First there was 1, Now there's 2...

It has happened finally, the entries are getting more and more infrequent. Cannot help it because I have been feeling tired and also my boys were sick almost through the month of February. The feeling of wanting to blog, but left with no time and energy to blog, is like wanting to call up an old friend to check how is she, but never got about doing that. Well, guess it's the thought that counts.

The Addition to The Family

No, I am not (yet) pregnant again. It's the arrival of Gibra's twin from the UK. Can you tell which one is the poor soul which has been subjected to The Prince's abuse (swinging it/ flunking it onto the floor/ relentless biting into its limbs and head/ trying to pull it apart with his front teeth)?

Yep, it's the one on the left. I was amazed at how frail it looked next to No.2. Anyway, so now we have saved the trouble of having to remember to pack Gibra into the Prince's backpack when we drop him at my Mum's place. The cost of Gibra = 12.99 pounds. The cost of convenience = priceless!

Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary!

The people at Whitebait&Kale were wonderful. I rang to book a table and asked for a nice corner as Hubby and I will be celebrating our anniversary. At the end of the dinner, the staff served us a slice of cake with icing and the message "Happy Anniversary Mr & Mrs Ang". 3 of them took turns to come up and congratulate us.

So one joke came up because of this. Thinking she was going to clear the table (when there's only a glass of water and a piece of napkin left), I pulled my chair backwards and smiled at her. In my head, I was thinking "Wah, cannot wait ah, napkin and water also want to clear now?". It was only when she said 'Congratulations, Mrs Ang." that I realised she wanted to shake hands. So I quickly pulled my chair forward and shook hands with her. Obviously, Mr Ang was not very amused and did not think it was valid as a case of misunderstanding. "What's wrong with you? Wah lau, so pai seh, " he mumbled but this left us grinning for the next 5 minutes.

It's Never Too Late...

Like the bank advertisement says "It's never too late to start planning.", so we did kick off our financial planning 'project' and finally managed to close the chapter after 4 months. Started out with me contacting an old schoolmate who is in this line, in November; and finally passing him the cheque in mid Feb. Why did it take so long? Because I have a lousy filing system at home (actually it's non-existent) and I suck at keeping track of my financials. In the midst of applying for my SINGPASS, losing it and having to re-apply again, finding my insurance policies, bank statements, I added a belated New Year resolution: To set up a more organised filing system for my documents.

Life really changes when you have a family. Suddenly, it does matters whether you are dead or alive, healthy and able-bodied or not. Not just because the people who love you will be hurt emotionally but your loss of income would mean a greater burden on your other half, in order to keep the family going. It's the hard truth and really sets you into thinking how to protect your family financially just in case one of those undesired scenarios really happens.

On a happier note, we started locking in funds for the Prince's education. Hopefully he will be able to get an overseas education, just like how our parents have given us that chance. Of course, any form of scholarship (even if it's for the Royal College of Music or The Polimoda in Italy) will be greatly welcomed. Then perhaps we can fulfill the dream of owning a private yacht!

Brokeback Mountain

No, not talking about the gay movie which I want to watch, but the mountain of back-breaking errands we had to settle, which were long overdue.

1. Ordering the Ariston waterheater for the master bedroom. This was one of the greatest PITA (pain in the arse) chore. Not only because we had to 'migrate' the toiletries and towels to the toilet downstairs, I had to call the sole distributor several times because it has been "still-out-of-stock-leh,-don't-know-when-the-stock-coming- can-you-call-back-later-to-check?". Luckily I met 2 kind souls who helped me find 1 set somewhere out there in Singapore. After that, had to set a day for installation and make sure someone is home for the whole day because they have to cut open the false ceiling to remove that big 80 litre lump of metal cylinder, and then fix back the ceiling again and do a paint job over it. And for this hassle, we had to pay $600.
2. Repair leaking roof which has also caused the legs of the Prince's clothes cupboard to corrode. Wonderful Ikea gave us 2 new legs FOC, which were conveniently slipped under the cupboard without us removing the spoilt ones yet. (Yes, we are L-A-Z-Y)
3. Change vertical blinds to blackouts because 1 layer of vertical blinds and 1 layer of cheapo curtains combined still cannot keep out the morning sun. Of course, I am also harbouring the thought that I could trick the Prince into waking up later since it doesn't get bright so early. Not working yet, but still hoping.
4. Change toilet light bulb. We were living with half dim bathroom because one of the light bulb was stuck when we wanted to change it. Any further movement and it may shatter as it was cracked so we left it until one of the Indian workers repairing the roof helped me remove it.
5. Buy wardrobe for extra storage. Went with MIL to Ikea to find some way to store the Prince's old clothes and shoes. Was quite an eventful trip because we decided to lug the 2m tall wardrobe home, plus a bookshelf to DIY. Spent a good 15 minutes at least trying to figure out, with BIL and MIL, how to fit the boxes into the car. Thank God they drive an MPV!

G'Day, Mate!

Had a good ending for the month of Feb because I went back to Sydney!! Was a company incentive trip, only for 4 days but can't complain since everything is paid for. Only wished I could pack my boys with me. This time, I traveled with a group of gamblers who had a set of cards glued to their palms, all the way from the coach, to the waiting area, to the Blue Mountains and the airport. The type of company really matters. I even found the toilets of the Sydney Opera House more interesting than them. Look at the basins, aren't they simply in a class of their own?!

Best part of the trip was of course meeting up with old friends and seeing changes to places I used to hang out, like Bondi Junction and the something-world Ernst & Young building along George St. Oh, you might think I am crazy but one thing I enjoyed so much over there was going through the aisles of the supermarket and K-Mart and Target. Yup, managed to top up my supply of Heinz fruit bars, Nutri-Grain, Bonds and a variety of potato chips, thanks to Dex and Ella.

Ok, that's all for now. Would have liked to mention another funny incident but it's a little precarious to do so here. But if you are keen to know, you can ask me to tell you the story of "The Hamburger and his Books".