1st week of 2008! HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Haha.. a BIG and NEW discovery in 2008, thanks to Zing -- finally found this "Compose" button to edit my fonts and colours.. goodness.. I'd been looking for this but never clicked on this tab.. Well..... New Year day itself was a no-event. At this age, I really want regularity in my life.. the usual morning cycling to Pasir Ris park, followed by late breakfast. Katja, the little girl from right below our apartment, came to our place to play for the 2nd day in a row. YingHong would have preferred to play in Katja's home, but all her toys were packed into cartons as she was moving to NZ for a year with her mum on Friday. The girls had a good time, and YingHong gave her a beetle toy from McDonald's as souvenir. Then, Quintin (a boy from 2nd flr unit in our block) came to join them for a while. His subsequent visit to the loo kicked up a big crisis..(sigh). The OL (old lady) at home actually blocked him from going into the toilet and complained that he should have relieved himself before coming to our home.. etc. etc (what the ?????).. a big quarrel with the master of the house followed after that... so our new year day didn't end too well.... but YingHong and I still managed to catch "Sinbad- Legend of the seven seas" on TV ... fun!


Ok... 2nd Jan was a contrast -- a happy and exciting day! It was Ying Hong's 7th birthday, and her first day in Primary school! She was very proud of herself and carried her own school bag all the way as we walked to Elias Park Primary School. As expected, there were lots of anxious yet proud parents crowding around the hall , and later at the canteen (during recess) to observe their children and take photos (myself included). The kids were happy by tired at the end of the day, good thing that the school arranged for shorter schooling hours for the P1 kids this week. It's also cute to see them pairing up with a primary 2 student so they have a buddy to guide them to buy food & drinks in the canteen. So cute!! Ying Hong said she didn't want to eat initially, but the P2 buddy told her "no, you must eat"... so she didn't want to disappoint the buddy, and ended up buying a drink and a chicken Pao (bun) to eat...

Looks like for a while, her favourite time in school will be the recess where she can explore the canteen!!!

Best time of the year..

Have been super lagging with this blog. Here I am again... back from beijing holiday, had a fantastic time and am so glad my girl experienced a variety of things - sight-seeing(the great wall), history(Forbidden City), culture (Beijing opera), food, activities (indoor playground, aquarium, Skiing).
Ate too much last week (3 barbecues sessions and 2 parties), so have to really start winding down and go on a rigorous exercise schedule soon. The holiday weeks passed by so quickly, I am already feeling a bit depressed thinking that this merry period will be over soon. We are approaching a new year, and soon we will have to face a whole new year of challenges! My new year resolution ? Save more money (no more designer bags! -- but will accept them as gifts.. heee), and be more focused and patient with Yinghong since she will be starting primary school - a whole new milestone in her life! To my beloved family and friends out there : A super-duper 2008 filled with Joy & Happiness & Luck!!
Let's hope more people will be more conscious about saving our environment (drive smaller cars pls!) and save our mother earth from more disasters!

Another happy week...

My brother, yongman, came back last friday to spend the weekend with mum & dad before flying back this Monday. Had a quick dinner gathering at our favourite "Shan Ding Cha Can Ting" in the C.C. near mum's place. Spent Sunday afternoon at our old neighbour's (Florence) place, poh piahs, curry, beehoon, birthday cakes.. hmmm. and the great company! Missed the group! Ying Hong had a great time catching up with Ratchel and Natasha too. Heading to Beijing this afternoon, so gotta rush off this post and leave for airport soon.

Kindergarten graduation is a big deal!

Have been very slack on updating this blog since I signed on a facebook account and been struggling to learn a little more about that.
YingHong's primary school orientation and Kindergarten graduation (her 2nd time) is on the same day - 16 Nov. Their little concert at Post Office centre Auditorium in Paya Lebar was quite a delightful one. Was hilarious watching the little ones mess up a little here and there. Most funny of all was one of Yinghong's friend who danced fervantly, twisting her body and butt, but her face was all the way expressionless...just her mouth in an "O" shape. Pictures to follow later.
Eeling's wedding dinner last night was fun! The pretty bride was enjoying herself, and our table was the most photo-crazy(with Ali-baba around, of course!) one!
Photos to follow....

Hurray High Tea!

The long awaited high tea afternoon with BeeYean, Jennifer and the girls is here. The girls had lots of fun, but the adults were kept busy making sure no one breaks any crockery...the pictures tell the story...

Opinions....

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but people with authority or in position of leadership should know better to shut up when they do not have wise things to say.
A "someone" in some political party just trumpeted today that sexy women are a distraction and are making men losing sleep. Blaming others for his own weaknesses. Human beings are born with many weaknesses...we are selfish, we are easily tempted, we are greedy. What makes us different from animals is our sense of moral and our ability to educate and restrain ourselves. This is the foundation of the human society. It is good to dress and behave decently in public and observe moral standards, but it's a bigger crime to blame other people for your inability to do the right thing. Imagine a place where everyone is free to do anything he/she desires???? Imagine the law punishing the victim of a burglary for being wealthy and tempting the burglar???
My opinion, and my advise to that "someone": Learn to restrain and do not excuse yourself by blaming others.... in another words, do not seek the easy way out!

A week of dinners and conference calls

My recap of the week is conference calls and dinners... Yinghong picked on her dinner on Monday night and kept nagging about going to Coffee Club. Finally made a deal with her to have her finish dinner within 15 mins, and brought her and Kholifah there for tea and hot chocolate. The girl was sooo thrill lor. Tuesday we had a dinner party at New Asia Bar with our chairman, but half way through still dialed in for our weekly team call. Wednesday was conference calls and dinner at home at the same time..Thursday... quick dinner with Mike and Rickson, then drinks at Scarlet Hotel (thank you Rickson!) before we headed back to office for conference call. Last night's dinner with clients was at Mortons Steakhouse...ambience and service is ok,but waiter has typical american showmanship lor.. can't leave you alone to read menu, must push out so many things to "show-and-tell"..my goodness! Food was quite good but not the type I will miss and return for, at that kind of price lor. My favourite was the Jumbo lump Crab Cake... marvelous! Steak was good, but by the time I am half way through, it got harder and dryer (cos I got asked for an "almost done"). Funniest is the steam broccoli, two quarters of broccoli, I felt like I was in a market! Got the waiter to bring them in to cut them into smaller bite-sizes for us. Another best is the chocolate lava cake!!hmmmmm.....heavenly! Today, after Yinghong's art class, we explored "Botak Jones" american fare in a food court in Depot road. It's definitely yummy food at good prices! The Chicken Gumbo and Stuffed Jalapeno (see picture) are very good! Ying Hong enjoyed her fish n chips too!
Last night when I mentioned to a dinner guest that I have a blog, she asked me "oh.. you have a FOOD blog?". I explained it's not a food blog, but a blog to share what's going on in my life with my friends.. but maybe this edition is really qualifying as a "food blog" ...heeee
Finally, thank you so much for the thoughtful gift from Ali-baba!! So sweet of you... With the whole week of eating, tomorrow better do lots of exercises....