The Wedding

The Wedding was over in a flash! I remembered sleeping at 1+am the night before after a slight quarrel with the hubs. Woke up at 5.15am and went to wash up plus bought breakfast for the sisters. My Make Up Artist (MUA) and her assistant arrived at about 6.15am. The videographer also arrived at 6.30am to start recording for my make up. Photographer only arrived at 7am (I asked him to come at 7am coz I was a cheapskate and didn't want to pay the extra charge) >_<

Sisters arrived and started preparing the gatecrashing items, from waxing strips to chilli padi to icing sugar etc. The hubs and his band of brothers arrived at 7.10am, but my cousin who was supposed to open the car door wasn't here yet so they all had to wait.

At 7.30am they came up and the gatecrashing began. I could only stay in the room and take selfies hahaha.

The whole thing ended at about 8.20am and they came in, relaxed for a while, got a drink, before we moved off to the hubs' place.

All his relatives had to hide in the bedrooms/kitchen when I entered. Then we had to eat some sweet dessert. Anyway his family is huge so there were about 50 people in the house. So tea ceremony began and we received many red packets and gave out a few too as the younger ones would serve us tea. After tea ceremony, I changed into my tea dress and we headed back to my parents' house. As I have only a few relatives, so the tea ceremony was pretty quick. We ordered buffet at both our houses so the brothers and sisters ate at my place, then after that they all went home to rest while we headed to the hotel.

Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre granted us early check in. Our room number was 422 and our helpers' room was 419. We rested for about 2 hours before my MUA arrived at 4.15pm. Her assistant also arrived around the same time to do hair and make up for my mum and my sis, as well as my mother-in-law.

Soon the guests started arriving. The brothers and the hubs went to meet with the banquet coordinator to coordinate for the evening. My emcees also arrived to rehearse together. I went down at about 7.20pm to mingle with my guests and to take some photos. :)

The whole dinner went well and I think for brides-to-be, don't worry stepping on your dress as all these are very common. I stepped on my dress countless times while marching in. After 2 march-ins and a very short speech, we proceeded with phototaking session with all the tables and very soon it was farewell time. To me it was a night that went very smoothly and I enjoyed every single bit of the attention. :) Can't wait for the photos taken that night to be out!

Countdown: 6 days to wedding

It's less than a week to my BIG DAY! I'm excited but frankly speaking this whole wedding has been quite a chore so I truly can't wait for it to be over. Those people who says they miss preparing for their wedding must be crazy. So this week I am still at work. My wedding is on Sunday but I am only taking leave from Wed onwards. Honestly by now the preparations work are almost all done. Below is a rough checklist of the things I did last week for your reference! :)

- Confirmed guestlist and number of guests
- Arrange seating arrangements for all guests
- Confirm timing to arrive with Make Up Artist and photographer
- Search for bridal hairstyles that you may want (unless you really trusts your MUA). When searching online for bridal hairstyles, bear in mind that face shape is very important because the same hairstyles would look different on people with different face shapes. Like I know that my face is long, so I need something that would give me more width.
- Burn march-in songs, first dish song, and background music into CD, I separated the march in songs, first dish song and background music into 2 different CDs, so that it would be easier to play and there will be no mix-ups.
- Confirm catering for tea ceremony
- Inform your relatives what time to arrive for tea ceremony
- Buy new bedsheets (if required)

This week, the list of things I have left to do....but perhaps I am really last minute haha it may be better if you can get these done even earlier I guess! :)

- Facial (this is a little last minute...should have done it last week in case sensitive skin etc but too late)
- Manicure and pedicure
- dentist appointment (for me it's because I wear Invisalign and have to remove the "brackets" but i think brides-to-be can go for teeth whitening!)
- my bridal studio (Destino) does not provide corsages for my sisters so I had to purchase my own. Collection tonight!
- Write down your TO-BRING LIST so you know what you need to bring to the hotel on that day. Things like undergarments, pyjamas, clothes for next day check out, wedding album, wedding montage CD, make-up remover, contact lens case, spectacles, handphone charger etc...my idea is to put all the stuff into a gigantic luggage so those things would be more easily transported. Just remember not to throw your gowns inside if they are easily wrinkled!
- put lots of masks and rest and drink enough water. Be a good girl and put on that lip balm, body lotion etc. Don't sleep late and stay happy!

I am seriously just waiting for it to be over man! Then there will be the honeymoon!!! Woohoo!

My ROM ~ 30th November 2013

We are legally and officially married!!!! *throws confetti on self*

We had our ROM at lunchtime and on a Saturday. Since ROM does not open on Saturdays, it was slightly troublesome. We had to go to ROM 4 days before to collect our marriage cert.

On the day itself, we had to find ourselves a venue to have it. Since we were not planning to invite any friends or relatives, we only required one table. Hilltop Garden Restaurant at the Civil Service Club at Bukit Batok was able to give us a small function room (complete with karaoke system! haha) that could accommodate one banquet table and a small rectangular table for our ROM ceremony.

Our Pastor arrived really early. I really like our Pastor I feel that he is genuinely concerned for us. He met us twice before our solemnization to talk about stuff and run through the vows etc. He even said he wants to meet us again 6 months down the road to see how we are doing. So for Christian couples who are not regular church-goers, but you still want to honour God and get married not only in the eyes of the law but also in the eyes of God himself, you may want to consider inviting Pastor Nehemiah Koa aka Reverend Koa Guan Chian. Pastor can only do English though not Mandarin.

Our solemnization was simple and it was over in 15 minutes. :)

Then lunch began! It was a 8 or 9 course lunch (can't remember) but both the hubs' parents and my parents were really impressed with the food. We selected there because it was affordable but I've attended a wedding dinner there before and the food was quite good that night. I didn't expect their standard to still be this good after 4-5 years. They actually have quite a big, pillarless ballroom,  my father asked how come I didn't arrange for my banquet to be there. My concern was the location lah.

Anyway all in all it was a short and simple affair but one which should probably rightfully be like that. The customary wedding is a fanfare alright, but at least this solemnization which is probably the most important portion of all, is not an act put up for all to see, but something close to our hearts.

That said, customary wedding in 11 days! Can't wait for it to finally be over!

Wedding jitters

Tomorrow is my ROM day...I am feeling slightly nervous. I actually told the hubs that perhaps we should do our ROM another day lol. I think he got quite alarmed.

Anyway we are going through with it lah...for better and for worse mah. Haha.

We are having it with our immediate family only, no friends or relatives, only his parents and my parents and my sister.

Our rings..from Celestial range...can upgrade within 2 years, just pay the difference. If more than 2 years then will have 20% depreciation.

I think a lot of peopl are gonna ask why the rings are not the similar wedding band kind, especially mine. I think ultimately it is best to choose something we both like coz we are gonna wear it for life? :)

It's quite scary that from tomorrow onwards, I will be a married woman. I don't think I am ready for it, nor am I prepared for the responsibilities that come with it...but I will try to make our marriage work. :)

More updates to come!

Food Review #9 - Saveur

One weekend the hubs felt like eating foie gras. I think the way foie gras is made is really cruel but I don't like to impose my thoughts on other people's food habits as well. I remember a JC friend told me before that when I eat fish roe, I am actually killing hundreds of baby fish and that irked me quite a bit. Because she herself eats eggs...anyway so I never liked to tell the hubs that foie gras is cruel etc or forbid him to eat it.

Anyway I digressed. We decided to head to Saveur at Purvis Street.

Waited for about 10 mins for a table.

The pasta with sakura ebi is nice, the hubs loved it.

The hubs liked the foie gras too, he felt that it was quite worth the money. 

Some cold crab thing which neither the hubs not I fancied. We felt it was too fishy. 

The hubs' roast pork main course. Frankly I don't know who would be full after eating this. Maybe skinny girls with small appetites? I know even I myself probably won't be full. 

My beef bourguignon, which I heart! It was so yummy! There was too little gravy though but the beef was oh-so-tender. It was quite a treat and I would definitely go back if I want to eat a good and affordable beef bourguignon!

All in all, the hubs and I felt that Saveur had some hits and some misses, but given the affordability, we would overlook the misses! We probably wouldn't travel all the way to Bugis for Saveur but if ever we are in the area, we may consider dropping by if we feel like some economical French food!

Food Review #8 - Poulet

Last Friday my girlfriends and I went to Poulet at Jurong Point. For Jurong Point, it is nothing short of suspicious if there is no queue at the restaurant during dinnertime. I should have sensed something was amiss.

Anyway we were happy there were no queue, and I was pretty excited coz I've been wanting to try Poulet but have not had the chance.

We were all very hungry so we ordered quite a fair bit.

I apologise for the blurriness of the photo, my phone's camera has been acting up. :(

Anyway the mushroom soup was a good start to the meal! It was creamy, fragrant and flavourful. We loved it! :)

My oxtail in red wine sauce wasn't good though. The gravy was not as flavourful and robust as I had hoped it would be. The oxtail portion wasn't big. It wasn't a very filling main. :(

Sauteed wild mushrooms which was a decent dish I guess. Nothing fantastic though.

My friends' chicken, which they commented tasted like herbal chicken (?!) hahaha. We also ordered escargots, which were quite horrible. The gravy that came with the escargots were not even tasty or fragrant. :( The picture turned out blur as well so I'm not posting it up.

The bill for all these + 3 drinks came up to $103+, I think our group came to the consensus that the food at Poulet were not what people hyped it up to be.

My friends and I agreed that we would probably never go back, given that there are so many restaurant choices in Singapore.

My Wedding Journey #6 - Destino Bridal Gallery - Album layout

Yesterday the hubs and I drove into JB to choose our album layout. We were pretty disciplined about choosing our photos, as a result we only had 13 pages for our photo album, but we were okay with that.

So we were shown the photoshopped touch ups and edits, the "designer" did a good job actually. Though certain portions he did overdo it a little. So we were asked to look through the photos, and let the girl (Vicky) know which parts we still want the designer to work on. She will bring it to the designer and let him edit it on the spot and come back with the edited version 2. So this went back and forth until we were both quite happy with the photos. :)

After that we had to select the cover photo for our album, a table standee of our photo, the photos we want on the 80 small cards included in the package, a poster standee, our big frame and photo and a long version photo and a coffee table photo. So all in all, the package included:
- 80 small photos (namecard size) that you can give to your friends/relatives
- Actual photo album
- Coffee table album (smaller version of actual photo album)
- an A4 size ( or slightly bigger maybe) photo that can be displayed at the reception table or wherever
- Poster
- A long photo that can be mounted on to the wall
- the usual big one you hang at your bed

We were so overwhelmed we almost wanted to forgo some of those things! Anyway the whole process took about 2 hours. In the end we were quite satisfied with our choices.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I told Vicky about my plans to rent dresses in Singapore. I think my distress was obvious to her and the fact that the hubs and I were not very pleased about this.

Vicky immediately went to find dresses for me to try, dresses that I didn't get to try the last time round because they were taken out of the bridal studio by other brides that day. So after checking that these dresses are available on my actual day, she let me try and I managed to select 1 bridal gown and 1 evening gown which were both much nicer than my previous selection.

The hubs also managed to find a jacket that fitted him well. I must say we both left Destino yesterday very satisfied customers. I really must commend on Vicky's patience and the fact that she remained cheerful and chirpy throughout our various requests and demands.

Art Jamming at Arteastiq

A few weeks ago, one of my colleagues suddenly asked me to go art jamming with her at Arteastiq. Having heard a fair bit about it but have never had the time nor found anyone interested in going with me, I've never been there. So I said yes to this colleague immediately.

Upon reaching there, we were asked to select our pictures from the files they had. Once you've selected a picture, they would give you a colour print out of it so you can refer to it while you paint. Alternatively, you can bring your own picture too.

You also get to select one of the beverages they have. 

There weren't really anything I fancied and I was a little afraid I may choose something totally out of my league so I chose a cute picture.

Top left is the picture I chose, and my drawing on the canvas

A while later...haha I had to redraw the "cliffs" as they were too high up on the canvas initially, my man had no space to stand nor space for the hearts!

My finished piece!

Word of advice, these cute pictures may look simple and easy, but the different shades are enough to kill. My advice if you're a beginner is, go for abstract art. That way, even if you mess it up it's okay!

It was actually pretty fun and for 3 hours you forget about the world outside and just immerse yourself in the painting. Kind of like reading a good book actually. It was fun and kind of relaxing too I had a great time! If only it weren't so pricey, I probably would go back every week!

After painting you get to bring your painting home! :) Highly recommended activity for groups of friends, couples and if you like to paint and haven't done it for a long time or if you just wanna try painting! Don't worry you don't need to be an expert to enjoy it. 

Arteastiq @ Mandarin Gallery

$48 for 3 hours art jamming session, every additional hour at $5 per hour (subject to availability)

Call 6235 8705 to book. :)

There are packages & promotions available, go to http://www.arteastiq.com/artjam.html and click on the PDF file for more details.

My Wedding Journey #5 - Destino Bridal Gallery

Last Saturday, the hubs and I went to Destino to select our pre-wedding photos. Our package consisted of 35 poses, in the end after 1.5 hours, we ended up with 39 poses. It's not that the photos weren't nice, it's just that we wanted to cut costs and had to be as heartless as we could.

In my opinion, the photos turned out great. Not all, as I have to say that some of the poses we were asked to pose in were so old-fashioned that it was kinda embarrasing to see them in print. The photos were nice, and had the hubs lost more weight before the photoshoot, I'm sure we would have ended up selecting even more. I kept reassuring him that they would do photoshop to slim him down but frankly he didn't want to take the risk.

Each extra pose costs RM$150 = SGD$60, and with every 4 poses selected they gave 2 extra pages for the album, which made sense otherwise the album's just gonna end up messy and overcrowded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later in the evening, KC came with us into JB to select my actual day gowns. I have to say that, so far those of you who've read my blog know that I've had not much complaints about Destino. Unfortunately, today's post is one in which I have to share with you readers my disappointment, as much as I am reluctant to do so as I do love Destino for their service level.

I am by far, not a fussy customer. As long as the gown doesn't make me look fat, isn't too bling (I don't like it to be too bling), makes me look quite elegant, I am ok. Sad to say, Destino's actual day gowns were a huge huge disappointment.

Trying on the gowns for photoshoot was a breeze, trying on the gowns for actual day was anything but. The gowns were either unflattering, too exaggerated, too much bling, awful colour combination, too many details (lace + flowers + bling altogether on upper torso). In short, the dresses look like cheap dresses from the mainland, and not classy at all.

The evening gowns were about the same, came in gaudy colours, with lots of un-classy blings and stupid looking designs. I ended up choosing a dark blue toga dress that was the nicest (in my opinion of the lot). Unfortunately, that dress is a little too small for me so they were supposed to inform me whether alterations could be done (but they've not called me yet and it's been 4 days actually). I also chose another evening gown just in case, but the second gown was really chosen coz there weren't any other better options and it was late at night (about 10pm). I mean, given a choice, I wouldn't have selected gown no 2 either.

So brides-to-be, be warned. I love Destino and their services and their photos, but their actual day gowns...were really disappointing. I am contemplating right now to rent other gowns for my actual day, and that is sad because it's troublesome and secondly it's gonna cost me extra. :( Sigh.

I would advise all brides interested in Destino to look through their gown selections first. However don't be taken in by all that you see on their ipad. Some of the dresses have already been discarded due to wear and tear, in some other cases the dresses may not be something you can wear because of sizing. My advice is BEFORE you sign a package with them, look through their ipad, make sure there are at least 2 or 3 designs you like, then ask them to let you try (why not?).

Beware some of the salesgirls there though, I've a feeling some of them are actually quite experienced and quite sneaky. They may throw you excuses like "Oh another bride is trying it, oh it has been taken out etc" you just need to tell them to be upfront about it and be honest with you, otherwise don't sign anything with them.

On a happier note, I found a few shops that have some really nice gowns for rent! Gonna go check them out! :)

Mini BootiQue Collection 2 launched!

Mini BootiQue has launched its second collection! :) 

This is a set! Comes with both the singlet and the comfy pants. Actually it's quite unisex lah I feel, suitable for both little boys and girls. 

Also a set! Love the giraffe on the shirt with the matching polka dot berms!

A sweet chiffon & lace combination, for little girls when mummies bring them out for high teas, wedding celebrations, birthday celebrations and all other special occasions! This dress is comfortable and cooling because it's made of chiffon material.

For more of our items on sale, please visit us at https://www.facebook.com/Minibootique 

Do like us and share us with your friends! :)

Food Review #7 - L'Entrecote

That day 4 of us went to L'Entrecote for dinner.  One of my friends have tried the Paris branch and wanted to try out the Singapore branch as well.

We made a reservation for 7pm but the restaurant was quite empty. There were about 3-4 occupied tables only, in a restaurant that could sit about 100. Once we sat down, they offered us complimentary drinks, some white wine mixed with dunno what berries. Not bad. :)

We ordered our mains (they only have one type of main - steak) and some appetizers.

This was their foie gras. I don't like foie gras, because of its taste and because of it's methods of processing. Anyway i think the general consensus among those who ate it is that it is not bad. I ate the bread and that's nice though, we asked for seconds. :D

The main course comes with a walnut salad. This was pretty refreshing, accompanied by crispy greens.

We were pretty happy with the escargots. These 6 little buggers were snapped up in no time.

Ta-dah! Here's the main lead for the day. They've already sliced up your steak for you but it's still too big a piece to pop into the mouth. I ordered medium rare and I felt that the beef was quite good, just that I didn't really like the sauce much coz it was sourish - probably balsamic vinegar. The gravy overpowered the steak so that was quite sad. Fries were very well done, each one was crispy and you get free-flow fries!

My friend who've been to the Paris branch commented that the one there is much better. When asked, the waiters replied that they adopted the same recipe, but they did add that probably ingredient quality is still different. Not that the ingredient quality the Singapore branch uses is not good or low, but well I suppose there's differences between the balsamic vinegar we use and the ones they use! (Just an example)

I remember this! It's named Crepes Suzette on the menu. Actually I liked this alot, though the hubs complained it was too sour. Well it's citrus hello what did u expect? For a person like him who can't take sourish stuff, it's probably too much but I personally like it. I find the sour taste quite well balanced with the sweet.

Their signature lava cake. I don't know whether I missed it or they didn't state it, but I was really looking forward to a chocolate lava cake, not caramel lava cake. I dislike caramel as I find that it can be very sickeningly sweet at times. This wasn't too bad but honestly speaking it wasn't outstanding either. The scoop of ice cream was nice though, very fragrant. :)

All in all, the hubs and I concluded that we would probably not go back again as it's not really worth the money. To us, there are definitely better steaks out there.

Food Review #6: Kim Chi & BBQ @ JB

That day after our photoshoot, we were so famished so we asked the bridal studio's staff to introduce some places to us. They recommended this Korean BBQ place near the studio. The hubs lurrrrve Korean BBQ, so we decided to go and try it out.

The restaurant interior.

The food items were very affordable. We decided to order the Set meant for 2 pax, which costs RM$105++. With the current exchange rate, that's about SGD$40 for 2 pax. The items include pork belly, marinated chicken, kimchi pancake, a saury (type of fish) and a ginseng chicken soup. We thought it was very affordable and worth it!

Look at the pork! :D

Best part about this korean BBQ place, according to the hubs, is that we don't have to barbecue the meat ourselves! The staff will barbecue for you and they are quite attentive (but the restaurant wasn't that crowded coz we reached at about 9pm). Can't vouch for peak hours though.

The usual Korean restaurant freebies hehe

The saury! This was quite yummy, fresh and the skin was crisp! The hubs don't eat fish so I finished this all by myself!

I exchanged my ginseng chicken soup for my favourite kimchi soup! This was really good! Spicy, with a kick, and they were generous with the ingredients in the soup.

The kimchi pancake...which was quite...mehhhhh. On my next trip there I'll definitely try to exchange this dish for something else!

Overall the hubs and I enjoyed ourselves and the food. He's been yearning to go back there again ever since! :)

MINI BootiQue

I'm not entirely sure how many readers I have, whether they are regular readers or just random passerbys. Anyway, whoever you are, I thank you for stopping by. ^___^

Right now I would like to ask a favour of all you readers and passerbys. Can you please help me LIKE the following Facebook page?

https://www.facebook.com/Minibootique

MINI BootiQue is a blogshop opened by me and a close girlfriend. Our aim is to provide affordable and quality children's clothing to mummies. I will be very very grateful if you could just help to like the page, or better yet, become our customer! :)

My Wedding Journey #4 - Destino Bridal Gallery - Photoshoot

On Monday & Tuesday, the hubs and I finally went for our photoshoot. We were told to reach Destino's in the morning by 9.30am. Once we got there, the make up artist (MUA) got to work. They would find out what dress you have chosen and design your hair to suit the dress. Of course, you can also tell them what you want, but they will advise you and let you know whether it's gonna look odd.

So, my MUA for the day (Vicco) started work on me immediately. By about 11.30am, both the hubs and I were dressed and ready to go for our outdoor photoshoot at Desaru! It is a one-hour drive from Destino. When we reached, our photographer Ah Hui brought us to the beach where we took some pics, but after about 4-5 poses into the shoot, a drizzle began and when we looked into the distance, we could see the heavy rain making its way over. We quickly went back to the car. Ah Hui discussed with us and asked us whether we wanted to go back to the studio for our indoor shoot instead, as from experience he could tell that this rain wouldn't stop anytime soon. Not wanting to waste time, we agreed. He called back the studio to check if there are MUAs or slots available.

Due to the heavy rain, we only got back to the studio at about 4.30pm. Immediately the MUA did my hair and make up for me for my first indoor shoot. I love Vicco my MUA because she is so good at hairstyling. I felt that I looked good in all the hairstyles she did for me! She is also friendly and approachable. Destino's package included 5 gowns for indoor shoot and 2 gowns for outdoor shoot. The hubs and I decided to do as many as we can, but I felt a bit bad that we made Ah Hui and his assistant stayed till so late. We managed to finish the photoshoot for 4 indoor gowns but we ended at 9.30pm. By right, the staff there knocks off at about 8pm so we felt bad for making them stay late. Still, they were very cheerful and relaxed and professional about it.

Hubs and I was waiting for a cab back to the hotel (he parked his car in Destino's for safekeeping coz they have a guard at night) and there were no cabs inside. Just then, a lady drove out from Destino, she asked us where we were heading to and we told her KSL. Just like that, without even knowing who we are or what our names are, she gave us a ride to KSL. She's one of the staff at Destino's and really friendly. She commented that it is dangerous to flag for cabs in JB at night. Anyway thanks Ms Mei Hui! :)

Second day, we were still told to reach by 9.30am, so make up and hair started immediately. We finished the last indoor shoot, then headed again to Desaru. This time, the weather was not sunny but at least it wasn't raining. It was just cloudy. Yay for that. Anyway we finished our photoshoot at almost 7pm and headed back to JB. Thankfully this time round, no rain so no jam. We managed to reach the studio by 8.15pm and bade farewell to our new friends.

Overall, I have to say that I was very very pleased with Destino's services rendered. The staff there are all really friendly, helpful and it is nice talking to them and seeing them work because they are just like a big family. Ah Hui (photographer) is funny, professional and really knows his stuff well. He is this skinny, humble guy who is simple and quite humourous at times.

I will strongly recommend Destino Bridal Gallery to all my friends and family and all you readers! (If anyone is actually reading this). You can find them on Facebook and look at their photos. I love their photos!

The only con, which I also mentioned to Ah Hui for him to feedback to his boss is that Destino's outdoor gowns are quite limited in collection. So if you are planning to look at Destino's, do take a look at their outdoor collection first and look for one that you like before deciding to sign with them!

Food Review #5 - Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant

Tucked away at a little mall in River Valley, Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant is one of the hubs' and my favourite haunts for Japanese buffet.

We liked this place for its affordability, fresh sashimi and good service. However, in recent years, we realised that as Kuru Kuru's reputation increased, its prices followed suit as well. What used to be affordable now turns out to be slightly more expensive than before. In addition to that, food quality is not consistent. It definitely dropped a few ranks on my list of favourite haunts. :(

The highlight of every Japanese buffet, Kuru Kuru offers Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail, Sea Bass and Octopus sashimi. Yesterday night when we went there with friends, we were served some very dubious sashimi. It looked a lot like Swordfish (which isn't on the menu). We asked the waitress coz we ordered 4 types of sashimi and only 3 types came so we weren't sure which one it was. We could recognise salmon and tuna easily enough. The waitress told us it was sea bass, so we asked her to bring us another serving. However, what she brought us was even more dubious. It was dull grey, warm, rubbery and wasn't even sliced properly. It was really disappointing. The salmon and the tuna were relatively fresh, but could have been colder or fresher I suppose. Compared to the past, I felt that the sashimi last night were really lacklustre.

Soft shell crab maki. Pretty average.

It's signature braised pork belly. The hubs loves it. I don't really like pork belly that much coz of all the fats.

Yaki Niku, one of my favourite dishes despite the oilyness. The beef is sliced thinly and fragrant, the gravy is also good with rice. :)

Very normal saba fish. Small pieces though.

Tori Karaage, which was quite average. But my friends loved the Tori wasabi mayo though, they commented the wasabi mayonnaise was done very well, and I agree.

All in all, I feel that Kuru Kuru can make more efforts to serve fresher, good quality food. Serving buffet is their choice and not an excuse to compromise on the food quality, especially now that they are looking to increase prices.

We paid $32++ each so it amounted to $37 per person. Service was decent though could be improved. Only good waitress is the lady with the sun tattoo near her thumb *smiles*. She's attentive and ever so polite. The rest of the waitstaff...hmmm...really can improve lah. :)

Food: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3.5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Kuru Kuru Japanese Restaurant

491 River Valley Rd #01-07
Singapore 248371

Tel # (65) 67332292

Food Review #4 - L'Espresso Cafe Weekday High Tea

The two besties and I took leave on one weekday afternoon to go for High Tea buffet. We were glad we chose L'Espresso. Their service was impeccable and the food was delightful. The ambience was relaxed, it was just a good way to chill.

We arrived at 2pm sharp and were asked to order two drinks. We then proceeded to the food counters.

This was what I came back with for my first plate of food. I really have to say that, every item on this plate was delicious. Some were normal, whereas there were some spectacular ones.

The lobster salad sandwich was really something. The lobster was normal but it was the bread (oh the bread!) that had me going back for seconds and thirds. The bread was soft, light and fluffy. Almost melt-in-your-mouth. 

The little tart in the middle was a tuna nicoise tart. I really liked this one, coz it combined tuna nicoise and quail egg! :D what's not to like?

The two croissants were really decent fare. Filling and satisfying. Some people may feel that it's silly to pay so much just to eat ham and cheese croissants or tuna croissants, but for me, sometimes the simple things can be quite awesome too.

The smoked salmon with caviar canape was really good. We had thirds and fourths. What was nice was the combination of the salty smoked salmon, with a light, refreshing pink colour cream beneath the salmon. The soft texture of the salmon and cream, combined with the crunchy bread was really great.

Picture above: more bread! Tori Karaage, which had too much fats and not enough meat. Swedish meatballs (I preferred Ikea's). Some sausage with pastry thing which was normal. Guinness beef stew, one of its signatures. The beef was tender and went well with the accompanying bread. Scones, also one of L'Espresso's signature. In fact, it's more famous than the beef stew. Together with the clotted cream, it did taste quite nice. Perhaps I am not a big fan of scones in general. I did enjoy it but one was more than enough for me. 

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY! I wanna eat it again. :(

Desserts! I love strawberry shortcakes! This was nice! Light and fluffy and not too dense. Tiramisu was normal, not bad too. Also quite light. Hehe. I didn't try the other desserts coz I was too full by then lol. Even after we sat there until 5.30pm, I still felt a little green from all that food. The dessert selection was quite comprehensive though, there was creme brulee and fresh fruits and other tarts/cakes/chocolate mousse whatever. Hahaha I don't really have a very sweet tooth. :P

We paid $158 for 3 of us, and I would definitely go back again, if my girlfriends want to. For the price, it may be a little pricey but quite worth the whole pleasant experience. :)

Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

Value-for-money: 3.5/5

Food Review #3 - Canopy Garden Dining & Bar

Yesterday hubs and I (actually he) had a craving for breakfast...at about 2pm in the afternoon lol.

We wanted to go to Bishan Park the day before but didn't, so we decided to make a trip down to Bishan Park this time round. Wanted to go try GRUB, but it closed at 2.30pm so we headed to Canopy Garden Dining and Bar which is open all day.

Upon reaching there, we were pleasantly surprised as we were led to this outdoor but cool and sheltered area. There are patrons around who bring their pets (mainly dogs) along so if you're terrified of dogs this may not be the best place for you. Me, I'm a huge dog lover. Which explained why I got scratched by a gigantic Golden Retriever who was so friendly and full of love. :)

The restaurant is a nice chill out place. We saw couples, friends and families just sitting around, chatting and relaxing. There were quite a lot of patrons but everybody was just chilling that the atmosphere was relaxed and quite nice, really.

So the hubs had a craving for breakfast...but he ordered Crab Aglio Olio instead. Whereas me, I always love breakfasts, especially one that has bacon and sauteed mushrooms.

Crab Aglio Olio ($19)

I know right? It looks good doesn't it? Unfortunately, I didn't really like it very much, and neither did hubs because he took one bite and looked at me with puppy eyes and asked if we could exchange. LOL. We did finish the whole thing coz we were so hungry.

I like my Aglio Olio to be as basic as possible, perhaps that's why this didn't quite hit the spot. It had too much herbs and not enough garlic and pepper. I like my Aglio Olios with a bit of Oomph. It wasn't not nice, just not memorable. I probably wouldn't order it again the next time I'm there.

Grilled Breakfast ($18)

The breakfast, however was good! I loved every bit of the breakfast! :) Simple and wholesome. The scrambled eggs were done perfectly!

My only gripe about the place was the service. Service was really not fantastic. First of all, they gave me a fork and a spoon for the breakfast. No knife. Second, we ordered a toast basket that came with butter and jam but no butter knife. Third, the waiters were kind of snobby (ok this may be the paranoid me speaking) but I felt that one of them was particularly rude. Like he was at the bar doing his stuff, but when we ordered stuff or called for service he turned around and stared at us kind of like thinking we can't afford to eat there. I don't know man haha probably just me >_< Or maybe it's because we were in singlet and shorts and slippers lol coz we wanted a leisurely afternoon cycling session.

All in all, I would go back just for the food and relaxing atmosphere.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Canopy Garden Dining
Bishan Park II
Tel: 6556 1533

The power of thoughts

Ever since the altercation I had with the girls at work since February, we've been on non-talking terms (basically it's them against me) since then. So it's been almost half a year of being quiet at the workplace. I am not normally a quiet person, though I feel that I can be either an extrovert or an introvert. So now's the time the introvert comes out more frequently than before.

All these while, I felt that I was being ostracised and unfairly treated. I mean, honestly I didn't even do anything to warrant all these cold shoulders and juvenile behaviour. Nonetheless, I've been kinda unhappy for a whole 6 months. I mean, after all, how happy can you be when you know the girls at work hate your guts?

So for the past few months, I've been keeping a lookout for a job. On and off, there would come periods of time when I would be so angsty and frustrated that I'd send out 10 job applications in a day. When people asked, I would say that I am unhappy at work.

This morning at work, something just came into my mind. Nothing even sparked it off. It was a random, sudden pop-into-your-head kind of thing. The revelation came in a more complicated manner/sentence/thought, but it can be summed up in three words

I DON'T CARE

And it's true. I really don't! What they think of me, what they say about me. I won't go so far as to say it doesn't affect me. Of course it does, I'd have to be cold-blooded not to be affected. But it no longer has an impact on my happiness. I feel like God has given me freedom over the hold Satan had on me. It's almost like Satan trapped me into being unhappy, grouchy when I have so much in my life to be thankful for. And also a job that honestly ain't too bad. 

It's so liberating to know that you can choose to be happy. It is a CHOICE, within our grasp. It is simply a matter of seeing things differently, making a conscious decision to think about things in another manner. Now I feel less unsettled at work and more at peace with myself actually. They can think what they want or say what they want, because honestly, those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. :)

Food Review #2 - Shin Kushiya

Last week I went to Shin Kushiya at Jem for dinner. Even on a weekday night, the queue was quite unbelievable. In fact, I'd say that applied to all restaurants in Jem. Fortunately, I waited only about 10 minutes for my table.

B came shortly after and we started ordering. The food did take quite a while to come. B was really excited coz she came the week before and fell in love with the grilled sweet potatoes and grilled corn.

Honestly, perhaps B raised my expectations way too high, but I was expecting the sweet potato to be more flavourful than THAT. It was hopelessly dry and even though B insisted they put sea salt on the skin, I could barely taste it. It was bland and not as fragrant as I had hoped.

The corn on the other hand, was nicely grilled, with a little bit of soy sauce and was juicy and really yums. I would reorder the corn again, but not the sweet potato.

LOL I gave it such a low-class name as beef platter. Actually it's called Gyu Veg Platter, which stands for beef-vegetables-platter. The combination of beef and vegetables was surprisingly delicious, with both complementing one another. However, again, there were some hits and some misses. The beef with asparagus (top skewer) missed because the asparagus was all dried up. I can't remember what the second skewer was (not memorable) but I love love love the third and fifth skewers! Third skewer's tomatoes were juicy and paired with the thin beef, it was a dream! Fifth was a hit too because roasted mushrooms just taste so good. Fourth skewer was just beef cubes but it wasn't too bad, just not outstanding.

The Yakitori (aka chicken) platter was not too bad too. Chicken balls were nice. Quail eggs were normal. Chicken skewer was normal. The fourth skewer however, tasted odd (mentai paired with chicken is quite weird all in all), and the chicken was too chewy. The chicken wings were great! :)

There are so many skewers on the menu that the best way to try most of it is to order the platters. Unfortunately, there are bound to be some hits and misses along the way. All in all, I would say the dinner experience was quite good and enjoyable with good service. However, for the price range, I would make Shin Kushiya a once-in-a-while place to frequent.

We ordered a sushi as we wanted some rice but the sushi honestly...I could do without. They charged $6.80 each for the sweet potato and corn. I find the food slightly overpriced coz I really didn't feel that I ate $18.00 worth of anything on that Gyu Veg Platter but oh well. The Mentai Yaki Onigiri was grilled rice...but it tasted just the way it should..burnt.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Value for money: 2.5/5

Shin Kushiya @ JEM
Tel; 6339 0322

My Wedding Journey #3 - Preparations

So it bugs me that the shop assistant at the bridal studio kept asking me to lose a bit of weight in order for me to fit into the beautiful dresses. Unfortunately for me, I have a pear-shaped body. My upper body can fit a Small size but hips would fit M, and lately L. So I'm determined to lose weight. Have been watching what I eat for the past few days, not so much counting calories though I do have a rough idea. I want to recommend an app known as MyFitnessPal. I love this app because it has a scanner function. You can scan the food labels and it'll show you the calories, sugar etc. Now I know my daily morning coffee has 192 calories. :)

So my target is to try to consume less than 1200 calories everyday. In addition, except for my morning coffee, I'm cutting down on my sugar intake (which isn't hard coz I ain't got a sweet tooth). I don't usually like chocolates or cakes so that's not an issue. My biggest sugar problem would be soft drinks I guess. Cutting down on that as well though!

I've been swimming, not regularly but at least some workout is better than nothing. Even if I don't lose weight, I can at least tone my arms and legs (and hopefully, butt too). Anyway, swimming for 45 mins burns about 300 calories, so means as long as I eat less than 1200 calories on my swimming days, effectively I still lose weight! I haven't been weighing myself and am not planning to do so - fear of the unknown haha. So I'll just go to the bridal studio on the day I do my photoshoot (which is about a month away) and pray I can squeeze into those dresses.

In the meantime, I went for my trial make up the other day and hubs said I looked dull. I think it was the lighting in the place but I personally also felt that I didn't look radiant enough (like all brides should!). The makeup artist (MUA for short) commented my T-zone is very dry. She recommended me to use the watermelon mask and white chocolate mask from Skin Food. Unfortunately, both these masks have been discontinued because they have a new range of mask sheets.

So now I have been applying Laneige water sleeping pack once every 2-3 days and using facial mask sheets in between. I wonder whether there's such a thing as over-masking lol. Anyway my brightening mask 2 days ago made my face itch a little. I do have to admit that my skin texture is smoother than before. Now I just have to find ways to lift my face (non-cosmetic ways! No botox!) and minimize those crater pores. :)

I will update here if any of the products I tried are any good!

Food Review #1 - Melt - The World Cafe

Yesterday was hubs' birthday! I brought him to Melt - The World Cafe at Mandarin Oriental. I had high hopes, having read on a few bloggers' blogs that Melt is one of the best buffets in Singapore. I think they raised my hopes wayyyy too high.

To me, first of all, a buffet has to have HUGE variety, especially when you're charging that kind of price tag. It costs $108++ for an adult (free flow non-alcoholic drinks) and $158++ for the alcoholic one. So if I'm gonna pay $108++ for a meal, the selection of food available better make me happy, or otherwise, better be of good quality.

Melt, unfortunately, fell short of both quality and quantity. The only food items worth mentioning were the Alaskan crab legs and the foie gras (which I don't eat but the hubs swooned over them). The sashimi was fresh but they only served tuna(maguro), salmon(sake) and something else (hamachi?), which in my opinion, was quite a humble selection.

Oysters were fresh but not shucked properly, and not replenished quickly. Lobster was a tad too dry. BBQ section was the WORST. I was so deeply disappointed at the paltry selection of meats. Honestly, it was disappointing beyond belief. The BBQ section only had beef, chicken breast, kebabs of squid and salmon, prawns, mini burger and satay. Friends who were with us commented that the satay was not bad. Hubs and I had the beef and well all I can say is, go for it, if you like the taste of charred meat (which I know, surprisingly, some people do). It was a tad too charred for my liking, I could practically taste the grill. The beef's doneness was also not consistent.

They had two soups, one herbal chicken and one tom yum goong. Nothing fantastic, I suggest saving the stomach space for other stuff. The Indian food selection was also not fantastic. Papadum had a greasy taste to it. You could taste the oil - not exactly pleasant. The cooked food section with meats like bacon and sausages. Er...$108++ for bacon? Really? Even the sauteed mushrooms didn't taste good. I've gone to cheap breakfast places and had so much better. The shepherd's pie was also terrible. The lamb tasted so horribly strong I felt like I was at a sheep farm. Hubs tried the live pasta station and commented that the aglio olio wasn't nice.

The desserts section was slightly more decent, with a fairly large selection of desserts. Nothing fantastic though like before, but there weren't as many screw-ups as all the previous sections. The crepe with homemade vanilla ice cream was nice. The thin hot crepe paired with the cold ice cream was quite a treat.

All in all, for $108++ per person, Hubs and myself as well as our two other good friends were quite disappointed. The couple with us frequents Fullerton more often and he felt that Fullerton's buffet is better (and cheaper too no less). This is probably the first time and last time I stepped into Melt.

My Wedding Journey #2: Destino Bridal Gallery

On Saturday, KC, the hubs and I drove into JB. I was excited because it's gown fitting day. Our appointment is at 3pm so we went in for lunch and tea break haha. When we got there, we were led into a small little area separated from the main area with a thick velvet curtain. The little area had a big sofa and sort of like a stage area with a big mirror. So I have to change on the "stage" then draw the curtains to show the audience.

First thing the assistant does is to take your measurements, because some of the dresses off the racks may not be in your size. So if it's not, then the assistant wouldn't bother to bring them to you for trying. At the beginning, I didn't know what gowns to select so the shop assistant brought me many different styles to try on. Some of the dresses' designs were so "off" that I didn't even want to try them, but she did say I need to try out the different cuttings/styles.

In the end, the hubs came up with a brilliant idea. He asked the assistant to bring in some sample albums, and he selected the gown based on the photos he saw. This way, he could easily look through 40-50 dresses in a flash and select the ones he believes I'll look good in. Though I do suggest that the bride sit down together with him to select. In any case, as he went through the album and selected the gowns accordingly, the assistant would tell you whether the gowns are available in your size.

Anyway, she brought a few of the selected ones in and they were an instant hit. Though I have to say there were some misses as well. It was quite a fun experience and I took about 2 hours plus max. Definitely less than 3 hours. It was fun having 2 good friends there as well to cast their votes. You'll be surprised at how different their tastes are. :)

Tips & Tricks for gown fitting:

1. Bring a nubra - for that cleavage

2. Make sure you are wearing a pair of nude panties or nude safety shorts or better yet, both! - some of the gowns happened to be very revealing, some are the lacy sort. I even had one that flashed my butt and my purple and grey striped panties. That's all fine but one of the friends who went along happened to be the other girl's husband. There were definitely some embarrassing moments.

3. Try not to put on make up. - many of the dresses will be worn from top down. I don't think the assistant will be very happy if you dirty their dresses with make up. Actual day photography is different...

4. If you're planning to bring friends along, bring along friends who you know well and are very comfortable with. - Like I said, there will be embarrassing moments when your body will be discussed in detail. It's best to be comfortable with the people you have with you, otherwise it's just gonna be awkward all around.

5. Look through the albums - I recommend doing it like what the hubs did because indeed, it truly saves time. In addition, unless your husband-to-be is the kind who doesn't really care, it will be good to know what designs both of you like. After discussing, I believe it helps the assistant select/recommend dresses more easily as well.

6. Note the dates - Stupid me went to choose National Day, which happened to be near Hari Raya (think massive jams across the Causeway) and also it is during the Lunar 7th Month aka Hungry Ghosts Festival. Both our mothers gave me grief over the date so we had no choice but to postpone it. Oh well more time for me to lose weight. So if you're Chinese, don't select 7th month unless your parents don't care about such superstitions!

Most important of all, have fun! It's once-in-a-lifetime experience. :)

My wedding journey #1

It's 8th July and I'm 5 months away from becoming a missus. Somebody else's wife. Oh the horror.

The hubs (I already call him hubs) and I are pretty cool about the wedding. I haven't turned into a bridezilla and he hasn't pulled out all his hair, so things are ok (for now). Our biggest concern thus far is the issue of finances. We aren't rich people and I think it's so expensive to get married in Singapore that we are both a little scared, but have decided to forge ahead nonetheless (actually it's me forcing him to *smile*).

Here's a little rundown on our finances so far:

Hotel = $3500 deposit
Normally hotels ask for $5000 deposit. We were quite lucky in the sense that the hotel we selected only required $3500 for deposit. Which freed up the $1500 cash for other stuff.

What you need to look out for when selecting a hotel
- Alcohol - the hotel we selected provided free flow wine and beer, which was the biggest reason as to why I selected it. Usually alcohol can cost quite a fair bit, especially if you have really good drinkers for guests. So now I don't have to worry too much about wine, though I'll still need to buy hard liquor.

- Invitation cards - ours provided invitation cards PLUS printing of inserts. Some hotels only provide invitation cards but require you to pay for your own printing.

- Complimentary table/food tasting - the hotel gave us one complimentary table and one table for food tasting. We exchanged the food tasting for another complimentary table. So we have 2 complimentary tables, which really helps to save.

- Other miscellaneous items - enough carpark coupons and wedding favours. All hotels provide wedding favours but for me, teddy bears and chocolate just make these so meaningless. I would rather give my guests something more useful, like a coaster etc. This is a personal choice though. :)

Bridal Studio = RM$5000
We decided to head over to JB for bridal studio because it's definitely cheaper than Singapore. On average Singapore's packages cost from $3000 upwards (not sure if you can even find $3000 packages these days). As the hubs drives, we didn't mind travelling in if it could help us save a little. Plus, I really liked the photos from this studio that I saw on Facebook.

Photographer = $1000
Quite fortunate to get this good deal at $1000 nett for full day (with break in between). Recommended by a friend.

Make-up artist = $450
That's for me, and also a good deal. A little apprehensive though. Hasn't seen her work yet, she came recommended by the same studio that found us the photographer and it was quite a bargain. The other one I wanted was charging $680.

Wedding bands = $1800
This one we didn't fork out cash, we paid by credit card instalments. To get points also hehe. Anyway we were slightly more ambitious and bought from Goldheart's Celestial range instead...thus the cost. Actually it costs $2400 but I traded in my old Celestial solitaire for $600 so there was a discount. We actually saw rings that cost about $800 or so, if you're on a budget and not fussy. :)

That's the rough breakdown of our expenses thus far. Hope this provides a brief guide for all the grooms and brides-to-be.

What I still need to settle:
- Dress for my mum (hubs will settle his mum's dress) and sister
- Make up artist for mum and sis
- Wedding shoes
- Wedding manicure
- Videographer for the morning highlights
- red packets for the helpers
- Chinese custom guo da li items

Sigh. So many things, so little time.

Gown fitting coming up next week! Haven't dieted at all *sheepish smile* I will just go and look slightly flabby, at least not emancipated. C&K joining us for our trip down to the bridal studio in JB! Looking forward to a fun time and a nice supper! ^_^

Crazy Hazy!

Singapore has been hit by one of the worst forest fires in Indonesia ever. For the first time in Singapore history, the pollution index went past the 400 mark today. It is now officially life threatening for the ill or the elderly to breathe in air normally.

N95 masks are sold out nationwide. I currently have 3 in my possession and they are such precious commodities right now. I'm afraid of being robbed on the streets not for my money or valuables but for my N95 mask!

It's a miserable time in Singapore right now and no one can tell when this haze would start to subside. Everyone's just in a really bad mood and trying to stay indoors as much as we can.

I'm meeting the girls for dinner tonight! Actually could tell from our group chat that everyone's not very enthusiastic because of the stupid haze, but we are so sick of staying at home doing nothing that we're willing to risk it. Though on my part, I'll want to go home as soon as dinner ends so as not to prolong exposure to this very harmful air!

Was thinking about P the other day and thankful he's not around to suffer and breathe in such lousy air! He would have been quite miserable too. *smiles* I still miss him loads, but we're all coping better now.

Surreal

I'm not sure whether it has sunk in totally that you have really gone away for good this time. In this lifetime, I will never be able to carry you and complain how fat and heavy you are. I will never be able to say "mum mum" and watch you lift your head up and perk your ears up. I will never be able to say "mummy where?" and see you looking at me quizzically. I will never be able to tempt you with the jar of cuttlefish and see you plant your whole head into the jar because you are blind and can't tell the cuttlefish isn't inside anymore.

I will never be able to disturb you when I am bored in my room. I will never be able to hear your snore or fart or watch you licking your paws vigorously. I will never be able to stand by the side and watch you drink water for more than a minute and roll my eyes at how long you're taking. I will never be able to see you hump your bolster and disturb you by snatching your bolster away from you. I will never say "kiss" and feel your warm tongue giving me a giant lick on my cheek. I will never be able to feel you licking me non-stop just for the fun of it. I will never open my bedroom door and see you lying outside, waiting to come in. I will never hear you bark again, in that thick, loud, indignant way of yours.

It just hasn't sunk in yet. In my mind, your absence is temporary and one day, I will be able to carry you in my arms again. I still wish for a hug, a kiss, an innocent look. Come back, P, come back. We miss you so much. You left a gap in the family that no one can fill. All of us walks around the house, goes about our work feeling like our heart's missing, or a limb's missing. We love you so so much. Are you happy now? Can you come into our dreams once in a while and let us know how you're doing?

Thank you for your love.

Yesterday afternoon, after the dog (P) went to get his annual vaccine, he came home unsettled and out of sorts. Hub's mum attributed it to him being scared during the vaccination. As hub's mum said it happens every year, I didn't think much of it. P was still out of sorts at night, hubs was quite concerned, but hub's mum and me both brushed it aside. He finally found a vet online and called the clinic. The clinic said panting hard is normal as P's probably running a fever. So we went to bed, thinking that if P still seems odd tomorrow we'd bring him to the vet.

I was rudely woken up at 6am by hub's dad. He told me,"P's dying! Come quick!" I went over to P and he was lying on the bed, motionless and he wasn't blinking his eyes. There was blood on his nose. Suddenly, he lost control of his bowels and peed onto the bed. I quickly went to wake hubs, who drove everyone to the 24hrs vet. The clinic people took P away right after we got there. It was a scary 30mins wait, with accusations, unhappiness and most of all, fear, clawing at everyone. Soon after, the vet came out and told us that his heart had stopped. Even before we reached the clinic, his heart had stopped and they are not able to resuscitate him.

We left P's body on the bed at the clinic, after saying our goodbyes. We are gonna get him cremated and keep his ashes at home.

I don't know whether I am still in shock. I can get through the day-to-day motion without thinking of him, but when I think of him I feel like crying, weeping violently. Which I did at my desk earlier on.

My dearest dearest P,

When I joined the family 3 years ago, you welcomed me with open arms. The family thought you were gay, because you've never shown much affection for females (other than hub's mum). I was the first. I loved you too, you were so well-behaved. It was love at first sight.

You were such a good boy all the time. You would kiss me 9 times out of 10 when I asked for a kiss. You would play toys with such vigour. Even when you went blind, you still came to our room to look for us, to spend time with us. You would sit at our feet unfailingly whenever we ate (though after you went blind you often stared at the fan, thinking it was us), you would shamelessly ask for food, standing on your hind legs and placing your paws on our thighs. None of us were any match for your big doe eyes. One of us always ended up sneaking food to you.

You were always licking your paws, such that when we asked you for "paw paw", you stubbornly refused to show us your paws because you knew you had done wrong. You were always so well-behaved when we go out. I loved teasing you by literally pulling your leg. You hated it and would bark in protest every time I did that, but we always made up, because that's what family does. You hated it when the family quarrelled, and in your own way meted out your own punishment by ignoring the wrong party for the rest of the night.

You came into my life 3 years ago, though now that you are physically gone, I will never forget you and what you've taught me - that family always loves unconditionally and always forgive. I love you my dear. I will miss your kisses, I will miss hugging you, I will miss feeding you your favourite cuttlefish and fried chicken. I love you P, I hope you know that and that I have never given you any cause to doubt my love for you. How I wish I can hold you in my arms one more time, that I can kiss you and you can kiss me back one more time. Goodbye my love, I hope heaven has clean, green pastures for you to run in, friends to play with and good food to eat. I love you my darling. I'll see you in heaven. :)

With all my love and more,
J

What would you have done, if you were me?

I'm a punctuality freak. I hate being late. That said, I'm also a sucker for rules and regulations. I believe they exist for a reason and you can't break the rules as and when you want to.

I don't believe the above excuses me for my actions below, but I don't really see the need to justify anything. I'm just curious what you would do, if you were in my position.

I start work at 8.30am every morning. Sure, sometimes I'm late, when the traffic is bad or when I overslept (which happens probably once a year). Even if I am late, it's never more than 15 minutes and I make up for it after work by staying a little longer.

My colleagues, are a different story. Some of them come in at 10.30am, sometimes 11.00am. Some of them start work earlier, like 7.30am but leaves at maybe 4.00pm, when she is supposed to leave at 5.00pm. The reason they can do this and get away with it, is because we are not seated on the same floor as our bosses. I've been unhappy about this for some time, as I feel that it is unfair to people like me who makes the effort to wake up early, come to work early. I just think that they are slackers.

So I told my boss about it. I don't feel like I did anything wrong. Although the girls (yes all girls) have found out and am ignoring me but I honestly don't really care. If you don't want the boss to know, then you shouldn't have done it in the first place. And how can you call it backstabbing? Am I supposed to lie for you and keep your secret for you when the bosses ask where you are early in the morning? I don't think so.

Anyway, what's done is done and these people aren't even getting the punishment they deserve because my boss doesn't really want to offend the entire group of girls. So that's that. Maybe I should start coming to work at 10.30am, since my boss obviously doesn't seem to mind.

Sigh, maybe Hubs is right, I do things without thinking, especially so when I am upset or angry...will need to practise to control my emotions. :(