Thursday, December 31, 2009

I Miss ...



One more day to 2010! In a matter of hours, we will enter a new year with new challenges to look forward to.



Back to home is back to washing tons of laundry, cleaning the house, doing the dishes and all that sorts. It's a typical life for many people that do not have a domestic helper. Many people here, if not a lot, do, especially when the size of their house is like ours. I do not like to have one, it does not fit our lifestyle. Neither does DH. The kids, of course, love to have a helper around the house, they would love to have someone that help them do their dirty works. Too bad, they have to be responsible for all the mess they make and this will continue until further notice, whenever that would be.... if ever!



I missed home, my kitchen and my plants when I was away. I am home now and I miss the beach and the drinks and the ability to sit around and read and drink and eat all day with nothing much to worry of..... I certainly am looking forward to my next holiday!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

My Beloved Fries



Gahhh ... I simply can't resist French Fries... Shame on me! I had them on nearly every meal! when I was vacationing! I am glad that I am home now. No more fries for a long while or hopefully ever. (It won't happen!) It's great to be home, now back to healthier eating!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Kayaking



That's LeAnn, right in the center of the picture, kayaking alone the day before yesterday. The rain started to fall and the wind was getting stronger as she was into in and getting further into the ocean. She knew what she was doing but I could not help worrying and hoping that she turned around and headed back. She did, a while later, as the rain was getting heavier.....

Monday, December 28, 2009

It Is A Holiday...



I get to finish reading a book when I am taken away from my works. Finally, I finished reading a book that I started almost four months ago. I started right away with a James Patterson book that I brought along. This is a holiday! It is a holiday when I do not have to prepare the food and I do not have to clean up the kitchen.



It is so great to come to Club Med as we practically do not have to worry about what to eat and to clean up afterward. Just go to the restaurant at the designated time and eat whatever we want that are served there. And there's so plenty of them. They are not necessarily delicious or what we like, but by keep on trying, we will be full anyway...... I am stuffed most of the time here.



And the dessert selections.... so hard to resist. We just have to try. And try again some others if the taste is not what you imagine. Keep on trying until you have more than enough...


For these reasons, we should not stay here too long. Otherwise, when we go back home, we will need to go shopping for new and BIGGER clothes........................

A Reminder Of Time

I saw the kids from mini club playing on the sand yesterday. Not that long ago, my kids were in that group too...., they did what they were doing then. Time flies, a couple of mine are now too old for the club.



It's 2AM Singapore time and it's merely after 1AM local time here and I am awake, unable to go back to sleep after a visit to the toilet. My old me was really tired by 9PM and fell asleep shortly. I am glad that I have internet access, despite rather slow processor that I brought with me here. Every two-three year a processor becomes obsolete and slow.... and I hate to let go of a hefty investment I made and a companion it has been giving me over the past couple years. I guess, I am keeping this one for a bit longer.

The sound of the ocean can be heard from our room and nothing else is identifiable. I am having too much things in my head and I know for sure that is the reason why I have difficulty falling back to sleep. Our last full day here in the island and tomorrow we will be heading back. It's fast!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Re-intro To Club Med Bintan



The pool view from the lobby is as lovely as ever.



We got a nice view from our room, but the sky was rather dark and the current was strong.



No rain so far up to yesterday afternoon, people were on the trapeze and I was just strolling along the beach, but away from the sand.



I found this tree as I took the staircase to our room. They look like grapes, but they are not. I wish I knew what they are.... I really wonder!

To Bintan After Christmas



I am always intimidated by the ferry ride between Singapore and Bintan Island as I and my fellow family members tend to get sick. It was a short 45 minute-ride that can be a long 45-minute torture when one gets sea sick.



We checked in at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. So far, so good.



We arrived punctually early. And ready to go.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A Turkey Evening



This is a copycat post of Priscilla's and a sort of rebuttal. Yes, this turkey was gifted and thankfully it was pre-cooked. Otherwise, it would have been a totally different story altogether. We got it because we spent just a bit of money, but we spent a helluva lots and lots of money on her tuition fee, that's for sure!



Thankfully also that I had the skill to whip up some mashed potatoes and sauteed some vegetables and with the help of my magic wand, the gravy magically appeared.



After we finished cleaning and the dishwasher took over our washing job, some of us played cards and enjoyed the rest of the evening with joy and laughter and more calories intakes.



Eat, play cards and be merry? Why not? We drank too. Water.









We are now in Club Med Bintan to eat, sleep, relax and eat again. And not worrying about what to cook and having to wash the dishes.

Maybe we could try burning some calories by swimming, walking in the sand and beating DH on squash. I am trying to finish reading my Emily Giffin book before this year ends too. Some missions indeed!



It will be a super achievement if I could maintain my weight at current level...................... If not, I could do it as my new year resolution???? Maybe?????....................

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!



Merry Christmas to everyone. May you Christmas be filled with joy and happiness! Have a happy and safe holiday!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Popovers Again!



Cooking or baking is more fun when we have more people that are likely to eat them around. We had popovers yesterday morning and they turned out the best they have ever been.



These popovers rose well in the oven and still remained in good shape long afterward.



Wednesday, December 23, 2009

We Have Zinnia!



Only today, I found out that the mystery plants in our tiny plot of garden are apparently Zinnia. Boy-oh-boy.

This little piece of land was actually reserved by yours truly to plant whatever she wanted to. Somehow, her mother in law came and spread some unknown seeds without her knowledge. I, with a firm determination of having some chilli plants with the seeds from one of my sisters, also put the seeds on the same slot. Later on, DH, I don't know what in his mind was and also is, decided to plant something that he got from his friend. He, of course, did not know what it was, but went ahead without caring about everything that have been planted there. He was told, but as usual, that did not matter.

Only this morning, I found out or maybe reminded, that he put different seeds there, from his assistant in the office, after he put the seeds from his his friend. It was truly an OMG moment. The seeds from the office girl has a packaging with the name of the flowers there. After doing a little research, I can confirm that we have Zinnia in out garden. Yay!

Mystery has been solved!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

A Christmas Hamper

We got a Christmas hamper from one of shops here for being the top fifty spenders at that shop this year. We really didn't spent that much and the bulk of the money was on mattresses. Four of them. I guess they are quite price, but the mattresses that we got - Sealy- are really comfortable and almost worth every dollar we spent. We all need good rest, we all need great mattress.



What did we get? It's the same old same old stuff that we do not really need. There are not that many items, as usual. It is more on the stuffing. We got a jar of jam, some cookies, tea, dried cranberries and more food items. We left them on the floor in the dining area as the box helps the house look more Christmas-ish. We still have not gotten interest in digging into them yet. Maybe tomorrow. Three days to Christmas and nine days to the last day of the year. Getting so close.......

Monday, December 21, 2009

Left Or Right?



Telling how the weather isgoing to turn out is hard despite any hard evidence right in front of my face. I do peek on weather forecast and partially have some trust in them. These pictures were taken within the same minutes after 3PM yesterday. On my left the sky was blue with lots of cloud, but on my right I could see the dark cloud hanging down heavily. In the end, it rained...... just a bit.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Landed

She made it safely, landing at 6:39AM. First of all, thank God that my daughter missed the mess caused by the snowpocalypse in the northeastern part of the USA. All the delays, the re-scheduling and the chaos of the flights were cleanly avoided. Too bad that some her friends had to go to that ordeal. She is now safely tucked in under a thick blanket in a super cold air-conditioned room, resting and trying to catch some sleep. She had her dream lunch of real Chinese dimsum and entrees and got some goodies from Marks & Spencer that she longed for.



Now there are five of us back home. Waking up at 5:30 on Sunday morning to get ready to pick her up at the airport was not a difficult task, I have been waking up around this time all term long. It was another early morning day. The airport was a little quiet, but people slowly came and fill up the arrival picking up area. Done with this, this year. Five more days to Christmas!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Jingle Bells- Punjabi Style

Six more days to Christmas and this is a fun, no offense to anybody, Punjabi style Jingle Bells. Enjoy!

Friday, December 18, 2009

A Week Before Christmas



It's just a week before Christmas and I am still awed by how fast the time goes by in front of my eyes. In two weeks, the year will be 2010. The school term ended today and we are officially turn on to holiday mood. What are we going to do but enjoying the last 13 days o 2009? Eat, drink and be merry? ........



Our basil plants seem to be doing so well, so much better than I originally anticipated and I could not be happier about that. I just thought I had not used them in my cooking as much as I should. I used some for the pizza and the bolognese sauce that I made a while back and there were abundant amount of leaves left.



I was not into Thai cooking, but when I searched for a recipe that used beef and basil leaves, I kept on bumping into this beef with basil, a Thai style cooking called Nue Pad Bai Horapha, spelling may vary from site to site. This was what I ended up cooking yesterday, with a little twist, my twist of course.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Venice of China: Zhouzhang


These are courtesy of DH, taken in October on his trip to China with his mom. The name of the place is Zhouzhang, not far from Shanghai and Suzhou. My first two kids have apparently been to this place with the school on their trip there. That leaves me and my youngest to be the two that have never been there yet. We will go, someday!