Hello, I'm Tigger

We bought this Tigger costume from Hong Kong for R2 way back in Year 2005 ... that's why, it looked a little small on him now. In fact, we chucked it into his wardrobe and totally forgotten about it ... ha ha ha

This little brat found it yesterday and eagerly asked Granny to put it on for him. Therefore, I quickly snapped some pics while he can still fit into it ... and he's simply too cute !!!

R2: "Mummy, can you help me to take a picture of my tail?? ...
Coz I can't see it from here."

R1's First Day of School

For the last few weeks, R1 has been counting down the days until her "big day" - today - her 1st day of Primary 1!

I remembered when she was still a baby, I've been thinking how nice it would be when she starts school where we can get a break during the day ... and the day we envisioned is here ... it's just happening way too fast!

I must admit that this morning was filled with mixed emotions. I'm worried that R1 couldn't take care of herself in school, couldn't cope with her school work or will she get bullied by her classmates, and such. However, I must have faith in her that she can make it.

On the contrary, R1 was excited over many new things like taking a school bus, new uniforms, new books, new school, new friends, and so on ...

{ Daddy NC just called to say ... "I love you, Rachel" }

"Your school bus is here, Rachel ... off you go!"

After school was out - Granny, R2 & myself (the family photographer) went down to wait for R1's school bus to send her back. When we got home, R1 couldn't help but to talk most of the evening about everything she did in school.

Thankfully the day has come and gone, filled with memorable moments - knowing that many more memorable moments are to follow !!

Getting Ready for the "Big Day"

- Today's To Do List -

1. To complete R2's holiday craftwork assignments

2. To complete R2's K1 Scrapbook

3. To double-check R2's holiday homework

4. To iron-on R1's nametags onto her uniforms

5. To iron both kids' school uniforms

6. To get ready R1's stationeries for school

7. To pack R1's school bag for tomorrow

Being a "Mrs Last-Minute" resulted to a whole list of tasks to be done by today ... *faint*.

Happy New Year !!!

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Wishing all my friends & families

a very Blessed & Joyous 2008 filled with

Lots of Love, Warmth, Happiness & Cheers!

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Let the Fingers Do the Walking

Most shopping malls were flooded with happy shoppers lately, irregardless of weekdays or weekends. I presumed that most of them must have received their year-end bonus and doing their festive shopping ... hee hee

Guess what? I've been "shopping" for the past 2 weeks too, but it's from the comfort of my home ... Yeah! I meant online shopping ... let the fingers do the walking!

In fact, it's partially because I'm trying to avoid the shopping crowd in town as well as I'm too lazy to walk around ... ha ha ha

I've been sitting in front of my lappy daily for long hours, just to shop for clothes and scrapbooking supplies from both local and overseas e-stores (of coz, from P2P too, as they had a Christmas Sale with huge discounts).

So for now, I just have to wait for Mr Postman to deliver my orders right to my doorstep ... am I getting lazier or am I simply enjoying the convenience of online ordering ??

"Popiah Party"

Yummy, yummy ... we had a mini "Popiah Party" at home today (for no particular reasons ... simply just for fun), where the ingredients are being laid out and we make popiahs with proportions of ingredients to our personal preference.

Popiah (simplified Chinese: 薄饼) is a Hokkien-style fresh spring roll common in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.

A popiah "skin" is a thin pancake made from wheat flour which is covered with a sweet sauce, and hot chilli sauce, before it is filled. The filling is mainly finely grated "bangkuang", which has been cooked with a combination of other ingredients such as bean sprouts, french beans, lettuce leaves, grated carrots, slices of Chinese sausage, crushed peanuts, shredded omelette, shredded meat, bean curd, prawns, etc.

Having such a party isn't an easy task at all ... my mum has spent her whole morning preparing the above-mentioned ingredients; as most of them need to be finely grated/shredded ... it's alot of work indeed.

Look at my kiddoes! ... They're enjoying their finger lickin' good - DIY popiahs ...

Silent Night ... Lonely Night

It's Christmas Eve today !!

My "party kakis" will be going down to Dragonfly later, and I doubt I'll be joining them this year ... coz that place will definitely be packed like sardines, with not much room to move around - let alone dancing.

So, it's gonna be a quiet night with my 2 lovely kids at home ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE OUT THERE !!!

My Christmas Wish List

Oh! You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why:
Santa Claus is coming to town!

He's making a list,

He's checking it twice,

He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town!

Ho Ho Ho ... I've got my Christmas wish list ready ... I want a ... LG Viewty KU990 phone

Who says a mobilephone cannot be a high-end camera? This Viewty comes with professional lens certified by Schneider-Kreuznach to capture precious moments in breathtaking colour and resolution.

It features a 5.0MP camera, one-touch capability, image views on a cool 3" touchscreen, comes with image stabiliser, ISO800, manual & auto focus, Xenon light for shot in low light and many other functions - will take perfect pics everytime, just like a pro!

or ... this dazzling diamond pendent from Lee Hwa Jewellery (diamonds are known to be women's best friend and it applies to me as well).

Hello NC ?? Are you listening ?? Anybody there ...

Owl Madness Continues ...

By now, many scrapbooking friends of mine must have owned quite a number of owl-themed clear stamps, patterned papers, rubons and such.

However, look at what I've found yesterday at Daiso (again) ... a cute little ceramic owl (lucky charm) and a matching Japanese hand towel.

After reading the product translation at the back of the packaging, I've decided to get them for NC ... hee hee. Although it might look slightly childish on his working desk ** wink **

Do you know why "Fukuro" (ie. owl) is regarded as a good luck charm ??

• "Fukuro" has the same pronunciation as "fukurou" (ie. avoidance of trouble) in Japanese. Thus, it is believed to bring good fortune in life.
• Owls also represent "furou" (ie. perpetual youth & longevity) and fountain of wisdom.
• Improvement in academic ability. As owls live at night, it is believed to bring good luck to students when studying during the late hours of the night.
• Prosperity in business as the flexibility in an owl's neck represents all-round visibility.

Well, isn't the Japanese culture interesting?

Life is like a Piano

I've finally decided to sign R1 up for Piano School For Children at a nearby Yamaha Music School. In fact, my R1 has been wanting to learn to play piano since she's only 4.5 years old.

Anyway, her class will be commencing in early January next year and for goodness sake ... mummies will be required to accompany their kids for classes during the first 3 months of the program ** faint **.

I just wanna scream out loud ... "So many tasks yet so little time !!" ... I really hope that I can manage well with my work, business, kids and family next year.

"Life is like a piano.

What you get out of it depends on how you play it."
~ Tom Lehrer

Homemade with Love

I found these yesterday at Daiso, and thought my R1 will love to bring mummy's homemade lunch boxes to school next year.

{ These moulds are for Onigiri - balls of cooked rice }

"Any good ideas on what to bring to school for lunch?" ... hmmm ... how about a cute Bento Box ??

In fact, making pretty boxed lunches is such an essential skill in Japan where it is hard to find any Japanese woman that has not mastered it!

One plus point about bento boxes is that "the eyes also eat" - meaning that apart from nourishing, the food should also be attractive on a visual basis. Those mothers will pack their children's bento boxes while trying to think of how to make the little ones smile when they open the box.

It helps children to get more interested in what they're eating. I guess most of them will love compartmentalizing their healthy foods in a Bento box!

The art of Bento can make having a meal fun and healthy, as well as another creative outlet for mummies (just like scrapbooking), isn't it?

That's all for now, I shall continue my search around the net for more Bento recipes and will definitely showcase my creations in time to come ... cheers!

Ready, Get SITEX, Go !!!

Sitex 2007 was from 29 Nov ~ 2 Dec 2007 @ Singapore Expo.

However, my bro *A* & I only went there yesterday evening to check out any good deals on lappies - especially on the very last day of said event.

After combing through the entire exhibition hall for 2 hours; doing much price comparisons and bargaining for their best possible prices.

I finally settled with a Toshiba Portege M600 in Pearl White.

Coz at a modest tag of S$1,899, it's only weighing 1.89kg and comes powerpacked with features like Bluetooth, Built-in webcam, Fingerprint Security Suite, DVD SuperMulti Double Layer Burner Drive, 120GB (with shock absorbers), 3 yrs International Warranty and freebies like MS OFFICE 07, 2 pcs of 2GB Thumbdrive, upgraded to 3GB RAM, a optical mouse, and lucky draw chances on winning a Subaru Impreza car (keeping my fingers-crossed .. hee hee).

** On a personal note, thank you dear ... for keeping your promise to get me a new lappy once your MT project is completed. **