48 hours in Phuket

another tri

Mike takes the boat over to Indonesia for another triathlon.

Currently in Minnesota...

Mike is back in Minnesota this week to do his semi-annual hospital service at United. Susan will join him for the weekend since she has some meetings the following week. It's been 9 months since Mike was last in Minnesota, so it's a great time to catch up with friends! Click on the photo for more...

London & Geneva in April

The day after Easter Susan went to London for a couple weeks' work, which not only gave her time to see some good friends in the London office (and stay with Rani and her family), but she also scored with glorious London weather for a change. During the weekend she visited Jen, Antony and Ryan in Lausanne, Switzerland ~ more gorgeous weather and fun time to visit just days before the twins are due! Click on the photo for more...

Easter 2009

We had the 3rd annual Easter brunch at our condo, including some fun and games for the kids, and a fabulous spread with everyone contributing. Click on the photo for more...

Minneapolis in April

Susan was in Minneapolis for a week at the end of March / early April. It was a busy schedule, but still had a chance to see Julie, Mary, Renee (Jeff) and their twins! Click on the photo for more...

Vespa day

Mike and I recently bought a little Vespa with which to scoot around Singapore. It can be a lot easier to buzz about than a car, but not so great when caught in the pouring rain - I speak from experience! On a recent Saturday we had a gorgeous day and took the Vespa to the modish area of Duxton Hill.

Recent visitors

We were so thrilled when Angie came to visit from Germany - the Blueberry sisters reunited! How wonderful to have a week with Angie. We also welcomed Tracy and Cliff for a couple nights on their way to Vietnam, and the Spence boys for a pizza night. Click on the photo for more.

Thaipusam

Last night Mike and I, with Rob and Micah, went to see the Thaipusam Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community. It's an annual ritual for the birthday of Lord Murugan whereby devotees implore help from the god by enduring the physical burden of body piercing (thanks Wikipedia). The activities are now banned in all countries except Singapore and Malaysia. Let me just say that it isn't for the faint of heart. Check out the photos and the video.

Sri Lanka

Mike and I went to Sri Lanka over the Chinese New Year holiday. It was a quick trip but we managed to visit a couple places including the old fort town Galle and the beach areas just south of there. We had a great tuk tuk driver who took us around the area and invited us to meet his family. They live in a "tsunami house", that was built from tsunami disaster relief funds. Click on photo for more.

Hong Kong

Mike and I met up with Jen, Antony, Ryan and a couple Scanlon TBDs in Hong Kong for a long weekend. We had fabulous weather (we appreciated the coolness) and great time catching up!

Pangkor Laut Malaysia

In early December we had a long weekend due to the Hari Raya Haji Muslim holiday. We decided to road trip it up to Malaysia. We made it to Kuala Lumpur on Friday night and then another few hours north on Saturday morning to catch a ferry to Pangkor Laut. We had two very relaxing days at the island spa resort. We have both been working long days lately and really needed the R&R. ahhhhhh. Unfortunately the long trip home wasn't so relaxing, especially since it took more than 2 hours to get through Malaysia immigration (we should have figured a Muslim holiday in a Muslim country - nobody working!) Click on the photo for more.

Thanksgiving 2008

Great turkey with Spence and Adams Families. Click on the photos for more.

Cargill's Dinner and Dance

Every year Cargill puts on a big holiday Dinner and Dance. This year's party was very early (even before Thanksgiving). It was obviously a costume party - Mike and I were finalists but unfortunately didn't get the big prize. Click on the photo for more.

Jack & Mary visit Singapore

We were so excited that Jack and Mary came to visit! They spent a few days in Singapore and then moved on to Australia and New Zealand before spending another five days with us - just in time for Mike's birthday. It was so nice having them here. Click on the photo for more.

A Sunday Morning

Just thought we'd share with you a lazy Sunday morning we had today. We made crepes for the first time (thanks to Bob for the crepe pan, and Mary & Jon for the recipe and demos!). It was fun, and they were yum! Sport & Zoe enjoyed a little hunting, Singapore style. Click the photo for more.

palawan, philipines

Taking advantage of living in Southeast Asia, we took a quick trip to a fantastical area in the Philippines called Palawan. Click on the photo for images from a great trip with our friends Rob & Christina...

year number one

On Sept 30 Mike and I are celebrating our 1st anniversary! Unfortunately I was back in the U.S. for work, so I made another little video for Mike to look back on the last 20+ years (for those who were asking me to post the video I did for the wedding - it was too long, so I cut out about 20 minutes!), and I added a few photos from our first married year. What a year it's been. I am so very lucky to be married to my perfect match!

girls just wanna have fun

While in Minnesota for a work trip in September, I was fortunate enough to spend a getaway weekend for a great weekend with some Cargill friends. Click on the photo to see more from our fun trip to Grand Rapids...

Esher England

I had to leave my hubby again and went to London for a few days work. The biggest benefit being that I could visit my dear friend Rani and her family. She also works for Cargill. They live in an absolutely adorable village called Esher - could this be a sweeter house and how quintessential - a Mini! Thanks Rani for having me.

One weekend in Bangkok

A colleague, mentor and friend from Cargill came to Singapore for the last time before she retires in September. For years we've been wanting to do a little excursion together, and it finally happened. We went to Bangkok for the weekend, which just so happened to be the same weekend that protestors stormed the Prime Minister's office resulting in a Thai state of emergency! While we barely noticed in Bangkok, Nancy did have to cancel her next leg in Phuket - better safe than sorry. Here's wishing Nancy a happy retirement!

back home

I think the cats may have been a bit bored while we were away...

BBQ @ WBL

Yet another great day as friends and offspring joined us for a barbecue at Susan's parent's White Bear Lake home. Sorry Matt & Becca, no pictures of you. Click for more...

congratulations Julie & Rob!

If there is anyone that could pull off a spectacular wedding in less time (six weeks) than we did (eight weeks), it would be Susan's sister, Julie (with a little help from her mom, right Rob?). Congratulations! Consider coming to Singapore for a second honeymoon...

next stop... wisconsin

The great weather continued as we headed to Eau Claire to see Jack & Mary, John & Carrie, and one very cute Lily. Thanks for the Leine's, brats, cheese curds and hospitality! Click on photo to see more...

back in the bwca

There's no better way to start off a three week holiday than with a trip to the boundary waters. Susan and I enjoyed four days of perfect weather and plump blueberries on South Hegman Lake. Also pictured are ages-old rock pictographs and the most scenic Angleworm Lake. We will no doubt return to these lakes one day. Click on the photo to see more...

Susan takes a "Tri"

So after supporting Mike on a couple Triathlons, I decided to give it a "tri" myself! It was a mini-triathlon with shorter distances. I liked it, and may even give the sprint triathlon a try one day. Mike did the sprint later in the day. Since our camera didn't survive when I mistakenly dunked it in sea water (oops!) we don't have photos of his event. But he did well as usual.

bintan triathlon 2008

Mike competed in (and completed!) his first triathlon along with good friend Sarvin Patel on the island of Bintan, Indonesia on a hot and humid day. Susan was our personal cheering section and photographer. Mike looks forward to another triathlon, but will likely engage in some proper training first... Click the photo for some action shots.

weekend in hanoi

We took advantage of a holiday weekend and booked a getaway trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. In the city, we were most impressed with the beauty of the lakes, the early risers for badminton and exercise (all ages), the no-rules traffic, the local art galleries, and of course the great croissants and coffee.

Three hours drive from Hanoi is Halong Bay and its 1969 limestone islands. We explored the Bay, islands and caves by an overnight junk boat and kayak. The spectacular scenery, worthy of a James Bond movie, is difficult to capture in pictures. Click the photo for more...

random photos from singapore

click on the picture to see more riveting photographs...

A new doc in Singapore

Mike has decided to hunker down and get a job after five months of freedom and travel. It'll be an adjustment for both of us - it was nice having him along on my trips, and at home coming up with fun dinner menus! But he's very excited to about the clinic he's joined and to get back to the work he loves. It's in a nice new clinic that serves mostly expats from Australia, Europe and US. Check it out - and also the pic of the handsome doc under the "doctors" link. :)
International Medical Clinic

Easter celebration 2008

We had a 2nd annual Easter brunch with some Singapore friends. The kids enjoyed decorating cookies and easter egg ornaments.

from saint paul to sao paulo

A much needed trip back home allowed us to spend some quality time with friends, family and coworkers. Mike was able to actually spend a week working at United Hospital, after a few months of self-imposed unemployment. We drove to Grand Rapids for a long day of snowmobiling, and discovered our map reading skills aren't what we thought they were. After a quick trip to Chicago for our travel visas (and a good pizza and shopping), we headed to Brazil, where Susan was able to participate in global treasury meetings. The lofty and magnificent sights of Rio de Janeiro were the highlight of Brazil. Click on the photo to see more...

a time to weep

It is with great sadness that we report that we lost our baby to miscarriage on February 21. We named her Lucy. As the angel says, Those we have held in our arms for a little while, we hold in our hearts forever.

A special thank you to all of our family and friends that helped us through this challenging time with your thoughts, words, prayers, support and just being there for us.

Mike and Susan

a quick trip down under

Australia is the next stop on our world tour. After a weekend in Sydney, we headed to Melbourne for a few more days. Mike spent his time sailing, kayaking and touring the cities while Susan was hard at work, which included a visit to the slaughterhouse in Wagga Wagga. Click on the photo to see more shots of a couple of awesome cities...

this side of paradise

If you ever want a dream holiday on a tropical island with sunny skies, blue waters and white sands, we highly suggest you consider heading for the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. We were impressed in every way, and our high expectations were exceeded. The photos should give you a good idea of what we did for five days (not much). Mike's biggest problem was figuring out any word he could spell with his Scrabble letters in the photo. Click on the photo to see them all...

seoul searching

Susan and I paid a visit to the 11 million people of Seoul, Korea this past week (she for work, and I as a tag-along). We partook in the quintessential Seoul experiences of public bath houses, private DVD bang rooms, busy markets, kimchi and barbecued beef. The cold weather, conifers and ice rinks made us a bit homesick for a good Minnesota winter. We also made a side trip to the heavily protected demilitarized zone and saw one of the four tunnels the North has made attempting to gain entry into the South. Now its back to cozy little Singapore for me, and a week in Minnesota for Susan. Click on the photo for more images from South Korea...

the rumors are true...

We are expecting a child in June! When this ultrasound photo was taken a few days ago, I immediately noticed the resemblance to her mother-to-be (see photos below). The doctor also believes it will be a girl. Susan is doing very well, especially considering her busy work and travel schedule.

We are accepting name suggestions...






(I also notice a resemblance to Lucy...)

Mike travels to India

Mike is currently on a Habitat for Humanity trip to India with our friends Rob and Sarvin. I haven't heard much about his trip yet - except that their taxi hit a cow when they first arrived (and keep in mind that cows are sacred in India).

This is Mike here... I'm back from India with an update. I was fortunate to be part of a great group of Habitat volunteers working in an area affected by the 2004 tsunami. We helped out on the front end of a project to build 97 brick and cement homes in a village south of Pondicherry (you may recognize the name if you've read Life of Pi). The work was tough, but at day's end we had time to play cricket with the local kids and meet the families that will live in the homes. India is indeed an assault on the senses, and these few pictures hardly do justice to the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of such a fantastic place.

Rob Spence will no doubt have much better pics on his site soon (www.snowless.com).

And by the way, the cow that our taxi hit thankfully survived and walked away.




click on photo to see more...

Susan's family visits Singapore

My family came to visit Singapore for Christmas - Mom, Dad, Bob, Julie. It was great to show them around the city I've been living in for over a year. We did the Night Safari, walked along Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, went to Chinatown, we all went in for reflexology (though not everyone enjoyed it), went to a hawker center on East Coast, drove down Orchard road...all the typical Singapore touring. We also relaxed with a couple home-cooked meals including Christmas dinner with the Spences. Click on the photo for more.



On Christmas day we took a 2 hour flight to Bali for 5 days. We arrived to some torrential rains which lasted through the following day. It had been a pretty bad storm - with so much debris, logs, branches, coconuts, trash washed up on the beach. But we did took advantage of our time there and toured around the island. The weather eventually cleared up. The highlight of the trip was a bike tour from the top of a volcano (on the outside!) through rice paddy fields and little villages. It was so nice to see the part of Bali that wasn't built up and so congested. Click on the photo for more.



We came back to Singapore in time for a New Year's celebration at my boss's home, and then up at 4am for the flight back to the States. It was so great having them here!

I've been tagged

I've think I've been "tagged" by Kim F (still not sure if I'm Susan "M", as I still naturally consider myself to be Susan "C")... Anyway, being tagged by another blogger means that I need to post 7 interesting things about myself on our blog. I'll cheat a little bit and include interesting things about Mike too.

1.) I have a life goal of staying above my age in the number of countries visited. So far I'm at 43 (with S Korea and Maldives coming up in the next month I'll be at 45), so I have a few years to rest up if I like.

2.) Mike and I once had a contest that started the very first semester of college: whoever got the highest GPA by graduation would get treated to a Boundary Waters trip by the other. We compared GPAs every semester with Mike ahead at first, then Susan pulling ahead 1st semester senior year. It finally ended in a complete tie! - down to the 5th decimal place. It was a bit anticlimactic, but we did hold true to our Boundary Waters trips - for 14 years so far.

3.) Mike and I were 7th grade cooking partners. It is there I realized his artistic talents - he preferred to DRAW the food instead of cook it. He has definitely change over the years - he has assumed the cooking responsibilities and is always on the lookout for good recipes - esp good marinades.

4.) I once met Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf. A Pakistani Cargill colleague invited several of his co-workers to his wedding in Pakistan. My colleague's was a general in the army and General Musharraf was at the wedding. We all met him and had our photo with him. This was in 2000 before his name became recognized worldwide.

5.) Mike holds a St Olaf track and field record for the one and only time he has done a pentathalon. He has decided to train for a triathalon in Indonesia this coming May. Knowing Mike, he'll probably win that too.

6.) I have a really bad memory - my family reminds of this all the time. Other people in my life can remember exact dates of snowstorms from 20 year ago, who they went to movies with 5 years ago, and every ingredient in a recipe they made 2 years ago. I have a hard time remembering what I ate for dinner last night.

7.) Mike's very first job was at Dairy Queen (if you don't count his paper route). Every time we hit a Dairy Queen he reminds me how much that Peanut Buster Parfait cost 20+ years ago. He also claims to have sold the very first Blizzard in Minnesota.

Now, my other blogger friends, you are now tagged! Rob S, Joshua, Carrie M.

Sport & Zoe come to Singapore

Their journey began on November 7 when they were rudely woken from naps, placed into travel cages and sent to the airport. After lenghty layovers in New York and Amsterdam, they arrived at the Singpaore airport, were inspected and transported to the quarantine site. There they endured 30 days together in a closet-sized room (cell number 32) with little to do but daydream of better days chasing birds. After a month they were released and brought home, a little worse for the wear. Upon arrival, they inspected nearly every square foot of the condo (including the balcony ledge) and found it to be suitable. Sport and Zoe are now happily situated in their new den. You might notice in the photos some changes in appearance from beginning to end of their month in captivity... Click on the photo for more.

Party Time

Mike arrived just in time to partake in Cargill's annual holiday Dine & Dance, with a Musical Masquerade theme this year. The highlight no doubt was Christina's heart-wrenching rendition of "Hopelessly Devoted to You". Video available upon request. Click photo to see more...

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed not one but two Thanksgiving feasts this year. An outdoor potluck buffet with roast turkey on Thanksgiving day was followed by grilled steaks with the Spence family on Friday. The only thing missing was some quality time on the couch watching football.

Mike arrives in Singapore!

So after a few hectic weeks of wrapping up business and saying farewells at work, enjoying some final Nook burgers & Cosetta's pizza with friends, sending off the cats and packing up the house, I finally boarded my plane with my iPod and the new Vince Flynn novel in hand. Twenty four hours later, I landed in Singapore, was met by Susan at the airport and we headed to our new home.

In the photo, I have just polished off a filet at the Raffles steakhouse (thanks Tostruds). You may notice that I am a much faster eater than Susan...

Susan's Birthday

I had a fairly mild birthday, which was just fine by me since we had been doing so much celebrating lately, and my new hubby is not yet with me in Singapore. My colleagues took me out to lunch. Afterwards we walked around the Fountain of Wealth (three times for luck). Click on photo for more.

Our Wedding

We had an absolutely wonderful day, despite the torrential rains (I actually loved the rain!). Thanks to all our family and friends who shared the day with us. Thanks also to all those who traveled from so far. Click on the photo for a sneak peek from our awesome photographer. We'll be posting more soon.

Boat Party from United Family

Mike's clinic arranged a farewell and congratulatory party for us on a Mississippi paddle boat. We were really amazed at the whole event...the turnout, the fun, the speeches, the singing, the food, the cake, etc. It really made me realize how much Mike will be missed when he moves to Singapore, and I know he will miss them too. Click on the photo for more.

Pre-Wedding Events in Singapore

Arranged by my old friend Christina, some new friends in Singapore took me out for a Hen Party (a.k.a. bachelorette party). My Treasury team also arranged a fun girl's night. I was given some fun girly things for the honeymoon! :) Click on the photo for more.

Some recent Singapore events

In August Singapore celebrates its National Day - the day Singapore gained independence (when Malaysia kicked them out of their country). I enjoyed the evening with some good friends Ali (and his family) and Rahul at a bar on the waterfront next to my condo. There were fireworks all weekend - taken from my bedroom window. Click on the photo for more.



In early September Cargill had a "Family Day" when every employee could bring their family up for a resort weekend in Malaysia. It was a bit rainy as you can see, but that didn't stop the avid golfers. Click on the photo for more.