enenmon's blog

Some Important Milestones

2019-02-13T23:29:00.000+08:00

My last entry was actually June 2018 when I quit my job to be a SAHM. I had imagined that I would have some own time to discover new interests/passion, as well as getting in touch with old hobbies, continue with blogging old travel entries or drama/movie review and adding new posts about kids, parenting, motherhood etc.... but haha... it didn't go as planned and I will fill in the gaps below...

July 2018

Just a month after I quit my job to be a SAHM, my relatively new laptop of 1 year broke down pffffff.... I actually had a super laptop since 2010 that's seemingly workable but just super super extremely slow that I almost can't do anything much except check/reply email, occasional online shopping. I cannot edit photos nor watch drama with it. I have an iPad mini but..... I don't want to type on iPad please....

Back to the 'relatively new laptop' and fast forward to Feb 2019, I finally sent this laptop for repair. As it was out of warranty, I had to pay a significant amount to get it fixed! Phew! BUT NOW I HAVE A LAPTOP TO dedicate my time to making sure this blog finally gets updated lol

Sept 2018

OUR FIRST FAMILY TRIP TO SEOUL!!!!! THIS WAS ACTUALLY MY FIRST TIME TRAVELING WITH KIDS! And I finally get to travel again since my last trip, which was my Europe Honeymoon. You are probably still seeing empty drafts in Travels.... But here are some sneak pics...

We get to sit together in the plane, despite only confirming our flight less than a mth before take up

Hanging out in streets of Myeongdong

Resting on the stairs after taking cable car to Namsan

With the famous locks

Wearing family hanbok in Gyeongbokgung!

Rare sightings of sakura (probably fake) @ Bukchon during summer.

It was early Sept but Lotte World's theme was Halloween already!

Out daily commute was the subways :)

Once I had returned from Seoul, I had arranged a family photoshoot with Natsuki Photography at Chinese garden. It's my second time engaging her services. The first time was Maternity Shoot @ Japanese Garden. These 2 gardens are essentially just next to each other

Here are a few of my favourite shots!

Ever since we had very good training of walking in streets of Seoul for the entire day and me babyearing MJ for long hours, we were pretty hardworking in bringing the kids visiting free parks in SG such as Botanic Gardens, Henderson Wave/Forest Walk, MacRitchie!

Oct 2018

It was the birthday month of the 2 important men in my life! Haha! Mr Z is a Halloween baby while Haohao was born in the middle of Oct. It was a Halloween Party!

I did not mention this but we would be moving to Woodlands and stay on our own at the end of the year. So Haohao will be finish his school term with his current school and start at a new school come Jan. Hence, we decided to do a birthday party for him to celebrate with his classmates...

Haha don't ask me why the 'y' was missing from Daddy cos I had no idea why this rookie baker didn't manage to allocate enough space for the whole line.

It was after visiting Seoul that we became more adventurous in bringing the kids out on our own... Will share more about it again next time :)

Being a SAHM recently

2018-06-08T15:55:00.000+08:00

Here's a shoutout to everyone, old and new to this site.

It's only recently that I'm back to organise this old blog that was forsaken for several years because I was struggling with 2 kids while being a working mom for the past few years.

I had the opportunity of being a SAHM (Stay at home mom) recently because my mom had been away traveling. I found a nice skin/theme that I really like that motivated to re-organise some of the blog entries I had over the past decade.

It's definitely not anything easier being SAHM but it does allow me to have window frames of tiny freedom with my 'own time' at home when the kids nap. It is usually just 2-3 hours per day - which nowadays are spent organising this site.

It's always a dilemma if I should nap together as well because I don't get straight rest/sleep at night - have not been able to sleep without uninteruptions for 3-4 hours for the past 4 years every single night. I honestly have no idea how other moms do it...

Happy children, happy me :)

Meanwhile, I'm more active on Instagram. Do follow me if you like seeing the pictures of my kids haha! Otherwise you may look around the navigation bar for some "old but gold & worth checking out" links/entries.

Best Relationship & Marriage Advises Ever!

2016-12-13T15:53:00.000+08:00

I am a regular reader of Mark Mason and he recently shared an incredible piece of article that I had to share some part of the highlights/summary that he brought up. All credits goes to him and the readers that he compiles the quotes from.

It's really a long read but once you know that it applies to you, you'd just keep reading parts that resonates with you.

But marriage & commitment & responsibilities are for the long term and in order for a long-term relationship to work, you gotta take it from people who has walked the marriage path much longer and just follow or at least emulate what works for them.

Ultimately, we're all fundamentally the same when it comes to achieving & maintain peace & happiness.

Here goes:

1. BE TOGETHER FOR THE RIGHT REASONS

It's pretty self-explanatory. Everything that makes a relationship “work” (and by work, I mean that it is happy and sustainable for both people involved) requires a genuine, deep-level admiration for each other. Without that mutual admiration, everything else will unravel.

From another perspective, it means: Don't be with someone for the wrong reasons and end up with a toxic relationship. You are the only person who will know what are you in for, only you yourself can decide if you'd like to make things work or simply walk out.

2. HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS AND ROMANCE

There are a bunch of repetitive terms being mentioned and I'll like to sum up with: Love/Romance (yes the giddiness, the emotional highs, the passionate fireworks) are not realistic and they're absolutely not practical for a long-term commitment. The fact of how a REAL relationship work is, there are going to be a lot differences between the both of you and that's totally normal. And you guys are going to get into a lot undesirable situations due to those exact differences.

You're not always going to get lovingly crazy about your partner all the time, that doesn't happen in real life at all. The sooner you understand what comprise of 'real life partnership', the better you will manage all the undesirable parts that comes with it.

3. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN A RELATIONSHIP IS NOT COMMUNICATION, BUT RESPECT

People who are together 10-15 years talk about communication as the key but people who are together for 20, 30 even 40 years talk about respect - something that if you lost respect for your partner, you're not going to get it back. (Which I most definitely agree, kind of applies to family members as well but that's for another story)

Communication, at some point, will breakdown. Conflicts are ultimately unavoidable, and feelings will always be hurt. And the only thing that can save you and your partner, that can cushion you both, is an unerring respect for one another, the fact that you hold each other in high esteem, believe in one another — often more than you each believe in yourselves — and trust that your partner is doing his/her best with what they’ve got.

You must also respect yourself. Just as your partner must also respect his/herself. Because without that self-respect, you will not feel worthy of the respect afforded by your partner. You will be unwilling to accept it and you will find ways to undermine it. You will constantly feel the need to compensate and prove yourself worthy of love, which will just backfire.

Respect for your partner and respect for yourself are intertwined. Respect yourself and your wife. Never talk badly to or about her. If you don’t respect your wife, you don’t respect yourself. You chose her – live up to that choice.

So what does respect look like?

Common examples given by many of Mark's readers:

NEVER talk shit about your partner or complain about them to your friends. If you have a problem with your partner, you should be having that conversation with them, not with your friends. Talking bad about them will erode your respect for them and make you feel worse about being with them, not better.
Respect that they have different hobbies, interests and perspectives from you. Just because you would spend your time and energy differently, doesn’t mean it’s better/worse.
Respect that they have an equal say in the relationship, that you are a team, and if one person on the team is not happy, then the team is not succeeding.
No secrets. If you’re really in this together and you respect one another, everything should be fair game. Have a crush on someone else? Discuss it. Laugh about it. Had a weird sexual fantasy that sounds ridiculous? Be open about it. Nothing should be off-limits.

Respect goes hand-in-hand with trust. And trust is the lifeblood of any relationship (romantic or otherwise). Without trust, there can be no sense of intimacy or comfort. Without trust, your partner will become a liability in your mind, something to be avoided and analyzed, not a protective homebase for your heart and your mind.

4. TALK OPENLY ABOUT EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY THE STUFF THAT HURTS

Talk it out. That's the only way go get over what's bothering you about your partner.

If something bothers you in the relationship, you must be willing to say it. Saying it builds trust and trust builds intimacy. It may hurt, but you still need to do it. No one else can fix your relationship for you. Nor should anyone else. Just as causing pain to your muscles allows them to grow back stronger.

The deeper the commitment, the more intertwined your lives become, and the more you will have to trust your partner to act in your interest in your absence.

5. A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP MEANS TWO HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS

“Understand that it is up to you to make yourself happy, it is NOT the job of your spouse. I am not saying you shouldn’t do nice things for each other, or that your partner can’t make you happy sometimes. I am just saying don’t lay expectations on your partner to “make you happy.” It is not their responsibility. Figure out as individuals what makes you happy as an individual, be happy yourself, then you each bring that to the relationship.”

6. GIVE EACH OTHER SPACE

“Be sure you have a life of your own, otherwise it is harder to have a life together. What do I mean? Have your own interests, your own friends, your own support network, and your own hobbies. Overlap where you can, but not being identical should give you something to talk about and expose one another to. It helps to expand your horizons as a couple, but isn’t so boring as both living the exact same life.”

7. YOU AND YOUR PARTNER WILL GROW AND CHANGE IN UNEXPECTED WAYS; EMBRACE IT

“Over the course of 20 years we both have changed tremendously. We have changed faiths, political parties, numerous hair colors and styles, but we love each other and possibly even more. Our grown kids constantly tell their friends what hopeless romantics we are. And the biggest thing that keeps us strong is not giving a fuck about what anyone else says about our relationship.”

One day many years from now, you will wake up and your spouse will be a different person, make sure you fall in love with that person too.

8. GET GOOD AT FIGHTING

“The relationship is a living, breathing thing. Much like the body and muscles, it cannot get stronger without stress and challenge. You have to fight. You have to hash things out. Obstacles make the marriage.”

9. GET GOOD AT FORGIVING

“When you end up being right about something – shut up. You can be right and be quiet at the same time. Your partner will already know you’re right and will feel loved knowing that you didn’t wield it like a bastard sword.”

“Everyone says that compromise is key, but that’s not how my husband and I see it. It’s more about seeking understanding. Compromise is bullshit, because it leaves both sides unsatisfied, losing little pieces of themselves in an effort to get along. On the other hand, refusing to compromise is just as much of a disaster, because you turn your partner into a competitor (“I win, you lose”). These are the wrong goals, because they’re outcome-based rather than process-based. When your goal is to find out where your partner is coming from – to truly understand on a deep level – you can’t help but be altered by the process. Conflict becomes much easier to navigate because you see more of the context.”

“Been happily married 40+ years. One piece of advice that comes to mind: choose your battles. Some things matter, worth getting upset about. Most do not. Argue over the little things and you’ll find yourself arguing endlessly; little things pop up all day long, it takes a toll over time. Like Chinese water torture: minor in the short term, corrosive over time. Consider: is this a little thing or a big thing? Is it worth the cost of arguing?”

10. THE LITTLE THINGS ADD UP TO BIG THINGS

“If you don’t take the time to meet for lunch, go for a walk or go out to dinner and a movie with some regularity then you basically end up with a roommate. Staying connected through life’s ups and downs is critical. Eventually your kids grow up, your obnoxious brother-in-law will join a monastery and your parents will die. When that happens, guess who’s left? You got it… Mr./Mrs. Right! You don’t want to wake up 20 years later and be staring at a stranger because life broke the bonds you formed before the shitstorm started. You and your partner need to be the eye of the hurricane.”

Summary: Put kids before marriage and make time for each other as often as you can.

11. SEX MATTERS… A LOT.

Sex not only keeps the relationship healthy, many of Mark's readers suggested that they use it to heal their relationships. That when things are a bit frigid between them or that they have some problems going on, a lot of stress, or other issues (i.e., kids), they even go so far as to schedule sexy time for themselves. They say it’s important. And it’s worth it.

A few people even said that when things start to feel stale in the relationship, they agree to have sex every day for a week. Then, as if by magic, by the next week, they feel great again.

12. BE PRACTICAL, AND CREATE RELATIONSHIP RULES

“There is no 50/50 in housecleaning, child rearing, vacation planning, dishwasher emptying, gift buying, dinner making, money making, etc. The sooner everyone accepts that, the happier everyone is. We all have things we like to do and hate to do; we all have things we are good at and not so good at. TALK to your partner about those things when it comes to dividing and conquering all the crap that has to get done in life.”

What people have in their minds about 'dividing the household/domestic work' will be different from the ACTUAL thing. What does the actual thing look like?

Messy. Stressful. Miscommunication flying everywhere so that both of you feel as though you’re in a perpetual state of talking to a wall.

The fact is relationships are imperfect, messy affairs. And it’s for the simple reason that they’re comprised of imperfect, messy people — people who want different things at different times in different ways and oh, they forgot to tell you? Well, maybe if you had been listening, asshole.

Again, remember to talk it out who's doing what. Go ahead and have "annual reviews" or something and improve/change what you both don't like about the household or relationship.

13. LEARN TO RIDE THE WAVES

“I have been married for 44 years (4 children, 6 grandchildren). I think the most important thing that I have learned in those years is that the love you feel for each other is constantly changing. Sometimes you feel a deep love and satisfaction, other times you want nothing to do with your spouse; sometimes you laugh together, sometimes you’re screaming at each other. It’s like a roller-coaster ride, ups and downs all the time, but as you stay together long enough the downs become less severe and the ups are more loving and contented. So even if you feel like you could never love your partner any more, that can change, if you give it a chance. I think people give up too soon. You need to be the kind of person that you want your spouse to be. When you do that it makes a world of difference.”

Relationships exist as waves, people need to learn how to ride them. Like the ocean, there are constant waves of emotion going on within a relationship, ups and downs — some waves last for hours, some last for months or even years. The key is understanding that few of those waves have anything to do with the quality of the relationship — people lose jobs, family members die, couples relocate, switch careers, make a lot of money, lose a lot of money. Your job as a committed partner is to simply ride the waves with the person you love, regardless of where they go. Because ultimately, none of these waves last. And you simply end up with each other.

And here's a quote to summarize everything above:

“You can work through anything as long as you are not destroying yourself or each other.

That means emotionally, physically, financially or spiritually.

Make nothing off limits to discuss.

Never shame or mock each other for the things you do that make you happy.

Write down why you fell in love and read it every year on your anniversary (or more often).

Write love letters to each other often. Make each other first.

When kids arrive, it will be easy to fall into a frenzy of making them the only focus of your life…do not forget the love that produced them.

You must keep that love alive and strong to feed them love. Spouse comes first.

Each of you will continue to grow. Bring the other one with you.

Be the one that welcomes that growth.

Don’t think that the other one will hold the relationship together. Both of you should assume it’s up to you so that you are both working on it.

Be passionate about cleaning house, preparing meals and taking care of your home. This is required of everyone daily, make it fun and happy and do it together.

Do not complain about your partner to anyone. Love them for who they are. Make love even when you are not in the mood.

Trust each other. Give each other the benefit of the doubt always. Be transparent. Have nothing to hide. Be proud of each other.

Have a life outside of each other, but share it through conversation. Pamper and adore each other.

Go to counselling now before you need it so that you are both open to working on the relationship together.

Disagree with respect to each other’s feelings. Be open to change and accepting of differences.

Print this and refer to it daily.”

你选择了怎样的老婆呢？

2015-03-08T15:51:00.000+08:00

Found this on my Facebook feed shared with a friend.

Thought it was worthwhile to share.

It's an image but I will just type out.

你选择了漂亮的女人，你就要接受她的消费。

你选择了赚钱的女人，你得接受她的不顾家。

你选择了顾家的女人，你得接受她的不赚钱。

你选择了理性的女人，你得接受她的算计。

你选择了听话的女人，你得家受她的自卑。

你选择了勇敢的女人，你得接受她的固执。

你选择了能干的女人，你就得接受她的霸道和不讲理。

As an audience, I would think this piece is quite true.

But if I'm the woman in question, I would think it doesn't apply haha.

I am inferior but I'm not obedient.

I am stubborn but I don't have courage.

I am sometimes unreasonable but I'm not capable.

Haha! Worth a thought.

"Mom" Is A Difficult Role

2014-11-25T18:05:00.002+08:00

On 12 Oct 2014, after being pregnant for 38 weeks, I gave birth through cesarean to a healthy son who weighs 3.56kg

I then became the mom of Leong Min Hao - named after Lee Min Ho lol (I wanted to name him Leong Min Ho but didn't wanna make it too obvious lol)

We affectionately call him Haohao :)

As you can see from my Instagram widget on my blog, it has been flooded with pics of Haohao. Go check out my documentation of his growth if you haven't :P

The whole journey of becoming a mom was surreal.

When I was pregnant, I thought being pregnant was difficult because it was tiring.

After going through surgery, I thought the surgery was difficult because it was so painful.

After recuperating, I thought the healing process of difficult because I couldn't move quickly like before.

After confinement, I really think taking care of a baby is the most ultimate difficult task I ever encountered in my entire 31 years of life,

After 6 weeks (technically it's just 2 weeks as my child was being taken care of by the confinement nanny), I was struggling with this biggest challenge in my life ever and day after day I keep wondering why did I ever want a kid?

I must have been crazy when I thought having a kid would be 'sweet, cute & fun'. Why did I ever think that a person like me could become a mom?

There are so many things to learn, so many things to know, so many things to do... It is really overwhelming.

There were a lot of misconception of what I thought parenting/post-natal was about.

I thought I naturally had breast milk because every women have it right? Wrong. Apparently, not every woman is able to have fountain of breast milk available as & when.

I naively thought that I was able to supply my baby with my breast milk only to realise I have none or extremely little. For the first week, he has to drink formula milk until my very limited supply came in.

It was (and still is) a tiring process and and even more tiring journey to walk on but I hope it will get better because I already had a hard time taking care of myself, what makes me think I can take care of a little fragile new life?

I have to say that the confinement at my in-law's place wasn't an easy one and having a kid at home put extra tension between 婆媳关系.

Let's just sum it up as we weren't able to see eye to eye with each other and don't agree the way each other is doing things - this actually puts my husband in a difficult position but what to do?

My only consolation during the awful confinement was looking forward to my family visiting me every Sundays and bringing me a lot tonic and useful necessities for health/surgery recuperation.

During the unpleasantness, I often tear up thinking about stuff. A LOT OF stuff.

In order to put a stop to the miscommunication & misunderstanding, I ended up bringing Haohao back to my (own) parent's place so that my mom and/or my sisters would be able to keep an eye on him as I eat/bath/pee/poo.

And so I shifted from Woodlands back to Jurong.

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Just to share some maternity shots that I had taken with Blocmemoire in Sept @ Raffles Marina.

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Haohao turned One Month old on Nov 12. He received many love from Zach's relatives & friends and my side of relatives & friends too.

However I was too overwhelmed and hardly took any pics.

我很高兴也很感动各位亲朋戚友对皓皓的厚爱。

非常感谢你们的厚礼。

再感谢你们抽出时间来看看他，甚至抱抱他。

没有机会跟每个人打招呼的和有什么招待不周的，请你们多多原谅。

最后，我这个新手妈妈也希望这个小瓜健健康康，

快高长大比他爸爸妈妈还大块，哈哈!

Things Only a Pregnant Woman Would Understand

2014-09-02T14:41:00.002+08:00

A hilarious but true article I saw on my Facebook feed, written by Julie Lay.

Morning sickness, insomnia, an ever-growing belly, and the long, agonizing wait of labor … it's all worth it! Enjoy these 29 things only someone who's endured the nine-month journey of pregnancy would understand.

1. What it feels like to be completely terrified and excited at the same time.

2. Morning sickness that lasts. All. Damn. Day.

3. That pantyliner aren’t just for periods.

4. That sometimes you get diaper rash even when you don’t wear diapers.

5. Mucus plugs. ‘Nuff said.

6. What Dolly Parton must feel like.

7. Cankles that engulf your entire leg.

8. How to waddle like a penguin.

9. The awesomeness that is the ability to grow a freakin’ human being.

10. Willing the worst pain of your life to come. SOON.

11. How you can be hot when there is ice dripping from the air conditioner.

12. What it is like to have to pee every 15 minutes. All. Night. Long.

13. Crying because the fast food worker got your order wrong.

14. The urge to punch complete strangers in the neck when they comment on how big you are.

15. The need to organize. ALL THE THINGS.

16. The first time you feel the life growing inside of you move.

17. How to trim the hedges when you can no longer see them…

18. How Jabba the Hutt really feels.

19. The importance of fiber.

20. When a baby does a flip off your cervix and lands on your bladder.

21. That you plan every trip out of the house around access to clean restrooms.

22. What it feels like to be punched in the stomach from the inside.

23. Getting excited when you get diarrhea because it means the baby might be coming soon.

24. What it’s like to pee a little when you cough. Or sneeze. Or breathe.

25. The reason ASPCA commercials make you cry.

26. What that dude in the movie Alien felt like.

27. Sleeping in a fortress of pillows.

28. Why you put dirty dishes in the cupboard and mayonnaise in the dishwasher.

29. Loving someone deeply before you even meet them.

Secret Love Affair (2014)

2014-08-31T15:25:00.000+08:00

As a Noona-Dongsaeng lover, this is considered one of the highly anticipated dramas on my list. When it started, I was obsessed with it and even joined forums to discuss about the setting, environment, character personalities with it.

It's not a production like You Who Came From The Stars so naturally there weren't a lot of blogs recapping or reviewing about a controversial drama such as Secret Love Affair because our OTP are 20 years apart - a 40-year-old music college director Oh Hye Won & a 20-year-old piano prodigy Lee Sun Jae that she mentors.

Initially, I thought their 'forbidden relationship' was quite interesting as I wanted to see how the production address affairs because their connection when they play piano together is genuine and I could see the budding attraction. I was quite shocked when they had their first kiss at episode 3!

This kiss was quite hot to be honest...

The show subsequently showcase their vast difference in lifestyle & status but I got bored with the lady because of her position in the show and the different bosses she has a answer too. She basically has a very mentally stressful & tiring life that drains most of her energy away.

She basically has 4 'bosses' above her:

1. The owner of the music school - 70 year old Chairman Seo - who's an old playboy who paid for her music education cos of her talent. He knows he has a troubled daughter and a jealous second-wife and would asked Hye Won to watch them for him. 一个自以为每个人都得听他的的老男人。

2. The crazy bitch daughter of Chairman Seo - who's a playgirl like her father who's already married but still likes to fool around with young hunks/models boyfriends and basically get wasted all the time and loves slapping Hye Won because she feels Hye Won is very 假正经. She always encourage her to get an affair too since Hye Won's husband is so boring. 一个神经质又幻想症的情绪化的女人。

3. The second wife of CEO Seo - she's a sly lady who basically used Hye Won to make sure Chairman Seo won't fool around and make sure his assets will be retained for her etc 一个不想认老或丑的没有安全感的老女人。

4. Hye Won's incompetent & selfish husband who only cares about his own success & recognition. He fails as a man and as a husband. He basically always shun at the first sign of danger and use his wife as a shield and leave a lot of mess for his wife to clean up. 一个完全无能的丈夫而只会躲在老婆背后的窝囊的男人。

Her life is basically too damn miserable that I couldn't bear to watch. And I don't think realistically being with a 20 year-old boy is going to change anything.

It was actually too draining for me to watch her living in misery, pain, agony everyday and basically doing more wrong by fooling around with this kid... and so I dropped at episode 8 or 9....

For those of you who managed to complete this show, please enlighten me by filling me with the rest of the ending lol :P

Only 10 Weeks Left!

2014-08-28T17:09:00.000+08:00

WHY DOES TIME PASS SO FAST!!!!

August is ending & I barely get to reminisce my July :P and here I have to face with August =\

It's a new school term. Nope not for me. But the fact that I work in a school meant that it's FOREVER CROWDED!!! The bus are always crowded, the cafeteria is always crowded. Basically it's crowded everywhere with a lot of freshmen, noisy seniors and a lot of activities going on. Good for the students but sian for the staff.

I am officially at my THIRD TRIMESTER! And from this month onwards, I will be visiting Dr Tho on a bi-weekly basis

I managed to see Dr Tho twice at 28 weeks & at 30 weeks. However, during both times, I didn't get a new pic of Strong One because he's either facing downwards or away from my tummy so the ultrasound couldn't see his face properly :( Part of my prenatal package includes 3D Ultrasound, I really really really hope & pray that I'll be able to see his face again real soon the next time :)

A few things which Dearie & I had been looking at were breast pumps, baby carriers & strollers/prams.

New mothers would most definitely read that Medela is seemingly the best breastpump brand in the market but that being said, it's also the most costly. They have a few series and we are looking at Freestyle which is retailing for $799 at all places that carry this brand. Hence, we decided to shop from US and searched through Amazon & Pricegrabber.

Most online price is going for USD300 onwards but definitely below USD400 (SGD500). Even inclusive of shipping would definitely cost lower than SGD800!! SIAO!

If you're a new parent and want to get your hands on Medela, forget about buying in local retail la. Just buy online from US sites. It cost so much cheaper!

Likewise for baby carrier, we had been looking for something we find useful & trustworthy & of course neutral designs. At the many baby expos we went to, we saw a lot of Baby Bjorn & I-angel but the thing is we don't really notice parents carrying their kids with this brand.

Later through blog searches, we found out that an sg mother brought her few-months old infant and carried him with Ergobaby and toured the city freely & normally for the whole day without breaking a sweat. I bet everyone would think that the infant is too small to travel and having a child would deprive you of traveling overseas but I think this sg mother is quite steady leh.

There are many Ergobaby series but we decided to use Performance - as what the sg mother above used - as Original has too many flowery & bright colours that may not be suitable for the husband/father.

As usually SG retail price is $225. When we looked online, it's about USD140 which is about SGD185. But if we want to use it for newborn, we would have to purchase the infant insert separately.

We are still indecisive with strollers. Some of what my friends are using are Graco, Capella but when I saw the price at KiddyPalace, they're really super expensive :( Like $399-599 kinda pricing. WHY? Perhaps we should consider US online sites again since we already have intend to buy the breastpump & baby carrier from online.

Dearie seemed to be considering getting a car - perhaps influenced by friends? There were instances whereby we just couldn't get a cab without flagging/waiting for at least 30 minutes at the roadside or queuing at the cab stand. My growing belly has also grown inconvenient traveling around MRT or bus - why? Cos MY BUTT IS FUCKING HUGE!!!! Even if I have a seat on the bus or train, my butt will touch the butts/hips of the people on the both of my sides :( Sigh...

We had our first Antenatal Course at Mount Alvernia Hospital. It was a theory class by a Dietitian on the type of food to eat and avoid during pregnancy. Lucky for me, I have no nausea during my pregnancy so I basically eat anything & everything. Do I have cravings? You can bet I do but they're all unhealthy - potato chips, ice cream, instant noodles! So I needed to control the portion!

Most of the food are quite ok for expectant mothers EXCEPT raw food, uncooked food, certain seafood. It's ok to have unhealthy ones ONCE IN A WHILE but not recommended to have it daily la... lol

-

我的工作合约截止日期要到了。
所以新主人有找我谈，她问我我将来在这里的打算是什么？

真心话：
老娘觉得在这里没有前途，没什么好发展的。
他妈的，两年半的薪水都一样！没有起到！
因为前任主任给的评语都不好。我还留下来干嘛？
要不是怀孕，我早就走人了！我一直都想走了！

结果说出来的话：
我知道自己的程度不如 same team 同事，所以不介意往Video发展。
我和Video team 合作过一些工程，还蛮顺利的。

With that, I was assigned to support the video team with my design expertise and I am also tasked to produce measurable projects within the next 2 months before I go for my maternity leave.

I was a bit turn off & appalled. Does that means what I had done last year was also forsaken? That I'll only be judged for what I am able to produce in the next 2 months? What can I achieve with the video projects in the next 2 month? I don't even have the necessary skills to do video shooting or editing as compared to the experiences colleagues in the video team.

What I can offer are possible pre-production stuff like storyboard, concept, script, art direction etc. I probably won't be able to be part of the shooting with a 30-week pregnant belly and I certainly can't do Premiere or After Effect anymore. I mean I can learn but... it will take time since what I'd been doing are PS, AI, DW stuff...

Guess what? She really assigned me to lead a video project single-handedly. I knew there was miscommunication somewhere that she assumed I had the skillsets of what the video team has. So she asked me to work with someone from the video team but still ask me to lead.

搞什么？叫一个没有经验的人来负责工程。
唉，有时候也不懂这个新主人在想什么。。。

Working in a school, it's important to celebrate National Day which... I don't really give a flying f..... But I just thought I'd share some nice photos since I looked pretty radiant in red/coral :P

Selfie moment being captured by another colleague

My 28weeks belly on Singapore's Birthday!

The colleague in red, beside me is also pregnant! She's 4 weeks ahead of me!

The following Monday of off in lieu from NDP so my sisters were free! And we could all go out gai gai together with our mom in a 母女姐妹 day.

The 4 of us took a cab to HBF where I went for my usual chiropractic while they shopped at giants and I was touch & happy to know that they were shopping for infant/baby for my Strong One - their nephew/grandson! I WAS SO TOUCHED! Strong One is definitely loved :))))

We had Asian Kitchen for lunch and Mama paid! We had a great time bonding together. My sisters also intro me to Fruit Paradise. It was my first time having atas fruit tart like that!

After shopping & looking around at HBF, we took cab to IMM to check out renovation, household items & furniture.

OH! My neighborhood had a Home Improvement polling like beginning of the year or something where residents could poll and vote for renewing piping, building new toilet fascilities and my family opted for it by paying for some fees. My house has been built in 1982 (during the time my parent married), we had 2 major renovation during these 32 years but we didn't change the pipes so it's safer to change them.

That also means our kitchen & masterbedroom will be installed with new toilet. So we are looking at those shower cubicle with sliding glass door like what hotel has cos our toilet are really the old-fashion 30 years ago type. My sister's room has beds & desk since their primary school days - have to change liao la! They're full grown adults at 22 & 24 years old liao! So they were looking at new beds & desks....

It was nice to be around my family knowing my time with them is getting shorter...

I have finally completed numbers painting!!! YAY!!!!

I also kept looking at the cute baby outfits from my sisters & mom.

Dear Strong One, mama loves you! I can't wait to see you and hold you soon! It's a warm feeling to be holding these baby clothes knowing it will fit on the little human being inside my belly now. I am blessed n also glad to know that he is very much loved :)

After completing the previous painting that took me months, I started on a new one again!

I feel happy being able to be lovey dovey with Dearie every week doing our baby shopping. I can never have enough hugs from him ^^

Just to spam some pics taken with my dearest & beloved hubby....

From the pics, you can tell that I'm really bloated these days, even eyebags too lol I have more obvious eyebags now as Strong One has been getting more active, punching & kicking me hard in the middle of the nights or wee hours in the mornings. He's not even born yet and I'm getting not enough sleep :( But I suppose that's a happy problem to know that he's kicking...

Most of the items at Mothercare seems really expensive. I already felt that KiddyPalace is quite expensive, Mothercare would be more atas. How how how?

After attending about 3 Antenatal course, we learnt more about exercises to do during pregnancy and some of the breathing methods to take note during labour. It was quite fun, not to mention funny.

I am officially 30 weeks and I can feel my swelling belly getting bigger. In fact, I feel like I actually can pop anytime. Where got 30 weeks so big & huge like mine?

I was trying out an outfit bought from ASOS to see how my 30weeks bump look like. My tummy feels full, squeezy, bloated all the time, as if there are lots of things inside, plus all the physical activity he's doing inside lol. Ah, just 10 more weeks :) I'll be able to see a mini-me, or a mini-Z hahaha :x

Nine: Nine Times Travel (2013)

2014-08-22T16:56:00.000+08:00

Nine: Times Travel

This show would not have been on my to-watch list if I had not read the online reviews. I had not seen any shows by the male & female lead before. I didn't even realize that the female lead was the second female lead of Lie To Me! Such vast personalities!

But I definitely have seen the production of Queen In Hyun's Man. Why do I mention this? Before it's the same production team with the same 'time traveling concept'.

But instead of Joseon & Modern Seoul, we have just 20 years of parallel universe happening at the same time. I have to say I had a hard time figuring out the different parallel universe that we were brought along with.

This show is basically about Park Sun Woo (played by Lee Jin Wook) and his tragic life. Why do I say it's tragic, because it really is. He had a sad past - father murdered, mom turned crazy/senile, elder bro killed himself and now in the present, he has to deal with a pending brain tumour.

Although he has a sad & dramatic life but he never let anything get him down. He's a broadcast news reporter and anchor who’s ambitious and successful. He’s well-liked by his teammates & his bosses. He's a couple with our heroine, Joo Min Yeong (played by Jo Yoon Hee) and knowing he has a brain tumour, he finally proposed and we all know it's not going to end well...

The main attraction of this drama is that the are many plots happening at the same time that intertwines with one another...

It started when Sun Woo was notified by his elder brother's death. After investigation, he found out his brother was on his way to find an incense that could allow him to go back in time. Sun Woo managed to get hold of it and succeeded going back in time! He event met his own younger 15-year-old self.

Being an inquisitive reporter, this allowed him to go back in time to find out what exactly happened to his father who's a hospital director. He believed his father was killed by the second-in-command who wanted that title.

Dramabeans has done a great job explaining the mechanism in traveling back in time in this show.

"One incense stick will transport the traveler back exactly twenty years, so while Sun-woo can change something in that time, he cannot later negate it.

Thus time is a line, not a loop, and with these incense sticks Sun-woo has found a way to cut the queue. There are nine sticks, and a person can only travel back in time for as long as a stick burns, which is roughly thirty minutes. Consider Sun-woo’s two timelines (past and present) to be traveling on parallel tracks: If he changes something in the past, in the present he must wait for the past to react before his reality changes. All the time in between then and now remains unrippled until the change arrives.

To add a complication, Sun-woo retains all his memories of the life he lived before the change. After the first time he changes something, he is essentially cognizant of two realities—there are his memories of the life he first lived, and also the memories he acquires of how things played out the second time. With nine sticks, Sun-woo essentially creates alternate realities every time he travels, and the same rules hold true for anybody who finds out about the time traveling. Once they know, they also retain memories of the other lives they lived, which means that there are fast-growing alternate threads of reality that get created with every change Sun-woo enacts. This can become occasionally confusing to keep straight, but is also deeply fascinating.

It also becomes a recipe for disaster, because you can’t go around creating so many ripples in the time-space continuum and expect to get away with it without consequence. And he does not."

How can you not watch the show after reading something as intrigue as this?

And so, I was hooked episode after episode.

The main reason for him to go back in time to change the past was hoping to be able to live happily together with his family. And so our hero believes he can save Dad’s life and take down a villain, but as it turns out, Time does not like being cheated. Sun-woo overreaches by attempting to fix his brother’s broken heart on top of everything…

The first thing he tried to do was to 'save' his brother. His brother had also live an empty life. He couldn't marry the woman he wanted, he couldn't do what he wanted, he never wanted to be a doctor. Sun Woo went back in time to help his brother to get his life back together.

Note that when he went back in time, he went back as 2013 35-year-old Park Sun Woo. His 15-year-old version is still present right there! Hence, the elder bro in the past wasn't able to recognise the 35-year-old PSW. He was only appreciative towards a stranger and a man who helped him.

So in 1993, Sun Woo's brother finally gotten married to the woman he loves who's a single mother with a daughter. But I bet that the 2013 Park Sun Woo probably wouldn't expected that his brother's step-daughter grows up to be Min Yeong!

It's totally mind fucked. In the original 2013 timeline, he's supposed to get married with Joo Min Yeong after proposing to her. And in one instant after altering his brother's life in 1993, in the new 2013 timeline - she became Park Min Yeong, his niece.

As Dramabeans says it best, "The twist delivers a genuine Ohhhh fuck kick, because setting things back to rights would require breaking up his brother’s marriage. It forces him to choose between love or family, between his happiness and his brother’s. There’s a whole lifetime of memories that no longer exist anywhere but in his head."

Park Min Yeong eventually recalls her relationship with her uncle, Park Sun Woo and it lead to the angst & unhappiness to keeping all these forbidden attraction hidden a secret. What should Sun Woo do? He doesn't have a lot of time left....

Fortunately, his younger self is a smart one. 2013 Sun Woo revealed to 1993 Sun Woo to do regular medical check up. And guess what? When the old 2013 Sun Woo was rushed to the emergency, seemingly dying, in the new 2013 timeline, Sun Woo woke up totally cancer free. So yay for that.

I personally think the bromance between the 2 brother is quite tragic. It's a doomed family tragic to begin with simply because the elder brother is a weak-willed individual. We later learn that he was the cause of their father's death. It was an act of defense when the father refused to allow his elder son to see a woman who's a single mother and has a child.

In the old 2013, he died in Himalayas while searching for the incense. In the new 2013, after Sun Woo had saved him and lived with being Min Yeong's uncle, his brother has also eventually committed suicide using drugs injection. zzzzzz Sun Woo had done so much!!! SO MUCH!

So of course our Hero learns that "just because he got to go back and prevent something doesn’t mean he ultimately gets what he intended. Once Sun-woo is out of the past, things are out of his control; he soon finds out that Fate/Time/The Greater Powers always find a way to remind him that he isn’t the one deciding things." when he was stranded in 1993 and was finished off by the villain.

But... we still have a Young Sun Woo who eventually grew up to be the final Sun Woo left standing with a better life ahead of him. The Final Sun Woo also got the girl he wanted :)

Watch the drama left me mind-blogged because each episode was really that nice. Honestly not very recommended for a pregnant mother to be watching but since I had already started, I couldn't stopped watching haha!

Emergency Couple (2014)

2014-08-18T14:44:00.000+08:00

Emergency Couple

One ending of a medical drama is the start of another one as while I was watching Ob & Gyn, Emergency Couple was airing in Korean and there were a lot of good reviews, not to mention Kang Gary also cameo in a scene together with his Monday Girlfriend, Song Ji Hyo who's the female lead of this drama.

If you watch Running Man & are amused by them, you'd find this funny too! HAHA

So what is this show about? It's about an unexpected second chance falling in love with the same person whom you thought was totally not for you, which was why the both of you decided to call it quits in the first place.

Song Ji-hyo plays Oh Jin Hee and Choi Jin-hyuk play Oh Chang Min.

They're a young couple who married in their early twenties (her character is three years older than he is), against his family’s wishes. He comes from a family of all doctors who basically snubbed her for not being good enough, which left them cut off from his money.

He gave up his dream to be a doctor so that he could earn money right away with a salaried desk job, but hated every second of it. Meanwhile she struggled to find work, leading to an even bigger inferiority complex. They fought constantly and eventually got a divorce.

Six years later, he’s gone back to med school to pursue his dream, while she make it through med school when everyone told her she could never amount to anything. And of course, they end up interns at the same hospital, where they’ll have to work in the emergency room together.

The whole show is basically about the patients, the drama, the conflicts they handle at the ER. This is not a playground, they have to resolve critical real life situations someway or somehow. It's not something that they can sweep under the rug like the issues they had with their marriage. They cannot quarrel hysterically like how they did as husband & wife but have to deal with it like professional doctors.

So in a way, the job at ER is kind of a second battleground for their unresolved problems which they experience during their tragic marriage that ended in divorce.

I am glad that there's a catalyst - the second male lead, who's the Chief of the ER dept. Oh Jin Hee seemed to have many accidental-skinship moments with the Chief that were witnessed by Chang Min which probed him into thinking, "She wasn't even that gentle & warm with me back then..." But the truth was, she did! They were so in love with each other back then, what went wrong?

May I present to you the destroyer of all marriage/relationships - THE MONSTER-IN-LAW.

I totally facepalm whenever I see any scenes with Chang Min's mother. I basically just fast forward the show cos she's so dreadful to watch. Really. I would say she's the anti-reagent throughout the whole show.

Many little incidents that happened in the hospital reminded Chang Min of their courtship and eventually he realised he still love Jin Hee and the remaining of the show is about him proving his love for her and him convincing his mother very surely that he wants Jin Hee.

Of course, how does the 2 women able to accept & embrace each other? The unfortunate death of Chang Min's father. Jin Hee gave the mother & son a lot of comfort and through this, Chang Min's mother finally accepted Jin Hee....

It's otherwise quite a predictable plot despite having second-lead & even third-leads trying to come in between our OTP but we all KNOW that it's a drama about second chance at love.

If only they had chosen a better cast or perhaps written Chang Min's mother a little better, I would have like this drama a lot because of the little romantic moments & flashback of our couple. But his mother is too awful for me to accept and if only her air time was lesser la....

Things Every Pregnant Woman Wants to Hear

2014-08-13T14:41:00.000+08:00

I am currently pregnant at 29 weeks and over the course of time, I was checking out pregnant related articles.

Here's one on Things Every Pregnant Woman Wants To Hear.

During these seven months of pregnancy, I have read so many things that every pregnant woman does not want you to say or do. I have not come across a single piece of advice for what to say to an expectant mom.

Understandably, starting any conversation with a mom-to-be could strike terror into your heart because hormonal rage really exists. Fear not, though -- there are some things you can say to a pregnant woman that won't make her want to cut out your tongue.

1. "Don't worry, you will sleep again."
One of the biggest complaints I have as a first-time mom is hearing the horror stories about years of sleepless nights. A random veteran mom actually said these magic words to me instead of telling me about the life of sleep deprivation that follows.

After months of hearing that sleep is a thing of the past, I wanted to throw myself at this woman's feet and thank her profusely for telling me this gem.

2. "Pregnancy is a b*tch."
Amen. Growing a human is hard work. I hate when women refer to pregnancy as a magical time. No, there are no unicorns riding on rainbows here. There is a massive amount of vomit, sweating and discomfort. I'm sure there are women out there who never had morning sickness and didn't find themselves waddling to the bathroom constantly, but most pregnant ladies are not that lucky.

By seven months in, the magic of creating a life has been overtaken by constant heartburn, food aversions, nausea and pregnancy burnout. If you tell me how easy pregnancy was, you'll make me feel like I am already failing at this parenthood thing because I am not skipping through my pregnancy picking flowers and farting glitter. Just walk away before those words come out.

3. "What do you want for dinner?" or "What don't you want for dinner?"
OK, this is really common sense, but if we have plans to eat together at this juncture in my life, ask me first if I have any preferences. It's not that I am trying to be high maintenance here, but if you want to go to a diner and think about ordering scrambled eggs in front of me, there's a good chance I will heave all over you. Really, I am trying to save us both some discomfort.

4. "Don't worry about the labor. Mine wasn't bad. I didn't even know I was in labor until I was 5 centimeters dilated and by the time I got to the hospital it was time to push."
Yes, this seems to contradict item 2 on the list, but if you think my belly has a sign on it that asks you to tell me your labor story, you'd better check for the fine print. I only want to hear your labor story if it was short, sweet and minimally painful. Those stories give me hope that mine too will be short and minimally painful.

If, on the other hand, you labored for a month and had an 18th degree tear, I really don't want to hear about it.

5. "Losing the pregnancy weight wasn't bad. It came right off."
I am heavier than I have ever been and now require a crane to pick myself up off the couch. My belly is so big it has its own zip code. I rarely see my toes. I'd like to think that I will not be hanging onto the baby belly forever. I don't care if this is delusional and I am more likely to win the lottery and birth a litter of puppies than I am to have good abs ever again. Don't dash my dreams.

6. "It's no one's business how you choose to feed your baby. As long as the baby is getting fed, what does it matter to anyone else?"

Before I got pregnant, my boobs were very rarely the subject of discussion. The second I started to show, they became a highly contentious topic of conversation in regards to feeding my baby that even complete strangers felt compelled to weigh in on.

Why do you care so much what I do with my ladies or how I feed my child? Does this affect you in any way, shape or form? If I say I plan to formula feed, will you automatically judge me for not choosing the healthiest option for my baby? If I say I plan to breastfeed, will you consider me a sanctimommy?

Either way, the way I choose to feed my baby is none of your business, and I pledge my undying love to you if you acknowledge that rather than telling me what I should do.

7. "You look beautiful."
This one goes out to all the significant others of pregnant women out there. I am very well aware of the fact that I look like I swallowed a beach ball and made out with an oil slick. You win infinite points if you not only don't point these things out to me, but also actually tell me that I am beautiful. You get my undying love and gratitude if you actually mean it.

However, I don't care if you are lying and think I look like a beached whale in the last throes of life. Don't tell me, and whatever you do, don't make a reference to how big I am. Do you really think I don't know?

8. "How are YOU?"
No, don't ask me how I am feeling or say something to let me know that you see me only as a baby brewery at the moment. Instead, show genuine interest in how I am, how my job is going or what movies I have seen lately. I am still the same person I was before I got pregnant, just a lot bigger and slightly more hormonal. I'd love to talk about something related to me that is totally unrelated to gestating.

I chuckled as I read because how true it was. What everyone has been saying to me are the exact opposite of what's here. Of course I won't take this article as a measure.

Pregnancy isn't an easy journey and it will be nice to hear some comforting words every now & then. It's not hard to throw in a few comforting compliments to a pregnant woman, right?

Ob/Gyn Doctors (2010)

2014-08-08T14:47:00.000+08:00

Ob/Gyn Doctors

I was watching one episode on Running Man when Song Joong Ki was still in it. That episode was filmed in a hospital where they needed to look for guest disguise was doctors or patients.

In one scene, SJK claimed that he had played a doctor before and as a son of the hospital director. That piqued my interest and upon searching for it, it was Ob/Gyn Doctors.

As I was also in the beginning stage of pregnancy, I decided to watch it for my own knowledge on what are the areas of female illnesses to take note of. Like it's title, it's basically a medical drama where it focus on a different case every episode and how these doctors managed to save the lives of the patients. We also get to see domestic disputes that every medical profession would probably witness that we average ppl would never encounter in our lives.

I would say the lovelines are actually minimal. But what touched me more are the relationships between mothers & children as depicted in several episodes.

There are no official posters so I'll just include behind-the-scene pics of our main loveline of these 3 good looking Doctors.

Jang Seo Hee (Yes, that girl from Temptation of Wife 妻子的诱惑) played Dr Seo Hye Yeong - a talented and determined obstetrician who has delivered many healthy babies and superb stitching skills. Her straightforward manner of handling her professional life is in contrast with her love life, which is marred by her relationship with a married man. Making things more traumatic for Dr. Seo, she discovered that she was pregnant and attempted to keep it a secret from her co-workers.

Things becomes even more entangled when she meets 好管闲事，温柔男子 pediatrician Dr Lee Sang Shik, the chief of NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) who discovered about her pregnancy accidentally and tried ways & means to remind her to watch her hectic lifestyle & diet. He's basically 爱心泛滥 who took care of her when she's sick and cook healthy food for her seeing her always eating junk & takeaways.

In the Ob & Gyn dept has another Dr, fertility gynecologist Dr Wang Jae Suk, who's a good friend of Dr Seo. They basically went to the same schools throughout their lives. I believe this guy is considered a 青梅竹马.

However, they never dated each other because that guy is a flirt who like to know and see new girls every week or month until his parents keep asking him to find someone to settle down and he eventually realised that the person he wants to settle down is Hye Yeong.

But both of them knew her complicated relationship with the married man which was why she wanted to:
1. Break off with the guy who has no intention to take responsibility,
2. Abort the child who won't have a father. But Dr Lee loves kids too much to encourage ANY mothers to abort their child.

He eventually sort out his feelings and even spent the effort to prepare a ceremony for his confession but it seems like she still unable to let go of the married man whom she had many years of relationship with.

But when Dr Lee had to be away for a conference in US for a week, Dr Seo became distraught. Which was when Dr Wang realised that perhaps Dr Seo also had feelings for Dr Lee? He decided to step back from this complicated relationship...

What's the ending of this loveline? It's open ended... LOL

We also have another side couple who are extremely cute....

Dr Ahn Kyung Woo is a rich man's son whose parents keep pressing him to get married. So he goes to blind dates organised by his parents often. Meanwhile, we also have Nurse Kim Young Mi who also suffered the same fate of being pressed to get married.

And so the both of them happen to see each other with their blind dates at the same restaurant. It was an awkward meeting and they were also both awkward to see each other at the hospital.

As it turned out, they became the blind dates of each other. So things became even more awkward because they were co-workers in the same department and now they have to date each other - which they eventually did and they fell super in love and it's totally cute.

Ending? They got married and was pronounced as husband & wife in the hospital they met & worked together :) But having the wedding ceremony at your workplace is not romantic leh!

When You Feel "Stuck" in Your Relationship...

2014-07-18T14:27:00.000+08:00

From time to time, couple who are in a committed relationship would probably experience this feeling of being 'stuck' in your relationship.

A lot of the self-help or inspirational/motivational website that I follow offer a lot of positive & easy-to-follow advise. So here's how you can Experience Deeper Love and Intimacy in your Marriage or Relationship.

If my experience resonates with you or you feel “stuck” in your relationship, here are some tips I have found instrumental in my own life for catalyzing a positive shift. It takes a lot of courage and it may not be easy. This is for the warriors.

But if you think this is your path. Here is some wisdom that has helped me a lot.

1. See the Best in Your Partner. Always.
This is one of the most powerful things you can do to help your relationship. How can anyone understand another person’s journey? We cannot, as we are not standing in their shoes. By holding the intention for the highest divine outcome for them, and seeing them in the highest light, you can actually participate in healing and supporting them to reach their potential. How many times when I was in a dark moment, I longed for someone to believe in me.

2. Consider How the Divine Loves – and Model That.
How does “God” or “Consciousness” love? It loves unconditionally. This means that there is no thing or act necessary for you to be loved or love your partner in the eyes of the Divine.There is no future time or place where then you can be loved. In other words, you are perfect NOW. And the same holds true for your partner, irrespective of circumstance.

3. Forgive and Forget.
If you do this, you’ll do yourself the biggest favor. One’s actions speak to themselves and themselves alone. There is no act that is unforgivable in the eyes of the Divine.

Practice forgiveness and forgetfulness. Let it go. And love NOW.

4. Celebrate Your Partner as He or She Is NOW.
Logically, if the higher plan is in place, then we all are God and we all are playing our parts in the symphony. Consciousness does not value one expression over another. We are all divine expressions. Celebrate your partner. And if you are wise, view him or her as your divine lover – and honor him or her.

5. Take responsibility – the Ultimate “GREEN”
Remember you are your own self-sustainable ecosystem. Be responsible for your own energy and state of being. No one or thing outside of you is your source. You naturally have enough energy to sustain your life.

The key lies in your heart, not in your mind. Use techniques to get you in touch with your heart like yoga, meditation, being in nature, and eating for life and energy.

6. Remember Who You Are.
Let go of what your partner is doing. Instead, connect with what you came here to express. Your life is about you. At the end of the day, live the life you came here to live. And you will find, as I have, that this seemingly selfish act is actually one of great compassion and expansion. Because just touching this awareness will uplift everyone around you.

I wish you all “JAI” or victory in your relationships and in your life.

31st Birthday: Turning 31 With Bliss

2014-07-12T12:05:00.000+08:00

I had an advance birthday family dinner @ Joy Garden Jurong SAFRA and thereafter celebrating in the comfort of our own home with Macha Swiss Roll cake made with love by my cousin, Sharon.

Macha inside. Cheese cream in pink on the outside! Would have been better with chocolate handwriting :P

A lovely pic captured by my sister with Strong One blurred in the background.

It's 3 of us now and in the future lol

As you can see, I was too happy beyond words with smiley eyes lol. So is Dearie ^^

And I turned 31 with a lot of bliss & blessings :D

On my actually birthday on Jul 11, it was a Friday. Prior to that, we booked a 1-night staycation at St Regis through Agoda.com at $400.

Dearie knew I love hydrangeas. I actually never knew the existence of this flower until I met my florist who did my wedding day bouquet. So he approached the same florist and have it delivered to my place! :D

Extremely happy with my bouquet!!! ^^

Yes, 31 year-old preggy still pouting & act cute like a young girl LOL!

I really do wish I could still look young & youthful forever *fat hope lol*

It was an eventful day visiting my chiropractor. Just a simple Yoshinoya lunch and a fun bus ride from Habourfront to Orchard.

As the bus we took didn't stop directly around Tanglin we had to walk from Takashimaya which was quite a distance. Along the way we passed by ION and decided to dabao 4Fingers. We eventually checked in St Regis. It was simply ATAS! LOL. Even the counter to check in was also pretty exclusive.

After confirming our details, we were brought in VIP-style by a butler. Guests were also invited to take the lift exclusively! There was a couple in front of us and I thought we should join in but our butler said we could take the next one. So we did. He went on to explain some of the facilities that we are entitled to utilize in the hotel. Atas leh!

He showed us to our room and offered to showed us around but we declined cos we were wondering if we had to tip him :P

The room was luxurious & huge & comfy for me! The room is totally worth every penny of the $400 spent. We basically nuah inside watching TV & eating the fried chicken from 4Fingers. And of course I look lots & lots of selfies with my new Z2 and the monopod that I brought along.

The view that greeted us when we step in through the door!

Luxurious bathroom with 2 dresser/basin & a bathtub where you can watch TV!!!

Portrait to show the lighting above.

It's my bday so I'm gonna spam pics of myself LOL

I am happy to see all the love for me and my 24weeks (6months) belly because it's basically my first time showcasing my bump and at the same time announcing my pregnancy on my birthday.

I figured it's a good time to announce on Facebook to also let my relatives know as my parents were also hush hush about it.

Ok more selfies with hubby where you can see us obviously holding a monopod :P The front camera of Z2 isn't very good I realised =\

To be honest, St Regis is a little out of the way from Orchard so we could only walk around Tanglin Mall and our dinner was settled at food court that serve really yummy noodles. It was actually enough for me. It's the company that counts and I'm happy going anywhere & doing anywhere with Dearie.

The next day when we checked out, we took a bus to PS as I wanted to check out the cost of Tulle material at Spotlight. Yes, Spotlight does indeed sell tulle but...... it's $13 for 1-metre. So, that means 5 layers would cost $60+! No wonder a tulle skirt cost $100+!!! Should I splurge myself? Hmm....

From PS, we moved on to Suntec as I've arranged to meet Huishan & Ernest for lunch at Marutama Ramen. Unfortunately, we haven't been there in a long long long time and didn't know it was renovating and the restaurant was no longer around :( So we had Kiseki Ramen at the new area instead. Still way better than Ippudo Jem.

After that we shopped at Lowrys Farm as Huishan wanted to get new outfits. We continued our chats at Smoothie King as we tried to snap selfies under the watchful eyes of many other patrons.

Just going around to take more selfies/wefies together since there was already a monopod. This was taken around the convention hall...

The couple was kind enough to drop us at Clementi where we head back to Woodlands. And this is how I spent my birthday.

It was meaningful & eventful enough for me and I feel really happy turning 31 :) Because I really felt a lot of love... thank you to those who were part of it, even a short line of wishes on social media counts :)

Happy June. Happy July.

2014-07-05T14:26:00.000+08:00

8 June - 20 Weeks Fetal Scan

While work keep getting me down, the 3 things that get me going & looking forward is:

1. Having Dearie

2. Painting the Numbers Painting canvas

3. Looking forward to seeing Strong one!

I had a 20-week fetal scan scheduled at Novena Medical Centre in the morning. It wasn't part of the prenatal package I had signed up with Dr Tho so we spent $185+ for a thorough scan to check for brain/heart/physical deformities in the womb. I could see him for about 30min with the sonogrammer?/radiologist? describing to me what she was scanning for.

Dearie & I were impressed & amazed by the little thing moving inside me! Halfway the scan, he actually flipped from tummy facing up to his tummy lying down! Here are the images from the scan.

Now I kinda understand the touched feelings that expectant mothers feel seeing images of their moving fetus.

In the afternoon, we saw Dr Tho again but there wasn't any scan since I had already spent the morning doing it and we showed him the images provided by the medical centre. Seems like the baby is healthy! We are happy to know that too :)

We spent the rest of the weekend looking for confinement nanny & also compiling list of baby items to buy. Need to spend a lot again...

I weigh 76kg at night and wondered how did I put on weight so fast? I am only 22 weeks (a little more than 5 months) and already putting on 7kg since pre-pregnancy?

2 July - Happy Problems!

Spent time painting and more n more progress to show! :)

There's still a lot of To-do list to do!!!!

Confirming confinement agency/procedures
Maid application status
Baby items to look out for at the Baby Expo
First Month Baby Shower venue

AHHHH!!!! Happy problems! Happy problems!

5 July - Baby Expo

Finally confirmed our confinement service with PEM Confinement. To be perfectly honest, the initial communication with them weren't the most efficient or pleasant due to the fact that they probably hired si ginnah as customer service crew (zzzzzz).

But we eventually chosen them because their company is just within stone throw away from Dearie's place and they also offer the cheapest rates ($2250 is the standard rate unless you top up other service). Plus BIL & Dasao used them before - they weren't particularly satisfied but I guess you get what you paid for which I wasn't prepared to pay anything more than $2400 to be honest.

We spent 1.5hrs to get to Expo and realised that they have a lot of roadshows than baby/maternity products. Most items weren't even brand new. It seems like they were just clearing off dusty/old stock. The condition were worse than what were sold at retail malls/shops. We bought some cheap infant rompers and left after an hour to get back to Woodlands...

It's hard to trust Expos nowadays. Why? We previously went for a Winter Time Expo but let's face it, the price weren't cheaper, in fact they jacked it up so high it was ridiculous! It's the same for IT Show etc... I don't trust IT/Sitex/Comex cos they actually sell more expensive than retail! Very ripped off! If I can get it cheaper at my neighbourhood mall/branch, why would I travel all the way to Expo to get something more expensive and likely 次等货.

At least this Baby Expo gave us an idea what to get and what baby brands to look out for at KiddyPalace & Mothercare :)

Disciplining Your Child

2014-06-30T22:27:00.000+08:00

A Chinese article from a Chinese mother-in-law who's son married an American wife. She talked about how her foreign daughter-in-law managed to discipline her 3-year-old grandson quite different from typical Chinese/Asian family.

I really think all Asian/Chinese family should learn something from how this American mother. I won't say she's 100% right but perhaps it's due to the fact of one-child policy that most Chinese(Asian) kids were raised a little Kings or Princess which may cripple their 'rate of survival' as they grow older. I don't think parents should be at the mercy of their child which is happening in most cases these days.

I have briefly translated the paragraphs. So read on & have some insights on parenting...

中國婆婆流淚自述, 小孫子 Toby 已經3歲了。
在美國待了三個月，洋媳婦 Susan 教育孩子的方法，令我這個中國婆婆大開眼界。

A Chinese grandmother talked about her grandson being 3 years old. Having lived in US for 3 months, the discipline actions taken by her American daughter-in-law really opened the eyes of this Chinese mother-in-law.

每天早上，Toby 醒來後，Susan 把早餐往餐桌上一放，就自顧自地忙去了。
Toby 會自己爬上凳子，喝牛奶，吃面包片。
吃飽後，他回自己的房間，在衣櫃裏找衣服、鞋子，再自己穿上。
畢竟Toby只有3歲，還搞不清楚襪子的正反面，分不清鞋子的左右腳。

有一次 Toby 又把褲子穿反了，我趕緊上前想幫他換，卻被Susan制止了。
她說，如果他覺得不舒服，會自己脫下來，重新穿好；
如果他沒覺得有什麽不舒服，那就隨他的便。
那一整天，Toby反穿著褲子跑來跑去，Susan像沒看見一樣。

Every morning Susan would prepare breakfast while Toby would eat breakfast diligently on his own. After breakfast, he would return to his room to find an outfit to wear. After all, Toby was just 3 and was still probably confused about the front & back of his clothes or the left & right side of his socks.

Once, Toby wore his pants the wrong way, I stepped forward & wanted to help him change but was stopped by Susan. She said, "If he felt uncomfortable, he'd take it off and wear it properly himself. If he felt ok, just let him be." That day, Toby ran around in his pants the wrong way and Susan pretended she didn't see it.

又一次，Toby出去和鄰居家的小朋友玩，
沒多大會就氣喘籲籲地跑回家，對Susan說：
「媽媽，Lily說我的褲子穿反了，真的嗎？」Lily是鄰居家的小姑娘，今年5歲。
Susan笑著說：「是的，你要不要換回來？」
Toby，自己脫下褲子，仔細看了看，重新穿上了。
從那以後，Toby再也沒穿反過褲子。

我不禁想起，我的外孫女五六歲時不會用筷子，上小學時不會系鞋帶。
如今在讀初中要寄宿的她，每個周末都要帶回家一大堆臟衣服呢。

Once, Toby went next door to play with the kids of the neighbours. After a while, he came back panting asking Susan, "Mom, Lilly said I wore my pants the wrong way. Really?" Lily is the nextdoor neighbour's daughter, 5 years old this year. Susan smiled and said, "Yes, sweetie. Do you want to change it?" Toby took of his pants and looked at it carefully before wearing it back. Since that incident, Toby never wore his pant the wrong way anymore.

I can't help but be reminded of my granddaughter who had no idea how to use a chopstick when she 5, no idea how to tie her shoelaces when she entered primary school. Even how at high school, she'd still bring her dirty clothes from her dorm every weekend.

RULE ONE:不吃就餓著

一天中午，Toby鬧情緒，不肯吃飯。
Susan說了他幾句，憤怒的小Toby一把將盤子推到了地上，盤子裏的食物灑了一地。
Susan看著Toby，認真地說：「看來你確實不想吃飯！記住，從現在到明天早上，你什麽都不能吃。」
Toby點點頭，堅定地回答：「Yes!」
我在心裏暗笑，這母子倆，還都挺倔！

下午，Susan和我商量，晚上由我做中國菜。
我心領神會，Toby特別愛吃中國菜，
一定是Susan覺得Toby中午沒好好吃飯，想讓他晚上多吃點兒。

那天晚上我施展廚藝，做了Toby最愛吃的糖醋裏脊、油悶大蝦，
還用意大利面做了中國式的涼面。
Toby最喜歡吃那種涼面，小小的人可以吃滿滿一大盤。
開始吃晚飯了，Toby歡天喜地地爬上凳子。
Susan卻走過來，拿走了他的盤子和刀叉，說：「我們已經約好了，今天你不能吃飯，你自己也答應了的。」
Toby看著面容嚴肅的媽媽，“哇”地一聲在哭起來，邊哭邊說：「媽媽，我餓，我要吃飯。」「不行，說過的話要算數。」Susan毫不心軟。

我心疼了，想替Toby求情，說點好話，卻見兒子對我使眼色。
想起我剛到美國時，兒子就跟我說，
在美國，父母教育孩子時，別人千萬不要插手，即使是長輩也不例外。
無奈，我只好保持沈默。

Rule #1: Eat or be hungry

One noon, Toby was throwing tantrum and refused to eat. Susan reprimanded him and Toby flipped the plate of food on the floor. Susan said to him sternly, "Looks like you're really not eating. From now till tomorrow morning, you're not allowed to eat anything." Toby nodded and replied stubbornly, "Yes!" I was amused by this pair of stubborn mother & son.

During afternoon, Susan & I have decided that I would prepare Chinese dishes for dinner. I knew Toby love Chinese food and was thinking perhaps Toby didn't get to have lunch and wanted him to eat to his fill during dinner.

That evening, I made a lot of Toby's favourite dishes. It was almost dinner and Toby climbed up to his high chair happily. But Susan came over and took away his plate & utensils. She said, "We had an agreement. You're not allowed to eat today. You said it yourself." Toby cried and said, "Mommy, I'm hungry. I want to eat." Susan wasn't going to soften and said, "No, you have to keep your promise."

I wanted to say something for Toby but my son shot me a look which reminded me when I just arrived America. He said to me, "In American, don't interfere when parents are disciplining their children, that includes elders." Helpless, I could only hold my silence.

那頓飯，從始至終，可憐的小Toby一直坐在玩具車裏，
眼巴巴地看著我們三個大人狼吞虎咽。
我這才明白Susan讓我做中餐的真正用意。
我相信，下一次，Toby想發脾氣扔飯碗時，
一定會想起自己餓著肚子看爸爸媽媽和奶奶享用美食的經歷。
餓著肚子的滋味不好受，況且還是面對自己最喜愛的食物。

臨睡前，我和Susan一起去向Toby道晚安。
Toby小心翼翼地問：「媽媽，我很餓，現在我能吃中國面嗎？」
Susan微笑著搖搖頭，堅決地說：「不！」
Toby嘆了口氣，又問：「那等我睡完覺睜開眼睛時，可以吃嗎？」
「當然可以。」Susan溫柔地回答。
Toby甜甜地笑了。

大部分情況下，Toby吃飯都很積極，
他不想因為“罷吃”而錯過食物，再受餓肚子的苦。
每當看到Toby埋頭大口大口地吃飯，嘴上臉上粘的都是食物時，我就想起外孫女。
她像Toby這麽大時，為了哄她吃飯，幾個大人端著飯碗跟在她屁股後面跑，
她還不買賬，還要談條件：吃完這碗買一個玩具，再吃一碗買一個玩具……

During that meal, Toby only played with his toys while watching the 3 adults indulging in their food. I began to understand why Susan wanted me to prepare dinner. I believe the next time when Toby throws a tantrum, he would be reminded of the hungry experience and having to watch his parents feasting. The feeling of going hungry & unable to eat your favourite food is miserable.

Before bedtime, Susan & I went over to say goodnight to Toby. Toby asked his mom softly, "Mom, I'm really hungry. Can I eat now?" Susan smiled but still shook her head firmly, "No." Toby sighed and asked again, "Then after I get up from bed again, can I eat?" Susan smiled gently, "Of course." Toby smiled again.

Since then, Toby takes pride in finishing up his food. He won't miss out delicacies and make himself go hungry again because of 'protest' for whatever reasons. Everytime when I see Toby eating his heart out, I would be reminded of my granddaughter again. When she's Toby's age, so many of us were hoaxing her to eat, she would even exchange terms & conditions with us! Wanting this toy after one bowl, wanting that toy after another bowl....

RULE TWO、以其人之道，還治其人之身

有一天，我們帶Toby去公園玩。
很快，Toby就和兩個女孩兒玩起了廚房遊戲。
塑膠小鍋、小鏟子、小盤子、小碗擺了一地。
忽然，淘氣的Toby拿起小鍋，使勁在一個女孩兒頭上敲了一下，
女孩兒楞了一下，放聲大哭。
另一個女孩兒年紀更小一些，見此情形，也被嚇得大哭起來。
大概Toby沒想到會有這麽嚴重的後果，站在一旁，楞住了。

Susan走上前，問清了事情的來龍去脈後，
她一聲不吭，拿起小鍋，使勁敲到Toby的頭上，
Toby沒防備，一下子跌坐在草地上，哇哇大哭起來。
Susan問Toby：「疼嗎？下次還這樣嗎？”
Toby一邊哭，一邊拼命搖頭。
我相信他以後再也不會這麽做了。

Rule #2: An eye for an eye (Not sure if this is the best idiom translation)

One day, we bought Toby to the playground. Very soon, he was playing 'kitchen games' with 2 little girls. Plastic utensils like wok, pots, pans, plates & bowls were scattered all over. All of a sudden, Toby grabbed the pan and swerved at one of the girl's head. The girl was shocked and started crying. The other younger girl also followed suit and cried. Toby probably didn't expect the outcome and was stunned.

Susan went forward and asked the kids what happened. Then she grabbed the pan and knock it on Toby's head. The boy fell onto the grass and cried. Susan asked, "Does it hurt? Are you going to do this again?" Toby shook his head as he cried. I believe he won't ever do such a thing again.

RULE THREE、建立社交能力

Toby的舅舅送了他一輛淺藍色的小自行車，
Toby非常喜歡，當成寶貝，不許別人碰。臨居小姑娘Lily是Toby的好朋友，
央求Toby好幾次，要騎他的小車，Toby都沒答應。

一次，幾個孩子一起玩時，Lily趁Toby不註意，
偷偷騎上小車，揚長而去。
Toby發現後，氣憤地跑來向Susan告狀。
Susan正和幾個孩子的母親一起聊天喝咖啡，便微笑著說：
「你們的事情自己解決，媽媽可管不了。」
Toby無奈地走了。

過了一小會兒，Lily騎著小車回來了。
Toby看到Lily，一把將她推倒在地，搶過了小車。
Lily坐在地上大哭起來。Susan抱起Lily，安撫了她一會兒。
很快，Lily就和別的小朋友興高采烈地玩了起來。
Toby自己騎了會兒車，覺得有些無聊，
看到那幾個孩子玩得那麽高興，他想加入，又覺得有些不好意思。
他蹭到Susan身邊，嘟囔道：「媽媽，我想跟Lily他們一起玩。」
Susan不動聲色地說：「那你自己去找他們啦！」
「媽媽，你陪我一起去。」Toby懇求道。
「那可不行，剛才是你把Lily弄哭的，現在你又想和大家玩，就得自己去解決問題。」

Toby騎著小車慢慢靠近Lily，快到她身邊時，又掉頭回來。
來回好幾次，不知道從什麽時候開始，Toby和Lily又笑逐顏開，鬧成了一團。

Rule #3: Promote social interactivity

Toby's uncle gave him a little light blue bicycle. He loved it a lot and forbid anyone to touch it. Next door kid Lily & Toby are good friend and she pleaded with him to let her ride on his bike but he refused.

One time when the kids were all playing, Lily took the opportunity to ride on Toby's bike when he was distracted. When Toby discovered, he reported to his mother angrily. Susan was chatting with the mothers of the other kids and said cheerily, "You'll have to settle it yourself. Mummy's not going to be involved." Toby walked away helplessly.

After a while, Lily rode the bike back. When Toby saw her, he pushed her to the ground and grabbed the bike back. Lily cried and Susan carried & comforted her. Very soon, Lily was fine and played with the kids happily again.

Toby later got bored cycling on his bike on his own. He wanted to join the happy kids but felt embarrassed. He ran toward his mother and asked, "Mom, I wanna play with Lily and the other kids." Susan said as a matter of factly, "Then go over and join them." Toby pleaded, "Can you go with me, mom?" Susan replied, "I'm not going to do that. You were the one who made Lily cry and now you want to play with them? Then you gotta go settle it yourself."

Toby rode on his little bike toward Lily. When he was about to reach, he turned back again. Just to & fro like that and not sure when, the both of them were smiling & playing with each other again.

RULE FOUR、管教孩子是父母的事

Susan 的父母住在加利福尼亞州，聽說我來了，兩人開車來探望我們。
家裏來了客人，Toby 很興奮，跑上跑下地亂竄。
他把玩沙子用的小桶裝滿了水，提著小桶在屋裏四處轉悠。
Susan 警告了她好幾次，不要把水灑到地板上，Toby 置若罔聞。

最後，Toby 還是把水桶弄倒了，水灑了一地。
興奮的小 Toby 不覺得自己做錯了事，
還得意地光著腳丫踩水玩，把褲子全弄濕了。
我連忙找出拖把準備拖地。
Susan 從我手中搶過拖把交給Toby，
對他說：「把地拖幹，把濕衣服脫下來，自己洗幹凈。」
Toby 不願意，又哭又鬧。
Susan 二話不說，直接把他拉到貯藏室，關了禁閉。

聽到Toby在裏面發出驚天動地的哭喊，
我心疼壞了，想進去把他抱出來。
Toby的外婆卻攔住我，說：「這是Susan 的事。」

過了一會兒，Toby不哭了，他在貯藏裏大大聲喊：「媽媽，我錯了。」
Susan 站在門外，問：「那你知道該怎麽做了嗎？」
「我知道。」
Susan 打開門，Toby 從貯藏室走出來，臉上還掛著兩行淚珠。
他拿起有他兩個高的拖把吃力地把地上的水拖幹凈。
然後，他脫下褲子，拎在手上，光著屁股走進洗手間，稀裏嘩啦地洗起衣服來。

Rule #4: Disciplining Children is the Job of Parents

Susan's parents were visiting from California and Toby was excited by so many visitors by running here & there. Toby filled his small pail with water and was walking around the house with the pail of water. Susan warned Toby a few times not to spill the water but Toby didn't pay attention.

Finally, Toby eventually spilled the water and made a mess. But he didn't realise he created a mess and was still playing with the water and his clothes were all wet. I quickly brought the mop out but Susan took the mop from me and shove it to Toby, saying, "Dry the floor, take off your wet clothes and clean up yourself." Toby refused and kept crying. Without hesitation, Susan dragged Toby to the basement.

I was helpless when I heard Toby cry. I wanted to get him out but Toby's grandmother stopped me and said, "This is what Susan has to do."

After a while, Toby stopped crying and yelled, "I'm sorry, mom." Susan stood outside and said, "Then do you know what to do now?" "Yes." Susan opened the door and watch Toby walked out with two streaks of tears on his face. After that, he removed his pants and clothes. He walked into the toilet and started washing his clothes.

Toby的外公外婆看著表情驚異的我，意味深長地笑了。

這件事讓我感觸頗深。在很多中國家庭，父母管教孩子時，
常常會引起“世界大戰”，往往是外婆外公護，爺爺奶奶攔，夫妻吵架，雞飛狗跳。
後來，我和Toby的外公外婆聊天時，提到這件事，
Toby的外公說了一段話，讓我印象深刻。

他說，孩子是父母的孩子，首先要尊重父母對孩子的教育方式。
孩子雖然小，卻是天生的外交家，
當他看到家庭成員之間出現分歧時，他會很聰明地鉆空子。
這不僅對改善他的行為毫無益處，反而會導致問題越來越嚴重，甚至帶來更多別的問題。

而且，家庭成員之間發生沖突，
不和諧的家庭氛圍會帶給孩子更多的不安全感，
對孩子的心理發展產生不利影響。
所以，無論是父輩與祖輩在教育孩子的問題上發生分歧，
還是夫妻兩人的教育觀念有差異，都不能在孩子面前發生沖突。

Toby's grandpa seemed amused as he watched my bewildered expression. I reflected on myself and realised that in typical Chinese family, whenever the parents are disciplining the kids, it always end in 'world war' because of protection & defense from both sides of grandparents. The husband & wife quarrel and everything turn sour.

Later when I chatted with Toby's grandparents, his grandpa mentioned something that left me a deep impression. He said, "Children are their parents' kids. We have to respect how they discipline their kids. Although the kids are still young but he is able to observe when the family members have disputes & disagreement. It isn't helpful to his development and may brought about other problems in the future. When family members have disputes, the disharmony will bring the kids a lot of insecurities. Try not to show difference in disciplinary methods in front of the kids."

Toby的外公外婆在家裏住了一周，準備回加利福尼亞了。
臨走前兩天，Toby的外公鄭重地問女兒：
「Toby想要一輛玩具挖掘機，我可以買給他嗎？」
Susan想想，說:「你們這次已經送給他一雙旱冰鞋作為禮物了，
到聖誕節時，再買玩具挖掘機當禮物送給他吧！」

我不知道Toby的外公是怎麽告訴小家夥的，
後來我帶Toby去超市，他指著玩具挖掘機說：
「外公說，聖誕節時，給我買這個當禮物。」語氣裏滿是欣喜和期待。
雖然Susan對Toby如此嚴格，Toby卻對媽媽愛得不得了。
他在外面玩時，會采集一些好看的小花或者他認為漂亮的葉子，
鄭重其事地送給媽媽；別人送給他禮物，他會叫媽媽和他一起拆開；
有什麽好吃的，也總要留一半給媽媽。\

想到很多中國孩子對父母的漠視與冷淡，我不得不佩服我的洋媳婦。
在我看來，在教育孩子的問題上，美國媽媽有很多值得中國媽媽學習的地方。

Toby's grandparents stayed with us for one week before they have to return to California. Two days before, Toby's grandpa asked Susan, "Toby wants a bulldozer, can I buy him one?" Susan thought about it and said, "But you only recently gave him a pair of ice skates. You can buy him that during Christmas instead."

I had no idea how Toby's grandpa managed to convince the little guy. Later when I brought Toby out to the supermarket, he found a bulldozer toy and said happily & excitedly, "Grandpa say he's gonna get me this for Christmas!"

Although Susan is very strict with Toby, but he loves his mother so much. When he's outdoors, he will pick some lovely flowers or leaves and give it to his mom. Whenever everyone gives him a present, he would ask his mother to open the present together. Whenever there's goodies, he'd always leave some for her.

There are so many China kids who are so cold towards their parents. I had to give credit to my American daughter-in-law. From the way I see it, American moms has many things that China moms ought to learn & follow after.

Dramas I Don't Get It

2014-06-24T15:25:00.001+08:00

Alice CheongDamDong

Starring Park Shi Hoo & Moon Geun Yeung. While I give both actor & actress credit on their acting skills but the fallback is the horrible Cinderella story of a rich guy & a poor girl.

Initially I thought their kissing scene & how they interacted was cute. In fact, their kiss was considered one of "Best Korean Drama kisses".

Granted, the kiss wasn't that bad but I dislike the way the storyline made her tried hard-to-get when the guy confessed his feelings to her, citing that she felt she didn't deserve him blablabla....

That's when the show stopped convincing me to ship the both of them and I just dropped it.

We all know the OTP will eventually get together but I just wasn't interested to find out how they overcome all barriers to do it.

-

I also watched this hyped-TW drama In A Good Way 我们的自由年代

The initial reason for starting watching this was because the female lead character's name was Jia En. HAHA! I think that's a good reason for me to first time see a drama character named after me! LOL!

Jia En is described to be a country girl who wanted to study university in Taipei to follow her childhood mate, Renwei. Initially, we would think Renwei was Jia En's crush. However, Renwei's character isn't all that likable. His main purpose in university isn't to study but to party, have fun & chasing skirts - particularly this girl, Bai Xue, who's not your typical evil second female lead. She actually has her eyes set on smart & popular Law student, Liu San Feng - nickname Liu Chuan cos he's good & faster like Rukawa.

No, Jia En do not have so much makeup in the show. It's just for the poster shoot.

Unfortunately, Liu Chuan has fallen for our heroine, Jia En. And Renwei also slowly discovered that his personality with Bai Xue clashed and he has more & more in common with Jia En.

Tada, our typical Square-relationship as well as other sub-plots & loveline of other insignificant characters without substantial objective other than to prolong the drama. There are no villains in this show which I would like to think might be the downfall for this drama - cos there are not real conflict nor climax. Everything is peaceful and fun-loving and all righteous for their own freedom. The only conflict is probably - going overseas to get masters? Starting own business after graduation?

Haha, perhaps I have grown out of 'high school/university romance' that it isn't convincing for me to continue so I dropped it at Episode 12 when Jia En was unhappy with Liu Chuan's possible decision to further his studies overseas and they have to break up. I didn't bother to find out the ending at all.

You/Man From Another Star (2014)

2014-06-12T22:36:00.000+08:00

You/Man From Another Star

Much hype had been given to this show simply because it was Jeon Ji Hyun's comeback to the dramaland as her last drama was in 1999. She had been doing purely films/movies since then. As one of the biggest Hallyu Star, her performance in kdrama was much awaited as well as expected. It helps that this is a sci-fi love story!

If all 400 year-old aliens looked like how the male lead, Kim Soo Hyun did, I'm pretty sure the earth welcome all of them with wide arms. If university professors all looked like how Professor Do did, every girl would pass university/college with super flying colours.

I would think the success of this drama had to be the storyline set-up and it's direction, of course the chemistry between our male & female lead. You'll see the more hysterical one is our leading lady and the more composed one is obviously our leading man, having 400 years of headstart living on earth.

Storyline (in my own words):
Alien in weird clothing, who has the power to freeze time, landed in Joseon and saved a little girl from falling off the cliff. He settled himself into Joseon & befriended the girl. Girl likes him and gave him a gift. But he was discovered being an alien and pursue by stupid villages who think he's dangerous & pose a threat to the neighbourhood. Girl died trying to shield him. He became devastated.

Story fast forward a little to showcase that every time when he makes a seemingly genuine friend, they all freaked out knowing he's an alien or tried to take advantage of his powers for their own selfish gains and he decided not to be close to anyone and chosen to shut himself out until.... 1970s where he met a really trustworthy person who became his friend - Lawyer Jang.

Our hero, Do Min Joon worked in a bank as an accountant in the 1970s. Lawyer Jang was just fresh out of collage, penniless and tried to borrow a loan from the bank who refused. Devastated, he tried to commit suicide but was saved by DMJ. DMJ gotten him a job in the bank.

They became BFFs ever since until 2014 where Lawyer Jang forged many death certificates for DMJ since DMJ will never age! He naturally became a fatherly figure for him.

His r/s with Lawyer Jang is always one of my favourite moments in the drama

Then, we have our heroine, Cheon Song Yi, a self-absorbed prima donna actress who used to be successful as a child actress but with declining popularity due to her approaching 30. Unfortunately for her, she has a sucky mom who keep sucking money from her. She has lots of pride but when it comes to her family, it always gets her. She's from a broken family basically and her mom is known as a money sucker who treats her daughter like a 摇钱树.

There are also sub-plot of her & other rival actress but I personally think they're quite trivial. There are also 2nd-male lead syndrome who doesn't ever get the girl. BUT, he has a creepy elder brother who is the villain of the whole show. Maybe it's just me but I feel that the villain shouldn't even get more 'air time' than a 2nd male lead! Argh!

So the story goes....

Our male & female lead are neighbours. Because he's an alien, he can hear voices or what people are talking about. Their first meeting was because she was wailing at home. She was surprised & annoyed that this guy doesn't recognise her cos she's supposed to be a famous superstar/celebrity.

So it turned out that she's STILL a university student who had nv completed her degree and was urged by her agency to go back study. To her dismay, he's the professor in a few of her classes. Obviously she isn't a bright student and tried to negotiate for not having to hand in assignment. He was annoyed by this girl's level of absurd & obnoxious. But guess what! She's annoyed too! Because this guy is the first & only guy NOT smittened/attracted to her. So she keeps trying every opportunity to seduce him!

So we have the creepy guy, the elder brother of the 2nd male lead right? Apparently, he has a clingy girlfriend (Yoo In Young) who was Songyi's rival. He had long wanted to get rid of that clingy, mental actress and was plotting to do it at an event happening at a cruise. Unfortunately, Songyi had unknowingly witness their conversation and the guy's attempted murder. So after getting rid of that girlfriend, the creepy villain's next target is Songyi.

We have Do Min Joon keep getting visions of Songyi being in danger and had to save her a few times by using his time-freeze & teleporting powers. In midst of danger, Songyi seemed to see Min Joon's face a few times which she tried confronting him a few times, to which of cos he deny all those times. Songyi thought perhaps she was going crazy because he's all she could think of.

She eventually confessed to him... not once, not twice but... a handful of times but all she got was rejection. Do Min Joon is a alien who was waiting for his spaceship to get back to where he's from for 400 years. His chance finally came and he doesn't want to give up just because of a girl. But we all know he adored her so much. We know because he kissed her everytime without her knowing whenever he freeze time. But it comes with a price because alien cannot come into contact with human saliva. Haha! This part is damn funny.

He eventually come to accept the mutual attraction and they both live happily ever after....

I teared reading this YFAS review, each & every line felt so real. Because that's how awesome this drama is!

Verdict:
Which planet are you living on if you haven't seen this show? GO WATCH IT ALREADY!!!!! It's too freaking funny to miss. Jeon Ji Hyun really went all out for her 'comeback'. It actually almost seemed like playing a parody version of her for this show!

She has no qualms playing all the unglam parts! I mean she's supposed to be commercial queen Jeon Ji Hyun but.... She practically same sampat and provided all the comic scenes!

Another not-to-miss is her younger brother. He only initially had minor parts but I think the show wanted to return fanservice and increased his parts more. The whole show is basically a jumbo combo of a lot of appropriate humour for me! And I'm sure for you as well!

SO GO WATCH NOW!!!!!

I Hear Your Voice (2013)

2014-06-06T22:34:00.000+08:00

I Hear Your Voice

This show has already been on my to-watch list because it's a noona-dongsaeng romance! But what I didn't realise was that this was indeed a scary thriller! It isn't a romcom at all!!! Ok, maybe a few funny moments but this is really a no-nonsense, murder suspense show with a psycho killer at large, planning for his next revenge.

There was minimal loveline as majority of the interaction is how to catch the killer and how to prosecute him. There was other subplots that I love - specifically the relationship between our leading lady and her rival frenemy who's a prosecutor. Basically every scene is important and there isn't a moment you shouldn't focus.

Storyline (in my own words):
We have....

A high school guy, Park Su Ha (Lee Jung Suk), who can read his classmates minds, narrating his diary, ending it with "I'm gonna find you no matter what. I said I will protect you."

Flashback:
Little Su Ha was out with his daddy and having a conversation in the car on what to out. Out of nowhere comes a truck heading for them on a direct collision. Crazy psycho guy - OUR PSYCHOTIC KILLER - came and Su Ha could hear his voice of wanting to kill his father. Little Su Ha asked his dad to get up and leave but couldn't do so in time and had to watch his father being bludgeon by the killer.

Then we have....

A lady (Lee Bo Young) who seems 有点粗暴 but that's how you describe a bold & sassy lass? And a nerdy looking ajushi, (Yoon Sang Hyun - It's hard to believe that this guy is Oska in Secret Garden) rushing to take their Public Defender Lawyer interview.

She feels like fainting seeing so many other applicants. Hence, during the interview, Jang Hye Song talked about her childhood story and why she decided to become a Public Defender Lawyer.

Flashback:
During high school, she was invited to a rich classmate, Seo Do Yeon's (This is the teenage version of the 2nd female lead) birthday party. She isn't exactly close to Do Yeon, they're sort of like frenemy due to competitive results but still on amicable terms. An accident happened when one of the girls played with fireworks and the spark went to Do Yeon's eye. None of the girls admitted, they claimed everything happened to fast but Do Yeon claimed that it was Hye Song who did it! But Hye Song didn't want to admit because she didn't do it!

Do Yeon's father is a lawyer-turned-judge and asked Hye Song if she did it. She replied firmly she didn't. Hye Song's mother is a single-mother who's really gung-ho. She told her daughter to apologise for the incident that happened to Do Yeon but don't have to apologise for why & whose fault it happened.

We then cut to Hye Song going to Do Yeon's place after she recovered if she really saw her purposely setting off the fireworks? Hye Song knew Do Yeon lied and demanded her to explain to her parents to return her innocence. During their argument, they heard a loud crash. True enough, it was little Su Ha's accident and the 2 girls had just witness his dad being smashed with one blow. When the killer moved to Su Ha, Hye Song snapped a pic with her handphone camera and actually just saved little Su Ha's life. The girls ran for their lives as the killer went after them and threaten them.

Next during the courtroom hearing, the girls debated whether they should be witness for the murder they saw, remembering the killer's threats. They sort of dared each other to 'do what's right'. Do Yeon got cold feet and left. Hye Song was left alone to face the killer's leering. Killer was jailed but not before he threw the words to her that he'll hunt her down and pay back what she did to him today. Little Su Ha was grateful to her and promise to protect her from the killer in the future.

Present:
Hye Song was eventually chosen although she said she regretted that decision to go stand a witness. Lawyer Jang Hye Song & Lawyer Cha Guan Woo became colleagues and worked together on difference cases throughout the show.

I realised I just typed out the whole Episode 1 in the above paragraphs but the first episode provided a very good background on the developments of the rest of the 15 episodes of what's to come:

1. Su Ha has found Hye Song but she can't recognise him until much later. The guy always couldn't contain his crush whenever she's around which makes this OTP really cute. Su Ha is also aware that the killer Min Jung Gook has been released from jail and plotting on his revenge against Hye Song, hence he is very protective of Hye Song - awwww...

3. The 3 lawyers seemed to be the only lawyers in the show pitting against each others' wit for each of the cases. The head judge (a comedian ajushi actor) in the show provides the comic relief in all the serious & dramatic court cases. Prosecutor Seo Do Yeon did several amazing jobs. It's basically Do Yeon VS Hye Song at times.

4. The killer found out that Hye Song's mom operates a chicken BBQ shop and was hiring. He took up the job in order to be close to his target. Unfortunately, she was murdered by him (sorry for the spoiler). The stupid thing is, Lawyer Cha (the other male lead) was assigned to defend Min Joon Gook and was found NOT GUILTY - WTF!!!! Hye Song was devastated by the result and decided to work with the Prosecuting team for an appeal.

Did you know that I have to watch the Running Man I Hear Your Voice parody episode in order to be able to continue to watch this thriller? Just so that I would think the actor playing the psycho killer, Min Joon Kook isn't THAT scary and is actually a funny actor in real life?

Verdict:

I love the storyline of this drama but not necessarily the acting of the actors & actresses. I think Lee Jae Suk tend to OVERACTS some of the scenes. Lee Be Young, on the other hand, seems a expressionless at time. I DO LOVE her witty lawyers lines with her frenemy Lee Da Hee in the show. If I have to commend, I would think Lee Da Hee did a splendid job with her role as a Prosecutor.

I LOVE ALL THE TWISTS IN THE END!!! You just HAVE TO WATCH IT TO LIKE IT which I'm very sure you will!

If I have to be honest, Prosecutor Seo was exceedingly outstanding in the show! You have to see the ending to know why! If not, you may read about it in this excellent blog review of this amazing show!

花花世界

2014-06-01T11:15:00.000+08:00

MAY - 花花世界

May 1 - Garden By The Bay
It has been opened since a while back but we haven't got the time to visit. My sisters mentioned that my mom had always wanted to visit so we took the chance to do so during a public holiday. We had Papa to send us there but as always, he's not interested in doing 'stuff like that as his time is better spent doing other things he like'.

We took many many pics of the 花花世界!!!!

May 6 - OGTT
I was still seeing my usual GP and because my previous urine test indicated that my sugar level is high so I was told to do another OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) which will be a more accurate measure of how fast my blood metabolise sugar.

I couldn't eat anything the previous night after 9pm. My first blood reading has to be taken at 830am. I was told that my 'fasting reading' was normal. After that I was to consume a bottle of sweet drink which is actually carbonated soda. After an hour at 930am, a second reading was taken and my glucose level spiked up really high! My GP Dr did casually commented that it was considered high. But yeah, had to see after another 2 hour later if it will return to normal.

At 1130am, my last reading was taken and it was back to the 'higher range' of normal. But still normal right? She told me that I do not have Gestational Diabetes but I do have to watch what I eat, especially sweet stuff. Although it's still controllable but don't over consume more sweet stuff. Finally done over 3 hours!!! I could finally eat cos I was so hungry!

I had my monthly scan but it still looked like an alien. I was told that I really have to find a gynae soon otherwise it will be hard to find any gynae to deliver for me. I remembered Qifen mentioned her friend also saw a gynae at Jurong East which was near my GP clinic too. Dearie & I went to look for the clinic to enquire more but we have to make an appt so I made it within the same week.

May 10 - My First Gynae Visit
There isn't any appt slot for weekend visits so we walked in at 9am, gotten a queue number 10 and head out for Big Breakfast at the nearby McDonald's. By the time I returned at 10am, I was relieved to know I was the next in line!

I'm see Dr Tho C.K at The London Clinic & Surgery for Women. As it was the first visit, I had a long chat with him for him to better understand my condition & symptoms. I told him I was Week 15 and he was able to check the gender! :D WEEEEE really?

His sonogram was SO CLEAR! I could see everything clearly inside my womb! I saw a waving baby! Haha! OK, it just so happened that those tiny hands were up & moving and it looked like it was waving! We could hear the beating heart. Dr Tho was very detailed & clear in explaining the measurements of the fetus & the position of it. When he finally scanned the bottom view of the fetus, there was a little penis. IT IS GOING TO BE A BOY!!!! I looked at Dearie! He was smiling! All along he had a hunch it was boy haha.... Dr Tho said my placenta was low and it may block the passage so will have to monitor to see if it shifts higher as the fetus gets bigger.

We got home excitedly as I announced to my family that it will be a boy! I felt extremely happy and figured that after having 3 daughters, it will be nice to have a grandson :)

May 13 - Family Day
Holiday on Vesak Day allow me to go for a Family Walk/Jog at Bt Batok. I couldn't climb the steps, so my sisters accompanies me on flat trail.

We had bak chor mee!! Ever since Ah Mian got back from Sweden, she hadn't been able to eat local delights. I felt good having BCM too!!!

My sisters & I also decided to prepare spaghetti for the family!

May 17 & 18 - Papa's Birthday
The usual venue for birthdays of family members had always been Yunnan Garden Restaurant. But this year, Papa suggested somewhere new - Jurong SAFRA Joy Garden. I love their menu! Taste really good! Even though Papa is the richest amongst us but I also 意思意思 combine ang bao with Ah Neng!

Usual Sundays if I'm at home, I would always want to join my parents for their Bt Batok Nature Reserve walk/jog session but it was raining heavily so we only had breakfast & shop groceries at NTUC. I actually love bonding time with my family and of course spending lovey dovery time with Dearie since we only meet up on weekends.

Dearie had to work on Sunday. I feel his love and our little Strong One everyday.... Working on Zach & En En periodically makes me feel great. I want to forget bad memories & become a positive and confident person.

May 25 - Bought Art Canvas
I recently bought art canvas at Vivo and trying my hands at Numbers Painting or Paint By Numbers.

Started with this. See the little spaces?

Darker colours are easier to paint than light colours

At first I thought what's so hard about colouring but actually it's not easy - have to control the colour so that it will not be too dry on the canvas. Will show my progress further hehe!

May 31 - Dept's New Direction

One gate closes as my dept produced a farewell video for our Head...

Tree With Deep Roots (2011)

2014-05-31T22:35:00.000+08:00

Tree with Deep Roots / Deep Rooted Tree

I had the greatest fortune to get to watch this amazing drama during my 12D Europe Trip with Hong Thai Travel. The travel/tour guide played this drama during all the long hours of driving from one country's border to another.

I swear you to that I am not sure where the intense attraction came from, but every minute & every episode made me drawn to the story and all its characters ENTIRELY. I was totally sucked into it... There wasn't even loveline to speak of - ok maybe just a small portion. I teared almost every episode and it isn't even a tragedy or tearjerker!!! That is how the dialouges & the show moved me!

Even as I'm typing this out and as I recalled all the scenes I've watched, I got goosebumps because it is THAT amazingly awesome to me. It caused HUGE ripples in me. It gave me a lot to think about how a person - more specifically, a ruler of a country, come to invent something for the livelihood of its ppl and what exactly loyalty means.

When I found out that this was based on a novel and isn't a true story, I was disappointed because it felt really real to me!

The show is about how he go about building the Joseon he had envisioned. In short, it's basically King Sejong's mission to introduce the Hangul characters to it's ppl but he met up with a lot a lot of troubles, hardships, betrayal. He had a tyrant father, his queen isn't understanding, his officials aren't doing their job, there were oppositions & threats everywhere but he didn't want to be a tyrant king like his father.

Without further ado, I'm dying to tell everyone about this 10/10 drama in my book.

Storyline (in my own words):
In the beginning of the show, Kang Chae Yoon (Kang Hyuk), an imperial guard was carefully planning his martial arts routine. Turns out, he was on a mission to assassin the King Sejong (Han Suk Kyu) whom he believed to have killed his family.

Flashback to his childhood: Ddol-bok (young Kang Chae Yoon) and his childhood sweetheart Dam (young Shin Se Kyung), were born in the family of slaves - more specifically the slaves for the Young King Sejong's (Song Joong Ki) father-in-law.

Due to a twist of political power struggle between King Sejong and his tyrant father, King Taejong, Ddol-bok's family was imprisoned & eventually killed. There were written letters exchanged because as slaves, they do not know how to read and were eventually sacrificed. (This gives us a sense of reason why the rest of the story was so important - TO KNOW HOW TO READ!)

Ddol-bok escaped to the north and eventually learn how to fight in wars and learnt martial art from a highly skilled martial artist. Dam was taken in by the Queen and became a court lady. However, she blamed herself for the death of Ddol-bok's family and was unable to speak ever since that massacre.

Several years passed and King Sejong is a down to earth King, very much well-respected by everyone in the palace as well as his people. However, he felt that there's a need for the low-class/slaves to know how to read & write and be able to protect themselves. The massacre still left a hole in his heart for many years and he felt that as a King , that's what he can & should do to protect his people.

The Joseon during that time practiced Confucius teaching and the language used across the country was Hanja and only high-class/nobleman who went to school were able to read & write. Farmers or butchers wouldn't have the time to do that - they have so many chores to do and a livelihood to make.

King Sejong was determined to make his Korean Hangul characters creation see the light and Dam/So-yi (Shin Se Kyung) was also part of this project.

However, this secret mission (It's secret because it cannot be known before it's completed) has been hindered by a group of scholars called "Mil-bon or Hidden Root". They may very well be considered as an opposition party against the government. 几个读书人自以为博学多才. They were formed as they feared that the King's powers will grow too big or that the government will become too corrupted so they're sort of there to remind the King of 'his position'. Why?

Because, we have to flashback to the past during tyrant King Taejong's reign. This king was only capable of hunting, going to war, killing. So then, who were the people doing all the admin/official/building empire work? His scholars/philosophers/ministers (majority from SungKyunKwan) are the ones who did all the groundwork while King Taejong enjoy his feasting/heinous/corruption pleasures.

Apparently the founder of Mil-bon is called Jung Do-jeon. He was eventually captured & killed by King Teojong's men. He was survived by his son, Jung Ki-joon, who, you've guessed right - decided to take revenge on King Sejong to protect his father's name.

We see King Sejong had been wanting to know Jung Ki-joon's whereabouts to 'recruit' him to work for the government because King Sejong had always been sorry for what his father, King Taejong has done to Jung Do-jeon. However, nobody knew where Jung Ki-joon is.

A series of murders happened in the palace where a lot of King Sejong's scholars working for him on his secret mission had been sacrificed. Kang Chae Yoon (Jang Hyuk) was brought in to investigate the murders. The King knew that the Mil-bon was coming on strong and realised that there may be moles amongst his ministers and declared a few times that he welcome opposition parties to question about his ruling but Mil-bon was only capable of doing 小动作 without showing their faces.

The rest of the show is basically watching about:
1. King Sejong VS Mil-bon and who managed to gain the upperhand and how they counter-attack or guessing each others' moves in each episodes.

2. The struggles of King Sejong on whether to stop or continue his plan of announcing the Korean Hangul alphabets to his people at the expense of so many of deaths of his scholars and even his own son - the Crown Prince. He had broke down so many times.

3. Dam/So-yi going ALL THE WAY OUT for her King. She is basically the database memory of all of his creation - she knows the project inside out and willing to do anything and lay down her loyalty for the King because she believes in him and the empire/world/Joseon that he will bring to his people.

4. Kang Chae Yoon struggling to whether to believe his childhood belief that King Sejong killed his whole family or embrace the fact the King he believe he knew was the king who was going to help the future/people of Joseon.

5. Of course the baddies and their schemes and their downfall.

Verdict:
There are some spoilers. But here goes...

I was totally bought over after the first episode. Jang Hyuk did a great job! Song Joong Ki did a great job! Even Shin Se Kyung, who was playing a mute in the beginning and had to rely on her eyes & expression did a great job! Even the bad guys - the antagonist Gari-On (Jung Ki Joon himself!) was awesome as an undercover bad guy!

A few scenes that still left me with deep impressions:
1. King Taejong wanted to kill the young Ddol-bok but young King Sejong (Song Joong Ki) wanted his father to spare the young boy's life. King Taejong insist on killing but King Sejong said something like, "To disobey me is to disobey the King of Joseon." He then asked his bodyguard to draw his sword and said something like, "Mu-hyul ah, kill anyone who attempts to kill me, for my life is the future of Joseon. Bear no mercy to anyone even if he's my father."

2. Gari-On was a slave and gained the trust of the King, So-yi & Chae Yoon. I will never forget the shock when I found out it was all on a specific, precised plan to oppose against the King! Because HE IS FREAKING JUNG KI JOON!!!!

3. When Chae Yoon discover So-yi was Dam! They cried and I cried my heart out with them.

4. When Dam finally managed to talk & convince Chae Yoon that the King is a good King and his plan of coming with the Korean alphabets will help EVERYONE in Joseon.

5. And the oh-so-sexy Yoon Pyung (played by model-turn-actor Lee Soo Hyuk) totally made me swoon with each & every of his appearance! Where can you find such a hot Joseon assassin who's so fashionista, you tell me? Even got time to have different kind of hairstyle! No wonder this character is played by a model! HAHA!

He started off as a mask assassin who smuggled into the palace and killing the King's scholars. You can't really tell how he looked like since it covered half his face but one things for sure, he's a pretty boy and it makes me wonder how a pretty boy could be a killer/assassin.

His hairstyle change pretty often. He also has a deep voice to go with his tall built & pretty boy looks.

There is also a really minor minor lovelife between this dude & So-yi. He had captured her a few times but he didn't bear to kill her. Towards behind when the court maidens were "exiled", he suggested to his Mil-bon leader if they could capture the court maidens to be on their side.

Someone even made a fan-made video on YouTube on them! LOL! It's cute la though it's just miserably 30seconds!!!

But beyond the cuteness, it's really a show about loyalty. If you're into those comrade kinda shows and palace conspiracy and struggles of a potential powerful figure. This is really something intriguing for you.

It's my 10/10 and I hope it's a 10/10 for you as well! It's a very rare gem that I believe not many K-drama fans would commit to and able to write such a wonderful piece of review to just get you to watch it! Haha! SO TRUST ME!

我有了

2014-04-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

我有了!

Mar 1 - Test Kit
I noticed I was starting to feel fatigue & tired during jogs & my cardiomix/kickboxing classes. Something felt wrong when I also felt my boobs were exploding and.... I missed my Feb period. So while collecting my 2XU Compression run 2014 package @ Changi City Point, Dearie & I purchased a pregnancy test kit :P I didn't dare to take it so I asked him to take one and paid for it.

We were tired beyond words traveling from Expo > Tampines > Woodlands via 168. The test came out positive - quite expected since we already had intention to make a Horse Baby. But I still have a 10km & 5km run to do within the month. How?

Mar 4 - First GP visit
The morning sickness was awful and I just had to go to the doctor to be prescribed something. I don't know how to deal with the stringing headaches.

I saw the tiny fella at 6 weeks with a heartbeat! My heart was touched when I looked on the screen with the beating heart! I hadn't expected to feel that way!

At present, the size was only a tiny pea! But it had a beating heart!!!! My expected due date is Oct 26 - it's going to be a Scorpio baby! MELTS. I think my last menses period was the time of conceiving - I think. Otherwise, why would the GP tell me that the fetus was 6 weeks?

It was a strong fella considering it just survived a 10km walk/jog. I read online that the rate of miscarriage during the first 3 months was high because the embryo has yet to settle? So I don't know... it felt strange to be actually announced & confirmed by a GP of my pregnancy even though the test kit showed positive.

I was just prescribed with folic acid and the Dr just tell me to get lots of rest and refrain from eating certain foods. Oh boy! 要戒口！

The first person (other than my husband) whom I told was my mom since I still live at home and eat the food prepared by her. But it seemed to me that she wasn't really too happy to know because she is scared that I will ask her to help me take care and she quickly tried to get herself out by saying that since my MIL already had experience taking care of 2 grandchildren, just throw it to her.

???? I had no intention to bother both sides to be honest. I know my mother would be more concern with her 2 precious daughter and would rather I bother MIL. But precisely MIL mentioned before that she was tired taking care of the 2 grandchildren, so all the more I don't want to mafan her. I will quit my job if I have to - no need to mafan both sides at all.

6个星期的胎儿真的好小好小。
看着荧幕上的心跳让我莫名感动。这是我和老公的结晶.
真的没有想到会这么快‘成功’，原以为还得是多几次。
真的很感谢一切的一切 :)

Mar 6 - MC 2 days
I really needed the time to rest at home and catch up on sleep. I was glad to catch up on drama as well and reading up on pregnancy. Luckily there wasn't a lot to do when I went back to work.

But the coincident thing was, another of my colleague who recently gotten married was also pregnant! But she is 4 weeks ahead of me so our maternity period will clash - crippling the current design team :( I just hope they wouldn't think pregnant employees are a burden.

Mar 8 - Venus Run
Another run that I participated was this. I was still anticipating to be able to run with my sisters but my pregnancy came unannounced. Ever since Dearie knew about it, he had been really really tender loving to me :) He actually borrowed the car from his bro and drove my sisters & I to Marina Barrage where the run was happening. They said they got instructions from Mama to take care of me and be my 左右护法 for the day. LOL! Cute la cute!

Honestly, I really did feel like dying because of the evening sun but we eventually survive walking 5km in a little more than an hour.

Gotten Dearie to take a pic of us!

Some more photos of us that I found online :P Yes, I know I'm not the most glamourous looking person WHILE RUNNING but it was fun(ny) to be captured together with my sisters! LOL!

I am just glad Dearie was willing to drive us there, waited for us, drove us back again! I was so damn tired but I felt really happy & warm & basically blessed to have Dearie & my family with me.

Mar 9 - Daniel & Jasmine Wedding
Dearie had to get up at 2am to prepare being 'brother' as driver for Daniel's wedding while I rested till late morning and prepared myself and got on a cab for their wedding lunch. I wasn't in a rush but I didn't want to endure the really long journey from Woodlands > Orchard due to my frequent headaches.

Congrats to the both of them cos we all know they'd been together for a long time and loved each other so damn much!

Their photographer posted a 'sneak pic' on the FB page which I thought was really beautiful!

Blur pic from their only-one march in.

Apr 1 - Tests @ 10 weeks

Just the blood tests & urine test plus consultation & medication I had cost $200+. I am quite horrified by the amount but I suppose they're all necessary but still.... 真的很贵.

Dearie has been extremely attentive & cautious of what I see and how I feel. He's more kan chiong that me and believes in 胎教. But the fetus is so small at the moment! Haha! After seeing the GP Dr, we went to Mt Alvernia on a maternity tour to check out the wards & their admission package.

Dearie wants to stayover with me after my delivery so we have to choose single room. Double room does not allow that. So single room admission is almost 3K for natural delivery, almost 4.5K for c-sect. This is just admission, we haven't include the gynae consultation & medication. We read in forums that each visit may cost 200+. Imagine visiting the gynae once a month or more frequently? Maybe add up to $1000+?

还没有开始养孩子，只是养生一个孩子就要5千多块!

Haven't even included baby / mummy stuff?? OMG~

While hanging out at the nice cafeteria that serve not bad food, Dearie saw his friend there with his wife. They delivered their no.2 at the hospital and they're gonna be delivering no.3 there as well by the same gynae. Seems like Mt Alvernia is really a nice place to deliver.

I just need to find a suitable gynae there but it's so far away from both Jurong & Woodlands :( Hmm....

老爸终于知道我怀孕了，因为我真的已经许久没有跑步了。

家人没有告诉他，因为怕他到处去和亲戚说。

总觉得我父母好像不是特别高兴自己可以当外公外婆。

Why Some Spouses Give Up

2014-04-16T21:13:00.000+08:00

I came across this article shared by friends on my Facebook feed and thought it was a good read.

The below article came from the book, When Work and Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family written by Andy Stanley, published by Multnomah Publishers.

As Dr John Maxwell says about this book: "This is a life-changing book and extremely relevant to our modern way of life. Author Andy Stanley confronts us with truth and transparency. Just as he had made a commitment in his own life to balance his family time with his work, he encourages us to make similar commitments.

One of the main reasons it is life changing is because a godly man who makes choices in his own life to never sacrifice his family for success has written it. If he wins the world but loses his family, what has he gained? Every couple, every parent, and every leader needs to read this book and consider the question: Who wins when my family and work collide?"

This book presents a strategic plan for resolving the tension between work and home. You’ll find ways to deal with the business that wreaks havoc with the relationships you consider most important.

-

The following story is a parable meant to be used as an imaging tool. It’s not meant to give a spouse, who is ready to give up on a marriage, an excuse to do so. It can however, give the abandoned spouse a better understanding as to why their spouse may have decided to leave their marriage when they did.

More importantly however, this parable is meant to be used as a “wake-up call” to those spouses who are asleep to the fact that they've been neglecting their family. And if they don’t come to that realization and do something to drastically reverse their neglectful behavior immediately —they may wake up one morning to find themselves alone without a family to care for and spend time with.

Read the following story with an open mind and heart as to what the author Andy Stanley is trying to tell those who think their family should keep understanding why they spend so much time away from them.

Use your imagination for just a moment. Imagine that your best friend walks up to you in your front yard one Saturday and asks you to do him a favor.

You have some free time, and so you agree to do it. He walks over to his car, opens the trunk, and produces a thirty-pound rock.

Now here’s where you’re really going to have to use your imagination:

At this point he hands you the rock and says, “I really need you to stand here with this rock until I return.” He explains why it’s important that you stand in that one spot with the rock and promises to return shortly to retrieve it. It’s a strange request, and his explanation doesn’t make a lot of sense, but this is someone you trust, so you agree. At this point he thanks you with extreme gratitude and then gets into his car and drives away.

An hour goes by. And what started out as a reasonable favor is beginning to get a little hard. But after all, this is your best friend, so you resign yourself to continue on and stand there.

Another hour goes by and your arms are starting to ache. Everything in you wants to sit down, but you made a promise. Then suddenly, to your relief, your friend pulls in the driveway, jumps out of the car, and runs in your direction. You’re so relieved. If you weren't holding the rock, you’d hug him.

But your joy is quickly crushed. Instead of relieving you of your burden he says, “I told you I was coming right back. But I need to run one more quick errand. If you’ll keep holding the rock, I’ll make it up to you when I return.” Once again, you trust that what you’re told is true. If your friend needs to run one more errand before relieving you that is just the way it is. So you agree. As he turns to go you can’t help but yell out, “Please hurry.” Off your friend goes and there you stand.

Another hour goes by. The sun begins to set. Your muscles are aching to be able to drop the rock. But you refuse to give in. You’re committed to holding up your part of what you promised. Besides, your friend said he’d make it up to you. You aren't sure what that means, but it must be something good.

Thirty minutes later a car pulls up in the driveway. Someone you don’t know is driving. This person walks over and informs you that your friend has been delayed. “Would you mind holding the rock for just a little while longer?” he asks.

You experience a mixture of pain and anger. You manage to mutter, “Just tell him to hurry.”
Away the person goes and there you stand. It’s dark now. The streets are empty. The neighbors are at their windows watching you stand there, wondering why you’d put up with being treated like that by a “friend.”

Another hour goes by. You begin to lose your grip. Your arms begin to fall. You tell yourself to hold on, but your body just won’t respond. Down goes the rock. And just as it hits the pavement and breaks into a hundred pieces, your friend pulls up in the driveway. He jumps out of the car, runs over with a look of panic on his face, and says, “What happened? Did it slip? Did somebody knock it out of your hands? Did you change your mind?” And as he looks for an explanation as to why you suddenly dropped the rock, you know that it was a long time coming.

Now let me explain what happened in terms that will help us later on. Your mental willingness was overcome by your physical exhaustion. You wanted to do what you were asked to do, but after awhile you just couldn't do it anymore. Add to that the frustration of being misled about how long you’d have to stand there.

But even if the aggravation is put aside, at some point you just weren't going to be able to keep holding on. No amount of love, dedication, commitment, or selflessness was going to be able to make up for the fact that your arms were worn out.

Now, let’s add another element to that story: You’re about to pass out from exhaustion. And finally a car pulls up in the driveway. You’re so angry and in so much pain you know you’ll have to choose your words carefully. Sure enough, it’s your friend. He walks over slowly with one hand behind his back. He forces a smile and says, “I brought you something.”

Suddenly he brings out from behind his back a bouquet of flowers. At that point you don’t just drop the rock; you find within yourself just enough strength to throw it at him! As he ducks, he exclaims, “What was that all about? I bought you flowers, didn't I?”

Now, I probably don’t need to apply my little parable. The meaning is pretty obvious. So at the risk of insulting your intelligence, let me be painfully specific:
• When we ask our husbands and wives to carry their load as well as ours, it’s like handing them a rock.
• When we’re absent at critical junctures in family life, they’re left holding the rock.
• When we find ourselves pointing to the future to somehow make up for the past and the present, they’re holding the rock.
• When we assure our families that things are going to change and they don’t, they’re holding the rock.

The interesting thing is that they always accept it. And why not? They love us. They trust us. Besides, we always reassure them that they’ll only have to hold it for a short time.

Everybody is willing to be “understanding” when a loved one needs to neglect the family as a top priority for a reasonable period of time. And in real life, taking time away from the family because of job responsibilities is sometimes unavoidable. But when they’re left to carry a load of neglect they were never created to carry in the first place—it’s just a matter of time before things will begin to unravel.

There’s a point at which that mental willingness isn't enough to hang on. With a literal rock, mental willingness is eventually overcome by physical exhaustion. With an imaginary rock, mental willingness is eventually overtaken by emotional exhaustion. And when that happens, the rocks come tumbling down.

There’s always a final straw: a comment, a phone call, a tired explanation, a no-show, a forgotten birthday, or a missed game. Some little thing that pushes those we love past their ability to hold on. And to the uniformed, unsuspecting spouse —to the husband or wife who has lived with the fantasy that everything is just fine-it seems like a huge overreaction. They think: “All I said was.” “All I did was.”

But it wasn't the moment. It wasn't the phone call. It wasn't the fact that the big hand on the clock was on the six instead of the twelve. It was weeks, months, or possibly years of waiting for things to change. The rock finally slipped out of their calloused hands.

When the rock drops, you’ll do everything in your power to pick it up and piece it back together. You’ll find the time to devote to fixing the problem. But in my experience, when the rock drops, there is always some permanent damage. Most rocks can’t be put back together again.

Do you know what your family wants from you more than anything else? They want to feel accepted. In practical terms, they want to feel like they are your priority.

“But they are my priority,” you might argue. That may be true. They may be your priority in your heart, but that’s not the point. They want to feel like your priority. It’s not enough for them to be your priority. They must feel like it.

I’ll never forget discussing this point with a very busy corporate vice president. He kept assuring me of how much he loved his wife and kids. Finally I interrupted him and said, “The problem is, you love your family in your heart, but you don’t love them in your schedule. They can’t see your heart —they only know your schedule.”

Keep in mind that the chief indicator to your family of where you place your loyalty is time. It’s what you put on our calendar. Where you spend your time is an indication of where your loyalties lie. In effect, you pledge your allegiance to the person or thing that receives your time.

Are there time-consuming bridges you need to burn? Are there accounts at work you need to hand off? Are there some out-of-town meetings that need to be handled on the phone? Is there an offer you need to refuse? A promotion you need to give back? Once you've made up your mind to make your family more of a priority, it will become all too clear what stands in the way of your being able to focus on your commitment to re-prioritize.

So what is your non-negotiable? What does it look like? Does it mean leaving the office everyday at 5:30, regardless? Does it mean never missing one of your children’s performances or ball games? What does the commitment look like in your world?

Again promising to do “better” won’t get it. You've already done that. That terminology doesn't even register with your family. They've heard that before.

Office Girls (2011)

2014-03-14T13:31:00.000+08:00

Office Girls 《小资女孩向前冲》

This was recommended by Ah Neng but as usual, I hadn't had time to go watch it until I peeped on her screen and was amused by a handful of scenes so I decided to watch it since she had already downloaded the HD clips.

I know I can always count on SET Metro (三立都会台) production who gave us some of the most notable drama serials such as Dolphin Bay 《海豚湾恋人》, Prince Turn To Frog 《王子变青蛙》, Autumn's Concerto 《下一站幸福》, My Lucky Star 《放羊的星星》, Fated To Love You 《命中注定我爱你》, My Queen 《败犬女王》, Fierce Wife 《犀利人妻》 etc etc

Storyline (in my own words):

Shen Xin Ren (Alice Ke Jiayan) is a diligent & efficient senior marketing executive in Jing Shi Mall which she had been working for 4 years. She had been saving so hard & finally saved her first million, after 4 years, for the down payment of her dream house which she could then live with her mother who currently lives in a dilapidated house in the countryside.

He's so cute throughout the entire show!

Qin Ziqi (Roy Qiu Ze) is basically a spoilt rich heir who thinks that after returning to Taiwan from USA with a MBA means he get to become the GM of Jing Shi Mall. Unfortunately, his father, Chairman Qin do not agree with that and issue a challenge for him to prove his worth by starting from the most junior level as a junior marketing assistant without reveal his true identity to anyone. He was also kicked out of the luxurious house, no more credit cards & basically having to live with a measly monthly salary to pay for his rent & food. He could no longer drive his branded car or carry branded goods, he cannot check in at hotels or go clubbing, he cannot eat at fine dining restaurant nor chasing skirts anymore.

As a result, his predicament force him to be an assistant in the marketing team where Shen Xin Ren taught him the ropes of marketing scopes patiently. They also happen to be neighbours. So Xin Ren's impression of Qin Ziqi is basically quite a loser who spends more than what he earns but as fellow colleagues & neighbours, she couldn't bear that he simply has no money to eat and offered to make his share of lunchbox at a minimal price.

After setting down in a 'normal person's life', Qizi realised he can actually live without luxury & riches. It wasn't long before he realised it was Xing Ren who taught him all these. Through the bickerings, Ziqi find himself falling for Xin Ren because he felt that there isn't a lot of girl like her left nowadays.

What's a story without a bitch 奸人/溅人? In this show, it's one called Zheng Kai Er (I didn't even bother to look up the actress name cos she's just THIS HATEFUL/AWFUL!). She's the typical materialistic bitch who went through underhand methods to get to her position as VP for Sales/Retail. Of course, she knew Ziqi's identity at an early stage and seduce/manipulated him and made Xin Ren into thinking she had a one-night-stand with Ziqi. She even went into great lengths to get into the good books of Ziqi's mother, who obviously disapprove her son seeing a poor/plain/simple girl like Xin Ren.

One thing about idol drama that gives ppl hope is that our hero is very much in love with our heroine and they defy all odds and finally got together!

As summarized by koala's playground on the couple's best lovey dovey moment, I really want to share the following cos it made me swoon too:

The proposal goes something like that...

Xin Ren: What now?

Ziqi: I give you 3 choices. 1) You marry me. 嫁给我 2) I marry you. 我娶你 3) Let's get married. 我们结婚吧

SWOONS!!!!!

Verdict: ROY RULES!
The whole show was made ALIVE by Roy's performance in this drama. His character gave him a lot of room to 发挥. Roy was known to be an Idol, by 'idol', I meant that you would think he's the type who just want to be 帅 in front of the camera, likes to 耍帅 & stuff and just be good-looking to the extent that you think he can't act. BUT BOY was I wrong! He CAN act and I didn't think he can be the 搞笑谐星 type! He managed to pull it off very well indeed.

Alice Ke Jiayan was a little bland. She doesn't have very animated or exciting facial expression but she's pleasant looking and fashionable to look at so her lack of expressions can be forgiven. Just that I find her crying scenes quite cmi but luckily there wasn't a lot of air time because most of it went to Roy.

Again, there were sub-plots, like the loveline of Xin Ren's good friend/roommate Lele & Xin Ren's manager who provided a lot of comic relief as well. But majority of the focus was given to our main couple! I heard that this was originally supposed to be 18 or 20 episode but it was so popular that it was extended to 25 episode so towards the back, it really did get a little draggy but it can be overlooked cos our main couple is just so sweet!!!!

If you love these screen caps, GO WATCH IT ALREADY!!!!!

Beyond the Realms of Conscience (2009)

2014-03-06T21:10:00.000+08:00

Beyond the Realms of Conscience 《宫心计》

2009 TVB 台庆剧 Production but only showing on Channel U in late 2013. A drama set in the Tang Dynasty that involved with SO MANY CAST!!!

I have to give it up to the production team to be able to include so many little details and such an interesting storyline that incorporate so many actors/actresses. So many attention has been given into their styling, hair, clothes, accessories to make it as realistic as possible.

I always have a liking towards periodic drama that is set in the palace and see 皇宫里面的女人们有多溅，多恐怖. The story hooked me!

There are a lot of sub-plots but as the drama poster suggest, the main plot mainly revolves with the 6 characters. As depicted in the below diagram (The head shots of the 6 characters are slightly bigger than the rest)

Storyline (in my own words):

The story started when little Jinling & little Sanhao were kids. Little Jinling is a young maid in Little Sanhao's household. They are both close as sisters. Sanhao's mom became a palace maid of the Embroidery Department and the 2 girls became little palace maids under the wings of Cui Yun (Head of Embroidery Dept) & Xuexia (Head of Accessories/Jewellery Dept).

The 2 depts together with the Furniture Dept & the Food Dept serve everyone in the 后宫 which is under the control of Empress Dowager. Apparently, the Head of Dept are kind of jealous of one another as they compete to win favours of the Empress Dowager etc

Still in the early stage, Empress Dowager Guo is known to be ruthless & unforgiving & always regards Empress Zheng & her son Li Yi as a threat to her son, Emperor Xuan Zong. Empress Dowager Guo was also the cause of Little Sanhao's mom death. Little Li Yi first met little Sanhao when she was grieving after her mom's death.

One day, little Li Yi fell off a tree and Empress Zheng decide to take the opportunity to take her son & leave the palace by claiming that little Li Yi's brain was damaged and his IQ was left as a 6 year-old. Empress Zheng & Li Yi was then sent away to a monastery. Before he was sent away, little Sanhao has given him sweet lotus candy to comfort him during his journey and he thus develop affection for her.

After 10 years, Yao Jinling (Tavia Yeung) & Liu Sanhao (Charmaine Sheh) grew up to be talented clothes maker & accessories/jewellery maker. Sanhao is the kind & forgiving one and Jinling is the type who cannot take unfairness or injustice happening around in the palace & therefore became a little calculative & vengeful.

By chance, Sanhao met Gao Xianyang (Kevin Cheng) (a retired General's son) and they both developed mutual feelings for each other after a few incidents. Meanwhile, Prince Li Yi (Moses Chan) had also returned back to the palace with Empress Zheng. Sanhao then realised Li Yi isn't a dimwit at all, he just pretended to be in order to survive from the clutches of Empress Dowager Guo.

Li Yi still bears crush on Sanhao

Empress Dowager Guo & her son, the incompetent Emperor Xuan Zong attracted a lot of enemies - one of them is General Ma who is planning on a revolt to become king. While Empress Dowager Guo had sent assassins to finish off Li Yi & Empress Zheng, Sanhao & Xianyang to rescue the mother & son. As General Ma couldn't officially becoming king, he poisoned Emperor Xuan Zong and decided to manipulate Li Yi as the new emperor. He finally revealed his intelligence in governing the country and promoted Xianyang as Imperial Bodyguard.

(the rest are from Wikipedia)
Sanhao later became the Head of Accessories/Jewellery Dept. Even though the Emperor has deep feelings for Sanhao and wants to have her as his concubine, he decides to bury his feeling for her when he discovers that Xianyang & Sanhao are deeply in love and that they were planning to leave the palace but stayed to help the Emperor.

Head of Dept, Sanhao & Concubine Li still as good friends despite disparity in status.

Sanhao & Jinling continue to enjoy a very close friendship, treating each other as sisters and this provokes jealousy among other palace girl servants. Time and time again some of them will try to get both of them into trouble. However, Sanhao's honesty and kind attitude endears many powerful people in the palace and they always come to her aid. Whereas, Jinling uses her cunning mind to get rid of her enemies.

As time passed, Jinling realised in order to protect herself from the bullying and to be able to survive in the palace she has to be someone who is powerful and respected. Therefore, she slowly works on a scheme to gain favour of the Empress Dowager Zheng, Li Yi's mother. She was eventually chosen as one of his concubines. From there she works on a bigger scheme to get rid of all her competitors, which eventually includes Sanhao.

Verdict: TVB 台庆剧 Yay!
I really paid attention to each episode as the storyline leaves a lot of mysteries to be uncovered and I am glad that every detail has been explained which leave audience satisfied. What started out as something innocent could end up being a life & death situation.

The most outstanding performance throughout the entire show would have to be Yao Jinling to watch her slowly turned from good to downright ruthless to almost hysterical and it's no wonder at the last episode, she totally became mentally unstable. But we all know she did all that because she merely wanted to defend for herself and plot revenge to get back at those who bullied her or tried to bring her down.

The loveline wasn't that interesting as compared to all the scheming happening in the palace. It was quite cheesy but not detestable. Sanhao's character seemed too-good-to-be-true but her presence is able to show the contrast to Jinling's character. Some of the subplots happening to the two main Departments, who are long-time rivals, are quite touching. Those scenes were, in my opinion, better than the lovelines :P

I like the pace & the climax & other unexpected plots. It kept me on the edge of my seat. Usually huge TVB production don't disappoint so if you'd enjoyed other TVB 台庆剧, you will enjoy this as well :)