This week...

Time flies like an arrow, and before I know it, today’s already Friday. This week has been extremely eventful. First it was our new purchase and now there’s more…

• Ziv quitted from The Shichida Kindergarten. After an almost 5-page long complaint letter, we were allowed to immediately withdraw him from the school.
• We found Ziv a new kindergarten, pretty near to where we are staying right now and the future.
• Ziv went for his first lesson at St. Francis Xavier yesterday.
• After visiting several banks, we finally found a bank with reasonable interest rate and we have just settled on the bank loan. All I know is we signed on numerous pages and I have forgotten what I have signed up for...

I am looking forward for a relaxing weekend ahead.

Dream comes true

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
-- Henry David Thoreau

Who would have imagined that I have what I have today when…

My parents moved from a big house to a smaller HDB when we had financial problem back in the year 1990.

During secondary school days, I worked on weekends during school terms to earn pin money for school.

During my poly days, I took up tuition assignments to support myself through school, just to learn to be independent.

Kevin and I took bus 73 to meet each other when we first dated about 13 years ago. Having candle light dinner at Jack’s Place is the chichiest thing to be seen doing.

In 2001, I made a measly stipend of S$1,500 per month. After work, I would attend degree course and give tuition to kids near my house and only return home at 11:30pm. I continued providing tuitions even till the time I was pregnant with Ziv. (It’s hard to give up group tuition classes because the parents refused to let you go, until you tell them that you need to take care of you newborn!)

So! I am not the poorest people in this world, but neither am I born with a golden spoon.

When I was young, I don’t have all the toys that every kids fancy; not to even mention the popular and must-have curios. I yearned for UNO cards, care-bears, Barbie dolls, but I have none. My mother insisted on providing me piano lessons to make sure that I have a backup plan to fall back on, if I failed to do well in my studies.

Having so much deprivation, when I started out working, I tell myself, I want to lead a good life.

I imagined or rather day-dream about my life alot before I sleep. I vehemently believe that to imagine is not being fatuous, to imagine and not working towards what you have imagined IS fatuous. Very often, I made a mental checklist of what I have achieved and not achieved and questioned myself on when am I going to achieve those that are on the pending list.

To attain what I have to date is a benison and before approaching the big 3-0; I am agog to tell the world that I have realized one more dream today and one of my most pressing and critical resolution!

Kevin and I officially own a property worth 1.1 million today!

As some may know, I repined on having MY OWN abode. And now, I got it!! The place that I can call 'my own'. We just signed the OTP (Option to Purchase) form with our agent awhile ago and we both are ecstatic. Cause with those signatures on the papers, it ended the grueling search for properties both online and off line, and it is kinda tough to find one that has the right direction, based on fengshui. Furthermore, and most paramountly, I am not going to pay rental for our sojourn at Rosyth Ville come September!

The hunting story?

About 3 months ago, we saw this duplex unit at Fontaine Parry, it is a penthouse unit with the area of 1744sqft plus a roof terrace on top. We love the layout as soon as we see the floor plan. The area is ideal for a small family like us and Kevin and I love parties and having a big roof terrace would mean more space for gathering activities. And it is the ONLY 2-bedroom penthouse with roof terrace for the entire development! All in all, the unit is apposite for our family! The initial offers did not went smoothly, we issued 5 cheques to get this unit!

Apart from us being happy, I think our property is laughing on her way home after letting us sign the OTP.

Yr 2010 Resolution

Emily put down her resolution for the year 2010 and it elicited me to polish up my draft entry which I have been putting it underneath my pillow since end of December. With January almost past the mid-mark, here comes my annual post.

As usual, let me begin composing the resolution for 2010 by reviewing my 2009 resolution:

1. Have a Baby No. 2
Review: Not that I tried, I just can't make up my mind if I want to go back to the old days, not sleeping... going to KK for vaccine jabs etc... The problem doesn't lie with being pregnant, it is more about the aftermath. Maybe I am too old for that.

2. Get 2 Chanel bags.
Review: Outrageous! I overdone by rounding up the year with the coveted Birkin on top of the 2 Chanels.

3. Earn more money.
Review: I did! Changed job to financial industry.

4. Discipline Ziv, cultivate independence in him.
Review: I did it with the help of my MIL. Ziv started to stay with my MIL during weekdays since mid of last year. It is great, no regrets. He has a more disciplined life like the army life.

5. Weight shall not exceed 43kg if not pregnant.
Review: Pass and fail. Sometimes it exceeded wee bit.

6. Spend more time with Kevin and Coby.
Review: I tried, but failed badly on spending more time on and with Coby. Kevin and I had more couple time in the year 2009, mainly because Ziv stayed over at my MIL's camp for the past half year.

I considered myself a nebbish person. I am always ruled by emotions and hence, ending up overdoing many things especially preposterousness indulgence. Since last year, I have demolished "Shop less" resolution forever and ever knowing that I should be practical and rational because that will forever never ever happen. 2009 was a great year, new job, new abode, new bags, new colleagues...

Now, may I present the resolution... *drum-roll*

Yr 2010 Resolution

1. Have Baby No. 2
This is still on top of the list, maybe it should happen in an 'accidental' manner, so that leave me with no choice. I know Ziv needs a sibling, needs a companion, but going back to the baby days is too tiring for us. And who is going to take care of baby no. 2?

2. Exercise more
I have signed up with TrueFitness and True Yoga for 3 years. Hopefully, I can utilise the package throughout the 3 years. Currently, I am working out about 3-5 days a week, and I am hoping that I can maintain the avidity. And I am pretty sure that I will because I found a new exercise kaki cum colleague, Cindy.

3. Get a luxurious watch
What's next after bags?

4. Ziv is still the most important
Spend time educating Ziv, I want to train him to be more outspoken, confident and less timid.

5. Love my job, more money!
I am not blessed with a job that I truly love (think footballer, artists etc) or where my passion lies, but I am endowed with a job that pays me fairly well. I should be appreciative and love my job. Furthermore, I have uprooted myself from IT industry and to a more profitable financial industry so I should be more grateful.

However, if there is another increase of 30% from my current package, I have to eliminate this entry.

6. Get my own abode
I have enough of renting, aka, paying house installment for my landlord. I MUST get my own place!!

7. Love life, enjoy life
If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything. Go for holiday, spend money, do what I like to do. Be happy.

Family Lunch

A day before returning to work after the long festive holiday, I had a family lunch at Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant to celebrate my Grandma's birthday.

We discovered that Ziv likes to eat fresh scallop (white colour) and he was calling it 'lup, lup'. As parents, we decided to give up our shares of scallop for the precious little one. My mum even commented that she should not gobble up her share of scallops so fast, if not she could gave it to Ziv.

Anyway, he ate the scallops with fried rice which we ordered for him specially. Ziv loves RICE. Whenever we ask him what he wants, he will always say RICE, RICE.

The boy is frowning because my brother made funny faces at him... his double eyelids are eventually showing... I secretly hope that he has my double eyelids rather than Kev's single eyelids.


The oldest and the youngest in the room....

On a separate note, here's a picture of the barky Coby at home.

This is a picture that I took using my dad's camera. I am still figuring out how to take aperture pictures!!

Ziv loves his puzzles and about toilet training

I am not sure when it started, how it started, who cultivate that interest in him... Ziv simply loves to fix puzzles. He has this 10-piece puzzle given by my MIL and started messing around with the first one and soon, the following week, I am seeing him mixing 3 different sets of 10-piece puzzles together and fixing them all at the same time!

While he was doing that in utmost serious expession, Kevin and I stared in awe at our son. We have never see him wearing that kind of expression except while watching Hi-5. And we both know that our son has discovered yet another "passion" and as for us, we discovered another means of keeping him quiet for at least half an hour!

Anyway, Ziv takes his puzzle seriously and he sometimes enact the role of a 'teacher' when Kevin and I will act all 'stupid' and he will guide us on how to fix the puzzle step-by-step, thereafter, he will then proceed to remove it and expect us to do it after him. Sometimes its a funny sight to see him so devoted to his puzzle! Over the weekend, we bought him more simple puzzles and hopefully that by fixing puzzle will make him a more patient person just like his father.

In another separate news, as some may know that Ziv was toilet trained about 2 to 3 months ago, while we all think that we can save a great deal on diapers (you can ever imagine, trust me), however we now faced a comical problem, Ziv is very fascinated with the standing toilet bowl that he allegedly insists that he needs to pee about 4 times in an hour so that he can flush the toilet bowl. I started to get curious about the standing toilet bowl now...

New Year 2010 (Photo Blog) - No time to compose!

Since we stepped into year 2010, I have been very busy. Busy eating...
I still have another feasting appointment tomorrow...

New Year Eve
We were really busy on NY Eve. First, I went shopping alone at Ion while waiting for Kevin and Ziv to go for a nice dinner. End up bought a few tops, a legging and a pearl ring with diamond setting. That's it, no more shopping for the next one month!

Dinner at La Villa. I simply love this place.

Secluded, it is like a hidden gem.

What did we order? No pic for appetizer and desserts. BTW, see how badly I need to have a DSLR?

Going outdoor of La Villa. Regretted! Bitten my mosquito.

Next stop, cake DIY at Icing Room. I have been wanting to design a cake with Ziv for the longest time and none of our birthday is coming, so how about a New Year cake?

The end product... We didn't really help out much, Kevin helped Ziv with the wordings...

Next stop (when is it going to end?), Haagen-Dazs to get some ice-cream fix.

My new year resolution is to lose some weight!!!!
Bad picture again, why is my arm shining??

New Year Day

No pic for Szechuan Court Ala Carte Dim Sum Buffet with my parents, because time is running out...

Took some when we were shopping at Robinson.

The day after New Year Day
Dinner with Emily and Dylan at Oscar's - Conrad Hotel. As I have had enough bad pictures lately and decided to borrow my Dad's semi professional camera, Lumix don't-know-what model out.
I haven't really figure out how to use this camera, but nevertheless, I am still loving these pictures.

Mummies and Toddlers

Our NY resolution, bring no kid to buffet.

Finally Ziv focused on the camera, and not Jayden.

We still managed to take a picture together, with the kids jumping next to us.

Close-up pictures...

Ziv looked 'naughty' in this picture...

Cheeky Ziv stealing a sip of water-melon juice.

He requested to wear matching polo tees with Daddy. And can you imagine both of them have so much clothes that these polo tees are brand new and bought during last year, new year!

Daddy is so cool...

Trust me, they were drunk!!

Drunk from drinking Ribbena and eating Poky.

I like this picture. Emily should set this as her wallpaper. I feel so 'professional' to be able to take such picture!

Lastly, Happy New Year!!

Digital SLR

I am looking for a good DSLR for my newfound hobby (again, after baking). Photography, that is.

See these pictures that inspired me...

Jumping Ziv...

Abril and Ziv...

Christmas pictures taken by BS using Canon EOS 500D.

Currently on my list is the Canon EOS 500D, I am totally clueless about cameras and buying it based on word of mouth. However, my most important concern is that it MUST work in cold temperature as in winter season. So any other suggestions, bring it on!