My thought on sleepless night

I went to bed at 12 midnight. My body was all fatigued from a whole day work and dined outside. The monthly menstrual period added it all. “I will wake up at 7am and hopefully it will be a straight dreamless, non-disturbed seven-hour sleep as per required so that I will wake up fresh and energize for a whole day,” I said it to myself before closing down my both eyes and went into a dreamland.

Brrrr…… I was awoken by the cold air blown by the air conditioner plus the urgency to visit the toilet. “What time is it?” I asked myself. I peeked at my alarm clock and time shown was only at 2am. Yalama! I thought it was like 4 to 5am. But it wouldn’t be because my air conditioner would be automatically turned off at 3.30am and it was still running in full strength. I gained the full awareness from my sleep and it took me a while until I could fall asleep again.

Suddenly I was awoken again. This time, it was by the howling sound of the wind that penetrated through the toilet’s window. “Duk… Duk…” The wind blew so strong and it knocked against our bedroom’s windows.

The air conditioner was still on. What??? Not even 3.30am and I had woken up twice???  My curiosity led me to peek from the toilet’s window. I wore my glasses and saw those trees on the playground whirled around by the strong wind. It moved in the rhymes with the sound of music.

I went back on my bed. Suddenly the toilet’s door was forced open by the wind that seeped through the toilet’s window. I got scared ya! Seemed the wind was so powerful! I got up and closed the toilet’s window and door tightly before going back on my bed again.

This time, I drew myself closer to my hubby side and he hugged me safely. My mind was wandering for a while on the tragedy happened not long ago. Something happened to one of the neighbors in my block. That incident made me feeling insecure and unsafe even inside my own house. I was thinking what would happen if one day my hubby left me earlier than me. Who would hold me tightly and made me feeling safe and secure like what he was doing right now at that moment. What would my life be when he was no longer around?

Worry, fear, loneliness, it crept into my mind. Many ‘what if’ appeared at that moment. But instead of feeding those feeling and letting it overcame my brain; I chose to stop it right away. I directed myself to think into the present moment. “I am safe now. Secure. He is by my side, warm and breathing. I should treasure him while he is alive. Whatever comes next, it will be beyond my control. When it comes, I am sure I will be able to overcome that feeling. I will try and do my best to overcome it.”

I went back to my comfortable sleeping position and tried to catch some sleep again. The air conditioner had been turned off automatically. There was no longer sound coming out from the wind against my bedroom’s window. I heard only my breath and my hubby’s breath. I was grateful, thankful for his existence.

I know that nothing will last forever. One day, each of us will leave this world forever. But instead of worrying too much over something that hasn’t happened yet, I’d better focus my mind into the present moment to treasure and cherish the current existence. Many of us take everything surround us for granted and regret it later when we lose them. I just want to make sure that I am in the right path cherishing whatever exists surround me now so that I will never ever have to regret when I lose them in the future.

This time, I was able to sleep until my alarm clock rang at 7am. My mind was clear but my body was a bit tired for not having enough sleep. Perhaps I may need short power nap later on, which will energize my body and mind back from the tiredness. One more working day to go and it’s weekend again!

Time flies dear. Without we realize, it’s already mid-June now. Do what you want to do now while you can, before it’s too late. Even a simple word of ‘I love you’, or ‘I miss you’, say it to the person you intend it too before they’re gone. Give only love and forgiveness, to everyone, including those who ever wronged or betrayed you, or perhaps the one you ever wronged and betrayed.

Let's get the good ol' habits return! :)

After coming back from Australia, I caught flu, severe cough and sore throat. That was due to having too many activities and less resting time. Every day I had to wake up early and sleep very late. I didn’t want to waste my previous traveling time by sleeping too much. Hehe.. There was no diet or whatsoever too. We ate, ate and ate all the time, trying what was nice and ended our day with wine, cheese and sometimes dessert. Yalama kheno! My weight had increased by 2 kg!!!

The first thing I noticed when coming back was that my office wear became very tight. Kekeke… My two cheeks looked swollen too! Even my yoga teacher noticed that the first time she saw me after I returned. I’d skipped many yoga classes as I wasn’t fit for the breathing and normal yoga class. The recent hot and humid weather in Singapore made me lazy to go out of the house too! Even at night time, I felt suffocated. If not, rain would occupy the sky.

I ended up going back home, having my dinner, taking a bath, and then lazing around my bed, reading my books until sleeping time arrived. This had become the unhealthy habits for me which went on for weeks. But the cough didn’t allow me to do other activities. It even made me having breathing difficulty.

Many times I thought of visiting doctor to ask for medicines but I kept telling myself that I would be fine very soon. I would get better soon. What I needed was not medicine, but the positive thinking that I would be able to get over all this very very soon. It needed persistence and determination though.

Other than the positive mind, I had to do something else too, which was getting my good ol’ habits back. Well, if you asked me to wake up at 5am to do cycling, perhaps I was still quite reluctant doing it. So, instead of waking up early, I did the cycling at night, after my dinner. I got my cycling habit back only recently. And after that, I would make a cup of fresh apple juice to replace all the energy burn and add some vitamin C back to my body, and in the long run, who knew that the natural antioxidant would help me to slow down the aging process (just like kill two birds with one stone) kekeke… :P

Cycling at night :)

I felt so good after each cycling session. I was able to sweat all the toxic out of my body. It was tired in the beginning, but I just needed to get used to it and I would be fine. At the same time, it helped me to distress too: cleared my worry of the upcoming project at the office and thought of the present moment on what was existing surrounded me. In just short two months many things had changed and we needed to accept and adapt into it.

This morning, I’ve felt much better. I can breathe better now. I've been shopping fruits too recently. It's a season for many fruits these days such as: mango, blueberry, lychee, strawberry, and so on. The mangoes are so sweet and delicious!

Nyummy mango!!! :)

Oh ya, I’ve tried to reduce caffeine too. Usually I took a cup of coffee every morning before starting my work. But since I coughed, I took honey with lemon at least twice daily to soothe my sore throat. Until one day I was thinking, why didn’t I cut my caffeine and took the honey lemon in the morning instead?

Honey lemon drink (Pic source: Google.com)

I read in internet that drinking honey lemon in the morning would give you lots of benefits, such as: improves the digestion, relieves constipation, has antibacterial and antioxidant properties that boosts the immune system, promotes healthy skin and hair, and most importantly, it has a capacity to help in reducing belly fat and obesity, which means can help you to lose weight! Ahem… ahem… ladies and gentlemen, you can start doing this too! Easy enough to do, isn’t it? Hehehe…. :)

After getting all these good ol’ habits back, it makes me feeling much better now, not only physically but also mentally. I still have my reading book habit on hand (by reading it inside MRT and during lunch time) so I still have time to do things that I love doing. So, after reading this, will you start your own good habits soon? :)

Punggol Jetty updates :)

It's been quite some time since I last cycled to Punggol Jetty area. The last time I went there, the road for cycling was closed as they were going to build it on asphalt. Now it's all done.

Smooth cycling road to Punggol Jetty

See the photo above? The road is smooth now from Sunrise Bridge all the way to Punggol Jetty there.

The Punggol Settlement

Not only that. There is a place called Punggol Settlement that houses Punggol Seafood, House of Seafood, 24hr-store 7eleven, and bicycle rental kiosk called Jomando.

Jomando bike rental at Punggol Jetty

It rents not only bicycle but also scooter pedal that comes in various sizes. Before renting it, you are allowed to try it first.

There are more and more people visiting the Jetty area. Families, couple, friends or even single visitor go there for cycling, for a walk, for dating, or even just for sitting down and enjoying sunset.

Fishing at Punggol Jetty

Here is also the best place for fishing. There are more people spending their time fishing over here. It is one way of releasing stress :) Other than getting enjoyment from fishing, they are also getting a great sunset view from there!!!

Sunset of the day :)

The above was taken just this evening. I love the reddish color of the cloud. Hopefully the weather is good every weekend so that I can enjoy it again and again! So, hope your weekend is as fabulous as mine or maybe even much better ;) Enjoy!

Aussie trip day 5 – 14th May 2014 – Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Vineyards , and Launceston

View of Lake St Clair from our balcony :)

My friends and I woke up early in the morning and got ourselves ready. We could feel the crisp and chilly morning air permeated through our bare face and skin as we opened our balcony door. Our cabin was located among the trees inside the forest. The lake’s morning view was exquisite, tranquil and serene. I wished we could all stay there longer and enjoyed that splendor moment.

We prepared and had a quick breakfast. There were Indomie mee goreng (Indonesia instant fried noodle), fried rice (from last night leftover rice) plus leftover soup with a sprig of chopped parsley and spring onion. Not forgetting tea and coffee as a morning boost to start our beautiful day! :)

Love the scenery so much! :)

We left the place at 9.30am. SJ had to drive back all the way and headed to the north part of the island, to the second largest city in Tasmania, Launceston. And at the western part of it there were many places that we could visit.

In a park with cute animal-cut plants :)

It was such quite a long journey. We stopped few times to fill the petrol up, buy some snacks, and take a short break near a small park. We passed by the same petrol kiosk as the day before, and this time, we bought more variety of snacks. I was curious with the taste of the deep-fried dim sum that they served. It turned out to be so oily and tasted far much worse than what we usually had in Asia. Well, what could you expect? At least I tried :D

We drove passing by a small town that looked more like a fairy tale kind of place people always drew on the book. We also enjoyed the view of the beautiful blue and white sky above us. I’d never get bored with the view at all!

We passed by the same few animals range again and again, but they were still looked so lovely for me. They were busy eating grasses all the time and never ever felt bothered by us.

After 4-hour journey, we finally reached our first destination, which was Bridestowe Lavender Estate, at Nabowla. Yes, it was lavender gardens. However, it wasn’t the right time if you expected to see the purple color field. It was brown and greenish when we visited it. (The flowering time would fall in December and January).

Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Tasmania

We knew about this before arriving there. However, we still visited the place as they also had a gift shop and Woodcroft Café, where we could enjoy and try the unique taste of lavender inspired food and beverages. Although the flowers weren’t there, the garden had already looked so beautiful!

We visited the gift shop, buying their famous pure 100% lavender oil, which had many functions such as: to heal mild acne, dermatitis, eczema and some minor burn; to sooth discomfort of bites, stings, and minor burns; to function as a fragrance by applying few drop to pulse points or mix with fabric; to relax and relieve symptoms of headache, stress, sleeplessness or tension; and even to be part of the flavoring ingredients on your plate.

The pure lavender was quite expensive though. The medium bottle of 15 ml cost A$23.95. I bought only one bottle for my own use as my hubby loved the lavender smell. My friends bought many to be given as gifts, also for their own use. The shop sold many other things as well.

Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Tasmania

Once done with our shopping we sat down relaxingly facing the lavender garden from inside the Café and tasted two kinds of Lavender tea plus a slice of delicious chocolate cake. Hmmm… nyummy… Not used to with the taste of the tea though. It’s a little bit like drinking the lavender oil hehehe… We tried their purple color lavender ice cream too! That was delectable! I liked it so much! Once we were done, we continued our journey.

Next, we visited the vineyards. There were lots of vineyards in that area. We chose few nearest ones as our time was limited, only an hour to go. Many vineyards closed at 5pm. However, the distance from one place to another was quite far. We even lost our ways due to the limited direction from the GPS and we ended up visiting the vineyard that wasn’t in our list. It was called Delamere Vineyard. We tasted few types of wines there and my friend bought one bottle back. We just stayed a while because SJ said that we could try to visit another vineyard nearby and we had been left with just few minutes before closing.

Pipers Brook Vineyard, Tasmania

We managed to visit the Piper Brook Vineyard. It was big! Their wines were quite famous and had many varieties. We tasted some but I didn’t buy any as I didn’t find what I liked. We had to leave in just few minutes as they're going to close soon.

Beautiful sunset in Tasmania, Australia

Our missions were finally accomplished. We could enjoy the rest of our time slowly and peacefully. We saw the sunset from the vineyard and enjoyed their picturesque view. Not long after the sun set, the bright moon was coming up in front of us. Oh my…. We stopped for a while and tried to capture its beautiful image but too bad our cameras were unable to capture it as beautiful as it was in real. We ended up sticking our eyes to the moon all the way from inside the car.

Moonlight in Tasmania

By the time we reached Launceston city, the sky had already turned into dark. SJ recommended us to have dinner at Jailhouse Grill Steak House. Here, the restaurant was decorated like a jail. They sold the souvenir like handcuff, keychain, etc. We ordered beef steaks or rib as main course, while the salad and hot side dishes were free, all you can eat buffet! Yayyy!!!

Jailhouse Grill Steak House, Launceston

That would be our last night being together in Tasmania. All of us were hungry and tired. We took the salad for few rounds before consumed our main dish. We ate quietly and didn’t chit chat loudly like usual. Once dinner had over, we went straightly to our next accommodation, Fiona Bed and Breakfast :)

We were given two separate places. One with one queen size bedroom in it, and another one was an apartment like with two bedrooms at the second floor and a single bed on the first floor amongst the kitchen and living room. At first I thought I could sleep alone in the other bedroom. But, I couldn’t find the portable heater there. Therefore, I slept with Aileen in one room while SJ sacrificed herself to sleep in a single bedroom at first floor, where there was a heater that could warm up the whole area.

Fiona Bed and Breakfast - Launceston

After refreshing ourselves up, we met again in the living room finishing up our last bottle of wine and cheese. We drank, nibble, and chit chatted. Celipu told us, “It’s my first time staying at the Bed and Breakfast. Is that meant that tomorrow morning I will have my breakfast served on my bed?” We were all looking at each other and laughed, “No la… It means, they provide breakfast and bedroom. Not that they will serve you breakfast on your bed. Where did you hear it from?” She said, her aunt once told her about it. That’s why she was very exciting when knowing that SJ would book the Bed and Breakfast. Kekeke….

Our last night wine and cheese session in Tasmania

So, there would be our last night being together. Next morning, we would go in separate ways. I would fly to Melbourne, while four of them would fly back to Sydney.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful journey that we all had together. I enjoyed it very very much and let’s see if we can have another trip like this in near future. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! :)

Happy 12th Wedding Anniversary! :)

I still remember twelve years ago, we were holding our wedding banquet dinner at the local Chinese restaurant serving Cantonese food, called Fatty Weng, which was located nearby Singapore Badminton Hall. It was a very decent and modest place. Even the location brought many question marks on why we held it there.

We were both very young in early twenties, didn’t earn much and had low expectation on how to celebrate the grandest day of our life. My hubby followed much on his cousin’s advice who got married earlier than him by a year. He respected him very much and found his opinions and suggestions practical and so much realistic.

Our wedding photo wearing Chinese wedding attire :)

His cousin, AK, said, “How often you open your wedding photo album and have a look? Therefore, you don’t have to spend so much on it. Better use the money for other necessity required after getting married.”

We really didn’t spend much luxury on both compared with what other couple spent on their weddings.

Nowadays, people took their wedding photo overseas, not Johor Bahru in Malaysia, but anywhere around the globe such as: Europe, USA, Taiwan, Australia, etc. They held their wedding dinner at the five-star hotel ballroom, in which one table for 10 on average could cost S$1288++ during weekend.

Fyi, there was a case where a Singaporean couple spent S$110,000 on their wedding and they ended up having a very heavy debt to settle. It’s said that their bridal cost S$12,000 consisting 999 fresh tulips from Holland and a wedding banquet of 45 tables at the Marina Bay area (six-star hotel), which cost S$1,688++ per table.

We rented our wedding clothes and took our wedding photo at the same bridal shop that his cousin took, and we also hired the same restaurant as him, inviting our families, relatives, dear friends and colleagues, sharing and witnessing our happiness for being together by serving them a humble dinner. The food was very nice though, only that the place itself was a very typical Chinese restaurant, decorated in red and white with stage in front, and not so fancy for a young couple like us, much more traditional way though he-he...

My family members from both parents’ side were there. Most of them flew purposely from overseas to attend my wedding, including my late grandmother. My hubby’s families and relatives, buddies and their families, also attended it. Not forgetting some of my college’s mates who were in Singapore, my then Bosses and colleagues, and especially my dear buddies (including Celipu and her hubby plus Aileen), they were all there sharing my happiness together. Thank you everyone for coming and giving your support! Especially to my parents who had been supporting me with every single thing! I appreciated it very much! Since, you know, I was a foreigner living in a foreign land. So, your presence meant a lot for me. Thank you, thank you, and thank you everyone!!!

This restaurant had been there for many years since 1967. I didn’t know much about it as I didn’t grow up in Singapore. However, it seemed that many couple had celebrated their wedding dinner there. It’s just so sad that we couldn’t find it anymore. It’s been closed down. Saw it online that they have moved to Smith Street in Chinatown.

Therefore, tonight, instead of having our ritual Anniversary celebration at Jack’s Place Restaurant, I requested my hubby to have dinner at the shifted Fatty Weng Restaurant in Chinatown. We couldn’t feel nostalgic though since the place was completely different. But no matter what, I still could recall what happened that night. That was the happiest and the prettiest day of my life :)

Anniversary dinner at Fatty Weng Restaurant :)

Happy Anniversary dear! Thank you for your endless love that you gave to me. Hope to celebrate many more years together and grow old with you. You are and always be my true love!!! ^^