a new year; a new start?

for most people, the countdown to 2007 was much anticipated - a new year, a fresh start, and a hope for better things to come.

for me, 2006 was a wonderful year - probably the best yet in my short life. ;) 2006 brought me surprises and experiences that i never dreamt of having. most people claim to have the best of both worlds, well for me, i believe i've experienced the best of three worlds. you see, i was born and raised for 6 years in England - although i don't really remember much, there are still certain things and traditions that i picked up and will surely carry with my for the rest of my life. It was through the next 12 years that i spent in Singapore that i picked up the Singapore lingo - more fondly known as "Singlish". Picking up Chinese in primary school was not easy at first, but i am thankful my mum made me learn it; as without it i would not have been able to communicate as freely as i can with my China and Hong Kong schoolmates and hostel mates. The Asian traditions and culture i took to quickly. Although not superstitious, I am terribly fond of Chinese traditions - for example, i love the tea ceremony that takes place at chinese weddings.

On the 21st of January 2006, along with my dearest mum, i left my comfort zone and all that i was familiar with to embark on an adventure and journey from which i have brought back lessons and memories that no amount of money can buy. Not only did i learn so much about myself, life, our purpose in life, and the true meaning of being rich (no, it does not mean having a huge sum in your bank account), i also formed friendships that will last a life time! I really had a blast in 2006, and i found out who my true friends were and who i could count on in times of need. To my MPCC friends, thank you so much for keeping me in your prayers and for not forgetting about me.. To my Paradise friends - Fiona, Wilson, Ing, Noelle, Bruce, Katie, Leah, Erica, Jenn Yong, Phylia, Ern Chee, Lynn and all the rest of you, thank you for welcoming me and going out of your way to make me feel welcome.. you guys did a great job! you guys helped to make my time there the best! to both sides of friends, along with my school and house mates, I LOVE YOU GUYS LOADS.. May all of you have a wonderful 2007. may it be an even better year for one and all - but in all that we do, may none of us lose track of our purpose here on earth! :)

I'm sure 2007 will be an even more exciting year than 2006 - it'll be my first year in uni, i'll be staying in a new place and a whole new area, gonna get my driver's licence, and hopefully a car, gonna make heaps of new friends and so much more. the main thing is to seek first the kingdom of God.

a hostel mate of mine from Brundi, in Africa, taught me so many lessons about life that i want to share with all of you. so often we get comfortable with our lives and lifestyles that we fail to notice and bother about the more important things in life. But all that is another story for another time. :)

Being back in S'pore is great - good food and familiarity. i'm getting used to the weather, so that's a good thing! :) although i still havent put in any effort to exercise.. haha.. not so much cos i wanna lose weight, but more so because i need to increase my energy levels; i've become so lethargic! oh well, i'm off now.. heading down to Orchard.. will blog soon with pics..

here's wishing one and all A VERY BLESSED AND WONDERFUL 2007! May the new year be filled with love, laughter, friendship and success for one and all..
p.s.: thank you mummy darling for all your love - there wouldn't be me without you, and i wouldn't have anything if not for you! i love you a zillion truck loads!!!

p.s:Love and miss you guys back in Adelaide! see you guys in 7+ weeks..

garage sale

welcome home chris! i'm so glad you're back.. we all missed you heaps.. :) the garage sale that we had after service was a success.. i'm pretty sure every store sold quite a few things.. for me, i enjoyed just chilling with all my friends.. i'm off to Bali today with my mum.. will be back on monday, so till then take care guys.. will miss chating to all of you.. i won't be able to blog when i'm there, so to my dearest NOELLE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY in advance (for the 15th).. love and miss you heaps babe.. have a great week peeps.. miss al
P.S.: just got back my results.. i've got more than enough points to get into my course of choice for uni.. all glory to God.. :)


the kids put up a really great performance..

the lovely Sarah-Ann
Abbie and I
our daughter! haha.. she's got parts of both our names..
Louisa and I..
Manda, Chris and i.. welcome back..
Chris and iice-cream eating competition contestants..

wedding pics

my mum is officially on leave from now till the 19th, so we hung out today.. we went to Vivo city - the newest mall in S'pore.. it's really huge, but i think the layout is really bad cos like you walk round and round in circles.. it's really easy to get lost.. but all in all it's pretty good.. i recommend everyone to go take a look at it.. :) oh ya! and just before we left i popped into The Museum Shop.. my mum was saying that they've got pretty neat stuff, so i decided to check it out.. the sales guy was really nice.. he was really attentive - probably because i was the only customer in the shop! haha.. so i was just wondering around.. and when i stopped at the scarf rack, he said "may i ask a question? are you expecting?" i was like "NO!!!" then i burst out laughing.. it was hilarious.. he was so embarrassed.. "oh.. i'm sorry.. i'm so sorry" he quickly added.. sheesh.. i know i put on weight, but never did i think it made me look pregnant! haha.. like where on earth is the baby supposed to have come from?!?! haha.. it was soooo funny.. i told my mum when we were out of the shop and we both cracked up laughing.. gudness gracious.. suppose it's time for me to start exercising.. haha..

neways, i found a CD that contained my cousin's wedding photos, so i decided to upload some of them here.. these were taken in March 2005 in Canberra.. they held their wedding in the national museum.. it was really unique; like how many people can say that they got married in a museum? haha.. funny thing is, no one who attended the wedding actually lived in Canberra - everyone flew in for the wedding.. rather inconvienient in my opinion, but i probably would have never been to Canberra otherwise.. anyway.. here are the pics.. i had really short hair then.. haha.. have a great weekend guys.. love ya all! muacks!


Mireille and i.. at the tea ceremony
tea ceremony.. see how short my hair was at the back?
the flower girl Jennifer.. she's so adorable..
the bride and groom - Lyndon and Mireille (my cuz)
the museum in Canberra - where they got married
the wedding cake
Emilia, Mireille, Loretta, Lucy and Jen - i just love this pic.. it's breathtaking
My aunts and uncles
my mum's 2nd sis and i
Jen and i
my cuz Ross and i
my other cuz Fleur and i
my cuz, my aunts and i.. i blinked.. haha
my mum, her cousin and her husband and i
steph and i

the people at my table


my family.. :)

back in S'pore

ok.. so i've been back for exactly a week, although it feels a lot longer.. i've really enjoyed catching up with my friends and family.. i really treasure each moment i have with them, and no longer take anything for granted.. i attended my cell group leader's wedding on saturday.. there i met most of my friends again; having not seen them for just over 10 months.. the wedding was really nice - simple, but romantic.. i'm such a softie! i teared when they made a speech and thanked their parents for everything.. i'll probably be bawling at my own wedding la! that's if i ever do get married.. haha.. but yeah, it was really sweet.. everyone had turned to look at the bridesmaids - there were 8 of them! but no flower girl or ring boy - and no one realised that Soo Jin, the groom, was singing! we all thought it was a CD playing.. he's one of our worship leaders and he has a really awesome voice.. it was sooo sweet and romantic! haha.. they had a no-fuss kinda wedding, so they didnt have a dinner.. so i had dinner with my family, and my aunt's bro, who lives in Sydney, and 2 of her church friends.. according to my mum the food was "not very good", even though shewas the one who gave the dinner treat.. haha.. it was our first time there - we tried this new place in Changi Village.. i thought it was alright, but i suppose that's cos i havent had food like that for so long that it all tastes good..
sunday was probably the hardest day for me.. i say that only because it reminded me of Paradise.. not that my church is anything like Paradise. on the contrary, my church is probably pretty much the opposite of Paradise! it's a small, cosy family church.. almost everyone knows everyone, and i really like that closeness.. you dont feel like a stranger, nor do you feel like you insignificant or un-noticed.. anyway, as i was saying.. it really made me miss Paradise and my friends back home.. after service as we sitting aroung waiting to go for lunch, i was once again reminded of how long it used to take us to decide where to go for lunch - somehow we'd end up in Chinatown.. haha.. i miss the vietnamese restaurant! i want broken rice and a custard apple drink.. hehe.. yum! i must try the beef noodles when i get back.. :)

i'm supposed to meet Ern Chee and her sis and friend today.. Hsien Fei and i are supposed to bring them around, from 10-3.. it's 2pm now.. and they're still in Sentosa, so i'm guessing we wont meet them today.. :( i miss Ern Chee!! haha..

dinner at my place before i left. hope you guys enjoyed it.. :) miss u all..

Delia and Aida..

Bruce and his friend..
Sui, Katie and i
noelle, bruce and i
noelle and i

us again..

Noelle and Phylia

Delia and Ing

Katie and i

my baby Elizabeth and I.. Noelle is so scared of her.. haha.. had Liz since the day i was born!

my first day back in Singapore.. at Parkway Parade..

i honestly have no idea why i'm glowing.. maybe i'm an angel! haha.. yeah right!

out with Jas the next day
Jaslyn and i on friday

Soo Jin and Vanessa's wedding

Abbie, manda and i at Soo Jin's wedding..


Soo Jin singing to his bride.. awww...

with the newly weds..

awww... i feel so loved! hehe.. :)

my jie jie and esther.. love you both heaps!
michell, manda, dawn, me, abbie and hannah



"best friend" gang..


my famous cell group leader - Melvin - and i..


Kelvin and Esther.. i missed their wedding in May..

my uncle, his wife and i

after Sunday service

abbie and i.. don't we just look so studious? haha.. they're my new specs! i love them!



Hannah, Abbie and I.. trying to be Power Puff Girl's! haha..


Esther-Ann and i.. she's soooo adorable!