December

four weddings. furniture shopping with the family. that pretty coco inspired dress. the mug i've been eyeing from cly. hanging intricate ornaments on the christmas tree. two amazing movies. hot chocolate at borders bistro. playing tennis with the boy. learning to drive around braddell. outing with the kids at kallang river. the funny jordan and joey cookies baked by the crazy kids. sharing the joy and heartaches of the young ones when the results were released. the most yummilicious chocolate almond daim cake from lane. delicious food with the dg. the christmas ritual of watching Lord of the Rings. the boy and the ikea dog we've decided to call 'funny bunny'. the toffeenut frap at novena starbucks. the cozy dinner at the rustic la villa. the quick walks in the rain. the not so nice quarrels that in the spirit of christmas are quicky resolved. the birthday at fourseasons. the giant ham. playing uno as we count down to christmas. the family buffet. the gifts. japanese lunch with the herdies. catching the year end flu. resting at home. wishing i'm samantha brown. going on the american road trips with jamie oliver, being amused silly by the lads in top gear and last but definitely not the least, forever dreaming of europe.

Let your hearts be glad

Christmas in 2008 was a meaningful one with family and friends. It was also special because it was the first Christmas with the dg. After 6 years in arpc, the boy and girl have finally settled into a dg. Really thank God for the lovely six months of nurturing leadership and fellowship, yummilicious food and of course the one and only Buddy.

this christmas...

I'm thankful for my brother's health. He was on vacation with 8 friends in Phuket. The mini bus they took on a road trip collided with a motorcycle causing the bus to spin and crash into a mud wall. All 9 of them were sent to the hospital and two had surgeries. Now they're all safe and sound and the brother's back resting. He has to do physiotherapies for his back but all is well.

I'm touched by the bride's gift. handmade with lots of love.

I'm stuffed with food from a high tea with mummy and the boy.

I'm surprised by the boy's gift of The Nutcracker ballet. The boy realised that I've missed the show with Clydie because of a wedding dinner and i was fooled once again into thinking that we're having a special dinner. so lo and behold when he opened his wallet and took out the tickets :)

I'm amazed at the ginormous ham that the boy's mum bought.

I'm looking forward to reading the books i got. I finally found Spain: A culinary road trip in Kino!Delicious pictures. delicious food. along with Marley & Me. Letters to Sam and A long way home: Memoirs of a boy soldier.

I'm reminded of Christ's love for us.

and that I'm loved.

I'm giving wordpress a shot and loving the snow that falls on the page!

a christmas reunion

a long overdue catch up with the tutor and the girlfriend. exciting new beginnings with one moving on to another jc and the other getting married!!!!!!! really looking forward to the next gathering. I am anticipating the conrad desserts that the tutor keeps raving about.

shanghai soiree

day one

takeoff! adorable little tot on the plane who amused us throughout the flight. we took the maglev from the airport to the city. went up to 420km/h. the houses blitz past us. it was incredible.

The beautiful hotel. I love the traditional big christmas tree.
After a fitting with the seamstress, we went in search for the famous 'xiao yang shen jian'- a bigger bun version of the xiao long bao along Wujiang Rd. It was gastronomically delicious. We thought it was small so the boy ordered 20 of them. 1rmb each. abt 20 cents sgd. we got a shock when we saw them. they were huge and i think the patrons around us were just as amused. In addition, we had a bowl of beef glass noodles. yummy yum yum. Especially good in the wintry conditions. The queue is long but absolutely worth the wait. A nice long walk along the bund. Stunning at night with the lights beaming from Pearl tower and Jinmao. We got one of the best views from the 18 on the Bund. We explored the buildings and bars along the bund. The staff are friendly and they welcome visitors to explore the places and admire the panoramic views of the bund from their balconies.

8 sec night exposure. love the magical winter wonderland feel.

Hot chocolate and sparkling wine at New Heights along the bund. They boast a magnificent view of the bund too. love the hanging light bulbs from the ceiling. creates such a beautiful glow.

i love

.red.white.gold.

mixed & matched via polyvore.com

I'm in love with

dreamy pretty fairy lights

:: many little things ::

i had a lovely time just now with Clydie at Fosters! it is our annual christmas ritual isn't it? the place is just so pretty... the sofas are soooooooo comfy... devonshire cream as delicious as ever...the candles casting dreamy glow to the setting... we chose to sit further in this time near the signature rose oil painting and the pictures we took looked really different from the previous year. the present ones were richer & darker in terms of the colour... hues of burgundy & red with the candle glowing while last year's one was much brighter... i loved that we were able to capture the distinction... the rose is gorgeous.

Clydie, i'm so happy we found this place together and started our devonshire cream ritual. i am so happy for you.. where you are now... from the conversation about our future and 'the one' at starbucks to God's amazing love and sovereignty in leading you to where you are now... so happy for you. indeed trust in Him and rest in Him. thank you dear for bringing my attention to the passage. i pray for us both that we can truly discover the loveliness and power of submission. love you sweetie.

:: Fosters'06::

:: Fosters '05 ::

helped out at Xiaoxi's farm on thurs & friday and wheeee i felt like a superwoman after that... conducted a tour and managed to catch the frogs... hold them in my hands singlehandedly! they were huge! Bullfrogs! i was scared at first... the tadpoles and little frogs i could handle but the big ones i was still scared up to the point when i had to demonstrate to the tour group the differences between a male and female frog. i asked for 2 volunteers.. and the cutest little boy in front raised his hand,"Me me me!" haha that means i had to muster up the courage and catch those frogs! which i did! and it wasn't as scary as i thought! i was so excited that i caught them! i even conquered the fear of handling dead skinned frogs and packed them into packets for a walk in customer! so yup my first breakthrough! hearing my experiences with the frogs.. the boy was so amused and shocked.. he asked me not to touch him after i touched so many frogs. =) oh the common corny question posed to me over the 2 days at the farm by customers was : is there any frog here that turns into a prince? *faint*

On thurs, i sat on a motorbike for the 1st time! i was scared at first. But Ying was so sweet to come down to the farm to give me a lift so we can go have a nice dinner after her paper. i hopped on and we travelled for a solid 40 mins. it wasn't as scary as i thought. in fact it was pretty fun. i must add that it does not mean i'm not scared of sitting on motorbikes in the future. i think i will only sit on Ying's bike. i trust Ying. and she made me feel safe for the entire ride. the other bikes i saw were scary. they were going so fast. so yeah.. that's why i felt like a superwoman for the 2 days.. and yes Ying is a superwoman! she can drive, ride a bike, and fly a plane. How cool is that. Ying dearie.... i'm here no matter what k. keeping you & ur family in prayers. love ya. hugs.

The wedding at trinity theological college is beautiful. Once again, like aaron & shirley's wedding a year ago... the heart melts.. especially when lichuan serenaded Huiling with 2 songs. hehe loretta and i teared up. ooh and the swordbearers lining the aisle was such a nice touch. i want swordbearers too! too bad Jordan's not an army guy and that's the last thing he will be. evangeline and jeremy were at the wedding and they look so sweet and compatible. they should marry soon! haha i'm looking forward to the weddings of many many peeps. Mili! i'm eagerly anticipating yours!

:: Lichuan & Huiling's wedding::

Sunday was nice and cozy. sermon on the meaning of Christmas. It's all about You Lord. =) followed by lunch at the boy's place. Yummy porridge. watched HK dramas with the boy's mum and took a nap. then it was yummp fish steamboat at AMK S11. had an unforgetteble conversation over the phone with him. the connection was bad.. his words were so muffled and he ended up speaking to me in mandarin (coz the chinese words are more distinct) and it was hilarious. he can speak really well it's just so weird to hear him speak in mandarin while i was responding in english. it was great. thanks for bringing me so much laughter. i haven laughed so hard in a long time. How has the boy been doing so far in Toronto? he's been having a blast... now it's his time for essays and exams. i think he looks adorable in the fall clothing and the preppy look. e halloween getup is cute too. Please eat more and put on weight!

so what else has been keeping me up these nights this holidays. none other than Kiefer Sutherland and 24! i have finished 2 seasons now - 48 episodes! and now i'm into the 3rd. it's really exciting! the plot is so good.. keeps me at the edge of my seat. kiefer is cool. the intensity he brings to the screen.. wow...but i was so sad that terri died. i bawled like mad.

bugis shopping tmr with peggy & teresa! see ya sweets! and summit on wed- fri! wheeeee!