The Best St. Patrick's Day Ever!

Yep, today is the best St. Patrick's Day ever!

Although I don't really celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
I had, however, been to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin,Ireland and in New York City where St. Patrick's day is widely celebrated.

But this is THE best St. Patrick's Day ever! ;)

We're back from China!

It was another fun adventure I had with hubby. But man, I can say I can't imagine how one who doesn't speak Chinese could go about China without being on a tour group. But we did it, thanks to my hubby who can speak Mandarin.

Anyhow, here are some pictures from some highlights of this trip:

Day 1 - We landed in Shanghai at noon and at night we didn't waste time to go to The Bund, where there's a picturesque view of the harbour overlooking the famous Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower.


Day 2 - We went to Xintiandi, an ancient town in Shanghai. If you know me and my hubby, you would know that we would not pass having a traditional costume dress up if we get the opportunity. Yes, we did it, even with the almost zero degree weather, we took off our coats and donned those costumes, never mind if it cost me a nosebleed (literally).

Day 3 - From Shanghai we flew to Xi'an and on our first night there, we wandered around the Muslim Quarter and sampled their yummy street foods (interesting to see the community of Chinese Muslims). Here's Malvin having this popular soup which he loved but I personally didn't like.

Day 4 - Ah yes, the famous Terracotta warriors, the highlight of going to Xi'an. That's us posing with the authentic statues...not! Of couse, these are just replicas but yes we've seen the real ones.


Day 5 - We went to see a Tang Dynasty show. The theatre was lovely and I loved the concept that our tickets came with a drink of our choice so it felt grand to sip a glass of wine while watching the lovely musical production.


Day 6 - From Xi'an we flew next to Beijing. And what comes first to mind about Beijing? Well, the Peking duck! So of course, Malvin and I just had to have it. We ordered a whole duck which the waiter skillfully sliced for us. Oh yes, cholesterol overload.


Day 7 - We conquered the Great Wall of China! There's a few areas where you could go to the walls in Beijing and since we didn't want to go to the very touristy area where there'd be so much people for sure, we went to Mutianyu area and it was fantastic!



Day 8 - We went to the Forbidden city and afterwards tried to look for this food street which we finally saw hidden at the end of a shopping road. Oh what a find, it was amazing to see what can be barbecued these days, hehe :p


Day 9 - From Beijing we went back to Shanghai for our last night. We went out to the bar at the 87th floor of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. This high building is very tempting for daredevil climbers to quest because of how the rails around it make it easy to climb. Do you know of this guy who's been called the French Spider-Man? They put this sign in the building for him:




This was another fun winter trip we had. We did so many things, saw so many things, ate so many things. What's next? Hmmmnnn...

I'm off to...

...the land of no facebook and blogspot.

So excited with this trip! ;)

Let's save the bookstores, please!

First it was Border's bookstore in Wheelock last year, then their Parkway Parade branch followed shortly after.

This month, it's Page One in Vivocity.

What is happening to the bookstores in Singapore?!? Why are they closing down?!?
Is this the effect of the digitalization of books?
This is really sad. I love hard copy books, the smell of the paper, the ink...

Call me old school but for me, you can never replace a hardcopy book by digital.

A paper book is timeless and full of memories and stories which are beyond the words it has in print.
A beautiful handwritten dedication tells you of a loving father sharing to his son the wisdom of life as he moves away to the city and start to stand on his own two feet.
A coffee stain on the pages tells you the story of a lady who sits by the corner of a cafe, immersed in the love story of the prince and a damsel and secretly hoping that her own prince would walk in the cafe and find her.
Highlighted words tells you of a teacher who patiently and carefully studied the contents, that she may able to share the lesson accurately to her students.
Dog ears on pages tells you of a housewife who keeps a journal of meaningful quotes she's found..

I really hope this trend is not a reflection of what's happening to the bookstores in other countries too. I hope this not the end of paper books.*Big sigh*

Happy Hearts' Day!

Since I met my husband, Valentine's day to me has become way more special. I would never forget our first Valentine's day as a couple when he gave me one of the happiest surprises of my life. My husband also never fails to give me flowers on Valentine's day. I tell myself that this is something that I always should be thankful about and not take for granted just because I am getting used to it.

Today, I received a dozen red roses at work, from who else but my sweet hubby. My mind was set on going home as usual from work because hubby said he'll cook something at home for Valentine's day. So I thought what he going to cook was the surprisebut nope, the surprise was actually a dinner at Alkaff Mansion, a restaurant on top of Telok Blangah hill. It's an old ancestral mansion house which they turned into an Italian restaurant, it was lovely. We had a Valentine's dinner for two including a bottle of white wine (which we didn't finish, of course, so we took the rest of the bottle home, hehehe).


I really feel so blessed having a husband like my hubby. He is such a good person, so sweet and thoughtful, not only to me, but to everyone in general. When we talked about our day today, he told me about giving a rose to each of his female colleagues and not only that, he also gave something for his male colleagues -- a bottle of Redbull! :)

I love my cheeky hubby!

My choice

I choose to be happy,
No matter where I am, no matter what job I have and what my weight is.
I choose to be happy,
No matter if someone or something tries to bring me down, whatever circumstance I am in.
I do not let unpleasant people ruin my day,
I keep my cool.

I choose to be happy today.

This is my life and this is how I choose it to be now.

When I stared at the stairs

In the MRT (train) station today, I was about to take the escalator as per my normal habit when the stairs got my attention:

I couldn't resist this motivation, of course, so I used the stairs instead and enjoyed the rest of the climb :)


Yeah, let's get healthier!


More calories burnt! Woohoo!


This reminded me of a fun experiment that was done in Odenplan, Stockholm. Watch this:



If only all stairs have some kind of fun on it, people would use it more.

Ahh, simple joys like these uplift the spirit...

It should not be the end, right?

A serene sight calms the soul
Even a tree that has no leaves stands tall
Daylight bids farewell and the night will come
But don't be afraid, the sun still shines.

Day 10

Do you believe that some bad news can actually be part of a big plan for you that ends up with good news?

Today I received a sad news although I could say it really didn't affect me that much anymore, since I saw it coming and also because somehow, something told me that it could be a blessing in disguise. I don't know why I could even think it might be that way, either my instincts are telling me right or perhaps it is just my way of trying to see the bright side of everything.

Whatever it may be though, I hope that next week, I will not have a broken heart.

Here's to not giving up hope...

I'm wondering

Should I mark this day?

Because if it works out, this day shall bring the greatest gift of my life.

And since I want to think positive and I have a good feeling, I think I should.

There.

Then now I am going to stop thinking about it until the day we know the certainty.

Say a little prayer for me, please.

Wrong shoes but don't stop

I had been jogging last night for about a kilometer when I noticed that something's different with my jog, it felt like my feet were heavier than usual. Looking down at my feet, I finally realized that I absentmindedly wore my tennis shoes instead of my running shoes (yes there is a big difference :). Of course, there was no more turning back at that point so I decided to just brisk walk my way back.

Isn't life like that? You sometimes find yourself making innocent mistakes along the way but it shouldn't let you stop the journey, instead, just make the most out of it.

Move on

I've got two major things to start this year.

The first thing is something that already happened last year but which didn't work out and caused me some great emotional and mental trauma. So going through it again makes me want to say "here we go again" but since I want to keep a positive outlook, I try to say "maybe this is the time" instead.

The second thing is something I've been wanting to do for a long time but which I could only do now because now I feel it is the right time for it. Thinking about it happening gives me that exciting feeling of butterflies in my stomach, a familiar feeling that makes me feel alive.

Both things will define a new chapter of my life and although the first thing is actually my greatest dream right now, it is the second thing that I invest more feelings at because of the uncertainty that the first thing has and I don't want to have my hopes up. Rather, I'd like to treat the first thing as a bonus if it happens as obsessing about it has made me put my life on hold and I shouldn't anymore do that. The second thing, at least, is something I have some control of.

So there, that's me moving on and hopefully, this brings me to where I want to be, and that is, where I'll be happy.

Starting 2012 positively

1) Move on.
2) Talk to God more.
3) Sleep early (and wake up early).
4) Say more good things (and if it's bad, just don't say it!)
5) Do at least one good deed a day.
6) Give more to charity.
7) Organize.
8) Floss.
9) Cook more at home and eat out less.
10) Significantly reduce my caffeine intake.
11) Bring my running shoes on my travels.
12) Write.