Goodbye, 2011

As we approach new year's eve, we always look back in the year and think about the things we regret not doing, the things we regret doing, and the things we are glad we did or didn't do.
This year, my mind is so occupied with other things that I haven't have time to do such a reflection.
All I am doing at this moment is looking forward to the year ahead.
So many things will be happening and there will be lots of major changes in my life.
My entire life at this moment already is where I never thought I would be.

I am thankful for the improvements in the kids I care for as well.
Doing up their progress reports have shown me they have progressed far beyond my expectations, and that is ALWAYS a good thing.
Q sometimes jokes that my job is essentially to put myself out of a job.
And somehow, I get happier as I get closer to being useless to the child and his/her family :)

I'm thankful for the past (almost) 2 years of awesomeness with Q.
We have grown so much.
And we are going to grow so much more in the years to come.
I look forward to every tear, smile and embarrassing moment that is to come :)
I am one step closer to being independent..
To owning a place with Q, having a family of our own, a home that is ours alone..
And it is very very exciting :)
I look forward to it every single moment of my life.

So to end this amazing year,
A very retro music video from my favourite boyband of all time..


See you in 2012! :)

Christmas Eve 2011

After a very horrible pre-christmas week,

It's turning out to be quite an unforgettable one :)

the grape became a raisin

After a very very long and tiring day,
my long awaited holiday has sort of shriveled up from a grape to a raisin.
Still good, just a little less juicy than it originally was.
I'm so so so thankful for Q today..
I appreciate him more now for who he is and who he isn't.

OH WELL!
Anyway, now I'll be going to Johor.
things I plan to do:
1. EAT A LOT OF RAMLY BURGERS
2. Relax and block out all distraction and negativity
3. Seriously BUM.

not much but the main thing I think is the ramly burgers.
we get them here at pasar malams but BUKIT TIMAH NO PASAR MALAM.
Still looking forward to my trip :)
Some time away from home always does me good.

twenty-two

I'M FINALLY ON HOLIDAY!! :D
Tomorrow is dedicated to baking up a huge storm of cookies and cupcakes.
I am going to try to make as many different types as I possibly can!
Went down to town today to get the last of my Christmas shopping done!
It was SUPER CROWDED.
The air conditioning felt pretty much non-existent.
But it was a nice evening out with great conversation and awesome company :)

9 days to Christmas!

I'm having a lot of fun at work now because my kid has entered into the social skills syllabus.
It is fun because we get to do a lot more relaxed play and I get to be a bit cheeky with the kids..
I got her to draw today because it's always fun to see what things look like in their little heads.



It's an elephant, sheep, pig and flower by the way.
I love the elephant best.
It's trunk is fully detachable ;)
The sheep would give me nightmares with it's hollow eyes.
This is done by a 4 year old girl btw.
And I think it is AWESOME :)

In other news,
you know how when people get married, there are a ton of photos of the bride coming down the aisle?
But you hardly see photos of the groom.
LOOK AT THIS GROOM'S FACE.

(Link via polkadotbride)

It is so precious (in a very very good way).
I hope when it's my turn, I see something like that.
A smile plastered so hard, it cannot be wiped away even with a whole carton of Mr Muscle :)

Probee no more

I am officially no longer a probee :)

YAY!!!
Q and I had a ceremonial removal of the P-plates yesterday.
It's been a year!
I feel so grown up now.. hahaha...
Work this week was kind of interesting!
I got to be the 'child whisperer'.
Brought my kid and her mom to the nearby shopping center and taught the mom how to get the child to listen.
It was really really fun and I look forward to more sessions like these :)
Maybe I should switch jobs and be an official 'child whisperer'

TEN DAYS TO CHRISTMAS! :D

The smell of fresh laundry and chocolate cookies

THIRTEEN DAYS TO CHRISTMAS! :)
I can't wait!!! :)

I have an off day today because all my kids have something on today..
and so I dedicate my day to chores and a little baking indulgence.
With my parents gone for two weeks, there was quite a pile up in the laundry baskets..
So I washed and ironed all the clothes,
washed the sofa covers,
and my bedsheets.
I also made Chocolate Marshmallow cookies while waiting for each batch of laundry to be processed by the washing machine..

Didn't turn out exactly how I thought it should though..
Somehow the marshmallows cannot stay in the middle of the cookie no matter how hard I try.
And so they rise to the top and disappear into the cookie rather than give a chewy center I envisioned.
I think the recipe needs a little bit more tweeking.
Will try it again when I start the official christmas bake sessions :)
I think I accomplished a whole lot today even though it's only 3.30pm.
Time for a nap before heading down to meet Q for dinner :)

TWO WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS EVE!

This is all super exciting!
I have 7 working days left this year.
As much as I love the work I do, I'm really looking forward to time out.

Yesterday was my last session for the year with one of my kids as he was going on a long holiday.
I told him: 'I won't see you to next year you know?'
He looked down and mumbled: 'I'm going to miss you, che che..'
AWWWWWW.
Then I held out my arms for a hug and he leaped right into it and squeezed me so tight I could hardly breathe. :)

After one year of hard work with majority of my children, it has finally reached the part where thing become more entertaining.
Learning becomes more abstract which can be very challenging and fun (for me mostly).

'Where is your pencil?'
'In the table!'
'IN the table? oh my! Are you sure? How are we going to get it out!'

Sometimes they don't know the answers and they just try to say everything hoping to hit the right answer:

'How is Minnie feeling?'
'Sad.'
'Yeah.. She's crying. Why do you think she is crying?'
'She cry because... she sitting on the floor... and then the mummy come. And she sad, and the sun in the sky and the chair is red and the dog and the monkey and the water come and she cry.'

I love love love my job :)

DECEMBER!

IT'S DEEESAAAAAMBEEEEEERRRR!
Can you hear the reindeer getting all warmed up??
Just kidding. haha.
I am so excited!
It's the time of the year I get to bake a whole mother load and then GIVE IT ALL AWAY.
It's guilt free baking!
Though I always do end up eating quite a bit because you kind of have to try one from every batch to make sure it's right (excuses).
I plan to make a batch of cookies, and a batch of cupcakes :)
And I'm going to source for ingredients and decorations tomorrow! fun fun fun! :)
I will definitely post pictures if they turn out right :)
I kinda want to try a batch of cake pops too..
We'll see!
22 days to CHRISTMAS!!! :D

I'm getting excited because it's almost December, which means it's almost Christmas!
4 more weeks of work before I have my week long holiday :)
I'm already starting to think about what I will bake this year.
From frosted cupcakes and snowflake cookies to Christmas themed cake pops.
I know I'm going to end up with too many ideas and too little time
But I am going to try my best to bake as many ideas as I can :)
Willing baking buddies are welcome!

Also looking for taste testers.
Please send your resume, a picture of your taste buds with the authenticity verification stamp from a local doctor to diamanteskies@gmail.com to register.

**29 days to Christmas!**

Growing up.

I kind of expected there to be a point of time in life where I don't want to grow any older.
And I kind of expected it to have already come.
But it doesn't seem so.
I still can't wait to grow older.
I am looking forward to the time when I am totally independent.
To be able to make my own decisions in life, to build my own family, to have my own place away from parental eyes, to even pay my own bills.
To not have to inform people of the timings I come and go from my home (even though that happens only because they want to use my car), and to just basically be able to start something new.

I guess I feel old in some ways...
My back gives me problems when my mattress is too soft,
I wake up at a fixed timing in the morning that is a number much smaller than 10,
My joints get a teensy bit achy when it rains,
I feel out of place when I go to cineleisure or far east,
I sometimes feel weird in forever21,
I prefer quiet nights at home to a crazy night out partying,
I always feel sleep deprived and I sometimes fall asleep in front of the tv at 7.
I can fall asleep at anytime actually, as long as I have somewhere to rest my head.

But, I still can't wait to grow up.
33 days to Christmas!!!!!!!! :D

New this week: A new mattress
The old one was too soft for my aging back.
I can't believe I'm saying 'aging back' and 'too soft'.
Q and I made a trip to Ikea and bought the firmest mattress I could afford.
They delivered it the very next day (yay for amazingly fast service)
and I fell into deep sleep that very afternoon.
Maybe because I haven't been able to sleep properly so I slept super soundly for over an hour in the late afternoon without the fan and aircon.
It was kinda raining so I guess it wasn't that warm
but I slept SUPER soundly.
Even though it still has that annoying 'new smell' in it
I have been sleeping very well :)
I'm very pleased.

37 days to Christmas! :)

Sick again

I've been sick a lot lately.
Had the stomach flu a couple of times this year already,
the flu has hit me countless times
Had suspected food poisoning just a couple of days ago.
And now, I'm down with a major flu virus.
Fever, headaches, sore throat, stuffed nose that is running at the same time, cough...
The works.
I've been ordered by the doctor to stay in bed for two whole days.
I survived one day of doing absolutely nothing...
Mostly because I was knocked out by the medication given to me for most of the day
But tomorrow, I might try to be more useful.
If I'm not so drugged out tomorrow, I will...
1. Give my room a little bit of cleaning
2. Do the sequence and chords for this Sunday's worship set
3. Try to put in a couple of hours of work

I think I shouldn't try to be TOO ambitious.
But I do want to do something with my time other than just lay in bed and sleep.
Makes me feel very lethargic and icky.

Long weekend! :)

Q and I always end up eating the same few things every time we go out and eat.
It's usually either pizza or prata..
So we decided since it was the long weekend but he's not going to be around for most of it,
we need to make full use of whatever time we have and BE ADVENTUROUS.
So we checked out Genki Sushi at Orchard central because he has been wanting to go there for the longest time.
At first I didn't think much about it..
I just knew it as the sushi bar with iPads.
BUT WOAH.
SO BLOWN AWAY.
The iPad ordering thing wasn't that much of a big deal to me..
BUT, the TRAIN 'WAITERS'.
SO. COOL.
basically, you order your food and it comes delivered to you via a little train that will stop wherever you are seated.
It will definitely entertain the kids,
but it might also make them order more than they can actually eat just to see the train come and go.
While we were there, there were these two overly enthusiastic kids seated at the table behind us.
When I went to get a glass of ice water, they were super impressed with the water dispenser (Which btw was nothing extraordinary at all)..

Boy: How do I use this?
Girl: You press the button and the water will come out. See?
Boy: WOAH! let me try!
*pushes button and the water goes into the cup*
Boy: WOAH! That was cool man!
Girl: Yeah! That was cool man!

Then we went downstairs and walked at the little bazaar they were having.
There was a Snack UP booth selling some prawn crackers that were made in a very unique way.

(They spelt block wrongly. hajio.)

The woman pours some powder into a round hole in this device,
pushes a lever down,
and in a few seconds, it pops up and a prawn cracker appears!
Super fun to watch and super tasty too!

A very very awesome day in general :)

This month is a month of love.

(Via)

Seriously, too many weddings happening at once.
But it's nice.
It's great to celebrate love.
It's the perfect chance to forget about all the hate and death there is in the world for a moment and just celebrate the joining of two people in love.
I avoided saying two people in perfect love because today, divorce is a very real thing.
But let's avoid becoming morbid and pessimistic.

Although in the past I've loved weddings, I think I appreciate them a whole lot more now...
Being in a relationship myself has caused me to see it in a different light.
I think it's very very encouraging to know that it is very possible for the happiness, the joy, the agreements, the laughter, the good memories and love to surpass all the quarrels, disagreements, differences, tears and heartache we go through in every relationship.
And not just merely scrapping through, but be enough to make you decide that you want this for the rest of your life.

Christmas countdown: 52 days! :)

Brownies

I had a tiny brownie craving so I decided to make some tonight :)
I haven't cut into them yet and might have to wait till tomorrow morning to do so, seeing that it's almost 12MN already and I really shouldn't be eating at this time.
I decided to put them in my room because I didn't really have any other place to put it.
So now my room smells gloriously like a brownie shop :)
I'm going to sleep so well tonight.
Can't wait for tomorrow morning when I get to sink my teeth into some brownies!
I hope they taste decent..
I haven't made them for a really really long time..

I finished TWO PACKETS of jam sandwich creams in less than 2 days.
Who ask them to make it taste so awesome.

Things I want/want to do

1. Bake Brownies
I haven't done that in a very long while and I'm quite unsure if I can still make decent brownies..
I'm going to try on Friday..
2. Exercise
I always say this but I end up stuck on my fat butt because I'm too lazy.
I tried to convince Q that we should sign up for body combat classes together but it's just going to be a waste of money unless we are truly committed to it.
But I should move a little more because I'm maintaining my weight now only because I don't eat enough (Q is going to be so happy I'm actually admitting this).
3. A long actually relaxing holiday
We've planned one at the end of this year but the thing about holidays is that sometimes you come back feeling even ore exhausted than before.
I really hope this one would be an awesomely relaxing one!

I thought it would be a really long list but that's about it!
Work is going really great with marked progresses happening at the moment.
With the slightly reduced work hours, I feel happier and it seems to be helping my kids as well :)
I am excited to see what the next year brings.
CHRISTMAS IS COMING SOON! :D

blessings in disguises

Today, started out looking like one of those awful Sundays filled with obligations and no bum time.
Q had a wedding rehearsal which would mean that I wouldn't have him for majority of the day.
Then we also had to visit my grandma because I haven't seen her ever since my grandpa passed away,
and then we had a dinner at my maternal grandparents' place that was compulsory, so the night wasn't ours either
All we had was about 1.5 hours in the late afternoon to split between catching up on sleep and talking.
But because days like this should always become worse, after visiting my grandma, Q's car couldn't start.
And with parents fussing over things and shouting and not being very helpful, it was a very stressful situation.
But it turned out to be a super blessing in disguise.
After shooing my parents off to dinner, Q called up the mechanic and we shared a prayer for the situation we were in.
Because we were stuck in the carpark for a very legitimate reason, we couldn't go to the dinner.
This allowed Q and I to share a nice walk to the nearby shopping center to grab some dinner while waiting for the car mechanic to arrive.
We spent the 2 newly acquired hours talking and having valuable quality time with each other :)
And somehow, even though the carpark was really stuffy and hot and we were in the most uncomfortable place ever,
it was the best evening I've had in a long time.
I always believe that God allows these moments to give us glimpses of our future together.
When trouble comes our way, He will see us through it and bind us closer together :)

20

This month has been ROUGH.
But I'm glad it's clearing up.
Original plans fell through to the other side of the earth and so I had to start learning to say 'no' to keep my head above the water.
And it's really helping.
I'm looking forward to work a lot more
I still look forward to weekends but I deal with the weekdays better now.
I'm feeling a little less stressed
And I am looking forward to a nice holiday at the end of the year :)
Only a little over 2 months till Christmas!
I have a tiny log cake craving already :P

What things look like in a kid's brain.

Yesterday, I asked one of my kids to draw a girl and a cat and the result was quite hilarious.

The girl had something sticking out of her head so I asked the child what it was.
He said it was a helicopter! hahaha..
And then he started to draw rain and I told him he needed to give the girl and umbrella and hands to hold the umbrella since he decided to make it rain.
Her hands came out looking like wings.
His girl's left hand has 6 fingers, all of the same length, with no palm or arm whatsoever.
The triangles were suppose to be houses.
He drew the tiny one on the left but I told him it was too small and she won't be able to fit in.
So he drew the bigger one.


Halfway through drawing the cat, he started telling me it might be a dog instead.
But at the end of it he decided it was still a cat.
So I told him he better write that down so that people would know that too.
Next week I might try asking him to draw a boy to see how it compares with the girl, and a dog to compare against the cat.
Things sure look a little weird in the kids' heads.

I am a bum.

This morning I woke up to an SMS from my kid's mom saying she has fever so lesson is cancelled.
I had grand plans of cleaning my room, doing a little bit of packing and throwing away the paper that has been accumulating...
(I HATE mail. I rather have a ton of emails then mail like bills and stuff that just accumulate and make everything look messy)
But I ended up bumming in bed from 8am till 2pm.
YES.
SIX WHOLE HOURS OF JUST LYING THERE.
I don't know why I did it.
I regret it fully.
I could have done so much.
I never used to be this way.
I used to have this compulsive need to DO SOMETHING.
To clean and reclean and pack and repack and stay active.
BUT ANYWAY,
I have another chance to redeem myself tomorrow.
I have 2 hours to clean my room tomorrow.
And I will not let today's SIX HOURS OF SHAME repeat itself.
WILL NOT.
tomorrow I will get a nice and clean room.

Drama

I fell down the stairs today.
My brain was dead or something and my legs forgot how to go down stairs.
So while I was super ready to start my day at work,
TUMBLE. Right down the staircase.
The Indian grandmother staying at the first floor saw me and started talking to me in tamil or hindi or something I didn't understand.
And I just kept saying: 'I'm OH KAY. OH KAY. It's OH KAY.'
Finally she realised I didn't understand whatever her language was and said 'Pain?'
I nodded in reply.
And then she said: 'OH KAY?'
And I nodded again.
Then she vanished back into her home.
I sat there for a while till I stopped shaking and I called all my clients to cancel the day's sessions.
Then I slowly made my way back home and plopped myself onto the couch.
Then Leah came home and saw me.
I burst into tears while telling her how painful it was because the entire day has been so super sucky for me.
She went into the kitchen and emerged with a cup of milo dinosaur for me.
I have such a sweet sister :)
It made me feel a lot better.
Now I'm much better.
It isn't much.. Mostly bruises.
My legs still feel like someone tried to cripple me but I'll be fine.
Maybe I should look for a job where I can stay in bed ALL DAY.
then I won't get into stupid accidents like this.

This period of my life is just incredibly stressful.

Happy 21st, Baby Sister!

Happy Birthday, Leah!
You are one of the two best sisters I have ever had ;)
Love you so much!

Waking up when September ends

I cannot stand how SLOW my internet is now.
While every one else is running away from Singtel Mio, my dad ran STRAIGHT INTO IT.
And don't say I didn't warn him, because I did.
but until I have time to change my plan to the fibre optic thing, I have to bear with it :(
I can't believe I haven't blogged in SO LONG.

Anyway, I've been quite busy.

1. I am a step closer to breathing again because we have finally found someone to share my workload :)
I'm actually super excited for that to happen.
I keep telling Q how I can't wait for November to come.
SO many people have been trying to give me suggestions on how to fill my time when November comes and I have fewer work hours
BUT I DON'T WANT TO FILL IT YET.
I want to rest and enjoy my freedom for a while first.
WHY is everyone expecting me to go on and on like a train without brakes :(

2. My grandpa passed away.
I'm okay.
I'm not extremely sad even though he is the first grandparent I have lost...
Mainly because he was bedridden and ill and he's in a much much better place now,
so there isn't anything to be sad about.
I miss him a bit but I'll see him again :)

3. I've rekindled my love for baking.
Which is awesome because I will have something to indulge in come November.
This evening I managed to bake a very successful batch of chocolate chip cookies :)
I thought I lost my touch because I always end up with burnt batches.
But it's also because I'm trying to do a thousand and one other things while baking.
So tonight, I concentrated on it and I didn't burn a single cookie :)
My dad ate one and said it was too sweet, which made me a bit sad
but then after that he ate another 10 more.
Mom says he's my secret fan.

I'm really glad the weekend is here :)
I love my job, but sometimes it feels like it sucks the life out of me.

This weekend has been phenomenal.
It has been a weekend of self-discovery, challenges, excitement and timely reminders.
This week is going to a relatively tough one..
And tomorrow is going to be a really challenging start to the week.
I have been dreading tomorrow for the past week
but during the weekend, God reminded me of His providence and His power.
I have seen how God has made impossible and awesome things happen.
And so I trust that He will carry me through tomorrow and the week.
Through Christ, ALL things are possible.
And because He lives, I can not only face tomorrow..
WITH GOD BY MY SIDE, WE WILL PWN IT.

Hazy

It's that time of the year again.
The air in Singapore is thicker because of the fires in on of our neighbouring countries.
Other than the actual haze we are experiencing,
my life is a little hazy at the moment too.
I have big decisions that I must make soon and they aren't easy.
I can't see what's ahead.
Too many uncertainties, too many possibilities.
Too many things to consider, too many sacrifices I'm not very willing to make.
I'm glad I have Q to constantly remind me to pray pray pray.
That's kind of all I can do now.
It's too scary to move without praying.
Maybe it's because I need to experience complete helplessness and total dependence on God.
Then maybe the haze isn't such a bad thing after all :)

Friday night

Friday night sessions are the worst.
I'm tired out from the entire week and just want to go home and shower and bum in bed...
Even on a lazy week like this week.
But every time I go, I have loads of fun and I get surprised by how amazing this child is.
I'm kind of sad that I would have to pass him on to someone else since I'm trying to free up my schedule.
Today when I was making milo for him, I swirled the milo a little to hard and some of it spilled out.
He immediately turned to me and said: 'che che Amelia, are you okay?'
And his father said just before the session, when they were out fetching his sister from the tuition center, the little boy kept insisting on going to the playground.
But the second his dad told him that I was coming over, he said: 'Then let's hurry up and go home!'
I'm SO going to miss this boy.

Food Obsessions

I have a bad habit.
I never ever know how to do things in moderation.
When I clean something, I have to clean it till it's as spotless as it can be.
When I find a new author I like, I will have to read every single book written by that author before moving on to another one.
When I decide I like a band/singer, I will listen to their album and their album ONLY.
But the worst ever thing I can never do in moderation is eat.
When I find a new snack I like, you can bet I'm having it every single day at every moment I can...
Sometimes even for breakfast, lunch and then dinner.
Like not too long ago, I had a serious obsession with sour cream and onion Pringles.
I had it for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner.
TERRIBLE for the waistline and the flapjack arm wings.

And then during my time in Brisbane, I had the same type of obsession with Yoplait forme yogurt.
The vanilla flavor is SO YUMMY.
I had yogurt for breakfast,
yogurt topped with corn flakes for an added crunch for lunch,
and yogurt with fruit for dinner.
And that went on for as long as I could remember.
Of course I had other things some times..
But I could finish a large family size tub in a couple of days.

Until I got sick of it.
Of course I got sick of it.
And I also came back to Singapore and couldn't find that particular yogurt for a few months.
But I saw it again today when I was browsing around NTUC, deciding what else I could buy to top up my purchases to $50 so I get a $1 rebate on my parking (I'm such a cheapskate, I know.)
I think I just rekindled my obsession with yogurt. Oops.
I decided to play it safe and just buy two mini single serving tubs..
But I think you can guess what's at the top of my shopping list the next time I head to NTUC :P

GBF

Tonight, Q and I discussed my long held desire to have a gay best friend..
But we came to a conclusion that it isn't going to be possible because my GBF will try to steal Q away from me (seeing as how Q is quite the gay magnet.. heehee)..
oh well.
This is what happens when your BF is too hot ;)

Growth. Finally.

I feel like I'm growing a little each week.
Not fatter.
It's like a journey where I realize my weaknesses and take conscious steps to overcome them...
And in the process work toward being a better person.
I like this growth.
I think it's necessary.
I think it is long overdue.
I think I'm being cryptic.
I also think the durian mooncake from Goodwood Park Hotel is legen...
wait for it.....
dary!

Stomach flu second month in a row.

I have the stomach flu again.
My stomach has been hurting the whole day and it keeps getting worse.
I don't like how I'm sick so much now a days.
But I guess I've been quite tired lately so my body doesn't have enough energy to fight illnesses :(
Life hasn't been kind lately either
So this is kind of my low period.
But I know it'll pick up soon, because I'm going to change my way of life.
I'm almost 25.
Life is too short to pretend.
So if I like it, I'll embrace it.
If I hate it, I'll reject it.
I'm not going to pretend to like something/someone I don't like any more, just so I can be more accepted.
It takes too much effort and gives me too much pain.
Life can be a little simpler by being a little more autistic.

Goodbye, August.

I had a super long weekend.
I got into an accident on Friday which made me cancel all my sessions to go straight to the mechanic.
They told me I had to go back on Monday because they needed a whole day to fix my car up
So I went home.
I was thinking of resuming work but I was still a bit shaky from the accident and couldn't really get back behind the wheel.
Then Monday morning I took the day off to send it to the mechanic
and Tuesday was a public holiday.
Despite the long weekend, I feel I haven't managed to catch up on sleep.
Had to wake up on Saturday to go vote for the president,
Was playing at service on Sunday so that was an early morning too,
Monday morning was an early start because we had to get down to the mechanics the minute they opened,
and we had a brunch date on Tuesday so I didn't get to sleep in either :(
quite a disappointing weekend with the accident and a couple of other unpleasant encounters
But I'm glad it's the end of the month.
It means I'm that much closer to Christmas :)
Goodbye, August!
Hello, busy September.

My Neighbour Totoro

After Q stared at me like I was a weirdo when I squealed over finding the Totoro toy in one of those novelty/stationary shops in Bugis,
I decided it was time to let my boyfriend watch the film that occupied EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY of our lives when we were kids.
I am serious.
We taped it down (VCR style) when it first aired on TV and the three of us would watch this anime from start to end EVERY WEEKEND until it got taped over in a very unfortunate and devastating accident :(
As Q and I watched it, I tried my best to hold back my giggles because I KNEW when all the funny bits were and I was about to laugh before it even happened.

This anime was made in 1988.
It is almost as old as me,
BUT it has NEVER, I repeat, NEVER lost it's charm.
The same quirky Totoro that stole my heart so many years ago stole it again :)
And this time, it took Q's too :)
He now wants to buy the stuffed toy..
And FYI, we NEVER want to buy stuffed toys.
I think we like it so much because we see a little of ourselves in the huge furry creature.
The same slightly insane character that comes up every once in a while when we decide to be a little silly.
We might just make the DVD a family heirloom.

I hate nights like these.
When I go to bed feeling a little teary eyed
and my heart a little broken.
When no amount of hot showers could make me feel any better.
But it's nights like these when I pray the most, because it's when I'm most helpless.
And it's nights like these when I am reminded that I am ALWAYS the apple of God's eye,
and I am ALWAYS loved by Him,
and that He's ALWAYS 100% there for me.
I guess it's not so bad after all :)

ISFJ

You know how I have been going on and on about how busy I am,
And how every week I seem to fall ill over the weekends and sometimes that stretches beyond the weekend,
And then I get all stressed up because I miss work and lose sessions
and then get busy again
and then fall ill again?
Thanks to this personality test Q made me do while I was home with the hives this weekend and bit, I realized that this cycle is due to my body's natural defense mechanism against overwork.
But not that it can be helped.
My life just keeps getting busier.
I guess I could say no to some things and make my life a lot less busy
but the saying no part is very difficult when it comes to certain things.
So yes.
As much as I nag at Q for not being able to say no, I have the exact same problem.
BUT, I strive to change.
Because I seriously think this falling sick thing needs to stop.

Happy Birthday, Quen!

You are a quarter of a century egg already.
Stay AWESOME, HANDSOME and TROUBLESOME ;)
Love you! :)

Today, I realized that my job is actually quite simple.
There is only one aim/goal/rule/endpoint:
Get the kid to do what the parents have tried and failed to get him/her to do.

Today, all I did was get the kid to drink from a new water bottle.
Apparently, this child is UNABLE and refuses to drink from this new bottle.
But I didn't even need to coax or trick him into it.
I just handed the bottle to the kid and said:'drink.'
and he did.
Sometimes I think it has a lot to do with HOW you do things.
If you pretend that everything is peachy, most of the time it'll turn out that way.
Like if you kinda think the child will have difficulty at something, pretend he's an expert at it and can do it..
Sometimes they surprise you.

My next goal,
Get all my kids to start reading and adding numbers up to 2 digits.
I'm halfway there.. but the other half way is going to be a tough challenge.
I like :)
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

NDP 2011

Today's National Day, so YAY for the holiday :)
I got to do my brunch plan but not much else.
but it's okay!
This short break will carry me through for the next few of weeks of CRAZY work
then we'll have another holiday :)
We watched the national day parade and read twitter critiques at the same time..
So funny how we can't really find good things to say about it.
I was totally freaked out by the giant puppet humans who were all wobbly and STARING ALL THE TIME.
so going to have nightmares.
But I really liked the huge paos..
I thought the smoke was a very nice touch.

I've been living in denial a little..
And the past couple of days have been spent facing some of these issues I have been avoiding.
It's been quite painful.
I'm still not sure if it was all worth it.
But maybe because I'm not entirely free from it.
I'm still slowly making my way through.

sick, upset, frustrated but saved.

I had a very very bad day.
I woke up feeling really awful like how I always feel during illnesses.
I can't believe I'm sick AGAIN
I threw up a lot today
Even Milo didn't stay down.
I had an episode of family drama
I had to cancel two of my three sessions

but it isn't the worst day because:
The last session that I manage to go for was a good one : )
I always feel very accomplished when the child picks up a new skill/learns something new.
Q was suppose to be out with his colleagues and I was feeling really awful and wishing he was with me instead AND AT THAT VERY MOMENT HE SHOWED UP AT MY DOOR.
Best BF ever.

Tomorrow I'm going to PURGE myself of all the negativity I've accumulated from today by cleaning and disinfecting my room and remaining totally detached from family drama for as long as I can.
I will also take my medication and pray I get better soon.
I need to get better.
Work is becoming quite overwhelming and if I'm ill while trying to overcome it, I might die.
stop. PURGE PURGE PURGE NEGATIVITY.
God will CARRY me through.

I'm not feeling good today.
My nose is runny, my eyes are puffy, my head is aching just enough to annoy me.
I probably caught the flu but I've been sick so much lately I'm getting quite used to it.
But that's not why I'm not happy.
I went to see my grandpa in the hospital today and that got me really down.
Just seeing how helpless he was and how no one knew what to do to make him feel better was upsetting enough.
He was in such a bad state I just stood there and frowned and concentrated on not crying.
I realize I can't even remember the last time he was well :(

BFFs

I miss having a really close girl friend.
I mean, I have great friends.
And I have friends I feel close to, but not super duper tight with.
I wish I had someone who understood me and knew me inside out,
someone who would come over all the time,
know my parents like they are her parents and vice versa,
have mini sleepovers,
talk about anything and everything..
someone I could call any time when I felt like it and I know she would be there to listen.

I don't know why I never made such a friendship.
Sometimes I feel like I really need one, but it never is there.

Things I have learnt today

1. I am capable of making apple crumble without a recipe.
Well, partially.
I did have one to tell me what went into each component but I pretty much estimated my way through.
I followed the recipe for a bit but it wasn't working at all so I just threw it aside and went on, fingers crossed.
It turned out really well :)
But I'm not so sure I can do it again :P

2. Naps have become an essential for weekends.
I can survive weekdays without naps (most of the time)
but when it comes to weekends, once the clock strikes 4pm, my eyes start to close.

3. Bus 67 still smells really really bad.
I took the bus today because everyone seemed to need the car
and the minute I stepped onto the bus, I felt a headache hit me and I felt like throwing up.
I have been too pampered.

4. Some people pronounce 'Esplanade' as 'Ass Planet'.
Serious.

5. Behavioral modification methods work on boyfriends until they find out about it.
Then they get angry you even applied it to them :(
Sorry Q :P
You are still the best :)

Fruity Hair Insomnia

I can't seem to fall asleep and I think it's largely because my hair smells different.
I went to get it cut and the hairdresser rubbed some hair oil or something into it
and now it smells very fruity.
My hair usually smells like baby shampoo which is nice and soothing (to me)
But even though I shampooed THRICE, it still smells like fruit.
Although it does feel very soft now....
but it's keeping me awake :(

Bridesmaids

Today, Q and I went to the movies!
The last time we did that was for Something Borrowed, which was more than a month ago..
So after being let down by the movie,
we were a little skeptical about spending money to catch another one
BUT it was TOTALLY worth it.
Bridesmaids was a fantastic movie.
Still had the usual dose of awful values
but definitely much less than Something Borrowed
and a lot more focus on friendship and love.
I loved it.
We laughed SO MUCH
I don't think anyone in the cinema could have watched the entire movie without laughing for at least half of it :)
Great movie :)

The wonderful world of woozy.

Last night was really quite an experience.
I don't know what possessed me to take a drowsy pill even though I knew I wasn't done with the day.
I felt like puking really badly so I downed an anti-nausea pill after work last night
Proceeded to have a bit of dinner,
then drove to church despite feeling a little detached from my surroundings.
I went to get coffee from the nearest Coffee Bean I could find, which made things a teeny bit better but it really still felt like everywhere was just too noisy, too bright and too many people.
For some reason I kept staring at people's shoulders.
I tried to stop but I found them very interesting.
Like how they looked the same but yet different.
After church, I didn't just go home and lie down.
I decided I was well enough to meet my girl friends for drinks.
yes, alcohol.
I am indeed the most brilliant.
Anyway, by God's wonderful and amazing grace (truly undeserving I am), I made it home alive.
I took a shower and felt like the whole bathroom was really strange.
I remember staring at the shower curtain for a really long time thinking the fold lines were very fascinating.
Anyway, when I lay my head down to rest despite my very wet hair,
I felt like I finally found where my head belonged.
My very heavy head felt at rest
And the next thing I know, I'm waking up from a beautiful dream of Tiny Tower (the latest iPhone game that has ruined my life).
Super powerful, that anti-nausea drug.

Enoch Lide

Babies who dress like they are grown ups are actually quite cute.
Especially cute if they have grownup names.
This is my cousin's kid, Enoch.
Grown up name, check.
Grown up clothes, check.
CUTE :D

Night owl

I'm suppose to be asleep now.
I tried to go to sleep since 10 plus but as you see, it isn't working!
I'm so going to pay for it tomorrow.
I didn't even nap this afternoon hoping it would allow me to sleep earlier tonight.
Such a failure.
I tried to watch a documentary to put me to sleep
but it was too exciting.
It was about the predators of the deep.
I have this strange unexplainable fascination with deep sea creatures.
Not ALL underwater creatures
but more of the really deep sea ones that look very strange and alien like.
They intrigue and fascinate me.
I would never be brave enough to dive underwater and see them for myself
but I try my best to seek out documentaries on them.
My favourite is the Angler fish.
It looks so scary looking but it's cute little light bulb thing makes it look quite comical.
If you don't get it, I did warn you it was quite unexplainable.

oh well.
I have about 15 more minutes of the documentary to go.
Hopefully I'll be asleep by then.
Next time I should just watch a documentary on some country's history or something to do with airplanes or cars.
Those always seem to work better.
When Q starts to watches those, I'm asleep in a heartbeat :P

Seems like my body is really giving up on me.
I was perfectly fine and then today it had to spring a surprise again.
But it might be because all my kids yesterday were coughing and sneezing in my face the entire day.
So I'm back to staying in bed and trying to sleep the illness away.
At least the headache isn't so bad this time!

Bum and Bummer

Today I've been a true bum and slept the majority of the day away.
BUT I have a legit excuse.
I am trying my best to recover from my whole list of illnesses and so I drugged myself regularly today and slept on.
Q came over after church to bum with me..
we 'watched' two documentaries...
'watched' because I slept through most of it while Q was watching intently and commenting quite frequently too, waking me up at points in the documentary..
But he soon realized his efforts to engage me in the documentary were largely in vain so after a while he just settled to watch silently while I slipped deeper into sleep.
Then after I woke up and Q scolded me for sleeping for 20 hours,
we spent the remaining time talking about semi-serious stuff.
I enjoy weekends like this... even when I'm sick :)

Sickie

I've been sick the entire week :(
I started the week with stomach flu and the flu,
My monthly best friend also decided it was the best time to pay me a visit on the same day
so I was extra handicapped.
I crawled to the doctor on Tuesday (not literally.. but I did make a lot of drivers angry)
The second the receptionist saw me, she said: "AIYO! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!"
I must have looked like death.
I held on to the counter for support and started down my list of ailments while she quickly registered me
then I asked her how long the wait would be since the doctor's waiting room was so full and I thought I could go to the bank to run an errand while waiting
but she said:"YOU BETTER STAY RIGHT HERE. DON'T GO ANYWHERE!"
And I got to see the doctor within the next 5 minutes.
SUCH an awesome lady :)

Anyway, I managed to get better and back to work on Thursday
stumbled through work on Thursday and Friday
and this morning, I woke up with a throbbing head, a running nose, a bad cough and a sore throat.
But thank God it's the weekend
and that I still have my medicine to drug me out.
SO tomorrow I'm going to take my medication on time
and sleep the entire day away so that I can survive the full week of work next week.
NO MORE MCs.
I will not allow myself to take any more MCs.
I've used 3 out of the 7 days I allow myself each year within one week
that is not economical at all.
This poor earthly body better buck up.
If not, I might have to ask God for a new one...
Drop Dead Diva style ;)

Lazy days

I kinda want to go back to those days where I can wake up at 9am,
Take a nice warm shower,
pull on comfy clothes,
head down to a nice quaint little cafe to meet Q,
order a cup of coffee with the nice patterns made out of foam,
read a book and people watch,
and laze away knowing that there will be many more days like this to follow.

Not that we ever did all that though.
But there was once a time where all that was possible.
Looks like I just planned our next public holiday ;P
I'm such a dictator.

Q's a big boy now.

The people around me have been surprisingly calm about me scratching the car.
I mean, other than maybe Q who told me I had to REPLACE THE WHOLE PANEL.
My dad didn't say anything much,
Q's dad just said:"The first scratch is the most painful.", then handed me some stuff to make it look a bit better.
I'm still quite upset over it :(
But I feel much better seeing that people don't really think it's that big a deal.
I spent Saturday at Q's graduation ceremony, in church having cell and rehearsal...
AND doing this.
Q's a big boy now that he's officially graduated from University.

CONGRATULATIONS!! :D
Quite a Saturday well spent.
So tomorrow, I will waste Sunday away bumming :D

Heartbroken

AHHHHHHHH!
I am such a bad driver.
I scrapped the side of my car while coming up the ramp from my client's place :(
I feel so upset about it now.
Now I'll have to either repaint the whole car or get the thing replaced,
both of which is going to cost me a ton of money :(
WHY AM I SO CARELESS!
It was quite a bad day..
on top of this, I forced myself to work despite feeling very much under the weather.
In fact, yesterday wasn't good either because I wasn't feeling well and had a little breakdown.
but it wasn't THAT bad because I made a lot of progress today with one of my kids despite not feeling very good..
And Q surprised me by coming over last night to spend time just sitting around and keeping the crummy me company.
I have the best bf ever.
Going to shower and curl up in bed and feel sorry for myself for a bit mostly due to the very stupid driving incident :(

MMF

This week has suddenly become really relaxed because one of my kids is down with Hand-Foot-Mouth.
I tried to take the time to nap but got a little distracted by the internet.
Look what I found!
Balenciaga Mini Mini Firsts!
They are made in celebration of 10 years of the motorcycle bag.
SO CUTE.
They aren't as tiny as I first thought they would be though..
But tiny enough to not be able to fit anything except maybe your chapstick in.
So useless but so cute!
(Images found via Google Images.)

1 hour wait.

So today, I woke up at 7am to get to church by 8am..
All this trouble just so Leah and I can get to a sale at Suntec City at 11.
Found out that service started at 8.30am instead!
But that was good because I hate being late and was actually quite upset that I told Leah to be ready by 7.40 and I still had to chase her to hurry up at 7.50am.
Cutting it super close.

We got to the sale,
Stood in the queue for an hour,
The ENTIRE time I was just thinking about sleeping.
Finally got in...
AND IT WAS WORTH IT.
I bought a Balenciaga Town in black.
My very first splurge since starting work :)
I am very pleased.
Now it's time to go to bed and get ready to resume life as per normal after a very exciting day.

I am so thankful for the weekend.
This has been a really difficult week at work
but very very fruitful nonetheless.
I think this is actually my very first super full week at work!
Even though I always say I have a busy week ahead, something will come up and I will lose a session or two making it less busy.
But this week was FULL ON,
PLUS extra some more.
I am very proud of myself for surviving.

This week was especially busy because the kids were starting the new semester and a couple of my kids are transitioning to new environments..
so I had to shadow one of them to class because she screamed and refused to go into her new class the last semester, and her mom was really anxious about this new transition.
I have learnt a few lessons this week.
1. Morning traffic makes me very grumpy.
2. Stickers are very very powerful tools even if they are not real stickers but made from computer printouts and double-sided tape.
3. Kids will do ANYTHING for a sweet. Even autistic kids who seem to always be in their own world. Once the sweet appears, so does the angel in them.
4. When a child starts school, prepare for a battle but act like nothing is out of the ordinary and the child will be fine.
5. I am now very immune to tantrums and crying. Seriously.

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of the Great Singapore Sale!!
I haven't even gone shopping!!!!!
WHAT HAPPENED!
I am struggling to decide if I should dedicate tomorrow to digging through the remnants of the sale or bum again.
I really feel like I need a break after the long week but I want to do some shopping too...
I shall not be lazy I guess.
I also need to stock up on more gummy bears.
It's going to be another long week ahead.

I survived my first day of this busy week!
Waking up at 7am is no joke.
I had to gently peel my body off my bed and drag it into the shower.
And work was quite good!
Not as tiring as I thought it would be.

I had a really horrible week last week so I'm hoping this week would be better.
It's good I'm quite packed this week so I really don't have time to mope around and feel upset about things too much.
And technically it can't be worse because last week was really the worst.
But it just might.
Fingers crossed!

I feel like I didn't sleep the entire night,
Had so many encounters with really horrible drivers
The merciless sun is making the day as hot as hell (like really)
I have a really sore throat
I haven't had anything solid to eat yet,
but that's partially because I really don't feel like eating anyway.
But I'm glad it's the end of the week.
There is a chance cell will be cancelled tomorrow.
I hope it will.
I really want to lie in bed and stay there the entire day.

16

We ate too much Palak Paneer.
The thing your mom says about veges bringing colour to your face...
it's true.

Holiday Envy

I came home in between my sessions today and saw Lydia and YS slouched on the couch watching tv and I was SO envious :(
I also want!
But I'm thankful I still have a couple of days in the week where I can sleep in a little longer.
These days are SOOO precious.
I will never be able to adapt to a 9-5 job.
Because I'm such a pig.
I need a couple of days a week to roll about in bed till the sun shines brightly on my butt.
I've been trying to reshuffle my sessions here and there to accommodate extra session requests from one of my clients as well as a new client I'm taking for the time being..
Anyone willing to work?
I seriously need help!!
I should stop complaining that I'm so busy at work because after I do, My schedule becomes even more packed.
But after a hard day at work,
it's great to just lounge on the couch and watch tv,
knowing that you have worked hard the entire day and deserve this :)

quick update

Here is a quick update about all the things Q and I have been doing..1. Popin' Cookin' Sushi Gummies
It's this really cute little gummy DIY kit that I got off the web
It looks much easier on YouTube than it really is.
But it's still a whole lot of fun :)
2. Eating
We eat out so much these days my monthly budget for food has increased.
And probably because Q has started working, we go to more up-class places for food.
I'm not complaining!
The food always look so awesome and pretty..
Like the apple pie we had last Sunday.
Even with my poor photography skills, it looks like I stole the photo off some website.
3. Cooking
Today, we made Key Lime Pie!
Mostly because Q said he felt like eating it, and I'm such a nice girlfriend ;P
4. Facetime!
Q just got his new iPad 2 despite my incessant complaining.
But I guess the poor boy needs some way to use all those apps he bought for his iPhone..
which by the way is no longer in use due to his job.

Movie Night FAIL.

When I saw the advert for Something Borrowed,
I thought to myself: YAY! finally, a rom-com that looks fun.
After actually catching it in the cinema,
I am SUPER thankful that Q is not a single bit ang moh.
Their value system seems to be absolutely messed up.
I left the cinema feeling totally and utterly disgusted.
I might be 'old-fashioned' in my thinking but the alternative flushes all hope for love down the darkest dirtiest sewage system with a thousand fat squeaky lizards.
YUCK.
No, producers of Something Borrowed,
this is not considered a happy ending.

Quiet nights of quiet stars

I think it is well established that I enjoy quiet nights a little more than nights out..
My ideal evening is when food is being bought/ordered in so I don't have to leave the house,
I've showered and am clean
and lounging on the couch in comfy home clothes with Q,
watching a movie and eating dinner.
but somehow, I never seem to get a week where I have a good amount of time at home.
I've somehow managed to arrange dinners and activities such that I don't have a single day where I would just stay at home and bum after work.
I don't know if it is because it's actually my nature to be out and about and social...
Or I'm just very confused.
Oh well..
at least I get to sleep in tomorrow..
which is why I'm up at 12.18am.
And my weekend looks more promisingly quiet than the previous one! :)

Stuffed Saturday

It was perfect sleep in morning this Saturday but Q decided that wasn't going to happen :(
He (sort of) dragged me out of bed for dim sum at redstar.
We have been wanting to go for the longest time so I guess he got tired of saying 'next time we will go there.'
I think because he has started working, his weekends become the only time he can fulfill most of his plans..
So our weekends have become a little more packed with activity
Which is good I guess seeing that if it was left to me we would pretty much just slouch on the couch and do nothing forever and ever.
So this is me convincing myself that getting out of bed for dim sum despite the rain was a good idea in the end:
Because of the rain, the line wasn't THAT long.
and because of the rain, our brunch plans became more like lunch plans
and we some how arrived at the right time
which was when the breakfast and brunch people were leaving
so we didn't have to wait very long for a table.
We had the chance to meet and eat the largest pao in the entire world
It was so huge the lady took a pair of scissors and cut it into SIX pieces
and even then, each piece was like a 大包 (Big pao) on it's own.
And a whole lot of other things as well.
After stuffing our tummies with A LOT of pao
we parted ways to go to church for the usual church events.
then we met again and had McFloats!
just because it was ONE-FOR-ONE.
See how we fall into these traps?
The floats were kinda a mistake because we were still SO SUPER FULL from brunch/lunch
So that made us even fuller
and then in the evening we had a huge dinner in celebration of his grandma's birthday.
I was full after the appetizers.
seriously too much food.
I am as stuffed as a human can get now
I'm quite sure the amount of food I ate today could easily have fed another person.
the HUGE PAO alone could have fed another person.
I'm not kidding.

If I find you there,
hiding in my dreams tonight,
will you come to me?

(Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson)

Sloth

I had a very relaxing day today..
I only had 3 hours of work,
I slept most of the morning away (a total of about 15 hours from the night before),
Met Q after work for dinner,
then walked around getting presents for people and doing a bit of shopping.

I wish every day was like that..
but tomorrow I pay the price for slacking off
having three full sessions from 9am till 5.30pm.
But I still get to see Q at the end of the busy day..
Still sounds awesome to me :)

Captured Heart

I'm back from my long weekend!
I want to say I had an awesome time relaxing but I actually feel quite tired.
I had a long nap this afternoon and many short ones after that
but I still feel like I could sleep for a very long time.
But truly thank God for His pampering and love and grace toward me.
He has cancelled one of my sessions tomorrow so I start work only at 3.30pm.
WHEE!
I shall have a nice lazy morning.
A nice cup of honey lemon tea for breakfast then maybe make pizza for lunch.

After over eating for the past 4 days, I think my body is on a tiny strike.
It feels full after a couple of bites and I kinda have to force myself to eat a little more so that I don't get too hungry later.
It still craves for sweet items and cakes though...
So I will be consuming much of those in the days to come.
Hopefully I won't balloon too much :P

Still, a really awesome break.
Just being away from work for a while helps.
I'm looking forward to Bali in September,
And Taiwan at the end of the year with Q :)
It's going to be an awesome second half of the year.
Work's going to be busy and busier,
But life's going to get better and better.
I just know it :)

THE WEEKEND IS HEE EAR!

It's the long weekend I have been awaiting for :D
YAY!
I'm going to try not to think about the increase in working hours I will have to face once I get back from my short break.
I've been blessed with 5 days of rest and I will take every minute I've got.
I'm grinning like a silly goon while blasting some Michael Buble pretending he is singing these love songs to me.. heehee..
I'm quite disappointed that none of my tv shows seem to be airing.
but I have a couple of movies that I still have yet to watch so all's good and peachy.
I also have a little chick lit book I pinched from my sister's chick lit bookshelf
and a trashy gossip magazine I bought yesterday
So I'm well equipped to last a whole weekend on my own :)

So I thought my schedule couldn't get busier but it's about to.
Not that I can't prevent it from getting busier
but it's for a greater good.
And I am kinda looking forward to it :)

I am also looking forward to a long break next week :)
It's the June holidays!
I'm only going to be getting about a week off the whole June but it's good enough for me.
4 days to the long long LONG weekend :)

Yesterday was a very spit-filled day at work.
both my kids were crying a whole lot and drooling buckets..
like LITERALLY.
and I have one head banging kid so drool plus swinging head is not exactly a very good combination.
I woke up feeling a little blah
and by the end of work I wanted to crawl into a hole and just stay there.
So after having some well earned lunch at about 5.30,
I took a relatively long hot shower and went right to bed.
I was asleep by 7.
I woke up at about 1.30am and felt slightly better.
But there was a lizard at my window making a whole lot of noise.
So I crawled out of bed and hit the window a couple of times
then went back into bed.
watched a couple of tv shows then went back to sleep, all the way till 8 in the morning.
I feel a little lethargic but that's probably because I slept so much
I can't believe it's only Wednesday!
I have dinner appointments the rest of the week..
not that I dislike meeting up with friends
but I always make bad decisions and somehow manage to have all the meetings on the same week.
I'm quite a homebody so I need time at home.
this weekend, I am going to stay at home as much as I can.
It's going to be 'no' to all shopping and chilling out.
just for this week.

Messed up.

I've been having a whole bunch of really ridiculous and upsetting dreams lately :(
I hope it stops because it really affects my mood for the next couple of days or so.
I know it's just a dream and all
but somehow that fact doesn't really make a very big difference to the way I feel.
You know how they say dreams are a reflection of what goes on in your unconscious mind?
If that's true, I'm really quite messed up inside.

Blessing List

This week, I feel a little worn out and a little upset that I didn't have my usual Slack Saturday.
And not only had more than half my Saturday been stolen, Q has a meeting after church tmw so our usual Sunday together routine has been disrupted :(
So I am going to do a little blessing count to make me feel a little more optimistic about the week.

So here goes:
1. convincing my parents to change the sofa :)

2. A public holiday on Tuesday
3. Free night's stay at a hotel on Vesak Day
4. Spending the whole day with Q on Tuesday :D
5. Getting a slight tan
6. Janelle getting promoted to nursery
7. Surviving a really difficult day at work on Thursday
8. Britanni winning ANTM :)

I guess it wasn't so bad after all :)

Resorts world

Went for a short staycation as they call it..
XY managed to score us a hotel room for free in Festive Hotel in Resorts world Sentosa,
Which allowed us to enjoy Vesak day to the fullest :)
We not only got a free one night's stay at the hotel!
We also were given free passes for the monorail from vivocity to Sentosa,
$250 cash vouchers to use at various restaurants in RW,
and three tickets for complimentary parking in RW :)
awesome X awesome.

So early on Tuesday we headed down to Sentosa,
bummed at the beach till lunch,
got majorly burnt,
checked in,
had yummy Italian stone oven pizza for lunch paid for by amazing cash vouchers,
bummed some more at the hotel pool,
took the monorail to vivocity for dinner,
had amazing liu sha bao from Bosses for dinner (yum),
said goodbye to Q because he had to work early the next morning and couldn't stay over :(
went back to RW
was amazed by Candylicious which is HUGE,
managed to catch a glimpse of FIREWORKS :D
and then retired for the night with trashy shows on cable tv.

I would love to spend every Public holiday this way..
Minus the saying good bye to Q part..
but I guess it's inevitable.

In other news...

O Watch by Tokujin Yoshioka

So neat!
I want!

Boyfriend Plus.

This marks the end of the first week with both Q and I working.
I have to say that I never thought he would start work the week after his exams..
Like RIGHT AFTER.
talk about hardcore enthu.
But he's had a extremely good attitude towards his work
and he hasn't been complaining about the absence of a rest period after his exams.
CONGRATS Q! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU :)

It feels very different.
We end our days earlier because he has to wake up very early every morning..
Weekends are all the more precious to both of us
and it feels a little strange when I meet him for dinner and he's all decked out in smart work wear while I flop around in a tank top, shorts and flip flops (MY work wear).
Our working environments are SO different..
Even when I was with a company, I never wore pencil skirts and heels..
I could still wear tights and flip flops.
I don't think I'll ever have a pencil skirt-heels job.
Too painful and uncomfortable.

Anyway, it feels like we are in a totally new phase of our lives.
It's exciting and new but it also takes some getting used to.
But it's nice to both be earning our keep and no longer depending on our parents for our 'monthly salary'.
I guess I've been in this phase for more than a year already.
But it just feels different to have Q be in the same position..
Although he hasn't actually got pay YET :P
AND now that he has moved from 'student' to 'working adult', I feel like I've gotten a boyfriend upgrade.
Not that he wasn't already awesome enough before ;D

Grey

Q and I went to Ikea today for dinner and walked around the store after dinner (how can you not) .
And I pointed out that grey was an awesome colour for a sofa although Q said a warmer colour would be better.
But I have this sudden obsession with the white-grey combination.
Although white is probably the worst colour to have because it stains and discolours so easily..
And especially if you are talking about furniture since you keep that item for years on average..
And it's probably ten times worse if you have kids.
But I love the heather grey and white combo.
I think it has a neat and clean feel to it...

via Design Milk

ok.. I guess there isn't that much in this room in the first place..
but still.

Elections 2011

Tomorrow is going to be quite an eventful day for Singapore..
PAP is FINALLY being contested to a significant extent..
And the contest is quite good this time :)
I'm really excited to see the outcome of it all..

My dad keeps going on and on about how I am forgetting who brought us this far...
Something about killing the chicken who laid the golden eggs...
He even told his whole cell group that I am for the opposition party and that I am forgetting my forefathers or something to that extent..
A lot of 'HOW can she even do this'
Like I have forsaken my family and rebelled against all my principles.
Intense ttm.
Q and I joke about it a lot because it really is very funny how my vote is suppose to be my personal choice and a secret..
But I'm being chastised for even considering the opposition
My dad assumed I'm for the opposition just because I told him he has to look at both sides and not just base his decision on what was 20 years ago.
Somehow I think my dad's attitude and actions have increased my bias against the PAP.
Both our parents are definitely pro PAP.
Q's mom told me to forgive balakrishnan for busting the budget for YOG and just vote for them.
hahaha..

I'm not that sure.
I agree Singapore is pretty awesome compared to her neighbours.
I agree we are a really great country and our leaders have done well.
But I really don't like that I will be stuck with a housing loan for the next 35 years or so from just buying an HDB...
Maybe my children will have to continue to pay my loan after I die if I even try to afford a condo.
I don't like that money is spent to produce a song that is remembered for a lame 'oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah, HEY!'
While that same amount could have helped children with learning disabilities such as Autism.
I guess one very good thing about the PAP is that because they don't help children with learning disabilities enough, I have this awesome job.
Exciting times ;)

nightmares

Sometimes I do the the most irrational thing like allow a stupid nightmare spoil my entire day.
Last night I had the most horrible nightmare ever
I was quite tired the entire day because I woke up at 5am this morning due to the nightmare and didn't really fall back to sleep.
Lay down in the afternoon but didn't really want to nap because I was scared a similar nightmare might occur
finally fell asleep for a bit because I was really too tired.
I told Q about the dream and he tells me it isn't real.
I know.
But it felt so real
and I can't seem to get it out of my head :(
It just keeps playing in my mind like a horrible memory.
I'm still a little scared of closing my eyes.

I have a hotdog craving.

It's the weekend again!
I feel so accomplished today.
After work and after family duties, I washed the car with Leah.
I love how it is not super nice and clean :)
Spent some time staring at her new hamster..
Her bf and her decided they needed a 'child'.. hee hee..
I tried hinting to Q that we should get a cat but he's very good at pretending he doesn't get it. RAH.
The hamster is the cutest thing though...
Always loved how tiny their paws were.
After that I finished my paperwork and my income tax filing (which I have been procrastinating for the longest time).
And then I looked for materials for my kids and now I'm ready to shower and pack my bag for a House Season 6 marathon at Q's and a little sleepover :)
This week's looking pretty good.
It's another long weekend too!
How awesome.

Tension is building because of the upcoming elections though...
My dad is a SUPER PAP supporter.
And so he thinks there is no reason to support the opposition.
But I differ a little on this.
So there was a slight debate in the car on the way home just now..
and things are a little tense now.
But I really see no need in arguing.
You vote for whoever you think represents you and I vote for whoever I think represents my views.
We don't have to agree to get along.
I just hope this election changes something.

I'MM Home

Today Q and I made a trip down to IMM.
IT IS HUGE.
And it had almost everything.
The Daiso there is seriously quite the giant
And the best part about the trip is finding spelling mistakes :)
It is our pass time.
We found bannana and was contemplating on whether or not to tell the salesgirl when she came to ask if we needed help..
but she was so grumpy so we felt a little scared..
But the winner of the MONTH is..........Audley Hepburn!
ON A PEN.

Got copyright sign all. wow.

We stopped for dinner at Cafe Cartel and (I have to say this.) despite my warnings, Q decided that we can both finish a plate of ribs EACH.

PLEASE LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT.
I am very sure it is bigger than my FACE.
and on top of that, we had takopachi before going for dinner (because we walked past the store and I couldn't help but give in to the temptation).
You can be sure Q's smiling face was no more after dinner.
We were both just SUPER stuffed.
I am still feeling a bit sick from eating all that meat.
I don't think I can touch pork for the next week.

atas dinner and pizza night

Last night we had dinner at Kuriya to celebrate Q's brother's birthday..
Their food was not that fantastic in my opinion..
but the presentation was quite something.
I had the cheese fondue thing which I didn't really like because it was strange miso cheese that was a little too cheesy for my liking..
Mozzarella would have been awesome :P



but the most amazing thing about the whole experience wasn't the food, or the service, or the environment...
It was the HEATED TOILET BOWL SEATS.
Everyone took turns to go test it out
They should have it in every toilet in temperate countries!
I remember braving it in Australia during the winter and boy was that painful.
Literally freezing my butt off.

Tonight, I stayed home and made pizza!
While aiming to satisfy my mozzarella craving, I MIGHT have overdid it.. hahaha..

Original

Puff crust

I made vegetarian friendly cheese and spinach pizza in both original and puff crust versions.
I overdid the cheese on the original version :P
I emptied a whole bag of mozzarella onto it. oops..
The cheese was as thick as the crust and all you really could see was cheese.
NICE :D

xy the (not-so-pro) pizza slicer

good thing I had leah and xy to share them with if not I would have been ultra stuffed.
It was super easy and fun to do!
especially the puff crust version.
So going to do this again :)