Meeting The In Laws

We're back from our trip to visit +3's hometown! It was a great trip, better than what +3 expected, and I'm glad to report that my future MIL is a super friendly and nice lady, and I got her chop and approval. Yippie!

We took a flight to Bandung, and met +3's BIL who happened to be at the airport waiting for someone else. +3's mom was waiting for us at the cafe across the road. Made our way to +3's eldest sister's place and chatted there for a while. +3's mom and sis had to settle some errands, so we were left with the car and driver and made our way to get some snacks.

First stop was Batagor Riri, where we ate batagor and siomay - local Indonesian friend snacks. Glugged down 4 bottles of Teh Botol as well, hehe. Had a couple more hours to kill after, so we asked the driver to take us to the factory outlet (which Bandung is supposedly famous for) and we did a bit of shopping and got some really cute outfits for baby Ivy.

Went back to pick up +3's mom and made our way to his hometown. It's a 3-4 hour drive, and we stopped halfway at Asep Stroberi for lunch. It used to be a place where one could pick strawberries (I think) but then now it's a restaurant with a gorgeous view of rice fields.

Lunch was delicious. We had ayam bakar (grilled chicken), gepok (another name for empal) and tempeh mendoan (tempeh fried with flour). So yummy.

Finally arrived at his home in the evening. The sun had set and it was already dark. Was introduced to his cousin (who stays there as well), had a tour of the first floor of the house, and sipped on some bandrek. Bandrek is a spiced ginger drink, which is served hot with some condensed milk and coconut flesh. It's such a warming drink, which is perfect for the cool evenings that Tasikmalaya has. We sat in the garden terrace and just chatted till it was time to go to bed.

The next morning, +3's mom got some bubur ayam (chicken porridge) from the street vendor down the road. There is something about local street food that just tastes so much yummier than the stuff you get in sterile restaurants. Got to walk around the town with +3 and it was nice to hear stories of his experiences growing up. We drove down to +3's dad's grave after and paid our respect.

Lunch was at another restaurant which had several ponds containing various fish and prawns. The fish were caught straight from the pond and prepared to order. We had ikan bakar and ikan goreng (grilled and fried fish) both so fresh and tasty.

Headed home and took a tour of the rest of the house, had a nap, and woke up to discover that his mom had bought beef sate and rojak, and also prepared a pork dish (one of +3's favourites). We had dinner in the garden terrace again and also a round of bandrek. Slurp.

We were heading back to Bandung the next day, so visited an aunt and then went to have some mie from one of the shops not too nearby. We had to take a trishaw and +3's mom and I squeezed into one. Eeks. I need to lose weight. (Or just say I have child bearing hips.) Lol.

Just as the car arrived, +3's mom's friend sent some grilled ube (sweet potato) so we dabao-ed some and took it back to Bandung with us. The drive back was really long (5 hours!) because of the poor traffic.

Got to the hotel, starving, and took a bite of the grilled ube. OMG. I'm sure the taste of the ube was enhanced because I was so hungry, but I honestly think that it was the BEST ube I have ever had. I might write another blog post about it. Too bad I didn't take pictures! Was too busy stuffing it in my mouth. Hehe.

Walked a couple of streets down to get sate kambing (goat satay) and martabak and then back to the hotel to rest after a long and tiring journey. Met his sis and the family the next morning for lunch and then made our way to the airport and back home to Singapore.

It was a really great trip, and we came back with a sense of relief (no objections from the family!) and happy that everything went smoothly. Now to prepare for his mom's trip to Singapore to visit my parents! :D

The Mystery Of The Missing EZLink Card

Had a strange encounter last week. Was heading home from work on Monday with my colleague and took the train from Yio Chu Kang station to Chinatown station. Usually I keep my EZ link card in the front pocket of my bag for easy access.

The next morning, as I was making my way to work, I couldn't find my EZ link card. Used my spare card instead (which is usually kept in my wallet) and took the train to YCK as usual.

Got to my desk, thinking that I had lost my EZ link card, and there it was! On my desk!

Told a few people about this and everyone said I must have forgotten about leaving my card in the office. But if I had used my spare card I would have remembered because the gesture of having to dig for my wallet then subsequently dig for the card would be something I'd recall.

Anyway I found out that one could track transaction histories of EZ link card, so I went ahead and checked the histories of both my cards.

What I found out proves that my story was what I told - there was a transaction from Yio Chu Kang to Chinatown on Monday evening on my usual card, and a transaction from Chinatown to Yio Chu Kang on my spare.

So how does one explain how the card mysteriously appeared on my desk the next morning? Spooky.

Two More Days!

I just received an SMS and email notification reminding me that I can check in for my flight to Bandung. Not that I needed any reminder, it's hard to forget a trip that important. After all, it will be my first time visiting my future mother-in-law.

I'm so excited! It'll be the first time I meet her, and I will also get to see +3's hometown. One more new place to visit (oh actually two, because I've never been to Bandung too) that I can check off my list. Hehe.

This has been an amazing year so far and I am so thankful for all the blessings and opportunities that I have had. We are heading towards the last quarter and I think things are just going to get better!

On Being Positive

Sometimes it's easy to remember to be positive in certain areas of your life but forget to take that same attitude in other aspects. Was reminded of this by +3 today.

It's no secret that I have put on the pounds and instead of doing something about it, I've just been whining and being miserable and unhappy. When the words "ugly" and "disgusting" came out of my mouth one too many times (well, according to +3 one time is already one too many) he took me in his arms and reminded me that I was the one who told him negative thoughts are bad and to replace them with positive ones instead.

And then he told me to blog about it so I wouldn't forget. Hehe. 

So today, I thought I'd focus on being positive about things I don't feel positive about and to take action and change what I do not like. Positive thoughts lead to positive actions and positive change!

It Works!

Just learnt a new technique to stop hiccups. If drinking a tonne of water or holding your breath doesn't help, try taking a deeeeeeep breath and then letting the air out slooooooowly.

Don't know what or why but it works!

Tomato Basil Bread

I was browsing through the Zojirushi website and came across a list of recipes. Found one that piqued my interest and I decided to try it at home. Tweaked it a little as I did not have dried basil or garlic powder, and used fresh ingredients instead.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup tomato juice

1 tbsp olive oil

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tbsp milk powder

1 tsp salt

10 basil leaves, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1 tsp instant yeast

Instructions:
Add all the ingredients to the breadmaker and let it do its magic.

One Year

It's hard to imagine how much my life has changed in the past year. I started dating +3. We bought a house. We travelled to London and Scotland. We got engaged. And now we are looking forward to the next phase of our lives together.

Looking back, it doesn't seem like only a year has passed, especially if you judge the passage of time by how comfortable you feel with your partner.  When I think about my relationship with +3, it doesn't feel like we have been together for only a year. In fact, there's a very "old couple" feel to our relationship, like we've been together for years and years.

But because it's still a relatively new relationship, there is still much to learn about each other and I guess that's what makes this so much fun. A combination feeling of old and new, of being so comfortable with each other yet learning and adapting to live together better.

I've definitely grown as a person in the past year. One thing I love about +3 is how he is always able to give me a different (usually more logical) perspective on things. I also love how we can be absolutely silly with each other, making up songs and dances (in the privacy of home, of course) and yet when it comes to serious business, we work well as a team and are generally on the same page on things.

We have our fights too, as all couples do. But we talk about the issues, work things out, and we have come out stronger and closer as a couple.

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Thank you, dear, for loving me and my family and for being such a wonderful partner. I've been so happy and am excited about what the future brings us, knowing it will be good with you by my side.