The Unbalanced Libra..

Happy Birthday to Me!!

2011-10-13T01:06:00.000+08:00

It's been more than 6 months since I last blogged..

A lot has happened since my last entry. Let's see...

I passed my driving test in May... Bria is officially 22 months today.. My baby is a big girl now!

And.. i still want to quit my job.. haha..

Just celebrated my 30th birthday. can't believe i reached the big "3" now! Just received a Prada lunch bag from B.. Will use it tomorrow. My colleagues will probably think it's a fake cause i am so auntie.. haha..

10 more days to my 3 week US cum Vancouver trip! It will be my first long long distance trip with Bria.. 16 hours flight time.. this is gonna be some crazy shit man! Hope i will survive.. haha..

The last day of March... is finally OVER!!

2011-03-31T23:02:00.000+08:00

I took my driving test for the third time today. When i woke up this morning at 7am, my feet started to itch.. Then when i ironed my blouse, i burnt the ironing board fabric cover. I should have know those were bad signs..

Nonetheless I still did my best.. compared to the last 2 times, I think I did much better. No immediate failures this time. Just a whole load of demerit points. Another $200 down the drain. I've already spent so much money for this stupid license, which seems so difficult to get! I've never failed a test or exam in my life, so this is really demoralizing. Plus it's getting very embarrassing every time i take leave from work to go for my test, then when my colleagues asked about it when i go back, i have to say i fail again. I swear I won't tell anyone when i take my next test!

Anyway, when i got back home, i was totally not in the mood. Only Bria could cheer me up. I'm so glad i have her. I was so sad i kept asking Bria to hug and kiss me.. haha.. Initially, i thought i would go back to work for half a day, but in the end, i had a shower and took a 3 hour nap.

When I woke up, i took Bria and C to C's maid agency to apply for her home leave. We took the train, then switched to the bus. Which i regretted. Cause Bria kept wanting to get down and walk on the bus. I had a hard time distracting her and holding her tight. That kinda reminded me why i never took a bus with her.

C's going home for a week on her birthday so it's going to be just me, K and Bria. I took leave from work, but K didn't, so i guess it'll just be me mainly.. I'm so used to having C's help that I hope I don' screw up when she's gone! More importantly, I hope she comes back. Otherwise i will have a HUGE problem. Then again, i don't think she is so ungrateful. I pay so much for her ticket and home leave let her celebrate her birthday with her son leh! And her contract is not even up yet. How many employer will do that.. only nice people like me.. haha

After our visit to the maid agency, we headed to Parkway Parade to look for gold. Literally. Cause C wanted to buy a gold pendant for her son. She already got the gold necklace last week, so just missing the pendant. The first shop we visited, Princess Jewellery, has such nice people. The ladies there carried and played with Bria. They even gave us water before we bought anything from them. Eventually, we walked out empty handed cause we wanted to find more designs and compare prices. So we trotted over to Poh Heng. What a huge contrast. Firstly, the people there ignored my daughter. And they gave only one bottle. I reckon that's for me, so C had none. Then when Bria started to whine, one of the female staff there looked at her and shake her head in disgust. I was so pissed, but i didn't say anything. Despite all this, we bought a pendant from them, cause C liked the design and it was relatively cheaper. I still cannot get over the guilt of not buying from the nice people at Princess Jewellery!!

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day. And the start of a really busy busy month for me. 3 business trips, 2 events, 2 project launches and loads of presentations to complete. All within one freaking month. Arghhhh!!! I want to quit..

Life is full of Ups and Downs

2011-01-06T23:47:00.000+08:00

I had a most depressing day today.

To start the day wrong, i went to take my driving test for the first time. And failed. After spending 9 fucking months of my time and spending a few thousand dollars on the lessons.

Then i went to see my dad's doctor to get an update on his health condition. The doctor told me my dad's can never recover from his stroke cause it's too late already.

What the fuck.

They say life is full of ups and downs? When is my "UP" coming??

Christmas is coming!

2010-12-22T00:17:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month since i last blogged.. And so much has happened!!

I've been to Bangkok and back, to Hong Kong and back, celebrated Bria's first birthday, celebrated one of my best friend's marriage, and Christmas is 3 days away!

My baby is a big girl now, and she has 4 little teeth! I am so delighted.. At the same time, so hoping for another baby soon to relive all the little baby moments now that Bria is growing up so fast! I need to work harder.. ha ha..

It's been a really really crazy two months for me. Year end is supposed to be rest and relax, but it seems to be super crazy for me. So starting from this friday, I am going to go on leave until 2011 !! Sounds like a long time, but actually it's only one week.

I'm going to spend time with my baby and my hubby during this one week. K is also on leave, so i can't wait for Friday to come!!

Looks like it's gonna be difficult for me to blog more often now.. thinking of starting a blog to sell baby clothes from Bangkok. My recent trip to Bangkok had me shopping at MPK, and the branded baby clothes there are super cheap loh!! But gotta think about the logistics and all...

Sigh, how i wish i can just sell baby clothes online for a living. I would so love that.. just go to Bangkok once a month to shop for clothes to sell back in Singapore.. But the margins are not that good to replace my income loh.. gotta look for other ways.. = )

Super long weekend!

2010-11-05T00:09:00.000+08:00

I worked only 2 days this week.. Supposed to be a super long weekend, but so far, the past 2 days had been sucky.

Yesterday, i took Dad to the hospital for day surgery to remove his cataract. Thought it would be a quick procedure, so i brought Bria and C along. Ended up staying in the hospital for 8 freakin hours from 8am to 3pm. Poor Bria also had her whole feeding and bathing schedule disrupted. Don't know why the stupid hospital people asked us to reach at 8am when my dad could only go into surgery at 12pm!

By evening time yesterday, i fell sick with fever and flu. Went to see the doctor this morning, and spent the most of today drifting in and out of sleep.. Just finished a telecon with my colleagues from Fairfax about an hour ago. Still have a bit of flu now, so worried that i will spread to Bria. And it's not helping that she keeps wanting me to carry her! = )

Hopefully will feel better tomorrow. My mom in law wants to bring Bria to Pasir Ris Park tomorrow morning, and i really want to be there with my baby. Last weekend, we had a free stay at Grand Copthorne Waterfront. Bria had 2 days of swimming in the pool, and slept really well at night. Lucky loh, else K and I will be sleep deprived, especially since we didn't bring C! We will be bringing Bria to KL and Genting during the Hari Raya Haji long weekend. It's gonna be 5 days without C. Keeping my fingers crossed that Bria will be a good girl, else I will be really really exhausted! Anyway, for now, i will just focus on enjoying my long weekend.. = )

Bria's clothes for sale

2010-11-05T00:02:00.000+08:00

Every month, my in laws will rent a stall in Cairnhill CC for the monthly flea market. And for the past 3 months, i have put up Bria's clothing for sale. But i never sold a single item. So last month, i decided to improve my "marketing" for Bria's clothes and attempted to decorate the display box in which i put Bria's clothes. I also hang some of her clothes onto little hangers.

Got teased by my relatives (who also set up stalls there) for my efforts. They said it seems like i was selling Bria more then her clothes.. haha.. = )

In the end, i managed to at least sell a few beanies / hats. My sister in law keep saying i am selling at too high a price for my clothes.. A lot of the other stores were selling Carter's rompers at $1-$2. I was selling at $5.

I think it's just ridiculous to sell them at $1-$2. So cheap! I rather keep for next one, or give to Salvation Army.

Daddy's back!

2010-10-23T23:37:00.000+08:00

K is coming back from Shanghai tomorrow!

He's been gone for 5 days now, and i miss him terribly.. = ( For some strange reason, i keep dreaming about him these few days. Never happened in the past when he travels. Stupid haze has subsided a bit today, but i still didn't want to bring Bria outdoors, in case she falls sick. So we stayed indoors today, and only went out to my grandma's place in the evening after my driving lesson.

I had a talkative instructor today.. But he's quite funny lah, kept making me laugh. Good and bad, bad cause i wanted to concentrate on my driving. Good cause he help to make me feel more relaxed. Went on 4 test routes today, and had at least 5 "immediate failures". Sigh.. i really must pass my driving the first time. Don't want to waste money retaking. I can do it!! Tomorrow another lesson, at 430pm. I really hope K's 3pm flight will land earlier, otherwise i will be late for my driving lesson. And i really want to go airport to pick him..

This weekend is kinda boring. K not around, plus the haze, so never go out at all. But i guess i got my wanted rest. I have been complaining to K that every weekend is so packed with activities that we never seem to get enough rest before the work week starts again.

Bria is sound asleep on my bed now. And suddenly, i got nothing to do, so got time to blog.. She really fills up my life, this little baby!

I Love Borders

2010-10-19T23:52:00.000+08:00

K and I brought Bria to Orchard road yesterday. K had to go to Tangs to do some inventory set up for his Moleskines, so I had about an hour to hang with Bria around that area.

I decided to bring her to Borders, and never regretted my choice. There are SOOO MANY interesting children's books there! And the bonus point is there are plenty of seats at Borders for browsing. So I picked up a few baby books, sat down at the children's corner, and read them to Bria. We could have sat there for hours given the hige variety of books there to keep Bria interested. What I like most is that the books are all brand new, unlike those at the libraries. I told K we should bring Bria to Borders more often from now on. = )

For dinner, we went to California Pizza Kitchen for the 1-for-1 birthday treat. I fed Bria her porridge before starting on our pizza and pasta. And Bria just sat there throughout my dinner, babbling and smiling to herself. I didn't even give her any toys to play. Such a good girl! = )

Bria is 10 months!

2010-10-19T23:08:00.000+08:00

My baby is a big girl now. It's really amazing how time flies, it seemed like yesterday when she was still a tiny baby that I could cradle in my arms. sometimes in one arm. Now it's not so easy to cradle her, much less in one arm! She keep wriggling around, struggling to get out.

At 10 months, Bria has 2 little teeth, can crawl, can pull to stand, and say 3 words clearly and that makes sense: Da Da, Cat and Mama! Mama being the most recent yesterday. I was quite upset when she said "Da Da" first.. and then "Cat".

I am at a stage whereby I am finding it harder and harder to leave Bria at home every day. Instead of her experiencing separation anxiety, I think I am the one suffering from this. I just don't want to leave her and go to work! In fact, I am thinking of quitting my job and find something that can allow me to spend more time with her. Like teaching tuition. K says if i can earn the same salary teaching tuition, he is fine with it.

Just sent out more resumes yesterday and today. Actually, I would really like to be a corporate secretary, or admin assistant of some kind. Miss my secretarial days at UOB.. = ) I think i will do well in this kind of jobs cause I am a very organized person. Hopefully I can find something soon!

K is leaving for Shanghai tomorrow morning, and coming back on Sunday afternoon. Which means I am going to spend the weekend without him = (

Plus, tomorrow I have this stupid farewell dinner to go to after work. Which means i won't get to see Bria. By the time i reach home, she would be sleeping already. Actually, I have one more dinner tonight, but i rejected the invite. I am not going to miss putting Bria to sleep 2 nights in a row! Tomorrow's dinner bo pian have to go, cause it's a farewell dinner for a colleague in my team. I have been rejecting all these dinner invites, so thought this one i better go since she is from my team. Although I really really don't feel like it! Sigh.. I don't want to work!!

11 Oct: Bye Bye Osaka!

2010-10-15T00:08:00.000+08:00

Our last day in Osaka! K and I checked out at 1030 this morning, and headed straight to the shops for some last minute purchases. First up, we had breakfast at this fast food burger chain called "Freshness Burger". Shouldn't they call themselves "Fresh Burger" instead? = ) Anyway, I had fish burger while K had teriyaki chicken burger. Both were horrible and don't taste fresh at all.

After breakfast, I went straight to the "Loft" - a 7 storey home and living mall. Bought quite a lot of stuff there. Plenty of Disney pop up greeting cards, a set of mickey mouse ear phones, and a mickey mouse cup cover, among others. Love them all!

We headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags around 12 noon, took a cab to the train station to change to the airport bus. On the way to the airport, we saw this sexy white Lambo and I just had to take a picture.

This was the last picture I took of Osaka before we checked in, ate some lousy snacks at the lounge and boarded the plane for another 11 hours flight....

10 Oct: Osaka castle

2010-10-14T23:45:00.001+08:00

Today is Osaka castle day! K and I had another bowl of ramen for lunch. When we went into the shop, there were only us and another couple. But when we left, the whole restaurant was full house. I didn't think the ramen was nice leh, average only. But I love their tortoise shaped sauce containers! So cute.

We started our journey to the castle after lunch, and was greeted at the entrance to the castle park with rows and rows of pretty flowers. = )

And a bunch of youngsters rolling around on a pair of wheels. The interesting thing was, the wheels are separate, so it's kinda like a skateboard but without the whole piece of board in between. Quite cool.

There's also this cartoon looking tram that brings people around the park without all the walking. K and I decided to save the money and walk instead.

The weather that day was so hot that i started to develop rashes on my back. Perspiration and wool sweaters doesn't work well for my delicate skin = ( Initially, i wanted to wear sleeveless, but was worried it might rain again like yesterday and the weather will turn cold at night. So wore my wool sweater with hood.
Totally regretted my decision!

So i walked and scratched the whole way until we finally reached the castle. There was some dance performance in front of the castle, so we stood there and watched for a while before heading right up to the magnificent castle. I was half contemplating to buy the ticket to go into the castle, but decided against it for 2 reasons.. One, my back was itching like mad. And two, K told me the castle was not the original one, and had been torn down and rebuilt 3 times already. So i thought, forget it! But it does look pretty from the outside though.

We headed back to the hotel after Osaka castle, so I could change out of my itchy sweater and take a shower. My itch went away the minute i got into the air conditioned train station. We had omelette rice and ice cream for lunch in the train station near our hotel, i bathed and changed, and then we headed out again for some street side shopping. Bought a whole lot of stuff at the 100 yen shop, from Winnee the Pooh zip lock bags and laundry bags to Hello Kitty toothbrushes for the kids..

Along the way, we came across this really happening supermarket with a bright flashing signboard. If only they knew what this means in Chinese! = )

9 Oct: A Rainy Day

2010-10-14T00:34:00.001+08:00

Its been raining the whole freakin day today.. Well, as the weather forecast predicted, its supposed to be thunderstorms today, so i guess showers are already a bonus.

K and I went to Universal City Walk for the most part of the day. Didnt go into Universal Studio though, but we ended up spending the whole day there shopping and eating., and watching people scream on the roller coasters. We went to the Takoyaki museum, which is a total spam, cause its not a museum at all. More like a food court with all the different (but same) Takoyaki stalls.

I also bought more things for myself today. Got this really cute Elmo handphone holder for myself and for S birthday present, and some handphone / keychain accessories.　K got himself a terminator and spider man handphone accessory, and got me the elmo and snoopy ones. We also bought a nice pink snoopy winter scarf for Hannah..

Also bought this really cool South Park picture montage sling bag. Am using it now! It has so many little compartments inside and on the sides, and i only paid US$20 for this.

K and I also had sushi, star bucks and this cheese fondue chicken burger set meal at Macdonalds. So interesting right.. But it didn't taste all that great...= )

And the highlight of the day was that we saw two of K's favourites today. He went "Holy Fuck" when he saw them.. haha..

An entire train painted with Spiderman images

Life size figurines of the Star Wars gang

To end off the day, we had oknomiyaki and fried udon for dinner at this place with a super long queue. We thought it must be very nice, but end up the food is so so only..

One more day in Osaka before heading home.. Time flies...

8 Oct: Day 3 and Happy 29th Birthday to Me!

2010-10-14T00:15:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday To ME!! Cant believe this is my last birthday before i hit the big "3"! I am getting old.. sigh..

K wished me Happy Birthday twice yesterday, once at midnight Japan time, and once at midnight Singapore time.. haha.. Then he hid my present behind my pillow. It was a Baby Blues 2011 calendar. He knows i love Baby Blues comic, and I was also looking for a 2011 calendar for my office desk. So i love it! But the best present he gave me was this trip to Osaka. But then he forgot to get me a cake.. So we went out for a romantic stroll in the rain searching for a slice of cake and candles at the 24 hour convenience stores near our hotel. The stores only sell those standard white candles - 24 in a box. And ugly. So in the end, i got myself a slice of those plastic wrapped chocolate cake, and K used his lighter to light up a flame for me to blow out. By the time we reached the hotel, it was past midnight Japan time, so k said we will celebrate based on Singapore time.. haha..

Today was a whole day of shopping and eating. I bought 2 pairs of shoes and some clothes for myself and baby from Gap. Sometimes i really wished i was living in a place with winter. The winter baby clothes are SOOOO adorable!! I think i will go crazy shopping for winter baby clothes for Bria.

My new shoes..

My new H&M top..

K and I had another bowl of ramen (our 5th since we came) and more Takoyaki. Initially, K had planned for us to go for a river cruise, and then to the magnificent Osaka castle but it started to rain around dinner time. So i guess we will go Osaka castle tomorrow. Eventually, we went to this shopping mall with a whole floor of dining on the 7th floor. All the restaurants had great views of the city, but i couldn't find any to my liking. Wanted to eat sushi, and there was this one sushi restaurant but without any view. In addition, the stupid waiter wanted to sit us at the counter seats even though there were so many empty booth seats. He said booth seats are for 3 people and above. Rather leave it empty than have us. Stupid! Eventually, K and I went to the basement supermarket, got some tonkatsu and more takoyaki, and went up to the 7th floor public viewing gallery to eat our dinner and enjoy the view. Was just about to finish my meal when a security guard came and told us to stop eating. Bummer..

I just went on Gmail to check my emails. Got so many emails from Facebook, so decided to log into Facebook. I got so many birthday wishes on my Facebook! Those wishes really put a smile on my face.

3 more days before flying back to Singapore! Must really eat and shop all I can while I am here. Although a large part of me missed baby. I called home during my ramen lunch today to talk to her, but she refused to utter a sound. C told me she just keep smiling when she hear my voice over the phone. If only i can do a video call with her and see her cute little face. That would make a really nice birthday present. = )

7 Oct: Day 2

2010-10-13T23:47:00.000+08:00

One more day to my birthday!! K and I had such a long long day yesterday that we overslept today. We were supposed to wake up at 8am to go to Nara, but woke up at 10am instead.

We had our first Takoyaki (octopus balls) yesterday night at this little restaurant specializing in Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki (pancakes). We got to make our own Takoyaki! I thought that was soo cool. It seems so easy, but when i tried to do it, i find it so challenging! Not easy to make the mixture into little balls.. In the end i asked the waiter to help me.. haha..

Just came back to the hotel and using the hotel lobby laptop again to blog. K and I went to so many places today. First, we took a 45 min train ride to Nara and explored the different temples and shrines at the Nara Park. We also got to see the famous deer of Nara. Took so many photos of the deers roaming freely around the park. There were also many kids and little babies chasing after the deers. Bria would have loved it so much!

After Nara, we headed back to Namba for more shopping and food. Bought some clothes from H&M for myself, some very kawaii childrens socks for Bria and Hikaru, and a big and very pretty Mickey Mouse jewellery box for myself to put my earrings, hairbands and stuff. Told K that this will be my birthday present.. = )

Then to end the day, we shared a delicious bowl of soy sauce ramen. Overall, today has been quite an enjoyable experience.. = )

I will officially turn 29 tomorrow, dont know whether to be happy or sad.. haha.. One year older, one year wiser?

6 Oct: The Land Of The Rising Sun

2010-10-13T23:20:00.001+08:00

Greetings from Osaka!! I just went on Facebook to announce to the whole world that i am officially on vacation .. = )

Im actually typing this on a laptop at the hotel lobby. There is no wireless internet here, so i cannot use my ipad. I actually typed in this blog entry on my ipad at the Haneda airport while waiting to board the plane. Had my first meal in Narita aiport - a terrible bowl of Tokyo ramen. Total waste of my gastronomic juices.

K is sitting at the hotel lobby now, waiting for me to blog. Got this survey from this company called "ＦｉｒｅｆｌｙＳｉｎｇａｐｏｒｅ", and they are gonna pay me $200 for blogging every day for the next 4 days for Phase 1, and then doing something for them on my Facebook for Phase 2. Its gonna be a challenge, since i will be traveling around and there is no wireless internet here in the hotel.. But i will try my best..

So far the trip hasnt been too enjoyable. After 12 hours of travelling on the plane, bus and subway, i just managed to check into the hotel. Poor K had to lug the big luggage up and down stairs cause we could not find any elevators at the train station.. sigh..

Yesterday was a crazy day.. My big boss came and I sat through a host of presentations from 10am to 5pm. By the time my turn came to present, everyone was half asleep already. But I think my interesting and energetic presentation perked them all up..=) The downside was, I only started the days work at 5pm. So I was rushing like mad to finish my work before I go on leave. By the time I reached home, it was already 7pm, and I missed my chance to feed Bria her dinner. So I brought her into my room and played with her, had my dinner, and then cleaned her up. I kept talking to her, telling her that daddy and mummy will be flying to japan, that she will be staying at grandma house for the next 5 days, and that she must be a good girl. It was only after I cleaned her that I started getting ready. And that too became a mad rush. I ended up forgetting to bring my hat, sunglasses and swimming costume. Sigh..

Anyway, Bria slept in the car on the way to the airport. She held my hand while she slept. And the more I look at this sleepyhead, the more I fall in love with her... When we arrived at changi airport, I whispered into her ear and told her that I am leaving. And she tightened her grip around my fingers. It's as if she know mummy is leaving. So sweet! It's been more than 10 hours since we left Singapore, and we still haven't reach our destination. And I miss my baby so much!

I love Japan. To me every time I come here, I will always see or experience something fascinating. Their food, their customer service, their creativity and sophisticated technology. I saw a guy tap his hand phone on the boarding gate machine. How cool is that! I also caught a glimpse of the yellow Pokemon aircraft that ANA bought.. So cute.

And the toilet! The little buttons to warm the toilet seat, to activate flushing sound etc. Now they even install an LCD screen in each toilet stall for advertisements! Plus they have baby chairs installed so babies can sit which their mummies do their thing in the toilet. How thoughtful! I wish Singapore toilets had these too.

But the whole lugging of luggage up and down stairs because there are no elevators?? Totally uncool.

K just googled to search for the best ramen near our hotel. Cant wait to go up to my room, freshen up and go shopping and eating!! Its been a full 30 minutes on this laptop now. So Tata for now!

Bria is 10 months old!

2010-10-13T01:06:00.000+08:00

Bria turns 10 months today!! And my mom 56. = )

I took one extra day leave today, cause i knew i would be dead beat after touching down at 1140pm last night at the airport.

There is so much to blog about on my 5 day Osaka trip. I did actually blog a bit while I was there, just didn't post it yet. Will do so over the next few days!

Anyway, I took Bria to Tampines for lunch with my parents to kinda celebrate my mom's birthday. We had Jack's Place, and went grocery shopping after that. Most of the groceries were for Bria. = )

Then I left C and Bria at Eunos MRT where K picked them up, before I headed to M1 at Change Alley to settle my handphone bill. Stupid M1 cancelled the outgoing calls and SMSes for K and my lines because we didn't pay our bills in full.. Sigh. K made a mistake during his 3 week reservice, and called me everyday using this *138 service by M1. We ended up getting a $1600 handphone bill. Sigh..

After the bill payment, i went for my long overdue pedicure. I had planned to do my toenails before i leave for Osaka. Sort of like my birthday treat. But my pedicurist went back to Malaysia. I went for the full pedicure with dead skin removal and scrub. My first time doing a full pedicure, and it was a wonderful experience! But i think my pedicurist was horrified at the massive amount of tiny dead skin bits raining down from my feet onto her towel.. haha.

Nonetheless, she did a great job. I love my toenails now!! They are so pretty i have this sudden urge to buy a new pair of open toe heels so i can show them off!

Counting down!

2010-10-02T00:14:00.000+08:00

One more week to my birthday!!

And 5 more days before K and I fly to Osaka to celebrate... can't wait to go shopping and eat all the ramen and octopus balls!

Really hope the weather will be nice to us when we are there. And I won't miss Bria too much.. = )

My first F1

2010-10-02T00:12:00.000+08:00

K and I went for ou first F1 race last Sunday. It was quite an exciting experience. We had Padang grand stand tickets, so we had a good view of the race track stretching for about 300 meters.

At first, K and I didn't want to buy the ear plugs. We thought it wasn't gonna be that bad. When i sat down, the guy next to me looked at me and asked: "Aren't you gonna wear earplugs?" And when i said no, he smiled and told me it's gonna be REALLY REALLY loud. Then the race started. After the first few cars zoomed past us, K and I looked at each other, and we decided to go buy our ears some plugs. It was SUPER DUPER loud loh!

So we left our seats, purchased $2 ear plugs, and then went back to enjoy the rest of the 61 laps. I had thought it will be very boring, like waiting for the cars to zoom past, and then wait again. But it wasn't like that at all. The wait was only for a few seconds before another car comes zooming past. Plus, i guess the fact that i was supporting Lewis Hamilton (because he is sponsored by Mobil 1) made it more exciting for me. My heart sank when he got banged and went out of the race! Sigh..

Tried to take some photos with my handphone camera. I was amazed that i managed to capture some of the race cars. They were so fast! It helped also that there were a few accidents during the race, so that the safety car had to come out, and the race had to slow down. It's quite funny how all the cameras suddenly came out when the safety car drove past us. If not for the safety car, i think it would be quite impossible for me to take the photo below!

After the race ended with Ferrari's Fernando as the champion, K and I moved out to the main stage to wait for Mariah Carey. I was shocked when she finally came on stage after being 30 minutes late, diva-style. She is SOOO fat !! K thought Oprah was in the house. = )

Not only that, she was such a lousy performer. If that had been her concert, i will definitely ask for a full refund. She sang half heartedly, went off pitch couple of times, and kept complaining that the weather is hot lah, her shoes are killing her lah. She even asked the audience if she could sit down on a sofa and drink some water during her first song! And after singing 2 songs, she left to take a rest and got some calefare dancers to perform on stage. K and I left before she could finish. Very disappointing. Don't know what the hell happened to her..

Overall, it was a wonderful night for K and I, with the exception of Mariah. I wouldn't mind doing this again. Maybe not every year lah.. once every 2 years would be nice.. K don't share the same feeling unfortunately. He said he would prefer to watch it at home, or at a nearby restaurant where there's air con, and he can still hear the sweet engine sound.. So ironic, i thought him being the male would enjoy this more than me! = )

Finally hitched!

2010-10-01T23:57:00.000+08:00

EK and S is finally married! Actually, they registered their marriage one year ago, while K and I were in New Zealand, but they finally held their wedding banquet 2 weekends ago.

I am SOOO happy for the two of them.. We've been hanging out for the last 6 years now, and have gone through a lot of stuff together.. S share the same english name as me, they are both our regular mahjong khakis, house party khakis, and not forgetting traveling companions. K and I have been to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Perth and New Zealand with the two of them. In fact, K and I are the ones who persuaded them both to quit their jobs to go New Zealand and do what we did! Their relationship definitely grew a lot during this period, and I am proud to be part of their lives.. = )

The wedding was a unique outdoor event at The Legends. I love the whole decor. So nice! Food was so so though. The bride and groom sang a duet for their second march in. How apt given that they are both karaoke lovers!

Me, June and the gorgeous bride

Happy 123 months!

2010-10-01T23:48:00.000+08:00

Our 123rd month-niversary fell on Mid Autumn festival. K and I celebrated over moon cakes and chinese tea at his Grandma's place with his aunties and cousins, and Bria of course.

Few days after that, during the weekend, we brought Bria to Marina Barrage together with my grandma, my sis and my uncle's family. It had rained heavily that day, but the rain stopped just an hour before we were scheduled to leave. The whole family had loads of fun although there was no wind and our kites couldn't fly.

My grandma had a chance to get off her wheelchair and stand up to lean against the railing and enjoy the scenery of the sea. We also let her wear a pair of sunglasses to avoid the sun glare. She look so hip! = )

The kids also went wild splashing around in the fountain area, and I joined in the fun with Bria too. I think this whole fountain area is a wonderful idea. It's good clean fun for the family! And not as lame as the fountain in front of Bugis Junction. Part of me wished Bria was much older so she can too splash and run around with her cousins. Then again, kids grow so fast that the next thing i know, i will be wishing she is still a baby!

3 mums and their babies..

2010-10-01T23:35:00.000+08:00

It's been 15 days since i last blogged.. A lot has happened.. Bria is growing taller and taller everyday now. She has 2 little teeth at the bottom, and has already learnt how to stand up by holding on to her cot and other furniture around the house. She also knows how to wave bye bye now when prompted. Plus, she is babbling a lot more these days... My baby is soooo cute!

Two Sundays ago, I brought Bria for breakfast at King Albert Park's MacDonald's. Met up with Carol and Shanice, both my colleagues' wives, and their babies. It was the first time i met Shanice's baby girl Lea. Lea and Bria are 1 week apart, so it was kinda inevitable that we started comparing when we met. In fact, I had to keep telling myself to restrain from comparing, and try not to be too affected if i don't like the results of the comparison. In addition, I was quite freaked out at the whole idea of going out with baby alone with no C and K. Was so worried that Bria will kick up a fuss and then i cannot handle her in public. Luckily for me, Bria was such a good girl.. She sat in the baby chair the whole time while I ate through my Big Breakfast.

When i saw Lea, I was also quite relieved. Although Lea felt heavier than Bria when i carried her, they looked about the same size. So at least my baby isn't too small! Plus, Bria has much more hair, and looks much happier. One thing Bria didn't have though was Lea's double eyelids. = (

Despite that, i still think my baby is prettier. Even though there were 2 baby girls there, Carol's 2 year old son keep wanting to hold Bria's hand! So cute.

Bria is so clever. When Shanice wanted to feed her some baby rice crackers, she didn't open her mouth, just kept staring at her. But when i wanted to feed her, she opened her mouth immediately. Shanice said Bria is smart enough to understand not to take food from strangers.. haha..

Although it was quite messy, it was quite a fun experience, 3 mums and our babies... don't mind doing it again, perhaps this time with our husbands!

Bria and Carol's 2 year old son Travis

3 mummies and their babies

2 babies and a toddler

K comes back

2010-09-15T22:51:00.000+08:00

K is finally coming back tonight. It's been 2 whole weeks since he left for his reservist. Come to think of it, this seems to be the longest period we have been apart.

Part of me missed him a lot and is glad that he is finally back.. But there is also a small part of me that kinda enjoyed the days when he's not around. Mainly because the house is very neat and tidy when he is not around.. haha.. = ) I think part of K also wouldn't mind not hearing my constant nagging for 2 whole weeks!

I plan to bring Bria to the PD tomorrow for her 9 months check up.. I am very sure that she is underweight or at least too small for her age. She's a lanky girl, but not chubby enough. I wonder what i must feed her to make her grow fatter! Sigh...

Yesterday evening, my in laws came over for dinner. My mom had bought some salmon fish and asked C to cook salmon fried rice for dinner. It was delicious. And Bria loved the salmon bits.. Bria also did her first "bye bye" yesterday. Previously, she would wave her hands for no reason, but yesterday, she waved her hands when we said bye bye to her. I tried it again today, and she did it again.. So clever my baby! = )

My colleague told me yesterday that she is also going to Osaka. Apparently, SQ has a air fare promotion at SGD788 nett per person including taxes.. I am soooo pissed!! and SQ flies direct to Osaka some more! Sigh.. the ANA flight that we booked is not direct flight loh, must transit in Tokyo and more expensive than SQ.. stupid.. Hai.. actually, now i am not so excited about my birthday trip anymore.. I would actually prefer to spend my birthday in Singapore with Bria.. oh well, too late..

Work has been boring recently.. I am very occupied everyday, and there are tonnes of things that i need to do .. but i just don't have the mood to do it.. I am so tempted to switch jobs again.. I've reached the point where I no longer look forward to going to work everyday. In fact, i dread going to work. I lunch alone almost everyday, cause i can't find a khaki that I can be myself with, and my work isn't going too smoothly because of some idiots who are the type that goes by the rule book and loves making things difficult for me. When I was working at the airport, I was actually excited to go to the office everyday. How I wish i can find back that drive.. And i miss my previous assignment, when my boss is so far away, and i get to travel so often. = ( Now, i only look forward to going home and weekends...

On my way home today, i met a stupid Caucasian man in the crowded MRT train. I was approaching Eunos station, and he was standing in front of me. I said "excuse me" but he didn't hear cause he had earphones on. So i tapped his shoulder. And he said very loudly: "I'm also getting off, but there's no where you can go". This was not the first time i hear this. If i had more time, i would have shown him how to squeeze through the crowd, and "go somewhere", rather than waiting for the train doors to open before starting to move out, and risk NOT getting out in time. The irritating thing was, his rebuttal implied that he can only move when the train doors open, but he himself started to move towards the door even before we reached the station. So much for "there's no where he can go"! What an asshole.

K called just now and told me he's not feeling too well. Bummer.. And i am on leave tomorrow. Thought we could spend some time together with Bria. We also had a little crossfire when i told him that Bria will be sleeping in our bedroom tonight. He must have thought it was a temporary arrangement while he is away. But i intend to make it permanent. Because Bria can only sleep well in air conditioned rooms, and if i was going to pay for my air con bills, might as well enjoy it in my bedroom. Rather than let C enjoy it with Bria in the baby's room. I think K wants some privacy with me when he comes back.. But he's coming back at 3am! I will be snoring like a pig by then! Don't know why he is so unhappy. It's not like I am sleeping with another man! Hai....

Happy Hari Raya!

2010-09-10T22:53:00.000+08:00

It's the long weekend, FINALLY! And Bria, C and I had a very exciting day today. In the morning, my in laws came to pick us up to go to Marina Mandarin Hotel where my mom in law had booked a free stay in one of the rooms. After hanging around in the room for about an hour or so, C and I pushed Bria in her pram to meet my family at Shaw House for tim sum lunch. We got lost along the way, cause of the stupid fencing that had been erected for the upcoming F1 race. It's actually a very short distance from the hotel to Shaw House, but because of the stupid fencing, we couldn't cross the traffic lights, and had to walk one big round via the underpass. And for some reason, I couldn't find a single Singaporean along the way to ask for directions to Shaw House. Everywhere I went, i see either Banglahs, China men, Thai or Filipinos. Sigh.. C and I had to carry Bria and her super heavy pram up and down stairs and escalators before we finally reached the restaurant!

My dad, mom, sis, bro in law and my two nieces were all at the restaurant. By the time we reached, Bria had fallen asleep, exhausted from all the pram pushing.. It's been a long long time my whole family gathered together for a meal outside. Too bad K wasn't there, otherwise it would have been "full attendance".. = )

After a sumptuous meal, we walked over to Suntec and Marina Square to do some shopping. It was raining by the time we stepped out of the restaurant, and that's when the chaos started. Between us, we had 1 wheelchair and 2 prams. So we were like holding umbrellas and pushing the 3 "cars" in the rain. So funny..

After about 2 hours, my mom in law called and asked me where I was. I think she got bored idling in the hotel without Bria. In the end, she met up with me and my family at this baby clothes store, where my mom bought Bria a pair of pink floral shoes. Then we parted ways, with me following my mom in law back to the hotel.

K's 2 aunties came shortly after, and the whole gang went to the pool for a swim and gym to exercise. My mom in law brought Bria swimming with her new float, despite a slight drizzle. I hope Bria won't fall sick tomorrow!

After swimming, we hung around the room for a bit before walking over to Suntec to meet my family again for dinner at Soup restaurant. Again, Bria fell asleep from all the pram pushing. After dinner, the whole family went to see the Kois at the Koi Garden, and some hamsters and rabbits at the pet shop, before heading home. I think my dad is super happy today, cause all his grandchildren is out shopping with him. Well, I must say it's really nice. We should do this more often.. = )

Prezzies from Hubby!

2010-09-10T22:14:00.001+08:00

Last week, i got another another small carton box from vPost. More presents from K. This time, it's the 3 Skagen watches i chose from vPost USA. So now, I got 3 watches to match my 3 new bags! = )

I think K intentionally arranged for the bags and watches to arrive when he is away. So while I have Bria with me and presents to receive, poor K is suffering in camp.

Yesterday, I spoke to K. He told me he had to squeeze inside a truck with 20 other men, and sleep together. What's worse than that is they had to sleep sitting in the truck. Plus he injured his shoulder blade. And the highly preserved food makes him want to puke. My poor hubby!

5 more days to go before K comes home.. i am counting down!

What a mess

2010-09-07T22:54:00.000+08:00

It's been a week since K went for his reservice in Thailand. Feels like a year to me..

These few days have been a mess.. Bria fell from my bed twice. Once she landed on her hands and feet. She was sleeping on my bed, so i left her in the room as usual and went to do my things.. Next thing i know, i heard a thud and her cries. My heart jumped out when i saw her on the floor and crying. I quickly carried her up and rocked her gently to soothe her, and she fell asleep within 2 minutes. The second time was not as good. She was playing on my bed, executing her new found skill of going from crawling to sitting up again and again. I turned around for one second to take something from my bedside drawer. Next thing i knew, i saw her roll over the edge of my bed with the bolster, and she landed on the floor HEAD FIRST. I can never erase the look on her face from my mind. It was so sooooo heart breaking. Her eyes was tight shut from pain and fright and her mouth open as if she was screaming but no sound came out. That lasted for a few seconds before the crying was heard. And it didn't stop even after i carried her and rocked her. I cried with her, and kept apologizing to her for not taking good care of her. Now i really can understand the meaning of "heart broken"!

Then yesterday, i spoke to C about some complaints i heard from my mom in law about her watching TV and not taking care of Bria 100%. She started to cry. This girl really cannot receive negative feedback, everytime like that! Sigh.. really wish K is here with me. These few days is like a big mess for me. I have been so busy preparing for this 2 day training course at SAFRA, and today was the start of the training. And it was a mess as well. Let's just say that SAFRA did not do a good job preparing my room and the set up, and the trainer was terrible at connecting with the audience. Sigh... There is another session tomorrow, but the attendance is terrible. Only 10 people when i had planned for 30.. even the food is too late to cancel now..

And as if it's not bad enough, i am developing a severe cold sore on my lips. Both ends of my lips are swollen and cracking like hell. Even eating is a chore, cause i can't open my mouth too wide without feeling pain.

I am SOOO bloody glad that this week is a short week, and i have the long weekend to rest and relax with my baby!

I hate SAF

2010-08-31T23:12:00.000+08:00

While packing for K's trip last week, I came across 3 packs of unbranded condoms. When questioned, K told me it was standard issue by the SAF to all the men. Now why the hell would they need condoms if they are supposed to be on re-service and doing training in the jungle etc?

K said it's mainly for the 1 day R&R that they will have. And that it was the SAF's way to "protect" their men cause it's like their responsibility.

I have absolutely NO doubt that K will not use the condoms, but I am just uncomfortable that there is this practice going on with the SAF. To me, these are all grown up men. If they really want to have sex with strangers in a foreign land, can't they buy their own bloody condoms? Still must babysit them and issue condoms to them? Won't that be a form of "encouragement" instead? Plus, they issue the condoms to ALL men. Why can't they issue only to single men and not to the married men? I am sure they have the full bio data of each and every Singaporean man in the army to categorize them as married or single. Anyway, i just don't think the SAF is sending the right messages by issuing condoms to married men as well.

I hate the SAF. First they issue condoms to my husband. Then they take him away from me and my baby for 2 weeks. Arggghhh..

Absence makes the heart gow fonder

2010-08-31T23:05:00.000+08:00

K left for his 2 week re-service last night. His first call up and he's being sent to Thailand. For 2 freakin weeks! I miss him already.. Can't believe he's not going to be with me and Bria for 2 weekends, including the Hari Raya public holiday long weekend. I hate SAF.

I took leave yesterday to spend time with K, but we both ended up busying ourselves with our work. And booking our flight tickets to Osaka for my birthday. We went to the NATAS fair last weekend, but couldn't find any decent deals. Wanted to book a trip to Europe, but either the dates were not suitable, or the itinerary always seem to include Rome and Paris, both of which I've been to so didn't want to go again. So in the end, we left empty handed and decided to book ourselves instead of going through the travel agencies. So it's gonna be Japan for my birthday, and either USA or Europe for our year end trip. I am doing research on Osaka now, can't seem to find much exciting things to do there leh.. compared to Tokyo. Probably should have chosen Tokyo.. sigh..

Bria slept with me last night after K flew off.. She slept much sounder than in her own cot. Slept at 9pm and woke up only at 6am. Will try again tonight to see if it's the same. Hopefully, after 2 weeks of sleeping with me, she will be well trained to sleep through the night!

Poor baby and mummy, won't see daddy for 15 days.. sob sob... = (

Prezzies from hubby!

2010-08-31T22:55:00.001+08:00

A big carton box addressed to K arrived today. At first, I thought it was some of K's Moleskine notebooks coming from his office in Hong Kong. On closer inspection, i noticed that the box wasn't from FEDEX, but from vpost. I knew K bought a bag for me from vpost USA, so i opened the box. I was expecting one bag, but I got 3!! One work bag, one casual bag and one baby bag... I was so happy I woke C up to share my joy with her. = )

I think K must have felt guilty so he bought me 3 bags. Few weeks ago, we had a tiff that had me in tears. On hindsight, it was kind of stupid. Anyway, to summarize, I was upset that he was spending so much money on his other wife i.e. the MX5. Whilst I had to wait so long for him to buy me a bag.

You see, I had been asking for a bag for the longest time, as my "reward" for going through labor and boring him a baby. One of my friends' husband bought her a really expensive watch when she gave birth to their son. Her husband said it was a gift to her for giving him a baby. I know I shouldn't compare with other people so much, but I can't help it. Plus it's so sweet I want my own husband to do it! But K didn't buy me any big gift despite the many hints i dropped about wanting a new bag / watch. He did ask me to go to vpost and choose the bag I wanted. Which i did. But he never followed up after that, so I was quite pissed that he wasn't sincere about it at all. I might as well just use my own credit card and pay for the damn bag.

I can't remember what triggered the quarreling, but I just broke down halfway cause I felt so hurt that he never bother to make the effort to go and find / buy me something for the past 8 months since Bria was born. But when it comes to spending money on his car, he is so enthusiastic about it. K kept apologizing and went online immediately to shop for my bag, but I kept telling him it's too late already, that there is no meaning even if he get me a gift now. The present was supposed to be given when Bria was born, not 8 months after! To me, if i have to go through all this trouble just for him to buy me a gift, then it's kinda pointless already right?!

Anyway, about a week after that, we went shopping at Orchard, and i bought 2 cheap (about $30) but nice handbags. And now i have 3 more new bags. I think i got too many bags now.. haha.. = )

K's Birthday

2010-08-28T01:36:00.000+08:00

Last Tuesday was K's 29th birthday. For some reason, K didn't really want to celebrate this year. He seemed quite depressed that he's getting older but haven't really achieved much in life. Sigh..

So this year, we kept it simple. On sunday night, the usual gang gathered for dinner at Tian Tian chicken rice in Joo Chiat. Everone was quite surprised at this arrangement cause we usually would go to a nice restaurant or buffet place to celebrate, and there will usually be a cake.

I took 2 days leave on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, I took Bria and C shopping for K's present. My plan was to buy K a watch, an ipad and a crumpler bag to put the ipad in. K has been targeting all 3items for some time already, but refused to buy them. The plan was to go to Funan and get the ipad cause there were quite a number of retailers carrying it. But alas, i spent nearly 2 hours in Funan looking for the ipad, cause all the stores were sold out! Eventually, i resorted to sitting at Macdonald's for half an hour and calling all the retailers in the north, central and east of Singapore. But all were sold out. Except for one reseller in Lucky Plaza. But that stupid reseller is selling at $250 more. The problem was, I was running out of time. So the next thing i knew, i was on a cab to Lucky Plaza. It was raining heavily at that time, and C and I had to wrap Bria with her spare clothes to avoid the rain cause there was no shelter between Funan and the taxi stand. Plus, there were no cabs cause it was like 5 minutes to the peak surcharge timing.

When we finally alighted at the Lucky Plaza taxi stand, it was almost 530pm. I went to the reseller shop, paid for the ipad in cash, and headed to wheelock place next to buy the crumpler bag. The people at the crumpler shop were all so friendly and played with Bria while I settled the payment.

We took the train home after that, me all exhausted from the day's work. I hid all the presents underneath C's bed. At midnight, I played hide and seek with K and asked him to go and find his present, which i had hidden in his wardrobe. I think this year's birthday present is one of the best I have given to him.. haha.. he was so happy.. = )

The next day, which was K's birthday, we spent the whole day in town shopping, and also for K to replenish his Moleskine notebooks at his customers' shops. We had Japanese buffet for lunch at Heeren, shopped around a bit, before heading off to Bukit Timah to collect his birthday cake. This year, I bought a customized birthday cake for K from my boss's sister, who is into baking. It was a one of a kind Almond Earl Grey tea cake. Basically, i told the lady that K likes almonds and nuts. She suggested almond green tea and almond cheesecake. But K didn't really like cheesecake, and he preferred earl grey to any other tea. So viola, we had a winner - earl grey almond cake. So special right?? And he loved it!

We had dinner at home while watching "Love", and then had our cosy little birthday celebration as a family with the cake and candles. I think Bria enjoyed her first birthday celebration with Daddy too!

Our lunch place

The resemblance after a heavy buffet lunch

K's new toy

The crumpler bag

The one of a kind birthday cake

I Passed!!

2010-08-27T23:58:00.000+08:00

I took my first final theory test on Monday night. And I passed! Was so worried the whole weekend because of this. Firstly, K told me that the final theory wasn't as easy as the basic theory, and quoted a few friends who took the test several times before passing. Secondly, I had absolutely no time to study for it at all. I took 3 separate days to flip through the final theory book part by part over the weekend. In fact, i was still reading through the last few pages in the car when K drove me to the center!

I was so sure I wouldn't pass the test, that I told K and C that if i passed, I am very smart. Haha! Who knows, the test was so easy leh! I had 50 minutes to complete the test, but I finished it within 10 minutes. I AM smart!! hee hee.. Now i only have the stupid practical test to pass and I will officially be a licensed driver!

Bria is 8 Months!

2010-08-13T15:45:00.000+08:00

Bria turned 8 months yesterday. = )

In the morning, C and I brought her to the wet market to buy some vegetables and carrots for her meals. She was so well behaved yesterday, not like the screaming and crying baby for the past few days. It's like she knows she's a big girl now!

During lunch, I met my uncle at Katong shopping center for some maid shopping. My grandma's current Indonesian maid is asking to go home earlier than her October contract date, so that she can celebrate hari raya with her family. Problem is there are no new Indonesian maids available cause all want to come to Singapore after their fasting. Anyway, we saw a transfer Indo maid that we liked at Jack Focus agency. But the people there are so rude. It's as if they don't care if they get our business or not. Cause they got so many celebrity customers already. I was quite pissed off at their attitude. Anyway, by the time we shopped around and went back to Jack Focus, the maid was already taken by someone else.

Went back home to pack lunch and continued working. Knocked off at 530 exactly, and took C and Bria downstairs to do my pedicure. The last pedicure i had in Phuket was already 90% peeled off. Plus, i recently found this newly opened pedicure place inside a hair salon that's super cheap. Express pedi only $10. And nail art $2 each. I got so friendly with the girl she even added in a small crystal in my nail art, and painted all my other toenails with sprinkles. The best thing is, it's just below my house! Bria was such a good girl. She just sat there quietly throughout the whole session, watching the girl do my nails, looking around her surroundings, and playing by herself.

At night, I watched my favourite Taiwanese drama, had dinner, put Bria to sleep, before heading for my driving lesson. It's been one month since my last lesson, so i forgot a lot of things already.. Think i stalled at least 5 times yesterday. And most of it was at the traffic lights when the light turned green. I must have gotten cursed by a lot of drivers yesterday for holding them up!

K is coming back this evening.. Will be bringing Bria and C to the airport to pick him up. Poor boy, still haven't fully recovered. Work so hard until fall sick also must go for business trip. Sigh..

What a difference a baby makes

2010-08-11T23:52:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, I invited some friends over to our place for a National Day party. Before K and I went to New Zealand, we actually had one similar party where everyone came dressed in white or red, and we even had a cake in the shape of the flag, and we would sing Happy Birthday too! But ever since we went to New Zealand, and I had Bria, we didn't celebrate for the past 2 years.

This year, we did not have any cake, but we ordered KFC and Pizza, and played Wii until 2am in the morning.

While chit chatting, one of my friends asked me how is life different as a mom. That question left me thinking for the past few days. My reply to my friend was that it's very different, cause as a mom, i have to think for my baby in everything that I do. No more thinking of myself and being selfish. Well, it's selfish in a different way. Selfish not for myself, but for my baby. Which is true. In fact, sometimes, i think i am so selfish for Bria that I become a bit scary.

Like recently, when K fell sick, the first thing that came to my mind was that he will spread his germs to Bria. When i think about it, it's quite sad. It's like baby first, then hubby. But i can't help it. I hope K doesn't feel neglected! I know he loves Bria, but it's very very different, a mother's love and the love of a father.

I'm also being all paranoid over the whole 7th month thingie, so this whole month, i won't bring Bria outdoors after dusk. Plus, I'm not going for any after-office events and business dinners now. Not sure if i will miss out on any opportunities from all the informal networking, but i couldn't care less. K's birthday is coming in 2 weeks, and I am actually thinking of just celebrating at home, cause i don't want both him and Bria to go out at night. In case he falls sick again. Good thing is, K also don't want to celebrate this year. He's going for 3 weeks re-service a day after his birthday. What a bummer! If I were him, I won't have the mood to celebrate either!

Missing Daddy

2010-08-11T23:39:00.000+08:00

Bria and I are Daddy-less again.. K flew to Jakarta this morning, despite my advice not to. Firstly, K fell sick 2 days ago.. Really sick, throat infection, flu and cough all come together. Secondly, it's the 7th month. Yesterday, we went to see the doctor, and K was already prepared to NOT fly and claim from his travel insurance based on MC. Then the stupid doctor told us it was okay to fly in his condition. Sigh...

I will be working from home this entire week. I actually gave up a business trip to Phuket this week to stay at home. Didn't really want to leave Bria at home with C without both mummy and daddy! But I am not sure if it was the right decision to work from home. It's only Wednesday, and I think I am starting to go crazy. Bria hasn't been a good girl these 2 days. She keeps screaming and crying throughout the day. Always want attention and someone to carry her! So hard for me to concentrate on my work. The ridiculously hot weather these days didn't help much either.

I still can't figure out why she is like that. But I came up with a few possible reasons. One, she is teething. Possible cause she is drooling a lot more these days. Two, she is going through a developmental milestone. She turns 8 months tomorrow! Three, she is over excited to see me at home these few days. And lastly, ridiculous as it might sound, she is being disturbed by the 7th month visitors. This afternoon, I saw her screaming and then suddenly, she would go quiet and start staring into space for quite a while.

Maybe I am thinking too much. Oh well, another 2 more days to the weekend! I actually can't wait to go back to the office...

Bria's 1st National Day

2010-08-11T23:29:00.000+08:00

Bria celebrated her first National Day on Monday. This year, celebrations were held and telecast live in 5 districts in Singapore, and Eunos happened to be one of those districts. In fact, the celebrations at Eunos was just below my block at the big open field in front of Eunos MRT. Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, I brought C and Bria to the celebrations.

Both Bria and I wore matching red tops and white bottoms, colors of our flag. I even pinned a white ribbon on her hair!

There were a lot of people, and a lot of noise, but other than that, it was nothing much of a celebration. Firstly, I couldn't get a flag for Bria cause i didn't have the coupon for the goodie bag which contained the flag. So i tried to ask for one from the cheerleaders who seemed to be stationed everywhere. Nobody could help me, until a kind auntie who sat beside us, and seeing how cute Bria was, gave Bria her flag.

Secondly, i didn't appear on TV. The stupid camera men kept focusing on the few MPs who were there whenever the live telecast focused on Eunos. For the other districts, everytime they were focused, we can see the entire crowd cheering and waving their flags. But the minute the camera turned to Eunos, it was always the 5 stupid MPs. Even though we were all cheering and waving like mad in the background.

Thirdly, I did not get to see the fireworks. In the first place, I didn't even know there was going to be fireworks! I only heard the fireworks 2 hours after i left the celebrations around 8plus. At that time, I was waiting below my block for the mobile column to drive past. Instead of seeing the big battle trucks and canons, I heard fireworks. Argghhh.. i could have punched myself. I SOOOO wanted to let Bria see the fireworks. And, if i had known there was going to be fireworks, i would have brought my grandmother to my place! I was actually thinking where the hell I can bring my grandma to see fireworks without squeezing with too many people. And the perfect place was just below my house. So Stupid!!

And lastly, because of all the loud noise from the celebrations, Bria had nightmares and didn't sleep well that night. She was totally okay DURING the celebrations, but the fussing kicked in at night.

Oh well, i guess the only good thing that happened was that we got to see the bug tank trucks, and got some free popcorn and tidbits... = )

My Desaru Weekend

2010-08-02T23:31:00.001+08:00

K and I brought Bria and C to Desaru for the weekend. Along with my in laws, K's uncle, aunties and grandma, the 10+1 of us drove up in 2 cars.

We set off from K's grandma's house at 8am on Saturday, and headed for breakfast at Woodlands. Breakfast was Bah Kut Teh and Roti Prata. The Bah Kut Teh was the herbal type, but i still preferred the one in JB cause it has more ingredients other than just the pork ribs and liver. The Roti Prata was good though!

After breakfast, we headed into JB. At the customs, the officer actually asked for C's work permit. I nearly did not bring the permit, thinking that her passport should be sufficient. Luckily K asked me to just bring it! The officer told us that without her work permit, C will not be able to leave the country. Fortunately for us, there wasn't much of a jam into JB (about half an hour or so), and we managed to drive up to Kota Tinggi for lunch at this Chinese restaurant.

Just when we were about to park in front of the chinese restaurant, our car indicator light came on and hinted us to check our gear box. Then K said there was something wrong with the gear box, that the gear is not responding. Our nightmare began.

Actually, K and I were so half hearted to drive our Renault to Desaru, cause water had seeped into our car during the flooding season. So we were thinking whether to drive my in-laws' car instead. But based on the fact that our car had a bigger boot space and more space at the back seats, we decided to drive our car instead.

So... we had lunch at the restaurant, and one of the employees at the restaurant helped us to call in a car technician who brought K to his workshop to assess and repair our car. My father in law and K's cousin went with him while the rest of us continued to eat and drink at the restaurant. And as if this wasn't bad enough, Bria pooed and her poo stained the white skirt she was wearing. There was no facilities in the toilet to change her diapers, so C and I ended up changing Bria on the restaurant stage platform instead.

After lunch, we all squeezed into the other car, drove to meet K at the workshop and load all of Bria's stuff in the other car, before we continued with a 45-min drive to our resort in Desaru. And because there was literally no more space in the other car for C, and my car was at the workshop, we had to leave C at the restaurant. K and I were totally not comfortable with the idea of leaving C alone, but my mom in law kept insisting that it was okay cause she already told the restaurant people, and that C could rest there comfortably since the restaurant was air conditioned. I was so worried that C will be scared, and kept reassuring her that we will come back for her.

My heart wasn't at ease for the entire journey, but I was pretty helpless. My hp was flat on battery (another boo boo), so i couldn't send K text messages, and with everyone cramped in the car, it was also not convenient for me to borrow another phone and talk to K. Plus, the car was at the workshop so there were not much options for us.

We ended up spending the rest of the day at the resort, some playing mahjong, some playing with Bria. I bathed Bria and got myself all wet. But couldn't change myself cause all my luggage was in our car, which was at the workshop.

In the evening, the ladies brought Bria to the baby pool to try out her new float. At first, I was so worried that she might be scared of the cold water and tried gradually to ease her into the water. To my surprise, the minute i put her into the float, not only did she not cry, she started kicking her legs so happily. My baby is so brave!

We watched and laughed at Bria as she kicked her way from one end of the baby pool to the other end. So cute! Words cannot express the joy i felt when i look at her.

The family finally got together for dinner at 8pm at some ulu restaurant 30 mins drive away from our resort. It was over dinner that we realized K actually drove back to Singapore and switch to my in laws' car before heading back to Desaru. Our car couldn't be fixed. It took 15 seconds for the car to accelerate to 40km/h so you can imagine how slowly he drove back to Singapore. No wonder it took half a day for them to meet us! Poor K! He was totally bummed out that night.

Dinner was seafood.. Really cheap and delicious seafood. We had cray fish, chilli crab, steamed fish, mussels, vegetables and fried noodles. And each person only paid SG$10. So cheap right?!

After dinner, we drove another 30 minutes back to the hotel, unloaded the rest of the stuff from my in laws' car and parted for the night. At night, Bria did not cooperate again, and refused to sleep with me and K on our bed. She kept crying, and stopped only when i carried her. I tried this for an hour, before i gave up and let her sleep downstairs on her cot mattress with C. I was exhausted, and so was K. Luckily we brought along her cot mattress! Otherwise, i don't know how to make her sleep! While K was away last week, I actually trained Bria to sleep with me in my room for 4 nights, partly because i want to train her for this trip. But it didn't work. I think Bria likes my bed at home. Other beds won't do. = )

The second day was more relaxed. We ha buffet breakfast at the resort. Totally horrible food. After that, the family went to the beach for a stroll together.. I brought Bria to the beach and let her "walk" on the sand, and immerse her little feet in the sea water. She loves it so much! This girl seems to want to try everything!

After that was mahjong again, and Bria went to the pool again, this time with her daddy, who missed out on her first swim the day before. K didn't seem as amused at her as I was though, which made me quite disappointed. We checked out around 2pm, and drove for another 1.5 hours back to JB where we had lunch at Mahanttan Fish Market. Another lousy meal. Then we went grocery shopping at Jusco, where it was packed with people, long queues and super slow working cashiers. I nearly went mad looking at the way the cashier worked. It was as if she was stifling a yawn while processing our purchases, and that huge yawn would come out anytime. So irritating...

We left Jusco at 5pm, and headed back home. Bria slept most of the trip back, but started to get cranky when we got stuck at the traffic jam for nearly 2 hours. Nonetheless, given the grand scheme of things,Bria is considered a good girl, staying quiet and sleeping for most of the road trip. So proud of her!

By the time we reached home, it was 9pm. What a exhausting and dramatic trip. The last time i went to Desaru, i was totally turned off by the green color swimming pool at our resort. This trip wasn't too exciting for me either, with all the drama. This is definitely the last time I am going to Desaru.

SHAPE Run

2010-07-29T00:30:00.001+08:00

I woke up at 530am last Sunday to go for my 5km SHAPE run with some of my colleagues. And being the ever sweet hubby that he is, K woke up together with me and drove me there.

4 years ago, my timing for 10km at the Standard Chartered run was 1hour 10mins. Last Sunday, i took 43 minutes just to run 5km.. Boy am i out of SHAPE!! = P

At first, i thought i could do it, but after running for the first 4km, i had to walk. My shins are still hurting me now. And you know what's the worse part? I actually had a white out plus a mini puking session after the run. The ironic thing was, it was AFTER the run and not DURING. And it happened because of the stupid queue to collect the goodie bag. The whole thing was so badly managed that I don't think i will go to a SHAPE run again. Firstly, there were no ushers there to guide people to the proper queues. The queue for the goodie bag was snaking like nobody's business. So much so that i literally couldn't find the end of the queue. Worse part was, part of the queue got mixed up with the queues for the other stalls that were giving free Bioterm samples and Marigold yogurts. So one could be queuing up for half an hour thinking she's collecting her goodie bag, only to realize after that she's queuing for some stupid yogurt samples.

Secondly, the sun was burning hot. Plus the fact that it was super packed at the queues. There wasn't another way out after you collected the goodie bag, so people had to u-turn and squeeze their way out through the queues again after they got the bags. With everybody squeezing and perspiring like mad, there wasn't not much ventilation at all. After queuing for 45 minutes under the hot sun, i finally saw the bags with 4 people in front of me. It was then that i i felt nauseous and then everything went white and i felt vomit coming out. I couldn't see anything, and kept bumping into people as i pushed my way out of the queue again after collecting my bag. I felt like a bird freed from its cage when i finally pushed through the sea of sweaty women and found a shady spot under a tree where i just sat and buried my face in my hands...

It took me a full 5 minutes before i felt okay again to walk to the MRT station an take the train home.

When i reached home, i took a quick shower before heading off with K for our Sunday movie date. With the M1 1-for-1 movie ticket at Cathay, K and I have made it a point to watch a movie every Sunday if we can. Last Sunday was "Despicable Me". This time round, it was "Sorcerer's Apprentice". It was an okay show with more romancing than magic. The show even had a lame attempt at re-enacting the trademark "broom and mops come alive" scene.. I think "Harry Potter" has more magic than this show. Sigh.. Lucky i only paid half price for it! = )

Lonely Bria and Mummy

2010-07-27T00:23:00.003+08:00

Bria and Mummy are missing Daddy already. Daddy just left for a one week business trip to KL and Bangkok. Then next week, Daddy will fly off again to Jakarta for 3 days. And late next month, Daddy will be going for 3 weeks of reservice. Sigh... = (

I haven't been able to stop thinking about how i am leaving baby alone with C at home. Work has been really busy so far, but it's still not able to occupy my mind entirely. This thought is always lingering in my mind. As much as I want to trust C cause she is a good helper, there is this part of me that feel bad and uneasy about leaving my baby at home alone with her for so many hours over so many days. I did speak to my boss about it and she said I could work from home if i wanted. Problem was, we had 2 new interns coming to join us this week, so i had to do some presentations to them today and tomorrow. Plus, i have some meetings lined up tomorrow and Friday, which leaves me only Wed and Thursday to work from home. I am supposed to be one of the intern's buddy, so part of me also feel bad that i just leave her alone after 2 days if i work from home. Then again, my baby is more important!

Dad and Mom came over today and we had dinner together. My stroke-stricken Dad offered to come over every day to spot check on C and play with Bria, but i told him not to. C asked my Dad why I didn't inform her about his visit. I hope she don't feel that I don't trust her.! Actually, I do trust her. It's just that i feel bad leaving Bria alone without her mummy and daddy for so many days. It's like I am not a good mummy. Usually, Bria sees K in the daytime when he works from home, and then she sees both of us in the evening when i come back from work.

But now, Bria won't be seeing either of us in the daytime for one whole week... Poor baby. Hopefully I can schedule all my meetings so i can work from home on Wed and Thur.

Over dinner, Mom commented on how I can be so assured about leaving Bria at home alone with C. Having heard too many horror "maid stories", i can't blame her for being so paranoia. Yet at the same time, I felt so irritated. I asked her what other suggestions she had and she kept quiet. Sometimes, I feel so bitter about why my parents and in-laws are not willing to help take care of their grandchild. They only know how to nag at us and ask for grandchildren. But they are not willing to retire and take care of the baby when she's born. I won't be surprised if they start asking for another one soon. Then the big question is: Who is going to take care? Are they expecting me to quit my job? Or get another helper? And if i get another helper, will everybody feel comfortable leaving the baby alone with the helper?

I am not sure if I should be thankful that I don't have relatives taking care of my baby. At least with C, I can have my own way of raising and educating Bria. None of all those nonsense where I get unhappy with the way the old folks bring up my daughter etc. etc. Plus, I get to make sure she is only exposed to proper English. Well, i guess there's always two sides to a coin eh?

Garden Festival weekend

2010-07-27T00:07:00.000+08:00

I brought Bria to the Singapore Garden Festival 2 weekends ago. Brought my grandma along too. My uncle and cousins came along as well. I try to bring Grandma out more often these days, cause she likes to be outdoors. Poor old lady is stuck at home every day, don't even get to go downstairs now because of some silly excuses that my uncle gave. Her helper, being the "not so nice" kind, also keep complaining that her back hurts every time she needs to hurl my grandma in and out of her wheel chair. Which is supposed to make me feel bad and bring my grandma out less, but I'm not going to let this affect spending some quality time with my grandma.

Anyway, I could see that Grandma enjoyed herself at the garden festival. She loves flowers, so that must have been a feast to her eyes. Plus, she talked quite a lot during the trip - another rarity. She even pluck off some flowers from the exhibits despite my warnings not to! Naughty grandma. = )

Last weekend, when i brought Bria to my grandma's house, she actually called Bria by her name! And she smiled when she called Bria. I was so happy. Even my sister was surprised. I think the trip to the garden festival really cheered her up. I should bring her out more often together with my sister and uncle. The more the merrier. With me bringing Bria along for all these outings, I would definitely need all the help I can get to take care of my grandma!

Fantastic Friday

2010-07-26T23:58:00.000+08:00

I had a fantastic Friday last week. After 2 weeks of slogging for the P&B, my team and I got our well deserved break. Actually, my team slogged much more than me, having stayed up till 2 to 3am every day for the last 2 weeks. Poor things! I am very lucky though, only need to handle the planning for headcount. I am blessed that my boss is understanding, so she did not involve me fully in the P&B cycle. Otherwise I will die!

Back to my fantastic Friday. My team and I had half the day off to go for our team building event. We had a mini birthday celebration for one of my colleagues. The cake was from my boss's sister's shop - green tea with crunchy chocolate bits inside. It was sooo delicious! Thinking of getting it for K's birthday next month.. = )

After the mini birthday celebration, we headed to the Japanese Club for some supposedly good quality Jap food. One of my colleagues is a member so he brought us all in. The special of the month was unagi, so everyone ordered the unagi set lunch. Not such a big fan of eel, i decided to order ala carte. So i got myself a teriyaki cod fish, edamame and chawamushi. When my cod fish arrived, everyone (including myself) was surprised. The $28 cod fish that i saw on the menu was only 2 miserable pieces of cod. I thought it was a main dish size, but turns out it's more like an appetizer. My colleagues thought I was on a diet or something. I came up with some excuse that i don't want to eat too much before our massage, which was the next thing on our itinerary. The most embarrassing part was, after eating everything i ordered, i was still feeling hungry. So i ordered one more California roll. Haha.. Don't think the food there is super good leh, but it sure is expensive!

The highlight came after lunch. We headed to Spa Botanica at Sentosa - voted the Best Spa experience in 2009. And they truly deserve it! I'm not really a spa-goer, but this one is really tops! Our massage was supposed to start at 430pm, but we arrived more than an hour early to use their complementary facilities. They have common areas, as well as men and women only facilities. Me, my boss and another female colleague went to this waterfall pool, where we stand beneath the waterfall and just let the strong pressure of the water massage our backs. They even have these floating mattresses for you to lie on and just float around on the water.

Waterfall pool

Mud Pool - The mud is inside the huge beige vase in the middle

We also went for the mud pool, where we spread layers of mud (specially imported from New Zealand) all over our body and then sat there waiting for it to dry. After that, we went into the locker rooms, and spent about 15 minutes in the warm jaccuzi. We then went our separate ways for our massage. Mine was a 1.5 hours tibetian clay and oil massage. I knew it was gonna be an outdoor massage, but I was pleasantly surprised when my masseur led me to my own private villa for the massage! Each villa was surrounded by trees, plants and a small water feature that provided the continuous soothing sound of falling water. The villa also came with 2 beds and it's own shower facilities. After the massage, we were treated to a cup of nice Hawaiian tea in a peaceful pavilion beside a koi fish pond. It was such a pampering experience that I don't feel like I was in Singapore at all!

And because I didn't have my handphone with me, I kinda lost track of time. By the time we were done showering, it was already 630pm. I had a wedding dinner to go to at 730pm. My initial plan was to go home and change before heading to the wedding with K, but there was no time to do that. So i ended up having K bring my clothes, shoes and cosmetics to the hotel so i can change there. The wedding was at Grand Park City Hall. Food was not bad, but i didn't like the service. The banquet started pretty late, so the staff was like rushing through the dishes and clearing them even before we could finish the food!

That night, K and I reached home around 11pm.. By then, Bria was already asleep. I didn't see her for the entire day.. felt so sad...

121st Month..

2010-07-26T22:38:00.001+08:00

K and I celebrated our 121st month the simple way last Thursday.

He picked me up from my office at 530pm, and we bought dinner back home and watched my favorite Taiwanese show "Love". I seem to be hooked on the show now. The fact that the show recently switched from "weekends-only" screening to "daily" screening makes it worse for me. Now I got 2 good reasons to knock off on time and rush home - Bria and the show. = )

Seems like our monthly celebrations are getting more and more simple... I guess having a baby DOES change things! I find it quite hard these days to just go out and socialize after work without bringing Bria along. So much so that i try not to make any appointments with colleagues or friends after work. Sometimes I am even unwilling to go on a date with Keson! Just like what happened with our 12st month. I just want to go home after work, play with my baby and watch my show. I am becoming more and more domestic!

Dead cat

2010-07-14T23:39:00.001+08:00

I run over a cat during my driving lesson today. LUCKILY (for me, not the cat) , it was already dead when I run over it. My instructor freaked out a bit. He's Malay, and you know how much the Malays like cats. Heng it's just a lesson. Otherwise sure fail one! I can imagine how horrified my test instructor will be if I really run over one of their beloved cats!

My little cow is 7 months now!

2010-07-13T00:49:00.000+08:00

Little Bria turns 7 months today! My little cow is growing up so fast!

When I woke up this morning and walked into Bria's room, I saw her right hand hanging out from her cot and moving up and down. She was quietly playing on her own. SOOOO CUTE!! And as usual, when i crept up to her and said "Good Morning Bria!", she gave me her heart-melting smile and started kicking excitedly.. I think Bria will be a very good swimmer. Cause she can REALLY kick! I am actually planning to buy a swimming float for her. But all the ones suitable for babies are quite expensive. Will be going to Desaru end of this month with my in laws.. hopefully I can find one by then.

I take photos of Bria on every 12th of the month, cause I have this photo frame where I can put photos of my baby month by month. So here are the shots I took of her this morning after she had her breakfast. My baby is SOOOO pretty! *heart melt.. But still cannot really see who she looks like...

To celebrate Bria's 7 months, K and I brought C and Bria to the airport - our favorite hangout. Good food, cheap prices and air con. Triple combo leh! We had dinner at the food court and hung around for the next hour or so before heading home. Now Bria is fast asleep on my bed, and K doesn't have space on the bed to sleep.. haha.. I think Bria likes to sleep on our bed cause she can smell Daddy and Mummy. She hasn't really been sleeping well in her own cot and sarong these days. Problem is, K doesn't approve of her sleeping on our bed because he is worried we might squash her while we sleep.. For me, I just want to do everything for her to sleep through the night... Sigh.. don't know how to reach a compromise on this one!

A lot has happened over the past month since i last blogged. K and I celebrated our 10th year anniversary in Phuket, staying in a nice 2 bedroom villa at Marriott. For Free. In exchange for a 2 hour sales talk persuading us to sign up for their Marriott Vacation club. Of course we said no, and went on to enjoy our holiday... We went shopping, ate plenty of phad thai and pineapple fried rice, watched a movie, do massage and went for some activity classes organized by the club like towel folding and aqua fit class. It was nice. Like a second honeymoon... = ) Going for our third honeymoon in September.. this time to Shanghai and Tokyo!! Can't wait!

We also had a few more exciting weekends as a family over the past month. Last weekend, Bria went for 2 parties. One was Hikaru's 2 year birthday party, and the other was baby Khloe's full month party. Supposed to go for another 1 year old party, but birthday girl fell sick and mommy had to cancel.. Otherwise I would have to rush to 3 different parties on the same day!

And being the ever shopaholic me, I used these parties as an excuse to buy more clothes for my baby.. Bought two Pumpkin Patch dresses - one pink and one yellow. Wore the pink one to the parties and my dad's place in the evening... It's a bit too long for her, but she looks sooo pretty in it! = )

And wore the yellow one on Sunday when we brought her to the Red Dot museum and dinner with my in laws..

Last weekend, K and I brought Bria to Marina Barrage for some kite flying with my sis and my uncle's family. It was an impromptu thing, but I totally enjoyed myself. The weather was good, we had good food, and great company. And I think the kids had fun too. There were even clowns there to entertain us. And I had my fair share of kite flying. Bria had so much fun running around with me, and looking at all the beautiful kites that she fell asleep of exhaustion! haha..

All the kites flying against the backdrop of Marina Bay Sands..

The girls posing for a photo with Mr Clown...

My favorite photo with Bria so far..

Next weekend's gonna be another exciting one.. Bria and I are bringing my grandma to the annual Singapore Garden Festival at Suntec! Can't wait! For now, another 4 more days of work... Jia you!

Bria is 6 months now!

2010-06-13T23:12:00.000+08:00

I can't believe I have been MIA for one whole month now.. Just don't have the motivation to blog anymore.. Whatever little time I have, I want to spend with Bria.. Nothing major happened during this one month..Maybe except for the fact that I completely lost my voice for 3 days and couldn't talk to anybody. That includes Bria, so it was really torturous for me! = )

Work is starting to get busy, in fact, I knocked off at 7pm last Friday, my latest record so far since i came back to work. Naturally, I wasn't too happy, especially since Bria sleeps at 830pm, and I only got home around 730pm, which leaves me little time to spend with my darling. And i don't think things will be getting any better from now on, cause the peak period for my team has started. Sigh.. Plus, I kinda feel like I still can't click with my colleagues. It's like I've moved on to a different stage in life, i.e. motherhood, so the things they talk about don't really interest me anymore. And I don't really feel like pretending I am interested when I am not. So these days, I tend to lunch alone. Which I enjoy, cause I get to go to my Sean Im hawker center for cheap and good food. Just last week, I met my ex-colleague from UOB and it appears she lunches alone and likes Seah Im. Plus, she's a mother of 2 little girls. So there you go, i think i found my "kaki"!

Motherhood has also been treating me very well. There's a small part of me that can't wait to have another baby. Bria is growing so fast I am starting to miss her first 3 months! The good part is, she's getting more and more fun to play with. And she is SOOOO pretty!!! = )

Time really flies. Bria just turned 6 months yesterday! 6 months is kinda like a major milestone for us, cause it's the time she starts to change her "pattern". It's also the time for weaning, and teething, and more immunizations, plus a super active baby who has the energy to roll around and lift herself up when she is on her tummy. She is SOO quick to roll over nowadays she nearly fell down from the bed last Friday when I was changing her. I just popped into the washroom to wash my hands for ONE minute (cause I had Ru yi oil on my hands) and the next minute, half her body was dangling at the edge of my bed. My heart jumped out of my body when I saw that. After that incident, I promised myself NEVER EVER to leave her alone on the bed AGAIN.

K and I had another busy weekend. I brought Bria to my parents' and grandmother's place yesterday. Bria had her first bus trip, and was the center of attraction of all the aunties who boarded the same bus throughout the journey. Then at night, K and I went for supper at Changi Village with some of the Miata folks.

This morning, K and I had some alone time, and we caught "The Karate Kid" at Cathay cause they had a 1-for-1 movie ticket offer for M1 customers. K and I kinda agreed to go for a movie every Sunday now because of this offer. After our movie, we picked Bria up and met up with the Miata club folks at Changi Bistro for lunch. Bria became the center of attraction again, cause she was always smiling, and anyone could carry her without her crying. She also got some new prezzies - baby clothes from our Miata friends..

After lunch, K and I went to my uncle David's place to help fix up their MP4 player. Bria got more prezzies again from my auntie and uncle - crawling and stroller toys. I've been looking for a stroller toy for some time now, so it was super good timing! Dinner was at the airport with my in laws.. Had lousy food at Xin Wang cafe. Never going back there again.

I think my mom in law is obsessed with Bria.. When we were saying our goodbyes, she behaved like she cannot bear to part with Bria.. haha.. so cute. She even took 3 days MC to take care of Bria when K and I go for our holiday next week. Speaking of holiday, I can't wait!!! Think I will miss Bria a lot, but I really must learn to let go and enjoy some couple time with Daddy!

Snoring duo

2010-05-14T00:11:00.000+08:00

It's past midnight. I just sneaked in to check on Bria before heading to bed. Both Bria and her daddy are snoring. Such joy is priceless... :)

Bria is 5 months !

2010-05-13T22:08:00.001+08:00

Bria turned 5 yesterday. Months, that is. K and I had planned to celebrate by bringing her out for dinner. What was supposed to be a nice relaxed dinner became more like having fast food.

Yesterday was an unlucky day for me due to a whole series of events. At the office, I was jammed by the sliding glass at the turnstiles. As a natural reaction, I used my arm to block. Now I have a super huge and painful bruise on my right arm where the stretch of bone is.

My colleagues and I also went on a farm excursion yesterday for the second half of the day. We visited qian hu fish farm and this vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang. The fish farm was not so bad, cause most of it was sheltered. But the vegetable farm was super hot man! It was like free flow perspiration! We were under the hot sun more than half the time. I did have fun though. We had a competition to harvest plants and flowers, and even potted our own plants. I took home a dill plant and a pandan leave plant.. So now no need to buy dill and pandan leaves for my cooking.. ;)

The bummer was, number 1, I got bitten by mosquitoes even though I had a repellent patch and switched on the mosquito repellent application on my phone. Number 2, I ended up carrying so many things plus my laptop, and lugging them all the way from lake side to eunos in a jam packed Mrt. Lastly, the event took longer than I expected, and this shortened my dinner time. By the time I reached home, it was almost 7pm. And I had a telecon at 9pm. Which means I had to be home by 830pm. I was tired, but still decided to head out and bring Bria out to celebrate. We had delicious ramen at east coast but had to eat so fast I didn't enjoy it that much.

Then finally, to top off my unlucky day, I couldn't log into my company laptop for my telecon. Had to use internet chat and ask my colleague for the number to dial in. I missed a little of the presentation, but it wasn't a useful one. I already knew what they were presenting. Which means I wasted my time. Should have enjoyed my dinner slowly!

Think poor Bria didn't really enjoy her 5 Months too. There was a big thunderstorm last night. The thunder frightened her and she couldn't sleep the whole night after that.. hopefully tonight she will feel better...

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T23:26:00.000+08:00

I celebrated my first Mother's day yesterday. Being my first Mother's Day and the dramatic queen that I am, I was really excited and had been looking forward to this day. Since Bria doesn't really know how to please me yet, the job was delegated to K, so everything kinda went "my way" yesterday. = )

K and I started the day at the sky gardens on the 50th floor of The Pinnacles, the super high class block of HDB flats at Outram. It was a group outing with the Miata folks, and we had to pay $5 per person to enter the gardens, and it was a bloody waste of money. The view is nice and all, but i don't think it's worth $5. Plus, it was super hot. And there wasn't much of a breeze even though we were 50 floors high. Bria behaved very well throughout even though it was so hot.. I guess that's her "present" to me that day! Then again, my baby has always been very easy. = ) It was the first time that the Miata folks met Bria, so naturally, she became the center of attraction.

After the walk, we drove to this cafe called Colbar and had a hearty brunch. That's when Bria's stroller became the center of attraction.. haha.. I had a tasty dish called "Chicken Merryland", which consisted of fried chicken cutlet, baked beans, goreng pisang, egg and bacon. It was so much i couldn't finish. Bria also made a new Ang Moh friend when this man came over an talked to Pui who was carrying Bria at that time. The man thought Bria was Pui's baby..

K and I headed back after our brunch, and kinda rested by watching several episodes of 24. We've been following the series like mad these few days.. Still got 10 more episodes to go..

Then at night, we brought Bria to the airport to pick up my in-laws who just came back from their 9 day holiday in Osaka. Bria got herself some new toys and shoes from Japan.. = ) We tried to find ourselves a nice restaurant for dinner, but it was so crowded everywhere that we just gave up and went to the food court. It wasn't that bad. I enjoyed a nice soupy bowl of Kuay Chap, and ice kacang for dessert.

Sigh, I have been SO busy these days with work that I don't even have the mood to blog anymore. I just want to spend time with Bria when I come back from work. Then on weekends, I just want to spend the whole day with her. K and I are planning our 10th anniversary next month, and I am so confused. Cause on the one hand, I want to celebrate this special day with him, but on the other hand, I can't bear to leave Bria at home for too long.. Arghhhh...

Bria's first public appearance!

2010-04-27T23:57:00.000+08:00

Bria is in this month's issue of Today's Motherhood!

I am such a proud mommy!! = )

At first look, i thought the second baby on the top row looks a lot like Bria..

The editors took super long to publish her photo loh.. think i sent this about 2 months ago..

Nonetheless, I'm glad she's finally there in the magazine!

My 2 day training

2010-04-24T23:01:00.001+08:00

Since I started work 2 weeks ago, I've pretty much been on a honeymoon. Boss wasn't really around much, worked from home one day, then took half day MC another day. Then went for a 2 day training on Thursday and Friday at Grand Copthorne. Took cab to and back from the hotel cause can claim. Damn shiok!

Plus, I had so much good food to eat! There was morning tea break, lunch, and then afternoon tea break. For 2 consecutive days.. = ) Plus, they were having this Thai Food week, so my lunch was mostly Thai food, which was nice! On top of that, I learnt quite a lot from this training course.

This is one thing I miss about going back to work. I wonder if I will get to go on overseas training so I can stay at the hotel too! = p

Botak Bria...

2010-04-24T22:55:00.001+08:00

I brought Bria out for the whole day today.. Had tim sum with Dad and K at Ah Yat restaurant.. Dad had a hard time climbing up and down the stairs before we finally reached the restaurant.. Stupid Shaw Towers is so not wheel-chair friendly lah!!

After our tim sum, we went to Giant Tampines for some grocery shopping. I brought some rice cereal for Bria. She is SOOOO greedy these days! I'm feeding her this apple and banana puree now and she loves it so much that she just wants to keep eating it! When C or I stop feeding her, she will cry.. So i figured maybe i can start giving her cereal already.

We sent Dad home after Giant, before heading to Cairnhill Community Center where my in laws had set up stalls at this annual flea market. My mom in law bought so many things for Bria, 3 pairs of socks, 1 set of clothing, and 2 toys! We spent about an hour at the flea market, then went to Punggol Plaza to shave Bria's hair.

There was this shop that specialized in baby swimming and hair cut. It was a horrible experience. Bria was very very "kuai" throughout the shaving. Think she was too mesmerized by the buzzing sound of the shaver. But it felt horrible because firstly, they never put a towel of bib around her to prevent the hair from falling all over her clothes. Secondly, I never see them sterilize the shaver, although they claimed they did beforehand. And lastly, my heart broke into pieces as I watched the shaver go over her tiny head and all her beautiful hair falling off. Now Bria is botak, and she looks soo different! Her cradle cap is even more obvious now. It is SOOO damn disturbing when I see her head like that, but there is nothing I can do! Sigh.. Even K also said he heart pain.. = (

They said shaving her hair will enable her to grow healthier and more beautiful hair. All this had better be worth it! Now I can't wait for her hair to grow!

Bria's new socks

2010-04-24T18:38:00.002+08:00

I bought 7 pairs of these Mary Jane socks for Bria. They're soo cute! Now she has socks of 7 different colors to match her clothes!

Double Humiliation

2010-04-21T00:49:00.000+08:00

I took half day off from work today cause of an appointment I had with the dermatologist at Changi Hospital.

About a month ago, this huge ass pimple on my chin turned into acne, and when i applied this Clinique acne cream on it, it became inflamed. So i went to the polyclinic and got a referral letter to Changi Hospital.

Anyway, before i went for my appointment, I met up with my Japanese customer for lunch at Great World City Crystal Jade.. Spent the whole hour talking about our children and sharing tips on child care etc.. This was the same guy that had shown interest in me for some time. He often send me text messages saying things like he is very happy to meet me, he will be happy to be my husband etc. It was harmless so I never really think much about it. Besides, i never reply. But today, it got bad. First, he wanted to send me to the hospital. Even though his office is just across Great World and Changi hospital is all the way in the east. Then when we were riding down the escalator, he stand so close to me that his arm touch mine, and he brushed against my buttocks a few times. And because the escalator is only so big for the two of us, I had to stand slightly sideways at an awkward angle. He walked me to the entrance to wait for the shuttle bus, then kept standing so close to me! I hopped on the first bus that came, even though it was the wrong one! Sigh.. Looks like I cannot meet him anymore.. Either that, or I have to meet him together with K.. If not who knows what he might do next. So daring this Japanese man! And he is married with a son! It's not worth it to have this kind of customer.. I rather not have the money.. So that was the first humiliation of the day... = (

At the hospital, the doctor prescribed some cream for my acne and some clinical sunblock to prevent further pigmentation. I will need to go back again in 2 months' time. After the hospital, i went home, spoke to Bria for a while, before heading to Takashimaya for my free haircut at Kim Robinson..

It's been at least 3 years since I last cut my hair at Kim Robinson. Mainly because it is too expensive and high class for me. So when i knew they were giving away free haircuts, i jumped at the opportunity.. I am full of compliments for them now! Firstly, their outlet at Taka is SOOOO nice!! When i went inside, I felt like I was going into a spa rather than a hair salon! Plus, they served an extensive list of beverages from cappuccino to milo. I had iced honey lemon.. 2 glasses some more! = P My hairstylist was also very professional. He did a good job, not like anyhow do just because it's free.. Plus, they are not pushy at all. When i was done, they just ask if i want to buy some hair wax or hair accessories. They have very nice hair clips and hair band. But one black hairband $90 loh, so i just told them i am not interested. And they never ask me again. Lastly, they gave me a lot of discount vouchers for my next hair appointment. I left an extremely satisfied customer. So now, my hair is short, and super light!Although i will need some time to get used to my new look.. Think K will freak out when he comes back from KL on Thursday.. = )

After my haircut, i headed home, picked Bria and C up and headed to Parkway for dinner and some grocery shopping.. On the way home, we took a bus cause the taxi queue was ridiculously long. On the bus, nobody gave us their seat for me at first, even though i was carrying Bria in my baby carrier and wobbling unsteadily. One bus stop later, i got a seat beside this auntie. She started making small talk, asking me how old Bria was and who is taking care of her etc.. She kinda pissed me off, cause she kept asking why I engaged a maid to take care of my baby instead of a nanny or an older relative.. It's like she don't understand when I told her I had no choice cause all our parents are working. She just kept harping on how small Bria was. Not like most 4 month old babies she's seen.. She said maids don't know how to feed babies properly. I told her nannies are also outsiders so no difference.. Sigh.. on hindsight, i don't even know why i bother to explain my situation to her. I finally found out that she is a nanny, cause she told me the babies she took care of are all very healthy and chubby. I couldn't take it anymore, so I said to her: "I think my baby is very cute an very healthy. And the doctor thinks likewise too." After that, she kept quiet and pretended to sleep. So irritating..

What a bad day! Both Bria and I suffered some form of humiliation today.... We miss K!! = (

To buy or not to buy...

2010-04-14T23:02:00.000+08:00

My in laws came over for dinner yesterday. K and C prepared baked pasta with minced pork, mushrooms, tomato sauce and lotsa cheese.. We also had grilled salmon and mushroom soup.. Yummy..

Baked pasta and grilled salmon

We had a long discussion on finances, talking about what stocks to buy, and also went through the whole list of houses we have viewed so far.. The pressure is on for us to get a house quickly cause property prices are going north and doesn't show any signs of stopping! Can't wait to move into a nice new house with Bria! = )

Bria is 4 months old!

2010-04-14T22:55:00.001+08:00

Bria turned 4 months on Monday. She celebrated her 4 months first with a 5 in 1 vaccination at the polyclinic, after a 2 hour wait in the queue with Daddy and C. Then subsequently, she had a slight fever. Poor girl!

I couldn't really concentrate on my work the whole day. Kept messaging and calling K to ask him how Bria was doing. Still couldn't believe they had to wait more than 2 hours just to get the stupid vaccination. K told me that the doctor they saw that day was very good. Cause he know I already condemned all the staff at the stupid polyclinic. The doctor was an Indian lady and she provided a pretty good consultation session, giving advice to K on Bria's cradle cap, and prescribing some medication for her eczema.

Bria's temperature kept fluctuating. When I reached home that day, I took her temperature and she was okay. So K and I brought her to the airport to really celebrate her 4 months with her. We went to the Terminal One food court for dinner, then brought her to the viewing gallery to see the aeroplanes... She seemed to enjoy it cause she did not fuss at all. Then before we left the airport, we brought Bria to a few toy shops and played with her a bit with all the soft toys.. = )

Some photos we took at the airport:

Yesterday, I worked from home so that I could be with Bria and monitor her temperature. It was a priceless day. I missed my maternity leave days when I can be with Bria the whole day and still get paid!

ABC

2010-04-12T00:16:00.000+08:00

While playing with Bria in the car this afternoon, I saying the alphabets to her..

Instead of the usual "A for Apple", i thought of the following: "A for Adeline", "B for Bria", "C for Charina", which is essentially all our names! But I got stuck cause K's name is starting with K. Then C said: "D for Daddy!" So now our family has our very own ABC.. haha..

My helper is so smart.. = )

Weekend with Bria !

2010-04-12T00:11:00.000+08:00

Ever since i started my first day of work on Monday, i have been hoping and hoping for the weekend to come..

But before i know it, the weekend is over! So sad.. = (

However, K and I did had a good weekend. Spent lots of time with my baby Bria!

On Saturday morning, K and I brought Bria and C to Suntect City to attend this Android workshop organized by HTC. We were there at 10am so there wasn't many people in the mall.. C and Bria sat at a ToastBox near the workshop room for about an hour of so while K and I attended the seminar. It's basically a workshop by HTC and M1 promoting the new HTC Legend.. We had signed up for the seminar after hearing that they were giving away a $500 discount voucher off the handphone. Plus, K told me only 20 over people had signed up so our chances were pretty high.

The workshop was crap and not really informative at all. But I think it's a really good marketing gimmick. Cause everyone had a chance to win the discount voucher. Basically, they put in vouchers into a big plastic box, and went around the room for everyone to draw one from the box. The lowest is $50, highest is $500, so everyone will get something for sure. The catch is we have to purchase the phone on the same day in order to get the discount. K and I both got the $50 voucher. After doing our sums, plus the fact the my Samsung is driving me crazy these days with its frequent auto shut downs, I bought the phone. So now I have a new phone to play with! = )

The new HTC Legend. I got the same color.. They call it dark brown, but it's just plain BLACK to me!

I dressed Bria up for the trip to Suntec, and got SOOO MUCH attention from strangers.. I literally rolled on the bed laughing that morning after I bathed Bria and put this headband on her head. My baby looks SOOO adorable!! I couldn't stop kissing her after i see her with her new hairstyle.. LOL.. = )

Bria @ home with her new hairstyle

In the car on the way to Suntec..Mummy also wear pink color hairband!

Sitting at the ToastBox (where she got lots of attention) after the seminar

                           My favourite shot!

                   Happy family.. <3

After the seminar, we went to Food Republic for a quick lunch.. Managed to find a table amongst the crowd. I had very nice nasi lemak.. Initially, this Indian family wanted to share the table with us.. But in the end, i think they find it too crowded cause we had Bria in her Stokke, plus K, me and C..   So when they found another empty table, they moved over..

We headed home after lunch, and following that, it was just K and me on a house viewing spree... We viewed about 5 houses on Saturday, then went home and bring Bria to my Grandma's house for dinner.

On Sunday morning, we brought Bria to east coast for a short walk before having breakfast at Macdonald's.. She was so "kuai" for the whole time I could actually finish my entire Big Breakfast while carrying her in my Baby Bjorn carrier! = )

We went shopping for groceries at Parkway after that before heading home..

For the past 2 days, I've also been bathing Bria every morning.. Felt so deprived that I couldn't bathe her the whole week! While drying her after her bath, I decided to play with my new phone, and took a photo of her.. So sexy right my baby! haha..

Weekend with Bria

2010-04-10T00:18:00.000+08:00

K and I had the whole weekend planned already.. and we will be bringing Bria out for quite a lot.. Hopefully she can tahan and not fuss too much..

I already planned what Bria will be wearing.. In fact, just today, i bought a really cute soft headband for her.. Saw a baby wearing it yesterday, and was so determined to get one today.. Walked the whole Vivocity but couldn't find it, so asked around, searched online and got it!

Here is a picture of the headband.. I bought the pink and red non lacy ones.. Bria will look absolutely gorgeous with it!

My baby is growing...

2010-04-10T00:04:00.000+08:00

Bria is going to be 4 months old in 2 days time.. Time flies.. My baby girl is growing!!

She has passed several developmental milestones now.. She can hold her head for a few minutes while on her tummy, she makes conversation by cooing and smiling, she locks her knees when we hold her and make her stand up, she tries to hold her own milk bottle with much more strength now (although she did that around 1 month old).

Today, she pulled on the toy on her Fisher Price Aquarium swing. She actually hang on to the toy for quite a long time, while holding her towel in the other hand.. So cute!!

MIL's Birthday Dinner

2010-04-09T00:22:00.000+08:00

K and I had dinner with my in laws at Sushi Tei East Coast today..

It was supposed to be my mom in law birthday dinner, but end up she footed the bill instead.. Sigh...

Initially, we wanted to bring Bria along, cause I wasn't too keen on NOT seeing or playing with her the WHOLE day. Plus, dinner was at East Coast, so I thought it'll be nice to bring Bria for a stroll by the beach after dinner.. I already don't get much time to see her because of work, so after work, I didn't want to go anywhere else except home. So when K told me about dinner plans today, I wasn't too happy. K says I am being dramatic cause it's only 1 day, but he doesn't understand how i feel...

ANYWAY, we were all packed and ready to go when Bria started to fuss really badly. So in the end, we didn't bring her for dinner but left her at home with C instead.

Over dinner, we talked about going for a family holiday in USA on my birthday next year. Will be bringing Bria along. By then, Bria will be 2 years old, so hopefully it will not be too difficult! Can't wait already!! = )

Shopping Spree

2010-04-09T00:12:00.000+08:00

I was trying on some of my office clothes yesterday night and realized that most of my blouses cannot be buttoned and my skirts / pants don't fit anymore.. The ones that do fit requires me to wear them really high up instead of at my waist level, which means i can no longer tuck in my blouses / working shirts.. Bummer..

Sooo.. today, I went shopping during my lunchtime. My boss worked from home today, so I was a free man! Bought 2 tops and 1 black pants from my favourite Southhaven. All the salesgirls there were no longer familiar to me.. I was attended to by a SUPER pushy China girl.. She nearly drove me nuts! When I told her I don't like the design of a certain top or pants, she keep insisting that it's nice la, unique la... I kept saying NO, until i buay tahan. So i look at her in the eye and said: "It may be very nice to you, but I don't like it." Stupid girl..

I also bought a pair of black heels from Charles & Keith. Most of my work shoes also don't fit properly anymore, so i thought i would buy an open toe pair to show off my pedicure! = ) I love the quirky design!

I left the office early at 5pm today since i got nothing much to do, and went to perm my eyelashes.. Not it's super curly.. look a bit fake.. hopefully it will look more natural in a few days time!

Blur mummy

2010-04-08T00:14:00.000+08:00

I am so blur these days..

When i went back to work on Monday, I kept using my door access card to tap on the elevator security device. I forgot I had the lift pass instead. So ended up looking like an idiot tapping a card that obviously doesn't work. Then i forgot to get a cable lock from my IT department, and left the office with my laptop unlocked.

Then today, as I was rushing home, I boarded the train that was going in the wrong direction. Took me 3 stops before i realized i was going the wrong way and alighted...

Hai.. what is happening to me?

Baby woes

2010-04-08T00:11:00.001+08:00

My blog is not really a diary. Some secrets are so so dark it's best kept hidden.

Plus, i seem to be running out of time to blog these days. After spending one whole day at the office, all i want to do when i knock off is to fly back home to my baby... Sad thing was, for the past 2 days, Bria doesn't seem to want me.. Everytime I carry her, she starts to fuss and cry. Even though she was fine before i carried her. Then when C carried her, she went quiet. It got to me so bad that i cried yesterday. I know Bria probably doesn't know what is happening, but she hurt me so much but behaving this way. I missed her so much the entire day, left the office on the dot and actually rushed back home so i can kiss and hug her. before she takes her evening nap at 7plus. And she doesn't want me. I guess the situation yesterday got worse cause i had a really bad headache. I was looking for comfort in my baby, but i got rejection instead.

K didn't even know i was crying in my bedroom.. He kept yelling from the living room asking me to have my dinner. And when i didn't respond, he didn't even walk in to check on me.. Just continued to sit in front of his stupid computer, which is basically what he had been doing the entire day. Anyway, everything just accumulated, I broke down, quarreled with K (for paying more attention to his stupid computer than me and Bria) and felt miserable the entire night. This sounds silly, but i was actually angry at Bria for doing this to me. I was so sure that I will stay out after work since nobody wants me or would miss me at home anyway. But I still rush home to see my baby when the clock struck 530pm today.. =)

Back in the rat race!

2010-04-08T00:02:00.000+08:00

I am officially a working mom now.. Went back to work on Monday, and was quite disappointed when i arrived in the office and saw that it was 90% empty. All the sales people were at Shangri-La attending some training course on contract management. I had anticipated a warm welcome by my colleagues and even thought I would have a welcome back lunch treat. I even brought along Bria's photo album, excited to show everyone my new bundle of joy. But i was greeted by a cold and empty office. Even my new boss was not in the office when i arrived. She arrived half an hour later, then went to see a doctor and took MC for the rest of the day. I ended up spending the whole day at the IT department getting my laptop fixed and set up. Didn't do any work at all.. So all in all, my first day was a disappointment.

I did however got a baby gift and a card from my Kim my "indirect" boss. She is always so sweet and thoughtful. The gift was a Carter's headband and blouse that was too big for Bria now. That was probably the only thing that made me happy on my first day back to work.

Yesterday, I had a lunch treat from Emily at Earle's Swensen's. Was accompanied by 2 Japanese colleagues who kinda only had each other as lunch khakis usually.. I had the baked salmon with herb crust and free flow servings at the salad bar. It was a good and healthy meal. My new boss was still on MC.

It's been 3 days now.. and i still hate taking the MRT to work everyday. This morning, I had to stand beside this inconsiderate man who can still read his newspapers when the train was already jam packed with people. if he didn't HAVE to read his stupid papers, he could have moved in more and give others more space. I was so pissed I kept using my handbag to poke him, hoping that he will get irritated and put away his papers and move the hell away. But he was so damn oblivious to his surroundings. Later on, he managed to find a seat, sat down and continued reading his papers. The front page of his paper fell halfway off and kept caressing this guy who was standing in front of him. The guy stared at him for a while but gave up halfway. It took such a long time before this stupid man realized his front page had fallen off. Sickening man!

Today is my 3rd day at work, and still no welcome lunch treat from my colleagues. Not even from my new boss. She is back from MC today, but no mention of giving me a treat. Not only that, I haven't seen my personnel announcement for my new role. AND, not all the people in my new team knows I am in their team. Apparently, my new boss didn't say anything to them yet. What lousy leadership management! Also, a colleague from sales invited me for free Ben & Jerry's yesterday, then he got busy so he said postpone to today. But no news again today cause everyone's busy as usual. So I just pretend he never said it lah.. And to top everything off, I still don't know exactly what i have to do in my new role. Hai... so far, work life has been quite bad for me.. And I miss Bria so much.. I am so envious that K gets to work from home and see her as and when he likes!! Me? I can only look at her photograph on my desk and smile at the picture..

Penang Trip

2010-04-07T00:37:00.000+08:00

I spent my Good Friday long weekend in Penang with K and 11 other folks from the Miata Club.

We met up at 430am Friday morning, and drove for 14 hours before we reached Penang. It was crazy shit.

By the time we arrived at Traders Hotel, everyone was shagged out. Especially those who only had one driver, like K... Actually, i think K won't let me drive his precious Miata even if i have a driver's license. = )

For the next 2 days, we ate many plates of Char Kuay Teow and other local favorites like prawn mee and Penang laksa. I had my favorite banana Apom as well, although it was cold by the time i had it cause I had to wait an hour for my order. So i went back to the hotel, and collected it about an hour late cause i was just too dead beat. Almost didn't want to go and collect if not for the fact that i had already paid!

We also met up with the Penang Miata club people, who took us for supper, lunch, buy some local produce and an exciting drive along the winding mountain B roads. We also celebrated our club President's birthday with a surprise mini party.

These were all good.. Except for the following major bummers:

Both K and I were so tired and didn't really have enough rest. Had a late night on Friday after the 14 hour drive. Saturday was the only day we had to do stuff. Wanted to do massage and go shopping, but ended up buying lots of food back to the hotel to eat, then sleep. Left Penang on Sunday morning for a 12 hour drive back to Singapore.
Weather wasn't too kind. It rained on both Saturday and Sunday when we were there.
I missed Bria terribly for the whole weekend. By the time i reached Singapore on Sunday at 830pm, she was already asleep so I was SUPER disappointed that i didn't get to play with her or hold her... What made it worse was that I would be returning to work the next day so Sunday night was kinda like the "last chance" to really play with her before i go back to work for good.. = (

I don't think i will want to do such a long drive anymore. At least not without Bria..

One of the many shots taken during our 14 hour drive to Penang

A Miata Kodak moment along the mountain B roads with the Penang Miata Club folks!

Purple color chilli padies!

Lunch break

Penang fried hokkien prawn mee

One of the MANY plates of Penang Char Kueh Teow we had

K's Penang Asam Laksa

My absolute favorite, only-found-in-Penang Banana Apom!!

Birthday celebration for our president!

Huge ass turtle float selling for RM90 at the night market. I wanted it so badly!!

Bria's first plastic card

2010-04-05T23:45:00.000+08:00

Bria has her very own first plastic card.. And it is none other than the National Library Board card.. haha..

Now i can borrow more baby books for her to read! = )

Penang Here I Come!

2010-04-01T23:35:00.002+08:00

K and I will be driving up to Penang in 4 more hours..

Meeting the MX5 gang at 430am to set off together.. I am SOO going to sleep in the car!

Really excited about this trip. It's kinda like my last trip before i start work on Monday!

Sigh.. quite sian that i am going back to work so soon.. Hopefully i can get pregnant again soon and go on maternity! haha..

Job Interview

2010-04-01T23:34:00.001+08:00

After a long discussion with K, I decided to drop my interview with Popular next Wed.. K said I should just stay on with EM cause it's more stable, especially since we are going to try for another baby soon..

I guess it won't be too nice if i joined a new company and then get pregnant soon after.

Yesterday, i was sending emails to my Japanese customer, and jokingly asked him if he has vacancies in his company.. He got serious and offered me a job. He was even willing to pay my asking salary to be his secretary! Haha.. K got a bit angry at me cause this Japanese guy is a bit "ti koh" one.. Always asking me to have lunch with him. Our friend used to work for him, and he actually asked her to marry him. When she refused, he started to treat her like shit..

This of course made me think twice about working for him. Then again, he is married now, and he knows i have a baby.. So i guess he won't ask me to marry him then. On one hand, i am so attracted to the idea of having a higher pay and doing easy work that doesn't require OT or bringing work home, so i can spend more time with Bria. But on the other hand, I am worried about the unknown and also the idea of having a boss who is obviously hiring me based on my looks. Sigh.. I guess if i am really lazy and have not much integrity, i should go ahead, accept his offer and enjoy a higher salary and a boss who is SURE to look out of me.... = )

Happy April's Fool Day!

2010-04-01T23:18:00.000+08:00

Here's how i spent my April Fool's Day today:

This morning, i had planned to bring baby for her check up at Thomson, since i had an appointment with my gynae as well. So i called the Paedi's clinic, and found out that they are only open half day today. So in the end, i did not bring Bria for her check up.

Instead, i went with K to Ubi to buy more bubble wrap to wrap up the props we dismantled yesterday. Drove the MX5 there and realized the boot was too small to hold everything we had bought. We had to balance the carton boxes on our heads while driving home.. Here's a shot of K looking funny driving with the carton box on his head.. haha..

After lunch at home, I went for my free facial at Beyond Beauty. This was the most painless and enjoyable facials I've had so far. The extraction was painless, and the entire facial treatment was just super nice. I had their "Oxygen Treatment". Basically, i had small but strong gushes of pure cool oxygen spraying against my face, plus massage, and this cooling mask with more oxygen spraying on my face for a full 15 mins! How rare is it to get pure oxygen right?! So while the oxygen was being sprayed onto my face, i kept breathing in deeply to get as much of the pure oxygen in my lungs as possible! = )

K came to pick me after my facial, and sent me straight to Thomson for my check up. Waited about an hour there before i was called in. Ah Lim did the usual check up and a pap smear for me. While he was doing the ultrasound, I was actually hoping to see another baby inside my womb. But there was nothing. Felt quite disappointed! Anyway, I asked Ah Lim and he said i can resume my exercise regime and go for full body massage liao.. can't wait!!

Took a bus back from Thomson after my check up, and had K pick me up from the bus stop cause it's quite far from our house. In the car, K asked me about my check up, and I decided to fool him and tell him I'm pregnant again.. My first and only April fool's "stunt" today! K didn't know whether to believe me though, he was like smiling and asking me "really ah?" several times. I think a big part of him wanted to believe it was true... = )

When i reached home, I saw that Bria's new toy had arrived. I had bought this Fisher Price Kick and Play Piano via vPost USA like 2 weeks back. Was just about to email SingPost and chase for it.

Anyway, kind of regretted buying it liao. Firstly, the stupid compartment for batteries is so damn hard to unscrew. Secondly, the music volume is so damn soft. Cannot hear anything once Bria starts to cry. And last but not least, Bria doesn't seem to know how to kick the keyboard. She kept kicking the animals on top of the keyboard. So in the end, we have to let her sit up so she can see the keyboard and then we press the keyboard for her instead. She loves looking at the colorful animals and listening to the music like this! = )

"Chor Gang"

2010-04-01T22:51:00.001+08:00

After pampering myself yesterday afternoon with a massage and pedicure, K brought me along to do some "Chor Gang" (rough chores) in the evening at Page One Vivocity. The Moleskine notebooks he was selling had a month long event for their new "Passions" range, so yesterday K had to tear down all the posters and dismantle the props on display at Page One. We stayed there from 830 to 10pm dismantling the props and posters and rearranging the notebooks that had all been messed up by consumers who don't care less.

It was quite fun though, just the 2 of us husband and wife doing this kind of work. I even got to push one of those trolleys and went into the loading lift to load and unload the props.

Here's a picture of me taking a break and posing with the huge ass Moleskine notebook mock ups on display. = )

Another nice pedi..

2010-04-01T00:45:00.000+08:00

I went all the way to Douby Gaut today for a pedicure.. Spa Elements was having a promotion for their classic pedicure.. It was going for $28 which is pretty cheap. So i decided to give it a try.

I also did their 30 minute Radio Frequency Massage. Basically had this hot thingie rolling around my tummy for 30 minutes. It's supposed to make me slimmer and reduce my stretch marks. But of course one session is not enough la.. So after my session, i was invited into a room to speak with one of their consultants..

Even before the consultant sat down, i said: "Can i just pay and leave?" So she LL bo pian had to let me go.. At the cashier's, she did one last attempt to persuade me to sign up for their package, even using her colleagues to psycho me, but i still refused. So proud of myself.. haha.. = )

So i left with a set of nice toenails without buying a hole in my pocket by signing up for any packages.. Can't stop admiring my toes now.. I love the nail art!! I think i am hooked on nail art now.. Was even thinking of taking photos of all my nail art so i can have a mini collection.. Die lah..

Sleeping on one side...

2010-04-01T00:37:00.000+08:00

Bria has been sleeping on her side for the past 2 nights now.. It's her new "pattern" now.. Problem is when she rolls back and lands on her back, she startles and starts crying..

She's behaving so much like an adult these days.. In fact, her sleeping position is exactly the same as K's.. with bolster in between legs.. haha.. = )

Job Interview

2010-03-30T14:37:00.002+08:00

Just got a call from Popular Bookstore.. They asked me to go for interview next Wednesday at 5pm.. Think i submitted my resume to apply for this position in their Operations department.

Apparently, they are comfortable with my asking pay.. So now the challenge is how to leave work by 430pm on Wednesday.. haha..

Mummy Woes

2010-03-29T00:49:00.002+08:00

Being a mummy so far has been more physically painful for me than mentally stressful..

It's ironic that the pain isn't from the child birth process, but what comes AFTER child birth. Seems like my back is totally gone now.. I keep getting back aches and sharp piercing pains in my lower back.. Probably side effects from the epidural.. Can't imagine i am going to take epidural again for my subsequent child. My back will be SOOO damn painful!

Then there's the side effects from the supplements i am taking to increase my breast milk. It does work, but the side effect is that it reduces my blood sugar level. So these days, I've been getting ALOT of giddy spells. Especially when i stand up and start walking after sitting down for a long time. Nowadays, it's getting worse. I get giddy standing up even though i sit down for only a short period of time! Sigh...

K and I spent the whole day with his family today. For lunch, we had the Restaurant Week set lunch at Espirada Robertson Walk. It was an okay lunch, but i loved their utensils!

The super long garlic bread for starters! &
Me enjoying the delicious potato & garlic soup

K's escargots and super delicious nougat for dessert!

After lunch, we went house viewing. Saw one 4-storey bungalow that both K and I absolutely loved at Punggol Seventeen. But it was way beyond our budget... Sigh..

Dinner was at K's uncle's house.. Brought Bria there and had everyone fuss over her as usual.. After dinner, K had to go to his customer's place at Takashimaya, so we brought C and Bria to Taka. I pushed Bria around in her new Stokke and brought her to some toy shops and played with her. She loves it! As for me, well, i was just soaking in all the attention that both my Stokke and adorable baby were getting from strangers.. = ) While walking around the stores, we went into a store selling furniture for children. I saw this really pretty bed set for little girls and fell totally in love with it. Total price is $4400 including mattress. It even comes with a matching cupboard that's sold separately. I am SOOO going to get Bria a bed like this! Think i will want to sleep with her too if she has this bed! = )

Here's a video of Bria in her Stokke and playing with her toy while waiting for her daddy. At one point, her pacifier came off. She tried to open her mouth and reach it but failed, so she used her hand and pushed her pacifier into her mouth! It was such a priceless moment! Too bad i didn't capture that on video..

Baby Bjorn

2010-03-29T00:28:00.001+08:00

Ever since Bria's neck became more steady, i have been wanting to try carrying her in my Baby Bjorn facing out.

I finally did that yesterday. And Bria loves it! She kept looking around her, ever so curious.. = )

I love my Baby Bjorn carrier!

Chatty Bria

2010-03-29T00:08:00.000+08:00

I took an entire day to upload this video of Bria "talking" on You Tube.

She just kept talking non stop for more than 2 minutes.. It's been a while since she last did that..

My baby is SOOOO adorable!! = )

Miata Photoshoot

2010-03-28T00:46:00.000+08:00

K and I woke up at 530am this morning to go for the Miata Photoshoot at Republic Boulevard.

When we arrived, there were already a few cars parked there.. So we mingled around, had breakfast and waited for the full force to arrive.. We were there from 630am till 9am..

Here are some of my amateur shots:

From 630am...

Our social events hostess Mag arranging all sorts of buns for our breakfast..

Group photo. I had to climb up a scaffolding to capture this. Nearly got stopped by the Bangladesh workers there!

Front and back shots

K had his share of fun when he joined the guys and took our Miata for a spin (and many drifts)!

Seminar Craze

2010-03-28T00:31:00.000+08:00

K and I attended 2 seminars over the past 2 days.. On Thursday, we attended this Young PAP talk at NTUC Income Center on "Long Term Strategies for Singapore's Economy".. They had 2 MPs, and a NUS Professor from Department of Public Policy to give the talk.. Yes, K is a member of the Young PAP, but the only reason i wanted to go was for the free buffet dinner.. haha.. But the seminar proved to be an interesting experience.

While having our food in the lobby, we saw a few aunties who looked like they were in their 40s coming for the talk.. I thought it was for Young PAP, but K said since the "old PAP" is already in his 90s, the Young PAP cannot be too young... haha..

During the seminar, i learnt that our population is now 4.9million, of which only 2.9m are in active workforce, of which 1m are foreign workers. And, we are short of 20K babies every year in order to totally remove the need for foreign workers in the future. And, we have 160K Singaporeans who are based overseas. Why am I not in this 160K???!

My favorite was the Q&A session. We had a few queer characters asking the funniest questions.. The whole seminar was supposed to be on strategies to improve Singapore's economy, but somehow got diverted to defense and National Service. There was this young chiong-ster looking guy who introduced himself as being from the alcohol industry. He asked the speakers if the government can consider making NS optional.. haha..

Then there was this middle aged China looking man, who came up and asked why foreigners who come to Singapore has to do NS if they become PR. If Singapore do that, they will never be able to attract the top foreign talents..

Then there was another chiong-ster looking guy who suggested that Singapore developed a happiness index like that of Butan's so we can have more work life balance. When one of the speakers rejected this idea, he just burst out saying: "So basically Singapore have no work life balance lah?" Hilarious..

This afternoon, after the Miata photoshoot, K and I attended another seminar organized by Brand's Essence. We went with 11 other fellow from the Miata club. The seminar was about Traditional Chinese Medicine. There, i learnt about balancing the yin and the yang, what different chinese herbs are used for, and what are the benefits of various types of Brand's chicken essence. I love the speaker, some TCM doctor.. Very casual and funny man! In addition, we got free buffet lunch, and a goodie bag filled with Brand's Essence! The bummer was when we lef the NTUC Income building, the car park came up to $20.. So i guess there really is no free lunch in this world! = )

Bria and Mommy's New Toy!

2010-03-28T00:17:00.001+08:00

After more than 3 months of thinking and weighing of options, K and I finally bought Bria her baby stroller on Friday..

We got the Stokke Xplory!! K and I have been ding-donging between the Stokke and the Phil and Ted.. But eventually, i managed to convince K that I really really love the Stokke. In fact, it has been THE stroller i've always wanted, even before I had Bria. Initially, we wanted to get it at MotherCare cause they have this interest free installment plan. But all the MotherCare branches in Singapore were out of stock.

Then we thought of getting it from the USA.. But shipping alone costs more than S$500, so we figured it doesn't make sense. So eventually, i reserved one at Mothers Work in Great World City on Thursday. Wanted to pick it up on Thursday but didn't manage to. Then on Friday, still no time to pick up the stroller. The shop closes at 9pm, and K was still not home at 8pm. So i had to call the salesgirl and ask her to hold the stroller for me for another day. 5 minutes later, she called me and told me they were having a special promotion and selling the Stokke at more than 25% discount. Phhwaaah! I was so excited when i heard this cause essentially, the new price is about the same as if i buy it from the USA! I told K about it, and he rushed home to pick me, and we both rushed down just before the shop closed.

We took some time deciding between the red and the cream color, but decided to take the cream cause it looks more "high class".. haha. When we left the store, K said i looked like a klutz pushing a stroller around in the mall without a baby inside.. but no choice lah.. haha..

Upon reaching the carpark, we realized we couldn't fold the stroller, so we had to just chuck it in the back seat..

Finally managed to fold the stroller when I reached home and did some experimenting. I guess we still need a lot of practice before we can use the stroller confidently..

Nonetheless, I LOVE MY NEW STOKKE!! It's so damn cool loh! = )

And Bria loves it too! I pushed her around the house today.. Can't wait to bring her out in it!

107th Monthniverssary

2010-03-24T00:57:00.001+08:00

K and I celebrated our 107th Monthniverssary yesterday. For lunch, K brought me for Taiwanese food at this little cafe near our house in Joo Chiat.

I had mee sua with Taiwan chicken cutlet, and this super delicious roll with egg and pork floss...

Then for dinner, we had Vietnamese at a little cafe in Joo Chiat (again).. The food was good, but I felt super uncomfortable the entire time cause the place was packed with Vietnamese hookers and their pimps.. Sigh.. we should have come in the day time instead of at night..

Time flies.. K and I were discussing where we should go for our 10 years anniversary in June this year. Thinking of a nice romantic beach resort either in Bali or Koh Samui.. I wanted to go to Australia but don't think i can bear to go too far away or for too long from my baby.. Can't wait to start my research soon!! = )

My KL Weekend

2010-03-23T23:59:00.000+08:00

Our KL trip over the weekend was quite a tiring one.. and actually below my expectation. I had thought i would really enjoy myself, but i didn't.. It was still a good trip, just that i didn't enjoy it as much as i thought i would.

Firstly, the free apartment that we stayed at was lousy. There were renovation works everywhere, so it was super dusty. The renovation works also made it really troublesome to get in and out of the building. Plus, the room isn't anything fantastic. It's like an old 3 room HDB flat with only one toilet. We went with K's auntie and her colleague, so 4 of us had to share one toilet. In addition, the bed and pillows were not comfortable at all. On the first night, i didn't sleep well cause K turned the air con to 18 degrees and the fan to maximum, so i nearly froze to death.. = ) Then on the second night, i also didn't sleep well because of the super lousy pillow. Plus, i think i missed Bria..

Secondly, the 2 meals that i had been longing SOOO much for were disappointing. My favourite Korean restaurant didn't serve pancakes and potatoes for their side dishes anymore, and the "high quality" Japanese buffet wasn't all that nice after all. Although i gobbled down lots of salmon sashimi, cod fish, coconut juice and lots of Haagen Daz ice cream! Ironically, the best food i had were those road side stalls' wanton mee and our lunch at this Cantonese restaurant just before we left KL..

Our delicious lunch before we left KL (clockwise):

Kampong Chicken in Herbal Wine, Steamed Seaweed Beancurd with Minced Pork, Water Chestnut and Mushrooms, Loh Han Chye & Hot Plate Tang Hoon!! Yum Yumm...

And lastly, I wanted very much to go for massage and pedicure. But we ended up only doing foot massage. Cause K's auntie wanted to go property viewing. K's uncle and other auntie both bought a condo unit at Pavilion, and so the motivation for his auntie to go property viewing. We did see some rather nice units though.. and I was actually very tempted to buy. It's so cheap! S$800K can buy a super big and nice 3-bedroom condo smack in the middle of KL city! That's about the same price for a 5 bedroom HDB flat in Redhill.. Sigh.. Things in Singapore are so expensive! So anyway, because of all these property viewing, we didn't have any time left for my pedicure.

So overall, it was quite a disappointing trip. Don't think i will be going back to KL anytime soon! Now looking forward to my Penang trip with the MX5 guys in 2 weeks time!!

Elevator buttons inside the elevator to the Jap buffet restaurant.. So cool right!

One of the condominiums we saw. This one has a individual swimming pool for each unit. Each apartment average about RM$3 - 4 Million.. VERY NICE!!

Bria Flips Over!

2010-03-23T23:34:00.002+08:00

Bria has been really fun to play with these days..

I've been trying to upload this video of her babbling non stop for more than 1 minute, but this stupid You Tube is taking ages to upload that video. So i gave up.

Here's a video of Bria flipping over from her tummy to her back.. At least i managed to get this one on You Tube!

Behaving like a mom

2010-03-18T21:27:00.000+08:00

I hate having people say to me: "Now that you are a mother, you must start to behave like one and be more mature"...

Not that anyone has told me that yet.. But it seems that society just expects people to behave differently once they become parents.. Well, I'm not going to.. I will still continue to have my fun, and bring out the child in me. If anything, having Bria has made me feel much younger, rather than more mature or older.

Who says being a mother means i have to act serious and mature all the time? A good mother will spend lots of time playing and talking to her baby. Which I did! = ) So with all the baby talk and cooing and playing, it's really hard for me to become serious! I just feel it'll be so fake if one moment i am playing with my baby all day and feeling like i am a child myself, and then the next moment, i have to pretend to be serious and act all grown up when i am talking to an adult.

My baby is going to have a really hip, happening and playful mommy.. haha.. = P

Happy Bria!!

2010-03-18T19:57:00.001+08:00

Just finished my dinner with K and C... Bria is happily asleep in her new swing and listening to her classical music.

C and I brought Bria downstairs for her evening walk just before dinner. It rained quite heavily today, so i didn't bring Bria onto the field. For the past few days, i have been bringing Bria onto the big open field in front of our block, and just run and swing her around, let her touch the lalang and see the mimosa, flowers etc. But the field here is so pathetic.. The grass is short, dry and there are so many bald patches. Some grass patches are even burnt because some stupid Chinese burnt their joss paper on the grass.. If I was in NZ with Bria, I will bring Bria to so many places to learn about nature! I will lie down on the grass with her, let her roll on the grass and admire all the sheeps and cows. Sigh.. I REALLY miss NZ!

I failed to make Bria laugh again today.. Maybe only C can make her laugh for now. And she is not always in the mood to laugh, cause C tried again today and failed. I will NOT give up! We did, however, make Bria smile alot today.. Here are some photos of Happy Bria....

Bria just woke up.. And C is now reading "The Very Lazy Ladybug" to her.. She is listening so intently and making little baby noises.. My baby is SOOO cute!! = )

Get-away

2010-03-18T01:45:00.002+08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I brought Bria to the airport to meet my ex-colleague from SATS.. Bria seemed to love going to the airport. I guess it's clean, quiet and very cool there, that's why.

We took the MRT to the airport. It was the first time for Bria, and she was so curious throughout the journey, focusing hard on her surroundings!

My ex-colleague and I caught up over iced milo and hot tea while C attended to Bria. It was rather nice.
I really miss working at the airport, and all my colleagues at SATS.. Sigh.. why SATS so hgiao cannot increase my salary. Otherwise i will definitely stay on.. haha..

K and I are going for a short holiday to KL this Friday. We got free accommodation so it was more like a "what-the-heck just go" attitude. It's gonna be an eating trip, so I'm really looking forward to it! The other side of me however, feels quite sad that I'll be leaving Bria at home for 2 ull days. It'll be the first time I go away so long without seeing her. I hope I can survive!

Job Hunting

2010-03-18T01:40:00.000+08:00

I resumed my cold calling last week, and got myself 5 meetings from 2 days of calling! That kinda boosted my morale. So i've been busy meeting all kinds of people these days. Met with Link Hotel, Tiong Aik, supposed to meet Amara Sentosa today but the lady went on MC. Lucky i didn't go all the way to Sentosa to meet her!

Tomorrow will be Hilton. Hopefully no more last minute cock up.

Sigh.. till now, there are no news of my job assignment when i return to work in 2 weeks time. Super upset at the way things have been handled so far by my HR and my supervisors. Think it's time to start searching for another job. K's cousin just got herself a job as an administrator at a financial institution paying her $4.2K a month. Maybe i should switch to the finance industry... = ) So without further ado, i sent out more than 50 resumes today.. While i am still on leave, hopefully someone will call me for an interview!

3 months and counting!

2010-03-18T01:34:00.000+08:00

Bria is 3 months and 6 days young! My baby has grown and changed so much over the last 3 months. = )

She has learnt how to babble, her head is much more steady now, K and I discovered she can flip herself over, and just today, we heard her first laugh! I finally managed to get a video recording of Bria babbling, laughing and also trying her flip. But YouTube's taking bloody long to upload my video so will upload it on my blog later.

Apparently, C has known for some time that Bria can flip over herself and laugh. But she told me that this morning's laugh was a rare one cause it was quite a long one. I'm quite disappointed that I wasn't there when Bria had all these "firsts"!

Upon Jasmine's suggestion, I decided to rent some toys for Bria to try out first before deciding whether to buy new ones. So i signed up with this rental company, and got Bria this Fisher Price "Aquarium Swing" with lights and music.

Bria doesn't really seem to like it so far.. She keep having this puzzled look on her face.. No smiles at all to show that she is excited and likes being on the swing. The swing DID, however, managed to swing her to sleep, which is a good thing I guess!

Bria falling asleep in her new swing!!

Mom & Dad Congress

2010-03-16T00:00:00.000+08:00

Another busy weekend! On Saturday, K and I attended a Mums' and Dads' congress at Fairmont Hotel . The congress was supposed to start at 12pm, but when we reached the hotel ballroom, there was a super long queue for registration. The whole registration process is so messed up and inefficient that I was really disappointed. No wonder they purposely call it the "FIRST" Mums' and Dads Congress. = )

It was time and money well spent i would say. Although most of the things they discussed about I already know, i also learnt some new things like doing body massage for babies.. I have been massaging Bria for 2 days since, and she loves it!

Plus, there were a lot of free goodies such as milk powder, diapers and lots of lotions etc.. There's even a buffet spread for tea break. And i must say the spread is very good, although the quality is average. Got fried noodles, cakes and desserts, chicken, pies, sandwiches. We definitely got back more than the $24 we paid for this congress.

K left during the tea break cause he was too tired.. so i attend the rest of the seminar by myself. Also managed to catch Zoe Tay and Darren Chin for this session where they shared their experiences as parents. Quite interesting...

Special guests Zoe Tay and Darren Chin Zoe looking radiant

Then on Sunday, I brought Bria to my dad's house, met his new maid, and then went for 3 hours of badminton. First hour at Joo Chiat CC with Pui and Gary, then the next 2 hours at the airport with Pui, Gary and my in laws. Brought Bria to the airport and had a tough time trying to convince my mother in law not to wear these leggings cause Bria hates to be warm. Plus there is no matching top for the leggings. I didn't want Bria looking "unmatched" in front of my friends! But she keep insisting cause she said the a/c at the airport is very cold. Sigh.. I suggested swaddling Bria if she's cold, and even complain to K.. But we both still lost to my mom in law. Bria eventually ended up with leggings.

Actually she still looked really cute lah, so not so bad.. haha.. Hated the cushion cover of the sofa at the airport though! Super ugly design...

Taka Baby Fair

2010-03-15T21:11:00.001+08:00

I went to the Taka baby fair last Friday.. Supposed to meet up with Jas and Ruby, but didn't cause Ruby fell sick. So in the end, K drove me to Taka. I went to the fair while he went for his Miata Club meeting in the Singapore Polo Club.

There were SO many pregnant women at the fair that i had to be extra careful when i walk around. Seeing all of them just made me miss my pregnancy.. haha.. =)

As usual, there weren't much stuff for me to buy at the fair. I ended up buying baby wipes, swaddling blanket, bottle detergent and diapers for Bria. I did see ALOT of toys that i want to buy for Bria, but they were all too expensive.. SIGH.. how i wish i can buy them all. Think Bria will have lots of fun playing with those toys!!

Maybe i will persuade K to buy one for Bria when i get my salary end of this month!

Fisher Price Jumperoo: Bria will love jumping around in this!

Precious Planet Piano:I love this one! Bria can kick the piano with her legs now, and play the keyboard with her fingers when she learns how to sit up!

This is also my favorite: Cause Bria loves to be swung. So this will be perfect in soothing her to sleep!

Missing the kiwis..

2010-03-15T15:57:00.000+08:00

I saw this article on TODAY newspaper today.

Sigh.. looks like i will be facing more competition now if i want to go back to New Zealand!

Don't push it

2010-03-15T15:50:00.001+08:00

I am THIS close to asking you to go f*ck yourself. So DON"T PUSH IT.

I love my new blog template!

2010-03-15T15:49:00.001+08:00

I love my new "Ninja Assassin" themed blog template! Kind of reflects the "assassin" mood i am in these days..

C Can Cook!

2010-03-11T23:21:00.001+08:00

C and I have been experimenting with dishes recently. 2 days ago, we made laksa for lunch, and i brought some over for Dad. He loved it. = )

Then yesterday, we had udon soup and edamame.. That turned out well too..

And today, we had chicken rendang for lunch.. I teased C and said she could go open a restaurant.. She can cook Japanese (sushi and udon), Singaporean and Malay food now! = )

Movie Minute

2010-03-10T15:10:00.000+08:00

Last night, K and I went to watch "Green Zone" starring Matt Damon. The story's about the real reason why US troops are in Iraq.. Not because Saddam's army has weapons of mass destruction, but because the US government wants to invade the country and get their resources: defence resources and their huge supply of black gold.. Makes me wonder if it's a reflection of what's happening in the real world..

We drove all the way to The Cathay @ Douby Gaut, went to the toilet and came out, took out the tickets, only to realize that the movie was at Cineleisure Orchard. We had to pay $1.20 car park for our toilet break. = )

By the time we reach the cinema in Cineleisure, the show had started. After the movie, we went back to the open car park opposite Cineleisure, only to see our car covered with bird shit. Sigh.. all these for a stupid movie!

Nipple Strike

2010-03-09T23:13:00.000+08:00

Bria has been going on a nipple strike for almost a week now..

She is refusing my breast totally, and doesn't want to breastfeed at all.. The minute i put her near my breast, she cries. Ever since this started, I have read many many articles on this. Some call it "Nipple Confusion" , and some call it "Nipple Strike". It is caused when the baby gets used to and prefers the bottle and pacifier, and so refuses the breast. Apparently, it is almost impossible to find a solution cause this is more a "Prevention is better than cure" kind of problem.

I am still trying to come to terms with this great loss. It is hard to describe just how hurt I am, and how badly i am handling this rejection from my baby. It's like I am mourning.. I really really miss having Bria on my breast.. And it doesn't help that my breast milk is decreasing because there is no baby to suck. Sigh... WHY??!!!

Heart Pain

2010-03-09T23:06:00.000+08:00

I was cutting Bria's fingernails few days back, and accidentally cut her right thumb.. She wailed so loud and i didn't even realized it until i saw the blood... I was SOO SOO angry at myself, and my heart ached like hell!

Even though Bria only cried for like 10 seconds and after that she started smiling to me, i was still very upset. Sigh... Why am i so careless??

Durian Ladies Night ???

2010-03-09T23:03:00.000+08:00

K and I drove past this durian store at Jalan Eunos called "Durian Lingers".. They have this banner promoting their Ladies Night promotion on Tuesday. Apparently, ladies get a 30% discount on their durians on Tuesday nights.

Even durian stalls have Ladies' Night now.. How interesting.. = )

Meltdown

2010-03-07T23:13:00.001+08:00

The weather has been really bad these days.. No rain, no wind, and super hot.

This afternoon, the temperature outdoors rose to 41 degrees. So freakin' hot! I don't even dare to bring Bria out in case she comes down with a fever. 41 degrees is like high fever loh! I want to go back to New Zealand!!

I had my first real exercise today after having Bria.. Played badminton with Gary and Pui at the Chinese Swimming Club in the evening. Sigh.. after months of no exercise, i have lost my stamina, and my badminton skills have deteriorated. And as if i haven't perspired enough during the day, i had to go for an indoor sport with not much ventilation, rather than stay home at night. Plus, now my whole body is aching. Tomorrow sure jia lat.. = (

Bria (not Dora) The Explorer

2010-03-07T23:04:00.000+08:00

Bria loves to explore her surroundings..

Her neck is also getting stronger and stronger nowadays.. Although she still cannot sit up on her own, she can strain her neck and lift it up when she is lying on her tummy.. Usually, when she does that, she will be crying cause she's hungry. But she did that today and remained quiet for a long time, so K and I took the chance to snap away!!

Dirty Hands!!

2010-03-07T22:58:00.000+08:00

My in laws came over for mahjong last Friday, and as usual, everyone got excited over Bria..

While me, K, my mom in law and sister in law played mahjong, my father in law played with Bria. He was reading newspapers one second, and carrying and touching Bria the next. I got quite upset. Tried to hint very subtly to K to ask his dad to wash his hands, but i think K didn't catch my hint. After all, it's quite difficult for me to hint with everyone at the mahjong table!

I really really dislike it when people touch or hold my baby without clean hands. What's worse is when i see it but i cannot say or do anything!! Hai... Maybe i should consider putting up a sign in my house that says "Please wash your hands before handling Bria", or write this on a post- it note and stick it on Bria ... = )

To have or not to have???

2010-03-07T22:53:00.000+08:00

I met up with my colleague from the US last week for dinner in Raffles City.. We had so much to catch up on! Office gossip mostly.. haha.. Sigh, until now, no one knows which department or position i will be in when i return to work next month. Last week, i got a letter from my company. When i saw the logo on he envelope, for some reason i was half afraid to open it, cause i was wondering if it might be a letter telling me i have been fired.. haha.. Haven't been back to work for so long, maybe boss don't need me to go back anymore! But fortunately, it was just my income tax computation.. = )

Anyway, while chatting with my US colleague, she mentioned that she and her brother are only 11 months apart. Haha.. apparently, her mother couldn't wait too long before having another baby. Plus, her first baby was born through C-section loh! Super "on" right?

K has been wanting to try for another one.. But i really don't want another baby 11 months younger than Bria! Anyway, it's already too late for that now.. haha.. But i don't mind having another baby, provided the whole process is as smooth and easy as Bria. Maybe i should go back to New Zealand again to re-create the same pregnancy and child birth experience! Sigh.. i was just looking through all my photos recently, and realized how much i miss traveling and how much i miss New Zealand!!! I want to go back there again!

Dancing with Bria

2010-03-07T22:45:00.000+08:00

I love dancing with Bria these days!

Recently, I got bored of listening to classical music on CDs and 92.8FM, so i switched to either Class 95 or Power 98 and then sing and dance to the songs with Bria in my arms.. She always falls asleep after that. Perfect. Not only do i get to exercise, baby gets to sleep too! = )

Bria sleeping in my arms while i danced..

I bought 3 more sets of clothing for Bria few weeks ago. Yesterday, she wore this green dress from Carter's which i bought. And incidentally, the Mon to Sun socks that K's sister bought was green color for Saturday. So matching right!! = ) Bria looks SOOO cute in her all green get up! I couldn't stop kissing her after i bathed and dressed her in this!