Long haul flight to Singapore

Via

Every time i fly home, I tell myself, never again.

But of course, year after year I buy myself a ticket, and brace for the worst.

Wanna see the itinerary?


Charlotte --> Houston (2 hr 41 min)

Houston --> Moscow (11hr 30 min)

Moscow --> Singapore (10 hr 25 min)

Total distance: 12,065 miles
Total duration: 24hr 36min (28hr 39min with connections)

Before I can even get over the initial jet lag, my two weeks will be up, and there I go again. Back to Charlotte on that nightmarish flight schedule. Why on earth did I move halfway across the world?!!

One major plus point this time is that I am travelling on Singapore Airlines. I don't know if you've had the opportunity to be on this airline, but I'm proud to say it is one of the best, for the following reasons:

1. The Singlish (Singapore English) spoken by the cabin crew make me immediately feel at home. I converse with equally spirited Singlish.

2. Every time I wake from my sleep, it's meal time! They don't give you a chance to feel hungry.

3. Their ultra long complimentary drinks list, ranging from scotch to riesling to Singapore slings. I don't need no sleeping pills, just bring me 5 Bloody Marys and i'll sleep like a baby, I promise.

4. Awesome inflight entertainment -- I watched 2 movies, 2 documentaries and created my own playlist which included Regina Spektor! Who?

Except that i think I broke my inflight entertainment from pushing the buttons too much. Then I was reduced to reading on my Kindle, and having depleted my battery 10 hours later, I contemplated on demanding an upgrade to business class. But I didn't think they'd buy it, so I weighed my options and settled on subjecting myself to heavy drinking (which I don't mind one bit!) It was La-la-land, pretty much after!



P.S. I'm typing this in the dead of the night, just because jet lag is unforgiving.


Sweet dreams, my friends.

Crafting: Elmer the patchwork elephant Inspired Quilt

Sorry for the long absence!

I have been focusing on my upcoming vacation, and all the projects I was supposed to have done, but procrastinated.

Here's one such project: my friend S ordered a twin-sized quilt from me about four months ago, and one week before I leave for Singapore, I get my ass down to doing it. She wants to gift this quilt to a friend who loves elephants like I do! S told me to design the quilt with Elmer the elephant in mind. I didn't want to make it too childish as it is a quilt for an adult. But Elmer is a patchwork elephant, I have to make a patchwork quilt! The more colors the merrier!! I just hope it's not going to be too heavy. I have to pack it into my luggage.





Day 1 of the Labor Day weekend:
Frantically cutting squares into triangles, only to piece them back into squares again.
I have a vague sense of futility...





Day 2: First quadrant. And then 5 more.





Day 3 : Quilt top is finally done. I have to go get some batting tomorrow, and some more fabric for the back of the quilt before this is completed.

I used Michael Miller's Fairy Frost Collection of 50 different colors. No, I didn't go out and buy 50 bolts of different colors. Thank goodness for Etsy, I bought 4 packs of quilting squares, all nicely cut up for me to use!



But for now, time for some well deserved rest. I need to get back to reading my very exciting Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

This has been one intensive Labor Day (pun totally intended, *guffaws*)


What did you do this Labor Day weekend folks?

Puppy love : Potty training

I'm sorry if you did a search on google for a beginner's guide to puppy training and found this page.

This is nowhere near a guide to training your puppy, but our grueling experience in the very first week of getting our little Scuffy Nuts. If you're here because you wanted to learn how to train your dog, I sincerely hope you get something out of reading this. On the other hand, if you are an experienced puppy handler, please do not shake your head and close this page after reading. I would appreciate lots of guidance and constructive comments! I'm also still learning! :p



When we brought Scuffy home, he was only eight weeks old. Our very first mistake was to treat him like an adult doggy, since we were so used to Boops and Daisy (my in-laws' dogs). They were pretty trained when we lived with J's parents. We forgot Scuffy needed to learn everything Boops and Daisy already knew.



So Lesson #1. Potty training.

--------------------------------


How to get Scuffy to understand not to do his #1 and #2 in the house?

We still don't have 100% success. However, it has only been the first week. So even though it has been frustrating, we are not discouraged.

Every time he pees and poops in the house, we make him sniff at his mess, smack his bottom and take him outside. We bought a clicker and use it when he successfully does his #1 & #2 outside, and heap lots of praises at the same time. Just be careful not to overuse the clicker, it loses its meaning if the clicks are used randomly and not associated with good behavior.

I take him outside first thing when I wake up in the morning, and also do it just before we go to bed. During the day, I take him out every 2 hours. I read somewhere that the puppy's age in months is approximately the number of hours it can hold its pee. 8 weeks = 2 months = 2 hours.

We try to keep his eating and drinking to a strict routine so we can anticipate when he needs to go potty. We feed him three times a day, but leave the water bowl out for him to drink whenever he needs to.

But i watch him like a hawk. Especially when he drinks more than usual. Now, I can usually tell when he walks in funny way, like he needs to go. Scuffy is also getting the idea. He whines when he needs to go and then I let him out. So his potty training is coming along, slowly but surely! Woo-hoo!


Phew! And this has just only been one part of living with Scuffy!! There's so much more to tell, and even more to learn!

So sit tight and stay tuned for more Adventures of Scuffy Nuts Russell III!

Latest Addition to the Russell family

Remember this?

Well, in short, my friend Gwen's dog had given birth to 3 little puppies. I went over to visit and fell in love with them, only to find out they were all spoken for...

A week later, Gwen sent a text to say that my favorite puppy has not been picked up! She asked if I wanted to have him. Hell yea! Whoever didn't pick him up is missing out! This has gotta be the cutest thing alive!

Well, so we went and got the puppy. We've been potty training him (not easy), teaching him to sit (relatively easy) and leaving him in his crate when we're not home (VERY TOUGH!) This little guy has got the saddest whine ever.

To make things worse, we found fleas on him. So we gotta take him to the vet's tomorrow for his first round of shots and to de-flea him. But he has been such a good doggie. He let us give him a bath, and sat so still when we flea-combed him.

Did i mention that his name is Scuffy Nuts Russell III? J had 2 male dogs when he was young. Both were named Scuffy Nuts and Scuffy Nuts Jr. So naturally, this little pup is the third.

As for his Chinese name, we call him Xiao Bao Zi 小包子。He is 1/2 miniature schnauzer, 1/2 boston terrier, also known as a mini boz. We felt 'Boz' sounded very much like 'Bao Zi' in Chinese, which means "Bun", and reminded us of our time in China. So he was thus named.

Here are some pictures we took the first night we brought him home.
Warning: the following pictures may make you melt like butter.

Favorite Things: Top 10 Singaporean Comfort Food

It's 2 weeks before I fly home. I've been making a list of foods to eat when I get there. Singapore is a melting pot of ethnicities and cultures, so the variety of cuisines is readily available in all corners of our little island country.

Here is my Top 10 list with just a teaser of what each food is about. Hopefully, I'll remember to document them when I'm in Singapore so I can share them with you when I return. Right now, I just want to day dream and talk about Singaporean food all day!!

1. Laksa

A spicy coconut-based curry soup served with thick rice noodles, shrimp, and cockles. I load it up with at least two tablespoonfuls of spicy sambal belachan chilli paste. It's legit.

2. Hainanese Chicken Rice

Boiled white chicken, served with rice flavored with chicken stock and garlic. The dish is served alongside 3 different dips : chilli, ginger, and dark soy sauce.

3. Carrot cake

Not to be mistaken for the dessert. This fried "carrot cake" is a misnomer - there is no carrot in the local carrot cake. Made from stir-fried radish (daikon) cubes and more affectionately known as "chai tow kueh"

4. Bakut Teh

Easily one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for herbal soups. Bakut Teh is pork ribs stewed in a delicious herbal concoction. Served with rice and an equally to-die for dip of dark soy sauce and super-spicy chilli peppers, known as chilli padi.

5. Durian

I don't know if this picture is the best portrayal of durians, but durian is to fruits what Elvis is to Rock'n'Roll. 'Nuff said.

6. Chueh Kueh

My guilty simple pleasure. This is steamed rice cake topped with diced fried radish. I have an unhealthy obsession with radish as you may have come to realize.

7. Egg Tart

Finally! A pastry! An egg custard cradled in a melt-in-your-mouth flaky outer crust.

8. Bak Kwa

Similar to jerky, but ten times juicier and more fragrant. Also known as barbecued pork.

9. Ya Kun Breakfast Set

Ya Kun Kaya Toast is a chain of cafes that serves up simple local fare. I always get a set of toast with a butter-and-sugar spread, black coffee and soft boiled eggs.

10. XO Fish Head Noodles

No "XO" is not your "xoxo". It refers to XO Brandy. Any broth with a happy splash of brandy automatically wins hands down. The fish head won't really bother you much after.




Hungry?




Photo credits: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]