A hattrick for March 2019

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Goal 1 ~ First time that I had lived in a hotel for two weeks; fourteen days of almost doing nothing!  Bliss!

Goal 2 ~ First time I touched sixty years of age.  Yes!  Six decades on this planet earth.  It was nice to have celebrated my birthday in beautiful Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Goal 3 ~ First time becoming a grandmother and welcoming the arrival of our grand-daughter, Cayla Gail Cheow.  Stephen and I are overwhelmed by everything about her.

I told Jared and Gwen that this is the best gift ever: a gift that will keep growing and growing.  

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We had breakfast with this view nearly every day.  Except for the morning of the day that Cayla Gail was born.  She is more important than food!!!

I do miss it.  I also miss the buffet spread even if I'm not a breakfast person.  I did enjoy the wide selection of local and western delights and being spoilt for choice with fruits and breads galore.  

And after breakfast, we usually return to the room and I always choose to sit by the window to enjoy the view and just feel thankful for all the blessings in my life.  I would usually read a bit while Stephen would wander off to the sauna or gym.  

I took this picture. 

For my birthday dinner, Stephen took me to the Club Lounge.  Just us, because I'm not a party person and I like things quiet and simple.

We chose to sit by the window looking at the setting sun.  This was a moment of bliss for me.  As I took in all the ups and downs in my life, I could see that it has led me to this particular place in time.  I am feeling contented with all who are around me and with me.

There weren't many people, at any one time but it made the ambience quiet and romantic!  I would like to go back again with the children.  The setting is so elegant and the food was absolutely delicious.

While not a drinker by any stretch of the imagination, I did indulge in this Singapore Sling.  I had never ever tried it even after living in Singapore for over 7 years now.  I decided that I like it very much and had two!  Heck!  I'm sixty only once!

And then, stepping out on the balcony, we had this magnificent and glorious sunset for an unforgettable and fitting close to my celebration of 60 years of living.   

I took this picture.  God's masterpiece.

At the end of any day or year or milestone, we need to reflect on all that is good in our lives.  We also need to be thankful to the people who love us, unconditionally.  

Thank you to God for an absobloominglutely unforgettable celebration of love and life.  I am so blessed.  I am so very blessed.

Guess what?  We're going back to KK again, soon!!

Of Love and Coffee

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Life isn't perfect!  

It isn't always fun and uncomplicated but it can still be great!

Sometimes we have to take great over perfect and know that this makes for a good life.

Most mornings, I am asleep while my husband makes the coffee.

Most mornings, I wake up to the smell of coffee even before I open my eyes.

Most mornings, I hear my husband tiptoeing around happily getting ready to go to work.

Most mornings, I laze in bed; long after he's planted a kiss on my forehead before leaving.

It's not a perfect life that I have but it sure is a great life when there is love and coffee.

Blissful living

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Stephen is a joker.  He can make me laugh at almost anything.  Sometimes he will just pluck something out of thin air and make a joke out of it and we will both laugh like idiots.

There are so many things that make me love him.  Like how he makes my coffee in the mornings, no matter what he has to do.  Or how he switches off my alarm so I will sleep on.  Just simple things that all add up to what makes for a happy marriage.

For a lot of my life, I've always felt that I was always giving more than I take but for the first time in my life, I actually believe that I am taking more than I give.  It's taken a lot of adapting to reverse this and learning how to receive and not to worry about any hidden agenda.

And it's not just about relationship between husbands and wives, it's also about what goes on between friends.  

We're always concerned about paying back and keeping the record clean but every once in a while, we cross paths with someone who is happy to just give and be counted as a blessing.  We must remember to appreciate the kindness and be grateful when people are kind.  It is their intangible gift to us.

Some would call it karma but the bible says this

From Pinterest

First Monday of 2017

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I had intended to wake up early but slept till nearly 10 am.  But as Dodinsky advises, I'm letting it go.

I plan to have a better year.  How?  I'm not quite sure yet.  I'll just take one day at a time instead of writing down what I intend to do for the rest of 2017.  

2016 saw the culmination of some planned events but it was also the impromptu ones that left a warm, fuzzy feeling in me.

We ended last year on a high. Literally, high up on the 58th level in the Swissotel-The Stamford and on the 60th level for breakfast and evening cocktails.

I'm going to do a collage of some photos for, as Stephen puts it, "taking our love to a higher level".  Next blogpost will be about that.  *grins*

It's over but the journey has begun

We're blessed to have been able to witness and be part of something so special in our lives.  A new door opens and, with awe, we watch all the magic and mystery of life and love.

Round 1 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on 26 November 2016
Round 2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 10 December 2016
Round 3 in Singapore on 17 December 2016

It's all over now but their journey truly has begun.

We are so proud of this union and we give all our blessings over your lives together.

Dear Jared and Gwen,

Be happy. Stay close to God. Look after each other always.

Never forget that both of you are loved very much by your loving parents.

May blessings flow through your lives abundantly.

Much love today, tomorrow and forever

D and Nai!

Photo credit to SteffiePaulus

Mixed news and reviews

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It's only the first week of 2015 and already there has been a bit of sad news. Two deaths so close to each other: both untimely.  Both were in their mid-fifties and when life should begin to take a slower pace.  It's tragic.

I can't help but feel a tinge of concern because death is not the end for those who believe and I can only hope that both of them believed right. 

Life goes on and I'm truly blessed that I have followed my bliss.

Often Stephen will catch me off guard by saying that he loves watching me doing my thing. I always laugh because I never even notice him watching me. Usually I am so engrossed in whatever I am doing that I don't realise he's been looking at me.  But I feel a sense of security that he's so protective of me. 

I sort of remember doing what he did when the children were small.  They'd be playing or reading or watching TV and I'd stop what I was doing just so I could freeze that moment in my mind.  I'm so glad I did that.  Those memories always make me smile.

Whether Stephen and I are home or out and about, it doesn't matter if we are doing something together or doing our own thing because we have already reached this comfortable level of intimacy.

Our quiet moments are precious moments.  

Tonight, I send a whisper of a prayer for those who had their lives snatched suddenly.  May their souls rest in peace.