Instagram Snapshots ~*December 2014*~

I was too engrossed in catching up with Christmas 2014 posts that I almost forgot to share December's instasummary. It is just in time for a filler post too as I've yet to craft my next blog post.

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 December 2014~
What? It's already December? I've yet to get Christmas shopping done and there's a whole lot of cozy meet-ups lined up this December!




~5 December 2014~
Christmas started way early with the first group of frenz-- That Group That Shall Not Be Named. (Nothing to do with Voldemort. How it came about was plain lame.) 😂😂😂
The cover pic was edited by Vivi. We were attempting a "The Dog" style but somehow Vivi looked like those sinister cat, hence those cat ears. No doggie stickers for Ang Ang and Jo Jo who were conferred tiara and sunglasses instead. 👑👑👑😎😎😎
Downing lots of OLE without synthetic medicine to be well and good for this meet up was worth it! Really glad that we are meeting up more often. And when there are 2 bimbos in the group, there would be loads of laughter. Gosh, how we laughed at all the random topics! What a lovely evening with lovely company. xoxo 😘😘😘
View full 15-sec video here.



~6 December 2014~
The early Christmas gatherings continue... this time with my other family. Hey, we were spontaneously clad in red and black! Talk about telepathy!




~7 December 2014~
It makes my heart sing while working on these beautiful vintage images.
I thought I would do away with making Christmas cards this year as it requires weeks of free time to conceptualize, illustrate/colour and finally handwrite little notes in them. 🎄🎄🎄
This year to save time, I'm making something different yet still retaining my personal touch to the little gifts. I hadn't expected that it would take up this much effort and sleeping hours for such a little thing. 😭 T_T 😭 But you know what? Only people who give hand-made cards/gifts would know that they are giving people "the gift of time". 🎁🎉⌛😜😊
View full 15-sec video with music here.




~8 December 2014~
Too tired of doing work and decided that doodling is way more fun! ✏✏✏✏✏ Does anyone ever realize that the difference between doodling a seal, a hamster, a cat and a bunny or dog simply lies in the ears?




~9 December 2014~
Miniskirts + cold = fat legs
Said the Federal Housing Administration last year. 😱😱😱😱😱
The legs of young women respond quite rapidly to exposure to cold temperatures. The bodily response is a quick buildup of successive layers of fatty molecules under the skin areas of thighs, knees, calves and ankles of female legs. And once a leg that's left out in the cold gets that chubby look, it can be made trim again only by extraordinary exercises that most women find difficult to maintain. 😱😱😱😱😱
No wonder my legs are getting fatter over the years! I've been wearing dresses almost every day in an office that have gotten colder as time goes on. Along with the left injured ankle, my left calf has become significantly thicker and stumpier than the right as observed by a few people. 😭😭😭
Leg warmers can slim calves... right? 👯👯👯




~10 December 2014~
A sudden desire to drink hot chocolate now.




~11 December 2014~
I attended a course called Communicating towards Effective Relationships through Transactional Analysis by Dr Jessica Leong and it is the BEST course I've ever attended! I've picked out lots of skills for life and would try to internalize them. Throughout the course, I kept thinking that if everyone attended this course, the world would be a much happier place. Additional goodies include a Transactional Analysis 101 certificate and Dr Leong's creative name card which she calls it the stress card. For my public sector friends, this CSC course is really hot and I didn't know how difficult it is to snag a place until I spoke to some of the people there. Do check out the CSC website for details.




~13 December 2014~
Here at the Esplanade for Dim Sum Dollies The History of Singapore Part 2. I've always loved to watch satirical plays of my beloved country Singapore.




~14 December 2014~
So GPC can be "cured" with at least 7 hours of sleep consecutively for 2 days on top of no contact lens for days and weeks. 😎 No uncomfortable bumpy feeling when I blink today. Yay! 😝 This MUST continue till the festive season is over coz the bimbo in me wanna wear pretty grey lens! 👀




~17 December 2014~
Eagerly looking forward to the day when our department is to be declared GREEN ZONE with my iPhone 6 in chio chio gold!!! Disregard my past comments on how iPhone 6 without chamfered edges is ugly coz the chio gold outweighs everything.
❤
Now I'm on par with all my colleagues who have since bought their 6, S5, G3 and what nots and waiting together in bated anticipation for the GREEN light.
❤
Thank you to my father-in-law for enduring the 4-hour wait to help me get this and to settle all the procedures while I was at work!
❤




~18 December 2014~
We haven't done a bauble shot for years!!! And once we found the "perfect" reflective ones, we went trigger happy and happy and happy...

~19 December 2014~
Dear followers,
Thank you for all your love and support. 😘 I've got 178 fewer followers from about 3700 followers after the Instagram clean up of spam and fake accounts. I see some accounts having lesser followers by the hundreds, thousands, few ten and hundred thousands and even read news about famous accounts losing followers by the millions. With such a small percentage of decrease, I'm really happy that I've got so many true followers like all of you here!
I appreciate the likes and comments from every single one of you. For a platform like Instagram where everything is all instant, I particularly enjoy the 2-way exchanges all over the world with some of you who really seek to connect. I would also try to reply your comments, visit your pages and return likes/comments as and when during pockets of free time.
Thank you once more for following and have a gorgeous weekend ahead! ❤️ Jo

~20 December 2014~
I was packing some gifts when all of a sudden, the tiny "decorations" spilled across the floor. Argh!!! What a nifty little invention scotch tapes are!

~20 December 2014~
Had a snowman gingerbread cupcake for tea today!

~21 December 2014~
Sunday dinner at Prego coz Hubby was craving for authentic Italian pasta. Love the bread spread the most!

~24 December 2014~
2 Hello Kitties in the house! 🐱🐱 It's always nice working with you, Lynette, whether for work or for play! What a great department Christmas party coz of our lovely host with a lovely home and the lovely OEDian spirit and warmth, all of which liven up the Christmas spirit on Christmas Eve. Still waiting for the department wefie to post on Instagram! Hahaha.

~24 December 2014~
A department wefie with our gifts!

~24 December 2014~
Overdue DIY Christmas nails. Painted for days but only remembered to snap a pic now. First time using a real winter shade for the Christmas season topped with glitters. The hubz said that's the gun metal colour which he wants for a car. Ok so Essence "Luxury Secret" shade is actually "Gun Metal".

~25 December 2014~
tête-à-tête with the hubby just now.
❤️ Kh: Deardear, you know what's Pandora or not?
❤️ Jo: Of course la. That overhype charm bracelet that so many girls like but I don't... Once you get one, you're opening a Pandora's box of the evils of spending money on charms for every occasion... A simple one can easily cost $400... How can you not know what's Pandora? You're so lucky I'm not into it...
❤️ [I continued yakking away about how I'm not into the stupid Pandora craze and how I don't find their bracelets and charms to my liking.
Kh's expression changed from 😃😄😅 to 😁😳😐😕 as he heard me yak on.]
❤️ Kh: But if somebody gives you a Pandora, you will still wear it, right?
❤️ Then he took out a Pandora's paper bag and said, "Merry Christmas!"
❤️ My expression was 😶😶😶😶😶
❤️ So dear people who know me, I'm an unwilling Pandora girl now.
❤️ Disclaimer: This post isn't meant to offend any Pandora fan. 😁
View full 15-sec video here.




~25 December 2014~

Unwrapped all the Christmas presents thus far. 😍 This must be the first time I opened my presents during the wee hours of Christmas Day 🎄 rather than on Boxing Day 🎁. I cant afford to do so this Boxing Day this year coz there's work, another group of favorite people to meet and luggage to pack all on the same day. 

Top L and all R: 

Presents from work. I carried such a big bag home from work the previous day that my hubby asked, "Wow! What did you buy?" When I told him these are presents from my colleagues, he was shocked. "What??? Just from your colleagues... So big bag? So good..." 

Bottom L:

Presents from good frenz whom I've met up so far. I love them all-- frenz and gifts and notes.

~25 December 2014~
We went down to change the Pandora bracelet to the smallest size which affected how the charms looked so we changed some of the charms too to fit everything symmetrically and I feel that this bracelet is more like my style now. You made me an unwilling Pandora girl but it would slowly grow on me so thank you hubby! 😘 😘😘




~25 December 2014~
Christmas dinner at Alkaff Mansion Ristorante.




~26 December 2014~
Finally the F4 reunites as FOUR!!! It has been 1 year since it was the FOUR of us. And such telepathy to be dressed in shades of pink and red.




~27 December 2014~
Bye bye Singapore! Off to Vietnam, Hanoi!




~28 December 2014~
We are finally going to explore all the museums today! I reached Hanoi city yesterday with a bad bout of diarrhoea and nausea without even eating any Vietnamese food. After a whole day of sleeping, I hope everything is well and good! What a bad start to the trip.




~28 December 2014~
"Cha ca La Vong is listed as one of the top 100 things you gotta try before you die by many cuisine experts. It is exquisitely grilled fish served with bún, peanut, green onions, dills and shrimp paste." We are at the most authentic restaurant serving this dish. This dish isn't too bad but I think I could die without trying it. The perils when things are overrated.




~28 December 2014~
We saw at least 5 couples taking their wedding photoshoot at Ho Hoan Kiem Lake so we decided to photobomb one of the couple's pic with this.




~30 December 2014~
Latergram now while there's some reception. Beautiful sunset at Halong Bay yesterday evening.




~31 December 2014~
On a bamboo boat to visit a fishing village. Reception is intermittent in the Halong and Baitulong Bay areas. Happy NYE to all!





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[This is a scheduled post.]

Christmas 2014: The One On Christmas Eve

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


Christmas eve was spent with my department at one of our colleague's place. It has since become a tradition for our department to "crash" any colleague's new home with the reason of visiting new-born babies, wanting to gain home decor ideas and plain kaypoh-ness.

Lyn's house is so cozy and we had so much fun eating, playing charades, frisking with kids, exchanging gifts in a radical manner, taking lots of photos and gasp, even watching Frozen!




First up, here's introducing the 2 organizers for the party-- Hello Kitties Jo and Lyn. =^•^= =^•^=




We had Asian-Chinese fare like all the delightful traditional sweet and savoury kueh and porridge from Lyn's mum (Esther's Pot), and Western-British fare like delectable steak, chicken, shepherd, seafood pies and avocado mango salad from my bestie Cyn and Patrick's food kiosk (Little Britain). Our boss also brought every Singaporean's favourite-- otah.




We love to explore the closets of our colleagues and be completely enthralled by the huge space. Lyn has a walk-in wardrobe and so here are all the funny folks going crazy over the space! Dear hubby, may I have a huge closet too?




What were the kids engrossed in?




The kids were engrossed in Lyn's beautiful piano tunes coming from that pristine white "mantelpiece" or "table" look-alike. For my Facebook friends, you could view the videos here and here.




Enough of candid shots. Everyone wanted to pose with smiley Baby J and otahs.




Everyone also wanted to pose with everyone (and the glass room).




Boss hates to take photos so it is rare and cute to see him smiling like this.




Lol... forced by 2 ladies to smile for the camera.




When all had arrived, we took a wefie. It was almost a FULL department shot. It had been a long time since we had a photo of a full department attendance.




Time for charades!
















The "glassroom" is the favourite place of the house for all the mummies and kids who were unable to participate in the games. Look at all my colleagues-friends, they are all so beautiful with such adorable kids!




Our dear hot mama of 3. I wasn't looking at the camera coz it was taken during charades and we were supposed to be guessing the word.




And yes, a wefie w/o a selfie stick makes forearms big.

We ended the party officially with the gift exchange. I got inspiration of a new way to do gift exchange from here. It was the first time trying out this Christmas story game and I was so heartened that some colleagues told me they loved it! It might get messy with small kids around so if you're interested to try it out, do modify accordingly to suit your guests. I slowed down and shortened the story accordingly for the mix circle of adults and small kids.




Time to open the gifts!




Hehehe... this was the gift I prepared. I actually bought vouchers but didn't want it to look to obviously like vouchers so I wrapped it with a pack of my favourite snack Peppero. Should have seen the recipient's face when she unwrapped the present. Hohoho... And guessed what, for my gift I received the same vouchers from another colleague.




And then Lyn the wefie queen, suggested a departmental wefie with our gifts. I love this picture! Lyn looks funny here and in some wefies coz it is a challenge to balance the selfie stick, aim to get everyone in the frame, appear with big face due to being the one standing in front, sport weird facial expression counting 1, 2, 3 just so that that moment of memory is captured perfectly... I joined in so that she wouldn't be left out. Lol!




Just after some colleagues left, we remembered that there was wine and had a toast. Cheers to a great department!




They look just like sisters!




Baby Em is usually fine with strangers according to her mummy and also from all the photos I usually see of her on Facebook. She was cranky that day probably due to the large crowd and it was only after mummy and I acted stupid "flying" Em here and there, and throwing her up in the air that she finally snapped out of her cool grouchy phase and laughed.




"Quick quick, help me take a picture before she stops smiling!" This resulted in many shots of Baby Em and me.




Guess what was on TV? It was FROZEN! Lyn and Bryan were acting out how people should act if they got "Frozen" the movie for charades.




I wasn't kidding when I said we were watching Frozen. I love the movie but I wished the hype would slowly die down. Let it go! Let it go!




Little C is such a darling. She would just melt into anyone's lap and embrace.




When I photobombed, Little C cheekily lifted her foot to the screen and smiled.




Everyone wanted a piece of Little C coz she's just so friendly and I would think that the thought bubble on Little C should aptly state:
"Aunties ah, can you all just let me watch my Frozen???"




We asked Little C if she could look at the screen for a moment and she posed a sweet little smile. Such a darling!




Awww... so sweet. I love what a natural poser she is! Can I kidnap you home?




When we asked Little C if Colin is a "kor kor" or an "uncle", she said "ah pek". But but but, look at how sweet she was to him. She would grow up to be a heartbreaker!




This wasn't supposed to be a group shot. It was a photobomb by all of us. By now, Little C must be thinking, "Sigh... uncles and aunties, just let me watch my Frozen in peace." Even her mummy brought her little sis in to photobomb.




In my circle of friends, my official ear to ear 白痴 Chipmunks smile is called "the 白痴 smile". In our deparment, it is called "The Bryan Smile". Bryan does it best!

We all love to imitate "The Bryan Smile" as you can see.




It is always great to work with Lyn whether for work or for play! What a great department Christmas party it was coz of our lovely host with a lovely home and the lovely OEDian spirit and warmth, all of which liven up the Christmas spirit on Christmas eve.




All photos in this post were taken by two different iPhone 6 with brightening (coz of backlight in the house) and some filtering.