Jia you Jiawei!

Wow. We actually made it somewhere! Our women's ping pong team has made it to the final!! Face off with China on Sunday.

Which means at the very least, we will get our FIRST OLYMPIC MEDAL in 48 YEARS! (last one 1960)
And a Silver one to boot. Let's hope it's GOLD :) Jin jin eh jing ah! (snicker snicker, WK knows this pte joke!)

Isn't it ironic, our top paddler, Li Jiawei was born in BEIJING on Singapore's National Day (9 August) 27 years ago?
It was in the stars. She was born to be Singaporean huh?
Damn farneee rite? Of course Ms Li is now a loud and proud SGian.


(photo: Reuters)

SPEAKING OF NATIONAL PRIDE...

Here's an exerpt from an article I read today by a Turkish journalist, commenting on Turks themselves. (Time Out Istanbul, August issue)

"You may have noticed that we Turks don't care too much about quality. In fact, some might point out that we even have a genius for mediocrity. Anyone who's had their plumbing patched with paint and cement....or whose request for directions has been met with grunt and point of a finger by someone who was too lazy to say "Second street on the right" or too ashamed to say "I don't know", will have figured out that in all endeavours we undertake, we almost invariably opt for some kind of sloppy all encompassing middle-way quick-fix. If there's a corner that needs to be cut, we'll be damned if there isn't a way we can cut it even more."

See, I wasn't being a paranoid whiney cow. This place SUX cos the people SUCK. It's in the very core of their culture. Even they themselves KNOW SO.

Like when we bought a brand new aircon 2 months ago and it started leaking indoors ON THE 1st DAY of use.
First of all, the repairmen show up 2 days later than the scheduled appointment. Then, without even opening or looking at ANYTHING, they ask me what temperature I set the thermosat at (22 degrees celucius). They immediately declare, "Turkish people don't put it below 25 degrees. Aircon won't work properly below 25 degrees." and promptly leave. DUH.

Same dumb reasoning from the landcape people when I asked them why the grass they planted for me in May still hasn't grown in some areas. "Oh, the grass will only grow in NOVEMBER." Double DUH.

C'est la vie a la Turca.

Coming this Christmas....

What It Means To Be Singaporean

On the eve of the eve on National Day, sitting in this godforsaken, sweltering, smelly city with bombs going off now and then (latest attack..this morning near JF's office) I was thinking about what it means to me to be Singaporean. Yes the safety, cleanliness, security, efficiency, clean air and water....I miss all that about home.

But the most recent sense of national pride that I felt is: When I saw a CHARLES & KEITH shop in Cevahir last week!!

CHARLES & KEITH is my absoulte favourite Singapore shoe store...EVER.
Every time I go in, I leave with at least one (or 3!) pairs of fab shoes.
Great designs and great prices! When they started doing handbags a few years ago, I was over the moon.

So imagine my joy when I saw a CHARLES & KEITH in Cevahir last week. I was almost moved to tears, no kidding.
Cevahir is one of the biggest malls in Istanbul. Stores are a mix of international brands like Zara, Pull & Bear, Next, Mothercare, as well as Turkish high street brands.

I felt SO proud to see CHARLES & KEITH here. They also have another store in ASTORIA (another mall in Istanbul, but not as centrally located and as big as Cevahir)

Like WOW here's a homegrown Singapore brand halfway around the world. Plus it's my fave shoe store to boot. I guess Americans probably don't feel the same sense of pride when they see a Gap or Levi's store overseas, but to me seeing a homegrown Singapore brand that I grew up with go international, well it's really something.
Of course the stores in Istanbul have less than half the range of the average CHARLES & KEITH store in SG, and prices are about 3 times higher, but still the fact that they're here, makes me smile :)

I still remember shopping at the very first CHARLES & KEITH store in Amara Shopping Centre more than 10 years ago.
They had great, affordable shoes then and still do now. The 2 brothers were then making their shoes out of a factory in Ang Mo Kio. Now they're in 25 countries all over the world.

I guess it's a little strange that my sense of national pride comes from a SHOE STORE. But hey, shopping (together with eating and movies) IS our national sport.



That said, it gives U a pretty good idea of how we'll do in Beijing! Ok so we may not be bagging the Golds (or even Bronzes) and Team Singapore getting into the first round of ANY EVENT at the Olympics may be cause for nationwide celebration. (BTW GOOD LUCK TEAM SINGAPORE! At least just TRY to trump the next door neighbours at anything lah ok?)

But by jove, our brands will one day conquer the consumers of the world! Muahahahahahah world domination through retail!

Charles & Keith Wong, way to go and HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!

Coffee Bean and A-1 Curry Puff, please hurry up and come to Istanbul so I can have my fix!

(Incidentally, THIS National Day, I will be sitting in some cafe in Rome, dearest hubby by my side, stuffing my face with REAL Gelato, hunting down the legendary Italian 5kg jars of Nutella and looking forward to meeting the Pope. To show my national pride, I will be wearing a red and white striped T-shirt which makes my baby belly look rather fetching :)

Bee In The Bonnet

As my tummy grows rounder and rounder by the day, and little Baby Chassin has started to kick a lot, JF and I felt it's time to do some serious shopping for the little tyke.
After much research we were surprised to discover that not all baby things are made equal!

Just like Ferraris and Hermes bags, the baby world also has it's exacting standards for the uber chic.

To sum it up...all the cool Mums have these:


- Bugaboo stroller (and not just the Bugaboo Bee but the Cameleon mind you! Top of the range)
900 EUROS (SG$1890)
The Limited Edition Denim version costs even more...and of course, my friend Christy (also a first time mum) who just gave birth to her daughter 2 weeks ago, bought one.



- Baby Bjorn front pack
150 EUROS (SG$315)



- STOKKE crib (in walnut no less!)
700 EUROS (SG$1470)



Not only do these babyssentials come with astronomical price tags, (the Bugaboo costs more than a round-trip plane ticket from Singapore to Paris), but they are seemingly justified by experts. For example, the Bugaboo is supposed to have the best safety, suspension and cushioning on the market. Perfect when U need to stroll with your baby in sleet, snow or sand. Or just skim over bumpy potholed city streets, latte in hand. Well for THAT price, I'd expect it to come with dual airbags too!

BUT NONETHELESS, first time parents as we are....we want the best for our little bebe.
So just before we left for France 3 weeks ago, we trundled along to one of the hip kiddy stores in Kanyon to place our order and deposit for the Bugaboo. We checked out the display model top to toe, tried out the brakes and suspension. After all, we were about to buy the Rolls Royce of baby strollers! We chose our colours - Red and Sable. Then suddenly JF had an illumination in the store - HEY we were going to France! I get a 13% tax-free refund there. So we decided to buy it in France.

The very next day......my friend Bonnie calls to tell me she has other stuff to sell....specifically, baby stuff. (She was moving out of Istanbul and I had agreed to buy her vaccum cleaner for 80 YTL, cos Amelia Bedelia, our doofus ex-maid had broken ours...together with the fan etc.)

The short of it is...we ended up buying Bonnie's 5-year-old Bebe Confort stroller for 250 YTL. (125 EUROS) Ok, it's a well-known French brand, the stroller is well-made and in perfect conditon, it folds easily AND she threw in all the accessories, but I can't help but feel WRACKED WITH GUILT!!!!!!
AAAAAAACKS!!! Who buys 2nd-hand stuff for their FIRSTBORN?? Does this make me a bad parent?
I literally have been having bad dreams about it since then. (Just last night I dreamt I was pushing our baby around and all the other mums were laughing at me cos I was the ONLY one without a Bugaboo.

JF tried to rationalise with me and we talked it over again and again. All the money saved from NOT buying the Bugaboo would go towards other nice things for Baby or even a diving trip for us.

But to make things worse, when we were in Paris, I saw so many Bugaboos!! Plus, JF's brother also has all the cool baby stuff for Carla. A STOKKE stroller (also 900 EUROS), Baby Bjorn frontpack and a STOKKE highchair (now that she can sit up and feed herself).

So we set out to at least buy a Baby Bjorn, but after trying it out with other rival models, we ended choosing a Tomy, The Tomy frontpack was a mere 30 EUROS less than the Baby Bjorn, but JF felt the Tomy would be more comfortable for Baby.

So now we're Bugaboo and Baby Bjorn-less!

And what do I see in all the French parenting magazines?

"Les Mamans Glamour ont le Bugaboo pousette, Baby Bjorn "carrier-bebe", lit STOKKE (crib) et le biberon Dior (Dior baby bottle)"

AAAAACCCCCCCKS! I feel absolutely BAD now. Have I truly fallen into the parent trap?
When I was a baby, I think I slept in a sarong hung from the celing, rolled around in a ratty green mesh stroller but at least had Marks & Sparks undies.

So how come I feel so malu that my kid will be Bugaboo and Bjorn-less??

Well at least I'm proud to say I've bagged some fab Petit Bateau gear for Baby Chassin while we were in France. Whoever heard of a French baby without Petit Bateau togs?

I'm an ANG MO??

Mummy and Daddy and WK are here now in Istanbul and I'm really enjoying my time with them.

They are so enanmoured with Cookie, even though he seem's to have gone on a chewing rampage recently! (The newest victim being his IKEA shoe soft toy which he's ignored for months!) Mummy is trying to teach him new tricks like SIT, STAND, STAY.
But Daddy says Cookie reminds him so much of Beauty that he's possibly Beauty reincarnated. Both dogs are nervous, stubborn, look alike and are so loving. They even eat the same way.

Went for another check up at the OBGYN yesterday. Everyone came along, but only Mummy and JF came in with me to view the ultrasound. Baby Chassin was swimming about as usual, waving little arms and legs at us! Baby moves even more when I cough or laugh.
I tried using the Jedi mind trick to get baby to turn around for the camera. JF was so happy and emotional he almost cried.

The Down's Syndrome test results came back and we're in the clear. Hurray! Thank U God!
Daddy noticed something funny which I've never noticed before on all my test results.
On the results, my ethnic group is listed as: CAUCASIAN.

HUH!?!?!??! When did I become an ang mo???
Is it because of my surname? (or rather JF's)
But I've been going to this clinic since last August and they can CLEARLY see I'm Asian. So how did I become CAUCASIAN? ;p

Akan Datang! Coming Soon

...in 6 months anyway :) Hurray! Hurray! :) Fingers crossed, prayers needed.
We're very excited and nervous.
Praying hard tht everything goes well.

Have spent the last 2 months literally sleeping and feeling nauseous.

Weighed in today at the docs. Surprise, surprise! Who knew being pregnant made u lose weight? 2kg to be exact.
Probably because I feel like throwing up all day long and not just in the morning. Especially during car rides.
Cooking has also been difficult bcos the smell of raw food (even some veggies like carrots) makes me want to puke.
So quite often in the last 2 months, if I didn't order take-out, or we didn't eat out, I just didn't eat.
Almost everyday I found myself wishing that someone was around just to make me fish porridge so I could just get up, eat and go back to sleep.

The doc gave me anti-nausea SUPPOSITORIES (of all things!!). Why not oral medication I DON'T KNOW.
They probably learnt it from the French who love sticking medicine up their butts...Even from a very tender age.
(Poor Carla, it has happened to her since she was 5 months old....haiz traumatised I say, traumatised.)

So, not wanting to take THAT route, I just haven't taken any anti-nausea medicine.
The ONLY thing that seems to help is Ting Ting Jahe Indonesian Ginger Candy, which I whip out when I want to puke.
With only about 5 sweets left, I'm panicking! And no one seems to be able to find ANY! Wee Keong has sent his legions scouring Singapore for it but no luck. Who wants to hop on a ferry to Batam for me? :) Anyone going to Indonesia real soon?? I'd be so grateful!
SEND ME TING TING JAHE! (Strangely enough, the last time I found it was in Tang Freres in Paris!)

Anyway, all that aside, 12 weeks is supposed to be a milestone where all the tiredness and nausea is SUPPOSED to wear off.
Fingers crossed again!

JF is over the moon of course and I'm excited too. But more than anything else, I guess I'm just anxious. About everything. Baby's growth, baby's health, the birth, where to give birth, how to give birth. It's crazy!

It's a life altering event in so many ways, and frankly I don't know if I can cope. Some people make it seem so easy.
But very honestly, can U imagine someone needing U 24 hours a day? 7 days a week? Non-stop?
Even a dog doesn't need that kind of attention.

All my friends who are moms say the anxiety will fade the moment U see ur baby. U just want to be with him or her all day.
Let's hope so!

Today I felt so happy and excited to see Baby Chassin do para para dance in my tummy during the ultrasound. So active! Saw cute big head, nose, fingers and toes and even brains. Yup brains! Amazing :)

My husband the make-up artist!

How do U know when your husband really REALLY loves u?

When he fixes on your false eyelashes for U and does it DAMN WELL!!! ;p hee hee hee.

My dear hubby is so talented.
He can cook, make pancakes, do electrical wiring, pin my kerosang onto my kebaya, build a wooden deck for the garden from scratch, bathe Cookie (no easy task with all tht wriggling!!) and now, to add to his already stunning repetoire of skills, he can put false eyelashes on for me!!

Last Sat was the IWI Spring Ball which I organised. It was a charity ball and our theme was Orient Express/1920s.
Have been working on this for the last 6 months, so very happy tht we raised about US$30,000 for charity.

With my now very GOON haircut (aka Dora the Explorer) I thought I needed something extra in the make-up department to detract from my clownish fringe.

Rummaged around and found a pair of false eyelashes tht I bought from BKK, dunno how long ago. AND a bottle of glue!
I was in luck. BUT I have never put these on myself before (usually a make-up artist does it for me). So I rope in JF to do the deed.

With so much experience sealing the bathtub and windows with silicone, my dear husband paints on the eyelash glue with such precision and then gently taps the lashes in place.

VOILA! My super long getai singer lashes are in place and stay put all evening.

THANKS MUNKYNOU!!!!!!! U are zeeee best teeeny chocolit munky in the world! I love U!!