all images sooc (straight out of camera)
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
air force museum
republic of singapore air force museum
the boys didn't want to go, but we went anyway. when we got there, rhett was so excited to see the planes and helicopters everywhere! he took off to go check them out up close as soon as he could wriggle himself away from me.
ty brought along a notebook (his idea) and filled it with sketches.
rhett would probably spend the whole day in this room if we let him. buttons and doors to play with galore!
our playgroup friends
future pilot? :)
dim sum and ice cream to finish off a great afternoon!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
dressing room
you know you're in asia when they ask you to take your shoes off to go in the dressing room. :)
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
swim
when we first signed ty up for swimming, i was a little skeptical. it was once a week for a half hour. how much could he learn, right? well, i am very pleased with the results. sais hired an australian company, southern cross swim school and they have been fantastic! ty's teacher, terrance was awesome!
and while we waited, rhett made a few friends as well.
at the end of the school year, sais held a swim carnival.
ready
set
go!
go ty! kick!
ready
ty-ger
ty went to a birthday party at curly n spike. it was so fun to see all the kids spiffed up. they even had a fashion show at the end. cute!
thanks to nicole for the picture!
ty had another birthday party to attend later that day, so before we washed his face off, i told ty i wanted to take a couple pictures of him. we went outside and this is what he gave me. awesome kid.
every time i see this picture, it makes me smile.
thanks to nicole for the picture!
Friday, July 15, 2011
AN "A" A DAY WILL KEEP THE DR. AWAY
What I'm about to say will likely send some of you into a convulsing state of shock as the likelihood of it won't even register mentally given what you've most certainly observed from my almost incomprehensibly high level of manliness. While it's true that most see me as a 'tough-guy'--the type that likely chews on nails like bubble gum and is frequently compared to Chuck Norris (the benchmark of manliness), when it comes to what I put in my mouth, I can be a bit... selective.
It's not that I don't appreciate local flavor--I think the flavors are great. Singapore is a melting pot of Asian cuisine. With so much diversity of culture, comes diversity of food, and when it comes to the flavors, I love it all. Thai food? Love it. Indian food? Chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite things to eat in this world. Chinese food? Sweet and sour pork is killer. Japanese food? The best deep-frying in the world is done by the Japanese (well, except for me amigos south of the border... the American border that is). So I should love the cuisine here in Singapore then, right? Well,... you'd think so, and I would, were it not for two things.
First. I like meat. But I only like meat. I don't like ligaments. I don't like skin. I don't like fat. I don't like connective tissue. I don't like bones. I don't like feathers. I don't like beaks. I don't like organs. I don't like feet. I don't like eyeballs. I don't like marrow. I don't like hoofs, or ears, or any other animal derivative that is not meat! Here in Singapore, the other animal derivatives are popular... and I think even preferred for their alleged flavor-enhancing qualities, so I have a hard time with most 'local' food and even a lot of non-local food that is made anywhere other than my kitchen.
Second. You will find on my desk a bottle of anti-bac. I wash my hands frequently and well. I am sometimes afraid of doorknobs, elevator buttons (aka "lift buttons" here in Singapore), stair railings, and other frequently-touched items. And I'm also afraid of the associated filth of cockroaches, geckos, and other bugs that love the hot, humid weather here in Singapore. I am a bit extreme, I'll admit. And it is not that I think other people are dirty (well, okay, some I do), but I'm just pretty dang sure most people are not as clean as me. And I become especially concerned about others' cleanliness when I think of consuming food made by their hands and in their kitchens using their knives (that hopefully did not just smack a cockroach and return to cutting-up beef for my curry... after all, how would I ever spot or taste cockroach guts in curry?!?).
Paranoid? Maybe. Not so much that I refuse to eat out, but I do scour every eating establishment that I'm considering patronizing for the big red box with the "A" in it. What does that mean? Well here in Singapore, the health inspectors hand-out report-card-like ratings to food vendors. From what I've heard, the visit is randomly unannounced, an inspection is done, and a letter-grade is given, and they are legally required to post it. Now I don't know the criteria of what makes an "A" and "A" or the difference between and "A" and a "B", nor do I want to know or I might never eat out again--but eating at only (or mostly) "A"s does make me feel better.
For that reason, this for me is a very comforting sight:
Thank you to the health-inspectors for making this world a world I can eat in... and PLEASE, do not be lenient!
It's not that I don't appreciate local flavor--I think the flavors are great. Singapore is a melting pot of Asian cuisine. With so much diversity of culture, comes diversity of food, and when it comes to the flavors, I love it all. Thai food? Love it. Indian food? Chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite things to eat in this world. Chinese food? Sweet and sour pork is killer. Japanese food? The best deep-frying in the world is done by the Japanese (well, except for me amigos south of the border... the American border that is). So I should love the cuisine here in Singapore then, right? Well,... you'd think so, and I would, were it not for two things.
First. I like meat. But I only like meat. I don't like ligaments. I don't like skin. I don't like fat. I don't like connective tissue. I don't like bones. I don't like feathers. I don't like beaks. I don't like organs. I don't like feet. I don't like eyeballs. I don't like marrow. I don't like hoofs, or ears, or any other animal derivative that is not meat! Here in Singapore, the other animal derivatives are popular... and I think even preferred for their alleged flavor-enhancing qualities, so I have a hard time with most 'local' food and even a lot of non-local food that is made anywhere other than my kitchen.
Second. You will find on my desk a bottle of anti-bac. I wash my hands frequently and well. I am sometimes afraid of doorknobs, elevator buttons (aka "lift buttons" here in Singapore), stair railings, and other frequently-touched items. And I'm also afraid of the associated filth of cockroaches, geckos, and other bugs that love the hot, humid weather here in Singapore. I am a bit extreme, I'll admit. And it is not that I think other people are dirty (well, okay, some I do), but I'm just pretty dang sure most people are not as clean as me. And I become especially concerned about others' cleanliness when I think of consuming food made by their hands and in their kitchens using their knives (that hopefully did not just smack a cockroach and return to cutting-up beef for my curry... after all, how would I ever spot or taste cockroach guts in curry?!?).
Paranoid? Maybe. Not so much that I refuse to eat out, but I do scour every eating establishment that I'm considering patronizing for the big red box with the "A" in it. What does that mean? Well here in Singapore, the health inspectors hand-out report-card-like ratings to food vendors. From what I've heard, the visit is randomly unannounced, an inspection is done, and a letter-grade is given, and they are legally required to post it. Now I don't know the criteria of what makes an "A" and "A" or the difference between and "A" and a "B", nor do I want to know or I might never eat out again--but eating at only (or mostly) "A"s does make me feel better.
For that reason, this for me is a very comforting sight:
Thank you to the health-inspectors for making this world a world I can eat in... and PLEASE, do not be lenient!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
playgroup
i've got this book, fun singapore. the goal is to accomplish everything in it. i know i won't be able to, but it sure is fun to cross things off and explore places around here. i want to always be a tourist in the city i live in. i've regretted not doing things in the past because i thought we'd get around to it someday. it is nice to know that our time in singapore does have an expiration date, so i try to do as much as i can while we're here.
i love going to playgroup with our church group every week. it's fun to chat with the other moms and rhett is almost old enough for me not to be so worried anymore. here are some of the fun places we've been to.
haw par villa aka tiger balm gardens
this is quite an interesting place. actually "interesting" is an understatement. it's bizarre. there are a ton of colorful chinese mythological statues mixed with the statue of liberty and tunnels and gruesome pictures. i think it was a theme park at one time? anyway, we didn't even see half of the park before rhett was done for the day. maybe we'll have to go back and check it out again. oh, and those tiger balm garden mosquitoes are immune to the tiger balm mosquito patches. go figure.
tott
best cooking store on the island! they have aisles large enough to pass your neighbor without bumping. and lots of chef and host eye candy! for this playgroup, we baked cookies! a lot of singaporeans don't have ovens, so this idea is a novelty for some. i think they did a great job. we even got cute little canisters to take our treats home in and the bistro was pretty good too.
woodlands waterfront
a new park with an awesome playground. i've got to bring ty back.
you can even see malaysia from the jetty. a nice fisherman let us play with his catch.
the zoo
always a crowd-pleaser.
jurong frog farm
i love going to playgroup with our church group every week. it's fun to chat with the other moms and rhett is almost old enough for me not to be so worried anymore. here are some of the fun places we've been to.
haw par villa aka tiger balm gardens
this is quite an interesting place. actually "interesting" is an understatement. it's bizarre. there are a ton of colorful chinese mythological statues mixed with the statue of liberty and tunnels and gruesome pictures. i think it was a theme park at one time? anyway, we didn't even see half of the park before rhett was done for the day. maybe we'll have to go back and check it out again. oh, and those tiger balm garden mosquitoes are immune to the tiger balm mosquito patches. go figure.
tott
best cooking store on the island! they have aisles large enough to pass your neighbor without bumping. and lots of chef and host eye candy! for this playgroup, we baked cookies! a lot of singaporeans don't have ovens, so this idea is a novelty for some. i think they did a great job. we even got cute little canisters to take our treats home in and the bistro was pretty good too.
woodlands waterfront
a new park with an awesome playground. i've got to bring ty back.
you can even see malaysia from the jetty. a nice fisherman let us play with his catch.
the zoo
always a crowd-pleaser.
jurong frog farm
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