deja vu on the last day of the year.

the old folks have been gone since saturday to do some arm exercises at the jackpot machines in genting, and since the sister's soaking up the sun in maldives (actually no, working her ass off is more accurate), that leaves me home alone for the past few days. the first 2 days went by in a flurry with all the gatherings and i finally stayed home the whole of yesterday and half of today. thank god i was alone but i didn't feel lonely. catching up on all the housework undone and spending time with myself felt like the days when i was back on exchange in maastricht. spent a relaxing morning training at the pool (of which i pointed the middle finger to two cheekopek boys who held their breaths underwater each time i was near) and came back home craving for some aglio olio. it used to be my staple food in maastricht. i'm not trying to brag but it really was delicious haha... what a great way to spend the last afternoon of 2008.

1st dinner in maastricht... and many other times

last lunch of the year... and so velly belly nice

a walk to remember.

you once had such a great fear of water getting into your ears, never dared to venture into the deep end and refused to do even a small leap into the pool. i saw how much you grew - stronger and braver, from saying "i can't" to "i'll try my best". a small victory each lesson brought you to where you are today! looking at you cruise through lap after lap just leaves me in awe, and i could hardly believe you are the same boy 3 years ago, so awkward and tense in the pool. today, i saw you overcome your biggest fear of swimming underwater to complete the test, and i am so proud of you!

all geared up for the bronze survival test!

you were a natural since day one, with near perfect strokes and an amazing ability to grasp the techniques even at such a young age. you're like a dolphin in the water! it was worrying to see you develop a slight phobia about the test, crying and stopping lessons midway the last few times, right up till today when you started tearing on the way to the pool. oh but what a brave young girl you are! not only did you not give up halfway through the test, you even completed it way faster than kids twice your size and age!

proud daddy taking a photo of little miss valiant

check out the height and size disparity =D

constant encouragement for his younger sister

ethan and rachel, you're my champions! =)

yay we did it!!!

why did the gingerbread man go to the doctor's?

because he was feeling crummy. =D

have yourself a merry little christmas everyone!

genesis 39:3-4

Something bright and glowing on top of the multi-storey car park caught my eye as I stepped out of my house lift tonight.

what's happening in the quiet town of anchorvale?

After a considerable amount of squinting, I pointed and exclaimed excitedly to my mum, “Mummy, look! Look!”

a bigass carpark style proposal!

Not to me of course, but I felt really happy just looking at the lightsticks glowing, forming the mega words on the ground. I hope she said YES!

That aside, I got all my results back, and I did mighty fine indeed! It was the most challenging school term from day one right until the very last day of exams, and I knew I just couldn’t pull through on my own. So I prayed “I know it’s going to take a miracle for me to do well this term. But You’ve promised good, so I’m going to just try my best and rest knowing that you’ve got it all covered.” Wow. Jesus got it covered and it was a miracle indeed, it’s amazing amazing amazing! I was left speechless looking at the transcript, unable to justify the grades at all. Of course it’s unjustifiable - it’s called undeserved and unmerited grace and favour. =)

helpppppppppp

invaded by heat rash and it's killing me! i feel like my whole body's falling apart and i can't even sleep properly at night. been feeling nauseous the past few days too. my doctors-in-training, could this be a case of sun poisoning?


Lord, please take it all away.

putting my heart back together.

had a short getaway to bintan over the week, blessed with perfect weather despite it being the monsoon season. jogging alone along the shore with the waves crashing in was a simply exhilarating experience! on the downside, it seems like my photo taking skills have also gone on hiatus. oh welll... =/

angsana pool

kaka the krakowdile

love actually

perspective

rocky road

finally! a post.

wow, the last time i actually blogged about food was on 21st july. i suddenly realised that my blog actually has a trickle of readers and i apologise for the crappy posts that kinda undermined the spirit of snaps and bites. i promise to be back, more vivacious and sassier than ever! ;)

we're on the good food adventure trail!

so anyway, i decided to bring father and mother chew for a good meal over the weekend to thank them for their neverending love and support, especially over the past months. wanted to have some crab tanghoon at ya kwang, only to find out upon arrival that jason the ex-SIA-steward-turned-chef is no longer there.

my pamalee minus a maldives sis

refusing to spend money on lousy food, we drove from geylang to the paramount hotel for some tung lok delights, but got turned away because it was fully booked for the night. what a food adventure the evening was turning out to be! undaunted, we decided to head further down to katong to sniff out good eateries. great instincts and a grumbling tummy led us to kim choo's kitchen for some peranakan lovin'.

this is not in response to the latest mediacorp drama *eww*

kanon's on sick leave with symptoms of slow response and poor focal ability, boo! =( think i'll have to bring it to the doc soon. so please bear with the photos and just focus on the food okkk! here goes...

the queen and her menu

unsurprisingly, the restaurant was decked out in peranakan decor, like a casual cafe. it even has a peranakan museum of sorts beside it. we were served yummy achar as an appetiser. the little saucer of sambal chilli beside it was power packed shiokness!

achar and sambal chilli

meatball soup ($12)

we ordered fish maw soup but they got our order wrong and came with some meatball soup with topshell. the soup was light and refreshing, i liked it very much though i think it's a little too pricey. the sambal petai (aka smelly beans!) is a famous peranakan dish. not everyone will appreciate it as the beans supposedly have a bitter aftertaste, though i didn't taste any bitterness and i LOVED the sambal to bits. this was my favourite dish of the evening hands down.

i lub sambal petai ($8)

ngoh hiong ($8)

my mum orders ngoh hiong everywhere she goes, and she was pretty impressed by the ones sold here. i think the fact that they used really fresh ingredients made it a winner. the egg omelette was normal though the seafood used was really fresh too.

seafood egg omelette ($6)

babi pongteh ($8)

i ordered the babi pongteh because the peranakans do this dish magically. the gravy is like oooh-la-la! my parents really liked this dish too. my only gripe was that the meat could be a little more tender and i prefer the one at chilli padi's nonya buffet better.

the chendol is s.u.p.e.r.b. even i don't drink chendol much and i know on first sip that this is good stuff. it's also got the ten thumbs up from my dad who's a chendol fan. he claims that it's exactly the same as the one he had when he was a child and that they don't sell chendol like this outside nowadays. i think it's because they use gula melaka instead of cane sugar, which made it extremely flavourful without the sickening sweetness chendol often has.

charming chendol ($3.50)

the bill came up to $55 in all for the three of us, which i thought was pretty worth it except maybe for the soup. we had a blessed evening together, and seeing the satisfied looks on the two chews' faces made it money absolutely well spent. =)

kim choo's kitchen
109/111 east coast road
tel: 67412125

***

on a sidenote, check out my winnings at poker last night!

woohooooooo!

now, i'd be happier if they were real cash.

best song for a relaxing 4.5min during exam period.

never noticed this song until it came up randomly in my playlist that day, and i've been listening to it over and over ever since. =) makes me smile...a rarity these days.

live high, live mighty
live righteously
takin' it easy

oh, let's take it easy and celebrate the malleable reality
because nothing is ever as it seems, this life is but a dream

say it, mean it, show it.

source

the sound that saved a wretch like me.

there was such a great annointing during yesterday's worship when this song was sang. together with angie's powerful vocals, my tears couldn't stop flowing. i can't wait for the school term to end, don't think i can do this for much longer.



Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved

How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I've been set free

My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood
His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below

Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

- amazing grace (my chains are gone)

november babies.

the extended chew&tan family ushered in the month of november with the latest addition of baby cadence, otherwise known as baby-cady-my-unofficial-god-niece. one look and i knew she's gonna grow up to be a beautiful girl. =)

little ms inquisitive squirrel

little ms pouty

little ms frowny

little ms sleepyhead

(photos courtesy of her mummy)

that aside, i received my very first birthday card of the year! lo and behold, imagine the pleasant surprise when i opened the envelope and saw this...

who could it be from?

imagine the even greater surprise when i opened the card to see this...

*gasp* check out that smiley

hahaha!

no doubt it was mass signed and pastor mark probably doesn't know who the heck i am since there're about 16,999 others in church, but still, it's a sweet gesture. =)))))

like wine, they get better with age.

thank you for popping by tonight, for no special reason but just because you bothered enough to do so. edited some of the jb photos just for you! =)

=)

hankie pankie under the blankie!

average colour tone --> still dark

siqi's afraid of fire

major teethbrushing competition

paraparagoddess

enough of the world for the day, good night and thanks again!

seeya next year alligator!

off she finally goes to the maldives!

me also want. very envious indeed. ;)

all we can do is keep breathing.

i haven't been blogging for such a long time i should pronounce this blog dead. not much inspiration recently, so until i finally have something to contribute, here's to more youtube videos.

i know i've said this probably a thousand times over, but grey's anatomy really is in a class of its own. i remember watching this episode on my bed in maastricht, crying buckets into my pillow. randomness aside, here's proof on how fantastic the script and cast of grey's are, enjoy!

the sweetest wedding vows left unsaid.

"And if I loved you… if I loved you
Not the woman that I’m trying to make you be
Not the woman that I hope you’d become
But you

If I did,
I wouldn’t be up there waiting for you
I would be letting you go"

more than you'll ever know.

watch over this princess who belongs to Me.

Let The Lord Be Your Defense

Psalm 94:22

22But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge.

Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding one of the lowliest jobs in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenseless. But because she trusted the Lord (Ruth 1:16), He placed her under Boaz’s protection.

Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.” (Ruth 2:15) What he was saying to his men was this: “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.”

Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenseless right now, imagine Jesus commanding His angels, “Watch over this one who belongs to Me. Make sure he is treated with respect and not put to shame because he is someone I love and someone whom I died for.”

God’s Word tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) No one who has set himself against us can prevail because when God is for us, His protection is upon us. That is why I have never answered any of the poison email messages which I have received in the course of my ministry.

My attitude is this: Jesus is my defense. If He does not defend me, it means that there are things in my life that are not to be defended, and I would be glad to find out about them now rather than later. On the other hand, because I take the Lord as my defense, and He defends me, what can those who are against me do to me?

When you defend yourself, you have only your two hands and your own human resources. But when you let Jesus take up your defense, He defends you with His nail-pierced hands and His legions of angels! The results will be amazing.

Beloved, the Lord is your defense and refuge. Trust Him to defend and protect you!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

just for a second.

i feel like meredith today. i miss grey's. i want to sink for a while before i come up again.

chew-able love.

i don't know exactly how i made it through the past month, but i know i couldn't have done it without Jesus nor my family who have showed me unconditional love and support in more ways than one. it's funny how i have tons of photographs with everyone else, but when it came down to finding a family photo, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack. shows how much we often take what we have right beside us for granted.

i love you.

i bet kids grow by the second.

happy birthday little one!

me-time.

i needed change, like a new chapter in my life. so i decided to get a new look!!! since i'm always behind the camera, here's a very rare post with photos of me in front of it! thank you for sparing me with the self-indulgence, i promise it won't happen too often. =)

ladies and gentlemen...

i chopped off my locks!!! =D

check out the bob yo!!!!!

i need a blue sky holiday.

if given a choice to drop everything right now, i would...

run away like forrest did...

to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

or i could just beg my sister to bring me along on her internship in maldives. lucky pig.

private access only.

i got bored with always running in circles around my house, so i asked my father to build me a road. it's got to be extremely straight, with marked lanes (in case i want to organise races), and a great view. how sweet of him to have obliged!

my papa's road

i went for a test run today with mummy and boy must i say i'm extremely satisfied with it. there's even a gently sloping bridge with great views of one of the rare rivers and forest left in singapore.

mummy testing the freshly laid tracks

the best part is, it's linked from my house all the way to jalan kayu. running straight down to roti prata heaven!

big bird in motion

see, told you i'm delirious with my new road. too bad my dad says i gotta share it with the rest of singapore soon. =/

p.s. did i mention that the view of the sunset along the road is absolutely stunning? it's like forrest gump running towards heaven. love love love it! =)