Merry Christmas from Australia !!

Yes I am so useless with this blog.  Merry Christmas from Tasmania, Australia !!

So it begins

And so the training begins. Being as unfit as I am, I'm starting slow and small, but I'll get there.

First step is to get more active. This was a big constraint previously when you have a boss insisting on you sitting in front of your computer all day and all night after you get home. I also used to get dropped off and picked up from work everyday by my dearest hubby. But working in the CBD really doesn't allow that, so every morning and evening, I battle my way through the throngs of everyone commuting to the CBD. You might be thinking, oh what's the big deal, it's just taking the MRT. WELL, let me tell you, I get on at commonwealth for a few stops, switch up at Outram park, speed walk from the green line to the purple line, make my way to China Town, switch up to the blue line, and make my way to Telok Ayer, and then walk to office. This is more walking than I have done in ages. Much less twice a day every day. At lunch time I try to go on walks too just for adding activity.

I'm gradually adding exercise to my routine, squats here, plank there. We also spent 4 hours the other day walking up and down the CBD filming a TOP SECRET teaser video (If I tell you I'll have to kill you). Side note: I can't seem to get away from production no matter what job I end up in and I LOVE IT!! Today I did 10 laps in the pool and some leg lifts and boy am I aching all over. (SUPER UNFIT). But anyway, the goal, is firstly to get fit, strong and healthy enough to participate in, and COMPLETE next year's Reebok Spartan Race Singapore. Also to get back into my size 10 jeans that fit perfectly in 2013.

This photo was taking 2013 December at the Launceston Country Club for hub's and my wedding anniversary. Size 10 everything. I doubt I will ever be anything smaller than a size 10 but hey, that works for me.

In case anyone was wondering, I'm wearing a coat from Myer, my favourite Chanel clutch (a gift from my cousin-in-law) and ZU heels from Crown Casino in Melbourne.

I'd post a current photo but I hardly take photos, also i'm too fat for photos so like whatever. I'd say I'm about a 14/16 now, so it's not a huge task to undertake, but for a food lover like me, it's going to be hard.

Back after a long Hiatus

Sorry for the longest Hiatus !! I'm sure we all know how life gets. So much has happened I don't even know where to start! 

I suppose we can start with career. The last time I blogged, I was business development for the digital startup - e-sol media. Let's just say I reached the end of my tether after a very long year and quit. I got a couple of offers, and eventually ended up in a beauty supply and retail company. I'm not even going to go into that. But now, I think I have actually found my dream job. I am happily employed by Spartan Race! If you haven't heard of them - http://www.spartan.com/en And they've inspired me so much I am in training for next years race! This years race for Singapore is coming up in November so there's no way I'm going to make that. (I'll be working on site anyway so no go). For the first time in ages, I actually have time to blog regularly, so you can expect lots of posts of rubbish haha. 

Please don't take offence to what I'm going to say next; I have had it with working for Asian employers. Aside from a select few, my asian bosses have worked me to the bone, with no regard for rest, family and personal time. Yes yes, I know what the mentality of working in Singapore is like, and I've had heaps of people tell me their employers are the same. Maybe I'm not lucky enough to get the good bosses. But let me tell you about working for an American company. They look out for you in so many ways that actually warmed my heart. They appreciate the good work that I do, and make sure I have enough time to spend with my family. I've never had anyone tell me to take the night off and not to do any work. 

I would also like to say a quick thank you to a dear friend Marcus from Social Metric who helped me secure this job. I truly appreciate you looking out for me and I will forever be grateful. Side note, Marcus' company Social metric is one of the best and most hardworking social media companies I have ever encountered. So hit them up if you ever need some Social Media Marketing done. 

So here's to living and breathing the Spartan Lifestyle. Wish me luck! 

#SpartanStrong

Why I want to go back to Aussieland

I had a pretty sick pregnancy, and even til the 9th month, I had massive morning sickness all the time. It came to the point that while my tummy was growing, the rest of my body parts were shrinking. After giving birth I was lighter then the weight I was BEFORE I fell pregnant. At some point in the pregnancy, I couldn't eat meat, it made me sicker. All this while finishing the last semester of university.  All I wanted to do, was to go back to Singapore and see my mum & dad, and be around friends and be back in my bedroom. But I knew nothing would be the same again, I was married to an Australian, and about to have a baby. I convinced my husband to uproot his whole life to move back to Singapore for me. And so sometime after Jacob's 1st birthday, we packed up our lives and shifted back here. Mind you I was in the middle of a very difficult & expensive PR application. Which I redrew the moment we knew we were going back to Singapore. On hindsight, I should have stuck it out a few more months and sorted that shit out. But then I found out my grandmother had passed away, and I was done done done. Home was all I wanted.

So here we are back in Singapore. And again with the visa issues, but for my husband this time. I have been working as a business development manager for a good friend's Digital Marketing company. Til my last day last friday. Come 1st July, I will be Director of Digital Marketing for a french start up. Also digital marketing but leaning more in augmented reality and specialized apps. Pay is much better, and holidays are better, and I'm definitely blessed to have been given this job. But I'm really tired. To be honest, pre-jacob, I was a producer for Moving Bits, and the working hours were insane. But I loved it. So I figure I never really thought about how hard I was working. Only now, back here, being a working mother, I realize, there is absolutely no work life balance. I answer phone calls from clients on the weekends and find myself doing proposals at 1am in the morning. It was a big reality check when I found myself constantly telling jacob: Not now, mummy's busy.

Coming back to Singapore, I see busy office/bank/business folks, busy busy busy working all night. I assistance produced corporate video for a huge company and we wrapped about 9pm. I asked a gorgeous american lady in her fancy D&G shoes if she was heading home, but no, she was due to  receive a skype call from a client in the USA at 10pm. She predicted she'd be home about 1am. I asked if she stays so late very often, she said yes. The office was amazing, it's the kind of office on one of the high floors of raffles city, overlooking fantastic views, with glass offices, fancy pantry, delivered office lunches for everyone. The kind of office I'd love to work in. But after speaking to this beautiful american lady. Definitely not the type of lifestyle I want. Day after day, I go to retail stores, I visit takeaway places and restaurants, supermarkets, and I never fail to notice how nobody takes pride, nobody is happy. Even down to the smallest thing. Like dispensing an ice cream in macdonalds. Here they mostly do a half ass job, and shove it at you. (Yes there are exceptions, yes there are some very lovely happy people working in mcD, thats's why i used the word MOSTLY) Yesterday night my mcflurry was all piled to one side, the other side was empty. But in Aussie they do it fast and they fill it properly, and they give it to you with a smile. And do you know why? Because they are actually paid decently in Australia (thank you minimum wage). Working in Mcds in Oz is not a dead end job, like it is here in Singapore. Here working in Macdonalds or any fast food place or even a cashier in the supermarket is considered a dead end job, and the pay is rubbish. That's why there is no pride, because they are not happy! How we can be the most expensive country in the world and have no minimum wage is beyond me. How we can have the highest paid PM in the world but we have so many struggling singaporeans is beyond me. How we can be expected to pay so much for "subsidised government housing" for a 99 year lease in a shoebox, when I can pay the same for a lovely 3 bedroom house in Australia, is well and truly beyond me.

My heart breaks for the old aunties & uncles who are still plodding along every day, working at 70 because they cant afford not to. Those still having to push a cart around a hawker centre, cleaning tables. I tend to return my dishes to them after I finish eating and tell them thank you, and I've always felt sorry for them, but one particular old lady, looked a whole lot like my grandmother, and I can't even imagine my little old granny pushing a cart around collecting dishes to survive.

Yes I am proud of my country, yes it has so much to offer, but it's becoming a rich man's playground, and a tourist hub. Everything is too expensive. My 2 year old's school fees are over a thousand dollars a month.

So now it's all about saving, and this time I'll use a immigration specialist to apply for my visa for me. And once my visa comes through, I'll go back to Australia. No I would never give up my Singapore citizenship, I will always be Singaporean. My family is here,  my roots are here, my childhood memories are here. But for us, Australia will be the better place.

Australia will be home.

Wedding Anniversary

My 2nd wedding anniversary with Christopher is coming up! So I'm going to reminisce by sharing some of our photos from our special day. Our wedding was nothing like the weddings you see in Singapore. The ceremony was at this beautiful outdoor gardens, followed by the reception at a small but elegant restaurant owned by a friend. Christopher baked our 3 tiered red velvet wedding cake. This has huge significance to how we got together!! The first time we met was at a grand final party, and when I found out he was a baker, I started complaining how red velvet in Launceston was scarce, and if found, not very good. So that sweetheart, baked me the most moist, delicious red velvet cupcakes ever! And the rest is history! So enjoy our lovely photos <3 <3

with the in laws 

coming in ceremony 

you may kiss the bride :) :) 

about to cut the cake 

hubby's hard work 

carolyn, izy & joseph

     

our first dance as man & wife 

                           

my wonderful parents 

our nephew joseph, the ring bearer

beautiful wedding grounds 

the backdrop to our wedding 

the bhojwanis + cunninghams 

the boys 

coming in our vintage rolls royce, kindly sponsored by Richard!
Please contact me if you wish to rent this beautiful vintage rolls royce
for your wedding/leavers dinner/function

<3 

my parents soaking in the beauty

With our celebrant Cheryl 

Some of our beautiful friends & Family 

my girls & joseph lol 

2 of my loves + nephew joseph and niece izzy


<3 <3 <3

Gotten married recently ? Share your experience/blog link with me! I'd love to read about it xxxx 

W Hotel Singapore - Drop the T2

I recently wrote a High Tea review for ENVY, and I'm too lazy to write another one for my own blog, so here's my review copy and pasted lol. 

I recently sat down with W Hotel Singapore’s gorgeous b&f insider Laura for the much acclaimed ‘drop the T2’ high tea in the much talked about Woo bar. Upon arrival, the doormen rushed to open our door for me and kindly gave me directions. W hotel is nestled in the luxurious Sentosa Cove so it can be quite difficult to get to, fortunately you can make use of their shuttle bus from Vivo City. Check out their shuttle bus schedule here. Entering the hotel, I was enchanted by their eclectic furniture settings following their modern and hip urban jungle theme. I caught up with Laura in the comfortable Woo bar, overlooking the pool and gardens, colourful bean bags bringing vibrancy to the green and blue hues of the outdoor area.

                                                                                                                                                             Woo bar 

                                                                                                                                                              Woo bar 

                                                                                                                                         Woo Bar

                                                                                                                                                   Pool & Gardens

W hotel’s drop the T2 set comes with a free flow of freshly brewed coffee and a variety of Dilmah’s finest tea, including their exotic seasonal flush, harvested only once a year! As much as I wanted to try the tea, I cannot resist a good coffee and theirs was so good I had 3 cappuccinos!! The staff was quick to take our drink order, followed promptly by the arrival of the high tea set, layered up in a beautiful bird cage.

                                                                                                                       High tea bird cage set

The sweet treats consisted of chocolate crackles, gorgeous macarons, crispy crones (croissant-scones) baked to perfection, flavoured curd balls, crunchy on the outside soft on the inside whoopie cookies, rich chocolate cake covered in orange cream sprinkled with nougat, and finally, my personal favourite, the fresh berry trifle served in adorable little glass jars. The staff were extremely attentive to our needs, refreshing our teas and coffees when we were dry. To our surprise, they even brought us savoury treats which was exactly what we needed to balance out the sweetness of the birdcage selection. The savouries included a foie gras chocolate tart, a egg & crab sauce mantou, a tika salmon papadum combination, and my personal favourite, and a surprise to me, brie cheese sushi. I had to have multiple cheese sushis to be satisfied, the soft cheese with the sourness of the pickles hidden underneath was indeed a delight.

                                                                                                                                     Cappuccino 

                                                                                                                       Chocolate crackles

                                                                                                                         Flavoured Crones 

                                   Berry Trifles, whoopie cookies, macarons, chocolate cake with orange cream, curd balls 

 

                                                                                                                                      Brie Sushi

 

                                                                                                                                      Chili crab mantou

               

                                                                                 Foie gras chocolate tart & tika salmon papadum 

   

B&f Winsider Laura can help you with all your b&f needs during your time in W Hotel, she’ll give you insider tips on the coolest most awesome place to hang out in Singapore. She’ll help you customize your holiday to however you want it, whether touristy or understated. If you need a special dinner, a party or even a surprise proposal set up, Laura will arrange it all for you. Contact her at Wbfinsider.singapore@whotels.com for all your b&f reservation needs or ask for her when you get to the hotel.

Dear Laura & I 

I give W hotel Singapore 5 thumbs up!! Thank you to the beautiful b&f Winsider Laura for having me, It was the best possible place for us to spend my Friday afternoon 

Halloween

Oh my goodness, this post was supposed to be up months ago !! Jacob's first halloween in Sommerville Park. We are super lucky to live in Sommerville Park. It's an expat area so there's a huge mix of foreigners hence we celebrate lots of special days here. I have grown up trick or treating and I wanted my son to get the same experience. Now the costume was the tricky part; Singapore is so hot, and Jacob hates anything strapped on, or slung over him, or anything on his head. So no headpieces/hats. In the end, after searching for weeks, we found the costume at home! It was my brothers old space robot costume from his kindergarten  performance! And it fit jacob perfectly :) Best thing about it, it was airy, loose, not too long, it was as simple as slipping it over his singlet and shorts.

So at 6pm, when we were looking down and saw heaps of witches wizards and all sorts of magical creatures gathering downstairs, we hurried down for the free ice cream and pop corn and started round the estate. Halloween is always a sight to see, with kids running from door to door and the echo of 'trick or treat' coming from all corners. The estate is absolutely huge, so you can get bags & bags of candy. But Jacob being so little, we didnt go too far, just enough for him to have 3/4 of his pumpkin bucket full, and home we went. I may be 25 and a mother now. But I still adore Halloween <3 <3

Jacob's little space robot outfit 

Too impatient to wait til we get home lol 

Some of our awesome neighbours

examining his haul 

tasting his haul :)


How do you spend your halloween ???
 Share your experience with me!

<3