The scope‘s done.
Nothing’s missing from my intestines.
Phew.
But there’s still the biopsy results pending and that’s gonna come later this week.
If nothing is amiss, it means that all this gastric nonsense stems from…MY BRAINS!
STRESS STRESS STRESS.
I’m so terrible at handling stress. Gah.
I was always meant to be a tai tai domestic goddess, I reckon.
Somebody tell that to husband, please?
(Also, the doctor said to me before putting me to sleep, Ah, you are the girl whom I thought was Japanese! Was v glad he didn’t say, Ah, you are the girl who flashed her knickers!)
**********
I spent one lovely Saturday morning with a girlfriend and her little one at The Plain.
I adore them both, they are the sort of people whom the world needs more of because they are wonderful, generous and full of heart.
Spending time with them always makes me feel lighter, brighter and better.
Taking a self-portraitOur coffeesPerfectly poached Darling's Eggs, half-eaten
I liked The Plain very much – yummy eggs, nice coffee and cosy relaxed ambience.
So despite the fact that it was pissing with rain yesterday, we had a brilliant time at the concert.
Hucks picked me up at 6pm promptly and we were bemoaning the downpour in the car. Bah. Thankfully, the rain subsided after dinner, although we were pelted with rain during the 45-minute queue to get into the grounds.
45 minutes!
Of waiting in the drizzle!
Am v patient.
Or not. Apparently I was grumbling at everything and anything during the wait. Well, you would too, if you had to put up with over-enthusiastic singing from kiddies behind you in the queue and intermittent buckets of water droplets from the skies above.
But it was all worth it. The moment we made our way into the grounds, we headed straight to the bar and grabbed a beer each. And you know what, that was actually one of the best things about being at an outdoor gig. Swigging beer, screaming the lyrics along with the band, jumping into the air, sloshing about in the mud and just being generally unglamorous.
There’s just no comparison when it comes to live concerts. The Script was marvelous live: they said the right things, had just the right amount of banter and were absolutely funny to boot. And Danny O’Donoghue was a livewire on stage, he was electrifying and bloody awesome.
We were a bit gutted that The Man Who Can’t be Moved wasn’t the last song as expected but the band did a fab job with Breakeven so it was still good.
Early last week, I said goodbye to the girlfriend – the former Apprentice Housewife – as she embarked on a life as an expat tai tai for a year. She was headed to the corn fields of Kansas City together with her husband, who is on course there.
Because of the girlfriend’s tight schedule, we almost didn’t get to catch up before she flew off. Thankfully though, we managed to squeeze in a girly chat on the day of her 29th birthday. Of course, it’s NOT FAIR that merely two weeks after she celebrates being 29, I turn 30.
I’m happy that she gets to do nothing but plan holidays and watch trashy daytime soap operas for a year. But I gotta say, I’m going to miss my girlfriend so very much. Who’s going to gasp over scandalous text messages with me? And listen to me whine and complain? And make me laugh with her bimbo antics? Who’s going to have Taiwanese porridge for lunch with me now? And hello, my office is now nearer to hers and SHE’S GONE?
BIG SOBS.
I look so old and wrinkly next to her.
This song reminds me of her, not because of the dysfunctional relationship, but because we always have crazy fun together and my life would suck without her.
I was going through some of the pictures that I had shot recently (ALL CRAP! URGHS!) when I realised that I hadn’t gone through these.
Back in May, we headed to YC’s apartment for brunch where he fed us with eggs, toast, champers and cheese. It was a lovely, delicious spread but we were really hungry after that. Mr Thick likes his meat, not just the by-products from nice animals like chickens and cows. We headed to Aston’s after leaving his place to feast on steaks. Mmm.
But it was fun! We must do this again soon.
Eggs and toastArray of cheeses Bubbly makes me happyAftermath
Looking through these pictures makes me realise how much I love my prime lens. And how I need to get used to the weight of Mr Thick’s 30D pronto, if I go ahead and buy the 60D to replace my trusty-but-sold 400D.
I finally had the chance to use the tea set that I had bought from the thrift shop. Invited a couple of friends over (or rather, they invited themselves!) and I baked two cakes to feed them.
The recipes were from Afternoon Tea by frankie magazine – which is one of the most gorgeous and beautifully styled cookbooks I have ever seen. When I was having tea with Dotz at k.ki, I had asked the owners of the little drom store to give me a call if ever they bring in the cook book. Imagine my surprise when they rang me up a month later to say that they had a couple of copies, would I like one? Zipped down to the store a week later and realised that they had reserved a copy for me. OVER THE MOON I WENT!
The plate says it all
The first cake my elves and I made was the Macadamia Beer Cake. It was an instant choice, my eyes wouldn’t budge from the word “beer”. We had a little mishap with this one – the recipe had called for one cup of beer (I used Chang beer) but Elf #2 had merrily emptied the entire can into the mixer by the time we remembered to read the recipe. I added more flour to even out the consistency and it turned out alright. Unfortunately, I had used a wider cake tin than was necessary so the cake came out of the tin a little stunted in the height area. Oh well, food is food, we devoured that cake pretty quick, accompanied by a pot of earl gray tea.
Tea with cake
By the time I started work on my second cake, the Lemon Hazelnut Syrup Loaf, both elves had abandoned me and moved off into the cooler living room. Tsk!
The so-called "loaf"
I know, you are thinking, Hmm, this does not look like a loaf. In fact, this does not look like anything good. Frankly, I was thinking the same. Well. I kind of didn’t grease my loaf pan before chucking the batter into it and this was the result: cake that clung on stubbornly to the pan. Bah. I had to scrape everything out.
BUT. It was fabulous! The loaf – or cake, really – was so light and fluffy, it was amazing. And I am not tooting my own horn.
Anyhow, if I ever start my own cafe, I should really call it Ugly Food.
Not too long ago, we had a hen party for bride-to-be Popartgirl. She was stricken with food poisoning and we had a pregnant lady among us so it really was a no-brainer to skip the drunken revelry and have a quiet evening in instead.
What’s that?, I hear you say, QUIET evening for a hen party? Yeah, that’s exactly what I said.
Squirt and I had the lady blindfolded and kidnapped to our scene of crime, and had her sit on the bed with her blindfold on as we zipped around putting the room in order. Then, we put her (and us) in a cab and headed down for some girly time of pedicures and massages at Pink Parlour (which wasn’t great, to be honest).
Headed back to the room and had a cookout. On the menu was buttermilk fried chicken, pumpkin soup, salad and crackers while dessert was a peach cobbler made by Squirt. We ate and chatted and then watched (500) Days of Summer and Beauty and the Beast. What can I say? We are geriatrics. We nattered quite a bit and snuggled up on the double bed in the studio of Citadines Singapore Mount Sophia (which is very, very nice!).
Blindfolded BrideCupcakes from Little House of DreamsThe unveilingTrev and his banana
Happy T-minus one month, you two! DO NOT GIVE IN TO ELOPEMENT THOUGHTS. I repeat, DO NOT GIVE IN TO ELOPEMENT THOUGHTS.
I took a nice week-long break at the end of March and it was such a fantastic breather! To be honest, I had been feeling a little deflated at work so the week away from the office helped to plump up the spirits a little.
After my last post gushing about k-ki, both Yuling and Squirt told me they wanted to have tea with me there. And that was how I ended up going there twice in as many days. Not that I am complaining, really, because I love that place! It’s really a quiet and cosy sanctuary from the buzz of the cosmopolitan world, and I was happy to seek refuge in teas and delicious cakes.
I got to play with the sweet-natured and adorable Missy Raeann, and she was such a well-behaved darling that the adults could have a proper long chat. You cannot go near Raeann and not come away wanting to have a pretty baby girl like her. Kudos to her fantastic parents!
And then the next day, Squirt and I had a nice conversation about everything. I can’t recall the last time we chatted like that so it was fab to spend time with the mommy-to-be before she is engulfed in a mountain of diapers.
Pictures! This time, I remembered to bring the camera along.
Mommy wiped her face and she obviously didn't like it!Cheesecake souffleTwo cakes and two lattesAntoinette - white chocolate cake with mango fillingLitte Drom Store behind SquirtI could stay in here forever
It was sunny AND windy at the same time, just right for a picnic. And it was a great way to end the week for me, especially after the second of my six-day work week. It’s tiring having only Sunday to rest – by the end of Saturday, I felt so zonked that all I wanted to do after dinner was to go home and sleep. Two down, six to go.
Anyway, we had the Squirts and Popartgirls (ie. the girls and their partners) over for a little potluck picnic and it was wonderful. Although the kite flying was EPIC FAIL – where was Trevor when you needed him? – the rest of it was fabulous. Great conversation, catching up, delicious food, jokes…I guess I am an introvert by nature, I’d rather spend time with a small group of friends than to hang out at parties. Not that I am hip enough to be actually invited for parties.
Four soups and a lemonade
Cooking is becoming therapeutic for me. I happily spent two hours in the kitchen in the afternoon whipping up a lemonade, white wine sabayon, roasted tomato soup and sauteed mushrooms. My bad leg was aching by the end of it but boy was I on a roll. Recipes to follow shortly!
Eagle not quite soaring in the sky
That’s our kite on the right. If it doesn’t look too high to you, well, it’s cos it DIDN’T stay up in the sky for more than 30 seconds.
The carnage
On top of what I made, we also had Ikea fried chicken wings (DA BEST!!), beer bread, tuna, Daim cake and fruits. We were STUFFED after that.
Dotz stuffing her face
Ikea chicken wings are GOOD STUFF.
Dotz and MelvynDawn and Xuhao
It’s hard to believe that we have been friends for more than 10 years. We shared secrets and giggles as school girls, got married and became a group of six, and in the future, our kids will be friends and play together. And then we will trade stories of teenage angst and go line dancing together. Can’t wait!
Happy birthday to husband!
They thoughtfully celebrated husband’s birthday in advance – and I promptly took a bite of his Daim cake before he did. Of course, he didn’t mind.
We had the friends over in the evening and were going through some old photos. It brought back a lot of good memories: we giggled till our tummies ached and the air was constantly punctuated with shouts of when did we take this?
I cannot believe we have been hanging out since 1999. It’s been 10 years. The physical and emotional changes that Time has wrought on us, oh, how we have evolved. But despite all that, we are still the same us and we still stand by one another and have too much fun together.
The third wedding in the group (Mr Thick and I were the second) will be happening at the end of the month and I am so, so happy for the couple. Tomorrow’s going to be the stag night and this time, the girls are invited! Woot!
Yannisms 