Taking a break...

It has been a while since I wrote my previous post...Been busy coping with work, my 2 years old boy and the heavy pregnancy...

Last week during the routine check-up, I did the CTG test where it shows the baby's heartbeat & contractions. Doc said she's happy with my baby girl's heartbeat, her size is alright, and that I've got mild contraction already! So I'll be due for delivery anytime this week...

I guess with this, I'll have to stop blogging for awhile...My plan is to take a break from blogging until I'm ready and can find some time again after having the new baby around.

To those who had been reading this blog, thanx for your support & encouragement so far. Your comments & feedback have always been my motivation in blogging!

THANX and I'll be back!

He has grown up so much!

After so much shopping for my lil girl, I realized I haven’t really pre-wash those clothes, bed sheet, pillow cases etc for her, so I did yesterday…Since I also bought some new clothes for the elder boy, I’ve included them in the washer.

While I was hanging those clothes, I realized my boy has grown up so much! When I compare those clothes I bought for my baby girl with those for my boy, hanging them side by side, I realized my boy is no longer a baby, like how I always call him…Soon he will be a big brother to the lil baby sister!

Now as daddy & I get ready for baby girl to arrive, we probably have to do something to help our boy to be ready too, for his new sibling! Of cause we have been educating him about his lil sister’s existence & her arrival soon, but are these sufficient? Maybe we should have brought him to some of the gynae appointments, so he can see from the ultrasound screen that there’s a real baby in mummy’s tummy, but then again, will he really understand it?

I took an online quiz today on whether my boy is ready for a new sibling. My score was 21, which says: “It sounds like you have a nice balance of involvement with your child and your pregnancy. Be sure to answer any questions he may have, but be brief and don't go into more detail than is age-appropriate.” So I guess we are more or less there, but need to do more in preparing my boy…

Anyone has any good suggestions for me?

10 Other Commandments to Live by

Someone sent me the below "10 commandments to live by" last week...I thought it was sent to me at the right time since I was quite upset with my hubby. Infact these are common things that we all know, but whether we practice them is another different story. To me, this came as a good reminder....What about you?

1. You shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.


2. You shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.


3. You shall not carry grudges, for they are the heaviest of all life's burdens.


4. You shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at atime anyway.


5. You shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.


6. You shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better carefor them than you.


7. You shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forevergone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!


8. You shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hearideas different from your own.


9. You shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.


10. You shall count your blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

It's so true that we always take life for granted, take God for granted, take our happiness for granted, take all our blessings for granted, take our health for granted, isnt it? I hope the above will serve as good reminder to you too!

Sad weekend…

The past weekend was not a pleasant one for me…had a fight with hubby on Friday morning and there goes the spoilt weekend…

There’s this Chinese saying which goes “jia-jia-you-ben-nan-nian-de-jing”, which simply means every family has its own issues or problems. This sounds so real to me now…why?

When I wrote about S in my previous post, this phrase came to my mind. It’s just like from the outer layer or surface, I see that she has a perfect happy family life, until I got to hear her “true” stories on family issues & family problems with the violent husband, I realized things are so different from what I’ve imagined. Yeah, her husband bought her a brand new Honda CRV as a gift and all, but so what?

Recently too, when I spoke to another good friend R, whom despite having a hubby few years younger than her, stays in big 2-1/2-stories link-house in Sunway SPK. So I always thought they are doing well and all, but apparently not really. She was told by her hubby to stay at work no matter how stress is her job coz the family needs the income. Now that I know why I can practically see her admiring eyes when she heard me saying one of my hubby’s dreams is to make me a happy housewife and that he always tell me quit the job if it’s too stressful for me…

See…to both S & R, they said I have a perfect husband, who’s family oriented, doing well in his career, lovely & all, but that’s just the surface which they are aware of. Every family or relationship has its own problems & issues, it’s just so true. Yeah, my hubby loves the family, he will cook dinner for us, prepare breakfast for me, help with housework, etc…but have I not tried my best to be a good wife for him too?

Whatever it is, I don’t think I’ve done something wrong to deserve the shouting & scolding from him for 10 mins where I just kept quiet. I know if I were to fight back & argue with him, it’s gonna be no ending to this….He apologized for the shouting after that, but I was already really upset. It was just a small thing (at least to me), but he reacted as though it’s such a huge issue, which really surprised me. Anyhow, I’m so heavily pregnant, plus I never get to sleep well at night for past few months, I thought he could be more loving & caring than this…

I refused to speak to him throughout the weekend. I took my son out all day from early morning to late evening on Sat since he has his personal agenda for morning half Sat. It was really exhausting for me though…handling my boy all alone with my huge tummy…

Well I don’t even know when will I be comfortable to speak to him again, maybe will have to pray harder for God to help me forgive & forget…

Putting life on one single bet

When u embark on a “till-death-do-us-part” journey with the “so called” right one, you are taking a big risk, as though putting your whole life on one single bet on the gambling table…

Do u feel so?

I think I do. And I surely went into marriage thinking & hoping that this is it and he will be the right person for the rest of my life, till death do us part.

My friend S is not as lucky. She’s married for 5 years or so, now with 2 kids, and she’s filing for divorce. I felt sad for her and I’m trying every single effort to help her whenever & wherever I can.

I’ve seen her effort trying to patch the relationship with her hubby by repeatedly giving him chances to change or improve. They have also gone through the Christian counseling sessions with the pastor…but he doesn’t seem to realize and acknowledge the problem and so not putting any effort to improve it. So S decided to put a stop to the relationship and now filing for divorce.

From what I know about S and her husband, they are loving couple, doing well in terms of their careers too. More so with the 2 kids around, I always thought S has a perfect happy family! Until I heard about her problems recently, that her husband was actually getting more & more violent towards the family, being very suspicious too, her life has turned miserable.

Without much choice, now S is divorcing her husband. She now has to stay with the 2 young kids and a maid. Husband will come to pick up the kids every Friday evening and send them back on Sat to spend some time with them, if he wants to.

See…S is only in her early thirties, to spend rest of her life without a husband & with 2 young kids is not gonna be easy. But when she married the husband after some 2 years of dating, she didn’t realize there’s such problem. Few years down the road after marriage & after given birth to 2 babies, everything seems to have changed….

That’s what I meant by saying putting whole life on one single bet on the gambling table when we decided to marry someone…because few years down the road, if anything bad happens like S, where there are already 2 kids around, it’s highly unlikely that she will go for another marriage….

Preparing for her arrival

I've been so busy lately that I think I've neglected the pregnancy, or rather neglected my dear daughter...I was busy with projects one after another in April & May, not giving me space to even breath. Then in June, it was all about mum, PLUS work...So I felt so exhausted!

Finally last 2 weeks, I had some time for myself and I realized both hubby and I are not really prepared and ready for our baby girl's arrival as yet. And u know what? We are now left with ONLY two more months to go before my expected due date!

Firstly we have not decided on her name, both English & Chinese name...so that's one headache for me. Been looking through the names-dictionary which we got it as a Christmas gift when we got married, but nothing excites me as yet though we have short-listed a few...

As part of the preparation, shopping is definitely not avoidable! In the last 2 weeks, we have been shopping quite a bit for our baby girl, including getting her bedding, clothing and other new born essentials ready.

In preparation for labour, I've also started to do more exercises & reading. Since we did not opt for antenatal class refresher, I took out all the notes from previous antenatal class to read too.

Somehow I still feel that we have not done enough to prepare for our baby girl's arrival...Or maybe that's how it is when u have a second baby?

Thank GOD!

We took mum to the hospital for removal of stitches, and the gynae-oncologist told us the result of mum’s removed womb plus limb-nodes is finally out! Doc said EVERYTHING is positive, meaning no cancer cell spreading at the limb-nodes, and this surgery IS IT! There’s no need for any radio-therapy or treatment, coz the womb & limb-nodes removal surgery has cleared everything, and this will be long-term cure!

*PHEW*

This is the GREATEST news ever and I can see the smile on mum’s face!

But doc also said that mum will need lots of rest for the wound to heal well and that she will still have the swelling and feeling of discomfort at times, but she will just have to bear with them....

Once again, thanks for all your prayers.

Thank God for holding mum tight in His hand, watching her and strengthening her. Pray Lord that You will continue to grant mum speedy recovery, heal her wound and deliver her from those discomfort caused by the removal of her womb and limb-nodes, Lord.

Mum’s condition

Mum was discharged from the hospital two days ago on Tues evening, after the doc checked her. She will have to be back to remove her stitches in a week’s time and at the same time for her report on the test result on removed womb.

I was too busy at work, so sis took mum home. I called mum around 6pm to check on her, she didn’t sound good at all. She was complaining that her right foot is swollen and she suspected it to be caused by the over consumption of water before discharging from the hospital coz doc needed to check her urine but she didn’t have any, so the nurses kept asking her to drink more.

I visited her around 8.30pm after work. She didn’t look and sound good…still….She said the swelling is getting worse, and she looked uncomfortable and worried. We tried calling the hospital and contacting the doc but to no avail.

On Wed, around 3pm, finally the nurse got whole of the doc and told him mum’s condition. He suggested mum to have her right foot rested on a pillow while sitting down, and if the swelling doesn’t go off by Thur, then we shall see him on Friday.

When I told hubby about mum being upset and sounded depressed, he said it may not have been caused by the swelling at all. He said it could be due to the post-surgery of the removal of her womb. Though the organ has not been useful for last 10 years, it’s still a major organ in our body, so the removal may have somehow caused her depression. YEAH…I thought it could be true…How can I never thought of that?

I guess we all, as daughters, just have to be more patience with mum and spend more time with her, talk to her. I hope that will make her feel better…

Please continue to pray for my mum, pray for healing, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally…

An “eventful” week

16/06 (Monday)
Mum’s test result was out, so we went to gynae’s clinic first thing in the morning. Mum was surprised that hubby drove me when we picked her, and she was even more surprised when she saw sis came with bro-in-law & 3rd sis too….I guess by then she realized it must be something serious…

Gynae said this is Grade1 Cancer, where it’s determined by certain amount of cells from mum’s womb. This is really “pre-stage”, so he cant really tell how bad it is, until the surgery is done and the complete test on the womb is done, then we will know which cancer stage that is. Mum stayed calm.

This gynae recommended us to see the gynae-oncologist, Prof BK. But he said he will need to draft a letter & help us make appointment, so we will have to wait till the next day….

After some discussions among us, hubby said no harm seeing an oncologist who’s good, since he has some contacts, rather than waiting for Prof BK. So we arranged an appointment to see Dr Foo instead for Tue afternoon coz she doesn’t have clinic in the morning.

17/06 (Tuesday)
We went to see Dr Foo’s after lunch, mum still looked very calm. After she checked mum, she said we have to see a gynae-oncologist (recommended Prof BK again) to remove the womb first, then the test on the removed womb will determine if mum needs any radiotherapy or needs to come back & see her. Since hubby knows this doc, he asked if the doc can call Prof BK for us straight and get an appointment done. Dr Foo was really nice and kind enough to help us do that, and her one-single-phone-call to Prof BK’s mobile had definitely made wonders!

We rushed over to the other hospital where Prof BK was in, with Dr Foo’s letter. We waited for 2 hours and finally got to see him. He checked mum…and concluded that mum needs to go for surgery to remove the womb plus the limb-node as well soonest possible since she’s bleeding. But this is very early stage and since we found out early, it’s highly likely of 100% cure.

While the nurse flipped through his diary, we saw some totally full operation schedules….But he was kind enough to slot mum in for his upcoming operation day – Thur.

18/06 (Wednesday)
Mum was supposed to be admitted to hospital for her operation on Thur. But since there wasn’t any room available and her operation is scheduled for Thur evening at 5.30pm, the nurse told us to go home after the necessary tests and only come back around 12pm the next day. So after all the ECG, blood test etc, sis went home with her so she could rest.

19/06 (Thursday)
All 4 of us (daughters) accompanied mum in the hospital. We told mum this is nothing serious, as long as the womb is removed, things will be alright. She took it very calm, and she even joked with us while waiting.

At about 6pm, mum was sent to the operating room for anaesthesia and all. The surgery took 2 hours all in all, so mum was out around 8.30pm. She was half-conscious, but she recognized all of us ofcoz! The surgery was done well and smoothly….THANK GOD!

She did complain about the pain, but after the pain-killer drips kicked in, she felt better.

20-22/06 (Friday – Sunday)
We visited mum everyday ofcoz, and tried to spend as much time with her as possible. Her condition improved day by day and on Sun she can actually come down from the bed & started walking very slowly by herself.

Prof BK came checking her everyday and said she’s healing well, but can only discharge maybe next Tue or Wed cause he still needs to monitor her. The test result of the removed womb will be out by then too.

THANX for all your prayers. I’m sure God has His plan for mum and He will be in control of mum’s condition. Pray that God will continue to strengthen her faith in Him.

Heavy hearted

Been not writing lately due to the crazy work schedule, which I bet I’ve mentioned this more than once in my past blog posts….Have gathered plenty to write about, but just couldn’t find the time & energy to do so. But today, I just really feel like writing, for mum…though I’m writing with a extra heavy heart.

Yesterday lunch time, mum called telling me she had a bad morning. She woke up & went to the washroom early morning, realizing that she’s “bleeding” as though she’s having menstrual. She has reached Menopause since more than 10 years ago and so this should not happen! She was in the washroom for about 30 mins coz the “out-flow” could not stop…Then when she finally got out from washroom, she realised that she’s tired & exhausted.

After discussing with sis, we decided to send her to the gynae straight away. Gynae heard the symptoms and started shaking his head, which made sis really worry, but luckily mum didn’t pay much attention to that. After checking mum, he said mum has to do some kind of test (with very complicated medical name) to confirm if this is womb cancer! My heart dropped. Fortunately when the gynae mentioned “cancer”, mum was still in the changing room and did not hear that. We didn’t want to scare her and so decided to not let her know for now.

Hubby is from the pharma industry, so I called him to tell him everything. He confirmed that this is a clear symptom of womb cancer…My heart dropped, again…but whatever it is, we still have to wait for the test.

So today I drove mum to the gynae’s clinic & met with sis. Mum was put on GA (general anaesthetic) for the procedure of extracting some cells from her womb to be sent for test. While waiting for mum to recover consciousness, we spoke to the gynae. He said during the procedure, mum’s womb doesn’t look as healthy but the extraction from her womb doesn’t look like she has cancer too! So his conclusion is to wait for the final result from the test to confirm what should be done next.

Again, we decided not to inform mum about this, hoping that she can eat & sleep better in the next few days while waiting for the results. We just told her the test is necessary to find out what is wrong in her womb and the results will be out next week.

I prayed for mum, and will continue to pray for her. I hope she can find peace in God and willing to accept the treatments if she has to go through any…

Mum, pls stay strong, for we all love u, VERY MUCH!

Which is more important?

Hubby was reminding me last night about my mother-in-law (MIL)’s vacation in Shen Zhen plus other places in China next week. BTW my MIL is my 20 months old boy’s day-care-taker….So when she’s away, hubby & I will have to take turns to take care of baby instead.

Right after our conversation, we saw on the news that in some parts of Shen Zhen there were lots of frogs coming out from no-where! Apparently one of the signs before the previous terrible China earthquake was frogs & rats all came out from no-where too!

So this morning when I sent my boy, I spoke to MIL regarding this. I was telling her not to go for her vacation next week since there’s this potential earthquake or whatever natural disaster happening there or might happen there, looking at the sign. Then the below conversation took place :

MIL : “err…but we all paid already! Also, I cant be asking all the rest of 18 people to not go, right?”
Me: “Is the few thousand dollars more important or your life is more important?”
MIL : “What if it doesn’t happen?”
Me : “Then great! U can go another time! Do u want to risk your life betting IF anything happens???”
MIL : “err…let’s see what the rest say first lar…”
Me (very upset) : “I’m telling u that u really shouldn’t go, but I’m not asking the rest of your friends to not go, ok? They can go ahead by all means, I don’t care coz they are not somebody important to me!”

Infact the conversation we had this morning brought me to ponder a bit…Is money more important or is health more important? Is money more important or is family more important? If money more important or is life more important?

Handling difficult people at work

Difficult people and situations exist in every work place. These people in particular, sometimes can cause tremendous stress directly or indirectly to those people working with them.

Dealing with difficult people is easier when the person is just generally obnoxious or when the behavior affects more than one person. Dealing with difficult people is much tougher when they are attacking you or undermining your professional contribution.

These people are usually well too arrogant. No matter what anyone says or does, this person will force their ideas on everyone else. There can be no open discussion or involvement. Things MUST be done this person’s way or else.

I just had very good experience working with one of these people in my previous project. His main problem is, he will never listen. And what made it worse was, he’s the “owner” of this project and so he’s like the boss! To him, everyone else are just the supporting actors & actresses, he’s the only person to make this deal happen! He likes to instruct and does not take suggestions (at least not from me). Maybe he does accept suggestion when it comes from someone else and not me, cause to him I’m just an admin person not adding much value to the whole project. So then throughout the period working on this project, I can sense that my work & effort were not being appreciated.

I did have few fights with him, trying to explain certain processes to him, and trying to make him understand the practicality, but he refused to. When he works over the weekend, he’s expecting everyone else to work over the weekend without advance notice. Some of us, being on the job, have had certain expectation to work long hours or even over the weekend, but what about other people involved along the process?

Anyhow, the nightmare is now over, and I really hope I wont need to work with this person again. And from the experience, I did get some tips for dealing with people like this, so am sharing them with u….

1. When you see someone go into attack mode or excess defensiveness, recognize that it is useless to argue with them.
2. Realize that the person is feeling very insecure at that time.
3. Don’t continue to push them because they will only get worse.
4. If the symptoms only seem to occur when the person is under stress, wait until another time to pursue the discussion.
5. If they are always overly defensive or always attacking others, you may need to find another person with higher authority or someone this person respects to communicate the message.
6. Keep your own sense of self-confidence and don't allow yourself to be verbally abused.

Just my 2cents worth…

Global Warming

Did u realize that weather now has changed so much compared to some 20 years ago when we were small kids?

Recently I was watching a tv show that talks about Global Warming and what are the things that many other people around the world especially kids in their early education system, are doing their parts to safe the environment. Having more outdoor curriculum and monthly exchange of used toys (in good condition) are among the few activities happening in many primary schools in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The same tv show also showed how badly the earth has been damaged by the industries, by human being, by global warming! Temperatures, we are told, are to increase by 3.6 degrees by the middle of the century, resulting in melting glaciers, flooding and choked water supplies that will threaten the livelihood of millions. Crops will fail, we are told, disease will run rampant, rising sea levels and intense droughts will create hundreds of millions of refugees, and up to 40% of species will face extinction. Well lots of these facts we do know them, but we just may not have done our parts to contribute to saving the environment…

I’m one of those idiots whom I don’t think I’ve done much, but I’m gonna start now! Since last month I think, I started to nag hubby to not turn on the air-con unless we really can’t stand the heat. I started nagging him to switch off the lights when we don’t really need them. And we also started bring our own reusable shopping bags when we buy groceries from Jusco across the street.

I’m sure there are a lot more that we can do to contribute in saving the environment, so start somewhere if u have not done so. Start some lil small deeds will do…

It’s not as easy…

It has been really tiring for me recently, being a pregnant mum, having to juggle between real busy work schedule and family.

My 20-months old son is really hyper and he runs around the house non-stop! Well, ofcoz that’s quite normal for a boy, but it’s just a bit tiring for the care taker, that’s all…Hubby has been helping ofcoz, but sometimes somehow I felt he’s not disciplining the boy well so I have to interrupt.

Work has been terribly stressful lately, with overwhelming workload and tight schedules. Also, having to handle some really difficult people in the same project, is really causing lots of unnecessary additional stress…

Somehow this pregnancy has caused me some serious sinus problem at night, causing me to have insufficient or very low quality sleeps. So then during the day, I’m feeling extremely tired due to lack of sleep and my body is aching like hell, especially the neck and shoulder…how I wish I could go for a good massage or SPA now…

When all the above add up together, they can be quite killing! I tried telling hubby, but somehow he didn’t quite get it. Infact he’s living in the same house, sleeping on the same bed as me, so even if I don’t elaborate much, he should know what I’m going through…but somehow he doesn’t really show much concern. Maybe the way he cares for me is very different…well he will prepare breakfast for me sometimes, he will help with housework as usual (even before I got pregnant), he will take baby out for cycling & all so I can have some time to rest, etc etc. But I really wish he would offer me a light shoulder massage one of these days, offering his listening ears asking me to tell him about my work stress so I can release, give me a hug & kiss me goodbye in the morning wishing me a good day ahead…

Taming Tantrums

If u have a baby or toddler, u would probably be able to give me some good advice…

Somehow recently, my 19th month lil toddler has been throwing tantrums...Most recent being one of the nights earlier this week, when he was about to sleep at night and suddenly papa’s phone rang and papa went out of the room and he got curious & woke up straight away. And when papa was done with the phone call, my lil boy was already sulking…then soon enough followed by crying and throwing tantrums all over, and both me & hubby were not sure of what he really wanted that time. Our guess : it was some 30 mins passed his bed time, he was sleepy & tired, but yet didn’t feel like going to sleep?

And the worse part was….He didn’t want both papa and mama to hug or cuddle him, and he just went on sitting on his bed & crying & crying... And before I could think of any attractive good tricks to calm him, he vomited! Now…he created a whole mess and I got really mad…Ofcoz I didn’t scold him or whatever, just went on cleaning & changing him, then calm him to bed…

I did get some advice from those baby websites, but I felt most of them are very “theory”-based, ie : Model good behavior, Set good expectations, Establish rules, Be consistent and supportive, Eliminate temptation, and Avoid tantrums of your own, etc. Many of these are what we have already been doing today, but practically I must say not all of them can be done easily, ie. Avoid my own tantrums (for someone hot tempered like me)…Nevertheless, am still trying my best…

So do u have any better advice?

Funny..."Sunny"...and...

It was a bright early morning when my 1.5 year old son woke up and went sitting next to the window & started playing with his books, as usual...

Then when I realised it, I turned to him saying :"Good morning my dear! Would u help mommy pull up the curtain please? (which is a roman blind type)". He did as I told him ofcoz...but when he pulled the curtain up, wow! It was a bright sunny morning. So I decided to tell him to put the curtain back down instead. I said :"Baby, mummy changed my mind, let's put the curtain down coz it's very SUNNY!"

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

What so funny? I didnt realised it until my hubby lying next to me said :"yaya baby, listen to your mom, put down that curtain & pull it up again tonight when it's MOONY!"

HAHAHAHA!!! Now I got the joke!

I meant to say it was too bright & glaring, but not sure how did "sunny" came out of my mouth...

We had a good laugh and definitely a joyful morning!

Baby in my tummy...

My usual gynae check-up is dued today, so as usual hubby & I went to doc's clinic after lunch. The wait today was extra long because somehow the queue was not arranged well by the nurse, so I got a lil frustrated after 1.5 hours of waiting...

But guess what? I was truely delighted after the check-up! Why?


We did a very thorough scan today and doc spent a lot of time with us on the scan somehow (maybe she knew I was upset for the long wait). So we saw baby's head, the heart, the bladder, the spine, the tummy, the hands, the legs, etc. Gynae confirmed that the baby is now 17 weeks old, growing well and the structure is formed well too....Best part was : she confirmed that I'm having a BABY GIRL!!!

I was so extremely happy and first thing I said was : Thank God for answering my prayer!

I was indeed praying for a baby girl way before I was pregnant, while hubby & I were planning for our 2nd baby. Coz I read in this book called "Supernatural Childbirth" that if you are wishing to have certain baby gender, u gotta commit that to God way before u conceive so then God can do something about it! haha...Once u'r pregnant, though u may not know the gender of your baby as yet, but it's already formed. The gender was decided while the sperm found the egg, so it's probably too late to pray for certain gender after that...

I really really felt grateful to have God answered this prayer of mine. U know...having blessed with another baby according to our family plan (ofcoz we submitted the plan to God too) is already great, but having blessed with a baby girl is just marvelous! It's beyong words how God has blessed me and my family...

Praise the Lord!!! for He is good, ALL THE TIME!

Modern relationship

I was catching up with one of my close girlfriend R last week and she told me she needed some advice. Below part of our conversation :

Me :"So how are things with your new boyfriend? Ru enjoying the new relationship?"

R :"Well...I found that he's not too interesting afterall...We went dating as usual, watching movies, having dinners, went shopping, etc, but we dont have much interesting stuff to talk about or to do together! I think he's quite boring!"

Me :"What? Thought u would have found out about this before u even started the relationship with him right?"

R :"Yeah...but I thought things could be different! Anyway I was wrong...So I'm not sure what to do now."

Me :"Well u should just be frank with him, so then both of u wont waste anymore time! Err...unless u'r saying, u guys f***ed already???"

R :"I know u gonna scold me, but....yeeaaahhh...we did it, we f***ed already..."

Wow! I was quite surprise to hear that she actually slept with this guy whom she went out with only for 2 weeks! Well I was surprised obviously becoz she's not the type who will go for ONS (one-nite-stand).

I guess this is so-called the Modern Relationship? U date with this person for awhile, do everything u want, feel happy about it then u continue; if not u step out from the relationship and say, sorry I think u'r not too interesting!

I'm not sure since when our society has became like this, where boy-girl relationship is treated so lightly, mayb a decade ago? But for me, to fall in love with someone is easy, to be in love with someone and to give this person everything u have including your body and that precious moment in bed, is never easy!

Sometimes I cant understand how this "modern relationship" could work out, especially if u'r female, but I guess it's alot to do with the way we were brought up...

***no offence to anyone reading***

Just my 2 cents worth...

Listening with your heart, not your ears...

In the past one whole month I suddenly realised that my hubby has alot of interest in politic matters! Why do I say so? Way before the election on Mar8, he has been reading lots of info regarding the election, the candidates, the parties, etc. Then he will keep me updated on all the latest progress & news...Well I thought this is a once-in-few-years occasion, so that's why he's paying some attention to it, knowing that we are going to make a difference this time!

Then it was after the election...lots & lots of post-election news on new state government, new MP, etc etc. Again, he will surf & read all the latest "gossip" either about BN or the "new govt" and keep me updated. So he will talk and talk about this every time when we get to have a conversation....

1 week, 2 weeks, now almost 3 weeks after the election, nothing has changed. He is STILL talking to me about politics, his opinion, latest gossip etc....I've told him before, that I'm actually not too interested at all these, but since it was the hot topic of everyone, I'm fine to listen to them, but I really dont have much interest....

On another hand, work has been CRAZY for me last 2 weeks! Imust say, being pregnant and having to handle a stressful job with tight timeline & all, is never a easy thing to manage...So I was complaining to hubby on Friday night that I've been having this bad headache for past few days most probably due to lack of sleep & I think I need a break. U know what he said in return? After few moments of silence, he said "hmmm, that's funny..."

WHAT??? FUNNY???

That's the result of listening with your ears and not your heart! I then realised that he was too much into reading some stuff on the net, so while looking at the laptop, he just simply gave me some respond...I got upset and went to sleep straight away...

Infact this was not the first time he's doing this to me! He's a talker, definitely not a good listener. Many of my friends told me lots of guys are like that, but as long as they love u and show love in other manner, dont take this too seriously. Well sometimes this is just easier said than done...Who wants to be unhappy right?

Sometimes what I required of him are just simple things...like caring for me, give me more TLC (tender loving care), listen to me with his heart & support me when I'm not comfortable (especially now that I'm pregnant). I've even taken time to tell him how I feel and not once, but many times, YET he hasnt improved much on this...

Maybe we can never find someone perfect...No doubt he's a good husband in many other areas, a good daddy too, but there's still this lil black dot on the beautiful picture...Or am I just too demanding???

Joke of the day...

Just thought despite my busyness this week, I'll post this one - short but funny!

I was driving back to office with another pretty girl colleague, R in my car after lunch last Friday. As we drove pass a fruit stall outside a coffee shop, I was suddenly craving for guava. Since R felt like having fruits too, I stopped the car by the road side and she jumped down to buy fruits.

When she's back, she was holding quite big a plastic bag so I was curious what she bought...So we the below conversation happened:

Me : So what did u buy? Looks like a big bag there?

R : OH, I bought pineapple, and lembau guava...

Me : WHAT? Lembau guava??? Is this new type of special guava or what? I havent heard of it before...Nice?

R (BURST out laughing) : Sorry, pleave forgive my poor cantonese! I said "leong-bau" guava (meaning 2 packs of guava)!

HAHAHAHAHA!!! We both ended up laughing out loud in the car like crazy women while having our "lembau" guava!!! Kakakaka...

In the past 10 days....

I've been really busy at work since last week, so have not really been blogging...

Alot had happened in the past week, and to us Malaysians, ofcoz the most significant "happening" will be our election on 8 March. People were all queuing up to vote since early morning and u can actually see the eagleness to vote in their eyes!

Well I'm staying in between Kepong & Segambut area, and both these places were won by the opposition, OFCOZ! Infact hubby & I were sitting infront of the TV waiting for the counting results on Sat night after dinner & after putting baby to bed. But what we realised was...very disappointing - the TV programme showing LIVE results was not reflecting the "truth".

So then we decided to switch on the computer & depend on our internet! True enough, the news were MUCH FASTER on the internet! We were really delighted to see more & more opposition candidates won over BN candidates, whether they are from PKR, PAS or DAP. For the first time I guess, the people of Malaysia are no longer "racist"! They just wanted to do their part for a change, change of a better future for all of us!

Finally I went to sleep & couldnt wait for all the latest results, but the first thing hubby told me when I woke up next morning was - we finally achieved something! Though the opposition did not win the overall election, but we achieved 2/3 to AT LEAST deny BN! Well for a start, that could be good enough, coz the opposition finally will have a "say" on all govt decisions!

Many of us will have very high expectation on many changes to be made from now on...Let's just pray for better ruler over this nation.

Work friends

I was attending a friend J's wedding dinner last night together with my hubby. This is one of my best friends at work. I dont usually call these friends "colleagues" coz to me, our relationship has gone beyond just "colleagues". I categorize "colleagues" as merely work-related people whom we dont really talk beyond work-related stuff; while work friends are good friends that I made along my working life, whom we dont really talk about work-related stuff, but whole lot more other things around us.

I knew J since I joined this company, but have never been in the same team ever. Somehow we have to visit this university for meetings when we were both new to the company and so we started chatting along the journey each time we go together. Then we got along very well and became close friends. We have another common close friend too, called P, who was already pretty close to J when P joined my team and became close to me. So three of us will always go out lunching together, sometimes all the way driving from Tmn Tun to KL down town or Mid Valley when all 3 of us have some time to spare for longer lunch. We also went treasure hunting together...

Unfortunately P decided to leave the company about 3+ years ago coz he got a much better offer from our competitor. It was painful for me to have to lose a good friend at work. I used to sing "Here without u" when I think of him. But though he has left the company, we still meet up very often at Coffee Beans after work, or meet up for lunch when he's around the area, and mostly without J.

Time flies....In the last 3 years, there has been so much changes to our lives! I've got married in 2006, then P got married beginning of the following year. Our meet-ups then reduced A LOT after we both got married. Then I've got a baby and ofcoz alot more busier, and he has been promoted & got busier too I guess. We hardly meet up anymore...We'll call each other once in a blue moon, but usually just have a short conversation.

Last night P & wife, me & hubby together with other friends were put on the same table for the dinner. Sad to say...P & I hardly spoke to each other...We seemed sooooo like "strangers" to each other. I hate the feeling, and I was sad, though I looked happy on the face mingling with other friends. Sigh...

I guess this is what happens to work friends when u dont put the effort to keep in touch. No matter how close u were, when u left the company & put into new environment, u'll make new friends. Same goes to the one who stayed, no matter how painful was the lost, u'll get adjusted soon & then make new friends! That's why people say "Work friends come & go, dont take it too hard"...

Wonder how to make mum happy

Hubby & I took some time-off yesterday first half to get some personal things done. Since it was already close to lunch time & we were just around the neighbourhood, we called mum to lunch with us, together with my mother-in-law & grandma-in-law & my son.

I suggested to go for Korean food since I feel like having Kimchi and I know the fact that mum likes Korean food too, but havent been brought to Korean restaurant for awhile. Everything was fine over lunch, but I know mum didnt eat much, probably dued to her small appetite these days ever since the grastric problem.

But u know what? I had a ear-full from her this afternoon when I met her for lunch, since I'm working from home today...She commented that we shouldnt have wasted money for expensive meal since it was just ordinary lunch, not even some special occasion. She said we should have spent the money for best milk powder for our baby! BTW ever since she saw us buying a packet-type milk powder (Dugro), instead of one of the most expensive tin-type MamilGold, she has been nagging on us saying we are not giving our baby the best thing.

Besides, mum also said she was very uncomfortable having meal with my in-laws & told me not to invite her next time if we are going with the in-laws. Infact she also said alot more other comments which actually made me feel sad & disappointed.

U see...sometimes she complained about not having good son-in-laws though she has four, when she compared her sons-in-law with her friends' sons-in-law. Sometimes she complained about not going out for good meals like this often coz all of us are so busy & no one has time for the old parents. Sometimes she complained about us not willing to listen to her...etc etc...

I'm not sure about my other sisters, but I'm pretty sure that I've been trying my every single effort to be the best daughter and my hubby the best son-in-law. We will spend time with them, bring them out for dinner over weekend, we will invite them over to our house & enjoy the park, we will take them out for shopping, etc etc.

YET, these may not necessarily have made mum happy! Sometimes I doubt, whether I really know her well enough to know how to make her happy. I really wonder...

Updates about mum

If u have been reading my blog, then u would probably know about my mum's health condition in the last few months....Well I should say, her health is not too bad now, but the worry is not over!

Few days ago mum was dued for check-up again since the last visit in December. This time, she has to go to the hospital twice, where the first day was for blood test & second day to get the report and meet the doctor to determine whether there's a need for another round of "scope".

So on the 2nd day when we met the doc, he said mum's blood test is still showing high tumor-marking reading but slightly lower compared to the previous blood test done in Dec. So doc made arrangement for mum to do another round of 'scope', but this time just need to do it with the upper half body....Then when the 'scope' was done, the result was 'clear', so doc said the tumor-making reading may be caused by some stomach infection. Mum needs to be on medication for few more weeks, and if there's nothing major, next check-up is 2 months from now.

U know...it's painful to see mum going through this everytime when there's a check-up. Her worries were all on her face....She's already getting old, getting more & more skinny these days, yet she looked anxious when doc was reading the test report and her disappointment when she heard that the tumor-making is reading high, again & again...

I dont know what to do, except praying for her....

"I miss u" message

On Fly fm, there's this "Pagi show" which I listen to whenever I'm driving in the morning. And this morning as I switched it on, the "Fix-it" program was on...Ok for those who doesnt listen to Fly fm & not sure what "fix-it" is, this is a request where u can send in an email to fly fm with a problem then the DJs will help u fix it, whatever the problem may be.

So this morning's "Fix-it" was about this guy F, who has a HOT girlfriend & he saw a sms on her phone which said "I miss u, can I see u now?", obviously from another guy! So F took that guy T's number down & submitted this problem for "Fix-it". So the DJs actually put F & T on air so they can sort it out! hahaha....

Well when I heard the whole thing, I was actually laughing....Laughing becoz F actually decided to put this personal problem on air for everyone else to know, and also laughing for F to be quite jealousy over "small" matter like this without even clarifying with the girlfriend.

Infact sometimes, I tell my friends (close guy friends) that I miss them too! Sometimes over MSN, sometimes over SMS, or sometimes even over the phone....I'll say "I miss u" when I really do, but what wrong with that? And I recalled saying "I really miss u and I wish I could hug u soon!" to one of my good friends who's a guy this morning over MSN! haha...Not sure if I'll make my hubby jealous if he finds out, but I'm pretty sure he will not coz I really know him. But maybe if he's saying that to another lady, that may make me mad! haha...

Do u say "I miss u" to friends of the opposite sex and not your spouse or gf/bf?

Chap Goh Meh

The 15th day of Chinese New Year, which is known as Chap Goh Meh (Hokkien), marks the finale of Chinese New Year. Similar to the ushering in at Chinese New Year Eve, most families will gather for a delicious meal and houses are once again brightly lit.

I’ve also heard of some old time stories about Chap Goh Meh in Penang, where in olden days, young women who are not allowed to go out and meet people often, will be allowed to be out of their houses to cast tangerines or mandarin oranges into the sea or river with hopes and prayers to find a good husband. Hmm…wonder if that actually works!

But in traditional Chinese culture in China, Chap Goh Meh is also celebrated as the Lantern Festival or Yuan-Xiao Festival (元宵節). As the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night as “Xiao” in Chinese, plus 15th day is the first night to see a full moon, this day is then called Yuan-Xiao Festival in China.

According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns too and eat tang-yuan (glutinous rice ball) while getting all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.

I’ll be joining my hubby’s family plus the extended family members for a big dinner tonight in one of hubby’s auntie’s house…am sure it’s gonna be a long night. What about you? How are your celebrating Chap Goh Meh? Throwing some mandarin oranges?

My Pregnancy so far...

Just came back from the hospital for my first(second) check-up after we confirmed the pregnancy during the last check.

Baby is developing well, now 10 weeks old and we even saw the hands & legs! The baby's heart is very actively pumping too! Here's the photo of it, and trust me, this is the best I could load as the doc doesnt know how to transfer the file as image to my thumbdrive, I used the camera to take a pic of the hardcopy doc gave me....haha!

Comparing with the previous pregnancy, this one is truely different, like many have told me that each pregnancy will be different...For the past few weeks I suffered on evening sickness & nausea, though not as serious as many other mummies, it's bad enough for me to cope since I've never experienced this for my last pregnancy. I also lost appetide and lost weight!

Well I guess the "bad" time is soon coming to an end...I prayed about this alot, and nausea has more or less gone from me now. Only thing is....I still dont have much appetide for dinners, but I guess this will soon improve too (I hope)!

Apart from slight nausea & evening sickness, I'm just feeling very tired everyday...But that should be the way according to my gynae. She said :"My dear, can u imagine ur whole body strength & all energy has been used to BUILD another human inside u? Ofcoz u'll feel tired!" Haha...how true!

Hubby & Baby's new toy!

The past weekend was really a wonderful one....

Infact hubby has been talking about buying a bike since we now stay in a very very environmental friendly neighbourhood where there are huge parks around for cycling, jogging & all. Also when we were in Europe, we saw many parents riding bicycles with their kids at the back-seat (with special baby seat for bikes).

So finally last weekend, we went to checkout some bike shops coz hubby came back home with the baby-bike-seat on Friday night already! haha! Apparently he found this baby-seat in the area he was in for work last Friday and the price was reasonable, so he bought it (before we even have the bike)!

Now here's the "expensive" but very stylish Rockbike and other photos of the bike with the baby seat & lastly the baby-helmet we got for baby to wear whenever he's on the bike...and I tell u, baby looks soooooo fantastically CUTE when he wears the helmet and sits on the baby-bike-seat! And I truely enjoyed looking at the lovely "papa" riding the stylish bike with happy baby at the back going around the park....

It's a different CNY...

This year's CNY is a lil different for me....

Usually every year for the past many many years since my parents moved to KL, there will be this family affair, where my parents and my sisters together with all the bro-in-laws, nieces & nephew (16 of us) will go somewhere for a short holiday. We will usually have our family "tuan-yuan-fan" (gathering lunch) on eve of CNY, then 2 of my sisters will be going back to the husbands' hometown for their family gathering dinner. Then on 2nd day of CNY, we will all meet at the holiday resort, whether it's Port Dickson, or Malacca, or A' Famosa...or wherever outside of KL. Then we will spent some family quality time together, all 16 of us, until 4th day of CNY.

This year, for some many reasons, this "tradition" did not happen, so I spent the whole CNY in KL for the 1st time! And because of that, I did spend a lot more time with my in-laws too. For the 1st time (since we'r in town), I went relative-visiting with my parents-in-law together with hubby & baby. This really made my mum-in-law happy I must say...And well, the visitings were not too bad & boring at all, as I always thought they would be. Plus, we collected lots of ang-pows! haha...

So how was your Chinese New Year?

Oh BTW today is Valentine's Day, I almost forgotten! Well since I dont have a romantic hubby, this is usually not considered a special occasion for me, how sad...But what about you? How do u plan to celebrate your Valentine's Day tonight?

Wish u have a sweet wonderful romantic Valentine's Day!

Chinese New Year

Time flies....thought hubby & I were just talking about Christmas & whether we should host a Christmas party this year (err...sorry that was 2007, haha!); then I was writing a post about New Year 2008; and now...it's already Feb & tomorrow itself is eve of Chinese New Year where there will be family gathering lunch or dinner or both (for some of us who's married).

It's time to get FAT again! Why? Coz Chinese New Year is also related to many many family dinners (big meals usually), lots of tarts & cookies, bak-kua (my favourite BBQ sliced pork), candies and lotz more!

One more significant Chinese New Yeay element to me is really the ang pow (red packet with cash inside)! Well some people are surprised to hear that I'm still receiving ang pows eventhough I'm married, coz apparently only the singles are eligible to receive ang pows from those who are married! I really think it's rubbish to have that thinking, haha! Fortunately for me, it's a tradition in my family to STILL give ang pow to the younger ones regardless if u'r married. So with that, I still receive ang pows from parents, sisters and some relatives.

So have you done all the preparation for Chinese New Year yet if u'r celebrating? Have you done some spring cleaning of the house & decorated it with some red lanterns & deco around? Have you packed all the ang pows (if u'r married)? Have you had all the cookies, food & drinks ready for your friends & relatives who are visiting you?

Wish you all have a Blessed Chinese New Year, a good break and

GONG XI FA CAI !!!

FINDING & KEEPING A LIFE PARTNER - PART 2

QUESTION ..5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married?

Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve" them after they're married. If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them. In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating, to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with
a ring on your finger, you don't want to find yourself in trouble because you didn't do your homework!

Another perspective....

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance....
It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going anywhere relationships.

Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention....
Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really
understand, know, or appreciate you? The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you...the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

Bottom line : Before you get involved and make a commitment to someone, don't let lust, pity, desperation, immaturity, ignorance, pressure from others or a low self-esteem make you blind to warning signs. Keep your eyes open, and don't fool yourself that you can change someone or that what you see as faults aren't really that important.

Do you bring out the best in each other?
Do you compliment and compromise with each other, or do you compete, compare and control?
What do you bring to the relationship?
Do you bring past relationships, past hurt, past mistrust, past pain?
You can't take someone to the altar to alter them.
You can't make someone love you or make someone stay.
If you develop self-esteem, spiritual discernment, and "a life"; you
won't find yourself making someone else responsible for your happiness or responsible for your pain. Seeking status, sex, and security are the wrong reasons to be in a relationship.

WHAT KEEPS A RELATIONSHIP STRONG ARE:
1. TRUST
2. COMMUNICATION
3. INTIMACY
4. A SENSE OF HUMOR
5. SHARING TASKS
6. SOME GETAWAY TIME WITHOUT BUSINESS OR CHILDREN
7. DAILY EXCHANGES (meal, shared activity, hug, call, touch, notes)
8. SHARING COMMON GOALS AND INTERESTS
9. GIVING EACH OTHER SPACE TO GROW WITHOUT FEELING INSECURE
10. GIVING EACH OTHER A SENSE OF BELONGING AND ASSURANCES OF COMMITMENT

If these qualities are missing, the relationship will erode as resentment withdrawal, abuse, neglect, and dishonesty; and pain will replace it....

Inspired by an email...FINDING AND KEEPING A LIFE PARTNER

Maybe I've been giving lotza advice these days to some good single girl friends around me, this email really came to my attention. And ofcoz I myself am really keen to KEEP a life partner like my hubby....

This is a looooong one, so I've decided to break this into 2 parts so that u wont get too bored and that u'll have something to look out for in this blog tomorrow...hehe!

When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50%, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Miss. Right!

If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say: "We're in love". But truly, I believe this is the #1 mistake people make when they date. Though this may sound "not politically correct", there's a profound truth here. Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: "You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone". You need a lot more!!!

Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner:

QUESTION ..1: Do we share a common life purpose?

Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common Life purpose.
Two things can happen in a marriage:
(1) You can grow together, or
(2) you can grow apart.
To make a marriage work, you need to know what you want out of life and marry someone who wants the same thing.

QUESTION ..2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?

This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust i.e. trust that I won't get "punished", or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings.

Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.

QUESTION ..3: Is he/she a mensch?

A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions:
- Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis?
- Are they serious about improving themselves?
- What do they do with their time?

- Is this person materialistic?

There are essentially two types of people in the world:
(1) People who are dedicated to personal growth
(2) people who are dedicated to seeking comfort

Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle.

QUESTION ..4: How does he/she treat other people?

The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure. Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self-absorbed? To measure
this, think about the following:
- How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as waiters?

- How do they treat their parents and siblings?
- Do they have gratitude and appreciation?

You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly, will eventually treat you poorly as well.

TO BE CONTINUED...
...by Dov Heller, M.A

I'M PREGNANT!

God answered my prayer! THANK YOU JESUS!!!

I was praying & praying the last few months to get pregnant around this time, so I can have my 2nd baby around Sept this year. Why? Coz my elder baby was born in Sept 2 years ago! Simple as that...

About 2 weeks ago when I missed the mentral, hubby bought me the self-pregnancy-test, and guess what? The result was like...not clear! Coz if u'r pregnant, there should be 2 solid Red lines. For my case, it was one red line with another pink line...so....

Then I got really busy in a project and finally when it was over, we made appointment with the gynae today, and she confirmed that I'M PREGNANT! The scan was really clear, where we also heard the heartbeat, though only at 6 weeks! I was impressed with the new scanner machine my gynae has in her clinic though...haha!

Infact I've started feeling it coz nausea attacked me already last week, morning sickness kicked in and I felt extremely tired all the time....True enough like many people told me, every pregnancy will be a whole new different experience, my morning sickness and nausea are worse this time compared to my 1st pregnancy...Guess all I have to do is to pray harder so God will continue to bless me and take me through a smooth pregnancy again.

I'm excited! So is my hubby! And we really thank God for such wonderful blessing!

Work-life balance?

I havent been writing for more than a week, and this is probably the longest break I've taken off from blogsphere since I started Aug last year, except the break I took when I went to Europe...

Work has been crazy the last 2 weeks, and I really mean CRAZY! I guess work has never been as crazy as this ever before to me for the past 7 years in the company. Maybe it's the nature of this current job that I'm in, which is very different from what I've been doing in the past, so this crazy long working hours is like...unavoidable!

In this current job, it's like "project-based". So when there's no "project"assigned, then I'll have more time, but when there's mega "project" going on, it's unbelievable...

I always believe in work-life balance and the MNC I work for also encourages work-life balance. But when you are engaged in such "project" where a lot of your work will be depending on other team members who always submit things late and pushing the timeline tighter and tighter, and end up having to work overnight without any sleep for the last few days, beating the dateline, where can u find work-life balance?

Anyway the "project" is now over, dateline was last Friday and I was practically sleeping throughout Friday afternoon & Sat. Also went to Genting with hubby & baby on Sunday, came back today since I've taken few days off from work to spend some time with family....

Before I end this post, I would like to thank Daniel who has given me the Bloggers of The World 2007 2008 Award. This is my first award since I started blogging Aug last year and I'm really really happy!

Hoping to get pregnant soon...

Followed on from my previous post on a Brand New 2008, there are few things that I'm looking forward to in 2008, one of which is to get pregnant.

I was talking to some friends about 2008, what's our plan and what are we looking forward to and all. When I mentioned about trying for 2nd baby this year, I've got that "look" from ALL of them! Surprised and shocked...

You see...Most things told to us about pregnancy are usually bad...Pregnancy, as the world views it, is nine months of misery! Most people expect a pregnant woman to get depressed, to be moody & blue, to miss her mum and hate her husband, to be an overall basket case for nine months! It's supposed to be a terrible experience for the husband who will have to make every single effort to keep his wife happy because she is sick to her stomach, has morning sickness, craves pickles & ice-cream and hates sex! Then comes to delivery part, or birth, as the world says, should be equally a disaster! So all in all, it's not a pretty picture and certainly not a pleasant experience both for the wife as well as the husband.

Therefore I understand why my friends were giving me that "look" coz all of them are either single or married without kids as yet....

I guess I was blessed during my first pregnancy, so it really wasnt a bad experience. I was actually a very happy pregnant woman! I still remember over-hearing a close colleague of mine telling another person that she has not seen me smiling & laughing away so much in her whole life! hahaha...

My morning sickness was not too bad, just a very very mild one, and I tried many recipes to overcome the terrible feeling of morning sickness. As for craving, I didnt have weird cravings, just lots & lots of mangoes! And that's all I could remember..oh ya! There was this one period of time when I craved for "ham-chin-peng" (a type of chinese pastries) every other day!

During the first trimester, since there was mild morning sickness, I worked from home pretty often. Then throughout the second and third trimester, I dressed up brightly in those pretty clothes with my usual make-up to work everyday, feeling blessed, happy, proud and excited about my pregnancy!

When it was delivery time, no dount there were some worries, but no big deal under God's hand. Contraction started around 5.30pm and baby was delivered at 11.56pm the same day...without epidural, natural birth of our lil bundle of joy!

So why wouldnt I look forward to my 2nd pregnancy? Do I have any reason at all to NOT look forward to it? I know and I believe God is in control of all things, therefore if I'm blessed with a baby, He will take care of me and the baby throughout the pregnancy period...

Brand New 2008

A new chapter, a new journey, a new story, a new commitment...A BRAND NEW YEAR - 2008!

Let's make sure it brings :

New Hope, New successes, New achievements, New fat bank accounts

Above was one of the many SMSes I've received on New Year's eve & New Year day...thought it's quite true to me, coz if our "2nd-baby-project" is successful, then hubby & I shall have a really challenging 2008, yet new joy and happiness in this new chapter of life! We gonna have new stories to tell, and have new achievements!

As for work, since hubby & I both started our new jobs Aug last year, and till now still struggling through the changes & differences, we are both hoping that 2008 will come with new hope and new successes, that we both may achieve new heights in our career...

Also, Hubby & I both felt that we have gone astray from God last year, maybe due to our busy-ness with young baby around, maybe due to our work...But whatever excuse it may be, I'm hoping & praying that we could draw closer to God once again, not just physically, but mentally & emotionally....We do attend church every Sunday with baby around, we do sing praises, we do pray with baby everyday, but somehow I believe something has gone missing in our hearts...May God be gracious to us and lead us back to the flock in 2008!

I've been tagged - Monthly Flavors

Rules:

1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them

2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months

3. Pick your month of birth & Highlight the traits that apply to you

4. Tag 6 of your friends

5. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!

Thanx Daniel, for tagging me, so now u passed the headache to me huh! haha...

My birth month is

Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

THE MONTHLY FLAVORS, WHICH ARE YOU?

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

OK, I really dont have so many "friends" in this blogsphere, so I'm sorry but to tag u guys lor...

1. zewt

2. hcfoo

3. cbenc12

4. seal in astral

5. natasha

6. spikey