Reminiscing 2011

Alas, it is the last weekend of the year 2011 and time for the obligatory look back of what I have been through.

[click on the links for the posts]

January 2011 started in a good way as my sister gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named, Irfan Anaqi Bin Saparin.

He will be turning 1 in less than a month and he has been nothing but a bagful of cuteness.

On March, I get to experience snow for the first time. Albeit it was fake but it was good enough for me. Jhon and I went to the Snow City at Jurong and despite it was a small area, we had lots of fun.

On April, Fizah, Jhon and I went to Bali!!! It was a first time trip there and also our first independent vacation. It was beautiful, relaxing and we were lucky to yet again get a private tour with a wonderful tour guide. It was the month I turned 27 and it was definitely nice way to celebrate my birthday.

On May, the entire family went to Universal Studios Singapore. It has been a while since our last family outing so it was quite enjoyable. I love this picture the most, everyone looked so happy and wacky.

On June, Jhon and I celebrated our 4th year anniversary together by going to the Singapore Zoo (Jhon's first visit) and went to Bedok Reservoir for a small picnic. Sure there were hiccups but our love has always been the same since day 1. That month I also decided to have short bangs! It was somehow a drastic change on my outlook and I love it although on some days, it can be a hassle.

On July, we went to Kylie Minoque concert and watched Lion King the Musical. Both shows were absolutely fantastic, definitely best shows of the month.

 

The best concert of the year would be by The Cranberries on August. They are one of my favourite bands and it was as fantastic as EVER! Coldplay and The Cranberries now share as number 1 best concerts I have ever been to.

On October, Jhon celebrated his 29th birthday and along with Fizah, we watched our first ever stand up comedy starring one of Asia's popular comedians like Kumar, Harith Iskandar etc.It was utterly hilarious and we would definitely keep an extra look out for more shows like these next year.

And the last month of the year was memorable with experiencing a lunar eclipse.

These were the best memories of 2011 among others.

Although these recollections seems to be all happy and wonderful, no doubt, there were sad ones too. I simply wish not to blog about it as they were too personal. All I can say is cleaning people's mess sucks especially when you do not have much in the first place and every help was taken for granted.

For 2012, I hope for more new experiences, new adventures, more love and compassion.

A simply good new year.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

   

Exploring Labrador Park

Over the weekend, Jhon and I headed to Labrador park for a photo cum trekking session. It was the first time any of us going to that place so it would be interesting since that park is also a location used during World War II.

We reached the place after 9am and although we know there perhaps some lingering entities from the past, we didn't expect to have that 'feeling' in the morning. What was more creepier, I didn't tell Jhon anything about the place and it already creeps him out and refused to take photos in several locations. Jhon can 'see' certain things and when Mr Jhon said No or Let's Go, you should listen.

That was the only weird part of the outing while the rest was beautiful.

By the way, see where the tree is? A huge gun was supposed to be placed there. HUGE!!

We got an amazing bird's eye view of the Pasir Panjang Jetty and soon as we reached the beach, it started to drizzle.

Some shots were taken in the rain. Luckily, I got my umbrella.

While walking, I came across these beautiful flowers. It was the first time I ever seen such flowers and I love it that it looks like sea anemones!! Perfect for photo taking!

Just a few metres away, there was another tree that blooms a similar flower but bigger and it reminded me of fireworks.

Small 'lighthouse' and the infamous "Dragon's tooth".

We then came across to this part of the park where there is a pier where you can stand as the waves crashes in. FUN LEH!! I wish I didn't had shoes on that day. =(

That was the last spot of the park, headed out, had lunch and went home.

Would I go there again? Yes, but not up the hill. The place seriously creeps me out.

   

Homemade Chicken Rice

Obviously not cooked by me but my mom. >_<
It was actually a first time she cooked and as expected, it was awesomely delicious!

Delicious enough to make me blog the same day she cooked it!

It was actually fairly easy as I watched and helped her cook. Mainly consist of chicken stock, soya sos and wonderful judgement of amount of condiments. Oh yeah, she also cooked a special gravy for the chicken compared to the standard light soya sauce. It mainly consisted of chicken stock, dark & light soya sauce and corn starch to make it thick in consistancy.

Do you much I ate? I ate 3 servings worth of Nasi Ayam!! The best part is that somehow the dish does not feel very filling which is a good thing because it means I can eat all my hearts content without feeling bloated.

I want morree!

   

Cupcake Baking Class

Last weekend, Jhon and I went for a cupcake baking class held by TheCookClub. I have always liked baking and always wanted to try baking cupcakes but I do not have the confidence to try myself out even though I knew it was easy. Mainly because I usually bake cookies and biscuits.

I asked my sis to follow too but she is so busy during the weekends that she would'nt the have time. When I told Jhon about it, I was suprised that we was interested and volunteered to follow. I was one happy camper since I have someone to accompany me!

Our chef, Cecelia was very friendly, helpful and her class was very light hearted and easy; no pressure at all.

The first cupcake we did is Tiramasu Cupcake.

It has the most ingredients and some skills needed for the frosting. Nonetheless, because the ingredients were already there and with a good chef, it was actually fairly easy.

We baked the Passion fruit and Carrot cupcake next.

Please ignore the horrible frosting for the carrot cupcake because the cupcake was still warm when we put the frosting so it melted. =(((

As for the taste, the cupcakes were heavenly! They were soft, delicious with the right amount of sweetness with a creamy frosting.

To tell you the truth, I was never a big fan of cupcakes because perhaps I have never tried one that is truly delicious. I ate 4-5 cupcakes at one go. The best part was that we baked it by ourselves!

I would rate the Tiramasu as the best, Passion fruit second and carrot cupcake last. I would definitely bake them again. I just can't get enough of them.

Thanks The Cook Club!

   

Akon Singing a Hindi Song!

Most Singaporeans may have come across to this song and video from Shahruth Khan and Kareena Kapor's movie, Ra. One.

We all know by now that hindi actor and actresses don't/can't sing in movies but does the voice seems familiar?

It's Akon!

The man who had sung 'Smack That', 'Right Now (na na na)', 'Locked up' and more.

Here is the making of the song video.

I am not a fan of Akon's songs but I love this one! Plus, he really sounds like a Hindustani. =)

   

Vintage Cars, Gasing, Collectible Stamps. Oh My!

The Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM) was the third and last heritage themed museum we went.

For the other 2, click here for Peranakan Museum and here for Traditional Malay Music at Kampung Glam.

Among all three exhibitions, SPM is the most fun because it was mostly hands on. You can touch and play with most of the items there and it definitely brought out the kid in Jhon, Fizah and I.

The main exhibition was mostly about stamps and before you roll your eyes from boredom, it was very interesting! We got to see how it was design, made and the history of postage.

Unique stamps made of wood, designed with Swarovski diamonds, glow in the dark and even made of vinyl!

Check out these quirky mail boxes! I told Jhon, must take a picture of me taking mail from such mailboxes because I know I will never own a bungalow house and get to do this. (This is acceptance of reality hehe)

More stamps and its origins.

Random elephant themed area.

Next to the area, we constantly hear people clapping and it turns out, there is a mini 'wayang' show and tell but it was for kids. Fizah and I was standing near door because there was a puzzle nearby but we constantly turn around to see what was the commotion about. Needless to say, we were invited to watch it. hehe

The room was filled with kids with parents and we were the only ones unaccompanied by children. =P

Anyways, it was quite fun and interesting. They showed how they dance in a Chinese 'wayang'.

The room has also a little compartment where you can pretend your picture is in a stamp. tee hee!

Moving up to level two, there was a room of mostly cultural topics.

You see the picture in the bottom right corner? It's a picture of a 'mama' or provisional shop and I was just taking a close look of it and I realized it sells a lot of sex related stuff! It sells dildos for God's sake! hahahaha

Next room was history of postage and I am sure some Singaporeans will recognize some of the old mailboxes.

Here are old ways of communicating besides from postage.

See the 'Ang moh' lady next to Fizah! *pokerface*

Random Tintin artwork. It was the only room where photography was disallowed but EVERYONE still took pictures. *badpokerface*

Another random room, bunnies!!

Outside at the garden, there was an area filled with old 'kampung' games. Our favourite was 'gasing' which is a game of spin top. Jhon impressed everyone with his skills until he was asked to teach a girl how to throw the 'gasing'.

Last exhibition we went was the vintage cars. Mind you, these cars are actually owned by someone and not just for display in the museum. Jealous!

It was definitely one of the most fun museum I went to because I get to be as kiddy as much I want and the people working there were as fun and light hearted too.

We ended the day with a nice late lunch at Pastamania. Yum yum..

   

Jhon's First Medal

Jhon had taken bowling as his hobby for slightly over 1 year and just to make it interesting, he had joined a bowling club to challenge himself and perhaps learn some new tips.

The club is called "Filipinos Bowling Club Singapore" and despite of the name, the club is filled with other nationalities too; Malays, Chinese and Caucasions!

Anyways, besides playing for individual tournaments, there is also group tornaments and one of the group Jhon is in is "Dat's The Way".

Over the weekend, FBCS had a Christmas cum Award ceremony for the overall results of the year.

And guess what!!

Jhon's team won 1st runner up!!

I am so proud and happy for Jhon because he gets to bring something home. He ever won a couple of games but they were a small sum of money. I think this will definitely boost up his confidence and determination to play better.

For an amature, he is quite good (as mentioned by other bowlers) and I like it that some of the professionals are not stingy in helping and giving good advices.

Congratulations, Jhon!

Now bring home more medals and trophies!! =D