Turtles

There are 2 red eared slider turtles in my house. My Mil bought it when her grandchildren came to visit us a few months back. Since then, they live in various types of 'accommodation'. The very first one we had was a plastic tank that measures approximately 20x10cm. Then we placed them a 2 litres plastic container after they started fighting. (After reading in a blog that animals kept in small areas have a greater tendency to be stressed and aggressive.) Thereafter, we purchased an Ikea storage box for them, and they had ample space to move around. However, without a proper filter system, we have to change the water on a daily basis.

Last weekend, T and I visited an aquarium and decided to purchase a complete tank system. For $83, we got a glass tank, an electric filter system as well as a lamp - which will be useful for the turtles to "sunbath". Now, our turtles enjoy a cleaner home and have more space to swim and rest. Hopefully, they wouldn't grow in size too soon. Else, we'll have to source for suitable accommodation again.

Manado

Manado is the capital city of North Sulawesi, Indonesia which is famed for it gorgeous marine life, emerald mountains, flora and fauna, delectable cuisines, etc. I was thrilled when I was posted to Manado for my latest work trip!

Conceirge at Formosa Hotel

Upon arrival, we took a hour's ride from the airport to Formosa Hotel, which overlooks Manado Tua Island. Hotel Formosa generally has mediocre ratings and reviews, but I absolutely love it's centralized and convenient location. The hotel is surrounded by eating places and a supermarket where you can replentish travel supplies easily. The first dish that I tried in Manado was Pisang Goreng - Fried Bananas. It is a 'staple' for the locals and it is cooked in various styles, often accompanied by spicy condiments. Throughout my stay, each Pisang Goreng that I tried had different tastes and textures.

View from Hotel Formosa

Pisang Goreng

Every nook and corner of Manado was pictureques and beautiful. We spent the 2nd day visiting Lake Tondano and Lake Linow. Afternoon tea was served at Lake Linow - choice of coffee/tea accompanied by 2 coconut biscuits. The locals had their tea/coffee with Pisang Goreng :)
In the evening, we headed to Citra land to see one of the largest Jesus statue in the world. For dinner, we headed to one of the local restaurants for barbeque fish. It was absolutely delicious! We spend an average of SGD5-10 on meals everyday. We were told that Manado locals are like Chinese. They consume almost anything. In the local markets, you could easily purchase exotic game and meat.

The subsequent days were spent in Bahowo village, situated in Bunaken Marine Park.

Lake Tondano

Cafe at Lake Linow

Lake Linow

Afternoon tea at Linow

Jesus statue at Citra Land

Ikan Bakar (BBQ Fish served with kecap manis)

Piglet at Bahowo village

Bahowo village

Halloween at the museum

My lovely husband surprised me with another museum visit last weekend! He brought me to Asian Civilization Museum (ACM) for the Halloween Fright night. There were a myraid of special activities organized by ACM. There were modern bomoh dances, story telling, face painting, scare trails, etc. Many museum goers were decked in their Halloween costumes for the occasion! Since this was a surprise date, I did not dress up as any special characters for the occasion. We had a great time just watching the kids got scared by various characters such as the werewolf, ghost rider, pontianak, etc.

Ghost Rider

Captain and Spidey

Werewolf

We headed for a walk along coller quay and clarke quay later that evening. Most restaurants and bars were decorated for the occasion with spider webs, fake blood stains, insects, dummy heads, etc. We did not revel with party-goers for the Halloween celebration, but headed home earlier and it was a blissful time spent together. I love Halloween! It also reminded me of the party that I organized for T a couple of years ago at Mike and Elena's place. All guests came dressed as a special character and some of our friends rented costumes for the occasion! I love dress up parties. Hopefully we'll have another one soon.

What is your love language?

Last Saturday, T planned a special date for us to visit Singapore National Museum (SNM) to view wedding dress exhibits from Albert Victoria museum. On display were gowns from 1800s and a few celebrity wedding gowns. To our disappointment, it was a pretty small collection and we finished viewing the exhbits within 30 mins. I love visiting museums! To appreciate artefacts/art pieces that are rich in culture and history. On the other hand, T would rather spend his time outdoors or cathing zombie movies. I feel blessed that he went the extra mile to plan the outing and accompany me to visit SNM though he has little interest in museums.

On Sunday, we both spent an afternoon with our own pals. He played soccer with his mates while I found time to catch up with an old friend. It rained throughout the afternoon and he waited for me to finish to give me a lift home. Last night, I casually mentioned that I love triple decker sandwiches and this morning, he woke up much earlier than I usually do (at 6am!) to prepare a triple decker for my breakfast!T's language of love is clearly 'acts of service'. Something which I am not accustomed to...yet. I express my love through words of affirmation.

Author Gary Chapman wrote a series of books about Love Languages. Personally, I can identify with the things which he wrote. Different people express their love and feel loved in different love languages. It is important to know the love language of our loved ones to be able to appreciate them and love them in a manner which they can understand. Perhaps it's time I plan and DO something special just for T.

C'est La Folie

I grew up watching Disney cartoons and my all-time favourite is Beauty and the Beast. It's amazing how cartoons can influence one's mind. That cartoon made me fall in love with France, even before I step foot in the country.

It has been my dream to visit France since I was a kid, but I never had the opportunity until 2 years ago when my boyfriend asked if I would like to join him to France to visit his family. I was completely blown away by the whole trip - taking in every morsel of the sights and sound when we were there. We visited Paris, Bretagne and Château de Chambord at the Loir-et-Cher region. When I came back, I even registered myself at Alliance Francaise for classes!

Recently, I was delighted when I chance upon Michael Wright's 'Cest La Folie' series, which is an honest biography of his life in a small French town, Jolibois in the Haute-Vienne region. Michael was from Surrey, UK before he decided to start a new life in Jolibois. I wish I could do what he did someday - to find my own ramshackle house and start a life of adventure! Here in SG, most people go through the pragmatic path of finishing our basic education, secure a job, probably start a family go on with life. There is an inner longing in me to strive for something more than a routine, a labour that I can be truly satisfied with. I'm praying that God can help me discover that and help me start my own c'est la folie story.

Insurance 101

Thought I should blog about insurance since I recently changed mine and I wish to remember this. Two years ago, I engaged a random  agent from GE to purchase a policy. It included the ususal protection coverage, accident and critical illness coverage as well as investment links. Though it seem pretty diversified, I came to realise (over time) that the coverage that I have (though diverse) was rather measly.

I am no expert in this field, but I learnt that the first "rule of thumb" for a student/young employee is to have a basic life protection insurance coverage first, before investing in other areas. Reason being, it is important to protect ourselves and our families in case of emergency or unforseen circumstances, given that it is quite likely that we have little savings as a student or when we just started out working. And how much should we fork out monthly? An approximately  guide will be 10% of our monthly income. It is also good to start a plan at a young age because the insurance premiums will be much cheaper.

I wish my parents could advise me better on financial matters at times, but I guess they would prefer otherwise. However, I am thankful that God always lead and guide me in the decisions that I make. Be it for my career, school, marriage or daily life. Even for something as trivial as insurance :)

"For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." ~ Psalm 48:14

Birthdays

There is a growing trend of celebrating birthdays lavishly, with special programs, souvenirs and activities for guests to enjoy. I had never celebrated my birthday with such fan-fare, sans my 21st birthday, when one of my best friends organized a 'Lo-Hei' at vivo city for me. Thus, I am still very intrigued by the elaborate celebrations that people organize for their birthdays year after year.

I spent mid-autumn at a friend's kid's 1st birthday party. T did balloon twisting and I did face & hand painting for the children. It was our first 'gig' together as a couple. The party was a big family affair and we both had fun interacting with the guests. I realized that I've grown rather fond of face & hand painting, apart from painting on canvases. Perhaps we should consider converting one of our rooms into an art studio/worshop where we can practice our skills with minimum disturbance.

$600, 2-tier chocolate hazlenut cake

Honeymoon 2012

Khaolak wasn't the first place that came to mind when thinking about our honeymoon trip. We would very much prefer to visit the sunny coasts in Brisbane in the company of our good old friends, but we couldn't be away for too long and settled for a nearby location instead, and it was far from disappointing!

We took a flight to Phuket followed by an hour's drive to Khaolak, located at the Phang Nga region of Thailand. Upon arrival, we were greeted with clear skies and balmy weather. We headed to a local Bang Niang market immediately after checking-in as it only opens on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Though the market was small (by local standards) the myraid of shops and stalls were sufficient for the neighbourhood. There were local produce, fresh seafood, familiar Thai snacks, amongst other things.

Evenings in Khaolak were lovely, with dramatic sunsets and the Andaman sea coloured orange-ochre everyday. We spent most of our time gazing into the horizon from our sun-deck and soaking in the pools overlooking the sea. It has been awhile since I had a quiet holiday. We spent the rest of the week visiting the local market and twisting balloon for the kids and talking to the locals. T and I plan to return to Khaolak again to volunteer at one of the schools. Khaolak was badly afftected by the Tsunami in 2004 and the devastating disaster still leaves lingering trails everywhere we go.

We spent another 4 days in Bangkok before flying back to Singapore. We occupied most of our time shopping and exploring new places within the city.

A Different National Day

I'm hitched!

T and I got married on National Day. The date was chosen not because of patriotic reasons but for ease of remembrance. The morning begun at 5am when the makeup artiste, Norah came to my place and help my bridesmaids, my mom and I doll up. It was followed by a traditional gatecrash session led by Val and her team. The groom and his bestmen had to undergo the taste of grusome gastronomical mixes, daunting tasks and embarassing performances as a declaration of his love for me. Tea ceremony followed suit, before we solemnize our vows in the chapel with our families and friends present. It was an emotional ceremony for everyone - especially our parents and close friends. Many of whom were tearing with joy. We ended the celebration with a traditional wedding banquet at Peach Garden Restaurant, with a sumptuous spread and enternating performances.

As I recall the snippets of my 'Big Day', I must affirm that the most important thing about a wedding is not the grandeur nor extravegance. To me, the most significant aspects are the celebration of the union, the joy of having our loved ones with us, and the honouring of our friends and family members who have made a big difference in our lives and supported us through our growing up years. These give me the greatest joy on the biggest day of my life.

T and I had our honeymoon soon after at Khaolak, Thailand. It's a beautiful place with pristine and quiet beaches. Every evening begins with a spectacular sunset in the horizon and soft whispers of the waves. It's hard to imagine that 8 years ago, the whole place was a scene of devastation. We visited the Tsunami Memorial site to have a glimpse of the impact of the Tsumani that took place 8 years ago. Being an avid balloon twister, T also went to the local market to make balloon sculptures for the children. The 2nd half of our honeymoon was spent in BKK, shopping and enjoying the local cuisine. We visited different places and tried various cuisine which we had not had. It was a restful and enjoyable holiday.

Hen's night (2nd)

By the grace of God, I am very blessed with many girls pals who love and care for me! This post is written to help me remember the special moments that we shared, growing up and being there for each other at different chapters of our lives. Had another hen's party on 19 Jun 2012 with my high school pals. We had a celebration at Gallery Hotel and the theme of the party was 'Pirates'. Every attendee dressed up as a pirate. One of my besties even drew a moustache on her upper lip to look like a crew member on the pirate ship. The night entails heart-warming sharing, games, well-wishes, food and lovely desserts. It was just like a high school all-girls reunion :) It's about a month and a half to my wedding. When I walk down the aisle, I'll be overjoyed, knowing that my bunch of sisters will continue to pray and support me, with all their blessings and love. Truly, a friend loves at all times.

Polaroids from the party

Hen's afternoon

Had my first Hen's gathering on Sunday with Clare. We had brunch at Marmalade Pantry. The ambience was chic, with neat rows of black-white tables adorned with a single stalk of japanese chrysanthemum. We had pine nut crab linguine & banana berry pancakes. It was restful to have Sunday brunch, sipping tea and enjoy the idleness of the weekend.

We spent the afternoon exploring the National Museum. Master paintings from Musee d'Orsay were on display. Seeing real paintings by Renoir, Monet and VanGogh was mind-blowing! We enjoyed the quaint afternoon, appreciating the exquisite paintings and the stories of the paintes' inspirations and history. Each painting has a unique story behind it. I particularly like Carolus Duran's painting of his wife. He captured her beauty with refined and delicate strokes of the brush. It captures the tenderness of his love towards his wife.
The afternoon reminded me of my last visit to Lourve. Glad that we made the visit right after brunch. Before 2pm, a queue had already snaked from the basement to the entrance.

Vincent van Gogh - Starry Night

Claude Monet - Branch of the Seine

Henri Fantin Latour - The Dubourg Family

Carolus Duran - The Lady with the glove