A heartwarming cheap family dinner

It's been a long time since mom and dad had dinner with me. Thus since I was free, I decided to invite them over for dinner. Initially, mom wanted to go for some church service whilst dad said he had some project scheduled to complete that evevning. I wasn't too happy and threw a girlish tantrum. Next day, daddy dearest called and said he rescheduled and was able to come!! Mom was excited that daddy wanted to come, and said she didn't want to go church that day too! yeepee.

But Stress la! last minute where should I get my ingredients. So i popped down to Sheng Siong at Bedok and I was in for a surprise! The stuff there are Sooooo fresh! The fish which were laying on the table were still flipping and tossing; The prawns had wriggling legs and the frogs were still croaking! (i kid u not! they were live frogs!); there were also crabs...wanted to buy them, but reckon my parents wont enjoy coz daddy's teeth ain't strong anymore and mom has a 101 things on her list which she can't eat. So i bought a nice fresh red snapper and some other stuff and whipped up a simple meal. They were very happy and I was realli touched too coz daddy drove all the way from Jurong to my house for that meal (his project was at Jurong and he didn't tell me!)....awwwww...what a nice dad I have!

Knowing that mommy dearest was coming this Friday, I decided to buy the famous Choc Fudge cake from Jane's Station @ Jalan Kayu. It's a great cake. Not too sweet. N the coolest thing was Jane only sells Chocolate cake and durian cake! I was lucky they had a small 8inch left that day. Cost $30. Worth it coz even my sweetie liked it (he kept saying he hates sweet stuff..ya right! He ate like half the cake!)

The ever famous Chocolate Fudge cake from Jane's Station
This was the spread I whipped up for dinner with my parents. Daddy really enjoyed the steam red snapper and mussels. Mommy on the other hand enjoyed the herbal chicken and veg. Proportion was just nice as everything was gobbled down within a couple of minutes!

The clams cost $1 and mussels was only $1.30. Vegetables was $1.30 and super fresh (still flipping when i bought it) red snapper cost only $3! ...chicken was about $4. U can never get such good deal if you were to eat out!

Things to do!

Finally. A day of total rest. But since last night, i've been trying very hard to think of what I should do. There's a 101 things to do actually:
1) Throw throw throw (i did a really good job at recycling all the papers from my huge pile of files...2 big bags. That's not enough unfortunately. Students have been passing me books! It's such a waste to throw.

2) Donate. I seriously need to look into clearing my wardrobe for new stuff. I'm still whoring around on Internet shopping. recently, even my hubby is hooked onto it! He's ordered some golf stuff from the States. I needed to order my Bobbi Brown Foundation from states coz it's no longer in stock in Singapore. In fact, I've been ordering fm States so often, that when I finally went to Singapore's counter to ask for a bottle, they looked at me like an alien. Why? BECAUSE they have stopped importing that since eons ago! (at least 3 yrs!) Has it been that long since I left Estee Lauder? hmm...Anyway, I ordered via VPostUSA....today, the invoice for shipping charges came in n guess what? it's gonna cost me a whopping $34+!!!! just for shipping! THat's ridiculous!. Claimed that the box is 30cm long and weighs 3kg, but halloooooooooooo, my little foundation pot is only 5cm and 30ml. How heavy can a 30ml get? furthermore, I've bought it via Vpost before, and I dont recall it being so ex! in fact a check revealed that i paid onli $13.48 on the last shipment! RIP OFF! Is the economy over in America so bad that they have to go overboard with their postage charges!!? I'm so gonna question them!
Anyway, back to the topic sentence for this point. Donate. Still not sure what to clear and what to keep. My stuff are seriously all very new. Selling them online don't seem to be working that well. It's either people these days dont dig into second hand stuff or they simply think my stuff sux. I like to think that it's the former. :-)

3) News paper articles. In preparation for my new venture, I need to prep several worksheets and lesson notes. Unfortunately, I've been procastinating.

4) Website -- targetted to launch by December. I HAVE TO GET THIS DONE by then!

5) Sort out my 2009 schedule. Already enquiries are coming in. I dont know if I should accept. STRESSful

Ok, i guess these are the things on my objective list. Hopefully this holiday proves to be fruitful.
by the way, so upsetting, my KK trip might have to be cancelled! Coz sweetie's company's trying to cut cost, thus all internal trips are to be cancelled. There's still a chance, so i'm keeping my fingers cross.

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Idiotic Drivers

Singapore drivers really think they own the road! Seriously this blog has been long overdue. I've been meaning to pen something about the way Singaporeans drive eons ago. Each time I meet with an idiotic driver, it just makes my blood boil. A typical day can be spoilt by some stupid mama cutting into your lane without signalling. or perhaps u are innocently trying to filter right and the car in the lane on your right simply refuse to let u in. Instead, he steps on his accelerator and zips off! Sheez! Super idiotic right? There have also been instances where one can get horned for no apparent reason. Or flashed headlights just because that person is a little slow. ok, i cannot tahan slow turtles too, but I think there is no need to hurry that poor grandpapa who is probably figuring out whether to get out at Bedok North or Bedok Reservoir Road! I get especially frustrated when I'm not slow (already travelling at 120km/h at a certain expressway -- exceeding speed limits already!) n some idiotic driver behind me kept flashing his big fat lights at me! After letting him have his way, he was busy zipping in n out lanes! Maniac!

The bad jams which we often hear of are mainly caused by kayu drivers who for some reason, can cause strange accidents. The other day, whilst on my way to NTU, there was a jam coz a kayu lorry decided to hop onto the other side of the expressway (in opposing direction) by crashing through the barrier! Yup. U heard me, half the lorry was on this side of the expressway whilst the other half was on the other side. U can imagine what a jam it caused on both sides! To make matters worse, Singaporeans simply have to slow down/ stop to see what's the license plate number! Most probably to buy 4D. I dont get it, if that number is so "heng", why will the vehicle crash in the first place?

Perhaps someone on the road is also thinking that I'm an idiotic driver who dont deserve my license of 10yrs, but let's all be patient with one another and have more courtesy on the road!

House hopping

It was a peaceful wkend indeed. No compos to mark, a few entertaining lessons to teach. The only torture was that "big aunty" came on Sunday and I was all crampy the whole day. Kept wanting to puke and felt terribly cold.

Anyway, feast your eyes on what was snapped over the wkend:

Saturday came and go. It was a day of excursion to various friend's house. Above is the uncomplete state of Yifei's place in Pasir Ris. Finally after 3 yrs of marriage, (or issit 2?) they are getting a place of their own. The excited lovebirds are now in the midst of renovating the place! Hopefully, we can do a housewarming Xmas party at their place this year! U might find the layout familiar. Yes it is! It was how my masterbedroom used to look like before we knock down the walls to extend it!

Wedding bells are ringing this mth! BOmbs after bombs after bombs! at least 3 weddings to attend in November! SIONG. The above is friends Stephen & Elaine's bed after 安床. After seeing what's in the tub, i realised my mother did not give me a lot of things when I got married! like the potty, the tub (i think they all symbolize having the next generation) and a sewing kit (symbolizing good housekeeping). hmmm...so jealous that this couple has it. But nevermind la, if mommy gave them to me, where am i to keep all those stuff?haha...i know my mom stil has the baby tub in her toilet! She doesn't know what to do with it!
Ikea supporter!

OK, i'm not sure if the lamp is from IKEA but i do like it. Blends with the toilet -- BLACK. What many modern homes are like these days. I think i'm the trendsetter, coz my masterbedroom has black tiles. :-)
I do like their kitchen. but cleaning can be a problem with the open concept cabinets



Interesting Wood like tiles. Inspires me to work hard and save hard (last quote I' got, it will set me back by $700 if I were to plank up my entire balcony)to transform my balcony with the wooden planks I've always wanted. It will definitely make it more resort-yTheir dining set reminds me of Xman

Ok, after a tiring day of house-hopping (it was indeed tiring! I fell asleep sitting on the dining chair!), we went home and prepared a pasta feast for 7. As we were about to start preparing, we realised that we ran out of GAS! Freaked out! called, waited for 20mins n PHEW, the cylinder of gas arrived in the nick of time and the above seafood pot (in tomato puree) was whipped up. YUM!
Clam Linguini in White Wine Sauce (ok, there wasn't any white wine, but hey, it tastes good ok). There was also Cabonara and Tomato based linguini. N i whipped up some buffalo wings in 25mins! (easy! n went realli well with blue cheese)




This fish, together with all the dishes that follows were what I cooked on Sunday (whilst tolerating the tremendous cramp which came all of a sudden to dampen my spirits)

The poor fish seems to be screaming out" Don't eat me! Don't eat me!". So sorry, you are simply too irrisistable! It was on sale! $4.95! (UP: $9.90! A Steal! The panel a judges said the sauce was great (though a little too salty but went really well with rice)
This is a really easy soup to cook. All you need are some yellow beans and ikan billis to cook the stock and just throw in the yong tao foo when you are about to serve.
MY FAVOURITE! CRAB! cheap. Direct from the wet market! costs only $20 for 4! Beats what's sellin at Jumbo (which incidentally, I went the next day for dinner with friends from abroad. cost $234 for 6pax. had only 3 crabs! JUMBO lost standard. I prefer No signboard or Eng Seng which is along Still road). Next to Mr Crab is 干扁四季豆 (French beans), inspired from Frog Porridge stall at Geylang Lor 3. It's a really nice dish and I managed to sniff out the ingredients whilst having it at Geylang last mth. The secret -- Salted radish and Dried Prawns!
The final product -- Crunchy Dried prawns
Strangely, the dried prawns produced a lot of bubbles while deep frying. It was splattering all over and I had to use a shield to protect myself for being disfigured by the boiling oil! Think it's becoz I did not dry the prawns well after soaking it in water. But regarding the white foam, I'm still quite puzzled. Can anyone enlighten me?

Happy Wedding Anniversary baby!

Can u believe it, it's our wedding anniversary already! Time absolutely flies! We've been married lawfully for 2 yrs n customarily for 1 yr. Amazin right? I keep thinking that I'm still in my honeymoon stage. However, with work on my back, I did not even realise that 14 October was TUESDAY! omg! A chat with my sweetie and I realised he knew it's Tuesday but dont know what to get for me. Thus i suggested going shopping together. Went on Monday, but nothing caught our eyes. Wanted the Canon Powershot E1, but it's bulky. kawaii but much bulkier than my SONY cybershot.

Woke up looking forward to the day. Felt like it's my wedding day (ok that's a little exaggerated). Made reservations at INDULGZ Tried it out since Xiaxue raved about it. Took up the Lover's Package which I felt was a little overpriced for that sort of Bistro Ambience. I felt the Blue lobster offered better pricing and good food too. But but but, at Indulgz, the service was fabulous. Really attentive. The waiter Joseph deserved the tip that sweetie gave. N did I mention there's no GST? well yes, great service from that kid! Anyway, let the photos do the talking:

Check out the deco they did. Well if you are paying $188+ for the package, it had better be romantic!
Awwwww...so sweet!
While sweetie was finding a parking space, (it's so horrid to find a space, we almost parked on the double yellow line next to a fire hydrant!) I read this. I think it's time i indulge myself!!!!!
This is so interesting. They wrote our menu on a mirror! cool!
yeah! I've got a rose!haha
This is so cool. Using a white wine bottle as a pitcher. I think I should do this at home too!

Slurp. Crab Chowder. Not bad, not that Crabby, but alright la. The best seafood soup is still the lobster bisque I had at The Flamingo @ Las Vegas. That was awesome! Out of this world! but US$12 for a bowl of soup la.
Mushroom soup with truffle. NIce till sweetie wanted to lick the bowl.

Two to share On the dish: Mash potato; Slipper lobster (3 pcs) + seared scallop; Rib eye steak (for him) and squid salad (interesting) What was not too flexible was that we could not have the same soup and initially we could not have both the lobster and the beef. Perhaps it's in the same expensive category. After some "negotiation", we topped up $8.50 to have the perfect set.

Angel. Some cocktail with Bailey's as base.
Homemade lemonade. My Chocolate Fondue. YUM!
Enjoying my mashmellow!It sure doesn't feel like 10 years! So is this the 1st or the 2nd or the 10th anniversary? hmmm

Ending off the night nicely.

Peaceful Weekend

Finally, PEACE. For the entire year, i don't recall having a wkend as "quiet" as this. With the PSLE and most Secondary schools done with their exams, the quiet season is hitting in early this year. There's pros and cons. Afterall, I worked real hard.
So i decided to give myself a treat. a COOKING treat! Whilst the guys were playing mahjong and my baby snoozing away, i prepared the feast.

Nice right? My first attempt in cooking chicken curry! Not bad! not bad at all. Though it's not the same as what mummy cooked, I think i did pretty well. A little too starchy due to the potatoes though, but otherwise, it's nice. The boys liked it :-). But the highlight of the feast was my sotong you tiao. YUM. Comes alon with homemade salad cream (All i used was some mayo, vinegar and sugar. DIdn't have salad cream thus had to improvish); The kangkong was a little too hot for our palates. THank goodness there's a bowl of good soup ie. Old cucumber soup.
Another dish - 大葱蛋 (big onion egg)
Saturday came and went. Sunday crept its way in. The first thing I thought when I woke up was: would that woman call me at the last minute again to go pick up her stupid compos? (actually I'm the stupid one, marking for her whilst she's earning the bucks...dont worry, my time will come). Anyway, indeed the sickening woman's secretary called at 11am n told me to go down before noon to collect the scripts. MAD or what? always like that, take for granted. I have a life, unlike her! No wonder her hubby dont want her and ran away with another woman. Well, I should not be gloated over people's grief, and at times I dont know if i should pity her or salute her. She's definitely one strange woman who earns her greens. Anyway, the day progressed and guess what? I Did not step out of the house except to buy eggs in the evening! For lunch, baby had a burger whilst I had instant noodles (not very healthy, but seriously too lazy to go out for food); Then i thought after his soccer game, we can go out for a romantic dinner at a local kopitiam, but sweetie called and said he anted me to cook, he wanted to enjoy a simple meal with me. So sweet hor? (sweet or lazy!haha)...so down I went to grab some raw vege and yong tau foo. I'm super amazed with the provision shop downstairs la, it seems to have everything one needs! And there you have it, in the picture above, u'd see the simple meal I whipped up in 20mins.

Oyster Cai Xin + Yong Tau Foo Soup + Big onion Egg (Fu yong dan)

Whipped up in a mere half an hour

Yup, the following have been whipped up all in a mere half an hour (including preparation time and washing of the raw ingredients) I think i'm getting good at this!

Clockwise: Radish omelette; luncheon meat and cod fish (I finally mastered the skill of frying it without breaking its meat)

ooo..this is sumptious isnt it? It's a last minute idea to cook dinner together after our spa last wkend. Look at what a spread I've cooked for two!

Clockwise: Oyster sauce vege (sweetie cooked this n was raving about it..but pls, how difficult can a few strands of veggie b?); Radish omelette (again...but I like it!); Herbal chicken thigh (it's delicious! All it took was 20 min of steam); and finally the star of the night -- Herbal Prawns! (the soup was so tasty, we drank it all!)

Internet Shopping Whore!

Just some of the stuff I've been buying:

Yes. It's official. I'm a slut. A Whore. An Addict. Throw me into some rehab centre of somewhat. Almost every other week, I'd be buying something off the net. First it's forever 21, now it's from local blogshops. I just can't stop. U can't blame me. I have absolutely NO TIME to go out orchard n shop! moreover, the stuff at orchard or even Far East Plaza are overpriced! Every night, it's becoming a ritual. i come home, eat, bathe, watch 岁月风云 with sweetie at midnight (our hot date every wkday night) and then mark stuff (heaps these days due to the exams) and no matter how tired I am, i would do some "Window shopping". Many people these days still have reservations about internet shopping and i guess u can't blame them coz there are so many CHEATS out there (i've just kena one...let me tell u a little later). But I'm appalled that at times even the younger generation is finding me "weird" to be shopping online. Asking me questions like "how are u gonna try?....issit safe? What if material not good". Well dearies, It's a gamble la! So stop asking such lame questions! The other day, friends were over at my place. The gfs as usual were bored, thus hogged my lappy. They saw a page which i folded (on online shops) and they started surfing. like little screaming girls, they were really excited and next thing u know, they placed order (DIN BOTHER JIO-ING ME LA!!). Anyway, following that, one of them told me that she ordered 3 items and was very excited. But when it arrived, she was disappointed that none of them looked like picture. Her comment was "i dont look like how it's worn in the picture' OF COZ LA! The picture is snapped using professional model! U aren't even a model! Come on! then she went on to tell me that the size doesnt really fit. the shoulder was a little big etc etc. I asked her if she read the measurements stated and measured against the stuff she had at home, her reply "Oh no. I didn't ...i think i must really do that the next time. But it has affected my confidence in internet shopping" WAH LAU I dont know what to call her la. I mean she's a good friend, so I'd better keep the comment to myself.

Back to the cheat case. enquired about this particular item over
<http://shoppingissex.blogspot.com/> . made payment almost immediately; the person (FIONA) said i'd be getting item within 5 days if not earlier. Ok cool! however, after a wk, still no parcel. Thus i sent her an email asking her how's the status. She said she's ill, thus din go to the PO. Fine. Gain sympathy points. Fine. I give her benefit of doubt and waited a few more days. No news. Emailed again. and she said will get by last wkend. The wkend came n went, nothing by Saturday, thus i emailed again. Guess wat i got in return? A FREAKING VACATION MESSAGE! she left her hp number for smsing only and said will reply emails within 3 - 7 days. well ,it's day number 5 (god noes when she left) and still no news. I'm freaking DL lor. She'd better be genuine and give me my stuff else I'm gona sue her arse off!

PSLE MATHS 2008!

Just thought I do another post to wish all the P6s (especially my beloved ones) GOOD LUCK For monday's Mathematics paper! Hopefully it's not a killer!! Traditionally, Math have been a phobia for most Primary 6 students. N I don't blame them for it coz the questions are getting more and more ridiculous! At times, even a Secondary school student can't solve! At times, we even have to use algebra to solve! Why torture our poor children and demoralize them?! give them a break. they need a breather too. Is this the only way to train successful students? I beg to defer. In anycase, children, take a deep breath and dont worry too much. There's usually only 2 or 3 killer questions in Section C. If you have been diligently doing your 5-yr series and past year papers, I dont see why an A is so hard to achieve. Remember, YOU CAN DO IT!!

One Relaxing Saturday

Finally! A Saturday off! Don't know whether to be happy or sad at times when I get a break. Coz a break = no money. But then again, i NEED A BREAK! Was looking fwd to this day as I can finally go out on a wkend with sweetie. we've even booked a body therapy at Roxy. Sounds sleezy but that place is 100% clean! It's called Tropical 21. Been there twice n it's pretty good so far. Price wise's great too! After discount (coz i'm supposedly a repeat customer after one foot reflex), 60 min -- $38! Wat a bargain right?

Anyway, ya, was looking fwd to it, but the morning has to start out bad with a quarrel. Shit happens when u talk about money! Why don't money just rain down from the sky. Sometimes I just feel there's no one in this world who can understand what i'm going through. Feel so lonely and for some strange reason, missed daddy lots. Called him just the other day and he was as usual roaming Sugnei road all by himself. He enjoys though. Later, i hinted that mom wanted to go China, but knowing him, he doesnt wanna sponsor. I understand the tight financial situation. Tried to cheer him up by saying next time when he retires (he should retire now, but unfortunately I'm not doing too much as a daughter), he can roam the world. He kindof heard the wrong thing n said something like he wont live for another 30 yrs when he hit 60. MY GOD LA! What a thing to say! He totally knows that result in tears cascading down my eyes! N I was driving then, so What a thing to say! I totally asked him to shut up and slap himself. I can't bear the thought even though I know that our time will all come. But i really hope that he gives me a chance to give him a good life and for him to play with his grandchildren before joining another realm.

Went to have my ba zi read on Friday. never really I did this, but was very curious to know. N gosh...interesting findings. In summary, my health seems to be in the red light as I age (that's quite logical for most ppl these days....especially with shitty things like melamine happening). I'm constantly reminded to take care of my health (this was told to me before too). n apparently, luckily i did not get married early. coz only 28 or beyond then will i have a happy marriage (but this morning, i wasn't too happy!).....apparently, i've got a 劳碌命...i think that's really true. but i'll have a good life when old! There's even a chance for me to stay big house! yeah! One significant thing brought up was that I would succeed real well in career if I were to venture overseas. hmmm....interesting. Anyway, next yr apparently my horoscope 冲太岁...hopefully things dont get too bad. Economy is already in the reds! Sian, as if life isn't suay enough.

Overview of the day -- It started bad but ended alright. Had fun cooking with sweetie. We totally refused to let anyone come to our house tonight. Finally had chance to soak in my bathtub n do a facial mask! shiok! Then watched 1408. Lame. I guess life has its ups and downs, and it's seriously not easy to think straight at times. Feel lost and in doubt at times. Fortunately, though sweetie often uses an accusing tone when speaking, he's nice enough to coax me back to sanity by doing silly and sweet things. Thank you.