The Unbalanced Libra..

K left for HK this morning around 5am.. I had planned to go for a walk at Botanic Gardens with the New Mothers Support Group, but it started to rain later in the morning, so i stayed in bed.  I was so lazy to get up from bed (plus it's very tedious to do so nowadays) that by the time i got up to close the windows, my bedroom floor was already wet with rain.  Sigh...

I met up with B at Eunos MRT in the afternoon, and we spent the entire day shopping in Orchard Road, the latter of which has changed so much since i came back from New Zealand.. The whole place has been given a face lift with 2 new malls (Ion Orchard & Orchard Central) and one more coming up (Knightsbridge).  Not sure what the ultimate end game is for these developers cause all the retail shops are more or less the same.  B and I had soup spoon for lunch at Paragon before heading to Metro for the infant fair, which isn't much of a fair cause it's really just their baby department with discounts.

All in all, i indulged myself in retail therapy and bought myself 2 gorgeous dresses and 1 top from this HK label in Hereen, 1 tube top from Wisma, and a pair of really cute soft leather shoes from Ion Orchard.  Definitely not looking forward to my credit card bill this month! = P

After a whole day of shopping, i am now officially tired out.. For dinner, B and I met up with J at Clarke Quay for some Mexican food.. another craving of mine! = )

Tomorrow is another day of shopping, this time with my Mom and Sis, who took half day leave to accompany me.. This time round, we will be going to Marina Square!  I really hope my feet will be able to take all this walking!

B and J came over to my house for mahjong on Saturday.. We played 2 rounds, and then had mooncakes and tea at 1am.  We finally ended the game at around 230am that day.. I seem to be sleeping quite late these days... wonder if that will encourage baby to sleep late when she is born.. haha.. =)

On Sunday, K and I went over to my grandma's place for dinner. My sis was there too with her two girls, and both my parents as well.  After dinner, the girls and the neighbor's daughter went outside the house to play with their lanterns while i took turns with my sis and mom to watch over them.  It was a joy simply watching their delightful faces and innocent behavior.  The 3 of them also took turns to come over and touch my tummy, asking all kinds of questions that don't fail to amuse me.. = )

Overall, i had a wonderful mid-autumn this year!

2 days ago, K and I moved into one of the studio apartments at The Sail.  K suggested this, cause the apartment was supposed to be vacant all the way until 14 Oct.  That got me really excited, cause it means i can go to the aqua gym everyday!  I even asked some friends and my sister to come over to swim.

Then yesterday morning, K got a call from a customer who had arranged for someone to move into the apartment the next morning.  So we had to pack up the 2 week's supply we had just unpacked the day before, and move out.. So stupid right!  And i haven't even started to use the pool yet. There goes my plans!

Anyway, I met up with a Japanese customer yesterday for lunch.. finally after trying to "date" him out for the past 2 weeks!  He had suggested a quaint Japanese restaurant in Tanjong Pagar area, and we ordered so much food for the 2 of us.  I did the ordering at first, but somehow, when the dishes came, i saw some items that i did not order, cause my customer had spoken to the waiter in Japanese and ordered these additional items.  One of which was grilled puffer fish.. When i saw the dish, i was thinking: "Wah lau, he very smart hoh, go and order this dish super expensive one leh!"  I was a bit reluctant to try it at first, cause i heard that puffer fish is poisonous if not prepared properly, but for some reason, i tried one, and liked it so much i had more. It actually tasted like bah kwa!

In the end, my customer paid for the meal.  haha.. i had no choice, cause he was sitting just beside the door and he went out to get the bill quite quickly.  We were in this private room where we had to sit on the floor (Japanese style), so clumsy pregnant me could not stand up fast enough to fight for the bill with him.. So i just  let him pay loh.. haha..  The meal must have been really expensive!

In the evening, i met up with Corey for dinner at Tampines Mall.  We had a 2 hour dinner at Din Tai Feng, chatting over mainly pregnancy and motherhood.  It was the first time we met up since i left for New Zealand, and she got a shock when she first saw my bulging tummy.. = ) Being a mother herself, we had plenty to catch up on.. = )

When i got home, i told K about the puffer fish, and he got quite upset.. until now i still feel guilty and i have been apologizing to baby since.  Really hope she's okay and not affected by my selfishness and recklessness.. 

I got a call from AC Nielson on Wednesday.  Apparently, their client (some government agency) was so impressed by my active participation in the focus group discussion on Monday, that they are asking me if i would like to be interviewed by the Straits Times.  They said my photo will also be published on the newspaper.  With nothing much to do these days, I of course agreed to the rare opportunity. Maybe i can even take the change to complain about the service i am getting from some of the government agencies! = )

This would be the second time I would be appearing in the newspapers.. haha.. I think i should go and laminate the articles so i can show my baby next time.. = )

K and I were having dinner at home on Wednesday when i started to feel my whole body wobbling and my head went giddy.  At first, i thought it was because i was eating too quickly, cause we were rushing out.  But then K told me he could feel it too.  It was then that we realize that we were feeling earthquake tremors. 

It's actually the first time i've felt such strong tremors that actually lasted for quite long, about 3 minutes.  Plus, i've never felt it at home before.  Our bar counter lights were swaying like nobody's business for that 3 minutes.  I actually started to panic and wanted to go downstairs or hide in the bomb shelter, but K just stayed calm and asked me to finish up my dinner.. Plus, because we were rushing to go out, we had no choice but to finish our dinner quickly while the whole house was shaking.. haha.. = )

Sigh.. sometimes, i really pity the Indonesian people.. so many natural disasters seem to be occurring in their country.  Earthquakes lah, volcano eruptions lah, tsunami lah, forest fires lah..  And here in Singapore, we keep getting the side effects like the tremors and the terrible haze that has returned to haunt us yet again.  Si beh suay.. = )

Last week was the start of my third and last trimester - the final hurdle of my 9 month marathon.  For the past 2 trimesters, everything has been smooth sailing, with no symptoms and morning sickness whatsoever.  Everyone says i am very lucky.. = )  Baby Bria is 28 weeks old now, and she is moving around ALOT these days, especially at night.  She is now at that stage where I can feel her hiccuping inside me(which is so adorable!), and I can actually touch her when she moves and press her little hands and feet against my tummy.. Nothing else in this world can make me happier than being able to touch her.  I am also trying to talk to her everyday now.  And singing "ABC" and "You Are My Sunshine" to her..  Sometimes, she actually responds to what i say!

Now those are the positively amazing highlights of my final trimester so far.  The less wonderful experiences are also starting to come all at once, like it's trying to take revenge for my easy pregnancy for the last 2 trimesters.

For one, my memory seems to be getting worse.  I keep forgetting to bring my handphone out, and this has caused some inconvenience especially when i am going for sales meetings. Then I am having heart burns more and more frequently.  I have to eat really slowly nowadays or else i get heart burns.  Heck, even sitting down in my living room watching TV gives me heart burns!  I am also suffering from cramps.  Earlier this week, I was woken up in the middle of the night by severe leg cramps.  I couldn't move both m my legs at all and it was so painful that my groans woke K up and he had to jump out of bed to massage my feet..  And now, i am having cramps in my right elbow. Sigh..   Then my feet is also getting more and more swollen... AND, it is so damn painful now everytime i sneeze!  Problem is, i seem to be sneezing quite a lot these days, probably due to my allergies to dust and the stupid haze.  Last but not least, I am having trouble sleeping because of my increasingly bulging tummy.  So far, the most comfortable position for me is to lie on my back, but i have heard and read that sleeping on my back is not good for the baby, and it will cause very bad backaches.  I have also heard and read that it is best to sleep on my left side.  But i have tried and it is simply not comfortable at all.. Plus, I have so much difficulty and pain simply lying down on my bed that sometimes i feel so frustrated i feel like sleeping in a sitting position! Hai.. my baby isn't even born yet, and already i am deprived of good sleep!

I really hope all these will go away soon.. although many people told me it will only get worse or stay.  Nonetheless, i keep telling myself this is only the beginning of all the "sacrifices" i will have to make as a mother.  I'm sure when i finally get to meet my baby, all these will be worth it! = )

I had a sales meeting with Knight Frank on Monday morning to see if we could provide our creative design and advertising services to them.  Nowadays, i have been making cold calls to companies for this advertising and design company that C started, and  which K and I have a vested interest in.. In return, if a sale comes out from the company that i called, i get a commission.  It's actually quite fun, talking to strangers everyday, plus i also see it as letting Bria listen to my voice everyday so she can recognize my voice more easily when she is born.

C and I were thrilled when the lady we met at Knight Frank asked us to pitch for the design of their internal magazine.  Hopefully we will get the deal. = )

After the meeting, I basically spent the rest of the day in Novena.  K and I went to Thomson to see Dr Lim.  During my last check up, Dr. Lim had taken some samples from down under for a GBS test.  I called back on Friday to check the test results and found that i had bacteria / yeast infection.  So had to go down to collect medication and get the test report.  As usual, even though i called, and was told i don't need to take queue number, i still had to wait for almost 45 minutes before i got to see Dr. Lim.  He told me that i should avoid sugary foods (for the 3rd time! haha), and that it is quite common so not to worry..  Sigh.. looks like i REALLY must avoid all the sweet stuff that i have been craving for.. I just bought a whole tub of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream! = (

By the time we left the clinic, it was already  4plus.  K dropped me off at Novena Square after Thomson, cause i had a focus group discussion in Novena at 630pm.  So i ended up shopping there, and bought more clothes and a pair of new shoes from Charles & Keith. = )

The focus group discussion was conducted by AC Nielson, and i actually met my NUS friend from Marketing there.  What a coincidence.  There was free Nasi Lemak provided, and it actually tasted quite good! The focus group discussion took about 2 hours, and it topic was about e-government services and government websites.  I think among the group of 7 people, i spoke the most during the discussion.  After the whole thing, 2 mothers who were in the group actually commented that i seem to enjoy my pregnancy very much... = )

K came to fetch me after my focus group, and we headed home for more episodes of "24" at night.. = )