Phew!

What a relief that much has been acomplished over the past two days. Although we took Friday off, we were both up and about early in the morning attending to our respective chores and tasks. Off went Jo to her medical checkup which came with a scrumptious breakfast while Anderson braved the heat in an attempt to clean up what was still left of our garden.

The afternoon portion was spent meeting our printer in what we would say was our quickest and briefest wedding appointment, ordering our sofa set (only to discover that material prices had gone up!) and trying to settle Jo's credit card validation and activation. It wasn't till about four in the evening that we actually had time to sit down and fill our tummies with sourdough sandwiches and ice cream!

More cleaning and packing ensued for Anderson, as Jo went for her first gown fitting at White & Lacy. Excited as she was that her gown was finally ready to be worn, she was a little afraid at the same time, not knowing what to expect or whether she would like how it turned out. Of course, her worrying was uncalled for as the gown was how she had envisioned it to be, having designed it based on several pictures she had come across in a bridal magazine :)

With that in check and the next fitting appointment set, Jo set off to her makeup artist's place to be dolled up and powdered. It was weird looking at the pictures taken of her, as she herself found it difficult to believe that the person in the pictures were that of her!

Since it would have been a waste to remove the makeup right away, we went for an early celebration of Jo's birthday. We were half expecting most places to be packed on a Friday night but were pleasantly surprised to find the One Bangsar strip relatively empty. And so, the remainder of the evening was spent savouring a plate of dips, grilled lamb and chicken served with couscous before we turned in for the night.

We headed over to the hotel the next morning after squeezing in a McDonald's breakfast on-the-go and spent a good three hours finalising our dinner requirements and catching up with our super-chatty contact person ;) Imagine our relief when we managed to reduce the number of tables to a more manageable figure without so much of a fuss. And to think that we had been so worried about how we were going to fulfill the 55 tables we had initally booked!

Next stop: florist. Jo is still hoping to get her burgundy callas and is praying hard that the florist will be able to import them in. Failing which, she'll have to make do with the locally grown ones and be content with their smaller size and common colour. On the consolation, we have much to thank the florist for given the flexible payment terms and that no deposit was required of us :)

Urgent! Robo-maid Wanted!

We are to be a newly established couple located in the heart of SS2 Petaling Jaya. We are looking for an Energizer bunny robo-maid with an easy-to-abuse personality that is able to work day and night performing the following tasks -

1. Clean all book shelves (in and out).
2. Scrub and shine all toilets.
3. Vacuum, mop and polish all floors (upstairs and downstairs).
4. Assemble all flat-packed furniture.
5. Clear, landscape and maintain garden.
6. Rearrange, box and tag all former residents' belongings.
7. Wipe all dusty surfaces.
8. Pack, move, arrange all personal belongings yet to be shifted to the new house.

We have an advance remuneration scheme providing unlimited Tesco Cola, Kellogg's Frosties, Nescafe, Mamee and instant noodles. Benefits such as aching bones, peeling hands and tired muscles are provided accordingly.

Paperwork

Programme ... pending finalisation.

Helpers' checklist ... in progress.

Attachments ... in progress.

Helpers' contact details ... check.

Guest list and RSVPs ... in progress.

Timeline ... check.

Budget and expenses ... in progress.

Requisition forms ... check.

There is much paperwork for us to churn out this weekend following several delays and postponements in finalising details. Another 20+ days left and (not) counting.

34 More Days

It has been a long, eventful, and tiring weekend. Long, as both of us have not set foot in the office since Thursday; eventful as we managed to accomplish and finalise a number of wedding-related to dos plus squeeze in some time for furniture shopping; tiring due to our involvement in our church dedication service which ended not too long ago.

In a sense, it is a relief that at least one of us can now focus solely on preparing for the wedding and see to it that we keep to scheduled timelines. Four working weekends isn't that long a time, considering that we also need to get our new place into a habitable state.

Do keep us in your prayers that we'll make the most of the time we have left and that we'll be fast and efficient workers. Appreciate it!

The Yellow Van

A bright yellow van stopped outside our new house this morning, much to our delight and excitement :) Having been told that this was not always the case, we were happy that our furniture had been placed on board this particular vehicle as it made its rounds along the delivery route.

And because ours was the first house on the list, we didn't have to wait too long either. Good thing for that, as it started pouring just a few minutes after the delivery boys drove off!

Certified Single

A morning walk around State in the rain wasn't our idea of fun. From rummaging through drawers and unkempt desks for a passport photo to hopping from one comissioner of oath to another, it took us over an hour to get our marriage form certified before we could actually proceed to the registration department.

Not knowing exactly where we were heading, we eventually arrived at our destination having been told to head towards the Shah Alam town centre and look for a tall brown building. It was pretty obvious that we were not locals to the area as we even managed to get lost in the building!

Anyway, we finally got in line, took our number and waited for our turn in a room full of others applying for their ICs. It wasn't too long before we were attended to, and we were officially certified eligible for marriage after a few clicks of the mouse and the stamp of a chop.

A C-Filled Day

C is for ...

... choir practice on Deepavali morning in preparation of our upcoming church dedication service, a mere three days away.

... lunch after at a coffee shop in Old Town which does not sell Chinese tea but has good wan tan mee with minced meat and Chinese mushrooms.

... an afternoon of addressing wedding cards which got lost in transition and a few others who had previously slipped our mind when it could have been spent catching up on sleep.

... a visit to Choffles which culminated in us settling for a Mini Cooper cake design and 50 customized cupcakes.

... meatballs and fried chicken at the Ikea Cafe to fill our tummies before our furniture hunt.

... the RSVP phone call which revealed what a small world we live in by coincidental encounters.

... the enormous credit card bill chalked up by a dining set, coffee table, bed frame and several odds and ends.

... the dreaded cleaning that needs to be done after evaluating the renovation progress of our new place.

In His Time

A particular line from In Christ Alone is currently playing in Jo's head as she recalls the day's events. Truly, she has been blessed beyond measure and it's only by His grace that she is where she is now.

Being a Monday, it was customary for Jo to spend the first half of the day going through the papers for any client-related news appearing over the weekend. As she scanned through the sports pages of the last paper she was monitoring, a totally unexpected email came in from her boss.

Unexpected, not so much that she didn't know about it, but more of when things would be implemented. His timing was perfect in every sense, and Jo was rewarded with an early birthday gift. Whether He grew tired of her constant complaining about not having enough or because He saw our sorry state and emphatised with us, we are once again humbled at having received yet another blessing which could not have come at a better time.

A huge thank you to all who have made Jo's promotion possible, especially her superiors for believing in her and giving her the opportunity to learn and grow. Above all, all praise and thanks to Him who makes all things beautiful in His time.

Pretty Maids All In A Row

We couldn't be happier with the tailor we chose for our bridesmaids' and flower girls' attire. Where cheap and good are concerned, she's definitely the person to go to.

We have no qualms going a little out of our way to her place at the other end of the world from where we live after we saw what she was capable of. Even her talkative nature is tolerable after a while once you begin to appreciate her working style and Western-influenced designs despite being very much Chinese born, bred and educated.

We won't show you now, but keep a look out for the little ones' dresses at the wedding ... they're so, so adorable!

Bits and Pieces

Ever wondered how a wedding gown is made?

With two weeks to go until her first fitting, Jo popped by to take a look at the progress of her gown so she could get an idea of what would match her outfit best. She found it quite fascinating when the dress maker showed her two separate pieces of fabric that were supposedly her bodice and train.

Amazing how the elaborate gowns you see hanging on the racks and on manequins in bridal shops are actually loose pieces of fabric that have been put together to form the complete gown. No wonder it costs a significant amount to custom make one according to your specifications!

Remy

Thanks to a friend of ours, we were treated to the latest local musical to hit the stage. P Ramlee - The Musical was pretty impressive and the sets were simply excellent. Right from the opening scene till the finale, the musical was bright, vibrant and colourful, with cleverly interspersed humour at just the right times.

We thought that we weren't going to be able to catch the debut season given the popularity of the show and the rate at which tickets were being snapped up. Well, diligence does pay off, and we managed to get second row seats at a reasonable price (not that we had to fork out anything, as this was a surprise wedding gift!).

It was a treat for Jo to be in clear view of the thirty plus member orchestra which she secretly wishes she could have at the wedding! :p All the same, we are more than honoured to have one of the supporting cast members emcee at our ceremony despite his full schedule and rising fame! ;)

This was definitely a welcome respite from all the wedding planning and preparations, and we are looking forward to Chicago next! :)