Greetings from Keystone, Colorado!

Sitting by the window in Starbucks, cosily tucked away from the snowfall and strong wind, is where I am now typing this entry away. Three entries ago, I mentioned that I had to forgo the trip to Colorado due to the exams. Yet, here I am enjoying every single bit of the short break. Nothing can be more theraputic than watching the white flakes fall and the kids playing in the thick snow. I see many ski enthusiasts lugging their ski equipment walking along this cafe-lined street too. With snow-covered cottage-like buildings and trees as the backdrop, this is just the perfect place to be in.

Hubby and the guys are off skiing again. Having cooped myself up in the room with books yesterday, I thought I should lug my notes out and enjoy the beautiful scenery while I work my ass away instead. It would be such a waste to just stay in the room amidst the picturesque mountains, though our intimate loft apartment was pretty awesome too. To side track a little, the apartment comes with a fireplace. It was just splendid to have everyone hanging around at night, warming up together with music blasting in the background. With 2 lappies, 3 ipods, and a set of speakers with subwoofer, who says we can't have good music to last through our stay.

Though the exams are barely a week away and I am saddled with 2 projects and 3 assignments due within the next few days (I haven't got started with my assignments btw!), I am extremely glad I made a last minute decision to visit Keystone. I am prepared to get mediocre grades, or even just a pass. As long as I can graduate, nothing matters more than this awesome trip; at least at this very moment.

The company was remarkable too. Somehow I felt we'd all grown alot closer during this trip. Cramping together for 17 long hours on the road in the rented wagon, seeing each other in our PJs and messy hair in the mornings, and cooking instant noodles and pre-packed meals as a family. We're definitely long beyond colleagues-colleagues relationship. I'm glad I have good companions here, as they made it more worth while for me to sacrifice my revision time.

I would very much love to visit this splendid place again. Maybe one day the grey-haired Hubby and I could sit in the same spot as I am now, watching the crowd whizzes by with their ski equipment while sipping our hot chocolate (like what I am doing now) amidst the snow. Cosing up with each other and relishing our happy days together in the States; how sweet and loving!

P.S. This trip has made me even more unwilling to go back to Singapore, home of the harsh reality. I wish that the remaining 13 months will crawl much much slower.

"Auntie!"

When your peers around you ask "You want my kids address u as Jiejie or Auntie ar?", u know u're no longer young. They don't automatically address you as Jiejie anymore. They stared at u like as if u look like some alien, probably wondering why is this Jiejie so old/ why is this Auntie younger than Mummy. God knows what are they thinking, but it's really not a good sign when you get greeted by stares from those small pairs of eyes, followed by silence after u said your Hi. When these kids greeted you back with a cheery "Hello Auntie!", without batting an eyelid, you know for sure you look old enough to be one. Of cos I am flattered by the bountiful enthusiasm that comes with the greetings, but I rather they chose to stare at me with that confused look and wait for their parent's instructions on how to address me, really. At least they assure me that I am still not old enough to be promoted to be an Auntie, yet. I am not condemning those who greeted me "Auntie" with much zest and without any prompts, but I just don't wish to be one till I have my own kids. What else can they address me then? Maybe some geniuses with lots of time of hand can think of a nice term for these poor kids to address us, the childless married & YOUNG women.

Snow

Check this out. There is a chance of it snowing on Saturday early morning! Though I've seen snow a couple of times before, I have yet to experience snow fall. It must be a pretty sight! A pity it will be in the middle of the night though, when we are all sound alseep. Maybe I'll try to study through the night, hopefully I can catch a glimpse of the light snowfall! Heh...

Colorado Minus Me

I gave up my Colorado ski trip for the darn finals. My papers are all held a week before the official exam week, which is the week after the Thanksgiving break. Thus, I am going to spend the long weekend mugging alone at home while the gang enjoy themselves in Keystone. Awww...... how I wish I can be there too. The snow, the mountains, the resort, the fun...... Darn exams!

I'm hoping there will be no or minimum penalty imposed to pull my name out at such a short notice. At least I can save some bucks to go on a shopping spree in Osage, the least I could do to cheer myself up while Hubby and everyone else pamper themselves on a 4-day holiday. Sacrificing a day to go on a shopping spree at the factory outlet during the mega sales period is excusable, but not sacrificing 4 days of revision time on a skiing holiday, right. I just got to convince myself. So now, I am going to join the families/ couples to Osage, while the Singles Club and Hubby head to Colorado. I just hope the revision will keep me busy from missing Hubby and the fun during the long weekend. Sigh...

Police Shot Outside WashU

I now wonder if it is ever safe to step out of the apartment.

A Policeman was shot a couple of days ago, just a few streets away from campus. In fact, the crime scene is only 5 mins away from where I have my lessons, and the area where many of my classmates live. One of my friends actually heard 2 of the 3 gun shots in her apartment, and is now avoiding Delmar as much as she can.

Picture courtesy of KSDK.


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The Nitty-Gritties

Last week, Hubby had a haircut. Not a normal one, cos I was his hairdresser for the first time! Not that I am an aspiring hairdresser nor did I ever imagine myself managing one's hair, but Hubby was adamant that no way could he get a decent hair cut from any of the salons here. It beats me why he is so insistent that I can definitely do a better job that the professionals here. It does not really cost alot more to get a decent trim, so I guess it may be because he is probably just in for the fun! Haha...
The set-up at our balcony, and Hubby getting ready for the fun. Hubby bought the pair of scissors from Amazon and can't wait for me to execute the experiment. LOL!













Me shivering while chopping his bangs off. Hahaa... Shivering partly because I was scared and nervous, and because of the chilly weather on a Sunday morning. I accidently snipped a tiny bit of his ear and had quite abit of blood gushing out half-way through the ordeal. Heh... I was too engrossed in ensuring the cut was leveled, so forgot all about his ears. *Opps*

The before/after photos. From left-right: when we first came, just before the hair cut and after the cut. So nice right?! Maybe I should consider a switch of career if I can't get a decent job in SIN a year later given the current financial turmoil. =P

Last month, we visited quite a number of wineries over 2 weekends. The trips were in time for me to unwind just after the rigorous preparations for the exams.
3 weeks ago, we went to 3 wineries, Sugar Creek, Montelle and Stone Hill. The entire journey took us about 2 hours, by car of course.

At Montelle. It was the most crowded winery amongst the 3, probably because it is sort of perched on a litle hilltop and has the freshest air with a nice view of the Autumn trees below. Pleasant wines we had there and I just love the breathtaking scenery.



The 2 regulars of the 12525G club, and the "owner" of the club. Haha... These are the 2 guys who drop by our apartment very often, at least once a week, mostly to down a bottle of hard liquor together, and sometimes for dinner. I guess Hubby is very glad that he has them here in STL, since they spend aplenty of time together drinking, smoking (YES! they got my Hubby back to e bad habit! Damn.) and talking cock.

Queuing to taste the wines at Stone Hill. All the wineries provide free wine-tasting for their popular wines, before we decide what wines to get if we wanted to purchase any. I love Stone Hill's wine the most, cos they have this sweet red wine that's just simply... sweet! We bought 2 bottles and I was pretty relunctant to open them initially, till I realised Dierberg's (the supermart just outside WH) sells them too, and at a lower price! Duh... Just a 2-min drive to get the lip-smacking wine, instead of a 2-hr drive to the winery.

Couldn't resist taking a picture with the colourful Halloween Deco near the Stone Hill Entrance.









After Stone Hill, we drove to Hermann, for a taste of their Oktoberfest celebrations. Hermann's a very small town (probably the size of AMK; I guess) with a German Brewery cum pub. Here we see some folks dancing infront of a live band.



The next weekend, some Boeing folks were kind enough to bring us to 2 more wineries.

Chaumette is our first stop. Each of us brought home a Chaumette wine glass as a souvenir, all thanks to the wife of a Boeing guy, who knows the owner of the winery.






Chilling, as usual, in the good weather with our gift.












Start of a 10-minute trail to the next winery.











The horrendous up-slope trail. I never like trails, but since everyone chose to walk instead of taking the car, I had no choice but to follow suit. Lucky Melvin's parents were here, and I had company trailing behind the rest of the crew. Heh...



The Charleville vineyard. Another place with very nice landscape and an extremely relaxing nook. I was too engrossed in basking in the tranquil terrain that I totally forgot to take pictures of the surroundings.




Us, including the pioneer batch and Melvin's parents, who are here for a long visit. Picture courtesy of Kinyoong. Too bad the group is too big, and we covered the beautiful backdrop behind.




That's all for now. Had a splendid Korean dinner with the SG team just now, as Hubby's boss is here for a visit. Korean BBQ, Hotpot, Bibimbap and the works. Really yummy, but a tad too expensive. We're blessed to have a sumptuous free meal! I got to go shower and read some notes bfore I call it a day.

P.S. Due to daylight saving, we are now 14 hours behind SIN time, instead of 13.