[VDL - Pre-lude] Voyage de l'Amour

We've started on our exciting little journey of planning our wedding :)

We have yet to fix the date, but it may be sometime next year.

I've originally wanted to keep the wedding date as close to the day we get our new house as possible, so that I can continue to enjoy staying with my family and continue to feel excited about our new life together :)

But after some serious thoughts and discussions, we realize that it may be more practical for us to hold our wedding earlier, with some buffer for us to settle our wedding and our house reno separately.

And most importantly, my wish for Granny to attend my wedding while she is still physically and mentally healthy enough to enjoy it completely :)

While we wish to have sth simple, we would still like to have sth unique and representative of us. And we've both decided on a theme to make the wedding special!

I'm so excited about it I've already started buying some stuff in preparation :p

Make a guess what our theme will be?

[JAN] A Date with Nature

One thing that's vastly different between me and pops is probably his experience with nature and his love for the great outdoors.

He has been an Odacian in his JC days, he has been to 2 or more Outward Bounds, he goes trekking, diving, camping, and he loved all those experience.

Me, I'm a 100% city girl. I definitely feel more at home navigating my way through Orchard Road than a nature trail. 

So when pops was trying to convince me to climb Mt. K with him, I was VERY hesitant. My instinctive reply was, "NO."

But after much thoughts, we managed to convince myself that this will be one exciting adventure. And it will probably open us up to a new way of seeing the world :)

And because pops has been so accommodative to me throughout these 4 years tgt, I feel that it's my turn to accommodate him and do sth with him that I've never imagine myself doing.

So on Sunday, we went to Bukit Timah Hill to train for our climb and to season our shoes.

Believe it or not, it's my first time ever to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

We took a total of 1.5hrs to climb a 2km trail (half the time I was taking photos) and it's so cute to hear pops reminiscing abt his days in the outdoors :) The climb was awesome as we were greatly blessed with amazing weather once again, and beautiful sights along the way.

Lesson Learnt on the Summit

Was resting on the summit of Bukit Timah Hill with pops after our climb and we overheard a conversation between a dad and his children.

The son told the dad that he cannot do sth.

And the dad replied, "there is nothing you cannot do, you can do anything if you put your mind to it."

What a wise advice.

There may be things that you should not do, but truly, there is nothing you cannot do, if you set your mind to it :)

Growing Old with an Angel

I'm very thankful that I have someone who watches over me.

Who listens to my every whim when I get frustrated over the smallest things.

Who teaches me to have a little more faith when I blind myself with life's littlest details.

Who reminds me all the beautiful things in life that I should be thankful for when I get too caught up with negativities.

Who holds my hand and show me how beautiful a journey and a process can be when I get too focused on the outcome and the destination.

Who let me rest my head on his shoulders and wipe my tears on his sleeves when I cry like a baby.

Who holds me tight when I'm already breathless from all the emotions.

Who counsels me patiently when I throw my unreasonable little tantrums.

I'm so thankful, that God has blessed me with such an angel.

And I'm so glad, that I'll be growing old with him :)

Amore

And so I still don't have many photos of the special day, so I'll blog about something that has been constantly in my field of vision recently :)

Family heirloom aside, the proposal ring is the most special piece of jewelry one can ever have. 

And because it's so special, I honestly think that it goes beyond the size and specs of the diamond. 

I think I gave pops the vaguest idea what I would like for my proposal ring. I only gave him 2 criteria - preferably 0.5c onwards (because I don't like sth too cute or dainty) and a simple and timeless design. 

If I were him, I would have bought a simple ring with tapered bands. Safe, effortless and classy.

But when I saw my ring that day, I was overwhelmed. It's really beyond what I've envisioned my own ring to look like. I had no idea how he managed to get it so right. I won't even think of it myself!

How the thick band gave the ring more character and made it look less 'dainty'.

The diamond details at the side of the ring so that it does not steal the light from the solitaire.

The way the setting compliments and bring out the shape and brilliance of the solitaire.

And most importantly, the way it fitted so nicely onto my finger. 

As I learnt more about how my ring came about, the lovelier it looks. 

Because I got to know that the ring was not simply bought off the shelf. It was made with me in mind and it's the essence of the effort, time and thoughts of some very special people in my life. 

And listening to the many accounts of how poppy really puts his heart and soul into searching for the right solitaire and creating the most personalized ring for me, really really touches my heart.

When I look at the ring, I see a brilliance that shines beyond what the naked eye can see.

It comes with beautiful things and lovely memories.

Like poppy's love, blessings from my dear girls, Fairy's Inc, the lovely and thoughtful designer, the beautiful shop, the whimsical website, the joy of everyone recounting the process to me, the thought that it was made specially for me. 

When you receive your very own proposal ring, you will know, that its value goes beyond its size and specs. For it represents and holds many many thing that are priceless and beyond. 

Love and Joy :)

Have been wanting to blog about the day Poppy popped the qn, but I don't have the time and photos to do that yet...

But I just need to express my joy and emotions :)

I feel most blessed and loved through the proposal :)

To be at such a meaningful and beautiful proposal venue, to hear his sweet words of proposal, to wear a ring more beautiful than I can hope or imagine, to know the effort, time and soul he put into everything about the proposal and to be in the presence and blessings of my dearest dearest friends :)

Seriously, I can't ask for more, but truly be extremely thankful and appreciative for everything and to everyone involved. Most importantly, thank God for placing such a great man and such loving friends in my life :) And for the awesome weather!!

I just can't say thank you enough for everything!

Breathe!

Only 1 word to describe the past 2 weeks - HECTIC!
It has been so crazy I hardly had time to breathe...

Been busy preparing a dance item for the RG closing ceremony that's happening in mid-Feb with the Rec club peeps. Every Tues and Fri I had to knock off on time so that we can rush for dance! I miss dancing and I miss performing! And all those crazy moments between practices are still the fondest memories :)

A slight weight loss further justified the efforts. Which I believe will return with the festivities just round the corner :p

Then there was a whole day out in the Sun at Sentosa. Family Day and USS, one after the other!

And I spent a good half of this week planning pop's birthday. It was a simple one this year, but I'm glad pops enjoyed it :)

And I have to say this - Imperial Treasure Steamboat was fantastic!

Fun aside, there's career talks and fairs all lined up for these 2 months.

Today was spent at NTU from 10am till 5pm. With the traveling time, that was effectively my entire Saturday~! 

The day ended with a photo shoot for Ashley's blogshop with Zhi Yi! 

And I just received a msg from another friend to help out with her blogshop. I agreed and sincerely hope that I can help because entrepreneurship is not easy and I admire people who try :) So if I can play a role in helping the person realize his/ her dream, I'll feel most honored.

And I thank God for placing lovely people in my life during busy times to share my joy, my woes, and also to comfort and pamper me :)

Especially pops, who has been worried that I'm spreading myself too thin. He even offered to drive all the way down from home just to pick me from my photoshoot at 9pm so that he can personally bring me to pick up some food for my 1st meal of the day.

<3

He has been my Snoopy :)

I'm off to have a HTHT with mummy now!

Sweet Warm Sun

I love this ad!

How I wish life can be in such a warm and comfy shade of gold :)

~Hugs & Kisses~

Resolutions 2012

Honestly, I've clean forgotten what resolutions I made last year. I can only recall that it's a really long list.

So this year, I'm keeping it simple (did I say that last year too?)!

In no particular order, I present to you, my resolution list for 2012 :)

#1 - Do 3 things that I have NEVER done before

Time simple passes by too fast. If we don't purposefully live it and do something different every now and then, we'll just end up going with the flow until we realize that another year has come and gone.

So this year, I want to do 3 major things that I've never done before :)

One of it, will be climbing Mt. K. 

YUP u heard it right.... me, climbing Mt. K. 

HAHA I must be crazy to even agree to this but I'm sure it's going to be one heck of an adventure!

Will be conquering the peak with poppy and the lovely bunch of peeps from IRRC :) I'm excited talking abt it already! 

#2 - Take better care of myself and my loved ones

I think this was the part I got carried away last year and wrote a crazy long DETAILED list when I was doing my resolutions. This year, I'm going to keep it simple. 

To take better care of myself will mean making daily life choices to keep myself healthy, in both physical and mental aspect, and keep up with the proper skin care and hair care routine.

And to be more aware of the health conditions of my family members and buy them health supps and tonic if possible to keep them healthy :)

#3 - Learn to put more time and effort into all my relationships

I'm someone who doesn't need a lot of friends, but can't do without my groups of close friends. This year, I wish to be able to devote more time and effort in maintaining and growing my relationships with my various groups of close friends.

Same goes to my relationships with my family. I wish to spend more time with them, talk to granny over lunch, bring my parents our for dinners, go on shopping and high-tea with mummy... 

This year, pops and myself made a pact to take turns and plan sth exciting (or just plan STH) once a month :) We realize that we used to do exciting things last time but recently, we've been bumming ard at home most of the time because neither of us bothered to think abt what to do... 

This year, we should not have any excuses!

#4 - Discover the area where God wants me to serve

This year, I feel the burden to figure out which area God wants me to serve in. I hope that by reading His words and spending more quality time with Him, He will point me to the right direction. 

#5 - Learn more about myself

Sometimes, life is moving so fast that we don't realise how our true nature is revealed in the the things we do and the way we react to situations. 

In the past year, I've learnt that I am someone who appreciates beauty in a very sentimental way. I get touched by things that I think are beautiful. I am easily mesmerized or moved to tears by a phrase, a picture, a scene, a thought, a setting, a scenery, an experience, a sunset, a rainbow..... 

I've always thought it's because I'm just too emotional. But I've leant that it's because when I see things, I seldom see it as it is. 

When I see a beautiful phrase, I think about the person who wrote it. When I see a moving art piece, I think about the life story of the artist. When I see a rainbow, I think about how can there be such a beautiful scene on earth. 

So this year, I look forward to knowing myself better. So that I can better embrace ME.

2011 Flashback

Happy New Year all!!

I finally have the time and peace of mind to sit down for my annual flashback post :)

2010 had been an exciting year with once in a life-time events like graduation, grad trip around Europe and starting work. I thought 2011 would pale in comparison, but 2011 had proved to be just as exciting :)

Now for a flashback to some of the highlights in the various areas of my life in 2011~!

Work

This year, Pops and I ran for the committee of our company's recreation club and we ended up as the Welfare secretaries. 

My whole life (till now), my only CCA has been dance. So it's a really different experience for me to be part of a rec club and plan agendas, organize events, write proposals, etc. But that makes working life extremely fun and memorable. 

It is also my 1st time working with Pops, officially. And so far, it has been a great experience :) Partners!! I'm also extremely thankful for some of the people in the committee who makes work so fun and crazy :)

We managed to pull off a successful President's Challenge Bazaar in conjuncture with the President's visit and raised a 5-figure sum for charity. That's an amazing feeling :)

 Relationship

One of the highlight for our journey together thus far will be getting our house :)

The whole experience has been so surreal, I sometimes ask myself whether we've really bought the house. It may not be a dream house per se, but it's definitely a lot more than we imagined our 1st house to be. I'm very thankful for God's guidance along the way, from the very start, and also the support and sound advices by our families.

The whole process had drawn me and pops closer to each other, as we discover similarities in the way we think, go through important decision-making processes together, resolving differences, providing assurance to each other and having a common dream to look forward to. It has been an important milestone in our relationship. 

And awesome, fun-loving neighbors too!!

Faith

This year, we haven't been as steady in the aspect of faith. There were some cell group changes and we went to the church that pop's relatives are currently attending. We've also started going to weekly fellowship groups at our office and the experience has been great. It's like getting weekly rejuvenation of faith to keep u going for the rest of the week through our sharing.

Travel

Taiwan Trip

This is our 2nd time in Taiwan, and we never get enough of this place! In fact, this trip is even better than the previous because it's a free-&-easy with just the 2 of us ;)

Love the late mornings, shopping sprees, night markets, tea-sipping, cafe-hopping, photo taking!

Batam Trip

Went on a short trip to Batam with his colleagues and it was FUN! We ended up more tired than relaxed, but it's great to know all of them at a more personal level :)

Shanghai Trip

I won't say much about the trip as I just had a long post on it recently. All in all, the experience was better than I've expected it to be and I enjoyed the time with Pops and his family :)

Desires

This year, I've also got my dream bag :D

A Balenciaga from Paris during my mum's Europe trip! A Giant Gold City which, apparently, Sg doesn't carry (just let me busk in joy and smirk for a little while). That's probably mum's gift for my 25th birthday + Christmas 2011 & 2012.

I love this bag because the longer you use it, the deeper the lines, the softer the leather and the more story it tells :)

All in all, 2011 has been a year of minor hiccups and major joys. 
Looking back, I'll smile at the memories of the past year, instead of having a frown. 

Since negative emotions and bad memories have greater impact on people, I always believe that if you can look back at the year with a smile, the year shouldn't have been a bad one :)

I thank God for the opportunities given to me, the situations He puts me in, the people He planted in my life and the fact that He has never ever forsaken me. As I experience Him each day, I can only say that I learn more about Him and realize that I can never fully understand Him. 

Wrapping up this post, I will be writing another one on my new year resolutions for year 2012 (soon)!