Welcome 2009

I've been reflective ushering in the new year....

My mood muted by the relationship woes of loved ones around me and i'm reminded once again by the fragility of the relationship between couples. It certainly is trying especially when one is trying to bring up young kids and tensions seem to pull in every direction. Although we often remind ourselves not to take each other for granted, sometimes, we (at least I) don't realise just how much effort and thought it may need, to actually do so.

I'm glad we've weathered our own storms in our nearly 2 decades together and hubby and I took this trip on our own. The time alone was great for re-connecting, being silly, and remembering what it was, the charm that pulled us together in the first place. I'm touched, blessed, and thankful for what i've got.

2009 for us would likely be an exciting and challenging one. My wish is for us to continue to take me and hubby steadfastly and happily on our journey together, and for us to bond even more as a family.

On this note of love, here's leaving you with a layout for a friend that i completed today...

Hope you've had a swell start to the year....

MamaMia! & A-mei*

What a big weekend !

If you've heard enough of Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana and High School Musical - take kiddos to watch Mama Mia !. It's possibly the corniest show around but so TOTALLY entertaining !! Of cos' it helps buckets if you're an ABBA fan like i am - or otherwise just gawk at Peirce Brosnan who's totally mature and handsome in there.... :)

We took the girls on Saturday, but while they may not understand the total content of the show (which is perfect - some bits way tooo adult) at least the music has rubbed off and now they ask for the ABBA CD to be played (instead of whiny Miley Cyrus) and can mumble the choruses of Dancing Queen and Mama Mia.... Soon, they SHALL master my childhood favs - Chiquitita, I have a Dream and Thank you for the Music.... muahhhahaha!


AND A-mei* - was the most electrifying concert i've ever been to !!!

ok, i haven't been to many, but still - that gal's got the vocal prowess to match Mariah Carey's and after 3 hrs of just blasting hit after hit and all that high-energy dancing - she was simply PITCH perfect, every single note. And listening to her ballads - i couldn't help but have goose bumps and tear. AND having the whole INDOOR stadium sing in unison along with her, was just something i've never ever experienced.

Guess our kids' repertoire is very much the result of our own music tastes. But more than that, I want to give my kids the gift of music - to appreciate first and foremost - as many genres as possible, then to play (if they can and are willing to) an instrument cos' being able to create music for yourself is just magical and simply to enjoy the process of it all. So if you do have kids who take up piano, violin or whatever - please don't pressure them - at the end of the day, it's not the exams they pass or how much money had been spent cultivating this, but the fact that they are able to enjoy music and what emotively it can nurture, help, and heal - that is music's true gift.

So back to A-mei - While i may not have enjoyed as many of her fast and noisy numbers as i did her ballads, the showmanship was just superb. Nonetheless, i do appreciate the technicalities - the really good band she had put together (many of whom are Singaporeans i must add) and the difficulties of putting together a faster, more complicated piece - music-wise.

ANd i've concluded - to be able to move to the beat and hold a note (again, if possible - cos' some can't help themselves and are just tone deaf) is quite important cos' it just makes one more socially and individually complete..

This thought because I had a row of - k.. we shall just call them young girls and boys - girls in micro short shorts and all talking loud - but who ALL wanted to be seen as real cool, but the moment they started clapping and shaking and singing - OMG !!! CANNOT make IT !!

hahaha... lucky R and C can shake their bons well-enough already :P ... now just need to work on the big Man !!! muahhahahaha!!

Hol 'fun'

It's been only midway through the school hols and i'm already exhausted ! With both girls home there seems not a spate of breather, yet admittedly i'm enjoying the extra moments with them... well mostly... :P

It has been revision week for R and mornings have been set aside for that purpose. Given that i haven't been very consistent all year through in making her do the academics, i figured i better make up for it now. In truth, guess i've secretly (R must not know this !) always felt guilty for making my daughter (in P1) do 'work', and hence, i've always adopted a minimalist approach. But seriously, how much must one really 'work' them ?

As it is, kids in Singapore study too much ! I was just having a conversation with B from Australia who commented that while Singapore kids seem to fare much better compared to Aussie kids in primary through secondary school - yet somewhere along the way, B's observation was by university, everything equals out, and in fact, Aussie graduates come out far stronger and do way better in their careers. He noted how his peers in Singapore were some 3-4yrs behind him in terms of career advancement.

Yet, it takes a lot of courage to be up against the tide where you know for certain all households with school going kids are prepping theirs optimally to be way ahead of the curve. So am i 'doing her in' if i choose to be oblivious to the 'right' way of prepping her with the assessments, model compositions and examination papers ?

I remain torn, as my heart can't bear to drown her in these... after all she is but 7....
yet, am i strong enough to take the consequences and be 'ok' with whatever results she delivers? umm... my own jury is still out... what do you think ?

Sex and the Olympic City

This article is darn farny, and insightful to those clueless libido-conservative individuals :P

Just had to share... enjoy !