NEW BLOG DOMAIN

Hello fellow readers,

Me, Diana has got a new blog domain! Many thanks to my hubby, who contributes the fund.Hahaha...

My new features are cool and I'm loving it! Bye bye blogspot !!

-= CLICK HERE =-

I wanna go Cruise !!

I really wanna join this cruise and I was soooooooooooo disappointed to see the ONLY DEPARTURE DATE ...sob sob sob... I always wanted to go Hong Kong via cruise because the piers are really happening, I always wanted to go Hainan Island because I myself is a Hainanese, I always wanted to visit Ho Chi Minh and Danang (Vietnam) because I have never been there before. Look at the price, I really feel like booking the cruise right a way but then I've promised Sister Lee that I will go back on the 15th Dec.

Little Surprise for Cheryl

M & D at WaRaku

Hmm, Ben is not in town and tonight, M & D went to WaRaku. Sorry for the lousy photos, it was way too dim to take good one.

Service is bad, nothing to rave about. Maybe because it was only 2 of us, the seating is pathetic, don't think I'll come back to this outlet at Heeran, still prefer the one at The Central and now, regret for not ordering their pasta..With this charges, I was expecting the food to be better.

Parent's 34th Wedding Anniversary

Coincidently, it falls on Halloween..but parents wanted to go M'sia so we decided to dine out a day before instead.

At Soup Restaurant

This is their 34th wedding anniversary and these 2, still holding hands when they go out. To sustain a long lasting relationship, there are just too many things to learn..

1. forgive & forget
2. remain positive
3. get rid of all insecure feeling
4. trust
5. respect
6. acceptance
7. empathy
8. be a listener
9. sharing

And the list goes on...

This is the way when Annie is away

Annie is away, my guess is - Australia for 2 weeks or so? Obviously, I couldn't make appointment for my furballs and this is what I manage to do at the time being...using my rubber band instead of their latex band.

Actually, I do miss their top knots.

Tricks or Treats !?!

Oh, it's Halloween again. Ben's ang moh colleagues in US are telling him they are going to dress up together with the kids and enjoy their holiday.

In Singapore, we don't really celebrate Halloween. At most, you will see people dressing up for parties, in weird outfits, along Orchard Road, Bugis and Cityhall area. The common Halloween activities include trick-or-treat, costume parties,watching horror movies,ghost tours, visiting haunted attractions! Yeah, I received an email from SPI for the visiting and of course, I did not respond to that mail.

Maybe I should try watching scary movies later.. Hahaha...

While on our way home, I saw Stefanie, our new neighbour, bringing her 4 kids out, distributing candies and they are all dressed up in cute outfits. Thanks darlings for your candies and hope you all enjoy the night!

Lillipops?

Do they look like lollipops to you?
Thanks to my reader who shared her experience with me on ttc. Congratulations to you and wish you have a smooth delivery! After discussing with Ben, we decided to get a box and try.
*crossing my fingers* Hope we don't have to make appointment with Dr. Kelly Loi.

Place Your Orders !?

Frequent Questions & Answers

1. Can I order cookies for this Christmas? So sorry, I am not taking in any orders for this Christmas.

2. May I know why? It is because I will be away and only be back in Singapore 1 week or more before Christmas.

3. How about Chinese New Year goodies? Yes, I am taking in orders for CNY goodies.

4. What are the goodies? Spicy Shrimp Rolls, Bee Hive Biscuits aka Kuih Goyang, Sinful Choco Cookies.

5. Which are the MUST TRY goodies? My back-by-popular-demand Kuih Goyang and Sinful Choco Cookies.

6. By the way, are you increasing the prices for your goodies? Yes, I am. Please email me for prices.

My sincere apology to those who emailed me for my Christmas Cookies ordering, as Ben and I will be away for a good 3 weeks holidays in the State, I do not have the time to bake for Christmas. Besides, we will be holding a mini housewarming party with our closest buddies and paaji during this period, I somehow foresee that I will be extremely busy in this December and would prefer to not make any commitment.

BUT I am taking orders for Chinese New Year Goodies as requested by many "pioneer customers". For those who really miss the Bee Hive Biscuits and Sinful Choco Cookies, place your orders now to avoid disappointment! Again, I thank you all for your supports!

Kurta

Ever since Ben got his kurta as a gift from his colleague from India, he keeps wearing it. "loose, comfortable and I love the design", said Ben. Maybe I should go to little india one day to get him a few.

From Wiki
A kurta (Persian/Urdu: کرتا, Hindi: कुरता) (also kurti for a shorter version worn by women) is a traditional item of clothing worn in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women. It can be worn with a dhoti,[1] loose salwar pants, churidar pants (a tight-fitting variant of the salwar), as well as jeans. Kurtas are worn both as casual everyday wear and as formal dress. A kurta is also referred to as a "panjabi," (usually spelled lower-case) in Bengal, Britain, and Canada.[2]

Welcome Back !

Ever since I decided to lock my blog five days ago, various reasons have made me rethink about this whole blog-locking business. It is becoming more and more pointless to have the blog locked, based upon the following analysis:

1. I receive an average of 10 requests per day for invitations. Going at this rate, the limitation of 100 invitees will soon run out.
2. Genuine readers may not have returned before the blog is locked. And when they do, having a locked-down blog on their faces is not such a good idea. When that happens there is no way (that I know of) for them to request for an invitation. Okay, I know how it feels because I got locked out outside her blog and the funny part is, she can still view mine.
3. Viewership of a private blog will only go down, never up. While I once thought it can do me some good, I now find it counterproductive.

I apology for making you guys send me requests for the past few days, thanks for your support and hope that my blog can continue to inspire/entertain you!

Happy Diwali !

To all our Paaji, Happy Diwali !

Sydney 2006

I know I know, super late post! I was suppose to blog about our trip in 2006 but.. I lost our CD and yeah, I found it now! PLEASE BEAR WITH ME, there are just tooooooo many photos, more than 200, Ben said you guys are not going to get pass the first 50 photos..how? I made them into 2 parts. Enjoy!

Here I am trying my very best to remember what we did, what we ate and where we went...

Day 1 :
- Touched down Syd Airport
- Had simple lunch, slept and went out dinner with my cousin family and then rest at home.

Day 2 :
- Rainy Day
- Train to Circular QUay
- Went to the Rock
- Walk along George St
- Queen Victoria Building
- To Arncliffe for dinner (Jackie's place)
- Bad, I had migraine on this day

Day 3 :
- Sunny Day! Our PS day
- Went to Jackie's place for make up and tied my posy
- Gordon reached by 2pm and PS started
- PS Location : Arncliffe, UTS, Garrison Church, Observatory, Pier 1, Botanical Garden, Macquarie Chair, St Mary Catheral Church, Hype Park and Park Hyatt

Day 4 :
- Sunny
- Went to Central (Chinatown) but Paddy's Field Closed on Wed
- Went to Market Place after that for lunch
- Strolled along Darling Harbour, Chinese Garden, Sussex St, Goerge St, QVB
- Went to Kinokuniya and bought a 500 cupcakes book.
- Dinner at Beverly Hills

Day 5 :
- COLDEST DAY in NOV, temp around 9-10 deg celcius!
- Went to Hurstville, Miranda

Day 6 :
- Left B.Hills
- Breakfast at Macdonalds'
- Went to Coogee Beach?
- Went to Darling Harbour, QVB with Margaret

Day 7 :
- Dim Sum at Marigold, Chinatown
- Train to Circular Quay
- To the Opera House
- Went to The Rock with Margaret
- Took photos at Strand Arcade
- BBQ at Jackie's place
- Margaret and Parents went to Koolewong with Uncle Gordon and Aunt Pat

Day 8 :
- Ben and I took a train from Arncliffe to Woy Woy, Uncle Gordon picked us up to Koolewong
- Went to Hunter Valley with Aunt Pat, Uncle Gordon, Ralph, Jackie and Mya
- Mum made Mee Hoon Kuey for dinner

Day 9 :
- Went shopping at Erina/Arena? at Gosford
- Ben and I took train + bus to the Library nearby

Day 10 :
- HOTTEST DAY OF MY LIFE 39 Deg Celcius
- Went to Blue Mountain & Wentworth Falls

Day 11 :
- Uncle Gordon brought us to Woy Woy to see Pelicans
- Daddy went carbbing with Uncle Gordon
- Aunt Pat cooked crab and mum cooked Roasted Pork today

Day 12 :
- Took pretty nice photos at Avoca
- Went to Tuggerah and got Cheryl some clothes
- Had fish & chips at the Entrance and saw Pelican again
- Dinner : Curry chicken

Day 13 :
- Had Pancake at home and left Koolewong
- Took a train back to Arncliffe
- Packed our luggages and left at 2pm to airport
- SQ222 at 1655hrs
- Took a maxicab back home

Lastly, I hope you all enjoy the photos and sorry for the captions, just to lazy to insert. We really thank the Cox Family, Uncle Gordon and Aunt Pat for EVERYTHING !

ASD - Action for Singapore Dogs

While shopping at Marina Square on Saturday, we saw ASD booth. There are quite a few gift items on sale, mainly to raise fund for ASD.

What is ASD?
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

We bought 2 fast tags from ASD 2 years back for Smoochie and Twistie, as for this year, we bought a large maroon brolly at SGD18

3rd Dose of S/C Doramectin

Given 3rd dose of Dora yesterday.

Ever since we started s/c Dora, I noticed that Twistie is getting more and more timid and requires someone to be with him 24/7. It becomes a problem for us as we do need to leave a house at time, for a 2 hours lunch and of course, approx. 8 hours when both of us need to work during the weekdays. Twistie becomes nervous easily and he drools a lot as well, not when we are at home but whenever we come home in the evening, his paws are wet and his body temperature goes up. I then need to hold him for quite a while before he settles down.

Maybe this has got nothing to do with the medication, Ben suggested that I should really stay home after my 4 months assignments. Maybe he is right, I'll probably rest a while before I take up other assignments.

Okay, let's know a little bit more about mites : (extract from bigpawsonly)
Mites in dogs is known generally as Mange and cause severe irritation in dogs with symptoms of inflammation, itching and hair loss. Mites cause their damage by tunneling into the skin via the hair follicles and oil glands of the epidermal layer. Once the dog begins scratching the pruritus, soreness and redness begin to develop leading to crusty skin and scabs. Mites normally live freely in dogs and cats, even humans without ever bothering their host; it is only when the immune system of the host suffers because of any number of circumstances do the mite begin their process of infestation – sometimes causing life-threatening conditions.

The most frequent types of Mites are as follows:
Sarcoptic Mange or Mites
Demodectic Mange or Mites --> Twistie got this.
Cheyletiella Mange also called “Walking Dandruff” – (literally crawling under your skin)

This is exactly what I saw at Mt.Pleasant Clinic after skin scrap.

Demodex Mites & Mange
Demodectic or Demodex Mange is the most common form of canine mange and are similar to that of a Sarcoptic mite in the way they burrow, feed and reproduce. This parasite is actually part of the normal skin fauna and is usually present in small numbers in health animals. The term Mange actually only characterizes the HIGH number of mites that cause more damage and usually signify an underlying immunodeficiency.

Symptoms of a Mite Infestation
When eruption of mites occurs on a host, several symptoms will manifest. Severe irritation caused by burrowing and moving beneath the skin will develop and pruritus (the intense scratching that occurs to alleviate the discomfort) can become self-mutilation. Alopecia (generalized hair loss) results from the loosening of the hair follicles the oversized population of mites do. Cracking and scabs will also develop in the worst conditions. Blood serum can sometimes be seen bleeding from the lesions and fissures. If the case has become this serious the animal is looking at secondary infections from bacteria’s from insects and the environment. If mange goes untreated, animals will die or be forced to be euthanized.

Ben's 30th Birthday

We got Mark to reserve the room for us and he said it is going to be a surprise, okay, here we are, at the 785sqft City Suite, charging at SGD850/night. As expected, the service is excellent! How do I put it? " THEY NEVER SAY NO TO MY REQUEST "..so far.. Oh, they make me feel like a bride again! Hahahaa..

See this, I wanted to give Ben another surprise at the cafe, I secretly told the waitress, Lily to get me a piece of cake with a candle while Ben was away. Ben was so sharp, he didn't hear our conversation but he read my "sign language"! Before he blew the candle, Lily immediately took out a digital camera and took a picture of us. We thought they will send the photo to our suite later BUT she actually handed it to us after 5 minutes! We were delighted and she even bother to find out each customer's name, yeah, she addressed me as Mrs. Goh when I was requesting my cake. We compliment Lily for her outstanding service.

After a sumptous dinner, we went back to our tidied room and found a bottle of red wine. Hmm, I don't remember ordering any so Ben called the receptionist and found out that Mark reserved the suite under "wedding anniversary" and the wine is for celebration..how thoughtful..

This is going to be the first time for me to create movie this way, I ripped the song from my favourite CD and created this movie especially for the man of my life, Ben. I love you baby and I promise you, no matter how, I'll stand by you, forever...

Have I ever mentioned Ben lost his wedding band months after our wedding day at Orchard? We couldn't find it and I thought, it is okay because I don't want him to keep blaming himself for missing the band and we didn't get it replaced until today, yeah after a good 1.5 years, Ben said he wants to wear and he even said it is fine to spend 2k .... hmm, what is he thinking?

I'm Yours ! --- Jason Mraz

Well you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
Now I'm trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
And nothing's gonna to stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment, maybe sing with me
All - ah peaceful melody
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love loved

So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours

Scooch on closer dear
And I will nibble your ear

I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror
And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
And so I drew a new face and laughed
I guess what I'm be saying is there ain't no better reason
To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons
It's what we aim to do
Our name is our virtue

I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours

Well no no, well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours
Please don't, please don't, please don't
There's no need to complicate
Cause our time is short
This is out fate, I'm yours

Eucerin for Ben

dry dry dry, Ben has very dry skin esp. over the four limps and trunk. I've decided to get the shower oil from Eucerin and I hope it will help. Will review this product in 2 months time.

3 Surprises Again!

Ben's 30th Birthday is around the corner.. like last year, I am going to give him surprises and YES, 3 surprises again.. Baking?? NO WAY, that's an super old idea, way too ordinary and I am not going to "copy" it.

#1 - Mandarin Oriental Hotel, he knows about checking-in but he is not aware the types of the room we are going to stay. this or this (photo below)? We stayed here on our wedding day and now the cost per room is SGD950! So, are we coming back to the harbour suite?

#2 - Dinner, Mark was kind enough to make a reservation for 2 of us on that night and it will be on the house. Shall we go for Cherry Garden or MELT ?

#3 - Singapore Flyer! Ben is totally clueless about the #3 surprise ..hahaha.. He keeps telling me not to buy anything for him and he keeps thinking that I am going to hire a sexy girl to dance naked in our room! *fat hope*

Why did I post this when it should be a surprise to him? Oh, have I ever mention Ben doesn't read my blog?

Been There, Going There, Wish to Go There...

What was on your mind when you see this poster/advertisement? Ben and I saw it on the train and both of us started to talk about our past holiday and of course, our future holiday.

Hope to visit Japan in 2009, Europe in 2010 and India, when his paaji, Chakra gets married.

Oyakodon 親子丼

I was asking Ben out for lunch this afternoon but Ben said he had lunch appointment with Mr.Katsuki. As expected, these guys went for Japanese food and Ben shared with me about the dish he ordered today, Oyakodon 親子丼.

When comes to "don", everyone knows it has to be a bowl of rice but what is "oyako"? Katsuki said it means "parents"or "親".
See the egg? It represents the child and the chicken represents the parents. I believe many of us have tried this Oyakodon before but how many of us understand the meaning behind? Interesting, huh?

Exract from Wikipedia
Oyakodon (親子丼, Oyakodon), literally "parent-and-child donburi", is a Japanese donburi, or rice bowl dish, in which chicken, egg, green onion, and other ingredients are all simmered together in a sauce and then served on top of a large bowl of rice. The name of the dish, parent and child donburi, is a poetic reflection of the fact that both chicken and egg are used in the dish. In Japan, oyakodon is often served in soba restaurants and other traditional Japanese restaurants.

The donburi simmering sauce varies according to season, ingredient, region, and taste. A typical sauce might consist of dashi flavored with shoyu and mirin. Proportions vary, but usually there is three to four times as much dashi as shoyu and mirin. For oyakodon, Tsuji (1980) recommends dashi flavored with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar.

To make oyakodon, cut chicken and other ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Heat 1/4 cup simmering sauce in a small frying pan. Add chicken (and sliced yellow onion, if desired) and simmer until chicken is cooked. Then add green onions and other ingredients. When all ingredients are cooked, slowly pour 1-2 lightly beaten eggs evenly over the whole dish. When eggs are nearly cooked (edges set), slide the topping from the pan onto hot cooked rice served in an oversized bowl. The hot rice will finish cooking the eggs.

Several other Japanese dishes pun on the parent-and-child theme of oyakodon. Tanindon (他人丼, Tanindon), literally "stranger bowl", is otherwise identical but replaces the chicken with beef. A dish of salmon and roe served raw over rice is known as sake oyakodon (鮭親子丼, sake oyakodon).

Only Invited Readers

Updates : I've send out invitations to those who emailed me today. *nice knowing you all* You all may continue to come to my blog with your email addresses but then I think you need to register with blogger.com

With more than 100 readers a day, I thought this blog was only browse by those I know and those who want to know me. *maybe*

After blogging so many stuff over the past few years, Ben said I should limit my blog readers and of course, not so much of "exposure" as we should have some privacy over our own lives. *yup, stop telling people what I am doing daily or else more people will tell me my blog is "so boring"*
All right all right, to all my silent readers out there, my blog is open to invited readers only, wef from coming weekend. If you want to continue browsing my blog, email me at koala_bare@hotmail.com

Library...

is always a good place to borrow travelling books.

Knock Knock..

for outerwear.... When we went to Shanghai during winter seasons, we didn't bother to check out the types of outerwear in the market. We got only a coat and down jacket as we were told to. This time round, we were told there is no need to prepare a down or thick heavy coat but a stylish outerwear so we headed down to the city today to get them. Most boutiques are displaying fall/winter outerwear and types ranging from peacoats, trench coat, wool jackets, free jackets, vests to hoodies. YEAH, SO MANY types!! but we had too little time to shop so we ended up got only 3 hoodies.

Updates : 2 for Ben and 1 for me. Ben really looks very boyish with hoodies.