Eating again

Dear SG,

It’s so sweet to read about comments from friend who cares, especially when we are ocean apart. I really appreciate it. Thank you all. Anyway, for the past 3 evenings, I’m finally able to keep my dinner down and even had a 2nd helping. Now I’m eating as much as my dogs. Haa..

A few of my male friends ask for my recent photo, why is it that only the guys will want to see how their female friend looks like when they are pregnant? I don’t get such requests from the gals. You guys are so sick. :p

As many of you knows, I hate having my photos taken. But I’ve made an exception this time. Here’s one of the thinnest shot I can find. Here’s me at the 12th week of pregnancy.

haa... havn't changed much right? That little bump used to be fats, now it's something else. Weighing at 57kg

BTW, another good news beside me eating alright for the last 3 days, Andrew has been clearing my plates during the last few months especially the recent weeks. He has gained back the 2kg he’s lost… and maybe a bit more. I’ll try to get a recent photo of him when he’s back from work.

With love from NZ,
J

I'm losing my roots

Dear SG,

I'm depress.... I may be losing my singapore roots! I'm so nauseous everyday that I can't stand to eat anything because I will just throw them out. I didn't even want to be thinking about my next meal. When did you ever hear of a Singaporean that dislike food? Food is part of our culture, our national hobby, it's always part of the conversation, main part of a singaporean lifestyle.

While the Kiwi discuss the sports game, Singaporean discuss the latest restrurants or eatery that's attracting a lot of crowd. After a hectic work week, kiwis will wanna relax with a cold bottle of beer and good company. A singaporean workaholic will wanna get all his/her food-craze friend together to go for a huge buffet meal and stuff themselves silly. Kiwi will travel far and wide for the best place to hike, fish, or surf. Singapore will queue for hours if the food is worth it.

Food is such a big thing in SG, it's our national pride because you can practically find any food from any part of the world there. Oh well, almost anything as long as it tempted the Singaporean taste bud. ;)

Food glorious food.... (running to the bathroom to puke...)

(back from the bathroom to finish this post) with love from NZ,
J

As promised, photos of all the babies

Dear SG,

I've promised to post the latest photos of my family so that everyone can see how we are doing.

Here's 2 of our babies, KiKi and ZoZo, both are adapting well in Auckland. They have more rooms to run around now and they are certainly making good use of it.



The 3 boy babies. Nephew Eugene, Uncle Andrew and Nephew Victor during our last holiday trip. They were practising their cheeky look.



Introducing our lastest addition, our 6cm long, 12 weeks old unborn baby made in New Zealand. kekeke...



with love from NZ,
J

Pictures of our new home in Auckland

Dear SG,

We finally had our broadband running and the pictures are uploaded in Shutterfly.com.

Here is the link to view some pictures of our humble nest. Most of these pictures are taken after Andrew spent a tedious day cleaning and tidying the house. But he hasn't tidy the study room. kekeke.....

Click her for our Auckland home from nov 2007


Alright, who would like to be our first home boarder?

with love from NZ,
Andrew and Joan

Happy 2008 to all

Dear SG,

I haven’t been writing because I’ve been sick a lot. Sick enough to be hospitalize just before my birthday and right after we’ve moved into our new place. But to all families and friends, we are all fine now so no worries. Andrew has been taking really good care of me and he has officially taken over all the household chores and has actually lost some unwanted weight. hee.... There’s a lot I would like to update, pictures and videos etc but our broadband access is being delayed due to the holiday season. I hope to put those up soon.

The New Year is coming and each year brings more learning experiences for everyone. A friend said that he/she is not expecting a good 2008. Just remember that we always have a choice in life, choose to have a happy and fulfilling life. If we want it badly enough, it can happen because we’ve make it happen. Be positive, be kind, nasty people are all around but we shouldn’t let them spoilt our day. Stay close to those that are sincere and kind, they are a reminder why it’s still worth it. Happy 2008.

with love from NZ,
Joan

Auspicious day to move (in)

Dear SG,

Our new home is ready for us, not that we’ve painted the walls, or clean it or even wash anything in there yet. It’s ready simply because it had to be ready regardless of the condition it’s in. We didn’t have much time left before our 2 darling dogs arrived from Singapore on the 15 th of Nov!

We’ve bought the necessary furniture to make the place homey and Andrew has arranged for it to be delivered this weekend. We are still short of the doggies’ patio door but so long as that’s done before the 15 th of Nov, we are still on target. Saying all that, we nearly forgot to check for a good date to move our stuffs in.

Now, if you are not familiar with what I’m saying, you might wonder why it’s necessary for us to choose a good day to move in. In this case, a good day is not determined by the weather; rather, it’s determined by the suitability of the date with regards to the birth dates of the owners.

It’s important to choose an auspicious day to move in, every house energizes their owners differently, and choosing a good day to move into a new home ensures a smooth beginning.
Andrew found a website where we get free online information for suitable dates using our date of birth. Please note that I get no advertising fees for putting their URL here.
http://www.geomancy.net/

Here are our results:



We are not going to fix a date to move in “officially” but you can be sure there are going to be lots of “movement” during these dates. Hee….

With love from NZ,

J

PS. In contrast, I bet the kiwis will just choose a nice sunny day to move in. Oh well, a little rain won’t hurt, water signify cash flowing in. We’ll just have to be positive regardless of the weather condition. ;)

Differences in our home in SG and NZ

Dear SG,

Let's compare the difference in our home in Singapore and in New Zealand.

SG - 3 bedrooms - HDB Apartment
NZ - 3 bedrooms - Terrace house

SG - 2 bathrooms (toilet and shower)
NZ - 3 bathrooms (1 toilet, and 2 bath and toilet)

SG - 93 square meter floor area
NZ - 185 square meter floor area

SG - current interest rate 2.6% mortgage
NZ - current interest rate 8.8% mortgagee (gasp!)

SG - loan period 25 years
NZ - loan period 30 years

SG - 99 leasehold apartment
NZ - freehold land

SG - living room in the front of the house
NZ - kitchen in the front of the house

SG - Single level
NZ - Double storey

SG - Pay a monthly charge for parking in a HDB carpark
NZ - A garage and a whole row of parking lots outside, free.

SG - Walk to wet market, hawker center and town center
NZ - Walk to supermarket, Wendy's, KFC, MacDonald and town center (we are fast food junkies)

SG - Walk to MRT
NZ - Walk to bus terminal (possible but it will take around 15 mins of walk)

SG - Connects to underground TV cable
NZ - Connects to TV Antenna and satellite dish

SG - Concrete wall throughout
NZ - Plaster wall internally and on the front and back, brick between 2 houses.

SG - Ceramic floor throughout
NZ - Capet floor throughout and ceramic flooring in kitchen and bathrooms

SG - Air Conditional system
NZ - Electric heater and gas heater

SG - External cupboards
NZ - Built in wardrobe (no need to buy cupboards!)

SG - one dog registration per HDB apartment
NZ - no limit but don't go overboard (yipee!)

SG - no cats allowed in HDB apartment (not strictly enforce but legally no)
NZ - no limit but don't go overboard

SG - main entrance is the front door
NZ - we found that most family enter via the garage door instead, front door are only for visitors

SG - letter box under locks and keys
NZ - open letter box

with love from NZ,
J