Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Joker lah!

So funny! I opened the fridge and saw this box 


and exclaimed “who went there?” thinking it was che-che’s colleague who bought and gave it to her. She looked up and gave me the 
ไฝ ๅœจ่ฎฒไป€ไนˆ look and replied “I took from the box what…”. 

Muahaha! I forgot I bought this. 


Tuesday, November 18, 2025

If only …

I can sit all day from the time I wake up till I time I go to bed doing nothing but listening to music the whole day.Frankly I didn’t do much today just usual vacumn and mop floor. And additional task for Tuesdays - hand washed the floor mats. No cooking today. Basically quite a lazy day already but I do wish there are days I wake up and don’t do anything. 

I have things to do but I’m just procrastinating. I need to get that mosquito netting up. I need to clean the windows in the yard. I need to ….. I need to …. plus not feeling mentally good so I chose not to do anything else today. Perhaps I should go for a trip to ้—ช้—ชๅฟƒ? Perhaps I should buy tulips to cheer me up? All these costs money and I can’t get them immediately. The only thing that can help me a little now is music.


Playing it on TV 


Dunno why the Christmas snowy image, it then make me in misery ๐Ÿ˜ข looking at this

Monday, November 17, 2025

Blogging

Too many drafts inside and multi-tasking or should I say I lose interest in one blog entry and keep jumping around, especially when I need to word the entry. It’s so much faster to plonk everything in FB, in simple words but I need to type longer sentences in FB (ๆˆ‘็š„่‹ฑๆ–‡ไนŸไธๆ˜ฏๅพˆๅฅฝ。all typed in simple sentences, I suspect my IQ is low for me to speak so simply ๐Ÿ˜‚)

Why so many drafts? This lor soh is documenting her life story so that she can read back next time. Her children can read back if they’re interested and if they knew/remember my blog address. I’m a mom of two not just athenamummy, but I’m not tech savvy to know how to change the blog address to also being the little monster’s mom. Other than that I don’t even know who’s reading this. I also blog on interesting things or things I deem interesting to know. There are things which I put in my blog that I don’t put in my FB. 

Drafts are in faster than me typing them out properly coz most times I need to clear the photos from my phone. So I drop them in first. Blogs take longer to type coz I’m not exactly free all the time, sometimes I take small little pockets of time. One blog entry may take me 4-5 to go in and have everything out. And the dates all don’t tally. Really! I can be editing posts that are 2 years back. I resorted to FB coz it’s faster, until I realise years later that I haven’t been updating my blog. Hmm…the girls blogs are absolutely quiet now ๐Ÿ˜ฌ.

I can never be a content creator. How am I suppose to churn out posts as frequently as expected? So all I’m thankful if I ever or even have at least 3 readers reading my boring blog now. While I’m typing this blog entry now and getting it out punctually on 17th Nov at 12.27, I’m infact still typing this at 2am. I’m glad I can type this on my phone, small screen but oh well I’m lazy to turn on the laptop or iPad. I’ve just learnt from a friend that I can swipe my fingers across the keyboard to type my words out, so the phone is helping me in this aspect. 


I always need to leave the date and time on the header then I can go back the date and post it out 3 months or 3 years later ๐Ÿ˜‚. 

180 drafts. Haha! I’m going to be telling my lengthy grandmother story



I’m blogging with music, my Christmas music. Not the usual album I listen to when I listen to Christmas songs while planning our holiday itineraries. I love that album coz it just gets me going. If you’ve heard of Pavlov’s dog theory you will know what I mean. I can only listen to Spotify coz I can’t use YouTube and safari at the same time.  

Listening now 

The album I often listen to in YouTube. I can’t find this in Spotify

It’s a horrible feeling that I’m not listening to music while planning for our holidays now. Usually at this time of the year I’d be sitting infront of the laptop. Any trip this December? Likely not as we’re going for two long trips in Jan and Mar. But it’s so strange that I’ll be Singapore this year for Christmas ๐Ÿ˜‚. I miss Japan. I want to go to Germany ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช to the Xmas markets. Can only daydream coz I don’t print money lor! 
Guess I should take the Dec month to try to clear some backlog in my blog. Or maybe plan itineraries, like I do have for certain country, then when the trip is materialising I can pull it out quickly? Afterall it’s really weird not to be planning itineraries at this time of the year. 

Now left with 179 posts! 178 to be exact coz I just posted a draft dated 2018 ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚. Wah… 7 years ago! already went thru covid and survived that apocalypse to have it posted 7 years later. 

Sunday, November 16, 2025

Xmas and all my ramblings

Christmas is 39 days away and reels of Christmas bakes and wrapping keeps appearing in my Insta, TikTok and Threads. Friends who know me well know that I love cute bakes, I love to make cutesy things not just for the girls but it gives a sense of happiness (siao! happiness come from me being busy). I always have and dream of being a tai-tai and do all these. Sadly (1) I’m not a tai-tai I have housework to do. Then by the time I finish or rather I can’t finish them as housework is never ending I don’t have the energy to do, then cooking how? (2) nobody eats. Who do I bake for? Give it as Xmas gifts? But we don’t have the habit of giving Xmas gifts except when the girls were much younger and I deliberately wrapped so many presents to put under the Christmas ๐ŸŽ„ tree. We don’t gift coz there’s no party with friends except when we’re invited to brother’s place for Christmas. Infact we haven’t been around for most Christmas as we’re usually overseas. 


Why I don’t give friends ๐ŸŽ
There was a time a few friends and I would do it coz they often buys a gift for me and the family. Then I was obliged to get something for them in return. This is what I’m afraid of. I know gift giving is the thought that counts but more often we don’t really need anything and I also don’t even know what I’ve gifted is what the recipient wants too! I have friends who gifted me photo frames, body lotion etc... things that I don’t use. Bro gifted the girls make up before but they don’t use, the funniest and practical gift he gave them one year was panties. Haha! They have to wear right?!  So yah, don’t give me anything. I’m trying not to have things in the house that I don’t need. Unless you give us chocolates especially dark chocolate I’d gladly accept it ๐Ÿ˜‚. Giving us other snacks is a hit and miss. Still, the best gift is angpow. We can keep the money and save it up or buy what we want.  

A consolidated of what has been appearing in my Insta for the past weeks apart from all the German Christmas markets reels ๐Ÿ˜ข


Bakes with Xmas Inspo 

Credit to ohcakeswinnie. This is a real easy one to make, only thing I’ve cleared all of my Xmas baking stuffs either to Salvation Army or to my friend N who bakes. 



@ heartsonsweet. Meringe decoration started way back to 2019 or 2018. It’s a thing of the past, but when it comes to festive season it’s nice to have meringe decorated according to the season. They’re really cute if you know how to do it. I’ve been wanting to do this and am not even close to scoop meringue into the piping bags. Haha! 


Another thing that was trending for more than 9 years or maybe 10 (?) is cute deco marshmallow. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do too but it’s always either no time/no energy to do or who to give? 


jollythreads.christmas. So so cute. Cupcakes are easy to make then just spread cream on top and put sprinklers on it. But I’m not organising any Xmas party


@ domesticallyblissful. Brownie. Yummy! I love brownies but not when I have eat 11 or 15 other pieces as well. So simple to make but I only like to daydream. 



pausenbrotjunkie. Thi is so nice but will need a pan for this. Aiyoh! I cleared alot of my pans leh! Actually it’s quite a big pan, my family might not be able to finish the bread. Think think, they are content creators so they need to post these to earn money. I’m not so I can make ugly bakes, disastrous meals and nobody cares.


sa3naZan3as. Chocolate decorated, gives person some surprise when they put into their hot milk. When I think of the level of sugar in there ..... eh... no thanks but they're really cute. 



janespatisserie. Another simple cookie using the normal dough and simply sprinkling chocolate chips and Christmas sprinkles 


foodie.yuki. This reminds me of the Bahlsen cookies I see in supermarkets. I had an almost similar idea to use my cutesy countless chocolate molds. Oh man! I really love those chocolate molds, I had so many cartoon characters mold but they were huge in 2D with bulging tummy or boobs or face that one will wonder if I'm putting the chocolate on the cookies or putting the cookies on the chocolate. I gave away those molds. Lots of money spent there via Vpost then, no way am i going to spend on these again. Makes lovely gifts.



These were some of the hard chocolate molds I used to have - Sesame Street, Elmo, Dora, Strawberry shortcake, Disney etc… I had a lot! 




lifeisfullofgoodies. This is a hot cocoa cup where marshmallows, cocoa powder, chocolate etc.. are made. And all one needs to do is to put this in a cup of hot milk. It’s a nice gift, but honestly I feel not suitable to gift in hot Singapore. Gimme ice water please! But if I want to silently kill someone with diabetes, I might want to make these 


cathrynlaurawood. A simple cut out cookie and all one needs to do is to pipe chocolate on it. Simple! Will it be my project? But who to gift it to? I'm like hand itchy, heart itchy want to make something but ..... 


whimsycookiecart and @ pressedrecipe. A pretty cool envelope cookie where a note is left in between the cookie, like a fortune cookie. 



recetas_sweetfactory and  @ manuelidades.con.manu . Cakepop decorated reindeer. Omg! How can I forget there was such a thing last time?! I only made it once or twice. I gave the girls in che-che’s primary school for Children’s Day before. 
But are people still doing this? 



baking_again_today. This is one easy butter cookie to make with just a piping bag and colours. It’s just so cute. Should I make this? But then I remember I have a cookie press with christmas shapes. ๐Ÿคญ I may end up not doing any bakes at all. 


Oh. I love advent calendar. This reminds me of the two or three times when the girls were young, I’d get a box of advent LEGO and they take turns opening it. 
So was happy when I saw these advent cookies 2 years ago. Honestly I was so tempted to buy the cookie set from customcookiecutters then.  They have many cute cookie cutters. 

customcookiecutters and @ littlebiskut


Cute right? From the same shop


patisserieblanc. This is nice but gotta manually draw the cookies with icing. Becoz the cookie is almost bare, it gives me the european kind of gingerbread cookie vibe. 
One do not need to be an artist to draw on the cookies. Two ways you can go about drawing on cookies. (1) you draw on the cookie with an edible ink first then you use the royal icing to draw the borders and colour the cookie. (2) use a projector and you draw on the cookie. I have the projector, the susan for cookie decorating and I’m no where near baking any cut cookies yet. ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ




A quick look into the account and I saw these cuter advent calendar



whimsycookiecart. Very classy looking advent calendar ๐Ÿ‘



Xmas inspo using ingredients available at home

้‡‘ๆฃฎๅนธๅญ. This uses slice bread. Reminds me of my cheat pizza I use to make for the girls, now can make Xmas decorated pizza


Next 3 pics by the same person. This is cute. Using Pocky and white chocolate. Something I can do when I’m trying to act busy



And this uses cooked penne. Such a terrific idea! 


sheri_wilson_ . This is cute! I want to do this!


christmastokk


sachi.cafe. A Japanese lady who uses whatever is around in the kitchen for her works. I love the asthetic pics in her Instagram 



meri_kodomo_oyatsu



Favors that are Xmas inspo 


@ una10702. A smart way to wrap Ferraro Rocher 



adrianaa1._ and adrianas._ . The KitKat is packaged nicer than what I did ๐Ÿ˜„


_jenmagic_ . The snowman containers are so cute. 



Crafts that are Xmas inspo

@ studiomima.de . Candle-making has come a long way. I’ve always wanted to learn to make soap but was never able to find the time. Maybe I should sign up for class one day 


@ stulux_ . Okay I know I don’t exchange gifts but I do love to wrap presents. I like to make my corners neat when I wrap presents. Got me thinking long time ago that maybe I should work part-time as a gift wrapper during the holiday season ๐Ÿ˜‚. But coz I’m slow and I want it neat I may get sacked on the first day of my job ๐Ÿคฃ


@ quinns_arte. A thing of the past now. I can barely send cards to more than 3 people now. I love to make cards, I used to use my scrapbooking stuffs to make birthday cards but stopped when I got so busy with the kids and the house. Making cards is nice but it means one will need to have lots of embellishments at home. I’ve stopped collecting things now, so I’ll either buy that 1-2 cards. Sooner or later, it might even get to zero when everyone starts sending digital greetings. 



diyjoycrafts. This is so cute. Pipe cleaners and poms poms - I used to have a lot a lot, I would have been able to make these then. Now? Actually ๅšไบ†ๅˆๆ€Žไนˆๆ ท?use it to decorate my house? ๐Ÿคญ



Organizing with Xmas inspo

monicaawidener . Watching organizing home, cleaning home videos is always so motivational for this ah-soh. You see them open their empty drawers and put in a jar that has just been filled up with the asmr and the bloody long nails tapping (darn! I really hate those long sharpy nails). It’s fun to watch but I have no empty drawers to do that ๐Ÿ˜‚. Content creators so they need to do that. It’s not practical for us to do that here, when things will probably lao hong and we also extended an open invitation to ants and cockroaches. Yeeks! No thank you. 


Lots more, I can’t name all. 

Excursion

Haven’t been to IKEA for quite some time. Had to make a trip down as we needed to get sofas for our rented flat and our home. 

Needed to fill tummy before we can think. So it’s off to the dining area. 


I always like to see these small little “house floor plan” in Ikea and daydream ‘if only … I was a single lady living on my own.’ Back to reality, it’s impossible. I think I’d still be living with my mom if I’m still single at this time ๐Ÿ˜‚, I don’t even think I earn enough to buy a flat on my own. 
There’s some kind of satisfaction walking inside even though I don’t buy anything. Daydreaming if this small little space is my living space. Ehh….altho I feel I don’t have a lot of things currently, I will need to minimise more personal effects if I ever had such a small house ๐Ÿ˜‚. 
Going to Ikea makes it feel like it’s an excursion and it’s fun. Perhaps it’s that singular huge building that makes one think so (That’s why I love going to supermarkets in US). Just like how psychology works when we gotta walk the whole rectangular building in zigzig. I’m just thankful I am mentally strong and can resist temptation coz the way they place their products is so hard not to buy. 
And the Scandinavian Christmas decorations is so .. scandinavian ๐Ÿ˜‚. I’m lost for words just can’t put to words. The gnomes! I love gnomes and so tempted to buy gnomes and reindeers. ๆท˜ๅฎ also sell lighted reindeers ๐Ÿคฃ and some pretty ornaments. 



I love looking at kitchens and the laundry setups ๐Ÿคฃ. What a joke coz I hate to cook.



Simple yet enchanting Christmas decos



Omg! It’s so eye catching. Cannot buy, don’t buy coz I  threw some Xmas, CNY, Halloween deco stuffs away when I was tidying my bomb shelter back in May. No way am I going to hoard up my house again. Don’t spend unnecessary money. Maybe ah-nia can print Christmas things or do that silly Christmas tree on the mirror. But that Santa is so so cute! 


I have a soft spot for gingerbread house. So cute. But nobody eats. Haiz! 


Made our way to Courts to look for sofa. Bought one to replace the sofa in Punggol, didn’t see anything we like for ourselves. I have 3 lucky draw coupons with rhe purchase. According to staff there’s a draw at 3pm which is only less than 20mins away. I dropped the coupons in, after that I overheard a guy asking staff what phone is it. “It’s a Chinese brand called Nothing” Huh? Simi brand?

Went to the electronics section to while away time and were bored. We have nothing to buy, walking around is senseless. Worst when we have a grumpy che-che who kept insisting on going home just so she can play her games. Yah! She ever commented that her cousins were so addicted to gaming, she’s no saint either as she’s turned into a gaming addict herself. In less than 3mins, she got even more impatient and kept wanting to go home asap. She should be thankful we went up just to idle time away, she saw a standee of Ren Meguro ๐Ÿ˜‚. 

Did we stay in the end? No. Though I think there’s a good chance we will win as there wasn’t many coupons inside when I drop them in for that 3pm draw. I could touch the coupons. We had 3 coupons so chances is high for us lor! There’s also 5pm, 7pm, 9pm draw where all prizes are different. The catch is the winner must be present to collect the prize. No way was I going to go back again.