Counting My Blessings

Thought I'd just post a quick update on my pregnancy..

My OB/GYN says the baby is healthy ( yay!) and is now 8 weeks 4 days old and my expected delivery date has been brought forward to 4th Feb instead of 5th, which happens to be Chew's birthday!!

I feel very fortunate and blessed that so far my pregnancy has been a relatively smooth one, and I still have my appetite, or at least 80% of what it used to be, and other than the heartburn that I get, everything is going great. Yifan is happy that I am taking this well, and the other day, he told me how proud of me he was for never once complaining or whining about how uncomfortable the bloating was making me feel. :-)

I've always believed that God is fair. We don't have friends nor family here to help out in times like this, but then I am also in a much better physical state than most pregnant women are back in Singapore. Sure, sometimes I read about how the girls have their moms or inlaws to prepare chicken soup and bird's nest for them and I feel a little envious, but I treasure all that I have here too. Despite his busy schedule, Yifan goes to the OB/GYN visits with me and helps out with the laundry and groceries on weekends, so I think life's good to me too.

p.s.
this baby must take after yifan. somehow i don't have the usual love for eating chillies anymore.

p.p.s.
i really need to go shopping this weekend. the last 2 times i went out, i went with my pants unbuttoned!!

Current Mood: good

Simmered Chicken with Potatoes

Presenting my latest creation-- Simmered Chicken with Potatoes



Ingredients:
- chicken pieces
- potatoes, deep-fried
- shallots
- garlic
- preserved soy beans
- dark soy sauce
- rock sugar
- crushed peppercorns

Current Mood: full

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms

I tried my hand at cooking Braised Chicken with Mushrooms today.

Ingredients:
- garlic
- ginger
- chicken pieces
- chinese mushrooms
- sesame oil
- oyster sauce
- light soy sauce
- rock sugar
- spring onions for garnishing

The end result:-

We have a winner!!

Current Mood: accomplished

Welcome Dirk

Dirk arrived last Thursday, but as busy as Yifan was, and as tired as I was, we went to visit PJ and the baby.



Little Dirk was so cute. He made these singing noises even when he was asleep.




Current Mood: bloated

Couplehood

Compromise. This is what it's all about.



Current Mood: content

New Beginnings

First, a Happy Belated Father's Day to my dad!!!

I haven't been blogging much lately because most weekday afternoons, I am either too tired, or I spend most of my time reading anything I can find on the Internet about pregnancy. By nature, I am a worry wart, and I tend to obsess over tiny, trivial things. A few days ago, I was reading up on the various herbs that pregnant women should avoid. A couple of hours later that same night, while we were both asleep, I suddenly threw the blanket off of me... and I shouted :" this one cannot touch me. herb cannot touch me". Yifan, even in his sleep, was rational. He simply asked:" blanket is herb?" In my semi-conscious state, I somehow realised the stupidity of my statement, and immediately pulled the covers back up. Of course, we had a good laugh about it the next morning. :-)

The following pictures just about sum up what's been going on since I first suspected I might be pregnant.


home pregnancy test on 4 june


sonogram room on 13 june


first baby pictures-- 6 week and 1 day old!


buying Clarins Tonic Oil for stretchmark prevention-- 16 june


Buying "What To Expect When You're Expecting" -- Borders 16 june

anticipation

dramaphile

I learnt something new about Yifan --- it turns out that he is an even bigger chinese drama addict than I am! ( i think he surprised himself too!!)

We watched episode after episode of Mars vs Venus over the weekend; it was like we were making up for lost time. So in love with the dramas is he that when I said I'd go watch some tv while he took a nap, he immediately jerked his head up and asked "what tv"!!! Hahah. I love teasing him.

And when we finally went to bed last night, he channel-surfed a bit and then said :" if only we can watch Mars vs Venus on tv now!"

Some Updates

What have I been up to lately?

Nothing much, really. The weather's getting too hot, so most days I try to stay home as much as possible. I had heat exhaustion the past 2 summers, and I don't want a repeat of that this year.

My FREE mobtv trial couldn't have come at a better time! I downloaded so many tcs dramas the past few days that I even had to clear out some picture files on my computer to make room for more downloads. So far, I'm halfway through The Army Series, a 6-parter about 6 recruits who entered National Service. It's a very very old drama series, and those were the days where Huang Wenyong still had a full head of hair, and xiao feiyu ( his real name just slipped my mind) was still trim and good-looking. I don't think I've ever watched the series on tv, though the title sounds really familiar. Xin Bing Xiao Zhuan, anyone?




I also watched the first episode of Find Me A Singaporean hosted by Belinda Lee, and already I am hooked. I am so envious that she got to travel to all those exotic places, although I am glad I'm not the one having to sit through 5 hours of flight, and then endure another 7 hours of trainride in India. Heheh.

And have I mentioned that there are 15 (!!) episodes of Mars vs Venus in my computer waiting for me?

Talk about being hard-pressed for time!

I did venture out of the house yesterday to visit Parade of Homes in Frisco. Not quite what I was expecting, but it was okay. I saw a couple of nice houses, and some not-so-nice ones.

Happy Birthday, Kel!

Just read:




Today's Kel's birthday!! I hope you enjoyed yourself in Perth!

Of Turtles, Fools and Cars

TMNT (2007)
My favorite ninja turtle is Leonardo. I absolutely loved the scene where Leonardo emerged from the Trans Latin America plane.

The movie was so cute, although I do miss their old " figures". These 21st century turtles were a tad too fit-looking.





****************************************
Spanish class today was TOUGH TOUGH TOUGH! What should have been a form of relaxation turned out to be an ultra-stressful session instead. It was like those early morning yoga classes all over again.

And already we found a guy whom we totally cannot stand in the class. I refer to him as The Fool. He thinks he's smart, but really, he is just downright rude and ignorant. Ugh!

On a much brighter note, we chanced upon a Muscle Car show on Coit Rd this evening.

New York Surprise

Singapore Day 2007 pictures are finally up, and look what I found!







Thank goodness there were no direct face shots.