What does it really mean

Last night, I received a letter in the mailbox. The letter officially confirmed that I am no longer a Singapore citizen.

I was relieved because we have waited just under 5 months for it to be made official. It couldn't have come quick enough.

Does that mean that I hate my country so much that I can't wait to leave? Does that mean I am a traitor? Does that mean I have long forgotten where I came from?

Certainly not.

However, some people like to assume it is. Narrow minded people that is.

I have never explained the real reason why I did it.  I did blogged about it previously about some factors that would have contributed to the reason why I chose to do it. They all did matter but the main reason was not shared. And to be honest, I don't have to because it's non of anyone's god damn business.

If only Singapore would come to trend with dual-citizenship, then it would make life so much easier for ex-Singaporean like us.

However in my case (and many ex-Singaporean's cases), even if it were allowed, I would still renounce because I need to tap into my CPF fund. That was the main reason why I did it. I needed the money. We need money to survive in this modern age and lead a better life. Money continues to be the main motivation behind most of our life-changing decisions in this day and age.

I have monies sitting in the fund and being able to access those fund would make our lives so much more comfortable.And the only way to get it now and not wait till I am old and wrinkled is to, give up my citizenship.

Was it a wise decision - absolutely.  I have no regrets.

As much as I have no problems being a Singaporean, I am just as happy being an Australian. To me, I want to be with my family and my family is in Australia and we love living here. I have no intention of moving back to Singapore. I am not precious in the sense that I HAVE to be a Singaporean because Singapore is the best and all that fiasco. Yes, Singapore is great, so is Australia, New Zealand and what have yous. Sure, you argue Singapore is the safest country compare to others, yes you may be right, but there are also a hell ton of things that I disagree/dislike about Singapore. For one, I would not bring up my children in Singapore because I don't agree with the way of living there. That doesn't mean I hate it because I don't. It is just a matter of personal choice.

I have lived in Australia long enough to experience first hand and to compare and I always believe in comparing at the macro level, and to be as objective as possible. I find that raising a young family in Australia far outweighs raising one in Singapore and that's MY personal view - I don't have to go into detail. If your view is a complete opposite to mine, that's great and I absolutely respect that.

I am still the girl from Singapore. I still have my upbringing values, my Chinese/Malay culture ingrained in me and I sure as hell have not changed one bit as a Singaporean who loves her durian, chicken rice, rendang, satay and laksa. You are who you are, period. An official paper does not make you a different person instantaneously nor does it make you forget where you come from. That's just a load of bull-crap.

People asked me where I am from and I'll still tell them I'm from Singapore because it's the truth. Simple.

And so I rest my case.

That monies had better come in quick because we have debts to clear and another child to raise. Children are expensive and they do suck the living hell out of your... bank account. Cold hard facts.

The behemoth that is our telly

Let me tell you about our recent purchase. We bought a new TV.  Not by choice but our old telly died.

And do you know what happens if the telly died? A little of hubby died with it.

If you don't know my husband, well, he LOVES his telly. He cannot live without one. We are a big telly family, we love our dramas, movies and reality shows (me). Hubby loves his sports and for our telly to die during rugby season is not acceptable.

I got to say, this has to be one of the most expensive purchase we have ever made recently. Not that we have deep pockets or anything like that, we don't. If anything, we are borderline broke. However, this purchase is a must.

The justification that we gave ourselves was that, we hardly buy ourselves anything which is a true hard fact. We don't shop or spend leisurely and most of our salary goes to bills, living expenses, mortgage, loans, doctor fees and that freaking childcare fees. Occasionally we go out to have a meal but other than that, we don't really shop much. Even if we do spend, its mainly for one little person.

And how often do we buy a telly anyway? Right? Besides, we had a pretty good deal too.

So with that said, we signed a few forms, burned an even bigger hole in our pockets and now a massive telly currently lives in our lounge room.

And that my friends, resulted in a very very very happy husband. Quote and unquote ' I love my new telly! I would sleep with it if I could!'

For size comparison - it is massive. The bigger the better right???

Busy setting up - that's a tiny 32 inch TV we took out from our bedroom to use for the time being.

Behemoth TV is up!

Don't get me wrong, I am happy with our new telly, but my excitement level is no where near as his! Hahaha

SG food feast

What do FOBS like us, me and my Singaporean friends do when we crave for home food that don't exist in this part of the world?

We make them. No, wait, let me correct that. I made them and invited them over to feast.

That's right. I pretty much slave over my stove for a few hours, whipping up the home delicacies that we crave so much. Even though it caused my back to break during the process, I'd say it was worth it.

That is how much we missed it. Funny thing is, these food are easily attained in Singapore as they are classified as hawker food. Not only that, they are super uber cheap, like you get spare change from a $5 note. Uh-huh.

I tend to be very ambitious when it comes to being a domestic goddess when I'm heavily pregnant. I have this mind frame that I can conquer the kitchen and housework without flinching a sweat but in reality, I was waddling through it all and cursing under my breath.

That's because I forget, how big my belly is now and makes everything twice as hard. Everything starts to hurt after 30 weeks. I sort of forget that bit of the pregnancy.

Oh well, my cravings have mighty powers I tell you. It can make me climb a mountain if I have to and probably cursing and swearing while at it. Bloody hormones.

All time favourite local dish - steamed rice cakes with garlic,salted turnip toppings - usually eaten with a dollop of side chilli

Happy campers

Everything of goodness on a plate

Girlfriend brought a local favourite dessert - Durian ice cream stick! Durian is a popular fruit in Asia although the rest of the world would gladly turn their nose away from this. As hubby puts it, stinky fruit. 

Miss Three was so excited when she saw us eating ice cream and asked for one.  I gave it to her, she gave it a good lick, scrunched her face in confusion, took a whiff and quickly gave it back to me and said 'YUCK!'

So much for being a half-Asian kid! There is not an ounce of Asian blood/genes in this girl, as I said to hubby all the time, she is 90% him and 10% me and 10% is being rather generous to be honest! Haha

Sandalford Winery

If you are ever in Perth and looking to have a nice lavish and relaxing lunch somewhere away from a buzzing city, for instance, at a winery, this is the place you should go. Look no further.

I'm a bit late to the party but better late than never.

Sandalford Winery in Swan Valley is beautiful. Considering it is only located about 30 mins from the city, for the size that it is, it is gorgeous.

The food though, is simply stunning!

I was introduced to this winery by my girlfriend.  She recently got married there and my first maiden trip was with her as I accompanied her there to look at the grounds.  I was, in fact, her appointed MC at her wedding so I had to be there with her when she had the meeting with the venue staff. We later had lunch together and I was blown away at how scrumptious the food was.

Since then, I came back for a second time for my birthday meal with my brood. It did not disappoint. Hubby was impressed with his meal  and Miss Three had a ball exploring the venue and running around on the greens.

I'm putting up all the food photos from both my trips here to tempt you.  But seriously, if you were in town, go there! Its a kids friendly place too, so win-win.

Chacuterie plate

Duck confit with beetroot gnocchi in wild mushroom sauce

Fish of the day: Barramundi in macadamia sauce on a bed of wilted spinach

Angus steak

Brioche pudding with Sandelera (one of their produce wine) ice cream - I love this!

A trio platter - Sandelera ice cream on chocolate soil, cheesecake and creme brulee.

Sandalford Winery
3210 West Swan Rd
Caversham WA 6065

Happy birthday to me

Last month, I celebrated my birthday. I turned a year older and that much closer to mid-30s. To me, age is only a number, well at least for now but I think give it another few more years I'd probably take it all back. For now though, I still feel the same as I did last year, or even a year before that. People still thinks I look 19 so I guess its not all too bad, for now.

There were no big parties, cocktails or jiggling my bum on the dance floor, nothing of those sort. What I had was a simple celebration that revolve around food. It's always around food. Always.

My actual birthday was on a school night and due to the fact that I am new on the job and have not accumulated much annual leave, I had to work. So with that in mind, we planned to go somewhere lavish on the weekend and opted for a cheap meal of pizza and chocolate fondue on the actual day.

After that, we went home and ate cake. Then, I decided to end the night with a nice relaxing bath.

The plan was to use the bath bombs that were gifted to me by my friend.

However this was how it unfolded:

I put the bath on, lit the candles and turned the lights off.  I opened up my present, took one bath bomb out and dunk it in the water. I gingerly let myself in the bath, careful not to trip as with a big belly, getting in and out of the tub has become a nightmare.  As soon as I lay down in the tub, the door opened.

"Mummy! Why are you in my tub??"

"Mummy, I want to go in the tub with you!" "Please Mummy?? Pleaaaaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

I let out a big sigh, but then I thought, hey maybe it might not be such a bad idea after all. I can do this, I can enjoy a bath with my girl.

So out I went.  I helped her get her clothes off and carried her into the tub. Then for the second time, I gingerly let myself in.  Just as I was enjoying the warm bath water, I think it was less than two mins in.....

"Mummy? I need to go to toilet.."

"You what now?"

"I want to go wee wees mummy! Quick!!"

And so up I went and then back into the tub for the third freaking time. I believe by this point I was exhausted. Getting in and out of that tub was a bloody workout I tell ya. This little person had my work cut out for me.

The worse MUST be over.  How much worse could it get? Potty out of the way, I'm sure now we could all enjoy a bath.

But, Miss Three had other plans.

She started blowing the candles out one by one because it was fun and then shortly after, we were sitting in the dark.

I literally lost it and perhaps might have raised my voice at her which resulted in her bawling her eyes out. Sound tend to amplify in the bathroom so it made it even worse.

And that was it, tub party was over.

Having said that though, I had the best sleep that night. The bath salt must have worked, even though I was only in there for what it seemed like 5 mins!

Oh well, happy birthday to me.

Hello!

I haven't been very inclined to blog since my last announcement of my pregnancy in April.  The main reason was that it hasn't been an enjoyable pregnancy for the first five months hence I was very reluctant to share it on here.  And also, I wasn't in a mood to write anything because my mind was constantly clouded with worries and trying to constantly remain positive during that time. It became rather overwhelming to say the least.  I'm not one to share unhappy thoughts and feelings on the blog or any social media platform as I like to keep that side of things private.

Since then, about two months ago, situation and mood started to lift and we have had some good results back after what seems like eternity. I remember clear as day on that morning when my doctor rang me with the result. I have never felt so liberating and such relief in my life before. I just can't explained it. Suffice to say that I burst into tears when they shared the result with me. Tears of joy and relief, which had been bubbling away and brewing inside me for a long time!

So fast forward to here we are today, I am in a much happier place. I am finally enjoying my pregnancy and the last two months of what is left before bubba arrives. I am still hoping that everything will pan out fine as it is not over until he arrives healthy in my arms. I am grateful and thankful for my families and friends who have been there for me showing their support. And a special mention goes to my husband, who, during this time, remained calm, positive and constantly ensuring me that everything was going to be fine. He is my rock and sounding board and I knew I married him for a reason!!

Life has been utterly busy for me, even amidst all these. Work wise, I am currently trying to find a replacement for me as I am taking a year long maternity leave to become a stay at home mum of two. I laugh at the thought of that because we all know that I was not emotionally equipped to be one the first time round, but I guess things have changed since then. I am a more confident mum now and know what I am doing and also I have established a bigger network of mummy friends and friends in general whom I can turn to and hang out with, which I didn't have when I just had Miss Three. I find this extremely important especially for someone like me who lives abroad away from families. Good friends are sort of my extended family in this situation and having that strong network is extremely important. I am lucky to have very good relationship with some of my friends in Perth who, when time in need, are willing to come and help out.

I'm not saying that it's going to be easy because its not.I am not that deluded. It is going to be much tougher for us because we have no family support/backup when we need one but it has been that way for the last 4 years and we plodded along fine.  I am also fully aware that it is going to be twice the challenge and twice the chaos but what I'm trying to say is I'm going into this new gig with a little more excitement than I did the first time round because as we all know, first time motherhood is the hardest as it is blatantly what it was, a trial and error. At least this time, you know what to expect and going into the gig fully aware of how tough it can be as well as how rewarding and joyful it also is.  Forwarned is forarmed!

So with that said, I will leave you with this picture of me showing my full bump at 29 weeks!

And YES, we are having a BOY!