donkey punch

We watched Donkey Punch (2008) the other night...and i felt quite distraught after the movie.

Dont be fooled by its 'beautiful people basking in the sun' cover. Definitely not recommended for children. R-rating for above 18.

It's party time on the Med and three girls are out to lose themselves in a hedonistic whirlwind of sun-soaked, booze-drenched, depraved fun. When a group of like-minded lads offer to keep the party going by taking them to their luxury yacht, it's just the glamorous adventure the girls are up for. But the night takes a vicious turn... Some lose their inhibitions, others lose their lives as the evening suddenly erupts into a drug-fuelled frenzy of bizarre sex acts including the 'donkey punch', savage violence, gruesome murder and a ruthless fight for survival.

nagging mom

In a day, i repeat these many many many times...

To Joel:
"Joel, you're so cute"
"You're super cute!"
"Baby Joel, you're so beautiful!"
"Clap your hands, Joel"
"Joel, where's Bear Bear?"
"Smile!"

To Elvis:
"Daddy, Joel very cute hor?"

I think i'm quite hopelessly in love with Joel. ;)

P.S. Dont you just feel like pinching him? That's another kind of love too! Haha!

spore-shanghai

This is another of our rush-here-rush-there trip. 9 days - including the days we left & back. After Bali, we arrived in Singapore in the late afternoon of 11 March, and brought Joel to the PD for his allergy to insect bites (in Bali). After that, we went to Changi Airport again to welcome aunty Sandra & PorPor who are back from Israel.

12 Mar, Thu
Hougang, shopping around City Hall, dinner at Buangkok

13 Mar, Fri
Orchard Road: Noise Singapore Festival Showcase in Far East Plaza

Shopping in Orchard Road, dinner at Tiong Bahru with friends.

14 Mar, Sat
East-to-West: Tampines PD (again) for vaccination, Bukit Timah Le Pasta, visit GongGong & PorPor

Finally had the chance to try Le Pasta...and it's really very yummy! My friend Janis also came along with my family and she likes it too!

After that, Janis & i went to meet Gwen in Jurong Point, and i saw this interesting DIY cake shop! Janis & i drew a 'Bagaholic' cake for my sis Sandra. I wanted to draw an Hermes bag...but of course i dont know how to draw it lah...so we settled for a simple no-brand bag! Most of the credit goes to Janis since i no longer know how to design. Keke... ;p
($11.80 for a small 4-inch cake, 6-inch $20, 8-inch $28. Comes with 5 piping bags and sugared flowers. And Viola!)
All the while when Mommy Jo went to JP, Elvis looked after Joel and watched soccer with GongGong & PorPor. (PorPor is BIG soccer fan)

15 Mar, Sun
Changi Airport T3 ...and finally home at midnight.

shanghai-bali

7 Mar, Sat
Shanghai - Spore T3 (to T2 for lunch at DianXiaoEr) - Bali

Finally, we arrived in Resor Seminyak after 12 hours! Just in time for supper with the Wibowo family. (It was so warm Joel was perspiring so much!)

8 Mar, Sun
Rise & Shine...and a big hello to everyone from Singapore! Look, a beautiful rainbow in the morning!

All the babies and daddies swimming. (The resort is quite old, but their swimming pool was quite nice)

Joel was very tired after the exercise. Lunch by the pool! (This is where we got sunburn!!!) Getting ready to go to the wedding!

Shinta & Paul wedding St. Regis Bali


Ehh...we were late for the solemnization at 5pm, so we waited outside the chapel. Nusa Dua beach is so beautiful (of course it's much better than Seminyak beach).

Inside the beautiful chapel.

Around the chapel where the tables are set. Just beside the chapel is the Bridal Suite where the very attentive bride Shinta even setup a Kids Corner! Joel was busy throwing the balls out of the mini house. I think he enjoyed that a lot. ;p

9 Mar, Mon
To Hard Rock Hotel for lunch with the new bride.

The group of friends who made it to Bali - from Singapore, Jakarta & Shanghai. (Becky, Jessica, Bride Shinta, Jo, Baby Joel, Elvis, Baby Johan, Astrid, Big Baby Noah, Woei, Big Baby Amanda, Sebas & Ivan)

Relaxing (again) at a cafe after the group from Singapore left.

Shopping time! For the record, Mommy Jo was the only one who didnt buy anything! Ivan, Astrid & Elvis all bought from Mooks. (On the right are small local shops which require good bargaining skills.)

Seafood dinner.
10 Mar, Tue Breakfast & "kite-flying".

We decided to head out to the rows of shops outside our hotel...but it was super duper hot that we kinda gave up after a while. It was unbelievably HOT!!! After the Wibowos left for the airport, we headed to the same street in the evening. The stroll was much better minus the heat.

Nice shops... (not nice prices)

We had dinner at Ku De Ta - a famous club in Bali. It was a huge restaurant and we sat indoors. There were huge beach chairs & umbrellas facing the ocean (more for drinks). The whole place is very WOW!

We were "under-dressed". ;p

11 Mar, Wed
It was raining in the morning. It's funny how i just realized our resort is actually quite beautiful on the day we're leaving! Haha! Maybe it's the after-the-rain effect...and not super duper hot. ;p


This is our (old) hotel room and lobby...

Goodbye, Bali. Hello Singapore.

vainpot

While i'm busy organizing our pictures from the Bali-Spore trip, here's a video of Baby Joel - for those who missed this chubby baby! Hmmm...i'm not sure what Joel was doing... Do you?

We were inside a tshirt shop in Heeren : PunkStar. The sales staff is an Aunty in her 50s who was busy chatting with her friend on the phone and with Chinese music blaring from the radio. I thought it was quite rare to see that in downtown Singapore shops. Keke... It's our first time in this shop, but some of their designs were not bad and very cheap too!

$16 for ladies tees. $25 for men tees. Canvas bags were quite nice going for $18. Support local designer. We each bought a tee. ;)

en route

This time tomorrow, we would have landed into Pudong PVG. Our luggage is still the same - i.e. overpacked - with some shopping from Bali & Singapore. Think i'll have problems packing tonight... :(

samsonite big pack

By the way, if you're wondering why i'm back at the Mac... Joel is sleeping (earlier today) and Elvis is not home yet. Most important, i'm almost done with my packing! No matter how hard i try to cut down on stuffs...and place the things nicely into the luggage, we still cant pack light!!!!! :/

induction cooker

This post has nothing to do with 'My Life' - since my blog has somewhat changed into depicting our seemingly boring life after Joel. Keke...

I just made an interesting finding! Look! Amazing huh?!

I was looking at the website/brand of the stove i bought...coz the aunty told me it's from Japan (i had wanted to get a relatively popular Chinese brand). Anyway...i just knew the correct term is 'Induction Cooker' and then i discovered its pros and cons. Only the cooking vessel does the actual cooking! Dont need to worry about getting your fingers burnt - even if you're wearing a metal ring and place your hand on a full-on induction element! Amazing!

Did you know about this? I sure didnt! Coz when we were in Bangkok, the service apartment we stayed in uses induction cookers and i was so afraid when i was making Joel's porridge! Keke... Now i know better. ;p

P.S. And the aunty also told me that my model is 'anti-radiating' and has more functions than the one i initially wanted. I just dont really like it's colour. The other one is stylo black & red! Nevermind lah. Cheap & Good! ;)

when will i ever

Last night, i was trying to pick out what to wear to the wedding in Bali... We're leaving on Sat morning like 5+AM, and i had to get everything packed by latest latest latest today. Coz i always pack last minute into the wee hours. Haha! But this time, i have to sleep & wake up so early. I cannot imagine waking Joel up from his slumber too. :/

I had a hard time deciding which shoes to wear. Coz i LOVE my red wedge which did not get to see the daylight during CNY. I must find a chance to wear them!!! I also realized i had so many other pairs of nice nice heels stored away. All new! I must have a hundred pairs of shoes here (and another hundred pairs back home in Singapore).

In the end, i decided to wear flats - again! ;p



I should really get my butt off the Mac and start packing the rest of the stuffs!!! I'm hopelessly lazy...and yes (Elvis), i love to sit here too much!!!

P.S. It's weird my feet size went from 35 to 36 after Joel...so there's quite a lot of shoes i dont fit anymore now. Fortunately, most of the sneakers are still ok. ;)

baby food

Our friend Astrid will be bringing frozen baby porridge for babies Johan & Joel. We had quite a headache looking for the ideal warmer/cooler or whatever that we can use. Then i found a portable flameless stove to defrost and warm the porridge! So we can do everything on our own! I'm also bringing the Shuttle Chef pot. (I know all these sounds a little crazy)

I'm also bringing these - just in case.

So you can imagine that our luggages will be heavy! Haha! ;)

the reader

A few days ago, we watched the Oscar winner - The Reader.

I dont know what to say about this movie, really. BTW, ours is uncensored version. Just catch it!

THE READER opens in post-WWII Germany when teenager Michael Berg becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna, a stranger twice his age. Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Hanna is enthralled as Michael reads to her from "The Odyssey," "Huck Finn" and "The Lady with the Little Dog." Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life - this time as a defendant in the courtroom. As Hanna's past is revealed, Michael uncovers a deep secret that will impact both of their lives. THE READER is a story about truth and reconciliation, about how one generation comes to terms with the crimes of another.

P.S. Kate Winslet was so skinny, she resembles Madonna in the movie.

upper reaches of the sea

Yday i went out to do tai-tai things (Haha!)... On my way home, i went to the post office to pick up a mail. I thought it was some bank letter for Elvis. Much to my surprise, it was a coffee table book titled 'Upper Reaches of the Sea' by Alynn Teo.

Inside were pictures of Alynn's holiday in Shanghai last December! Places she went, things she saw, things she liked, food she ate, people she spied on, grounds she walked on, arty places... In it were lots of pictures of Joel & Mommy Jo too! I'm very touched by the gift and it's really one of the best presents i have ever received! WOW! I hope to show you all of it...but here's just a couple of pages including its cover of the skinny trees along the streets of Shanghai.

Look, Joel has a spread page too! ;)

It's kinda weird how Alynn and i "really met" just last December (we were more like 'acquaintance' before this)...but we became fast friends and later realized we've quite a lot in common too!

Thanks so much, Alynn, for being such a wonderful friend. ;)

just the 2 of us

On Sunday, i brought Joel to his play class on my own. The setups were very different that day. More climbing: motor and balancing skills. As usual, Joel blur blur...plus he was feeling a bit grouchy that day. I dont know why. Maybe becoz i woke him up at 2pm, fed him milk instead of porridge (coz i didnt cook) and rushed him off to the 3pm class.

When i placed him down on the mat, he just sat there and "stone". Usually, he will start crawling around. You can see from the pictures below. Keke... ;)



After the class, i went shopping with Joel for about 2 hours...till my legs really ached the next day. Coz he's really too heavy now. I got him this hat for sunny Bali (which Daddy says makes him look like a girl). I also bought him a smart white shirt and this cool animal farm magnet/puzzle (see right).

I went home and realized the shirt is a bit too big. Same as the H&M red checks shirt we bought him last week. It's so difficult to buy his real (14mths) size now. If buy 12-18mths, can only wear for a short while. And for 2yrs looks big leh!!! So, i still dont know what Joel will be wearing to the wedding. Anyway...he can always wear his old clothes. Same goes for Mommy & Daddy. ;p

cooking 11-12

Elvis could come home early these 2 days. 'Early' = 7pm, which is super rare. So, we had dinner at home coz it's too cold to go out for dinner. Yesterday, i asked Ahyi to cook whatever food we have in the fridge.

Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting Ahyi's cooking #11 for yesterday's dinner... (drum roll)...
- same Hong Shao Pork
- same chicken with soya sauce
- same prawns with same chili/black bean sauce
- soup


AND Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting... (drum roll)...
Jo's FIRST attempt cooking real food-food today for dinner...
- 干煸四季豆 gan bian si ji dou with minced pork
- pork chop with ketchup sauce (the sauce looks weird)
- egg & luncheon meat (just in case all else fails, this would be perfect)



K.O. I win! ;)

on a lighter note

Just got this other email which brought a smile to my face. Hope it'll do the same to you too! ;)

Joke
During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director, 'How do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized?'

'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.'

'Oh, I understand,' said the visitor. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.'

'No' said the Director. 'A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?'

for jo and terry

A friend drew this and put up in her blog

Thanks! ;)