Sister Tag

1. Who is the youngest/oldest among you?
I am the older & wiser sister. 


2. What do you like about your sister?
Her kindness and her ability to plan & hunt for great deals. Above all, her heart to love us.


3. What annoys you most about your sister?
She gets these quiet and brooding moods and shuts down.
When she places too much emphasis on non-important friends and waste her love despite me telling her not to. I don't like to see her taken advantage of.


4. What do you have in common?
There are varied comments about whether we look alike or not (mostly not); but our mannerisms in gestures and speech antics are similar. We also love food, travelling, exercising, shopping and drinking. And being silly.


5. What's your funniest memory together?
I guess the cockroach on her nose story does not qualify as she was merely a toddler then... so I'll cite a more recent memory like our travels. We have awesome travels with funny tales like splashing water, or giggling fits when we remember the most ad hoc and random matters. I actually really enjoy spending time with my sister. We have the most random, silly and funny conversations with each other about nothing at all. Or even openly on FB in comments. Ha!

6. What do you [sisters] do for fun?

Eat, talk, exercise, laugh, drink, play... talk over each other.

7. Describe your sister in just three words.
Kind. Thoughtful. Bargain-hunter.


8. Nickname in the family?
Ah bee. Jingle-bell.


9. Whose room is a mess?
We are equal.


10. Ditch the dirt?
What?


11. Favourite animal?
Bunny?


12. What's your sister's favourite food?
Is this a trick question? We favourite food. Food is our favourite thing.


13. What is your sister's favourite drink?
Something soy-matcha-tea/coffee? Alcohol?


14. Who reads more?
Me.


15. What is the thing you'd love to do together?
More travels.

16. Do people ever get you mixed up?
No. I'm taller.

17. Who love cooking and makes delicious items?
She.


18. What's the best thing about each other?
We tolerate each other. Ha! No la, we really love each other.


19. Who takes longer to get ready in the morning?
I think we're similar.. though maybe me now. Cos I have wake-up-send-daughter-to-school-super-powers training.


20. Do you guys have anything matching?
Yes, slippers.. we have many... but mostly our amazing personality.


21. Heels or flats?
Flats.


22. Pants or dresses?
Dresses. She has many floral dresses!


23. Are you both close?
Yes.


24. What's a weird habit of your sister?
She has weird sweaty-must-be-clean feet. And she gets MAD if you lie dirty on her bed.


25.  Describe your favourite memory of your sister.
Recent ones of her playing aunt to my children... her stepping up to be the lady-in-charge when we do stuff (Mom's birthday party/ holiday travels)... of how dedicated she is about something when she puts her mind to it. Her wedding was a perfect example of how she paid attention to every single detail. And how she was there for me when I was down.

The week that flew by

It's the last few days before we end this month of May and I cannot, cannot believe it.
Sure, it's been hectic; yes, we've had several exciting things happen in our lives, but still!
Last week, was one of those where time just whizzed by.

Wed: random outing with this girl.
Accomplishments: picked up her passport, attended the parent-teacher-session,
and spent time together, in general.

In between the day, I brought her to the office where she demonstrated some creativity at play.

(L): original fish on the wall. (R): she copied the fish and created more fish on her own.
FYI, the theme was "under the sea" so it looked very nice with more fish!

On the way to lunch.

Thursday, I went for a dinner date with this bunch of girls whom I knew in my previous work life, 10 years ago. It came about quite innocently when we were discussing our past.. and it struck us that it was indeed the 10th year anniversary where we were once-upon-a-time going through a most grueling time of our lives balancing work and this Masterclass. What resulted was this amazing friendship. The moment was topped off by us going back to the original place where it all began.

35 Robinson Road. Masterclass Team O, 2007.

Friday marked the last day of school and while I was at work, the doting grandpa brought the children to the trampoline party. Hooray!

Happy birthday Jaz!

Everyone loves bouncing around.

Look at how tall K is amidst the girls 2 years younger than her!

Saturday was a regular day.. we had class for the kids, errands in the afternoon, and the evening winded down nicely with some lamb that the husband made for us, as supper.

Mmmmmmm.

Truth is, we thought of bringing the kids out to play but the evening did not turn out the way we thought because of bad behavior. We ended up staying in to do some work (damn mathematics!) but after the work was cleared, we ended up doing home karaoke with the children singing songs that they picked.

Sing-along

Sunday was a regular affair of hanging out with the grandparents, I cleared more work-child-errands, then while the sister had suggested a healthy walk, it did not happen. Instead...

Everyone had to do some work. Arghhh.

The good thing is that we all did what we needed to do, but truly, I'd have much preferred to do some exercise.


And that, wrapped up last week. In between all that there was regular work, some drinks with friends, more work... and with that. We welcome the mid-year school holidays!

Weekend highlights

Badminton FTW! So, it's been yonks since I played badminton, and I really mean yonks. K had a taste of it at school and because she asked, I have been asking my badminton-enthusiast-friends to ask me along so that K can play. This happened last Saturday and I love it! It was painful (physically) due to the massive muscle ache we suffered from traumatising our master arm, but I'm happy to (1) try something I have not for a long time and (2) enjoyed a fun and healthy hour with the children and friends.


I was so focussed on playing that I did not snap pics. Courts are booked on time-basis and we only had an hour so every minute counted!


Post the game, we brought ourselves (minus 1-able-arm) to dinner and what are the odds, bumped into the friends at dinner. Only then, did I manage to snap a pic of the little ones.

Do-re-mi.

Highlight of Sunday was time to ourselves (husband and I), and still being in the piggy-mood, I was not inclined to exercise so we headed out for breakfast. We ventured to Tiong Bahru, to have breakfast and buy some meat from the grocer's; and as a small adventure, we stepped into a café I saw while driving by, Drip's.

Salted caramel + strawberry mango. Mmmm.

The rest of the weekend was the usual of loving the family, spending time together... and the greedy me even tapau-ed  2 more tarts to try and share with the sister (lemon meringue) and husband (almond).


Thankful for time to rest and play!

Working out with J

PMS hits. I have been eating like a monster. What's worse, I'm not merely eating, but eating a lot of junk food. It didn't help that I hurt my shoulder so I could not even pick a regular HIIT to do. Yesterday, I was totally feeling glum but devised a plan that will (1) be fun (2) allow me to work out in some way not involving my upper body (3) possibly spend time with the child(ren) as it was an off day. I managed to find a solution by bringing the boy out for a he-blade-I-jog session. Hooray!

Cheeky.

Stylo mylo

Look at him go

This curious child amuses me to no end.
1) He can hold a conversation while blading. Throughout the whole time. =_=
2) He can truly ask about anything/everything on the way (relevant or otherwise) and also stop to observe and look at anything/everything that catches his attention.

Case in point: trailing an army of ants

It was an enjoyable time with him, plus I broke out a sweat.

Our workout

Lunch date

It happened by chance, and totally last minute, when the husband ended work early and asked me out for lunch. I agreed, because we have not spent that much time together-together.

Tonkatsu, ebi fry, ramen.

The fact that the husband requested for time with me, made me happy.
Having the time together to enjoy a delicious meal, made me happy.
To have support from the mom to help with the kids to allow us this couple-date, made me happy.
To have family to love and to thank, makes me happy.

Sweet treats for Mother's Day

Mother was unwell, so we kept the celebrations simple and home-based. Thanks to the husband who made the effort to recommend a joint, ordered the food and delivered it to everyone at home.


For desserts, we were blessed with abundance of them in different forms.


First, the mother went for a baking class and she made this tasty, amazing pandan-gula Melaka -coconut cake.



MOM

Mmmmm

Then, a girlfriend surprised me with this decadent treat from Tarte.

Pretty in pink

Caramel, macadamia, choc tart. Yummeh!

Not pictured, are the 2 tubs of ice-cream from the SIL - peanut butter and matcha flavours from Udders. I was so stuffed from dinner and cakes I did not attack the ice-cream, yet. Hope it's still around next week when I visit the mom again.


It was a simple Saturday with simple food and the surprises made it a thrill and fun. Most importantly, the family was mostly altogether and that's what makes it best. Family love.

Bye bye, Hi-5

I was browsing on IG the other day and hi5world popped up. It struck me that I no longer have a need to follow them because my kids have grown out of hi5.

Unfollow.

Wow. When did it happen?


I think it did so slowly, but surely. I brought them to the shows (live) - both paid and unpaid, and it was so adorable while it lasted. I loved watching the kids sing-along, dance (though it was more like mini hops when they were toddlers) and even I got to know the hi5 team and their songs. I truly think that it was one of those shows that the kids grew up watching. I loved how creative the hi5 costumes are, and it was performance-based (by real people) versus cartoon; which was also another 'win' in my opinion.


Oh, hi5 took centrestage in our home for many years, when the girl (and I) first knew of it - she was probably, 2? - till last year when I felt that both the girl and boy have outgrown it. They have stopped watching hi5 on TV, I did not see the need to purchase tickets to live shows. These days, them 2 prefer watching live cartoon and even tween-type shows (dramas by teen actors).


Thank you hi5 for the years of entertainment and education to the children. I had fun too. Oh, what a ride it had been.

Slappy cakes on a mid-week public holiday - hooray!

This is a short working week, with mid-day Wednesday being a public holiday. Everyone say hooray!


The husband was persuaded to go to Slappy Cakes after he missed our first visit, and the biggest take-out for me was (1) I got to drink yummy coffee (2) the kids had enough fun playing cooking the pancakes (3) it was a lovely morning that the family of us 4 spent together and I'm so thankful for all that.

I. Just. Wanted. A. Nice. Pic. With. Them. Two.

This time, we tried the chocolate batter. It's quite tasty and pretty much felt like I was eating a soft doughy cookie. The kids had a field day with sugar and sweetness, and came up with more pancake designs.

What does this say?

K A T E

Pleased that he also got to create his name

Post breakfast, we strolled about the place and did some groceries... then hit home.

Masak

So thankful for an additional day of play with the family.

A lovely, tasty lunch

The chef-husband strikes...

Chicken (tapau), boiled egg (Japanese half-cooked style, yum),
and cold soba (omg this was amazing)

A simple affair that really made me so happy cos it tasted amazing! Thus, why it deserves an entry of its own. That same evening, we hit the beach for a run (and play) and it was so tasty I had to tell the husband again how lovely it was!

Learning mandarin #sightsathome

A year of learning mandarin has seen us collecting many,
many flashcards...

Sometimes, when the husband is free, he will do such fun stuff like laying out our $$ on the ground and having the children read them out.

Enthu-J

There are so many words... he got tired #relaxedstance

We get value for our money when the girl gets to learn the same words too!

Ah girl

I think the husband and I try to not be tiger parents, but it is sometimes hard. I have learnt that having the children better prepared and supported, is not a bad thing at all as it alleviates the stress we all feel when the push comes to shove.


This learning comes in handy not just for them, but a great refresher for both the husband and I as we familiarise ourselves with basic Chinese words that we ought to know.


#JIANGHUAYU #FOREVERLEARNING

May Day long weekend

Friday: started off before sunset with Happy Hour with the colleagues! The husband joined for a drink (or 2) and we headed to have dinner together. Nothing fancy, just at a hawker but the point is that we spent together-time. Burp. The little girl went for a stayover with her grandma so that night, the boy slept with us. This was also the day we tore out the carpet in our master bedroom.


It's the first major affair we did to our house after we moved in; and may I add that we also (finally) serviced our air-cons for the first time. Ha!


Saturday: turned out to be pretty routine with classes for the boy, lunch with his friends whom we bumped into coincidentally. We then headed home for a much-needed nap and headed to pick up the girl and have dinner with altogether too.


Sunday: the kids went to play with the grandparents and the husband and I went for brunch! We headed to Pacamara, this lovely café we chanced upon (that first time) and it did not disappoint again this time. I love the happy, white, bright feel of the open bar; and the food was pretty tasty.

Us.

We picked the kids up and did a pit-stop to a sports sale where the husband and I picked up some winter and sports wear. The boy went for drum class while the girl and I finished off some loose bits of work from school. The husband displayed his cooking skills with this tasty, somewhat healthy salmon head that had the right amount of spice.

Yum.

After the classes and work were completed, we packed up and headed to the beach! It's been a while since we did this and I was so looking forward. The skies looked slightly ominous but thankfully stayed light enough for us to continue. Cloudy skies work just fine for us! The husband and I took turns to swim and though we did not have much time to chill together, it was still a nice time out. I totally enjoyed the swim (strong currents, so tough!) and the run felt pretty easy (fuelling  up gives me strength!)

Endorphin-hit.

Monkeys.

We headed for dinner at RWS and it was quite a simple one - picked from avail of seats at 8pm. The last exciting fun bit of the evening was totally by chance - while walking to the carpark! It was a series of deco/set-up as part of the draw to the Trick-Eye Museum, and we had a tiny blast playing around.

Selfie with this strange lady

Whurt.

Monday, also known as YAY BONUS BREAK DAY!
We headed to the club and I'm happy that the husband got to cycle; and while he swam with the kids for fun/lessons, I headed to the gym for a light workout. It felt necessary to stretch after the brutal swim from yesterday.

My loves

Post-workout, we headed to mom's for lunch and a short hangout. Then everyone took a luxurious nap. Zzz. The evening ended with simple dinner fare with mom and then bonus!

LIULIAN!

I was stuffed but it was super tasty. The husband brought the kids out for a bit on an errand and I spent the evening unwinding by myself, with face mask treatments and reading. I started on this book that encourages 'thinking correctly' - an interesting concept. I very seldom (never) read self-help/documentary-type of books; as I find them too stimulating and I don't fancy it. I much prefer frivolous storylines like shopperholics, novels or thrillers (my preferences for movies and books are alike!) But this book was picked up sometime last year when I was feeling moody; and it's been lying around. I quite liked how I picked it up and just started to absorb it, and maybe this will open up my mind to different things. No pressure, just read - all part of life and learning.


That pretty much ended the whole weekend and it was an amazing time. I feel recharged; my body is fuelled with food and exercise, my mind and heart full with time with the family.


Hope you had a lovely long weekend too. Yay!

Seeing red

... In a good way!


Last week, there was a blood donation drive at my office building. I have never done it before and I am so glad I went for it. My previous attempt to do so failed, as I failed the haemoglobin test. This time, I cleared everything and donated blood for the first time!

Pump. pump. pump.

View while lying down.

It's such a simple activity and while I don't know the stats of why it's good and how beneficial it is for others, I do think it's something that is worthwhile and being able-bodied is something that we should not take for granted.


Oddly, this was the same day I bled differently. First, my 2nd finger on the right hand was poked for the haemoglobin test. Then my veins on the right arm underwent the needle for blood draw. That same night, my 3rd finger on the same arm bled as I picked up a piece of glass unknowingly and dripped blood on my shirt. !!!


It was a good experience and I felt happy that I could contribute!