Shopping + Good Food = Life is Good

Happy Birthday Charsiew! Had a simple lunch at El Sheikh, a Turkish restaurant at Arab Street. We had Hummus with Pita bread that was enjoyable; the Salta Salad was light and freshing; and we shared Beef Kebab which I found the meat on the tough side. Charsiew ordered the Islamic Dates Milk which was surprisingly nice. After we had our fill we embarked on our mission, fabric shopping. It was a sea of colours and more colours, but it was not difficult to spot the ideal buys as Charsiew already had in mind the colour theme for this year's Hari Raya... shhh... it's a surprise.

Dinner at Ma Maison with C was pleasant; the ambience of the restaurant remained the same and the food is still good. We had Camembert Fritter for starters that was accompanied with a syrupy dip and the first bite had a hint of Goreng Pisang taste that continues to linger until you sink your teeth into the melted cheese. We shared a portion of Paella, it was light and yet tasty. We were busy yaking and forgot to snap photos of the food.

Ended the evening with a bit of drama at Starbucks Paragon. Guy and Gal quarrelled... Guy slapped Gal... broke a cup... spilled coffee... Guy left in a huff with all belongings... Gal sat alone weeping her heart out... she was bleeding on her mouth, so it must have been a tight slap. Painful man... Personally I won't tolerate a guy hitting a lady and especially in public as it's simply disrespectful. Shame on him.

Finally, I managed to add blog links on my site. Stay tuned, more to come.

Confirmation Day

Boss passed me the confirmation letter just before end of the day and told me to take the afternoon off on Friday instead of annual leave, in recognition of my hardwork. Ha! ... should have applied for 1 day then...

Wong sifu adopted a chihuahua so we have a new family member onboard. Welcome JD! Finally... Mickey boy has a companion and never home alone again.

Am going to Arab street with Charsiew on Friday to shop for fabrics for Hari Raya. This reminds me. My dresses are ready for first fitting. It has been 4 months since I left it at the seamstress - told her no hurry but wasn't expecting her to take her own sweet time. I better hurry her while maxi dress is still in season. Would be nice if it's ready in time for Phuket, but I doubt it. The last time I tailored a dress was for my wedding so I'm a little excited, can't wait to see the finished product.

An Occassion to Celebrate

This week has been most hectic with candidate interviews, reports, etc., to prepare, and time passes so fast when you're bogged down with work. Wednesday afternoon was nerve wrecking for me when I received sms-es from classmates telling me exam result's out in the RMIT website. For a split second I forgot the password... there were butterflies in my stomach... I was oblivious to my surroundings, while waiting for the website to download my results... Thank goodness, I made it! Not the best of grades; 1 distinction and 2 credits. I'm a little disappointed with my core paper (HR) as I was 2 marks shy of distinction. IF ONLY I had put it more effort.

So, to mark the passing of my 1st semester, Hubby and I dined at Choubei Japanese restaurant at Changi Village hotel. The Tori Sashimi platter was good and Hubby had his first taste of chutoto and he likes it. We decided to go light so had an order of california maki and tempura - latter was a bit disappointing, although they did the yam pretty well.

Maid of Honour

I want more but it's only so much my mouth can hold...

Perhaps I can take in more lying on my tummy?

I'll help myself while mommy's busy yakking

I'm without part-time domestic help for the next 3 weeks as BL is on home leave. It's been a while since I last picked up the vacum and mop, but it was no sweat. As usual, Hubby and moi split the work as was agreed before we had part-time help. Albeit I was a bit tired after the 'workout', but nothing beats walking on squeaky clean floors and knowing the house is spick and span. I'm happy.

Charsiew and kampong came over for the evening - Madi was called up for standby flight. Hubby made us pancakes with vanilla ice-cream and mandarin oranges. Never knew instant pancake mixture can taste this good (Singlong brand). I'm saying this because I can count the number of times I've eaten pancakes to date. The kids like it espcially Isabel, she finished everything in lightning speed. I gave her a second helping of ice-cream which she of course happily devoured every slurp of it.

Pregnancy Woes

No. I know the title is misleading but I'm not the least pregnant and this entry is not about moi...

When I left EZI J's tummy was not even showing at 12 weeks, but when I saw her again yesterday she was so pregnant. J is into her last trimester. But, J is not forunate like most Mommy-to-be; her baby has cleft lip and and palate which affects 600 - 800 births. I was shell shocked when I heard it for the first time and all I could do was to hold her hand and say it will be alright. She first found out in Mar during the first detailed scan, and if this is not bad enough she had another round of scan yesterday and this time the doctor told her the nose is affected too. She was told the baby will have to go under the knife twice for plastic surgery at 3 and 9 months respectively. Following that, the baby will have to receive speech therapy. Although cleft is easily treatable it depends also on the severity of the condition. I told her to try and maintain a positive mindset, at least the baby's healthy.

I've always thought pregnancy is a joy and you worry only about weight gain and hormonal changes, never has it occured to moi something like this would happen to the people around me, because I won't even wish for this to befall on my worst enemy... Who doesn't want their child to be normal and healthy. But if the child has birth defect it's no one's fault, be it hereditary or unexplained, if it's meant to be it's meant to be. I hope and wish for the best for J, M and their baby girl, as they will grow stronger as a couple and parent.

A Visit to T3 & Picnic @ Changi

Vicki 'similing' for the camera... Keh Cha!

Wendy & Shirley's beloved Princess, Milky.

Visited T3 last Sat for the first time since it's opening. I like the way they borrow the natural daylight through the well designed glass roof. It's self-contained with numerous shops, NTUC, and as many coffee joints and restaurants I can remember. Also visited the Crowne Plaza hotel that is still undergoing renovation works. It's a nice hotel that feels homely and not a hint of city living. I love the fact that the designer had cleverly used batik materials to line some parts of the walls and there were lots of wood and earth tones to complement the look and feel, what I would describe as a 'tropical getaway'. Wonder if Hubby can get discounted rate for one nite stay???

Had lunch at Popeyes that serves fried chicken and cookies = plain scones that is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, served warm and pairs off perfectly with strawberry jam. Nice. For mains, I prefer the fish over the chicken, but not much to rave about. However, their fries are worth a mention; if you enjoy the crisscut fries at Carl's Jr, you'll like theirs.

Spent the evening in Changi beach with Cleo, Steven, Wendy, Shirley and our beloved four legged darlings. Dinner was a simple fare of Wendy's special (luncheon meat sandwich), fruits, snacks, chips, and 5 bottles of wine. Received good feedback for the Shiraz and I've ordered a case to share with Cleo. Not many photos taken of the group as the photographer was more interested in the scenary than anything else... Isn't Milky adorable? She's such a Princess, so demure and ladylike. In other words, handle with care; otherwise, break you pay. Hahaha...

The next picnic is on June 21st at Sentosa to celebrate Creamy's 2nd birthday. The menu has been decided and I'm sure there'll be generous supply of wine to go with the evening. I only hope for a fair weather. Fingers crossed and looking forward to it.

All About Food II

Remember I tried the sashimi from Sakuraya? It's value for money, as in it's worth every cent paid for. We're going for more and will try their Chutoro aka Fatty Tuna - meat from the belly of the Tuna - which is the only type of Tuna I fancy as it has a hint of sweetness and melts in your mouth. If you a fan then I recommend you try it at Akashi (Tanglin Mall) and Tom Ton (Central Mall @ Clarke Quay). The latter's shabu shabu is also another must try. You won't be disappointed.

Hubby and I found another new 'love'... long stem strawberries. They are big, juicy and sweet. It's simply super-licious.

Made Guacamole for the office today and they like it. Am going to attempt making Salsa dip next, let's hope it's as well received. I am a sucker for all chips and dips ; )))