getting married and facebook

Leaving HK tonight to fly away to get married.
I may update my facebook and my blog accordingly :)

typhoon vicente

Typhoon Vicente was the name of the storm that hit us the other night. It battered Hong Kong with gale-force winds (of more than 140 km/h) and torrential rain.
It was cool to watch it come it at first, but just before midnight I had had enough and thought- this is actually quite scary....

The Authorities hoisted the No. 10 tropical cyclone signal (the highest level ) for several hours overnight, making this one of the strongest typhoons to hit the city in the past decade.

But our house is still standing and windows intact. Tree trunks are lying around all over the place around the house though, but in a few days time I am sure that will be cleared away and the storm will be forgotten since the rat-race continues as per normal... 

time flies

The saying goes: time flies when you have fun.
I say time flies when you are busy beyond belief...

I have had too much on my plate lately....
Work is manic. Even more so than usual, we have overtaken a company so my responsibilities have all of a sudden doubled... Offices in two locations, more staff, new business and a whole lot of paper work that needs to be done. (A enjoyable problem in a way, because it is really nice to be doing as well as we do. And to be as challenged as we are and to show everyone that DLHK rocks. But it is hard work… and my life is consumed by work most of the time…)

Any spare time has been spent doing wedding admin, but we’re almost done now, thank god.

On top of this we are currently in a storm. We have had a typhoon in full force for over 12 hours now… sitting here hiding from the extremely heave rain and winds and am happy that I have a house that still stands…

I am sooooo looking forward to stepping on that plane on Friday and say bye to all the obligations for a while. I need a break.

this is how i feel today

·          "We sacrifice our health in order to make money, then sacrifice our money to recuperate our health. We become so anxious about the future that we cant enjoy the present and live as if we are never going to die, but die having never really lived"

surprise hens party

I was kidnapped and blindfolded!
And then became a pirate for a day - named Captain Black Beard.

Almost sounds like a dream right?
But this is what happened to me last Saturday.

The girls took me by surprise and threw me an amazing hens party. 

Probably the best hens party a girl could have ever asked for!

It was an absolute brilliant day.

On the Sunday I was feeling pretty broken, but couldn't stop smiling…. 

The girls made me feel so special, so cared for and so loved.

The day was full of dares, laughs, naked jet-skiing, booty, games, and a great effort was put into learning a Swedish drinking song.

They had made amazing decorations and the thought behind everything was just so touching, And so was the movie!!!, the cake!!! and the shots of death – which more or less killed me :)

Thank you a million girls!!

Question - Can we do it again?

 

one month

Yesterday it was exactly one month until the big day!

t8 on a friday night

On Friday evening last week everybody in Hong Kong was rushing to their homes to find shelter from the approaching tropical storm Doksuri.

I left work at 9 pm and got on the 9.30 ferry. And that was good since at around 11 pm the Hong Kong observatory hoisted a T8 signal.  Most of public transport is cancelled once the T8 signal is on and the city closes down.  So there would have been no way for me to get home.
And home is considered the safest place to be. Since it was my first tropical storm/typhoon experience on Lamma it was a bit special. When you live in the city of HK, nothing really happens, except for all the rain, but on Lamma the wind really blows....

Fortunately, it never got too bad, but Ant and I tucked as many things away as we could though on our rooftop, closed all doors and windows and Teddy sure didn't want to go out for a pee....

The Doksuri did not reach the “direct hit” status though, when the eye of the storm is directly over Hong Kong. There has not been a direct hit for a number of years, however when this happens, the damage is usually devastating, and a number of people are usually killed.

note for future reference

If the time is 23.10 and you're still in the office but you need to get on a ferry that leaves at 23.30 so you can get home and get some sleep - you can make it!
Just take off your flip-flops, run through the now pretty quiet streets of Hong Kong and you'll be fine. Actually more than fine, you'll be there in 7 minutes time!

time out

OK, with tons of work, wedding planning etc etc I've taken an involuntary break from blogging.

Will be back soon hopefully.

old dress

My mum smiled at me the other morinng as I put on a dress before heading to work...
She said: do you still use that dress?
Yeah I said, why?
Well it's quite old she answered.
So I counted the years since I graduated from school (year 12). because the dress I put on was my graduation dress.... And realised that the dress is 18 years old....
How old does that make me?!
Still 29 obviously....

lamma mornings

I wake up just before 6 and open my eyes and look out onto the beautiful bay outside our bedroom window.
I get up, feed Teddy and then take him for a walk down to the beach where he plays with his dog friends whilst I do my good deed for the day. (I pick up the garbage that has floated ashore during the night and throw it in the bin where it belongs).
I then go home again and have a shower whilst overlooking the ocean.
I walk down to the ferry where I relax and eat my breakfast.
I arrive in town 20 min later and am ready to take on a new day at the office. 

celebrations

Yay for Sweden today on its National day!
I have celebrated with Swedish food at lunch.

Tonight I might celebrate my love to Ant with some bubbles - it is our first engagement anniversary today.
So double yay for that!

flip flop injury

If you don't lift your feet properly when you are hurrying down the street in your old red flip flops the consequence can be as per the below....

i won tickets

I won 2 return tickets HKG-LHR with BA in a lycky draw!!

Feel very lucky indeed and happy.

Thinking a flight home over Christmas perhaps:) 

Yay!!

Lamma move complete

After days of packing I am now ready to spend the weekend un-packing.

The Lamma move is completed and I feel the peace off Lamma filling up my soul already.

Amazing feeling.
But with a view like the one above and the sound of the waves it is difficult not to feel at peace.  I might actually be able to relax and re-fill my batteries.

Bring on my first weekend as a Lamma islander :)

photo booth

The new thing seems to be to have photo booths inculding some props at parties.
It was the HKFC May ball last Friday night and the above photos were taken amongst many m a n y others.

Ant really whishes we could have one at our wedding.
I might have to create one with my macgyver talent.
It's ot a promise, but if I have time I will def try...
They surea are fun, and you get osme great photos :)

got it

Emergency meeting with land lord went well.
We got the apartment and should be moving to our new place with sea veiw in 2 weeks time!
Come and visit!!

crappy question mark

We've been back and forth to Lamma island plenty of times the last months in our search for a new apartment. Last Sunday we went there again and as we left the island we had a new lease signed and we were very exited! During the days that have followed the landlord seems to have changed his mind! And we might not have a new apartment to move into at the end of this month. We might not have anywhere to live at all since we have given notice to our current landlord... To sum things up - CRAP! We are now going out to Lamma again tomorrow to try and sort things out during a meeting. Fingers crossed please!

pancake cake

The Princess had his birthday on Saturday and I got up at 7 am to give him something special.
Ant had never ever had a pancake cake in his life, and as I belive that you can't turn 34 without ever have had this most amazing breakfast, a pancake cake it was...

And to me it seemed like he liked it... :)

hot days

We've had a few hot days in HK.

The best thing to do then according to Teddy is to lay down in the water.

thunder storms

Daytime HK, the sky is black, a thunder storm is rolling in and it is so dark it feels more like 9pm than 10.45am... And the thunder and rain that followed!! When it rains it pours...

had me smiling big

The above had me smiling BIG time!
Well needed on a grey rainy horrible day, with way too many things on my mind...
Smiling always makes things better :)

lady in red

On the day I'll be dressed in white I'll also be a lady in red.
Or more specifically cherry red.
A pair fo beautiful Rupert Sanderson's will encase my feet.
A simple "less is more".

ticking the boxes

I've ticked some boxes for the wedding this long Easter weekend.
The dresses for my bridesmaids have been ordered (went to China and picked a fabric plus took the fabric and dress measurements to the tailors - should have the dresses in 10 days time) and today once I got back to HK I might even have found my wedding shoes!
All very exciting!

easter dinner

We got invited to a beautiful Swedish Easter dinner on Saturdsy just passed.
Had a great night with nice people, great food and fun games, and even some traditional egg painting!
A big YAY for lovely Swedish traditions.

tuesday night pottery

The girls and I decided to do something different last night and went to a potter class.
All of us squeezed clay, merged clay, got a bit messy and sometimes also a bit frustrated, but in the end all of us had produced our very own teapots.
They will now be burnt and glazed in an attempt to actually make them look pretty.

The one on the far right is mine.

a quicky to shanghai

Had to go to Shanghai for meeting.
I like Shanghai, but was less thrilled having to take my precious Sunday to travel and have a meeting on.
Ant and Teddy walked me to the airport express station, which was nice. But Ant stood on me as we walked and my shoe broke, which wasn't as nice. And no shoe repair place was apparently open in the city an early Sunday morning...
So I began my trip towards Shanghai with my broken shoe.
However was told that there was a shoe repair man at airport so ran there as soon as I found out, but it was closed since it was Sunday.
So I went to 7 eleven and bought glue.
Repaired shoe with glue whilst flying to Shanghai. Almost glued my fingers together as well, but at least shoe was fixed.

Arrived to a beautiful day in a sunny Shanghai.
Hotel was nice as well - got a big room with one of those toilets that have a heated toilet seat and that cleans your bum if you press the correct buttons.
Meeting went really well and we finished the night with a super nice dinner with a perfect view over the Bund.
So I think Shanghai came through and made my day much better than expected in the end.

good morning to you

Woke up as per normal this Saturday at 7 am.
Teddy jumped on me to say hello and good morning to you - I want food.
He usually lands on my stomach to make sure that I wake up, as if his smiling face wouldn't be enough he also makes sure that I can't breath... 24 kg that lands directly on your stomach does that to you when you are not prepared for impact...
Anyway, it was what happened next that was not as per normal procedure...
As Teddy decided to jump off me a flea (that should not have been there in the first place)decided to leave Teddy's fur and jump onto my chest.
An intense flea hunt then was conducted in the bed for approximately 2 minutes, before the little quick f*cker was caught.
The hunt was followed by an early morning flea combing of Teddy, vacuuming the flat, washing Teddy's bedding and our bedding, going out to buy flea bombs etc etc.
Good morning to you indeed!

rugby 7's 2012

A very very quiet Rugby 7's for me this year.
But a very enjoyable one anyway (although I was only there a few hours).
Fiji beat NZ in the final, and even to someone like me, that does not understand rugby that well, it was obvious to see that it was a very good and fast game.
Fiji won a well deserved win.

customer promotion

I thought I'd give some of my e-commerce customers a free promo on my blog...
My life is more or less all about work in real life, so why not incorporate the real life for real in the blog life...?

If you are after designer sunglasses, glasses or contact lenses - try SmartBuyGlasses: www.smartbuyglasses.com
If you are after cosmetics, skin care, hair care or perfume - try StrawberryNET: www.strawberrynet.com
If you want some cool T-shirts or other apparel - try Apres Velo: www.apresvelo.com
If you want to take good care of your nice hand bags, this product is an essential - try Kiss a bag: www.kissabag.com
If you want to make yourself a pair of beautiful shoes - try Milk & Honey Shoes: www.milkandhoneyshoes.com

Happy shopping everyone!

after sun

The sun came to HK alright...
It was an amazingly beautiful day in HK yesterday.
One of those days that makes you remember how beautiful this town really can be/is.
All of that awful grey that has been surrounding/smothering us for months was suddenly gone.
Gone was apparently also any thought of sun screen....
I am soooo burnt it is not even funny...

the sun

The sun is shining in HK!! Finally!!

mma champion

One of the sweetes girls you will ever know is also one of the coolest girls you will ever know.
After months of hard training Katie 'Ave a Go" Lowe took home a white collar mma champion belt tonight!
Abolutely amazing fight, Katie dominated the whole way.
So very well deserved and I am so very proud.

Before the fight

Fighting


After


That is true g i r l p o w e r for ya!

rainy

February this year turned into a very grey and rainy month.
I have just worked, been sick, cuddled Teddy and Ant, watched Swedish TV series and worried about my sick father.

Hoping March will be brighter in many ways.

valentines

Lots of love going out to my family and all my friends near and far away on this Valentine's Day. I think about you every day.

flu

Can tick most of the boxes on the right hand side...
Have been lying on the sofa all weekend watching movies and feeling sorry for my self.
Boo for the flu...

moving...

We are looking at moving out to one of the outlying islands to reduce our rental costs and also have a bit more of a green lifestyle, plus Teddy will love it!!

But so far we haven't had much luck in finding a new place to live.
We have found 2 apartments that we really like. O
ne is not ready for rental yet, and the other one (after having seen it twice) might not be up for rental at all...
So the search continues...

the year of the dragon

The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. In ancient China, the celestial Dragon represents an emperor and power. Today, it is the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying success and happiness.

We have left the Rabbit behind us and since the year of the Dragon is considered the luckiest year in the Chinese Zodiac I want to wish that the celestial Dragon brings great luck to everyone.


It is interesting to note that in Chinese astrology the dragon is the only animal of the Chinese zodiac year that is not real. Does that mean that this coming year will be a bit of a fairytale?

I have no objections to a year of fairytale life with lots of luck, success and happiness. Sounds perfect to me to be honest.
Must also mean that getting married during a year of luck is a favorable thing to do don't you think?

humbling

On our last day in Cambodia we had 2 real humbling experiences.
In the morning we went to the big "Pol Pot" prison in Phnom Penh, "Security Prison 21" (S-21). This is the prison that the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 used to torture and kill an estimated 17,000 people in.
We walked around this building that still today is enclosed in barbed wire and has tiny prison and torture chambers, and all windows are covered with iron bars and barbed wire.
The pictures of some of the people that was killed during this time brought tears to my eyes, and it really makes me wonder what ever made some people so cruel and how we can do things like this towards each other over and over again.

In the afternoon we went to a school that supports children that grows up on the old city dump of Phnom Penh. Again, absolutely heartbreaking.
I am so blessed and fortunate having grown up under the conditions that I grew up in and living the life that I live now compared to these poor kids.



Leaving Cambodia I felt like I really had been taken down to earth. And for that I thank you Cambodia, and I promise to try and help you in return.

cambodia

I was seriously contemplating getting one of those t-shirts that says I love Cambodia.
What an amazing place - ancient temples, beautiful surroundings, super friendly people and yummy food. I most definitely want to go back! 5 days is not enough, but it was a good start!
Sunshine, lazy days and heaps of girl talk combined with sightseeing, horse riding and a few massages. Could not have had a better start to the new year.