From frump mum to frat girl

2 'D's, one Me

In all honesty, it was not a OMG-I-wanna-pee-in-my-pants sorta concert. It lacked a certain 'pow wow' factor - there was none of your fancy pyrotechnics, no half-naked, body beautiful dancers moving lithely to the music (ok, so they had gorgeous physiques but didn't shed their threads. So with nothing to gawp at, I could only rip Dee's shirt in abject anguish, then bemoan the Jell-O-like torso underneath. Gah!), no jaw-dropping stunts or swooping across the Wembley Arena-type acrobatics.

Nevertheless, the concert was great. And I was content.

How could I not be? With 2 'brawny' chaperones in tow, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience a pop concert @ Wembley, and a chance to transform Me from 'drab bag' to 'dapper WAG-esque-but-not-quite-there-wannabe'.

Fine, I'm exaggerating. Noooo, again? Mea culpa. I'm part-Peranakan, and can't quite help myself, remember?

My fairy godperson was no cherubic, wand brandishing grandmama but a robust, rather tallish bloke who was bursting out of the only 'hip' shirt he owned, beer in hand.

This fairy godman, who didn't quite know who Gwen Stefani was - much less the songs she sang - accompanied me to the concert with nary a complaint, and was happy to bob along to catchy tunes like 'Hollaback Girl' and 'What You Waiting For'.

What. A. Man. My man.

Before all of you start blushing on my account, I promise to stop all gooey-pooey professions of luuurv to Hubs. I'm blogging this moment to remind me of what it meant to me - so thank you, Dee, for obliging silly ol' me and taking me to this concert. It was surreal seeing Gwen Stefani sing all my fav tunes - 'Cool', '4 In the Morning', 'The Sweet Escape' etc.

To me, you're Cool.

And in the words of Queen Lovie herself- (I felt) shiawase ne...

Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku girls

* I'll try to post up one of the videos I captured at the concert later.

Confessions of a Slacker Mum

I have a confession to make.

I've been spending waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time on Facebook. If you're dumbfounded how ANYone can spend so much time on a social networking application, you probably:
1) have not been roped in to join the community,
2) do not use the Internet much,
3) have BIGGER, BETTER, more IMPORTANT things to do, (and kudos to you if you do!)
4) are not a slippery slacker like me, or for that matter, not as boh liao...

I surmise its addictiveness thrives on one dreadful domino effect - someone sends me something through The Bakery/Boozemail/My Garden/My Aquarium etc, I send him/her something back. We embark on foodfights by throwing TV dinners/pigs trotters/coconut milk/an assortment of 'exotic' foods at each other, hurl acerbic Shakespearean insults (this I really like), see how similar we are by taking all sorts of insignificant polls, pet/feed each other's Fluff Pet...the list of moronic things to do on Facebook IS endless.

Everyone 'stays in touch' by being somewhat annoying. Which, I'm happy to be part of - especially now that I'm given MORE free time while MIL is here. Because, nothing thrills me more than being pesky to my friends. Heh.

So yes, I've been reduced to an annoying slacker mum. But hey, don't judge me.

I am... a Soccer Mum-to-Be

I'm constantly amazed by my daughter. And there are so many things that make me proud of her. Even something as inconsequential as this:

When Ah Beng met Ah Cheong...

... t'was a reunion of 2 kindred spirits - like 2 roly-poly peas jumping headlong into a pod, like conjoined twins who share a liver, voicebox and brain, like a man crawling across the arid desert towards an oasis, like a junkie in desperate need of a quick fix... this was how it was for Dee and Don when the latter arrived to London with bottles of vino, bags of tidbits, ba kwa, mooncakes and other knickknacks in hand.

People, I've been upstaged by a man.

Down by the Lake-itty Lake

Considering the jubilance I felt after a magical weekend at the Lakes, this post is waaaaay overdue.

What can I tell you about our trip out to Lake District? Only that I'd love to visit again.And again. And again. Our 3-day visit was simply not enough to cover the entire territory.

We did most of our exploring within Cumbria as that's where numerous Beatrix Potter attractions are located. Other roadtrips to the surrounding towns such as Kendal, Grasmere, Keswick, Penrith, and Grange-over-Sands, were mostly pit-stops - a chance for me to snap a picture or two.

Day 1 saw us travel 268 miles from London to Cumbria. We should have reached our destination in under 5 hours, but took 7 instead. Had to make several 'pee-stops' for Cheeks and let our sole driver, Dee, take a breather. With half the day gone, we only managed to visit the Lake District Miniature Village (boring as hell and half of it was still under construction!). Danielle was enamoured by the little houses and likened them to doll's houses... until she sighted silvery threads of cobwebs with dangly insect bits on them. Gah! Day 1 ended rather uneventfully with a mediocre dinner at a local chinese restaurant. The worst dish ordered (unfortunately, by yours truly as I was craving spicy) was the curry chicken. All I can say is - it was fowl. Hmph.

Day 2's activities were mainly for Danielle's benefit. Okaay, and mine too. I'm a sucker for little woodland creatures! We visited The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction located in Cumbria's town centre. Danielle spent over an hour at the attraction rattling off the names of Miss Potter's various characters - Mrs Tiggy Winkle! Jemima Puddle Duck! Mr Jeremy Fisher! Peter Rabbit! Mr McGregor! Hunca Munca! Tom Kitten!... and so it went on... Mr So-and So! Miss this-and-that! She sauntered proudly from one exhibit to the next - giving a short synopsis of each tale to Nainai, who was not acquainted with any of Miss Potter's books, but was happy to indulge her. Danielle's favourite exhibit was Mrs Tiggy Winkle's. I suspect it's coz everything was her size. Had I not been there, I swear, she'd have yanked plates off the cabinets, unpegged clothes from the line and played masak-masak!

Our next stop was the Lake Cruises Boat Terminal. A trip to the Lakes would not be complete without a cruise down Lake Windermere. We boarded the boat amidst light showers but as the vessel travelled to Haverthwaite, the weather thankfully cleared up for us and we were able to enjoy our next leg of travel by steamtrain. This was our 2nd time travelling on an ol' steamtrain and it was every bit as thrilling as the 1st. Dinner was at another chinese restaurant called Magic Wok, and I'm happy to report that the chef there certainly conjured various yummylicious dishes.

It rained all of Day 3 but thankfully, our spirits were not dampened by the wet weather. Didn't get to do much except drive through the towns of Keswick and Penrith for a looksy. We also made a short stopover at Grasmere. I regret we were not able linger longer. Grasmere was where William Wordsworth lived, and where he drew inspiration for many of his poetic works eg Daffodils. The only highlight of the day was visiting HillTop, home to Beatrix Potter. I had the most wonderful time there with Danielle. We explored each and every room together, and chattered excitedly when we sighted familiar scenes that were illustrated in her books. I hadn't read 'The Tale of Samuel Whiskers' to Danielle at that time, so she was particularly interested when the tour guide showed her where Tom Kitten was held captive by the rats, how he was rolled up in a dough, the stairway landing where Samuel Whiskers trundled the rolling pin etc. By the end of our visit, she was badgering me to get a copy of the book which I promptly promised to borrow from the library. Dinner was at a joint recommended by our B&B proprietor, Jo (lovely man). We had English food at Lazy Daisy's. Food wasn't spectacular but the desserts... oh, what I would give for another bite of their caramel mousse cake! Myumm myumm!

We headed back to London first thing Monday morning. I was almost sad to leave the idyllic countryside. Coming back to London has made me realise just how drab the City looks. All in all, it was an utterly charming trip. I know Mel and JH are so going to fall in love with the breathtaking views of unending meadows and lakes... I can't wait to share all these sights with them! Soon, soon!

On gifts and dreams

Gate at HillTop as featured in

'The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck'

I have a dream.

I say 'have' because it has yet to materialise. Yet I wonder whether I should be saying 'had' instead coz, honestly, I don't know whether it ever will.

My dream, many, many moons ago, was to write children's books. I think I only shared this teeny-tiny aspiration with 1 dear friend. It seemed like wishful thinking, a pipedream. It still is. I had the desire, but I lacked the confidence and quite frankly, the know-how.

Afterall, there are good authors and there are Good authors. I wanted to be the latter and wouldn't have it any other way. But since I was not convinced of my own writing skills, I thought it best to put this lofty ideal on the back burner.

Our recent trip to the Lake District rekindled this dream for me. Especially the visit to HillTop, Beatrix Potter's house. As we ambled through the dimly-lit house (lighting that day was marred by very grey weather) - quietly contemplating the china and furniture left exactly the way Miss Potter had intended them - I was awestruck by the attention to detail Miss Potter demonstrated through her illustrations. Many of her stories were based in her own house and it was there where many of her best-known characters were created.

As I looked out of her cottage windows, I saw familiar scenes that were immortalized in her books. A gate, a windy road, a stone wall, even furniture found their way into the pages of her beautifully-illustrated books.

Then I realised. How personal these books were to her. How real and unpretentious. Even the characters she conjured were based on animals around her farm. But they were not just any cat, duck or brood of bothersome rats. To her, they were real characters who milled about her house, getting into all sorts of mischief.

Her talents in being able to spin simple yet delightful tales, coupled with her beautiful water-coloured drawings, is what made her books special.

In fact, I'd say her story-telling abilities were God-given gifts.

Sometimes I wonder what God's gifts to me are. Have I utilised any of them? Have I even recognised what they are?

The thing about gifts - big or small - is they are nothing if you do not best make use of them.

I don't want to go through Life not know what my gifts are, coz I'm sure I have some. Everybody does.

I'm going to try to find out what mine are and hopefully, in the process, find out whether I can transform certain dreams into reality?

To the Lakes!

Windermere, Lake District

My bedroom is a mess. I've got bags of all different shapes and sizes - rucksacks, handbags, travelbags, strawbags, sgp NDP bags (!!!) - strewn all over the place. What was I thinking bringing all these bags to the UK anyway?!!

We are going on a roadtrip to the Lakes tomorrow, which explains the disarray. I'm highly anticipating this trip! It's Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth country for pete's sake!

Yippee yeah yeah yeah!

Judging from the things we've packed, you'd think we were going there for weeks, and not 4 days as planned.

Oh yeah, you can betcha we're psyched, set, and rearing to go! :)

In other news, my MIL will be arriving from Singapore later today.

Dee and I will resume our roles as - what I like to term - 'Side Orders'. Like a dish of mashed potatoes, or the underrated coleslaw - we are the uninteresting 'filler' dishes that are good to have, but pale parlously when compared with the exciting main entrée.

But I don't mind. I know I'm going to enjoy every minute of this holiday. Because really, I've got the best baby-sitter in tow.

Good weather, please!

* JH, Mel, we'll recce the area for you guys first so we know what to zero-in on when we do our roadtrip together in Oct! YAY!

By my own hand...

I did my blog in, I did.

I got active on Facebook, got some of my pals to join and now, they've upped and left this site to update themselves on the other network portal. %@^*@#*+%*&@!!!

Oh well, I suppose the important thing is that we remain 'connected'. In any case, this blog is more for me to document my life in the UK, and more importantly, the pleasure and perils that come with SAHMotherdom.

Damn, do I sound like I'm consoling myself?!!

I've been busy trying to get my hands on some last minute Gwen Stefani concert tickets. After mulling over this for awhile, I've decided to 'live it up' and enjoy what could possibly be my 1st rock concert in Wembley, London. Am eager to experience the concert vibe here. So, I've been très busy searching online, mainly through a portal called gumtree.com for available tickets (tix sold via TicketMaster hv all been snapped up).

This portal is apparently very popular with the English, Aussies and Kiwis. Have replied to two ads and am anxiously waiting for their confirmation. Wish me luck!

will we meet, Gwen?

Weekend spent in Gluttony

Cliché as this sounds but truly-- Time flies!

This time last year, we were - like a family of blind moles - tunneling our way through London. This year, whilst we're still burrowing through the London Underground, traipsing unfamiliar roads and alleyways, there are some things we find familiar.

Like this year's Oyster & Seafood Fair 2007!

Having been last year, Hubs and I promised ourselves we would attend again since our last experience left a sublimely salty, taste of the sea in our mouths!

This year's was better than the last on many accounts. We invited our friend Fenny, who's recently moved to London, to join us in the feasting. The more the merrier, as they say! At her current age, Danielle can eat a lot more seafood (without breaking into rashes) so it was gratifying seeing her tuck into chunky morsels of prawn and crab. This year's seafood smorgasbord was bigger and even more irresistable- stacks of beautiful red lobsters, fresh rock oysters, yellow mountains of seafood risotto, and pots steaming with succelent mussels. Hang on while I get a kleenex to wipe away the slobber dangling mid-air between the edge of my mouth and my carpeted floor...

Ooh, the prawns!

slurping down the oyster

this mug and his jug of Pimm's

cholesterol overload...

A dozen oysters, 1 crab, and a couple of bowls of seafood pasta, risotto, fried noodles, and a jug of Pimm's later, we rolled our swelled-up, protuberant bellies down South Bank then all the way to Leicester Square.

We reckoned we needed the workout. But it was woooooorth it.

Fenny (ex-PWC) and Dee

A multi-coloured life

I was going to begin this post with an analogy that described Life as 'an empty canvas...' but I stopped short. Because I realised Life, can never be an empty canvas. Even the most monotonous or insipid life will have splashes of coloured moments.

My life, has been a colourful one. Not because of the hip or happening things I've done (which, unfortunately, I've none to boast of), or the things I've achieved. No, my life has been made more vibrant and alive by the people I've welcomed into its walls.

But weave in and out friends do. Remember my post on 'elevator friendships'? Well, I'd like to liken that to a labyrinth now.

The thing about the labyrinth is, unlike a maze, there is only 1 way (a single eulerian path. don't waaah, I wiki-ed it) to the centre. With friendships, it's kinda the same thing too, isn't it? The path to friendship, though not always smooth-sailing, is very clear - either you find your way into someone's heart, become their friend, or you don't. And vice versa.

Before we embark on a friendship, do we not go in search for a certain plateau where all parties feel comfortable investing their time/feelings on? If nothing makes you feel remotely inclined to each other, you wouldn't bother inching your way through complex passages and pathways to win this friendship, would you now?

+++++++

This time, last week, we said goodbye to Makiko and Dan. They had come to the end of their sojourn in London and were heading back to Tokyo. Thankfully, we managed to spend time with them on their last day in the city. I was touched that Makiko took time amidst their frantic packing, inventory check, and having their rented apartment cleaned, to have breakfast with me and Danielle. We met at Quarter Cafe on Brompton Road, near Knightsbridge. Like me, Makiko also loves the idea of catching up over a cuppa and cake, so I thought our last 'playdate' should allow her to do what she enjoyed most of London.

We were very blessed to have them in our lives. We managed to forge a friendship despite the odd communication hang-up.

In her goodbye card to us, she said:
'Thank you for your warm friendship. We had a wonderful time with you and Danielle. My English is very poor, but I could talk about many things with you.'

I can't begin to tell you what those words meant to me. But that's the thing about some friendships. Some people leave warm fires burning in your heart, and you feel yourself at bliss, basking in their glow. That's how I feel with Makiko.

In fact, that's how I feel about many of my friends who read my blog. Yes, you.

Jyaa-ne, Dan kun!

My hope is that I've made your life as colourful for you as you've undoubtedly made mine.

+++++++++

I've just finished re-watching 'Must Love Dogs'. Can I just say that Diane Lane has an amazing, special (can't pin point the exact attribute so have to say it with 2 adjectives) quality about her? I loved her in 'Under the Tuscan Sun', and I love her in this new-ish flick. I certainly hope I age as well as she has.

Speaking of attractive, aging actors, I love the movie 'Prime' starring another favourite actress, Meryl Streep. I L-O-V-E her. Period. I totally recommend this movie if you have a nice afternoon all by yourself - away from the bustle of work, or from the demands of your family. It's a must-watch, I think, for every woman. I tingle just thinking of its storyline. Yes, tingle.

Watch it.

Right. Night-night for now. xx

If every Monday could be like this one

Sometimes, nothing does it like receiving a surprise through snail mail. I love giving surprises myself, so imagine the bustle of excitement in the Chan household when the postman knocked on our frontdoor and handed us a large-ish parcel.

It was addressed to Danielle so I waited for her to get up to rip it open.

Inside the parcel:

Beautiful carry-all bag

check out that grin

Barbie definitely has waaaaaay
more shoes than me!

What a lovely surprise, Aunty Dot! You really really made her day! Too bad I didn't get to video this 'present opening ceremony', else you'd have been able to hear the oh-too-familiar squeals again!

I was absolutely floored by the chunky platforms, Dior-inspired bags and chi chi cardigans. Barbie sure is up-to-date, in' she?

Thank you so VERY VERY much, Dotty!! Muaks!

And now more wardrobe changes for Barbie, coming right up!

The Tube

Dear Miss Wee,

Metronet strike affecting Tube services from this afternoon until end of Thursday 6 September

We continue to work to avoid the strike by Metronet staff.

If the strike goes ahead, it will affect services from this afternoon's peak period. If possible, please complete your journey by 1700 this evening or use alternative routes, including DLR, National Rail and bus services.

The Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines are the only lines expected to operate normally. We anticipate that they will be very crowded.

Services may not return to normal until Friday morning, unless the strike is resolved.

Please check local news, travel reports or visit tfl.gov.uk for the latest information.

Yours Sincerely

Tim O'Toole
Managing Director, London Underground

With constant delays, engineering work, technical difficulties and then some, it's no wonder Londoners are prompted to compose a song dedicated to their erraticTube.

* contains strong language.

Crab! Is that a Tiger?

I've been playing scales on the computer keyboard - finger stabbing the 26 different letter keys - wondering whether or not I should write this post.

It is afterall, the weekend*. And who bothers to update their blog on the weekend anyway??!!!!

...

However, I feel it my patriotic duty to highlight today's gastronomical event! If Ginger Spice can don the Union Jack, then I'm drapping the Singapore flag round my wobbly bits. Just for this entry. Better yet, I'll use the flag as a bandana. No, turban, since lengthy.

While I do a swift wardrobe change, please feast your eyes on...

Tiger Beer Singapore Chilli Crab Festival 2007!

This is the 2nd year running that the event's being held in London. Jointly organised by APB and STB, last year's saw approx 8K visitors to the festival. This year, organisers are confident they'll rake in even more, and are prepared to make more than 10,000 visitors belly happy. Judging by the unending queues that meandered through gates and round corners, I'd say someone will score well on their KPI!

We Chans were eager to get to the festival early. For a number of practical reasons, of course:

• First 15 SUKA (Singapore UK Assoc) members get free chilli crabs!
  
• First 100 London paper readers who show up with the paper's writeup on the festival get a free goodybag!!!
  
• Go early, get seats. Unlike in Singapore where we can leave tissue paper packs to 'chope' seats, here, it's chope what chope?!
  
• Go early = more to eat, more to drink, more to eat, more to drink, more to eat, more to drink...

I'd say our reasons are extremely kia.. justified, no?

Londonpaper (a free publication, somewhat like TODAY) reported that the 2-day event would 'be a recreation of Singapore in Brick Lane'. Oh I just love the way these PR reps lace their news releases with euphemisms.

Because a Recreation of Singapore? In London? Really now.

Authentically Singaporean, the festival was not. A skim through the program confirmed this. These were the program highlights:

• chinese acrobats,
  
• chinese magic show
  
• chinese music performances
  
• kung fu demos
• lion and dragon dance
  

And oh, there were cooking demos by Terry Tan. Pardon this ignoramous, but who is he? Is he famous? Where were the Indian and Malay cultural performances? What happened to the representation of Singapore's other ethnic races to show off our cultural diversity and vibrancy? Surely we shouldn't marginalise the melting pot of tastes, smells, sights and sounds our fine country is well-known for, with mere offerings of our iconic brew, chilli crab and a hodgepodge of China-Chinese performances?

(By the way, I want to know when chilli crabs officially became our national dish? The first I heard of this was in some Amex (???) TVC where Lim Kay Tong was boarding a train and uttered something about 'chilli crabs' to a porter?)

Authenticity (or the lack of) aside, the festival was abuzz with people holding their Tigers in one hand, and a crab claw in the other. I was amazed at the tenacity of Londoners who seemed to have no qualms queueing for hours for a measly portion of crab and other Singaporean delights. And despite the 'pop-yer-eyes-outta-them-sockets' pricetags! They've certainly proven themselves epicureans!

2 pounds?!!! For a cup of teh tarik?

Just mug me in broad daylight why don't u?

I must air my grouses on the food quality. The cha kway teow was nothing but cha-ed (no tao gay, no eggs, certainly no 'hum'!), laksa was a watery bowl of spices and coconut milk. And don't get me started on the bland, wormy chendol. As for the dish du jour - the chilli crabs (we were served chunks of crab, not 1 full crab ok!) - they were 'a good attempt'. Even my dear Dad whom I sent pictures of the festival commented that the chilli crabs looked 'pale'. I enjoyed the satay best but they should've served them with ketupat.

Overall, I'd say the food quality was good enough for 'smoking all the ang mohs'. If you know what I mean.

Alright, I shouldn't be too hard on the organisers. Despite the disappointing food offerings, I'm sure they worked hard to bring together this festival, so I'm grateful.

We Singaporeans are simply a belly hard lot to please.

I'm not a baby,
not yet a FULL GROWN SRI LANKAN! Bah!
( a la that Britney song, u know the one?)

Us with some of our UK friends

and yes, we got our goodybag.
(Luckily, Sam managed to snag us one!)

* didn't manage to finish the post over the weekend. Proves I hv some semblance of a life then? :)