~their unique, pretty, colourful wedding cake made of macaroons from Patissier~

~JC friends~

~my friend, my confidante... the bride~

~the bride & Michele.. look at her cool, sassy, cute evening gown~

Calvin has been sent to OBS for a leadership program and it's his first day there today. He's gonna be gone for 5 long days... I wonder how you girls manage when your husbands go for reservist... The emotional monster in me took over me and I know I must have made him feel really bad last night by displaying obvious signs of the can't-bear-to-see-you-go syndrome. This morning when I sent him off at the door, I felt like a piece of me has left with him.

Well, it's not the first time we're apart for days. I've gone on trips without him but it's somehow different this time. I guess the difference lies in whether you're the one going or the one left behind waiting.

Some time ago, my colleague Mingli passed me some Christian family magazines and one of the articles that touched me deeply is the article featuring US military spouses - Inside the Homes of the Braves. The strength, faith, courage and determination of these women amazed me. One of them said, "God used the time when he was gone to force me to depend on Him for my needs, instead of expecting my spouse to meet them. It was a great stretching time for me, and my relationship with Him grew by leaps and bounds. I hated that he was away, but I loved my new closeness with God."

As I wallow in missing Calvin, God reminded me of this article and I thank God that my husband is merely gone for an adventure training course and not gone to fight a war. I thank God that he's coming home in 5 days and not 5 months or 5 years. And I thank God for His perfect love for Calvin.

YES! She finally decided to have her customary wedding! This dear friend of mine ROM'ed on 9 April 2000! And this day, 27 January 2008, is the day she customarily gets wedded.. finally!

We were supposed to be at her house at 3am in the morning!! It's a tradition Teochew custom - her bride has to "chu1 jia4" before the sun rises. So there we were, at 3am in the morning... to "sabo" the groom and his brothers!

This is a long-awaited wedding... Xifen's ang-gong-gong wedding. Her wedding dinner is happening tomorrow, at Regent Hotel... where I first met Calvin. :) But Calvin's on course and he can't be there.. :(

It's Selina's (Calvin's eldest sister) birthday on 26th Jan. So we planned a gathering to celebrate her birthday in advance. We've been cracking our heads on what to prepare for dinner. Home delivery and ta-bao food were not in my list of options. We finally decided on a simple, easy-to-prepare menu for a table of 5.

~ Table for 5 ~
Selina, Corinna (Calvin's 2nd sister), Dexter (Calvin's cousin) and of course, us

~ Fruit Salad in Yoghurt ~
Recipe from Chiew Hoon.. it was a hit!

~ Tomato Soup ~
Our all-time favourite with tomato chunks added

~ Grilled Beef Burger ~
Home-made beef burger served with chips and sauteed vegetables

We made our own beef patties! It was an achievement! Calvin marinated them and they taste sooo good! Yum yum... and this is sooo easy to make.

~ Happy Birthday Selina ~
Strawberry Jelly Tofu Cheesecake from Bakincow