2009 and 2010

Have not been able to update my blog cos I have not have access to internet at home. There is a laptop, but we hardly use it.. Now in the office and its my knocking off time.

2009 is ending.. I welcome 2010. 2009 is happening.. 2010 is expected to be refreshing as I cont to learn and make adjustments.

Learning at home as a wife, in the workplace as a social worker, learning to ride all the different tensions and demands that screams for me, learn how to relate to the girls who are growing up and maturing in their own ways..

BS groups ends, the time spent together in BS are memories of the past, but the relationships do not end. N that is what we are gg to carry with us to heaven, relationship w God and others. This is how I encourage some of my girls when we have to end our BS groups..

The old has gone, the new has come. N we have hope because of the new work that God is gg to work in us..

Birthday...

There was a very meaningful HongKong TV serial showing in Sg recently. Didn’t really watch it much except for the last episode. At the end of the show, he concluded that he is a millionaire because families and friends are his wealth.

I don’t think I am some one who treats friends and family very well. I admit I am self-centered and there is much room for improvement.

I am not saying this as fake humility or what, but as an honest evaluation of self, I confess to my own weakness.

Despite my shortcomings, God has blessed me with friends and family who loves me. (Much as at times I feel so frustrated by my family members, and I also hope I can not only know in my head that they love me, but also feel it in my heart.)

Anyway, I know that God expresses His love for me through the people around me and also through His being with me daily.

Here is how I celebrated my birthday!

FOOD!!! Kia Yuan would be tickled by this because he knows I love food and somehow this year, I ate so much during this birthday period.

Went to Marriot with Paul. Had a buffet that I would never get to eat except during birthday. And after trying this once, I will never come back here again, because what I wanted was the experience of the food there! Hehe…

Rather happy with the seafood! Though I wish they could cook the crayfish the zhi cha style rather than the ang moh style

.
The drunken prawns are good! The soup is tasty and with the prawns freshly cooked in the soup, it is juicy and leaves an herbal aroma =)

The next nice thingy was the steak. I am not a steak person, but I personally enjoy the sauce that goes along with the steak and the baked potato that is cutely prepared.

As for dessert, they have nice cheng tng and with so much dried longan that I believed they didn’t add any sugar to make it sweet. It makes it sweet without being sick.

Fayth and Jolynn remembered my birthday and they very generously gave me a treat, together with YJia at Chilli Padi Nonya Café. (Another buffet!)

These 2 girls LOOOOOVEEEEEES food. And I am not KIDDING!!!! They would travel to places to taste good food! Farrer Park Laska, TPY Ban Mee, Holland Village Provence Bakery… Amused by them =)

Anyway, the last time we came to Bugis, they saw this Nonya café, so there we went today!

Laska, MeeSiam, Gado-gado, Kueh Pati, all very nonya taste. Not bad.

Especially love the Kueh Pati, we can eat it over and over again. It has a crunch, but softened by the sauce. So it does not hurt your tongue. The turnip is tasty as well. I cant exactly describe the taste, but it left a pleasant taste for us to eat it over and over again.

But the chwee kueh there is not so nice. The kueh is nice, but the chilli and the cai po still lose to the one in Bedok. So people, still go for the Bedok chwee kueh. I will not recommend Nonya chwee kueh..

Thank you girls, thank you YJia, Thank you Paul for your kindness toward me =)

Lovely bcos of You (God, friends and families)

This is THE event of my life.. (Ok, maybe one of the event, the other one would be the church blessing next yr) N I am thankful for many things. The one thought I have was the many friends who stood by me to make this happen. I just want to share some pictures =)

To you, Serene, Huimei, Chee Wei, Kris who cannot make it to be with me though you so much wanted to do so. Appreciate it.

To you Charlene, Ruth, Santi, Suyin, Nat, Lihui & Stella whom I could nt invite as there was not enough space to accomodate. Love you!



We had it Swissotel Merchant Court. Thanks to Jac's recommendation. The setting was beautiful, small event, and people were comfortable. Food was good as complimented by friends and families. N Paul said if his sister didnt even have a word of complain, that means it must be really good! hehe..




Our parents mingling before the event started. Paul's mother is very kind and she even put her hands around my mother. =) Looks like I am gg to have a very understanding MIL.



Paul and myself made it a point to talk to the guests before the event. N we were just relaxing ourselves and chatting with them! I feel that the only way I could thank my guests for coming is really to catch up with them etc. I mean they are there to be with us, not to watch us.


Preparing to march-in...



The vow-making process.. Why did I laugh so hard?? Cos Paul could not remember his vows and his attempt to recall was so funny. But it made everyone laugh, including me.. Aiyo, I seriously tried my best to control my laughter liao.



Signing on marriage cert..



Prayer..



N chocolate fondue!! hehe.. But then ah, I get to eat none of it! I was trying to talk to everyone tt I could not really focus on eating.. I really want to go back there for the food!




There was a pendant, given by KY n Marge, my 2 beloved leaders.. He spent the effort to think about what I will like, and went to look around for the gift. It feels like a downry from the parents! haha! Anyway, I love it.. Not the gift but the persons and the thoughts behind them.

Thankful for...

• good weather. God made it!
• Freda, who helped with my hair and give feedback on my make-up (DIY job)
• Ps John who go the extra mile for us and being thoughtful for us and our guest
• Aunty Grace for being th ever supportive wife and making the lemonade for all the guests
• sister who took all these pics
• Kelvin n Kelvin who took the more pro pics (have not gotten them yet)
• Michael, Stephen, Kelly, Clarissa for being our very faithful ushers and being good colleagues to Paul.
• JJ, who help us to emcee and so directive. It helps to get our guests organized
• Nick, who help with our music
• Huiling n Chailing, my supportive Uni friends, n over the years our friendship grew. Your creativity is imprinted into my guestbook.
• Chailing, who took up the challenge to do translating the next morning when I only called you 10pm the night beforem n u were sleeping already! Nxt time, I can do it for you girl!
• Jia, who ended up the coordinator, and even practice march in with me! n for gg out of your comfort zone tt day.
• Marge, who stood in for Serene tt day
• Serene, the time you spent with me discussing, thinking through the program for me, n watching over the details in the prep.
• Jac, Doreal, Raymond who made the place beautiful for us!
• Kingmun who came and rush to go to work later
• KY who rushed from training!
• SoonKiet who rushed from work too!
• Esp to WQ, Evelyn, Mavis, you came even though you dont know Paul.. =) But you still came to bless..
• Marlene, Cecilia, Freda, Susan.. You enriched Paul's lives when you worked together closely with him, and you became our friends.
• Woo Soon, who came though he did not know anyone else
• Father, Mother and Sis who came from M'sia and rushed back the same day.
• Paul, who chose the dress and accessories for me and make me pretty on tt day.
• Paul, without whom I cant marry!! haha!
• God, for being who He is...

How can I thank my friends and families enough?

It was beautiful, because of our God, friends and families..

Counting Down

Have written my vows, bought the things I needed, made the guest books, bought the pens, chosen the song and bought the CD, pack whatever I can at this point, plan the program flow, have in mind the flow of the event.. I think it should be more or less done..

Will pack in the cert once I get them.

Sometimes, some things can be very simple or very complicated. I realised that the little time I have, I am thinking about how to use them to enhance this and that a little more. just a little paranoid.. A reminder to be careful not to over-do some things.

SH must been very involved in this whole process. He takes pride to be a part of the process. Be it guest book, choosing the pen for guest to sign in, choosing the jewellery... , he delights to be part of everything. Its a blessing for me..

See you on Sat, Happy Deepavali..

Emo Rights

There is much to learn. Even loving needs to be learned.. Its nt just instinct or emotions.. I am way too emotional. Bt emotions are nt wrong!!!!!!!!!

Wat does God says about emotions? Before I swing to being an advocate of Emo Rights, let me hear what God says abt emotions.

Our society honors the rationale n logical. Therefore, another name for the depressed is Out Of Their Mind. Those are who rational and logical are the straight ones.

Who says so anyway?

The preparation..

Past 2 weeks.. Mad rush! From preparing the docs needed for HDB 1st appointment, to making the decision to solemnize our marriage first, to preparing for the solemnization, viewing of venue, filing marriage online, buying dress, shoes, creating invitation cards, to preparing for SH's birthday- making tang shui, creating card, buying gifts.. The list is endless.. We both feel tired n sick..

Bt I thank God for many friends who step in to help, gave sound advice, be my fashion consultation..

Ser, thank u for all the advice u hv given.. n the alternatives u presented.. help in making sound decisions.. The intense calls I gave to u during the 1st 2 days of my decision making.. U might be driven crazy by me if u were nt strong in ur mind! =)

Jia, thanks for offering ur service to me before I know how ur help may be needed =)

Huiling, thanks for last min random scrapebook shopping for my guestbook.

Chai, thanks for willing to be my hairstylist, n design the scrapebook though u sound tired from ur work n ministry.

Just wanna show some pictures I took during some of these process. More n more used to taking pictures n capturing the moments.. =) Nt tt I take nice pictures, bt some memories for me..

Calendar of 2010.. Nearly went cultic in order to prepare for wedding! Just took this to assure our parents tt 17th April is suitable for wedding! at least tt what this calendar says!

HDB 1st appointment, SH was busy gg thru the docs.. Anxious wait..

In the midst of all the busy-ness, must remember SH's birthday. If I only focus on the event bt forget the person, some thing must be wrong..

Finally, friends, I am getting solemnize on 17th Oct 2009.. 我们结婚吧! Enjoy the day!

10-04-10

Pastor just called me yday and told me tt due to the Month of the Lent (the period of 40days before Easter), the church is not renting out the place.

It freaks me out for awhile while I was talking to Serene, trying to get Paul, call York Hotel, inform Jac while at the same time deciding to change date or change venue. Disturbed, frustrated etc.. I realised that I get throw off balance rather easily when it comes to this.

Recently been repeating the lesson on PATIENCE. Something which is rather lacking in my daily life.. Impatient while waiting for bus (n it affects my mood), impatient w getting the date set for wedding, impatient with the pace of work in my new place. PATIENCE is a BIG theme..

Surely, I would love to learn this lesson well, together with Perservance and Submission to authority n God's timing. Pray for me, Thank you.

As for wedding date, it shall prayerfully be 10-04-10. The date is not bad la.. Prob a blessing in disguise. Waiting for God's best timing...

Pulut Pisang

This is to post some pictures about what I did about a week ago before I started work. I just wanted to finish posting what I did in the 2 days.. =) Well, on the 2nd day of rest, I made some kueh kueh for Paul to delight him!

Thanks to one of my ex-colleague, I had this receipe book as a farewell gift =) I really really wanted to cook before I start work again, so I flipped this receipe book over n over again to find something which I could managed.

Eventually found something simple enuff for a beginner like me! Pulut Pisang. The end product should look something like the picture below..

The ingredients & steps are simple enuff:

1. Glutinous rice (soak for an hour)

2. Banana (Cut into slices)

3. Pandan leaves (2 stalks)

4. Coconut milk(add sugar & salt), and .

5. Banana leaves to wrap up the kueh

It is simple enuff. Steam the soaked rice for 20mins together with pandan leaves. Then add in coconut milk and steam for another 10mins.

When its ready, add a slice of banana on a ball of rice. Wrap with banana leaves and its ready to serve =) This is my end product.

Lucas & my mum likes it cos its sweet. Paul thinks its good too =) For a first attempt, good enough. Wonder when is the next time I shall cook again.. Hmmm...

Sense of Justice

What would u do if u meet the following scenario?

You were gg to mama shop while on the way u met your good friend in school. With him are 2 other strangers and they are throwing things at him!!!

So what would u do?

Guess what Lucas did?

He went to the threesome, and started his kiddish talk... "Blah.. blah.. blah.. NO. Blah.. blah.. blah.. FRIEND." Well, my sis could only make up these 2 words.

What was he thinking about? In his young mind, he formulated the social concept of what we called bullying. When he saw the 2 children (who happen to be Indian children) throwing things at his friend, Yong Jie, he got angry. So he stood up against the bullies!

From those 2 know-able words, I have 2 deductions of what he is trying to say:

1. "Hey what are you all doing. NO, you cannot do this. He is my FRIEND."

2. "Hey do not throw things at him. NO, you cannot do this. We must all be FRIEND".

Child of 3 years old but in his mind, he already have social concept of friendship, bullying and justice. Talking about sense of justice, children merely do what they think is right.

Much to learn from him =)

N I must say, I think he specialises in Funny Faces. See all that he has done.

Fulfilling Break!

What do I do in the 2.5 days of break that I have.. One day have passed since and what have I done?

Look at all the pictures here!

Firstly I went with Paul to Sentosa.. N the most he wanted to do is just to sleep! But I kept disturbing him and say we must take pictures cos I bought the Samsung phone for this purpose lo.. The phone must live up to its purpose! haha... "Purpose-driven phone"





I also went for a jog this morning... Good jog!


Then I went with mum to market to buy ingredients to make "tang shui". This is the white jelly fungus just before I cook it.. I love the feel of it seriously.. It is therapuetical to just touch it and roll it round your fingers and rub it in your palm.. Do you still dare to eat it? =)


The final product looks quite promising though.. I may not be able to cook very well, but I sure am generous in my ingredients!


Then I also went out with Jia, Fayth & Jolynn for The Proposal.. Well, simple plot, not tt romantic, but super funny! Tt's worth $6.50 n tt's all its gonna worth. Jia and I had 云南过桥米线 & 荷叶饭@ Bugis before the show.. reminds me so much of Yunnan...



Before the movie, we had some time so we went to the bookshop. Over there, I discovered Jolynn and I had the same interest in FOOD! She can cook man, and she cooks for her family one lo.. She's a capable girl! N we just stood at the recipes book area and kept flipping n flipping n exchanging ideas..

While Fayth n Jia kept talking about novels and movies.. Haha.. That was interesting.. =) I am gg to try out the following recepies.. Think I shld have the time for it tml la..



Oh yes, I also finished a book last night.. A Grief Observed by C.S Lewis.. late night seems suitable to read a book on grief. Ok, jia you for the rest of my break before I start my engine again on 10th Sept 2009!

I feel so happy. Never felt so happy for the past one year already.. Work seems to have really taken a toil on my joy.. Its not gg to happen to me again.

Lord, make your joy my strength..

Cafe Patio, among nature...

Scallops! Home-made wild mushrooms soup (with loads of mushrooms) and self-made sauce for the garlic bread! Wonderful and great tasting!

Nice pool for doggies to go swimming. Good life! (& then the owner become the servants of the dog...hmmm)

What has these 2 got to do with each other? =)

The answer lies below..

Cafe Patio, by 2 church members of COR. The cafe is situated near Yew Tee MRT and they serve really goooooooood food (with reasonable price), just a little too far for me. If not for Ps John who brought all of us there after PMC, we may not be there at all.. But since we have been there, its worth gg there for a try again =) Esp if u love dogs, its a nice place to be at. They have a very rustic and relaxing ambience to the place to top it of. That's why they claim to be among nature =)