Green Fingers

I've been toying with the idea of setting up my own little herb "garden" for years. Finally got my big butt up and moving. Did minimal homework: surfed for information, spoke to various ones, made a trip to a nursery to see what's available, and finally got down to purchasing.

Doing a mixture of planting herbs from seed, and buying some grown ones. So, if anyone needs some mint or basil, and if my thyme and parsley grow out well, I'll be happy to let you have some.

I never knew starting a new hobby could cost this much! And the different soils and stuff I have to buy, made me realise there's really more than just watering the plants. Derod paid for everything happily! And while I was the one exclaiming how crazy a planter box or a bracket costs, he was the one saying that there will surely be a start up cost to any hobby. And he said that growing and tending to the plants could teach me something about God too. I didn't think of it that way before, so I'll wait and see what lessons await me.

All set to start up

You guessed it! It's taken from the kids' set of beach toys. Whatever works.

Tadah! Now to see if I have green fingers.

Alcoholic Me

I love the soups and tonics that come with confinement. Auntie brews a fresh, large portion of 药材汤 for lunch and dinner everyday. For supper, I get another bowl of tonics, varying between duzhong for strengthening the back, black chicken with cordyceps and tonic XO.

I probably consumed two bottles of XO after giving birth to Gabe but this round, the portion was doubled. Auntie would double boil about a cup (normal drinking mug) of the liquor with meat/ bones for two to three hours, during which she would refrain from entering the kitchen due to its strong aroma. She said that since I am "a good drinker", it would be good to take the XO more frequently for it can strengthen my body. I think I averaged a bowl every two or three nights.

Me and my trophies - four bottles of XO in one month.

The Avent milk bottle looks pretty tiny next to the big brothers.

I Thank God for You

I was clearing up our cluttered study room and found a couple of handwritten notes to Derod. They are obviously rather dated, since no one really writes very much anymore.

This one from alwayseeking had so much humor in the thanksgiving.
"Thank you for your heart of joy to serve that makes my service so delightful. Thank you for your kindness and willingness to patiently help with my queries. Thank you for your arms so strong to help carry and move the instruments. Thank you for your mega-watt smile that makes the world so much sweeter. You are such a blessing!"

We were supposed to write a note of appreciation to each other as husband and wife and I found my note to derod.
"You are special because:
You have amazing discipline to do what you have to do/ think is important.
You have that unique heehee laughter.
Nobody loves me like you do.
You make friends so easily and bless them because you are you.
You have crazy ideas you never carry out, like keep long hair and cook fried rice.
You are a walking movie dictionary.
You are quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
You love your job and are great at what you do.
For these reasons and more, I appreciate you."

Derod has been nothing but supportive all these years, especially after the kids came along. Honestly, I wouldn't know what I'd be like without him. Yeah, and that includes irritatingly funny, nonsensical part of him too. Yes, you are such a blessing and for these reasons and more, I appreciate you.

Be Thankful For That Which You Have Been Given

It's so easy to forget that one of the greatest blessings is to be bestowed a healthy baby.

While channel surfing one day, I caught the trailer for Channel 5's programme, Lifeline. It documents stories of some patients at our local government hospital and this particular episode focused on an infant who was not born in the pink of health.

I did not catch the actual episode; I don't think I'd be able to sit through it. This fragile newborn had all sorts of tubes and lines poked into its little body. The mere sight of this tore my heart apart. I was jolted into reminder, not to take God's graciousness and blessings for granted. Perhaps this scene affected me much more because of where I am at present: a mother of a young infant. But it is important, nevertheless, to be reminded of how much we have been given, and how often we overlook the smallest but most important of things, and take for granted each painless breath we take and the ease with which we carry out our daily tasks. May we never need to experience the loss of such privileges in order to be appreciative of them.

Congratulations

Just like everyone else, I've congratulated and received my fair share of congratulations. But I've never really experienced the full meaning of the word until I gave birth to my daughter.

After the 9-month journey in pregnancy and the hard work put in to bring her out into this world, I lay exhausted on the bed in the delivery suite. Nurses started streaming in to care for Rou, taking her measurements and cleaning her up. And each person that stepped in would first look at me with a gentle smile and say "congratulations!" before carrying out the work that they came in to do.

It was then that I was able to fully appreciate the joy of an occasion and how others convey that they too share in that same joy. It was indeed a moment to celebrate and believe it or not, I shared that moment with many strangers that afternoon.

The Bintan Escapade

Derod and I made a failed attempt at a twosome holiday to Ko Samui in June 2008. In fact, all the details, arrangements and payments were secured. The only thing lacking was our presence on the plane. We discovered the presence of #2 a week prior to departure and I was hoping to recover from the sicknesses plaguing me and still make it for the trip. Alas, it was not meant to be, but we were fortunate enough to get a small refund from the tour agency. We gave it another attempt at 31/32 weeks of pregnancy and in view of the last minute planning, budget and distance, settled for Bintan, a mere 45 minutes away by ferry. We weren't too keen for me to fly and taking a long car ride didn't seem to be a comfortable idea for someone in the last trimester of pregnancy. In fact, a friend joked that we might end up with an Indonesian baby should anything unscheduled happened. But it worked out and we left Gabe with my parents and enjoyed ourselves for three days and two nights. We woke up when we wanted to, watched HBO, ate at our own pace, ate whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, and simply caught up with conversations and each other's company. We missed Gabe and we talked about him often but it was a good breather and probably a much-needed time of refreshing before we get further tied down by the arrival of #2.

We attempted to take a picture with the camera an arm's length away from our faces when two Caucasians came by, tsked at us, commented that it wouldn't do and volunteered to be our cameramen.
Alas, the shot was blurred... :(

Derod taking a walk on the boardwalk out to the waters.

We trespassed accidentally into the boundaries of Banyan Tree.
You could feel the promised "tranquility" almost immediately.

After breakfast on Day 2. Roaming the grounds of our resort and enjoying the good sun and strong winds.

With the weather too good to resist, I gave in to the beach walk in my bikini top. Pleasantly surprised to know that I still look not-pregnant from the back, and pretty acceptable from the front. Got myself a red and itchy tummy though.

Derod admiring the view of the bay, with our resort behind him.

It's amazing what the combination of sun, wind and rhythmic waves can do for you.

Banyan Tree and Angsana (our resort) share the same premises and hence we have the privilege of free buggy rides to BT's restaurants. Other than enjoying the food and great service, we took to roaming around the restaurants and sneaked some experiences at BT, one of which is the breathtaking views the place offers.

At the pool fronting the restaurant where we went for lunch.

Relaxing with a cool drink after lunch at the outdoor tables overlooking the waves crashing onto the rocky shore. We left for the Angsana Spa after this and I would say it was the best spa experience I've ever had. Tata Bintan and I'll be looking forward to my next twosome holiday, which won't be for a long time to come.

Pregnant at 36 Weeks

#2 is two weeks away from full term, which means that the mother is at the last of the last stages of pregnancy.

Mobility is greatly becoming an issue, though I have to give thanks for the (relative) ease I've been experiencing. Water retention has yet to set in, which means I've yet to be hindered by bloats on the body. I remember my legs, hands and face swelling at about the 36th/ 37th week for Gabe, so the process should be settling in anytime from now. I've been waddling increasingly and sitting down and getting up from the floor is really something I'm trying to avoid now, though I'm not succeeding very much at it with Gabe's daily and continuous requests to sit down to play with him.

I'm still cooking lunch daily and the occasional dinner. After tonight's dinner, I told derod that I'm rather proud of myself that I'm still able to do so at this late stage of pregnancy, though it's really pushing the limit. So, I've declared that this will be my "last dinner". I've not much of a choice when it comes to lunch since Gabe and I are both stranded at home in the heat of the day, away from convenient hawker alternatives, and there's the preference of feeding him home-cooked food... I feel a little like the women of ages past, fanning the charcoal grill preparing a meal for the family even with a buldging tummy. Talk about imagination.

Sleep has been more comfortable of late, with fewer toilet breaks. I've also woken up less often in the night as compared to Gabe's time, and to the earlier stages of this second pregnancy.

As of two weeks ago, the baby seems to have moved lower (also known as the lightening effect), which perhaps accounts for new comforts and discomforts. The breathing difficulties and pains in the chest have gone but in place of them, difficulties in sitting on most seats, weird and uncomfortable sensations as baby moves, how the pants hang in awkard positions on my hip (if you can still call it a hip), etc.

I'm trying to get as much of the house cleaned up and prepared for the big day. Oh, and derod and I watched DVDs till the wee hours of the morning in the week leading up to Gabe's birth. Wonder if we still have the energy and privilege to do that for #2.