the Sizzling Summer HEAT ......

summer has started....and being texas..its naturally hot..

the swimming pool at the clubhouse is packed like sardines with kids and parents soaking their skins in the water...

the pool is already pathetically small...and now..theres hardly space to move ya body 360 degrees...so I gave up trying to swim...

and of course americans love the sun...so many will be seen basking in the sun...till they are red like lobsters...darn..and some of them actually look cute with freckles on their reddish skins...

of course..i would gladly trade my pimples for freckles too...(tats what i would say for now!)

and my dear bitch at home is getting cranky because of the bad weather...

so wats the best solution... LIVE like a Queen....

with pumped up cushion and a blasting fan for her...hopefully shes feeling better...at least cooler...

Upcoming events...

Guess what...June will be an fun cum activity filled month ...going to Florida with my good friends YR & G ..hoo woo..haven seen anybody frm Sing for a while...I desperatley need my dosage of updates...girly gossips...and hanging around with my frens ..

rest a bit and head for DC and NYC for a week with KM and Linda
getting really excited about the trips...

having holidays are fun.. and supposed to be relaxing too..
but having to plan is miles away from the word FUN!!!!

now I know, I cant be a travel agent( not much of a revelation though)
I hate...detest....PLANNING...
oh yes.. pls dun remind me of the quote: "if you fail to plan...you plan to fail..."
sometimes, being spontaneous adds more thrills and life into the PLAN....
but then again....there must be a backup plan.. just for all the IN CASEs and the WHAT IFs...

what else do we have to plan in life? Plan to study in which school?? Plan to go on which career path? Plan to get married and have kids? Plan your retirement??
Sigh.. lifes all about planning but there are some many unknowns out there that are beyond planning...
so if thats the case...perhaps not planning is not a bad idea after all.......
just kidding.... will still go and plan.. yes.....

Grapevine Main Street

Just a passing train



I Love US Army!!!




woo... the sweetest tea party place for girly girlfriends



the setting sun is my fav time of the day


as spring has kicked in...(oh gosh!! It feels like its burning hot summer already..)
outdoor festivals and carnivals are everywhere..


went to Grapvine historic site again...similar carnival stuff...
well KM and I were more glued to those antique shops/ unique speaciality shops lined by the sides...

both of us got ourselves a pair of sweet earnings from a nice little shop...
theres also a nice bakery and a brewery...which has jamming at nights too....

oh yes... yes... theres this simply sweet party venue where you can enjoy girly tea-times with ya ger frens.. totally sweet and tastefully done up....anybody's birthday coming up??
and of course... i found my tea pot and matching tea cups already...couldnt wait to use them the very day I bought them...
Tea anybody??

The perfect sweet ger....by the window

How many times have you awed over pictures of pretty children in photographs?

They just look so innocent, sweet little things..untarnished by the world's evils, untainted by the world's stress and troubles..

passed by this shop with this cute picture of a little ger...awe.....so sweet!!!! Thats my very first comment....

How I wished my baby/toddler photograph was somewhere similar to this...hmm...maybe now I can only wish if I will ever have a kid as pretty as this cutie....

reTreated to a Texan Road Trip

Pretty creations of God's... spring is my season!!

the waterwall in Houson....

Gulf of Mexico

seagulls can get a little noisy....

un-smily jason

one of the walking trails of galveston island park...

the flowers of a cactus!!

was on a road trip in texas for the past 3 days.

Texas is really huge..seems like it takes forever to get to the other side of the border.

What is often depicted in Hollywood movies are found in the Big Bend County..which is freaking far frm where I am.. sigh... its really the cowboy-ish..desert type of Texan life...

so..in short..PY, Jason and me..of course didnt have the time and the energy to go there... though we somehw believe that we eventually will do that someday.

And so, we stopped at Waco, a small little town, before heading to Houston.

visited this traditional village where they have their own mill, herb garden, pottery workshop, blacksmith etc...kinda self-sufficient on their own..since they grow their own flowers/ veggies, make their own flour, etc...lifes simple and peaceful to the locals there..yet in the eyes of the outsiders they would view it as boring and un-meaningful...

Houston, like any other typical city..is very city-like. skyscrapers in downtown, hectic transport and traffic along the roads, freeways sprouting from all corners of the city, its just like Sing too...

visited a Chinese restuarant "Fung's Kitchen".. apparently its quite famous as one is welcomed by the numerous certificates/awards hanging on the wall when you step into the place. And theres a foto of Yan..our famous "Yan Can Cook" chap had been there too...

The last stop was Galveston, a city by the Gulf of Mexico. Woo hoo... the smell of the salty sea breeze just excites us... think its the highlight of the trip...for me and PY at least...

think its been a long while I indulged in sea breezes, breathed in gasps of salty air, hear the waves crashing on the rock/boulders, walking by the beaches...and of course looking up into the sky filled with hungry flocks of seagulls and pelicans....

Naturally, we shared a famliy suite by the beach and feasted on good seafood for the next 2 days. Shrimps, scallops, crawfish, freshly caught seafood...deep fried, grilled, as cold appettizer..we just couldnt stop laying our hands on food...

on our way back, we met with a minor car accident as we were hit by another car. Our rental car was dented on the sides, and i recieved 2 bumps on my head and a slightly bruised right eye. What shocked me the most was..I could not even recall what happened just before the hit!! I was knocked out and when I came to conciousness..which was a few seconds later, i just felt pain on my body.....thank God everyone wasnt badly injuried...

sigh....what an unpleasant way to end the trip..... Now..we have to worry about the bills and charges...Oh God...please...hope its not a hefty sum...

VS trip........Vancouver-Seattle

Vancouver Aquarium!! I love star fishesZ!!!!




Frosty mountains of V.



The weather is dam freakish! It can b sunny and then snowing the next mmt.




The view up frm Stanley Park in V.





Crossing the border of USA and Canada. MissIng the JB-Sing border.




Fresh seafood at CrabPot in Seattle. Trust me! I Hate sMElly seafood!!

I def need a starbucks bear frm the 1st Starbucks of the world!! and coffee to go!!

Hi guys....

am just back frm my Seattle and Vancouver trip. was busy with unpacking my luaggage and giving out stuff to nice friends whom helped us in many little ways to make the trip a worry-free one...

okies...weather was pretty bad in both areas...gosh tot it was suppose to be spring already...wats with the hail/snow and chilly winds still !!! Global warming!!!

pretty much gorged on freshly caught seafood frm the coast...gluped down tons of caffine..of course the coffe culture started frm the 1st starbucks in seattle..just had to grab a honey latte and walk through Pikes Market. Yes, Ru had warned me.." Seattle nothing much!!!"

I pretty much agree, but its really nice to live by sea, have huge mountains lining the horizon(not hills)..and of course fresh seafood anywhere u go... (pls minus the sucky rainy weather)

Vancouver was really interesting. The Canadians are all stick-thin creatures, with dam gd complexion! I wanna migrate!!!! They are quite cosmo, given tat I spotted a mosque, a temple and churches all within a mile frm each other...their downtown is quite hetic, driving through the streets are just as bad as New York. Finding parking lots on a rainy/snowing day is a killer...sigh..and gas is dam ex here....

Enjoyed the Vancouver aquarium there...very unqiue corals and sea creatures found from the nearby islands off vancouver island. Maybe its a hint that Im itching for SCUBA- DIVING!!!

Gonna plan a road trip with some frens... hopefully Jason will be able to join us on this road trip around Texas....no hiccups...no accidents..no break-ins....I pray....

Douch's Day Out.....

shaggy dog


sniff each other ass..wat does it smell like?


huge!

Hush Puppies!!!

I love this beagle!!

dog-dog interaction...man-man gossiping

went to Dog's park at White Rock Lake with Jacky and some friends.

Still pretty amazed by how the Americans can cater to pet lovers and their pets..the pet shops are humongous here, pet hospitals and pet shops are plentiful here and everywhere u go, you will practically meet a dog/ cat/ any other funny pet.... A pet here is just like another member of the family....cool....

so it was pretty nice..adults chilling out (nt exactly given that theres hardly a place to sit and chill) while the doggies were sniffing out each other's asses....sniff sniff.. wat a way to communicate and check each other out.

ts a dog friendly park whereby dogs can run freely ( some wildly like siao kaos though) and play with each other on the grass/ muddy ground...

If you are a single guy, with a cute dog like Eddie...u will definitely benefit as numerous gers (sorry young children though) have come up to him exclaiming hw cute Jacky the young retriever pup was... nw we know why he bought the pup... naughty....hidden agenda

I can smell SPRING!!!!!

easter presents !!!

the king and the queen....

getting bored..so decided to make ourselves some easter presents...

the results.... a pair of nutcracker for the mantle piece...

looking at how flimsy they are..doubt they can be used for cracking open nuts...including peanuts!!!

Happy EasteR SundaY!!!!

cosy little nest in a corner of the balcony...



the corner allocated for the mum and her babies...


hee...was a good girl today..dragged Ed and attended church with Sam and KM..
a nice and welcome feeling after singing songs to worship the LOrd and acknowledge that he indeed has risen from the dead.....

went to KM's house yesterday to rot before a BBQ dinner function,, guess wat I found at her house??
A mother bird nestling her little eggs at her balcony....must hath been too cold out there..
wondering hw many little birdies will there be??

I miss Cadbury Mini eggs..those colorful eggs with milk choco in them...yummy!!! Easter Sale here I come.....

Maureen's Farewell....bye bye....muacks!!!!

outside the Piano Bar

one of the many bachelorettes that night

Hot Renee grooving....

the 2 pianists...they dun need any scores at all!

hot babes...

Opps...KM having a wild time.....hussh....

Maureen left for Singapore just this morning at 7am. was there wif Patty and Oct to see her and Ben off. Thinking back of the 6 mths that I was here, she has been truly nice and always around for me.

Starting to miss the times we hung out at malls (tats like everyday), go for lattes, go Barnes and Nobles to grab mags and books, how we have to burn fats together at the gym (pls she hardly has fats to begin with), how we gather at each others house to bake or do scrapbooking....

Im pretty thankful for all the nice people I have met over here...grateful that theres somebody always there to help me, accompany me...and truly blessed by all the goodness and kindess of the friendships that have slowly bulit with time.

Though I know after we return back slowly one by one, it will be really hard to meet up back in Singapore as we used to over here. All of us will be living far away, pre-occupied with babiesw, work and family.....

Deep down in my heart I still thank God for all the nice friends he has placed in my life at different stages of my life...

As Renee's farewell, we went to Piano Bar at Addison last Sat Night. Its really cool, perhaps because of the carefree and daring culture over here. The concept is rather similar to Wa La Wa La in HV, but the audience here is more fun-loving. The night we were there, the whole place was packed with brides-to-be having their HENs night, mothers having their birthday celebrations etc.. Cant imagine what it will be like to go clubbing or hanging out at the bar with my mum/ dad...

The audience wld just raise hands and sway ....jump up onto the stage and shake, sing along loudly and sabotage each other...to the american / 80s songs played by the 2 pianists on stage...

I simply LOVE this place man... think its so Aileen too!!!

2nd day of full day Snowing....

In front of my apartment

strolling in e snow....



my backyard




isnt it obvious enough?

Its Snowing in Texas!!!!

the poor boh-tak tree outside my house...cold cold



of course, dont be sillie..its nt my car...my neighbour's snow-capped car



the grass in my backyard is covered with soft snow!



Douch hates the snow and the camy too! So unfriendly!!!


Oh yes..finally before I leave...I saw snow in Texas.!!! whoo hoo...its pretty amazing and unbelievable to many pple that there will be snow in texas, given that it is known for steak and cowboys and hot weathers...

well well..though its hotter here as compared to west coast like seattle or LA or even up north like New York, we do get some cold fronts here and when its cold , with those howling winds that send chills down your spines and start you cursing because your old bones are aching....it can get pretty cold here too....just when I was about to start packing away my coats, jackets and boots and bring in all my nice comfy spring wear 2008... hee hee...the weather turned cold suddenly last night...

went to gym with Renee, crawling on the streets as it was really dark and there was already slight hail/snow/flurry..wat ever the hell it was....pretty cool driving under a dark night with falling flaky snow (like our ice-kachang type of icee..)

while we were eating dinner at home, the snow became heavier..and grew to an inch thick...woo hoo....Im glad the snow came and went the next day...at least I enjoyed the snow...minus the shovelling or the dirty pathways ...hee hee