Phase 1 : A new life in the works!

As many of my friends and family can see by now, I have developed a bump! A bump which contains a little life that is currently 22 weeks old. It is definitely an amazing thing I must say since I am the one experiencing all the weirdest sensations and changes to my body! hehe...

You would think that after seeing so many pregnant women around, and hearing the equally horrifying stories, you would be kind of prepared of what was to be expected.

My first 3 mths which incidentally is called the 1st trimester, was pretty rough.Unluckily, I was not one of those lucky ladies who breeze through pregnancy without a hitch. I had all the works! Morning/Evening sickness, dizziness, fatigue , vomitting and all the weird ass symptoms you read in books...phew! It was amazing how a person can still stay sane after going through all these!!

Of course, I was still in Perth when I started off with all these symptoms so it was extremely tough on my hubby. Thank God it was winter in Perth so the weather was cool enough for me (preggers have very high body temp!) and I stayed in a peaceful place so it was very comfortable for me. Having to "tahan" my vomitting bouts was enough to turn me off food and it was difficult to find food that suited me. All the thoughts of ingesting nutritious food and all for the growing foetus was not even in my priorities!! Instead I ate biscuits, cereal, potato chips, chocolates and fruits ...all other food (especially after I cook them) just made me wanna puke..*grimace*. My hubby tried to cook but he had to air the kitchen or eating area before I could eat..I suddenly developed this extremely keen sense of smell where any food/cooking smell made me puky ..sheesh...It was unbelievable to me at that time that a person can feel that way...and I can imagine how frustrating the people around me must feel!!!!

I kept reading that the symptoms of the 1st trimester would disappear by 2nd trimester so that gave me hope that it would all pass sooon! I then came back Singapore so that I could have the proper checks from my gynae here. It was still my first trimester...and though it was just 12 weeks..I was literally counting down the days. I was still sick in Singapore and the humid weather and city noise made it worse. It did not help that I was alone as my hubby as still in Perth.

I was really glad I had a great family and a great friend(who was also pregnant)'s support as I was too sick to even cook or walk downstairs to buy my own food. At that point, I found it incredible that women actually wanted babies and some even had more than 1!! Why does one have to suffer through all these mental and physical discomfort for 9mths? As I was eating some medication to stabilise my pregnancy, I was literally feeling "pissed off" and in a PMS mood every day due to the medication. Gosh... I can imagine what a pain in the ass I must have been to everyone around me. I felt so bad especially since my siblings tried their best to accompany me and got their heads bitten off by me! And for no apparent reason, I would start crying uncontrollably!!! hehe.... I scared my dad who walked into my room once and saw me crying like there was no tomorrow! He must be thinking when he would need to admit me to a mental institute...*hyuk hyuk*

Special Delivery all the way from Perth from my hubby to cheer me up!!

At that point I was confined to bed (doctor's orders) since my pregnancy was unstable and did not contact any of my friends. It was tough for me as I was a very energetic person who walked a lot and did lotsa stuff. When the 1st trimester was finally over (at 12 weeks), I magically woke up from this "bad" mood that was eating at me. I guess stopping my medication helped a lot too. Yahoo!!!!! I started feeling like a "normal" person again, but with a bigger tummy and decided it was time to tell the world that I was back in Singapore!!!

Revival!!!

I am back! Yup back in good ol' humid Singapore, back to my family and friends, back to yummy food and back to blogging!

I was bugged by many on why I suddenly stoppped blogging.....reason is....No Reason! hehe...Suddenly I have no more inspiration to "gossip" or say anything. That's of course not to say that my life is suddenly THAT boring...hehehe....far from it!

I realise that I tend to blog a lot when I am overseas ...which was the main reason why I set up my blog and spent so much time taking photos(irritating the hell out of those who were dining with me!heh) and allowing my family and friends to find out what I was up to. You would expect my blog and pictures would explain what I had been up to...YET I realise that many people always ask me with this peculiar expression , "WHAT exactly do you do in Perth everyday?". .and they really want to know a day by day account (i am not joking!). I know the reason for the "popular" question is becos Perth is well known to be a slow slow place with nothing to do. Also being there with my husband( who is working) and I am not working....so people really want to know how I could spend my few months there without dying of boredom.

On the other hand, I spent an even longer time staying in Ho Chi Minh City, being even more bored and ended up watching a lot of TV just becos it was a working stint....yet everyone seems to think it is so exciting to be there.. haha...

From both overseas experience, I deduce that most people feel that life is so much more exciting when one is working and not when one is taking time off to enjoy life...I mean it is considered one of the deadly sins in Singapore if you are deemed to quit your job to take a break!! haha...

Having such a peculiar shift in my lifestyle one year back into what all my friends call a "tai tai" lifestyle (they are too polite to call me an unemployed useless bum!) , I personally feel that breaking away from the norm of the typical executive lifestyle in Singapore is something one should attempt to do once in your life just maintain your sanity and mental health. I know of friends who toil in job after job, with no breaks in between, complaining of "no life"and "bad health", sacrificing precious family and friends to wrk late and weekends....just to chase the "lifestyle" deemed acceptable by the society. Comments such as" how can you quit a job just like that? You mean you quit your job WITHOUT another job? What abt your house, your family?You are married you know! You very rich ah, husband support you is it?". These "reality check" comments from kind souls are enough to scare one into sticking on with a shitty job. I mean, who DARES to take a break from work?

I definitely know and have experienced all these comments which kinda irritated me at the start since SO MANY people kept repeating the same thing to me for doing something so unorthodox but ultimately I am responsible for my own life and did not have to explain to anyone what I wanted to do (except my hubby of course!) .

To me, it could be the fact that I was approaching the big ol 30 and realised that I have not much time to do what I want since I would need to be a "responsible and stable daughter, wife and mother". These are the times when I look toward my swinging single "executive" friends who can afford to "go out for weekly drinks at the latest clubs" or "go for the latest Gucci sale" with envy. I guess starting a family and owning a home forces one to "grow up" and you will naturally restrict your carefree ways. So I gather, what better time to work and stay overseas, especially when my husband also decided on a career change that will base him overseas? It was fortunate for me that my hubby shared the same thoughts as me (he knows me best!) and he also supported my decision to do something different since we did not have too many financial/family burdens at that moment. We then planned our overseas transition quite smoothly and managed our relationship while being in different countries for the past year pretty well. If I look back now at both our plans, I would say this definitely had been the experience of our lives and despite all the tough adjustments and luggage packing, I would not trade it for anythg else (well, unless its a Gucci bag!).

Of course, to end off my "globe trotting" experience, I am currently expecting a baby! Now you know why I am back in Singapore!! *grin*

23May07 Surprise

Had a midnight surprise from my hubby who came back late (now tat I think abt it, he must have purposely come back late, if not I will uncover his "surprise"..hehe)..

1) 12midnite - Presenting a beautiful gerbera packaged in a cool orange box, an Elmo pastry and a card ...note that all the colours match and all my fave colours some more! wah..not bad huh..

2) Close up of Elmo pastry - Itz actually made of marshmallows and placed on top of 2 cookies. Cute!!3) My presents!! :)

Had a great bday lunch at the Bluewater Grill (Perth)..Its a restaurant recommended by a friend who said that this used to be a mental hospital converted into a restaurant. I am so glad I chose my Bday to eat here..Its such a nice peaceful restaurant with a great view!

The food is fantastic...we did not eat a lot though as we had a heavy breakfast....For some reason, I forgot to take pics of the restaurant..sigh..

1) Beer battered Fish and Chips.....this one wins all the fish and chips I have eaten in Perth so far! The crunchy batter combined with the succulent fish is sooo good.*yumz* It comes with fries that is fantastico(I am a fries person so I can judge them realli well) and a garlic cream sauce that is light and tasty.2) Seafood Wood Fire Pizza......the fresh seafood marinated in herbs and chilli baked on the thin and crispy base is great! 3) After lunch, we went to Corica, which is a famous Apple Strudel shop in Perth to buy my bday cake. In Singapore, we have similar ones (Renaldo and Ritz Apple Strudel). The pastry is sooooo nice...must be the quality of the milk here...the cream and custard has a much creamier taste than the ones in Singapore. * drools*

Now I can officially scream....I AM NO LONGER IN MY LATE LATE TWENTIES!! AARGH..:<

Surprise!!

A surprise package arrived for me this morn..bright and early! Here are the pics....thanks to my lovely lil' sis who made the effort and to all my dear family who are far far away for sending my gift one day earlier.....errr are u trying to remind a certain person in case "he" forgets? Wat a brilliant move lil sis!!! * sneaky laugh*

1) Hmmm...how come I get a package in a box that is labelled "Baba's Curry Powder"? Isn't that the brand of curry my MIL uses?!
2) AHHH....here's a cute bear holding bouquet of pink and purple flowers (my fave) trapped in the box! cute huh..like a prisoner..hehehe..3) Here's the card that came w the flowers.....a nice bday wish from my dear family.....whoops Addey and Raven...they spelt your name wrongly. I noticed the florist shops here are different in SG. If u order a bouquet of flowers in SG, the person who receives it will get a computer typed card unlike a hand-written one here in Perth....makes it seem as if the sender actualli sent the card personally doesn't it?

4) Me with my "just woke up but happy face" posing with the bear...its as soft as "ba hu"..I like!5) The Bear's new place......my side table!

Apple Pie Muffins

I have a truckload of apples that was given by some kind souls who bought too much...nah a tuckload sounds too much heh..itz just A LOT of apples for 2 persons. Well, I have been faithfully trying to keep my doctor away by eating apples..but can't seem to finish them! As usual, I try to think of ways to put them into my meals....

I was asked to attempt to make Apple Pie, Apple Crumble, Apple Turnover...but those are boring rite?! I decided to make apple pie filling and put it into my muffins instead! It turned out GREAT! The stewed apples tasted just right...not too sweet...yum yum...will definitely make it again.

Home cooked goodness..

Some home cooked food I made (those that I rememberd to take a photo!)..

1) Home made fluffy pancakes..almost can rival Macs Hotcakes!
2)Mini Chicken Pies ..using a muffin tray to bake! Ingenious idea huh..heh. This time round, the chicken pies are successful and tasted great. Feedback from "testers" were it tastes better than Jesters Pies (famous pie shop in Perth). "grin grin*

3) Chicken Pie Foldover (using the left over filo pastry from the above pies, I pieces them together and tried to form an acceptable shape)..not that bad an effort huh..tasted great too! 4) Laksa Delight! ..made this laksa using a pre-mix of course...a touch of local delight for my hubby..
5) Honey Snaps ... made these using a Donna Hay (famous Australian food stylist) recipe. Alas...tho it looked fantastic, I found it to be realli difficult to eat! meaning, once the honey hardens, its like biting a rock! not joking..onli way to eat it is to heat it up. Not too sure if I did it correctly but the cookies are turned out a lovely brown colour, smelled great but tasted BLAH....will not make these again!
6) Apple Ham Salad ...using crunchy Granny Smith apples, ham, lettuce, hard boiled eggs, I concocted my own dressing using vinaigrette, mayo and sour cream (all low fat of course!). Tasted delicious!

7) Garlic Bread ...buttery warm garlicky bread....yum!
8) Minestrone Soup .... wanted to make a healthy soup filled w Veg so decided to make this soup to complement the garlic bread.
9) Burritos.....discoverd tortillas was something both my hubby and I liked so I decided to see the different ways I can make diff dishes/fillings with it. Wen warmed in the oven, with melted cheese..the tortillas are fantastic!
10) Lamb Ragout - had lamb leftover from a BBQ so decided to make a ragout (similar to a stew)...yummilicious!

Sour Cream Butter Cake

I bought a tub of sour cream for baked potatoes, a dip for french fries and for my tortilla chips (yum!). I was clearing stuff from the fridge and noted that the expiry was nearing..aargh!Why do I always buy such a large tub?! It was a cool coincidence that I came across a recipe for a Sour Cream Butter Cake. I was a little apprehensive but decided to try it..so that I can use up the sour cream asap. heheh..I also halfed the recipe , just in case it wasted weird. I altered the recipe and put dark chocolate in the cake similar to a marble cake. Hmmm.. sour cream in a cake..interesting...


I started off putting the batter in cupcakes then I realised how tiring it was swirling the melted dark chocolate into each tiny butter cake mixture..it was even worse as I was using mini cupcake liners! Being a teeny wenny lazy, I decided to pour the rest of the mixture into a loaf tin.


Here are my pics- Surprisingly, the cake tasted smooth and buttery. The dark chocolate I used was a great contrast. Too bad I halfed the recipe ...now my hubby is asking me to make it again!! *grin*