One of the things I enjoy doing in my daily life in Japan is taking my 3 year old to the local playground. We are very lucky to be living in a neighbourhood surrounded by beautiful parks and children's playgrounds that are all accessible by foot within minutes. Besides spending good quality time with my little boy, taking walks like these always bring about new discoveries that can be inspiring. And that was what happened yesterday.
It was hot and humid so I decided to take Aiden to the playground earlier in the morning. The place was quiet except for an old man with a boy (probably about 3 or 4 year old) who was playing in the sandpit. The man looked like he was in his 60s so I guessed he was probably the grandfather. Shortly after we arrived, they started preparing to leave (hope we were not the reason!). The grandfather washed and packed up all the sandpit toys and proceeded to clean the boy up. He opened up a bag that contained some towels and fresh new clothes, and used the water from the tap at the playground, meticulously cleaning up the boy who had sand all over his body. Then he dressed him up with the fresh clean clothes and sat him down, giving him a drink and some crackers to snack on.
I was very moved as I sat there watching. The silent bond between a grandfather and a child. The tender care by the grandfather. The smile on the boy's face as he sat down in his clean outfit, eating the snacks. It was all so sweet. And very very inspiring.
d
d
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
I'm back!
It's nice to be home, although I haven't had a real home for the past 3 years due to my husband's work that resulted in us having to move from country to country. We have been living in Yokohama since January 2009 and for some reason, this city feels so much like home to me. Everytime I travel back to either Perth or Singapore, I find myself missing Japan. We just spent 3 weeks in Singapore and got back on Friday night. I went to my favourite local supermarket this morning and felt so happy the minute I stepped into the store. The trolleys, the aisles, and the overall familiarity with where everything was, I miss these so much.
Spending 3 weeks in my home country was nice but stressful and very exhausting as usual. My husband could only join us for the last week so I was pretty much a single parent for the first 2 weeks. It was tough since my 3 year old is no angel. My parents found it hard to manage him when I wasn't there but I really needed the time to catch up with my close friends. For most of my outings with friends that didn't include Aiden, I was often interrupted by phone calls from home, or distracted by worries about how my parents were coping without me. Still, I tried to make the best of the limited time I had with friends I have been missing dearly. We got to meet, shop, eat, drink, and laugh together. Good times.
Apart from missing family, the hardest thing about moving away from my home country for me is giving up my social life. My girlfriends have always been a big part of my life and I am very blessed to have found many whom I can count as close friends. The biggest excitement for me whenever I land in Singapore is the thought of seeing these friends and doing girly things together again. These moments seem even more precious this trip as I have a feeling that it could be the last time I get to hang out with them and reminisce on good old times. It may be awhile before I return to Singapore again. And when I do, I may be a mother of 2 so that means there is no way I can leave kids at home with my parents who are also growing older. Nobody knows what the future holds. The only thing I could do during this trip was to cherish every moment I had with the people I love.
Time to move on again.
f
f
Spending 3 weeks in my home country was nice but stressful and very exhausting as usual. My husband could only join us for the last week so I was pretty much a single parent for the first 2 weeks. It was tough since my 3 year old is no angel. My parents found it hard to manage him when I wasn't there but I really needed the time to catch up with my close friends. For most of my outings with friends that didn't include Aiden, I was often interrupted by phone calls from home, or distracted by worries about how my parents were coping without me. Still, I tried to make the best of the limited time I had with friends I have been missing dearly. We got to meet, shop, eat, drink, and laugh together. Good times.
Apart from missing family, the hardest thing about moving away from my home country for me is giving up my social life. My girlfriends have always been a big part of my life and I am very blessed to have found many whom I can count as close friends. The biggest excitement for me whenever I land in Singapore is the thought of seeing these friends and doing girly things together again. These moments seem even more precious this trip as I have a feeling that it could be the last time I get to hang out with them and reminisce on good old times. It may be awhile before I return to Singapore again. And when I do, I may be a mother of 2 so that means there is no way I can leave kids at home with my parents who are also growing older. Nobody knows what the future holds. The only thing I could do during this trip was to cherish every moment I had with the people I love.
Time to move on again.
f
f
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Bento Update: Sea Creatures
It is summer now in Japan and Aiden has been bringing back crafts of various sea animals (octopus, starfish etc) from the summer programme that his school has been organizing. So yesterday I was inspired to make him a bento with the sea animals that he is familiar with.
Tadah!
Say hi to Miss Octopus and Mr Starfish!
Miss Octopus is made of ham and the 8 legs were cut out individually and assembled together. The eyes are from white cheese and the eyeballs, mouth and eyelashes were cut from nori. The same goes for Mr Starfish.
It would have been nicer if the rice that Miss Octopus sits on is coloured in blue, but I haven't figured out how to dye rice naturally in this colour so I didn't bother. Mr Starfish is made from pink rice since I have some leftover from the other day.
I showed Aiden his bento before I packed it in his bag and all he said was,
"But I want sandwich for lunch today!"
So much for my efforts.
*********************************************************
I will be in Singapore to visit family and friends for 3 weeks from tomorrow onwards. Writing on this blog will resume when I return. Please visit this site after 28 August 2010!
Take care everyone!!! xoxoxo
Tadah!
Say hi to Miss Octopus and Mr Starfish!
Miss Octopus is made of ham and the 8 legs were cut out individually and assembled together. The eyes are from white cheese and the eyeballs, mouth and eyelashes were cut from nori. The same goes for Mr Starfish.
It would have been nicer if the rice that Miss Octopus sits on is coloured in blue, but I haven't figured out how to dye rice naturally in this colour so I didn't bother. Mr Starfish is made from pink rice since I have some leftover from the other day.
I showed Aiden his bento before I packed it in his bag and all he said was,
"But I want sandwich for lunch today!"
So much for my efforts.
*********************************************************
I will be in Singapore to visit family and friends for 3 weeks from tomorrow onwards. Writing on this blog will resume when I return. Please visit this site after 28 August 2010!
Take care everyone!!! xoxoxo
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Purposeful Play - A picnic with Barney and Spiderman
One boring afternoon, I decided to organize a picnic for Aiden and his best mates at our home as we were grounded by the doctor because he was sick. I gathered Barney, Baby Bop, Spiderman and a Kangaroo together for a cosy afternoon tea while Aiden prepared the "food" and all other cutlery.
Who would have known that Spiderman and Barney were actually good friends?
It was a pretend play session I arranged for Aiden and a great indoor game. There are many benefits to an imaginative play like this. Children learn by watching, imagining, copying and doing. An imaginative play stimulates the creativity in children and develop their thinking skills as they rack their brains while exploring the many options that they can have in a pretend play. By allowing them the opportunity to imagine themselves in different characters, it can also teach them about the moral skill of emphathy as they develop the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others. Most importantly, pretend play can greatly improve the language skills of young children as they make up interesting dialogues that can be used in the play. Try observing children when they are in the middle of some imaginative play session. Unless they are not interested, most children tend to be more chatty and involved during these times.
Unfortunately, Aiden wasn't really that interested in our picnic after asking Barney if he wanted tea for the third time. We packed up everything and he went off to get changed into something he was more keen on.
This.
I think he much prefer to be Spiderman than have him as the honorable guest at his picnic.
Whatever works.
Who would have known that Spiderman and Barney were actually good friends?
It was a pretend play session I arranged for Aiden and a great indoor game. There are many benefits to an imaginative play like this. Children learn by watching, imagining, copying and doing. An imaginative play stimulates the creativity in children and develop their thinking skills as they rack their brains while exploring the many options that they can have in a pretend play. By allowing them the opportunity to imagine themselves in different characters, it can also teach them about the moral skill of emphathy as they develop the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others. Most importantly, pretend play can greatly improve the language skills of young children as they make up interesting dialogues that can be used in the play. Try observing children when they are in the middle of some imaginative play session. Unless they are not interested, most children tend to be more chatty and involved during these times.
Unfortunately, Aiden wasn't really that interested in our picnic after asking Barney if he wanted tea for the third time. We packed up everything and he went off to get changed into something he was more keen on.
This.
I think he much prefer to be Spiderman than have him as the honorable guest at his picnic.
Whatever works.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Life in Japan - Brunch with the ladies
About 3 weeks ago I invited a bunch of ladies (wives of my husband's colleagues) to a lunch at my place. It was during that week that my closest friend in Japan left to move to another part of the country, and my personal yoga teacher (a friend whom I have lunch with occasionally) left to move to another country. This is the down side of an expat's life. You find yourself in a situation where people come in and out of your life all the time. To perk my mood up, I decided to throw a lunch party at my place.
These ladies' partners work with my husband on the same project and it is not the first time we see one another. I had a similar gathering at my place last spring which I did a chinese food theme - stirfry vegetables, sweet and sour pork, curry, fried rice etc. So this time I wanted to have a western style brunch. 11 ladies turned up and we had a great time catching up. Well, I think they had a great time since we were supposed to end the session at 1pm but they didn't leave until 2ish. And the food was all gone.
My ikebana arrangement.
My table floral arrangement. I LOVE flowers.
My menu for the day - beef pot pies, rockmelon wrapped with parma ham, cheese platter, beetroot salad with red wine vinegar dressing, prawn and avocado salad with seafood sauce, parmesan chicken fingers, cream cheese brownies and fruit platter.
Nice? I'm only choosing one recipe from the above menu to share today but if there's anyone who is keen to have the rest, feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email.
Parmesan Chicken Fingers
Ingredients:
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
zest of half a lemon
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 or 3 chicken breast fillets (cut into finger size strips)
1 egg, beaten lightly
oil for deep frying
Combine breadcrumbs, zest, parmesan, salt and pepper in a plastic bag to mix.
Dip chicken in beaten egg and place in the plastic bag.
Seal the bag and shake to coat the chicken pieces evenly.
Deep fry the chicken pieces in hot oil until cooked.
Very straightforward and easy but taste really good. Doesn't take long to cook and it's a great party food.
These ladies' partners work with my husband on the same project and it is not the first time we see one another. I had a similar gathering at my place last spring which I did a chinese food theme - stirfry vegetables, sweet and sour pork, curry, fried rice etc. So this time I wanted to have a western style brunch. 11 ladies turned up and we had a great time catching up. Well, I think they had a great time since we were supposed to end the session at 1pm but they didn't leave until 2ish. And the food was all gone.
 |
My ikebana arrangement.
 |
My table floral arrangement. I LOVE flowers.
My menu for the day - beef pot pies, rockmelon wrapped with parma ham, cheese platter, beetroot salad with red wine vinegar dressing, prawn and avocado salad with seafood sauce, parmesan chicken fingers, cream cheese brownies and fruit platter.
Nice? I'm only choosing one recipe from the above menu to share today but if there's anyone who is keen to have the rest, feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email.
Parmesan Chicken Fingers
Ingredients:
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
zest of half a lemon
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 or 3 chicken breast fillets (cut into finger size strips)
1 egg, beaten lightly
oil for deep frying
Combine breadcrumbs, zest, parmesan, salt and pepper in a plastic bag to mix.
Dip chicken in beaten egg and place in the plastic bag.
Seal the bag and shake to coat the chicken pieces evenly.
Deep fry the chicken pieces in hot oil until cooked.
Very straightforward and easy but taste really good. Doesn't take long to cook and it's a great party food.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My Secret Weapon
Most children doesn't like vegetables, but my almost 3 year old boy has a fairly weird vegetable preference. He doesn't enjoy cooked vegetables. He'll eat salads like raw radish, spinach leaves, lettuce, zucchinis happily. He even eats spring onions raw but he will never eat cooked carrot, broccoli, pumpkin etc. The only time I can get him to eat these vegetables is when I make them into a patty, or hide them in the fish cakes I make. Salads is a staple in almost every meal of his so I'm not too worried about his vegetable intake.
Apart from his weird vegetable preference, he also has a very "interesting" (and beyond comprehension to me) attitude towards fruit. He doesn't like them. The only fruit that he will eat occasionally are apples and bananas. And he hates fruit that are sweet. He even spat out sweet and juicy watermelon when I managed to get him to try some once.
I have tried many ways and means to increase his consumption of vegetables and fruit and I have finally found what I call, my secret weapon - Green Smoothie!
A green smoothie is basically a non-dairy, vegan smoothie made by blending green vegetables with fruit. The most commonly used vegetables in smoothies are spinach, kale, watercress and cabbage. As for fruit, I throw in bananas, avocado, pineapples, mangoes, oranges, berries etc. I mentioned in an earlier entry that my husband and I have been incorporating more raw meals into our daily diet and green smoothie is a power-packed snack that we try to have every other day. It has been established that drinking blended fruit and vegetables is even better than eating them as all their nutrients and fibre are broken down finely and hence much better absorbed by our bodies. Aiden loves his green smoothie so much that he will actually asked for them, emphasizing specifically that they have to be "green"!
Thumbs up for the green smoothie! He prefers this to sweet watermelon juice which he gags when he drinks them. Strange I know. My son is a weirdo.
Apart from his weird vegetable preference, he also has a very "interesting" (and beyond comprehension to me) attitude towards fruit. He doesn't like them. The only fruit that he will eat occasionally are apples and bananas. And he hates fruit that are sweet. He even spat out sweet and juicy watermelon when I managed to get him to try some once.
I have tried many ways and means to increase his consumption of vegetables and fruit and I have finally found what I call, my secret weapon - Green Smoothie!
A green smoothie is basically a non-dairy, vegan smoothie made by blending green vegetables with fruit. The most commonly used vegetables in smoothies are spinach, kale, watercress and cabbage. As for fruit, I throw in bananas, avocado, pineapples, mangoes, oranges, berries etc. I mentioned in an earlier entry that my husband and I have been incorporating more raw meals into our daily diet and green smoothie is a power-packed snack that we try to have every other day. It has been established that drinking blended fruit and vegetables is even better than eating them as all their nutrients and fibre are broken down finely and hence much better absorbed by our bodies. Aiden loves his green smoothie so much that he will actually asked for them, emphasizing specifically that they have to be "green"!
Thumbs up for the green smoothie! He prefers this to sweet watermelon juice which he gags when he drinks them. Strange I know. My son is a weirdo.
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