ronald and friend

fish spa

it tickles.
as my new friend, laurel said, "it feels like a dog is licking your toes."
it feels like tiny little electric shocks.
it definitely is worth the experience.
$10 for 1/2 hour :: qian hu fish farm






they also had tons of other cool fish and tours. i'll bring the boys back for sure.

mosquito fogger

tay guan heng

when i pick ty up from school, we don't have a lot of time to do things. i never want to waste the opportunity to go check something out when i have the car, so i found out about this cute little shop about 5 minutes away from ty's school.

handmade from joss incense or cinnamon bark dough, this is a dying art. the bark is playdough like, and they make the most intricate and beautiful figures.

they are known popularly for their nativity sets. as my holiday decorations are pretty sparce, i decided to get one. i'll post a better picture when i get it, just in time for christmas.
but they also make many other replicas from Chinese mythology and opera.
they even let ty and rhett make some christmas ornaments.


a great place, with friendly people and a memento from singapore that i'm sure to love for years.

navarathi night tour

soaking in all the culture here.
went on a tour with our ward a while ago to learn about indian festivals. there are lots of holidays going on, it's hard to keep them all straight. one thing is for sure...there's never a lack of something to do.



ate some traditional indian food. the place was a buffet, so you could try all sorts of interesting and yummy food.
we even got to go back into the kitchen to see how naan and tandoori chicken is made.

we visited two different hindu temples.

worshipping and festivities in full swing



even caught someone offering a coconut. later, at the indian culture night, i learned that the coconut is very sacred. they believe that the coconut is the sweetest form of natural juice and the white flesh inside represents how they want to be, clean and pure. it even has three eyes (ever wonder what that red dot in the middle of an indian woman's forehead means?), which is their form of having a spiritual eye. offerings like this are very common and are done to represent their commitment to being good.

halloween 2010

i love halloween. it's so fun to me. this year wasn't so big.
we didn't carve pumpkins or make caramel apples or throw a party.
(we did attend a party that was super-fun though!)
in fact, the only decorations were paper bats and pumpkins that doubled as candy-holders.

ty dictates what the rest of our family will be for halloween. this year, he wanted to be "dark" vader.

rhett has a very distinct walk. naturally, he was yoda.

not one for fan-fare, steve was a jedi.
and i was princess (ma)leia
we went to the woodlands for dinner at a friends and then trick or treating. it is insane up there and i mean INSANE. parking at the american school.
the streets were filled

sweaty boy. half-way through, i got his mask and cape. next year, we'll have to think of costumes that aren't so hot.
rhett is such a funny kid. he definitely has a mind of his own. we got him to wear the yoda costume for pictures only. after that, don't even go near him with it in your hands. on our way home, he snatched ty's mask and this is how i found him, still as can be, to get him out of his carseat. funny kid.
i did splurge and popped a bag of popcorn while watching 2012. it was a real treat!

SORRY, WE JUST CAN'T AFFORD IT

WIFE: "Honey, our Chrysler Town and Country is falling apart--do you think we could trade it in for a newer Honda Odyssey?"
HUSBAND: "You're going to have to make that van last sweetie, things are tight. Sorry, we just can't afford it."

2005 Chrysler T&C market value = $9,275 USD
2006 Ferrari 430 Spider market value = $172,700 USD

I would like to officially nominate my neighbor to be the 2010 Man of the Year. Nice work!



By the way--if you're my neighbor and somehow found this, no hard feelings. The van is very nice and I'm sure you love your wife very much.

surf shorts + rain boots

singapore boy
ready for any kind of water

squatty toilets

required: strong quads or strong bladder

ambulance

the joke is that you call a taxi instead of an ambulance if you ever need one.
only it's not so much of a joke. it's the truth.
the abulances here will obey all traffic laws...including stopping at the traffic lights.

hearsts

i pull up to a stoplight one day.
i hear music. it's coming from the vehicle next to me:
i'm fascinated. it's a hearst. there are lights blinking and a picture of the deceased on the front of the fender.

another day, i see this rolling down the expressway.

another.

trash

collected daily = :)

toy vending machines

now that's a selection!