Coming Back

Monday 20 December 2010



The more i listen to this song, the more the memories are flowing back. Bit by bit, little by little, memories of happier times with him start to fill up my head. Maybe it's because i'm alone and have nothing better to do which somehow gave him a chance to quietly creep into my mind. Of the first time he brought cut fruits to my first workplace, the first bouquet of flowers he sent me on my birthday which i thanked my boss stupidly instead of him, the first movie we watched at Capitol and many many more. But strangely, those are memories of the first few years. The memories of the rest of my years with him are begining to get hazy.


Maybe i'm getting old. There's a saying, the older one gets, the more they will reminisce the long forgotten happier times.


Or maybe it's the effect of listening to this song on loop mode.


December

Saturday 18 December 2010



After 12 months of waiting, December is here again, popping its head through the gloomy and rainy weather. I'm here alone, at home, updating this blog and listening to this Thai song currently playing. Turn up the volume. You will like this song too.


Dad was discharged yesterday. He was admitted for losing too much blood. He came back from a 3-week driving trip from China. It was his dream of doing a driving trip and he fulfilled that. He and his friends shipped their cars to Shenzhen, China and from there, they drove to various parts of China before driving back to JB (Malaysia) via Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The journey was too tough for a 69 year old man. All he said to us was he wasn't feeling well when we called him on his birthday on December 6th. Little did we know Dad was very ill and at one stage, was hospitalised in China!!!


He finally came back last Sunday and we heard some not-so-good news from his friends. Dad stubbornly refused to see a doctor despite being weak and pale but finally gave in to us on Wednesday. Doc told us Dad needed to be warded immediately as he was losing too much blood, almost 60% of a normal healthy adult male. He needed a blood transfusion. Dad finally admitted to us he has on-off rectal bleeding for the past 2 years and while he was in China, the bleeding recurred. Doc sent him for a colonoscopy on Thursday and found a large polyp in his colon. It's now removed and being sent for test.


With God's blessing, Dad is as-far-as-we-can-tell fine now and guess what, he's now on a holiday trip with my eldest sis and her family. Dad is as stubborn as all of his children combined and he wanted to go. Since he is now somewhat ok and with his doctor's approval, we allowed him to travel again.


I thank God for His blessing and mercy on my Dad. Wihtout God's grace, i don't know how Dad can come back home to us at all. I'm sure everything will be alright. Dad kept telling us he has unfinished God's work to do and hence, he needed to live on. He's a very positive man. All i can do is to constantly pray for his health and well-being.


There're so much things i haven't done for my Dad and i want more time for him.


Tossing And Turning

Wednesday 8 September 2010





Fluff in her new bed!


Kimchi Wild Rockets Salad

Thursday 26 August 2010



Kimchi Wild Rockets Salad


Dinner for tonite: Kimchi-Wild Rockets Salad with honey tomatoes, black olives, croutons, egg, pumpkin seeds and Shane's unwanted baked salmon skin.


อร่อย มาก!!



Four Strawberries A Day . . .

Monday 23 August 2010





. . . keep the lines at bay!! :)


You wanna look younger? Start by eating more strawberries!! That's what i did. Strawberry, one of the top ten antioxidants food that can help prevent heart disease and cancer, reduce blood pressure and slow the effects of aging.


Have a Strawberry day!


PS: Sorry folks, been busy again. Looks like i can't fulfill my a-blog-entry-a-day promise. Preparing another deployment at work. Gonna spend a few weeks away from home again. Not good.


My Handsome Nephew

Monday 21 June 2010



IMG_3082


He melts my heart!! x



U-Turn

Sunday 30 May 2010




It's funny how i cannot be honest with myself anymore. It's funny how i dread to confront what i was really feeling about all these time. Is it true that the more you hope something good will happen, it often will end up just the opposite? Is it true that it's best not to hope, coz you might fall into the well of disappointment even deeper? If we cannot have hopes, where do dreams live then?


Is there really no u-turn in life?


Having A Doggy Is Like Having A Kid

Sunday 23 May 2010


It's not easy raising a 'dog' these days. Darn, they are "expensive". You can't put a price on Fluffy but those stuffs that she needed to have (or i thought she needed to have) are exorbitant!! Mine, those pet stores? They are blood-suckers i tell you!


But still, i bought many many things, whether she really needs them or not didn't matter, as long as i think she needs, then she must have it - like a toothbrush and vanila-flavoured toothpaste. What? That's right folks, yours truly bought a 4-month old puppy a toothbrush/toothpaste set, intending to brush her shiny beautiful teeth!! Was i nuts? I probably was, but oral hygiene is equally important to dogs right? Unfortunately, brushing Fluffy's teeth is so much harder than i thought, but i won't give up!!


I told my friends what i bought and they all laughed at me. Everytime i pass by the pet store, I will buy something new for Fluffy. She now has three different sets of harness and leash, and today, i bought her a nice comfy bed and cute booties for walking. Last Friday, i bought her three pretty shirts to wear and now, i find myself looking at online shops to order her more!! I find myself silly too, like a little girl with her new barbie doll, but i want the best and nicest for Fluffy, so naturally, the 'best and nicest' comes at a price! :(


Here are some cute pics of Fluffy i took this afternoon after a nice bath. Btw did i mention she is very 'princessy'? Really, when i took her out this afternoon for 'training', all she wanted was to stretch out on the pavement :(

































New Addition

Wednesday 19 May 2010





Meet Fuffy, our 4-month old silky terrier. There were some who said she doesn't look pure breed but who cares. We love her to bits! Fluffy has very nice, soft and slightly curly hair and she hardly barks!


Good puppy!


I'm potty training her now and have signed up for a 10-weekly lesson with Waggie's. Very soon, Fluffy will be able to enjoy running around our house happily and not having to coop up in her play pen.


Simple Delight

Saturday 15 May 2010





I know i shouldn't have but it's weekend.


Together II

Thursday 13 May 2010





Now and forever...
(picture done by Shane using Karma Art app on the iPhone)


Together

Tuesday 11 May 2010



couple

Once upon a time...


Cash Cow

Monday 10 May 2010





Brilliant, Twilight-the cash cow!


Pen Pals

Sunday 9 May 2010



So old school but i think i can try.


Thinking

Saturday 8 May 2010





I'm loving my black hair, and thinking it's not black enough.

I'm loving my pink cardi, and thinking i can do with more bright colors.

I'm loving my clip-on Camelia, and thinking i deserve more flowers.


不得不爱

Wednesday 5 May 2010



rose

还是有上天安排。


Vongole - The Prima Taste!

Friday 2 April 2010



I'm not a fan of pasta, coz it's carbo-high and for someone who is dying to lose weight, i was horrified to find myself falling in love with Vongole @Etna.


So much so that i tried to duplicate it at home but sad to say, i still can't get the taste right.


And while doing my weekly groceries shopping at Carrefour, i was delighted to find the 'Vongole Sauce' by Prima Taste and with the 'How To Cook' printed at the back of the pack. Dying to try it, i bought the rest of the ingredients. Here are what i prepared this evening:


Garlic - really, this is personal taste. I love garlic, so naturally, i put in a lot more than required. Also, finely cut bird's eye chilli, commonly known as 'cili padi'. Btw, do you know i was called 'cili padi' throughout my school days. Yah, that's why i always tell you people, 'don't mess with me or my kid!'. LOL :)



White sliced button mushroom - i love mushroom so i added them in although this recipe didn't call for any mushroom :)



The Star of the dish - Clams!! I love the distinctive taste of clams but the recipe called for only 8 miserable clams! So i bought 2 packs instead, with a total about 30?? LOL.. But actually, the more clams you have, the juicier and more aromatic the dish will be!


What else do i have?


Spaghetti - This is the usual brand i got for Shane, Barilla wholewheat spaghetti in number 5, just the right size! You don't have to use spaghetti if you don't like, in fact, any other pasta or noodle will do. Even Maggie noodle :)


Now, time to cook!



First, blanched the spaghetti in boiling water until it's soft. This brand takes about 5 - 8 mins, depending on the heat. Add a spoonful of salt when the water is boiled, then add the spaghetti. Salt brings out the natural flavor of the pasta, so it taste better! And don't worry about it being too salty for your liking. You won't even taste much of the salt, except from the sauce!



When it's soft and nice, pour away the hot water and rinsed it a few times with cold cold water. This will remove excess starch and maintain the consistency of the spaghetti at that level where you stopped boiling. I also find the spaghetti slighltly more 'springy' (not sure what the word is) after giving it the cold water treatment. Leave it aside and now, we can prepare the sauce.



Fry the garlic and chilli together, my garlic is a little burnt coz i like it like that.



Next, put in the mushroom.



Now add in the clams, and after stirring quickly for half a minute, put in the Prima Taste Vongole Sauce. The sauce is brown in color, not thick or creamy and it's about a cup and rather flavourful. Also, add in the rice wine (as per the instructions).



Simmer it for a minute, then add in the spaghetti. Stir it well for another half minute and you're ready to serve!!


Well, for my dinner tonite, i added in:


Olives




Wild rockets



And tadah... my Vongole!!





Verdict: Although it still doesn't taste the same as Etna's, but it's closer to it than my own version, so i'm gonna give it a few more tries, add/minus an ingredient here and there and see what i come up with next.


Gadgetty Me

Sunday 28 March 2010



In less than 3 weeks, i've bought one 42-inch LED HDTV, one 32-inch HDTV, two blu-ray players, one DSLR camera, one P&S compact camera, one photo printer, AC Ryan Playon HD mini player and one 1.5TB Seagate harddrive to go along with the AC Ryan player!


I so love all these gadgets and i want more. May i also say, i love gadgets more than i love men!!


At least, my gadgets are always waiting for me at home.


Men? They have the tendency to stray.


A Little Reward

Monday 8 March 2010



Instead of a new LV bag, i reward myself with this black beauty instead:





I was deciding between Sony A550 and Canon EOS 500D but in the end, i chose Canon, simply because Canon was lighter! LOL.. okay i know that's not a very convincing reason but it's absolutely one of the reason :)





I have always being a huge supporter of Sony cameras becaus of it's brilliant picture quality but this A550 is just slightly too big for my hand and should i start collecting lenses, i might one day find it too cumbersome to use! Moreover, i have read about the many good reviews of this Canon model, so i'm gonna give it a try.


Let's also see what other Sony digital cameras i have used the past years:





I can't remember the exact model of my first Sony digital camera but it looked rather similar to this model. I gave it away to Dad after 2 months when T3 was launched.





Sony T3 was the first camera to have internal lens and it looked very chic at that time.





My next camera was the sleek and refined T20 and the T3 was then given to my brother. It took beautiful pictures but sadly before i got bored with it, it got lost in a restaurant in London.


Upon my return to Singapore, i bought T100 as T20 was no longer in production.





Not only the T100 took gorgeous pictures but also pretty amazing good videos. Again before i got bored with it, i accidentally dropped it in Ocean Park in Hongkong last year during my family trip and thus ending its life span :(


My last buy was the Sony H20.




I bought because it's not expensive, yet feels like a mini SLR in my hands plus it has semi-manual focus. But now that i have the Canon EOS 500D, i think this will again go to the hands of one of my brothers soon! I'm such a generous sister. :)


Although i have upgraded to an SLR, but i don't think i will ever stop buying a compact digital camera for my day to day use. I already have in mind the sleek and lovely TX7.





Every girl needs a compact digicam in their handbags and this certainly goes very well in mine.