Fattened Calves for Christmas!

Oops..it's diet time again..*sigh*..But this is an unavoidable vicious cycle cos you just have to eat all the scrumptious food here (especially the cheese, pizza, pasta, Vietnamese rice noodles and spring rolls) if you fly all the way across the ocean to this continent!

Visited Hope Melbourne on Sunday (caught up with Paul, Peng Leong, Boey Wan, Yew Sze, Poh Choo, Daniel, Michelle) and had lunch with June, Danny, Yew Sze & Poh Choo..whose house has a lovely, big garden..with rose bushes, camelia and lavender..apple, fig, lemon and plum trees..and vegetables like lettuce, tomato, spring onion, pumpkin, chilli etc. One thing for sure, they won't go hungry even if the supermarkets went on strike? Ha ha...

Anyway, we brought back a lot more toys and presents than we went with, which totally dashed my initial optimism that we were gonna travel lighter on the way home. Once again, the thought of migration (and no NS for the boys), will linger on for a while..before we settle down to the busy pace of life in Singapore as usual. Lastly, I don't fancy eating another strawberry anytime soon..but maybe one cherry or two...

Twelve..Er..Ten Apostles???

Finally arrived at Port Campbell..in all our years of studying here in Victoria, we only saw the 12 apostles on postcards and magnets..ha ha! I must say the 'live' view is definitely heaps better and absolutely spectacular!!! Highlights include..Jared getting half-drenched by the waves, and so we had to change his pants, socks and shoes..walking down to the Lord Ard Gorge..savouring the soft, warm sand..admiring the beautiful stalactites..and being awe-struck by the magnificient cliffs and rocks...

(http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/portcampbell/apostles.asp)

The Grotto..a beautiful, 8-metre above sea level rock pool formed by erosion from the powerful waves. Imagine a miniature replica of certain scenes from The Lord Of The Rings or Sinbad movies?

In January 1990, the 'London Bridge' arch connecting to the mainland collapsed and crashed into the ocean, leaving 2 visitors stranded on the newly formed island. Fortunately, nobody was injured and they were rescued by helicopter hours later.

The famous Loch Ard Gorge..In 1878 the Lord Ard shipwrecked along the coast and claimed 49 lives. Only 2 young people survived and were washed ashore. If you look closely, some cliffs appear to resemble layered cheesecake or 'kueh lapis'..ha ha! Maybe God decided to make people (like me) hungry when He made this portion of the earth? Something to ponder about...

(http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/portcampbell/lochardgorge.asp)

No Whales In Warrnambool...

Hooray! Thank God for the fair weather during the long drive down the Great Ocean Road.. packed bread, ham, salami, yoghurt bars and fruits for the trip. After oooo-ing and ahh-ing at the cows, horses, sheep and cylindrical bales of hay (we debated on how the machine did that), we arrived at the Olde Maritime Inn at Warrnambool where we spent the night. Our room had an interesting rustic 'mezzanine' layout..with twin beds downstairs and a double bed upstairs. However, my two city slickers boys weren't thrilled about sharing it with a moth (flew out from the air-con) and a spider, leisurely winding down its thread from the ceiling..ha ha! Although they did enjoy soaking..and er..swimming in the Jacuzzi Spa..complete with water jets and bubbles!

(http://www.oldemaritime.com.au/newsite)

We drove down to Port Fairy which supposedly had a large fleet of fishing boats..but saw only a few by the river..maybe we were at the wrong end??? Hmmm...anyway, we had fish (Flake), calamari rings and hamburger with 'the lot' (plus bacon and egg) at the playground, under the watchful eyes of the many seagulls (reminded me of 'Finding Nemo'..Mine! Mine! Mine!). Justin and Jared were more enthusiastic about the the 'cool' playgrounds..there were mini excavators used to scoop and pour out sand, see-saw swings with disc T-bar seats (it was funny to see them hang on for dear life!), merry-go-rounds and the suspension bridge across the lake.

We took a short 'bush walk' at the Tower Hill Game Reserve..originally one of Victoria's largest volcano craters..but now teeming with fauna and flora. Justin turned positively pale when he read the information plaque that warned about venomous snakes on the trail..but turned braver instantly when given a swishing-stick to scare them away. However, the closest thing to snakes we saw, were the many lizards basking in the sun..Phew! We were rewarded for our 'sweat' at the end of the trail, by spotting 3 adorable koalas in the eucalyptus trees..1 was curled up fast asleep while the other 2 peered at us bemusedly, through unblinking, tiny black beady eyes!!!

And although it's not the right season, we still tried a bit of whale-watching at Logans Beach. As expected, no whales came to beckon and wave their tails at us..how disappointing!

(http://www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/Files/2007WboolVG_web.pdf)

Ain't No Summer?!!

Ok ok..I take back the 'cooling and refreshing' part..the rain today was absolutely freezing and relentless!!! Quite like the Singapore torrential rain except that it's 11*C..Brrrrrr! So, we spent most of our time indoors to avoid the teeth-chattering cold wind outside:

• Yum Cha at Chinatown's Dragon Boat: We had the usual Har Kau, Wu Kok, Char Siew Pau, Fu Pei Kuen, Cheong Fun, Tan Tat, Pei Tan Chuk and a new version of Siew Mai with quail egg.



• Shopping at Chadstone: Succumbed to buying Krispy Kreme donuts, Cherry Ripe and Bounty chocolates, Minties and Salt & Vinegar potato chips..haiz..really bad for my waistline..which has been steadily widening even as I type..cham cham!



• Dinner at Docklands' Hot Chocolate with Jullie: We ordered Fettucini Carbonara, Bangers & Mash (sausages & mash potatoes), King Prawns Risotto, Lemon Choc-Chip Cheesecake (with Pavlova topping), Tiramisu & Gelato and you guessed it..hot chocolate drink.
• Rest & Relax: Admired the breath-taking view of Melbourne City and the Yarra River from Jullie's apartment at City Tower's 33rd storey.

Hopefully, we'll have good weather tomorrow as we head down to Warrnambool and Port Campbell. Mum was gleeful that she did pack the right clothes after all! Ha ha ha...

Cherry Picking @ Melbourne

We arrived safely at the Melbourne Airport last night after a 7-hour non-eventful flight..not counting some of the following mishaps:

• The boys managed to 'hang' the in-flight games.. typical urban kids ! I was quite embarrassed at having to ask the stewardess to reset it.. not only once BUT THREE times! Maybe the system wasn't set-up to take such bashing?
• Justin sneezed ice-cream all over his pants
• Jared dragged his jacket sleeves over a layer of tomato sauce meant for his food
• The long wait for the toilet.. very unusual for guys.. no accidents.. Phew!
• I watched 'Stardust'.. Michelle Pfeiffer still looks great.. HAIZZzzzz (envious sigh). But quickly consoled by 'Hairspray'.. ha ha ha!

And so, we decided to visit the Enchanted Maze Garden, Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm (http://www.sunnyridge.com.au) and Redhill Cherry Farm today. In our packing haste (and fueled by my mum's idea that it's perpetually cold here), we forgot to bring the essential hats, insect repellent and sunblock lotion, and had to brave the sweltering heat of 37*C..and share air space with millions of flies!!! Pant..Sweat..Swat..Swish.. ARRGGHHHhhh!!! However, we still had fun picking 2kg of ripe strawberries from the ground and 5kg of cherries off the trees..quite a few ended up in our mouths instead of the bucket. But hey..we had to taste-test and see if they were sweet..right??? Worthwhile mentioning the Devonshire tea, scones with home-made strawberry jam and thick-rich cream, strawberry ice-cream and milkshake too..YUMMY!

And thank You Lord for the much needed cooling and refreshing night rain.. AAaahhhhh..nice.. zzzz......

Big Band Sunday!!!

It's been more than 2 years since the last Big Band P&W (31 July 2005)..high time for another one and with more style and grandeur too! Many people asked me what was the occasion since it's not quite Christmas yet? Actually, the real reason was..'rostered like that lor'..so might as well make full used of it right? Ha ha ha! And Steven came back from Perth just on time to play the saxophone too.. Man, it was meant to be..everything 'swee swee' in place! For the record, we had a 10-piece band..plus 6 singers and the choir!!!

• Keyboard: Gerald & Ying Soon..great jazzy chords
• Guitar & Bass: Albert..soulful leads, Kuan Loong..good rhythm & Geoffrey..very skillful time-keeping..thanks!
• Drum & Percussion: Wilfred..surprised us when he finally produced the 'rrr-tat-rrr-tat' solo & Eugene.. solid as usual, not even a beat or 'ding' out!
• Saxophone: Steven..you're the man! Definitely ain't no 'Big Band' without brass..ha ha!
• Violin & Cello: Rachel..lively, memorable solo & Si Jia..nice mel intro for 'Offering'
• Singers: Jaclyn, Chris, Ron, Kevin, Ying Fang & May Hoong..the cool swingers???
• Choir..raise the bar a notch with their 'ooo..aahh' harmony for 'How Great Thou Art'

We had a ball of a time rehearsing, dancing (ONLY for mucking around purpose) and singing.. Everybody Ought To Know.. Give Me Oil In My Lamp.. This Little Light Of Mine.. Even Charmaine request our troupe to do a hula dance on stage but unfortunately, we weren't wearing grass skirts or Hawaiian leis..diaoz.. And if anyone didn't quite catch the lines..this is how the song goes..

On Monday, He gave me the gift of love
On Tuesday, peace came from above
On Wednesday, told me to have more faith
On Thursday, gave me a little more grace
On Friday, told me to watch and pray
On Saturday, told me just what to say
On Sunday, gave me power divine
Just to let my little light shine

Pimples Apparate!

Episode 1:
*Haiz*..the whole saga start in November 2006..We sat next to a French window (indoors with air-conditioning) for a 4-hour meeting and on that very same night, I rushed to A&E with throbbing eye-pain. I discovered then, that post-LASIK cornea can get 'sun-burnt'?!! I was given antibiotics eye-drops, eye-gel, eye-drops, and some hydrocortisone and moisturising cream to apply on my face. Then in December, I noticed a crusty red patch at the right side of my nose and saw the GP. He diagnosed it as Ezcema and gave me some Combiderm.

Episode 2:
But after 6 months, the problem hadn't resolved. In fact, it was spreading around the other side of my nose and around the mouth as well..*Faint*!!! So this time, I saw another doctor who prescribed Neoderm because the red patches turned out to be fungus instead..*Gosh*..How in the world did it get there? I thought fungal parasites only grew in dark, dank, muddy places like the swamp?? Eeeeeewwww...

Episode 3:

Then last October, large pimples started popping out around the temples..spread quickly to the forehead and spots appeared on my cheeks. What could have caused it? They left even the doctor flabbergasted..maybe it was triggered by the new leave-on hair conditioner? Some allergic reaction to peanut or msg in the food? Too much caffeine? Not enough sleep? Stress at work? Over-screaming at the boys? Thus, began the Tea Tree Oil regime which included the cleanser, toner and mask..plus a good measure of Oxy10. The doctor also prescribed 'Augmentin' which seemed to solve the problem but..Alas! Only temporarily...

Episode 4:

It came back with a vengence and so I was given another antibiotic called 'Doxycap' which was supposed to effectively kill acne-causing bacteria. Admittedly, I was very reluctant to start on this 1-month course..but hey, my face is my small fortune. But after only ONE dose..red welts broke out all over my face..forehead, cheeks, chin and even neck..HIVES!!! Of ALL the antibiotics I've taken in my entire life, I had to be allergic to THIS one??? So, now I have to take anti-histamines to counteract my sensitive skin's reaction..AARRGGHH!!!

This unfortunate incident made me feel like I'm watching a never-ending, very badly scripted and directed drama series. I would probably blame it on that French window if I could..and not my ignorance for sitting there so long without any so-called protection (e.g. sun-block lotion). I've certainly learnt my lesson and would brave looking like a gundu wearing a hat and sun glasses INDOORS, the next time I sat near a French window (if there was ever one). I hope this would eventually turn out to have a happy ending..unlike the many Korean dramas I've seen??? Ha ha ha...

(to be continued...)

Ladies Luncheon...

Got an email from Audrey (one of my first few 'sheep' in Hope!):

"Our friendship is more than 10 years old..Looking forward to meeting up on 3 Nov..I've made reservations at Chilli Padi (buffet)..Ok, I understand if you care for me and don't want me to overeat..but really, I DON'T MIND?!..Don't eat too much supper tonight and skip breakfast tomorrow..It's been a while, remember when our kids were small and we didn't even have handphones then!"

So, we ladies..Audrey, Christine, Ee Meng, Frances, Jac, Jana, Lay Choo, Mei Yi..met up and had a fun bash at Swensen's..considered 'post-buffet' for the rest and lunch for me. Hmmm..guess they ran out of reasons to stay at the other restaurant?? Ha ha..Anyway, it didn't quite help Audrey's cause either, when we were told there was a '1-for-1' offer for the ice-creams and desserts!! But thank God for the blessing..

Topics of conversation include the usual.. motherhood.. kids.. husbands.. the latest fashion trends.. shopping.. beauty products.. FOOD.. and more food.. back to the kids and studies in stressful Singapore!! But as I looked around at everyone, I realised that we've all matured, become much stronger and more confident as we overcame adversities in life. My heart-felt admiration for the one who has to raise her children single-handedly..another with a special needs child..I remember the 'accident-proned' boys (door slammed on finger, scalded hand and deep cut on shin)..eye surgeries..heart and limb surgeries..It's truly amazing how we are still standing firm and I trust that God will continually renew our strength and give us more wisdom..and humour..for each passing day!

Thanks for the wonderful catch-up time..we should have taken photos of our very noisy gathering..although we're 'highly-organised' mums, guess we're a bunch non-high-tech ladies who just didn't think of that?? Ha ha ha!