Any Brides whose HTB is 'Ang Mo'?

[mrs_n]

Cuclainne Hi! Was wondering what had happened to you. Anyway glad to know that you and the little one are ok. Better rest more.

Freaky, what an interesting way to meet your FH. What would one do without the great internet huh? What is a working holiday? I keep hearing this term but never really understood it. Is it more holiday than work?

Anyway hope your customery goes well this weekend. Take plenty of pictures and come back and tell us about it ok?

de_luxe the cakes certainly have got a bit of a 'wow' factor. $600 is rather expensive (I think). Don't think we paid more than half that amount for our 3-tier. Alternatively, how about getting a cake that's just plainly iced and decorate it yourself maybe using our local flowers so its more in line with your tropical theme?

 

[de_luxe]

Freaky We have abt 150pax. I dun need a huge cake cuz we are ending with a dessert buffet that already has quite a lot on it and i dun intend to serve a slice to everyone. Will either save the top tier for ourselves or have it sliced n placed on the buffet. That's why i'm considering a semi-dummy one.

I do concurr that the red roses one matches with the decor better, tho.

Where are u getting ur cupcakes from? The quotes i got are from Cake Avenue, Cheryl Shuen and The Patissier, the first being the most reasonable in pricing but not that wow wow in terms of the look. Have u had any quotes under $300 for a completely real 3-tier? Do u think $240 is acceptable or too ex for 2 bottom dummy tiers and a real 2-kg top tier?

Mrs N Wish i could do the cake decor myself too, then I wouldn't be agnozing over this but i'm just so lousy at doing stuff like that, i think i will ruin my own cake, so better to leave it to the experts. Either the cake makers or the hotel's dummies...

*Sigh...*

 

[freakyfairy]

Hi ladies,
My mum passed away on Friday evening. I wasn't there when it happened but I heard from my sis that she was gone very quick and smooth. My FH gave her the dowry she had requested for on Thursday and she was so happy to receive it. We think that she was wanted that more than the tea ceremony. I'm glad she doesn't have to suffer anymore.

Mrs N, I always feel embaressed when people asked how we met hehe since most people often think that it's a dodgy thing to do chatting people online and dating them. A working holiday is actually a visa that enables one to work while having a hoilday in the country but there are certain restrictions. Like when I had mine, the age limit is between 18-29 I think and you're not allowed to work more than half your time spend in the country. Max duration they allow is 2 years so if you applied for a 2 year visa, you can only work one year full time or 2 years of part-time. It's great when you want to take a gap year to travel but doesn't have a great amount of cash to support all your expenses.

de_luxe, We have about 100 guests for our wedding and the quotes we get from Pine Garden is over $300 for a 2-tier I think. I'm not too keen on their design. I heard that Cake Avenune, Cheryl Shuen and not to mention The Patissier are more expensive than PG but look much nicer.

I'm going to get the cupcakes from Carnival & Co. The lady in charge sent me a few pictures of their cupcakes and they look very sweet. I believe they're all 5-tiers. I was thinking of placing a cake at the top of the cupcake tower and save it for the immediate family or gobble it up with just me and my FH haha.

 

[de_luxe]

Freaky I'm sorry to hear of your mother's passing but i'm glad she didn't suffer any more than she already has n dat she was happy. I know it will be a tough time trying to get over the grief n the loss while still carrying on with the wedding. Just remember that your mother would have wanted you to be a happy bride on your wedding day. Stay strong, ok? Let us know if there's anything we can do.

 

[gottliebt]

Freaky: I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom. It feels like a repitition of what happened with me. Know that no words will be able to share your grief, but will pray that God's presence and love with be with you during this period. How long more is it to your AD? Would really like to be able to help in any way, even if its to share my experience.

 

[cuclainne]

Mrs N

Yeah, really crummy to be ill on my birthday but was hit by a sudden energy surge last week. I've been buzzing about at home and work, getting more things done .. and everyone's kind of puzzled as to whether I am pregnant or not. Oh well ...

Freaky

I am really sorry to hear of your mom's passing. She's in a better place right now and you can count on us if you need a listening ear.

I met my husband online too. We both had a friendship ad and he wrote to me as he was interested on knowing more about Singapore. Three months later, he came to Singapore and a week into that holiday, he proposed. It all came as a surprise .. I mean, if it hadn't happened to me, I would have thought of this as being crazy - who would have thought?

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi ladies,

Been MIA for a while. Back again. How are u ladies getting on?

My AD has bn changed to 19 aug for church n ROM on 2 aug. Busy busy busy! Not in the preparaton but have to get on with it. But busy making wedding pillows to sell in Holland. Earn some cash at least! Have to sew mine soon!

Catch up with u ladies again. Till then!

 

[mrs_n]

Freaky so sad to hear about your mum. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

In this day and age, meeting people online is so common I think most people are quite accepting of such relationships. Anyway, if its meant to be, doesn't matter how it happens.

Cuclainne what a pity about your birthday but nevermind can use it as another excuse to go out again for a celebration.

Hi Pris, Liz & de-luxe hope you are all well.

 

[cuclainne]

Elizabeth

Hey girl! Been busy busy busy, I see. Yeah .. it's better for you to keep yourself occupied with something to do lest you might get bored. Made any friends there yet?

Mrs N

The husband's birthday is coming soon and I'm at a loss on what to buy for him. I thought of taking him on a short weekend getaway but my cousin is getting married on that weekend. Yikes! So I think we'll probably settle for a lazy birthday and just have buffet breakfast at Botanic Gardens, spend a day out and then head out to a swanky restaurant for dinner. I feel so bad that I don't know what to get him as a present - he got me a nice camera to replace my broken one. He even gave me a budget to work with for his birthday - $100. Hmm ..

By the way, the Great Singapore Sale has begun again!! Yay!! I finally managed to convince the husband to let me have an oven (for baking, grilling and roasting). We bought it for about $79 at Courts (Tangs was charging $149 for a similar one). I'm very pleased with my buy!

 

[mrs_n]

Awww Cuclainne he's already got you! That's a priceless present in itself.

I didn't know what to get my husband for his birthday either so I just made him a card and baked him a cake! Must have been edible since he finished it up. Hahaha!

The Great Singapore Sale huh? Haven't been around S'pore at this time for the last 5 years, the phase is beginning to sound quite alien to me! Oh no! This is so bad!!!!!

 

[gottliebt]

Mrs N: Hey dear, don't feel too bad abt the great singapore sale. This year will be my last GSS too.... for a long time at least unless I happen to go back to Singapore during that time... Well, I'm pretty ok.... Doc says nothing wrong with the test results, which really bugs me too... cos I've been given medication for yeast, internal and external bacteria, went for blood test, 2 swab tests and 1 pap smear... Now I'm on a one-week fungal medication and I'm really hoping that things will clear after that. Doctors really dunno what's wrong with me yet I kept having a weird discharge.... Been kinna frustrating too, cos its like 'hands-off' me and hubby for about 1 month!

OH, i had a surprise b-day party for hubby at german restaurant....he turned 30 this year.... thot wld have special celebration cos only b-day celebration in singapore

 

[cuclainne]

Mrs N

He's always gotten me presents and all this time, all I've given him for his birthday is a crummy birthday card. Yikes! Oh well .. it's the thought that counts right .. heheheh!

Priscilla

It sounds like you've got a really bad infection from your pill. Some people get reactions like that. Mine wasn't as bad but I made the decision to go off it cos I was worried that there might be some truth behind the 'you will have difficulty getting pregnant if you're on prolonged use of the pill' saying.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi Cuclainne,

Ya! Busy!Making wedding pillows to sell. I have 2 friends fr sg here who marry Dutch, so met up with one of them. Also make some friends from Singapore Netherlands Association. Never met them. Been chatting with Mrs Ng and some ladies fr sg forum. Nice! Birthday celebration! Jeroen's coming soon! Earning more cash fr selling pillows to buy him a present. Praying hard for more buyers! Ha!

Priscilla,

Better not to take the pills like Cucculainne wrote. My mum told me that usu it has bad side effects and it made her put on weight. BTW, we are not allowed to take contraceptives by our faith and we use Natural Family Planning. It's the charting method. According to some of my friends, it works very well. I won't know until I get married. Lots of discipline and abstaining! I think it's tough but good for the man! It teaches them to be more giving, patience and loving. Hope I didn't write anything offensive here. If I do, forgive me. Have to get on with the pillows, buyer coming to pick it up. The Dutch test is terribly difficult! Will tell u more on it. Waiting for results n to start class soon! Busy buzzzzzz...........n the wedding plans as well. 2 more months plus to go....

 

[mrs_n]

Cuclainne since he got you a camera, you can take a picture of yourself and him then frame it up in a nice picture frame and give it to him as a birthday gift.

Pris yeah I understand the frustration. But hope you get better real soon. Will continue to pray for you.

When are you leaving for Germany? I remember the 'last experience' kind of feeling before I left, last national day, last birthday, last easter etc in Singapore. Felt kind of sad at times because you don't really know exactly when the next one will be on home ground again! Oh well, what can we do, tis the path we have chosen and we just live out our lives the best we can, with God's help of course.

And as Liz just said its great being able to chat with the other ladies on the forum. From where I am, I think I 'meet' more singaporeans on the net than in person!

 

[gottliebt]

Hey gals!

Cuclainne - Yeah, I had that fear too, but i figured that if only use the pill for a short time, it should be fine. It was working pretty well b4 the migraines and all that set in. So yeah, I think my body is protesting with the changes in the hormones.

Liz - You sound busier in Netherlands than in Singapore! haha. Well, I really hope that I will sound as cheerful and joyful as u after my first 6 months in germany also! Maybe can post some pix of yr wedding pillows online also. I'd need to read up more of NFP.... its just the most risky method right?

Mrs N - Yeah! Its sorta like that feeling also... dunno when u will be on home ground again. Well, for now I'm quite looking forward to moving to germany just so that I can have a place to call my own. For now, staying wif my frens' parents u sorta still have the feeling tat its not yr place yet.

I'm like trying to sort out relationships with my family also before i go. Like trying to get my brothers to meet up for a meal or so... but they keep telling me they are so busy and all... which is so frustrating, cos I'm super bz also but I try to make time for them.... and its like I feel so stupid always trying to make appts to meet up and they just either don't reply my sms, or say cannot make it or worse still, say can make it and last minute say cannot.... Wah... Well, at least I've done my part and I know that when I leave at airport I can leave with a clear conscience with the Lord that I've tried my best to mend ties and catch up with ppl b4 i leave.

 

[tootsieroll]

Hi all,

Birthday presents....sometimes really run out of ideas! There always seems to be an occasion for a gift though, not just birthdays. The next one for us is our 1 year wedding anniversary - we've booked for a lunch cruise down the Thames....hope it's good!

On the subject of contraception - last week I had my postnatal checkup at my doctor's. Not very much was said, but as always, the subject of contraception came up - it's as if a new mother with sleep deprivation and healing wounds would want any man near her in a long long while!

Anyway, the GP asked if I needed any. I declined, both for the above reason, and the fact that I am against artificial contraception anyway. In any case, the GP did make a point in saying that as long as I'm exclusively breastfeeding, that the chances of fertility returning in the next 6 months would be minimal. Nothing us girls don't already know, but you know, our health professionals like to state the obvious sometimes

Priscilla,
It must be difficult being newly wed and needing to be 'hands off'. Hopefully the problem will resolve soon, like the the others, my prayers are with you. I'm not sure if NFP is the most risky method, in fact, if done right, I think the success rate is up there with the best of the artificial contraceptives. It's certainly worth looking into the various forms of NFP (there are several!), and perhaps find a teaching couple who will go through things with you, rather than just teaching yourself, especially if your menstrual cycle is not straightforward.

 

[mrs_n]

Pris know what you mean about meeting up with family members. Sometimes its just impossible to get everybody in one place at the same time as everyone have their own lives to lead. Well at least you tried but don't give up hope, I'm sure someday you'll get some response.

Agree with tootsieroll. Don't think NFP is any more high risk than other contraceptives. It is only high risk if you don't follow the guidelines and and up interpreting your charts incorrectly. No doubt it takes a bit of practise getting to know the fertility phases of your body but I think you will find it is worth the effort. After going through the NFP course, I've learnt to appreciate all the more how wonderful God is to even think of such mudane things as the female fertility cycle. There's nothing he didn't think of. Praise him for it because it is his great gift to us!

Tootsieroll, your 1st Anniversary celebration plans sounds fab. Hope you have a splendid time and the weather stays nice and dry! Its June and still doesn't feel like it. But its probably warmer where you are anyway.

Freaky, you ok? Let us know if you need anything, even if it's just a 'ear' to listen.

 

[pinkcandy]

hello everyone! how is the weekend so far? like promised, i won't dissappear again haha. right now, i am back to work already so time is rather precious with my hubby.

have not started on much plans for the AD yet. Thinking of Ritz carlton, anyone did it there?

 

[de_luxe]

Heee... looks like lots of June babies ard. Mine & FH's birthdays r at the end of the month... our last ones as singles! Haven't quite figured out wat to do yet.... but we've figured out a more or less fool proof plan against gifts & disappointment since our 1st X'mas tog. We'll each give the other a wish list with a range of items n the giver gets to choose what to buy (can be just 1 item or several). I've been told it's rather "flat" & not exciting but to me, this works better n still has some element of anticipation/surprise cuz we dun know that the other party will choose to give. Better & less risky than hoping he can read my mind!

I have my reservations abt the pill too. Was on it for almost a yr many moons ago to relieve very bad menstrual cramps. They were effective but then my mom found out, kicked up a big fuss, forced me to get off it & see her gynae for alternative treatment (which didn't work BTW). But her gynae did a good job in frightening me with all the side effects of the pill, including this rumour abt the prolonged use. However i sometimes wonder that if these are all true, then why is it that Americans & Europeans dun seem to have any problems concieving even tho their use of the pill is very widespread.... Since IUD is only recommended for those who have given birth b4, we dun have much choice other than condoms & NFP do we?

Pink candy I've attended a wedding at Ritz b4, wat do ya want to know abt Ritz?

 

[pinkcandy]

de_luxe: How's the food, and the overall feel of the place? I imagine that service should be good enough and not necessary to mention?

 

[de_luxe]

pink candy obviously the service was above avg. Food wise it was acceptable, but lacked the wow factor n not particularly memorable. I heard from the bride that they had some items changed after the initial food tasting as everything was like braised, steamed etc, n lacked various texture. They did a 2nd food tasting FOC for them cuz her parents are regulars at the Greenhouse. Heard that Snappers does weddings too, capacity is abt 100 pax, combi of the poolside & the restuarant.

 

[cuclainne]

Elizabeth

At least you're keeping yourself occupied with your money-making venture. I don't know what I'll be up to if I was in your shoes - when I was in Stockholm for 2 months, I mostly stayed at home. My day usually consists of watching tv, preparing dinner and taking a walk before the hubby comes home from work. I don't think it'll be as appealing if I had to do that for months on end. So lucky that you have friends to take your mind off things... and preparing for your wedding..

Mrs N

I mentioned your suggestion to the husband and he said it isn't a bad idea. I can't afford a nice weekend getaway right now (haven't gotten my bonus yet) so it's either a nice wallet or a new mobile phone. I'm also planning to take him out for dinner that night but he just reminded me that he hates Italian food .. I was flipping through the restaurant guide the other night and he asked what I was looking at. When I told him that I've picked a restaurant for us to go to on his birthday, he was trying to find out more from me but no .. my lips are sealed! Haahha..

Priscilla

When are you moving to Germany? Be sure to stay in touch so we can come and visit yah.

Since I got married and moved out from my parents' home, I don't get much 'news' from my family. Sure my mom calls me once a day to ask how I am doing and I try to get them to go out with me at least once a week but the feeling is different now. It's like I'm here with the husband and they're ... well, there. I read somewhere that families of yester-years are comparatively different to the family units now. In the olden days, you can have many generations living under the same roof whereas now, because of jobs and their own family units, people tend to move away and that creates some sort of distance whether physically or psychologically.

I'm sure it'll all work out before you leave for Germany. Your family will definitely want to spend some time with you before that.

tootsieroll

Your lunch cruise down the Thames sounds really fun ... enjoy yah!

Hey hey pinkcandy, I am glad to hear that your ROM went smoothly and congratulations on being a Mrs now.

Have you decided on your honeymoon yet?

I have asked Ritz-Carlton for some quotations but the menu they gave me is a halal one. However you can have a look and see what are the items they will throw in for you. I can email it to you, if you'd like.

de_luxe

Wah .. quite a number of birthday babies this month yah. I think what you and your FH are doing is quite practical. I had to come clean with the hubby (he saw that my bank account is almost depleted) and told him that I've been hoarding the money in another account for his birthday. I told him I was running out of ideas on what to get for him and he said he doesn't know what he wants so anything is fine.

I basically ballooned when I was on the pill and grouchy too. Since I've been off it, I've been feeling much better.

 

[freakyfairy]

Hi Mrs N,
Thanks for your concern I'm doing ok now. Just a bit confused still over what had happened. The brain and the heart aren't synchronised at the moment. Sometimes it feels like my mum is still at home just that I can't see her. Other than that, everything is back to how it was before and I'm back at work today.

Priscilla,
My wedding is on the 9th July, it's acutally the soleminsation cum AD all in one. I was thinking of you in the week how you managed to go on with the wedding. We're still going ahead with the wedding as well and my dad is ok with it. My mum said before that she would like us to continue it if we're ok with it. I know my mum has already seen the wedding and I'm glad I've been sharing my plans with her all these while.

Speaking of birthdays, it's my FH's birthday this month too! He's heading back to England this evening though and wouldn't be here for his birthday but he made me promise to bake him a cake when he's back hehe.

We're planning to move to England sometime this year. Quite sad to be leaving hehe feels like there's so much to leave behind.

 

[pinkcandy]

cuclainne hey thanks for the help. Yeap would appreciate it if you could email the quotations to [email protected]. May i know eventually why you didn't use Ritz for your wedding?

yeah i am not very used to the Mrs thing yet, though i think i might never be! hahaha. We are not planning on the honeymoon yet, though rougly i think we intend to have a europe trip. Right now, it is going to be hard work planning for the AD first.

de_luxe hhmmm that's not very good is it. I guess i will have to go for the food testing myself, but usually food testing only happens after i sign up with them?

 

[cuclainne]

pinkcandy

I've emailed you the quotation. I didn't use the Ritz in the end because we finally decided to host a dinner for about 17 people and it was too expensive and lavish for us.

Our dinner was finally held at a Middle Eastern restaurant. It was a bit more low-key but it was fun for everyone - there was a belly dancer that night and she came round to our table to entertain us.

 

[tootsieroll]

cuclaine + Mrs N,
thanks

I hope the cruise goes well too, and that the little one doesn't make too much noise

Freaky,
Where in the UK are u moving to, and when?

 

[pinkcandy]

cuclainne Thanks! I will go through them

actually i am not big on the dinner as well, but because both sides of the family wants it, we more or less have to oblige. Must have been very exciting with the belly dancer, and unique!

 

[freakyfairy]

Hi tootsieroll, just realised that you're heading for a cruise on Thames! I hope you have a good time and a great weather on the day. I took one of those normal cruise once and it was very lovely apart from the chilly wind as it was winter then. Is this a cruise run by a restaurant or something?

We're thinking perhaps Bristol. I want to stay in the advertising field but not too keen on London and was told that Bristol has quite a few more opportunity. Most prolly will be moving to England by this year depending on when I can get the visa. I believe it takes about 12 weeks to process? I was looking through the forms for the visa application and they feel so invasive of privacy!

 

[mrs_n]

Hi Ladies, looks like June is the month for birthdays! de-luxe, what an interesting way to decide on presents. Actually it's quite a good idea.

Hey Freaky, I'm sure it will take a while to get used to things but glad to know that you're keeping your head up.

Yeah I found some of the questions on the visa forms a bit hysterical! They've updated it after the July attacks. My husband and I were laughing about it, and wonder what would happen if I had accidentally ticked 'Yes' on the one pertaining to terrorism!

Mine took about a month to process but I did it in the UK. My malaysian friend did hers in KL and she got it back quite quickly too. I think so long as you give them all the documents that they want, they've got no cause to hold back your application.

Bristol is nice been there once. Looks like you've got a busy few months right after your wedding.

Cuclainne, I'm sure whatever restaurant you choose, both of you will have a great time. Hey did you ever go on your honeymoon? Thought you were planning to go to some resort in Malaysia.

Good girl 'Mrs' Pink Candy you kept your promise not to disappear!

Can see that you're quite busy now planning for your AD.

Tootsieroll when is your cruise?

 

[de_luxe]

pink candy that's right the food tasting will only be after u confirm, usually 1-2 mths prior to ur AD. Maybe u can check out the thread on ritz for some recent feedback instead from those who just had their wedding there. How many pax r u expecting and what type of dinner do u have in mind?

freaky Ur AD is just a day after mine! Mine's 8 jul!

 

[tootsieroll]

Freaky,
Nice place, Bristol. I suppose any of the major cities would be alright? Would your FH be able to find a job in his field in Bristol? I'm taking the cruise on the Silver Sturgeon. I've never been on one of these, but there were 2 companies running a sunday lunch cruise, and one didn't look like they allowed kids onboard, so we went for this one, although we would have picked it anyway, cos the service and menu look much better

Mrs N,
We're doing our cruise on Father's Day, and for the price they're throwing in a welcome drink. There's also an option to do whisky tasting as well, so that'll be fun

 

[cuclainne]

pinkcandy, it was a treat. we didn't realise that there was going to be a bellydancer there that night and when word got round that we're celebrating our 'pending' nuptials (even though we have already ROM-ed by now), the staff came round to congratulate us and the bellydancer kept coming to our table to dance for us. it was lovely. they even allowed us to bring our own cake into the restaurant and we had our photographer there to take shots of the event. the whole thing cost us less than $1K.

i'm still thinking hard about the honeymoon, mrs n. i would like to go to langkawi (haven't decided between the andaman, http://www.theandaman.com or the datai, http://www.thedatai.com) but i think that the husband has his mind set on going to tioman (http://www.japamalaresorts.com). i did think of bringing him for a weekend getaway to bintan but i don't do well on ferries.

 

[freakyfairy]

Hi Mrs N, my FH's brother and sister are all having their birthdays in June too and only 2 days apart each others!

When my mum was around, she used to sleep over at my aunt for a few days to help us get used to when she's not around and it's definitately working. Most of the time it just feels like she's staying somewhere for the night.

I always get very nervous when it comes to applying for visas or waiting at the custom to be let in. All the questions make me feel like a criminal haha.

Everyone I spoke to has been to Bristol! My FH and I haven't been there ourselves hehe. So far, all the comment we get is all positive apart from it being rather cold compared to London.

Deluxe, ha what a coincident! So have you given out all the invites and everything all confirmed? Mine is in a bit of a mess haha. A quarter of the invites are out, still haven't seen my gown but was told it's very lovely, my florist wanted me to take it easy and get back to them later (they know about my mum's passing and sent a lovely wreath).

Tootsieroll, Is Bristol quite a major city? I'm not too keen on big crowds like in London or here in Singapore even. Not too sure about FH's job situation. He wants to try something different from what he's been doing which I guess shouldn't be much of a problem. Might even get a job in Aardman! How long would the lunch cruise be running for? hehe my FH's birthday is on the same day as Father's Day. Looks like he'll have to share the day with his dad.

Cuclainne, sounds like a nice place you had your dinner at. Are you planning for the honeymoon some time soon?

 

[mrs_n]

Hi tootsieroll, how lovely to celebrate your anniversary on Father's Day. Must be especially meaningful for your hubby, his first Father's Day as a Dad.

Hee! Hee! Freaky, when I last went to Bristol, I found it too hot! But it was a refreshing change to visiting London, not as crowded and its a great city to explore .... on legs.

I'm not keen on big cities myself, London is good for day visits but don't think I want to live there. Are you keeping your options open, and going with the flow as and where job opportunities are available?

Cuclainne they all look nice! Must be a pretty hard decision to make. You might have to draw lots in the end.

Hehe de-luxe and Freaky you can start counting down already.

 

[cuclainne]

felt the exact same way when i went to stockholm, freaky. the customs asked so many questions when i arrived at the international airport. when we went to london via one of the budget terminals there, i had 4 officers looking at my passport (maybe not seen a singapore passport before) and when it was time to board the plane, they held up everyone because they wanted to check if i needed a visa to enter london - somehow they managed to exclaim loudly for everyone to hear that. aiyoh! the customs lady in london was no better but perhaps that's because i told her i was heading to belfast (maybe she thought i was IRA-sympathiser??).

i sure would like to go on my honeymoon soon before i get too heavy to move around. plus once the baby arrives, travel will never be the same again - have to lug around more of the baby's stuff than mine!!

mrs n, i suspect that i might ... hahahaha

 

[tootsieroll]

Freaky,
Yes it is....I've not actually been there myself though. It's the most major city to the west of England. It's a great place to make a base to exploring that area and it's close to Wales as well. I think the 'warmth' in London is due to pollution

I think that apart from London, the major cities aren't too crowded, unless you go on the weekends and have everyone else out doing their shopping. You can live outside of London though, and commute in. Which part of UK is your husband from, and what does he do? The cruise should take 3 hours. If the weather's nice, maybe we'll go up the London Eye as well

MrsN,
I suppose. He had forgotten it was father's day actually.

Cuclainne,
I've heard the Datai is excellent, but the others look good as well! I had a colleague who was still doing skiing at 20+ weeks. By the time I went on maternity leave at 36 weeks, I was well out of breath with every breath, so ya, go for honeymoon ASAP

And yep, enjoy it to the fullest, cos once baby arrives, it's like moving house everytime you go out

When is the baby due, and do you know the gender yet?

 

[cuclainne]

The baby is due on 3 Nov, tootsieroll and the doc wasn't able to confirm the gender yet cos baby doesn't want to let us know yet. Maybe at the next doctor's appointment next week - I should be about 20 weeks' then.

I received a puzzle-gram from MIL yesterday - on it, she wrote that perhaps it's best if we don't tell her the gender. She said it doesn't matter much to her, she's just looking forward to a grandchild (her first). Husband was very mean because he said he will tell her, only because she said she doesn't want to know. Hmmm ..

We are trying to get her to come over Christmas, so she can spend some time with the newborn. Her companion said he doesn't want to have a cold Christmas but his mom didn't commit to saying yes yet.

My family might come with me when we go back north for a vacation next year. I think I would need them there, especially my mom since husband intends on travelling further north to spend a weekend with his computer-geek friends. Gives me a chance to show Stockholm around to them as well yah.

 

[mrs_n]

Cuclainne a similar thing happened to me when I was on transit in Istanbul! When it was time to board the plane to Manchester, the lady at the boarding gate looked at my passport and checked my UK visa (which was still valid for another year) several times like she had never seen such a thing before. I suppose I stood out like a sore thumb as I was probably the only non-british/non-european on that flight! The funny thing was she didn't know what to do with me, so she took me aside, called somebody else probably her superior. And when he came, my passport when in for another round of inspection and .... they still didn't couldn't decide whether to let me board the plane. After discussing things among themselves, and as more and more passengers were queueing up, they decided to let me through the gate but without my passport.

They made more phone calls and finally ten minutes before we were allowed to go into the aircraft, she finally return my passport to me. Phew, for a moment, I thought I was going to be stuck in Istanbul! It was kind of embarassing b'cos all the while they were making those phone calls they kept looking at me and nodding away. Made me feel like an illegal immigrant.

That's one unforgettable incident. Makes me think twice about taking Turkish Airlines again.

Have you started thinking about names? Is the baby going to have both swedish and malay names?

 

[cuclainne]

mrs n, it sure is funny when you think back about it but not right there and then. and to think that it's always been said that it's hassle-free travel while using a singapore passport .. hmm ..

i have thought of some names, both swedish and malay but nothing's confirmed yet. the husband says it's still a bit too early to decide that (bah humbug!) such a party-pooper!

 

[tootsieroll]

Hah! I was enroute to Ireland, but via the ferry. I suppose most people who use the ferryport are locals. Anyway, I was stopped, and the immigration lady flipped through my passport, and saw that I had a new visa stamp on it, and called all her immigration friends to come and marvel at it! Imagine a bunch of ladies pouring over a passport and talking about how pretty it was and how they'd never seen a high tech visa stamp! I never knew my Singapore passport and my visa stamp could be such a novelty item

 

[de_luxe]

freaky good to know that u r coping well. Keep it up!

Most of the invites r out except for a handful. As usual, pple dun confirm that early but I'm terrorizing them... hahahaha... I agonized for a long time over the office invites & how to deal w the politics so finally decided on just the 2 bosses n my dept. Keep it simple. Maybe I'll cater lunch or tea for the office one of these days to keep wagging tongues still.

The only main problem i have now is with my mom, she just told me she invited someone (no idea who) n insisted that she told me to put the name on guest list but i really dun remember lor. Our last discussion she agreed not to invite any outsider cuz of the limited capacity. Now this person is coming n i dunno where to put him/her. And this is the THIRD time this has happened! *arrrggh arrgghh arrgghh* If she's not my mom I would have positively strangled her. And if this continues somemore I think the hotel has to empty the pool to make room for more seats!!!!!

We're doing GDL this Sunday followed by lunch. Hope all goes well. FH is super unhappy abt the dowry n we had a big fight on Sunday cuz I tot he was already clear abt it n agreed to it. But looks like we had different perceptions. If he pull long face that day i really dunno what to do. *sigh* MEN!!!!!

 

[de_luxe]

Yah Mrs N count down started last month liao. 29 days to go... stress stress stresssssssssssssss

Cuclainne just a suggestion for the baby's name. Could use a Swedish name that is similar to something in Malay or that has some related meaning. My Malay friend who married a Chinese lady named his son Issac. He said it's English (like Christian name) but has an Islamic relation too. Dunno if such a thing exists for u.

 

[cuclainne]

de_luxe, i had many discussions with the husband about the dowry issue too. he doesn't understand the concept, especially since it's unheard of in the West. i cried so many times because i had to explain over and over again why it is required, acting as a middle person between him and my parents and he would come up with a counter-defense. finally he gave in but i had to compromise with him - to show some sensitivity to MIL who attended the ROM.

yup, husband's name is Elias - it's a swedish name but can also pass as a malay name. if i can't decide on a name, i could just use the name of one of the swedish queens ... hahahahaha.

 

[comma]

Hi ladies,

i really enjoy reading all your discussion topics. glad to know that i am not the only one with all these frustrations.

The dowry issue was such a problem. We forgo then dowry but all red packets collected will go to my parents. HTB was not very pleased about it as it should be our gifts and his parents is also helping to pay for part of the wedding. Sometimes, made to feel that we seems to be money grubbers.

Thank god, that his twin brother married a chinese girl as well last year and HTB had already heard all the "horrid" stories.

 

[mrs_n]

Hi Comma,

! Do tell us more about yourself? Well I was lucky we didn't have any dowry issues. Not traditional for my family anyway. But can understand how difficult it is for someone of a different culture to percieve its importance. For us who choose to marry someone from a different culture, we just have to learn how to compromise and be peacemakers. Hee! Hee!
With such skills, maybe all of us should join the UN peacekeeping forces.

de-luxe, my dear girl, keep calm, don't stress lah! Breathe in and breathe out, nice and steady. My mum was the same, keep adding people in, and I also stress like gila. But in the end, everything worked out fine. Praise God for that. Alamak, no need to empty pool, waste water only. After you get charge for water bill! Just ask the hotel for lifeboats and all the 'extra' people can sit in it.

Tootsieroll, hahaha that was funny! I think the smaller 'ports' don't often get the chance to see our exotic passport and visas. My friend was stopped at Leeds/Bradford airport too.

Cuclainne! If you had a boy, surely you're not going to name him after a swedish QUEEN!!!

 

[comma]

Hi Mrs N,

I am marrying an Aussie this coming September. It has been a very short dating period and a quick engagement. We are planning to stay in Singapore for a couple of years (taxes very low here) and then decide wherever we should go.

It has been very heartening to hear your stories and the support for each other. I have been quite stressed with this whole wedding thing and coming from different background. It as good that his sister-in-law, being a Chinese can understand my frustrations and we get along well. Think the twins made a pact that they were going to marry chinese girls.

de-luxe, t told my mother than i am giving her 4 tables and she can invite whoever she wants, just fill the tables and dont ask me for more. did the same for my MIL and it seems to work so far.

 

[cuclainne]

comma

don't fret - you are not the only one to have some issues with the wedding. it's not all smooth-sailing for me too, especially since i'm acting as a middle person. although the husband said his family would like to be part of arranging the wedding details, it came to naught as they were too far away to be of any help and we didn't ask them for any monetary help since they're already spending money to spend time here for the events. i remember one night it got so bad between me and my parents (the husband was not here so giving me 'instructions' via phone) that i wanted to call everything off. i felt torn between the husband and my family. my mom comforted me and told me she understood my position - soon after that, everything sorted itself out.

although we initially planned to have our dinner at a hotel (the husband balked at the idea of having 15 tables - already minimum what!), we finally held it at a middle eastern restaurant for 17 family members and friends. we didn't get any angpaos from this but we didn't mind cos it didn't cost us much. for the lunch, we decided to let my parents keep it cos they paid for almost everything (we paid for the costumes, photographer and dais decoration) but they allowed us to keep the gifts and vouchers.

so not everything went as planned but we improvised and everyone was happy in the end.

is your fh in singapore at the moment?

mrs n, hahahhahaha of course not. i suggested the name Carl Gustaf to the husband but he's not impressed .. clearly he doesn't want his son to be named after the current king.

http://www.royalcourt.se

 

[cuclainne]

oh oh ladies ... me and the husband were walking at the traffic junction near takashimaya, paragon when we noticed that the police were holding up the traffic. i mentioned to the husband that it could be the emperor and empress of japan so we waited ... and guess what! it was them .. the emperor waved from the passing motorcade and i instinctively waved back (honed my skills when waving at the swedish royal family at the king's birthday celebrations last year - hahahaha). he seems a very nice man, just like the swedish king.

 

[tootsieroll]

cuclainne,
Funny that, I've always wondered how the royalty feel when they have to wave to all of us 'commoners'. It was the British Queen's 80th birthday celebrations recently, and they showed her walking around Windsor receiving gifts and well wishes from all the crowd lining the streets. Imagine having to accept yet another bunch of flowers and birthday card and having to smile through it all. Maybe that's why she's queen, so much patience

 

[mrs_n]

Ha! Ha! Comma, somethine similar happened to my friend. My malaysian friend married a scotsman and his twin brother married her uni classmate from singapore. Its great as they are both best mates even though one's chinese and the other's indian. But on the other hand, I don't think my hubby made a pack with his twin sister, as I'm nothing like his BIL.

Is your FH an identical twin?

Cuclainne, that's so cool. Is the japanese emperor and empress on a long visit to S'pore? I don't often look at the local news nowadays, just every now and then. Miss seeing that one of the Queen Tootsieroll, was it on telly? I think it must be quite hard to be a royal and having every detail of your whole life scrutinised by the press.