Growing Up

                   

   Time passes by very quickly.  It was only at the beginning of this year that my third grandchild was born, a bouncing baby boy, the first for my son.

Now he’s almost five months old and from a baby sleeping in his cot most of the time, he can now interact with us. 

He moves his arms and kicks very vigorously.  Best of all, he smiles and sometimes he laughs out aloud!

He likes to listen to music and it soothes him to sleep. Although he doesn’t live with us, we get photos of him regularly sent through the smart phone.

The little toy cow is his favorite toy. Perhaps they're having a conversation about those three little blocks!

We get videos as well! The smart phone is a boon indeed.

As he grows older, he resembles his father more and more. Some of his expressions remind me of the time when his dad was a little toddler years ago.

We are looking forward to the time when he will be able to crawl and sit.

Steep Learning Curve

It is never easy to learn new things especially those that require technical knowledge. I'm not a techie and I find it very very difficult to understand or grasp techie stuff. Thus it takes me forever to achieve something, and mind you, it's a small something, not anything great.

So I've been working my butt off the last week trying to understand the basics of internet marketing. What I have learned, I want to share, because I believe that by sharing, I am also learning.

So dear friends, please swing by my first blog post at fattiboomboom

Simple but Fresh and Delicious

On Mother’s Day we drove to Sekinchang, a little village half an hour from Kuala Selangor.  Our destination was a small home restaurant which served sea food. Although we arrived early, all the tables ( ten ) were occupied. As is the practice, we stood beside the table where the diners were finishing their last drop of Chinese tea. As soon as they vacated their seats, we promptly sat down and waited for the table to be cleared. Failing to do this could mean that someone else would sit and claim the table.

My brother ordered a steamed fish Teochew style,

 porridge cooked with shark meat,

  small clams ( lala ) steamed with ginger,

 shrimps cooked in chili and curry leaves

 and a dish of stir-fried sweet potato leaves which were very crunchy.

 The food came out steaming hot and the sea food was very fresh, the likes of which are not available in the big cities.

It was a lovely Mother’s Day lunch and satiated, we made our way to Kuala Selangor where we purchased pastries fresh from the oven, seafood snacks dried cuttle fish and special prawn crackers.
That done we made our way home. There were still some lush padi (rice) fields

  and fruit stalls by the road side. We stopped to buy some mangoes.

  Then it was a smooth ride home in good time for us to catch the musical at the Istana Budaya.

 The musical was called Chow Kit Road, Chow Kit Road, which is actually the name of a street in Kuala Lumpur. The story is based on the life of people in Chow Kit Road.

 The songs are those sung by the famous late singer Sudirman and the cast put on a superb show, with strong vocals and well-choreographed dances. It was a local production so the musical was in Malay, our national language.

It was a day well-spent and I had a good time with my family.

Go Green, Live Healthy

Pretty cows were seen all over green areas together with red hearts on trees declaring that happy hearts love green. This is part of a campaign “Happy Cows, Happy Hearts”.

This year is the 50th anniversary of greening Singapore, with the tag line “our city in a garden”.

Thus the colorful happy cows dotting the green lungs in Singapore and the red hearts hanging on the trees. They serve to remind people to care for the environment so that future generations will be able to enjoy what they have today, green grass, lots of trees and plants, fresh air and clear skies.

This is also a gentle reminder that in the midst of our busy lives, chasing after our dreams, we should stop to appreciate the simple things in life such as the flowers that brighten up our lives, the green smell of freshly mown grass, the birds chirping in the trees and the rustling of leaves in the breezes that caress our faces on a hot balmy day.

Doing this will bring us health benefits as these simple things give us a break in our frenetic routines, relax and reduce stress. It will also motivate us to go green in our lifestyles, to adopt better eating habits and to look after our hearts.