Any Brides whose HTB is 'Ang Mo'?

[cuclainne]

elizabeth, hope you're feeling better now.

oh the swedes are quite particular about that .. noise, i mean - at the last apartment elias was living at, everyone was not allowed to do their laundry after 9pm and this was a common laundry area in the basement of the building. i've asked him before why not and he explained that the pipes would rattle and generally annoy the person who is living above the laundry room - once, we were sitting in the garden at night and he realised that his apartment was the one above the laundry room .. hahahahah .. anyways, it's quiet at his old place and people generally retreat into their homes once they're back from work, etc .. we've sat outside at the garden a few times but have only seen one guy who came out from his apartment for a smoke and quickly retreated back in once he's done...

 

[liz4jeroen]

Thks Cul, I m much better with slight cough and running nose.

In the past it is very quiet. Before that was a clinic, now his son who is the one making noise rented the space from his dad. Well... if not, we will buy it n convert to a bigger house. Then the whole unit is ours. But I have very nosy neighbours here! Opp us there is this couple who is really busybody, likes to see what is going on with other neighbours! We call them "Nosy Neighbours"! Hahahahaha.....

 

[mrs_n]

Hey Gina congrats! Didn't come here for a few days and so much happening. Thought you were going to pop this week. So what a lovely surprise.

Hope Julio didn't miss the event! Little Luke looks so sweet. Ah well you better have a good rest.

Hi Cuclainne I'm still alive and kicking. Had some friends staying over the weekend so didn't have much access to the computer. Also have been busy lately still try to read the thread but haven't really had time to stay around and write a reply.

Wow the airfares are so expensive. Can certainly burn a big lobang in your pocket!

Hi hi to everyone else! Hope you're all ok.

 

[cuclainne]

chrisl/ mrs n: not only that the fares are so ex but i found out from elias yesterday that there are two stops: KL and amsterdam .. wah, pay that much and have to do two transfers .. sigh ..

elizabeth: hahahah .. my current neighbours are the same .. each time we're doing dishes at the sink, they like to see what we're doing .. hahahah .. esp. the maid at the upstairs apartment, she can stare at elias the entire time he's standing there .. we're seriously considering placing blinds at the window.

 

[de_luxe]

cuclainne wow that's daylight robbery!! maybe it's peak season that's why? i guess autumn will be a better time to travel.

We're arriving in SG on 29 June, the movers will come and pack up on 27 June. I doubt we'll be able to finish everything, will probably have to give the remaining away. I just realise that we still have more than half of a 1.5kg bag of rice, even if we have rice everyday, I dun think that we can finish it.

Hmm... maybe the maid is wondering why this ang mo is doing the dishes or wondering how she can tackle him?!?! haha...

liz hope ya feeling better now. My HB has been sick with fever and cough the past days and he has been staying in bed practically the whole day, doesn't even want to eat anything.

we live on the ground floor now and the living room faces a pathway.. often the people walking past will look in but in particular there is this old lady who will not just look but literally stare. I don't know why...

gina i think the tiredness is normal.. my fren also gave birth not long ago and says she has hardly slept since then. You're not the first to fall asleep while breastfeeding, i'm sure! Does the confinement lady stay at your place or does she just come daily? I remember my grandma used to cook pig trotters in vinegar and chicken with brandy and ginger when my aunts gave birth. The whole place smells like vinegar, I can't stand the smell but my mom loves it and loves the dish too. Visiting a new born was like an excuse to be able to makan it...hahaha

 

[maplehue]

Hello ladies,
Good morning to all of you. It is 'Beach day' theme today and all the teachers and students are wearing beach wear. No bikinis of course! Hee.

Hi Deluxe, how is the hubby now? Hope he is better. Did you guys go to the doctor?..
Yes..you can ask the guy to clean the crabs for you if they are not too busy. Sometimes they won't do it when there are many customers. I've tried the Siracha sauce as a dip as you said and it was actually quite good. I fried some 'keropok' and they tasted well with the sauce, just a bit too spicy. Thanks! Hey...I just finished my Heinz chilli sauce. 1 down and 2 more to go! As for your bag of rice, maybe you can have 'nasi goreng' party to finish it up

Hi Cuclainne, Wow! The tickets are so dear! Maybe also, it is the peak season and everything is more expensive in summer. I guess considering a later date was a good move. I don't understand why the airline couldn't confirm the children's seats.
ps: Glad you're back!

hope the hard drive is not cranky anymore. I'll be back in Sg on June 15-21 and another week in July(will confirm the dates soon). Hope we could meet for a chat yeah!

Emiii! How was your holiday? Check you email girl

and let me know about the Art scene there k

Chris...cuddle the kitty for me

and no more glutinous rice alright. When is the appt. to see the therapist? Take care of that back.

Elizabeth, how are you now? Poor you. Take care, rest, rest and rest! I used to have noisy neighbors too when I was living in Montreal. It was a Duplex and I was on the 1st floor. A french couple was above me and All the TIME, i could hear them doing some khinki erotic stuff! I moved out of course.

Hi Mrs N...Miss chatting with you. *wave*

Say hello to Cuddlefish for me.

Hello to everyone else here. Take care and talk to you soon!

x

 

[cuclainne]

hi hi .. we've decided to go on klm because they're having a promo and we're only paying 5.4K (incld. taxes) for 3 adults, 2 infants with only one stopover in Amsterdam. phew ..!!

de_luxe: hahaha .. yah, i was joking that she's probably going to look out for him at the pool (he goes there with sofi) and try her move on him ..

yah, i know - i am guilty of looking into people's homes when i was in stockholm *oops* hahahah .. thankfully elias' apartment was on the ground floor but instead of facing the street, it faces the lovely courtyard at the back (only accessible by the tenants of the building) and we had the shades down all the time except when we were doing spring cleaning. they had something like an agm once during the day and we were at home with only one shade up, and people kept coming over on the pretense of looking at the flowers outside our windows but they were peering in .. so subtle!!

maplehue: alamak .. i think i might miss you during your june trip then as we're leaving on 16th and coming back 1st july.

 

[de_luxe]

maplehue HB is slightly better now, he is back to work today. Went to the doc yesterday but she wasn't much help, just said to continue taking panadol.

Oh i just had the siracha with fried rice, yum! Thanks for the nasi goreng suggestion, that's a good idea - can also use siracha in it.. hehe

cuclainne good that u found a better deal on klm.

 

[georginat]

deluxe, the CL stays at my place, same room as me and the baby so that she can feed the baby at midnite..julio sleeps outside at the family den..yes, its tiring looking after newborn, canhardly sleep well at nite so need to rest in the afternoon instead..

nisa, enjoy your trip to Sweden !!! dont forget your shopping list !!

elizabeth, hope things are fine with you now...need to rest more when having fever

mrs. n...thanks..you never know when the baby intends to pop out !! as long as its afer week 37 as the baby will be considered full term baby..

 

[eminozy]

hey hey.

my holiday was excellent and i started to remember why I love Australia somehow. Land of interesting scapes. Yeah.... i think theres a lot of opportunities in the northern territory arts. They seemed to be more open to newbies and free of rednecks.... which i think is a bonus. The only thing u have to be open and deal with are the aboriginals around. Which for me I am not worried about but hence u can imagined why there are no rednecks up there. which in turn makes it more yummy to go up. heheheh

I went to the central craft and had a talk to some people and found out that it cost only $66 to be a member and i can use the facilities and the studio as much as i can. It sounds fantastic doesnt it, for an artist?

Also they have artist residents program and told me to look into it. so now a lot of things have got me thinking. But now coz i will be starting a new job on wednesday for a year contract, perhaps i will go up only afterwards, if its really meant for me.

Nissa... i think 5 and a 1/2 grand to go to norway for 4 people.. is a green lite. dont look back! heheheh. for us fr oz to go up to europe fr Oz is already 5 grand... its insane. lagi its in Oz $$$. pekcek.

Gina..whats a CL?

Liz.. hope u are feeling better... just eat rice porridge for comfort! heheh

hehehe. oklah talk to you girls another time.

 

[maplehue]

hi nisa, i'm happy to know that you guys got a better deal with KLM. The price is more reasonable for sure. Go for it! I'm sure if not now..we will still meet later cos my family is still in Sg. Hope the office is not giving you a hard time with the 2 weeks leave. Enjoy your trip! I can't wait for mine either!

Hi Deluxe, after reading you, I made nasi goreng this afternoon. Hee. A little heavy for the tummy but for some reason, the hubby didn't mind it at all. Usually he'll go for bread for lunch! I tried it with the siracha sauce. You're right. Scrum.

Thanks for the tip. Hee. Glad to know the hubby is feeling better now but to think the doctor just asked him to carry on with Panadol was a little off putting if you asked me. I think when people decide to go to the doctor, it means medicine off the counter like panadol or aspirin is not really working anymore. I hope the coughing is also better now. Must be hard to sleep at night and the colder weather doesn't help, does it? You take care too okay. Don't fall sick.

Emi..good to see that you had fun in nt. $66 is not bad at all considering that you can use the facilities anytime you want but i know what you mean. With the full time job and everything, sometimes it is hard to engage ourselves to fulfilling our passion/hobbies. Just look at me lah. Two years in Seoul, I only managed to do 2 small paintings! Really not good to turn on and off the creative engine like that all the time.

Marge, nice chatting with you last night. Hope you guys had fun earlier today!

Ok ladies...talk to you again soon. xo

 

[cuclainne]

hi hi everyone .. just wanted to ask around if any of you ladies have been to tallinn, estonia? elias is keen to fit in a short trip to this city while we're in sweden and as usual, i'm doing all the planning so any reviews would be appreciated

 

[de_luxe]

gina good that you have a helping hand....

emi CL means confinement lady, typical Chinese tradition

maplehue yah the cold weather sucks... i'm forever in long sleeves and pants, even at home. Today was ultra cold and foggy! i think that's why i've been craving comfort food, even instant noodles!

cuclainne i haven't been to tallinn but have read abt it. It sounds nice and still relatively inexpensive to visit compared to the Western Europe.

 

[cuclainne]

yes, i like the fact that the airport is only 5km away from the city centre .. hahahah ..

 

[cuclainne]

been so quiet these few weeks ... wonder how everyone is doing ..

 

[maplehue]

hello girls,
hi cuclainne,
Me and hubby are out of Korea. Yehh! Been so busy with last minute things and been busy too since we got back.Now we are in SG and I have been enjoying the food a lot.
Will fly to Canada this Sunday so just dropping by here to say hello.

Cuclainne, I thought you are on your holiday now?
Hugs to everyone.

Deluxe...hope we get to see each other when i come back in July.

YOur no. is in my diary! Thks. Good luck with your packing yeah.
xx

 

[mrs_n]

Hi Maple hope you're enjoying Sg. How long will you be in Canada? Btw Cuddlefish is missing you on SWA.

Cuclainne you thinking of walking to the airport since it's only 5km from the city centre???

Hope you have a really nice time in Sweden and the weather will be good to you.

de luxe you must be busy getting ready to leave Melbourne.

Hope the move goes smoothly.

Well, ladies can't believe how the time flies I've got only 7 weeks more to go before my due date. And we've still haven't pick any names yet!

 

[de_luxe]

cuclainne i was thinking the same and was about to post what you just did. Haha.. but u beat me to it

Have you decided if you will go to Tallin?

mrs n wats SWA?

Wats the issue with baby's name? I suppose you already have a shortlist of some sort... can't agree/compromise or can't decide? Since you dunno the sex, you will need a boy's and a girl's name, yah? Will you also be adding a Chinese / Asian middle name?

Yeah, we're getting ready to leave Melbourne... feels so soon, next sunday flying already. We're vacating the apt on Friday and will be at a cheap hotel for 2 nites. Been doing a little bit of packing almost everyday but not "working" very hard on it.. haha.. just got round to packing my clothes this evening. So much folding! I'm going to the market for the last time tmrw to get food for the next few days.. will only buy prepared stuff that can be cooked without much ado.

M starting to feel a bit sad abt leaving now but HB is so excited to go back to SG so he can play soccer and hang out with the guys again... he's already planning "project meetings" (code name for beer session) at Wala Wala.

 

[mrs_n]

Hey deluxe!

I think our issue with baby's name is we haven't really given it serious thought!!! Don't know if you can call what we have a list we've got a few girls names that we like but struggling for boys! That's the problem when you have 6 nephews. As my hubby told his nephew when he asked 'all the nice boys names have been taken!'.

No we won't be adding an Asian middle name.

Guess your hubby has become more 'Singaporean' after living in Sg for so many years. Though I suppose Melbourne has been a nice change for you at least you weren't swamped with work unlike in Sg.

Oh SWA is the Singaporean Women Living Abroad website (http://www.sgwomenabroad.org/)

 

[cuclainne]

maplehue, hope you're enjoying your time in Sg .. i miss the food and i've only been away a few days .. hahahah ..

yes, we're in sweden now .. the weather's been unpredictable. we were in smedjebacken, about 3.5 hours' drive away from stockholm city, for midsummer celebrations and when we left the place at midnight, it was about 12degrees .. in the morning, when we left the town, it was about 13 degrees. an hour later, it was 23degrees ..

Mrs N: hahahah, not walk la but at least it won't be too long a ride from the airport .. after 15 hours on a long flight with two small kids, you just want to be able to get to your destination quickly. sofi and elin didn't like the car journey we had just came back from .. we've had to take many breaks so that they can stretch their legs and have milk feeds/ nappy changes ..

are you making a list of names now? when it came to sofi, we've already decided on her name weeks before she arrived .. but with elin, i think we only decided on her name a week before i went into the hospital.

de_luxe: we are most probably not going to tallinn this time .. we're only here for about 13 days and despite our best efforts not to have 'plans' ie meet-ups with family and friends, we've been to one midsummer party, dinner with my MIL and today we're going to lunch with some of elias' friends. my MIL has also taken 4 days off from work this coming week to spend time with us .. so we've decided that we will come back without the kids, probably in dec so that we can have some time to do stuff on our own .. with the kids around, the in-laws want to spend time with them, you see ..

 

[de_luxe]

mrs n nvm lah.. can still think of a boy's name when baby is born.. at worse if it's a boy just call him baby N first lor..

dun have to register birth immediately right?

I think HB is very comfy in SG.. cheap beers in coffee shops.. n has a network of friends and professional contacts. Generally, the impression of Aussies is that they talk a lot, are friendly but dun become frens easily, if u get what i mean. After 6 months here, we hardly know any Aussies. But yeah, I enjoyed Melb... on a mission to eat as much Viet food before I leave.. there's so much variety here compared to SG!

cuclainne enjoy your hols! the weather sounds as freaky as Melbourne's! hey just a tot, how abt leaving the girls with the in-laws to babysit while u and elias disappear for a mini honeymoon somewhere else?

 

[maplehue]

hi ladies, hope everyone is fine!

Mrs.N..We'll be in Canada for 2.5weeks. Leaving tonight and as usual the hubby is doing his last minute packing.
Please take care and I hope you and hubby will come up with a name that you both love! It must be exciting right?

7 more weeks, not long at all. Imagine...next year, you will be celebrating your first MOther's Day! I miss Cuddlefish too and have exchanged emails with fioni and jennifer from SWA. We hope to meet when I get there to HK!

Deluxe, you sure made me laugh with your hubby's "Project Meetings". Wala Wala? I used to go there a lot but now I prefer to go to Tango at Holland V.

Cuclaine, yes I am enjoying the food so much and have been having makan session a lot. SO scrummy. Today alone, I had laksa, nasi lemak, kway teow goreng, murtabak, congee and carrot cake. I didn't finish all of them of course but i think that was still too much cos now my tummy is already "senak"! Enjoy your trip and take pictures!!! Maybe can post a few good ones here on the forum when you return..

Or email me a few!

Hello to the rest of you gals. xoxo. Talk to you soon.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi Ladies,

Been realy busy n today v tired. Yesterday was my last day for my 1st internship. Led the group and saying goodbye. Will fill in more details in multiply. Will relax today to recuperate on my lack of sleep.

We will be going back to Singapor in Sept to Oct.

Maplehue, Probably will go HK in Oct. Maybe can meet up. Enjoy yr hols in Canada. I heard fr Jeroen is a nice country.

Culcuainne, Enjoy yr hols. I wrote to u via multiply and hotmail, but not sure whether u receive it?

Deluxe, I guess ladies are more sentimental than men!

Mrs N, see u in two weeks' time!

hi hi to all ladies!

 

[georginat]

hi ladies !!

the confinement lady left last thurs and i have been very busy dealing with the baby...babyluke is getting nottier each week..he is 5 weeks old now..here is his lastest pic..

nisa, hows your shopping spree in sweden ? ;-)

mrs. n, time passes so fast, a few more weeks, you will be busy with baby N...

 

[de_luxe]

Good to see u here gina... baby luke has certainly grown! So cute! Does he sleep at night? 2 of my frens' babies sleeps through the day and refuse to sleep at night!! Did u have a man yue party for him?

Movers coming tmrw... Can't wait to get this over and done with. I'm fed up with dealing with the service providers here, zero service whatsoever!! No internet till we reach sg on sunday.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Luke is such a cute handsome boy!

Deluxe, Success!

 

[mrs_n]

Hi Gina what a handsome baby. Can be heart breaker next time.

Do post more pics on your multiply lah. Yah time seems to zoom by very quickly. Tomorrow is 6 weeks to my EDD.

de-luxe enjoy your last few days in melbourne and safe trip back to Sg. Next time we see you around here you will be back in Sg.

 

[eminozy]

hello ladies.. i think i have MIA quite a bit. alot of reading catching up happening here...

Life is good as I have now officially become a 9-5 working girl at RMIT university. Its a contract till June next but I am more than happy to have a bit of permanency.

Corrine left yesterday and
Hernie in Canada,
Mrs N should consider 'Noah'( my suggestion) as her son's name.
Nissa, did you see my soap in Nordicland??
Margie is leaving tomorrow to Sg for her wedding and so is my husband... back to Austria for a 5 longggggggg weeks... haiyahhhh hehehehahah

so i think thats about it. I am single for the next 5 weeks!hmmm

talk to you guys soon.

 

[glympse]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to SB and all the forums, but it's been fascinating reading all the posts

I'm a Singaporean BTB, to be wed to a Swede next year July 2009, so got immediately attracted to this particular forum haha. Hope I'd get to know you all better, and def look forward to receiving your guidance on handling a cross-cultural wedding and marriage ahead!

 

[de_luxe]

glympse and congrats on your forthcoming wedding.. do tell us more abt urself. Are u both living in SG? Have u started planning the wedding?

FYI, i'm married to a german guy, just moved back to SG.

 

[glympse]

Hi de_luxe, thanks for the warm welcome!

Yep, we are both living in SG. HTB just relocated to Singapore end April, before that we were having a long-distance relationship for about 1+ years, and prior to that had kept contact as friends (got to know each other when I went to Sweden for student exchange in university) before the sparks flew

And haha yes, we've started planning the wedding. He actually just proposed on 21 June, and we kinda reserved a date at Marriott 3 days after Next big thing is the bridal salon though - that's going to take some hunting! Marriott has a special tie-up with Sattine, but not sure how Sattine is. HTB and I probably going down w/in the next few weeks to take a look at the dresses & packages available.

Ah so, you're married to an European as well

Welcome back to SG! Where were you based in before this, and why the decision to come back? My HTB keeps trying to sell me the wonderful maternity/paternity leave system in Sweden, where husband & wife get to share 2 years worth of paid leave (80% of pay) for each child

 

[de_luxe]

wow glympse u guys move really fast! My sis' wedding is in October and she's still dragging her feet on the preps! Sometimes i wonder if there really will be a wedding in oct!

I think Sattine is quite ok, if i remember correctly my cousin got her gowns from them. Didn't hear any complaints from her. Take ur time to explore various options since you still have the luxury of time to do so.

We were in Melbourne for 6 months, just came back on Sunday night actually. The move there and back here is cuz of my HB's new jobs in both places. Well I do think Sweden and Europe in general has a great maternity/paternity package... if only SG will do the same - will be so much better for the kids! We once considered moving to Denmark but in the end figured that cost of living and taxes there is too high - we were told that double income is required to survive and with language being an issue, it will be hard for me to find a job.

 

[glympse]

de_luxe, haha yeah, we gotta move fast cos we foresee that'll be quite a lot of planning to do, since we want to have the church ceremony & banquet in Singapore, followed by a celebration in Sweden one week later! Then plus Swedish friends/family flying into Singapore, and Singaporean friends/family flying to Sweden... logistics will be quite a challenge

Thanks for the tip re Sattine though. That's quite reassuring. And yes, we'll prob trawl through the various BS along Tanjong Pagar

Yeah, I can empathise re the language and cost of living in Europe. English isn't enough, seems that if we really wanna integrate there, we gotta pick up the native language, even when doing business. How is your HB finding Asia though? Did he have any problems fitting in or getting used to how Asians, or Singaporeans in particular, are? I know my HTB was quite shocked by the behaviour of a lot of Singaporeans getting onto buses - blatantly cutting in front of the person, even if he/she was standing right at the edge of the road already! He loves mee hoon kueh though, so at least food isn't so much a problem

 

[de_luxe]

glympse one note abt the Tg Pagar BS, many of them are very pushy and chee-na. U can tell from the PS pics, there are usually a lot of artifical backgrounds added via programmes like Photoshop. I din go down Tg Pagar, only went to 1 that was recommended by my sis' fren but was really put off by the service. They refused to let me take the brochure with the price and package details out of the shop and keep pressurizing us to confirm immediately or at least on the day itself. On top of that, even tho my HB was with me, the lady insisted on speaking in Chinese even tho I replied in English. I did most of my BS research online and using bridal mags.

Yes, English isn't enough in Europe. If we decide to move to Germany, I will have to pass a German proficiency test before they will give me the equivalent of a spouse visa.

My HB is comfy in Singapore. He certainly preferred it here to Melbourne. He's been here since 1999 but we only met in 2002 so I dunno if he faced any culture shock in the beginning. He shared a house with a bunch of Norwegian guys for the first 2 yrs before getting his own apt and from what I gathered, had a pretty active social and partying expat lifestyle with those guys. I guess it helped that the guys were already here longer and sort of introduced him to the local food, etc. He does know some locals but is generally more inclined to hang out with ang mos. He's currently playing football every week with a team organised by the Norwegian Seamen's Misson, there are 2 Swedish guys on the team as well. He still complains abt boorish Singaporean behaviour, like what u mentioned, rude & inconsiderate drivers who dun signal and give way, pple who block the path of walkways and escalators and who are generally unaware that there are pple ard them... i guess that's fairly normal, considering that most Western countries are far more advanced in terms of civic behaviour.

I'm surprised ur HTB loves mee hoon kueh. I doubt my HB will know what it is! Has ur HTB tried most local food? Mine's ok with Asian food and likes spicy stuff but doesn't like soups and porridge. I think he needs to be more adventurous as he tends to eat the same thing all the time. And he doesn't know / catch the local food name like char kway teow, cai tow kuay, chee kuay, etc... to him, they are called fried kway teow and carrot cake.... LOL

 

[glympse]

de_luxe, thanks for the tips re the Tj Pagar BS. Sounds quite scary alright :S Went to check out some reviews of Sattine online, seems that people like it cos the ppl there aren't pushy. But was also advised that at the end of the day, it's personal preference re what kind of gown and photoshoot the couple is looking for. Having said that, I def would prefer to go for a BS that's easy to work with. Would you have any recommendations? Which BS did you decide on for your wedding? Always helps to narrow down the choices

Interesting that your HB actually prefers Singapore to Melbourne. Always thought Melbourne would be a great place to live, cos pace of life is slower, and there are more mixed couples around (I still get the feeling that people stare at my HTB and I when we go out...). But yea, the expat community here is increasing esp in recent years. My HTB is similar, he got along really well with the 2 expats that were new hires in his company as well. But now it seems that he's making more friends with the locals. Guess his willingness to eat local food helps him integrate (though he needs his Western food fix at least once a week... am thankful for BK and Subway ).

Haha maybe you could try introducing mee hoon kueh to your HB, you may be pleasantly surprised

My HTB likes it cos it's salty (in Sweden, everything tastes SUPER salty). HTB has tried most local food, yea. But he's still adamant about his (dis)like of durians Wow cool that your HB likes spicy stuff! Think the thing about soups and porriage is that in Europe, these are deemed as 'poor man's' food, so they are not generally big fans of such cuisine. Mee hoon kueh was hence a step in the right direction haha yea, the local food names are tough ... tho I think my HTB has memorised char kway teow (or else the uncle at the stall won't understand him ).

 

[eminozy]

welcome glympse.

make yourself at home here. we do have 2 women of the scandinavian connection. one in fact is in sweden right now on a holiday.

I am emi and i am in melbourne with also a german husband- sort off. we have been married for 1.3years and like u we were in a LDR for 2.5 years and then decided we should get married- the next logical step.

Chris is though now up in austria and will be back in 5 weeks.He may be a european but he has a taste of a very very hungry asian man. He refused to eat any sort of "white" food as he thinks they are too bland and boring BUT he cant say no to a good european bread, butter and yoghurt.

His number one fav is vietnamese pho, followed by duck curry and beehoon vegie soup. he dont mind durian if its in a dessert called SPIKE D. you can get it at Big O cafe on top of borders....super yummy. i find it the best way to intro people to durian.

I think marrying a person fr a dif culture is very interesting, irritating, exotic, tiring and wonderful!

oh well, that is for me now.

and oh... marriot seem to be the place to get married... you're the 3rd person i know who is having a wedding there.

later.....

 

[christie79]

hey hey everyone!

Im back..well been away from SGbridal and went to SGMotherhood..hehehe..dun get me wrong im not preggy but then planning year end lah..so have to see look for advises there hehe

I've been over my physiotherapy sessions for my back..not really much improvements i feel..only a tiny bit..but overall learnt some stretching exercises to improve my back and stomach muscles only..

So i've been hard at work at home..doing the house..we're currently renovating and much to do with things around..hope to finish stuffs before winter comes..

What a lovely boy Luke has grown into Gina! So 'shuai' leh!! How naughty is naughty is he? Cry a lot?

Wah how lucky can you get to have some gals night out without your hb EJ! I can't do that here! I kinda miss a little of those days when single..I'll normally do a potluck session with my friends back in SG..fun when we could do some catching up and TV and munching away..hehe

Deluxe! Welcome back to SG! How's the flight? I consider flight time above 7 hrs a torture! What's your plans now? bb? hehe if so baby dust to you!! *wink*

How's your trip Culcainne? Good?

Hope you're having a good time in canada now Maple!

Hey welcome here Glympse! Wow! another success story of LDR after me and some of the gals here! But you're much on the fast track! hehe for me i was for 3.5years! long hor! So agony! But great after the wait! I was also with Sattine, but i found they have hidden costs esp with the photos...when we said want to get all photos back they ask for top up.. felt a tad cheated. But else gown is nice lah..service not too bad..only the last day not that good..anyways..you can see for yourself..but make sure it's all written in black and white so they don't cheat you..all in all, do your research and go to the shop to get a feel of what's in for you and the service you'll get too..

about the typical Singaporeans way in buses and such..my hb also commented that ppl are always rushing to get somewhere and that no one really bothers to give up seats to eldery ppl of ppl in need of seats..dunno why..as here in norway, seats are designated for ppl in need and it's considered very very rude to occupy them when you're not old or in need of.

oh..my hb loves the bbq stingray and chicken at newton hawker centre..else he's a tad odd as he dislikes singapore fried rice, chicken rice and sweet sour pork which most ang mohs are fond of..hehhee

 

[glympse]

emi, hi! Thanks for the warm welcome.

Haha Chris sounds a bit like my HTB, who says that there's NO good milk in Singapore (I guess milk here really can't compare with the dairy in Europe!). He has gotten some kaviar from Ikea to snack on, with bread and butter (which at least he still finds acceptable ).

Duck curry? Ooo that sounds interesting. I don't think I've even tried that myself. Thanks for the tip re Spike D. I'll try to see if I can sneak it past HTB one day .....

Yeah, this thread is really great. It's nice to know that there are others out there who are dealing with the quirks of being in a lasting relationship with an Ang Moh

By the way, have any of your HB/HTB's picked up Singlish yet? My HTB is actively practising his...so that he can spar with a Singaporean friend of mine who speaks the ultimate form of Singlish. So far, he's gotten feedback that his "lah"s are pretty authentic

 

[glympse]

Chrisl, just saw your post after I posted my reply to emi

Man I should have visited this forum when I was in the LDR with my HTB ... then I can have ppl to empathise with the (absolute) torture of longing for that next flight there/here, hours on MSN video chatting, hours on the phone using international calling cards, emails, letters, the works

Wow 3.5 years is not easy! Kudos to you and HB

Thanks for the advice re Sattine. Could you share more about why the 'last day' wasn't good? Was that the AD, and perhaps if you're comfortable, share some details as to why things turned bad? Would really help in terms of looking out when I go down to visit the BS...

Yeah, it was the same in Sweden re the buses. And the buses in Sweden NEVER seemed as crowded as the buses here! Guess though that it's not fair to compare, since Singapore has 4.5mil ppl on a small dot of an island, while Sweden has 9mil ppl over a much bigger land area

Haha the ang moh taste bud is a mystery

where is your HB from?

 

[cuclainne]

hi hi ladies .. arrived back in sg this afternoon and just finished sorting unpacking the bags .. trying to stay awake so i won't be too jet lagged tomorrow ..

de_luxe: that would be nice but my eldest has only begun to start warming up to the in-laws so we only managed to get away on a few nights, on our own and also with friends. we are planning another trip back but without the children - it's no joke travelling 15+ hours with 2 small children. my eldest didn't want to be strapped in at all and she struggles A LOT during take-off and landing ..

maplehue: wow - sounds like you went all out in your food fest. the first thing we did when we got home today was to buy roti prata, mee goreng and teh tarik from the curry house opposite our place. hahahah .. are you in canada now? i haven't had the opportunity to upload any pictures yet but soon yah ..

Elizabeth: got your latest email but have yet to reply cos i need to find out the info when i'm back to work tomorrow. passing through schiphol was the closest i've ever been to amsterdam .. hahaha .. i took a look at the view when the plane was descending and the capital seems to have lots of water canals and fields ..

gina: how are you coping with baby Luke? yah, bought so many clothes, scarves, books, etc .. surprised that none of the checked-in baggage had exceed their weight .. hahahah .. i told the husband that i'm only willing to travel during summer and christmas time (that's when they have their sales). they were selling children's clothing at zara from S$9 onwards .. of course i bought a lot of dresses for my girls, they were about S$20 each while in sg, it costs about S$69 plus i get GST refund .. hhehehehe ..

ej: yes yes i found your handsoap but how do i get it to you? i was at my in-laws and they just happened to have one lying on their bathroom sink (acted as a reminder to me .. hahah) - so difficult to find the small-to-be-carried-around type, most of the stores only had the big pump bottle type.

glympse: hej and welcome to this thread. nice to know another person with a swede connection. i'm married to a swede since jan 2006 (we were in a LDR for 1.5 years prior to that) and we live in sg with our two daughters. just came back from a two-week vacation in stockholm to meet with family and friends .. which part of sweden is your HTB from?

 

[cuclainne]

chrisl: hope you'll find something to help you with your back pain .. it's no joke when the pain comes round.

as usual, our vacation was not really a vacation because we had to make plans to meet up with just about everybody - the husband joked that he was looking forward to coming back to sg and to work because then he would finally be able to relax. hahahah .. unfortunately our time there was too short and we've had to turn down some invitations to go out .. hard to please everyone.

 

[christie79]

hey glympse can i PM you instead cos not nice to post here lah..have you enabled your PM function? yeah! Good for you that your HTB is in SG now to share your BS search

cos that's not easy for me cos i was partly working and preps for wedding too

hahah seems like your HTB is sporting enough to say the lors and lahs haha for me, my hb shakes his head and rolls his eyes comically whenever i say that haha..

Cuclainne yup im now planning to contact the chiropractor & see what's my options next..problem is that she's in the other town 1hr from here..so hb and i might have to go to BIL's place to overnight the night b4 to be able to consult her the next day.

Hope the children are sleeping good now while you have your well deserved rest

 

[cuclainne]

chrisl: hope you don't have to wait too long to see her.

hmm, i wished that the kids are sleeping but we've only managed to put one to bed .. sofi is still awake, and being annoyed with us because she still wants to be up whereas we are trying to put her to bed .. hahahah .. she just asked for a shower and insisted on putting on her school uniform - i think she must have thought that it's morning already.

 

[cuclainne]

oops, spoke too soon .. now the other one is awake. argh ..!!

 

[christie79]

Thanks cuclainne!

heheh talking about bedtime, i've watched a show 'Nanny 911' yesterday on TV here and saw that this poor family (esp dad) has to drive their 3 boys out in the car to enable them to fall asleep. Apparently he does this EVERYDAY without fail. So that the boys fall asleep and then all he needs to do is to carry them into the hse and on their beds. Unbelievable!!

 

[cuclainne]

aiyoh, that's terrible .. sometimes, when you watch shows like these, you're left wondering how the parents can allow the kids to get that way ..

 

[mrs_n]

Wah! Seems like we've had a huge deluge of posts in the last few days!

A warm

to glympse it's always nice to have new BTBs coming here to share their plans and keep us old marrieds from yakking on something else apart from babies!

Btw I'm married to a Brit and live in the UK.

Cuclainne your holiday over already ah!!!! Thought you had weeks to go yet. Your holiday in Sweden sounds like the kind of holiday we have whenever we're down in Sg ... have so many meetups with friends and families that you almost wish there were more than 24 hours in a day! Hee! Hee! The only time you become the most popular couple.

Chris you better solve your back problem before you try getting pregnant otherwise you'll be very uncomfortable. Me already beginning to feel the strains on my sides especially when I bend. I think I might slow things down next week and probably work half days.

Looking forward to Liz's visit this weekend. Finally can hang out with somebody who will understand singlish. Ha! Ha! Paul's beginning to worry that the baby will pick up singlish instead of english.

deluxe welcome back to SG. Enjoy your leisure time while you're not working.

Emi thanks for your suggestions. We've more or less come up with some names ... finally but whether we'll stick to them is another matter. Everyone has been telling me how they decided to name the baby one thing but when the baby was finally born decided to call him/her something else instead!

Hope Margie will have a lovely 'Singapore' wedding.

 

[maplehue]

Hello ladies,
With the different time zone, good morning and evening to everyone! This thread is definitely going fast!

Firstly to glympse, welcome aboard.

It is always nice to have another member here. A little intro...I am married to a Canadian who can't eat anything spicy, doesn't speak Singlish at all and unlike Emi's hubby, he still prefers his red meat and potatoes! The only Asian food he is okay with is chicken rice without chilli or soup! We have been married for almost 2 years now. We've lived in Korea for the past 2 years, currently in Canada spending the summer holiday with his family and will be moving to Hong Kong in 2 weeks.

CONGRATS to you and HTB! It'll be both stressful BUT fun planning for the wedding and everything.

We got married in Sg, had wedding dinner in Sg and another celebration in Canada. It was quite dear but worth it. I believe most ladies on this forum had 2 celebrations too. How's the prep so far?

Elizabeth, it would be great if we could meet up in HK! Yes, Canada is a beatiful place. It is cherry season now and I've been indulging myself like a cherry monster. Ha.

Emi...hope you are not missing Chris too much. Have the gfs arrived yet? Enjoy the pj parties!

Chris, im glad to know that you've been to the physio. Give it time girl. And a visit to the chiro is an excellent idea too. it has helped Jeff a lot with his neck.

Hi Nisa, good to know that you are back in Sg 'safe and sound'. I bet you guys have enjoyed yourself there! You made me drool with the roti prata la. I have been craving for it for a few days now and have been thinking about nasi lemak too! And last night, I just remembered that I need to add 'Red Sop Tulang' on my list. I have 6 days in Sg before flying to HK, i dont know whether I can have everything that I want to eat! I still haven't tried 'Apom' yet and 'Rawon' Jeff just rolls his eyes when I mention food to him.
How are the 2 darlings? Hope they are sleeping well so the mummy can rest a bit.

Mrs.N, enjoy Elizabeth's visit and update us when you and Paul have decided on the name...BUT would you rather surprise us when the darling is out?!

6 more weeks right? So exciting! Just got a msg from Cuddlefish re: new member in HK. How is she?

Margie...you must be in Sg now. Hope everything is going on smoothly for you and hubby. Don't forget pictures!

Hi Deluxe, have you gone out "makaning" already? I have a million things to do before flying to HongKong but it would be great if we could meet up for a roti prata or somethng when I am back from Canada. The food court at Wisma Atria has nice roti prata stall. The curry is the sourish type. Scrum.

Nisa, how? Roti prata?

Hello to everyone else here. Have a good day and talk again soon

xoxo

 

[cuclainne]

Mrs N: just another short 6 weeks before your baby is due - time sure flies by quickly. better get all the sleep that you can now before the baby is born

yah, i think everyone in the same position as us goes through the same thing whenever they go back for vacation .. me and elias are planning to go back again, this time without the kids but then it would mean that we wouldn't be able to spend christmas with them (it'll be elin's first) and we're not so keen on that .. timing is always off, argh!

have fun when Liz comes round to visit - it must be nice to be able to have someone who understands the 'lingo' around.

maplehue: hahahhah - did you know that one week before i was due home, i actually craved for chinese rojak .. the one with century egg. we were coming home from the park and i was putting the kids' strollers in the back of the car when all of the sudden, the craving hit me. i'm not preggers btw but it just came out of the blue. the husband could not help thinking of fishball noodle .. hahahah .. i think he's going to have some for lunch today.

they were taking turns to sleep last night - finally managed to put the eldest to sleep at around 2am and when i came back into the bedroom, elias was wide awake and sighing that he can't sleep cos it's supposedly dinner time there and he was getting hungry. i think we only managed to sleep around 3.30am and now we're getting ready to work. argh, and there's still mounds of dirty laundry on the floor that needs to be washed ..

can can .. when will you be in sg?

 

[de_luxe]

Woo hoo.. glad to see everybody back and this thread reviving

glympse i choose Bridal Veil in the end. But also visited BluMesh, Dang Bridal (not bad), Divine Couture (fren said service not good), Jawn Happy Ever After (my sis' using them) and a handful of others that I can't remember now. I heard The Wedding Present is not bad too.

It's quite common for BS to ask u to top up if u want all the photos back, esp if it is their own photographer. Those who tie up with independant photographers will let u neg with the photographer directly. Also, beware that when ur photos are ready, they'll pressure/coax u to choose a lot of photos and increase the no of pages beyond what's included in the package, and you'll end up paying a hefty extra...

I think my HB didn't like Melbourne mainly cuz the work and working environment wasn't his cup of tea, he didn't have any frens and no social life and found it generally more boring than SG. Whereas here he already has a bunch of guys to hang out with, his regular football games and contacts within the local research community for work purposes.

Yes he does need his Western food fix too! Usually get them in Holland V and dun ever ask him to have local food for breakfast! He can't fanthom eating anything but sandwiches, muffins, bacon and eggs in the morning!

I think he has tried my mee hoon kway before, he just wouldn't order it on his own. Being a soupy dish, i guess he doesn't quite fancy it.

Has ur HB tried Masters, Meiji or Greenfields milk? The other brands e.g. Daisy and HL are kind of vanilla flavoured and dun taste like real milk. We dun like them very much.

Good that ur HTB is really making an effort to integrate into the local community...not all ang mos are like that. Mine's Singlish is very bad, and has no intention of improving it. He only picked up a few words after we got married cuz I called him gan keong spider several times... hehehe

chrisl good luck on ur ttc-ing.. yes, agree with Mrs N that u shld fix the back problem before getting pregnant.. cuz it'll only make it worse. Maybe u can try accupuncture when u r next in SG, it worked wonders for me.

The flight was quite a torture. It was delayed by 1.5 hrs and service on board was super slow and we were starving! Being an afternoon flight made it worse i think, cuz can't sleep and it feels longer than flying to Europe from SG!!

My HB loves stingray too.. and he's a typical ang mo who orders fried rice and sweet and sour almost all the time! I'm still trying to convince him to try Tulang..

cuclainne hope u had a good break! Do kids suffer from jet lag too? I always wonder how to cope travelling with kids..

maple how's Canada? Had frites with poutine sauce already? I'm on for whatever food u wanna eat in SG, haha..

I've had beef balls, bak chor mee, hokkien prawn mee, egg tarts, Jap food and red bean buns so far... mostly on campus cuz I can't go very far while waiting for NTU to settle the apt. I was at Tg Pagar on Tues for Jap food and got called at 2.15pm to rush back to NTU to view an apt at 3.30pm. *sigh* spoil my lunch...

We're moving to a temp apt at Nanyang Heights today, it's too small - they went to divide a normal sized apt into 2 apts cuz of the housing shortage. U won't believe how tiny the kitchen is!! And we found out yesterday that the Housing Office made a mistake with my HB's position and we're entitled to a larger place.. yay! Now just have to wait for a larger apt to become available. Meanwhile, still have to clean up the temp apt before moving in.