Last Post From USA

Greetings from Aleyska, Alaska. We've been in Alaska for the past week and will be heading to LA to catch our flight to Japan tonight,transiting at Seattle. It's been a fun week with awesome sights from all angles. Thick white sparkly snow makes all our pictures turn out perfect. We had tons of fun with the winter activites; dog sledding, building snowmans, soaking in the open-air hot springs at -30 degree celsius, etc. Yes u read right, freaking minus 30 degree celsius! The harsh bitter cold was pretty much unbearable, and that is my only complain. Tears & mucus froze instantly and we could feel our nostril hair freezing upon the 3rd breaths we took once we hit outdoors. It was totally insane and we weren't able to remain out in the open for long. Layerings and heat packs were insufficient to keep us warm, as our toes & fingers were constantly numb from the cold.

I'm utterly glad that we'll be bidding goodbye to the intense winter and saying hello to the sashimis and ramens waiting for us in Japan. Goodbye to pizzas and burgers too. I'm not despairing from my departure from STL yet, and I contribute that to the fact that I am still enjoying my 16-day long holidays. There were nights when I laid on my hotel bed and think of those days when I head out with TWC though. The good times we had in STL, the tranquil surroundings in WH and all the nice people I've met. Perhaps the real forlorness hasnt hit me hard yet. I'll emo-check myself again come mid jan. Tsk tsk...

As the guys are skiing down the scary snow-capped mountains now, this is where I'm blogging this particular entry; by the fireplace in the resort's lobby. Nice warm place to chill with an iced-cold sierra mist I must say. Anyway Anchorage is far less colder than Fairbanks, which is up nearer to the Artic Circle and where we experienced the bizzare -30 deg c. Thus, the temperature at where I am now is much more bearable than what I'd gone through the past few days.

Snow skiing has never been my cup my tea, after a bad experience trying to get back to base during my virgin trial in Korea 10 years back. Contradictorily, hubby is a snow-skiing fan, having gone to the extend of buying his own Oakley ski mask and ski pants, and seizing all opportunities to glide down the white mountains. I hope he doesn't come back with bruises and complains of aches. Heh...

After this winter adventure in Alaska, we'll be greeted by kawaii chicks in Tokyo & more snow in Hokkaido, before we head back home for good. I'm looking forward to the fresh sashimis and dinner with my dearest in Thai Village & Chong Qing Hotpot thereafter! Slurpz...

Last Night in Whispering Hills

With 50+ boxes of belongings moved and 7 boxes of trash cleared, the apartment is almost bare. It looks just like the day when we first shifted in 18 months ago. Memories of our arrival are still vivid, and now it's time to move on to the next phase of our lives.

As I typed away, noises made by my keyboard bounced off the white walls of my study and the room is filled with echo. That's how empty my room is now; juz the desk, chair, study lamp, my red baby and me.

Our only belongings left are whatever's in the 2 luggages and backpacks in the masters, and we're ready to hit the road come Thursday.

As I walked around every inch of the(empty) apartment one last time, my heart sanked deeper with each step I took. Those beautiful memories, the fresh crisp air coming in from the balcony, the carpeted floor, the oven, and the parcels from our online sprees... I'm saying my final goodbye to them all.

Tonight's our last night in WH, and I'm going to miss this place loads and loads and loads. It's not any fancy nice big house, but this small apartment in the middle of a quiet and peaceful landscape is made perfect by the friendly & nice people in the neighbourhood. Ron (Ronald) our maintenance guy is one exceptionally kind soul from WH, who made our living experience here far more better than I'd imagined. Just a call away, he's always here to fix a blown bulb, a choked sink/ toilet bowl, faulty this and that, etc. Never had I heard a grunt from him for being asked to fix the slightest fault in our apartment. We received a thoughtful handmade gift from him instead as a farewell cum xmas gift! Sigh, his warm smile is such a lovely sight, and it saddens me to know that he'll never be there to fix stuff for me again.

Knowing myself, I'm sure I won't be able to sleep well tonight, despite the fact that I barely had 4 hrs of sleep last night. Sigh... I wish time could come to a standstill. I wish life could be this good back in SIN. I wish, I wish, I wish......

Goodbye my beloved Hills, goodbye our little temporary apartment. Goodbye squirrels, goodbye geese. Goodbye good life, hello my new chapter.

*P.S. We'll spend a night in Hilton Garden Inn tmr, before we leave STL for good. Sob sob sob...


The movers came early today at 8am, moving all 54 boxes/items out to ship them back to SIN.
Most of the boxes in the hall were cleared.
Some of the boxes in my study, amidst the movers' hardwork.
After all our boxes have been moved. Hubby on his Macbook in the almost-bare living, except for some small belongings on the table and his jacket on the couch, as well as a small box to pack the router.
It's been 17 months since I last saw an empty study... No more bookshelf, no more boxes.
The empty dining room, and a glimpse of the fridge which is stripped bare of our magnets.
No more photo frames lined the walkway to the rooms. :(

Last Week in STL

It has been a mad week of shopping, packing & researching on the job market. I've been out every day, doing my last min buys. We headed to Plaza Frontenac on Monday, Tuesday was my last visit to Beauty First to get more OPIs, Wednesday was supposed to be our last visit to Mills and evening was spent in Bed, Bath & Beyond, we headed to West County mall for more shopping on Thursday as well as to Walmart to get more kitchenware, and today we were back in Mills again. We'll spend our Sunday in Chesterfield Mall, and I'm done with visiting all our regular malls one last time before we leave.

Having swiped my plastic more often than I thought I would, I'm going be slapped with more bills to pay next month again. It's not going to concern me much anymore, since it's going to be my last spree for eons to come! Heh... No doubt, I'm done with my shopping some weeks back, but how to resist when good deals are plastered all over the malls? I'm so glad I've got more clothes, shoes & beauty pdts again!

Packing has been quite a breeze with Hubby's help recently. Guys do indeed work more efficiently by flexing some muscles. I'm free to head out on Sat & Sun for the real last min shopping finally, just before our boxes leave us next Tues. Yipee!

I've gained some insights on the financial job market, after doing some research, and am appalled by the extremely wide range of salary offered to pple in my position. I'm not too greedy; I'll be glad to just land a role that pays me an average salary soon after we get back. :p Pray for me, ok?

Preparing for the Departure

As the boxes pile up in my study & our living room, our apartment begins to strip itself of our presences. The kitchen cabinets are half empty. Hubby's toys, which used to be scattered all over the living room, have been safely packed into the boxes. The shoes cabinet has been totally cleared. The chests of drawers in the study & master have been finally purged of all their contents. Winter clothes in the cupboard have been transferred into our luggages. The walk-in wardrobe is almost bare, with just enough pieces of clothes to last us for the next 6 days. SIX DAYS!!!

I think I am accepting the fact that I'll be saying goodbye to my good life soon. No longer as devastated now, I am starting to imagine life in our matrimonial flat again. Weekends spent watching movie in our ER, and with friends over for drinks around our bar. The occasional cook-out in my little kitchen. Surfing net on our desk. Reading on the couch. All the other daily activites in the place we called home.

St. Louis is a marvellous place. Our 18-month stay has been terrific. As good as our lives here are, and as much as I do not want to leave this place, I'll have to acknowledge the fact that we have to head back to where we came from. Dad & mum are both waiting eagerly for our arrival. We can't wait to meet up with our friends and share the goodness of our past 18 months with them. And of course I can't wait to use all the new goodies when we're back home.

Life's been like a dream, and it's time I wake up to face the harsh reality. I think I am ready to go back to the work force again, and to lead a stressful life in the competitive society once more. Bring it on!!!

I've never felt soooo adverse to going back home, back to my family's warmth, & back to my dear frens' fun. I am willing to give up on all the yummy food in SIN, just to extend our stay in STL... but of course it's not going to happen.

I can't help but tihnk of myself going back to suffer; back to the roaches & insects, back to the less civilised world, back to the stressful & congested place.

There isn't any roaches, ants, stray cats & much insects (I hate them all!!!) in STL; unlike in our oven-uous SIN. I havent even seen much flies to be honest. The only stray animals i've seen are the geese & squirrels that roam around our estate at this time of the year.

People here are soooo much civilised, friendlier and welcoming, this I'm sure I've mentioend before in my 1st few entries. Wind down your car window in the hot hot Summer as ur car is parked in the open, and you can expect everything in the car to remain intact hours later. Getting greeted by strangers with a warm smile is such a common sight here. Signal while driving and you can immediately see the car behind you slowing down to give way all the time! Car horn? It's almost unheard of here, unless in a real desperate situation (read: almost causing an accident).

Talking about driving, the driving experience is truly way much better in STL than in SIN. The roads are wider and less congested. Parking lots are bigger and parking is FREE almost everywhr in STL, except for school (ironically students have to pay whr everywhr else is free!) and downtown (CBD areas) which we frequent less than 5 times during these 18 months. Road bullies are also unheard of; friendly & CIVILISED drivers are in abundance.

Weather is of cos far better than in the oven-hot SIN, despite the harsh Winters. Give me fresh dry air anytime, but not polluted humid air that congested our noses so very often.

Lastly, shopping is of cos uncomparable!!!!!!!!! I don't have have to emphasize on that one :p

I have to rush off. There's more to come. SHall update again when I've time.

My last 8th day today.... sob sob....

The 1st Farewell

Jos leaving in a couple of hours time, for good. I said my goodbyes with a heavyheart, as her departure marks an end to our girly luncheons & shopping trips. Future meetups in Singapore will definitely be a vast difference from the marvellous time we had here. Sigh...

I have another 10 more nights in our apartment. Sob sob...

Last Online Purchase

Just checked out from the Aldo website, and bought my last item on the net. To play it safe, I shouldn't be online shopping after today. In the event that my purchases do not reach me before we move out on the 23rd, I can only say goodbye to my $$.

Has been hesitating if I should buy more shoes. Hubby made my decision much easier when he came home today annoucing his $xk "investment". I reckoned I should use his money to buy more stuff before he squanders his money away. Isn't it much better to splurge on shoes than to see money going down the drain?

To digress, I wish my hubby is more money-wise than he currently is. How can a business be an investment when it doesn't seem like it'll generate income or appreciate over time? Maybe I'm too critical, but how can I not be when I look back on historical datas to predict the future values? Random walks? Unlikely. Bleah... I'm talking finance, but I'm making sense! Additionally, since his annoucement doesn't involve any discussion = not respecting my views, I should really spend more of his money. No wonder Mum oways say never let ur hubby's wallet grow too fat. I absolutely agree on this one!

Anyhow, since he's going to squander his money without batting an eyelid, I should also start spending his money without much hesitations. I'm glad I did just that these few days. :p

It's Snowing!

Today we saw the first snow of the season in STL. Supposed to head to Mills for some quick shopping to grab more last min buys, but we reckoned it's better stay indoors in such cold weather. As I type away here, it's -6 degree c outside now, -10 deg c with windchill. Very strong wind indeed! I never thought we'll be able to catch snow in STL before we leave, as the first snow last season was in January. I was told it seldom snowed in December here, much less during the early days of the month. Though the light snow is not enough to cover the ground in white, I guess it's enough to make me enjoy my day watching the flurries drift from above.

It does look like rain in this pic, but I assure you it's flurries!

A Random Walk

With the help of Hubby I've got 16 boxes up now. I hope I can get at least 4 more sealed this week. Sigh...

Jos is leaving in a weeks time, back to the harsh reality. I feel very sad for her. Soon after it'll be my turn...

Dinner was so good last night. Plates and plates of delicious chinese food; roast duck, salted chicken, claypot toufu, sweet & sour fish, etc. All thanks to JH & Jos for the marvellous treat!

This week's gonna be my last week to purchase stuff online; just in time for our shipment. I'm gonna miss online shopping to the max...

There're a few more places I want to go b4 I leave: La Salsa, Pastries of Denmark, Teochew eatery, TGIF (beef stroganoff!), Cheesecake Factory, and let me think of more.

Was discussing about our finances with Hubby last night, and we both realised I spent a horrendous five-figure sum on shopping during our time here! Almost the same amount of money spent on holidays for each of us during this period. I would never have believed I spent so much, till he did the calculations. Actually I think I just never wanted to know the exact figures. Sigh...

In our discussion, we did a comparison of our lives here & in SIN. I can only conclude there is just ONE thing good about SIN. Food; it's convenient & cheap. That's about it. I hate the crowds, especially now that it is infested with the uncivilised influx of Tiongs. I hate driving on our narrow & congested roads; unfriendly & rude drivers make my road experience worse. & of cos I hate looking for parking space. Lastly, I hate working life!

I've had this idea for the longest time, to chart a comparison of the life here in STL & in SIN, down to the details and post it in my blog. I gues it's really time to get down to it. Give me a couple more days...

Early Winter

We're 2.5 weeks away Winter, but as many have predicted, we're experiencing the harsh weather much earlier this year. When we went Mills last evening, donned only in our Fall jacket, the temperature decided to hit 0 degree celcius. Now as I prepare to hit the gym, the temperature's at -3 degrees; and we're wondering if we need to put on our long john pants just for that short 3 mins walk to the gym...

Shopping & Packing

Backed from Smoky Mtn on Sunday evening. The Black Friday sales was pure madness, with queues everywhere even in the cold weather at midnight! There were long queues to enter the shops, long queues to the fitting rooms, and more queues to pay for the merchandises. I hadn't had enough time to comb all the stores I wanted to, and had to rush to Mills on Monday to try my luck at Banana Republic. Too bad BR didn't have the extended BF sales like some of the other stores, and I lugged back a much smaller bag than I thought I would have. It was Cyber Monday that faithful day too, and I had a crazy evening rushing to buy stuff online before the clock strikes 12. Managed some more dinnerware, and I'm utterly pleased with my buys once more. :p

Haven't had much advancement when it comes to packing. I'm still stucked at the 9th box for more than a week. I'm almost done with all our shoes & books, as well as 2 boxes of Sharon's baby stuff, 1/3 done with our clothes, and am in the midst of packing those bags. Haven't touched on our stationary, beddings, toiletries, sports equipment (rollerblades, golf bags, etc) and other misc stuff. As breakable kitchen & dinnerware will be taken care of by the professional packers, it seems like I am almost a-third done with the packing. Now I need to hasten my pace and get at least another 20 more boxes up within a span of 3 weeks. Sigh...

Today's effectively the last day of class and I'm uber happy that I'm not boiled down by any exam preparations this last term! Will be having a presentation tmr, and that wraps up my 17-month long educational journey. I can finally bid WashU a big farewell! At least I'm happy to close this particular section of the beautiful chapter in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tmr's Thanksgiving Day, and we're leaving for Atlanta tonight. Not particularly excited over this trip (think 9-hour drive!), but very much looking forward to the spree. Shall blog about the trip after Sunday. Till then...

More of Alaska

An interesting fact about Alaska is, there's going to be only 4 hours of insolation per day in Fairbanks come January. On the contrary, daylight accounts for 21.5 hours during the peak of Summer, i.e. in July. That explains why Alaska is known as "The Land of the Midnight Sun"! If you'd watched "The Proposal", you'll see Sandra Bullocks going to bed in the "day", when the sun is still blazing high up in the sky. Not forgetting about the crazy weather too. The average temperature in Fairbanks now hovers at about -30 deg celsius (I think I've mentioned this before). We thought there's going to be a high possibility the temp is going to hit -40 d.c. or even lower, when we arrive a month later.

We're definitely going to make full use of that limited hours of daylight per day, but we're still not sure if our thick layers wil keep us warm enough to conquer the horrendous weather. Despite this, I'm soooo looking forward to go dogsledding & snowmobile-ridding, while the boys are dying to ski amidst the snow-capped mountains. Of course the Northern Light is our main objective, and lets hope we are lucky enough to catch it!

With this, I think I am sort of ready to leave STL for good, ready to overcome the difficulties of a working life...

Of Potlucks & BBQs

Tomorrow's mass cook-out most probably shall be our last in STL. Here is how we plan our team's pig-outs. It was pretty nostalgic looking back at the past spreadsheets, really. To think that the last potluck we had, which was also our first, was actually a year ago when KY & PS shifted next door to be our immediate neighbours. It seems like it was just a couple of months ago when we were all cosing it up around the tight space for a sumptuous home-cooked meal.

Fridge Magnets

Like Mum, I am collecting magnets as I travel. These magnets were collected as we toured around the Americas during the past 16 months. They each represent a state/city we had visited, except the three magnets on the extreme left, which were gifts from friends. I love how they accessorize our fridge! A picture of the colourful fridge, before I wrap these souvenirs away...

To be added to this collection soon: Atlanta, Smoky Mountains, Alaska & Seattle. These will be going directly into our luggages though.

Thanksgiving

Black Friday Sales is starting next Thursday evening!!! I wasn't even aware we're only 10 days away from the Thanksgiving weekend! Of course I'm extremely excited over this last burst in the outlet, but it also means it's high time I start preparing for the finals and presentation again...

Atlanta, North Georgia, is where we'll be heading to for this spree. It's about a 9-hour drive from home, and we'll be staying a night at a hotel just opposite the outlet. Perfect location, since all we need to do is to just walk a couple of mins to heaven! Thereafter we'll drive another 3 hrs or so to Great Smoky Mountains, and spend 2D2N somewhere in the mountains. The plan's to trek for 2 days, but seriously I doubt I'll have much energey left after shopping from midnight to dawn. The Black Friday Sales starts at 12 midnight on Friday monrning btw, but of cos we're anticipating some shops to start the madness earlier, at 10pm perhaps. =)

Wish me all the best in this last shopping spree! I hope I can cover all the shops needed to be covered, and sweep as many goodies as possible! Hohoho...

Food, Oh Glorious Food!

When I'm in a good mood, I'll try to whip up something we both love. Today, it was Portugese egg tarts (again), and Chicken Rendang!

With 1 pastry sheet left in the freezer, I have been procrastinating for the past month to make these tarts. Since school ended early on Mondays and I happened to be carving for sweet stuff, it's the best time to get my hands dirty again!
My 3rd & best attempt thus far, as these gems had the right sweetness and the egg custards were nicely browned on the top and soft on the insides. Unlike the last try, the insides were a little too dry and over-cooked. Heh...

He had a nice little surpise when he came home to piping hot portugese egg tarts fresh from the oven!

Chicken rendang with Myojo's Char Mee were what we had for dinner tonight. These were part of the food to be cleared as well. Finger-licking good home-made rendang! All thanks to a nice girl, who introduced me to this marvellous sauce during a potluck back home.

If you haven't tried Brahim's Kuah Rendang, you will never know how easy this dish really is. I got mine from NTUC, and it took me 5 mins to get everything into the pot, and another 30mins to simmer the dish before we tucked in. Good with beef stew meat too!

Another Gloomy Day

Starting from today, it's going to be another gloomy and rainy week ahead, after half a month of sun and cheery days. Sian... I haven't been spending time with my notes & book for more than a week; it's time to get back to them again. Very sian... Haven't really been doing any packing too; the mess is giving me a bad headache everytime I try to get started. 3 more weeks to an exam and a presentation, 5.5 more weeks to The Departure. Super duper sad and sian!!!!

Tired. Perplexed. Scared.

6.5 more weeks to the big goodbye.

To ensure that I've maximized these last weeks fully, I've started a new regime, to spend less time on bed. It's been a frenzy week of online shopping, and I'm constantly cracking my brain on what have I left out on my shopping list. Perpetually on the other end of my mind is how I should go about squeezing all our stuff into those boxes. Sigh... It's really such a chore! I know I've grumbled about this umpteen times, but since I can't stop adding more stuff into the boxes, I just have to complain about having an influx of new items to pack. Alright I'm not really sure what am I lamenting about. To summarise, I can't stop buying, but I hate having to keep packing more and more stuff into the boxes! GGggrrrr......

Should I get 5 pairs of shoes from the same make? I want to, but not really sure if I should. Currently our shoes occupy 3 boxes and I thought maybe it's time to tighten the purse strings. They're freaking cheap though! Life is sometimes an irony, isn't it?

Actually I don't know what I am blabbering about in this post. Perhaps I just need an outlet to vent my undecisiveness and my complacency.

*P.S. I hate how some people think I should treat them as good friends, when they are merely acquaintances to me. I hate it when these people ask provoking questions, invading my private life, thinking they have the right to access such info. I especially hate it when the same people try to impose their uncalled-for opinions/criticisms on what I do with my life/money!

*P.P.S.S I'm way behind my study schedule and I'm terrified!

*P.P.P.S.S.S I miss McDonald's ice tea...

**I'm finally going for an authentic Mexican meal later! yum yums...

Packing & Unpacking

Seriously, I'm utterly sick of packing. First packed my barangs 2.5 yrs back to move into our matrimonial house. 1 yr later, packed almost every damn thing in that house to shift here. Now here I am re-packing everything again + a lot more new stuff, to ship them back to that same house. Not forgetting each packing ritual comes with an unpacking task. I can't imagine I've been repeating this tedious chore almost once a year. Sigh.... I've only finished packing 3 full boxes, and have maybe 20+ more to go. Help!

Was packing my bags last night, and I can't believe I have more than 20 bags to ship back! Of course some belong to my sis & cousin, but the bulk of it, sadly are my possessions. I've decided to "spread my risk", in the event that the custom officer decided to check our boxes and think I am bringing these bags back for sales. So now I have to temporary say goodbye to some of these goodies...

While packing, I also realised that I have bought quite a number of clothes on impulse over these few months; tops especially. No wonder Hubby mentioned today that he really thinks I am sick; an addiction to shopping is an illness to him. With these, I am going back home as a pauper. So when you see me, don't assume all who come home from an overseas attachment will bring back with them a bag of gold. Sigh...

Daylight savings

We're now 14 hours behind SIN time, instead of 13.

Alaska!

Yay! We're really going to set foot on Alaska! No doubt i'm over the moon, despite the exorbitant cost. I reckoned we could scrimp and save after the trip, since this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I'm gonna feast on Alaskan crabs and I do hope we get to see the magnificent Aurora!

The best part of going home is not only the Alaska trip, but we're meeting my bff in Tokyo and will be heading to Hokkaido together! For once, I don't feel as sad as before about leaving the US.

Where's my Sunshine?

I haven't seen the sun since Sunday. It's been such a wet & gloomy Fall this year. We wanted to take some nice scenaries of WH, but haven't been able to so do for the past 2 weeks! Before we know it, the big rain drops are going to make all the red & golden leaves fall off very soon...

Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

I have tons of food needed to be clear by December; one of them is brown sugar. I can't remeber what was the brown sugar for, and have no idea what are the uses for it (except the finger-licking-good lor bak I cooked last week). Thus I was on the hunt for a recipe that requires brown sugar. As much as possible, since I have one big packet of it left almost untouched. I have never heard of a bundt cake (call me a mountain tortoise), more so a brown sugar bundt cake, and thought maybe I should give it a shot. Especially so when it requres 2 cups full of brown sugar; perfect way to rid them asap.

My brown sugar bundt cake! I like how smooth and shiny my cake turns out. I like the colour and taste of it too!

Nice dense bundt cake. I enjoy the heavy texture, and it's marvellous when topped with my Haagen-Daz Vanilla Swiss Almond. Hubby likes it and it makes both of us happy.





*P.S. After a check on the net, I learnt that any cakes made using a bundform cake pan forming a distinctive ring shape is a bundt cake. So a bundt cake is defined by the looks of it. :p

Shopping Loot

I haven't been bothered with packing & really cleaning the apartment for some time. Below was the state of my study room as of last week. Bags and boxes of purchases, accumulated since Summer.
Everything in the red rectangles were my shopping victories. There were bags on top of bags, boxes piling up on one another. I thought I've bought enough to last for 2 years, but after I started packing, I realised I hadn't exactly bought that much actually. Those bags and boxes were deceiving; they contained more air & paper than the actual loot. :( Now that I've finished packing 3 boxes for our 1st shipment, I've cleared half of these clutter, enough space for my study chair to move around finally.

Baby clothes, something I just couldn't resist buying. Not that I'm preggers or we're planning for one soon, but since they're cheap and pretty, I thought I should start stocking up on them 1st. I began with just the baby girl's wardrobe, then I thought I should also stock up on some boy's. In case Dr. Shettles' method doesn't work on us... Now that I look at the baby's wardrobe I've built up over the past year, I think I'm crazy! Then I convinced myself that I can give some away as pressies in the future.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

I cried buckets upon reaching the last chapters of the book about a year back. Tonight, I cried as much as I watched the movie on TV. A great book by Kim Edwards.

Burn my Fats!

After a momth of hiatus from the gym, I almost died twice. Once after a 30min jog on the treadmill yesterday, and after a 20min workout on the stepper just now. I thought my heart was pounding out of my chest, and was grasping for air with all my might. Still, I'm glad I was motivated enough for weights thereafter on both days. I hope I can do 30mins each on the stepper, the treadmill and the weights station consecutively like before in no time. I shall be disciplined enough to hit the gym at least thrice a week for the next 2 months...

Those chocolates, cakes and cookies are making me fatter again! Aaarggghhh... I can never go without these gems, so I MUST burn the fats away!!! Going for my kitkat bar now. Oh did I mentioned I'm very hooked on Snicker's Almond bar and Lindt's raisin & nut choc block now? I've them all stocked up in my kitchen, together with Chips Ahoy & Keebler cookies! yum yum...

Weather

It was 1 deg C early yesterday morning, and 23.5 deg C this noon. CRAZY!!!

Mickey Mouse

"Mickey Mouse" apartments? No thanks! It's pure insane that anyone will want to live in a house that's barely 300 square feet big. 2.5 times the size of a carpark lot?! Isn't that just enough for a bed, a pair of side-tables and min. walking space? Should this be socially acceptable? As the government's promoting family bonding and supporting parenthood, our society seems to be encouraging singlehood instead. I hope we or my next gerenation will not have to succumb to living like a mouse, making do with constrained tiny quarters.

Dad

I just saw a short clip, and it says "No man can love you more than your Dad". I can't agree more. Perhaps as much, but definitely not more. So, shouldn't we love our Dads no less than any other men? I know I should, cos I'm one of my daddy's girls.

Beauty Talk

Horror of horrors!!! I woke up to discover 2 deep lines under my right eye this morning!!! Is the one major sign of aging finally hitting me, or are the lines caused by the recent late nights and disturbed sleep?! Of course I hoped it's due to the latter, and that these lines will be gone before I know it. Or perhaps, the dry weather is making my drier skin creases easier now, and it may disappear once the oil secretion increases in the humid red dot. Sigh... Is my 6 years of religious application of SK-II eye gel coming to a naught? And those Meiji collagen powder, I thought they are suppose to prevent the appearances of the duanting wrinkles?! I'm so extremely perturbed by what I see in the mirror...

As my family's beauty and fashion consultant, Mummy has always tried her best to instill the habit of eye-cream and sunscreen application in us. As Mum age with grace, I'm aging with the ugly folds!

Was on the topic of how motherhood changes a woman with P today. It set me thinking hard; will I turn out to be one of those lazy wives/ mothers? I am not attractive to begin with, and so I need enhancers (read cosmetics) to look groomed. As the saying goes, there aren't any ugly women around, but lazy ones. I've always believe that one of the main duties of a wife is to stay as well groomed as possible. Let's be honest, who will like to introduce their fat/ unattractive/ sloppily-dressed spouse to their friends or colleagues? If you say you don't mind, stop being a scoundrel. Have you never thought "if my spouse has those killer bodies" or "if she could squeeze into that tiny dress for me" or "I wonder how she'll look like with makeup"? I've nothing against people on the big side due to genetic reasons, but I definitely disapprove of those (esp. the women) who let their weight balloon to an appalling number after child-birth/ marriage. Some said it's a chore to take heed of what goes into your mouth, especially since you're taken. Others said they need the massive energy to run after the kids. Come on, if the other wives can look good, why can't the rest? We don't see oursleves as often as our husbands & kids see us. So, give some respect to the man who toil hard at work! They won't want to come home to a haggard/ wobbly wife for sure! I pity those husbands who barely know how their wives look like with makeup on, as the last time they see these women looking pretty was on their wedding day.

Oh, why am I promoting incentives to look good? Shouldn't this be a woman's basic instinct? I may be on the route to aging, but I will try embrace that with much dignity and pride. I need to constantly remind myself that I have to follow Mummy's footsteps; she's made Dad a proud hubby even after decades of marriage. Melanin? Fashion disaster? Never in Mom's dictionary, and I admire her for that.


*For those new mothers trying to shed that last few kilos, jia you!!! It's now or never, so don't get exasperated yet! Think of those lovely family portraits, where everyone is looking good. Heh...

**If you're reading this, I hope you'll be more motivated to tone those flabs up a little. I will definitely prefer the old muscled body. :p

12 More Weeks

I hate to imagine what I will be doing at this time of e day, exactly 3 months from now. Either I'm home rotting away with the airon on full-blast, or I'm shoving my way through the throng of crowd somewhere out there. As much as I dread it, I have to prepare myself for the scourge. SIGH~

Good things always come to an end, but why?

Cold, Wet & Dark Fall

How amazing is it that the temperature's able to dip more than 10 degree celsius in a week? It's freaking cold now, and we're only about 2 weeks into Fall. A wool coat + 2 interior layers weren't enough to keep me warm last night with a temp of 8.5 deg c and the gusty wind. I wished I had my gloves and scarf with me, but isn't it too early for them now? Things were made worsed when it rained for 2 long consecutive days. I barely get to see the Sun till today, and I hope it continues to shine throughout the rest of Fall. I hope too, that the weather permits me to wear my Fall coats more often before the boring Winter jackets have to made their reappearances again.

* It's gonna hit 0 deg c tonight, right smack in the middle of October. This is insane!

Bag-fanatic?

Perhaps. I did a rough calculation, and realised I got myself the 7th and 8th bag in 5 months today! A 9th bag is out of stock and I'm on the wait-list, till new stocks arrive.

A bag tells a lot about a woman, a little more than shoes I think. A bag adds character to one's outlook and a touch of colour sometimes. A nice bag is as important to a lady, as much as a good pair of watch is to a man. Hence, it is essential to stock up on bags, as many as possible, for all kinds of occasions, different types of looks, and for self-satisfaction.

I'm hitting the mall again tmr, amidst my exams preparations. It's the Columbus Day weekend sales! I'm so charged up for my studies now! wahahaha...

I hope money will drop from the sky! Money money money!!!

Frivolously Cluttered

It's time to mug again. I can't believe this! 5 weeks of sch has past and the exams are drawing near again. Though I only have a paper to prepare for this term, it sure will sap up lots of my precious time. I simple hate accounting. Give me maths, anytime!

I was reminded by Yvonne that in another 13 weeks time, we'll bid STL goodbye. That sucks, to the core.

The weather is turning cold now. No way to leave home without a sweater/coat in tow. The leaves on the trees are starting to turn yellow/pink. Quite a pretty sight, but I ain't enjoying what I see. The time when the trees are bare, is the time when I need to leave this place for good. I can still vividly remember last year this time, I can't wait for the trees to turn orange/gold completely. Thereafter I was so bewitched by my surroundings, and jovially took in every single pretty sight at every turn. Now, I hope these trees will turn to the hue of fresh light green all over again...

I hate winter. I hate it when everywhere I turn to, I see barren brown trees, dry lawns, lifeless roads, men in black coats. The only colours I see around me are black, brown and white. I felt like I lived in a colourless world.

The surveyor from the shipment company came on Wed to do a pre-move inspection. To my dismay and horror, he said I've exceeded my cargo space limit!!! The only household who's utilized their quota to the max, he said. To fit our stuff nicely into the allocated cargo, we have to shrink our stuff by 50cubic feet. However, I'm not done with my shopping yet! The kitchenware, my bags, shoes and clothes, and not forgetting erm... whatever random stuff that cross my mind? No, I am quite adamant that I do not want to give up my Sealy mattress too! Ggrrr... and who was the one who told me our allotment will deinitely be more than enough??? I'm so torn and depressed whenever I have to decide between mattress/shopping.

Yet, I went to Mills again today, and looted 2 big bags of goodies. Seriously, Gap has the best stuff for coats, capris, and home wear. No time for Banana Repulic and Bed Bath, but I'll go again after the 12th. Heh!

It's the Mid-Autumn Festival tmr, and we're holding a BBQ to celebrate. What's new right? Even the food are always almost an exact replica of the previous BBQ session. However with 20 of the F-15 gang here, how else can we get together? Steamboat and potluck are too much of a hassle and not feasible for such a crowd. Dinner at a restuarant is boring, cos we can't get to mingle around with free-flow booze. Free flow for me only, cos there are always too much for my liking.

The 8th month, 15th day of the Lunar calendar is an auspicious day for all things great. Congrats to Gordon and Meiling, for getting married on this beautiful day, and to Elvin and Emily, for moving into their love nest!

I said my post will be frivolously cluttered, didn't I?

*P.S. Kate Spade's double discount with the friends and family sales event is ending on Sunday. Any more orders?

Fragrant Yam Rice

We just had yam rice for dinner. It's finger-licking good! Of cos, I cooked that, with a pot on the stove and absolutely no help from my defunct rice cooker. If you're surprised with my culinary skills, I can understand cos I'm amazed with myself too! :p

No pics of our palatable dinner cos I was too hungry to reach out for the camera; I just had to tuck in immediately to the piping hot bowl of fragrant rice. Slurp!

1st Step to Going Home

I've officially started packing for our shipment back. It took me 1.5 hrs to individually wrap 20 pcs of Corelle dinnerware and 2 ornaments. Am I slow or what? I reckoned I'm going to spend the most time packing glassware, since they need to be bundled up separately in serveral layers of papers to prevent breakage. Thus here I am, packing 2 months ahead of our final shipment.

Hubby has arranged to share our shipment with KY and SK, hence we're going to have 3 staggered shipments. Perfect plan since I need to send my work clothes, shoes and bags back early in preparation for interviews, if there are any. On the other hand, we will need our kitchenware and other necessities till Dec, and these will go in the last shipment. Oh and those Kate Spade bags that you girls have ordered, they've all arrived in 2 huge boxes today. I should be sending them back in my 2nd shipment, in time to distribute them when I'm back in Jan.

Talking about Kate Spade, as I was doing my calculations on the amount spent on those bags (for you gals!!), I realised they are soooo freaking cheap! At about 50-60% off the retail prices, they are easily 60-70% cheaper than those ridiculous prices in SIN! For example, a full leather KS bag cost USD425, which could be about SGD700, was selling at only SGD190 during the outlet sales! That's an insane 27% of its original price only!!! I can't stop sneering at those silly wonkas who paid SGD500 for a KS nylon bag while I only paid SGD150 for mine. Wahahaha! How can I curb myself from shopping here?!

Alright I've digressed, but I just have to comment on how ridiculously cheap stuffs here are!

Anyway, back to my packing. I can't wait for those empty boxes to arrive soon, cos there's going to be no space for footing in my studyroom soon. My bags of purchases are strewn all over the floor. Boxes of online buys are randomly (read disorderly) stacked on the empty spots I found. The mess is really such a pitiful sight.

Packing is such a chore. Unpacking is nerve-wrecking. Doing these twice in 18 months is pure nightmare!!! We literally packed our entire home in boxes, unpacked them here more than a year ago, and now I am repacking them to have them unpacked again in 4 months time. I'm working harder than a fruit packer. At least they get to eat free fresh fruits while they pack. Me? I breathe and eat dust while I'm at work. And the worst part, it feels so depressing to take that 1st step into preparing to leave STL for good...

Poignant

I chose to take a longer route home after school today. The scenic and quiet drive was necessary for me to gather some thoughts, and clear my mind.

Last year this time, I was welcoming Fall with much gusto. When I arrived home today, I was perturbed to be greeted by a pink shrub by the doorway.

The pink shrub.
It's other half still in green, at the other side of the doorway.
Another counterpart few steps away, already totally bare.

饭

Just as when the sack of rice was depleted last week, the rice cooker decided to die on me. Very good. To begin with, I was never exactly into cooking; I cook more for health reasons since dining out often doesn't do justice to the heart and waist. Now without a rice cooker, I absolutely dread preparing dinner. To watch over the stove for 30 mins is a feat!

Are u there, Vodka?

Alcohol intoxication - I'm thirsting for it.

I am seriously in need of a good night out, filled with alcohol and my trusty pals. I want to dance till the lights come on and laugh till my jaw drop. How I miss those crazy times with my girlfriends, getting wasted night after night.

Yet now when I think of a clubbing buddy, I realised I've got none. They have all either embarked onto another phase of their lives (read motherhood), or have decided to never look back on alcohol. What's so bad about wines, martinis, vodka and cognac? It's all about getting that kind of satisfaction & happiness that can't be achieved anywhere else, isn't it?

Maybe I should start searching for a drinking buddy all over again...

A Month of Celebrations

Happy Birthday Dearest!

A Taylormade R7 driver, his bday pressie upon his request. Nice!


We celebrated our wedding anniversary with fresh seafood @ Bristol just 4 days ago. I was surprised we were able to find really fresh seafood in STL; the seared scallops and lobster mac & cheese were soooo good!

My bday's round the corner, and Hubby got me the red epi Sarah. Received it yesterday, but am now thinking of exchanging it for the black instead. Red is my all-time fav colour, but black is sleek enough for a long-time use. *Indecisive*


*Updated on 09/21: I've changed it to the black Brazza instead! :P

More Family Matters

Mummy just msned me to say "I miss you, for not going lunch with me. Sometimes quite bored now. You used to call me out for lunch and shopping when you're not working."

Yah I miss those mum-daughter high-tea and shopping trips too, which took place once every fortnight during my off days in the past.

It's such a struggle and a nasty feeling. I am absolutely not looking forward to going back to SIN, to slog @ work, and to lead a high-stress life. Yet I miss my family and friends to bits. sigh....

I Love My Family, Tons!

I received a long "letter" from Mel this morning. It of cos wasn't one of the most pleasant thing to wake up to in the morning, but I am so glad she'd told me what she has been feeling. A lot of grievances, and tons of emotions. Yet, as the eldest sis, I am extremely touched how much my opinions and thoughts affected her.

My family means more than anything else in the world to me. My loving and devoted parents, the two silly but extremely intellegent geese, and my hubby are my everything. I have always seek support from my parents in all the major decisions I'd made in life. Likewise, my younger sis will look up to me for some form of encouragement. As part of a close-knitted family, why didn't I think of how much pain I had caused when I showed my disapproval? I'm disappointed with myself for causing emotional distress to the little goose. Albeit all these anguish, I'm glad we're still as close as ever, and that I play an important role in Mel's life.

I'm proud of my 2 silly geese, one of whom had graduated from Law sch and is now working in one of the top and largest law firms in Singapore. The other is in Medical school, nurturing to be one of the best & most dedicated doctors (perhaps a pediatrician?) around!

My Marvellous Family & I:
Taken 3 years ago on Geri's 21st bday.
Taken 2 years ago on Larry & Jenny's wedding night
Taken last year, while sending Mel off in T3.

Float Trip @ Meramec River

Float trip? Blah! It's definitely NOT a float trip, kid me not. I was told we don't really have to canoe much, but just float down the river together with the current. Instead, we took 6 hours yesterday to CANOE down the long winding 10 miles river, with some breaks in between. Now, I wake up with excruciating ache on both shoulders.

We should have gone during Falls actually. The scenary will be awesome with the yellow and gold leaves, and perhaps make me feel a lot better while I paddle the hell out of myself. :(

Me, hard at work while hubby snapped away happily.
Meramec River.
A break at the "gravel bar", which is just a gravel patch with no physical bar in sight. Boo...
A one-minute break for pictures, while I take in all the beautiful sights. But seriously I was too grouchy after all that tedious work to really enjoy much.
Preparing for lunch at another gravel bar.
My first meal cooked in a primitive way! I'm impresssed that Ed took only 5 mins to get the fire going with stones, branches, twigs and paper. Nice!

Infinite Savings?

As an avid fan of Dermalogica products, I'm glad to purchase them at about 60% the prices in Singapore here in the States. I received some coupons from Beauty First, and decided to use them for stocking up on Dermalogica. Went down to the store yesterday and bought what I'll need for the next year's usuage. Was extremely thrilled with the huge amount of savings and I just had to annouce my achievement to Hubby.

Happy me: Hey I bought my one year's worth of Dermalogica products liao! I saved almost half leh with my coupons and the current promotion they're having!

Hubby (trying to sound like he's interested): What did you buy this time round?

Me: Large cleanser and moisturizer, scrub and mask, and a free toner. All 5 items cost me USD150 only! These would have easily cost me more than SGD350.

Hubby: Oh... Good lor.

Me: I saved almost SGD150, very happy leh. Btw, I used ur card for my purchases today.

Hubby paused for awhile before he continued: You saved an infinite amount lor. It's not just SGD150.

Me: Huh? No lah I saved around SGD150.

Hubby: U used my card leh! So u didn't pay for anything what. $x divide by zero is infinity.

Me: Oh yah hor... *giggled while I quietly walked away*

LOL!!! How true!


*I shall try to get some afew winks now, before getting up early for gym n shopping in the morning!

Insomnia Again!

I'm an insomniac; officially. I've been drifting in and out of insomnia for the past year or so. It hits me in phases, and I don't know when it'll occur or why am I sufferring from this illness. What I do know is that I should definitely stay away from caffeine. Coke, all sorts of tea (even bubble green tea!), green tea ice-cream, and of course coffee will make my brain extremely alert. Insomia comes and stays for up to a week, and then it usually leaves me alone for two months or so before it creeps onto me again. The last 4 months I was left alone, to much relieve. Perhaps cos the long holidays were stress-free, or maybe the regular gym sessions helped. I'm pretty much clueless what causes insomnia in me. It's seriously affecting me alot, especially when I'm one who needs at least 8 hours of sleep everynight. Tonight, it's my 7th night wide awake at this weird hour. Just when I needed some wine to make myself feel drowsy, I ran out of it. Damn! My eyes can barely remain open now, yet when I lie on the bed, tons of activities are carried out in my brain. What is wrong with me??!!

Sweet & Sour Pork

This is what we had for dinner tonight. Quite a good job for a first attempt huh? Of course it's as tasty as it looks! ;P No more of this in my kitchen again, not at least in a year or two. Frying is such a hassel! Lucky I'm not a fan of deep fried food.

Mooncakes

It's the time of the year again! I absolutely adore mooncakes, especially the Teochew-styled yam-filled ones, the durain mooncakes, and of course the traditional lotus paste gems. It doesn't matter how many yolks are in there, I love them all, even if they're without the yolks!

Bought a box of Guangzhou-made lotus paste mooncakes with double yolks from Olive market today. They tasted heavenly! It was of a different brand from the one I bought last year, and cost double the price at USD20. Still, I thought it was a steal, considering the steep price of good mooncakes sold in SIN.

Come next year this time, I must feast on tons of the durain mooncakes from Goodwood Park Hotel to make up for the 2 years of cravings! Oh and those fried mooncakes filled with yam too! Just the thought of these darlings is making me drool.

It's time to hit the gym religiously again, as I forsee myself piling on more calories in the coming weeks. I should plan a strict gym routine after class, seriously...

Long Weekend Again!

It's Labor Day this coming Monday! For once, there isn't any trip planned over a long weekend. Such a waste. We're suppose to drive 5 hrs to the Aurora Outlet in Chicago, but I've decided against it since my cash reserves are running super low. Hotel and petrol costs will add up to quite a substantial amount, enough to buy 10 tops perhaps. I reckoned it's better that I save up for the Black Friday sales in nov instead.

Ironically, I kicked start the Labor Day sales by hitting the malls just as when they opened this morning. Grabbed a couple of good buys at our usual hunts, Gap and Banana Republic. No outlet trip doesn't mean no shopping. It just restricts my purchases since there are only limited brand names in STL Mills.

Shopping in Mills wasn't as satisfying as we thought it will be. Thus, PS & I decided we should brave the 3 hr-drive to Osage (the nearest outlet) this Monday. I don't know if I should rejoice or despair. It just feels weird to not visit an outlet during a Federal Holiday. I don't want to miss out on any good buys, yet I don't want to go back to an empty bank accout. I'm such a contradict and a loser.

Anyway, plans for the next 2 coming holdays are sort of confirmed. Seattle and Vancouver during the Thanksgiving week, and Yellowstone- Wyoming, LA and Tokyo in December. That's all for U.S. Thereafter, it'll be Singapore for good...


** Last year this time we were holidaying in Chicago, slurping up bloody steak in Morton's. How I wish I could turn back the clock! Sigh...

Time & Weather

Last year this time, as I sat in in the classroom for Tuesdays evening lessons, the setting sun will be blinding my eyes at somewhere between 8.00-8.15pm. Two days in the same room, the same sun was blinding my eyes at around 7.15pm! No doubt the days are starting to get shorter now, but why the vast difference within a year?! I recall the sky turned dark only around 9pm this time last year, but it's now dark by 8.30pm, sometimes by 8!

Summer days are so much cooler now, with temperature hoovering at around 20 degree celsius. It's depressing enough to know that Fall is drawing very near, and much more perturb to FEEL like it's Fall already.


** I just sinned, for I had a packetful of instant noodle 15mins before I hit my bed. Sigh.... Gdnight folks.

Preggers

As I am writing this entry, one of my besties is in the labour ward. I can imagine her screaming her lungs out n squinting her eyes while she is trying to push with all her might.

From this day on, our lives will never be the same with the arrival of a beautiful princess! More significantly, no more clubbing and no more getting sloshed. Yet I don't mind being the princess' nanny during our coffee trips. :p

I can't imagine going back to be greeted by my girlfriends, and BABIES!!! A good friend had given birth to a boy 6 months back, and 2 friends from the same group are now preggers with one trying to get pregnant. Just a couple of minutes ago, I received a msg on FB from the wife of one of hubby's good old pal, informing me of her first pregnancy. And last nite, G annouced her pregnancy over dinner too. I'm suddenly soooooooo excited with all the babies popping out, and am extremely overwhelmed by all the pregnancies around me!

Still, I think I am not ready for the pain and torture one has to go through during a pregnancy. As much as my galfriends are trying their best to educate me about the "ups" and "downs" of a pregnancy, I am still having jitters at the thought of myself carrying a huge tummy.

At least for the next yr or so, I do not have to be concerned with morning sickness, stretch marks n all that loot. It may be a blessing for me now, but I guess I will also be green with envy when I see my gal pals with their prized possessions.


***A, jiayou!!! I'll pray for u, and God is watching over u and ur gal. =D

Ouch!!!

It hurts, badly. School started today, and that is how I felt the entire day.

I had a bad dream last night. It was my first day back in SIN for good, and I was extremely lost. Looking back on the 18 months spent in STL, I was utterly disappointed with myself. Nothing spectacular was achieved and I've wasted 13,140 hours rotting my life away. I was devastated that I've not done a single voluntary work, not bought enough clothes/bags/shoes, not learnt to be a better person. It hurts so much when I woke up.

Dinner at Han Gook Kwan made up for it, partially. Though it was not as yummilicious as the Korean BBQ we had in KOBA months ago, it was a free meal from hubby's boss. (He flew in again for a meeting.) Which free meal isn't good?

I'm trying to drop one of the 3 courses I am taking this term. If I could rid the Tuesday evening class, I should seriously scout for a humanitarian work. I've sinned too much. It's payback time.

I felt like I'm overwhelmed by emotional waves now. I get easily depressed whenever the topic of our departure surfaces. I get upset, jealous, defeated, and everything negative.

God, show me the light, and some love.

Lost

Last day of my 4-month long Summer break...

Ecstatic!!!

I finally found the book I've been searching for for years!!! Not literally though, but almost. The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds is THE BEST book I've read in my entire life. I cried buckets the night I finished it and was very much affected by the entire story for the next couple of days thereafter. I never knew life could be so cruel yet atoning. I've never "met" anyone like Sheri Reynolds who is able to produce a novel that makes the reader feel so much pain. Pain for a young girl who is torn between a warped religion and morals. I've always hated stories with anything less than a happy ending, but this is definitely a great read!!! A book that emphasizes on devotion in life's hardships and family love, on how much pain a young girl is willing to suffer for her loved ones.

Since it is such a magnificent book, I've recommended & lent it to numerous friends. The last was perhaps 10 years ago, and I totally had no recollection who was the last person who laid hands on my precious book. It went around for a long time and never came back to me, ever again. Given my puny memory, I could not even recall the title of my favourite book, except that it has the word "Canaan" or "Cannan" or "Cannon". I'd spent hours & days searching for books with such words on the net during the past years, all to no avail. Finally today God was good, and it took me less than 5 mins to find it on Amazon! So yes!!! I am sooooo going to purchase this prized read!!!

***P.S. Dear friends, does this picture ring a bell to you? Did you spot this book on your shelf and think it does not belong to you? If yes, it could be the one I'm looking for!

***By looking at the number of reviews on Amazon, it sure is a must-have on all bookshelves! It could not be anything far less than the best to be choosen as an Oprah Book Club Pick title too. I'm not kidding!

Yakkety Yak

I know, I haven't been updating as much as I should. Nah, school's not starting in another 5 days time. That probably explains the lack of posts recently. With hardly any precious time left, I've been TRYING to fill my Summer days doing the things I love. However, now that I think back on what I have really been doing these past weeks, I recall nothing except the daily morning gym sessions and the occassional shopping/luncheons/tea/golf. I've tried, but it seems like I hadn't done anything absolutely productive other than hitting the gym diligently. I've definitely squandered a copious amount of time on my lappie unconstructively. Yet here I am whining about how time whizzes by without my knowledge. Yes, I'm such a true blue grouch.

We will be embracing Fall in another 4 weeks time. This Summer has been great, though I wish it could have been better with more outings to some new places around STL. A paintball session, I thought we ought to have one since Spring? Complacent again, but I can't help it, especially with only another 4 more months to the big farewell. Anyways, I'm genuinely glad that Hubby planned for the Miami/Bahamas trip. He brought me to the WWE (formerly known as the WWF) Summerslam act and the Naked Bike Ride event too, which were both quite an experience. We went to our second- most likely our last too- Cardinals match (vs. Houston Astro) today, tickets courtesy of Olin. A nice way to end Summer, almost. I'm sure you would have checked out the pictures posted on Facebook for the various "adventures"; I'm too lazy to resize them for blogger or to upload them to Picasa.

It appears that I will not have enought time to fnish the books I've bought. A huge disappointment, especailly when I am more than a book behind schedule. Recently no matter how hard I tried to stick to the nightly reading agenda, there is always something on the net that allures me otherwise. A good-buy from Amazon/ one of the online sites, some enthralling reads from Wiki, or amusing updates from Facebook. On most nights, something is sure to draw me away from my books, and tonight, it is my blog. By hook or by crook, I have to finish "The Kite Runner" and "The Black Swan" by this week.

It's bedtime again. Wish my bones all the best for tmr's 18-hole golf. Ciao!

MakeUp

I'm currently extremely hooked on Make Up For Ever's Aqua Creamliner. It glides on so smoothly, and stays on my greasy lids the entire day! Went for a free makeup lesson at Sephora 2 days ago with PS. Since the moment the MU artist defined our eyes with the mini pot of miracle cream, I was obsessed with it. Get yours from Sephora today!

Venice Venice Venice

I want to go Venice!!! Within the next on year, if that is possible. JY, please get married soon!!! If you are reading this...

The Vaporetto, the classic gondola ride... I wish I can fly to Italy soon!

Time Does Not Wait for Anyone

The days are starting to get shorter again. Sigh... I wanna have Cold Stone ice-cream under the bright evening sky, just like what we used to do last year, before the nights start to get longer. It was such a marvellous feel to head out to Cold Stone after dinner, and watch the sky slowly turning dark at 9pm...

To digress, I have been over the moon recently, cos Hubby and I are going to appear in one of our buds' wedding picture! I'm sooooo excited excited excited!!!!!!

Books Please

I want to go Borders, for the longest time. It's only a 3 mins drive from WH, yet Hubby is sooooo lazy to move his fat ass there. Quite disappointing to realise that I've been there only twice, considering the approximity of it. Not a place I really want to go alone though, cos I need someone to prevent me from lugging a huge pile of books out, and to foot my bill. GGrrr.... must really really move that fat ass to Borders soon, by hook or by crook!!!

What's sizzling in the kitchen?

Since school's starting in about 2 weeks time (AArrrgggghhhhhh), I've been trying my best to dish up as many comfort food and yummy bites as possible, to make up for the lost opportunities ahead.

I've always have a penchant for baking since my first baking session during my secondary one Home Economics class, and used to bake quite often during the holidays ever since and all the way through JC. Uni days were spent mainly clubbing till the wee morning and struggling through tutorials, thus I hardly ever thought of baking anymore. Thereafter, the horrendous hectic work life crept into my world and sleeping was all I ever thought of. Moving into an apartment with an oven was one of the best things that has happened to me here. I've kept myself pretty busy baking all kinds of food I can think of recently, and here are the pictures of my first endeavors.

Portuguese egg tarts! With pre-packed frozen puff pastry available in Dierberg's, this was as easy as ABC. Delicious too!
Choc fudge cupcakes with frosting and rainbow rice. The vanilla frosting was too sweet for my liking, but I thought they just look oh-so-pretty for the camera. LOL!
An ugly choc fudge cake for PS and Jos' bday last weekend, with the too-sweet vanilla frosting and chopped nuts. The choc fudge cake itself was soft and tasty though. =)
Banana walnut cake made from scratch! Yummy stuff, to satisfy Hubby's constant cravings for his favourite cake.











Of course, efforts have been put into preparing our dinner menus too. Hubby has been the lucky one, to be presented with "exotic" fare ever so often.

Nasi Lemak with sambal french beans, assam eggs, ikan billis and luncheon meat! With the perfect nasi lemak chilli (courtesy from a very kind friend), this dinner was just heavenly!
Wanton mee, my second attempt unlike the others featured here. Much better than the first, and I'm glad I've improved. However to my dismay, I'd vomitted out quite a fair bit of the noodles later that night, as I'd over-eaten the huge portion placed on my plate.

Black bean soup, for hair nourishment. I'm very much concerned with Hubby's greying hair (the effects of nightly poker I supposed), thus this tasty comfort soup which my mum used to cooked quite often. However, this is so much more tastier than Mummy's, just like most of my other dishes. Wahahaha.....

I'm glad Hubby noticed that his once "kitchen-dimwit" wife has flourished into an amatuer cooking-connoisseur within a span of a year. All that matters after a tough grind in the kitchen is a heartfelt praise/ thanks, and enjoying a meal together with your other half...

And no, I am definitely not turning into a homemaker. I'm gonna ditch the apron once we're back in SIN for good, for I do not see any purpose for all that toil when delicious local food are all over the island.

Amazed

I'm so amazed by several things around me recently.

I'm amazed by the wonders of internet; how it enabled me to chance upon a long-lost childhood friend, allowed me to "find" and meet my distant cousin in LA, and permits me to re-create many of the chinese & local dishes we have been craving for, amongst others.

I'm amazed at how easily money flow out of my pocket. It suddenly dawns on me that when you are not earning your own dough, you tend to spend money without giving it a second thought. Is it because you do not have to work for it, thus the value of money dimishes once it reaches your hand? Or is it because you knew you will never die of hunger and cold with a working spouse and doting parents, so the need to save now takes a back seat? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you are such a selfish and abhorrent being. Perhaps, that "you" is me. Then I will be very amazed at how disgustingly atrocious I am.

Lastly, I'm truly amazed that NONE of the women I saw along Miami Beach and the Bahamian Beaches had any stretch marks. Not a single line of it. With a couple of friends getting pregnant in recent months, the topic of pregnancy stretch marks had surfaced numerous times. I'd never knew how bad it could be, till I saw it with my own eyes that those red wormy lines can be really gruesome looking. That particular sight had since etched deeply within me, and I've been trying to look for ways to prevent that from happening to me even before we start a family. Naturally, when I was on the beaches, I'd started looking at women's bellies. Women of all ages, from young adults to mothers-with-kids-in-tow to old grannies, and I am extremely astonished that none of them were spotted with any of those unsightly worms! If you talk about cellulite, yes, majority of them bear the brunt of its presence together with sagging skins. But where are the stretch marks?! How did they manage to make them disappear or even prevent them from appearing? How is it possible that none of the hundreds of American women I saw had those while almost all the Asian women had to live with the red ugly worms after pregnancies? Could it be their diet, or the creams/lotions they applied to make their skin so elastic? I've now embark onto a mission to solve this huge mystery...

Kate Spade Bags for Sale

I went to the outlet again recently and got a couple of Kate Spade bags. I have 2 for sale now, and below are the details:

Kate Spade Narragansett in Tofee
Original price was USD375.00, but I bought it from the outlet at USD275.00, a good 27% off the retail price. With tax, it's at SGD443.73 after conversion.
Fully made of 100% soft cowhide leather with contrast white stitching, magnetic snap closure, "Kate Spade New York" embossed leather license plate logo on front and gathered sdes with leather ties for expansion. Double handle with top snap enclosure, strap drop 4.5".



















Kate Spade Terrytown in Camel.
Original price was USD195.00, but I got it at USD89.00 from the outlet, a whopping 54% discount! With tax and after conversion, it's at SGD143.60.
Fully made of boarskin leather with a slight grainy texture, and a "Kate Spade New York" embossed leather license plate logo on front. Perfect for casuals/ tea/ cocktail parties.


















All bags are brand new with the tags still intact and each comes with its own dust bag. Conversion rate used to convert USD to SGD is 1.5, and these bags are at least 30% cheaper than what you get in Singapore. Total shipping cost is estimated to be around USD50 for all three bags, and hopefully I get to ship all three bags (including the Juicy Couture one) for sale out together so as to minimize the costs. Will be shipping the bags to my parents' home, and arrangement for pickups will be required. Do contact me if anyone is interested to purchase these good deals.

*P.S. as these bags are purchased from the outlet (read: off-season bags), you won't get to see them on the shelves of Kate Spade retail stores (except of cos their outlet stores).