The Original Juice

27th Jan 09 (Tues)


So it's the last day we're here in Melaka. We requested for late check out at 2pm so that we have time to swim and pack up.


While waiting for my parents to come down for bfast...

Nice enough

The lighting's good.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Preggiest of all?

Ok Let's go down to the Bfast corner.

"Dear Guests, Swimming Pool closed today for cleaning. Thank You."

The tiles are still ok.. but...




The bathtub?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!??!?!?!?!

Yikes!! I'd say.

On the way out for lunch... we bought Goreng Pisang!! (Banana fritters)

Can we buy all, please, mummy?

Another angle to give u a picture of how this street stall looks like.

Unfortunately, some of the bananas were the ones with stones inside and some were so unripe that it ruined both mine and mummy's tastebuds the whole day!

So we reached Jusco, another Hypermart, and had lunch at Nando's.

When i told Z where i was, he said, "Oh there also have Nando's?" I replied, "Yes... but i doubt its the same as the one in Pak." This franchise is actually a Portugese one.

Syifaa' was asleep in the stroller. and us four adults suddenly fell silent at the table. LOL

Ayah's special dish

Typical of what i would order.

1/4 chicken (thigh) with 2 sides of fries + coleslaw

This is only my 2nd time at Nando's and i must say i will remind myself NOT to ever dine here again. It's just not to my taste lah. Everything tasted so... hm... bitter and foreign. No chilli sauce too of course, that would offend the chef! I'd much prefer Kenny Rogers, Thank you very much.

We dropped by at Jusco and its such HEAVEN to actually be in a well organised hypermart.

I bought 4 pairs of baby clothes @ RM 12.90 each only! (SGD 5.50) For a pair tau! Top and bottom. That's a SUPER Deal. Tried to find the packet of daily baby wear like Farrah commented but to no avail. even if have, they are more exp than this pair.

Just to show you that Melaka is quite hilly.

It was already 5pm by the time we actually set off home bound!!! Luckily, i've been to the toilet twice at Jusco because the next stop wasn't until AFTER Machap almost 2hrs later!

It being the last day of Singapore's Public Holiday, the traffic jam at Singapore immigration @ Second Link lasted 2 hours!!! Poor Ayah. He has two other licensed driver in the car but neither of us wants to drive. I feel lazy to drive nowadays prefering to sleep. Besides, ayah thinks its better that i dont anyways. Hee =)

Home Sweet Home @ 11pm.

Overall, a nice holiday. Can be nicer... but i'll take what i can get for the moment.

Next stop... Sibu??? *wink*

26th Jan 09 (Mon)


Woke up at 8:30 and hastily got ready for bfast. I prepared myself for the worst. Of course I can't expect an spread like my last hotel experience in Sentosa with Cinnamon bun, etc, etc.

We had a choice of fried rice, fried noodle, scrambled egg, baked beans, mashed potato and cocktail sausages. Other standard items are toast (w just strawberry, marmalade or butter spread), porridge (no meat) and cornflakes + koko Krunch mix of cereal.

At least their dining table and sofas are big n comfy. Er... if that's not too much so.

The Souvenir shop.

But mostly pple buy the Belacan (prawn paste?) here.

The "Enchanted" Well of Hang Tuah.


An Actual Kampung House.

In front of me, Syifaa' and her Atok were off chasing chickens and roosters in the middle of a small fruit farm, dragonfruit among others.

Then we paid RM1 per person to see a Traditional Melaka Kampung Hut.

Open Verandah


The main entrance straight away led to a steep staircase to a single bedroom upstairs.

Living room housed a host of 1920s - 40s - 60s paraphernalias.

Including this ancient sewing machine. My mum used to have one just like this and me and cousin Nur used to squeeze in at the foot paddle and wheel to DRIVE. What a pity we are too big now we can't fit in there no more. LOL.


I feel a kind of sad longing everytime i see Syifaa' moves around in her petiteness. eg: "flying" like wonder woman from the front seat of the car to the back with us, Hiding in cupboards and cabinets... How i wish !

The bedroom.

I doubt there were plants in a practical bedroom back in those days. So there were only two private bedrooms this and the one upstairs. But there was another four posted bed in the hall for the 10 children (the LEAST back in those days) i think.

Kitchen

The kitchen in this house was a MICRO MINI one. Like half of the kitchen back in our house and already we are complaining. BUT BUT BUT....

They have another section to store cutleries, and dining and preparation. So nothing to complain about.

Syifaa' playing with a baby kitten.

She was so brave she wanted to touch and catch it. But when i looked closer, its right ear seemed diseased and not surprised if there were fleas so we told her not to touch the stray kitten. But it followed us all the way to the car! Its jumps n leaps were soooo cute. Sigh...


We never fail to visit this relative every time we're in Melaka.

It seems that everytime I come, the house has grown. Lol with extensions here and there. Well that's to accomodate the growing family lah.

They have a granddaughter about Syifaa's age too. And another one coming in April, while i'm due in March. So many similarities!

We were served Original Keropok Lekor which i wiped off the plate. But surprisingly the host said that is actually not so nice. I was like... Are you kidding me???

Went to MELAKA MALL later for dinner. Maybe i was still full from the Lekor that i still couldnt stomach rice, so i had MarryBrown instead. Nothing much here. The mall is VERY VERY SPACIOUS but sadly underutilised with metres wasted on bare nothing. Lightings were also poor and unattractive. Dismal.

Shopped a bit @ Parkson Department Store for Z who asked for some t-shirts. Spent RM70 (about SGD 30) for 2 t-shirts and 3 pairs of socks. Nice!

25th Jan 09 (Sun)


So it's a long weekend here in Singapore for the Chinese New Year and office will reopen only on WEd 28/1.


Quite a last minute concrete plan to go to Melaka (sometimes spelt as Malacca) so cldn't get a good hotel but settled for a 3-star hotel, The Emperor (Don't be fooled by its grand-ish name!). At first i thought, "A hotel is a hotel. How bad could it be huh?" You'll soon know.


Zubair didnt get to go for visa reasons but was kind enough to let me enjoy myself. haha Of course he would be enjoying himself too without me to nag at him. HAH.


We set out from the house quite late @ almost 11am but because it's a Sunday traffic was quite smooth as opposed to if it had been a Saturday or Fri night. Some 40 deaths from traffic accidents were already recorded just on Sat itself for the whole country (Or it could have been 14)!


Normally, moderately crazy drivers can reach Melaka in 2 or 3hrs if traffic is smooth. But not for us. We will take AT LEAST 4 hours sometimes 5. Why? Because....


First Stop - Baskin Robins @ Rest&Relax Machap.


We stopped for lunch and ICE CREAM!!!

Syifaa' was so taken by my Rainbow Sherbet.

I was sooo happy they had non-fat yoghurt options as well as low calories ice cream flavours. So i got that Rainbow Sherbet (orange, berry and pineapple) as well as vanilla yoghurt. Alas, I can't tolerate the latter. But i imagine a Berry & Cheese yoghurt would be more ... hm... intolerable.

We brought Syifaa' to the mini playground too. Ash has more photos of these but if i wait for those photos, my entry will never get written!

Goofing around in the car wearing her Atok's Songkok / cap / hat.. whatever u wanna call it.

Welcome to Melaka!

Traffic jam heading towards the city. That alone costed us almost another 2hrs.



At last the Hotel is in view (orangey brown building on the left corner)

Sample of Melaka architecture. A church built in 1710.

Hotel Room

Syifaa' is sooooo GERAMly CUTE.

The rooms looked decent enough when we just got there. But don't be fooled! We gave that room to my parents who would have Syifaa' with them. We had to take the connecting room next door which has 2 single beds but missing these:

1. Face towel nor placemat
2. Fridge
3. Shower (the hook was broken)
4. Tissue
5. TV Remote
6. Toothpaste

Apparently, the last 3 items were NOT standard issue cos there were none in my parents' room either.

The service totally sucked. That night i asked for 2 extra pillows, they said they are on full house and have no pillows to spare. Then i asked for two towels, iron and hair dryer, he told me to call again the next day cause their housekeeping is closed. It was 11pm. When i called the next day, they said that I hafta go down to7th floor to a communal Ironing Room!! *JAW DROPPED* But at least they sent up the hair dryer to my room. GRRRR

Anyways, this is the view from outside our room

Next, we went out in search of dinner. We were not in the mood for rice so had to go to a mall or something.

Passed by this mosque on the water built on reclaimed land.

It was such a pity that the surrounding blocks of constructions were abandoned. Rows n rows of shophouses were ready for lease and action but nobody managed it and the project was left hanging. It was also such a pity that they had a LOT of land but still found the need to reclaim only to be left deteriorating.

Welcome to Eye of Malaysia!

Entrance Fee for a 12min ride: RM 20 or about SGD 8.50 for adults. Ayah got a Senior Citizen rate @ Rm 17. Teehee...

My mum said that this huge Ferris Wheel moves around the states of Malaysia because it used to be in KL. *shrug* Possible... altho the way they built the place looked kinda permanent.

The Capsules. Small and intimate.

Long and Ayah on one side

The rest of us on the other side.

The funny part was that Ayah is actually scared of heights but didnt wanna miss this opportunity. It was fine when the wheel was turning, but when it started to move n stop, move n stop to let pple alight n board, the capsules started to rock visibly. We were at the top just then and Syifaa' was squirming around like she normally would. However, under such a precarious circumstance, Ayah with a stern voice told mummy, "Give her the pacifier. Give her the pacifier." =) We all, incl Ayah, managed to laugh about it tho after we safely got down from there.


Dinner time!

We went to TESCO - a hypermart. I just gotta know that "Medan Selera" is the Malay equivalent to Food Court. I find that a bit funny because literally it would translate to something like "Appetite Plain" (as in Plain field not Plain dull).

Since we were at a hypermart, we bought some snacks and toiletries.

I got some Coffee Buns which was all the rage a few years ago too! But doesnt taste as nice. Oh well... But TESCO is a real.... MESS.

Back to the bedroom now.

Oh at the stroke of midnight there were a slew of fireworks at 3 or 4 diff corners that we could see just from our room alone! That's to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Although, come to think of it, shouldn't it have started from dusk when the moon appears, instead of at midnight?

It's sooo mendak (dull/boring) at work today. I'm nodding off to sleep.

Still in holiday mood. OM @ hospital waiting to be induced. Boss in UK.

Just got back from 3D2N of Melaka late last night. So very sleepy now. Would have posted pictures already but forgot my hp back at home.

No internet @ home till Fri.

and now as the title goes... If it were a holiday today... i would be:

1. Sleeping @ home
2. Watching a few DVDs
3. but mainly i just wanna stay in bed and watch my tummy move.

Baby has been a bit out of action all thruout my melaka holiday. Worried me so much. The minute i stepped on my country soil, he started his kicking already. maybe he was feeling too sombre to gear up any strength to kick me. Either that or he's not hungry enough to nudge me to eat since i was STUFFED thruout the vacation. LOL

Last night was the 2nd time i went to NYSkinSol.


They first told me that i can use my CC to get 0% installment free. tonight they told me that i had to make full payment in order to get that benefit. Because instead of $570, i wanted to just pay $300 first using CC.


Some more can chide me, "Aiyah you... how come cannot pay in full one?" I replied sternly, "cannot. no space." My credit limit is just $500 lah deng deng! And there's already something in there.


At first i wanted to scold her again that she charged an additional $21 on my card. Lucky i didnt blurt unthinkingly cos i realise its the 7% GST.


During that trial, i was surprised that she was the one who attended to me. These consultants usually have assistants to do the dirty job while they themselves talk to prospective clients. As it turned out, only for the trial she did for me. 2nd time onwards will be her assistant. Cheh!


The assistant cleansed my face first. I pointed out to her that i have a pimple on my eyebrow, so she went and squeezed it! OUCH! I was like... er... shouldn't you be asking me first whether i wanted it squeezed or not? Because i tot that the more u squeeze, the more it will leave a scar???? ok whatever.


After that, she put a hot eye pad. DAMN HOT! i sizzled. and she said, "Hot meh??" Yeah lah! U think what? she removed one pad and gently put it back again turning it every so often. The unpleasant part is that she pressed down against my eyeball. Felt a bit giddy from it. and i KNOW my body, after this when i open my eyes will surely blur one. and it did.


Next is the cold pad. Cold pad is no problem, even when she pressed down a bit is ok. and what surprised me afterwards was she put back the hot one then the cold one again several times. Isn't quick change of temperature on ur body not good for you??? What more so many times at it.


Anyways Hot pad is good for dark circles and cold pad good for eye bag. She didn't explain to me though HOW GOOD it will do to my eye. Like what's the process of improvements. GRRRR


Then There's this pencil like equipment that she used around and around my eye. Something like to generate blood circulation?? I remember i had this on that first night also.


Later, a mask was put on and i was left for some 15 - 20min. I drifted to sleep the first half of it. When i came awake, i felt suffocated. My nose is too flat i think and the "extra skin" from the mask covered a bit of my nostril that hindered my breathing a bit. I tossed n turned till i couldn't take it anymore, i pulled up the mask halfway just above the nose and it was bliss again.


but Not for long. Soon i was feeling claustrophobic. There was a handle bar at the side of the slim "bed" giving an aura of closing in. And suddenly the two pieces of blanket seemed to hot for me and lying down too long is taking a toll on my back.


She rescued me after a torturous 3min or so. Applied some cream and off i go.


I know i complained a lot. But i feel satisfied with the outcome. Perhaps im imagining it, but i DO feel that the dark circles lighten up slightly after the session.


Next appt is on 2nd Feb 09. I think after that then i will start going to the one 5min walk away from my home, i dont care.

If i DO wanna eat something sweet, let it has some nutritional value like calcium for Vit C namely YAMI YOGHURT and STRAWBERRY MILK and Orange juice.

Way better than sweet nothings like HELLO PANDA and KINDER BUENO.


******************************

I'm sooooooo tired... I've been sleeping past midnight the whole week and this morning i started sneezing again. Told boss that im prolly seeing the doc this afternoon but see first how after lunch.


Met Z for lunch. Walked all the way to Amara for Turkish food. Then we took the cab to Capital Square to CitiBank only to be told to go to DBS and then we walked back to office.


I'm sooooooooooooo tired... But i still resisted the urge to take half day MC. After all its Fri anyways and quite relaxed atmosphere in the office (holiday mood in full swing!).

Worse. I'm having such a bad tudung day!

Im just hanging on till Ayah comes to pick me up.

have i told you i'm sooooooooo tired?

1. Yesterday, somebody gave up her seat for me in the bus even though i was wearing my "normal" shirt. She even patted my hand and said, "Be Careful" when the bus jerked violently. I'm touched but that also means that i'm really SHOWING now.

2. I'm getting more heartburns now

3. The "Stretchings", as i like to call it, are getting more frequent and more... intense / powerful. His kicks are relentless!

4. I'm beginning to have stretch marks??? One night, Zubair pointed out that he could see mini stretch marks below my navel. I shrieked. Really??? i tried to peer down (while lying on the bed) but stretch my neck enough to see. I went over to the mirror but poor lighting hindered the "revelation". Is it true or is it just his imagination? hehe I started smearing MORE cream on it.

5. I'm only starting to get breathless. I'm a bit late i think cos i'm already into my 3rd trimester. I should have started feeling breathless more in 2nd trimester when the uterus moves higher up near to Ribs/lungs(??) but as i progress to 3rd trimester the baby should be descending down already pressing more to the bladder area causing more toilet visits instead of breathlessness. A bit lagging lah me.

But i especially feel uncomfortable trying to sleep. All positions are not soothing enough. I always sleep on my back but nowadays i feel and imagine like as tho the tummy is sliding up to my ribs. Lying on my sides are even worse. I will feel flutterings like as though the baby is fighting the gravity pull by threading water. hehehehe So u can imagine how ticklish it is.

No i'm not complaining. If anything, i can imagine why all my new mother friends miss being pregnant. I think i would too.

Weekends are always a disaster where food is concerned. It's either too much or too little.


Last 2 sundays, I had a Fish & Chips (and lime juice - my first ever sweet drink after ODAC) and my blood sugar level went up to an all time high of 9.6 (Reference range 5 - 7) some 2 hours later.

But last weekend, i barely ate at all!

Sat

9:30am: Bfast was plain cornflakes + 1 pear
2:30pm: Lunch of Mee Hoon Yong Tau Foo
.
.
.
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I went to sleep right after maghrib, in anticipation of Z's coming home wanting my assistance in the kitchen. When i woke up at 9pm, i was all ravenous having had nothing since 2:30pm. I really wanted the Kebab from bazaar but was too lazy to go. Asked my parents but had to wait till 10:30pm after a certain TV show finished then we can go out for dinner. Ayah was SUPER kind to cut me some fruits while waiting tho. THANK YOU!

10:30pm came and went with no hint of going out. Besides, i was in no mood to go out bcos hafta get dressed, travel and then WAIT for the food to be served. Scrap that. I ordered McDonalds. Although i ordered Beef Prosperity meal, i felt so guilty for wat i was about to do to my baby, i only ate the Twister Fries @ 11:30pm!! *faint*

Bcos i felt angry that Z didnt care what i eat, in the end, i didnt help him in the kitchen and went to bed instead. Teehee... Not like i cared what he ate either. Dont mind me, im just super charged hormonal right now ok.


My tummy was buzzing with emptiness, but i ignored it. Hmmm began to wonder whether its wiser to NOT eat or eat SINFUL thing? Which is the lesser of two evils?


SUN

9am: I ate the burger from last night.
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.
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.
.
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Mum cooked Lontong. I already heated the gravy up to eat already but when i served a plate for myself, suddenly i felt no mood to eat. Thoughts ran between "no meat", "sinful coconut milk"... "but lotsa vege"... I just cannot decide whether its healthy or not i didnt eat at all.

I waited for Z to finish having his "bfast" and everything first then (at 5pm) i asked for his help to buy for me the Chix Kebab w lotsa vege inside from bazaar. That's the healthy part. The very not healthy part that i caved in for is $2 worth of Fried Banana Fritters that i ate all on my own. Bah!

That's the undoing of skipping your meal, i tell ya~

It wasn't a day to monitor my food, so i didnt know how much those Goreng Pisang cost me. Whatever it is, I hope you will grow well, my darling Baby.

(Nothing else for dinner)

Lahore metblogs have some interesting pictures up. WINTER pictures.

My whole heart yearns to be there.

Funny I am missing the country where i got hurt. But its true.

Nothing is perfect. Question is: How do we cope with the imperfections?

After making my research for broadband packages from 2 internet providers, last night, I accompanied my parents to go to Singh-tell to sign up.





We had already decided to take on the 8mbps Plan @ $51.90 but we just needed to iron out some of the "freebies", installations and what nots.




Q1: Can we use two diff cable channels from two diff providers?
A1: Yes because this new one is using Phone line, won't affect the existing connection.




Q2: Can we use OLD no for this FREE Fixed line?
A2: Can. Basically they just transfer the contract into this plan to waive $25 subscription every 3 months.



Then they went on to suggest if we wanna save more, change to digital voice at just $3 a month for free unlimited outgoing calls. On the other hand, an analog one will cost $0.90 per hour for outgoing, all incoming free. Mum said that since she use the phone to call out quite a lot, she thought it's better to get this DIGITAL one.



Unfortunately, only after signing everything did we realise that we can only attach 1 phone to the digital voice box when currently we have two: 1 wired in the room, another cordless in the living room. Cheh!



Q3: Is the discount for Mobile Line for other nominated family users applicable for other account holders too?
A3: Yes, as long as same address. But not applicable if already on other discounts.



So The Most Important Part of Last Night is that... one of the perks of signing up is you'll get $100 off Mobile phones based on 2 yrs contract. Seems like my dad's line was eligible for recontract and im desperately in need of a new phone!!



So i got this one!

Sony Ericsson's G705

Among the most important features:

1. GPS
2. Wi-Fi
3. SLIDER PHONE!!!!! yay yayyy Enough of candy bars now!
4. 3.2MP (same as current)
5. 3G (same as current)

Most important i got all these features at just $228! Came with 1GB memory card. their 4GB was selling at $40 or $60 can't remember. I only remember being put off by the price! Anyways, I dont really listen to mp3s, just for camera, good enough.

I'm a happy girl. Oops.. should i say Woman? Momma?

Ok we've heard of Bad Hair Day, Bad Tudung Day but today is a Bad Pants Day for me.

Or rather, its a Bad EVERYTHING Day for me today. Everything's gone wrong. I'm declaring today a Friday Blues.


Firstly I had a very late night last night. Slept at 2:30am!!!!!!!!! I could barely lift an eyelid this morning. But fought the urge to take urgent leave.

My hair just refused to dry in 5min making me late and i in turn made Ayah late =(

First, my blouse lost 2 buttons. Luckily its hidden under the scarf so i just pin a brooch there. But its a rather uncomfortable blouse anyways always had to be pulled down.

And then when i started to walk out from my room, my pants started coming down. See, i was given a size 7 at first but it was too tight. I went back to the shop to change to a size 11 instead to accomodate my tummy nicely. But now it keeps on sliding down and the top keeps going up. Every few steps i hafta tug here tug there. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE RIMASSSSSSSSS TAU TAKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

My serkop (inner scarf) also feels unbalanced.

And i've started to sneeze. Im beginning to think its more that i sneeze when im tired than i'm tired when i start to sneeze.

I have a lunch appt with my colleague. Initially wanted to go to Amara which is about 10min walk away but changed to a nearer venue instead. and luckily its friday. Hopefully ayah can pick me up direct from my office as he usually does on Fridays.

No I'm not 30 yet. But I'm already 30 weeks pregnant. Another approximately 10 more weeks to go.


So yesterday's scan went great. Zubair was able to take leave from school, Thank God. We also arrived in time. The wait wasn't long.


But the scan, i felt, was too short. The doc DID show me the baby's arms and thighs. His bones anyways. Told me that the baby's head is down. and explained that she was capturing 4 sides of the waterbag for measurement. Told me that baby is 1.3kg, in good range.


I heard other people were paying $75 - $80 at the Antenatal Diagnostic Centre's payment counter and got nervous. Alhamdulillah, I only needed to pay $40. It should have been $80 but coming from polyclinic, we are entitled to government's grant as well as exemption of GST.


Next stop is the Gynae. We ate my half chicken kebab from last night and jemput2 brought from home (we are VERY skint) while waiting for our no to be called. When we came into the doc's room, we were greeted by a, "Good Almost Afternoon!" SO cute this gynae. She said that because it was about 10min to 12nn.


She asked how's the baby. I said fine just that he has been kicking extra extra extra from 2 days before. Gynae assured me that Kicking is good about 10 - 20 kicks in 12hours. But to inform her if i can't feel any kicks at all.


Gynae translated from the scan that the baby's head is down and that the placenta is high up. A good position. I then raised a concern to her, "Is it too early for the head to be down there?" Her reply, "No, not at all. In fact, its good if the head's down from the beginning cos that's the natural position, supposedly." Let's hope that it is also NATURAL for the baby to STAY in that position. OK baby? You hear that?


I asked doc also what's my weight during my last visit cos i thought i've lost weight. Indeed, last visit was 67.5kg (altho a few days before that at poly i was 67.9kh thereabouts) and yesterday i was 66kg. I confided in her that i have been vomitting quite a lot. She seemed surprised and asked, "Wah you still vomit ah?" I said no just the 2 or 3 times cos i was sick. But she concluded that it's still ok if i lost weight as long as baby is growing healthily which he is. Ok i breathed a sigh of relief.


At the payment counter, i think a lot of pple felt lost you know. I dont know what system they use but we dont hafta submit any papers, they will know we have finished and will call our no. It was while waiting to be called that i remembered i forgot to give the doc my blood test reports.


See, during my first KK visit, the doctor noted that polyclinic did not give ALL of theblood test results i've done there which includes the thalassaemia, HIV test and whatever and told me to go get a copy before i come the next time, which i did before setting out to the hospital. Unfortunately, Z's blood test report was not included. She was able to access from the system but it wasn't clear if the report was of mine or his. I tried to tell her that the ones with all good marks are Z's, the one with red marks for haemoglobin will be mine. But she seemed unsatisfied and ordered for blood test to be done on the same day since we were there already.


It is while waiting for his blood to be drawn, we noticed these two indian Ladies talking quite animatedly in Hindi. I have noticed them from when we first reached there because i said to Z, "Your friend." hehe But seems a bit funny or coincidental that after 1.5hr they are back there together with us too.


They talked somemore i only caught incoherent bits n pieces. But Z intercepted them and asked whats wrong etc. Turned out that they had been waiting for their turn to be called for the past 1.5hr sitting there when they actually havent submitted the paper into the tray!!! Also, the husband wasn't in town to get his blood drawn either. Poor them.


The fees for this round is $60, after close to 50% govt grant, which includes 3 diff analysis from the blood and consultation.


Next still was a follow up with the Dietitian from my ODAC day. She reviewed my chart and marvelled that even after a pizza bread, my blood level was good. Deduced that it could have been the walking, although i doubt International Plaza to my office is THAT energy depleting. lol. But again reminded me that i should avoid fried stuffs n sweet stuffs like my Kuih TArt!!! Also advised me to take TWO calcium tablets a day (as i seem not to have taken ANY MILK AT ALL since ODAC), when i havent even begun to take any though i had already bought it. God help me.


$9, please.


Afterwards, we went to a coffee shop at the rear side of Mustafa for lunch. We purposely didn't go to Usman because we wanted Chappati but we were still served Naan without being asked as the former isnt available. ERRGH! Im not sure but i doubt Naan uses wheat like chappati?


The whole day I was walking uncomfortably because my slip on slipper was feeling slippery. So we burnt off the calories window shopping at Mustafa and got my full covered shoe @ $16. I normally wear size 38, but this time, just to be safe, i bought size 41!!! HAHAHA in case i get water retention much later but it is still comfortable lah.


I also noticed that the Palmer's stretch cream marks are a good $10 cheaper there!!!!!!!!GRRRRRRRR


Anyways, next visit is not for another 5 weeks. Strange because at this stage I should be seeing her every 2 weeks once. Just as well, we thought, so we can cut cost though we should be mindful that if there's anything to be worried about, should contact the gynae straight away.


All in all, I thank God baby's fine and healthy.

I think my baby is nervous for the scan tmrw.

He keeps kicking me all day. And the kicks are either like... vibrations or like somebody panicking in water threading water, you know? In honesty, i'm the one who's nervous maybe that's where the baby got the jittery vibes from. haha

Nervous because I desperately dont want him to be big for his ideal gestational weight. nor too small for it. My tummy is looking very small what if my baby...... (god forbids!) But then again, I have an ex colleague who only gained 5kg for all her 3 pregnancies and her children are all healthy. I've already gained 10kg so it should translate to health hopefully?

I hafta report to the dietician also to hand in my report chart. I'm so scared, what if she scolds me asking why i havent been taking care of my food, although i have been in good range. That is except for last Sun when i had Fish & Chips AND lime juice. My first sweet drink ever since got diagnosed so. Hope she will discount that.

I suppose I know the real reason for my anxiety. I very much hope Z can be excused from school and come with us. Dont want him to miss seeing our baby, right? Just won't be the same if Mum's there. I want him ... no i NEED him to be there to receive any bad or good news TOGETHER. Dont think I can handle it alone.

ARGHHH

Can somebody just shoot me?

I let myself be persuaded to spend $670 for 5 courses of Panda eye treatment at NYSkinSol!!!! *DIE*

Last night, i was supposed to go for a free facial trial with them and get $300 off when you sign up for packages. I had smsed them to get this free trial AGES ago... like before i was pregnant? And i remembered that the whole reason i did that was to get a cimplimentary EYE treatment. But this time they said they didnt have eye trial only facial. So i came down anyway. Free what. and i thought since my pocket is running low there shld be no risk of me succumbing to sales tactic.


I made a few mistakes tho. I confided in the consultant my concern for the Panda eye and she harped it on like crazy.

- I told her then maybe she could just help me upgrade the free trial to an eye treatment instead. She said i would hafta pay $190 more but will give $130 worth of free eye ampules.

- Bargained to $100. not possible unless i take up package.

- Package for 10 sessions = $1900 - $300 = $1,600

- 5 sessions = $800

- ASked for further discount. Got 10% @ $720.

- Asked for $600 broken into 2 payments. She said said that's impossible. that she already minus service points for me. Huh? What service point? I dont care abobut service point. I just care about price haha.

- Gave me $50 less @ $670.

- At this point i said, "I tell you what, i just go for the facial trial." She said "No lah dont. you hafta do your eye while you're still young. Just do will us a few sessions after that you just hafta maintain with creams."

- But you said even if i deposit $100 won't get the eye treatment. She said, "No lah with all the eye treatment lah."


Perhaps its bcos i had been feeling down and retail therapy will give me a dose of happy pill (Just the day before i spent $80 at Geylang buying pants and scarves and $70 @ Watsons for Stretch cream, calcium pills and toiletries and it felt good). An improved physical appearance sounds tantalising too.


So i signed my life away. A contract with the devil.


After the consultation, we finally proceeded to the actual treatment. She double cleansed my face first then applied cold mask and collagen. After that dont know what another mask. I TOTALLY TOT I WAS GONNA GET THE EYE TREATMENT TT NIGHT TOO! But she said no, next session. I felt so cheated. BOOHOOHOO... ok ok whatever.

I dont know whether its the lighting in the toilet (not their premise) or did my skin really glow afterwards? So I left a happy girl even if i'd be begging for money for the next 12months.

10/01/09

First Stop: Dinner at Usman's Place @ Bussorah Street.

I think the name is sooooo not compatible to the settings. See... their first branch is called Usman Restaurant but it is more like a run down open air coffee shop at Lil India. But this is a high class, chic restaurant but they just simply call it Usman's Place.

The interior is somewhat authentic to Paki taste, i think. That is what i gather from Wana's pictures from Karachi restaurants anyway. Afraid i dont have much picture to speak of. But this is what we had:

Shami Kebab.

So funny... my baby was kicking me thru all the upbeat theme song! So much so that i just couldnt concentrate watching Aamir's extremely well crafted physique during that lovely song. LOL What can i say? Thank God he's not a sappy love song kinda guy.

The movie? The beginning was a tad slow. I very much prefer the happy flashbacks then the teary and dangerous Current time.

I dont know whether the gruesome parts have been censored or that's exactly how Aamir wanted it. Just as well for me. For i could have either screamed or thrown up if i've seen the "real" pokes and wat nots.

Good show, nonetheless. It's Aamir Khan, what.

I dont know whether i feel tired because i keep sneezing or i keep sneezing because i feel tired.

Yesterday i got 1/2 day mc in the afternoon because i was sneezing all day in the morning and couldn't open my eyes nor hold my head for much longer.

Although the previous night i had "sufficient" 7hr sleep, the night before that i slept at 3:30am! *shake head*


So i went home early yesterday, hired a VCD i didnt get to watch, bought lunch that i ate for dinner. All alone at home, i blasted open the TV, and nestled nicely on the lush carpet and cushions and heavy duty ceiling and promptly fell asleep without my medicine for an hour.

Woke up when the rest came home, took medicine and jumped into bed for another 2hours.

Woke up, showered n took dinner, another round of medicine and off i was to dream world at 10pm and didnt come around till 7am!

The nicest feeling EVER EVER EVER!


I DO notice that after just 3 - 4 days of religious kegel exercises (of about 10 x 10counts once a day), this time around my bladder didnt embarass me after the endless rounds of sneezing. It really is working and i totally recommend other pple to practise this exercise. (u hafta google it up as im not gonna offend some pple by describing how to do it here.)

I was requested by friends to make a wish list to make life easier for everyone.

Have been trying to come up with the list but had totally no clue what i need to get, nor what's good and at what price.

However, i do intend to buy these few things:

1. Food warmer
2. Crib with easy changing station
3. Baby Bedsheets
4. Stroller
5. Some sort of a Baby Sling. Initially i tot Bjorn will be good but there's no feature to carry from behind.
6. Pumps. If u know what i mean. While some say electric is easier, others say manual gives better stimulation, so im confused.
7. Lots of clothes of course but preferably not all newborns.

Because i dont know or can't decide what specific brand or type i want (and im very fussy), i deduce that the best thing you could get for me, IF you want to that is (im totally not expecting any bcos i dont believe in gift giving myself), would simply be:

Kiddy Palace Voucher

That should settle it.

The 11 bestfriends meet again.

Venue: a super nice room in Hotel Rendezvous.


Only 1 couldn't make it. The Oz/Kiwi just came back after a 9 month stint and we, or rather i, got to meet her baby in the flesh for the first time!


Reached there at 3:30pm sent by Beloved Dad who happened to be on half day also. Weee. Thank god i've already taken my super late lunch in the car because the pple who brought the food came quite late, and by the time they reached, we were due to hit the pool already! (before dusk that is)


There are 4 boys amongst us altogether. All born within days of the other! But only 3 were swimming that day as the 4th one got an errand to make. or rather, his mother did. The adult swimmers were the 3 boys' mothers and 3 preggers. Gosh we made quite a chaotic sight! So much so that the other swimmers gave up and left the pool!

From left: Affan who kept downing the chlorine water because he kept trying to bite the buoy but was seated too low some water reached his mouth. Then Zhafir the Friendly Baby followed by Husainy the Cranky Boss. Lol

Back in the room was another fuss fuss fuss... The babies had to be given priorities to change n shower cos they shouldn't stay in wet clothes for long .. in air-con room! But the preggers were already doggedly tired, dangerously hungry and dying to go to the loo!!!

First set is sponsored by Our LadY Boss who just came back from Haj and bought this matching robes for the boys. So cute! Almost like cults with those pointed tip and tassel! LOL!

From left: Shauqy, Husainy, Zhafir and 'Affan.

I think 'Affan has potential to be a Harry Potter character in this picture!


This cute jacket set is sponsored by Shauqy's mother.

NExt still is cake cutting ceremony. a Chocolate Banana cake from Secret Recipe. Wordings say "Hidup Sebelas Kawan" equivalent to something like 11 Best Friends forever.

The night is far from over. Another friend had also painstakingly created 11 beautiful customised Calendar card with our own names on it. And then we started writing msgs in each others cards.

The grand finale to the beautiful night is the great view of fireworks from our hotel room at the stroke of midnight! And then the husbands sent their wives home.

Sadly, only 2 of 10 who made it stayed over night in the hotel! that's Me and The Health Executive. hehehe (Sorry.. i dont suppose u want ur name to be written here?) so the latter brought along her sister to spend the night also.

We played Boggle till 2am.

Next morning, Ordered McDonalds for Bfast and shared a cab home (bcos i can't carry my heavy hand carry bag. Ergh)