Friday, July 29, 2011

Finished!

So remember this project?

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Well, I finally finished my shirt and since my sister is around, I got her to snap a few shots of me wearing it.  I've found the whole self-timer-self-portrait shot is alot more difficult than it appears.  You have to get everything set up and then get the camera to focus on the point where you would be standing.  Except you're behind the camera setting up the shot, so there isn't anything for the camera to focus on.  Usually I stick a chair where I will be standing, but then I have to run in front of the camera, move the chair out of the shot, and pose....a bit of a pain.  Anyone have any tips?

So, Julie and I had a little photo shoot
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I'm pretty happy with it.  It's a nice and lightweight fabric without being see-through.  It's perfect for the hot weather here.  Also, I got to determine my own button placement, which was crucial in eliminating the ever dreadful "gap" right around the bust buttons.  Girls, you know what I'm talking about.  I spaced the buttons so that the ones at the bust are closer together, and voila! no gap.  I won't have to worry about anything peeking through.  No more awkward moments trying to get a safety pin in there to do the job.  Success!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Bird Park

Over the weekend, we took Julie to the Bird Park.  Andy can get free passes through work so we took advantage of that for some free entertainment.

We managed to get up early in the morning (Julie was still recovering from jetlag) and got out to the Bird Park in time for the "King of the Skies" show.

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Waiting for the show to begin

Andy and I had already seen the show, so I remembered there being a point where a volunteer gets to go up and  catch a falcon.  So, when the showmaster asked for a volunteer, I jumped at the chance and he actually picked me!  I got to be a master falconer for a moment and got to have a hooded vulture land on my arm.  It was pretty awesome.

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We stopped by the penguin exhibit for penguin feeding time:

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African penguins

Then we visited the Lory Loft - it's an enclosed area with all these little Lory birds flying around freely.  You can buy little cups of food and feed the birds.

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We checked out some other exhibits and made a few friends.  What I love about the Bird Park is that they have areas where they allow birds to roam freely so that you can get up close and personal with them...the downside to that is you really have to watch out for what is flying overhead.  I got to experience that on our first trip out to the bird park when a bird left a little present on my camera...

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One of my favorite birds - Victoria Crowned Pigeon.  Photo by Julie.

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Birds having a chat - photo by Julie.

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Andy and his new friend.  The bird preferred to stick around us because there 
were a bunch of kids trying to terrorize the bird a few steps down.

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Trying to get the pigeon to pose with Julie.  Not an easy task.

All in all, it was a really fun day and we had a great time.  Now on to the next adventure!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Imports

My sister arrive this week from the states to spend the summer with us.  I've been looking forward to this for many months since it's been 8 months since I've seen any members of my family.  On Tuesday, we picked her up from the airport - she survived 22 hours and one international transfer all by her 15-year-old self!  At the airport, while we were waiting for Julie, I couldn't resist snapping a pic of this driver waiting for his fare:

Perhaps it's Lenny Kravitz's alter ego....?

 
Here she is! I do believe that about 75% of that luggage belonged to me.  The total amount of her luggage probably weighed more than she did... Everything in Singapore costs about double the price in the States so whenever anyone comes, it's the perfect chance to import in some of the things that I miss at Walmart prices.

So, what did she import for me?  Well some of this:

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And of course, I couldn't resist ordering some of these:

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This one's a special order for Baby Eng!  I can't wait to meet him :-)  He's gonna have one awesome blanket!

So now, I'm listening to my new (imported) Adele CD, enjoying a quiet moment while my sister sleeps in and tries to conquer her jetlag.  Think I'll introduce her to the wonder of Singapore's shopping malls today!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Rojak

The other day, I was at my lupus support group meeting and got to try something uniquely Singaporean.  I'm the only foreigner in the group so often times, my friends like to introduce me to new things (mainly foods).  One day, we were talking about Singaporean dishes and my friends asked me if I'd ever had rojak.  I hadn't and asked what it was.  The description I got was a bit vague.  They called it Chinese salad where you put rojak sauce on veggies, fruits, and other things.  So, the next meeting, one of the ladies brought in all the ingredients to make rojak.


The rojak spread.

So here is what goes into rojak:

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You start by chopping up some cucumbers, guava, jumbu, mangoes, pineapple - basically whatever you've got on hand.  Then, you add in some.....Natural Jellyfish!  Surprisingly, the jellyfish is actually pretty tasty, although a little strange when mixed with pineapples and other fruits.  

Here is a look at my first try of rojak.  I had at it the group, but afterwards there were leftovers that I brought home to let Andy have a try.  See that black thing in the middle of my bowl?  That would be a lovely slice of century egg - another item that you can add to your rojak.


So once you have the "salad" together, you add the rojak sauce.  It's a thick syrupy sauce that at first glance looks like chocolate sauce...but don't be deceived. 

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If you are wondering what this sauce is made of, here you go:

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It's basically a shrimp paste with honey and chili mixed in.  Hmmmmm........ Yep.  That's what I thought at first.  But, once I tried it, it wasn't quite as bad as it sounded and smelled.  Not sure that it's my preferred salad dressing, but at least I can say I tried it.  I took it home and let Andy have a try, he wasn't too thrilled with it.  Definitely one of the stranger things I've tried since moving here!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Dining In Style

Been a bit behind with blogging lately.  It's been a mixture of being busy, feeling a bit uninspired, and being plain old lazy.  But, I have been working on some sewing projects while I stall on my clothing making adventures.  When we moved here, we brought our own furniture, but didn't bring our dining table.  I love my dining table, but it's perfect for a Texas-sized home, not a Singapore apartment.  When we got here, my first furniture purchase was a new "dining table".  I didn't want to get a formal table since I have one in storage, so I opted for a teak patio table that I can eventually use outdoors when we move back to the States.  
Teak stains easily, so instead of worrying about keeping the table clean all the time, I made a table cloth for it.  Also, after sitting in the chairs for awhile, we realized that the slats can become rather uncomfortable to sit on and left unsightly imprints on our bottoms once we got up.  So, I made some cushions as well.

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I had brought the fabric from the states and was originally going to recover my outdoor wicker chairs and make some coordinating pillows.  I didn't have enough to cover four cushions entirely so I bought some red laminated polka dot fabric for the bottom.  Not the best match, but it's on the bottom and you can't really tell.

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Now we can stop sitting on folded up towels (which is what I was using as cushions prior to these)...and we don't have to worry about having sore and imprinted bottoms!