Me&MyGirls at Coffee Club!

This would probably be our last dine-out and my last blog post for the year 2010. We have been to Coffee Club in Wheelock Place a couple of times but this has been our “first” in their branch at Marina Square.

It was a good Wednesday night. The restaurant was not crowded so we have the most comfortable seats. Our waiting time for the food was acceptable. The food was great and we had a great time! Ashrie enjoyed the water feature as well as looking at one of the waiters. He was rather chubby and every time he walked past us, she would say to us, “Uncle” (with a giggle)!

Ashrie had her own brought-from-home porridge and just shared with the potato platter that we had as an appetizer. Jane, craving for some heavy dinner ordered a rice meal while I had my usual favorite, seafood pasta.

Jane's Lobster Bisque Baked Rice
flanked with garlic/buttered scallops

My Seafood Ciopinno
topped with a huge, crispy soft-shell crab and some greens

Yes, she's having fun!

And with modesty too!

Good place, good company, such a good night! By the way, let Me&MyGirls greet you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

‘Til next year!

Suntec's Sky Garden Shoot

We have no photos of the three of us together, at least, for quite some time now. A family “portraitshoot” will happen most probably after the arrival of our personal photographer (my brother) to Singapore.

So for now, it is the Father-Daughter and Mother-Daughter photos that I have to share. These photos were taken at Suntec City’s Sky Garden. Natural lighting was perfect and our spirits were high. The results were vibrant and colorful photos my family will cherish forever.

Ashrie, The School Bus Driver

Beep, Beep!
Make way for the cutest school bus driver in town!

Ashrie and Her Shoes

We bought these lovely pair (first photo) for Ashrie two days before Christmas. When she wore it on our Christmas visitations the “oldies” fell in love with her footwear and wished there were of this kind for adults. I’m pretty sure there is, but I’m not really certain if it will look as cute. :-)

Over the past few months, Ashrie had collected a number of shoes, some are basics (rubber shoes and sandals for worn for just playing at the park) and some are, should I say, elegant pieces which we pair with her dresses or to spice up a simple wardrobe. I am really not sure of the words to write here since I am not a fashion blogger so bear with me as I describe our (my wife and I) personal favorites among her growing collection.

Ashrie's Christmas Shoes (Open-Toe Shoes from Baby GAP)

Leather Boots (ZARA Baby)

Ashrie's First Birthday Shoes (Zara Baby)

Gingham Summer Sandals (A gift from her Grandma)

Rhinestone-Embellished Flats (Cotton On Kids)

Midnight Blue Mary Jane Shoes (Zara Baby)

Studded Leather Sandals (Zara Kids)

Her Ever-Reliable, Super Comfy Crocs Slip-ons

Crocs Slippers

Good thing there are no stilettos yet! And I will see to it that there will be none. Well, not in the near future at least.

Good Morning Ashrie!

Our earliest photoshoot to date. Ashrie, still wearing her pj’s and her eyes still swollen from a good night sleep is all but ready to smile and pose for the camera.

Good morning guys and have a pleasant day ahead!

Our Christmas "Belen"

A lot of things happen the past few days so pardon my usage of the cliché, “So many things to blog, so little time…”

Let me start with Christmas Eve. While others are doing some last minute Christmas shopping or busy preparing for the Noche Buena (traditional Christmas Eve dinner in the Philippines and other countries like Spain, Cuba and Latin America), I was engaged in finalizing our Christmas decorations.

Yes, I know it’s a bit late but a podcast that I’ve heard a week ago really put a burden in my heart so I made sure I followed it. I’m speaking about one of the audio recordings from Dr. Harold Sala for the Christmas Season wherein he advised Christians that the Nativity Scene is far more important than the Christmas tree. He was right and I agree with him completely.

I have not enough time to color, cut and paste the whole set of free printables from http://scrapbookscrapbook.com so I just made the major characters. I’m still satisfied with the results though. And the most important part of this was to be able to illustrate to our daughter (even at her very young age) the true meaning of Christmas, that once, Jesus was born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem to be our Saviour.

A Hearty Lunch!

I had this for lunch today. It’s Jane’s homemade heart-shaped burger patties + white rice. It’s yummy! Muy delicioso!

When I saw first saw this it really melts my heart and my eyes welled up with tears (the second part was hyperbole).

So to my wife, thank you so much for that tummy-filling and heart warming lunch. I got the message and I love you too!

Ashrie's First Manicure

Manicure. It’s the mother-daughter bonding at its best! Isn’t it a bit too early, you might say. I totally agree, the very reason it’s worth blogging. :-)

An Energized Christmas Greeting



Got this from the mail the other day and I think it’s cute! It’s a greeting card/calendar/ad from Energizer. The funny thing is that the mascot inside looks more like “a burglar running away with his loot” rather than good ol’ Santa with his big Christmas pouch!

Have a happy Christmas!

My 5th Christmas in Singapore!

A New-to-Singapore Photo

This year marks my fifth Christmas celebration in Singapore. I came here in December just a few days before Christmas in 2005. I remember vividly every detail of my arrival and how I struggled to adjust to a new and completely different environment during the first weeks and months of my stay here. I can still recall the small tree which I had setup on Christmas Eve. It was a multi-colored cardboard "magic tree" I brought from home, which when drenched in water will bloom cotton-like leaves of different hues.

That night was also my first night after a week-long stay at my company's staff house. Fortunately, I have a colleague who generously accepted me to stay with them in their small apartment. I had no room then. The living room couch had been my bed; my luggage had been my closet. They just asked for a small sum for the utility bill and the food cost is shared among us. I had the means to rent a room (since I'm already working) but my friend told me he will also shift to another apartment soon, so I waited.

Months after, we finally moved. I got a room of my own.

More months later Jane and I got married. She also went to Singapore to stay with me. I got a better-paying job. We had Ashrie, our precious daughter. And after moving from room to room, we are now staying in a rented apartment of our own.

Yes, it's my 5th Anniversary in Singapore, no lavish celebrations but a solemn meditation of God's providence, goodness and mercy. Although it is not a "happily-ever after" story yet, I have faith that things are looking up and a better year is coming.

As I end today's post, I would like to quote one of my favorite Psalms, in chapter 23:6 it reads, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

The Big O

It's the ultra-modern steel sculpture at Suntec City, located at the junction of Temasek Boulevard and Raffles Boulevard. It is entitled Abundance III by Sun Yu Li. From one side it looks like a big horizontal cylinder but the cross section is actually oval, thus creating an interesting optical illusion.

We passed along this giant art installation and almost automatically had a quick photoshoot. Ashrie enjoyed every minute of it and as we leave she said, "Ashi, sit, chair, oval!" which translates to Ashrie sat on the oval chair! And truly she did.

Indulgence at Häagen-Dazs

Icy creamy ice cream, very sweet, Icy creamy ice cream, can't be beat,
Icy creamy ice cream, I giggle when I eat, My icy creamy ice cream, what a treat!
~A song from Barney Goes to the Farm DVD

Häagen-Dazs's Paradise

Their Version of the Banana Split

Well, we love ice cream! That's a fact. We love the local cut ice cream sandwiched with either wafer or white (most of the time it's multicolored) bread. We also love Ben & Jerry's, Gelare and of course Häagen-Dazs. This ice cream will truly melt your heart as you indulge on it spoon after spoon, so to speak. But what really makes this blissful experience even more heavenly is the great service we had at their outlet in Suntec City last weekend. The staffs were friendly enough not to be pushy. And most of all, after we devoured the delectable feast on our table (ice cream should be eaten fast right?) they did not clear away our plates hence giving the idea that we can stay a little longer to relax after a long day in the mall.

Yummy Treat!

Hug Time!

Ashrie inspecting the outlet's Christmas Tree

Lesson learned: Sometimes, not being too close with the customers is the formula to be truly close to them. Will we come back for more? Not too soon, but definitely YES!

At BookFest@Singapore 2010

Ashrie @ the BookFest

The event was advertised by a major parenting magazine, there were signs scattered at the convention center's lobby and there’s even a "flyer-giver", but the Korean Kids Boutique sale turned out not meeting my personal expectation. Probably, I'm not familiar with the room number so I expect the sale to be big, with numerous stalls lined up and consumers will be spoilt for choice. It was the opposite. Nevertheless we got few good pieces for Ashrie.



What really made our day is BookFest@Singapore. The fair is a book lover's haven covering the entire floor area of Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Centre’s sixth storey exhibition halls. There are rows upon rows of numerous titles from baby books to self-help books. There are also gift items, school and office supplies. It’s in a very good timing because books make good Christmas presents and school opening is just around the corner.

My wife and I love books, and we are so glad that Ashrie is such a little bookworm. We bought new books for her to catch up with her age and skills. Added to her library are the following titles:



New additions to her collection!

Playtime Songs Peter Haddock Publishing

Bedtime Songs Peter Haddock Publishing

Wake Up and Stretch Buster Books

Morning Noises Buster Books

What Shall We Do Today? Buster Books

Ready, Steady, Go! Buster Books

I Love You Color-A-Day Cube Modern Publishing

Fun With Numbers (10 Adventure Story Books) Piggy Toes Press

Letters Fun Activity Pack Priddy Books

Mama Loves Me Reader’s Digest Children’s Books
I Want To Be A Ballerina Igloo Books

By the way, there’s another book sale. This time it’s the MPH Warehouse Sale to be held this weekend at the Singapore Expo as advertised in this blog yesterday.

Brooch+Playground

Seems like an unusual combination, but our little girl is starting to have preferences in dressing up. She likes donning necklaces and hats. That's the reason behind the very glam beaded brooch while in the playground.

Good thing it's just a brooch she wants to wear and not a tiara!