Utah to Nevada

Dec 22 - Dec 25 2007

In the beginning,

Then "Shooting Stars 流星"

As the day gets brighter......what beautiful mountain ranges

I feel I can reach the clouds

Road To................. MacDonald's

Cows in sub-zero weather

Buildings, buildings

Witness the Grandeur of ZION NATIONAL PARK

Zion National Park boasts one of the most magnificent rock structures that I'd seen, with some that looks like a fortress, reminds me of the Great Wall of China. The trees provide good photography objects as they have nice foliage and thick, weathered barks. And the streams, they are still flowing in sub-zero temperature! Of cos, don't miss out our family photos! Enjoy the show......

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

P/s: BTW, the "shooting star" were aeroplanes hah! Took me quite sometime to realise that...

Las Vegas

Caesar's Palace, Bellagio, Paris, New York New York, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Excalibur, not forgetting the lousy hotel (or I should say the lousy room) we stayed in - Tropicana. There's a Lion Enclosure at MGM Grand, however some pics are blurred as I'm taking them using free-hand under extreme lighting conditions.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Curry Chicken

Ingredients
1. Yeo's Malaysian Curry Powder - 1 pkt
2. Yellow Onion - 1
3. Garlic - 6-8 cloves
4. Ginger - 1 inch
5. Sugar - To taste
6. Light Soy Sauce - To taste
7. Oyster Sauce - To taste
8. Coconut milk - 1 can
9. Potato (chopped into chunks) - 1 (I use the large US potato)
10. Chicken wings - 4

Direction
1. Puree and blend items 2, 3 and 4 (A).
2. Add a few tbsp of water to item 1 and make into a paste (B).
3. Turn stove on High heat and stir-fry (A) till paste turns translucent. Add (B) and continue till mixture darkens and oil starts to seep out. Be careful not to burn it.
4. Lower heat, add potatoes and chicken wings. Stir-fry till all are coated with curry mixture. Add coconut milk. Bring to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for about 45min (depending on how soft u want your potatoes and chicken to be. If u want melt-in-your mouth chicken meat, I suggest u add potatoes later and simmer longer). Add a little water if u prefer a thinner gravy (optional).
6. Add items 5 - 7 according to personal taste.
7. Ready to serve.

Servings 3-4

(Adapted from http://www.malaysianfood.net/recipes/recipemsianchxcurry.htm)

Adventure ride

Finally, the day has come for En to go for her 1st Ballet Class in Utah, the time to put her to the test of going for lesson ON HER OWN (her gym classes require Parent's assistance to get them on the apparatus. For ballet classes back home, she'd wailed once I wasn't around, perhaps because most parents were in the studio and she didn't really get into the mood of learning, as lessons were very disorderly). Prior to this, I had pep-talked with her on various occasions to get her mentally ready.

Unfortunately, it isn't just a test for her, it's MY test too. Why? Because it's snowing heavily and the roads are snow-covered. Gosh, 4th time driving and 1st time in the snow. K called to warn of the road condition as he was stuck on the highway with his colleague. Oh well, what to do. Can't possibly miss lesson, especially when it's her 1st day, so I 硬着头皮 "die die" also must send her there.

After strapping her in her seat, it's time to brush the snow off the windscreen etc. No joke man! There's this thick layer of snow there. If I don't clear it, I won't be able to see at all. Ok, time to move off. Seat belt, check! Heater, check! GPS, check! Done, ready to go. The car certainly needs more power than usual to reverse. And oh my goodness, it's difficult to control the steering, as the car tends to swerve left n right on the snow. Oh boy, this is going to be a tough ride...

Onto Bangarter Highway, a lucky thing it's not peak hr. Snow everywhere, the roads are not very well-plowed yet. Slowly, slowly, 40miles/hr I go (though speed limit is 60miles/hr). WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! OHHHH　NOOOOOOOOOO!!! BRAKEEEEEEEE!!! Heart pumping at 150 counts/ min! My car skidded, spun 90 degrees and swerved to the right! And I actually stepped onto the accelerator for a while before realising and braked! Phew luckily there's a road shoulder and there's no car there. A couple mins passed. Cool down, cool down. Ok, just reverse and get on the way. Hopefully no more "surprises".

I can still feel tires slipping time n again. It's ok, just go slow, stay on the tracks created by other vehicles, everything will be fine. Yes, it's nearing, just a couple of hundred feet, hey I can't see the entrance under all the snow. Oh no, passed it. Hah, luckily one more in front. Phew, finally time to park.

Into the warmth of the studio we go. Not many students here yet, guess most are late due to the snow. Ok, class is starting. En goes to the teacher quietly. Hey, that's great! She's actually trying to follow the demonstration by the teacher. No crying yet. Mins ticked by, still going well, paying attention, though sneaking a peak at me once a while through the glass viewing panel. I must say she is progressing much better than expectation on her very 1st solo lesson, trying her best to catch up. Most of the students had been there since session started in Sep. Finally, lesson is ending soon. Ms Heidi comes out from another room with a basket of SWEETS(think it's quite common here to reward kids with lollipops after a class. The same happens at her Gym class)! Ah ha, her eyes start to shift to the basket at the door and she starts to leave! Ms Heidi calls out to her. Luckily she walks back. It's not her turn yet. The girls have to complete some tap movement before leaving. Finally, as she finishes her moves, she runs to the basket to pick a strawberry lollipop.

Hopefully, the ride home will be without adventure. It's certainly easier to drive now as some of the snow has melted.

At last, we're back. So hungry.......

P/s: While having lunch, En went around dancing, prancing and TUMBLING. She learnt it during Gym classes. On her 3rd lesson last Sat, she started tumbling on her own. Through the classes that she has been attending, I realise that they help build her, not just physically, but let her gain confidence as well. Soon, I'll be sourcing for Pre-school for her to attend on some mornings.

Gym class - 3rd lesson

By saying Gym class, I'm not referring to those that the kids did at so-called Tot Gyms back home. This is a proper Gymnastic location with all the equipments used for training Gymnasts. Of cos, you'll not see En doing the flying-from-pole-to-pole type of "stunts" lah. She's still a kitten (they use terms like "kitten", "cubs", "super-cubs" etc to differentiate their classes). However, she needs to do a fair share of tumbling, rolling, swinging on rings, jumping on trampoline etc.

During her first 2 lessons, she needed help with tumbling and didn't have enough strength to "walk" the wall on her own. Oh mine! Today, she started tumbling on her own! And she was able to "climb" up the wall at times. While she was walking on the balancing beam, it's apparent that she had more confidence, she walked the lower beam on her own, with little help holding on to Daddy's finger.

K wasn't keen for her to go for Gym classes. However, with the improvement that En is manifesting with each lesson, I believe in his heart, he'll come to accept that my decision is right and I hope it may be easier for me when I request to send En for classes (recently, I was rather upset that I blurted to him point-blank that y should we short-changed En, since we were already spending at least $300 back home sending En to half-day childcare. So I'll be sourcing for some Pre-school classes for her since I still have budget for that even after converting the $300 into USD. When it comes to $, and how to spend it, guess even if it takes a lifetime, there will still be difficulty for us to see eye to eye).

Pics & Videos taken during her 1st lesson (050108)

Ho Ho Restaurant

Was a little disappointed, as I'd planned to go skiing this morning. However, it started snowing and I knew K wasn't keen cos he doesn't like to be in the open when it's cold. Thus, the plan was postponed AGAIN. Many of my plans for the week had already been shoved due to all kinds of reasons, like weather, work etc. So it wasn't difficult to imagine what I was feeling.....

Anyway, there was no reason y dinner plan should change, as he was the one who proposed it and it's indoor. When we reached there, we were still wondering if we went to the right location. Ho Ho Restaurant was recommended by his colleagues but it really looked "lok pok" from the outside.

We went in, ordered Ginger n Scallion CRAB and 红烧豆腐．Fortunately, we were smart enough to go for small portion for both dishes. Surprise, surprise! The dishes tasted great, though some 煮炒stalls back home scored better, but this is by far, the BEST Chinese cuisine we had since we arrived in US. The crab cost US$15 and the size is huge. Although the meat tended to stick to the shell, overall, it tasted fresh and palatable. The tofu is an all-in-one dish, with vegetables, mushrooms etc, healthy and savoury. Good thing about this joint is, the flavouring and seasoning is just right. Chinese food here has the tendency to be overpowering in terms of flavouring, exceptionally sweet, sour, salty whatever. Too heavy for our liking. It's tweaked to suit the American. No matter where you eat, they food will taste the same, and we're getting really sick of Chinese food here. Moreover, the dishes came with steamed rice. We had to order rice when we dined elsewhere.

At the end of the whole experience, what made it all the more worthwhile was the bill. Cost around US$24. For the same price, we get to eat fried rice, noodles etc elsewhere. And no tipping is required! That's a big deal here where it's common to tip between 15 - 20% of your bill. Trust Singaporean to be complaining about the 10% service charge......

Ho Ho will definitely be in our list of regular haunt!

Discovery Gateway

As the name implies, it's a place kids made discovery, of fun, play couple with some scientific knowledge (though I personally believe En only got to the first 2. Ha!). We brought En there yesterday morning as it was K's off-shift. It's basically a 3 storey establishment at The Gateway in SLC, with exhibits mainly on the 2nd and 3rd level.

Wow, even though it was a weekday, we saw streams of people moving in, mainly school going children, with their teachers and parents. Sort of brought me back to the time when I was still schooling and our excursion ground was usually the Science Center. Got so sick of it, I hadn't been there since I left school.

We got ourselves a 6 mth membership as it's more 划算. Typical Singaporean mentality, cannot lose out! Think we made the right choice. For a typical adult, we'll probably take 20mins to cover the grounds. For a child, HA! It will take hrs! Y? Cos the place is like a BIG Playground. Look at the pictures and you'll get what I mean.

On the way there,



Take a look at En's photography

At the Bee Hive having BALLS of fun

Making music

Up, Up. Up, there goes the coin

At the Construction site, want to see me carting concrete?? No way! Daddy! Push me!

Ha, I'm a crane operator. Not bad huh??

Yo, I'm driving a police car! Identity Crisis? Fire Chief driving police car.

Who says I'm scared to ride a bike? Look at me! BTW, I "wrestled" it from an ang moh boy who tried to take it from me k!

Water play and other areas (I'm too obsessed with driving around to play here)



Little shopkeeper at work

At the Farmhouse Whose this Moo Moo Cow?




Well, we didn't even finish Level 2 as K needed to return to his office in the afternoon. Oh well, we bought the membership pass......

News Flash

Latest Updates:

For the past mth, there's been quite some speculation on when we can finally go home. Well, initially, soon after we came over, news came that our return may be delayed till July/ Aug due to integration of technology.

Yesterday, K went back for an hr-long meeting scheduled by one of his directors. And it included personnels back home as well. Now, our forecast will be Oct/ Nov as they will not start production till mid Dec due to poor pricing. Since K is in the Production dept, he will be one of the latest to return home.

Well, for me, I'm ok. As I was very keen for K to join his current company when news came out initially that training in US was for 1 yr. Was quite disappointed when he didn't take any action. Happened that when K finally made the jump, training time had been reduced to half a yr. Apparently, after all the ups n downs, lefts n rights, things turned out as what I had wished for months back. Haha. But K wasn't keen. Food, weather etc. He's just not one who embraces changes. So......

What a day!

Yipeeeeee!!!!! Why am I so HIGH? Cos I started my day off great!! What did I do??!! I drove all the way to Utah Dance Artists, about 25mins drive away. To many, that's not a big deal. But it's the 3rd time I'm driving in US and the 1st I went that far. Top it off, I like what I saw at the studio. The kids were very obedient and were following the instructions given, very different from the ballet class I brought En to at the CC back home (the kids were running around and the instructor couldn't do anything. She didn't enjoy it and always asked to go home).

After which, I DROVE again, not home, but to Walmart at Jordan Landings to do some shopping before we proceeded home. My dear baby behaved well throughout the entire trip, like she promised. I know she has the propensity to behave, just a matter of whether she wants to or not. She enjoyed the trip thoroughly too!

Though En gave a bit of problem after we got home, I just wanted to pen down my feelings of exhilaration, the rush and excitement I felt of being able to move around on MY OWN. It's simply GREAT!

Note: I started my day visualising of how well my journey is going to be and it DID lead to a positive outcome.

CSI - Utah

"Zzzzzzzzzz", as Baby En and K drifted into dreamland....

"&%%#@X!??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"(not because they were spouting obscenity, but rather I couldn't make out what the hell they were shouting about), came the commotion from outside our apartment. The Kpoism in me geared into full-drive. "Where?? Where is the noise coming from??" As I went around the room peeping out of blinds, Hah! A couple screaming at each other, beside their fiery red car, parked hap-hazardly near the estate's entrance.

"SMASH!"(don't worry, nothing broke. Just that the guy trashed a bunch of keys onto the floor). The heated exchanged went on, with a couple of cars driving into the driveway. Nobody went out to check (like Singapore hoh). Should I call the police? Or wait till someone flashed a gun?? Perhaps must wait for the "BANG BANG" before taking action huh? Wouldn't want to be branded as Kiasu u know.

Next thing I knew, police carS! Gosh! I was too late! (Notice the capital "S"). 1..2....3..4..5...6!!! Hey, there were just 2 person at the "crime scene", and NONE armed! It was just a "domestic affair", need it required that kind of 排场? Wow, they blocked the entire driveway entrance. Arm-wrestling, baton, gun-fight.... Nay.. just some officers bringing the couple apart and lecturing them I guess. (Hey, what can u expect! This is just a SMALL town. Be appreciative that you can get this amount of action. 6 police cars u know. Expecting Hollywood-style car chase, masked bandits???!!!)

The action lasted but a.... 10mins?? Yeah, 5 police cars stayed throughout the entire episode. No arrest, nothing. Talking about Kiasuism..... Maybe that's how they maximise manpower usage. Hmmmmm

2008 - 新的一年

2008来临之际，读了朋友们为生活记录的点点滴滴，关于孩子们的成长、生活中的顺心与不如意的事、事业与情感问题等，很开心一些朋友愿意重新给自己一次机会，让自己过得更快乐，同时想在这里为所有的朋友献上祝福，无论此时此刻，你们的生活过的如何，愿你们找到自己的快乐！

以下摘录于我在某友人的部落格的留言，希望能为浏览我的小天地的人们，提供一些联想的空间，同时让自己做些反省。

"是的，人类的进步，社会的不断文明，带给我们许许多多的“包袱”、“束缚”。我们不再能“任性”。回到根本，当人类刚来到这世界，饿了便捕猎，男人有繁衍下一代的冲动便找个女人等等等，这些随本意而为的行动，不就是“任性”。可惜，现时今日，当人们说到“任性”，必定将它附上贬义。从此，我们的“包袱”越来越多，“束缚”越裹越紧。文明带给我们许多，同时却掠夺了我们最基本的“自由”。或许在现今社会，这是最好的模式，但，这些条规已经够多了。在不伤害他人的原则下，我想，偶尔“任性”一下，是释放心灵的良药，也可能为我们带来另一片天空。"