** Hse in Jkt **

Last weekend, I went to jkt to take a look at our new painted house, bought some electrical appliances that we need and clean up the whole house. Is not an easy thing especially when we need to wash the toilet that have been used by other people and have been vacant for some time. ** Yucks **

Oh well, but the end result is still pretty ok. Take a look!

** Lift Lobby of our Apartment **

** Ours is at the 20th floor **
** Main door & Dinning Area **

** Living Room **
** Entrance to our Master Room is a big wardrobe ** ** Our Comfy Bed **

** A Corner of our room which we might make into a study area **

** Day View from our Balcony **

** Night View **

Oh ya, there is a swimming pool (Reia do come and visit small yiyi so i can bring you go swimming everyday), gym (hot mama can go gym) and aerobice class.

Thats all folks! A little intro of our hse in jkt. We welcome you all to our hse whenever you are here in jkt!

Oh but be prepare that you will sit in the car for some time because of their jam.

I did have an experience when is raining heavily over there and the road are flooded.Not sure whether you all can see the little "wave" on the road at the picture!! =P

Guo Da Li

Today is our Guo da li Aka Betrothal. Got up early at 7am to prepare the things and awaiting Alf they all to come.

A brief intro about this day:-

When: One or two weeks before the wedding
What: Gifts and cash are delivered to the bride's home by the groom's family. The bride's family will take some of the items and return the rest to avoid the impression that they are selling their daughter.
Why: It shows the groom's financial dependability and assures the bride's family that she will be well taken care of after marriage.
Must-have items: Pin jin (money in red packets), jewellery for Teochews (si dian jin), dried seafood for Cantonese, pig trotters for Hokkiens, oranges, liquor and dragon and phoenix candles
Symbolism: Pin jin is given to the bride's family for taking care of her. Accepting the dragon candles signifies that her family accepts him as a son-in-law. Offering the phoenix candles to the groom's family symbolises the giving of their daughter's hand.

**My "Ping Li"**

** Juz Us **

** Alf's Side Representative (Da Jie, Er Jie, Brian, Lingxuan n Ning) **

** Not to forget to take photo with my Daddy n Mummy **

On well, in case you all must be wondering what are inside the 2 big baskets, here are the answers:-

**First Layer of Basket 1: Ping Jin n Si Dian Jin **
**2nd Layer: Mian Sian **

**3rd Layer: Xi Bing **

**Layer 1 of Basket 2: 2 bottles of Cordon Blue **

(Which can be seen at the 1st pic)

** Layer 2: 2 boxes of Chinese Biscuits **

** Layer 3: Oranges **

So in return of all these gifts, female side must return some of the things or exchange somethings else which is called as Dowry.

Dowry
When: On the same day after offering the guo da li
What: Gifts are presented from the bride's parents to their daughter and future son-in-law.
Why: The gifts are to bless the couple and to show that the bride is ready to take the new roles of wife and mum.
Must-have items (below): Baby bathtub, potty, basin, sewing kit, tea sets, bowl set, lamps and towels
Symbolism: The baby bathtub, basin and potty are to encourage the couple to have children. The sewing kit signifies a capable wife, the wedding lamps a bright future and the bowls abundant food.
[We only get the lamps and towels. The rest we shall get it when we need it bah. No place to put!! =p]

For exchange:-

2 bottles of cordon blue will be exchange for 2 bottles of orange syrup and an angbao (Mum say orange syrup is too cheap so give another angbao to add like a "compensate" for the liquor)

Xi bing will exchange for some wedding cakes

Oranges we bought to exchange

Alright, thats all about our hectic day today!!

New Bedside Lamp

My Ke Ai Mummy is so worried that my modern bedside lamp cannot pass so she went to buy another pair of lamp for me.

This is a battery operated lamp. Not like the old kind which need electricity. You can also adjust the brightness of the light. Can say is a modern yet dun look so modern lamp!

Did I Marry the Right Person?

Saw this in one of the website. It’s very valuable insight even though most of us know it, are going through it, or just need to be reminded… here it is:

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question.

She said, ‘How do I know if I married the right person?’
I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, ‘It depends.

Is that your husband?’
In all seriousness, she answered ‘How do you know?’
Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it’s weighing on your mind.
Here’s the answer.EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse / partner . You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies (unconventional behavior/habit).
Falling in love with your spouse wasn’t hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn’t have to DO anything. That’s why it’s called ‘falling’ in love… Because it’s happening TO YOU .
People in love sometimes say, ‘I was swept off my feet.’ Think about the imagery of that __expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU .
Falling in love is easy . It’s a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria (excitement) of love fades. It’s the natural cycle of EVERY relationship . Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse’s idiosyncrasies , instead of being cute, drive you nuts.
The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.
At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, ‘Did I marry the right person?’ And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown . People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.
Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.
But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I’m not saying that you couldn’t fall in love with someone else. You could.
And TEMPORARILY you’d feel better. But you’d be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):
THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT’S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.
SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It’ll NEVER just happen to you. You can’t ‘find’ LASTING love. You have to ‘make’ it day in and day out. That’s why we have the __expression ‘the labor of love.’ Because it takes time, effort, and energy . And most importantly, it takes WISDOM . You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.
Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.
Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It’s a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable… you can ‘make’ love .
Love in marriage is indeed a ‘decision’… Not just a feeling.
Remember this always :
It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.

Cakes for Relatives

Nowadays everything is so advance. We do not need to order boxes and boxes of cakes for relatives neither do we need to send to them personally. We can just order cakes vouchers and put it into the invitation cards and mail to them. Relatives can just go redeem their cakes (3 choices: Marble, chocolate or Banana Cake) at any branches whenever they want as is valid for a year. Cool!

Price, normal cakes from the cake shop cost about $6 bucks and this voucher is $6.80.
80 cents different save you alot of trouble I think is pretty worth it!


But of course these are mostly for the young people. Those more seniors, we will still got to buy cakes for them and send to them personally. As a respect to them.

So people, next time when you all are getting married, do consider this! =D