Monthly Archives: February 2008

Private Spousal Matters

February 21, 2008 – 3:50 pm

I’ve always felt that in a marriage, both parties should get an equal say in managing the family finances. After all, both parties will be affected by every decision.

But what if you are so used to respecting your spouse’s opinion, and now that you have grown old together, you discover your spouse is becoming heavily influenced by others who do not sincerely care about his best interest? It must be excruciating when you greatly desire that he be provided for after you are gone but can not guarantee he will manage his inheritance so that it lasts.

I was visiting a website that provides homeowner loan, and saw this in big letters,

THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.

There are just so many financial pitfalls one can fall into. If you have prayed for your spouse to be taken care of in the name of Jesus, you can trust that God have heard.

By Precious | Posted in boy-girl relationships | Comments (0)

Beach Walk with Kero

February 21, 2008 – 2:38 pm

Yesterday, we went for a romantic stroll at the East Coast Park. It was just the four of us:- Kero, Yanti, our brand new bicycle and I. Yes, our bicycle is finally in Singapore. I am sooo pleased!

The ECP is my second favourite place in Singapore, after the Royal Botanical Gardens. I love the strong sea breeze billowing at us, and I love the pavement that made it easy to cycle, roller blade, and walk. Kero loves it too. She kept tugging at the leash which displeases me so whenever she does that, I refuse to budge.

Even though the sun had already set, the beach was brightly lit up with street lamps. There were lots of disciplined people on their evening jogs. I didn’t meet any handsome hunk but Kero did. :idea:

By Precious | Posted in pet dogs | Comments (1)

Same Old Story

February 21, 2008 – 1:48 pm

From the Malaysian Crime Watch site today, “Police have seized about 636 savings account books and 188 ATM cards from an illegal loan shark syndicate’s house last week.” I’m guessing the loan sharks had seized the 636 savings account books and 188 ATM cards from their debtors who could not pay up in the first place.

Frankly, I’m a little tired of this same old story. Loan shark lends money to a gambler or alcoholic, he refuses to pay for whatever reason, loan shark burns his house down while he is at work but his wife and children at home, or loan shark kidnaps his children from school or loan shark splashes pork’s blood all over his front door to embarass him in his neighbourhood…

While we often feel angry towards the violent lender who would do anything to get his money back and empathise with the bullied borrower and his suffering family, the borrower does need to take responsibility too. Why oh why did he borrow from the loan shark in the first place? Correct me if I’m wrong but from what I’ve heard, it is usually to feed a gambling or drinking or drug addiction.

We desperately need help in addiction management as well as debt management.

By Precious | Posted in culture | Comments (0)

Bed Bugs at Kinabalu Pine Resort

February 19, 2008 – 1:50 pm

Last year, Nic and I stayed at a beautiful multi-award winning hotel, the Kinabalu Pine Resort. Just before we checked in, we were shocked to hear from a friend that the beds in the hotel are full of bed bugs.

My friend had visited the same place for her honeymoon and after just one night there, she found herself itching all over. It was a horrible experience because it is her honeymoon, I’m sure like any other bride, she desired to look extra appealing for her hubs.

However, by the time I received her warning, it was too late. Nic and I were only two days away from a night there and we didn’t have any back-up plan.

Bravely we checked in at Kinabalu Pine Resort and gladly we discovered, they must have had a bed bug fumigation before we came. We slept as soundly as a pair of three day old babies through the night.

It wasn’t perfect though. The hot water shower did not work so we couldn’t shower at all!

By Precious | Posted in sabah | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Sweet Birthday Party

February 18, 2008 – 1:02 pm

We were celebrating Joel’s fourth birthday. Every body had put on their best dress (except one who came in his pajamas) and their best behavior to show off how just how good they can be. The Mummies and Daddies felt so proud of their perfect little ones too.

Until it came time to blow out the candles, that is. Much to the chagrin of the birthday boy, the crowd couldn’t resist “helping” him even though he is now four years old which is old enough to blow out his own candles by himself.

He is also old enough to slice his own cake by himself but before he was handed the plastic cutter, an extra helpful friend had violently torn out the candles from the smooth surface of his beautiful chocolatey cake.

Do you remember turning four?

By Precious | Posted in family | Comments (2)

Sending Honey to Cambodia

February 15, 2008 – 6:26 pm

After dinner, we headed to Takashimaya to sweeten the night with honey.

A few weeks ago, I had recommended a friend to try manuka honey to heal her husband’s frequent cough and sore throat. It worked so wonderfully, she wanted more of it.

The brand she had tried is Honey Farm which is sold in Takashimaya Shopping Centre. Now that she has gone home to Cambodia, she couldn’t get any more of it. Since we were in the area, we decided to end the night with a good deed.

Honey Farm’s manuka honey was on sale too. A one kg bottle normally costs SGD115.00 but we got it with a 15% discount. Now we need to figure out how to send it to our friend in Cambodia.

By Precious | Posted in health | Comments (1)

The Great 2008 Dinner

February 15, 2008 – 5:22 pm

Nic took us to our favourite Japanese restaurant in town in a building that specially caters to Japanese Singaporeans. As we were lifted to the third floor, I noticed a Japanese grocery store, a Japanese karaoke parlor and a lot of other Japanese retail shops and restaurants.

This is where we were. I discovered that pulling my hair back pulls my eyes upwards which helps me look younger.

Nic was absolutely delighted to have thought of this place. Just the anticipation of good food arriving soon got us so excited.

I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of the menu to compare prices with other eateries for remembrance.

The lover’s chicken is a complete surprise. I thought it was fried chicken wings in some Japanese sauce but when I bit into it, my mouth was bursting with all sorts of indescribable flavor. The chicken wings are de-boned and stuffed with a cocktail similar to a dumpling.

The salmon sashimi is is richly creamy and soft all around but chunky in the middle.

This garlic fried rice tops Nic’s must-have list. On its own, it is so fragrant. After sprinkling chili oil over it lightly, I almost thought I had died and reached heaven.

What’s Valentine’s Day without aphrodisiac? Crumbly fried oysters.

This heart-warming soup tastes like chawan mushi that had already melted in your mouth. I like it so much, I lifted the bowl and it was bottoms up all the way.

An interesting twist to the usual grilled cuttlefish. No comments.

We finished dinner after nine and saw that there was still a queue outside. Thank God for phone reservations.

The service here is splendid too. The aunties who served were casual, friendly and most importantly, genuinely interested in helping us plan a wonderful meal.

By Precious | Posted in valentine's day | Comments (4)