HELLOOOOO .... EVERYONE !

Yes, its me! Nope, we did not fall off the face of the Earth & disappeared ... just busy with stuff, that's all. I have been a terrible blogger coz I know I have tonnes of stuff to blog & I still did not move my big butt ... & just do it. I don't know when I will be able to get myself up to date & I do feel kinda stressed about it ... haha, yes ... I know I'm anal like that, well that's just me.

A quick update!

Hubby's officially now a civilian. For those in the know, we are now officially stepping into a new phase of our life. One bad news though .... errm ... Hubby did not get his (last & final) pay ... yet! That just pissed me off, big time! I mean who works & don't get paid ... DUH! I mean if you were employed by a small-time company, then maybe ... but those who know who was Hubby's employer (our government, no less!) sees it fit to not give him his last pay check on his last day of work (they see fit to only pay him at the end of the month!!!) WTF!!! Our last paycheck was during the 2nd week of January (!!) & we've been gingerly hanging by a thread ever since ... we still are! I am totally pissed off & angry ... coz we were really caught off guard! You would think that one of the biggest employer in the country could at least get this simple thing right ... but I guess Hubby is just a small fry in their big organisation. Nobody cares about the "little men" - the rich & powerful only take care of each other! So while we hang on for dear life with what little money we have left, I am still fuming & bloody enraged! The pay better be in by the end of this month .... or someone's gonna get chopped big time! (it could be Hubby ... haha!).

Well, let's move on to (other much) nicer things ....

My dear Ryan's ... been going to school. There are good days & some not so good ones. He's been crying & refusing to stay in school, clutching on to me or his Daddy (for dear life). He's also missed nearly an entire week of school in February (being very sick) just before Chinese New Year (more about that in a separate entry). So as you can guess, after the loooong weekend ... he was not very happy that he had to (re)attend school. Tears & more tears ensued! Sigh ....

I've been cooking (a lot) these days. Its getting (much) better & I'm relieved to say that I'm coping with the new schedule. When Ryan is in school, I get more than a hour or so of "ME-Time". The house is oooh-so-quiet (you can hear a pin drop) & I can (get to) do some light reading, cook in peace, log on the Internet or just catch up on some daily chores. It seems (much) easier to do certain things, when there's no (rather annoying) 3 year old, breathing down your neck, bugging you every 30 seconds. Oh! don't get me wrong ... Ryan's the love of my life, but every-one needs a little time & space .... even from their loved ones. My (short) time & space comes ... when Ryan goes to playgroup, daily. I thank God ... for helping me keep my sanity & my wits .....

As we are stepping into a new phase of our lives, we have gone totally frugal (meaning : thrifty, cheap-skate) . We try to cut costs by eating more at home (for almost every meal), especially on weekdays. We are trying to cut corners wherever & whenever we can. Its been a tough & interesting journey but we're still learning & experimenting. I am glad to report that Hubby is a firm supporter of this "Frugal Drive". In fact, he comes out with equally (bizarre) cost-cutting measures that help us to trim our expenses, even more. He's also been good at giving me support & lending a helping hand ... in executing these measures. I am glad to report that Ryan has been a real trooper too. He doesn't seem to mind or even remotely care that we are spending a l-o-t of time at home (that's a huge relief!). In fact because we tend eat more at home, his appetite is getting much better! I hope that continues.

I have also been reading a lot on frugal blogs, to pick up any tips that I can possibly try out. I noticed that a lot of these blogs are based in the USA (by mums) & not many local/Asian ladies blog about being frugal (not that we are not frugal). So I guess although a lot of their tips are not really relevant here in sunny Singapore - winter & snow, heating & electricity, Goodwill, couponing, even their penchant of eating lots & lots of beans (?) .... there are still plenty that I can learn. So I'm hoping to learn more from there thrifty ladies - & be a thrifty one, myself.

To tell you the truth, I have actually started a few other blogs in the past ... Yah! Don't laugh ok! I know ... I can't even keep up with one blog, why bother to create more! Well, I did it because I didn't want to write about those specific topics in this blog ... as "Three's-A-Company" is more of a family blog, more about our daily life .... not so much about my many interests. I am at a crossroad ... do I combine these blogs together? I guess one of the reason why I separated them is because when people go to my other blogs, they only read about those specific topic & not so much about my personal life (which I'm not that keen). I know ... isn't it so ironic? If you don't want people to know about your personal details ... then why bother to blog rite? Arrgh! I guess its a fine line of knowing certain details about a blogger that bothers me a little. Take for example my other blogs - I set up 1 blog for being frugal, 1 blog for Bentos & one blog for meals that I cook for my family. The frugal & Bento blog was created last year & hasn't been updated regularly. The new blog I created this year - on cooking home-cooked meals, was something I did up, so that I can get a better idea & keep a "visual-track" of what I cook for my family. I am no great cook & there are no recipes to show (for now) coz I am not confident that anyone wants any of my simple recipes ... haha! I cook & take pictures to "inspire" myself - & encourage my lazy ass to prepare a variety of dishes, create or learn some new & healthy recipes to feed my (rather fussy) family. Not only do the recipes have to be dead easy, they have to be frugal (cheap) & not spicy because I refuse to cook a separate dish just for my kid. Everyone eats the same stuff in this house .... I ain't the maid!

So that's it guys ... a rather long update on our current state of life. I'll try to get some pics up very soon. I guess first up - should be Ryan's 3rd birthday (waaaaay back in January). Ain't I a horrible Mummy ...?!!

Tell me if you guys are vaguely interested in reading up on the other blogs & I'll happily oblige. Meanwhile, take care & I'll see you in ..... real life! To-de-looooooo !!!!