Cuddly Wuddly

A Special August 9th 2007

2007-08-09T20:06:00.001+02:00

Celebrated our 2nd anniversary in a special way today. Yes, it was e usual good food in a cosy ambiance. But e difference was tt it was w at least 800 other people! The reason was cos a friend of ours fr CSC, Dave decided to hold his wedding dinner today! Triple celebration: Denise & YC 2nd Anniversary + Dave & Michele Wedding+ Singapore's 42nd Birthday! 09.08.2007 will indeed be an unforgettable date. :)

Anyway coming back to e wedding, was beautiful...from e table setting n food to e ballroom decor to e special videos telling e story of their courtship (they hv been tog a whopping 10 yrs!). Thank u for inviting us to share ur special day. Congrats Dave n Michele, n may u continue to enjoy each other's company in the years to come. This time was for me too, an opportunity to catch up w really-long-time-no-see CSC friends n to indulge in our old teasing antics. heh. All in all, a wonderful evening spent. (believe it was even more treasured by 2 v gd frds, keep e faith ya.)

Only one small regret, tt e 2 of us did not really hv personal time tog. But we'll make up for it tmr, rite! Happy 2nd Anniversary once again, darling. Thank you for loving me.

Reminisce

2007-08-08T17:34:00.000+02:00

Reminisce this Anniversary

Anniversaries truly are, made so much of love
Blessed by cupid too, somewhere up above
They tell tales of his arrow, firing out its spell
Sometime gone before, when he both got us well

Surely he smiles down, looks pleased for us today
Seeing our Anniversary calling around our way
Two hearts serenading, each one beating in beat
Sending out sheer magic, each knows it must meet

As our hearts reminisce, memories yet gone by
Cupid will again yet bless us his arrows will fly
Holding hand in hand, always and forever
Until grey and old, until time alone says whenever

Happy 2nd Year Anniversary, Darling

Moo Moo takes a Bath

2007-08-07T12:27:00.001+02:00

Moo Moo took his first bath in 6 months today. N even though i had a strong urge to comfort him when i saw his frightened face peering at me fr e laundry bag, i knew it was for e better good for him to go thru e traumatic spin-wash-dry experience. Now, he's happily sun bathing on e metal clothes pole, all memory of e dust, sweat n honig wein from e last nite in deutschland washed away w e filthy water from e washing machine. Ahhh, nice n clean!

Movie under e Stars n GV roof

2007-08-07T10:46:00.000+02:00

After a long abstinence fr movies, (in part forced by the steep german prices, n my nonchalant retorts of ,' watch movie in germany for what? in sg we watch movie so often cos there's nothing else to do!') we finally got to catch a film in germany!

N it was all by pure coincidence. Hehe, i love such spur-of-e-moment, do-it-cos-it-seemed-like-a-great-idea-at-e-time outings. It started when we were browsing the sea of pamphlets at this restaurant in Schellingstrasse while waiting for our dinner to arrive. The one on Sommer Nachts Kino caught our eye n guess what? Das Parfum was showing that night in like, an hrs time. Let's go for it man! It was jus perfect cos i had been wanting to try e Sommer Nachts Kino + i had heard gd stuff abt Das Parfum= Perfect Timing. So there we were nice n cold among e wrapped up germans all cosy w their blankets, pillows n what not. macham winter time. But as it turned out, e nite did get quite chilly. Lucky we still got each other to cosy up to.;)

Das Parfum lived up to its scent-sational reviews. For someone who has nv read e book, it was a v intriguing show to watch. At some points bizarre but nonetheless, intriguing. That e notion of smell could hv such a powerful control over one's emotions was something that i had not pondered over before. N even more so was e preposition tt one could manipulate others using smell. As such, the movie left me with a greater awareness of e scents i encountered each day from the distinct, familiar aroma of bakeries to e subtle pheromone when one accidently swallows an ant.

All in, i was glad that we went for Sommer Nachts Kino. It was a fun experience n great show!:)

All e pent up angst YC had after hearing all e hype abt transformers yet not being able to watch e show was finally released yest nite. Settled into e familiar red cushy seats ( w movable arm rests heh) at GV, we waited in anticipation. He, for his long awaited movie to start, n me, for him to enjoy his long awaited movie. But, as e show progressed, my cynicism got lost in e adrenaline pumping action n spectacular special effects. It was really quite a cool show though e action never let up long enough for me to string together e plot. Watching e autobots in action, i could see how this was every transformer fan's dream come true. And i'm happy that it was e case for e one next to me too.:)

Bags for my mummy :)

2007-07-25T19:10:00.000+02:00

Handbag number 1

Handbag number 2

Handbag number 3

Handbag number 4

Handbag number 5

Handbag number 6

Handbag number 7

Handbag number 8

Handbag number 9

Handbag number 10

My mother asks me to get her a handbag that is made in Europe (not China!) . With a wide variety of handbag here, how am I going to make a choice? But wait, thanks to darling SdD who shortlisted and took photos of the nice handbags around Tuebingen (I'm in the midst of exams wat!), I do not need to crack my head over it. The rest is up to me now, to choose one, just ONE out of the 11 bags here. Hmmmm. Personally I will prefer 4, 5, 6 or 7. Was denkst du?

22nd Birthday Blast in Tuebingen

2007-07-15T11:25:00.000+02:00

13/07/07 was a special day. It was more than just a passing squiggle on the calender, on this particular day 22 years ago, a cute and bubbly baby entered this world, and she was given a beautiful name Denise, the goddess of wine. Fast forward to the year 2007 12th of July, a surprise was about to be sprung on this unknowing girl. Preparation took place weeks before (eh slightly more than a week lah) to ensure the smooth execution of the exercise coded "Ueberraschung". Lcc spent 0.001% of his life (1 whole night w/o sleeping) editing a video for his beloved one. It was collated both from friends in Singapore and Munich with the help of JC. Frenzy set in as the D-hour approached liked an arrow approaching its target. Lcc hurrily packed his stuffs into his bag while in the midst of encoding the video for the 2nd time and doing his laundry. (Jc almost kill Lcc for being late for the mitfahrer.) In the end, after some frantic 15 mins search for the mitfahrer, we were on our way to our destination. Knowing that SdD would be preparing for her dinner later, Lcc sent out an sms to wish her an enjoyable dinner and of course to create a false impression that he would not be there. * beep* An sms came in : "U're gg for some bbq rite?" After pondering for a while, Lcc decide to continue with his sinister plot and replied "We have an bbq in Studentstadt now...."After 2 hrs and 40 mins, the 2 guys finally arrived in this familiar place called Prinz Karl in Tuebingen. "Ueberraschung" had started!

Meanwhile in the 3rd floor kitchen in Tuebingen, SdD was wrestling with 2 huge chickens with the happy fate of being turned into Chicken Abodo. She was wondering how martin yan made it look so easy on tv. The menu today was to be a feng fu one with Chicken Abodo, Chicken Rice and Mango Cream Puffs cooked by SdD! Too bad Yeeng would be missing this oriental feast, she thought to herself. The guests could not be kept waiting n there was lots to do so she had begun 3.5 hrs ahead of time! The fragrant bay leaves and the copious amounts of garlic were beginning to scent the chicken pieces. Looking good! Soon, Julia, Katie n Irupe piled in to keep SdD company n the little kitchen was soon bustling n wafting with all kinds of smells! Julia had a mixture of 2 recipes, with banana, cream n choc, yum yum n Katie with her experimental choc ice cream cake. Wow, u can never go wrong with choc.;) While she was slaving at e stove, SdD received an sms fr Lcc wishing her a good time at her 'bday party'." So he's not coming, he's going to e Muenchen BBQ!" she thought to herself, n was feeling quite disappointed at that point of time. But there was no time to get upset as there was still much to be done before e dinner. The cream puffs had turned out to be nicely puffed up n a beautiful brown shade much to her delight. Great! Her friends would be arriving soon.

To his dismay, Lcc was left with the enormous task of baking a cake for Denise without help from his friends. (except for the translation of the German recipe and buying of ingredients) They said it was more sincere to do it alone. (yah right!) Rene and JC were happily eating their pizza while poor Lcc was stirring the cake mixture with his might. (a hungry man is a mighty man) After some gruelling 3 hours meddling with the cake, voila ! a delicious strawberry cake with artistic decoration appeared before one's eyes. Surprise number one was ready!

At last her friends began to arrive. Carina, Luciana, Alina, Leonara from 'upstairs' ( with a present too!) n all her beloved Prinz Karl-ers like Patrick, Julia, Tara, Jorge. Hmmm, but Bjoern was nowhere to be seen. He's usually not late she thought to herself. A quick telephone call confirmed her suspicions. Bjoern had flown aeroplane to....study in e library?!@#*. Sigh, that's it, no one near n dear was coming. Well, at least the others are here.

The seats at the 2 tables set out in the corridor of e 4th floor were almost all occupied. And on them laid a marvellous feast. Bier brot, obst salat (fr alison, all her fave obst!), bak kut teh...n tonnes of desserts! Carina had made a pineapple upside down layer cake especially for her. Wow. A lovely evening ensued, with much catching up, great food and wine ( vine yard specialities).

Surprise number 2 and 3 were relatively straightforward. A simple layout of a small laptop (thanks to YZ) with large speakers on the table were all that were needed. Simple but the crucial part was in the laptop itself, the video. Equipped with many tea lights (courtesy of yeeng and Patrick), Lcc set out to decorate the dark balcony and set them ablaze. Soon many flickering candle lights could be seen, forming a heart with the initials "DS" right in the centre. Of course, it would not be completed without the lead man himself so he armed himself with 4 sparklers, waiting for the fateful hour to arrive.

Soon it was time for the guests to leave n to clean up. There were lots of left overs and somehow SdD found herself in her kitchen packing up the left overs. Alone. Ok, so it was no time to get depressed, but she couldn't stop the feelings of heimweh from welling up inside her. SdD decided to go back into her room n open her presents. But before she could do so, there was a knock on the door. All the Prinz Karl ppl stood outside n wished her HAPPY BIRTHDAY!, followed by a group photo. The next few events happened in a blur. She was blindfolded n dragged down the stairs, screaming help in all the languages she knew...

Read 11.50pm from his watch, Lcc heard a commotion. Steps were heard outside the kitchen and everyone quickly moved into position. Calmly, Lcc steadied himself and lighted up his sparklers upon entering of a figure onto the balcony.

Her feet touched the cold stone and recognition rang," the Terrase!" All at once the blindfolds and captive hands were released and in front of her lay a sparkling chain. A chain of tealights shaped into a heart encircling 'DS'. And surrounding this chain, an even larger circle of friends from different social circles, including some she had not seen that nite... Yeeng n rene, bjoern, jc n then realisation hit! U! It was U! U master minded all this n bluff me u're gg to some bbq then secretly come down n hide in my terrase n miss my nice dinner. U silly u. i love u.

i love ur cake too (obwohl its fr a cake mix), fluffy yellow layers laced w strawberry jam Hmmm i love ur video, compiled fr my nearest n dearest, ironically so far away geographically.
i love ur being here when it matters most to me, ur mere presence lights my face up!
i love surprises n e fact that u remember i love them.
i love my friends whom u've gathered together this evening, jus for me.
lastly, i love that u know so well how to make me smile.:)

Ein glücklich Reisen nach Luxembourg und Brugges

2007-07-05T18:50:00.000+02:00

Hallo!! I'm back after 2 successive weekend trips to neighbouring countries, Luxembourg and Brugges on the 22nd of June, followed by Copenhagen on 29th of June.

Without doubt, it was tiring to travel almost every weekend and one can imagine the enormous, charred hole left in my wallet. Whatever the case, these 2 trips are considered one of the best that I had in my time in SEP. Perhaps it was the place or rather I feel it's the company that matters most. With my beloved SdD with me on both trips, things cannot be better. (Read: Great companion and beautiful landscape. Arrhhh sounds like paradise. It is.)

Whirlwind weekend Luxembourg n Brugges

2007-06-27T01:02:00.000+02:00

I had been looking forward to this weekend for some time, cos Brugges is so recommended by my fave travel book author Rick Steve as one of europe's undiscovered gems, n of cos since it'll be great fun w my darling:)

Our extended weekend started on thu, where i rushed thru everything--- fr my delicious brownie choco cookies (dun drool) to my textarbeit (which i would hv loved to spend more time talking abt sg) to e final sprint down to e hbf to catch my train to munich. After a lil scare when my train was delayed by 20min in stuttgart, i managed to get to e nite train in time again thanks to my excellent sprinting. Phew!

Was thoroughly exhausted after all tt running n promptly dozed n drooled off on YC n mario's little quantas pillow on e nachtzug. The journey to luxembourg was uneventful except for another lil scare whereby i nearby lost all my lux info tog w my 3 lects worth of cell bio notes (ok lil is an understatement considering tt's all e studying i've done since i got here). Hope mum n dad r not reading.:P

Anyhow, we reached lil luxembourg bright n early e next morning n promptly set off in search of e supermart. How typical Singaporean. Along e way we managed to catch a glimpse of e grand duchy, a fortified town set amid a luscious green valley ( sort of like rothenburg). I loved e bridges n viaducts crisscrossing across e valley n of course e spectacular view fr being so high up. Yc had such a gd time w his 'new camera' tt i had to drag him away to continue our quest for food.

We finally got to wandering thru e town n i was struck by e number of shops there were ( or rather, i started to suffer fr shopaholic withdrawal symptoms, see only no buy). Luckily, my good ol' self restraint (otherwise known as kiam siap-ness) kicked in n we were able to arrive safely at Alima supermart without any great damage to our wallets.

With supplies well stocked, we skipped off to e Luxembourg history museum, which showcases aspects of luxembourgish life, culture n history. This has to be one of e best, least sleep-inducing of all e history museums i've visited. It was beautifully designed (kudos to e architect!) , well-organised, interactive n w english explanations! But what i liked best was e lifts. They were so well camouflaged that u couldn't tell they were lifts n yet u could get a wonderful view fr inside. One of e lifts looked like part of e floor itself as it had e same flooring n it was HUGE. As a bonus, we also got to see e special gypsy exhibition. This was an eye opener for me cos my prior knowlege of gypsies consisted of: mysterious woman, crystal ball, fortune telling. I never knew how ostracised n maltreated this group of ppl were. Left e museum w a huang ran da wu de gan jue.

Next stop was e Unesco-World-Heritage-credited Bock Casemates, an underground bunker with breathtaking views of the valley from its spy windows and horrifically steep steps, very very bad for the knees. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how endless tunnels, rooms and lethal firearms were able to be so cleverly concealed within the scenic hillside.

Night brought the highlight of the day: the Luxembourg National Day celebrations. After a 1km uphill climb to our cosy, value for euro hostel in Vianden and another value for money set dinner (16.50 for 2 huge salats, 1 huge cut of schweinkolette, n 1 satisfying apple pie), we arrived in Diekirch for the night festivities. This started with a small fireworks in the night sky and then the torch parade, the highlight of the night. Each person carried long, sword-like torches with a fiery flame on the end and walked 2 by 2, forming a long blazing procession thru e town. Women, men, children all, some singing, some laughing n chatting. It was a sight to behold! Though i do not know the significance of the torch parade, it was certainly evident that night that excitement, anticipation and most of all, national pride was in the air. What made the impression so significant was that everyone from the young to the old had a part to play in forming this roaring proclamation of national pride. Wow.

Day 2 of Luxembourg saw an early start to the day. We went on the free chairlift over Vianden ( courtesy of the luxembourg card, another good value for euro deal) and it was just beautiful. Imagine being suspended in the air, your legs dangling below you as you pass by houses, trees and one nice Our river. And to complete it all, someone to share the beauty of

the moment with. It seemed as if we were just floating above the world (think Aladdin) which was lying so peacefully, barely awake beneath us. And because we were about the only 2 people taking the chairlift, it felt almost as if the sights and the beauty were a secret known to us alone. One word: enchanting.

We next took a 4 hr train ride to Brugges in Belgium, stopping by Brugges in between. Brussels seemed like just another big european city until we stumbled on this very happening (ie lively) Senegalese weekend market. And it was there that we met him. Dancing his butt off to earn his keep with nothing but rocky black tar for a dance floor, he was just begging to be rescued and given a proper home. Of course, being the generous people that we are, we obliged at a price of 6.50 euro. So there u go Dion, the cow u've always wanted, but unfortunately a month too late for your birthday. His name is mad moo moo (verrueckt moo moo if u like).:)

At last, we arrived in Brugges, and settled down in our quaint BnB, found only at e last minute. It was already 9pm and hunger pangs started to attack LCC again. So after a fruitless search for a gut-und-gunstig mussels restaurant, we came up with a rather unique plan to have a good meal without being ripped off like a tourist. We picked a local and asked if he could recommend any nice places to eat. It happened that he had jus had dinner at a friend's restaurant around the corner and he enthusiastically took us there and gave us a card with his name written on it with the instructions, "Pass it to the chef. Mama mia, you'll love this placeo!"

Ok, so this was the restaurant we had eliminated earlier due to the prices (what else) and i had my doubts, but dear Yc had the gian face so bo pian. Well, turns out that the food was as
he had described, not bad, the ambience excellent with red (= passion) walls n furniture n rose. We ordered one HUGE pot of mussels in white wine, which could be better without the celery, but was nevertheless a HUGE amount of mussels. And home made cheese croquette which was cripsy outside and oozing cheese when cut, which i thought was quite well done, but Yc was too busy devouring his mussels to notice. Haha. But what i liked most, dun laugh, was the warm, nicely toasted brotchen, nicely complemented by a wonderful olive oil spread. Mmmm.... Of course, a place which pays this much attention to its condiments must come with the appropriate price tag. It was doch echt teuer n e namecard only elicited a 'oh! u're friends of francis, why he jus had dinner here!' (oh really! that was also how we got it fr him!), but as long as Yc happy, i happy la.

The next day was another bright n early start for we wanted to catch as much of Brugges as we could. Our Stadtrundfahrt started with the Holy Blood Chapel where a drop of the precious Blood of Christ is stored behind the tabernacle and taken out once a day to be worshipped. Next onto the 366 stepped Bell Tower. The huge carrillon bells here hv to be played not w fingers but with feet and fists. Woh. And afterward my secret indulgence: shopping! This is one activity i enjoy (but seldom hv time for), esp in Europe where e local products r often pretty n exquisite. Yc is one of the rare breeds of guys who has extraordinary patience for shopping. Perhaps its his secret indulgence too! Hehe. The target this time was belgian lace. Handmade to be precise since much of the lace is now factory made in Taiwan. We ended up with lots of presents for frds n family.

Onto more shopping with a trip to the supermarket for famous belgian chocolates. Recommended by the useit guide for those who dun wanna be ripped off like tourists. I think we bought a tonne of choc n left the checkout boy thinking crazy tourists! Wandered down the street to a pancake house. For some strange reason, pancakes in Europe always turn out to be crepes. I'm beginning to think that the fluffy version is an invention of the Aussies, not discovered here yet. Anyhow, we ordered a pear n advocaat (eggnog/eier likor) one. It was heavenly. Soft warm crepe smothered with rich liquer and hiding cold vanilla eis n stewed pear slices within. All washed down by tart apple cider. There's nothing better to beat dreary weather.

Off to more wandering around pretty Brugges. This small city tops my list as the prettiest town in europe. Its small n cosy, with unique architecture in the form of step-like roofs. It possesses both old world charm n modern european elegance. Wander down the small alleys and you're bound to stumble upon many surprises---an old lady spinning bobbin lace in a doorway, a flea market by the water, a handmade sweet shop, mussels set meals for 16 euro...Best of all, the concreteness of the city is balanced by the many tranquil waterways winding thru the town, much like a little venice. It is really a city steeped in romance and elegance. Beautiful.

We stopped by Madam Dumon for some high quality hand made chocs, a well kept brugges secret. These were for LJ, CK, HX n MW, who so kindly made our trip possible. Thank you!:) Chatted with the friendly Dumon lady for abit. Interestingly, her bro makes all e chocs daily. Wonder why its called Madam Dumon then? Anyway, Yc bought a choc coated apple ring for me! It was really yummy, (i loved e textures esp) n so sweet of him. Happy:):)

Last stop of the day was De Halve Mann brewery where they brew Straff Hendrik (strong) beers. We took the brewery tour thru e old factory with more steep steps n these 2 juboks took turns to bump their heads on the low doorway despite being warned abt it. Unfortunately we were running late for the train and had to leave before savouring the complimentary beer. But i still hv e tix w me so i'll definitely be returning to pretty brugges! Alta la vista baby!;)

Denise in Tübingen

2007-06-18T14:28:00.000+02:00

Denise is in Tübingen ( tue-bing-gen, quite literal actually), a really ulu-bong part of germany. (unless of course, you're James's italian Godmother who had viele Fragezeichen über ihre Kopf at the mention of München but went, oh yes!Tübingen! I guess it pays to be a part of a group of renowned university towns.) Anyway, Tübingen is a renowned university town as mentioned, with a population of 80,000, a third of which are students, and the rest either graduated students or left-on-the-shelf professors.

Being a university town, it has its faculties scattered in various locations all over town, which is pretty cool, unless yours is located right on top of the hill, like me. Contrary to what many people think, Tübingen is NOT boring. All you need is an experienced guide (yours truly for example) to show you the little secrets hidden herein. For example, the schloss Höhentübingen atop the altstadt, which affords wonderful views of the city from its many lookout points, or the quaint Bebenhausen, the king's previous hunting house with every conceievable piece of furniture made out of deer horns. Not forgetting my favourite duck/swan feeding spots on the wall along the Neckar river, surrounded by the leafy greeness of spring or the well-hidden Auto und Spielzeug Museum, which show cases the antique car collections of the owner and has movable toy trains on tracks...

But of course, it is the people who make a town what it is. Having such a large student population means that Tübingen is always vibrant with events such as Culture night (where there were various cultural events going on in all parts of the city till 3am), the Stockerkahn race ( where the whole town thronged the neckar area to see people furiously rowing their boats with their hands), and the just past Book festival.

What i like best abt Tübingen is my hall, Prinz Karl! Its located right on top of a mensa right smack in the middle of the altstadt, which in singapore would translate to prime land. This place used to be a hotel and that explains the gigantic rooms ( except for mine). On average, each room has 2 windows, 2 heaters and enough space to conduct a high-energy aerobic class. The stairs are wooden and creak really loudly every time u tread on them, but they somehow lend the place a rustic feel. On the second floor, there's an open air terrace which you can use for a nice quiet dinner/BBQ al fresco or to conduct loud, boozy parties which result in the neighbours calling the police (that happened once).

I live on the 3rd floor, between Irupe who's Argentinean and Gabriel who's Brazilian, who often talk in Portugese/Spanish above my head (ok, i'm short). Haha, but other than that they're wonderful people who have helped me improve my German to the point that I've started sleep-talking in German (Frau Verry would be proud!) and from whom I've had many free yummy dinners. Thank you!:) Because there're only 20 ppl in Prinz Karl and we have to share sai kang like cleaning up after parties, cleaning the toilets and taking the trash down, we've all got to know each other pretty well.

The girls in particular. Somehow the girls have bonded very well thru our common interest for sport which somehow eludes the guys ( who prefer quieter activities like cooking, baking and guitar playing). We meet up everyday either for runs in the stadium or free aerobic lessons in the sports institute conducted by this very creative and funny instructor. One of his exercises reminds me of the great Singapore workout, in particular the part in which you act out what you do in the loo.

Its all very different from life in old KR, perhaps cos its an asian culture not to say hi unless someone says hi first and then no one will greet anyone else. Perhaps cos we're on exchange n somehow need to get the best out of this experience by getting to know other people and cultures. I dunno, n i'm not sure if i'm gonna start saying good morning to my neighbours when i get back to Singapore. Hmmm....food for thought. Was denkst du?

Deutschland Bleiben

2007-06-18T10:04:00.000+02:00

Grüß Gott! My first greetings from Germany via a blog. :) My gf and I are currently on a student exchange in Germany till August. Though it is kinda late to start one now, it is better to be late than never right? You may think that it is so fortunate for a couple to be able to be together in a foreign land, as a matter of fact, we are separated by a 4hrs train ride and of course, at least 30€.

The link connecting two hearts

I am doing Elektrotechnik in the Technische Universität München (TUM for short). Since I arrived here equipped only with a basic command of German (level 1 back in NUS), naturally I need to take all my modules in English. This is due to the fact that I heard many 'horror stories' of smartalec taking modules conducting in german and barely passing them (mind you they have a level 4 command of German language). However due to my 上进 nature, I took a german course here.

JC standing in front of the Dome in TUM

Marienplatz in Munich

Okay, das ist alles für jetzt. Will slowly update everything in due time. Meanwhile, need to rush my assignments. Tschüss.

THE very first post

2007-06-17T21:09:00.001+02:00

Hello!
First and foremost, this blog was conceptualised in Deutschland and is named after our dearest cuddly wuddly moo (don't puke) who did not lose enough weight in time to make it into the luaggage and whom we miss dearly (now u can puke). Anyway, it is an attempt by us to get off our butts and stop being the couch bloggers that we are. It is also an attempt to share our very exciting adventures ( and misadventures) and so our friends and family know that we have not disappeared into the black hole. Read on!