Moving & very STRESSED!!!!!

We are set to move to Beijing, NOT! 

Just when we've booked a flight to Beijing for this Sat (3 March), we received news a week before that the work permit is delayed due to complicated procedures in China. We had initially wanted to stick to the original plan and fly back to Sg in mid March to renew our visa and fly back to Beijing. However, 2 days back we decided go with the option of staying in Sg for another 3-4 weeks, pick up the work permit and bring it to China for submission once and for all. It's giving us alot of stress with plans changing everyday. Pray for us... Sighs...

Anyhows, the packers came yesterday, according to the original plan to pack up all our belongings to store them and ship them to BJ. 

Super professional - they packed all the small items individually with wrapper paper before putting them in boxes...

Stack of wrapper paper laid out for Santa (fe) to wrap wrap wrap!

TLC for the clothings! 

Layers of paper in between clothings for protection. Hangers are included into the packing so it's easier to hang em' during the unpacking process plus no need to re-iron!

Crazy amount of boxes. The thought of unpacking them when I get to BJ makes me very STRESSED!!!!

After an entire morning of packing, we were crazy stressed out. My mind was going haywire, worried that I left something behind unpacked or the packers packed something important that I may need for the next 2 months before the boxes arrive in BJ. 

After all that stress we went for a late lunch timeout - our fav prawn noodle (+ clams + pig intestines)

Just when I told myself to relax and everything's in good place, I woke up the next morning to realise that the packers accidentally packed my winter coats and my clothings for surviving the next 2 months! I have nothing but a few sets of old PJs!!! State of shock!!!

So we called up the movers and they were kind enough to allow us to hunt for a needle in a haystack (or rather a box of apparel in a container) as well as add in an additional box of stuff.

Here's our crate of belongings (shafted and chucked amidst other crates like lego). The warehouse dude forklifted our crate out from the mirage of crates. They had to pry it open coz it was sealed shut with heavy duty nails.

We dug through boxes and boxes of our belongings before they finally found my 2 months worth of clothes. PHEW. So stressful...!!!

I was just wondering how big a 40 ft container looks like. Coz I was told we were allowed to bring that much worth of belongings over. Pictured below are 20 ft containers...

 NAH. We could never fill up a 40ft. I think we have so much room even with the 20 ft ones above!!!

Anyhows, I'm still very stressed up. Losing sleep without my fav pillows which have been packed into the crate... Just one more pillow-less night before I feel less disoriented tmr!!! God help me!!!!

Lovin' our New Cosy

We've officially stayed in our new Cosy Bay for abt 1 month now. It's been a long 3 over yrs of anticipation and finally we've a place we can call home.

Wanna remember this happy phase in our lives with these photos of the various corners of the New Cosy. Especially when we have a new addition that moved in together with us as a family... :)

It's my great pleasure to show u around our lil' cosy bay...

This was the dining area design I had in mind for the longest time... Table leaned against a turquoise wall with white frames. And now I can finally dine in it..

The sofa that we were afraid was gonna be too humongous for our living room. Thankfully it fits.

 Brand loyalty - Philips TV & Soundbar

Built-in shoe cabinet cum storage space on the left...

 Leading to our white kitchen

Bathroom (Master bedroom's)

 Study/work area in our bedroom

 Our bedroom

Walk-in wardrobe

Ashley's nursery room

 Movin' into this new Cosy, I told Randy that I never wanna move house ever again. Packing and unpacking boxes and shifting them here & there is a nightmare. Just wanna enjoy my time in this place for as long as I can...

Ugly duckling

"Behind every beautiful swan, there's an ugly duckling"

Those are the exact words that Diddy would say to me whenever we go to our new Cosy to check on reno progress and see the entire place in a state of renovation mess…

I'm pleased to announce that we will be completing reno works by tomorrow and furnitures + electrical goods are slated to be delivered next week! 

It's tradition for a woman not to leave the home during her confinement period, but the rules can be broken for a confining woman who has to buy stuff in time for the contractors to mount them. So we made a couple of quick trips to Ikea the last 2 weeks (in between Ashley's feeding time) to buy everything else we need before the contractors pack up and handover the New Cosy to us.

 

The "cosmetic items" to beautify the swan… Attempting to squeeze them into the car...

We're really happy with the contractor we're using (recommended by a friend). He's very on-the-ball! After discussing some ideas with him, within the next 2 days, his workers showed up on-site and got the reno work cracking! He would also recommend ideas for us to keep the place aesthetic-looking yet not bursting our wallets and gave us many contacts for us to buy stuff directly to save cost. It's been a pleasant experience using his services.

Here's some sneak peek of how the ugly duckling has progressed up till last week!!! Not gonna reveal this week's photos of the swan yet… :P

The cabinet that we've built - for shoes, uncle installing the glass door leading to the kitchen

The dining area in the living room

How the kitchen looked like last week… This week, the solid top is done and it's ready to welcome the chef! (Will not reveal the end pdt yet!)

Left: Ashley's room (The false ceiling with LED lights installed - thanks to my buddy who got us a good deal for the lights….)

Right: Our bathroom cabinet - halfway done last week, now complete!

 Bay window area - with timbre seating installed 

As the reno nears completion, our bank account nears depletion… We were just saying we've never felt this broke before. With Ashley's arrival this month, our expenses are stretched to the max!

Just gonna trust in God's providence but on my part will try to not spend on unneccessaries for this period! 

New Cosy - key collection day

This is our new Cosy Bay! 

After 3.5 years of waiting, our block is done and we're finally able to breathe in a breath of construction dust from the lobby level… (Pictured right: View of the still-under-construction garden from the top view)

We were dying of excitement, so much so that we arrived 2 hrs ahead of our scheduled appointment, hoping to get hold of the keys ASAP!

Bunches and bunches of keys in an ugly leather clutch 

 Grand opening ceremony!!!

The new gates have got the blocked-out area at the bottom. Perfecto! Now my doggie can't attempt to go to work with Daddy by squeezing through the gap… Hehehe….

Living Room

Living Room (Window Bay)

Master Bedroom

Ashley's Room

Walk-in Wardrobe

Up side: Can't wait for reno to get cracking and start BUILDING our dream home!!! 
Down side: After doing some cost simulation, we realised that we're going to be REALLY REALLY dead broke by the time everything is up. :( 

Gotta trim down the frills and whatever unnecessaries to keep to the budget… Plus the arrival of Ashley, just praying that everything will suffice! No traveling and shopping for 2011!