Chinese New Year Celebration

15 days of Chinese New Year (CNY) fled past.. It hasn't been much change this year; visiting of relatives and friends.. indulging in food we only get to eat during CNY.. gambling (yes we're allow to gamble during this festive period!).. AND.. collecting of red packets ($$$)!!! Hee hee.. As long as you're not married, you can shamelessly collect them from married family members/ relatives /friends no matter how old you are. ;)

On the first day of CNY...

See how packed my grandma's place was. Everyone was walking around, catching up with one another.. laughing and eating. I didn't even know where to point my camera. lol

Grandparents visiting usually lasted for a few hours.. After which is 'BLACK JACK' time! I know I sound like a compulsive gambler but I'm not okay! That's the only time where beloved cousins sit together to have some fun, just like the good old days where playing catching and hide-and-seek was our greatest pleasure. For most of them, each bet would not exceed $3. For me, NEVER more than $2. I'm stingy. lol.

Oh this was fun too - the BINGO game!

Here's my ticket. I won the grand prize together with my mom (we happened to get the same result for the final round) and so we had to SHARE the prize! :( lol lol.

My cousin as the dealer, looking all serious.. lol. All thanks to him who made this game especially fun and exciting.

Gathering with friends...

Posing with mandarin oranges! (A pair of madarin oranges are something we need to bring to the family we visit during CNY - bringing blessings and wealth to them).

Poker cards time again.

Yusheng (raw salmon mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces) is what we eat during CNY too. It symbolizes abundance, prosperity and vigor.

After pouring various ingredients and mixing them together, everyone is suppose to toss the mixture HIGH up in the air (some would stand on the chair. HA) while saying auspicious greetings.  

Catching up with ex colleagues......

The person who took this pic clearly needs some basic photography lessons ..it looked much worse before editing.. -.- 

BEST colleagues ever!

Finally I'm going to show off all the red packets (symbolizes blessings and wealth) I've collected this CNY.

I feel so blessed!

All my blog friends who are huge fans of Hello Kitty, I know where your eyes are staring at... I keep some of the nicer red packets.. Ask me, and I'll send one over to you.. ;) (of course without the $ inside).

This HAS to be a lucky year for me; I won $9 on the first day.. $14 plus grand prize of Bingo game on the second.. $12 from some friends last week.. $6 on mahjong 3 days ago.. AND so many red packets!

Thank you for a beautiful CNY~ :)

PS:  If you're not familiar with our Chinese New Year tradition and are keen to learn more, you may visit this website.

My Christmas Part (II)

Sorry it took me so long to post this. Too many photos to pick from.. I hope you'd enjoy these. :)

and the story continues from Part I.... As we strolled along Boat Quay...











to the five-star Fullerton Hotel..... to use their restrooms. lol. Of course we didn't go there deliberately to use their restrooms, we just happened to pass by.

Here's Clarke Quay! Still, very beautiful... :)

Did you notice my mini Christmas hat??? Cute right! Hee. We got it for 5 bucks. Quite expensive for a tiny hat like that but I didn't hesitate one bit because it was my FAVOURITE day of the year! Plus, I can keep it for next Christmas.

Everywhere looked so dreamy on Christmas eve.. .even the trees were exceptionally dazzling.

Enough of my little Christmas tour. Now, what is Christmas without PRESENTS??? Let's see what I got this Christmas.. (Pls bear with me while I read out the list) - ANGEL lamp, ANGEL oracle cards (not one but TWO decks), ANGEL musical box, 1 month TrueFitness membership, handmade (with love by Adele) pouch, Ipone casing (absolutely no reason for me not to get an Ipone now), bookmarks, sketchbook, shawl, bangles, necklace.. not forgetting those (belated) not in the pic; an artistic book for the artistic me (a-hem) and a donation made to Worldvision (to benefit one Pakistan girl to go to school) dedicated to me! Tell me, HOW CAN I NOT LOVE CHRISTMAS??? I feel so blessed! :')

Now, allow me to brag about this lamp. See the details and excellent craftmanship???  

Can't see clearly? Here's a close-up. Gorgeous (X100) right?!! Don't be jealous. You can also get one for yourself HERE. :)

Sometimes giving can be a joyous thing too. A few weeks before Christmas, I decided to send a gift along my blessings to my buddy from the States after knowing she will be getting married, three days after Christmas. I knew Holly through blogging and we've never meet in person. I 've known her as an upbeat and down to earth lady...always so sincere and caring (even to her little squirrel visitors!)

Anyway, she was so excited after receiving my surprise gift that she wrote me a long email (content of which is too mushy to be shared). ;) Not only that, she did a post in her blog about it before she left for her honeymoon. How sweet is that?!! I 'stole' a pic from her blog. Ssshhhsss.. For full story, pls visit her blog HERE (I promise you will enjoy reading her blog as much as I do). Once again, congratulation to my dearest buddy~!! :D














Lastly as you can see, this is going to be my last post for 2009. I'm not going to get all emotional because I'm really looking forward to a brand new year. Have you thought about your resolutions for 2010? I'm halfway through it! Hee hee. Before I end my last post, allow me to get all teary one last time with this video I'm about to share. Pili (another beloved blog friend, all the way from Spain!) posted a video on Youtube with my Christmas postcard (right in the middle) in it!! Thank you, Pili!

Enjoy to this one. Oh no, I'm getting all teary again.. *HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!! :D

Christmas (Part I) With Ten Thousand Angels

This restaurant is a love-at-first-glance. Yes, just one glance and I fell hopelessly in love with it. The name alone makes my heart leaps, 'Ten Thousand Angels'. Can you imagine thousands of Angels inside?? Of course I don't mean I counted them but if you're going to include those we can't see with our bare eyes, I'm sure there are. :) Make a guess how many photos I took inside? Over 80 of them! Goodness. I can stay in there forever! The waiters and diners must have thought I was crazy...  Morale of the story? Put Angels in your shop and I will do FREE advertising for you.

Location: 68 Orchard Road, #05-10 (beside Spotlight) Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839.

You HAVE to try their baked mushrooms. Superb, I tell you! As you can see, one piece was already gone before I could even snap a pic.

I had laksa pasta. Unique eh? Pretty delicious too (see my excited face and you will know).

Shoot me! Shoot me!!!

Street dancer Angel?

The Angels bookstand is a perfect choice for any book lovers (A-hem).

Seriously, if I were to buy one, I couldn't even decide which to get. Each of them is beautiful and adorable in their own ways. See this one!!! Place him at the edge of your desk and he'll be gazing at you while you work. All the stress and Monday blues will be gone. How sweet!

Who wouldn't want to play hide-and-seek with him?!!

Another one that made me hyperventilated.

Is this not cute or what?!! I want to bring him home next Christmas!

And this!!!... I think I should work in this restaurant! But I can't promise I won't spend all my salaries here. :(

Do Angels get emotional too?

Sorry I got all carried away and neglected something very important. Now, don't blink your eyes a second.. because the next Angel is a life-size one.......................................................... She is none other than my BESTEST friend, Adele (3 cheers for Adele)!!! I'm sure heaven must be missing an Angel. :)

So sweet and innocent right....

Pls forgive me. I couldn't control myself any longer! (I think my face look like theirs.. so chubby. lol)

Now do you understand why I'm so obsessed with Angels? Have you fallen in love with them too? Dear family/relatives/friends/admirers/secret admirers, if you are wondering what to get me for my birthdays (or any other occasions), you can never go wrong with this shop. Heh heh.

By the way, these are just photos for the first half of my Christmas eve celebration. Pls return for part two! Last but not least, here's wishing everyone lots of love, peace and joy this holiday. Merry Merry Christmas!!! :*

*pls do not use any image(s) from my blog without my permission. thanks!*