Dar-Dar Can't Stand Healthy Food & Sour Taste

Made a healthier version of curry. Used tomatoes & tomato paste instead of coconut milk. In the end, it turned out more like the Hong Kong style Borsh soup, rather that curry. The tomamtoes also made the curry tasted more on the sourish side, like asam. Dar-Dar definitely preferred the traditional curry that I usually make with coconut milk. :( Actually I kinda liked it myself :P

An Eventful Monday

Sometimes I think this taxi peak period surcharge, call for a cab surcharge thingy is ridiculously a vicious cycle!

Left home at 10am to catch a cab to Northbrooks for my presentation to the kids. 4 people waiting for cab, many cabs zoomed past, either busy with passengers onboard, or just empty with an oncall sign. 10min past, situation did not improve. Saw 2 picked up their hp, I reckon they must've called for a cab. Miraculously, their cab appeared within minutes! I wonder where these available cabs were all these while! Refused to pay that extra $6, I waited on... Another 15min, still nothing! But by now, there's really hardly any cab on the road. I panicked, so finally decided to call for a cab :( Shockingly, this time, there's "NO TAXI AVAILABLE"!!! iyo.... this is worrying... Just when I was about to call another hotline, my savior appeared, an empty taxi! yay... this Mr Soo Ah Kow helped save me from missing my presentation & more importantly, helped save my $$$! yippee...! :D

Reached Northbrooks on time, no exactly pleasant experience. I mean, everything went smoothly despite some technical faults on their side, but just feel that they are rather disorganized, their teachers (besides the Mdm Gan & Anson) seem inexperienced & have this rather "couldn't care less" kinda attitude, students rather restless & unattentive (& these are the Exp NA kids!)... *sigh* seems like I'm back to my neighbourhood-school-general-education-hi-class-baby-sitting kinda Art teaching... Hope Koon won't mind.

Received a shocking SMS from Ayako, asking if I wanna visit Elaine in hospital! Apparently she was admitted to Alexandra Hospital the night before as her whole body was yellowish! This is so unexpected! She's always very healthy & she's very sporty. She's at Sentosa beach almost every weekend! Remembered I noticed her tired eyes & thought I found her eyes rather yellowish, but just thought she was tired. So Ayako & I arrange to visit her after my class at SCGS.

Had an hour or so before my class at SCGS, so was knitting at Mum's. Told her about the Aquamarine I got for her for her birthday. Will give it to her later when she comes. Cindy called so told her about Elaine & arranged to visit her together tonite & will go for dinner together after that. Also told Sis about it, so she can go visit with us.

Counting down the hours, finally lesson over... took a bus to meet Dar. Was starving! so bought Char Shao Su, carrot cake & spring roll (any 3 tim sum for only $2, very huge pcs). Dar showed me the free parking space he found opposite his office, where the landed properties are. Wa, what "hide out" for drivers! There were quite a number of other cars parked there too. But it was a long flight of stairs up to reach the place. What a work out too :P

We got Elaine a bouquet of flowers & a piggy toy that can record voices. We shouted "Elaine, get well soon!" & roared the hospital lobby! hehe... Elaine was surprise to see all of us there. She looked so weak... She lost so much weight since just last Saturday when we met up! Think she hardly ate anything for the past 2 days. Then guess what? Our Dear Miss Cindy was so cautiously teaching Elaine how to operate our reocrding piggy, yet taught Elaine to press the wrong button, which ended up resetting our recording!!! What a blunder!!! We, including Elaine, sure had a good laugh! Laughter must be good for any patient, so, at least we did something right outa it! :D So we had to re-record our "cheer". Tried doing it outside the ward along the corridor, but sounded rather "lau hong" since we had to whisper. So we walked towards the Exit where there's an outdoor balcony. There, we did out cheer, this time loud & clear! I'm sure it will frighten the negative energy with Elaine away this time! hehe...

Stayed there till Sis Tom & Sis came. Had lotsa laughter there, even joked about my new outrageous hair! It was hilarious when I told them how Dar said I was "Wu Meng Da" the 1st nite I had my hair down! haha....!!! Went to Vivo City after all these laughter with Elaine. Edward & Tom commented how we should've gotten a membership card from Vivo for visiting it so often!!! Yet, the funny thing is, we are still lost in that place! Took a long drive home yesterday night after dropping them home.

Even though we were all joking & laughing, we were all worried about Elaine. We know she's worried too, especially since she's always been healthy. Good thing Ayako just found out earlier on that they've removed the drip. This sure is a good sign. Yippee...!

Very touched by what Ayako did for Elaine. Even though we kinda got together as a group for only a month or 2, it's amazing how such bond can be built. I'm sure Elaine can feel all the LOVE around her & will be back to her strong, bubbly self in no time!

Dar, you know what's the best part of it all? You were with me all these while! I can feel you are beginning to loosen up a little, to take it easy & able to "embrace life" after a hard day's work. I can feel your ease, open-mind & open-heart when we visited Elaine & also the whole night later. This blog is lovingly dedicated to you. Some of my friends are also reading this. Everyone's been warmly invited to be part of our lives, to witness our growth. Our bond will only grow stronger with all our friends' blessings & also our faith for each other. Counting down to Valentine's Day when I can finally share this with you. You know how I'm a lousy liar. It's even harder to hide things from you! Just hope you won't find it a hassle to have to read through all these wordy stuff :P Nonetheless, some things in life just can't be expressed enough in words, like 1 student of mine once told me, "this cannot be expressed in words. It can only be felt." How true... :)

A Sickly But Adventurous & Fun-Filled Weekend!

My weekends usually starts on Wednesday nites, after my private Art class at Kovan, since that's the last class I arrange for the week. :P This is so that at least I have 4 days to prepare & work on Knotty Bicsie, & also for the other household chores.

Didn't sleep well on on Wed nite, blocked nose & sore throat :(

Thursday. Met up with Adrian & Siew Eng for breakfast at Toast Box @Plaza Singapura, had an encounter a super ultra blurrr cashier! Lucky for her, she got this cheerful vibrant smile on her face all the time that u somehow won't hold it against her no matter how silly & blur she is! Anyway, the customer before me was also one kind la!

Took a slow walk towards Orchard, bought 2 tops fr a shop at HMV. All their stuffs are fr Japan & Nepal. Very cool stuff, I really like them, though the prices are a bit steep. I'm $91.80 poorer when I stepped outa the shop :( Came across another interesting shop & bought a really cute toy for Edward for Valentine's Day. It's a self-fix toy. It's concept of tin toy, but using heavier paper & the robot is actually movable! I'm sure Edward will LOVE this toy! He had so much fun with the various toys I've gotten for him so far. & this is the most interesting, I must say!

Think I've spent enough on shopping for this week! Felt a bit hungey, so went over to Crystal Jade Express @Wisma, where I'm suppose to meet Roslyn. I was right. She just sounded rude over the phone, but she's actually quite a nice lady. She's left some knitted booties with me to seel at MAAD. She hasn't been working since her knee operation & she's been knitting at home. Hopefully I'll be able to help sell off all her booties :)

After a short meeting with Rosyln & a quick lunch, I went over to Kelture to do something, which I've been wanting to do since end of last year... have a dramatic change in my hairstyle! hehe... stepped in at about 1.30pm. By the time I left, it was already 7.10pm!!! To make the whole process more agonizing, my nose was runny throughout! Nearly got buttock cramp! hehe... but I LOVE the effect! It's totally wild & different! & the best part, I'll NEVER have a bad hair day, nor do I need to ever comb my hair! hehe... coz this new look is meant to be wild & messy. hehe....

Went back to Mum's for dinner to wait for Dar to pick me up after work. Sis giggled at my new look, said "not used to it". Mum says it suits me. Finally, verdict from the most important person - Dar-Dar. His 1st reaction when he saw me was laughter! HNG!!! What did that mean?!?! But he finally said that he's VERY HAPPY to see me excited about life & go all out to try new things again, & he thinks my new look suits me & makes me more lively! Yay...!!! :D

Friday. Dar-Dar reported to Kranji Camp for reservist. A dread, but at least a good chance to take a break from his tiring Civil engineering job, which he gotta work OT almost everyday. Kept our fingers crossed for the 1-day recall to end much earlier than expected. & just as we wished, it sure did! Dar-Dar got home by 12.30pm!!!! Yippee...!!! We can spend a Friday afternoon together! It's really 1 of those rare occasion for us to be able to spend a good whole 1/2 day together, since the beginning of 2007!

Went to Dar's new found favourite eating place - Vivo City's Suchi Tei. Yes, indulgence again! Was already full with, yet greedily ordered a potato curry (yummy!) & ended up over-eating :P went for a movie, Babel. Nothing fantastic, but an interesting show, though i feel it's a little cliche. But was sneezing almost throught the show :P I pity people sitiing around me :P & guess what? MORE FOOD after movie! :P This is indeed an ultimate indulgence!

Went to the Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant at West Coast Road, directly opposite Har Par Villa. Run by Korean boss & managers, & with Korean chefs, the korean food there is really authentic. Haven't been there for a while & Dar really LOVE the Korean food there. We ordered a Ginseng Chicken Soup & 2 grills (pork collar & chicken).

You won't believe this. One young waitress brought us our grill with this very familiar cheerful smile... I couldn't help stealing a glance at her name tag. I NEED to ask her, "You work at Toast Box too, right?" "Oh god, yes I do!" was her response! haha....!!! it was the same BLURRR cashier at Plaza Singapura Toast Box who's grilling our pork collar! It was hilarious... Had a nice chat with her. Very nice young girl, waiting for her O Level results.

Got home, Dar made Lemsep for me. All the sneezing made me very weak, especially in the stomach! So I was confused if I were just tired, or hungry! Can't be having more food! so decided to go to bed. It was already 11+pm...

Saturday. FOOD AGAIN!!! :P Now U all know why I'm ALWAYS in this shape! :( Went to Eunos for brunch. Had the famous "Ba Cho Mee" before Dar-Dar drop me at the shoe factory, after which he went for tuition. This new pair is a little broad for size 6, but it sure looks more like actual shoe compared to the previous 2.

After punching holes in the soles of the next 3 pairs at the factory, I took the MRT to Plaza Singapura to get some materials for the Muppets & also some more yarn, which I forgot to get on Thursday when I met Adrian. Took the free SMRT shuttle bus to Chinatown to meet Ayako, Tom & Elaine to get some crystal.

Ayako is really knowledgable when it comes to crystals! She recommended various crystals for Dar & me. I asked to advice me on what to get for my mum too. I got black tourmaline & malacite for Dar-Dar; Blue aquamarine for Mum & Amethyst for myself. Elaine also got herself some crystals. Our purchases entitled us to this Wheel of Fortune at Chinatown Point, which we found out to be a "fraud", for no matter how u turn the wheel, it will somehow reverse & stop at the same spot! The Silver prize, which is a $50 Voucher to some Slimming Program/Facial/Body Massage! Hate vouchers :(

After that, Elaine insisted that it's VERY FAR to walk to Merchant Court from Chinatown Point, so we took ONE STOP of MRT to Clarke Quay! Iyo..! When we got there, the Ellenborough Market Cafe was already quite crowded. There were like 3 pages of reservations! No wonder the last time Dar & I tried to "walk-in" & it was full! Wow, but the food is great indeed! the spread was large too! It was so much, I didn't even have any more space for the Sashimi & chocolate fondue! :( All the food Dar-Dar will LOVE, I'm sure!

Poor Elaine, been having indigestion, vomitted after our Hi-tea. But she's really very nice & sporting! Even though she wasn't feeling too good, she continue to enjoy herself & is a great company. We decided to drop the karaoke since Tom's absolutely NOT keen. So we took a walk alone Clarke Quay & saw many new & interesting things. Like this pub that's furnished like a hospital! Think it was featured on some TV program before.

Then we checked out a new shopping mall - Central. Rather small space, but many small intersting shops. I'm sure I'll come back again. Saw this ice-cream parlour selling Hokkaido Soft Ice Cream. We were so greedy, even though we were still stuffed with our hi-tea earlier on, we bought 3 scoops to share! But it was disppointing... so ordinary... :( though the lychee flavour was quite refreshing.

Finally we arranged to meet Dar-Dar at Vivo City, Pacific Coffee to chill out. Managed to find a nice sofa seat, even though the sofa wasn't too comfy :( Ended up the ladies were engaged in our own gals' talk, while Dar & Tom were discussing about investments & business opportuinities! hehe....

Been having a slight migraine on my right since yesterday afternoon. Think it's all the sneezing, sniffing & also PMS :P gotta pop 2 panadols this morning when Dar went to office. Yes, it's Sunday & he needs to go back to office! We really hope this is temporary since they are moving office over the weekend...

Made porridge on Sunday, since I haven't been feeling well. "Invented" a new dish... I fried egg with the bottled cai xin pickle. & it was yummy! :)

Wow, what an eventful weekend. Life seems to be beginning once again for me! Dar, all these cannot be possible without your support & sacrifice. Thank you! Also my parents, especially Mum, always so supportive & helping me so unconditionally. I know I'm very blessed all my life. I've given up a so-called "stable high income", but my life is surely much richer now, & I'm definitely able to GIVE MORE the the people around me.

Ayako, I know you will be reading this. Just wanna let u know that I'm really glad I met you at MAAD. Even Edward who hardly hang out with you can tell that you are one who treasure friendship a lot, & he also think that I'm very lucky to have met you all, who are such truthful & sincere people. Elaine, Cindy, Ian & Tom, if you are reading this, we (Edward & I) are referring to you too :) Thank u too, my new friends!

A Tiring Day...

Yesterday was a tiring looong day! Woke up rather late, almost 10.30am :P did my usual routine, feed Oreo, water the plants, had my breakfast over light TV... then went to get ink cartridge from Popular @Sun Plaza. Came back, printed out Muppet Program Proposal, Quotation & namecards & headed for Northbrooks.

Northbrooks sure portray a very vibrant environment, with display of students'work everywhere. Even though the standard is not fantastic, I think it's a great culture to have! Met up with their Art teahcer, also Ms Toh :P, HOD & another male teacher, didn't get his name :P We got the deal! Now we need to go down next week to "excit" the kids to secure our class.


After the meeting, which ended at past 3.30pm, my stomach was growling! Just remembered I haven't had lunch! Went to Yishun 10 foodcourt & had a "Ma La Zhu Pa Ho Fun". Quite interesting taste, it sure was appetizing coz of the spicy taste. Huge portion for $4 foodcourt food. Then took the MRT to meet Mum at Aljunied MRT. It was so crowded, I couldn't find a seat throughout the almost 1hr journey & couldn't do my knitting too :( So it was a looong, boring & tiring journey... :( Then the PA made a mistake & kept repeating the "Dhouby Ghaut" announcement! I was really already day-dreaming away so got totally misled by the announcement & missed a stop! :(

When I reached Aljunied, Mum was already there, but I realized we should've met at Paya Lebar MRT instead! I ALWAYS get these 2 stations mixed up! So we took another rid to the next stop & walked to our shoe-makers' factory. This new pair that we crochet onto a leather leather Uncle had given me surely looked much more like a shoe now. Worked out some final negotiation of price & future arrangement, agreed to collect this 3rd pair of shoes & other materials this Saturday. All these are getting real serious & exciting!


Dar-Dar had said the night before that he wanted "breakfast" for dinner. When asked how he wants his egg, guess what? He wants 1/2 boiled egg! Alright, so I'll make fusion breakfast for his dinner tonight! hehe... how strange... Mum joined us for dinner. So started cooking once we got home, while Mum took a slice of bread 1st since it was already almost 7.30pm when we got home.


Of course I did not make 1/2 boiled egg for Mum, I made scrambled egg instead. Wanted to try another of Michael's recipe, Young Sweet Pea with Mint Jam. Stupid jam jar refused to open!!! No matter how hard Mum & I tried, the jar cap didn't even moved a little! We tried heating the cap, tried cloth, tried rubber band, even tried the old granny trick of hitting the cap with a metal spoon, ... it just didn't work!!! So Mum & I ended eating the sweet young peas straight from the can :(



Mum loves the potatoes, so I shared the recipe with her. Packed some back for Dad who came fetch her home after Taxi. Dar got home only just when Dad came for Mum, which was already almost 10pm! Dar was very tired, & I know he is disturbed. He's been rather unhappy at work... :(


Dar, I really hope I know how to help you. But after our talk & discussion, I think we both realize that the root of all problems, is got to do with your mindset, right? This, I guess you need to come to terms with it yourself. I really hope I can share your load. If it's about $$$, I can just take up more classes, or just be less choosy about the classes I have. However, we both know that it's not really $$$ deep down, right? I think you are still "greedy" & wants too many things. Really, if it's just about $$$, it can be solved rather easily. We know I've turned down a few classes. If it's about $$$, all I have to do is to STOP TURNING DOWN CLASSES! But yet you do not want me to take up the classes.


Sometimes, I'm really torned. It really hurts me to see you like this all the time. I want to share your load. However, I know if I take up more classes against your wish, you will also feel very lousy about yourself. I really need you to tell me what to do. But pls do not ask me to just let you be. You know this is IMPOSSIBLE. This is not how 2 people, who care so much about each other, live together. We share our life. It's OUR LIFE....

MIA, but Surely NOT Lazing

Iyo, haven't updated my housewiving lifestyle for a few days liao... somehow been either busy at home, running errands, conducting classes, or Dar-Dar is around. So no chance to do this.

By the way, the Taiwanese couple just started their English conversational class with me yesterday. Really nice people. Think we'll have lotsa fun. Managed to do some work with the SCGS girls yesterday as well, so 5hrs of teaching yesterday, but travelling was crazy! Took a cab to the Taiwanese couple's house at Jalan Tua Kong that cost me $18.50!!! Wabiang! I better plan & prepare my lessons earlier next time so I can take the MRT down! Then, class ended at 1.30pm, thought I still have 1hr+ to reach SCGS, unfortunately the 1 & only bus to the MRT took 20min arrive! iyo, ended up taking a cab to SCGS & that cost me another $9.40!!!

After all my classes, I waited for Edward to knock off at King Albert Park Mac. Wa, SOOO... filled wif HCJC kids & they are SOOO.... NOISY!!! Was knitting there... when I got tired, I decided to "calculate" my nett earning for yesterday... believe it or not, after deducting CPF & my super expensive transportation cost, I actually made more than what MOE used to pay me! & now I'm doing what I enjoy, believe in, with much more effective time management that is totally up to me!

Dar, u asked me if I'm happier & if I ALWAYS know what I want? Well, I AM definitely much happier now. As for whether I always know what I want? I don't think I always know what I want, but rather I know what I do NOT want most of the time & I'll be very satisfied & happy for as long as I'm NOT doing what I do NOT want to do :)

An Ordinary But Unlucky Day & A Forgetful Day

Yesterday was ordinary, except starting my Sec3 private Art Class at Vanessa's house. Been working on the Muppet samples to show Danny. Here's 3 of them... hehe...

Vanessa's house is all the way in among those private houses behind Kovan MRT. Cost me $5 to get in from Kovan MRT! It's really nice seeing my students again. Hope everything will go well. Towards the end of class, it was STORMING (weird when it's been VERY humid & hot the whole day everywhere)! So Vanessa helped to call a cab in for me. Just when the cab arrived, the rain stopped! Wabiang! There goes my $6.00!!! So shocked to see the $6 surcharge! Didn't realized cab fare has gone up sooo.... much! Scary...! :(

Learnt from the very knowledgable salesgirl at Yu Yen Sheng that the Chinese Herbal Soup is even "more powerful" to be drunk in the morning with an empty stomach, especially those for enhancing the vitality & energy. She suggested I start boiling the night before, add sugar then brew it overnight with slow cooker. Tried last nite & let Dar-Dar try this morning & he loves it! Said it's much better than coffee. hmm... great! will make this every Mon, Wed & Fri. I had it too, it tastes like the "tian cha" we have on the 1st day of CNY, but wif a little more herbal taste to it. I used "dang sheng", ÿu zu", "qi zi",.... err.... the last name slipped my mind... this white slices... then of course add rock sugar for the taste. Tried tasting it last night after it boil, it taste AWFUL!!! But this morning when all the herbs' tastes, esp "qi zi" fill the soup, it's very yummy! :) Yay... learnt something new... :)

Met up with Danny this morning, forgot to bring the VCD to return & $80 cheque out to post. Iyo... I'm sooo... forgetful today! The just realized I also forgot to check my Starhub account no. for Dar-Dar to apply for the POSB Everyday Card. Then, also forgot to take the minced pork down from the freezer to thaw before I left home. Iyo, why am I so forgetful today???

Anyway, cooking porridge today. Still haven't mastered the estimation of the amount of rice to use, ended up cooking a HUGE pot! Think I'll have porridge for lunch today, dinner tonite & lunch tmr again! :P

I used roasted duck spine (which the duck rice stall uncle very kindly gave me f.o.c. last nite, & we never ate from that stall before! Really nice. It might just be his marketing stretgy because Dar-Dar said immediately that we should try his stall next time. But it was still very kind & generous of him la), braised peanuts, fishball from Old Chang Kee & minced pork for the porridge. Too bad our slow cooker is too small, otherwise it'll taste even better if I can cook it the whole afternoon for the roasted duck taste to fill the porridge.

I Made Some $$$ Today!!!

Met up with Jessie today. She said she needs to buy some bags for her customers as free gifts when they sign up new packages with her. She thinks it's good to just get from me & can help me market my products too. Wow! So nice of her! She bought 3 bags from me today! Yippee...!!!

Went home after to cook dinner. Luckily Dar-Dar got OT again today, & will be quite late. Coming home only around 9pm. So that leaves me more time to cook. I made ÄBC Soup", tofu & kai lan. Dar-Dar actually got home unexpectedly earlier & forgot to call me. So ended up rushing through the tofu & kai lan. Dar offered to help me with the kai lan sauce & in all the mess, we really messed up the kai lan! hehe... haha.... luckily it's just for us! :P

Work Week

Been quite a few days since I last write. Frankly, I find it really strange how "jobless" life is not as "free" as I imagined! I mean, I never day-dream, nor just sit in front of TV & ONLY watch TV (I usually knit or do "facial"for Dar-Dar :P), yet there are still things that I have to k.i.v. Hmm... maybe I need a better routine. Now that teaching at SCGS & the group of Sec 3 ex-students have officially started this week, let's hope the routine will step in "naturally"...

Last Saturday went lunch with parents at Shi De Fu (Telok Ayer). Ran into Elaine & hubby. Learnt that the new adjunct teacher at PHS been talking about quiting already! Poor Joey... wonder how's she coping... will probably find out more from my Sec 3 gals tomorrow.

AT Shi De Fu, they have this very cute old photograph on the wall facing the main entrance. It's so adorable, it puts a smile on your face when u look at it :D Food wise, not too bad, but I would say it's average lah, but the German Pig Trout is very tendor though. Forgot to take photo before we ate, so u see only the bone lor! hehe... :P

Met up with Shunling, Andrew, Yuying, Xiuling & Hengyi for dinner. Not really a birthday celebration, but it's our "tradition" to meet up for meals at each others' birthday :) Went to Ting Yuan (Liang Seah Street) for steamboat. The Suan Cai Tang (highly reccomended by XL) was yummy indeed, too bad by the time Mok arrives, it's left with just chicken soup since they only top up the steamboat with chicken soup :( Then we went across the road to have chinese desserts. The mango with sago fragrance is so strong that it filled the shop! But quite expensive :( so I decided to have the peanut paste instead (so did YY), which was a big disappointment. Very starchy, not much taste & fragrance of peanut. :(

It seems that whenever we hang out, especially in the evening, we always end up being "chased"around! 1st, Ting Yuan was closing, so we went to the dessert shop across the road. Then the dessert shop also closing, so we sat at the tables along the 5-foot-way, then it appears that those tables & chairs also belong to the dessert shop, so we finally deicided to go sit at the benches at SMU (where Mok parked his car). Chatted, served the internet about this food for blood type till 3+am... By the time I got home, already 3:40am!

Dar, I know you don't wish to meet up with many people now. I know having to work OT everyday & then 2 tuitions on Saturday is very tiring. It's really hard on you. I know I'm being selfish. Yet I know why I left MOE, so I need to be truthful to myself & do the things I've missed doing, or lost over the past 5 years. I know you understand & this is exactly what you want me ot do. However, think we are so inter-dependent of each other that very often, self-inflicted guilt get in the way. I'm just glad that no matter what, we still have each other, right? This is the most important since WE are the only CONSTANT in each other's lives now, right? :)

This is How My Pa Mee Looks Like

My pa mee was not too successful :( Mum always uses prawns & pork slices, but I just used what I have in my fridge - minced pork :( Plus since Edward came home very late, the soup was boiled for very long & I realized that gou qi zi turns sourish after too much boiling! :( Moreover, mum also always has her home-fried crispy onion shallot & cut chilli buddy, which I didn't prepare. *sigh* Better follow recipe next time! Until I become master chef, I better stop modifying/inventing my own recipe :( learnt the hard way. Poor Dar-Dar.

Dar-Dar, you are so sweet! I know my pa mee is lousy, yet u finshed ALL even though the uncle has given us too much noodles. Thank you! You are always so supportive, no matter what I do. Thank you! :)

Our Nice & Quiet Birthday Dinner

We went to Buckaroo (Andrews Ave) for dinner. We had their famous buffalo wings and fish & chips. Dar-Dar ordered a tiramisu for my birthday cake. The boss came sing my birthday song with Dar-Dar for me. Gave me a little cactus figurine & a voucher for our next visit as Birthday gift.

After dinner, we went for the movie, Cha Wu. It almost became the 2nd movie, which I walked out of! In fact, a couple did walk out 1/2 way through the show. The story only begins to make sense towards the last quarter. I can appreciate that the director trying to create some twist in the show, but this one..... I really think they are trying too hard! :( Too bad Ed fell asleep towards the end, so I don't think he got the show at all! Think it's trying to be artistic & abstract, yet also trying to comedic, trying to be phyilosophical, & also trying to create a mystery crime, & trying to play around with different cinemagraphy (kinda like what they did with polaroids & dialogues though), playing around with jumbled time frame.... U see what I mean now??? It just lacks focus at the 1st 3/4! I mean, if u play around these novel ideas for the 1st quarter, well, maybe audience still got the attention span to appreciate what u are doing. But a good whole 3/4?!?! I think it's overdone!

So did we enjoy the show? Let's just say "Do NOT go after a long day at work!" Ed definitely walked out of the cinema pissed. I don't hate the show since I held on till the end, so the last quarter kinda managed to make up a little, at least I know how the story unfolds. If we've watched this show at home, I doubt we'd be able to last through...

Had a disagreement when we got home. The problem with me sometimes is that I hate confrontation to the extreme, as in when I'm unhappy about certain things, I tend to just keep quiet. Yes, it's not worsening the situation, but it's definitely not helping too. I know this is bad, but I just don't know how to resolve this. Nevertheless, I'm grateful to Dar-Dar for always being to tolerant & accomodating. So, this was my birthday, how I screwed it all up myself...

:( Sorry, Dar!

Okie doo, I'm gonna prepare the ingredients for tonite's dinner. I'm gonna cook "pa mee", our favourite "traditional" noodles, of which the recipe was passed down from my grandma to my mum, then to me! :) I still miss my wai po... ... ...

It's My BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Birthday to Me,

Happy Birthday to Me,

Happy Birthday to Me...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

yup yup, it's my birthday today! I'm glad that it's a quiet & relaxing day with many lovely people sending me SMSes, emails & ecards. Only slight disappointment is that Dar-Dar needs to work - got an important on site meeting at some offshore island.

Dar-Dar actually started my birthday celbration since 12am. He was brewing chicken soup to cook mee suan for me this morning. & he gave me a ring & a walking elephant toy for me! So cute!

This morning Dar-Dar woke up at 5:30am to make mee suan. Wah...!!! Got abalone some more wor! Such an extravagent breakfast!

There were much chicken soup left over, so I decided to "recycle & modify" it to winter melon soup. :P hehe.... we've been sleeping very late lately, so better "tao liang". :)

Dar-Dar was planning some dinner tonite, but really don't want you to be too stressed out if caught between work & dinner with me. Moreover, I don't wanna spend too much $$$ over a meal. Simple things like cake, chocolate &/or ice-cream can make my day liao! So I told Dar-Dar whatever he plans, I do NOT wanna dress up. Just bring me somewhere simple where I can go in jeans/bermudas :) I know you've prepared Häagen Dazs ice-cream & cake, so it's already great enough for me to look forward to tonite's dinner liao! Yippee..... :D

A Long Birthday Eve

Been going to bed quite late for the past 2 nites. Last nite was to catch Edmund & wife on Channnel U, the nite before was to catch "The Girl Who Lives in the Dark" on Discovery. So this morning could not wake up & Dar-Dar got to have breakfast at Killiney Kopitiam before owrk. Sorry, Dar! :P

As planned, went to visit the shoe-maker at Geylang East Ave 3 to have my 2 pairs of sample shoes completed. The old uncles there are all very nice & friendly. Will get to collect my samples next week. I'm so excited!

My meeting with the Uncles took longer than expected because they are so eager to share! I can see that they're taking my shoe project as a challenge since they've never made any shoes like ours, so we were actually discussing how to improve on my shoes! They even advice me on how to price my shoes next time! It has been a great experience so far! Now we got new masculine elves at Knotty Bicsie! :P

Rushed off to Plaza Singapure (Crystal Jade) to meet Ayako, Cindy & Ian. Cindy & Ian were VERY LATE & Ayako & I ended up finishing our lunch before they arrived. I had prawn wanton noodle, while Ayako had porridge. When Ayako & I returned from our toilet break, funny Ian made all of us bent over the table & whispered, "ke yi bang mang siao siao sheng chang birthday song ma?" & me, as usual, blur like sotong, actually responded "ok ok", only to realized 2 seconds later that the birthday song is for ME!!! haha.... it was hilarious! But it sure was a very pleasant surprise! They even bought me very nice presents! Ayako's present was SO SECUREDLY wrapped, it took me, think about 4-5min, just to rip off the wrappers! iyo.... our conclusion was that Ayako was a "bad wrapper"! hehe....

After our lunch, we went over to SMU (in the rain!) to meet Victor to re-select our stall & also get back our cheque. After which Cindy & Ian went back to school. Ayako & myself decided to hang around orchard since it's already almost 4pm by then. We went to the National Library at Taka, where Ayako picked up 2 books by Nora ____ to read, while I continue knitting Ayako's bag till abt 5.30 when we were both very tired. @.@ SO Ayako headed towards Vivo City where she'll meet Tom for dinner later, while I hung around Bkt Timah Shopping Centre & Beauty World Centre to wait for Dar-Dar.

It was a super long day for Dar-Dar & by the time he met me, it's already almost 9pm! Bo-bian, gotta prepare for an on-site meeting tomorrow. We rushed to Cold storage after dropping his colleague home where he bought "stuff" for my birthday meals tmr. He got chicken bones, abalone & Häagen Dazs ice-cream (Tiramisu)! Yay...!!!

When we were home, Dar-Dar started brewing the chicken soup & we watched CSI till midnite when Dar-Dar gave me my birthday gift....

Sometimes when I see Dar-Dar so tired at the end of the day, I can't help but feel that I've made a selfish decision to leave MOE & stay at home. Edward is a very loving & responsible hubby who wants to be the provider for the family & let me do/have what I want. I know I'm very lucky. While I feel bad to see Edward work so hard to let me do what I want in peace, I wanna be truthful to myself & not end up working for $$$ sake only. Yes, I know I'm selfish. So this can only make me more determined to make Knotty Bicsie & my Art Teaching Freelance job a success. I cannot let Dar-Dar worry about me, Oreo & the family. I cannot be a Desperate Housewife!

Interview at SCGS

Went for interview yesterday at SCGS. Intended to take bus there, so left home 1hr 15min earlier. Who knows, due to the time spent in changing & waiting for buses, I was still at Khatib Camp after 1/2 an hr!!! iyo! crazy! So got off the bus & hopped onto a cab instead, & still only managed to reach only 25min early! hmm...

Interview conducted by 4 people, the P, 2VPs & 1 more maybe the HOD. Interview went smoothly, there were apparently a few other applicants (saw the small stack of application forms they already have in their hands). Very nice & comfortable class size, so I'm quite confident. However, a bit uncomfortable with the P's stressing of students' expectation to get an A1. I mean, even if a trained artist of art teacher were to sit for the 'O' Level today, we can't gaurantee an A1 even, let alone these 16yr olds. Of course I'll try my best to help these girls la, but they gotta do their part & we still need to pray for some luck for this to happen right? but well, we'll see....

Stupid Adrian, never say properly. Now that I've indicated $60/hr, he says it's too low! :P Actually it is, since my home-based Art classes are $100/hr. But let's just build up my portfolio 1st. Have had some some friends from SCGS, they are all very sweet & nice, so let's hope SCGS girls nowadays are just as nice :)

Mrs Tang called me this morning & told me I got the job! & they actually want me to go in TODAY!!! So will have my 1st lesson 2-4 today! Quite excited actually... will go in earlier, maybe 12:45, so can have lunch & prepare the room.

Suppose to cook "pa mee" today. It was soup day yesterday, but both days cannot cook liao. Tmr got appointment also cannot cook. Sorry, Dar-Dar! Hmm... gotta put the food back to the freezer liao. Think will cook "pa mee" this Friday lo.

Okie doo, I better go prepare my last minute 1st Art class with SCGS girls liao!

1st Weekend - Busy, Busy, Busy!

Went to Mum's for our weekly knitting day, while Ed went for tuition. Don't know why I'm so tired! Couldn't wake up in the morning & caused Ed to be 1/2hr late for tuition. I'm so horrible! Sorry, Dar! :(

Was knitting Ayako's bag, only to realize the pattern Ayako's chosen "shrink & stretch" too much! So plan to knit another design instead. Will confirm with Ayako if that's alrite...

Decided to go Kang Li (Fu Lu Shou Complex) with Mum to get some feng shui stuff to help boost 2007! hehe... :P Mum bought this 2-horn rhino accessory to carry with her, 3-coin to be hung at the main door & a dragon-tortoise to be placed at home; I bought a 10-eye tianzhu with quartz bracelet for myself, a dragon-tortoise for Ed to put at his office desk & a pair of bixiu to be placed at home. Both of us spent $227.60 in total! Was filling up lucky draw tickets like SIAO! :P

Guess what? Good news came just when we were filling up the lucky draw! Singapore Chinese Girls' School approach me to teach their Sec 4 O level Art class of 9 students! Classes will be every Tuesday, 2-6pm. So exciting!

For dinner, we all went to Gurmi't Hubby's Maharajah to have my early birthday dinner. Foodwas fantastic! Just thought pricing was quite steep, especially the $7 white rice!!! But it was really sweet of them to "blanjah" ice-cream with Maharajah sweet ball to us. It was EXTREMELY SWEET indeed! We even got 20% off our bill! Gurmit, you shouldn't have! Thank you! :D O, we LOVE the mango go to go with papadum... Yummy! The Goa fish & Tandoori prawns were fabulous too!

After a looong day, I was packing my stuff back at home to prepare for our 2nd hand stall @Bedok CC the next day. It starts at 8:15am! Don't think we can wake up in time. True enough, we woke up at 8am on Sunday!!! Luckily I've already packed everything the night before. Rushed & managed to reach there by 8:45am :) hehe.... Cousin Yuanjie & family already there. Their stall look very "pro" wor, whereas mine is just dump there, since it's 2nd hand stuff mah. Did not bring anything from Knotty Bicsie there... must take care of IMAGE u see :P had only abt 3hrs of sales, managed to collect pathetic $16.oo. To make things worse, Ed kena "summon" of $50!!! Iyo.... HUGE loss today liao... :( Only consolation is at least we had fun. Will be doing this with cousin Yuanjie, Anutie Jane, Mum & Pearlin on 25th of next month again... I'm sure it'll be fun!

TGIF!

Wow! It's been a week liao! How time flies! Yesterday we went back to have dinner with Ed's parents, so didn't have to cook. Surprise, surprise! They "celebrated" my birthday in advance for me! Mama even bought SK-II Facial Treatment Mask for me. How sweet!

Today I FINALLY washed Oreo's cage (something that I've been procrastinating for the past few days liao :P), mopped the floor & decided to send some mails to announce my "Not-So-Desperate Housewife Life" to my friends. hehe....

Since it's Friday, it's herbal soup day! I've made ÿang mu tang", which enhances & improves eyesight, since Ed's been working on his Mac A LOT at office this week. Poor Ed, must be very straining to the eyes... We're also have fried egg with beancurd & chicken wing in garlic & black bean paste. & my rice is cooked in standard today! Hooray!!! :D

The 3rd Day, My Lucky Day!

Tried my luck with 4D. Hehe... small small, cheap cheap only.... Guess what? I won $63!!! Yay!!! ;D Thanks, Mum! For buying the nos. for me. Mum's always my lucky star :)

Ed's healthy meals include a good breakfast. I will rotate among sunny-side-up, half-boiled, hard-boiled & scrambled egg. Can anyone tell me the limit for an adult per week? Is it 6? Of course not just egg la, there'll also be bread, ham, fruits or even porridge some times! Not forgetting our "Must Have" - KOPI-O or KOPI-GOSONG!

Ed's been feeling quite heaty lately, so I decided to make him winter melon soup today, with some vegetables & honey glazed chicken in char siew sauce. Everything went well except the 1 last thing that anyone would imagine could go wrong - my rice was too soft!!! Iyo...! Of all things, RICE?!?! But cooking rice for 2 "small-rice-eater" is a challenge ok! :P Luckily, soup was great! yippee...!

New Year Resolution - Stay Healthy

Staying healthy isn't as easy as it should be in our hectic city lifestyle. Now that I'm a HOUSEWIFE, I'll try my best to make healthy food for my hubby! I will brew Chinese herbal soup twice a week, every Monday & Friday. Although it's Tuesday today, but since it's Ed's 1st day at his new job today, I decided to "reward" him with his 1st herbal soup in 2007!

Almost forgot about our slow cooker we kept in the cabinet. Will switch to slow cooker next time so I have 1 less thing to worry about when I cook :)

The Housewife Beginning...

2006 had finally come to an end! It's been a rough sailing year for both Edward & myself... lotsa changes, lotsa ups & downs (more downs than ups actually), but we stick together & we sure are glad we have each other.

As usual, we had wonderful X'mas dinner at the Corbidge Kitchen, even had yet another satisfying lunch the next day! Determined to pick up some Corbidge Recipe, Ed & I decided to try out the rosemary potatoes. The effect was definitely surprising, though the potatoes were slightly over-poached. We'll do better next time for sure! Yay!




On New Year Day, Ed showed off his expertise once again! He made us a sumptious, yummy seafood pasta meal! Wow! look at that crayfish! Now I'm Ed's Desperate Housewife! :P