Naomi O'Leary

That's my new name from now until I die.

It's actually more of a big deal in Japan, because people call each other with their surname.
Takeya-san.
When I went to get my new passport at the Japanese Embassy, they called me...
"ORIARII-san! " - that was weird!

I think the sweetest memory of me and my surname would be the PE t-shirts in our Sho-Gakkoo in Japan.
Every year for 6 years, mom with her awkward writing, but better than Emi or I, did her best to write and stitch on the t-shirts for me.
In Chu-Gakkoo everyone's name was printed by the printer, so we were all relieved of the pressure.

Googled and found few people with the same name. And I know, they were first...
Miss Irish Sun is Naomi O'Leary too.

Ned

How cute is he?
Lucy sent photos of him when he's playing in a garden shower.
All kids love fountains and splashing water outdoors!

22 weeks....

Oops! It's a BOY!

Had a thorough scan at another hospital where they checked the organs and parts of the babies' body.
Yes, it has everything it needs...
and more...

20 weeks...

Doctor couldn't tell for sure, and it's not 100% but he said
most likely it is a... Girl!

My 34th Birthday!

Matt is such a sweet heart.
The best partner anyone can have.
He is so thoughtful, smart, cute, funny, eventful, hard working, sensitive and cuddly.

I am so contented just being with him, so when he asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I could only think of spending time with Matt.
But he surprised me by calling my close friends to my favorite Japanese restaurant and made me feel like I picked the place for 2.





It was a lovely and happy day for me.
I also want to thank all my friends and family who send me messages of well wishes.

And it makes me think...
I'm such a lousy person who can't remember birthdays... I should be more thoughtful from now...

Shakespeare by the Park

We went to watch Shakespeare's play "Much Ado About Nothing", the modernized, localized version by The Singapore Repertory Theatre.
Twisting the original, the story is still a love comedy romance but is set in the colonization era of Singapore played by the Nyona and the British settlers.





















Thanks to Calven the organizer with a military precision, each of us brought something to contribute to make a very nice picnic. I made sushi rolls and fried chicken while others brought wine, beer, cheese, cold meats etc etc.

After the play, and when most of the audience were gone, we stayed back and fooled around a bit. Courtney jumped in the pool which was part of the theatre set, while the boys had more wine and beer... resulting in us doing silly innocent things like these...

my colleague's birthday

Nanthia is my senior in the team, who commutes from JB (Malaysia) everyday (1-2hours commute) but she is always on time. She is positive, jovial and is helpful to everyone. She also has a pretty face and a slender body for a mother of two!

Matt's parents 2days in Singapore

Terry & Jenny came back from Koh Samui and had 2 days in Singapore before leaving to UK.
















We had a nice dinner at Flutes@Fort Canning on Friday night.











Saturday, we had Yam Cha@China Town and went to the Asian Civilization Museum.










Afterwards, we went back home and spent the remaining hours chatting and relaxing.
It seemed Terry & Jenny had a good holiday.

Next time we see them, there will be a new addition to the family!

ah....Koh Samui

Matt's parents came to Singapore for 2 days then went to Koh Samui, Thailand first.
We joined them on Thursday night until Sunday.






The villa was booked by Jenny so it was definitely going to be some what lux, and it was. The best part is that there were almost nobody except for us! I don't know if it is credit crunch or just how the resort is made, but it was as if we had the beach and the resort all to ourselves. Now, that is an ultimate luxury!

The food at the resort was good enough that we really didn't need to leave the resort.

Except for the time when we went to Samui Institute of Thai Culinary Arts to learn how to cook Thai Red Curry, Chicken & Cashew nut with Vegitable mix and Thai fish soup.
I loved the part where I learned more about chilli and how to cook the curry paste.

The weather was nice and we all got a nice tan!

16 weeks!

The doctor drew the part where it's the neck and then the spine.

It's a size of a big Fuji apple now!

(but it's too small to tell if it's a boy or a girl. Maybe next month...)

Melaka weekend

Went for a road trip to Melaka (Malaysia) formally spelled Malacca - with the boys Calven, Sam and Matt on Friday morning.
On Saturday, Jules and Courtney joined.
We were 2 hours late for our departure and left Singapore at 8am... and was stuck in the traffic...
So It took us 8 hours to arrive to Melaka. (coming back to S'pore was 2 1/2 hours!)
















That night
we ate at the famous Chicken Rice with the rice made up as balls - the Melaka thing.





We also walked around the side where the old town charm remained - It was like Singapore in the 30s, not that I've been there, but I can imagine so...


The next day we ate more Chicken Rice balls, and we went to play golf.
The experts (Calven & Sam) played 18 holes and the amateurs (Jules, Matt, Courtney(he was better than rest of us)) played 9 holes.













Then we went for more sight seeing, dinner etc etc.

I went to bed early being a boring pregnant person, but the rest had a late night enjoying the down to earth atmosphere of Malaka night.

Lynn Kawana

Toshiko-san finally came back from Japan after giving birth.
Lynn-chan is 4 months old now.
She has the chubbiest softest cheeks I've ever seen on any human being.



She was very quiet and didn't seem to mind being held by a stranger (me), and didn't mind being put down to sit to be admired, and only cried a bit and then fell asleep.

She must be the cutest baby doll ever created for baby loving people.

How things changed....

Matt ordered a pint of beer at Indochine and remembered the photo he took of me, when we first started dating in 2007 March.
How things have/haven't changed...

Meeting Tai

First of all, we reunited through FACEBOOK. He said he is now living in Ho Chi Ming city for the last couple of months, until this October.

He is planning to open a Gold Driving Range in HCM. The first time he picked up Golf was in Jakarta, recommended by none other than our dad. Since then, he has been pursuing a Championship in US, winning lots of games here and there (for that, he thanks the Takeyas).

The drive behind his dream to open a driving range in HCM is for him to encourage more Vietnamese to take up this sport and hopefully discover the next Tiger Woods of Vietnam! What a noble ambition it is!

It was very nice to see him after...14 years.
I wish the best of luck to Tai!

Happy Easter Holiday!

I have to admit, I'm all motherly broody emotional and a bit sensitive.... sometimes. It must be the hormones kicking in - big time.
Bars and Clubs are the last place I want to be and nothing much really excites me but the thought of baby/babies.
I'm not even interested in accessorizing myself but find it fun to see those little cute pastel clothes and shoes.
I try not to be toooooo much but let me confess, that I truly enjoy the thought of babies.
In the past, when I saw pregnant ladies, I thought they all have the same "nothing really matters" look, like they know it all, kind of look - and I actually felt it a bit 'arrogant'...
Oh gosh... I'm afraid I feel the same now and I'm not even obviously pregnant.
So, sorry if I am boring now. I'm just really contented.

Kaiser Chief Live

It was a good show and I think he was very entertaining.
I love a live at the Fort Canning.
But a usual with all the bands, the lead singer kept saying how hot he is - coming from the UK weather, I'm not surprised.

11 weeks!!

Yes!! It's definitely there!

I know it's lame to brag about a Ultra Scanned image but can't help it.

Matt & I went to see the doctor together.
It was so strange to see this future kid in the stomach, jumping, stretching his/her legs straight and then bending. Finally doctor got a shot so he can measure the size.


11weeks and counting... I got a loooong way to go.

Barcelona & UK trip

March 13 - 16 , 2009 : Barcelona, Spain

What a scenic and artistic city, civilized people, and a proud producer of amazing food and wine Barcelona is.

I have just swiftly spent the weekend there, but left satisfied with inspiration.

I definitely want to come back again, for a longer time next time.




This is my blog on the trip. The sequence is from bottom up....
http://barcelonauk2009.blogspot.com/





March 17 - 24 :
Horsham & London, UK

Catching up with close friends and family, that to me is the best holiday.

What more, they said we brought the weather with us! again! It was still very cold to me, but it seemed everyone was excited with the sign of Spring.

Wanderers Won! The Finals!!

The whole season, they were not playing very well. So for the Wanderers to win the title of Champion of Guinness Singapore Rugby Premiership Cup is something of a big surprise to the Team and the Opponents, the boyz On and Off the pitch, Wanderers and Wanderettes.

So you can imagine the after game drinks.... Lots of merry singing and everything.