2013

1. We traveled:

• to Singapore with my parents and 2nd brother
• alone to Penang
• overseas together to come to Melb and Queenstown for our proper honeymoon (hopefully there's more travelling next year)
• to Great Ocean Road when the parents came for a visit. I don't mind going again but maybe with friends the next time round

2. Bought furniture's for our room

3. Our 7th year as a couple

4. Parents came for a visit but had to cut the trip short because my grandma passed away. But my dad came back a week after the funeral because he was supposed to stay longer than my mother

5. Developed a few of our favorite wedding photos to frame up in our room

6. Ate and traveled whenever we could to explore Melbourne (or rather Victoria) more

7. Experienced shopping really EARLY in the morning

Some of the malls were open for either 24 hours or 34 hours straight. So we went to Chadstone at 11 pm, getting into the parking area was a little bit crazy and that was when we decided that we didn't want to go to Chadstone on Boxing day. Even when we were leaving at 1.30 am, there were still people coming in. Some even brought their children who were asleep in their prams. It was definitely quite the experience because we don't get this in KL

8. Bought expensive Christmas presents for each other just cause we wanted to spend on each other

9. Celebrated Christmas for the first time here

This year's Christmas was a little bit weird because usually month's leading up to Christmas would've been insanely crazy, even on Christmas day but we had a quiet one this year. We would also usually have a huge family dinner

10. Went for Boxing day

We were the crazy ones who wanted to experience the crowd and queues but as mentioned in my previous post, the hubby had to work from 10 am - 4.30 pm. But thank God he had to work because we skipped all the crowds and queues and still managed to get what we wanted. If not, I think we would've fought a lot and gone home without buying anything because the both of us hates crowded areas

11. Tried to save money

We were blessed from the wedding with a generous amount to survive here in Melb (maybe one day I'll blog about it, just in case I forget in the future). We used up quite a huge sum from that and we've been trying to save money to reach the same amount that we started with. It was tough in the beginning because we wanted to travel, shop, and needed to buy some household items. But I think we're almost reaching the same amount that we've started with. We still shopped and ate out quite a fair bit, yet at the same time, we managed to save up quite a good sum of money. Imagine the amount of money we could have had now if we didn't shop or ate out as much

of running errands, coin machines, & doing projects together

Before I got married, I've always saved $2 coins into my cute lil piggy bank and at the end of the year I'll deposit it into my bank. So this year I've decided to continue it with the hubby. So just recently we opened the piggy bank, counted the coins, and deposited into the bank

The machine was quite cool. Looked like an arcade game. We dumped all the coins on the tray which has a conveyor belt on the bottom. The coins will slowly move in batches. We managed to save $490 worth of $2 and a few $1 coins. Which was amazing!


Actually we had to go to a few banks before we found one that was open. A few of them were closed for the holiday season until the first week of Jan. After the bank, we went to Ikea to get either a magnetic or cork board to put up some photos. I would've wanted a magnetic one so that I don't damage the photos. But it was too heavy because we can't drill holes into the walls of our rented house. So I guess I gotta wait till we get our own house to buy the magnetic boards

We stapled on a nice piece of cloth that was given by a friend. It was quite a fun project to do together. I like doing projects together with the husband. We laugh, scold, get angry and impatient at each other but yet we enjoy it. I'm still looking for ideas on how to decorate the board further because it looks too bear now even though the cloth has subtle patterns on it

Then we went to officeworks to laminate photos for him to put into his new wallet because we've learned from experience that over time, the photos will stick to the wallet which damages both the photo and wallet. So since we were there, we looked for hooks to stick on the wall that won't damage the wall if we wanted to remove it

While looking for the hooks, I was also looking for sticky labels because I was putting together a folder to hold our warranties. As we were looking, I found the label maker and told the husband that I've been wanting one for a long time. I've always wanted the old school one but the husband doesn't like it. But oh wells. I'm not complaining because I got a pink one. So that's fine! We stayed up till late last night because we were doing our lil project and playing with the label maker

Boxing day

Boxing Day today. We didn't manage to buy a lot of things because well, we've bought too many before Christmas already. And I wanna shop some more when we go home for holiday, so need to watch our spending wisely

He had to work today because it's a very busy day for them and there were no exceptions for anyone so that it's fair. So we decided that he should work the first half of the day (10 am - 4.30 pm) instead. Thank God the shops open much later on Boxing Day. To our amazement, the crowd actually died down when we were about to start our shopping

We only had to queue once when we wanted to go into Lacoste and that was it. Every shop that we went in, we heard that the crowd was crazy. There were long queues going into Myers and David Jones. It was so bad that the queue even went on to the escalators!! Unbelievable! We didn't even have to go through that. We just walk straight in and around like it was any other shopping day. Thank God because we hate crowded places!

christmas day

On Christmas Day, we walked around the city which was pretty much deserted. There were still some people walking around but no shops were open except a few Asian restaurants. We had lunch at a Korean restaurant called White Tomato because there weren't many restaurants to choose from anyways. After lunch, we walked around the city and decided to take a lovely stroll to the mistletoe bridge

We saw a bunch of locks on the bridge. It was quite interesting because we only thought it was done somewhere in the UK. So we decided that we'll find a nice lock and add ours on the bridge as well. Yeah, we're THAT couple. One who enjoys wearing the same clothes, if not, the same colors

Under the huge mistletoe

We took another photo with a camera app that I got but Dayre don't seem to allow me to post it because it's too large

a new fan

We bought a new fan with a safer base. It comes with a remote control which we (or rather, I) couldn't stop playing it for a whole 15 minutes lol

This is our old fan base. It was on loan from my brother. We kept hurting ourselves with it where we were always kicking the legs of the fan. But now with the new fan, we will never hurt ourselves anymore!

I made chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight because the husband is still unwell. Hopefully he feels better soon. He hasn't been sick for this long since forever. He hasn't been feeling well for about 5-6 days

Work

I'm not getting as many working hours as I hoped I would. Before my holidays, we were counting the number of hours I would've had from work and the pay and stuff. But now, it's not as much as I would've wanted it to be. I'm still earning a bit over the course of a few weeks but.....

Next week for instance, I won't be getting any hours at all. Most of the children are going for holidays and there won't be much need for casual staff. I can't wait for my studies to be over and done with so that I can be at least a part time staff or permanent where I would get more regular hours

Maybe the Director doesn't like me that's why she's not giving me the hours. Haha

Don't know. Oh wells. 

At least we have enough money to go back for CNY next year

Oh it's gonna be exciting!!! I can't wait to eat, shop, eat, shop, eat, and shop!!

Love Is.. Christmas Spectacular

At Bridge Church, they have a Christmas Spectacular production that is usually held before Christmas. On Christmas day there's only 1 hour service and that's it. This year the theme is Love Is and they had 4 productions, 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.

I've never been to any of the productions because usually I'll be back in KL once my summer break starts. So this year is new and special to us because we're spending it here. 

He was offered a chance to serve for the production and coincidentally he got the role of vision mixer. I was trying to be the encouraging and supportive wife, however, on the day of the Christmas Spectacular I couldn't keep it in anymore.

It was a battle and conflict inside of me. On one hand, I was happy that he has the opportunity to serve. To vision mix (which is what he did in Astro before he had to leave it to come to Melb with me). On the other hand, I was miserable. I felt lonely. I felt that he agreed to serve without even discussing it with me. You see....the people who served had to do all 4 services. And we've argued about making decisions without consulting one another beforehand as well. So, I was trying to be fine with it. After all, he's serving God, doing things in church. But I couldn't shake this sad and lonely feeling inside.

Before he came to Melb, I went to church on my own. Then when my brother rededicated his life, we went to church together. Once we came to Melb together after the wedding, in a month or so, we decided that we want to volunteer. Him in production and me in Children's Church. Usually we'll serve on the 1st service on Sunday then stay back for the 2nd service. However, his production slowly required him to serve for both services. So, I was back to being alone in the service. 

After a while, I felt like he's settling down in church more than me. I only serve once a fortnight and he serves twice a fortnight. Also, his work already takes up a lot of time. Sometimes when I get up for work, he's still sleeping and when he gets back from work, I'm sleeping. 

So over time, the emotions kept gathering up causing me to be overly dramatic whenever he doesn't have much time to spend with me. 

All in all, it was enough to say that the outcome of my outburst on Saturday might have caused him his role in the Christmas Spectacular. He did once on one of the productions on Saturday and on Sunday, he was not needed. 

I really don't know how to solve this problem. We are still trying to figure out what would be best for the both of us. I don't know. Maybe once we settle down in church, it'll be better because then I might have friends to sit with. I don't know. I still feel like a stranger in this church. Maybe we need to find a smaller one? Sigh. I really don't know

our ROM (10/11/12) but actually it's 9/11/12

So I've decided to write about our ROM because the other day we were talking about the months leading up to the wedding and the wedding itself. And I've decided to write about the ROM just to remind me of what we went through.

I feel bad that I keep telling him that I didn't get my dream wedding and everything else that came with it. But, I can't help but feel that way. 


OH WOW! I just realized that it's been a year since we've been legally married. Interesting!


When we were deciding on the date for our ROM, there were a few setbacks. Firstly, I wanted my mum to be there so it had to be a weekend because she works in Singapore. Secondly, we had very few weekends to choose from because his parents seem to have TONS of things going on weekends. In the end, we didn't manage to do it on the weekend because his parents were too busy. So, because I wanted my mum to be there, she had to take a day off work.

Instead of signing on 10/11/12, we signed on 9/11/12 instead but we asked the Pastor to put the official date on the certificate as 10/11/12

We had to be legally married way, way earlier which wasn't supposed to happen according to the Pastor who was our legal witness. He said that usually couples do it a week before their wedding day so that the date on the legal papers would be the same as the wedding day. But nope, not us. We had to do it earlier because we needed to be legally married in order for me to apply a spouse visa for him to come along with me to Melbourne.

Anyway, back to the ROM. During that time I was still working in World Vision. So I took the day off for the ROM. I had huge expectations for the ROM. Like huge! I guess having people constantly telling me that it's the best day of my life didn't help. People asked me what kind of flowers I was going to get or who did I get to do my makeup on that day. However, everything didn't turn out as dreamy as I imagined it to be. I thought everything would be perfect. We'll get to take loads of photos. But no....it turned out to be the worst day of my life (okay.... I'm being a tad bit dramatic here).

The weeks leading up to the ROM, his mum made a lot of requests and complains. Even the day before the ROM she asked whether it could be postponed to another day!! It's enough to say that there weren't many tear-less nights for me. Even the days leading up to the wedding were filled with tearful nights. 

I never thought that planning a wedding. A supposed JOYFUL, HAPPY day could be filled with tears of frustration, anger, irritation, and disappointment instead of tears of joy. 

Also, to make the day less awkward, my aunty and uncle decided to come along with us. Thank God because if it weren't for them, it would've definitely be EXTREMELY awkward! My aunty wanted to get me flowers but all I wanted was for the day to be over and done with. 

I thought that day would be the end of the bad streak. The end of all sadness and we could move on to the more exciting stuff i.e. the wedding. But nope, more sadness was to come. 

Hmmm, I wonder if every couple goes through this when they were planning their wedding. Or was it just me...?

Love language: Quality time

So the husband has decided to change his work hours so that he can finish earlier to spend some time with me. He's asked me to go out into the city at this ungodly (at least to me) to meet him for dessert. I thought why not since I haven't been out at late for a very long time. To my surprise, the city is packed!!! Makes me feel like an old grandmother!

We went for dessert at Dessert Story. Everything that we ordered was delicious and I finally satisfied my cravings for tau foo fa. A little costly but still delicious!
Being out this late really makes me feel like I'm so old because I couldn't keep my eyes open. I don't even eat after 8.30 pm. Usually by 9, I'll be washed up and changed into my pyjamas.

Last time I used to go out until 3 or 4 am. Watch late night movies. Go for supper. Drive around town. Go for impromptu trips.

But now, by 9 I'm in my pyjamas. I feel sleepy at 10 pm. My eyes get droopy by 11 pm. This is just insane!! I'm still young for crying out loud. I don't even have babies yet! But I feel like I'm in the body of a 90 year old instead

Catching fire

I can't wait for to watch "Catching fire". I've re-read the book because I have this crazy obsession to compare the book to the movie. I always wonder how will they show a particular part in the book Kind of disappointed that I don't have much working hours next week. I guess it's the Director's way of showing her dislike towards me. But it's okay. I believe God will provide for me

I can't believe that this time last year I was still working in World Vision. And planning for the wedding at the same time. Unbelievable!

the past (wedding & mini honeymoons)

So, let's start by documenting what has happened over the past few months

We got married on the 26th January 2013. Which was a whirlwind because we only had 4-5 months to plan for the wedding. We had enough of the long distance and wanted to get married ASAP because we think it was the right time and we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Because we only had a few months to plan, we had to compromise on certain things. To sum up, I felt and still feel that I didn't get my "dream" wedding. As I look back, there are things that I would've done and planned differently. I would've taken more photos, spent more time talking to friends and family, partied through the night. There's just so many things that I felt didn't go the way that I've dreamed it would've gone.

The day after the wedding, we went back to my house because I forgot some stuff. I remember walking into the house feeling a little shy because of the things that we've done the night before. It was so silly. It's like I finally could touch him and show a little PDA without having to worry about what my parents or other people would think.

After the wedding, we went to Singapore with my parents and brother. We shopped, sight-see, and ate to our hearts content. Went to the Universal Studios where we sat on the Transformer's and watched all the other shows that were on that day. Kevin and my brother went on this 2 rides that were insane. See my memory is so bad that I can't even remember what it's called. It was separated into 2 category's. You're supposed to go on the beginner one first before the advanced one. After the rides, he couldn't breath and felt like vomiting.

After the Singapore trip, Kevin and I went to Penang for the food. We managed to score awesome deals on Groupon where we stayed in Hard Rock Hotel. I felt that the place was a little too overrated and was a little too disappointed with the quality of the rooms. However, the food in Penang wasn't disappointing at all. We met up with the twins and Sharon and had dinner together. Some of the places we tried were recommended by KY Speaks and it was delicious. I especially loved the peanut dessert so much so that we even tapau-ed a bowl back to the hotel even though we were so stuffed.

We decided to go on 2 mini honeymoons because my brother was sponsoring a honeymoon to Queenstown, New Zealand which we went in June. So, we didn't wanna tire ourselves because we were leaving for Melbourne on the 5th of February. There wasn't much time because we wanted to spend time together as well as with our families before we left for Melbourne. It was wise for us to choose to travel nearby as we were so tired after EVERYTHING! Queenstown will be updated in another post because that deserves a whole post on it's own

conflicted

There's this new app that allows you to blog whenever and wherever you are. Making blogging easier to access but yet, I find that I want to write on this blog too. I find that it's easier to access in the future and for me to look back at certain important posts. However, I find that it's easier to blog using that app because I don't have to transfer the photos to the computer in order for me to blog. Hmmm, maybe I'll just write all the day-to-day stuff using that app and all the more important stuff in this blog. Since, no one knows that I'm blogging again. So it's good for me to express whatever that is needed into this blog. So that one day I can come back and have a look when my memory fails. 

I'm starting to blog again because the husband thinks that my memory is deteriorating. Somehow, I agree with him because at times I can't seem to remember certain things. Not the simple things like where did I put this and this but more like the things that has happened, things that would've been nice to be stored into memory. 

Looking at some of the old posts makes me feel nostalgic. That all the problems and "I-hate-life-moments" where so childish. I've found that I've grown so much being overseas, having to learn how to cook, do the laundry, clean the house, etc.