Katheyl

As I grow older, I’d start a new year thinking about how fast the year would past and how we’d be welcoming the following year in a blink of an eye.

I still feel the same this year.

2011 marks the second year that I’ve been away from home. I can’t say that I’ve really adjusted to the life here, especially the weather which is practically killing me during the cold seasons. But I guess I’ve slowly learned to deal with the differences and inconveniences.

My cravings for all Singaporean food fare start to sink in this year, which I guess it’s quite an achievement (to be able to last this long). I found myself plowing through websites to get the right recipes and I had also spent more time experimenting new dishes. Of course the husband has the honor of being the guinea pig of all my experiments.

Speaking of the husband, he’s been nothing but awesome. It hasn’t been easy for him at work (the cultural differences and practices at work and lots more) but he’s always around when I need him and doesn’t mind putting up with my nonsense. I’ve always looked at him and marveled at the amount of patience, strength and resilience that he has, and even more so since we moved here. He is definitely the key person in making my life here a much more pleasant one.

This year also marks the start of our new venture. The husband had always wanted us to do something together here (like how we used to do archery together in Singapore) and so we did! It’s been a fun and interesting journey so far, learning stuff that I have never imagined myself picking up.

As for my own humble business, I’ve met some of the goals that I’ve set for the year, though I could have done better. But given the limitations which are beyond my control, I guess the result is not that bad afterall. The highlights of the year include getting featured on the websites of one of the popular local magazines, participating in the first Hello Etsy (where I got to put faces to names that I’ve known online) and also the opportunity to participate in the second Hello Handmade market.

It’s also through this little handmade business of mine that I got to know more people in this part of the world. This year, I’ve forged closer friendships on one hand and also discovered the true and disappointing side of some people on the other.

Leisure wise, we had managed to cover a couple of places which I’ve always wanted to go - Paris (which is now my least favorite European city after the trip), Rome (to fulfill my dream of seeing the Colosseum) and Hamburg. We had also revisited Berlin and Salzburg (I’m absolutely in love with their Christmas market there!) and also covered several Bavarian towns. We have yet to visit the Scandinavian countries so we’ll definitely try to do it next year.

Family wise, there’s plenty to cheer and be happy about! There’s a wedding brewing right now, and engagement news of one of my sisters. We also received good news from my BIL just before the year ends. My family means the world to me, so if there’s only one wish that I’m allowed, it’s definitely for them - to stay happy and healthy always.

So we are just a few hours short of moving into the new year. I’ve yet to think about what I wanna do in 2012, partly because I’ve been so busy and then becoming so sick for the whole month, and also because of some uncertainties that we hope to resolve in the coming months.

Meanwhile husband and I are just gonna be having a quiet evening together since I’m still trying to recover from this nagging bug attack. 2012 is going be an interesting year for us and I’m curious to see how it unfolds :)