my day of the year once again!

seems not too long ago that I turned a year wiser....@_@

and suddenly its 31.12 again!

same as last year, flurry of work tasks in the morning to prepare for the closing on 2nd Jan and then its team lunch.

same venue same table! what are the odds!

the team feasted on (sinful) yummeh food @ 313 brotzeit.

 

and then its making my way to my mum's place to fetch the boys.

hubbi does not have half day but he was able to leave earlier so he came to pick us up at around 5pm...

we went tampines mall for an early dinner and then its back to home sweet home for some quiet time.

 

its my day so the boys were very nice to watch an episode of running man (haha!) with me!

and they serenaded me with both the English and mandarin version of birthday songs with a small cake that the husband bought earlier on. :D

 

for this year, the husband didn't get me anything for I told him not to.

frankly speaking, I don't have anything on my wish list... maybe I can think of something next year... :P

 

the best present the boys gave me were a handmade card from YZ and they (more YZ than YR of cos) constructed for me the LOTR ghost ship set that the husband gave me for xmas!

 

you really have to give it to LEGO for the amount of details that go into each of their set!

*impressed*

 

oh and I bought something for myself.

you can consider that bday pressie for myself though its really more like a whim of the moment.

ive always wanted to add some color to my Pandora bracelet.

adding more charms may work but very little charms are colored.

so I decided to get the murano glass charms!

since the gang has gave me charms tinged with blue last year, i chose the teal murano glass charms to add on to my collection! 

 

 

is this gorgeous or what?!

 

as i bid farewell to 2013 and usher in 2014, i sincerely hope for H&H (health & happiness) for all my love ones!

2013 has been relatively quiet and stable for me which is good news if you come to think about it.

so may my 2014 continue to be as smooth and great in its own way!

recap of 2013

its that time of the year again where a recap of the year is to be done.
time seems to move even faster after you turn 30, huh?! *shivers*

in short, 2013 has been a pretty decent year.
let's see what has happened in this year:

jan: little nut turned 3YO and the husband turned 36YO *gulp*!
we had a mini bday celebration for nut at the function room. he was pretty happy with his transformers cake. :)
caught yoga's concert at star vista - the 4 years wait is worth it for he was awesome!

feb: CNY. house-visiting dwindled down even more as the years passed.
but im glad that the tradition of gathering with the peeps continues...

mar: 1st family trip for us - off to BKK! a good 4D3N relaxing trip for us!
this month also marked the last parent volunteer activity for us...

apr: we changed our mattress after 7 years! good bye, omazz. you have been good. hello, tempur!
it feels good sinking into you. :D

may: staycation for the ng family! hubbi was most generous treating us to a 3D2N staycation at movenpick hotel @ sentosa.
it was great fun revisiting those attractions in sentosa with the kids which we did when we were much younger back then. think butterfly park, merlion etc

jun: 2nd family trip for us - off to seoul! I would have preferred a much longer one than the 6D5N that we did in jun. but better this than nothing!
seoul is fantastic for its shopping and food! and its clean and suitable for kids so I cant wait to revisit!

jul: P1 registration for YZ! gosh, what a nerve wrecking experience.
we were lucky to get into Yu Neng under phase 2B. all the PV hours did not go to waste afterall..

Aug: started once a week yoga sessions at work. realized im not as stiff as I thought.

sept: 7 years marriage anniversary with hubbi! took leave and had celebration lunch @ forlino with him. :D
caught big bang at the F1 concert. they were awesome!

oct: wormy turned 6YO and we brought the boys to river safari. river cruise not yet opened so the attraction was done in less than half a day.. lol.
suffered an asthma attack. :( need to take care of the health more..
went for annual body check-up and all is good. :)

nov: 3rd family trip for us and the longest one so far too - off to Taiwan/hk for 11N10D!
it was a good trip and the boys shown that they are ready for more challenging trips. hehe.
went to caught matchbox twenty performance.. ALONE. LOL
waited for almost half my life to catch them live and im super glad I did. rob Thomas is irreplaceable!

dec: and so I turned 32YO.......
and im feeling really blissful at this stage of my life - nothing more that I really can ask for.

for the coming new year - 2014 - I only wish for health and happiness like every other year for myself and all my love ones.
always remember, happiness is a choice.
so stay positive!

every week should be like this!

this week has been real good.

especially with the holidays right smack in the middle of the week.

so we started the week feeling festive and continue the good vibes after the holidays!

it has been a happy week!

 

the ng family had a pretty quiet xmas eve with the husband fetching all of us home at 12+pm.

though poor hubbi has to continue working in the afternoon, the boys had fun playing with their xmas gift from por por.

I started on sandman vol.1 comic which hubbi bought for me as xmas gift.

it was so good I finished it in a day!

we ordered pizza for dinner - it was great fun having that and watching tv with the kids. :)

 

we ventured out on xmas day - taking the downtown line for the sake of taking it.. ha.

eventually we ended up in bugis (been awhile since we were there and it has changed quite a bit) where we caught "the secret life of warren mitty".

a great movie with heart.

we really should learn to stop dreaming and start living.

 

photos before heading out!

 

back to work yesterday but I was pretty excited!

day 1 of zara year-end sale and MBS branch is just next door! hiaks.

went with my colls and bought a dress.

nothing much caught my fancy and the few that did I have already bought from HK few weeks back..

it was not a cheery thing to see them hanging on the sales racks.... @_@

 

today the husband came and picked me up for my birthday lunch!

as with the tradition in the last few years, my birthday meals without the boys. :P

lunch was at otto this year after good reviews from friends and colls alike.

and the food is indeed good.  

 

all the above are part of the festive menu set which I ordered.

very value for money if you asked me!

*Yummy*

 

and for today after work, I managed to sneak in more shopping at MBS before fetching the boys. :D

I got a pretty dress from A/X with very decent discount.

ahhhhh... sales is good.

 

2 more xmas parties this weekend and we inch another step closer to new year day!

before we know it, CNY is just round the corner..... *gulp*

 

some outfits for the week:

 

left: dress from bysi

middle: jumpsuit from BKK (+a cheeky boy behind)

right: top from seoul, dress from gg5

the year is really coming to an end!

xmas is just round the corner (to be precise, tomorrow!)!

the younger son was having xmas celebration in his school and he even put up a performance with his classmates!

sadly, i was not able to catch it due to work but the husband managed to go and took videos for me to see.

awwww... so happy to see the younger son performing enthusiastically and enjoying himself!

we received his class photo as well - i love the photo!

 

my baobei!

 

its half day off for me but not for the poor hubbi.

he needs to work from home in the afternoon while the rest of us get to play. *teehee* 

 

top: xmas pressie from the husband to me!

he was buying stuff off amazon and he managed to get the lego set and sandman comic for me at very good prices!

yeah, another ship to join my black pearl from pirates of the Caribbean!

 

below: pressies for the boys from por por - Raphael and Leonardo!

 



 

playing time while waiting for papa to be done with work so we can go out for dinner!

 

ok, time for me to start on the sandman! *excited*

taiwan/hk trip day 10: continue the feasting and shopping of cos!

 

for today, we continued to have breakfast at our hotel and the food is really pretty decent.
after brekkie, it's time to head out to IFC!
for all the times I've been to HK, I kept missing IFC.
so after some checking with the hotel staff, we were informed that there is a straight bus to IFC from the bus stop just outside our hotel!
we waited only a short while before we hopped onto the bus and were in IFC in under 20mins time!

pretty decent mall to walk around in.
we spent some time in a bookstore while waiting for our reservation time - lunch at lei garden!
personally I found the food really good, especially their glutinous rice!
but the husband finds the pricing steep.
to be fair, it was pretty ex for dim sum and the food we ordered but I really love the food! *yum*

after IFC, we took a cab back to our hotel for the boys to nap.
the plan was of cos for hubbi to nap with them thus freeing me up to go shopping alone! *wee*

I took the shuttle bus from hotel to causeway bay in a jiffy and the next 3 hours were spent shopping my heart out at island Beverly and laforet!!
*bliss* :D

then it was back to the hotel to meet up with the boys for dinner!
I would never miss tsui wah for their po luo buns!
dinner at tsui wah was as usual good and cheap! :)

 

best!

 

 

and that pretty much sums up our 2 days in HK!

the short stayover at HK is more for mummy who needs to get her shopping fix.

 

loots from the trip!

to be honest 80% of the stuff are from HK despite only a short 2 days stint. :P



 

masks, dvds, books, shoes, and of cos clothessssssssssssssssssss

 

 

and the good news is that im heading BACK to HK AGAIN in march! *yeah*

this time with the peeps!! more shopping eating and drinking! heh!



Taiwan/HK trip day 10 - we love hong kong!

finally! today we are departing taipei for our favorite city!

hubbi for the food, me for the shopping. :D

our flight was at 9.30am so we  checked out of our cityinn hotel at 7am... *yawn*

it took us around 45mins ride to the taoyuan airport.

and it was all good timing as well for Taipei has been raining for the past 1 day and drizzling as we departed too.

 

in an hour plus time, we touched down at HK international airport! *wee*

 

yeah! good bye gloomy Taipei, hello HK!

 

the weather was also warmer in HK too.. ard 20+dc as compared to Taipei 15-17dc.

good for us!

we took a cab to our hotel - cosmopolitan hotel - in HK island.

as it's too early to check-in, we left our luggage with the concierge and took the hotel shuttle bus to causeway bay.

the drop-off point in causeway bay was right in front of a congee place so we settled our lunch there!

yummy food at super reasonable pricing!

its really hard to find food that is not tasty in HK.

 

taking photos with the boys while waiting for papa to order the food

 

the afternoon was spent in the new mall @ causeway bay - Hysen place.

I cant recall which level it is but there is 1 level which is dedicated to shoes only! *sweet*

 

we moved on to sogo next to it and before we knew it, it was almost 3+pm.

so we took the shuttle bus (just 10mins ride) back to the hotel and checked in.

after a good bath and lazing in the hotel room (what's new?) we were good to venture out again!

 

again, shuttle bus to causeway bay (in fact, the 2 days were only spent in HK island! and it was more than enough! heh.).

this time, lane Crawford!

 

the xmas décor outside lane Crawford is really pretty!

many people were also snapping away like us. :)

 

we were back in hotel by 9+pm again. ha.

think the long trip was taking a toll on the boys.

they got tired easier and earlier by this part of the trip... :P

our hotel room!

cosmopolitan is one of the few hotels which offer 2 double bed in a room hence our decision to book this hotel.

finally a hotel with decent room space!

their breakfast was pretty good too!

 

and that wrapped up our first day in HK which was really just about eating and shopping!

happy festive season



been a good week.

the ng family caught hobbit 2 over the weekend.

personally, I found it much better than hobbit 1 which has too much singing and the climatic scene in the goblins' den being too grey and gloomy.

for hobbit 2, the part where the dwarves break-out of the elves' prison is my personal fav.

though thus far, I think hobbit is not even half as good as LOTR.

let's see if that will change with the 3rd installment...

 

met up with the gang for our annual xmas gift exchange on Wednesday.

very early for xmas but only date that all of us can make it.

dinner was at big mama and the food was not too bad but short of fantastic.

we adjourned to orange thimble (which is crazy far for my standard from big mama and we walked in the rain!!!) for desserts plus gift exchange.

as usual, some crazy choices for pressie, some unwilling recipients and lots of hooting from us.

 

and I received my bday pressie early from them too!

Candice and tanny had just came back from their Europe trip so my pressie is hot from the oven. *hiaks*

 

yes, you got it right. not one but 2 hermes scarves!

the size is only good enough for bags mostly but im not complaining!

 

 im already looking forward to my belated bday dinner in early jan. *yum*

 

and dec being the lull period, things were pretty quiet in the office.

good chance to take a step back and catch up with tasks that were pushed back for the longest time.

reconnect time with the team.

yes, all is good!

 

and I took PM leave for both yesterday and today!

more quality time with the boys plus (of cos) shopping time for meself!

yup, 1 jumpsuit from topshop.

I wanted to buy it at full price previously. im glad I didn't get it that time for it was at half-price now. *wee*

 

some outfits for the week:

all outfits from zara..... @_@

taiwan/hk day 9: taipei

last day in taipei and the plan is just to explore the city very slowly and lazily. ha.

again, we moved out of the hotel only at 11+am. :P

lunch for today will be at the popular "shit" restaurant where food and beverages are being served in toilet bowls..

it was already packed by the time we reached so we left our name and came back again in an hour time.. @_@

 

the food is really just so-so but the pricing is not ex so it's still ok.

but the kids love the set up (we were sitting on toilet bowl seats and ice cream served to resemble shit etc) so it was still a fun experience for them.

 

at the entrance

 

in the restaurant

 

after lunch, it was back to roaming XMD.

we headed out to eslite bookshop (I think its the xinyi branch) and the boys and me had fun browsing the books on the shelves. maybe not so much for the husband..

 

since the bookshop is so near zhongxiao east road, we walked down the full stretch of road.

by the time we were almost done, its time for dinner!

and we had made reservations on the first day we arrived at Taipei - dinner was at 鼎王麻辣鍋!



 

 

we ordered the 鴛鴦鍋

 

the ma-la soup was chocked full of tofu and some red colored tofu-like stuff.

I asked the staff what was that and was told that is duck's blood! @_@

*faint*

I took out 80% of it and told her not to add any more..

I think i can do without its flavor....

 

the meat was very fresh and the other food that we ordered were good too.

a pity the husband does not know how to appreciate steamboat (together with 1000xxx +++ type of cuisines) so he thought the meal was ok only.

*pui*

 

but it was a nice finale for our trip in Taiwan.

our last dinner for the trip was steaming hot steamboat on a rainy evening. sweet!

 

we headed back to the hotel straight after dinner.

after bathing, the husband headed out to XMD alone, adamant to eat his mango shedded ice @_@

while I stayed behind to pack the luggage and the boys snoozed.. 

 

it has been a lovely 8D7N here in Taipei & central Taiwan!

but the ng family is all ready to head to HK for some serious feasting and SHOPPING! :D

taiwan/hk trip day 8: taipei, danshui

 

after all the early mornings, we slept in and lazed in hotel today.

we only moved out of the room at 11plus searching for food.

since only the boys had bread for brekkie, the husband and myself were pretty hungry by then.

we took the metro to 新光三越 for lunchie at shinyeh!

*yeah*

I love their food here in sg and was wondering if the branch at the originating country tastes better.

and it is!

we didn't make any reservations but since we walked in early (before 12.30pm), we got a table.

 

left: 滷肉fan! this is much better than the one served in SG. look at the meat portion and I love the sour vegetables!

right: ordered the beef for the husband and of cos the famous 菜脯egg!

 

after the satisfying lunch, shopping time around 新光三越!

3 buildings of shops! :D

if you asked me, I prefer the 3rd building the most since it houses more local brands which are more interesting.



 

tea break @ agnes b café in between shopping!

 

we started making our way to danshui in the late afternoon.

and we reached the danshui station just in time to witness sun set! LOL!

there were many like us capturing the moment on the platform.. haha.

and the sun went down within minutes!

 

nice!

 

we decided to have early dinner since it was an early lunch for us earlier today and the restaurant that we wanted to go is just next to the train station!

off to  淡水干杯!

pardon my mouth, it was full of meat whenever the husband decided to take photos of me... :D

 

their salad is surprisingly good.

the shredded cheese went very well with the raw vegetables!

 I love the pork belly especially! though the beef aint too impressive.

and of cos, soju!

im getting better. a bottle by myself (the husband tried 1 small glass) and im good..

in fact, it kept me warm when we strolled down the boulevard in the wind later on!

 

after the meaty dinner *burp*, we explored the  淡水老街.

it was very nice walking in the cool weather and buying stuff to munch on now and then!

we didn't manage to go to the lovers bridge but again I don't think its of any consequences..

the old street is interesting enough for the evening.

 

we saw a performing artist strumming guitar and singing on our way back to the station.

his rendition version of 海啸 (by harlem yu originally) warmed my heart in the cold.

a loveyly evening!

 

1 more day in Taipei before we were all ready for HK!

*woohoo*

at the top my replay list currently!

*sigh*
at least another year before Minho's next drama....

stretching time

time is flying by too fast!!! the to-do list just get longer so im really glad that most were accomplished these 2 days...

house admin was settled.

YZ's enrichment fees paid.

consent form for YR's excursion completed and submitted.

pressie for this wed's xmas gift exchange with the gang bought.

P1 bag for the elder son bought - this is one of the more pressing item on the to-do list!

CNY clothings for the sons bought - yeah! CNY is just another 6 weeks away fyi!

 

only outstanding stuff will be:

arranging enrichment class for the younger son for next year

P1 transport arrangement for the elder son 

xmas gift for the girls' gathering

CNY clothings for myself!

 

*busy busy*

 

anyway I bought these 2 cute items - a tissue box holder and a cushion seat (for the boys' room) from PP today.

we already have 2 cushions from the same brand in our house.

I especially find the design cute and quality good. :D 

 

are they cute or what?!

 

the ng family caught "frozen" last sunday too.

the show is really good. the formula is pretty like old disney classics like beauty & the beast & the little mermaid.

think good songs, wholesome family entertainment and well-meaning messages.

and that is a good thing.

reminded me so much of my fav. Disney shows like the lion king & the little mermaid. :)

 

and the husband and me finally watched "now you see me".

it was really good!!

and I haven't catch "catching fire" yet... *sob*

 

some outfits for the week:

 

left: top from HK, pants from zara

right: top from zara, skirt from HK

taiwan/hk trip day 7 - 九份， 野柳 & 基隆

we hired a cabbie to bring us out for a day trip!

yes, though we were staying 4 nights in taipei, we will be out of the city for a good 1.5days!

one of the day will be today where we are heading for yeliu, jiufen and keelung!

 

being kiasu me, I booked the very popular driver - meeky yang - like few months back!

and his popularity is really no joke.

we have people walking up to him at attractions lamenting that they wanted to book him but cant get him...

 

anyway meeky came to pick us at our hotel in his Toyota wish cab at 830am. *yawn*

upon knowing that we had not eaten breakkie yet, he drove to a nearby eatery for us to tabao sandwich and tea.

the egg & ham sandwich was good!

 

we reached yeliu in less than an hour time.

it was very different from the last time I was here (which was 26 years ago!! :P).

I thought it was very commercialized but definitely easier to navigate compared to last time.

 

 yeah, with the "famous" queen's head. its neck is getting thinner.

I wonder how long can she last....

 

it was pretty amazing at how these rock formations come about.

the waves must be pretty strong and big to form all these nature forms so far inwards into the mainland.

impressive.

 

 left: mushroom formation

there were so many Chinese tourists climbing all over them that the Taiwanese "guards" were shouting non-stop:"get down! don't touch!"...

bottom right: the famous fairy shoe!!

I cant believe its 100% natural. im sure someone sculpt it at night when visibility is low. ha.

next, off to jiufen!!
I especially love this place and it's one of the highlights for my 2005 Taipei trip.
I always wanted the husband to come here for I feel the traditional and authentic feel of this place is very hard to come by.
and the view is very nice!
reminds me of santorini.

and the old street is chocked full of food!!
we settled our lunch easily here.
*yumyum*
and the same cuttlefish store is still there at the main road!
I did what I did in 2005. bought a packet when I left jiufen. haha.

 tell me, the view is good or not?!

the old street is super duper crowded and it didn't really help that it was raining before we reached.

so imagine wet floor and humid weather - not exactly fantastic

but I guess we should be thankful that the rain stopped just before we reached jiufem...

 

next stop, Meeky brought us to this attraction point where we get to see a waterfall which is greenish/brownish in color.
think its due to the presence of copper in the water.
and a lookout point where we get to see the colored water joined the ocean and 2 tone colors in the sea at the merger point.
pretty interesting.

all wrapped up in the cold except the crazy husband

 

 people who came here to fish.

I totally have no idea how they managed to climb up to where they are!!

super dangerous if you ask me!

 



 

we went to a museum that shows us on the gold excavating activities that made jiufen a popular town back in the past.
and we saw a 200kg+ gold bar!!
if only we can bring it home! :D

 

example of train track which brings the gold down the hill

bottom left: the photo doesn't do any justice to the big gold bar!!

 

and by now, it was almost 5+pm and we were all very cui...and hungry.

luckily keelung is only a short drive away and we were ready to settle our dinner at its famous 廟口夜市!

we spent only an hour plus walking and eating around the night market..

there is nothing much at keelung.

after dinner, we were all super glad to be driven back to hotel sweet hotel for nice long baths.

I swear the boys snored in their sleep after the long tiring day! :D



 

top: I like this photo taken by hubbi. and if you are curious, im holding on to the packet of cuttlefish I bought at keelung. LOL eating non-stop.

bottom: one of the many "snacks" we had in keelung..

 

our day trip actually includes to shifen as well to light up the sky-lantern.

but I specifically asked Meeky to skip it cos I don't find it particularly appealing and I wanted to enjoy the above locations at a more leisure pace given the boys.

also, we wanted to head back to the hotel earlier by 7+pm rather than a full 12 hours day trip!

that will be too draining!

but for those who want to max out a day trip, shifen is normally included in such day trips to yeliu jiufen etc.

 

tomorrow: time to reward ourselves with good food.

I already know where we were going to eat before we started the trip! :P