pebble JOY

1st photowalk

2012-02-13T00:03:00.000+08:00

my 1st photowalk!! with T, an old friend who took beautiful, excellent photos on my wedding day. he recommended going to joo chiat since it's my first, as there are many interesting stuffs there to shoot.
i didn't have a theme in mind, but since it's joo chiat and i love all things retro, i thought i could have a retro theme, but i must say i wasn't very focused in following the theme, i tried, but i deviated, many times...
anyhows here are the few that i personally like:

very very cool retro wooden letterboxes!

windmill - i can just watch it spin in the wind all day

one of the many attempts at capturing the spiral staircase, very difficult!

i get giddy after staring at this for awhile

heart-shaped leaf

love the bright red wall, the lamp, and the shadow cast on the wall

love the vibrant reds & charming smile here :D

for the rest, you can view them here
- rach

green tea tiramisu

2012-02-09T22:41:00.000+08:00

i have been itching to do jamie oliver's tiramisu again, but the thought of whipping till my arms break put me off (especially with my low watt electric one), but i saw this green tea tiramisu recipe at wen's while we were baking biscuit sponges, with Reb (look at how the lil' baker was hard at work!), i had to go back to make that!

very focused on sifting the flour while Reb scooped the flour into the sifter...

carefully folding in...

so when i went back on another day (by myself), we made biscuit sponges again for the tiramisu, we kinda did 2 unorthodox versions from the original recipe, mine was the more unorthodox one, just poured the green tea mixture all over (the one on your left). would prefer a stronger green tea flavor, but still yummy yums!

- rach

1st fuss-free haircut

2012-02-07T23:21:00.002+08:00

the tot has grown, he's okay with having his haircut at the salon now, in fact, he looked like he had fun

ta-da! the new haircut! totally fuss-free!

however, after that when i asked him about going back to the salon again in a few months' time to have his hair trim shorter, he said he doesn't want to go to the salon to have his haircut, he wants me back to cut his hair, aww~~~ still mama's his best hairstylist :D considering the last 2 haircut i did for him was not too bad, not too bad at all ;P

june 2011

sept 2011

- rach

the moon and all the stars

2012-02-06T23:45:00.000+08:00

i looked up to the sky, the moon was a perfect circle, huge, bright and seemed extremely close. i went under a tree to block out the street lamps and gazed into the sky and it was a starry starry night. smiling as i gazed upon the stars and the moon, i felt like a child again.

and i remembered this song which i love:

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent Your name is
How excellent Your name in all the earth,
Your glory fills the heavens
Beyond the fartherest star
How excellent Your name in all the earth

When I think about the heavens,
The moon and all the stars,
I wonder what You ever saw in me
But You took me and You loved me,
And You've given me a crown,
And now I'll praise Your name eternally

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent Your name is
How excellent Your name in all the earth,
Your glory fills the heavens
Beyond the fartherest star
How excellent Your name in all the earth

- rach

the ribena fruit

2012-01-30T23:44:00.001+08:00

i saw this bright red fruit at the market's vegetable stall, and i asked the auntie what that was...
i didn't know ribena fruit looks like that, i didn't even know ribena's made from a real fruit, i thought its just some sugary artificial coloring syrup drink, but i like it, from young, can't say i'm nuts about it though...
auntie was enthusiastically encouraging me to buy some back to boil & try and so i did, being adventurous in cooking...

just look at the vibrant red liquid bubbling! i added some sugar for myself, and teeny wee bit for the tot, nice, quick & easy!! - rach

p/s: oh actually i did a search and real ribena's made from blackcurrants, but this is some sorta substitute, you can read up more here

museum day

2012-01-29T23:04:00.001+08:00

me-time on saturday where i escaped into dreams & reality at NMS, there're hundreds of pieces at the exhibition, but below are the few that somehow drawn me

a mother comforting her sick child; the child died in that year after this painting was done

reflection of light on the water, like sparkling pearls

a magnificient life size portrait

the countryside of paris which is considered a lost paradise at that era

and finally, the one painting that constantly had crowds of people staring into and snapping away
with this final masterpiece presented here, i have to say that these photos hardly do any justice to the real stuff, you've gotta see them for yourselves
and then, there were these sketches by the random public of their impressions of any piece that they like, aren't they brilliant??

i spent some time at the fashion gallery too and got sucked back into the past way before i was born, check out the retro clothings which i adore!!

nice prints cheongsams, samfoo, pretty full-skirt dresses (i love!), accessories, colorful short culottes (i had that!), modest swimwear

very vintage wedding gown, pretty and very modest

beautiful fabric! - rach

reunion dinner

2012-01-23T15:30:00.000+08:00

this is what i made for potluck reunion dinner at the husb's side this year, simple stuffed vegetable
i didn't have long grain rice, so i used multigrain rice with beans

another of jamie oliver's recipes :D

2-pins updo

2012-01-22T22:40:00.000+08:00

i only used 2 black large pins for this updo...was out with a 1/2 updo (1 pin), got pretty warm and used the other pin i had with me to do up the rest of my hair

i amazed myself - rach

a golden retriever for christmas?

2012-01-18T23:47:00.001+08:00

for christmas, i gave the tot a golden retriever. he loves this huge one at ikea, he hugs it everytime he sees it at the display.

i placed the dog next to his bed before we headed out for church on christmas day

we came home, he played with his cars at the living area as usual before heading to his room to change out his clothes. he was skipping to his room and took a step back when he saw the dog and knelt down speechless and in shock

i was enjoying his reaction while he was mumbling, "whats that, whats that?"
when i told him that's his christmas prezzie, he said, "that's not real?"

i had to assure him a few times that its the same dog he likes in ikea, its not real before he cautiously went in & took the dog, still looking suspiciously at the dog, making sure its not real

and finally, happily beaming at his gift!

he wanted to name the dog "heidi", but next day, upon remembering harold's (harold and the purple crayon) dog's name is lilac, he named the retriever "lilac"

so now, lilac has become the tot's best playmate next to bluebear. the tot sleeps with it;

plays with it;

even feeds the dog on a daily basis

the dog is basically around everywhere, i have to say initially the dog freaked me out abit because its so huge, it looked like another person suddenly appearing in the middle of the hallway or on the sofa. the tot's so delighted in having lilac around :D - rach

autograph from the past

2012-01-11T22:17:00.001+08:00

was sieving through stuffs in the storeroom, in hope of de-cluttering, and came across my primary school autograph book and i can't help sniggering throughout while flipping, reading the ridiculously hilarious stuffs we all write at that age, here's some for some comic relief:

my classmates seemed to be really concerned about my non-existing love life at that time & knew who my boyfriend was when i didn't even know i had one!

and we could be a number, a pen, a pig, a dog or a rabbit, thats actually pretty sweet analogy about being best friends, like a pencil and eraser are best friends, or number 1 and 2 are best friends, etc...

this friend had such great foresight! exactly twenty years' foresight that her wish came true, i had a little prince!!

- rach

diaper for bluebear

2011-12-21T23:37:00.000+08:00

the tot stayed dry at nap, but he forgot & he tore one side of his diaper. i tried to masking-taped it back, but it didn't work out.

just when i was feeling sad that i had chuck a completely dry diaper away, i had an idea. i cut a big chunk off the the top of the diaper & sewn up the sides & around the leg holes, and bluebear has a diaper now!

u remember bluebear, don't you? if you don't know him, you can read about him here.
i'm so pleased, i saved a diaper : D - rach

alive!

2011-12-08T22:59:00.000+08:00

i've survived last month & i'm alive!

yes, i was struggling to keep my family well & afterwards, trying to keep myself alive for 1/2 of last month, which explains the slightly long absence here.

1st to fall was the husb, he's got some nasty flu bug that had him coughed, sneezed & throat sored for about a week plus, then as he was recovering, the tot came down with influenza A (a family of H1N1). fever was sky high, fluctuating, i had to check on him throughout the nite for 3 nights, sponging, taking temp, feeding med 3 hourly. not to mention he had been coughing on & off for 2 months prior to this. i was trying so hard to fight the virus, but my body gave in when tot just started to recover at the end of one week. i had high fever, achy body, bad sore throat & a seriously bad cough. by the end of the 2nd week when i was starting to get better, bronchitis crashed in on me and that tortured me for another week, without much of a voice...

honestly, i felt so ill that at 1 point i thought i was never going to recover, especially on the day when the husb returned to work & i was left to fend for myself & care for the tot. the day before i was feeling ok and felt i was recovering, but the fever crept back in during the night like a thief! i couldn't walk a straight line as i tried to get meals for the tot & myself, few times i thought i was gonna faint. i wanted to teach the tot then how to dial the husb's number but i was too sick...

well, we always try to see the silver lining in every dark cloud right? 1stly, i haven't fell this sick for years. i think i've built up a pretty good immunity against this 2 new illness i've never had (i didn't think tamiflu). 2nd good thing was, i've survived a couple of days being so ill & being alone with a recovering, attention-craving tot, so i'm cool. 3rd good thing is now the tot knows how to dial the husb's number & he can reach his papa if i ever faint or get tied up by some burglar.
finally, a very good thing was i got to spent lotsa time lying in bed, resting, reading, spending extended time with God which i don't get to do very much.

most importantly, we're all back on our feet, healthy & busy again! - rach

happy kneader

2011-10-25T23:21:00.000+08:00

it was a very fine weather that day and we made swedish meatballs :D

we had fun digging our hands & fingers in, squishing all the ingredients together, well the tot didn't exactly made "balls", he made funny shapes & called 'em funny names & laughed at those funny names he gave 'em

;D - rach

new clothings

2011-10-03T20:31:00.001+08:00

i realised i've been reaching for the same few pieces of clothings. and even when i do dig out some stuffs which i haven't worn for some time, after trying 'em on, i always changed my mind, and again put on those usual faves...

while i was pregnant, i've put away some old faves (for obvious reasons). after delivery, those old faves still remain tucked away, when i've gone back down to my pre-preg weight, i didn't think of wearing 'em, and then when i've lost my pre-preg weight, i couldn't fit into 'em, argh! anyways, i realised those clothings that i thought looked good on me before i had a baby, don't seem to look too good on me now (those bulging thighs & tum!)

so i've been slowly getting rid of stuffs in my wardrobe & getting new faves...recently i've found some bargains, and i like to share my new faves from those buys :D

1st piece, this skirt, i got it at only $10 at a flea market, its not even 2nd-hand, its new (or so i was told). i've been looking for skirts that are flattering, but the in-fashion bubble skirts, flare skirts, etc looked awful on me. i'm so glad i found this skirt, its comfortable, it fits me perfectly, and check out the henna lookalike prints, i love it!!

3 new pieces on this look, the green tube top (i love this shade of green!), white pencil skirt, both from mango & both under $10!! shoes from clarks, above $100, i decided to invest in this considering the fact that its EXTREMELY difficult to find shoes my size, the brand & comfort, and i just love this design, it makes my legs look long. i just love this total outfit put together, don't i "look" taller & slimmer?

so this is the close-up of my new shoes, i like the 2-tone colors. its very very comfortable, i walked for quite a distance one day and i didn't have any blisters at all. i don't take to wearing heeled shoes very well, i ALWAYS get blisters.

very very happy with these :D - rach

new foods

2011-09-21T22:09:00.002+08:00

recently, i've fallen in love with feta cheese, once i had them in my salads,now i can't do without them , they're so so yummy!

i've been wanting to try making ice-cream, but either you need to have an ice-cream machine which doesn't come that cheap, or you need to go through a long gruelling process of actually making the ice-cream. i was pretty disappointed & kinda stayed disappointed until i came across this recipe!! soft serve ice-cream's the way man!! its fuss-free, easy, healthy, quick & super dupey yummilicous! even on its own!!

you just gotta freeze up cubes of banana (at least an hr), whizz 'em

and viola! you've got ice-cream to serve! (a tip tho', if you don't want such a soft serve ice-cream, don't whizz too much)

white rice is a waste of time cooking & eating because they're the least nutritious of all grains (have i ever mention this before?!). i mean, if you've got like so many other varieties of grains out there, that are much healthier, easier to cook, yummier, why bother with white rice right? so anyways, i've recently tried cooking spelt, pearled spelt in this case

its like cooking risotto, & it looked like risotto & even tasted like risotto, a little like barley. i like it, goes down the tummy very well, smooth & fragrant. i'd rank this 2nd, right under bulghur wheat :D

finally, i've also found another alternative to wholemeal wrap & pita bread, tortilla wrap! it actually says "mountain bread" on the package, makes me think of manna that fell from the sky!
remember the debut dish of my oven? i kinda used the same ingredients, instead of making pizza, i made tortilla wraps.
1st, i cut one huge wrap into small pieces, spread some tomato puree (or cream cheese)

then piled on roasted pumpkin, roasted yellow & red caps, baked chicken pieces & mushrooms, roasted garlic, strips of sundried tomatoes, and finally sprinkled parmesan cheese all over

wrapped 'em up nicely (wrapping skills improved!), baked for about 10-15mins on 180deg & there you have it, nice, toasty, crunchy wraps!

i made it small so that its easy for the tot to hold the entire thing & eat, without spilling the contents all over. it made no difference initially because he likes to pinch off the crunchy tortilla wraps to munch 1st, exposing the fillings but he got the idea after seeing me eat it whole.
he ate 3 small ones & 1 medium one & still asking for more!! i had to stop him at 4. - rach

a day of salmon

2011-09-16T00:09:00.000+08:00

i love salmon, like it poached, baked, grilled, but mostly in sashimi form..
today's menu for lunch & dinner consisted of salmon, baked salmon but ate in different ways:

lunch: baked salmon (1 with parmesan cheese, 1 with breadcrumbs, couldn't decide which i would like, so did both!) with capers, ate with brown rice short grains with beans & spinach
i ate my spinach raw

but the tot ate his slightly cooked & shredded (trying to make it more palatable for him), but unfortunately, he still didn't quite like this green...he didn't like the grains with beans too :(

dinner: i placed a piece of tortilla in the baking tray, spread some cream cheese all over, then spinach on top. then i spread mashed potatoes (usual yellow ones & orange sweet potato), next up is the baked salmon flakes (seasoned with avocado oil & paprika) and then finish off with black olives

then i wrapped it up, and after baking for about 10-15mins, this is my salmon tortilla wrap! (what? i know it looked like i did a nappy wrap, ok!)

i know it doesn't look very presentable, but its super yummy, ok!! look at how the tot's devouring it!! it was sooo, sooooo full of goodness, so fulfilling, so satisfying! my own concoction! - rach

best buds

2011-09-03T12:06:00.003+08:00

everyone, meet bluebear, the tot's favourite playmate currently

its tot's 1st bear, given by my mum all the way from US when he's about 2mths old, he wasn't very much into it then, often cast at the end of his cot.

his fav toy then was this moose called mortimer, whom he often chatted with & whispered secrets to

so these days, the tot does alot of things with bluebear, sometimes he will put bluebear in the sitter balance & let bluebear rest

you can find bluebear joining the tot for meals very frequently now, tot will 'cook' pasta (i gave him different sorts of uncooked pasta) in the pots & pans, sometimes leaving that bowl of pasta in the fridge, and then warming up in the microwave oven. tot will help bluebear says grace too before he starts feeding bluebear

sometimes i will find bluebear standing at the 'time-out corner', one incident that happened recently went something like that:
tot: (held bluebear & made him jumped on the bed) bluebear, no jumping on the bed.
bluebear: (continued to jump)
tot: bluebear, no jumping on the bed, sit here, just sit here with asher.
bluebear: (continued to jump)
tot: ok bluebear, you gotta go out of the room now.
tot brought bluebear out to the time-out corner, came back to the room, then after awhile, went out to get bluebear & debriefed,
tot: bluebear, why are you in time-out? hmm?
bluebear: silence....
and they resumed their play. and the above scene was repeated a couple of times on & off during their play, it was hilarious to watch.

the kiddo loves bluebear, he looks out for bluebear's meals, takes pretty good care of bluebear, very delighted to play with bluebear, happy hugging bluebear to sleep, and just very contented to have bluebear around. - rach

R & R

2011-08-30T22:09:00.000+08:00

finally, a photo of us together, at the beach :D

the final of holiday's fun & firsts

2011-08-29T19:48:00.000+08:00

Milestones

the husb has finally got into (or should i say onto) his bicycle, and started riding during this sch hols, the more he rode, the more confident he got, the longer distance he explored and he got pretty good at negoitiating the traffic with the cars on the road. and so since the new sch term started, he has been riding to work on some mornings and riding back on some afternoons or evenings. amazingly, that takes about the same time (1hr20mins) or less than if he takes public transport. i worry & pray for his safety but am proud of him. he enjoys the riding and he gets to work out too.

this is the husb after riding home from work one day

we brought tot to one of the nearby playgrounds one day. there were some big boys playing beyblade. he was curious and so he went over to check them out. he stayed at a distance watching initially, but inched closely & closer until he was just seated down next to them. we were seated on a bench some distance away. he glanced over at us every now and then, smiling tentatively (and shyly) as he moved slowly next to the boys. we were just happy leaving him with the boys when we realised that it might not be too safe for him to be too close in case the blades fell off & hit him. so the husb went over & wanted to ask him to stay further away. as the husb was approaching, he stood up & waved him off & said in a sheepish, smiling way, "you (referring to himself) don't want papa to come here!"
alright, folks, i'm a big boy now, i want to be with the big boys, stop following me behind!

haha, we found that pretty amusing & recognised its another big milestone

just one of the recent photos, i love his expression here! - rach

holiday fun & firsts (V)

2011-08-23T15:38:00.001+08:00

Shows & Performances

i went to watch an interactive theatre performance Inhabitants with wen, it was my first of such kind, and it was the most unique i've ever been to. when they say interactive, its not your usual just an activity or two that you are going to be engaged in, it really IS interactive! from the start of the performance to the end of it, i was constantly moving around, smelling something, feeling something, touching someone, seeing or not seeing stuffs. now thats what i called truly interactive!! wen & i totally enjoyed ourselves that evening, all our senses were highly stimulated, it blew our mind but decided that its not everyone's cup of tea. you'll either love it totally or find it totally 'duh'.

my 1st oh-so-expensive broadway musical, The Lion King. after watching it, i understand why people rave so much about it, and why it won so many worldwide rewards. it was truly spectacular, awesome & many breathtaking moments. it was worth every cent and more!

i went to watch a midnight movie, not the 1st midnight movie i've watched, but the 1st midnight movie i watched all by myself. i couldn't churn out a more earthly hour to watch & it probably might had been the last week X-Men First Class was gonna be showing. and i so wanted to catch it on the big screen. so i watched an 1145pm show, after i came out from the cinema, i thought i was gonna be locked in that huge dark mall & i had to spend the night there, fortunately not so...

i liked all these shows & performances i caught, i had thoroughly enjoyed myself :D - rach

holiday fun & firsts (IV)

2011-08-17T21:49:00.001+08:00

1st Haircut for Tot

the tot's hair was getting really long...

we had wanted to bring him back to the hair salon he last had his haircut, but even the kiddy ride in the salon couldn't even get the hairdresser at arm's length to him, and so i had to attempt my 1st boy's haircut (trimming the fringe is not counted) in the comfort of home...and tada!!

it wasn't easy, the husb was afraid i chop off alot in an impulse, kept asking me to just trim an inch ONLY, i'm like, "how much is an inch, how do i measure when i've a less than willing lil' tot squirming around the whole time?!" i mean, to even be able to trim ALL around was quite a feat already, but the end result, i must say i'm pretty proud of myself, all things considered. - rach

Cube craze

2011-08-12T22:54:00.000+08:00

Nat has this crazy fascination with this rubik cube clock in our room. Maybe it's because it's so near yet so far from him. We don't allow him to play with it because of the sharp corners. Hence, I decided to sew some cubes for him that are safe to play with. But I took so long to make it that I was afraid he will outgrow such toys by the time I complete them. First the research... the hardest was finding FOAM! Singapore is truly craft resource unfriendly, so difficult to find foam cubes. In the end, I had to buy a big block and painstakingly cut them up myself (or rather WX helped me cut them). And when I got all the materials in place and all ready to sew... I suddenly realised... the sewing machine is freaking right outside Nat's room! Which means I can't sew when he's sleeping! Argh! And so I had to do it when he is awake. And of course I had to sew the cubes in phases as he can only play by himself for about 45 minutes max on good days. With amateur sewing skills and a young baby, I took a whole 1 month to finally complete 6 cubes. Woohoo! - Reb

First attempt at sewing zig zag lines around a shape

Putting all the pieces together

Not perfect cubes but at least stackable!

Verdict: Mama, I like anything that I can put into my mouth :)

Touchy and Feely ATCs

2011-08-12T22:20:00.000+08:00

Yay ATC parade is back on again. Sat down literally for 1 hour brainstorming on what ATCs to make. Finally inspired by Nat's "Touchy and Feely" books. Since Nat can't make ATCs, he can at least touch and feel them right? Hope his curious eyes will be glued to all the wonderful ATCs at the exhibition :) - Reb

holiday fun & firsts (III)

2011-08-12T00:32:00.002+08:00

Courses

i went for 2 courses, both for the 1st time.

1st was a phototgraphy course, its called "pro secrets" by sop, where i learned some secrets of taking good pictures like how a pro does. it was a 2 day course, which involved a field trip to practise taking pro pictures after learning some of the secrets and a critique session for the photos we take.

i submitted these 2 photos

the instructor wasn't very impressed by these 2 photos, and when i show him the other photo below, he was like, "ah yes, this photo is much better compared to the 1st"...the husb said this 2nd photo is typical, he likes the one above better...i know the photos are nothing much to rave about but i prefer my 1st frangipani because i love the clearly defined silhoutte of the flower, yes not very clear, but add to the mystery effect of the flower...
well, i enjoyed the course alot & learned tonnes & am still trying to master some of the aperture stuffs & playing around with the manual functions instead of letting the camera do the job.

i signed myself up for a rollerblading course, erh, beginner's course, yes...hmmm, yes i do know how to blade but i thought i could go see if i've missed out on any basic foundations since i self-learned, plus i'm still so clumsy at making turns & stopping. it turned out, it was quite a waste of time...95% were young kids, few young ladies (a young instructor addressed these young ladies as "ladies" and when he came to me, he called me "mam" - is it that obvious?!?)...yes i learnt a lil' something new, i think but i think i wouldn't miss out anything if i didn't go for this course. - rach

holiday's fun & firsts (II)

2011-08-07T22:30:00.001+08:00

Marriage Enhancement

the husb & i wanted to make sure we have scheduled time to do some specific things during the holiday in our effort to enhance our marriage relationship. you know, with a kid, you really need to make conscious, extra effort to make your marriage thrive, otherwise it will just be surviving.

so we did an 'emotional needs quiz' in which we gained a better understanding of the other's top 5 emotional needs, so as to more effectively meet each other needs...
the thing is, when u have a kid, very often you're not left with lotsa emotional energy & physical energy, so you want to only focus on the top 5 emotional needs instead of spreading yourself thin in trying to meet ALL10 of the needs and then in the end, too tired to meet ANY. it was said that if you spend your efforts meeting just the top 2 or 3 of the emotional needs, you pretty much will keep your spouse very happy in the marriage...and we were reminded that even after knowing each other for more than a decade, and been married for 6yrs, we still discover new things about each other. and that makes marriage interesting, isn't it?

another thing we did was this "conversation starters" kit.
we have never done this before and neither do we ever imagine ourselves doing something like, but it was fun!! it felt like we were just starting to date kinda exciting.

so be open-minded, try new things, discover new things, we've been reminded of these and more. the marriage relationship is enhanced and strengthened :) - rach

holiday's fun & firsts (I)

2011-08-06T23:41:00.002+08:00

during the june school holidays, the family spent lotsa fun time doing stuffs together & hanging out, we/i did some firsts, i'm gonna blog on a series of the stuffs we did & the firsts we/i had :)

By the River
1st up, we had been talking about going by the river near our place where the tot can ride on his tricycle & me on my rollerbladers & we did it!! we had soooooo much fun.

beautiful flowers along the way

a glass of nice, cold beer at dinner :D

- rach

a tai-tai's life

2011-08-02T23:16:00.002+08:00

to the aunt who said, "what a shame you're staying home to take care of the tot, you're an university grad.."

to my 推拿 therapist who said, "oh you went to university, what a waste you're not working..."

to a few people who commented (upon learning i'm a SAHM), "so you're tai-tai lah"

and to a few other people who commented, "wah, good life ah, no need to work"

i want to say:
i am absolutely not ashamed that i'm staying home to nurture my kid, and i am definitely not wasting my life & education because i'm spending the fundamental years in building a good foundation in my kid's character, self-esteem, value system, etc...
yes, i'm a tai-tai if that means free from the toils of workforce, yes, i lounge around with the tot sometimes, yes, i eat out at restaurants, and yes, i have afternoon tea, and yes i'm having lotsa outings with other 'tai-tai's too but i'm not the kind of tai-tai who sits around, waiting for people to serve & complete tasks for me. i cook, i wash, i clean, i scrub, i clear waste, i run errands, then i clean again, wash again & clear waste again..
i believe i am "working" as hard as if not harder than anyone who is financially employed.
and a resounding "YES" to i'm having a good life, because i'm there, every step of the way, at every stage of my kid's development, witnessing & rejoicing in his every firsts. i'm there to have all the fun together with him, having all the laughs, all the smiles, all the pain and all the bonding moments. oh yeah, i'm having a very good life, watching my kid grow from a helpless, crying infant to a lil' person who has a mind of his own. this path is not an easy one, but i'm certainly not trading it for anything in the world. - rach

about friendships

2011-07-27T22:26:00.000+08:00

if i don't start writing something soon, it might take me another 2 mths not to write, so i thought i better write something...

i'm gonna talk about friendships.
relationships are important to me, friends to me are supposed to be for life. my mom used to lament that i treat my friends better than family & i'll die without friends. i like to keep friends around, i take initiative, i make effort to keep up, i'm interested to know what's going on in their lives.

however, it seemed that such sentiments are very often not reciprocated or so i think. so i realised that i've been dropping friends along the way as i grow older, so i have dropped many friends - friends whom i shared secrets with, friends whom i admired, friends whom i thought i could keep for life. but with a broken heart each time, i had to let go of each friendship.

after taking most if not all of the initiative in trying to catch up with friends, i get a lil' tired and especially now that i've got many other priorities ever since becoming a wife & mom. so occasionally, i decided i shall stop taking the initiative to call friends & asked "do you wanna catch up?", i get tired also because sometimes it seemed i have to ask several times, if they're not free, they jus say they can't make it for that date, but they don't tell me which other alternative dates they can make it. so after several times of checking back with them, i get slightly peeved & felt like a nag.

so the gist of it is, i'm getting real tired of taking initiative, i'm tired of keeping up with friends...i've tried my best...so i stopped taking the initiative and realised that these friends don't keep up as long as i don't take the initiative...it hurts, it hurts real bad when it 1st hit. all sorta questions & doubts going thru my mind: do they not cherish the friendship, are they not interested how i'm getting on, will they not call forever as long as i don't...it started to feel like its all just one-sided "affairs". its sad, i tell you.

but another truth is, i decided i will just let things be, i don't have that much energy & mental strength anymore to keep up. i'll just stick to a handful of friends who have seen me thru thick & thin, sorrows & joys, and who still bother to keep up, who still bother to be interested in how things are going on in my life.

having said that, though i've dropped some friends, but i've gained a few new friendships that i must say i'm very happy about. friends who haven't known me for long but are an immense source of support, encouragement & joy!!

so i decided that i'll be an extremely happy person to have just a small handful of friends to grow old with me. :D - rach

Avocado Milkshake

2011-07-23T21:21:00.000+08:00

Finally... something that I have always wanted to do... make my own milkshake... A simple dream fulfilled on a nice Saturday afternoon with WX alone. Something I've been dreaming of doing for many years and it only took 10 minutes to make. I don't understand how come I couldn't have done it earlier. Next up - strawberry milkshake - Reb

1 Avocado
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1 cup vita-soy
Ice cubes/water
1 tbl honey

Tummy time

2011-06-22T21:25:00.001+08:00

Even though I can't do pilates during this period of time, I can still use my pilates mat as a playmat for Nathaniel! He loves his stackable cups to the max but I can't stand it when they roll away! -Reb

Come to me blue cup

Yeah! Got you!

Hi mama... *sheepishly sucking cup*

new instrument

2011-06-05T14:13:00.002+08:00

latest addition to the house!

i was 1st attracted to this tiny instrument (tiny stuffs attract tiny people hah), after failed attempts at learning the guitar (eons ago!) where one of the problems was my fingers were too short & small to properly press the chords.
been eyeing at getting a ukelele for a long while, and finally!!
the husb likes the pineapple-shaped, so we got it, he's self-learning & i'm looking to go for a proper class :D
- rach

new dress

2011-05-28T00:27:00.000+08:00

recently went on a shopping trip with SS at JB, got a number of great deals/bargains, below is a long skirt/tube dress i got for less than 30bucks!i wore it as a tube dress (with a brown belt) to a friend's church wedding. i just love the print!

i've been reading up on make-up techniques since i did a wedding trial for a friend and i've been experimenting with the new techniques i've learnt. one of which i love was blending & mixing lip colors, after trying out different layers of different colors, i discovered i can have endless lip colors with just a few colors! the layering also helps colors to stay longer. i wanted to try a really bright red color (never attempted), but toned the shade down a lil' by mixing some brown tones - rach

toileting 101

2011-05-23T23:16:00.002+08:00

- started introducing potty in the bathroom (about 18mths)
- tot had an on & off attitude towards this new "ornament"
- sat on it couple of times, even pooped while seated on it, twice but with diapers on
- didn't welcome the idea of being without diapers
- 1/2 year later (which was about more than a mth ago) again brought up the idea of wearing cool briefs, underwear with cars or spiderman, colorful training pants, resisted at first, but willing to try & he got hooked onto the BLUE training pants!!

just into the 2nd day, the tot's 1st pee in the potty! i clapped so loudly, jumped & hopped & made such a big deal outta it, he was so exhilarated that he ran round the whole house, and that made him eager to go to the potty :D

- by the 2nd day, tot already knew the sensation of his elimination processes & was able to learn how to hold his pee pretty well before he reaches the potty
- by a wk, he's migrated his elimination businesses to the toilet bowl, with hardly any accidents
- by 2nd wk, he's peeing & pooping in the toilet, with occasional accidents only in the evenings when he gets tired & forgets to go

KEY POINTS:
1. make it fun, make it ultra fun & exciting. otherwise why would a kid want to leave playing thats fun to go do something tats boring??
- i say, "do you wanna poop in the toilet bowl? you can see the poopy floating in the toilet bowl and then you can flush!" with animated gestures & expressions
- i sit outside while he's doing it, we sing, we chat, we share jokes & laugh, make silly & funny expressions
- he likes to flip books while seated on it

2. make a BIG deal outta it whenever he did it
- i clap, jump, hop, dance around the house, shout 3 cheers & lift him up & plant a big kiss on him whenever he did a big business
- praise him for being so good in going to the toilet in exaggerated expressions
- give him stickers to paste on the wall infront of the WC whenever he did it (1 sticker for a pee, 2 stickers for a poop & 3 stickers for staying dry at naps)

3. keep a poker face at accidents
- just clean up quickly, wash him up, assure him "its okay, you're still learning, i'm sure you'll get this real quick"
- get back to the original activity without any fuss

according to what i read, tot's training is considered complete if he can stay dry during waking hours during the day because in essence he has already gained awareness & control of his own waste elimination, staying dry at night would take much longer because biologically, he's not ready yet.

WARNING
- it was pretty tiring at the beginning as there were lotsa clean-ups to do, each accident warrants me to clean up the pee, change his training pants, wash him up, and wash the soiled pants/shorts

i wanted to give up after the 2nd day because i was feeling so tired (on top of all the things sahm does) but thought since i started, i should persevere and i'm glad i did. it was such a fulfilling feeling to see him sitting on the toilet bowl, it is after all one of the biggest milestone a tot can achieve.

on the other hand, we're having lotsa fun whenever he visits the toilet (besides the singing & chatting), i find it hilarious watching his expressions, esp during a poop. we will chat & sing, then he'll stop, concentrate really hard with his scrunged up expression, and when he heard the splash, his expression immediately switched to a delightful one. there are usually 2 common set of converations:

while doing a poop:
tot: (while focusing with flushed face) a big one's coming
me: oh ok (giggle)
tot: (splash) thats a big one (beams)
me: oh great! gd job!
tot: (tries squeezing again) this is a tiny one
me: (laugh)
tot: one more big one coming, then after a small one
me: (rofl)

while doing a pee: (tot's learning that his penis can change in size and that it can be hard/soft in the process)
tot: (pressed penis while peeing) your penis is big
me: erh...ok...
tot: (after peeing) your penis is small now
me: oh ok...(stifling laughter)
tot: (stroked penis & held it up) its big again
me: (rofl)
- rach

Chicken and cauliflower pasta

2011-05-19T15:59:00.002+08:00

While I was working as a social worker, there were many latch key youths who used their money to buy snacks for lunch. Some even just drink milo and biscuits. They don't cook at home because they don't know how to, it's a real hassle or their parents are afraid that they might just hurt themselves or burn down the house. Hence a volunteer decided to teach them how to cook simple meals using a microwave oven which most people have, even those from low income families.The debate is the 'healthiness' of microwaved food is still there but I think it's still much better than eating a packet of potato chips for lunch. So this is for days when you really just want to get lunch/dinner over and done with it without any hassle at all.

Chicken and cauliflower pasta

Mix together chopped up chicken breast meat, cauliflower, cooked pasta and half a can of campbells mushroom (depends how saucy you want it to be). Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan cheese (put little bit if you're breastfeeding because it's major gassy for your baby) on top. Put a lid on the entire dish. Microwave for about 5min till cheese turns brown. Thanks Aunty Pauline for the microwave lesson! - Reb

Quick cooking

2011-05-19T15:34:00.001+08:00

After my confinement lady left, I was determined to cook my own meals. It was not really about saving money because cooking for 1, is not really cost efficient. As I was breastfeeding, I knew mummy nutrition is very important and also, I'm really very sick of eating the food available near my house. But of course, common complaint of all mummies: No time to cook because child is very active and needs attention all the time.

Here's some simple tips on how to manage cooking in a short time, when your child is between 0 to 6 months (not on solids yet):

1. Train your child to play on his own

Since newborn, I've been training Nat to be on his own. Persevere, and it's okay to let him/her just fuss for a little while if he/she has been fed, diaper changed and feeling well. You can do wonders even if you've just 15 minutes!

2. Let your child observe you while you do your daily chores

While Nat watches me cook or hang clothes, sometimes I will sing songs, dance and explain to him what I'm doing so that he is sort of 'involved'.

3. Buy the necessary equipment

Baking and steaming are really easy ways to cook, so you need an oven and steamer. I've been relying on a toaster oven and makeshift pot for steaming, still works. Microwave oven is a must for warming up food fast. And if you really want to boil, it's good to invest in a magic cooker!

4. Batch cook

Batch cook and freeze! Warm up frozen food in a jiffy using the microwave oven. Cook soup and eat for 2 meals, lunch and dinner.

5. Get inspired by watching other mummies cook

I'm really very inspired by Rach. While she was taking care of me and Nat, she could still cook all our meals! All amazingly healthy and yummy. She had to do the housework, care for Asher (who was going through his assertive phase) and Nat (carry and bathe), and still cook for all of us!

Here's one of the dinners I cooked for WX and myself - mash potatoes, oven baked fish with bacon (from Jamie Oliver) and salad! - Reb

Self portrait

2011-05-18T22:18:00.000+08:00

Nat looks really good in his first self portrait photograph. How many persons does it take to shoot an infant's self portrait? 4 persons. Plus lots of manhandling, hiding and crazy gestures - Reb

cooking lately

2011-05-16T15:34:00.003+08:00

meals recently hadn't been adventurous nor exciting...couldn't really find the mood or energy to experiment new dishes, so i've been cooking the same stuffs over & over again, if it's not stew, it's soup, if it's not grilled/baked, it's steamed, if it takes more than 1/2hr -1hr, sorry i'm not cooking.

but one fine day, i got bored, so i thought i'll try another of jamie oliver's recipe: greek sticky pork stew, i only took under 1/2hr to put everything together & the rest of 2hrs + is just letting it stew away!

Steps:

heat olive oil in pot over medium high heat
add pork and cook, stirring every now and then, for about 10mins, until the pieces start to go golden on all sides (i used pork shoulder)
add red wine and red wine vinegar (i just pour whatever amount i like) and cook for further 5mins
once the liquid's reduced by about 2/3, transfer everything to a bowl
put pot back on the heat, heat oil
gently fry thickly sliced leeks, roughly chopped red peppers, sliced carrots and dried oregano for about 10-15mins, stirring occasionally, until softened (i added green zucchini & mushrooms too)
tip pork back into pot and season to taste with pinch of salt & pepper (i skipped this cos of tot)
stir in tomato puree and enough water to just cover everything
bring to boil, then turn the heat down to low, put the lid on and let it tick away for 2hrs, until the meat's falling apart (i let it tick for about an hr+ only because of the smaller portion i cooked)
then add chopped prunes and cook for another 45mins (i did for 1/2hr) with the lid off
add lemon juice or any other seasoning if necessary
finely chopped fresh parsley leaves & sprinkle all over the stew (i didn't do this)

i did this dish twice already, the 1st time i added too much prunes, so the stew turned out much sweeter than i like it, the 2nd time was much better, but less sticky in consistency, not sure why, but its really one of the yummiest stews i've ever cooked!

putting on the apron, the tot wanted to help too :D

the tot hasn't been eating well, partly because he's been ill, and i suspect partly also because he might be bored with the same ole stuffs i've been cooking. so thinking i'd add some new elements to spice his meals up a lil, i did a mini baked tuna pie for him: i just tossed together tuna, grilled asparagus, dried apricots & pumpkin seeds, spread mashed potatoes on top, sprinkled some cheese on it, baked for 15mins, all within 1/2hr!

he "whacked" the entire thing, asking for 2nd helping

on another day, i did a mini shepherd's pie for him and again he "whacked" the entire dish up happily

an extremely satisfied, hearty eater made the mama feeling very fuilfilled :D - rach

yellow and green

2011-05-11T12:59:00.000+08:00

Inspite of the horrid smell the coffeeshop downstairs gives my room (which I'm so going to write to the MP about it), I love the tree outside my room. Whenever I snooze or laze on my bed, I just love starring at it against the blue sky. Sometimes I can even spot yellow birds perching on it. Yellow makes my world shine, green gives my spirit peace. I hope they (the town council) will never cut it down. Just let NEA groom it once in a while :) - Reb

the necessary stage

2011-05-11T00:41:00.000+08:00

conceptually it makes so much sense and logic, but in reality, it is really difficult to grasp & handle, especially if you're a SAHM like me, you face every of it at your every waking minutes and seconds.

what is commonly known as the "terrible twos" (TT) is currently happening and even with all the knowledge & experience i have (in my work previously), i'm constantly been driven to the brink of insanity on a daily basis with the tot's constant "no"s and "don't want"s at any & everything i say or do, whether he actually knows what is happening/what i'm saying. when i say, "don't do that", he says, "do that!", when i say, "do this", he says, "don't want do that!" even when i tried to use the positives, for example, instead of saying, "don't touch that", i said, "pls leave that alone" or "hands-off please", he will respond with, "don't want to leave that alone!" he wants to do the exact opposite of everything, he's constantly testing limits (and patience!), pushing boundaries (and pushing me over the edge!). he can swing from one extreme mood swing to another in just a matter of seconds, one moment we can be happily playing, suddenly he might become extremely upset and can make the most absurd demands!

argh!!! i love the little guy so much but this is totally driving me crazy!
some days when i have a lil' more energy, i'll be creative, engaging his co-operation in a fun manner which works really well, and yet some days, i'll be humorous and laugh things off and that helped to retain my sanity a great deal. but on most days, i just don't have the physical/mental capability that translate into creativity & a sense of humor. i can start off with a strong positive resolve to be patient, creative, fun & humorous in the morning when i wake up, only to end up feeling completely drained, mentally exhausted, frustrated & impatient towards the end of the day.

but he is not being rebellious, he is not trying to make life insane for me, he is not purposefully making things difficult for me, he is definitely not trying to be naughty, he is most definitely not "terrible"...
he is in this stage of development which is so important, so necessary.
he needs to assert himself, he has this innate great need for independence as he develops his individuality, it is such a necessary process for him to be separated from his parents and find his own identity & individuality...

to 'fight' him against his behaviour as a result of this progress of development is going against nature, (like trying to ask a lion not to hunt/kill), he is ever exploring the world thats so large beyond himself, he is growing up, he is searching for his own identity

so i strive, i try to strive harder each new day, to be the mom who will embrace all the good & the challenging, all the pleasant moments and the not-so-pleasant moments, to let my child develop into his own unique person, to enjoy & delight in his new independence, oh my God, i need lotsa wisdom...and LOTSA patience - rach

first road trip!

2011-04-29T16:57:00.000+08:00

Haaa... actually it's not really a road trip, just the first time I brought Nat out all on my own to somewhere quite far. Usually I just bring him to central or to the nearby park/market. This time when he was 3 months old and could sit in the stroller rather well, I brought him out on a lunch cum quick shopping trip with Xueyan & Joash. Too bad we forgot to take photos of our first sort of 'play date' cum 'tai tai day out' (not tai tai also la, we ate at the food court and went grocery shopping, diaoz). Here's Nat all excited - Reb

Hey mama! Look at me!

Hmmm... Are you sure about this?

Oooo... we are going cruising...

Woohoo! Road trip!

Can I Lend You My Umbrella

2011-04-21T13:10:00.000+08:00

Like the typical Singaporean, the place which I view art is in the museum. Installation art specifically has always been like "huh" to me because I just don't see the connection between the art and the space/place (geography students and teachers will understand what I mean, hehe). However recently I've been watching this local show on okto called "Watch this space" where artists have the task to put up an installation in an outdoor space. My favourite is "Can I Lend You My Umbrella" @ Tiong Bahru Plaza. Although the art doesn't look spectacular but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thought process that the artists went through in coming up with the idea, how they observed the space and related with the people using that space.

My favourite bit was when they problem solved on set up day itself. Strong winds blew the 3 individual poles down moments just after they completed the whole set up. What amazed me is that the solution they came up with, after a long tiring day in the hot sun, was so appropriate and cheap > They bought matching colour bamboo poles to connect all 3 poles together so the whole structure wouldn't topple.

This installation art really inspired me to think more about the art I create. With a deeper understanding of "process art", I hope that my teaching will help my art students go through a creative thinking experience in every lesson :) - Reb

me time

2011-04-15T21:54:00.000+08:00

Common complaint for many mummies - no me time. After 2 months of staying at home with the baby, I told myself that I must have my own time to relax at least once a week no matter what so that I don't go crazy.

I'm a scheduled person so it isn't surprising that Nat has a tendency to react to the clock even without my prompting. Hence I've been trying to instill in him the concepts that it is important that "Mummy has her own me time", Nat has his "Play on my own time" and we also have our "Mummy and Nat time". Initially he could only last for 15 minutes on his own, then 30 minutes and now a maximum of 45 minutes! On good days, he can even last for 1 whole hour!

After our own personal "me times", we go crazy or just chill together during "Mummy and Nat time" and he naps on his own really well after that :) - Reb

I can help you fly

2011-04-14T01:25:00.001+08:00

i strive to let the tot explore as much as he wants to as long as he doesn't hurt himself, hurt others or destroy things. i strive to say "no"s or "can't"s as least as i can, i like to say more of "yes-es", "try"s and "oh you can"s.

but lately the many issues, happenings, state of exhaustion have left me feeling drained to think of creative words to say, and i've found myself saying alot of "don't"s, "no"s and "can't"s. i wonder why these words are so easy, so natural to say, these are 1st words that pop in your head so instinctively. why do we not need much energy & effort to say these words?

one incident kinda helped snapped me out of this negative frame. i brought tot to get dinner, and as we were waiting to cross the road, he spotted a mynah flying across the road and indicated that he too, wanted to fly across the road. immediately, i replied, "oh sorry, you can't fly, you don't have wings like birds".

a moment of silence between us. i'm not sure what the tot thought about my response, but i was taken aback by my own words after i've uttered them. what a huge bucket of cold water i've just poured on my son, what a boring mom i am!!

i turned to him and said, "oh yes, actually you can! c'mon!" i picked him up by the knees and the arms, carried him horizontal with him facing down. he squealed in delight and spread his arms wide apart like wings and there he went flying across the road, like the birdy. he landed on the opposite of the road, beaming with pride and contentment.

i will strive my best, asher.
i can't make you fly but i can help you fly. - rach

Reb's episode

2011-04-03T01:44:00.004+08:00

8am : woken up by WX's call, asking me to go over their place to bring Reb to doc cos of persistent, increasing pain in her appendix area of the tum

9am: reached mt alvernia A&E

10 – 1130am: saw doc, sent blood & urine for test

1130am – 1+pm: blood test showed evidences of bacteria infection, most likely a case of appendicitis, waiting to be admitted & got surgeon to ascertain

12+ –1+ pm: Reb’s pain spread, got worse, after asking nurses to give painkillers for couple of times, I was short of hollering at ‘em as Reb cringed in great pain

1+ – 2+pm: checked in to ward, registered for admission, surgeon came, sorta confirmed a surgery’s needed

4+ – 6+pm: Reb’s surgery

in the middle of the night on that day of surgery, she was so hungry she asked for a bowl of porridge, doc said normally, patients after this surgery will have no appetite till after a day or so, and even then just liquid diet, but the very next day, she was chomping down a full meal of soup, rice, fish & fruits VERY heartily.
*********************************************************************************
during & after this episode, few things discovered/realised/happened:

1. i realised just how high Reb's threshold of pain is, VERY, EXTREMELY high. throughout the entire time of bringing her to the hosp, waiting for our turn, waiting for blood & urine test results, waiting for painkillers, waiting to be admitted to ward, and waiting for surgery, there was not ONCE she whined nor complained, we chatted, talked, laughed on many, many topics. we had sandwiches while waiting for the test results. except for occasional banging her head on the wheelchair pole, she was such cool beans. even when she raised her voice at the nurses to give her the painkillers, she ended off with a snigger. no wonder she went thru' labor without epidural. i was truly amazed at her capacity for pain and her unshaken calmness.

2. she showed her vulnerable side when she learnt that she was not to breastfeed Nat, and couldn't care for him. she was worried mostly for Nat. she said to WX when he was trying to assure her of the surgery, "aiyah heck the surgery, who cares about the surgery!" such is a mother's love for her baby.

3. i would think our SIL relationship has gone to another level after this episode, i see a new side of her i never knew, and we went thru kinda a crisis together for the 1st time, or rather i was with her during a crisis for the 1st time. and when she cried for Nat, i felt like i was feeling her pain too & was choking back my tears.

i think i've mentioned how similar the husb & Reb are, from this episode, i've seen Reb being just as cool as a cucumber like the husb, her brother, and fortunately the tot has gotten the 'coolness' gene too :D - rach

watercolour for everyone

2011-03-25T16:43:00.001+08:00

I always had this dream of painting outdoors, so recently I purchased this book from A Rhyming Tern

I managed to start the book while Nat was lounging in his balance sitter. The book challenged me to just practise the paint strokes just by 'doodling' without any thought into it. It was rather tough for me because I'm usually a plan first then do person. However, once I got the hang of it, it was quite fun to see what could come about from my random squiggles.

The book was useful because it included practice pages inside and a watercolour pad (not fantastic quality but non-toxic and child friendly!)so I guess I can bring it out on my road trips with Nat.

I thought Nat looked quite left out as I was painting so I let him paint on the last page. Amazingly he could hold the paintbrush with a tight grip! All I had to do was aim the page at his hand. Heh - Reb

beach birthday

2011-03-24T00:12:00.000+08:00

for husb's birthday this year, i signed him up for a windsurfing course, held at east coast park

while he's busy learning & practising how to windsurf, the tot & i spent our time on the beach building sandcastles, drawing double-decked bus with twigs, transporting sand on the bulldozer & truck, throwing the beach ball around

waiting for the waves to come in to cool our feet & digging our toesy into the wet sand

relaxing on the bench with our legs propped up, enjoying cuddling time and the cool seabreeze

tot did his 1st birthday card for the papa, there were supposed to be straws on the 'cake' as candles, but the tot yanked 'em out before i realised it, the green circular stickers are supposed to be flames above the candles, oh well, but check out the 2 cute, colorful handprints!

the husb had alot of fun windsurfing, liked his birthday surprise alot, its something he's never done before :D
- rach

new hairstyle

2011-03-17T01:03:00.002+08:00

sometime back i had a post on the different hairstyles i had throughout the years, and mentioned about the next hairstyle i might be trying...i couldn't wait for my hair to grow out any longer, and one day when the husb came home really early from work, i scooted off to the salon and did this

it didn't really turn out to be what i envisioned, i told the hairstylist i wanted a concave sloped-up at the back bob, and short, straight fringe. he was shocked at the fringe request and gave questioning looks throughout. then it didn't look very concave at the back, and i kept asking him to trim the back higher, and after he's done, i still didn't quite like what i saw, then i asked him to give me an asymmetric cut, cut my fringe even shorter, again he gave that questioning look and this was the result. i have to say i didn't quite feel i've gotten what i want and wasn't quite happy when i stepped out of the salon which i spent 120mins in!
anyways, i tried to play around with it, like sweeping my short fringe to the side (above pic), but the husb prefers the all straight fringe, he says that brings out the asymmetric look better which he likes.

surprisingly, i've gotten rave reviews about this new hairdo from peeps. i'm still not nuts about it, plus it doesn't really suit my lifestyle, i can't put my hair behind my ears, i've got hair hanging over my face when i do chores, etc...

do you like my fringe swept to the side or straight down? :D - rach

the creative life

2011-03-12T22:38:00.000+08:00

While Nat was lounging on the balance sitter, I had some time to read this book called 'the creative life' which I've been trying to complete for the longest time! It talked about letting go of our fears in expressing our creativity as God has already given us His covering to be our confidence and comfort =) - Reb

virgin makeover

2011-03-11T17:59:00.001+08:00

i've never been made-up before, not even on my wedding day. i never quite like the idea of having someone touching my face, curling my eyelashes, etc.
but yes, i went for my 1st makeover, for a little bit of fun and see how it is like but more for the brand, bobbi brown (read her book, amazed at how she started this line & interested to try out)
so this is how i look like after the 'makeover', a very simple one, which i think i wouldn't have problem pulling off by myself

oh and it's also the 1st time i'm posing for a photoshoot (yes, i didn't have that either for my wedding), i felt so awkard & a total idiot following the different poses. all i can say is i made the right choice of not spending money on doing something i know i wouldn't enjoy for my wedding. the whole makeover was quite fun though, with a friend with me, joking & teasing me about the weird poses i made. - rach

oh what big eyes you have

2011-03-02T14:05:00.000+08:00

Those who had the experience of having confinement nannies have loads of stories to tell. Here are some ways to manage the stress of someone foreign in culture and language living with you for 1 whole month!

1. Divert topics to 'how cute your baby is' when your confinement nanny starts nagging you about how things should be done the traditional way aka her way. My confinement nanny loves Nat's eyes and are always mesmerised by them =) She always says in Chinese, "Oh what big eyes you've!"

2. Get your husband to speak to her about doing things your way when she doesn't listen to you. Most husbands are 'aunty killers' so they can handle the confinement nanny really well.

3. Even when the doctor didn't say it, just say, "The doctor said..." when the confinement nanny doesn't believe in your parenting methods. My confinement nanny herself taught me this strategy! Haaa.

4. Pour out your anguish to a good friend who understands the pains of having a confinement nanny. Thank you Rach and Xueyan for listening to my woes!

5. Be mindful that there is still hope to change the way that things are usually done by the confinement nanny so don't be too stressed up about having things done your way. With prayer and perseverance, your baby will change to suit your style when the nanny has left =) - Reb

follow your instincts

2011-02-24T22:24:00.001+08:00

Ever since I was pregnant, I began chatting more with my mum, asking her questions about our childhood and her parenting techniques. Recently she came over to see Nat and out of my frustration I asked her how she coped with all our crying when we were babies. Then she started to give some advice which added to my frustration.

Surprisingly though when I sort of 'challenged' her with my methods, we didn't start arguing like we always do in the past. And she actually said something like, "when I became a mum I also didn't really know what to do, it's all trial and error. Many people have many different ideas and methods, at the end of the day, just follow your instincts". Another close friend of ours also said the same something similar, "follow your heart".

But I was really encouraged and inspired by my mum, despite all our differences. After all, she raised 3 kids. Thanks mum. - Reb

cooking craze

2011-02-24T01:01:00.004+08:00

i've been cooking so much the last few weeks that i think i smelt of food all the time & so much that i don't feel like cooking for the rest of my life (ok, i'm exaggerating, sori) anyhows, these are the stuffs i've cooked:

1. baked chicken stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes
friends came over for dinner, wanted to try out this recipe, but did a less-work version
i pounded the chicken breast, just marinated with herbs & spices;

stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes;

wrapped 'em up (w/o the toothpicks) & baked 'em...i served with baked potatoes & greens (which i liked the most in that dinner, bleah)

verdict: didn't turn out to be as yummy as it looked, ;(
i'm a big fan of sun-dried tomatoes, but so not nuts about chicken breast. so i'll use chicken thighs the next time & will make sure i follow almost the exact recipe. sorry for the not so tasty, tough chicken dinner, guys :@

2. speedy dinner
needed to fix dinner for myself at a late notice (cos the husb informed he's working late)

diced up an apple & whipped up a good bowl of salad. baked a huge portobello mushroom sprinkled with herbs & spices & shredded cheese, it came out bubbling with burnt cheese & heavenly juices. i was seriously stuffed after that but oh so satisfying :D

3. Wholemeal pancakes
woke up one morning, craving for a different brekkie. quickly searched for an easy recipe for wholemeal pancakes (have a pack of wholemeal flour lying around for the longest time) & viola! healthy wholemeal pancakes with hard boiled egg.

a really easy recipe, surprisingly its not dry, very fluffy & moist;

except that i didn't add any salt, so it tasted a lil' bland. then i remembered i had some leftover strawberry sauce from making panna cotta a day ago, so i ate with that, it was yummy! the tot had an unusually big serving of brekkie ; D

4. swedish meatballs
tried another dish from my jamie oliver's :)

it was really easy, but the kneading into balls was pretty tiring, but still quite fun. i'd 've gotten the tot's help if not for the fact he was taking his nap, he'd loved to roll the meatballs. i got so tired of rolling the meatballs, i made some into patties.

served with mashed potatoes, baked mushrooms with cheese, steamed brocc & cranberry sauce instead of lingoberry, husb & tot loved the meal :D

5. meat patties with rye spirals pasta & pumpkin soup
the patties i made together with the meatballs? the following day, i pan-fried it;
served with rye pasta with tomato puree & pine nuts;

made pumpkin soup once, it was ok, too creamy cos i added coconut milk. so decided to improve this time.
i followed this really simple recipe, added extra thin slices of roasted pumpkin atop the roasted pumpkin seeds & croutons. roasted/toasted pumpkin seeds are really fragrant & yummy, i like to toast til its slightly charred & extremely crispy. i toasted my pine nuts too except they got burnt really easily.

6. seafood baked rice
a hearty one-dish rice meal.

i used squids, prawns, salmon, some white fish, oysters, chicken, brocc, wanted to add mushrooms but i forgot (argh!).

sprinkled shredded cheese generously over the rice & ingredients.

i loved to see how the cheese melts & turns into golden, sticky goo, yums
husb reported that tis his 2nd favorite dish, right next to the mediterranean meal : D
well, i haven't really cooked much for the past 2 weeks since these galore of food at home, been using frozen food or eating out...but finishing frozen food soon, the time for cooking will soon start again!i'm exhausted from other issues at the moment & i hope i perk up real soon!

psst, tell me which one/s whet your appetite the most? : D
- rach

my happy valentine

2011-02-23T22:14:00.000+08:00

WX changed job recently and his office table looked awfully blank and sterile.

So I decided to make a scrapbook picture for him for Valentine's. I know he misses Nat a lot when he is @work. We have joked about us switching roles, him staying at home and I going out to work. Hope the gift adds warmth to his table and that Nat and I will always been cheering him on @work.

He has been such a great support in taking care of Nat. Thank you Lord for giving me a husband who helps me to be a better mum to Nat =) - Reb

my love language

2011-02-17T22:23:00.000+08:00

received a card in my mailbox, words of affirmation is my greatest love language and this dear friend filled up my love tank with words that encouraged, lifted my spirit, affirmed my role as a mom, that also expressed her thoughts of me & prayers for me. added with the element of surprise with a really cool, fun card.

front of card

back of card

most of all, my heart's glad because a friend knows me well enough to bless me in such a way, i'm truly, truly blessed : D - rach

Compassion

2011-02-17T15:54:00.000+08:00

I went back to church finally after a one month of confinement. In my 2nd week there, WX managed to get off from the worship ministry and we worshipped God together.

We were standing right at the back near the cry room, an unfamiliar spot and perspective, for WX and I will be on the stage most of the time as we were serving almost every week. It was just amazing how God worked in our midst. From the back view, as I worship, I saw:

- an elderly husband was helping to raise his wife's arms to worship God
- a lady was translating the songs to Chinese to an elderly lady
- a man was gently encouraging an intellectually challenged boy to worship God

These images reminded me of my prayer for Nathaniel before he was born and even now- to be a man of compassion for people around him. May people who come into contact with Nathaniel be blessed, encouraged, loved, and overjoyed - Reb

birthday muffin

2011-02-07T21:46:00.000+08:00

wasn't confident of baking a cake for the tot's 2nd birthday, so decided to do muffins instead.
had a whole box of fresh cranberries in the fridge for weeks (1st time trying fresh cranberries, so sour no one dares to eat 'em), so wanted to use that.

had the tot helped in the batter

look at his gleeful expression, so delighted he's able to help out in the kitchen & doesn't he look like he's so proficient at whisking!

added some almond flakes to it, can't remember which recipe i followed, but alot different ones are easily searchable, its a sugarless recipe, turned out looking very nice, but too plain, ( i sprinkled lotsa icing sugar for myself!) i should've added honey. the tot enjoyed it, so that's all that matters :) - rach

sinful pleasures

2011-02-06T00:03:00.003+08:00

1. best tiramisù

watched the episode of jamie oliver sitting by the river in venice, whipping up this amazingly looking tiramisu, told myself i had to try making it and i did! i followed almost as closely as i could because its supposed to be the best tiramisu! the only thing different was i didn't use fresh coffee beans, i just sprinkled coffee powder.

i had fun melting the choc, the aroma was heavenly, i didn't use up to 70% cocoa but close. i would actually go for less cocoa, less dark a choc the next time, it was a lil' too strong for me.

i made tiramisu with friends once, and that was the 1st time i came across 'ladyfingers' that are not referring to the green vegetables that look like fingers. i had a couple of leftovers this time and i dunked 'em in warm milk, in just 1 sec, they're soaked with milk! no wonder they're called sponge fingers, haha

i'm supposed to shave my choc over the top but i grated it instead. the next time i make again, besides using less of a dark choc, i think i'll cut down on the coffee as well (not a coffee person), i'll cut down on the mascarpone cheese too, it tasted great (friends said it was yummy too) but i think i'll prefer a less creamy, a less rich tiramisu. may not look like jamie oliver's, but i sure hoped it tasted like the best tiramisu!

2. panna cotta with strawberry sauce ( 2 links, i kinda combine the 2 different recipes together)

made for husb's family's reunion dinner.
didn't turned out like i imagined...its been awhile since i last ate panna cotta (i love it the 1st time i tried it), honestly i can't exactly remember how it taste like, but i thought its supposed to be smooth, soft & curdy like soya beancurd or pudding, but not quite so. maybe i added too much gelatin or maybe i shouldn't have 'fuse' the 2 different versions together. i didn't want & didn't have that much cream, that's why i mixed with milk.

1st time handled gelatin, it smelled gross after soaking in cold water for a short while, and after finding out & reading in detailed what gelatin really is, i'm gonna use other substitues or the vegetarian ones.

fresh, red korean strawberries (which the husb's convinced they're genetically modified), while cutting up in quarters, busy lil' hands are reaching for 'em too ;D according to the recipe, i was supposed to pass the strawberries through the sieve to get the syrup but it was too tiring & time consuming, so i blended it instead & i've got comments that they prefer the thick consistency :D

bought molds from daiso (in retrospect, i'd have just poured the panna cotta directly into the small containers that i was serving in to save time). but it was very fun unmolding them!

although it didn't taste like the panna cotta i remembered eating, a lil' disappointed but i had pretty positive feedback, so all's well. but i'll definitely try again! and before that happens, i'm gonna buy myself some panna cotta to get a taste of it! - rach

besides rice & potatoes

2011-02-01T23:56:00.002+08:00

i'm more adventurous with food experimentation after starting the tot on solids, and i guess after eating rice for so many years of my life, it's time to move on & explore other grains! after a try at bulghur wheat (seafood pilaf) which turned out to be yummy & family-favourite, i had a go at millet (you can follow the link to find out more & how to cook it).

i actually just need to soak it in hot water, but i pan-roasted it 1st

i think it makes some difference because i tried it with bulghur wheat, it taste much nicer toasted 1st than just soaking. don't they look like tiny foam balls?

verdict, same as bulghur wheat, it's rather dry but with juicy beef stew, it was not too bad, but i prefer bulghur wheat which is more fragrant

it was love at 1st taste, healthy & easy to cook. looks very much like millet, but its couscous. (i love it so much, and sad that the husb's not a big fan)
its known to be among the healthiest grain-based products & its extremely quick & easy to prepare. although you need only to soak in water, but i did a more elaborate way, but still quick & simple:
- boiled water with oil in saucepan (refer packaging directions for measurements), removed from heat
- stirred in couscous, covered & let it stand for 2-3mins
- added butter, chilli powder, paprika, basil, tumeric & heated again on very low heat for 3mins while stirring with fork to separate grains
we had with grilled chicken & greens, the tot chomped it all down, sedap!

you can play around with couscous practically with anything & everything, use different herbs & spices each time, eat it with salad, eat as side dish, eat with stew, eat with meat, eat it hot or cold, eat it plain or flavored, eat as dessert, eat with...really with most things, its a really versatile dish! now tell me, who needs only rice or potatoes, when you can have these much more healthier grains, so easy & quick to prepare & so so yummy? - rach

happenings

2011-01-30T21:52:00.002+08:00

the tot's new haircut. sat in a kiddy ride machine with steering wheel while the very friendly, patient & encouraging hairdresser snipped his long mane away. he was ok for most part except towards the end when the shaver's needed (we had wanted the length to be much shorter than this). he was brave & tried to keep his discomfort in, but the last straw was when a chunk of his hair fell onto his arm. he stared at it in horror, shivered in fear & finally let out a loud wail. and he couldn't stop for almost an hr, only stopped occasionally to catch some breath, poor kid.

cousins & great pals in the making

the tot wanted to show some affection
although nat's looking uncomfortable & slightly disturbed here, but he actually smiled & grinned at the tot when he saw the tot's face up close (i came extremely close to nat, but he couldn't focus his gaze at me, but he did with the tot almost immediately). his delightful expression at the tot seemed to say, "hey i remember you! you played cars with me while i was in mommy's tum! did you bring those cars?!" (the tot "drove" his toy cars over Reb's huge tummy everytime he saw her, haha).
a big hug before the baby went off for his nap.

checkered shirts buddies

- rach

till death do us part

2011-01-27T23:55:00.001+08:00

this year's anniversary marks the 6th year of our marriage. it also marks a significant sorta "turning point".

for a period of more than 2 months, very often we became like distant strangers, and also very often we were arguing like we really disliked each other. our communication either came to a standstill or was connecting in all the wrong directions. we didn't communicate much, and when we did, those times were either out of neccessity or spewing only words that hurt. we were facing issues, or rather i was facing overwhelming issues that i didn't know how to deal with and thought maybe there wouldn't be any resolutions. it got so bad to a point where i felt like bailing out. yes leaving home, throwing in the towel for my marriage.

but how could i? i love the man and i love him so much.

yes, i felt miserable during that period but i know i'll be far worse if i leave.
Dr James Dobson says, "don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.” i never imagine i ever will have thoughts of calling it quits, but this crisis made me realised i've married the individual i know i definitely can't live without.

so on 23rd jan, 6th wedding anniversary, it was a very special, meaningful day and every reason to celebrate & give thanks to God. even when we filled the day with church in the morning, lunch, running errands, even when we were dead beat by the time we put the kiddo to bed, even when we only took a short 10mins bus ride, even when we only had dinner at a 'ulu' coffeeshop, even when we only had 2hrs of time alone. we chatted leisurely & joked happily & laughed heartily as we walked a couple of bus stops down before hopping on the bus to head home.

find joy & meaning even in the mundane routines, squeeze romance even out of a short time & tired bodies. a daily decision to continue to love, to hold & to be faithful. God's love that binds securely. that will keep us together.
till death do us part indeed, the love of my life. - rach

when did you grow so fast?

2011-01-20T23:32:00.001+08:00

the tot's shoes were getting too tight, and we've been trying to find a new pair for him. the husb (aka the fashion-police) bought a new pair one day, let the tot tried on. he got just 1 size up from tot's previous pair. the right shoe size supposed to allow you to place your index finger at the back of the shoe & a thumb's width at the front from the tot's toe. we couldn't. the next day, husb brought the shoe back to exchange for 1 size bigger & came back with what i think are gigantic shoes for the tot. tot tried on the shoes & toddlered around the house for quite awhile. as i watched him, i'm shocked to realise he's wearing such large shoes, and his limbs look longer. and i wondered if he's grown overnight.

at a recent event where extended family gathered, everyone commented he's such a big boy now, he's so tall now, blah blah blah...he rambled around gaily, sometimes with a hand in his pocket, and people said he looked so "小大人" (little man)

at times he was hopping & jumping around like a lil' bunny, and then suddenly grew up & looked like he's doing break-dance!

couple of days later, the husb got him a new sweater & he looks every bit like a rocker!

how did you grow up so fast, my precious lil' baby?!?

oink, quack, moo

2011-01-20T18:48:00.000+08:00

Nat @ 2 weeks with his farm friends. @ 5 weeks now, his left arm is really strong and he can already swing them! By the way, bought the cot from Mothercare for a good deal - $199 for cot and mattress but downside is that since Nat is still very small, the cot is actually very lightweight and when we lower down the bar, I tend to move the cot a little :P - Reb

in quietness & trust

2011-01-19T23:33:00.000+08:00

the last 2 months had been a whirlwind, wild rollercoaster ride and many times, i found myself deep down at the miry pit. i thought i was gonna be stuck at the bottomest and not get out at all...

long story cut short, everything seemed to have gone wrong, my marital relationship, relationship with my son, things are falling apart at home, etc...too many issues overwhelmed me and choked me till i couldn't breathe sometimes, figuratively & literally. the husb said i'm not me during this period, he thinks fatigue is the culprit. yes, what's new? it is the PLMD again, the symptoms struck furiously after i came back from bali, resulted after a whole series of issues & situations i needed to attend to.

but i'm glad to report that i'm out of the miry pit at this present moment, hoping to stay out of it for long: below is the account of my recent precious date with God that brought me out of the pit:

i was at the beach, had a much needed time of solitude in the outdoors, with God. being around nature makes me feel nearer to God, makes me hear God clearer. i sat on the breakwater thats some distance away from the beach, i was still and quiet, just watching the blue sky, white clouds, and the waves beating at the breakwater, trying to allow my turbulent heart to be calmed. after awhile, i realised i was stoning, my exhausted body just shut off automatically. it was then that i spotted a kite/eagle flying in the sky just above me. it was circling for awhile before it started gliding freely. it looked so relaxed, so free.

a scene in LOTR (return of the king) flashed in my head. after frodo & sam "completed" their quest in destroying the ring at mordor, they thought they were going to die as they laid, entirely spent, on the rocks with volcanic lava burning hot around them. the next thing we know, they were lying on the backs of 2 eagles carrying them to safety. i was totally spent, i thought i wasn't going to go on any further. i thought every part of me is falling apart. but at the very moment, i felt free and relaxed as i was carried & safely tucked under God's wings. i remembered God's invitation, "come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (matt 11:28). i only need to go to Him and just lean on Him.

the verse that came to me several times for the past weeks and again is, "this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel , says: "in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,.." (Isaiah 30:15). i need to rest, i need to be quiet, i need to be calm, i need to trust. in replace of the turmoil & turbulence, worry & fears. i need to learn to be in the eye of the storm, where i can remain completely calm & still in the midst of storms around me. i have been allowing the crashing waves & storms to drown God's voice. i need to be still and know that God is God, to hear His voice over the waves & storms.

i need to remember that pruning & refining is necessary in the process of becoming more like Christ. and i want to learn to embrace, and not just accept the will of God for me. i want to be able to say to myself, "consider it pure joy, whenever i face trials of many kinds, because i know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance. perseverance must finish its work so that i may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (james 1:2-3)

this constant thorn in my flesh has been tormenting me endlessly, yet at the same time, it has drawn me closer to God, knowing Him in a deeper way, connecting with Him more intimately. recognising this and remembering to keep this in perspective, i want to be able to say like Paul said, "what is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ" (philippians 3:8).
after hearing so much from God that day, i promised myself that i will no longer say things like, "i can't help it" or "i can't control my emotions", all attribute to PLMD. i will no longer be plagued with thoughts of "oh gosh, i'm so tired" or "oh i didn't sleep well again, i'll be cranky the whole day" in the morning when i wake. i will try to commit my thoughts to God, take captive every thought & make it obedient to Christ (2 cor 10:5)
all tis easier said than done, its been a week since that day and still every morning it is a battle of the spirit and the body. the joy & strength i have for each day are not mine, they're desperately-prayed for, they're God's. and God delivers His faithfulness that are new every morning as i make sure i took time to submit my nothing to Him. He supplies and He multiplies. He fills and overflows. He enables and He empowers.

my body may be wasting away, it might collapse one day from exhaustion, my mind might snapped because of my burnt-out brain . but i want to stay focused on what lies ahead, to look heavenward, one day when i'm with the Lord, i can don't sleep but feel no tinge of tiredness :)

i'm not there yet, i'll still fall & slip but i will keep the faith!

O, how i need to lean so hard on God! - rach

Broun Sessions: 3Leaf

2011-01-13T17:36:00.000+08:00

Come down to Broun this Saturday for a weekend breather to rest and relax before swinging into full gear into 2011. Listen to great music from a group of guys who call themselves "3 leaf" @ Broun this Saturday - Reb

1st embroidery

2011-01-12T21:06:00.001+08:00

i didn't want to just shop around and buy a gift for a dear friend so i thought i'd DIY something, and after having some ideas, decided to paint on a top for her. but fabric paint nor pen worked on the cotton top, so i ended up doing embroidery. it was more tiring & time-consuming but it was fun and it felt so satisfying as i see the pattern emerging. it was worth it, i liked the look of it!

entirely free-hand, not perfect but with threads of friendship love :)
- rach

Broun Sessions: Friday & Saturday

2011-01-06T17:59:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year! Blast off to a great start to the NEW YEAR with 2 great Broun Sessions this Friday and Saturday - Reb

the person i want people to remember me for

2011-01-05T22:38:00.001+08:00

i'm following this blogger who started this incredible project & book named "project happily ever after" and she's started another project named "live regret free", its gonna be a great project i think, looking at just 1st 2 days of the project:

3 qualities i want people to remember me for after i pass on:
compassionate
patient
uplifting

i'm on the set to start working towards that! what about you? share with me your 3 qualities :)

my 1st oliver!

2010-12-31T00:30:00.000+08:00

jamie oliver, i'm quite a big fan of, i love his wooden tabletop, his lightning chopping skills, his extremely fresh ingredients (plucked & eat!), his rubbish bin hidden in his tabletop, he made cooking looked so effortless, and he made delicious looking food so so easy, and i've yearned for his books for a long long time, everytime i spot them at borders, i'll smooth my fingers on the cover page gently, leaf through the pages carefully and cross my heart, promising myself i'll treat myself to one of his books one day, any one.

the husb got one for me this christmas!! i beamed from ear to ear like a little girl who gets her favourite doll, the title is EMBOSSED in yellow (i smoothed my fingers over it again & again, hah)!! i love the fonts used in the entire book, i love the layouts of pics, words, captions, etc, i can't wait to try out the recipes, i love the gift and love the giver more, such sweet gesture of thoughtfulness. - rach

heaven's joy

2010-12-19T00:19:00.003+08:00

the latest addition to the family, uber mini-WX, a whopping 3.59kg at birth

he's heaven's joy; Reb's sweet gain

beautiful, perfect tiny little feet

welcome to the family, welcome to the world, nathaniel :) - rach

Broun Sessions: Girl Power Weekend

2010-12-13T14:47:00.000+08:00

Tis the festive season and we get bombarded with cheesy midi Christmas shopping centre music. Take this opportunity to rejuvenate your music senses with the soothing sounds of Melodie Tan on Friday night and "The Dudettes" on Saturday night @ Broun - Reb

Merry

2010-12-09T13:40:00.001+08:00

Finally I'm able to attend an ATC session after so many months because I've taken a break from worship practice. This month's theme is "MERRY". So I checked out what it meant and decided to do some sketches that reflect its meaning. It was really difficult to sketch portraits especially children. My little nephew Asher turned out old looking, please forgive my amateur drawing skills :) but WX turned out fine, haha. I guess drawing kids is really no easy feat - Reb

Living Life in His Presence

2010-12-09T13:28:00.001+08:00

One of the things Rach and I have in common is that we both DREAM A LOT, like literally every night and our dreams are very vivid. Sometimes it affects the quality of my sleep depending on how intense the dreams were. I've decided to record the vivid ones, so I made a journal titled "Living Life in His Presence" and really commit them to God so that he can arrest the ones which are nightmarish and bless the ones which are meaningful.

Took this photo at Fort Canning Park while I attended a free black and white photography workshop conducted by National Museums. I didn't have a black and white camera / function, so learnt more about composition. Later, I went back home to photoshop it with a green filter. Love the giant tree and the humongous shade it provided. It just reminds me that I can always hide in His presence :) - Reb

Broun Sessions with The Stadium

2010-12-02T16:46:00.000+08:00

Head onto Broun for some live entertainment by 3 guys =) - Reb

soul boosters

2010-12-01T22:15:00.001+08:00

the trip to bali was more than just a self-care plan, i was hoping to soak in God's presence, hear from Him & re-align my focus.

before the trip, i've been reading up on some literature & have gained more understanding of what it means to be "more than conquerors" & am aiming to be more than a conqueror because i'm in Christ.

i'm learning to focus more on the positives rather than the negatives, focus on what i have instead of what i do not have, to be more heavenward rather than earth-bound.

during the trip, for each & every day, God reminded me stuffs that i believe, if i secure tightly to my heart, i'm gonna face not just my sleep disorder, but any challenges bravely & be more than a conqueror :)

day 1: Psalm 121:7-8 God keeps His eyes on me ALWAYS, but am i? i should & i must, with that alone, i can conquer anything & everything

day 2: Isaiah 49:14-16 even though i might feel that i'm alone sometimes, and God might have forgotten about me, but He doesn't, He never will, now that i'm a mother, i can understand v.15 completely

day 3: as i watched the sun rising, the vast expanse of the sky & sea, the heights of mountains & clouds, soaking in His love, i'm reminded of Psalm 8:3-4 & Psalm 139, i'm so small & God is so awesome & majestic yet He loves me so much

all i want for christmas is my 2 front teeth

2010-11-26T00:47:00.004+08:00

day 2 in bali (sunday), i got the news late in the nite that the tot fell from his flimsy tricycle & injured his 2 front teeth, account from the husb's:

tot was riding around the house as usual, husb was in kitchen, heard the tot suddenly crying very badly, husb went out to living room to find tot sprawled on the floor next to the window,picked him up, turned him over & found him bleeding badly from the mouth, husb suspected tricycle caught on the legs of the dining chairs, flipped, tot fell off & happened to knock his mouth right on the window grills, husb couldn't get tot's PD cos he's on hols, brought tot to mount alvernia a&e, doc there didn't know what to do, husb brought him to sgh a&e, doc said 2 front teeth seemed to be pushed back a lil', couldn't check much as the tot was crying & in a lot of distress, said to monitor for infection for the next 6-8weeks, will need to remove 2 front teeth if there's infection

i came back, tot's gum was black & swollen, he couldn't pronounce words properly & couldn't chew on foods properly too, i tried to take closed-up pics of him so i can compare his teeth with his previous pics, i can't remember what i did, but he was laughing very "widely" while i take his pics (i think he's happy to see me, you think? ;P)

i compared & couldn't find any difference, but i discovered that he's got 2 'dracula teeth' at the top!
anyways we brought him for 2nd opinion at NDC, with a dentist specialises in children, she said she didn't spot any displacement, all the teeth seem aligned, the gum's swollen, asked us to monitor, brush his teeth well to get rid of plague to minimise infection & bacteria so as not to compromise healing (the husb daren't brush his 4 front teeth after the incident, so those teeth were already very yellowish when i saw 'em), apply antiseptic mouthwash & follow-up in a week's time

went for follow-up last week, gum has healed, tot's back to pronouncing words as usual, back to chomping & chewing food, appetite's back for a vengeance! but we need to continue to be extra diligent in his oral care & continue to monitor any unusual occurences until his adult teeth grow out (when he's 6-7years old) because dentist can't guarantee that the knock has not caused any traumatic impact to the adult teeth (which i've learnt are already there in the gum behind the milk teeth!)

but as for now, he's back in shape at least, we'll be careful but we'll not worry too much about what we don't know in the future & what we can't do anything about

thank God that all's well, at least for now, hoping it will stay this way

God made kids to be so resilient & strong! tot asked for his tricycle jus the next day after the incident! husb chucked the tricycle immediately that nite after the incident, went around the house, went through tot's toys & chucked anything that's even remotely unsafe, and he's been on the high alert ever since on every possible, potential risk for hazard, so much so that i've to remind him that we don't want to cross the line from trying to keep our child safe to overprotecting him to the point of stifling him

i need to give the husb more time to get over that incident & guilt (the fact that tot has fallen from the tricycle couple of times & we KNOW that its flimsy & TALKED about getting rid of & buying him a more sturdy one but yet didn't DO anything about it), & his post-traumatic stress syndrome (from being there at the incident & witnessing the amount of blood oozing out from that tiny mouth)

parenthood lesson learnt #1 we can do everything to keep our child safe but we can't prevent ALL risks, #2 the decisions we make or do not make (in this case) will affect our child, so we need to be diligent & careful, otherwise our child gets the brunt of consequences from the bad decisions we make

the husb thanked God for a 2nd chance - Rach

toddler doodler

2010-11-18T00:03:00.002+08:00

the tot likes to hang around in the kitchen with me when i do chores or cook, he'll come in with his cars zooming about, or take out the containers, bowls, plates, etc from the drawers & display them, but lately i don't see him hanging around me much & at times, he's absolutely quiet, and then i take a peek out & discovered that a young budding artist is hard at work at his art pieces, on many places besides the drawing block i gave him, even using his own body as his canvas, some of which i've to frantically clean immediately, like the CDs & the floor!! occasionally the husb & i will discover markers stains on our hands, wondering where we've got it, we've got colors strewn all over!

this expression & pose brings a grin to my face

colors on the food container, toy box, markers box

colors on the sofa!

colors on the wooden bench

colors on the mini hi-fi

colors on the floor!
graffiti considered art too hor? don't u see a lovely budding artist in the making? so nice of him to add colors to the home & i get to perfect my cleaning skills :) - rach

BROUN Sessions with 3intheCrowd

2010-11-15T10:35:00.000+08:00

If you missed last Saturday's melodic sounds of BROUN Sessions with Melodie Tan, no worries, make a date with BROUN this Saturday 20 November from 8.30pm to 10.00pm to enjoy the music of 3intheCrowd who will serenade you with music that's more than just entertainment, but with music that touches the heart. - Reb

bali's final day

2010-11-12T12:43:00.000+08:00

this is sleepyhead me trying to pose for self-portrait at 6am!

was planning to wake at 530am to catch the forecasted 550am sunrise but the alarm didn't ring! thought if i didn't catch the break of dawn, i could at least catch part of the sun still rising & then jog on the beach & i didn't regret that!

it was quite a feat jogging on the beach which's my 1st! esp. this beach, even WALKING on it is a challenge itself, my feet literally disappeared with every step i took, the sand just chomped it down

after an early rise (actually i went back up to snooze awhile more before heading for brekkie haha, the mate was sleeping in anyway), i had a very hearty brekkie, being conscious of eating the healthy stuffs, i had an all egg white omelette stuffed with wonderful ingredients (i didn't know i can request for that!), it was yummilicious!

i have had passionfruit juice, drinks, dessert or ice-cream before (not that i'm a passionfruit craze), but i've never had a real passionfruit fruit before, it's pretty refreshing, it tasted a lil' like soursop (which i'm not nuts about), but i like the crunchiness of the seeds which give you extra boost of fiber! check out the alien-like stuffs at the side & how gooey the flesh is, its an alien fruit!

after brekkie, took a stroll along the beach with the mate, found these 2 tiny fellas, got jabbed a lil' by the bigger fella trying to stage an escape, the small one looked like a hermit prawn actually

had a relaxing swim after the stroll & went under this huge rain-tap, i've seen smaller ones before, but this one's enormous!me & mate had a blast going underneath it! (sori pics with us in it not suitable for posting up)

bali's 2nd day 1st experiences

2010-11-11T23:49:00.003+08:00

i was really having lotsa fun taking self-portraits with that full-length mirror in my hotel room, the mate found it hilarious, off to a good hearty brekkie before my adventure began!

i went for my 1st snorkelling trip! actually tis my 2nd, but the successful one. the 1st was at mauritius, during my honeymoon, i told the guy i was booking the trip with that i DON'T KNOW how to swim, he said "oh don't worry about that". then a different guy, who brought us out to the far, far deep sea was obviously worried to find out that i DON'T KNOW how to swim & asked why didn't i say so before we set out to the sea, he'd have brought a life-jacket for me, so there i was, hanging onto some part of the boat for dear life, while occasionally dipping my head in to look at the fishes & corals & after awhile gave up & watched miserably at the WHOLE group happily admiring the fishes & corals in the beautiful, clear waters :(

look at that fella in the above pic, he's fishing in the deep sea, still standing up!!! jus kidding, but seriously, we're pretty far out in the sea already, the fishing fella's still able to stand tall, fishing!

anyways, i was happy that i had the 1st successful snorkelling experience! it was such a wonderful feeling being able to float in the sea, the colorful fishes are amazing, the corals are beautiful, i've at least got a hang of breathing in & out of my mouth instead of my nose (believe you me, i drank a copious amount of ultra salty sea water & having water gone into my nose!) yay, i've conquered & be one with the sea!

and then i did braiding, i didn't want to braid my whole head, just at 1 side, at 1st, the lady gave me an ultra centre-parting (*shivered*), then i've to explain about just 3-4 braids at the side in my usual parting

it turned out very cool, the mate said just the side only makes it "got character", i like it!

oh btw, i've also discovered the beaches there (nusa dua & sanur) does not make up of very fine, white particles of sand like in mauritius, but its not coarse fine, brown particles of sand like in east coast either. its actually brown beady particles like cat food, haha, interesting

all dressed up for a good, nice dinner, my new dress bought at 1/2 price in sg to help myself hype up for the trip (i wasn't getting excited even a week before the trip, so i needed a lil' help there hah, its not an excuse to add a colorful piece to my wardrobe ok!)

Leafy Days

2010-11-10T11:11:00.000+08:00

Special order for a great friend cum colleague. Hope the leaves spring on her steps as she moves onto other exciting adventures in her life! - Reb

BROUN Sessions with Melodie Tan

2010-11-10T11:02:00.001+08:00

Come chill out @ BROUN this Saturday 13 November from 8.30pm to 10.00pm to enjoy the sounds of local singer Melodie Tan - Reb

bali's 1st day's 1st experiences

2010-11-06T23:11:00.001+08:00

i had a great brekkie at coffee bean after check-in, & a cup of hot choc, opened the lid, thought it was foam at the top, only to discover it was tiny marshies, i was soooo happy!

this is me, having fun taking self-portrait with a full-length mirror in the hotel room! heading out to kuta for 1st day adventure, with shopping & spa

railway restaurant!! how neat?!! i was a lil' disappointed that the restaurant is not in the railway itself, but its still cool!

to have the magnificient yet gentle beast so up close & personal, it was awesome! but i felt sad when i caught a gaze into the weary eyes :(

i did a 2hr spa which include a traditional balinese body massage, body scrub using balinese boreh scrub, milk smeared all over my body,while i was trying hard not to shiver & chatter too much from the chilling treatment and the 1st time i had a pebble-shower!! i stood on pebbles to shower! i didn't expect a foot reflexology at shower after the chilling scrub & milk, it was painful to stand & i had challenges moving around while showering, don't even mention trying not to imagine what else-es i might be stepping on besides the pebbles (underneath & in between) @~@

1st time i stayed out while overseas for soo late, started to head back to hotel at about 130am, it coincided with halloween, so people were all dressed up in costumes & gory make-up, crazy partying away, it was my 1st closest encounter with the late night clubbing scene

and finally, i had a fright of the night, travel mate & i trying to trace back to this spa salon out of the zillions we saw, but as the cabby took us through many similar lanes with many similar shops which all sells almost similar things, we got more & more lost, and then suddenly the cabby took a sudden swerve & wanted to turn into this dark, lonely alley & recommended us this really good spa & kept insisting in turning in & kept insisting we try this really good spa, i freaked out a lil', profusely saying nooooo-nooo, mate was conversing with him with bahasa & trying to translate to me at the same time, the cabby raised his voice, using a forceful tone, kept repeating the same thing (in bahasa) while slowly inching, inching his way into the dark alley & all i kept chanting was nooo-nooo-noooo...he didn't swerve in, otherwise i might not be writing this post now...he kept assuring us later on that he's a good man, don't worry, repeatedly & i remembered the movie i watched "Knight & Day" starring cameron diaz & tom cruise, where cruise acted as some secret agent & diaz got somehow involved in that mission, cruise warned diaz that if people kept assuring her of her safety, that's she's gonna be safe, that they're good people, the more they say that, the more she should get away from them, i felt exactly like that, but thank God nothing happened, what an encounter!

1st home-made mediterranean meal

2010-11-04T21:59:00.001+08:00

shopping at four season organic market, not planning to buy much, but ended up bringing home a huge bag of yummilicious stuffs! i've always like pilaf, and always marvelled at how it's been cooked on cooking shows, in gianormous woks, with tonnes of seafood ingredients, so i decided to try my hand at it after finding a pack of bulgur wheat , the instructions sounded really easy - just soak in hot water for 20mins, and poof! you'll have a warm-more nutritious-than-rice staple (i mean, c'mon you don't have to cook rice or potatoes or pasta, etc, u just need to soak!!n its nutritional value far surpasses the rest, how good is that??!!)

as i was going for 3D2N to bali, i decided to cook enough for the whole village, so that the husb won't eat too much order-ins & the kiddo's not too much outside food, and also for myself when i come back, so i cooked the pilaf in a pan (which's too small because the bulgur wheat expanded after being cooked!!)

- heat pan, sautee finely chopped onions & garlic in oil for few mins

- add in spices like cinnamon, paprika, chilli powder, basil or oregano, for few mins

- add in beans (kidney beans, chick peas, whatever beans you like, you can add in dried apricots, prunes also, i added stewed tomatoes) & coat the beans with the spices

- throw in bulgur wheat & roast on pan for few mins (supposedly to make it more fragrant)

- add in water to cover bulgur wheat at least over 1/2 inch (but you need to gauge, i think i roasted the wheat too long, i kept adding water because they took very long to be cooked & softened)

- sautee chopped onions in oil

- add in chicken pieces, till cooked, add in stewed tomatoes, various spices, red & yellow capsicum reduce heat & let simmer for 20mins (depending how big your chicken pieces are & how 'nua' you want your meat)

- add in beef brisket, salmon, prawns for 5mins before turning off the fire.

verdict, pilaf is dry but the texture is like brown rice or multigrain rice (nutritious stuffs taste drier?!), eat with the very gravyish stew, yums! - rach

flowers that speak a thousand words

2010-11-04T20:24:00.001+08:00

got these gorgeous lilies from the husband after i came back from bali, they tell me he misses me :D - rach

rainbow at sunset

2010-10-29T23:48:00.001+08:00

so many things i want to share right now...

1. the tot sang 3 lines out of 4 "humpty dumpty sat on the wall" - i'm amazed!!

2. the tot sat at the sofa after a relaxing shower, waiting for dinner, and he read his favorite bedtime storybook all by himself!! - i'm utterly amazed!! as in he read it out, he knows the story inside out!!

3. last year at exactly the same 3D2N, i went through a gruelling challenge at ngee ann city, this year i'll be lounging at the beach in bali, sipping cocktail, reading book, relaxing. all the best to the people at this year's challenge!!i'll be back!!

and then to have a perfect closure to the day & before my trip, i saw rainbow at sunset this evening, simply breathtaking & marvellous :)

10% Discount @ BROUN

2010-10-27T10:59:00.000+08:00

Thanks for your prayers and support, Broun was opened on 20.10.2010!

You can forward this e-flyer which offers a 10% DISCOUNT when presented at Broun!
We serve the most wholesome, homely and affordable stews & grills in town, served with a choice Broun Bread, Broun Rice or Broun Wedges. Or simply relax and enjoy our warm & down-to-earth environment with our drinks and desserts - our Brounies is a must-try ;)
No MSG, no deep frying, good enough to be eaten everyday - WHOLESOME, HEALTHY & HOMELY!

OPENING HOURS
MON & TUE - 11.00AM-6.00PM
WED & THURS - 11.00AM-9.30PM
FRI & SAT - 11.00AM-10.30PM

Free wi-fi & powerpoints available.
Stay tuned for upcoming live performances, art & media features, talks & workshops all happening at Broun...supporting a wholesome, holistic lifestyle :)

[to minimize wastage (a) please print flyers on recycled paper, (b) print out 2 sheets per page, (c) come together with all your friends using just 1 flyer! ]

BROUN
a: 36 north canal road s059292
t: 65350430
e: info@broun.sg
w: www.broun.sg (under construction)
www.facebook.com/broun.sg

just pray we shall

2010-10-26T23:54:00.002+08:00

met Reb for lunch the other day when i brought the tot to see PD for his cough, and i was telling her about how i am going nuts trying to deal with the tot's "screaming fits" lately, and him insisting on things (usually he'll listen after being explained to), we're not sure if he's into the 'tantrum phase' now, hence the screaming or that he picked up from somewhere or it could just be because he's not feeling well...

then i shared with Reb that i felt so lost & frustrated having to deal with this now, & trying hard to accept that now i've got a screaming tot who, so far has been so sweet-natured, calm & cool (i told D briefly too & her immediate response was, "huh, asher screams? i can't imagine it")

Reb said, "eh i told WX if next time our kid breaks the law, all we can do is just pray"

and i started to have parental fears, now i've to deal with unexpected tantrums, what if i've to deal with a teenager who plays truant, shoplifts or an adult son who's into gambling, or whatever undesirable lifestyle he might choose??!!

Reb said, "huh, Rach, just pray, just pray hard"

that sounds so easy, but i'm sure its tough if things happen, but yes, pray hard, pray continuously for our kids definitely we shall - rach

menu of the week

2010-10-25T23:30:00.000+08:00

roasted chicken with salad
1. marinated chicken with unsalted butter, honey, basil, paprika, chilli powder, garlic powder & placed in the fridge for a day
2. baked chicken for about 45mins, 20mins on each side, threw in cherry tomatoes at the last 5mins
3. tossed greens, tomatoes, macaroni, nuts & raisins in italian dressing

such a simple, easy dish, but so full of goodness - rach

She sells seashells on the seashore

2010-10-25T10:52:00.000+08:00

Painted a canvas shoe as a birthday pressie for Sarah. It was my first attempt in converting an entire white shoe to another colour. A great tip for those attempting this is that start with very light colours first because it's not easy to get the even constituency with a paintbrush. I tried using a roller brush but it was quite difficult to maneuver it around so I used both tools in the end. Maybe I should just try dyeing the entire shoe in a pail of fabric dye next time :P - Reb

a single stalk

2010-10-23T00:40:00.000+08:00

the husb gave me a fright (because i didn't hear the door at all) when he suddenly appeared at the bedroom door where the tot & i were rolling around laughing in bed, he just smiled while i was still clutching my chest in fright, bent down, gave me a kiss on the forehead & presented me with this

i hadn't receive flowers for a long long time...

a single stalk speaks of thousand words of love :) - rach

BROUN

2010-10-19T23:05:00.001+08:00

Feel free to drop by BROUN. It's a cafe that WX and friends set up. It's got great stews, grills and desserts. It is opening from tomorrow onwards (20 October 2010). Opening hours 1030am to 1000pm. It is located at 36 North Canal Road, just opposite Speakers' Corner (Hong Lim Park) and Clarke Quay MRT (exit A). For more information, check out the facebook page

As one of my youths taught me a new word, it's time to "CHILLAX" @ BROUN = Chill and Relax! Haaa. - Reb

stronger

2010-10-17T20:35:00.001+08:00

after having gone for 6 sessions of acupuncture & taking tcm medicine, i'm glad to report that my worsened PLMD is quite back to the usual PLMD condition, where i don't feel the jerking while i'm awake much anymore, though its not a cure, but i'm extremely grateful & felt very relieved

presenting more good news, i'm better able to handle my emotions now after being reminded to spend quiet time with God, leaning on His strength & grace every single day;
i realised that i felt miserable & frustrated mostly because i felt i'm fighting this all alone, there're no one out there i know who has this condition, there're no such support group (at least locally), but i need to acknowledge that even when no one truly understand, God who is God of all comforts & knows the exact number of hair on my head, understands in every aspect & every core, which is all i need

on the other hand, the husband & i are working out to better cope with this chronic situation and he has learned to show support & encouragement best perceived by me & he has shown me great patience & grace, i thank God for him

the battle with my PLMD has not been an easy one, but i thank God that i've grown, ALOT
everytime i thought i've reached the bottomest of pits, He lifts me up to newer grounds;
everytime i thought i've had enough of learning/refining, He sheds new light & refines me to new levels; everytime i thought i couldn't hold on any longer, He shows me grace more than sufficient

i had gotten angry with God, i wrestled with Him, i questioned Him, demanded answers, accused Him of not loving me enough to want to cure me, but out of all these, He drew me closer to Him & brought me into intimacy with Him more than i can desire

what doesn't break us make us even stronger, circumstance that doesn't tear us apart make us all the more closer & united

i am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me :) -rach

TRAILblazers

2010-10-14T14:37:00.002+08:00

Recently my church's youth ministry came up with a new name called "TRAILblazers" and one of youths designed the logo. WX thought it was so cool that he kept bugging me to buy a pair of canvas shoes for him and print the logo onto them. The challenge was that the logo will be quite difficult to carve out with a pen knife and one of its colours is white. But nevertheless, his insistent pleading got to me and I did it for him - Reb

my joy & my delight

2010-10-06T00:32:00.003+08:00

he sleeps well, about 2-3hrs nap, 12hrs sleep thru the night

he eats well

he drinks well

he loves just hangin' out at home, having fun

he loves the outdoors

he loves to laugh & play; he loves to play, period

he plays well & relates well with people (big or small), he's gentle & nice to them; he shares readily; he hugs & he kisses & he touches gently

he is the lil' explorer, bursting with learning enthuasiasm

he enjoys hangin' out with me :)

he is a great lil' helper, helping me with laundry, pack bag for going out, throwing stuffs in dustbin, he loves being our lil' helper & he is great

his sweet-nature & calm composure brings so much peace & love in my life

he fills my heart with so much joy & delight every single day, every moment

we love you, son

- rach

the battered face

2010-10-03T00:21:00.005+08:00

the tot has been getting so good at manevouring himself on the flimsy (super light, therefore unstable) tricycle these days, that his turns are swift & smooth

but the tricycle being light & flimsy, it couldn't match up to his skills, so he went falling & landed his face right onto the rug & he's got a cut lips, bruised chin & eye, i've never seen him bled so much before as i watched dark, deep red blood oozing out of his cut lips

he wailed with tears flowing down continuously as i cuddled him & sang the song i made up, "hush hush my lil' baby"...he giggled, stopped crying, a minute later, he went about the house with his usual playing, running, laughing & the very next day back to swerving & making sharp corner-turns on his flimsy tricycle, back to his usual playful, cheeky, joyful self, so amused by me trying to take pictures of his battered face

what a fearless tot i've got here, unfazed & undaunted - rach

Watermelons and shoes

2010-09-28T17:34:00.001+08:00

I just couldn't get enough of the canvas shoes. I went back to buy from the shoe shop @ the Lorong 8 Toa Payoh Wet Market. Amazingly, twice I went there and my size was sold out! Must be all the school kiddos. Heh. I found out from the owner that an aunty buys them, paints on them and sells them on the internet! He also told me that the price of the shoes will be going up next month but I'm thinking now that it's just $5 even if it goes up to $10, it's still cheaper than other shops :P

This time I used fabric markers to design my shoes :) Watermelons were inspired by a preschool where I teach art. Every week I go there, I always see one watermelon lying in the middle of nowhere on the floor in their store room and the sight of it really tickles me all the time - Reb

short getaway

2010-09-27T14:48:00.002+08:00

hey peeps, sorry for being silent for some time...remember this post about me experiencing the peak of uncontrolled emotions? i think i had one that beat this about 3 weeks back & it was massive, i really thought i was going mad & i had thoughts of dying, i had thoughts of shaking the tot violently to stop him from crying because his cries was like setting the bomb off in my head, i couldn't trust myself alone with him, i was afraid to hold him, come close to him or even look at him (for details, read my xtremedreamer). so i've been trying to get my feet up, mustering all my will power to get hold of my emotions...

the husband was very concerned naturally, proposed i go for a short trip to be away, relax & get refreshed, because of availability & other commitments, i couldn't go as early as i should, but i'm going! 1st time to bali, 1st time on a trip without the husband & tot, 1st time on a trip with my great pal!

on an even better note, i've gone for acupuncture 5 times so far, seems to be helping, not sure if its helping my disorder in any bit, but i no longer experience jerking in my waking moments, which means i can fall asleep better, and also means i feel less uncomfortable...i'm already extremely grateful at this improvement even if it's not curing my disorder, i'm getting a better grip of my emotions, the husband & i are learning to cope with this much better too :) we're still learning, thanks to those who've been praying relentlessly, i couldn't have done this without your prayers :) - rach

Table Placemat

2010-09-16T16:51:00.002+08:00

Handmade gifts are made with love but may not be made with skill sometimes. I attempted to thank someone with some table placemats but it was really a huge risk to take. I think for one attempt such a feat, you must either be very close to the person you're thanking or know the person is super nice to overlook defects.

Sewing 4 identical sized placemats is no joke. I really need to improve on measuring fabric and not be too ambitious to make the seam so small. My tip: If in doubt of sewing ability, just over cut every cloth and sew extra large seams!

I love transferring the design to the foam sheets and foam is so fun to cut. That's the part which I think I rock at :)

Major tip when doing fabric printing with foam sheets is to make sure your paintbrush strokes are totally invisible or else the brushstrokes will appear onto the fabric. That's what happened to mine :( And you really need to soak the whole foam sheet with paint - like really majorly thick!

I guess at the end of the day it's the thought and effort that counts right? But of course, more room for improvement and no excuse for shoddy workmanship!- Reb

tot's 1st burger & fries

2010-09-11T16:02:00.002+08:00

my 1st time making beef patties, burger & fries to let the tot try his 1st burger meal

i got the tot to mix in the herbs & seasonings & mold the patties together with me, he loves digging his hands in & he makes pretty decent small patties (he made those smaller ones in the pic!)

* ingredients: minced beef, oregano, cornflour, paprika & seasoned pepper

add small blob of butter, on medium heat, put the patties, pressed lightly with wooden spoon, cook 3-5mins on each side or depending how well done you want your beef to be

cut bread rolls in 1/2, toast 30sec with top facing down, turn over, place sliced cheese on top & toast for another 30sec or depending on how toasted you want your bread to be, add cooked white button mushrooms & slightly grilled tomatoes on, serve with fries (in olive oil), presto, the tot's 1st burger meal's done!it's really quick & simple but its a pretty oily business, i've never fried stuffs in my kitchen, ever! i didn't know what to do with the pot of olive oil after that, honestly...

anyhows, tot was busy examining his burger meal

happily tasting

devouring the patty he's made & asked for a 2nd patty

though there was alot of cleaning up after the cooking, i'm glad the tot enjoyed his meal :) - rach

a good wash

2010-09-10T22:27:00.002+08:00

they've been on the cold bench for the longest time since the tot was born, i finally gave these guys a good wash!

our wedding mascots to which the tot now calls the groom "porkchop" (which is what they're actually called) & the bride "piggy", not sure how he came up with the differentiation by himself

the long neglected cow, who's been with me thru' thin & thick for almost a decade

the rat who's been in my possession for almost 2 decades!! i've been keeping it cos its the 1st stuffed toy the mom bought for me, but i think it might be time i let it go...tender heart (carebear, my fav!) given by the beloved, special edition

trying to let 'em get some vit D (which they've been seriously deprived of) but mister sun doesn't seem interested much these few days - rach