Hello again! (plus "The year in review")

Wow! I just realised it's been a year since I last posted. Sorry about that. Been a little busy. I should mention I'm currently in my last trimester with baby number 1. Entering Week 35 in 2 days as I type! I'm as HUUUUGE as a house!
I should have something interesting to post about "Dogs and Babies" if I ever get out of the zombie stage I'm told happens the first 20 years of our kid's life.
Pregnancy is not entirely the reason for my absence. I have not been sick or wretching over the sink. No, no, nothing like that. It's a combination of silly things: 1) I couldn't remember my password or URL for this blog! 2) I've been in and out of the country 3) Baby preps do keep you busy! 4) We moved flats and it's taken us forever to "unpack" or "junk" stuff 5) I've just been plain lazy!

Today's post: I'll bring everyone up to speed with what all four of us have been up to this past year, Star Wars hyperspace style!

July 06
Went to Japan and did the Ghibli museum AGAIN! Picked up another cel. We always tell ourselves it's for our kids some day and today we can actually pass it on! (See pic. Sheeta and the pigeons scene from Laputa: Castle in the Sky)

August 06
Got a new compact camera to complement the D50. It's a Fuji F30 and it's great in low light for flash-free shots. AND videos of the pups in action!

Sept-October 06
Liveaboard dive trip to Maldives. Swam with 3 whale sharks! This was an unbelievable experience! (See pic. That's me in the top right corner!)

October 06
Found out we were pregnant! Baby Wong is due in late July 07. We lay in bed and stared at the big "+" on the homekit... gobsmacked!

Our joy was nearly shortlived. Without realising I was newly pregnant, I was out with Ginger and Pebbles on the usual morning walk when we were attacked by a German Shepherd. I scrambled to fend the dog off and Ginger and Pebbles got mauled. Pebbles scurried away but Ginger sustained a puncture wound on her back. The Filipina domestic helper let go of the GSD's leash and just freaked out while the dog went for it. It was ugly. I thought I would lose one of my dogs. I stepped in and grabbed the dog's head and collar with my hands and blocked it with my back to give my girls a chance to get away. The whole struggle ended when the helper finally slapped her whole body on the dog and flattened the dog out. It was extremely traumatic. I couldn't sleep for many nights and the girls refused to walk up the trail for months. As a result of this incident, Ginger and Pebbles are no longer walked together by any one person alone, be it me or my husband. We now have a "one dog, one handler" rule in place since this incident. I take them each separately or all four of us go together.
There's a lot more to this story though - the owner is an American legal counsel, to give you an idea - and it always gets me riled up so I'm going to have to save this for another blog! (See pic. Poor Ginger!)
November 06

Went to Korea for the first time. All 3 of us. We attended a Korean wedding - Korean girl from Gwangju and American boy. I loved the wedding but unfortunately, don't really like Korean food so that was a major "food aversion sore point" so early on in my pregnancy!
December 06
Went to London and Bath. Saw Stonehenge. Watched "Wicked". Came home in time for Christmas with the pups! (See pic. Annual Christmas Card portrait)

January 07
New Year in Kuala Lumpur. One of my best friends from high school gets married.

We move flats at the end of January. Okay, so it was 3 towers away within the same complex but hey, a move is a move is a move. You still have to get everything OUT of one place and into another place and find little nooks and crannies for all the stuff you took out. It really is like digging a hole on a beach and trying to pat all the sand back into the same hole. It never ever quite fits the same way! Try squeezing more than 10 years of your husband's life working abroad into a Hong Kong flat and you have a big problem. (See pic). Why move? Since baby makes 3 in 2007, we need an extra bedroom!

February 07
Chinese New Year in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur plus a joint-Baby Shower hosted by my best friend for 3 of us pregnant friends.

Evelyn comes to live with us
At the beginning of February, we hired live-in help to take care of the girls and housework, in anticipation of the baby's arrival. We just didn't know how we would manage with me being heavily pregnant and having to walk Ginger and Pebbles 2-3 times a day, separately AND fending of any vicious German Shepherds! Hong Kong flats are small enough and having another person around takes a little getting used to but we do love her to bits, the girls adore her - she always sticks up for the girls in public and has no qualms about telling other known offending dogs and their owners/helpers to stay away -AND she makes a decent Hainanese Chicken Rice for me when I'm homesick!

March 07 San Francisco
Annual visit to see George's family. Steaks, ice cream sundaes, burgers & garlic fries, milkshakes and a Scharffen Berger chocolate factory tour. My obstetrician is shocked at the 8lbs I put on over that one trip. (See pic. Carmel-by-the-Sea. Heaven on earth for dogs!)

May 07 Kuala Lumpur

I host a small get together in honor of my best friend's upcoming nuptials. The wedding is actually in November but I didn't think I'd be able to make the bridal shower and pre-banquet festivities after having our baby in July so I went home in May instead to see my friends and family.
I get my first pregnancy massage after so many months, my usual facial, a haircut by a celebrity stylist... Heaven! At Malaysian prices too.

Ginger and Pebbles celebrate their 3rd birthday
Hurrah! Talk about milestones. I was so happy the day they made their 1st birthday together, IN TACT. I have to say though: Third birthdays are even better! Not only are they in tact and safe from each other, I'm just happy they're safe from OTHER dogs! It's great to be in a pack of 5 now - Ginger, Pebbles, George, Evelyn and me. I just feel so much better for the girls!

As for the celebrations, we took the girls to the pool in the morning and had the whole small dogs pool to ourselves and then they came home to a doggy peanut butter cake, organic chicken wings and home made shepherd's pie! (See pics. Pebbles yelling at the ball to come closer, Ginger getting a post-dip shower and the birthday spread!)

June 07 Phuket, Thailand

Babymoon! We go to the Banyan Tree at 33 weeks. My last flight for sometime until the little one arrives. No airline will take me after 35 weeks!

The Banyan Tree Phuket is actually a very special "George and Geraldine place". Our love affair with the Banyan Tree began in early 2002. We had one of our first dating holidays there - we went scuba diving (I got certified), we went to the sea caves by canoe... I also had my first taste of luxury spa indulgence there and never looked back! The resort itself is just awesome. In-room dining, private pool villas, amazing food...

So when George asked me to marry him in 2003, where did we go to celebrate? The Banyan Tree Bintan! In December 2003 we were back at the Banyan Tree Phuket for our wedding ceremony and off to their sister hotel, Angsana, in the Maldives for our honeymoon in January 2004. We also celebrated an anniversary at Banyan Tree Phuket in 2005. So where do we go for a Babymoon that's near enough to get to by direct flight? Banyan Tree Phuket of course! (See pic. Our private pool villa)

Okay so there are lots of other luxury hotels all over the world and the Banyan Tree probably isn't THE ultimate benchmark today but it is truly a lovely place and we always have such a good time there! Besides, low-season rates and Thai hospitality are just unbeatable!

Phew! I think that's about all I can think of.
For more of the girls' photos and some travel pics, check out my Flickr website http://www.flickr.com/photos/geraldinegoh

No signing up or logging in necessary. I haven't quite figured out the new changes to blogger.com so forgive the layout!

I'm also a little short on the doggy photos this year (compared to last year) and this is the MAIN (and only) reason why: It's hard to get down to the girls' eye levels and crawl around the floor when you are pregnant! The belly gets in the way. Still, can't say I didn't try! Here is one of the year's favourites!