Bread challenge!

My sister challenged me to make bread.  I finally accepted the challenge, after pulling out the Le Creuset (thanks sis for that).  Although she uses the Sullivan Street Bakery recipe I have had good success with this one from the Artisan's Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book.  It took a bit longer than I expected (I sort of glossed over the 2nd rise bit) - so I started around 6 (on a school night) and was done near to 11.    Silly me, I had the gestational diabetes test the next morning and had to start fasting at 10PM.  Matt came home late but stayed up to have a slice.  I had some the next morning and it was bloody GOOD.  It lasted for a week because we double bagged the increasingly smaller (oxymoron?) loaf in the freezer. 

Next time I would try to put the 2nd rise in a more cylindrical container so it looks like a boule instead of a big calzone.  But that dutch oven trick - that is the stuff to make the bread all crusty and delish!

Will be making again soon :).

Exciting week 28 - sort of

Apparently I spoke too soon about it being boring.  I had some excitement this week thanks to some gastrointestinal issues that landed me square on my back (oops!  I mean my side) for 3 days last week.  3 doctor visits later I am finally better, thanks to some good bacteria pills and some Augmentin, an antibiotic I was so reticent to take but was convinced by my baby doc was safe.  But what about the reports on-line that it could stain my unborn child's teeth?  Blah, save that for the next doctor's visit.  I have the pleasure of going to see him more often (every 3 weeks now) - which I don't mind because he is a rad doctor.  I don't think I could be in better hands.

Today we also started a childbirthing class - which we were late for.  Matt was one of 3 western men and everyone else was Chinese.  I am not totally enamored by the class so far - our lecturer is nice but a little rambly and after a long week of work (including this morning) we were not of our most alert.  Also I think that her ulterior motive was a PSA to get all the moms to be patient with the confinement leave - basically the month after the baby is born where Chinese mothers (the mothers-to-be mothers) take care of their daughters while cooking them special lactating food, providing herbs for special baths to help expedite getting healthier, etc.  She did make a good point that I could relate to - Chinese mothers are not so good at articulating their love so they show it demonstratively by cooking and taking care.  Just a very Asian way of showing love.

The baby is moving everyday.  Had a disagreement with Matt last night and wow was she not happy about it!  The most active I have felt her yet.

Babymoon - Dec 24-27

Matt and I went on a Babymoon to Penang, Malaysia.  We have not been to Penang and perhaps there was some resistance about going on a babymoon but I knew if we hung around Singapore Matt would be working the whole time so I intervened.  I thought Penang would be a nice mix of beach and culture and everyone says how good the food is there. It was nice to get away.  We stayed at the Shangri La Rasa Sayang Resort, the old grand dame of Ferringhi Beach. 

Remarkably well preserved - the Shangri La Rasa Sayang.

The hotel was lovely and geared towards families - among the sprawling mega resorts that we have stayed at in beaches across Asia. 

The view from our room

The room, service, and food was good - though the place really is meant for well-heeled parents with rugrats in tow versus (short term) DINKS like us.  We had a Christmas lunch buffet in our shorts.  I was hoping they would spike the desserts with rum or port but was disappointed with the kid friendly fare (though it was very pretty).  I had iced kachang for the first time (sort of a DIY sweet ice slushie thing) but elected not to have the requisite corn and kidney beans.  For a change Matt was the one eaten alive by the mosquitoes.

Matt, imitating Edward Norton post mosquito bite.

We didn't exactly eat a lot of the local fare (Matt had some Japanese BBQ meat and I had a kebab at the local hawker stand).  The place was busy over Christmas, and traffic was atrocious.  It was bumper to bumper virtually every time we left the hotel.  We made it to Georgetown for a few hours, walked around a bit and thought we were again in Macau with the Colonial buildings left in various states of disrepair. 

Sort of belly shot.

 

If you look closely - you can see us.

I eventually found a banana pancake stand run by a smiley guy with no teeth and then met a lovely rickshaw driver who gave us a "pedal by" of some of the sights of Georgetown.  This was the highlight of our trip - meeting some of the locals who worked hard and with humility to earn an honest ringgit in the mature tourism economy that inhabits Penang.

Nice rickshaw guy.

Our last night we ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe down the beach from our hotel.  Matt wanted a pulled pork sandwich and we realized that there was no pork to be had on the entire island!  Blah.

Penang served our purpose - we slept, we ate well, we left our little corner of Singapore for a weekend to reflect on the fact that weekends away like this will never be easy again.  We landed back in Singapore on Sunday afternoon and fell in love again with our American imported bed for a well-deserved nap.

Blissfully nice to be back home.

Pour some sugar on me!

Went to the doc this morning and took the glucose test for gestational diabetes.  I made this awesome loaf of bread last night because I am a glutton for punishment and I couldn't eat it once it was fresh out of the oven because I was within my fasting window.  Dumb dumb....

Anyway, I didn't drink or eat anything since 10PM yesterday.  I got to the doc around 9 and then peed and got pricked for blood.  At this point I was praying that this test would go well because the idea of pricking myself on a regular basis is gruesome to me.

I drank syrupy sugary glucose drink which looked like what you attach to the soda water spigot to make Orange Fanta.  It was not wholly unpleasant.

More pee and pricking an hour later and more pee and pricking an hour after that.  I caught up on some Poisonwood Bible and American Vogue.  I spoke with a lovely British midwife.  I got a veggie French bread pizza at 11 when all of the tests were over.

 I am diabetes free!  Yay!  I still have to curtail my sugar for my health but it is my vice of choice.  Blah.

I put on 3kg over the last 4 weeks which is total and utter craziness (and I partially credit Christmas).  Kumquat is 882g which is shy of 2 pounds.  I guess saying that I am eating for 2 is a bit misleading, though I luckily didn't get a flogging from the doctor.

We did our first 4D scan today which was cool (I wonder what the 4th dimension is.  Time?  Smell?).  You can make out the chubster cheeks on Kumquat which are so darn cute.  Both mom and dad had chubster cheeks at birth, which mom is still trying to get rid of and dad got rid of 36 hours after delivery.  Kumquat hides her face with her hand though.  Modest or shy?  I think mom and dad are both shy too!  Maybe the 4D wand is too bright.

Need to figure out how to upload the 4D video (where I am convinced she is punching herself in the face).  In the meantime here is the token decent ultrasound picture from today. 

 

Still kind of alienesque - but check out that belly!

 

Here is a screenshot from the 4D.  Maybe we woke her up?  Check out that cheek definition... :)

The boring middle

This is where I am in the pregnancy - the boring middle.  I suppose I should be thankful for having a boring middle trimester.  Sometimes I forget I am even pregnant and think I can fool people that I am not.  Last night I came back from Hong Kong - my last trip prior to Kumquat's arrival.  As Matt and I were walking away from checking in the agent ran after me to ask if I was pregnant.  I said yes and produced my doctor note.  After some scuffling and exchanges in Cantonese back at the check-in counter, I showed my Singapore ID (showing that I live there) and they let me go.  Not entirely sure what the process was supposed to be.  I am sad I am so obviously pregnant now.  On the flight I remembered to do these (half hearted) calisthenics every hour or so to keep the circulation going. 

In other body related news, I think my hair is falling out less which pleases me.  I also see I have doubled my gray hairs recently which does not please me one bit. 

As per Jaime, I have fallen onto the baby technology upgrade train.  For me it has been the Canon PowerShot S90 and the Flip Ultra HD.  Matt and I have a bit of a role reversal with techno gear - I am all about it and Matt could pretty much care less.  He balks because I have an SLR yet need another camera (more travel friendly).  Plus it takes me ages to set up a shot because I am anti-flash.  But I think if you have a kid shouldn't you try to take the best pictures of her/him?  I think the sis thought I was a lunatic for espousing the SLR merits but she loves hers now (and takes brilliant photos of my niece with it). 

I am taking the glucose test for gestational diabetes on Wednesday and am a bit nervous, as 2 friends in LA (both Chinese coincidentally with American husbands) have been diagnosed.  YIKES!  Hate to say it, but am getting my sugar in now....

Funny English

I have been in Asia for a long time (6 years this month - YIKES!) that my grammar has gone to hell and I seldom bat an eyelash when I see funny English. I think that funny English is not as common in Singapore than in Hong Kong / Macau. So one of my work colleagues got this Christmas gift basket and I saw these and I had to take some photos.

More of a funny Asianism than funny English.  The text is a bit hard to read but this says "Assorted Fuit Candy - Apple, Coconut, Lychee, CORNS, Almond, Pineapple, Honeydew & more."  Although I am Asian I would never confuse corn with a fruit.  That being said, I did try corn ice cream at the Grand Hyatt recently and it was delish.  Call me an accidental Asian.

This one says "Puffed Peanuts - peanuts coated with sweet golden clothes."  And to think, all this time silly me has been eating peanuts in the emperor's new clothes!

Ok, it was funny to me at the time.

Happy New Year

Our friends S&J just had their baby a day before it was due. They did it the old fashioned way and didn't find out the sex until the baby (Moochie) was born. It was a he - his name is Oliver and he has a full head of wondrous hair. I am very excited for them. He has a palindrome birthdate which totally rules - 01.02.2010 (assuming if you write the date the American way). He is lovely and miraculous.

Pregnancy for the most part has been uneventful these days. Today is day 1 (again) of being off of sweets, which absolutely blows since I made a killer Bonoffee pie with homemade dulce de leche yesterday. I am getting sun spots on my face - I think some ramification due to a hormonal imbalance - I even got a 'whitening' facial (I know, I know, I am a sellout for having such a strong adverse opinion of these even 4 years ago) but I am still spotted. I am doing better sleeping on my side but am getting charley horses on both my legs when I sleep. Min tells me to drink tonic water but that is kinda going against my whole no-sweets thing. My sleeping is kinda going to hell - up every couple of hours to pee or to right myself from falling asleep on my back. Thankfully my breasts are getting bigger but I just think all of my upper torso is getting a bit... thicker, so it is not an isolated incident in the breasty region unfortunately. There are times when I am standing for a while and my belly aches and is distended. I am feeling the baby - not as roundhouse kicks per se but more like hiccups as I fall to sleep (which causes quite a discussion with Matt as he thinks that babies in the womb cannot get hiccups, though my handy literature [aka 'What to Expect When You Are Expecting] strongly disagrees).

My navel is beginning to hurt.

I am jogging 3X a week and lifting weights twice (more or less) which is good for me.