A Walk Outside

Hello everyone!! How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't been writing much -- besides being busy with school and my little brother, I've been having the flu! I had a fever for days, but am better now, just that I have this stupid cough and sometimes a head and tummy ache. So my Mom has been taking care of me and giving me my nasty tasting antibiotics. I've finished my homework now though, so I'm going to share with you some photos I took!

My Mom takes us for long walks to the beach almost every day and each time there's lot of different things to see. These are photos I took on one of those walks (except the one on top of course, which was taken by my Mom! I was about to go for ballet then haha).

So first let me show you the mangrove swamp we always walk past. The canal leads to the sea. The swamp area used to be much bigger, with lots of herons, snakes and monitor lizards, but that has greatly decreased :(

That day, we were so lucky to see this little bird in the bougainvilleas! He or she looks like a hummingbird, don't you think? But my Mom says we don't have hummingbirds here, and he is actually a sunbird. In fact, she thinks he may actually be a spiderhunter, one of the largest species of sunbird.

Like hummingbirds, sunbirds feed on nectar, and also insects and spiders. They have long, curved bills, and tubular tongues for nectar feeding. They're so cute!

Some sunbirds can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, see? They fly very fast, so I was happy to catch these shots!

There are lots of beautiful trees and plants by the sea.

My Mom says many of them have been here for years. I hope they stay around for many years more!

Many ships pass through here. Singapore is the world's second-busiest port and the world's busiest transshipment port. Ships like this one are so huge they look gigantic even from the shore. My Mom says LNG is a tanker that transports liquefied natural gas. The ship has a double hull or body to protect the cargo from damage or leaks.

Out at sea, there are lots of these kelongs. Kelong is a Malay word for these sorts of offshore wooden structures. They are built mainly for fishing, though there are fishermen and their families living in the bigger ones. They are secured to the sea bed by tall wooden posts that go down several metres into the sea. These ones look like they're resting on the water surface, but there are many that are elevated high above the water and you have to climb up the rickety beams. My Mom told us she did that when she was younger. The kelong she went to was out in the deep sea and she could see big shiny barracuda in the water below!

Now let me tell you about this thing. We had been seeing it in different parts of the sea for days already and I finally remembered to take a picture of it. The first time we saw it, we said it looked just like the head of someone with goggles and greasepaint on, half-submerged like those people on secret missions. Then I said he was in some competition for treading water, and that he had outlasted everybody.

You see -- he refuses to give up! That's why he looks like this now.

There were many poor dead crabs on the shore that day. The bottom of this crab shows he is male. When they are alive, we can see them running about in the shallow water and then suddenly diving and disappearing into the sand.

I read an article that said that unlike what a lot of people think, crabs and other crustaceans DO feel pain. My Mom has always believed this and refuses to eat them (and animals in general). Once, we rescued some crabs from the supermarket. My Mom says that those poor crabs and lobsters we see tied up in the supermarket or in the tanks at restaurants are boiled alive. Now a university study has proven that these poor animals do feel pain! And if you read how the study was done, you will see that they are smart, thinking creatures too! So please don't eat them!

There are lots of sea stars washed up on shore too. Don't call them starfish because you know they aren't really fish. They don't have backbones for one thing, but fish do. Did you know that sea stars can grow a new arm if they lose one? They also don't have brains or blood, and move by using hundreds of tube feet on their undersides.

Now let me share with you a very sad picture. This is a beautiful bird we have to walk past every time we go to the beach. He is quite far away so we can't tell what kind of bird he is, but he has a very long tail and sings very loudly and sweetly. I think it is very very wrong to keep a bird caged. Caged birds cannot stretch or use their wings and are lonely and bored. Imagine being trapped like that all day, every day! He must be so sad when he sees the wild birds calling to each other and flying past. Mommy says there is a poem by one of her favourite writers called "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings". One verse of the poem is:

The caged bird sings with fearful trill

of the things unknown but longed for still

and his tune is heard on the distant hill

for the caged bird sings of freedom

Isn't that sad?? Please don't ever get a bird for a pet, unless you are going to build a bird sanctuary in your backyard or are rescuing one that has been abandoned.

Well, before I go, let me share with you something happy -- a picture of my little brother who is now one month old! He is getting cuter and cuter every day! I love him!!! He is soooooooooooooooooooo adorable! I just want to hug him and squeeze him FOREVER!!!

Thank you for visiting! See you again really soon!!
 

Sojourn!

Hello everybody!! How have you been? As you can guess, we've been busy here with Baby Jacob. He is sooooooooo cute and getting bigger and stronger every day. If you don't know, I've been guest blogging a bit at Bikbik & Roro -- go check it out!

Today I thought I would quickly share with you a little movie my Mom made! My grandma came over one day and helped look after Jakey, so Mommy quickly took advantage of that free time to do it! She says she is feeling quite "art-deprived", meaning she hasn't been able to do any art or crafting at all. She always has lots of creative ideas in her head, but usually not much time to work on them. So she was happy to be able to try this stop motion experiment when she had the chance! She had to rush though and says it was harder than she expected, but I still like it! "Sojourn" means to stay somewhere temporarily. This is a song Jacob listens to sometimes, hope you enjoy it too! Have a super lovely weekend!!

A New Sibling!

Hi everyone! How have you been? I hope you had an awesome school holiday! Did you know that my Mommy was pregnant? Well, she was! At around six in the morning, she woke me up and said she might be going into labour. You can bet I got up right away! I grabbed my hospital bag and hopped into the car. On the way to the hospital, Daddy said we needed to stop at the gas station to fill up the car. Talk about being unprepared!

When we reached the hospital, the nurse said I could not go in to the delivery roon with Mommy because I might get scared and cry or scream. That was really silly and unfair! Mommy's gynae had actually said I could go in with her. But even though I said that I would definitely not be crawling around the room weeping with fear, she said I should sit outside in the visitors' lounge. So I unhappily trudged outside, and dropped myself into the seat. Daddy soon came upstairs to the lounge and sat with me to keep me company.

After awhile, we saw two nurses pushing Mommy and the baby to a room for them to rest. I chased after them! When I went inside, I handed her a bunch of flowers that Daddy and I had gotten from the florist earlier on. The room was quite nice! A big screen TV, a wide couch and a bed with all sorts of buttons for Mommy. "Praise the Lord! We have a baby brother!" Ro and I sang, as we jumped around excitedly.

Later on, a nurse came in and asked us what we wanted for lunch and dinner. The food wasn't bad, for a hospital anyway.

I watched some TV and listened to some relaxing music. I ended up lounging about and reading a lot. Then Mommy let us take a trip down the hall to peek inside the nursery at all the newborn babies. When I saw the cute little babies, I almost fainted at their adorability. Awwww! And now I can help take care of our own baby! Yippee!

I went back into the room, and crawled into bed with Mommy. We talked and read and watched some movies together. Ro and I played together too, but Mommy told us we had to be quiet just in case our voices carried.

Later in the evening, I decided to take my bath since it had been a long day and I was so sweaty. The bathroom was big, with a huge shower and nice body lotion and shampoo -- almost like a hotel! I changed into my pyjamas which I had packed in my hospital bag.

I was going to sleep on the sofa bed (there wasn't enough space for Ro, so Daddy took her home for the night), but it was super cold there because the air-conditioner was blowing like crazy on it. So Mommy invited me to sleep in her bed with her -- yay! I climbed in and snuggled up under the cozy blankets!

Here's a picture of me blogging about everything that happened!

And here's a picture of me with my baby brother! His name is Jacob and we call him Jake for short. Mommy says I can post more pictures of him when he's less sleepy looking. My baby care handbook said that babies like looking at black-and-white, high contrast things more than multi-coloured ones. So I painted a picture of a chess board for him. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HIM!

OK, see you soon! I have to go help carry Jakey now! Thanks for dropping by!

* I'm guest blogging about this here!

Waves in a Bottle!

Hello everybody!! How have you been? Are you ready to go back to school? I'm looking forward to seeing Nicholle and Maisy! We had so much fun together during the holidays! Yay for good friends you can count on!!

Just yesterday, I got a bit creative and made this little experiment in a bottle! I like to shake it around, or flip it over and shake like crazy. Then the whole bottle turns blue, with a million teeny little yellow bubbles of oil floating around. After a while, the blueness settles down and I will roll it around on a table to make extremely mad waves. Then before the waves die down, I'll quickly stand it upright, so that the bubbles fly everywhere, like seagulls! After all the flipping, rolling and shaking, I do it all over again!

When I get tired of all the crazy shaking, I watch all the bubbles float down, piling on top of each other at the bottom to make a seabed. It's quite fascinating actually. Sometimes I decide that maybe all the insane flipping might cause the bottle to slip from my hands, and CRACK! So, maybe doing all that stuff is kinda dangerous haha...

Hey, do you know what the "twilight zone" is? It is the middle layer of the world's oceans, that part of the pelagic zone that goes down from 200 to 1000 metres below the ocean surface (the pelagic zone is any water in a sea or lake that is neither close to the bottom nor near the shore). According to Wiki, some light penetrates this deep, but it is insufficient for photosynthesis. Animals such as swordfish, squid, wolf eels, cuttlefish, and other semi-deep sea creatures live here. They are adapted to life in near darkness, cold water and high pressure. Also, there is enough sunlight for animals, such as the chain catshark, to be fluorescent! Here's my little twilight zone in a bottle! I hope you enjoy watching!

Bye and thanks for visiting! Remember to visit me at Bikbik and Roro, where I have been guest blogging for the last week!
 

Paint With Water!

Hello everyone! How have you been? Today we finally have a bit of rain and the PSI is at the "Moderate" level -- yay!! I wonder if it ever gets to the "Good" or the "Go and Play" level?

My Mommy got us this cool Paint with Water thing which is really cute and fun! They have palettes on every page, which is handy, and super cute pictures for you to paint! Come visit me at Bikbik & Roro where I've been guest blogging for the past week -- I'm gonna be sharing more about this there, so please stop by and have a look! Bye and come back again soon!

Nicholle's Birthday!

Hi everyone! A couple of days ago, I attended one of my friends' birthday party! Her name is Nicholle, and there she is next to me -- isn't she cute! It was a cozy little party at a really nice restaurant. Our parents sat at another table, while we chatted and ate together.

This is what I ordered, and Nicholle ordered the same too. Doesn't it look good! It's mushroom spaghetti, with extra cheese -- super yum! We had lots of drinks too! The restaurant had a little corner at the back of the restaurant where you could continually refill your glass with hot or cold water, Milo, lemon tea or pop. I had Milo -- lots of it!

Here comes the cake! I love cake-cutting time. Did I mention that I LOVE cake-cutting time? It's always so exciting when the cake comes, and you get to guess what the cake looks like while the host or hostess picks open the box.

Nicholle had ordered a lovely yellow mango cake from the bakery. Here we are -- Nicholle, the birthday girl in front of her cake, with me and Gwenyth on either side of her. We sang the birthday song, and Nicholle made her wish and blew out all nine candles.

Nicholle had brought her "Little Engineer" set for us to work on. Here we are fixing pieces together to make a little radio. When we were done, Nicholle flipped the switch and a "Happy Birthday" song came right out of the little speaker. It was so cute! Nicholle loves building things and she's really good at math and science -- maybe she could be an inventor or engineer!

The party ended after dessert (I ordered vanilla ice-cream) and Nicholle gave out cute little goody bags with yummy snacks in them, like strawberry Pocky sticks. Here we are together just before we left. The party was so much fun and I can't wait for school to start and I can see all of my friends together! Yay for good friends! Happy birthday again Nicholle! Bye for now and thanks a lot for visiting my blog!

On Sadness and Cuteness

Hi everybody! How have you been? I hope you all are doing OK, although the weather and haze pollution are so bad. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) went up to 401 today. I've learnt that the PSI is a sort of measure of the air quality. Zero to 50 is good, while 101 - 200 is unhealthy, 201 - 300 is very unhealthy, and anything above 300 is hazardous. So we are in the hazardous range now. The smell of smoke even comes into our house although the windows are shut. Plus the temperature is 35 degrees :(

I read in the news that "Indonesia on Thursday accused Singapore of acting "like a child" over thick smog from forest fires in Sumatra that has triggered an environmental crisis, as the city-state's premier warned it could last weeks" (you can read more here and here). I feel sad that there is all this bickering going on while there is such a bad environmental crisis happening which is not being fixed. I also feel so bad for the poor wildlife that is being affected :(

Let me share with you something happier. Remember the cat pin my Mom made for Maisy's birthday? It was so cute, I wished I could have one too, so my Mom made me a little one! This is a tiny Ragdoll kitten! He reminds me of my cat Ming Ming.

This pin is actually very small, just about 3.5cm. But he has a cute star in his ear! This is what he looks like close up. Isn't he simply adorable?

And this is what he looks like on a cardigan! Isn't he sweet?

My Mom actually put some cat pins in her shop. This cat head is one of them! I love his colour and his beautiful green eyes. These pins are environmentally-friendly because they are made with recycled, reclaimed things. My Mom has been taking some custom orders for her cat pins, so if you want one, just email her or me! They are OOAK (one-of-a-kind), so you can look super cool wearing a special work of art!

OK, see you again soon! Try to enjoy the rest of your June holidays even if you are stuck indoors. Keep praying that the haze crisis can be fixed peacefully, permanently and soon!!!

Shelly and Me make a Movie!

Hi everyone! Good to see you all! How are all of you?

A few months back, I bought a cute little green solar-powered tortoise at my school's science fair. His name is Shelly Tortoise! Shelly can walk, shake his head and wiggle his tail when he is put under sunlight. Here is a little filmlet made by the one and only ME! Hope you like it!

Did you like it? Now it's time for:

Question Corner!

1. The sun gives off more energy in ___ second than people have used since the beginning of time.
2. Name some things that we can use solar energy to power.
3. Solar electric panels are made out of ___.
4. Name some things that we can use electricity to power.
5. Solar energy is a ___ energy source and is ___!

Once you have figured out the answer to any one of these questions, please leave a comment along with your answer! Thank you and I hope you enjoyed my little movie about Shelly T! Come visit me at Bikbik & Roro, where I will soon be guest-blogging! Bye and see you again soon!  

Maisy's Birthday!

Hello everybody! How have you been? I hope you've been having a wonderful June holidays! Last Sunday was so much fun -- we celebrated my best friend's Maisy's birthday! Here we are at Maisy's house, eating all the super yummy goodies her mom made! Maisy is wearing her cat ears because she really loves cats -- isn't she cute!

Just look at these cupcakes! They had sugar stars and little silver balls -- they were sooooo good. Maisy's mom baked many awesome treats for us. Those little cups in the background are delicious fruity jellies.

Maisy's mom was so nice and invited my little sister to the party too! There's Ro gobbling up something yummy! After stuffing ourselves, we all played many fun games, including Werewolf, Jungle Speed, hide-and-seek and catch.  

Here's Maisy's dad carefully taking out her birthday cake! It was a big pink cake with Barbie in the middle. But although it was pink, it was actually chocolate inside -- yum!

Here's Maisy with her cake! She's so cute -- just like a little kitty!

Maisy didn't want a whole bunch of candles, so her daddy just lit one.

Here we are after we sang the birthday songs and Maisy blew out her candle. Ro looks really fascinated by the cake, or the doll, or both.

Everyone wasn't sure how best to cut this doll cake. In the end we agreed that it would be best to just pull Barbie out first. We were curious to see what would happen when we did! It turned out that Barbie's legs were all wrapped up in cellophane. After she came out, the cake looked like a sweet pink volcano.

This was a pin my Mom made for Maisy because she loves cats so much. I wonder where Maisy will pin it! I think it's adorable; I hope she'll make me one. What a lovely time we had -- happy birthday again Maisy!

See you all again soon!!

My First Pin!

Just yesterday, my Mom allowed me to make my own collage pin, just like the ones she sells in her shop! I chose a picture of a tiger and cut it out. I then glued the tiger to a thick board and asked my Mom to help me cut that out. That part was quite hard, because the board is very thick and the cutter has to be very sharp. It also isn't easy to cut around curves and corners!

I looked at a bunch of scrap papers my Mom had and selected a nice green paper. I cut out the flower shape and stuck my tiger on the green background, along with two paper butterflies! Then I added a few sparkly stars and varnished my pin.

This is what I made! I thought it came out quite good for my first time, don't you think?

This is a close-up of my first collage pin! Isn't this tiger beautiful?

I always think of tigers as proud, majestic and very independent. Tigers hunt and live alone. Did you know that a tiger's closest relative is the lion? Without their stripes, it might be hard to tell a tiger and lion apart! Tigers are very large -- they can reach 3.3 metres and weigh up to 306 kgs! Their canine teeth can reach almost 7.5cm long!

When you look into this tiger's eyes, what do you see? I see a bright, happy face which fills me with a joyous feeling, but I am sad that tigers are actually critically endangered because of habitat loss and illegal hunting. Poachers poison their water and set traps to kill them so they can sell their body parts and skin for stupid traditional Chinese medicine recipes. There were once eight tiger subspecies, but three have become extinct. This is a tragedy! You can read more about tigers here and what you can do to help.

I have to go do my homework now. See you soon, and wishing all of you blessed school holidays!

The Golden Rule

Yesterday my Mom told me about what is called "The Golden Rule". The Golden Rule states that "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself". Does that sound familiar? If you are a Christian, it probably would! Jesus said it like this: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets".

This is also a lot like what Jesus called the Greatest Commandment. A teacher of the Law came to Jesus and asked Him which of the commandments was the most important. Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments".

My Mom explained that when we are being good and kind to others, even those who are not our friends, we are loving them and obeying these important commandments. Also, isn't that how we want others to treat us? I would not want to do anything to someone else that I would hate being done to me. This means we should always think carefully about the way we talk to others, and how we treat them. Are we being kind and helpful, or unkind and mean? Are we being nice to other kids in school, or are we hurtful and rude? The Golden Rule reminds us that just as we do not like others to be mean and hurtful to us, we should not be mean and hurtful to them.

In friendships, I am finding that there are all sorts. Have you heard the phrase "It takes all sorts to make a world"? My Mom says it a lot, especially when we have to deal with rude people in the shops or on the train. I think it's like that in friendships too. Some friends understand the Golden Rule, and are kind, loyal and dependable, while others are not -- it takes all sorts. My Mom once told me that there are many grown-ups who are terrible friends because they don't know what it actually means to be a friend. Usually, they are only thinking of themselves.

I have a book that describes some of the things that make a good friend. Like, a good friend is a friend you can trust. A good friend is supportive. A good friend is kind and compassionate. A good friend treats you with love and respect. A good friend sticks with you in good times and bad. But I think all of us know this, because even if we don't know the Golden Rule, we do know how it feels -- we all would like friends like that.

But we need to be friends like that too. I like this quote by Charles Kingsley: "It is only the great-hearted who can be true friends. The mean and cowardly can never know what true friendship means". My Mom says that people who are bad friends aren't real friends, and usually don't have real friends either. And this will carry on even when they are grown-up, which would suck. So it is really important that we get it right from early on. The world would be a better place if we all made sure we are good friends, because all the things that make a good friend are also the things that make a good person.

So my Mom checks on how I behave in different situations. She says it is important not only to her, but to God too. Am I kind, respectful, loving and helpful? She always reminds me that God is watching even if no one else is and He has given me a conscience to tell me when I am behaving well or badly. Our conscience tells us whether we are following the Golden Rule. How we treat others shows whether we are really nice and also how we were brought up. My Mom actually wrote a post about "Kindness and Good Manners" and said she expected me to always remember to show both. Not all moms tell their kids that I think. And some kids don't get to see their parents much, which is pretty sad.

In the picture above, you can see me with my sister. She is a great friend and I know I am really lucky to have her. My Mom shared with me this poem, and I thought I'd share the last bit of it with you. It is called "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti. If you have a sister, then you'd know you are really blessed!

"For there is no friend like a sister

In calm or stormy weather;

To cheer one on the tedious way,

To fetch one if one goes astray,

To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands".

Are you a good friend? Do you follow the Golden Rule? I hope so!
See you again soon!

Sylvanian Famlies Shop!

Hello everybody! How have you been? I have been busy with my exams, but they're finally over now -- yay! Do you see what I got in the mail? Yes! The Sylvanian Families 2013 catalogue, all the way from London. As you may know, I am a Sylvanian Families Collectors Club member, so they send me these things every now and then. Let me share with you a bit of what's inside!

Wow, the Sylvanian Shop will be visiting Whitchurch in July! It looks like it will be so much fun. On the other page they tell you to make sure you buy your Pay & Display ticket on the same side of the road that you parked your car. I guess they don't have the stupid parking sensor things like here. Have you noticed how a lot of times the things don't "sense" your car? Usually when there's a whole bunch of cars waiting behind you. Then they get a man to stand next to the sensor to make it work, which seems even more dumb.

The catalogue is really quite thick, about 63 pages, with lots of pictures and info inside on everything you could possibly want from the Sylvanian Families. I recognise a lot of the things, but I think some of them are just not available in Singapore -- like this adorable sailor Rabbit family. Aren't they cute?? Lucky British kids!

I'd love to have this house!

 And this candy floss cart!

And this fish & chips van! I love fish & chips. The bear looks so cute in her uniform. It says her name is "Francesca the Fish Fryer".

The magazine also has little projects for you to try, like clay cakes and these fancy hats! I might ask my Mom to help me make these!

Also, there is some important information on how to clean your Sylvanians. Have you ever taken their clothes off? They look so cute naked haha. The magazine says you should not use any water on your Sylvanians, and to brush them very gently or their fur will come off.

OK, I'm going to go practise on my piano now! See you again real soon!