Jackie Chan's for Lunch!

These days, as a 'busy mother', my lunch hours are precious. With limited time to spend with Chloe, I don't waste much time browsing aimlessly at the malls on weekends anymore. So I run errands on weekdays. I frequently take the MRT to Raffles City where I can buy baby's stuff at Robinsons, or shop for myself. I also find it extremely therapeutic to shop during lunch, whether or not I actually buy anything - I feel so refreshed after that!

I also love to lunch-in as much as possible, whenever I don't have any appointments. Not only can I avoid the horrible heat out there, I can surf the Internet to catch up on news, read my friends' blogs, or just to have some quiet time by myself. Plus, I have a wonderful sea view from my workstation that no restaurants this part of town offer - what a relaxing way to have a meal!

Beautiful sea view out of my window....

Today as I was going out to pack lunch, someone recommended Jackie Chan's cafe at IP. You know, when the cafe opened some months back, it was eerily quiet for a few weeks because, I guess, the menu was far too expensive for the regular lunch crowd. A sandwich and coffee set cost something like, S$14.90. I think mostly people would prefer tried-and-tested Coffee Bean round the corner, or simply good ol' meesiam for S$2.70? Besides pricing, what else was wrong was the seating. The cafe only had high tables and chairs - not practical for office girls to climb on. Over time, the prices of the menu items started coming down, and the cafe began to introduce more variety of food like noodles, rice, pasta.... And yes, they also put in normal tables and chairs, which is a wise choice because a lot more people patronise the cafe now.

Here's what my lunch set came with.....

I packed a sandwich set which included a bowl of minestrone soup, an open-faced mushroom with melted cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee, just for S$9! The soup was not bad, reasonable amount of ingredients, and the mushroom sandwich was really yummy! I prefer sandwiches to rice for lunch, so this place serves the right type of food for me. I'll visit it more often to support the business lah! [Btw, I just read that the first outlet at Nassim road closed down last month due to poor business!]

Blood Donation

Out of the blue I decided to make a blood donation yesterday as there was a mobile blood donation drive going on at my office. A colleague and friend went with me. My dad, who used to be a regular donor during his younger days has told me that blood donation does good to the body due to the replacement of "new blood". I assumed this would do well for my complexion too. Hee hee.....

Here are some facts I found randomly on the internet:

"We tend to consume more iron on a daily basis than is necessary for good health. Ingestion of quantities of iron beyond a certain quantity can promote formation of free radicals in the body, which causes cellular changes which can disrupt normal cell function and increase the risk of certain chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Blood donation may help in weight control and lowering the blood cholesterol."

The last time I donated blood was close to 20 years ago. I remember that day, in the middle of lecture, a staff member came into the theatre and announced that one of the lecturers was critically ill and needed immediate blood transfusion. He appealed for students with O+ blood to come forward to donate, and a bus was waiting for us outside to ferry us to the now Health Sciences Authority (forgot the old name...). Without thinking I hopped on the bus. Unfortunately, we heard the next day, that the lecturer passed away....

This morning, we were one of the first few donors to arrive. After filling up forms and being questioned and cleared by the doctor, the HSA staff started to stick a big needle and attach a bag to me. I happen to have very good veins in both arms.

The extraction (uh, correct word?) went well. It only took a while, because, I think, my vein was big and blood flowed out quickly. Managed to capture a fun shot of me and my blood. : )

The staff nurse put a colourful bandage for us after the donation. I wore it out for shopping at lunch and some people stared at my funny looking bandage. I kept it on for 2 hours as instructed and removed it after lunch.

At about 5pm, as I was typing away on my laptop, I suddenly felt a cold sensation at the needle-spot. To my horror, blood was oozing out and my inner elbow was covered with fresh blood! I rushed for the first aid kit to look for gauze and bandages. My friend helped me put back the colourful bandage (she did a great job - thanks gal!).

Isn't the bandage cute? It's luminous orange with smiley faces printed....

I think it's a good thing to do, and I will try to donate again when the mobile HSA team comes around. Honestly, it does not hurt much to have the thick needle stuck into my arm. The more scary part is the pricking of my third finger to draw a sample of blood to check for haemoglobin!

My Messy Bundle of Joy

Everyone says having a baby is a good bundle of joy. One would envisage a smiley baby, clothed in cute crisp rompers, smelling of baby powder and ruyi oil, and cradled snugly in your arms, makes little happy squeaks as she shakes the rattler in her little hands.

Alas, my Chloe is far from that peaceful image. She's a rowdy and active one, in crumpled cloths, smelling of sweat mixed with baby shampoo, and boy, she cannot sit still for one minute! She's always up and about, touching this and throwing that, pointing at things that catch her attention, like the birds on the lawn, the lizards hanging on the porch ceiling and the rubbish truck that drives past. She loves pulling my hair and laughing as I grumbled "ouch!". She wouldn't let you watch the TV or read a magazine, as she insists on changing your channel every 2 seconds, and reaches out to crumple your colourful pages of Her World. My dad sometimes sits her on his lap in his car (stationary) at the steering wheel to enjoy the air con. Chloe would get herself busy adjusting the rear mirror, switching on the wind screen wiper and pushing the horn and all the buttons she can reach.

When comparing notes with some mothers, it appears that babies these days are all quite active, unlike babies of my time. My mom said she would just sit me in a chair with a toy and I would remain there quietly for the whole afternoon while she went about her housework.

Lately Chloe learnt to throw her pillows, bolsters and toys out of her colt, and then pointing to the mess on the floor and ask you to pick them up for her, just so she can throw them out again. When I refused to return the pillows, bolsters and toys to her colt, she was left with nothing to play except to peel the bed sheet off the mattress. Can you believe this little baby?!

Nothing else to throw? Hey! There's the bed sheet to play with!

Take it off!

I also caught her doing her stunt in the colt yesterday. Not a usual pose a girl would make - I'm beginning to fear she will grow up to be a tomboy! Oh no!

Chloe doing her stunt in the colt. Picture is not very clear, but you get the idea!

It Finally Happened.....

The inevitable has finally happened between the 25 year old tearing-at-the seams-Bibit, and a quick-as-lightning hyperactive Chloe. Yes, my Chloe tore Bibit at the seam, right in her face above the nose. I'm sure she didn't mean it. Chloe is usually gentle around her cheh-cheh ("big sister" as we've made her call Bibit, in the hope that both can develop sisterly love towards each other and co-exist in peace). The two of them have managed to be on friendly terms, although Bibit has complained that we spend more time with Chloe than with her these days.

The two of them get along fine... pic taken when Chloe was 2 months old.....

Every night at bed time, we make Chloe kiss cheh-cheh and stroke her head before going to sleep. But that fateful night, in the attempt to grab cheh-cheh towards her, Chloe dug her little thumb into Bibit's face, right at the seam where the face is joined to her bonnet. This happened so quickly we had no time to pull Bibit away to safety. The result is a 2-cm wound. The next day, Dr J Neo performed another surgery on Bibit. Poor Bibit..... I'm sorry mommy let mei-mei hurt you! I will be more careful next time!