Singapore Bound

I had my last appointment with my lovely Vietnamese doctor this morning to get copies of my file, a letter for the airline and say my farewells - I so wish she was coming with me to Singapore!  The unknown city, unknown doctor, and unknown accommodation are all going to be a challenge in the next few days but I guess we have been through it all before!  

I was thrilled to get a phone call this afternoon to hear that our rocking chair, bookshelf and change table were ready for delivery.  Yah - I would get to see everything before leaving for Singapore!

The new pieces awaiting the baby's arrival.

A nice match with the crib.

Thanks

I love getting posts on the blog!   Thank you to all the friends and family who made my day with with all the wonderfully kind and supportive comments following my last post.  We are getting very anxious for the baby's arrival and are so happy to be able to share our excitement with you all the way from Vietnam.

My nesting instinct has kicked into full gear this week.  Kevin and I organized the baby's room which included finally unpacking all the clothes we came back from Canada with (thanks to Kim, Jo-Ann, and gifts from friends).  Of course, we ended up repacking all the newborn-sized items to take to Singapore.  We also did some art shopping.  We purchased two paintings - one is an original Vietnamese piece and the second, a beautiful relaxing ocean scene for our guest room (if that doesn't convince you to visit, I don't know what will :)

I love this painting - the abstract feel of it reminds me of all the craziness you see every day in Ho Chi Minh City while the woman at the bottom shows the calm and kind personalities amid the chaos.

I also joined Kevin for dinner on Tuesday night where we met the Talisman Board of Directors including the CEO.  It is not too often you get that opportunity!  It was a beautiful evening out so I dressed up in my finest (thank you for the maternity dress, Gabby - it is getting lots of wear).

33 weeks

32+ Weeks

Kevin took this picture of me over the weekend at just over 32 weeks. Cleatus (the fetus), as Kevin lovingly calls our little guy, continues to grow and has been moving around nonstop the past few days.  I hope he sleeps a bit more when he enters the world!  We have been getting things organized around the house in preparation for my temporary move to Singapore.  We will be leaving for Singapore on November 1st.

And I thought dark colours were slimming?!

HCMC Poker Night

We hosted the Inaugural Dang Huu Pho Poker Night this evening.  It was the 500,000 tournament (Vietnamese dong, that is).  Chip leaders varied throughout the night but in the end, Catherine and I (yes, the only two ladies at the table) were playing heads up!

James, Colin, Kevin H., my chip stack, Kevin, and Catherine.

Catherine took home the top place money... and it was her first time playing!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

It has turned into a weekend of celebration in honour of Kevin's 33rd birthday.  Yesterday, the office had cheesecake and flowers to celebrate.  Today we attended the annual Talisman Stampede Party where Kevin ended up getting thrown into the pool.  Of course, getting thrown into a pool when it is +40 degrees Celsius out is not anything to get too upset about!  Now we are heading out for a birthday dinner.

mmm... cheesecake

Kevin H., Catherine, Kevin, Brenda (with Adelina), and James enjoying the Stampede atmosphere.

Pet Store on Wheels

It really is possible to see just about everything and anything being transported via a motorbike in Vietnam.  So it should have come as no surprise when I stepped out of the An Phu Supermarket, our local grocery store, to see a mobile fish store on the back of a motorbike!

Goldfish anyone?

Early Thanksgiving Celebrations

In celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving next week, we were invited to a turkey dinner at the home of Calgarian friends, Gary and Peggy Thompson.  The meal was delicious and included our Thanksgiving favourites like stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy.

I even made pumpkin pie for the event.  However, I discovered that I only had one pie plate well after I began making the pie crusts so we made do with one pie and one 'square'.  Pie or square, they both tasted delicious!

What remained of the pumpkin pie and 'square' after dinner.

Power Woes

Our lack of posting over the past week was due to the fact that our computer power cord was fried after a power surge (a common occurrence here).  Maybe this has something to do with the electricity lines seen throughout Ho Chi Minh City...