A funny photo

I was just browsing thru' my photos and found a funny photo.

Aliens, the New Invincibles Heroes or the Masked Women?

Haha it's me, Audrey and Heli. Can you all spot who's who? We didn't mean to "act seh" and were actually struggling not to laugh so that there wouldn't be any facial lines. We're not supposed to move our facial muscles when we have face masks on right?

Hubby had gone night fishing and wouldn't be home till late at night so I went to 'tou kao' them. Thank you sisters for always being there for me whenever I'm left alone at home. Thank you uncle Larry and auntie Agnes for being so gracious with ur home and for bearing with our late-night trysts too. =)

Back

I felt my lower back muscles today. So? It's something to cheer about! Why?

Yesterday at the gym, hubby asked me to do the lats machine. If I remember the name of the monster correctly. It's this contraption that has two rubber pulleys with handles at the end. You sit on the machine, hold the handles with your arms stretched out and pull your arms back till your elbows are in line with your back. This was supposed to work my back muscles but I couldn't feel a single thing from my back. All I felt was my tricep muscles groaning but back muscles? Nope.

So I kept asking hubby whether I was doing the machine the right way. It's supposed to be a back machine but I can only feel my arms. Hubby looked at my technique and told me not to worry. I was doing the right thing and the reason I couldn’t feel anything on my back was that my back muscles was too small.

Last night I carried Shernise (Nd Quek's goddaughter) for a while and I felt my back! Wow carrying children is hard work. Limiin says her arms ache after carrying Zia for a while. When he's bigger and wants to be carried upright all the time, the strain will be on the back.

I remember asking hubby why am I working on my back? No one's gonna see my back. If I am still competing in latin dance, then back muscles would be good cos our costumes are mostly bareback but hai, I’m way past that stage liao. But I've found a reason to work on my back. Then next time can be super mom. Carry bb with one hand and shop with the other hand. Haha.

What we did on Saturday

It's Saturday 5pm and I'm typing this blog at Kranji Reservoir. This is the place we used to go when we were dating and it's one of my favourite fishing places cos it brings us back to nature, it's clean and it doesn't have any fishy smells. The weather feels particularly good after the rain with no scorching sun, the air is refreshing and there's even a chilly breeze blowing constantly.

Hubby fishing at Kranji Reservoir

These are the things lao gong brought for fishing.

Fishing rod, reel and pouch with all his fishing accessories.

These are the things I brought.

LSBC Fun Day mat, water bottle, laptop, bible, favourite writing materials, sunblock, Elle magazine and a Christian book. Some other things that I brought but left in the car after lao gong hinted," You really want to bring ar?" LOVE notebook for personal reflections and dolphin notebook for bible study.

"You going fishing or what?" Haha I also say. But this is to ensure that I don't get bored. And it feels good to blog and read here in the fresh air surrounded by beautiful greenery and the clear waters of the reservoir. I never know how long I may have to stay here.

An earthworm hubby dug from the earth.

Waaaaa so clever like that also can. Haha but honestly I'm really amazed at the variety of things hubby can do. I was very protected as a young girl and never got to explore the nature much so everything I know about the wild is the Night Safari, food chains and food webs. I didn't know you can just take a twig from the ground, dig the earth beneath the grass and tada! out comes an earthworm to be used as a bait for fishing!



See the man over there? Something quite funny happened to him. I'll try to describe what happened as vividly as possible.

He was here before we came and didn't seem to catch any fish. As we were each minding our own business, a big bird came swooping onto the surface of the waters and took flight with something in its claw. While me and hubby were still exclaiming at how fast the bird was, this man's rod started shaking and he raced towards it, probably thinking that he had caught a fish. As he started reeling in his line, the line started coming up of the water from the other end.

The fish the bird caught was the man's bait! Instead of catching a fish, the man had his bait stolen by a big white bird. It was a live fish that the man paid for with his own money! It's pretty comical when you watch the whole scene unfold in front of you and you realise bit by bit what has happened. We didn't dare laugh blatantly but even the man's friend couldn't help smiling.

On a final note, I want to thank God for the beautiful places that He has created. God, you are amazing. Love ya Papa.

Nails

Lao gong hasn't did my nails for quite a while. That day Wendy said," Hey I can see your toe nails for the first time!" Haha

Beige and red patterns on dark blue base

The blue is a very dark metallic blue from Face Shop. Thank U hubby!

Follow Up on "How to Make Big Money"

Around 2 days after I posted my entry titled "How to make Big Money" which is about inventing an automatic cleaner that can clean the whole house for you, I found something that looks almost like it.

It doesn't make alot of noise when in use and cleans very well but it's big and bulky. Another huge disadvantage is that it doesn't operate as and when I want it to. I guess it's the best for me until I find my dream machine.

My Automatic Cleaning Machine Substitute

Lao gong I don't mean to joke about you. Just wanna say thank you for the clean windows. I thank God we stay on the first floor else I'll be very worried for you whenever you venture out to clean them so thoroughly. Thank you for cleaning not only the cobwebbed windows you saw in the living room but also for continuing with the job the next next day to clean the windows in the study room. Most of all, thank you for leaving me out of this noble job. I love you lao gong! Hugggs!!!

FOP 2008

We nearly missed this year's FOP, until we ended up at Indoor Stadium after a stroll along Kallang River after a heavy steamboat dinner on Sat. As we were walking along the bridge, we heard snippets of the song Hosanna. Hillsong is here???

So we made last min arrangements and gathered those who might be free to go together on Sunday.


We met at 330pm, went for super early dinner at Old Airport Road before queueing for seats.

Queueing before the doors were opened

Fooling around while queueing

Yeah doors are opened!!!


An attempt at a candid shot

Sister's rebonded hair

Jingfang's new haircut, fresh from the oven

Where did the ladies go? To the ladies' of course

The admission cost

Thank God we paid our dues. We found summon letters on some of the cars near us.

How was FOP itself?

One word. Awesome. Yes the sound system, great singers and great music contributed to the atmosphere and upped the excitment everyone felt, but there was something that sets a worship concert apart from any other concerts. We were not exalting any ordinary human with a good voice or musical abilities. We were worshipping the Creator of the World, the Creator of us, the Lord and Redeemer of our Souls. Though the voices of the Hillsong team and the music they played was great, I think what sounds the most beautiful to God is the voices of His people singing as one unto Him, giving Him glory and expressing their love for Him.

I had a great time worshiping with Parachute and the Hillsong team. God, thank you for giving Your own Son to reconcile us back to you, for calling us to be your worshipers in spirit and in truth and for giving us the privilege to be called your child. I love you Lord.

How to make Big Money

Yesterday hubby commented that there were cobwebs on our windows so we proceeded to springclean our house. I decided to be a good helper and proceeded to work on our bedroom.

These are things I did.
1) Wipe our bedside table and the walls beside our window.
2) Remove curtains
3) Remove bedsheet
4) Wash bedsheet and curtains
5) Hang back the curtains
6) Put on new bedsheets for my bed
7) Change quilt cover and pillow case
8) Fold a mountain of clothes
9) Hang the rest and pack them all in the cupboard

This took up the WHOLE of my afternoon! I felt so tired after that and yet the house is still far from clean.

Sometimes I envy Limiin for having a maid. Her house is soooo clean. Everything is dust-free, everything smells nice, there's no mountain of clothes to be washed, to be folded or to be hung up. Yet I'm not willing to sacrifice our privacy and 2-person-plus-2-dogs world to have an additional stranger in the house (though the cleanliness will be A-star).

If there's a machine that can clean every part of the house automatically, I'll surely buy it. Anyone who invents such a machine sure earn big money. From me, prob my mum, prob Miin, and prob most mummys.

Hong Kong 2nd - 4th Jul

Presenting a photojournal of our second holiday in Hong Kong...

Maximum leg room How does the Caucasian endure the flight???

Our first and prob the only time taking Jetstar

Not that I rather spend more but I read an article on ST about some airfares being cheaper or only slightly higher than budget airfares during promos if you factor in the airport tax which is higher for budget airlines. Plus you don't get food, not even plain water (unless you pay) and for the amount (or lack) of leg room in the plane, I'd rather pay slightly more.

This time we booked the hotel and air tix on our own so we don't have anyone to pick us up. We bought a tourist card that allows you unlimited rides on the MTR for 3 days and 2-way travel from the airport via the airport express train to the city. Generally a good experience, the train was fast, seats were very comfortable, but you got to lug your baggages from the MTR all the way, by foot to the hotel.

The view from the airport express

Signboard that tells you how far you are from the next stop

We're reaching.....

For this trip, my itinerary included a long list of food recommended by foodies and I was quite excited about trying out the food that I had read so much about. (source: http://www.hktourismboard.com/seasia/snackguide/intro.html)

Our first food stop: YUNG KEE RESTAURANT

Best 'petan' I've ever tasted

This place was recommended for its roast goose but we found it so-so only. The roast goose we stumbled upon during our first trip was better but we can't remember whether we had it at near our hotel or somewhere near Ladies' Market and cos it's one of those restaurants we "stumbled" upon when we were 'dying of hunger', we didn't notice the name or address of the restaurant. We saw people at the table in front of us eating petan and the petan looked extremely delectable so we ordered a portion of it and it was reaaaaaaaallly good. I've never tasted petan like this before.
Then we went to the world's longest outdoor escalator that was built to ease traffic congestion.

The escalator is 800m long but there are breaks in between to allow you to get off. We were bored after the first stretch and quickly got off it.

Sights taken from the escalator

The apartment blocks look so oooooold...i feel so fortunate to live in Singapore...


Tea break was at Law Fu Kee (sounds like Lau Fu Zi hoh)

The boss came to take our order but I was busy reading my research findings to determine what dish to order so we told him to take our order later. He left us alone but not before giving us a dirty look and a frustrated sigh. Then my humorous hubby said I should have pointed to the poster stuck right in the middle of the shop.

Do you see the mini fan above the table?


The boutiques at Central...

I didn't buy anything from the boutiques...not even from the malls (except HnM)...I stuck to value-for-money buys at street markets throughout the whole trip cos my philosophy is: the point of going to HK to shop is not just for great looking clothes, which we also can find in Singapore (if you know where to go) but to find great looking clothes with great prices.

Omigosh!!!!

That's close to S$4m...

The $40m apartments behind the billboard (the small buildings on the topmost part of the photo)

View from Victoria's Peak

Supper: UNDER BRIDGE SPICY CRAB

A dish recommended by a warm & friendly uncle waiter from the restaurant

Signature Typhoon Shelter Spicy Crab

The crabs are imported from Southeast Asia, each weighing at least six katis. Once customers have made their choice, the crab is slaughtered and stir-fried with Japanese dried scallops, dried sole fish, cardamom, gingko nuts and spices like minced garlic and dried chillies. The spiciness can be adjusted to the customer’s taste. (source: http://www.hktourismboard.com/seasia/snackguide/intro.html)

Verdict: Finger-licking good

Salt & Pepper Mantis Shrimps

The shrimps are about the length of an arm but only one to two thirds of its parts can be eaten. These shrimps cost $25 each (if I remember correctly). Verdict: Worth every single cent and clamouring for more. Never tasted anything like this before. Ever.

Total bill for these 3 dishes: S$116

This is our most expensive meal not just during this trip, but thru'out all our honeymoons but it was...worth every single cent. Every dish was e.x.c.e.l.l.e.n.t.


Day 2
Breakfast: Lan Fong Yuen

Silk stocking tea (Si Wah Nai Cha)

Pork Chop Bun

We felt that the tea was so-so but the pork chop bun I tell you...the buns were well toasted with butter and the pork chop was well marinated...me and hubby chomped down a total of 3 of these...very satisfying breakfast!


Repulse Bay Beach: One of the 41 beaches in Hong Kong. This beach is supposedly one of the most popular beach there. The ride up the winding roads was fun, the scenery and billion-dollar bungalows were awesome but the sand was big and coarse, the waters was worse than East Coast. So, go for the scenery and experience but not if you're looking for white sandy beaches with fine sand and beautiful clear waters.

Some of the apartments right in front of the beach

We, the beach, the hills and the apartments

The scary ride down the hill

It was scary cos the roads were precarious and narrow but the drivers sped like nobody's business. Even when there were oncoming vehicles, they could maneuvere out of the way almost miraculously. If this was Singapore, sure kena fined like mad.

Old vs New

Somewhere in Central or Sheung Wan.

This photo was taken from one of the pillars in an MTR station. Without the model of course. The moment I saw it, I thought of Heli who I address as mei. So I thought it was the perfect backdrop for a poster for her. Doesn't it look like the advertisement for one of Jack Neo's movie? Mei ah, the part-time barista, detective and stand-in for liang popo.

My fav snack: Smelly beancurd

Our worst dinner: Claypot rice

The oyster cake from the same store that nearly saved the day

Day 3

Olympic torch?

Nah...just fooling around outside our hotel room

Breakfast at our fav dim sum restaurant

Table with drawer

Most of the eateries there have such tables. A clever invention indeed...

Yan Wo Soy Bean Shop (Hubby's fav eatery)

Dou Hua

Pan-fried toufu with fish paste. Unforgettable....

Pre-wrapped bouquets at Flower Street

That's slightly less than S$10. No wonder HK-ers can afford to be romantic every other day...

King of Melons

Roast goose: One of our fav dish

Waffle balls

Thank U lao gong for sacrificing your mekong catfish in BKK and for bringing me on this trip. Most of the time, the sun was blazing hot and the humidity was almost stifling, yet you trudged the streets with me every single day to scour for pretty clothes and bags with me. We went sight-seeing and shopped till my heels felt like there was hundred of mini soldiers hammering at them relentlessly and I know you must have felt worse cos your thighs were aching from your workout at the gym before we left for HK. I really appreciate you for all these things. Most imptly, thank God for providing for our honeymoons, for bringing us there and back safely and for all the things that we've enjoyed there. Even for the yucky claypot. At least I've gone for "HK's claypot pilgrimage" and tasted what they term as 'fragrant'.