The Cutest Baby

Yesterday afternoon, I saw baby E-Ann for the first time. I’ve been looking forward to meeting her ever since she was born six months ago so you can imagine how excited I felt the entire morning.

She was sleeping when I arrived at my Grandma’s and she looked exactly like a little precious cherub. She’s got the best complexion, the tiniest toes and the roundest little body! Soooo cute! She was all smiles when she finally woke up and had absolutely no qualms about me carrying her although it was her encounter with me, her aunt.

Naturally I couldn’t resist taking heaps of photos and videos of her. Have a look!

Huh what's happening? I just got up from my nap and suddenly there's cameras and flashes everywhere...

*Yawns* Still sleepy
Playing on her mat
Dazed and confused - E-Ann and her granduncle

Feels Good to Be Home

It's my second day in Singapore and I’m having a great time so far. I’ve missed home so much that even the heat here couldn’t dampen my spirits.

I already started my shopping spree yesterday when I went to Parkway with my mum. Clothes and shoes are so cheap here compared to Brisbane – so really, by buying things in bulk now, I’m actually saving money. Riii-ght? Yes.

Today, I met up with the Ally, Dia and Nessa for lunch at Foo House in Simpang Bedok. One thing about being away for so long is that I get my personal guide to take me around. Dia so kindly volunteered to meet me at a bus stop near her house where she then walked with me under the sweltering heat to take number 10 all the way to Bedok. All this trouble when I could have taken number 2 straight from Eunos. My guide was a bit misguided I think.

Anyhoo, it was soooo good to see the girls again. I know I always say this but it feels like I haven’t left at all. One thing I love best about us is that we can always pick up where we’d left off no matter how long or short I’ve been away. We still laugh over the same jokes and amuse ourselves with each other’s quirky habits.

I’ll blog more over the next few days I’m sure. For now, I’ll leave you with some pictures we took today.

The girls and I at Foo House

Our entree - Beef Goulash and Pumpkin Soup

My beef burger

Dia's roast duck

The Count Down

Countdown to my Singapore holiday: 1 day!

Yay! I’m going back to Singapore tomorrow! I am so excited, I can hardly wait till tomorrow night to jump on the plane. Here’s a list of reasons why.

1. I get to see my family.

2. I can hang out with my friends again.

3. I’ll get to see my baby niece E-Ann for the very first time.

4. I can go on a shopping spree. BIG one. Need I say more?

5. I’ll be 165m above ground on the Singapore Flyer. (I lurrrrve ferris wheels.)

6. I could use a holiday.

7. I miss my bed.

I’ll see you guys really soon! Bring on the par-taay.

A Farewell Dinner

Pen and I met up with Chris on Monday evening for a fare dinner at Hanaichi in the city. Chris used to be from LEWIS Sydney and I had worked with him on a couple of accounts when I was still in Singapore. We become friends over the years, “bonded” by the fact that he’s a Brisbanite and I used to live there. But there’s more!

Till this day, I still can’t get over how bizarre it is. When Pen met him for the “first” time over lunch at West End, Chris stopped dead in his tracks. They know each other! Turned out they used to work at Big W together. Oh my gosh, how uncanny! So yes, I told everyone at LEWIS about it and they couldn’t believe it either.

Anyhoo, Chris is leaving for Japan very soon. His girlfriend is Japanese so they’re moving to get married there. She doesn’t know this yet but he has this grand plan of proposing to her when the cherry blossoms bloom in Kyoto. Awww...

Pen, me and Chris at the sushi bar in Hanaichi. Yes that’s right, Pen actually ate sushi that day!

Head and Neck Talk

Pen is finally back from yet another one of his business trips. The best thing is he has returned bearing gifts for me! Erm, I mean next best thing to actually seeing him of course.

On another note, I came across a saying from wise old Lydia, which made a huge impression on me. We were on the topic of mandarin oranges and how Pen peels the skin off for me every time. And to that, the !Kung bushwoman says...

“Hence, the husband is the head of the household but truly, the wife is the neck.”

How true.

And in tribute to that, I have put together a little visual.

But of course, having said that, I'm still a firm believer of God's instructions - "Husbands, love your wives" and "Wives, respect your husbands".

Chocolate Eggs and a Class Full of Kids

I am officially “Auntie Karin”, a Sunday School teacher! Last Sunday, I taught my very first lesson to a class of Yr 2 and 3 kids and loved every single minute of it. It was technically my first teaching lesson because before that, I was just assisting Janet for the whole of February. It was a good way to start because by the time I began teaching proper, the kids were already familiar with me.

The days leading up to the lesson, I was stressing about how to get their attention and how to make the bible stories come alive for my kids. I mean, it wasn’t a piece of cake trying to decipher the Transfiguration of Jesus to a bunch of 7 and 8 year-olds. Even I had to read the passage a few times to understand the purpose behind the story.

In the end, I resorted to using heaps of colourful visuals, elaborate actions (from the ahem teacher) and chocolate eggs as incentives! Not only did they participate and listen attentively, they also remembered to raise their hands before answering my questions. Ooo they were adorable.

I won’t deny that a handful of them are a bit noisy and mischievous on the outside but if you take time to explain instructions to them, you’ll discover they are really sweet and obedient on the inside. And my heart melts whenever one of the kids tugs at my sleeves if he or she is stuck on a task and says, “Auntie Karin, can you help me?”

I’m definitely looking forward to my next lesson. Although I really wouldn’t mind if they dropped the “auntie”. Aaaargh. Wonder whose brilliant idea it was to ask the kids to address the teachers as aunties. Must be the principal, who turns out to be, oh my husband.