June's happenings...thoughts & feelings

Celebrating Sumin's Birthday (14 Nov 09)

2009-12-06T11:52:00.003+08:00

Yet another bdae celebration! It's Sumin's birthday and we all had a potluck dinner at Shian's parents' place. We also bought the cake as a surprise!

Baby Evangeline's 1st mth (8 Nov 09)

2009-12-06T11:46:00.003+08:00

How time flies! We were just sec sch classmates then and now Tabitha's son is coming to 2 years and Michelle has a baby and it's her Baby's 1st mth celebrations! Congrats!

We had a great time catching up!

Great Eastern 10K Run (1 Nov 09)

2009-12-06T11:13:00.004+08:00

After the 5KmShape Run in July, I was feeling an all-time high and with great confidence, i signed up for the 10Km GE Run for 1 Nov. Little did i remember that i would be tremendously busy with work and business travels throughout Sept and October. I was so busy with work that i hardly exercised from Aug till October and so i got nervous a week before the run and decided that i probably won't go because i don't want to go and faint on the spot!

The night before the run, just as i have decided not to go. I took out the race pack to glance. I figured i need not go because they actually gave us the entire race pack even before we finished the run, unlike the Shape Run. As i was reading the instruction, it says that there will be a medal given out to those who complete the 10K run. I was hesitant but yet I thought of all the joy and pride and self-accomplished feeling i would have if i had gone ahead with the run.

Sheena encouraged me and told me it is going to be ok. Dear also told me that he will actually be there to physically support me and that he would walk with me if i can't run! I decided....what the hack! Just go lah! At the most, i shall walk throughout the race! Hehe....

Early next morning, dear made his way to Padang with me to report for the run. I started out on my own but was soon joined with Dear in the run with me. In fact, he ran by the side of the barriers throughout the 10K to cheer and encourage me to complete! Thanks Dear!

I did it! ....with Dear and with Sheena's encouragement! It was pretty tiring and in fact, i injured my toe and my toenail actually came off! But well...i had a wonderful experience! I glad i completed the race~!

Shian's Dad's Birthday (28 Oct 2009)

2009-11-15T22:34:00.003+08:00

It was Shian's dad's birthday. As it was a weekday, we decided to celebrate out and we wanted to find a place that is kids friendly and easily accessible for everyone after work. We decided to go to Shodoku at Raffles City again due to the good location, variety of food and reasonable price. Most importantly, there is a kids playground there that can also entertain the kids. And, i must add - it was such a coincidence that we got the exact same table as the last time my family went!

Here's the Swensen's cookies and cream cake:

The grandparents and the grandchildren:

And once again, the must-have group picture:

Sheena's Birthday Celebration (10 October 2009)

2009-11-15T19:41:00.004+08:00

It's yet another birthday celebration in the family. This time it was Sheena's birthday. We went to Shokudo at Raffles City for dinner for a change.

Sheena got her all-time favourite Macademia Nut Ice Cream cake from Haagen Daz. The boys looked just as happy with the cake...except gal who looks a bit blur :)

There was a pretty good variety of food there and we got a good promotion due to the birthday celebration. Worth visiting again :)

Yi Chian & Jong Ku's Wedding ~ 3 Oct 2009

2009-11-15T17:51:00.003+08:00

It was Karen's SIL's wedding. A cosy but grand affair at Equinox Private Dining Room. Shian and I were honoured to be the emcees for the evening. First time we were emcees at a wedding. Quite an experience. Shian spoke in mandarin and i spoke in English. Thank God the couple and everyone else was happy with our hosting :)

The food was pretty good. The special part about this wedding was that the groom is a Korean, so the songs were Korean, the couple also put on the traditional Korean costume. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to take pictures of the couple :p becos everytime the couple came on, we were busy on stage as well.

After the wedding dinner, we started taking pictures amongst ourselves since we were all dressed up. The 3 kids went to bed early in the hotel room, so we didn't mange to catch them in their cute and form attire.

Princess Claire's Birthday Party (26 September 2009)

2009-11-15T17:34:00.005+08:00

We seem to be having a cake and a birthday celebration within the family every 2 weeks. This time it is Princess Claire's birthday. For a change of photo backdrop - we decided to have it at my house this time.

Princess Claire requested for a Princess Cake....so here's Cinderella :)

The must-have family photo again:

Everyone took turns to present birthday presents to the birthday gal.....here's Shian and I with the cute little gal:

Here's a close up of the gift we got for her....once again, requested by her. Kids these days....they really know what is available in the market and they can really tell you what they want....and we adults go hunting for the gift. hahaha.

KL Trip (19-21 Sept)

2009-10-25T13:26:00.008+08:00

It was Jason's wedding. Shian and I decided to go over to KL for the weekend since its the Hari Raya long weekend. Few of my other colleagues, Linda, Stella, Melvin were going over to Jason's wedding as well. We decided to take the Aeroline Coach bus since it stops very near the wedding venue.

Shian with his breakfast on Aeroline:

Us feeling satisfied after our first meal at Chillis, Mid Valley in KL..thereafter off to shopping!:

We went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the wedding dinner.

Group picture at Jason & Angie's Wedding:

The wedding banquet was held at Maya Hotel, and we had a good view of the Petronas Twin Tower as we were leaving the hotel:

Early next morning, we had breakfast at KLCC, followed by taking the KL monorail just to experience it:

Here we are at Pavillion - the new and classy shopping centre at Bukit Bintang area. It was shopping followed by lunch at Old Town - nice coffee and local food there :)

Thereafter, we watched the movie - The Ugly Truth there. It was quite funny and well, watching movies in MY is always very worth it for us due to the cheap rates we get there. It was more shopping thereafter.

Finally, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the night out! The groom came to pick us up and off we went to Lunar Bar!

Great view of the city and even the Petronas Twin Tower there. We got a seat at the non-smoking area but we went over to the open roof area for some picture taking.

We had breakfast at KLCC again the next morning since we stay just opposite. Thereafter, it was more more shopping followed by lunch at Mdm Kwans's! Awsome local food at affordable prices.

With that, it marks the end of our short KL Trip. We went back to the hotel to do some last min packing and Dear wanted to take this picture to remind ourselves of the pathetic ironing board we had in the hotel..haha...

And then off we went to board our Aeroline Coach back to SG.

Gavin's birthday celebration (12 Sept 09)

2009-10-25T12:45:00.004+08:00

It's Gavin's 8th Birthday. We all got sick of take-aways and deliveries, so we decided to have a pot-luck party and wanted to exempt Mum from cooking, so she can rest. Shian and I did the Honey Roasted wings. Haha...we are not seasoned cooks yet, only done some simple cooking at home for the both of us. First time we are cooking such a big portion. We decided to go to the wet market for the first time since we are buying so many chicken wings. We went to Tiong Bahru Market, and scouted around as to which stall we should go to. Finally, the store that we wanted to buy from - i repeated my order twice, and the Uncle said he didn't understand me! Finally he got his daughter to take my order. Gosh....am I that bad?

Anyway, i think we are not quite used to seasoning such a big portion of Chicken Wings, turned out it was not as nice as when we cooked just enough for the both of us at home. Nonetheless, our family supported us by finishing everything :) Our chicken wings looking good in the oven :

I bought the cake for Gavin this time, also from Swensens. Since it didn't cost much difference to request for one of those kiddy decos, i decided to get it for him:

Haha...another family photo taken at my parents' place:

Presenting the birthday present to Gavin:

The boy is happy, the gift was what he requested for - remote control speed boat!

Gareth's Birthday Celebration (29 Aug 09)

2009-10-25T12:21:00.004+08:00

It's the time of the year again! Gareth's 6th Birthday! How time flies.....he is such a big boy now...very intellectual as well....he can really hold conversations with adults. Smart boy :)

Here's the cake that Gareth chose - Blackforest ice cream cake from Swensens.

The must have full family picture:

We all took turns to take pictures with the kids, here's Shian and I with the 3 kids:

Present time! We all took turns to present the gifts to the birthday boy and here's Shian & my turn! Claire joined in the picture as well.

See how happy and excited the birthday boy is as he opens his presents :

Gathering at Tabi's Hse (22 Aug 09)

2009-10-25T12:00:00.003+08:00

We were discussing about meeting up for the longest time. I guess everyone's busy....but we were saying that we must meet up before Michelle gives birth! So finally, we met up for lunch at Tabi's place.

The guys playing with Kendrick:

Ex-sec school classmates....gosh how time flies:

A must-have group picture before we left for the day:

Great time catching up and looking forward to the next gathering!

Catching up with the JieMeis (6 Aug)

2009-08-23T09:39:00.003+08:00

It's been some time since the JieMeis and I met up so Shuyu and Wenshan organised this gathering. Too bad Adeline and Andrea couldn't join us! It seems that we haven't had a gathering with all 7 of us in a long long while.....everyone is busy, just so hard to get everyone together!

We met at Heaven't Loft @ Orchard Central. Sounds like a cool place, in fact, i suggested it cos i thought the place looks cool the first time i went to Orchard Central and wanted to try out the food there. They even have Ben & Jerry's there!

The menu doesn't have much variety, and it is really expensive! The cheapest item in the menu was like $18.90++ . The food wasn't great either. No wonder there isn't much of a crowd there.

Nonetheless, it was still a quiet atmosphere for us to chill and chat. I bet we were the most noisy table....with our "ooooooohhhhs and aaaaaaahhhhhs" of gossiping! =)

Till we meet again....and hopefully the next gathering can see the full attendance =)

Goodbye Sarah (31 Jul)

2009-08-09T22:34:00.004+08:00

It was the last day of work for Sarah, our intern of 3 mths. She has indeed been a great help to me and i must say she is really smart, creative and proactive.

Few of us went to Timbre @ Old School that evening just to chill out and to wish her the very best in her future endeavours!

Here's 4 of us - apparently the youngest 4 in the department :)

Taking turns to take picture with the star of the evening :)

My first time at this outlet actually. Food is just as good but the band that evening didn't quite measure up. Jack and Rai still the best! Hmmm somehow the service at this outlet is also not as attentive as the one at Substation. I will wanna try the one at Arts House one of these days!

Shape Run (19 Jul)

2009-08-09T21:33:00.006+08:00

My maiden long distance run - may be a mere 5km to some people....but it really took a lot of courage for me to join this - someone that thought i will never ever run 2.4km after graduating from school :)

The day started early. Dear drove me to the reporting venue at Millenia walk around 615am where i met Linda and her friend. We deposited our bags, queued for toilet and did our warm-ups.

It was so crowded....some 8,000 ladies took part - see the sea of pink! Some did 10km while some did 5km. Linda and i did the 5km one....after all, we are new to this. I got a little nervous at the starting point...don't really know what to expect. Afterall, i have never ran beyond 2.4km at a go. I also didn't really train for this run as i have been busy travelling for work the 1 mth before.

Linda and I at the starting point:

Upon finishing...

......met Sheena who did the 10km run

Queuing to get the runner's kit....pretty good stuff they gave....the various activities in each of these tents are exciting fringe activities other than the run itself....quite an experience and makes me hooked on wanting to come back again next year!

Back at the ending point for photo taking...

Finally.....after the run...after visiting the various booths for the gifts and fringe activities.....here's the HEARTY meal i promised myself after the run! Haha.....wanted more sinful food but Linda reminded me.....and also everywhere was really crowded and we ended up at Olio Dome at Marina Square....not too bad a place to chill out lah! :)

Day out with the grannies (12 Jul)

2009-08-09T17:31:00.003+08:00

3rd Granduncle and Grandauntie were back from Perth for a visit. Dad and Mum brought them together with Ah Gong and Ah Ma to Expo for service that day with us. Thereafter, we all went to Beng Hiang, this traditional Hokkien restaurant at Amoy Street for lunch.

Food was not bad and we all had a great chat. What is interesting about the venue was this carpark at Club Street! We just need to drive the car into the slot of a lift and then come out to enter our preferred pin number and the automated machine will park our car for us. When we return, we just need to enter our pin number to retrieve the car! It's so fun and really helps those who may not have good parking skills and is time saving for those who don't have time to circle for a lot.

As the restaurant was near our place, Dad suggested for the group to drop by at our place. Shian was pretty glad about it as he had coincidentally cleaned up the house that morning! Dad really sprung a surprise on us this time and a lesson to learn - to always keep our house neat, clean and tidy so that we are always able to welcome visitors spontaneously =p I'm truly gulity of not being able to live up to this!

Triple Bdae Celebration (1 Jul)

2009-08-09T16:27:00.004+08:00

It was a gathering for Jeslyn, Zijia and me...our bdaes are all about 1 week apart from one another. This year, we decided to meet up and celebrate for each other since we are all hitting our big 3-0! We decided to give ourselves a treat and we went to The White Rabbit @ Dempsey :)

Before i went, i read a lot in forum pages about this restaurant. There are a lot of feedback about the poor service, the overrated food and the overpriced menu. However, i still decided to go check this place out becos i heard so much about the awesome ambience.

Arriving at the restaurant.....it really does live up to the 'awesome ambience' ... it is refurbished from a chapel and really ....we can imagine a wedding dinner there ....pretty cosy :) Too bad it was too dark for our auto cameras to capture the external view.....but the image of the beautiful place is still etched in my memory!

The service was pretty good except for the fact that they didn't allow us to sit at the nice sofa seating, citing that someone had reserved it....but then we were there from 745pm till close to 11pm and no one came to take that table.

Upon arrival, they served us drinks and while waiting for our main courses, we were served bread. The waiter would come to us one by one, show us the bread in the basket and ask us which we would like. The bread is served warm and soft.....really nice :)

Us with our main courses:

The menu is quite simple, not much of a variety......and really...it is quite pricey.....Zijia had the salmon as the main course:

Jeslyn and I had the chicken dish:

We had a good time chatting and chilling out......and then we ordered our desserts....once again, there isn't a lot of variety...but the desserts are pretty exquisite....

Zijia had the Baked Alaska with vanilla ice-cream in it:

Jeslyn had this souffle which is supposedly to be chocolate but didn't quite taste much like cocoa and the souffle is so eggy....

I had the chocolate tartlet which comes with some banana taste and some blackcurrant drink...quite cute :)We were so full from the dinner and really sat there chatting the night away....how time flies....and how blessed we are now that we can afford a meal like this...unlike the days in school where this was a luxury we can only dream of.....also most importantly, i'm glad our friendship has gone this far....we have known each other for 13 years and our friendship is still growing strong!

Dad's 60th Birthday @ Rose Veranda, Shangrila (28 June)

2009-08-09T10:14:00.006+08:00

It was dad's 60th birthday! We decided to take advantage of the "Flash your age" promo at Shangrila where we could get the discount off the age of the person celebrating his/her bdae. Quite a gd deal.....pretty much pay off the fact that Shian and I were on hold for almost an hour trying to make a reservation when we called like a month before!

All of us enjoying the comfy seats, cosy ambience (very tai tai kinda atmosphere if you can imagine!):

Food variety was not quite there...taste of food was ok only....but the service there was great, the ambience was very nice....very pampering.....and also....the coffee and particularly the tea selection there was incredible! We had like unlimited flow of various coffee and tea....

Dad and Mum enjoying their coffee/tea:

Amidst the busy schedules of our lives, its really nice that the whole family can chill out together....eat, drink, chat, take pics :)

Karen & Family....oh my....the kids have really grown!

Shian & me and the very nice bunch of pink roses....could have got a better picture if not for Gareth running to and fro blocking the camera while we were to trying to pose!

Me with the cute princess...

Of course we had the all important birthday cake:

And the family picture- the must have!

After we finished with the hi-tea....we also went picture taking at the lobby area.....how dad and mum enjoyed the day with the kids:

Sheena and James also enjoying the walk around the hotel lobby...

It was indeed a great day out with my family! :) We should do more of these....

My Birthday Celebration with Dear (22 June)

2009-08-09T10:06:00.004+08:00

Dear took leave for me on my birthday but as i got limited leave, i still went to work. Dear fetched me to work that day and also came to pick me up which was quite a luxury for me already as we both work in CBD and would not typically drive to and fro work.

I was really quite tired that day becos i had 2 biz trips before and after the weekend of my birthday. I had to fly early the next morning after my birthday and i haven't packed the evening before. So we decided to have a simple and relaxed celebration rather than some fanfare.

We went to Vivocity which is near our place for a nice walk and then had dinner at Bosses. Simple chinese cuiusine but the seaview of neighbouring Sentosa was awesome.

My Birthday Celebration 4 - 22 June

2009-08-07T01:44:00.004+08:00

Celebration with Colleagues!

Well well....i was telling everyone that i have never need to work or go to school for the last 29 birthdays i had. This was the first year i had to go to work on my birthday! Becos it is not a holiday and i don't have leave!

Thank God i have a great bunch of colleagues who celebrated the day for me, making the day at work a lot more bearable :)

We had my birthday lunch at Outback Millenia....a place i have always wanted to go but never gone before. Upon arrival, i was made to wear this "crown" becos i am princess of the day...which i don't mind at all :) And i was given 2 balloons to pose with :)

We had a sumptuous meal and i was so full! The portions there were really huge! And just when i thought its time to head back to work.....a cake was served! The staff at Outback sang a birthday song for me loudly and clapping away! I know some people think this is embarrassing and don't like it but i LOVE it! haha~~~~

The cake is actually from Haagen Dazs!!! OMG ....i can't believe my colleagues went to such extravagance for me...so so touched and YES! I LOVE the cake so so much! It's really nice!

Thanks all for the wonderful celebration...! =)

My Birthday Celebration 3 (21 June)

2009-08-07T01:24:00.005+08:00

It was a day spent with my family. We decided to go to ECP for a day of fun-filled activities.

We met at Macdonald's for breakfast ....

Then some of us went cycling, Shian went blading and the rest of us went jogging. It was quite a fun day for everyone :)

Thereafter, we went to tabao a late lunch and went to Mum's place to eat and then there was Part 2!

I had my choice cake which Dear bought for me - B-cube from NYDC....it is NY Cheesecake with brownie bits and oreo base! Sinful ah!!!!! But i like~~~

Karen's birthday was about 3 weeks back but we didn't celebrate for her then....so we celebrated it together this time....and Sheena got her the Chocolate Amer cake from Bakerinz.....also very nice.....So..we celebrated our birthdays together....JUST LIKE OLD TIMES! Haha~~~

Love having family time!

My Birthday Celebration 2 (20 June)

2009-08-07T01:07:00.003+08:00

It was a usual weekend dinner with the Koh family. Little Nixon blurted out that there was a cake.....i had to pretend i didn't know what was happening and didn't hear.....eventually i was led to the dining table....with a cake and 3 big candles....

It was a "surprise" birthday celebration for me :)

Gosh! I have turned 3-0 ! Yes....the big 3-0! I never really felt it until i saw the 3 big candles on the cake =(

Nonetheless, still happy by the celebration for me :)

Thanks to Sumin for getting me the Andersen's Chocolate Ice-cream cake! It's the first time i am trying it and it's really nice! :) Worth buying it again!

Sometimes, it may just be a simple celebration but really, it's the thoughts that counts...and i am really thankful for the effort the Koh family did for my birthday :)

Gathering with ex-colleagues (12 June)

2009-06-28T11:40:00.005+08:00

The marketing team at DHL decided to organise a gathering for past and present Marketing alumni.....some of those who worked closely with us from other departments were also invited. Wai Yi gladly opened up her big big house. In fact, she actually took the day off to buy and prepare all the food for that evening. We had BBQ, steamboat and lots of cooked food. Thanks to the Chef!

I had an awesome time catching up with ex-colleagues, getting to know the couple of new faces. Surprisingly, they even celebrated the birthdays of June babies (just like old times, as Celeste calls it!) Too bad Adeline and Andrea can't make it so its down to the 2 of us.

And a gathering will not be complete without the group picture. Thanks all for the wonderful evening together :) Looking forward to more gatherings to come!

Jaycee's 1st birthday celebrations (30 May)

2009-06-28T11:19:00.005+08:00

It was Jaycee's 1st birthday and the celebration was held at Shian's parents' place with both sides of Jaycee's grandparents, aunties and uncles attending.

Here's the very cute birthday cake bought by Sumin.....apparently Jaycee is born in the year of the mouse, so her clothes, shoes, cakes, birthday decos etc were themed around Minnie/Mickey Mouse!

Here's the nice backdrop for photo -taking....Shian & I couldn't wait for the birthday gal to come and we snapped a picture with the cute backdrop...now it looks really funny....as if it was our birthdays! haha!

Birthday gal enjoying the center of attention .... though i think she was a bit freaked out with being left to sit alone:

The Mickey Mouse plate and cup:

And finally, a picture of us with the birthday gal:

Every kid who attended the party had a balloon to take home with. HaHa....funny thing was Sumin prepared the Strawberry Shortcake balloon for me becos she knew i love it. So i was the only adult that had a balloon.....kinda embarrassing but nonetheless, i really liked the balloon :)

Linda's birthday (25-26 May)

2009-06-28T11:02:00.003+08:00

Linda's birthday is just 2 days away from Shian's so there was no way i will forget. On 25th, i was at a site recce at Ann Siang and was just outside The Patisser. I was quite sure she will like the cakes there with the big ribbon! So though it was a day earlier to her birthday, i decided to get her the cake and we had a mini pre celebration for her in the office.

Here's a memorable group picture becos it was taken by a senior management personnel who happpened to walk past and offered to take for us:

The next day, which was Linda's actual birthday....we decided to head to P.S Cafe at Dempsey (Harding Road) for lunch....away from the hustle and bustle of life in the CBD. It was a nice chill out for all of us.....my first time there actually!

Me with the birthday gal and our intern:

The food was not bad and the service was great. Worth visiting this place again. Here's the must have group picture.....all of us trying to put in a funny face as requested by our intern.

It's wonderful to have good friends amongst your colleagues so that going to work is also fun and something to look forward to :) Thank God for that!

Dear's Birthday ~ Ritz Carlton Millenia (23-24 May)

2009-05-31T11:26:00.008+08:00

It was Dear's 30th birthday....i wanted to give him a surprise and also let him experience The Ritz Carlton. So i booked a room there and only told him about it 2 days before. Haha.....wanted to pack for him and just drive him there that day.....but it was so difficult to keep a secret from the husband!

On arrival, we upgraded to the Premier Suite :)

Us appreciating the room with the awesome views :)

The living room had a view of Esplanade, the Singapore skyline which constitutes buildings at Raffles Place area....this view was really breathtaking by night...but it was tough capturing a nice picture so here's the day view...still couldn't do justice to the actual....

The bedroom had a view of the Integrated Resort - in making.....

The bathtub had an awesome view of the Singapore Flyer!

We bought lunch in after check in. Basically just resting and chatting in the room....amazing...we were sitting there and watching the awesome views and time just flies.....unfortunately i had a headache....i took panadol and rested for a while and it was evening time!

Dear wanted to go have a walk and get dinner but i had another surprise for him! So i had to keep him in the room until 7pm!

Surprise came! I got Dear's family to come! Got his mum to cook and bring some dishes.....i really cracked my head what food to get and decided that since Dear loved home cooked food, just got to get his mum to help.

Around 815pm.....the next surprise came! I got the hotel to bring in Dear's cake! There was complimentary cheesecake from the hotel and the Durian cake i bought for Dear :) It was birthday song time!

And cake cutting time!

The family had a nice time relaxing in the room, chatting, watching TV, and sipping wine admist the awesome view of the night scene of the city.

Time just flies and it was the next morning! The bed was so comfortable, we almost overslept and missed the breakfast at the Greenhouse. We rushed down and had 1 hr left to eat the buffet!

The only unpleasant part of the stay was when our allocated table for breakfast was accidentally given to another caucasian trio when we went to get our food....it was a nice cushion high back seat...and we had to give up the seat! I was a little upset that after splurging there, this was the kind of service we got. I wrote it in the comment card and almost within 15 mins, we got a huge surprise!

The staff there brought a birthday cake for dear and came to our table to sing a birthday song for him! Even the guy on the table beside us sang along. It was nice cos that was the actual day of Dear's birthday and he got another birthday cake! This time a chocolate one!

After the heavy brunch, we went to rest in the room, watch tv and then by afternoon, we went for a swim...the pool was simple and nice....the sun was also strong that day so we both had a good tan....also had a great time relaxing at the jacuzzi pool with warm water.

It was great that we got a late check out till 6pm so we could fully enjoy the Premier suite room. It felt like we were away for a short break for a whole 2 days. It was great to spend quality time together like that, forgetting all the stress and worries of life. Indeed The Ritz Carlton lived up to its name....we had an awesome time and an unforgettable stay. Dear said it was his best birthday ever! I'm glad the expenses paid was well worth it :)

Time to check out and we wanted to leave "footprints in our memories" of the Ritz....

Couldn't bear to check out and leave.....however all good things do unfortunately come to an end....at least we have the pictures which will remind us of the wonderful times and memories collected :)

1st Wedding Anniversary - Bintan Trip (16-18 May)

2009-05-31T10:16:00.006+08:00

How time flies! We have been married for a year! Indeed, being married is not necessarily a bed of roses. Happily ever after doesn't come easily..we have learnt that it takes effort to build a marriage and i'm glad that Dear and I have both "grown" over the past year and we are now better able to understand each other's needs, mindset and not to take each other for granted.

To celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary, we went on a short weekend trip to Bintan!

About to board the ferry:

Us on the ferry:

Arriving in Bintan:

It was a very relaxing 3 days.......we stayed at Bintan Lagoon Resort:

Went swimming....this pool is actually quite nice :)

Went cycling......around the resort....to the beautiful golf course...

And also sun-tanning by the beach....

And the highlights was trying out the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV). It was a bit hard to control for me at the beginning but Dear was so excited about it so i just tried....haha! I was going so slowly that the instructor and Dear had to wait for me along the way.....then i got confident and started to go quite fast....quite thrilling going up and down slopes, uneven grounds, dusty/muddy ground....grass patches etc....and the engine went dead on me once....i bumped into tree logs, huge rocks etc like 3 times .... once i went over a huge rock, lost my balance and almost had the entire veheicle overturned on me....Dear was so worried wittnessing the scene from behind yet helpless! But Thank God! i emerged safe with a mere blue-black!

It was a great, relaxing and fun trip.....where we had time away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the routine of housework and work.....Thank God for blessing our marriage :)

Mother's Day Celebrations (9-10 May)

2009-05-25T22:07:00.009+08:00

My family had a simple celebration at my parents' place for lunch on saturday. It was supposed to be us all buying food there but mum ended up cooking and buying most of the food herself. We did buy some but still, mum made the most effort. We felt really bad.

Gavin had fever that day so he had to stay home while Gareth and Claire came. So we didn't take any pictures as it wouldn't be complete without Gavin.

On Sunday, it was mother's day service at church. There was also a Mother's day drama put up by the drama team. It was a memorable service for me becos my mother-in-law and Kai Shian actually agreed to attend service together.

My parents also brought my grandparents to church. So we took quite a few pictures together.

Thereafter, we went to Roland Seafood Restaurant at Marine Parade for DimSum together. Again, what a pity that we didn't take pictures together.

Later, Shian and I went shopping with his mum and by late afternoon, we were at Melben at AMK to buy the famous crabs! Quite an interesting coffeeshop but well decorated and it is just at the void deck of a block of old flats....the Q was so so long....amazing!

We brought the food to Shian's mum's place for another round of Mother's day celebrations with his family.

The chilli crab....

That comes with the mini man-tou:

The playboy chicken (very unqiue sauce):

And the famous crab bee hoon.....

Verdict: The food is reasonably priced and very tasty! Worth trying again!

The family picture at the end of the dinner:

Gathering with Mummies & Babies (1 May 09)

2009-05-03T20:18:00.005+08:00

It has been some time since the few of us met up....so i organised this gathering with Tabitha, Andrea, Karen as well as their babies and our hubbies. It was a hot day as we gathered for lunch at Marche over at Vivocity.

The place was rather cramp but the decor was very nice.....country style. We were allocated seats at this section where there were other families with their babies and toddlers. How funny it was that at one point, they were all competing with one another in the screams, shouts and cries.

It was really a good opportunity for me to see Karen's and Andrea's babies since i haven't had a chance to see them. Pity that Karen and family had to leave first and therefore did not take any picture with us as her boy Jonah was not feeling well.

Picture of Andrea, Tabi, me, Baby Natalie and Kendrick:

Haha! First time i met Baby Natalie....think she is so cute and chubby!

Hopefully we can organise another outing sometime soon so we can take a picture with Karen and Baby Jonah as well!

DimSum @ Peach Gardens - 19 Apr 09

2009-05-03T20:05:00.004+08:00

A colleague sent me an e-mailer on the Hi-Tea Dim Sum @ Peach Gardens, over at Thomson Plaza. That weekend, my parents decided to bring my grandparents to try it....so off we went! Thomson Plaza has been newly renovated, it's so different now....still remember we used to go there so frequently when we were kids....our parents often brought us to the Yaohan there and i remember having my first soft twist ice-cream cone there!

The Hi-Tea Dim sum lasts from 3-5pm and it is by reservation only. As it is an a la carte buffet, everyone was fiercely ordering....haha so Singaprean! The 4 of us were bored when waiting for our parents to bring our grandparents.....so we took this picture....Shian took it with his hands, superb aiming skills!

It was a mere 2 hours of gorging......but we were so full and bloated thereafter. The selection was pretty good and the food was not too bad. Service was prompt too. Haha....simply worth skipping lunch and dinner for it! A group picture after the hearty meal :)

Celebrating Mum's Birthday (5 April 09)

2009-05-03T19:04:00.009+08:00

Mum had to work on her birthday weekend, so we celebrated it the weekend before - way in advance. Actually we wanted to make use of the Shangri-La 'Flash your age' promo where you can dine in any restaurant at Shang and get the discount off your age on your actual date of birth. Too bad we couldn't make use of that promotion. However, we still decided to try out a new place for everyone. We had Sunday brunch at House@Dempsey over at Dempsey Hill.

Thank God for the timing of the rain that day. It was raining before our journey and during the time we were dining. We did not have to be caught in the rain when walking to and from the carpark to the restaurant. There was also free parking there. The cafe was cosy, the staff were very attentive towards us and there was room for the kids to roam around. We also had a nice view of the lush greenery.....very relaxing and serene to simply chill out there. The food though was a tad overpriced, wished there was a greater variety and not every dish was worth the $.

After all of us had our main courses and were chatting away....i signalled for the staff to bring the cake over to mum and it was pretty much a surprise :) We all sang the birthday song for mum and she was really happy!

The grandparents and their 3 cute grandchildren:

The Must-Have Family Photo (gal couldn't take her eyes off the cake!):

Mum cutting the cake...and the 2 greedy lil' ones glaring at the cake from beside :)

A recommendation at House@Dempsey, the award-winning Strawberry Shortcake...pretty unqiue.....eaten with vanilla sauce poured over.....very different from what other cake shops sell....its a rare non-chocolate cake that we all enjoyed!

P/s: And you can probably guess who smudged off the "Happy" (made of chocolate sauce) on the plate....

BBQ with ACJC Pals - 3 April 09

2009-05-03T18:34:00.003+08:00

After the last mini gathering at my place, we talked about going to Jeslyn's place for a BBQ! Everyone had been so busy, it was really tough finding a day that everyone could make it and we actually had to postpone this several times......finally the day came!

5 members of 2SA4 alumni :)

Though the group was small, it was cozy. We had a great time catching up with each other and also allowing our partners to join in the chat. We had good food, great wine, and awesome desserts! Thanks everyone for the wonderful company that night! Hopefully we can do this more often!

Celebrating Nixon's Birthday - 22 Feb 09

2009-05-03T18:25:00.003+08:00

Time flies! Nixon is 3 year old already! This boy really impresses on me bcos his vocab in mandarin is really quite good...possibly beating some adults even!

Shian and I taking a shot with Nixon and Jaycee:

Me and the birthday boy...he is wearing the set of clothes from Fox Kids which Shian and I bought for his birthday present! Hmm.....good choice there isn't it? The boy does look smart and bright :)

Crown Plaza Hotel Changi Airport & T3 - 8 Feb 09

2009-05-03T17:57:00.005+08:00

Mum & Dad went on a weekend staycation at the new Crown Plaza Hotel Changi Airport. As it was nearby for us after church service that day, we headed down to check out the room. The room had a clear view of the planes landing and taking off, as well as a see through bathroom glass panel that can be covered by rolling down the blinds. Very modern and contemporary design.

We also we to check out the pool deck - this was the 'eye' view which we can see from the outside of the building. It gives a clear background view of the air control tower of Changi Airport.

After Dad and Mum checked out of the hotel, we headed to T3 for lunch at Dian Xiao Er. We had a good feast and also 'lao' Yu Sheng once again becos it was the 14th day of the Lunar New Year, which is the eve of Yuan Xiao - the day of reunion.

Thereafter, we also went to take a walk around T3 and saw this huge mandarin orange plant - signifying wealth and prosperity. The mandarin oranges looked really huge!

2 Gatherings in a Day - 7 Feb 09

2009-05-03T17:40:00.003+08:00

It was still CNY period and becos some had not visited our new place, so we invited the Narbayzz gang to our place for lunch that day. We had a great time catching up with one another and playing games.

Another group picture :)

After all the packing up, we headed over to Ben's place for BBQ. It was supposed to be a gathering for Dear's sec sch friends......but cos it was planned quite impromptu, we decided to call the jiemeis of our wedding along, so that we have a bigger group! We had fun eating, drinking and playing games as well!

It was the weekend before Valentine's Day, so the guys got roses for all the gals!

The first V-Day that Dear and I are celebrating as a married couple :)

CNY Day 2 + Ah Kong's bdae celebrations

2009-05-02T14:00:00.004+08:00

It was more visitations that day.....

The 3rd day of CNY is traditionally Ah Kong's birthday as it is counted according to the Lunar calendar. We celebrated it on Day 2 since Day 3 was a working day.

Pictures of all the children + spouses of Ah Ma and Ah Kong:

The grandchildren and great grandchildren of Ah Kong and Ah Ma:

So many of us, just couldn't pose in the same picture....

Ah Kong and Ah Ma ....happy moments:

The blue team!:

Picture with the cute little gal....who was a little unwilling to smile that day....

CNY Day 1

2009-05-02T13:47:00.004+08:00

It was not a usual CNY Day 1. Early in the morning, we went off to Bai Nian at my parents' place. Mum cooked some nice Mee Sua for our breakfast. We just had a quick exchange of ang paos and took a family picture as my parents were in a hurry to start their round robin visitations with the extended family. I didn't have to join them becos according to the chinese traditions, a married lady follows the visitations with her husband's family :(

I kinda miss those years that i do that with my parents. I remember i found that unmeaningful and often dreaded it and was full of complaints....but this year, my CNY was less eventful and i felt lethargic and a total waste of time!

Off to Shian's parents' place. We had lunch there and 'lao' Yu Sheng. Su Min was not feeling well then and therefore we didn't take an entire family picture. We hung around there watching some China variety show that the family was hooked on before heading off to visit our grandparents.

Chinese New Year Eve - 25 Jan 09

2009-05-02T12:56:00.004+08:00

This year's CNY was a first for me and Shian in many ways. This year is the first CNY that we are going through as a married couple. We also have our own house to do springcleaning for.

We first had CNY Reunion Dinner at Shian's place at 5pm, earlier than their normal timings to accomodate time for us to go to my parents' place for round 2.

As you can see, Shian's mum cooked a lot of food.....we had steamboat and other home-made dishes.

We then watched TV as a family and we gave our first angpows to Nixon and Jaycee .... a little strange for me becos my family normally gives angpows on CNY Day 1. However, Shian's family gives the immediate family on CNY eve.....so anyway gosh! Its the first time we were giving angpows now becos we are married~! I feel so A-U-N-T-I-E!

Next, we went to my parents' place for round 2 of our reunion dinner. We had lesser dishes this year as compared to past years becos both Karen and I have already eaten at our in-laws. Nonetheless, the dishes were all of quality. Thanks to Mum for cooking despite having to work many late nights in the run up to CNY. I really miss and love Mum's cooking and treasure every bit of it!

Family pic as we get ready to 'lao' YuSheng:

After the chat over dinner, we had quality time watching TV as a family. My 2 spidermen posing for me:

The vain little princess refuses to let go of my Coach wristlet:

Taking pictures with mum and dad together with the CNY hamper that we presented them with. And did you see the cute moo moo cows signifying the year of the Ox at the background. Mum wanted it so badly and we were looking for it all over. Finally, Sheena found it and it was the last pair in the shop! Thank God.....we were all ready for CNY!

We then spent the rest of the night doing last min spring cleaning, washing car, and packing angpows - gosh that was real tiring!

Daddy & Mummy 's 35th Wedding Anniversary

2009-05-02T11:29:00.003+08:00

It's amazing how my parents can be still so loving after 35 years of marriage. They are indeed our role model and we hope that all our marriages will be like theirs.....sweet and even more loving as the years go by :)

It was their 35th year wedding anniversary and is also the start of the new year.....Daddy planned everything for this party. He personally whipped up a few of his superb dishes, ordered the rest of the food, invited their cell group friends and even down to the detail of getting a cake written (Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary) and also instructed me to help him get a bouquet of roses for my mum. All these were meant to be suprises for mummy!

Popping the champagne - gift from Karen & CJ:

Having their nuptial drink....a remembrance of the wedding day:

May my parents' love for each other continue to grow and may they have a blessed and blissful time always :)

Indeed their lives have been transformed since they gave their hearts to Jesus. We thank the Lord for all his blessings upon our family.

My parents' cg dedicating a song for them - "I had a dream"...heard in MAMAMIA?

It's time for countdown to 2009! Everyone gathering around to sing Auld Lang Sye:

Another opportunity for a family photo:

Christmas Party 4 - 26 Dec 2008

2009-05-02T10:54:00.005+08:00

It was yet another Christmas Party - this time with both Shian and my immediate family and at our place.

We had potluck and I must say the food were all pretty good! How can we do without logcake and cupcakes during Xmas :)

Not to mention, there were so many christmas presents waiting to be distributed (our tiny Xmas Trees could hardly hold the pressies :) :

The proud grandparents with their grandchildren though Jaycee was not here cos she was napping!:

Two families together - though pity Kai Sern was not here :

Time to distribute the presents! The 4 kids taking their positions, ready to receive their presents:

Discussing and guessing what's in their presents:

After everyone left....Shian and I finally got to take our picture with our mini Christmas trees and our presents.....this marks the end of our Christmas celebrations for the year.....looking forward to Christmas again next year!

Christmas Day + Party 3

2009-05-02T10:37:00.003+08:00

That morning, I was really elated! It was the first time Dear was going with me for church service and its Christmas day! We had a wonderful time singing, praising God in church and also watched an awesome drama on the birth of Christ. What's really memorable was that we actually got the seats at the first row of the hall - this is rare as each session in my church seats 8,000-10,000 people!

Here's a picture of my cellgroup with one of Angel Gabriel - the one who broke news to Mother Mary on her mission to be pregnant with Jesus (unfortunately, not everyone was captured in this picture and its quite blur):

Dear and I outside the expo halls.....i wanted to take this picture to remember that Dear went to service with me on this day.....a really rare occassion:

Thereafter, we went to Ronnie & Ryoko's place for our 3rd Christmas Party this year. It was a pot-luck session with the Narbayzz gang. We had fun playing games and feasting....as well as another round of gift exchange:

Christmas Party 2 on Xmas Eve

2009-05-01T16:14:00.005+08:00

The usual extended family party at Aunt Mag's.....with good food, great wine, nice atmosphere.

This year, we had a dresscode theme - red and green! We also had a professional event photographer who came to shoot the entire party. Here are some pictures of our family taken there. Unfortunately, I was a little late, so didn't manage to take the extended family picture.

Upon arrival, took pictures with the 3 kids, my parents and Aunt Carolyn:

Family picture:

3 Sisters + Partners:

Me & Shian:

Had a hard time getting this little princess to take a picture with me.

3 sisters:

The men in the family:

And the ladies in the family...

Christmas Party 1 - 20 Dec 2008

2009-04-25T21:12:00.004+08:00

It's the time of the year again for Christmas parties. This year is the first year that we are having it at our own house!

Our DHL Xmas Mini Xmas Trees and the pressies waiting to be exchanged:

The usual khakis of Deardear were invited, the click got bigger with some of them bringing their partners. I also invited Linda along to have a good balance becos i thought there were too many guys!

We had pot-luck and since this party is held at our house, i decided to make something rather than buy. Here's the Tiramisu i stayed up to make the night before:

We also had lots of food brought by everyone.....but unfortunately didn't really take a nice picture of all of them.

This group are all really onz people. We played games and well...i was the game master ... having been trained at cg before....putting good use the skills i picked up. haha!

All enjoying the game "Who Am I?" - i modified it to become cartoon names and it was quite hilarious!

We also played the other game where each team had to send representatives for descriptions such as "The longest ...., the shortest .... , the furthest...." without knowing each category before hand.

Here's YingLi on his way to "The furthest broadjump!" Thank God there was enough space in our house!

It was gift exchange time! Here's everyone with the gifts we received :)

Another group picture after we opened our gifts:

It has now become such an annual affair for us to organise Christmas gatherings with this group of friends. Its nice that the group gets bigger every year, as everyone start bringing their partners and friends. I totally enjoyed myself being the host and hope that we will have more of these !

Christmas Lightings 2008

2009-04-25T20:47:00.005+08:00

After the short visit to Chunkfest, we headed to nearby Orchard.

The Orchard Road Christmas lightings were up by then. In the past, my parents will always bring us there to take pictures, such that it is a practice to do so even when my parents no longer bring us.

Everyone says that the lightings this year is not so good becos of the economic recession. I beg to differ. Perhaps it isn't as glamourous but the decor designs has used simple materials to make very cute and fairy tale like atmosphere for Christmas and i think it's really nice! Even a simple ribbon when enlarged and added with lightings, looks really sweet!

Though we didn't work down the whole stretch of Orchard road due to the crowds, we managed to take some pretty nice shots :)

Deardear with the male figurine:

Me with the female figurine on the other side! :p

What is Christmas without a Christmas Tree shot ? :)

ChunkFest @ Fort Canning - 6 Dec

2009-04-20T22:39:00.004+08:00

I love Ben & Jerry's ice-cream a lot! Found out that they are having this event and decided to make time to go. It rained before that, thus the ground was all muddy and the carpark there was pretty jammed and everyone was literally parking everywhere.

Well...if you think they give free ice cream there......well they didn't! Why do people still go? Becos they have some 12 new flavours i think, that are only available in the US. Look at the long queues of people who are waiting in line to BUY the ice-cream....and they don't even have discounts there! It's the same as at the ice cream parlours!

There were games and entertainment by the DJ on stage....

There was this Flying Logos machine, that made cute shapes like the peace sign, leaf, heart shape, these cute shapes are made of foam like material that kind of floats in the air and flies away after being pumped out from the machine....

There are other fringe activities like balloon sculpting, nail and face painting etc.

I couldn't stand the crowds, the muddy floor and the fact that our car is parked at an awkward corner.....so we decided to go off.....afterall the only thing we would have lost out was to try those new flavours, otherwise, we could have easily bought the ice cream from other outlets at the same price and enjoy the dessert in nice air con and have a seat!

A last shot, with the background showing the crowds....

Hi-Tea @ Equinox

2009-04-20T22:21:00.004+08:00

Pardon all my back-dated entries...my home computer went dead for quite some time and i was really busy...thus i am trying to catch up on all the key events that happened over the last few mths!

It was 2 days before our 6 mths wedding anniversary - 16 Nov.

We had to use up the dining voucher from Swissotel the Stamford, so we decided to go to Equinox for high tea. We also asked Sheena and James to go along as we felt that they were the 2 who did the most to help us throughout our year long wedding preparations and we wanted to thank them for it.

The timing was short, only 2 hours. The food was a simple fare, quite a lot of cheap items actually. Variety was also not superb. The desserts were not too bad, however, they do not refill the items once they are finished.....thus we didn't get to try everything. Service was good but that's just about it.

I guess if we didn't have the voucher, i would think it is not worth to pay such a high price for this high tea. Strangely, i have gone there in the past for high tea and i don't remember that the fare was so basic.....i think the standard has dropped unfortunately. Still, we had a great time enjoying the breathtaking views and taking pictures after pictures :)

Before we left, we decided to take a picture with NewAsia Bar....haha, that was one of the first places that dear and I went when we first start dating. We subsequently went there a few times during our courtship days, and funnily, this was the hotel we got married at. Just some memories for us :)

Honeymoon Day 15 - Arrival in SG

2009-04-19T23:39:00.003+08:00

Home sweet home - we are back to Singapore. The familier T3:

1st thought - weather is so hot and humid!

2nd thought - miss the local food! and since it was nearby, we headed to tabao the famous Nasi Lemak from Changi Village back home.

We suffered from jetlag! Couldn't sleep...spent the whole night unpacking......The end of the much dreamed about Honeymoon.....already looking forward to our next trip together :)

Honeymoon Day 14 - Travel to San Francisco Airport

2009-04-19T23:16:00.004+08:00

This morning, we woke up, realising that we got confused by our flight timings, and had to rush to pack our luggage - all the shopping stuff and head to the airport.

After all the packing up....GOSH! my luggage somehow cannot close! It wasn't exactly filled to the brim, so we wondered why. Shian was meddling with it for like almost an hour and we were really running late to go to the airport. We even removed some stuff from the luggage to make it even more empty,but it seems that the lock got jammed and cannot lock even when the luggage was half empty.

Desperate, i prayed to God to help us becos there was no time for us to buy a replacement luggage if this was damaged. After the prayer, i just reached my finger to lock the luggage, and it did! Praise the Lord! But half the items were still laying on the floor and we had to put it back in. Shian didn't want to take the risk in case we can't close it again. But i told him that if God can do it once, HE can do it again! So i pluck up the courage to open the suitcase again, dump all the things in and again called out to God to intervene. I reached my finger forward and locked it again...and so it happened! My God will not disappoint me, i am sure of that!

We immediately rushed down to the BART station and took the train down to the airport - supposedly as fast as if we had taken the cab and much much cheaper!

At the BART station, just bought our tickets and having to lug all our luggages:

Reached the airport station:

At SF airport.....about to board the plane.....all the memories of the honeymoon with us.....couldn't bear to leave the US:

Honeymoon Day 13 - Cyling, Golden Gate Bridge

2009-04-05T21:26:00.009+08:00

Started the morning with Starbucks and a picture with the last hotel we are staying at for this trip - Renior Hotel, kind of unique in the way that it is angled along the road.

This morning, we went to take the Muni (something like a tram) towards Fisherman's Wharf.

We decided to rent a double bike and cycle towards the Golden Gate bridge.

First stop, Ghirardelli in the background...haha now we know why this brand of chocolates is so famous in SF.

Saw this cute dog along the way....i was kind of scared cos its quite big...but Dear managed to take a picture with it....the owners were really proud to showcase their cute dog!

Along a beach......view of the Golden Gate bridge in the background.

It was a leisurely cycle. Lots of beautiful view, we kept stopping to take pictures. Weather was cooling and nice. Caught this view - these 2 ladies had so many dogs with them!

Caught this globe - message was something about saving the earth and keeping it clean and green....

We carried on cycling and got nearer and nearer to the Golden Gate Bridge. Another view of the famous bridge at our background. We were so glad that the weather was awesome that day. Enough sunlight for us to capture the scenary, yet it was cool and breezy.

Deardear presenting Alcatraz once more.

We managed to come to the peak of the Golden Gate Bridge, where we were here the first day withe the tour guide and it was raining cats and dogs then.......to take the picture indicating the materials used to make the bridge...

And with the statue of the guy who constructed it...

We are finally on the bridge.....where we had driven past the other day!

We went on cycling back towards Fisherman's Wharf and saw this cute dog, Maggie on our way back. The proud owner allowed us to take a picture with her dog. Haha, what a nice view with Golden Gate Bridge at the background!

Stylo picture of dear with the nice background of yacht behind :)

We returned the bike and were astonished to find out that the 4hour rental of the tandem bike cost more than 24 hours of renting the car! Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves and have many nice pictures to remember the wonderful day! It's back to hotel to pack and enjoy our champagne and last night of our Honeymoon in the US!

Honeymoon Day 12 - Union Square, Chinatown

2009-04-05T20:46:00.008+08:00

Again, first thing we had to do in the morning was to switch hotels, to Renoir Hotel just further down the road as it was pre-booked. Lugging our luggages down the street was no joke as it was at the till end of our trip and the bags were getting heavy from shopping.

This hotel knew we were honeymooners and had this for us in the room. How sweet:)

This day we shopped along another stretch of shopping area around Union Square. Many US Brands stood out. Their stores are huge, like 3 storeys each and the space within is huge. Very nicely done branding on the outside of the building as well.

We took a long walk and eventually walked all the way to the Chinatown in San Francisco. This is one of the most popular Chinatowns in the Western cities...particularly becos a lot of HongKongers had migrated here in the past. Thus, this is an area very rich in the chinese culture and cuisine. In fact, within this area, you actually can forget that you are in San Francisco...becos there are so many chinese and many of them speak in cantonese.

Still....its a rare site to see very authentic english road names with ancient chinese roof decos behind....

Along the shopping stretch in Chinatown:Chanced upon this church with a streetname : California within Chinatown....

Citibank in Chinatown:And finally, its back to union square area.....our last stop for the day: Abercrombie & Fitch before heading back to the hotel...a brand we both love, but things are just too pricey... causal look but costs a lot! We love the smell of the perfume concentrate whenever we walked into the store ...haha....managed to grab some sale steals :)

Honeymoon Day 11 - San Francisco: 49 mile Drive / Union Square

2009-04-05T20:00:00.008+08:00

We were supposed to go to Yosemite National Park which is about 4 hours drive from San Francisco early this morning. After the stressful drive the day/night before, we had second thoughts about driving long distance again.

We woke up that morning, switched on the TV and saw that it was already snowing at Yosemite National Park. Apparently, all cars driving into the National Park needs to be equipped with a snow chain. The car rental company didn't provide for one...there is nowhere that rents which means we had to buy one - it is pretty costly. Considering that we didn't have the experience to drive under those weather conditions, and that it would be a stressful, long drive, we decided to give up going to Yosemite....a pretty difficult decision for us becos we were so looking forward to it. This also meant that we had to give up the hotel stay there which we had prepaid for and search for another hotel to stay for that night.

We decided to go back to Hotel Whitcomb, the last hotel which we stayed with the tour group as that was much better than the one we stayed at on our own the night before - Union Square Plaza Hotel - cheap but pathetic.

Checking out of the hotel ...

Picking up our car at the carpark .... it was pretty expensive to park the car overnight in the city....this was just about the cheapest place we found....at US$20 for the night.

After depositing our luggages at the hotel, we went driving on the 49 mile drive, a scenic route around San Francisco....it was pretty awesome.....we got the hang of the left hand drive and it was easier to drive within the city center as compared to the highways becos we don't have to speed that much, don't have to be constantly mindful of the exits and also we could take short breaks and switch driver seats as and when.

Couldn't bear to return the car but we had to becos it was too expensive to keep the car within the city center....not needed as well....

It was voting day for the President of the United States that day ... Of cos we all know now that President Obama had won! We were glad to be part of this exciting day and being in the US then to experience it.

Outside one of the voting stations:

Getting a free Ben & Jerry's Cone as part of the celebrations:

Even the retail shops were all decorated that day just for the voting:

We had fun shopping around Union Square that day and also went to the Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco. Had another round of awesome cheesecake!

Awesome view of the Union Square from the Cheesecake Factory at Macy's:

After all that eating and shopping, we headed back to the hotel ...for a comfortable night's rest, the last night at our favourite Hotel Whitcomb.

And oh by the way, the results for the voting was close to final when we were walking back to the hotel...everyone was cheering and shouting for Obama on the streets....we didn't have to watch news to know he won the Presidency seat :)

Honeymoon Day 10 - San Francisco, Napa Valley

2009-02-04T21:53:00.006+08:00

Checked out of the hotel which is booked under the tour package in the morning and went to check in at another hotel which we booked on our own. Quite a hassle to shift our luggages etc, but we felt that we wanted to try other hotels and also save some cost.

Then off we went to have breakfast and then to rent a car. We walked past this building and thought it looks really cool. Later we found out it is some parliament house.

We rented the car, and got really excited. To save on time, we had a quick orientation with the car and went on our journey towards Napa Valley. Driving past the Golden Gate Bridge.....

We weren't exactly used to the left hand driving and all the road signs and dimenions were different....example the speedometer and speed limit signs were in miles instead of km. We were supposed to take 1 hour to get to Napa Valley but we took 2 hours becos we made a wrong turn.

We were in the region of Napa Valley when the clouds turned dark and it started raining....we drove past some wineries but felt there was no point in visiting becos it was freezing cold and we can't really walk the vineyards due to the rain....

We decided to head to the nearby Napa Valley Premium Outlets to continue the shopping we so missed back in Vegas!

However, there wasn't as many notable shops at this factory outlet and the price was also not as good as back in Vegas.....we shopped till the rain stopped. Caught sight of a beautiful rainbow...

We did buy some stuff there but not much....and it was already dark due to the year end season. We had to drive back to San Francisco and it was a stressful drive back for me.....a good 1hr + drive without a break....the roads were darker than in Singapore and on left hand drive...!! Dear had to be the one navigating becos i was bad at maps, so i just had to drive.....when we finally arrived at the hotel....i was really relieved!!! Not much phototaking becos we were too stressed on the roads the whole day and due to the bad rainy weather!

Honeymoon Day 9 (San Francisco - Fisherman's Wharf, Cruise, Alcatraz, Union Square)

2009-02-01T20:22:00.008+08:00

The weather looks sunny but it is actually quite cold in San Francisco....outside out hotel is the muni stop - the muni is a bus that works on electric just like a tram:

Next we went on to take the very touristy San Francisco Cable Car from Union Square area up to Fisherman's Wharf.....

At the famous Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco:At the famous Pier 39 where there are lots of restaurants, good views and sights!Hard Rock Cafe! Another destination to collect Hard Rock T-shirts for me!

Tasting the clam chowder soup in sourdough bread was a must-have at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco....and apparently the one from Fisherman's Grotto is the best!On board the Bay Cruise.....and the background is Alcatraz...the famous prison on an island.Here we are with Golden Gate Bridge again....but this time....it is still foggy!

Look at the number of seals resting at Pier 39.....they stink and make lots of noises....what a sight!Nice view along Pier 39:Lots of good food and snacks there.....i had a satisfying B&J:Famous bread from Boudin.....the soudough bread bakery that is famous in SF. Check out the cute shapes of bread made.

One of my happiest picture taken at Union Square, SF when we went there to shop. Dear and I hapharzardly decided to pose in this crazy manner. haha!

Thereafter it was more shopping before we rested at the hotel for the night.

Honeymoon Day 8 (Casa De Fruta, Pacific Highway, 17 Mile Drive, Monterey, San Francisco)

2009-02-01T00:18:00.006+08:00

Started early morning on a coach ride heading in the direction of San Francisco. As we are driving towards the northern part of California, the terrain became less of a desert and more vegetation....started seeing more agricultural land. Passed by this small town....Casa De Fruta...where they grow lots of fruits and nuts and sell them. Quite a lot of variety.

It was the pumpkin season....so there were lots of it on display :)

Thereafter, we continued our journey and came along the scenic pacific highway....where we could see the pacific ocean..seagulls and even dolphins, seals from afar....the weather was getting really cold here....

We then drove along the famous 17-mile drive where the scenery was beautiful......

We stopped over to take pictures with the Lone Cypress Tree ... it is in the guiness book of records for having the most number of pictures taken with a tree.The area had lots of mansions and apparently many rich and famous like to reside in this area. We stopped again at Pebble Beach where there was a golf course apparently where the likes of Tiger Woods played at for the US Open. The hotel there is also posh and classy...

They even have Rolex clocks along the walkway!

We then drove towards Monterey .... where the old Fisherman's Wharf was.....nice scenery!

We the arrived at San Francisco and headed to the famous Golden Gate Bridge. However, it was raining and was foggy....we didn't have a clear view of the bridge.....it was really cold!

Thereafter, we checked into Hotel Whitcomb along Market Street.....one of the better hotels we stayed during this trip.....had a nice warm shower, dinner nearby and rested for the night.

Honeymoon Day 7 (Colorado River, Barstow Factory Outlet, Fresno)

2009-01-21T22:55:00.004+08:00

The hotel we stayed the night before was along the famous Colorado River - this river flows across 3 states in the US and is also largely responsible for the formation of the Grand Canyon. When daylight came, we went to take pictures by the river before departing.

We took few hours of the coach and stopped by at a petrol kiosk. Saw the M&M's sandwich ice-cream! I love it when i tried it during my last trip to Vegas. Dear bought it for me and I was so excited.

Us with the mini coach:

We then went on to Tanger factory outlets -the one we went at the beginning of our trip. It was another crazy time at shopping there. We then went to Barstow Factory outlet. It was an older factory outlet and most of the tenants have moved to the nearby Tanger. Thus, the only worthy shop to visit was Levis. It was really cheap. US$27.99 to get a pair of Levis! However, i was somehow in between sizes and couldn't find anything worthy. We contemplate to walk back to Tanger to continue with the shopping there but it was so near yet so far!

We headed for lunch and Tanger is just across the road....but time was so tight and we are in a rush....had to forego shopping at Tanger once more......a memorable shot with our favourite Tanger Factory outlet:

Wonder when we will ever go again!

We carried on our journey to Fresno, central California to spend the night.

Honeymoon Day 6 (Grand Canyon)

2009-01-21T22:44:00.003+08:00

Spent few hours on the roads before arriving at one of the 7 wonders of the world - Grand Canyon. This is my 2nd visit to the Grand Canyon and both times are within the same year. The last time when i went with my colleagues during a company trip, we took the helicopter ride where we get a bird's eye view of the Grand Canyon and stopped in the centre of it all to have a picnic.

This time with Dear, we visited the South Rim at the Grand Canyon National Park. We get to walk at the top of the Grand Canyon and catch a view from the top. Different feel and atmosphere but the view is equally awesome. The Grand Canyon is simply majestic....seeing it for the 2nd time but its still a refreshing experience for me.

It was another few hours of bus ride from Arizona where Grand Canyon is located to Laughlin where our hotel was....so no other sightseeing for the rest of the day...just coach rides.....

Honeymoon Day 5 - Las Vegas

2009-01-02T22:08:00.014+08:00

Early in the morning, we set off on our journey .... had an experience taking the public bus....passed through the Vegas strip....had a day view of the many themed hotels.

Excalibur hotel:

Part of Caesar Palace.....just like the Colesseum in Rome.

After about 1.5 hours of busride....we arrived at:

We had a tour of the making of chocolates:

And chocolates galore! As the choc factory is in Vegas....so even the choc had something to do with gambling....

There was even a cafe there which serve all the sweet stuff like ice cream and all sort of choc desserts!

There was also the M&M's retail shop at the chocolate factory:And even a cactus garden on nearby that had very interesting cactus!

Next we took the bus back to the main Vegas Strip.....passed by other nice themed hotels such as New York New York ....

and then we went to the M&M's world! 4 storeys of everything on M&Ms! Can simply go crazy there!

Thereafter, we went to Coca Cola World just next door...

It was timely cos we managed to catch the Coca Cola Bear! .....and had 4 storeys of shopping on all this coca cola!

Next we took a bus down to Stratosphere to switch to another bus. This is an icon where you can have a bird's eye view of the city. there are also thrilling rides at the top...we can hear people screaming with excitement while we were waiting for the next bus to go to the Premium Factory Outlets....it was another mad rush with shopping before the shops close at 9pm.....so no pics!

Thereafter, we took a cab to rush down to experience the Fremont Street Experience. It is a very famous light show in the ceiling which spans 5 football fields and 12.5 million synchronised LED lamps to create this exciting show...this is located at the old Vegas strip....though the show lasted only 6 mins...we felt it was all worth it!

The night was still young, we went to The Cheesecake Factory at Caesar's Palace to have the famed cheescake....it was awesome! so many flavours, we were at a loss which to choose!

Thereafter we took a walk down the lively Vegas strip.....at Paris:
Back at the hotel....with our shopping which were done within these 2 days! Satisfied! =)

Honeymoon Day 4 - Tanger, Primm, Las Vegas

2008-12-29T22:31:00.006+08:00

From Anaheim, first stop of the day was to Tanger Factory outlets...shopping for branded goods at a great price....was so busy shopping that we didn't take any pictures....i must say the shopping here was really good!

Next stop was to Primm Factory outlets. The place here was a little older....lesser shops that entice me but it was still not too bad.

We kept going to Coach at every factory outlet venue we went....its a worthy brand to purchase in the US and also becos we were helping others to check out stuff.

A bag that I was deciding to buy or not....didn't buy and i now can't get over it!!!

We arrived in Las Vegas that evening....checked into the hotel and off we went to roam the street.....the city that remains colourful and exciting through the night!

Wynn Casino...

Caesar Palace...

Every hotel has a theme.....its so so awesome!

We walked down the streets...the weather was cooling....it was great but we were really tired....i brought dear to The Venetian...the place i stayed when i was there for Business Conference in April this year. For me to relieve the memories there and for Dear to see what a wonderful place it was. :)

It was nice to go back to The Venetian again.....though i didn't stay there this time, i'm glad i could go there with Dear....to show him where I had stayed the last time :)

Honeymoon Day 3 (LA - Walk of Fame, Universal Studios)

2008-12-23T23:11:00.021+08:00

Early in the morning, we set off from Anaheim back to Los Angeles. We travelled onwards to Holloywood...

Visited Mann's Chinese Theatre

and of course Walk of Fame....

Thereafter, we headed to Universal Studios:

There were many sections.....there was 4D shows such as Shrek:

Also managed to catch Shrek and Fiona for a photo each :)

Took the new Simpsons simulated rides.....it was so exciting! Felt like i was on a real rollercoaster.....deardear was dizzy after that cos he got motion sickness.....poorthing!

Thereafter, i went to the Haunted House of the Vampire.....it was quite creepy....Dear and I misread a notice outside and thought that it was not suitable for those with motion sickness, so i went in there alone......got scared stiff till Mr Vampire befriended poor me who was alone while everyone was going in as a couple or group....hahhaa

Dear got a treat. Though he didn't visited the Haunted house, he managed to catch Spongebob Squarepants!

We were reunited later and got this tram driving past us with song and dance....

We were having lunch when Dora the Explorer pat me on the back and said 'hi' ...hahaha..how often does that happen in your life?

Next, we went to the Waterworld...saw the setting of the movie and watched a skit there...very real....

The merchandise in all the shops there were really enticing as well...

We took the tram and visited different settings of Hollywood....experienced how a thunderstorm and flood is created in Jurrasic Park, saw the homes of Desperate Housewives, saw the setting of a plane crash...saw Jaws the shark.....

experienced simulated earthquake in San Francisco train station....and even how cars explode.We took the roller coaster ride at Jurassic Park station.....as well....more pictures.....At the end of the day...we awarded ourselves.....And went back having had another fufilling day!

Honeymoon Day 2-Anaheim, Disneyland, California Adventureland

2008-12-23T13:37:00.019+08:00

We set off early that day....queueing to enter the oldest Disneyland in the world:

Our cute disney passes of Mickey and Minnie Mouse:

This disneyland is much bigger than the one in HK, with a lot more rides meant for the adults....and a variety of rides, that may be suitable even for the faint-hearted like me! There are rides that are just entertaining, educational or very mild like the 3D and 4D shows....

After the Grizzly Water Ride:

The architecture there is really sweet and cute....every corner, every lane is a photo op. Here we are at Minnie's house:
And the must have picture with the Walt Disney castle!

And of course, we took pictures with as many characters as we can:

The famous Mickey and Minnie....

Mr Incredibles and Helen, the Elastigirl (a.k.a Mrs Incredibles):

Also, how amazing they can get real people to pose as characters that look just like the storybooks....here's Snow White:

Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean....his usual aloof self...haha.....

Goofy in Halloween costume......

The merchandise there were all so cute.....everything is tempting for me to buy.....

Look at the Disney and Halloween cupcakes!

My Mickey Mouse cookies and cream ice-cream sandwich....yummy!!

In between during the day, we crossed over to the park opposite....the California Adventureland. This park is a subsidiary of Disneyland and had similar Disney characters, but was more focussed on the rides. The sights were also more focussed on California.......Eg. there was a ride called "Soaring over California"...it was really awesome.....we were like "pilots" soaring over California, we could feel the wind and can see the different famous landmarks in California as if we were physically in each location!......

Deardear took this 360 roller coaster....i was scared stiff and didn't take =p

We also went to the Animation Academy...where we learnt how the cartoonist sketch and make their characters come to life.....we even had a hands on experience sketching winnie the pooh.....it wasn't that tough after all :)

Visiting Disneyland won't be complete without visiting the Parade of Dreams! So we cross back to Disneyland to catch this:

We were there from morning till the time the park closed....to catch the other not to be missed fireworks show.....it was so awesome, we decided not to take any pictures, videos but to enjoy the show and capture it in our memories :)

This picture is another must have for us.....the first time we visited Disneyland together was in HK in 2006....it was also Halloween then and we had a similar picture taken....its pure coincidence that it is Halloween period again this time when we visited Disneyland :)

Before we left for the night, we actually caught a glimpse of Mickey and Minnie in their Halloween costume!!! Lucky us....got to take another picture with them each :)

We went back on the last bus back to the hotel.....tired but extremely satisfied with the fun we had the entire day :)

Honeymoon Day 1-SG-HK-SF-LA (25 Oct 2008)

2008-12-18T23:05:00.010+08:00

After more than 5 mths, we finally went on our honeymoon! Many people wonder why we waited for so long before we went .... well, cos of a new job, i couldn't take long leave earlier. It was also better for us as we had time in between to sort out finances and settle down a bit in new home first. So its not too bad ... at least we had time to plan and think about the trip, rather than rush off on the plane straight after the hectic wedding and house reno stuff.

Our flight departed at 6am in the morning of Oct 25 and we had to be at the airport at 4am. Daddy and Mummy were so sweet to pick us from our home the night before. Mum even specially ordered awesome durians for us taste before they, together with Sheena and James drove us to the airport from my parents' place.

It was significant for me becos my parents always send me to the airport for all my past trips...and i was touched they did so even when the hours were not convenient.

Us at T3 Wang Cafe for breakfast...all looking rather sleepy and in a daze:

It sure felt good to have family members sending us off on our trip. Here are the must-have shots before departing for holidays!:

Off we went to California, United States :)

People wonder why we chose to go to the US...well its a case of us wanting to compromise with each other again, so we decided on a place that sort of meet each of our desires - shopping + fun & excitement :)

Hours and hours of flight ....after transiting at HK, we arrived at San Francisco.....

We had to go through the customs, pick up our luggages and then transfer on a domestic flight to Los Angeles.

In between, we had some free time and thus hung around at SF airport. Had our first meal in the US at the airport....pizza that is baked on a brick fireplace:

Dear was feeling sick after the long flight and I was so worried for him....he was feeling feverish and had a bad cold.....we also didn't bring any flu medication so even though it cost about US$3 to buy a cold tablet, we still bought it and i prayed that he will recover soon so that we can enjoy the rest of the trip!

We arrived at LA and took a coach transfer to Anaheim - the town where Disneyland is...it is about over an hour drive from LA. That night, we had our dinner nearby the hotel....at Denny's! A restaurant we used to visit as kids.....so glad to go there again :)

It was back to the hotel to rest after the close to 24 hours of flight to prepare for our next day out!

Father-in-law's birthday (28 October)

2008-12-08T15:37:00.011+08:00

As we will be travelling during FIL's birthday, we decided to celebrate way way in advance.

We went to Bali Thai at IMM for dinner on 18 Oct.....food galore:

Nixon loves taking pictures with everyone:

Family picture ....new addition Jaycee:

All the ladies in the family:

Dear and me with Baby Jaycee....looks like she is not used to us carrying her:

Sheena's birthday (13 October)

2008-12-02T22:44:00.004+08:00

We celebrated Sheena's birthday the weekend before. Been having so many house parties lately, so the suggestion was to have it at some cosy yet not too costly restaurant. But it was tough to have to find one that is also kids friendly, so the kids won't be lethargic and figid around.

Finally a cake - not from Swensens! This is from Haagen Dazs.....lucky Sheena has been having this cake since she was in Pri Sch!!! Its Macademia Nut ice cream cake, her favourite!

So....here we are at Kenny Rogers, Suntec! They amazingly have a cosy corner with a long table and also many storybooks for kids....

It was a nice celebration.....and thankfully the kids were manageable!

Housewarming with Church Pals (4 October)

2008-12-02T22:15:00.007+08:00

Though we've had housewarming sessions for quite a few times already, its still fresh with every new group that comes, to share the joy of our marriage and our new home.

This time it was with my cg, N285 as well as some ex-cg members.

Picture with some of the gals from my cg:

Old and new cg members together:

Knew Geryl when we were both still in school....now she has 2 kids and i'm married....how time flies...and so glad that we are nearby neighbours :

I visited Ryan the day he was born in the hospital.....look at him....so big now!

Edmund and Chock Fang....attended their wedding and now here's their baby boy:

Nice group picture with old pals:

N285 shots:

Pretty meaningful picture, we have since multiplied to 2 cgs.....hopefully the friendships made will last a long time!

Princess Claire's 2nd Birthday (2 October)

2008-12-02T00:22:00.007+08:00

It was our cute, little, pretty princess' birthday....We celebrated at Karen's in-laws' place.

Haha! Yet another Swensen's ice-cream cake....talk about being fair!.....but little princess requested to have a princess cake....

Me with the birthday gal ...

Picture of the uncles, aunties and the kids :)

Little gal opening her presents....so sweet and so cute!

First F1 Night Race - Singapore, September 27

2008-12-02T00:00:00.006+08:00

It was truly a blessing when my big boss happened to have some extra F1 tickets and so I got a pair and get to go with Shian.

I always loved cars, like to watch car races but have never been to F1. It was truly an experience considering it is the first time that a night race was organised by F1 and that it was the first F1 race Singapore had hosted. We are so glad to be part of it!

Though it was just qualifying race, which means we don't get to see the real excitement and thrill of the real race, it was good enough for us.....and we left contented by the experience :)

It was really so hard to even take a picture of the cars as they are just too fast for our amature cameras!

Wonder if we will have the opportunity to go check out more F1 races? Even those overseas???

Gavin's birthday (17 September)

2008-12-01T23:41:00.008+08:00

It was Gavin's 7th birthday and we celebrated the weekend before.

Can be quite tiring to celebrate when all the birthdays are cramped together but each time we see the look of happiness when the kids see the birthday cakes and blow the candles out, it just motivates us to celebrate yet another birthday. And truely, all these birthday celebrations give our family the opportunities to come together to celebrate and enjoy each other's company :)

Here's the cake from Swensen's ...(again!) becos we need to be fair to each of the boys!

This time the celebration was at my place.....here's another happy family picture :)

The boys playing 'fireworks' -> how brave they are! I only dare to take pictures for them from a distance.....

Me lighting lanterns again! It's the eve of mid autumn festival! Dear was busy playing host in the house so its just me here downstairs, playing with the kids together with Sheena and James.

We had a durian feast and here's a picture of the guys :)

I love family gathering times and I love having friends and family visit my house .... just that the cleaning can be quite tiring! Nonetheless its all worth it :)

Gareth's Birthday Celebration (30 August 2008)

2008-10-04T16:47:00.006+08:00

Opps! How can i miss this entry out the last time...!

Gareth's 5th birthday was on 31 Aug. We celebrated a day earlier at Mum's place.

Here's a picture of the cake we got from Swensen's....

And the presents we got for the 2 boys.....Gavin's bdae is 2 weeks away but he also got his presents today...just he case they will fight! Each present was carefully labelled....

Family picture :)

It was near the mid-autumn festival ....so here's lantern lighting with the boys :)

Jakarta (3-4 September 2008)

2008-10-04T16:34:00.007+08:00

My first time to Jakarta. Again, not a city I ever thought of visiting for holiday so it was nice to get to go there for work.

Impression of the city?

Well, it is rather commercialised as well, with tall buildings in the city etc. In fact, i thought KL, Manila, Jakarta cities all looked rather similiar. After a while, we forget where we are at cos when travelling for work, we mostly just hang around office buildings and hotels.

I made a new friend there, my work associate, who graciously brought me around during those 2 days and made sure i ate well and was in the best of comfort at all times.

Here's Rita and me at an Indonesian restaurant downtown:

Generally, i think the people there are really "hardy". They work long hours and work very hard. They spend a lot of time travelling from one point to the other becos the roads are aways jammed but they do not have complaints. They are also easily contented and lead very simple lives.

I'm unable to pen my thoughts to words....just very impressed by the people i met...i feel so blessed to be leading the life i have.

Indeed we should always count our blessings.

Most Beautiful Couple of the Month

2008-10-03T11:59:00.002+08:00

ok...before i carry on with all my other back-dated posts....i must share this!!!

Sometime back, i sent in my entry to Style Weddings and so glad we got picked as the Most Beautiful Couple for the month of Oct 2008.

Check out our love story at:
http://www.styleweddings.sg/cms/article.aspx?Editorial_Id=520&SubCatId=7&EP=Y

We are actually featured as the first couple on the list and also our picture was used again on the left margin :)
The feature will be up for a month :)

Oh...and i should also add that we are featured here :)
http://www.theredwedding.com/gallery.html

Not Just a Name (24 Aug 08)

2008-10-01T23:23:00.006+08:00

MCYS in conjunction with the movie producers of local production, "Money not Enough 2" came up with the movement of "Not Just a Name" - teaching about filial piety, in line with the storyline of the movie. Basically that "Mother" and of course "Father" is not just a name, we should not only call them for the sake of calling or taking them for granted, but rather to love and treasure them even when the circumstance is difficult.

Well, i always think that these local productions are rather "LC" and not worth the $ to watch becos they are out on DVDs and then on TV so soon! So anyway, my church actually organised together with the people behind the "Not Just a Name" movement and there was a screening in church after service at expo. Though the tickets cost more than it does at the cinema, we just wanted to support it.

Most importantly, i invited my MIL and Shian to come and watch. Though they didn't service, i was real,y glad they came and experience the atmosphere and see the venue where i have church service every week. I was so bent on getting them a good seat, i actually rushed to Q for seats right after service, and had to even grab a bite while queueing. The good seats we got and everyone's happy faces was well worth it :)

Dear and me while waiting for the movie to start:

Dear and his mother:

My parents also brought my grandparents, who also attended service with us in the morning. Really admire my parents for making the effort to always bring my grandparents out to dine, and even to church. I must say, it is really challenging bringing my grandparents to church becos my church is so big and always crowded. My grandparents are not able to walk that fast or squeeze with the crowd etc...but glad they all came. I even bought flowers for the 3 mothers - my mum, MIL and grandmother - glad to see all of them smiley :)

Thereafter, we adjourned to Airport T3 for dinner at Dian Xiao Er. What a nice meal we had!

Hi-Tea@Royal Plaza on Scotts (17 Aug 08)

2008-09-27T12:07:00.004+08:00

Yes...i am putting on weight and getting real fat! Yes, we are both really busy....BUT...we had a voucher for the hi tea and it is expiring so we decided to go for it.

Shian and I at the hi tea:

Not exactly the place i would choose to go for hi tea, didn't think it would be all that great. However, it was really not bad! Pretty good food selection and it was really packed.....full house!

Shian enjoying the choc fountain:

F1 was approaching and there is this race car made of Choc showcased at the lobby so we decided to take a picture with it :)

After this, no more gorging for quite a while and time to get some exercise and dieting done!

NTU Gals gathering (16 Aug 08)

2008-09-27T11:58:00.004+08:00

My 3 pals from NTU - Jenevieve, Xan and Sherin came to my place for a gathering. Its really quite difficult for us to gather as Xan used to be flying with Emriates and Sherin is currently relocated to Dalian with her husband who is working there. On the other hand, Jen is a mother already so well....as we all get busy with our daily lives....it's really tough!

So how glad we were to meet up again, and at my new house....here's a picture of us together with Baby Chole and Shian joining us as well :)

Really treasure the times when we meet :) here is another group shot, we were all having fun playing with Chole on the platform of my house.

Look forward to the next time we all meet together again!

Shian's Mum Bdae + Housewarming (2 Aug 08)

2008-09-27T11:49:00.004+08:00

Shian's mum's bdae is on 5 Aug so we decided to celebrate it with some of his maternal relatives cum housewarming gathering at our new place.

Here's the complete family picture with Baby Jaycee included this time :)

Picture with some of Shian's maternal relatives + my Dad and Sheena who came to join us:

Sheena's convocation (14 Jul 08)

2008-09-27T11:12:00.007+08:00

My baby sister has finally graduated! It was on 14 Jul. Thank God for my understanding boss who gave me time off for attending her convo which is on a Mon afternoon. Well, of course NUS only allows 2 tickets for parents to wittness her going on stage to get her cert. So i only went there to take pics with her!

Proud family with the Chemical Engineering graudate with honours :)

Gathering with JieMeis & XiongDis (5 Jul 08)

2008-09-27T10:22:00.004+08:00

The glamour and the hype of the wedding is over....but Shian and I wanted to have this gathering of our beloved Jiemeis and Xiongdis at our new place...to thank them for all their help on our wedding day....and for everyone to chill out!

The gals...except Andrea who couldn't make it.....and yes...i did permed my hair....:) ...1st time ever in my life...takes a bit of getting used to...

The guys (also short of Yingli):

We had a great time watching the wedding video, pics and relishing the day's happenings together, having a great laugh and dining together.....

Here's the group picture :) Looking forward to more gatherings together:

Daddy's birthday + Housewarming (28 June 08)

2008-08-11T00:51:00.009+08:00

Another post dated entry.

It was Daddy's birthday and we decided to celebrate for him at our new house together with all our relatives and have a housewarming session at the same time.

First time we had like close to 60pax at our humble abode. It had to be held over 2 sessions in the day with overlapping times...now we know, our house can actually accomodate so many people!

Some of Maternal relatives:

Some of Paternal relatives (so hard to get everyone into the picture!):

Celebrating Daddy's bdae...it was tough getting a shot with all 3 kids not moving and looking gd:

Daddy's ever onz cg frens with my in-laws...

Daddy appreciating the present we got for him - framed up family pictures taken during my wedding :)

All our housewarming gifts :) .....we are indeed blessed!

My birthday! 22 June

2008-07-20T22:39:00.009+08:00

Deardear bought the cake i have been longing for a long long time and i am so so happy!

It is the ChocoCheese Cake from The Patisser :) What a pretty cake! Look at the nice red bow!

My mummy cooked a feast and brought the food to my place! The meal consists of Curry Chicken, Chicken Stew, Yam Paste Dessert, Fried Noodles etc etc...Everyone enjoying the meal heartily...

First time celebrating my birthday as a married couple :)

We rarely get a nice family picture where the kids are sitting/standing still and looking at the camera, smiling...this is one of the nicest shots....but too bad Sheena and James are touring in Europe, so they are not here....

See what i mean? Only ger ger is looking at the camera....so hard to get the 2 boys to sit still and look straight.....=p Nonetheless, they are still my cute nephews and niece :)

This year's birthday is special....the first as a married couple, the first time at my new house....I'm so HAPPY!

Visit to Yishun Safra Country Club

2008-07-20T22:26:00.004+08:00

It was the birthday party of Ian's 2 boys at the bowling centre. Since Ian is Dear's buddy, we decided to make our way there even though we had a tight schedule that day and it was really far!

Look at how cute Ian's 2 boys are:

Dear and I were too formerly dressed as we just went to Alyssa and Solomon's wedding lunch at The Mandarin Oriental....didn't think we would bowl but we did! And having not done so for such a long time....it was real fun! I must say my husband looks really cool and suave when he is bowling :)

By the evening when the party ended, we walked around and found this pretty nice bridge at the country club. It overlooks the wall for rockclimbing and the pool....pretty nice sight :)

Well, nice to visit new places that we haven't been before and to catch up with friends :)

Manila (16-19 June)

2008-07-20T21:54:00.013+08:00

My first trip to the Philippines. Never had intentions to visit this country for travel just as yet. Had the opportunity to go there cos of work.

Deardear took leave to help me with the packing and getting ready to go to the airport....so touched!

Manila is pretty cosmopolitan and the city center is pretty developed, more than i imagined. The city is huge....

I stayed at Shangrila, Mekati...its in the midst of lots of shopping malls....very nice room and service there!

The traffic there is really bad.... we kept getting stucked in traffic. The cab drivers there are also really skillful drivers...the way they cut lanes.....makes me feel i can never drive there....

Peak hour traffic at Mekati:

I had the opportunity to go to Krispy Kreme for a bite....so excited! cos they dun have an outlet in SG. I love the donuts there....lotsa unique and nice flavours....:)

Since i was going ga-ga over the krispy kreme donuts, i decided to go all the way...to model for them :)

I also had the chance to visit Hard Rock Cafe. Had dinner there and bought some T-shirts there :)

Caught sight of this Tweety Jeepney on the way to the airport....a popular public transport for the locals there.

Another great trip.....the locals are really friendly....and another eye-opener for me in terms of a work stint....looking forward to more trips :)

DearDear's Birthday! - 24 May 2008

2008-07-20T21:31:00.005+08:00

Another belated entry.

We celebrated deardear's first birthday as a married couple at our new home! I bought deardear's favourite New York Cheesecake from Starbucks for him.

Celebrating deardear's birthday as his wife, Mrs Koh :)

Deardear's family came over to our place to have dinner that day. Shian's mum even cooked at our kitchen....haha, at that time our kitchen was still quite inadequate, she really had a tough time making do with the lack of necessary equipment....but nonetheless....we had a sumptious dinner......it all takes an experienced cook to do the trick :)

The Koh family :)

The Highlights of My Wedding Day - 18 May 2008

2008-06-23T14:14:00.029+08:00

The day we have been counting down to for the last one year plus....finally arrived. Though we planned so much in advance, there were endless tasks to do...i was arranging the guests lists right up till 11pm the night before, till Daddy had to chase me to go to bed....

I slept well, though for barely 5 hours plus...got up to prepare...nervous...didn't know what to expect...didn't even have appetite to finish my favourite muffin for breakfast...

Picture taken when my parents had to do the traditional - putting the veil down for me. Something that i see in everyone's wedding album....but still, a very very sweet and memorable picture for me. But we kind of took it in a rush, becos my hubby was downstairs horning away of his arrival downstairs...

The Groom and his bros - all ready ~ TO BE TEKANed!

And so he sang and dance, as my jiemeis were sabo-ing him ....he got it easy becos 1) he happened to select the "sweet" drink out of the "suan, tian, ku, la" and 2) my mums and aunties were instructing my jiemeis to let him and the guys in becos it was too hot for their comfort outside the house!!!

The joy i had when he was my room that morning....to him - it was "FINALLY! ~ the ordeal was over!" This is one of those candid shots where my photographer captured it really well - all natural :)

Me with my jiemeis before leaving the house.

My dearest family - who all worked so hard to plan the event with me, to decorate and clean the house for me....

Off we went to Clarke Quay for day photoshoot.... one of my favourite shots :)

As part of the Koh family :)

And at our matrimonial home ... the Groom fulfilled my dream to carry me WITH MY HEAVY GOWN onto our bed :)

The KUA which i am very proud of ~ took a lot of effort to source for it as the piece packaged at the bridal shop and most other outlets were too short for me. So glad to find this piece, which is brand new and at a reasonably good price....and the hello kitties which i kept for many years came in handy on the bridal car as well :)

The Groom presented the roasted pig to my dad - it supposedly came at a very very high price~~

Together with my beloved grandparents ....

My solemnisation table with the precious moments wedding figurine, candles with gold ribbons, pink flower petals, personalised vow cards etc etc....all thought of and planned......so glad everything was just like what i dreamt of :) ~ Its the pink theme at the solemnisation room - VIP Lounge B at Stamford Ballroom, Swissotel the Stamford...

Getting ready to march in with Daddy and the 2 pairs of flowergals / pageboys....aren't they all so cute? :)

Though it is a pity that i didn't have a church wedding, it was still a dream come true with Daddy marching me in...this is really a special moment for me...with "Canon in D"

And so we said our vows and got officially married...despite forgetting our vows and making a fool of ourselves in front of everyone present!

And need i say...our ballroom decor that night was awesome!

And even the ice carving at the cocktail reception - it had huge strawberries and grapes that were well-liked by the guests....

Not forgetting my cute ang pao box ~~~ if you haven't noticed by now...the theme at the Stamford Ballroom dinner is RED and GOLD.

At cocktail reception .... groom was too busy with logistics...and i had the opportunity to take pics with many gd frens....just one here with Xan and Jenevieve...

First March in with the song "All my life" by KC and Jojo

2nd March in with the song "Fallen" by Lauren Wood:

The surpise performance by hubby ....singing ... "I wanna grow old with you" by Adam Sandler ....*Heart Melt Melt*

End of the dinner with some of my very ONZ maternal cousins, uncles and aunties...who stayed till the end for a group pic....

Picture with all the bros and jiemeis at the end of the day....where everyone is relaxed and warmed up....thank you all for making the day special for us....

There are just endless pics to show - check out http://ourwedding.photoshop.com/ for all the pics....

And endless people to thank.....especially to my parents, my (real) sisters and James for all the effort to make the day so memorable and without hiccups.....to Jason Ong and Ang for that awesome performance of Erhu and Guitar and to Donny and Olivia for being such dymanic emcees!!! I really can't thank all of you enough!

My wedding is really a dream come true! :)

Apr 21 - 28 Las Vegas

2008-06-12T23:33:00.021+08:00

Very fortunate of me to join the company just before the annual Worldwide Sales & Marketing Conference (WSMC). As i registered later than the rest of my team, i had the privilege to fly on the 16H direct flight to LA via SQ before taking a domestic United Airways flight to Vegas. The rest of my team flew United Airlines! First time i flew such a long flight on my own, quite an experience indeed.

The WSMC was held at the snazzy Venetian. See the ceiling of the lobby:

Many of us had the prvilege to stay in a suite individually. See the very grand and high bed:

Every hotel there had a theme and had certain special programmes. Bellagio has musical fountain every night:

Our hotel at the Venetian is very much like Rome. Other than the very European and Roman kind of paintings in the ceilings, we also had this scene at the dining and shopping area of the hotel. Always clear blue sky, makes us feel like its day time even when its night.

The world of Fantasy at this hotel (can't remember the name) - I would love to stay there!:

Treasure Island Hotel

Mini Paris

I visited M&M's World....so cute:

And the famous Wynn...

Shopping at the factory outlets - bought Coach, Polo Ralph, Timberland, Nike, Max Studio, Armani and many more! too busy shopping.....no pictures here......

Visited the awsome Grand Canyon and took the helicopter for the first time!

Truly a memorable trip for me. 5 Full day conferences packed with industry, product and company info which came at a good time cos i just joined. Wonderful friendships made with colleagues all over the world.....a total og 5,400 of us flew to Vegas for this conference. And of course, needless to say....the shopping and sightseeing experience in this sin city - Vegas....was awsome!

I'll be back for more, Vegas!

25-27 March - Kuala Lumpur

2008-06-12T22:27:00.004+08:00

My first business trip as a travelling executive. New job, new experience, great exposure! Really had to learn to be independent and to work on the go. It was great flying SQ and staying in Le Meridien Hotel.

View of the hotel swimming pool:

Far view from my hotel room:

Well...didn't take much pictures cos i was pretty much alone and it was a short trip...

Experience on Singapore Flyer - 7 Mar

2008-03-15T12:18:00.010+08:00

Thanks to the purchase of our wedding bands, we got a pair of free tickets to the Sg Flyer and be one of the first to take the ride as it has apparently been fully booked till mths later by corporate and group travel bookings.

We took the open-top bus called the Fun Vee from Coleman street to the venue.

The boarding place is a building with shops, restaurants and all...pretty touristic...

Us with the mini waterfall:

30mins ride in the capsule....very good views of Singapore and slightly beyond...heavenly~~~

Us with the next capsule....

Our favourite pic =) .... we went on a hunt for the best spot to take pic with the entire ferris wheel .... and so glad we found it :)

At the end of it, we were famished....and I was so glad to see my favourite Popeyes there! I always lament at the fact of why they never venture out of their outlet at the Airport...and I'm so glad to see it here!!!

Dear didn't like Popeye before becos he didnt like fried food in general. Haha! but he now says that he is starting to like it under my influence.

Us with our Popeye dinner :) .... totally satisfied ......

P.S. Sadly enough, i am not one of those Brides-to-be that actually will diet and keep fit so as to look good on the wedding day. I endeavour to. I signed up at the gym. But i'm just so not disciplined! And i really can't resist all the good food that I like =p ..... I seriously need a gym buddy and one that will force me to go..... =p ... And i will try ....try not to eat so much junk food.....

Feeling closer to the wedding...

2008-03-15T11:53:00.005+08:00

Our parents formally met up on Feb 22 together with us at Hung Kang Teochew Restaurant to discuss about our wedding preparations. The venue is apt becos Shian's family are teochews. Hmmm 1st time i had authentic teochew dishes at a restaurant....very different...they emphasize a lot on freshness and healthy food overall ... *think steamed fish* ...haha

Us with parents at the end of the dinner:

Couldn't believe that Shian and I were actually a bit nervous just before our parents met. But glad that everything went smooth..both sides of the family are modern folks who will be leaving most of the planning to us :)

25 Feb - Photoshoot day! We couldn't sleep the night before ...haha....went to the studio bright and early....it was exciting and fun and then it got a little tiring having to smile at the camera continuously....my cheek area was actually trembling and aching! It was fun changing from costume to costume and changing the hairdo...wow! I felt like a star :) We were really blessed with a photographer who is really passionate about his job! He really went the extra mile for us, despite the rain and all. Thank God for that! And .....we actually finished shooting at 10:45pm and apparently broke the bridal shop's record of being the couple that got back the latest from photoshoot!

On 27 Feb, we had our food-tasting at the hotel. The food was good! huge portions and very good service....everyone was telling me that should probably be the time we'll enjoy the food cos we'll be running around on the actual day.....but well well, just hope that the quality of the food and the service will be just as good on the actual day....and really, its not just eating at the food-tasting, we got to be sure to give appropriate comments and feedback so that things can be close to perfect on the actual day!

Us at the end of food-tasting...too bad Karen, CJ and the kids couldn't make it...

6 Mar - Photoshoot pictures are out! It was exciting....we were pretty satisfied with it overall...and spent more $$$ topping up for pics....still...it was really such heartache to see the other pics go down the drain *sob sob*

As the counter on my blog shows.....time is really drawing near to our wedding!!!!

Nixon's 2nd Birthday - 23 Feb

2008-02-26T20:02:00.004+08:00

It was Nixon's 2nd birthday last Saturday. Sumin organised a family dinner at Globetrotters@ United Square. It is a fun themed family restarant that is very pro kids. We got a table beside the kids playroom so we all can watch Nixon playing. There was a staff member taking care of the kids in the playroom.

The decor was nice! There was even a kids bar! The food was mostly western with some oriental choices.....very huge portions and quite good food! The service was awesome and the staff there are very friendly and have a genuine passion for kids. I strongly recommend this place for kids' birthdays! They have private rooms for kids' parties as well.

Here's the group picture....Nixon is so cute...he even initiatively puts his arms around his grandparents when taking the picture :)

Gathering with NTU gals

2008-02-19T15:51:00.006+08:00

Hmmm......this is my click who did all the projects with me in Uni....we also spent hours discussing school work for tutorials and exams......

Time flies, 2 are married and of which one already has a baby! Its been a long time since all 4 of us can get together again cos Xan was flying and then now Sherin has relocated with her husband.....

Finally! All are back for this year's CNY!

We had dinner at the newly renovated coffeeclub at Raffles City....

Thereafterm we went to Intro Bar for drinks....

The night was still young, so we went to Sherin's room at Carlton Hotel to chat....

It was great catching up with the gals! We had a wonderful time!!!

Valentine's Day!

2008-02-19T15:23:00.007+08:00

This is the 1st year that Shian is spending the actual day of Valentine's day with me. In the last few years, he always happens to have classes, and i always end up working late and heading home.

This year is the last year we will spend V-day as a dating couple becos next year onwards we are a married couple....haha....so we felt it was important to spend it together, even if it is a simple one....

Well.....i ended work late that day.....and Shian had to wait for me......in the end, we only had a simple dinner at McDonald's at PS cos everywhere had such long queues.....

Dear surprised me with a stalk of rose......it may be nothing compared to what other guys give other gals.....but it meant a lot to me! Didn't expect it at all becos Shian is a very practical guy, he doesn't believe in giving me flowers.....in fact the bouquet he gave me during proposal was said to be the 1st and the last.....so i didn't expect it at all.....so what i gain when i least expected, is always the sweetest :)

Here's me and my rose:

In return, i bought Dear his favourite NY cheesecake.....poorthing, he had been sick these 2 weeks......

The highlights that evening was us catching the movie, P.S. I love You. I read the book years ago....and really liked it....i normally hate reading but this book not only enticed me to complete reading in a day, i even cried while reading the book. So i knew this movie is a must-watch! Glad we got the tickets.....the show was humourous, sweet and touching at the same time......

Thank you Dear for all that you do for me, for standing by me in the most difficult times...I had a great evening with you! I love you :)

Chinese New Year!!!

2008-02-19T14:05:00.013+08:00

Day 1: Record visiting of 12 houses! Dad's side of relatives wanted to do all the visiting at one go so we didn't have to take too many days....it was a long day but a great catch-up with everyone...

Before setting off...

We also visited Ah Ma ....so heartwarming to see Ah Ma carrying Claire.....

Day 2: Mum's side relatives came to our house.

See the Huge Yusheng Platter that mum prepared:

Thereafter, we went to Aunt Judy's house and then to watch Ah Long Pte Ltd. Wasn't too keen on the show but was really just cos its a family movie. Gosh! we took hours to book the tix online as all the websites were jammed! The movie turned out to be funny but crude....not much of content but well......just for laughs.

Day 3: Kai Shian and James came to our house to Bai Nian...

Off we went to SICC for Ah Gong's annual birthday lunch....it was his 80th birthday this year!

Shian and I then dropped by our new place and then to his place to bai nian to his family.....

In the evening....was back to Aunt Mag's place....for bai nian, dinner and cake-cutting for Ah Gong's bdae.....here's the family photo of 4 generations....

My favourite photo with Shian during this CNY:

Look at how cosy the 4 Men are!

Day 4: Went for church service, then Uncle Michael's place....and then Wei Qiang's place....

No photos taken this day........too moody thinking about going back to work the next day.....haha

Pre-CNY....

2008-02-19T13:49:00.006+08:00

Another post-dated entry....

This year, we went to Chinatown to soak in the atmosphere way before the actual CNY....more becos we were there to run errands and kinda got stucked there....

This year is year of the RAT...so we get to see Mickey Mouse everywhere....

Pics are a bit dark...i prefer Donald Duck though....

Shian and I were shopping at Suntec one day and came across 财神爷! Haha! We shook hands with him and each got an Ang Pao and in it was a voucher for a free bag of Rice for each of us! So Happy :)

Baby Kendrick - 1st mth celebration (3 Feb)

2008-02-19T13:27:00.004+08:00

Well well.....i've been so busy, so this is a post-dated entry....

My good friend, Tabitha has given birth on 7 Jan! Time really flies....still remember being jiemei at her wedding.....and now she is a mother!

Shian and I attended Baby Kendrick's 1st mth party on 3 Feb.....he's so so cute, and so guai......and i think he likes me....cos he smiles at me when i carry him....haha!

Some pics to share....

Congrats Tabi and Chris to your cute baby Kendrick! :)

Happy Wkend - 5-6 Jan

2008-01-12T01:15:00.001+08:00

This is yet another post-dated entry...

Been really busy with house reno and wedding prep....plus some unhappy incidents....so have been feeling very down for quite some time.....

Dear knew that i really had a strong desire to watch the chipmunks movie....despite our busy schedules, he made effort to squeeze in time to watch this movie with me......its really funny and cute....i had a great time....

Me with Alvin:

Me with Simon:

Me with Theodore:

Well, we actually watched the movie at The Cathay. but we were not allowed to take pictures there - wonder why ....since we parked the car at PS, we decided to check out PS GV and managed to take pics with these cute wall murals!

Since i took so many pics.... so i forced Dear to take one too....i let him choose which charcter to take the picture with.....and he chose Alvin!

While walking to the car..... i stopped by to take picture with this cute sesame street "car":

After the movie, we also went to B&J for Belgian waffle with ice-cream! Fattening but the ice-cream is really delightful...the outlet at The Cathay also had a 'live' band performing....so we had a nice time relaxing and chilling out :)

On sunday, i went to Dear's place after service.....since we were in the west, i persuaded Dear to bring me to Botak Jones at Clementi....heard so much about the cheap, big portioned and nice western food.....finally get to try it....

Well, its quite nice....but Dear was saying the portion has shrunk......its not that big after all....

Looking forward to yet another wonderful weekend....full of fun and joy.....without worries and anxiety....

黑社会 - Bosses

2008-01-10T00:16:00.000+08:00

Met Winnie for dinner last Fri evening! Its been so long since i last met this good friend of mine...think the last time we met was in Aug 07?

Anyway, i had to run some errands at Vivocity and Winnie suggested that we should dine at 黑社会 - Bosses restaurant.....I always walk past this place but never really look into what they actually serve....

Anyway, boy....was i glad that we tried out this place....the decor was kinda fusion (western and oriental)...its black and mysterious but cosy at the same time....

There is this service buttons at the table so you can press to call for service....

The menu is on a drawer at the table....quite cool:

Our appetiser....strips of vege and some fried sticks.....tasty and very nice display :)

There are many dishes in the menu, but both of us just wanted something simple.....

Winnie's Dan Dan noodles:

My Fried Rice with XO sauce:

Our very fragrant Golden Chrysantemum Tea, even the teapot and cups look so class:

Here comes the highlights of the dinner, our desserts!!!

We ordered durian mochi and black sesame dumpling pea.....both are awesome....they melt in your mouth, is so smooth and not as gelat and filling as you imagine it to be! The durian mochi actually has durian flesh within....its heavenly! The fragrance is also very very good! Must Try!

Overall, i had such a wonderful time catching up with Winnie! Thanks Winnie for lending a listening ear to me..... :)

New Year Celebrations

2008-01-04T23:47:00.000+08:00

Time flies .... it was another countdown .... i went to work as usual on new year's eve. Had early release at 3pm. My paternal side relatives came over to my place for buffet .... i must say food was good....this year we didn't go see the fireworks....too tired and wanted to rest....busy hosting the guests that i forgot to take pics!

On new year's day, it was also my parents' wedding anniversary. We went to Swensons at Airport Terminal 2 for lunch......

There is a new ice-cream fondue in the menu! I was so excited with it :)

Had a great time with my family....here's a family picture ...haven't taken one in a long while.....and Baby Claire was in her beauty sleep while we were taking pics....so cute...

Xmas with family

2007-12-27T21:55:00.000+08:00

Spent Xmas eve at my aunt's place as usual. It has become very much a yearly affair. Lots of good food...wonderful house decor with all the xmasy stuff in the house...didn't really take pics there this year though. It was very much quieter than before with 2 families not in the country.

On Xmas day, my parents invited my bro-in-law's family and Shian's parents to my place. It was the first time that Shian's parents came to my place. You can imagine how early i woke up to try and clean my room!

Mum cooked a feast that day.....and dad bought the Turkey and Ham.....

Then there was of course the log cake...dad bought it from Giant but it was suprisingly very rich in the chocolate taste which is superb!

The Xmas trees with lots of presents.....mainly for the kids...:

Gavin and Gareth busy opening all their presents:

Baby Claire was like the star of the party, everyone was taking turns to take pics with her....

First time i bought presents for everyone in the family.....

Sheena and James with presents from me:

Karen and CJ ....(Karen too lazy to hold the present from me):

Shian with the 'special' present from me:

Well....time spent with family is always the best.....no pretence...full of love, fun and laughter.....I thank God for a wonderful family who stands by me everytime =)

Christmas Party @ Shian's Place - 23 Dec

2007-12-25T00:20:00.001+08:00

It has been an annual affair now...Shian has once again invited his click of secondary school frens to his place for a simple pot-luck cum board games party....

This year, quite a few couldn't make it....despite the small group size, we deicided to carry on with the gathering...In fact, the small group makes the gathering much more cosy and intimate....

We had fun chatting, playing taboo...lotsa laughter with the comical JingWei and the jovial Ian...glad to know Dear's frens better too :)

Well, a Christmas party is not complete without the traditional gift exchange.....

Here's the group shot with all of us upon receiving our presents :

And here's the shot with all of us after opening our presents! I love the gift I received! Its a Micky Mouse pillow, but when you zip it open, it forms a quilt blanket! Amazing!~~~

Looking forward to the next Christmas gathering with these guys & gals already.....hmmm we were reminded during the gathering that the next Christmas gathering with this bunch of frens could possibly be at our new place next year! How exciting!~~~

Christmas Service at Expo!

2007-12-23T15:26:00.000+08:00

Time flies! Its yet another Christmas service. I'm usually very excited for this service becos of the crowds at church, the carnival and also the awesome musical put up by our church members. All these programs are awesome....the whole atmosphere where everyone sings the christmas carols, give away presents and dress up for the season etc...its really such a mood for giving, loving, sharing and partying!

Am particularly proud to be part of my church. Our drama and musical teams, they are really talented people. Our service will be broadcast on cable worldwide and their performance standard can really be comparable to the professionals.

Aside from the usual dramas and singing of christmas carols....Pastor shared about having Christ in our lives brings light and takes away the darkness in our lives. Along with the symbolism of the message, once again like last year, we all had a candle and the light is being passed on till the entire Expo Hall 8 lights up. Its such a magnificent sight.

I was so excited i had to take some pics with Janice and Jennifer who were seated beside me. I had to take pics using my hp camera as i didn't bring my camera.

At the end of the service, it was such a touching sight to see many people going forward to receive Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Every week when I see people walking down the aisle to receive Christ, i always feel so touched and so encouraged. I'll always remember the time when I brought my parents to church for the first time and they too accepted Christ and their lives have never been the same again...it is transformed for the better.

I wish that all my loved ones and good friends will be able to find the true meaning of Christmas!

Enchanted

2007-12-20T23:03:00.000+08:00

I was waiting for this show the moment i saw the trailer mths ago. When the show was finally showing, i didn't have the time to go watch it at all. Finally, dear and I made time to go watch it today at Vivo......sad thing was that we were caught in a jam and i missed the initial part of the show. Nonetheless, was glad we made time for it. It is really light-hearted, touching yet with a sense of humour. It is really very interesting ....... quite stress-relieving.... =) Makes us all dreamy and believing that there is really true love in this world! =)

Outing with the Jiemeis - 19 Dec

2007-12-20T22:55:00.000+08:00

Finally, after quite a few postponements...i finally got to meet my Jiemeis to be ..... who are going to be the honourable door 'bitches' at my wedding =) They are all my ex-colleagues at DHL =)

I'm off from work today, so had some light shopping on my own at Parkway in the day time before going home to rest. Met the gals at Dempsey hill in the evening.

Here we are at Oosh (once again!). This time, we had dinner at The Terrace. I like it at Oosh in the sense that they have different sections and every section has its own ambience and menu, so it feels like i'm going to a different restaurant when i go to a different section. The funny yet bad thing was that the service was rather bad. We added onto the list for every bad service item and the final count at the end of the dinner was i think 32??!!! Can't imagine......

So here we are.....at Oosh at the end of dinner .... too bad Adeline and Celeste couldn't join us.....

Then we decided to walk up the hill to Ben & Jerry's ....Wai Yi and I shared the Super Mix 'n' Match and the other 3 gals tried the Strawberry Cheeseshake.....i had a sip and i must say ....its really quite nice...considering that i never liked non chocolaty flavours! There, we had a nice evening of chat......so glad that despite me not working with these gals anymore.....we can still chat in such a carefree and cosy manner.....no pretence and totally genuine....thanks gals for a wonderful night out together!

Here's our picture at B&J (Andrea is getting real sleepy =p):

Looking forward to our next gathering! Hopefully, all 6 of you can join =)

T3 Open House

2007-12-13T23:12:00.001+08:00

Last weekend was the end of the T3 Open house at Changi airport before it will then officially open in Jan 08. Despite our busy schedules with house reno, wedding prep and lots of other commitments, we made time to go for the T3 open house. So glad Dear planned for this, he knew that the airport is the place i love to go be it when i am in a very gd mood or when i am feeling down - becos this is the place where i feel very "Free" cos of the large space and happy - cos i can start day-dreaming about my next trip! I really love travelling!!!

We paid for the $3 guided tour where the tour guide explained to us the various statistics, the rationale for the decor, certain hidden things like the speakers at the departure hall were built onto the pillar structures......

At the departure hall, the place you wait to board the planes....the seats are supposedly branded.....they are colourful and comfortable....these holding rooms are also much bigger than the current ones in T1 and T2 to support the A380 customers in future.

At the baggage pick up point.....seems as though we really just went on a trip. Afterall, we get to tour even the duty free shopping area which is usually out of bounds unless you have a boarding pass.

I wish i can take a plane that flies out from T3 very soon! T3 is really big and nicely done up ......i'm dreaming for a holiday already.....