Friends – KEEP CALM AND READ ON

January 1, 2015January 1, 2015

Amanda’s 2014 review

I know I had neglected my blog again. It had been a long while since I blogged 🙁

It’s the first entry of year 2015!! Happy New Year! This year we went to a friend’s place to welcome the new year. Guess how we spent the 1st minute of the new year? Of course, we drank champagne! So as the saying goes or rather the Amanda’s theory – “If you spent the first minute of the new year drinking champagne, you will be drinking champagne for the rest of the year!!” May this be a prophecy for all who still reads my blog!!! *cheers!!*

2014 had gone by in a flash. Let me try to recall some highlights-

Jan/Feb
The first 2.5 months of 2014 was spent in Singapore. Little would i know that this will be the LAST long vacation I will have for a long long time. I had an enjoyable time with family and friends. BH and I finally spent CNY in Singapore and gave out angbaos for the first time since we are married!! We also redeemed our expiring Krisflyer miles and traveled to Bali in Business Class! I love our Bali vacation so much.. probably the best vacation ever!!

March
We returned to Seattle and decided that we can no longer stay in the crappy apartment.We found a fabulous new community to move to. The rent is expensive but we decided that we wanted to enjoy our lives and save on other areas, so we moved. I think God had planned for this all along. After committing ourselves to the new apartment lease, we received good news of our PR status. This means that I can work and help out with saving more! The fear of increased rent was uncalled for! Just when I thought looking for a job will take me a long time…. someone sent an email within the Singaporean Meetup group, saying that his firm have a job vacancy. I applied and started working the next week! This is the reason why I can no longer go back to Singapore for long vacation already. By the way, that was the first resume I sent!!! (I am still working for him now.. my boss is by far the BEST I have ever had!)

April
Hosted Keurig Houseparty – I received a Keurig coffee maker for free!!! so happy to get selected!

May
Stopped volunteering to focus on my new job. Other than that, I can’t recall anything much

June
Trip to Napa Valley!! The first trip we took since I started working!

July
Bing and I discovered that our apartment have 2 fancy grills. We were like grilling steaks every 2 weeks! so delicious!
We also went to Seattle Sounders game with friends.

August
We finally took our post wedding pictures! The pictures turned out great!! Happy that I have 1 thing off my bucket list! 🙂
We also went on a trip to Alaska with Dave and Jo!! Travelling together was so much fun- we will remember this adventure for life!

September
Happy 6th wedding anniversary to us! BH was busy with work but he still spend time to create an album with our photos!

October
Nothing exciting? Bing was working alot

November
Also nothing worth mentioning…

December

Went for Health check and was told that I have high cholesterol!! It is amazing how much I neglected my health when I start working 🙁
Our vacation to Cancun, Mexico!! Such a relaxing trip!! I really love the all inclusive resort experience!!!

I guess that sums up my year in 2014!

In 2015, I will
1) go to work on time and leave work on time everyday
2) go to the gym or zumba at least 2 times a week
3) blog at least once a week
4) study hard to get my paraplanning certification

Just like last year, I hope that more good things will come our way and that our family&friends will stay healthy and happy!
Happy New Year! 🙂

February 17, 2014February 17, 2014

Back!

We got back on 13 FEB and still battling jet-lag. Jet-lag is a huge monster I tell u!! We fell asleep at the wrong time, get hungry at the wrong time. Gosh… So I decided to cook to overcome the jet-lag. Works well so far! 😀

Vday was spent at home enjoying each other’s company. That includes grocery shopping, cooking, washing, unpacking. How exciting!!! I was delighted that BH volunteered to clean the place for us – the best Vday gift! I cooked a simple meal of Lotus root soup and sambal stinky beans. Home cook meal is the best! Just when we thought we could relax and catch up on tv shows we missed, Justin came over to our place! Followed by Jo&Dave and Ron! We shared a cake and spent our evening chatting away! Hahaha… It was a pleasant surprise! Really happy to have a mini get together after awhile! Who say vday is for lovers??!! It’s for friends too! 🙂

Today, BH went to work and came home super early at 5pm! I love it that he comes home early and smiles as he walks into the door. I don’t know why but it’s heart warming especially on a super cold day! Hahaha..

I seriously have so much to blog about!!! Will update with pictures soon!!

January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

So far in SG…

I am loving the weather in SG now. It is not as warm as I remembered. In fact, I can sleep without the aircon!! Amazing right?? It is either because my family installed a powerful ceiling fan or the weather is just right!! Actually, I am extremely glad to be out of the COLD USA

Most days, I spend time at home with my family and Bambi! Really embarrassed to say this but… I love being looked after after my parents. It is wonderful not to think about what to cook, doing the housework… Blah blah… I do help around in the house but my mum have her style of housekeeping… So u get the idea but I still help her when I can

Some other days, I meet up with my friends! It’s amazing how each and everyone had grown and moved on with their lives! I m happy to see my friends with their fellow partners, their small family, successful career. I m glad that throughout the years our friendship remains constant! To think about it, I do feel a little sad for myself as I have not achieve or done anything great over the years. At the same time, I also can’t help but to think of the many ‘what-ifs’ scenario. I only know that I m a much happier person than before now 🙂 well, i guess that’s all that matters

Remaining other other days, I am excited to decorate our home for the first time for CNY! It is gonna be simple but I haven’t had a chance until now! I also found myself actually counting down the days to BH’s arrival in SG! Btw, 20 more days!

So many things to look forward to…. ^.^

January 1, 2014December 31, 2013

Amanda’s 2013 year in review

It’s the time of the year again! Time for the end of year report card! Haha.. Well, this year I will be spending the start of the New Year away from BH – I hope that he won’t forget to write his review!!

Last night, after a fabulous night out with an old friend, I came home to my sis surfing Facebook ( not usual.. Haha) she was reviewing her year through her timeline. Out of curiosity, I went to review my timeline and the most memorable moment for me was….. When I purchased some 12 count, 3 ply toilet paper for $2.99! Haha.. How auntie! Facebook is not an accurate measure of my year, maybe my blog is better 🙂

Just like other years, there are many ups and downs. Let’s see…

Jan
-Our small group of closely knitted friends in Seattle lost a game khaki suddenly to heart attack. It was a huge shock to us. We were deeply saddened but learnt to treasure each other and be more health conscious. This unfortunate event deserve a better post but I just can’t find the right words or courage to write it.
-BH and I went for our first vacation of the year to Los Angeles. It was the first time we attend a Chinese concert ( MAY day) in the USA . It was a cool experience. The view at Griffith observatory is probably the BEST sight I have ever seen this year!

Feb
-BH and I went for painting class together. It was such a fun vday activity!!

Mar
-Moved into a new apartment which became the BIGGEST regret of the year. Sigh!

Apr/May
– BH and I went to Vegas for a short getaway. We won a mini jackpot of US$200 !!! The biggest win so far! If you are wondering, the $ was ‘returned’ to the casino shortly. Hahaha

Jun
-Arrival of Mr Hyde! Our joy and best purchase of the year!
– started volunteering at a children’s museum! BEST decision ever! Why did it take me so long to take up volunteering!!!

July/Aug
-My loving hubby decided that maybe we should look for a new place since I was upset and uncomfortable about the apartment. We were looking at buying a place but DID NOT because of our SG commitments. We saw a place we really liked – the kind that you will want to grow your family in, the kind that gives you the AHA moment the minute you step foot in but we got to let it go. It hurts a lot because you know what you want but you can’t pursue it further. It took awhile for the heartache to go away but we still believe that other good things will come our way. You just got to be patient… Right? 知足的快乐叫我忍受心痛
– BH and his team participated in a Hackaton and emerged the Seattle champion!

Sept
– BH and I celebrated our 5 years anniversary!! I am soooo happy that we r still in love and on the same page ( most of the time.. Haha) I just feel so happy that i don’t want our relationship to change. I still wish that BH will be able to put me ( family) above his work

Oct
-nothing worth mentioning

Nov
-we went to San Jose for Hackaton finals! Though BH and team did not win the grand prize, I m still proud of his achievements!

Dec
-We finally received news of something important to us. We did what we needed and hope for the best. We will only know the result next year. I am looking forward to this!
-I cashed out my first blogger paycheck on nuffnang. I earned $66 for 5 years!!! Obviously not blogging hard enough 🙁 Still waiting for the cheque to reach me…
-I came back to SG for Xmas and New year – leaving poor BH alone for the first time during this time of the year… Boooo… Will meet in a few weeks time! 🙂

————
Overall, Its been a relatively happy this year. I really regretted the rental we are staying in now – wish that time will fly by so that the lease will end soon.

In 2014,
– I will continue to eat healthy, go to the gym ( really missing ZUMBA and cardio tai box now)
– Volunteer
– blog more ( post entries with more substance)!
– save more money for future home
– be happy, worry less

Hopefully, more good things will come our way 🙂 Happy New Year everybody!!

December 9, 2013December 9, 2013

brrrr.. cold

Can’t believe that my last blog entry was over a month ago!!!
NOOO… I have not given up on blogging.. just that I have been sooo preoccupied everyday

Last month, BH and I went to San Jose for BattleHack World Championship 2013 – BH and his team represented Seattle. Though they did not win the grand prize of $100K, I was super proud of the effort they put into their project 🙂

In the month of NOV, I also attended 2 cooking classes with Jo. It was a fun experience. As it was hands-on, we had little pictures

The weather here is getting cold. “Super cold” is an understatement. The word is ‘FREEZING’

The above pic shows the windscreen of my car. It’s icy! I got to scrape the ice away before I can drive! The bottled water we have inside our car FROZE too!! Really cold.. This is when I miss Singapore’s weather 😀

Well, I was supposed to be back in SG this week for vacation. However, I got to change the date because of SOMETHING which I can’t reveal here ( No, not pregnant) I spent 1k to delay the flight.. and realised that my flight next week could be overbooked! I don’t have a seat allocated to me but I am not on waiting list too. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I do want to come home for X’mas!! Wish me luck!!

ohh… the highlight of the week was meeting my Secondary school classmate who happen to have the same birthday as me!! Her family had been relocated here too!! What are the odds right! and it was my primary school friends who told me about her.. heh.. Glad to know another Singaporean friend in the area 🙂

Shall update soon!

November 4, 2013November 4, 2013

Halloween Party

Nov 2

Our friends Sam and Denny held the Halloween Party again this year! The thing about Halloween is you got to dress up! Well… We didn’t want to buy any costumes so we improvised!

Can you figure out what we are dressed up as?

So, BH is the Brawny Kitchen roll guy

And, I was Dory!

It was a fun night! 🙂 Regrettably, I didn’t take any other pictures because my phone had low batt 🙁

October 3, 2013

Under the weather

Remember the Maroon5 concert at the Gorge which I mentioned here? Well, it DID NOT happen 🙁

I am feeling sore. My heart is sore that we didn’t see Maroon5 perform, I am also having a sore throat. Gosh, I can’t decide which is more sore – My heart or my throat. I mean, if it was just an impromptu trip, I won’t have felt so disappointed. I was looking forward to it for months ( bought tickets in April/May!) and it was the first ever concert that I requested to watch. Booooo… well.. Maroon5 suddenly became my favourite after I watched Adam Levine on The Voice.. hahaha..

Anyhow, it had been 5 days since the trip to the Gorge and I am still not feeling well. How should I put it? I am feeling as under the weather as the weather 🙁 I might see a doctor tomorrow

So why was the concert cancelled? It is due to bad weather. The windy and rainy conditions made it unsafe to perform. Now you know how I caught this nasty flu 🙁

Before the concert, we stopped by Wild Horse Wind & Solar Facility. They do offer FREE tours at 10am and 2pm but tours were cancelled because of the bad weather. It was extra windy – you can’t even walk in a straight line. The wind speed was 60miles/h. Yes, I thought I could be blown away

I personally thought that it was interesting to go upclose to a wind turbine – I always saw this on textbooks but never thought that I would go so close to one

We also hiked up to see the Wild Horse Monuments. The hike up/down was really steep but it was a beautiful sight. The view of the Columbia River is amazing but it was just too windy to hang out there

Finally, we arrived at the Gorge. The weather was still alright at first BUT got bad after that 🙁

We all left after Adam Levine & kelly Clarkson made the announcement that the concert needs to be cancelled due to bad weather. Just our luck 🙁

Lesson learnt: It is better to watch an indoor concert

July 24, 2013July 30, 2013

John Mayer concert at The Gorge

July 20

After hearing a lot about how beautiful The Gorge is, BH and I decided to head there to check it out. Together with Alina and Justin, we bought tickets for John Mayer concert and embarked on a 2.5 hrs drive. Nah.. we are not exactly John Mayer fans but just bought the General Admission tixs so that we could enjoy the spectacular view. General admission tics are the cheapest – we packed our dinner , brought a mat and pillows.. yes pillows.. to enjoy the concert. hahaha.. it feels like a mini camping trip BUT it was worth it. Food and drinks at the venue r VERY expensive!

It was a beautiful sunny day.. we stopped at a viewpoint to appreciate the beauty

These horses look REAL but they are not! Shall attempt to climb up and go closer on Maroon5 concert day ( yes, we are going for another concert at the Gorge in Sept!) This place was super windy! The wind was so strong that the car door swings open!

Arrived at the Gorge Amphitheater. FYI, we parked at the non-premier carpark for free but it was a walk to the concert venue

The view was amazing! Reminds me of Grand Canyon and I have no idea why. haha.. It was super hot.. I seriously can’t wait for the sun to set!

Finally, the sun set.. phew! Else I would have melted in the heat! Love the colour gradient of the sky 🙂

Left the concert early to beat the crowd. It was another 2.5 hrs drive home. Well.. the concert was alright.. maybe a little boring?! I mean.. John Mayer songs are slow BUT it was quite romantic to be lying on your back, star grazing and listening to soothing music. In case you are wondering, he didn’t sing “Your body is a wonderland” – maybe he sang it after we left?

By the time we arrived home, it was 1.30am already! A pic of us to remember the day..

Till the next concert!! 😀 Really looking forward to seeing Maroon5 live!

July 12, 2013July 12, 2013

Exploring Sequim,WA and Port Angeles

BH and I had been thinking about going on a trip to Port Angeles and Forks ever since the movie Twilight became popular. Well, it didn’t really materialised until this year 🙂

July 6

Our friends and us made a day trip to Sequim,WA and Port Angeles (nah.. Forks was just too far) It was a tiring trip! We started at 6.45am and only reached home at 1.20am, the next day! Glad we went ahead with the plan as it was very enjoyable!

We got on the ferry – Seattle > Bainbridge Island. View on ferry was very pretty! A nice day! See the new addition to Seattle skyline? The ferries wheel!

First destination was Olympic Game farm – This farm allows cars to drive through . However, you are allowed to feed some of the animals with wheat bread. To me, it was super interesting! I have never been to a game farm before! Feeding the animals enable me to see them super up-close!

The llama are the most aggressive! They actually chase after the car for food! haha.. we were screaming! so funny!

We only saw 1 zebra, which was quite greedy!! See… it’s biting the car window!!! shiver~~ Fear not!!! Most of these animals are trained!

The cutest animals are the bears!! they are super friendly! When they saw our car approaching the enclosure, they came right to the front and just sat there. It was as though waiting for us to take its picture! I mean I didn’t even know that the animals were trained to interact with humans until I read the website/facebook page closely. You know what?! the bears actually waved to us too!! Like really waved!!! gosh! I was thrilled – didn’t manage to catch it on my camera but you can see lots on youtube!!!!

Feeding the bears with bread is like playing an arcade game – haha.. they open their mouths and u got to aim it right! We had alot of fun doing that!

By the way, we bought wheat bread at supermarket and brought it there. You can buy bread from the ticket booth but it will be abit more expensive. The game farm keepers do check the bread before we drove in

There were many other animals at the non-game area but the drive through was the most interesting 🙂 It was a memorable experience! Hope that the animals are treated well…

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After the game farm, we head for lunch and drove to Olympic National park

We took a very short and easy trail ( not sure what’s the name) but the view was spectacular!

As usual, I got to complete the activity book to get the junior park ranger badge! 😀

—–

Somehow, time seems to pass really fast. Maybe we just spend alot of time driving. Thank you to BH and Justin for doing the driving!

Dinner was at Port Angeles(PA)! PA was mentioned several times in Twilight!

Below shows the movie theater ‘Lincoln’ which Bella and friends watched movie. ‘Bella Italia’ is the restaurant which Bella and Edward had their first date ( Edward didn’t eat) I am a ‘medium’ Twilight fan, so to me it’s a “wah!!! I’m actually here!” feeling! hehehe.. we wanted to dine at ‘Bella Italia’ but it was just packed! In the end, we ate “Next Door” literally!!

We headed back to Seattle after dinner. We were all exhausted! something I hate about roadtrips…it’s driving… and yes, but it’s the essence of a trip! gosh – who to drive? whose car to use? blah… Just felt that the driver enjoy the least and gets the most tired :/

Glad we had a safe trip and made it home 🙂

May 24, 2013

about blogging

We had dinner with some friends today. Suddenly, they started talking about blogging. Well.. these people don’t know that I still blog (but i have a small suspicion that some do know *grinz*) So, this friend jokingly said “People who blog must be living horrible lives” At that instant, I looked at BH and smiled

Then again.. I do lead a horrible life – I used to really adore my life before I moved here. Now? Not anymore

okok… this is a FML post