Right after Hot Spring

……..a sumptous meal accompanied. Oh by the way, you reckon we were more radiant?... Our face glowing with youth and "positive qi"?....haha

Probably one of the best Italian restaurants I have tasted. Taste, texture, presentation were seamlessly applaudable.

Hot Spring

Heavenly luxury! We had a private room and the view was simply superb and breath taking!

The weather was cloudy throughout our stay of 4 days. It drizzled non-stop, day and night which caused a little inconvenience but it was a blessing in disguise, in reducing the air pollution.

The weather took control of our choice of clothings. We were all "puffed-up" in our waterproof "space-suits".....no fanciful outfit sadly.....

Dinner

We decided to have something hot and soupy. It was freezing cold at 8C and I was still in my sandals. I thought my feet could tolerate the cold but evidently not. I had to grab a pair of cover up shoes midway. They were the best dollars spent, no doubt!







Prior to dinner, we were greedy to wallop a bowl of Beef noodle each, leaving us with limited capacity for the delicacies. :( (though we had already been very well fed in the plane with lots of wine and cheese on top of our mains).

I could have enjoyed the meal much more.....I literally had to take a couple of short walk in between dishes to ease digestion!

Departure

First time on our own….well perhaps not. Second time if I may, since the kids arrived.

Gift of the year :)

I was absolutely speechless when L presented me with these at the Kris Flyer Lounge.

Truly a pair of rare gem. Even my wedding solitaire pales against these 2.


L remarked " See ,your investment in the Daytona has gotten you a return of multiple times! "

Bak Gua

Another long overdue post. Some homemade Bak Gua for CNY! Due to production constraints, I could only bake a small batch :(

Homemade Ciabatta

Some freshly toasted Ciabatta with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. One of Nic's favourites! Mine too!

Baked Donuts

The kids were happy with these! No deep-frying but freshly baked donuts! Taste and texture wise, I would say it is 80% close to its sinful counterparts!

Nyonya Kuih Salat

Not the best looking Kuih Salat but the taste was great! Well, at least for healthier home consumption.

Kuih Kosui

My personal favourite, amongst all the Nyonya kuih(s). I like the taste of Gula Melaka. Nyonya kuih(s) are only welcomed by the adults in my household.

Homemade ondeh ondeh

Another of my favourite - Gula Melaka or Ondeh- ondeh skin? haha I am a sucker of both, unfortuanately!

Homemade yogurt

The kids and I absolutely love the homemade fresh yogurt. I would make some 500g to 700g per week. Unlike commercial yogurt, sugar is pre-added. We have it plain with honey and fresh fruit. A whole lot healthier!

A dream comes true....

Right before bedtime, we would have a casual chat, as usual. We gave thanks to God and typically, the small one would go " Thank you God, for the yummy banana chocolate tart, for the yummy smoothies and my dinosaur toys..."

Nic was kinda sharing her thoughts with me.

Nic" Mummy, when I was in P1, I saw my buddy going on stage to assume the duties of a student leader and I thought I really wanted to be one too. And now, I am so happy that I am one of the student leaders too. But, my bigger dream is to be the Head Prefect. What do I need to do to be one?"

Me " Wow! I am so glad you have dreams and aspirations. Well, i dont know the criteria for Head Prefect selection but I guess it should be quite the usual - i .e. good at studies, active in CCA, helpful and show good examples to the younger ones. I am confident you would be one if you keep up with your good work!"

Nic" hmm......" (and Nic drifted off to her "Head Prefect" dreamland....heehee.)

Good nite sweet heart.............. one sweet cutie pie....

Belated Halloween

Such a long overdue post. My little orange pumpkin and fairy princess were out there knocking on doors for treats. Unfortunately, they got more tricks than treats as many families at our residence did not celebrate Halloween. Frankly, we dont celebrate much too given its origin. Well, in my view, as long as no nasty tricks or devilish costumes are worn, it is ok for the kids to have some fun :) .

Chwee Kueh

Delicious and mouth-watering homemade Chwee Kueh with organic chai-po and sambal chilli. A dish appreciated by the adults only :( The kids ran miles away at the sight of the spicy condiment!

Annual Concert

Little E did extraordinarily well during the entire performance! He enjoyed himself very much too by constantly displaying that mega watt cheeky smile...... How he has grown over the years!

Toy Story 2

Little E' s very own personal display. How very cute!

This is a long overdue post. Buzz is no longer the favorite… It has long been overtaken by Ben 10 and now Dinos…...

Whose fault?

E was not at all sympathetic.

Nic stepped on his empty milk bottle lying quietly on the playmat.

N " Ouchh!....po-po...my leg hurts...woo...woo.......Ethan, why did you put your bottle here? "

E " Why did you want to step on it? You didnt open your eyes wide. That's why you didnt see it, It's not my fault" (This really got N fuming....I overheard the entire conversation from the kitchen)

N " What? You left it lying around!....wooo...woo"

E" I didnt do it on purpose ok? It was an accident....Don't be a cry baby...."

N " Po-po....Ethan is not sorry....woo...woo...."

E " I said I didnt do it on purpose, all right?....ok...sorry"


These are some common daily dialogues I get.... :(

Brown Belt Black Tip!

Huray! N made it! Thank God for her elephant memories!

The instructor pre-warned, right at the start " Nic has to practise at home...or else I can gurantee that she is unlikely to make it at the senior grade. "

Thanks to her truly elephant memory, she passed with flying colours despite a zero home practice! Her pattern was very firm and swift, full of poise and confidence. The most worrying part - sparring. She did fairly well too. This time, she let go of her kicks and demonstrated many defence tactics. We were really pleased with her performance. Looking back, when she started 2 years ago, she actually broke down on her first grading. She was frightened by the sheer crowd and had to be pursuaded multiple times before she was willing to enter the hall.

Now, with 1 more grading to go, she would technically be a Black Belter, pending the official conversion when she reaches 15 years of age.

Well done, sweetheart!

Fun wedding / holiday without the kids.

After 2 decades since we parted our ways, we met again at Wai Shin's wedding! It was such a rare occassion that I had to make an effort to attend. It was almost like a turnaround trip for me. I arrived on Sat, at about 3pm to attend the 7pm dinner and I left by the 10am flight on Sunday!

A friend remarked " Excuse me, which part of it is your holiday? The plane ride? or the hotel bed for less than 8 hours?"

How very true !