Some simple baking and cooking

Due to our impending shift to Shanghai, I have decided not to unpack fully. It is only a wise move. It just doesn't make sense to unpack and to pack up again in a few months time.

Many of my cooking and baking tools are all stored up. But the kids are all dying to have mummy's cooking and baking. Little Ann has been pestering for her little cuppies. Decided to just make simple cupcakes with no decorations. She didn't mind at all.


Hand-roll sushi for dinner


'Teddy-head' sushi, special request from Ann

Making cupcakes...


Kai helped with the mixing


Scopping the mixture into the cupcake cups


All done. Before baking...


After baking



Nice spongy cuppies but not so pretty

A different kind of beauty

Since coming home, our weekdays begin at 5.15am. This is because Kai starts school at 7.30am, he has to be in school by 7.15am and the school picks him up at 6.25am every morning.

But the good thing about starting the day early is that you can see the beautiful sunrise. Not quite like what we used to see in Macungie but it is still a beauty to behold.



Whether it's the city or the countryside, they are still the works of God.

Drying clothes

My friends in the US, thought you might enjoy this...

These couple of days, the weather has been really bad...no sun means having a tough time drying our clothes. This is when I deeply miss my dryer in Macungie

Rain or shine, my clothes get dry.

Here, in Singapore, we depend heavily on the good Sun to have nice dry clothese to wear. This is why?


A bamboo stick with clothes hanging on it and using pegs to secured the clothes. The stick is then stuck into a special hole (that metal portion) to hang out to dry. Yes, we save lots of energy and electricity depending on Mother Nature. But when it rains for consecutive days, the dry will be a better choice.

Relocation...is it all glam?

If you are to ask people who have been relocating all their lives, 9 out of ten will tell you that seeing the world, experiencing the difference cultures and meeting the different people are the perks of moving around but is it glam? They will tell you, it isn't. The packing and unpacking are enough to cross out the word 'glam'!

I used to envy people who moves around the world, it really make their life more colourful but now that I am experiencing it, it is really not for the faint-hearted. But with life being so short, when opportunities thrown at you, you will want to make the most out of it for yourself, for your kids, for your family.

Not bragging about the role of a mother because I am one but really, without her being the pillar of the house, it is really difficult for the family to enjoy the bacon! The role of the mother is even more important when it comes to relocating the family.

There is a mums' forum where I am a member, many 'relocated mums' share about their experiences. Some people have questioned about how our kids feel with this 'unsettled lifestyle'. One mum aptly sums up with this answer "Although the environment is different, I will always try to make sure that the "home" is the same. At least if they are unhappy, home is always a sanctuary to them and we can always talk abt any problems".

Making the home a sanctuary is a huge task which I try my hardest to perform. I am no supernatural being and there are times I fail and fail badly but I will be in cloud 9 when I hear my kids always asking to go home when they are out. It shows that it is a place of rest, of security and of comfort.

But I do hope for a more settled lifestyle for the kids as they approach their pre-teens and teens. I know that will be a time where they will be making friends and want to be with them for most part of their lives. Yes, friends which I have made at that age are still the best of friends now. We may not see each other everyday, we may not chat on the phone for hours but when we do meet up, we are always able to continue where we last left.

This is our house, this is our home

For our American friends, this is a glimpse of our home...we live in high-rise cos' space is limited. We really enjoyed the big space in PA...looking at the pictures, you will know why...


Bird's eye view from our home. It has been raining alot since we came back. Guess is ever so gracious isn't it. He knows our body is adjusting and He is helping us buy sending cooler days...


Blocks and blocks of apartments or flats. At least 80% of the population live in houses like these. On a clearer day, we could actually see the central business district from our home


A miro-mini hallway leading to three bedrooms. The living room cum dinning hall...what's behind the big cupboard...


It's a library and ....


...TV corner. Yes, our home has always been kept empty so that the kids will have space. Now that they are growing bigger, we will soon be looking at having more furnitures. Just the other day, Kai was asking about having more chairs in the living room


Entrance to the kitchen. Turn left, you have .....


...separated bathroom and toilet all in the kitchen.

Our house is not as big as the one we had at Macungie but in it, you can find the same kind of warmth, love, discipline and...odour! Oh...but for sure, it is bigger than some apartments we saw in New York city.

Not the end of the nomadic life...

...yes, we have not ended our nomadic lifestyle yet. We are now waiting for the 'go' notice from the company. We will be leaving for Shanghai but the exact date is not out yet. So, for now it is Singapore.

Since coming home, we all have fallen sick. I guess our bodies are adjusting to the climate and the environment.

In PA, we were hardly surrounded by people but here, everyday, there are lots of activities and lots of people. Just last Saturday, we attended the church annual business meeting. The turn out was close to 1,000 members. Last weekend, we went down to Orchard MRT (mass rapid transit, the subway) to top-up our ez-link card. A card which entitles us to take the subway and the public buses by just tapping the card on a machine. Wow, the number of people at the Orchard MRT station gave me a dizzy spell.

In the midst of all these chaos, we celebrated Kai's 9th birthday. That's the most important part of having a nomadic lifestyle ... the family stays together and home is a sanctuary to all.


Celebration at Swensons - why are we still eating at places like these? It was the birthday boy's wish


Celebration part II. See how Kai has grown, he is now just touching my shoulder, very soon, he will tower over me

Home...Singapore

We finally ended our life as nomads and arrived at Singapore on the fourth of March but not for long as dh has been informed that we will be heading to the east - Shanghai.

I was apprehensive, will all these moving around affect the kids (somehow, the welfare of the kids always come to mind first). Will they like the shift, do they have to start all over again? The events that happened which led to the assignment in Shanghai, somehow gave the assurance that God has greater plans for us...

Finally....Tokyo

We finally arrived at Tokyo, one of the destinations in our planned trip to Japan. We came to this famous place...Harajuku where you could see many teenagers dressed up, looking their favourite manga characters.


Harajuku




At Harajuku, we realised we have been 'stalked' by some familiar 'faces'



Taking a break at a tea house and I tried the Japanese version of the cinnamon tea

Cinnamon tea served in a clay bowl


Make a guess, what are these?


Ta-dah...brown and white sugar for your coffee and tea! I thought that was really neat



Streets of Tokyo...our first sight of highrise buildings after a year of vast land


At Kiddy Land - a six storey high toy shop, paradise for all kids.

Not intended but it was most beautiful indeed

It was never in our plan to visit Yokohama but somehow, we landed there. Having been through so much in US of A, we knew that perhaps, it was God's intention that we should enjoy this part of Japan.

This was the best hotel we have ever stayed with the best ever view.


Our room was facing this ferris-wheel. Kai and Ann had non-stop fun just staring into it...


...and a picture with it


Chinatown at Yokohama, it was a let-down. Not the usual hustle and bustle of a Chinatown


Guess what I spotted...yes, a Hainanese restaurant


Shocked!!! It was only a kids' toilet

We didn't expect to see this but for some reason, we were brought to this place to view one of the most beautiful creation of God, Mt Fuji. It was an awesome view and I wonder why wasn't it named one of the seven wonders of the world.






Not sure about this sulpture, everything was written in Japanese but I guessed it must be about the mother's love

Nishiki Ichiba Food Market in Kyoto

By now, you should know that we love roaming farmers' markets, flea markets...any place that has food. Looking at our street map, we saw a food market at Kyoto. We decided to head there and it was one of the most fascinating food market we have ever come across. The Nishiki Ichiba


Beautiful roof-top painting isn't it?


Just entering the market











Bar-b-q teriyaki squid


Enjoying the food while Ann slept


The famous puffer fish or fugu...we didn't try because it can be deadly.