First sign of autumn

Kai wrote a poem about autumn. It was a great effort especially when he tried to make the words rhyme too.

"In fall there are leaves big and small
and there will be leaves for all.
A car passing by and scatter
the leaves from fall

We can use the leaves from the ground
and throw them all around.
Then we'll put them in a pile
and write about them in a file" ~ Kai


Spotted the first autumn tree in our neighbourhood.
We have gone through spring and summer, now autumn is just about to begin.

Autumn Lessons

Turning Wheel
what new lessons
will you bring me
as one season
turns into another.

In the hills
Trees are changing.
In the forest
Bears are dreaming.
Beside the roads
Wild Flowers cast out seeds
before their lives can wither.

As I watch
this Autumnal Dance
I slowly comprehend
that change is beautiful,
that dreams make life possible
and to plant my seeds now
before my life turns into
a dark and frozen Winter.

~ Stephanie Pflumm
Copyright 2002

Different kind of shopping

What I enjoy most about shopping in USA is that they have lots of online shopping. It's a different kind of retail therapy.

1. First, you key in what you are looking for in yahoo or google and do a search. In a second, a list of online shops will appear.


2. You take your time to look into them individually and you pick the best among them


3. Create an account with the online shop and start your shopping


4. Make payment using your credit card


5. An email confirmation will be sent to you together with a tracking number


6. While you wait, you can track where is your shopping


7. After a few days wait, your shopping arrives...



They come in parcels like this one


Inside each parcel, you will get your goods, their latest catalog and a return & refund/exchange form.

You try them on, keep those that you love and return or exchange those that don't fit or those that you don't like. Even for sale items. Notice, even for clothes that have been worn, they will still accept should you decide to return them. All they ask is that you wash them first before returning. The customer service for these online stores is close to impeccable. However, this service cannot be abused. I have bought many things online, both from Singapore and USA. In Singapore, I don't buy clothings because this return/exchange policy is almost non-existent and I can understand why. I only buy used books. But here, in the USA, I thoroughly enjoy online shopping for anything.

Almost everything can be bought online. Groceries, fresh food, seafood, postal stamps...you name them, you have them!

Quiche roll?

One of the good thing about summer vacation is that I have the time to experiment with food and the kids love surprises waiting for them at meal times.

I made this simple dish for lunch...


I fried bacon with onions, sprinkled mozzarella cheese and using fillo pastry, rolled them into spring rolls...


Baked in the oven for about 15 minutes. When bite into it, you get that chewy and chessy taste...


The kids simply love it to bits especially the light and crispy skin.

Kai came up with a name for it, "quiche roll". Not exactly quiche because there were no egg and milk custard but it's a good name! We'll stick to it!

Do you hear the ice-cream man?

While having dinner, we heard a nice cheery music in our usually quiet and serene neighbourhood.

"The ice-cream man is here!" Everything was dropped, slippers picked up and the kids dashed out.
(We are usually very strict at meal times but because this is a rare treat, (summer is ending soon) we just let go. Strict parenting need not be legalistic, kids still need their childhood).

You see, the ice-cream man don't come often and no one will know when he will come but when he does come, the whole neighbourhood comes alive! He is not the kind of ice-cream man who rings his bells and cycles around, selling ice-cream in cone, ice-cream sandwiched between a bread or ice-cream in a cup.
This ice-cream man drives a van, plays cheery loud music and whips up sundaes, banana splits with generous whipped cream and much more....


The cheery ice-cream van. Quite different isn't it.

Simple pleasures in life are the best!

Summer night

This summer night scene of our neighbourhood was captured by hubby. It was almost 9pm and there were still streaks of lights in the sky. This serenity will indeed be missed. Perhaps, we might just extend our stay?


It reflected serenity in the midst of all the activities.
(You won't believe it, there are still many kids cycling and skate-boarding)

The best of the best

My favourite TV programme since coming to USA is Iron Chef America. A programme from the Food Network channel. It is all about the best battling with the best. Each week, a top chef from any part of the world will battle it out with one of the top chefs of America. Using a secret ingredient, both chefs have to cook at least five to six dishes within an hour.

It is a very interesting cooking challenge. I have picked up valuable cooking tips from the programme and needless to say, various food preparation ideas too.

Last week, the challenger was none other than Jamie Oliver, the naked chef, my favourite chef. He is a great advocator of eating healthily. The past years, he has been campaigning to eat only fresh, healthy food in schools.


Jamie Oliver, picture taken from my TV set!

I am thankful that at Kai's school, they only served healthy food. No french fries and once a month only, they serve pizza.

Our house - in the valley

Our house is situated in a valley. A very quiet and beautiful neighbourhood.

We did extensive research before we arrived in USA. Coming from a low-crime country, safety was number 1 in our list of criterias when looking for a house. We had actually wanted to stay in a 3-bedroom apartment. A big house was out of our list. We found it too big for comfort. 3 bedrooms upstairs, a huge hall, dining area, TV room, big patio and a really big basement. But when our agent brought us to see our current house, we loved it and felt very comfortable with it. A walk around the neighbourhood saw kids playing on their own, young teenage girls walking home after school, we felt assured that this would be a safe place for the children. We prayed about it and we finally made it our home. It was a right decision and we loved it. We have wonderful neighbours living around us too.

We lived in a valley and in front of us, is a mountain ski resort. This picture was taken from the mountain road.

Our home is nestled among them. Beautiful isn't it. It is not ours to keep forever, while we still have it, we enjoy it, we appreciate it.

Cupcakes with legs?

Can cupcakes have legs?

The kids and I baked our cupcakes with legs...


Ann was in charge of mixing and scooping the mixture into the cups...


...then Kai (just look at how much he has grown) put them into the oven to bake...


...there you have it, cup cakes with legs. The kids were excited and were giggling non-stop when the cupcakes were brought out. Yummy dark chocolate cupcakes. De-li-cious!!!

The good thing about baking your own cakes is that you can control the amount of ingredients you put into it. Most cakes that are sold outside have a very high level of sugar content. When doing your own baking, expecially for kids, cut down on the sugar and add healthier ingredients such as dark chocolates instead of milk chocolates and of course, take away the icing. Medical studies have shown that dark chocolates actually help to lower high blood pressure and they are great antioxidants. However, that doesn't mean you have dark chocolates for three meals. In everything, eat in moderation!

Farm fresh food

One thing which I really enjoy doing here in US is the ability to buy farm fresh food. It is a new experience altogether - to walk into a farm to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and meat. Yes, they are all bred, grown and harvested from the farm and immediately put out for sale.

For anyone who enjoys cooking and eating, this kind of marketing is pure enjoyment. You have to experience it to enjoy it. The taste of farm fresh food is very different from food bought from supermarket.

Back at home, I pay high prices to buy overseas food which do not taste as good. Example, strawberries and cherries are very expensive in Singapore but they are rarely sweet.


I have never seen so many types of chillies in my life, let alone, taste them. When I finally saw them in the farm, I bought a little of everything to try.
Life is about experimenting with new things that includes eating!


I simply saute them with onions. Gosh, they taste so good. The sweet taste of sauteed onions blend so well with the spiciness of the chillies.
The taste is just nice. Saute basically means to cook food quickly with a little oil in a frying pan.


Fresh plums and giant-sized peaches. Fat and juicy corn. Where we are staying is known as the corn belt. We get really good corn. Yellow ones, bi-colour ones....we have them all.

Chick-fil-A

Read as 'chick fillet'. Chil-fil-A is a popular fast food restaurant in USA. However, it is not the same as the rest of the fast-food chains. They have extremely well-trained staff. You only placed the order at the counter but your food is served to you at your table. They DO NOT open on Sundays.

Yes, straight away you will know that they are a Christian organization.

The Chick-fil-A story was freatured in the book "What my parents did right." The founder of the restaurant, S Truett Cathy shared his story about his parents who taught him 'Reverence for the Lord's day'. That is 'on the seventh day, God rested'

We all know that Sunday is the best day for any business. Any business-minded person will know that it will be a bad mistake to close your business on the busiest day of the week. But Truett was told to devote that day to a day of rest since young. Even though he had a business running, he would make sure that his business would close for that day. And it has been practised since the day he first started his restaurant.

The Lord set aside one day a week as His day (Genesis 2:3 says, "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made") - ("and He did so for our benefit" Mark 2:27)

Some people believe that equipment works more efficiently and with fewer breakdowns when it rests. I'm inclined to agree - especially when that "equipment" is a human being. ~ S Truett Cathy

Did his business suffer, no not at all. Chick-fil-A can be found in thirty-one states, in more than 350 shopping malls, in 700 free standing kiosks, 29 drive-thrus....and all closed on Sundays. Sales in 2006, reached $2.275 billions.(Chick-fil-a facts) 47,000 plus Chick-fil-A employees appreciated that Sunday off to spend time with their families, friends and loved ones and also to attend church.

A check with Wikipedia found this...

Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy is a devout Southern Baptist who has taught Sunday School for over 44 years and whose religious beliefs permeate the company to this day. The company's official statement of corporate purpose says that the business exists "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." The chain invests heavily in community services (especially for children and teenagers) and scholarships. Cathy's beliefs are also responsible for one of the chain's distinctive features: All Chick-fil-A locations (company-owned and franchised, whether in a mall or freestanding) are closed on Sundays.

"Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and directing our attention to things more important than our business. If it took seven days to make a living with a restaurant, then we needed to be in some other line of work. Through the years, I have never wavered from that position."
~ S. Truett Cathy

Seek God first and all things will be added unto you.God's way is always the right way.

We are thankful that back in Singapore, we have a Saturday night service. Our whole family attends the Saturday service so that we could have a whole day of family time on Sunday. We could be lazing around at home or going to the malls...but what matters most is to have the family together. We have done so much together as a family, so much so that Kai and Ann will not want to be left-out in any activity.

As parents, we sometimes need to see the importance of putting aside a day where work ceased and the family can do things together. Going to church together, going out together or just being together. Someone once said, "to a child, love is spelt T-I-M-E."


Entrance of a 'Chick-A-fil' restaurant.


Nice play area for kids.


Love their slogan "Food is essential to life, therefore make it GOOD!"

And yes, their food is good. You don't get processed chicken nuggets, you get chicken-chunks nuggets. You don't get potato-powder fries, you get real potato-sliced fries!

Our first birthday party

Kai was invited to a birthday party. Family was allowed to tag along.

It was our first birthday party in USA. The kids were really excited. It was a birthday party for three brothers. Exciting! It was really full of fun, nothing we have experienced before back home. It was an outdoor party at a park! With lots of outdoor sports and activities.


The venue : Upper Macungie Park


Special way of keeping your drinks cold. An inflatable cooler. You might just see them at our next party!


A game of volleyball. Every child should be entitled to their share of childhood fun.


Ann preferred playing at the playground.


Horse-shoe throwing. Trying to get the tiny bananas into those tiny holes.


Face-painting.


Beach-ball game at the park! Hitting the pinata, always a hit among the kids.


Look at our loot from the pinata...


...I rather enjoy them in my quiet corner


I am no different from other kids, I am entitled to my share of the loot and I am enjoying them.


Last but not least...let's do the mambo dance!

Guess what we found, tucked away in a corner of the park...

Beautiful, isn't it. God's masterpiece is everywhere...

Bean sprouts with salted fish

When we were in New York City, seeing the Lims off. I spotted two very basic but much loved ingredients for making a simple local dish. The 'tau-geh' (bean sprouts) and the salted fish. These are easily available in any wet market in Singapore. The 'tau-geh' auntie at the market would give me a huge bundle for just S$0.30!

It is really a very simple dish to do. Just 3 simple steps:-

1)Vegetable oil to fry with some chopped up garlic.
2)Throw in the sliced up salted fish.
3)Lastly, throw in the bean sprouts.
Add chillies (optional)

Fry them for less than 5 minutes and you get a nice comfort dish!


That night, we had 'dou ya chow sian yu' (bean sprouts fried with salted fish) for dinner. It was simply heavenly.

Road trips - surviving them

Road trips are fun. They are better then flying. My honeymoon, more than a decade ago, was my first road trip. We flew to Auckland and drove all the way from the North Island to Queenstown in the South Island.

When we arrived at USA, we stared doing road trips again, this time, with the kids. In America, it's common to do road trip with the whole family, even with infant. They are fun and educational. For example, if you were to fly, you would never be able to spot a rainbow!

However, being cooped up in the car could be very trying, especially for the young kids. But don't allow that to deter you from taking road trips. Just take note of little details and you will have a fun time with the kids!


Let the kids choose their own favourite books to bring along.


Yes, don't forget the snacks and lots of water. If there are no places to stop to have a bite, at least they have their snacks to fill up their little tummies!


Sketch book for them to doodle...

...actually, kids are highly resilient...

they have ways not only to amuse themselves but you too!

Prepare small notes and coins ahead of time to pay for road tolls. At some booth, you do not have attendant, you just need to throw in quarters and the barrier will be lifted up for you to pass.

Other than the above, join associations such as the AAA auto club. They provide a list of roadside assistance for you. Tell them where you would like to go and they plan out the best route for you. They also offer special discounts on hotels and car rentals. Their monthly newsletter gives you all kinds of tips while you are on the road. Have fun!

Back to New York City

We sent the Lim family back to New York City where they will be staying for a few more days before heading to JFK airport to catch their long flight back to Singapore. It has been a fun-filled time with our very first group of visitors but in every occasion, there will be a start and an ending.


Lunch with the Lims at a Malaysian Nonya restaurant. Oh, what a great Asian meal!

On our way home, we saw this...

hmm...since we are such a fine country, we should have this too.

It was really nice to have familiar faces in the house. It was really thoughtful of the Lims to have travelled 22 hours all the way here to visit us. Having little Linus and little Ann in the house, bickering with each other, was something that we enjoyed.

When we finally arrived home after a 3-hour drive. We got into our house and it was back to the same old atmosphere. I thought I was going to miss the noise but somehow, I didn't. I have grown? I have changed? One thing for sure, I no longer weep over loneliness. Have I gotten so used to living in the countryside that it doesn't matter anymore? Will I suffer from claustrophobia when I return home? I am not sure, only time will tell and only God will know...perhaps, God already has something in store for us...

"mummy, koko make me..." well, there is still the familiarity afterall.