funny how we are so different yet the same

Diva - I have plenty to be grateful for: Belinda Lee

reading her account brought her story close to home. same year, different lives, similar paths.
i didn't have that eye opener like she did in mongolia, but i certainly relate to the healing process.
sometimes you have to travel the world to find your answers. mine came without going very far. in fact it was at some random school listening to a nepalese lady tell her story about helping others to find her own healing. i was so inspired to go and find my answers.

anyway Ms Lee has certainly inspired me to take things in stride. nothing is too painful to take your life. not even a love loss. not even that.

the big big day

So the mrs and i have decided on a date: 7th dec 13 after the shrubs major exams of course
the venue was a bit of a run around but we found a really good quite spot since 7adam turned out to be a let down in service. this one looked promising  and gave us a cozy and intimate vibe.

and this time the manager was much more responsive and trustworthy. besides, their experience in weddings was also reassuring going by their portfolio
more here

the mrs has already worked out a whole vintagey theme so the place would be furnished accordingly.
ambience was a plus and the mrs has even plotted an entire spreadsheet in her true element haha
 my role would be creative input, entertainment and food sampling hehe

prototype card:

she's going to get a custom gown while i will probaby throw on a random semi formal suiting the weather haha i.e if wife-approved =P

minus the bag n sunnies of course!

so well till the day we're just going to sort out the invites later, find the perfect wedding bands and go on our honeymoon first come june haha. i think that makes perfect sense. and i'm so looking forward to hokkaido and mostly the winter gear and travel equip shopping with the shrubs.
it's going to be a blessed year.

 tbh i'd be happy with this platinum rainbow themed band =]

on another note, we may need a new vehicle soon. what it is will remain to be seen, but i've already claimed a lovely ride...hehe since the beetle won't be a practical choice, gorgeous notwithstanding

time and tide

it's been fitful sleeping these days, not because of anxiety but mostly the insufferable swelter. that and a restless or should i say listlessness at work. i feel a little voice tell me that this is probably the last lap at this college because it's really been the longest i've been anywhere. my track record of 6 years at hwa chong has been broken already and i'm one with commitment issues at work.

anyway i think baby has been brought to my life at a timely turning-point. she arrived just shy of my flying to nepal on a one-way trip, she restored my faith in love, nourished me to a chubby bliss and embraced all of my three kids without prejudice. i still recall that first meeting with the shrubs (the pooch was easy coz lexi is a slut), the awkwardness i saw in ducky's expression, the PR-savvy of bunny and well me just over-processing what i observed. she remained unhinged, being her brazen self, sharing what she felt was part of her honest life. i admit moments i cringed at potential mine-fields but again, that was my paranoid inclinations speaking.


one of many wonderful things she cooks and often packs in my fridge for the week

then months passed and with each family dinner, most of which she took pains to cook and prep at her abode, letting them into her life seamlessly, and then the family trip to taiwan where she extended both her heart and finances to sponsor all of us, opening her quintessential elements to them (they mentioned how stunned they were when she cried at the cow farm but i think in a good way, coz they saw her humanity).

a year later and i can see how she is so much a part of my life there are moments i chide myself for being less maternal or kitchen savvy (or clean haha). she's all that, consistent, reliable, and a heart blessed with divine gold. i'm thankful, no deeply gratified for the way things fall into place. with her i can see substantial change, not false hope or promise. and with her our family has evolved into a unit of love and acceptance. that's more than i could expect in a lifetime.

and how absolutely endearing to see our elder daughter coming out of her shell, and bantering so comfortably with the mrs. and i love how comfy they are hanging out girl-time style sans moi

 she truly spoils us. she made this only coz jo mentioned that they may not get their hands on the eclairs at the school function they're involved in on saturday. so <3