Emma’s School Project

She reminded me about her school project which she is supposed to hand in tomorrow when she returns to school. I was in a panic when she told me about the art and craft, we were supposed to do together… OOPPPSSSSS…. I totally forgotten about it!

I hurried read up the project instruction and found out that we only need to create a paper slipper with papers. Mmmh…. That was pretty easy to me and I did not waste any time to start measuring the little feet after our dinner. Little pumpkin was really excited about doing the project and came out with many different ideas of how she wants her slippers to look.

Then I started to design one foot and she took to draw the other. I told her that we need to have the same design so that the slippers will turn out nice. She listened well and followed my instructions as we started colouring the slippers. Once it was done, I measured her little feet again and completed it with a stripe. 

She was excited after it was completed and tried it on. She tried to walk a few steps but told me that it was very difficult to walk with it and it wasn’t comfortable. She wanted me to add cotton wool onto the slippers to create comfort. Good idea indeed but it’s not for wearing… so we scrap the idea… hahahahah

I was really happy and proud to be able to complete the school project within 30 minutes and seeing the big THUMP UP from her was a priceless satisfaction! 

Little Pumpkin’s First Catechism

I remembered that kids will start attending Sunday’s school when they are in their Primary School but these days, everything starts young – even for catechism.

We signed up little pumpkin for catechism at St. Anne’s Church and today, being her first lesson, she is nervous and excited at the same time. Her sister couldn’t be more excited to take her sister to class as she found out that the little pumpkin’s class is just next door of hers. 

We sent them up to their classes and little pumpkin became emotional and started crying. She did not want me to leave the class but I had to though it hurts to see her cry. Thankfully we have her big sister to the rescue. Lady Faith walked into the class and upon seeing her big sister, little pumpkin calmed down almost immediately.

After mass, we went up to the classroom to fetch little pumpkin and the moment she saw us, she gave a bright smile to us and left the classroom happily with a paper in her hand and reported to us what she had learnt. We were very relieved that she enjoyed herself in class and the credit went to Lady Faith of course for calming her little sister.

Thank you Lord for your guidance, love and protection on our children and may you continue to watch over them.

Visiting JB

I can’t recall when was the last time we drove to JB and this time, we were invited to sister-in-law’s house warming. They bought this condo in JB a few years back and now it is ready and we are happy to check it out and spend the day there.

We set of around 8am and it was already quite crowded when we arrived at the Tuas check-point. The journey was pretty smooth until we left the Tuas check-point. As we approached the Malaysia check-point, there was a long queue of cars waiting to cross. We were actually stuck in the massive traffic jam for about 3 hours. We were very thankful that the kids did not crack up but were waiting patiently to get through the custom.

The moment when we passed through the Malaysia custom, we were so happy and looked forward to our lunch. We drove to the café Aunty Lim which was located pretty near where Sheryl’s new nest and quickly ordered our lunch. We already wasted about 3 hours in the jam and we wanted to waste time no more.

We ordered their signature laska for the elderly while I ordered their mee suan with egg & wine, hubby had the fish soup noodle while the girls shared the fish and chips and chee cheong fun. 😊 I would say that the food was quite tasty but the coffee was really GOOOOODDD!!!

After lunch, we drove to Sheryl’s nest which is about less than 10 mins away from the café. It is a pretty new condo and not fully occupied yet. Her unit was really nicely done and had a very cozy feel. They have 3 spaceous bedrooms and a smaller spare room which they convert into a workstation. I love their balcony as it comes with a beautiful greenery view with no blockage.

The kids wasted no time and hurried to the pool. The condo’s landscape was beautiful and filled with many facilities. They have a huge lap pool, 3 jacuzzi pools, a big child’s water play area and a big kids’ pool. Fantastic!!! 

Apart from that, we walked around the area and noticed there was a very big dance studio for yoga and dance, a mini-mart, a few spacious party rooms and a very well-equipped gym. Sheryl told us there is a game / mahjong room and also a karaoke room. WOW…. It’s like a RESORT! Everything is in the condo and I guess if we stay there, we don’t even need to go out at all.

When you are in JB, how can you not shop right! Yes, she brought us to the nearest shopping mall and though we were rushing for time, we managed to get stuff that we need and left for our dinner so that we can return to Sin early to avoid the traffic jam again.

Kelvin and Sheryl hosted steamboat dinner at this Good Home Steamboat Restaurant. According to them, this would be the biggest steamboat restaurant near their place which has many private rooms for families. They booked a big private room that can house 2 tables for our family and they ordered their popular sets. The dishes came in quite a huge portion and we were overwhelmed actually but we managed to finish most of it and take away some left overs of prawns. 

It was a wonderful day out of SIN though the traffic jam was such a pain. The kids enjoyed themselves very much and the adults had a long & tiring day. I do hope that the custom will do something about the traffic jam so that more people can visit JB often.

Thank you Kelvin & Sheryl for having us today and it was a fantastic family outing for us!

Coffee With Love

Starbucks has been one of my favourite coffee joint and how glad am I to be able to sip on a hot coffee made with love on a windy Friday morning.

I always enjoy my ‘ME’ time at Starbucks sitting near the window people watching. You might think it’s a waste of time but to me, it’s a perfect thing to do when you are alone and want some quiet time.

 Thank you Starbucks for always brewing the yummy coffee. Thumps Up!

Jen Ju Dan

After meeting up with my best buds, I walked down to City Hall via the CityLink Mall and chanced upon this new milk tea joint. I have seen them advertising this newbie on FB and I am happy that I am able to give it a try since I am still craving for brown sugar milk.

The queue wasn’t that long but the whole shop was surrounded by many flowers stands due to their new opening of this shop. Their range of drinks were wide and for a moment, I couldn’t decide what to order.

When I was standing at the counter, I ordered their signature brown sugar boba milk with milk foam. While at the counter, you could see a huge pot of hot brown sugar boba next to the counter and they will use a big scope to scope up into the cup. It was pretty interesting to see them doing that with good skill, without spilling any boba. Thumps up!

I tried the brown sugar boba and was not as pleased as the moment I sipped on the Tiger Sugar. Though I took the 30% sugar level, it was not sweet but I think the milk they were using does not really go well with their pearls. 

Verdict: Not too bad but will likely try their other drink instead. If you are around the area and needed sugar... you can give it a shot.

Kith @ Millenia Walk

Kith is one of my favourite hangout with my office buddies when I was still working. We love to dine at Kith as they have pretty good set lunches and we enjoyed the environment there as we are able to chat and eat at peace.

Though I am not longer working, we never fail to meet at Kith whenever I visit them unless we have other members joining. I am very happy to have my favourite beef set lunch as it is so delicious. I always feel that good lunches always paired with good companies and I had the best of both today!

Oreo Cupcakes

Mmmh…. It has been a while since I last baked Oreo Cupcakes. My girls are missing it and requested me to bake some as snacks for them. I am no fan of chocolate cakes but I got to say that I love this oreo cream cheese… it is soooooooooooo Yummy! Hahaahahahah…

Since I am meeting some peeps and it would be nice to bring some love desserts for them to release their stress. Hope they will feel happier after eating the sweets. 😊

Disney On Ice

Yes, we are back again! We had a blast last year and the kids simply love Disney On Ice especially our little pumpkin.

As the one week’s school holidays is coming to a close, what better way to end this happy holiday is to bring the kids to Disney On Ice! We have been keeping this outing till we arrived at the car park. They were asking if we were going for a movie, to the ice-skating ring but their eyes lighted up when I revealed that we are going to Disney On Ice. That expression on them were totally priceless!

They got so excited that they hurried us to get into the event area as soon as possible so they can get some time to check out the merchandise. However, when we arrived at the foyer, it was so crowded that they could only check the merchandise out but not purchase as the queue was forever.

Anyway, we headed to our seats and they forgotten about the merchandise and were very excited about the show when the two master of ceremony came out to entertain the crowd. The show started with a bang and the famous characters were out dancing and the crowd just went mad! 

The whole programe was pretty much the same as the previous one but they changed the characters and added some new stunts to the story. We were all stunned by some of the stunts they performed and it was so amazing that they could skate so well and gracefully. Simply love it!

This year, they also added a special effect of ‘snow’ during the segment of Frozen. It was actually foam and it was like snow-flakes. Everyone who sat near the stage was really thrilled about the special effects especially the kids. They kept telling me that it was snowing and they are in Arendelle! Hahahaahah….

Overall, the show was great and we enjoyed every bit of it thoroughly. It made me felt like a kid all over again and I am loving it! 

Farewell Kodera-San

We first met her during our CNY department Lo Hei dinner before she officially became our department head. She was the first lady DH and we are not too used to it having a lady to lead.

After the departure of Fukumoto-san, she took over the driver’s seat and was pretty much nice as she always wanted to hang out with the locals especially the ladies working under her. I remembered having lunch with her during her first few days as DH but was uncomfortable as she was our DH and it wasn’t so normal to lunch with your boss.

As time goes by, she showed us that she can be a good leader by listening to us and helping us to achieve our goals. In all, I am happy that I have the privilege to work under her for a good 2 years before I tendered my resignation.

Today, I am really honored to be invited to join this farewell dinner for her arranged by Linda though I am no longer a MC staff but she welcomed me with open arms. Linda as usual, had the perfect arrangements in both food and managed to get us a private room too.

The dishes she pre-ordered were pretty much interesting and some of those were not in the menu. It was specially ordered for this dinner. The first dish was the Simmered star garoupa fish with cabbage in chicken stock… man…this was really GOOOOOOD!! The soup was so yummy that I wished I could have a second serving. Thumps UP!

The second dish was the sautéed sliced beef with Hong Kong Kailan, well, it might sounded pretty much normal and usual but it was different in its own special ways. The beef was so tender that it melts in your mouth and the kailan was so crunchy! Yumz! Then followed by the braised seasonal vegetables with needle fungus and oyster sauce. Mmmh… as for this dish, it wasn’t my favourite but it tasted good.

While we were still chatting away, they served the sautéed Alaskan king crab meat with fried egg white. WOOOOOOO…….. this is truly my favourite dish for the night! It was so tasty that I could have the whole plate all by myself! It was especially yummy when you paired it with vegetables… so so GOOD!

The surprise continued… when the door was pushed wide, there came this little piglet sitting on the silver plate staring at us. That was the BBQ suckling pig stuffed with glutinous rice. OMG!!! It was too cute to eat but how can we resist the smell of this dish… the chef chopped the piglet into equal portion and sliced up the skin for all of us. As for the limbs, he suggested that we pack and bring home to cook with porridge. WOOWWWWW….

This dish is clearly a winner for the night for all and everyone of us enjoyed the crispy skin and the glutinous rice with the skin was absolutely stunning! I couldn’t stop eating it though the portion was quite big for one. I still managed to finish it as it was so tasty! 

It was a night of good food and fellowship with people whom you know well. Kodera-san gave a heartwarming speech after our desserts were served. She talked about how much she enjoyed working with the team and she will definitely miss us. Yes, in return, we do miss her but we are sure that we will have chance to meet again in the future.

Kodera-san, thank you so much for your guidance and it was a privilege to work with you. Take good care and keep in touch.

Playdate With Cousins

It wasn’t planned but we just decided to meet up for an Art Jam today. We met for breakfast at McDonalds’ before heading up for the Art Jam session at Arteastiq.

We were their first customers this morning and the kids were led to the art room almost immediately for their art session. They were given apron, brushes, paints and canvas for painting. In the beginning, the kiddos have no idea what to draw or pain and wanted some inspiration from the booklet provided by Arteastiq.

While Maggie and I were searching for pictures they requested, they suddenly came up with a picture on their own and told us to leave them to paint. Maggie and I went to the café and place our brunch orders. The food was not too bad and notice that they used pretty healthy ingredients too. 

I got to say that their lychee tea was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! It tasted so light and I simply love the tea fragrance. The moment I sipped on it, it was so refreshing and yet not sweet. A must try if you are visiting.

The girls were given 3 hours to complete their painting and we had to check on them in case they needed some help. When we were done with our food, Maggie went to check on them and to her horror, she came running back to tell me that the girls had their names written on the paintings! I went into the room and try to rescue the paintings and I was glad that I managed to cover up all their names with paints and added some designs as a cover up.

The kids were happy and proud of their art work. It was just a short few hours of fun with the girls but it was a great bonding session too. Thank you Maggie for taking time out to hang out.

School Out, Playdates Starts

It’s school holidays! Woohoo!! Lady Faith has done quite well for her 1^st term in school and I have arranged some playdates for her as her reward.

Today, I arranged with Rie to bring the kiddos to Bounce Singapore located at Cathay Cineleisure. When we arrived, it was already pretty crowded but there was still space for the kids to jump. After purchasing the tickets, we had to wait for the next entry.

While we were waiting, we bumped into hubby’s cousin Kai Ling and family. They entered the park earlier than us but the kiddos got to meet in the park when it was our turn to enter. Lady Faith & Mizuki were so thrilled to jump in different section while little pumpkin played on her own at the Toddler’s area. 

After an hour of jumping, we went to have our lunch at P.S. Café located at The Paragon. It was pretty crowded when we arrived but were lucky to be seated just within 10 minutes of waiting. We browsed through the menu and decided to order the Shrimp pasta for Lady Faith and Little Pumpkin to share. We ordered the truffle fries to the kiddos to share too but the portion was huge! For myself, I ordered the Chicken Rossa Penne which was delicious and Rie had the Club sandwich.

While the kids were having their own time playing with each other, Rie and I were glad that we were given some of our own time to chat. It wasn’t only the kids’ playdate but it was a catching time for Rie & I. 

It was a great outing for both kids and myself on a Monday and I am sure we will make time to meet again soon.

Jessie’s Birthday Bash

My OH My…. I am so blessed to know this wonderful friend, Jessie. I remembered those days when we first met in the office as we were hired in the same year but we did not really talk till later years. She has always been a quiet lady but funny at times with her jokes. Not only she is caring, she is a very good listener whenever you are down or sad. She is always there by my side whenever I needed support and always very encouraging when I am stressed!

Today, I am honored to plan this wonderful birthday celebration for her with some of our besties. She has no idea who will be attending the dinner or the venue till the day of event. When Inez and I arrived at Hard Rock Café at Orchard Road, Linda & Jessie were already seated. After browsing through the menu, we decided to place our first-round orders since we were there early and hungry. 

We ordered the Jumbo Combo, potato skin for the start while waiting for the rest to arrive. We were happily chatting and catching up and at the same time also taking another look on the menu. When the rest of the gang arrived, we went full force to order the rest of the dishes like Fish & Chips, combo of pull pork and ribs to share. The food was delicious and it definitely reminded me of my good old school days where my friends & I used to hang out on Saturday nights.

After the delicious dinner, we decided to order our desserts – brownies with ice-cream and the mud pie as a birthday cake for Jessie. Though we could do a birthday shame on her but we decided not to as we love her dearly.

As our two besties Cariser and Sheryl had to leave early for family commitments, we stayed for the ‘Live’ band – Jive Talking who have been there for the longest time. They are still as good as ever and we enjoyed their songs selections so much that we got our feet on the dance floor.

We ordered 2 bottles of white wine since we stayed for the band and disco. Co-incidentally, there were a group of old Hard Rock staff in the house and I recalled some of them who used to serve us back in those days. The band was so good and got almost everyone in the house dancing on the dance floor while some preferred to sit and enjoy the music.

It was such a great night out with the girls and I do hope Jessie had enjoyed herself though she did not get up and dance but sure had a good laugh while watching Linda dancing. Hahahaahah

Happy Blessed Birthday to my bestie Jessie once again! Wishing you good health, happiness and may our friendship continue to grow stronger! Thank you friends for sparing your precious time to celebrate Jessie's birthday with us today and it was really wonderful meeting up with you guys! Let's meet again soon!

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is chiefly observed by Catholics.

As Ash Wednesday mass is available only in the evening, I brought Lady Faith along as it would be good for her to know what is Ash Wednesday really like though she knows the significant. It would be the first Ash Wednesday mass we attend together and I was happy that she was behaving herself during mass and listening to what the priest was saying.

After the sermon, the priest blessed the ashes and sprinkled them with holy water and all the faithful will come forward to receive them. The priest dips his right thumb in the ashes and, making the Sign of the Cross on each person's forehead, says, "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return".

Lady Faith was watching anxiously on the size of the crosses on others’ forehead and told me that she would want a big cross on hers. After we had our ashes on our foreheads, she turned to check out my cross and asked me about the size of her cross. I told her it was big and she gave a big smile. When mass was ended, I decided to let her check it herself and she was happy on what she had on her forehead. 

I do hope that on Ash Wednesday, it will constantly remind us how much our Lord has suffered for us to save us from the darkness of valley and it’s time to repent.

Farewell For Now

When I heard the news of my ex-colleague Ran that she will be leaving MC, I was overjoyed! Okay… I know I shouldn’t over react but I am always happy to know someone leaves MC for a better job.

However, she is leaving MC SIN but will be starting work in MC/SYD instead as her hubby is posted to work in Sydney and as a wife, she needs to follow. MC did not want to lose a good staff and they managed to get a job in our Sydney office which is pretty good for her. She is hardworking and I am sure she will have a bright future.

I was happy that I was able to attend the farewell lunch arranged specially for her and we went to Putien for this celebration. Though we weren’t seated together as the restaurant did not have a huge table to accommodate 13 of us. Boooo…

It’s not only a good time to hang out with old friends but to celebrate her new adventure. Ran Ran, I hereby wish you all the best in your new working environment and I am sure you will do very well! Cheers to success! Take good care and I hope to visit you in Sydney soon! 

Gong Cha

When Gong Cha first landed their first shop in Singapore years ago, I became their number fan. I love their milk tea as the tea was really smooth and tasty. Gradually, there were many other tea shops like Koi, Each A Cup etc… and I was quite sad when Gong Cha closed all their outlets or renamed as Li Ho!

Being a milk tea fan, I tried Li Ho but the taste wasn’t as nice as Gong Cha… so, I switched to Koi instead. Then, I was so happy that Gong Cha will make a return to Singapore once again after a year of disappearance. Tasted their tea once again and they were still the same old smooth milk tea but the branches were limited then.

When the brown sugar milk became a huge wave in Singapore after Tiger Sugar took their spot in Singapore, many other milk tea brands also came out with their own version. Today, I chanced upon the brown sugar milk from Gong Cha and was happy to try it.

It was pretty YUMZZZ though there was no cheese mousse, it tasted nice – not too sweet and the aftertaste was good. In my opinion, my favorite will be still Tiger Sugar if you ask me but if I can have the brown sugar milk just a LRT stop away from my house, it is definitely a THUMP UP!