Best buds

Our close friendship started about four years ago. It was with Les and Pat initially after we invited them to dinner at Waraku and had such a great time together. We had always said hi-bye in our church's then-Young Adults Ministry (YAM) but it wasn't until that dinner that we got to know one another better. I forgot how Hee Jhun came into the picture later. Ha ha.

One fond memory I have of our friendship is how we'd squeeze into Hee Jhun's beat-up Toyota to go for suppers almost every Sat after YAM meeting and hang out, sharing about spiritual things and frivilous stuff alike. Nowadays suppers are rare because I have a young son now - we went for a quick one at tong shui after a church meeting recently. And we all have our own cars now.

I remember how we watched The Chronicles of Narnia and cheered together when Aslan the lion breathed his last, saying 'It is finished.' (that was the last thing uttered by our Saviour on the cross)

I'm glad our friendship stood the test of the time, the changes and trials in our lives. We came from different educational and family backgrounds and are of different ages. but the Lord has blessed our friendship. Alv and I asked Him for close friends four years ago and He surely answered. :)

- photos taken with my e71. Quality not great. Sony Ericsson cams still better.

The story of evita peroni hair clips

Alv is right when he says that you pay for quality. Case in point, there's a reason for paying so much for an evita peroni hair clip.

I started buying the figure '8' hair clip when I grew my hair long. it costs $9.90 which is quite a lot to pay for a simple plastic clip. I wear them at home as well, so when I see a colour I like, I buy to keep since they break after some use.

The other day, I decided to buy the copycat ones from chameleon just to try them out. you can tell the finish is not as good as the ep ones, but the copy only costs $0.80. I can buy 11 for the price of an ep one! (See photo: Genuine silver EP and copycat black one)

I bought two not-cheap-looking-coloured clips and tried them at home. And I realised why I pay so much for an ep.

The ep holds my hair up for quite a long time. But the cheapie starts to slide down after a while. So if I'd tied a ponytail at the middle of my head, soon it ends up near my neck. Plus the catch comes off rather easily.

Conclusion? I'll use the ep when I go out but the cheapie will remain for home use. Why do I buy ep, you may ask? That particular type of clip is the only one that holds my fine hair well. Clips with metal catches and pretty rubber bands become loose because my hair is so fine.

I guess another reason could be me trying to make up for what I didn't have in my teenage years. when I was in JC, most of the girls wore ep in their hair. I remember admiring the pretty clips fastening their ponytails or the little clips holding up their fringe.

But the ep was too expensive for me then. I only got $10 a week for pocket money which was just enough for food (this was the early 90s), let alone buying things for myself. I would go to the shops and look at all the ep clips, and wonder if I should spend $3.30 on a tiny clip. I never did.

So when I had worked for some time, I decided to buy myself an ep clip! Now whenever I buy one, I'm always thankful that I can just easily spend on one. It may not mean much to some but the fact I can buy one anytime I want without pinching my pennies is a little reminder of how much the Lord loves me and how far He has brought me.

-written on my e71

Working moms can still impact their children's lives

I must admit I'm a little irked when I hear comments that stay-home moms are 'greater' because they can make an impact on their children's lives. Does that mean working moms can't have an impact on their children's lives?

Because of what Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross, He has promised that whatever we put our hand to prosper. Because of His superabundant grace, whatever choices we make will turn out for good. That's what GRACE is all about - unearned undeserved favour.

So because I've made the choice to be a working mom, I believe Jesus will prosper my decision. And my son won't miss out on anything in his life than if I were a stay-home mom. I won't have any less of an impact on my son's life.

Like Alv said, I will have to trust the Lord all the more since I don't spend most of my time with my son. A woman I highly respect also told me that she doesn't spend that much time with her three children. But the time they spend together is quality time, and I can see the tremendous impact she has in her children's lives.

So far things are going well thank God. Ian is closest to me. Some people say it's because he doesn't see me that often. But I also know of moms whose children prefer their main caregiver. I choose to believe it's because the Lord answered my prayer.

Who knows, I may decide to switch to working part time or stay home when I have more children. Whatever it is, I know the Lord and Alv will always support my decision. For now, I will enjoy my life as a working mom!

Who is Sa Sa

I was at work when Alv smsed to say that our son kept saying the name Sa Sa. He found out from my MIL that it's the name of the ang moh girl whom he has been playing with at the playground.

She's a few months younger than him. It must be the same girl he hugged the other time, and they both fell. She cried and he was shocked.

So my son is saying another girl's name! And he didn't tell me!

Great perks ahead for working moms

When PM Lee announced an increase of childcare leave from two to six days, I cheered. When he said moms are entitled to four months maternity leave, I shouted "praise the Lord!"

I don't know what this will do for the fertility rate in Singapore. And I think pregnant women working in SMEs may have a tougher time by making them less employable. But perhaps it's time Singapore SMEs change their mindset?

For me, I'm just thankful and happy for these incentives which will be really helpful when I have another child. Any extra days off that I can use to spend with my children are most valuable and definitely welcome.

Someone lamented the lack of more cash incentives and more subsidies of maid levy. I say, focus on what we already have, not the have-nots. We are very blessed that the government is willing to do more for working moms.

A smartphone at last

I finally got myself a smartphone, the nokia e71. Was deciding between the sony ericsson 5 mega pixel cam phone n a smartphone with easier web surfing and content uploading functions. Then Alv suggested getting the e71. It's sleek, looks good (key consideration for me!), allows me to edit, create text docs, surf the 'net easily, and has a 3.2 mgp cam. Looking forward to do my writing - work and personal - on it and posting photos unto my Facebook and blog.