CNY decorations

Finally! The decorations are ready! ;D 

The firecrackers really took us some time to combine together. They just didn't want to stay at their positions and kept messing around. We later  found an easy way to stitch them together with the all-purpose cellophane tape. Added a crane in the centre of the lantern. It also took us some time to hang it as it was not easy to reach the ceiling with only a stainless steel stool.

Close-up of the lantern with fire crackers

After hung up onto the ceiling

A bigger view of the decoration

More lanterns were made later and hung on the ceilings.

This lantern has three stars (by KP) and a smaller lantern at the bottom (by SC)

Took me quite awhile to stitch this together. There are one little crane in each of the lantern and two fishes at the bottom

Decor on the wall

Now, you can really feel the festive mood swinging in. Hope this will liven up the working environment and reduce some work stress. ;) Thank you all for the contributions.. I hope this activity helps to build up team spirit among fellow co-workers too and instil cheerfulness in everybody who's working in the office. ;P

Preparation for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Have you start preparing for the festive season or are you not in the mood yet? ;P

Our office is already getting ready with the decorations to boost the mood. It seems that most of us were still sleepy and couldn't really concentrate at 8 o'clock in the morning (probably because everybody else does not need to work today since it's a public holiday - Thaipusam). We decided to do a bit of art work and decorate our office for the coming CNY. Well..not everybody was sleepy, some were already working diligently.. lol. Well, we were also contributing in some ways too.. it's a good team building activity too! But of course, the difficult part was left to be done after office hour. >.<

So here are some decorations that are still not finished yet. They will be hung up the ceilings tomorrow. 

Lanterns I made

Crane by Coco and ribbons

Small little fans and fishes contributed by YT, SC and Coco.
The stacks of cylinders will be made into fire crackers (by YT)

This is my idea.. but YT helped hung them up ;P Looked more like a wedding than CNY decor..hahaha..

 Below were how our office looked like last year CNY.

Big "福" on the glass window. 

Three big lanterns along the office. 

Wall decoration by YT

Good deal?

Bought a voucher today for CNY dinner with colleagues. It seems like a good deal for 7 of us at RM80..but portion look small, wonder if we will have enough food. Lol... Never heard of this restaurant before, "Warm Snow Beer & Dine Restaurant". Funny name indeed.. how can a snow beer be warm at the same time? 

More updates after I've tried their food la.. ;P

My 2012

2012 was an exciting year for me. My sister said she sees changes in me over this year, in a good way of course! And she is proud of me! :D This is my first time writing back about what happened in my life in the previous year. For the past few years I started this blog, I haven't done this before and I think I should start writing one cuz it's good way to remember and count the blessings that I received from God. I'll summarize my 2012 by month. 

January

I spent New Year in Auckland! Isn't that awesome! hahahaha! Food in NZ was sooOooo good! I can imagine myself getting fatter and fatter if I stay there too long! Read more about food I had in NZ here! 

And then, there was Chinese New Year. There were a lot of food gatherings, reunion 'yumchar'/dinners and happy time. lol... Evie's wedding was in this month too! 

February

Seems that because of Chinese New Year, I didn't blog during this month. But I had a nice dinner with my best mate, J at Friends Cafe and I postpone this post to March. Nothing eventful this month because I spent too much during CNY! lol..too broke to spend more. Oh yeah...I started paying mortgage in Jan. That's why I'm broke. :( 

March

I bought my first smartphone! Something I wanted for a long time but only decided then. Why did I take so long to decide? What was I thinking? 

I'm so happy with my phone and it's been faithful to me until now. *fingers crosses*. Not much trouble except for a few glitches that I've posted here. 

April

My first visit to Aeon Station 18, the biggest shopping mall in ipoh. 

Sis was here in Ipoh with her children for vacation. We had dim sum at Foh San, shopping in almost all the malls in town (lol), playing with the kids and eating good Ipoh food. :D I've also discovered the famous Wan Tao Long which used to sell this iced dessert opposite Pasir Puteh (Tai Wo Yuan) market. 

May

Sabah trip with mom!! :D It was a fun and exciting trip. So long never been to a trip with mom. Hmm..we should organize a family trip soon. It's been awhile I have not travel with both sisters and mom together. 

And this month was my first encounter in online shopping. View my first experience here. 

Visited mLab 2012 at KLCC with my colleagues and.... my uni friend whom I've never met in 7 years came to visit and gave me a box of Godiva! lol

June

My braces were off! After wearing for 1 and half years, finally, they were taken off and I've got my retainers too. 

My cousin's wedding was in June too. It was a really big family gathering. I took 1 week off to spend time with family and relatives who came back from KL, Singapore, overseas. 

July

July was the month I did some backlog blogging. ;P 

August

Sis and her family came to visit Ipoh again. Everytime they are here, I'm just too busy playing with the kids and no time for blogging. ;P They are just so cute and growing up too fast! 

Oh, I baked some cakes too! And that's no ordinary cake. It's "apricot, dates, banana, almond and pistachio cake"!! :D But only one time. hahahaha! No more baking after that. Maybe I should try again soon. 

There's also Raya Open House that my colleagues and I were invited to. Having traditional malay food and a feel of kampung house.

September

My birthday celebration which I did not blog about. ;P I had a small birthday lunch with a few friends at the Artiste in De Garden. Not going there for food any more because the food is just too salty. Maybe for a drink and chat but not for big meal. 

October

Celebrated J's birthday at Capucino Cafe. Read more about what we had at this cafe. I changed my blog outlook in this month too. ;D

November

My friend accepted Christ on 23/11/12!! Praise the Lord! I took up the responsibility of being her mentor. By God's grace, we hope to finish the lessons before my friend leave for KL to finish her studies. Let's hope for a new beginning in the walk with God for both of us!

Tried this new B.E.D cafe in town with mom which we will go again and again in future! ;D Good food, good coffee, cozy place to hang out with friends.. just that they only open at certain hours. Check this out! >>> B.E.D cafe

Visited my sister in PJ. Lots to share here but I guess I have to do some backlogs again. 

December

And finally, it's the last month of 2012. Everyone was talking about the end of the world on 21.12.12. So, we survived and still is living as usual. lol. No la! God has His own time and Jesus will come back without anyone know when. So, there won't be any fixed date or time for us people to know. Therefore, for now, live as best as we can and share the love! 

And yes, we had a "Christmas Love Movement" that our family organized for Vision Home, Ipoh. We collected rice, diaper, milk powder and specific Christmas gifts for the children. In addition, we had extra cash for the children's education fund and the home general fund. :D 

Not to forget I had a wonderful Christmas time with my family. Here's a glimpse of our Christmas dinner table and a night scene of Kinta Riverfront where we spent on one of the nights during the Christmas holiday. 

Sorry for keeping you so long. I know...this is a really long post! :D Again, Happy New Year to you all and may God bless your 2013!

Christmas Love Movement

A lot to tell but can't find the right mood and the right time. Been to places in PJ that I would like to share but no time to sort out the photos. Wanted to show some photos I took at IKEA ..no time.. And when I have time, i'm just tired and no words came to mind and I just wanted to relax with some korean dramas.. ;P

Well, my time have been quite occupied with "CHRISTMAS LOVE MOVEMENT" lately. What is this "Christmas Love Movement"?, you asked..

It's an idea from my sister for this year Christmas. For the past few years, we have started to exchange presents among family members (yes, we don't have this culture before). Well, this year, we crack our heads thinking of what to buy for each other and everybody thinks this is a very difficult task. Hmm.. and so, sister excitedly suggested, 'how about we pool our money for gifts this year, and donate to an orphanage?' So, we wear our thinking caps and start to organize with family members and relatives. 

Some researches were carried out on the internet to check out which home we should give. And we found Vision Home, located at Tmn Rishah, on the same ground as Word of Life Centre. When I got there the first time to check out the home, I said to myself, "I've been here last Christmas to practise choir at the church! But I didn't notice the children home! >.<""

Initially, we thought response may be low and for the first year, probably we may involve family members, relatives and some friends. But sister said, we should put up an event page in FB and invite friends through there. We were touched by the tremendous responses from friends and friends of friends. I could not imagine the amount of rice, diaper and milk powder we have collected up till now. And the numbers are still growing!

God is great! He is faithful and listen to prayers! Trust that the Lord has touched people's hearts and moved them to give and support this Love Movement!

So yeah..i'm quite busy coordinating donations and follow-up with friends who have indicated they want to be involved in this movement. :D I don't know when I'll write again.. probably after christmas or new year. If I'm not back before that, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! Hohoho!

Life of Pi

Thinking of which title to use for my post.. "Life of Pi" or my first experience at Aeon Station 18 TGV cinema? Maybe both? But maybe "Life of Pi" is better since it is the story that kept me wanting to know more about the director, the story and actually, wanting to read the novel. 

Cousin and aunt wanted to watch this movie. Little did I know that it was showing at the cinema until they brought it up at the dinner table. They briefly told us about the story which tells of a young Indian man whom his family had a zoo in India. At some time, they had to leave India and transport the animals on a ship. But when they were travelling, they encountered a severe storm and only this young Indian man survive and had to live on the sea with a tiger after the ship wreck. 

It got me interested and wanted to watch the movie. But we didn't book tickets earlier and so, ended we had to watch a 3D show at Aeon Station 18 (the only cinema with reasonable seats). But it's all worth it, watching it in 3D. The scenes were so like "Avatar"... showing the life under the sea, whale, dolphins, and some magical island. Each scene is just too short to take it all in!

The most important thing of this story is that it brings you to think about God. His existence and His provision during time of needs. "Pi" started narrating his story to a writer in the beginning of the movie by telling him that the story that he's going to tell him may lead him to believe in God. 

It's an incredibly good and meaningful movie. And it will get you thinking. Yes, maybe I'll start reading the novel. ;)