One thing about marriage is, you learn to enjoy each other company in one another interests. Husband's love from the past- YANNI. I wasn't a big fan but after the one night concert at MBS, i was blown away by the talented musician and his band. Truely world class!
Morning sun greeted me at 8am. What a good rest! Serendipity lived up to it's name. We were served a sumptuous spread of intercontinental breakfast. Nice table set up with little cute cutlery and pottery.Food was aesthetically displayed. Light lounge music was played. The place is so quiet and serene. I felt time has slowed down a little .
11am :Moving on to another chapter today and celebrating it at phuket .Naiham beach is beautiful. The green waves and the clear cirrus clouds lightened me up. We rode the waves and dived in the sea water. I was in heaven with the sea water bubbling in my ears. There were a lot of things I hope to do before turning thirty such as having a kid but I guess god has it own timing and I should learn to be content with what I have and learn to treasure my time to enjoy the present .
4.30pm: While waiting for the minibus to fetch us back to the hotel, Hubs and I sat at the beach to have some silly fun.Snaping pictures, watching the dogs and talking about why the caucasians like to date petite thai asian girls
5.30pm:
Before having a good soak in the bathtub, we decided to laze around in the balcony,just to enjoy the good space and the nice nature. Be still. That's a nice feeling to have.
8pm: We went back to the same local restaurant that we had yesterday to buy dinner and went back to our apartment to enjoy a quiet dinner. No fancy dinner or blowing the candles on the cake. Just Hubs and I with a bowl of tom yam, green curry, morning glory and grilled chicken for just $20 dollars.
12 June 2011
7am: Woke up to enjoy the breakfast.The same feeling of peace and tranquility. Have a little walk in the garden before hitting the pool to swim a few laps. Then laze around in the nice chairs to enjoy our last hour before we bade farewell to Serenpity and our wonderful accomodation. I really had a good time and will definitely be back again, hopefully with a little bud.
Hoon had free tickets to Jurong Bird Park and she invited hubs and I to join them yesterday. I had such great fun. JBP changed so much. I preferred it over Mandai Zoo for two reasons:
1. It is less commercialized and the vegetation is much natural
2. The birds are always moving and in actions, unlike the animals in the zoo.
Then, we went to Ivy Poison @ Bollywood ( Lim Chu Kang) for lunch. The banana bread, kueh, fig tea and curry are yummy. Love the rustic feel of the restaurant. You won't feel like you are in Singapore. I think is a great place for parents to bring their children for some outdoor fun and eco-education. Service was good and the boss would take time to check in with you. Apparently all the vegetables are grown without pesticides. So is ORGANIC and you still feel so healthy after a heavy lunch!
13 March 2011
First weekend that Eu Jin was back for good and in order to help this guy settle his life back in Singapore, we went to Adam Road to have his favorite prawn mee noodle after church service. Well, after being away for so long, he was still a true blue singaporean. Good Hawker food makes him happy.:) After that, we went to the Botanical Garden to laze around and enjoy the green outdoors. The SAF Military band was playing that weekend. It wasn't fantastic but had made us happy and contented .EJ said we should do this more often and with a bottle of wine,some cheese and crackers the next time.
29 March 2011
Eu Jin came back for good! So happy. Love this guy. We met up and we went to Tai Seng for Bak Choy Mee. It must had been the best Bak Choy Mee that I had tasted. No wonder the boys love to have their meet up here.
After the sumptous and satisfying lunch, we checked out the Gengis Khan exhibit at the Singapore Art and Technology Museum. The museum design was fantastic . Love the architecture but the admission fee was a bit too pricey. $30 dollars per admission.
Anyway, thought the exhibit was worthwhile after i visited. Learned more about the great Khan and brought back memories of my mission trip in Mongolia. He apparently was greatly idolized in Mongolia and to this day still greatly respected. Like all great leaders, he had many quotes of wisdom which had been passed down to his descendents. Some of which, i thought was pretty good. There was performance by this Mongolian folk music group which was pretty impressive. The lead singer had an interestingly deep voice and ability to mimick different sounds.
I was also inspired to arrange a trip to Silk Road after being intrigued by the museum display. It was those dreams of mine to go to an exotic destination in my life time.
Eu Jin became our official photographer after we visited the museum. That would always happen if he went out with both of us. Since hubs and I had not been to MBS yet, I quickly sized this opportunity to take as many pictres as I could. I loved how we acted like we were tourists and captured the beautiful skylines of the downtown.Singapore had developed so fast over the last few years. I can't wait for the new Marina Bays Garden to come at the end of this year.
One thing I love to do with hubs is to explore the nature together. Quality time when we can enjoy the feeling of quiet bonding as we walked through the lush vegetation marveled at the wonders of nature. Sometimes we will talk what's life will be like in 3-5 years times, sometimes we will talk about the daily mad rush, if not we will just enjoy the silence and accompany.
Long weekends are always looked forward to,especially when you really felt like you needed a break after a long week at work. On Friday, I woke up to a healthy morning with hubs at the Macritchie Reservoir. Ran together for a good 3.2 km before I stopped and panted profusely.( wonder if i am going to make it for my 10km run in November..)
It must had been a long time since i ran in MacritChie. Nostalgic memories came back to me as I ran around the reservoir. Those were the days when I came here for my JC cross country and track and field. Hubs was eagerly showing me the places where he did his dragonboat training and sharing stories of how his instructor would motivate the team to do 400 push ups,circuit training and then rowing the boat.We even went and found the little shed where his canoes were kept. Alas, it was still there with a little imprint "ACJC" on the door. Hubs felt so elated that he found it and was grinning like a little boy.
There are so many beautiful changes to the park. As hubs and I were walking down the little stairs, marvelling at the wonders of nature, he whispered to my ears " If I had known you during the canoing days, I would have woo you..." Oh, how sweet are those words that instantly brightened up my day in a picturesque place. I smiled back at him and asked him to stop lying.:)
I wanted to come back here again more often though it was far from our place. The place is so perfect for running. Cooling, new toilets, sprinklers for bathing and the little remenants of old, colonial Singapore in the 1950s. Those beautiful benches which would make you wonder if your dad and mum ever come here to date...
Morning: I am never more thankful this year that I am a Singaporean. I started my day in the church with a few church leaders leading the service. Under their leading, the congregation thank god that he has built a prosperous nation where economics, education,health care ,business and finance and environment has been prospererous in every area in his hands. We prayed that he would grant our leaders the wisdom, integrity and clarity to continue to lead our nation to greater heights.Pastor reminded and prayed how important educators were in the areana of building our next generation. His words spoke to my heart of the role that I played in my market place. It reaffirmed and encouraged me that I should continue to serve my children, teachers, principals and colleagues with a fervant heart to glorify him.
Afternoon: I really thank god each time I saw a new development, a new mall , a new park along the streets. Having lunch with hubs in the ION this afternoon made me excited being part of a nation that is so progressive and efficient. I kept exclaiming," Look this is something new. we have all the different japanese snacks now. " "Oooh, check out thirty six degree supermarket. We can have Waitrose key lime pie." " I am excited to see the Marina Garden City!" Singapore is amazing, isn't it? Having spent a few years out of the country, I felt our country has grown so much. I love being part of a city that is so efficient and cosmopolitan.
Night: Using the Singapore pledge as the central theme for this year NDP was a wonderful idea. As the various performances unfolded through the 10 chapters, I was led and being reminded of the hardship that our great forefathers had went through to build the present Singapore that we had seen. I especially like how Chen Wei Lian and Gail Ong presented my favourite NDP songs " Its' a favourite thing". Are we moving towards a more inclusive society where hope and love could be given to the even less priviledged of the country? I hope so. I am not sure if you teared as the performers put up a wonderful medley of the old NDP songs, National anthem and pledge but I do. Singapore is really my home, my nation where I grew up.I need to think about how I can give back/serve the people of the country . Aren't I patriotic or what?
I suddenly felt like looking at my wedding pictures and I realised I lost my link. I decided to go to Nick's website to have a look at guess what,he put up out thank you card as the testimony and all my wedding pictures on his site!Opps.Well for those who have been wanting to have a look at my wedding pictures since like 1.5 years ago, here are there...enjoy..I miss being an excited bride.
R:I had some presents for you Me:What? R:Here,take a look.. I rummaged through the the NTUC plastic bag and found my favorite soymilk and also an exfoliator for bathing and new tooth paste.
I was grinning almost to heaven.Not that i had given instruction to him to help me buy the stuff. Since I am going to be back for just a month, I had not been on top of things and had been taking it really easy.That included compromising with my daily necessities such as drinking my favorite soymilk,my bathing toiletries. Babyface was thoughtful to drop by the NTUC on his way back home to buy these stuff for me.Sweet.Sometimes, the smallest things in life can really made you happy.Thanks,babe.
We are a team and the best partners!Thanks for being an awesome man of god!I can shoulder all your burdens through Christ!
Today's reflection on marriage refreshed on how I can serve and love BB more. I thought these 3 questions are good reminders for the wives:
1. What did I love about my husband when we meet? My answer: His steadfastness HIs honesty His integrity His generosity His patience His gentleness His compassion His openess His adventurous His determination His humility ( Wohoho.coming up with this list is effortless, BB)
2. When will I make time for him today? Through prayers in devotionals 3.How can I show him that I love him? By being a very good active listener ( WIP) Be always encouraging and supportive in all things Cook nice meals Build a warm and organized home for him
On June 7th, I took a cheap chinatown bus and went down to DC Washington to visit Steve and Carol. I also took this opportunity to take part in the nation wide Susan Koman Breast Cancer Run. There were about 250 thousand runners that day and with the temperature hitting high at 40 degree celsius and relative high humidity, the initial start to the run was unbearable. But, knowing that I am running for a good cause ( all donations will be proceeded to Breast Cancer Research), I persevered. Along the way, there were a few times i wanted to stop.( I am not a good runner)But I thought about how mum had battled the fight and finished the race.And I realised I needed to run with "good faith" as well.So I kept visualizing that I would hit the finishing line and try to overcome this mental barrier. I am glad I did! Steve felt bad that he did not get me the pink shirt which said,"in memory of your love ones". I told him that its absolute alright. Because i felt it was not about the "physical material" but was the "spritual" that was more important. I felt her presence, her indomitable spirit when I ran. She would always be with me wherever I go. Pictures
So I am officially one year older on June 11th!! BB made a video for me.Guess what's my initial reaction. Me: Hey how come you put in all the fat and ugly pictures ?? BB: Hahah...Now it proved that I did not go by looks Me: The video is not accurate. We had a longer history than that and they are not in chronological order... BB: hahah,hey i can't put everything in lah..the file is too big to send over to you Me: We definitely went more places than that..and also resolution very bad BB: You come back and I show u the one on desktop Me: And the words disappear too fast, I can't see some of them BB: Mmmm....
Of course I ended off something nice..but not that nice as well Me: Thanks anyway babyface...really appreciate it....though i think u copy my idea of doing a scrapbook for you on your birthday except yours is digital. ( competitive side of me emerging) BB: Sigz.
hahah, can't believe I am so anal and notice so many things about the video. Actually, I am very thankful for this video because BB usually would not do such "creative" stuff so I really appreciate him for making an attempt amidst his busy schedule.As such, my acts of appreciation are: WATCH THE WHOLE VIDEO FOR 15 TIMES CONSECUTIVELY REPEATING THE LAST PART OF THE VIDEO WITH THE SONG "AFTER ALL" FOR 20 TIMES TEARING AND USING UP TISSUE PAPER WHEN I THINK OUR JOURNEY WAS EXACTLY WHAT " AFTER ALL DESCIBE" SEND HIM MULITPLE EMAILS AND BOMB HIM WITH MY SUDDEN SURGE OF APPRECIATION AND FEELINGS AFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO
And then, my friends gave me a surprise birthday celebration. I am so terribly touched and it really surprise me coz since young, I always prefer to be low key about birthday celebration. I had this weird phobia of people singing birthday song for me and hate to be the center of attention. So when I stepped into the room without realising anything, I was so surprise that I was almost speechless. Felt almost like a celebrity!Watch this video: I just keep rattling on nonsensical stuff,mentioning how well Erica has lied through the entire thing.( Erica and I were suppose to just have a dinner plan together and she even made me dressed up. I guess I blend in with the hawai theme in the end. Notice how dark I am now...super duper hot now..39-40 degrees celsius ) I am so thankful that my friends made an effort to spend time to come up with a mini party for me. Totally unxpected!!And all the efforts in making the decoration,ripping my facebook profile picture, flowers, ballons, good spread of food and drinks and baking my first personal cake!!Seriously, I am almost move to tears!!Nobody has baked a cake for me before. And Vera took 6 hours to bake that super duper delicious cake. I am seriously touched. Thank you my dear friends. You guyz had made such a memorable birthday for me this year. The past year has been rough but you guyz have been such a good support. I am so thankfulthat I met you all!! More pictures here
I missed home and the activities I did with him and my family. Looking at these photos from Ian's website reminded me of how we first did our first bbq at my in-laws' place several years before he left for the states. How fun to have a few friends over and have a nice catch up.It felt kinda of weird that I am not around but at the same time, there was this sense of peace and joy to see that he and his family were doing well back home.Thank god for that.
He was here for a week in the city!!I am so elated after three months of not seeing him. I am like recharged in the arms of love, soaring freely like an eagle,and zesty like a lemon. New York City is even more perfect with him around. We simply lazed around the Central Park for almost few days of the week, marveling at the cherry blossoms, oogling at the hot joggers around the Charles Dana,listening to the jazz band playing in the greens and just simply enjoying the warm weather!!I love Spring. Central Park is so beautiful...Alright back to mugging.another 2 days to go before I am free and start my summer vacation!!
