Pineapple Rice

A NEW YEAR.....AND ALL THAT IT BRINGS

2010-01-11T10:47:00.002+08:00

So, since we are no longer in Singapore & since I didn't want to just delete our Pineapple Rice blog, we have a new one.....www.teamdill.blogspot.com
I felt it was more appropriate since its a new year and we are in a new home.
Hope everyone likes it, this will still be alive until I find time to convert the blog into a scrapbook.
Cheers~~

BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY

2010-01-05T03:06:00.007+08:00

So pretty much since the begining of December, Matt & I have been hooked at the hip doing everything together...all day, every day (some of you say yuck, I say yeah!). I was bummed when he had to go to work this morning (BOO). So here is a little of what is going on lately....
1. lots and lots and lots of work around the house ie: little things, laundry,un-packed our air shipment, bought a a new car, went shopping for a furbaby (a dog), etc...
2. Matt's sister is a few short weeks away from baby time...she is due Jan 26th
3. We have bridal showers and birthdays to attend this weekend and next week
4. We still have tons of little things to do ie: buy adapters, re-arrange closet space oh uhm...deal with the back bedroom-turned storage facility.
5. Did I mention we have 5 weddings between Feb and May? Lot of love in the air!
6. On the job search, sort of, slightly, will get more serious in a couple weeks when am finished with re-arranging EVERYTHING in the house.
It definitely feels great to be back & we have enjoyed a couple nights together at home and a couple days this weekend of trying to get things done around the house. I'm sure in a couple weeks we'll probably need to put a suitcase or 2 in the car & drive around the block, so it feels like we are going somewhere...ha! Kidding. I'm sure we'll feel different when we dont have to pack up & get on an airplane again...different but good.
Also, since we are no longer in Singapore, I was thinking about starting a new blog, since we are in a sort of new place......thoughts, name suggestions, etc....??
Hope everyone had a Happy New Year. Ours was great as we also celebrated the 1 yr wedding anniversary! Couldnt be happier!!
Cheers!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009-12-30T22:37:00.005+08:00

Christmas on Singapore Air

Dad in his blizzard boots

Matt on bass playing rock band

Lainey in her birthday outfit

Since we have been back State-side we have been on the go, go, go.....literally. We had a wonderful Christmas with my Dad's extended family the day after we flew into Tulsa(thanks Mom & Dad for taking us to dinner the night we got in town). It was great to see aunts, uncles, and crazy little cousins!! And it felt so good to be home. I have to admit, it was slightly stressful trying to do last minute scrambles for presents and wrapping, but we made it :)

We have had a wonderful Christmas with both our families. Made it to OKC just at the start of the blizzard and in time to enjoy a nice fire Mom had started. Good thing too, since we were in OKC for a couple days. Being snowed in wasnt the greatest for some people, but I really enjoyed the down time. Bryan & Hallie were unable to make it this year, but cant say they didnt try......they made it to Chicago and got stuck but luckily got a flight back to NYC & enjoyed staying warm there & sent silly Christmas photos for us to enjoy.

We made it back to Tulsa to see some of the Dill family ie: aunts, uncles, cousins, his grandparents, etc....What a crazy bunch. Definitely a big family & lots and lots of very active little ones :) Everyone was so excited to see Matt home for good.

This week we bought our first car together! Matt does such an awesome job at everything, he really is the smartest person I know. We are so lucky to have each other!

Amidst all the chaos of running around & trying to be 20 places at once for Christmas, and all that goes along with it, in reflection we are so thankful for our families & love them so much. We feel so blessed to be safe & warm over the holidays & beyond.

We are especially thankful for each other and our super excited to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!

ONE WEEK TO GO!

2009-12-10T07:23:00.003+08:00

A few pictures of what are apt is currently looking like. Suitcases packed, stacks here and there, etc... Movers are scheduled to come tomorrow. I have been spending almost every day this week working on our air shipment as well as our personal suitcases coming along with us to the hotel & beyond. Lots to do. Lots of little stuff. Ugh...the little stuff gets to me....and I tend to just toss it. Last night was our very last time to spend the night in the apt...kind of weird. But we are getting more excited to come home by the day (and Matt is getting more excited for vacation by the day).

Thats all for now....still got a few things to finish up. I have some errands to run this morning, Matt is working half a day, then we'll meet up in the city & come back here to finish working on stuff together & eventually check into our hotel sometime.

Prayers for a smooth move & flights back home are always appreciated.

Until next time-probably not until we are back in the States, so take care!

MAKE A LIST OR FLY BY THE SEAT OF MY PANYS?

2009-12-07T09:21:00.002+08:00

Frustrated!!! I had totally written an awesome blog & something happened & it deleted. Gawsh! Thats so frustrating. Really made me mad, I had worked so hard. So I will now wrap it up in a summary for you cause I cant remember everything I wrote.
We had an awesome weekend as usual. We kicked it off the New Harbour's Friday special of fish n chips...which are really awesome. Tastes so good. We had a relaxing but productive weekend. Got lots of stuff packed, moved into piles, planned, etc....
Lots to get done still. This is Matt's last official week of work. Woo-hoo. I myself have some last minute shopping to do. As well as finish packing, pulling things together, packing things to give away, etc.....walk the dog, wash the car, feed the hogs...ha!!
Lost of stuff here decorated & ready for Christmas. Some people may not like it for many reasons, but I can say it definitely puts me in the holiday spirit & I get more anxious every day to finally be home for the holidays. I think the spirit & cheer is definitely something everyone could use!

More to come later....hopefully this week and next will be blessed by God for a smooth transition, move and flights back home!!

OUR LAST FRIDAY

2009-12-04T07:50:00.005+08:00

Today is a bittersweet day. It's our last Friday for a few things.

1. Last Friday to meet Matt for our annual lunch date. I have been doing this every Friday since I moved over here with him. So much fun getting to see him middle of the day. Always makes the weekend come faster.

2. Last Friday to live in our apt. How weird is that? Thursday night we move into a hotel. Friday the movers will be here and we will be living in a hotel for a week before coming home.

3. My last Friday to take the train out east...anywhere. Until we leave I wont be going back that way. Kind of strange.

So....lots to do this weekend and next week. We officially move out of our apt on Thursday (omg, I'm so not prepared in anyway). On Friday the movers come. Then Monday & Tuesday of the following week, we have cleaning services as well as some ac maintenance being done.

We have 2 shipments going back home, 1 air and 1 sea. So need to get those stacks sort of separated as well as any last minute gifts bought, preparing what we are carrying in suitcases, etc....Hope we dont leave anything behind!! Wish us luck!

SO LITTLE TIME....

2009-12-02T09:26:00.004+08:00

Since Ryan has been here we have been super busy! You wouldnt believe, so I will catalog our events for you:
1. Thursday:
Picked Ryan up from the airport 3:45am
Went to the grocery several hours later to buy the last of Thanksgiving goodies and cooked Thanksgiving all morning while Ryan played online jet-lagged.
Matt came home from work & we had an afternoon of football & Thanksgiving treats (minus the stuffing because I forgot it). Then we headed to Morton's for mini fillet mignon steak sandwiches....delicious :)
Then to a restaurant called Shin...something. When we were seated at our table our waiter immediately asked "Would you like something or nothing"? We were very confused & delirious from lack of sleep, so we all burst out laughing & made jokes regarding it the rest of the night.
2. Friday:
Matt has holiday today.
Went and took Ryan on a tour of the CBD, Quays and the Civic District. He was really impressed with the city. It was super hot too. I was smart and put on sun screen, unfortunately I cannot say the same for the other 2.
Came home, took naps, watched sports on tv and then headed out to Lau Pa Sat for dinner & freaking our guest out :) So much fun!
3. Saturday:
Chinatown and Maxwell food court. Had fun at the Buddha temple just down the street. Had fun in the sun again, man has it been crazy hot here!!
The clouds were not in our favor so we came home, the boys went down to the pool and I napped. Yeah, they went to the pool in the rain. Boys will be boys.
Saturday night we headed out to Holland Village and introduced Ryan to Singapore style Mexican food. It was crazy because the place we originally go was closed (a repeat of Thursday night) so we just went next door, which was equally good.
Then we came back down to our part of town and had a nice glass of wine on a great night at Universal. I love me some Aussie wine!!
4. Sunday:
Pump Room brunch, Orchard Road, Christmas decorations, etc.... It was busy, and fun. Ryan walked around in his rhinestone shirt and cowboy boots....definitely a sight to see in Singapore :)
Dinner was the buffet at the Straits Kitchen.....a buffet of all asian foods local and regional. It was amazing!
5. Monday:
Back to work for Mr Matt.....boo.
Matt took Ryan to the old war forts at Sentosa & I stayed home & enjoyed the pace and quiet! And cleaned & did laundry etc....
But I made Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch and we celebrated our 11 monthery with Ryan at Pasta Brava....the best Italian ever!!
Happy 11th month Matt!! It's just everything! I love you :)
6. Tuesday:
Waited for Matt to come home. Then we went to Vivo & sat outside near the water & enjoyed Brotzeit german food. It was an awesome afternoon of just hanging out.
We came home, chilled out and then headed to Swisshotel's New Asia Bar on the 70th floor. There were so many awesome views....it was amazing.
Chijmes was our choice for dinner at Esmirada and it tasted delicious. Rained a little bit but luckily we were well covered.
7. Today:
Killin time before we head out to meet Matt near his work for lunch. Not sure what the rest of the day holds for us, but there is always an adventure to be had!
Tonight we'll do JUMBO for dinner and my mouth is already watering. Cant be out too late though, as Ryan leaves EARLY in the morning & Matt has his usual phone call back to Tulsa for work.

Thats about all. Looking forward to a quiet weekend working on moving & all that goes along with it. Not too long before we are moved out of this apartment.....a little over a week, in fact.
There is so much to do with the weekend kicking everything off....as I look at my calendar I realize we went settle back down until after our anniversary. Ahhh...gettin' ready to head home for the holidays!!

WHERE TO START??

2009-11-30T14:23:00.003+08:00

1. Thank goodness I broke the old cable box and we upgraded. I love my new HD, DVR and sports channel. I am loving catching up on all things HBO.
2. Matt & Ryan are off looking at old war forts (gag and gawd) so I'm home alone in the apt. Dont get me wrong I adore my husband & like his friends, but the quiet is super nice :) I'm so excited I could take a nap (serious I might while no one is home).
3. Today is our 11 month anniversary. Ha. Bet you thought these would trail off in the posts...but definitely not. Next month will be a year! WOW! I cant believe how fast time flies!
4. Pasta Brava tonight for dinner.....oh I cant even wait! I can taste it already!
5. Just over 2 weeks left here in Singapore. We are excited to be coming home!
6. Lots to see & do in the next few days (better get my rest).
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

2009-11-23T07:05:00.006+08:00

Matt at the start of the race

Matt, Husein, Allen & Darrell (fr his group @ work)

Matt ran an amazing 10k race this weekend, on black asphalt, in 91 degree F weather. I teared up a little bit because I was just so dang proud of him! Nothing like waiting near the finish & seeing my sweetheart just smiling' at me & running for the finish!!

Had a great time with the group at the bbq at Husein's apt's, which were super nice. Although we did start getting attacked by some leaches the guys tried to calm me down by saying they were slugs. But I know better. Ewww...they were just falling out of the trees right after it had rained. As far as I know, slugs dont climb trees. Anyone an expert on this? Have any thoughts or comments? Oh well. Nobody was hurt & they certainly didnt fall on anyone...I think Chin may have brushed one off....I'm shivering talking about it....no more. Anyways, all the food was awesome & some people's cooking skills definitely were a pleasant surprise. And the group loved my homemade salsa and cookies :) of course. And they were really impressed with the sausages we took.

Sunday was definitely a day for lounging around the apt. We were exhausted after Saturday. I did a bit of house work(ie: cooking pancakes, cleaning and laundry) and Matt did some playing around online....looking for cars to buy when we return home.

The weekend was great as usual, which always makes Monday the hardest day of the week. I never want to get out of bed or for Matt to go to work. Hope everyone else had a great weekend. Sounds like lots of people participated in the Route 66 run this weekend as we were at the Aviation run. Congrats to all those who ran this weekend, it's definitely good to see so many people taking good care of themselves!

Cheers!

JUST AROUND THE CORNER

2009-11-19T07:29:00.003+08:00

Today being Thursday means that the weekend is just around the corner....we are so close! I am anxiously waiting. Matt has a 10k run & we are cooking out with his group from work; it should be so much fun!

We have been Christmas shopping, mostly online & have everyone's gifts planned out. Matt has done an awesome job helping out. It takes me weeks to figure some stuff out & it takes him like 30 minutes or an hour. Oh, the life of Matt & being able to do most things effortlessly.

Also just around the corner is Ryan's visit. I am in the process of making the office a home-away-from-home for him. Still a couple things left to do before he arrives next week. But at least its been in the works. We've also got tons of ideas on what to see, do and most importantly EAT!

I have also planned out a nice little Thanksgiving meal/snacks/food for all day. So much fun planning things with Matt. He definitely gets catered to when it comes to food around here. Anything for my man! And of course have to make sure Ryan is well fed too.

And then after that all the moving chaos begins. Then home. Ahhh home sweet home. Been filing out tons of paperwork. Yesterday I did inventory of everything we own in this apartment. Then hear from my husband he may have a copy of the paperwork from when he moved over here. Seriously? I just counted dishes, flatware, pots, pans, utensils,cd's, dvd's, books,etc.....and you are just now telling me that you have that paperwork?!?! Oh well. Thats ok...now we'll be able to double check the checking off of items plus things we've acquired over here together. There is definitely going to be a garage sale next spring, I cant tell you that for sure!! (as soon as I get the basement cleaned out and all our Singapore stuff unpacked & organized).

Have a wonderful end of the work week friends & a great weekend!

TUESDAY THINKING

2009-11-17T14:06:00.006+08:00

Again. Working on packing, moving & customs forms. This is a full-time job. I cant even begin to do inventory (on what little we actually have) because I keep forgetting things, I get distracted (oh whats this or thats where this has been). It's a bit like spring cleaning I wasnt ready to do. But thats ok. I'll have even more spring cleaning to do in the basement when we get home. Stuff was thrown in the house from Matt's old house & from my old apartment & we never really have been able to go through everything & clear out all the stuff we should get rid of. Actually we did donate a bunch of clothes last winter. So there is a start!

A community in OKC is definitely in need of many prayers. Such a tragic story of a 9 yr old boy (who is in my cousin's 3rd grade class at school) was stabbed to death by his father. I cannot imagine how you can do that to a defenseless, helpless 9 yr old sweet child in the middle of the night. Not to mention that the father is a physician. I am struggling not to think horrible wishes for the Dad & how he should pay. What in the world could a 9 yr old do to warrant the onset of something like this? What is the world coming to? People throwing their babies in the trash, rape & child molesters, kidnappings, and now parents murdering their own flesh & blood?!! Lots & lots of prayers need to be said. Luckily the school has been handling this horrific situation very well, according to my aunt & the priest affiliated with the school is very good with kids, so that isa good benefit to them.

Not much else to say. Just a pretty, sunny Tuesday afternoon. I would like to go to the pool, but am not sure when I'm going to the the "urge" to do some busy work again. Better take care of this stuff while I'm in the mood!

Hope everyone is doing well & please keep the grade school community in your thoughts & prayers.

YOUNG AGAIN....

2009-11-16T07:56:00.003+08:00

This weekend was awesome. Just like every other weekend seems to be.
We had a nice relaxing Friday night, which was much needed. I think we both went to bed before 10pm. Yikes.

However Saturday we both got up early & worked on the fitness. Matt is running a 10k this Saturday & I am so proud of him for being so dedicated on his training. I used to run with him, but am not the runner he is & I felt like I was holding him back from performing how he was able to. So I go to the gym & do my machines & stuff. It works out great for both of us!

Then we headed to Maxwell to sit across from Chinatown, watch the tourists & enjoying a cold beverage. Matt took us to eat at a bbq place called Jerry's that is owned by some Americans here. It was super yummy! Ribs & pulled pork were definitely THE way to go! Then, believe it or not, we made our way to Clarke Quay to the Crazy Elephant for some live jazz music. Ha! We stayed out until 1am!! Watch out college kids, these 2 are young again! We had so much fun!! I cant even describe it all, but its always super fun when you get to hang out & do stuff with your best friend!

Sunday was a relaxing day. I woke up early & headed over to the grocery store. Made pancakes for breakfast & cold pasta salad for lunch. Took in about an hour at the pool as well. Matt hung out & enjoyed the snacks I had also prepared. He's so spoiled, but I dont mind!

We are both definitely looking forward to this weekend. Matt is running a 10k sat morning & then Sat night we are meeting up with his group from work for a bbq/cookout party. Should be tons of fun!
Can't wait!

WIDE EYED & SLEEP DEPRIVED

2009-11-12T17:11:00.005+08:00

I'm going to be honest....we haven't been sleeping well. So bad, that in fact, I have taken 2 or 3 naps this week. Ugh :( We miss our bed back in Tulsa. That thing is so huge we could both sleep spread eagle & still not touch!! We are being patient though....kind of.

We made a deal to fore go our budget the next month(and last one) we are here. We have done an amazing job with our budget. So much in fact, I'm almost shocked at how much we have saved. The value of saving!! Matt & I think exactly alike when it comes to money matters-such a blessing. So, no holding back anymore! Not like we are going to go hog-crazy, but if we want to eat out, we will.

And, I just realized I have some acknowledgements to make. I have 2 very good friends from the sorority house @ OSU that recently got engaged. Congrats go out to Kari & Chris as well as J. Glid & her fiance!! Love must be in the air! Not even kidding you, from Feb to May we have 3 weddings....and the 4th hasn't set a date yet, so we shall see when they pick!

We have absolutely NO plans this weekend. It will definitely be nice. Maybe we can even catch up on our sleep!!

SCIENCE, SALSA AND 7'S

2009-11-09T07:18:00.004+08:00

This weekend we:

1. Went to see the Body Worlds exhibit here in Singapore. Totally awesome, Matt really liked it & found it to be very interesting. Even though my Mom had taken me to the one in Dallas, I still was excited to go. I was really impressed that I only saw 2 or 3 things that I had already seen in Dallas. It was a fun treat & the Science Center here is awesome, especially the kids water park outside.

2. Had Mexican all weekend long. We hit up El Patio after the science park b/c it was so close. And then had it twice on Sunday. Guess we were having a craving huh?

3. Sunday, because I am such a great wife to my husband, we went to the Singapore Cricket Club's International rugby 7's tournament. It had to have been about 90 degrees F or so & rained a couple times. Luckily we were under a tent in some stands, but somehow the tops of my feet got a tan. Not kidding. My feet had a tan-line when we left. How does that happen? Anyways, it was so much fun & I know Matt had a great time catching some live rugby (and instructing me on what was going on, who had good teams, etc...).

It was a great weekend, I'm not ready for the week to be starting, but I cant stop time, so I'll have to go with the flow :)

Hope everyone had a great week & hope my cousin Luke had an awesome 13th birthday.....cannot believe he is a teenager!!!

HANGIN' ON...

2009-11-06T08:50:00.003+08:00

Super super super glad it is Friday :)

Matt & I could use a few prayers. This overseas assignment is about to do both of us in. There is so much going on with trying to arrange packing/moving/repatriating and it is wearing us out completely. It is definitely hard working with several people asking questions & you have no set guidelines as to what may or may not be approved. Things have been a constant struggle & we feel every day we are in some sort of negotiations, and yet our words continue to fall on deaf ears. We are also realizing that sometimes it sucks to be the nice guy, but our morals and values wont let us stray anywhere else.

With that said, we are keeping our chin up, trying to hold our heads high & thanking God more & more every day that we have each other. We are definitely hangin' on by a thin thread, but at least the thread is there :)

TO GRANDMA DIXIE:

2009-11-04T12:15:00.004+08:00

What a sweet woman! Thanks for your wonderfully nice comments.

Ryan and Matt are such good friends & he has always been so nice, accepting and welcoming of me since Matt & I first started dating. Truly a gentleman and raised very well! Definitely a reason he was the best man in our wedding. Such a great guy all around.
We are so excited to have some company & I am planning on fixing a big Thanksgiving for us. Matt has that Friday off work for public holiday (although he is planning on taking some other time off). So it should definitely be a good time. I know Matt is so grateful to have someone come visit. We have been doing lots of planning on what to see/do/show Mr Sheehan. I'm sure he'll have lots of pictures to show you.
Thanks for the blessings....we'll use all we can get! We are anxious to get home & see all friends and family!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and thanks for letting us have Ryan on this one!!
And God bless you if you have read all the way through some of those long blogs!
Gratefully yours-

GOOD TIMES

2009-11-02T07:31:00.002+08:00

Matt & I had an awesome weekend. Friday after the electrical guy left, Matt went for a run. He somehow came home with a bottle of pre-dinner wine. How'd he do that? He's just that smooth I guess. We had a delicious dinner at Pasta Brava.....its so good. Home made Italian dishes in a cozy little restaurant is hard to beat!

Saturday we bummed around waiting to see if anyone, including the agent, was going to shop up to see our apt. It was supposed to be shown from 2-5pm and so at 130pm Matt finally called the agent, well she said we couldnt cancel b/c she had already put an ad in the paper. Uhm...thanks for calling to confirm with us. So we waited around & nothing. At least we had Quiznos for lunch.
Then we headed out to the wine fiesta. It was huge. It was 99% outdoors & thankfully they had huge tents set up because it did storm quite a bit. My legs were soaked b/c I had on a jean skirt and Matt's jeans were wet almost up to the knees.

Sunday was for sleeping. Did a bit of correspondence of FB, but other than that, it was mainly naps & eating. Just the way Sunday should be. We both got lots of rest & are ready to see what is in store for us this week!!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend. I've seen lots of costumes online & everyone looks so cute. Just too bad the Pokes didnt get a win :(

EXCITED FOR THE WEEKEND

2009-10-30T08:22:00.003+08:00

The weekend will be here at approximately 1130am today! Matt is coming home from work a little earlier than usual....we have an electrician coming to work on our hot water switch. We've had tons of people at the apartment this week & looks as if there may be more on Saturday with our landlord's agent wanting to show the apt.

Tonight we are headed to a cozy little family-run Italian restaurant. YUMMY! I cant even describe how good it is. We are celebrating our 10 month wedding anniversary. We kind of thought at least for the first year, it would be fun to celebrate the first 12months. And fun it has been (I'm sure its added to the waistline as well...huhaha).

Saturday we are attending the Denise the Wine Shop's annual Wine Fiesta. They have a huge wine tasting event with over 200 wines, 80 wineries are being represented covering 3 days. We bought a ticket for 1 day. The event goes on from 11am to 930pm (and of course we wont be able to stay that long) but they have nice finger foods and the guys at Uluru have a bbq grill type thing set up so you can always purchase a meal. Its great fun. We had a blast last year.

For the avid golfer, the Barclay Singapore Open is just across the port from us at Sentosa. Lots of great golfers. I would really like to attend but the rain is keeping me away.

Also, Happy Birthday to Mr Dill (Matt's Dad). His birthday was today (the 29th).
Hope he has a great weekend to follow, as well as everyone else.

Cheers!

THOUGHTS FOR THURSDAY

2009-10-29T07:48:00.003+08:00

I have had some thoughts on my mind lately....
1. Why is it that when you try to be the nice guy, you constantly come in last? It doesn't seem like it accounts for anything anymore. What happened to good old fashioned manners & respect? In doing for other people, helping other people, putting others first, you always get screwed without acknowledgement or even a thank you.

What is going on in life that makes it ok not to have values, morals, practice business ethics or have belief in anything? It just seems bizarre to me. Has all that is good & notable been sucked from everyone's brain?

Why would you try to cheat someone out of something they deserve (its in their contract) so that they have to come back and negotiate policy with you? Especially when they have been saving you money?

Why is it ok for us to be selfish.....me me me me me, entitlement, entitlement, entitlement.....My life is busier than yours, I have this prestigious job, I live in a fab apt in NYC/LA/Chicago/Dallas and you only live in Oklahoma.
Why does it seem to me, that people in Oklahoma & surrounding states, are the only ones who are "getting it"?

I've just had numerous examples of this lately that have effected myself or someone I know. I just want to know where common courtesy and common sense went to?

Questions, Comments, Ideas???

OVER THE WEEKEND

2009-10-26T07:09:00.003+08:00

Going to try to keep it short...the last few have been a bit long. Kidding.

We had an awesome weekend. Friday night I fixed some super yummy bbq beef brisket (never been done before). It was awesome just relaxing at home.

Saturday we were productive. Got up for an early jog/walk....whew kicked my butt! The police guards at the police station were cheering us on. How nice. We came home & took it easy. Then headed to the Pump Room at Clarke Quay & then to Durty Nellie's Irish pub for some chicken wings, beer and soccer.

Sunday we took it very easy. Bummed around for awhile & then headed to Haw Par Villa to check it out. Its a Chinese mythological creature themed park. Very interesting. The park has over 1000 statues & over 150 dioramas that show scenes of Chinese folklore, legends and history. Very interesting. It was created by Aw Boon Par after his brother Aw Boon Haw passed away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_Par_Villa

Now its the start of the week. We have a few things going on. Maintenance of the AC, a pre-move survey is going to be done and a Wine tasting fiesta this Saturday. We've been busy over the weekend making reservations for things, plans, planning things for Christmas and the Spring, etc, etc.....

Here's to a good week!

ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE....

2009-10-23T07:45:00.003+08:00

After my last blog, which I could hardly stand to leave up.....I dislike negativity, I decided to post a brighter blog today because....
IT'S FRIDAY!!!
A little rainy, but I'm sure the plants really enjoy it. But who cares, cause the weekend is a few hours around the corner, I can hardly stand it. All week long my days have been off....for instance, I thought Thursday was Friday. We had to go out to eat because I had nothing prepared for dinner. I was just getting anxious I guess.
I am just ready to spend time with my husband...he's had a couple phone calls back to Tulsa this week, which cuts out on US time. But thats ok. It needs to be done. And we'll have the whole weekend to do whatever. No plans as of yet. Which can be very nice.
I have a lovely brisket I am planning on cooking and hopefully we'll have a nice Friday evening at home.
Looking forward to the weekend is an understatement!
Cheers!

REALLY DISAPPOINTED AND ACTUALLY A BIT HURT

2009-10-22T10:33:00.003+08:00

Matt came home from work yesterday, as usual. He had been to a meeting at one of the local technical colleges to discuss how Nordam can play a role in helping with the education of the kids by supplying tools or parts. Luckily he didn't have to go alone, the new HR lady also went along.
On their way back to work it was brought up about us coming home. And basically rumors around Nordam are that we are leaving "because your wife doesn't like it here".
OUCH!

I know sometimes I complain about stuff here, but that absolutely doesn't mean I don't like living in Singapore. In fact, nothing could really be further from the truth.
I am really disappointed by the individual who told the HR lady this, considering I met this person only briefly at a large event. Just barely long enough to be introduced, say nice to meet you and shake hands. So where this person got that I don't like Singapore is beyond me.
Whats even more frustrating, is that if Matt's company believed that to be true, why would anyone not say something to him?

There are many reasons we are leaving Singapore & returning home. I feel like I should go into all of them, maybe people would understand a little more what work/life has been like for us, but at this point that's neither here nor there. The important thing is we have been discussing this for several months now, knowing that Matt's contract expires at the end of this year. And ultimately, we feel like home in Tulsa is where we want & need to be. Not only for our sake, but family as well.

To clear things up. Yes, Singapore is a totally different lifestyle than the one we have in Oklahoma. But we actually love living in Singapore. Being over here has truly helped us develop such an amazing, strong base for the start of our marriage.We've taken some awesome trips to Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia. I wouldn't do anything any differently. And, if the situation were different here, we would absolutely stay. Unfortunately no one has shown any interest in keeping us here.
There are so many awesome things about Singapore. We will absolutely keep many ties close to our hearts. And I'm sure will stay in touch with the many people we've encountered here.

I just felt the need to write this. I am so disappointed & actually really hurt by the accusations of Nordam. If the people who were making these statements sat down with me for 5 minutes, I think they may change their story. And the ones who have know I love so many things about this sometimes crazy place!
Yet another example of daily life in the SGP island.....and for those who read this, please please please please please don't ever ASSUME you know something about someone. I have been a victim of this so many times & quite frankly I'm disgustingly SICK of it!
Hopefully next time I have a more positive blog you can read.
Until then-

SUNDAY SOMETHINGS....

2009-10-18T20:13:00.006+08:00

Definitely would NOT see this guy back in Oklahoma. Couldnt miss the photo op!

Announcing the Singapore Slingers team players. Even have 2 Americans :)

The Singapore Slinger's mascot.....the Merlion!! (Mermaid/Lion). Grrrr!

The Slingers entering the stadium from the stands....where are the lockers rooms?

It's been such an awesome weekend....we both really needed a great weekend after having a rough week back in Singapore.

Saturday we spent a few hours poolside with lunch & yummy margaritas...91 degrees is hard to beat. Oh and I thought it would be funny to brag about on FB, and Karma definitely kicked my butt with this awesome lobster tan :) A lovely dinner at Esmirada was nothing a sun burn could beat though.

Today we were super lazy....sort of. I woke up before Matt & went to the store, bought a few groceries & came home to make Sunday brunch. It was so good & such hard work, we both had to take a nap afterwards. Then it was off to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for an ABL game between the Singapore Slingers and the Philippine Patriots. (A=ASEAN B=Basketball L=League....ASEAN=Assoc of SE Asian Nations). http://www.singaporeslingers.com/

It was so intense & fast-paced. Much like a college basketball game. We both has a great time. And to give Singapore & the ABL credit, the game was very similar to ones back home including dancers, t-shirt sling shots, contests during time-out, etc...) We loved the atmosphere....although the Philippine Patriots' fans were a little loud, I had to give 'em yell back. Final score Singapore 74 Philippine 69.

And now some quiet time on the couch, tv off, enjoying being at home. Hope everyone had a great weekend, took in plenty of sports & is as ready for this week as we are. Looking forward to another day with my husband gives me such great joy!

THE WEEKEND IS HERE!

2009-10-17T09:28:00.005+08:00

No, not us....it's Matt's co-workers Scott & Mei Qi

Had a great Friday night! We went to have a couple beers with some of Matt's co-workers from Nordam. Shanice & Mei Qi from Nordam Singapore and Scott who was in town from Wales (but moving to Tulsa in less than 2 weeks) and the Dills went & had a pint or 2 at Bernies.

It was fun to get out & socialize. Shanice & Mei Qi are 2 of the nicest girls. Mei Qi does the best job taking charge & speaking Mandarin & getting everyone around & orders food for us (at the Chinatown People's Park Complex food court). It's awesome. I wish we could hire someone like her to go with us everywhere & be our translator....hmmmm.

Anyway, it was definitely fun. I think Scott does a great job helping Matt out...being an outside person looking in, but also greatly helps he is employed with the company too. And I think Matt gives him good insight on what's really happening behind the scenes. Its a great working relationship to have :)

So...no real plans for the rest of the weekend. Being lazy & takin' it easy so far!

Hope you all are doing the same & enjoying all the college football you can stand!

Cheers-

PUTTIN' IT ALL OUT THERE IN THE OPEN...FINALLY

2009-10-15T13:59:00.004+08:00

So...for those of you who dont know....we have a bit of news thats come about in the past month or so.

1. We are oficially coming home for good at the end of this year.

We will be back just in time for Christmas & we'll be staying for good. Zai Jian Singapore!

This has really come about the past several months. Matt & I have been debating back & forth about what to do; to stay & renew his contract or to move back home & get settled in our house in Tulsa. This has been a really hard decision, but ultimately for 2 people who are very close with family & friends, staying in Singapore was a bit of a long-shot. With me not working & some other issues that have come up with family as well as work, we really feel like Tulsa is where we need to be.

So that is all the "official" news we have for now. We are so anxious to be back home. We loved our trip in September & the more we are home, the harder it is to leave Tulsa. We cant wait to get back just in time for Christmas (I already decorated....the ladies at Hobby Lobby looked at me like I was nuts buying Christmas in September, but hey, they were the ones sellin' it). It should be great :)

We'll both definitely miss Singapore, but I've done a fairly decent job learning how to cook some local dishes, so hopefully that can fulfill any longing we get.

This has been a great experience for Matt & he has really done an amazing job over here. As for me, some days have been really hard, but in the end, I would do it all over again... just for Matt. I couldnt imagine not having him in my life & my move over here has definitely been one of the best things I have ever done.

Until December, we'll keep you updated of the usual ongoings in life, love, work, and being the coolest expats around :)

THE LOW-DOWN OF OUR TRIP

2009-10-10T09:00:00.004+08:00

So....here are all the glorious details of our trip.....

1. Went to Bryan & Hallie's wedding in Woodstock, Vt. We absolutely loved it there & would definitely go back for vacation. We ate so much and trust me, we never had a bad meal there. Matt had quite the adventure with a free golf lesson from my Uncle David (God Bless Him). The wedding was beautiful & an absolutely perfect day, the weather was amazing! The Fader's did a good job with putting on a great wedding & Mom and Dad did an awesome job with hosting the golf tournament & the rehearsal dinner was awesome.....they really couldn't have done better. Bryan & Hallie are very fortunate to have both sides of the family get along so well & be so supportive of their wedding.

2. We had a nice Fiesta get-together at our house with some close friends & family. It was definitely a treat for us to host a small gathering at our house. We cherished every minute of the day. My lovely parents even came early to help with a few things before we got started. Matt did an awesome job with his brand new grill....the fajitas tasted awesome. And after all our hard work cutting back bushes & wild growing things in our yard, the backyard was a beautiful spot to hang out. I might also add the margaritas were quite tasty. And of course, the company was the best!

3. I hosted a baby shower for my Sister-In-Law who is expecting a baby girl near the end of January. It was so fun to go baby shopping....so many cute baby things out there....goodness. Melissa got a ton of cute things and a lot of helpful advice from many ladies. It was great to have a fun happy day with just the girls.

4. We also got to hang out with some of Matt's college friends, have dinner with my college girlfriends, and spent tons and tons of time with family. We were able to spend a couple days making "connections" rounds with old co-workers and friends at Nordam as well as at Hillcrest.

5. Some friends had tickets to Dave Matthews in Tulsa & ended up not being able to use them, so they generously passed them along to us (lucky our trip got extended). We had a great time at the concert & enjoyed a great date night that Friday night. Definitely a fun time.

6. Matt's brother Jeff & his family came in from Tennessee & it was so fun watching Laney & Connor.....they are getting big fast. We also spent time in OKC invading the Ray's new house for the girls' 9th birthday party.

It was such a busy, exhausting trip. We truly enjoyed every minute. I'm sure there are things we left out, however, just because it was left out or not mentioned, does not mean it didn't matter :)

We are excited to be back in Singapore in the beautiful sunny weather. Our good friend Ryan is coming for a visit at the end of November & we are thrilled to have a visitor. Much to do before coming back home at Christmas....

Hope everyone is doing well. Wished we could have seen & spent time with everyone. I'm sure once we are finally back that will all change.

Cheers & God bless you if you read this far!

JET-LAGGIN

2009-10-09T07:17:00.003+08:00

Back in Singapore and feelin' super jet-lagged. I'm sure it was not a great fun trip back for Matt considering I've had this sinus yuckiness going on. But what a great travel companion anyway.
We had such a busy, but great time back home. And we are exhausted.
So thats all for now, just saying we are back in Singapore safe & sound (well maybe half-sound).
Cheers.

BEEN SO LONG

2009-09-23T21:22:00.002+08:00

Truly too much to update!
We had a crazy time getting back here to the States, darn typhoons in Tokyo delayed us 2 days in Singapore. Oh well. We eventually found our way to Woodstock (through Boston via a rental car and a 2+hr trip through the NE....not our original plan, but oh well.....ended up with 2 free round trip tickets).
Bryan & Hallie's wedding was beautiful. I have attached links to a few of my favorite pictures. And have tons on my camera to post....when I get around to it.
Matt & I both LOVED Vermont. It was very picturesque and beautiful. Easy to see why it was the chosen destination.

Back in Tulsa, we have spent quite a bit of our time working on our house...ie: curtains, a dining room table, trimming tons of bushes, a few meetings for Matt, etc. It has been tons of fun, but still keeping us super busy. We were finally able to have a little fiesta with some close friends & close family last Saturday. Our first to throw EVER. And it was great. We had perfect weather & it was a perfect day! And Matt is loving his new grill!

Now to this week, planning/getting ready for a baby shower for Melissa this Sunday. Should be fun & I know she is going to have a great time & get tons of cute, girlie things.
Matt also found out that our trip here will be extended another week. So exciting! At least we found out sooner this time. Last time our bags were about 95% packed. So getting notice is definitely a bonus.
September has definitely been busy but fabulous. Made some new friends, I think we have a new Aunt Shelley (Hallie's Aunt who is a hoot & delight), have been loving seeing family & friends, and love our life in Tulsa.
We are 2 lucky people!

Here is the link to the wedding pictures:

Go to: www.collages.net
Enter Hallie & Bryan as Usrname and enter 16266 as the password
Fill in email & name & get to looking! They really are great!

More to come later!

TRAVEL TALES

2009-09-01T20:20:00.002+08:00

So much for leaving Singapore August 31st and coming home on time. Thanks to typhoons & tropical storms in Tokyo our stay was extended 2 whole days. Because United only has 1 flight out every day, and ours was completely cancelled, the next available flight for us was Sept 2nd. UHMMMM what happened to Sept 1st? Totally sold out. Nice. So here we are, hours before our 2nd scheduled departure & we are praying everything goes smooth this time.
10 hours at home in Tulsa then turn around (back through Chicago) and head to Vt for Bryan & Hallie's wedding weekend. I'm sure we'll be completely exhausted, jet-lagged & half drunk at appearances, but oh well. 'Tis what happens when you live in/on the "little red dot"....typhoons will do it every time!
Pray for smooth, safe flights for us. We are anxious to get home & excited to see everyone.
Cheers!

COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU....

2009-08-28T15:08:00.003+08:00

AUG 31-Tokyo

SEPT 1-Tulsa

SEPT 3-Woodstock, Vt

SEPT 8- Tulsa and surrounding

OCT 1-Singapore

Hope to see you all soon. Please pray for safe flights as we embark on our adventure! Until we see you in person-
Cheers!

1 TO GO!

2009-08-24T06:25:00.003+08:00

1 to go and we can hardly wait! I'm sure this week will feel like the longest week of our lives. We are definitely getting ready for our trip home. Not too much to post this week, since I am busy planning & packing, trying to keep the laundry pile at zilch, finding papers, etc....
Had an awesome weekend....just never seems to last very long.
More to come later....maybe before we leave.
Until then
Cheers!

FRIED TOFU & AIR SUPPLY (aka out trip to hong kong)

2009-08-18T18:51:00.005+08:00

On top of the Peak

View from the Peak @ night

View from dinner

Like straight up on the funicular

Busy HK street

HK street

Bank of China tower....supposedly has bad feung shei b/c of the sharp edges

There is so much to tell....

Let's see where can I start? I think a list may help organize my thoughts

1. Hong Kong has tons and Tons and TONS of hi-rise apt buildings. Weird thing is, there didnt seem to be any nice part seperated from a bad part. The ugly poor buildings were mixed in with the brand new nice buildings. Some hotels even have what I called "the ghetto shanty town" right out the front door.

**Tip for travelers** Research exactly the location of your hotel. Nobody likes to get lost in a foreign country trying to find a hotel that is supposed to be right next door to The Four Seasons (and by right next door apparently they meant 5 miles West).

2. Ghetto Shanty town is the part of town where the outside of all the buildings are molding, taxis can barely drive down the narrow street, there are a ton of butcher shops around, you think this could be the "unofficial fish market". Also you will see a pig's head hanging in their store.

**Tip for travelers**Nobody likes the smell of raw, hot pigs head. Careful where you walk. Also shark's fin means the actual tail fin (just in case you were looking to purchase one or like 10).

3. Sometimes all there is to see is the actual building or green park. Better off going to St John's Church which was once used a club for Japanese officers during WW2.

4. The Peak tram literally goes straight up the mountain. Like an incline so bad, you are in the back, holding on, looking straight up at the front of the car. My mother would have passed out. Especially the part where it is just a ledge next to you.

**Tip for travelers**Fight to the death for a seat so you dont have to stand. Not too much fun when you're hands are sweating, feet are sweating and your hands are sliding off the pole in front of you....all while trying just to stand. God bless Matt's strength.

5. **Other tips for travelers**

*Nobody will take your HK coins back or exchange them. Suckers. Free coins from HK for the first 4 people who comment on this post. Seriously.

*Victoria Peak is awesome. A must-see must-do. Only if you are with someone who is not afrad of heights or who does not have a fear of the train just falling or coming off the tracks. Funicular.

*Sundays are days of for FDW (FDW=foreign domestic workers=maid & nannies). They are literally everywhere.

*You are definitely spoiled if you live in Singapore.

*Sometimes things are so much harder & more complicated than they need to be.

*sometimes in the hotel lounge, when having dinner, expect to be offered fried tofu (as a birthday treat) and hearing the girls voices starting to sing the words "I'm all out love, I'm so lost without you". Brought to you by the letters, W, T, and F.

* Dont be surprised if during your "fisherman's buffet" at your hotel aka the dinner that comes with the package, you see 2 Asian girls on a small stage dressed in short black skirts, mini halter-tops and lace necklaces.....they are the band and do in fact know plenty of 80's and 90's slow love songs. All I want to know was where was the pervert in the back & all the smoke lingering in the air?

All kdding aside. Hong Kong was definitely an adventure for us. We had our share of great times and times where baby had a break-down because of the lack of clean toilets (I wanted to put the hand sanitizer you-know-where). We definitely are a great traveling team. It was an unforgettable birthday & I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband that will take me on luxurious trips all over the world! It has definitely made us realize even stronger what an amazing, clean, safe, efficient, happy but crazy, little island we get to live on. So appreciative and thankful we are American getting to live in Singapore.

And God bless Matt for being such a wonderful, smart, supportive husband!!

Anyone wanting to enture to HK, give us a shout, maybe we can offer some tips & advice.

CHENG CHENG CHENG

2009-08-14T09:04:00.003+08:00

So Matt & I had dinner last night @ a Thai place in Chinatown....they have the best cold beers (like the cold ones with ice stuck on the bottle). Anyways, a monk was walking down the street & the waitress said hi but he didnt respond, uhm because he was talking on his cell phone so she yelled out "CHENG CHENG CHENG!!!". Seriously. Then we all started laughing. I'm pretty sure she called the monk selfish or arrogant or something to that effect.

So happy today is Friday. We kicked it off by having breakfast @ Starbucks out near Matt's work. Definitely the best way to start off the morning. And the girl was really nice. She told Matt he could call early before they open & let her know his order & he could stop by & pick it up before they "officially" opened. Especially if it was something simple like regular coffee & a muffin. How nice?! That's service in Singapore for you!

Tonight we are going to have some Chili's for dinner & then we are off to the Fullerton Hotel for the chocolate buffet my parents bought for both of us for my birthday. YUMMY! I cannot wait. Not only is the Fullerton one of THE loveliest hotels in Singapore, the service & staff seemed super friendly & helpful when my parents stayed there. I cannot wait.

Tomorrow we have a 640am flight out of Singapore for a short weekend trip to Hong Kong!! what a blast it is going to be. I cant wait for that either. Hopefully we get some sleep (zzzzz) on the plane. After today & tonight, I'm sure we'll both be exhausted.

Keep tuned in for pictures after the weekend.
Cheers!

AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND....

2009-08-11T06:48:00.004+08:00

We had a very wonderful holiday weekend! National Day in Singapore was definitely nothing less than very successful! What a proud country!

Friday was a Nordam bowling tournament that Matt & his group participated in. Their team was called United Nations: Matt=American, Yanni=Burmese, Hussein=Chinese Indonesian, Chin=Malaysian, and Allen of course is Singaporean and a perfect example of that. I think they took 5th place.....We all left before the awards ceremony so we could take in some yummy food at East Coast Park. We had a few Tiger beers and some bbq stingray, bbq chicken wings, oyster omelet and of course some delicious Singapore chili crab! His group all came from bowling & were so sweet to answer all my crazy questions! They really are so sweet & nice. Such good, good guys.

Saturday we ventured over to Kampong Glam & Arab street. We just wandered the streets.....tons of fabric & carpet/rug stores. We even had a local dish called Tulang, which is Mutton/Beef Soup.....tastes like lamb stew or something. I was brave & even sucked the marrow out of the bone (GROSS) and Matt tried but wasnt quite as successful. The dish is a very deep bright red & our hands were stained for the rest of the day. The lovely woman who was working the stall definitely made our experience even better. She was so helpful & so sweet! God bless her.

Sunday was National Day.....we stayed at home a bit....not sure the crowds were going to be for us this year. So we opted to stay at home & order pizza & watch the festivities on tv. We could hear the F-16's though, so that is cool. Then after the parade was over we made it to The Pump Room to catch the Man Utd vs Chelsea game. Unfortunately I wasnt feeling too well so we came home & watched the 2nd half from our condo.

Monday we did absolutely nothing. I got up early & found some treats at the grocery, came home and we made some delicious brunch together. Then we spent the rest of the day being lazy. Which was good. I could tell Matt was getting antsy, but the wife always knows he needs his rest. So I held my ground & made sure he had a relaxing afternoon.

Looking forward to this weekend, my birthday and our trip to Hong Kong....I cannot wait. I know we are both soooo ready to get back home & its just about 3 weeks away!!

GOOD THING IT'S WEDNESDAY

2009-08-05T07:28:00.003+08:00

It is most definitely a good thing it is Wednesday! Halfway through the week and a long weekend to follow with Monday off for Matt for National Day! Haha 4th of July suckers! Ok-that wasnt very nice, I apologize. But I am so excited for the weekend to be here. On Friday, I get a special treat & am going out to the SAFRA at Tampines to watch Matt & his Nordam team compete in a bowling tournament! And I will be baking a special Singapore style National Day cake for his team....cause they love when I bake!

In other news, Congrats to my brother! I hear he has been doing an exceptional job at UBS! He has been selected to help teach the incoming "class" or newbies the ropes. I am so proud of him & all his hard work. Tons of hard-working hours have been poured into his job & it is nice to hear that it is paying off for him. Way to go bubs!
Also, congrats to our good friend Ryan S....for landing a new job in Tulsa. Life has taken him down a different path in recent months, moving him back to Tulsa & looking for a different career & we are so excited for you! You'll do just great! We are glad you have come back to Tulsa!

Today is going to be a VERY busy day. I have a Dr's appt, we have someone coming to service/maintenance our AC, have prescriptions to pick up, and dinner with some NORMAL Americans. Matt is taking 1/2 the day so I dont have to be here with unknown crazies working in our apt (He's so thoughtful & sweet). So, lots to do, more to come later.

AWESOME

2009-08-03T07:32:00.003+08:00

We had an awesome weekend.....(time for another list post)
1. Celebrated our 7th month of marriage Friday at a delicious Italian restaurant! It was sooo good and I had the best time with Matt. We always have such a good time together, no matter what we're doing.

2. Saw the movie the Hangover....loved it, hilarious, want to see it again already. Matt chuckled the whole way through, and to be honest, so did I!

3. Had a happy hour + dinner at one of our favorite Mircobrews called the Pump Room. Love that place! Best microbrew beer I've ever had!

4. Had a wonderful relaxing, lazy Sunday. Love spending time with Matt just doing nothing. Got lots of stuff done! And lots of planning for our Hong Kong & Tokyo trips.

Hope everyone had a safe, wonderful weekend. I can hardly believe it's August already! Time has definitely been flying by so fast.
More to come later-

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

2009-07-31T07:29:00.005+08:00

It may look "different" but this little dim sum treat called Sew Mai is absolutely delicious. It's my favorite. And Matt bought me some during our dinner last night! Tasty, tastey!

Not sure how well you can see it, because that part of the picture is dark, but this is a WOMAN WITH A RAT-TAIL!

And because this is the ultimate of all my odd-ball posts:

1. Ahem, excuse me to a certain Sir. Kindly take your BUM off tv and try your hand at your REAL job. I'm sure I can say for certain, that you are no longer a community organizer, so therefore, get yourself off tv and into the Office!! Ps-I still think you are doing a horrible job, I hope everyone that voted for you is happy we are headed towards an even more racist, socialist society.

2. Whew......probably gonna come under fire for that one. But I do not care!

3. Also, does anyone in Singapore wonder why there are traffic jams? Last night riding the bus, Matt & could clearly see that the problem was an older gentleman, pushing a cart with loads of bags tied to the back....in the traffic line. Dear elder Singaporean gentleman, you are not a car. May be wise to remove yourself from the lane.

4. NEWSFLASH:** Travel Plans:

Aug 15: Hong Kong

Aug 31: Tokyo

Sept 1: Tulsa

Sept 3: Manchester/Woodstock, Vt.

Sept 8: Tulsa

Oct1: Singapore

November.....TBA/ Tulsa

December....TBA / Tulsa

Have a great weekend!

Cheers!

OH THE CRAZIES

2009-07-29T13:48:00.003+08:00

A crazy=a Singaporean or any Asian, for that matter, and this is a list of crazy stuff they do
For instance:
1. Yesterday the alterations lady told me I was lucky I was from the USA & b/c we have 4 season, and especially fall and winter. It's so hot in Singapore, you have to walk around every day with sticky, sweaty underwear.
2. All the cabbies LOVE Obama but they cant really tell you why. So Matt tells them they watch too much tv (it's hilarious).
3. You aren't Singaporean if you dont love karaoke
4. You aren't Singaporean if you dont LOVE crazy game shows
5. The old man walking down Cross St. (think busy 4 lane road ie: Memorial in Tulsa or May Avw in OKC) dragging baskets on the ground half his size.
6. You aren't Singaporean if you dont sew or alter clothes
7. They eat ice cream with chopped jello & jelly on top (all kinds of flavors).
8. They eat durian( durian=the taste is the smell worse than a public toilet in a large trash dumpster). 50 million Asians cant be wrong......Oh YES THEY CAN!
9. They dig into your shopping basket and start talking about the things you are buying
10. They abuse the horns in their cars.....seriously I think some honk just to do it.
11. And much much more....this is just the beginning.
More to come later
Cheers!

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE

2009-07-27T07:32:00.007+08:00

The Thai Chef special platter for 2....so yummy

A fountain at the Bali Villa restaurant

Anderson Road Arch

Forest Walk

Looking down at the path of the Forest walk

Henderson Waves bridge

View of Henderson Waves bridge from the street

Flying the Singapore flag over the city, practicing for Nat'l Day

Helicopters flying Singapore's flag

Cannon/Gun at Labrador Park History walk

Matt on an adventure

Who gets the office in the middle?

Pick up the poo!!

There were kites flying so high, you cant even see them in the photo, but the shy looks cool that day

Labrador Park

A view from the Labrador Park jetty

View of the sea from Labrador Park

Handsome and Funny

Crackin' up at my husband....and the crazies

Lots of pictures from this weekend. Matt was in the mood for some adventures, and boy did we get into some. We ventured over to Labrador Park and Henderson Waves bridge and Forest Walk. It was really awesome. We even stumbled into a restaurant that made us feel like we were on vacation in Bali, and the had the best Singapore Slings I've ever tasted!

We also witnessed for the first time in either of our lives a lovely transaction between pimp and prostitute Friday night. We walked down the street to a local hawker to enjoy some Tigers and apparently were in some interesting company outside. I'm sure we both looked like deer in headlights when one group of girls came upon another group sitting with their men. Matt & I were sure some sort of Asian "Bring It On" showdown was about to happen, but actually nothing did.

It was a great weekend, found some new restaurants, explored MORE of Singapore, and as usual had a blast together.

We are definitely still exhausted! Hopefully we have an easy, stress-free week!

IPOD UPDATE

2009-07-24T15:52:00.002+08:00

I was charging my ipod this morning and decided to transfer Matt's Joel Osteen podcast. I kid you not, I need newer music too. I don't think I have updated my music on that thing in like 2 years.
Anyways, I just wanted to share the positivity I got out of it with everyone who reads this. And I wanted to pass along the challenge I am giving of myself: not to judge others, have patience, have understanding, be forgiving, be compassionate and be positive about your life.
I admit, I am no Saint when it comes to any of this. However, I have realized that I hold terrible grudges against people. Its a horrible thing and I hate having that negativity all stored up inside me. I realize it's just not healthy and I need to grow up. So there are people that have said and done extremely hurtful things. I thought I was choosing the higher ground by not responding; and in a way I think thats ok b/c there is no reason to get revenge or cause hurt to someone who is obviously dealing with their own issues inside.
I just need to pass along the message to everyone to be happy with your life. No matter what is going on. Be thankful that you are alive and experiencing what you are. Be thankful you are still here and LOVE your friends and family like there is no tomorrow. Be patient with others who are less fortunate and who do not see the light in this. Be compassionate to others who are struggling in hard economic times. Be compassionate to others who maybe made different choices than you.....do you not think they have a hard enough time being reminded of their mistakes every day?
This has just been something I feel like I need to pass along. I get so angry and frustrated when I hear of bombings, shootings, etc...Every single person on this Earth is just that: a human being. They have Mothers, Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Nieces, Nephews, Friends, Cousins, etc....just like everyone else. Maybe they are of a different religion so embrace that, accept it and learn about it. Learn about each other and different cultures (at least for the food if nothing else).
Learn to put all the negative away. There are no excuses. Like his example, Joel Osteen notes a guy who has a crippling disease, bad speech, but still goes and tries to preach the Word of God.....and I'm not for for preaching, but at least he is saying thanks to God that he is able to live and that he has the life he does. So what is your excuse for not doing so? And what is your excuse for your hatefulness, judgemental attitudes and negativity?
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, God Bless each and everyone of you!!

THOUGHTS

2009-07-23T06:58:00.002+08:00

Thursday means that the weekend is almost here!!
The more I think about coming home in September, the more anxious I am to get back there!
Matt's job (actually I should say the people) are driving us both crazy. I don't know how he is able to get through the day sometimes. People can be unbelievable. How is it that you can try to hold a meeting when you don't even know/understand what you are talking about? So what happens? Matt usually has to correct the person or take over. Just the usual....another day in paradise.
Hopefully we can do something this weekend to take his mind off things....

FROM THE WEEKEND

2009-07-20T13:43:00.004+08:00

Over the weekend:

We had an awesome date night Friday which included making home made pizza....which turned out delicious. Matt is thrilled I've turned out to be quite the little cook.

Saturday we took in breakfast at the Society Bistro at One Fullerton. Ended up getting to watch practice for National Day. The Singapore military had some watercraft (Matt can tell you which kinds) that were splashing and sea-do chasin' for a couple hours in the Marina Bay area. It was so cool to get to see and of course there were tons of visitors, so people watching was nothing less than entertaining. All kinds of posing taking place by the Merlion statues. Then we headed over to Holland Village at lunch for some yummy Mexican at El Patio. Had a leisurely time sitting outside eating some good food, enjoying good company and delicious margaritas and chips n salsa. That night we headed out Changi Village and met up with 2 guys that work for Matt; Yanni and Hussein. They are always such nice guys. We enjoyed some good conversation (I had lots of questions regarding Changi Prison) and also had a few tapas and delicious Sangria. Yeah, we boozed it up Saturday (kidding).

Sunday we spent time at home relaxing and preparing for this week. Made some calls and talked to family. Watched a little tv, took a nap....all the usual lazy Sunday stuff.

Now its Monday afternoon, I'm taking a break from my cleaning binge and Matt has been hard at work.

News also....we got our tickets booked today for our trip home and will be back all of September, with the exception of Labor day weekend which will be spent in Vermont for my brother's wedding.

Thats all for now-

Cheers!

A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND........

2009-07-17T08:57:00.003+08:00

Had to dedicate this blog to my best Best BEST friend in the whole entire world!!! The one who was my Matron of Honor at our wedding and who I will always be ever grateful to for all her love, support and amazing friendship!
Just got an email from her and decided to give her a call....she was a bit surprised!
I truly love this girl with all my heart! So exciting to hear she is happy and doing well. And a Happy Anniversary coming soon to Shane and Heather for their 4th (?) wedding anniversary. It's always so good to hear her distinct voice on the other end of the phone, but it is even better in person. She has such a fun personality that is very contagious!
Cant wait to see you when we are home!!

STORMS ARE ROLLIN' IN.....

2009-07-15T06:46:00.005+08:00

Dear FAA--How do you explain the roof/ceiling of airplane opening up during flight?? Way to cut back on maintenance and funding in order to keep all those air travelers safe! How ridiculous is this? Is anyone else not completely outraged at all the issues the airline industry seems to be having lately. Matt needs to take this wife to the airport lounge before I get on the next plane home.

And another thing, when you have 8 kids (that is by choice) you have a certain responsibility. Sorry not to bash anyone specific here, this goes for all sex-loving people out there having children when clearly they are in no position to be doing so. Its selfish and I feel horrible for all the children involved. Its called FAMILY for a reason. (dont even get me started on all the rest).

How do you even begin to comprehend the murder of the adopting-special needs children-couple in Florida (in Florida, right?). Unbelievable. I cannot even begin to tolerate this. I'm speechless.

Apparently someone in Singapore DOES NOT like Post brand cereals, seeing that 4 stores we have been to have taken them off the shelves. Matt is very upset because he has not been able to have his Post Raisin Bran for breakfast. We are debating on what to do.....opt to choose something other than cereal for breakfast or give in and buy the S$12 cheerios (no not kidding here, Velveeta cheese is S$22).

ps-my picture is a view of storm clouds rollin' in at 7am as I write this blog....our apt overlooks the shipyards and thats what all the lights are from. You can see how high (36 stories) and close to the water way we are. And how close other buildings are.

ON MY MIND...

2009-07-13T07:57:00.002+08:00

Thoughts from this weekend:
1. Damn I hate Hate HATE squat toilets....and it's no fun when they are the only kind some bathrooms have. It's a very traumatizing experience. You really have no idea what it is like until you have done the Asian squat, thighs burning thanks to that Jillian Micheal dvd 30 day shred you have just done, face red, don't look me in the eye just pass me the hand sanitizer, I need to go home and wash my feet (I think). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_toilet.

2. People watching here is nothing less than very entertaining.

3. We ordered and ate for the 1st time Pizza Hut. I highly reccomend the chicken curry pizza (tastes similar to cheese & onion).

4. Conversations about being financially responsible....and thank goodness we are.

5. The Pump Room fits us a little too well....another yummy Sunday brunch done there just right!

6. So cool watching storms from our apt....love the views of lightning in the clouds & over the see. It really is amazing.

7. More shopping to do today.....along with an errand (it is the REAL reason I am even going to the mall). Do I get an award for all this shopping but no buying?

8. Moms, MILs, friends, family and women of the whole wide world....I left dirty dishes in my sink this weekend. I did not touch one. Oh the horror! See, we have no dishwasher, well I AM the dishwasher I guess. But no actual appliance. So I gave up on them Saturday. Just got tired of doing them. And now I am mad at myself because I WILL have to face them today.
And LOADS of laundry :)

That enough thoughts for now...dont want to get into any trouble :)

DID I MENTION?

2009-07-09T07:42:00.002+08:00

1.Matt cut my hair this weekend before our 4th of July outing. I made him. No I will not go somewhere. I'll coach you through it, and besides, my hair is super long, so if we screw it up, it's not like it will be a tragedy. It's just hair. And he did a perfect job :) Just needed to get those scraggly ends off. They were gross and driving me nuts. I immediately felt better once they were cut.
2.I am missing our home in Tulsa terribly. My dish towels, my dishwasher, our new bed and bedding. Our cute living room. Our "sitting area". Our backyard, driveway, front yard. Short drives to Panera. short drive to the grocery store. Walking over to TU for some games. Umberto's. Garlic Rose. Sr Tequila. My family. Everything. I miss it all. This is one girl who is definitely ready to be back home.
But the most important thing is that I'm right where I want/need to be :)

3. Off to do some much needed shoe shopping today. They are grounding all the elevators in our bldg and conducting some fire alarm testing from10-3. No I'm not kidding. so, I've opted to get out and about today and hit the stores hard! I am on a deep search for the perfect pair of shoes to wear to my brother's wedding in September, in Vermont, on the grass, but wood dance floor, navy dress. Any and suggestions are accepted.
4. Hope everyone is well. Give us a shout sometime. Matt and I would love to hear from anyone. The weekend is near and we are VERY ready!!
Cheers

SINGAPORE STLYE

2009-07-06T06:53:00.006+08:00

We had an awesome 4th of July weekend. We went out to the Navy installation at Sembawang. The American Association put on such a great event with live music, tons of good food, beer, margaritas and wine (by bottle or glass). There was tons of stuff for the kiddos to do ie: face painting, dunk tank(I didn't cause the line was really long), bouncy castles and jumbo slides. Luckily all that stuff was at the back of the event so it really cut down on kids running and screaming through the front part. Definitely well organised. There were probably ~2000 people or so.

Matt & I got a prime seat, right next to all the food and beverage stuff and also in front of the stage, so we could have a great view of all the performances. And ended up with the best seat in the house for the fireworks.

Oh and we were completely 100000% safe and secure. Upon walking up to the event we saw guards, in camo wearing jungle hats and walking the perimeter with guns....like AK47's or something. Crazy. And then right when we got to very front entrance by the metal detectors, there was a military man standing in the back of a truck watching over with a machine gun. I jumped. Scared the crap out of me. But also makes you feel totally safe.

I have been inspired to take on some sewing....hmmmm I've never really done that before. Anything I've had to "patch" or "fix" uhm kind of turns into knots. So this should definitely be the ultimate challenge. Ahem. Oh and the reason I'm doing this because I was supposed to start my new job today, but the lady I'm working for is still in Houston for another week & pushed her trip back several days. So, I figured I have sometime on my hands, and I may have seen Mrs Sheehan's blog about sewing a cute summer top, so why not me? I told Matt I'm going to become a cooking, sewing extraordinaire and he just raised his eyebrows and giggled a bit.

Thats about all for now. Matt is off to work this week as usual. I pray nothing too crazy happens. All of his team is back in Singapore, so I think that is helping a bit. And he got his new phone last week. At least I know he is eating well; thats because I pack his lunches every day. So, if nothing else, at least he can say his lunch was good!

Hope everyone had a wonderful, safe 4th weekend. We hope everyone is doing good!

READY FOR THE WEEKEND

2009-07-03T08:19:00.002+08:00

I wish Matt could have today off work since IT IS Friday and tomorrow IS 4th of July....but we'll just have to wait until August 8th (8-8... double 8's are lucky numbers) which is National Day here in Singapore.
I made a beautiful (hardly) American flag cake for Matt to take to work. Really hard to make it look like perfection when using an 8'' round pan. Why can I not find a 9x13??? Matt's team LOVES when I bake for them. They even told him that I should open up my own shop! (I think it was around the time when he did their reviews, suckers).
Anyways, off to our weekly lunch date in a bit out near good ol' Changi. Then maybe some shopping at the Expo at Robinson's sale (a dept store). Then maybe the ECP hawker center tonight for a local dinner.

Confession to make: I officially,as some of you know by now, have joined Facebook. It seemed everyone I know was always talking about it. Well....apparently ALL of my family and friends are on there. I feel just as much as a traitor to myspace as everyone else has been. But oh well, what can you do? Its a facebook world.

And Matt has his new phone. After leaving it in a cab, and luckily not having it all during our stay-cation, he came back to work to find out no big deal, he was due for an upgrade anyway. So now he's using the latest blackberry.... I like the old one better. So, you may be getting a phone call from him soon. His number is still the same, so feel free to call, as long as it is not late at night or too early in the morning. We are 20-something newlyweds....we need and value our sleep!!!!
Another confession: we hardly act 20-something. More like 40-something when you go to bed at 9pm every night and wake up at 530am. Oh well :) 'tis the life!

Hopefully everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend. We'll be sure to post more pictures next week.
Cheers!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

2009-07-01T07:22:00.003+08:00

We just celebrated our 6 month wedding anniversary last night! And it was wonderful. Despite not feeling 100%, I still went and had an amazing dinner with my perfect husband. He took us to an Aussie steakhouse and we both had the sirloin special...mmmm and the mashed potatoes were so yummy! We also had some delicious wine and great dessert. But the best part of all was without a doubt, the company! What a happy 6 months they have been! We are looking forward to a long happy life together!
Also, a special Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad...they have officially been married 37 years on the 30th!

AND HERE ARE THE PICS TO FOLLOW:

2009-06-29T15:43:00.006+08:00

Marina Barrage Damn....keeps fresh water in, sea water out and prevents flooding.

SANDS construction....a little ways to go still

SANDS construction and view of the city

My sweetheart being silly....pushing over the towers

A better view of the Flyer

Handsome eating some watermelon

Cute flower sculpture

Too cool....about to set out on another adventure

F-16 flying over bldgs just outside our windows

Helicoptors practicing carrying the flag for Singapore's National Day....just outside our window as well, over the S China Sea

STAY-CATION=OVER...BOOO

2009-06-29T09:18:00.002+08:00

So our wonderful Stay-cation is over and we are very sad. Matt & I definitely wanted to stay in bed this morning...9am sleep-ins were becoming the norm around here.
So I thought I'd update about whats been going on the last couple days as well as some randoms here & there:
1. Stay-cation was awesome. We went all over Singapore and had the best time together. We went to the Marina Barrage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Barrage
It was such a cool place to walk around and had really awesome views of the city (they would be posted, but am having trouble uploading....will post later). We had a great dinner Friday and enjoyed some wine afterwards at a nice restaurant called the Universal: www.theuniversal.com.sg. Saturday and Sunday we took it easy. Had a great brunch Sunday at the Pump Room (very reasonable and great food).
2. Bought a new soccer ball and air pump. I (Natalie) even got it out of the package and got dressed and told Matt I wanted to go kick it around a bit. He was surprised. And even said I was a natural at soccer and did good for my first day. We played down in a grassy area across from our apt. Kind of weird kicking a soccer ball around in the middle of a city with tall buildings all around, but hey it worked.
3. Now we are exhausted. Not ready to be away from each other again. We were having such an awesome time being buddies like always and just loved being together all the time. And tomorrow night, we get an extra special dinner out since we will be celebrating our 6th month wedding anniversary!!
4. Thats about all for now. Back to the old bump and grind of daily life. Getting excited for the weekend already!!
5. Ps-All the Asians are totally shocked and freaked out by the death of Michael Jackson. We have spotted several people wearing a white glove and black hat and shoes. All the restaurants and stores seems to be playing his music as well. And dont get me wrong, I love some Michael Jackson music, but think I'm starting to get burned out.
More to come later. Lots to come, actually. Just too tired to type anymore.

JUST A TASTE (IN PHRASES)

2009-06-24T08:05:00.003+08:00

I thought I'd share a quick post of whats been going on during our stay-cation. Matt is still asleep...getting plenty of R&R! So, with that said, it will be all in phrases, since I need to be quick:

1. Friday Stay-Cation kick-off with drinks and mini steak sandwiches @ Morton's followed by a romantic rooftop Italian dinner...bottle of pinot grigio included.
Awesome views of construction of Marina Bay Sands construction and the city at night.
2. Sat, shopping and bought new cooler and a chopper/mixer so I can make that yummy homemade salsa and so we can pack a cooler to take to the beach.
3. Sun jogged to the Esplanade, called the Dad's for Father's Day
4. Mon was massage day. Full body for Matt and foot for me. Amazing. Followed by relaxing hour next to the pool.
5. Tues beach day! Sentosa's Silosa beach. Lots of F-16 and C-130's flying around. Dinner at Chijmes at Esmirada....scrumptious tapas and beautiful scene.
6. Still on the watch for Nang Kam.....no sightings yet. We'll keep you posted.
7. US Military has another fleet of ships coming in tomorrow, but no sailors for us this time, just trying to enjoy our stay-cation.
8. Wishing it wasn't already Wednesday. But still plenty in store for the rest of the week :)

THE ASIAN INFERNO

2009-06-16T13:27:00.002+08:00

The GSS (Great Singapore Sale) is officially on! I have done such an awesome job (pat myself on the back) of shopping. Yesterday all I spent was S$53 (USD $37.85) on 5 pairs of new underwear and a nice lavender linen dress. It seems like some people have trouble with the washer/dryer eating their socks; ours eat my undergarments. I was trying to find something to wear for my upcoming job besides a jean skirt and tank tops. So now is the perfect time. My linen dress was originally S$79 and they took 70% off. WOW! That's the glory of the GSS. Sales up to 70% everywhere. Other cheapos just have 10-15% if you use certain plastic.

Also, we have a couple social outings planned for the end of the week. Thurs is a bar night at Dallas. Just a pub by the river. It's sponsored by the American Association, so it should be fun. We've always had some kind of experience whenever we sign up for events. In fact, it is how I made my job connection. I think we are also planning to kick off the stay-cation (yes it got approved for all next week) at Morton's. Steak sandwiches and martini's ( a cosmo for me) here we come.

I cant wait for next week. I am so excited to get to spend every minute with Matt. It will be so much fun tooting around together, just like always and will also be such a nice way to celebrate 6 months of marriage (even though that's not til the end of the month, we can still celebrate anytime we like).
So enough long posts for now. Probably wont post again until next week or after. There is bound to be a story or two just waiting to happen!!
**Note: The heat and humidity are still at work making everyone in Asia miserable. I thought by now we would have grown gills or something by now, but no such luck!

SICK SIC SIK

2009-06-15T07:04:00.002+08:00

Poor Matt was sick all weekend. Guess we got a little gung-ho on Friday and he probably wasn't feeling as good as we thought. Bless his little heart, he just felt so miserable. But he's rested and recovered all weekend and is much better today. Lots of sleep, fluids, and spicy food to open up those sinuses seemed to help. We just kind of bummed around the apt all weekend & didn't get out too much ( I went to the store and pharmacy a couple of times). Last night he finally felt well enough to make it our for dinner so that was good. He even stumbled upon a shoe sale and bought a new brown leather pair. They look really nice. He even broke out those soccer shoes he has never worn, and looks so cute with them on! I think he has more shoes over here than I do! Seriously.

A police officer opened fire this weekend not too far from our apt. That never happens. Apparently they had road blocks set up to test drivers for blood alcohol levels....there are several pubs & clubs down the street. I guess 1 driver started going the wrong way, against traffic, and a police fire off his gun to keep from getting run over. The driver was trying to evade police and the road block.....maybe he should have taken a different route OR not been drinking and driving. According to reports, they arrested 26 people for drinking and driving.

I bought some meat from a gourmet market/butcher this weekend. Matt made us some hamburgers and brauts. Wish we had a grill though. It worked out just fine. I made some Texas-slaw. It was so yummy and made it feel a little like a backyard cookout. It was definitely a special treat!
Cant wait to get back home, get settled, buy some furniture, paint, re-arrange, do yard work, decorate, etc....
Hope everyone has had a great weekend. I am definitely looking forward to hearing how the Towe family reunion went.
More later~

HOME SICK

2009-06-11T07:12:00.002+08:00

What a downer....Matt is at home sick today (actually still sleeping). Guess all the stress, tension, hard work + allergies & sinus crap, it has finally caught up with (he was just doing so good at taking his vitamins everyday).
He is such the sweetest, cuddliest thing when he doesnt feel good. And he is so easy to take care of (he can do pitiful looks like I've never seen before in my life).

I had the lovely task of venturing over to the doctors office yesterday...just takin care of the girlie stuff :) Luckily, I found an American doctor (an internist) who has a small clinic over here. He was nice but a little weird. He means well I can tell. Has a really nice office though and is professional and friendly. Anyways, I cant believe we have been here this long and this was really the first time either of us needed to go to the doctor. Knock on wood. But it is nice to know we have someone we can now go to for just about anything. We also found a optometrist next door that has everything Matt needs as far as contacts and solutions/cleaners/drops etc...

It sure is nice having Matt at home during the day, even if he is sick. I never feel like we get to spend enough time together...I'm always wishing for more. So, I am definitely looking forward to the day that is coming up soon when he takes a few days off work for a stay-cation. I cant wait.

Hope everyone back home is beating the heat!

CHILI'S....NOW OPEN IN SINGAPORE

2009-06-08T07:18:00.005+08:00

Singapore now has a Chili's restaurant. No more slight-homesickness for us!!
They just opened last Wednesday, so of course everything was complete chaos. But the food was awesome....enjoyed some chips & salsa and Presidente margaritas. And now we can go whenever we want :) We are definitely pumped about this one!

Also, Matt took us to another Sunday brunch AND.....we even got to order champagne. Which is a totally different story. It seems like there is always some complication with this and I'm really not sure why, especially when it is advertised as their specials. Come on people. So, after much confusion, we find out there is no special (even though it is advertised on their front door) have to order off the menu, get the wrong bottle, bring it to a waitress's attention, argue for what seems like an hour ( yes, in front of the rest of the restaurant) and then we get to drink a $150 bottle of champagne and they give it to us for $70. Sweet. Thank goodness for Matt & his ability to talk to Singaporeans and understand how to. I kid you not, they will argue with you when they dont even know what they are talking about. It's ridiculous. And they think b/c we are white we will get frustrated & put up with it & pay for things we didnt order etc....but it will no longer fly with this duo. Sick and tired is a complete understatement.

On Sunday morning ( before our brunch, which I should mention that food was actually really good) we woke up early and went for a nice jog (all the way over to the flyer) and walked back home. It was nice to just take a walk and enjoy the city and see some places to go and what's changing in the city & see improvement on construction projects, etc...It was so nice, a beautiful morning, and we just LOVE spending all our time together. Startin' to fit and fabulous for sure!!

Good thing it is Monday. Another exciting week and weekend is just around the corner. And there is no telling what is will bring :)

JUST ANOTHER DAY

2009-06-04T07:08:00.004+08:00

So excited my friend Heather has created her own blog.....finally!! Hooray!

We picked up our new wine rack last night and I cant wait to until we get to use it...that is, if we decide to take it out of the box instead of placing it nicely boxed up in the bomb shelter until we move back. Hmmmmm what to do? And yes, we, on the 36th floor, have a bomb shelter aka the storage room. Why have a bomb shelter on the 36th floor? Make sense to anyone? Typical Singapore for you.
In other news, I made homemade sweet and sour prawns(shrimp to the folks back home) and it was super good. Quite the little chef over here :)
I also spent like 4+ hours on Orchard road shopping yesterday and all I was able to bring home was a TimeOut Singapore mag (has events going on around Singapore and restaurant/shopping info) and a blank recipe book so I can write all my yummy finds in.
It has been raining quite a bit the past several mornings, which our allergies do not appreciate.

And, I found a mini triathlon I think Matt is considering entering. I would do it, but am just not a good swimmer, but I'm pretty sure he could....so maybe I'll just volunteer. (Slight confession**I just dont want to swim in THAT water by ECP...horrible, I know but it's not the clearest or prettiest). You all know how I am about the water. Go to the lake=LOVE it, but always stay on the boat and only dip in emergencies when you absolutely HAVE to.

I am really starting to like being a homemaker. It was kind of trying the first couple of months, but I have learned to embrace it.Myself and Margaret(who is back in the US) are probably the only 2 single, American girls in Singapore who:
1. Have no job
2. Have no kids
Because all the others have 1 or the other and believe me it is no fun going to the mall when the stroller gangs are there.
So with that said:
By gosh, I will be fit, fabulous and cook like Paula Dean if it kills me!

It's THAT crazy

2009-06-02T06:45:00.002+08:00

So yesterday was a typical Monday for both of us....I had to catch up on lost house work from the weekend and Matt was having the typical Monday blues. He always calls to let me know when he is heading home from work and in the middle of our conversation his cab showed up, he gets in, gives directions to the driver and resumes his conversation with me and then I hear all this noise. What in the world?!

He got into a wreck....sitting in the back seat of a taxi. Wonderful. The cabbie made a u-turn(highly illegal) and a motorcycle ran right into him. Bad. They get out and start yelling at each other. So, one thing leads to another and Matt says I'll call you back, I should get off the phone.
I tell him to say adios to the scene and get a new cab. Which, he did after giving the 2 guys his information.
Forward a couple of hours, now Matt's information has been given to the police and the motorcyclist's attorney since he was a witness. LOVELY.
ALL HE WANTED TO DO WAS GET HOME TO HIS LOVELY WIFE AND THEIR HOME....IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR??!!
We are however, extremely thankful it was only a slight fender-bender, Matt didn't even feel it, and that he is ok. Thank God!!

Who is ready for a trip back home? These two, for sure! Ready to be away from such craziness & missing home!
More to come later, when the crazies settle down.

GOOD TIMES

2009-06-01T07:15:00.002+08:00

What a great weekend!
We went to a comedy night Friday & had a great time.....although we sat in the old folks section. Not sure what that was about, but thats ok. We still had so much fun. I danced and sang all the songs (most of them) and Matt sat back and laughed at all the jokes. It was at a place called Howl at the Moon so they had 2 comedians perform as well as duelling pianos.
Saturday we spent a couple hours in the Amara hotel shopping area. We had our 1st foot reflexology/massage ...even Matt. It hurt sometimes but afterwards our feet felt brand new and refreshed. We even found a place for Matt to get some contacts and eye stuff....definitely a bonus.
Sunday we found a new mall called Great World City and like it so much. Its a little smaller and definitely less crazy than the others. We had dinner at the Pump Room, a favorite of ours, and celebrated our 5 month wedding anniversary. We discussed how sometimes it feels like we were married just yesterday and other times it feels like we have been together for years. But it so fun and we LOVE it!!
Hope everyone else had a great weekend.
More later

DATE

2009-05-29T06:46:00.002+08:00

Yesterday my husband decided to work from home during the first part of the morning and that was very exciting. Contrary to what most believe, he actually did get a ton of work done, which was very beneficial. I just loved having him around.
Today is Friday and we have our usual standing lunch date. And, we have a date night planned to go to a duelling piano thing via the American Association. So that should be fun and interesting. We'll probably have some crazy story to share (save a spot in the book Ryan).
I was also hoping we could squeeze in some time at Morton's but that may not be possible. Maybe we can head out for a little Mexican this weekend too.

This weekend also marks our 5 month wedding anniversary....almost 6 months. Time definitely flies by fast! I feel like it was just yesterday. It has been a great, amazing, wonderful 5 months of being married and we are just so happy and excited for many many many more ( we were just talking about it the other night).

More to come after the weekend~

CLOSE CALL

2009-05-27T07:56:00.002+08:00

So, I had my first close call with burning dinner last night. Apparently corn flakes do NOT like to be in the oven very long. Sounds crazy but I had this Italian chicken recipe and you marinate the chicken then roll them in crushed corn flakes. So, me in all my cooking glory, decide what's the hurt with adding the extra flakes on top. (Keep in mind here, the ovens are different, I have to do temp. conversions, and it's a just different kitchen appliances than what I'm used to).
Anyways, luckily, they were easy to brush off the top and the chicken tasted awesome. Thanks for the recipe, I used one I got at our wedding shower from a family friend and it was easy. (And now I know not to add extra crispies on top).
What I should point out is that, I have not had anything turn out just horrible. Everything has been fixable! And Matt is so sweet that he'll eat just about anything I put in front of him. What a lucky cook am I?

STEAK SANDWICHES

2009-05-25T07:42:00.002+08:00

First of all, let me just say that the steak sandwiches and cocktails at Morton's Bar are yummy. I'm ready to go back. In fact, I think we both would be okay if we went back every night. The drinks went down super-smooth and the steak sandwiches are mini-fillet mignons stuffed between 2 pieces of bread with some wasabi-mayo. Mmmmm.....so good when it hits your lips. Our waiter was even kind enough to snap this quick pic of us. This place is serious. I arrived at 4:55pm and was the 3rd table. By the time Matt arrived at 5:25, the bar was completely full, with couples even standing. Wow.
We had a great weekend. My cousin Becca had a school project she is doing and we spent some time helping her out with that & took some more pictures of Singapore to send to her so she can show her 2nd grade class at Jenks West. Didnt get into a whole lot, so there is not too much report. We are definitely jealous that everyone back home has a 3 day weekend, but hope everyone has enoyed the patio, bbq's, the spas, the golf and other sports, the lake, etc...
Cheers!

LITTLE BITS

2009-05-22T08:14:00.004+08:00

I'm sure as most of you have heard by now, there is no June trip home for this newlywed couple. Oh well, sigh, we'll just have to take our money and travel around Asia. Hehe.

In other news, we are trying for Morton's again tonight. And this wife will be making an early arrival to grab a spot. I have been craving a martini and those steak sandwiches for over a week now and I will do just about anything in order to get my hands on them. And I know Matt will stand by and cheer me on and support whatever has to be done. Cause don't think for one minute that I'm the only one who hungers for these tasties.

Speaking of Matt, he brought me flowers yesterday when he came home from work (they are pictured above). He is my sweetheart! And I have been cooking like crazy for him this week. I've made some treats, sweets and even home-made curry last night (which didn't turn out to be too bad). We are just really having the best time together, are so in love with each other and having a blast being newly married! How does it get any better than this?! We are so thankful and blessed to have each other.

Last night we had a small wine tasting event at our apts and even invited our friends Margaret and John (we met them here but they are from the US). They may even join us tonight for Morton's.

We are so thankful it's Friday and very ready for the weekend to be here after such a crazy week. Matt has been super busy with all the craziness that has happened this week and bless his heart he has been doing such an amazing job. He definitely deserves a much needed relaxing weekend and what a way to start it off by having lunch with the wife and happy hour/dinner at Morton's.

We miss everyone and send our love and prayers back to the States. We hope everyone has a great and safe Memorial weekend.

Cheers!

HUMP DAY

2009-05-20T06:55:00.003+08:00

Back at good ol' Eskimo Joe's in Stillwater, they had a "HUMP DAY" special that was something to the effect of $1 mini burgers and cheap Joe's Cups of Beer. I LOVED hump days. And seeing that it is Wednesday, I thought I would pay tribute with a special Hump Day post. I miss Stillwater so much. I haven't been back there in quite awhile. It seemed like every time I had a chance to go back, I always had a Saturday class in Tulsa or it was my weekend to work at the hospital. Oh well. I get back there eventually. Actually we both will. We have at least had a couple visits to TU since the house is so close. It seems like a very nice University & Matt is always so proud (but seems to get a little nervous when we go by the KA house?) kidding. Hopefully someday we can venture back to OSU & the AX house.
With that said, I also need to say thank you EVERYONE for your prayers for Matt. He has been going through so much at work lately. And on Monday had the unfortunate circumstance arise to fire on of his own employees. Luckily, he had assistance from HR and everything went off very easily & without any trouble. Thank goodness. It has been weighing so much on his heart & in his mind. He has really had a hard time with it considering this was someone he had hand-picked to come to work for him. All I can say is that everyone seems surprised & looks can be VERY deceiving. However, Matt has had a great attitude about it all & says he feels a great relief now that it is all behind them. He is very positive & is looking ahead with the future of his group in mind. So once again, thank you thank you thank you, for all your prayers. He was even able to sleep Sunday night. And his sweet wife made all kinds of yummy snacks & stocked some Hoegaarden beers in the fridge.
We have a wine tasting at our apt tomorrow night & are going to try for Morton's again on Friday. I also believe we are 1 or 2 days away from finding out about our visit in June (or lack of one).
Keep those fingers crossed!!

MISCELLANEOUS MONDAY

2009-05-18T06:59:00.006+08:00

My (Natalie) Mom (Marjean) ran a race Saturday. A 5k to be exact. And she took 1st place in her age group. Way to go Momma! Apparently she wasn't even planning on running, she was just going to walk, but got into it & the next thing she knew, she had won her race. Good job, we are so proud of you! Hooray!

Matt & I had a great, relaxing weekend. I made him watch the movie "Little Miss Sunshine". He giggled & laughed the whole way through. It is such a funny movie, so many great scenes & such a great cast. Redbox it, buy it, rent it or whatever. Definitely a funny movie.

Matt went to the American Club on Saturday to take care of some work related issues & even had a beer or two with the GM of Nordam here in Singapore. Greg offered some great advice (the wife is always right) & thankfully he was able to get some sleep this weekend. *Conveniently, we caught the Man Utd vs. Arsenal(sp?) soccer match Saturday night....definitely a bonus in his mind*

We also went to the Singapore National Library on Sunday...it was packed. There were so many people there, they were sitting on the floor to study, read, research, etc... It was a really cool place to see & makes our library system look so dated. It just amazed me how many teenagers were there. These Asians are so dang smart & its a wonder why! They are all at the library on the weekend (ok some were texting & giggling & doing that kind of stuff)! I think the library was 12 or 15 floors, I cant remember for sure. But it was a huge building with lots and lots and lots of resources at your fingertips! I may have to pay them a couple hours visit every week from now on.

We are ready for a new week & hope it flies by fast!
More to come another time!

FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW...

2009-05-15T07:43:00.002+08:00

I'm writing this post for my amazing husband. Because as great & wonderful & smart as he is, sometimes he too needs some help.
So for those of you who don't know, his job has put him under a significant amount of stress lately. He has been working so hard & he has just been exhausting himself every day at work. He is in a really tight position, as he is THE smartest person over here, so guess who does most of the work? I don't really even know why he has a boss (surely he cant know about our blog or even read it). I can only imagine what it is like for him to go to work everyday. I have such a hard time communicating & "dealing" with people over here as it is, I can't imagine how much harder it is for him in a work situation.
This week has been & next week will especially be extremely hard. I cant go into any details, however Matt will be in situations that he has never been put in before. He is fine, his job is fine, we are fine & secure & safe. It's just the day-to-day stress along with other obstacles that are burning him out.
I wish I could go to work for both of us to take it all away. He is such a trooper. After long days, he wants to come home & help cook dinner or do the dishes. He is such a giving person, giving to his family, friends and anyone who needs help.
So, with that said, I am asking for those who read this, to say a few prayers for Matt. That he finds strength, support and eventually peace with his job. No need to call him or email or anything like that. No reason to make the burden greater. Just if you could say a prayer or two so that he may be put more at ease.
This little wife loves her husband more than anything & is asking for help cause she knows he wont....and happy hours can only take us so far!
Thanks & I hope everyone has a great weekend
We'll follow up soon!

WHAT DO OTHER PEOPLE DO?

2009-05-14T07:35:00.003+08:00

I have decided we have too much clutter. Too many papers, mail, receipts, etc...laying on our tables. I stay at home, so I feel as if I'm doing a horrible job. But it is as if this "STUFF" just comes from out of nowhere & all of a sudden I'm noticing new piles.
So I have decided to dedicate today, since it's rainy outside, to cleaning up the clutter. Ok, so I know we are a bit limited in our apartment, it really is meant for 1 person, not 2. But that is all the more a better reason to get rid of it.
I mean, where does this stuff come from? Guess I need to get better at getting rid of it immediately when I see it. But I am also afraid if Matt doesn't look things over, I may throw something important away.
Not today. It all ends today. No more junk, clutter, etc....I may even put some clothes on e-bay or find a place to donate them.
Off to work, more to come sometime later, the weekend is almost here!!

IT IS WHAT IT IS

2009-05-11T07:33:00.003+08:00

First of all Happy Mother's Day! Posted a short but sweet note about this on my personal blog. Love to all our Moms out there!
Second, this weekend we managed to:
1. Find an EVEN BETTER new mexican restaurant(El Patio...the chips & salsa are free & they actually have tequila in their margaritas)
2. Stay up until 2am
3. Be social(Happy Birthday Jason...whoever you are. Your party was fun)
4. I, Natalie, managed to fall in the subway b/c I attempted to wear my ruby red high heels with an outfit in an effort to look smokin' hot for my husband.My heel got stuck in a crack in the tiles & I went flying...without my left shoe. **Note, showing up sweaty with a bruise does not=hot
5. Work out even on Saturday
6. Realize we aren't totally alone in this crazy expat world
7. Realize sometimes all baby needs is a jean skirt & she feels like a brand new woman.
We had a pretty crazy weekend. We are doing good & we are just fine. Times can be frustrating but we have each other to help get through it all. Matt's job is even crazier than ever(no questions just prayers for him, please). We are definitely so happy to be together & at the end of the day we understand that is all that matters;no matter how crazy or frustrating things may get.
Oh and, can I just say that once again, we are THE couple to beat. Went to a birthday party Sat night for Jason, who is a friend of a friend of a friend. We didnt even meet him. Is that tacky? I think he just thought he was cool cause there were alot of people there, regardless if he knew all them or not. Go figure, French MBA students!
Thats all for now. Lots left-over from the weekend to do. Back to housework for me!

TRYIN'

2009-05-07T11:21:00.002+08:00

I wish all posts could be funny, quirky, smart & upbeat. However, sometimes we all have bad days. Unfortunately, Madron is/has a bad one very day. That place is just crazy. You would not believe it, but Matt has spent all morning learning how to use the new time clock system. Seriously, it's been 3 hours of training how to use the time clock! And guess what? When he finally logs into the system, things are messed up. As in the words of Scott,a co-worker in town from Whales, SNAFU. Matt's translation of SNAFU: Situation Normal All F&%$ed Up.
I try really hard to be supportive of him, bless his heart. He does such a great job; he is so smart, patient, and he is such a hard worker. Sometimes it seems very trying. Other times we sit back with some tolerance juice (aka a beer) & laugh (ok maybe we do a little bitchin' too).
Well, thats enough for now. We are definitely looking forward to tomorrow since it's Friday that means the weekend is even closer!!
Until next time-

HE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY

2009-05-04T09:57:00.002+08:00

What a weekend! All I want to say is that Matt is so smart & such a hard worker. He's just awesome. I'm not really sure what Nordam would do without him.
Not much to post here. Matt's been doing a great job with work, no matter how crazy things get. We had an awesome weekend, did lots of new & different things, even bought something for the house.
Hopefully this week will be great & fly by fast. Fingers crossed tight here.
More to come later, we hope everyone is doing well.

T-7 HOURS TO GO!

2009-04-30T10:23:00.006+08:00

T-7 HOURS TO GO UNTIL THE WEEKEND STARTS(A 3 DAY WEEKEND)!!

In case you couldn't tell....I am so ready for 6pm to be here today; it's when Matt will be home from work & our 3 day weekend begins. I am so excited for our 3 day weekend...I love the weekend. It's my favorite part of the week because I get to spend so much time with the hubs.

We don't have any plans. I am too excited to have a couple days to sleep in(and I know Matt is excited about it too!)

Hooray for having off Friday(and I'm sure it's going to make waking up Monday THAT much harder, but we'll deal with it when it comes).

In other news, my brother is still employed with UBS in NYC. Thank God, literally & thanks to everyone for their prayers. There were layoffs Mon & Tuesday & they are done for this round. Whew! He has been working so hard. He has received great praise from people he has been working for & received credit for doing such a great job. I am so proud of him. He is the smartest brother! I am so thankful that Someone has been watching over him.

And, and, and.....1 more thing. A really BIG thing. My twin cousins Becca & Libby are going through 1st Communion this weekend. Sad I cant be there, I feel like the worst Godmother ever!!!(Sorry Libby). But hopefully pics will get passed along & I can post them. They are the cutest & were the flower girl & ring bearess in our wedding. They are sooo special to me & I love them both so much! Keep them in your prayers as they embark on such a sacred, special occasion. They are the dolls in the above picture after having their hair done for our wedding. They truly are the best!

More to come after the weekend, have a great one everybody!

WONDERFUL WEEKEND

2009-04-27T07:14:00.002+08:00

Matt & I with 2 US sailors from the USS Kidd on Sunday night at JUMBO seafood restaurant

We had a great weekend & now its only a 4-day work week....whoo-hoo!
Friday we had a relaxing swim in our pool after Matt got home from work followed by some delicious Thai food(curry to be exact).
Saturday we planned our route to get in sight of the Navy fleet of ships, REALLY hard to do. The base is way out past the airport & is almost in a cove-like area, probably so the ships are a bit protected. But, with the use of my binoculars,we were able to see the aircraft carrier & could see all the planes that sat on it. Those ships are enormous! Anyways, we did that from East Coast Park, which we walked to....we came home & crashed we were so tired. Saturday night we had our first dinner with 2 sailors. They were very nice, both from California. I think they were 29 & 25 yrs old & both had been in the Navy for 7-9 years. Very talkative. Interesting. 1 worked in IT & the other did navigational duties.
Sunday we took it easy. Went shopping again but came home empty handed :(
We met 2 new sailors for dinner. It was fun meeting these guys, finding out about their lives & why they are in the service. The 2 we met with Sunday(that are picture above) were pretty laid back & both very interesting. As we were leaving dinner we decided they were picture worthy & took a few pictures. We were even given a present by Seeda(in the red shirt). He's originally from Thailand & he's 35 yrs old...been in the military 9 months. Bless his heart. He was just the sweetest, most appreciative thing. He gave us a miniature bronze painted statue of a Buddhist monk. Apparently he was a Buddhist monk for like 20 years. Crazy! You never know with some people.
All in all, we had a great time meeting our sailors, learning about life on board a navy ship( and why its better to be on a small one) and learning about their life in general. We are glad we got to do it. Our sailors seemed very thankful & appreciative. I think most of them expected us to be older. But we got along with all of them & I am pretty sure they just enjoyed some nice conversation.
Matt & I loved doing this. It is always nice to learn about other people, other cultures, etc...We feel like it makes us better people & opens us up to many different things. We are so thankful for the opportunities that we have been given.
So, with that said. Its a short work week for Matt. There is a holiday on Friday(something about it being the equivalent of Labor Day ). So we are definitely excited about that. Along with, it will be 4 whole months(this weekend) since we got married. We both agree that every minute has been great & we love being newlyweds.
Hope everyone is doing great! More to come later this week.

SOMETHING:

2009-04-24T15:28:00.002+08:00

ITS FRIDAY!!!
1. Last night Matt brought home flowers & a curry puff. How romantic! I almost cried when he walked in the door.
2. Matt had lunch plans with someone from work, so I had a date with the pool for a little bit. It's gettin hot over here! Example: weather.com says its 93 degrees F, but feels like 106 degrees F. I love it! It feels like summer all the time!
3. The Navy is coming in & we have dinner with 4 sailors this weekend. Pictures to come next week. Hope its fun.
4. Until the Man of the House gets home, I'm spending time with my new Marian Keyes book "the other side of the story". So far=so good.

Wacky Wednesday!

2009-04-23T10:02:00.003+08:00

Matt eating some yummy Indian food for dinner. No, I did not cook this, these are not our dishes and no we are not at home. Had some shopping to do for a certain someone's recent birthday present. The food really is good despite how it looks in the picture...and no he's not making a face, I just happen to snap the camera it an inconvenient time.

We think its hilarious that there are Kenny Rogers restaurants in Singapore. You cant see it in this picture, but he has photos of himself all over the walls. Its crazy....and they are fairly busy most of the time. Matt always gets a good laugh & talks about an episode of Jackass with a fake Kenny Rogers(I even got to watch the video).

And last but not least....how many shopping bags does she have? This is the perfect example of a crazy....but a young crazy. I mean, how many times do you go to the shopping mall & load up a push-basket full of shopping bags? Ha! Only in my dreams. And yes, I felt perfectly justified in taking her picture while her back was turned. What's the hurt? She wasnt even looking.

SO MUCH TO SAY!

2009-04-20T07:17:00.002+08:00

I have so much to say & lately I have liked doing it in the form of a list...but I'll spare everyone from that this time.
We had such an awesome, busy weekend. We found a new place for happy hour on Friday that is just down the street from our apartment. We visited a favorite restaurant Friday & had the yummy fish n chips! Both of us!
We also made a break though in one of our many talks, that we act like we're 40, not 28, what to do to change it & what to do to make ourselves happy. We went & saw a movie Saturday night called "Taken" & even had a nice dinner date before.
Sunday we went back to the Singapore Turf Club to the horse races. It was lady luck draw day so all the women got in free. Matt did an awesome job with the picking of horses & betting. I, on the other hand, seemed to be having the wrong feeling about horses....my picks were always the wackos of the group that would run sideways & never go into their gates without much pushing & force. Anyways, it was a fun time. Definitely a different experience with all those Asian men yelling who knows what. Makes us giggle all the time.
We even took in some yummy Indian food at the mall last night & then went shopping. It was quite a busy weekend. Matt learned all kinds of things about women's clothing, face cream, etc...He's such a great sport! But dont fret my friends, we shopped more for him actually.
In other exciting news, this coming weekend we will be hosting 4 US Navy Sailors for dinner. We are participating in part of a home-leave program through the American Association that pairs you up with sailors who are coming into Singapore & you can host a dinner, take them sightseeing, etc...Mainly just to give them a sense of family & friends while they are traveling & so they have some familiar-ish faces in a foreign country. We are so excited we cant wait! We have had so much fun google-ing all about what ships they are from, how the Navy travels in fleets, and so on. Matt has so many questions & I am just excited to feel like we can give a little(even though small) something back to our military, I can only imagine being in the Navy & traveling on a ship for long periods of time. Sailors of all classes & rank participate...we arent really sure what ours do or are. We only know their names. We do know there are 2 from the USS Antietam & 2 from the USS Kidd ( it is my understanding 1 ship has something to do with radar & 1 ship is a destroyer). Matt knows all the details. Makes that game "Battleship" finally make sense after all these years. You can google the ships & find all kinds of cool information about them. Anyways, we are really thrilled to be taking part in this & cant wait to meet our sailors/sailorettes, whichever they may be.
I think thats enough for this post for now, I'm sure I forgot lots, but there is always tomorrow!
Until then~

FRIDAY FUNDAY

2009-04-17T08:00:00.002+08:00

WE LOVE FRIDAYS!!
Thank goodness its here! We are ready for the weekend to begin. Fridays usually help it come a little faster...I go to lunch with Matt which makes the day go by fast (for both of us).
So, like previous post here is info/gossip/opinion/whateveryouwannacallit:
1. Madron is getting to us a little bit ( spell madron backwards)
2. Feels like there is something in the coffee, maybe its just me
3. NO plans for this weekend.
4. Did I mention how AWESOME it was not to have to fill out any immigration forms coming back from Malaysia....hey! I got a green card/dp pass! So sweet!
5. I finally took the dark polish off my toes & painted them a very sweet pastel pink...my Mother would be so proud, may even tear up.
6. So excited to go shopping for dresses to wear to Bryan & Hallie's wedding in Sept
7. Riverside Indonesian bbq here I come...it is sooooo good. Matt cant wait to pick dinner, I'm sure
8. Does laundry & cleaning ever end? I wish we had a dishwasher!
9. How crazy are people across the US becoming? I must be watching too much Nancy Grace(Heather H, dont laugh or roll your eyes).
10. I have admitted to Matt, as of yesterday, I am officially addicted to curry puffs. Again. Its becoming quite a problem.
11. Should I get my hair cut? (I go through this every year....grow it long, cut it short, contemplate, cut it, grow long, contemplate)
12. Is the rain really all THAT inconvenient?
Hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Have a great weekend!

WAY BACK WEDNESDAY...AND A LOVE STORY

2009-04-15T12:01:00.005+08:00

In honor of a blog I read on Kat & Karl's site, I thought ours was in need of a Way Back Wednesday post...even though our way back is really just over a year ago, it still counts, right?

So here are 2 pictures from when I was in Singapore last February....it was the most bittersweet time of my life. Here I was, completely head-over-heels for this man. He had help fly me to Singapore & I was having the best time of my life just being with him. It was so hard leaving though. I had done such a good job holding up(or so I thought) but when it was time for me leave at the airport, I become such an emotional mess, I spilled my breakfast tea all over my track suit....and I thought I had something in my carry on to wear instead, but it was shorts & a dress. Ever since then, I have always packed my carry on very carefully.

Moral of the story: love works in mysterious ways; here's to those who say it always happens when you least expect it!

Cheers!!

THE PARTY IS OVER....LOTS OF PICS THOUGH

2009-04-12T16:18:00.011+08:00

Statue of Murugan at the Batu Caves

In front of the Batu Caves Temple

Stairs to the Temple

Mean monkeys outside the caves

Matt on top of the 272nd stair

Looking back @ the entrance of the cave

Batu Cave Temple

An opening in the caves showing sunlight

Nat in front of a temple in the caves

Matt in front of the temple

Looking back down the 272 stairs

Ready for a dinner date...looking handsome!

It rains as much in KL as it does in Singapore!!
On our way to dinner with our ellas!

Street we had dinner on, very busy area

Petronas Towers at night

Day time view of the twin towers

The KL Tower, view from a park

Looking straight up at the petronas Towers

The old train station in the city

Matt with the city in the background

Nat in front of a fountain in the city

View of the top of a mosque from the monorail

IT FEELS GREAT TO BE HOME, IN SINGAPORE!

What a trip! We can definitely say Kuala Lumpur was an interesting experience. To sum up our trip, I've written a few little diddies below:

1. Our flight to KL on Japan Airlines was awesome. They have a camera outside the airplane & inside after showing safety videos, you can actually watch your pilot's view of take-off and landing. We have never seen it before, but it was awesome.

2. Our flight was about 35 minutes. GET THIS: it took longer to get to the airport in Singapore from our apt & the airport in KL to our hotel than our actual flight!

3. Our flight on JAL was so quick & smooth, we didnt even realize we were landing until I saw out the window, as we are about to touch down, and exclaimed to Matt "we're landing, we're landing!" He was a caught off guard as well.

4. Pretty sure our cab driver from the central station to our hotel was crazy. I was almost certain my half of the beat-up jalopy was going to fall apart from the rest of the cab. Our driver was horrible, I wasnt even sure we would make it to the hotel.

5. At least we had side-by-side massages Friday afternoon....I think Matt is hooked

6. Pretty sure the monkeys at the Batu caves were on crack. We had to leave because they started fighting with each other & were squealing & hissing.

7. Had an awesome dinner at Maredo's steakhouse for Matt's birthday. We loved it! The steak was great & so was the wine, and the dessert!

8. Saturday, after taking ourselves around the city we realized the only awesome thing about KL is the Petronas towers & really its kind of a dirty city.

9. We were soo glad to be back in Singapore Sat night. Feels good to sleep in your own bed & be back in your own home! Not to mention use public transportation thats safe, clean and easy to use!

10. Thanks to all those sending birthday wishes to Matt! He is so appreciative of them all, each one means so much to him.

So...all in all he had a great birthday. We really did have a fun time in KL. We loved being on our adventure together! And we had a wonderful Easter Sunday as well!

Back to the ol' bump & grind today....it was definitely hard getting motivated this morning.

More to come later, enjoy the pics!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY(S)

2009-04-09T07:30:00.004+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!

Today, April 8th, is my big brother's birthday, so a warm, happy, heartfelt Happy Birthday definitely goes out to him in NYC. Miss you so much, am so proud of you & cant wait for your wedding!

And also, a Happy Birthday to go to Matt! Even though it is not until Saturday, we will be gone on vacation & I cant post a b-day blog for him. So many words to say, I love you & Happy Birthday! I am so excited for our trip.

With that said, we are leaving this evening, lots to do until then(like figure out what clothes to pack, its been a week-long ordeal).

Cheers!

Note: Above is the lemon cake Matt requested I make for his birthday. Its so good, its gone! I know, a little elementary looking, but my resources here in Singapore for cake making were a bit limited.

I SHOULDNT HAVE, BUT I DID ANYWAy

2009-04-06T11:24:00.003+08:00

I was in a festive birthday/Easter mood when I went to the grocery store this morning. And bought all the fixings for a SUPER birthday cake & now the frosting & sprinkles are just sitting there unused. I think I heard them whisper my name once or twice. And so are the jellybeans I bought for our Easter basket. I dont know what I have done! I wish I could take them all back, but just for like a day or two. Grocery shopping is hard in Singapore, because they dont necessarily carry all their items all the time. So when you see something you need, like lemon cake, stove top stuffing, etc....you have to buy it when you see it.

In other news, Matt & I made our pad a bit more cozy after shopping at Ikea yesterday. Got some new pillows, a couple of lamps. We are stylin' profilin' now baby! And it feels a little more like home. Also, Anthropology has these really cool wall appliques that stick on & peel off & dont leave marks on your walls. I'll post a picture of ours when I can figure out which way I like them best.

So glad this week is a short week! And we are so pumped for our weekend get-away. I cant wait to celebrate his birthday & shower him with presents(ok its just a couple). And of course, celebrate Easter. I'm thinking of making brunch right here at home, mimosas included :)

We had a great weekend. It makes Monday so hard! Even took in a couple pints Friday evening & talked my Chinese to our cab driver. I can only say a couple of things. He was a crazy one for sure & so excited when I talked Chinese. I told him he was trouble. Hehe. He laughed & corrected me, which sounded exactly the same as I said it, but whatever. Saturday we spent our morning at the Ministry of Manpower getting my passport/dependant pass corrected. Yes, we are finally done after weeks of thinking I was already. But everything is now correct, up-to-date, and final....NO MORE MESSING WITH MY STUFF! And thanks to the wonderful ladies at Nordam who were so helpful & screwed it all up in the first place. We really enjoyed spending our Saturday morning abroad doing your job :) Insert picture of a lady from the 50's with a sparkling white smile & sound of a chime at the end of the last sentence.

Hm....I'm definitely in a fiesty mood today. Wonder where I'm getting it?

THOUGHTS FOR FRIDAY...

2009-04-03T07:36:00.003+08:00

Some thoughts for Friday:
1. Ryan, where is that update you were talking about?
2. Is lil' Nate not just the cutest? And while we are on the subject of babies, I dont think I have seen one ugly Asian baby in Singapore. Not, one. They are just the cutest little things...so well behaved. Enough of the baby talk, gets me in trouble.
3. Did the Obamas really think it was ok to give the Queen an Ipod? I'm horrified; Broadway tunes or not.
4. Ready for the Great Singapore Sale to hurry up & get here. I have shoppin' to do!
5. Matt's birthday weekend extravaganza needs to hurry up & get here.
6. Hope the house is ok
7. Cant wait until this afternoon when I get to go on my lunch date & Matt comes home...he needs the weekend to be here PRONTO!
8. Not a huge fan of the trash chute in our apartment.
9. But at least I have the most amazing view of the world, right out our windows every morning & every evening...sometimes it really is just beautiful.
10. How does tooth floss & triple antibiotic ointment just disappear?
11. Too bad my braid & pic curl technique did not work on my wet hair last night. Matt saw a poodle when he woke up this morning. Lawd, I did look crazy!

SERIOUSLY, GET YOUR HAND OUT OF MY SHOPPING BAG

2009-04-02T07:11:00.004+08:00

We call them crazies. Other people may have another name for them. But I feel ours is best. Its the name we give to the Singaporeans over here who we see doing crazy things(which is on a continuous basis daily). Let me give you an example from yesterday when I went to the grocery store. As I'm standing in line to check out, this seemingly harmless tiny, middle-aged Asian woman comes to stand in line behind me. Here is our conversation:
Crazy: I was juts trying to figure which one I should queue
Me: I think this one is the best, it is moving the fastest & is shorter than the rest.
Crazy: Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Crazy: I buy deese potatoes(holding them up for me to see) and go home. I have to boil and den I cook again. And I put da marazella cheese on top. It my granddaughter favorite. I have to make for her.
Me: Oh uh-huh.
Crazy: Cheese expensive.
Me: Yes, cheese is extremely expensive here.
Crazy: But, you know which is better? The marazella or parmasan?
Me: (Thinking what is marazella...mozerella?) Uhm...I think the parmasean is more
Crazy: Yes. I not like smell parmasan. It smell nasty to me.
And at this point she is looking into my shopping bag/crate I'm holding, looking at my groceries:
You make da dinner?
Me: Yes, I'm making pasta for dinner.
Crazy: (Now she has reached, yes reached into my basket & grabs my mushrooms)
Oh dis nice mushroom. I buy white button. Put in pasghetti. Is good.
Me:(Thinking holy crap! Get your hand out of my basket! Violation here!)
Yes, these are good. They are less expensive than the baby white buttons though.
And finally its my turn to check out. She leans on the conveyor belt & looks into my basket & then looks at the POS screen every time and item is scanned & makes a comment, oh das nice. Oh das espensive.
Can I just say what the heck? I mean, I cannot believe this crazy actually reached into my basket. I'm sure I had a horrible look on my face, but she just kept going like it was nothing out of the ordinary. I felt so violated. I was all alone. hehe.
Oh man. A day in the life. You definitely never know what you're gonna get over here. But I love it!

FUN!

2009-04-01T07:30:00.003+08:00

I have managed to successfully pull of an April Fools joke already this morning, on Matt of course. Bless his little heart. And now I'm sure he's going to be planning one all day, or guilt trip me & NOT do one. Either way, it was totally harmless. I told him I received an email from someone at his work about my relocation. He wanted all the details & email forwarded to him, he was about to get mad. Ha. Then I said April Fools and he just laughed & laughed & laughed. So cute. What a good sport.

I went back to the Embassy yesterday. I should seriously write a soap opera & call it EMBASSY....see how the name just rolls of your tongue. I mean, can you imagine how long the drama can last there?! One incident could be the whole season. This is genius. And silly. No drama this time when I went. I did have to stand outside the guard shack, very near the gurkha who kept messing with his gun strap making me very nervous, for about 5 minutes. It was so humid I was sweating just from standing there. Ugh. Yuck. Oh well though, once inside I didnt even have to wait in line & my passport is correct this time. Hooray!

I also did a little shopping & bought a new dress for our date. We went on a 3 month wedding anniversary date last night. It was so romantic & we had a great time. The Italian food was delicious! I had homemade lasagna & Matt had seafood linguine pasta. They were both so excellent. Even had ourselves a glass of wine & some yummy chocolate thingy for dessert. I love our date nights together. In fact, thinking about it & looking back, we have never been on 1 bad date together. Ever. How awesome is that?! We are really pretty good about making the most of a bad situation & get along so well. Going on a date with him is one of my most favorite things! I love getting dressed up for him.

Matt even got to open a birthday present early when we came home. How about that to top off the night?!

So today I'm back on the wifely duties that got neglected yesterday. And to my Jillian Michaels workout dvd that kicked my booty yesterday, even though it did feel good to get hot & burn! Love it! Its just a 30 minute circuit routine & all you need is some weights & a comfortable floor to do it all on, all in the comfort of your own home. Until you realize you need to close the blinds because the Bangladesh construction workers can see you.

Better go now, no telling what else may come out! Our love to all!

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

2009-03-30T08:19:00.002+08:00

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!

2009-03-27T09:00:00.003+08:00

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?

2009-03-26T18:21:00.002+08:00

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

2009-03-23T11:09:00.003+08:00

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

2009-03-20T07:47:00.003+08:00

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

2009-03-16T07:11:00.002+08:00

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!!

2009-03-13T08:30:00.004+08:00

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!

2009-03-11T10:00:00.003+08:00

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

2009-03-09T07:35:00.003+08:00

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!

2009-03-02T07:05:00.004+08:00

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

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AND END....AND MORE!

2009-02-23T10:15:00.008+08:00

Well, its official. My parents have officially seen Singapore & as of now are on their journey back home. Like the old saying, all good things must come to an end; and then you get back to Oklahoma & have jet-lag for a week. Yuck. They were really good sports, we had a great time, and drove each other crazy(isnt that what family is for?) So, take a look at some of the pics we got....
In other news, as of now, it looks like we are staying in Singapore for another year(well until next January). Matt hasn't got the official contract back signed, but looks like for now, unless something changes, we will be staying several more months! Anyone else, is more than welcome to come for a visit, we'd love to have anyone and everyone!
So for now its back to work & home-making duties!
Cheers!!

SURVIVIN'

2009-02-19T08:57:00.003+08:00

Mom and Dad have been so great to wander around & trust me as their guide in Singapore. True sports! We are all having so much fun while they are here. Definitely have had plenty of good laughs! So cheers to them for making the trip & putting up with heat & humidity!!

More to come later-

Biznass!!

2009-02-09T07:22:00.003+08:00

My legs are stretched all the way out!
To the right are all controls for our seats...you can lay them all the way down into a bed.

Our huge tv's and Matt enjoying his nice big comfy seat!

Matt & I were so excited this trip because from LA to Tokyo we flew biznass(business) class & got to ride in the top part of the 747(yes, up the stairs). So, in the midst of our excitement, I thought I'd take a couple pics to share with everyone.

Take a look...

2009-02-07T12:19:00.012+08:00

Dancing with the family & some friends....love the celebration

Us with Bryan and Natalie's Mom

White Wedding Cake

Ooozing Chocolate with PB Cups

Our first dance to "At Last"

Truly happy & in love

Husband & Wife dancing

Father-Daughter Dance

Mother-Son Dance

With Dan & Adriene

With Britni & Todd

Kat & Karl...drove all the way from Arkansas!

Sorority sisters

Fraternity brothers

Having some fun with Lainey

Matt's Family

These 3 can be trouble!!

Natalie's brother & the Faders-all flew in from NY!!

Retrieveing the garter!

Tossing the garter...who's gonna catch it?

Tossing the boquet!

Honeymoon in Antigua!!

Circumnavigation cruise around Antigua

Ready for a hot date!!

Sandals resort beach

View from our balcony patio

Another amazing dinner together! Happy Honeymoon!

Finally, got them scanned. Betsy did a wonderful job as usual. To see the rest you'll have to come visit, or maybe we can mail you a few if you like :) The ceremony pictures are ona different site, you can find more info on our previous blog. Enjoy!

Loving the Married Life

2009-01-30T05:32:00.002+08:00

It's official folks!! We have now been married 28 wonderful days! After a warm, sunny and amazing honeymoon in Antigua its back to the real life :) We are scheduled to be in Tulsa until Feb 5th now, so get ready Superbowl Sunday! Too bad we missed going back to Singapore for Chinese New Year(Year of the Ox). But we love being at home in Tulsa....we're so torn between the two. Still no official news yet as to what we are doing for this next year(so please dont ask!!). But in other news, we do have wedding pictures. Or they have been processed. Still working on getting those scanned over. Those thank you notes take more time than one thinks. Pictures from our ceremony can been seen online at: www.dinsmorestudio.com click online proofs and enter 55993 to look, order, etc... They are amazing...we think anyway. It was awesome to see, have & celebrate our wedding/marriage with so many family & friends. Thanks to all of you who made our wedding day so special. We both feel so truly blessed. Life is definitely great!
Until next time, when we have more time
Cheers!

Here We Go Again!!!

2008-12-15T10:04:00.003+08:00

Its about that time again....I'm finishing our last minute Christmas shopping today & we should be all done! I hope, cause I keep feeling like I'm forgetting someone or something but I really think its just that it feels weird not to be home decorating a tree, fighting 71st street and cozyin up to fire. But we'll get there soon enough. Being here, however has made me appreciate who I am, my beliefs, values and traditions. I love the fact that in Singapore everyone celebrates pretty much every holiday. There is no, my child shouldn't have to do this or that at school cause we dont believe that, crap! I think Christmas here in Singapore could be bigger than it is back home(sad, I know, but true). They have transformed the tropics into a tropical Christmas wonderland at every corner, its truly amazing. It feels very surreal, I cant even explain.

This weekend we did tons of Christmas shopping & also took in a night at the ballet to see The Nutcracker. Matt was confused, but so cute, when he asked why nobody was talking :) It was defintely a great treat!!

Matt and I are VERY excited about coming home. We are so excited to get to see everyone at Christmas & feel so blessed we have such wonderful people to spend it with. We are absolutely thrilled about getting married! We have LOVED our engagement so much & have really been focusing on preparing for the best marriage we can possibly have. We have enjoyed spending so much time together & really love the bond we share & the growth that has come with it! There is definitely nothing else like it in the world!

Please pray for us and everyone else traveling for the upcoming holidays, that everyone be kept safe! And pray that everyone across the world, at some point, find the warmth of Christ at Christmas in their hearts!

Off to shop,clean, do laundry and pack for the next couple of days! See you all when we get home!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-01T12:44:00.004+08:00

After a wonderful Thanksgiving and after patiently waiting until it was ok with Matt, I asked to watch Christmas Vacation. With that in mind, I could not resist finding this song and picture to go with it.

Happy Holidays!