Happy New Year 2015!

Year 2014 went very fast. It was a good year for us as a family. We started a new life in Toronto. Thank God the kids were adjusting and adapting very well. My husband enjoys his work here and we have more time as a family now. As for me, i still continue doing what i love, sewing. Mostly sewing the things we need at home, table mats, table runner, some organizers. I also made bigger quilts for the kids as they grow taller now. So here are the items that i have done in 2014 but only post them now ^_^.

I also did some crochet for the table mats.

As for the extra yarn, i made them into hair bands.

Finally i have uploaded all that i made since we stayed in Toronto. I'll see you in 2015. More new projects will be coming!

Let's The Sewing Begin

Let's The Sewing Begin


This is what my Janome 4120QDC looks like. It is computerised. It comes with the extension table. A lot of decorative sewing, including letters and numbers. Now i can personalised my sewing. ^_^. On top of that I can sew without foot control, just need to press start n stop. Cool right!

I really couldn't wait for my fabrics and sewing tools to arrive from Singapore. I couldn't wait to start sewing. So I hunted for fabrics first. Buying fabrics in Toronto is really expensive and plus the 13% tax. Online.. i can find any better online fabric shop than Fabric.com but the shipping to Canada is more expensive than shipping to Singapore. Funny huh!.. We are just neighbour. *_*

Finally I  found the place where I can get cheaper and good fabric. It is Fabricland. It has all sorts of fabrics, Robert Kaufman, Michael Miller, Riley Blake, Benartex, etc. Howerver, this store doesn't have doesn't have online store  (how i wish they have it) so I have to go the store and grab it. I normally waited when there was a sale and sometimes it can be really cheap. Like these fabrics, i only bought it for $4/meter. ^_^.  I think it'll be my favourite store to go from now.

Can't wait to start my new project! There is always new sewing projects new house right. ^_^

My New Janome 4120Q

This is crazy! Lately we have been spending a lot for the furnitures, kitchen stuffs, autumn/ winter clothing's, etc and yet i also bought my new sewing machine. Janome 4120Q.

I can't wait to get my hands on my new Janome. This time i bought the one with extension table. But unfortunately all my sewing tools and fabrics have been shipped and they will arrived probably in early August. So i guess i have to wait till they arrive before start my new sewing project.

The sewing tools and fabrics here are super expensive. I would say it is more expensive than Singapore. It is just so strange, the tools and fabrics in America are so cheap and yet they are so expensive in Canada. They are just neighbors, just like Singapore and Malaysia. Moreover, there is 13% HST in Toronto. In my opinion that is high. Almost all things are expensive in Toronto compared to Singapore, except houses, cars, clothing, toys, public transport fare, etc.

Now i am still sourcing for a good fabric store. I just hope that they can make tax in Toronto cheaper so i buy more fabric.

Pasir Ris Park, Singapore

Our family were invited for BBQ with my "International" sister at Pasir Ris Park. Staying for 15 years in Singapore (since 1999),  I'd only been there once. I wonder what i would be like now..

It is surprisingly a very big and nice park. It is a great place for family gathering and good place for kids to run around. It has BBQ pit, beach, bicycle rental, big playground. I love and fortunate to visit that place once more before we move to Toronto. Here are some pictures from Pasir Ris Park.

 I called this spider web. I just love this since young, climbing up and down, plus the big slides from the top.

 Another spider web.

 K is enjoying himself .

 Enjoy the walk and the nature.

 Enjoy the picnic foods.

Here we are who went there that day.

Thanks for the fun and everything all! We miss u and love u so much!

GBU all.

Farewell with Singapore school

Honestly my boys have the longest school holiday they have ever had. We came to Toronto in end of May and they will only start their school in early September. Yes!! It is 3 months holidays. Super Duper LOOONNGGGGG!! I was so bored with just staying at home, thank God our apartment has a swimming pool and gym. But the boys are enjoying themselves even though they didn't have any activities. They just simple enjoy entertain themselves with Netflix and playing with lego the whole day. I asked them if they wanted to go out, they said,  "No, Mommy. We just want to stay at home." DUH!! In the first place, I was worried that they will feel bored, but looks like i don't have to.

During the spare time i did a lot of cleaning because our stuff are still everywhere. So i tried to organize them so our apartment looks more cozy, neat and comfortable. Then i came across the scrapbook that K's PCF teachers gave to him. Suddenly i miss Singapore. Yea, i have a homesick. I looked at pictures of those presents that PCF gave to my boys, they were not expensive stuff,.. but it's the sincerity and the warmth of the people that i miss.

These are what they gave:

 These cute cars are from Zach (Kane's classmate).

 Scrapbook done by teacher Fauziah. My favorite gift!

 Dayne loves these books. Thank you teachers!

 Looked what Dayne's classmates and teachers did for him!! Lovely!

Dayne's & Kane's classmates in Beijing language school.

Miss them so much!

We are in Toronto, Canada

This is a flash back post.

Tuesday, 27 May 2014, we took our flight from Singapore to Toronto via Japan. It was 5.45am flight, so we had to be in the aiport by 3.45am. YES, it was early morning where everyone was still asleep.
It took us one day to reach Toronto. Finally.. Wuihh.

We are grateful that our best friend offer us to stay in their house temporary (3-4 weeks) while we were looking for a rental apt and settled some our documents and necessities (bank, phone, schools, etc)

We found a rented apartment on 9 June 2014. The size is only 89 sq meter. It was pretty small, but the location is pretty good, near to Walmart, T&T supermarket, Toysrus, and most importantly is Langstaff train station. In front of our condo there is a viva bus stop 86 that will take us to Richmond Hill Terminal Centre which is just next to the train station. So it's pretty convenient for our family.

Though we rented from 9 June 2014 but we could only moved in on 12 June 2014 as our mattresses just arrived on 12 June.

The apartment was unfurnished but at least most of the appliances are there (washing machine, dish washer, microwave, fridge, oven, stove).

This was what our apartment looked like. It is small but we love our new home.

Without furniture. The kids were sitting on the living room. On the left, it will go to kids room. My husband and my room will be on the right. You can see behind the kids is the kitchen where there is a counter top.

So many things that we need to buy, sofa, dinning set, TV, TV console, kitchen appliances (knives, bowl, pan, pots, etc). Thank God for all the sales that happened that time, we bought some items on a very good deal. :)

Most of our furnitures are from ikea. They had Mad Friday sale that time. We bought our TV console at only $69. We also bought trovast rack at $17. Pretty good deal huh! You can see in the picture we were working hard to assemble our furniture asap so that we could enjoy our house soon. Card boxes, nuts and bolts were everywhere. 

God is good. In the midst of our messy house, our landlord come with a beautiful welcome gift for us. It was a pot of orchid. ^-^

This is our house with full furniture. 

And this is our kitchen. 

Even though it is small, i just love it. There are not much things in our home now compared to our house in Singapore. Less cleaning up and from the kitchen i can oversee the kids while they are playing. 

Now it is time to settle my driving license, schools for kids. Not forgetting shopping for my new sewing machine. I can't wait to get my hands on sewing.

Cheers

Port of Lost Wonder (POLW), Sentosa , Singapore

We had a chance to go to Port of Lost Wonder (POLW) at Sentosa, Singapore before we left for Toronto. It is a water playground with a pirate theme. It is a really good place for the kids to spend their holiday.

Water Spray

Foam pool

Snack time

Playing some sand

Indoor activities / games

Pool with few good and excited slides.

Every kids that enter POLW will receive $100 POLW money (they call it CUROS). With this CUROS, kids can some cotton candy, balloons, play in the foam pool or indoor games, etc. It is free and at the same time kids can learn how to manage their CUROS.

When it rains, of course kids have to come to shelter area and no one is allowed outside or in the pool. But don't worry about kids getting bored or have nothing to do. The POLW crews have prepared some games or something for the kids to play while it rains. You can also have some bites at the restaurant. Basically, everything in POLW is about the kids and for the kids. 

For more information you can visit  www.polw.com.sg. If you are a frequent visitors, then becoming a POLW member might be a good deal for you.

Cheers.

Farewell parties before Toronto

I know I was really late to upload about this post but i just want to share the wonderful friends that we have in Singapore and the supports that they gave to us.

The last 2 weeks before we left for Toronto were full of farewell party with friends. Almost everyday we were meeting them, said goodbye, thank you and even sorry. Actually, I am not a person who like to say goodbye, I prefer to say "Until we meet again."
Many of our friends treats us breakfast, lunch or dinner, some of them just gave us unforgettable gifts.

This is the egg tart made by Henry's mom. It tastes really fantastic. Superb!! I am not an egg tart person but I really enjoy every bite of this tart. Thank God I still had a chance to taste it before we go.

This is our cell group family. The spiritual family where we spend time praising and worshipping God together. The family where we can share God's goodness in our lives.

My best Sengkangers ladies. I am gonna miss them so much. No words can describe how I am forever grateful to have you in my lives. You are always there for me and my family. Thank you.

And a beautiful present from my best girls.

This is a personalised drawing of our family from our dear Sister-in-Christ, Mulyanah. Thanks Mul for this beautiful gifts. We will put it up in our new house.

Coach wristlet from Rebecca, my best friend from NUS

We also received encourgement cards and some financial support from Elvira and Hendra. Honestly, we are not that close to them but yet they still help us. Thanks Elvira and Hendra. 

My family are so blessed to have them in our lives and during our stay in Singapore. I am sorry if I didn't upload some of the photos of you gifts for us. We were so busy with packing that we have no time to upload it. But just want you to know that we love you you are always be a part of our lives. God bless you all, my friends. Until we meet again.