Friday, January 30, 2015

Month in Recap: A Wholesome Life in January

 
Hello, Friends! Can't you believe it's almost February already? It feels New Year's Eve was just yesterday, and all of sudden a month has already gone by. Where did all the days go?
 
Anyway, you might wonder what's so special about the picture of late afternoon sky with lots of sunshine shared above. You might know that I live in the tropics and sunshine is almost all year round, rite. Well, it IS very special because for the past couple of weeks the days were all grey and gloomy and cloudy and overcast and raining! Just last Friday, I woke up around 3.30 in the wee hour of the morning, and found that the bed next to me was empty. I found Hubby in the next room and asked what he was doing so early in the morning, especially since it was dumping rain outside so bed was the comfiest place right now.  He was like, "Errr, honey, I think you should know that the flood is coming and water has entered our front yard."
 
We went downstairs, opened the front door and found this...
 
 
The neighborhood security team - four of them - was busy building sandbags right in front of our door so the water cannot enter the house, and we were really grateful. The road was heavily flooded so we decided to skip going to the office and just work from home. The strangest thing is, every year for the past three years since Michael was born, there is always one day of heavy flood in January, and it always occured on Friday around 3 am in the morning! Well, perhaps the Lord wanted me and Hubby to have a long weekend at home with our son. Haha!
 
Luckily the electricity and water ran just okay. I always stockpile at least a week's worth of canned food, drinking water, milk, eggs, instant noodles, meat, fruit and vegetables during the rainy season, or pretty much all year round, so we didn't need to worry. Our household needs were pretty much covered. I also keep non food basic staples such as soap, shampoo, feminine pads, baby diapers, laundry detergent, dish soap and man toiletries. I try to keep a minimum inventory of all those items, so I won't need to dash to the grocery store because we run out of soap, for example. If we run out of something non crucial - which almost never happened - we just do without until the next grocery trip. I consider going for unplanned grocery shopping a waste of time and money; hence I always keep the pantry well supplied.
 
It turned out to be a wise thing to do. Around noon, one of the security team sheepishly came over to our house amidst the knee-high flood; and asked if we could lend him some instant noodles because he didn't have anything to eat. Usually the men just buy their ready-to-eat lunch boxes and coffee from street vendors; but because of the flood, no vendor was opened for business that day. I sent him away with two plastic bags full of goodies: coffee, rice, instant noodles, eggs, some bread, strawberry and pineapple spread for the bread, and crackers. They were very grateful that all four of them showed up at our doorstep later on in the afternoon when the water had subsided a little bit, to clean up our garage.
 
One tip if you ever find your family in a situation where it's flooded around the house, but the water still has not entered the house: spread crunched salt right in front of your water sewage holes, bathrooms, doors and windows, so all kinds of animals and insects like snakes, cockroaches, and others will not come inside your house when they run away from the flood.
 
They say that in every cloud there's a silver lining. Despite of the flood, we have many things to be thankful for. Staying home on Friday had its own advantage. I could finish reading this book that I just got, about a drop out high school man, who - with the help of his friends - successfully opened a MacDonald's -like fast food chain with tempe - some kind of soy-based healthy food - as its main food staple. The story is interesting and intriguing, even if not too realistic.
 
 
A day off also gave me additional time to spend with my son. Here he was, insisting to put on baby powder on his own. Of course, he ended up like a little clown, but I let him had his fun. Besides, it's a good practice for motoric skills development.
 
 
He looks very proud of the finish look. Hahaha!
 
 
He also had a lot of fun playing up with Mom's winter hat. Michael doesn't like wearing his own red hat, because it makes him looks "too cute", like a little girl. But he enjoys fooling around with many odds and ends around the house. Here he is, playing around with my hat.
 
 
His various silly poses...
 
 
And his various expressions... Just adorable! It's the highlight of the flood day. Haha!
 
 
 
I also had time to switch my Christmas corner, and turned it into pink and red corner for Valentine and auspicious Chinese New Year celebration, both will fall in mid February. The reds are my cloth dining napkins, and the pink spread is my pink robe that came to match my pink night gown. To support the seasonal festivities, I scattered some objects that have Chinese feel to it like Chinese tea cup set, gold piggybank, and red Chinese "hongapo" envelope, green jade-like figurines, and Chinese porcelain eggs in white and blue; - and pink and objects that come in pair to celebrate the season of love: the Chinese eggs come in pair, also the Mandarin ducks, the pink chicklit book, the pink Hello Kitty thermos, a husband and wife porcelain figurine, even a fuschia Victoria Secret's body spray! Again, you don't need to always buy all kinds of seasonal items to celebrate numerous holidays. Just use creativity and items you already had. It's fun, frugal, and you don't need to waste all that extra space that you'll need if you buy new decorations every year.
 
 
 
While Mommy was getting busy, Daddy was babysitting. ^__^
 
 
See? Michael even had a lot of fun playing hats with a Body Shop gif box that I got for Christmas!
 
 
 
The gloomy weather called for cheerful outfits, so I had been wearing lots of fun colors and accessories for work: pink, mint, and lemon yellow. If you think it's spring colors, remember that I live in the tropics where it's pretty much spring and summer all year round. Haha!
 
 
 
In January, Michael was able to try out his new outfits that friends and relatives gave for his birthday, because we almost always go out during the weekend with him. It was nothing fancy. Just some shoirt excursions to a nearby restaurant, to the mall, etc.
 
One Saturday we took him to a restaurant with very unique decor: the interior is like the inside of a submarine, and the tables are aquariums with fish, lobsters and turtles in them. Real, live ones! Michael had such a good time pointing out to every table and asked with his little voice: "What's this fish, Mommy? Mommy, there is fish! Look, fish over there, too! Fish everywhere!" We arrived at five o'clock to avoid the dinner crowd, so Michael could freely roam about the restaurant and saw every single different aquarium table to his little heart pleases.
 
He wore this new shirt with cute whale prints on it, from Aunt Dina, a coworker of mine.
 
 
 
 
 
Since Michael is two years old now, we thought it's about time to take him to Church with us. The mass schedule is during his dinner time, so we had to play around his schedule a little bit, but it's OK. He's a big boy now. We were worried he would make a fuss at Church, but turned out he behaved much better than I did at his age. Of course, sitting quietly for ninety minutes is not easy for an active toddler, but he bore sweetly. He got bored and asked from time to time: "Mommy, is it over yet?", but overall he behaved really well. His Daddy could not have been prouder.
 
He wore this thick train shirt and long jeans for Church, because it's cold inside the Church. He wore proper shoes, too, instead of his sandals!
 
 
 
 
 
On another weekend, we took him to the mall.
Here he wore his new kangaroo shirt from my mother in law.
 
 
 
We ate pancake for brunch and I let him played with a bread knife, telling him to hold the handle only because "If you touch the other side, it will hurt." It's good to learn to be careful, as long as he's within adult's supervision.
 
 
Michael was having fun looking all round the stores, the people, running around, jumping up and down the escalator with his Daddy, and he refused to go home, telling me that "I don't want to go home just yet, Mommy! I'm not sleepy!"
 
 
Of course, just ten minutes after his earlier protests, he refused to walk on his own, asked his Daddy to carry him up, and fell asleep. Ha! Not sleepy, eh? *giggle*
 
 
At work, a coworker and friend of mine, Fanny, and another ex coworker, Nana, celebrated their birthdays at Angke, a famous Chinese restaurant. We have been friends for over six years now, and we do hope that we will stay friends for many years to come. Funny, the first time we met, all of us were single, then as the years went by, we witnessed each other getting a married, had a child, and be a mom. We shared stories of our pregnancies, our child rearing, our husbands.
 
So thankful that I have this well rounded, wholesome life. God, family, home, friends, work, each and every one of them add a certain and unique color, texture and richness to this patina of life!


Next week to do list:
  • Read Ecclesiates Chapter 1 of the Bible.
  • Hang new picture on the 1st floor nursery.
  • Make and upload new video about Valentine/Chinese New Year frugal decorating to YouTube.
  • Write 1 fashion post.
  • Profit taking from mutual fund investment.
  • Print bank statements.
  • Join multi-level-marketing for High Desert bee products and buy one product for my own health. (I've tried the product out of desperation, and it had worked wonders for my allergy and migraine.)
I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

Monday


Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
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3 comments:

P!nky said...

Those lil kid pictures are so cute!!! love your pink outfit.

Stopping by from the linkup!

February 3, 2015 at 3:15 AM
Jody Lee Collins said...

Thank you for linking up with the Small Wonder Community. Glad you're safe and prepared!

February 4, 2015 at 1:12 AM
a joyful noise said...

Thank you for sharing your flooded week end and excursions with us here at "Tell Me a True Story." You always dress so lovely and in keeping with the season. Your valentine display is awesome!

February 4, 2015 at 5:09 AM

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