Happy Birthday, Mother/Grandmother!

(Source: http://www.lovekates.co.uk/kctpsde30089-vase-flowers-happy-birthday-
greeting-card-by-talking-pictures-cards.html)

Happy Birthday, Mother/ Grandmother! 

Thank you for teaching us what is really important in life!

Wishing you great health, great happiness and a great life!

Lots of LOVE from all of us in Singapore and England

My Birthday Presents

The other birthday pressies I have received. :)

Korean dinner birthday treat from Liyana and Sabina. Thank you!

A sweet birthday cookie from Liyana :)

A hand-sewn Pikachu from Juliane. Her first sewing attempt! :)

My Birthday Treat

I had a little post-birthday me-time treat since I was busy at work on my birthday.
I watched Dr Strange and had a delicious Kurobuta pork dinner. :)

Happy 14th Birthday, Yeun Yi!

(Source: http://www.happinessishomemade.net/wp-content/
uploads/2015/07/Donut-Birthday-Cake-Alternative.jpg)

Happy 14th Birthday, Yeun Yi!

May your day be full of love, happiness, presents 

and donuts! 

Lots of love from your family in Singapore

My Happy Birthday Celebration 2016

I saw this on Google page and thought it is the coolest thing I have ever seen haha. 

I couldn't take leave today as I had to teach my last class of my first MLS038 course. It was a blast. A great bunch of KPs, great teachers with great sense of humour! :D I have learnt lots from them and I will miss them - their jokes, their experiences, their wisdom. I wish them all the best when they return to school. Yes, it is fun teaching on my birthday, the teachers sang me a birthday song! :)

I went home to 2 birthday cakes! I thought the girls would be too lazy to do anything for my birthday so I bought a cake for myself haha. Ended up the girls got me a cake too. :D 

I had a great birthday! Thank you to all my friends, my students, my family and my colleagues for their birthday wishes (both in person and on Facebook)! :) 

My Birthday Wishes

Tomorrow is my birthday. I haven't thought about what I wish for myself but more about what I wish for my girls. I guess that is what being a mother is. :P

What a Birthday SURPRISE 2016!

I am really blessed with good friends and colleagues! They threw me a surprise birthday celebration, even though it is two day early! :P Never have I been more surprised to walk into a room full of people shouting, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!". (There were supposed to be more people but some had to go for data collection. I am touched.)  

Thank you for the wonderful birthday surprise! Thank you for the lovely presents, especially the notes that each of you have taken time to write, all 23 notes. I really enjoyed reading them. 

Post-it pads and an album full of birthday wishes/ notes

Some of the lovely notes that my friends and colleagues have written me

Thank you, my friends!! Thank you for all your friendship and love. Never realised that I have so much social capital at my workplace haha :P 

What a Shocker!

The Walking Dead Season 7 is back tonight. The last season left off with a cliffhanger. We all know someone is going to die. But what happened tonight is a real shocker!! :O Instead of just one death, there were two and it was who was killed... Life is never going to be the same again. 
Wondering how to break the news to my mother who is now in Xiamen and couldn't catch up on the tv series. I bet she didn't see it coming. 

Temples at Night

There is a certain serenity that surrounds the temples at night.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Thiam Hock Keng Temple

Birth Planet

Wondering what planet rules me? Accurate lol. 

You Are Ruled by Pluto

You are a perceptive person. You are highly intuitive, and you read people well. You know what others are up to - often before they even realize it themselves. You like to sit back and observe what's going on. You learn a lot about people that way. You tend to take on the role of the healer for friends and family. You always seem to know what other people need. *Pluto may not technically be a planet any longer, but that's okay. You were never one to care about technicalities.

What Planet Rules You?

Politeness

A Thank you gift from a new friend because I hosted him for dinner. So polite! :) 

Birthday Pen

My birthday present. I needed a new pen. :)

Replacement?

The Korean drama, Love in the Moonlight has ended. I wonder what is going to occupy my time now..

Souvenirs

Souvenirs from friends/ colleagues when they travelled overseas. :)

"Dim Sum Basket"

I finally got a glimpse of the "Dim Sum Basket" building at Nanyang Technological University. It really looks like those dim sum baskets at yum cha lol. It is the new learning hub in use since March 2015. Wonder how it looks like inside. 

Kit Kat & Pocky

Interesting flavours of Kit Kat and Pocky from Japan.

Junior Bronze Award

Juliane received the Junior Bronze award for The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition! I am very surprised and happy for her. Her teacher chose a few students who are good writers, not including Juliane, in the class to participate but welcomed other students in the class to participate. Juliane decided to take part on her own accord. Surprisingly, she is the only one in her class who won a place in the competition! 

I guess Juliane has less or no pressure on her and she could write as creatively as she wants. I am proud and happy, not because Juliane won a prize but because she took up a challenge and didn't let others define who she is. I hope this experience will spur her to challenge herself more as well as to take up future challenges. :)

On My Way Home

It was a packed train (like when it isn't at peak hour). I managed to get a spot right next to the door. I was greeted by the sight of a brilliant sunset. It accompanied me for most part of my journey home. 

Can You Hear My Heart by Epik High feat. Lee Hi

Another song that I fell in love with from Scarlet Heart Ryeo OST, Can You Hear my Heart by Epik High featuring Lee Hi. :P
Can You Hear My Heart (uploaded by CJENMMUSIC Official)

Forgetting You by Davichi

I love this song, Forgetting You by Davichi from Scarlet Heart Ryoe OST.

Forgetting You (uploaded by CJENMMUSIC Official)

Hooked

I hate to admit it but I am recently hooked on two Korean dramas: Love in the Moonlight and Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. :P 
Scarlet Heart Ryeo is showing on Monday and Tuesday nights at 9pm on 820 while Love in the Moonlight is showing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 8:50pm on 815. I often end up having to watch Moonlight online because of the clash of timing on Tuesday. 

Happy Birthday, Yeun Song!

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Happy 12th Birthday, Yeun Song!

Hope you have a day with lots of fun, love and cake! :)

Lots of love from your family in Singapore: 

Ah Ma, Ah Gong,

Gu Ma, Gu Zhang,

Cousins Marienn and Juliane

9 Oct 2016 = Double 9th Day

Today is 9 October 2016 which happens to be the 9th day of the 9th month in the Chinese or lunar calendar which is also the Double Ninth/ Double Yang Festival and it is also my Chinese birthday. 
My mother lovingly prepared pork trotter mee sua for me. Only a mother with strong traditional values will remember her children's (and all 5 of her grandchildren's) Chinese and English birthdates!

Cat Therapy

Last Saturday, we played with our neighbour, Xiao Bai when we came home after our hair cut. We had lots of fun. 

Happy Children's Day 2016

Happy Children's Day 2016! 
This is Juliane's last year of celebrating Children's Day. Why time flies so fast?!
Enjoy your last year as a child, Juliane. :)

Children's Day presents from Juliane's teachers

Goodies from SEA

In class today, one of my MLS students bought Pocky sticks (imported from Thailand) as snacks for everyone. Amazing and interesting flavors - Tom yum, Bak chok mee, banana chocolate, mango, etc.

I also received a tote bag and mango cakes from a colleague who was in the Phillippines for a keynote address. 

Mahota Commune

I was at Mahota Kitchen for a farewell dinner for a visiting professor on Tuesday evening. It is a pretty cool place, consisting of Kitchen, Pantry, Market and Life to make up Mahota Commune. The food looks and tastes great and is also healthy which is a very rare combination. The market sells organic and natural produce and products which will be a hit with my mother! :) 

Free Range Rosemary Pork Collar with roasted potato and mushrooms and grilled pineapple. Absolutely delicious!

PSLE Science 2016

It is the final paper for Juliane, PSLE Science. Best of wishes! You can do it, Juliane!

Yantra

It is my first time having a meal at Yantra, a trendy and chic fine dining Northen Indian cuisine restaurant at Tanglin Mall. Although Tanglin Mall is my neighbourhood mall, I have never been to Yantra until today. All thanks to the hosting of lunch for a visiting professor. :)
The buffet selection was quite good and there were some non-spicy dishes which suit me fine. I think I will bring my parents and my girls here for a meal. 

PSLE Mother Tongue 2016

PSLE Mother Tongue today. Read carefully, answer and write properly, Juliane! Best wishes, Juliane!

Double Rainbow

Last Friday, on my way home on the bus, I happened to see double rainbows appearing across the sky in a perfect arc!

I couldn't help smiling. Seeing the double rainbow is a symbol of transformation and a sign of good fortune. I hope this is a good omen for Juliane's PSLE Chinese and Science this coming week! :)

Respite from PSLE

Making use of the weekend in between the PSLE papers, we three head down to have a little pampering of sorts, if you count, having a haircut as pampering lol. 

After our haircut at a neighbourhood shop, Marieann refused to take the photo

My "straight" hair, wondering how long it would last before the natural curls come back