FARM Florist - An Essential Way to say I Love You

Advertorial

During this Circuit Breaker period in Singapore, only the essential businesses or services are still open and operating. So I am glad to inform you that the FARM Florist is still operating as per normal and providing free delivery daily. And don't you worry, contactless delivery is available too.

Here are a two reasons why YOU should CONSIDER sending SMILES to your LOVED ONES.

1. Mother's Day is coming soon!

Now that we are staying at home most of this circuit breaker period, isn't it the best time to send some love and appreciation to your Mother? For all her cooking, washing, and taking care of the family 24/7. For once we can finally understand how our mothers feel staying home most of the time, ensuring that every little detail at home is taken care of.

Look no further! Click on the Mother's Day site and choose a suitable flower collection to tell her how much you love her!

Storewide 37% discount early-bird promo available from now till 2 May.

2. Pamper your spouse / partner and let her know you are thinking about her.

Actually do you really need me ti give you a reason to send flowers to your partner?

In my years of marriage, I have concluded that even when your wife says she doesn't fancy flowers, she will still be super happy when you surprise her with a bouquet of roses (or her favourite flowers).

And thanks to the kind souls in FARM Florist, I was able to select this beautiful Rose Surprise Bloom Box and had it delivered to my wife when she was busy cooking for the family. It came as a pleasant surprise and I can see that she was pretty touched to know that the family appreciates her (yes, I included the kids in the picture).

 

A closer look at the roses which brought a smile to everyone at home.

I hope you are convinced by now. Stay Home! Stay Safe!

4 more weeks to end of Circuit Breaker!

~~ Updates ~~
Looking for a fuss free flower delivery? What about last minute surprise for a special person?

Check out One Hour Florist, a promise to deliver your order within the hour!!

Yes! You read it well, you can get your delivery done within 60 mins of ordering. Check out the website and order flowers air flown and farm fresh flowers now!

KAPAP Kids & Family

Being a dad with 2 daughters, sometimes I will wonder are my girls able to protect themselves against bullies or bad guys on the streets. I was indeed tempted to send them to learn some martial arts or classes like Taekwondo, Karate, Kendo, etc.

Thank God for listening to my prayers, one day I was introduced to KAPAP which is the acronym for Krav Panim el Panim, translating as face-to-face combat. Now the girls have a chance to understand more about self-defense.
Cadre Academy is KAPAP’s  home for Asia Pacific.
The main difference between KAPAP and the other martial art lessons is that KAPAP focuses on principles and concepts, rather than techniques. This is a program adopted by many Special Forces around the world, like the famous elite Israeli Special Forces.
It doesn’t just teaches you the moves or actions, it is more like a concept-based lesson which makes it easier for learners to remember, retain and apply in real-life situations.

Cadre Academy is the only authorized center in Singapore to teach KAPAP. Master Leon Koh who is the Principal Coach is the lead representative that is trained and appointed by the Grandmaster Avi Nardia to represent KAPAP with the permission to use the name, trademarks and logos in the Asia Pacific region. Master Leon Koh was also the National Taekwondo Coach that brought us the recent 28th SEA Games Taekwondo Gold Medalists.

We were invited for a combined introductory session for both adults and family. By the way, KAPAP is suitable for kids as young as 5 years old. Kids can build a strong foundation in their cardiovascular endurance, balance, strength, flexibility and mental alertness which are all vital to self-defense knowledge.

Master Leon brought us through a series of warm ups, tips on stretching, and even fun games to help us understand the difference in performance martial arts and street self-defense moves.

We played a game of kicking the ball to hit the opponent team, catch is … we are not allowed to stand up and only to move on all fours.

A great game of learning and bonding with the kids!

End up I had some abrasions on both my knees as we played the game, because I was dragging my legs instead of moving with my legs up. Lesson learnt – in real “street fights” the ground would not be cushioned like we had at the studio, it would be worst than just abrasions. Hence, learning the correct concept of body movements like this would already be very useful. All through just the opening game. Nice!

Next we were taught how to fall and rise up in the correct posture. This simple move really tested our abs and Joey was pretty good as you can see in her excellent pose.

How to apply this move in the streets? When we are down and the attacker is coming towards us, we can be in this position and get ready to defend and break the attacker’s move. Easier said than done, but the repetition lessons are designed for students to remember the steps and the body will follow in times of emergency.

   

As Master Leon demonstrated, in this position even as so many of us are piling on top of him, he is still able to talk normal and not crushed under our combined weight. Quite amazing I must say.

When you face an imminent danger, will your fist be clenched or opened?
Most of us would likely be clenching our fists and getting ready to throw a punch or block the attack. But do you know that in KAPAP, you will be taught to always keep your fists open? Because this is pose of lesser threat to the person standing opposite you as compared to a clenched fist ready to fight. More than just a pose of lesser threat, an opened fist presents greater strength of resistance to a clenched fist. Don’t just take my word for it, try it like the pose below.

When your fist is clenched, it is easier for the other person to pull down the out-stretched arm. When the fist is opened, the resistance level is much higher, even when it is Jayne doing in on Kless. Important tips for ladies.

   

It was a great time of fun and different learning for me and the girls.

KAPAP Family forges a spirit of bonding not in the usual comfortable moments, but also in the tough real life situations. It’s a great way for kids to learn hand-to-hand battle skills, to stay strong and fit in a fun setting, and learn to stay calm and confident in the face of dangers.

GIVEAWAY!

All thanks to Cadre Academy, I’ll be giving away 2 sessions of Family KAPAP to 2 winners!
Which means you and your family (2 Adults + 2 or 3 Kids) can enjoy 2 free sessions together.

Follow the instructions below and stand a chance to win.
The giveaway will run from today till 28 Feb 2018, 10pm. All the best!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carnival Fun - Family Bonding

I think carnivals are the best way to promote family bonding. What better ways than food, games and prizes?

How not to get a “NOooooo” when painting your hands?

Do it when everyone else is doing it too.

Organized by Touch Community, this simple act of hand prints on wall will serve to remind people of equality and unity.

The J Babies’ handprints.

We have been to many carnivals before, and the girls will always pester us to play at the game stalls.

 

  

If not for charity, I seriously believe that we are (the girls are) throwing money towards something that was designed for fun but not for winning.

 

But no matter what, I am learning that family outings are not so much on how much we spend or not spend. It’s the time when we build memories that will last. And I want to create memories with my family that carnivals are fun because we are able to enjoy fun and do charity at the same time.

Isn’t it enough to see this face of contentment? =)

To add on to the great day, this is the first time both girls won something from the games.

 

PS. my mom won’t be too happy with the additions of soft toys at home.. hahaha..

Sembawang Hot Spring

Having heard about the Sembawang Hot Spring since many years back, I seriously do not know why it took us so long to visit it, especially when it is so near to our house.

Located along Gambas Ave, this is the only natural hot spring you can find in Singapore. If you are driving, the nearest place to park will be at the HDB carpark (Blk 114 Yishun Ring Rd). By bus, there is bus stop along Sembawang Rd (opp Blk 115B Yishun Ring Rd), bus numbers 167, 856, 858, 859, 969, 980. After you have alighted, walk along the direction of the traffic flow, turn left when you reach Gambas Ave, walk another 100m or so, you will find a signboard that looks like this.

Don’t bother to look for the Hot Spring sign, it does not exist. Just watch out for this pavement that leads in along the army camp. Do take note that the Sembawang Hot Spring is open 7am-7pm daily.

One turn away, you will see the entrance into the secret place.

We are here! Before we left the house to the place, the girls were excited to be visiting a new place. Along the way, it rained a bit, probably dampened the spirits slightly, as we walked into the pavement, the girls were visibly disappointed as the place looks rundown and a bit dirty. Maybe they were thinking of some fancy water playground idea.

This is taken from one corner of the place. As you can see, the place is not very big and there is NO natural steams of water flowing down from the mountains or spurting out from the ground. All you can see are just taps and pipes where the hot spring water are being channeled out for the public’s use.

As we settled in our corner (altogether there are 3 clusters of pipes), an older uncle came by and told us that the spring waters have some healing properties but we have to still see a doctor if we are sick. We were so amused by his comment. I have read from reports that many older folks believed that the hot spring waters can heal sicknesses. But still to hear from someone who looked like a regular “customer” is pretty amusing.

Anyway, my mother was shocked to find out that the hot spring has been around longer than she is alive. In fact, this Sembawang Hot Spring was discovered by a Chinese merchant named Seah Eng Keong, the son of Seah Liang Seah (yes, Liang Seah Street @ Bugis is named after this man) in the year 1909. Throughout the years, many plans were announced by the State with this plot of land, and the latest was, the Hot Spring area will be turned into a park by end of 2018, and work will start as soon as Dec 2017. Which means we have only less than 3 months time to enjoy this place!
Will the hot spring be retained? Or maybe the park will be designed with the hot spring in mind as part of its uniqueness?

Joey asked, “How does the water becomes hot? Where did it come from?”
My answer, “Must be something in the ground that causes it to be hot but I don’t know where did it come from.”
So much for the educational trip intention …

So here is what was reported, for all the parents who are reading, so that you can appear to be wise and knowledgeable in front of your children.

[The exact source of the water remains unknown to local geologists, but it is believed that its origin may possibly be at Bukit Timah. Hot springs are formed when underground water comes in contact with hot rock masses. The resulting high pressure causes the water to seep upwards through cracks, forcing itself out of the ground as a spring.
Studies on the water properties have shown that the spring water here contains a substantially high level of chloride compared to water from Choa Chu Kang and Bedok waterworks. It was also found that the sulphide content is 3 times more than tap water and the spring water is slightly alkaline due to the presence of minerals.]

So what are the activities at Sembawang Hot Spring?

Needless to say, the main thing is to enjoy the hot spring water. But how? That is left to your own creativity.

Like this regular user of the spring water. He was basically bathing with the hot spring water minus the shampooing. As you can see, there are lots of buckets and pails available for the public’s use. All you need is a towel to dry yourself. Unless you are a cleanliness freak, then BYOB (bring your own bucket).

The girls chose their own buckets and we are ready for business. Be careful as you prepare to soak your tired feet, the water can be really hot, so don’t be too eager to plunge in and later regret.

Test water.

After like 10mins or so, the ladies are totally enjoying the treat! Feel free to top up your bucket with more hot water, it is FREE!
Use a pail if you are want to soak those tired calves too.

 

Like I said, be creative in using the hot spring water. So we brought along a thermal flask and some eggs (ok, it was actually other people’s idea).

A word of advise, don’t boil the eggs like you see at Yakun or Toastbox. Leave the container directly under the running tap if possible, that way the water temperature can be maintain.

Even with the water running over the thermal flask continually, it took us 30mins to achieve what we wanted. Eggs that are about 75% cooked.

 

As a first time visitor, we forgot to bring spoons or sauce for the eggs. So it’s going to be just eggs for us.

It was good!! Trust me, you have to try it when you visit.

 

End of the day, it was a short trip (slightly more than an hour) most fulfilling. I get to spend time with my girls and my mom. Experiencing something new and unique. Living the “kampong” lifestyle in Singapore.
And I got to really relax my tired feet!

We will be back for more!