Goodbye Singapore, Seoul good!

I was re-reading my previous entry, and - this is a good thing - I had forgotten how busy I was pre-holiday.  Truly, a break for the seoul (pun intended!) is so important, to not do regular stuff with regular food/things/people; and develop/enjoy different routine from the one we have daily; to remind us of the fun there is out there. A reminder of the goodness and differences the world offers; to remind us not to wallow in our little minds only because the world is so big.


So after the mad weeks leading up to this holiday; I had the night before to pack (but of course, we must wait until this last moment to pack. No other way to lead life except on the edge, right ha ha ha). While that was happening, my mind was burdened by the fact that K was running a fever. It was 2 nights in a row that I was up several times a night to check on her temperature.
As she was on school holidays, there was minimal disruption but as with each illness bout, there is always the worry of it escalating.



This is what happens when you have a sick child

Thankfully, her fever was under control and with the helper and MIL holding the fort, I managed to go relatively happily. After kissing the children goodbye, I bade farewell to the MIL who woke up to lock the doors behind me.


Date: 14 Jun 2017
Flight: 0800


The skies were still dark as I boarded the cab this Wednesday morning; and as I left the house in the good hands of those at home, I felt my breathing becoming more stable, less anxious and it felt like the holiday was starting. I got to the airport punctually (after my encounter where I missed the flight, I've developed a phobia!) and had to quickly run an errand of picking up our wifi router. The husband had forgotten to do so and it was a nice episode where I met a kind and helpful counter staff that enabled me to pick up the router from T3 (than going to T2) and I was so happy. On this positive start, I went to seek for caffeine.

Hello lounge

While the food was free (yay), the selection on this morning wasn't great. I appreciated the caffeine kick (2 cups, so tired!) and slowly, I headed to board. On-board, I had a meal, watched 1.5 movies, had some G&T and took a short nap. It was afternoon by the time I reached Incheon Airport. I last went to Korea in January 2016 and the airport looked familiar. With guidance of pictures and instructions from the husband, I successfully made my way to our meeting point. The husband forgetting to pick up the router turned out to be a good thing, as it meant that while he had free wifi at the hotel; I was also contactable being in transit. So hooray #thankfulforallgoodstuff

Bus tickets from airport to town

While on the airport bus, the husband texted me that he was waiting for me to eat this tart:

Pablo

I hadn't known of Pablo, but it was so sweet of him to wait for me to eat it together. It took me about an hour+ to get to our designated meeting spot (a particular bus stop) and along the way, familiar sights triggered me back to our last family holiday in Korea.

The bus stop was just around the corner from this 'castle'
(just like how I remember in my memory)

I got off the bus and waited for the husband. At this point, it was probably about 4pm. It felt so nice to see him! It was only 2 days since I last saw him but it felt amazing to be reunited. I requested to go to the hotel to wash up - I felt really grimey after travelling the past 9 hours.


We headed to the hotel and I showered, while sharing the tart. That pic above does not give true justification to the size of the tart - it was not an individual serving of a tart; but a whole tart! I had a slice and after showering, I felt alive again and was ready to take a walk. My legs felt really cramped and in-need of a stretch.


The husband and I walked around aimlessly along the streets of Myeongdong, which was a road across from our hotel. It felt nice to have no real need to rush or do anything, and after a bit, we finally settled on a seafood meal. While I'm not a big fan, the husband totally enjoyed himself. I now realise that we only had this once throughout and I hope it was enough that he had a chance to have this at all.

See our seafood

Is that too much food for two?!

After the very filling meal, we continued walking the streets (omg, we were so full) before heading back to rest. The husband said that I crashed very quickly and I think that's no surprise given the lead-up to this break; plus I felt very happy to (1) be full from our meal (2) to be on holiday (3) to be with the husband on holiday.


Hooray, end of day 1.

Welcome home

The husband and I were away on our couple holiday of the year! And of course, we're now back.

A welcome note from our children

It's nice to be back, and lovely to know that the children were independent enough to have a rocking good time in our absence.


It struck me that it's just as well that we did this kinda-surprise trip; as the year will be taken up much by real adult responsibilities. Am thankful that we had the holiday and that all is well. I'll slowly document our trip for this year, as I re-savour the lovely holiday we had (hopefully soon)!


Today marks the first day back at school and regular programming for us all, adults and children alike, so hello, reality.

Happy 爸爸节

The husband and I will not be around on Father's Day (18 Jun), so we had a meal a week earlier for yum cha.

Love, love, love these people

As we all get busy with lives, it's time that is most precious for us to give to one another.

Love this crazy bunch of love

Pyramid

For no reason at all, we did this.

Boy at the tip!

Of course, we're fair to have both try it.

Girl at the tip!

This was at a house party with this bunch of mad friends, and it's crazy how we just do random stuff like that! Oh funny times.

Love from the husband

Because it was unsolicited.
Because it was a surprise.
Because it meant that he was thinking about me.
Because it means I-Love-You.

Thank you, husband.

And just like that, life doesn't seem so painful, doesn't seem so awful, doesn't seem unbearable and makes me smile.


Thankful for little things that truly mean the world to me.


PS: is it odd that he calls me by my full name? Ha.

Mid-year mark

Hello June. In a blink of an eye, a whole week has passed and we are well into June.
How has half a year gone by, just like that?


The past 2-3 weeks have been hectic. We have been house-hunting, juggling work and home, keeping the children occupied (because school holidays), making arrangements for work so there is some work and more play, and generally, there's much tension. Perhaps it's in my head, but there is just so much going on.


A perk of school holidays = sleeping in, but the downside of that is also that I don't get in as much activity. It drops greatly from 5-7x a week, to half that. I think that also affects my sanity and well-being. So, a gentle reminder to myself that life is great, I can always just exercise whenever - it's a lifestyle not a pressure - and work is work and no one is going to die.


BREATHE.

6+pm last Sunday. Sun out in full force.

That Sunday evening, I sought refuge in sweating it out in the hot, hot sun and feeling some sense of familiarity as I revisited an old running route.

Life.

In a week's time, the husband and I will be on our couple holiday of this year. I. Cannot. Wait.


Until then... I'm hanging on.