Love in Nature

One thing I love to do with hubs is to explore the nature together. Quality time when we can enjoy the feeling of quiet bonding as we walked through the lush vegetation marveled at the wonders of nature. Sometimes we will talk what's life will be like in 3-5 years times, sometimes we will talk about the daily mad rush, if not we will just enjoy the silence and accompany.

GKGW

Serving in sunday school seemed to be preparing me for parenthood. Last weekend, I attended the GKGW ( Growing.Kids.God. Way) workshop for the minstry workers and was totally thrown off the chair after hearing what the speaker had shared with us. At different parts of the workshop, i felt my values and principles of raising a kid different from what the underlying principals of the parenting strategm,something that kept me reflecting and wrestling within myself throughout the session. After the session, I couldn't contain and call my hubs and said," I can't be the disciplinarian!You have to be one.If not, i think i will end up crying in the room after i cane our child." :)

This weekend, a parenting course is opened for couples who are preparing to conceive. Great timing. Hubs and I thought it would be a good idea to sign up to gather some thoughts on our parenting style and ways to raise the kids in god's way. We did. Paid $25 and the saturdays afternoon in 2010 were booked.

Look pretty scary now as I see how calendar in Jan 2010 are filling up really fast!

Family cycles at ECP

SO during the Haji weekend, I had a great time hanging out with my daddy and brother at East Coast Park.We started the day off with dim sum at Tung Lok East Coast with my in-laws.Much to my dismay, it wasn't fantastic and everyone wasn't really enjoying it.I don't think we will go back again as I think there are better tim sum places around.

HOwever, things got better as we hit off the roads with the bikes.The purpose of this gathering was to engage my dad and in-laws to a more active lifestyle. In-laws were not really keen ( blame my husband for not giving them enough encouragement:P)so they went off after a short while of lingering in the park.Dad on the contrary was pretty fun-loving. My eyes litted up when I saw both my brother and him having silly fun over the tandem bike. What an adorable sight looking at two big men on the bike weaving through the ECP crowd. My dad's smiles and refreshing look made me happy.It had been a long time since he had such relaxing fun from his work. I hope he would get to do more of these in the future with us.Besides that, my niece and nephew joined us as well. It was nice having a bonding time with my niece as we cycled alongside each other and chatted. I love such times together with my family.

This weekend, hubs decided to organize another similar event for his family.So we took leave on Friday. His sisters, nephew and nieces were all there. We took a leisure ride along the coast as well. His nieces ought to come out more for outdoor play. They were so cautious and frightened on a four wheeled bike!!! Fortunately after much encouragement, they began to be more confident and adventurous. In laws managed to cycle for like a few minutes and gave up on the tandem bike.The day ended with a good spread of hawker food at the East Coast Seafood centre. The kids were tired but mentioned to the parents that they had great fun. I just saw their facebook message that they had fun.

Outdoor play and fresh air are always good for everyone!

First 10km

Finally, managed to finish one run for this year. My first 10km run without much training :) Signed on the race with the intention of spurring myself to run more in the midst of hectic work schedule but it did not really worked out that well.:) Seemed like I really need to commit to a class now.

Finished the race in 1h 25 minutes with only one stop at 7.5km for a water break and a final sprint at the end of the finishing run. Little pat for myself on the back as the pacing and mental strength were much better than what I had expected. As most people had mentioned to me, it definitely made a difference when you are running with 14000 woman for a cause. I love the whole idea of a woman's run. My adrenaline was pumping and I felt a sense of accomplishment when I made it to the finishing line.

Coussy and I definitely wanted to do it another time. Not for the goodie bags anymore but simply because of getting ourselves into this healthy exercise and routine.A few more 10km before we went on to a half marathon.Hubs rolled his eyes when he heard this. I shall prove him wrong.:P

Flea Market

It was a good catching up with Susie at Dempsey this afternoon. I didn"t even feel like it was a Sunday! She drove ( first time i sat in her car!) and picked me up from Railway Mall and off we went to have a girl's out without the boys. Had a heavy lunch at Dome Cafe and thereafter we headed to the FLEA MARKET . Gosh, both of us couldn't resist the temptation. There were too many good buys ( shoes, bags ,dresses) all ranging from $5-$10 dollars!We were trying very hard to curb our expenditure. In the end both of us still succumb and bought something for ourselves. We were in the clouds coz you couldn't believe how cheap they were.All brand new !

Macritchie

Long weekends are always looked forward to,especially when you really felt like you needed a break after a long week at work. On Friday, I woke up to a healthy morning with hubs at the Macritchie Reservoir. Ran together for a good 3.2 km before I stopped and panted profusely.( wonder if i am going to make it for my 10km run in November..)

It must had been a long time since i ran in MacritChie. Nostalgic memories came back to me as I ran around the reservoir. Those were the days when I came here for my JC cross country and track and field. Hubs was eagerly showing me the places where he did his dragonboat training and sharing stories of how his instructor would motivate the team to do 400 push ups,circuit training and then rowing the boat.We even went and found the little shed where his canoes were kept. Alas, it was still there with a little imprint "ACJC" on the door. Hubs felt so elated that he found it and was grinning like a little boy.

There are so many beautiful changes to the park. As hubs and I were walking down the little stairs, marvelling at the wonders of nature, he whispered to my ears " If I had known you during the canoing days, I would have woo you..." Oh, how sweet are those words that instantly brightened up my day in a picturesque place. I smiled back at him and asked him to stop lying.:)

I wanted to come back here again more often though it was far from our place. The place is so perfect for running. Cooling, new toilets, sprinklers for bathing and the little remenants of old, colonial Singapore in the 1950s. Those beautiful benches which would make you wonder if your dad and mum ever come here to date...