Princess' new shoes

Much ado about king-sized beds

On Christmas Day this year, PIL accompanied us to the Furniture Mall to check out king-sized beds.

We had recently taken a look at the beds sold in this shop and liked what we saw.

We ordered a king-sized bed.

The padding is beige in colour.

The bed frame measures 77" (width) x 84" (length).

The legs of the bed are 6" high.

The bed rest is 5" high. As such, the mattress will be 11" above ground level.

The padded headboard is 11" thick.

We selected the standard 8" thick Dunlopillow mattress but requested for the firmer mattress.

The bed comes with two complimentary pillows.

We will be having the side tables custom-made.

We were advised to state a tentative delivery date which can be postponed if need be but would be difficult to bring forward.

We decided to indicate a tentative delivery date of 15 January 2011.

The model of the mattress is called "Back Rest". Such a cute name!

This is the first time that we are buying a king-sized bed.

I think that Princess will enjoy playing on the bed. *grin*

Much ado about hobs, hoods and lightings

We went shopping for hobs, hoods and lighting today.

I must confess that I am not fond of window shopping. I find it very exhausting.

As such, we narrowed down our search for hobs and hoods to Hoe Kee at Tanjong Katong Complex. This building is popularly known amongst those who live in the eastern part of Singapore as "Yokoso" (the supermarket that used to be located in this building years and years ago). You will be surprised - if you board a taxi now that is driven by an older taxi driver and you inform him that you would like to go to Yokoso, chances are that he will drive you to the correct location!

Upon our arrival at Hoe Kee, we went straight to the glass top hobs section. Hoe Kee sells the glass top Technogas hobs (85cm x 50cm) at S$449. For S$35 more, you can ask them to add a safety gadget where if the flame gets blown out, the gas supply will automatically cut off.

There are 4 colours to choose from. Other than black, there is white.

And there is sand.

And finally, silver (which the shop assistant said is a new colour). I would venture to say that it looks more like "greyish white".

Delivery and installation of the hob are free of charge.

As for hobs, Hoe Kee is currently selling all the Technogas hobs at $298 each. We have settled on the Technogas hob model 958 (90cm x 43cm), which is the upper hob in the photograph below. The height of the upper portion of the hob is 7 cm, which should be able to fit. Delivery of the hood is free of charge but there would be an additional S$35 charge for installation.

Lighting posed a bit of a challenge. Ordinarily, we would patronise the lighting shops at Balestier. However, since we were already in Tanjong Katong/Gelang area, we decided to take a walk to Geylang to check out the lighting shops there. This time, we did mainly "window shopping" (which I mean in the literal sense - we stood outside the shop, peered through the glass panel and bypassed the shop if we did not like what we saw). There was only one shop that we decided to enter - Vlux Lighting located at 722-730 Geylang Road.

After much deliberation, we selected the lighting that you see below for the dining area and the passageway leading to the bedrooms. When I first looked at the display model, the word "IKEA" immediately came to my mind. It was so "IKEA-like" and I fancied it. For the passageway, we chose the same design but we ordered 3 separate bases so that the 3 lights could be installed separately. After discount, 2 sets of the lighting and the 3 separate bases cost us S$530. Delivery of the lighting is free of charge but if we require their electrician to install the lighting, there would be an additional charge of S$75 if there is no re-wiring required.

Start of the hunt for a birthday party dress

Here are the first batch of candidates....

Online shopping

The next time that you decide to order some clothing for babies / toddlers / children online for your own children or as a gift, you may like to check out Babynanacloset.

The owner of the website is a friend of my friend, YK.

I checked out the website and saw many lovely clothing at reasonable prices. You will be spoiled for choice.

The land of curry

Deepavali is a major Indian festival in Singapore. It is celebrated by the Hindus and Sikhs in Singapore. It is known as the "Festival of Light". The lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being. This year, Deepavali will be celebrated on Monday, 27 October 2008.

On the 1st day of Hari Raya Adilfitri on 1 October 2008, my family cooked some curry dishes for dinner. I quickly caught the "curry-in-a-hurry" bug and I was eager to visit Little India to buy some Indian spices that are not easily available in the supermarkets.

I was tied up today and was only able to meet Da later in the day. We had arranged to meet at Bugis MRT station. When we met up, I grinned at Da in anticipation and we walked towards Serangoon Road. It was quite a long walk from Bugis MRT station but I did not feel the distance as I was looking forward to our shopping trip.

We crossed the road at Sim Lim Square and headed in the direction of Tekka Mall (now known as "The Verge"). We had reached Serangoon Road! Decorations have already been put up along Serangoon Road in preparation for Deepavali.

As we walked along Serangoon Road, we were charmed by the colourful sights and the various things sold at the shops and roadside stalls. Shortly thereafter, we arrived at our destination - Komala Villas. It is an Indian vegetarian restaurant.

We have not eaten at Komala Villas for quite a long time. As such, I was eager to order my favourite dish. As we were shown to our table and the waiter came to take our order, without looking at the menu, I ordered masala thosai.

Da ordered the Poori meal. The 2 UFO-looking items that you see on the plate below are actually made from flour. They are hollow. The dish is accompanied by:-
(a) chick peas in curry
(b) vegetable dhal (comment: this is the dhal dish that I obtained the recipe from Da's friend in Perth (may he rest in peace). It is not difficult to cook this dish but involves a fair bit of work.)

For the drinks, I ordered my favourite masala teh tarik whereas Da ordered the kopi tarik. Yummy!

No visit to Komala Villas would be complete without trying their vadai and dhal vadai. Their snacks are freshly fried and very delicious! We had actually ordered 1 vadai and 1 dhal vadai. However, the waiter informed us that they have run out of dhal vadai, so we settled for 2 vadai.

The meal at Komala Villas cost us S$10-30. After the hearty meal, we were so full that we could barely walk! I leaned back against the comfortable cushioned seat, giggled at Da and told him that we need to "walk-walk". Besides, I am on the lookout for curry powder (ie. the "homemade" kind and not the pre-packed curry powder), tandoori powder and mustard seeds.

After we paid for the meal, we walked out of Komala Villas and glanced around. Da suggested going to the Tekka Market at their temporary premises (the actual premises are under upgrading) located near Muthu's Curry along Race Course Road. I agreed. We crossed the road and walked towards Race Course Road. There are so many shops in Little India! The variety of things that the shops sell is astounding.

Finally, we saw the Tekka Temporary Market. The market comprises 3 sections:-

(a) wet market

(b) food stalls

(c) dry market

We decided to survey the food stalls and dry market before we proceeded to the wet market. The dry market was abuzz with activity as Deepavali is coming and there were many women and children shopping for new clothes. My head was swimming from looking at all the colourful saris and punjabi suits. I was so tempted to buy a sari or a punjabi suit. However, as I have not yet reached my weight target of, er.... 45 kg, I decided to forego the purchase, much to my regret. (Note to BH: Please stop losing weight! I am getting jealous! heehee....)

Many of the stalls in the wet market section sell fruits or fresh meat. After we walked past several fruit stalls and stalls selling pre-packed curry powder (mainly Baba's Curry Powder), I saw a stall selling curry powder by weight. They make their own curry powder! All excited, I asked the stall holder what kind of curry powder he sells. It turned out that he sells curry powder for chicken, curry powder for mutton and curry powder for fish. My brother had earlier requested me to help him buy "meat curry". I decided to buy 500g of chicken curry powder for him. As for myself, I bought 500g of chicken curry powder and 500g of fish curry powder (my brother had informed me earlier that he already has fish curry powder at home).

As the stall holder was weighing and packing the curry powder, I glanced around the stall. I saw tandoori powder and mustard seeds! Perfect! Exactly what I also needed to buy! I bought 2 packets of tandoori powder and 1 packet of mustard seeds for my brother. I also bought 1 packet of mustard seeds for myself.

Was that all that I bought? Actually, no. I also bought 1 packet of Samba powder (which is used to make dhal) and 1 packet of yellow lentils (to make dhal). If you are wondering where all this is leading to, yes, you have guessed it correctly. Deepavali falls on Monday, 27 October 2008. I am thinking of cooking Indian food perhaps on that day or the weekend before that.

The total cost of our purchase was S$18-20. It was cheaper than I expected.

As I left the Tekka Temporary Market a happy girl and we made our way towards Tekka Mall (now known as "The Verge"), we came across a shop in a block of HDB flats selling... more spices! Unable to resist the temptation, we stepped into the shop. After some time, we left the shop (with S$20 less in our wallets) with a plastic bag containing tumeric powder, garam masala, tea dust (for masala tea), masala tea powder, uncooked papadam, vadai mix, dhal vadai mix and chicken 65 masala mix.

Goodness me! Enough of shopping! We proceeded to Tekka Mall (sorry, I am still not used to calling it "The Verge") where Da bought a toto ticket and a big sweep ticket, as a last purchase from the Singapore Pools outlet over there (the outlet will be closing down soon). The Verge, formerly known as Tekka Mall (德卡廊), is a shopping centre in Little India in Singapore. It was opened in 2003. It comprises two buildings - the main building and another housing Sheng Siong Hypermarket. The main building is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Sungei Road and the Sheng Siong building is located at the junction of Perak Road and Sungei Road. Both of the buildings are separated by Clive Road. In August 2008, Tekka Mall was revamped and renamed "The Verge", with the Sheng Siong building renamed "Chill @ The Verge".

I have not yet decided on the menu for the Indian meal that I intend to cook around Deepavali time. Tentatively, I have some ideas:-

(a) papadam

(b) fish curry

(c) fried chicken masala

(d) vegetable dhal

(e) cabbage fried with tumeric and mustard seeds

(f) curry pork

Perhaps I may fry the vadai and dhal vadai as a snack. I am undecided about the dessert, though. Most Indian desserts tend to be very sweet and do not suit our tastebuds. I guess I would have to do some research on the internet on Indian desserts.

Mission accomplished

2 days ago, I sent an sms to my beautician requesting that she slot me in today for a facial. I also mentioned to her that I have been having water retention problem and asked her whether she had any body treatment for this. She replied to say that the bookings were packed but as not everyone had confirmed their appointment, she would revert to me.

I was disappointed that she did not have a ready slot available for me but while I was hopeful of a positive confirmation, I decided that in the worst-case scenario, I would go to the office this morning to clear work.

Yesterday, my beautician sent me an sms to say that she would be able to give me a 10 am appointment for a facial and a body treatment (for my water retention problem). Glory be! I guess it was a sign that today would be "Pamper Pebbles Day".

This morning, Da and I happened to wake up early so we decided to have breakfast at the Haig Road hawker centre before he dropped me off at my office. Office, you say? Didn't I have a 10 am appointment for a facial? Be patient, my friend... you are light enough to be kept in suspense for another paragraph or two.

We had not eaten at Haig Road hawker centre for some time. Most of the stalls there tend to be open for business for lunch or dinner. When we arrived, there were some stalls in the Chinese food section but as Da's favourite porridge stall was closed again (we wonder whether it has closed down), we headed for the Malay / Indian section. I was thinking of eating nasi lemak when I spied at stall selling Masala Thosai. Yummy! My mind was made up. Masala Thosai it would be!

Da ordered the Masala Thosai for me and 2 plain Thosai for himself. We also ordered kopi tarik and teh tarik. No Malay / Indian meal would be complete without a tarik drink.

The Masala Thosai was rather interesting. The filling included cabbage and some other vegetables that are not commonly found in Masala Thosai filling. My favourite Masala Thosai so far is the one sold at Komala Villas but the one I had this morning comes a close second.

After breakfast, Da gave me a lift to my office before he proceed to work. Okay, okay... end of the suspense. I had bought some mooncakes and I wanted to place them on the desks of my secretaries as well as my enbloc team (I have a rather large team working with me for enbloc matters). They are tireless and I thank the Lord that I have such wonderful support from them. I am truly blessed.

Finally..... time for my facial. I arrived at my beauty salon punctually at 10 am as scheduled. I was informed that I would start with the body treatment (for my water retention) and end with a facial. The body treatment was very interesting. Firstly, a fragrant scrub was used to scrub my body. Without rinsing off the scrub, the salon girl then applied some gel on my thighs, tummy and arms. When her back was turned, I picked up the tub of gel and discovered that it was recommended for use in the sauna. Then, industrial cling-wrap was used to wrap around my thighs, tummy and arms before I was asked to step into a machine where I could sit down and every part of me was in the machine save for my head. Goodness me! It was something like a mini-steam room. I think that the intention was for me to perspire (thereby discharging the excess water in my body?). The temperature was slowly increased to about 48 degrees before the 20 minutes in the machine was up. I was asked to rest but it was almost impossible to rest while in the machine! I think I now know how crabs feel when they are boiled alive! Other than the heat, I was uncomfortable in the machine for primarily 2 reasons:-
(a) my knees were reacting to the cling-wrap and they became very itchy; and
(b) my legs were a little cramped in the machine and there was discomfort in my knees.

When the 20 minutes were up, I was asked to take a quick shower before the salon girl applied massage lotion over my thighs, tummy and arm. I actually fell asleep at this juncture. I only woke up when my beautician tapped my shoulder (by which time her assistant had already washed and scrubbed my face). I was happy to see her. My saviour when it comes to extraction of the pimples on my face! She reminded me that she owed me a 2nd treatment for the pigmentation spot on near my right cheek. Yes, I shall try to find time for the treatment (which only takes 15 to 20 minutes, actually).

After the facial, I detoured to Robinsons at City Hall (before meeting up with Da). I intended to "take a leaf from my own book" (in this case, my post on how to be more feminine) and I proceeded to the ladies' section where I successfully purchased a piece of lingerie that I had in mind to purchase. Ah... the benefits of target shopping.

Da and I had arranged to meet outside Ah Teng's bakery at Raffles Hotel. If you have never tried the pastries at Ah Teng's bakery, you should. Their gigantic-sized chicken pie is simply scrumptious!

Da and I had lunch at Chin Chin restaurant located along Purvis Street. Today, we decided to be adventurous and try the Hainanese mutton stew. It was very nice! The taste of the mutton was not overpowering. It was something like an Irish stew. This is something that we would try again! We also ordered the bittergourd omelette and the Hainanese mixed vegetables. The bittergourd omelette was delicious, as usual. The Hainanese mixed vegetables (which we tried for the first time) resembled the Nonya mixed vegetables (ie. "chap chye").

If you are wondering where all this is leading to, you guessed it correctly. The National Library! I borrowed several romance novels and left the library a very happy girl.

Dinner was our usual gathering at The 3 Musketeers' home. Tiki had used her AMC cookware to make 2 homemade pizzas, using SC's recipe that I posted on my blog last month. In addition, they had made 2 salads and also bought some mini-pastries from Tiong Bahru plaza. mmm... food galore!

The English Premier League season has started again! GLORY, GLORY, MAN UNITED! May the Red Devils triumph again this season!

Target shopping

Ah! The weekend has come!

I managed to do some packing in the office last night (in preparation of our office's move at the end of this month), so I decided not to go to the office today to pack. In any event, BD said something to me me last night to the effect that I can slow down the packing, I think. Yeah! It is a sign that this weekend is a "relax one corner" weekend.

As I was chatting with LSD and BD till quite late last night, I overslept this morning. I woke up to the sound of HEALER being played on my mobile phone. Thinking that it was my alarm, I groggily got up and stopped the music. When I glanced at my mobile screen, I realised that it was a missed call and not my alarm going off. I checked who the caller was. It was my mother!

I called my mother and was informed that she is on her way to Muar, Malaysia for a week-long stay. Enjoy your getaway, mom! And do not forget to buy a carton of Three Elephant sauce.

Da left behind the car keys, so I drove to Marine Parade, intending to do grocery shopping at NTUC. When I arrived at the multi-storey carpark next to NTUC, I saw a long queue of cars waiting to enter the carpark. My heart sank. A thought crossed my mind that I would not be able to find a carpark lot. However, there was no way I could do a U-turn, hence I queued up and hoped for the best. After circling the carpark for 3 levels, I spied an empty lot. Praise the Lord! I parked the car and went to the hawker centre for breakfast.

Every time that I am at the Marine Parade hawker centre, I would patronise the stall that sells fried beehoon with ingredients (commonly known as "breakfast beehoon"). The stall was featured on one of the food programs on Channel U. Of all the breakfast beehoon that I have eaten, this stall's beehoon is one of the nicest. The helper at the stall smiled at me and remarked in Mandarin that I had not patronised the stall for a while. She asked me where I have been. I replied that I have been busy lately. Then I had a second look at her. Goodness me! She has now got a stud on her nose! I wanted to comment on the stud to her but I did not know how to phrase the words in Mandarin.

After my late breakfast, I decided to take a walk to Parkway Parade. There is a shoe shop there named "Dynasty" that only sells leather shoes. I have been trying to buy a pair of brown leather shoes for some time as my existing pair is broken. Voila! I managed to find a brown pair of heeled leather shoes. Is the Great Singapore Sale still ongoing? The shop owner informed me that there was a S$30 discount if I paid by cash.

Talk about another successful "target shopping"! I was tremendously pleased at my purchase.

Realising that time was ticking away, I quickly walked out of Parkway Parade and towards NTUC. On the way to NTUC, I walked past a female busker. She was sitting on a stool under the hot sun, playing the tambourine and singing oldies using a microphone with music playing in the background. Initially, I wondered why she would want to suffer under the hot sun. Then I had a closer look at her. She is blind. I must say, though, that her singing voice is not bad.

Ah, the joys of grocery shopping! I had a most enjoyable time at NTUC today. I already had the menu for tonight's dinner planned:-

(a) ABC soup (ie. clear soup with corn, carrots, potato, mushrooms, assorted vegetables, etc);

(b) fried udon;

(c) baked otah (note: of all the otahs that I have eaten, the nicest otah is the one from a shop in Muar. My family buys the otah in bulk each time we go to Muar.);

(d) baked chicken wings (note: marinate the chicken wings and bake them in the oven, turning the wings over halfway); and

(e) oreo cheesecake.

It has been some time since I last cooked. When it comes to cooking a full meal, planning is very important. It would be preferable if you were to shop for groceries with a shopping list. However, as I was running late today, I did not have time to draw up a shopping list. Instead, as I already had in mind what to cook tonight, I got a shopping trolley and browsed aisle by aisle. Mind you, this is not the most efficient way of grocery shopping. However, I decided that I would not rush through the grocery shopping today because I needed to stock up on certain groceries (eg. milk, sugar, etc) that I did not need for tonight's cooking anyway.

In the end, I think I went overboard in my grocery shopping. But, I left NTUC a very happy girl!

My fried udon:-

Bon appetit!

OREO CHEESECAKE

Ingredients (base)

1 ¼ cup digestive biscuits (crushed)
4 tbsp butter (melted)

Method (base)

1. Crush the digestive biscuits.
2. Melt the butter by placing the butter in a bowl and microwaving for 20 seconds.
3. Add the melted butter to the digestive biscuits and mix well.
4. Press the mixture into a 9 inch square baking pan.
5. Place the pan in the freezer while preparing the filling.

Ingredients (filling)

1 ½ cup whipping cream
8 oz (about 700g) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
24 oreo cookies
dash of cinnamon

Method (filling)

1. Whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Place in refrigerator.
2. Whip the cream cheese until smooth.
3. Add sugar to the cream cheese and blend.
4. Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon.
5. Coarsely chop 24 Oreo cookies and fold into cream cheese mixture.
6. Fold in the whipped cream.
7. Turn the filling into the crust and spread evenly.
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
9. Loosen the cheesecake by running a knife around edges to release sides from the pan.

Bored?

Life is funny. Things sometimes go wrong and get you down. Just when you keep chanting the mantra "what goes round, comes round" but in your heart, you wonder whether there is justice in the world, things happen that surprise you and the phrase "poetic justice" comes to mind. In fact, I used the phrase several times today, much to my own surprise. I even had a good laugh with some colleagues about it today.

LSD @ BH was whining to me today that she is bored, bored, bored. She also did not want to go home early today. To entertain the dear girl, I suggested that she come to my office this evening to chit-chat.

LSD arrived after work (note: she has kindly informed me that she did not come to my office directly from work and that she diverted for dessert first. tsk, girl! Think of your figure!) and she sat down in the spare chair in my room and we chatted. Goodness me! Many colleagues came by my room to chat with LSD. LSD even witnessed first hand how YH is more tame nowadays.

I have learned the secret to making myself popular - have LSD sit in my room. Suddenly, everyone seems to have some reason to pop by my room. Alas! I cannot deceive myself into thinking that I have suddenly become the apple of everyone's eye!

A colleague came by my room and offered us "tau sar piah". LSD declined but I accepted the offer (I was very hungry at that time!). I chose the salty "tau sar piah", broke it into half and gave half to LSD (sisters share and share alike, remember?). It was very fresh and tasty. Goodness me! Talking about "half and half", I suddenly thought of the Hokkien song in the 881 Movie! haha.....

LSD @ Ms Kimono and I were discussing her kimono for her company's dinner and dance this friday. She has chosen to wear a pink kimono. I had a look at the photograph that she took dressed in the kimono. I have some comments:-

(a) Please bun up your hair. Kimonos do not go well with flowing hair.

(b) Instead of wearing a thin t-shirt inside the kimono, a tube would be more appropriate because the kimono, when the sash is tied, looks a bit snug for you on your top half. You know the reason, girl....

At about 7.50 pm, LSD and I discussed leaving my office around 8 pm today. I sent a sms to Da. Lo and behold! He replied to suggest meeting at the MRT station at 8.15 pm. Perfect timing! Since I had 10 minutes to spare, I started typing my post for today. Just when I had finished talking about the 881 movie (see above), I glanced at my watch. Goodness me! It was past 8 pm. I quickly logged out and LSD and I walked towards the MRT station. After my putting devilish thoughts in her mind to hail a cab home, she decided to be a good girl and take the MRT instead.

As Da and I alighted at our MRT station near our home, I noticed that the THIS FASHION outlet at the MRT station was still open. I glanced at the mannequins and noticed that one of the mannequins was wearing a tube. Intrigued, I went into the shop and browsed. Mindful of the fact that Ms Kimono's kimono is pink, I headed straight for the pink tubes. I was in luck! I saw 2 pink tubes - one was a stretchable pink lace tube and the other was a stretchable pink cotton/lycra tube.

I called Ms Kimono on her mobile phone and waited an eternity for the young lady to answer the call. When she answered the call, I told her about the 2 tubes and asked her whether she wanted me to help her buy them. She asked what size were the tubes. They are free size but as I was talking to her, I pondered over whether the tubes, albeit in free size, would fit over her... er... nevermind....

In the end, I bought both tubes. You will never be able to guess the prices of both tubes. My dear girl, you can have both tubes if you like both. Or you can choose either of the tubes when you give me a lunch treat at Hans tomorrow. Here are your options:-

(a) If you decide to take both tubes, yippee!

(b) If you decide to take 1 of the tubes, that's fine. I shall find someone else to give the other tube to. Ah Wen, do you want a pink tube?

(c) If you reject both tubes, YOU WILL INCUR MY WRATH! heehee.... just kidding.

For the curious out there, here are the photographs of the tubes:-

Okay, the photos were not well taken. It was late, I was exhausted and I wanted a quick shower before I cooked dinner. In actual fact, both tubes are soft (especially the one in pink lace). They should be comfortable to wear. Well, we wait with bated breath for Ms Kimono to let us know how her company's dinner and dance goes this friday. Will she be called onto the stage to do a slow Japanese dance with FL? Watch this space for more updates!

A lazy saturday

I am so thankful that the weekend has come!

I woke up this morning with a swollen and painful left eye. My left eye is very red right now and I am probably seeing more out of my right eye as I type this post. The swelling and pain will likely go away as the day progresses (otherwise, my dear eye doc will be earning consultation fees from me this coming Monday). It is probably due to the fact that I was up till way past midnight yesterday working on a document for her matter that I am covering. Guess what? Late last night, she sent him an sms to the effect that she will not be able to handle the file anymore. Since when did "cover her" become "take over her baby"? I certainly would not mind taking over her baby if it is a real life baby (another bundle of joy to add to my blessed life!), but insofar as work is concerned, this is unfair. To make things worse, he is letting her get away with this. He also came to my room several times last night (while I was struggling with a document that I am not familiar with and with a client whose commercial needs I am not aware), to shout at me and to chase me. I ended up crying for the 3rd time yesterday (once during office hours, once in the evening and once last night). It was bad enough that my eyes were already in pain from the strain of the small print of the document (Ah Boy, please help me! Please adjust my computer screen such that the document is bigger in size. I don't mean the font (which is currently Arial 11). I think it is possible to adjust the percentage?). In the end, I managed to work on the document but by the time I finished, it was way past orh-orh time. Da came to fetch me and I crawled into bed when I got home.

Enough of that.... today is another day and it is a great day! The sun is shining and I am happy to be alive and well. We have much to be thankful for in our lives. We are children of the Most High and He loves us so much.

The next part is probably 2 days overdue, but hey! Better late than never..... Ah Girl (aka L'il Sister Devil or "LSD" (?) for short) and I went for retail therapy on Thursday, 19 June 2008. It was supposed to be a night out with her and retail therapy for her (for her to drown her sorrows in the ringing of the cash register) but who says we cannot kill 2 birds with 1 stone? I was the one who ended up being the shopper. I was already looking for 2 pairs of shoes - 1 black pair and a brown pair. For me, insofar as court shoes are concerned, I can only wear leather shoes (ahem! I cannot help it if I have expensive feet) as non-leather shoes somehow cause my feet to end up crampy and in pain (once my feet are cramped, I have difficulty walking). I didn't see any shoes that I liked in the 1st shop that we patronised. When we went to the 2nd shop, goodness me! Shoes galore! I have never shopped there before, so I was pleasantly surprised that they sell nice leather shoes. I could not find any nice brown shoes, then we chanced upon some nice black leather shoes. Mind you, I had every intention to buy one pair of black leather court shoes.... I have no idea how I ended up with 2 pairs of black leather shoes... 1 pair of court shoes and 1 pair of slingback shoes. So, for you curious friends out there, ta-da! May I present.... THE SHOES:-

As you can probably tell, I am new to adding images to my post. The picture of the shoes would look nicer in the centre of the post but try as I might, I could not move the image.

I just had a nice short chat with Ah Boy over msn. Okay, I admit that I was consulting 1 of my 3 technical consultants over technical issues (what else?). You 3 kids know who you are!

Ah Boy and Ah Wen, enjoy your outing! And remember your Ah Jie and me while you are busy singing at your KTV or wherever you are going! Is our Bangkok trip still on? Your Ah Jie is asking.....

YX, ZX and JX came over with the gang for tom-yum steamboat dinner. We had a lot of fun. After dinner, I was happily serving them fruits, coffee, cheesecake, chocolates, cookies and home-made lime tea (anyone wants the recipe for the lime tea? It is very good for digestion. Who knows? Maybe it can help with weight loss also.). I was about to serve them warm muffins when they decided to call it a night. Hey, gang, too much to makan, ah? Variety is the spice of life. I count my blessings that I am still able to eat (unlike some people who have to be fed through a tube, etc).

Goodness me! I heard that YX and ZX had a fun time chatting on msn with Ah Girl, to the extent of sending her numerous nudges via msn and chatting her up (eg. telling her that she is pretty, then asking her for lunch treat, etc). These boys are learning young! Way to go, boys!

Oh.. on a sober note, Da and I drove past an old man with no legs below the knee on our way back from the supermarket. He was being pushed in a wheelchair. I was very sad when I saw that. I told Da that I do not wish to live a life with only 1 leg or no legs. What kind of quality of life is that? However, on reflection, at least the Ah Pek is alive to smell the roses and to enjoy the beauty of creation. The Lord will take care of us in His way. Have faith.