WELCOME 2009

Im so looking forward to 2009. Really. I think I have finally learnt to overcome the fear of aging and look forward to being more mature and better. One good thing about getting older is that you get so much better at whatever you put your mind to. These are my New Year Resolutions :

1. Be patient and encouraging especially when I help Mark with his studies, especially Chinese. Because of how easy it is to learn things, I have been very impatient and critical.

2. Be committed to a more intensive exercise program. Pick up inline skating and be able to skate well by end of 2009.

3. Be kind to myself and accept myself as I am - stop comparing with others.

4. Say YES more often!!

Here's wishing all of you the best of health, great wealth, lasting happiness and deep peace in the year 2009. Do exercise,laugh, forgive and forget MORE and complain, whine and criticize LESS. Happy new year!! Cheerzzz!

Have your CAKE and eat it too

Hey guys i jus discovered this band, Cake. Hmm they're pretty refreshing. I like their instrumentals. Kinda punk and rock together.. It's kinda smooth like icing on a cake :) But then u either hate icing or love it.  Anyway check them out here.. some of the songs i like! 

Never there

Love You Madly

Short Skirt Long Jacket

GET a LIFE

I watched YesMan last nite wif a fren and it was totally awesome to me. It's so funny that I still laugh when i recall some of the scenes. The real meaning behind the show isn't about saying YES all the time but about GETTING A LIFE. Yeah. Too many people out there are blaming circumstances, people, past, present, future and of coz themselves for not being able to be happy. Hey i was there once upon a time too. Sometimes i do slip into that 'why is life so unfair' mode but then I tell myself to SNAP out of it cos no-one owes me anything and vice versa. SO WHAT if i grew up in a dysfunctional and broken family tat screwed me up and made my self-esteem lower than that of a disfigured person? I can always improve on it through books, videos and counselling rite? SO WHAT if I messed up my educational opportunities and ended up slogging as an ordinary teacher in a primary school even though my peers are now surgeons and specialists? I've helped hundreds of kids love learning and pass their exams..? SO WHAT if my husband finds me ugly and doesn't even take notice of me? I can always find others who will...by keeping myself as fit and presentable as I can.. YEAH! Get a life, man and stop complaining. Have so much fun you dun even have time to complain!! :)

Watch the trailers below :

'Yes Man' Teaser Trailer

Short Break in Batam

I took a short break in Batam on the 22nd - 23rd. For a 2 day 1 nite stay i sure did a lot. First I booked the hotel online - Pacific Palace at HarbourBay on Asiatravel.com. Cost me $80 with breakfast. The ferry ticket was purchased on the morning of departure at HarbourFront from the Berlian Ferries Counter - about $40 plus for 2-way. The ferry ride was pleasant, though i wished the seats could recline a bit more. Took about 45 min to reach the other side. On arrival I had a drink at some coffee shops near the terminal. There's one that sold ice-cream and light snacks. I bought a teh-susu (not nice) and a packet of nasi lemak which wasn't too bad, with briyani rice, ikan bilis and egg. After that I caught a taxi to the hotel after buying some drinks at a minimart nearby. It was 35,000 rupiah but I think i should have bargained to 30,000 or maybe even less? Well i did not want to appear too cheapskate. The hotel was a compact one, shaped like a ship and quite decadently decorated in greek style.

After unpacking, I went to to the gym. Well maybe it's a Monday cos even at 1 plus, there was no instructor and the gym was stuffy and hot. After a complaint, they turned the aircon on and the instructor came at about 2 plus to 3. Well at least he was friendly, quite good looking and had a great bod (at least in my amateur opinion ) The gym was pretty well equipped. I think the range would satisfy even a serious body builder and most of the equipment looked new. After a good workout with dumbells and cooling off with yoga, it was massage next. For a full body massage,it cost me 120,000 rupiah. Not bad huh. You can have it in a room with a bathtub attached. The rooms are well-decorated in spa-style. Very soothing and calming feel. The massage girl was friendly and her strokes were pretty good. I was ticklish as usual at certain points. She commented that my skin is very smooth, like a baby's!

For dinner, I thought of trying some seafood and asked the hotel reception for recommendation. I had a choice of going to HarbourBay or to Golden Prawn at Bengkong. I decided to choose the latter. I managed to hitch a taxi for 70,000 rupiah (to and fro) to the place. It was definitely the better choice. Pools of fishes, prawns, lobsters and even a giant turtle and basking sharks were decked out at the entrance, whetting the appetite of visitors. I selected a middle size garoupa and rather big lobster, to be cooked in sweet and sour sauce and butter respectively. Together with a plate of sambal kangkong, free flow of rice and two bottles of Heineken beer, the meal cost about 603,000 rupiah. The fresh breeze and rustic kelong-kampung setting is free. Is that cheap or what? Check it out for a great and unusual family outing next time ya!

Had a nice sleep on the comfy bed and next morning I swam about 20 laps (equal to about 10 olympic sized pool laps) in the rectangular pool. Maybe it was too early as no-one else was there. 

Merry Christmas

Today's weather forecast is mostly clouds of hugs and showers of blessings from Heaven guaranteed! What is the meaning of Christmas? After going through so many Christmases, it kinda loses its magic so I'm trying to make new meaning of it this year.. To me, Christmas is about hope and love, humility and joy.. Ok what did i get for Christmas? Among the gifts I got are a lovely white Fossil watch, a Wii and an ipod Nano.. But the best Christmas gift I wish for is to have all these even in the most extenuating of circumstances. God knows I need these most of all as I've gone through years and years of doubt and lack of faith in myself and others.. But this Christmas I can feel that God is going to strengthen me as I take steps to strengthen my faith in myself and have hope in a world that's so gloomy and uncertain.. Well as a start I counted my blessings - I have a supportive and loving family, a job, skills and abilities, a fit and healthy body, friends and a soft heart.. What i lack I'm positive I can work towards it! Amen!

Have a very merry Christmas with your family and loved ones, ppl!

A tribute to CERTAIN men only

Wow time really flies and its been a month since i last blogged huh. Well you can be sure i was enjoying myself *wink* (cos time flies when its fun ya?) Ok today i especially want to give kisses and hugs (if you want more, please send me an email stating what and why) to CERTAIN men..yes yes, you heard correctly but what men, you ask??

Well today i went out to get breakfast for my three kids (in case you didn't know, i have three, aged 50, 16 and 11) and saw three men who really tugged at my heart... the thing in common with all three was - they were all lugging bags of groceries and food from coffee shops and/or supermarket. No I did not notice if they were handsome or well-built. All I saw was bicep muscles that bulged through the fat layers from the weight of the bags.. mind you, i never cared for bicep muscles that bulged at the gym. Its THESE bicep muscles that really caught my eye cos they bulged, not with narcissism or vanity, but with love and warmth. I was filled with envy for the wives or galfriends of these men, cos they certainly have got GEMS. If i had a husband or boyfriend like that, I'd certainly love and cherish him with all my heart, mind and body, regardless of whether he's ugly, fat or even bald. I just want to give him lots of hugs and kisses for those loving trips to the coffee shop to get breakfast while i snoozed in bed for more beauty sleep or pick up the groceries while i take care of the kids at home.. I want to dress up in my sexiest lingerie and give him the best blowjob that any man will die for!!! Ahem.. I remember there was this lady colleague of mine who had a very good looking husband who was also very very thoughtful and caring. He would come by to the school often to pick up her stuff and books. (most husbands only wait in the carpark to pick up their spouses but he actually came up to the staffroom to carry her stuff down) He even helped her with work-related tasks like drive her all over the island to look for some costumes for a school play. He was truly THE most caring husband I've ever seen, with looks to boot!! He had a gentle disposition as well. My best friend and buddy, Rosiah, would joke with me about how we longed to give him a blowjob to express our admiration for him. Haha..but im sure he'd politely refuse, being the gentleman that he is. His wife is certainly LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!!!!

And oh yes i also saw a man holding his little daughter's hand and as they passed me, i heard the man saying so gently and lovingly to the sweetie pie "Are you tired? Do you want me to carry you?" He wasn't at all good looking or even well-built but at that moment those were the sweetest words i ever heard from a man for a long time....i was kinda wishing I could give him a kiss and hug for being so so sweet and loving to his daughter!!!

Well if you think you are like any of these men I've described, i would love to give you some hugs and kisses too! Muaccck... Today's post is dedicated to men like you - who love your women and care for them! You rock, men, you really ROCK!!

Creamy Ham and Mushroom Pasta

If you want to cook something easy AND successful, try this (me cooking it tonite)

Ingredients (serves 4)
400g penne pasta
1/2 onion, finely chopped
250g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
5 slices ham , sliced
375ml evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cornflour
salt and cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan
salad leaves, to serve

Method
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water according to packet instructions or until al dente. Drain and cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, place a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and spray with olive oil spray. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes or until just soft, then add the mushroom and cook for another 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and ham and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the evaporated milk and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring regularly, to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Meanwhile mix together the cornflour and 1 tablespoon water until it forms a smooth paste. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Add the cooked pasta, salt, pepper, parsley and parmesan to the pan and toss until well combined. Serve with a simple salad.

Motorola Razr V9 sucks!

After less than a year, my motorazr V9 broke into ..TWO! It's a clam phone and the hinge is kinda shakey even from the start. I think two factors contribute to its failure :

1) Too big a phone for CLAM design. So when you open and close often, the hinge is overworked, something like a big heavy door.

2) The type of hinge. It's a roller kind.

Before it fell apart, I had another BIG problem with it. If it got SLIGHTLY damp (maybe due to your hands or rainy day), the phone will HANG! Yeah, you can't send msgs or call, only receive calls. I had to send it to the service centre when it happened the first time. After that, I simply threw it on the bed repeatedly till it worked again! Frustrating for me as i go swimming often and even though I did not put the phone to swim in the pool, if my damp towel so much as touched the phone, it will hang!! :(

So DON'T buy this phone EVER!

Taking Care of a Woman

Do u know that rose plants are not hard to grow? They jus need 3 things :
1) Plenty of sunshine
2) Rich loose soil and
3) Plenty of nutrients...

Women are jus like roses. They aren't really hard to understand. Jus give them plenty of love and attention.. don't treat them as sex objects or worse - only be sweet when you want some intimacy and after that, bury yourself in your work for days and forget about her till you need some intimacy again. Soon she will see the 'cycle' and feel so lousy... Frankly i don't see what's so difficult about sending a good nite sms if you're not living together ... it really means a lot to the woman..or a peck on the cheek to say good nite.. For me, if the guy can't even be bothered to do that, i'd just write him off~

Some men might think - so much hard work for what? Jus send an sms a day will do lah.. but let me share a secret.. even gardeners take care of their plants more than that and they bloom so beautifully, right? The flowers don't ask for such tender loving care..but the gardeners do it so willingly cos they know these plants are fragile .. women's feelings likewise are fragile too... they love it when you send them a morning greeting, call in the midst of your busy schedule or send an sms and then round off the day by a good nite sms. Now and then buy them some flowers if they really mean that much to you. Words are cheap.. don't tell us that you miss us so much but yet have nothing to show for it... a flower, a bracelet or costume jewellery..even a book on her hobby ...It really makes them feel so loved..and they'd be so willing to do anything for you... on the other hand, if you neglect your women, all it takes is someone who's willing to nurture them to take them away from you.. not even necessarily someone better looking. Jus someone who's willing to put in the time .. We're not asking for you to call us all day. Jus a few minutes a few times a day... and if work is so important that you can't spare the time, perhaps you should consider marrying your work :P

Exercise Vs Companionship

Plans are plans till they are executed, abandoned, postponed or changed. Just after I've made plans to exercise intensively for this week, I was confronted with dinner appointments, etc. So I had to decide what to do with my exercise plans...well, I can always exercise the next day, I reckon but friendship cannot be postponed to another day...esp invites to birthday parties, dinners, etc. So I had to go without exercise for THREE days in a row but I managed to maintain my diet :) It still paid off cos on Friday, I received at least 3 compliments about my figure and they are all from women, which makes them all the more er..genuine? Not that compliments from men aren't genuine but I think it's harder to get a compliment from the same sex. Anyway I enjoyed myself on all the three nites anyway, though my body was raring to exercise, I managed to appease it with promises of more intensive workouts on the weekend and next week.. 

I think it's a great compliment to get invited by your pupil to their birthday party. Esp when you turn up and realise you are the only teacher invited :) Though it was at McDonald's, I really enjoyed watching the kids play and this time, i can smile through it all cos i'm not in charge, haha... It was so funny when I arrived and the kids shouted in unison "MRS TAN!!" and I squirmed and winced cos everybody in the restaurant stared at me. ("So she's the teacher huh..") It was also so hilarious to see them play with the balloons and get cake cream all over their hair (hair cream?) ..  I wore a denim dress to make sure I looked more 'kiddo' to fit in too.. if i had long hair, i might have tied them up into two pony tails too, haha...

My aunt dropped by this afternoon and I suddenly had this mood for baking. I baked butter cookies while she watched. She's a great cook too, mind you but she had never used a cookie pump before so I felt like a kid who could show off something to her teacher :) Then she asked me, "can you teach me how to make blueberry muffins cos the last time you gave me a few to eat, they tasted so great" THAT WAS IT! The dam was opened! I told her enthusiastically - no problem, I can bake them right after the cookies! So she copied my recipe and I set up the ingredients...her verdict after the baking : FANTASTIC! Hmm  i must say my blueberry muffins are really great, in all modesty, haha... They are soft and moist, not flakey and dry like those sold outside. If you want the recipe, just PM me.. if you want the muffins, well...PM me also and give an offer and we'd negotiate :)

After the baking, we played Rummikin. A really fun game with numbers. Something like what you play with playing cards except that it's with tiles. Anyway since she came all the way from Bedok and it's really rare to get a visit from her, I decided to forgo my swimming tonite ... i'd swim tomorrow at my brother's condo when we join them for dinner.. 

Well she's just left and I realised I'm smiling all the way to my heart. It's been a really nice week, even though I did not fulfill all my exercise plans, i realised I had a great week friendship wise! 

MY EXERCISE & DIET LOG For NOVEMBER

Target : 47.5 kg (30/11/2008)

BMI : 19.8 

Exercise Plan :

3 to 4 cardio sessions about 30 min each(If 3 one week, then 4 the next) comprising of swimming, running, stair climbing, bike n elliptical machines at the gym

2 flexibility sessions - yoga

2 strength-training sessions 

2 pilates sessions

Diet Plan :

Morning : Smoothie - comprising banana, oats, wheatgerm,protein powder, 1 cup water

Mid morning break :  Breakfast bar or wholewheat bread with peanut butter

Lunch : Anything

Tea break : Prunes/fruit

Dinner : salad with egg. 

AGE and LOVE

Hey i found this really cool quote on a website http://lovequote.com/cute_love_quotes/cute-love-quotes-1.php :

Age does not protect us from love, but love to some extent protects us from age

"No matter what lifestyle we lead, there is no escape from age. We will at some point in our life, wake up and realize that we are no longer young, we will have to accept that our health is more fragile, our strength is less strong and our beauty is fading we will have to accept the natural process of aging, and nothing in the world can stop that but being in love keeps us young at heart, makes us age gracefully, keeps us healthier and that is also a fact. I like to say that Love sugar-coats age! Compare an old lonely woman to a woman of the same age surrounded by her children and the ones she loves, you will definitely see a huge difference, in physical as well as emotional well being. So I agree that being surrounded by love will surround us by positive energy and will keep age to some extent away. But does age keep love away? No. Love has no age. You can fall in love and keep on loving those around you and life even if you live more than 200 years! "

I so agree with this quote.. when I love, i feel so young..laughing, joking, smiling and hugging..I feel so happy and light. That's how i know i'm in love... Of coz we have our quarrels and arguments too, but they are few and each time it happens, we feel so awful being apart that we get even closer after that!

Eczema Solutions and LMC meet-up

My son Mark has really bad eczema.. recently the back of his knees have these weeping sores from scratching.. secondary infection i think... I remembered he used to come back from beach holidays with really good skin. I think the seawater or rather saltwater acts as an antiseptic or something.. So i decided to replicate it by buying marine aquarium salt mix and a hygrometer to make up my own 'seawater' at home. I bought it from this shop at Balestier - Sealife.. $16 for a big pack of seasalt and $6 for a hygrometer to measure the salinity. I used about 600g for a pail of water and turned out to be too salty. So next time i'd try 450g. Have applied the salt water 3 times on his skin so far. At first the stinging was so bad he yelped like a puppy but on the third application, he said the stinging was tolerable. The skin really looks so much better already. There is skin peeling off so i think that's good rite.. I also found another contact on the internet selling Dead Sea Bath Salts and will be going down tmr afternoon to get it. Will keep you posted on the results...

Guess where I went last nite.. i joined a meet-up from Lancer Motoring Club Forum at Yishun Dam for the first time. Was quite apprehensive about the meetup as I'm really quite noob at cars.. But the fellas on the forum seem really friendly so I thought just chalk it down as an experience. They are really down-to-earth car ah bengs wearing singlets, shorts and slippers but their cars r souped up n mod like crazy! I enjoyed looking at their souped up cars, listening to their advice and 'poison' while trying NOT to remember my age! They r mostly in their late 20s to 30s. I feel like an auntie amongst them!! But i must say i have the fittest body, hehe... and i mean the real human body,not the car body, haha..

Ok after a really gr8 afternoon (sorry i can't give you the details, too sizzling hot!!*wink) i need to go to the pool soon to swim and work on my cellulite.. can see some on my thighs :( I usually swim on a saturday but today, my 'best friend' came and i have to entertain her (you know who's my best friend, rite..she comes once a month) So i have decided to play scrabble instead with mark..

HIT training

After dinner and shower, feel better.. I shall begin on a ONE-MONTH high intensity training and dieting. High-intensity interval training is a system of training that utilizes short bursts of repeated running or cycling or similar activity. I tried it during my run just now. I sprinted really fast for about 30 -40 sec. Then I jogged slowly after that. I'd be working out like that for whole month of November.

I'd also be following a strict diet of 5 small meals a day : 1st meal will be smoothie, Meal 2 will be an energy bar. Meal 3 will be a sandwich with simple salad. Meal 4 will be a fruit and nuts. Meal 5 will be a soup.

Want back control of MY body!

Made it again..

Once again, I have met my targets for my class Math results! The taste of victory is certainly sweet. In fact, I've exceeded the targets. Well the hard work in class and after class supplementary lessons have paid off :) Looking at the children now, I guess I've underestimated some of their abilities....

The trivia :
Target for 3A : A & A* : 9 No. Achieved : 10
Passes for 3A : 25 No. Achieved : 31

Target for 3D : A & A* : 29 No. Achieved : 31
Passes for 3D : 36 No. Achieved : 41

Now to work on mine and my son's chinese .... Intend to put in at least an hour of studying chinese a day for myself.. yao duo jiang hua yu!

FLoWeRs by Wendy Cope

Oh I jus love flowers. Do you know when I was a kid, I almost gave myself the name 'Flora'?Well at that time, it was in vogue. But then I was so tomboyish then and was worried I would be laughed at .. anyway, here's a lovely poem on flowers.

Flowers

Some men never think of it. 
You did. You'd come along 
And say you'd nearly brought me flowers 
But something had gone wrong.

The shop was closed. Or you had doubts - 
The sort that minds like ours 
Dream up incessantly. You thought 
I might not want your flowers.

It made me smile and hug you then. 
Now I can only smile. 
But, look, the flowers you nearly brought 
Have lasted all this while.

(Wendy Cope)

T'was a nice meal that I cooked...

Trust me, nothing picks you up like a good workout (including the ones in bed *wink).. I took the nap I promised myself this morning when I struggled out of bed, went through 2 hours of Chinese tuition with my son then I picked up my Swiss Ball, my exercise band, my mat and my Denise Austin book "Working Out with Balls and Bands".. ONE hour of gruelling arm and core workout and I was recharged with sweat and a glow on my face. Went on to climb 20 stories of my block and then took a power walk around my Bishan St 12. Ended my walk at NTUC where I picked up some groceries...came back to cook Beef Yakiniku Don and  japanese cold tofu dish. Here's the photo of my labour :)  Also cooked red peppers and caramelised onions to complement the dish. Had to set them aside cos my kids dun like them!

LOOONG WEEKEND

The looong weekend that I was looking forward to is almost over ... i think sometimes all these breaks make us more tired in other ways.. besides catching up on marking examination scripts, swimming and gym, I did what a dedicated mother would do - teach my son chinese, cook breakfast and dinners for them, shop for groceries, accompany my daughter shopping to get clothes for her and fetch them to and from badminton & swimming lessons.. Sometimes it seems such a thankless job. Who is going to give me a bonus or performance review for such tasks? I even spent 2 hours learning chinese so I can be a role model to my kid! I wish sometimes i have someone to jus take over my tasks for a while so I can totally relax and feel single again.. 

I take my hat off to those fathers who spend such long weekends taking care of their

 kids. I know of fathers who plan outings, bring their kids shopping or read to their kids.. and even fathers who go to the market early in the morning while wifey and kids are asleep to do the marketing and later labour in the kitchen to cook a sumptuous meal for them... To me

, such men are the MOST macho and attractive. I'd love to sneak up behind someone like this, plant a kiss on his neck and give him a hug from behind, whispering "I'd cook you something nice in bed tonite..." Hehe...  I also know of some men who snort at such domestic expressions of fatherly love. To them, their holidays are THEIRS to enjoy so they spend it lounging in front of the TV or laughing and joking with their buddies over beer cause they THINK they deserve it after all that HARD work. Well jus like some women like to keep their pretty manicured hands away from washing and cooking.. there are men who love such women, i'm sure... Well to me a REAL man is someone who loves his kids, sacrifices for them and doesn't mind getting dirty on his knees scrubbing the toilet or floor..  Check out that hunk on the right...doesn't he look absolutely cute cooking? *knees weak....

I'm now waiting for the sushi rice to cook... Going to prepare 'crab' maki with my kids. We got the tatami mats yesterday from Cold Storage (found it among the seaweed), seaweed sheets, sushi vinegar and mayonnaise. Dinner will be ton torro ramen, japanese tofu with sesame sauce and crab maki...Yum. Hope all the hard work will be worth it :)

FRESH VS FROZEN

Recently the govt launched this campaign for frozen food.. A lot of ppl are wondering what the motivations behind the campaign are.. well to me, frozen is ok if that's what you are already used to... I've always bought my beef thawed from frozen so I don't know what FRESH beef tastes like, unless I go live on an Australian farm. But for chicken, I can say that frozen tastes awful. I usually was able to buy fresh chicken from the market but once i got thawed chicken from cold storage to cook a dish. Even my son was able to taste the difference although I did not tell him where I got the meat from! The meat had a rubbery texture and was also lacking in taste... So there you are, fresh is definitely superior over frozen when it comes to taste. Of coz there will always be those propagandists who tell you that frozen food is higher in nutrition cos it was not exposed to the air as long as fresh.. well how much is the difference anyway? When it comes to eating, taste is what that matters rite? Bon Appetit!!

What's so special about a blue rose?

Whilst setting up this blog, I had to go to google images to look for blue roses. Gosh, my fascination with them just deepened..(almost all my email addresses have blueroses in them, haha) There's this ethereal and mysterious quality about a blue rose. Yes, the red is sexy and alluring while the blue is almost cold and forlorn.. but to me it is regal, deep and beautiful in an understated way... Well maybe I like it because I'm not the loud and exhibitionist sort of person, so blue roses strike me better than red.. 

Do you know... blue roses were traditionally created by dyeing white roses, since roses lack a gene to produce delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces true blue flowers. Because of this blue roses traditionally signify mystery or attaining the impossible.(but now they are able to by using a gene-silencing technology. Read all about it at http://news.softpedia.com/news/Blue-Roses-by-Gene-Transfer-50231.shtml ) They are believed to grant the owner youth or grant wishes... Hmm.. the last time i got a blue rose was in 2007.  So you know what to give me for christmas now, don't you? *wink  ( jus kidding)

So what does it mean if you give someone a blue rose? According to a florist website,  the blue rose is often a sign of enchantment and love at first sight. Those who have been enraptured by feelings of love and adoration have used these roses to express their romantic feelings and intention. 

Well what do you think of blue roses?