giving thanks

Ok, mummyji has many things to give thanks for...and is well aware of that.
But the one that is at the fore right now is to thank God for helping her decide to shelf Mumbai as our vacation destination, finally choosing Tokyo, cos it didn't require too much braincells to plan for. Mumbai would have required more research and detailed planning, which at that point in time, mummyji didn't have the luxury of time for..
Really really feel so sad for all those involved in the bloodshed.
We pray for world peace!!

Another very pressing thing to give thanks for - the family.
Mummyji's really grateful to have a loving and beautiful family - the hubs, the babes, mum, dad, the siblings and their families, the ILs...
Right now, mummyji's praying for a good friend, that he finds peace in his heart and with his family, and that he doesn't lose faith, ever...
Perhaps mummyji should remind Friend of one of our favourite hymns..
can't ever forget the lyrics of this one.

"He can turn the tides, and calm the angry sea
He alone decides who writes a symphony
He lights every star that makes the darkness bright
He keeps watch all through each dark and lonely night
He still finds the time to hear a child's first prayer
Saint or sinner call, and always finds Him there
Though it hurts Him much to see the way we live
He'll always say, I forgive...."

Joy

the present daddyji got for yours truly - of course, it was chosen by moi and it would have been the one with a detachable heart charm if not for the fact that it was from the Cruise 09 range, not out yet in the paris stores (sigh...)............but the fact is, on his only day off after a week of presentations and meetings, the first store he went to was the Gucci @ Rue St Honore. He might possibly have been the first customer of the day.... so mummyji's really touched, and mighty pleased with it. THANK YOU, SAYANG, LOVE U!!!
This sac is from fall/winter 09, and it's really lovely, a joy to behold - so aptly named. ;-)

about the babes

mummyji's just realised she's forgotten to upload the babes' birthday cake! 

It was a "Black Magic" cake recipe with 2 layers, frosted with white chocolate cream.

We had a bbq party, invited the whole clan, and everyone turned up. This is really a belated entry, the party was last month, on Z's birthday.

Well, today we got S's results, 2 As and 2 Bs, eligible for express stream. She was disappointed with the score, cried a bit so mummyji's not gonna rub it in.

Told her it's a wake-up call, that she's gotta put in more effort if she wants better results. 

And it's also a reminder to the younger sis, Z, that she too gotta put in a lot more effort next year. 

Mummyji often wonders if she's too soft with the offsprings... are they too pampered?

Sigh, tis not easy being a parent...

wise words to chew on

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew."

Saint Francis de Sales

AMEEN...

retail therapy

such a cool pair of gloves,right?
saw it at Promod's yesterday, and was about to plonk it on the counter for checkout with the dress and tops, when mummyji saw the label inside, proclaiming it's 100% pigskin..... :-(
so it was plopped back into its display hook.
Now however, looking at the website, the information given is 100% goatskin!
so, was it Mummyji's poor eyesight? or a mis-labelling??
Hmmm........ not so good, eh....
well, anyway, mummyji doesn't really need another pair of gloves... not for just 5 days in Tokyo.. there's always the pair worn last year in Paris.
And of course, there's also the pair of long ivory gloves worn at the company event, the pair that mummyji looked high and low for, and found in friendly neighbourhood Thomson Plaza..... ;-p

so anyway, this is about mummyji's latest shopping binges.. there's something about year-end, when every other store seems to have at least something that's twinkling and trying to catch mummyji's eyes... hmmm.....

New shoes

Ahem, so yours truly went on a spree and gota few pairs of shoes last couple of months.... 

of which, this must surely be the favourite..

then last week, another pair..... this brand claims to "respire"...

 Very comfy, great for walking and driving, and importantly, matches any colour of bag!

better stop before we need to construct another storage cabinet for mummyji's shoes... =>

"zhng-ed" recipe

just 2 days to the "big" event.

the other day mummyji was telling a friend what she'll wear... a simple black dress which will be "retro-ized" to suit the theme, and the young friend said, "oh, you gonna zhng your dress!"

not quite a word in mummyji's usual vocabulary, but then again, this is Singapore, and what the heck, it's a rather apt description actually.

anyway, got to thinking how very typical of mummyji that was... in the kitchen, always "zhnging" recipes.

this one here is today's breakfast, a cheese & onion muffin, modified from a plain cheese muffin recipe.

And it's here for the record, so mummyji doesn't forget and can reproduce it again.

2 shallots, chopped

1.5cup organic plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp Herb de Provence

1 tsp fine sea salt

2 eggs

50g unsalted butter, melted

0.5 cup milk

1 tsp dijon mustard

About 50g or more of english vintage cheddar, chopped into small bits.

The flour and baking powder were sifted, and mixed with the rest of the dry ingredients.

Butter, eggs, milk and mustard were stirred together till well mixed, then added to the flour mix, and folded in till just combined.

Place a heaped spoon of the mix into each muffin cup, then drop some cheese chunks and bits on it, and then cover with another spoonful of mix. Sprinkle leftover cheese bits liberally over the muffin tops and bake at 180 deg C for 30minutes, till the cheese on the top is a lovely golden brown.

Smells great... in fact, according to the babes, smells like freshly made pizza.

so for the next batch, mummyji's probably gonna stir in a spoon or 2 of tomato paste.... that'll really be more like pizza!

Tiffany & Co

Z exclaimed just the other day, "wow, so many tiffany stuff?"

so mummyji thought of doing an audit...

actually there's one more pendant, but somehow the item seems to elude mummyji's eyes in the catalog..

may just need to take an actual shot of it.

there are also some Charlotte stuff, but haven't got time to put pics of those up...;p

anyway, this post is up to remind the self that, whenever depressed or stressed, there is always someone behind providing love and support... and that will be (insert drumroll here), the hubs...aka good ol' daddyji.

so here goes, Thank you, sayang, and I love you too.