transposable element

june 28th marks the end of our first year here in singapore. one year! and yet sometimes, it feels like we’ve just arrived. it’s a tiny island, and yet there’s still a lot we’ve yet to discover– places to see, things to do, foods to taste, cultures to understand, friendships to nurture.

i wouldn’t say it’s the greatest place on earth, and i know that for me, this is not THE final destination, but so far, it’s been swell being here. its a place that’s easy to get used to and
yet, every now and then, you discover new facets that makes it quite intriguing. for such a tiny island, i can’t say i’ve had enough of it yet.

as they say, i’m keeping my fork. the best is yet to come!

reading tin’s success in using muffin pans to bake banana cakes reawakened my hankering for an oven. our kitchen here in our flat is not equipped with one (doesn’t seem to e a standard here, i was told) and i’ve been wanting one since… well, practically since we moved in. i used the oven a lot when we were in germany, not just for breads and cakes, but for other main dishes too. as lazy as i am, i love the way you can slide something in and just wait til it’s done. frees you up to do something else while dinner is getting cooked pretty much on its own.

oh well, when i start asking for recipes you’ll know i’ve crossed another one of my wishlist!

it’s overwhelming how big the market for babies has become, it’s becoming harder and harder especially for first time parents to distinguish the must-haves from the nice-to-have-but-don’t really-need-it stuff. as second-time parents, though, we’re much more pragmatic this time around in buying baby gear. we knew what the essentials were, and what items were better left on a buy-as-needed basis.

sure, it’s nice to go shopping and fully kit out a nursery — baby cot, dresser, changing table, all the way to the curtains, baby bedding, monitors, plush toys, and a thousand other paraphernalia — but since we ended up co-sleeping with jan, we didn’t even bother this time around. aside from a changing table (which isn’t even a must-have), we didn’t buy anything else. mia sleeps with me, a viable solution i would recommend to nursing moms, despite reports linking co-sleeping to SIDS, a phenomenon the cause of which nobody really seems to know, anyway.

and since i breastfeed, there’s an entire section of baby shops i don’t even bother to go to: that aisle where bottles, bottle brushes, bottle sterilizers, bottle drying racks, etc are.

interesting how simply getting back to the basics of parenting protects you from the temptations of the baby-stuff industry.

mia’s got enough of those frilly girly stuff, maybe i should get her some of these sort, too:

i know there are funny t shirts like these for adults, but somehow they don’t look as funny as they do on babies, do they?

these pics were forwarded to me via email. if they are yours (the pics or the kids), let me know so i can give proper credit!

have you downloaded the latest version of firefox yet? i am one of the 5 million who did within the first 14 hours of its release.

The Mozilla team had aimed to exceed the 1.6 million downloads that Firefox 2 achieved in the first day of its release period, and had hoped for five million downloads for Firefox 3 in its first 24 hours of release, to set a Guinness world record.

Approximately 14 hours after its release, Firefox 3 passed the five million download mark.

get your firefox 3.0 now!

i’m a beach holiday kind of person and i’m lucky because here in southeast asia, it’s beach climate pretty much the whole year round anyway. a holiday in Branson, missouri is not my cup of coffee, and if i were to travel to the states, this is a destination that will miss my radar for sure. would be different if i lived, there, perhaps. if a laid back, country holiday is what you’re looking for, perhaps branson is just right for you.

branson is said to be the live entertainment capital of the world (or maybe the people who coined that moniker just haven’t been to malate, manila) and you can book holiday packages that already include tickets to some of the shows. there is a variety of lodging options to choose from — from luxury hotels such as the welk resort and grand oaks, to picturesque cabins at grand mountain, to private and cosy condo units. kids will also be spoilt for choice on the fun attractions available: the titanic museum, ware rides, go-kart, mini-golf, imax, and other nature-inspired activities. the ultimate offering for the more gutsy ones, though, is the silver dollar city theme park:

Nestled in the forested hills just minutes from Branson, Silver Dollar City has everything you could want for a family vacation. Take a remarkable journey back in time to experience true, old-fashioned Americana and Ozark splendor. Silver Dollar City boasts over 30 rides and attractions and is home to the amazing Marvel Cave, but what makes this theme park truly unique is the dozens of craftsman that practice the same skills used by the residents of the Ozarks who lived here in the 19th century, from baking to metal crafting.

it’s definitely a different league from disneyland, but should be very educational as well as entertaining.

i’ve blogged about it more than a dozen times. and now, finally, i’ve gotten my new toy, at 30% off the usual price. that’s 200 dollars saved!

hubby always shakes his head at the number of store loyalty cards i have in my purse. in germany i had one card, the payback card, which could be used to gain points whenever purchasing from any of 10 or so participating stores. here in singapore, this habit has become worse. i’ve got a membership card to ikea, tangs, toys r’us, first few years, and a couple of other minor ones i probably would never use again. have i actually made use of the points i’ve collected? er, not really. or not yet.

but don’t laugh. i just need a few more stickers (you get 1 sticker for every S$30 purchase) and i can already get a kappa luggage set free from cold storage (a local grocery). kappa– not bad. the problem just is, that the promo period lasts only til next week. pity, we could really use new suitcases.

i didn’t need this report to realize that if you haven’t been sleeping enough, you have a higher tendency of snacking to keep going.

but it’s not the snacking that’s the problem. it’s what you snack on. hm, let’s see what i usually have: chips ahoy, tim tams, vanilla ice cream, raisin rolls, brownies…

uh-oh. looks like i’ll be a prime candidate for diet pills. it’ll take ages til i lose these pregnancy flab and get back to my ideal weight!