Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year 2016

Hi folks!

Happy and blessed New Year to everyone! May the coming year be a memorable and fruitful one for everyone and may we march on with faith, wisdom, strength and courage to face the challenges and overcame them..with great spirits..

Have a lovely New Year and lovely time with your family :),

Lotsa love from My whole family of five

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Retrospective of 2015 and Resolution for 2016

Hi folks!

2015 is soon coming to an end, it's time again to retrospect on what gone on well and what's not going too well in 2015 and draft out my resolution for year 2016. This has been my yearly practice..

2015
Positive Highlights:
  • Changed daycare which provide vegetarian meals and scripture study for children (which has been great for their soul and mine too! Spend less time preparing their lunch packs and more time ...doing..??)
  • Trying to be more organised, spontaneous and efficient than last year
  • I would say it would ends in high note if i spent my 3-week year end break in a fruitful way...with my main objectives to be - fulfilling dreams of my kids and mine (yippee..will blog about it in separate blogpost

Items to buck up (this list shall be my 2016 To Do List):
  • Though less hurried with no lunch packs to prepare, i still lacking in energy to go through my intended nightly one-to-one, heart-to-heart talk with my children and yet to implement my daily "scrum" a.k.a. agile parenting with my kids
    Solution:
    - Start daily yoga/exercise (target: fit enough to rejoin those 10km runs at least)
    - Weekly jogging, ice-skating, ball games, cycling or swimming with kids
    - Juicing and Detoxing
    - Discipline: Meditate every morning, Reflect every night and implement my daily scrum and heart-to-heart talk with kids
  • Use less of my credit cards
    Solution:
    - Implement envelope system
    - Cut or Keep one of the card at home and use debit card instead(during emergencies for unplanned expenses)
    - Stick to an agreed budget
  • Declutter my life
    Solution:
    - Declutter: Bookshelves, wardrobe, fridge, kitchen cabinets, e-mail list, FB friends.
    - Focus on important then do the others.
  • Sincere communication (with myself, family and others)
    Solution:
    - Heart-Mind-Action to tally (speak my mind..politely). Do not say what you don't truly mean.
  • Keep mind, house, finance, relationship (working and tidy)
    Solution:
    - Routine housekeeping, all things returned to where it belongs, open and Just DO IT!
    - Pick up and Restart my hobby : learn German, Guitar and read more!

2016 resolutions:
Highlights:
The above To Do Lists shall be my guidelines...improving family, health and relationship overall..will draft out any other items and add on accordingly.


What are your list? Could you share with me how do you create your lists?

Hope everyone will succeed in continuous growth in their spiritual and physical bodies.

Cheers!

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

What to do during a 3-week break with kids?

Hi folks!

Holiday doesn't comes too often for working parents. Our precious annual leaves are usually reserved for emergencies and school breaks.

This year, I had to stand in for a colleague who's away for 4 months (due to pregnancy-related complication, etc) thus I am left with quite a no. of leave which I am happy to use it with my kids during the year-end break. Very grateful that my boss approved my leave. It's been quite awhile since i had such long leave. Every switching of companies, I seems to be making the transition almost immediately, leaving no room for idle time or space to rest or rethink my priorities and simply breathe (haha)..


I haven't got much time to plan for my 2-week+ break with kids as I was trying to rush through all the work that I am supposed to finished within that 2-week+ and before. But I kept the important goal in mind- Fulfilling dreams of the kids and mine.

Thus, this is what we did:

  1. Visited my ailing grandparents at my hometown. Made a short trip home when we get a wedding invites to South. Took the chance to stop-by for a quick visit to my hometown and visited few familiar places with kids and parents, visited some long-time friend of my dad (thus fulfilling my dad's dream as well!)
  2. Kids attended two-day kids camp on the second weekend
  3. Kids replaced all their missing swimming lessons for the weekend getaway we made during the weekdays as mommy is staying at home with them.
  4. Finally, the kids attended their long-awaited Ice-Skating lessons at Sunway Pyramid Ice Academy.
  5. And the following are more like my wish list which I am hoping to get it done during my 2-week+ break:
  • Service the air-cond (before Chinese New Year rush)- checked
  • Declutter the wardrobe - on-going
  • Declutter the kitchen cabinets/pantry/wet kitchen - Not started
  • Try some new recipes - on-going
  • Complete few photobooks, posters, photo prints - Not started
  • Spring-clean the house - On-going
  • Refurbished/Tidy up the study area for a more conducive 2016 study place - On-going
  • Do mask, cut and dye my hair? Wardrobe reshuffle (guess what, my pre-pregnancy clothes are still nicely packed away!)- Not started
  • Redesign the layout, etc of my blog- Not started
  • Visit the libraries (e.g. the Shah Alam Public library that has 6D theatre with kids)- Not started
  • Giveaway un-needed stuff- Not started
  • Catch up with some old buddies- Not started
  • Go cycling with kids- Not started
  • Schedule dates with hubby? - Not started
Very ambitious wish lists of mine LOL...let's see how many i get to checked them off..wish me luck before i returned to work.

Cheers!



Monday, December 28, 2015

Company Dinner 2015

Hi folks!

I've always love to attend my company dinner even though I missed some which happened late at night or...over the weekend with overnight stay (i.e. Team Day) when i had young baby at home waiting for me.

This year, we had our company dinner at a rather cosy and chill Italian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.

And guess what, I met the young homeschooler whom I have been following their news after reading a book from their mom and from the stories from websites and newspaper. I am very much interested in homeschooling despite not having the capacity to have it for my kids (yet), thus have been following news and progress of this homeschooling family.

And, Amrita, that the emcee introduced her as the youtube sensation was invited to our company dinner to perform. Finally I get to hear her sing in person. I've followed her news whereby she compiled a CD to raise fund to go a music event in Nashville (pretty remarkable I would say). Her voice is really very soothing and nice. Feel proud for this lovely gal.

I've always have a secret wish to let my kids follow the unconventional and happier way of studying and seeing these homeschoolers blossoming well really excites and encouraged me.

Back to my company dinner..our theme for this year is pirates...thus..here's my costume which i recycled from my ex-company event which is "pirate" as well..



Even though I did not get any lucky draw gifts, but I did receive some cash reward for winning the Team activities happened recently whereby our group's superhero comic won the first prize(yey!!).

And here's my vegetarian dish at the Italian restaurant: entree (salad), risotta and mushroom soup(not in the picture). I must say it tasted good if not awesome. Am always grateful to have my special diet catered for in any events like this. More so, this round, around 7 other non-full time vegetarian colleagues opted for vegetarian option as well. I was told that it happened to be 15th of the lunar calendar whereby most Buddhist would observe vegetarian diet on the day and also partly perhaps some people just chose a safer option as they don't take beef. Whatever the reason, i am happy that more people are choosing vegetarian option in team activities like this. The more the merrier and the more they will not overlooked or forgot me (as it happened often!).



The picture do not make any justice(once more..i really need a good digital camera or smartphone with awesome camera feature!). But they tasted awesome! As usual, my non-vegetarian colleagues would always or often envy and wished they have chosen vegetarian option instead. I was served at my table instead of having to queue at the buffet table and i heard they non-vegetarian option taste just so-so. Anyhow am thankful that these places cater for vegetarian like me!

Hopefully next co. dinner, i get to be luckier each time..haha..till the next co. dinner...

Cheers!



Sunday, December 27, 2015

Vegetarian option at Zest cafe, Bangsar South

Hi Folks!

I discovered a rather cosy cafe at Bangsar South called Zest cafe where they served some vegetarian dishes. Here I have their set meal which valued at MYR12.50 (if i am not wrong) complete with fruits, soup, main dish and drinks. Pretty good price for this area I would say whereby a normal vegetarian economy mixed rice would easily cost over MYR6.50.

Happy discovery and happy to share with anyone looking or hunting for affordable vegetarian meals out there!

Cheers!

Bring kids to work day

Hi folks!

I've never expect my company to organise such cool event- Bring kids to work day!

Since KY always asked me to bring her to My Office, i took the opportunity to take part in this cool event and showed KY around my favourite juice bar, the mall nearby my workplace where i used to get some groceries and my meeting room and my Office game room cum pantry and of course my seat.

They also entertained with movies, cup-cake decorating, arts and craft, clowns and magic show as well as ice-creams treat! How cool can that be? She actually felt mommy should be really happy working at this workplace(indeed i do erm minus the constant rush hour of software releases..)..

This somehow kickstart the soon-to-be our holiday adventures- namely our balik kampung trip, kids camp, holidaying at both side grandparents' House thus lotsa playtime with their cousins and not to forget ice-skating lesdons, movies, x'mas decor photo snapping at the malls, and Whole lots more...

Will blog more about it ..till then..

Stay cool and awesome folks!