My Optimistic Late Grandpa

I was reading a booklet about optimism. One thing that struck me was the optimistic mindset of survivors. In face of adversity, optimists take action while pessimists stand around passively as they give up hope.

My grandpa was an optimist.

His favourite catchphrase, which kept playing on in my head was, "God helps those who help themselves"

During world war 2, when the Japanese troops occupied Singapore, Chinese men were rounded up, lined up in front of their graves and shot. My grandpa was one of those selected for slaughter.

In pitch darkness, he waited with the other victims uncertain of the fate that the Japs had in store for them.

While others waited for his death, he took action.

He prayed to God, whom he had heard about. Then he ran for his life. From the slaughterhouse to Katong. Across half of Singapore from what I understand.

Miraculously, although Japanese soldiers were posted at every gantry, no one stopped him. He made it all the way home, where grandma, dad and my uncles (was my aunt born yet?) were praying desperately for him. Grandma was crying.

Once the fugitive arrived, tears stopped, joy came and the entire family packed minimal belongings, and fled.

My grandpa lived to the ripe old age of 91.

My son's favourite birthday gift

Grandma got him a gift he really loved, which my hubby and I fully approve of.

A game catridge for his DS (we aren't too happy with gaming during schooldays).. but waitaminit.. this Pokemon DS game has him walking as many steps as possible. It comes with a pedometer which is totally integrated with the game. 10 steps gives him 1 watt. 10 watts give him a chance to find a special pokemon.

Kids these days rather sit around and play computer games, DS or hand helds all day long.

Gone are the days when kids spend their days running around playing catch, or getting the necessary fresh air and exercise. Today's kids are sedentary.

If we aren't careful,m Gen Z is heading towards obesity.

Well, that game had both kids walking around as much as possible to gain watts. When my son's tired, his brother takes over the pedometer and walks around, trying to get in as many steps, and therefore watts as possible, to give them an advantage in that game.

Game makers out there. If you are reading this, one way to get parents to endorse your game is to include a pedometer or some other means to get kids physically active. With more games like these, hopefully we'd see a fitter and less sedentary gen Z.

Birds and The Bees

Have you had that talk with your kids about the facts of life. About the difference between men and women and especially, the changes they will eventually face in puberty?

First questions would probably appear when they are really small.. when the opposite sex goes to the toilet. Boys pee standing up while girls sit to pee.

When exactly do you talk to your kids about such matters?

Differences in anatomy?

Well, you could refer them to a children's science book so that they can read about the differences between the sexes.

To be honest, my husband and I err. and ermm... all the way about where babies came from. Well, the kids learnt about that in Primary school.. from the teacher during their lessons.

While my hubby and I were still figuring out how to tell the kids where they came from, my young kid told me this tale:

A little boy went to his mom and asked "Where did you come from"

Mom said, "A stork brought me to grandma"

He asked his dad where he came from.
Dad said, "Grandpa found me in the rubbish bin."

He went to grandma and said, "Funny, no one here has gone through natural childbirth."


Puberty's around the corner for my sons. The oldest will be thirteen this year.

I tried to bring up the subject about what he would have to expect. The best I could come up with was "If you wet your bet at night, you wash the sheets yourself."

My ten year old answered, "Oh, wet dreams."


You see, several years back, whenever my husband and I went to the bedroom and locked the door, my son would bang on the door and yell "What are you two doing in there!"

One fine day, both my sons approached us, standing side by side with solemn looks on their faces.

"Brother and I talked about this and want you to know that we don't want sisters. We want baby brothers."

Guess it is kind of late to tell them about the birds and the bees. I think they already know.

Milk and honey baths for eczema

When my kids were small, I bathed them in milk, honey, scented with mandarin orange. They loved it!

Here's the recipe

4 cups whole milk powder
1 cup honey
5-7 drops mandarin essential oil

Fill a baby bath with warm water.
Add the milk powder, honey and mandarin essential oil. Mix well with your hand.

Bathe the little child in it, scrubbing with a face towel to clean them up.


As they get older, you can make a bath ball to scrub them in the shower.. or in the bath tub if they prefer.

Fill a clean cotton sock with milk powder and add a few drops of mandarin essential oil. Use that to scrub the kid with.

By the way, after bathing with milk, remember to rinse off all traces of milk as in this weather, that milk will leave the kid smelling like cheese as the day goes on.

You can make that milk bath or shower treat for yourself too. It's great for the skin!

Running Against Depression

Been down with flu for over a week and haven't been able to run.

Don't know whether its from fighting off the flu bug, plain exhaustion from trying to do so much in so little time, or just that my body misses my daily runs.. but I'm really getting a bad bout of blues. It started getting obvious on Friday and is getting pretty bad now. Pre-Monday Blues?

Or lack of exercise.

To be honest, I've always had my mood swings. Then i figured that running worked wonders for my mood. Starting the day with a good long run, returning all drenched in sweat beats coffee anytime. Hey, it's even better than chocolate.

From running to lose weight, it became running to stay sane in a world that sometimes seem insane.

Ok, its time to stop and count my blessings.

Here in Singapore, we have it pretty good. It is perpetually sunny (then we could complain about the relentless heat.)
There's food to eat anywhere, everywhere. Good food at that if you explore your neightbourhood, or just go to places recommended by friends. There are hawker centers and food courts everywhere serving dishes from all over the world. If you want something nicer, you could always go to the fancy restaurants in every hub here. One can never be short of places to eat in Singapore.

Another blessing - this is a relatively peaceful place. You can go for a walk at night without worrying about getting mugged. At least the chances of that happening in Singapore is pretty slim.

There are trees and greenery everywhere. If you look carefully, you'd see wild life. From squirrels to birds to stray cats. Then you could complain about the snakes in certain places overrun with tall grasses.

It is all a matter of perspective.

Time to focus on the good and look at the positive side of everything.

Maybe I just miss my runs. The runner's high to kick start the day with. Or if I want to sleep a little longer, that good sweaty workout during my lunch break. It isn't just for the body. Running.. physical exercise actually, is great for the mind too.

First thing I'm gonna do once my nose stops running is to go for a good long run.

Mother's Day Cards Over The Generations

I just realized another difference between Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z

Gen X kids give their moms handmade mothers day cards.
Gen Y kids design and print mothers day cards for their moms.
Gen Z kids give their moms flash animations.

When I was a kid, I'd make mothers day cards for my mom using cardboard, my array of pens, dried flowers and other real world materials. You know, traditional mothers day cards of Gen X?

Gen Y kids (the more tech savvy ones), with access to computers and publishing software make mothers day cards on their computers. Mothers receive their cards made of folded paper, beautifully designed, fresh out of the printer.

This mother's day, my son, Gen Z 10 year old kid, gave me my mother's day present. He kept it in the net book for my private viewing as compared to the stuff he makes for his website.

He started with a heart felt powerpoint presentation. Then he showed
There were 2 stick figures, a little boy representing him, the lady, me.
In the simple animation, the boy ran to his mom. A beautiful, animated pink heart appeared. The boy jumped and kissed his mom. It was beautifully done, made with lots of love. It's a mothers day gift a mom would remember for life.

my brandy brownie chocolate truffle specialty

What do you get when you combine a great brandy brownie filled with macadamia nuts and brandied raisins.. with a dark chocolate truffle in a dark chocolate casing?

That was my chocolate project for Chinese New Year. Made 8 of them. 1 was left in the deep freeze section of my freezer and forgotten until last weekend.

I took it out, thinking I'd bring it to work for fellow chocoholics.. but it didn't make it out of the house. Luke and I finished it up, a piece at a time.

That brownie was so hard, I needed a chopper to cut through that hard chocolate casing. That was a couple of hours after I the regular section of the fridge, where we keep the rest of the chocolates.. and other food stuff.





This is best eaten right out of the fridge.

How was it made?

First, I made the brownies, with macadamia nuts and raisins.
Read how to make brownie recipes for the step by step guide on making chocolate brownies.

Next, get a clean, dry, small plastic dessert bowl, the size you want your brownie truffle to be.

Melt hersheys chocolate chips or any baking chocolate you particularly like. Put the chocolate in a microwavable glass container and microwave for 1 minute on high. Coat the inside of the bowl with this melted chocolate.

Leave it to set. Refrigerate it if the weather is warm.

Now make the truffle.

1. Heat about 3oz of fresh cream in a microwavable glass container for 1 minute in the microwave oven on high.


2. Pour in 1 bag of hersheys chocolate chips and stir until it melts


3. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and 4 tablespoons of icing sugar (more or less sugar according to your taste. Taste test a little of the gooey chocolate mixture and add more sugar until you think it is perfect


4. Add 1 tablespoon of brandy and stir well.

Now cover the base of the chocolate shell in that dessert bowl with the truffle mixture and wait for the brownie to bake and cool.

Cut a piece of brownie to fit into the shell and put it on top of that truffle base.

Fill up the rest of the shell with chocolate truffle.

Seal it up with melted chocolate and refrigerate until hardened.

You would probably be left with some truffle mixture and melted dark chocolate.

Refrigerate the truffle mixture until it firms.

Scoop with a melon scoop and put it on baking paper.

Spoon melted dark chocolate over each scoop of truffle.

Refrigerate until it sets.

Now you have bite sized chocolate coated truffles to accompany the brandy brownie truffle. A chocolate lover's idea of heaven.