Palm trees, Maids and schoolstart....

Isn't it amazing how much things happen to us all in just a week. Writing this Blog has really made me realise this. Try to sit down and just write a list about things that you did or happened to you in the last week, it's amazing how many things you will discover. And sometimes hard to remember all the things..... or maybe that is my age playing tricks with my memory:-)

How ever I did discover another thing the other day, laying at the poolside (like you do). I have PALM trees all around me everyday and don't react over it any more, they have become, common as our pine and fur trees back home. I was horrified over this discovery. I mean back home we look at the holiday brochures dreaming of palms and sand and pools etc. Thinking it being exotic and wonderful. And my brain is just taking it for granted already!!!

This is the Palm that gives me shade at the poolside!

So what do we do about this then, well not much, often enough, I mean, I think it has to do with adjusting to the environment. Although, I think if we get conscious about i,t we will not take it equally much for granted, we have reacted and therefore we will act different. Here comes some more palm pictures from our poolside:-)

Talking about trees, I asked Tim the other day if he and David had seen any bananas when they went shopping? And he said yes, but mum they looked awful. Why I asked? Well you know, they had cut them straight of the tree...Yes I said that is what you have to do to get the banana down? He looked at me and then he started laughing and said; that's right off course, how stupid am I? It didn't look likethe bananas at home, when they tidy them up. He is clever my boy:-) I love when my two boys discover that the world is different but still works really well and sometimes don't work well.

Well you all know how we all have been joking about me becoming a luxury housewife, well it is all happening now. Because I will soon start to work we will need someone to help with the boys. So we looked into having a baby sitter 3 days a week, well that could become expensive if you compare it with having someone living in as a Maid. That means, a Maid will clean our house, do the washing and ironing, cook some food and take care of the children when both me and Davie is working! What will we do with our time...
However, we have got hold of a really nice girl from the Philippines, her name is Myriam and we are sorting out all the papers now and hopefully she can start next week, I hope she will not die when she sees our home, cleaning with crutches isn't an easy thing! Davie work long days and has to do all errands after work so he helps me with the necessities when possible.  So I am looking forward to it at the same time I feel a bit strange for it. Not coming from a culture where you have Maids doing this sort of thing for you it will feel strange, but I assume that even that will become the same as with the palm trees...

However, the boys are doing fine, Tim has been working hard at learning how to dive into the pool and does he give up? No, no, no he gets angry, frustrated and keeps going. He is stubborn as a Mule and if he has set his mind to it he will do it. I wounder where he gets that from, hmmmm. One day in the pool he wanted to be able to stand on the mattress and he got really angry because it didn't work, so I challenged him. I told him the day he could do it several times in a raw without falling in he would get S$5 = 25:-.  Well all I can say is that 30 min. later I was S$5 dollars poorer.... Proof below, he is even doing a dance here..

Theo would like his father to be a throwing machine because he just love being thrown in the air. If he got to choose, it would never stop, but as we now Davie is not a machine, and all though his upper muscles are developing he is doing god if he last for 15 min.  He is the best dad the boys say and that says it all  :-).

The "estate" we live in has a lot of children which is great, there are Germans, Irish, Scottish, Swedish/Scottish (us), Chinese, English family's mixed here, so the boys meet a lot of children when they are out playing.

Today are there first school uniform day, yesterday they only went there on an Orientation Day, which mainly meant giving information to the parents. So this morning was a hard morning for ME! They got dressed up in their uniforms and we headed out to the school bus. Well for Tim I felt quite OK, but Theo has never gone on the school bus before... I had to keep my face straight until they where away, I think the other mums/maids thought I was a bit weired as I more or less run back on my crutches to not show my eyes flooding over. So here I am sitting on my own and they are out there in THE BIG WORLD!!!!!! Oh I can't wait until I can see them this afternoon so I can ask them about their first day.

Handsome boys!School bus!

Tomorrow I am going for a new x-ray on my ankle so keep your fingers crossed that it look good. Then on Thursday the specialist is going to look at it to see what to do next. I really hope that I can throw my crutches away.

Well I better do something useful with my day, maybe go and lay next to the pool!! 'till next time Take Care out there in the world, it can be kind but it can also be bad!

2 more weeks with a lot of happening

Well I'm back on the internet again and unless something breaks down I should be on it for the rest of our time here. So where do I start to go down the memory lane.

Livingroom/Diningroom

Above: Tims bedroom and Theos bedroom




One of the two bathrooms which is ensuite to our and Tims bedrooms





Below our bedroom and kitchen

Views from our livingroom...

We moved in to our wounderful apartment two weeks ago (yeasterday) and Ikea came with a sofa two beds for the kids, kitchen tabel and a bookshelf. So we were putting things together all saturday. At the same time we had been promised a second hand Ikea bed from a bloke for ourself, although that fell through as he had not checked with his flat mates who apparently sold it to someonelse before him....(don't trust anyone called Carlos..) Luckly our sofa was a bedsofa so me and Davie could crash down on it at nights. This meant that we had to head back to Ikea to get a knew bed for ourselves...(and a few more pieces):-) Since then Ikea has been visited again for more stuff and we discovered that they only charge 50-100 sek to put your stuff together when they deliver it home to your house, and it only takes them a few minutes to put it together, It's great. We have also bought lingonsaft, blabarssaft och fladerblomssaft from IKEA, it is like being home.... I LOVE IKEA! Anyone want's to start a fanclub?

Well once in the flat we were looking forward for our boxes to come from Sweden, according to the Swedish Post Office it would take 5 working days.... Well it turned out more like 15 workingdays... Now it was not the swedish post office fault according to them and the Singapore post office was not at fault neither as they are very efficient, according to themselves, must have been the pilot that took the wrong turn somewhere out there in between Europe and Asia. We where amazed that the contents was whole (except for my glogg caraff), the boxes looked like they had been to hell and back they wheren't square any more thats for sure.

Well If you have red my previous blogg chapter you all know I went to the Singapore polo club for a vaccant possition, well I was offered the full time possition as a Stabel manager, but a 6 day week, 06.30-10.00 and 15.30-19.00 with mondays off would mean not seeing my kids at all. I would leave before they got up to go to school and be back home after they went to bed does not seem worth it... So I had to turn them down. I told them that they could let me know if any one got sick or had holiday and I could help out. Then they offered me a part time teaching possition and to help train their horses......Could it be better! So I had to come and ride a couple of horses and teach some lesson that week wich was great. EXCEPT for me falling of and sprain my ankle badly (I tought). They where happy and could I let them know wich days I could think of working for them. So as it is now I will work tuesday, wendsday and thursday evenings and some mornings riding and teaching students for BHS exams! I love it.

A small problem araised as my ankle didn't get better over the weekend with painkillers, antiinflamtory and ice. So monday come and I better visit a doktor to se how bad the sprain was.....Well when I saw the referal note from the x-ray department to my doctor I realised it was not so good, it said URGENT on it! A small fracture, no need to operate (good!), but cruches and not to support the foot at all...we see you in a weeks time, bye for now. So here I was, with a new job, a flat that needed sorted, two kids still on summer holidays and a husband working 145% now in the beggining, on cruches...... Well I had to laugh and get on with it. The boys has been wounderful during the week. And my job is still there when I get better.





They boys have had a good time too, they have been playing with new friends in the pool wich is our daily play ground. Theo has learnt how to swim in just 2 weeks it's amazing, Tim is never out of the water. The other day Theo got a kick scooter (sparkcyckel) and Tim a RipStick (the new type of skateboard) so they both fly round the estate now. They are loving it. Ohh yes I forgott to tell you that we got a new TV too a flat screen which is good when I have to put my leg up high for a while...

The neighbours has been wounderful and friendly, thats one thing that the Singaporians are, they are very friendly and helpful.

Ohh I almost forgott we went to cinema the other evening, the whole family went to see "The last airbender" It was really good! I'll recomend it to any one thinking about going to see it! I cant wait to see the next once, hope they come soon.... 

Well better tell you a little about Singapore to. Weather is very warm but much more comfortable than I thought, but riding is hard in the heat, the best time is early in the morning. If you are outside you will sweat!, Light airy clothes are to recomend. Inside it is ac on where ever you go and if you sit still you need a warmer top on, the cinema was one place to have a top on for warmth. There is more or less some rain every day but it is nice it makes the air cooler and fresher so you want the rain, it is usually on from 15 min. to 1 hr. It takes about 15 min for thr ground to go dry afterwards. Every second of rainfall also bring thunder and lightning.....but it is not like home when everyone has to pull out all electrical equipment, no, no, Singapore is well equiped for them so no need for pulling out anything.

Food is plentyfull, there is "foodhawks" everywhere, you can eat a wounderful meal in them for around 15-20 sek. A little hard to get Theo to try and like the food yet, but I'm sure he will get used to it, Tim dear to try things and find some better than others, me and Davie likes most things, but they have a sweet tooth here, a lot of the food is sweet. To shop for food to cook at home is a little bit cheaper than home if you know where to go. Beer and wine is as expensive as home if you keep to the lokal brands.

Haven't shoped for clothes yet so I don't now how expensive that is. What I have bought is the boys school uniforms.... that was expensive but I asume it will save on normal clothes in the longterm.

It is a bit hard to think back at what has happened for two weeks when so much has happend. So I think this will be enough for now.

Ohh I almost forgott, for you who didn't think I could grow my nails long, here is my first evidence...



Untill next time lots of love and miss you all....<3

1 week feels like 1 month

One week in my new country has already passed and it has gone very quick, at the same time it feels like I have been here a month....

Where do I start? Well the fligth over did go better than I expected although my tv screen did not work all the way, which did upset me a bit, on the other hand I slept instead.

Once we got to Singapore it felt good, we checked in on the York Hotel, a very nice one in the heart of the city. We unpacked quickly and headed for the pool...

Soon it was time to find somewher to eat, so we headed down to the main shopping street Orchard Road!!!!  Culture shock or culture shock?  Well for you who have seen it on fb you know. What really hit you was the noise, constant noise. The boys did react on some of the foreign smells to :-).

Food, well you can eat local food her from as little as 20:- sek and the top limit is for you to decide..... The local food is very good, and plenty, the boys is not yet to used to it and offcourse we have not realy got the hang on finding what combinations there are...but we are learning.

Day two we went with an agent to see some apartments, 8 of them, it was very intresting, the standard varied a lot, the first one was really lovely and that was the one we picked, and tomorrow we get the key. http://www.singaporeexpats.com/singapore-property-pictures/condo/freesia-woods.htm Here you got the webb adress for the agency promotion list if you want to see some pictures of it.

Our flat is on the 3rd floor, facing straight out to the pool, it is wounderful! We have 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, living/dining room. Elevator goes straight to our entrance and hall... I will take my own photos on friday, tomorrow, so you can see properly.

Well that sorted we had to start looking for furniture...Thank good for wounderful SWEDISH IKEA! After a day in Ikea the deleviry van will come on saturday, with some stuff...

Friday we took the MRT, tube, to the Marina Bay, its an area that in the 1970's didn't even exist. They have extended the Island and built this amazing leasure harbour, restuarant shopping, hotel area.

These are coolers, cold steam are coming out of them so it will be cooler to walk under or near them, wich was needed this day.

On Monday I went to the Singapore Polo Club for a job interview, it was fun, interesting and exciting. I will meet up on tuesday next week again to talk more about the work opportunity, and watch some lesson then, so we will see what will come out of it all. Still have 2 more clubs to check out. Here comes some photos: The boxes with a fan in everyone...One of the riding arenas

Below is one of totaly two grazing paddocks, and yes, that is the the actual size youe see and this is the bigger one.......

Space in Singapore is rare and cost a lot, but the head of the stabel has good ideas on how to get more space all so they will get more turn out and grazing possibilities, looking forward to see it. They have a horsewalker, the horses work 2,2 lessons a day, 6 days a week. They have 15 liverys. To be allowed to have a livery it has to jump/compete at 1.10 and elementry dressage. A livery cost around 15000-20000:- sek per month....

A riding lesson (cheapest)cost around 250:- per lesson (45 min. 4-6 people in the group). You also must have a membership that cost between 8000-30000:- per year depending on what kind of memebership and other things, haven't yet understood the membership system yet....   Well I tell you more about it after next weeks visit.

So yesterday my husban had his first working day, it was more of an information day where I also attended, it seems like a really nice school he is going to work at. Their values are great. We also went to see Tim's and Theo's school wich they really liked. They had to try out the schools swiming trunks, sport top and hat, a bit overwhelming for Tim to realise that he has to have the same as everybodyelse... But they where both happy as they have met their first friends at last and on the evening Cocktail Reception in the Hotel, they played until  they were steaming of sweat. It was great to see.

Well today I woke up with a sore throat and stayed back at the hotel on my own, Davie was off to his job and taking the kids with them and putting them into the Cresh to play with their new friends again, I will soon go and collect them.

Well I better stop for this time being and get ready to go.