Birthday Outing! (A loonnggg post...)

And so we went out planning to do A LITTLE BIT of shopping before we meet up with Jared & the 小瓜s for dinner.

Then we realized we got to shop for:

1. Val's zone leader's baby's 1st month present

2. Michele Tan's zone birthday present

3. David Ang's zone birthday present &

4. Hopefully Jared's birthday present

When we reached Orchard, the 1st thing we did was to EAT. There were the occasional phonecalls...

And then we had our LOWFAT ice-cream! We are sooo FOR LOWFAT!

(But low fat came @ a high cost... 2 single scoop ice cream for $8+!)

Yum! & it's LOWFAT

And off we went shopping! We spent almost the whole shopping time choosing presents for the others lor... Thank God I managed to get something for myself (I sound like a shopaholic right??)... A hand-sleeve... with a DRAGON design!

Dun you think it is ultra cool???

Val also got Jared his present from...

Wow... So generous...

I really am at my wit's end on what to get for him. When I asked him, he told me he wanted a 6 MONTH 'DO HOUSEWORK' CONTRACT with me... :( Har? What's that mean??....

Anyway, we soon had to rush off to meet the rest for dinner at a Spanish restaurant at Robertson Quay. Yummy! It's been a long walking day...

Before we left, we took pictures of Taka's X'mas tree!

And while walking along Orchard Road to the MRT station, we met our very own CHC Strike Force playing along the road!

Reminds me of the street musicians along the roads of Greece... Full of culture and so lively! I like... :)

When we reached Robertson Quay, we were very very disappointed to know that our Spanish restaurant had closed down...

We had to walk up and down, east to west to search for good food... And finally, we settled for a Thai buffet dinner at Liang Court. We heard it was good... It better be....

Anyway Liang court is soooo changed. Before Jared and I got married, we visited this shopping centre and it was DEAD town. Now it's been revived and I believe the theme is Japanese. It has many small Jap eateries, Jap restaurants, it was showing a Jap TV channel on their TV and it has a large Jap supermarket.

But we came here to eat Thai food. HAHA!

It offers ala carte buffet at a very affordable $21++ per person.

The place, Suanthai Restaurant (@ Liang Court, B1) was very crowded even when we reached at 8:30pm. Soon we started ordering like crazy... We ordered ALOT. If you come here, please remember NOT to order so much, cos their portions are GENEROUS. But the quality is good! The food is quite authentic, tasty and fresh. I give it ****! Here are some of the food we ordered...

It was a very filling meal! So filling that Jasmine almost couldn't walk out straight. HAHA! I wanted to take a pic of Jas... But she siamed me like crazy...

Jas trying to siam

Finally, she allowed me to take a pic of her with ONE condition:

She hides her lower half... HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Then... Val's members came and sprung a surprise for her. Actually it was not really a surprise cos in the restaurant, Val sighted one of her members hovering outside! DUH!!!

Anyway, after her celebration with her members, we had our own family celebration at Starbucks...

We ate HALF the delicious cake. It was our favorite from 4 Leaves Bakery. It's called Chocolate Exotica and it's like a giant Ferrero Rocher!

It's a fantastic birthday cake @ only $24 for chocoholics!

And then Jared & I were admiring the card (bound into a book... 100% handmade, designed and printed) that Val's CG members made for her. We took pictures of some pages to show our members the CORRECT STANDARD of making birthday cards...

Anyway, do you know that all these years, Val's different batch of members are always very very creative? Just like her!

Let me show you some of the pages/pictures in the book-card -->

Very nice and creative right??!!

They also gave her flowers and a handmade trophy...

We can tell... She is a WELL-LOVED CGL!

So...

Dear Erchy...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Thanks once again for being my best pal and sister! You are always there for me, you always listen to my grumblings in bad times, and detailed accounts of my good experiences. You are a great shopping pal. And best of all, you help me to grow with you together in God! You are soooo SOLID! May God grant you all the desires of your heart this year! :)

Loads of loves,

Darchy

iPod Touch present

Val passed me her Apple gift card recently. It was our birthday gift to her ONE year ago. Now, she has finally decided to buy an iPod touch with it. And since I work in Suntec, she asked me to enquire if the gift card has expired or not!

And so I walked into the Apple shop @ Epic Centre. The lady checked out that the gift card expires TOMORROW (exactly ONE year!). Thank you Jesus! If not it's $200 down the drain....

And so I also found out that the iPod Touch 8G costs $388. Hmmm... I called Val to tell her the good news (that even though she kept the card for sooooo long, it has not expired). And then I asked her the next question:

"Do you want me to get the iPod Touch for your birthday present?"

The answer of course was a "YES!"

and it was continued with a "I like the harder kind of skin, not the silicone type (in other words- the more expensive kind la)... red color please!"

I checked it out. A nice HARD skin costs $59! Wahhhh....

This is how it looked like

I think the picture does not look so good. It's BRIGHT RED and has subtle diamond patterns on it. Niceeeee......

Well, Jerb so loved her sister, that she sent her cash to redeem the iPod Touch + the bright red skin...

iPod Touch + some goodies...

Anyway, I am so looking forward to tomorrow cos I am on leave and going out with my best companion! And of cos not forgetting family dinner with the 2 小瓜 & Jared as well。:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL!

See ya soooooon!

Caffeine Fix - A Post AC Need

This is my 3rd cup of coffee today.

It is greatly needed to sustain me for the rest of today.

At least it's 3-in-1. And half of it is fresh milk.

Not so much caffeine?

High in calcium, low in fat. :)

Inaugural Asia Conference 2008

Today is already the 4th day of our 1st Asia Conference. It has been many early mornings and late nights but it's nothing compared to the things we've learnt, the strong presence of God and the message we've received these few days.

Ps Kong has really emphasized and reiterated the message (and thanks to the MANY MANY tear jerking videos... *Kudos to our video crew!*) of LOVING & GIVING.

Ps & Sun themselves have led the way and shown us all the WIDE & TRUE meaning of generosity.

During the conference, all the registered delegates and church members enjoyed FREE 1. Lunch & Dinner for 4 days (Good food!) 2. Bottles of water 3. Conference pack containing a notepad in Black PVC cover and Asia Conference mints 4. Mentos 5. Registration ... WOW! And every cent collected during the offerings for the 5 days will not be used to cover the Conference's expenses but used for local & overseas humanitarian works.

Sun has been also using her own $ to build schools in the poorest regions in China... What an amazing couple!

What Ps said is true. It's not just about what is taught, but what is caught.

And so, I am really enjoying the Conference very much so far. The songs, the showcases (I myself marvel what we can do as each individual steps out in faith & hard work and stretches our fullest potential in God), the messages...

Ps Kong's message about moving from the 1st space to the 2nd to the 3rd space has really set me thinking & challenged me about my ministry at work. Thinking thinking thinking... (about my Masters again!)

And so, tomorrow is the finale. How fast! And I am still feeling calm about sharing our Caring System testimony... Hmm... I hope I still feel this way when we share in front of the massive crowd tomorrow! Pray for us - Eunice, Val, Jared, Joseph and I,that we will have a VERY anointed sharing tomorrow!

See ya!

4 more days to ASIA CONFERENCE 2008

Had a crowded CG meeting today @ my house. Squeezed 2 CGs into my small abode.

Jared who was 'hiding' in the room claimed that I talked about Asia Conference for a whole 20 minutes. Are you sure??!! But I am really excited!

The early morning sessions

Yeeks! I have to take attendance at 8am everyday!

The smart casual, trendy (dressier) dress code

= SHOPPING!

Jared does not believe I don't have such clothes in my wardrobe...

The crowd

TENS OF THOUSANDS of people!

The busyness

Serving the above crowd... I am excited to switch on my bestest 'customer service' mode.

The praise & worship

Loud! Vibrant! Strong! Anointed!

The superb lineup of speakers

Ulf Ekman, AR Bernard, Phil & Chris Pringle, Benny Hinn & our own Ps Kong! Val & I were saying, if these great men meet at 1 same place at 1 same time, I will definitely want to walk pass the room and 'catch' some anointing!!! So AMAZING!

The strong presence of God in EVERY service

I can see it... Kneeling down, worshiping God, impacted by the living Word of God...

EXCITING!

Anyway back to my CG today.... My sister-in-law was VERY generous! She was baking cupcakes for her baby's first month this sunday and she made extra for my CG!

LOVINGLY HOME-MADE CUPCAKES for E99 & N450! She had the fruit toppings, the cookie & cream hersheys toppings and the dark choco hersheys toppings...!

Here's how delicious the cupcakes were:

Kenneth & Yaozong devouring the cupcakes

I also took a family photo just now....

Cousins: Brother Aaron, Abel and cousin sister Nicole!

That's all for today!

Once again, see u at ASIA CONFERENCE!

Evan's birthday celebration @ my house

Grace suggested, we okayed, and for the 1st time, our department had a birthday celebration at one of our houses!

And they chose mine!

The entire morning I was packing & cleaning my house. Gracy Tan was supposed to help me. I thought she overslept but she was more 'spiritual' than I thought. She forgot the time cos she watched Ps Phil's service online. Well done Gracy! ;p

Anyways, I rushed out of home to grab ingredients for fruit salad. And grab food from the coffee shop @ Blk 412, Bedok North which sells Botak Jones (Western food) & il Piccolo (Pizza & Pasta). This coffeeshop is 'famous' for these 'celebrity' food. Do check them out! Quality food @ affordable prices!

Here's some of the food I ordered/made:

Yums! Can't wait to start!

While waiting for our birthday gal, we played with the only boy in the department - JAYVON!!!

Still could not really get him to smile alot... Nevermind, we will not give up.

Finally the birthday girl came and after lunch, we celebrated her birthday!

Just look at the cake! It's sooooo delicious and the best thing is... it's Peach Yoghurt Cake. That means the cream is made of yoghurt? We hope! Cos we finished it in one sitting.....

Finally, Grace & Evan had a wacky, noisy time playing Wi - Mario & Sonic @ the Olympics!

The 1st competition was 110m Hurdles...

Ready... Get Set... Go!

Gracy chose a fat, ugly character... Don't ask me why...

They tried to start calmly...

but they (esp Gracy) could not help themselves....

Our dear 2 players could NOT go very fast at all, and they knocked down ALL the hurdles! HAHA! They were top 8. They were 7th and 8th out of 8 runners....

We had a good time fellowshipping! Thanks for all the fun and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of the most COMPASSIONATE person I have ever met!!!

ETZone Bling Bling!!!

Amidst a week of morning prayer meetings, we had our ETzone Bling Bling event @ RW.

It's the first of many things. The 1st event with non-christian celebrities involved, the 1st fashion makeover, the 1st ET highlights (video announcements) and the launch of our very own, long awaited ETzone website! Check it out

etzone.org

Though the meeting stretched abit longer than usual, it was a really fun-filled, enjoyable one!

We had the Kids Central hosts Candice and Prim (and of course Lucas) hosting the entire event.


We had a beatboxer from Lucas' camp performing. It was cooooool... Beatboxers are amazing don't you think??









We played Jacky Wu's 我猜，我猜，我猜猜猜 game. 3 rounds of 4 contestants.

(1) Guess the King/Queen of Limbo Rock
Mason from W212! I think he has NO backbone... literally! HAHA!
(2) Guess the ex-National Skipping Champion
David Ang Choon Choon! Stunner!
(3) Guess who is spared from eating Bread with loads of Wasabi & chilli!
Kimberly Ong from E462! Drama mama! She fooled us completely!

Almost everyone was fooled by the 'fakies'!


Then we had a fashion makeover which I took pictures of! Look at these makeovers!!!

Not bad right? Thanks to our creative, young, stylo makeup artists - Joycelyn, Michele Tan & Iris!

And leaving you with the subzone picture....
















We had a great time!!!

Mummies

Well, I can't help feeling kind of 'left behind' especially since my peers are like having and/or already have kid(s). They have experienced 'promotion' over these last 4-5 years... Cliche as it may sound, but it's really amazing how time flies!

I work with mums, eat with mums, read mums' blogs (check out Dawn, Kless, Sandra, Wendy... even my ZS- Edmund and Francis' blogs under the 'Fellow Bloggers' column on the right of this page). I am surrounded by mummies (& daddies) almost all of the time!

Honestly, sometimes my heart gets stirred and it becomes itchy (xin yang yang)... I like kids. But some people 'warned' me that we would always like OTHER people's kids, not our own. Hmm.... but if you read my friends' blogs, it seems otherwise! They really LOVE their kids!

But the truth is KIDS=RESPONSIBILITIES

Some things I have to consider...

1. Do I have the finances $$ for maternity package, food, diapers, accessories & furniture, insurance, maid, education...? And the list goes on......

2. Can I commit to this almost lifelong? (I can't give up!)

3. Have I spent enough quality time with my husband and be able to share our personal space with a 3rd or 4th (or 5th or 6th or arrrrrr!!!) individual?

4. Am I able to balance work, ministry, husband & baby... WELL???

5. Am I able to work out care-giving for my baby 24/7?

6. Did I miss out anything else???

Well, I know we can just step into the shoes and fill it but I definitely want to be prepared! So, now as I ponder the above questions in my free time, I shall enjoy what I have now in life! :)))

Fruit salad

Introducing my hubby - the Ultimate Vege Hater. Anything green and leafy is carefully and sometimes diligently avoided by him. That makes it very difficult for his wife to cook anything for him. Cos I love vege and I almost always add vege into my foods. When we order 1 bowl of Ban Mian each, we will say, "Auntie, please put both bowls' vege into 1 of the bowl." As such, I have been constantly thinking of what I can cook/make for my dearest hubby. Well, as the saying goes, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach". It's kinda hard for me now to reach my hubby's heart using this method... Until finally.... finally.... I found something that is healthy, that I enjoy eating, that he enjoys eating too - FRUIT SALAD!!! I know I know that all you cooks are despising and probably chey-ing me now. BUT, honestly, I think my fruit salads are really yummy! Let me share with you the 'recipe' for 1 new salad that I invented, that I made, that Jared gobbled up last night. :) Ingredients: 1. Strawberries - Cut each into 6 pieces along its cross-section 2. Seedless Grapes - Pluck the stem away 3. Canned longan - Pour the syrup (aka calories) away 4. Apple and Pomelo yogurt by Live! Steps 1. Mix them altogether 2. Refrigerate 3. Enjoy! :)))

My Great Grand Pa Pa (GGPP)

Last Sat was a special day... A day I got in touch with my 'roots'.

A few weeks back, Val got a rare phonecall from our granduncle. He invited our family to the National Library as he donated my great grandfather's letters to them (To Torance: They are confirmed NOT Complaint Letters! HAHA) and the opening ceremony of the exhibitions would happen on 1 Nov. My Greatgrandfather (GGfather) received letters from Zhou Enlai, the 1st Premier of China. He was a businessman and a pioneer of a town in Malaysia (my dad's hometown- Kuala Pilah). Cooooool.... I never knew that.

So on Sat, my Malaysian aunt and cousins came down to SG and we had a rather sentimental, small family reunion @ the National Library. Here are some pics!

My granduncle Lin Qiong who donated my GGfather's letters. A Chinese writer himself.

My GGfather!!! Lin Kong Thing (What a shuai name....)

Do I look like him?? HAHAHA!

If you say 'Yes', don't bluff!!!... My grandpa was adopted!

More pics of the exhibition @ National Library

And here's my favorite picture from the publications...

Guess who this couple is?

My grandparents!!! Aren't they such a handsome couple??

For those who havent seen my Ah Ma before, here's how she looked like a few years back!

Really missed my Ah Ma. But she's in a better place today. :)

Anyway, I had a good time last Saturday. And I can say I am now a proud GGdaughter!