2011!

It's 2011! It really doesn't feel like it, we spent the last hours to midnight trying to convince Gaby to sleep. My sister said matter of factly amidst her colicky cries,

"Aiya I know why she's still awake la, she wants to stay up for countdown..."

For a moment there, I almost believed that my sister had figured out the reason/solution to why Gaby was refusing to give us some peace and quiet. Spending 24/7 with a baby does things to your mind, especially when you're the food supply of that one crying yet adorable thing. haha... Getting married is one thing, having a kid is a whole new other thing. My sister's life really revolves around Gaby now, and having had my mum around for the past 3 months and me for the last month, she's beginning to wonder how she's gonna manage when we go home and Liner returns to work after his new year break. Hopefully by then Gaby would be a little self entertaining once she learns to grab onto things and extend her currently 3 minute attention span.

But man I'm gonna miss the little fatty fluff ball!! (I call my niece all sorts of horrible nicknames, with permission and sometimes, great support from her mum and grandma, haha)

After returning from our short shopping spree in London the past few days, I realised that Ihave only 4 days left here! Time really flies, and you might ask, what have I been doing the past month? Cook, carry baby, cook, shop, carry baby, change diaper, cook, shop, watch tv, read, watch tv, carry baby, multitask carrying baby and cooking.... You get the picture. Thus, I decided to further perfect my egg tart and quiche making skills over the next 4 days. My sister has requested that I make 4 quiches for her to freeze before I go for easy breakfasts. ( I might do that next semester too)Today's tarts.

London was AWESOME. It's always been the country I wanted to return to and made it to my 'countries-I-wouldn't-mind-living-in' list (which was initially a list that had one other country on it.. Singapore) And I was thrilled to experience post christmas sales right in the heart of Oxford Street! (IT's siao man...)

The Toys 'r' us equivalent

Shopping crowd at Oxford Street at 6pm, it was MAD...

And the weather was suprisingly good! Mum and I didn't have to dress up like penguins like we were expecting, temperatures were between 4-5 degrees each day, which, believe me, is surprisingly different from the negatives.

I can't actually remember if this is a view of Switzerland or London... but I'm guessing Switzerland. It wasn't so snowy in London by the time we arrived.

There're a few reasons why I like London so much,

1) Architecture is pretty neat, and it's a place with so many sights and wonders (Big Ben, buckinham palace, Westminster Abbey...) that you would never get bored of looking at them even if ou lived there.

2) They're one of the few places that probably still have a queen and a palace that isn't solely for tourist purposes

3) LONDON WEST END MUSICALS!!!!! We caught 2 whilst we were there, Wicked (again, because I believe it's an AWESOME musical that everyone should watch) and Love Never Dies, the Phantom of the Opera Sequel (which I believe NO ONE should watch).

Theatres in London are pretty small and compact, but still boost amazing acoustics. Plus being so close to subways (most of them are), you'd never have a problem with parking cos you wouldn't drive. And the awesomest thing is that you can eat in the theatres and they sell ice cream during intervals, which, despite being an overpriced gimic, seems to be bought and enjoyed by 75% of the theatre each time we go. Watching the English cast was pretty funny, because all the songs were pronounced differently, and one of them was actually Irish, which was quite amusing (I've never heard an Irish singing on stage.

4) Asian food is easy available and fairly priced (unlike Little Singapore in Australia) And because the pound is always so strong, everythign seem scheap when you're there.

See for yourself! Sushi from Marks & Spencer. We also bought a maternity bikini top for my sister from Dorothy Perkins that was on sale for 1 pound. Cool hey??
My all time favourite asian meal... Rice, minced meat and mushroom stew (it's a taiwanese thing)

5) Subways are pretty amazing and every station is as well connected as singapore. Which makes me feel empowered even though I'm in a foreign country, and if it's one thing that makes me feel home, it's being able to navigate myself around my surroundings. I took heaps of pictures of the subway (since that's where we spent most of our time), but I'm too lazy to upload those pictures of escalators and tunnels.. (They're subways afterall)

6) EVERYONE SPEAKS ENGLISH (I officially have a grudge against swiss.. my sister says it's my inferiourity/racist complex playing up, hahaha). I'll complain another time in case they sue me for posting hostile comments on such a peaceful country.

PEACE OUT! HAppy New Year!! I'm comin' home sooooooooon! :D