Happy New Year 2014!

Aunty Jo Jo with Jared and Justin during Christmas 2013

How is it even possible that we're bidding Farewell to 2013 and saying Hello to 2014?  This year has really flown by! As always, I've had more than my fair share of fun and many blessings for which I'm truly grateful.

• Family and friends have been front and centre this year.  The Yeoh family witnessed a double birthday celebration with both Mum and Dad turning 70 this year - hearty, healthy and happy - and we really thank God for His goodness. My Penang cousins introduced two beautiful babies - Bryan and Min Yee - to the family. I also had the pleasure of welcoming many loved ones to Singapore including my parents, my sister Julie, my beautiful goddaughters Kiersten and Katelynn, Corrine from Austin, Grace from Melbourne, Glenn from Perth, Thiam Kit from HK, the Gekoskis from Philadelphia and my long time friends from England.

• Seeing Donny Osmond sing Puppy Love ten feet away from me was a dream come true!!  Swoon...  

• Wonderful trip to New Orleans in January.  Enjoyed the charm of The Big Easy, while learning more about the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina.  I also got to pretend to be Scarlett O' Hara while staying at Oak Alley Plantation - a beautiful antebellum mansion on the Mississippi River.  The only thing missing was Rhett Butler.  Haha!

• First trip to Japan in June opened my eyes to another culture so rich in beauty, elegance and precision. Loved the rustic charm of the seaside town of Atami, the beautiful symmetry and elegance of historical Kyoto, the frenzied madness of Osaka.  Loved the inns, bullet trains, bento sets, cute little desserts, latest cosmetics and the sushi and sashimi is just so...oh....to die for!

• A surprise second trip to US for work saw me spending a lovely weekend in San Francisco and a week in Vegas.  A friend has been teaching me to appreciate jazz this year and can't wait to hear Wynton Marsalis and Chris Botti live.  Thanks RP :)

• Two work trips to Hong Kong allowed me to indulge in many happy meals especially roast goose and dim sum . It was very good to catch up with Simon and Helina Wong, and their two adorable boys, Marcus and Isaac. 

• Work has been very intense yet rewarding this year.  One of my projects contributed to a win for "Best People Management" at the World Mail Awards in May while I also won the "Best Passive Talent Influencer" Award from LinkedIn in April.  And yet these public awards, while flattering, have not given me as much satisfaction as the privilege of training over 350 staff in Emergenetics - a profiling tool that helps individuals to understand themselves and team mates better.  It's been so rewarding to see people appreciating each other's strengths and striving to become all that God created them to be.

It really has been an amazing year and I wish you and your families all the very best for a fruitful and blessed 2014.

All my love,

Joanna a.k.a Aunty Jo Jo

Christmas with the Changs

So blessed to spend Christmas this year with the Changs - my family in Singapore.  This year, we headed to the Royal China at Raffles Hotel for dim sum.

My godsons, Justin (in checks) and Jared (in blue shirt) are incredibly patient with their lunatic Aunty Jojo.  We have so many fun and crazy conversations and I have really enjoyed seeing these boys grow into fine young men. Yes, I have been reminded time and time again not to hug in public but do I care?

Lu Meng and I first met in classroom 30 years ago and have been good friends ever since. God has been very good the both of us and we are eternally grateful for His wonderful grace.

The Chang family, including daddy Jimmy Chang, are my de facto family in Singapore.  We've had so many Sunday dinners together that we often miss each other if too many weeks go by without our regular catch up.  Especially when I'm travelling.

Wet winter day in Hong Kong...

...makes for a great mood photo huh?

(Taken from a tram in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong island)

Double Birthday Celebrations

We've been blessed with double birthday celebrations this year.  Both my parents turned 70 - hearty, healthy and happy - and we thank God for His amazing goodness.  They celebrated these milestones with family and close friends by hosting two Chinese banquet dinners in Penang.

 Daddy and his "not-so little girl" at his birthday dinner in January 2013

Mummy celebrating her 70th birthday with the entire Yeoh clan and church friends in December 2013

Hidden surprise in Armenian Street

I love stumbling onto little surprises in the city I live in. Today, I went for a walk in the Museum district and discovered this hidden gem. A little garden in the grounds of the Armenian Church just off Hill Street. It was the first church built in Singapore.

This aesthetic delight was built in 1835 by the Armenian community, and designed by George Coleman who was the mastermind architect behind most of the colonial structures in Singapore. 

Some of the loveliest tombstones I've seen outside the French Quarter in New Orleans. They belong to members of the Sarkies family, the prominent Armenian family that owned some of the most luxurious hotels in the Far East including the Raffles in Singapore and E&O in Penang. 

Here lies Vanda Miss Joaquim, after whom Singapore's national flower is named. She was a keen horticulturalist who unveiled the famed orchid at a flower show in 1899, for which she won a prize of 12 dollars.