Just when I thought the weather change has arrived indicating Chinese New Year is around the corner, it has changed again. Global warming?
Even the birds know it. When it rains in the morning, they don’t get fed and they come right up to the terrace boldly, waiting for seeds to be put out at the table instead of in the tray on the wall. This morning I woke up to cloudy skies again. The breeze is cool and rather strong.
Another wet day ahead?
It’s without a doubt that I have gained weight when M1 was back for her Christmas holidays. Every day was an adventure in meals and race against time to check off her ‘To Eat’ list.
We did pretty good; covered almost all except for a couple of items: Dim Sum and Assam Laksa. She managed to check off the first item immediately upon arrival back in the US. But the second item will have to defer until her next return.
Sadly, not only my waistline expanded, I think my fingers too! I have fat fingers now. And there’s no excuse calling them muscles because gym session has not been excessive. The eating was plus I have been drinking my coffee with creamer and sugar again. Bad.
It’s very obvious because I cannot wear my rings anymore especially the few designer rings that I like. I tried; they were too snug for words and I had quite a battle to remove them.
Looks like I have do something about my fat fingers if I want to start accessorising again. But with Chinese New Year around the corner and no gym for the next two weeks, I am facing an uphill task ahead.
Sigh…
Today our M1 turns 20. My goodness, 20. I am speechless. When I was 20, I was in college, probably pulling in long hours to finish my design assignments but definitely having the time of my life, away from Mom and Dad.
Well, what goes around comes around? The firstborn is away at university, probably pulling in long hours to finish some Food Science assignment but definitely having her time of her life, away from her Mom and Dad.
Every year when the girls’ birthdays come around, it makes me ponder about what we have accomplished for them and with them or just their accomplishments alone. No different this year…
I am very proud of our firstborn for what she is today and how matured she has become – a wonderful and responsible adult. But no matter how grown up she has become, she will always remain my baby.
Happy birthday my dear. Love you to the moon and back!
Another Sunday dinner adventure at the mall! This was many moons ago.
It was at a crowded Japanese French restaurant and the three of us were seated at a table next to a young mother and her girlfriend. The baby was in a stroller.
I glanced over and the most high-tech looking baby stroller caught my eye. I have never seen anything like it before.
It was a beautifully engineered piece of contraption that doubled as a high chair and a stroller as well as a shopping cart without taking up a lot of space in the restaurant.
The baby was cute I must admit but I was more taken by the stroller and for a moment, wished how nice it would have been back then when my girls were babies that such amazing contraptions existed. I don’t recall there was.
Not that the one we had back then was not practical. It was. It was a lightweight foldable sturdy Combi stroller that lasted for both our girls. But glancing over my shoulder again at the red and grey thing, I couldn’t help but mentally compared that our stroller was not quite the three-in-one.
Although it moved the girls well without us having to carry them, it was hard to hang shopping bags at the back without the stroller toppling over. This situation became quite a balancing act especially if the child wanted to come out and the back was weighted down with purchases.
Also by comparison, our stroller was way too short at dining tables of most restaurants. The poor child would be looking at our knees instead of being eye level with us if left strapped down. The baby in the red and grey contraption however, was gurgling away at his mother happily. Cute.
Strange that I would rave about a baby stroller, something I certainly have no need for these days. Smitten not by the baby indeed.
I was at the hair salon last Friday to get a haircut in preparation for Chinese New Year and there was this lady, sitting on the opposite side and being such a show off in her conversation.
Yes lady, I heard you when you bragged loudly about the gemstone you intend to purchase.
Yes, I heard you when you asked if the stone was 12 carats and gushed about the color and clarity of it.
Yes, I also heard when you praised the vendor for the quality of the gemstone yet complained that the price was exorbitant.
Gee… There was no one else besides me and my regular hairdresser, you didn’t have to speak so loudly to let me know. Unfortunately I heard you loud and clear even though I did not want to.
Any person doing something like this should just be discreet. Openly bragging would just invite trouble.
Who was she trying to impress? Certainly can’t be me? I should have plugged my earphones in to drown out the conversation. It was distracting my reading the gossip tabloid about the UK Royals.
When I was done and at the counter to pay, there she was again, at my side, talking loudly. This time it was about a 15-carats stone.
What an obvious show off.
I started reading the book ‘How to Think Like Da Vinci’ a Christmas gift from hubby. It sure is an interesting eye opener not because of Da Vinci himself but more of the fact it made me recall my encounter with the Mona Lisa.
I have been to Paris twice. The first trip when we wanted to visit the Louvre, we didn’t know the museum’s schedule well enough. It was closed and we were due to fly home the next day. Disappointed, we vowed that if we ever went back to Paris, we have to make the museum trip.
Went back we did, a few years later – 2013. During the second trip, hubby and my sibling were off for a business meeting, so I was left to my own devices. I decided to visit the Louvre. Thankfully, it was open.
And like every other tourist, I had to see the great painting. It was such a huge crowd, I couldn’t get any closer. And having a barrier and protective glass over it, it sure was hard to have a good look at the masterpiece.
Was it worth the hoopla? Depends on which angle you look at it. For me, it was merely a ‘been there, done that’ moment; didn’t move me. Give me a Monet anytime, I’d be totally inspired.
So back to my book, maybe reading it and trying to think like Da Vinci may move me better.
We found out recently when M1 was back, that our latest pet Tuna the crayfish is a boy. Luna the previous one was a girl.
The Food Science student was able to identify the crayfish anatomy because she had taken a class that required her analyzing crayfishes. One evening we were just admiring Tuna, and M1 looked closely at its underside before pointing out that Tuna’s a boy! We were surprised.
I must say after Luna’s demise (for her gender, M2 and I did checked on the internet and can confirm she was a female), we did not bother doing the same when we acquired Tuna 1, 2 and 3. We just assumed they were females.
As there was aggression between the three and quick deaths that followed, checking the gender was the last thing on our minds. And so it was left in assumption that Tuna was a female.
Gender aside, Tuna has brought us joy again. He may not be as orange-looking as Luna (different species most likely) but he is quite a character and just as enjoyable to observe.
Always flaring the claws
Picky about his food. Leftovers on the bottom left
Doing a Spidey act
You know the holidays are definitely over and Chinese New Year is around the corner when the heat has arrived. The weather has suddenly changed. Last week, it was still very cool and even rained. Heavily at it too.
This week with everything settling into routine, the girls back in school and us back to work, the heat has crept in. Yesterday at gym, the humidity and the heat was really stifling, even indoors. As a result, the session became very taxing.
On the home front, the garden is thriving. Birds of different species come together and eat the seeds we put out. And big birds would just lounge on the dry deck!
It’s heartwarming to see such harmony but the heat… getting unbearable. Sigh.
M2 snapped this huddle from the kitchen
After playing Jackpot on Facebook for so long, the app announced at the beginning of December last year that it will be taking the app off come January 1st 2017. Awww… I was devastated.
I have been a loyal Jackpot player since its inception eight years ago. And for all my effort, I am proud to say I climbed up the ranks and was #20 among the group of players from all over the world. And on December 18th 2016, I finally made progress, coming in at #19.
It’s one mindless game that I somehow enjoy. There’s no need to think or strategize like the other virtual games that I indulge in.
But it is January 9th 2017 today and the app is still up and running! Maybe there is still time to make further progress to chase down the pack.
With only four hours of sleep the night before, it was hard to function yesterday. I have forgotten what and how it’s like to dig deep into the reserves to function normally.
But we had no choice because M1’s flight was 8.00am and we had to wake up by 3.00am. Our body system and morning rituals were messed up a little because by 6.00am after checking in, we had two breakfasts already, once at home and another at the airport whilst waiting with her!
Thankfully it wasn’t an emotional farewell. There were some tears I’d admit and I managed to hold them at bay. But the void in the heart, it started to build and felt heavy. Sniffle…
After the goodbye, we headed straight for the office, dropping off M2 at school on the way (yes, she was late). I tried to work to keep busy but found myself constantly checking flightaware.com. By 1.00pm, I gave up and decided to channel my energy elsewhere. Otherwise the void would envelop me with more anxiety. Playing my virtual games didn’t help because I had the computer in front of me.
So we went to play golf.
And I played horribly because I couldn’t focus. A far cry compared to my December game where I hit 6 pars and every department worked so well. This time every department was not functioning. And not only the body was tired and sapped of energy, my mind kept wandering. I also kept looking at my iPhone whenever we had to wait, to see where the plane was! Silly me.
I was creating my anxiety further when Flightaware showed the plane had landed in Narita but we didn’t get an update from M1. Knowing full well the transit time was barely sufficient and the security process was probably very stringent with the inbound flight to the US, there may not be an update. Yet I was wishfully anticipating one. Silly me.
By the 15th Hole, a relatively short 100m across-the-pond-Par 3, the silly me changed from my usual iron to a shorter one just because it was a red flag. What was I thinking? Already tired to the core and a shorter club?? Big mistake. I dumped my shot into the water. Twice! Silly me.
After that, I told hubby we should just give up the last three holes because both of us had no more energy left to continue. Also I had no focus at all, it was pointless to carry on. Came home so drained…
By 10.30pm, I don’t know about hubby but I was knocked out and didn’t see my phone until 7.00am this morning that M1 finally updated. After close to 24 hours of travel, she had arrived safely but still one more car ride to get to campus. All that unnecessary anxiety. Silly me.
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