Instagram Snapshots ~*February 2015*~

Honestly, I still feel like it is the beginning of 2015 when we are actually a quarter way through. The warmth and sunshine of Spring is dawning on the Northern hemisphere whereas here in Singapore, we are starting to feel the dread of the heat and humidity.

February was a short and no doubt busy month and here's February Instasummary. As usual, Instagram videos on blog run in fast forwards, skips and jumps. They are better viewed on iamjolene Instagram page itself for sound and image quality, as well as full streaming and on smartphone Instagram app for emoji to display.





~*1 February 2015*~
For one of the Division team building activity today, our department did this. Cute max!
We had such fun working as a team to draw, colour, cut, decorate and put everything together. On why the soccer theme and why no breakdown into branches like the other departments... we explained how the 3 branches in our department do not work in silos, but together in tandem to pass the ball to our boss to achieve our goal. Although we didn't win this challenge, we are the champions in our hearts.




~*1 February 2015*~
Melancholic Danbo looks on forlornly at... peanuts. ~
I got to handle a toy Danbo (Japanese: ダンボー) for the very first time thanx to my colleague and I think I'm so gonna bug him to help me buy one too. I don't care the exorbitant price now. I just want a Danbo. Oops... Do I need a DSLR to take Danbo pictures that are Flickr worthy?




~*4 February 2015*~
Saw 3 friends on Instagram balancing eggs today and wondered what it was all about till I googled about it. Egg balancing has been connected with Lichun (立春), the solar term beginning Chinese spring (春) on February 4 or 5 when the sun is at the celestial longitude of 315°. I took only a few seconds to balance this super outta shape egg 😃 and then I decided to put my 2 Chi cats as props, knocking the egg down in the process 😣. Hubz could turn, snigger at me and call me "stupid" even when gaming. 😅 After that, I took about 5 minutes, snapped a photo and decided the egg wasn't photogenic enough with visible condensation forming on the surface. I wiped the egg and then took more than 5 minutes to get it to balance. Why does it get increasingly difficult?
Have you tried balancing an egg today?




~*5 February 2015*~
Lo Hei!




~*5 February 2015*~
Another group shot with Baby Samantha. Hahaha. We look just like the ambassadors of Mouth Restaurant.




~*6 February 2015*~
A colleague and I decided to pamper ourselves for lunch today coz we (read: I) write paper till wanna puke. For a normal lunch, sharing salmon sashimi is 奢侈的 happy food for 2. *burp*

~*7 February 2015*~
Pig trotters bee hoon. Yummy!




~*7 February 2015*~
Chili cheese fries. Delicious but I prefer their salted egg yolk fries.




~*7 February 2015*~
3 days later... The egg wouldn't tumble even with the silly hubby jumping about near it. No, I lied. I didn't leave it there for 3 days.




~*8 February 2015*~
How to get longer slimmer legs like Blake Lively (the cheater bug method without exercising) up on my blog. Link in bio. Told Ya it's the cheater bug method. 😝😝😝 #longlegs #leanlegs #skinnylegs #noexercise #blakelively #legenvy #photoedit #meitupic




~*11 February 2015*~
#workingfromhometoday coz I need a cave to hide from all the emails and phone calls #butfirstletmetakeaselfie and then take a break.
Feeling totally drained now "cooking" a paper.
My boss said, "You've got all the ingredients. Pick and choose then see if you want to serve sashimi style, whatever cooking style... Up to you to cook." 😜
I said, "Sounds really yummy. But the cooking process SUX." 😅




~*11 February 2015*~
In another 3 days, it would be our 14th anniversary together on the 14th of February. A few years ago, I've stopped counting the number of years we were together and the number of wedding anniversaries since all these numbers do not matter as time passes. What matters is that we continue to walk this journey of love together hand in hand through ups and downs and dance if we can. #sugarmeupclass95 #valentinesday #anniversary #blackandwhite #letsdance




~*14 February 2015*~
Today is a very different Valentine's Day for me. My sweet eldest sister, @kappo77 is currently in ICU. This is my most recent wefie with her during her wedding last November. She is most beautiful that day and she would always be beautiful inside and out. Please help my family and all who care for her to pray for a smooth surgery on Monday. Thank you. (Click on link in my Instagram bio for more details)




~*18 February 2015*~
3rd Lo Hei this CNY.




~*18 February 2015*~
A stroll at the newly furbished park in the estate after dinner. MIL walked to the front to take a pic and everyone did this... with @jovennnnn. @gnahiy you walked off too soon.




~*19 February 2015*~
大年初一 Chinese New Year Day 1 wefie.




~*19 February 2015*~
And then we went "mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" to welcome the year of the GOAT till the timer clicked. @troodss missing here. #全家福 #ilovemyfamily #cnyday1 #cny #chinesenewyear #大年初一




~*20 February 2015*~
So only after a full day of heat, humidity and perspiration did I achieve the hairstyle that I wanted. 😕 Feeling "meh" in the year of the goat 🐐 #butfirstletmetakeaselfie.




~*20 February 2015*~
Flipagram version of what BIL @gnahiy uploaded just now. CNY Day 2. All the chao posers visibly surprised at what's in the gold coin. Hahaha. 😂😂😂 with @gnahiy @jovennnnn @troodss #cny #cnyday2 #meh #lol #chaoposers #familyportrait #ilovemyfamily



~*20 February 2015*~
Delivery from Crust Gourmet Pizza. Truffle wedges, Gourmet Smoked Ham & Pineapple, and Peri Peri Chicken. YUMMY!!!




~*20 February 2015*~
Random "meh" thoughts in the year of the goat/sheep/ram:
#1 Random strangers who pass by to comment couldn't tell who the owner of this account is.
Not enough selfies meh? 😳 @_@
#2 Disliking the new MeituPic (美图秀秀) update coz the editing looks fake. I love to use mtxx filters rather than Instagram ones but the updated filters come with auto editing to slim the face, enlarge the eyes and blur out the skin tone all in one.
Not fake meh?
#3 I think I'm gonna cut my fringe soon. Current fringe is too untidy for daily look with many strands of antenna-like hair growing upwards. Always gotta crop the top of head in photos.
Not weird meh?




~*21 February 2015*~
Hubby and I headed to Fat Boys The Burger Bar after TTSH coz SOME people like @soonorsooner and @julestbl BO JIO us earlier. Now jio us 有什么用呢？😂




~*22 February 2015*~
We couldn't meet on Christmas so we met up on Chinese New Year instead!




~*26 February 2015*~
#Throwback to 8 years ago when I frequently drew tattoo designs on different parts of my body with liquid eyeliner. My mum was so used to it till this black rose ankle one when it dawned on her to ask "It's not real right?" immediately after commenting that the design was nice.




~*27 February 2015*~
#新旺 CNY menu- XW Chinese Baked Scallops. Looks so good but totally regret ordering this. It is almost the same price as our main meals combined but it kinda sux.




~*28 February 2015*~
It is a brand new day and henceforth the Blue-Black, White-Gold dress trend that has torn relationships at the seam all over the world has fallen out of fashion. Let's enjoy the last day of February with other things other than that dress. #whatcolor #dress #blueblack #whitegold




~*28 February 2015*~
The most atas BBQ with the VIOS ever!




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羊年 Chinese New Year 2015 Part 2

WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY
Loooooooong picture-ful post. Go get your drinks and popcorn while waiting for the images to load. You could even savour your main dish in front of your computer. Those viewing this on your smartphones and other hand held devices, I suggest you skip reading this post till you get home or you might risk jamming your device and cursing at my blog in public. I know my turtle friend did that once minus the cursing in public. =P


There are 15 days of Chinese New Year. In certain areas of China, Chinese folks observe the 15-day tradition closely. In Singapore, CNY Day 1 and 2 are official public holidays though many Chinese continue to celebrate CNY over the next two weeks by visiting relatives and friends and gathering for feasts.



~*CNY Day 10*~


The VIOS group organized the most atas BBQ ever for our CNY gathering this year. The company was lovely and all the food was SCRUMPALICIOUS! We had a smorgasbord of food like fish, scallops, mussels, gambon austral prawns, squid, gourmet sausages, rib eye steak, bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms, portobello mushrooms topped with cheese and truffle oil, grilled vege and chicken skewers, yellow and white corn, potato and cheese wrapped in popiah skin etc.




It was a full attendance that day.
Kh looked like a retard here coz he was laughing at something funny that Flor said.




Perhaps this is a better group shot save for the fact that my hand was up to sweep my wind-blown hair away from my face.




The girls were photobombed by Jerm.




The boys were photobombed by SL.




The Super Family arrived fashionably without their capes because Edna fromThe Incredibles said NO CAPES!




Those who met up earlier at Peggy's place for the preparation process.




Jac was the head chef that evening while all the guys were the sous chef.




The sous chefs.




Benson's hobby with planes came in useful during the BBQ to start the fire. While other people at other pits were frantically fanning the charcoal, Benson simply switched on the plane's motor and soon, the charcoal were evenly heated.




Pandan leaves were used as brush to grease the food for more flavour.




These "Gambon Austral" prawns were so finger-licking good! When they were cooked, a heavenly fragrance of grilled atas prawns wafted through the air. They smelled and tasted almost like crab or crayfish. Most of us had a cholesterol-rich time sucking the brains out of the prawns other than feasting on the sweet succulent flesh. I know that sounds absolutely disgusting but people who love sucking prawn heads would tell you how delicious the rich yolk-like liquid oozing from the head tastes. My Singaporean-Chinese friend once told me that her American room mate exclaimed, "You mean these things have heads???!" when she cooked them whole without shelling them. Seriously my dear American friends, you're missing a lot.




Look who had got so much prawn shell on his plate?




Gourmet sausages in original and cheese flavour. Delicious but quite salty,




We know we have expensive taste when even for mushrooms, we had to choose portobello.




Portobello mushrooms topped with cheese and truffle oil. The layer of liquid gold you see there was the juice from the mushrooms and not oil. Slurp!

The rib eye steak was tenderized by a commercial tenderizing marinade and old-school pounding. Gotta try to remember the name of that marinade. Yummy!




Those who wanted medium rare had it a little too rare. Back to the grill!




Just one of the many signature dishes of Jac's -- potato and cheese wrapped in popiah skin.




We had an assortment of sauces and dips like truffle oil, bbq sauce, black pepper sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and sambal chilli sauce. The latter two are pictured below.




The sweetest corn I've ever tasted.




I knew Jon made some beer-infused mussels but the stuff in this picture looked too white to be mussels.




Squid cooked in different styles.




Guess what is this gross looking insect-like/ alien-like creature? It is actually a piece of mussel. Would you eat it if you didn't know that?




Time to Lo Hei! This is a vegetarian Yu Sheng and the mock raw fish are Konnyaku jelly.




I don't particularly enjoy BBQ in Singapore as it is usually synonymous to school days gathering, chalets, humidity, burnt chicken wings, lots of processed food and no vegetables. I would get a bad sore throat the day after a BBQ. I know that BBQ in the west is a completely different affair with lots of grilled meat and healthier food choices (or at least healthier than a typical BBQ in Singapore). Everyone agreed that that was the most atas and delicious BBQ we have ever had, quite unlike the usual Singapore BBQ. As we grow older, we seemed to enjoy the finer things in life.


All photos in this section were taken using  iPhone 5 with iPhone filter.

~*CNY Day 11*~


Some of Kh's paternal cousins dropped by to 拜年.




After that bestie Cyn and my Godkids came over to 拜年.




Boy Boy ang pow for Jase. Girl Girl ang pow for Charmaine and Mia. Charmaine is always around. She lives in our hearts. =)




Godpa Kh and Godma Jo with Jase. He is such a big boy now.




This wasn't meant to be a multiple shot anigif thingy. You know how my poses would change when it is a multiple shot thing.




Godpa Kh was Mia's favourite playmate that day. Cyn and I were AMAZED by their bond. Cyn was particularly surprised as except her father and brother, Mia doesn't usually like guys.




Look who had such a sweet smile, who had such a punch-me face and look who photobombed.




Kh put Mia on the couch and she started to smile coyly and posed.






He taught her some hip hop moves like folding the arms, tilting head and those yo yo hand gestures. Jase assisted her in imitating the actions.




Kh also did the Mission Impossible baby thing and the Lion Dance thing. Mia was so tickled!




Intrigued by the magnifying glass and giant eye.




Who was the notti one who pulled down the pineapple lantern and looked up so innocently at the putting up of lantern thereafter?




This is how Mia would look in future when hoards of boys call her and she doesn't know how to reject them.




Group shot! This sofa is getting more and more air time here.





~*CNY Day 14*~


My eldest sister passed all the mental and physio tests and was certified fit to be discharged after her open brain surgery and being warded for the past 20 plus days. (Those of you on my Facebook would have read the updates on her condition.) Since she missed almost the whole Chinese New Year, we had a mini reunion dinner and Lo Hei in the comfort of our home on the 2nd last day of CNY.




I bought the big Yu Sheng from Din Tai Fung. The dish was so big and I was practically knocking into everybody during the whole commute but look at how little the whole thing was after pouring all the ingredients out.




The crispy golden pillows which my sis and I love were replaced by yam shreds though overall, Din Tai Fung's Yu Sheng is good.




My sis can't eat certain food so she had food separate from us in containers like CUTE Mickey and Minnie Mouse lunch box! So CUTE can? I also want.

All photos in this section were taken using  iPhone 5 and iPhone 6.

This post sums up CNY 2015.

I know that many Chinese LURVE CNY and for those of you who have been reading my blog from way back then, you would know that I'm not a fan of CNY. This CNY has been a little different especially with my sis's ordeal during the festive period and the strong fight that she had put up.

For those who don't know, 1 in 3 people drop down dead immediately from aneurysm rupture. 15% of those did not die immediately die on the operating table. Majority of the remaining would overcome the surgery with various degree of vegetative state. Some do not regain full control of their lives. Finally, a pinch of them would recover and be fit enough to go back into the workforce and lead a relatively normal life. My sis seems to belong to the pinch of people. There is still a 6-month after surgery observation window for her when anything could still happen. However, we are remaining hopeful as she had really battled against all odds to show everyone what a true fighter she is!

I am once more humbled to be thankful and appreciative of what I have. Do Treasure all familial ties, kinship, friendship and most importantly, HEALTH! May the year continue to be a rich one for us all!