From the Gardens to the Sheraton

On Saturday Gary and I packed all of our stuff up, 2 luggage carts worth, and moved from the Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley to the Sheraton Imperial Hotel.  With Gary being in the Hotel room most of the day working on school work and such, living at the Gardens was kind of an island.  All that we had was the Mega Mall to go to within walking distance.  Gary wanted to go out and explore and seeing as how he isn't much of the shopper the mall just didn't do it for him.  The other guy that is here from Nashville, Jonathan, also felt the same way, so while we were in India he moved to the Sheraton.  Our secretary, Umi, is a great negotiator and she got us this place for a great price.  It's not an apartment like the last place with a kitchen and everything, but it's a suite.  We weren't making much use of the kitchen anyway, so I don't think we will miss it too much.

We were picked up from the Gardens in a Mercedes.  We warned the driver that we had a lot of stuff, but once he saw how much we had he had to kick his wife out of the front seat so he could get more stuff in the car.  We didn't realize we had that much stuff, but since we weren't packing to go home I was just throwing stuff in bags, which always makes for more luggage.  We felt bad, but the they were both really nice about it.  As we were driving he kept calling somebody and telling them "We're _____ minutes away."  Then when we pulled up to the Sheraton we were instantly greeted by about 30 or 40 Sheraton employees!  This one man introduced himself and said he would be showing us to our room.  We didn't worry about our luggage we just followed him.  A lady stopped me as we walked in and gave me a bouquet of flowers, bowed, and said, "Welcome to the Sheraton Mrs. Washer."  We felt like celebrities, royalty, and awkward all at the same time.  I had chosen not to take a shower that morning and just threw on some jogging pants and a t-shirt.  As soon as we got there I whispered to Gary that I wish I had chosen a better outfit to wear because I felt underdressed for this welcome.  We went to our suite on the 35th floor and were amazed!  It was gorgeous and spacious!!  The man that was our guide told us the amenities and then offered to take us on a tour of the hotel.  I'm not sure why I didn't take pictures of that, but we will be there for a while so hopefully I'll remember to.  We got to see the executive lounge where we can have breakfast in the morning and appetizer type food and drinks in the evening.  Since we don't drink alcohol we use that time to get a free coke or two since the ones that are in our fridge cost about 20 ringgit.  He then showed us the spa, gym, and pool!  Whew weeeee were they nice!!  Once we got back to the lobby where we started our tour guide told us if we needed absolutely anything to contact him and gave us a business card.  We went back to our room and then the rest of our luggage was delivered.  Jonathan came up and checked out our new place because he is not in a suite, but just one room.  He was extremely impressed.
I don't know about you, but when I was growing up we were never able to stay in places like this and I know that Gary and I would never be able to afford this ourselves so I just want to give a BIG THANK YOU to Umi for hooking us up and being a great negotiator so that Service Source would let us stay here!!!  Thanks Umi you're the best!!

Here's the tour:

Here are some pics too:

The Lobby.  Sorry it's a little blurry

This is made out of rice.  They have just recently started putting things all around KL.  I think they might be part of the Hindu Holiday, Deepavali, that is Friday, but I'm not exactly sure.

A closer shot so you can see it's painted rice.

My beautiful bouquet of flowers.  We can pretend they are from my husband if you want : ).

The bathroom view from the hallway

I decided to take a flower bath the first night we were there.  It felt really fancy!!

The vanity

Our view from our bedroom of the twin towers.

Our bed!!  I wish I would have gotten a pic this morning after I had gotten up and Gary was still asleep because he sleeps in a very small spot on the right side and I take up the rest!!  I LOVE IT!!!

Our TV gave us a little welcome message!

Even with my name!!

There were fireworks beside the KL Tower our first night there.  We like to think that the Sheraton did that for us because they were so excited we were there.  There were also fireworks last night!  They just can't get enough of us : ).

Gary already taking a nap on the couch.

We went to dinner last night with some people from church and when we got back our curtains in the bedroom were closed, there was this mat with slippers sitting beside the bed, and...

we had pillow mints!!!  I have never had pillow mints before!! 

We love our new home and we are so thankful that we were given this opportunity.  Sometimes it feels a little weird that we have such a nice place to stay in especially when we think about some of the places that people in India live in. 

I am consistently working on the updates about India, but I am doing each day as a seperate post and I want to make sure everyday is posted together.  So, please check back!

Peace, Love, and Pillow Mints,

Kimberly

Cards, Cards, and More Cards!!!

This blogging stuff just continues to amaze me.  I love how it's its own little world and everyone has their own little family and once we hear something that's good we tell them and news just spreads!  I first heard about the Shutterfly Card Giveaway from my friend Natasha's blog and then I posted it on my own blog and then today I noticed that another one of my friends, Becky, has it posted on her blog.  I can only imagine how many people have posted this amazing offer!!

Anyway, I'm here to tell you that you don't need to let this offer pass you by!  I checked out the websites and found a lot of cards that I would love to have.  I'm not exactly sure how it is going to work with me living outside the US, but hopefully I can still send a few Holiday Cards.

If you just want to be brave and browse the entire collection of shuttfly cards click here.  Just a warning...there are about 748 of just Christmas Cards!!

Here are few I enjoyed:

I love to laugh and I love to see people laugh!!  You may think this would only be cute with a kids picture on it, but I beg to differ because I love to giggle and grin!  I think if I ever got this card it would just make me happy!!

I like this one because it is simple. 

I just love this one because it's a little different and fun!  At first I didn't really like the bird, but once I realized that he was singing the fa la la I really like him now!!

I really like the Holiday Story Cards selection because Gary and I will spending the holidays away from our family and friends in the states.  These give you the opportunity to update people on what's been going on in your life:

This one is simple and they give you lots of room to write!!

This one could also be sent as a New Year's card.  I really like the colors on this one.

I think this one and the next one might be my two favorites.  You get to pick out your favorite memories from the year.  Thank goodness for blogging, which can help you remember : ).

I love the colors on this one!!

I think this one is super creative!  I love that they have the faces in the ornaments.  The one reason I don't like this one is because I want to display more of a picture than just faces and these spots might not be very good at that, but maybe one day when we become a family of four we can use this card!!

For those of you who are hard core and like to send cards and pics of the family for every holiday, if you hurry I bet you could get some of these cool Thanksgiving cards before the big day comes.  Too bad Malaysians don't celebrate the Pilgrams and Indians!!

So, if everything works out the way I want hopefully some of you will have some cool pics of me and Gary in your mailbox for the Holidays!!  Enjoy looking at the Shutterfly Cards, but just remember it can get addicting!!

Happy Browsing,

India Highlight Video

This is just a quick video of pictures from our week in India.  There will be more in depth stories and pictures to come, but just wanted to give you a little teaser.

I hope you enjoy!!

Who wants free Christmas Cards???

I got this from my friend Natasha's blog (read it for more details).  Go to this link and hopefully get free Christmas cards.  I just applied myself, so I'm sure exactly how it works, but hey it's worth a try!!

Hello Readers

So, I love updating my blog and reading other people's blogs:

Gavin and Lauren Pinkston
Mindy Mehaffey
Terry Lea
Lindsay Helton
Jenny Taylor
Daniel and Brooke Kirkendall
Leigh Walker (soon to be Woodring)
Sara Beth Farrow
Ashley Rutledge
Juliane McCorkle
Kris Bowen
Becky Welch
Natasha Parker

Just to name a few.  So, once I got back from India that's what I did.  I noticed how many followers some of these blogs have.  I have also noticed how many comments people leave.  I know that there are several people who read my blog regularly who have yet to become a follower or leave comments.  I love to know you are there and you are reading.  I also love to know what you think about my blog and specific posts.  So, here is my plea to you readers...please follow me and leave comments!!  It will make my day, week, month, year, and even my life that much better!!

There are several of you who are very good about leaving comments (thanks Natasha, Juliane, and Terry) so keep it up!!  I love them!!

You're all great!!

Thanks for reading,

India

Last week was so amazing and I plan on making a big post, if not several posts, about all of our adventures.  However, my computer has been acting a little crazy today so the plan I had is going to have to be postponed.  Just know that we had a very exciting trip and we made it safely back home, I mean, to Malaysia.  We met some of the most amazing people while in India and I hope that my words will be able to describe them so that you, my readers, feel like you know them like I do.  So, stay tuned for more about India.

As promised

I promised I would post a picture:

So, I have a video of some of the guys giving a lesson on how to use these types of toilets, but I have yet to get it off the flip.  However, it's like two levels.  This picture isn't that great, but just to give you an idea you have to squat and hold it.  It's quite the leg workout!!!

Air Asia...BLAH!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, Gary's job was to buy the plane tickets to India.  Yes, yes, I know wait 'til the last minute, but we wanted to make sure I got my visa before we bought them.  Well, he was having problems with the bank and so on and so forth.  So, when I got home I decided I was going to try.  I went to Air Asia's website and found great tickets for a great price (really Gary had already found them).  The flight from here to Hyderabad is only a couple of hours!!  I made it through the entire process up to payment options.  Gary gave me the church credit card because that is where the India money is that he raised before he left.  Well, it didn't accept it.  So, we tried one of Gary's credit cards...declined.  Then we tried my debit card...declined.  What in the world!?!!???  After many hours of fighting with Air Asia and getting no results we decided that either way we have to book our flights...so off to jet airways.  The only flights that we could find have a layover in Chennai.  WHATEVER!!!!!  We'll take it!!!!  So, instead of reaching Hyderabad at 8 something in morning we won't be getting there until 4:30pm...THANKS AIR ASIA...or should I say NO THANKS!!!!!!!

Oh well, we are going to get there and we are both feeling a lot better today.  So, all is good in the life of the Washers!!!

INDIA HERE WE COME!!!!!

Feeling a little under the weather

Gary started feeling bad on Saturday when he had a pretty bad headache.  He woke up sweating that night, but was still able to stick it out all through Sunday.  He talked to Chee Hoe, a doctor, at church on Sunday and he gave him some medicine for his headache.  On Monday, Gary was feeling even worse.  When I got home he stunk so bad!!!!  I ate a little bit for dinner and then had a couple of monster cookies and then I started feeling bad.  I got sick pretty quickly and it only escalated through the night.  Gary and I were up just about every hour swaping bathroom time.  I didn't go to work yesterday, but stayed in bed most of the day.  My India visa did get approved so Gary, being the great husband that he is, said he would go with me to pay for it.  It was pretty miserable sitting there on those uncomfortable chairs waiting for our number to be called.  All-in-all the trip was right at, if not less than, an hour.  We both took a nap as soon as we got back and then went back to bed pretty early after that.  I started feeling better after my nap so I decided I would try to come to work today.  I haven't been 100%, but I feel much better than I did yesterday.  Just pray that we are both better by Friday because we will be leaving for India!!

A dinner to remember

After the workshop was over on Sunday it was about 5pm.  There were several couples who were going to go out to eat that night and wanted us to come along with them.  So, we were not going to get dropped off at our hotel, but go home with somebody.  We had the option to go to Victor and Pearly's or Steven and Eileen's.  Since we had already been to Victor and Pearly's house we decided to go to Steven and Eileen's.  There house was so homey!!  We went into the home theater and watched the new Karate Kid while we waited for everyone to come and meet us.  It was so relaxing!!  We weren't able to finish the movie before everyone else started showing up. 

We drove for a while and finally reached our destination.  They have several sea food places that are by the sea, which take a while to get there from the city.

The whole clan:

Starting on the left and going around clockwise.  Adrian, his wife Doreen, Eireen, Eileen, KC, me, Gary, Victor, Pearly, and Steven.

Steven is the food minister because he always knows where to go to get the good food.  After only being around me for a little while he already knows my taste buds and things that I would like to eat!!  It was a great meal with great company!!

Us in front of the aquariums!  If you want you can actually pick out which fish you want and they will take it right then and cook it for you!!

After we had eaten and gotten full, might I add, Steven still wanted to take us to get dessert.  I thought we already had dessert??  What was the fruit plate??  Anyway, we went to a place that was close to Steven's house so we had a good amount of time to digest all the food we had just eaten. 

Gary and I both got this.  I don't remember the name, but it's like a sweet soup with fruit in the bottom.

This is yam cake??  I think that's what they called it, but I wasn't a huge fan.  I don't know when I hear the word "cake" I think it should be something sweet. 

We had a good time and couldn't be happier with the friends that we have made!!

Are you a Leader?

This weekend we had the Leadership Workshop given by Adrian Teo, an elder from the Singapore church. The workshop began on Saturday afternoon and went until Sunday evening.

Adrian did an amazing job! He is a great speaker! I always think it is cool when an elder speaks because we don’t really get to hear them teach very often.

We did several activities, which is a great way to teach people...

Saturday we split up into groups and were given puzzle pieces.  We were not able to talk while assembling the puzzle, but were given 2 minutes before the puzzle was handed out to come up with a plan. 

Our Team had decided that Gary and I would find all of the straight sides and start putting the border together, while the other people worked on the middle.

This is KC telling us the plan

and again.  Our team was Gary, me, Eireen (KC's wife), Eileen, and KC

Then, this is the puzzle that we get.  Every piece has a straight side.  AHHHHH!!!  We all just froze at first and stared at it.

The finished product.  We ended up having to trade colors with other teams and there was a sequence.  We were the last team to finish : (.

Application for the Puzzle Game:

1. Things aren't always going to come out the way we plan them

2. Somebody else might have things that you need. 

3. If you have questions ask the creator.

We all have in our mind how things are going to be or the way that they might turn out.  However, God has a different plan.  He knows our weaknesses and our strengths.  We need to surround ourselves with people that can fill in the gaps where we are weak.  If we ever have any questions we need to go to His Word for the answer. 

I have become the group picture taker.  I'm getting pretty good at setting the timer and getting into position!!

This is the group that was at the Saturday workshop.

SUNDAY:

Adrian did the Bible class, Sermon, and then 2 seperate afternoon classes.

We had a pretty packed house for Sunday morning.

Adrian did an awesome job of comparing the Tabernacle to us today.  He had it all laid out about how each place (courtyard, tabernacle, and holy of holies) represents us, our body, soul, and spirit.  I don't have my notes in front of me or I would give you more details. 

Then we ate:

The family that eats together stays together.  This family eats together every Sunday!!

This is what they decided to do with the front foyer.  Instead of blocking off for another classroom they put the secretary's desk up here.  It looks quite nice.

The foyer...with chair and tables added for the meal.

It can be a tight squeeze in that hallway with so many people.

Some people decided to stay cooler and eat the in auditorium.

In the 2nd part of the afternoon we did another acitivity.  This one was called "traffic jam."

The Rules:

1. Only one person can move at a time. 

2. You are trying to get into the seat that the farthest opposite you.  So, you can see me down there on the far end...I was supposed to make it to the this end where the last guy is sitting, here in the plaid shirt.

3. A person on your team can not be in the seat next to you after you start moving until you have reached your final destination.  If they do that is a traffic jam and you have to start over.

4. You have a leader who is supposed to tell you where to move (the thing is, he/she doesn't really know the how it works either)

We played several different ways.  The first time we were able to talk freely.  The second time only the leader could talk.  The third time we couldn't talk or use our hands.  We weren't very good at these.

We were all pretty confused!

 We eventually were able to figure it out and here is Adrian giving us the application.  There were many applications for this activity that could have only been applicable for our group.  After the first few trys our leader hadn't figured out the pattern, but one of the guys sitting down did.  So, we appointed a new leader.  There are times when we think we know what is best for the group or what we are doing, but other people who are looking from the outside can see the big picture of what is going on and can help you solve it.   

Needless to say it was a very uplifting and inspiring weekend!!!!

Gary and I will hopefully be going to Singapore in November and will have a chance to visit with Adrian and his wife, Doreen, again.