encounters of the 3rd kind

this is Catherine's whatapps screen...

and this is mine.

QUESTION: who wrote the sentence: "No la. I got 3 stops only."

i suspect catherine has an imaginary friend. SPOOKY.....

wat?

my boobs are increased only 600g!? -.-
and i dun assume maternal stores = FATS right?

Where do the pregnancy Kilos go?
Maternal stores of nutrients & muscle development	3 Kg
Increased body fluid	2 Kg
Increased blood	1.5 - 2 Kg
Breast growth	600g
Enlarged uterus	1 Kg
Amniotic fluid	1 Kg
Placenta	600g
Baby	3.4 - 4 Kg
Total	11 - 16 Kg

On a Trimester Basis:
• First trimester: Most women put on around 1.6kg in the first three months.
• Second trimester: around 0.5kg a week for the next three months (5.5 - 6.4kg) in total.
• Third trimester: and only around 5kg over the last three months.

Right on target mama glad!

baby G's keyboard!

(Source: Chris DeLorenzo)

first TPL, then TPH... and now...

TPL vs TPH

and introducing the next potential candidate, catherine lai!
oh, the reason for the tiny photo is that cat is a very high profiled person who is constantly being stalked, so in order to protect her privacy (and safety), i had to resort to tis. SIGH.

well, she does bear some similarities to the very potential PAP candidate. one thing for sure, she will definitely stamp her feet and say "i dunno how to answer, lah" when faced with difficult situations. she will.

let me tell you why she will not make it as the next politician.
1. she did not do the victory peace sign! PEACE OUT!
2. the kate spade box is held at a wrong angle!
3. and finally, she's not act cute enough.

so the verdict is, stop dreaming about the extremely high paying government position, and be thankful at your 9-5 job, ah meow! hahaha......

WYZ FAMILY DAY!

IT'S FAMILY DAY! this year's family day incorporated a 5km run and a 3km brisk walk! as for me, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. wahahah, so i ended up appearing in a pretty dress and looking beautiful, while the rest of them slogged their way through the long run. =P
Guess what? PK and Sun really appeared! haha, up close and personal!
other than the feet-biting ants, i had great fun helping out in the food competition as well as the drinks station. quite abit of exercise for me if you ask me (yes, my idea of exercise had degraded to poking straws into mineral water.)

looking forward to more family days in future! yay!

Sab's & Mikki's Bday!

had dinner at the Crystal Jade Korean BBQ buffet place at Centrepoint. not too sure abt the idea that if expectations are low, then we are less to be disappointed. didnt really expect much from a restaurant BBQ buffet (especially Crystal Jade), but the variety of food turned out to be pretty comprehensive, for meat lovers at least. $24.90++ for weekday buffet dinner.

oh and did i mention that the tiny holes at the side of the fryer are actually sucking the fumes emitted, so that you dun end up smelling like overcooked bbq pork when u leave the place? quite amazing.

love the spicy cuttlefish, and BBQ BEEF the most~!

each patron will be entitled to one serving of ginseng chicken soup. delicious!
(disclaimer: pic plagarised from other blogs, too engrossed in cooking to be taking photos.)

me & sab. never seen her in my life in DHS. but she's talented... MEP student.. fwah, dun play play.
mikki brought her camera (u know the kind where the LCD screen can be turned to face yourself?) and we had some 10 secs of fun 自拍-ing on the escalator.

Everything with Fries

had dinner at Everything with Fries yesterday... seriously i wasnt a big fan of burgers and sandwiches... and subconsciously i'm saying no to extra carbs, aka fries.

but went along instead, simply cos we were too spoilt for choices and NO ONE wanted to make an alternative choice. ha!

was recommended to the Har Cheong Kai and both of my friends had to order THE SAME THING. and u noe how boring it will be if the 3 of us eat THE SAME THING. and so i opted for the bacon and omelette burger (or something lidat). not too bad, for a weak stomach like mine, hmm and i changed my mind abt eating same stuffs. Har Cheong Kai tasted really good too!

no pics for my order. =( but if u really muz know, the HCK burger looked something lidat:
it's good to eat with surely and cat too. they give me ALL the veg & tomatoes & coleslaw! special order, yummy!

♥ Kate Spade! ♥

my beloved colleagues (erm, due to the high traffic, i aint too sure if i can disclose their identity! heh.) knew me well! they are so getting my BABY BAG for me! yay!

VOTE VOTE VOTE! A, B, C or D?
ABCD

whale shark?

mel showed me a pic of the whale shark today. (or was it shark whale? i forgot.) he said his friend took the pic while diving. while i'm pretty sure he took it off the net to smoke me.

anyway, my point is whale is whale, shark is shark! where got combined one?! so issit a whale or a shark?! life could be much simpler!
on hindsight, anqila bought bread cake for me last week for teabreak... and the bakery (or issit cakery?) in simei is selling "cake bread"... bread is bread, cake is cake! arghs!

be very insured

i'm thrilled to find out that my 5 years of contribution to this precious organisation has finally paid off. they have really good medical benefits, especially for a pregnant mama-to-be.

within the first 4 months of pregnancy, i've chalked up some $1500+ worth of medical bills.. and there are many more pamphlets and brochures indicating of the charges i will incur at delivery. gosh, even before baby is born, my bank is bleeding. =(

thank God, for provision! really. or perhaps i should thank God for closing some doors in other companies (with obviously lesser medical benefits) yes. God does close some doors too.

well, for now, i wont whine about being stuck in this company and being stuck in a rut, cos the company is copaying 75% of my bills! and up to $2,500 for delivery <-- this should at least cover say, 3 fake contractions?

as for that $1500+ worth of medical fees, i am praying that the claims go thru real fast. as for the remaining 25%, there's always the Husband. so now, tell me, i can buy my Kate Spade baby bag right?!?!?!?!?! =D

kiss me, k-k-k-iss me!

this is my new fav song!

Easter 2011

Easter is coming again! We're going to have the very first Easter production in Suntec, looking so forward to it! Is anyone going to the production with me? =)

eating and growing woes

had the strangest of dreams once again last night... i dreamt that i gave birth to a fish, yes, and a centipede-eating green-eyed fish for that matter. I must have been eating too much suppers. =(

having said that, i have people walking up to me to comment that i dun look pregnant at all... if one more person does that, i will actually believe so. perhaps it's time to go get a confirmation from the gynae again.

the shopaholic mom(tobe) strikes again

in my boredom, i found a list of what to buy for baby!

will someone be kind enough to sponsor a few stuffs? i know dear aunty wei has volunteered to get the pram pram for baby! although i'm not too sure now that part of her $$ has gone to the neverfull... =s

oh before i forget, aunty wei wanted to get the BIG wheels pram for baby! hahaha.... so that we can all go trekking at pulau ubin... -.-

on chastening

remember those days when teachers in school disciplined us and that our parents will strongly support them doing so? gone are the days...

parents don't give birth to children anymore, they give birth to precious stones and gems. and the moment their gems are being compromised, they waste no effort in defending them.

so much so even the gems themselves learn how to defend themselves in the light of discipline. how? perhaps by blocking u on MSN, facebook, twitter and the like. so that you are impenetrable to otherwise schizo-social life.

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." ~Heb 12:11~

another version reads:
"My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God."

it's my note to meself. embrace discipline. like bitter medicine, they're hard to swallow but good for health in future.=)

soliloquy

"i thought i should be doing yoga or some sort of exercise and all i wanted to do was come home from work and lie down."

"i just felt so big, when people said i looked great i just knew they were lying."

Fat? What fat?

"Say it again: It's not fat, it's not fat, it's not fat. Right now, FAT is a four-letter word, and she spends every minute of every day wondering if her body will ever return to its original shape.

If you know what's good for you, you will banish the word "fat" from your vocabulary starting now. If you absolutely need to reference a preggie mama's size, memorize this scientifically correct synonym: maternal storage tissue."

- Posted from my iPhone

ミルク = milk

i lurve freebies! (especially when every single visit's bill adds up to $100+++++++, receiving some freebies make my money more worthwhile. heh.)

YPP2's wedding!

finally it's yuntian's wedding! having known this girl for close to 2 decades, she's still the bubbly yuntian we know. =)
was pretty thrilled to know that there is added incentive to reaching early other than loitering aimlessly at the reception and fighting to view the wedding albums... there is 大头贴 photos to take with the life sized portraits of the wedding couple!
and so all of us (excluding the late queen ong lay lay) were having fun taking photos and waiting for them to be printed out on the spot! collected many pics that night. hehe..
and finally when lijun appeared, we took a (almost) complete YPP shot, missing sharon though. =(
lurve the photos, the live band, the food, the desserts, the extra wedding favors we managed to get from the banquet manager, but most of all, lurve the girls! looking forward to the next gathering soon!

let the bullets fly?

yesterday, my kind sister treated me to a movie, cos she got the tix free.

they say that the best things in life aren't free. i think it works the other way too. if it's free, dun expect too much. -.-

i have to say... it is a SUPER RIDICULOUS SHOW! irony of it all, CHOW YUN FATT is starring.... if u need to add a lil laugh to otherwise mundane life... go watch it.

visit to JB!

i am a JB ah lian. truly. i enjoy going to JB simply cos the food, massages, mani/pedicures, groceries, etc cost the same as singapore, juz that theirs is in RM. =D

and the latest haunt? KSL City at JB.
DO NOT be deceived by the artist impression's of the mall. it isnt even half completed!

carpark's alright, cleanliness is there... but the shops aren't all opened. =( even my fav supermarket shopping mood is dampened when TESCO is still in renovations. =(

ended up with only window shopping construction work shopping, and eating at the hk cafe, which according to mmt, just feels different from the ones in singapore.

~my maggi mee... apparently 出前一丁is different from the other kind of mee, whose name i forgot. zzz~

albeit all the shortcomings, i do feel that this shall be the next in thing in JB, movies, ktv, hypermarts and all.

IT'S A NEW DAY!

if there's one thing to remember about 2011. it has gotta be this.

this would mean that i am 6 MINUTES away from my saturday svc, walking distance from the nearest Starbucks outlet, and totally consumed in a world of shopping! haha...

but much more than that, this place is a testament to God's goodness and faithfulness. and i thank God that i'm still here after all the storms. =)

managed to sneak into the hall earlier to catch a glimpse of the glory! although the sounds, lighting, furniture aren't what they were expected to be, it was awesome enough to blow our minds off!
check out the BIG LONG screen. first of its kind in Asia. i love this Church. =)
from the bottom of my heart, i do want to thank those who labored tirelessly to get this place up and running within a short span of 1 week (after the insane IT show) ushers, cleaners, contractors and all. it's good to serve in a ministry. =)

dinner at Ma Maison

finally stepped into this jappy-cum-western restaurant situated in a obscure corner in bugis junction. remembered the last time we went was during ivy's birthday many many years ago.
and since it was many many years ago, i dun really remember too, how the food tasted like, except for the fact that it was pricey. well, it's still pricey today. -.-

anyway, the fad of taking photos of food before eating seemed to have died down, and so i snapped an all-in photo of the sample food outside. haha.
we tried the:

1. cuttlefish ink spagg: could have tasted better on normal days.
2. tonkichi pork cutlet curry rice: the best dish of the night.
3. soba salad: DELICIOUS! lurve it totally
4. seafood paella: can afford to miss, paella should juz be eaten in authentic spanish restaurants, read Serenity.
5. cheese gratin: i ordered that, and i lurve it too. cheesy is my thing. haha.

well, all in all, good place to chill. can consider for the next bday gathering... =)

hello baby!

expensive photos... even more expensive than the wedding photos... zzz...

Great is the Lord

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise

The city of our God, the holy place
The joy of the whole earth
Great is the Lord in whom we have the victory
He aids us against the enemy
We bow down on our knees

And Lord, we want to lift Your name on high
And Lord, we want to thank You
For the works You've done in our lives
And Lord, we trust in Your unfailing love
For You alone are God eternal
Throughout earth and heaven above

**********

my kids do NOT know how to sing this... spent half the cg meeting teaching them how to sing! am i really that old?!

shopaholic & baby

i could almost imagine the world of shopping opened to me with baby's arrival. although right now, i'm pretty obsessed with only 2 things in mind: the baby bag and the baby pram!

totally heart this! it's reversible!

stop whining

Whining is something that we all do, but the question is why? When you whine nothing really happens other than you sounding like a baby. And if you sound like a baby then you are probably going to be treated like one. But seriously, why do people whine?

When you whine your problems don’t get solved because you are spending all your time whining instead of fixing. So the next time you are upset and are about to whine, do the following:

1. Take all the IF’s and BUTs out of your head.
   
2. Think about the situation and why it happened the way it did.
3. If another party was involved, think about the situation from their perspective. If another party was not involved, think about the situation from a neutral perspective (I know this is hard, but you can do it).
4. List out all the possible ways you can potentially change the situation to be favorable for you.
5. Try and fix the situation using one of the ways you listed out. If things go your way, that’s great. If things don’t go your way or if the situation can’t be changed, then learn from it and move on.

Life is not perfect and we all whine about things (even me), but you’re more likely to succeed if you think about things from a logical perspective instead of an emotional whiny perspective.

PS: Hopefully it didn’t sound like I was whining about people whining...

*********

On another note, if you don't have faith, you don't have faith. Period. Find it, rebuild it and don't whine. And definitely don't blame it on others.

my gums ache!

If its your gums this could develop into pregnancy gingivitis (pregnancy gum disease). This is caused by increased blood flow while pregnant (which causes swollen gums), rise of hormone levels and sickness.

WHY OH GOD?!?!?!

**********

well, on a happy note, i'm quite pleased that the trying to puke, trying not to puke, and puking are slowly stopping. =)

b.o.v.r.i.l

issit true that preggies have weird cravings and that they start eating stuffs which they previously hate?

well, i've of late fallen in love with... porridge. yes. porridge. that which i wont eat even when i'm half dead from sickness.

and to top it all, i've also fallen in love with this:

HURRAY BOVRIL!

my morbid puke list

as far as memory serves me, these are the ''not acceptable'' food for the past 2 months....

1. orange juice
2. udon
3. mui cai & braised egg
4. normal fried veg
5. carrot juice
6. laksa
7. hot milo
   

and the latest, muddy mud pie. zzz.

btw, all the food comes out from the mouth in their original form. (Think udon coming out as udon.)

updates updates!

looks like mamaglad has also been neglecting this site! well, everyday i'm juz preoccupied with trying to puke, trying not to puke, and puking.

i'm 3 weeks away from the end of the tunnel and i'm so looking forward to it!

first exercise of pregnancy:

YES. i WALKED 870 metres in 15 minutes. and praise the Lord i burned 49 wonderful calories. -.-

i need to burn some fats before i become fat mama soon. sigh!

B.U.R.P

I can't believe it... This burping, belching, heartburning,etc is gonna last for 3 whole months?!?!?!

In jesus' name, stop! I need to get back to my normal life fast! Tis is so feeling like an invalid. Argh!

26 Jan 2011 food intake

Breakfast: 3/4 prawn mee (with tao gay unfortunately)
Lunch: my whole tub of Tori-Q lunch bento
Add ons: Gong Cha!
Teabreak: Four Leaves bread-lets.

hello baby

first visit to the gynae. this fortune telling plate is so gonna tell us when baby's arriving. hahaha.

God is real

yesterday i had a funny dream, i dreamed that at every toss, i told God to stop the puking and let me enjoy the process of mama-hood. i muz have told him several times. today i dun feel like puking at all, at least so far so good.

oh ya, and i also remembered that at the last minute, when i was abt to wake, i quickly told Him that i dun wanna burp so much gas too. well, should have nagged more, less burping today. hopefully, all will be gone tmr!

weight loss!

this is by far the most comforting news. oh God let the puking stop!

1st sunday

my first sunday without going for my routine Body Combat and Body Pump... =( am sure that i'm gonna miss those classes for a long while...

the Husband volunteered to bring me to the new Orchard gym to tour. indeed, new places look good and smell good. cant wait to join one of their classes soon!

went out at 12noon, and by 3pm i'm already dead beat. came home and took a long nap with some really funny dreams. haha!

gastrics...

is not fun at all... i dun remember eating lesser during this period, but somehow, some 2 hours before meal times, i get hungry. and it's so bad i have gastrics...

*growl*

prevention is better than cure

as advised by anqila, i am to prevent stretch marks after pregnancy, and it starts today.

got myself the anti stretch mark cream in order to prevent the singapore smrt map from forming on my tummy!

LOOK! it's 350ml at the 250ml price! i'm indeed morphing into a supermarket aunty.

the necessary nutrients

Excepted off the Net. Necessary nutrients are:

1. Carbohydrate and fat as a source of energy to produce the substance of calories can be obtained from cereals, tubers.

2. Protein as a source of building materials can be obtained from meat, fish, eggs and nuts.

3. As a regulator of mineral substances can be obtained from fruits and vegetables - vegetables.

4. Vitamin B complex is useful for maintaining the nervous system, muscles and heart to function normally. Can be found in cereals, seeds - grains, beans, green vegetables, ragi, eggs and dairy products.

5. Vitamin D is useful for bone growth and formation of your baby. Source found in fish liver oils, egg yolk and milk.

6. Vitamin E useful for the formation of red blood cells healthy. Eat grains institutions mainly wheat, pulses, vegetable oil and green vegetables.

7. Folic acid is useful for the development of the nervous system and blood cells, are scattered on the dark green vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower and broccoli. In fruits, folic acid found in oranges, bananas, carrots and tomatoes. The need for folic acid during pregnancy is 800 mcg per day, especially in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid deficiency can disrupt the formation of the brain, until the defects in the central nervous system and brain of the fetus.

8. Iron required pregnant women to avoid anemia, many are in green vegetables (like spinach, kale, cassava leaves, papaya leaves), meat and liver.

9. Calcium, needed for the growth of fetal bones and teeth, and to protect pregnant women from osteoporosis, if calcium is not provided for pregnant women, the lack of calcium will be taken from the mother's bones. Other calcium sources are green vegetables and beans. We have the best of calcium obtained from milk and processed products. Milk also contains many vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, B2, B3, and vitamin C.

**********

i seriously need to get some real nutrients, apart from the ice cold water and the cup noodles i always eat. =(

california fitness no more!

ahhh yes, wat a big sacrifice mamas make...

will be missing out on the bulk of my gym classes for a huge part of 2011. suspended my cali membership, but den again, i can always swing by true fitness should i feel fat. =(

climatic changes

the first week after baby's existence is known, the nights felt unbearably cold.

even without the fan nor aircon, i find myself wrapped up in 2 layers of thick quilt. and waking up in the middle of the night breaking out in cold sweat.

and then i read off one of the informational sites:
Fat, for pregnant women, big fat benefits for the body's energy reserves, so that the body intermittently does not feel tired.

i conclude that i have not been fat enough, indeed. hallelujah.

welcome to m.o.t.h.e.r.h.o.o.d

and so it was, i'm pregnant.

let's juz say things started to become suspicious when i ate 2 bowls of sharks fin, 2 servings of glutinous rice, amongst the 7 course lunch, and was still hungry.

the thought of using the pregnancy test kit kicked in, not to test whether i was actually pregnant or not, but to have a peace of mind in the event that i was out without any sanitary pads in my bag.

tested on the kit which i readily bought in november (where i had double the members points on my birthday month in watsons! haha!)
and then to test again, thinking for a moment that i might belong to the inaccurate 0.5% as stated in the instruction manual.
and finally, 3 days later, having come to terms with this accidental surprise, went to the doc's to get the 'final verdict'.

starbucks, still the fav

first change of the year, starbucks' logo. coffee still tastes the same, if not better. =)

1st post of 2011

12 days of 2011 have passed and i've yet to appear in cyberspace. traditionally, people start the year with the NY resolutions. for me, i've never really written any solid, heart wrenching, life transforming resolutions yet. but as far as life is concerned, i'm pretty sure i'm still gonna live by my beliefs: FAITH, HOPE & LOVE. simple yet sufficient to cover all.