Butter cake 奶油蛋糕

Just to set the record straight, I have been using my mixer bought from Taobao. And the humble butter cake is one of my favourites. It's so easy to make and the taste is accepted by almost everyone in the family, so it's whipped up more often than the others!


自制的奶油蛋糕...

More pics of LianYunGang

Just got hold of these photos from J yesterday. We're a big family eh?

  

Les Mills Concert in Suzhou

Went for a Les Mills Concert (aka Body Combat, Body Step, Body Jam....) last night with Bee. This lady here is Sarah Robinson, one of New Zealand's trainers. She rocks! Didn't think it would be this fun....

New Blog 新博客

(English blogging websites were blocked in China starting 2009. From this entry till I returned to Singapore in late 2011, I blogged using a Chinese interface: http://blog.sina.com.cn/lumyinpeng.  I also started writing in Chinese  for friends who could not read English. Those were precious memories and I decided to copy and paste them in one central location in the blog you're reading now.)

You can't beat them, join them! Welcome yet again to my new blog, my third in China. 

During the golden week, we went on a self-drive holiday to Lianyungang 连云港 with our Suzhou friends.  Turned out to be quite enjoyable! Fresh seafood, great company and we even witnessed the power of an "official letter" ...

黄金周去了一趟连云港：海鲜，沙滩，好友。非常不错的组合！

(Blogging websites were blocked in China starting 2009. From this entry till I returned to Singapore, I blogged using a Chinese interface: http://blog.sina.com.cn/lumyinpeng.  I also started writing in Chinese  for friends who could not read English. Those were precious memories and I decided to copy and paste them in one central location in the blog you're reading now.)

Not fair!

Zern has been using this phrase "Not fair!" quite often recently.

He would utter "Not fair!" because some other year groups got a new playground at school, when the brother gets to do less homework, even when Girl Scouts Club started before the Boy Scouts Club.

You get the picture...life was just "not fair" to this boy.

Yesterday, I thought it was getting way too much when again he said "Not fair" over something very trivial. I couldn't remember what it was about but I just had to tell him off.

I had just visited a migrant school in the morning as part of the school community work. To give the brothers an idea how the other half of the world lives, I showed them photos taken during the visit.

I then went on to describe the stark differences between this school catering to children of migrant workers and their own international school, Dulwich:

- Over 50 students squeezed into a classroom versus 22 max in Dulwich

- Kids had to share benches, tables, maybe even textbooks, yet Keane & Zern had the chance to rotate rooms for Art, IT, PE etc etc

- Forget about heater/airconditioning of any sort at the migrant school...international school: the full works: water dispensers, warm water for handwashing

- PE at the migrant school: just stretch and move; at Dulwich: astroturf field, gym, swimming, a new sport every term

- Parents work long long hours at the farm/factory versus me as full-time mother taking care of them at home

To my question, "What is 'not fair'?", Zern just gave me this blank look, whilst Keane responded with a rather strange statement: "Oh, they look quite "normal" yeah?" Oh my gosh. Being poor doesn't mean not normal! Another lesson here.

Indeed, life is not fair. We are living such great lives that we forget to give thanks for what we have. Yet, the kids at the migrant school have such ready smiles for us. Perhaps we should practise self-deprivation to truly understand the value of things.

This morning before school, Zern was again saying "Not fair!" but he stopped himself and said,"Nope, I shouldn't say that." I don't know how long this will last but I sincerely wish for my boys that they know and appreciate what they have. I wish that for myself too!

Home lunch

Lunch takes on a whole new meaning when you have the right company. Among my friends, who are themselves "trailing spouses" too, the home lunch model works very well...


Someone cooks lunch for everyone, some others chip in with dessert, fruit and what not. But what makes it so enjoyable is the chat in between helpings of muah chee, lychee, laksa and "tong sweh".

Free-flowing, frivolous, unfocussed chat. Mmm...nice.

Xi'an and back

Over the school break, we were in Xi'an (西安), popularly referred to as home to the Terracotta Army (兵马俑). It was a good four days joining a tour package booked online.

We visited quite a number of places and had a taste of Xi'an food, which we didn't quite like but overall, the trip was fine. Two particular spots stood out: the Terracotta Army and Hua Shan (华山).
I especially enjoyed the guided tour of the Terracotta Army. The Chinese guide brought to life the seemingly boring topic of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb. Even the boys were amused by the way he went about weaving fact with fiction.

Well, these were some of the interesting "facts" he shared about this ancient discovery (not really sure if everything was indeed true because he said it in a rather candid manner):

1) No two faces were alike, because the sculptors in those days would sculpt using a "partner" sculptor's face as model. So, it's you-sculpt-me, I-sculpt-you.

2) Despite the lack of modern tools and technology, the sculptures were considered to be of rather high quality. Apparently, this was because of their "quality control" system.

Sculptors had to inscribe their name on their creation and if any flaw/defect was discovered, he would be "poked" by a sword at the place where the defect was. Ouch!

3) All the soldiers' faces looked different but had one thing in common: single eyelids! The theory was that perhaps Qin Shi Huang himself had single eyelids^-^.

Well, so much for fictional fact. But it was truly quite interesting. Zern - the aspiring explorer and fossil digger - had lots to learn from this trip.

For Keane though, it was Hua Shan that made the trip worthwhile. The boy was so bent on climbing to the West Peak, the second higest peak.

From the cable car station, this route would mean walking countless steps for at least 4 hours. But on and on he went with his father, even when Zern and I stayed behind to rest.

So, my verdict: Xi'an is worth a visit. Just be prepared for the dust, tourist crowds and the not-so-familiar food.

Kids talk

Keane & Zern sometimes say things that are really amusing. Somehow, writing about them don't quite bring out the full essence. You must have the right setting, context and facial expression...use your imagination.

Scene 1:
The boys are now crazy about Star Wars and were watching the DVD movie series on Sunday, their only DVD day. It was getting to be way past their alloted time but they were so mersmerised. Yoda (the old looking wise one) was on the screen.

To get their attention, I did a Yoda-like line:

Me: Time to stop watching You must tell me.

Keane stared at me for a while blankly, and calmly replied...
Keane: Watch Mama, you must let us....

Smarty pants.

Scene 2
The boys are not allowed to watch Tv on weekdays but well, the father on it. An HBO movie was showing. A bloody scene was on.

Me: Didn't know they show such bloody scenes on HBO. (turning to boys) Are you all afraid...don't watch..or you might get nightmares later.

Zern: (eyes still fixed on screen) It's ok. It's just tomato ketchup.

Me: (like you know look)

Zern: Yes, it's true, you know.

Sigh....

Scene 3:
Zern has this very wriggly front lower tooth that just won't fall off. The new tooth is almost full grown and is behind this loose milk tooth. We've been trying all ways and means to wriggle it, pull it but it just doesn't want to come out.

Over dinner one night...

Papa (in great mock disgust): Zern, I just can't stand looking at your teeth. It's so ugly with the old crooked tooth and the new tooth behind it.

Zern (looking very forlorn): Don't say this kind of thing. It makes me very str-ess--ful. (said with great emphasis on the word "stress").

Think the boy picked up the word from a school project that his brother was doing on "mental stress" just a few days ago.

Friend for a reason, season & lifetime

It's my very good friend, KT's, birthday today. KT and I have known each other since Secondary 1 at Raffles Girls'. Without revealing our age, let's just say it's been a long time since we knew each other.

I cannot even begin to say how much I treasure her friendship.

She and her mom helped me through one of the roughest patches in my life. That was a time when I was having family problems and was constantly thinking up ways to stay away from home. As fate would have it, we were staying very close to each other, and KT never failed to invite me to her place for lunch and stayed on to do homework.

Her mom never asked why but I think she kind of got used to her daughter's classmate who was becoming a regular at her place.

Their home was my refuge. Her friendship kept me strong.

Thankfully, I overcame that period and am now happily married with children of my own. On my wedding day, KT was also my "bridesmaid", even though she no longer qualified then because well, she was already married! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Even now after I've shifted to China, the two of us still met up whenever I'm back in Singapore. And kept each other in the loop of things with our blogs.

There's this saying that people come into your life for a reason, season or lifetime. But for KT, I think, she was my friend for a reason, a season and definitely for this lifetime.

Happy birthday, my dearest friend. May everyday be a joy for you.

Checking

It was homework time in the evening and I was looking through Zern's Math homework book.

Me: Zern, you see the note from your teacher here? You've been making careless mistakes.

Zern: Yeah...

Me: You should check your work after you do it and before handing in.

Zern: Oh...

Then, I went blah blah blah to explain each mistake and how he could have avoided it.

As I set about preparing dinner, I left instructions for him to complete his next Math homework and to check it as well. Twenty minutes later, Zern was still looking glumly at his homework sheet.

Me: So, did you check your work after you've done it?

Zern: Why should I?

Me: Why not? How else can you avoid careless mistakes?

Zern (almost teary): But why? I thought this is the teacher's job.

Me: ......

Can someone please help me fill in the blanks?