Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love,
the heartache, the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

- Author Unknown

Baby Lucas is one month old!

Baby Lucas turned one month old on Nov 26, and we had a mini celebration with family and close friends to celebrate.

Update - he's chubbier now, thanks to the constant supply of fresh milk from his cow (that's me :P). When I weighed him at home on my digital weighing scale, he was 3.8kg on Dec 1 - not a bad accomplishment.






Too bad he couldn't eat any of his cakes...


The star was mostly sleeping throughout the event, but attracted lots of "visitors" like an animal in a zoo (Baby Paul Frank outfit courtesy of Aunty Irene)

Moo moo time!

It's tough being a cow... now I realise that it's not easy committing to total breastfeeding, especially when you have a fussy and impatient big eater at hand who insists on being breastfed and then bottle-fed for each and every feeding session. So the routine now is: latch, bottle feed, pump; latch, bottle feed, pump; and the cycle repeats every 3 hourly. Oh, not forgetting the diaper change before every feed.

The drill gets worse during the night shift, for that's when I am all alone to handle a crying and impatient baby all by myself, while mindful to keep his crying to a minimum so as not to wake Pi up. Imagine that, plus the obligatory cuddling (which can sometimes stretch to as long as 1 hour or more if he's fussy!) before the lil' one will go to sleep, and then I have to quickly sneak in 15 minutes of pumping before he wakes up. On bad nights, when he's especially fussy and refuses to go to sleep, the whole cycle can drag on for 2 hours before I finally get to pump, and then in a few minutes' time, the next cycle starts again.

It's times like these that I ask myself, what have I gotten myself into, why did I give up my freedom for this? But one look at his peaceful and angelic face when he's fast asleep, and I tell myself, it's all worth it.

Now I appreciate mothers even more... ;)


One of my fav peeks courtesy of small O - feeding time!


2nd feeding in progress


And the contented sleep in the aftermath...

Photo update

Packing up and ready to go to the hospital:


Waiting in the labour ward:


Baby Lucas makes his first appearance:


Post surgery - getting my first glimpse of lil' Lucas at 4.30am after an eternity's wait:


More to come, the lil' one is crying for his milk now...

Welcome to the world!

Ok, it's been a while since I blogged, but I told myself that no matter what, I MUST jot down the whole birthing experience, so that it will remain etched in my mind no matter how caught up I am with motherhood and taking care of baby Lucas.

It was truly unexpected. Pi was telling me how his colleague told him that baby Lucas might decide to make his grand arrival any time now, but we were laughing it off and telling ourselves, "It's one month more to his EDD, surely it won't happen to us!"

Speak of the devil...

On Oct 25, a Sunday, I was having a sleepless night, tossing and turning in my bed as I was experiencing what I initially thought were cramps - probably a more serious case of Braxton Hicks, I told myself. The next day, we were due for our regular review with the gynae, so Pi mentioned to the doc that I was feeling unwell. Imagine our shock when she said, "I think you'd better do the c-sec sooon, probably today or tomorrow, as I don't think we can wait any longer."

Being one for orderliness, imagine my horror as I realized I had so many things left undone - thinking that I had one more week to the scheduled c-sec on Nov 3. The sterilizer was not cleaned, the milk bottles were not washed, worse still, I had not even begun to pack my hospital bag!

Once the decision was made to go for the surgery that very evening at 8pm, Pi and I rushed home to pack the hospital bag before making our way to the hospital full of fear of the unknown, at the same time, anticipation at finally being able to see Lucas in flesh and blood (literally!).

The rest, at least to me, is something that I'd rather forget (I mean the pain in the aftermath of the surgery, of course) but remains deeply etched in my mind. Here's a brief recap of the sequence of events:

- 5.30pm: Set off for Mt A and fetched Pi's mum on the way
- 6pm: Reached Mt A, checked into the delivery ward
- 6+pm: Nurses came back to prep me for the surgery - inserting the urine tube, shaving down there, whatnots; all this time, I just recalled how hungry I was, having not eaten or drank anything since 2pm that day
- 7+pm: Nurses came to wheel me into the delivery room, Pi was asked to wait for me outside
- 7.30pm: Saw the doc at the delivery room, who assured me that Lucas would be out by 8pm; last thing I knew was being knocked out after the anaesthetist said "have a good sleep"
- 8.45pm: Came to consciousness after what seemed to be a really weird dream; first thing that took over me was the pain from the c-sec wound
- 8.45+pm: Nurses wheeled me back to my room (lucky number 333), saw Pi on the way, in my groggy state I only remembered how happy I was to finally see him again; overcame by the most terrible pain I have ever encountered in my life when the nurses transferred me to my bed
- 9+pm: The family came by to visit me; I remembered clamoring to meet baby Lucas all the while but was told that he was under observation for 6 hours in the NICU and that I would only be able to see him from 2am
- Rest of the night: Waited up and keep bugging the nurses to let me see baby Lucas
- 4.30am: Finally got my first glance of baby Lucas; first thought in my mind - a miracle must have happened, I couldn't believe that this little thing came from my tummy!

I also tried latching on Lucas for the first time early the next morning, and nothing could describe how it felt having him suckle for 20 minutes. Such is the joy and wonders of motherhood!

Unfortunately, baby Lucas had to return to the NICU the same day, where he stayed for the next 10 days, as being a preemie, he had problems digesting his FM. I was discharged on Oct 31, and Pi and I visited him daily at the NICU until he finally was able to come home with us on Nov 5.

And so the challenges of parenthood began, but that is another story...

Surprise surprise!

Got this specially custom-made for lil' Lucas - nice isn't it?

front:


back:


Update from gynae visit on Oct 20 - the lil' one is now 2.8-3kg, and we have confirmed the c-sec date as Nov 3, first thing in the morning. And for the first time, we got quite a clear view of his face. It was truly a breathtaking moment for Pi and me, until I couldn't help but comment, "He's got a big nose, just like his father!"... hehe

2, 8, 11, 3...

Another update after a trip to the gynae's last Friday (which also happened to be our wedding anniversary, so it was a great way to celebrate by seeing our lil' one!):

Lucas is 2kg now, still heavier than babies his "age" - according to baby center, Lucas is supposed to be only 1.5kg now, so you know how much of a heavy weight he is ;). Doc says he will be an estimated 8 pounds (or about 3.7kg) when he makes his grand arrival into the world.

While we are on numbers...

Since mine is going to be a planned c-sec, doc gave us a choice of dates, as long as it falls between the 1st to 10th of Nov. Pi wanted 11 Nov at first (11/11) - which he said was easy to remember - but doc said it was too late. Then he went for 1 Nov (1/11) - again, his lazy way out for ease of remembrance - but the 'pantang' me consulted the Chinese calendar which said that day clashes with people born in the year of the dragon (me), so I said no.

Thanks to the help of my Dad and Aunt, who consulted a fengshui master, we narrowed down the dates to a few, and after consulting the Chinese calendar again, the date is finally set - 3 Nov it shall be.

And so the countdown begins...

Rock-a-bye baby

Pi and I fell in luv with it at first sight.

On our hunt for a baby high chair for lil' Lucas, the sales lady at the shop recommended this to us. Besides being just a high chair for feeding times, it doubles up as a rocker (effectively replacing the 'yao lan'); its wheels makes it highly mobile so that mummy can keep an eye on the lil' one as she works around the house; and best of all, the seat can recline so that it serves as a 'day bed' of sorts for the lil one.

The only downside - the price. At a whopping high end of S$200, it is definitely pricier than most baby high chairs which just cost a two-figure sum. However, the other way to look at it is, it's an investment that effectively replaces a few gadgets (a high chair, a 'yao lan', a play pen, etc.) and can last baby for 4 years, so the investment cost per year is actually reasonable. At least that's what my friend and Pi told me. Hmmm, sounds convincing, but I still needed just a wee bit more convincing before forking out this sum of money.

Today... ta-da!... I actually saw it on sale at the Isetan Private Sale! Imagine my glee when I checked and was informed by the sales guy that yes, it was going at a 15% discount - and just for one day only as a special privilege for Isetan cardmembers. Of course I made a grab for it, and now, lil' Lucas can sit on his princely throne of a forest blue Combi Rashule. I'm waiting with anticipation for the delivery guys to bring it over, and I'm sure, so is he. :)

Hits and misses

I'm beginning to feel more and more like a walking gunny sack these days, carrying what feels like a sack of rice in front and waddling along like a penguin. And then there are all these stretchies mysteriously appearing out of nowhere and multiplying as quickly as you can say "1, 2, 3". Oh, and not forgetting the bloated feet, making me really look and feel like a penguin even more!

What I know I will miss though - the intimate two-way communication with lil' Lucas, which goes beyond words. I will definitely miss his little (ok, sometimes more violent than that) kicks, rhythmic hiccups, somersaults, whatnots. These are his little ways of telling me and his daddy that he's alive and (literally) kicking. In fact, his tiny movements have become so much a part of my life that I'd sometimes wake up paranoid in the middle of the night when I don't feel him for a while. I guess the lil' one needs his zzzz time as well. :)

Sibling love

This really touched my heart when I saw it. You can see my goddaughter's love and joy in her face as she held her baby sister in her arms. :)

Luv from an old friend

This came in the mail over the weekends, courtesy of an old fren all the way from the states!

Lucas is so blessed, showered with luv and lots of gifts even before he makes his grand appearance.

And to ik, thanks so much! *hugs*

Budding artist

Cute, ain't it? A handmade card from my dear little niece all the way from down under. :)

That's a welcome card from her to lil' Lucas, by the way. So sweet ah?

Hair today, gone tomorrow

So, after years (I've actually lost count but i think it's about at least 4-5 years?), I've decided to snip it off.

It was kind of an impulsive decision - the weather was hot, it would make for easier maintenance especially during the confinement period, it would do away with all the entanglements that I have to deal with on a daily basis (like, literally! sometimes it gets entangled even just a few hours after my wash), it would freshen me up, blah blah blah...

And so, without dwelling too much into it, off I went. I needed some kind of stress reliever from work anyway, and my dear boss has very kindly asked me to take the afternoon off to de-stress.

The result - well, let's say it was shorter than I had envisaged. Still, it's not that bad. My colleagues all like it, friends too - with the exception of Pi who have been mourning the loss of the long tresses.

What do you think?

Growing...

1.2-1.3kg at week 26 - the gynae says baby Lucas is growing 4 weeks ahead (his weight range belongs to that of a 30-week baby). So I've been carrying around a 1.25l bottle of coke, hmm, hard to imagine...

Cravings

The other day, I suddenly had a craving for one of my fav Mummy dishes - "hairy cucumber" (loosely translated as I don't know the proper English name for it, but it looks like a cucumber just that it's more hairy on the outside) fried with egg and tang hoon.

The problem is, I don't know how to cook it, and the eating places outside don't sell it (some 'cai fan' stalls sell the version without the egg and the tang hoon). So out of desperation and as suggested by Pi, I called Mummy long-distance to get the recipe from her.

Next up was the search around various supermarkets for the elusive cucumber. Firstly, I have no inkling what it is supposed to look like (Mummy said to look for something that resembles a cucumber but with hair on the skin), secondly, I have no idea as well what it's called in English (as you know, most supermarkets label their vegetables in English). I even resorted to taking a "suspected" cucumber to the staff and asking them whether this is "hairy cucumber" in Chinese (unfortunately, the answer is No although the staff were greatly amused).

Anyways, after a few futile searches in the supermarkets, I turned my attention to the wet markets. Imagine my delight when the first vegetable stall I went to at the Pek Kio Wet Market actually had many of these for sale! So I was all set and ready to satisfy my long-awaited craving over the weekend.

It was actually quite an easy dish to cook - of course, thanks to Mummy's idiot proof instructions. And here's the results, ta da!


It looked nice, smelled nice and tasted exactly the same as Mummy's! Another craving satisfied. :)

600

According to Dr Cheng, lil' Lucas weighs in at about 600g at week 24 - a healthy and normal progress. His mum (that's me) has gained a total of about 6kg thus far. Hmm, the math doesn't add up. If he constitutes only about 10 per cent of the weight gain, where did the rest go to? (Yeah yeah, actually I already know, but don't remind me)...

hello, Lucas!

A short holiday, sort of..

Been a long long while since I last updated this blog. Besides the busier than usual work schedule and the extra doses of office politics, I was actually wondering whether I should (or should not) start blogging about my preggie process.

It has not been an easy journey, but I have actually survived 22 weeks, and counting... Despite all the "sacrifices" I have had to make, it's really worth it and I'm enjoying the whole process, although I really can't wait to meet lil' Lucas face-to-face!

So, well, overseas holidays were one of those small indulgences that I have had to give up, cos my gynae put a strict ban on any overseas travel for the whole 9 months. Holidays - long or short - have always been one of the must-haves for me, in order for me to stay sane and take a brief respite from work. Well, it's no longer a must-have now; I have cancelled (literally, yes, cos the tickets and hotel were all booked) the trip to Melbourne that I was really looking forward to, to catch up with Mum and the two cute lil' Js, a work trip to Japan that I was anticipating too, cos Japan was (and still is) one of those countries I really, really wanted to visit, and totally stopped planning for any other overseas jaunts for the rest of the year.

So anyway, I was fretting over how to celebrate my birthday (my last one alone with Pi), and thought of booking a chalet where the whole family can come together. Alas, the bigger chalets were fully booked months in advance. And then I thought, why not escape to a beach resort and make it like a "true" holiday - except it'll be in Singapore? And so I booked a 3D2N escapade to a resort on Sentosa (technically still part of Singapore, but away from Singapore - how nice!).

It was a decision I'm glad I made. Pi and I really enjoyed ourselves just idling away, sleeping in, and splashing about in the very nice swimming pool. Ok, maybe the crowds outside the resort were less than ideal, but otherwise, we really felt like we were away on a holiday - without the jetting/travelling fuss! We're already even thinking of bring lil' Lucas back here for a swim when he's a few months old. ;)

The miracle of life

The past few days, I have been walking past this little grass patch on my way to work. It's not nice - being shielded from the sun, it's almost always muddy and wet. But what really struck me was these tiny little mushrooms that have sprouted out in the middle of it.

I don't really know why, or since when I've started to really appreciate the beauty of nature, but they called out to me - to admire their beauty and their strength in being able to survive amidst such tough conditions.

Many a times, I wanted to slow down my pace, stop and just take a picture of these beauties. But the timing was always not right - either there were people hanging around in the vicinity who were going to look at me weirdly if I stopped to take a picture of the muddy grass patch, or I was rushing for work.

Today was one of the days when I thought to myself, "Finally, I have time, and hopefully there won't be anyone around this time." Imagine my disappointment when I walked past the familiar grass patch, looked all around and found, to my utmost dismay, that my beauties have wilted.

There they were, huddled in a bunch as usual. But they were not as I remembered them - it could be the extremely unpredictable weather of the past few days (sometimes unbearably sunny, sometimes storming like there's no tomorrow), but they were, dare I say it?, almost... dead. Some of them have already collapsed to the ground, the others hanging on for dear life, but seemingly not for long.

I didn't want to take a picture like this, because this was not the way I wanted to remember them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that probably tomorrow, or even the day after, when I walk past them again, they would have found the strength to live on.

Technology, we've come a long way!

Ok, I'm not sure how many people in this current day and age still relies on VCRs to tape their favourite programs to watch at their own leisurely time and pace, but I'm one of them.

It was therefore with great dismay when I settled comfortably into the couch one evening, fully prepared to watch "Project Runway", when the sound came out but nothing else. The TV screen was totally blank, argh! I tried other tapes, but no, no images came on. Pi tried the tape cleaner, but it was stuck in the VCR after months of disuse.

So, we finally came to the conclusion that our trusted Sony VCR has breathed its last. Being kind of a TV fanatic and a couch potato, I bugged Pi to no end to get a replacement - and fast - so that I would not miss out of any more of my usual doses of TV entertainment. Since VCRs have become kind of an antique (has anyone tried buying VHS tapes in the stores? They actually don't sell them anymore!), we settled on a HDD recorder when we chanced upon a great offer at Courts.

It took us almost the whole night to get it up and running, but omg! the clarity of the images surprised us! The amazing additional functions, like pausing live TV if you need to run to the loo urgently in the midst of a must-watch program, are something that we'd never thought possible in this day and age. I guess age has caught up with us, for our new friend could offer us so much more! It can play movies from USB, so we've promoted ourselves from watching movies on the 19" computer screen to our 32" LCD TV - with subtitles no less!

Now that we've "moved on", we wondered what kept us back there for so long. And I'm sure as I type, more amazing new features are already coming out in new models in stores.

Technology, it has indeed caught up with us, but the question is, can we truly catch up with it?

A tribute to my dearest Popo...

It was on a usual Sunday afternoon when I received the news. I mean, we all knew it was coming - Mum had visited a few times and each time, came back bearing the news that things were not looking good. But still, it hit me hard when I realised that I would no longer be able to see Popo, and that the last time I saw her was nearly, what?, a decade ago, when small O and I went back with Mum to visit her and then on to Bali where one of our relatives was getting married.

I could not remember much of her, except that she was always there for us with a kind smile - the perfect, doting grandmother. She could not speak Mandarin and we could not speak Hakka, so communication between us was not easy, but still, she understood what we were trying to tell her (with the help of Mum or our Aunt sometimes), and always replied with yet another kind smile.

Mum used to tell me that when I was a baby, Popo doted on me the most amongst her grandchildren. When I went back fully grown-up to visit, Popo would comment how pretty I've become. If I had my way, I'd have wanted to bring Popo here to live with us, but it was not possible with her complicated citizenship issue in Indonesia. And at the back of my mind, I've always thought that there would be another chance for me to go back and visit her, when Mum goes for one of her visits again.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Sometimes in life, certain things cannot be proscrastinated. It made me realize how fragile life is, and even more frustrated that I can't even make the final trip out to bid farewell to Popo in person.

Popo, rest well. You've led a long, fulfilling life and left behind a great bunch of children, grandchildren and grand-grandchildren who will miss you dearly. Your memories will always remain in my heart, and I know that wherever you are, you will be there watching over us, as you have always done.

Back to (sewing) school

Ok, I suppose you can't exactly consider it sewing, more like "Dummy's guide to teddy bear making". But well, with much anticipation over my goddaughter's impending visit (yes, I've missed her so much since the last time I saw her in Sep!), I decided to give, or make, her something that she will like, and her mummy suggested a teddy bear (why not?).

I made a trip to Spotlight, when they sell all sorts of stuff for arts and craft, but no luck. No ready-packed DIY teddy bear kit there.

It was with much delight when I chanced upon it at Toys R Us a few weeks later, when I was there with Pi for his usual toy hunt. It seems easy enough, and with my handicraft and sewing experience, it should not be a daunting task for me.

And indeed, it wasn't. I only realized, when I got home, that the kit was meant for children above 3 years old - well, that's me alright.

And after a few hours of intensive work in front of the telly one night, here is the result!

Ta da!




Notice the customized bits? Well, I'm proud to say that these were not in the instructions, but I wanted to make it "Kayla's bear", so there!

Oh yes, before I get "bashed" by Pi for forgetting him, he did contribute to the bear-making process - by helping me sort out the wool for stuffing into the bear. Better something than nothing, right?

When you can live forever, what do you live for?

After all the hype and rave reviews about the show end of last year, I finally found out for myself what it was all about.

Yes, I'm talking about the ultra big hit, Twilight, the movie based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer.

I watched it without much expectation - I was bored and had watched almost all the other movies on SIA's in-flight entertainment system en-route from Shanghai back to Singapore - and boy, was I blown away!

It's a simple love story, but touches my heart deeply. It speaks of true love, and what you would give to protect that someone you love, especially after you have waited for that special someone all your life (or many lives, in Edward's case).

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen was suave and charming. Though not commonly regarded as handsome at first sight (that was one of the reasons I put off watching the movie - I was thinking to myself, who is this male lead?), I was sold at his applaudable performance and his excellent portrayal of Edward Cullen. I mean, this guy single-handedly brought Edward Cullen - and the whole show - to life, and he is now my No. 1 idol of all times.

And so started my collecting frenzy of all things Twilight. I'm reading the book right now (there are so much more details in the book that are not portrayed in the movie), and Pi has got me my very own Edward Cullen figure! That I'm really eagerly anticipating, thanks Pi!

And of course, on top of it all, I am so thankful that I have found my very own Edward Cullen in real life - someone who will go to great lengths to protect me and make me happy. You know who you are, and I can never say it enough, but once again, thanks Pi!

Ok, I'm going all mushy and lovey-dovey again, but it seems like ages ago when I was all obsessed with romance novels and dreamt of meeting my very own Prince Charming who would sweep me off my feet. That's the stuff teenage dreams were made of. Although I'm no longer a teenager (for a long while now), this epic love story really touched my heart and made me once again thankful for everything that I've got.

Amidst a time when divorces and break-ups are as common as bread and cheese, it is truly not easy to meet that someone whom you know is the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and it is even harder to let that magical feeling last.

Love can be so simple, instead of complicated, if all you truly wish for is to be happy and for that special someone to be happy as well.

Blinding lights, busy city, but no soul?

If you're wondering why I went MIA for a while and am only reporting in now, well, I was sent to China recently for a business trip. Altogether, I spent 8 whole days in Beijing and Shanghai.

It was not exactly my first time to China, but given that my last trip to Beijing one year ago was a touch-and-go (I departed the very next day), I kind of took the opportunity this time to explore the city (or cities) a little when I had the time.

My impression? Frankly, I was not impressed. Both cities were sprawled with skyscrapers, so many that they were almost identical.

Then there was the great (and in my opinion, gross) divide between the upper and lower classes of society. Being a shopaholic, I of course checked out the shopping malls first, and found, disturbingly, that these either sold really high end luxury brands (and at marked-up prices way higher than Singapore!) or very cheap imitation stuff (like our pasar malams in a way). There was nowhere I could go to find quality local brands, which then explained why I came back empty handed, except for some fridge magnets and a teapot set.

I asked my Beijing colleague about this strange phenomenon, and she confirmed that the majority of the locals could not afford to shop at the shopping malls, simply because the prices of the merchandise there were usually more than that of their monthly salaries.

Checking out the next interest on my list - food! - I was also not greatly impressed. Granted, I had the most delicious Beijing Kao Ya (Peking roast duck) I have ever tasted in my life, but that was about it. The rest was passable, edible, but nothing to shout about.

Other interesting observations from the trip:

- It was my first time seeing and touching snow! The snow had passed when I touched down in Beijing, but to my delight, my colleague pointed out some remnants of snow in the bushes as we walked by. So I went back that very evening to take a picture and touch the snow. Strangely enough (or maybe rightly so), it felt exactly like the shaved ice from ice kacang. I was like a little girl, so amazed by this creation of nature, as the security guard nearby looked at me strangely.

- I wonder whether it was the perpetual haze that clouded the city or the bitter cold, but the people there looked absolutely lifeless. They went about their daily errands with no expression on their face whatsoever, so much so that they kind of resembled robots. Is this what urbanization is costing us - even in a city so rich with cultural heritage and history such as China? I am definitely not relishing the thought that this could be what we will become in another few years.

- Civility, or the lack of. Enough said, I think the lack of common manners has been well documented enough. It is something that I can never get used to, however, no matter how many times I visit. Thank god we're not like that yet, but it's not hard to see that we are treading down this path.

And so ends my boring (in many ways) but interesting (in some ways) business trip. Let's just say that it will never be a holiday destination of my choice.

Next up, I'm going down under to visit the Empress Dowager and the rest of the Fam. Now, that is one trip I'm truly looking forward to!

Love is in the air

Ok, for all my single friends out there, I'm sorry if this hit the wrong spot with you.

V-day just came and went. Unlike my younger days, I'm no longer as hyped up over this "special" day - I mean, if you're in love, everyday is special; you don't have to wait for one particular day to splurge on overly-priced roses and dinners to show your love for the other party. For me, I'm just so grateful (and constantly amazed!) at how loving Pi and I remain despite being together for nearly 7 years and tying the knot for more than half of that. :)

For the Ong Fam, V-day is also a day of double celebrations, for it is my Dad's birthday. A true Valentine he is, to be born on that day of all days.

When we were younger, we always celebrated his birthday in advance (poor Dad!), for the special day was usually reserved for that special someone. But as we grew older and got our own families, we knew how important it was to make your parents feel loved and appreciated, even if they did not ask for it (being the conservative Chinese they were brought up to be, never showing their love and emotions on the surface).

So this V-day, Pi and I surprised Daddy with a hazelnut ice-cream cake from Swensen's, followed by lunch at a Chinese restaurant nearby. Although Dad did not say it, his beaming face told me how much he appreciated everything.

Then, it was kind of a non-affair. Pi, being the true blue romantic that he is, surprised me with roses in the morning (he wanted to do it at 12.01am on the day itself but being the pig that I was, I was already fast asleep, hehe). It always beats me how he manages to smuggle such a big bunch of roses into the house, when we spend almost every waking moment together, but I suppose that's the magic of it. ;) I reciprocated with a love balloon that I begged the Swensen's staff to give me (yes, I know, so much for sincerity, but Pi knows my love for him deep in my heart).

And then we just spent the day snuggled up in bed, enjoying the idleness of the weekends and each other's company.

Of families and celebrations

It's been a hectic last week for me, hence my "disappearance" from the blog.

I've been sick all week - drats to that flu bug that started with a sore throat on Sat and progressed to a full-blown flu with blocked nose, cough and all. I think the bug is travelling around the office too - with many of my colleagues also feeling under the weather.

It didn't help that last week was earnings week, which meant that I had no respite from work. I was literally working my ass off arranging one media interview after another, at the same time having performance reviews for my staff and preparing for a global launch. It's times like this that I really wonder why I'm the only one in the office doing real work - and at a lower pay than some of my peers, no less! I'm really not in an envious position, as glamorous as the title may sound.

Ok, enough about work.

I did find time for some quality family bonding over the weekend. Sat was Nana's 1st birthday party (in advance of the actual day, which falls on a Monday), and my brother had rented a holiday chalet (more like a bungalow actually) over the weekend. The Ong Fam stayed over for the night, and I had fun playing with the two gals. The only part I didn't enjoy was the unearthly hour of 10am (ok, it was not that early :P) that we all had to wake up the next day, but breakfast with the Fam at Ah Kun saved the day - boy, that morning cup of kopi-o is really a lifesaver.

After a short nap in the afternoon to make up for our lack of sleep, Pi and I met his mum and brother (and his gf) for some crabbing time! Yes, I'm talking about my favourite Mellben crab bee hoon and chilli crab *yum* and flu or no flu, it's not going to deter me from them! Pi's brother gave us a treat to thank us for treating him so well (*blush*).

My only grouse was that the crabs that day were not at their best - they weren't really big and the meat was not that full. But it was still really delicious! Between the 5 of us, we polished off 3 crabs, 10 fried mantous and a plate of sambal veggie in no time at all.

You know you're with family (and true friends) when you can drop all pretences and dive in to good crab with both hands - finger licking and all (the same goes for KFC, by the way. I told Pi that I used to order nuggets at KFC cos I didn't want to attack the chicken with both hands, lest he thought I was not ladylike, but now that he's "fallen into the trap" - haha - there was no need for me to pretend anymore).

At the end of the day, we went back with full tummies and I, with full contentment that I had spent yet another fulfilling weekend with family.

One for the road - the Ong Fam:

Happy Niu Year!

I'm back!

And wishing all my dearest friends and family, a Happy New Year ahead and good health and happiness for all!

Ok ok, I know I'm kinda late, but I've been enjoying myself just hibernating at home, doing nothing much and catching all the movie reruns on TV that I just couldn't drag myself to the comp and type in this entry sooner.

Well, better late than nothing, right? So, once again, Happy Niu Year to all! :)

It's been a relatively quiet holiday, and time really flies when you're having fun. Before I could blink my eyes, my 6 days of holidays are over! (And it really doesn't help that the next PH is in April!)

But not before I gorged myself silly. Or at least, I tried to, but my tummy could only take so much (makes me wonder where all the fat comes from...).

On CNY eve, Pi and I had a really scrumptious lunch (with the Ong Fam) and dinner (with the Lim Fam).

There were repeats of some "must-have" dishes - like the roast duck, yusheng, abalone - but the food was so yummy that we didn't mind at all.


We actually had a total of three (3!) whole roast ducks - one for lunch, one for dinner, and one which Pi and I finished on Days 1 and 2 of the new year (yes, such gluttons we are!). I've never been a big fan of roast duck (I prefer the braised one), but I must say, they are indeed quite yummy!


And two big platters of yusheng from Sakae - I simply loved the generous helping of salmon sashimi and the crispy "kok kok" as we call it.


Then there were the giving and receiving of ang baos. Although I've already given up my right to receiving some 4 years ago, but it was heartwarming to still get the mandatory one from Dad right after reunion dinner (or lunch, in this case). Then Bro surprised me with one as well (I think he's feeling guilty after all that money I spent on pampering his two daughters with gifts). And, like I told Pi, it's a tradition for a hubby to give his wifey an ang bao (at least that's what Dad did!), so he surprised me with one as well when I woke up on Day 1 (love you, Pi!) - in a very auspicious number, no less!

I've really enjoyed my new year this year; I hope you did too!

P/S: All pixs courtesy of small-O, for I did lug my camera around but was so busy eating that I'd clean forgotten about taking pixs. :P

Tinkling with the falsies (Part 2)

Since my first successful try on Xmas eve, I must say Lady Luck hasn't been on my side. I've tried putting on the falsies on at least 2 other occasions, but the results were disastrous so I always ended up binning them.

Well, it's the new year, and I thought, wth, let's just give it another try. I went with Evon's tip - to cut the lash strip into two halves so that it's easier to stick them on, and bravo! I was very pleased with the results.


A more natural look upfront, but not as obvious as I would have liked it:


It's more obvious when I'm batting my eyelids:


From the side:

New year, new look!

I've finally done it!

Yes, I've gone and permed my hair.

It was with much trepidation when I stepped foot into the hair salon and handed over my fate to the hairstylist. After all, I have not tried this salon at all; I only made the appointment after weeks of checking the Internet forums to see who is highly recommended for doing a good job with perms.

I have only done two perms in my life previously. One was good (the Jap perm which you can see the pix of in one of my previous posts), but the other straightened out within a week after the perm.

I must say that my fears were all unfounded; I was truly in good hands. The hairstylist was reassuring and very detailed - he explained each and every step of the process to me before he actually did anything, so that I understood what he was about to do.

The only thing that I didn't enjoy was the nearly 4 hours in the chair, although it was kind of a welcome relief for my nagging knee injury.

And, ta da! 4 hours later, my new look was unveiled!

Hair swept to one side:

Hair on both sides:


View at the back:


Pi was full of praises for it, saying that it was time I had a new look after sporting long straight hair for the last few years. He said I look fresher and "more hip" (hmm, did I look like an aunty previously?).

Mimi was actually the first in the Fam to notice it. I asked her, "Do you like Gugu's new hair?", and she said, "Eee, why tight tight one?". I explained, "It's not tight, it's curly, cos it's permed," and I asked her, "So does Mimi want to have long hair?", to which she said shyly, "Yes!"

For me, I like the look - my only grouse being that it's a bit too curly, but my hairstylist has assured me that the curls will loosen out after one week.

So, what do you think?

Jumping on the bandwagon

If you have not heard of BB cream, where have you been?

BB cream, or Blemish Balm cream, is the hottest trend in Korea and many parts of Asia and even gaining exposure in the West.

BB cream was first used as an after treatment care product to cover the redness for people who underwent laser surgery. It contains healing properties that help conceal and protect the healing skin yet at the same time encourage skin regeneration.

The excellent result achieved was talked about and soon enough, Korean actresses started using BB cream in their daily makeup routine to help achieve that natural flawless look.

The difference between BB cream and other make-up applications is that it is a skincare/healing product combined with make-up. While regular foundation liquid does nothing to your skin, BB cream is supposed to do wonders to your skin while covering up. Use BB Cream to replace your make-up base/primer, concealer, and even foundation!

A miracle invention, isn't it?

When I discovered BB cream while surfing the net one day, I was amazed that it took me so long to chance upon this latest craze. Ok, I admit I'm vain, but I'm not particularly fazed with make-up stuff. Call me safe if you like, but I'm the sort who stick to the same brand, same product year after year after year, as long as it works for me and is still in stock. I'm definitely not one of those who go after each and every new product in the market - mostly because I can't be bothered (why change a formula that is already perfect, right?), and also because I do not want to subject my extremely sensitive skin to experiments that could go horribly wrong.

However, I could not control myself to run out and get myself one of these miracle creams when I heard about them. So, upon recommendations by the many forums, I went out and got myself my very first tube of BB cream - the Skinfood Aloe BB cream. Many who have tried it touted it as good for oily/combination skin and a good try for newbies as it is priced very affordably.


My verdict: Oil control? What oil control? I'm not the oily sort, only getting occasionally shiny at the nose, but when I applied this, my whole face was glistening like a used wok! I attempted to mattify the shine by dusting a layer of my powder make-up over it, which worked for a bit, but as the day progressed, the shine was back in its full glory. I had to keep blotting my face for the whole day, and the sticky feeling of the cream left me really uncomfortable.

A few days later, I had a minor breakout on my face - spots, pimples and whiteheads. Wonder whether it's due to the BB cream? Probably... but being the "play safe" me, I'm definitely not going to take any chance, at least for a little while.

Ok, so my virgin experiment failed. It took me a few weeks later to finally muster up the courage to try another one. This time, I went for the much trusted BRTC; after all, one of my friends have tried it and she's full of praises for it.

BRTC is one of the hottest brands of BB cream from Korea (some even say it's the best!). A tad more expensive than Skinfood and not as readily available on our sunny island (it's only sold exclusively at Guardian but being able to find it at Guardian is like finding a treasure - that's how popular it is!), it took me a little hesitation and a bit more time (to find it, yes!) before I decided to invest in this much trusted brand and give BB cream a second try.


My verdict: This went on much more easily than Skinfood, and blending it was no problem. In fact, it felt so breathable and comfortable that I decided not to pile anything else on top, and just went out with it - plus, of course, my newfound friend, the BenefIt Benetint for that natural rosy tint on the cheeks.

Throughout the day, I was literally glowing. The cream evened out my skin tone, covered most of my blemishes and dark eye circles/eye bags, and best of all, I only blotted once throughout the day! And did I mention that it comes with SPF30 - just perfect protection for our sunny island?

I'm definitely going to try more of this on weekends, when my skin needs a breather from the "heavier" make-up that I put on on weekdays for work. In the meantime, I've also signed up for some free samples from BRTC, so that I can try out the other BB creams from the brand and settle for the one that I'm most comfortable with.

If you're not on the BB cream bandwagon yet, what are you waiting for?

Oh, crab! Part II - Committing a murder

As promised, here's the gruesome video of the murder (one of the three).

Pardon the poor editing skills, it took me, an amateur, a really long time to figure out how to do this, and how to combine and edit 25 minutes of footage into a 3+ minute video.

Oh, crab!

All my friends and even family found it really hard to believe that I can whip up a mean dish of chilli crab (I don't know why?).

And by that, I mean I can go through the entire process - from choosing and slaughtering the crabs to cooking them, till they end up as a really yummy dish on the dining table. This is all thanks to my MIL who kindly took one whole afternoon to teach me this impressive feat.

For the disbelievers, I have proven them wrong one by one. So far, I have cooked the dish for my family (and received compliments from them!), my teacher aka my MIL (who gave me more tips for improvement) and, of course, my biggest fan, Pi (who always lapped up each and every drop). So you can imagine how many murders I have committed thus far.

It had been a really long time since I cooked, so when Pi and I chanced upon what they claimed were XL crabs at the Giant Hypermarket at Tampines, we bought three of the mean fellas (they weighed nearly 2kg in total, but cost us only half the price we would have normally paid to eat them at, say, a coffeeshop!).

After a hard afternoon's work at the kitchen sink and stove last Sat, here were the results (of course we had long devoured them by the time I downloaded these pixs, but they sure were a good reminder of the satisfactory meal we had):


Oh yes, there were two other humongous crab pincers that could not fit into the bowl so they landed straight into our dinner plates (not pictured).

Aren't you feeling really, really hungry now?

And yes, Kayla's mum, I promise to cook you some of this (if and) when you are back in April. ;) And I'll also try to put up some of the videos demonstrating the murders...

For the love of HLS

Shhh..., but I think I have discovered the secret to the svelte figures of HK ladies.

If you've ever been to HK, you will realise that it's kind of rare to spot a fat lady on the streets in HK. Of course, I'm not referring to the aunties and grannies; I'm talking about the young ones.

Let me share the secret with you - fruits! Yes, fruits!

Just eat it day in, day out, for all your meals.

And it's not that hard to do so, when my fav dessert chain store can be found there! I'm talking about HLS, or Hui Lau San translated literally from the Cantonese pronunciation.

The dessert chain store can be found almost everywhere in HK, and sometimes you see one on every street corner in town, like in Mongkok (where Pi and I hung around almost everyday when we were there).

HLS uses fresh fruits (their mangoes are the best! and really sweeeet!) and mixes them with all types of ingredients - think sago, jelly, glutinous rice balls, even hashima and bird's nest! It's really a must-try and must-have after meals, making you feel refreshed and fully satisfied (perfect for the hot and humid Singapore weather).

So when I had the chance to go back to HK last Dec, I ate it everyday, sometimes more than once a day. It was winter in HK in Dec; as a result, Pi (who was forced to eat HLS everyday as well) and I always found ourselves shivering when we stepped out of the shop, but what the heck! what's a bit of chill when it's HLS?

If you're not salivating by now, look at all the pixs I took of me at HLS. If you've nothing better to do than to count the pixs and realize that they don't really add up to the number of days that I was in HK, well, there were many occasions when I greedily gulped down the food before realising that I'd forgotten to take pixs. And, of course, the many many takeaways that I made do with, when we were rushing to squeeze in a bout of retail therapy before the shops closed.

Enjoy!

My reunion with my love in HK - see that look of glee on my face?



Pi going for his safest bet - Watermelon juice with honey jelly (no sago and all that weird stuff for him)


Another day, another new dessert to try... I think this was their mango with sago and pomelo ('yang zhi gan lu')


And yet another day (haha!)... this time, I discovered my favouritest (if there's such a word) dessert - EXTRA mango with sago, yum!


Here's a close-up


And the 'tian bu shuai' - or rice glutinous balls with peanut and sesame seeds


Pi again with his safest bet


And I also indulged myself in one of their more expensive desserts - bird's nest and hashima with rock sugar and red dates... sounds really nutritious, doesn't it?