A battle with PROCRASTINATION

Lately I've been procrastinating. I've been borrowing books on crocheting for the past few months, tried a few basic stitches in rectangles and I am still nowhere near to crochet a what I call a decent piece of accessory for my girl!! I hate procrastinating yet sometimes I find myself best at procrastinating and that's the reason why I call this a battle. Whether it's a battle won or lost this time, I am giving myself a pat on my shoulders first for if I am not trying to help myself, I wouldnt have posted it here to "force" myself to complete an accessory for Gracia. My first crochet project will be a girl's beanie. I hope I'll be able to post the first few rounds of a decent crocheted beanie here soon. Do stay tuned! : )
Posted by Lina

A child's best friend

I should thank this little kitten above for assisting us cope with Gracia lately esp when mummy is not around. It's a toy i think Gracia call it a friend. Her name is kat and when ever Gracia feels moody, she will hug her and eveything will be alright, that's really astonishing. Not only will Kat live up her mood and spirit, she can also guide Gracia into praticing good habits and behaviours such as when it's time to sleep, and Gracia still in a mood of playing with her other toy. We will tell her "Kat is tired and wanna sleep, should we keep the toy and go to the room?" And then she'll just guai guai keep her toy and go to the room and sleep, hugging Kat, that's truely amazing.



We can now use Kat as a tool and substitute it with other expensive teaching material to nurture Gracia. Hopefully It can also help her to express emotions, experience concern for others, practice positive social interaction and the likes and promote a wholesome childhood values in her.


Kat is truely of great help for us. We shall keep her as a memory even after Gracia grow up. Most importantly it's say that:

The loving side of gangsterdad

What prompted me to post this about gangsterdad is because as a wife to gangsterdad, I am truly touched by his gesture. Before my memory fails me, I think I had better pen it down and let it serve as a lovely memory between us when we grow old. Among my women friends, I feel extremely loved by my husband because he is one such man who will buy clothes for his wife (tat's me!!) hehe. Honestly which woman wouldnt be touched by such a simple gesture from her husband? And its funny that whatever dress or shirt he buys for me, I'll always find it nicer n more attractive than those bought by myself! Please do not think that I do not have my own taste in styling myself but rather, I would like to put it this way- women love to please their husband. Everytime I wear something bought by gangsterdad, he will find it unusually different and beautiful. I would like to say, thank you my dear.. ur truly one in a million. Posted by Lina


Image: Gangsterdad bought this for me last Saturday on his own birthday, he say it'll be more meaningful that way.




Image: And this one on my birthday.

Respecting your wife?

Well, this is esp in respond to Pottyhubby for his request of whether i should write a 2nd chapter about husband respecting the wife. I would say absolutely. But instead of using the word 'respect', i prefer to rephrase it to 'loving and serving your wife.
Allow me to illustrate :

If anyone had read carefully and noticed my last paragraph in my last entry, i'd stated and urged that a husband should remember the book from that he should love his wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. Why did the bible used the word 'love' instead of 'respecting' your wife?

In chapter 5:22 the apostle Paul told wives to summit to their husband, the fact that this teaching in our modern days is not popular is understood. According to the bible, the man is the spiritual head of the family, and his wife should acknowledge his leadership. Not the other way round. But real spiritual leadership involves service.

Like a good honest government, although have their power and authority, are responsible for the welfare and needs for his fellowmen and to serve them the best they can, hence the word 'civil servant'. Just as Christ served the disciples, even to the point of washing their feet, so the husband is to serve his wife. As for me, despite wanting respect from my wife as the head of the house, I will humbly massage her, made desert and served her and will also share the house chord.

Let me emphasise that, although the wives is to summit to the husbands and the husbands love and serve his wives, to a certain extend, the husband can sometime respect the wife too. But this respect is of a different kind, instead of respecting my wife like a head of the house or equivalent, i respect her in other form. like when i knew that she multi-tasted coking for me and looking after Gracia at the same time, I respect her. like when i know that she never gave up breast feeding to my daughter even though having a hard time on latching her in the beginning, I respect her. So the respect for her and the respect she should have for me is different.

My final conclusion is that :
A loving husband should never take advantage of his role in the house and abuse his authority, and the wives should respect the husbands and will not undermine his leadership. Either approach causes disunity and friction in marriage.

Anyway, Pottyhubby is a good and loving husband, I always take him as an example, he's a role model husband to me. Thank for reminding me to stress and emphasize on loving and respect the wife too, else someone who read my last entry and don't know me will think i am a 大男入.

Respect Your Husband

This topic is not targeting at anyone, not personally for my wife, not for any of my friend either. It can be for anyone whom she think it may concern. It may also be for Gracia when she grow up to be other people's wife. It can also be in respond to our Singapore government for urging their citizen to get married and have babies soon after. Anyway, it's just my two cents worth of comments.


It used to be said that love is blind and without condition, I guess it's not anymore in this generation. Women nowsaday are more knowledgeable. They read more, travel more, and many of them even earn more than their male counterpart. They are more capable than any of the generation before them. In fact in Berlusconi and Spain more than half of their cabinet minister are women.

I do not discriminate women, in fact i feel that women in our century have contributed much to the society and without them, our economy will not be as prosper as what it is now. But here comes a question, as how do those pool of women balance their ability they acquire into relationship and at work. Like i had said, love is not blind anymore, because women nowsaday read more, exposed more and know more and thus they judge more and will not choose anything below par, not even for the sake of just love anymore.

Women today may not need guys to earn alot because they themselves is capable of bringing bread onto their table, perhaps even more than that. But bread aside, they now require guys to be good in other area such as being a good, caring and responsible father whom will not only play with their children but also shower them, change their diaper, feed, teach, nurture them and the likes. Not limited in this area of fatherhood, it's best that if he can perform as well as being an excellent son-in-law, a caring husband and a capable employee at his work place. A new age husband who doesn't read will have no advantage over those who can't read at all.
Many of my lower educated friends who doesn't upgrade or read to keep themselves updates on general issues find it hard to please a local women. Most of them end up marrying foreign lady, mostly from third world country such as Vietnam, Thailand or rural China.

If i were to be a local women, who went to school and got a decent certificate. Travel as much, read, earn and know alot. I would probably do the same and will not compromise choosing someone much below my standard and have difficulty communicating with me. While it's not wrong to ask for someone whom is intellectually capable of exchanging ideas, dreams and aspiration with you. Have you yourself forgotten how to put down all your knowledge, all your status, skills and power you attained and just be a loving and caring women or wife.

My advise to a happy marriage is that, while it is absolutely normal for a intelligent, clever and smart lady to ask for the same if not more for a partner. Don't forget you're still a women and the man you're going to love deserve respect from you. If you want a truly fine husband, respect him at the level at which you want him to reach. A man will usually not rise above the level at which his wife respects him.” This is a general principle, not a hard and fast rule because God does not put accountability or responsibility for a man’s character on his wife.
Nevertheless, strong evidence indicates a woman holds great power to make or break a man. In his book His Needs, Her Needs, Willard Harley amends the saying “Behind every great man is a great woman” to “Behind every great man is an admiring wife.”

So my two cents worth of advise is that, choose the best you can and want for a husband. But never bring in your power, knowledge and your superiority into the relationship and forget about respecting your him as the head of the family.


Here is a guide on :
10 Steps Towards Respecting Your Husband

Remember, God is working on you and your husband. You can both learn from your failures as well as your successes. Give God the freedom to teach your husband through failure. In the same way, give God the freedom to teach you to trust Him through your husband’s failure.

And finally for all the husband - Remember Ephesians 5:33 = Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

BE A VOLUNTEER

Anybody wants to be a volunteer?



I was thinking of making good used of my photography interest and source for internet what i can do about it. Then i chance upon the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre NVPC which have everything under one roof that provides volunteerism and philanthropy across all sectors. It's a one-stop centre that foster the giving spirit in you, whether of time, money or in kind.

I am happy to matched my interest of taking photograph with one of the organisation AWWA
, on top of that i have also sign up for a Christmas gift sharing on the 23rd December as a family with B.Well Ltd




Always wanted to try a different Christmas experience, esp a day that is suppose to mean giving and sharing.

PASIR RIS PARK RIVER

Mummy New Hairclip

A new hairclip done by mummy for Gracia.

Sunrise

You don't need somebody to interpret for you what a beautiful sunrise it is. I saw the ray coming thru from my window blind yesterday morning and i thought if every year is a marble, how many marbles do you have left? How many sunrises, how many opportunities to rise to the full stature of your being? I quickly grabbed my Canon baby, slided open the window and this is what i recieved.


What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?



The sunrise doesn't always look this way from my window though, I thank God for this beautiful morning.

Another Photo To Share

Guess where and how i took this photo above?



I took it just below my house, it's the reflextion of the rear wind screen of my van. I had edit and set the exposure higher so that you can see me in the picture.

Gracia Having Tantrum

Since Lina started work, I get more chances to be really up close and personal with Gracia. And I am starting to experience her tantrum first hand. It sort of worried me and I am quite confused how to handle her. It all started yesterday, when I brought her out with me to work, I thought the journey was short and she might be happy to be out. In deed she was quite happy at first, and she sat quietly in the baby car seat for at least 20 mins. Soon after that, most probably she got bored and wanted to get out of her seat and started making sound. I told her “No” but she won’t listen. She just screamed and cried her lung out and wanted me to release her from her seat. Eventually, I surrendered and brought her out for a while.




When I tried to put her back again on the car seats, guess what? Little Gracia suddenly become a snake. She just twisted and turned her body and resisted so forcefully like a phantom just to avoid getting back into the seat. I ended up bringing her out again and thought of getting something as a negotiation tool to coax her back to her seat. But my idea turned into smoke when she refused to let me bride her with anything at all, and there's no other way i could possibly persuade her back to her seat again.

I have no choice and I did the unpredictable. Put her on my laps and drive, risking being caught by TP and risking both our safety. How I managed to drive her back I leave it all for your imagination.

I just wanna say that, she has grown up. She knows what she wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it> TANTRUM

I used to thought i should be able to handle tantrum steadily, but i guess i have underestimated the intensity and it prowess.It's time I should prepare myself and start reading how to cope tantrum now and brush up my knowledge of it.

Photo Try Out

My first attempt on a night scene using a slow shutter spend of 10' sec. Without a tripod, i had to try a number of times to get the surrounding look sturdy. Anyway, this is just a trial. I am planning to shoot a night scene of Boat Quay when i am on my reservist next coming 2 weeks. That's the only time i can stay out late.


Image:Road behind my block, Pasir Ris St21. I climbed over a bridge to shoot it.

Hungry Ghost Month

It is now 7th moon in the lunar calendar and in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts, including those of the deceased ancestors, and spirits come out from the lower realm: the gates of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts who then wander to seek food on Earth.

Coincidentally, it was also my father death anniversary. As usual, my mother will gather everyone to come home and pay respect to my dad.
During the Ghost Festival, the elder ancestors and older generations are worshipped.
Rituals are preformed to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased, offerings reaching the ghosts should comfort the ghost’s life.

My mum prepared ritualistic food offerings, giving a feast to my dad.

All of us have to burn incense to show our respect. Joss paper, spirit money and paper-objects of material items my father will also recieved (maybe)

The burning of the joss paper and papier-mâché objects allows for the object to be transferred to the ancestors and ghosts, materialising in the afterlife.




Image:From left, my elder brother kelvin, nephew Nicolas and Ace burning joss paper.


True or not, i am not too sure, but it's out culture we have to follow.

Reading Is Good

....IN THE SMALL STUFF....

The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who can't read.

Build your personal library with hard cover books that transcend centuries and circumstances.

Read the front page of a local newspaper everyday. Keep up on current events.

Read for fifteen minutes every night before you go to bed.

The history of the world is merely the biography of great people.

Read at least one biography a year.

Read "HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE" by Dale Carnegie
at least once a year.

Be a reader, but one who read between the line.

At the beginning of each year, choose a topic of interest and spend the next 12 months learning all you can about it.(Daddy is reading about photography now)

Next time you read a really good book, make every effort to get in touch with the author.

Read books on variety of subjucts so as to broaden your personal knowledge and appeal.

Just because it's a print does not make it worth reading, choose carefully what you read.

Just because it's shown on TV does not means it's worth watching, becareful what you watch. esp your kids
Try doing without TV at all for a week

Finally, read a classic that stood the test of time at least once in your life.

Lina Is Going Back To Work

I have a mixed feeling of my wife going back to work tomorrow for 1½ month at least. I am glad that she can help lessen our family financial burden but will also miss her when she’s not around anymore in the afternoon with us, especially her dishes and I think Gracia will definitely feel the pinch more than me.

I want to thank my wife for having an undervalued job without income, leave and other benefit an employer should enjoy looking after Gracia for the past one year. You have truly been a great mom and your sacrificing is acknowledged.

We know that a child development begins on day one. And the most important person forming these skills and capabilities is the person raising the child directly. The role that you play as a guardian to Gracia is so significant and it's not a stretch to say that you are the most important person in her positive progression. Gracia and me truly respect and value the work that you had put in. This is a job where it’s unappreciated by so many but we are telling you we are not.

We also understand that although for the past one year, looking after Gracia was not a simple task and a lot of scarify have to be made, you had also found rewards, fulfillments and accomplishments in the mist of these entire journey. Now that you’re going back to work tomorrow, we believe there is a certain degree of heartache and sadness in you too.

Whatever it is, the choice is already made and is made with much consideration of the advantageous and any unfavorable influences to our family. Since we had already weighted the pros and cons, we should be happy and look forwards for better days to come. Daddy will try his best to pay more attention on Gracia development and hope that her progression will continue and not decline for the worst.

Wife Culinary Improve

My mum's already not with us for about a week, she should be in China by now. My wife took this golden opportunity to experiment her cooking style and to pampered me ofcos. Her first dish was 'kai lan' veggie that tasted a little bit bitter, too bad i forgot to take any picture of it. But she manage to cover up her unsuccessful dish with more appetizing one. In fact it tasted so good that it's hard to believe at first she cooked it herself if i didn't witness it with my own eyes.

Below are a few dishes Lina tried recently and the score i give them:
Sorry i did not take photo of the first one because i was lured by the smell and only care to taste it quickly and forgot about the rest.

1) Potato with Chicken chop = 9.5 ... "

2)
Image: Fried chicken with sweet sour sauce = 8/10 point






3)
Image: Chicken with broccoli = I wanted to give a 8.5 but Gracia hint me with her gluttonous look and suggest me to give more, so final conclusion 9.5/10


To my wife: Thank you so much for preparing all this fabulous foods even with the inconvenience of our Gracia around. I feel fully nourish and blessed. Your cooking skill has truly improve.

First Swim For Gracia

Just came back from Tampines swimming complex together with Gracia and my wife. It was the first time little Gracia got into a pool, just look at her expression and you will know how excited she was.




The whether is pretty hot though, fortunately we bought a bottle of kids sun-block for her.




We think she really love water. When she was younger, she already enjoyed taking her shower without any struggling. And when she got into the pool for the first time and occasionally drank a few sips of the pool water when daddy let go of her, it doesn't seems to bother her. We'll probably bring her swimming more often in the future.