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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Eve of CNY 2012

Wah.... the past weeks have been crazy with preparation for the meetings and trainings at the company, and there was hardly anytime to organize shopping and home for the CNY.  Even this weekend, on the last 2 days before CNY, we were busy cleaning and packing things away for recycling, and went to Carrefour for some last minute shopping.  Last weekend, J took all the kids for their haircut.  Baby Xin came out looking like she had a coconut shell head ;-)
Baby Xin and her coconut haircut

J's CNY gift hamper for deco

Thankfully all our shopping and cleaning is done, as much as we could, and I even had time to put some CNY deco in place.
Reunion dinner is as usual, steamboat with seafood at home, which we thoroughly enjoyed.


Saturday, January 14, 2012

5-Year Long Service Award

I am really thankful for having worked at the same company for the past 5 years, with significant development in my career.  Most importantly, the boss, my colleagues and my team are great to work with, even in the face of great challenges. Today I received my 5-year award from the CEO and I am thankful for this milestone. The award was given out at our company's annual dinner, and it comes with a cash award of RM1,500.  Wow!  Thank you very much, boss.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Baby Xin's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my Baby is 2 years old today.  First thing in the morning, her brother came near her crib and said "Happy Birthday, Baby!" while she was still sleeping.  That was so sweet of Wei, who was getting ready for school.
As J and I were both working today, we had a simple celebration at home. An American chocolate cake with 2 candles, and some balloons that I took from my office event (haha!).  Baby Xin loves balloons.
Wei teaching Baby Xin to blow the candle out

Baby Xin wanted to cry because she touched the candle

Baby Xin cut the cake, and licked the plastic knife

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Visit to Petrosains

Today, J and I took the kids to Petrosains, where we met up with our friends, a family from Penang who were on vacation here.  They are also a couple who have 3 kids.  Although both J and I were busy with homework (a term that we used with our kids whenever we have to bring work home), we decided that we would still spend some quality time with kids and friends.
And I am so glad we did, we had lots of educational fun.
Baby Xin at the multi-mirrors
 If you are Malaysian, you must remember to bring Mykad to Petrosains because that offers significant discounts.
6-peg puzzle


I am also very proud of the fact that Wei managed to solve the 6-pegs puzzle in less than 2 minutes, he said it was easy because he was guided by the knight piece in chess.  In the puzzle above, you have to put the 6 pegs where they are not aligned with each other in any lines. 
After Petrosains, it was food at Madam Kwan's with a few hours of chatting.  What a lovely afternoon, even though when we got home, we had to continue with our "homework".

Monday, January 2, 2012

2011 - The year That Was

A new year has dawned upon us just like that, without much fanfare.  I've spent the long weekend catching up on errands especially for the coming school reopening and Chinese New Year.  Then I read the posts of 2 bloggers and this inspires me to do the same on reflecting on 2011 and resolve to achieve some main goals in 2012.
Family
Baby Xin turned 1 in January and is a toddler.  She learnt to point before she was able to speak, and when she can speak she says 2 syllable words in Mandarin, English, Tamil and Teochew.  Her most frequently used word is "em mai" which is "don't want" in Teochew. She is turning into an i-generation toddler, where everything is about touch screens, sliding and flipping, and iPad becomes a bedtime request (sigh.....).
Wei turned 10 in Nov and is considered a tall boy.  My first born is a chess-enthusiast, swimmer and piano player.  He represented school in chess competitions, but swims and plays piano for fun. Towards the end of 2011, he had to get a dental retainer fixed to his upper teeth, that should last him for 3-6 months.
Yuan is a skinny but active girl, she turned 8 in Dec. She had to get an eye surgery done to correct her weak eye muscles, and started to wear glasses this year.  I am thankful that all went well.  Yuan is generally good with all subjects.  I hope 2012 will be a year she gains more weight, I am trying to encourage her to eat more.
J and I, we are in our 12th year of marriage and still going strong.  J is a partner who is considerate and supportive, a great father to the kids and a great family man.
Work
Work has been most challenging this year, and I put in a lot of time and effort in order to make things work.  The good things are: 1. J is very understanding about my tight timelines and 2. My efforts do not go unnoticed by the boss and my team as well.  Towards the end of this year, the boss changed my portfolio so that I can have a fresh start and develop new ideas.
Travel
For a work training I was sent to Manila.  Other than that, I really enjoyed the 3-day break to Singapore (Marina Bay Sands and Festive Hotel) and our 2-week-shoestring-budget trip to Japan with the kids.


Health & Fitness
This is the aspect that seriously needs improvement as I have skipped my yoga classes and swimming for months, all in the name of work (and also an element of laziness - *embarrassed*)
Spirituality
I really could have done more, but I am thankful for the opportunity to attend a 1-day meditation camp, Kathina Day as we do every year, and helping out at our Sunday classes to guide young pre-schoolers.  Time contribution reminds me to have patience, be humble and be grateful for all that I have.
Contribution
Under the planning and guidance of our fellow team-member and blogger, Anie, we organized a charity program on property topics and all the proceeds were donated to the NSTP fund.  We hope that our small contribution would make a difference to someone's life.
Education
This year was great!  I've been to at least 5 seminars on properties and wealth management.  And with a baby now, I really couldn't have done it without J's kind understanding, and willingness to look after the kids when I am away at the seminar sessions.
On top of self-education, we also conducted 2 other sharing sessions in March and July to share with others with like-minded interests.

A great 2011 indeed and I am thankful for the love of my family and the support of my friends.