Marizipan Babies

The woman who made these is definitely talented......



These babies are made of cake frosting


Thought you would be as fascinated as I was with it.


They are all made with marzipan...really unbelievable!


Every detail is amazing, and they look so real.

Marzipan is Almond paste: a sweet paste made of ground almonds and sugar, often with egg whites or yolks, used as a layer in cakes or molded into ornamental shapes.


But who could take a bite? Not me for sure!!

Beach Party

It's great when your school is near the beach. So little D's class had their end of term party by the beach. Here are some photos of their party.
(Unfortunately I was not there, so I am unable to tell you much about what happened)
Listening attentively to their teacher's instructions


Getting ready for some games

Enjoying sand play.

Holding hands with her partner.

Tucking heartily into the grub!

Walking on the beach

A walking dictionary

That's what I used to feel like!!

Everytime the children are reading and they come across a word that's new to them, they would go: "Mum, what's the meaning of ......"

Initially I would tell them the meaning of the word. BUT now I dont! That is, not unless I want to emphasize a point, or teach them something related to it.

Why? Because I read somewhere that if we just tell them the meaning, they are not likely going to learn and remember it. However, if they look it up in the dictionary, the very act of taking out the dictionary, looking up the word, and seeing the words describing the meaning and actually reading it for themselves, the chances of them remembering the meaning will be much much higher. (Some precentages were quoted, but I cant remember it.)

So, because of that, now my reply to them when they ask me the for the meaning of a word is: "Gee! I am not sure. Can you look it up in the dictionary and tell me the meaning?" And, I dont feel like a walking dictionary anymore!

My kids and A wedding

My kids have not been to many weddings as not many of my friends or rellies are of the marriageable age.

On friday night, after I came home from a meeting at school, Little D came running to me with a BIG smile on her face: Mummy, Aunty L is getting married tomorrow! Can I go for the wedding??

That comment really made me laugh coz Aunty L, who works for FIL, is 58 years old, and FIL's longest serving employee. She wasnt getting married, but her son was. Was not planning to bring Little D, even though the whole family was invited, coz, you know, wedding dinners start sooooo late and she was likely to be tired even before the dinner started. But it looks like MIL had already done her bit to share the news with Little D and that sure got her all excited and wanting to go. So, last night, saw us all at the wedding dinner.

Since everyone was all dressed up, I thought it would be good to take some photos of the kids. But as usual, N refused to smile for the camera. Took a couple of shots and he either had a frown or a goofy look on his face! Sigh!

Before the dinner started, they showed a montage of the bride and groom's photos which included photos taken during their younger days. N, commented that the groom looked nerdy in one of the pics, which gave me the opppotunity to tell him: N, you better smile nicely for your photos. If not, when you get married, I will have no nice photos to use for your video.

When the wedding couple came out, Little D was all excited, as all little girls are when they see the bride. She was so captivated by the bride's beautiful gown. As we were seated quite far away, I asked her if she could see? And she said: Yes, I can see the bride with the prince.

Huh? Prince? She thought the groom was the prince. You know how we always talk about the bride at weddings, and the groom is the poor unnoticed one? I realised that we had never used the word "groom" nor explained it to her before!! The groom will be most pleased to find out that he was called a prince!

During the dinner, a video of the morning's events was also shown. When it came to the tea ceremony, N commented: How come they are serving tea to so many old people. You mean they went to an old folk's home for their wedding?

That really cracked us all up!! He did not realise that those old people were all the rellies of the bride and groom!!

Must say that I had no regrets bringing them all to the wedding coz they managed to learn a thing or two there!!

Would you shave your head for a good cause?

Honestly, would you? I have thought about it many times, but I am just too chicken (maybe its vanity) to do it.

I know of one brave young lady that would do it. She is none other than Shelly. If you would donate $20 to the Children's cancer foundation, she would shave her head bald. It is not that I want to see her bald. Its not a dare of some sort. I salute her for her concern and care for the children who are ill, that she is willing to sacrifice her beautiful locks for an extremely good cause. So, since I am not willing to do it, I thought that I can do my bit by helping her get more donations before she goes bald. So, please, please, please donate if you can afford it.

I asked my son N last week if he would do it. But he said "No". I have tried to reason with him to do it, coz of what difference is it to a small boy with hair that grows sooooo fast, that I have to bring him to the hairdressers every 5 weeks! Also, an added bonus for him would be that he will not get into trouble with the discipline master for sure. I guess if someone in the family leads by example he may do it. Hmmmm, must try to convince hubby to do it, dont you think?

Preparing for the Olympics

The preparations began long ago. It's less than a 100 days to the Olympics and look at some of the pretty things they did to the gardens there:












Wish I could be there to see it up close!!

Flowers from my garden

If you have been reading the blogs by bp and stardust, you would have seen lots of beautiful flowers from their gardens as well as the parks that they have been visiting. It's spring where they are, and its spring that brings the most beautiful flowers. I too, want to share with you and them what I have in my garden:

These are the red torch ginger flowers. The very same ones where the stems are used when making rojak (a local salad with shrimp paste).



They make a very attractive and unusal bouquet when put in a vase.


The weather here has been unbearably hot this past fortnight, with highs of 34C almost every day and night. And guess what? The bougainvillas bloom especially well when the weather is really hot.



Here are the flowers from the red frangipani tree. I love that deep red colour.


And, my favourite:
I dont know what these are called but they bloom only in the mornings. They seem to be standing up and waving at me! And that brightens my day!


I hope I brightened yours too!! Have a great weekend!

He will be grinning all day!

Yes, my son will be grinning all day this week. Why? Because his favourite soccer team won the Champions League. Yes! Manchester United beat Chelsea after the game was tied 1-1 at full and extra time. The game was decided on penalty kicks, and Man U won 6-5.

Fortunately my daughter, who is a big supporter of Chelsea, wont be sulky the whole day, despite the fact that her brother will be rubbing it in that her team lost and his team won. She takes defeat much better. She will be unhappy for a short while, and then she will bounce right back to her usual self.

My son, does take defeat well too. But he will be so disappointed, you can see it on his face.

Usually when children are younger, they are not able to take defeat as well. They want to win at everything. I remember when my kids were young, they were no different, they couldnt take defeat at all. They would cry when they lost playing a game, any game. But we must teach them to lose graciously. Fortunately for my kids, they have learnt to accept defeat thru chess. Especially when they were starting out, they played against many stronger players, and lost their games. Fortunately they did not cry or throw a tantrum.

During the last chess tournament, my son had a rough start. In his final game, he managed to make a brilliant move which pinned his opponents queen and king. A Victory would have ended his day on a sweet note. However, his opponent was not willing to concede the game and chose to sit there for the remaining 2 hours. Everyone was waiting for them, as theirs was the last game. Finally the chief arbiter came and told the boy that the game was up. The boy just smashed all the chess pieces off the board!! He was given a stern warning that he could be barred from all future chess tournaments. He obviously could not accept defeat. And because of that, tho' my son won, he did not enjoy the win because of the incident!

Parents need to teach their children that its ok to lose. I always tell them: As long as you tried your best, thats all that matters. And sometimes you make a mistake, its ok. But you must learn from your mistakes.

I feel that if children are not taught to accept defeat, they may not be able to take the bigger blows in life - and that would be disastrous! Its ok to be disappointed, but its not the end of the world coz life is such that you cant win all the time.

Organic produce

Was at the supermart last sunday buying stuff for my cook out. Told my daughter that I wanted russet potatoes and she picked up a (two?) kilo bag. Saw the price tag on it - $18.80!! Told her to put it right back as it was too expensive!

Realised that it was organic russet potatoes. Decided to settle on the "normal" russet potatoes which cost $3.20 for a 3 kilo bag.

The price differential was just too huge for me to go organic. I do occasionally buy organic - things like blueberries, peaches, apples and oats.

I read somewhere that we should be smart when deciding when to buy organic if we are on a budget. Things like avocados and onions - there is no need to buy organic as the pesticide penetration rate is very low. For the foodstuff where we eat the skin and all (like peaches, blueberries), do go organic if you can afford it.

Not sure which category potatoes fell into. But reckoned that since we dont eat the potato skins at my home, it was alright not to go organic to save some money.

Do you buy organic??

Something to share.

Just something light to break the monotony of the week.

The Kitchen and Me

Do you love to potter around in the kitchen? I love it!! I love it for the lovely smells and food that comes out of it.

Unfortunately, I do not get to spend as much time as I love to in it. As a child, I loved to play "masak masak". In school, I even offered food and nutrition for my 'O' levels. I had a mum that did not like us kids messing around in her kitchen. She found us to be obstacles in her way, and she wasnt very encouraging when we helped her out. So, I ended up spending a lot of time on the kitchen stool just observing her.

When I lived in New York, I used to cook up a storm. With nothing much to do during the day, I would try out various recipes, anything to satisfy my cravings for Singapore food. The beneficiaries were all those Singaporean singles that were working in hubby's office. They were frequently invited to help us finish the food I cooked. During our stint there, hubby put on 30 pounds!!

My MIL, on the other hand is an "iron chef", and because of my busy schedule with my kids, I am really grateful that I have nice warm meals waiting for me and my kids everyday, without having to spend much time in the kitchen. With an MIL that is such an excellent cook, I hardly venture into the kitchen, as I kind of feel intimidated. Without much practice, what I dish out is nothing compared to her sometimes very simple cooking. Fortunately, she only cooks chinese food.

Once in a while, I get "invited" to cook in her kitchen. And when I do, I make sure I cook something she doesnt, so that there is no basis of comparison!! Sometimes I will make a sukiyaki, other times a western meal or if it is chinese, then it will have to be something she doesnt make. Many a times, I like to bake coz that is something she doesnt do.

Last Saturday, I was given the opportunity to cook again. Hubby suggested a BBQ as, I guess, he was in the mood for steaks. However, my son was at a chess tournament, and they were not back in time to start up the BBQ, and I was in no mood to set it up. So, this is what I dished out:
Salad with apple vinagerette
Spaghetti alio olio (spaghetti in garlic infused olive oil with chilli and bacon bits)
Roast potatoes, grilled corn and roast pumpkin
Grilled beef
Grilled duck breast.
(Sorry, no photos!!)

I did not have time to make a dessert, so the kids had some jelly(agar=agar) that was in the fridge!

I hope I get invited back to the her kitchen again sometime soon!

Motivation for Mums 2

Todays advice is: "Give time to your children each day. The time you give makes the words you speak of more value to them."

It has always been said in parenting books that we should set aside time for each child. One-to-one time. Just one parent with one child. To talk, to share, to enjoy each other's company. To do anything the two of you want. Could be everyday (preferred!) or even once a week. To make that child feel special.

Previously when my son was in a different school from his sister, my one-to-one time with him was every morning when I sent him to school and every afternoon when I fetched him home. In the mornings, on the way to school, we would start off our journey by saying a morning prayer. Then we would talk about the days schedule, and then followed by anything else he wanted to talk about. On the journey home, we would talk about school that day. Once a week, hubby and I would "change shifts" and I would have that time with my daughter. As for little D, she of course gets most of this "mommy time" coz when the other 2 are at school or busy with their activities, she has me all to herself.

Over the weekends and in the afternoons, it is quite impossible to have one-to-one time with anyone coz all three are home, and all 3 would be clamouring for my attention, at the same time! And they would be most upset if I were to go off with just one of them!

However, now that they are both in the same school, I really miss the prayer time and that one-to-one time with each, never mind that my daughter only had that time once a week, it is better than not having it at all! Everyday after school, both would be fighting to tell me what happened in school, and both want to speak first!! Also, there is no more "privacy" as they cant tell it to me without the other hearing.

Sometimes I wonder if my son's acting up could be his way of telling us he is craving for attention coz he misses this one-to-one time. However, in this crazy world that I live in, scheduling one-to-one time with each child daily is really not possible. Not with 3 kids, and their very busy schedules!! Especially with the long school days, homework, tuition, CCA.

But, I try. Once in a while, when the opportunity arises, that special someone would get time with me - for an ice cream, or a drink at Macs, some shopping, etc. Not as regularly as I would like it to be, but better than not at all.

And, I better try to do more of it, coz before I know it, they may not want to do it with me (their time with their friends may be more important to them by then!). And I may not be able to share the values and morals that I so want them to learn and value!

Indian Legend

A friend shared with me this story, and I want to share it with all of you, especially those feeling all alone and scared, or going through tough times.

This legend tells of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of Passage.

When a Cherokee Indian Youth reaches a certain age, his father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shines through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is considered a man!.

He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blows the grass and earth, and shakes his stump, but he has to sit stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he would become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night the sun appears and he removes his blindfold. It is then that he discovers his father sitting on the stump right next to him. He has been watching over his son the entire night, protecting him from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story:

Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there. 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.'

To push or not to push?

What would you do if you were in this position:

Exams are around the corner. You have a smart and intelligent child, but he is very playful and would do anything else BUT study. You know that even without studying he can pass, but with a "not-too-good" grade. However, you know that if you push him, he can come out tops. Would you push?

This is the position I am in. My son, N, is very playful. A smart, intelligent boy that simply hates to study. Pushing him would involve a lot of shouting, sitting next to him with the cane, and a deterioration in the mother and son relationship.

I am really concerned about this deterioration in our relationship, so this time round, I decided again that I would not push him. As expected, he came back with not fantastic grades, but he passed. Not the worst in class, but we know he can do better than what he got. Hubby is concerned. I know that if I sit him down and go through his work with him, he can excel. This has happened for the last 2 years where I left him to study by himself for the mid-year exam and he came back with unimpressive grades, and when I sat down with him to work for the year end exams , he topped his class for every single paper. But because he did not do so well at the mid term, he ended up not being a prize winner.

But he simply hates it when I sit down with him and go through his work!! And I dont want to push it. I dont want so much unpleasantness to be associated with studying!! I want him to grow up and realise for himself the need to study and do well for himself.

However, he doesnt seem concerned about his grades. He keeps saying he did better than the worst person in class. But why compare with the worst, when he is capable of being the best?

So how? Should I be kiasu or not?

Kampong Spirit

Remember the good old days and how strong the kampong spirit was then? I witnessed it sometime last week.

The pond in my garden had not been working well for quite a while. So we got the man in to repair the pond. Must say, they did a fairly good job, and 3 weeks ago we went to the neighbourhood aquarium to purchase some fish. The children decided that they did not want kois anymore, and chose some black moor, wakin, and gold fishes. The man told us to buy 9 fishes in total, as that was supposedly an auspicious number to have in the pond.



The children, still raging with soccer fever decided to name the fishes after their favourite soccer players, so we have a Peter Cech, a Ronaldo, a Lampard, a Rooney amongst others in the pond. Last week, grandpa, went to his usual fish supplier and ordered 15 kois, much to the chagrin of the children. What upset them most was when they noticed their pets being bullied by the bigger kois.

The children had really enjoyed feeding their fishes, and watching them swim around the pond. But when the kois were introduced into the pond, they noticed that their fishes were no longer swimming as freely around but were frequently hiding under the pipes, where the kois could not get to, and disturb them.

The final straw came when Little D and I were just sitting by the pond watching the fishes. Suddenly, Little D shouted: "Mummy, the kois are eating our fish!" When I looked, I was shocked - they were indeed attacking one of the gold fishes!!

Unfortunately that gold fish died. Little D was really heart broken and quickly reported the incident to her older brother, and sister and her cousins as well. As soon as the were given a break from their studies (as it was exam week) all 5 of them (3 of my kids and their 2 cousins) got into action. They took a net, a plastic partition, a stick, a pail and got to work. One of them held the partition, another the net to block off part of the pond. The third chased the kois to the net whilst the 4th filled a pail with water. Whenever they succeeded in chasing a koi into the net, that koi would then be transferred to the pail and then carried over to Grandpa's pond. Little D helped by cheering them on! They took turns doing the various tasks. When one got tired or was deemed by the others to not do the job properly, they changed duties. There was a lot of excitement and co-operation amongst them. There was also a lot of screaming and shouting - just like putting out a kampong fire!! Truly what they call in Malay "gotong royong".

"gotong royong" is the concept of doing things together and helping each other in the spirit of "muhibbah" or goodwill.

Never seen them all co-operate so much to get something done, and what fun it was for them. To me, the children really got to experience what I call "kampong spirit" first hand. I was so happy to see them all working together for a common cause. It really made my day that they enjoyed the task so much. Whilst, it was sad that a fish was lost for this experience they got, but all I can say was, it was worth it!!

Bilingualism

Many children in Singapore come from English speaking homes and as a result, struggle with their 2nd language in school.

When I was in school, we could elect our 2nd language, and my parents chose for me to do Malay. However, the new policy by the Ministry of Education now is that if you are an ethnic Chinese, you are required to do Mandarin as a 2nd language unless you have compelling reasons to choose a different 2nd language.

As such, the 2nd language my children do in school is Mandarin. I remember when my eldest first started learning Mandarin, it was agony for me. I was learning it for the 1st time together with her. I could speak a smattering of Mandarin, but when it came to reading and writing, my knowledge was zilch.

We signed up for enrichment at a tuition centre that allowed parents to sit in with their children. However, we missed the first lesson which covered the basic strokes. I really had no clue when the teacher talked about heng or piah. I had to call up my niece, and she had to literally describe what those strokes meant. Writing chinese turned out to be somewhat of a drawing class for me.

This enrichment centre that we went to only taught higher chinese. My daughter's school covered the normal chinese syllabus. So when it was time to change schools (when she got into the GEP programme, and she chose a SAP school - ie one that covered the Higher chinese syllabus) I was relieved to find out from my daughter's teacher that she was not struggling with her 2nd language!!

So, how are my kids are coping with their 2nd language? They are doing fairly well, but my son still detests speaking it. I have started Little D on a Mandarin playgroup. The teacher has already taught her some of the basic strokes and she can (surprisingly) recognise some chinese words already. I was told that the real test of how well they are accepting the language would be when they are quite happy speaking the language and it becomes 2nd nature to them.

One night last week, Little D was sleep talking. She said: "This is stinky. Chou Chou. Wo bu xi huan!"

Looks like I will not have to worry so much about her Mandarin. She even dreams in it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here a song entitled Mother of Mine (By Jimmy Osmond) to share with you this Mother's Day:

Mother of mine
You gave to me all of my life
To do as I please
I owe everything I have to you
Mother, sweet mother of mine
Mother of mine when
I was young
You showed me
The right way things
Should be done
Without your love,
Where would I be?
Mother, sweet mother of mine

Mother, you gave me
Happiness much more
Than words can say
I pray the Lord that
He may bless you
Every night and every day

Mother of mine
Now I am grown
And I can walk straight
All on my own
I'd like to give you
What you gave to me
Mother, sweet mother of mine (x2)

On this mother's day, we remember our mothers, grandmothers, mother-in-laws, and others who have "mothered" us during our life. They did the best that they could, to bring out the best in us, to the best of their ability. Some more successful than the rest, but all great Mother's nonetheless.

To all my fellow blogger mums, esp: Bkworm, BP, Ling, Yan, Mott, Jomel, IML, Mumsgather, Jo-N, Sweetiepie, Judy Leese, Kopi Soh, ecl, Nomadic mom, Just me, and Constance Chan - Happy Mother's day - you are all fantastic mums!!

Book week 2008

Yes, it was Book Week again in Little D's school. She went as Snow White. We were teasing her at home as to where her Prince Charming was.


And guess what? When she went to school, her Prince Charming was there waiting for her .... the most handsome boy in her class!!! Woweee! But a pirate was also there, trying to separate Snow White from her Prince Charming


The Lion from the Wizard of Oz was lost and came wondering into Little D's class:

Little Mermaid (with mermum)


and a little Sushi Chef as well!


All the kids (and teachers) had loads of fun dressing up!! Next year, I will join them and dress up too!!

As part of Book week, I brought my kids to the National Library. Daughter S, chose a book for Little D. It was entitled Monster Mama by Liz Rosenberg.

Here is the publisher's review of the book:
Patrick Edward's mother is a monster--literally. An impish-faced woman experiencing a decidedly bad hair day and needing a manicure, ``Monster Mama'' lives in a cave behind the family house. In addition to her roaring and spell-casting skills, this unique parent bakes cookies, drives Patrick Edward to school in bad weather and nurses him with ``the sweetest touch in the world'' when he is feeling poorly. But when three bullies ruffle Patrick Edward's feathers with a crack about Mama, the boy gets his chance to prove he's his mother's son--roar and all. Rosenberg creates a light mood with her matter-of-fact description of strange circumstances. Any thrill here is derived from curiosity rather than gruesomeness, and youngsters will find comfort in the oddly tender mother-child relationship that permeates the story.

I asked S the reason for selecting that book and whether she thought I was a Monster Mum, and she replied: Yes, you are so fierce to us and Mei Mei too! Then I asked her if she had read the ending of the book and whether she really knew what the book was getting at? She smiled sheepishly. I then said: Yes, I am Monster Mum. If you read carefully, she was a monster only because she wanted the best for her son. But she came to help him out when he needed it. And she did all that because she loved her son!!

A very well chosen story, I must say! But then again, Am I such a Monster??

Macho Man

All little children like stickers. The boys like to go for the power rangers and the pokemon types, whilst the girls tend to favour the disney princess and strawberry shortcake ones.

Little D is no different. She can't resist stickers when she sees them. However, she does not keep them for herself nor stick them on her cupboard, like my son does. She gives them out. When she gets new stickers, she will go around telling everyone (Me, hubby, big brother, sister and everyone else around) that if we are good, she will give us each a sticker. She would then expect us to wear it on our shirts, never mind what we were wearing or where we were going.

Well, the other day, her aunty gave her some new strawberry shortcake stickers, and as usual she promised us our stickers. After lunch, she changed her mind about giving me one as she had given me one the day before (or maybe I wasnt as good as she thought I should have been). Instead she decided to give a big one to her Papa. Papa tried to convince her that I deserved it more than him (He was on his way out and would have preferred not to be caught wearing a strawberry shortcake sticker on his shirt). But, no, she insisted that Papa had to have the BIG sticker, and she proudly stuck it on the sleeve of his shirt.



Hubby had no choice but to accept it, and wear it out with him. So, if you ever do see a big man, with a girly sticker on his shirt, remember, that is the badge of a true father - not at all embarrased to wear girly stickers, just for the sake of his little girl! A real macho man!!

Motivation for Mums

I have this feed to my blog that is called Motivation for Mums. Not sure if anyone has noticed it. I think it dishes out very sound christian advice for mums, and I realy look forward to reading it everyday.

Many a times we are too busy with our lives that we forget the basics, or we are too "old school" that we dont realise that doing something small can mean a lot to the children.

Just yesterday it said:
Never forget to tell your children you’re proud of them. Don’t assume that they already know how you feel.

That's something people from the "old school" would never do. But when we do it, it really boosts the child's self confidence! Those from the "old school" would never say that to their children coz they think that the child would get swell headed and too big for their boots. I grew up in a home full of criticism. My parents were very "old school", criticisms they dished out a dime a dozen, but praises were never heard. Being the youngest, my two older siblings hated me. It didnt help that I was pretty good at my work too (survival instincts!!). They always thought that my parents favoured me, so they always criticised me. I never felt proud of any of my achievements until I started work, when I was amply rewarded for my "good work" via bonuses and increments, and pat-on-the-backs by my bosses.

Looking back, I think, my parents were proud of me when I was young, but never said it for fear of antagonising their other two kids. So, we should always tell our kids that we are proud of them. Dont let them wait for years to realise it (like me). It can do wonders to motivate them!!

A new Month, A new blog

Welcome to my new blog. Guess, I was really impulsive about wanting to close off the old one. So since I said I was closing it, I guess it is now officially closed. Now a new blog is born.

Why? Because some of you (read: sifu, machik, kawan baik and other bloggers) felt I should continue blogging. So here I am. Honestly, withdrawal symthoms, too! Just like an addiction. So many things I want to write about, but since I closed the old, and with no where to rant, mumble, grumble, muse, destress, etc, starting a new blog was a logical step, right?

Also, I have noticed that succesful authors always have sequels to their books. Guess I have been reading too much chick lit. So, "dreaming", "imagining", "hallucinating" I am a equally famous, (LOL) now I have a sequel to my blog.

Why call it a Secret Diary? Well, I was reading this book entitled Secret Diary of A Demented Mum and I felt so one with her in some areas - but sure hope I am not demented!! So decided to call the new blog secret diary, coz dont think everyone will find it. Also, trying to see how long before others stumble on it. Even if they dont, then it can remain my secret, and maybe others wont complain so much about my writing. Great idea, huh??

So, a new month, a new look, and a warm welcome to this new blog!!