Family matters.

Got this from email...

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;

I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,

How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,

My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.

"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,

God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger,common courtesy you use,but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,

You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,

you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,

And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;

"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"

He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.

I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;

I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,

and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the companythat we are working for could easily replace us ina matter of days..But the family we left behind will feel the lossfor the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves moreinto work than into our own family,an unwise investment indeed,don't you think?So what is behind the story?

Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY =

(F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

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Family, besides the Father and Mother part, I think still includes in siblings. And why is it always when I am feeling particularly upset at one of the family members then this kind mails will find their way into my pressence?

I know that I probably am creating a too-big-fuss over bil's comments. But I still cannot get over it lor and I just want to simmer in my anger and keep it close to the surface. I can easily ignore and forget about it but why am I holding on to it?

I think the reason is simple, I don't want to forget nor to forgive him. Firstly coz of the way he treated Ling and I just do not want to see the good side of him, I guess.

The nerve of that man!

Gosh! I'm so upset! So so so so soooooo upset! Grrrrrr! Not at hubby but at his older brother!

This IS the first time since my marriage that I feel that I am treated like the 'outsider' and 'wronged' and 'unfairly treated' and "wei qu" not to mention "INSULTED"!

ARGG!!!

It all happened on Monday, when we went back to hb's parents' (my PIL) plc for dinner as we usually do on Monday evenings. (Maybe it's me thinking that as parents, they will like to see us more often? Hence, we make it a point to go back home once a week for dinner. How would I know tat bil may not like it?!)

We arrived shortly before 7pm, usual timing for us. Then sat down for a while and proceeded to have dinner in the kitchen.

Bil was getting ready to go to work and while we were eating dinner, MIL asked us, if we are gng to 'lombang' (catch a lift) his car to go home. Before, we can even say anything, bil replied, they just arrived, so early go?! GOODNESS!! We have no intentions to rush thru dinner and then goo off so early also lor. We were going to stay till about 8pm or later and then go off ok!! Hubby then reply, "no, we can go off on our own later" to MIL's insistent of us catching a lift home in bil's car.

By this time, I was not feeling too happy already, the way bil puts it is as though we very 'gian' (dying) to catch a lift home. But I just kept quiet, not my own bro, I don't want to say anything some more in PIL's hse. Just live it down.

Then bil having brought out a majong set to the living room declared tat he is gng to buy a majong table. FIL thinks it's not a good idea since the flat already so small and cramped full of things, but if he really wants to buy then buy and put at our plc. I was huh?! >.<" with these thoughts running thru my mind at the same time... we don't play majong, put at our hse for wat? Put at our hse, then cramp out our plc! Then they want to play come our hse ar?! No! No!! NO!!!

Bil choose this time to tell PIL, they (meaning us) never invite you (PIL) all to his house what!

I tell you, I was really mad then.

First, he had to insult us, as though we really really very gian to take his car home. W/o his car, we cannot go home is it?!

Then, he have to instigate PIL to turn against us?! Just what on earth is his problem?!

WTF!!

I'm pissed and I think I have the right to be pissed. Hubby says I am over-reacting to his remarks. But I don't think anyone will say all those unnecessary comments under any situation.

We have brains of our own, we can think and behave in a way that will not just go, eat and run! We also welcome family members to our house - ANYTIME. We think tat, they are welcome to come anytime, hence no need to invite!

I think the only person that I don't wish to see at our hse is him lor!

BASKET!!!

And I told hubby, from NOW onwards, I am NOT going to step foot into his car ever again!!

we are indeed healthy.

We are indeed a healthy couple!

We are going to do YOGA soon, starting on Sep 11. Haha... (911).

Was thinking since, I already am doing kickboxing once a week and the recommendation is exercise for at least 3 times a week and friends recommend to do a softer sport in addition to kickbox and also HB seems interested, decided to go and sign up for YOGA!

Sourced around, but all so expensive and we (or rather me) never try it before, din want to go and sign up with some expensive studios. And once again, hit by a brillant spark, decided to check out the community centres. So, registered and paid up for the course, 1 receipt for each one of us.

I have tried aerobics at CC before, not that great, the instructor and venue not fanastic, but then again, it was coz din have a kaki with me. The girls then all knew each other. I felt so left out. But this time, it won't happen coz hubby is doing it with me!

=)

I'm looking forward to the start of this class!

Home alone again... and a tiff...

Hubby on night shift tonight, just left for office. Me alone at home now again. But this is not a very routine thing..So I guess, I should just learn to enjoy the rare times that I can be alone and of course have the whole bed to myself. But I'm not feeling the jubilation leh..

*sigh*

And before he left, we had a tiff. Not any major tiffs or anything serious. But just a silly argument over the bamboo poles.

Coz he was at home today, coz only working tonite, he did the laundry. That's very sweet of him, YES, I know. But after the did the laundry, the silly boy hid the short bamboo pole that we used daily. And after bathing, I lost my eyes, I cannot find the pole, my hp was ringing.. that silly boy just stood there holding out my hp to me, saying, "ur mom". DUH!! Can't he answer it? It made my already tense mood of not finding the pole worse. N then he told he, there.. I was like how on earth could I have seen it?! I no eyes after bathing 1 lor. Don't he know?

*Sigh*

So, finally, he dig out the pole from the corner, which was blocked by the hanging laundry and I answered the my hp. And that was the tiff all about. A silly misplaced bamboo pole + a ringing hp.

*Sigh*

I hate it when he got to leave for office at night and we have a tiff. I hate it when we got to leave the hse upset at each other. I hate it when we do not make up with each other before saying "Bye". And I ESPECIALLY hate it when we do not end our partings with a hug, good thoughts, feelings and "I Love You's"

But very luckily for us this time, we manage to overcome our anger and upset-ness at each other and still say our bye's and I Love You's. Call me silly or whatever, but I like it when we part our ways with all these 'nice' things. Some of my friends commented then it becomes a habit. I guess, to a certain extent, it IS a habit. But it's a nice habit, don't you think so?
It makes the re-ship more loving and of course, we each go off with positive and loving thoughts towards each other.

This may sound morbid, but hey.... if anything happens, at least, the last thing we said to each other is "I Love You" and "God Bless You" and the very last time we touched each other was in a warm, embracing hug! This may be the very last things that we say to each other and do with each other.. we never know, what's going to happen right?
And rather than thinking of what we did not have the chance to say to each other, I think these 2 phrases and a hug sums it all up.

A taste of Japan

Hee... heee

Not bad, not bad, after drinking some atas tea from Crabtree & Evelyn (which by the way is from London), now we upgraded to drinking wine from Japan. Now, upgraded liao wor.

This bottle of wine is my Birthday Present from Emilyn this year. She went to Hokkaido with her mommy early this year and brought this back for me. So nice of her hor?!

Speaking of birthdays, hers is coming up soon lor.. and sooo concidential, her Bday is the same as my FIL! So rather hard to forget her bday in my opinion lor. =)

Opened the wine yesterday, it is a Red quite nice, but the red wine is not as bitter as those that we have tried before, in fact it tastes rather sweet. Abit of like the "Cho Ya, Mei Cha" combine with red wine.

I like the label on the bottle, looks cheerful. =) Hubby again, got the red marks all over his face and body lor..haha.. so lousy leh.

But hor, really leh, once a while drink some wine at home is a luxury and an indulgence!

Think we still have 2 more bottles lying in the cupboard and a half bottle of the Japan wine in the fridge.

Will have more chance to do it again soon, I hope!

I see an Angel

This is a beautiful sad story which I got fm email fm my Godma. Talks about the pregnancy and birth of an unborn child. Read on...

I have always been fascinated by wind chimes. When I was little, I thought they were clever, for they made the wind visible by dancing along it. More recently, I have come to realize there are things in life just as real as the wind that we can only see with our hearts.

At my home near Kuala Lumpur, I stop what I am doing to listen as my favorite chime creates tones like distant church bells. My mind wanders back to the day in June 1996 when I suspected I was pregnant.

I had bought a home pregnancy test kit and was carefully following the instructions.

Dear Lord, I prayed, please let it be positive. The results seemed to be taking a long time. Then, with the magical suddenness of a rainbow, the pink line materialized.

As I looked at the positive test result, my joy was intertwined with fear. Please let me have this baby, I prayed. Seth and I, married for seven years, were childless. I had conceived several times, but the pregnancies had ended in miscarriage. With each loss, my world would turn upside down.

Over the years, numerous gynecologists reassured me that the miscarriages happened because the fertilized eggs were just not good enough. It was nature’s way of making sure that only the most healthy ones made it, the doctors said.
After my gynecologist confirmed that I was pregnant again, Seth and I put up a new wind chime in our home to celebrate the gift of life. The chime was ordinary, with its long, hollow shafts and wooden pendulum, but the music it made was divine.

As the Dangerous first 12 weeks passed, my joy increased. At prenatal checkups, I watched my baby’s growth on the ultrasound monitor.
In the fifth Month, I asked the doctor if he could determine the gender, but he said the baby was being mischievous by lying on his side. I felt sure it was going to be a boy. He would look like his father, whom I loved with all my heart.

Then in the 29th week, my water broke and the baby started moving frantically. At the medical center, the doctor told me there was a high probability that I would go into early labor. If the baby was born, he would need a ventilator to survive.

My world suddenly became gray and cold. Somehow, I knew the worst had begun.

I went to a Catholic missionary hospital, which had a ventilator available. Slowly, my contractions lessened and the baby’s heartbeat seemed stronger. After 12 days, I returned home under strict orders to confine myself to complete bed rest.

On the first night of the36th week, labor set in and we rushed to the hospital. As my doctor examined me he said nothing, but the sorrow in his eyes told me all I needed to know. He took my hand and said he could not hear the baby’s heartbeat. My baby was dead.

Not wanting to risk complications from a Caesarean, he recommended that I deliver naturally. The next nine hours were the longest of my life. As the contractions grew closer together, I begged God for a miracle.

Finally, at 12:33 p.m. on February 18, I gave birth to our son. Unlike other deliveries, there was no baby’s cry, the doctor did not congratulate the parents, and the nurses did not coo over the newborn. Instead the doctor tried to spare me by keeping the baby aside and consoling me that the ordeal was over.But it was not over for me. I insisted that my baby be brought to me. When I saw him, I laughed and cried at the same time. He was beautiful, the spitting image of his father. His mouth was curled. His nose was both rounded and pointed. He had long black hair, thick eye-lashes and almond-shaped eyes. He looked as if he had a million gurgles inside him but he made no sound.

We named our son Joshua and gave him the best we could – the finest clothes, fresh yellow roses and ultimately the most beautiful baby-blue urn we could find for his ashes. Seth and I held the urn as the boat took us out to sea. When the boat stopped, I didn’t want to let go. After many tears, the urn was placed into the receiving arms of the gentle azure waves.

When I went for my postnatal checkup, a month after the delivery, I felt so incomplete. All the other mothers had newborns in their arms.
At home, Joshua’s wind chime reminded me of my loss. Many times I thought about taking it down, but I couldn’t. It was my remaining symbol of joy and hope.

Sometimes I felt as if I were going to spend the rest of my days in pain. But as days passed, I began to realize that my brief time with Joshua was itself a blessing. If my pregnancy had ended earlier, like the others, I would never have had the chance to feel him growing inside me, to see his beautiful face and to touch him.

My memories were a balm to the hurt. In time, my darkness lifted.
There are moments when my heart still aches, and then I pause to watch the chime in its gentle dance with the wind. And my spirits lifts as, once again, I see my angel Joshua.
-By Ranjeet Khaira-

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After reading this story, it reminds me of a person, my ex ex work mentor. She was also in a similiar situation but weather you coined it lucky or unluckier, it is the fact that her BB survived for 18 months...

I'm not sure if it is the name "Joshua" or what, but BB boys by this name all seem to be down with something. I hope I am wrong, coz it is such a nice name.

I feel so sorry for the mothers who had to go thru the same thing.

Opps! It happened again!!

A few days ago, I repeated what I did many mornings ago. My mortal fear was this time hiding in the cupboard. Darn it!

On most mornings, I do not and will not open my kitchen cupboards but on that particular morning, I had to keep one of the pot that was used previously. So out of wanting to keep my kitchen neat and tidy and also in a haze of sleepiness, I hold the pot in my left hand and opened the door in the right hand…
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Once the door opened, there was my mortal fear running around in the cupboard!! With insolence, it ran and zipped among my other pots! Argg!!! It was a miracle that I did not drop my ‘WMF” stainless pot lor.. Hurriedly, I closed the door and ran back to the bedroom. Hai…

But, this time, being the very considerate wifey that I am, I did NOT wake hubby up to deal with my mortal fear. He woke up at abt 7.30am and then I pestered him to go n get rid of it. Of course, it was with much unwillingness, that he finally got up and dealt with it.

With that idiot cockroach gone, I was able to demand authority over my cupboards again. Haha..

Thank God for a brave and UN-fearful (of cockroach) hubby. =)

soon Darling.. soon!

Alrighty! Finally got this from the travel agent, enclosed are the hotel voucher @ Banthai Beach Resort, tour voucher (to Fantasea) and the invoice for our upcoming Phuket trip. (trust me, we went thru lots just to get the full info! With the attachments via email not clear, info was incomplete, 1st mail thru the mailbox was short of 1 precious piece of paper - the hotel voucher, which means we cannot check into the hotel?! *horrors* then then 2nd mail got sent to the wrong address, my fault, my fault, gave my mom's unit no while the rest is my address, resulting in a combined address of my mom's and mine! 3rd mail got no stamp, so I got to go to some forsaken post office in Thomson today to get it and pay for it somemore!)

Having paid up and have all these documents in place, finally, I can say, we are ready for the trip!

Now, we just need to stay healthy, pray that no Tsunami be detected over there, change some $, pack our bags and off we go!

Actually, still abit early to start packing lar.. we only going off on 27 Sep. End of next month. I hope hubby will have some sort of surprise for me, after all, we ARE celebrating our 1st Wedding Anniversary lor hor?!

*Hint*Hint*

I'm soooooo subtle here.. haha

Come, meet the new addition to the family.

Wanted to make some changes to our family items. (Please hor, NOT what u thinking hor. Still NO BB in my stomach yet.) So hor, hubby and me went shopping again lor. =)

Have been thinking that our rice pot is too big and want to change to a smaller one, I heard that will save electricity also if use small pot to cook less cups of rice. And anyway, there's only hubby and me, and we eat like 3/4 cup of rice only. Only on occasions, when my sisters decided to "grace" my home for a meal then i will cook, 11/2 cup of rice. So a tiny cooker will do even if they come lor.

And, we went to CK Tangs. Good, went there got what we are looking for. =) Walked around abit and then found 2 that we like. Price wise is only a matter of 90 cents, both looks about the same too. But different brand lor. 1 is "Toyomi" the other is "Mistral".

And in my opinion, I think "Toyomi" is a more reliable brand for rice pots.. and the inside was with a layer of black oxsidised (sorry lar, cannot spell also) don't know what. If u look closely, can read it on the green sticker on the side of the small pot.
I thought no sale leh, but not bad, still got 10% off. =) happy happy.. and we only paid $35+ instead of the $39.90 :D And what did we do the old huge pot? We gave it to my mom!

Fyi, the old pot made it's debute pot of rice for hubby's RCIA canteen with coconut rice last year, with a full 10 cups rice! And the new pot, make it's debute only last Sat, with 3/4 cups, lunch for hubby and myself!

And this new little guy can only manage 31/2 cups ok. So don't think of coming to my plc for chinese kinda meal lor.. Pot not big enough lor. hahaha

But things like pasta, I can manage tat quite well. Since almost everything comes out fm the can and I just need to heat it up. =D

Getting Fat!

After the yummy dinner @ Chomp Chomp last night, we thought we will be healthy and do some morning exercise before gng for mass. But hubby's legs are still sore from the stairs climbing a few days ago, and being the unmotivated me, if hubby not gng, I'm not one who will make the move to go on my own.

Hubby actually suggested just going for a short walk at the neighbourhood park and then we can go for bf. But who knows, we overslept till 9.35 am.. was supposed to wake up at like 8.30 am for the walk + bf.. and then we decided to just skip down to bf.. and to wake up at 9am.. gosh.. we overslept.

Hence, no bf, and rush a little to get to CTK on time.

But we made up for no bf by gng for a nice lunch at S11. We wanted to go for the pork chop hor fun.. but after it had appeared on TV a few days earlier, the queue was sooooooo long, we changed our minds. I had chicken cutlet and hubby had the sotong hotplate. Nice nice.. gosh... such sinful lunches!!

And we had the Devon's pizza, sting ray, cha kuey teow last nite at Chomp Chomp, which was yummy.. I like all except the kuey teow, hubby only liked the stingray.. I also bought roasted chestnuts to munch on. Not nice. Bleh!

But, must console myself, we WALKED home from Chomp Chomp ok.. Hubby says tat will be at least 4,5km of walking.. so I guess, the dinner last nite was taken care of by the walk right? =)

Only left the lunch to digest and goodness, we are gng to my parent's plc for dinner pretty soon.. havent finished digesting, then add in mre food liao.. how ar?

Then earlier, we were eating ice cream by the tub in front of google boxy leh.. chiam liao lar!!

Dinner @ Chomp Chomp

=) Hubby says we will go to Chomp Chomp for dinner later this evening. =) Feeling happy coz I read fm another blog that there is a nice pizza store and I do want to try that now.

But looking at the weather and the way my stomach is feeling coz of the cramp. Begining to re-think if we should go. We were told that it's very hot there leh.. So now I re-think to go or not to go liao. How ar? Go or not?

Also, haven't wash clothes lor. Hubby says can do it tml. But tml, planning to meet 2 girls for coffee in Oilo Dome for tea leh. Means no time to wash and to hang out lor.

Then now, I am feeling sooo sleepy and want to zonked off but haven't bathe after the hse work and lunch.. and knowing myself, once I go n nap, by the time I wake up, it will be like 6++ pm and then it's too late to go Chomp Chomp.. Too crowded liao leh.

How ar?? I feel so indecisive now leh.. Must be me only. Coz I know hubby will just say up to me, if I want to go, then we go. If not, he is also happy to laze around at home with me lor. haha..

How? How? Or we should go to J8 watch movie? I heard the show "Click" is nice fm different ppl leh.

more $ spent again.. =(

Earlier today, Ah Teck, my office mate was sharing with me that there is a group insurance policy that is meant for all staff. And he told me it's very cheap.. So I went to take a look.

Indeed it is. But then again, coz we have recently spent a fair bit buying more insurance fm Amy, was wondering if we should take this new one up as well, so I emailed her with the details.

Her advise? Yes, it's very good deal and worth it. And if we can, we should max the coverage which is $300K on death of any cause. Thus, if this policy goes thru, coupled with our existing policies.. I think our lifes are worth a neat sum of $ if we die leh, Darling.

And the convenience of this policy is that, it is deducted directly from my pay. Hence, i do not need to remember to fill in Giro or to ensure that there is enough funds inside etc etc.

Best part of all, it's soooo cheap. Only $18 per month for a $300K coverage.. so our lives are worth another $300K if the policy goes thru and if we die.

1 down 3 more to go!

Guess what?

1 more of our installment ended this month! And this time, it is the installment for the 四点金 but more like is 四点diamonds lor. This was what my PIL gave us $ to buy last year before the wedding. But coz, hubby and I decided that we want the cash, so we took the cash and paid for the items in installments using credit card.

I remember I asked Godma to go and choose with me @ Lee Hwa. I choose a necklace with pendant, a pair of earrings and a bracelet. Total costs was more than $1.7K. So during this time last year, the $ was really handy. Helped us with bridal things and house things.

Currently, we have 3 more installment plans to pay.. out of which, 2 will be ending in Sep.. hooray hooray!! The last one, was a 2 year installment plan.. Gosh.. Why did we sign so long I cannot remember but don't care and worry so much for now.. All I know is, with effect from Oct 06, we are almost debt free!! *yeh* =)

Cute BB

Last 2 days, we went to our parents place to have our dinner. Then I suggested that I have not really see my wife's childhood photo, so after the dinner, we took out the photo album.

She was cute when she was a BB, or rather as a small kid. She was so skinny then, and just like a girl, she had a lot of dolls and stuff toys. Was if next time if our girls look like the mother should be cute lor. Like mother like daughter mah.

Then last night at my parents place, I took out my childhood photos. It has been very long since I look at those photo. I was so skinny also, but when I was younger, BB times. I was a cute, plumb BB, only when I grew older then I become so skinny. I really din realize I was so cute as a BB. Hehehe.

Conclusion, our BB will be cute because got parents who are cute when we are BB. Hehehe. :)

another week free of cooking =)

I don't know if I should be feeling happy or feeling inadequate at this moment.

I realized, as long as there is just 1 more night that there's something on, it will save me the trouble of cooking for the entire week. =) But most of the time, I still do some light cooking on Sat for lunch. And usually that will be porridge.

For the coming week, we have to go to CTK for the Assumption mass, which is a day of obligation. We decided that we will go for the 8pm mass on Monday.
Tues, eat at my parent's plc
Wed, eat at my IL's plc
Thurs & Fri, eat out. Coz I hv kickbox and hubby will go RCIA wif Jie on Fri
Weekends, we nuah at home and then just go to tapow at coffeeshops.

So, see? Whole week free of cooking again. I'm quite sick of outside food lar. But then if not got to cook leh. Even more sian.. Maybe, Sunday we should go back to my parent's plc to eat.. coz mom don't work on Sundays and I can finally have some time with her and also to eat 'better' food? hahaha.. she usually puts in more effort into cooking on Sundays compared to normal days..

Hm... definately worth consideration!

Ok, got to go now, bathe and get ready to visit my 'Kai Ye' at the nun. She just had a cataract operation not too long ago. Mom says got to give her sme $$.. and she suggested $100.. darn broke leh!!

hai...

Happy 41st Birthday Singapore!

Abit late for this post.. But then again, better late than never.

We decided that we will go for the NDP instead of giving the tickets or selling it away. And surprisingly, Aw gave me another ticket the day before National Day and thus, I was even able to go to NDP wif my sister and hubby!

First time go to NDP. This year is special, coz this is also the last year that the National Stadium will house the parade. And this is also the first time that I ever went to see NDP LIVE! Though, I had gone for the preview abt 2 weeks ago, but the atmosphere and shows are slightly different as compared!

Mre actions and more fun, of course more standing also.

The best part of the show is the Pok Pok Pok as my sister called it lor. It was really really beautiful!!

But the headache was still the going home part. Crowd was sooo much bigger than the preview but our NS guys and SBS buses are really superb!! When we reach the bus, we din even have to queue and even manage to get a seat on the bus ok! But the trip from stadium to the Marina Bay MRT took us more than 30 mins. Massive jams along the way. Gosh!!

By the time we reach home was like 9.40 pm and the next day is a working day.. =( Sen came over to our plc with hubby's bicycle. FINALLY too!!!

I was already dead tired after my shower but hubby want to watch TV still leh.. power.. so he watched and I dozed off.

But celebrating National Day in the stadium with thousands of other Singaporeans really really made the day more memorable and makes it more special!

Happy Belated 41st Birthday, Singapore!!

Birthday

Today is the birthday of Sen's ex GF.

Sent her a birthday sms.

What else to say?

NOTHING!!

ARGG!!!

expensive meet up

Met up with our new insurance agent on Monday evening after work.

Was supposed to go to my mom's plc for dinner but my youngest sis forgot to tell her that we are going home.. hence no dinner so we have to eat at the coffeeshop near our place, eating out is all right. But after eating out for too often then it becomes v and super sian lor. *sigh* only after marriage, that I have to cook our own meals once a while or eat out then I began to appreciate my mom's cooking.

Anway, coz hubby came back slightly later, we rushed through dinner and went back home to meet Amy.

She reviewed our policies and then also re-introduced the "Sphaire health plan" to us again. We did our comparisons and really the coverage is way much better for the increase of $40! So hubby and I changed or maybe the word is upgraded our health plan to this new one. Of course need to do the necessary paper work, to terminate the previous and to do all these.

But actually, the main reason she was here besides telling us of the health plan, was also abt some kind of coverage for life. I did express interests in getting one, so don't get the wrong idea that she came and push us into getting something. She's not that kinda agent where she won't go till she gets a deal.

Explain to us and went thru our analysis again. This must be at least the 4th time I stared at that same piece of paper this year!!!

We liked the coverage and hence we signed. Or rather I signed 1st, hubby was thinking abt it for a longer period of time. Anyway, I hoped with this new policy in place, our lives are more 'vualable' and should anything untoward happen to any of us, we will not become a liability to the other party!

Insurance is indeed important coz it really can help us covers part of our medical bills if anything happens. Worse thing that can happen is, if any of us meets with an accident, but don't die.. Gosh.. the liability, the cost of medical, looking after... I shudder to think of all these costs!!

So with all these factors in mind and also the amount that we can actually pay out.. we again signed on the dotted line.. These signatureS (there were pages and pages of document to sign electronically) costs us a small fortune.. sigh... but I guess, we can make the $ back but when and if the timecomes, then I won't be here sighing away at the $ spent.

It's Bintan Time.

Finally, I decided to sit here and blog abt the much awaited Bintan trip with family in law.

Total of 6 of us went on this trip. FIL, Sen, Jie, Juan, hubby and myself. MIL din wanna come coz she was saying she has been there before and there's nothing much to do and din want to waste leave. And on hindsight now, I think she made a brillant decision! And boy, am I glad that I only took leave for Thurs and Fri and NOT Wed as well! *phew*

As pre decided, all of them will go there earlier. They (I assumed would have caught the afternoon ferry and reach there at maybe 1pm or so) leaving hubby and me to catch the last ferry.

Was indeed a mad rush for hubby and me. Coz I got a call fm the silly travel agent of the China students. Told him I was in a rush and he still went on and on! Bleh! Sen also called us to get this and that to bring over to Bintan. Goodness.. we were so rushed where got time to go and get? Anway that aside, I must say this trip has improved FIL and my re-ship. While it has made me dislike Sen & Juan slightly more. Bearing in mind that, I have never ever met the girl till Wed night.

But I must say that, whatever that happens is off to a bad start for hubby, me and Sen already.

First was the calls to buy things, bring this and that. Then after we reach the hotel lounge at close to 9.30pm, no signs of Sen. Hubby had asked him to meet us at the lobby so that he can bring us to the villa. Waited and waited. Finally, hubby went to the front desk and a staff gave us a ride in the buggy to the villa, Angosaka 11. End of story right? NO!!

Then we found out Sen and Juan sleeping. Fine lor.. then at least let us know we have to find the way to the villa ourselves! I think it's rude to disappear into the room so we stayed downstairs and chatted wif FIL for a while and I very good girl ok? I cleared up their dinner plates and things.. Then FIL asked us to go and put our things in the room, so naturally we asked which room is for us.

Jie pointed to 1 of the rooms, so we went up and tried to get in. Hubby discovered the door was locked and was trying to open when suddenly the door opened! Sen looked at us sleepy eyed w/o wearing a top. Then he closed the door again while hubby and me pretended to look round at the other rooms and the balcony and then Sen and Juan came out. Both looking sleepy.

My grouse is this.. since Sen has assigned that particular room to us, then y is he and the gf sleeping in the same room? Granted, it's a double bed so more meant for couples? But he can keep that room for himself and gf if he wants to, after all the villa is booked in his name! Y give us the room and then made me feel that we should not have opened that door at all?! Argg... Met the girl straight in the face, granted she's looking sleepy. My 'Hi' could therefore be either not loud enough or she replied but I din hear. Fine.

This was already a bad first impression ok! The gf and him (half naked) emerging from supposedly our room, both sleepy looking and the darn door is locked lor.

Throughout the whole of Thursday, we din talk. The only person I was chatting with besides hubby is FIL. Early morning, FIL already woke up. Hubby and me were enjoying a swim and FIL came out to say hi. After our swim, hubby drove the buggy and the 3 of us went for a short walk at the beach. I enjoyed chatting wif FIL and just enjoy the serene surroundings. Hubby went to take pics.. =) Bf was maggie mee wif dumplings and hotdog, cooked by Juan. Erm.. I'm not used to maggie mee for bf... but anyway... still din talk.

To my delight, I saw an elephant quite near to our villa, went out again. Still with FIL and hubby. FIL was chatting in I think Malay to the keepers of the elephant.. haha.. I was right that FIL is a chatty person. Took a short walk round the estates then went back to the villa.

Shortly after, we all went out again, this time, all the 6 of us went out. I think this is the most enjoyable for FIL. This precious 1 hour. He was playing table tennis against his 3 sons in turn. =) I'm happy for him and the sons too. At least they have some bonding time.

Once we returned to the villa, I napped and I din wake up till like 5pm haha.. Hubby was playing games the whole time.

Dinner was fried rice done by Sen and his gf. Ok lah... Not fantastic. But I din cook so don't complain. But I did the washing up for all of them after dinner. I felt I should do my part since someone else did the cooking.

Then spend the rest of the evening watching TV and just lazing in the villa. And at this point in time, I have still barely spoken to her for more than 3 sentences. hai.. And this was already the end of the 2nd day.

Friday morning... We woke up like 6am... which is 5am in Bintan. And the moment we went out of our room, we met FIL. Invited him to go watch the sun rise with us and he gladly agree. =) I must say my re-ship wif FIL is improving!! *yay* Spent time chatting and watching sun rise (din manage to see much, too much clouds and we were late I think) FIL asked THE question... *sigh* I was not expecting it leh.. Heng, Hubby caught the cue and he promptly answered, study 1st.. heng ar... After that, again we went swimming. But this time, we went to the central pool instead of the small pool in front of the villa. We were so early that we were the only 2 persons in the pool. Water was not cold. Just nice too! Swim, went back ate abit of things and then wait for the time to pass so we can all go back to SG.

Anyway, the whole trip was lazing. Din do anything much. Maybe some light swimming on Thursday and Friday morning. And that's it!

A very boring trip, I must add. And I also feel that I wasted 2 days of my precious leave. But I am indeed amazed at myself. Coz of the $200 SGD that I brought there, I did not spend a single cent! And most of the time, everywhere that hubby and I went, I always make it a point to invite FIL along. Seriously, I don't mind him coming with us, coz this trip is not lovey dovey trip. It's family time. And to be honest, I rather FIL spend more time with me than with her.. =P

ANd it was not till we reach the ferry terminal then we bought some snacks to munch on for the trip back home!

Retreat

Turned up at CTK for the retreat by Fr. Bill Heng. It was a good session I feel. Fr. Heng is a good speaker and he can make most of the topics interesting and I was not at all sleepy nor bored throughout the session at all.

Was supposed to be in CTK at 1pm till 5.30 pm and then go for mass after that. But coz one of our kakis suggested to go for mass at 11.30am and then do not need to go for the mass at 5.30pm as it's a bit late. So we all trooped into CTK before 11am for mass and grap a quick lunch and go for the retreat.

Many things were said by Fr. Heng. But out of the so many, I only remembered the following. Re-enactment soley by me..

Fr. Heng: I categorise 2 kinds of distractions when praying. 1st, the mosquitoes. 2nd, the blue bottle fly.
Me: *see stars and wonders, what is 'blue bottle fly'*?
Digress, after coming home, I did a search and found out what 'blue bottle fly' is.. like this.




Fr. Heng: When you pray and come across distractions, the 'mosquitoes' will come to distract you. Like the mosquitoes, it will come and if you can whisk it off your mind, then it's just a distraction. BUT... if, it's like the blue bottle fly and it comes and hunts you with the same distraction, then it may really be the Holy Spirit at work trying to tell you something from God.
Me: hmmm....

Suddenly, it just dawned on me that indeed, there is something, a distracting thought that keeps occuring and flashing into my mind whenever I am in prayer, mass or anything! All along, I thought that maybe it's me that I have an over imaginative brain and hence keeps 'seeing' the same distraction again and again.

But after this illuminating speech given by Fr. Heng, I realized it's not my very imaginative brain but it is indeed God trying to tell me something.

But I think this thought must be overcomed with hubby and me together. Coz I know for sure that I cannot do it alone.

Already spoken to hubby about my distraction but he doesn't really seem to believe me... Guess, I need to highlight it to him again when I have the chance. All I know for now, a confession is in the pipeline for me at least. =(

Did we?

Got this from email thru a friend.

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said,"How do I know if I married the right person?"

I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?"

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind. Here's the answer.

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies.

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience.

You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love...
Because it's happening TO YOU.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet." Think about the imagery of that expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?" And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, church, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage.

It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON;
IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out. That's why we have the expression "the labor of love."

Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable... you can "make" love.

Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.

Indeed... Love is a Decision. (This was what we heard when we went through MPC and still we are getting messages like this after marriage.) When hubby upsets and irriates me, it is really hard to remember that I choose to marry him... But having said all these, since we made the decision, then I guess, we can only do out best and stick to the decision then.

We ain't been lazing around ya know!

Like I was saying, the moment we came back from out trip, we cleared up after ourselves and that's quite a lot of things to be put away and stored. We did NOT buy anything at all fm this trip which is sooo unlike me. Nothing to buy in Bintan at all. Kinda boring lor.

Proud to say, besides the taxi fare to the Tenan Merah Ferry station and lunch, we did not spend any $ at all. Of course, we took the change to buy the tax free alcohol at the DFS. Other than that, NOTHING!

After all these cleaning and clearing, both of us were quite tired. Was just sitting down to watch TV and then since younger BIL din want to go RCIA, hubby and me was enjoying TV while I was surfing at the same time. Went into the GV webby and to our dismay, the show Nachos Libre was not showing anymore!!! Argg...

Hubby then suggested watching this.. after I told him Colin says it's good.
Coz the show starts at 9.30pm, we changed and rushed out again. To be honest, if we did not have free tickets, I think we will not watch lor.. being the cheapskates that we are. This seems like a rather brainless show to me... hence the reason. ha! Bought the tickets and went for FC for dinner. I had my beef noodles. I know today is Friday and not supposed to eat meat but over at the resort in the morning, there was nothing to eat except the dumplings which is pork. So since we already ate meat, and had chicken wings for lunch too, I don't see why cannot eat beef lor.

Was quite tired actually and kinda worried that I will fall asleep during the show. But heng ar, don't have. =) Coz I have my fav prawn crackers to keep me awake during the show! haha..

The show not bad. Lots of stunts I feel. The cars are ooooo sooooo gorgeous!!! The actors not too bad only lar. Storyline is well, not there lar. Watch for the effects, the cars and the stunts.

So all in all, a very busy afternoon since our come back fm Bintan.

Back fm Holiday!

Came back earlier today. Glad to say that the ferry ride to Bintan and back was not as bad as I thought. Though while we are gng there, the SG waters are indeed choppy so hubby and me both popped a pill hopefully will doze off but we were wide awake!

And on the way back, the Bintan waters are very calm, hence no need for the pills at all! And we doze off.

Then my older BIL drove all of us to Changi village for lunch. Had their famous Nasi Lemak and.. hm.. I think not as good as I hope lor. Quite a disappointment actually.

Once we reached home, we have so many things to do!! Got to clean up the house and then packed and wash all the clothes that we brought over. Kinda tiring after all these traveling, packing and cleaning.

But at least, for the whole of tomorrow, we don't have to do any housework at all! =) And we have plans to go shopping tomorrow.

Quite a lot of thoughts during this trip... but not sure how to put it into words at this moment, let me go and think thru and then come back.

First trip..

I'm going on a short trip to Bintan with my family in law for the first time today!! All except my MIL will be going.

To be precise, my FIL, 2 BIL and BIL's gf are there already. Coz of those China visits, no choice, I cannot take leave.. (which is just as well coz cannot spare so many days of leave) so this evening, after the China students left, I will rush room home immediately to pack and to meet hubby and then go.

Gotta run now.. updates coming soon...