Bye bye 2011

So 2011 came and gone. It whizzed by so fast that I didn't have the time to blog about what had happened for the past 2 months. I am also ashamed to look at the number of posts I had done in 2011 as compared to 2010.

We had alot of "First time" experiences as well so let's re-cap.

Thanks to Adrian, we got a night stay at the renowned MBS. Of course, we had to take a dip at the "must-go" Sky pool regardless of how cold the water was at 8am in the morning! Like tourists, we also walked around the mall for the first time. I know, very suaku.

We celebrated Rene's birthday together with a new addition to the group - baby Mabel! Finally Jayden gets a playmate. Welcome to the world baby Mabel!

And I finally get to go to Universal Studios for the first time! Another suaku moment. All thanks to our company team building event - imagine tonnes of fun at ZERO cost! Sweet.

And for the first time, I muster enough courage to take up the challenge to sit on ALL THE RIDES. Talk about good team spirit. I have no idea where I managed to find the guts to even convince myself to walk up the stairs to The Cylone. But I did and our team won the "Amazing Race"! Prize is free meal ticket to ANY restaurants in Singapore! :D I am thinking Cut, Les Amis, Kunio! Anything to bring a smile to my stomach!

For the past 3 years, it has almost become a ritual to host the X'mas party at our place. This year, we got to make merry at our friends' new houses instead. And for the first time in 5 years at our place, we actually did not bring the X'mas tree out. Dylan is very pleased with the arrangements as it saved up alot of his house-keeping. -_-

First stop, the Tan's abode. Lots of yum-meh food painstakingly cooked by chef Rachel, pressies and alot of blues in the house! A very heartwarming event indeed. Hopefully, we keep this tradition going on for years...

And my two boys opening up their pressies on X'mas day itself. I have intentionally hidden my self-bought gift(s). Tsk tsk. Note the plural form. All I can say is, I'm very satisfied with the purchases. :)

2nd round of merry making at Bon and Trav's new place. Another round of feasting and gift exchanges. I am almost certain that dieting should be shelved up in the month of December.

And finally, we wrapped up the year counting down at the 25th floor with an excellent view of the fireworks! How awesome is that! :D Another "First", this is Jayden's first time counting down with us since the boy is old enough to stay up till 12.

A walk down memory lane in 2011: -

• Holiday trips - Went HCM, Europe, Hong Kong and Club Med Bali!



• Baby boom - 5 friends popped - 3 boys and 2 girls!



• Career - Got double promotion with an excellent remuneration (stayed on the current job for > 3 years. Broke my record) and Dylan changed to a better job



• Health - Finally got the clean bill after a year of doubts



• Family - Spent a staycation with my family on Jayden's 4th birthday



• Indulgence - Spent a 5 figure sum in Europe (something which I would never EVER do), made my 2nd timepiece investment in Aug - a whopping $7.4 grand (after severely influenced by Dylan), bought 2 pairs of extravagant shoes at $400+ each (after laughing at Cel that spending that kind of money on shoes is like stepping on your money. Note to oneself: Never laugh at a friend again). I have come to realize that this kind of indulgence (within my limits) is a necessity in "Living life to the fullest" (even if you don't agree to my methodology)

I am exceptionally glad that 2011 had been fulfilling with so many great things going on. What used to be an uncertainty in my career is finally taking flight, everyone's healthy (minus Dylan's slipped disc) and we visted so many new places in a year.

I hope in the year 2012,

• Finding a new home - After 5 years in our nest, it is time to move to greener pastures, hopefully a place near Jayden's prospective primary school.


• More holiday trips - Booked BKK in Feb, going on girls trip to Taiwan in Mar, HK Disneyland in July and hopefully States in Dec!


• Career - Hope to move on to new roles to move up the ladder. Stay in the same company for the next 2 years. Likewise for Dylan for a smooth sailing career.


• Health - Everyone to be in the pink


• Family - Hopefully Jayden to stay in the new school for the next 2 years. Be patient and kind to family members.


• Bonding - Despite everyone having their own family now, make a point to stay in contact and never stop our traditional celebrations - birthdays, anniversaries, festivals.


• Indulgence - I am still trying to keep the wallet tight but having bought 10 pieces of clothes for Chinese New Year is not a good sign.

And certainly, to live life to the fullest!

Before the year ends...

I am compelled to blog for the last time before I head off in less than 6 hours, on another road trip to Malaysia and spend countdown in a frenzied pool of people.

Another year has come and gone. So many events had taken place, so many experiences and memories to jot down.

Spending the countdown with this group of friends have become a ritual for the past 6 years. We are that committed to the extent that I would leave Jayden in my in-laws care just to avoid the many other issues - meltdown, being a handful and most important of all, getting lost in the crowd. I feel the guilt every time. :( Sorry boy. Hopefully you can join us next year.

So before I leave the country, let me leave some photos behind of what we had done for X'mas.

This year X'mas proved to the most exhausting but fulfillng one. Perhaps also because we had 2 house gatherings in a single row.

I don't think the son really understood the meaning of Christmas. Perhaps it meant ripping open many many delightful presents from people who loved him. Thank you Aunties and Uncles for the gifts!

Merry X'mas and Happy New Year!!!

Will write when I'm back!

That 1 year itch

Apart from the almost-weekly-sinful retail shopping, I realized I have a terrible habit. It usually comes as a yearly itch that I find it hard to curb.

I thought I would have made it this year without any new purchases but this was too hard to resist...

Balenciaga Classic City 10th Anniversary Edition in Lizard Embossed skin

Interior fabric is in animal print

So will I break the curse next day? It is undeniably a challenge considering that we'll be going to Europe in March!!! *beams* How is it possibly acceptable to come back from Europe EMPTY-HANDED?! (as I typed this, the hub in background is shaking his head)

Of course, how can I miss X'mas not buying gifts for the two boys in my house? Then again, isn't X'mas supposed to be a season for spending, spending, spending? :P

The month of merry making...

DECEMBER - The month that arbitarily denotes that you should keep your weighing scale under your bed. Because dieting just doesn't make sense in the month of feast-ive season.

It also happens to be the month where parents - like frantic fans go around the island malls to fulfil your kid's dream of seeing their favourite TV cartoon character LIVE.

And so to avoid the frenzied crowd, we specifically took Jayden to watch Barney & Friends at United Square on a weekday. It really doesn't help when we have parents who think alike as well. -_-

19 Dec 09 - X'mas Gathering at The Yip's Abode

It started off with the casual idea of having a simple X'mas gathering like last year. But I was glad that there was a spontaneous member - Rachel, who decided to make X'mas even more memorable. So instead of just dinner and gift exchanges, there were also X'mas hats & bands and a neat red & black dress code.

The almost perfect red & black photo if not for an unassuming family who didn't read the theme. :p

I'm almost certain that Jayden loves X'mas - which meant log cakes, presents and lots of nice yummy food.

Hopefully, we can continue with this next year. Anybody want to volunteer their house? :)

24 Dec 09 - X'mas Eve

Instead of hitting down town and getting yourself stuck in the human jam, we decided to have a quiet X'mas eve at the comforts of our home. Bon and her partner came over and we had a simple X'mas feast.

Stuffed chicken from Hans
Black pepper bacon from Carrefour
Xmas cake from Conrad
The company of your friends & family on a quiet X'mas night. :)

25 Dec 09 - X'mas morning

Jayden, or rather the parents, couldn't wait until boxing day to open the presents. The X'mas tree was literally brimmed with presents for the son. All thanks to Mummy & Daddy's friends who doted on him.

The most favourite gift for the moment is the Thomas & Friends book collection from Auntie Celeste. It has now become his everyday bed-time stories. :)

This X'mas, I think Dylan and myself must have had a strong affiliation with bath works and chocolates & candies. I am now smelling of lavendar everyday.

Merry X'mas Everyone!

A little bit of something going on...

Not that we had alot of activities going on but blogging seemed to have taken the back seat when the year approaches to the end.

Just last Nov, we went to the zoo *AGAIN*. But this time with Dewi & family. Jayden simply loves animal watching and so we had to make the parental sacrifice.

Jayden has also started to accept Chloe whom he used to refuse saying hello to much less holding hands now!

And after much encouragement from Celeste, I decided to start baking again. I don't recall scoring badly in my Home Economics classes. Or it could be that I needed more practise now.

We woke up pretty early and brought the ingredients, tools and a very hungry stomach to Celeste's place and started baking.

I made a horrible mistake by putting ONE TABLESPOON of pandan paste when the recipe said one TEASPOON. *smack forehead*

And so my pandan chiffon batter looked like incredible hunk.

Celeste was nice to help me mix the ingredients. Noticed the 'surgery' hands in the photos. She didn't want to get her medicure scratched. Hehehe...

Because I halved all the ingredients thinking I could make 2 chiffon cakes instead of 1. It turned out like a donut - a very hard one too.

So for my first try, it was A FLOP. :(

Being very thoughtful (and perhaps have predicted my failure), Celeste prepared a set of ingredients beforehand and we made a coffee chiffon instead. "Must bring home something mah..." she said. And it did taste very yummy. :)

LC, if you're reading this, please don't laugh at me. :p

And we finally, or rather I, got the Xmas tree up at our place. Both father and son agreed to helped me put up the tree. In the end, Jayden only put up the star while Dylan put up one of the ornaments - it does not count ok! Our 3rd Xmas with the son this year. :)

I simply love the time of this year. Everything is so warm and fuzzy - time for celebrations, reminiscing and also getting fat!