My own arrangements !!

One more post for today.

It had been a long time since I blog about flowers!! Oh I'm so excited and proud to blog about it right now.

Every year, its quite a headache buying gifts for different ladies in my department. Everyone's different; some are practical, some are "expensive".

This year, I came up with this "bright" idea, which is to buy flowers from Far East, and make 7 floral arrangements myself. I was way too confident. If not for a last minute twist, I would have failed badly.

I blog about Carol just not too long ago. She's the one who helped to put up a very beautiful wishing tree deco. I discovered later that she's very very good at gift wrapping too.

She SMS me over the weekend to ask if I have bought the laptop bag I've wanted. I told her no, and I knew she wanted to buy it as a Christmas gift for me. So I also told her about my plan, and ask her preferance for flowers.

On Thurs (23th) morning, I went Far East and bought flowers worth $156! I took them back home before heading for office. At about 5pm, Carol asked if she can come home with me to try her hands on arranging flowers too. I was overjoyed.

Like I said, I under estimated the difficulty. We stared at 7pm, and only finish at 1030! It was extremely tiring. But the results are fantastic! Some of them were delighted at receving this special gift. See pics:

(1) Roses for Mr Soon, for his wife (done by me) and (2) Lilies for Lay Har (by Carol):

From Christmas 2010

(3) Red roses for Shirley (by me):

From Christmas 2010

(4) Pastel roses combinition for Caroline (by me):

From Christmas 2010

(5) Sunflowers for Geraldine (by me):

From Christmas 2010

(6)Gebaras and roses combi for Mui Fong(by Carol):

From Christmas 2010

(7) Roses combi for Beng Choo (by Carol):

From Christmas 2010

There were 2 more; a messy sunflower arrangement by me, for Carol, and another red roses arrangement by Carol, for me.

It was very satisfying. I will definately do it again!

Virgo Cruise Dec 2010

This is the second time I went on a cruise. The first time was probably 10 years ago, with Joc and Ginny. I can't remember which ship, but it went Langkawi.

It was 2 very different experience. I definately enjoy this trip more, cos I used more facilities. The other time, we were young and poor, haha, so didn't want to spend money on board. Also, we were young adults without kids, so the pools didn't interet us.

This time round, I was at the pool 5 times in 4 days. Because of Lynn of course. As WK was not well, we did not get off at Penang nor Phuket, so spending time at the pool with Lynn really helped to kill time.

Other than swimming (and eating at the inclusive, ie free, restuarants), we went Karaoke once (1 hour $60 !!!). This is Lynn's first time at K; unfortunately the system's faulty..

We spent a bit of time at the 7th floor wooden deck. We played silly games like running and jumping.

When we spend time in our cabin (stateroom, no balcony), she would climb up and down the bunk bed by herself. Lynn is actually a very active girl..

The embarkment and disembarkment were bad experiences. But now that we know the system, I really wish to go back on a cruise sometime soon. Somehow, I not really sure why, I enjoyed the cruise.

Here are some photos taken using the new Canon. Each file's 3-4MB! I hate to give up my Sony camera, but I must admit, the night shots (of this Canon) are really good.
Boarding at Harbour Front:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

View of Keppel when the ship sets off:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

The 12th floor pool, which we frequented:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

The children's pools on 10th floor, which we freqented also:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

Some activities which we did together:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

From 游轮 2010 Dec

From 游轮 2010 Dec

From 游轮 2010 Dec

Night and indoor shot functions produced very good results:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

From 游轮 2010 Dec

From 游轮 2010 Dec

My sweetie:

From 游轮 2010 Dec

Blues

Long weekend is over; Christmas is over..

I'm still up because I took a 1030 conf call. Luckily it took only 15 minutes.

Uploading photos of Cruise on WK's Mac. Will finish blogging about that trip before going to bed..

Office christmas party 2010

It was a different feeling from last year. It was better and more well organised, but less "excited". I hope i'm the only one feeling this way (cos I'm 2nd time organising). Hope that the rest had enjoyed the event.

Lots of photos, but I'm using a Canon camera (new one) this time round. When I upload, then I realise its 4MB each! So, I'm only going to show a few photos. Should be able to tell that its very festive feel in office that day..

How my back desk looked after all the gift exchange presents came in:

From Office

The food; Mui Fong did a much better job than we did last year:

From Office

There's lots of such group photos, just show one here, of me and my staff:

From Office

Beng Choo giving out the door gifts:

From Office

Merry Christmas, and happy new year.

Downtime

Based on the list of activities stated in the last posting, I wouldn't have time to blog today. Well, we must have played too much and too hard on cruise and at christmas parties (in office and in school), that all of us "collapsed" on Saturday. So we got to cancel the activities planned for the the weekend (ie, the gathering at my place, the swim at NUSS and the visit to Lili's house).

WK actually didn't play at all.. He fell ill on the morning of boarding the cruise. So for most of the 4 days on the cruise, he slept in the cabin.

Did I mention in my past postings how we end up doing a family cruise? Its quite a twist. In middle of Nov, WK's mum mentioned that she's going Malacca with my BIL during christmas. Wk and myself thought that we can take the opportunity to leave Lynn with Nanny for that few days, so that the 2 of us can go for a short break. After some discussion, we decided that we can only do the weekend of 18/19, and take a few days leave on 20-22. We decided to do a cruise, and WK's suppose to book the cruise when I was away in Germany in the first week of Dec. Then WK casually asked Lynn if its ok that we let her stay at Nanny's for a few days while we go somewhere. He thought that her answer would surely be a "yes" (cos Lynn frequently request to stay at Nanny). But Lynn replied that she wants to go with us. WK asked her why, and her answer was "Mummy and you going somewhere fun, right?"..

So, on one hand, I enjoyed the cruise; I enjoyed spending time playing with Lynn. On the other hand, I was very disappointed with this holiday, because I had wanted a restful break, a well deserved, laid back, slow pace, quiet, "zuo bo" trip. Because WK was sick, I wasn't that "resentful" that I'm the only one entertaining Lynn. Being mentally prepared, I tuned up my energy level to run and swim with Lynn. It was very fun playing with her, but also very tiring. Like I said, I'm... disappointed.

We reached home at 10pm on Wed night. Wk and myself went back to work on Thurs, and Lynn went to her school's christmas party. As the organiser of our dept christmas eve party, I was really very busy on Thurs and Fri. On Fri morning, I also send Lynn to Nanny's home to stay overnight.

I was the first one to fall ill, on Fri, after the office party. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was the least ill, compared to WK and Lynn.. Lynn and Wk fell very sick on Sat and Sun. As we cancel the weekend activities one by one, I was able to recover speedily on my own.

Can I say, I "envy" WK. After being out for 4 days on the cruise, he's out for another few more days during this weekend. Again, most of the burden of taking care of Lynn fell on me.. He did help a lot, I should be greatful, but I'm still.. disappointed.

How to explain this feeling? Typical couple problem, which is expectation and communication..

Enough of complaining. So many photos to post (but no space). Time to blog about happy times on the cruise and at the christmas party in office..

Christmas 2010 with lots of activities

Full of activities for the next 10 days.

Today (Sun) to Wed - Cruise (Virgo, to Phuket)
Thurs - Lynn's christmas party at school
Fri - Christmas party in office
Sat - Deloitte gathering at home
Sun - Family outhing to NUSS
Mon - Visit Lili at her home

Xiong.. now in office to finish some work (and blog). Later must rush home to pack. Boarding at 2pm

Lynn is suppose to dress up for her party at school. Couldn't find Santrina costume, so came up with something else.. Will show pic, I kind of excited about her "costume"..

Fri's chistmas party in office, I'm the organiser. Stress, have not done the treasure hunt (game) stuff. AND got to prepare gifts... (will update that on blog later also)..

Sat - Gathering at my house.. STRESS.. Got to buy drinks.. Prepared the gifts for the kids already (done yesterday)

Next Sun and Mon - OK, can relax, nothing much to prepare. Gifts for Lili's kids are done..

Here's some pic of the christmas deco at home:

From Christmas 2010

From Christmas 2010

From Christmas 2010

Snow / less than -10C in Dresden

Flip thro' my handphone, to see how much I've yet to blog about. Start off with my last Dresden/Germany trip.

It started snowing in the week before my trip. The temperature dropped to below -10C. But I survived!! Haha, its a miracle. Now I know what to wear, what to expect, what I can do and can't do in real winter.

Firstly, our connecting flight was cancelled, and eventually when we got there, our luggage was lost/still in transit. 3 days without luggage, I now know what to bring in the hand luggage.

Secondly, I confirm I wouldn't go sight seeing in winter. I survived Dresden with woolen sweater and good leather jacket AND by dashing from point to point (eg from Hotel to restuarant, office lobby into the taxi, etc). Basically, I couldn't have walk much in that kind of weather even if I have all the thick clothings on me, so I can conclude that I wouldn't be touring countries during full blown winter. EG, no hokkaido in winter for me...

Here are some pics:

On our way to office. Pic taken from inside the cab, of local people, all bundled up, walking on the snow covered streets on their way to work..

From Office

Lots of beautiful sights, of snow covered trees and buildings:

From Office

From Office

See how thick the overnight snow is. Walk way must be created, else legs will be buried in snow with every step taken:

From Office

Teacher meet Parent Dec 2010

I was telling WK, that I don't remember having T-M-P when we were young.

Things are very different nowadays. With an average of 2 kids, parents are very up to date about their children's development.

This is the 2nd meeting we had with Ms Rama. She's full of praises for Lynn's marked improvement during the 2nd half of the year. She kept saying that Lynn's now showing her true colours. Know what is Lynn's true colours? Ms Rama says that Lynn's mischievous, that Lynn sometimes terrorizes her classmates. HAHAHA.. its very funny to me and WK, to hear that Lynn's a little terror. Its a little bit of exaggeration on Ms Rama's end.

Me and WK know Lynn very well. It's not that she improve a lot. Its mainly because she is a "man4 re4" (slow in warming up to people) kind. For the first half of the year, she's new to the school and the system, so she very uncomfortable and doesn't blend in that fast. Once she's farmilar, she goes about the daily activities with much more confidence. It doesn't surprise me at all; I think she's very very like me in this aspect..

I think Lynn's a smart girl, who can do well academically. There's a lot that we can do as her parents. 2011 is coming, she will be in K1. I wonder what else and how much more should we do for her, without being the kiasu parent... Its every parent's wish, that the kid will grow up healthy and successful..

Working from home this afternoon

Today is monday; Lynn is sick. She developed a fever yesterday evening. This morning, she vomited twice.

Went to office this morning, cleared some work. This afternoon, I'm working from home. Got to take a conf call at 3pm..

Office christmas party 2010/Preparation and anticipation

Those of you who read my blog will know that I organised the department christmas eve lunch (in office) last year. I did it with my colleague Zane.

Zane left the company at the beginning of this year. When she left, I declared that I'm not going to organise anymore this year (I felt lost without her..).

However, here I am again, organising this year's party. I did it because I enlisted some help. This year Mui Fong (who was on maternity leave last year) helped to order food and Celia organised games.

So what do I do, and what do I enjoy most, about being the organiser? Well, first of all, I like sending the invite. I realise that if you just send email asking for reply by a certain date, only 30% will do so. Usually I call people, talk to them, and encourage them to join in. Then I solicite sponsorship.. Haha, this is quite fun too, cos I get to decide how much the bosses contribute. This year, we got big sponsorship from the Senior Director. So we get to do lucky draw!!

Then I enjoy planning and executing gift exchange. Got to do things like print names, get people to come and draw lots, set rules such as min $20, no mug, no candies, no towel, etc... This year, we decide to put up a wishing tree, so that its easier for the giver/buyer.

There's something about this wishing tree that I want to write here. Its about a colleague, Carol, and my friendship with her. Come to think of it, I have known her for 7 years already. There's certain chemistry between the 2 of us. Not the very strong, sizzling kind, but a, slow and steady kind I guess.. She's not a best friend, but we share certain intimate thoughts and feelings.

Anyway, I had to go Germany 2 weeks ago, and I didn't have time to put up the wishing tree, nor do I have time to send email on that. She volunteered to help, so I said ok. I am quite a control freak, so I was a bit upset that I don't have time to do this before I go Germany. I was pie sai, that she got to do it for me (cos she isn't one of the organiser). While I was in Germany, I saw her email to ask the rest to come to the tree to put their wish. When I returned from Germany, I saw that she had put up a very very beautiful deco/wishing tree. If I were to do it, even if I have time, it wouldn't be that beautiful. I really love what she did, and I so glad that I "let go".. I should have known, that Carol is ever so trustworthy..

The party is next Friday. The gifts have started coming in. I've lend out my back table (in my cubicle) for the gift. Last year, this was the fun part. Day by day, the number of gifts will increase, and everyone's eager in guessing what's in the wrapper. (I just realise that I'm smiling while I write this). I will post pic of the gifts when there are more. For now, here's a pic of the wishing tree/deco done by my dear Carol:

From Office

Graduation Performance (27 Nov 2010)

This is Lynn's first performance, so it is very memorable for all of us. I can only say, she is my girl, so to me, she is the prettiest of all on stage.

Only have a few pics, taken after her performance:

From Graduation Performance

From Graduation Performance

From Graduation Performance

Ballet Class open house

This was taken on her BD itself (31/Oct), during her ballet class open house. Don't think she's talented, but I just want her to keep on learning, so that she has some foundation in dancing.

From Ballet Class open house

From Ballet Class open house

From Ballet Class open house

From Ballet Class open house

RWS Oct 2010

Finally, sometime to blog. Lots to blog, but decided to start from the Sentosa trip which was more than 1 month ago.

We booked a room at Festive hotel for 2 nights (Fri and Sat). There are 4 hotels at RWS, this one is for family (ie not for the gambler). The deluxe family room is very suitable for big family. The moment Lynn enters the room, she declared that the loft bed is hers, and that she's not going to leave the room. There's a king size bed and a double sofa bed, so the room can take up to 5 pax.

We took Lixing and JJ with us. They are Lynn's nanny's kids. During this trip I finally know why Lynn is so close to them. Being teenagers, they are so full of energy, so Lynn's really very happy playing with them.

From RWS Oct 2010

BD gift from Nanny:

From RWS Oct 2010

Took a lot of nice photos, but not enough space on the blog to show all. I think this is very cute:

From RWS Oct 2010

Views of the hotel and the pool:

From RWS Oct 2010

From RWS Oct 2010

Other than 5 of us, Qiu Yun (Lynn's Nanny) also join us on Sat for Universal studio. I find that playing theme park is not that fun in Singapore, due to the hot weather. Lynn is too young to understand that the highlight of this trip is the theme park, and not the pool. She kept urging us to go back to the hotel and pool. Still, all of us had a great day. Again, there's lots of photos, and here's some:

From RWS Oct 2010

From RWS Oct 2010

From RWS Oct 2010

From RWS Oct 2010

My aunt and uncle also booked 1 room each for one night. They check in on Sat, so that evening, we gathered in our room for cake. Probably there's too many people, Lynn was very uncooperative (probably shy). She refused to take photo with anyone. We collected her cake from Bengawan Solo at Habour Front:

From RWS Oct 2010

Qiu Yun and her kids left after the cake. That night, Mavis and Mabel came to stay over.

From RWS Oct 2010

I think RWS is definately a place that I will go back again, for the room, for the pool, for Sentosa, but not for Universal studio.

Update

For those of you wondering, no, I'm not going to let this blog go into waste. It's just that, life's been very very challenging.. I'm in Germany, Dresden (again) now. This meeting I'm in now sucks.

It was a brand new experience this time round: cancelled flights, chaotic airport, never ending queues, lost luggages, and lots of SNOW...

I didn't get my luggage until Wed night (was suppose to on Monday night). Having survived 48 hours with the bare minimum in the hand luggage, I came to realise that there are actually so little essential stuff in life. The "crucial" items that we carefully select and pack to bring along when we leave home, are not not that important after all..

Other than the flight, the weather is the other interesting experience. It full blown winter here. It's a miracle, that I survived, and that I actually enjoyed the opportunity to walk in the snow (boots stepping into a few inches of snow below, and face turning icy cold due to the now falling from the sky onto my head and face..), in below -10C temperature.

Will post some pics soon.. very tired, need catch some sleep now..