One of the things I’ve always hated about living in Asia is the constant heat and humidity.

For the past one week, the temperature has been hitting 35°C and where I am, there is no sign of rain at all. The grass outside is of a brown to dark brown colour, looks awfully parched and well, the trees are no better. Some look just dead! We did get a itty bitty tiny shower on one day last week but that was like misting, hardly cooling – in fact, it had the opposite effect because as water droplets land on the hot ground, they turn into steam instantly creating a sauna-like effect! ARGH!

So to avoid the heat, we have been heading out in the mornings via public transportation – yay for airconditioned Singaporean buses! – and Eva would doze off in whatever I’m babywearing her with that day, and in the afternoons, we are holed up in her room where I have the aircon blowing a gentle breeze of 28°C and the fan circulating the cool air at the lowest speed. She takes her afternoon naps then – the longest (about two to three hours depending on the morning) – and later, has her playtime in there as well. We emerged every day like a bunch of heat-vampires at around 5-5:30pm where I’ll prepare dinner as she snacks on a rice cake in her highchair and later, we head out again. The park nearby gives us a good evening breeze so the walk then is excellent for the both of us.

The heat is still on at nights and only really cools down nearly midnight. Sometimes, I’m thankful for our fans (only Eva gets air-conditioning and even then, it’s only for the afternoon) although it still doesn’t stop me from looking at Minka Aire fans – why the heck did my landlord NOT install a ceiling fan? Definitely a must-note-item on the list should we have to find a new place.

But really, we NEED more rain!!!

Time to trash those weight loss products aside (was never on them actually) and replace them with good exercise habits!

Can you believe it? Despite BFing around the clock and dropping one pant size, a break from my yoga classes plus all those CNY goodies have resulted in a slight peak on the weighing scale! How utterly annoying! Just when I thought I was going to dip below 60 kg! And it’s not just me but it’s also affecting Nil as well. We definitely need to pump up on our exercise regime.

Am thinking of swapping my evening walks for a jog-brisk walk session instead since Eva likes speed. I swear, sometimes I suspect she’s going to grow up into a biker chick! Will start later this evening if it doesn’t rain and proceed onto yoga later in the evening when she’s asleep. I know that sun salutation would be just great and it’s about time I brought home my yoga classes.

Hai.

Here’s wishing you folks a roaring Tiger year ahead!

Yes, I know I’m late this time with the Chinese New Year wishes but with good reason. I had been away, back in KL busy preparing for the festive celebration while juggling shopping for both Eva and myself – a real fat burner if you ask me. I was hardly napping, always on my toes since Eva needed some readjusting again after the flight and all, not to mention coping with a new environment.

We stocked up on nursing wear and baby food jars (for those fruits/veg that we can’t find here like rhubard, peaches, pears and apricots as well as prunes – even if we could find them, they are usually yucky!). I managed to dig up some Christian devotional books by Max Lucado as well and am gently reminded that spiritually, I’m not in my life journey alone. Nice, really.

Chinese New Year is still on-going but life for us has pretty much gotten back to normal since arriving back in Singapore. I find myself facing the usual challenges – going back to work or not – and I don’t know what to think or decide as of now. We still have a few more days to go till March so perhaps Jobstreet being down and all is a sign. Hm.

Anyway, I’ll be blogging more frequently now – hopefully with reviews and more “meaty” entries on a variety of things. Won’t that be awesome?

…was really one of those crappy, “I really hate my life” days.

I’m currently trying to get better from a stupid flu/cold I caught from dirty people here, but because I’m only sleeping around 5 hours a day (no naps) and juggling not only the housechores (cooking, laundry, picking up after messes, washing the toilet, mopping the floor, general cleaning), the grocery shopping AND my shop, I have to contend as well with a pre-teething baby – which means that she is awfully babbling, whiny and cranky to boot. I don’t even have the time to look into franchise opportunities for the shop or some products that I was thinking of bringing in! Gah!

Just to give you an idea of what my day has been like…

I’m up at 7am and busy keeping the laundry, boiling the water, moping the floor, clearing the kitchen and some of the stuff in the sink.

I go online to check my mails and do the usual and she starts babbling on the top of her voice, asking to be out. This is at 9am.

After a feed, I try to get her to play on her own. No way in hell. She babbles, whines and cries – carrying her is the only way to shut her up. So we left for some window shopping at 10am. She falls asleep on the bus but wakes up halfway, sometime around 1130am.

I decide to make the trip back and we arrive home at around 1230 noon after doing some shopping for lunch and dinner. After her lunch, a bath and a change, she is napping at 130pm in her room. I have my lunch and then set about preparing for tonight’s dinner. By the time I’m done, it’s 2pm. I work on an order, hoping to get a snooze around 230pm but by the time I want to get to it, she’s already up.

It’s 3pm and after some playing, it’s time for the next feed at nearly 4pm. After that, she just babbles and whines non-stop. The swing doesn’t help. Playing only works for a few minutes. I tell her to go sleep and what-not, and she bursts out into tears. So off we went into the crib and I turn on the aircon. Doesn’t really work…she’s still babbling and whining.

It’s 5:30pm and I decided that I just had about enough, so off we went again for some window shopping. She nearly falls asleep on the bus but didn’t. I met up with Nil at around 7pm at the shopping mall and we arrived home at around 8pm. After her dinner, and a quick wipe down, she’s in her crib and snoozing away.

Me? I’m still up and having to work on dinner and then an order plus this entry. I won’t go to bed until it’s nearly midnight.

So really, whoever thought that I live an easy, carefree life should switch shoes with me. And honestly, I do NOT appreciate remarks like how I should do more to keep my house clean so that my hubby comes home to a clean and comfy home. If he wants that, he should get a maid. I’m already doing more than my fair share.

Yesterday, during our bus ride, there was this guy sitting in the seats meant for people with children, the elderly, those who are pregnant and disabled. What peeved me off was that he was occupying TWO seats – yes, he basically spread his butt cheeks across two seats.

Never mind. I prefer to stand since Eva likes looking out the windows and such. Then about five stops later, he started coughing and without closing his mouth. I could see saliva flying everywhere! As if that wasn’t disgusting enough, he then proceeded to clear his throat on the top of his voice and spat right into a roll of toilet paper that he pulled out from his pocket. Once he was done, he stuffed the paper back into his pocket and cleared his throat over and over again.

The people beside me were all disgusted by this man – it was obvious on their faces. Some even quickly moved to the back of the bus and the ladies standing beside me hurriedly turned to face the window.

Then today, as I was heading to my regular window-shopping spot, this young man walking ahead of me started spitting onto the pavement!!! So what if it was raining and the spot he spat on was wet with rain? It’s still disgusting nonetheless. As if once wasn’t good enough, he did it THREE times! I started scolding him in French as I headed past him; I doubt he even heard me though.

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve seen people – young and old – spit everywhere and cough/sneeze with their mouths open, both in Singapore and Malaysia, but I hardly come across this in Australia, France and Switzerland. Is it an Asian habit?

But really, what’s wrong with these people? Don’t they realize that it’s not just rude and disgusting but it’s also inconsiderate and dirty? Dirty because you spread your germs around and inconsiderate because your bodily fluids end up all over the place (and onto people). If you must clear your throat, swallow back your spit or go to a toilet. If you must cough or sneeze, cover up!

Now I’ve the beginnings of the flu and I’m quite sure I caught it from buggers like these dirty people! =.=

…that I’m down by a pant size!

Well, actually I have been down by a pant size since I got back from Bali and I suspect that it is because of a few things, namely yoga and cutting back on my usual portion of rice. I’m also eating more vegetables and fruits, as well as napping less although there are some days where I just feel like vegging out on the sofa while Eva is snoozing away.

While progress is slow, I’m quite pleased with the fact that it’s all au naturel and without the use of aids (diet supplement reviews, anyone?). I’m hoping that things will continue to look good as I keep up my twice-a-week yoga despite a strained ankle and the Chinese New Year break.

So yes, lets hope it’ll be more good news over the course of the following months!

I swear, amidst worries about Eva’s pooping habits, her being more sticky and not wanting to nap like she used to (well, she’s older and prefers to stay awake longer so nothing much I can do there), I still have the time and inclination to scout around for new patterns for the store – it would appear that the new booties are awfully popular here so have decided to add in some variation in terms of designs.

Trouble with the new patterns is that I need to source around for new yarns – still am on that 100% cotton though; none of that cheap, horrible acrylic! – and that requires some time and well, window shopping. I’ll probably end up in Chinatown tomorrow to check out a yarn store there and if I have the time, I might pop by Spotlight. In the worse case scenario, I’ll continue to use my current supplier but use a different colour chart for the new designs.

In the meantime, I’ve realized that I’m starting to experience mild (is there such a thing?) adult acne, especially around the jawline. It’s not a lot but it’s still enough to be annoying. Hai.

I completed a pretty large order the other day and suddenly find myself swamped with two more orders! Yes, lovely start to the new year and something that I’m ultra thankful for. To top things off, I suddenly have additional assignments although researching about best acne treatments isn’t all that fun per se.

On the side, I still managed to squeeze in some time for a new sewing project – something that, hopefully, can make its way off the baby shelf and into the store someday. I’m not holding my breath though. It’s still very much in the works.

Nil will be off to India this weekend for two nights which leaves me with just Eva and well, our apartment. I have a couple of activities planned – and she’ll be tagging along plus she’ll be starting on different foods as well so that’s pretty exciting.

Sure, it’s nothing like the dramas I’ve had to go through at the office but hey, I’m not complaining. Life is good and I feel blessed.