Post Chinese New Year Post :p

Hello bloggy... it's been so long since I last updated stuff in here. Flu bug visited me after CNY and I ended up taking MC today after an unbearable time at work yesterday and staying at home to... sigh...clear work (not rest... what a dog's life I lead...sigh). :S

Anyway, now it's time to relax a bit before I turn in. Am sure NOT gonna work till it's time for bed. Very bad for me. Won't sleep well, and especially now that my nose is all choked and stuffy (it was dripping like a running tap just yesterday), it'll be harder getting good sleep. Ok ok, enough about my flu. Let me try to reminisce the good days of CNY last week.

New Year's Eve:

Had a good time at school cos only half day plus celebrations, then went home to rest. Went to in-law's (IL) for reunion dinner in the evening. Had steamboat -- Mummy (IL)prepared so much food! Like Daddy (IL) said, it's enough to feed like 8 to 10 people. Ended up with so much leftover... Was really full after the meal. Quite a nice meal though. After the meal, we just relaxed in front of the tv and gave parents (IL) ang bao before heading back home. Oh ya, I wore the green top that I bought with Beebee at Chinatown that time. Very nice. Love it. Hee.

New Year (1st Day):

Spent time at home clearing a bit of work and relaxing too. Evening went over to Bukit Timah for post-reunion dinnner. Must satisfy both sides of parents mah. :p Had steamboat (AGAIN!) but luckily there was a different variety of ingredients so didn't feel like we were eating the same stuff again. Also a nice meal. Hee. This time, I remembered to take pics cos forgot to do so the day before. Oh ya, also finally saw the beautiful Mt. Fuji framed pic that we gave Mummy and Papa hung up on the wall above the doorway of their room. Very pretty. Hehe. Brought back nice memories of Japan when I saw it. That night also gave Mummy and Papa their ang baos. Beebee also got one... she's been bugging me to give her a 'decent' amount. So $$$ -minded. :p

Whoa... nice spread of ingredients and a close up look at one of my favourite --mushrooms! Hubby said must take pic of these button mushrooms cos they looked so cute... haha

New Year (2nd Day):

Hubby and I went back to Bukit Timah to meet Mummy, Papa and Beebee. It was the usual day of visiting temples. Haha, Beebee noticed that she, Hubby and I looked like traffic light. She was dressed in green, Hubby in yellow and I was in red. haha. How observant of her. ;) Anyway, our first stop was Ah Ma's temple at Toh Yi. We paid our respects to her at the altar and Hubby was nearby too. Hubby always follows us to the temples even though he's a Catholic, but he doesn't pray there or offer joss sticks, of course. He just joins in on our trips. I always feel that it's really wonderful of him to be willing to do that and it makes me happy to know that it makes him even closer to my family. In fact, when I was speaking to Ah Ma from my heart, I told her that her wonderful great-grandson's there too. Sigh. Sometimes, I really miss Ah Ma, and wish that she could have met Hubby. I'm sure she would have doted on him too, just like she doted on all of us back then.

Our second stop was the magnificent 'mee sua temple' at Bishan. Always can't remember the actual name, but we just remember it's the place that distributes free mee sua to visitors on Chinese New Year each year. That was our lunch. This time, the canteen's air-conditioned, so it was definitely more comfortable eating there. We also took lots of pics there cos there were so many grand statues and beautiful scenery to admire. I like this temple. Big and grand and peaceful, not like some temples that are super crowded and you have to really learn to dodge those dangerous burning joss sticks that the people wield. What I like most about this stop is that we finally got around to taking family shots. Mummy was a bit fussy about taking photos cos she always thinks she doesn't look good in them but Papa was more enthusiastic about it. Hehe. Hubby and I also took pics together on our own, and with Beebee.

Next, we went to this temple at Loyang, Pasir Ris. Was so tired that I slept all the way in the train. Papa wanted to visit this temple cos apparently, it shifted from its previous location near the beach and is really popular. It took us some time finding out how to get there cos it's nowhere near the MRT station but we eventually ended up at the right place. But a tad disappointing cos really nothing much to see except swarms of people and lots of framed up newspaper articles displayed on some walls and some displays. But we got this leaflet that tells how people of each Chinese zodiac sign would do this year. Hmm... people born in the year of the Monkey won't have such a fantastic year, but aiya, will just do my best lor.

Finally, we went down to the famous rich rich temple at Chinatown, where two levels are devoted to exhibitions of statues, monuments, relics, and CNY displays. Think it's called Buddha Tooth Relic Temple or something. It's got on display all these relics in the form of coloured beads that are supposed to be what's left after cremating Buddha, cos Buddha gained enlightenment. There were hair relics, brain relics, eye relics, tooth relics etc. Whoa. Mummy was fascinated by how grand everything looked in there. Even the toilet was so beautifully designed. She kept dragging me to view the toilets on each floor. :p She was also gushing about how many of the statues and ornaments were made of real gold. :p But frankly speaking, the temple was really nice to view and the garden and museum within it were very interesting too. Must have cost billions to construct it.

A beautiful view of one of the halls of the temple, with a lush garden surrounding it; the female washroom on one of the levels (look like hotel one hor); one of the exhibits on display at the museum-- supposed to be Buddha's footprints; the CNY exhibition on another level -- very informative and pretty

We were all hungry after all the walking around, so we went down to Harbourfront for dinner at KFC. Then we did some walking around at Vivocity -- was surprised when Mummy and Papa said they'd not visited it before all this while. Glad we took them there then. At the end of the day, Hubby and I just took bus 30 home. It was a really tiring day, but I'm glad we managed to spend time together as a family. Was very happy when Hubby commented that he felt more relaxed and at ease with Mummy already. :) Sigh, only wish Papa could speak more lor... he's nice but so quiet at times. :p

New Year (3rd Day):

Hubby and I both sacrificed our weekend time out cos I needed time to clear my work. :( I always feel bad when this happens, but can't be helped. I was up to my ears in work. Am only glad that Hubby's understanding enough not to seriously complain. :)

Hanzhang and Jess dropped by on their way to a friend's place in the west, and we spent the second half of the afternoon just sitting around and catching up with one another. Hehe, thought this day people are not supposed to visit others cos might end up arguing with whoever they visit or something. We ended up having a good time talking but mostly we were listening to them grumble about parents and in-laws and siblings etc. :p I guess all families have their own problems. Feel good to know that they felt they could pour out their complaints to us and that we were able to lend a listening ear. :) Only hope that things can get better for them soon.

Oh dear... gotta stop soon. Just noticed the time. Tomorrow going back to work (SIAN!!!) and I've not fully recovered (DOUBLE SIAN!!!). Hubby just msged. He's on his way home, with a V.Day surprise he got for me out there today. So v sweet of him. But feel so ashamed. Didn't have time to get him anything. :( Sigh.