Thursday, May 31, 2018

Roses are red, violets are blue.

Someone other than my husband sent me flowers.

Long-stemmed red roses with baby's breath that absolutely swept me off my feet and took my breath away.


Only this secret lover will know what are the right buttons to push.
You see, I am an old soul who derives pleasure from things like good books, movies in bed, and gardening during my free time. 

Black dress: ASOS
Strappy heels: Stuart Weitzman

Sunset, roses and champagne - what a deadly combination.


"She is a mystery, but allow me to uncomplicate her for you. She isn't impressed by material things.
She's a romantic; all she wants is love, conversation, and wine."
- Jonny Ox


The secret lover I was referring to is Floral Garage Singapore.


Floral Garage is a local florist that caters to every kind of events, ranging from parties to corporate events.
Also, when I was browsing through the catalogue, there were Sooooo many pages to choose from and in the end I decided that I shall just stick to good ol' roses instead.

If you're fickle-minded like me and cannot decide which bouquet to choose for your spouse/ partner/ friend/ loved ones, you can always count on Floral Garage's "Freestyle service" which is their signature service.
Just tell them what are your preference of colours/ types of flowers, what to avoid, occasion, and leave the rest to them.

Floral Garage also offers same day delivery so you can be sure your loved ones can receive top speed service.
Thank you Chesna and Floral Garage for the partnership. The roses brightened up my day and brought a smile to my face!
I am sure you guys will continue to dazzle other deserving recipients with your lovely bouquets!



Monday, May 21, 2018

Life with boys, summarised in one night.

Adam had his good friends, Alden and Rayden, over on Sunday for his belated 9th birthday party and also because exams were over and the boys wanted to unwind.
When your bestie's kids are also your kids' besties, you can expect nothing short of a mayhem every time our families get together.

That was kinda what happened last night.
Everything was going fine, the kids had cake, they played Nerf waterguns in the pool, champagne was free-flowing for the adults, and the kids were having fun playing Catching when suddenly Rayden came running over to look for me.

I marched into my bedroom and saw blood everywhere on Ashton's entire left cheek. He had a laceration just slightly above his eye and the blood flowed as freely as our champagne.
Thankfully I had copious amounts of alcohol to help me deal with the ordeal calmly.
I simply scooped Ashton up, pressed a ball of tissue to his gaping wound and instructed Andy to drive us to Mt Alvernia as it was nearest to our home minus the long wait as compared to KKH.

After a consultation with the A&E doctor, it was decided that Ashton needed a plastic surgeon to stitch him up.
Another hour or so was spent waiting for the plastic surgeon and anaesthetist to arrive as it was already midnight.
Ashton was a champ, he didn't cry at all! He was just super brave about the whole thing.

I changed into scrubs and accompanied Ashton into the OT and when Ashton was comfortably sedated, I rushed home to pack some overnight stuff before rushing back again.

When I returned to the ward, Ashton was fast asleep with his favourite stuffed penguin.
I bunked with him that night. 
We were finally discharged some 14 hours later in the afternoon of Monday.
The hospital bill came up to be the equivalent of a Birkin bag, thank goodness for insurance.

This wasn't how I'd imagined my Sunday night to end.
Parenthood is seriously one heck of a roller-coaster ride and I'm sure you agree - it's not for the faint-hearted.


Anyway, here are a coupla photos from the party earlier on.
Alden (11), Adam (9), Ashton (coming 6), Rayden (9). They all spontaneously wore the same Star Wars shirts!

4 boys - 4 times the trouble.
I briefly imagined us to have 4 sons and my ovaries simply committed suicide.

My bestie Twinkle and I. Aiyo why I so dark from all the swimming.



Happy 9th Birthday my firstborn son. 
I love you for who you were before, who you are now, and who you will be.

Glad you kids had fun.
Next time, playdates at our house shall be Bible Studies, no more rough-housing!




Saturday, May 19, 2018

Life lately.



The other day, I secretly ate Adam’s snack which he had saved for tea-time consumption and when he couldn’t find it, I had to pretend to search high and Low for it when it’s actually in my stomach.
Eventually he started losing his shit because we couldn’t find it (because it was in my tummy) and he was SURE it was in the fridge as he put it in himself, I had no choice but to confess to my crime and needless to say, he was soooo mad at me. 

He said he won’t friend me anymore because I’m naughty and a liar, horror of horrors!

Thankfully, Mother’s Day rolled around and I was quickly forgiven over a lovely brunch at Marriot Hotel Poolside Grill.
I let my kids order whatever they fancied on the menu even though they always can’t finish their food and their strawberry milkshakes cost $18 per glass. Husband’s treat :)





I had a dandy good time savouring the seafood platter and sea-urchin spaghetti with my mom, my brother and my in-laws. The food was top-notch! 
For dessert, I forced served everyone my 3D flower jelly which I had spent hours doing with my bestie Twinkle.



She came over at 5:30pm on Friday evening and we finished at 12:30am Sat!!! 
But of course in between we had moments of shouting at our kids not to break anything in the house, we ate KFC, drank white and red wine, we talked rubbish (she told Andy she’s gonna bring me to a male stripper club as I’ve not experienced my life as a 30-something until I’ve been to one but anyway please don’t take her too seriously, I think she was drunk).

Amidst all the nonsensical moments we had, we managed to make some pretty awesome jellies alright!

Our kids had so much fun that night. Our husbands brought them swimming until the sky was dark, they came back to eat KFC for dinner, and continued the second half of their evening playing catching and Hide-and-seek in all the nooks and crannies of my house (all our bedrooms connect to the patio and my Study connects to the backyard which connects to the kitchen).
My house was like a frat house that night: nobody sleeps, everyone's drunk and hyper.

The next morning.... finding Adam asleep in the aircon without covers, and Ashton was on the floor.


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Anyway, Mother's Day wouldn't be made possible without my sometimes annoying but mostly lovable offspring.

Adam, my Happy Pill, my firstborn and thus making me a mom. 
I was none the wiser, and made many mistakes as he was the first baby in our families, at a time when most of my friends were either married-without-kids or not married yet. Sorry for being my lab-mouse. But you always have your signature smile for me, and never stop telling me you love me. 
When I’m angry with you, you will brave my beatings and cry but you never ran away to avoid the beatings or said you hated me. 
You showed me what unconditional love is all about, when I should be the one showing you instead. 
Adam is the one I can count on for directions to the mall carparks, to fix things, set up my Netflix channel, when hubby isn’t around.


Ashton, oh my sweet little baby. 
You’re polar-opposites from your rowdy and rambunctious brother, and you are such a joy to parent. Always the quiet, fuss-free baby, I thought I was particularly biased towards him as the last baby of the family, but when his Teachers told me they’re very happy to be teaching him and what a good kid he is, I feel so proud as his mother. 
Ashton is the one to fetch me a drink in my room, or bring me my bedroom slippers without me asking. 


To my children, I love you fiercely and every day I am trying very hard to give you my best💕👦🏻👦🏻 

To all you moms out there, working moms, stay-home moms, single moms, wishing you strong women a [belated] #happymothersday2018 #母亲节快乐




Sunday, October 8, 2017

A Better Florist: flower-sending made easy and affordable.

I received flowers today!
It's been quite awhile since I did.
But not from my husband obviously. Cos when I told him I received flowers, he asked if they are from my admirer #rollmyeyes.

Nonetheless, it is such a lovely bouquet :)


Buddy is thinking "Which is nicer Mummy? My crest or these petals?"


Thank you A Better Florist for this special delivery. They really brighten up my home and my mood!

There are, without a doubt, many floral shops in Singapore. But why should you choose A Better Florist? 

If you haven't heard of A Better Florist, here's a bit of information about them:

A Better Florist in Singapore believes that there's a story behind every bouquet they send out, whether it's for a birthday, an anniverary, a wedding, or even just something for yourself.
A Better Florist offer express delivery and makes the whole affair of sending and receiving flowers easy, affordable, and fuss-free.

Their flowers are sourced directly from flower farms in Cameron Highlands and as a result, only the freshest flora are used while keeping prices affordable.

Their intuitive website means that in just a few clicks, you can send an arrangement of flowers to anyone, anywhere in Singapore on the same day.
Free same-day delivery service is available between 9am - 6pm.

As if Singapore isn't enough, A Better Florist recently expanded into Hong Kong's and Dubai's markets as well!

For the green-fingered, besides ordering flowers, did you know that you can also sign up for floral arrangement courses at A Better Florist



Do check out A Better Florist for your dose of fresh flowers today.

P.S. With flower-sending so easy, there's no excuse for the husband now :P
Thank you A Better Florist for sending me this beautiful bouquet called The Josephine. 
I really adore the fragrance of fresh flowers that greet me every morning in my balcony.


Sunday, September 24, 2017

POSB Smart Buddy smart watch.


Hi, my name is Veron and I am not a tech-savvy person, period.
I still prefer to receive hardcopy bills and bank statements, and for the same reason, I never, ever pay my bills online.
Once, my Hubby chided me for being kayu, but he stopped after he accidentally paid the same bill TWICE because the screen hung and he clicked "Pay" again.
This further convinced me that technology can be evil.

I first heard about POSB's Smart Buddy watch on Kiss 92 FM while driving to work, and as expected, I had mixed reactions.

Firstly, for P1 and P2 Math, there are money components which require students to count, subtract and add money.
To prep Adam for recess, I spent a considerable amount of time letting him handle physical money and let him buy food at the foodcourts.
I am not sure how cashless is going to help the children in this Math topic.


But like it or not, CASHLESS is here to stay and will be the way to go.
source: SGAG

Have you guys seen this meme already? LOL


I was caught by surprise when I found out how advanced China is in terms of Cashless payments.
Did you know you can pay for anything in China simply by scanning the QR code and paying through Wechat or Alipay
Customer using cashless payment by scanning QR code and paying through Wechat.
Source: https://www.techinasia.com/chinese-tourists-wechat-alipay-global-expansion

This was further confirmed by my colleague who shared a video on Facebook about a roadside peddler allowing customers to pay via Wechat (picture above).
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Holy macoroni are they serious?! Where in the world have I been?!!!
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Introducing the POSB Smart Buddy (aka my-son-is-savvier-than-me) watch:



Smart Buddy is the world's first in-school savings & payments device wearable on your child's wrist.
Currently, there are 24 schools participating in this Smart Buddy program and you can find the list of schools HERE, or if your child's school isn't one of the participating schools, you may REQUEST for his/her school to participate via HERE (because that's the only way you can get this watch, you can't buy it from POSB branches).


The Smart Buddy watch is linked to an App on your mobile device, and you can track his or her expenditure, set the allowance limit, and see what he or she has bought during the day.
Sometimes, kids tend to overspend on stationery.




Features of Smart Buddy Watch:
- Manage your child's daily allowance limit
- Monitor your child's expenses
- Set savings goals
- Track the amount your child has saved
- Track whether your child has boarded the bus home or to school
- Track your child's location within the school
- Can be used at selected merchants like Sheng Siong, Popular, Pizza Hut, Comfort Delgro etc.

Adam's school is currently not one of the participating schools for Smart Buddy program but  here are some feedback from students/ parents whose kids are:
- No more worrying about forgetting to put money into kids' wallets.
- Don't have to worry if child loses his or her wallet in school/ bus.
- Do not have to worry about extortion of money from bullies.
- If your child suddenly needs to purchase eg. a file/ exercise book and you didn't give him/ her extra pocket money, he/she can purchase using the Smart Buddy watch (if the expenditure exceeds the daily allowance limit, he/she can call the parent to increase the limit)

So yeap, if you wish your child can use this smart watch, you may request for his/her school to participate in this program, it won't replace cash, it is merely an alternative payment method for the kids! And psst, I heard there are separate (ie. faster) queues in the canteens if you choose to tap & pay.

*Thank you POSB for the opportunity to attend your media briefing, you guys are fabulous!
You've absolutely changed my mind about going cashless, so much so that I'm tempted to use the watch for myself, linked to my hubby's bank account of course :P
 

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Restaurant reccomendation: Sa Yum Thai restaurant @ Club Street

Few things make my day as much as spending time over a hearty meal with family and loved ones.
Thanks to fellow mummy-blogger Ju Ann, Andy & I got the chance to be invited to a new eatery in town.


When you think of Club Street, mental images of bars and alcohol come to mind, but right smack in the middle of it sits a newly opened Thai restaurant called Sa Yum. 

Sa Yum is located near the public car park, in fact it is not difficult to locate it if you just walk up-slope from the car park.

I spot Sa Yum's yellow canopy!

Sa Yum Dining Room
42 Club Street, Singapore 069420.
Tel: 62211180



I really like the small, intimate setting in the restaurant.

The brightly lit interior adds a cheerful touch.


Click on the image for the full sized menu and prices.


This Thai iced milk tea is a staple beverage for me whenever I order Thai food :)
Hubby is drinking their iced coffee.

Introducing the first dish on our set menu: Grilled Issarn Sausage, a traditional Thai pork sausage served with sweet chilli dip and pickled vegetables.
$12

Chicken Tom Kha soup - Thai coconut soup with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf and galangal (a type of underground shoot which resembles ginger)
$15

It is not spicy yet very flavourful so Adam and Ashton both slurped it up as well.

Larb Gai - A Northern Thai staple minced chicken salad, $15.
This is slightly spicy with chopped chilli padi inside, but when eaten together with the mint leaves it gives a refreshing lingering taste in the mouth.
It's my first time trying this and I'm glad I did (I usually stick to conservative dishes which I already know whenever I eat out).

Prawn Pad Thai fried noodle - thin rice noodles stir-fried with egg, Chinese pickles in a tangy tamarind sauce, $12/ $15.
I like their generous servings of bean sprouts and prawns, especially when mixed with the ground peanuts and sprinkled with green lime.

Mango sticky rice - $10.
Who doesn't love the sticky glutinous rice with coconut milk and sweet/sourish mango? I know I do!
Even though this came as the last dish (dessert), we had no problems polishing it off the plate.

For the kids - American fried rice with Spam and deep fried chicken skin, $12.
Warning! This is easily an adult-portion!
We had to pack 1 plate of this because our boys shared this enormous serving.


Here's what Adam had to say about his meal:

Sa Yum's motto is - Good food, good mood!


With the chef Wanida, and Amanda :) and of course my Ashton who forever sticky to me but doesn't like to smile properly at the camera *facepalm*

Thank you for your generosity and hospitality, Sa Yum!
We are humbled by your graciousness and the food is truthfully very Yum-my!
I took 2 days to look through the menu before getting back to Amanda because I couldn't decide what to order! LOL.
I love pineapple fried rice with the meat floss on top but also want to try new stuff I've yet to taste.
Arghhh tough decisions! Hehee..
Sa Yum also has alcoholic beverages, so this is a great joint for those looking for a great meal and waterhole.

Will be back to try other items which we have not eaten last week :)

** Sa Yum is pleased to offer all MUMZILLA's readers a 15% off your bill (excluding alcohol), valid until 18 April 2017, just quote "MUMZILLA2017" when you pick the tab :)
Please call +65 62211180 for reservations today.