1st day of Spring!

Spring has begin today @4.44am according to mbc news last night.. it's a warm day at a high of 86f, just like weather back home in Singapore, minor the humility; weather still good except that it's too dry here in tucson.

I've started to write again in my blog after all these years of 'drifting away' due to 'lack of time' and i think 'lack of interest' then. Due to work & home commitments, i couldnt find myself time & interest to write. More interested were time spent outdoor, i mean, movie watching; visits to my mum/sister/in-laws' house & shopping & meeting out with some old good friends.. I do miss some of those now tat i'm here in america.

Houseworks, cooking, listening to songs in the radio, watching TV programmes, reading, cross-stitching have become part of my lifestyle.. i'm beginning to exercise again, hopefully on a routine basis, after the long 2.5yrs break. Need to take off those extra pounds, it will be difficult in the aging process but i will try to work hard, extra hard..

The past 2 mths since i came back to tucson, nothing much exciting has happened except the CNY gathering at my house on 26 Jan; PV family day held on 23 Jan at the "Danny" Park in 2009 (it was my 4th day of touching down in tucson). I met up with some familiar faces, some good & other no-so-good ones (i call them 'blacksheeps'). February, friday the 13th, we set off to Las Vegas for a 3-day long-week-end trip; some almost 8-9hrs of long car-ride. It was tiring & the weather was nice & cool. LV shopping premium outlets offered some good offers & Solomon and Chris got good bargains. I wasnt excited about the shopping thus didnt really shop, however, i bought 3 wristlets at half the prices.

Today is exactly 2 mths since Jan 20 but i'm feeling that time is too slow... i think i must start to be active and try to be 'happy'..

1st drive to Tucson Int'l Airport

I drove to the airport on my own yesterday, 15 Feb '05! It was a pleasant journey although the traffic was pretty heavy; I saw 3 policecars on the way, waiting to 'hunt' down car-flyers! Patricia Anthony's parents were finally leaving for home after a 2-mth visiting trip to tucson.

On the way home, I dropped by at grantstone supermarket to do grocery. Back to home, i decided to wash solo's car as it was covered with dirt, dust & mud. It was a tiring day but i'm happy.

At this point of time when i was typing this blog, guess Mr&Mrs Anthony have had reached home. Hope they're safe & sound.

CNY is near

Was reading sister-in-law susan's email & the beautiful & familiar CNY songs tat she sent me, reminded me tat cny is approaching in one wk's time; all the previous year cny preparation, reunion lunch&dinner, the countdown/variety show, 1st cny day of visits to ah-ma's hse & in-laws' hse, playing majong wif my ah-ma, brothers/sister & giving of angpow pkts.....etc all came flashes to my mind.

Tis CNY, year of d rooster, wil b a lonely year & much less celebration here in tucson. It wil b no reunion dinner, no countdown, no 'pai-nian', no redpkt giving..... well, i certainly missed to hv all these... it wil b a total different xperience but come to think of it, i hv my closest kins wif me & we r planning to hv a early reunion dinner on monday, one day b4 d eve of cny cos solomon has to b away on tat day & 1st day of d lunar new year on work-trip. I wil stil hv friends around whom i could say 'gong xi fatt choy' & i b able to give 'any-pow'; though i dont work & hv no bonus (for the 1st time since many years), i m happy to give it to the little kids... the smile & happiness shown on their faces wil make me glad to give. Afterall, its a blessing to give & the return is much more than $. I m glad i made my own 'home-made' cny cards, total 5 cards which i sent out to ahma, inlaws, pantry-lady lan-jie, choon-ee & youngest uncle gary.

Solomon's brother william has no bonus too as his company is not doing so well. Its sad tat things alway didnt turn up well for him. I hv my own sister in thought too; she is never 'lucky' in her marriage life, job & health; thank god her 2 daughters r sensible & pretty, they've gone thru' hard times wif ah-jie. I remember they used to cook their own meals & do their studies without any problem & many times they've to help do housechores when ah-jie was working on long-hr & night shifts & yet they seldom complain. Now that wendy (d elder daughter) is working, hope life is easier for ah-jie. Wendy is a intelligent young lady (coming 21 this may), she shd hv been a SIA air-stewardness but chose not to when the flight industry is unstable & dangerous. A s'pore-poly graduate in mktg, she wishes to further studies in near future when she has enough money; she has told me tat now her prority is to work inorder to support her mum! Its so touch & i wish i hv a sensible daughter like her.

I certainly hope tis CNY wil bring greater joy to everyone & wish them good health, prosperity & peace...gong-xi-fatt-cai to all..... So much for the thoughts...

A peaceful night

Its friday midnight & in 1 day's time, we r going to church... amazingly, i feel tat i m a little excited to go church; perhaps it bcos i m going there wif my family & alice and her family & michelle & her family. Prisca has emailed me & i told her too, guess she must be 'praizing the lord' as she has been praying for me for a long time. Well, its kind of mix-feeling for me but this is d 1st time i look forward to going church!

Hi Alice, hope ur headache has since gone by now. I didnt do my gorcery at grantstone supermarket on thurs as my husband adviced me not to go there alone & instead we wil go to Cosco on sunday after lunch & church service.

My pineapple-tarts tasted quite good as commented by chirs & solomon. I've given some to susan & alice kwah. Its d 1st time baking pineapple-tarts & egg-tarts and the good results make me feel good. Its pretty fun baking & really not too difficult but it takes up quite alot of time.

Chris has reminded tat i hv not blog for few days... it shd b a daily thing?! Well, i guess i prefer to write my diary whenever i m free or when there's something i wish to note down.

Tonight is a peaceful night... solomon came home earlier than other nights, chris is feeling better now & i hv had a new dessert menu added to my skills-cooking-book. I pray tat all wil hv a peaceful night jus like me... and hope for a brighter tomoro.... hooray!

It just a phonecall but seems like a dream

Its 1.30am & while blogging, im stil trying 2 figure out whter im stil in a daze 4 i cant believe wat happened earlier..... my cell phone rang while i was watching news @ 6pm, it was solomon & he asked whter is it ok wif me to go church this sunday wif him & his friend Joseph who comes from texas & whose now in tucson. I hv no idea who's Joseph was; solo says tt he knew him since his younger amry days... I was kind of shocked & lost of words; solo knows tt i'll b disappointed to miss another trip to Mt Lemmon. Yes, i was disappointed but then i was happy to know tt he wants to attend church service! Its like a dream comes true! I was sharing wif Alice & Michelle not too long ago & when Patricia came over this afternoon to colour-dye my hair, i hv shared wif her too. It was unbelievable, i was amazed & in fact i was in a daze after the phone call. I told chris & he looked at me wif a surprise-expression.

Tk-U Alice, for praying for us, thankz to michelle & patricai too.... I m hving tis mix-feeling @ this moment but am looking forward to going church tis sunday, wif my family & fiends! Wow!

I dont know, somehow, the god whom i wanted to know so much when i was a teenager, is trying to reach out to me & my family, i think so. Could be another wonderful xperience, i guess...?!

Karen, my angmo's neighbour elderst son David birthday today. I promise to help her fry 'bee-hoon', it turned out to be so good, i toasted some bread wif luncheon meat/cheese, some longan dessert & some tibits.. It was fun having children enjoying the food & playing happily. I m going to miss karen & her family. Kayle, karen's 6yrs old daughter was sick recently & i gave her a 'hello-kitty' toy, she was so...happy. Gonna miss them as they're leaving tucson this coming monday, all the best, my neighbour, my friend.

Michelle & Chindra came over too this evening, to pass me the curry-powders tt chindra bought for solomon back home. Their sweet daughters isabelle & gabrielle were excited when i gave them each a pair of hello-kitty. Nothing can compare to the joy i found in a child's happiness; they r so innocent & pure & i sometimes could find myself becoming like a kid when i mixed wif them.

Well, i m happy & thankful for wat happen today, i mean yesterday evening. Now i m worry abt Chris coming down wif a flu & hope tt tomoro he wil b better. Solomon is stil nt home from work yet, he told me tt he might hv to work later than d night b4 as there r 2 aircrafts tt breakdown. Gosh, wat type of work is this, only if i can help... god, pls help him & all overcome these hard times...

Last full moon of the lunar year

Today is the 15th day of the last mth of this lunar year & it wil soon b CNY in another 15 days! I m looking forward to the reunion dinner wif my family & some of solomon's colleagues, single guys working here in tucson. I missed my in-laws & my mum, brothers whom i had reunion every year. Well, now we wil hv to enjoy the dinner amongst urselves. I was a vegetarian today & i m happy tat i managed to refrain from eating meat the whole day. I've read chris's hand-out from the church yesterday & i think it wil b a gd idea to fast for lunch & pray; for me, i wil pray for the victims of the tsunamic disaster & for peace in the world, less war & more love amongst mankind, & for good health for my loved ones.

Chris has attended church service again yesterday for d 2nd time & i think its gd for him to experience other religion; he is a big boy now & needs to know more & differentiate wat's rite & wrong. Life is not always a bed of roses & shd not b taken for granted. Hopefully he wil understand & learn & tat's apply to myself too; to appreciate life, goodness, love & friendship..... cheer!

I've met Cindy Omstead last november who is also a resident in rock ridge. She is a divorcee who has a 14yr-old daughter Eden & a 16yr-old son. Eden is staying wif her & her son is staying wif her ex-husband. Cindy who is 48yrs' old, is working on 2 jobs, although she is older than me, she looks pretty young at her age. She is happy wif her life now. I was invited to her house for a drink a couple of times but didnt visit until this monday nite. We had a 2-hr times of sharing & drinking & cindy gave me her contact numbers & a rock-steward's CD wif some of his old but famous songs. I m glad to know another nice friend like cindy.

Thinking of my late father

Sadness filled my heart while i was resting on my couch, watching wrestling @ 12midnight till 1am & was drinking a bottle of stout; i had just finished baking egg-tarts, had my late dinner of yam-rice & did my dish-washing (missed the news @ 10 o'clock).....& suddenly my late father's image came to my mind; i realised at tat moment my dear ah pa loved to eat yam-rice, egg-tart, drink stout & watch wrestling on TV. It suppose to be a happy moment for me after the 2nd try on baking egg-tarts for solomon, chris & my dear friends; but my dad's memories filled my mind & i knew i missed him so much. In 2001, he had bad diarrhoea more than 20 times after eating yam-rice at a coffee shop near his house @ toh guan road & eventually passed away 2days later after admitting to alexandra hospital for food poisoning.

I was never close to him when i was a teenager but we were closer after i got married & especially the last few years of his demise. I hated him for not taking care of the family & therefore my mum & us had suffered much. However, i now realise tat he was actually a much loving husband & father who just wanted to earn more $ for the family to tie over those hard times but many times, he did it in wrong ways. I have sinced forgiven him & wish him well, resting in peace & someday, i wil b able to meet him again.

I was sicked in mid september after coming to tucson & one night, he came to my dream. I was awaken & tot i saw him standing just in front of me & by giving me a wide & gentle smile, i went back to sleep. The next day i remebered the dream & found peace within me. Though i seldom dream of him, this dream has had brought me great comfort. I missed u, Ah Pa.