New Year's Eve Resolution for 2016

So much to be thankful for as we draw 2015 to a close.  We had a terrifying health scare this year and by the Grace of God, it was non-life threatening even though the symptoms were not looking that way. That in itself reminded me again to never take life for granted and to always treasure the precious times with loved ones.

So thank you God to good health, loving family, good job, great friends and plenty of travels!

In 2016, I will be more vigilant. To never judge the book by its cover, to stay humble and outwardly focused.

To end 2015, here's what the fam & I got up to. We tested out our Sunnylife Christmas present. A good chuckle all round alright...

Have an awesome 2016 Everyone!

3 Decades.

On the morning of my birthday, I automatically woke up at 6:30am feeling incredibly blessed that by God's grace.. I have finally made it to my 30's! As I reflect upon the years, I felt that I had lived a very fulfilled life (so far anyway) and there was definitely no complaints there.

I remember when I had just turned 25, I encountered a really bad quarter life crisis. Despite the fact that I was doing well in my career and had many close friends and family around me, I still somewhat felt empty inside. I was still single and I really didn't know where God would take me by the time I hit 30. It was that feeling of unknown and the uncertainity of which I allowed it to envelop me. I had always wanted to get married by the age of 26 and to start a family by the age of 28 but at that time, I knew those dreams would only be just that.. dreams .. and not a reality.

Fast forward five years later, as I reflect upon that defining moment of my life, I am overwhelmed by God's favour and love in my life. Never would I thought He would still allow me to achieve it all despite me seeing it with my very own flesh that it would be impossible. Everything that I had always wanted to do in my twenty's, I had done.

In my late teens, I had always asked God if He could kindly grant me the following:
I wanted to get married by the age of 26, I got married at 25.75y.o. (totally unexpected too!) - tick
I wanted to move overseas and live a different culture/lifestyle - tick
I wanted to live in an apartment type of lifestyle before settling down - tick
I wanted to see the world with my husband - tick
I wanted to work in marketing, managing a well known brand in a region (as opposed to a country) - tick
I wanted to have my first child at 28y.o, I managed to have it at 26.75y.o - tick
I wanted a daughter so badly and God decided to grant that to me after our first born son - tick
I wanted to have 3 children by the age of 30 - half tick

Despite the fact that I have not reached a CEO status, nor do I drive a BMW or live in a mansion in Toorak, I am humbled by the fact that everything that was important to me, God has granted...
And so I commit the next decade unto His hand and I pray that His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

To God be the glory and praise..

Aurora Spa Retreat

I've lived in Melbourne for over 2 decades now and I must admit, I have never found a really beautiful spa retreat until two weeks ago! After referring an ex-colleague of mine to a new job, the head hunter was so happy with the match that he gave me a $200 spa retreat as a reward to be spent at Aurora Spa Retreat! So I took my mum along for an hour of pampering while the hub and Wai Gong looked after the kids at home :)

This place is so well designed. It is located on top level of The Prince Hotel (which is an absolutely gorgeous little boutique hotel located at the corner of Acland & Fitzroy St in St Kilda). From the moment you walk in, all of your five senses are calmed and relaxed. The staff is super friendly, the place has a great scent of aromatherapy oils burning, the sound of water flowing from its water fountain, not to mention the fantastic array of herbal tea on arrival and after the treatment.

I highly recommend anyone to pamper yourself here!!

29.

Wow, I've finally reached the last year of my 2nd decade of life! What a journey it has been. I must admit, the 2nd decade has somewhat flown before my eyes. It's literally zoomed soooo fast. From graduating in University, to getting a job, getting married, to moving overseas to live and back and of course having 2 kids! Everyone of them were all defining moments in my 20's that I will take with me forever.

So as I journey my last year of the 2nd decade, I commit it in the hands of God and ask that His will be done in Jesus name!

My Baby Shower #2

I ordered these from Gautier Cakes
Thanks Cheryl (Cam & Wong's older sister) who baked these beautiful cupcakes for my lovely baby shower!

I must admit, it's not easy to be the first in your circle of friends to have babies. Why? because you kinda go through the journey yourself alone because after all, they don't fully understand the journey of having a baby until they are in it themselves. It's definitely one of the downsides of going first in your circle of friends. Oh and not having a sister is also a big disadvantage too! I really wished I had a sister to share girly moments with. sniff sniff..

However, despite being the first in my circle of friends (both Singapore & Australia included) to have babies, I must count my blessings for having great colleagues who are older than me and of whom already have kids and can give me so much advice on everything you need to prepare yourself for when you're expecting a little one. Moreover, it has always been my colleagues who offer to throw a baby shower for me without me even asking. Gosh I was blown away!

Usually the tradition is that you only have one baby shower in a lifetime because baby shower is meant to help the parents in preparation for your baby for things like furnitures, clothing, electronic gagets, clothes, toys, bottles, blankets and the list goes on..

Now, I have already been blessed with a very lavished one when I was expecting Zachariah held at the beautiful Ritz Hotel in Singapore and was spoiled rotten by my colleagues.

So when my colleague here in Australia, Kirsten R, said to me she wanted to throw me a baby shower, I was so embarrassed saying 'no.. I've already had one!'. She then proceeded to say, but you've never had one here in Australia which was a fair point. I then told her to wait until I knew the sex of the child. If it was a girl, then I would be more than happy to have another baby shower since I own nothing PINK and boy was I in for a treat...!! I was so thankful to Kirsten cos not only did she organise the baby shower, but she also offered up her place to hold the event AND personally came to my place to pick me up & chauffeur me to her place! It's these kind gestures ppl give you in life that you will never forget to treasure them forever...

Anyway, here are the pics! Talk about the contrast in colours vs when I had Zach!

All the yummy food prepared by everyone who came


Here's my xiao mei mei (little sister) I like to call her who always like to put her ears on my tummy every day at work in an attempt to 'hear' my little girl talk to her..

The host of my baby shower - Kirsten R, far right of the pic, the one on my left


With Grandma Rosey (yes she's a grandma already of 3!), Kirsten C, Amanda & me. Since I will be finishing up work 10 days before I deliver, Rosey & Amanda are convinced that I will be delivering in the office so they've kindly offered to be my midwives. They've also forced me to name my daughter 'Amarose' - Ama from Amanda & Rose for Rosemary :) It's actually a really pretty name!


With Aveena & Jen


Opening presents time!


Oooohhh I so needed this! It's a Pumpkin Patch baby sleeping bag blanket perfect for when BM#2 is out of her swaddling b/c it'll be summer by then! This gift was from Aveena (who became a mum in Jan this year) & she even timed the weather & age of my little girl so it can be used on time. I tell you only mothers will think of these things!! So very thoughtful!


Donna Hay cookbook! Omg I was laughing my head off when I saw this gift from Jen cos earlier this week I had gone to her place for dinner & she cooked up such a delicious meal. She told me her secret recipe was Donna Hay magazines! So I told her I am going to get some cos I really have to master the art of cooking since I'm going to be a mum of 2 soon! And boy was it a nice surprise when she bought me the best collection of Donna Hay magazine cookbook! Just what I wanted & I didn't even expect it at all!! :)


The next 3 gifts were all from my boss Kirsten C (who was also make up artist from my previous post). She was the only person that asked me what I wanted so I told her something that I can swaddle my baby girl in. So she got me blankets & muslin pink wraps!! I later found out by accident that all 3 gifts costed AU$100! I couldn't believe how much she spent on me! So pai seh man..


My xiao mei mei bought BM#2 the funkiest fur jacket. She is always pressuring me to doll my baby up even though I haven't had her yet. When we go together for store checks, we would always take time out for a detour to the kids shop and she would always force me to buy these cute outfits for BM#2. The other day, she managed to convince me to buy a little ballerina outfit that was so impractical to dress. But all in the name of vanity of course...lol.


Here are all of my lovely colleagues from left to right:
Aveena, Lainie, Amanda, Rosey, Kirsten C, Leeora, Jen & Kirsten R who totally made me feel so special!



And here are all of my gifts to date!! I have at least 9 pink congratulations cards & BM#2 is not even born yet! lol!


BM#2 is going to be one fashionista! She received both Country Road & Esprit Clothing and these cute Mary Jane socks which I've been eyeing on since I saw them on my g/f's bub!


Oh & Zachariah just loved the baby sign so much that he kept on holding it everywhere he went around the house saying 'baby baby baby'. It was so funny!


Ahh.. not long to go before I can use all these!! Thank you P&G Chickies!!
xo

A Girly Afternoon & Night!

My boss Kir (Kirsten) has always loved make up. Finally she decided to enroll herself into an intensive 8wks course with the Academy of Napolean Perdis to get her certificate at the end of it so she can practice what she loves doing in her spare time as a side hobby and of course to earn extra pocket money. She needed an Asian model & of course I, who rarely gets the opportunity of getting made up, happily volunteered to be her model for 3 hours.

I must admit, my butt, neck & back was getting sore after sitting for 3hours. It doesn't help being 34wks pregnant either! Nonetheless, the price you pay for vanity was absolutely worth it!

There were great tips I learned from the class today:
1) Every girl needs a Primer - which is basically like a white lotion that you apply first & foremost on your skin so that it smooths your face before you apply your make up (to prevent the foundation from being creasy/cakey)

2) Invest in a good blender brush - Napolean brush 16B apparently is a good buy and works wonders in blending the eye shadow to give it the 3 different shades look.

3) Always put foundation before applying eye shadow as it makes the eye shadow stick onto your skin so it lasts longer & doesn't smouch.

4) Asian skin is usually a Golden Sand colour of foundation vs a beige colour - For Asians which happens very commonly tend to pick the wrong shade of foundation (eg. if you take a photo of yourself with your foundation & look terribly white in the photo, then you know you've used the wrong shade of foundation. You've probably picked a beige colour vs a golden sand colour).

5) Concealer is a must around the eyes to smooth out the lines & to ensure your eye liner/eye shadow stays longer

6) On a side note, I never knew Napolean Perdis (who is an Australian Greek man) is straight! He sure sounds very gay when he speaks but he actually has a beautiful wife with 4 beautiful daughters (3 of whom are triplets!)

Here's my first look called the Yasmine Eye - which is basically applying only one colour and playing with the blending. Her instructor was super pleased by Kir's techniques & gave her a really good assessment. I thought it really made my eyes stand out alright but was totally honest to her that I would definitely not go out in public wearing ORANGE eye shadow :)

Next was what I was looking forward to the most - Smokey eyes!! OMG did I look hot or what? I absolutely loved it & begged Kir to be my make up artist every single day! :)

Doesn't it just define the eyes so beautifully?


Here's me with my make up artist (who happens to also be my boss too :)

Kir asked me afterwards what Mr M would think of it. I told her the truth.. um.. I think he's going to be a bit shocked & thrown back. I told her too that I was actually looking forward to seeing what my little man would think. I kinda had the feeling that he might need a few seconds to digest before finally realising that I am his mother when I greet him at home. And fair enough, as soon as I got home and had shut the front door, I could hear my little one upstairs running to the gate screaming out 'mama mama'. I ran upstairs to see a very happy boy & said to him 'Hello baby!'. I then flicked on the lights and you see him looking so stunned. He looked at me strangely for 5 secs & then pointed to his eyes while blinking his eyes as if he was in pain talking in his baby gibberish language. I'm certained he must've said something like 'what happened to your eyes mama? did someone give you a black eye (x2)? Are you in pain?'. It was the most cutest sight. My hubby on the other hand, when I walked up to him and asked him how did I look? He too had this strange look on his face & finally said 'it's a bit... dark'. He didn't like it at all cos I knew he wouldn't approve of the 'intense' look whereas every girl I know thought it was HOT! It's funny how guys & girls have two completely different taste!

Anyway, so that night I organised a girls night out with my high school friends. We went to Ying Thai at the corner of Hoddle St & Victoria Rd. The food was good but the company was even better.

After dinner, we then proceeded to Cafe Notturno on Lygon St to have our dessert & literally chatted the night away. I had told Mr M that I would be back by 10pm. But by the time I even thought to look at my watch atthe restaurant, it was already 11pm! We finally got home at around 11:30pm even though the night started at 6pm! oopsies!!

We had so much fun didn't we girls?! Can't wait to do it all over again in 3wks time (just pray that I don't pop by then).

Australian Open - Women's Final

Mary Joe Fernandez

Mr M was privileged to be invited by ANZ to the grand final of the Women's tennis. So off he went at 3pm for a platinum treatment at the tennis. It started with a 3-course meal with unlimited flow of alcohol. Then finally at 7pm, it was off to platinum seats to view a fantastic night of Women's Tennis. The players: Justine Henin (former #1 - who just recently came back after few years off from injuries) vs Serena Williams (world's #1). We were all cheering for Justine but unfortunately despite the close game, Serena yet again won her grand slam title.

By the time Mr M came home, it was already 1am! Thank God he has an understanding wife ;)

The next day was the Men's finals. P&G rang me last minute to tell me there was a spare platinum seat available for me as all my colleagues knew how much of a tennis freak I became after watching every match on TV since Aussie Open started. As much as I would've loved to watch Andy Murray & Roger Federer play and of course screaming across court to get Mirka's attention so she can finally pose a photo with a packet of Pampers in her hands for me, I declined the generous offer because 1) There was only 1 ticket which meant my hub wouldn't be able to come with me 2) it was such a hot day nearing 40'C. So yes, I chose to watch the finals with my 2 boys at home instead with the aircond at full blast. I was content :) What are we supposed to watch on TV now that Tennis is finally over?

Anniversary of my birth.

Yes it's that time of year again where everyone is extra nice to you. A year where you reflect on the past & realise how much time has flown by...

I can still remember so clearly when I was celebrating my 8th birthday at my grandma's house. My parents bought me the cutest cake ever which was a picture of this round cute cartoon girl with big eyes, cute smile & very pretty hair. I thought my parents were the best in picking the coolest cake any girl could ever dream of! All of my cakes during my childhood were very unique & big (eg. on my 7th birthday, I received a cake of a TV which had goldfish & bubbles in it.. it was way too cool). I loved that every year I got to blow the candles, cut & eat my cake and be so happy with opening of my presents (even if they were just a pen). Then some how, like speed of lightning, 20 yrs flash by your eyes, and you are no longer this innocent child but a grown up.. parent. Where did all the time go?

I celebrated my birthday with my 2 darlings. They were just so cute to give me another cool cake & sweet card. I couldn't stop laughing when I read the card cos Mr M each year would always write 'I owe you.. x' And of course he delivers his promise every time even if it's 2yrs late ;)

We had a great dinner at One Thai in Mont Albert. Z had fun making so much noise in the restaurant. He was yet again enchanted by the candle flame on my cake. I think he must think it's his birthday all over again..

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who remembered. I am so blessed to have been blessed by you.

I will leave you now with a song by Chris Tomlin (Click on the title below to listen). I have listened to this song gezillion times in my car, but for some reason, on the eve before my birthday while driving to work, this song played & it spoke volume to my spirit. I finally realised the full meaning of the song & how true it was in every part of my life's journey.....

All the Way My Saviour Leads Me
by Chris Tomlin

All the way my Savior leads me,
Who have I to ask beside?
How could I doubt His tender mercy?
Who through life has been my guide?
All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread.
Gives me grace for every trial
Feeds me with the living Bread
You lead me
and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
O, the fullness of His love
O, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood
And when my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
Jesus led me all the way

Chai's Hens

Yes, two of my high school girlfriends are both getting married around the same time.. that is.. one weekend after another! That means, hens day/night is also one after another. I ain't complaining. Unlike Linda's hens which was more a relaxing, letting your hair down & dance the night away hen's, Chai on the other hand was ..... hardwork! You see, Chai is a very energetic person, one who loves sports with a passion. So her request for the bridesmaids was that she would have a little fun & exercising hen's day and boy was it a work out alright!

Her sister & Wongie came up with the idea of the Amazing Race - a treasure hunt style around Melbourne CBD where each person/group were given a challenge each to complete. Literally, it meant we had to go from one end of the city to another majority by FOOT!

All of us met at Fed Square as you can see here on the large screen with our hands up in the air :)

The two organisers then split us into two groups & off we went to each of complete each of our challenges. First task was for Bianca - juggling at Fed Square. Then it was off to eat a lime & some foreign food that you've never eaten before for Quinn & Linda at Queen Vic Market.

After that, it was off to Bourke St Mall to do some busking where we had to earn at least $1 with our to die for voice. Yes passers by would literally die at the sound of our voice! Then we had to complete a jigsaw puzzle at Parliament station. The unfit me had to walk up the stairs of Parliament house 3 times! There was also building a human pyramid at the State Library, doing starjumps at Melbourne Aquarium, getting five strangers to squeeze into a photobooth to take a photo with them, piggy back your team mate and walk around the foodcourt at Melbourne Central and many more crazy challenges. All of us were very competitive & we managed to complete 3 out of the 4 tasks in 3.5hours. By about 6:30pm, we all met at Southern Cross station (formerly known as Spencer St station) to meet the other team & all anxiously to see if we've won the Amazing Race... and drum roll.....

WE WON! And no, there was no million dollars for us to collect...
Instead it was a $25 giftcard from Coles/Myer! yay!

and the losing team got the wooden spoon :(


Then it was off to Mecca for some Middle Eastern tapas dinner at Docklands

After dinner, it was some dirty dancing on our party bus hired just for us girls to transport us back to Chai's place.

To end the night, of course there had to be some alcohol, cheese & crackers!

Well done to Wongie & Nyah for the outstanding organising of Chai's Hens!