Yippee! It's my birthday month! What's in store for me?I think a vacation is crucial because all I think about is sea, blue sky, fresh air...
After a long week of fever, stomach flu, travelling, tight deadline at work and late nights, I have a burning desire to hop on the plane to the nearest beach resort for a 3D2N spa getaway. Best if I can just do NOTHING and stare at the sea...On second thought, I need at least one week.
We are officially homeless and now living in a 100 sqft (I think) room that fits a double bed, baby cot, 3-door wardrobe, small study desk, 4-boxed storage unit and an Ikea diaper-changing-table converted shelf.
Our life has been boxed up and labelled into 121 items stored away in the warehouse far far away… The move has been a smooth one with the help of professionals, if only they could also sort out the emotional department. The farewell was harder than I had imagined. Although I know it’s temporary and we are on our way to our next dream home, I couldn’t stop my tears when we handed over the keys. Perhaps it would have been easier if we had moved to our new home and not the present little room at the in-laws. This is a true reflection of “home is where the heart is”. My version reads “home is wherever the three of us are together, doesn’t matter where…”
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” – Ecclesiastes 3:11 .
We shall wait in faith for our new home, according to HIS time.
PS: we found a diamond ear-stud under the couch/carpet during the move, and it’s not mine!
My sis, dad and I –an unusual combo. Three of us hardly took any picture together that I can remember.
There are not many common traits among us, although my sis took after my dad more than I did – quiet, thrifty and athletic. Probably the only similarity that we share is our less-than-pleasant disposition in spite of our great smiles when we do :)
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would climb the highest mountain to get it? I have - over a bowl of Penang Laksa.
Last Friday, I needed to cheer myself up and suddenly craved for some Penang Laksa from Penang Road Cafe. However daddy M was not able to go with me. It’s ok, I could go by myself.
So I decided to take a cab from the office to Novena on a Friday evening. Of course the queue was long – It’s ok, I’ll take the train.
But you’re having back and knee ache – It’s ok, I’ll feel better after the Laksa!. It’s worth it!
It’s getting late, don’t you want to go home and see S? – It’s ok, she can wait. Mommy needs her fix, badly.
When I reached Novena, it was drizzling – It’s ok, it’s just a short distance. Walk faster!
Then I realised that I had to cross an overhead bridge to the other side of the road!! (what about my acrophobia?) –It’s ok SK! Just pray and go, you’re very close to your target!!
So there it was, a woman in her 30’s, marched in panic across the overhead bridge along the busy Thomson road on a Friday drizzly evening, talking to herself in her head, JUST to satisfy her intense desire to consume a bowl of Penang Laksa!
I didn’t know I am such a determined person.M said I was trying to prove a point. Strong willed? Tenacious? Perfectionist? Nut case?
We sold our house some time back. In less than a week, we will be moving to my in-laws’ while look for a new house.
We must have viewed more than 50 houses over the past two months, still, we have not found one that we could buy with peace of mind.
Some days I would get anxious and unsettled over the uncertainty we face. Other times, I would get sentimental over our first matrimonial home, the place which we welcomed our first baby and the list goes on…
But thank God for daddy M who is always encouraging and pointing me back to the word. We had peace selling the house, and we did. Effortlessly. The Lord provided us with this house when we had nothing in our savings. And see how He has blessed us all these years. Everything that we have today is His. He will not stop here and for sure we will find a place which He will provide (again) like how he did, always.
I recently learnt that 80% of the things that we worry about in life don’t materialise. So it’s time for me to rest.
We found a solution to please the picky eater S - C.U.R.R.Y. She has little problem finishing a bowl of porridge/noodles if it’s mixed with one teaspoon of curry sauce (not the whole bowl as seen in picture!). I guess she must have been tired of blend and mashed-up baby food, or has this got to do with genetics ?
xoxo,
Mommy who can’t live more than two days without chilli
2011 is truly a celebration year. Last week we celebrated my in-laws’ golden anniversary. Last weekend, we made a 36-hour quickie trip to Penang for the 70th surprise party of uncle two (mom’s second brother). Kudos to my cousin and sis who coordinated the first surprise party in the family in history which involved at least five families, with a few from overseas. For the record, uncles and aunties from Australia flew back to Penang for celebration and not funerals.
Uncle two is a special person in everyone’s heart. He’s the pillar of the family, who cares unconditionally for every single one – his parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, even grand nephews. He was there for everyone, giving the support needed, without complains nor credit claimed.
Some 25 of us gathered in the restaurant to which he thought he was going to have a casual lunch. The look on his face to see all of us was priceless.
If not for work, I would have stayed longer, to linger around the presence of close kinship, listening to the good old tales whenever mom and siblings gather…
It was a fruitful trip, despite the rush. And I thank God that even in my hectic schedule, I still get to enjoy quality FAMILY time.
We bet on everything in the office - world cup, boy or girl (new born baby) and now- the election! I don't have the right to vote in Sg. And I belong to the ‘foreigners’ category as labeled by the opposition camp (although friends and family may not say it outright to me). I don’t know much about the Sg politics but if I was still in Penang, I would have voted for the opposition. One day when I have the voting right in Sg, I may also do that. But for now, M and I have different views (and heated discussions) over the ruling government and opposition.
But coming from a person who has been ‘suppressed’ racially in her own country, she appreciates the little things in her life in this country.
Of course, she can’t stand the education system in Sg among other things. But today, it’s about what she likes.
Meet my in-laws, 50 years ago. 
We celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last night. It’s amazing and rare especially in this day and age. They have spent half a century together. They are a perfect couple who have lived through the wedding vows. For better or for worse, for poorer, for richer (father in law was the sole bread winner and able to provide tertiary education for all of the four children), in sickness and in health (mom-in-law victoriously survived through cancer and father-in-law, a heart bypass), to love and to cherish (they bicker all the time but are inseparable).
Their love story is a simple and traditional one – my father-in-law was tasked to look for a wife in India, aka ‘arranged’ marriage. Within two weeks, he found my mom-in-law and was smitten by her. She left her family and followed him to Singapore. The rest is history. They may not have a heart-throbbing, dramatic, love-of-the-century kind of romance but they made it through these 50 golden years.
Tip from my father-in-law: Quarrel a lot; give and take.
Tip from my mom-in-law: Give and take; he is always right.
Given the crying coconut-head experiences during my childhood, I wanted to make sure that S didn’t have to go through the same thing. And I was glad that she enjoyed her first hair cut. Thanks aunty Shih, you’re the official hair-stylist for the next decade.
