End of the week joys...

Yaay... yeah... ya! So happy.... ho ho ho... finished the game "Professor Layton and the Curious Village" liao... hmmm, except for 2 categories of extra tough challenges that I hadn't figured out how to unlock. Anyway, good enough... I'm done solving whatever puzzles were available to me in the game -- all 129 of them! Hee... feel smarter already loh... (although it could just be wishful thinking on my part :p)

Found out also that there's a sequel... confirmed... cos there's one section of the game that has to be unlocked when you key in a password that comes in the manual of the game sequel. Cool... Am sure gonna keep an eye out for it... but even if I don't, I know Hubby will surely get the game for me himself once it's in the market. He's very good at doing sweet things like that. :)

Hehe, I still remember my previous entry was about babies too... Had more 'encounters' with babies just yesterday. Actually, it's one particular baby lah... was in the staff workroom printing some stuff and EW happened to be there. Knowing I'm a fellow fan of Spiderman, he showed me some of his baby Isaac's pictures on his phone... haha... his baby was dressed in a super cute spiderman costume, with a baby spidey mask and all! So kawaii!!! Then he showed me this blog that his wife started so they can keep track of and share all the beautiful memories of little Isaac's baby days. Got loads of pics and videos. Really a great idea. Went absolutely ga-ga over them cos the baby loves to smile at the camera and there were so many cheerful shots! Awwww.... *dreamy dreamy look*

Hee, am especially happy today also cos tomorrow's the weekend, and I'm not gonna be as busy as last weekend! Already agreed with Hubby that we'd go gai gai again tomorrow... hmm... wonder if he'll remember his promise to take me to the new Japanese 'Marche-style' restaurant at Raffles City, which he kept raving about after he tried eating there... yum.. heh. Once in a while, ok lah hor...

Puzzles and babies... ;)

Yeah! Finally cleared all my common test marking (although I still have loads of assignments etc. to mark :p), but never mind, think I earned myself a well-deserved break before I turn in for the night once again.

Sigh... last weekend went by so fast. On Saturday, I finally managed to spare some time going to the town area with Hubby after soooo long... kinda forgot what it felt like strolling around Orchard. Bought a couple of books at Kino -- one of them's titled "Ana's Story", written by the daughter of President George W. Bush. It's based on her encounters with this girl with an unfortunate life whom she met through her work with UNICEF. Should be a rather touching story. The story comes with professionally taken photographs too. Hopefully I've time to read it soon. :)

Went to HMV too and got a few CDs. Am currently listening to Angela Chang's latest album as I type... v nice. Lots of ballads that really move the heart. I think her singing's improved too... no longer sounds too much of a sweetie pie anymore. Also bought Sarah Brightman's latest classical album -- the first track's so powerful! It's got a gothic theme, and I was just blown away after listening to that track. The last CD we got is a compilation of Japanese songs titled 'Tokyo Cafe'... good for lounging around in a comfortable, air-conditioned area. :)

Also went into Gucci and came across this really nice limited edition bag. It comes in champagne and glossy black (too bad no pic to show) and the handles are so soft and comfortable to hold! No Gucci prints all over, just a glam looking gold metal label at the front. Size is good too, can dump things in quite adequately. Posed a bit with the champagne coloured one, cos it's really beautiful and can match outfits easily, but wah, too ex lor -- $3100! Hubby purposely psycho me to buy, but I know I can't spend that much on a single bag lor. Supposed to save up some more. But... really nice lor... :p

Anyway, here's a puzzle from the DS game I mentioned in my earlier entry. Hehe, see if can solve it... scroll down to the end of this entry to check answer:

Mice are famous for their ability to multiply at breakneck speeds. The type of mouse we have here gives birth once a month, birthing 12 babies each time. Baby mice mature and can give birth two months after they are born.
You picked up one of these darling baby mice at the pet shop and brought it home the day after it was born. In 10 months from now, how many mice will you have?

Well? Easy or not? Hehe... both Hubby and I took some time to solve this, then ended up with the same kind of reaction after realising the answer. Anyway, speaking of babies, today through SMS, I found out from Doggy that Ms Special's gonna give birth in a few weeks' time! Very happy and excited for them. Hehe, he must be sooo looking forward to the arrival of his precious little 'puppy'! Must be adorable... like what Hubby always says, which baby isn't adorable? ;)

Started having pictures of babies in my mind after learning the good news... thought of the time Hubby and I visited Weiping and Gary after little Gerard was born, and the time we went to their place to see the baby again. He's really very cute... hope the baby charm we got him from Japan works and keeps him safe and sound always. :) Also remembered the cute baby pics that HZ and Jess showed us on their phone before... I understand why Jess loves snapping pics of babies... especially happy babies. It has such a positive effect when you see the pics. Hehe. It's really a very baby day cos the episode of 'FRIENDS' I watched over dinner was also one in which a baby was born -- besides the funny parts, this episode's also touching in its own way. It's Ross's baby that's being born, and I guess I could relate to how Monica felt when she started weeping upon feeling touched by the magic of welcoming a little being into the world. Women who have given birth are really something, aren't they? *Sigh* :)

Hmm... maybe it's my maternal instinct speaking now, but I'm starting to wonder when I'd be a mummy myself, although yeah, I must admit neither Hubby nor myself's ready to be mummy and daddy yet. :p Awww... never mind, another couple of years then see how! :P

Ok, before I forget, the answer to the above puzzle is....... ONE! You can't get baby mice without a mate for your original baby mouse right? Haha... now you know why Hubby and I felt like kicking ourselves when we finally got the answer (after thinking through all those calculations... grrr...)!

Life's a puzzle... in fact, many many puzzles... :p

Heh, how true. Life's indeed full of puzzles, at least for Hubby and me now. Haha... Hubby bought this new DS game that was given quite a high rating (8/10, I think) on ign.com. It's called "Professor Layton and the Curious Village". This is a puzzle game... and the main characters are this guy called Professor Layton and a boy named Luke. They were called to a village to investigate a case, and from there, they stumble upon a series of mysteries. To gather clues, they need to go around the village speaking to people and hunting for anything that might help, but whoever they speak to always has a puzzle for them to solve, cos the villagers thrive on puzzles! Also, they get to come across hidden/ secret puzzles along the way too.

Whatever it is, this game's got both Hubby and myself totally HOOKED! Yeah... I know I'm very busy with work and stuff, especially since this is common test week, but to relieve my stress yet continue to exercise my brain cells, I gotta turn to this excellent game for help. It's really cool... the graphics are good, the animation/ cartoon is quite appealing, and the puzzles... my oh my... they can either make (one feel smart or break (one's ego). :p Hubby and I now take turns playing the game at our own individual pace cos we save our progress in different slots. In fact, he's sitting right beside me, pondering over another new puzzle now. And he solved it! He's much much better at puzzles than I am, but hey, I gotta say that sometimes I can solve difficult problems too ok... Hee.

Oh, and did I mention that many of the puzzles were designed by this real life professor called Akira Tago in Japan? He also supervised the development of this DS game. So these puzzles aren't just normal 'play' material... They really test your creative thinking and analytical skills. That's why can either make or break you mah. ;P

Ok, it's getting late. I'm supposed to go to bed soon and catch up on more sleep. Next time will post a couple of my favourite puzzles here... heehee. Tomorrow having lesson observation by some people from HQ. Was stressed at first but felt better after Hubby spoke to me about it. Now ok liao. Just hope no screw up beyond my control eg. technical glitch etc. Wish me luck!

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.

Ping Pong (and dim sum) rock!

Woohoo! Hehe... my second entry today. Hubby's playing table tennis on Xbox now... hee hee... and table tennis is what I'm gonna talk about next!

Today's really a day of ping pong for us, from morning till night! Hehe.. this morning played table tennis at home, then after lunch, we thought of heading to Orchard, but on our way there, we changed our mind and decided to stop at City Hall instead. We went to Bras Basah G&B Comics to get our weekly dose of... what else.. comics, but before that, we stopped by the shop where Hubby bought those ping pong polo tees previously. The friendly uncle at the shop was the same one who had delivered our ping pong table to our home last June. :) I hadn't intended to buy anything there... just wanted to go in to take a peek, but ended up getting a nice Donic ping pong female tee for myself. Not bad. Quite like it, and it's $25, quite reasonably priced. Then through a conversation with the uncle, we learnt that this evening, there'd be a table tennis competition held at Toa Payoh Sports Hall, and we'd get to see national players from different countries, including our own. We thought it'd be quite interesting to watch a match live, so decided to go there.

Since the match was from 6pm to 10pm, Hubby and I went to grab a bite at this dim sum place called Victor's Kitchen at Sunshine Plaza, near Middle Road and Bencoolen Street. It's just a small shop that makes fresh dim sum, not even a restaurant, but their stuff tastes really good! And hey, it's healthy too! I was surprised when I bit into a 'siew mai' and didn't find it greasy at all. In fact, it's said that the dim sum there's really healthier and fresher. Hubby told me that the boss had been a chef for over twenty years in Hong Kong, and came over to set up his own eatery. No wonder the food tastes good. Yummy yummy! :)

Victor's Kitchen is located at Sunshine Plaza #01-21, and is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10.30am to 8pm; Oooh... the first few dishes we ordered -- clockwise from top, king prawn chee cheong fun, sausage and scallop carrot cake in XO sauce (didn't know carrot cake could look like this!) and king prawn dumpling

Just couldn't get enough of the nice dim sum, so we ordered another plate of fried wantons... look how beautiful each one looks, like a rose like that. :) And the other one's steamed buns filled with char siew in oyster sauce. Yummy too! Goes down well with Chinese tea.

Next, it was time to head down to Toa Payoh Sports Hall. When we got there, we saw a poster at the entrance and I realised it was actually the Southeast Asia Table Tennis Olympic Qualifications match! Cool! The players come from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. If they qualify through this match, they'd be granted a direct entry into the Olympics. Wow, it can be pretty breathtaking watching these young professional players battle it out there! Hubby and I were amazed at the way they warm up, just shooting the ping pong ball back and forth in a rally at such a great speed! I really think I play like a baby after watching these people do their stuff. And it's so exciting to watch the players move so far away from the table and yet be able to smash and hit the ball onto their opponent's side. The audience always goes 'Oooh!' and 'Wah!' when that happens. Even I was alternating between cringing with anxiety and feeling 'high' as I witnessed these smash shots! Ho ho ho!

The poster at the entrance of the hall -- admission's absolutely free! Look at the setting and players... really look so pro! Now watch the video below to see what I mean about the exciting smash shots!

Man, what a day! Can't wait for tomorrow to come... although 'ashamed' to say I've got any ping pong skills at all, I'm feeling pretty motivated to play well! Maybe I've just gotta imagine I'm one of the top players in Singapore... Hehe... *Thick skinned*

Exploring Chinatown... :)

Yeah... my first entry in February this year. :) The week's been pretty ok since my last entry. Just wanna update what happened on Wednesday first... pretty 'happening' mah. I met up with Beebee to go Chinatown to buy bak gua for Mummy and Papa as well as Hubby's parents. Got the Fragrance bak gua for Mummy as planned, but didn't manage to get the Lim Chee Guan bak gua for Hubby's parents as he asked me to. The queue was so long and believe it or not, it was only about 3pm when we started queuing up but someone came along with a sign saying that all their bak gua were sold out! Wah.. famous really different.. so super hot! Anyway, we ended up buying all from Fragrance. Not bad leh, pay by mastercard can get $5 off each kg of bak gua. Ended up getting discount of $10. Hee. Can save some money... happy loh. ;D

Check out the goodies and crowd at Fragrance and the famous Lim Chee Guan bak gua

After that, Beebee and I just went about exploring the streets. I whipped out my precious digital camera and went about like a tourist, snapping pictures and going 'Wah! So cheap! So cute! So pretty!' almost everywhere I went. Haha... really mah, the things there are really cheap and nice! Hmm... suddenly feel so sua-gu...aiya, but cannot blame, cos I hardly go that area mah! Ended up buying stickers (5 sheets for $1 only!), a nice fabric fan ($7!) and a lovely Hello Kitty keychain ($2!) along the streets. Hee... so pleased with my purchases. Later, we also discovered a shop selling nice clothes! Beebee and I chose the same top... haha, same taste mah! Great minds think alike! ;P

There, the nice aunty who sold us the beautiful fans and a view of the streets where we were

In the evening, when we were both famished, we walked about trying to find dinner but couldn't find a good place to settle that. In the end, we went to Chinatown Point and just ate dinner at Subways. Hehe, we also discovered a lovely Hello Kitty store! It's bigger than the one at Suntec City, and it looks absolutely cute (it's Hello Kitty, so what else can it be but cute?!)

The world of Hello Kitty at Chinatown Point, #02-36!

So, yeah... just realised that Chinatown, where I used to always avoid cos of the crowd, has got lots of interesting places to explore and cheap but nice stuff too! But I really still don't think I'll ever go during Chinese New Year when it's that crowded... I've changed my mind about Chinatown but not about the icky feeling of getting squashed and pushed around amidst a sea of humans! :p