buttnaked baby

It's been a long while

2010-09-27T22:25:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone! It's been almost a year since my last post. I've been really busy and I am just too tired to blog. Well now I have found my zest and will start blogging again.

My paternal grandma just passed away on 11 September (yeah what a memorable date!) from liver cancer at the age of 84. I have learnt a lot about her death and has been reading it up (under the Buddhists' perspective on death) and it has helped me to deal with my grandmother's death. My grandma, Magdelene, was diagnosed with liver cancer about two months ago and the diagnostic was bad. At most she will live for about three to six months. I have been (along with my parents and my family) visiting her weekly in Johor, Malaysia, where she was living with my uncle and his family. I feel that the regular visits were helpful to me or rather all of us as we were slowly accepting that she will not be here forever. She was in a lot of pain. But grandma Magdelene was a strong woman and she refused morphine and bear with the pain. My auntie and cousin would give her longevitology therapy daily to ease her pain. Occasionally she will joked with us and told us she will be migrating soon and probably to Australia.

Three days before her passing, she told my auntie that she will be migrating soon. She was in such pain she was admitted to the hospital and the doctor said that she will not survive more than three days. And on the third day morning, she has passed away peacefully with her sister by her bed while my uncle and their family went out for breakfast. My family and myself rushed to her in the morning but just couldn't make it in time. I did not have the chance to say goodbye but at least I know that she was no longer in suffering and is in the safe hands of God (grandma Magdelene is a Catholic). I gave her my last love and said some prayers for her and felt a sense of ease and sadness at the same time.

Grandma Magdelene had a grand farewell. My little cousin who is my grandma's favourite grandchild, dreamt of her on the day she passed away. She said that my grandma was very happy and she took her to a place (I guess it's heaven) where it was cold and they were cloud hopping! And there was a long table full of delicacies and grandma Magdelene was holding an older woman's hand (who was her mother). Everyone felt happy as we know that grandma Magdelene was free from suffering and has moved on to another life. In Buddhism, we believe that death is not the end and it is another journey.

I felt I have understood life and death a little more and will continue to live life to it's fullest and continue to be a better person every day.

My first etsy purchase!

2009-11-03T21:05:00.005+08:00

I finally bought something from etsy after browsing all the beautiful creations for so long! I chanced upon Jennifer Putzier's products from How about Orange. I love them at first sight! I am an earrings and ring person. And when I saw that she has some lovely earrings on her etsy store, I couldn't give them a miss. I was estatic when I received my package a week later. Very prompt seller! The two earrings are for myself and eyeglasses ring is for my dear friend, Melanie. It is such a cute ring. I couldn't stop smiling when I saw it! Mum wants me to get her some too after seeing the earrings! ^_^

Mini bridal veils

2009-11-03T20:54:00.007+08:00

Last week I made three mini bridal veil hair clips for Georgia and her best friend, Jemima. And when my neighbour's daughter, Faith, saw that the other girls having the clips on their hair, she asked her mum why she doesn't have one. So I offered to make her the veil too. It was really easy to make. I just used some ribbon and some sash and made the clips while Georgia and Kieran were sleeping at night. I have yet to take photos of the girls with their clips. I'll post the photos once I have taken them!

This clip is for my neighbour's daughter as she's only three and I made her a shorter veil.

This is for Georgia and Jemima. I also sewed little flower buttons at the bottom of the veil.

I have to make another real bridal veil for my uncle's bride. I'll put up the post once I am done with it! ^_^

Recharged

2009-10-10T11:04:00.009+08:00

We drove to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday to attend the funeral rite for my grandmother who passed away two months ago. I did not get a chance to attend her funeral then as my passport has expired and Kieran does not have one. I am glad that I am able to give her my respect and I 'chatted' with my grandmother (the tablet with her name). It was good to see my relatives. I especially enjoyed hearing all the gossips! Hahahahaha!

We stayed at The Ascott in KL and we love it! The service apartment (we stayed on the 19th floor, so high!) is very adequately furnished and is so comfortable that Georgia refused to go out! Well I guess she enjoyed watching all the cartoons on cable (we do not have cable at home as we do not want her to watch too much TV programs!) and drawing that she doesn't want to go shopping! The pool area is very beautiful too! It was on the 22nd floor of the building and we had a bird's eye view of KL central. Breakfast was simple and adequate. And the apartment is only a 5mins walk to KLCC. We would certainly stay there again in the future. ^_^

More photos on my flickr album.

Second thoughts

2009-09-30T19:13:00.004+08:00

I had my hair cut yesterday and I must say that I am not the least satisfied. The stylist said that she will give me a cut that will 'freshen up' my face (it sure did with such a short style!) and there's 'undercut' to make my hair look fuller. Also my hair is assymetrical. The hairstyle is really hip but I think it doesn't suit me especially at age 32 and a mother of two. I look androgynous with the style. Sigh. Now I am stuck with the hairstyle for a few months. I don't think I would want another hip hair style in the future. I just want a feminine look. '_'

Do you have such an experience too?

Ready to take off!

2009-09-30T19:11:00.001+08:00

Salihan pears are cute!

2009-09-18T23:27:00.005+08:00

My dear friend Salihan has recently opened a web shop selling her handmade crafts. She has made some really adorable and lovely Amigurumi Pears! Do hop on over to her shop to check them out! And she has a fabulous blog too!

Photo taken from her blog.

Happy five day!

2009-09-18T23:06:00.004+08:00

Today is Georgia's birthday and she has turned five. She requested for Disney princesses birthday cake and we bought her an ice cream cake from Swensens. And the presents she received from us is the Disney princess story book that comes with a mini movie mechanical toy projector, my parents gave her Charlie and Lola activity pack and a colour airbrush art set from my brother. Georgia is sooooo happy today! Time flies and I can't believe the little baby girl born five years ago is already five! I can still remember her crawling into the bathroom looking for me when I was in the shower. It was just like yesterday that she was still on breastfeeding. I can also remember her crying every morning when we have to leave her at the childcare (at 20 months old and for almost 11 hours a day!) and thank goodness I'm home to look after my children now. I seriously can't bear to go through that phase again. It just breaks my heart to leave my children at the childcare. I've made some sacrifice and I think it's worth it for me to spend my days at home nurturing them. Sometimes it still fascinates me that I am a mother of two.

Georgia with her princesses ice cream cake

Kieran also happened to turned five months old today. He's a big boy now and he is loads of fun to play with! Everyone can't get enough of him especially Georgia. She is my little helper. She'll help me to look after Kieran when I need to cook or take a shower or do some housework. I am very thankful to have two lovely and wonderful children. Mummy loves both of you! ^_^

My mum with Kieran

A joke to share with you

2009-08-03T14:25:00.001+08:00

I heard a joke on the radio a couple of days ago and I'd like to share it with everyone.

An air stewardess was serving meals on board the flight and she stopped beside a man she was going to serve.
Passenger: What are my options?
Air stewardess: Yes or no.

Hahahaha. I think it's quite simple and funny! ^_^ Have a good day folks!

Oolong milk tea with ice cream and chocolate chip cookies

2009-07-07T18:13:00.007+08:00

Recently, Andy and myself have a new craving, all thanks to my best friend, Melanie. She introduced us to Oolong milk tea with ice cream and pearls from KOI Cafe. This drink is delicious!!! We would always get the biggest cup each whenever we are in Ang Mo Kio. Even Georgia has taken a liking to it. Initially she doesn't like the tea as it has a bitter taste but now she loves it as much as we do. I have managed to whip up my own version (not as good as KOI Cafe but good enough to satisfy the cravings) whenever I have the cravings and don't have the time to travel to Ang Mo Kio.

Oolong Milk tea with ice cream

RECIPE
Ingredients
200ml oolong tea without sugar (I get this ready made tea from Yeo's)
1 teaspoon of condensed milk
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

Method
1. Mix the oolong tea with condensed milk until fully dissolved.
2. Drop the scoop of ice cream into the tea and you're ready to drink it!

Next up is our favourite chocolate chip cookies. These are from Vegan with a Vengence. They taste as good as Famous Amos and they are extremely addictive! I added some other ingredients to make it even more delicious!

Chocolate chip cookies

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup butter/margarine, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup unrefined sugar (I used only 1 cup)
1 tablespoon unrefined molasses
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons of grounded flax seeds
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degF or 180 degC.
2. Cream together the margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add molasses and vanilla extract.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, dessicated coconut, grounded flax seeds and salt, and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop by teaspoons spaced a little over 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until ever so slightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Note: You could refrigerate the cookie dough for about 30 minutes to prevent them from spreading too much during baking.

I'm off to enjoy my afternoon snack while Kieran is taking his nap and Georgia is in school. ^_^

Baking again!

2009-06-26T14:16:00.004+08:00

I missed baking so much and have not baked any since the start of my pregnancy till yesterday. So that makes it about almost two years since I've last baked. Yesterday night after Georgia and Kieran has gone to bed, I quickly set about making the vanilla snap biscuits dough so that I can bake them today together with Georgia. Georgia helped to decorate the biscuits with the cute toppings given to me by one of my flickr friend. The biscuits are quite yummy and it's something fun to for Georgia to do. Next time I'll make some icing for her to draw on them. Now I have started baking again, I'll try and squeeze in time to bake at least once a week. Okie gotta go now as Kieran is in need of my attention!

Vanilla snap biscuits

RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
185g (6oz) butter
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk, extra

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F).
2. Process the butter, sugar and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add the flour, egg and egg yolk and process again to form a smooth dough.
3. Knead tge dough lightly, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough between sheets of non-stick baking paper until 5mm thick. Cut the dough into shapes using cookie cutters. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

A nine weeks old Kieran

2009-06-26T14:13:00.001+08:00

A fun day at the Marina Barage

2009-06-06T23:59:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, we had a great time at the Marina Barage. Although the weather was kinda warm, it was quite enjoyable at the same time too. There is a water play area for the kids and we spent almost an hour there as Georgia refused to leave. Thereafter, we walked around the Barage to the roof top for a bird's eye view around the area. The view around the Barage is not that fantastic due to the many constructions that are going on. It'll be better in the future when they are done.

A great place for family outing.

Eddie the Elephant softie

2009-05-10T14:05:00.004+08:00

Today, I made an elephant softie (I named it Eddie) for Kieran and also made a new cover for his bean bag. The bean bag (filled with rice or green beans) is placed around his chest and because of the weight, it feels like someone is hugging him and lessens the chances of getting frightened by sudden loud noise. This bean bag is used mostly by Chinese families. So it's kinda like a traditional thingy.

OK, since he is sound asleep on the chaise lounge, I'd better head for the showers and after that some power nap to recharge myself. ^_^

little manhood hat

2009-05-01T18:20:00.010+08:00

I was browsing on the internet when I came upon a product meant for baby boys. It's a cone shaped thingy which goes over the little manhood and prevents baby from peeing on you during diaper change. It's such an interesting and useful product. I was tempted to purchase them online but decided that I should save up that money and made something similar for Kieran instead. It is so easy to make that I complete them in less than 30 mins while Kieran took his nap. Now no more 'fountain' during nappy change!

Here's a simple tutorial so that you may make them for your baby son!

Step 1

I used a terry cloth hankie, 18cm by 18cm and cut them into circles of diameter 8.5cm. You can make them bigger too!

Step 2

Fold half with the rough surface facing you. Stitch along the edge and stop at 3/4 of the arc. Flip the inside and continue sewing till the end of the arc.

Step 3

Fold the semi circle into half and stitch the two edges together.

Step 4

Turn the inside out and the hat is completed!

I hope my instructions are not too confusing. If it is, please do let me know okie. ^_^

Arrival of baby Kieran

2009-04-22T12:53:00.004+08:00

Finally, my pregnant days are over with the arrival of Kieran on last Saturday, 18 April. So now the secret is out. Baby is a boy. We named him Kieran Lim Rui Xian. I selected the English name while Andy chose the Chinese name. I had to be induced on my 37 weeks as my gynae said that his head is a little big and it would be quite difficult for me to have a natural birth if I were to wait till nature takes over. So I had to be induced early. Finally after about six hours of drip and with some difficulty (vacuum has to be used), baby Kieran is finally out. I must say that this second birth is a little more difficult than the first. I delivered Georgia in about three and half hours. Well as the saying goes, no two pregnancies are the same and it sure applies to birth experience too!

Georgia is the most excited among the family to see Kieran. She has been waiting patiently all these months and now she is finally a big sister and she's so, so happy to see her baby brother. I know Georgia will be a good sister.

I write more soon when my stitches doesn't hurt so much (I'm sitting on a float as I type).

In love with fluffy skirt

2009-03-21T18:20:00.005+08:00

Today I made another three more fluffy skirts from the same style as this. Two for Georgia and one for my neighbour's daughter. I'm in love with the simplicity and speed of making them that I think I'll make more!!! ^_^

A productive Wednesday

2009-03-19T14:36:00.009+08:00

This week is school holidays and I'm grateful that I get at least a week's break from sending and fetching Georgia from school. While Andy is off at work yesterday, I decided to get some work done around home. First on the list was to clear up the clutter in Georgia's room. Then to iron some clothes and do some laundry. Get around to preparing mash potato and udon soup for lunch. I also took a nap while Georgia had a little TV time. After my nap, I set about sewing a fluffy skirt for Georgia. She loves fluffy skirt as she likes to twirl around in them. I made this fluffy skirt from here. It's so easy to make that I had it done in half and hour. I'd like to sew another one for her soon.

In the evening when Georgia has gone to bed, I made myself a breastfeeding cover. I wonder why I never got around sewing one when I was breastfeeding Georgia. Anyway, there is a pattern in one of my Japanese craft magazine (Child Boutique) which is more like a poncho. I wanted something more simple and I wanted to use the pretty fabric that my lovely friend, Salihan, sent to me. The fabric's size was about 80cm by 80cm. I set about making it looking like an apron. It's really simple to make. The main area is just a rectangular shape and then I cut out another piece of fabric and made that into a strap which goes around my neck. By attaching the strap to both ends of the rectangular cloth and I have myself a breastfeeding cover/apron. I also cut out another piece of cloth and made it into a band to hold the cover when it is folded up and can be tucked away neatly in my bag. I like the fact that the fabric is of a very thin material and it is very ideal for our hot, tropical weather. I'm really looking forward to using it when baby arrives.

I'm now in my 33 weeks of pregnancy and I still have some more time to do some sewing. I shall take today to rest. Maybe I might get around to making something in the next few days. ^_^

Baby bodysuits

2009-02-27T14:24:00.005+08:00

I love baby bodysuits! Babies look so cute in them. I bought some plain white bodysuits from Mothercare so that I can customise them. I have sewn one felt snail on one bodysuit and the other I have sewn the clothes line and letters while I used some hangers stamps. I think I'll get more cute stamps to do projects like this. I have also sewn a baby bootie for a boy and also Mary Jane for a baby girl. One of them is for my own. Hush hush for now ^_^.

New makeup

2009-01-08T10:36:00.003+08:00

I had four hours to myself after sending Georgia to school. So I made more felt makeup toys for Georgia. The last one I did was a while ago. She has been requesting for them ever since. It took me about two hand sewing hours to make them. Personally I prefer using the machine than by hand. My eyes were so tired at the end of it and I managed to take a 45 minutes nap before I head out to fetch her from school. And Georgia was happy to see her new toy makeup.

Hi everyone! I'm back!

2009-01-06T15:55:00.006+08:00

Hi everyone! Happy New Year to all! It's been a looong while! I've taken a few months to get myself back and am so happy to be back again!!!

Well I've not been feeling all too good initially with an infection that requires me to go to the clinic every single day for consecutive seven days (yes!) to be on an antibiotic drip on my hand (not mentioning the more than 20 jabs to my buttocks!). And I have to tug along Georgia with me. She'll read her books and do her drawing while mummy lies on the bed waiting for the drip to end. It's a dread, I tell you. I've lost all appetite and I was so weak. I'm really glad that it's all over now!!! The good news is that we're expecting a bundle of joy maybe at the end of April or May!!! We're really excited and so is Georgia as she's all hyped up about going to be a big sister soon!!!

I'm in my 23 weeks now and we already know the sex of the little one but we're keeping it a secret just to create some excitement. So I haven't been doing much since as this second pregnancy leaves me feeling all weak and tired. And since now the bump is getting bigger, I have been getting backaches so I can't sit for long in front of the computer. But I'm really glad to be able to blog again!

We start this year new with Georgia going to Kindergarten. We have tried the homeschooling but it seems like Georgia misses going to school and with me restless and feeling tired on most days, we just thought maybe we'll just let her go to school then. So we sourced out a Kindergarten which is more play based than academic as I am still teaching her on most mornings. In fact I find that she is able to concentrate better now since she has started school. Maybe it's the novelty of wearing her school uniform and going to school and play with her friends that's getting her all excited. In a way it's good for me, I'll get four hours in the afternoon to rest and prepare dinner before I fetch her home. Her school is just two streets away from home so it's an easy walk for both of us.

Here's Georgia on her first day of school on last Friday.

It's also been a while since I've sewn anything. I try not to push myself too hard so I just start with refashion for today and slowly work my work up to sewing more clothes for myself, Georgia and the little one in my tummy!

This is a dress that Georgia has outgrown and since she is into fluffy skirt, I thought I'll just refashion it into a skirt for her. I love the end result. All done in 15 minutes before my back starts acting up again!!!

I hope to put up the tutorial on the tote soon! Sorry for the delay!

Have a great day everyone! ^_^

I am taking a little rest and will be back soon

2008-09-13T16:21:00.003+08:00

Dear friends, I have been under the weather again and am requiring lots of rests and no physical activity at all! Yeah a halt to my crafting...that's kinda killing me but I have to listen to the doctor!!!

I promise I'll be back as soon as I am well and will definitely post the tutorial on the bag which I have mentioned earlier and also some other tutorials to share with you guys too!!!

Have a great day and stay healthy!!! ^_^

It's a lovely surprise!

2008-08-31T11:39:00.005+08:00

It was definitely a lovely surprise to receive a reward and would like to thank Katie for it! I would also like to take this opportunity to pass on this award to some very lovely people who are very creative and an inspiration to me too!

A Simple Abundant Life by my friend, Salihan
Day by Day by Melissa
Forty two roads
Kimono Reincarnate by Melanie
Oiyi's craft by Oiyi

And here are the rules for those of you (if you so choose to accept your award! who are nominated:

1. Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Yumi and her bed

2008-08-24T20:07:00.005+08:00

It was raining cats and dogs for the past few days and it was quite cold...brrrr...wet days meant no playing at the playground, no exercising and also no sunning of laundry. Sigh. Georgia was looking at my piles of Japanese craft book and she saw one with a doll and her furniture. There is the bed, piano, dresser with hairdryer, stool and also an armchair. Georgia wanted me to make all of them! Since we can't go out in that HEAVY rain ( I dislike rain as it also dampens my mood besides making everywhere wet!), so I obliged. I told her that I'll make her the doll and the bed. The rest I do that over the next few days.

Little did I know that it was going to take me three hours just to make a tiny doll that is no bigger than my palm! There was so much work involved! All of it has to be hand sewn and that explains the three hours!!! So I only made the doll yesterday and I continued with the bed today. I also thought that the bed is going to be easier than the doll but it still took me close to three hours to finish it! I am really glad that I did it for Georgia. In fact it was quite fun AND extremely time consuming to make them. I'm going to continue with the other furniture for the next couple of days. I think I might make a house out of some boxes that I have in the store. How exciting! I love doll houses and never had one when I was Georgia's age as they were all soooo expensive. I so envy Georgia but of course I'll get to play with her too! I'll probably make two more dolls to accompany Yumi (we named the doll!).

Hi. I am Yumi. I am wearing a pair of pink flower earrings.

Here is my bed. The quilt and pillow are adorned with pretty heart shapes. The pillow and blanket are separate from the bed.

I am already getting tired showing you my bed and I have to go to sleep now. Good night everyone!

Georgia is soooo happy with her new toy!

Mushroom curry

2008-08-22T19:48:00.005+08:00

In the past, I do not know how to cook curry and always end up in disaster! I know that it's very easy to cook them but somehow they ended up too spicy or too bland. After countless of trial and error, I managed to come up with a decent curry and I have grown to love to cook curry! Serve the mushroom curry with Basmati rice and it's a good meal for me! Yum!

MUSHROOM CURRY
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1 packet of oyster mushrooms (about 150g)
1/4 cup of fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon of chopped ginger
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
2 tablespoons of chopped onion
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons of vegetable curry powder mix
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar (optional)

METHOD
1. Heat olive oil in pan.
2. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Stir fry till fragrant, about 3mins.
3. Add mustard seeds. Stir fry for about 30 seconds.
4. Add curry powder and water. Mix well.
5. Add the oyster mushrooms and corn. Mix well.
6. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 10 mins.
7. Add sugar and salt to taste.
8. Serve with rice.

You can always use vegetables such as ocra, carrots, potatoes or eggplants instead of mushrooms. Do let me know whether you like this curry! Enjoy! ^_^

Blueberry grunt and a martian pillow

2008-08-22T15:27:00.004+08:00

I was drooling over the post by vegan yum yum the other day when she veganized the blueberry grunt. The ingredients are really simple and I happen to have three packs of fresh blueberries in my fridge. I half the recipe as I am not a big dessert eater. I quickly went about preparing the blueberry fillings and the biscuit dough. I also took the 20 minutes of baking to teach Georgia.

Here is the finished dessert. I must say that this recipe is a keeper and the sweetness is just nice with a hint of lemon. Yummmm!

I also took a little time to make a cute pillow for my brother to put in his car. The martians are from Toy Story and they are soooo cute! I used denim for the other side of the pillow.

Typical day for us

2008-08-16T23:47:00.007+08:00

I am into my second month homeschooling Georgia and it has been fun AND tiring too! I am slowly getting the hang of it and should be ready for more action in the next month! I started out drafting a schedule in the beginning and eventually find that it was too difficult for me to keep to it. Why? Because there are always unexpected events interrupting us and I would end up doing something else. In fact, I am not really bothered about us not keeping to the schedule and have chucked it aside! I do not subscribe to any particular style of homeschooling method and so would teach according to what comes to my mind each day. As long as by the end of this year, Georgia should be able to fulfill what is listed here. In fact she has fulfilled all the 'specifications' of a preschooler!

I bought some workbooks for Georgia to work on and she loves doing them. We would usually spend about 15 mins completing them. Sometimes if she doesn't want to work on them anymore, I'll just stop and switch to something else. Either reading or playing with her. In fact, it is not recommended that we give workbooks to preschooler at all especially if parents or teachers give them pressure to answer the questions correctly. We treat it as an activity book where she would do them in a fun way.

Children at this age needs to play a lot. According to the book 'Einstein never used flash cards', play=learning. And it's very true. Georgia loves to play with her stuff toys and would always enact scenes of our everyday life such as cooking for them, going to the supermarket to do grocery (she'll push her toys in her princess trolley!) or simply taking a book and pretend to read to them. She would use cereal boxes and asks me to cut windows and doors so that she can used it as a doll house for her tiny dolls. Or she would create countless of things like camera, cash register or car with the blocks. Through play, children learn to be creative and as parents we should encourage them and not inhibit their growth by telling them what to play and when to play. Play should come spontaneously. And so you can expect that we definitely have a lot of playing in our household!

The other activity that we should be doing with preschoolers is reading. Children enjoy hearing stories and enjoying having parents read to them. Be sure to buy them lots of different catergories of books suitable for their age. Otherwise if you have only two or three books, you'll be getting bored real soon while your kid will always request you to read the same book over and over again! Anyway, children loves to hear the same stories over and over again. Although it is a dread to us, children loves to play a part in reading. For example, Georgia knows and remembers the stories to all her books (she has an amazing memory and she has close to 50 books!). She will participate in my storytelling. She will sometimes say the next sentence or the next word. It is very engaging to them and we can engage them even more by asking them what the characters will do next or how does the character feel. Georgia has been learning her phonics and she is doing quite well for a preschooler but I am not expecting her to read by the end of this year. Most children will start to read by age 6 and I am not rushing Georgia. I am letting nature takes its course. Although she has yet to learn to read, her spoken words are pretty articulate for her age. So reading (a lot!) to them has its benefits.

Georgia has also started to create stories of her own and most of them are very random and sometimes illogical stories. Here are two stories she made up to tell her stuff toys the other day.

STORY A
Once upon a time, there is an elephant swimming about. He's going to find the way. And he saw a baboon and ran away. The baboon is afraid of the elephant. Then afternoon the koala bear went for a walk. THE END.

STORY B
The witch and the bread are running fast. The witch ran and ran (she was doing the running motion!). Then afternoon the Gorilla is brave and shout at the witch. The witch wanted to eat the Gorilla and bread. THE END.

Upon hearing her stories, I had a really good laugh! Those were really funny and certainly weird stories! I must say it certainly is a very good attempt at composing stories. And Georgia did it all in her barely four year old brain. Good effort Georgia! ^_^

Mother and daughter outfits

2008-08-15T10:41:00.008+08:00

Recently I bought several Japanese craft books from Kinokuniya and I simply adore one particular book with complementary outfits for mother and daughter. There are about 15 different styles and I intend to try and make all of them! So I guess I won't need to buy any clothes for a while and I like that! I started out by making one simple white top with strawberries print for Georgia. I also bought several beautiful fabrics from Spotlight and hope to make good use of them!

Here's the book (ISBN978-4-8347-2691-6) and some of the styles.

I made the top using this pattern. I'll be making one for myself too!

The finished product and my model!

What a lovely day for a picnic!

2008-08-15T00:49:00.003+08:00

Today was such a lovely day with the sun shining down on us and we decided to head to Sembawang park for a picnic. And so I prepared salad, handmade popiah, fruits, fruit juice and also some tidbits (as Andy and Georgia love to snack!). It was a less than ten minute drive from our home. Usually we would cycle to the park but with all the food, it's just not possible.

We were the only family there having a picnic. I love the peace and space and that's why I love going to the parks on weekdays. We enjoyed our lunch while trying to fend off ants of all sizes who were attracted to our lunch! Georgia was busy eating and 'shooing' the ants off our mat! ^_^ After lunch, the two of them played the kiddy version of badminton. It's a game that both Andy and myself enjoy playing with Georgia. She loves the game so much that she is a pretty good player for a four year old!

Glad to be able to see the sun and have another great day with my family! ^_^

Two bags and a curtain

2008-08-05T23:49:00.005+08:00

Today was a fruitful day as I got a lot of things done! Besides teaching Georgia, preparing meals and clearing some household work, I managed to sew two bags (one for the Mr and one for myself, YAY!) and a curtain for my room.

In my earlier post regarding the bag meant for the Mr but ended up me using it, I made a new one for him. And the Mr is very happy with the bag. Phew! I tried bleaching some numbers using a bleaching pen on the denim but it doesn't seem to work well. The numbers are not visible. I'll probably try the bleaching thingy another day.

A happy Mr with his new bag.

The bleached numbers are above Mr's hands. Sadly it's not that visible.

I love this fabric for my new bag! I used the same pattern as I did for this bag. I like this pattern. I think I'll post a tutorial for this pattern as it's a simple and fast bag to make! I'm going to use my new bag tomorrow for our trip to Kinokuniya as they are having a 20% discount for members!

Finally, a new curtain for my room. The fabric is from IKEA. Simple and nice. ^_^

Strolling in the Garden

2008-08-01T23:22:00.007+08:00

Yes, today we were indeed strolling in the Garden except that it is not an outdoor garden but an indoor event with loads of landscape designs. It is Singapore's Annual Garden Festival and today is the last day. We treated this as an educational excursion for Georgia as she will be learning about the different types of plants and also the creativity used in landscaping a garden. There was a competition for the best designs and I must say some of them are really good. Since it was a garden festival, there was also a market place for everyone to buy plants. We bought a few plants to beautify our home too! ^_^

Bugs like grasshopper, bee and ladybug were mascots for the festival.

This is part of the garden which was conceptualized by Far East Flora and was named Best Show and won the Gold Medal. It's called Shangri-la and we liked it as it gave us a feeling that we are under the water. There was water on top and the reflection was cast onto the garden which gives the illusion of underwater world.

A Chinese garden designed by a Chinese.

A portrait of Mao Ze Dong using grass.

Also a portrait of the famous Marilyn Monroe. Fascinating work!

How nice if I have a garden of my own to beautify! :-P

A tote for Mr

2008-07-30T11:04:00.005+08:00

Well it was made with the intention for the Mr but the dimensions of the tote and the length of the arm strap were a little short. So the Mr didn't like it at all. This is one of my projects which has gone a little wrong but hey, I can still use it! Hahahaha! Sorry Mr. I'll make a better one for you the next time. I'll covet this tote to my own usage. Hee.

I have made lots of pockets for this tote (requests made by Mr) so that he can easily keep his wallet, pen, notebook and what not in the bag. Two front pockets and two back pockets on the exterior of the tote. There's also a key strap with a lobster clasp so that the keys are within easy reach and you can simply lift up the strap, open the door and drop in again. There's also a matching pouch. The fabric are simply denim and linen.

I better make a replacement for the Mr soon. Got to go and buy more fabric! ^_^

Some old friends and a cutie pie

2008-07-29T21:33:00.007+08:00

Hahahaha...I hope the title doesn't sound too weird but it is befitting for today's event. I met up with my secondary school girlfriends namely Adelyn, Jocelyn and Judy, and it was a great meeting. It's been years since I last have contact with them. It seemed like yesterday when we were back in school talking away. The ladies have all grown up to be very womanly! Maybe that's what married life and motherhood do. Thanks to facebook that we found each other!

All three of them are mothers too and I was hoping to see all their babies but only Jocelyn brought her little princess, Clara, who is six months old. I wanted so much to carry baby Clara but I was having a cold and wouldn't want to pass the germs to her. So I held back. But next time if I meet them again, I'll have to give her a hug as she was soooo delicious! Oops, I mean adorable! Hahaha!!! Georgia loves babies and she adores Clara too. She was playing with Clara while at the same time vying for attention from me and my friends! Also she kept talking about Clara when we got home. She reminded me that I have to give her a baby. Yeah I will but some things just can't be rushed and we just have to let nature takes its course ^_^

Here are some delicious pictures of baby Clara and her yummy mummy. I have forgotten to take pictures of the other two yummy mummies. Sorry. I will the next time.

This photo is a little blur as she was moving. Look at her hair! All standing up! Soooo adorable!

Next time I'll make something nice for each of their babies and their mummies. ^_^

We love homeschooling!

2008-07-24T11:02:00.007+08:00

We have officially started homeschooling Georgia since June and we're loving it! It was a very natural occurence that we went into homeschooling. In fact I had little confidence in homeschooling when I first heard it from my friend whose auntie has been homeschooling her two children. I thought it sounded a little out of this world and doubted how effective it would be. That was a few years ago. Now it is a different story for us. We tried it and we love it (I must warn you that it's not easy as it's extremely time-consuming! But the rewards are priceless!) It's going to be very lengthy post so please have some patience with me ^_^

I spent two years staying at home looking after Georgia when she was born. I also breastfed her (I am a strong advocate for breastfeeding!) till she was 18 months old. The two years staying at home with her was such special time. The bond between mother and daughter was so strong and of course with the daddy as well. I get to see how she grows, how she starting talking, how she take her first steps...those are just priceless. I went back to the work force when she was twenty months old. So we enrolled her in Modern Montessori International. Georgia learned a lot during her time at the childcare centre. The teachers there were great and she spent five days a week, almost twelve hours a day away from us. I missed Georgia terribly. But I had to help Andy to bring in some bread for the family too. Everyday we only get to spend less than three hours with her and I felt sad and guilty. Weekends became very precious for us. But that wasn't enough. So I made a decision to work for only two years (that's the duration of my contract), save up as much as I can and quit and be a stay at home mum again. It got so bad that I would always go to work with a guilt stricken heart!

I finally call it quits in May and then we pulled Georgia out of the full day program and enrolled her for only half day. The cost of her half day nursery school fees is more than the full day program! And she's only there for three hours. There is also my transportation fees to be taken into consideration too. In that month, I began doing research on develomental psychology, preschool teaching methods and parenting guides. Andy and myself have also started to think about Georgia's enrolment into Primary One when she turns seven (yeah we know it'll be another three years but we can't help planning for it). And one day when I was chatting with my neighbour, who has a son in primary one, told me that the school principal said that students who have scored over 70 for their exams should not be contented. If they have worked harder, they should score 100! What was that all about! Our society is results driven that a lot of students are missing out on the process of learning! I kinda freaked out the moment when she told me that. I certainly do not want my daughter to be so stressed out with her school work that she will have phobia going to school. I also cannot fanthom the idea of having to volunteer myself for the school just so that my daughter can have a higher chance of enrolling in it! What is that! Tsk. Tsk. Children are spending so much time in school and parents are away from home most of the day and where is that family bonding. A lot of school going children have to attend tuition after school hours because they are not able to learn effectively in school. So what does it mean? Is there a decline in our public education? Why is children spending so much time in school and yet they need tuition? Some took up tuition so that they can be ahead of their peers. Sigh.

That really got me started thinking about my daughter's education. Then one day Andy told me there was an article in the newspaper about homeschooling. I missed that article. I thought I'll go to the library and read about it. And the rest they say is history. I read up a lot on the subject from books and also from the internet. I realised that I like it. The basic reason why most parents started homeschooling is because of their love for their children. We all wanted our children to learn in a conducive environment and who says that home is not a place for learning. We parents are the best teachers for our children. We taught them how to eat, talk, walk, and of course we CAN teach them how to study. Most importantly we are also teaching them how to love and be confident about themselves.

There are loads of resources for us to teach our children. The internet is one of the best option. Books from libraries and also loads of activities books from the book store. I go to here, here and here for homeschooling information and free activities. Just google homeschooling and you'll get more. I also love this book called Einstein never used flash cards, ISBN 1-59486-068-8. It's written by developmental psychologists and is about how our children should learn to play more and memorize less. I highly recommend this book.

There is the question of socializing when homeschooling is concerned. First of all, we are not isolating our children from the world. They still play with their neighbours' children. They play with their cousins. They interact weekly with their grandparents. They chat with the shop keepers. They play with other children from the playground. There is certainly no lack of socializing here!

Andy and myself are parents who want our children to grow up wholesomely. They should not only be good in their studies but also have good morals and have great love for mother earth. With my decision to stay at home (with Andy's support) and homeschool Georgia, I will give her the best education. I am not so hung up about whether she can read now, or knows how to count to hundred or thousands or whether does she knows how to speak in different languages. What matters most is that she enjoys herself learning while playing, learning how to write in the air when sees sign boards, counting the numbers of M&Ms I give her, pretending to prepare a delicious meal for me or taking care of her numerous stuff toys and simply enjoy the many hours of reading that I do with her. I will never trade the time with her for anything in this world. ^_^

Besides learning her letters and numbers, Georgia learns about practical life skills. Here she is screwing the bottle tops.

Learning about the different types of materials.

Matching alphabets and numbers.

Putting the covers on the tupperwares.

I'll be posting regular updates on our homeschooling! ^_^

Cupcakes for a rainy day

2008-07-22T00:05:00.004+08:00

Today was such a grey and wet day. The moment we woke up the sky was dark and two hours later, it started to pour and it went on and off throughout the day. The rain was great as it lowered the temperature but personally, I really dislike rainy days. I prefer the sun and that probably explains why I have naturally tan skin. I can tolerate heat but not cold and wet days. That aside, after I was done with teaching Georgia (I'll blog about our homeschooling tommorow), I went about baking some cupcakes. Georgia has been requesting for cakes for the past few days so it was perfect to bake some since we can't play outdoors.

I made Golden Vanilla cupcakes with thick chocolate fudgey frosting (VCTOW). Today's cupcakes were really moist and soft. It's my first try on the fudgey frosting and I must say it's quite yummy. Georgia likes it and she usually doesn't like creams on cake. So I must say this particular frosting is a winner! Well according to the book, it's perfect for kids who doesn't like buttercream toppings.

Georgia helped me with the frosting of cupcakes and sprinkled some cute sprinkles that my flickr friend, Honor, sent me. She has so much fun making them and I had to prevent her from licking the frosting! That's because we are sharing some of the cupcakes with our neighbours' kids!

Here is Georgia having fun with decorating the cuppies!

Finally, she can sink her teeth into it!

I simply piped the frosting to the remaining cupcakes.

Mummy, I want noodles!

2008-07-16T16:43:00.008+08:00

Whenever I ask Georgia what she would like to eat for lunch or dinner, she'll always tell me noodles. Always noodles. But of course I'm not going to cook her noodles everyday. I'll get sick of it! I do cook noodles for her at least three times a week. So today I granted her wish for noodles when I asked her what she wants for lunch.

I usually would whip up something quick and easy for our lunch as before that we would be doing some homeschooling, playing, reading and also in between some house work. So lunch has to be prepared and cooked in less than 30 minutes. My family and myself have come to love eating soba more after our trip to Tokyo. We would either have it in soup or stir fry. For today's lunch, I stir fry an easy peasy soba in less than 30 minutes as the little one was telling me she's hungry every few minutes! ( I guess she's all hungry after our morning walk around the neighbourhood ^_^)

I also prepared soup. Our family cannot do without soup. We have to have soup everyday otherwise the man and the little girl would be asking me why I never cook any. I cooked watercress soup today. It's considered a 'cooling' soup and it's especially good for hot weather.

Here are my recipes for the easy peasy stir fry soba and the watercress soup.

EASY PEASY STIR FRY SOBA

For two
INGREDIENTS
A handful of dried soba ( I prefer using the dried ones than the pre-cooked soba)
1/2 cup buna shimeji mushrooms (trim the base)
1/4 cup button mushrooms (fresh or canned), cut into half
1/2 cup broccoli
1/4 cup carrots, sliced
1 small piece of garlic
1 tsp of black sesame seeds (lightly toasted on pan)

2-3 tbsp of olive oil
1-2 tsp of sesame oil
3-4 tsp low sodium soya sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp of vegetarian G powder (optional), you could use 1 tbsp of mushroom sauce
pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Boil the soba in boiling water for about 8-10 minutes until al dente. If too soft, it will stick to the pan during stir fry.
2. Drain soba and soak in cold water for 1 min and drained off water. Keep aside.
3. Add olive oil to cooking pan, then add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.
4. Add broccoli and carrots, stir fry and cover for 30 seconds.
5. Add shimeji and button mushrooms. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir fry till well mixed.
6. Remove vegetables and mushrooms and put aside.
7. Heat olive oil in pan and add soba on low fire. Toss around and make sure soba is covered with some oil.
8. Add the soya sauce, vegetarian G powder (optional) and stir well.
9. Next add the vegetables and mushroom and mix them up. Add the sesame oil, sesame seeds and also pepper to taste.
10. Turn off heat, prepare cutleries and you're ready to eat!

NOTE: You can always vary your ingredients like adding pine nuts, cashew nuts or anything you fancy!

-----------

WATERCRESS SOUP

For 2-3
INGREDIENTS
5-6 cups of water
A packet of watercress (trim off the base and washed with water and drained)
A handful of red dates (soaked in water till soft, drained)
1-2 mi zao (these dates are bigger and sweeter than red dates)
2 tbsp of wolfberries (soaked in water till soft, drained)
2 tsp of vegetarian G powder (optional) or vegetarian stock
1/2 tsp of sea salt

METHOD
1. Add red dates, wolfberries and mi zao into boiling water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add watercress and cover. Cook in low heat and boil for 20-25 mins.
3. Add vegetarian G powder or vegetarian stock (optional) and salt. Stir well and turn off heat.
4. The soup is ready to be served!

Have fun cooking!

^_^

Lovely gifts!

2008-07-09T18:39:00.005+08:00

I received a package from my flickr friend, Honor. She sent me some really cute cupcake sprinkles, cupcake liners, a smock and Hello Kitty notebook for Georgia and an apron for me. I'm going to bake cupcakes and cookies and use the sprinkles on them! Yay! Thank you Honor! ^_^

The sprinkles are sooo cute! There's the gingerbread man, Christmas trees, poker card icons, farm animals, poker dots and autumn leaves! The cupcake liners are lovely too!

I love the smock's fabric and my apron's!

We walked for almost three hours

2008-07-04T22:51:00.008+08:00

There were a couple of additions to our parks and we took the opportunity to see them and have some family time. There was the Henderson Wave (300m bridge) connecting Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill. And the forest walk or nature trail (1.3km) in Telok Blangah Hill to the Alexandra Arch. The end of Alexandra Arch is the Hort Park. We intend to visit the park another day as it was quite a long walk for Georgia. The entire walk to and fro took us about three hours with the little one. I brought along homemade chocolate chip cookies and we ate them during our walk. The sky was kinda grey today and although it was not that great for taking photos, it was really pleasant to walk. Georgia did complained at the beginning (as always) and later she enjoyed it so much! She saw lots of birds, both local and migratory ones. We saw a mummy bird feeding to her young. Lots of squirrels, insects and the plants. It was a great science excursion for Georgia today. She asked loads of questions and we tried our best to answer. When she got home, I asked her to draw all the things that she saw in her little journal. I hope to go there again in the future during the night as it would be lovely to see and take photos of the bridge with their colourful lights!

Here Andy is "riding" the Henderson Wave.

Cheeky monkey with her favourite teddy, Gigi.

The forest walk.

Andy and Georgia were goofing around on the Alexandra Arch.

Georgia enjoying herself with the homemade chocolate chip cookie.

^_^

We took part in the first Singapore's Kids run!

2008-06-13T16:21:00.006+08:00

We took part in the first Singapore Kids run organised by Cold Storage at the Padang on 1 June 2008. Yeah this post is kinda late as I fell very ill after the run. And I am still ill. I have got some bacteria infection in my throat that till today, refuses to go away. Even Georgia has contracted the viral infection from me.

Anyway, the run was really fun. At the beginning, it was kinda chaotic as there were so many parents and children. No one knows what to do except to queue up behind one another along the Sunshine Orange kids chase banner. The ground was muddy because of the rain on the previous night. Georgia was complaining of the mud and the smell. I told her that it's no big deal with the dirt. But she's not convinced. Hahaha! I hope she'll get over these things as she grows up.

We were among the first group to run as there were simply too many parents and children and we were divided into groups by different runners' numbers. When the race got started, Georgia threw a little tantrum and refused to lift up her legs and run. I HAD to drag her along. Gosh! Then I had to slowly coax her to enjoy the fun as she was so bothered by the crowd, the heat and the ever so loud sound system! Luckily she cheered up after a while and we were running down the 800m course. Andy ran alongside us on the pavement. Only one parent is allowed to run with one kid. It was a good albeit short run. After the run, we collected the medal and the certificate along with some other freebies. And then we were off to the carnival and Georgia enjoyed herself more to the games stall instead! Kids!

First kids' run, here we go!

2008-05-26T11:04:00.003+08:00

I have registered Georgia for Singapore's first kids' run by Cold Storage which will take place on June 1 next Sunday. Meanwhile, we are 'training' everyday by running around, playing ball games and anything to get the heart pumping! Georgia is very excited about the run (800m fun run) and has been asking me about it after we collected the runner's kit from United Square yesterday. I guess I am equally as excited as her. By the way, I also happened to have taken part in the first ever all women run in 2006 by SHAPE magazine. I ran in the 5km run along with my friend Melanie. Ours was something like a fun run and the experience was fun and good! I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun this Sunday (I have to run alongside Georgia!) Will blog about it then!

Thank you gifts

2008-05-23T10:20:00.005+08:00

Georgia will be withdrawing from the nursery class in Modern Montessori International end of this month. I will be homeschooling her thereafter and hope to continue into her secondary education. I will write about this in another post.

Her teachers at MMI Woodlands are a wonderful and responsible lot and we are glad that Georgia is well taken care of by them. Teacher Safiah has been taking care of Georgia ever since she was in playground and she is also teaching her in the nursery class. She's a really nice lady and Georgia adores her. Georgia happens to be teacher Safiah's favourite little helper so I'm sure Georgia will miss her but we will definitely keep in contact with her!

To show my appreciation for the love and care Teacher Safiah has shown, I made her a lovely tote. I used this lovely Japanese Kimono fabric. The pattern is from the Cotton Friend Autumn collection 2007 vol. 24. I also made a clutch (pattern from artsy clutch by Amy Karol's Bend the rules sewing) for the teacher assistant, Teacher Rekka.

I think it'll be a tearful day (for me as I don't like departures!) on the last day when I present the gifts to them.

Love-hate relationship with cookie cutters

2008-05-22T23:11:00.012+08:00

I love cookie cutters but I also hate to use them! That's because very often the dough will stick to the cutter no matter how much I dust it with flour. I always have a tough time especially when I use the Disney characters. Mickey mouse ears will be stuck on the cookie stamp (it has a cutter for the shape and a stamp for the face features). Same goes for Piglet's ears and Tigr's face. Urgh! Maybe it's just me. I'm just bad at using them or maybe I should look for another cookie or shortbread recipe. Hahahaha!

Today I tried the cookie cutters that my friend, Salihan, sent to me from down under. It was a war zone in the kitchen! Seriously! The weather was sooooooo warm today (34 deg C but it felt like 36 or more!) and Georgia was helping me to bake some chocolate shortbread using the new cutters. I had so much difficulty trying to get a good cutout of the dough while Georgia was enjoying herself making a mess on the counter top playing with the flour and getting it all over herself! I almost had a meltdown when Georgia said, "Mummy, don't be angry. It's OK. I make messy but I having fun! See, so fun!" Well that kinda relaxed me and it's her way of telling me to not be so hard on myself and simply enjoy the process. In the end I did. Despite having flour all over us and on the floor and just about everywhere, I did get some OK cutouts from the cookie cutters. I had used the Espresso shortbread recipe from Martha Stewart. I think there's too much fat in there and that might be one of the reason why I kept getting dough stuck on the cutters (or it could be an excuse of mine to put the blame somewhere :-P)!

Here are the finished products after 25 minutes of baking in the oven.

These are Australia native animals. The features of the Echidna (bottom) can't be seen. The kangaroo is missing as no matter what I did, I just can't get it out of the cookie cutter!

Arthur Adventure Club. The imprint on the first Arthur is not that good. Not enough depth.

You can get the recipe from here. I tweaked it a little by using non diary margarine, substituting 1/2 cup of normal flour with whole wheat pastry flour, added 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds and used 1 tablespoon of Valrhona 100% cocoa powder instead of Espresso powder. The shortbread are quite good except that it might be better if it's a little sweeter. I usually reduce the sugar required in a recipe by 30% but I did according to what this recipe required.

I only made one shortbread for each cookie cutter. Trying to get that one complete is already killing me. I used some simple generic shapes like heart, star and mushroom for the rest of the dough. Well I'm not giving up. I try another favourite recipe of mine and see if I can get perfect cutouts! ^_^

Baby gifts for Vanice's baby girl

2008-05-21T17:01:00.002+08:00

My friend, Vanice, has recently given birth to her second child. A baby girl! Congratulations Vanice! I made her a set of baby stuff that included a onesie with the appliqued elephant fabric, a pair of booties and a bib all using the same fabric. I love this fabric and so does Georgia. I hope Vanice will like them when I see her this weekend! ^_^

Postman! Postman!

2008-05-21T11:03:00.008+08:00

["Postman! Postman!" Fumbling with the newspaper. Oops! Damn! Urgh! Flushing! Washing of hands! "Postman! Postman!" "Ok! I hear you! Give me a sec! Trying to put on pants! Bang! Ouch! Touching forehead! Urgh!]

Well you guessed as much that the Postman came at the right moment when I was having a biggie in the toilet!!! Hahahaha! I have been waiting for this package and I am so glad that it came! My dear friend, Salihan, sent them two weeks ago and her family has gotten their package last friday and she was wondering where did mine went. Anyway, I'm glad I have them in my hands and I am very, very happy with what I got!

Cuteness overload! Salihan knitted a strawberry bookmark for Georgia and there's also a Powerpuff book. Georgia will be very happy when she sees them later. A Bee movie toy to add to Georgia's collection. And I love the magnets! I'm sure Georgia will enjoy playing with them as much as I do!

I love cookie cutters! Cookie cutters from Arthur Adventures and Australian animals! Kawaii!

There's more! Grocery bag, lovely fabric, sequinned flowers and Salihan also knitted headbands for Georgia and myself. There's also another knitted bookmark for me! Yay!

Thank you Salihan! ^_^

A Sunday like today is a happy day!

2008-05-18T23:49:00.004+08:00

Hahahaha! I have been making up words that rhymes in my head every now and then and it all started when I bought the very first book from Dr Seuss, ABC, for Georgia. We went to Kinokuniya today as they were having a 20% discount for members. We bought another two books from Dr Seuss range namely, Hop and Pop and One fish, two fish, red fish and blue fish. All three books are from the Beginners books catergory. Not only that I have become a fan of his books, Georgia has taken a liking for them too. Although she is still not able to read the words but she sure can remember the words that I have read before! I have read somewhere (I can't remember where) that Dr Seuss books are recommended for children as they have loads of words that rhymes and it teaches them phonics and it's so interesting to read (and imaginative too!).

Here are some excerpts from the three books that we bought.

A B C
-Under letter F-
Four fluffy feathers
On a fiffer feffer feff

Hop on Pop
Dad is sad.
Very, very sad.
He had a bad day.
What a day Dad had!

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish
It is fun to sing
if you sing with a Ying.
My Ying can sing
like anything.

I sing high
and my Ying sings low,
and we are not too bad,
you know.

Georgia is not the only one who's happy today. I also bought a Japanese sewing magazine. It's called FEMALE and it's the spring collection. It's from the same publisher for the Child Boutique magazine. I can't wait to try out some of the patterns and they have some really nice hat patterns!

What a happy Sunday today!

^_^

Herbal alternatives

2008-05-15T16:59:00.006+08:00

We have made several changes to our lifestyle ever since we became vegetarian last April. Changes not only to our diet but also to the products that we used, especially household and personal products. There are so many toxic substances in many household products and we are very anxious to eliminate them from our home and most importantly, our children. We are still in the process of replacing all chemical based household products with those natural and environmentally friendly ones. For household cleaners, we are using this Australian brand, Earth Choice. It is not 100% chemical free as there's a low chemical content in it. But it is considerably cheaper (cheaper than Seventh Generation) and also gentler on my hands. We bought the dish washing liquid, laundry liquid, surface cleaner and the floor cleaner. We are also using homemade laundry washing powder made up of washing soda and grated soap. You can find more homemade washing liquid/powder recipes from this website.

For personal products. Georgia is using the GAIA products which are organic and also another product from Australian. Georgia has mild eczema on her knees and her condition has improved after she used the moisturizing lotion. Sometimes we even use her body shower gel to wash our faces!!!

Today Andy and myself made a trip to Mustafa centre in Little India to stock up on Indian herbal products. All of them are reasonably priced. We have been using the VEDICA herbal body & face wash powder for a while and we really love it! It doesn't leave your skin dry and it is enriched with skin conditioner, moisturizer and sunscreen to name a few (no need for extra moisturizer, toner or sunscreen!). Our skin smells great with herbal without any artifical overpowering fragrance. As for toothpaste, we are using Vicco herbal toothpaste. No fluoride for us, thank you. We have bought several new products namely herbal hair colour, instant hair pack, children's toothpaste without fluoride and neem & clay shampoo which we will be trying them out and will post our reviews soon.

I love my pratas!

2008-05-13T22:12:00.004+08:00

I love pratas so much that I have to have them at least once a week. Same goes to Andy. Even little Georgia loves pratas!!! We have our favourite prata shop in Casuarina Road. There are two prata shops there, Casuarina prata and Prata House. We prefer the Prata House even though the shop doesn't look modern or appealing. What matters most is that they make great pratas!!! And their vegetable dahl and curry are good too! So when I can't get my fix from there, I'll pan fry ready-made pratas myself. It's from Spring Home and you can get them from any supermarkets. Their pratas are pretty good too. I'll usually pan fried them till they are crispy around the edges. I have yet to master the art of cooking curries and dahl. So for the meantime I'll have my pratas with raw unrefined sugar at home. And also a cup of tea. Mmmmmm yummmmm!

P.S. The mug is a gift from my mum. It's a chinese bride in her traditional wedding costume. It's a couple mug. Andy has his bridegroom. ^_^

I was still in my PJs

2008-05-11T00:52:00.007+08:00

Today was a lazy day for me. Well not that I did not prepare breakfast or lunch for myself and Georgia (Andy has work today). I was too lazy to change my pjs...today is just one of those days where I just like to laze around and of course the dreadful out of bed look is not to be seen by others!!!

Ever since I got back from my holiday (I miss Tokyo!!!), I was not in the best of health. I got flu and then I suffered from low blood pressure. I fell down from the stairs and hurt my knees while I was on my way back after getting groceries. And I have been getting migraines for the past few days. So I am really glad that I am alright today and in fact was in the mood for some sewing. I have a stack of Japanese sewing/craft magazines and I chose a pattern from the Spring collection of Child Boutique (I love all the children's collection and they are soooo cute and breautiful!).

*ADDITION* This is the pattern I used. I would love to make an adult version for myself too. ^_^. I used the red batik fabric which I bought from Chinatown a while ago. I love this fabric simply because it's in red. I love red. I feel happy and powerful when I wear red. And Georgia also shares my liking for the colour (and she simply adores pink!!!).

Making clothes is still quite difficult for me as I am still not that skilled yet. It took me three hours just to make this simple dress. At least I'm glad that it turned out the way I wanted it to be. I still have about half a meter left and I hope to make another skirt for Georgia or maybe a little pouch for my personal fan.

Georgia was turning in circles when I get her to try on her dress. She said that she looked like a princess! Yeah she sure is my princess ^_^

Mehndi for the afternoon

2008-04-28T13:37:00.009+08:00

Georgia and myself love Medndi. With reference from MEHNDI - The Timeless Art of Henna Painting, Mehndi is the word in Hindi used to describe henna, henna painting, and the resulting designs. Henna is a plant best known to us as a natural product used to colour and condition the hair. Henna painting is an ancient cosmetic and healing art whereby the dried leaves of the henna plant are crushed into a powder, then made into a paste that is applied to the body to safely dye the skin.

In Singapore, the Indians and Muslims practice Mehndi and is mostly done on weddings or festive occasions. I've always love Mehndi simply because the art is so beautiful and I love the smell of the Henna paste. I buy ready made henna paste from Little India. I love sitting on the sofa with a relax mind and slowly and carefully paint my hands with henna. Although I do not have a steady hand but at least I think I do an OK job! Hahahaha!!!!

Also I like to do Mehndi on Georgia as she has to sit on her couch for at least half an hour to an hour without moving. It is a good way to calm the ever energetic Georgia and she has to wait patiently for the paste to dry to see the end results.

These are our Mehndi.

Georgia requested for a cat and a fish motif.

Before the henna is washed off.

The end result.

Hajimemashita

2008-04-19T16:39:00.009+08:00

I grabbed the opportunity to get promotional airfare to Tokyo when Northwest Airline was offering last November. After tax, per adult was about SIN$668 and it was too good an offer to miss. It was by far the cheapest ticket to Tokyo in comparison with other airlines. And so I went ahead to book the hotel stay in Shinjuku and also a night at a traditional ryokan in Hakone.

We were in Tokyo for 8 days 7 nights. It was a great trip! And need I mention, a GREAT place for shopping! It's a shopper's paradise especially if you have loads to spare!!! Also the food is great! We LOVE the bread there!

When we arrived at the Shinjuku train station straight from Narita Airport. We got lost in the station countless times trying to find our way out to the hotel. Then when we found the exit, we also got lost walking around trying to look for the hotel. Our knowledge of Japanese language is as much as saying hello, I want this, I don't want this, thank you, normal greetings and period. So when we were asking directions from the locals, most of them do not speak eigo (English), we didn't get much assistance. Even the street map is not much of a help as it's in Japanese. After much loitering around (did I mention with 2 big luggages, two backpacks and also a cranky kid in tow!) and finally getting the right directions from a travel agency (in Japanese, of course), we found our hotel. By then it was around 5pm. We got lost for about 45 minutes! Geesh!

We stayed at a very lovely business hotel in Shinjuku called Kadoya Hotel. It is situated at the other side of the business district and it's quite quiet at night which we prefer. The hotel photos do not look impressive on their website but trust me, it's a very decent and modern business hotel. Pretty big for the three of us. First five nights we stayed at their twin room which is a little cramp and the last day we stayed at their twin S room. Now that is big. At least I think in terms of hotel rooms in Tokyo. The amenities in the room is adequate. LCD TV, hot pot, hair dryer, bath robes, slippers, tempur pillows, air ioniser/purifier, big bottles of body and hair shampoo and lots of toiletries. This hotel's room price is in the 'low' range among the hotels in Tokyo and we are already paying about SIN$185 per night. Overall we are very satisfied with our stay at the hotel and the staff are very helpful and friendly. At least they speak some English! Arigato!

The next day, we have already figured out the shortest and fastest way to get to the train station. Then we were set with other challanges like which exit to take. There are the east, west (our hotel's exit) and south. All exits have different trains lines so you must KNOW where you want to go and which train lines you are going to take. We got lost again. We asked the not-so-friendly Odakyu travel staff for directions. They usually gave us a blunt and short answer (in Japanese, of course) coupled with some simple hand directions. Most of the time, we went the wrong way. I also forgot to mention that Shinjuku station is the most busiest train station in Tokyo!!! Tokyoites walk fast and I mean FAST and big steps. They are always rushing here and there and if you're in the way, they might bump into you and either give you a stare or simply said, Sumimasen (excuse or pardon me). We were so stressed trying to figure our way in the underground and then we also had to face the aggressive crowds of men and women in black all rushing to work or somewhere!!! It's quite a funny scene!!! Hahahaha!!! Talking about destressing on holidays!

We pretty much covered quite a number of areas in Tokyo. From Shinjuku to Marunouchi, Ginza to Roppongi, Shibuya to Harajuku, Ueno to Asakusa to Ikebukuro and also the lovely Hakone.

The trip was kinda hard on little Georgia as she has to walk the same distance (or almost, not counting the times when we carried her) as us. Although she did complain about the walking, she enjoyed her holidays as much as we do. We brought her to Tokyo Disneyland and we had a blast there despite it rained on and off during our day there. It rained so hard towards closing time that the temperature dropped to 8 degC!!! We were literally freezing our pants off!!! Poor Georgia's shoes and jeans were soaked and she was shivering in cold while we had to wait for an hour at the bus stop for the direct bus back to Shinjuku. Back at the hotel, we gave her a nice warm soak in the bath tub and she was all smiles again! ^_^

Our stay at a traditional and more than 100 year old ryokan in Hakone (spring resort region about an hour train ride) was relaxing and fun. We stayed a night at Ichinoyu Ryokan by the river. The view was great and the room itself was warm and cozy. Georgia and Andy loved it a lot! We were sleeping on futons on tatami. We toured around Hakone using our Hakone Free Pass. It consists of a round trip train ride from and to Shinjuku, unlimited rides on the local transportations and discounts to numerous museums and sorts. We used the Tozan train, cable car, ropeway, cruise and also the local bus. Great scenery and great place to rejuvenate our souls! The highlight of the trip is that I lost my Free Pass at the end of the day. I had to buy a single ticket back to the ryokan and also another train ticket back to Shinjuku on the Romance Car (it's a train). Thank goodness we've already covered all the touristy spots in Hakone otherwise I'm going to hate myself for it!

We love shopping! Who doesn't huh! It's by far the best shopping destination I've been to! Tokyo has everything everyone needs. It's a consumer market anyway. They build and manufacture their products based on consumer needs. Yeah of course which company doesn't but seriously, the Japanese take into consumer needs and make goods which works. They even have the fake 'flushing' sound in public toilets to mask the sound when you are doing your business to avoid embarassment. That's very smart and polite I must say. We did our fare share of shopping in Tokyo but it wasn't enough. I did not manage to buy even a single metre of fabric or craft materials there. It was simply too rush and I wouldn't want poor little Georgia to walk around with me trying to locate the shop in some hidden corners. Anyway, there's always the next trip! Hahaha! I'm definitely going to save money to go back to Tokyo for another shopping trip!!!

More photos on my flickr album! Also I'll be glad to give some tips on travelling around Tokyo if you are planning to go there with your family!

Kampai!

A new job for me

2008-04-03T10:18:00.003+08:00

I've called it quits to the corporate world. I am officially a stay at home mum (SAHM) again. I was with Georgia for the first twenty months of her life and then I got a job and we had to place her at the childcare much to my reluctance. I also wanted to see if I can adapt to my life with a child and also work life. I must say that I have been managing both quite well although at times it can be very draining on my physical self.

Everyday is like rushing for time and trying to get to work on time for me (and I'm sure loads of other parents are like that too). I've got to rush to the childcare (which is like a ten minutes drive away) and then try to get to work on time. No matter how much I try to get to work on time, I am late almost three to four days a week! I start work at eight and the childcare centre opens at seven. So you can imagine how rush it is for me to get her to school and then to the office (45 minutes travelling time). After work I have to rush to pick her up before seven when the childcare closes. Then get both of us home and shower her and cook dinner and then tuck her in bed. All in a matter of two hours (Georgia goes to bed by nine)! I do not know how I got by but I just did it in the last two years. I finally made a decision and after much discussion with Andy, that I would like to concentrate on looking after Georgia.

I have stopped working since last Thursday and I am happy with it. I don't deny that I will miss having an income of my own. But nothing beats caring for my own child and be there for her and watch her grow. Children grow so fast that I felt I missed out a lot for the last two years. Both of us are away from her almost twelve hours a day and that only leaves us with three to four hours of bonding on weekdays. I always feel guilty when I drop her off at the childcare. Is money really that important? Yes it is but it should never rule our life nor interfere with family bonding. I believe in making sacrifices for family. I am very appreciative of the support that Andy has shown me. Thank you Lao Bear (that's the nick that I called him :-P)

The only change that Georgia has noticed is that she only goes for the half day program and I'll pick her up before 12.30pm. She's happy that she can get home early and be with mummy. I am happy too as I get to goof around with her! ^_^ I also get to exercise everyday! I'll bring her to school every morning on my bike, about 30 minutes from home. We will sing and chat during the journey.

Both Andy and myself hope that in the future Georgia will appreciate what we have done for her. We love you Georgia!

Our new favourite vegetables

2008-04-03T10:04:00.004+08:00

Broccolini is our new favourite vegetables especially Georgia. Well in fact there are only a handful of vegetables that she's willing to eat! Hahaha...However we do not get broccolini that often in our local markets mainly because they are imports and are more expensive than the normal broccoli. It's 30%-40% more expensive than the normal ones. But they are also a lot greener and sweeter too. I will buy two to three packs of them if I see them in the markets or supermarkets.

Here is a sample of how I prepared them. I diced three garlic cloves into little cubes and stir fry them in olive oil for about 30 seconds (when they are fragrant). Then I added the broccolini and stir fry them for about 3-5 minutes. I seasoned them lightly with Shitake mushroom sauce and a tablespoon of sesame oil and they were ready to serve. Georgia gladly devoured them. ^_^

[Broccolini is a green vegetable resembling broccoli. Although often mistakenly identified as young broccoli, it is actually a natural hybrid of the cabbage family Brassica oleracea, a cross between broccoli and kai-lan (chinese broccoli). It was developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan. It is generally agreed that broccolini has a sweeter flavor than broccoli. - Excerpt from Wikipedia]

We have a leap year baby in the family

2008-03-20T09:16:00.006+08:00

This post is long overdue!!! We celebrated Andy's birthday on the 29 February 2008! It was a working day so I did not have the time to bake him a cake and bought one from the bakery instead. It was a simple celebration. I cooked him a nice dinner and made him a tote (which I'll post it up soon after I made some alterations to it!). Georgia was happy to celebrate her daddy's birthday. We also bought her a little cake with the picture of Hello Kitty.

Georgia was rushing Andy with his wish making so that they can blow the candles together!!!

Pita pockets, yum yum

2008-03-20T09:10:00.002+08:00

Sometimes Andy will send me to work in the morning and we'll have breakfast in my office before he sets off to work. I will always try to make different breakfast if we are having breakfast together. Andy prefers savoury food in the morning. So I made pita pockets one morning. The pita bread is wholemeal and is store bought. I will try and bake them in the future. Then I filled them up with lettuce (these are from Genting Highlands in Malaysia and they are very crunchy and sweet!), tomatoes, Five Spice tofu and Vegetarian Ham. I used soyanaise as the dressing and sprinkled some black pepper. It was a great and simple breakfast. Andy loved it so much that he requested for it the next day too!

I've been lazy...or maybe not

2008-03-20T08:55:00.003+08:00

I've been so lazy to blog recently...hahaha...but I have not been lazy living life! I started off year 2008 not in the most wonderful way but I guess who said that everyone has to have a good start!!! (Trying to console myself...) I really didn't have the energy and the mood to blog or craft as I had an infection in my womb in late February that required me to have 10 (YES! IT"S REAL!) injections in a total of five days!!! So at the end of the injection buffet, there were 4 shots to each butt and 1 shot to each hand. My butt was so sore from all the injections that I had to lie flat on my back every night! Now I have recovered but I can still feel some soreness in my buttocks! I can imagine the pain from those who are very sick and requires constant injection and medication. I pray that they will heal and be healthy again.

Somehow I did managed to sew some baby stuff. I made a set of baby bib and booties for my colleague's new born son. I have also included a set of tee and shorts from Toys R Us. I love the orange combination! So bright and cheerful! Congratulations Mano on the arrival of your baby boy on the 16 March 2008!

I also made another set for Amreen's friend, Rumaella's baby boy. This set has an ethnic feel to it as the colourful stripes fabric is from Pakistan.

Are you angry?

2008-02-18T10:38:00.003+08:00

Here is a quote that I want to share with everyone.

'Why be angry if no one wants you angry?
To punish yourself by being angry is foolish.

Why be angry if someone wants you angry?
To please another by being angry is foolish.'

- stonepeace

Homemade softies

2008-02-16T14:41:00.009+08:00

I have completed an elephant softie for Georgia two weeks ago and I made a couple of mistakes. Overall it was really fun to make! It's not that perfect (one eye is bigger than the other!) but it's made with lots of loveeee! The pattern was given to me by Salihan from a magazine she saw. We named the elephant, Ebbie. Georgia has another elephant softie called Ellie (which was a free gift when we opened a bank account for her). She was so happy after I made Ebbie that she hugged her to sleep and brought Ebbie to school the next day!

Today I have made a dolly for her and the pattern is free from One Red Robin. We named her dolly, Nana. Nana looks so sweet! She sure looks very Asian as I have used Japanese kimono fabric as her dress. I'll try and make more softies for her and maybe in the process I'll make some for myself too!

I've been tagged!

2008-02-13T09:27:00.000+08:00

I almost fainted when I was tagged by Salihan! That's because I would have to think of seven random things to write about myself!!! *Fainting*

Ok I shall try and squeeze out SEVEN interesting/uninteresting facts about myself.

1 I used to be a very talkative girl in class in my primary school days. My teacher would always be keeping an eye on me as I would be distracting the class most of the time!!! I was asked to sit right next to the teacher and there I would continue to talk to my friends! My mum was called to school on countless of occasions as I was talking way too much! Well that surely changed when I went to secondary school. I was so quiet that my friends thought I was a snob and too cool to mix with anyone! What a contrast!

2 I detest LIZARDS! The sight of them creeps me. However there are two of them with one in my bathroom and the other in my study room which I can't wait to get rid off! YUCKS!

3 I can only listen on the phone with my left ear. Not sure why though.

4 I am really grateful to have my daughter as I was told that I would have a boy when I was pregnant. And when I had another scan on my sixth month, my gynae told me that I would have a girl! I was so happy as I prefer having a girl as first born. I love Georgia!

5 I had my first taste of betrayal from my friend in secondary school. I was so angry and disappointed that I cried to my mum!

6 I rather get things done by myself than to request for help from others. I don't like to rely on others.

7 My paternal grandmother had asked me to become a sister when I was young (I know she doesn't like me nor my family!)! She must be out of her mind when she said that to me! Now, I have converted to Buddhism and am happy to embrace the teachings as it's all about common sense.

SEVEN PEOPLE I"M TAGGING
Oiyi - Oiyi's Crafts
Circe - Gigi Deedee Mimi
Melisser - The Urbanhousewife
Melanie - Kimono reincarnate
Forty two roads
Faye - Faye's World
Isean - Queeropi

THE RULES:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Girls just wanna have fun

2008-02-11T13:21:00.000+08:00

Yesterday Lawrence and Priscilla together with their two darlings (Rachel and Charmaine) came to visit us. Both the men were having man talks in the living room while we girls were having fun in Georgia's room. All the three princesses had such a great time playing together!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

2008-02-08T10:31:00.001+08:00

Wishing everyone who's celebrating the Lunar New Year, years of happiness and good health!

It's such a hectic week for us as we have loads of spring cleaning to do and it's the same with all chinese families too!!! Then there's also the baking of Chinese New Year goodies as well. I baked Chocolate Chip cookies (VwV), Terry's favourite almond cookies, Pistachio and Rosewater cookies, Almond and Rosewater cookies, Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti and Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry brownies (all from Veganomicon). Here are some of our CNY photos! More visiting to do today and the next two days too! Have a great holiday everyone!!!

CNY goodies! Yum!

Georgia looked so sweet in her new dress and she insisted on not having her hair tied as she said that princess doesn't have their hair tied!!! She's in that 'I want to be a princess' phase now! Haha!

There are more photos on my flickr album!

The Air Car

2008-01-21T16:48:00.001+08:00

This is such a cool technology! I hope it takes off in the future and imagine the amount of savings we'll have and also lesser impact on our environment! Bravo to the creators!

My favourite soup

2008-01-19T23:06:00.002+08:00

Lotus soup is my favourite soup of all time. This is a vegetarian version. I would like to share my recipe with all of you and I hope that you like it too!

Some information about the ingredients. Lotus root is warming, good for lung ailments and increasing energy. It is also a digestive aid and helps control blood pressure. White fungus is beneficial to the lungs, liver, kidney, eyes. It also contains anti-oxidants to combat free radicals and improves blood circulation as well as calcium absorption capability. Red dates tones the spleen, improves blood circulation and aids breathing. Wolfberries or Goji berries are beneficial to the liver and kidney, promotes increased energy, improves blood circulation and enhances general well-being.
(Source from Chinatown food and Sacfood Coop)

Lotus Roots Soup
RECIPE
Servings 2-4

INGREDIENTS
300g of lotus roots, cut into small discs
10 red dates
A handful of wolfberries
1 medium carrot, cut into small discs
1 1/2 tbsp of low sodium Miso
1 tsp of Organic Vegetarian G powder or Dashi or vegetable stock
2 litres of water

METHOD
1. Pour the water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Soak red dates and wolfberries in a bowl of water to soften them.
2. Once water has started boiling, put in lotus roots, red dates, wolfberries and carrots. Simmer heat and cover.
3. Continue cooking soup till water level drops to 1/4 of the original level which may be about 30-45 minutes. I always like to cook soup on low heat for longer periods so that the broth will be thick.
4. Then add the vegetarian G powder or Dashi or vegetable stock. Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add the miso paste. Make sure miso is completely dissolved in soup.
6. Serve immediately.

I always add carrots to my soup to make the soup sweeter and also carrots are good for the eyes and they have beta carotene! I hope you like the soup too! Enjoy!

There's always an end to the rainbow

2008-01-19T22:48:00.001+08:00

After almost a month off from work and a lot of home rests, I am well enough to bask in the sun again. I really miss being outside. I have buried the sad moments and am happy to let it go and start all anew again. Gone are the days of crying. I was glad that I was able to let go of my emotional baggage. Andy was affected by me too but I really can't help it. Now I just have to make sure that I take good care of my body and take the necessary supplements prescribed by my gynae. I sincerely pray that it will not happen again. Crossed my fingers and toes too.

So I'm back on my feet again and I brought Georgia to a new park which was near our estate. The park was packed with loads of fun things to do. There are two playgrounds for the children. A water play area with no water yet! Haha! But it looks really cool. There's the fitness corner. There's also a rope bridge for the little people. Georgia loved all of them and we were playing at the park for almost two hours and both of us got a tan! At 31, sun is no good for the skin. I surely do not want any premature ageing or more freckles on my face!!! Haha!

We're definitely going there again tomorrow!

I'm taking a little break

2008-01-13T17:59:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone, I'm taking a little break from blogging and crafting at the moment as I am recuperating both mentally and physically because of a recent situation which has affected me quite a bit. All I can say is that sometimes things are just beyond your control and what is meant to be yours will be yours and what's not, no matter how much effort you put in, it will still be far from reach. I'll definitely be able to get back to my happy self again in no time but I just need this time to grieve a little over my loss and to get my health back.

A great time at the playground

2008-01-03T22:20:00.000+08:00

I haven't been doing much for the past two days as my energy levels are like yoyo and it goes the same to my appetite. Today I'm glad I'm feeling much better. After I picked up Georgia from the daycare, I brought her to the playground down my block as she wanted to play with bubbles. And she had a great time as all the children at the playground were glued to her!!! Bubbles work magic on children!

Look at how happy she was!

These two girls are twins and I like them as they are very polite children. They would always greet me whenever we happen to be at the playground and would also approach Georgia and play with her. We are all living in the same block. ^_^

I also made these konnyaku jellies in the shape of mini donuts. I used the usual cartoony moulds and I just thought I wanted to make something different. So I took my mini donut pan and used it. I think it does the job well. ^_^

I have made more jellies to bring over to Georgia's nursery class tommorow so that the little ones can have some dessert after lunch. I also helped myself to a couple of the jellies and I must say they are my favourite and I can't seem to stop eating them!!! Haha!

A gift for the New Year

2008-01-01T11:06:00.001+08:00

To start off the year 2008, I would like to offer a free tutorial on the travel document holder that I have recently made. This is my first time doing it and there may be some mistakes, do feel free to let me know or modify it in any way you deem fit. Also I would like to see the finish product that you have made and would also appreciate that you can credit me :-P. Have fun!

Travel document holder
Size: 275mm (W) X 230mm(H)

Materials needed:

Cover - 275mm (W) X 230mm(H),
pattern (1)
lining (1)
interfacing* (1)

* I used stiff interfacing as I want the holder to be more sturdy. Feel free to use other choices which you desire ^_^

Base fabric - 125mm (W) X 230mm (H)
pattern (1)
lining (1)
interfacing (1)
bias tape - 230mm (L) X 48mm (W) (1)

Pocket A - 125mm (W) X 80mm (H)
pattern (1)
lining (1)
interfacing (1)
bias tape - 125mm (L) X 48mm (W) (1)

Pocket B - 125mm (W) X 135mm (H)
pattern (1)
lining (1)
interfacing (1)
bias tape - 125mm (L) X 48mm (W) (1)

Pen holder - 60mm (L) X 48mm (W)
pattern (1)

Top zipper pouch - 30mm (W) X 230mm (H)
pattern (1)
lining (1)
interfacing (1)
bias tape - 35mm (L) X 48mm (W) (1) - to cover the beginning of the zip

Top zipper pouch - 105mm (W) X 230mm (H)
pattern (1)
lining (1)
interfacing (1)
bias tape - 35mm (L) X 48mm (W) (1) - to cover the end of the zip
8 inch zip or you can use a longer zip and trim it to fit the length of the pouch.

PHOTO INSTRUCTIONS

Have fun sewing!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

2008-01-01T11:05:00.000+08:00

May the new year be filled with lots of joy, happiness and good health to all!

May there be more peace and harmony in the world!

Continental fingers

2007-12-30T22:24:00.000+08:00

These fingers are oh so good! They melt in your mouth! They were kinda fragile that when they are done, I had to remove them from the baking tray carefully so as not to break them. Paired with chocolate coating and they are perfect! A few of them were gone before the chocolate has a chance to harden!!! Andy and Georgia were busy helping themselves!!!

Georgia caught in the act by Andy!

Continental Fingers
RECIPE
Makes 20

INGREDIENTS
200g margarine
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cornflour
40g dark chocolate, chopped
40g white chocolate melts (optional for vegans)

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to moderate 180 degC. Line two trays with baking paper.
2. Using electric beaters, beat margarine and sugar until creamy and light. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add sifted flour and cornflour and mix to a soft dough.
3. Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm nozzle. Pipe strips, cutting at pipe end into 8cm lengths. Bake for 15 minutes until just golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
3. Place dark chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Stand over simmering water until chocolate is melted and smooth. Stirring frequently. Cool slightly. Drizzle or pipe decorative lines across the fingers with the melted chocolate and place on wire rack to set.

Storage time: Biscuits may be stored up to five days in an airtight container.

This is what you get when you get the man to help. There were also faces but they were gone before I had the chance to take photos of them! ^_^

Something for myself

2007-12-29T20:52:00.001+08:00

I finally made something for myself. I made a travel document holder for myself too. The holder can hold up to four passports so it's suitable for families like mine. I did not want to go through any bias tape ordeal again so I simply used zigzag stitches on the border. The fabric that I used is from Pakistan and I really love all the colours on the stripes. I also added the self adhesive embroidered butterfly to give it a feminine touch. I used an elastic band which I had sewn zigzag stitches on it to hold the holder together. Not the best looking but it's good enough as a substitute.

I can't wait to use it on our next overseas holiday! ^_^

Floral skirt

2007-12-29T12:42:00.000+08:00

After sewing the bandana for Georgia, I went about preparing to sew her a skirt. She likes to wear skirts and dresses so much these days that she refuses to wear her shorts and pants. She said that girls should wear skirts and dresses and wearing shorts and pants would turn her into a boy!!! That's so funny!!! Well of course I am more than willing to make her more skirts and dresses and have bought a couple of Japanese books on children's clothes just to make her more!!! I love those Japanese sewing books. The works are so simple, zen and beautiful!

This skirt is from McCall's pattern M4867, B pattern. I had such a hard time making it!!! I was literally having a cow everytime I realised that I had sewn incorrectly! I also happened to cut out the wrong patterns and thus wasted a bit of the fabric. Then I must have stitch and unstitched a thousand times for the many mistakes that I had made!!! Finally, after the ordeal and resizing (as Georgia is quite a petite girl), the skirt is completed. With many of my brains cells dead OF COURSE!!! Haha!!!

Though it's not perfect, I'm sure with more practise I'll be near!!!

Girly bandana

2007-12-29T12:32:00.000+08:00

I have to stay at home for two weeks for bed rest as instructed by my gynae. Well I plan to make full use of my time but also not to stress myself out. I plan to make an item every day so that at the end of the period I should have 14 items!!! That's a lot huh!!! To begin with, I made a simple floral bandana for Georgia. Simple because all I need is a 60cm(L) by 30cm(H) triangle and a 110cm(L) by 3cm(W) bias tape made out of the same floral fabric. Stitch a silver ribbon at the edges of the triangle and attach the bias tape to the base of the triangle and it's done. All done in 15 minutes!

She sure likes her new bandana!!! I'll make a bigger one for myself soon!!! ^_^

A belated birthday present

2007-12-28T00:04:00.000+08:00

Stella's birthday was weeks ago and finally I managed to complete what I had wanted to give her. A travel document holder. She likes to travel too and I felt that the holder would be a perfect gift. I had a little tough time sewing the bias tape around the border of the holder but luckily I did an OK job. Not the best but I did my best :-P

I made the holder with her favourite animals, RABBITS!!! Japanese kimono fabric with rabbits dressed in kimono. How cute is that! I hope she'll like it when I give it to her!

I'm glad that the zipper compartment turn out lovely! ^_^

My dear friend, Aileen

2007-12-27T23:53:00.002+08:00

Ever since Aileen left Singapore to pursue her studies in the States in year 2001, it's been almost 6 years since we've met! Such a long time. She is such a nice person who will always give me a call at the airport when she is transiting in Singapore back to Jakarta. This time she was able to stopover for two days with her parents. It was really great seeing her and I had a wonderful time catching up with her. Although our meeting was short, there's more to come in the future! I remembered that Aileen is also into Japanese stuff like myself so I made her a wristlet using the adorable Japanese Kimono fabric with little rabbits on it. I'm glad she likes it! Oh and I love the snacks she got me! They were yummy!!! Thank you Aileen! We'll meet again in the future Aileen!

Got time for some craft making!

2007-12-20T15:31:00.000+08:00

Finally I got some time to make some crafts as today is a holiday (Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all our Muslim friends)!!! Andy has been working overtime for the past few weeks that family time has almost reduced to zero and leaving me to run the household and I have no time to do any crafts. I so missed my sewing machine! Christmas is around the corner and there are so many gifts that I have yet to make!!! Arrgghhhh...*panicking*...

Ok today I managed to squeeze in some time to make two simple totes (pattern from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing book). I used a Japanese fabric which has little girls and boys on it and it look so cute! Perfect for little children. One of the tote is a birthday present for my neighbour's daughter who is of the same age as Georgia and the other same tote is for the Christmas gift exchange for Georgia's nursery Christmas party this coming Monday! I'll be making Disney cookies for her to bring to school for potluck!

I also made a sling bag for Georgia (as she has been asking me to use the Japanese fabric with the elephant print to make her something for a long time!). I sewed a tiny pocket in there too. She was estatic when she saw the completed bag. I love the bag too and the fabric is just so pretty!

OK, I still have more Christmas presents to make and I also have to prepare the dinner and also clean up the house!!! Haha! I'm hope I can squeeze in some time later for more crafts!!! ^_^

Craving for Bubor pulot hitam

2007-12-16T23:06:00.000+08:00

I have been craving for bubor hitam for so long and especially today as I have been feeling under the weather lately due to certain reasons which I will reveal later. Also I am in no mood to make any crafts which I am supposed to do. I guess eating was the best way to put me back on track. I remembered I had a recipe on it and I also have a pack of glutinous black rice in my pantry. I made a huge pot of it and will be sharing it with my colleagues and Andy's. The taste is just perfect. Not too sweet nor bland. It kind of does the trick to make me feel better but physically I am still very feeling drained and tired.

Recipe
Black rice pudding with coconut milk (Bubor Pulot Hitam)

Servings for 4

INGREDIENTS
I cup (200g) glutinous black rice, washed in several changes of water, drained
6 cups (1.5 liters) water
2 pandan leaves, rinsed, raked with a fork, tied into a knot
2 tablespoons dark molasses or gula melaka
1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
1 - 2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
1 cup (250ml) coconut cream
pinch of salt

METHOD
1. Put the rice in a large saucepan and add water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Add the pandan leaves, molasses and coconut milk. (I only used half of it)
3. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring from time to time, until rice is soft and swollen, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Remoce pandan leaves.
5. Taste and add sugar if desired.
6. Combine coconut cream and salt.
7. Serve warm and drizzle with coconut cream and enjoy!

Bubor pulot hitam is loved by Indonesians or Malaysians and is also very popular in Singapore. They can be enjoyed any time, for breakfast, snack or dessert.

Gingerbread cupcake for Xmas

2007-12-16T23:01:00.000+08:00

I made Gingerbread cupcakes (VCTOW) yesterday and they were soooo good! Perfect for the holidays! I love anything with ginger and when I saw this recipe, I just have to make them. I made orange cream cheese frosting instead of lemon as I had ran out of lemons! And it's really yummy too! Georgia prefers eating the cake on its own and she keeps asking for more!

Change yourself first if you want to change the world

2007-12-11T10:04:00.000+08:00

I have made a decision to go vegan (vegetarians for Andy and Georgia) this April for the better of my health and also I believe that I do not need to take another life to fill my stomach.

Along with that, we have also make great changes to my lifestyle. We buy organic and use organic as much as we can.

Change all the toxic chemicals laden home products to environmentally friendly ones like Seventh Generation which uses plant base ingredients. We buy products that are not tested on animals as their lives as as valuable as us!

We buy less as frankly, how many shoes, clothes or bags does one person need! So when you buy less, you spend less too.

We recycle most of our stuff like cereal boxes, drink cartons, old towels are reused as bathroom mats, etc.

Bring your own shopping bag everywhere you go. Make your own shopping bags in different sizes to fit into the bag that you will be carrying on that shopping trip.

We drive less too. Use public transportations more.

We watch TV only twice a week. Why watch so much TV programs when most of the time they are commercials and these are the ones that ask you to spend and buy and also telling you that you look awful, you smell awful and etc? More time are spent with family. We are away from each other for more than 8 hours a day and we should spend every effort to communicate with each other and love each other more rather than spending senseless hours in front of the TV with all the jargons. You'll be amazed after a while that you don't need TV at all! Hey it also saves you some energy bill dollars!

Turn off all electrical appliances if you don't use them. Don't put them on standby mode as that consumes energy too!

We travel only once in a year or two and usually around the region.

The list goes on and on and if you are also inspired by us to change your lifestyle, bravo to you! Spread the word but of course you have to be a good example to show to others.

You will definitely be faced with a lot of resistance like we do when we change our diets and lifestyle. You'll get comments like what's there to eat, it's somebody else's problem and blah blah blah. There's lots to eat. Vegetables, fruits, grains, good complex carbohydrates, tofu, and many more. Also somebody's problem is your problem too as what comes around goes around.

TIP: Before you buy something, ask yourself whether do you NEED it or WANT it. If you need it, then go ahead. If you want it but don't need it as you have other similar stuff at home, then don't. You will not only reduce your spending power and also not have to work extra hard to pay for all the unnecessary spending.

Live well and stay well.

P.S. The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard is a short film about where our stuff came from and where it goes and everything in between. Go to the website for more information.

The Story of Stuff - Ch.3: Production

2007-12-10T16:54:00.001+08:00

This is just one of the series of The Story of Stuff which EVERYONE should watch. It is very similar to the 'An Inconvenient Truth'. Have you ever wonder how our stuff came about and where are they from and everything in between? Watch this and hopefully it will change the way you think and live your life.

We had such a great day yesterday!

2007-12-09T20:49:00.000+08:00

Yesterday it was mummy and daughter's day out. Andy had to work OT (we do miss him!) so I thought I'll just bring Georgia out for some fun. Well we were supposed to go for the Parents teachers meeting at her childcare centre in the morning but I just couldn't make it in time!!! Haha! So anyway we went ahead with the day and went downtown. First we went to Cedele at Wheelock place for lunch. It's quite surprising to me that such a popular shopping area (Orchard Road) in Singapore, and there are limited choices of vegetarian food available! I have already done my research on where to eat before I head out somewhere. So Cedele was a good choice afterall. Too bad I did not take any photos. I had the Grilled vegetables set (portabello mushrooms, pumpkin, red and yellow peppers, mash potatoes and salad) with the mushroom soup and free flow of their homemade bread. Georgia shared my meal with me. It was such a good meal.

Then we walked around and finally when we went to the Takashimaya B2 arena to look at some Christmas decorations, Sesame Street characters were there for a show. They are Georgia's favourite so we went near to the stage (well we were kinda late so we had to stand quite a distance) and watched the entire show for about 30 minutes. Luckily I always bring my camera everywhere I go so I was able to snap a few pictures of them while Georgia was sitting on my shoulders!!! I am not sure how I manage with a 12-13kg girl on me and trying to take pictures of the Sesame Street characters! I'm also glad that I had a good camera (Nikon D40X!) otherwise at that distance I wouldn't be able to get a good shot!

Homemade chapati

2007-12-01T20:27:00.000+08:00

I made chapati for Georgia and myself tonight as Andy is working today. I usually make simple meals for the two of us so that I have more time to play with Georgia. She requested prata but we just had prata in the morning!!! So I made chapati instead which is a healthier choice (wholemeal flour). She likes it. I made a simple (or rather lazy) chutney using Prego chunky tomato sauce, chopped some asparagus and white button mushroom and added a teaspoon of nutritional yeast. Good, simple and satisfying dinner.

Recipe

Makes about 10-15 chapati depending on individual dough ball
Chapati

INGREDIENTS
350gm wholemeal flour/Atta flour
350ml of water (more or less)
1 tsp of sea salt

METHOD
1. Sift flour and salt together.
2. In a bowl, mix flour and water gradually. When combined, knead to make a soft dough.
3. Divide into equal portions and roll into balls.
4. Flatten each ball with a rolling pin and shape into round discs.
5. Cook on a heated non-stick pan/griddle, pressing the edge of the chapati.
6. Cook for about 5 mins or so or until done.

My very first Oriental baby booties!!!

2007-12-01T18:14:00.000+08:00

I am so, so happy how this pair of Oriental baby booties turn out! They look soooooo adorable!!! I had the idea in my head while I was putting Georgia to bed. I knew that the design will work and I'm glad it did! Yay! It took me about three days of brainstorming, drawing, resizing, cutting, sewing, undoing stitches and killing a quarter of my brain cells and also a couple of hours of sleep for the last three days!!! As the saying goes, no pain no gain!

I used Japanese kimono fabric and I made the chinese knots/buttons myself. I will put up a tutorial on how to make the chinese knots/buttons soon. *NEW* The tutorial on how to make a Chinese knot is on my flickr album.

Here are more views of the booties:

Front view

Side view with the Chinese knots/buttons

^_^

I've got a fairy!

2007-12-01T00:29:00.000+08:00

My mum's friend bought these traditional Vietnamese clothes for Georgia and doesn't she look lovely in them! I love them! She looks like she just stepped out of a Chinese celestrial/martial movie! Haha! Too adorable!

^_^

Marble yoghurt pound cake

2007-12-01T00:19:00.001+08:00

I have been waiting for a vegan pound cake recipe for a long time (well since I became vegan in April!). When Kinokuniya had a 20% sale, Stella told me that I can go and get any book I want on discount on her member card. How can I resist! So I bought a Japanese felt toy craft book (which I made the toy lipstick for Georgia), a Tokyo city guide book (I'm going there next April!!! Yay!) and the wonderful and long awaited VEGANOMICON!

I saw the recipe in the book and I just had to try it! I added two tablespoon of 100% Valrhona cocoa powder (hmmm...heavenly chocolatey) to 1/4 of the batter, used Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract and omit the lemon zest. Verdict: Yummy to my tummy! The aroma of the cake fills up my senses! I love the smell of the orange in the cake. I really like the combination of orange and chocolate especially the orange pudding cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World! Georgia had a bit of the pound cake and kept asking for more. She's very fussy over her food and I'm glad she likes the cake. I love it too! I'll be trying out pandan flavour the next time round. I've got pound cake for tomorrow's tea time!

Cereal Abalone mushrooms

2007-11-28T08:30:00.000+08:00

These are oh so good and they are on Andy's list of favourite food! He'll always ask me when I'm going to cook them! I don't do it often as it's fried!!! But for a treat now and then, I don't mind!

Here's the recipe.

Cereal Abalone mushrooms

Servings: 2-3
INGREDIENTS
1 pack of Abalone mushrooms, washed and drained
5 tablespoons of rice flour (makes the fried batter light and crispy!)
1 pack of cereal (the pack where it said it's for cereal prawns and these are non-diary ones)
Canola oil for frying

METHOD
1. In a bowl, mix the rice flour with cold water. The batter should not too runny nor too thick. If you have accidentally added too much water, add a little rice flour to achieve the consistency.
2. When the oil is hot (to test it, drop one drop of batter and when it fizzles, the oil is hot enough to start frying your mushrooms).
3. Coat the mushrooms in the rice batter and cover them with the cereal and slowly lower into the hot oil. DO NOT DROP OR THROW into the oil as this will cause spills!!!
4. Fry till they are golden brown. Put them aside on a strainer to drain off excess oil and lay them on baking sheet to absorb more oil.
5. Serve immediately and garnish with lettuce.

P.S. You could also use white button mushrooms or Golden mushrooms too!

I hope you enjoy eating them as much as we do!

My friend, Salihan, is featured on Craftzine!!!

2007-11-27T14:16:00.000+08:00

I have recommended my friend, Salihan to Craftzine about her great work on knitting a Santa Hat for her brother in law as I think she deserves some recognition! And she was featured!!! Hooray to Salihan!!!

Check out Craftzine too!

Baby booties...

2007-11-25T13:03:00.000+08:00

Aren't baby booties cute! One with the Bambi and the other with little boys and girls! Kawaii! I always like to look at them when I'm at the baby section in the mall. They look so sweet and small and delicate just like babies. It was quite a lot of work making these booties! And a lot of fun too (not taking into account of correcting mistakes!!!) I made these using the adorable Japanese fabric. 100% cotton and 100% with love! The booties with the little boys and girls are for my dear friend, Divya, whose baby is due next April! I'm so excited! I'm going to make more baby stuff to send to her in India!

Pattern from stardust shoes.

Elly hair rubber band

2007-11-24T18:40:00.000+08:00

This elephant badge is also from the same Japanese felt toy craft book that I got. This is originally for the twelve animals on a clock and I thought it would so perfect to make it into a hair rubber band. I'm glad I did it as it looks great! Georgia specially requested for elephant as it is one of her favourite animals!

Felt toy lipstick for Georgia

2007-11-24T18:35:00.000+08:00

Isn't this adorable! There's more. I'm going to make the face powder, eye shadow, nail polish, etc. I fell in love with the newly acquired Japanese felt toy book! Everything in there is just perfect for toddlers and I intend to make every single one of them. Later I will design my very own toys and probably make them available for everyone!

Georgia specially requested for pink and she is going through the pink phase now. Everything has got to be pink! Luckily she doesn't request her food to be pink!!! ^_^

Finally a home for the toothy family!

2007-11-24T18:29:00.001+08:00

I have just completed a 'home' for the toothy family! We all need a roof over our head! It was really so fun to make them.

Look how happy they are! Hmmm maybe I'll make more sets and make them available (on my etsy shop: coming soon) to all you parents who are thinking of getting finger puppets for your little one! Watch this space okie!

^_^

Teeny weeny toothy family

2007-11-23T09:05:00.000+08:00

This little family is so, so adorable! I was inspired by Salihan to do my version of finger puppets. I used felt and I thought making a tooth family would be so adorable! Anyway these are for two lovely little boys (flickr friend Honor's children). I have yet to make a pouch to keep them and I guess it's going to be a mouth or a big tooth pouch! I hope the boys will enjoy playing with them while their daddy and mummy make up stories about teeth!!!

^_^

P.S. Maybe I'll make more of these and sell them in my future little etsy shop (coming real soon!)

More artsy clutches

2007-11-23T08:47:00.000+08:00

These clutches are so easy to make and I can make one from scratch in less than 30 minutes! Both the fabrics are from Pakistan, courtesy of my dear friend, Samia. There are two lovely self adhesive butterflies ribbon on the stripes clutch. They were a good find! Don't they look pretty sitting there and they further accentuate the beauty of such a simple fabric! The red tie dye fabric is absolutely gorgeous! I made it for my very nice colleague, Mrs Lee. And she told me that she loves it very much! Perfect gift for such a nice lady!

I love Indonesian batiks! There are so much character in them! I had my wedding tea dress made in traditional batik and it was gorgeous! I'll post it up with me wearing it (hope I can still fit in)! The faux wood button complements the fabric very well. Everything look so earthy and I love it!

I am in the midst of preparing for my little online corner on etsy. Watch this space for more updates on what I have to offer! BTW, the stripes (SIN$20) *SOLD* and batik clutches (SIN$20)*NOT AVAILABLE* are for sale. Drop me an email if any of you are interested!

Stop using petrol from Caltex!!!

2007-11-16T09:36:00.000+08:00

Are you aware that when you pump petrol from companies like Caltex, you are indirectly supporting the Burmese Junta!!! Below is an email from Avaaz organization.

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, New York, Paris, Washington DC, Geneva, and Rio de Janeiro.

Far from the headlines, the crisis in Burma continues--fueled, in part, by international oil corporations like Total Oil and Chevron/Texaco. These corporations don't just fund the junta; they lobby on its behalf in capital cities around the world. These are the same companies many of us fuel up with. That means our pressure as consumers has the power to force change—and it's our responsibility to act.

Will you pledge to join the global boycott of Chevron and Total? The boycott will last until the companies withdraw from Burma, or until the Burmese junta begins a genuine democratic transition and frees all political prisoners--including Aung San Suu Kyi. We'll deliver all the pledges and comments straight to the top management of Chevron and Total. You can see what brands to avoid in your country and take the pledge, at:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_corporate

French oil giant Total (which also owns ELF and FINA) and U.S.-based Chevron (which also owns Texaco, Caltex an Unocal) have been operating the Yadana natural gas pipeline in southern Burma since the early '90s.The junta takes in an estimated $450 million a year from the Yadana project alone--and uses that money to maintain its brutal control, while most people in Burma live in dire poverty. To keep their profits flowing, Chevron and Total lobby hard in the U.S. and Europe against government measures to support a democratic transition in Burma.

For companies like this, it's all about the bottom line. We must show them that if they keep backing the Burmese dictatorship, they will lose their customers--by the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands, even by the millions.

With enough pressure in the pocket book, we could actually get these companies to switch sides--using their enormous leverage with the Burmese regime to push for the democratic reforms necessary to call off the boycott. It just requires more loss from the boycott than profit from the junta.

Could that happen? Yes--if we act together. That's why we're raising a call for an international boycott of Total and Chevron. The pledge: to refuse to buy fuel from any Total, Chevron, ELF, FINA, Texaco or Caltex station in our home countries and wherever we travel. The boycott will last until the Burmese junta begins a genuine democratic transition and frees all political prisoners--including Aung San Suu Kyi --or until these companies exit Burma completely.

To make sure our voice is heard, we'll deliver all the boycott pledges and comments straight to the senior corporate management of Chevron and Total Oil. You can add your name to the boycott pledge today, at:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_corporate

We've all witnessed the rise of global corporations whose power crosses national boundaries. But today, Chevron and Total are going to witness the rise of something greater: global people power. Today, as consumers and wold citizens, we stand up together to demand justice for the people of Burma – and our voices will be heard.

With hope,

Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Graziela, Galit, Ben, Milena, Sarah, Iain - the whole Avaaz team

P.S. Chevron and Total often try to hide behind the argument that their presence benefits the Burmese population. But the call to target Chevron and Total comes directly from the people of Burma themselves:

"Total has become the main supporter of the Burmese military regime."

-- Aung San Suu Kyi
Nobel Peace Prize winner and last elected leader of Burma

--------

Honey, some tiramisu...

2007-11-11T16:58:00.000+08:00

Ohhh! Tiramisu cupcake (VCTOW) is so addictive! Andy ate two and can't keep his hands off them!!! They are really yummy and decadent! Golden vanilla cupcake filled with cream cheese (Tofutti cream cheese, of course!), espresso and kahlua and topped with little Valrhona chocolate pearls. Dusted with 100% Valrhona cocoa and cinnamon powder. I want more now, honey!

My brown rice

2007-11-11T09:35:00.000+08:00

This was last night's dinner. I added chickpeas, corn and raisins and cooked them together with the brown rice in the rice cooker. Then I topped it with Tofutti mozzarella cheese. It would be better if the cheese was melted but since I don't have the time to bake it in the oven (definitely not nuking my food!!!), so I just make do with that! ^_^ Side dishes were stir fry Kailan with Shitake mushrooms and celery with carrots, Shitake mushrooms and sliced almonds. Simple, yummy and healthy!

Recipe

Servings for two
Brown rice with chickpeas, raisins and corn
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of brown rice (gently rinsed and soaked in water for at least two hours or more if you want a softer texture)
1/4 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight)
1/4 cup corn kernels
2 tablespoons of natural raisins soaked in water to plumb them (those green ones with no sugar added and no preservatives)
Tofutti soy mozzarella cheese (optional)

METHOD
1. Cook all the ingredients in the rice cooker. 1 cup of brown rice to 1 3/4 cup of water. I used 2 cups as I prefer softer rice.
2. Let stand in cooker for ten minutes after the rice is cooked.
3. Scoup a portion of rice onto oven bowl and place mozzarella cheese on top and bake in preheated oven at 150 deg C for five to ten minutes or until cheese has melted.
4. Serve immediately.

You can add any other ingredients of your choice. Hope you enjoy this simple rice as much as I do.

^_^

Japanese artsy clutch and barrettes

2007-11-10T18:09:00.000+08:00

I'm loving the artsy clutch design from Bend the rules sewing book by Amy Karol! I made this using the lovely Japanese kimono fabric for the exterior and Pakistani fabric for the lining. The lining fabric was a gift to me by my dear friend, Samia. Instead of using a big button to close the clutch, I used a Chinese knot instead. I love Chinese knots and of course I love a whole lot of other things too!!! ^_^

I made these barrettes for my flickr friend, Honor. I hope that she will like it along with some other surprises when I mailed them over to her!!!

Aaliyah's birthday

2007-11-08T21:12:00.000+08:00

We were invited to Georgia's nursery classmate, Aaliyah's 3rd birthday party. Aaliyah is one of Georgia's best friends! She's always talking about Aaliyah whenever we pick her up from the daycare. There will be Aaliyah this and Aaliyah that! I also found out from Aaliyah's mum that she also talks about Georgia all the time!!! How adorable! Btw, Aaliyah is a really adorable little girl. Her dad is Australian Chinese mixed parentage and her mum is a Singaporean Malay. She speaks like her dad too, with a little Australian accent. Really adorable girl!

This is Hazwan and he is also in Georgia's nursery class. His mum is one of the teachers teaching at the daycare. He is always being 'fought' over by the two girls, namely Georgia and Aaliyah!!! Haha! All three of them were having so much fun at the birthday party. Too bad the other kids from her nursery were not there.

It took Georgia about 30 minutes to warm up before she started to play with her friends. There were a puppet show, a bouncing castle and little playground for the children to play with. Georgia had so much fun that she doesn't want to leave!!!

Headband

2007-11-08T21:04:00.001+08:00

I made another headband (inspired by Heidi headband from Amy Karol's Bend the rules sewing book) for Georgia.

I tweaked the design a little by making the width smaller and used fabric for the ends to tie with. I also made a similar headband for Georgia's nursery friend, Aaliyah for her birthday today. I just love little girls wearing headbands, fabric ones and handmade by myself of course! Those nasty plastic headbands always give me a lot of headaches after wearing them so therefore I never buy any for Georgia.

Me in a nutshell

2007-11-07T13:56:00.001+08:00

I took the picture personality test on Facebook and I must say I am rather surprised with the results. It described me so well! So here's me in a nutshell.

Temperament
Flexible
Nothing seems to bother you - you sail through life crisis free. It's not that your life doesn't have its ups and downs, it's just that you handle everything without unnecessary drama and antics. You approach each day fresh, not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow. You are confident that you can handle anything that comes your way and experience has shown that you are absolutely right about this.

Interests
Simple
You are continually pursuing a simpler and less complicated life - you don't allow yourself to fall victim to all of the "should do's" that society continually bombards you with. You are thoughtful about your life choices and think in terms of yourself, others and the world in which we live. You have a great sense that we are part of something much bigger and we must be good to others, if we want others and the world to be good to us.

Amusement
Adventurous
It's a good thing that you are filled with energy and ambitions (that others sometimes find exhausting) because you're continually looking for a new adventure and exciting experience. You struggle with a continual feeling of restlessness which constantly pushes you to the next level of excitement. Once you have accomplished one thing, you are eager to accomplish something more exciting, riskier and distinguishable.

Passion
Emotional
For you passion is less about romance and sex - it's more about friendship and family. Strong emotional bonds and connections are your passion and your pleasure. You always let your loved ones know how much you love, respect and admire them. You do this through kind words, loving actions and simple gestures. You count your blessings each day and express your love openly. You expect the same from others.

Cookie jar

2007-11-06T23:58:00.000+08:00

My colleague has ordered a jar of hazelnut cookies from me (my very first order!!!) for Diwali on Thursday. I do not like the usual plastic containers that are being sold in the baking supplies stores. They look rather unpleasant. So I decided to make it a little special by dressing it up (well, the graphic designer in me just have to do something about it!). I designed a simple label and covered the awful red cover with a brown wrapping paper and secured it with a string. I think now it is a cookie jar! A rather pretty cookie jar! (a little bragging here!!!)

I used the disney cookie cutters to make the cookies. I am sure getting better at handling the cookie cutters. Lesser mistakes!

This is the label that I have designed. I have also included the ingredients.

I hope Rani, my colleague, and her family will enjoy eating the cookies and have a great Diwali!

Happy Diwali to all Hindu friends!!!

Chinese tongue twister

2007-11-06T10:57:00.000+08:00

Here are some chinese tongue twisters for those who knows how to read and speak chinese. 这些都是我本身喜欢的。要说得快才好玩！

鞋子和茄子
有个孩子，拿着鞋子，
看见茄子，放下鞋子，
去拾茄子，忘了鞋子。

短棒和长棒
短棒短，
长棒长，
长棒没有短棒短，
短棒没有长棒长。

玩皮球
小猴老猴玩皮球，
小猴传球给老猴，
老猴传球给小猴。
小猴和老猴，
传球接球玩皮球。

豆
豆豆爱吃炒豆，
肉炒豆肉里有豆，
豆炒肉豆里有肉，
豆豆吃肉又吃豆。

希望你的舌头不会打结哦！