At Mimi’s

We love salmon!

Ice Storm

The weather yesterday was unusually bad—it was really really cold, ice pellets were hitting down on us from every angle, roads were slick and treacherous  (parts of the highway were shut off) – basically, not a good day to venture outdoors… except, Ma and Pa were coming back from Las Vegas and we had to pick them up at the airport.

Our car slid a couple of times on the drive there, and what is normally a 30-minute drive to DFW took more than 1 hour last night. This was the state of our car when we got home, thankfully, safe and sound.

 

The morning after:-

The Year of The Ox Is Here!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It was a simple steamboat dinner at home, but it was our first reunion dinner as a family. I don't know what happened, but I had totally forgotten about it until I got a gentle reminder from a friend a couple of days ago. I think the fact that I have not been back in Singapore for the past 5 ( not counting cny of 2009) Chinese New Years definitely played a part. Anyhow, I managed to put together a decent meal for us last night. A pity Skylar missed the first half of it because he was napping. Never mind, there will be many more reunion dinners in the years to come!

This first day of Chinese New Year was exceptionally cold in Texas ( -10C!!). We stayed indoors the entire time, and hence Skylar was still in his pajamas. :-)

We did have some pre-CNY fun the past few days, though. On Friday, we met up with some friends for a buffet dinner in Addison. And then Saturday, after dinner with Yifan's boss and colleagues, we adjourned to his colleague's house for some BlackJack. Yifan had a good time trying to hit "21", I happily chatted with Pang Jun, while Skylar crawled around and played till way past his bedtime.

The Day I Lucked Out

20 January was Freebie Day!

Due to a class action lawsuit, departmental stores like Macy's and Nordstrom across the country were giving out approximately $175 million worth of skincare and cosmetic products to consumers.

I was already driving out to Stonebriar Mall that morning when I heard the news over the radio ( lucky me!), and so for the remainder of the 20-minute drive, I was dreaming about what I should get when I got there --- foundation (nah! i dun use it), powder( nope, just bought mine recently), eyeshadow( hmm, let's see what colors i can choose from).

So anyway, when I finally got to Macy's, there was already a line. Imagine! It was 1130am, and stores had only just opened. Women all ages and sizes were animatedly awaiting their turn to take their pick from the offering. Ooh, such fun! And when you consider that there is still Nordstrom and Dillard's in the building, there was no hesitation. Like a member of a tour group taking the lead from the guide, I followed 3 women and proceeded on to Nordstrom where we joined yet another line. And then we did the same thing over at Dillard's too. I don't know about them, but after lunch and with a thumping heart ( cos I was really nervous about getting caught), I went for round 2.

And this is what I came home with...

... a teeny weeny share of $175 million.

I Am So Mad At Myself, I Could Scream

My desktop died!

And now I can't remember if I had already done a back-up of the really important photos ( of Skylar when he was still a little baby). I do know for sure that the recent pictures that I'd only just transfered from my camera on Sunday are gone. :-( Ironically, Yifan was just reminding me last week to do a back-up, but as usual, I procrastinated, and didn't get down to doing it. I can't believe my luck!

Now I am just crossing my fingers that those precious pictures ARE in my back-up hard disk.

Around Town

It was a beautiful day yesterday—the sun was out, the skies were a brilliant blue, and there was a gentle breeze in the air—there was no excuse not to make the most out of it.

So we strapped the sleeping baby in the stroller, and the four of us ( and baby, of course) headed out for a walk in the neighborhood.

Pond at Montgomery Farms at dusk

Story-Telling at Borders

I found out that there was going to be a Sandra Boynton story-telling session at our neighborhood Borders store, so this morning we had a quick breakfast, got dressed, and trooped down to check it out.

Everyone, do the Penguin Dance!

It’s Story-Time!

Can you color?

Follow the Leader

How about some hot chocolate?

 

What can I say? I love going to bookstores!

A Bear Is Born, Among Many Other Things...

I have pics from as old as 2 weeks that I am only posting up now because in between all that's been going on in my life ( read: watching mobtv, baking pineapple tarts, going shopping, researching cheap tickets online), this is the first spare moment I have to blog.

On New Year's Day, we took a leisurely walk to a park in our neighbourhood.

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Skylar in F1 attire, courtesy of Aunt Sylvia and Sue Ann

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The Making of Sayang The Bear

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Pineapple Tarts!

Spicy Sweet and Sour Pig Trotters

Lately I've been watching The Little Nyonya on mobtv, and it's motivated me to prepare some Nyonya dishes myself. My latest dish is Spicy Sweet and Sour Pig Trotters with Pineapple.




Ingredients:
- pig trotters
- pineapple
- assam
- sugar
- shallots
- garlic
- dark soy sauce
- salt
- water
- dried red chillies

Chicken Rice Never Tasted So Good

One of the first few SIT-DOWN meals in our new house-- home-made Hainanese Chicken Rice with the requisite chilli sauce. ( and yes, the dining chairs have finally arrived!)