2008/7 « Erica's Blog

July 30, 2008

Four Years Ago Today

Four years ago in the wee hours of the morning, I held Paul as we prayed, then had the doctors disconnect all his various tubes. We sang to him and told him it was OK to go home. About 15 minutes later, he did.

Here is a picture of Hubby holding Paul during the day in the afternoon of July 30th. We held him a LOT that day, and I'm convinced that + our prayers is what helped him make it through the day until after Grandma Ruthie arrived to meet him and hold him before he left us.

It's not really hitting me today that it's Paul's Angel Day, but I'm sure that's because we're here in Singapore, doing all this not-normal stuff. I'm not feeling well today, so I'm keeping a low profile. Tonight, Hubby & I will raise a glass and toast Paul. May we all live the kind of life that will enable us to join him someday....

Posted by erica at 23:11:32 | Permanent Link | Comments (3) |

High Tea at Raffles Hotel

Wednesday, the Things & I met Patrice at the famous Raffles Hotel for High Tea. I wish we could have dressed all fancy, but I knew that, even if I'd packed fancy stuff for the girls, they wouldn't have worn it. As it is, I had to run out in the early afternoon and buy a pair of shoes b/c they have a dress code, and trainers and slippers* are forbidden.

It was quite a wonderful experience. As excited as the girls were before we went, I'm glad that they weren't disappointed by the reality of it.

* Trainers = sneakers, like in England; Slippers = flip-flops. These are the only two kinds of shoes I brought w/me. The girls helped me find some cute pink flats for only S$15.90.

Posted by erica at 21:52:28 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Toozday Zooday

The Singapore Zoo is AMAZING. If you're ever in Singapore, you MUST go visit. Lots of the animals are "free-range", and even the ones that aren't have nice, big, lush habitats. Think San Diego Zoo but better. (OK, maybe the same; it's been 30 years or more since I went there.) The girls I did "Breakfast With the Animals" where we got to have a big buffet breakfast and meet a mama orangutan & her baby and a boa constrictor. The girls got to feed elephants during their bath/playtime, and they got kissed by a sea lion (Yupp. We travelled 8,440 miles for them to get kissed by a CALIFORNIA sea lion. Ironic, yes?). Best exhibits were the orangutans and the "Fragile Forest" where you go into an enclosure where birds, butterflies, bats, lemurs, monkeys, and deermice are roaming around free. VERY cool.

I took way too many pictures to post them all, so here are a few highlights. The rest can be found here. I also uploaded videos, including ones of the girls feeding the elephants.

Posted by erica at 20:36:53 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

July 28, 2008

Monday Dinner

Patrice & I had a "girl's night out" last night. We had a long talk over coffee @ the "Borders Bistro", then continued the talk over sushi at a sushi boat place. Actually, they weren't boats, but more of a conveyor belt w/plates on it. It was AWESOME. Here's a sample:

Posted by erica at 16:44:28 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Trip to Arab Street

I managed to drag the Things out for a few hours today to eat brunch, then go check out Arab Street. I could have stayed twice as long, wandering around and checking things out, but the girls were melting and tired, so we came home. Very interesting. It's not just that street, but nearby the muslim neighborhood w/lots of Malay people, food, stuff. [Note to family & close friends: Expect your Christmas gifts to come from here, Chinatown & Little India.] Tonight, I get to go out to have "girl time" with Patrice while Hubby hangs out with the girls. I think they'll go to the Singapore Flyer or maybe the DHL Balloon - both things I don't want ANY part of, lol.

Posted by erica at 01:41:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

July 27, 2008

Sunday

I *was* going to post one or two of the videos Hubby took @ church yesterday b/c the singers and band were so good but, unfortunately, you can hear Hubby & me over the real singers and...well...yeah. Anyhow, we went to Chinatown with Teck & Patrice after church. #1 priority was food, then checking things out. We didn't stay as long as I would have liked or see as much as I wanted, but the Things hit a wall, and we had to go. The rest of the day was spent at the hotel. Hubby & Things hit the pool while I uploaded photos and worked on THE BIG PROJECT a little. I went out and got dinner for those Philistines, then went out and got something good for me and sat in the hotel lobby, drinking an overpriced Singapore Sling and working on a design I had just thought of. Movies in bed, then we hit the hay really early b/c Hubby had to get up before 6:00.

Posted by erica at 20:56:09 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Thursday - Dinner @ Teck & Patrice's

Somehow, I didn't think to take pictures when we were at Teck & Patrice's last Thursday night for dinner. Teck, however, had the presence of mind to do so. Here ya go:

Jordan must have been hiding from the camera....

Posted by erica at 20:48:01 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

July 26, 2008

Today - Singapore Botanical Gardens (With Children's Garden)

Posted by erica at 02:39:27 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

July 24, 2008

More Fun

We had dinner at Teck & Patrice's place last night. Apparently, the girls & I weren't quite as acclimated to local time as I had thought b/c we were fading pretty fast. I didn't even think to take any pictures. Teck, however, did; I'll ask him to email me the ones he took.

I think today will be a hang-out day. I've got work to do on THE BIG PROJECT, and the girls have asked for a hang-out day with "no exploring". I might be able to get them out to the Botanical Gardens; we'll see. Tonight, there's a parenting workshop at the church with art classes for the kids, so we'll be there. Tomorrow: Sentosa Island. Oh, and I have to figure out how to get some laundry done w/having to spend $200 to have the hotel do it. (Work will pay for Hubby's, but I'm not going to ask them to pay that much to get ours done.)

Posted by erica at 19:56:53 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |