Biten by the travel bug

It feels like a long time since our last holidays although we just went Korea earlier this year, not withstanding the fact that we will be heading to Bali in November. Somehow it seems like Bali doesn't seem like a true-blue holiday as it is really a trip to rest and relax after our wedding. I am already itching to start planning for our trips next year :)

The intention to visit Japan in April to catch the sakura has always been at the back of our minds. And my friends are also talking about going Taipei in June. It looks like two holidays that are planned too near to each other. I am seriously considering if both plans can eventually come to fruition. At the same time, I would really love to go Tibet, the Roof of the World, or Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon. At least while we are still young and fit to do some trekking and perhaps better able to cope with the high altitude. Too many destinations, too little time and not deep enough pockets :'(

Well, I know it is still a bit early to plan for our trip next year when we're still in August now. We shall see how things go when the new year begins ya! Hope Lar Lar can keep to his promise to two holiday destinations next year ;P

Another milestone

In a flash, we are reaching our 5-year milestone :) Looking back it has been a fruitful 5-year relationship that we have shared with each other. Be it sadness or happiness, tears or smiles, these are such intimate memories that will be deeply etched in our hearts.

And everytime this year, Alvan will face the same problem that is buying a present for me. As we both share vastly different tastes, I prefer him not to give me any surprises when it comes to presents (in case it turns out to be an unpleasant surprise!). So this year, due to tight budget, he said that my birthday and anniversary present will be combined into one present instead :( And after much deliberation, I decided to get a new wallet!

Thanks Lar Lar!

And I have taken care of his anniversary and birthday too, which I thought is really meaningful. This was what transpired one night when he asked about his present:

Alvan: So, I have gotten you your much-yearned-for wallet. What’s for me?
Grace: Ehhh…. (a moment of silence)
Alvan: Ehhh…. (another awkward moment of silence)
Grace: I know!
Alvan: Yes?
Grace: By marrying you, it would be the best present that I can give you. Don’t you think so? So this will take care of your birthday present, anniversary present and even Christmas present for this year!
Alvan: ………….

All his bags are packed, he’s ready to go…..

This time round, it is Alvan’s turn to go Batam with his friends. I am going to spend the weekend alone without him :’( But I have already got programmes lined up on Friday and Saturday haha. And I will have the car all to myself! :P

So Lar Lar, enjoy yourself while you are there, drink more, puke more and miss me even more ok?

Anticipation

We got our COE during the last bidding and we are expecting the delivery by this week! We are starting to feel the excitement and really looking forward to getting our hands on our new Vios. Our car agent told us our vehicle number this morning and rest assured that we will be heading straight to the Singapore Pools! Heng heng… huat ah!

Sweet...

Came across this picture that I thought was really sweet :)

Our wedding vows

To Grow Along with You


____________, today I become your (husband/wife) and you become my (wife/husband). I will strive to give you the best of myself, while accepting you the way you are. I promise to respect you as a whole person with your own interests, desires, and needs, and to realise that those are sometimes different, but no less important than my own. I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you in to my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams. I promise to grow along with you, to be willing to face change as we both change, keeping our relationship alive and exciting. And finally, I promise to love you in good times and in bad, with all I have to give and all that I am, in the only way I know how -- completely and forever.

They dolled me up as a princess!

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that my besties and I would be having an “all gals weekend getaway trip” to Batam. With these gals around, I really did not know what plans they had up their sleeves :P Although I felt jittery, I was still looking forward to the great time that the five of us would have over there.

After checking in at Holiday Inn Batam, we went for our lunch, followed by a two hour spa session. We immersed ourselves in 30 minutes of green tea body scrub and 90 minutes of Balinese massage. Overall, the massage was great, with the firm and hard strokes that helped to relieve all the tension nodes in our body. It was deeply rejuvenating and a great indulgence for our tired souls. On our way back, the gals were up and ready with their tricks. And that was the start of the real fun! They bought me a super bling tiara, with matching bling earrings and made a sash which read ‘Getting Married’. They were trying to doll me up as a half princess and a half Miss-Universe-wannabe.

Tessa made us walk to our dinner place at Harris with me dolled up in this manner. We termed it as a ‘road march’ as there wasn’t any proper pavement and we were really walking on the road with fast cars and motorcycles zipping past us every few seconds. After our hazardous 15 minutes brisk walk to Harris, we were famished, especially our breast-feeding mama, Eileen, who was perpetually hungry. Although they took a while to prepare our dinner, it was quite a spread and worth the slightly-longer-than-usual wait.

After dinner, we called for a cab to bring us back safely to our hotel. We took our shower and played our game of “Truth or Dare”. Out came the bottles of liquor and red wine that they brought over from Singapore. We had to draw cards from the deck and the one with the lowest point had to decide to tell the truth or do a dare. With lady luck shining on me, I only did one dare and it was always Yvonne and Tessa who drew the lowest point! It was quite a spectacle watching them do the “stunts” and listening to their “scandalous” stories. It felt almost like it was their hens’ party instead! We had to give credit to Joey for preparing the printed slips of paper and coming up with the ingenious questions! I was knocked out after only a few rounds of drinks and they continued with their games so as to finish up all the drinks.

I must say that this is one of my most memorable and outlandish gals night out. One cannot imagine what gals can do in the absence of their other halves. It is indeed not easy to imagine how five individuals with disparate characters and personalities can create such chemistry and sparks when pieced together. Thank you gals for taking the time and effort to make all these happen. And not forgetting the endearing other halves who are made to stay put in Singapore, especially Richard who has to babysit Lecia.

I am his little princess too :)

I am happy to say that I am Alvan's little princess too. Although he is not one who is good with words, his actions show that he is always ready to shower me with love. There was a period of time when I was involved in a company event and was working round the clock as the date drew near. Every night without fail, he would drive from Ang Mo Kio to Jurong East to send me home, which is at Bukit Panjang. Knowing that I would not have time for dinner, he would buy food for me and insist that I eat something before going to bed. For two whole weeks, he became my chauffeur and food delivery man. Many times, I would be so tired that I fell asleep in the car. Sometimes I would be so stressed out that I did not want to talk at all. Not once did he try to probe. Neither did he expect anything in return from me. I guess that is what love is all about.

So, I must say that he really dotes on me in his special way. Not by sweet nothings but by his actions. Thanks Lar Lar, for holding me close to you all these years and letting me have an important place in your heart :)

Little Princess

This is the start of a new week, feeling blue and lethargic, especially so after a weekend of fun and laughter. So, I dragged my tired body back home as soon as I finished work today. Maybe I was too tired, I didn't have much appetite for dinner. Nonetheless, I sat down at the dining table with sister and baobei. Almost every weekday, she will whip up a quick and sumptuous dinner for both of us. Sometimes, I will even nag at her for cooking the same dishes all the time.

One of the dishes that she prepared today was prawns. I am not a great fan of prawns so I didn't take any. She insisted that I should try as those were fresh prawns but I still did not budge. So she had to peel the prawns and put in on my plate. Even Alvan seldom peel prawns for me. I was touched by this kind gesture and all the more I feel that I am the little princess in my family. I do not have to lift a finger whenever I am home. My sister will cook for me, wash my dishes, wash my clothes and the list goes on. I am so going to miss her and baobei when I get married.

So I am dedicating this post to my beloved sister and thank her for everything she has done for me. I love her as much as she loves me. And just in case my two other sisters get jealous, I love all of u too! :)

Photo Montage

I am in the midst of collating our pictures for our photo montage for the first march-in during our wedding dinner. Besides the pre-wedding photos, we will be adding in our holiday pictures. It is hard to choose as we have so many nice pictures to share with our loved ones.

These are some photos that we have selected so far.

His Word - Part 2

Ephesians 5:22-33 (New International Version)

Wives and Husbands

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

His Word - Part 1

1 Corinthians 7:12-14 (New International Version)


To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

We like to sing this sing "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." whenever we are packing to go on a holiday. This time round, MY bags are packed to go Batam this weekend, minus Alvan. In fact, my gal friends are all leaving behind their other halves for our 'all gals weekend getaway trip'.

I was the one who suggested this idea of spending a weekend with my besties, enjoying a tai-tai like lifestyle somewhere without the men tagging along. This idea slowly evolved into a hens' party for me instead. I felt apprehensive and even a tad bit nervous on what the gals could possibly come up with. Seeing what happened during our previous hens' parties for Eileen and Joey, I could only hope for the better (oppsss or should I NOT hope for the better!).

Nonetheless, I am still looking forward to our getaway trip and the spa treatment that is awaiting my grand arrival :) Look out for my next update on how we wreak havoc in our 2-bedroom suite in Holiday Inn Batam. And I am sure Alvan will be keen to know what has happened too!

Counting down - 79 days

I can feel and hear the clock ticking inside my head. Reality is slowly setting in and panic is the only word that I can relate to now. Friends and family members have previously commented that we seem to be the only couple who doesn't seem to be panicky over wedding preparations. To tell you the truth, I may look cool on the outside but I am feeling the heat now. Although we still have slightly more than two months, there seems to be endless errands and 'missions' to accomplish.

Like what I always tell myself, tasks can be completed faster and seem less intimidating when they are listed out one by one. I shall try to do that and review this by end of Aug.

Critical (by end of Aug):
- send my gowns and Alvan's suit back to Divine for dry cleaning (yes, from the time we finished our pre-wedding shoot, we have procrastinated and yet to send them back!)
- resize my wedding band (and yes, I have mentioned some time ago that I need to do this. YES I shall get it done VERY SOON.)
- get quotations for painting and for them to start work by mid Sept.
- shop for furniture for our room and to be delivered after painting is done.
- compile photos for photo montage and pass to Peepshow Machine/Lawrence Teo
- do our e-filing for marriage
- do up our invite list

Less critical, but still need to be done soon:
- buy things for 过大礼 eg. wedding cakes
- calling up on our relatives for their mailing addresses and full name for invite cards

These are what I can list down for the present moment. There are probably still things that I have left out. Alvan, hope you will feel the same way as I do ie. sharing some concerns that there're crucial things to be done and that we can't be in our usual self-denial mode anymore. And it doesn't help that our weekends for the remaining weeks in August will be spent on our bachelors' night and hens' party at Batam! Gosh, I think we're escaping from reality back home :P

We, the citizens of Singapore....

National Day happens to fall on a Sunday this year and we, the Citizens of Singapore are lucky to enjoy a long weekend! So, we took advantage of this and went to our neighbouring country, Malaysia to spend our National Day holiday. Now you can see how patriotic we are :P

We woke up early and went to Yew Tee for our McDonald's breakfast while waiting for the rest to gather. After our breakfast and two hours of jam at the Woodlands causeway, we finally reached our destination and had our lunch. We forgot to take the pictures of our food and only remembered after we polished off all the dishes!

After lunch, we headed to Holiday Plaza for our hair treatments. Rachel and I took a self-portrait while waiting for Tracy and Alvan.

Of course, we did some shopping. And one can easily see our weakness for shoes here, with an uninterested PSP player.

It didn't take us long to feel our hunger pangs and we headed to Taman Sentosa for our dinner. The chilli crab was nice :) And the meal only cost us about RM30/person.

Glad that the jam on our way back was not as bad as we expected and we reached Singapore around 11+. Thanks to Alex who drove all of us in his manual car. I was pretty sure his left leg would be aching by the time he reached home. It was sad that Ms Aw could not join us as the patriot had to go for her yearly pilgrimage to watch the NDP!

Our First Commitment

Besides our 'commitment' to each other, we took on our first financial commitment, which is the payment for our first car!!! We started our day very early today, meeting our Justice of Peace at 8.30am in his office. It was a rainy morning and we literally dragged ourselves out of bed. We were never a pair of early birds so it was an uphill task 'plucking' ourselves from the comfort of our bed.

After our short meeting with our JP, we decided to go Ubi for a test drive since we were already up and about. I didn't want to waste the early morning just to meet JP and go back to sleep again. So we went and became one of the few early customers at the showrooms. We narrowed down to Chevrolet Aveo SS Edition, KIA Cerato Forte and Toyoto Vios, and went straight to these three showrooms. After the drives, Alvan eliminated Chevrolet from our choice of cars. This took us the whole morning and we discussed during our lunch over the two choices.

After Alvan's afternoon nap, we met up with Su Anne and KJ at Leng Kee. Ya, we went from Ubi to Leng Kee to see if we could get a better deal from other sales personnel :P This time round, I was the one behind the wheels. The KIA personnel cast a doubtful look on me and asked if my licence had been more than a year! Well, I took it as a compliment and had the positive thinking that I probably looked too young :P

The interior of Forte was really quite aesthetically pleasing and looked sporty. For the price range, it seemed a good buy. However, after driving it, the steering wheel felt abit too light for my liking. It didn't give me the sense of security. The pick-up was also not as fast as I would expect for a 1600cc sedan car. So, before driving the Vios, I was not expecting much from this 1500cc car. However, the pick up was faster than the Forte and it felt sturdier. The engine sound was abit noisy but it was still within a bearable range.

So, after much discussion (and much encouragement from KJ), we ended up signing away five years of our 'commitment' to Toyota. I hope there won't be any buyer remorse after I wake up tomorrow morning.

Sneak Preview

We took up our pre-wedding photography package with Eugene Goh from Chris Ling. For someone who doesn't like to take pictures, Alvan felt apprehensive and anxious before the shoot in early July. He was especially uncomfortable with smiling into the camera. However, Eugene put us at ease on that day and did a great job for us. Credit had to be given to my make-up artist, Joanne as well because she helped to cover up my blemishes and flaws!

Before we went down to choose the pictures, we told ourselves that we would keep to our package and not to top up for any extra photos. Well, that was what we intended to do. Not surprising, we walked out a poorer couple as we topped up for 8 additional pictures and bought a picture portrait.

Below are some of our favourite pictures that we would like to share.

The kind of things that we do – Part 2

Game for anything that is fun and exciting, we readily agreed to Baka Chan’s invite to a session of paint ball at Bottle Tree Park in Yishun. We were divided into three teams and we pitted against each other in a total of three rounds. The game involved some strategic thinking and team work was crucial to win the battle :)

Although each game lasted only about 5-10 minutes, it was exhausting as you had to run back to our base if you were shot. And after that you had to run for shelter and shoot at your opponents when you had the opportunity. And as I was wearing a three-quarter bottom, I was shot at my shin. I did not realise that it was swollen and bleeding till the game ended! Ouch! And Von got shot on her neck and the bruise looked like she had a BIG love bite :P

It was a great game and we definitely fulfilled our exercise ‘quota’ in that single session of paint ball!

This was the briefing area where we saw the intro video and saw how professional paint ballers play the game. Felt greatly inspired after that. We could literally imagine ourselves performing those 'stunts'. But of course, that didn't quite work out well.

The one in the middle was Von. She was complaining why she wasn't in the picture for the Forest Adventure. So I made it a point to post a picture with her in it :)

Yes, that was me. Saw the exposed parts of my legs? That was where I was shot. Till today, I was still wondering who was the evil one who aimed at my shin!

Our group picture, every one of us sweaty and exhausted.

The kind of things that we do – Part 1

When we first got to know each other, we spent most of our weekends inline skating at East Coast Park. We both enjoyed this pastime till Alvan’s blades died on him. We stopped exercising for a while and became couch potatoes at home :)

One fine day, we decided that we should try to do at least one new form of activity every now and then so that our weekends would be more meaningful and healthy. So, I will share some of the interesting ones that we did together.

We came to know of the Forest Adventure at Bedok Reservoir Park. It is similar to an obstacle course except that it is all done from one tree to another tree! One has to cross bridges, climb ladders, swing from tree to tree and zip across the Bedok Reservoir. The grand course usually takes about two hours to complete. And by the end of the whole course, our hands and legs felt like jelly.

That is me climbing up, slowly and cautiously.

This is quite a challenging course as there is nowhere you can place your hands for support and balance. This explains Alvan's awkward pose.

This is what I meant by the support where you can place your hands. Comparatively this is much easier to balance.

The wooden planks may look big and easy to walk on but it is still challenging to move on from one shaky plank to another!

Our group picture, showing that we all survived the course. It was a pity that our photographer cum participant, Von, was not in it :(

All of us looked quite funny with the helmet. :P

By the time we completed the course, the sun was setting. What a beautiful moment!

It was a great experience for all of us. We got to enjoy the fun, excitement and the great outdoors with each other and with our group of friends. Thanks for the great company.

The million dollar question

Many have asked me how he popped the million dollar question. It is hard to describe as there really isn't any formal 'procedure' that we (or he) followed. Well informally, I can't quite remember how did we go there. I can only remember us having long and deep discussions on our views on marriage and Alvan allaying my fears on commitment and marriage. I must say that it was quite a stressful period for me as it was quite unimaginable then to even think of being a 'Mrs'. Before we knew it, we started haunting for bridal boutiques and banquet venues.

Formally, he did pop the question one fine day. And he chose it on a joyous occassion, which was the day of his friend's wedding :) Both of us were the 'brother' and 'sister' for the couple and we had a hell lotsa fun during the morning gatecrashing and subsequently the dinner itself. Alvan was busy running around most of the time as he was the bestman. So finally, when the dinner ended and we all proceeded to the bridal suite, the surprise was there for me!

We gals were resting at the sofa when Alvan suddenly appeared with a bouquet of roses and Wilson 'dramatically' drew the curtains with the pinned up question.

No surprises, I said 'YES' and he put on the ring for me :) ooooo soooo sweet!

That was Jonathon on the right helping us with the champagne bottle. Alvan told me that Jonathon helped out alot in the planning for the surprise. Thanks!

Our nickname for each other is 'He He' or '赫 赫'. In case one gets confused over the way the question is phrased.

The proposal ring, from Love & Co.

Thanks for the ring. I know that it has burnt a hole in Alvan's pocket. So Alvan please try to work harder and save more money for my upgrade soon!

Growing wiser with each passing year

Besides ageing gracefully (and beautifully), one of my birthday wishes is to grow wiser with each coming year. I hope that with ALL the wisdom accumulated over the years, I have made the wisest choice to tie the knot with Alvan :) This year is a significant one for me. I am becoming someone’s wife and someone’s daughter-in-law, things are going to be so different for me. It is another milestone for me. People who know me will understand how much phobia I had towards marriage. A simple word like marriage carries with it so much commitment and responsibilities. It is going to take so much time and effort to make a marriage work and last. However, I believe and trust that both Alvan and I will put in our best to make it work.

This year, I spent my birthday with my besties. They are friends who have grown up with me and seen me through the ups and downs of my life. I feel blessed and grateful that we have maintained our friendships throughout the years. I am equally glad that Alvan shares our deeply-rooted friendship (and vice versa!). Thank you all for your well wishes and I love all of you!!

Isn't the cake lovely?

We used the bowl to 'represent' Cheryl :P to show that her presence will always be felt back home in Singapore!

Yes, the cake was on a mahjong table. No surprises, we celebrated after two rounds of mahjong :)

Ice cream cake from Swensens. Lovely!

High Tea at Olive Restaurant, InterContinental Hotel.

Group picture. Mummy Eileen got to go back baby-sit, that explains her absence in the picture :'(