祝我生日快乐！

不久前，　刚过生日。时间不饶人，不得而知，　再过几年，　就五十没得找啦。人生本来就是来去冲冲。回想这几十年也过得很满足。怀老大六个月时，我半工半读半怀孕，把大学给念完。当时，非常艰难，　可是也毕业了。有些朋友说我本。这么辛苦把大学给念完，又把它放弃，在家当全职妈妈，太可惜了。真的可惜吗？我不这么认为。能够自己教自己的孩子是一种辛福。其时，在我身边，也有大律师，放弃了事业在家当全职妈妈呀！

老二生下不久，先生就被裁员。多困难的时期已经过去了。上帝也照顾好我们。无论昨天有多么疑难，也走过来了。人不怕吃苦只怕没有健康。只要还有健康的生体，　有上帝的照顾，　天塌下也把它当禙盖。因此，今后的日子里，我要好好照顾我的健康。我的健康是留给孩子最好的财富。看看老爸，老妈，他们都上了年龄可是都活得健康。那是他们注意好他们的身体。白粥配鱼是他们爱吃的。有时候，一个简单的生活方式是健康的。

我们只能活一次，所以必须活得健康，活得开心，活得幸福！祝我生日快乐！


儿子吹生日歌的曲调，女儿唱生日歌！我是幸福的

\
One happy family

Busy like a bee
Kai and Ann can be a great team if they want to!


So busy the past weeks. Each time when they managed to find some free time after school and work, they would bring out their art and craft kit and started working.....



their very own chess set. Their own "how to play", their self-created rules

This reminded me when the board game Monopoly first started in Singapore (Yes, that long ago, many moons ago). My sister and I did exactly the same thing. We used the back of our drawing block. You know, the cardboard part. That would be the main board. We drew our own 'Go to jail', the various estates, the various railway stations. Made our own money and the 'Chance' cards and what's the other one...arrrrgh....sorry, brain cells not working. Anway, we both made our Monopoly board game, just like what Kai and Ann were doing. But we followed the rules of the game while Kai and Ann created everything from scratch. Hmmm, so nowadays, kids are indeed smarter.

Heater, heater everywhere

I thought I just kept them yesterday and now, I have to bring them out again. By the way, these are only three out of the seven portable heaters! Will we need all of them, just have to see if the floor heating works just as well as those we had in US.

Today's temperature is 13 deg C and we are only in October. When I went out, I could feel the cold wind piercing through my jeans onto my skin, the next stage will be into my bones. (Argh...) Technically, winter will only starts in December but this year, it is getting cold much earlier. The locals are bracing for the coldest winter ever experienced in Shanghai.

Thank God, we moved out of the crappy house, if not, we will sure to freeze with all the marble flooring. Now, I have to go and search for all the thermals and time to keep all summer clothes...a chore I don't really enjoy doing!

Still missing America
Come Feb 2011, it would have been almost two years now since we left America and I am still missing her so much.
The beautiful people, the wonderful environment, the freshest food I could find, having my own vegetable patch. Going to farm to do my marketing. Attending the various faires.

Even in the lifeless spring, just balding trees, it still evokes its special beauty. Then comes the nice and warm summer with laughters from kids all out to play. The multi-coloured autumn. With its leaves bursting with beautiful colours of red, gold, yellow and orange. It makes even the most dreary place cheerful. Then there is the white Christmas. Winter is heavenly with the snow-covered landscape sparkling like precious stones when the sun shines....

Experiences are only for a moment, memories are forever...

My son, my pride
Kai was made a student councilor. Am I proud of him? Of course I am. I am also very happy that there are teachers who trust him and see what lies beneath him.

I know my son. Often, I told him that he was inside me for nine months, how could I not know him. He is a bright boy and he often needs challenges. Believe me, it is not easy being his mum. He needs plenty of motivations and discipline. I need to give him lots of space yet not all the space. I have to give him lots of trust yet still watch over him like a hawk. Sometimes, an extra pair of shoes or an extra handbag has to make way for his ferocious reading habit! Thank God, he has the habit of re-reading his old books. Otherwise, I will be running a library! However, that also means we must make space not just for him but for his books too!

He drives me up the wall with his constant forgetfulness. Sometimes, I wonder if he needs a brain scan. At such a young age, he has such short memory, it also gets me worried. Just last week, he was to have his Science test. He came home without his Science textbook. I questioned him how would he expect himself to study without his textbook. I then made him sit down and write down all the information he knew about the topic to be tested. He really did, he gave me three full pages of them and they were mostly correct! Yesterday, he came home with his Science test paper, just five marks short of a perfect score! Perhaps, I need to change - one may not need to have his textbook in order to know the facts!

He has had his valley moments. In his 10 years on earth, he has crossed path with teachers who looked at his hyper thirst for knowledge as being 'naughty' and a 'nuisance'. He has been asked to leave his classroom, he has been pulled out of lessons, not because he was naughty but because he wanted more. It was one of his 'downest" moment and my darknest moment. How to you get a teacher to understand him when she is not trained to handle kids like him. How do you crack a nut head to see that his mum is not defending him but trying to help the teacher to help him.

Finally, we found a school with teachers who could look beyond that naughty handsome face! I pray that with this new role in his life, it will make him a better and wiser person! Dh is right to say that God sent us here for the kids.

Taiwan, our next favourite destination
Once a while it is good to get away from the maddening crowd of Shanghai to regain my sanity. The family went to Taiwan, our very first visit. Gosh, it wouldn't be our last. There are so much beauty in Taiwan. It was beyond our expectations.

It never crossed my mind that Taiwan is embraced by Mother nature. I have always thought that she is a big city, just like Shanghai. I was so wrong. In fact, Taiwan reminds me of Japan. People are polite and warm. Taking the escalator, the people all keep to their right. The left side is for people who need to rush. Even, Singapore lose out to them in this aspect...

Taiwan - where we stayed


Not a reflection. If you look carefully. It is a two bedroom suite or what they call a family suite

Not even an adjoining room. For S$213 per night with breakfast, it was value for money. It was the Cosmo Hotel

View from our hotel
I highly recommend this hotel. The Taipei main station is right at the door step, that makes travelling to any places very convenient.

Inside the train station, clean and orderly

Believe it, their so-called, MRT card. Theirs is a little token

Taiwan - historical sight



One of the oldest hotel in Taipei and was build by Chiang Kai-shek


The Martyrs' Shrine (War Memorial)



We were there just on time to watch the changing of guards ceremony. Highly impressive.


By the way, these are handsome looking dudes! That's why yours truly is in the picture and not dh. Bwahahaha...


Taiwan - nature
I love nature. Somehow, I find the greatest joy when I am surrounded by Mother nature. I am often amazed at the creativity of God. The reason why we chose to travel to Taiwan is because it is just less than two hours flight from Shanghai. Alright, some of you may be thinking that I have descended from some mountain, how can I not know that Taiwan is embraced by Mother nature. Ok, my Geography isn't my strongest subject, when I think of Taiwan, I think only of city life. Perhaps too much of the Chin Han, Lin Feng Qiao movies where the background was often just tall buildings.

When I was greeted by Mother nature, I wasn't complaining, I simply just soaked myself in her beauty...


Wulai. Beautiful clean clear water. It has been quite a while since I saw one of these


On the way to see a still-active-but-sleeping volcano. The kids were excited!


This is not fog or haze, it is the smoke from the volcano


If you put an egg inside, it can get cooked. Notice the yellow substance, it is sulphur


Panoramic view of the mountains


The unspoilt beach. For a moment, I thought I was in New Zealand


Looks like a side profile of a person, doesn't it?



Yehliu park. That's dh and Kai among the "mushrooms". All are natural. They look like these because of the works of nature


The children, always so inquisitive


Ann, the little free spirit


Must Mother nature always make way for modernisation? No, proven that they both can co-exist

Taiwan - night market
Visit to Taiwan is never complete without visiting their night market. The sight, the sound, the smell, the atmosphere of just being surrounded by people and things is simply out of this world!


Famous Shilin Night Market



Well, if I were to post all the pictures of the night market, I think blogger will come after me!


RaoHe street night market, little brother of Shilin but just as good. Not to be missed



Handpainted shoes among many other wonderful things

Taiwan - food, food, food
For a foodie family like ours, trying out local food is always in our 'must-do' list. Are you ready....


Taiwan fishball is a must-have. Super delicious, super smooth and soft. How many did Ann and I eat? Lost count


Eat by the roadside? Of course, should not miss it. Taiwan is clean, very clean and safe to eat anything. Actually, we have survived Shanghai, so why not Taiwan!


Kai enjoying his BIG size bubble tea and Ann licking her malt candy


Nice cold mango ice and if you are a Grace member, remember this jelly dessert? We used to eat it at the old church market. Slurping them brings me back to those good old days

More food...


Taiwan's famous oyster noodle. Yum...MO!


Another famous dish, oyster omlette


Love their fruits. The unripe mango with sour prune powder, my personal favourite.


Hand-toss pastry


BIG size tako balls and grilled chicken


Super long Q for what? Super BIG size chicken fillet. Don't know how good it is cos' yours truly don't Q for food

Apart from good food, the Taiwanese also believe in having beautiful packaging. Look at all these...



All these are their local pastries. Once you have tasted them, you know these are done by very skilfull pastry chefs

The lilliput of Taiwan
When you are on a family trip, you must always remember to inculde programme for the kids. Family vacation is not just about us, shopping and food although it would have been great lah.

We brought the kids to see the Lilliput of Taiwan

It was an amazing place. You could see Abraham Lincoln museum, the Taj Mahal, the Great wall of China, the Forbidden city and many more great buildings of the world. The special thing about them is that they are much smaller than little Ann.






Awesome. It must have taken a lot of time and efforts to build them.


If you do visit them, please be mindful of what you step on...


While we were there, there was a Do-rae-mon fair going on. Well, it was like one ticket to watch two shows! So, what are we waiting for


Here we go...to the Do-rae-mon land





That's about it on our adventure to Taiwan and my new discovery of a country. While there, we met a wonderful man. He is 64 years old but full of energy and zest for life. Because of him, we could see so much of Taiwan. That's why we never believe in guided tour. Always go on free and easy if you really want to see a country. This is his contact. If you ever go there, call him Mr Richard Cheng, hp: 0922130016 email:richardc@mail.my.net.tw

While you enjoy the pictures, I will get my butt off the seat and head straight for exercise. I am too much of a foodie, with all the devil-lious food in my tummy, I just have to sweat them out!