[a decade!]

Wow, just realised that tomorrow will be the end of a decade... definately the most exciting decade in my life has just flown by..... do many things to remember, lots and lots of milestones, my most "adult" life that has made me such a different person from the start of this decade.

Chronologically here's the gist of it:

2000 - Spent the millenia in London, almost getting crushed in the crazy crazy tons of people that had the same idea (to be at greenwich at midnight on 31st dec 1999?) We were at London Bridge and I still remember the thrill of being there, the feeling of something momentous. Celebrating with close friends and Auld Lang Syning the night away, so carefree!

2001 - 2003 - London, living life the fullest now that we were working instead of studying. Loving my little piece of domesticity with my very first garden. Loving the work and the travel, we must have visited most of Europe in those few years, taking every oppurtunity and long weekend to either fly to neighbouring european cities, or just renting a car and driving into the countryside. Loving being married, loving living in a foreign country, sometimes dreadfully homesick, but always so happy that I'm spending this part of my life with a special someone...

2003 - Coming back home, thrown back into familiar family, familiar friends, it was a good feeling, after living on foreign land for so long, to be back where we belonged. Finally "properly" getting married, the whole works. One of the happiest occassion of my life, to be so accepted into another family. Workwise, to be doing something totally different in scale from what we were used to, but intellectually so rewarding, especially since we went on to win several competitions and interesting projects. Designed and lived in our first work, a tiny studio flat with a single glass bedroom. It was fun to own our 1st car, the world was our oyster.

2004 - 2005 - Pregnant with my 1st child, designed and lived in the 1st home we bought. Eagerly awaiting the birth of our very first child, the feeling of anticipation, when we knew that she was a daughter, the absolute thrill and excitement. We spent so much time being just us, we didn't know how it would be like with another. Had our last holiday in Bali, just the 2 of us.... savoring all our moments and hoping we would be good parents.

2005 - Our firstborn G arrived. All the emotions that we have been preparing for could not compare to the real emotions that arrived when she was born. She was everything that we could have asked for. Our bewilderment as newbie parents gradually became confidence and a sense of wonderment that we could have made this little perfect person that completed our family. She brought everybody much closer together, my parents, inlaws, grandparents... being the 1st grandchild on both sides, family took on a different meaning from this year onwards. We have always been fairly close knit, but G was really the superglue that brought everyone much closer. Started scrapbooking, which led to inspirational blogs and getting so into the internet and being inspired by so many different sources on a daily basis.... and starting this blog!

2006-2007 - Switched jobs, both of us! Life professionally was getting more and more exciting. Work took up so much time, but also gave back so much in terms of working on different projects in different countries. We travelled so much these few years, with G it was a totally different sort of travel.

2007 - Expecting our 2nd. We have planned for this, although we were unsure how it would affect G and the family dynamics. We were sure (and correct) that she would be incredibly jealous. We hoped that it will mean much more to her when she's older, when she would be happy to have a playmate and a sister. Feel that we are getting into the hang of being parents, constantly delighting in the swiftness that G was growing up. She has started to attend Kindie and is the cutest 2 yr old! Workwise - switched jobs again.. both of us again... set up our first partnership with another partner, a significant milestone, one which we thought would be the start of the next leg of our worklife (but this was not to be). Travelled much less now that I was pregnant (and it was not as comfortable as the 1st pregnancy)...on hindsight, spending too much time working. At the end of 2007, K was born. It was a great birth experience, we had so much fun being parents the 2nd time around, it was so much easier and we really enjoyed the first few months very much. So different from the 1st time, so painful to watch G deal with the jealousy, but also so happy to have 2 girls and double the joy.

2008 - Finally bit the bullet and split up from the very shortlived partnership and started our own practice. The first few months were terribly stressful, coping with a newborn, trying to secure projects, seemingly on 20 hr workdays weeks at a go. Luckily for us, projects didn't stop flowing in and soon it became a lot less stressful and a lot easier. Time management also started to be critical as we realise we couldn't sustain a 20 hr workday for weeks at a go at our age and with 2 little ones. Something had to give.

2009 - Another momentous milestone, our 2nd house purchase. Somehow it seemed almost fated that the property bubble and subsequent economic downturn could be such a great oppurtunity for us to purchase our dream property. While not hopefully our last purchase, this new place had all the qualities that we have always wanted for us. It was in a great location, perfect for the office (which we had decided that should remain as an annex to the house) not the normal cookie cutter apartment, and yet having sufficient space for our family. As we start construction and hopefully see it completed by the end of the year, we look forward to a brand new decade in a brand new living space.

So, there it is! 10 years! Phew..... Tomorrow, will post my most memorable photos of 2009....

HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!! Happy 2010!!!!

p.s. and because i can't post without photos, here's a selection:
One of my favorite family pictures... K was just a few weeks old
G at 18 months in Korea
So tiny! So many fond memories of our trips :)
our trip in Early 2008 to Hongkong, just the 2 of us with G.
K watching V dressing up. She looks so tiny here!
G sometime in 2008.
Some exploratory projects that we do....
We converted our home into a gallery / exhibition in 2005. Crazy! All for 1 weekend for an event in the Design Festival. Fun though!