Introduction to POSB Smart Buddy Programme - Should You Fear It?

In this day and age, technology is something we have to embrace.  Trying to work against it might bring fears and resistance.  But if I were to work around it, look at it positively, life will be much better right?

Frankly speaking, I went to the introduction of the POSB Smart Buddy Programme with a hint of skepticism.  When I first heard of this programme, my initial fears were about the inability to learn counting money due to the lack of contact with it, understanding the concepts of paying and getting back the change.  And of course, the touch and feel of real money and what it meant.

As the world's first in-school savings and payments wearable programme for primary school kids, it is essentially a watch with features.  For the child to pay his food at the school canteen or bookshop, track his steps and in-school location.  Now, this is only available at selected schools who have embarked on the journey.  

Hearing from other parents whose children are using this in their primary schools, it was not that all negative.  To me, the features such as tracking a child's steps, knowing his location is a yes for me.

A chargeable by USB wearable, this watch is easy to set up.  Simply download the app from the different smartphones' app store, activate the payment chip that goes into the watch and viola, the rest is a breeze.

We were unable to test the payment out in the school as D's school is not in the programme but I understand that parents set a daily allowance and when the child uses it at the school canteen, the amount used will be automatically deducted.  Parents can track what the child spends on and what he / she bought.  This definitely eliminates the "trust" issue because it's all known.  

If I am the parent on this programme, I will tell the child to just let me know what he wants to buy.  I mean, we all grow up and went through this phrase whereby we secretly bought that country eraser or pretty clip and hide it from our parents. However, there is no need to with this as we will all be able to know what is bought.  From there, we can explain to the child on how he should be spending his allowance and hopefully, he understands the logic of saving. 

Now, this feature is what D exclaims is the coolest.  The steps tracker.  I have never tracked his steps and am amazed that each day, he takes about 6000 steps,  From this number, I can actually tell a few things - whether he was active in school or was unwell and not moving much.  Not that it is real-time but I guess, it gives that little insight of what he does in school, apart from just him saying, "I went to the field to play! or "I was not feeling very well so I sat at the canteen during recess time.".

I wish that the watch is introduced on a larger scale basis.  I would like to see how it can include the locator feature island-wide - not to the extent of the exact position real-time, but at least for primary school children, the ability to track when they reach and exit school, board and alight the public transport and from there, we will be able to know how long it takes to reach home or if they are home.

Beyond the fears of children not being able to count money, we should look at the prospects of this watch, and I think, "when you can't fight them, why not join them?" (in terms of technology) and make it a better wearable for the better of our children.

Disclosure: We were given a POSB Smart Buddy for the purpose of this review.  All photos and opinions are true to my own unless otherwise stated.

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{Media Invite} Fun Shooting with My Adventure Buddy

One fine Saturday, we stepped foot on South Beach Avenue.  Our first time there, we wondered what's in store for us.

It is always good fun attending events by Canon Singapore.  And this time, together with our new Adventure Buddy, Charmander (whom we affectionately call Cha), we ventured on what we initially thought was uncharted waters but were proved otherwise in that 1.5 hours.

Hello, Cha!

All photos watermarked "ilovedefamily" were taken using the Canon EOS M10.  Before we look at the photos taken, well, this is a camera that even my littlest can handle.  Compact and light at only approximately 300g, no doubt it fits little hands.

Come on, let's go on adventure with Cha!

A picture paints a thousand words.  Let's sit back, relax and let Cha brings us his story of how he became part of the B.C.D.E family.

Are we gathering here?  Or am I lost?

Who is that?  Alone?

Using the creative filters on EOS M10, we used the fish-net and miniature effects on the above first and second photos respectively.  #NoEdit except probably for some cropping, I really like how the photos turn out with the effects - totally on point on what we wanted to portray.

Let's continue on the story of the lost Charmander...

Maybe, we should go this way...

You asking me to go that way, little guy?

And we found our family.

Welcome Cha!

South Beach Avenue is a place for OOTD shots - beautiful backgrounds, abundant sunlight (when there's no rain of course).  Armed with just the correct compact camera, one can achieve much.  Do you know that our family photo taken above is done so using the remote function of the EOS M10?

Thank you Canon for inviting us to this event.  If not for this, I am unsure if we will take such memorable photos.  

Pretty impressed by this little imp who sits right there, among a crowd.

User-friendly, this camera has great potential of more beautiful photos and this photo of us simply shows how much we enjoyed the photo-taking, and the camera.

Disclosure: We were invited to the event by Canon Singapore.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photos and opinions are true to my own unless otherwise stated.

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Song-Cho Rice Cookers - Why It is One of a Kind!

April and May have been eventful, both on home front, but also on the work front for me.  Yes, if you do not know, I am a full time working mother.  And I get people asking how I juggle, without any external help, i.e. helper or maid.  Well, my children are in full time day care and I have a pretty hands-on hubby, so I am really not that super.  I place priorities on different things - my house is always messy, my laundry basket is always full and so on, thus, I am not that overwhelmed on a daily basis.

But one thing for sure.  I try to cook as much as I can, although I know how we mothers feel after a long and tiring work day.  Which is why I rely a lot on kitchen gadgets.  And one such gadget is the rice cooker.

One may say that a rice cooker is just a rice cooker, why and how can any be so special?  I agree that the rice cookers in the market now are features-packed.  Apart from cooking rice, they can be used to steam and bake too.

But the rice cooker I am using now is different because of a very important component.  Its stainless steel inner pot!

Those who personally know me knows I am very particular over certain things, especially when it comes to feeding the children and things for the children.  Through reading and researching, it seems that we should just go back to basics, and that is using stainless steel for cooking.  I have had non-stick, teflon coated inner pots and pans and I get upset each time I see the peeled coatings.

I shall be very bias here as to why Song-Cho rice cookers then?  It is because they are the only rice cookers makers with stainless steel inner pots.  Totally what I am looking for.  Apart from the fact that it is made from food grade stainless steel, there is also no chemical coatings, thus making it perfect for use in cooking.  Plus, many I know often change their inner pots.  This, I think will last quite a long time.

For an idea of why I so much prefer a Song-Cho rice cooker with it's premium inner pot, this visual description explains everything.

Credit : Song-Cho (Imp & Exp) Pte Ltd 

One of the newer range of rice cookers, the SC-FCM58 model has 12 different modes of cooking.  But seriously, cooking rice and porridge are my favourite because a rice cooker is a rice cooker!  For the different ranges of rice cookers Song-Cho carries, click here!

My boys love the porridge cooked using the rice cooker.  Me too!  No longer do I need to stand by the stove, stirring the grains, hoping it will not get burnt.  Using the Porridge function, I get "sticky" porridge which my boys love in just an hour.  Tell me about achieving more in an hour.  The porridge is good for toddlers too!

Due to it's superiority in heat conductivity, one-pot rice cooker claypot chicken rice is easy.

By using the Reheat mode, I stir fried the ginger in the rice cooker itself with a little sesame oil, and added in bacon as I did not have Chinese sausage.  Thereafter, I put in the mushrooms.  It is quite uncommon to see ginger and bacon in our traditional claypot rice but we realise that with ginger, it makes the rice more fragrant.  Bacon was an adventure test that I did and interestingly, it adds a tinge of "saltiness" a.k.a the giam giam (Hokkien) at every bite.

Closed the lid to let it heat up and mixed in the chicken slices and rice after that.

Once mixed and water added, I closed the lid and started the cooking process by pressing the Start button after choosing the Crust mode. 

The see through glass cover will be useful especially when the bake or soup mode is used.  Don't you love it when you can see the food you are cooking when it is almost done?  I thought it was really cool as I love peering at my food.

So, here's my kind of one-pot rice cooker claypot rice.  I used to fry the items at the stove before putting them into the rice cooker but with this rice cooker, it's everything one-pot.  Totally for strapped-for-time-yet-want-variety parents like me.

One-Pot Rice Cooker Claypot Rice

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast - cut into small chunks
3 dried Chinese mushrooms - soaked and sliced
1 Chinese sausage, or a slice of bacon  - sliced
Garlic and ginger - chopped and sliced thinly respectively
2 cups of rice

Marinate
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with the items under "marinate".
2. Using Reheat mode, stir fry ginger and garlic with a little of sesame oil in dry inner pot.
3. Add in Chinese sausage or bacon and stir fry till fragrant.
4. Add in Chinese mushrooms.  Close the lid to heat it up slightly.
5. Add in chicken slices and stir fry till chicken is partially cooked before adding in the rice.  Mix it well.
6.  Using the measuring cup, add in 2 cups of water.   (This is for white rice.  For other rice, add in the appropriate amount of water for the different rice types.)
7. Cancel the Reheat mode and press start for the Cook mode.
8. When the rice cooker beeps, the claypot rice is ready!  Drizzle more dark soya sauce if preferred and enjoy!


Disclosure: We were given the Song-Cho Rice Cooker for product review purposes.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photos and opinions are true to my own unless otherwise stated.

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Where Your Children can Learn to Handle the DSLR

Have your kids ever said, "Dad, Mum, can I take photos with your camera?"

I get that all the time.  From both boys.

It is apparently a growing up thingy.  They love to explore, they want to try.  Sometimes, they are fascinated with it.

But parents are very beware of it, as some cameras are not cheap!  Some parents pass the older version, or a cheaper version of a compact, snap-away camera for the child to explore.  My boys sometimes use my iPhone, sometimes we give them the older compact camera.  Much often than not initially, we had to try to teach them how to use, where the object of interest should be etc.  And of course, many will agree that sometimes parents are not the perfect people for this job.  :D

So, was I glad when one of the activities at Kidzania Singapore is to be a photojournalist!

Waiting patiently in line for their turn.

Brought to us by Canon, in the 20 minutes, they were taught how to handle a DSLR, where the viewfinder is and what some of those buttons are.  Basically, it is about learning proper camera techniques.

Like a professional!

In the Imaging Academy, there were different backgrounds and objects for them to try taking photographs of.  

They were then brought outdoors, around Kidzania to take some monuments.  Look at how at ease E is handling that DSLR.  And how proud he was, showing me the photos he took on screen everytime he took a shot.

Definitely a good place for the children to learn about handling the camera.  What's more, they were paid (KidZos) and given a certificate each!

Disclosure:  3 of us were invited to check out the Canon Imaging Academy in Kidzania by Canon.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photographs and opinions are true to my own.

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Trip to Zenxin Organic Farm with an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

It is September?!  And it is the school holidays again?!  Oh my, where did all those time go.

Last school holidays, we went for a road trip to Melaka with friends.  Some 240km drive using the North South Highway, we decided we shall break the journey into 2, by stopping at Zenxin Organic Park.

Starting our journey at around 8.00am, the boys self-entertained by drawing on large Sketch Books from Daiso.

Once we exited from the Air Hitam exit, this is what we saw.  Turning right and driving for a few minutes, we reached Zenxin.

We were there to join the Farm Tour!

Not before we have a family shot!

Entrance tickets seem reasonable for the range of activities.  Additional activities such as archery are charged separately.

The tour starts with an educational video, followed by walks through the park.  A very hot day, little shade so we were all sweating at the end of the tour.  I cannot imagine joining the 2.30pm tour.

That is dragon fruit!

Some of the plants, fruits and herbs we saw.

One of the highlight was this.  Harvesting their own vegetables.  The boys pulled out vegetables and we are allowed to fill up one bag each.  If we were heading straight home, I will fill it up and bring home to cook.  It's organic!

Feeding the pets at the Happy Farm.  Surprisingly, E was pretty enthusiastic and willingly fed and pet them.  

Part of the tour includes milk bottle fish feeding.  Initially, when I read the title on the brochure, I was wondering how it is.  So this is it.  Holding the bottle that has a large hole in the teat, fish feed is slowly being poured / sucked out.  

One of the activity includes a hand-on workshop.  The boys had a try at making curry puffs.  The curry puff dough and ingredients were pre-done and all we had to do is wrap them up and cooking them in the oil.

Now they know it is not easy.  Even folding the curry puffs require some skill and lots of practice.

We had lunch at the Chef Garden Restaurant since it was near lunch time.  They serve set lunch and what interests us was the hotpot.  

It was alot of food although we ordered for 2 pax.  Organic greens are good, yea?

My only issue is the number of houseflies.  Although they provide some repellent, there were still many houseflies!  The boys could not "tahan" aka tolerate it.  I guess we are all used to air-conditioned food courts and our hawkers and coffeeshops are not "swarmed" with flies around.

My friends at some tables (nearer to the inside of the open space, al-fresco concept dining area) had fewer flies visiting them and their food.  So, if you have children or even yourself who cannot eat at ease with such flies, then I suggest either sitting nearer to the cashier area or skip having lunch there.

We ended with a round of archery.  For RM10 for I think 10 arrows, not something we can get here in Singapore.

Zenxin Organic Park

Jalan Batu Pahat, Kampung Melayu Batu Lima

86000 Kluang, Johor, Malaysia

The photos for my Melaka trip are mostly shot using the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.  I do not exactly need to say the specifications of this camera as Google will tell you everything - the reviews from professional photographers.

As it is a compact with interchangeable lens, I used mostly a prime lens (M. Zuiko Digital 17mm F1.8) this time and I really love my photos.  Especially of close ups.  Colours are vibrant too.  My only rant is that it is a tad heavy with the lens.

Another note is that, with prime lens, I got to make sure that my focus is correct.  Sometimes, when I asked someone to take a photo for me, the focus is on the wrong person, wrong place.  This I believe needs some understanding and of course, checking of the photos after each shot, if unused to it.

Disclosure: We had the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II on loan to us for 2 weeks for the purpose of this trip.  No monetary compensation was received.  All photographs and opinions are true to my own.

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