My kids' letter

My kids never stop quarrelling. Now that they are older, they don't fight with their hands or feet. Instead, they write letters to each other. Or at least Amanda did - she is more expressive. I found this letter quite funny!

CNY 2009

Our close friends invited us over to their house to celebrate the Lunar New Year. First day was at Jennie's place and the second day was at Chris' place. It was good to catch up with Jennie and her families. However, everyone complained that the holidays were too short - only 2 days break!



Compared to previous years, Amanda didn't enjoy herself as much. She was so stressed out with homework and studying for tests.

My first "Lo Hei"

This is my first "Lo Hei" in 2009. Actually, it is also a farewell lunch for my colleague, Si Hui. She will be transferred to another entity in Feb.

As Singapore is now in recession and the future don't look so bright, I guess everyone is hoping that if we toss more 'yu sheng', the Year of Ox will bring better luck and turnaround the economy of Singapore.

To all my families and friends, may the Year of the Ox bring all of us good fortune, health and happiness!

Reunion Dinner, Sunday, 26th January

This year, our reunion dinner was held at John's house (Alvin's 7th brother). This is probably our last visit to his house as he has bought a new flat and will be moving out after Chinese New Year.

Once again, we had steamboat cum bbq dinner. My MIL also made her hakka 'abacus' yam cake. On Sat, Alvin and I went to the Japanese Supermarket at Daimaru to buy some food. Alvin wanted to buy mushrooms and baby lamb for the bbq. I was delighted to find so many interesting foodstuff at the supermarket. And the food are so fresh!

Edusave Award

For the second consecutive year, Amanda had won the Edusave Award. This time she was among the top 5% students in the Sec 2 cohort - an improvement compared to the top 10% in the previous year!

The Edusave Award presentation was held at De La Salle Primary School at Choa Chu Kang. Alvin couldn't come as he had gone on a cruise with his friends. Matthew didn't want to come as he rather play his computer games at home. So it was just Amanda and me.

Both Amanda and I went up to the stage to have photos taken with Mr George Yeo, MP for Hong Kah. He told us that we could view the photos a month later at the CC.

Besides the Award Certificate, Amanda also received a $500 cheque for her hard work!

Matthew will also be getting an Edusave Award of $100 from his school.

Well done, children!!!

Spring cleaning

Cleaning the whole house is no joke. I had to clean in stages over 3 weekends. I was so upset that 'nobody' helped me. Amanda was busy with her homework, Matthew with his computer games, and Alvin just couldn't be bothered.

Somehow, I managed to do everything by myself. I washed the curtains, changed the bedsheets, cleaned the window grills and the kitchen. And I put up the Chinese New Year decor by myself.

I was so exhausted after the 'spring cleaning'.

Spa Treat

On Fri, 2/1/09, my 2 sisters and I enjoyed a spa treat together at the Ultimate Spa. This was certainly a pleasant start into the new year!

At first, we noticed that Margaret had a small cut under her chin. I brought this up to the attention of the staff. She apologised and offered a free spa treatment for Margaret. All three of us were pleasantly surprised by the gesture, and we decided to come back again next month. So I've booked our next appointment on Fri afternoon, 6/2/09 (Margaret's off day falls on every Fridays).

Family Outing to Southern Ridges on New Year's Day

We've finally made it to the Southern Ridges on New Year's Day! We walked for 1 hour and it was a really good exercise! The view from the bridge was really beautiful.

We walked up to the hilltop restaurant called Jewel Box and the cable car station.


Next time, Alvin said we should try taking the cable car to Sentosa and ask Bao Li to join us.

Count Down and 2009 New Year Resolutions

We went to Boon Lay Place to join the countdown into 2009. The road was closed to vehicles and was packed with lots of people. I will certainly remember this day!

I had a stomach ache/diarrohea and had to look for the loo. I'd managed to join my family for the countdown into the New Year just a minute or two before midnight. We watched the display of fireworks. Then hugged and wished each other a "Happy New Year". When I reached home, I had to go to the loo again!

Here are Amanda's New Year resolutions:

1) achieve a distinction for Grade 2 piano exam.
2) expand English vocabulary, and try to improve English grade to A1.
3) maintain her level position ie. 9 out of 197 in the Sec 3 cohort.
4) loose weight so that she can wear her 'lemontree jeans' again.
5) learn to be more computer savy.

Matt didn't fullfill his resolutions last year, and he doesn't want to have any resolutions in 2009 either. However, I insisted and here are his 2009 New Year resolutions:-

1) put in more effort to study and score better marks for Chinese.
2) exercise on the stationery bicycle on alternate days, at least half an hour each time.
3) be more discipline and restrict playing time on the computer.

What are my New Year's Resolutions? I foresee this year to be a busy one, and I have reduced to 5 resolutions:

1) make it a point to exercise with my family at least once a week.
2) train hard to complete 10km in the GE women's run.
3) put in effort to study and pass the Paralegal course.
4) bake during my free time.
5) make a trip with my kakis to either BKK or Vietnam.

Good luck, I'd say to myself. I hope I can achieve all these things.

Looking back at 2008

It's that time again to look back and see what has happened in the past year.

2008 has certainly been a challenging year for me both at work and home.

Let's see. Here are some of the happenings in the year:
* Amanda had a cornea transplant operation on 1/3/08. She had an eye infection on 25/7/08. Luckily, she received treatment early.
* Matthew withdrew from Student Care on 1/4/08.
* Short trip with the family to KL and Port Dickson on 17/6/08.
* I endured 8 months of torture before I was finally transferred to new dept on 1/9/08.
* In Sep, Alvin won first prize in 4D.
* Mum passed away on 25/10/08.
* I missed the Great Eastern Women's run on 26/10/08. It would have been my 3rd run.
* Amanda was top in class, and top 9 among the Sec 2 cohort. She will be receiving an Edusave award of $500 on 19/1/09.
* Matthew was 3rd in class. He will also be receiving his Edusave award of $100 in Jan 2009.
* The Parents Support Group published its HELP Pamphlet in Oct 2008.
* I did a presentation at our first Parents Support Group Forum on 22/11/08.
* Uncle Larry had a heart bypass operation on 28/11/08.
* The family went on a 5-days cruise to Phuket from 20/12/08 to 24/12/08. We had a great holiday.

So what's in store for us in 2009?

* Amanda and I will need to study very hard. She will be taking triple Science plus Pure Lit, and I will be starting a course on Paralegal in Mar 2009.
* I will continue to participate actively in the Parents Support Group.
* I need to resume my exercise regime.
* Matt needs to loose some weight.
* Alvin needs a new good mattress to get a good night's sleep.