I am busy...............

.............fiddling my Canon EOS 400D...*cheeky smile*. I still have lots of things to learn about photography; reeeaalllllllly alot *my brain is travelling at it's slowest pace esp D-technical aspects of photography*. Still far from getting Hot Shots!!

My schedules have been quite tight lately BUT all the same I still manage time to ENJOY....... whatever Im doing...*smile*

Nylie won 3 Golds for 100M, 200M and 4x100M Relay (P4 Girls) on 22 Mar - her school Upper Primary Sports Day. I was estatic!! And to capture her winning moments; Double Joy!!

Ili participated in the Volleyball game too and in my opinion the team did quite well....though they did not win any medals. Im still very proud the fact that they did their utmost.....*Big hug to Ili*

After that, we went to Bishan Stadium to give her and her school team moral supports for the Heats to 8th National Inter-Primary Track Relay Championship. Hat's off to the Kids & teachers...whom I was quite sure very exhausted from the morning event. It was a great and superb efforts especially from the boys whom I heard made it to the qualifying of this championship. Quite a proud moment even just to be there. ...well, you dont have to win to be a winner; I guess finishing the race itself.....makes them A Champ!!

Going back to fiddling my Canon's manual. Ah har, yes Im still reading those manual, those articles on How-to and What-not-to..*LoL*

Will be back on what we did last Friday - 23 Mar 07 soon........................ really soon.

*Keep smiling and dont forget to keep that body mooooovinggg; Exercise...., just like I did with my fingers!!*

Happy Birthday Nylie

Nylie turns 10 on 19 March.........*oh how she has grown*. We celebrated her birthday at Mac Donald's on Sun 18 Mar 07 with lil cousins, nieces and nephews and also family friends. I know Nylie was very anxious 'bout her party; she kept putting her gifts, which she had received earlier from Nek & Atok, Baba, Kak Ili & mummy in and out of the recycled shopping bag...*smile*

Well, I was anxious too.... I was anxious to meet everyone and kept on wondering how the party will turn-out. We reached MacDonald's 1/2 hour earlier...see how excited we are!! *giggles*

Most guests were punctual and the party co-ordinator was good @ making the lil children run about...*kids...* Im sure most all the guests have had a good time from the happy faces I've seen. I too had loads of FUN..., infact we had a party good time!! It was a BASH......................and Im sure Nylie enjoyed her party.

Nylie if you're reading this.. Happy Birthday Darling. *wink* Mummy wish you all the happiness in Life and hope all your wishes come true ONLY if it's best for you....& Thursday have an Athletic good time *kisses, lots of kisses*

Click here for more of Nylie's Party

On my way to my mum's..........

............................., a captivating Beau - A tree with pinkish small flowers and almost-no-leaves, caught my eye.Was delirious that I've made the right decision to bring along my camera and boy oh boy, I was going nuts taking shots after shots. At that point, Im quite determine to get better lens for my Canon EOS 400D....BUT oh yes, I can only wish for it on my birthday...May is not far you know....*giggles*..........

My mum was planning to cook simple meals for my nieces and nephew who happened to be there. Didnt tell her I was going there with my kids so that explains why 'simple meals'......... Anyway, with some help from 'this helper', I think lunch is yummy, I wouldnt say 'healthy meal' but a fast to cook with 'what is there' ingredients BUT very easy to prepare. We cooked :

Stir-Fried Cabbage

1 whole small Cabbage -sliced

1/2 stick Carrot - sliced

1/2 cup Sugar Snap/Snow Peas

1 Onion - sliced

3 cloves of Garlic -sliced

A dash of salt or 1tsp of light soya sauce

1 dsp veg cooking oil

How to :

1. Heat oil in the wok with low fire.
2. Add in sliced onion and garlic and stir-fry till golden brown.
3. Add in cabbage, carrot and sugar snap/snow peas all in and stir-fry till the vegetables are soft. Dash-in salt or the light soya sauce.

Ready to be serve....EAT!!

Hot Stuff - Sardines

• 2 cans of Sardines
• 2-3 cloves of Garlic - sliced
• 1/2 to 1 inch of Ginger - sliced thinly
• 2-3 cloves of shallots - sliced
• 1-2 tsp of veg cooking oil

How to :

1. Heat oil and add in sliced garlic, ginger and shallots and stir-fry till golden brown.
2. Add in Sardines and simmer for about 1 minute - voila it's ready to be serve.

The children were all busy playing... that they were not even interested to eat. They're all Full - JUST by Playing...*lol* We, the adults ate the sardines with bread....& the vegs just like that. Till dinner is served, those meals will DO for me.

On my way back home, couldnt help but wonder what IS the name of that beautiful tree. It's not like I've never seen it before; this is really the first time I saw the flowers bloom so beautifully - ever. Unfortunately, as much as I would like to know the name of that beautiful tree; I couldnt find anything close to what I saw @ the website. It's like Sakura tree; the ones that you'd see in Japan. Perhaps I should search longer but then again I would be spending too much time at the PC.....Im suppose to be spending time with my kids!!....., question of time management gone haywire??

Talk about time management; I still managed to keep my enthusiasm in staying healthy - Alive!! Squeeze some time to jog. I jogged for almost 1 1/2 hours this evening *s-m-i-l-e*

Fish Ball Soup Noodle

Drag myself to work today.....guess bcos it's school holiday now that I'd rather be with my children than workkkk....also it brings out the child in me when Im with them.....sometimes. Im toying with the idea to work from home or make money out of something I love doing BUT right now NOTHING!!....I cant think of anything that will pay me more than what Im earning NOW. ....from the very job that I always look forward to GO home each and every time I arrived @ work...*hehe* The only consolation is how comfortable my work desk is...ergonomic u say??

I enjoyed lunch though. I have Fish Ball Soup Noodle . It's not something I prepared myself but here's the recipe and pics of my lunch...*smile*

Fish Ball Soup Noodle

2 tbsps cooking oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cm ginger, minced

6 cups water

3 tbsps concentrated chicken stock

12 fish balls

1/2 tsp sesame oil

pepper to taste

2 tbsps minced chicken

300gm egg noodle

For garnishing :

1 cup bean sprouts, tailed and blanched

1 stalk celery, cut into 1 cm sections

1 stalk of spring onions, finely chopped

1/4 cup sliced fried shallots

1 stalk of red chilli, sliced

How to :

1. Heat oil, stir fry garlic and ginger until aromatic
2. Add in water and bring to a boil. Add chicken stock and minced chicken, simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in fish balls, sesame oil and pepper to taste; cook for 5 minutes until done.
4. When serving, place egg noodle into individual bowls. Add garnishing and pour hot soup over the noodle.

You're ready to eat....Preparation & cooking time - about 15 minutes, serves 4 persons

Per person : 8g fat, 370 Kcal (1554 kilojoules)

I Go Snapping Today.................

BUT, wuwhahaaa.....all the images
went blank after my meddling fingers did what....I dont know!! *smack my silly self* Took a day's leave from work bcos there's NO work...hehe. My plan is to watch Nylie's training session and of course GO jogging. It was a beautiful sunny morning, bright and all...GOOD for my HOT Shots!! Along the way shot some gorgeous creatures, plants @ my mini-garden and in the neighbourhood.




Im still learning to create that "Dream Garden" of mine, but with minimal resources that I have right now..."Mini-garden" is here to stay. Love how my Chilli Padi is growing...whoosh! Dyna insisted on taking a shot of the 'Little Red Ants' which turns out quite well...*ahem*


After downloading these pics, I browse thru favourite recipes of mine and this one I thought is good sharing............I've always enjoyed anything with choc chips in it...yummy yum yum *drooling*

Rocky Road

80g Butter
80g Sugar
50g Eggs
170g Flour
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
80g Chopped walnuts

For the topping :
150g Marshmallows
75g Chocolate chips
Method : Cream butter and sugar lightly. Add in eggs and cream till smooth. Then add in sieved flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and then mix till well blended. Press the mixture into a 25cm square mould lined with foil and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. Press it lightly. Bake at 180 degree celcius for 25 - 30 minutes.

Topping - Cut the marshmallows into small pieces and sprinkle it evenly into the baked pastry. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over marshmallows and return the mould to the oven. Bake at 180 degree celcius for 8 - 10 minutes. Let it cool. Remove it from the mould and cut into pieces.

SWIFT Day

As usual, Saturday is 'BUSY' Day for me. Start my day with a good Choc Fiber Shake, zooomm-off with Uyop to his work place - and then drove my daughters, Ili & Nylie to Assyafaah Mosque for their religious classes.

Today is SWIFT Kids' Athletics Meet. SWIFT - Kids' Athletic Singapore is where we 'hope', can polish Nylie's athletic ability. Was quite anxious before the competition starts, for this is her first competition other than the ones she competed in school.

Most kids and parents were there by 1330hrs - all geared up. Me with my Canon EOS 400, of course. The game started with lil ones - 4 to 5 years of age. It all went smoothly though the weather was scorching HOT!!

In all great fun, it's a great JOY and so nice to see these kids' having a jolly GOOD time. Despite some not winning medals.....in my opinion, I think they are all WINNERs.
Having said that, I feel these Champs are worth the mention!! CNA will feature this event on 01 Apr @ 10pm, I heard. Till then looking forward to watching those STARs...*smile*

Oh yes, I did have a Great Work-out too. 3hrs of running around...hmmm makes me feel GOOD ;o

Click here for more pics of the event : SWIFT

A Walk on The Farm...

...........one fine Sunday morning. We didnt have any
particular plans so we all decided to GO
Hay Dairies Goat Farm .
Though this was not our first, my children's reactions were always exciting to observe.

Well, the smell's of our surrounding is not that fantastic but to tell you the truth, I kind of like the smell of Goat....hehe guess bcos Im born in the Year of the Goat....so there's association?? *lol*
All except me doesnt fancy drinking Goat's milk. What a pity ;(............ It taste nice; the fact that it is nutritionally better than Cow's milk and in my opinion is better in the Taste Dept, hasnt change any of my children's opinion, how sad.

More shots of the Walk..............

Facts 'bout Goats :
SOURCE : Hay Dairies

Goats are useful creatures. They are able to produce milk for consumption. Their milk can also be made into cheese, soap, beauty creams, lotions etc. Goats are also offered as religious sacrifices and their meat can be consumed. Their hides can be made into cashmere shawls, angora coats, leather, rugs etc. In some parts of the world, goats are kept as beasts of burden.

The goats at Hay Dairies belong to the family of goats known as Dairy Goats, which are domesticated and kept for milk production. They are usually not sold for consumption. There are 5 types for Dairy Goats: Alpine, Nubian, Saanen, Toggenburg and La Mancha. The goats at Hay Dairies are not pure breeds because they have been cross bred.

What's for Lunch?

oOoh nothing out of the ordinary. Lunch is soooooooo 'un-healthy' today but I have to make a choice? yess...no..?? Either this egg sandwich - wholemeal though...- umph *heeeealthy* at least this one, or I go hungry. Ate all the salted chips *guilty me* BUT with it a healthier choice...Low Fat Yoghurt..!!. and to top that I drank lots of water; very very plain water....gulp, gulp, gulp. My fingers are itching @ shooting, so I shot pics of my lunch using my Nokia 7360 HP at a close-range - not good at all!!

Energy Per Serve (Cal) for my yoghurt is 120 - Fat, trace only
Energy to burn for my egg sandwich : 145 Cal - Fat, trace only

And as for the chips *bad choice* - would hv to be 'bout 200 Cal, Fat-11g

Running 1 Km will burn those calories that I've earned juz now, so I was told. Feel like cooking up some healthy food tonite....hmmm, nope will run tonite....;p if the weather permits. Otherwise Yoga will do 4me...haha

Before that I think I will finish up those papayas....& macaroni salad.

Macaroni Salad :

Macaroni 200g - boiled till soft

1/4 iceberg lettuce - chopped accordingly

2 stalks of celery - sliced

1/2 small size carrot - sliced

Dash of pepper

Mixed all the ingredients with 1/2 teaspoon of Virgin Olive Oil and you're ready to Eat.....

Fingers on My Previous Shots

Was going to thru some shots taken from my Olympus C-300. Back then, I was near to being quite obsess with scenic shots of sunrise where I can, not only view from websites, etc...BUT also from my very own lens. Compliment 2 my mate; Olympus - I called O-lym.

Thought I could share some awesome shot from my lens, of Tuas coastline @ Sunset, Redang @ Sunrise, Sutra Beach Kuantan @ Sunrise...& many more but I have to freeze this enthusiasm of mine for now.

My dear O-lym was, and in-fact is still capable of producing nice, beautiful hot shots glimpses of sunrise, sunset, rainbow....will feed more of captivating shots once I do some re-organizing....*messy me!!*

Was baking my favourite Pineapple tart when my daughter powdered my dear O-lym and now the end result of shots from it came out blur...it's like you intentionally use special effect or more white balance in those shots. Look at the shot of Dyna after that incident...hehe.

The incident was a blessing in disguise....got my Canon EOS400D now *smile*... the results of it is still fantastic and awesome.............see pics of blurry Rainbows after a mild shower.....*) that I shoot from my balcony.

Run Forrest Run.....

Remember Forrest Gump...?? Well, Im not Forrest....but run, yes I did! Breaking away from my gym regime, I ran 'bout 2 to 3 km yesterday but have to quickly run back home to answer nature's call...*argh*

After that I went back to the playground where my daughters were playing. Getting a good workout was not difficult at all...and here's how I did it :

Semi-jog, carried my 13 kg daughter, Dyna, all the way from the playground which is about 100 meters away from home, up 2 flights of stairways...didnt count the steps though it makes me sweat....hehehe. But hey, she enjoyed it juz like she did her open water swim sometime back....*see her beamed wz delight*.

Havent laid my hand on reading any articles for getting a good work-out involving kids which I thought would be good sharing.

Will try and if I did, promise I will share some tips...

Coastline Walk

Truly enjoyed this coastline walk. I have under estimated beauty of coastlines; this one is right under my nose.

These beauties was unfold bfore me recently, it's just a distance away from where I work. For nearly 10 years....didnt know it's existence...*sigh*

Nevertheless, here's some shots from from my Nokia 7360 HP.

Hard coral - In shallow waters; the tide is low

G-orgeous Pink Sea-cucumber

.............and more awesome shots from a colleague; enjoy *)

Blue-spotted Ray

Hard-coral I called "Brownie"

oh Mr Crabbbb............. Beautiful Jell-Ooo........






....................& more hard coral







What else can I say? It's reaallly a fantastic way to unwind oneself; I did.