Future additions to the garden: another herb bucket (for parsley, mint and something-else), lime, capsicum, chillis. And maybe some cyclamens and daisies.

Same old, same old.

I envy those who update regularly with pictures of what they’ve been doing, places they’ve been visiting, people they’ve been seeing. Our weekends now consist of the same old routine:
- Yumcha (or brunch)
- Grocery shopping
- Gardening
- Cleaning up the house
- Washing the car
- Occasionally meeting up with friends

Tim’s routine when he’s back from work, and he’ll laugh when he sees this, because I always tease him about it:
- Takes off his shoes
- Pours some wine
- Lies on the couch
- Turns on the telly
- Drinks some wine
- Eats some Shapes

A rut? You think?

A tiny abode, if I do say so myself, but quite a charming one. It’s still very bare though, and terribly messy, as you can tell from the photographs. No hurry in decorating the place I say. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and so’s interior decorating!

A favourite feature of the house, which we will probably never use. Yep, it’s an honest-to-God fireplace, that can build honest-to-God fires in winter. We haven’t tried it out just yet, although the previous owner left us the cast-iron thingy that holds firelogs. Next winter perhaps. For now, it serves more of a decorative feature in the house than anything else. I’m also on a lookout for a good ornamental clock to replace the current Kmart clock above the mantelpiece. Any ideas?

As small as the house is, I’m real glad that the kitchen is big. Ample space to store all things kitcheny

So there you go, a peek into our humble abode. Next items to get would be at least three bookshelves for the many books we have, and dining chairs. Hubs and I are currently having our meals on a foldable garden chair and a tiny stool, which we take turns to sit on (no prizes for guessing which seat we prefer). We’re still on the lookout for the dining chairs, so if we do have housewarming parties, etc in our place, the invitations would state “BYO Chair”. No kidding.

Ahh … it’s great to be home

It’s such a joy walking about in my tiny garden, or having a cup of tea in my kitchen (the best feature in the house, I’d have to say!) without someone else who isn’t your husband around. With that, yes, I meant the housemate

We’re currently still waiting for our TV bench and couch to be delivered (it’s now a week late), so the living room’s pretty empty. We have no dining chairs, so we’re sitting on our office chair and garden chair. I should take a photo of it and post it here; it’s such a sight.

Our very first home. I really couldn’t be happier.

The items on lower priority would be bedside tables, lamps, and other bits and bobs. I’m planning to get some of them from eBay. You’d be surprised at how much good stuff people are willing to get rid off at very low prices.

We’ve already started packing, which is a good thing. Didn’t realise just how many books the two of us have, especially me. I gave quite a lot of other items away to Salvos, but books, books I keep. IKEA’s looking pretty good when it comes to looking for affordable bookshelves, I reckon.

Exciting times, but money-hemorrhaging ones indeed.

I remembered the first day I started blogging. I didn’t really know what it was, only that my cousin was doing it, and being the kiasu (afraid to lose) person that I am, I too had to jump onboard. I wasn’t all that much of a funny person, and I still am not, so finding funny and entertaining things to say was quite a feat. I mean, that’s what blogs are for, right? All that witty stories and repartee? No? Damn, that’s five years down the drain.

This blog wasn’t the first one I started. I was going through a very difficult time back then, and I started writing on a completely anonymous blog which I told no one about. I was angsty, an emotional wreck and it was carthartic putting all that emotion into words. When I started writing this blog, I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of it. I was still an emotional wreck then; I didn’t want to put my heart on my sleeve (well, in this case, on the web). In the end, I did.

When I began writing this post, I went through a few blog posts of mine which I wrote in 2005. It was such an incredible journey that I went through, and I’m so thankful I had it in writing. It brought back a wave of memories – some good, some bad. It was as though time stopped for me, just for a little while, as I went through what I wrote all those years ago. How I’ve changed to be the person I am now as the years went on.

This blog has seen me on my travels. My broken heart. My discovery of true friends. My love for my family. My falling in love. My move from Malaysia to Australia. My married life. Me.

Today marks my 5th year of blogging. I’m glad this was something I saw through for that long, even though I do not update as often as I did before. I could say here’s to many more years to come, but for once I shan’t be that optimistic. Let’s just take it as it comes. Who knows, one day I’ll finally say “here’s to a decade”.

I join the 3-0 bandwagon this Saturday. At first, there was that “OMG-I’m-turning-thirty-there’s-no-going-back-I’m-oid!” feeling. And then I figured, it’s not so bad. Life’s good (well, as good as it can get), so I can’t complain. I’ve got good friends celebrating the occasion with me this weekend at Nobu. I’m finally moving to a place of our own in a couple of months. This three weeks at Tasmania has been an awesome holiday with Tim.

Oh, and I’m getting an iPad.

Who said turning thirty was bad?

PS: Let’s not go to the “having-kids-now-that-you’re-in-your-thirties” chapter yet, eh?

Although I have to say, as impressed as I am with such a design, I believe that it would only be suitable for singles, at most a couple. You would have to childproof the heck out of the apartment if you have young children too

Having complete freedom to the washing machine (don’t have to wake up extra early in the morning to do the laundry, just to find that the housemate has beaten you to it), telly, couch, refridgerator … the whole house, really.

Being able to walk around in my birthday suit in the living room. Not that I do that. Often.

Being able to leave the bedroom door open and free to do whatever I want without be subjected to any nosy glances.

Being able to cook anything I want, fry anything smelly without the housemate opening the door and windows loudly in disgust.

Being able to do it anywhere in the house, without having to keep completely silent. Yes, even the laundry room. *wink wink*

Things I Will Miss

Nothing

That about sums it up, doesn’t it?

Our prayers are answered. After two years of searching, we finally found a place we liked and bit the bullet. We were at Coles doing our usual grocery shopping when the real estate agent called Tim and told us that the vendor has accepted our offer. I literally danced at the checkout counter

For now, I’m going to enjoy the weight of the 2-year burden lifted off my shoulders, before the reality of a 30-year mortgage falls on us.

We’re going to be homeowners!