went first to my parent's place to visit them and give them ang bao. Then, I took their car for the rest of the day as my mum is not going out. I would be going all over Singapore today with CT and his family as they do that every year. So, CT's mum needed the car. She wanted to rent one at first, but I knew there would be a way out without having to spend much money.

First went CT's mum's place for lunch and then got a quick picture as a family...

From left to right: Sister's husband; Feng Jiao (Linda); Mum; Feng Ping (Ally); Me; CT

You would never see CT wearing such shirt. His mum bought for him for his birthday and I thought at least he has something different in his wardrobe. Not bad..

After lunch, we went over to CT's grandma's place to meet up with his mum's side relatives who all gather there as well. They went to grandma's place for lunch while we just went to visit and sit around. After a while, we went back to CT's mum place to wait for CT's dad's side relatives to come over. His dad's sides gather from house to house once a year and for the rest of the year, they do not see one another.

So, the first stop was at CT's mum's place. They came at about 230pm, sat for awhile and then, next stop is Pasir ris. So the family's house which we would be visiting next would leave 5 mins earlier to go back to their house to open the door and get ready. So, I found it rather interesting.. After Pasir Ris, they all wanted to come my place. So, we left earlier a little to get our place ready and buy drinks! I was not prepared for guests to come over to my place, so I did not have any drinks ready. Thank God my supermarket just outside my block opens throughout the Chinese New Year.

I showed them pictures of my wedding as they did not attend. It is a complicated story but the short version is that we did not invite CT's dad's side to our wedding because CT's dad did not turn up. They all thought my house was interesting. I guess it is to them because they come from a traditional chinese hokkien family and their house has lots of chinese stuff and altars..etc..But when they come over to my place, it is clutter-free, no altars, no chinese ornaments, all modern! haha..

Anyway, after our place,we all went to Choa Chu Kang private house which had to drive through a railway track. I have never driven across a railway track in Singapore. Yup, very sensitive to train tracks now. It is a 3 storey terrace house and we only ate and talk. I was talking to CT's cousin who would be going to University of Melbourne to study dentistry. I had a good time talking to her and finding more about her. Instead, CT and his mum was quietly sitting at one corner eating, given their quiet and shy nature.

The last house we all visited was in Yio Chu Kang. It is a corner semi detached house. What stands out was the very huge koi pond with waterfall. They have 20 over huge koi fishes and about 10 'vacuum sucking' fish. I call them that because they stay on the ground eating dirt. Haha..

I was intrigued by the fishes that I spent some time in the garden just admiring and feeding them. Here is a picture of it..

We spent the longest time at the last house as we had dinner there. The famous dishes that I have been eating repeatedly was ngor hiang and pig stomach soup. I conclude it might be a hokkien tradition. It is all home made and so yummy. Dinner was great and the pig stomach soup has been in high demand every year..so I had to try their house specialty. It was so good, it made me cry as the soup was so spicy from the pepper! Very shiok. The pig stomach was so tender and clean..melts in my mouth. Oooo..

Oh by the way, the house in Pasir Ris and this house has lots of Karaoke Trophies. It seemed that they all love to sing Karaoke and would compete in them. They were also going to sing tonight as they invited all their karaoke friends to their house to get ready to sing. But before they sang, we left as it was about 930pm already. We were exhausted.

What a day...sent CT's family home at Simei before heading back to my own home.

Birth of baby Janine

This morning, I woke up and quickly checked my TV whether the channels are all gone and I was happy I could still view all the cable channels. So happy. I received call from my mum early in morning to let me know that Pam is in the hospital as she had contractions...

Pam is my sister in law. My bro and Pam got married in Dec- few months later than me and during their trip to Mobile, Alabama to visit me and my parents after the accident, we found out that Pam was pregnant as she had no appetite when she came. So we brought her to the doctor near my apartment in US and discovered she was pregnant. It was indeed God's gift to our family as it was timely.

Anyway, time passes so quickly and the baby was supposed to be due 2nd week of Feb. So, I was kinda shocked to hear she was in hospital already. At 905am, my bro sms me and told me that Pam gave birth to baby Janine at 9:03am weighing 3.05kg at 50cm. She is considered to be tall..Thinking of my brother as a dad seems unthinkable as he loves to play and when the next phase of life comes, it is just difficult to accept and watch people 'grow up'. Hehe..But def, I was very happy for my brother and Pam.

My mum went to Thomson Medical Centre with Pam's parents in the same car and I went later. Marianne and Joshua were already there when I went and it was a joy to see everyone taking turns to carry the baby. She has lots of hair...

Of course, I brought my camera along to take lots of pictures..It is always a pleasure to take pictures, though my preference is scenery...

Baby Janine's chinese name is Hui En. They chose the name to represent God's gift to them..I remembered in Alabama when we told dad about Pam being pregnant, he told us that he was praying for a grand child and it seems that God assured him. God is good!

Janine was happily sleeping and at times, she would open up one of her eyes to peek...

Here is the happy family...

Got my cable!

CT has told me before that he would not order Cable TV for me as we do not have anytime to watch it and it is expensive...but I am glad that finally, I have it. I guess he felt that I am still on no pay leave..so I can watch it as well as the price was not that expensive after the discount. So, I am very thankful to him for getting cable.

Yes,I do miss US cable television because of the programmes that I have gotten used to watching daily. Back here, the cable programmes are so different.

When the cable guy came to put the digital box and connect it, he told us that we would be given all the cable programmes for one day, including the digital add-ons. I was so happy and excited. So, there are HBO, Cinemax, StarMovies etc..everything! How awesome is that?!!

If not for tonight's bible study, I would def order take-in pizza or KFC and enjoy my cable. But nevertheless, my priorities were clear and I went for my bible study..

After that, I told CT that we have to watch till late at night cos we could only enjoy this for one day before they take away all the channels, except what we ordered. So, we stayed up and watched movies..

Slept at about 2am plus.. Yawn..

CT's birthday celebration

Today is CT's birthday. It was just a family gathering with my family and CT's mum. We ate at my parents' place because it was more convenient for my dad. Mum cooked while my mum-in-law contributed ngor hiang.

Had a great dinner as my mum put in a lot of effort to cook...I was very touched. We had "buddha jump over the wall", braised mushrooms with "hair" and dried oyster, steam huge pomfret which costs $38, fried egg noodles, and my mum's famous ginger duck! So yummy... My mum is a great cook and she is the best in my eyes..hehe..

Yup, got a little of my mum's cooking genes in me..as I love to cook and try new dishes. Here is my family enjoying the meal...(Pss..my brother loves to eat the whole ngor hiang like that!)

My brother got for CT a birthday chocolate cake.

After cutting up the cake, mum brought the cake to dad as he was at the living room watching his cable chinese TV serial which he catches everyday. Haha...

CT back to work

CT started back work here in Singapore on Monday already. He only had Sat and Sun to rest before he went back...poor thing. He leaves home at about 610am and comes home at 730pm. He reaches home later than his previous job because he starts later now. He'd rather wake up earlier, start earlier and end earlier. In US, he comes home 6pm..so we have lots of time together. But now, by the time he comes home, bathe and eat, it would be close to 9 plus pm already...so we hardly have time together.

Anyway, this is life back home..we have to accept it and try to make time for each other. Yesterday, CT ordered Starhub Maxonline and Cable TV for a promotional price. We did not want the free wireless modem, so substituted it for free 4 months for internet and a great price of $18.90/month for about 20 channels from cable. What we did was call up this guy who dropped by our place before we left US who is from starhub. Well, starhub has people going door-to-door to sell their 'products' and they will tell you the discounts and their latest promotion. So, it is quite good.

I was quite skeptical at first...so I called up starhub whether they really had door to door salesmen..and they said,"Yes". To check if they are authentic, check their starhub pass..they should have one.Anyway, the funny thing was that this guy from starhub who came to out house after we called is actually a secondary school kid who looks like from poly. I talked to him and he is doing this part-time. Interesting...He seems a very nice, sincere, decent guy.

The cable guy would be coming down on Friday to install cable TV for me..cant wait!

Reunion Dinner

After I had breakfast with my parents, I went home to bathe and unpack. So many things to unpack from my bags. Though my house was clean since my mum sent the cleaning agency to my house just before I came back, but it was so messy from my stuff...sigh. I hate mess as it makes my life so unsettling.

Anyway, I packed what I could..and as the evening draws near, I went back to my parent's place to get ready for our reunion dinner with our relatives as well. We had it early so as to cather to everyone's busy schedule. I have a cousin who is an air stewardess and so she flies very often, even during Chinese New Year. So, I guess tonight was the best time to have it and since CT and I just came back...it would be great to see my relatives again!

We had great food- BBQ and Steamboat. As expected, my mum prepares a lot! It was endless amount of food. We first started off by tossing the "Lo Hei" which looks so much already, doesn't it?


So after eating that, I was not hungry anymore...For BBQ, there were chicken wings, satay, otah, beef, sausages, corn, sweet potato, prawns and for steamboat, there were 3 diff types of veggies, yong tau foo, mushrooms, chicken meat, fish, bean curd, 'flying saucer', fishballs etc etc...

What a night. Everyone was talking about how full they were and when we stopped eating, some food looked as if they were not touched before! haha..

But anyway, we had loads of fun and a great time as the 'kids' ended off by playing cards which I bought from USA. This card game is called "Loot" and it has won the mensa awards games. Very interesting strategy game about being pirates and looting the gold. Only costs US$4!