Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Relook at 2008, and Happy 2009

2008 had been a terrific year for me. A year of catching up with many, many friends! In fact, it was the year that all my friends living overseas made it to Singapore!! And the best part was that I managed to meet up with most of them despite this year being my so-called "stressful year"!!.

This year we witnessed the fantastic Beijing Olympics, a new "black" president elect for the US, the china milk tragedy, the Sichuan earthquake, the Mumbai tragedy, the Madoff scandal, the closure of some of the biggest investment houses and banks, and the start of a recession despite a glowing outlook at the beginning.

2008 also saw my son receiving his 1st Holy communion, my oldest daughter doing her 1st major exams and making some very important decisions , the children's 1st winter vacation, my son making it to his school soccer team, Little D learning to read and write chinese, my computer crashing twice, and the best part - me surviving all of that without too much stress - really! (or is it age that has made me forgotten all the stress that I really felt during the year??)

But the good part is: when I look back at it, I still think, the year went relatively well.

2009 will dawn on us really soon. The new school year, having 3 children in 3 different schools, with the oldest having her 1st day of orientation today, - (yes! and its not even 2009 yet!), new schedules, new friends to make, 9 subjects to master, new school environment, and the looming recession - Urgh!! I am already feeling the stress!

Here's wishing everyone God's blessings for the New Year, and may 2009 be a year of peace, opportunity, hope, good health and love! Happy 2009!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Blessed Christmas!

Season's Greetings!

Was going to post a picture of our Christmas Tree - this year we got a real tree - but alas our computer died on us last weekend, and wiped out everything. We did a recovery of it and are now trying to piece together everything on it that was lost!! So it looks like its going to be busy days ahead on this end. I hope Santa would be kind and bring me a new computer for Christmas!!

For this festive season - Eat, drink and be merry! But if you drink, dont drive. And do spare a thought for the less fortunate this season. The Salvation Army, the Boys Brigade, and the local charities in your neighbourhood could do with a little more donations.

So here's Wishing you and yours a Blessed and Meaningful Christmas! May the Blessings of Christ shine on you and your family during the festive season!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Doting Father
Generous Brother
Loving Husband
Filial Son

Efficient Employee
Understanding Manager
Handy Man
Wine Lover

Celebrates birthday today
My Husband!!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

18 years today!!

Nah! Not talking about my age. Just the number of years I have been married.

Seems like a very long time. But honestly it is not. Time flies , when you are having fun, I guess!!

We have had our ups and downs, good times and bad. We went thru trying years, difficult times, glorious days, etc, but now, I think we have reached a certain level - like in computer games - where we are pretty much on cruise control. Some things he does doesnt irk me as much as it used to, and I guess vice versa. Sometimes we can practically read each others minds. Scary, eh? I guess that comes with being together for a long time.

Well, to my other half - Happy Anniversay! May God bless our marriage with many, many more good years. I love you!!

:)

Monday, December 15, 2008

Christmas is coming!

Christmas is just 10 days away but my christmas shopping is not complete yet. Running out of ideas on what to get. So, have not had much time to blog. Hope you are all doing better on your christmas shopping than I am!!

Christmas Shopping(To be sung to the Tune of Jingle Bells)

Dashing all around
To get my shopping done
Dont know what to get
Running here and there
Hope my choices are good
So I better look
For something that is really great
To spread the joy around!

Oh! Jingle bells, Jingle Bells
Shopping everyday
O what fun, it is to shop
If you have no budget!


A day or two ago,
I thought I'd bought them all
But when I got home
Found I did not
There was mu-ch more to buy
That I forgot
Must be getting really old
So I made a long list!

Oh! Jingle bells, Jingle Bells
Shopping everyday
O what fun, it is to shop
If you have no budget!



:)

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Winter vacation (Part 2)

We spent 2 nights at the beautiful Rusutsu Resort . There were numerous ski slopes, a farm, an amusement park with numerous roller coaster rides (which was unfortunately closed during winter), an indoor swimming pool with a 100m long slide as well as an onsen and lots of shops!!

The children did not want to go skiing and opted instead to go sledding. As the slope for sledding was not as high as the ski slopes, there were no chair lifts to bring us up to the top of the sled slope.
(Trying to make snow angels)


(A pony at the farm)


(Sledding down the slope)


(Little D and her little Snow Princess)

Next stop was Lake Fukuidashi, where we collected Natural spring water for drinking. Here, we also had a beautiful view of Hokkaido's "Mt Fuji", Mount Yotei.

(Near Lake Fukudashi)

(Mt Yotei, also known as the Mt Fuji of Hokkaido)

Then we were on our way to Sapporo. We stopped by Otaru Canal, for some shopping around the area. We went to the music box factory where the children could customise their own Music boxes, choosing the designs from whta was available as well as the music they wanted. There were also loads of chocolate shops there. The famous Le Tao, Royce, Hori, etc. No prizes for guessing, we bought heaps!! After a long afternoon of shopping we finally arrived at our Hotel in Sapporo , the Sapporo Grand Hotel.

(The hotel was all decked out for christmas)

That night we were hosted to dinner at one of the top crab restaurants in Hokkaido. There we were served crab sashimi, crab sushi, crab tonkatsu, crab soup, crab brains, grilled crab, crab chawan mushi, crab salad, crab siew mai. It was another one of those meals - hokkaido king crab everything, that I must have left the restuarant with crabs coming out of my ears.
(Little D admiring the display in the crab restaurant).

Was I afraid of crabs after that? NO! The next morning, we went to a seafood market and guess what I bought? More crabs!!

(Crabs galore)

(That giant crab is for me!!)

(NO, Little D! I am not buying those giant cabbages!)

That afternoon, we went shopping at the numerous shopping malls in Sapporo. We had lunch at Ramen Republic, a place pretty much like their ramen street except that this was in a Shopping Mall (pretty much like Food republic at Wisma Atria in Singapore)


That evening we went for the Sapporo Light Illumination at Odori Park. It was only 4.30pm but look at how dark it was.



(Look at the time on the Sapporo TV Tower in the background)

On our last day there, it started snowing again!




The kids had a wonderful winter vacation, and they are asking for another next year!!

How fast they grow!!

Today Little D turns 4!!

Happy Birthday, my precious little one!

How fast she has grown. I still remember when she was first born and the anxiety we went thru'. The struggles that I had with 3 children, and now with Little D turning 4, things are getting pretty much easier for me.

I feel so guilty for not letting her have a birthday party, despite her repeated requests for one. But many of her friends and classmates are away on vacation, and we ourselves just got back from vacation. I know that by giving these excuses I am trying to make myself feel better, and I know I should not be doing it.

We were just going thru our old videos this recently, and all those videos of the parties of my two older children, do make me feel so guilty for not doing it for little D. They had a party every year from age one until age 6, and little D, apart from her 1st birthday party has not had any since, AND she is old enough to understand and appreciate birthday parties. So that makes me feel even worse!

We will still have a birthday cake for her and dinner with the immediate family as part of the celebrations.

So, I promise to give her a GREAT birthday party next year.


Birthday greetings also go out to iml's oldest who shares the same birthday as Little D! May the Good Lord shower both our children with his blessings for good health, success, contentment and happiness today and always!!

:D

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A winter vacation (Part 1)

The kids were all excited about their 1st winter vacation. However, it got off on a shaky start. Our flight was delayed for 3 hours, and it threw our plans off. Instead of arrving at 8am in the morning, we did not get to the hotel until 1pm. By then, the kids were already tired and cranky!!

So instead of the tempura lunch at Asakusa that we had planned, we ended up eating near the hotel. Then it was back to the hotel for a nap. We did not manage to venture off far on that 1st day as our bodies were acclimatising to the cold weather. The kids were thrilled when we went for dinner as they recognised the location to be one of the spots where the show, "I survived a Japanese Game show" which was recently telecast on our local tv, was filmed!! So the rest of the trip they went "Hai! Majide!"

The next morning, when I drew the curtains in my room, I was surprised by the view I got!

It was Mount Fuji!! On my previous trips to Japan, we did not always get to view this magnificent mountain of theirs, but there it was in all its glory, on that clear winter morning. Things were going to go well on this trip, I knew!!

That morning, we made our way to Tokyo Disneyland. It was freezing (even tho the temp was supposed to be 12C, because of the wind chill factor) due to its location at Tokyo Bay. The kids had a wonderful time meeting up with the disney characters, and taking the rides. It was really crowded as it was a Sunday, and average wait for rides was an hour!! However, the crowd was orderly and patient.
With Daisy Duck


(Little D shaking hands with a disney character)


(On the "It's a small world" ride - one of Little D's favourite rides)



We even had to wait an hour just for fast food at lunch. Here's my half eaten Mickey pizza:


The next morning, we made our way to Hokkaido!!

Lunch was at a small little BBQ place, The service and food was excellent, and the lunch room had huge glass windows looking out showing this view:

Then it was off to an outlet shopping mall. Whilst I browsed around, the kids had a great time making their 1st snowman and throwing snowballs (of what little snow they found by the road side) at the tour leader!
(Their tiny snowman)


(Throwing snowballs)


Then it was off to Noboribetsu! Here our hotel had 32 onsens!!Sorry, no photos allowed in the onsen, so here, take a look at the lovely chandelier isntead:

The next morning, we packed up and made our way to Cape Chikyu. it was freezing here, but the view was beautiful!!


There was a light house at the cape!


Lunch was by Lake Toya, and everything we had was scallops! Scallop sashimi, scallop tonkatsu, scallop soup, scallop rice, scallop chawan mushi, scallop ... Mind you some of the scallops were really giant ones, up to 6 inches in diameter!!


Our next stop was My Usu!. We went up via cable car, and trekked up part of the mountain to view the smoke coming out of the volcano's crater. It had last erupted in 2000.
(On the way up)

(See the little hut at the top of the hill? That's where we climbed up to)

(The smoking crater)

After this we made our way for ice cream, and then to Rusutsu, a ski resort. (To be continued)....

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

.
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it's a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. ... Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members. (Source: Wikipedia)



Having lived in the US previously, Thanksgiving is a day which I now look forward to celebrating. In the US it is celebrated today!! It reminds me to give thanks for all my wonderful blessings:

- the good health my family enjoys,

- the job my husband has, - that puts food on the table, that pays the bills, that allows us all a little luxury when we want it, that still allows me to be home full time with the children - (too many of his friends have been retrenched).

- my children!! The joy and laughter (and sometimes heartache) that they give me. And this year especially ~ the good grade which my oldest got in her exams,

- the good friends that I have made: from school, work and blogging, AND

- a kind, generous and loving husband!!
:)


And special greetings go out on this day to my good friend - BP
- who celebrates her birthday today! May she be filled with God's generous blessings today and always!

Happy Thanksgiving!!
.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Travel




For as long as I can remember, everytime we travel, we like to go free and easy. Hubby and I do not like to follow conducted tours. We would purchase a copy of a guide book to where we are travelling to, and find our way around. We find that it is more interesting, and leisurely. And if we like a place, we can stay as long as we like, or scoot off if it does not appeal to us. And I sure hate those 6am morning calls!!

The last time we took a guided tour was some 6 years ago to China, but that was part of a school group with my children attending immersion classes, and most of the people on that tour were friends from school, so that was different, and was actually quite enjoyable.

For our year-end vacation this year, however, we are taking a tour! Gasp! Our destination was decided on based on a family vote, and we are off to Tokyo and Hokkaido! Since Hokkaido is a place that is new to hubby and me, we do not speak Japanese, and with the winter weather conditions, we thought we had better follow a tour. Being unfamiliar with the place and having to drive in the ice and snow can be quite dangerous! The tour that we found, fortunately has a number of free and easy days! So, I think we should be not be too harried this time round.

I am so looking forward to the food there. And the skiing and onsen too. Tokyo and Hokkaido, here we come!!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Latest Christmas Carol

Not sure if you have heard the latest Christmas Carol for 2008.

It is sung to the tune of Santa Claus is Coming to Town.



You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.

It's hitting you once,
It's hitting you twice
It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town

It's worthless if you've got shares
It's worthless if you've got bonds
It's safe when you've got cash in hand
So keep cash for goodness sake, HEY

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town!

Finance products are confusing
Finance products are so vague
The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake, OH

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town...

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Graduation

Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony, where students become Graduates. Source:Wikipedia

In my time, you only graduate when you finish your university. And I only graduated after slogging, (ok, maybe I didnt study as hard as I could or should have) for some 15 years before I got my degree and graduated.

However, nowadays, there are graduation ceremonies for kindergarteners, primary school children, etc. I remember some 6 years ago when my oldest "graduated" from kindergarten. The graduation ceremony was a concert plus prize giving, and my daughter was one of the hosts for the night. I was so proud of her and there were tears in my eyes, as I proudly saw my daughter grow up, and "graduate" from Kindergarten. My precious little one (then) could speak and carry herself so well. It was indeed a proud moment for me.

Last friday saw husband and I at our daughter's school again. This time, she is leaving primary school, having completed 6 years of it. Tho' we knew she was not a prize winner and was not going to be called up on stage to receive anything, we chose to be at the event with her to celebrate the end of her primary school journey, to acknowledge the hard work she put through, and to thank the teachers for their efforts in helping us mold her into an educated and useful citizen.

A surprise was in store for us, as we were not expecting any spotlight on her. Imagine to our surprise, the principal, when she was giving a speech, decided to call on my daughter to identify herself. She then shared with everyone what my daughter wrote about her primary school experience. As I wasnt prepared, I did not manage to video tape that portion of the ceremony (we were told that professionals were hired to record the event). It was a touching, but well written piece my daughter had done as part of their post exam activities, and the principal felt that her written piece probably summarised what every student felt and wanted to say!! I must say, that again brought a tear to my eye.(Why am I so emo??) We were so proud of her! My daughter, who hates attention, wasnt so pleased about that tho'. But that will definitely add to my memories of her primary school education, if not hers!


And with that, my oldest has "graduated" from primary school.


(Results day is Thursday next week. Wish her luck!!)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

End of term Party

Little D's class celebrated the end of the school term and year with a party in school. The theme was gold and pyramid.

I wanted her to wear a gold coloured cheong sum for the party. But she found this dress and insisted on wearing it.

I found it too "beauty world", but she loved it!!


For party food, I cracked my head real hard, and could only think of Toblerone. But another Mum had already indicated that she was bringing that. So I decided to make these Chocolate crackles for them. I adapted the recipe a little, and replaced mini M&Ms with gold coloured cauchons and put them in little gold coloured casings:

I must say, it was quite a hit with the kids.

Here's the recipe for chocolate crackles:
1 cup rice bubbles, 1 cup cocoa pops
1 bar chocolate (melted)
Mix them all together and sprinkle cauchons on top.
Refrigerate
Viola! there you have it!!

Halloween

I know that Halloween was 2 weeks ago, but I have not had the time to post.

The kids wanted a halloween celebration, but I wasnt keen. I gave them the excuse that we should not be celebrating with the ghosts! Also, as Little D was down with HFMD we couldnt be doing much. (Read: I was too lazy to want to do anything, having had to entertain her at home the whole week).

But to appease the older 2 kids, I made them some Halloween cookies and they all looked like this:


And also with the turmoil on Wall Street, this was what Halloween was like over there:


Did you have a good halloween?

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Mish Mash

Yes, this is a mish mash post. Have not been posting for quite awhile. Why? Lethargy!!

My daughter's exams are over, so is my son's. Huge relief.

Older kids were home for a couple of days due to the marking of exam papers in the school. Little D commented: "So LUCKY! I wish I can stay home with them." Tried to convince her that she was the lucky one that got to go to school and have all that fun with her friends. Was she convinced? NO! Why, because last week she was down with HFMD, and got a week off school, and she said: "I am so Lucky!" Despite all the pain and discomfort, she still thought she was lucky! Guess, her perception of "lucky" is different from mine.

Helpers at home have been giving "trouble" again! Why?? They only do the basic, and refuse to do more. They will mop the floor, but refuse to wipe the windows. Not that we expect them to do it everyday, just once a month! They are also back to their nonsense of not wanting to eat left-overs. Are they spoilt or what? If I can eat the previous day's leftovers for lunch, why cant they??

Kids been having a good time now that exams are over. Everyday is computer games or the X-Box day. Funny how they dont need a break when they are at it. They can go on for hours, sometimes as many as 3 to 4 hours. I practically have to plead with them to stop and rest their eyes. But when they were studying for their exams, they needed a break after every half an hour of work, and the break was as long as the time they spent studying.

Well, that's all for now. Have a great week ahead!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Crochet Doll

A friend sent me this story which I thought I should share with you all. Unfortunately, I do not have any crochet dolls nor any money from the sale of it .... yet, coz I just read the story. LOL!! Time to learn how to crochet!!!


A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe-box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe-box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.
When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totalling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.

"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll." The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

Darling," he said, "that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh," she said, "That's the money I made from selling the dolls."



A Prayer

Dear Lord,
I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him;
And Patience for his moods; Because Lord, if I pray for strength, I'll beat him to death. And I don't know how to crochet.
Amen!

"Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD." -Rick Warren

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Red Roses for a Blue Lady

Many years ago, hubby and I agreed that he will not send me flowers as I have always told him that the florists make a bundle out of a bouquet, and the flowers die eventually. The money would be better spent on a nice meal or a little keepsake (read *bling*).

So a few months ago, when I was feeling really down over the happenings at home, whilst I was out picking little D home from school, this arrived at my doorstep:



It came without the senders name! Had hubby forgotten our agreement? Or do I really have a secret admirer somewhere out there?? When my daughter S saw it, she asked me who it was from. I told her I didnt know as there was no name on it. Her guess was: Uncle Peter, as he always sends flowers. Duh! Why would my bro-in-law be sending me red roses, and 99 of them!!

I knew it had to be hubby. No secret admirers for this "bordering on old" lady! So he broke our pact!! Was I upset? Nah! It is nice to receive a surprise like this once in a while, especially when one is feeling blue, which brings me to the song written by Sid Tepper & Roy Bennett, which I remember Jimmy Osmond singing, and it goes like this


I want some red roses for a blue lady,

Mister florist, take my order, please.

We had a silly quarrel the other day,

I hope these pretty flowers chase her blues away.

Wrap up those red roses for a blue lady,

Send them to the sweetest gal in town.

And if they do the trick, I'll hurry back to pick

Your best white orchids for her wedding gown.


Red Roses For A Blue Lady. Words & Music by Sid Tepper & Roy Bennett

Monday, October 20, 2008

Some humour amidst the gloom.

Just a laugh to start the week off ...

Japanese Banks in Crisis

Following the problems in the sub-prime lending market in America and the run on Northern Rock in the UK, uncertainty has now hit Japan.
In the last 7 days, Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.
Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song, while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived.

While Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank is reported to have taken a hit, but they remain in the black.

Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

Heard that those at Harakiri Bank who were once known to be risk-takers have now lost their guts, and those at Nippon Bank are no longer painting the town red. Those at Toyota Bank have not been spared from the car-nage, and Judo Bank was totally thrown off cos they never saw it coming. Sayonara Bank just said its goodbye, and Miso Bank is also in hot soup. As last reported, Ramen Bank was holding on to its last strand of hope.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

What do you say when you meet the president?

When I started my morning exercises, my friends who exercise at the same place told me that I would very likely meet the president. They told me he was one friendly chap who always stopped to talk to those passing him.

But what do you say when you meet the president?? I dont know! In a formal situation, say, at a prize-giving ceremony or a similar kind of occasion, I guess, he would be the one to start the conversation, and the talk would probably revolve around the occasion. But when you are out exercising and he stops to talk... what to say to him??

Thoughts ran thru' my mind. Should I stop and shake his hands and greet him with a "Good Morning Mr President", like we see at the movies? And then pour out all the changes that I would like to see made in the country? Nah! That I should reserve for the Prime Minister, .. if I should ever meet him. Would addressing him as Mr President be too formal? Should I call him "sir" then? or should I address him by name? What if his security officer stops me from getting too near him for fear that I may assualt him (I always carry my mobile with me, and it could possibly look like a weapon). But I dont look that threatening.

So how? Well, I have met him many times already, and do you know what I do? I just break into a "brisker" walk when I am nearing him, and say "Good Morning" together with a head nod and smile to acknowledge him, and go by as quickly as I can, as if I am a serious walker preparing for the next Olympic Games 10km walk event!!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Am I Adopted?

My son asked me that question last week. It was after a rough patch we were both going thru', and he felt he had been getting the short end of the stick. My response to him was: What do you think?

He said: I think I am adopted.

My elder daughter then interjected: As far as I know, you both (referring to him and my younger daughter) are not adopted. BUT, I dont know if I am!

I then turned to my elder daughter and looked her in the face, staring hard at her. At that point she started screaming: "Oh my gosh!! I am looking at myself in the mirror!! So, I guess I am not adopted too!!" Then she cracked up laughing.

Well, son - you are definitely not adopted. You arrived on this day 9 years ago. Your arrival brought us all great joy then, and will be continue to. You were much loved then and will continue to be by all in the family today and alway! Happy Birthday, N!!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

A huge load off her shoulders

Yes, a huge load has been lifted off my daughter's shoulders now that the PSLE is over. Many may scoff and say that it is only the PSLE, but in Singapore, every common exam is a major exam for our children, nevermind what level they are at. It is a brigde they have to cross that may affect their futures, hence the stress for them to do well.

We have always told her that as long as she gave her best, we will not fault her no matter what her results, and some how, being the conscientious and hard-working girl that she is, she has worked hard.

We tried not to stress her, but we found that we had to constantly remind her to study, and stay focused on the exams, coz children being children, they can get carried away at times by distractions. I guess, we ourselves were stressed, even though we were not the ones taking the exams!! There were nights when I awoke at 3am after having a dream about her exam papers!! Even I couldnt believe it. When I was sitting for my own exams, even the Uni ones, I never worried or fretted like I did the past few weeks. I guess this was one exam I had absolutely no control over.

Now, with the exams over, I noticed that there is a spring in her step, and her appetite has improved. She seems happier and even has time to play pranks on her siblings. Tho' she never outwardly complained, she must have internalised the stress she was feeling.

Well, I guess we will enjoy ourselves for the next 5 or so weeks before we start worrying and fretting the week before the results are released. That's life, I guess.

"Lord, give success to the work of her hands!"

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Boys!

They are really amazing creatures! We had the privilege to play hosts to 7 of my son's friends not so long ago, and this was the first time I have had so many boys in my home.

They are really different from girls. When my oldest had her friends over previously, they could just sit around and eat, or play board games, or twirl each others hair. But boys, they are really wired differently. They are not interested at all in food (except chips and fizzy drinks). We had a BBQ going, but they did not want to eat. I couldnt let them go home without dinner, so I had to force them to eat. Most of them wolfed down a sausage and said they were done - never mind the chicken, lamb chops, squid, etc all crying out to them to be eaten.

They can play soccer anytime, anywhere! When they had to abandon their soccer game halfway because of rain, they were equally happy playing FIFA 08 on the x-box. Anything soccer will do. Even table-soccer! Even if they dont have a ball. I have seen them kick around a tennis ball, a mineral water bottle, someone else's shoe, a pencil case, even a toy pig!! I am not kidding.

And the mess they are capable of making!! Even in areas that were out-of-bounds for them, like my bedroom. Not sure how the crumbs found and mess found their way there. You would have thought that my home was ravaged by a hurricane at the end of the gathering. There were crumbs everywhere, and I mean everywhere! Dont ask me where it came from. Guesss they must be like "Pigpen" from Charlie Brown where dirt follows them where ever they go.

And even after a soccer game, they were so active, even tho I made sure I did not serve anythimg that would trigger off a hyperactive reaction, they were bouncing on the sofa and playing so boisterously. I guesss boys will be boys!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

GOTTA LOVE LITTLE BOYS

Here's a joke which I hope gives you a good start to the day, and I hope you all have a great week. Will not be blogging until after my daughter's PSLE which starts next friday. Take care and God Bless!



Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter. The man at the counter asked the older boy, 'Son, how old are you?'

'Eight,' the boy replied. The man continued, 'Do you know what these are used for?' The boy replied, 'Not exactly, Sir, but they aren't for me. They're for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these, you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now, he can't do either one.'

Friday, September 19, 2008

On the road to getting fit

Yes! After 8 months I have finally started on getting fit.

I decided that I had to do something about my fitness after noticing that even the hairdresser goes to the gym regularly, and her partner, cycles and exercises every week!! That was to me my wake-up call. I had to do something about my own fitness, or rather the lack of it.

I know I have been wanting to start this exercise regime for awhile. But there were always excuses. Marketing, dont like jogging, no time, etc. No more excuses for me.



I started last week with a 1.2km brisk walk. It took me 12 minutes to complete it. My kids "pooh-poohed" my effort when I told them, saying that the distance was too short and that I should jog.

The very next day, I tried jogging. But jogging is really not for me. After 500m I was panting!! So I went back to my brisk walk and covered a distance of 2km. I did break out in a sweat, and I think that was a good start. Now, 2 to 3 days a week, I go for my walk, walking a longer distance with each passing day. And it only takes up no more than half an hour of my time.

Hopefully this road will bring me from unfit to fit, and finally looking Fab!! Like they say: The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and I have taken my first step. Have you?

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

She ate a story!



Every time at lunch, I will usually talk to my children about what happened at school that day. One day this transpired:

Me: Little D, what was for snack in school today?

Little D: I had pasta soup, and you know Mum, there were letters in there today.

Me: Letters or lettuce?

Little D: A, B, Cs MUM!

Me: Oh! You mean it was an alphabet pasta soup. Did you have a lot? Did you eat up D - __ - __ - ___? (spelling out the letters to Little D's name)

Little D: No Mum! There were so many letters I think I ate a whole story!

Guess that explained her inability to finish her lunch that day.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Totally Ineffective

That's me! Have not been able to do what I am supposed to do. That means I am - (according to the thesaurus) incompetent, inept, powerless, useless, weak, worthless, etc.

You see it is less than 5 weeks to the PSLE. I am supposed to make my daughter focus on preparing for the exams, but I have been totally unsuccesful.

She finds a thousand and one excuses not to do her work. She will play with her little sister, watch tv, go on the computer and spend hours checking her email (I am sure she doesnt receive that many emails everyday!), feed the fish, play with her mobile, you name it she does it - except focus on her revision.

The same with my son. Tell him to do his homework and he has so many excuses.

BUT why is it when hubby tells them - they say: Yes Pa! and before I know it they are doing their work. It makes me feel so useless. Cant even get my own kids to do work. AND I hate having to trouble hubby at work to get him to talk to them. Even if I try dangling a reward - say: "finish your work and then we will do something fun together" I still dont get the required response that I want. Short of losing my temper and taking out the cane (which I dread doing), I am unable to get them to do my bidding.

This sure makes me feel LOUSY!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

The Mouse Story with a Moral



A mouse looked through the Crack
In the wall to see the farmer and
His wife open a Package.


What Food might this contain ?'
The mouse wondered - -

He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.



Retreating To the farmyard,

The mouse proclaimed the Warning :

There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the House!'


The Chicken clucked and scratched,



Raised her head and Said,

'Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern To you,
but it is of no consequence to Me.
Cannot be bothered by it.'


The mouse turned to the pig and told him,

'There is a mousetrap in the House!
There is a mousetrap in The house!'



The Pig sympathized, but said, I am
So very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there
Is nothing I can do about it but Pray.
Be assured you are in my prayers.'


The mouse turned to the cow and said
'There is a mousetrap in the House!
There is a mousetrap in The house!'


The Cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse.
I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin Off my nose.'


So, the mouse returned to The House, head down and dejected,
To face the farmer's Mousetrap . . .
Alone.

That Very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a
Mousetrap catching its Prey.

The Farmer's' wife rushed to see What was caught.
In the Darkness, She did not see it was a venomous
Snake whose tail The trap had caught.

The Snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the Hospital ,



But she returned home with A fever.

Everyone Knows you treat a fever
With fresh chicken soup, so the Farmer
Took his hatchet to the Farmyard for the soup's Main ingredient.



But His wife's sickness continued,
So friends and neighbors came to
Sit with her around the clock.



To Feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The Farmer's' wife did not get well;

She Died.




So Many people came for her funeral,
The farmer had the cow slaughtered to
Provide enough meat for all of them.



The mouse looked upon it all from
His crack in the wall with great
Sadness.



So,
The next time you hear someone
Is facing a problem and think it Doesn't concern you,

Remember ----


When one of us is threatened,

We are all at risk.

We are all involved in this
Journey called life.



We must keep an eye out
For One another and make an extra
Effort to encourage one Another.

REMEMBER . . . . .


EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD
IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY;

OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.