Be-Live

28.5.08

First Road Trip (part IV)
Niagara Falls, the America side

One of the seven wonders of the world, the Niagara Falls. It stretches all the way from America to Canada. How can we miss this?

Niagara Falls, here we come

The best place to see the America side of the falls is at Goat Island

These were pictures of the Falls captured from the America side

First Road Trip (part III)
The Seneca Lake and the Amish Community

We drove around the lake region, it would be impossible to cover all the lakes, we decided on the one that was nearest to the hotel. The Seneca Lake.

In front of the Seneca Lake

In this region, we could still see the Amish community.

We drove to this Amish store, it was an eye-opener for us, the city dwellers.

The house cum shop

Inside the shop, with an Amish lady. They still dress in their traditional clothings and the ladies are very good in quilting.

Amish boy and girl and a little toddler. Just in case you are wondering if they dressed up for us? The answer is 'no'. The Amish community is still pretty active here.

Ann doing her share of shopping in the shop

The Amish people still make use of horse-drawm carriage to travel. On our way there, there were signs showing horse-drawn carriages, we have to give way to them.

Outlets shopping

We left behind the old and moved on to the present...outlets shopping!

Outlets shopping is very common over here. It is basically a huge place where all the branded names are housed under one roof. You would imagine...branded names = expensive. Well, it is in fact the opposite. Branded names = inexpensive. Yes, some of you out there have been paying extras. An example, branded sweater selling S$100, here selling USD6.00. These are not rejects or pre-owned. They are basically just off-season.

Some of the names at the Waterloo Premium Outlets. By the way, this is just one of the many, many directories

Kai with a toy soldier

Angels everywhere

This elderly man was very kind. The carpark was jammed packed. He was helping us to park without even us asking him.

27.5.08

First Road Trip (part II)
The Finger Lakes

We did an extensive road trip during our honeymoon. That was way back in 1994. We drove in New Zealand, from the North Island all the way to the South Island. It was a great trip. We always believed that on the road, we could enjoy more and get to see more things. Now, that we are in this huge country, road trip would be the way to go to see as much as we could. It would be an eye opener for the kids too and I have always enjoyed looking at scenaries.

A picture paints a thousand words. Here they are:-

We had to wait for Kai to come back from school before we set off. It was already evening, managed to capture these using the my Nikon P50. Quite amazed at what a little digital camera can do

We were heading to this place, call the Finger Lakes, NY.

It is basically a region made of many lakes and on the map, it look like fingers. http://www.fingerlakes.org

It was almost 10pm when we finally arrived. A full 6 hour drive. The kids took it really well especially Ann who was straped to her car seat. She is really a highly resilient kid.

We stayed here for the next couple of days. This is Holiday Inn, Auburn

Well, we have seen many food menu. How about a pillow menu? Here in this hotel, you can choose the right pillow for yourself. Not bad

23 to 26 May
First Road Trip (part I)
Even on the road, God is watching over us

We were all excited as we started off on our very first road trip. Well, the first day didn't turn out well. But believe it, even on the road, God sent His angel.

We have placed our money in my purse. Hubby only had some loose change. And guess where was the purse as we were all on the road? Yes, at home! As it was our very first road trip, we did not know anything about toll booth, how much to pay for the toll and how many toll booth we were going to go through.

As we approached the first toll booth, hubby told me to get ready some money. Oops...The purse was no where to be found. Oh well, nevermore, we have our cards. As the car got closer to the booth, the sign read "EZ pass or cash". We were in deep trouble. In the middle of a highway, with no ATM and just some loose change. We frantically ransacked the whole car and found $3 and some coins. OK, that was enough. It was $3.50. We made it.

As we travelled a few kilometers, another toll booth greeted us. Gosh, not again. This time, it was just $0.50. Ok, ok, we got that. $0.51 that was all we had. We managed to pass that one.

We drove on and tried to look for anything or anywhere where we could withdraw some money. NOTHING!

A few kilometers down the road, we saw another toll booth. Oh God, help us please.

As we carry on driving, the 2 kids and I were opening every compartment to search for more money. NOTHING! We were just inches away from the booth. The sign read $0.50 and we only had $0.01. We had no choice but to pull over and stop at the shoulder. What do you do in the middle of a highway, inches away from a toll booth...with no money. No choice, we have to beg. Praying for some kind soul to spare us $0.50.

Hubby got down from the car and before he could even open his mouth, a young girl and her dad stopped by and offered him $0.50. Hubby wanted to offer her a S$2.00 note (well, at least for keepsake) she said "no worries" and they drove off.

Yes, angels were watching over us. The power of a praying wife/mom. I never failed to pray and ask the legion of angels to surround my whole family everyday. This I learned from the books "The power of a praying mom" and "Every child need a praying mother".

22.5.08

From city dweller to farmer

That was what Barb was trying to get me to do, be a famer! She was very kind to give me some plants and by summer, they should bear fruits.

My humble vegetable patch. The big bush that you see, it is the hollies! Yes, the Christmas hollies. I hope I can capture a picture of it to show you later in the year

Mint. Hubby and I love drinking mint tea. It has become part of our diet, even before we came here. Now that we have our own mint leaves, it has become a much greater joy sipping the tea

From your left : cherry tomato, tomato and cucumber. Well, will see if this city dweller will indeed be a successful farmer

Look out for more adventures in our journey...as we venture on our first road trip to...CANADA!

Cooking...

it's not just a great therapy but also a great bonding tool.

Lunch time is often just Ann and myself. It's usually simple. No matter how simple it can be, I always make it an effort to cook it myself. I hope I can leave this legacy of cooking and baking to my kids. Nothing can be compared to having a meal with your loved ones. Just relaxing and enjoying a good meal with good companions is heavenly.

Homecooked meal is simple. It need not be elaborate or tedious. The secret to not having alot to clean up and wash up after a meal, is to wash and clean as you cook. Example, while the chicken is frying in the pan, you do not need to stand and stare at the chicken in the pan, you could wash up the chopping board used to cut up the chicken. This tip I learned it from my Home Economics teacher when I was doing my 'O' levels in SCGS. Usually, for me, the only thing left to wash up after cooking, is the last utensil. In this example, would be the frying pan.

Today, Ann and I did an easy, peasy, crispy thin pizza. If you love Spizza, thin and crispy crust, this would be it and without spending a bomb.

All the ingredients that were needed : tomato sauce, cheddar and mozarella cheese, pita bread, bacon bits and salami

Squeezed the tomato sauce on the pita bread and spread it out evenly

Sprinkle cheddar cheese generously

Lay the salami individually

Pour and spread out the bacon bits

Finally, spread the mozarella cheese on top of the salami and bacon bits

Baked in a pre-heated oven at 350 deg F. As nothing is raw, once the cheese has melted, you can remove it from the oven

Lunch is served. Thin and crispy pizza with corn chips and salsa sauce.

There you have it. All kids love pizza. Instead of potato chips, replace them with corn chips, this is a healthy meal. The double cheese are a great source of calcium. Served it with juice or honey water. Ann's choice - honey water.

22 May

It has been rainning the past few days. It was back to cold, misery days again.

Really, you ought to thank God for the hot sunny island you are living in right now. Over here, it is really, literally no life when the sun is not out. It's just too cold to do anything. Back home, each time you hop into your car, you full-blast the air-con...here, you full-blast the heater.

19.5.08

Consider the lillies of the field...

Matthew 6:28...consider the lillies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin

These were not exactly lillies but we planted them when we first shifted into our house that was in end-March. Look at how they have grown and bloomed, Just as God had said, He looked after the birds of the air and the lillies of the field, He would surely watched over us. These flowers had survived the freezing cold and the blazing hot sun but turned out just beautiful. We knew that at the end of this adventure, we would be like purified gold. We never failed to thank God for this life-changing experience, not just for us but for Kai and little Ann.

Lehigh Valley Zoo (II)...not for the faint-hearted

And we thought that was the end of the zoo. It turned out to be just one part of the zoo. The next part was more exciting and really, not for the faint-hearted.

To get to the next part of the zoo, we had to drive across the river bed. Well, since we were already there, we should do it. The last time we did this was way back in 1994. During our honeymoon in New Zealand, we were caught in a huge flood and we had to drive across a flooded road.