CNY 2014 - Goodies

What's CNY without the goodies! We are well-prepared for guest this year with extras from our Chinatown trip. Gong Hei Fatt Choi!!

CNY 2014 - Ang Pow

DBS's ang pows are very cute this year. But it lost by a close margin to this year's winner from Lays. Got this set of 4 as a promo gift for buying 2 packs of potato chips.

CNY 2014 - Chinatown

不知为何我今年心血来潮老早有了这念头， 这可是我们首次一同到牛车水逛逛。老婆很善解人意，虽然明明不太感兴趣但还是很开朗陪我走了大半天。新年逛唐人街总是较有 气氛。不知是人潮带人气的关 系或是那无数挤满年货的小 摊子，这片混乱又亮丽的情景以转化为迎春接财的象征。在这走着仿佛能接收群众的福气，带我们迎接美丽幸福的新年！祝大家新年快乐万事如意！

Rare Salt

For the longest time we couldn't find any Kosher Salt in any supermarkets. Finally chance on it at Novena Square.

Experiment "Pickup" - Count 1

My dear has a habit of leaving things around the house and forgetting them. For the most part I'll try to pick up after her and put things back in place. She tries to tidy up sometimes but still it doesn't happen often enough. I suppose that's a quirk about her I've come to adore and then have a sheepish grin about it.

Adore, because I find that it is a happy and pure feeling. You know when you were young and you would come home with a new toy. You would rip open the packaging and throw it on the table carelessly and then scoot off to play with the new toy. Yah, that sort of innocence and pleasure. I love that she can continue to enjoy such simple pleasures.

Sheepish grin, because it's always been something I could poke fun with. She seems so helpless in trying to organise things. I think there may be a psychological angle to all this. I know she is trying, and that's good enough for me.

So anyways, being somewhat cheekier recently, I've decided to conduct an experiment on a whim. I've codenamed it Experiment "Pickup".

The subject of the experiment is a shoe box Meimei left on the floor two days ago at roughly 8pm. I noticed it yesterday but decided to wait and see if she will see it too and put it away. Hence the premise of the "Pickup" experiment. 

At the moment the box is by the sofa and fan. She may not have an inking to pick it up since it isn't in her way when walking to the sofa. So to test this assumption I will be moving it towards the centre of the walkway by an inch or so everyday and see when she picks it up. I wager she will pick it up only after about 4-5 days or when she chances on this post. Hehehehe this is going to be so interesting *Grin.

Start 21 Jan: Moved 2 inches toward the walkway.

22 Jan: Did not draw any response. Moved another 3 inches towards the walkway.

23 Jan: The 3 inches drew a response! The box is now on the dining table. Still not where it should be, let's wait and see what happens next.

27 Jan: After several days it was moved from the highly visible spot on the table to a less conspicuous spot at the side table.

30 Jan: Tomorrow's CNY and I've decided to keep the box into the shoe cupboard.

All in all, fun experiment haha. Have the item in highly visible area and give her enough time, she will pick them up.

My New Trolley - More Storage!

New study room trolley, very sturdy and convenient. Frees up the drawers for Meimei.

CNY 2014 - New Notes

Long queue for new notes. They were only left with $2 denominations. Decided to exchange $2 & $10 notes with Dad instead.

Dangerous Driving - 16 Jan 2014

It's almost CNY and it seems the festive period makes some idiots drive carelessly. Today was a close shave, I don't think he even checked whether there were on coming traffic. There has been countless similar instances where I've had to jam brakes and avoid crazy drivers. Thankfully none has cause any injuries. 

But it does anger me that these dicks just get away with their crappy driving. Not anymore thanks to the new cam, which captured the whole event in HD quality. 

*Opps lousy video here, had to downgrade the quality for posting.

Meimei Birthday Present 2014

During the early days of our courtship Meimei would be disappointed often during special days. After awhile I think she gave up expecting that I would pull a bunny out of a hat and give her a birthday surprise. I've always felt guilty about it, yet never really got to planning a surprise party for her.

Since I'm pretty much lazing at home, I thought it would be a nice touch to give her a birthday surprise. She already knows I'm getting her a iPad mini with Retina so that doesn't count. 

A little chocolate cake and a candle. It's just a simple gesture, I think she would prefer this to any big party.

And in true Meimei fashion, she dug a heart shape on the cake. She says she's been wanting to do this for the longest time ... Ooo-K *smile, so long as you are happy, Love!

DIY - Butterfly Anchor for Dining Blinds

We had a minor touchup renovation recently involving mostly painting in the 1st and 2nd bedroom and common toilet ceiling. Since the contractors were here we also asked them to help put up blinds for the master bedroom air-con area and the dining room window. 

Of the few things we did, only the blinds at the dining room had a hiccup. The ceiling where we were going to fixed up the blinds were part of the false board ceiling. We recalled clearly our instructions to the original ID team to leave that small section for future curtains or blinds. Somehow that request fell on deaf ears and the concrete ceiling was boarded up by the false board.

When it came to putting up the blinds, the screws couldn't hold since there wasn't any solid concrete for the plastic screw anchors to grip. Uncle Lim warned us not to yank on the blind or it will come off. He recommend that we fixed it with butterfly anchors instead. Adamant things are done nicely I bought a set of butterfly anchors and tried my hand at putting it up myself.

True enough the original hinges came off easily with a light pull ... the screws and anchor were dangling off the false board precariously. I can imagine the whole blind falling down had we pulled hard at its cord to lower or draw. It's simply a hazard waiting to happen.

Also the holes on the right of the wall wasn't levelled with the left and the two original holes were punctured against a false ceiling metal bar. I took a screw and punched another two to fix the butterfly anchors. The anchors worked brilliantly. The hinges holding the blinds are now firm and secure. The better part of this DIY is the on-the-job training. Nothing beats getting hands-on experience in making minor repairs. I can see myself being more of a handy person with more practical experiences.

Neatness at Wine Corner

Meimei did a great job rearranging and tidying up the corner. I'm pleasantly surprised. 

Beautiful Lights, Troublesome Lights

When we first lights shopping we were dazzled by the array of colours, shapes, sizes, designs, etc. And this being our first home, we were spending as much as we can afford, within reasonable limits, to make it as lovely as possible. Lighting was a definite must as it brings brightness and warm to any room. We went with down-lights in the living areas, study and master. We thought about having false ceiling as well in the 1st and 2nd bedroom but the budget was getting tight and so we passed.

So since we were not spending on the false ceiling we had a little extra budget which we used to buy this chrome wavy shaped lighting frame. At $270 it was expensive, at least to me ... but ok well its only one light point so might as well invest a little more for better design and feel. It turns out it was pretty sturdy ... the cover frame was heavy and screwed onto backing frame with a series of screws. All was fine and dandy until we had to change the lightbulb.

Sis wanted white light, so I bought one with Cool Daylight. But you know what? I had a horrid time trying to remove the cover and at the end of it ... it wasn't a normal light bulb! Argghhh ... I felt like we were spending more to torture ourselves. We might have had an easier time removing the frame if we had gone for a cheaper simpler option. Lesson learned, it's not always better to go class or expensive. Sometimes cheap is better!!

Pity My Big Toe

For reasons I cannot even begin to comprehend, I kick the kitchen cupboard when I went to the sink to wash a pot. I got kicked instead.

Keeping Supermarket Bought Basil Leaves Fresh

Recently we bought basil leaves from the supermarket for thai green curry. It was a huge pack and we only managed to use a tiny bit. We thought we could store it in the fridge but lo and behold, it started turning black after a week. Hmmm that's such a waste of an ingredient and money. So came the question on how others store their basil. I'm sure most folks wouldn't use a whole bunch of it in a week just because the supermarkets sell them in a pack.

As usual the answers is just a search away with Doctor Google. There were many articles and website advising the storage methods. And after skimming through a few, the similar ideas to store basil are:

1) It should be kept in room temperature

2) Keep away from the sun

3) Leave them in a vase of water, changing it everyday or two

4) Should be able to keep for about a fortnight

5) Roots and buds might grow

There are also a few on how to freeze basil leaves but I have to pass as the freezer is already full. So there, now I must try the vase with water the next time we buy basil. Will update on the results!

Running with Style

New Nike running shoes. Stylish for casual wear too. The right shoe makes a funny sound  every step I take... may need to season it longer or exchange for a new one! Cric~Cric~Cric ... Arghhh!!