Yes, that’s right! This has been miserably missing in my life for the past five years. And finally, I watched a great movie this weekend. “I Don’t Know How She Does It” is a sweet comedy about a working mom Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker), who is trying desperately to juggle it all – her demanding career, raising her two young children and maintaining a healthy marriage.

Kate Reddy is a fund manager for a Boston investment company. She recently landed a big account that requires her to travel frequently, but not without the protest from her family, especially her two children. When she has to spend more time away from her family, her relationships with her kids and husband (Greg Kinnear) suffer even more. Kate’s life begins to get away from her and even with success just on the horizon, she realizes she needs to make decisions to get her life back into balance.

During much of the movie, Kate is like a rat in a maze, hyper stimulated by constantly buzzing cellphones as she dashes back and forth between Boston and New York to pitch a deal related to retirement funds. She has to work doubly hard as her single colleagues are all ready to pounce on her weaknesses.

The story reveals a portion of the female workforce that rarely gets exposure in the modern media – the married mother who balances a demanding career with the responsibilities of raising a family and being available for the spouse.

Personally, I feel that it’s quite a norm that working mothers are perceived as less capable in the working world, especially when they have to attend to family emergencies, sick children, difficulties to travel within short notice, etc.

In this aspect, I’m really blessed to have an understanding boss and that I’m not made to feel guilty when I need to take time-off to attend to family matters. That’s what keeping me here for the past 8.5 years and I’m still looking forward to celebrate my 10th anniversary with this company.

In this movie, we also see Kate’s daughter being upset that her mommy is not always there. I’m not sure how you working moms out there deal with this issue. I’m glad that I don’t need to travel much. Otherwise, I’m very sure that Little Edison will be terribly upset with me.

The ending of this movie is very touching when Kate rediscovers what is dear to her. She ran to her daughter’s school when it starts to snow as she promised her that she will make snowman for her. It’s not the typical happy ending that most viewers will expect where Kate quits her job and everybody lives happily ever after.

When it comes to juggling, as Kate confides, the secret is not how you catch, but how you throw.

In fact, she loves her job so much that she is absolutely unapologetic about it. She promised her husband that she wants to make things work for the family and to be a better wife and mom. I’m sure many of us working mothers can understand exactly how she feels. Not a bitter ending though.

I love this movie, it moved me at times and it made me laugh. I’m sure you’ll also love the smart ladies in this movie too. Very entertaining, and I highly recommend it. Check out the movie’s official website HERE.

For many working mothers, business trips are like mini-vacations. The simple pleasure of undisturbed sleep and meal can really feel like an indulgent getaway. Do you agree with me? Come on, it’s a break from family life and motherhood. No chores to tackle, no homework to oversee, no meals to prepare and no school hours to rush.

After slogging through airports, sitting through meetings and networking through lunches, at the end of the day, there is a small taste of freedom. And that’s the priviledge of a travelling working mother. I do enjoy it and I’m not going to lie.

Ever since I was pregnant in year 2007, I’ve been excused from overseas business trip. My bosses have been very understanding. When Little Edison was still young, I told them that I was unable to travel overseas for business. The travelling duties were since delegated to other junior staffs.

Little Edison is turning four this year. It’s time for me to say yes to business trips. My recent business trip to Taiwan was my first overseas trip since I gave birth to Little Edison. What really got me worried was the sleep factor. For the past three years, Little Edison is sleeping with me every night. The thought of my 3-year-old crying for mommy at night really worries me.

The combination of my not-so-hands-on hubby and not-so-independent helper is another factor. Are they able to take care of Little Edison when I’m away? Thankfully, my parents-in-law are around to help us out. Three days passed-by smoothly although at times Little Edison felt moody when he couldn’t find me.

Overall, the trip was fun and the audit was successful. I will share more pictures when I have time to process them.

Btw, do you notice the new theme on my blog? Do you like it?

I’ll be travelling to Taiwan on business trip late next week. I’m so excited about the trip but V is worried because I’ve no idea what to wear during winter. I think I’ll be in the toasty warm office most of the time, so a sweater, leggings or jeans should be sufficient to keep me warm. When I’m out, I’ll wear a winter jacket.

V thinks that I’ll need a LongJohn, sweater, cashmere scarf, socks, gloves and a down jacket as well. That’s quite a long list to me. Last weekend, we were out seaching for a down jacket and winter clothings.

I heard of Uniqlo, the new wave of fashion coming from the land of the rising sun but I haven’t been there. So, we went to one of its store at Tampines 1. Prior to my visit, I checked their website and I found that the overall prices of their clothings are quite reasonable. They have an extensive range of light jackets, sweaters, jeans, leggings, cardigans and down jackets.

I’m particularly interested in their Heat Tech Winter 2010 designs. The fabric is woven from a fiber thread which traps pockets of warm air, insulating our body in the same way as wool, but much less bulky. I shortlisted a few items to try out from their website.

When I reached the store at Tampines 1, I noticed that it has a very sleek look, big and bright, complete with white walls and shelves, several mannequins are lined up displaying their latest designs. However, the clothes are stacked up high on the shelves instead of being neatly folded.

There are a lot of customers in the store. Everyone is rummaging through the clothes to find their right sizes. There is hardly any sales assistants around to help the customers. I felt like I stepped into another warehouse sale. I couldn’t locate the items that I’ve shortlisted from their website in the store. I tried to seach for a sales assistant but to no avail.

I walked to the cashier counter. I saw two busy staffs at their cashier counter with a few customers queuing to make payment. I saw another staff outside the changing room, so I approached her. Apparently, she was busy and she couldn’t leave the changing room area. So, she approached one of the cashiers for assistance.

I waited for another 3 minutes. The cashier came to assist me. I showed him the paper with the items that I want to try. I told him that I couldn’t find them in the store. So, he took my paper and check the stock on the computer.

But to my dismay, he informed me that the items that I was looking for are no longer in store. They are all old designs. I couldn’t believe it as they are all Winter 2010 designs as displayed on their website. When I questioned the staff, he couldn’t answer me. It seems like he doesn’t even browse his own company’s website! He may be just a temporary staff, I told myself.

I walked out of the store with disappointment. Luckily, there is another store at Tampines 1 selling winter clothings. I went to Universal Traveller and I was so glad to find my winter clothings there. I bought my stuffs and went home happily.

As the year 2010 draws to a close now, I can’t help but find myself reflecting on the highs and lows of the year. It’s really mind-boggling to realize how quickly the year and all the events that occurred in it have passed.

In a nutshell, here are several fundamental and encompassing truths that I’m truly thankful to have experienced this year:

Career Advancement

I griped about it initially but I’m thankful for the opportunity given to me. The initial stage of taking over a new role and added responsibilities was overwhelming. At times, I felt like I’ve jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Gradually when I settled down, I’m glad that I can achieve a lot more now. I love how my skills, knowledge and experience were challenged in difficult situations. I certainly feel that I’ve grown up so much professionally this year.

All Healthy

I’m thankful that we’ve been all healthy this year. My mother had discomfort associated with hip and leg pain. After a few physiotherapy with the specialist, her condition has improved dramatically. My father and father-in-law still stay fit, healthy and active as they age, which is a good thing.

In Aug this year, my mother-in-law was admitted to the hospital due to a life-threatening case of food poisoning. She recovered after four days with professional medical treatment. This incident made me realized how vulnerable we are as we dine out so often these days. How can we be assured of the food safety?

Growing up

I’m thankful to see my little boy growing in leaps and bounds each day. He has completed his first year of school in pre-nursery. The first month was so stressful for us. He went through a lot of tearful separations with me. I’m so glad that he finally settled down in school and in fact, he really loves going to school now. We got his progress report few weeks back. In general, he is doing well in his class.

Helper Issues

This year, we struggled quite a bit with our new helper who came on-board in Feb. For the past two years, I’ve never needed to fret about household issues because I had a capable helper. After her departure, I had a hard time re-adjusting to a whole new situation with a new helper.

My husband and I had difference of opinion in handling the new helper and this causes a significant amount of dispute too. The truth is she is unable to work independently and lacks of performance. To add insult to injury, she couldn’t get along with him partly due to her own stubbornness.

I’m back to being extra cautious over the next helper that we’re going to hire. In early 2011, we should see a positive change.

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The year 2010 opened happily and it is now closing happily for me too, despite some hardships and challenges in between. I’m looking forward to 2011 and what it has in store for me.

I wish everyone of you a very Happy New Year!

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November is going to be a very busy month for me. Tomorrow, I’ll be creeping towards another black hole at work. Hopefully, it will disappear by end of the month but until then I’ll have very limited time apart from trudge to work, get through the day, trudge back home, spend a little time with Little Edison before I crash into bed. I’m going to miss my blog again.

For the next two weeks, I need to participate in the user acceptance testing (UAT) of a new supply planning system that the company is going to implement early next year. The challenge is not the system itself but to manage my daily works and reporting when I’m physically seated in the conference room whole day for the UAT. So, it’s going to be mad multitasking again.

The system is developed by a supply-chain company that is aimed to provide the best supply-chain solution that helps our company’s business growth and to operate in a more efficient and sustainable way. From raw materials to finished goods, the system provides understanding of supply chain obstacles and opportunities; creates optimal supply plans that maximize customer service while maintaining low inventory level.

It may sound like a perfect solution for the company, but many of us are worried about how this system will affect our current work. New procedures need to be established. The transition period from the old to new system is going to be challenging but I wouldn’t say it is killing us. By hook or by crook, the system has to go-live early next year – a target set by the higher management.

On the bright side, I’m really looking forward December because my mother and siblings will be coming to Singapore to visit me. I miss them so much and I’ll be taking a few days off to bring them around. I’ll be going to the Universal Studios again for sure. Little Edison will have heaps of fun mingling with his cousins. And it’s school holidays too!

On an even brighter side, the company will be shutting down for a week during Christmas. Yippee! I’m sooOoo looking forward a break. I’ve yet to plan what to do during this week but I know I desperately need a new hairdo. However, no overseas holiday plan as V needs to work on that week.