goodbye 2008...HELLO 2009!!!

2008 was indeed an eventful year. Like most years, it brought both bad and good memories - one of which was going to Europe with my family! :))) My wish for 2009 is that it'll be a smooth sailing year. A great new start for us indeed as we embark on our new journey in our new home. May it bring us the warmth and happiness our previous place had brought us. Good health is something we all need as well. Here's wishing everyone happiness and good health in the brand new year. Have a fantastic one everyone!

Feliz Navidad 2008

Here are pictures from our Christmas party after midnight mass. Enjoy viewing!

I should be so lucky!!!

When I was on my way back, a wonderful aroma greeted me when the lift door to my home opened last Friday.

Though the main door and gate were closed and the curtains drawn, I could hear romantic, jazz tunes coming from my house as I stood outside struggling and juggling between my shopping bags to dig deep into my bag to look for my house keys.

Then, he opens the door. In a dashing shirt, long pants and choker round his neck, he stole my breath away. Just like he did 11 years ago when we first started dating. As he stood at the door, reaching his hands out to mine with his come hither eyes, he invited me to dinner. All this while, I just could not stop grinning and I could actually feel my face turning red as I started to blush.

Lightings were kept to the minimum, romantic and dim. Music was oh so lovely too. Table was beautifully laid with dinner, all cooked lovingly by him. Judging from the food courses and presentation and the way the house was spick and span, alot of work and effort was put in. Apparently, he had planned this for sometime. He took a half day off from work, dropped the kids off at the in laws, went grocery shopping, came home and prepared the evening's lovely dinner all by himself. He and I had the most lovely and enjoyable evening together.

HE is none other than MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER, MY ROCK AND MY ANCHOR, MY SOULMATE and THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. HE is none other than my hubs. I'll say it again, THANK YOU for everything. You really, really complete me. I'll always remember what you sang to me that night, "I WANNA GROW OLD WITH YOU, TOO".

Hey Love! It's been 10 years....

(In no particular order)

1. You want me to be happy more than you care what other people think.

2. You always seem to see the good in me, or at least choose to focus on the positive.

3. You support my life choices and whatever dreams and aspirations I have (even though it can be ridiculous at times).

4. You let me make my own mistakes, but never, not ever, once I heard you say "I told you so" after.

5. You are genuinely damn fun to be with, from trying to cheat at Boogle, to insisting we sing or play word games in the car even though the kids and me are tired after a long day, to your imitation of a geek (I'LL NEVER FORGET that evening you center-parted your hair and had that bucked teeth whilst waiting for me! Even mom got a shock and asked if you were outta your mind!)

6. You show me the adage I live by : If you have it, bloody well flaunt it, and the devil be damned. "She is all mine, mine, MINE!", you would say.

7. My family members and friends ADORE and LOVE you, which says alot about your personality. (to the point whereby its okay for me to not be there but NOT okay if you are not! too much, I say! :)

8. Your patience with the kids. Your accomodating and calm composure when you taught them on the use of "Money" took you a whole Sunday, you were drained but thoroughly satisfied spending time bonding with the kiddos. It's moved on to teaching them "HOW TO TELL THE TIME" and their daily and nightly rounds of Chinese Chess with you. Its no wonder no matter how strict you are with the kiddos, they still love you dearly and want to hang around you all the time.

9. You do not nag but put up with mine instead ;) PLUS you never fail to put a smile on my face with your witty wordplay.

10. No matter how tired you are, you've never once complain or say "NO" when I request for a massage (which is oh-so satisfying btw) or when I crave for a midnight drive, movie or hot chocolate.

GOD has been really kind and good to me - I don't know what I did in my lifetime to deserve such a wonderful, sweet, funny and passionate man like you. Here's to another 10 x 10 years, baby. HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY DARLING!

Ninja Popster!

The kiddos get to go to bed slightly later during the school holidays (except for the last 2 weeks before school reopens).

So there they were... playing, sharing their little secrets and laughing happily together in their room when their dad, yes, dear hubs decides to surprise them in his self made ninja do! (yes at times, hubs is really that free ....and cheeky!)

And now, both are crying because of the fright they had! Hubs crept up to them and gave them such a shock! Plus, Mr Ninja Tan is so proud of his self made ninja gear wrapper over his head from his CK white inner tee!

Excuse me whilst I go over to the next room and console them.

Lelong, Lelong!

As with the title of the blog entry, we've got furniture up for grabs. We've decided to be fair and let whoever who responds the fastest, get first dips. Inventory are as follows (for now ... you bet more items will be added to the list later!)

1. 1 LG washing machine (yes, i am putting down the quantity coz i know people who own 3 washers in their 5-room flats! Search me!)

2. 1 shoe cabinet (enough for 15 pairs of adult shoes)

3. 1 baby high chair (if you must know, the brand's Pierre Cardin. Hey, it was the only one brand available when we bought it in Robinson's that time!)

4. 1 bedside table (no brand but one could play chess on it coz the markings embedded on the surface top)

5. 1 blessed baby cot....or rather, a baby cot that's been blessed! (without the mattress as we recently threw it out due to wear and tear)

I know some of you are eyeing on our bed coz though its been broken and fixed by the hubs twice, its still standing strong, hence proving that its damn solid. Sorry to say that this is NOT up for grabs as the couple whom we sold our home too 'choped' it even though we highlighted the fault ;)

And did I mention that I absolutely HATE the packing that comes along with the moving??

Magnificent Malacca

One of the first few things that drew me to hubs when we were first introduced by mutual friends were his sense of adventure and his spontaneous nature ;)

Having said that, since it was a long weekend break this week, out of the blue, hubs decided that that he take his parents, the kiddos and me on a day trip to Malacca. He had wanted it to be somewhat of a cultural learning experience trip for the kiddos to acquire some knowledge of their Peranakan roots from my side of the family. How sweet :)

My parents in law are such fun and sporting folks too. Now I know where hubs got his traits froms. Anyway, we got up bright and early on Sunday morning whilst the sky was still so dark. It was sinful to be waking up at that unGodly hour on a Sunday, if you ask me. Those days, I used to return home at the same unGoldly hour during the wee hours of Sunday morning after supper, after clubbing with the usual suspects aka brady bunch, only to wake up a few hours later for Sunday mass. Ahhh, those were the days. Ok, I am disgressing here...

Picked up hot chocolate for everyone en route to Tuas checkpoint, we began our drive to Malacca which lasted all of 2.5 hours. We wasted no time and got straight to shopping once we had parked. Picked out several items on our shopping list and headed for the famous A FAMOSA CHICKEN RICE BALLS along Jonker's Walk. If you must know, the second last chicken rice stall at Dover Market in Singapore is still the best, to me. The grandparents indulged in the kiddos. Letting them eat and buy whatever they fancied or caught their eyes. Hubs clicked away and took lovely shots of the rich, lovely and historical town filled with both tourists and locals that Sunday. If not for the grey skies that appeared out of nowhere suddenly, we would have lingered a few hours longer. But alas, we made a beeline to where we parked, avoiding the thuderstorm that followed shortly after. It was a 4 hours car-ride back, only because hubs took the trunk road. It was an experience indeed, opening our eyes to capture the way the townsfolk live. Its just that the journey was longer than expected and we will make sure not to repeat this and go via North-South when we head back there, hopefully before the school break ends.

Birthday Shoutout!

Dearest sweet, charming, thoughtful and eldest niece of mine,

Happy 8th Birthday dearie. Continue to do well in all that you do and may your dreams and aspirations come true!!

ps. Break a leg on your upcoming ballet performance of The Nutcracker which opens next week!

All Hail !!! New King in Town....

If ever anyone of you come across or meet the inventors of this sensational product, you MUST inform me at all costs!!! I will personally go and kiss his/her feet!

The nasal strips are GOD sent, I tell you! Was getting toiletries at the drugstore couple of weeks ago when this in-store promoter practically forced me into listening to her sales pitch! On hindsight, thank heavens I did :) coz this thing really works wonders, believe you me!

For years, the man whom I go to bed with every night snores like a motorcyclist who revs and revs but is still stuck in the same spot, you get the picture? Nights when alcohol is consumed, the revving gets two notches louder!

No offence sweetie-pie, you still ROCK MY WORLD ;)

What's Been Up

...and if you are wondering, YES! The hot water bottle has been my best friend and constant companion for the past 10 days or so.

Hubs had gone to pick the kiddos up from the swimming pool where they were having lessons. I was alone at home and was dressing up when I had an epileptic seizure. Fell and hurt myself really bad :( Was totally unconscious whilst it happened and lasted but the irony of it all was that...when I came to and opened my eyes, there I was on the bed! But boy did I ache all over or what! Don't ask how I got there either. I have been asking that same question the past 10 days or so myself. The damage? Two hard knocks on my head more towards my right, my right shoulder blade, my tooth right at the back of my mouth on the upper right was chipped as well and my back...OoooH MY BACK! In fact, a visit to the sinseh last week confirmed my fears....that I had hurt my tailbone and that it was swollen!

I am fine now. Albeit, abit depressed and sad about WHY it happened. What triggered it? The stress at work recently? The dismissal of some colleagues hit me really bad, I must admit. Or was it the alcohol consumed the night before? Everyone in the office had wanted a break and a lovely dinner with awesome pairings of wine were what we had. I have been trying very hard to recall WHAT actually happened, but to no avail that I have given up.

Anyhow, THANK YOUs are in order here. I am extremely happy and lucky to receive the many, many support and love from my wonderful family and friends. For that, I deeply THANK YOU sincerely from the bottom of my heart.

To the LOVE OF MY LIFE, for better or worst, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.....you truly deserve a standing ovation for the tremendous amount of overpouring love.

ps. thank you also for the soothing nightly massages on my still-so-sore back ;)

I just cant get to sleep....

...hence the mind shall wonder and I shall post about what I am thinking at the moment.

First and foremost, I am deeply upset with some sad news I received on the home front. But that's something I am not ready to blog about just as yet. Back on the work front, market's (and I don't mean Tekka) been really BAD to the bone. Many folks out there are losing money in the stock market and to add to that, things in the office, have kinda been topsy turvy. Some colleagues in the office decided on a get-together this Friday. Just as well as everyone was going crazy with screaming clients on the phone and what nots! We NEED to not think of work for awhile and just be merry. It is afterall, Christmastime. Tis the season to get fat FFFFAATTT, fa la la la la, la la la la!!!

With so many people losing their jobs so near to what would be bonus time, many are just happy that they are at least holding onto A JOB. Nevermind the bonus. I really hope this downturn that we are facing which is affecting all of us will be over sooner than expected. Read in the papers about innocent folks losing their life savings over just a mere period of weeks? Money hard earned through blood, sweat and tears. I know because my parents were victims. Growing up, I watched them saved and scrimped every penny they earned. Their sacrifices made for all 3 of us, their children. Everything just gone within mere weeks. Crumbled like a deck of cards. Sigh. How true when they say there is no point crying over spilled milk. Hope some form of help is being rendered to these poor, innocent folks.

Most people seem to be in a grim and gloomy state of mind. Who can blame them? Eh, we are human afterall.

My Thoughts

On the whole, I had an enjoyable weekend. But then again, something happened as well. Something I hadn't witness in a long, long time. It was most certainly not pleasant and something I don't ever want to be a part of.

I witnessed a family feud. Two members of hubs' side of the family in an intense argument. It was bad. Really bad and the words exchanged made my heart race and I felt so helpless and upset. Helpless because I stood standing and there was just nothing I could do to stop 'em. Upset because these two family members are close and dear to me. Tears streamed down my face and if you are wondering what hubs was doing or where he was, he was there, being peace-maker and trying to stop the argument before things got worst or turned ugly.

At times, we say or do things we do not mean. Totally unintentional. But such is the power of words. Funny how some trivial things said can sometime destroy. This is especially so in the high tech world we live in where sms-es are often exchanged. Its really hard to tell with sms-es the tone or the manner in which a message is being said or relayed.

When I had some time to myself last Saturday night, my mind wondered...just like how it normally would when I am all alone by myself. I did lots of thinking and reflection. Thought of things that I may have unknowingly said to people with absolutely zero intention of hurting them.

So if I may have said or done something silly, from the bottom of my heart, and I mean it in the most sincere manner possible, I AM SORRY.

Birthday Shoutout

Birthday shoutout to the most sweetest and loveliest father and mother in law ever!
MIL celebrates her birthday today with FIL just 6 days later.

Thank you for all that you have done for us! Here's wishing you God's blessing and good health always. We love you!

Banana Trivia

Whilst at the supermarket picking out fruits with my girl today, she shot me this question :

Chloe : Mummy, do you know why I like to eat banana?

Me : Beeee...coz its sweet?

Chloe : No! Because I was born in the year of the monkey!!!

Me (thinking) : Hmmm...witty.

39 days to Christmas!

Its 39 days to Christmas but it already feels like Christmas Eve downtown in Orchard Road!

I was in a cab which was stuck in a horrifying traffic jam at noon today. The cabbie took about 45 minutes to get from Plaza Singapura to slightly past Cathay. YES!! Not exaggerating but 45 L-O-N-G minutes. I was cursing and swearing inside. Never felt time....precious time wasted so much like this before. Swore to myself that aside from always having some cash on hand and a bottle of water with me, a darn good book or a mag is a MUST so as to keep me occupied if this ever happens again (GOD forbid)!

That aside, with the yuletide season being just around the corner, I'm already feeling the mood. I have ordered kick ass honey baked ham, chestnut stuffed succulent turkey with cranberry sauce on the side and not forgetting kick-ass juicy and tender black pepper roast beef for the yuletide season.

Last Day of School

We all know what a sentimental person I am right?

A tinge of sadness was felt by me this morning when I woke up coz its the last day of school. You see, it will be E's last day in kindergarten. Its the last day before his friends and him move onto primary school next year. I know that he'll miss the lovely bird santuary in the school compound, the playground (its every kid's dream playground) as well as the nice teachers and staff. I really remember the exact sequence of events that took place on the very first morning he started nursery. From the moment hubs and me brought him down to wait for Uncle Chan, the very protective and caring school bus driver who, together with his wife, have been really wonderful!

Just the other day, I overheard him telling his sister that he'd miss the many many friends that he made. Awwww...I interrupted the convee and told him to look forward to primary school and that he'd make just as many friends there as well.

Here's some pictures of the kiddos on the way down to wait for their schoolbus. There was a Christmas party in school hence the no school uniform but party clothes dresscode.


Uncle Chan and his co-driver, Ethan!


Chloe with the ever-so-nice Auntie Chan!


Our lovely younglings!

Tuesday Night Live!

And so the hubs went, "Son, sing us a song. Anything you wish".

Ethan : Oooh...This is an S.O.S.
Don't wanna second guess
This is the bottom line
It's true
I gave my all for you
Now my heart's in two
And I can't find the other half
It's like I'm walking on broken glass
Better believe I bled
It's a call I'll never get.....
(from the JONAS BROTHERS)

Me, cant help but was thinking : Now, if only he memorizes his multiplication table in the same manner.....but my thoughts were quickly interrupted....

(He suddenly forgets the lyrics for the second half of the song). but quickly continued with..

Jingle Bells,
Batman Smells,
100 miles away...
Oh What fun, it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.. Eh!

Ah what?? Now where did he learn that from? Again, this little rascal of mine had us in stitches lah, singing like a rock star (you know how they absorb stuff from the children's network channels) and at the same time struggling to hold his father's classical guitar which is quite heavy, I must say, for a six year old to handle.

Not so silent afterall!

After lunch, we were all busy doing own stuff when all of a sudden, a familiar Christmas carol was heard coming from the kiddo's room. The older one was singing, very seriously, may I add, SILENT NIGHT HOLY NIGHT. What took the cake and sent out giggles all around (of coz without him realizing!) was that he was singing it in Mandarin. YES! MANDARIN. Even Maria couldn't control the giggling.

Couldn't help it but hearing SILENT NIGHT HOLY NIGHT is damn funny in Mandarin can?!!

Birthday Greetings

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little niece, Sara Laetitia Han (in her cute pink glasses) who turns all of 6 years today! GOD bless you with good health and all things nice, my little munchkin.

Arigato!

For weeks now I have been craving Japanese food. Don't ask me why but these days, I just cant get enough of fresh salmon sashimi, cold/hot soba, handrolls, chawanmushi and those great salads they whip up in Japanese restaurants. Damn oi-ishi !!!

What Ifs

When I am by myself, my mind often wonder and sometimes, I think I tend to overeact. I dunno, its just me, I am made this way and people always tell me that I worry about the slightest thing, things that are very extremely trivial, or so they say.

These random thoughts have always been floating in my mind forever and I am hoping that by typing it out, it'll make me worry a whole lot less. Doesn't hurn to hope right?

WHAT IF my parents, who are both in their senior years suddenly depart and get taken away from me by HIM? Will I be able to handle it? Will I be able to take them not being around for my family and me? Will I regret not showing enough of my love towards them?

WHAT IF I get pregnant again? Will my not-so-young-body be able to take it? Am I ready to go through the motion again? Will I have enough time to divide between the kids? Or will I be selfish and have more kids anyway? As it is now, the kiddos complain that hubs and me don't spend enough time with them and that we are always working and coming home late. Will we be able to cope emotionally, physically and financially? The kiddos want to do lots more and the fees for the enrichment classes they are currently attending are not cheap. At the end of the day, as with most parents, we want the best for our children.

WHAT IF Hubs and me lose our jobs? I really shudder at this thought. With the economy going the way its going, I really cannot help but get paranoid. We both cannot afford with just one of us working. There are just too many commitments at the moment and plus, we've just bought a new place.

WHAT IF I get hit whilst crossing the road tomorrow? As most of you know, I am epileptic and have no warning signs as to when I am about to get a seizure. You may not know this BUT I WORRY ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME! I know hubs will do a damn good job looking after them but I want to be there for them when they graduate, get married and have kids of their own. I cannot bear or even start to imagine them growing up without a mother figure.

Sigh...I better stop here as this is getting to be somewhat depressing. Hubs had a long day at work today and now that the kids have gone to bed, we both want to head on down for a walk. We both really need a breath of fresh air. Later folks.

Countdown to Christmas

Get Your Free Christmas Countdown
When it was time to have dessert last Sunday evening after dinner, I realized that there were no more cans of longan left in our dried food cabinet at home. We had to have longans as I had made almond jelly that afternoon.

And so the whole family went to the supermarket nearby to get longans to go with the jelly in the fridge. Just as well, the stroll was much needed as again, I cooked one dish too many for dinner!

Silver Bells greeted us as we entered the supermarket. Though it was a bad rendition of it, I couldn't help but started singing along to it. Some local festive cookies and fruit cakes of various brands were already being displayed on the shelves. They even stocked up on the disposable plates, cups and what have you! Party stuff like balloons, streamers, hats etc (for New Year's eve countdown i bet!) were stacked back to back.

Its November already and in 50 days, we'll be celebrating Christmas. The year really flew by fast. Too fast. This Christmas will be really sentimental and special to us as we'll be spending our last Christmas here in our current lovely home before we move.

Blonde Ambition!

when I grow up, I want to be a Blondie cause I hear BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN! hahaha :)

Happy Halloween!

LOL!!! I dun think anything else need to be said about this picture. It speaks for itself. Happy Halloween boys and girls!!

i can see clearly NOW!

Was on a day's leave today and accompanied TLOML for his lasik surgery. He was so excited the last couple of days and was actually counting down and singing every morning about how he cant wait to dispose his glasses and his stock of disposable lenses!

It was a whole day affair. And I swear, I SWEAR that in my next life, I vow to be an aesthetic doctor or an ophthalmologist/optometrist! The number of people that came streaming in and out the clinic ...Omigosh! I was actually counting the number of patients whilst waiting for hubs to finish his evaluation in the morning and at some point, gave up halfway cause there were just too many people!

His surgery was fixed for 4.30pm this evening and in between, since we had lotsa time to kill, we both went to catch a movie. It's been awhile since we both went out on a date on a weekday when everyone else we know were busy at work. For a short moment even, it even brought back memories of when I was pregnant and that we had gone to catch a movie after my pre-natal checkup at Mount Elizabeth hospital. Guess because we were in the same area today and so it was a moment of deja-vu for me.

Having said all that, the surgery went well. Thank you Lord ;) Hubs is resting now after having taken a sleeping pill. In fact, can you hear him from where you are? He is snoring so loud...SO LOUD that he beats the all the F1 cars combined during the recent Singapore GP hands down!

Ai-yai-yai!

God bless Hindu people for shifting Deepavali to Monday. Thus giving us that extra day making it a long weekend last week and a shorter work week, this week.

I was totally in an intense work avoidance mode today. Spent the day really doing non-productive stuff and half the afternoon snipping split-ends off my hair. Sshhh.

I have a birthday party to attend to on Friday and I am so looking forward to that. Cant wait to meet up with the usual suspects over some nice dinner, gossip and alcohol. No! Make that lotsa alcohol! Who am I kidding? With this bunch (of alcoholics), we always end up half mabuk and cant walk straight to the taxi stand! hahaha!

I REALLY need to do something to my hair. My rapidly frizzy hair. My hairdresser's been really busy. Just as well, to do my hair come early Dec would be just in time for Christmas and that would give me better mileage. Bought me some velcro rollers (got suckered into buying, actually!) which some salesgirl sweet-talked me into parting my money with yesterday. Sigh, I am just soooo easy. Anyways, tried it out on Chloe (disaster!) The poor girl had temporary afro and refused to let me take a picture of her! I totally don't blame her.

I was craving for Japanese the whole freaking day today. Din quite make it for lunch today but went shopping instead. Have I ever mention that I totally LOVE the area my office is located at?

I just HAD TO sink my teeth into some sweet, succulent and fresh sashimi come dinnertime. When the hubs called, I just casually mentioned my craving and being the sweetie pie that he is, he brought me to our fave Jap place and now I am tired but can't quite shut my eyes coz I think I sorta overdosed on green tea.

I have to force myself to log off as I've got an appointment with me tomorrow morning to dutifully head out for my run.

Nite y'all!

HSM 3 : The Senior Year! (they finally GRADUATE!)

The much anticipated High School Musical 3 opened last Thursday. Since this week's a long weekend, hubs and me decided to spring a surprise bring the whole gang (our kids, newphews and nieces) to the cinema to catch their version of "Grease". Actually, it cannot be compared to Grease at all lah! Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens simply cannot CANNOT and will never be on par with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

The storyline was a disappointment. Though I enjoyed this song number that Ashley Tisdale did in the earlier part of the show which involved quite a bit of costume change and lotsa makeup looks. I bet the makeup was from MAC! Recognized some lovely colours used there. hehehe..

Hubs and me cringed each time Vanessa Hudgens who plays Gabriella belted out a number. She tries too hard to 'act sweet' and the both of us were hit with saccharine overdose each time she came on. And when the teenage stars of the movie locked lips, the kiddos went "EEEEEIIIIWWWW" in unison!

Chloe : Mom.....what are they doing?
Me : shhhhh...shhhhhh
Scott : ~chuckles, chuckles~
Gabriel my nephew : ~grinning from ear to ear~
Chloe : Why are they biting each other's lips?
Scott : ~chuckles, chuckles~

Me turning to hubs at this point who was also chuckling and giving me the "let's-see-how-you-handle-this-look".

Chloe : But mommy, they'll have Hand, Foot and Mouth disease you know!!
Scott : Almost burst out laughing as he could not take it no more at this point.
Me : ~in whispers~ sweetie, would you like some popcorn?

The kiddos, newphews and nieces all enjoyed a good night out. Afterall, it is not often that they get to catch a midnight movie in their comfy jammies whilst munching on popcorns and at the same time, stay out late ;)

ps. after the movie, I explained to Missy about the kissing scene who by the way was still totally disgusted about the whole thing!

Oh Mr Sun...please shine

Its been mostly cloudly and rainy the past couple of mornings and the smell of rain tonight is inevitable. In fact, I can smell it lurking just around the corner.

Oh let there be sunshine tomorrow as our little girl will be having her first Sports Day in school. No rain should dampen that spirit and destroy my girl's excitement! She has been waiting for this day since we got back from our vacation in July.

So please please PLEASE send along some good vibes and prayers for good weather tomorrow so that her classmates and her would have an awesome time!

YAY! What a sweet surprise!

The kiddos ...especially Chloe took it really bad when hubs left for Tokyo for business this time around. She was crying so loud that when hubs got into the waiting cab to take him to the airport ten floors down, he could hear her wailing and pinning for him.

Anyway, the kids stuck to me like glue whilst hubs was away. They wanted every ounce of my attention the minute I got home from work. They miss their daddy so much and for the duration he was away, I sorta had to play dual roles which left me somewhat worn out. It didn't help that early this week, Ethan had a bad bout of stomach flu and high fever. During our short convee this week, I didn't want to tell hubs too much about us missing him greatly and that our boy was ill as I didn't want to worry him unnecessarily or have his work affected. He was coming home this Friday night anyway, I thought to myself.

To my pleasant surprise, hubs waited for me below the office after work today and I was filled with delight. In fact, I couldn't stop smiling as I was overjoyed to see him. I can't wait to see the kiddos priceless reaction when their see their daddy. Hubs and me went back home, sorted out stuff, got ready and went to pick up the kids from their Mandarin class.

We waited at the basement carpark whilst hubs hid at the corner just beside the lift. And when the kids came marching past the corner with Maria, our helper, Ethan noticed his dad and shouted to his sister and they both screamed with such great delight (which was really really PRICELESS!) and ran all the way to hug hubs whilst I stood there watching what seemed like a scene from a movie. Chloe jumped onto her father and did not want to let him go. Yes! That's how much she missed him.

Whilst I am now waiting for my hair to dry before I call it a night, all 3 are now on our bed with the 2 hugging their dad like he is their bolster. They are so happy that he is back...so am I ...all the more because its a day earlier than schedule.

Happy Birthday Mumsy Dearest!

Happy Birthday to the world's best and most awesome mother ever!! She's all that and more, more, MORE what we could ever ask for. Her endless and selfless love and devotion to my dad, each one of us, her 3 children and her five grandchildren...OMG! I don't know where to begin. Its really amazing how she places all of us over and above her own interests. And because of this, she gave up and lost many many promising personal plans she had in her earlier years but she never once regretted or complained a single bit.

My wish for her is that she enjoys her senior years greatly, stay in the pink of health, maintain the best shape she's in, continue making her kick-ass fave recipes AND to stop worrying about us (now that all 3 of us are grown up adults, she should ease up a little lah! But i guess and now know for a fact, that being in the shoes of a mother myself..that the WORRYING WILL NEVER STOP!)

AND

My wish for myself is that I can be the mother to my children they way my mother was to me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY! I LOVE YOU LOTS. I REALLY REALLY DO. YOU ARE SIMPLY THE BEST.

Snacktime on Sunday!

As promised, I kept my end of the bargain when the kiddos delivered a week of good behaviour (less sibling rivalry and homework being completed and done on time).

Both Ethan and Chloe were so looking forward to making their own personal pizzas. They just love doing stuff hands on! I couldnt believe that they both whacked 5 slices of pizza toast each. And oh, Ethan even made sure he wore his Pizzaiola tee for the occasion. Hubs clicked away and caught them in the thick of pizza action!

Sizzling Sunday!

How hot was it today! It totally did NOT help the migraine I was having. The whole family got sunburnt just heading for lunch after mass this morning!

My Boys at the F1!

My boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves watching some adrenlin pumping action at the Singapore Grand Prix - The World's First Night Race held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

hot hot HOT yoga!!

Went for my first bikram hot yoga session earlier.

I mean I've been to the more popular Hatha, Ashtanga and Gentle yoga classes before but today's class with the room temperature set at 37 degrees was definitely an eye-opener for the GFs and me! Mid-class, I could've sworn that the temperature rose a few notches higher!! Being a first timer, during the first half an hour, I felt dizzy and faint but I am so proud of me that I did not give up and walk out of the 90mins class. For someone who hardly breaks into a trickle of sweat, I never knew I could perspire so much. I mean, where did all that water come from? Having said that, this morning when I stepped on the weighing scale, it showed 62kg. Just awhile ago, I weighed in at 59kg!!!! YAY!!! I almost did a double-twist backflip!!! Didn't know that I had so much water retained in me! Just to be sure that I am not seeing things, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hopefully I'd see the same digits again tomorrow morning.

It was such an experience ...but one which I totally enjoy and definitely look forward to the next class. And yes, this time I'll definitely be more hydrated!!!

Make Me Over!

Okay, I'm in the midst of cleaning my beauty and makeup chest of drawers. Was procrastinating for some time and when the mood sorta hit me earlier, I just dived into sorting my ever-growing makeup collection. Its such a sinful addiction. But one that I thoroughly enjoy. I must quickly also admit that its therapeutic too! Well, to me at least!

This is what my current stash looks like:

77 MAC eyeshadow pots (in almost all shades there is in the colour spectrum, hence the pic for the entry! hehe)
38 MAC lipsticks
15 MAC eyekohl pencil liners
12 MAC blushers
12 MAC lipglosses
5 MAC liquid foundation
5 MAC loose powder bottles (normal)
5 MAC loose powder containers (mineralize)
4 MAC moisture stick concealers
4 MAC cream pot concealers
4 MAC beauty powders
4 MAC fluidline gel liners
3 MAC eye paints
3 MAC liquid eye liners

As I type the above, the "12 Days of Christmas" kept ringing in my mind. haha!

Back to where I stopped, don't ask me what I'm thinking buying 5 bottles of liquid foundation in the same shade! I am anal that way! Everytime I settle or am deeply satisfied with a certain shade/colour, what do they do? They either discontinue them or its so hot that its sold out everywhere. So paranoid me LOVES having at least one or two spare of the must-haves or limited edition items stocked up.

"Yes Hon? Okay coming!" Pardon me as I have to get back and sort out my beauty skincare stash next as I've got eye-shadow pots lying all over the floor in the bedroom. God help me!

Happy Children's Day!

a BIG SHOUTOUT to my two lovely munchkins on their day! Hope you'll love what papa and me have in store for the both of you later today!!! Love you both to death ~muacks~

Race On!

Bird's eye view from my office

It's here! The F1 weekend is finally arrived. The track was beautiful, I must say. Very professionally laid out and the lights on the grid were so well-lit for the first-ever night race. Kudos to the effort of the foreign workers who worked tirelessly day and night. I know coz I work in the area. And speaking about the area, was the Marina area abuzz with tourists, F1 activities, and people from all walks of life or what!

And so, this afternoon saw everyone in the office skive (eh, that's what we do best! shhhh!) , eagerly anticipating the 3pm Aston Martin race cars on the track. As we get to see about 70% of the race track from the office, everyone in the office was excited, it was purely entertaining and what made it even better was the sound of the engine rev which could be heard all the way up my 39th floor office behind so-called sound proof glass windows!

My boys (yes including you, manly Vee!) are currently there and I highly look forward to when they come home, to fill me in with details from being there live. Can't wait! Can't wait!