Did she just say...?

So now that Juliana is talking a lot more, she's starting to say all kinds of stuff! Recently, she began to say "sit," but it certainly sounds much different coming from her, if you know what I mean. It's a matter of time before she starts saying that in public...!

Well, it's been a lazy week with the holiday. Juliana is starting to cut two more teeth, so she's been sleepy and a little cranky. We had to miss the Little Gym yesterday since she had a mild temperature, but she didn't seem to mind after playing outside for a while. Hopefully she'll be feeling better next week since she's got all kinds of stuff to do...a play date, two music classes, gymnastics, and swimming. She's a busy girl!!

Chinese New Year

For Chinese New Year, we were invited for dinner at our landlords place. I was still a bit sick and tired, but I refused to miss it and I'm glad we went!!

Juliana adores all of them, especially their two daughters, so she had fun playing around and showing off for them. She had so much to discover in a new place with new toys!

When they began setting up for dinner, Jacob and I were amazed at the spread. There was so much food and lots of new dishes to try. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling up to trying too much, but I did get to try the abalone soup and yu sheng. Both of these are traditional Chinese dishes. The soup is very flavorful and is comprised of pork, abalone, and mushrooms seasoned with ginger.

The picture below is of the three of us with Bethel and Eden. That vegetable dish was also very good! We asked for the recipe to see if we would be able to recreate it at home! The dish to the left is the prosperity salad, or yu sheng.

The picture below is a close up of the salad. At the bottom, there are mixed shredded vegetables, such as white radish, cucumber and carrotts. On top of the vegetables, you add different marinades, dressings, and condiments, including sesame oil, plum sauce, white pepper, five spice powder, salt and other ingredients depending on the recipe. Next comes the chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, parsley and shrimp crackers. Finally, on top of everything is the raw salmon. The wikipedia encyclopedia states, "Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor."

This salad is served to raise good luck for the new year. Family and friends gather around the table and using their chopsticks, toss the ingredients and mix up the salad. Traditionally, they will also chant Jíxiáng Huà, or auspicious wishes out loud, marking the beginning of a prosperous new year. As Sue Lynn told us, the higher you toss the salad, the greater your fortunes will be, so we tried to get as high as we could!!Even Juliana tried to get involved with the tossing!Overall, it was a wonderful evening and a nice way to spend our Chinese New Year here in Singapore. We got to learn more about the traditions associated with the holiday and try some new foods as well. Jacob and I always enjoy spending time with them and Juliana loves the attention!!

Japanese Garden

After a long day at the hospital last week and a couple of days of complete exhaustion, I wasn't up for a whole lot during this holiday weekend. On Sunday, Jacob wanted to take Juliana to the gardens and I could barely walk across the apartment, so I passed. They went and Juliana must have had a good time, because she came home smiling!! It's always good for dad to have his time with her too, so I'm glad they still went together.

Pictures to share

She's just so adorable!

Enjoying time with us this afternoon...

Hanging out with her stuffed animals...
She's finally growing more hair! Cute little mo hawk...Juliana was showing Jacob her forward rolls too that she learned how to do at the Little Gym. She's so proud of herself! No pictures of that yet, but I'll take some this week at class.

Chinese New Year

Monday, January 26 will mark the beginning of the 15-day celebration for the Chinese new Year. This is the year of the Ox and the outlook for my Chinese zodiac, the Dog for 2009 is as follows:

The Dog should brace himself for many changes in 2009. These changes could go to extremes are either good or bad. Then again, having many happy and joyful events can help the Dog avoid the bad and negative events from happening. Dogs are also advised to stay on the move or be mobile. By always being on the move and consciously introducing changes to his life, the Dog can turn negative energy into good ones. It would be a good year to pursue plans of working abroad or going overseas, same goes true in renovating the house. There are two lucky stars shining on the Dog in 2009, these are Hua Gai and Sui Jia. The star Hua Gai represents artistic ability, intelligence and inspiration. This means that Dogs in the creative and design businesses would be more productive as they get lots of inspiration and at the same time enjoy more appreciation and recognition in the year of the Ox. With the star Sui Jia which represents progress and career promotions, Dog can really look forward to a brighter year with a good chance of getting good career luck and better development.The stars that the Dog should watch out for are the unlucky stars Jian Feng, Fu Shi, Huang Fan and San Xing. San Xing connotes poor human relationships while Jian Feng means injuries brought about by metal objects. By donating blood or getting the teeth cleaned by the dentist, the Dog can avoid these injuries. He is also advised to attend more joyful occasions as this could further boost his luck. If it is really necessary for the Dog to handle metal objects, he should be careful and he should always wear protection.

I guess it's good that we are already living overseas and maybe that means we'll be staying for the full project?? I hope so!! We'll see, I guess. I also like the fact that there is a positive outlook for my career, so hopefully I will be able to find a good job in the coming weeks!!

For the New Year, we are planning on going to dinner at our landlords house, for a home cooked meal. We're looking forward to it! Then there are lots of events taking place in Singapore throughout the next two weeks that we're hoping to enjoy. It's fun to be here right now, because the city is full of life for this holiday, decorated and anticipating the celebrations throughout the island. Everyone seems to be anticipating the coming year with optimism and hopes for positive changes in the economy.

So, as the Chinese would say: Gong Xi Fa Cai...or otherwise known as a wish for prosperity and good fortune in the coming year!

Words and signs

Juliana is so smart and she amazes us more all the time! She has been saying more words and practicing the sign language from her Baby Einstein DVD.

Some new words in the last couple weeks: eye, head, nose, teeth, dog, sleep, cat, book, two, and some others that we can't quite make out just yet.

She's also been doing the signs for play, friend, ball, cereal, drink and all done a lot more often.

We're also working on Head, shoulders, knees and toes. She's got head and shoulders down, but we're working ont the rest. It's adorable, because she can say the others words, but doesn't know the order yet.

Next week, we're trying out a swimming class to see how she likes it...I'm sure she will though!

On a side note, I got another job offer! I didn't take it, but it just felt good to get one and it was actually here in Singapore this time. Just wasn't the right fit and the search continues...

City life

Lately, I've been missing having a car. Especially with all the running around we've been doing, it would be so convenient just to be able to drive to everything instead of taking the MRT. It adds times to everything!! But then again, I also get to do a lot of walking, which has been nice. Once in a while though, I break down and take a cab, especially after grocery shopping if I'm not close to home. It's so much work to live in a city!

So today was one of those cab days...I had a doctor's appointment and the medicine they gave me to take at lunch made me feel so exhausted and groggy. I decided to skip the extra walking and get a cab. I have met so many interesting cab drivers, some nice, some not. There are those who would prefer to just do their job without having to put any extra into it. Then there are those that strike up a conversation and if I can understand them, it's always pretty interesting. Today was one of the conversation days and he was asking me about living in America and how I felt about the inauguration of Obama. It seems that everyone is asking me about Obama lately! I didn't stay up to watch any of the news coverage, so I don't have a whole lot to say about the subject.

After talking about Obama, he moved on to how long I have lived in Singapore and what we are here for. The question is always asked, "So, how are you handling the heat?" And my answer is always the same...it's tough. Especially as the temperature slowly increases and the wind diminishes. More time at the pool in the next few months!

Other than not having our own car, I like living in the city and an apartment. I never imagined I would enjoy it, but it's growing on me. The only noises that bug me are all of the jets flying by during the afternoon since there is a flight school in Tuas and the construction going on nearby at the school they are building...although that's not all that bad anymore. And it's nice to be able to walk to a store, the bank, a mall, the park, restaurants, etc. in about ten minutes.

I'm sure we will eventually settle into a house someday, but not anytime in the near future! We don't know where we'll be in a year, nevermind a few!

At the park & Feng Shui

Just down the road, across from Jurong Point is the Central Park. We finally decided to walk through it today...not so exciting, but at least I know now. Juliana had some fun on the zip line and slide, but we lasted all of twenty minutes or so before leaving.
So, another topic on my mind lately is Feng Shui. It's nearly impossible not to experience it in some form or another, since it's a huge part of the culture here in Singapore. Feng Shui is the practice of arranging objects, such as furniture and decorations to help people achieve their goals and avoid bad luck in their lives. In English, the literal translation of feng-shui is wind-water.

We have a couple of things in the apartment right now that we placed according to a compass to follow the beliefs of feng shui. One is the Dragon Tortoise, placed on the desk to bring good luck in your career. The belief is that "With dragon courage and tortoise longevity, a long and successful career await you." I also hung a Five Element Pagoda charm which is believed to fend off any bad luck for the year. The shape of the pagoda also has special meaning...it represents the strengthening cycle of the 5 elements. The bottom, earth shaped, strengthens the metal on top of it. The next shape, water, nourishes wood which feeds the fire on top of the pagoda.

It's amazing how closely people follow the beliefs of feng shui, much like a Catholic follows the ten commandments and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It's a way of life for people and they set up the environment in such a way to ward off bad luck and create fortune in their lives. Maybe it will bring us some luck too, who knows!!

Updates

Hello everyone!! Well, it has quite a busy week. Tuesday morning, I took Juliana to the doctor since she was due for her next immunization. Unfortunately, she didn't have it because she had the start of yet another ear infection and a throat infection!! Poor girl. So, more antibiotics and then another couple weeks until the immunization. She also cut her tooth over the weekend, so with everything going on, no wonder she was having trouble sleeping.

Wednesday, I got to start out my day with a lovely trip to the dentist and that is never good news. But all I can do is take it in stride, right? Then I met up with a woman from America that just moved out to Singapore in October, like us!! Her husband also works out in Tuas and they have a little girl....so maybe Juliana will have a new playmate!! It was nice to talk to someone that I could relate to and share our experiences about living "with the locals" rather than downtown where most expats live.

Thursday was Juliana's Little Gym class and I brought Jean with us. I wanted her to experience Juliana's classes in case I do find a job and cannot go to all of them with her. So, Juliana was a bit cranky to begin with and then ended up fine towards the end. She got to do forward rolls!!! Before the Goodbye song, they sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and my smart little girl did so well. She's got head and shoulders down and slowly working on the rest.

Finally, Friday was her Kindermusik class and Jean went in with her for this one. Juliana had a wonderful time!! I enjoyed watching her play her instruments, clap along to the music and interact with the other kids. She is slowly getting better at being in groups, which is one of the biggest reasons we put her into some playgroups. I also signed up for a class of my own, but I'll keep that a secret for now until the final product is done (I hope!).

The good news is that I received my official certificate in the mail for TESOL and will be starting two other online courses for Teaching Young Learners and Business Students. Also had my first interview...not a good fit, but at least I got one over with. The search continues...

No other news...Jacob is busy at work and had a lot of meetings this week. And Chinese New Year is coming up, so he will have a four day weekend. It will be nice to relax and take in some of the festivities!

Tea time!

Ever since my grandmother got Juliana her Tinker Bell tea set for Christmas, she has enjoyed having tea parties! Now that she has the table on the terrace from my mom, she enjoys being outside with her teddy bear and the tea set.


We pour the tea into the cup, then she adds cream and sugar and mixes it all together with a spoon. We even got her clinking her tea cup when we say, "Cheers!"

She also got a baby doll for Christmas and has been a wonderful mama! She feed her with the bottle, burbs her, cuddles her and pushes her around int he stroller. It's absolutely adorable!! She also gets jealous when Jacob or I cuddle with the baby...she tries to climb on our laps to take over our attention!That's about all, just wanted to share Juliana's newest interests with everyone!

On the search

Hello everyone! It's been a tough couple of days since my mom left. We're very close, so it was wonderful to have her company and see her enjoying time with Juliana. Juliana is still saying "Nana" and giving me that perplexed look when she walks in the guest room. I can't wait for her to come back out to visit us.

Now that I'm nearing the end of my online TESOL course, I've started looking for jobs. Got a few more offers for China and Korea, but nothing for Singapore yet. I'm hoping to get lucky enough to be considered for a position similar to the one in China...excellent pay, great opportunity and good hours. So if you read this and know of anything, let me know!!!

Busy week ahead...I tried to fill it up to take my mind off missing my mom and family. Juliana has her two playgroups, and a doctor's appointment. She just cut another tooth today as well, poor thing!! That makes it twelve little teeth now filling her mouth. We're also going to get together with some fellow Americans, yay!! And an ASA meeting as well, that I'm hoping I won't back out of at the last minute.


It was a mellow weekend. We took Juliana to IMM to play in the water yesterday and hung out at the apartment today with some swimming this afternoon. Juliana is exhausted and cranky with that tooth trying to make its way through her gums. But it was nice to have some family time at home!

So sad...

Well, my mom's visit has come to an end and she will be leaving very early tomorrow morning. We've had such a good time and I really enjoyed being able to show her around and share new experiences with her. Juliana has gotten so close to her again over the past couple of weeks and it's going to be hard to see her go. She's been saying "Nana" all the time now and giving my mom hugs and kisses. This is probably the hardest part about being out here in Singapore...my family is so far away and I miss them all so much. This morning, my mom got Juliana a gift for our terrace and the two of them sat outside to have a little tea party.

I'm feeling down with my mom leaving, but I know she is planning on making another trip out this year with my cousin and grandmother, so that helps. In the meantime, I have been searching for jobs since I'm nearly done my online TESOL course. I put in a few applications this week and will be sending more. I did get one job offer though...but it's in China!! I wish it was here, because the pay was great. Hopefully I can find something soon and put my degree and certificate to good use!

One other picture to leave you with of Juliana playing with another toy from Nana and having a lot of fun...

Little Gym and Fountain of Wealth

Yesterday morning, my mom and I took Juliana for a trial class at The Little Gym. It's a gymnastics class for infants and toddlers, 10-19 months (they refer to that age group as Birds). They have all different kinds of mats, parallel and uneven bars, beams, a parachute, music, singing, running, and so much more. Juliana really enjoyed the class, because she got to move around a lot and climb on all of the mats. She even got along with some of the others kids, but certainly had a lot more energy than them, except for one little boy who have her a run for her money!! My mom and I were more exhausted by the end of the class than she was...she probably could have kept going for hours.

So, at the beginning of the class, all of the kids get to use musical instruments for the "Hello" song. This is the picture of my mom and Juliana singing and making music. Next, they run around in a circle and sing different songs.
We got some free time to use the equipment and Juliana did really well on the balance beam!!
This was the parachute and the kids had a good time. Juliana enjoyed being in the middle...center of attention as usual!
This is Juliana jumping, with my assistance.

I think we'll sign her up for classes in the near future since she had such a good time. It will also give her another opportunity to interact with a group of toddlers.

After the class, a light lunch and a stop at Tanglin, we headed over to Suntec City so I could show my mom the Fountain of Wealth. In 1998, the Guinness Book of Records added it as the largest fountain in the world and it has held the title ever since. In Chinese culture, water is the symbol of life and wealth. The inward pouring of the water in Feng Shui represents riches pouring in. When you walk out to the middle of the fountain, there is a sign that tells visitors what to do. First, you touch the water and then you circle the smaller fountain three times and make a wish. This is believed to bring good luck.

Both my mom and I took a turn at doing our laps around the fountain and making our wishes. Who knows, maybe they will come true!! Wouldn't that be nice?!

Juliana's room

Yay! Juliana's room is finally decorated. My mom had sent a few things from home for her walls and then she got a couple things in Chinatown as well. It looks adorable!! The pink sign above her door says "Princess Juliana" and she certainly is treated that way by her Nana!

This is a handmade picture of a Geisha girl and the two fans were also from Chinatown.

These were the animals that my mom sent from back in the U.S. and the picture to the far right is of the characters from Madagascar that we came across at Suntec. It looks like a painting. Juliana loves animals, so these were all very fitting for her room.

The things hanging from the ceiling are a lantern, a zodiac wind chime and a dragon...all from Chinatown. The lanterns, which are usually red, are hung in households as a symbol of union and prosperity. This tradition has been going on for over 500 years and there are numerous different types of lanterns in all sizes, shapes and colors. The wind chime is handmade with horses, a Chinese zodiac (but not Juliana's...we just liked the horses). The purple dragon, hanging in front of the mirror is another good luck symbol that dates back to ancient China. They believe that the dragon represents prowess, nobility and fortune. We got to see some of the Dragon Dance when we were in Chinatown and it will continue through the New Year.

So thanks to here nana, Juliana finally has some decorations to look at in her room!!

I feel so pampered!

I finally broke down and decided to get my hair trimmed since it's been about five months. A lot of the salons are having specials right now due to the holidays, so while my mom and I were out today, I stopped in to one of them. I'm glad I did, because it was really nice!! So, for less than it costs for a wash, cut and blow dry at home, I got all of that, plus a head massage. It's weird...they don't shampoo your hair in a sink, they do it right at the chair with a water bottle. For about ten minutes, she was massaging my head and shampooing my hair and then took me over to the sink for a rinse. It was very relaxing and she did a great job cutting my hair too.

Afterwards, my mom and I went to our spa appointments for a massage and facial...one of her Christmas gifts for me (and her!). The massage was wonderful and this was the first time I had a facial done. I walked out feeling like my face was glowing and cleaner than its ever been. After our treatments, we even got a "dessert," but I'm not really sure what we were eating. It was good though, so I guess that's what matters.

The day finished up with our pedicures...another gift from my mom!! They even threw in a paraffin wax treatment for our hands. They fill a plastic glove about halfway with wax and then you put your hands in. It stays on for about twenty minutes to harden and afterwards, my hands were super soft! It was a nice day to share with my mom and I'm glad I got to experience a few new things with her. I don't normally get to "pamper" myself, so it was the perfcect gift.

Chinese New Year light up

The festivities for the upcoming Chinese New Year started on the third, so we headed to Chinatown to see some of the lights, decorations, parade and music. It was crowded, but we managed to walk around the side streets. Found a couple of things for the house and late Christmas gifts we have been looking at, but are very, very cheap in Chinatown compared to elsewhere. My mom also got Juliana some decorations for her room.

This is the year of the Ox, so there were lots of those around. Here's some pictures of Chinatown...Mandarin oranges are given to family and friends during the New Year, because they are associated with good luck and are believed to usher in prosperity. So, there are tons of mandarin oranges emerging in all the markets and lots of mandarin orange trees.

Another tradition for the New Year is to hand out red packets filled with money to the younger generations. Maybe Juliana will get some of those for her savings account!!!

At night, Chinatown lit up...all of the red lanterns were glowing and after 7pm, and a huge a parade began with dragons, music and dancing. Juliana really enjoyed it!! She also made a wish...

The Chinese New Year is January 26 and since it's such an important holiday out here, Jacob has a four day weekend. We look forward to seeing some of the other events in the next several weeks!

Happy New Year!

So, we had a nice dinner at home that my mom cooked...some homemade Chinese food. Then, we headed out towards Clark Quay to begin our evening. After some wonderful dessert, we decided to take my mom for a walk along the water front, through Boat Quay, the Colonial district, by Mr. Raffles and the hotel. We ended up in Marina Bay to check out the wishing spheres and have a drink at one of the bars.

Afterwards, it was still early, so we took my mom over to see Merlion Park and then back to Clark Quay since they had a lot of festivities to ring in the New Year.

Some pictures to share:

This is my mom and Jacob by the water front...

This was the bay, filled with the wishing spheres that kept changing color. Our wishes were out there somewhere! And Merlion Park, which was packed with people waiting for the fireworks...Back at Clark Quay, there was a lot going on. A stage in the center had live music and there was a parade of entertainers walking around...

There was a countdown with all of the clocks from around the world...We had a beer and watched the crowds while waiting for the end of 2008. We got a seat right on the water overlooking Clark Quay and rang in 2009 ! It was nice to have my mom here to celebrate the new year and look forward to many more changes in our life.

Today, Jacob and I talked a lot about the coming year...what we're looking forward to, our goals and things we would like to change about how we live our life. Moving out to Asia has given us a new perspective on the kind of life we would like to lead and the example we would like to set for Juliana. Here, we are forced to slow down a little and enjoy our life rather than wasting our time trying to get everything done and please everyone else. It's been an eye-opening experience and the coming year is sure to present many opportunities for us to explore ourselves as individuals, parents and a couple.

Happy New Year everyone!