Journey of Happiness

S ince I can't open blogger easily here in Beijing any more, I have decided to move Journey of Happiness to a new platform: http://sherlyzhang.wordpress.com You are welcome to visit there any time :) See you there!

T o Beijing, China. Why do time fly so fast when we are having fun? I can't believe it already comes to the last week of our holiday at my home... One month is truly NOT enough! :( Sunday afternoon will come so soon for us to leave Bali on the way to Beijing. I still am NOT excited. I really don't know what to expect... Maybe I'll just close my eyes and have faith that God knows what's ahead of us... Maybe. Please pray that things go well for us starting a new chapter there, in Beijing. Anyway, this evening, we went to Airport to send my beloved best friend and sister, Yulia, off to go back to Jakarta. She came since last Wednesday, for 5 days. Too bad I was sick, so we didn't get to go around Bali as planned. However, we had a great time at Tanjung Benoa; me taking photos and Lan and her playing jetskis, banana boats and parasailing. We also played UNO together, the four of us (Lan, Grace, she and I), and had way too much laughter! I'm so glad she came. ...

W e are back from being in Surabaya for a week. It's just nice to just be at home again, except that I am sick. Headache, runny and blocky nose, as well as fever. Ugh... I am feeling horrible right now. We were super busy in Surabaya. Meeting people here and there. The most important, however, was to renew my passport and apply for the Chinese visa. So now I got my new passport and Chinese visa. One thing that was so complicated is how to legalised our Indonesian marriage certificate. :( We had to send things to Jakarta (Departemen Hukum dan HAM + Departemen Luar Negeri) to get their approval stamps, etc. Super complicated! Until now, it's still not finished yet... I hope it's finished real soon, so that we can have stress-free holiday! How are you all doing? I hope I find you all well. Anyway, headache is killing my head, so I better lay down for now. xoxo

A fter a trip seemed to be forever and so tiring, we are finally back home. We slept more than 12 hours since last night and woke up around 1pm today! It's our first time seeing my parents' house since the renovation, looking nicer and spacious. Lan has been forever teasing Grace, our little sister and having a grand time giggling and playing with her. Another good news is that Internet is way faster now! We even have wireless! *woohoo* ;) Anyway, that's all for now. See you tomorrow. xoxo

W e are here, using free Internet access in Singapore Changi Airport. We're so tired and sleep deprived, no matter how much sleep we had in the plane. My monthly guest also decided that it's the 'perfect' time to visit me, so, from waist down, my body is triple-wreck! We arrived in Singapore at 6.40am, and our flight to Bali is not until 3pm something, so we have lots of time to kill! Probably will be walking around, especially after so much sitting down we did! I was secretly sobbing on the plane, while Lan was fast asleep. I was sad leaving Liverpool and heading to the unknown... At the same time, I prayed that The Lord guides our little family all the way, wherever we have to be. xoxo

I n less than 24 hours, Lan and I will be leaving UK for good. This morning when I was awake on the bed, thinking about how many more hours we have until tomorrow's flight, my heart was thumping like crazy. This IS probably the last post I'd typed in Liverpool. I have lived here in Liverpool for almost 10 years (in September it would be 10 years). I've grown comfortable here and gotten quite used to everything here. I studied all my 10 years here, met my husband-to-be here, spent our 4 years of marriage here in a student life. Right now, I am more terrified than excited about the future. Tomorrow at 9.10 am we will fly out of Manchester heading to Bali. We'll arrive on 30th and stay there until 28th August, before flying again to Beijing. Yes, we are settling down in Beijing this time. Not sure for how long, but it might not be permanent. Definitely some years there. :) I am terrified of the unknown that is embracing me in Beijing... I don't speak Mandarin and I ...

W e had a great great time in Paris for 5 days. I would say it was NOT enough... I wanted to stay longer, but maybe it's the sign we should return there soon :) We spent the first 2 days in Disneyland, made me feel like a little child going into a fantasy land! Then the third day we went to Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe. Fourth day was spent at Notre Dame, Musee de Louvre and Champ de Elysees. Fifth day, we went to Chateau de Versailles before heading back to Liverpool. Those 5 days were spent with lots and lots of queuing, burning feet, tiredness, good food, happiness and fun! Now we're back to the reality that we have only a few days here for packing, cleaning up and all the other stuffs to do before flying out from Manchester for the one last time to Bali and then to Beijing. I will keep those sweet memories of Paris in my head for now, maybe once we're settled I might write them down in this blog. :)

I n a few hours we are off to Paris for our 5 days of VERY belated honeymoon!!! *woohoo* I am excited and feeling so surreal... we finally got to go this time after a fail attempt back in 2008! I'm praying for good weather and awesome holiday! I am just so so thankful for this opportunity! Praise The Lord! He is good all the time, no matter what. :) See you when we come back.

I am so proud of you, my dear! I was overflowing with pride seeing you in that red robe, walking across the stage to get your certificate! It was a longggg day, yesterday, and we were both so tired afterwards... It started with heavy rain until afternoon, but I think God heard our prayers and it stopped. :) What an unforgettable day! Congratulations on getting 'Doctor of Philosophy'! You know that to me, you're still my dear hubby, no matter what's your title. I love you!

Y ay!!! I cannot wait for Monday to come! It's Lan's graduation day and he will officially be a Dr. that day :) I am so proud of him! It's going to be a busy day; the graduation ceremony is at 3pm, followed by a short reception afterwards held by the department, and we are invited to a farewell party made for us by Daniel, Karolina and Michel (the colleguaes in the department). (I'm not quite sure who else is coming...) Tuesday will be the final packing day before we leave for Paris on Wednesday!!! *weeee!* I really cannot wait! Here is hoping that the weather will be warm, sunny and most importantly DRY on Monday and that our honeymoon is really enjoyable :) Alrighty... I hope you are all having a great weekend and will have a blessed week ahead :)

L ooking at our plan on our last few weeks here, boy, do we have lots of things to do and lots of people to meet! In a way, it's a realisation that we actually have lots of friends here in Liverpool :) With a week to Lan's graduation, I've made sure that his shirt is ironed and ready to wear. However, we're kind of anxious that the graduation ticket hasn't arrived on the mail yet. I hope it arrives in the next few days, otherwise, I won't be able to get in to Philharmonic Hall, where the graduation ceremony is held. Nine days to Paris. I am excited as well as dragging it hehehe... I haven't really packed our things yet. I'm just too tired after doing a lot of packing, sorting and throwing stuffs away. Our home is looking bare right now, doesn't feel as homey as it used to. All the photos on the wall are gone and a lot of stuffs have either been shipped to Beijing or given away to charity shops. We only have the necessary stuffs left. Even so, it...

T oday, I am writing about our anniversary celebration, before I forget all the details about it. We ended up having lunch at home, because we had a sleep-in and both woke up quite late. All the packing and tidying things up must be really tiring us down, not to mention it's been a nice hot week! It's nice outside, where you can feel the cool breeze, in our flat, not so much. It becomes really hot in our flat, because the window can only open very little (even that we have to wedge it with 2 thick shopping catalogue books!). So, we finally ventured out around 4pm. First destination was this new Pattiserie Valerie that we saw at Met Quarter (a shopping centre). They are specialised in cakes and desserts as well as serving some hot food and salad. We went there for the desserts. There were so many choices, but we ended up with 3: Black Forest Cake, Double Chocolate Cake and a Whoopy Pie. Iced lemon tea for the drinks. Mmm... Those cakes were heavenly! Sweet but not too sweet!...

I t's amazing fast we've got to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary today! Time just flies unbelievably fast!!! And no matter how fast it's gone, It's been great! Saying 'yes' to Lan was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. He's the better man than I've ever wanted from a husband. He is kind and understanding beyond my expectation, supportive at all times. Inevitably, we had our clashing moments, but each and every one of them built us up stronger rather than tore us down. I praise the Lord for that. I am forever grateful to The Lord for Lan, for this marriage, for His plan in our life. Happy anniversary, Tun! ;) And happy birthday, my dear beloved sister, Yulie!!! I love you and I can't wait to see you soon at home. :)

I n 3 days, Lan and I will celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary! WOW! 4th year already! I am ecstatic! I am all the more excited in spending all the years to come with him... Over the years, our relationship gets easier. We understand each other better, compromise easier and we definitely are involved in a lot LESS and a lot SHORTER fights. It does take time to adjust from single life into a marriage life, indeed, but it definitly is better when both parties are willing to live the adjustments. And I am glad that we both are willing. We plan to just celebrate it with a simple dinner, because we're going to Paris in 3 weeks! YAY! Lan has got his Schengen visa yesterday (a very much shorter time to kill compared to mine!), we've bought our disneyland tickets today and we've planned our time there already. Suitcase is half-packed. I just can't wait!!! *wheeee!* In the mean time, we're packing and sending stuffs to Beijing like crazy!

I can't believe we only have ONE month left before we leave UK for good... I have mixed feelings about this; excited, scared, happy, and sad. It feels like Lan and I are closing this chapter of life and are opening a new and unknown chapter of the future! There are still a LOT of things to be taken care of. Packing and sending stuffs, sorting unnecessary things to be donated, Lan's graduation on the 18th July, our trip to Paris on the 20th and my PhD withdrawal. The last one is the toughest one for me. I am having a hard time to finally make the decision. I mean... I've made it and I am ready to withdraw, but to finally fill the withdrawal form and to be obliged to write a detailed reason, it's difficult to do, especially when I feel guilty for 'suspecting' that I will disappoint my supervisors. Even knowing that this decision is RIGHT for me, does not make it any easier. I guess, I have to do what I have to do, right? July is going to be a crazy busy mon...

T oday, for the first time since March, I drove again! Lan and I rented a car (we got a Ford Focus) and (I) drove to the McArthur Glen Factory Outlet in Cheshire Oaks. First time driving without instructor (since having the UK license). First time driving 70mph on the motorway. Boy I was NERVOUS!!!! We used the free Ovi map on my Nokia phone (Thanks, Mich, for this ;)) I missed a few turns, went on the wrong exit on a roundabout, but we eventually got there safely (and back!) It wasn't an enjoyable drive yet for me. I was trying real hard to make sure I drove properly. But overall, we had fun! Lan shopped lots more than I did. He got a nice pair of Timberland boots, a suit and a few other things :) It was nice to not have to carry our things around, we could just put them in the car booth and start walking again!! Ps. Thanks, honey, for believing in my ability :)

I have never felt so complete like this before. I think, through the visa incident, Lan and I both realised that we love each other more than we think we do and more than ourselves. It's a great wake-up call. :) We are closer than ever and understand each other more than 7 weeks ago. I am so happy, but, gosh, I am so EXHAUSTED!!!! I think all the exhaustion that I tried to keep down during the 7 weeks has finally come up on the surface and affecting my body. I'm sleepy all the time. However, overall, I am still so grateful! Grateful that prayers work, that faith proves that miracles still exist, that *most importantly* God still listens to each and every prayer we say. And as Lan said, "God works in a mysterious way!" Have a great week ahead, friends :)

H e is home. I am happy. He is tired and jetlagged. I am getting more insane-less. We're together again! Thank you, God! :) Have a lovely weekend, people!

I slept less than 3 hours last night, in fact, I only fell asleep this morning at 6am, only to wake up at 8.30am. So I am all tired and my eyes feel like they are swollen, but I FEEL GOOD! I am HAPPY! Got the news that Lan's got his visa at 02.51am. Even better, got the news at 04.24am that he's got a seat on the flight middle of tonight AND will be arriving in Manchester Airport tomorrow (Thursday) at 19.15! Woohoo! All I can say to you, Jesus, is... Thank YOU! I've said it hundreds of times and I will keep saying it for the rest of my life. Thank you for the prayers and support, friends (& family)! You all have helped me knock the Heaven's door. :)

I am still in the 'surreal' phase right now, but I would love love love to share a good news that we have all been waiting for! Got a news that the UK Embassy has finally finished processing Lan's visa and it's now back to the agency. Lan tried to pick it up today, but because he got the news so late, by the time he got to the agency, it was already closed. So, tomorrow morning, he will go there to pick it up. Thank you, Jesus, for answering our prayers! Thank you, everyone, for praying for us earnestly! We will find out tomorrow whether or not he gets the visa and whether it's already valid. If so, he will try to get on the flight back to Liverpool tomorrow night and hoping to arrive on Thursday afternoon or night! I was so happy that I was crying when I heard the news! I'll post about the visa tomorrow. :) Again, thank you, Jesus!