This is one of my favorite pictures - Lucy on the left and Fischer on the right. They love playing together. Next week they will spend 4 days together while we are traveling and I can guarantee that Lucy will be sad when she comes home.

We gave her a stuffed chick for Easter and she was in heaven, alternating between lying on it and protecting it, and ripping it to shreds. All in all, it was exhausting.



So tired after a long day with the Easter chick.

We have four kids - Ollie, Hocus, Fisher and Lucy.

Today was a gorgeous sunny day in San Diego so I let the kids out to play. Lucy took a nap...

Ollie hid behind a plant until he figured it was safe...look at how cute he is!


Hocus ran around exploring the back garden. She likes to roam.


And here's Fisher exploring in the sun.


And those are the kids. Well-behaved, don't eat much, pretty low maintenance.

It was chilly in the morning (for San Diego) but I could tell it was going to be a gorgeous day - perfect for running if it didn't get too hot. Eric and I met up with some friends in the morning and went over the race start. Since this was Eric's first half marathon, he was nervous and excited so we wanted to get there a little early.

The race itself was really pretty through Rancho Santa Fe, over rolling hills that seemed to go uphill both ways. It was a tough run but we managed to persevere. The next day my legs were definitely feeling it. Along the way we met up with a bunch of friends from paddling and the tri club which was really nice. After the race, we saw them all in the beer garden too - sponsored by Stone Brewery, that was not be missed! At the end of the day, I am not sure he's sold on the idea of another half marathon, but we'll see...

Here is Eric with Ollie, our kitty, showing off his race.


medal

Happy Chinese New Year (CNY)!! A new acronym for me, but hey, you learn something every day.

Feb 7th starts Chinese New Year, the year of the rat. The entire country shuts down to celebrate and the mad shopping frenzy starts early in order to make sure you have secured all of the special food and articles you need for the most festive season here.

Even the MRT station wishes you a Happy Chinese New Year...right above the camera. That's typical Singapore for you.


Chinatown is the place to be.

No blog entry would be complete about Singapore without including the amazing food here. Singaporean food is known for being spicey and as diverse as it's culture. Every time I come here, I try to sample something new.

This time it was durian - the King of Fruits! Durian is so smelly that it's not allowed on the trains here. The texture is um...different. It's very yellow and soft around the large seed. If you close your eyes, you can imagine that it's like custard...almost...a combination of sweet and sour. I have to say it's not for everyone, but my friends Edwin and Carmen LOVE durian and took me to try some.


This is what it looks like:

Where? Exactly...why I wanted to go there.

For the weekend, I went with a friend of mine to wonderful Bintan, Indonesia. From Singapore, it's only a 2 hour ferry ride away. We picked a place that was marketed as an "adventure resort" and as gorgeous as the scenery was, it was an adventure, to say the least.


Here is a snapshot of our activities.




This 3 hour hike - uphill - was in about 100 degree weather. Note the ropes to help us get to the top of the mountain. Would have been good to know about beforehand, or I probably would not have worn my Tevas! I did mention that this was an "adventure" right?



The place we stayed in was amazing too. How cool is this??



Breakfast in Bintan was unique. Who knew that ramen was a breakfast dish? Well it is!


One of the highlights was how people get around - they basically pile everything on a motorbike. It can be your entire family or your entire crop of goods.

I arrived in Singapore early Tuesday morning. My legs are tired from the run and I developed cankles during the flight. I look like elephant woman from the knees down. I went to my hotel, Shangri-la, and checked in early, took a shower and headed out for my all day meeting. By about 3pm I was ready for bed, but the only way to recover from jetlag is to acclimate to the new time zone right away. So I went out with some friends to a neighborhood outdoor market area called "Chomp Chomp".

We ate all kinds of great food - satay, noodles, shrimp dish and the highlight for me - stingray! This was the first time I had eaten stingray and I have to say, it was pretty good. It was prepared with lots of chili paste on it so it was super spicy, but the fresh sugar cane juice washed it down nicely and it was delicious.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw the most amazing festival. Men were walking down the street carrying these complex and gorgeous arrangements on their bodies and what was incredible about it is that everything was pierced to hold them in place. It is called THAIPUSAM. This famous Hindu festival has to be witnessed to be believed. In a gesture of penance and seeking forgiveness from the gods, male Hindu devotees make the three-kilometre walk from Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple to Sri Thandayuthapani Temple, laden with enormous kavadi, or portable shines. The kavadi is pierced to the devotees' body by spikes and skewers; it is normally borne on the body, and sometimes dragged by the devotee like a chariot. Supporters of the kavadi-bearer gather around him, chanting prayers, clapping and shouting their encouragement along the way. This fascinating, logic-defying ceremony lasts the entire day, and observers are welcome.

Here is a picture of one contraption - notice the bells hanging off the flesh of his arms. If you are questioning if it's pierced, assume it is!

If you want to read more about this annual festival, check out this link:
http://www-singapore.com/festivals/festival2.html