Happy to be Home

I've been away for a long year and it's good to be back in Singapore again. Touching down to a place so familiar felt nice though I wasn't sure how I would like it after a long absence.

Being away for so many years allows me to appreciate the sheer convenience this city brings and i am not about to take it for granted. I was already planning my appointments and updating my calendar. This is the first time in man years that my birthday was spent here and I'm also happy that I can be here for Christmas.

We are missing big daddy who is in KL and I think he should be bored with the food and lack of space by now. We are all looking forward to Krabi and then HK..l it would be what we call a family vacation. This trip to Singapore is packed with activities as I had signed up with a few baking and cooking classes with chef Aki. I've always want to learn the art of macaron making and good souffle cheesecake. It took me 4 attempts to succeed macaron baking a few months ago so I do like to know how to do it well. And I'm happy that I had made a really soft and nice Japanese souffle cheesecake yesterday.

I'm looking forward to some good Christmas shopping here in Singapore and its quite hard choosing the right gift as there ae heaps of gift ideas. Maybe some funny t shirts for the teens and a masculine gift for the big man in the house. I forgave him for missing my birthday. Now, he cant complain about my shopping spree!

Its on to physio at Physioeficaz before watch shopping at The Hour Glass with my dear friend...

Less Baking and More Packing

The week has been quiet but very busy since DH left for Malaysia. It's tiring doing the school and activity runs on my own but I'm coping well.

In less than two weeks' time, school is out for 2011 and it's vacation time for most. It's been an amazing year and I'm so thankful for everything. Though I didn't like the idea of moving another time, I'm thankful that we found a nice place. Though I didn't like clearing the yard for the fussy owner to do the concrete works, I'm thankful for strength to do the clearance and for friends who so graciously look after my plants. I miss my herbs and veggies and can't wait to grow them again next year in the new place.

I've started group fitness training and it's been so tiring. It's good to know that I'm toning up and burning calories but I didn't like wobbly knees the next day! Now that DH is not here, I'm baking less cos there isn't anyone to share the sweets! I'd love to share them with friends but I just don't want them to get bored with my baking pleasures. Less sweets for me means less weight gain! I'm one of those who never seem to be bothered with the best weight loss pill though I know of people who use weight loss aids.

So the packing begins... it feels like a year ago where we had to pack and do the big move. This one is smaller... that's for sure.

House Settled, Move will be Next

After some stressful weeks of home inspections, we had finally confirmed our place for next year! What a relief! I was praying hard that it would all be settled before Alex leaves for his long trip.

Looking back, God has opened doors for this house and I was very sure He would do the same for the next. He is faithful. I'm glad that I don't have to do anymore house inspections and though I dread the move, I am happy to move into a house soon. Last week had been a busy one for me as I moved all my plants to friends' homes. I am missing my mini cherry tomato plant and my french beans! They were growing so well and I miss watering and caring for them. I can't wait to have a vege patch when I move into the house next year!

The next few weeks will be different as DH won't be here. I'll be doing all the school runs and packing. My friend whom I used to do coffee with is looking out for Pharmacy Technician Jobs so I will be without a partner when she starts working.

This week, it's cooking time again with my 'teacher-friend' and I can't wait to learn something new with these lovely ladies. It's life here in Brissy and I'll be missing these things in three weeks' time!

Moving Again...

I felt a little sad when I learned that we needed to move out of this place end January 12. We have grown to like where we are and it's just nice to be 8 minutes drive from school! No traffic jams, no highways.... the local area is beautiful and we enjoy the park.

But we need to face the truth and move forward. I trust that God has a purpose in all things. So the house hunting starts and continues. It's time to find a place before any of us leaves for our long vacation. I certainly look forward to the coming holiday. Singapore, Krabi, Hong Kong... plus the baking and cooking lessons I'm going to have. I know it's going to be fun, fun, fun! Clayton will have his fair share of fun at Children Technology Workshop.

Well, I hope that we can find a place near parks and all. There are plenty of parks here in Brissy but some of them can be a drive away. Last weekend, we took a drive to the Mount Gravatt Outlook Reserve and it was nice. We saw bikers in their scorpion helmets and the bike tracks looked cool!

I can't believe that it's just two more weeks and school holidays will begin. Till then, I am geared up for a long break but I don't look forward to the humid weather in Singapore.

Holidays Are Coming!

Just when I felt so settled, we got news that our rental lease won't be renewed. This isn't very good news for us as we will be away in less than two months' time.

It did take me some days to accept the situation and I dislike being back to a 'square one' situation. But I know it happens for a good reason. I do hope that we buy a place next year but for now, I have to work on getting a place to move into early next year.

Sad news aside, I'm glad that our Krabi trip is confirmed and it's nice to be on holiday with good friends again. We have never been to Krabi so it would be nice as we go island hopping. Clayton is happy to see his friends again and I'm missing the beautiful beaches in Asia. Queensland does have some nice beaches but the waters can be too cold to jump into!

Now that the holidays are confirmed, I need to start shopping for a gift for new baby arrival as a friend of ours will be having a baby girl soon. It is nice to rejoice over a new birth and I can imagine the joys that surround the family. Shopping for a baby gift can be fun as those little baby clothes are so pretty and cute.

As the trip home draws closer, I am listing down the things to buy when I am back. One thing for sure, I'll be visiting a few bake shops. It's time to stock up things I can't find here!

Cooking, Baking... in brissy

So many things have happened in the last month that I'm having difficulties recalling them one by one.

In a nutshell, the little junior celebrated his seventh birthday last weekend, his first birthday celebration in sunny brissy. He was very happy to have his friends on that day and we decided to do it at Lollypops playland. It was a very simple and 'stress-free' celebration as there was a party host who took care of of the activities and games. He received lots of lego gifts and we had only allowed him to unwrap them once a week. The party place had personalized bags for the party guests and it all went well. For the 1st time ever, I made a cake for him and the chocolate cake brought much compliments and I was comforted.

There had been so many cooking and baking lessons in the last month and I found myself picking skills of making rice dumplings, chee cheong fun and even tiramisu cake. Last monday, I even learnt how to make ang ku kueh... sweet!

Next week, I'll be teaching a friend how to make kueh bangkit.... life is brissy is exciting after all :)

Durian Baking Time

My baking adventures continue and this month, it's durian time!

Well, I certainly miss my durians - Musang king, XO, D24 - whatever. When you are here and durians are sold in the chiller for $8/kg, it makes your craving grow more intense! BUT we were delighted to spot frozen durians in Yuen few weeks ago and I bought a pack to try out. For $8, I was willing to test it out. Well, the frozen durians surprised us - they smelled good and tasted delicious! I couldn't wait to try out my durian chiffon cake.

You couldn't imagine how excited I was when that durian chiffon cake came out of the oven... I touched it straight away to test the softness and viola, it was pillowy soft and the whole kitchen was saturated with the fragrance of XO durian. I was SOOO happy - the durian chiffon was a huge success!

My durian experiment didn't end here. I went on to test out the Japanese Cotton Durian Cheesecake and then the Durian Cream cake. I think the durian cheesecake was too dense with that recipe I had but the durian cream cake was yummy!

So much of durian cakes and bakes, there are so many baking stuff I need to buy when I'm back in SG end of this year. I think I would need to ship a box for the list of things I want to buy! My friend is asking me to bring back some canon camera batteries for him and I am hoping to get a few household items during those post christmas sale.

I'm now eyeing at the Kitchenaid food processor and mixer... it would be nice to get them both... they sure make great birthday and Christmas gifts!

Term 3 Ended and School Holidays is Here

I can't believe that it's the end of term three for Clayton and school holidays is here again!

Looking back, he was still settling into his new school and environment and now, he's almost finishing his grade one! Whew! This also means that we have been here for 10 months and in two months' time, it's officially our first full year down under!

Life has been interesting in the last ten months and I'm giving thanks every minute for God's goodness and provision. I have no complaints and in fact, I have so much to thank Him for. The RRV was indeed a wonderful blessing for us and that's why we can be home end of the year. I'm just so grateful for His favor.

There have been so many adjustments for us and so far, things have been smooth, despite a few hiccups here and there. It took DH a while to get used to the 60km speed limit and we are glad we haven't utilize any emergency road service so far. It's good to know it is there when we need it especially when we travel in the country.

We are looking forward to our second camping trip in October and yes, October is a very busy month for us. Clayton is turning seven and then DH will be preparing for his trip to Myanmar in Nov.

As for me, baking adventures continue every day and it's nice to smell fresh bakes from the oven. More about these later...

Durian Cake in the Baking

After a long search in the Asian grocery store, we finally found some frozen fresh Malaysia durians in the frozen section. I was quite happy to see them as I thought I could get them only in Melbourne.

Honestly, I ain't buying them to eat... frozen fresh just doesn't appeal to me. I'm thinking of getting them for my baking! Durian chiffon cake, durian swiss roll.... yum! It would be nice whipping up something and let the fragrance saturate the whole kitchen. I know Clayton won't think it's fragrance!

So we chose the XO one who was about $9 for 450g... not cheap but that's better than the Musang King, selling at $16. Aiyo, that is exorbitant! Well, hubby is waiting for me to whip up the durian chiffon and I can't wait too!

I just got home from the doctors and am glad that my medical results are looking good. No high cholesterol, no high sugar levels, no urid acid...etc. I must watch out for these things with all the coconut I'm using in my cooking and baking. Coconut is such a lovely ingredient in the kitchen and it's just so nice to savor the flavor!

We had a wonderful time in the city watching the riverfire at Southbank last weekend. My friend was telling me that she had so many friends taking up various courses at TAFE and some even took up Cardiovascular Technologist Jobs for better career prospects. DH seems interested in forklift truck classes.... he thinks it's good fun! I told him it would be good to learn a skill, after all, it pays well at $70 an hour!

It's Monday and I find myself listing down a big list of things to accomplish for the week!