Recently, we have acquired a wii set after hearing several good reviews about the games. It proved to be good but tiring entertainment for us, especially when our muscles ached so much after playing 2 rounds of simulated boxing – yes, you can punch Croaky face down. And the fun part is you can create your own Mii to look like yourself!

This is a snap shot of us in the soccer teams – see Croaky on the top position and me after him.

A close up of my Mii – standing next to Croaky and Beckham before the match.

Croaky giving Beckham a good hug after a victorious score!

And this is my Mii running, with the geeky toad staring alongside.

Our favourite game has to be the double player tennis. It’s exciting to wave your tennis rackets (or the controller) to simulate real life tennis. And the computer is smart – each time you win a game, they will assign someone of a higher skill to beat you.

My favourite position is in front. So my missed shots are received by Croaky! I am super blur if I am stationed at the back.

And we have been on a winning streak until lately when we couldn’t beat the players any further.

And Croaky playing bowling…

There are so many wii games out there – no wonder some kids (and parents) are so addicted to it. It’s okay to indulge yourself once in a while. My arms ached so much now – I used so much brute strength in my boxing game. So have enough self restraint and rest your muscles well.

These days, mozzies are getting so much on my nerve that I would lock my windows to keep out these unwanted flying insects from invading my room. I have thought of million ways to get rid of them. And I have bought a slew of anti-mosquitoes products to eliminate this awful entomological race.

If you are wondering what mosquitoes are good for, a google search yields this result But hey they do more harm than good! I am more than convinced that these pests need to be controlled… and I share with you all the tried and tested methods.

1. The mosquito coil

These coils are NOT useful at all. It just chokes the whole room making every single object stinks, especially your curtains and your clothes. And this article says it all. Formaldehyde and one pesticide are emitted as the coil burns up to 8 hours. Health issues aside, these coils do not work! There was once I was awaken at night by a mosquito circling the burning coil! *faints*.

2. The electric mosquito swat

Much raved about by a famous blogger who claimed it could kill all flying insects, including the lizard! Very convincing. I bought mine at mustafa for $3.50 and started waving madly in mid air once I felt an itch in my leg or spotted a flying mozzie across my TV screen. To date, I have not killed a single insect with this and now it is collecting dust underneath my sofa couch. Another white elephant.

3.The electric mosquito killer

I am most gratified by this electric killer which captures my mozzie enemies and allows me to do a ‘dead body count’. However, these funny-shaped insects bear little resemblance to my blood enemies and I am beginning to have my doubts. Are these fruit flies? Houseflies? Or just mozzies which are electrocuted beyond recognition? Where do you see mozzies with such round wings and heavy bodies? Where are their long spotted legs?

4. The sound mosquito repellent

This was another high tech gadget which hardly worked. According to the instruction manual included, it was supposed to emit sound waves that mimic a male mosquito so that the female ones would not come hunting for blood (some theory about female mosquitos mate once in their lives). This article fully dispels any claims that such repellent works. But when you are desperate, you are willing to try…

5. The mosquito repellent spray

The best fail-proof method to arm yourself against mozzies. When all the above methods do not work, I always turn to the spray to save myself. This is quick, effective and instant relief for all. No second mozzie bite after a few sprays. And this is the most potent weapon of all when you need to go outdoors. The only draw back is its oiliness and not-so-pleasant scent (which may mask away the most expensive cologne or eau de parfum). So its best to use it last, when all else fails, or when you are going to a place which you cannot bring along any one of the above.

Manufacturer should invent something new – window grille which emits invisible electric waves which will petrify any flying insect trespassing into your house! I am so looking forward to installing this.

We recorded this HBO movie on our Hub Station recently. This story revolved around a “has-been-popular-in-the-80s” boyband singer, Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) who was struggling to make a livelihood with his expired music career. He met a young woman, Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) who could write lyrics for his music. She used to major English Literature in her university days and had been terribly hurt in a previous relationship with a married professor who made use of her to publish a best selling book. I was the only one who made it through the show. Croaky was already snoring 15 minutes into the show.

Did I say I used to be a Hugh Grant fan eversince I watched Notting Hill? He had such a charming accent, unmatchable confidence and style. Unfortunately, my opinion of him plumetted with his constant string of negative publicity. Despite all these, he is still the very much sought after actor for romantic comedies. Well, what to say? Women like bad boys. Quiet and unattractive men – please stand aside. I am thinking of poor Colin Firth… but this quiet personality played very well in Bridget Jones and Mama Mia.

Music and Lyrics is just the right kind of movie with all the appropriate elements to fill the souls of die-hard romantics. I am not the kind who enjoy the blood and gore in Gladiator or Lord Of The Rings. Nor am I the kind who like to explore dark and serious themes of betrayal, life and death when I am watching movie. I still enjoy to be scared (once in a while) by horror and suspense – The Others and Sixth Sense. Nowadays, movies which are well thought and put together are far and few – think of the poor ending in Pan’s Labyrinth and The Golden Compass.

The following was the hilarious beginning to Music and Lyrics – a MTV played by the younger version of Hugh Grant who was singing and shaking his bum. For a moment, I thought I was on the wrong channel.

And this was the ending which I had missed. Croaky missed recording the last 5 minutes of the movie because there was some error with HBO schedule. I managed to find this on You-Tube!

And the lyrics to the popular hit-song – Way Back Into Love.

I’ve been living with a shadow overhead
I’ve been sleeping with a cloud above my bed
I’ve been lonely for so long
Trapped in the past, I just can’t seem to move on

All I wanna do is find a way back into love
I can’t make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart to you
I’m hoping you’ll show me what to do
And if you help me to start again
You know that I’ll be there for you in the end

And finally, if you like the music, download here.

Download Way Back Into Love MP3

We had nothing much to do on Saturday and hence, we decided to try out this new place called the Sunset Grill at Seletar Airport (Croaky says Tom Cruise used to land here with his private jet). Having read the reviews on an internet forum, we armed ourselves heavily with insect repellent and left home early at 6 pm in order to catch a glimpse of the “sunset”. We GPSed “Sunset grill” and arrived at the place in a jiffy.

It looked very much like a cze char stall right smack in the middle of wilderness, albeit you can find displayed aircrafts at an arm’s length.

Burning mosquito coils at your feet was a common sight. With our double/triple protection, we did not suffer from any bite! Miracle.

The food came quite promptly. Pork chop costs $18.90. Rather expensive, if you ask me. NTUC sells pork chop for $3!

And we did not catch the sunset because the sky was shrouded with too many clouds…

It was too crowded despite it’s inaccessibility. And the better seats (on the platform) were reserved as early as 6.30 pm.

I shall recommend my favourite seaside restaurant in another entry – The Shore Restaurant.

I experimented with the jiffy cake mix bought from NTUC a fortnight ago. Sad to say, it was a big mistake; the cakes were deemed inedible by Croaky as they were too hard and dry and most importantly, they had corn bits inside them (not my fault!). The corn cake mixture contained hard particles which appeared like corn but could hardly be bitten. It was not crunchy and it didn’t taste good. Croaky recommended we finished them ourselves or threw them away.

They look quite innocent in the picture above, don’t they? The chocolate chips on top were from Ghirardelli (we got a lot of leftover chocolate bought from US).

The next time I bake I will buy Betty Crocker good old banana nut mix. Croaky loves those muffins.