Thank you Lord ...

... for the remarkable Tuesday:)

Very often we just have to marvel at how our God works in our lives. For so many years, hubby has been praying for me... that I'll be able to really walk out of the shadows.

I crossed the 1st hurdle last Christmas Eve. The 2nd hurdle was overcome 7 months later - I returned for the 1st Sunday Service with mum & hubby on 11 July. It's a pleasant surprise for mum as she wasn't aware beforehand... & yes, she's so happy. And many old friends gave me a welcoming pat on the shoulder :)

Just 1 week after the return.. my ex passed me (through his dad who gave it to my mum in church on Tue) an officially-signed letter, requesting me to give consent in releasing my right as his insurance beneficiary. Initially I was quite upset... after 7 years, I still had to deal with such matters of his. I dreaded to see him again & what's worse - seeing his parents as they had to be there too. The sight of him (& his parents) would remind me of those stormy days... of his nasty attitude... of the sickening (欠扁) look that's always on his face....

Text him 2 days after I got the letter & arranged to meet the following Tue.. just wanted to get it over. Sabrina, my bestie in church, told me to go with hubby. She's the only I kept in touch with since I left & she's the one who "taught" me how to be a true friend.

So that Tue morning (20 July), I was at AIA office in Raffles Place with hubby & waited anxiously to be face-to-face with the ex & his parents for the 1st time in 6 years. I was nervous... I wasn't sure if I'd get similar unpleasant treatments from them again... But hey, I thought I was doing him a big favour ok.

And it turned out to be better than I expected. Guess he appreciated my prompt response & agreement to his request. After all that he'd done in order not to make my life easier, he might assume that I'd have jumped at this chance to revenge? So he's smiley from the 1st moment I saw him & so was his mum. Not too bad... though his dad was as usual stone-faced (but at least better than flaring his fiery temper).

When we're waiting for things to be done (hubby was waiting for me & gave his support from afar & his parents were sitting behind), we got into small chats.. he got a new job again (his 15th, or so?).. anyway it's no longer my business. He also said he's going to drop his girlfriend of a few years & I was a lil too amazed by his frank remark that I didn't know how to respond...
Before I left, he even thanked me & apologise for the troubles.

Thank God for the whole healing process... The day I was ready to return to my ex-church & see everyone again, it's when God healed me of the remaining brokenness from the past. The ex has been attending another church & we didn't see his parents as they attending different congregation but the recontact just happened so timely - how great was His arrangement.

In fact now, I don't mind adding him on Facebook. That's how much I'm freed from the past. ;)

One of those Weekends ...

Yesterday we had nasi lemak as breakfast (taking a short break from our usual Hans breakfast since we took it on Fri). So we only took dessert for lunch & then had early dinner.

Our early dinner at 4.30pm - 928 (Hakka) Ampang Yong Tau Foo @ Upper Thomson. Yummy!

After dinner, we took a short ride in Sembawang. We remembered chancing upon an old restaurant some time back but was closed when we're there, on a Sun evening. Just wanted to find out if it's interesting enough to be considered a venue for future breakfast or dinner. We found it - First Street Cafe without much efforts... it looked desolated though. 2-3 cars in the carpark but all windows/doors were shut so we wondered if it's still in operation. Went in & surprised to see some diners in there... not fully occupied maybe 50% filled? They must have seen us, through the tinted windows, staggering in from afar:P Believe the restaurant mostly serves the community there. When we're in the mood one of these days, we may try their "self-proclaim popular" fish & chips...

It's an interesting place with many British colonial bungalows/duplexes & brick houses. This area belongs to MINDEF & MINDEF leases the houses to the US Navy (COMLOG WESTPAC).

Gateway Inns & Suites in very original condition... offer short-term accomodation for the US Navy in Singapore

An evening @ the Airport

We spent 3 hours at the airport last Fri evening.

Mum returned from her 8-day Taiwan tour that night, @8.45pm. We arrived at the airport just past 6... Took a walk in T2... memories memories...... My mood was usually not as relaxed because most of the time I was there to catch a flight for a work trip. In the last couple of years of travel (after hubby & I were married), I hated it whenever I needed to be away for work. Now I kind of miss those trips.. but only of the interesting parts.. like the exposure to different culture, the food (my ex-boss never set a budget on my meals!), the shopping..... So I've to constantly remind myself of the negative things that I dread about those work trips, which mainly was the unbearable loneliness...

@ T3... Just had toasts & tea at Ya Kum :)

Mum got us A LOT of Taiwan goodies!
We love 太阳饼 but mum bought a total of 50 pieces for us & we gotta finish them by 2 weeks! :O

Feasting Month

Have been putting on weight & it's not being helpful that we've been feasting quite a bit lately.

Early Jun, hubby's company monthly birthday dinner (buffet) @ Holiday Inn Ochard.

The last Sat in Jun, we met up with PY & Brian & had buffet dinner @ Merchant Court's Ellenborough. There's crab promotion then.

We'd a walk at Clarke Quay before dinner... the place was done up for the Singapore River festival performance which was right in front of Ellenborough that evening. Many aspiring & professional photographers were already walking around with their SLR cameras...

The next day we'd buffet lunch with hubby's family @ Suntec's Kuishin Bo. Nice food.


The following Fri, hubby had business dinner (a la carte buffet) at The Link's Akira Japanese Restaurant.

Then yesterday, hubby's company monthly birthday dinner again... @ MOF Bugis....

We had the VIP Set Menu... a 9-course dinner? Thought all the items would come in small portion.... but not really & by the 6th or 7th.. many of us surrendered:)

Too bloated.... have some fun then.. haha..

Just a month but the damage is substantial.... we should really consider going on diet especially for hubby.... hehe....

New?

Earlier this year I was at 77th Street & saw this pendant.

Priced @ $35 & the lady said it's a new arrival.
But you know what.... I bought it in Bangkok during one of my work trips in MAY 2004, @ around S$12 (it's already expensive to me as my budget for pendants in Bangkok was S$6-$8 each).
So 6 years later, it's still considered new?!

I've vivid memory of it because the day I returned from Bangkok with the pendant on 31May 04, I attended my primary school alumni night & proudly wore the pendant to the event.