Happy May Day/ Labour Day 2016

Happy May Day/ Labour Day 2016!
Rest, Rest, Rest! :)

Good Friday 2016

It is Good Friday. 
It is a much needed respite for me. 

Good Friday 2015

I didn't realise it is Good Friday today until my girls told me on Wednesday. Should have known that they are keeping track of every single holiday they have! :P 
Guess I wasn't the only one who didn't realise it's Good Friday as a colleague of mine exclaimed in surprise yesterday that her Friday, for some miracle, was totally free of meetings! Hahaha! 

Happy Hari Raya 2014

Selamat Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends! :) 

At noon, my daughters' friends (4 of them) came over for a play date. My mother cooked them glutinous rice for lunch. Although it was a play date, they didn't really play. It was more of lazing around and watching tv lol. :P It is the last bit of fun the older girls (P6) would have before their prelims in mid August. I brought the six girls, including my two daughters to Tanglin Mall for a little retail therapy an hour before they were due to go home lol. Not easy trying to get 6 girls to move from shop to shop haha. :P By 5:30pm, the girls' friends  were pick up by their parents as there is school tomorrow.

Water Lilies

It's Good Friday public holiday. I went for breakfast at Botanic Gardens with a former neoghbour. After breakfast, we went for a walk. I have a favourite spot: Plant House which is a historical landmark in Botanic Gardens. The Plant House is no longer a house, its roof has been replaced with beams. It is a charming, quiet spot, often missed by visitors. :) 

To my delight, water lilies are blooming everywhere at the Plant House. It is one of my favourite flowers. 

4th Day of CNY 2014: Substituted Public Holiday

As Saturday 1 February 2014 was a public holiday for Chinese New Year (2nd Day of CNY), it is substituted and observed by our organisation today*, Monday 3 February 2014. As such, it is a really long weekend, counting from Thursday 30 January afternoon till today, Monday 3 February. It would have been another perfect day of rest except that I have to work on some stuff today...

*However, not every organisation would have today off for their employees, e.g. hospitals and banks and so such organisations would allow their employees to take a day off in lieu of the public holiday.

Selamat Hari Raya 2013

Here is wishing all my Muslim friends and readers a Selamat Hari Raya!!  :)
It was a nice and relaxing day for me/us. In the morning, I had breakfast with my neighbor at Botanic Gardens at 8am, followed by a walk through the Gardens till 11am. I enjoyed the fresh and cool air (having rained overnight) and the beautiful greenery. I should visit the Gardens more often. :P In the afternoon, I supervised the girls in doing their school and tuition homework. They managed to finish the bulk of their homework! :) For the rest of the day, we just lazed around and watched tv. So nice to  be so relaxed. :)

Long Weekend

There is a long weekend in the coming week - August 8 Thursday is Hari Raya (public holiday), August 9 Friday is National Day (public holiday) plus Saturday and Sunday. It will be a short work week, only three days for most people. 
For me, it is going to be even shorter because schools will be celebrating National day on August 7 Wednesday and schools will end around mid-morning. As such, there is no counselling this Wednesday. It will only be a two-day work week for me! :) I need a good break after last week's frenzy lol. :P

Happy Vesak Day 2013

Happy Vesak Day to all Buddhists. :)
Happy holiday to all others. :) 

There was light showers in the morning. As we arrived at the temple at 10.30am, it was crowded despite the showers. After the visit to the temple, we went home and lazed around. :)

Extra CNY Holiday

As the first day of CNY fell on a Sunday, today (3rd day of CNY, Tuesday) is a public holiday. Usually, by the 3rd day of CNY, we would all be back to work and to school. It is very relaxing to be doing nothing, just recouping from the hectic past two days. :) The main highlight of the day was watching Ah Boys to Men part 1, a DVD which I actually bought for my brother who is now in UK. The DVD is highly recommended by my colleagues who have been through National Service. The girls and I were in stitches watching the show. :D I hope Ah Boys to Men part 2 DVD will be released before my parents go to UK in July so that I can give my brother both parts of the show. I think it would make a memorable gift for my brother and my nephews can also see what their father has to go though in National Service. :) 

Ah Boys to Men part 1 trailer (uploaded by AhBOYStoMEN)

Ah Boys to Men theme song (uploaded by AhBOYStoMEN)
Hey, YM, I remembered that you did well in the army and enjoyed your National Service. :) I hope the trailers will bring back some of the good memories for you. :)

Brave Mother-Daughter Bonding

Having promised the girls that we will watch Brave, we went today, a public holiday due to Hari Raya falling on a Sunday. We went to the 12.40pm Brave movie at Lido. We had a great time bonding over the movie with a tub of popcorn and teh tarik lol. 

Brave is a movie about a young lady, Merida wanting the freedom to make her own choices. Brave is also about mother-daughter relationship and has some touching moments (I teared!). And of course, it has funny moments too. For me, I felt that Brave illustrates perfectly the importance of listening and communication as well as the importance of looking at things from another perspective. :) I love the fact that the movie is focussed on Merida as an individual who wanted the freedom to make choices and how she copes with the choices she has made. I also love the Scottish accent lol. For Marieann, she seemed to have understood the deeper meaning the movie was conveying. For Juliane, she loved the funny moments, especially those of the triplets. We all enjoyed the movie very much. :) 

To Marieann and Juliane, I will always be here for you. 

Brave "Families Legend" trailer (uploaded by DisneyPixar)

 Brave trailer (uploaded by DisneyPixar)


 Brave trailer (uploaded by DisneyPixar)


Brave "The Suitors" clip (uploaded by DisneyPixar)

Happy Vesak Day 2012

Happy Vesak Day. 

As this year's Vesak Day (a public holiday) falls on a Saturday, the following Monday will be an off in-lieu holiday for most people. The girls will have no school on Monday too. Extra day for Marieann to do her revision! :P

Good Friday Break

Had a good break on Good Friday.
1. Lazed around in the day.
2. Went out in the late afternoon to get a gift and had dinner with family.
3. Met a friend later for dinner again lol.

Short Week or Long Weekend

I only just realised that tomorrow is Good Friday! What a short week lol. Looking forward to the long weekend. :)
My girls happily announced to me that since they have no school tomorrow, they want to follow me to office tomorrow lol. Sorry, Girls, I am not going to office on a public holiday!

Belated Wishes

Have been so engrossed with my writing that I ignored everything else.

Happy Belated Hari Raya Haji!

Saturday-like Friday

"It's like Saturday but it is only Friday!", said the girls gleefully.
After Marieann's tuition in the morning, we went to Vivocity for lunch. It has been a long time since we have been there. We had lunch at Earle Swensen's and the highlight was the Topless 5 ice cream that we girls shared. Yum! :)

Happy Hari Raya

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

It is public holiday today because of Hari Raya. Marieann had tuition in the morning and we decided to have lunch outside after picking her up from tuition. Initially we wanted to try Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery but there was a long queue at 11.30am. Instead we headed for Lawry's which is upstairs. We were the first patrons lol.

It was a good thing we ate at Lawry's as we could enjoy the ambiance as well as the peace and quiet. The service is excellent and really attentive. The food was delicious too.
The girls both ordered the Kids Set meal - Kiddy Pasta ($23.90): Pasta with Chicken (one had cream sauce and the other in tomato sauce) including a drink, Soup of the day (mushroom) and Haagen Dazs ice cream. I had the Chicken Cordon Bleu set meal ($32.90 + $12.90) which included the Lawry's Spinning salad, Apple filo pastry dessert and tea. The chicken was tender and tasty. The apple filo was not too sweet which was nice for me. The girls' father had the Kurobuta Baby Back Ribs ($46.90) which was tender and delicious.





The girls were most happy when they left the restaurant, each clutching a Lawry's soft toy cow.