My Dogs

My Dogs

Buddy, a Golden Retriever. Adopted him when he was a pup.
















 
He has grown.

Silky, a Corker Spaniel , adopted her 3 years ago.

 Goldie, a pariah. Picked her up from a wet market in Malaysia 5 years ago.

Horse Riding Lessons

 Hubby and daughter love horses, hence weekend trips to riding school are common.

Discovered a new place just an hour drive out of Singapore....

 Going on a trail ride

Horses are tame and well trained

Kids monkeying around after riding

Camp fire at night

What an enjoyable weekend!!

Ski slope in Japan. She wants to go there again. Looks like I have to start training myself again. The 1st time I was there, I was so unfit. Let's see if I have a picture of me flat on my face....

 hm... no, guess not, cos I landed on the photographer (my hubby) and almost tore his groin. LOL.

Our 2nd trip there was better, I was a bit fitter, the yoga classes sure helped alot. I had better sense of balance and no more falling all over the place, plus there weren't any cute guys for me to fall on!! Gekgekgek! (Evil)

Us on our 2nd trip there.  It was a good trip.

Ghost

It is time of the year again. Chinese Lunar 7th month.

This is the month, Chinese believe that the Gate of Hell open for all the spirits to wonder free on Earth. It is like a one month vacation for them and their holiday destination is our dimension.

My daughter told me the other day that children can see them - "ghost". She said some girls from her class saw it in the school's toilet... but we all know that story. It has been around for the last 80 years.. my mother's time, my time, now my daughter's time.  I remembered when I was in primary one, one of my classmate ran out of the loo screaming, claiming that she saw a hand waving at her. I dash into the toilet immediately, but what I saw was a hand print on the wall.

During my secondary school days, there were talk about a ghost girl crying by the well, the teachers' room was haunted, the sewing room was haunted, the toilets were too... I wondered around hoping that I too could have a story to tell but all to no avail.

Years later, my youngest sister told me a spooky story. You see, they built a new secondary school and when it was ready, all the secondary students walked, two by two, from their old school to the new school on the first day of the opening.

All was well, the opening ceremony was good, the students explored the school, checked out their classrooms and allocated seats for themselves.

A week went by without any hitch. The students were joking about how the ghost, if there were any, were left behind in the old school.

Lo and behold! The next week, there were cries of the new school being haunted. My sister's classmate, who usually reached school pretty early in the morning saw one!  She saw a "girl" in the classroom sobbing.

We asked around and were told that when the students all walked to the new school, the "girl" may have followed, but "she" could find her way back to the old school.

Anyway, how much do we believe?  I don't know. Some people claimed that they can see cos they have the "third" eye. Well, in my case, I am glad I can't see "them"!

Am I a good Mum? That is the question.

Watched YOG closing ceremony on TV  with my daughter last night. Saw her dance mates performing on center stage. The TV crew captured them so clearly, unlike the opening ceremony.

Let me start from the beginning...
My daughter was selected to participate in Singapore's Inaugural Youth Olympic Game Opening ceremony. The rehearsals and practices were very long and tiring for her and her dance mates. There were times during the course of rehearsals that she cried and said that she doesn't want to go thru with it. I could understand and sympathize with her, cos most times she would return home past midnight after rehearsal. Guess it was not an easy task for a 9 year old, especially when she had school to attend the next day. However, I did make it easier for her by allowing her to go to school late the next day, ensuring that she had enough rest.

After much coaxing, she finally performed in the Opening ceremony. It was a proud moment for me and hubby. As there were many performers that day, we were unable to spot her on the stage. She was quite disappointed with that, but overall she did enjoy the whole event, thanks to her ballet teacher. Without, her I don't think my daughter had this opportunity to perform in such a great event.


When my daughter was told that she would also be performing in the closing ceremony, I was so excited for her. Even though it clashed with her piano exam, I would at the most forfeit the registration and pushed it to next year. However, she was not so. Said she didn't want to do so, reason being she was tired.

I tried to persuade her, coax her and even bribe her, but she stubbornly refused.

After last night, as we watched her friends performed which was clearly captured on TV, I was filled with a sense of "failure" as a mum. My daughter's face was so crestfallen and I could see a sense of regret and remorse creeping up. She turned towards me and said," mommy, now I feel really guilty."
She felt that she had let herself down, she had let me down, she saw her friends on the stage and she wasn't there. I felt horrible. I failed as a mum. I should have insisted, should have told her she had no choice but to go ahead and do the closing ceremony.

I am an adult, I should have known better, should have known that she would regret that she had missed such a wonderful opportunity.

What was wrong with me?

I walked around the whole day berating myself... ah!!!!


 I was angry with myself, why didn't I insist, why was I so soft? Sigh!

My Baking day

Woke up this morning and decided I should do some baking. I been watching James Herriot DVD and was so inspired by their afternoon that I have decided, I should follow suit.

Hubby, just bought me a new tea set....

lovely ain't it? They are from Vietnam.
Shall I have some scones and sweet cakes?

I bought myself a new coffee set .....

Hmmm... all ready to bake.

I will organize a tea party...just like the English. Hahaha!! So "masak masak".

I am back...(with a tune)

One month of utter nothingness... I have been busy doing everything and nothing. What have I accomplished? Nothing. Busy doing nothing. I am afraid, I may have the Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder (AAADD).

I started off a project with good intention, then before embarking, was distracted to do something else, followed by another something else...and else and else....

Now, (music..loud battle music) I must snap back and be more focus.

Focus No.1: Must update blog weekly.
Focus No. 2: Must stop day dreaming.
Focus No. 3: Must enroll in calligraphy lessons.
Focus No. 4: Must finish chores/project before starting another.
Focus No. 5: Must stop kidding myself that I can multi-multi task.
Focus No. 6: Must be more FOCUS.

Ok... "Jia yu!!"

Cheese cake

My first attempt in baking cheese cake was very successful.. yippee!! Forgot to take a picture- alamak!
My mother, the Empress Dowager, who doesn't like cheese and anything foods related to it, took a bite  and felt in love with it.

Very apprehensively, she used her chop stick to break a piece off a slice of my Nutty Cheesecake and tentatively put it to the tips of her lips. Slowly she bit a tiny bit off that, with eye squeeze shut, she took her first taste and wala, she said, "hum.. not bad." Broke off another piece, this time bigger for better taste, then it was no stopping her. I must say, it was most satisfying to see her enjoying my cheesecake. (Smile)

I bought a recipe book - "Fantastic Cheesecake" by Alex Goh. I must say it is a really good recipe book. It tells you everything, not just the recipes but also how to treat the finish products. The tips and extra information is a must read. I feel like a professional cheese cake baker now! LOL!

My next attempt will be Oreo cheese cake.

Chinese New Year baking

A novice baker I am, I must say I did a good job baking cookies, tarts and cakes.

After years of buying new year cookies and paying such indecent price for cookies that are not that fantastic, I decided to bake some myself.

My first batch were sweet tangy pineapple tarts. They were my favorites since I was a kid and still my favorite now. I remembered my Nonya Aunty from Malacca, she baked those wonderful big pineapple tarts the size of half a hamburger  bun. Well, I may have exaggerated a bit, but thru my very young eyes, it sure looked very big and it took me a few big bites before I finished the whole tart. I loved visiting her during the new year... mustn't tell her that it was because of the tarts.

Anyway, I had started experimenting with these tarts since last year and today I am proud to say, I have succeeded. My hubby and kid love them.

Look at the picture... not as big as my aunt's tart tho..

...but it sure melts in the mouth!!

My next feat was Cashew Nut cookies, got the basic recipe from internet, make some modification and wa-la, my very own verson of cashew nut cookies....

So yummy! I used the basic recipe, added more Cashew nut, a couple spoonful of milk, a dash of salt to bring out the sweetness...hmm!

Want to see my banana cake with cream cheese frosting?

There...

 

 My next conquest will be cheese cakes...

Yoga Lessons

I am a member of my neighbourhood gym. I signed up cos' I would like to built some muscles and get slim. Ya ya ya, great dreams.

Attended hot yoga this morning. Went in with good intention, hot room, great! Can lose weight... so I told myself "must work hard!"

Half way thru the lesson I was looking at the clock wishing that it would be over.  I looked at the ladies in the class, they looked like yoga teachers themselves. "Where are their bones?" I wondered. They can all bend down, kissed their knees without any effort. The part where everybody did a split and rested their bellies and chests on the floor , I told myself; "girl, you've got a long way to go."  Know why I can see everybody when we were suppose to kiss the floor? With my legs barely six inches apart,  body trying to bend over to kiss the floor, but only managed a nod of the head, of course I had a good view of the class!  So if you looked into the class, you can only moi sitting "tall" panting and puffing with arms out.... stretching and trying but....

Anyway... never say die. Although now I feel like a car has just rolled over me .. I will persevere.. got to go soak in the tub now... ooche!

Happiness

I am happy most of the time. Life is great! I have a fantastic husband and a lovely girl. Every morning I thank my blessings for having such wonderful family.
Home is not a matter of how big or small your house is, it is how you put everything together to make it cosy and homely.

A friend introduced a book recently; " You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise L Hay.  I love what she wrote in there saying that we are in control of our life by the way we think. It is true. When I tell myself, I am happy, I am. Nonsense as it may sound, try that, it the power of the mind.

Anyway, I am still reading this book, and am really glad my friend told me about this book. Bless her!

First blog in a new Year

How time flies!

December holiday came and went. What did we do? All those plans I made before the holidays never materialized. Alamak! I was so ambitious, wanted to take kid out to farms, nature trials, play lots of sports, go cycling, bake lots of cakes.....but alas! Laziness got the better of me. Botanical garden is as far as nature trials go.

Now, a brand new year, this means brand new ideas, brand new things to do. The first thing thing I am going to do is.. I tell myself..  to update my blog everyday.