Christmas Came Early!

Anticipating the travel that we are excited to do while living in Singapore, Mark and I decided we wanted to get a new camera for Christmas as our gift to each other.  Being that we are going to Bali in early December I’m happy to report that Christmas came early this year! (I guess we’ve been good?!) Mark and I got our first DSLR camera the Sony Nex 5n in early November which gives me a little bit of time to practice and learn how to use it before the trip.  I’m hoping that the better picture quality improves the blog as well so here’s a little preview using one of my new favorite features panoramic! (Yes, I’m a nerd).

Panoramic view from our balcony in the evening

Happy Birthday to Colt!

Well, Colt’s been up to his old antics again, namely the shoe chewing. But he has also been sneaking onto our bed.  I came home in October to find him with an “Uh-oh” look on his face and a pair of my heels in his mouth! Luckily for him they were a kind of outdated pair so he wasn’t in too much trouble but still! 

Colt caught chewing on my only neutral color heel!

RIP

October also brought the realization that as Colt gets older he gets smarter.   He’s recently discovered that he is strong enough to knock down the baby gate partitions we use to keep him out of certain rooms. So what’s his next move? Helping himself to a comfy nap in our bed of course!

Umm, that doesn't look like your bed...

And just when Colt does something to get himself into some BIG trouble like shoe chewing or rolling around on my bad, he goes and looks all pathetic before I can be mad.  The peak of his "patheticness" rolls in with the storms. Being that Singapore is on the equator, the temperature stays pretty much consistent year-round.  But there are changes in the weather, November through January or so marks the monsoon/rainy season and let’s just say that hasn’t set well with Colt.  Something about the rain/thunder/lightening here puts Colt in what we delicately call a “tizzy”.  He begins panting and shaking throughout the duration of the bad weather and refuses to eat or go outside in these situations as well.  He usually becomes kind of immobilized on the couch or floor so I just cover him with a blanket and we wait it out.  He’s pretty cute when he’s tucked in the blanket but it’s still sad.  The blanket doesn’t seem to help too much either but thanks to mark’s mom, Gayle, we ordered him a Thundershirt (http://www.thundershirt.com/lpe/) and are anxiously awaiting its arrival.  We just hope it helps but either way, I’ll be sure to post some picks of him in it.  

Colt hiding from the storm

How could I ever be mad at that face?!

Colt cuddled up awaiting another storm

Bad weather is not the only thing that Colt has decided that he’s scared of though.  Recently Colt has even turned on his back on his old friend, the vacuum cleaner.  Once good buds who liked to chase each other, Colt now runs in fear of the vacuum.  Will they be able to recapture their friendship?! Stay tuned.  

Other exciting happenings in Colts’ world included the visit from is Grandparents, Gordon and Gayle.  The most exciting part of their 10 day visit for Colt was probably that fact that he got to stay out in the living room at night and sleep on the couches since they were staying in his room.  But I think he also liked having 4 people to accompany him on his walks!

The boys on the couch: Mark, Colt, and Gordon

Gordon and his "Grand-dog"

November 15^th marked Colt’s 2^nd birthday!!  To celebrate he got a bone and a new toy. I also made him an organic peanut butter carrot cake which I cut into bite-size squares and took to his friends at the dog meet-up.  They all seemed to really like it but that doesn’t say much because Colt especially is not always too choosy when it comes to food.

Happy Birthday Colt!

Having a drink at the dog meet-up on his b-day (Thanks for the picture Sarah!)

Colt's friends at their doggie hang out

One of my new favorite pictures of Colt

Colt with his toy box and new birthday toy

Colt

All-in-all, I think everything is good with Colt even despite his storm anxiety and tiff with the vacuum. Now, if I can just train him to only chew on Mark’s shoes…

3 Out of 5's Not That Bad...

This year for Halloween Mark and I got invited on a party bus!  Apparently, the same thing was done for lasts years Halloween and was such a huge success that this year there had to be 2 buses because there were 112 of us! The organizer picked 5 very different venues for the bus to take us to and to make things a little more interesting each venue was only announced on the bus as we're making our way there. The great part was that for $35 SGD a head we got to ride on the bus, entry into the bar, 1 drink at each bar/club, and there were also some shots on the bus.  

Harry Potter a.k.a. Andre was the one who organized everything so thanks Andre!

Mark and I

Onboard the party bus and  headed to the first venue!

Since we were celebrating Halloween, costumes are mandatory for entry onto the bus which made things really fun. Since we waited until the last minute and therefore couldn’t order anything online, we decided to go with something cheap and easy so Mark went as a teacher and I went as a student…We’ll leave it at that.  

View of the people from the buses at the first bar

Mark really liked this guys costume. I believe he is a character from a Nintendo game Mark played as a child but I'm not sure.

Mark with the tiniest beer I've ever seen!

Alison and I with our Lemon Drop shots

This is the first Halloween that Mark and I realized we are getting old. We made it to a whole 3 of 5 bars before getting a taxi home and calling it a night! Yes, we are losers - but, we had a great time!

Mark and I in the cab on the way home

Being silly

My Book Club Reads Wine Labels

Wanting an excuse to have regular outings with girls (having 2 boys at home I need estrogen in my life) and also wanting to get good book suggestions, I decided to start a Book Club beginning in October.  The plan for the Book Club is to meet once a month on the first Wednesday of every month at various restaurants throughout Singapore to have dinner and drinks while chatting about books and anything else our hearts desire (usually wine and girl stuff).  
 

So, I sent out an email to some women I’ve met and welcomed any of their friends as well.  Thinking I had met at least a few fellow “book nerds” I was hoping for a solid 5-8 person turnout.  But, I’m extremely happy to report that the Book Club has 17 members! Not everyone will make it to every meet-up but 17 members means we should always have at least some show up so I was thrilled! 

At the first meeting in October we met at a place called Bar Bar Black Sheep, a restaurant/Bar along the Singapore River which serves 3 different cuisines: Western, Indian, and Thai.  It worked great because you order at a counter so everyone pays separately and can order whatever cuisine you are in the mood for.  After drinks but before dinner we drew names to select the first 6 books with the goal being to read 1 book per month.  I welcome any blog readers to read along with us! The books selected are as follows: 

Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Snowdrops by A.D. Miller

Remember Me by Sophia Kinsella

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham

At the second meeting we met at an Italian place called Madrinaa’s which was selected by one of the members and it was an excellent choice!  Madrinaa’s is known for their pizza but does most of their business in carry-out orders so we were the only table in there the entire night!  The really neat thing that they offer is the “you tell us system” in which you tell them what price you want to pay for their wine bottles (no reasonable offer will be rejected) so we were able to get bottles of wine for only $25 each which is a steal in Singapore!  Sadly, only one person (GO KATHYRN!) at the meeting actually finished the first book, Devil in the White City.  But, in our defence, it was pretty long and many of us were in the process of wrapping up other books we were already reading.  I think we’ll do better on the next book!

I’ll be sure to update the blog with the next set of selected books and with any interesting Book Club news! Happy reading to anyone who joins along!