365 days later...

A year ago today, I was thanking God for concealer and for a best friend who knows how to make me look human.I heaved a sigh of relief that my heels didn't get tripped up by my long baju kurung. I looked through the door and saw my fiance, looking so dapper in his suit, with a nervous grin on his face and love in his eyes. I sat down in our bedroom, getting my make up touched up and my hair put into place... and I thought... Shit got real. We're getting married.

It was traditional, yet not. There was no walking down the aisle, no official flower girls (but the Mimi and the Lily looked adorable in their matching floral outfits) and no fanfare. It was the most important signature I provided and the minute the tip of the pen left the certificate... it sealed our promise of a lifelong commitment to each other.

There was a sermon though. I couldn't hear all of it, being in the bedroom while the men were in the living room with the imam. I did hear this little bit of advice: whenever you are mad with your spouse, stop to remember the reasons why you love them. Which probably explains why I fail miserably at staying mad at my husband.

It's been a very trying year, to be honest. We've had as many misadventures as we've had adventures - like the countless trips moving items, first with a Thrifty van with the most problematic and creaky gear, before resorting to borrowing Paul's station wagon and then loading up my tiny Mazda 2 with so many boxes that I was worried that we'd be pulled over by the police. There's been plenty of heartache as other things in our life went awry (like losing ALL of our koi, yes even the fancy butterfly koi I bought him for Valentine's Day, due to bad weather and a horrible water filter system).

Through it all, I've been kept sane by an amazing partner. He's my rock who holds me when all I want to do is cry in frustration, who strokes my hair to ease the thumping in my head from overthinking and basically calms me down.

Most importantly, he makes the good outweigh the bad.

I'm not talking about the amazing moments and milestones in our lives that we've celebrated thus far. Don't get me wrong, we've had plenty of those - we've been blessed to afford two holidays this past year and Ant got promoted a few times in his first year at his new job.

However, it's easy to smile during a happy occasion.

What's really special is when you find someone who makes the seemingly mundane bearable, even enjoyable. Sitting at home with a big bowl of his sweet potato chips makes me as happy as I would be at Restaurant Amuse for their amazing degustation. Walking through Sydney and Melbourne, with his hand in mine, was so much more fun than taking in the sights by myself.

He's made me a more appreciative person. I find myself calmer and more content with less than I used to. I don't need fancy dinner dates, souped up cars or shopping sprees to be happy. His devotion and love brings me so much joy.

So much joy that I am committed to making him happy because I want to keep this cycle going. He makes it so easy and satisfying to make him happy. While I enjoyed watching the Lion King at the Capitol this year, I think I reaped greater joy from sharing that experience with him and watching his face light up during the opening number.

And that, in my opinion, is what love is all about. Yes, there are the fights but when two people are committed to giving it their all and doing their best, you create a happy momentum. You feed off each others' happiness and use that energy to keep the relationship going in positive ways. The end product of a commitment to healthy habits (showing appreciation for small things, open communication, goodnight kisses... and so on) is a formidable force that occasional discords and external stresses cannot break. 

And I am so glad I found that.

Happy 365, my love. Here's to embarking on exciting adventures, roughing it through tough times and bringing each other joy for the rest of our lives. xoxo

 
Of course... we couldn't have made it here without the support of our loved ones, not just during our special days, but whenever and wherever. In particular:

• Our families for accepting our union and giving us their blessing.
• Natt for being the wise older sister and advising me on how to navigate this new chapter in my life.
• My bestie in Perth, Sharny and her hubby Paul for always being there for us. I was already indebted to them for so much and I am so grateful for having them in our lives.
• My bestie in Singapore, the Pooey one, for being my non-judgemental sounding board. The one who helps my rants by joining in with (usually) supportive commentary. The one best friend who would help me bury and conceal the dead body in my trunk.

Online Dating Advice You've Never Heard

So now that I’m a married woman, I’m supposed to be some sort of expert on love. Or at least that’s the impression that I get when I talk to some of my single friends. I am supposedly an online dating whiz as well, seeing how I was in a 6 year relationship with someone I met on RSVP and I met the hubby on Plenty of Fish.

I’ve been asked for online dating advice, so I thought I’d write it all down.

The best piece of advice I can give anyone on a dating site is not one of those cliched lines you hear bandied about on the interwebs. Those are important to keep in mind, yes… but I doubt you will find what I am going to say published anywhere.

So what’s this magic hint?

USE THE BLOCK BUTTON

This is going to sound extreme but abuse that block button for all it’s worth. Some of the reasons I’m about to list may sound really trivial but in all honesty, they’re all for the best. Why waste your time and effort and someone else’s time and effort if you know that there’s very little chance that you’ll want to even talk to, let alone be in a relationship with? Do you entertain every Tom, Dick and Harry who comes up to you at the bar? Would you put a wild lion next to a zebra and expect them to be buddies?

There’s nothing wrong with being fussy. So use that block button.

Here were my common reasons for blocking someone:

They don’t match what you look for in a partner

I’m not saying to dismiss someone just because they have a tattoo and you don’t like tattoos (if I did that, I wouldn’t be married to my lovely husband!) but to take a look at the complete picture they’ve set before you. Weigh up the pros and cons. Your gut instinct is usually right. If you’re a homebody who prefers to stay home with a good book and a cup of cocoa, do you honestly think that guy with “embarrasing night club photos”-worthy photo on his profile picture is going to be compatible with you? I don’t think so.

I’ll give you another good example. If you come across someone who has kids and you don’t like kids or don’t feel comfortable raising someone else’s kids… block them. Even if you’re on a dating site just to expand your social circle (a really good strategy to take by the way… more on that later).. others aren’t on there for that reason.

Even if you think that the person is a really nice guy, just block. Why? Because the last thing you’ll want to do is waste the poor guy’s time and break his heart when you try to force the relationship to work but then freak out because he, understandably, has to put his kids before you.

They have a threadbare profile

Dating sites vary in terms of price. Some are free and others require that you pay to get in contact with other people. They all have one thing in common though – it is absolutely free for you to create a profile.

If someone is truly serious about making friends/forming a relationship as opposed to a booty call, I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t milk this freebie for all it’s worth. Why wouldn’t you tell someone about yourself in a nutshell on a profile? Why wouldn’t you take the time to make yourself stand out from the rest?

Your online profile is your first impression. If someone can’t make an effort to put up a decent first impression when they can do it in their pajamas in the comfort of their home without having to worry about taking a shower… I shudder to think of how little effort they’d put into that first meeting.

They send you a one line/pleasantry email.

My pet peeve was receiving one line emails. Namely of the “Hi, how are you?” persuasion.  It’s such a lazy conversation starter and one that is so easy to shut down. Think about the possible scenario:

Hi, how are you?
Fine.
*crickets*

And you’re back at square one. Only a more awkward square one all because you were to lazy to initiate a proper conversation.

There’s an old chestnut floating around in the self-improvement arena – if you want to build rapport with someone, don’t ask them a close ended question, ask them a subjective/opinion question instead. In other words, don’t ask them a question which can be shut down with a word or a couple of words.

 Ask them a question to get them talking – it’s much easier to build on a conversation based on the details they provided you as opposed to one word.

 Scenario One
Did you have a good weekend?
Yea, it was good.
*crickets*
vs

Scenario Two
What did you do this weekend?
Oh I went to the beach just to chill out.
Nice, which beach did you go to? I generally prefer Floreat beach because of bla bla bla…
*conversation ensues*

How hard is it to phrase an opening question right? NOT HARD AT ALL.

I also found it incredibly insulting to receive one line emails. I invested my time in creating an online profile so that you’d have a better sense of who I am – surely you can make the effort to come up with a talking point in relation to that? If you only have time to send a throwaway line, you’re surely not even interested in knowing me as a person.

Even if I didn’t put much detail in my profile, how hard is it to ask someone what their hobbies are? Or if you don’t want to ask any questions, at least introduce yourself?

Case in point: the last time I was on a dating site, I specifically put in my profile that I wouldn’t respond to one-line emails. Guess what: 80% of my emails were one liners. Since they couldn’t  make the effort to make conversation or even pay attention to my profile, I blocked them all.

Again, if you’re too lazy to even type a few extra sentences on the computer… how can I expect you to keep me engaged when we meet in real life? BLOCK.

Who cares if all these reasons sound a bit too harsh. What can I say, I’m Singaporean – it’s all about efficiency. I’m not interested in wasting my time or anyone else’s for that matter.
I know I’ve outlined my reasons for blocking, good ones which I believe EVERYONE should employ so that you can weed out the time-wasters. That said, don’t ever feel like you have to justify your reasons for blocking someone. It’s your life, you know it best and you’re responsible and liable for everything related to it.

Here’s some more food for thought, where online dating is concerned:

Investigate, investigate, investigate. 

Go on, do it. If you have already established some form of correspondence and you have a full name, Google it. Look for it on Facebook, Twitter and beyond.

But wait… isn’t that kinda creepy or stalker-ish?

Unless you’re going to obsess over someone’s Facebook profile, then no. Put it this way – whatever you find online in the public arena WITHOUT hacking into a website is fair game. People who upload things which are viewable by others who are NOT their friends are undisputably responsible for their actions. It’s not your fault if they’re either stupid, social-media unsavvy OR exhibitionists who don’t mind sharing what they look like first thing in the morning with everyone on the internet.

Wow, I can’t believe how much I’ve written. And I’m sure some of you might be thinking, man that’s a lot to consider, online dating is not as straightforward as I thought.

Well, I’m not halfway done yet.

If you’re seriously seeking a relationship why wouldn’t you invest the time and effort to ensure that the next relationship you go into is THE ONE? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get people who yearn for a happy ending (the whole married with kids and living in your own house shebang) yet bounce from one relationship to another.

If you are so inclined to find the one and settle down, yet manage three partners in a span of two years (and you’re NOT a teenager or a young and reckless, hard-partying twenty-something year old), there is something wrong with YOU. Either you don’t really know what you want or you don’t know yourself and therefore you don’t know who you should be spending your time with.

Which brings me to another point:

Don’t online date because you feel like you need someone to complete yourself.

If you’re not comfortable in your own company, you’re not ready to online date. Why? Because if you’re not happy with who you are, chances are, you’ll clutch at anyone who throws a compliment your way and that you’ll settle for something for the sake of instant relationship gratification… which often will not end well.

Treat an online dating site as a way to expand your social circle.

It’s not that you’re unhappy with your current group of friends – you just want to network and meet new people.

As funny as this seems, I think that people just want to be loved – and because that urge is so strong in some people, they’re willing to sacrifice parts of their lives and souls (which they shouldn’t have to) in order to be lovable to someone they deem worthy.

Treat online dating as friend finding – don’t invest too much of your heart, just take it as meeting a new friend and seeing if you can strike up good conversation. Can you spend hours chatting to this person on the phone? Can you be honest with this person about everything? Your soulmate is meant to be your best friend after all, so logically speaking, shouldn’t you start as friends first anyway?

If you take this tactic, be very blunt.

Make sure you state in your profile, correspondences and face to face meetings that you’re only after something platonic for the time being. If that person is nice, they’ll still be friends with you. If they suddenly go quiet… you don’t want to know them anyway. If they get angry with you – well, you can point out the obvious.

Lastly, and most importantly, don’t expect results overnight. I had a profile up for three years (with long periods of inactivity in between bursts of random profile browsing) before I met Ant. I’m sure if I had tried harder, I might have gotten attached earlier but if I did, I may not have crossed paths with Ant when I did. So don’t be discouraged if it seems like everyone is a dud. Get off the computer and go outside. Give the dating site time to generate more members for you to peruse. Enjoy the sunshine, read a book, go to the beach in the meantime… who knows, maybe you’ll meet somewhere there! lol

There’s more to life than the quest for your soulmate. And as I learnt, often, you end up falling in love when you least expect it. Heck, I didn’t expect to fall in love with the hobo I very nearly stood up!*

If you do decide to proceed with the online hunt, then I bid thee well. Remember, keep the right attitude, use the site to your benefit and employ a little common sense when it comes to safeguarding your own personal safety. You’ll be fine.

Also… USE THAT BLOCK BUTTON!!

*True story, I spied Ant from the safety of my car. He had his long hair and a beard, features which generally turn me off men and I was very tempted to start my engine and drive off. I ended up telling myself I had nothing to lose but a friend to gain… and the rest is history.

Another Amazing Year

My, oh, my, what an amazing year you’ve had, my darling HUSBAND. Yes, HUSBAND. Somehow, in the span of one year, we’ve managed to get engaged, plan a wedding, GET MARRIED and have three kids (furkids, that is).  You also managed to land a job with an exciting new company, get promoted AND finally obtain your driver’s licence. We did two moves in as many months – and we’re still nesting away in the bid to make our home our sanctuary from the craziness we are surrounded by on a daily basis. We celebrated our engagement in Sydney and honeymooned in Singapore and Thailand.

Indeed, it’s been a truly memorable year with lots of dizzying highs and some treacherous lows. I can’t help but feel so pleased and so proud of you, my love, because you deserve every bit of happiness and every milestone you achieved. I’m so honoured that you chose me to be your cheerleader.

You’re my truly amazing husband. You’re the most caring man I know and I love waking up each morning to you saying, “Good Morning Wife” and asking me if I slept well. You keep me standing when I’m too tired or drained to hold myself up. With you, I can bare my soul knowing that you will never judge me and that you’ll always be there no matter how spectacularly I fail. Heck, the fact that you’ve stuck around for this round in spite of all my quirks is pretty damn phenomenal.

And what makes you even more amazing is the fact that you love so freely and generously. Despite all the hurt and all the crap you’ve experienced in your life, you still manage to stay positive, keep an open mind and just love. It blows my mind, to be honest.

I could go on about the many ways you’ve made me such a happy bunny but I might nauseate everyone reading this. Or worse, you might get a big head which will force me to counteract the positives with the few negatives… but I won’t do that because it’s your birthday. :p

So as I was saying, it’s been a massive year for us and I can’t imagine doing all that and still remaining (somewhat) sane with anyone else but you. They say that marriage is about two people coming together to build a better life for themselves – I think I picked the best partner to complement what little skills I have. I am so thankful for you.

Here’s hoping the year ahead will be as epic as the last one because you, my darling, deserve nothing less.

xoxo
Your wife

I'm Married... What?!

So we’ve been married for… 5 days now… and it still hasn’t really sunk in.

Maybe it’s because we’re STILL cleaning up the aftermath of the reception on Saturday – probably the only downside of having the reception in your backyard! But I am glad we went that way nonetheless; it would have been a shame to waste money on a venue when we had a perfectly HUGE backyard to host the outdoor wedding we wanted anyway!

And despite threats of rain, the day was absolutely beautiful. A few clouds and moments of overcast sky but it warmed up in the end and we had some lovely rays of sunshine. I think God heard my prayers to delay the rain because it certainly bucketed down the next day. Ant and I stood by the door on Sunday morning, watching how saturated the yard had become and thanked our lucky stars.

Repeatedly.

We were so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed themselves. Our wedding wasn’t big and fancy. But it was us.

The menu reflected what we loved to eat instead of relying on preset, generic menus offered by catering companies. Our candy buffet, was somewhat quirky – unlike the neat, colour-coordinated professional set ups you can order, we decided to use a mish mash of vintage glassware, new pieces and borrowed items. We filled them with lollies from different corners of the globe  – peanut butter cups in one jar, candy love hearts in another and hawflakes and white rabbit candies in others… to name a few.  I’m just a little annoyed we forgot to put up our mini hot air balloon to reference Around the World in 80 Days! D’oh!!!

All those hours spent decorating the mason jars were worth it too.  Even the kiddies loved using them – the special tumblers we bought for them were ignored!!

Speaking of kids, it was so lovely to see my new nieces get along so well with the clone army kids.

Both Ant and I can’t believe how well they interacted with each other. It was also lovely to see how genuinely happy they were for us – Ava and Lola (Ant’s nieces) kept coming up for cuddles. And the only JUST met me on the Thursday we were solemnised!

Wow. I’m married. Aside from getting to wake up next to my best friend every morning, it doesn’t feel much different to before being married. But maybe because my tiny little brain needs to recover from the best party weekend of my life. One that’s got me smiling every few minutes of the day because I keep getting little highlights popping up in my head – like when I surprised Ant with the caricature. Or when I remember particular lines of the speeches. Or seeing the completed wedding tree.

I’m so thankful to our family and friends who flew in to spend the day with us… and especially the ones who spent so much time and effort helping us create our special day.

I’m feeling pretty darn blessed. Even if I’m not quite feeling like a married old woman yet. Hehe.

23 days

23 days.

OMGWHAT?!

23 days till the big day. 23 days till I sign away my freedom and commit myself to one man, and only one man. (Quite shocking really, seeing how this time last year, I was dead set on staying single and enjoying the many perks of not being tied down)

Am I excited? Yes. I cannot wait.

But on the other hand… my poor brain is going…. NOOOOOOO I NEED MORE TIME OMG

STOP TIME STOP TIME STOP TIME!!!

And I can’t blame my poor frazzled brain.

If you were to sit me down for five minutes these days, you could have me rattling on about the different things that need to be done and considered for June. Although you’ll probably not be able to make sense of my incoherent, chronologically disordered babbling.  In fact, while I was typing this one paragraph, I switched back to my gmail to remind the fiance about one thing and then checked my spreadsheets for something else. That’s just how I operate these days – things pop into the grey matter, I hop to it, and while I’m busy with one thing, my brain comes up with something else for me to focus once I’ve resolved the current issue.

23 more days. 23 more days till I regain some sense of normalcy.

And then we begin the house project. The backyard project. And juggle the Singapore reception while we’re at it.

Holy crap what have I gotten myself into?!

Aww Bless

In less than two months, I am going to be married. Which means no longer thinking for myself but thinking for US.

So it was on this note, that while we were at the HBF* office sorting out Ant’s health insurance that we enquired about the cost of roping me into insurance. So the lady at the counter, rather gleefully, got out of her chair and scurried across the room to grab some brochures.

She came back with some package and pointed out the benefits to us. I was only just trying to make out what was covered when he piped up:

“Does that include maternity cover?”

How is it remotely possible for a man to think about babies more than his partner? Oh wel, I’ve always said that I love a man with great paternal instincts – looks like I’m marrying one. Lucky me.

*In other news, HBF suck at customer service. They apparently sent letters to Ant to tell him his policy was in danger of being discontinued… which we never received. They also claimed to have called him before they canned it – but we never received a call or even a voice message. If I did that with one of my clients, I would have been slaughtered for acting without having confirmed contact with them.

Full Steam Ahead

Holy cow, has it really been almost two months since I last blogged?

Oops.

As you can imagine, with a wedding coming in about two months (I refuse to say two at the moment because I’m desperately clinging on to the idea that it’s three months not two), you can hardly blame me for being a complete stresshead about the ten million things to do (or should I say, BUY) before the wedding.

(I am now an expert at guillotine-ing, thanks to having to redo the invites after a massive typo error… I put the wrong WEDDING DATE *facepalm*)

The main stress at the moment is the weather – it’s the only thing we can’t control. I’m hoping the Perth winter will be mild as always and that it’ll be a lovely sunny day. All other stresses will have to be delegated, or so I’ve been told by the future SIL, the bridesmaids and the family. Somehow, I don’t think that will happen, knowing how stubborn I can be about retaining control over things. Oops.  I mean, I can’t delegate the buying to people, right…? hehehe.

Speaking of shopping, not to brag but I think that my net savvy has come in really handy. Not only have I found some fabulous items for Ball and Chain day… but I’ve also managed to find some items which are cheaper on different websites. Score!

While we’re going for a “Weird and Wonderful Wedding” theme (which really doesn’t describe it and no, I’m not leaking any wedding details right now! Hah!), I’m starting to think I should rename it the In Love Online theme. It’s probably more apt seeing how the boy and I met online… and MOST of the things we’ve got for the reception come from various online shops.

While our bank account is crying for mercy, it’s really quite exciting to have all these packages come in to us… and to see everything slowly, but surely, falling into place.

Aside from the financial element of wedding planning, the social life has also taken a bit of a hit. It’s been a long time since I’ve been out dancing on a hardcore, near-daily basis. And I really miss it. But planning as well as driving has left me absolutely knackered. Bah.

Never mind. Two more months and I’ll get back into it properly.

Two more months. Eep.

What a Difference a Month Makes!

I’ve been away for another month. This blogging thing is starting to seem like a monthly report rather than a near daily update… oops.

But gees, what a difference a month makes! I guess the biggest news is…

I’m engaged!!!



He proposed at Sydney Domestic Airport, just outside baggage carousel 2… and I said yes!

So we’ve been spending the last few weeks basking in the glow of being newly engaged… only that’s been interrupted by random bouts of wedding planning. I’ve been advised to keep wedding planning out of the picture for at least a month (which I think is a fantastic idea)… but we all know what a paranoid worrywart I can be.

It’s a really big thing as well because so many family members will be coming down for the registration – his sister and my sister from Singapore, possibly his mum too, my dad from Brisbane and his brother’s family from Melbourne. Oh, and possibly a Pooey too! Oh  my! We’re both feeling really really touched that everyone is willing to fly down for what will essential be a low key quickie wedding at the registry office.

And no, that’s not all we’re having. There’s a doa selamat planned for when we’re in Singapore in September… and also… a celebration next year for our family and friends in Perth, seeing how not everyone will be able to make the doa selamat and how the registry marriage only allows a maximum of 22 guests.

I did say in my previous post that 2013 is going to be an exciting year right? 

And on a sort of related note… we’ve been really touched by how genuinely happy people are for us. We really feel so special having so many people offer their heartiest congrats on our engagement… how lucky are we to have such warm people around us?

For My Beautiful Boy

To my beautiful birthday boy,

I consider myself extremely lucky to have met you. When I look back on how we started, and by started, I mean how we even started to get acquainted, it was a series of really quite improbable events. It’s a little bit like that movie Sliding Doors where one seemingly insignificant act of missing/catching the train ends up dramatically altering the protagonist’s life.

And that’s what you’ve done. To think, if you had not written me a proper email, if I had not decided to just randomly log on to Plenty of Fish after a long hiatus… things would be so different to what they are now.

You’ve brought me so much happiness, I really can’t begin to describe it – and that’s really saying something saying how we both know that I can’t shut up and that I’m a bloody awesome wordsmith.

But I will try anyway.

In you I’ve found someone I can drag along for the bumpy road that is life. Someone who shares my voracious appetite (literally and metaphorically) for anything food related. Someone who I can talk to without fear of judgement and be at my slobbiest with. Someone who I can be nauseatingly affectionate with. And most importantly, someone who I feel I am in an equal partnership.

Most people would expect that after all I’ve written here, that I’ll say that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Truth be told, I don’t care if I do. Life is too damn short, things never go to plan and we lose people along the way. The way I see it, whether I spend fifty minutes or fifty years with you is irrelevant because every moment I spend with you, I feel incredibly blessed.

So here’s to you, my beautiful boy. Here’s to celebrating another year of you… and here’s to many more… and hoping that I’ll always be able to share in the celebrations, be it as your girl or as just a friend. I love you, regardless.

xoxo Nadie

Mommy Duty

I love my boy. I really do. But sometimes I really want to smack him – this is usually when he ambushes me with a phone conversation with his mom.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I dread the conversation. In fact, the conversation went well – it always does because his mom is lovely and well, I’m generally friendly/chatty on the phone anyway.

But I detest being ambushed. Especially when I’m half alive on the couch. And you can’t blame my current adversion to speaking to middle-aged Asian women after the madness of the wedding weekend where the most asked question was: WHEN IS YOUR TURN?? *cue mental middle finger*

Anyway, ambush aside, like I said, the conversation went well. But I am a little bit daunted, to say the least. Daunted but flattered – his mom has more or less approved of our relationship, telling me that she’s happy that we met. Partially because I’m South East Asian as well, like her.

Not just that, but she’s telling me to take care of the boy. Which is huge to me. I almost feel like I now have full responsibility for his well-being. A really scary thought, to be honest. I have till February (when she comes to town) to whip him into Mommy-approved state. Eep.

And did I mention that that will be the first time I actually get to meet her? Double eep.

No pressure, right…?

So Not An Art Person

So I finally got around to heading over to the first installation of the MOMA series at the art gallery. And as I suspected, I am so not an art person.

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few pieces which caught my eye and I discovered a new artist, whose work I liked (Romare Bearden) but aside from that, I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as a proper arty farty person would.

(One of my favourites from the exhibition: The Train by Romare Bearden)

Part of it was that I never really learnt about art in school, so I probably don’t know what I’m meant to look for. Part of it was disappointment – I was hoping to see more Warhol pieces but only got 3.

Oh well.



I am still going to visit a few more in the series though – the Pictures of New York and the one featuring Van Gogh (whose The Starry Night has always been my favourite painting). Can’t wait!

It was still a pretty good night – I had an excuse to dress up and I enjoyed the company immensely.

Even if he kept photobombing my pictures.

Pretty Damn Lucky

Another weekend gone by, another week of catching myself mid-grin, thinking about the boy.. or rather, how lucky I am to have him. I honestly have no clue what I did to nab someone so doting but  I’m bracing myself for the bubble to burst. Seriously, his ex was an ABSOLUTE IDIOT for letting him go. But oh well, her stupidity is my gain. :D

But back to the weekend.

 It was a chilled out one with the girls (with the Lily taking quite a liking to the boy and asking if we were married/had a kid… after being shy for the first hour or so)… but ended in me getting sun stroke/sunburn and missing out on dancing. BAH.

At least I did have the boy around, who plied with mocktails – lychee mojitos and soursop mojitos.

All to keep me cool, you see. Hehehe.

There are all these little snatches from the weekend which keep entering my head – which makes for a nice distraction while working. It kinda reminds me that even though life is not perfect and that there’s lot that needs to be worked on… that a little bit of love goes a long way in making it a heck of a lot sweeter. :D

Oh. And have one of my favourite photos from the weekend. I may not have gotten my dance fix… but I was happy nonetheless.

Can’t wait for the week ahead. We have so much planned. An exhibition. Our first dinner date (long story, more on that for another time). And dinner with friends. Oh. And dancing! =D

Gooey Gooey Gumdrops

Okay I’ll admit it. I am currently a complete SAP who is overwhelmed with a flood of warm and fuzzy feelings, thanks to the boy.

I’m a bit irritated by some people going on a bit too much about my new status. Mainly from some people who make it seem like I’ve been hanging out for a long time to get coupled up. Which annoys the hell out of independent Nadia who doesn’t need a man for her happiness, thank you very much. The boy (who I believe needs a blog nickname, hmm) was quite an unexpected development and was in no way, shape or form, premeditated.

Yep, this now buried single Nadia is also a little bit nauseated at how gooey and mushy I’ve gone… although I’m really enjoying having someone to be cuddly with who reciprocates in kind! For once, I don’t feel like I’m putting in all the effort and work, it feels so much more equal… or that he lavishes me more than I do him!

Speaking of lavish, this boy really knows the way to my heart. Of course, food. I’m starting to feel like quite an incompetent cook around him. I think I’ll leave him to most of the cooking now… and watch from my spot on his kitchen counter. And we all know how much I love sitting on kitchen counters… and the fact that he lets me is a bonus.

I’ve been missing out on some dancing (shock! horror!) because of this new development but I don’t really mind because my muscles, back and feet have been acting up in the cold weather anyway. But don’t worry dancing, I won’t be disappearing anytime soon. At the rate that he’s feeding me, I need you to stop me from turning into a dumpling!!

You know I must love this boy a lot to choose him over dancing… on some nights. Hahaha!
But hey, gotta enjoy the honeymoon while it lasts, right?