Birthday - Prelude

The sketch above had nothing to do with my forthcoming birthday but I thought it was apt to put it here.
One night, Kiki and I were doodling on the leapfrog pad and we decided to doodle a birthday cake.
The one on the bottom left is her work, while the one on bottom right is mine.

 So anyway, this is Brendan's present for me. It's the same thing every year but each year, the amount varies.
This year, it hit all-time high, a whooping 1,470 gold coins! Yoohoo!


I have not decided the list of stuff I want, but here is the maiden present which I've already bought! (currently locked in my drawers so that I'll refrain from using it prematurely)

 This wallet is just so pretty! It's an artwork.
For your information, every piece is similar but different as they are cut out from a full piece of canvas and the print is literally a painting.

Katharine Hamnett watch

This is on my wishlist. I have not decided if I would get it because it would take up the bulk of the budget, meaning, this will become the main present. I had loved and literally dreamt of having this watch some ten years ago but forgot all about it till now.

Leisure

I have not been on any long haul holiday the past eight years. Although I do not complain about this, nor do I have the exceptional desire to travel long haul; I do feel that an ocassional break will do much good for our well being. I hope that I can start planting pockets of short breaks here and there, let's start by going to one of the nearest island that is just an hour ferry ride away-- Batam, Indonesia.

Me at the taxi stand flagging down a cab.

We "ran out of the house" before the kids woke up so that they don't get to see us leaving the house or they will starting crying, and that may make me feel a tad guilty. Ha ha.

Sidetrack a little- Recently, I've taken a fancy to getting my clothes made from the seamstress. You see this colourful piece of cloth there? made into a casual one-piece dress. It's so easy to travel in these kind of clothing, they take up little space and I've just packed one haversack for the 2-day trip.
(I've got three such dresses!)

 Exchange rate at Rupiah $7700 for one Singapore Dollar.   That makes us $2millionaires!
Cheerful-colour bank notes to match my psychedelic dress.

 We shared a meal like this which cost something like $8 or $10 in all.
(this is at the Mega-Mall (opposite the ferry terminal), one random restaurant)

 Tomato-carrot Juice.

 Headed to the hotel after lunch and I showed Bren the swimming pool.
Oh, by the way, we stayed at the Harmoni One Hotel / Apartment (?)

 You can see that the sun was very hot.

Quite a decent room, with massage area if you would prefer to have the massues come to your room.
Rupiah $110,000 (S$15) for an hour of massage if you bring yourself to the Spa. or $180,000 if you ask for room service.

The hotel room rate was S$91 (or so) for a night's stay. comes with breakfast for two.

Leisure

 They ran out of waffles and curly-fries, so we only had the glass of root beer float to satisfy our reminiscence for this American fast food brand.

 Dinner was again, something like S$8 at another random restaurant (also at the mega mall)

 Breakfast at hotel's cafe before heading back home.

We wanted to see the street hawker but it was too early in the morning and none of the push carts were in operation, so we lazed under one of the make-shift taxi stand while we waited for our ferry.

Halloween 2012

My sis came over to babysit the kids this Halloween while Bren & I took a break.
What a good idea, she brought them to the airport!
(I was wondering which pub she was gonna bring them to!) Haha.

 Kiki treating the children to some sweets.

So Elvis-y

studs on white just seem so Elvis-y.
kids' skin are so tender, some shoes cause friction and cuts her ankle which hurt a lot when the skin comes off. her school discourages using socks as there are too many kids to take care and the kids are expected to put on attires and shoes by themselves. so i have to take into consideration this aspect when buying shoes.

Caesar, caesar, here I come

i am eating as much greens as possible in order to loose the 11kg of excess fats i have. as it is, it is easy to know how to eat right but discipline for the long haul is the challenge. last night, i craved for a can of coke and drank it with such relish i wonder what power that drink has over me. i did not abstain from coke but have not had the drink for two weeks hence the sudden crave.

Playtime

we plan to bring them both to the beach more often

she misses the beach so much that she requested for it since last week.

My Mom's 65

we went Joo Chiat to have dinner last Saturday.
although it was just a simple dinner, it felt very nice to have my family around.
when SJ & my sis held hands and walked with Rachael, it looked like their kid and they look so good together. so that was picture perfect for me. my mom recently has a series of ill health, namely high cholesterol and diabetes so we only eat like this once or twice in a year (with her).
the restaurant at Joo Chiat was housed in a "kampong" hut with wooden flooring, reminds me of the old house i grew up in. after dinner, we went for a walk at 112 katong before heading home.

Sichuan Ma La Steamboat

 you can choose the clear soup stock if you don't want the oily, spicy version.
 lots of condiment for you to concoct your personalized sauce

PW gave us a treat to celebrate her being out of a job. Haha.
well, if you have money to sustain your lifestyle, i guess i would also celebrate that.
anyway, i have not eaten "ma la huo guo" before and i can tell you what i like and dislike about it.
the meat, especially pork, is very good! that is if you like pork. the fatty pork is exceptionally nice. other stuff like bean curd skin is also ok, veggies as per normal. dislikes are mainly - too oily, and also the herbal smell from the ma la stock. yucks..... sorry, i don't like the pungent smell. so if i ever wish to eat good pork, i would know where to go. (outram road- sichuan kingdom, aka T-one steamboat)

The Knot

 Attended Ben & Olivia's wedding on Saturday. Ben looks really young and boyish, they are a young couple anyway. They attended a wedding planning course over a period of nine months and organized the entire event on their own! The host was some radio DJ lady and they also had singer (Zhen Ke Wei) belting out love ballads http://taykewei.blogspot.sg/
I've not attended a wedding dinner where 90% of the guests are in gowns and suits like at the Grammys hence I was somewhat under-dressed.The couple engaged in a very good media company, they had photobooths, instant video presentations as well as photo-prints. plus you could also access their website (with code) to pick up your pictures or view those from the night.

Colin

we had a roller-coaster week when the entire family came down with food contamination and Colin had it worst. it was an ordeal i pray will never happen. he was severely dehydrated and not responsive. thankfully, he was saved. the medical team was serious and tensed and i was just blanked. thankfully, he is recovering and is now resting at home. his appetite is gaining and he smiled at me this morning. i hope he regains his strength, health and cheerfulness in no time. thank my mom, my sis, ken, for being around. brendan. and for Buddha's blessing. may we all live in good health.

Autumn Festival Celebration with the school

 at Marina Barage (again)
It was very hot,,,,,, I think, the school could have told parents to bring umbrellas, shades and more drinking water. Then again, getting to the restroom is another matter.
Nevertheless, the children enjoyed themselves very much and the song they sang for us was very touching. Perhaps it was due to their innocent, angelic voices. (they sang "yue liang dai bao wo de xin" "the moon represents/reflects my heart")

Gardens by the Bay

 Spent the morning by myself, roaming in cloud forest, taking in the awesomeness of beauty and framing them onto my mind.

Hope you liked them.