~ Lunar New Year - Day 1 ~

新年快乐！扬眉兔气！兔年行大运！After dressing the children up, I always love to take pictures with them. It's amazing to see how much they have grown as each year passed.

Gladys is getting prettier and she wore a pretty white flower dress and a pair of flower shoes. So sweet! Mommy also wore a dark coloured flower dress to match. Hahaha. ^_^

Denver is getting taller and smarter with a neater hair style (much better looking compared to his botak hair style when he was younger.)

Our pretty girl and smart looking boys are ready to go visiting to eat and collect angpows!

We went to 2 temples and it was super crowded at 四马路观音庙 as expected. Despite the long queue at both sides of the temple, it did not stop the devotees' determination from going in to make their prayers.   

Compared to the previous years, we have lesser home visitings this time. Just today alone, we only went to 5 houses and 2 temples with a noon break. Typically we could have visited 9-10 places in a day. :) This might be a good news for Hubby as it would mean he has more time to rest after driving for the whole day.

Day 2 continues tomorrow!

~ Spring Cleaning & Reunion Dinner 2011 ~

Chinese New Year eve is always a very busy day for all of us because we need to pray and complete our last minute spring cleaning to welcome the new year. This year, we have more pots of plants along the corridor to brighten our home. The sunflowers are so pretty. :) Hopefully the weather will be as sunny as the flowers during the CNY holidays.

Not forgetting the last minute spring cleaning as soon as we knock off from work. Mopping, changing the bedsheets, laundry and putting out the Chinese new year's goodies. That is a lot of hard work but we would like to start the New Year clean and tidy.

The most important thing to do on CNY eve is having our reunion dinner together. We started with 捞鱼生 (abalone toppings) wishing for a prosperous year ahead. Every year we have steamboat dinner together and there is always a lot of food spread on the table. The children is only keen on dropping the fishballs, prawns and meat into the soup while the adults finish them. ^_^

Here's wishing all a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! 恭喜发财，万事如意！

~ Stomach Flu ~

Sigh.. We are sick again. Gladys has been vomiting since morning. She losts her appeitite and whatever food she tries to input will comes out. It's going to be a difficult and sleepless night again. To make matters worse, I myself is having a fever and may have contracted the flu viral as well. Hubby is also not feeling well and I guess we might have over-exhausted ourselves during the wake and cremation services last weekend. The weather has been so bad that we got caught in the rain. Now I can only hope we all will recover before the reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve. :(

~ Flu Symptoms are Back! ~

Everytime when it is near the CNY period, I tend to get sick. The weather and spring cleaning activities are big contribution factors to my state of health. My colleagues and friends have be advising me to take more Vitamin C or tonics to improve my immunity. Just as I thought I am on the road to recovery, flu symptoms are back to haunt me again. :( The non-stop sneezing and running nose are irritating and making me tired.

Denver has been feeling sick since yesterday too. He had headaches and then complain of a tummyache and eventually vomited on our way back home from the wake. Since this morning, Hubby also develops flu symptoms and we are planning to bring the children to the doctors tomorrow and stock up some medicine for the CNY.

Wake proceedings will continue tomorrow till Sunday and I'm hoping everyone will be healthy and well.

~ Part time cleaner service for Spring Cleaning ~

Every year I will be in charge of all the cleaning in preparations for CNY. Since December, I have started tidying up the wardrobe, storeroom, drawers etc. and gave away some of our old clothes or toys to the charity. As the date towards CNY draws nearer, I will start to wipe the cabinets, clean the fans, windows and change the bedsheets.

This year, I finally decided to engage a part time house cleaner to assist me with my Spring Cleaning. One of my most "hated" chore is cleaning the windows as it is very tiring and takes up a lot of time. For $50 (4 hours of cleaning service), the house cleaner helped me cleaned all the windows, 4 ceiling fans, toilets, kitchen cabinets, fridge, sink and mop the floor. She was pretty quick and I'm happy to relief most of the chores off my shoulders. Especially so since I am still recovering from a persistent cough and we are busy with the wake proceedings. I may even consider engaging the house cleaner again next year just to pamper myself a little bit.

~ Godfather's passing ~

Early this morning, Hubby received news of his Godfather's passing. He was diagnosed with last stage cancer in December and as it was discovered too late, there is nothing that can be done to save him. Within a month's time, he has left us. Godfather is an amiable, warm and kind person and it is a lost to the family members especially at this period. Although the news sadden us, he is now relief from all the pain and sufferings. We will be attending the wake proceedings till Sunday and may he rest in peace.

~ Denver can bicycle :) ~

We started the kids to ride on bicycles with training wheels. So far they have been getting used to the pedaling but has not been progressing since the 4-wheeled bicycle is so stable. When we gave one of our old bicycle (without the training wheels) to my bbil, the results have been amazing. Royston was able to ride on the bicycle within a week! I believe the child is ready to learn to bicycle when he has the desire and determination to master the skill.

Hubby and I have been spending some time after work teaching Denver some cycling tips. The height and seat of the old bike is low enough and Denver can have both of his feet touching the ground. Whenever he is scared of falling, Denver can always put his feet down. Initially, we hold on to the the back of the seat when he started cycling. This can be quite straining on our backs and my right arm was having muscle-ache for a few days! Hubby also let Denver coast/scoot down a gentle slope so that he can have a feel of balancing on the bike and took him to a wider open space to learn cycling.. After about 3 weeks of self-learning and practicing, Denver can finally say good-bye to his training wheels and ride on the bicycle too!

~ CNY Home Deco for 2011 ~

We finally finished putting up the CNY decos inside our home and at the life lobby area a few days ago. Here is the final look! I particularly like the bunnies where the designs are simple and cute.

Only 9 more days to CNY! I haven't complete my spring cleaning yet but will try to do the final touch up this weekend! So much to do with so little time! Oh my!

~ 9th ROM Anniversary ~

I have been sick since Tuesday with a bad flu, cough and occasional fever. Went to see the doctor 3 times to get MC and also seeking another opinion since I wasn't recovering well. Due to the persistent cough, phlegm and stuffy nose, my appetite has been pretty dull.

Hubby and I spent our ROM anniversary just like other usual days. Since it happens to fall on a weekend, we were able to take the children out for lunch and dinner. I utilized my final $20 Sakae Sushi voucher which I won in the previous blogger contest and Hubby treated us for dinner at Jack's Place. We have been so busy and preoccupied with work and pre-CNY activities that I am truely grateful to spend our anniversary quietly and peacfully. :)

Enjoying each other's company and being with the family will be my greatest joy and happiness.

~ New plants for CNY ~

Apart from spring cleaning and decorating the house, bbil and us will always visit the stretch of plant nurseries along Kovan and buy some new pots of flowers or plants to brighten up the house. There are so many to choose from and it does takes awhile before deciding which one to buy.

Denver & Gladys love to sit on this swing which is at one of the nursery. See how much they have grown within 1 year!

After comparing the various pots of 金钱树 at the different nurseries, we finally set our eyes on this one. Hubby & I love it's shape, greeny leaves, colour of the pot and it's overall display the very moment we spot this little pot which was being set aside on the floor.

This weekend we are going to hunt for CNY goodies and we will be almost ready to welcome the Year of Rabbit! ^_^

~ Drawings - Picture for a friend ~

Gladys received an art piece from her classmate, Louis and so she also wanted to draw a picture and give it to him tomorrow. Gladys loves to use markers with different colours in her picture. I think her drawings have improved too. :)

~ Punggol East Family Event 2011 @ USS ~

Punggol East residents are in for a special treat! Rivervale Community Center has organised a Family Day Event at Universal Studios Singapore at a discounted rate! (about 30-40% off the usual price). On top of that, there will be free transportation, breakfast, door gifts and lucky draw!

Our first visit to the USS was a year ago at its sneak preview. Back then, there were no rides or shows and it was purely walking and looking around the theme park. Next month, we will be making a date with USS and anticipating lots of fun and excitement! ^_^

~ Astons Express ~

We always see a long queue at Astons Specialities and have long heard about the good review on their steaks. Recently, we saw a couple of Astons Express stalls opened in the neighbourhood coffeeshops and Kopitiam Foodcourt which tempted us to try some of their menu.

Earlier this evening, we went to one of their newly opened outlet at Hougang Plaza and ordered Chargrill Chicken - $5.90, Black Pepper Chicken - $5.90 and Crispy Fried Fish - $6.50 for dinner. (We also get to choose 2 side dishes from a range of selection.)

The chicken and fish tasted alright (no WOW factor though) but it's a pity that the serving looks a bit too moderate. Hubby didn't felt his tummy was filled with the smaller piece of chicken. Nothing much to pick about the coleslaw and baked beans, unfortunately Gladys does not like the french fries (which was a surprise) as it was too salty. I guess the additional salt sprinkled onto the fries has made it less enjoyable.

We were a little bit disappointed but I guess maybe we should have ordered the steak instead. :)

~ CNY 2011 Programs & Events ~

CNY 2011 is only 3 weeks away! Every year we will bring the kids to Chinatown to see the colourful streets and look at the various stalls.

There will be an official light-up on the streets of Chinatown TONIGHT with lion dance performances, entertainement and not to forget the grand finale of firecrackers display! Every year, it will attract a huge crowd and so we usually stay home since it is very challenging to bring the kids along and squeeze among the crowd. Not to mention the long waiting time and securing a good spot to watch the firecrackers display.

There are a series of events lined up for Chinese New Year 2011. We will be looking into bringing the children to some of these programs since we have a longer CNY holiday this year. ^_^

Chinatown Street Light-Up 2011
Official Light-Up - 15 Jan 2011

Chinatown Festive Street Bazaar 2011
Date: 14 Jan - 2nd Feb 2011
Location: Pogoda, Smith, Temple & Trengganu Streets

Chinatown Chinese New Year Countdown 2011
Date: 2 Feb 2011
Location: Eu Tong Sen Street & New Bridge Road

River Hongbao 2011
Date: 1 Feb to 13 Feb 2011 (Free admission)
Location: The Float @ Marina Bay
(http://www.riverhongbao.sg/)

Chingay Parade 2011
Date: 11 Feb to 12 Feb (Ticketing applies)
Location: Pit Building (Next to Singapore Flyer)
(http://www.chingay.org.sg/2011/highlights.asp)

Sentosa Flowers
Date: 3 Feb to 13 Feb (Free admission)
Location: Sentosa Boardwalk, Merlion Plaza, Imbiah
(http://flowers.sentosa.com.sg/)

~ Supper Celebration for Hubby's Promotion ~

Just came back from a heavy supper at AMK Central - S11 food center. Hubby finally got his promotion after years of service. That calls for a mini celebration. Anyway, we happened to be walking around the area and stopped by for some food.

Yummy Stingray, Satays and Chicken Wings. Slurp!

~ Chinese New Year Deco - 2011 ~

In less than a month, we will be ushering the Year of the Rabbit! There are so many pretty Chinese New Year Decorations on sale and I am so tempted to buy all of them. Hahaha.

This year, we saw a couple of Bugs Bunny theme as well as other Bunny designs. I managed to buy some of the paper decorations from Malaysia which is something that I don't find in Singapore. Something special for our home. ^_^

Usually we will spend about $50 on CNY Decos to rejuvenate our home and welcome the Lunar New Year. Bbil even decorate from within his house to the entire corridor of the same floor.

I will probably find some time to tidy up the house this weekend and put up the decos! Can't wait to see how it looks. :)

~ Lion Dance performance @ Northpoint ~

Chinese New Year is around the corner and we are seeing beautiful CNY decorations, delicious goodies on sale and hearing CNY songs around major shopping malls and neighbourhood shops. Earlier today, we were at Northpoint shopping mall to watch a breath-taking Lion Dance performance by an award-winning lion dance troupe (郭氏功夫金龙醒狮团) from Hong Kong.

The performance is scheduled to start at 7pm. But by 630pm, there were already a lot of people at all floors standing by to catch a good view of the show later on. We managed to squeeze through and get a "front row seat". That comes at the expense of waiting for 30mins for the 10minutes lion dance stunts. :)

It was definitely worth the wait. The performance was fabulous and the children were amazed by the various jumps, stands and stunts the lion dance has displayed. Even we were impressed and the award-winning troupe won applaus from the cheering crowd.

~ Free Red Packets for CNY Loans ~

From now till 31st Jan 2011, you can redeem free red packets (Ang pows) when you borrow 6 items from the public libraries. (*While stocks last!) ^_^ We have been frequent patrons of the library and have redeem 2 packets to date.

If free angpow is not your cup of tea, you may want to try your luck in winning tickets to a romantic ride on the Singapore Flyer with their Valentine's Day promotion!

For more details do visit: http://www.pl.sg/page/PLAnnouncements&newsLocation=PL#janhappenings
Happy Borrowing, Reading and Winning! :)

~ Back to School ~

School holidays are officially over and Denver will be back to school tomorrow while Gladys will start hers in another 2 days.

The children will be back to their once familiar environment, greeting their teachers and old/new friends, unlike last year where they were newbies when they just started out in Nursery and Primary 1. Books, uniform, wallet, water bottle, shoes are all ready and it's time to go back to our hectic schedule once again. Anticipating heavier traffic, rushing between schools, work, extra lessons, meetings and going through their homework.

With Chinese New Year only one month away, Mommy may only find time to blog on weekends moving forward. Have a happy school term 2011!

~ 2010 Christmas Parties ~

This is an outdated post on the parties that we attended during Christmas last week.

Christmas Party @ Steven's house on Christmas Eve.

It was the first time we stayed over at Steven's house past midnight and countdown for Christmas. Denver and Gladys had so much fun with the other children and didn't feel tired at all! Food, drinks, games, toys and Christmas presents!

 Group photo @ the Christmas Party (Thanks to Jefz) :)

Christmas + Birthday Party @ Andy's house on Christmas Day

We went to Andy's house for another Christmas cum Birthday party on Christmas Day. It was Wenwei (25th Dec) and Wenyi (27th Dec) birthday celebration. So nice to have birthday around Christmas season. :)

Everyone is having a good time.

It has also been a long time since we met up with old friends.

The children get along quickly and easily.

Thank you Steven & Andy for the invite and we have a great Christmas week. ^_^

~ New Year Countdown 2011 ~

This year countdown party is a special one. Not because it has spectacular fireworks or it has great music/entertainment. The only reason is Gladys stayed up with us all night and countdown to the New Year with us for the very first time. :)

The countdown party @ Harmony Square (Sengkang) started from 8pm onwards and we went down to get free light sticks, whistles and mineral bottles.

In order to stay awake, we played kinect games and watched TV programs.

The main highlight for tonight - Fireworks! We went downstairs to countdown for Year 2011 together! It's a new year and wishing all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2011!

~ Goodbye 2010 ~

It is the time of the year to recap how we have spent our 2010. As I look back at my previous blog posts, I never fail to amaze myself with the list of happening events that have happened so far.

• My grandmother's passing (Jan)
• Gladys started nursery and Denver going to Primary 1 in their new schools (Jan) 
• Birth of BPDGTravels Blog (Jan)
• We changed a new car. (Jan-Feb)
• Denver passed NASSA Bronze Swimming Test (Mar)
• Arrival of my 2nd nephew (Noel Lau) - (May)
• Family trip to Shantou (Jun)
• Denver's first extraction of tooth (Jun) 
• Gladys attending her first art class (Sep) 
• Mommy suffering from HFMD (Sep)
• Family suffering from Conjunctivitis (Oct)
• Denver scoring 1st in class (Nov) 
• Family trip to Batam (Nov)
• SAF Chalet (Dec)
• Our new toys - Playstation Move & Xbox Kinect (Nov-Dec) 
• Family trip to Melaka and Johor Bahru (Dec)

In the year 2010, we have watched many movies together, took the children around various parts of Singapore (Universal Studio, Museum, Parks, Reservoirs etc), travelled to China and Malaysia and dine at Sakae Sushi almost every other month. (Thanks to the vouchers Mommy won at the Sakae Blogger Affair which has ended). We had a lot of great times together and the children have also progressed and acheived in their studies while enjoying school. Although we were pretty sickly at some moment in time, we have recovered and enjoyed our year-end holidays so far.

Frankly speaking, I am hoping the month of December don't go away so quickly as it also means it is the end of the holidays and time to get back to work and reality.

Nevertheless, wishing Year 2011 will continue to be a Great Year with more Peace, Happiness, Health and Prosperity!

~ Our New Toy - XBox Kinect ~

Recently, we have a new entertainment in the house - Xbox Kinect. Ever since "it" arrives, there have been a couple of changes.

1)  Movement of furnitures. The Kinect set does not requires any controller and lets your body interact with the games directly instead. However, it needs a lot of space. At least 6 feet (1.8m) from the sensor to the player. This is pretty challenging and disadvantage especially for the smaller flats in Singapore.

In order to make space and avoid hitting ourselves, we shifted the direction of our sofa. Tested playing with Kinect Adventures and it works well so far.

2) More "Work Outs". Since some of the Kinect games involve fully body co-ordination and speed, all of us had some form of exercise during play. I only played 2 games in Kinect Adventures and already perspiring and panting heavily. Not to mention experiencing pain in my legs and arms on the following day.

3) Indoor Family time. The games are simple, fun and easy to play. Even Gladys gets the hang of it very fast since there is no usage of controllers. Suitable for parents and children to play together and more family time together.

Apart from the space limitation, the children tends to cross their boundaries during play and hit each other. That is the problem when they get too excited about winning and forget to co-operate!
Denver & Gladys are having a great time with the Kinect but there is another concern that our neighbours staying downstairs may start to lodge a complain on us soon with all the jumping in the house. :p

~ New Year Countdown 2011 ~

Marina Bay countdown party no doubt is one of the most popular spot where Singaporeans/Tourists would like to be at to welcome the new year. But we are not going to join in the much expected crowd especially with our 2 young children.

There are still many countdown parties around the various heartlands like Serangoon, Sengkang and Buangkok and all around Singapore.

Serangoon Swing @ Serangoon Gardens Circus

Countdown 2011 @ Sengkang West. (Anchorvale CC)

Punggol South Harmony Countdown @ Compassvale link (Buangkok MRT)

Not forgetting our every year countdown party at my place - Punggol East 2011 Countdown Party @ Harmony Square!

More countdown parties at other heartlands on 31st December 2010. Which one will you be at? 3 more days to Year 2011!

~ Father's Birthday Lunch - Part 2 ~

Last Sunday, we had another lunch together with brother's family to celebrate my father's birthday. This time we went to Peng Catering Services Restuarant (亚平）located at Lor 1 Realty Park (near Hougang Ave 3).

I was first introduced to this restuarant through dining with Hubby and his family/relatives. It serves very delicious Teochew food and has always been one of our most frequent dining place during special occasion.

We ordered the $238 10-course set that comes with Longevity Buns, shark's fin soup, fish, chicken, spinach with scallops and others. I enjoyed almost every dish and my personal recommendation would be the cold dish, steamed pomfret and sweet yam! The steamed prawns are very fresh too! There is too much leftover food and we have to packet the chicken, yam basket and noodles back home. :)

Father & Mother enjoys the food as well as the company of the little ones. :) Happy Birthday once again, Dad!

~ Merry Christmas 2010! ~

It's Christmas! We went to 2 Christmas parties and the children received a lot of presents over the last 2 days. They are definitely the happiest lots with lots of chocolates, candies, games, fun and new found friends.

Hope everyone had FUN and a GOOD time together too! MERRY CHRISTMAS  once again and looking forward to welcoming a NEW YEAR!

~ Drawings - Gladys' Art Showcase - Part 1 ~

It has been 2 half months since Gladys started her drawing and colouring class at the community centre. She has been enjoying her lessons so far and completed 12 drawings. ^_^

Initially I thought it might be too challenging for her to follow as the pace of the lessons are very fast. However, never underestimate a child's learning ability and adaptability. Not only was Gladys able to keep up from second lesson onwards, she had heaps of fun.

These are the artworks that she did using oil pastels and water colours. From lions, flamingoes, bugs to Doremon, fishes, kite flying. There are different theme to draw each week.

On their final lesson for this term, the teacher taught them to draw Santa Claus, Christmas tree and presents. This is a perfect Christmas card. :) Here's wishing everyone MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~ Calls from Gladys ~

Months after Gladys memorized my mobile number, she finally tried calling me from bbil's place while I was at work. This is exactly what happened when Denver memorized our numbers when he was 4. Back then, he will call me almost everyday to say that he misses me. Now, Gladys calls me every alternate day to tell me that she finishes her writings or waiting for me to return home to have dinner together instead.

The primary reason for the children to remember our mobile numbers and home address is to make sure they know who to call during emergency. I still recall Denver got lost near Carrefour at Plaza Singapura when he was 4 or 5 and Hubby got a call from the customer counter shortly as Denver gave them his number (even though he was crying badly already). That proves to be really helpful.

At times, the children abuses the calls and makes it very disturbing especially when I am busy at work. However, hearing their voices at the other end of the line can also be heartwarming and therapeutic from our hectic schedule. :)

~ How I spent my vacation days ~

I was on leave last week and had enjoyed it. Unfortunately vacation days are always too short and I'm back to work today. Awwww :( At least I managed to spend some time with the children, clean the house and get my things done.)

Monday - Family out for lunch at Sakae Sushi, movie watching (The Chronicles of Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Official) at AMK Hub, a visit to the library, window shopping plus dinner at NEX (Serangoon).

Tuesday & Wednesday - House cleaning. The house was in a total mess with no mopping or vacuuming for at least 2-3 weeks! Toilets were not clean, stuff were left lying around and I practically left it be since I was too tired to clean up after our Batam trip and the chalet stay.

I spent 2 days digging out the closets, cabinets, boxes in the entire house and have the items rearranged and organised. We gave away some bags of old clothing and toys to charity and I threw over 10 bags of unwanted stuff. At least it is neat and tidy for now and I won't have a hard time when CNY is around the corner.

Thursday - Christmas shopping. There are many presents which we need to buy for the children and I spent a lot of time shopping around. Not to forget wrapping up the presents too. :)

Friday - Personal shopping. I went on my very own shopping spree at NEX and Citysquare mall. Primary objective is to hunt for some new clothing for CNY. Mission accomplished.

Saturday - Family time and we took my father for his birthday lunch, Headed down to the library @ Esplanade and Marina Bay waterfront to pen our wishes on the white spheres.

Sunday & Monday - 2D1N trip to Malacca (to be updated on our travel blog)

Is that too much for 1 week? I am really tired but at the same time missing vacation days already. 4 more days to Christmas and counting down!

~ Happy Birthday Daddy! ~

It's Daddy's 76th birthday and we took him out for a nice lunch at Imperial Court Shark's Fin restaurant at Grassroot's club. The Peking duck is really delicious and I think Daddy enjoyed the food. We also tried the fried ice-cream for dessert and it was something new for my parents.

Happy Birthday Daddy and wishing you good health and happiness!

~ Counting down to Christmas Parties! ~

Finally! We have completed our Christmas shopping with all the presents ready! This year, we bought a lot of gifts and it took me ages to finish wrapping them up. A very colourful sight and in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The children are just as excited to give them away. Looking forward to the Christmas parties next week! ^_^

~ Tuna Mayo Sushi ~

It has been awhile since I am in a mood to 'cook'. Since the powered sushi mix is going to expire soon, I thought I better make some sushi before it goes into the waste bin.

There are some cans of Tuna Mayonnaise left in the house and it is the easiest to make Tuna Mayo Sushi. I was able to make about 12 sushi with 3/4 cup of rice. Doesn't look too bad and I think it taste better than my previous attempt (due to the tuna). hahahah.

~ Boy's Bridage Share-a-Gift 2010 ~

It is that time of the year to share and bring on some cheer to the needy and less fortunate. Like previous years, Hubby and I did our little bit and made our donation via the collection point outside NTUC-Xtra.

Basic food and household items are welcome and the operation will be on-going until 20th December. For online donation drive it will be till 31st December.

More details: http://www.bbshare.sg/

If you happen to pass by the gift box, do send in your donations generously! :)

~ Primary 2 School Books ~

We went to Denver's school to purchase his Primary 2 books earlier this month. After comparing the pricing at Popular vs Pacific Bookstore, there isn't any major difference in savings. Moreover, our total books & stationary purchase is less than $100. (Thanks to the second-hand textbooks that were passed down by friends and relatives.) Hence, we decided to get all the items from school.

Instead of going on the destinated day for P2 books purchase, we picked a later date in the week since Hubby & I got to work. When we arrived at around 9am, we were first in queue. :) Within 15mins, we completed all our purchase and it has been so much faster and hassle-free.

The current ergonomic backpack which we bought for Denver last year is still in a pretty good shape and hopefully it can last for another term or 2. I would consider that value for money already. :) Still, we bought a same design school bag as a backup (just in case).

I have also labelled and wrapped most of the textbooks and activity books. This time it took me half the time to complete it as I re-used all the old name labels and most of the old plastic sheet wrappers that were used for Denver's P1 books (since the books are almost the same in size).

Generally, I do not like to spend the money to buy the ready-made books cover as it is not economical plus I prefer to wrap them using the plastic sheets which is more lasting. I often find the edge or sides of the book covers torn after some time but plastic sheets don't seems to have that problem. The fact that Denver has always been untidy and rough with handling his books, I'm still able to re-use the plastic sheets covers for his P2 books proved my point. ^_^

Most parents may write the names directly on the textbooks of activity books but I have that weird habit of printing the name out, cutting and pasting it on the books. The bad thing is it is a waste of time and resources, but I find it neater and easier to read. Since I am using the scotch-tape to paste over the label, I was able to remove the label easily from his old books and paste it on his new books. With the reused labels and wrappers, the books still look as good as new.

We are almost ready for a new school term next year. :)

~ Singapore BookFest 2010 ~

We just came back from BookFest@Singapore 2010 which is held in the Suntec Convention Halls 601-603. Singapore's largest book fair is in it's 5th running year (thanks to Popular Holdings Limited) and it always draws a huge crowd especially during the weekends.

I always enjoy going through the books and stationery sections. There are so much to see (story/assessment books, gifts, stationery, education aids and etc) and we spent hours within the 3 convention halls. This year, I noticed the organizers have prepared many orange pull-style trolly bags on top of the usual basket carriers and push carts. Thumbs up for this arranagement as push carts are limited in numbers and takes up more space and the baskets are small and heavy to carry around. The trolly bags have definitely improve the customers' mobility and convenience as well as increasing their shopping and browsing experience within the BookFest. :)

~ 烦 ~

不知为什么, 每当要放长假的时候, 总是不顺利。刚刚度过了愉快的周末，这个星期却超忙的。这几天下来的精神和心情也不太好。越是期待，感觉越倒霉。越想把事情做好，却欲速则不达。
真的好想不看，不听，不理，不想。

希望明天会更好！

~ 5 Years Service Award ~

I received my 5 years service award gift earlier today. It is a 20 piece stainless steel flatware set which I picked from the gift catalogue. There are a range of other gifts from vase, watches, clock, jewelry and I decided to pick on something that might be more useful to me. On top of that, I am looking forward to the additional cash rewards that should be coming in with this month payroll. ^_^ Yippee..

~ Weekend stay at Changi Chalet ~

We are spending our weekends at one of the chalet in Changi. ^_^ Weather hasn't been good lately as it has been pretty rainy. Showers with thunder are expected over the next few days in the afternoon. That doesn't sound like good news for us.

Meanwhile, the children are extremely happy and excited and we are enjoying our stay so far. Loads of tibits, food, drinks, games and more! Will be posting more detail updates on our travel blog soon. :)

~ Teen Titans Super Awesome Christmas ~

After a Bubbly Fun at City Square mall last weekend, we were at Hougang mall earlier to catch the "Teen Titans Super Awesome Christmas" performance. The entire half hour show is full of music and dance which Gladys enjoys a lot. Denver was a bit disappointed as he thought there will be some fighting scenes. Little boy always seems to be looking for more action but it is all about Christmas and we should be seeking Peace. :)

Some videos of the music and dance performance by the Teen Titans. :)

~ Loving December ~

I LOVE December. It is one of my favourite months. Why?

1. Earlier pay day + 13th month (Yeah.. getting more $$$ to pay more bills. hahaha.)
2. Lesser work days since I usually clear my remaining leave in December. Only 10 more working days left for December! Yippee!
3. Holiday mood with Christmas and New Year approaching + busy shopping and wrapping presents.
4. Christmas/New Year Countdown parties.
5. More family outings (taking the children around during their school holidays).
6. More personal time (to clean up all the junk in the house. hahahah)  ^_^

Plus... counting down and looking forward to a NEW YEAR!