Happy Mother's Day!

Something to share to all mums out there...and to all dads...thank your wife today.

Why are you crying, a young boy asked his Mom?

"Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said.

His Mom just hugged him and said,
"And you never will, but that's O.K.".......

Later the little boy asked his father,
"Why does Mom seem to cry for no reason?".
"All women cry for no reason," was all his Dad could say......

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God and when God got back to him, he asked
"God, why do women cry so easily?"

GOD answered......

"When I made woman,
I decided she had to be special.
I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet,
made her arms gentle enough to give comfort... !

I gave her the inner strength to endure childbirth
and the rejection that many times will come
even from her own children.

I gave her a hardness
that allows her to keep going
and take care of her family and friends,
even when everyone else gives up,
through sickness and fatigue without complaining....

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children
under any and all circumstances.
Even when her child has hurt her badly....

She has the very special power to make a child's boo-boo feel better and
to quell a teenager's anxieties and fears....

I gave her strength to care for her husband,
despite faults and I fashioned her from his rib
to protect his heart....

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife,
but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him
unfalteringly....

For all of this hard work,
I also gave her a tear to shed.
It is hers to use
whenever needed and
it is her only weakness....
When you see her cry,
tell her how much you love her, and all she does for everyone,
and even though she may still cry,
you will have made her heart feel good...She is special!

Each day is a mountain that must be climbed; with courage each step gets easier.

Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there!

So true. It hasn't been easy being a mum...the morning sickness...the sleepless nights of looking after little babies...the post-natal blues...making the decision to be a stay-at-home-mum....to looking for a pre-school...volunteering at school so that they can be in a good school which is near home...till researching for schools in US and now in Shanghai...every step of the way isn't a bed of roses, even then, roses have thorns...there have been many ups and many downs but you know, for mums, one second of joy can wipe out all the years of tears. Mother's Day or not, I will forever take on the role of a mum. Even when Kai and Ann are adults and become parents themselves, there is no denying that I will be their mum and they will always be my little babies.

These are little gifts from my little miracles...


Kai's self-arranged flowers for me. Last year at US, he gave me fresh flowers and we planted them in our garden and they grew very well


Ann's Chinese and English Mother's Day card


Ann's Mother's Day song presentation. I was quite sad that I didn't have my camera with me. The teachers told them that it was a secret
which they had to keep, not supposed to let their mummies know. She kept the secret so well that I didn't realised that she was singing and thus,
did not have the camera with me. The handphone camera did not do a very good job.

Looking back, last year's Mother's Day at Macungie was all so different....and next year, it will most probably be Mother's Day at Shanghai....what is waiting for us? I am not sure but it can only be good things because our good Lord will not withhold good things from His children.

Brown rice

I have never tasted brown rice before until I went to the US. A new Chinese restaurant which we visited, offered a choice of brown rice or white rice to go with the dishes. For a change and the foodie adventurer inside me, decided to give the brown rice a try. After that, there was no turning back.

Brown rice is basically unpolished rice where the bran is still attached to the rice grain. There are basically two types of brown rice, the fully unpolished rice (whole bran still attached) and the partially unpolished rice (some bran removed). For first-timers, I would suggest that you go for the partially unpolished rice first. It will be easiler on your taste bud.

When the bran is fully removed, we get our white rice which most of us are used to eating. However, when the bran is removed, most of the nutrients, such as fiber and bran oil, are also removed. Bran oil is known to reduce the bad cholesterol in our body without reducing the good cholesterol. In my last medical check-up, my doctor told me that my cholesterol level was high but it was no cause for concern as I have unusually high level of the good cholesterol. That reminds me, I am due for my next medical check-up again.

Goggle and you will find many discussions on the benefits of eating brown rice.

Cooking brown rice is not the same as cooking white rice but it is not difficult to cook either.

Before cooking, soak brown rice in water for a few minutes, drain away the water...1 cup of brown rice to 2 1/2 cups of water. Cook until the water is all soaked up and lower the fire and cook until the rice is fully cooked (usually about 25 mins). I prefer 'hard' rice. I don't enjoy eating soft rice, for me, I usually just add 2 cups of water.


My claypot of brown rice...I can eat it by itself

Having found out all the benefits of eating brown rice, my next task is to convert my family to eat brown rice. It is impossible to make the drastic change all of a sudden, to help them ease into this new found food, I have to do it slowly. One of the ways, mix the brown rice with white rice and eventually...do a complete conversion!

Making food more interesting

Instead of the square or rectangular shaped sandwiches, using a toast cutter to create various shapes of bread can make eating the humble bread more interesting and colourful. If you have problem finding a toast cutter, cookie cutter can also do the job.


Ann loves these dinosaur-shaped bread.

Local fare

It's May Day - a public holiday in Singapore. We decided to head for some local food which we have missed out during our stay in the US. What better place other than the Makansutra Glutton's Bay.

This is an open air dinning with lots of favourite local dishes such as fried hokkien mee, or zian (oyster with fried eggs), satay (Malay style bar-b-q meat), chicken wings and much, much more....


Rows of hawkers selling different types of food. This is also a favourite place to eat among the tourists.


Satay...you can choose to have either bar-b-q pork, mutton or chicken and some rice cubes.

Is that all for the food pictures....erm....sorry...too busy with the eating but if you want to see more, check out this site

To all our US friends, we were not kidding when we told you that you could savour all kinds of food in Singapore!By the way, this isn't the full selection yet ;)

Another joyous day

Remember I blogged about this great cooking friend Gina? She has finally set up her own retail shop selling anything that has to do with cooking and baking.

I felt really happy for her and of course went to give her my support!


That's the shop - Kitchen Capers.
Blk 71 Kallang Bahru #01-531F Singapore 310071
(just below NTUC Kallang Bahru)

Monday to Sunday 10.00am to 9.00pm

If you are into cooking and baking like me, go and check out her shop, you will sure to find things which you need!