WE ARE GOIN' TO KL, WE ARE GOIN' TO KL, WE ARE GOIN' TO KL!

Sung to the tune/beat of "We got jungle fever"(for those of you who can appreciate, and NO I do not have nor have I ever had jungle fever, its from a movie people!)
So...for Matt's birthday we are going to Kuala Lumpur! Yep, the Mr & Mrs are back in Malaysia! Matt has Friday off work for the Easter weekend & he is in much need of a short little weekend get-away! And we couldn't be more excited!
The hotel we will be staying at supposedly has an infinity pool that looks across to the Petronas Towers. How cool! Its going to be such an awesome trip & I know Matt deserves this more than anything. He has been working so hard, been such an amazing husband, and a wonderful brother & son! The recognition doesn't do any justice to what an awesome guy he truly is(tear here...seriously,sniff).
Our travel plans are to leave Thursday night & come back Saturday night. So, definitely a weekend trip, but not too far or too long. Just a nice little hour long flight from Singapore. We are planning to take lots of pictures of all the sights we see & will be sure to post after the trip.
And if you want, you can call Matt on his US birthday date, we'll be back in town then, or before we leave. Or shoot him an email or give him a shout on one of the blogs! He'll be sure to appreciate all the love from everyone!
More to follow later!

FRIDAY!

Ahhh thank goodness Friday is finally here!! Which means:
1. Lunch date with Matt
2. The weekend is here...at 5pm or whatever time Matt makes it home today
3. Our weekend date night
4. Earth Hour 2009 Singapore....lots of events going on
5. Sleeping in(I'm going to try hard to make it until 9am and NO EARLIER!)
6. Weekend wanderings
7. March Madness games to watch on NCAA basketball website...isnt the internet great?!
8. Dream last night that Matt & his friend Karl rented a semi full of kegs of beer for March Madness, brought it to our house in Tulsa & had the mother of all March Madness parties in our backyard. And when I say mother of all parties, I mean it was huge & they had like 10 fraternity brothers there( with their wives) so actually not a big party, but for some reason they kept acting like it. Oh the party spirit that they just fed off of each other. Lawn chairs scattered all over our back yard. It was quite interesting. I am still not right this morning. No offense to anyone.
9. Lots of birthdays lately, Easter & Matt's 28th coming up soon as well as our 3month wedding anniversary!
Have a great weekend!!
Ps-Please note. There is no semi. No beer. No party. Sorry :(

IS MENTHOLATUM THE GREATEST OR WHAT?

Ok, I admit. I am a Mentholatum addict. And I'm not even kidding. Matt thinks I'm totally crazy, but its what helps me during these miserable bouts with colds & allergies. I honestly dont know what I would do without it(good thing I have 2 of them huh?) I actually would rather be physically sick, like throwing up than deal with this stuff. It makes me so lethargic, I cant breathe, I just feel yuck & want a cup of noodles for every meal. Matt does such a good job taking care of me :)
So with that off my chest(and a bunch of junk in it), I can reveal other news:
1. Made it to the Embassy finally, filled out 10 pages of documentation, handed over loads of ids, licenses, etc... and am now waiting for my new CORRECT passport. Everyone is amazed at how easy it is to overlook my name spelling.
2. Upon leaving the Embassy, and I kid you not, the Gurkha on guard smiled at me. WHAT?! Yes, Matt doesnt even believe me, but I'm telling you, he made eye contact(which they never do either) AND then smiled at me. WHOA! This is major. The gurkhas are so hard-core. Maybe he was tired of having such a serious straight face all the time. Who knows. But I am 100% truthful here. No lies.
3. Vacation, vacation, vacation and traveling. Oh what to do and where to go. Trying to plan a trip home for business over the summer(hopefully Nordam agrees that Matt needs to come back on business). Trying to plan for Bryan & Hallie's wedding & maybe a side-trip during that time too.
4. And last but not least, Singapore is getting HOT! And I mean HOT! The heat is definitely on here. Right now at 6:38 pm the temperature is 88 degrees and the relative index says it feels like 98 degrees. Yikes! Good thing the pool is close & convenient!
More to come later-fixing fish tacos for dinner!

A case of the Mondays

I think we both are having a case of the Mondays...

1. Apparently the cleaning lady at Nordam has been bringing Matt coffee in the morning, making us uncomfortable(maybe its a slight crush, maybe its a motherly thing, maybe she is just being friendly...who knows! Maybe she is just another crazy)

2. Our stomachs our paying us back after 4 days of local lunches & I'm pretty sure the Indian food from the food court yesterday was the last straw for both of us

On the other hand, we had a fabulous weekend together, it always makes it so hard on us to say goodbye at the door Monday morning. We ventured over to Alexandra road from our apt & it was about a 3 mile walk...a little more actually. It is always so great to really get to see different parts of the island. Its also so fun to see what is always just around the corner. Got some hand weights & a workout dvd too while we were at Suntec City. What fun!

Not much else to update! More another time!

TGIF AGAIN...AND MORE

Its time for another edition of TGIF....this one is sure to please:
1. Bombshell from Singapore: My name on my new passport is spelled incorrectly. WHAT?!! So on Monday, its another long trekk on foot(30-40 mins) back to the Embassy, through the Gurkhas & into a typical US Gov't office. Couldnt be happier about this one(although I'm not sure why it feels like I'm grinding my teeth. Huh? Oh well. )
2. Which also means, the Dependant pass I just got approved will have to change as well. Lovely :)
3. Lunch with my sweatheart...my favorite part of the week
4. Robinson's dept store clearance sale @ the Expo!!
5. The weekend with Matt...another long walkin' adventure to Ikea & the sports mall
6. Guilt-free Saturday splurge....no diet for dinner!!!
7. Finished 2 books this week. 1 was Watermelon, thanks Kat. It was so good I finished it in 3 days. The other was a finance book, took me a couple days, after falling asleep everytime I opened it, but finally got through.
8. The pool & I had 2 dates this week. My tan is coming along nicely. However, I think the soap I'm using is a whitening one(the have whitening products here for everything...guess some women here want/believe in a porcelin white complexion) because I look tan outside, but when I come in & take a shower, I dont look so tan anymore
9. Andee's stories of going to NY, getting in a van(while Bob is hysterical) and purchasing knock-off hand bags....cant get any better than that!
10. The bumper-sticker email from Dave Macarty, a family member. Its my personal favorite about Obama and it reads:
So you're for abortion, but against kiling terrorist?
Cant say it better myself!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Cheers!!

Us

We had a wonderful weekend together....too bad Monday is already here. We had a great adventure walking over to East Coast Park & wandering all around there. It took about 45 minutes to get there from the train station....exhausting, but worth it getting to see deeper into Singapore's neighborhoods. We headed over to Boat Quay Sat night to watch the ManU/Liverpool game. It was so fun. There were so many people there in Manchester & Liverpool jerseys. It was a fun experience. Had a pint & ate some chicken wings....mmm cant get much better than that when you are with your sweetheart! Had a lazzzy Sunday, ate some yummy green curry, went grocery shopping, bought 2 new books to read....Sounds boring but its us, our life together & we love it!
Cheers!

TGIF!!

THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY!!!

We have been so anxious & ready for the weekend. Thanks goodness its almost here. What a long week it seems it has been! So, tonight I am makin' it feel like home. Some good ol' fashion hamburgers and the fixins! Maybe we'll catch a movie, go to a pub or coffee shop, maybe we'll just hang out at home. After a long week, my husband definitely needs some TLC!

So, in honor of how much I love Fridays here is my gossip:

1. Joe & Peggy are selling their house(fingers crossed)
2. Mr Fader has been ill & is in the hospital, non news lately, hopefully that old addage that no news is good news, applies here.
3. WHAT IS RHIANNA THINKING? Not that its any of my business, but if Chris Brown really beat the crap out of her, why would she go back to him, what is she thinking? She is famous, she has people....get some help!
4. Obama....need I say more?
5. Back off China....our navy is stronger than yours.
6. Google gurkhas, I've had the pleasure of seeing them 2 times in 1 week & I'm fine with seeing them no more!
7. Love some books by Marian Keyes....I've read "Under the Duvet" and "Further Under the Duvet"....they are awesome & hilarious....love that Irish chic in her!
8. Went to the pool yesterday for the 1st time we've been back.....ahhhh felt so good to soak in the warm sunshine. Thank goodness the rain has stopped, for a bit anyway.
9. I officially picked up my new passport Tuesday....In every sense of the way I am Matt Dill's wife!
10. Got some fun stuff planned this weekend, Matt even got an invited to come out to a rugby event(WE ARE DEFINITELY GOING).
11. Matt & Natalie Dill love you all, even those who aren't going to read this ever!
More to come after this weekend!!

WE ARE SO GOOD!

We had our first social outing here in Singapore last night. I joined the American Association so I could have an outlet other than Matt and I also joined their career resource center. So, the CRCE had a networking event last night at Brewerks & I signed us both up to go. They had a couple speakers talk about starting a business here in Singapore & they were plenty of people to meet & chat with.(plus free flow beer & pizza). How could you say no to that?!
But.....let me tell you...WE ARE SO GOOD!!!. We were quite the couple. I was looking cute & being friendly. Matt was impressing everyone with his job & intelligence AND he was pretty much THE KING of being funny. I'm pretty sure they were people lining up just to meet us(okay maybe not, maybe the room was overcrowded) but we had a great time. Met some very interesting people. Matt even made a connection with an English guy who is in a rugby league & got invited to play with them(kind of perked him up a bit when the English guy told him he looked like rugby player). I met a girl from New York, who lives really close to us(they live in a shop house in Chinatown) and followed her boyfriend here & is looking for work. So, now I have a new friend to go have coffee with.
But...the whole point of the story is Matt & I are such a great team, we really do finish each other's sentences(gag...I know its cheesy but its us) & play off each other so well. I couldn't ask for a better partner! And I cant wait for our next social event together!

The usual

So, on Friday, my wonderful husband took me to this place. Very scary but definitely the safest place on the whole island...the USA Embassy. Let me tell you about the security! I didnt even know what they were saying, I just followed what Matt did. I handed over my purse & said passport. Lovin' standing in front of the gurkha holding who knows what kind of weapon. Thank goodness my husband loves me & didnt make me go all by myself. The Singapore government hires these gurkhas to basically be their CIA equivalent, I think...and he was standing guard at the gates of the embassy.
Anyways, all I had to do was get the name changed on my passport & it took almost 2 hours to go through the whole deal. Now, I'm pretty sure that when its ready, I'm going back by myself...eikkk! Oh well. At ;least I'll have my new passport with new last name :)
Oh, you should google the gurkhas. Very interesting. Singapore hires these guys from Nepal because they are known to be very aggressive, fierce fighters. Nice huh? There is nothing like living in Singapore!!

RAIN:Drencher, drizzle, downpour, precipatation, showers, monsoon,oh monsoons!

Monsoon season is among us again(well since we got back to Singapore) but it seems like we have been feeling it now, more than ever. It has rained every day this past week. Thank goodness there is always a pub, Starbucks, or retail shop nearby to duck into when you decide before going out that carrying the umbrella just isnt worth it that particular day :)
Not much to report here. Matt has been working very hard. I have been cooking more than ever & occasionally enjoy the culinary challenges I face at the grocery store(ie: try cooking mexican food with mozzarella chesse). We are doing great at getting settled back in as much as we can. Got a little bit decorated in the apt, thanks to Melissa's inspiring artwork hanging above the couch & Mom's help when she visited.
We are really enjoying being married. Love hanging out together at home or just wandering around Singapore. We love problem-solving things together, brainstorming for ideas to start our own business someday, budgeting, and generally all things couples do in real life!
Hope all is well with everyone else. Continue to keep others in your prayers & thank God for where you are today in life & what you have...sometimes I think we forget how truly fortunate our lives are, even when they or someone else's seems to be falling apart.
Until next time-our love to all