*muacks*

And....we are 7 years!

If you count from our Chinese customary tea ceremony and Chinese wedding dinner lah...
If it's from the ROM date then we're almost 8 already....:)

Happy Anniversary Sayang!

Went for a yummy beef bowl lunch at Yoshinoya! K wanted to go to a better restaurant...but to me...
Yoshinoya's good enough...doesn't mean that only atas restaurants dish out good stuff...:)
Maybe my tummy craved for the beef bowl today :)

Here's to many many more years ahead Baby!

Jal haess-eo

Took a long route through the last stragglers of the lunch crowd.
It was more crowded that what I was used to and I did feel abit light-headed.
Still, I did step out. I did walk through those remaining crowds.
I did go the longer way and not seek a shortcut.
And I did not ...for lack of a better word...get kancheong.
And I was okay.

Jal haess-eo, Michelle.
Good job, Michelle.

Reminder to Self

Baby Steps 
- One step at a time, don't run before you learn how to walk

Track Accomplishments
- See your small wins, see how you've progressed and moved forward

Focus
- 3 things, not 10

Take Care of your Body
- Do better

Produce X 101

Kim Yo Han hwaiting!
Han Seung Woo hwaiting!
Lee Jin Hyuk hwaiting!

I've yet to watch the latest episode so I don't know who are the remaining 20 trainees...
But oh well...:)

I wonder who Kyler's fav is....Need to ask Ally....

Conversations between a 4yr-old and a 6yr-old

The other night just before bed.....

A: I am a witch!!
N: Then that means you're a bad girl you know? A very bad bad girl.
A: Ya! I am bat girl! I will ask all of my bats to spit fire at you! Then you will be surrounded! Ha Ha Ha! *evil laughter*

This conversation stood out to me because....

1. Alyssa's honest and utterly cute misunderstanding of Nadya's word "bad" for the word "bat" lol....
2. Alyssa's use of the phrase "spit fire at you"...wah...where did she learn that from? 
3. Alyssa's "Ha Ha Ha!" was done in an evil laughter tone....she's never done that before! It was so cute hearing it from her haha....

Fever? No Fever?

Felt a sore throat ocming on last weekend but with enough water, it went away.
It seems to be coming back.

Feeling a little warm and slightly feverish these 2 days as well. But 37.3C doesn't count for a fever yet right? I was brought up to think that anything above 37C is a fever but GPS have told me that only 37.5C is then considered a fever. Google tells me that anything between 37C and 38C is a low-grade fever.

Laoniang dunno lah...so confusing. Bah....*pouts*
Laoniang just wants to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the whole day.

But I am still in office.

Nvm....jiayou!!!
Mind over body!!!!!

Mindful eating

Been practising mindful eating when I lunch in the office the last week or so. Hope to keep it up.
Nothing much.

I'm just setting aside 15mins or so to eat my lunch. Although I'm at my desk, my PC is off. And during this 10-15mins (or however long it takes to eat my lunch), I won't touch my PC and my phone.

I won't do anything else except eat or drink. And with each mouthful of food, I try to focus on the textures, taste, temperature or colour of the food. And I try to chew purposefully and chew more too since it's supposed to help me digest my food better.

Today's lunch was butter mushroom rice with pumpkin, cabbage and minced meat. The bright happy orange colour of the pumpkin contrasted with the green cabbage quite nicely. It made for a happy colourful meal instead of the usual drab brown looking lunches that my helper makes haha.

*heart*

K and I had dinner outside yesterday instead of at his parents'.
It was a short one but I enjoyed it much.

I thought about why I enjoyed it and had a nice time. And I realised...

We were alone, just the two of us. No kids to distract (or nag at).
We were relaxed. We were having simple and yummy food.
And most importantly....We were not on our phones.
We were present. We talked. To each other.

It was meaningful. :)
It was nice.

Change...people...things...

There was a lady I knew in office when I first joined 12 years ago. 

She was 3 years older than me. She was a scholar and quite down to earth and unassuming. She'd always wear the same type of clothes, a simple plain top and plain black or brown or grey pants. She always wore flats, some of which were scruffed up and worn out. She wore no makeup and kept her hair up in a messy ponytail. She'd slouch her way around the office and cruise around in her office flip-flops. She was smart and capable. 

While we were not close last time, we knew who each other was and would nod to each other as a form of greeting. Sometimes, if the setting was right, we'd exchange a few words as well. 

Maybe 6 to 7 years ago, being the scholar that she is, she was pulled to a senior management role at a newly established agency. She was 2nd from the top there I think and stayed there for 3 years maybe before being pulled back to my agency. 

I guess, being in top management does change you somewhat. She came back to our agency and looked different. She was slimmer and wore dresses and heels. She also wore make up, handled her hair better and generally looked sharper and more chic in her outlook. I don't even wear lipstick but she does now...haha...

And then I realised a couple of months...we don't greet each other anymore...On the rare occasions that we crossed paths, she didn't even look me in the eye when she walked past me. I did call out on one or two occasions. But I somehow didn't get a response. To give her the benefit of doubt, she might not have recognised me since I'm in glasses now, or she might not have heard me....

In any case, while her outlook has changed alot, I hope her heart and inner core is still the same...

Be mindful

• Stay focused 
• Be present 
• Put down your phone when talking to others
• Show compassion
• Have empathy
• One thing at a time 
• Be in the zone
• Feel it

Reminder to self

If it irks you when someone you are talking to or trying to talk to doesn't look you in the eye and have a conversation with you but glues his or her eyes on their phone instead and just gives cursory attention (if any at all), then you shouldn't do the same to others. 

out with the old, in with the new

Pointsettia is now officially kaput.
K.A.P.U.T.

After dropping ALL leaves, it's stem is now finally all browned out and somewhat shrivelled.
It's a shame really...when it survived all the way from December 2018 when I received it as a Xmas present.

My cousin gave me a DIY gardening kit for Xmas too. It was a sunflower kit.

Thought I'd give it a try 1 month plus ago.

The first batch of seeds yielded nothing. In fact, the seeds turned mouldy. It was probably my own doing because I'd wrapped up the pot surface with cling film to create a greenhouse effect and to retain moisture. Learnt it online last time....guess that method doesn't go too well with sunflower seeds.

So anyway, about a week ago I threw in the second (and final) batch of seeds and lo and behold!!
There are now at least 3 seedlings which have sprouted!

Yay yay yay!

I hope they grow abit stronger before I transplant them to bigger pots. And I hope they survive in the new pots as well and grow up big and strong!

kids these days

80-90% of the time, the kids' homework inevitably becomes your homework instead....
anyway since when did kids in nursery and kindy have so many activities?

i don't remember doing all these things and when i asked my parents about it, they don't remember such stuff too. it was mostly play and some learning..

we turned out fine didn't we? hmm.....

it wasn't like this 10 years' ago too cos my nephew didn't go through so much of these...

oh well....times change...

Even if you don't feel like it....

Get up
Wash up
Get yourself out there
And SLAY.............

Gumbat!

At the back of my mind, there are another 2 challenges that I wish to overcome.
One might take a long time.

The other...I need to find the right place and right time to try it out. I know who I want to accompany me for this challenge. At least I've identified 1 or 2 close friends at work to be with me.
Psyching myself up for it slowly.

Ganbatte Michelle...
Or as K puts is....Gumbat!

Korean

while I cannot profess to be remotely conversant of the language....
and I definitely cannot read any word of Korean except for the word for "ke" as in "kekeke" for happy laughter....
I think I've learnt quite a fair bit of Korean words over 2.5 years of listening to dramas and variety shows

while I am interested in learning the language
I don't have the time to do so
not when I haven't carved out enough time and space to go for walks even

while i bought a simple book to start reading and learning the language
I never got beyond page 5 of the book unfortunately

oh well...

mish mash

recently discovered that massaging the ears and earlobes helps the body as the ears have many nerve endings and many acupoints that are connected to various parts and organs of the body.

lemme go read up more!
sounds interesting and could be easy to do as well...

===============
22 July

our 7th wedding anniversary (based on wedding dinner and Chinese tea ceremony)
it'll also be the day we pop by the primary school to register Nadya for her P1 journey next year

oh how time flies

===============
laoniang ate alot over the weekend
and put on some weight in the process

yay!

laoniang wash 46.9kg this morning
back up from 46.1kg around 2 weeks ago when I fell sick

===============
laoniang is running out of lunch ideas liao
everyday is now just rice and a stirfry of mixed veg and mushrooms with one meat or fish item

laoniang ish sibei cold

raining heavily outside
freezing in the office now
brrrr
wearing 3 layers
office dress, cardigan, another jacket
with a scarf over my legs
fingers are still so cold
laoniang's lips are a little blue at the edges liao

The discomfort

It's been many months since I'd felt this. Almost the full works.
The slight wooziness, the nausea, the bloating, the discomfort in the upper stomach area, the on and off soft stool, the on and off tremors in the legs, the on and off slight breathlessness, the slight chest pain. This time round, there's also bitterness in the mouth for at least 3-4 days already.

My dear stomach...and not-so-dear stomach acid...can dun disturb me please?
I don't want to lose anymore weight...

I want to eat happily and be able to one day eat again all the stuff that I've not really been able to take in the last 6 months....

Please....

First movie for the girls

Sunday evening.

We brought the girls for their first movie experience. We watched "Secret Life of Pets 2" at Shaw Cinema at Jewel.

Truth be told, I am actually afraid of loud sounds and have been so since young. I used to be so afraid of balloons that I'd hide in a corner away from them and whimper. During an xmas party when I was 8, I ran out of my uncle's house into the garden because the Xmas carols being played in the house were too loud for me to handle. It makes me wonder why and how I actually enjoyed clubbing and pubbing I was in my 20s. Very strange.

It is part of the reason why I rarely go to the movies in recent years.

So anyway I digressed, I was prepared to walk out of the movie halfway if I could not take the loud volume of the movie. I was also very prepared to walk out of the movie halfway if any of the girls decided they didn't like the movie or the loud volume or the dark theatre.

The girls surprised me! Nadya thoroughly enjoyed the movie and was not afraid at all of the dark theatre. I honestly thought she would be afraid. She didn't need any assurance at all. Alyssa was pretty ok but when villains appeared in the movie, she didn't like them and clambered over to sit with me. On me actually. I had to hug her and hold on to her for the latter half of the movie.

All in all a good first experience for the girls!

Putting monkeys to sleep

Both girls tested my patience alot last night. It took me 1.5hours to put them to bed.
I didn't shout at them but my patience was really sorely tested.

On hindsight, they were especially sticky last night, especially Alyssa. Both were trying to cuddle me and get hugs. One was hugging my leg and the other my arm.

While I love the cuddles, I really do wish they'd go to bed easier and faster.

Here's to hoping tonight will be a smoother night.
Ganbatte!