Blogging into the New Year

I meet all sorts of people everyday, and the ones I hate most are what we Chinese call the xiao ren. They're the only ones that really drives me ballistic, and turns me into a screaming witch.

Everytime I meet people like this, I always remind myself to count my blessings. Here's just two of them, and they're sleeping into the New Year while I blog.

I never managed to blog about this after I returned from my holiday in October. But if you ever make your way to Margaret River, do check out the Prevelly Beach. The water is crystal clear, and it's not all that touristy. It's mostly popular with the surfing crowd. We had great fun splashing in the water although it was COLD in spring. Kai enjoyed it tremendously nevertheless.

I'm a Thomas fanatic, yes I am!

The ballon costs S$15 (ouch!), but lasted three-and-a-half weeks!

Il Lido: Fantastic food with a breathtaking view

Homemade tagliolini pasta with gooseliver, pears and marsala wine sauce

Sometimes parents need a little time away from their lovable kid, and so Terence and I sneaked off for some R&R at Il Lido on New Year's eve. We knew it was a "nice restaurant", a place "to go", but never had the opportunity to dine there.

After our meal, we'd say it is one of the most recommended places to go during lunch if you have your own transport--reason is because it's situated on Sentosa. It's got a great view of the Singapore Straits, the food is a dream, and the price you pay for a set lunch actually does go a long way. For S$58, you get a starter, a primi piatti (the first main dish), a secondi piatti (the second main dish), desserts and coffee/tea. There's no compromise in quality, presentation, taste or portion size.

I loved the tagliolini. It was al dente, and the saltiness of the cubes of gooseliver was nicely balanced by the tangy pear. And the marsala sauce was not too heavy. Terence liked the Chilean seabass, but perhaps the fish was a little too fishy for me. (Terence was surprised; I loved the Chilean seabass at Ember.)

We didn't even pay for entry into Sentosa. Terence asked if we could claim our entry tickets at Il Lido, and all the lady at the gantry said was: "Oh, you going to Il Lido? OK, it's free." And she waved us through!

Blue swimmer crab salad with avocado and sicilian citrus sauce

Chilean seabass with porcini mushroom, potato cream and red wine sauce

Pieces of toasted bread that tasted like crackers and served in a groovy bowl

Christmas eve was spent...

Feeding Papa meatballs at one of our favourite restaurants, Oosters... (they sell really nice mussels, which my parents enjoy).

Flame's third Christmas celebration

It's nice to see how the company has grown from just a three-man operation in 2005 to the current 7.5 staff outfit (0.5 because Joy's stringing for us from Australia). And what's even nicer is that we've got ex-employees who're still in touch with the rest of the team.

(Clockwise: Jack who's now in Fairfax, Chien Way who's now in STB, Gary who's gone off to be a daddy, Samuel who wears Crocs in the office, sweet Michelle who gets hit on all the time, Kelyn who is more bilingual than anyone else in the office, super partner Florence, uber talented Resse, and moi)

A shimmering Christmas 2008

We almost never had to buy our own wrapping paper to wrap Christmas presents in the past. Presents were always gift wrapped by the kind people at the gift wrapping counters, which means you end up having shopping centre-branded wrappers.

How convenient, and totally uncreative.

We must apologise to our friends and relatives who received bleah-looking wrappers from us in the past. I must say having pretty, personally-wrapped presents say a lot more. So when Aileen gave me an early Christmas present wrapped in this gorgeous holographic paper, I HAD to ask her where she bought it--Watson's!

Paper is quality is good and thick, and there's a variety of designs to choose from (e.g. stars, snow flakes, santa claus and reindeers etc). Best of all, it costs only S$1.95 per roll!

Hanging out with the Tays

Josh: Woah... this Thomas character sure is deep, dude...

Kai: Told ya. You ought to pay more attention to what he's gonna say next...

Anna: Men!

Ain't I sweet?

I'm kissing my mama. Don't you watch!

Fun at the zoo

Children love the Singapore Zoo. I don't think it's because of the animals. They just love the water park there.

We weren't prepared for the water park. So Kai went in with his shorts and diapers, and left the zoo only in his t-shirt and diapers. I had a few heart stopping moments when some of the bigger, rough kids ran around without consideration for the younger ones. Terence was the sweet daddy who went in with Kai, and got all wet too.

This is the third time we've brought Kai to the zoo. He went absolutely nuts on the tram too. He thinks it's Thomas.

The things we do together for him

Thanks to Corinne, I've just been reminded that I have an audience to my blog... (I think) :) What with Facebook, I didn't think blogs would be in vogue any more. What do you think?

Anyway, I bought a kit that lets us make those "stick-on-window-pane thingies" (just what do you call them?!?!) at a toy fair. My first attempt at making Percy (the small green engine who loves to deliver mail) failed terribly. Terence said my thingie wasn't thick enough so it tore when we tried to peel it off the kit.

James (the big red, cheeky and vain engine) is the result of both our efforts. There was a lot of tears (yes, tears, Kai cried) as well as fighting over what's right or wrong, where to do put the thingie out to dry, whether the paint is thick enough etc. But it was still a labour of love.

I asked Kai to pose with James, and he actually understood what I was talking about.

Terence is contemplating making Thomas next. We'll let you know soon.