My birthday present

Although my birthday was in Sept, I told papa I would redeem my gift in Singapore and so I did. Initially I wanted a netbook but since we won a laptop, there was no urgent need for a netbook [big grin]. Therefore I decided to get the 2nd item on my wish list, a crossbody bag.

I always complained to papa that I have trouble keeping my shoulder bag hanging on my shoulder while I struggle to hold Hayley or push the stroller. The shoulder bag was good for weekday or office use but definitely not good for weekend when I need to handle a toddler. I do not have many handbags like most women do. I do not need them as I dislike changing handbags and risk forgetting stuff when I did (it happened to me before). And I certainly do not have many expensive handbags. I only have 1 so far which is the one I am currently using and it was more than a year old so there are already signs of wear and tear.

This time I chose a Coach crossbody bag as I didn't want to spend too much on a bag. An LV is definitely tempting but I cannot come to terms with paying so much just for a bag. This one cost me S$335 and I saw it in KL for RM900. On top of that, I got GST refund for the bag so I actually paid lesser than S$335. It was a simple and casual looking bag which suits my personality and style and I chose black as I could easily match it with anything I wear, see I am very practical :-)

And coincidentally, I found out that a friend of mine was in Tokyo (after I got back from Singapore and bought the Coach) and could not resist the temptation of getting a Burberry Blue Label which was only available in Japan. My sis got one as well and has been telling me so much about it that I decided to get one too. So this became my 2nd present, it was not meant to be, it just coincidentally happened :-). If my friend didn't get in touch with me (we lost touch for a long time and she only recently contacted me) and told me she was in Tokyo (she went there for 2 weeks for holiday and we hooked up 3 days before she was due to return), I wouldn't have known and if my sis didn't tell me about Burberry Blue Label, I didn't even know they exist. So I think it was destined for everything to happen at the same time and I went with the flow and got her to buy the bag. I have not seen it yet and will not be seeing it until after Christmas. I hope I will like it :-), it's the one on the left in the picture below. It was really hard to tell from looking at the photo from their website.

After spending so much on bags this year I hope I am not going to buy anymore for the next few years. Thank you papa for the lovely bags.

I can't wait to start preparing my birthday wish list for next year... hahaha.

Singapore - Day 3

Day 3 was shopping day, my favourite day. Hayley got up very early this morning (before 7am) and I was forced to join her. Aunty Cheryl got up to get ready for work cause it was a Monday and Uncle John was up as well. Aunty Cheryl even gave Hayley an angpow before she left for work. It was so nice of her.

Since it was early and papa was still asleep, Uncle John brought Hayley to the pool. There was even a mini playground next to the pool.

Chilling with Uncle John

When we got back from the pool papa was up (forced to get up) and we went for breakfast. Uncle John took us to the famous Killiney's kopitiam. After breakfast Uncle John dropped us off at ION Mall along Orchard Road. It was around 11am.

From ION Mall, we walked down Orchard Road checking out each and every mall and by 4.30pm, we only managed to cover up to Takashimaya. That was not even half way. By then our financial damage was already quite severe :-). The entire place was on sale and since we were flying back, we even got GST refund when we spent above S$100 in the stores. It was definitely a great deal!

Christmas tree in one of the mall, forgot which one. All the malls have HUGE Christmas tree display at the Concourse

A reindeer along Orchard road, there were many more with different poses but Hayley was too afraid to take photos with them. These reindeers would lit up at night and they look really nice.

We left Orchard Road at 4.30pm as our flight was at 7.30pm and we needed to get home to freshen up and to collect our luggage. When we got to the airport around 6pm, we were too tired to explore the shops. We headed straight to Burger Kings for dinner and waited until it was time to board. As Hayley didn't manage to catch any sleep in the day she was really grouchy on the plane. She refused to stay in the seat and refused to stay buckled. It definitely wasn't as smooth as the first time. Thankfully it was a short flight.

When we got back to KLIA, we had to wait for another 30 mins for the airport taxi, the queue was so long... sigh.... at times like that, I really missed Singapore.

Hayley knocked off in the taxi and slept till the morning. My poor baby was exhausted!

Overall it was a great trip and I even got my birthday present :-), not 1 but 2! Thanks papa hehehe.

Singapore - Day 2

On the 2nd day we decided to visit the famous Singapore Zoo. We left the hotel around 10.30am and reached the zoo in less than 30 mins. We took a taxi cause it was Sunday and there were no ERP or surcharges. The taxi fare came to approx S$15 which we're more than happy to pay since we're travelling with a toddler, a stroller and 2 bags.

My colleague bought me the Zoo Pass for S$12.60 per adult using her NTUC card. Entrance fee for Hayley is FOC. It was her Christmas gift to me :-). You can also purchase it online at S$18 per adult. Visit the Singapore Zoo website for more information.

I have to say I am extremely impressed with the zoo. It was such a nice place to visit with kids or even toddlers. The zoo was very baby friendly with lots of clean and equipped toilets (every cubicle has toilet papers!) and clean rest areas. The entire zoo has big shady trees and paths suitable for strollers. Thankfully the weather that day was great too.

Apart from the many types of animals, they even have a kids water park in the zoo. My little girl enjoyed herself so much playing with water. As it was a Sunday, the place was packed with people. But still we had fun and enjoyed it very much. Hayley took an hour nap (thank God for strollers) and we left the zoo around 5pm. Here are some photos to share:

My daughter calls this 'panda'

Posing with the tortoise, her favourite

Orang utans roaming free

Polar bear, first in Asia

The water park

These are supposed to be called 'white' rhinos

Zebras

Penguins

Elephant show

Papa is half dead, baby is still energetic

Kangaroos

Fishes

admiring.......

these, the white tigers

huge crocodiles

On the 2nd night, we stayed with aunt Cheryl and uncle John (papa's elder sister and bro in law). After dinner, uncle John drove us along Orchard Road to see the Christmas lights and decor. It was indeed beautiful. It was our first time celebrating or sort of celebrating Christmas in Singapore.

Singapore - Day 1

Our day started on a bad note. Our flight got delayed. The 8.50am Jetstar flight from KL to Singapore only took off around 12 noon due to some 'minor' technical problems. We got into the plane, took our seats and the plane reversed and then stopped. The pilot then announced that they had some minor problems and could not depart until they figured out what happened. We were initially informed that it will take an hour but it ended up with 3! Thankfully we were allowed to wait at the airport instead of inside the plane. We finally reached Singapore around 1pm and checked in to our hotel at 2pm.

Looking at the bright side, we are thankful that they found the 'minor' problem while we're still on land and not when we're in mid air.

Thankfully my little girl enjoyed her first flying experience. It was stress free for us. She remained seated with the seat belt buckled throughout the flight. We bought her a seat cause it was much cheaper than paying for a toddler fee - silly Jetstar. A pen and some papers kept her occupied and glued to the seat. Some vitamin C chewables kept the ear pressure away. She even said 'ready, go!' loudly a couple of times.

Feeling a bit restless at the airport

Posing happily while in her seat

During the first night in Singapore we stayed at the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel booked by my company. The hotel was nice and it was near City Hall and walking distance to Funan. Unfortunately we were so exhausted from waking up so early plus the unexpected flight delay that all we did was get lunch nearby and then napped the whole afternoon.

We got up when it was time to get ready for my company's year end dinner at Dozo Restaurant (Japanese High Fusion) at River Valley Road. My colleague was responsible for snapping photos so I didnt use my camera (so no photos here).

We love the food and the ambience but we didn't really enjoy thoroughly with a naughty little girl in tow. She liked the washroom so much that she wanted to make several trips there. So for the entire night, we, papa and I, took turns to bring her to the washroom and watch her like a hawk as she roams the restaurant, climb up the chairs and sofas and plucks tinsels from the christmas tree.

The night ended early for us. We initially wanted to go see the Christmas lights along Orchard Road but we were too tired. We went back to the hotel and slept around midnight. While in the hotel lift back to our room something funny took place. Papa and I together with my colleague and his girlfriend were in the lift when suddenly an English couple came in. The English man was rather big size and tall and out of a sudden my little said this 'whooaaaaa.... giant!'. Not sure where she picked up the word from and not to mention that expression. The English man didn't react, I think (I hope) he didn't hear her. When the English couple got out from the lift, we all burst into laughter.

Our new laptop

This is it!

This is the laptop from Jusco's 25th Anniversary Count and Win Contest. So happy that we've finally got it in our hands.

Although it is slightly heavier than netbooks, we have no complaints. It's free so there is nothing to complaint about. This is a HP Pavillion dv3 currently retailing at about RM3000.

Thank you again Jusco!

Our early Christmas present from Jusco

Have you ever won any contests or lucky draws or heard of or known of anyone who has?

Not me and don't know anyone who did but I always read in the newspaper of people winning cars, houses, holidays etc. I find them very lucky and will never put a lot of hope in winning anything whenever I participate. Even before I drop the contest form into the box, I will always have this thought in my mind that I am just wasting my time.

To my biggest surprise, we finally WON something! Yes we did! We won a HP Pavillion laptop from the Jusco's 25th Anniversary Count and Win contest. Basically all we have to do it spend a min of RM50 in a single receipt (for Jusco member, non member RM80), guess the number of bears hanging in the display unit, write a slogan and submit the contest form with the original receipt. We submitted ONE entry in Jusco Sunway Pyramid. Papa sort of counted the bears and gave me a round up number and I wrote the slogan. Since I always declare myself being the unlucky one in this department, this time I decided to write papa's details on the form (hoping that his name would have better luck than mine) and so glad I did.

The Jusco personnel called papa on Tuesday morning and told him the good news. He asked us to wait for the official letter from Jusco and thereafter to collect our laptop from their head office. I really hope this is a genuine call and the letter would come soon.

Although we are happy with the laptop, we were initially eyeing at the RM15,000 Jusco cash vouchers or the 50" plasma TV. Read here for more.

This year I was telling papa that I wanted a netbook for my birthday present (was eyeing at Asus eeePc or Sony Vaio) and we were planning to buy it during the PC fair this weekend. Now, there will be no need to buy my laptop in a hurry (maybe postpone to next year so I can claim rebate from my income tax, can only get 1 every 3 years and we got a desktop 2 years ago) and think of something else nice to get for myself :-)

I am just so happy that Christmas came early and thank you Jusco/Aeon for the fantastic gift! I am so happy to be a loyal shopper of Jusco... hehehe

Compliment from my little girl

Just wanted to pen it down that I received a nice (whatever she do and say is always nice to me :-)) compliment from my little girl on Tues morning.

As usual she would wait for me in her cot while I get changed and get ready to pick her up from her cot. She would normally say 'shame shame' when I get changed but on Tues morning she didn't say 'shame shame' but instead she said 'whoaaaa.... mei mei' when I put on my dress :-)

You see, I normally wears pants or jeans to go to work and hardly wears a dress. That day I wanted to look different and put on a newly bought white dress. It was nothing fancy, just a simple short sleeve knee length white dress. I am happy she finds it 'mei mei' and I too find myself very 'mei mei' that day although the papa said I look like an aunty.