Our adventure begins again...

Yes, relocation is not a 'glam glam' thing. I have posted about it before. We are now in our pre-adventure stage. This period gives the most headache...looking for houses, schools, settling down....the list is never ending. While we adults have to go through all the changes, we must also be the pillars of the family. A fort for them. Mothers play a very important role of holding all up while fathers adapt to a whole new working environment and colleagues.

But let me tell you, God is very good, He has a way of cheering you up, perking you up when you are almost down there... see what I chanced upon when I was feeling down and out!


Puts a smile on my face

If I have access to any computers, you will hear from us in the next couple of days. In the meantime, stay healthy, stay happy!

Till death do us part...

DH and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary at Macungie at the beginning of the year. Yes, we got married way back in 1994. That year was a year of never ending wedding celebrations. We co-ordinated many weddings for our friends and one of the couples just celebrated their 15th Wedding Anniversary two nights ago. DH and I were honoured and felt privileged to be included in their celebration once again.

We received their inviation via email...

"Colin and I would like to invite you all for dinner on 27 May (Wed) at 7.30 pm. Venue to be confirmed later. Just to thank you all for sharing and imparting into our lives for the past 15 years or more".

We were just glad to be home to share this moment with them. Yes, this was what we missed most when we were in USA. Friends gatherings, families gatherings...In life, nothing really matters more than our families and friends. People who know you yet accept you with all your lovable traits and flaws. You remember, when we were younger, we used to write those mushy lines to our friends...

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Friends like you are hard to find!

Run to the east,
Run to the west,
Run to the friend you like best!

Je t'aime, Friends Forever (this was my all time favourite)

(I am giggling away as I type them....) Mushy right, give you that goose bumps right...but don't you think that these are so essential in today's society where everything said to our loved ones have become 'voiceless'.

And in today's society where divorce rate hits all time high, able to attend and celebrate a wedding anniversary with our friends is something to be cherished.


Colin and Lee Fin's 15th Wedding Anniversary (the third lady on your left and the third man on your right). Cheers to them...and
cheers to all our friends...

Food therapy again

After the stress from Kai's exams, now come the stress from the relocation. So, what do you do to cope with all these busy-ness...of course, food therapy. Remember, cooking and baking are therapeutic for me. Go to my previous blog BeLive, under the food therapy label, you will be able to see all my 'therapies'. I have a wonderful physio therapist who makes me feel good physically. Cooking and baking are my 'therapists' that make me feel good mentally!

Even with my baking tools all packed up, I can still whipped up some stuff. This is 'semi-home cooking', something I picked up from the US.

These are blue-berry and lemon scones. Very flavourful and the lemon gave it a very light and freshing taste.


These are scones baked using flour from The King Arthur Flour. Yes, I shipped some back home.
They have one of the best flour I have ever used. Dough made from their flour are very different. The end result is something more tasty and light.
King Arthur flour are available in some supermarkets here...BUT, it is very costly. Unless, really necessary, I wouldn't recommend that you buy them.

Not one but two

DH and I have been up all night, sponging Kai and Ann, making sure that their temperature wouldn't rise too high. Yes, not one but two fell sick at the same time.

(When we were in Macungie, the kids never fell sick for a year. It was just little running nose because of the cold. I guess it must be the clean countryside air. Since coming home, the kids have already visited the doctor three times. Oh, I missed the Macungie air!)

We know that this is very rare but somehow, there is always a fear when the kids have a fever. The fear of their brains being burnt and they become abnormal. It is no laughing matter when the temperature rises slowly from 37 deg C to 39 deg C in the middle of the night. What happens when it hits 40 deg C? And with the H1N1 (swine flu) going on now, it's more worrying.

While we 'worked' through the night and finally, we could see sunrise and the doctor's clinic is opened, we went straight to the clinic. The doctor checked on their temperature,calmly said "no fever"... both went down to 36 deg C to 37 deg C.

I guess sleepless night is just one of the many 'perks' in the parenthood package!

Sunset...always follow by a sunrise


This is sunset at Holland...erm...I mean Holland in Singapore. Sunset holds the promise of a sunrise

Brag, brag, brag

This posting will be bragging about Kai.

Most Asians are shy about praising their own kids but they never hesitate to praise other people's kids. But I am here to brag about my own son ;)

Kai did well for his SA1 (Semestral Assessment 1)or the mid-year exams. I am indeed proud of him.

We just came back from the States, he has hardly settled down and he was flooded with CA (Continous Assessments) and not forgetting the transition from the US (relax) school to the SG (intensive) school curriculum. Also, the drastic change in the weather. From sub 20 deg F to 33 deg C. All these were huge changes to a nine-year-old boy. I knew he was frustrated because many times, he couldn't control his emotions and burst into anger and tears easily. Maths was a huge headache to him because it was a big change from simple multiplication to Heuristics Maths and all kinds of problem Maths.

Inspite of all these, Kai managed a perfect score for his Maths MCQ (multiple choice questions) and an overall score of 80%. He even passed his Chinese gramma paper. DH and I am so proud of him...not that he scored 80% but that he rise above his circumstances and did his work in his own stride and produced results which he is now enjoying.

We never have the habit of rewarding the kids for good school results because we do not want them to think that 'I will work hard because there is a reward'. We want them to cultivate the habit of working hard, regardless of...afterall, diligence is a virtue.

But in this case, it was very different, we wanted Kai to know that we really appreciated his efforts in going against all the odds and emerging a victor. Kai in Chinese, afterall, meant Victory!


This was the reward from Kai, he chose it and he fixed it all by himself


The proud owner of the Star Wars - armoured assault tank