The hubby's THREE-O!

I did a search on google on turning 30 for excerpts on what normal folks rave about this so-called 'milestone' when they leave behind the high-life 20s and move on in to the 30s, Ewww.. 'middle-age'. It was rather entertaining.. while there were all sorts of reading materials ranging from an inane blog of a bloke '30thingsbefore30' who obviously WILL fail to fulfill his target due to his seemingly procrastinating nature, to articles on New York Times and Washington Post ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s about folks thowing huge parties akin to weddings and bar mitzvahs, and to definitions from psychologists on the same topic. I think turning 30s aint that bad a thing after all coz it will seem like you've lived alot longer than your 30 years after reading all that junk.. 

Closer to home, the hubby's celebration wasn't a piggy bank-breaker but it sure was a little opulent, with special thanks to his pals, CORE + extras for coming up with the wonderful THREE-O deal after their 21st birthday some eons ago.

I thought about it hard about how the hubby's old age was really not a surprise to me. Here is my top 10. Just for you, P-cube!

1. We now dine at 6.30pm when we go out so that the lil one will be home early for her shower and sleep time before 10pm.

2. Miley Cyrus is damn young and she is only 17 and oh, Adam Scott is just 28

3. Before going out anywhere, you ask what the traffic is like and what time we have to leave the house to get there on time.

4. Sure, you have more disposable income, but everything you want  to buy costs between USD200 and USD5000

5. You don't get funny looks when you buy a Disney DVD or diapers from Walmart, as the sales assistant assumes they are for your child

6. You cannot resist the lure of  self-assembly furniture

7. To compensate for the fact that you have little desire to go clubbing, you instead like to stay at home and play DOTA or FFXII or that game Cyril got you, in the mistaken belief that you have not turned into your parents

8. You find yourself saying "They don't make 'em like that anymore"

9. Instead of tutting at old people who take ages to cross the pedestrian crossings, you KPKB about school teachers whose diction is poor

10. You come face to face with the fact that the indestructibility of the 20s will never return, and you have graduated to a new check-box (30-35); when you take those damned surveys from now onwards and look at that, a 14-piece set of Pyrex bakeware costs USD20 and would have cost USD11.95 for just 6 pieces

Here are the pictures of that wonderful day of realisation.

Shortly after the clock strikes 12

In the morning when the sun came up, K was rearing to go

 Doing the power strut along Preston Street

First stop: Sprinkles

K was curious so we went inside

Cupcakes galore!

The SA took out a box

Surprise 1: A boxful of cupcakes for Paul. See if you can make it out..

Next stop: Lunch at R + D Kitchen

 Waiting for our turn

Still waiting..

2o mins later. We got our seat.
Rave reviews so we had to try - Deviled eggs (pronounced 'De-viled' ;p )

 Their famous tuna salad - so good, it tasted like chicken

Also another highlight - Rubensque sandwich, coldcuts with fab salad and dressing. Handcut fries in the background, devoured by K

K had to smile, looking at the spread

Back home and a knock on the door, a surprise no. 2 for Paul awaited

Carefully opening his 2nd box (the first box he opened was something that he had ordered for himself)

A lil blue box appeared with a loving message

Aww.. so sweet

Oh yeah, he was pleased. It was not just any Oakleys after all.

Surprise no. 3: A samsonite trunk organiser. I quote him 'This is damn OCD loh'. He then paused and looked at me. Yup, Paul is OCD and he knows it, so, definitely perfect gift.

In the meantime, we gave K a lil surprise so that she doesn't feel all that left out. Her 2nd YO birthday pressie from Aunt Mavis... thank you again! 6 months later..

We found this on the door. Another parcel to be picked up from the management office

K looked a lil tired out from missing her nap time for this impromptu trip to the office

Surprise no. 4: Another package..

Completely puzzled

'What kinda present is this?' Still puzzled

Ah-hah.. a 3-wood drink dispenser-cooler for his golf bag.. he will never go thirsty again! Woe to the wife who has to clean it in the bathtub

In the meantime, K entertained herself

Dinner time and I had a craving for Chili's molten choc cake so off we went

Surprise!

The spread was enormous. Too bad we couldn't pack the unfinished cakes.

A Great big thank-you who came to celebrate Paul's birthday and also gave another surprise Amazon birthday voucher to the lucky fellow. I wish I could invite more friends for the party but not on a housewife salary please.. ;p

Wen Iang, Aden & their handsome chaps, Athen & Lucien

Ryan, Eileen & gorgeous daughters Lorene, Cadence & Kaylen, and of course, Ryan's Mum, Aunty Chan

Andy & Looloo or lulu or Lieyang

Surprises 7 & 8! Powerpoint postcards from the mushy couple, James & Doreen...

 And our golfing kakis - we miss you, Fiona & Eric!

Back home, K most probably suffered from a sugar rush and played and played.

The evidence.

More updates to this blog to come. 2 days after the birthday, yet another surprise arrived... a skinny black box with a shiny something that I had to wait for Paul to take the pictures to give it some justice. 

P.S. I never knew blogging was so time-consuming! I am editing my NY resolution from twice a week to just once! 

OUR FAMILY!

A simple outing to the Corner Bakery Cafe

We had driven past this cafe for the longest time since it is just round the corner from some of my favourite shops. It was a really cold day and I was wondering whether the food there is any good.. I didn't want pho and Paul didn't want Indian so we trekked over there... it was really cold and hence trekking was really, the right term.

The promise - the Chicken Pomodori Panini

I was curious about what 'panini' means so according to wiki:

In Italy, a panino (Italian pronunciation: [paˈniːno]) is customarily made from a small roll or loaf of bread, typically a ciabatta or a rosetta. The loaf is cut horizontally and filled with salami, ham, cheese, mortadella or other food, and sometimes served hot after having been pressed in a grill. A toasted panino, colloquially called "toast" by Italians, is made out of two vertical slices of pane in cassetta almost invariably filled with prosciutto and a few slices of processed cheese, grilled in a sandwich press. In Central Italy, there is a popular version of panino which is filled with porchetta, i.e. slices of roasted pork. It is traditionally served without any kind of sauce or topping.

In the United States and the UK, panini are typically grilled or toasted and invariably contain cheese.

Some maintain they are the same as 'toasties' but with a different shape.

The actual sandwich did turn out pretty decent, pictorially and really tastefully.. I liked the coffee but Paul thinks it's so-so) The coffee's from Java City which promised that each bag of coffee is handroasted and air-cooled... oh well... I will definitely head back in again to try out their coffee again... too bad my coffee machine is too strongly watted to be converted for use in the US... off for some online shopping for something decent for the tenure here!

The bread bowl was filled to the brim with yummy corn soup titled the Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder (Aw, I just found out on the site that the soup alone has already 220 calories)

All finished and done!

The kitty cat getting fully kitted out - the scarf was a lovely pressie frm Nat *thanks!*

Back into the cold! Brrrhh!

The sun was shining, there were cakes, pizzas & shakes all around!

It seem like such a long time since we last had an update! The past 2 wks have past so quickly. We had an outing to the mall with the other mummies and kiddies and of course, the boxes arrived.

Playtime with K's new friends!
19 Mar 2010

The mummies were courageous and we went out to the Caffe & Ristorante Cibus by Lombardi at Northpark Center. It was a bright and sunny day and the cafe leads out to an open courtyard and faces a really nice Louis Vuitton boutique. It was perfect venue for the children to romp in the dried leaves and comfy furniture.

 

Cadence and Athens

 

Kaylen and Lorene

 

Mummy Eileen and Cadence

 Mummy Wen Iang, Lucien and Athen

 Linda and Xavion

K lying on the comfy bench

Lucien looking at a leaf

The children all lined up on the chairs

It was a fun day out to celebrate Wen Iang's belated birthday.. tired for the lil ones.. and the mummies too! Let's do another day out soon!