Bad job market

This article from The Straits Times resonates what my girl was facing. 

Her job hunt only started in June after we got back. I must admit she was really lucky to secure a job in 3mths whereas her friends took 6mths. 

In a saturated market, how are new graduates able to find a job? To think that we used to tell our kids “must study hard to get a job” when they were young…now our kids can call us liar. Having a degree now doesn’t mean you can find a job easily. So how? Every year the numbers just snowball from previous years, how are they going to find a job? 

老天爷可怜我 …. 😂

The thing about me wanting to prep the girls lunch for the day is to find the easiest way out the day before - a cookout or cooking more for one dish for dinner so I can keep for the next day.  

As I had to fry the pork katsu for dinner, I thought let me 一起弄自己忙、一次把厨房弄脏。忙 indeed I was coz I broke a bottle of dark soy sauce while I was trying to reach for mirin. Argh! 😖 Why am I so careless? 

I didn’t have the mood to cook かつ丼　after cleaning the mess so it was just fried pork. Lil’ one decided to use the toriQ sauce to dip. 

No more dark soy sauce means I can’t prepare claypot chicken rice for tomorrow’s lunch. I guess 老天爷 took pity on me and wanted me to rest after cooking their dinner tonight. ご飯を少し多めに炊いておいてよかったです。Switched the planned claypot rice to just using the basil pork which I cooked last Wednesday. Now I have to ask che-che if she wants me to pack for her 🤣🤣. #backtobentodays#

Exhausted week - Week 01 of 4 on solo

What a week it has been! I’ve never been out of the house (doing other things apart from the school runs) that many times until this week - 4x to be exact on a schoolday and 6 days in total. And it has left this 49 year-old exhausted 😓. 

The must do’s 

The weekdays - I have to (1) cover all the mornings dropping lil’ one in school, (2) cooking meals to pack for school / work lunches and (3) cooking for dinner, (4) school pickups

de hele week

Monday (17th) - HBL so home the whole day. Yay! I love days like this. 

Tuesday (18th) - After sending lil' one to school I went back home wanting to do housework for few hours before I leave later for my tuina + whatever things I had to do on a day when I'm out. I prefer to chiong whatever errands / grocery runs if I can in a day so that other days I can stay in at home until pickup time. 

I thought I'll do a good deed to send che-che to work at S but she told me she's going to HQ at XX. What?! Can I take back my offer? Since I'll be out to send her THAT FAR I might as well just stay out. Housework - only vacumned the floor and threw laundry into the washing machine. Minimal work done. 

(a) Went Tuina at AMK. Will have to make every Tuesdays for the next few weeks as tuina days.  

(b) sent Apple watch to the authorised shop at Tai Seng to see if can repair 

(c) went PLQ mall since it's closer to Tai Seng. Wanted to grab lunch, drop by Scoops to pick W’s BD gift, drop by Popular to get wrapping paper for M’s grad gift, do some grocery shopping and pack dinner. After I placed my food order, che-che messaged me and asked if I can go over to Novena to pick her. Huh? She didn’t tell me she needed me to pick her up after her training. She met me at PLQ. Dropped the idea of doing my grocery run coz I don’t like it when I have someone following me, although she does help me carry stuffs, I just don’t like it when anyone is following me. I’m pretty much of a solo person where I can walk fast and grab; stop to look when I want to. Packed dinner from Donki and bored from dunno what else to do in a mall she requested I send her home first (they won’t have to fight for the bathroom later too). Left home in 15mins to pick lil one up. Didn’t have to cook dinner which is what I’m grateful for. 

Wednesday (19th) - stayed out coz of the neither-here-nor-there timing dismissal. She’s dismissed from school 3hrs earlier at 12pm today, which means she’s only in school for 3 1/2hrs. Note : altho there’s a fixed timing on dismissal, many times she can be dismissed 15-35mins earlier. Had my breakfast in KFC. Dropped by florist to get for M a crochet bouquet. Kindda rested in the morning to prep myself for a huge cookout at home later. Cooked mee hoon kueh, fried basil pork for dunno which day’s meal, and fried rice for next day’s lunch for girls. 

Mee hoon kueh. Portion was sufficient for them. I can’t rmbr what I ate 

The cook out

Thursday (20th)

Funny! Realised my blunder in the carpark 😂. Thank goodness the carpark is only less than 1min walk to my unit, tho I sent lil’ one to do the job for me. Insomnia + exhaustion barely few days and you get a blur mom. 

Went home after dropping lil one in school. So tired so went back to sleep for another 2hrs. Did some housework then left to go Tampines. Che-Che worked from home today so instead of packing her lunch, told her to serve herself from rice cooker later. 

Things I had to do : (a) send my watch for repair (b) pack Mister Donut and their dinner from Tampines1 (c) get a new printer in another mall. Another day where I didn’t want to cook dinner, makes sense right? If not, I’ll be slogging in the kitchen and rushing out of house for pick-up OR start cooking the moment I step into the house. 

Friday (21st) - end school early at 12pm so stayed out of the house.  Intended to stay in BK a little longer but crowds were coming in at 9+ close to 10am so the considerate me left the place. Shops weren’t open, technically I can go NTUC but I have nothing to buy at the moment. Walked past massage chairs so had a good massage. Not sure if it was a good idea after that coz my shoulder blade was already pain from tuina on Tuesday, the no gongfu round round balls in massage chair just roll up and down kiap kiap made it worse for me. But better than walking aimlessly in the malls with no shops opened. Sat there for a good 1/2hr with my AirPod, I fell asleep. 

Packed her Redhill fishball for lunch and she can eat the leftover fried rice for dinner in case I don’t come back early. I took the time to quickly vacumn and mop the floor, no extra housework to do coz I re-assign on other days of the week.

Met S at NEX, I haven’t met her since last ??. It was a good 3hrs chatting with her. Che-che met me for dinner otw home. While waiting for che-che I walked around Isetan and saw these strawberries 🍓. I’d be posting a post on this soon, hopefully 😜 as I’m drafting it.

Aww….. I miss Fukuoka 

Saturday (22nd) - I was already getting so tired having spent almost 4 days out during the week. But I had no choice for today’s appointment for I had made arrangement to meet M with che-che. Time for her to buy her own insurance. Asked lil’ one to meet us when nearing to the end of our meet coz … yours truly left the cashcard in another shorts pocket 🤦🏻‍♀️ and 7-11 don’t sell them. I need it to exit the carpark!! and we had dinner outside. Coincidentally bro was coming to NEX for a movie and we met them for half hour while they were munching on their dinner before the show. We left for home after that. 

Was supposed to clear some paper mess by scanning the holiday stuffs but I was so tired that all I wanted to do was to lay on the bed and rot. For the record, after having so many weeks of lack of sleep, I knocked out at around 10+. 

Sunday (23rd) - Slept for a good whole 10hrs! But still can’t make up for the other days. Did simple housework and then had to bring che-che to PP for her haircut. 

I’m not joking when usually their haircuts are lengthy wait coz will add treatment. I would usually take the time to run errands, do grocery run, pack food for dinner (che-che requested for more dishes in ToriQ so she has something to pack for next day’s lunch.) and still have time to burn. I didn’t have much errands or grocery to do so it was really boring to kill 2hrs. So boring that I sat on the massage chair for 1/2hr. Wah….

It’s really been a long time since che-che went to MParade so we stayed around the area in Project Açai for another 40 mins before adjourning home where housework is waiting for me, some clothes waiting to be pressed. 

What a week it has been. I hope and planned not to have too many ‘staying outside’ for the next few weeks.

 

Plan! Plan! Plan!

According to AI Overview :

Planning is good because it helps you achieve your goals by providing a clear roadmap to follow, allowing you to utilize your time effectively, make informed decisions, reduce stress by mitigating uncertainty, and identify potential obstacles in advance to develop contingency plans, ultimately increasing your chances of success.

My thoughts on their definition : - 

Contingency plan : yah…a pessimistic person like me who thinks too much on “what if”. It only made a simple task to a double or triple fold task. Ha!  

Not sure abt increasing chances of success coz I’m no living testament to that. 

I love to plan not just for holidays. Ooh! This popped up at the right time in my FB. Credit to @ottieandotter

I plan on what I need to do on a daily basis. And because I do try to follow regimentally sometimes I do get irritated when it doesn’t fall on plan. Yup! I think that’s my flaw. It’s not that I cannot be adaptable to changes, I can and I HAVE TO, I only feel frustrated when I gotta make changes to other days just coz of one interruption. 

Let the 阿嫂 speaketh

House matters, something that I always do was to (1) check on what’s in the fridge and freezer and then trying to use them as quickly as possible. I’m sure that’s what most people who cooks does that too. 

(2) do plan the menu so it makes it easier for me. But then I hate it when suddenly someone tells me last minute “I’m going out with friends for dinner.” then it’s senseless for me to cook that dish that day if the planned portion was for 4 people and I can’t change the portion.  

(3) I plan which day do what additional housework. Which day is change bedsheet day, clean windows, clean fans etc…

(4) have also listed on the cabinet doors on what dry pantry items I have, listed with the expiry dates. Makes clearance faster too when I do my occasional 6mths purging and tidying. 

Not so successful with this one 

However the only thing I can’t do in the house is to be more organized in our messy bomb shelter aka storeroom. I  had to list the items we have inside the ‘holding Toyogo box’. I really wish we have a bigger store area where I can put the cleaning stuffs in an organization box; bathing supplies in another and so on. There is just no space in the bomb shelter where space is also needed for our luggages, air purifiers, photo albums, board games, cookbooks etc… I often admire those people with a huge house and lots of spaces where they can designate a pantry room, a laundry room and so on. 

Sometime last Nov/Dec when I was tidying up the bomb shelter I managed to take some things out and start doing stock taking. I was a little happy but it’s difficult to keep crossing out (when I take to use them) and then adding them (when I buy to top up) on the testpad paper. Makes it even more inaccurate when hubby don’t update the list for me. Is this a necessity in the first place? As long as I have my “at least 2 extra bottles of Dettol at all times”, why do I even bother to stocktake on the toothpaste and shower gel and all? Maybe I’m just bor daiji chwher daiji zor 没事找事做。However I must admit when I did that, it somehow made me feel I have control of my life. Haha! More likely it’s control of my 阿嫂-ness.

Three lists stuck behind the bomb shelter door - my keto pantry and two lists of all the supplies needed for home

Then just 2 days ago I was using my iPad and looking at my 日本語 revision notes in Goodnotes and went through all the other documents. Haha! My attempt in German - 3 pages of notes on Das alphabets 😂 and that’s it!  

Recollection of 2022 on how I had to sit down and watch 👀 lil’ one and track her revision for N’levels. I realised I couldn’t leave it to her coz she was one disorganised person. I had to track and make sure that all topics are revised; all topics questions are attempted in TYS and home assessment books etc.. Needless to say she HAD to follow the schedule I planned for her. I was nagging at her to “hurry up shower/eat” - was rather pekchek coz I wanted to adhere to the schedule strictly and there she is making me panic coz she’s taking her own sweet time.

Then I thought since I used to buy my planner and two study trackers from Etsy, I should kapo and see what new designs are there on sale now. Didn’t buy anymore planners as household chores schedules are at the back of my head and coz there’s no need now to monitor any kid’s academic progression. 

I still have the cute fonts and stickers where it made my planning so aesthetically nice and so motivated to carry them out. 

Since I’m on the track on tracking my supplies at home why not I check if there’s such a thing. Lo and behold there is log tracker and I bought two. 

Then did some kapo-ing and found more interesting templates. 3 years later and new discoveries. These income & expenses planner/tracker is so interesting. Will I do this next time? Track the expenses and scream at the girls wasting water and electricity? 

I came across something similar in Japan - 家計簿

Took these pictures in a bookstore in Kyoto. Really interesting but if only they have it in cute characters like Sumikko Gurashi or Snoppy or Miffy. 

家計簿 are usually done by the wives after the husbands pass their salary to them to manage the household. Receipts are kept and recorded, now the younger wives who are more tech savvy may turn to recording in their phone or laptop using Excel worksheet. Phone lost Cham! But if I’m an old stingy whiny grumpy spinster I might end up doing this and manage the household. Since it’s not applicable in our context 🤭 I’m spared from doing this. 

Why my 🍎 doesn’t keep the doctor away?

My watch didn’t seem to be able to charge on the second day of our trip last Dec. 

At first thinking it could be a faulty charger, thought I’ll try to charge at home since nobody else in the family wore their Apple watch this trip. Came home but didn’t work with the charger at home too. Tutorials from YouTube didn’t help to solve the problem so I decided to bring it to the professionals instead. 

Screen shows this, sometimes I need to press very hard I get to see this pop up on the screen. However it doesn’t mean that it’s charging. I can leave it there for a day to a week to a month it’s still not charged at all. 

Kindda forgot all about it for the whole month until I brought it to an authorised Apple service provider on Tuesday. Was told that it could be a spoilt battery but there’s no way they can change it at all. Apple watch is “unlike other watches where we can just change the battery. It’s in the watch so need to do a 1 to 1 replacement.” $455 to change. What?! That’s daylight robbery, it means I’m paying for another old Series 8 for $455 when a new Series 10 costs $599. I might as well get a new watch? Or perhaps this is the place’s trap - to make me pay $455 to help them clear old stock. Kindda reminds me of what Dyson would do if we ask to change the vacumn battery.

 

I paid the same price back in 2022 when they just launched Series 8. 

Was deciding if I should get a new watch instead but decided there’s one more place I can try. Not willing to part with $599 when now I have to come out with money to buy a new printer. Yah lor! Things spoil at the same time!! 

This place with few branches across SIN quoted me $68. Sounds more promising. Maybe can still last me 2 more years? By then if it spoils again, I’ll just change a new watch coz it’ll only get harder to get spare parts for old old watches. Already he didn’t have any in this shop, they had to request for a spare parts transfer from another outlet. 

Had to leave it with them for 1-2 days. 希望可以修理. Waiting for their good news. 

Darn leaves

Haven’t swept the PES for 2 days (coz I chose to) and this is what I have littered ☹️ inside. This is the period where the leaves dirty the condo compound. 10 years later stupiak Sim Lian still refuses to uproot those useless problematic trees. Just uproot and plant something else lah! This is still not that bad, it’s more messy during the peak 💨🍃 period where I can be sweeping and countless leaves drop again. 

Now looking a little clean, I didn’t bother to scrub the floor coz …. in a few minutes the leaves will start dropping again. I must work smart. Sigh….if only this is money. 满地黄金。Huat ah! 

Just my day on this Wednesday

Gasp! 141 drafts in my blog !! 

How did it get so much? Lots of updating on the go, then it became I didn’t have time to blog. Some dating as far back as 2017. Haha! Once updated will backdate all entries accordingly to the years back.

Today decided to be out of the house the moment I sent lil’ one to school coz lil’ one last minute informed they will end earlier - 4hrs early! It’s like going to be 不三不四 for me to return home to only have 1.25hrs to do housework before needing to leave the house early to drop by at NTUC before pick up. I can do the housework once back home later. 

Had my ‘long time never eat’ KFC breakfast so I can hide out at one corner. Then got 2 madman kept walking in and out (at different times. It’s as if they’re both taking turns like that. If the other left, the other would come in) and doing things repeatedly,  talking to themselves. They meant no harm and I think the staffs are used to it but it’s scary when you’re the only one in that secluded corner in that secluded area in the fast food restaurant. Well at least this place is not sinisterly dark. But it certainly puts me on alert coz one of them would sit and look at me . 🫨

Took the time to update blog and hopefully can get something published - likely only this post 🤣 as the other ones that I intend to draft are on the timeline progress kind of entry. As if anyone bothered to read my blog. I only update to remind myself so I have something to look back to. And while I’m at blogging, I noticed I need to look back at posts that date back to 2005 and start tagging some posts related to the kids. This can be only done at home with a mouse and a laptop, it’s not easy doing it with my iPad. 

Writing a blog may not seem easy as it looks. Just plonk whatever goes in your mind and publish how difficult can it be, right? Writing an entry takes some time, a longer time than FB coz I gotta think. Think harder than posting in FB coz I don’t write well and I’m not blessed with good brain. 

Who knows? With such tedious efforts (and yet I am always complaining I don’t have time to do my other 1000 things.) Maybe next time I’ll just post one liner; one short paragraph all in short form. Maybe one day I’ll put a password lock to my blog and only certain people who are still interested in reading my blog can message me for password or maybe it will be locked up for outsiders and I’ll remain a hermit forever. Write and read myself, the only audience, apart from the girls. 

Need to also plan the menu for the girls for the next 4 weeks, check through ingredients list etc..planning to make some sauce in bulk. And the fresh fishballs which I’ve been wanting to make like forever and .. nothing’s done. I only got as close to the fish in Sheng Siong.

Gotta sign off now. Bye! 

トトロ

This popped up in my Instagram. 

Tho it’s cute I’m not going to spend money buying ornamental toy, so I do best what I always do - take pictures for keepsake digitally. 

Aw….I miss cherry blossoms 🌸 

Things girls do

Che-che had two of her uni friends, B and C, over at our house after work. It’s not the first time we had them over, there was a time where a bigger group came. 

Things change as kids grow older. I used to have playdates with her friends so I’m always out of my room and doing things with them which is usually baking coz I planned to. 

When she was in secondary school, she had her friends over and they baked. They settled their meals and bought their own drinks and ingredients for baking (after checking my pantry) themselves and come by. I will hide in the room and just periodically come out to kapo. I had excuse to see them in action without doing anything as che-che knows how to use the kitchenaid. Anyway, the girls are already 17-19+ they should know how to use. I didn’t have to worry about the mess coz they do clean up. 

JC friends- ehh….was covid period so we were basically hermits and guests are OOB. Even so, now she meets her JC friends outside. 

Uni friends - they come by after their meal. So only prepared snacks just incase they’re hungry. But I have no idea what they do. I wish they can bake together in my small kitchen. Hmm…yah..it can be a tight squeeze to have more than 4 people inside but it’s ok, some can just come out into the dining area to do things and pass whatever thru to each other via our ‘McDonald’s’ window. 

Today the Uni girls came and I was hiding in my room 99.9% throughout. Came out at 11.30+ to see C around. B must have left the house that’s why I heard the door opening. They are planning on their April trip itinerary. Haha! I thought it was already done 🤣. Anyway I’m sure they have things to do whenever they gather at anyone’s house. Just kind of miss the baking smell and laughter from the youngsters. 

キットカット

Chanced upon this at NTUC. Suppose to buy one item - shallots, came out of NTUC with extra five other things 😂. It happens all the time. 

This is one of the 5 other things, the other 4 are oreos and yam bao lil’ one wanted.

Back at home. 130ml water only? Actually I realised I never paid attention to the amount of water needed for all the other drinks, always based on my 1/2 expertise from brewing kopi onboard, and my drinks turn out ok. I only knew how smart I was when lil’ one commented that the ones I made taste better than what she and daddy made. I take that as a compliment. 

I noticed the amt of water needed today just as I was taking pic of the box 😂 before unboxing. Usually it’s quickly tear the box and then put the pods in the pod holder and junk box after that 🤣. 

Wah… False advertising. Where got so much? Did they zoom up the pic to make it look like a huge cup? 

Tastes not too bad. Luckily I’m not a content creator where I need to take nice asthetic photos of my drinks and food, I drank my pathetic amount of drink in that huge Sumikko cup 🤣. 

🌷I want tulips 🌷

When was the last time I bought tulips? 🌷 

Was so tempted to make a detour to FEF before picking lil’ one up from school. Fate has it that I was doing housework until I barely have time to make that detour. She ends school early today. 

Was grouching to her that I miss flowers. 

Back home I looked at the date and was grateful that I didn’t go today. Maybe it’ll be crowded? Maybe price of flowers increase coz it’s V-Day tomorrow. 好吧我忍忍忍。 忍几天吧！

PES plants

Really need someone to come and tend to my plants. Always have these irritating pests that keeps attacking me aggressively when I step out to water the plants. 

Really want to get rid of those huge pots but I had those to block neighbours peeking into our rooms, it’s also for fengshui reason BUT they are such a nuisance now.  

The only consolation I get from my plants are the rare few pots of adeniums that starts to flower now after so many years 😂. 

 

CNY 2025

Decorations 

Surprisingly my Taobao delivery arrived a day earlier than my arrival. I deliberately delayed my 合包 payment, hoping that by the time my parcel arrives will be few days later after we reach back home. Who was to know they were so prompt this time round 😆. 

Didn’t order a lot as I wasn’t going to paste anything on the walls now. Pasted the PES sliding doors, dining area full length mirror. 

At last minute, looking at the very plain house, went to buy 6 small pineapples to hang in the living and walkway area. Che-che complained “I turn on the light also cannot see, the pineapples blocking.” I get the hint, I will not hang these next year.

I couldn’t get leek to hang at home this year. NTUC sells them in a huge bunch of 8-10 stalks. I could use some for cooking but only 2 of us eats vegetables at home, or should I say 1.5 of us as I usually lose my appetite after slaving in the kitchen, I’m not a fan of leek anyway (no wonder I’m poor) 

Then I came across this photo in FB dated 11th Feb 2021. At first was so proud of it until I realised the following year or maybe 2 years later that it should be hung inside the house. No wonder our money all flew away!! 

* correction - 3yrs later. I blogged about CNY 2024 

My red table cloth is in a box in the bomb shelter now but I can’t reach it. Che-che bought so much tidbits in Japan until the whole bomb shelter is messy again!! 😭 can cry. I was so happy in Nov that tidying the place was in progress. I probably finished everything before Dec (?). Hmm….why didn’t I blog about completion? After tidying I was able to step inside and turn around to reach for things. Damn jialat leh! Only one month plus and they mess it up again. I’m so so tired coz everyone else mess up and I’m the only person who keeps tidying. My work is endless!  

Flowers

Most years I would drop by nursery at least a week or two earlier. I didn’t even go nursery this year. I can’t have too many plants coz I don’t have the space for them. My plants are too messy now, I’m hoping to find a one-time-job gardener to help me tidy up my messy plants for me. Oh heck! I didn’t even buy the lucky bamboo. No place to put it at home. 

26th Jan 2017 - peach blossom. So pretty but extremely prone to aphids invasion. 

I went online to search for preserved flowers but not any that I really love. There are CNY arrangements too but it’ll look odd on other days of the year. Undecided, impatient, stingy so went to order a small and not too expensive one first. 

The only new flower arrangement I have is the small preserved flowers  

CNY Makan goodies

To minimise wastage I choose not to buy anything except my Julie’s chocolate love letters. Not even a small container of makmur coz somehow we will never finish. Someone should do an assortment CNY cookies tray 4 to 5 pieces each will suffice, I won’t get tired of the taste. 

Not even che-che’s favourite spicy shrimp roll or keropok from Kim Choo (which she eats on CNY and non-CNY days 🤭). Anyway..we have lots of snacks from Japan and ‘god knows if it’s expired snacks’ from US. We won’t have visitors this year, bro’s last visit to my house on 初二 was in 2021 (?), so it’s pointless to have snacks that will be eventually thrown away. 

 

Can’t remember which day hubby came back with a box of oranges. Wah… I don’t understand why he bought. Why can’t he just use the 2 oranges that his office always give and recycle them? 

This paper bag is from his office. I kept it aside for keepsake. 

Who is going to eat this box of oranges? If only….if only we have 和歌山みかん I will eat and not exchange them away 

TB to Dec. This pack of 6 和歌山みかん costs ¥298 only. We should have bought more. 

Yup! This is really nice

Forgot che-che started work and she could possibly return home with some 橘子. She really came back with some oranges on the eve eve of CNY (27th). How come it’s odd number 5 🤭?

So now we have a lot of oranges at home 

Spring cleaning

I just went about with normal days work, but this time I had to double my speed as my home was left uncleaned / dusty since we left for our holiday. My 啦啦渣渣 cleaning (surface tops, toilet walls, walls, doors etc etc) are usually done on an alternate week rotational basis therefore I was cramping 2 weeks of work into 1! 

I ranted and grouched about our spoilt laundry rack which couldn’t come any sooner. Made my laundry work all doubled. #%%*!! suay! I bring the dirty sweaters and thermal wear from the old year to the new year 🤣. 

Still have the yard louvre and scrubbing the PES yet to be done but I’m giving up now. Can’t be bothered already. Will just sweep up the damn leaves from the irritating trees in my PES and splash water to rinse PES can liao. As for the louvre I couldn’t clean it as I couldn’t clear my laundry fast enough to have the empty space. Also the climbing up and down the ladder just to hang the socks and undergarments made me so giddy, I can’t be climbing up and down cleaning the louvre windows. Sigh….. if only they allowed installation of sliding windows behind. Would have made my cleaning slightly easier. 

New clothes ; new shoes

WTH lah! Totally forgot about it. On Sunday (26th Jan) after our 拜拜 we dropped by Orchard, came across Editors Market. I told the girls to see if they’d like to pick up new clothes. They went in, barely 3 mins later walked out saying it’s no use buying new clothes.

Precisely! We don’t even go anywhere during CNY. Buy also useless. 

Prepping the red packets - 25th Jan (Sat)

No new notes as didn’t bother to queue at the banks or ATMs. I go to ATM which is not crowded. Hubby withdrew and gave me a stack of old notes. My girls asked if we can give e-angpow or not 😂. I think once the old old people die die, my grandchildren generation onwards will do e-angpow. Well… in the first place will they even 注重农历新年? 

I was sorting out the red packets and came across a stack of 7 angpows that I had prepared for YL and gang. It’s been that long since we met (since 2019) and exchanged angpows. 

Year of the Rat (2020) angpows

After I took the pictures, I threw all the Year of the Rat angpows away 🤦🏻‍♀️. I should have kept them for keepsake. #anotherhoarder#

Frankly speaking I don’t have to prepare many angpows coz we only go to one house for visiting. 

Number of angpows :

6 :- in-laws side

4 :- our girls

3 + 1 + 1 :- parents and Iggy, extra for Iggy’s BD, helper

Total : 15

I pack a few extras of just-in-case. So in total only less than 25 but we only give out a confirmed 15 angpows. Anything more should be for the restaurant staffs who do the lohei speech. 

Personal 

Took these out the night before (28th) 😆. Had to remind myself I had to do these. Most of the time always done on the eve night, cause that’s the time I usually finish whatever I needed to do in the house. Also, I can’t colour hair too early as my grey grow out fast. I can’t paint nails too early as colour will chip. 

CNY Eve Eve Eve (26th Jan - Sun)

Paid respects to in-laws. I see lesser grandchildren paying respect, most times it’s my girls and J. Can’t remember how many times I’ve seen E and L. 

Made me think, my girls also won’t bother with such thing but went coz we made them go. It will be harder when they get married next time lor!

CNY Eve (28th Jan - Tue)

 

Record breaking - I was able to colour my hair in the eve morning coz hubby offered to send and pick lil’ one to/from school. I stayed home to do housework and then coloured my hair. Now only leaving the nails. Maybe I’ll do that after all the laundry is done and leaves in PES swept up. 

Finally painted nails at 9.51pm. Another record 😂 for doing this early 

除夕 (28th Jan - Tue)

Che-che worked from home, lil’ one half day in school. 

Dinner at 5.30pm at Uncle Leong. 

CNY 初一 (29th Jan - Wed)

First thing for the day, not an early one tho coz I woke up late, is to cook something with auspicious meaning for the family (with lots of restrictions)

Kueh lapis - as it is multi- layered it symbolizes longevity and is also often associated with promotion and prosperity 

Tangyuan - Symbolizes family unity and togetherness. 

I couldn’t find the small niangao. Initially wanted to make one but … usually only hubby and I will 意思意思 eat 2 pieces each. 算了吧! Maybe I’ll use the desiccated coconut and make ondeh ondeh one day? 

Just the 汤圆 alone I need to serve 3 styles differently. Think by now you know lil’ one likes it plain so she gets the small cutesy ones. Che-che likes it dry with peanuts. Two old folks like it with 糖水. I think I was still feeling not myself that when I drank the ginger sweet soup, it was so comforting to me. 

In hubby’s and my bowl were 2 character tangyuan each I got last year from SMantou. Can’t believe time passed by so fast, I remember I was in Ngee Ann City to get the tangyuan ($38 for 10 pcs) and mantous. I still haven’t made any cute tangyuan 

Girls pai nian with us at 12.51pm. Got pic but not posting coz all unglam in home clothes and a half naked man 🤭. 

Went over to bro’s place to 拜年 instead of at mom’s coz she can’t cook now. 

It was a pleasant surprise to meet E after 22yrs. Met baby ルイ who didn’t like me 😂, every time I carry he wants to go back to his parents. 

Lil’ one arrowed to do the louhei, daddy stepped in to help. And they both have angpow from bro 🤣. Not fair! I helped to open up the containers and I didn’t get any angpow.

The grilled area. More food were placed after this pic was taken. 

The steamboat area. Lil’ one asked “got my fishball?” 😂

My baby carrying ルイ

So funny. $18 for dishing out the soup during reunion dinner. I have no idea which is the medium size coz she couldn’t remember who gave which angpow. 

“for work done but didn’t do” 😂😂

I was told that in order to tease lil’ one with the huge angpow, bro woke up early and starting making the red packet. 

CNY 初二 (30th Jan - Thu)

Lazy day at home. Never even bothered to visit my uncles and aunties, hubby sama sama with his side of the family. So it’s usual that we will rest at home on the second day. 

Lunch - sukiyaki . Since jap style, need my togarashi? Took out the recently purchased 

@ 1.22pm - halfway thru meal Miss Sunbird dropped by to eat the sweet snack and 跟我们拜年

@ 3.04pm - pot washed and night ingredients prepared. All the same thing anyway. The thing about having meals is that I’m always the one who is busy while the rests go to their rooms or sit outside watching TV/tablet/phone. Sigh….

Had some time in between to quickly cook my Peach gum dessert. Ms Thermie was working hard while I busy deleting unwanted holiday photos from my phone. 

@ 6.40pm started preparing miso soup. Started our steamboat 20mins later, added tofu to the soup. Make me half identical to Jap miso soup. It’s really yummy. Miso paste is from SIN, once this is finished I can open my my red miso from NGO. All the Japanese style today. Maybe next time I can make my “not that spicy” Tom yum soup? I dunno how many litres I need to prepare tho 😆

The man didn’t like miso and he wanted to mix the liquid in canned abalone into the soup. Yeeks! So we 3 girls ate first until we’re done. He can throw whatever he wants into the soup himself. Was too late to bring down the double pot from bomb shelter when we told him we wanted to do miso soup instead of chicken stock.

Since it’s a working / schooling day the next day, everyone rested early for the night. 

CNY 初三 (31st Jan - Fri)

@ 12.52am took pic of this. Two hamsters were cracking melon seeds few hours prior 😜. They take after their daddy who loves melon seeds as well. 

CNY 初五 (2nd Feb - Sun)

Had CNY lunch with hubby’s side of family in the west. Only V couldn’t come as he has prior appointment. 

Food is some cheena chinese and it’s not bad. Everytime the dish is placed on the table someone would attack the food so fast that I can hardly take any pictures. The skewered meat is nice! Che-che likes the salted egg prawn. Other than that I can’t remember what are the food they ordered. 

A private room was booked and one can sing their heart out. The younger people did just that after the meal, I managed to find a few HSJ songs. Can’t find any なにわ男子. Strange.

Lohei #3

She can’t reach the yusheng. Haha! 

CNY 初十一 （8th Feb - Sat) 

Dinner with my family at Peng Restaurant, an authentic 3rd generation Teochew restaurant situated in an unsuspecting estate in an teochew enclave area. I’m living near to where my parents lak-kok-jiok is 🤣. 

Lohei #4

My fav orh nee

Since it was Iggy’s BD, got him a cake and celebrated for him back in our home. 

Carried the cake to the restaurant but were too full so adjourned to our home. 

Although it’s still CNY, we had nothing to offer the family 🤣. Let them try the peach gum dessert. 

CNY 初十五 （12th Feb - Wed)

元宵节 is said to be a Chinese Valentine’s Day. To me it’s the day where I can have my decorations up and I simply can’t wait to remove them the next day 😂. 

But having said that, certain tradition that I only began doing for the last 3-4 years (I think) is to cook tangyuan on this last day of CNY. 

This CNY hubby wanted his tangyuan with peanut soup. So today, I used up the last can for him. And I cooked mine without any ginger sweet soup coz no point lor! Make life easier for self after cooking the girls’ lunch for next day.

Also were left with 10 sesame glutinous riceballs and I didn’t buy the peanuts ones coz it’ll be too much and have leftover. So just cooked the small plain ones for the girls 

First time getting this house brand and likes it. It comes with 2 individual packs inside, I didn’t have to deal with ice frozen leftover riceballs. Usually one pack can last me for 1.5 years and it gets hard frozen. I will continue to buy this brand next time. I finished up the remaining opened pack today so YAY! 🎉 

May our family have sweet blessings and love!