PeArfectly Inn Love *

the Sizzling Summer HEAT ......

2008-06-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-05-19T23:26:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-19T23:04:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

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.....

2008-03-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!

2008-03-23T23:05:00.001-07:00

easter presents !!!

2008-03-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2008-03-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2008-03-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-03-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

In front of my apartment

strolling in e snow....

my backyard

isnt it obvious enough?

Its Snowing in Texas!!!!

2008-03-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

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

Der Mockingbird Elementary School

2008-03-04T21:23:00.000-08:00

The 3 Goody friends

Way to Go Cal.....

Not SIngapore Gal but John F Kennedey's wife

The lady who designed USA national flag...girl power!!

The man behind all the yummy hotdogs and ham loved by Americans

cute Washington!!!

attended Denzer and his sister's elementary school function a few nights ago...feeling so excited and happy that it has been a while since I set foot into a school...kinda miss all the kids, my kahkis-friends and the hectic lifestyle...human beings are so weird...

it was a nice invitation to their 2nd grade project, whereby the kids choose a famous American whom they like, dress up like them, do up a poster and memorize a little speech on the character whom they are portraying. Guests, parents and friends were invited on that fateful night to go and view/ listen to these cute innocent exhibits , allowing one to learn more abt American history, the famous/ or even those forgotten characters whom once made an impact in someone else's life or left a footprint in USA history....

the 2nd graders were positioned all around the school campus, dressed up, with even unbelivable props....they all had posters and name tags introducing who they were. Each had a little color sticker symbolizing the "START" button for you to press and get their famous speech on their character rolling.

It goes something like this: : Hello! I am George Washington. I was born in....and I died on..." . When I was young.....as I grew older..... I am a famous American because of...."

I truly think that it was a very good opportunity for kids to build up on their self-confidence, brush up on their knowledge of USA history and the famous people of this land, create opportunities for parent and child to work together to pull off the project. I must really agree that the parents here are more supportive and sporting. They really go all out when they do the costumes, (even if some rented... how many parents would borther to go through so much effort??), help with the posters, and even take time to support their kids on presentation night and walk around to listen to the little speeches of other kids....

Tks to Cyn and Sue for their invitation.. makes me miss kids and school so much...

Happy Bird DAy!!!!!!

2008-02-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

the cake became heart-shaped cookies the next day!!

my first handmade fugly cake

Happy Bird Day Ed!!!!

Last year Ed did not celebrate his birthday because all his friends forgot abt it..Im sure he must have been terribly upset but he pretended it was just any other day....

this year..I hoped to make it up for him....bought him presents..(of course...how can you celebrate without presents..hmm..time to think wat i want for my bithday though its still many months away!!)

went to Mortons for dinner the day before his bird day...OMG... the first time I have like a full course dinner...huge bread roll, starters, main entree with a side and lastly their signature legendary choc molten lava cake..

our stomachs almost split man......and definitely... we had to "To-Go" ....its way over cue...

I baked him a choc cake ...and had a terrible time doing the words with icing...Gosh..dun think I can be a baker...thats a totally impossible career for me....tks to Renee who popped by and helped with the squrimy words...muacks!!!

sadly....i forgt abt the cake and left it too long in the oven... so they became heart shaped choc cookies eventually...

hmm....can give me another chance in baking?? though I must admit Im nt talented...at least Im creative and hard working enough to keep trying right?? (like real !!!)

New Found Friend......

2008-02-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Jacky.. with Douch's fav PINK slipper..

Douch is so not not....shy...taking the intitative..

Okies.. lets kiss before U go .....

Eddie bought his golden retriever pup finally... after numerous trips to Petland, Pet Co and etc... after much internet reading up..he decided on this cute Jacky..(named by his wife :) )

golden retrievers are very family and gentle dogs...with the nice coat of thick golden fur...reminds me so much of sunshine and golden cornflakes...

Jacky is just 7 plus weeks old...boy hes already heavier than Douch and likes to sleep alot..I guess all babies have the same characteristics....

Douch was a little scared of her new found friend initially...I guess hes bigger, heavier and more hyper than her...hope the 2 friends will learn to get along well....

MC....

2008-02-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

Ed was sick for the last weekend....apparently it seems like theres this mega super strong flu virus spreading around..so its his turn to rest and relax...

poor me...of course naturally I became the MEE- Si.....sigh ....

wat I really liked was the cute MC letter the doctor gave him... though its not professional looking enough, who cares right?? Hmm...can the Sing doctors start doing up cute MC letters or excuse absence forms too??

P.S. I LOVE U (all) !!!!!

2008-02-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

caught the movie "P.S. I love you" recently on the theatre...
really touching how Hillary Swank's husband knew the grief she will go through after his death and tried to lessen her grief through a series of letters which were posted to her slowly and even planning a trip for her and her close friends...

suddenly felt sad what will happen if somebody I cherish and love or even my naughty yet lovable dog dies right now?? Am I able to survive through? Will I be able see the sunshine after the rain and continue to believe that God has his reasons for doing so....and that he will see us through??

feeling down now after reading a friend's blog on her downs in life that shes experiencing....it hurts badly that shes hurting inside but she still maintains a strong front!!! it saddens me when I know that I cant be there and even Im there, theres really nothing I can do for her at all to lessen her pain and let her believe in LoVe again!!!

One of my very very old buddy is also feeling down and out ....at work too.. sigh.. its really depressing ...I hope Hui will find the rainbow after the rain fast enough and be her happy self once again!!!

I pray for my good ger friend that God will see her through all these and show her all the goodness he has already planned for her.... its just not time yet.

lastly, another close friend of mine will be leaving me... ( I hope its not for good... but it seems to be so.....) Im really glad tat she found love, found her Prince Charming and believe in love once again despite all the heartaches and breakups before all these... though its hard to let her go...I give her my blessings and believe tat thats what she really wants in life.....

to all my friends and my family members...though I hardly or even never said it before, I truly love all of you....miss all of U and pray that all of u are happy and healthy!! It makes me upset when U get upset, makes me worried and sick when U all fall sick......

P.S. I love U all.....

I am SiCK!!!!!

2008-02-14T00:43:00.000-08:00

yucky medication... faint!!!!

dam it... it costs US$379.49 for a box....unbelievable!!!

wat the helll..... after my general full body check up a few weeks back... the results came back and the doctor diagnosed me with... BACTERIA in my stomach... darn... perhaps tats y Im getting fat...

It must be the works of this bacteria... (I pray and hope and cross my heart)...
and so sick= must eat medicine= spend $$$$$... i really hate to visit doctors and eat medication...
rem those days back home.... I will stubornly buy packs of self-medication and play Doctor Huang for the time being....

Dun u think its really silly to visit a doctor..u usually wait ages at the clinics... and when its your turn to go in..the doctor asks you " whats wrong with U?"
darn... I pay the consultation fee to tell the doctor if I have a fever or sore throat.....
I can be a doctor too....(i mean the simple general illness....okies... its ok if u beg to defer!!)

and so...with the prescription frm the doctor...I have to go Target or Walmart pharmacy and purchase my own medication.. its so different from singapore whereby the nurse will dispense medicine within minutes the mmt u step out of e doc's room...

my jaws almst dropped and I thot i had hearing problems when e pharmasist said tat my box of 2 week long medication was a whopping US$379.49
tats totally extortion and daylight robbery man!!

Im really grateful, for once, tat the govt had all of us covered for health insurance, thus the bill came up to cheap cheap US$10....

Morale of story: If you are poor here..Please dun fall sick or you will be broke...!!!!

Chinese New Year....

2008-02-14T00:17:00.000-08:00

de beauties and babies.....

eat and be merry!!!

tats my favourite BAbie..Octavius...Jap looking cutie!!! Lucky Pat!!!

Yupies... its still Lunar New Year since there are 15 days..so to all the china, plus chinese people who celebrate..Happy Chinese New yeaR...

this year has been kinda of boring.... no more receiving of red packets is one to start... (sadly, its a sign of maturation...sigh)

had a western version of reunion dinner... went to Lawry's for dinner with another 7 friends...
well I guess all the ladies decided to throw the aprons away and call it quits for tat day!!!

Dinner was ok, we had a spinning bowl salad.. ( seems fanciful but its not) just salad served spun in a metal container ontop of a big bowl of ice-cubes, and served with CHILLED forks..okies..must we be so particular tat forks had to be chilled for cold salads??

Entree was a dallas cut of steak done in medium rare...juicy and tender...
and dessert..(my all time sinful indulgence ) was lemon souffle pre-ordered 20 mins in advance...

Aileen had her fav. creme brulee...it was good as it was a sampler of 3 types...choc, hazlenut and and... rasberry

the 1st day, the whole troop went to boss house and then another major house to PAI NIAN and give red packets!!!!! of course, wats new year without GAMbling and getting blessed by the Propserity God...
the gambling den was up immediately after dinner..... hee..I won abit... literally abit (US$3)...
always no luck with blackjack... so win small is a good sign.......

On the 2nd day of the new year , we have an anniversary dinner cum new year dinner at a chinese resturant at CHinatown area...food wasnt tat great..shldnt expect much nor compare to Singapore Chinese restuarants..guess my taste buds are really fussy already!!!!

Over the weekend was sports day....we went bowling for 3 hrs... theres a special promotion..just US$15 for 3 hrs of play..quite worth it..given tat all of us went home with aching arms, wrisits etc...we went Hyatt hotel for drinks (tks to SAmuel..who won lots lots of $$$$$) and rounds of pool... lastly went for my golf lessons and brought Douch to e lake for socializing with other bitches too!!!!

Tats it... the end of another Chinese New Year....cheers... or rather YAMMMMM SENNNGGG!!!

American PIE....

2008-02-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

My berry own homemade PIE

hmm..bored...with a sudden sweet craving... I went to Target and got a bagful of baking stuff to sink my hands into baking something....

In my mind... I had the vision of those really nice cakes, tartlets or pastries that we drooled over in those nice Japanese cafes and bakeries in Fukuoka.... or those similar-ish hi-tea bits and bites from coffee clubs and etc... slurps....

its pretty easy to bake over here... in a way..USA made it an easy way out for people like me (baking beginners!!!)

theres shelves full of baking stuff... ranging from the ready made pie crusts to the pudding fillings to the whipped creams in the coolers... to even the frozen berries and stuff u need for pie stuffing... u name it and they will haf it here...

thus NO Pie will be too difficult to make.. (just a question of hw nice it will taste only)

hee..in then end...I settled for an almond, rasberry and strawberry pie....and brought it to the park for a picnic...

OMG... getting fat already.....

Life is all about Learning.............

2008-02-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

My new golf-ie set.....in girly purples and pink grips...

Okies.... sadly enough... I thought I will be more adventurous to try out teaching... or helping out with the ang mor kids at the schools here...but i was REJECTED!!!!!

Without a social security number ( similar to identification No.)... I am NOthing!!! Thus, i cant go and help out at the schools...

So... decided to make full use of my time here (hmmm) ..and try out NEW stuff in life... experience new experiences and do things that I will never ever do back home.....

Just started my 3rd GOLF-ie lesson over here... yes.. my first impression of golf is...OLD man's game... boring to hit a small ball....walk miles to find it and only to try and hit it into a pathetic small hole..

after some shots at the driving range...after many desperate and frustrating attempts with the clubs and the balls..started to like the game a little more... helps alot when I watch more golf tournaments and see how Tiger swings...

All I can say is.... unlike other sports..its one which is very mental...one which allows you to challenge against yourself and extend your own limitations... you get angry over yourself when hit badly....you are proud when you birdie (take less than the required shots to get the ball into the hole).. you gleem when you know that you are improving with every game....

Hope I will be able to attain all these one day... but for now...its just being able to hit the ball correctly with the perfect Tiger Wood's swing.....thats all I ask for.... Amen..

Colorado 17 - 21 Jan 08

2008-01-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

the village @ keystone

sNowy Snowman.....

kudos to kids' bravery... they ski really well (not all though)

my discovery @ the discovery/ bunny slope

who is the cutest of us all?

going home is always so dreadful......yawnz....

since its winter...shouldnt miss the opportunity of a lifetime to see snow..feel snow... eat snow?? and play with snow...

with my 6 friends... and after a 14 hours of backache and butt numbing experience in a mini-van, we made our way to Colorado Keystone and arrived safely !!!!

some of my friends are already snow boarding experts...thus they hit the green slopes the very next day. Being my first time, I decided nt to be a miser and paid school fees to learn skiing for 2 days as ED ski too... it came up to almost US$200 for only the lessons exluding the entrance fee to use the slopes man......money suckers!!!!!

all i can say is... the older one gets, the harder it is to pick up and learn something new. We grow to become afraid of falling, scared of injuries, etc...how I wished I could be a little more courageous and adventurous....a little more daring to explore and seek my abilities without having to limit myself.....

Seeing all the little ones whizz by, freely down the slopes....felt really proud of them.. envious of them.. jealous that they still have loads of time and opportunity to learn new stuff..to fall and pick themselves up..... I wanna and hope to find the KID in me again!!!!

When was the last time we tried doing something new for the 1st time? When was the last time we fell and picked ourselves up?? When was the time we were not afraid of challenges, failures and disappointments in life??

Precious Moments Park N Oklahoma

2008-01-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

THOSE precious moments....

@ the chapel....old or new testament??

we have finally reached the park!!!!

POPS.... the place for all soda.....

toy museum... I am getting dizzy........

oh gosh... this entry is so dam late... but better than never right??
went on a 2d 1n tirp to oklahoma and visited precious moments park in carthage....on 20th dec 2007....

visited a toy museum..went on a river cruise in the bitter cold to view some christmas lights...appraently the week before we arrived there was a hurricane and blew away some of the trees with lights too.... bad bad....
stopped by POPS, a restuarant cum shop tats sells millions of soda drinks in glass bottles... (on man... wished we had these back in SIng)

I slurped a cream soda one.. and it was really delicious.....sadly I bought only 2 bottles... have to severely ration my remaining bottle
And of course the highlight was the precious moments park man....the one and only in the world.

The founder SAM BROWN happened to pass by the plot of land and felt that it was peaceful and serene enough to build his park, chapel and a museum there. Its really damm isolated...miles away from the main streets, with a river running slowly behind..... maybe perhaps GOD should speak to him and build one in a more central and convenient location.... ha ha....then I can continue with my collection.....

theres the fun and collectors club which you can join each year and it comes along with a free figurine each...and definately I signed up for both!!! Some of the figurines are so much cheaper than SIngapore....thus.. I spent more time at the shops than the museum and chapel... wooops...... I am broke for the next few months... I guess.....

A LAKE HOUSE when i retire....

2008-01-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

undergoing intensive skateboarding lessons.....

the gulls and their breads

I hate the camera..HUmfp!!!!

do black ducks taste good??

some of the stuff I really loved to immerse myself in..is to just hang by the beach. Eat, drink and get a tan. Unfortunately, theres no beaches here... way too far from the coast... I miss Sentosa and East Coast....

theres a really nice lake near my house, perhaps 10 mins drive *people here dun walk, tat explains for the fats!!* some really great looking houses surrounding the lake....i wanna have a lake view too......

Douch likes to chase duckies / birds and venture near the side of the lake..wonder when will she fall in one day....

I like to either jog occassionally around the lake, make a simple picinic basket and play board games over there... really scenic (a bit lah) with ducks and herons and sea gulls... something I have learnt to appreciate over here...

Whens the last time we stopped..paused and appreciated nature and the works of GOD??

Ning's Visit in December.....

2008-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Ning's cup of tea ~~~~ a standup comedy

where all the remaining bulls and cowboys are still residing

at rainbow cafe..a old fashioned Texan burger joint

when you are all away from home.. alone and cold... and when all your family and friends are continents away from you... it just warms your heart when a friend pops by to visit and stay...

to recollect the times spent in Singapore.. all the downs and ups you all had shared in the past.. update you on the little bits and hot gossips of the people you love ( and people you hate too!!!)

nice girly time spent doing masks, watching TV, going shopping and spending $$$$.......

with my not so steady lefet-handed driving... brought NIng around Texas....shopping was of course top of the priority...weather was bad to her... thus... she missed all the farmers market, traders flee market etc....

Nonetheless... really miss all my friends back in SIngapore.... Do you all feel the same too??

Tks Giving N ChrisTmas 2007!!!!!

2008-01-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

Our accomplishment..after 3 hours...

tree by the fireplace...

It was a simple Xmas party at my house this year.... no balls and soical functions to go to.

wanted to have toTHE Christmasy feeling... so went to buy a xmas tree (of course its cheaper than in Sing)..and surrounded it with loads of gold ornaments, red balls gold leaves and an angel...

Some of my friends and I managed to whip up a Turkery out of my oven.. what an accomplishment man....feeling so proud and satisified ....hmmm cooking is not a hard chore after all!!!! Yan can cook and so can I.....

Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre

2008-01-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

What are you staring at??

The Zi-Bra upclose and Personal.. Slurps...

I love the SUnny SUN!!!!

okies ..sorry... I noe that the blog is growing dam mouldy already...

its winter... so its cold and I am lazy to do stuff....Dec is not too cold but its like a freaking single digit in the day time and a whopping below 0 at night...

here am I, wrapped in layers of covers, jackets and in my soft (smelly) fluffy winter socks ..trying to update my last few months .....

Okies... Edwin's Family came to visit and stayed for 3 weeks..!!! stressful man....hmm....

visited the Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre..its a 3 hr open safari whereby one will drive their vehicles in and have animals roaming around freely.... You can grab a bag of food for them in order to attract them towards the cameras.....CLICK CLICK!!!!!

GRAND CANYON @ ARIZONA

2007-11-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

GRAND CANYON....A WHOPPING 6000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND

A MULE DEER AT GRAND CANYON

TRYING TO BE ARTISTIC......

MISTY GRAND CANYON...VISIBILITY WAS QUITE BAD

UP ON A DYING TREE OVER LOOKING THE ROCKS

Over our vegas trip, one day was devoted to visiting one of the 7 wonders of the world. Its a freaking 5 hours of drive along desert paths and winding roads off the cliffs...guess it was all worth it.

Of course..definately..I was enthusiastic and kindly offered to drive but.. was politely rejected. Was made in charge of entertaining the driver, feeding the driver with chips and caffine, singing along to the music hits off the radio stations...and even falling asleep in my own passenger seat...ZZZZ....

It was chilly when we reached the park. I was of course dying in my black Mango bermuadas and my seasoned Birkenstocks. Sucks!! Why didnt I check the weather forecast before leaving??

Visibilty was pretty bad.. perhaps because of the California fires..air pollution..as I looked over the edge of the cliff, its pretty scary looking down at the valleys from above 6000 feet...
It was very serene... peaceful (other than the chattering coming from the China tourists..yes they are everywhere..sigh)

In the midst of breathing taking views of the grand canyon in the afternoon and during sunset, I am truly amazed by how nature and God hath worked. How beautiful stone and rock formations have been created because of tectonic movements of the plates......

Just be there once in a lifetime.....

......Tempting Vegas.....

2007-11-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Nevada from above.....

Ballys hotel..think I need a drink more..

Luxor - Grand Egyptian themed hotel.....

Paris.....the city of Romance

M&Ms for me......

Scorching fires from the volcano eruption at Mirage

Not to be missed........Bellagio fountain

Paris at night......dazzling lights and nightlife

I just unpacked my duffel bags and washed laundry. Back from Las Vegas...amazing city of lights, nightlife, non-stop puffing and 24 hrs of gambling...its good to be back home again.

Truly an eye-opener..its really just a spot in the midst of a desert terrain that is flooded with people, hot babes with to-die for cleavages and tons of gambling dens. Oh Man. Its really not suitable for kids and the faint-hearted..( or rather the gambling addicts!!)

Hotels of various themes are everywhere round the corner...free performances in the different hotels at various times of the day. I have never entered so many casinos in my entire life.. it could be an easily 30 or 40 casinos that I have stepped foot into ..and naturally dontated $ to as well... sigh..trust me...I am much richer in travelling but poorer in my bank accounts.... I need to start my donation drive "Help Save Evelyn..." (something along this line)

My take-away from this trip: I learnt how to play roulette!!! Okies.. stop it... I know its not much of a big deal..but its my first table game..hee..pretty exciting...had the adrelaline rush each time the ball spins around the wheel.

Theres many ways of betting...red or black numbers, any number from 0 to 36 (theres even a number 00), even or odd numbers, the 1st 12 or 2nd 12 or 3rd 12 numbers, 1-18 0r 19-36, etc.. the list is quite extensive ..shant bore u to death....

Ultimatley, its really a land of temptations....casinos, shopping, great food, partying and of course G-cups hot chicks in their black fish-net stockings....wooo hooo.....

Halloween House Haunting @ Dallas

2007-11-13T23:41:00.000-08:00

After the Chicago partying, I am all excited cum geared up and we drove around our neigbourhood to admire some of the hard work people have put in to create the Hallooween-ish look for their houses.

Most of them are into the cute looks whereby they have full blown characters of pumpkins, kind looking witches and draculas..(didnt noe the kind side of them existed?)

While some of the more adventurous ones have huge black spiders on their webs, hanging skeltons frm the trees outside their houses, corpses and tombs just outside their main doors, etc.....

If I ever ever have a Halloween party, which look will I go for.... its quite a tough decison....hmm..i have a year to ponder .....

Halloween @ CHICaGo

2007-11-13T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Magic Beanie @ Chicago...

Bustling streets ...Skyscrapers

Godiva Martins @ Signature Room ...sinful... SLurps!!

Not really fairies... FAIRY!!!

Monster INC.... gruesome but cool. BTW its on stilts.

It just tickles us.. and it has a compartment right in front for the person inside to grab a drink!!

Threes a crowd...but they didnt seem to mind a bit ( of course they are nice to ME)

Visited this windy city Chicago with a very dear and old fren frm JC...shes currently at Indianapolis...cuming back to Singapore really soon though (pls stop thinking its some part of India... it just pisses her off BIG time)

wow..those were the good old days where we just hung out at the Council Room, go parties together.. before long, we were all faithfully meeting up at weddings ( quite a number a year..no wonder my savings are depleted!!!)...but hey ger..u have missed out on those for quite some time....

And gosh, before we ever could anticipate it....babies are blooming out like little flowers in the wilderness.....and theres baby showers to attend to... 1st month cakes to sink our teeth in....

I am afraid that I might be missing out a fair bit for quite a while...:(

Guess thats just the natural progression in life.. sometimes just wondering....are we all READY READY..or sort of think that we are READY..or compelled and psycho into thinking we are since the alarms are really going off..... NVM... just side-tracking....

Anyway....

Chicago is a really cool city, very rich in architecture. All the bulidings there are so different, yet they seem to be able to be exist harmoniously with each other and retain their own unique features. ...when we got there on a Friday night..it was cold and drizzling quite a bit. HAd dinner and a drink up the 96th floor @Signature Room @ John Hancock building...one of the tallest skyscraper.. the equivalent will be the New Asia Bar in Singapore..(unless its no longer there any more...is it??)

Geared up for Halloween party @ Vision, a hip pub at downtown. It was freaking cold but that did not deter the lads and the chicks from appearing in their nurses uniforms, goddess drapes, dracula fangs, batman and robin tight suits etc.

And a good way to earn $ at the pubs is to help customers hang their jackets (jacket deposit VS bag deposit) at a whopping cost of US$4 per jacket. Oh man... we dun have to pay when we deposit our bags @ Zouk, do we??

One cool thing was at the end of endless rounds of shots and dancing with/ in smoke...

all the Halloween-ish characters were all seen queuing at a mega MacDonalds for supper...wat a sight man.

Yawn... we barley could open our eyes when we hit the hotel beds at 3 am.....

Aero--Space 2007.....

2007-10-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Wives Club....with a mini areoplane

I like Yellow... attention seeking !!

I am Walking Away.....

See.. Im nt exaggerating. (People Mountain People Sea )

Cliche...... Love is in e Air

Blue Angels very synchronised.... they fly dam near to each other....

Im Chao Tar...Help!!!!

I crawled out of bed at 6.30 am on Saturday (20th Oct) to go for an aerospace exhibition at downtown Dallas.. when was the last time I woke up so early man..

its totally insane to wake up so early when the event only starts at 9am...

However, if you enter late, you might not be able to find parking ..and the parking here is like a freaking US$10 per car...(kill people and set fire man!!)

It was freezing in the morning...and there I was in my shorts and a sleeveless top...gosh...all the hair I had on my hands didnt help much lor...luckily I was smart enuff to grab a jacket in the midst of my sleepiness...

If you have been to the aerospaces in SIngapore... its kinda similar...just maybe more vintage heli and aircrafts... you can also pay a whipping US$45 and sit in a helicopter with many others for 10mins.. (siao man... ang moh oso quite $-minded!!)

We were there for the BLUE ANGELS... well if u havent heard of them...its ok.. ( me too!! until tat day) and theirs was the finale..last performance at 3pm...so we effectively were there from 8am to 4pm...totally burnt out by the UV rays man...

They are apparently the cream of the crop of all the pilots chosen from the navy, airforce, army, etc and they go on world-tour, doing their acrobatic skills up in the skies...

A total of 6 pilots in the team, but sway sawy, one of the aircraft was down at the last minute and I heard one of them died in April during a performane when the plane crashed...

As usual, the whole place was packed with strollers and beach chairs...people slurping on lemonade and turkey drums... (all the food and drinks dam ex lor.. and we cldnt bring water in ..sigh... almst tot I was in a desert man!! I need my H2O)

After the finale, we had to 'scamper' to the entrance asap coz there would be a massive jam at the carparks and the exit...Kiasu-ism helped this time round and since the ang mohs cant walk as fast too.....we made it out to the nearest MacDonalds for a iced cold Coke....Burppp....

Thank God for creating Coke..Amen.

Patches of PumpKINGs......

2007-10-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Our very own home-carved pumpkin for halloween 2007....

Janie and I on the Kiddy Bench...with mini pumpkins...
(btw shes 3 mtns pregnant yet slimmer than me lor..NOT FAIR!!!)

The Hay Maze for kids... wheres the one for adults??

baby pumpkin ....

I want this big big one... give it to me baby.....

Huge Oranges and I

My very 1st experience of Halloween....and Pumkin Patch..

The people here are quite onz abt Halloween and pumpkins...they are sold everywhere in Targets and Walmarts ( our Cold Storage and NTUC)...big, small, irregular shapes, ugly ones etc..

In the month of Oct..( btw Halloween is on 31st October...will be back from Chicago by then to celebrate back home... Yippes!!!) some of the rich households actually take the effort to decorate their front houses with webs, spiders, dangling skeletons, etc....

We visited this pupmkin patch at a small church... (for a good cause man!!!)...just last Sunday

Small scaled but think its good enough. There were crates of pumpkins for you to choose and take pictures with. Kids were playing in a mini-maze made of hay...they were really short, so some of them reallie cldnt figure out the EXIT!!!

Kinda appreciating all these festives and outdoor events which one can hardly find in Singapore...guess people back in Singapore are too busy and preoccupied with other stuff... or else no land for all these....or perhaps we are all just simply contended with our Orchard Road and Great Singapore SALE!!

So we went home carrying our US$4 pumpkin...and wanted to make pumpkin soup as well as carve it. Sadly, all the edible flesh has dried up and all that was left were many many pumpkin seeds...sobs.. there goes my pumpkin soup. Nontheless, it was a fun experience trying our hands on the pumpkin!!!

Hi-Tea-ING~~~~~

2007-10-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

One of the very 1st places I went with the wives here...they are very into ANTIQUE-ing..theres pretty alot of such shops here.

This place- Antique Land is at Plano..abt half an hours drive frm my place. In Texas, the following formula applies:

no car= no go out= no life...

The antique stuff here is really old lah..(to qualify to be antique)..books, toys, etc. some of which we had when we were young..if we knew they can be sold for tens of USA bucks here..dun you just wished you had kept all those and ignored your mum's nagging to throw them dwn the chute...

havent acquired the taste to appreciate such stuff but I have noted on my wish list:

A nice tea-pot and english/Victorian style tea cups and those nice little dessert trays to put your scones and cakes on...yummy right!!! sounds delicious already!!! (anybody else interested??)

My STY in Ang Mor-Land

2007-10-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Ok..I know people..I have been procrastinating and giving endless reasons for not blogging..being IT-super unsavy and living up to my name- The Nuah-er...

finally after a month..plus plus plus..I have finally decided to SLOWLY upload the pix of my BORing life here..piece by piece...

blog still under construction..so please do pardon it.. (though i can forsee it will nt be ready until in a year's time)....another excuse for not scouting around and learning how to better manage it...perhaps people like jiehui, adeline, cynthia, pat or er can englighten me.....

Lets just start wif my small house to begin with......

Its like condo type back home, just that theres too much land over here and the ang mohs have no stamina to climb stairs, so the max is just 3 storeys.

We have a garage in the basement and theres a door that leads to the inside of the hse. Climb up a flight of stairs and you will reach the main dining area, the bathroom, bedroon, etc... basically everything..

Everywhere is carpetted..minus the bathroom n kitchen..so that means NO NEED TO MOP FLOORS!!!! Yippees!!! (but haf to vacumm..sucks..)

thus, it wun be so cold in the winter.

Sadly, theres a giant living on the 2nd floor..(Im on the ground floor, so it flooded the other time it rained!!) so sometimes, rather all the time I hear footsteps and tumping ...cant blame the giant above as the flooring is really bad...

Theres a nice fireplace, which of course havent been used yet!! Winter is round the corner. Excited* wink* hoping for snow or hail.....but nt welcoming the cold and the cracked lips and the dry skin....God is fair I guess....

The kitchen is nothing impressive, but I have made such good frens with Mr Stove, Ms Microwave and Mdm Oven for the past month..then I ever did in my 26 years of life...dun play play..can bake muffins and cupcakes... who needs classes on them?? (*kidding*)

Okies..even with the bathtub..,havent soaked in it for more than a second.. I am seriously too busy to waste my time on the tubby..so morale of the story: We only soak in the tubs in hotels becox we are cheapos..must fully utilise the facilities..if its at hme..its just a waste of time, $ and water...

If you are wondering what about the bedroom..weell..wait lng lng kay...its just a pig sty....too messy for the public....hee hee...other than tat..think my hse quite neat, clean and spanky yah...

******** PeArfectly Inn Love *********