lately

mac and i enrolled in standard chartered‘s half marathon race yesterday. i really don’t know what gave me the guts to do so. i guess i really needed some push recently and i also wanted that challenge for my big 40th birthday next year. anyhow, i haven’t been running since may (i blame the hot weather) and i honestly need to start training for the 21-km race.

it’s one of those days that i really miss the kids while at work. heather has changed to the pm class due to the school bus issue and every morning she cries and begs me to stay home with her. i know this stage will pass – it probably will pass very soon too – and that’s why i so badly wanted to be with her at this moment, while she still needs me. rafael used to cry too but he has already succumbed to the reality for quite a while. oh how i wish i can travel back in time.

don’t worry, i’ll soon get a grip on myself.  i have this put up in my office cubicle:

“life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

yeah, i’ll learn to dance, or maybe i should even learn to run in the rain.

THE parenting advice

just came across this and it made me laugh.

when you have a child, even strangers on the street want to offer you some parenting advice, and you’re forever challenged (or self-challenged) on whether you’re doing what’s good for your kid.

CTFD. i think it’s THE parenting advice of the century. : )

birthdays

i just had my last 3x birthday. we happened to be in thailand this year and i spent the whole day dipping in and plunging (i had my first experience in jumping off a low cliff!) into the pool with mac and the kids. it was a great day for me.

i had been thinking about the approach of the 40th birthday for a few years. it still feels a bit daunting to go on the next age group but i have decided to welcome it with pride. my girlfriends and i have been plannning to go on a girls’ trip to celebrate our big year and i really hope we can make it despite family and work commitments. i tried my first 10km race when i turned 30 and i’m hoping to challenge myself on the 40th too. a half marathon seems a bit too much… hmm, maybe i’ll challenge myself to return my weight of 9x pounds when i was pre-30. haha, that would be really nice!

mac is not the celebration kind of guy but he actually booked a nice restaurant in pattaya on my birthday night more than one month ahead. it was really sweet of him.

i was the lazy one who didn’t prepare anything for mac’s birthday yesterday. hope to do better next year! : )

mother and wife

it was my 7th year celebrating mother’s day as a mother last sunday. coincidentally, it was also our 7th wedding anniversary. (in case anyone is wondering and doing calculations, rafael was born in feb 2007, 9 months after our wedding.)

i know this is really cliche, but i have to say, i just can’t believe how time flies and i have become a mother for more than 6 years.

6 years down and i am still learning to strike a good balance between being a mother and a wife (and a daughter and daughter-in-law etc). don’t you think somehow there’s a contradiction in these roles? it’s not rare that all three of them in the house are asking for my attention at the same time. mac might want a cuddle (yes he’s sweet sometimes) while the other two kids doing different activities both want my company. i really should say it’s both an honour and a blessing to be wanted by three people at once, but you know, at times when all of them three are grumbling, you just want to walk away to keep yourself sane.

and i have to admit that, having kids can lead to more argument (though more laughter at the same time). parenting styles, way of speaking to kids, grandparents’ intervention etc can all ignite arguments and negative feelings.

anyways. i hope i won’t forget that i’m a wife too while sometimes being overwhelmed by my motherly role. and i hope we will both remember where it all started, that we built this family together because we love each other.

looking forward to celebrating more mother’s days and anniversaries with you my dearest buddies and love. : )

i was totally surprised on sunday morning when one of my buddy/love made this mother’s day breakfast for me.

small businesses

it is so sad that small businesses and family-run restaurants, particularly stores that had survived for tens of years were shut down one by one because of the soaring rent. will there be one day that lonely planet doesn’t need to have a section for food recommendations for different districts in hong kong, because just a two-pager listing all the names of the chains will already do?

when we travel to another place, we often want to sample the culture there through its food and historic restaurants, cafes, or even food stalls. i wonder, how much of our culture is left? or has our culture actually changed, before we know, even if we don’t want to admit. maybe this is what evolution is about.

one of my new year resolutions is to frequent more small businesses. so far i have been doing quite well on meals. it is quite a blessing there are still a few non-chain choices in admiralty where i work, really need to treasure them. i had to admit, one of the biggest temptation for me is mcdonalds, where there’s one just one block away from my office. “i’m lovin’ it” for the food (my favourite is filet-o-fish!), the price and the childhood memories. i’ve done without it so far this month. maybe i’ll treat myself one next month (who on earth will treat herself with a mcdonald’s meal?!). : )

jogging and reading

this is the first time i heard about the term difficult pleasure.

thanks to mac, i jogged four days in a row this week (after a sluggish long break from nov and dec). it indeed makes one feel good after doing some exercise. and if i’m lucky, i even get to enjoy beautiful sunrise like this.

and recently i’ve started something new when jogging. i found this audible website where i can download audio books and got a free copy of jane eyre as a trial. it worked – i finished 4 and a half chapters in 2 days from jogging about 45 minutes each day. you wouldn’t be able to ponder on a particular phrase like when you read, but it is a convenient way to read more. and do you know that if you also get the kindle book (many classics have free kindle versions), you can switch between listening and reading whenever you wish? i haven’t tried but it sounds quite a handy feature. many classics seem to have cheap audible audio edition. i’ve hardly read any classic books so i’m hoping i can “read” some using this bonus time, that is if i can continue to get out of my bed early.

and more about reading. i’m eyeing on the kindle paperwhite. i think i should get it for myself as a valentine’s day (or chinese new year) present, haha. isn’t it convenient that we have excuses to buy something because we have celebrations all year round? : P

speaking about valentine’s day, this is a cute way to express your love to someone. and here‘s an idea for busy parents who can’t afford a decent date.

difference

i’m quite fascinated by this website about the US presidential inauguration that i came across today. a post about the inauguration luncheon’s menu brought me there. do you know that they have all the recipes presented and even got the wines listed? then i began clicking through the other pages. it’s full of information, from the history to the bibles used, and they even explained why january 21 is the date. it’s really interesting. i was just a bit disappointed that they didn’t upload the official photographs there, but it just takes a click or two to find them on the white house website.

i don’t have particular sentiments towards americans, but i find these little personal touches to their government and political figures quite amiable.

then i began thinking what about our leaders? i did a little research. our chief executive’s inauguration was pretty much summed up in a press release of four paragraphs, and we also get to know his full speech. what about the president of PRC? i tried searching quite a while on the official PRC government website and google, i could find his speech in a number of news websites, but otherwise no other information. i finally found something interesting after more research. it’s the inauguration website of the taiwan president. of course the information is much more basic there compared to the US one.

while the scale of the inauguration or nation/place contributes to the difference, i guess mentality is certainly another thing. telling people the menu and recipes? i just don’t think the subject is ever on the mind of some people.

and i wonder, does the difference have anything to do with how the leader was selected? i am waiting to witness the inauguration of our chief executive in 2017.

new year

it seems december was passed in a blink. heather was sick (for twice), there were christmas concerts, holidays, gatherings and a family trip – that’s pretty much all i can remember.

2012 was quite a eventful year, with rafael getting to primary school and heather getting to pre-nursery class. then we sold a flat and bought a new one. oh and we got a new helper too. wow.

when i look back, there’s honestly nothing more i really want to ask for. we have a pretty decent home, we have a (mostly) loving family, both mac and i got a stable job (though i wish i can choose not to have one, ha), and everyone we love are mostly healthy.

if i have to make some goals for the new year, i really wish i can be a better person. eat more veggies and less meat (trying to do 3 veggie breakfast and 3 veggie lunch a week), shop more at small businesses, call mom & dad more etc. it should be great if i can lose 10 pounds too, haha. i’ll work hard on all.

have a great 2013 everyone.

a rough november

it had not been an easy month… starting off with a terrible mistake at work, then heather getting bronchitis, followed by a big event at work… felt like i have used up all my energy and have nothing left for any other stuff. there’s no mood for writing, and i have even given up my regular jogging.

december is quietly here. time to regain my strength to wrap up the year and prepare for the coming one. 

patience

people tend to say that i have a lot of patience. and that’s because they haven’t seen me losing patience at you.

do we all have a patience quota? if we do, i think i probably used up mine on the kids and other people… isn’t it strange sometimes we can treat our most beloved worse than a stranger.

no matter what, just want to let you know that i love you.