"is this the number to call to be a Godfather?"

i got it good from Ben! :S He saw my msn nick and realised i'm preg! I tot he already knew during our msgings while i was in Maldives.. he guessed it but was waiting for me to confirm it :( (btw, every sms to and fro Maldives is $0.72!) BUT.. i promised him he'd be the first to know whether our little one will be peeing standing up or sitting down :P the FIRST! i'll call him the minute we step outta our ob's office.. hehe.

gosh.. i'm so touched.. especially the Godfather part :) It's just different when your friend offers :) Ben is gonna be an awesome Godfather and lovely Val a wonderful Godma. They will guide beanie well spiritually :) Beanie is really fortunate, before he is born, he already has 3 Godfathers and 1 Godma all lined up! hahahha. And oh yes, some things just never change.. Ben knows i'd want a boy! oh gosh.. everyone was surprised when they heard i'd like a boy. But my dear boy totally gets it. If i would have a twin brother, Ben will definitely be him. We've established from young that we're too alike! Only thing is i dun grumble as much as him! wonder how Val can stand him... hah! I'm still waiting for the day he propose to her. Told him he'd better give her a beautiful one.. i'll help him with the diamond ring!

ok i gotta go hunt up some food for beanie.
be back soon for more updates on our little one!

i'm getting a pregnancy present(S)!!!

Detone says (3:45 PM):
not only is pregnancy making your tummy bigger, but your nonsense also increases
Ju says (3:46 PM):
hahahahah
Ju says (3:46 PM):
our beanie is gonna be so smart!
Ju says (3:46 PM):
he will have all his smarts from mummy!
Detone says (3:47 PM):
she that is
Detone says (3:47 PM):
see you're not that smart after all... it's a she
Ju says (3:48 PM):
we wil see who is smarter on 16 feb!
Detone says (3:48 PM):
hehe...
Detone says (3:48 PM):
if it's a girl, i can buy a taylor k?
Ju says (3:48 PM):
wat nonsense
Detone says (3:48 PM):
why you scared ah?
Detone says (3:48 PM):
hehe
Ju says (3:48 PM):
if its a boy then i buy wat??
Detone says (3:49 PM):
if it's a boy... then i buy you a nice baby diaper bag
Ju says (3:49 PM):
how nice is nice??
Detone says (3:49 PM):
nice as in Gucci nice (OMG!)
Detone says (3:49 PM):
hehe
Ju says (3:49 PM):
WHOA!
Ju says (3:49 PM):
ehhhh.... let me think about it
Detone says (3:50 PM):
btw, how much is a gucci bag ah? haha
Ju says (3:50 PM):
hahhahaha
Ju says (3:50 PM):
its US800
Detone says (3:50 PM):
what the............
Ju says (3:50 PM):
you say already!!
Detone says (3:50 PM):
haha... ok
Ju says (3:50 PM):
cannot take back yr words!
Detone says (3:50 PM):
ok set....
Detone says (3:51 PM):
cuz i'm confident it'll be a GIRL!!!
Ju says (3:51 PM):
hahahha
Ju says (3:51 PM):
ok onz!


Ju says (3:56 PM):
but what if i dun want a gucci diaper bag?
Detone says (3:58 PM):
hehe... then you can find one of equivalant value
Ju says (4:08 PM):
but its so ex...
Ju says (4:09 PM):
abit crazy to pay so much for a diaper bag
Detone says (4:09 PM):
hehe... can reuse mah...
Ju says (4:10 PM):
hmmm... see how lah
Ju says (4:10 PM):
if its gal leh
Ju says (4:10 PM):
then i get nothing :(
Detone says (4:11 PM):
hehe.... you'll still get something lah dun worry....
Ju says (4:12 PM):
like wat???
Detone says (4:13 PM):
dunno, it'll be a surprise
Detone says (4:13 PM):
hehe
Ju says (4:14 PM):
aiyah.. then if its a boy and i get the diaper bag, i wouldnt get the surprise??
Detone says (4:18 PM):
you might???
Detone says (4:18 PM):
hehe
Ju says (4:18 PM):
wow!
Ju says (4:18 PM):
ehh okie!
Ju says (4:19 PM):
:D
Ju says (4:19 PM):
u oredi know what the surprise will be??
Detone says (4:21 PM):
well i have something in mind....
Ju says (4:21 PM):
woooooooo! can i guess?!!
Detone says (4:23 PM):
nope
Detone says (4:23 PM):
hehe
Ju says (4:23 PM):
okthen u give me a hint!
Detone says (4:23 PM):
nope
Detone says (4:23 PM):
hehe
Ju says (4:24 PM):
just a teeny weeny one.. please darling......
Detone says (4:25 PM):
ok it's something you can use
Detone says (4:25 PM):
hehe
Ju says (4:25 PM):
i can use?!
Ju says (4:25 PM):
hmmm.. wear or use??
Ju says (4:26 PM):
is it something i need?
Detone says (4:28 PM):
no more clues. hee
Ju says (4:28 PM):
just one more please darling......
Detone says (4:28 PM):
nope
Detone says (4:28 PM):
stop asking
Ju says (4:29 PM):
okie :)


wooohoooo! i'm getting a present AND another surprise present! *skips*dances*
i got the bestest of the bestest hubby in the whole wide world!! *MUAKS*HUGS*
let me go hit the cyberwaves now!
even if i decide not to pick out something that high-end.. i'm still happy!
cos knowing my darling pampers me so dearly, is enough.. more than enough *in bliss* :)

a medley of posts and pics

26 Jan (Mon): the morning my hubby came home from work and cooked me breakfast!

"....for my queen and beanie!" awwww..... *beams*

24 Jan (Sat): Fishing at SAF Yacht Club and picnic with the gals
So my dear hubby popped outta bed at 2.30pm and dragged me off to fishing *long suffering sigh* He bought a 10m long rod and was eager to try it out. While i certainly do not mind him going fishing on his own while i stay home with book in bed. But he just want me there.. i DUNNO WHY! Perhaps he just cant be apart from me for an afternoon.. ahahhaha *cough cough*

we brought the gals along!




at SAF Yacht Club... so many rods and they belonged to 2 men!






we bought mee goreng and packed loads of drink - water, lychee, sugar cane
i brought along 2 books to read..


the gals got their snacks too.
Pappe is sooooo smart! the sun was pretty glaring so with my back to it, i chowed down my mee goreng on the cooler box. Pappe immediately came to my lap and snuggled in so i could shield her from the glare! After a while Chile followed suit. So both of them were cosily in the shade.. sooo smart!

23 Jan (Fri): the night we conquered CVP and saw a shooting star!!!
so my darling Zack picked me up from work :) I bought 2 secondhand monitors; a 17" for $30 and 15" for $10, and Zack came up to my office to pick it up. And saw my office for the first time :) A pity most of my colleagues had gone home and i couldnt show my hubby off.. haha.

That day was part tow night. He'd better make it up to me for making me MAD that morning! But i'm easily appeased so i forgave him ;)

We went to Changi Village for the famous nasi lemak!

The rice was so fragrant.. chicken wings were nice too. Zack prefers the Hougang Ponggol nasi lemak but i'm happy with this. Their sunny-side-up was too cooked though.. but no biggie for me as i cant eat raw egg yolk anyway :(

Next up, Zack brought me to his various fishing spots so i know where he usually goes while i'm home waiting patiently for him with slippers in hand.

#1: CVP

Excellent part tow place! They have the kelong walk (where Zack goes to fish), cliff walk, sunset walk and sailing point walk. Wind was breezy and the kelong walk was particularly enjoyable. Think wooden planks over the water. The place is still very unspoilt. It's almost like a nature reserve with trees all over. The sailing point walk was lovely too! We found a spot just infront of the sea where the many yachts were docked and bobbing gently on the water. We especially love that place!

#2: CHANGI BEACH

Didnt stay too long there though. But there were 2 strays dogs and we fed them raisin bread :) One was so shy she ran away everytime i wanna go near.

#3: SAF YACHT CLUB

It's basically like a breakwater. There were a number of anglers (people who fish like Zack. Zack taught me this new word recently). We walked to the end of it, with our feet dangling over the water. (to keep the mozzies away, by then i already had 6 bites on my right foot!). we just sat there, munching on goreng pisang and enjoying the breeze and stars in the sky. And guess what?! WE SAW A SHOOTING STAR!!!!!!!!!

Oh we have to make a wish! Zack immediately went: "I wish for beanie to be a girl!" Isaac......... I took awhile and said: "I wish for us to be this happy forever!" *beams* Zack asked me why dont i wish for a million bucks. Well, a million bucks dun bring happiness.. not the kind i'd want anyway ;)

okay no time to go any further.. gotta go get ready.
off to Godma's!

.......and then i see white

so i've been doing pretty alright where morning sickness is concerned. I had 3-4 days of GREAT days, not much queasiness, bloatedness etc. Happy that all will be in the clear soon. Then it hit back on Sat night and there went my nice fuji apple down the drain. Tsk tsk.

Yesterday was just like any other monday mornings. Bluey.. and sleepy. Abit of activity down in my uterus.. seemed like beanie was doing some stretching in there. Changed to the EW line and gosh.. started to feel terrible. All packed like sardines, shoulder to shoulder. And i felt it coming.. cant breathe, crampy, nauseous... then crap.. came the clamminess and cold sweat, next up was that buzz in the ear and then the white curtain came down. So did i. Thankfully the people around held me up so i managed to maintain my dignity, what shards of it. My stop was next and i got out and thank you Lord, there was a bench just outside. Felt better after some deep breathing.

Oh boy... i wouldnt want a repeat session. That feeling was terrible. The helplessness, the vulnerability. Not to mention the headaches that came and went all of yesterday.

*sigh*

But it's all part and parcel of pregnancy!
Those weekly broadcasts are so accurate! Week 12 reported that dizziness will be in the mix soon.
"Progesterone again, which causes your blood vessels to relax and widen around 12 weeks pregnant, increasing the flow of blood to your baby (again, good for baby), but slowing the return of blood to you (as always, not so good for mom). Less blood flow to you means lower blood pressure and reduced blood flow to your brain. All of these can contribute to that light-headed, dizzy feeling."

Then again, it's quite exciting watching what you read come to pass!

and anyway, that black-out was for a good cause. Beanie is taking in more oxygen so that few minutes of discomfort is tolerable.

Zack laughed at me and said "be careful what you wish for.." *pout*
cos i was telling him that my symptoms were going away and i didnt feel pregnant!
haha... yeah yeah..... now i'm getting them back big time.

But my darling came to pick me up from work yesterday!
and he's coming again today :)

Location: Paradise on Earth - MALDIVES!

Date: 17 - 21 Dec 2008
Capital: Male
Currency: Rufiya/Dollar
Population: 360,000
No. of Atolls: 26

Flight no. SQ452
Departure: 20:45





We reached Male airport!

Male airport is on an isle on its own - Hulhule
We had to take a ferry to Male, the capital and it's only US$1 per person! The ferry which the locals take to travel back and forth. Thank goodness i did my homework and didnt get the hotel transfers which was US$11 each!


Male airport jetty...
the water was sooo clear even at night!

I got us a room at Relax Inn, just 5mins walk from the jetty. It was a joke and really the worst hotel we've stayed in ALL our trips! It was clean, small and basic which i didnt mind but gosh, the smell!!! It had this indian incense smell which got me pretty nauseous. It was terrible.. but it was only for 1 night so we made do.
(As Zack later said... we went from Hell to Heaven in one day.. hahahaha.)

The next morning, we walked around the capital to look see. Nothing much just watching the way the locals live.

Despite the horrible hotel, i'm still glad we came to the capital. When we think of Maldives, we always envision beautiful waters, luxury resorts etc.. But we didnt think of the more humble community these gorgeous islands belong to.

The population consists of Indian muslim. As we didnt explore the inner parts of the capital, we couldnt tell what they do for entertainment. There was nothing interesting.. no shops to browse, no trinkets to buy. Alot of construction and rubble around.

We couldnt wait to get to our resort!



Male is really small!

Come 11.30am, we took the ferry back to the airport.



the many booths of the various isle resorts.




the jetty where the many boats dock..


we got our very own private mini cruise! Just the 2 of us :P
they gave us warm towels and bottles of mineral water (which we collect like crazy.. haha). We even bought a big bottle of water from Male which cost US$2, it's going for US$3.50 in the resort!

our Water Bungalow wasnt ready so we went to Anchorage Bar for some drinks :) and had our first glimpse of amazing waters.....

At Anchorage Bar...





Zack was drinking zapper... really!

I was starving by then so we had our lunch. While lunching an attendant came and told us our Water Bungalow (WB) was ready! wooohooooo!


the water bungalows..

Room 139!





what greeted us every morning... :)

the toilet!





you can even enjoy the beautiful ocean while doing your numbers!

oh oh the bathtub......

the view.. oh the view....






the toilet's side door opens out to the sun deck..

this is where we lie at night.. watching the thousands of stars in the sky, with the breeze tickling our cheeks, the musical sound of waters lapping against each other, we chat til we both doze off... i'm so missing this....

it reminded us of our time in Krabi..... *wistful*

Zack was soooo happy! He immediately striped to his boardshorts and hit the waters!

at dusk from our WB...

our dinner at Coast Sands...
we got a table outside on the terrace, next to the ocean but it got windy so we had to move in :(

my maldivian curry lobster was out of this world!

not too spicy with a dash of sweetness..
Zack's lamb marsala was superb too!
they gave so much meat and lobster, we couldnt finished.. it was sooooo good...

and guess what Anchorage Bar served??

oh yes.. SHISHA!

believe you me.. that's the cheapest thing in Maldives! It was only US$7 a bowl! Singapore is S$15. And Zack couldnt resist calling Marky.. "Guess what i'm doing now?.... This is the shite man!" hahahha.. yeah... good food, surrounded by beauty and luxury, and smoking shisha in Maldives!

we had to sit according to the wind direction so i wouldnt inhale any of the smoke.. hah.





2nd Day: it rained!
some places are still beautiful even when it rains :)

we woke and had a late breakfast (as usual) then walked around the isle.....














there were many crabs too... see how they camouflage with their surrounding.. nature is really amazing.

we were getting quite damp so what better place to hang out in than our WB!




stingray.....


black-tipped sharks....


pretty fishes....
were our daily companions :)

AQUUM ~ Island Spa is on a mini isle of its own



we went to book our sessions for the next day!

In the evening.. we went fishing!!!






within 10 mins, Zack caught the 1st fish!!!



i only caught mine at sundown.. haha...
it was a red snapper!


that day's catch wasnt too good... our entire boat only caught this much..
can you see our fishes? with the blue tag #139 (room number).

we picked the fish we wanna keep and the chef will cook it for us, in the style we chose.. the following night.

we chose Zack's fish.. and had it cooked in thai style.

gotta pay US30 just for this! :S

and as usual... our night activity is shisha again!

housekeeping was extremely efficient.. everytime we leave our room, we came back to a tidy room!

the bed was sooooooooo comfy!
the pillows soft as clouds......
do you know they change the mattress after every guest's departure?


i dont wanna leave!! can i stay here forever??

our 3rd Day: the day we got chased by a parrot fish!










housekeeping again! second time when Zack needs the toilet.. hahahha!

we bought goggles and the underwater view was STUPENDOUS!

if you stay still in the water, small fishes might just swim by! Underwater, you see hundreds of small silver fishes swimming about around you. They are so small you cant see from upwater. There are parrot fishes which looks so comical (the fish with lipstick). Many different kinds of fishes with such brilliant colors. It was just like swimming inside a saltwater aquarium!

and a dark brown/yellow parrot fish chased us!! It was perhaps the most memorable and hilarious episode of our trip :P (not just the fish chasing us but what happened after.. hahahah)

a parrot fish..

see how clear the water is!

it's gonna rain soon!

so when it rains.. it's time to soak in the tub!
Sometimes you can just see a school of fishes swimming by.. and some flying out of the water :)

SPA TIME!

i got a silky body polish while Zack had a massage :)

......then we are off to the SUNSET DOLPHIN CRUISE



"quick ju quick"

guess what?? Zack bumped into a friend! They were on their honeymoon. Gosh... in Maldives and we see friends ard.. the world is getting cramped.

and we saw a rainbow!

so that night, we had our most amazing sunset....

when you get so close to nature, you cant help marveling at God's wonderous ways...




i love sitting here at night... it's just so tranquil.. and you'd never know who might pop by to visit..


:)

Our 4th Day:

check-out was at noon so we extended til 6pm.. and gotta fork out US110! (US140 til departure time) Yes.. everything is dollars and cents in Maldives!

more frolicking....
and i figured this is prob the last time i'd don a bikini *sigh*.. i was the model that day :P

sunbathing time..

the heat is so cosy.. and it can simply slip yr mind that you are in fact baking there!

and had ourselves a cosy afternoon watching TV and ordering room service! (i can live like this everyday!)

saying our goodbyes :(

it was really money well-spent.. Zack thoroughly enjoyed himself :)

housekeeping for the next guest.. they even changed the mattress!








there are buggies available to ferry us around

the lobby.. Christmas decor was up when we left.

oh sorry.. we werent due to leave yet.
We were off for our last fishing trip! ;)







an eel!



check out the bait.... yellow fin tuna! It's like frigging expensive..

we anchored just a spot away from the water bungalows..
good spot.. the bites were plentiful!






Zack caught 4 fishes in total..
and dishing out advice when i'd yet to catch a single one after awhile.. haha.

and no one's gonna believe what i caught!!

omg..... a 5kg snapper!!!
see... i'm not interested in small fishes.. i go for the HUGE ones *smirk*
:D

(i was basking in glory for only a few days until Zack upped me and caught a 7kg grouper back in Singapore!!!)




our fishes! See MY fish... and see Zack's fishes


Fullmoon Resorts & Spa was a marvellous place to nest in for that luxury break. Service was efficient and warm. We simply indulgenced in serious pampering those days. But nothing comes cheap!

I don't think i could forget how delighted Zack was when we first stepped into our water bungalow. I was a little overwhelmed too! haha.. He was like a little boy being given a new shiny toy.. hahahah. Yes it was an expensive holiday but it was worth every penny. The present had served its purpose - to bring joy :) He better appreciate it.. dammit, who ever receives an almost all expense paid trip to Maldives as a birthday present! As i always say, money can be earned back.. but such beautiful experience is priceless. And my darling deserves the best! :)

This is really like a second honeymoon for us. It was just us and our beautiful surroundings. With our little one growing inside, it seems like we have so much more to celebrate, to be thankful for. And i've never in my life felt more blessed than now :) When i see the joy in his face everyday, i know he feels the same way :) In everything we have, we give thanks to the Lord..

Now we can tell our little one he/she had been to Maldives.. haha. He/she is in for another treat in 2 months time! *winks* Zack and i made a pact that there'll be no more extravagant gifts from now on. Our priorities have changed and really... we have our fun already. Too much maybe! haha.. :D