Our YuXiang surprised us with his growth~

YuXiang saw train set with Bridge and he kept saying he wanted a bridge too. We didnt get one for him of coz and then... He made one for himself. See, nice ...


He also surprised us with his creativity.
Using Mega Block to Deco our Cabinet's knob. See, can't help feeling so proud of this boy. hee hee

Ah Ger is gg back to sch !

oh yes oh yes...
I missed my 13th bonus but SMRT is giving me another BIGGER bonus !

I have received an email from HR Snr Mgr that my application for sponsorship is successful ! and how much is the degree course fee? $18k +++, add gst wld be near $20k.

that becoz there would be a 2 or 3 year bond after completion of study, that would also mean I would be in job for the next 4 years at least. wahaha.

And then for this year's bdae pressie, bro and XueYan gave me a Bag, and a Parker pen set to prepare me return to school. See, how sweet of them. hee hee



Of coz, there are still many things hanging in the air waiting for me to attend to it such as
- ask Desmond frm Safety how the procedure like for applying for sch thrg company
- ask the Kaplan lady for my course timetable so tt i can plan for next year holiday and also to discuss with Marlina on my request for flexi work hours.

So Yr 2011 and 2012 will be a busy busy year.
Jia YOu, Now I have been given the opportunity to fulfil my dream to get a degree cert. Will be challenging for sure becoz there's work and family with 2 young kids. But with supporting family members, I STRONGLY BELIEVE I CAN. YES, I CAN.

Chicken POx Days

Remind me again what's the reason for starting a blog?
Knowing that I have a weak memory power, my supporting spouse suggested I have an e-diary so that I would be able to "answer" all the history queries our boys ask when they are older.

So...
Q: WHEN DO I HAVE CHICKEN POX, Mummy?
A: Yukuan - 28 Oct 10 to 09 Nov 10
YuXiang - 12 Nov 10 to 21 Nov 10

Yes, one after another. And dear mummy took a total of 6 days unpaid infant care leave for this. It's not a feel-good experience for me when I got to know unpaid infant-care leave has the SAME EFFECT as no-pay leave.
The EFFECT is that I'm not entitled to my 13th month bonus this year.
Well, not really grumbling because personally I still prefer not to engage maid services. I believe we can do everything ourselves. We are super parents. and that is of course with the help our family members.

During this end of the year period, some changes to our life...
WE CHANGED our 20-YEAR old WOODY chair set!
let's take a look at the BEFORE & AFTER picture.

Moblisation Exercise

30 Nov 10 @ 3pm ++, hp started beeping...Incoming message read
" [OpsRED2] BPLRT system wide power failure [Update]: RIMP activated. "

But no one in the office moves. I felt weird that I didnt receive the sms for this.
I sms my team leader on the activiation message and his reply message came
" Please report to Choa Chu Kang Mrt stn (CCK) now. RIMP activitated. Thanks"

I jumped into action, shut off my PC and off to take the transport out of office.
By the time I reach CCK at 5:45pm, the service has long been resumed. But we cant go off yet because CCK is our zone area, so we are still on stand-BY.

My zone area: Woodlands to Choa Chua Kang Mrt Stn.
And a moblisation exercise like yesteday ended at 7.10pm when we received sms to STEP-DOWN.

Yes, I am part of the Customer Service Team (CST) and this is one of the many CCAs that I'm doing. My other CCAs include being:
*green office of my dept
*IT coorindator of my dept
*1st aider of my dept
*Internal auditor of ISO 18001 & 14001

The CCAs are all interesting and it opens me to different areas which I would have never explore on my own. However... if they were to eat into my after-office hours, this is something which I am not too willing to compromise.

I am a strong adovcate of work-life balance.

My dream. My Degree Cert.

Date: 23 Nov 10.
It was a tuesday late morning and I was sitting in front of my PC (as usual).
An email came it. It was from Ms Sharon of HR Dept and her mail read
"Congratulations, you have passed through the first level of shortlisting for the LEAP. We will like to invite you for the panel interview that is taking place this Friday (26 Nov), 3.15pm at SMRT HQ, meeting room A2-2."

This is my dream. My Degree cert. (to-be)



My application for my degree course sponsorship successful cleared stage 1. Next is stage 2 and also the final stage - PANEL Interview which comprises of 3 interviewers from Vice President level. VP level is 1 level abv HOD.

(Wide smile) I can't hide my excitement and started sharing this piece of good news with my dear family and a few closer colleagues.
Lots of congratulation & encouragement words from them but deep inside I started to feel nervous about the interview because I know if I'm not well-prepared this time round, I would face the same results 5 years ago.

Seems like back to poly days when I would try to spot exam questions.
I did a few and is pretty satisfed with the answers after edition (with the help of my supporting spouse).

Example? Ok, here's one of them.
Why do you choose the course? How does it relate to your work?
I always have an interest in Business Management and this course will provide me with the appropriate knowledge in this aspect. At the same time, it also provides me a chance in attaining my dream in getting a degree.

Isnt it beautifully answered? (Wide-silly smiley face)
(raise arm) For tomorrow's panel INTERVIEW. Gambete~O !!!

ExtraOrdinary Job

LOOK at this SHIP!

Does this ship look like Pirates of the Carribean ship?
A pirate ship ?!? hee hee. Jokes aside, this is one of the DREAM ship of my supporting spouse =p

Our luck to chance upon this ship when it stopped over @ S'pore for some repair works before heading back to SPAIN after it's exhibit in China.

Imagine that the job of these people on board this ship is to sail round the world to exhibit and promo abt this ship. WOW!

Being the typical Capricorn, always needing a sense of security, I can't help but wonder...do these crew even afraid of running into REAL Pirates when they out there sailing?

I voiced my question aloud and to this, my supporting spouse replied me with a laugh... CAN'T YOU SEE THEY HAVE CANONS ONBOARD???

HOme WWF

Activity : HOme Wrestling
Players: Papa Joe Vs Boy Boy Jay & Boy Boy Jack

Sorry this match is a secret one, so no audience except for Mama Angela.

Sunday Jalan Jalan - 7th Nov 10

We have been trying to go OUTDOORS so that our boys would grow up to be an outdoor kind of person. We figure that they would probably be more healthy and fit~

and because my supporting has boat license so...recently we have been considering taking the boys out for BOATING. for bonding.

SAF Yacht CLub (Changi)...
Yuxiang with banana boat

Inside a stationery sailing boat
Fish Viewing


Shopping time...
YuKuan sitting on YuXiang's lap. A little too heavy that he almost cant smile.

YuXiang trying out his new google. new BLUE google.

all 3 boys stuck at Thomas & Friends Toy section

My SMRT Run 2010 - 29 Oct

Oh Yess. the run is over and it had my body aching for a week !
And the results? the overall champion goes... to RED Team ! (music) We are the champion ~
Before the run we were only confident of getting the team honors for Ladies Open and Ladies Veteran Category.

The timing guideline that Stephen gave me was 30-35min for average runner. below 25min is good. And how do I fare individually on the actual day? Much faster than I expected !

I was in the 7th position in Ladies Open Category but it's the timing that got me real excited ! the timing was... 28 min 20 sec !

WohOOoo.... this was a whole 7 min faster than my normal training!
and the 4th position's timing was just 20 sec earlier than me !

Take a look @ my 2 medal: individual and Ladies Open Team. Im not the only one who was thrilled. The boys were too. YuXiang: MaMA, thank YOu (for the medal).


Many pics taken by our Pro photographers in SMRT.

Overall event ...



Prize Presentation...


and then a few pics of ourselves having a FUN Time @ the Run.

Candy helping me with the number tag (it's electronic, so high tech)

Babies Party

HURRAY!!! Our dear baby XinCi turns 1 year old.
Celebrations @ Oh Farm and ... let's look at some of the some highlights...

D Bday Cake - Pink one. From Prima Deli. Yummy yummy.


I like this photo. So Vintage looking. Mummy HuiMin with her kireii daughters...


And then we have a few more photos which stands out...




and a candid one...


Bday wishes for XinCi:
Healthy Healthy, pretty pretty, happy happy !

SPecially thanks to HuiTing, JingHui & JunWen for providing the photos in facebook.

My working Wear

To my dear sons,

This is how your mommy dress to work.
I have to admit that this is already the improvised dressing after some trials.
At this point of point, your mommy decided that she does not wish to look like an Auntie, but a pretty young moomy *smiles*

My 1st attempt @ 5km

Last learnted that SMRT Run would be 5km instead of 3.2km last Fri.

I have never taken part any run longer than 3.2km, so this will be my 1st.
After resting for 3 days or rather struggle with myself internally whether to go on for the run, I finally set out to try my 1st 5km run last night.

And here's the summary of the workout:
Workout: Regular Run
Date: 11-Oct-2010
Distance: 4.96 km
Duration: 37:57

To view 'iMapMyRun: 11-Oct-2010 10:10 PM', follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_workout?w=753128680622732685

The timing guideline I was given by Stephen Neo was 30-35min for an average runner.
And so, i thought I have done well for my 1st attempt. Surprisingly it doesnt seem that long (distance), just my own pace and continous running. Not even panting @ the end of the run.

So, I would be aiming for 35min next time.

I have been jogging for almost 2 weeks by now.
And during this period, I experimented with different type of running attire and introduced music into my running.

When I showed Alice & Candy the photos, they couldn't stop laughing at my before attire. Well... I just thought it would be funny to see the BEFORE & AFTER effect. hee hee.

Does attire have effect on personal performance?
The asnwer is ... YES.

Kids are worth it!

Came across this book recommendation in a magazine or papers mths ago. I noted down the book title and author's name under "My Books-to-Read List".

And here I am now...finally gotten my hands on it.
Im just 9 pages into the book but Im already liking it.
The content suits my style, and idea towards pple relationship mgmt.

WHAT IS MY PARENTING PHILOSOPHY?
POint 2 from the book content: I will not treat a child in a way I myself would not want to be treated.

(further extraction from the book) Read this...
If wouldn't want to be slapped across the face, why would I slap my son? If I wouldn't want to be screamed at when I made a mistake, why would I scream at my daughter when she dropped the cake I had decoated for my mother-in-law? If I wouldn't want my gardening skills to be compared with my neighbor's, why would I compare my son's math performance wih his older sisters'?

己所不欲，勿施于人。 己所不欲，勿施于人...己所不欲，勿施于人...
I just hope even when I'm tied and worn out, I can reject the tendency to parent the way we were parented. I like this idea and I'm going to TRY IT!

New running goal

I chanced upon Stephen Neo last Thu. He's the current sports conveyor in SMRT and he shared with me there would be an inter competition for various sports coming up.

Our company's Sports Meet or Mini Olympics i would call.
It has been ages since I did a proper exercise. But part of me still wants to try.
Maybe it's because I missed the days when I'm actively doing sports.
Maybe I wanted to test if Im still capable of doing this kind of stuff...

I want to try again. But I have no confidence.
So I tested Zhiyi's reaction. To my surprise, he's very encouraging and even helped me download an application - iMapMyRun from my iphone.

Running and volleyball are probably the sports Im most familiar with.
and since there's wont be vball, so Im going to try my hand at running.

Cross Country is the word for it.
Venue is at MacRitchie and date is on 29 Oct 10.
It's a Friday afternoon and I still have exactly one month to train.

1st comparable workout details:
Workout: Run
Date: 03-Oct-2010
Distance: 3.20 km
Duration: 27:35

To view 'iMapMyRun: 03-Oct-2010 9:39 PM', follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_workout?w=971128611319072556

Very xiong,but this actually get me motivated to start exercising again.
And my goal? 3.2km in 20 min.
加油，陈瑾瑜！

有礼,无礼

cute monkeys from last Fri Mypaper.
非礼勿看，非礼勿听，非礼勿讲。。。if everyone knows and internalize this.
Believe world peace is easily achievable liao.

And why is this so hard? A senior once shared with me there are 2 difficult things on earth. One is to take other people's $ and put into our own pocket. The other is to put your own thoughts into another person's brain!
That's it ! Educating is never easy becoz it requires changes of a person.

Speak abt educating...It's the same for educating our younger ones. I finally settled for this sentence on educating my boys. One of the core values.
"有礼走偏天下，无礼寸步难行。" if one does not have the basic courtesy, politeness, one wont never be near success. So, Im not the law maker of the hse, I wont say stuffs like "u dont listen to me = u are disobedient."
for definition of obedient = I dont know.
For definition on 礼, well there are plenty of books left by sages.
礼运大同篇is one. 论语is another.

It's hmmm... challenging but Im going to try my shot at it !

Making friends with ...weird people?

THis morning in office, had a short conversation with C on another colleague, J.

Me: J's new job requires him to use Excel often and I was sharing some basic with him to help recap.

C: WOW...u are on so close terms w him. even have his facebook. haa haa... he still give me the impression of a bit weirdo. Tot i hv shared w u some encounters w him.

Me: haha.. Yes, I know but I guess I like making friends w weird people.

What is the definition of being weird?
When one does not go with the crowd?

ooooh no no... this is certainly not morally right.
We all know this but really standing up for something we believe?
IT CAN BE SOOOO HARD!!! Peer pressure? society pressure?

孔子-十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十知天命，六十而随心所欲。。。
even Kong Zi needs 60 years old to be 随心所欲 stage... let alone us?
A part of me wants to stand up for WHAT I BELIEVE.
A part of me always remember how grateful I was when a sweet gal made the 1st initiative to make friends with me. It was the 1st day of sch. I was in Sec 1 and was then an extreme introvert. A plain Jane with a pair of big frame glasses. And the sweet gal... one of the popular gals in sch.

Hey, I'm reaching 30 years old now.
IS this call aging with grace? Self-confidence usually comes along with age.
SO what if they are weird? But what many is not aware is that when one go near enough with this category of people, they are more real and sincere than other.
Talking to them is always a feeling good, and relaxed time for me.

**Seeing is not always believing. SOmetimes, one wld need to close his eyes to feel the real. It's seeing thrg another window.

The Act of communication???

MYpaper (我报) dtd 21 Sept 10...An article by Ms Shenton on sharing
'HOW TO GET ALONG WITH DIFFICULT COLLEAGUES'

see the sub headers in BOLD for the 4 type of Pple - Arrogant, Cold, Show-Offs & Mean. Sorry I have tried a few times but cant seems to get the picture in the right position.

Interesting~
Well written and true for general cases... But what if... there's complication? such as a person who sometimes cold and sometimes warm? What's the matter with this kind of person? Of coz, I cant expect EVERYONE to be nice & sweet to me all the times isnt it. For everything tt happens, there must be a reason.

Ok, theory is just theory, not quite possible to illustrate all the possible scenario that can happen when it comes to practical.

I'm more of a micro perspective kind of person.
So, meaning to say...focus more on the details.
And maybe it explains why Im more interesting in pple / matters surrounding me compared to hmmm... what's gg on around the other side of the world?

PPLE surrounding me... argh... Yess. Im interested in human behaviors. THE DEFINITIVE BOOK OF BODY LANGUAGE by Allan & Barbara Pease is one of my favourite.

This is the kind of stuffs that really interests me. *chucks*
NOt that I want to understand and manipulate pple. It's more of ermm...
understand, being sensitive to the other party's feelings. And from there use the appropriate way of communication.
The art of communication.

a few days ago, I chanced upon an application form for degree sponsorship dtd 5 yrs ago. What did I apply for? BSc Business with Psychology? haha...I'm surprised I was even selected for panel interview.

Now is the period for sponsorship again.
This year, I did some 'survey' beforehand.
More prepared this time round and I'm feeling confident I'm going to get it.
My dream to own a degree seems near. Seems so near.
Wish me luck ~

Go Fly Kite ...la la la

Bunch of Vegterians & their Veggie Kids & Veggie Dogs go fly kite at Sengkang Riverside Park on Hari Raya (10 Sep 10)...Photos by JunBao & Meijie

Kite Flying Preparation...


Kite Flying Time...


Makan Time...Thank YOu Junbao Meijie for the noodles & XiangChunBread. Thank You XuYan for the Loti too. and myself for the cake.


Special zoom on YuXiang...


Special Zoom on YuKuan...


Group Photo...

too bad the 2 doggies dont click (not in the same frequency)

Would you do my Eulogy?

Inspired by D-Guy next Door, his expression towards current news & affairs is so natural & in his own style that it makes me ponder " If I were to express my thoughts like this, who wld b my target audience? I mean, Who wld want to know or Understand my thoughts & views?

And then, a couple of mths ago, I finished a book called "HAVE A LITTLE FAITH" by Mitch Albom.

The man of God asked the writer to do his eulogy.
He insisted that he had to know him better.

Yess...EULOGY...this is when people would want to know what kind of person I am. if that's the case... maybe this place would be a good source for the person who would be doing MY EULOGY. I have started inserting some personal thoughts / recently if one notices... hee hee

On the writer, Mitch Albom, I actually like his earlier book "Tuesdays with Morris" better.

I read it twice. It's more touching...I even thought maybe I can do some sharing from the contents... but..haiz... seems like my standard is not there yet.
Give me some time... I'll come back to it again one day.

Sandwich Making Competition

How does this photos look to you? appealing ? Is it talking to you " Come and have a bite "
Well, this is the 1st runner-up in Healthy Sandwich Making Competition.

It's INCREDIBLE !
Us? coming up with something of this standard.

But guess what, I actually self-blamed myself that day after the competition ended.
I thought ... my presentation really...(#(#*$(@&#^*@
Quite a rubbish. So happen I have a record.

The self blame didn't lasted longer than a weekend.
I have accepted me as ME. This is my standard now, and I can't possibly thought I would be standing on the stage blowing pple off, right?

So I reflected on Areas for Improvement ...
1) The part on the MC, ya, that guy knew me and he sending regards to both my boys -- caught me off guard.
From now on, shld someone ask "how do u do?" OR "how are u doing"
I wld reply "(singing) VERY WELL, I THANK U~"
2) I did my homework, BUT I just can't say out the NuTRIONAL BENEFITS of the ingredients we used. ARGHHH ! We used wasabi and I knew pple was scare of wasabi ... in a sandwich. So what is wasabi good at? IT PREVENTS CAVITY !
All these add on to my experience "folder".
And I'm still proud that I was courageous we took part in the competition and EARNED ourselves $100 NTUC vouchers each. *grin*

From left to right: Alice, Candy, SMRT CEO-Saw PH, Fit&Fun Mascot, Me, Marlina (my ex-Mgr) & Richard (my HOD)

My pretty girlfriends

I have a group of pretty girlfriends...
and on 3rd July 2010, one of them walked down the aisle and here's a group photo of us !

Wow...Look at us...who would have expected this from the very team of YTSS V-ball team some 13 years ago?

From left to right: Me (Jersey No. 8), LiZhen (Jersey No.12 - our setter), XiaoHong (Jersey No. 2), Kris (Jersey No. 9 - the bride), Xingni (Jersey No. 4 - our Captain), RuiYun (Jersey No. 10). Juliana (She's wife of dear friend, Eugene).
Absence: Qiuling (Jersey No. 6).
And here's one of our training time photo taken years back...
wahaha...able to recognize who is who mah?

ok, I know most of the ladies wouldn't want to be recognize.
How abt ending this post with some pretty photos taken at the wedding then...

Universal Studio Singapore

(singing) We are gg to the Universal Studio, how abt u u u? u can come 2 2 2 ...we r gg 2 e universal Studio.

Making entry




Fun Time Inside










Thank You my lovely sis & Jiewen for asking us to Universal Studio!
Date of Adventure: 15 Jul 2010.