An Adventurous 2012

It's just a few hours till the end of 2012! And since every other blogger is doing a recap, I think I shall too. So what adventures unfold this year? 

January : My family & I took an impromptu trip to Eagle Ranch in Port Dickson. It was our first time as a family there and it was a good time of relaxing and chilling.. 

February: Another family trip to Fraser's Hill. We had a great time just enjoying the cool weather, bird-watching and eating. 

February : An early Valentine dinner up in Genting. 

March : Pre-Wedding Photoshoot at Bukit Tinggi with me twinnie. 

April: A day trip with family to Kuala Selangor. An adventure indeed. We felt the earthquake that hit Japan there. 

April : A Boys' Brigade trip to Melacca but we did enjoy the food and sights nonetheless. 

April : An all girls trip to the sunny beaches of Port Dickson.

May: A drive up the East Coast with my family - eating, enjoying the sleepy towns and taking lots of pictures. 

May : Another diving trip with buddies in Perhentian Island. :)

June : A Boys' Brigade national annual camp with 2000 over young people. 

June : A short trip to Seremban for a friend's wedding and food, of cos. 

June : A last minute trip to Bangkok with sisters. Shopping!!!

September : Paris! A dream vacation with Rockstar. Our 1st honeymoon. 

October: A last minute diving trip with SIL to Tioman Island. I spend lots of time reading and enjoying the sun. 

October : A short weekend away with friends @ The Asian Sports Village for some water sports and outdoor camping. 

October : 2nd honeymoon with Rockstar to Tokyo & Osaka, Japan. 

November : I brought a bunch of young people to Philippines. An eye-opening trip.

And of cos the biggest adventure of my life is getting married to the man God has chosen for me :) Thank you Jesus for him..

Of cos, not forgetting lots of weddings, events, work, Boys' Brigade, family, changes, opportunities, eating in between. 

Such a busy year but amazing too... It was a roller-coaster ride but as 2012 draws to a close, I am looking forward to 2013 and wondering what it will bring on. Lots of plans but will leave all to God.  He has shown me just how Awesome life can be when I put my life, my husband and everything into His hands. 

Good-bye 2012!

NCO Retreat 2012

A week before Christmas, I was away. Up in Genting Highlands for NCO Retreat with a bunch of young people. Weather was good, although we were stuck in the room most of the time. We had a lot of fun playing games, learning, bonding, sharing and laughing. 

Opening parade @ Peaceheaven's Carpark

That's me conducting the lesson on 'Understanding Responsibility'. 

This year, we decided to focus on 7 lessons taken off from a book called 'My Journey' written by a 17 year old boy, head-prefect of Sri Nobel School. The lessons were practical and easy for young people to grasps. 

Group discussion, part of the lesson. 

'Connecting' game. 

I got the game off the internet, played it at my cell Christmas Party and then here again; all customized to different group people. Here, I asked them to say happy things about being an NCO and when another agrees and shouts 'Connect', he/she throw the ball of strings to the other person. And it goes on and on until everyone connects. Cool right? 

Morning Exercise. 

Freezing cold wind. We played 'Electron' after some stretching is done. Something like Catching but with a twist. We paired up. A catcher have to chase the odd 'electron' until he/she finds another 'electron' and taps them. The partner of that tapped electron will have to run and find another 'electron' before being caught. 

Yes, that's me in grey sweater. I joined in as it was super cold and I needed to warm up. Enuff said, sometimes its good to connect with your inner child. 

Another group work on 'Commitment is a choice' lesson.

Playing 'Santa, Santarina & Reindeer'.

We made a curving line on the floor with masking tape. 2 teams, one on each end of the line. Each side will select one person to walk across the line and when both sides meet, they will do either - Santa, Santarina or Reindeer. Santa beats Reindeer. Reindeer beat Santarina. Santarina beat Santa. The loser falls out of line. The winner carries on the line till he/she meets another person from the other team. Repeat again. The team gets 1 point each time they reach the end of the line. A really fun game. We had so much laughter. 

(Santa - extend your hands our and curve it to show a big waistline. Santarina - cross your legs, 1 hand over mouth, another hand over skirt. Reindeer - stick your hands and fingers on top of your head. )

Carrying a team mate - Activity from 'Teamwork makes the Dreams Work' lesson. 

Down to serious business. AGM & Election. All handled by the NCO Council Exco. 

Officers just lepak behind ;p

As usual, we don't forget our pose. 10th KL trademark pose :)

2012 Sergeants & Staff-Sergeants. 

Extra sashes and stripes does NOT make you a more matured person. Serious. 

Presenting, NCO Council 2013 lead by Chairwoman Sergeat Chery-lyn Ngoh and assisted by Deputy Chairman Sergeant Timothy Lim.

What can I say, we love our sports. Playing Captainball during Physical Training.

We also played another game call 'Butt Ball'. It is advise that this game be played indoor as injuries incurred to you butt is less substantial. It's similar to Captain Ball but all players are required to sit on the floor with their butt touching the ground. They are allowed to move around as long as their butt touches the ground. 

I'm amazed by thier creativity. Really silly game but we had lots of laughter and sore butts after. 

The chipmucks/ Ah Kua Gang. 

Taking a nap in between lessons. 

We ended the camp with Maggi Cups; while waiting for our transport (which came 2 hours later) to arrived. All in all, it was a great 3 days. I hope and pray that the NCOs will take back what they have gain during the retreat and bring their company to greater heights next year. 

All the hard work, sweat and wrinkles is so worth it. 

I love this bunch of crazy fun-loving young people. 

I can Wedding Car decorator

2 weeks ago, a friend's fiancée thanked me for agreeing to help with their wedding car decoration. I was like,"What??!!". To spare the groom from any trouble, I agreed knowing that he somehow forgot to ask me. -_-

Last night, Eunice and I put our wits and minds and sweat together, not knowing how or what to do. It's both our first time. 

But surprisingly, we did quite a good job (If I may say so myself) :p

We are happy.

The groom is happy.

The bears and flowers did not fly away en route to bride's house in Melacca. 

Yay! Job well done.

But please don't look under the bonnet. Some things are best kept unseen ;p 

It does shows our unprofessional-ism right?

At the top

I got back late last night and by the time I slept it was 'early' in the morning. Then I woke up for an early breakfast with a friend/fellow BB officer to discuss last minute details for his wedding next week. 

My eye bags are atrocious!!!!

Anyway, the retreat last 3 days was everything and more than what I hoped for. We managed to carry our message forward and the NCOs did learned quite a bit...  All the preparation and the brain-exhaution was so worth it.. :)

*Picture taken with my Samsung W camera. No editing what so ever done. 

Here's one of the views from the retreat. We could even see all the way to KL. Isn't it so beautiful?

God, You are indeed amazing!! 

Adiós again!!

Will be away for 3 days again.... this time for a Boys' Brigade planning and training session with my NCOs.

Signing off now.. till then.

:)

Jardin des Tuileries : a honeymoon stroll

After our time at The Lourve, we walked just a short distance away to the Jardin des Tuileries, a formal French garden. I was expecting rolling hills and grass everywhere as per Melbourne gardens, but was surprised to find formal manicured lawns (which we were not allowed to step on) and straight sandy avenues. 

As we walked, we found ourselves at one of the ornamental pools. There were heavy metals green coloured chairs placed messily around the pool, perfect for sitting or lounging. We found a spot, put our feet up and people watch a bit. 

The first thing that caught my eye was this cool-looking dude in shades who was playing with a sail boat. Says who boating are for children? 

Fat pigeons waddling around, resembling plump matrons, making busy purring sounds as they hunt for food. 

Oh wait, it's not the cool dude's boat. It's his daughter. Her ice-cream fell just when I snapped the picture. Poor kid.. 

Colourful yet tired looking boats for rent. Well-maintained, with patches of mended cloths showed signs of loving care. Brings back lots of childhood memories - not that I sailed one before. It's just that I used to read about them all the time in Enid Blyton books. 

"Here comes the policeman". 

The garden was surrounded by copies of statues by the likes of Rodin (a French sculptor).

Tiny puffs of dust swirl around as we wandered up and down the sandy avenues. 

A walk in a sunny garden is not complete without an ice-cream. My first ever Caramel flavoured gelato in France. 

I can't say that I like French gardens as much as I do Melbourne's gardens but its beautiful on its own. Hot sunny, yet with temperature cool enough you don't feel the heat. Strolling in a garden, walking side by side, with a melting gelato in hand. Ahhh.... perfect!!