Beauty in winter

Everyone that come to US of A must visit the Niagara Falls. This is our third visit to the Falls as we bring our family to witness this wonder and I can assure you that each visit is a different experience.

On our way there, we noticed lots of snow-covered spots but we didn't expect to see such early winter


Snow-covered street...


Snow-covered car..

Then we hit the snow-fall. The more up north we drove, the heavier was the snow fall

Driving through the snow fall



We finally had to stop when we saw a huge park...the snow fight began. The kids had a fabulous time, it was their very first and mine too.

From our house to Niagara Falls is about seven hours, a stop-over is essential.

Yes, we stayed at the Best Western Horsehead motel again but this time, it was a different sight altogether

The next day, we witnessed more beauty in winter. It was really awesome to be able to soak in the beauty of God's goodness and His masterpiece. Looking at all these, you know God is indeed a great artist. Enjoy...




The kids have more fun...




We finally arrived at Niagara Falls...in winter






We have now experienced all the four seasons. It was a mind-blowing experience. This song aptly described my feelings...

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words,
Too wonderful for comprehension,
Like nothing ever seen or heard.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Yes, my family came at the right time. In fact for most Singaporeans who have been living in the tropics, able to see snow is something they will really love...

... and I was so glad that my two nephews managed to see it and they were very excited!


While on our way to the Crystal Cave, it started snowing.

Yes, we have company...lots of them

My sister, my brother-in-law, their two sons and my uncle are all here with us in PA. Yes, the house has come alive once more.

When they Lims were here in August, we rented a 7-seater SUV to fit everyone in. This time, we needed a much bigger vehicle, we rented a 12-seater van and hubby drove it. He drove from Macungie to Newark airport and then to JFK airport and finally headed home. He is really getting better and better with his driving skill. I told him, the next one we will rent a campervan and camp out!


That's hubby and my brother-in-law and that's the 12-seater van.


Want to know what is jet-lag? Sleeping on the dinner table!


We had dinner at New York City - Dallas B-b-q. This is called an onion loaf. Very similar to our wild, wild west onion from Black Angus.

SCREAM.....the 'terrors have landed'


Yes...these four will be living together under the same roof for the next couple of weeks. Their age, 10, 8, 7 and 4!

I hope the peace and quiet in the neighbourhood will not be severely interrupted...or else we may find ourselves in the town council office. But for sure, there will be lots and lots of fun and good food and not forgetting....ROAD TRIPS!

There will be more bloggings...but they may come in slow and steady as my hands will be full...as yours truly here, the good 'yiyi' (aunt) has promised them lots of goodies...(slurp, slurp)

Parent - teacher conference

This whole week is the annual parent-teacher conference at Kai's school. During this conference, the class teacher will meet the parents of each child individually and discuss about the progress of the child.

I finally got to meet Kai's class teacher, face to face, one to one. The exact words coming out from her mouth, "Kai is highly intelligent!"

As a mum, I have every reason to be proud of him. I am not your typical Asian parent who often shy away from the praises of their kids with "no lah, no lah..." I accept it and I am very happy for my son. Eight years ago, hubby and I, collectively, made the decision to live on a single-income so that our kids could have the best attention and care. Not the 'perfect' but the 'best'. Looking at how Kai has progressed, we know the decision was right although it was laden with alot of challenges along the way... and still is.

However, the teacher has a problem, Kai is often restless and we both know the reason, he is not challenged enough. It is important that we arrest this problem early. He needs to move a level higher...continuing his education in US is a great choice. Some of the Ivy League Universities are here. If he can pursue his education here, it will be good but that means we have to be here for a good number of years...Will the education back home benefit someone like my son? Is the family going to give up everything for Kai to be the best he was created to be? God... help us!

Like grandpa, like grandson


This is so heartwarming. Grandpa and grandson blowing the horn shofar together during worship session in church.

Better to know how to fish

Our good friend whom the kids fondly call him 'Uncle Moses' is a foodie himself and a very generous one. Each time he finds some interesting books, magazines, food etc...he will never fail to tell us.

When we first arrived, we were without our cargoes for one month. Uncle Moses was the one who first send some books to the kids. It was really comforting to receive things from friends when we are all alone living out from our luggages. The kids were very happy. Subsequently, he subscribed this food magazine - SAVEUR for us...and it is one really good food magazine. I have mentioned it before when I blogged about salmon. This time round, I found a wonderful oyster soup recipe.



A great comfort soup in a cold day. Milk, heavy cream, celery, onions, garlic and of course oysters make this a very flavourful soup. The best part is, I never have to wait to be served with this delicious soup, I can do it myself and at any time of the day or when the cravings come. When I feed my family, I know that they are having a healthy soup and not drinking MSG. So... always good to know how to fish.

Really? Best burger in town

Back home, I love to eat out and having a hubby who doesn't mind a food adventure, makes eating out a joy. But here, I prefer my own cooking. Why, because there are really not alot of choices. Friends who came just for one week already found the burgers and pizzas just too much to stomach. What more about us. I have told the kids many times that once we are back home, don't ever mention fastfood to me.

But...there is one fastfood restaurant here that has been voted 'the best burger in town'! Even our foodie friend back home has emailed us the review. We have passed by the restaurant many times but just refused to try it. Finally, we decided to give it a chance. And yes....it lives up to its name. The best burger I have ever tasted. All four of us gave it two thumbs up!



It's the Five Guys Burgers and Fries! They have received many awards and accolades


The little hamburger with bacon. Super juicy and succulent beef meat patties with crispy bacon


Cheese burger, see the melting cheese. Oooo...yum-mi!


The ultimate burger, beef patties, tomatoes, lettuce, relish, onions, mushrooms and cheese. What else is there to add?


Great fries! Washington russet potatoes, cut and fry.

All the burgers come with double beef patties, prepared and grilled only after you have placed your order. No microwaved patties. That made them really different. Fastfood for me? Yes, if only served by Five Guys!

Never knew....

The weather has been really cold. It is only autumn but kids are already wearing scarves, gloves, ear muffs, down jackets... to school. In this kind of weather, nothing beats a really nice, hot, homemade dessert.


'Tau suan' with lotus seeds (lian zi)

'Tau suan' is a Chinese dessert. It is made of mung beans cooked with rock sugar and the soup is thickened by adding corn starch to it. I have added lotus seeds to make it a healthier dessert.

Since coming to the US, I have learned to cook many local delights and I never knew that they were easy to make and most of all, they are cheap. Circumstances forced me out of the comfort shell. It is such a breeze, back home, when I feel like eating them, I just pay the money and I get to eat them. Here,when I want to eat, when I hunger for them, I am left with no choice but to do them myself. Thanks to my great cooking buddies who have helped to feed me!

True to the last bit, tough situations bring out the best in a person. This journey is indeed very worthwhile.

Great adventure.....in READING

Kai's school orgainsed this special event called Reading Adventure Night!



It was something which the whole family could participate together. In each group, there were about three to four families. We were supposed to look for the classroom where the reading adventure began. Once we have finished, we moved on to the next room until we have covered all the four rooms that were given to us.

The people who read the stories to us were parent volunteers and some even involved the whole family. In one room, we found a mother as the narrator, the father and two sons were the actors!

The most exciting part for the kids was the whole school was plunged into darkness. Yes, we have to make use of the flashlights which we have brought with us to help us locate the different rooms. It was really exciting and fun especially for Kai who is a lover of books and stroies. Ann is picking up very quickly this wonderful habit of her brother.

This event reminded me so much of the movie "Dead Poet Society". A great movie starred Robin Williams, one of the finest performances ever put up by him. I have kept the VCD and story book of this movie for my Kai and Ann to enjoy.

In this case, instead of photographs, check out the videos.








After the books, it's snack attack! I baked these M&Ms cookies for refreshments at the Reading Adventure Night.

This is the marvelous part about the American education system. Yes, in terms of academic progress, they may be lacking behind us but if you talk about a holistic education for the young minds, they far exceeded us. There are treasures in books, there are wisdom in books. Our system stressed too much on the acedemic field, parents are more interested in 'brain training', 'how to score As', holidays are about chasing after endless enrichment classes...and many parents are only home after 7pm.

Parents have to be home early, get to school by 6.30pm and sit through all the four story sessions with their kids. Will such an event work out in our schools?

Rainbow at dusk?

Guess the time?
I wanted to show you how early the sun sets these days in Macungie. I took out my camera and went out to the patio...


The time was about 4.45pm, just before 5pm and the sky was already dark. We were told by our neighbours that as we approach December, daylight will get much shorter. It would be like, 'you wake up in darkness, you go to bed in darkness.' We decided to brighten up our place instead of living in darkness. We bought lots of Christmas lights - for the backyard and the front driveway.

And as I was capturing the 'Christmas light-up' with my camera, I spotted the rainbow in the background. I thought that was really unusual. Wikipedia explained rainbow as "an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere". My limited knowledge in this area also tell me that rainbow only occurs when there are sun and rain.

It did drizzle but there was definitely no sun. But it was a beautiful sight to see such a rainbow, the seven colours were not obvious but rays of red were clearly seen. Perhaps it was God telling us that a new era has dawn on America or maybe, it's God telling us that He is still watching over us and will always watch over us.



I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. Ezekiel 1:28
And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Revelation 4:3

...and yes, the Americans saw it!


This was the pamphlet left at my doorstep. In a freezing night,
in pitch darkness, on the eve of the election day,
they were still working towards making a change.
Is it any wonder that they won and they won big.

This is indeed a historical day for all Americans. In my small way, I just pray that change will come and it will make this world a better place for all.

Something we can learn

Weeks leading up to the election, Kai and Ann came home everyday from school to talk about the two nominees. I think this is something we should do for our kids. Get them involved in the affairs of the country. Give them knowledge of who is in charge in their country. I find this lacking in our education back home. Too much have been placed on academic excellence so much so that our kids do not have any ideas on the leaders of our country. Here, they start them young. Little Ann is only in pre-school and she has been taught what is an election, what do you do in an election, what is voting......They even had a lesson on election. The kids have to vote for their favourite ice-cream flavour! That is what I call education.

Our education system need to change, change for the better. In the society which our kids are going to live in, it is no longer just having straight 'A's, it will go beyond that and those who are going to excel, are those whose parents see education beyond just academic excellence.

4th Nov 2008, a historical day in the making

Today, Americans will make history. It is the USA Presidential Election. A very historical one indeed. I have never been so excited and so engrossed in an election until now. I think, the world is also watching...everyone wants to know who will be the next US president who will shoulder a huge financial burden that almost throw the world economy into a big chaos, who will bring changes to the millions living in America, who will make this world a better place...

Till late last night, one party was still distributing flyers in my neighbourhood. I was impressed. With the time adjustment and the day getting really short, by 8.00pm, it was pitch dark (remember, no street lights) and they were still working. It sure speaks alot about their passion...I hope the Americans see it.

Time adjusted...

The daylight saving has come to an end and we have to adjust our time back by 1-hour. Not sure if this was good or bad but it sure got me all so confused.

We looked at our time it's 11am on Sunday. We thought we were late for service. We dashed out of our house thinking "what happen if the church was not aware of the change, would they have started service base on the old time?" When we finally arrived at church, we were 15 minutes early. It was only 10.15am. Everyone was doing things as per normal. They all adjusted their time and life went on.

Hubby was right in saying that all these were just part and parcel of their lives. They just adjust their time as and when needed and moved on. But for me, it was quite an experience.

Now that the daylight saving has ended, the day is getting so short. By 5pm, it is all dark. A new adventure awaiting us all.

Wow...you are famous lah!

My email box was suddenly flooded with lots of mails from home. I realised that an interview I did with our local newspaper was published together with a portrait of me taken by little Ann and some pictures of the places we have visited.

I have joined this forum call 'Singaporean women abroad' and the local newspaper got my contact through them.

That column was about travel so you get to read all about the nice things....(just doing my part to help boost the US economy *wink*). Many have written to say how they envy me. But before you start envying, read what I have to say first.

As a "relocated" mum, I do face with lots of challenges. Do you know that bringing the trash out, picking up the mails, I have to wear 3 layers of clothes, there are no families, no relatives here, in short, no family gatherings or outings. I worry about kids going to school, will they be bullied....worry about them going back to the Singapore school, can they cope or not? I know there is no point worrying but as a mother, it is only natural.

The weather could get very cold, my lips are cracked, my hands peeled. I look five years older because of the harsh weather (It's every woman's nightmare). To keep warm, I have to turn on the heater but that gives me the headache... but I want to support my husband, I want my kids to see beyond the comforts of a Singapore life-style, experience education outside the classrooms. There are lots of challenges, I will face head-on.....do you believe, as women, we are resilient, we are survivors, we make the best out of our situations....

Famous? no lah...tomorrow when you read your new set of Straits Times, all will be forgotten. BUT...if it is in God's plan for my life, that I will be famous, then I want to be famous for a good cause!

Our first 'tricks or treats'....

This is our first Halloween.

We have never fully understood what Halloween was all about till today. The day started with all the kids going to school as ususal but without the ususal school activities. There were parades where kids, teachers and even the principal and his family all dressed up in their favourite costumes and walk round the residence near the school. It was fun because everyone come in all different kinds of costumes.

But the real big fun started when the sun set. Our doorbell rang non-stop as kids with their parents came asking for treats...we were so busy giving out candies and chocolates and all kinds of goodies. Kai and Ann also did the same thing, they went with the neighbour kids to do 'tricks or treats'.







Little Ann had a great time with all her friends at pre-school. She was dressed as a Chinese princess, in her little pink cheongsum.

In the evening, while we were still half-way through our dinner, we realised that we have been 'invaded' by people from all over....

Spiderman, pumpkin man, witches, aliens and even the girl (what's her name?) from Wizard of Oz


We also found Darth Vader and his team standing at our door. Even a clown appeared


Transformer and his angel....who needs a costume to receive treats...it's all about having fun!


These two girls' costumes were my favourite for that night. They said they were from Harry Potter

All the fun ended at 8.30pm. It was not very late. Kai and Ann had such fun that they couldn't sleep for that night. What really impressed me about this whole event was that the kids were not roaming on the street on their own, they were not put at risk, knocking at strangers' houses. Their parents followed them and some even did it as a family. From grandparents to parents to kids. It was just one whole big family affair.