Live Life Love Life

Baby Christian

2010-07-28T23:37:00.001+08:00

Introducing my son’s future playmate… Baby Christian!

He was born 23 July 2010 and weighed 3.6 kg.

And here’s his happy mum Esther together with him.

Esther was induced and went through 24 hours of labour and 3 doses of epidural!!!

After visiting them, I really felt that my turn is coming soon! I have mixed feelings of excitement, anticipation to see Baby but yet feeling v uncertain about the delivery process. I am praying for a smooth smooth delivery!

But in the meantime, I am ‘suffering’ from tiredness, constant backacheS and my elephant legs are back! “Ok Jerb, it’s all worth it and will be over soon!!!”

Anyway, I stumbled across some of mine and Jared’s child photos used for our wedding montage. I honestly think… we were both quite cute. HAHAHA!

Here’s Jared! I like his toddler hairstyle! Cool!

Here’s me!

Photo collages created by Photovisi… Nice and easy to do! I will definitely try more templates in my future blogposts.

So instead of wondering how Baby J will look like, do pray together with me for him:

1. Big beautiful eyes and long eye lashes

2. Handsome features

3. Lots of nice hair on his head

4. Good-looking overall (I think one can have nice features but not so good looking on the whole… right?)

5. No allergies

6. No blemish

7. Favor with people

8. Easy to look after

9. Doesn’t cry easily

10. Happy!

11. Sleep regular hours (Ps Yong told me I got to pray for this!)

12. Healthy and strong

Thanks for praying! :)

Thank You Cards

2010-07-24T15:18:00.001+08:00

Remember I mentioned about wanting to do scrapbooking? Well, I did a few more pretty things recently.

Here’s the birthday card I made for Minghui last week. I felt it was very ‘raw’ though… Can be greatly improved!

And here, I made some simple Thank You cards for some of my friends who will be transferring out of the cell-group. I so enjoyed myself doing art & craft that I finished these 5 cards at one go… till 3am last night! Poor Baby J. I hope he doesn’t get dark eye rings! :p

The following are made with ribbons. I love ribbons!

I really enjoy doing pretty things…. :)

Warehouse Sale of a VERY Different Kind

2010-07-22T23:50:00.002+08:00

Last Saturday, Jared went for a PIGEON warehouse sale WITHOUT ME the Shopping Queen.

Yes, it’s NOT LV nor COACH nor ADIDAS BUT PIGEON. For the uninitiated, PIGEON is a leading Japanese babycare brand.

The rainy weather coupled with the cool and lush SERTA bed of ours essentially swallowed the very pregnant me up. Jared too wasn’t very keen to go especially when he had only 5 hours of sleep the previous night + the last time he drove in heavy rain, Goldie was slammed into at a cross junction and ended up in “hospital” for 2 over weeks! But thank God for His protection and all the prayers many of you all rendered, I and baby J escaped unscathed.

Badly damaged Goldie being towed to workshop

Nonetheless at the thought of a once in 5 years PIGEON sale offering great savings, Jared drove down safely to this industrial building in Genting Lane.

Pigeon warehouse in Genting Lane

Don’t let the deserted and quiet surroundings deceive you, the 5th floor was buzzing with a huge crowd waiting to get into a cramped, not more than 150sqm of warehouse space to grab some bargains.

Check out the queue at 11am, 1 hour after the start of the sale.

Many preggies + infants in prams + grandparents in tow (kinda dangerous for them with all the human crush!)

You will notice no more pictures of the sale because Jared was TOO busy sifting around for good deals… He was a tad disappointed because all the famous PIGEON wipes + detergents and nursing pads were sold out. But nonetheless there were lotsa good buys like (featuring only some of the items he bought)………

Manual Breast Pump

Original price: $79.90, Sale price: $10!

Breastmilk Cooler Bag

Original price: $59.90, Sale price: $10!

Insulated Bottle Holder (double)

Original price: $15, Sale price: $4!

Baby Napkins (aka cloth diapers)

Original price: $25.90 (!!!), Sale price: $7!

Diaper Liner

Original price: $10.90, Sale price: $2!

Hand & mouth wipes & Moisturizing cloths

Original price: $3.50 & $4.50 respectively, Sale price: $1!

Dish and Plate Set (For 1 yo and above)

Original price: $22.90, Sale price: $5!

Milk storage bags

Original price: $17.90 for 20, Sale price: $4!

Milk powder dispenser

Original price: $7.90, Sale price: $2!

Teether sets, refrigerator lock, safety pins + various cups were all at either $1 or $2!!!

Jared doesn’t know what exactly we need but he figured that he would rather spend the very little now then to regret later when he needs to buy those stuffs at a much higher price! He spent $139 on 55 items.

So, here’s our loot.

And now, everything Pigeon say ‘CHEESE’!

Jared wants to thank Jun’er for her wonderful lobang and Jiahui for all her wise inputs! Jared has truly been uncle-fied!!! And baby J is very blessed! :)

32 weeks and counting down

2010-07-21T12:34:00.000+08:00

And everyone says “Time flies”… How true. Looking back, I really thank God for a smooth journey thus far. Even though there was a slight bump (our unfortunate car accident) but we are really grateful to God that everything went back to normal so quickly and baby had been growing steadily. :)

In fact, as of the last ultrascan that I did 2 days ago, Baby J weighed 1.9kg! Gosh, that explains my fatigue and the difficulty I have been experiencing when tossing and turning in bed! I have to literally lift my stomach up before I turn my body. Boy, I think I wake up at every change in position at night. However, Doc said baby’s weight is at the 50-55th percentile so… keep it up Baby!

At this point in time, Baby’s movement is even more obvious. It seems he has been kicking, stretching and running threadmills on my ribs! But the funny thing is when Daddy or whoever tries to place their hand on my stomach, he seems to be aware and stop moving. I think he will like the game of ‘Hide & Seek’ when he grows up!

So as I am approaching my delivery date, here are some stuffs I have been trying to take as recommended by friends, aunties and MIL.

Thanks to friends who got me lots of yummy birds’ nest during my hospital stay. I am starting to take a bottle every alternate day. Heard it’s good for baby’s (and mine?) complexion! We’ll see…

I order this whenever I can. It’s believed to be a ‘cleansing agent’ for baby when he comes out. Cleans the vernix off (a white, cheese like protective material which covers the skin of the foetus).

The latest drink that I’ve been ordering. Avocado! Ewww… I take a long time to finish this drink. Nutty and milky…. I think it’s an acquired taste and I have not acquired it yet. My MIL told me it helps the growth of my baby’s hair. We’ll see…. O baby baby, I really pray you have a luscious crown of hair when you come out! That my efforts will not be in vain!

Lastly, I realized that I am starting to lose sight of my feet when I am walking. Let me show you from my point of view:

Now, if you are wondering what animal this is or if you are smarter and are wondering which part of my body this is, it’s my tummy! And see!? No feet! *Sob sob. Come back soon feet….

So, here am I at 32 weeks

Aren’t I BIG now? For my records and future reference, I have officially put on TEN kilos of pregnancy weight today. Can’t wait to pop! 54 more days at max!

Food + conversations @ Fish & Co

2010-07-20T00:12:00.001+08:00

A few days ago, my hubby came to Suntec to look for me to have dinner at Fish & Co. There was a Citibank promotion – Get any set meal and then get a fish & chips with a drink at $10.

Jared liked this fried calamari.

Seafood chowder…. creamy and tasty with generous ingredients.

This was my New York fish & chips. It was a very BIG portion. I found it a tad too oily especially with a generous amount of cheese oozing out. I could only conquer half of this.

Now, I was very puzzled with my hubby’s conversations with the Fish & Co waiter that night.

Conversation #1

Hubby: Hi, could you help us to take away the remainders?

Waiter: Sure!

H: Yup, thanks. My wife is pregnant you see….

Me: *Hmmm…?**

Conversation #2

Waiter brings out the bill with 2 mints.

H: Do you guys sell these mints?

W: Yes sir. 1 packet costs $16.

H to me: Oh I see… Dear do you want?

Me: It’s ok, no.

H to W: Could you get us some more of these mints? My wife is pregnant.

W: Sure!

Me: *Hmmmmm…..**

I guess my hubby is getting increasingly excited about seeing Baby J??!

My first wearable purchase for Baby J

2010-07-15T09:44:00.001+08:00

… is a pair of booties. In fact 2 pairs of booties and 2 pairs of socks! They were so adorable when I sighted them sitting on the pushcart. They were irresistibly cute!

This pair melted my heart…. mehh…..

This pair is just so boyish and adorable… Future tennis player?

And this pair is cute! Mr. Penguin :)

I really can’t wait to meet Baby J. Yesterday I had this revelation…. That I might pop anytime in 1.5-2 months’ time at max! So fast!

Of Ravi’s 21st birthday * Scrapbooking?! * And me @ 31 weeks!

2010-07-12T00:18:00.001+08:00

First of all…. A BIG HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY to RAVI!

Wow, I almost couldn’t remember when I turned 21. Haha! JUST KIDDING!

Anyway, i am going to side-track for awhile… Did I ever tell u I had been toying with the idea of doing scrapbooking for my son’s photos? Yeah… It’s that SUDDEN inspiration to want to do something more motherly and homely. And so, yesterday, I went down to get some paper supplies and decided to try out my skills on Ravi!

It’s been 9 years since I did birthday cards I think. I used to be CG card-maker. Yeah, that’s the creative part of me. I think I am alittle above average in handicraft?

Ok, enough bragging.

Here’s the end result of Ravi’s birthday card….

I used black paper, card stock, ribbon, puffy letterings, cut out designs from magazines and of course Ravi’s photo. Well, I thought it’s NOT BAD. A bit rusty, BUT NOT BAD still right? :]

Now, here’s some pictures from his birthday party. His mum singlehandedly cooked for his party of EIGHTY pax! Kudos to Ravi mummy!

The beautiful leaders!

Now, if you had agreed with me that my first scrapbooking attempt was not bad…. wait till you see the below….. I felt like digging a hole and burying my card! HAHAHA!

AWESOME scrapbook made by Trudy! Isn’t it pretty???

(The difference between the above picture and the picture above it is the KEY. Rumors had it that the KEY was the KEY to Ravi’s heart. Seemed like it was a very hot key up for grabs….)

More group pics!

More beautiful leaders!

Finally the birthday boy… on the right obviously…

Do you know Ravi’s bro (extreme left) used to be Hugo Boss’ model!? Sorry gals, he’s taken. But Ravi is still SINGLE & AVAILABLE & of course A VERY GOOD GUY. And no, Ravi did not pay me to say this!

All those present who were ever from E99 aka dinosaur cell-group!

And below, current E99.

Me with the handsome birthday boy :]

The guys from ET zone.

And finally, before I go, here’s my tummy at 31 weeks!

Am I considered BIG? Some friends had commented that I looked ready to pop!

BTW, thanks to my sis for buying this lovely tie-dyed maxi dress from Hongkong. I love the blue color! Beats getting normal maternity wear!

So ciao for now! May God multiply your sleep if you are going to watch the World Cup finals at 2.30 a.m. soon!

More cupcakes!

2010-07-10T12:02:00.001+08:00

More cupcakes from my sis-in-law! My 20+ friends finished 30 over cupcakes in ONE SINGLE night!

Cute Cupcakes

2010-07-08T08:59:00.001+08:00

My sis-in-law is a cupcake making enthusiast. She loves to bake them despite the hard work. Baking the cakes itself is not too difficult but its the colorful decoration on top of the cakes that takes alot of time and effort! Doubt I’ll ever embark on this hobby! But of course, I got to reap her hard work a couple of times. This morning, it was another treat of 8 cupcakes!

She buys beautiful boxes to put her cupcakes in.

Aren’t they beautiful?!!! I think it’s a form of art and I am not sure I bear to eat them!

Hanging out at Orchard *Scape

2010-07-07T21:10:00.001+08:00

Today, we decided to hang out at the Music Cafe (By Swee Lee) at *Scape @ Orchard Link. Credits to Sijia for finding out about this place!

Picture taken from insing.com

As the place was relatively new, we managed to strike a good bargain for our gang of 50. Free free flow drinks (lychee syrup with lime… not bad really!) for 1.5 hours and we could bring our board games there to play!

The cheapest food available there is a burger and a drink for $4.90 nett. But I got attracted to this….

Now take a look at it in real life…

This Beef Burger set was ALOT of food to finish for $14.90 nett! But I must say it was delicious. I liked the teriyaki sauce noodles but I was too full to finish it.

Chicken cutlet pasta which Sijia claimed was delicious!

Black pepper chicken chop

The hungry gang…. Sorry guys, I couldn’t squeeze everyone in the picture!

Me & Trena. Trena wearing a dress which I heard was a once in a blue moon occasion! She looks so pretty… She should wear like that more often! And I am happily wearing a bubble dress which i think hid my pregnancy well as least from the front view!

My handsome and BEAUTIFUL usher members wearing their formal shirt and pants today!

My first time playing this…. I felt very rich playing this…

The rest playing all the other stuffs….

Some lost in their games and had to do a forfeit which was to go up the stage to perform a song…

One got a birthday surprise….

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TO IVAN!!!

Due to ‘crowd’s’ encouragement….

The birthday boy had to perform a song for us too!

So, quite a nice place to hang out with huge groups of friends. Try it before more people get a hang of it and the place gets more popular… and stricter!

A peek into fellowship after CG….

2010-07-03T18:41:00.001+08:00

U can sense a renewed love for…

The Word…

The presence of God…

One another! :)))

Display shelf @ my house :)

Up & coming future guitarist – Audris

Refreshments include KOI

Celebrating BIRTHDAY!!!

For one of the preeeettiest gal in the cell…

We always say “Birthdays are incomplete without…. PRESENTS!”

After chit-chatting… the guys start to find personal space and do strange things.. like sit & reach….??

While the gals continue to happily snap away….

I love my CG!!! :)

Mellben Seafood

2010-06-28T12:41:00.001+08:00

For Fathers’ Day this year, our family went to the famous Mellben Seafood for dinner. I must say it was one of the best seafood-zichar experiences we’ve ever had. It was SEDAP!

They have their original but smaller branch at Ang Mo Kio. We went to the one at Blk 211, Lor 8 Toa Payoh, #01-11-15. Tel: 6353-3120. Better to call and make reservations!

We reached Mellben at about 7 p.m. and there was a rather long queue for seats. Tables were almost all filled.

Here were the DELICIOUSLY YUMMY FOOD we ordered for 8 adults.

Highly recommended! The chicken is cooked with good stuffs like scallops, sea cucumber and fish maw together with loads of herbs and superior broth. We literally emptied the bowl.

We only ordered a small plate as we ordered rice as well. I liked the wetness of this mee sua. Hard to find mee sua fried well….

I felt that the middle was a bit dry, lacking in gravy… Average.

The gravy for this vege is absolutely delicious! Thick and flavorful…. BTW, the vege was buried under the mushrooms. Jared loved this dish… he ate ONLY the mushrooms!

Nice and crispy….

Delicious beancurd with stuffs like minced pork and prawns inside a thick tomato gravy. I couldn’t stop drinking the gravy!

I couldn’t stop popping these little crispy squids too! They were deep fried with a sweet black sauce. I like!

Then came the highlight of the dinner…..

CRABBYS!!!

(Ok, I need to clarify that I took this picture after many hands grabbed at it… that explains why it looked so little)

I must say that the Black Pepper Crab was much better. Just eating the meat alone (without licking or sucking on the shell) and you could really enjoy the strong peppery taste. Very good!

The chilli crab was a bit of a disappointment as the gravy we felt, lacked the oomph factor. It was still not bad, just below our expectations.

Anyway, give me fried mantou and I can swipe off any chilli crab gravy with it with GREAT joy!

My plate!

Good food brings about quick responses. :)

Our ‘work’ of completion. The sight of satisfaction. :))

Do try Mellben out… We highly recommend it!!!

A boxful of LOVE

2010-06-25T17:19:00.001+08:00

Today, a big black patterned box was delivered to the door step of my house.

I lifted the lid…

Took out the papers…

And….

My eyes went ROUND…! I think I haven’t seen so many snacks in front of me, for me before!

Gosh, I felt like I am 10-years old again… Experiencing the joy of seeing SO MANY tidbits! Well, I really wished I was 10 again so I can eat all the nonsense and not care about the consequences, but then again I am not, and I can see all my diet plans flying out of my window…

No matter, I really think this is a box of LOVE. It was sent by a great mentor and friend. This person never fails to make me feel awed because he is soooo busy and yet always remembers to love the people in his live.

I am once again inspired by this great person to LOVE. A simple thought translated into actions always goes a L-O-N-G way!

THANK U!!!

A visit to the Dentist

2010-06-24T23:45:00.001+08:00

Took this chance of a long MC to go to the dentist. Just opposite my house. It’s been 9 months since I last visited my dentist! A big push factor was that I read that bad dental health can cause preterm birth! Yikes! No Way!

So off I went. And the Dentist was a very nice, very PR lady. The nicest I’ve met so far. Most of the dentists I had visited were quiet and went about their business. This one was very friendly and even related to me her story about her pregnancy. How she felt like vomiting if she used toothpaste and floss and that she could only use mouth wash throughout her pregnancy! What a strange symptom to have… and for a dentist!

The Dentist commented that my teeth were in good condition considering I had missed my dental schedule by 3 months and that I was pregnant (Pregnant moms tend to have swollen and bleeding gums… which I didn’t have).

She once again reminded me of good dental practices! Don’t you always feel motivated…. for about a week after you visit your dentist??

FLOSSING

Did you know you were supposed to get the floss in between your teeth via a see-saw movement and then scrape the side of the tooth downwards? Well, I normally see-saw in and see-saw out, which the dentist said it’s a waste of my time and floss! Gosh….

BRUSHING

And due to my teeth being uneven, some of my teeth were either overbrushed or underbrushed. The Dentist reminded me that I needed to brush in a circular action and angle my brush to reach the teeth which are more ‘inward’ or slanted.

Coool…. Going to practice these before I turn in later!

Foodie weekend with Jennie

2010-06-14T20:44:00.001+08:00

My cousin Jennie had 2 weeks MC and decided to come down from Malaysia to SG to visit my… tummy. She hasn’t seen me since I was pregnant you see. And every time she comes down, she would cook FANTASTIC meals for us!

Me & Val in action in the kitchen…. Not cooking… just getting the food onto the plates ;p

My cousin lovingly grounded chilli padi and garlic for me, knowing that I LOVE this!

Thanks for your love Jennie!!!

Now, this is not part of our dinner. But one of the food that Richard loves to eat. Hot spicy tomyam soup + rice + LOADS of chilli padi!!! He ate it for lunch yesterday after church and he dumped the chilli padi into the soup and ate it with his rice…. Gosh, I pray he doesn’t choke!

Anyway, let’s get back on track… Last night after dinner at Sakae, we brought Jennie to Coffee Club at T3 for yummy desserts! I apologize for the poor quality pictures due to me using my BB to take.

The infamous Muddy Mud Pie!

We used to have it for $7+, now it’s $9.50!

My Monkey Gooey Tart… Hot fudged cake with a layer of bananas and vanilla ice-cream.

Jennie had this – Raspberry parfait thingy with strawberries. For those who do not have a sweet tooth.

Lastly, us and our beloved cousin Jennie…

I am BIG

2010-06-12T20:39:00.001+08:00

Gosh, you can’t believe how big I’ve grown. I mean my tummy… and my legs… fats bulging out of my waist, my butt. It’s really absolutely demoralizing to see myself in the full-length mirror now.

Yesterday, 5 different persons at different times told me that I suddenly looked… BIGGER.

It’s true. My dresses are becoming shorter. My blouses are becoming tighter. I wore a tighter fitting dress on Tuesday and I had abit of a breathing difficulty the whole of that day. So yea, it’s most probably time for me to invest in BIGger clothes. My hubby kindly offered his wardrobe to me which I, ahem, of cos rejected. I mean I would NEVER EVER wear a big polo t-shirt out of home. Not me. Maybe I shouldn’t say too soon now my tummy’s growing at an exponential rate….

Will post the picture of my tummy SOON so you know what I mean. I so miss wearing my usual clothes. I think I will ‘burst’ into a shopping frenzy after I deliver.

Can’t wait!

And here are some pictures of my then ZS being promoted to Pastor during Asia Conference! It was the legendary Ps Yonggi Cho who ordained this batch… So awesome!

The 5m banner which we printed, says “Pastor Edmund, We are so proud of you!” :)

A BIG Congrats!

The greatest enemy in my life now….

2010-06-08T11:38:00.001+08:00

is this THING:

Craving

2010-06-05T12:16:00.001+08:00

Today, I’d simply lurve anything cold, creamy, sweet and hopefully healthier…

Strawberry fruit in yogurt… heavenly….

You can't quit family

2010-06-04T15:45:00.001+08:00

We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break. ~Marquise de Sévigné

I have always grown up in a home where family ties are greatly valued. My parents chose to have 4 wonderful kids :) and we lived happily under one roof with our grandma.

Seems perfect except that my mum and grandma sometimes have their arguments (probably the ‘in-laws are out-laws’ theory at work), my 2nd sis Val was a crazily rebellious kid who enjoyed writing hate letters to my mum (I had to tear them away before my mum found them) and my bro who seriously was half the time living in another world (he needed 4 hours to finish up one page of primary school Maths… I always believed his soul was being whisked away to another planet during homework time…). I could tell you more crazy family stories…

But no matter what, we loved one another dearly and stayed together.

I have also found another 2 families on my own since. Got married to my beloved and now starting a new family with him and my darling Baby J. The other family I found, 10 years ago… at City Harvest Church.

It’s the place where I truly found God and my destiny. I literally grew up here and people loved and believed in me for who I am. Just like a real family does.

During my time here, I graduated with an honors degree, became a leader in church (great turning point because I never thought I could do something bigger than live life simple and for myself), got healed of my anorexia together with those self-esteem problems, found my spouse, my ministry, my closest friends… all here in this wonderful House!

In this Church, I’ve seen thousandS of lives helped, impacted and changed. Locally, we have helped the different groups of disadvantaged in the society. Pastor Kong taught us the Caring System so that we live for others and not for ourselves. He taught us a series on ‘Making Marriage Work’ when divorce rates are going up up up. He encouraged us to be the best in the areas of our work so we can shine for Jesus and contribute back to the society and be a blessing to others (how can we if we are poor bless others?). Overseas, we sent workers, aid and $ for humanitarian projects and to save lives during the Aceh tsunami and Sze Chuan & Haiti earthquake disasters. Well, these are only a fraction of the amazing things my Church had done. Don’t forget us for these!

I remembered a few years ago when my Church service was at Jurong West and I lived at the far east, I would sometimes cab down early on Sunday morning and the cab uncle would ask me why I don’t join some other churches nearby. There are many churches in the east! I tried to explain to him simply and in layman’s terms that because my friends are all there.. it’s already my church… I grow up there… But looking back, I guess I know now how to explain it better.

Church is my FAMILY.

So no matter what- Rain or shine, in blessings or in trials, a family is a family. You can’t quit family.

So, if you are in this family of mine, do continue to pray and stand strong together during this time. We are still going to love God, love people, do good and of course, go to church. :)

Blessings,

Is Singapore getting hotter or am I getting more pregnant?

2010-06-01T19:38:00.001+08:00

That’s the question that’s always on my mind whenever I go outdoors these days…

I used to find it hard to perspire (not that I want to), even a drop… even when I wear long-sleeved and go outdoors. But these days, it’s different! 3 minutes outdoors and my face feels like it’s been wiped by a wet cloth!

So I am wondering if the average temperature in SG go up? Or is it me entering into my 3rd trimester soon? Well, I just know for sure, I now much prefer staying indoors with the aircon switched on.

Sweating buckets aside, this is my 25th week. Went to the doc and baby had been growing steadily. :) His weight and size is average, very on track.. well done babe! He is 800 grams now and look like this….

Can you see his face? My my… He is so much bigger and chubbier now! And I can feel it! His movements are more obvious these days. I really wonder if he can do somersaults and forward rolls in my belly. He is really active at times! The amazing thing is he responds to Daddy now. When Daddy comes close and speaks to Baby J, he starts his acrobatic movements. HAHAHA!

Anyway, seeing the ultra scan each month never fails to put tears of love and joy in my eyes. :) I love my baby :)))

And so this is me at week 25.

I am starting to be conscious of the way I sleep. Research shows that the best position is lying on your left side because otherwise one of your major veins would be blocked.

I am also starting to lumber as I walk. Well, Jared pointed that out to me and I realized that that’s the most natural way to walk now my belly’s bigger!

I’ve put on 6kg since I’ve got pregnant and the nurse said that’s healthy. Good to just put on 1-2kg every month from here. I hope I can maintain that!

Anyway, had some time at home today and decided to cook myself some nutritious dessert to 补身。

Got some white fungus, dried longan, lotus seed, red dates, rock sugar and wah-la!

So, 3 more months to go before I am due. Time really flies but once again really want to thank God for a smooth pregnancy. In fact, my water retention has lessened. Praise the Lord! :)

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to Us! :)

2010-05-19T23:11:00.001+08:00

Yes! How time flies… It’s been 2 years since Jared & I got married. I can still remember vividly that 2 years ago on 17th May, it was a Saturday and we got married @ Singapore Arts Museum. It was so fun to have our relatives and friends all at one place celebrating the special day! And of course I dreamily recalled our dinner, us packing for honeymoon to Europe! O God, could you please transport us back in time once again?

Any way, we did the typical Singaporean thing to celebrate this year’s anniversary. 1. Watch movie… 2. Eat. HAHA! But who cares as long as you spend your day with your beloved right? Days and moments like these are always special. :)

I chose a movie that seemed rather appropriate for us.

Love

Comedy

Light-hearted (Jared doesn’t like anything too violent, horror-ful, bloody or gory eg: IPman 2..:()

Pregnant woman

= BACK UP PLAN

The show was very average. Just that I happily identified a few feelings I had in common with the pregnant J Lo in the movie. Erratic, hungry, feel fat… at first trying VERY hard to squeeze into her fitting clothes…

And guess what? At the part where J Lo ‘dumped’ her boyfriend because she thought he wanted to leave her all these while, i actually cried quite alot… CRIED? I secretly cried during a comedy? Yeah… i blame it on those pregnancy hormones…. I get emotional easily ever since I got pregnant… Not-so-sad scenes warrant lots of tears from me these days.

After the movie, we had dinner. Jared brought me to Sentosa’s Hard Rock Hotel’s Hard Rock Cafe! Well, I think I had been a mountain turtle… As this was my first time entering into Resorts World @ Sentosa. Ok, go ahead and jeer at me.

Here are some pics of the place.

Guess where’s these chandeliers found? In the lift! Beautiful lift…

Some of the displays at the hotel lobby

Funky Rock-inspired reception

Rock Shop @ hotel lobby

How can I not take a look at THIS place at Resort World right??

Honestly, the hotel was not the plushy, classy kind. And as it was rather newly opened, there were still many unoccupied spaces and renovation works going on. Signages were also lacking. A hotel staff had to lead us to the Cafe from the hotel lobby. It was a 5 minute, rather-complicated walk away!

Here’s some pictures of the Hard Rock Cafe.

Beatles’

Me below with the shirt worn by Noel Gallagher, lead singer of one of my favorite bands when I was young – Oasis. *remember the song Wonderwall?

Well, the Cafe was not crowded.. but it was still noisy. Cos there were TVs playing MTVs. And we were rather disappointed that they hadn’t got a live band yet since they were newly opened. Well, nevermind. The food and the company were more important! :)

Here’s our entrees…

Jared’s

Twisted Mac, Chicken & Cheese

A grilled chicken breast tops off twisted Cavatappi pasta tossed in a lightly spiced 3-cheese sauce, with garlic, roasted red peppers and romano parsley bread crumbs. Served with a side of garlic toast.

A must for cheese/pasta lovers!

Mine

Rock Chop

Grilled pork chop with garlic smashed potatoes and boiled veges. (I could not find my food’s description on the Cafe’s website… That’s why the description is very bad compared to Jared’s)

Anyway, it was a great deal as the Cafe had a one for one offer for the entrees! And the food was delicious! :)

After dinner, dessert is a must! And guess what? Jared whisked us away to the airport to have Swensen’s! The advantage of having Goldie.

We LOVE ice-cream and conquered an earthquake in a jiffy! :)

We had a good time that day but I really want to thank my hubby for ALL the things he had done for me. Always waiting for me(:p), always driving me around, tolerating my wierd habits, sacrificing for me and the family and loving me the way I am.

I LOVE YOU V V V V V V V V V V MUCHS TOO HUBB!!!

So, here’s to many many more beautiful years ahead for us!

Japan Day 1 – Osaka Castle Museum, Expo Park & Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

2010-05-11T00:05:00.001+08:00

This blog post is written by my guest blogger/fellow traveller – Wong Ming Fei aka Minghui! *Clap clap!!!* Pictures are from my collection in case you’re wondering why there’s so many of me & Jared. Enjoy the post! :)

Hi everyone, I'm your guest blogger of our Japan trip. This is my first time blogging on someone’s website so I'm abit nervous. Anyway, thanks Jerb for giving me this opportunity to blog here!

We woke up early on day 1 and trust me it was a long, long, long day. Initially, Jerb and I decided that this holiday will be a slow, relaxed one. But everyday was like “chiong ah”!

In the morning, we woke up to have a nice breakfast in the hotel. In Japan, rice is a must in their breakfast. And Japanese will use a tray to contain all the items in it. And clearing your trays is also an important etiquette that we have learnt during the trip! I think it’s a good habit to have!

After breakfast, we set off to Osaka Castle Museum. To our surprise, when we reached there, we saw a garden of Cherry Blossoms! Sakura! Imagine us, or maybe me running towards the trees and asked: “Is it Sakura, is it Sakura? I wanna take pictures. Bring the cameras out!!” We didn't care if they were but we believe so as it was a pretty sight to behold. Seeing the beautiful Sakura has made my trip to Japan all worthwhile.

And yes! We came here to see the Osaka castle. The castle is a history museum, which presents facts about Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the age of provincial wars and the history of Osaka Castle. The top level of the castle provides a panoramic view of Osaka City.

Me posing with a CANNON! Boomz!

Weird helmets… U can actually rent them to take pictures in!

One of the views from the Castle

Cute Jap kids having their excursion to the castle!

Sakura-crazy on the way back

Ice cream vending machine @ the Park! Yummy!

After our castle tour, we took the train to Expo Park (this park was built for the World Expo 1970 held in Osaka). As we enter into the park, we saw this big tower.

We tried to make sense of what it looks like. A face? A bird? A cow? It's actually the Tower of the Sun. Please do not ask me why it is the tower of sun, till now, I still cannot make any sense out of it.

In the expo park, we saw many Japanese bringing their children and having a picnic on the grass. Indeed, Japanese love the nature and time with their family.

The park was very big and we saw many lovely tulips. There were red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, purple ones, white ones....

A walk further brought us to the Japanese garden of the park and we saw maple trees...

and supposedly a waterfall. Picturesque isn’t it?

We also saw bamboo trees; check out Jared and the trees.

We literally felt that we were transported to the olden times, where there were swordsmen! Don't they always portrayed them “flying” amongst bamboo trees?

We passed by the rose garden but the season for the blooming of roses has not arrived yet, so no roses! Sad! Then we saw our favourite tree again. Sakura!

Japanese also love to paint/ draw and enjoy photography. By this time, we were famished and we decided to have our lunch at this nice and cosy restaurant. The food was expensive and we were unaware, still, we had curry rice for lunch.

Jared saw a place on the map stating “Foot bath” and we decided to hunt the place down for a good foot bath after hours of walking. Finally, we had a foot bath (soaking our tired feet in hot water) in a nice little hut! The best thing was that it was FREE! Everyone can only soak their feet for 10 minutes and there was a timer. Our feet felt so good after soaking! Now, it is a time for more walking!

You had to wash your feet (the ancient way) before stepping into the footbath..

“Help! We are soooo ‘tortured’!”

Whose sexy legs?

Shiokkkk!

We left expo park and went to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. We saw flowers and now we were seeing all sorts of fishes! I am quite certain our trip is indeed educational. Haha. The person who enjoyed the aquarium the most, should be Ed Tan! He really likes fishes!

Otter

Mr. Seal sleeping… his body shivers whenever he breathes out!

Look at the seal peeing… while he is sleeping!

Gigantic ancient fishes

Giant stingray

Hammer-head shark

The biggest mammal here – the whale shark!

HUGE crabs! Can they be eaten?

As the Aquarium was near to the harbour, it was really cold as there were strong gust of winds. We immediately look for buildings! We went to a shopping mall and there is a food court selling Japanese snacks. We had glutinous rice balls in teriyaki sauce, taco balls and fried potato balls.

Glutinous rice balls in teriyaki sauce

The ambitious 4 decided to make our way to the floating garden observatory at Umeda. We could not find our way there although a kind soul who led us to somewhere near. We then gave up on this mission and went for some shopping! *the girls' eyes wide opened* However, the things in the shopping mall were rather expensive and in the end, we bought only bread to satisfy part of our hunger.

We then headed back to our hotel for Ramen Dinner! There is this good, recommended small ramen restaurant beside our hotel (Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi). Ramen here was exceptionally good.

Maybe due to the cold weather, we were super happy to have hot soup and noodles. The waiter was extremely kind and even kneeled down to take our orders! This is our Ramen that came with a fruit-Lychee.

Readers, this is day 1 only. So it is a “chiong” trip, I didn't lie to you. On day 1, I concluded that Japanese love flowers, animals and Ramen.

Water Retention

2010-05-10T11:58:00.001+08:00

I first realized my legs started swelling on the day I came back from my Japan trip. I think it was week 19+ of my pregnancy.

My legs, calves down and esp my ankles were feeling fatter than usual. I couldn’t really bend the joints at my knees and ankles properly without feeling uncomfortable (you know that swollen feeling). Though my legs didn’t look obviously fatter in the mirror, I knew it had to be water retention.

Well, at first I thought it was probably due to my rather long flight but Yikes! It came back quite a few times after that! I have been experiencing it for 2-4 days in a week after that 1st incident… :(

It’s not giving me major problems except the discomfort and the feeling like my legs are like these now…

And so I read up about it and realized it’s a condition called Edema or Fluid Retention in layman terms. And did you know it could also occur in your face and hands… THANK GOD not for me yet!

It’s not a serious condition but if you experience other symptoms as dizziness and high blood pressure, it could be another condition called preclampsia whereby blood flow is restricted to the baby which in turn could seriously affect mother and baby.

A few tips to help fluid retention:

Eat lots of protein rich foods daily trying to get at least 75 grams of protein.
Drink plenty of water.
Avoid taking too much salt though you should not avoid it altogether.
Sleep with legs elevated and elevate legs often throughout the day.
Avoid restrictive clothing.
Avoid standing for long periods of time especially in the same position.

So, bearing with this ‘thorn in the flesh’ for another 4 months… I pray it doesn’t worsen!

Meanwhile, here’s my belly at the start of Week 22!

Baby J’s gender

2010-05-03T22:49:00.001+08:00

It is official. It has been confirmed.

Baby J is a…

B-O-Y!

Japan Trip Day 0 – Transit HK and landed at Kansai Airport

2010-04-30T00:00:00.001+08:00

The truth is… I am feeling kinda lazy and honestly tired to blog about my Japan trip. So, I will mostly just let the pictures do the talking and make some comments. Enjoy!

We boarded our plane at about 11am and landed at Kansai airport at 8+pm. In between, we had to transit at HK and stay at the airport for 1.5 hours. Now guess what we did?

EAT!

Humongous meatball kway teow!

And, at Hongkong, you must definitely have CONGEE :)

My favorite pi dan chok (century egg and pork porridge).

When we landed in Japan, we felt the ‘coolness’ of the country. It was about 15 degree celcius! Compared to SG’s 27 degrees…!

The first place we visited here… are the toilets. The toilets in Japan are very clean and plentiful!

Most of the female cubicles come with a baby seat…

With toilet seat sanitizer…

And with gadgets at the side of the toilet bowl to help you enjoy a cleaner, more sanitized toilet experience. :)

Some toilets even have warm seats for the cold/chilly weather. Nice…

Japan’s toilets are one indication of a 1st world nation.

Next thing you will notice – Vending machineS. Everywhere and anywhere. I’ve seen machines dispensing hot (bottled and canned) drinks and cold drinks, ice-cream, instant noodles, food etc. AMAZING.

@ the airport, we bought a Yen$3,800 (=S$56) Kansai 2-day pass which includes the pricey train ride from airport to our hotel @ Shinsaibashi. It covers all subway rides in Osaka and the greater Kansai region which includes Kyoto, Nara (think deers) and Kobe (think yummy beef).

We were given the below guide book which highlighted the various places of attraction in Kansai region. The pass as well as coupons inside this guide book gave us some freebies and discounts to certain places. Worth it esp if you know you are going to travel alot!

Now look at the railway lines here. Thank God SG’s one is much less complicated! Japan has so many different operators in charge of the various networks. You think transiting from east-west line to north-east line @ Dhoby Ghaut or Outram is tiring? Wait till you come to Japan! You might have to change several times and because there are different operators, you got to check in and check out, walk to the different stations which are a distance away from one another!

I love their train seats! All cushioned and comfortable!

Took some pictures on the long train ride from Kansai airport to our hotel. We took about an hour plus.

Dun ask me why Jared looked like that….

We girls are excited to ‘conquer’ the new land!

Our hotel was Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi. The hotel was just adjacent to a shopping street at Shinsaibashi as well as many branded shops such as Gucci, Chanel etc.

The hotel room which we were to spend our 4 nights was really cosy but COMPACT. But honestly not a bad deal for S$138 per night.

Here’s our bed-

Our desk in front of the bed.

And our ‘spacious’ toilet. (It just keeps on getting smaller….)

After putting down our bags, our stomachs were yelling out for food. As the shops in Osaka closes rather early (about 7-8pm for shopping and some F&B outlets), we went to a 24-hour convenience store which was 5-minute walk away. It was called ‘AM , PM’. Hmm… aptly described but seemed like they couldn’t think of a better English name. Limited Vocab. HAHA!

Anyway, look at this!

A book store?

Supermarket?

No! It’s our wonderful convenient store! Their stores beat ours hands down! You can even find shiseido makeup travel kit here!

Now look at some of the food we bought that night…

Some omelette noodle with loads of cabbage and teriyaki sauce. It costs S$8!

And look at this packaged 2-slice bread….

It comes very soft and without the edges AND within a slice, it actually contains butter and maple syrup. SO NICE!!! They even have tuna, chocolate etc breads like these! Gosh… I could eat this for breakfast everyday for the next 10 years of my life!

Nothing much on Day 0 when we touched down…. Soon after eating our suppers, zhou gong came to look for us….

Update you more another day. And hopefully my guest blogger will help me blog!