Monday, July 31, 2006

in remembrance

this was my first time attending a friend's funeral. and also a first in Australia.

the service started at 11am at ICCC in Glen Waverley. there were tears of sorrow and as well, tears of joy, for as we all know, she is in a better place now.

she slept so peacefully in her casket. the same look we saw when we visited her at the hospital, except that this time, we could no longer hear her heavy breathing while she was stil alive and in a state of sedation.

the eulogy was exceptionally well said. as indeed, she was an influencer, for she had been an English teacher, and touched many lives and remembered by many.

we will remember always remember you sister Siok Wah. you fought a good battle - managing even to celebrate your 50th birthday on 24 July and departed only after that on 29 July. and of course, we will remember your signature dish - fried dace with black beans noodles.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

RCC 4th Anniversary

The church we attend celebrated its 4th anniversary today with programs of multi-media presentations, singing, exhortations, dancing and Indian food (papadums, naans, curries, tandoori chicken, pilaf rice, dhall). the food errs towards the spicier side for my tastebuds to handle, but nevertheless, hey the food was good. the fellowship was even better. and the presentations? - superb!

i can now heave a sigh of relief for i had been working till the wee hours for the past weeks on the video slideshow i had to do. few weeks of hard work and it was over in a sheer 8 minutes.

i am now totally floored and it's time i flop to bed. gee, will probably sleep like a log tonight.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

passing of a dear sister-in-Christ

upon receiving the email that sister SW would not be able to make it for long after battling with cancer for the past 7 months, we went to visit her at St. Vincent's Hospital last night. She was deeply sedated and unconcious after a bad agitation in the day due to the pain in her body and head. however, she passed on in her asleep this morning at 3.28am to be with the Lord. she was only in her 40s. with the deepest condolence I write this.

her funeral will be held this Monday.

Life is short.

Friday, July 28, 2006

The Lemon Trees. And Kiwi Fruits Too



my lemon tree is very unproductive this year - not much lemons from it. we had to get our supply of lemons, not from the markets, but from our friends who have them in their backyards and there are quite a few of them who does.

I would say, the best lemons are the ones from my neighbour's - Nigel's family's. they look yellow on the outside but it's actually greenish on the inside. and very sweet too (as you would already know, lemons are sour but this sourness is laced with a sweet aftertaste). very good - i made my honey lemon drink with it and it's never tasted so yum before. oh, plus the honey is an organic produce from Kangaroo Island.

(see the difference between the "normal" ones (left) as compared to theirs (on the right)- it's green inside)

The Lin's also had kiwi fruits in their backyard which are equally sweet too. althought the fruits itself looks too furry for my liking but hey, it's organic, who cares. and it's free. i get my supply of vitamin c - and a good anti-oxidant boost too. anyway, my kids love kiws fruits too. but they like the NZ Zespri's Gold variety ones better. actually me too. so sweet.

(the Lin's fruits - small, furry but organic as compared to Zespri's Gold kiwifruit)

Thursday, July 27, 2006

WMM = crap

free things are no good things - that goes the same with Windows Movie Maker. darn.

chop chop




woo hoo...i finally made up my mind to chop off my unkempt tresses today. i will grow it all over again as I find my hair really dry and damaged since that ceramic/digital perm I did in HK way back in Jan 2005. i feel lighter too!!!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

today

i decided today, after picking Tessa up from kinder, that I want to go shopping. and I called Sharon along. but before, we decided to do lunch. yum-cha was something i havent done for a while since Jessie and Godfrey came and left. and i have been craving for yummy egg tarts. so, Golden Dragon Palace seems the right choice since it is the nearest one from kinder as well as from Sharons's abode (well actually, they are both in the same suburb and just a few streets away from each other).

upon arriving, i actually got to meet Dina, the American mum of Ben, who happens to be Theo's ex-classmate and Tessa's current friend, who was there with their extended family members. also, we sat next to Jo and Alan, the lovey dovey parents of James & Justin, again friends from kinder.

anyway, food was good, the ambience even nicer - one of the best Chinese restaurants with grandeur, style and good food. heard that the owner is a filthy rich Indonesian Chinese dealing with timber and which explains the intricately and exquisitely carved timber sculptures and wall hangings in the restaurant. and yes, the egg tarts melted like butter in my mouth although it tasted a tad milky (read: fishy) for my liking.

right after that we hit the mall - yes, we made the dash to, no, not Myer, but to the supermarkets - Aldi, Safeway and Coles!!! Yes, yes, that is what shopping is about for me. I buy food since I cant afford to buy anything else here. *so sad*

can you believe it? we spent the whole afternoon at the 3 supermarkets scouring the best bargains and offers and i came back a full trolley load and a damage on the credit card bills of $150 with no small change left.

and we went in there bright and came out dark - the skies i mean.

*side note* - Tessa is now kicking a fuss again. I dont know what has been wrong with her. anyway, hubba is trying to settle her. I'd better go hide myself under the quilt. nite.

i'm fed-up and tired

last night, was one of my worst ever nights since the kids outgrew their nightime waking yonks ago. this time, Tessa played up big time - she wouldnt go to sleep, screaming her heads off for daddy, claiming she has tummy ache, wanted to sleep on my bed, wanted her milk and gummy bear vitamins, woke up crying, didnt want her quilt over her, complaint she was feeling hot, cried again when she wanted to do a wee in the middle of the night (thank God it wasnt freezing cold last night). she wasnt running a temperature although she did the night before.

and again at 6 am this morning she squalled, i was too bleary weary to settle her any longer, so I just carried her over to my bedroom and had her slept on my bed. AND she slept like a log!!! when it was time, she wouldnt want to wake up to get ready for kinder. hubba had to send the boys to school instead.

I'm tired. please resume the topsy turvy, the helter-skelter and the higgeldy-piggeldy to order. I pray pray.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

emails

i popped my mail browser open and found an email from my friend HJ, living in Perth. gee, she took the initiative to write to me although I had indicated for yonks that I had to contact them. in her mail, she even apologised for her sporadic emails. oh friend, there is no need to as I am not any better.

but anyway, I was just too happy to receive emails from friends, especially now that we are all so far apart. (ironical thing is - HJ & I are living in the same country. just that i'm in the east and she's in the west).

okey doke, i am getting some motivation now to write some mails to friends whom i have not contacted for a while. just so catch up on the missing pieces in our lives - time to indulge in some tittle tattle (however stopping short of being a gossipmonger) :)))

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Theo had a new haircut

wool

after much deliberation and hesitation and after scouring though the rest of my wardobe, i reluctantly put on my green woollen jumper of which i have not worn for a good few years. boy, i think this was the best choice i have ever made this winter. it kept me warm and comfortable. i had avoided wool for the most part because it makes my skin itchy and i hated that prickly feel on my skin. erghh...eeeks.

anyway, i then also decided to top it up with my black woollen coat. hmmm, was envisioning the look of a long (well, 3/4 length actually) black, straight-cut coat, over a turtleneck jumper and a pair of old navy jeans and boots. very chic. certainly not demode at all.

but very well the jumper kept me warm enough i neednt have to wear the coat at all. so much for trying to look good.

Friday, July 21, 2006

cold, colder, coldest

I now have to practise my early to sleep early to rise principle by going the bed at 10ish last night. and true enough, i could even hop out of bed by the 2nd snooze on my alarm clock at precisely 6.52am this morning. although it was freezing cold this monring - i overheard over the radio that it was a minus 2 degrees to 0 degrees in most suburbs in Melbourne this morning. no wonder, i feel cold cold cold all the time and I keep looking for food to eat and eat and eat. boy, something must be wrong with me.

really, i am eating too much. just yesterday for example, i had many bowls of the black glutinous rice mixed with white glutinous rice and cooked with red beans, sago, tangerine peel and longan porridge, sausage rolls in puff pastry, i had fried rice, then a bowl of vermicelli in fish soup, then i baked some cookies for the kids and fruits, and peanuts, addictive Korean seaweed (yum) and fruits (which is healthy, so it's okay).

anyway, i digress. back to today. i thought i had plenty of time since i woke up this early to get the kids ready for school, but still by the time I left home, it was past 9am. what a failure! to add to it, the car windscreen was layered with a thick frost and my hand was numb due to the cold.

i am now seated right next to the heater full on as it is too cold to step anywhere else in the house.

seriously, how i wish August will just skip by itself and just SPRING to September - yes, for spring.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

drive

it was a freezing 4 degrees this morning when i had to shove 3 kids into the car to send them to school. we left home promtly at 8.14am and had first to make my way to DCC.

the road to DCC upon reaching Old Warrandyte Road is a winding affair and offers a beautiful scenic drive all the way. While Melbourne is known for its beautiful parks and lush green gardens, this one offers you more - that states the beauty of the drive. and you have to take into the effect of the wintry fog that blanketed the skies giving it all the more a misty look to it all.

*sorry - cant write anymore. gotta get some sleep* nite.

pic of Tessa

Tessa @ Rare Bears Eltham




And so we were invited to Aramis's 5th Birthday party at Rare Bears in Eltham yesterday straight after kinder (well not really, it starts at 1pm but by the time you dilly dally a bit here and there, and driving there takes about 20 minutes). This place seems pretty popular coz we have been there upteem times for kids parties.

Also, I like the drive up there. so picturesque. so pretty. with all these giant century old trees lined up and the creek and the bridge and all. plus the quaint looking town as we drive past too. there's this park (Lower Eltham Park) which we should visit one day - there's a miniature railway which will be great for kids to enjoy. Caroline (Flynn's mum) told us her family frequents the park very often. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

singapore

it seems the trend that non-singaporeans are heading there to work ( my many friends originally here and who are all non-singaporeans are there working now) and then there are more Singaporeans packing up and leaving the place and coming here. what's going on? the grass is always greener on the other side. fair dinkum.

Monday, July 17, 2006

tough & flop

it was 3.10pm, the weather was cloudy, drizzly and max temp today was i think 12 or 13 degrees and there I was at DCC picking the boys up from school. I was draped in 3 layers of tees under my thick 3/4 length coat and there you have - these boys and girls, in just their sports uniform - short-sleeve polo shirts and shorts! OMG, I salute these tough aussie kids. boy, they are really tough.

on a side note - the silver whiting fish with black bean sauce was a flop. Big time flop!!! no one enjoyed the dinner tonight - too many bones quipped one, too much oil in tonight's food lamented the other. there were so much left-overs. thank God I cooked only 7 out of the 13 fishes, I have 6 more left for the soup tomorrow - better remind myself to buy the salted preserved vegetables and tomatoes.

did I hear a cat somewhere ??? pls come here. I have food for you.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

thoughts

it's been a week since I last talked to mum and I felt the need to call her today to see all's well with dad and mum. and so, right after i got thru to them, mum told me she was just about to call us at that point in time. I normally call them once every alternate days either by phone or via Skype. Thanks to Skype, we can talk for free. Not only that, I can see them, look at them and vice versa.

so, when i was talking to her via Skype, I was cleaning and gutting the fishes I bought and even showed her what fish it is - Silver Whiting. she told me how to cook it - with salted black beans!. sounds yum, might wanna try them out tomorrow. I was thinking of cooking them to make soup instead but I lack the salted vegetables and tomatoes. hmmmm...

Theo and Tessa has been growing up rather quickly. Theo is enjoying every minute in prep just coz he has many friends there including our neighbour's son! He is still struggling a fair bit with certain multiple phonograms and recognising and pronouncing the words. Whilst Tessa is also enjoying kinder, she's been a tad more demanding in her behaviour. We are teaching her to verbalize her needs and wants rather than by oohing and ahhing which she has been so used to. Ironically, most people thinks she is more intelligent than her brother. oh well, we'll see.

How times flies. It's now July. So, what are the plans for the next 6 months? Let's see. have to apply a special visa for mum so that she can come here to visit us. dont know if this works but I'll give it a go. If I can get mum to come over, then I guess no more trips back to Singapore this year. Then we just have to start planning for the Japan trip next year so that the kids can get to see ah-gu and visit Disneyland. Before I get to this far, what about Christmas? I dont mind Jamieson Valley again. We had the bestest of times last X'mas. I call that place heaven on earth.

now my thoughts brings me to that of my cousin's life. wonder how she is coping. I'd better email her. and that of my friends too - Jas, Jenn, HJ - it's been sometime since I last spoke or emailed them. really have to squeeze some time out to contact them. but there are simply a million things to do and too little hours in a day. ok, blame it on time. so lame. blame myself for the lack of it - time management. *sigh*

Saturday, July 15, 2006

나는 한국어 이다? (I'm Korean?)

ahn yong ha sae yo (hello)

my hairdresser is Korean, the lastest fashion and make-up is Korean, watch the latest Korean dramas, eat Korean food at 7&7, shop at Korean grocery shops, fav noodle dish is Korean sweet potato noodle chapchae, my best neighbour friend is Korean, people speak to me in Korean or even more, in Japanese - maybe, just maybe, I am Korean???!!!...

ahn yong he gae say yo (good bye)

ok..ok...must first learn how to roll my tongue well

*please note - this entry was written in jest- not to be taken too seriously*

food addict

i couldnt believe how much food I have bought so far and that are either sitting in the fridge, cupboards or on the benchtop and table. i wonder if we can really finish them up. but then again, we seems to have loads of guests over for meals, oh well, might as well.

just yesterday I was at Coles and chalked up a whopping bill of 80 bucks. unbelievable. a mental count reveals a bag of crimson seedless grapes, a box of gold kiwi fruits, different varieties of processed meats (franks, sausages, choruzos, sliced ham and ham sticks and bacon), chocolate whipped cream mousse, 2 cans of 1.25kg milo which was on special, a box of alphabet chocolate biscuits and a bag of 99% fat free made-with-real-fruit-juice snake lollies for the kids, mayo, salad dressing and a can of creamed corn.

as well, for the past few days, I've also been to the market for some fish, fruits, bread, to Aldi for some milk, more vegies and fruits, some party supplies from cheaper party supplies as well as household stuff and gifts from this corner shop which simply sells great stuff. went to the green grocer for more eggs, vegies and fruits. got a friend to buy more stuff from Asian grocery stores.

just fruits alone, I have a rockmelon, honeydew, strawberries, grapes (white, dark, red), green and gold kiwi fruits, mandarins, oranges and sitting together in the fruit bowl, avocadoes.

what am i up to? I'm a food addict. help me please.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

quote of today

"We must not
allow
other people's
limited perceptions
to
define us."

- Virginia Satir

The painstaking process of mixing, kneading, and baking bread may not seem an apt pastime for a woman as acerbic and impulsive like myself. Lately however, I find myself wanting to dwell in the art of making them and munching them much to my own self-destruction as breads are carbo, and carbo means more energy, which converts to mean that unused energy turns into fatty deposits on my body.

but look at the harvest after today's hard work, together with In Chyi & Sharon. Really, now I know why some women would rather wear their aprons than their corporate suits.

we produced mainly savoury ones - double sausage and franks twists, cheese sticks buns, tuna buns, seafood stix buns (with and without sesame seeds coating), tuna swirls with mayo and parsley, seafood stix swirls with mayo, and 1 sweet raisin buns variety.

we are ready to take orders now.

thanks In Chyi.

more bread making

ok...on the way now to In Chyi's place for more bread making session. gee, I'm getting into this bread making thing now.

planning to make sweet and savoury buns - tuna, franks, crab mayo and seaweed, almond, custard...cant wait to eat them.

bye

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

"The Strongest Men In The World"

A Word from Ron Hutchcraft:

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Colossians 3:19.

Listen to what God says here: "Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them." This really brings love for your wife out of the clouds. You say, "Oh, yes, I love my wife." Do not be harsh with her then. That's a very practical way to measure how much you love her. Are you harsh with her?

God expands our orders as men in our treatment of women by saying this, "Husbands be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect as the weaker partner so that nothing will hinder your prayers." That's 1 Peter 3. It goes beyond even marriage in 1 Timothy5:2. It says, "Tell the younger men to treat the younger women as sisters with absolute purity." In each case, God talks about showing
your love by treating that woman like a sister; protecting a woman from anything that could hurt her - including you.

Unfortunately some of us have grown up with a twisted view of what makes a man a man. We have to win, so we have to cut her down so we can win. We have to be strong, so we stand on her to prove we are. We can't be wrong, so we make sure we level her. We can't show tender feelings, so we treat her with macho toughness and we keep her at a distance. But none of that is real manhood! It's insecurity. It's lack of self-control. It's insensitivity.

Even society has known the real secret of male greatness for years.They talk about being a gentleman, a gentle-man! Like the ultimate man,Jesus Christ. For example, when an entire crowd of men was ready to stone a guilty woman, Jesus alone treated her with compassion and
gentleness. Another woman was cut down by Jesus' friends for a choice she made about her most expensive possession. Again, Jesus protected her honor. So the measure of your manhood is how safe the women around you feel, how listened to they feel, how protected they feel - physically and emotionally, how respected they feel by you.

For some of us this kind of tenderness just does not come naturally,but it can come supernaturally as you let Jesus Christ convict you of your sins of harshness; the words, the actions that have hurt a woman you care about. And then you begin to let Jesus plant His gentle
strength in your heart to replace all those twisted ideas of what it means to be a man. The chainsaw in your mouth that has inflicted so many wounds on a woman you love; it's time you unplug that. Enough damage has been done. A real man does not wound a woman. Love her and do not treat her harshly.

The love of a brother for a sister, especially a spiritual sister,is not just some official emotion, "I love you." Real love, real manhood says, "No one is going to hurt this woman! Especially me."

This article was sent to me by email from my dear sister-in-christ Elsie and I want to share it with here in my blog. Words of truth and power - they can be found in the Bible. If only all men read and practise it at the same time.


bread + curry

freshly baked home-made bread rolls with leftover chicken curry for lunch. how's that?

yummy mummy is the word.

Monday, July 10, 2006

busy feasting

last Friday was cell group dinner at Julia's place. everyone's fav was the seafood mix fried noodles by the Yuans and the stir-fried Pipis by Julia.

Sat was dinner at Brian & Sheila's - the Ipoh stuffed tofu pok was good
.
Sunday had dinner at Richmond 勇记 for some good old fashion beef & chicken pho and crispy chicken rice and the vietnamese spring rolls.

today - celebrated Alan's birthday with another feast comlete with stir-fried bean shoots with salted fish, curry chicken, stir-fried ginger and spring onion beef, sweet and sour fish and potato and minced beef stew. AND 2 cakes - a chocolate one and another mango mousse cake from Cakeworld I had earlier bought in the day.

boy, everyday is about eating, feasting, munching, partaking, chowing, chomping, digesting.

I wonder what of my future figure is gonna be like? *shudders at the very thought of it* - already my tummy fat is bulging out *yikes*

Ok remember - must zap zap everyday.

however, one wise man said this :

"One should eat to live, not live to eat."
— Benjamin Franklin, (1706-1790),
American entrepreneur, statesman, scientist and philosopher.

agree???

Saturday, July 08, 2006

I baked a BREAD today

 

My first attempt at baking bread today. And I succeeded at it although I admit it was a bit burnt as I had to rush off to pick up the boys from prep and had to rely on hubba to turn off the oven. However, nothing beats the aroma, taste and texture of freshly baked bread (topped with sunflower seeds some more)!!! Posted by Picasa

Friday, July 07, 2006

quote of the day

project under construction

Thursday, July 06, 2006

nothing done

damn it - the music i have purchased is not a downloadable file type to be used for the docklands winter wonderland videoshow i was about to start doing.

forget it - c'est la vie. moi am going to sleep now.

Janet Seidel's comme ci comme ca CD pls - some French music to drown myself to slumber wonderland. bonne nuit!

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

United Nations Ladies Fellowship

I'd name today's title "United Nations Ladies Fellowship" as indeed we had amongst us, womenfolk from Australia, Africa, South America (Columbia), East Asia (Korea) and South East Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and as usual me, the only one from Singapore) to come together for a sharing session on "I am Special" chaired by Pastor Chris Templeton.

Plus, we had a United Nations food too - as represented by the Korean chap-chae (made by moi, who else), Korean kim-chi (courtesy of Happy), Thai green papaya salad som-tum (Soraya), Capsicum dip (Emily's specialty), Cantonese style rice vermicelli (In Chyi) and of course, the Aussie BBQ Chicken (courtesy of Joanne who bought it from Red Rooster) as well as Tuna Pasta Salad (made by Crystal).

see it for yourself :




and of course, I was sitting and listening intently to the message (yes, yes, I did - Ps Chris was talking about how special Mary was and how to be better mums to our kids and how very special we all are) whilst multi-tasking taking some photos - of my legs . teeheehee



plus here is a picture of Happy & Christian arriving at moi's residence, after having begged her earlier in the morning to help me ferry Tessa to kinder as hubba accidentally took my set of keys out with him. Bringing along her with her was some kim-chi as well as some plump roasted sesame seeds I had requested as needed for my chap-chae dish. Thanks Happy for your help. hmmm, I am also looking forward to trying her fusion kim-chi spaghetti dish!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Happy Birthday to LuMee



May the Lord bless you and keep you;
May the Lord shed his light upon you,
May the Lord look upon you kindly
and give you peace.

Japanese Food Night

School Holidays started and has ended this week. Some memories to bring with us along as we grow older.

party party party


Alan is ready to set up a zhi-char cooked food stall selling his famed Fried Beef Rice Noodles. My kids finished the whole plate of it!!!

And this was Sharon sweeping the carpet littered with the Pringles potato chips crumbs, sitting down. Sing to the tune of the song "This is the way" -

"This is the way I sweep the floor, sweep the floor, sweep the floor, This is the way I sweep the floor, by sitting on the carpet."

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Malaya Inn

mmmmmmm....yummy......cant believe we ordered 2 plates of the fried oyster omelette and 2 plates of the crispy skin chicken this evening at Malaya Inn. The fried oyster omelette is as good as the one at the Glutton Square @ The Esplanade......drooling for more.

came home and zap zap myself with my OSIM Uzap - I'd better do or else!!! :)))