Overthinking…

I had no reason to say No, but I did… (all ‘so-called reasons’ sound hollow excuses to the self-critical me)

How and where did I pick up the flu bug? Muscle strain? Sudden increase in activity was too much of a shock? When and how soon will I recover?

How fast I can get back in my running shoes? How slow should I resume?

Did I pass my bug to him? Was it some allergy trigger? How to prevent it from getting worse? What did I do wrong?

When? When? When?

oh well… the usual optimistic me is pushed to the background by the critic. Resting and recovering… will bounce back soon enough.

Gripping Ebook

I hardly remember to read all the ebooks I borrow. The hard copies definitely remain more magnetic…
So I have gotten used to most of the digital titles being automatically returned when loan periods expired. Tis convenience attracts me to explore and borrow more titles rather recklessly.

Alexander McCall Smith’s 13th title in the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – The Limpopo Academy- was the first ebook I enjoyed thoroughly, and on time.

And now tis amazing title has ensured that I remain hooked to the digital pages….

The digital title page

I’m reading “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd from Singapore National Library. Find this & more at http://search.overdrive.com/SearchResults.aspx?title=The+Secret+Life+of+Bees.

Thanks to the Overdrive app, and wide range of titles available online, I no longer see a need for other e-readers. Anyway purchasing titles for these gadgets still remain a mystery!

Pink Army

Tis stunning scene marked the start of a superb Sunday morning in March.

It was also my first 5km for 2013. The venue, Marina Barrage prompted me to sign up without a second thought. And I wasn’t disappointed!

With good company, serene scenery amidst the new park by the city and that slope (!), I was assured of a most enjoyable time. Really need to revisit that park for another leisurely run.

Learning Journey to Chinatown

Finally I got the chance to accompany the lil one for his school learning journey (what we used to call ‘excursion’ during our days in primary school ) the trip to Chinatown made me feel like a tourist in my own country (not an unfamiliar sensation and it was tiring afternoon keeping up with the small group of boys. The interesting sights and time spent with my son and his friends made the effort so worthwhile!

Lil one and his friends

The trip was just before the Chinese New Year, thus we saw plenty of auspicious symbols used to usher in the year of Water Snake …

Pomelos- one of the auspicious symbols of Chinese New Year

Glutinous Rice cakes- the round shape symbolises unity and is believed to bring good luck to one’s career

Food galore- perfect reason to go back!

Decorations

Dried food galore

Never seen so much cured meats at such long stretch!

Premium cured ham

Waxed duck

After walking through the crowded and meandering streets, the class visited the Chinatown Heritage Centre. Sights outside the centre and within-

A lone figure by the bustling walkway

Another lonely and hidden figure…

doors- old and modern side by side

washing area from the past

Boys were too busy discovering ‘secret stairways’ to observe the squalid living conditions  of our migrant ancestors. Oh well… it was an eye-opener that tis Oriental corner of Singapore sure needs repeated visits!

Racing away to his 8th Birthday

Found an awesome place and idea to celebrate Sunshine’s 8th birthday. Inspired by Hot Wheels theme (click to visit my inspiring Pinboard), we added our own touches to a gathering friends and family.

The above set the theme, where birthday boy and friends will build their own scooters in teams and race against one another.

Oh can I show off the cool invites we made…?

Flag Invite as scratch-card

Scratch the gold section to reveal birthday details

BBQ plans had to be put on hold with the wet weekend but thankfully the skies held until we were done… Yummy food spread-

Fun with friends-

Choosing the birthday cake was such tug of war… from a cool cake which got mummy more excited than the birthday boy, who remembered this train cake he had been wanting since he was 3(?) Finally we settled for homemade muffins (ya, go figure ;p)

 

While the bigger boys were playing engineers and drivers, lil ones had their bubble fun-

 

Presents galore, … but i think we are learning the lesson about looking beyond material gifts

 

So, that set the birthday mood for this year… next is (another) potluck picnic, so says the soon-to-be 14 year old ;D

First of many more…

The oh-so happy news was such a pleasant surprise and welcome reprieve during the year-end holidays… This letter bore the wonderful news-

 

Letter dated 27 November 2012

So the 2nd Saturday of 2013 saw us make our way to the award ceremony (me rushing after the 4pm class)… Princess made a very modest estimate of the award value, while I was not surprised.

She is spurred to move on to the faster stream next year… while I pray this motivates to work hard for more such awards to fund her future studies especially if she’s serious about her overseas dreams (or are they mine? )

Current and future recipients with the smiling family and presenting VIPs

Me & Me Boys…

Sons are truly every mom’s unique fan clubs! While my teen daughter and I are navigating new fields of friendship and retain the parent-child bond, my boys are still at the age when I am still allowed to cuddle them.

I love chatting with me boys… They are so observant, perceptive and intelligent! They often ask for tales of their younger days, and so thankfully, the old posts from this blogs make up for this momma’s forgetfulness ;p

Both are planning to grow their savings- BIG! Since i try to match their savings with my paltry income, I told them I need to work more often and longer to keep up with their growing piggy-bank. My elder son declared- ONLY in the early mornings… cos I want to be with you after school! - awwww! and that too with a tight hug! Ahh, such moments so make up for the crazy moments ;P

Both have taken to going down by themselves to take the school bus. The lil Sunshine started tis in the very first week of school- 2nd day? I will stand outside my door to watch him wait (at least 10mins!- wonder why he wants to leave so early! ;o) and board the bus. The older boy needs to leave by 6.15am (yes such unearthly hours are so norm here, arent they ) and of course I prefer to wait with him. But when he too asked to go down by himself, this protective momma so had to restrain herself from clipping their growing wings…

Planning to make the weekday frisbee session with the older boy a regular affair… And hoping their Friday late-night football sessions continue as long as possible