a sunday at lower peirce reservoir

old upper thomson road

vt

i love the organization of the relief society and i especially love fun visiting teaching get togethers.

this was an impressive spread of chocolate and treats. there was even a dessert pasta which was delicious!

grocery shopping

in utah, i was spoiled. we lived right next to a neighborhood grocery store. it was so convenient. if i needed something for dinner, i would walk on over at 4 pm and grab it. i would be back in 10 minutes, tops. if i was making dinner and needed something, steve would volunteer (just so he could ride his skateboard) and before i knew it, he would be back. easy.

if you ask me what i dislike the most about singapore, it would be grocery shopping. here's what it looks like.

all of the grocery stores i go to are in malls. the first obstacle is parking. find a green light and back yourself in. i am pretty proud of myself now. it usually takes only one or two times of reverse, drive, reverse to get it right. it was comical at first. now i'm a pro at backing my rear up. :)

singapore is quite ingenious when it comes to shopping carts. a dollar is all it takes to rent one.

grab some groceries. i've already posted a few times about how expensive things are here. not only that, but finding what you need is sometimes difficult. one day they'll have it, another it's gone.
go to this store for buttermilk and cilantro,
this one for cheese.
the best meat is at this store.
you get the idea.
one thing's for sure, there are lots of asian takes on traditionals.
seaweed? soft-shell crab? grilled shrimp? bangkok grilled chicken?

the best time of day to go shopping? early in the morning. "early" as in 8-9 am (right after dropping daddy off at work which is why rhett is still in his pjs). nothing is open here that "early" so it's the best time to go. no lines or crowds. DO NOT go on a friday night unless you want the city's traffic to follow you indoors.
these handy little travelator-escalators are magnetic, so the cart sticks to it down to the parking garage.

find your car and load up. our's is customized with a dent in the back (a story for another day, right steve?)

return your cart. get your dollar back. i've only left my cart one time - that was a really bad day.

pay for parking. love our little shopping plaza with how cheap parking is.

drive home and feel happy you don't have to do it for another week.

if only...

BALI : temples

ubud palace

goa gajah or elephant cave

inside the cave were little places where people can meditate



it was neat to see half of this rock carving

gunung kawi


pura tirta empul


holy water. each fountain is for something specific.

as i was taking this picture, our guide was telling us that this tree is very special and has a spirit in it. (i couldn't stop thinking about the movie avatar throughout the entire trip) i kept moving around, trying to get the sun glare out of the frame, but it kept following me.

the doorwarys were impressive. at the top of this one was a gigantic spider, but don't worry. "bali spiders don't bite."





the boys were not as interested in seeing all of the gorgeous temples, so late one afternoon, i took off and went to see tanah lot for sunset. it was beautiful.

BALI : rice

the rice terraces were incredible.

tegallanlang

BALI : food

had lots of "squashes"

loved tutmak in ubud.

ate at the river cafe in the maya hotel which has an amazing pool

cafe batujimbar was our favorite in sanur.