Sunset

One of the most satisfying experiences I know is fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset...I don't find myself saying, 'Soften the orange a little more on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color...' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds.

~ Carl R. Rogers

It's really all about that moment, an artist can always paint a beautiful sunset...but to take a photograph of or appreciate a sunset, it's really all about that moment...and that moment may not come by again...

Bee hoon

It seemed like it has been quite some time since I last cooked bee hoon. Always good to add cabbage coz it adds sweetness, well, got that in the refrigerator. Chinese mushroom...yup, got that too! Yippee, some green and red capsicum to add colours...got that in the refrigerator too. Took some of the fishcake which Mummy has bought from the wet market. I thought little strips of egg would complete the dish. Oh yes, not to forget some chili padi. Had a satisfying dinner of bee hoon with a cup of ginger tea :)

Dinner at Marina Barrage

What a nice view and what an enjoyment...

The soup was tasty but we felt that it's a little salty for us.

Charcoal...an important factor for cooking good soup

Quite a good variety of food for the steamboat...all pretty fresh!

Beef was tender and nice, went very well with the bittergourd and black bean paste. Ate lotsa bittergourd!

The Hainanese chicken was good! Took a scoop of chicken rice from XF, it's fragrant but I thought the chili wasn't really 'potent' enough for me :P

Weather has been pretty cool nowadays, good for steamboat. My father suggested having our dinner at 7th Storey Restaurant last evening, supposed to be famous for its steamboat. The new location is now at Marina Barrage. It's a really nice evening for steamboat, no sweat! :P But I think we have ordered too much food, goodness! Well, glad we took a long walk after dinner, we really needed that. XF drowned herself with Chinese tea :P

She's back!

She has been back home for more than a week. Till she's going back to Basel again in January, I think she's gonna sleep lots, eat lots and maybe pamper herself lots. See that grin on her face? :P ...Sometimes, I feel that I am bringing a tourist around, ha!

The story behind every picture

I was reading a magazine "PhotoYou" that XF has bought and came across this...

Thanks to today's powerful cameras, almost anyone can take a decent shot. But a great photographer always has a story to tell and he or she tells it movingly with pictures that provoke introspection and constructive action. I shoot for the pure adrenaline rush that comes with the process. But if my pictures can inspire someone to pick up a camera and open their own Pandora's box, all the better. Comfort and complacency are the deadliest assassins of creativity.

~ Melisa Teo, a professional photographer whose speciality is art photography

A mirror...a reflection

Things

A gift from Rika all the way from Japan...seemed to have thoughts going through my mind when I first saw this gift

I don't think I have met Rika for more than three times and the last time we met was quite some years ago but somehow, it's difficult to forget her smile. She seems to always smile with and from her heart. To me, that's the most beautiful...

The most important things in life are not things...To this day, this is still what I feel about things in life. The best and most beautiful things in life cannot be seen...To this day, this is still how I feel. Do you feel it?

Christmas Eve dinner

Who says you need to party your night away on Christmas Eve? A nice and quiet evening with a few good friends was all I want for Christmas Eve :) It was a potluck dinner, nothing really extravagant but I thought it was still a lovely dinner...nice ambience, good music, nice homecooked food and great company. Let's see, on the menu...noodles, kueh pie ti, chicken wings, a variety of vegetables with dip , wu xiang, tofu with topshell, miso soup and dessert was a variety of fruits. Well, what else could we ask for but to appreciate and treasure every moment that's ours :) Hmm, I think it's the ninth year that I have celebrated Christmas with this group of friends. Sometimes, I really can't believe that nine years have passed.

People do say friendship is like a garden, we are like gardeners in this garden. ...Dear Santa, have I been a good gal this year? Have I been a good gardener? :P ...To all the lovely people in my life, a merry merry Xmas to all, thank you for working so hard in our garden, for putting in so much care and love :)

Those moments...

I don't know why but there're times that I would very much love to observe his every movement, reaction and the way he looks at things around him. Wondering what's going through his mind...It seems that no words could really describe his expressions at times. Well, pictures do speak much but I guess it's all about being able to capture those moments...

Sunny Baby's Xmas Eve dinner

Wow, what a colourful spread! Thanks Mark for the pic! :)

Yes, Baby certainly deserved one good Xmas dinner! Bought lamb meatballs and assorted eclairs for him :) Oh no, he must be real hungry when dinner was served but was happy to see him finishing every bit of it. He ate three eclairs last night! Hee, sweet little baby :) Merry Xmas, Sunny Baby! Muackz!

Baking...is an art

Our last mission for the day - log cake. Yah! Baking ended near midnight but two pats on Rene's and Jakki's shoulders, effort goes to both of them, great job!

All placed in those nice cupcakes boxes...all ready to bring smiles this festive season :)

Rene's favourite design...gave her this high class looking cupcake. Hmm, was thinking about what theme it would come under :)

My design and creation...copyright @ 2010 :P

Love this stage the most! I got to decorate all twelve cupcakes :)

Indeed, baking is an art. Not everyone is a master of this art, it does take many factors to create this art form. One of which which I feel is passion and the next would be perseverance. Because one has passion, one becomes disciplined and resilient enough to keep creating and pursuing despite numerous failures. I am sure Rene and Jakki have failed many times before they could guide me to make those cupcakes :) But I am very sure the satisfaction from the little successes is something to be proud of...Dear Rene and Jakki, thanks for your patience in guiding and teaching me this form of art. Ha, it must be tough trying to answer the questions of this silly gal, explain the various terms and not to forget, having to keep repeating the instructions for this slow learner - me :P Muackz!

Baking...the initial stage

Wooo...so many peaks! Needed to deal with the uneven tops :P

Waiting in anticipation

Patience...part and parcel of the process

I thought one would need a bit of skill to separate the yolk and the white...Rene did a great job :P

Well-equipped...so many kinds and so many types

The last time I really baked was when I was having my Home Economics lessons during my secondary school days (I am not kidding :P). I can still remember how fierce my teacher was, I would always enter the Home Economics room with much fear and anxiety. But well, many years later, glad that I have got the chance to bake again, without a fierce teacher of course :P ...Always marvel at how beautiful Rene's cupcakes are, so beautiful you wouldn't even want to take a bite, not at all. Finally, we managed to arrange for a session to learn a bit of baking from her this December. Hee, but was more interested to design the little cupcakes.

Our dessert stories

Sharing our stories over chendol dessert at Dessert Story. Thanks Edmond for the pic! :)

Met up with Shirley and Edmond yesterday. I thought we 'behaved' as if we were kinda like in Hong Kong (Thanks to Shirley :P). We ate (ramen), shopped, ate again (hot and cold dessert), shopped and I really couldn't believe it, we ate again (teh si and cakes) for the third time, all in one big shopping mall - Nex. But it's really great catching up again even though we are now working in different places. At times, do miss the good old times working together, busy but crazy :P

Tea at Fullerton Bay Hotel

The landing point...strategic point

Savoury stuff...always enjoy examining what's sandwiched between those pieces of bread

Taking a pic of her favourite bagel :P

Landed...comfortably

It's tea with Rene again :) She suggested "The Landing Point" at Fullerton Bay Hotel. Well, we 'landed' there in the late afternoon. It was kinda nice, quiet and cozy as we sat on a sofa near the huge glass window. Chose lemongrass tea, I thought I liked it a little stronger. Quite a good spread of both finger food and pastries, we ate lots and skipped dinner :P You know, once in a while, it's good to just pamper yourself a little with some nice pastries and a cup of hot tea in a place away from the hustle and bustle of life :)

Seeing the bigger world

Sunny Baby's world may just be his little abode at home, with occasional visits to the glass windows to look at the little happenings beyond and shows his response by barking or jumping in excitement. Just Thursday, he was brought to see the bigger world - East Coast Park. The ride to the beach at the front seat of the car was probably filled with much fear, uncertainty and curiosity. One could just see it in his eyes and body language. He ran free along the beach, as if there were no limits or boundaries, well, not to mention the constant tugging of the leash :P He turned at the slightest noise or sound heard. Sometimes, I think we just long to see and feel that curiosity in one's eyes. I saw lots in Baby's eyes that day. But do I still see that kinda curiosity in our eyes? I am not so sure about that. But I am quite sure I have enjoyed seeing the bigger world with Sunny Baby.

"Seeing much, suffering much and studying much are the three pillars of learning." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

How much have we learnt?

Cha soba

Wanted something a little different but yet simple for dinner at home today...still kinda craving for green tea despite having eaten a big scoop of green tea ice cream in the afternoon. Hence, came the idea of having cha soba :P Easy to prepare, nice to eat, light and not too filling. Loved the feel and taste of the cold noodles drained from the icy water filled with ice cubes. I slurped the noodles like what any Japanese would usually do when they're enjoying their noodles :P Hmm, shall I get myself a cup of hot green tea?

Green tea ice cream

Was looking at the menu and was wondering if I should have a waffle, a brownie, a cookie or a cone to go with my green tea ice cream... Nah, I don't think either one of these would go well with green tea ice cream. Maybe Japanese red beans or some mochi will do the job better but the ice cream parlour does not have them. So decided just to enjoy the ice cream on its own :P

Is one's life alive?

I took the MRT today. I was on my way home, it was kinda crowded. The lady standing beside me was playing some kinda game on her iPhone. The teenager standing in front of me was busy texting someone, with a few occasional smiles as she texted. The man standing on my left was so engrossed in some movie shown over that small screen on his mobile phone that he did not even look up for a second throughout my ride in that MRT cabin. As I looked at those commuters who were sitting down, I noticed that eight out of ten of them were looking at their mobile phones. ...No conversations, no noise...no expressions... In my mind, I was kinda amazed by the wonders of technology but...

"There is not a flower or bird in sight, only a small screen on which lines are moving, while the child sits almost motionless, pushing at the keyboard with one finger. As a learning environment, it may be mentally rich, but it is perceptually extremely impoverished. No smells or tastes, no wind or bird song (unless the computer is programmed to produce electronic tweets), no connection with soil, water, sunlight, warmth, the actual learning environment is almost autistic in quality, impoverished sensually, emotionally and socially." ~ John Davy

No, I did not take out my mobile phone throughout the whole ride home. Watching those commuters around me was enough to occupy my time. However, I felt I did not like to be in the cabin for long for the whole atmosphere seemed so still, monotonous and lifeless. Well, silly gal, what do you expect? ...Maybe I should take a good long walk in a garden soon :)

Have fun!

My really really good friend told me that if I really wanted something badly, I would always keep talking about it and thinking about it. In my heart, I would have probably already made a decision. Well, she knows me well enough indeed, she's right. Finally, enough of consideration, I bought it. It's two days old and is serving me well. But I feel I have yet to discover lots. Before I left the store that day, satisfied with my purchase, the friendly and helpful salesperson said to me,"Enjoy it and have fun!"

This is a green spider

This is a green spider...Well, it's not exactly my toy though. Brought it back from my workplace, together with a few hand puppets, to wash. It's certainly much cleaner now after soaking in detergent, much scrubbing and going into the dryer :P It will be packed into ziploc bags soon...

This is a blue spider

This is a blue spider...Well, it's Sunny Baby's little old toy. That was not Baby's focus that Friday. He was too excited about taking a walk, so excited that he actually obeyed my instruction to sit and stop barking when I was putting on his harness. Ha, I raised my voice and probably looked a little fierce but inside me, I was pretty tickled and was kinda giggling :P Sweet little thing, exactly like a child! Just a short walk and as usual, it was more of Baby walking me but I had the control over the leash, of course. That day, little blue spider was left untouched in the little basket.

Nai Bai

Nai bai and shitake mushroom with oyster sauce

Accompanied Mummy to the wet market early that morning. Mummy wanted to buy fish from her favourite fishmonger, she was hoping to get cod fish too. She wanted me to go to the vegetable seller to choose one kind of vegetable to cook that evening while she was choosing her fish. Oops, err, me? Alone? Always feel a lack of confidence whenever I approach those stalls in the wet market. Anyway, still went over to the vegetable seller to choose the vege. Couldn't make up my mind...Finally, saw nai bai in a basket, thought they looked ok so decided to get them. Saw shitake mushroom too! Didn't know they sell those in a wet market too :P Bought some of those too. Well, I was in charge of cooking the vegetables that evening. Ha, I liked it and I ate lots with brown rice.

Tofu and prawn croquette

Saw a piece of tofu in the refrigerator and decided to make a dish out of it. Mash the piece of tofu. Diced some prawns and kinda mash them till they were like prawn paste, pretty sticky. Mixed the tofu and prawn paste together, added an egg and seasoning. Placed the mixture into the steamer and I think I waited for almost ten minutes for the mixture to be steamed. Let it cool and cut it into smaller pieces. Coated each piece with egg white and then bread crumbs. The last step would be to deep fry those pieces. I am not really good at deep frying. I was really kinda fearful when I was about to put my first piece into the hot oil. Thank goodness, everything went well. Hee, it's my first time preparing this. Hmm, not too bad, crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. But I think I still need to improve on the seasoning. I was also thinking maybe I could prepare a kinda sauce to go with this. My father saw me busy in the kitchen and asked,"Thinking of changing job, is it?" Hmm... :P

Wondering what to wonder

"Men go abroad to wonder the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the oceans, at the circular motions of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering." ~ St. Augustine

Is this true?

Spending time with...

Sunny Baby...As I greeted him at the door, he couldn't seem to contain his excitement. He was jumping on his hind legs, barking and craving much for my attention. Ha, but I knew I need to clear the poo right in the middle of the living room first. He was still persistent, followed me in and out of the kitchen. Sweet little thing :) ...Placed him on my lap and held him close to me. He was looking at me with those seemingly smitten eyes of his. Have always loved those quiet moments with him. He seemed to cling on tight to me and kept licking my chin for the next five minutes. He went over to his little basket, took his old little blue spiddy and passed it to me. He wanted to play. Silly me took out another two old toys of his and started playing "Tug of war" and "Throw and catch" with him. Was thinking, he didn't need any new toys, that's probably not important to him at all. He's probably just contented with the gift of companionship, see ya soon, Baby :)

What a crack!

Gotcha!

Chicken with Indian spices (good blend with the real skinny crust) and lotsa wild rockets that went kinda wild :P I am glad we chose this! But there are also a few more interesting ones that I would like to try the next time :P

oglio olio

Truffle fries...nice on its own, no chilli sauce, no ketchup

I think the last time we met was during my birthday. Had been busy since but glad that we managed to catch up over lunch today! :) It was an early lunch at Skinny Pizza, our first time there. I was wondering how skinny could one pizza be :P Trust me, it's really skinny, it's practically like a cracker beneath those toppings. We chose a ginger butter chicken pizza and thought we should also try the clams oglio olio. Heard about truffle fries so I ordered that too :P Goodness, the pizza was quite big and they were kinda generous with their toppings too. But thank goodness, the crust, well, I mean the cracker beneath was really skinny. Hence, the highlight seemed to be more on the uniqueness of the combination of ingredients on top. Hee, I did enjoy lunch today and certainly have enjoyed your company, my really really good friend :P

Tidy up, pack and cook

Got started on tidying up and packing stuff at home yesterday. Oh my, realised that I have got lotsa stuff. It's also time to let go and that means - to throw. Mummy looked at all my stuff toys and shook her head. She said that those gotta go eventually. Oh no... I don't think I would like to think about that as yet. But I thought it felt good to get things a little organised. My father was out for a game of golf with his friends so thought I would prepare a simple dinner for both Mummy and myself. As usual, checked out the ingredients in our refridgerator. Decided to have stir fry noodles using the noodles bought by Lee Shan from HK. I added lotsa mushrooms and we decided not to have any meat in the noodles except for some fishcake. Ha, Mummy said that this was the best amongst the mee goreng and pad thai that I have cooked the past two weeks :P

Childhood

Just attended a cousin, YY's wedding and was sitting beside another cousin, SH. Oh boy, really could not remember when was the last time SH and I really had a good long chat. We were practically talking non-stop during the whole dinner, maybe there's was really much to catch up...the past, the present and the future. Amongst the cousins, I think both of us were closer to each other when we were little girls as our age difference's only a year. I still remember her father would bring both of us little girls out to play. The polo sweets that she brought and we shared during the wedding dinner just now reminded me much of our childhood, especially those times at my late grandmother's place. One of the slides which was shown during the wedding was a photograph of a group of us cousins when we were little boys and girls many years back. Ha, we had a good laugh. SH had got that really nerdy look and me, well, not any better...chubby tomboy who did not really like to wear dresses, especially those with lotsa laces :P Not to forget those tiny weeny eyes of mine :P ...Took off my contact lens, wiped off the concealer, eye shadow and mascara just now in front of the mirror. Well, except for those fine lines, two little baggages and dark circles, those tiny weeny eyes are still there :)

Mee goreng

Last weekend was pad thai and this weekend is mee goreng :P Bought Prima Taste mee goreng paste together with the ingredients which I would like to put in my mee goreng :P Mee goreng was more successful than pad thai I would say. Noodles were cooked well, not oily but I thought the mix was not really that spicy. I added quite abit of extra hot chilli powder and cut some small red chillies to add on too. Well, if you are not particular, this should be a good one-dish meal :)

Charlie's Angels???

One of my colleagues commented that three of us (Angeline, Nura and myself) looked like Charlie's Angels as we walked down the corridor together. Ha, that must be a real joke! If we were Charlie's Angels, Charlie must be in real big trouble :P But guess what, after that comment, three of us were discussing about who should be Cameron Diaz, who had Lucy Liu's eyes and who looked more like Drew Barrymore. Lucy Liu seemed like the most popular choice. Can you beat that? Goodness, a bunch of crazy gals! ...We finally had our feast of crabs that Friday. There was really much laughter throughout the meal. You know, if we were Charile's Angels, I am really not sure if we would be capable enough to nap those baddies but I am quite sure we would make great buddies at both at work and at play. I don't really say it alot but I know I'm sure gonna miss working with them and those wonderful times spent together, away from work.

It's mine

Headed to the club for a swim on Friday, had the whole pool to myself, not a single soul in sight. Great, always like the quiet and serene surrounding :P It was kinda silent in the water as I started swimming my first lap. Everything seemed so still in there... I was thinking... most of the times, my life or my schedule seems to centre around the schedule and deadlines of others. But then again, my dear silly gal, you are not the only human being on this island. Life is about living with and working with others as a whole community...friendships and all other relationships etc. It's an inevitable part of life. But I still feel that maybe it would be good to have a greater ownership of my own schedule and maybe my own timeline or deadline for certain things in my life. I thought I should think about this more as I start the next new year...

Do you see what I see?

Kat dearie said that beauty lies in the beholder when she was asked what she thought about the picture taken. Well, she's not wrong but...

"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucious

A friend to be valued or cherished

"I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult the calendar." ~ Robert Brault

Happiness across borders

I was at Page One @ ViVoCity, have always liked quiet bookstores. I always like the fact that the books over there are always placed neatly on the shelves and nicely wrapped with plastic, ha, no one book seemed to be out of place when I was there yesterday. Well, me being me, took my own sweet time to browse through the books in the bookstore, went from one section to the other. I came across a couple of shelves, I should say almost a whole bookcase that had books related to happiness...ways to be happy, tips to happiness, journey to happiness, how to lead a happier life, happiness in your life, learning to be happier...all forms and ways to communicate happiness and the way to it. I kinda smiled, hmm, not really coz I was happy to see so many books related to happiness but I thought it's pretty interesting to see many of this kinda books. Does that mean that we need instructions and guidance to be happy? Does that mean or show that we are mostly a bunch of unhappy human beings? Does that mean that some of us have forgotten how to be happy in our lives? Well, I guess it's not for me to judge. There was this book "The World Book of Happiness" that was displayed all over the entrance. Amongst all other books related to happiness, this simply got my attention. Guess what I was looking at when I browsed through the pages, ha, I was looking at the pictures and photographs in there, kinda captivated by a few. I love the way how some would use pictures to relate or communicate a message or a text. I feel that the role of that picture in bringing out that message would then be a critical one. Anyway, decided to buy that book, that was a quick decision made :P Was reading the book last night, interesting perspectives from different experts and professors all over the world. They call themselves positive psychologists. I feel that there's a whole world of happiness to be discovered, uncovered and learnt globally. Well, this book should be kinda like my bedtime stories every night before I go to sleep :P Goodness, I have been buying books, I better make sure I catch up on my reading :P