Monday 14 January 2013

Looking forward to 2013

Year 2013 is going to be a year of many changes. Just last week, Kah Yen started to attend a full day childcare; Two weeks down the road we are moving to our new house at Punggol. With the distance going further between work and home for both of us, both our morning and evening routines need to be adjusted; No more take-away dinners since Kah Yen will eat with us. I am starting to cook every night; And we are planning to have a second baby once we settle down in our new house. If the blessing comes to us, I would be a preggy for the bulk of the year and start all over again what I did two years back when a crying baby landed in my arms. And life after that, I have not imagined and could not imagine for now so let’s just leave it to the 2014 resolutions instead.

So here are my 2013 New Year resolutions, just a few.



(1) Learn to cook

Yes, learn to cook, before husband and Kah Yen get sick of chicken soup with noodle, chicken soup with rice, chicken soup with vegetables, and chicken soup with nothing. We have installed a built-in oven in our new kitchen, so hopefully I will learn some new and quick ways of cooking chicken, and add in some other meat to our meals so that we can give the poor chicken a break. I also need to learn to plan our meals in advance and better organize our fridge so that I can prepare and store enough food for the whole week, to make home-made dinner possible after rushing back from work everyday.

(2) More outdoor activities

Since we are moving to the extreme outskirt of the island, the “countryside” as some people would call it, we will make use of the free resource that is around us – the nature, for our family weekend activities. The husband is already looking into buying two bicycles for us with a baby seat, and one toddler bike for Kah Yen, we will be out cycling along the waterway and the beach almost every weekend. We can also explore the wetlands, the fishing ponds and the woods. I think I am the right candidate for the “World’s Miser Mom” title because if you look carefully at those activities, they are mostly free.

Another benefit of going outdoor? - I can tell people without blushing at the end of the year that I did have some exercise.
   
(3) Read classic books

I grew up in a country where study is all about academics, and reading is not part of study unless you read your text books. There are not many books available in my home and school anyway. Hence, the number of classic books I have read over the years can be counted with both hands. I developed the love for reading as an adult and have read a number of books over the years. However, I have come to my bottleneck to find good and interesting books ever since Borders closed down in Singapore and Popular’s best-sellers are filled with “How to be a Billionare” and “How to talk to people and win friends”. I chanced upon The Classic Club sometime last year and have since decided to go back to basics – reading classic books. I have generated a list of 30 over classic books and have already attempted Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway and the Bronte sisters. I am loving it. And almost all classic books are available in the library.

The other reason to start reading classic books is to be a good role-model for Kah Yen. How to expect a child growing up love reading when one has never seen her parents read? I am very passionate about reading to children and have been fervently reading picture books to Kah Yen since she was a baby. I am planning to start reading children’s classics like ‘Charlotte’s web”, “Aesop’s fables” and “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” etc as soon as she turns three. And we will never stop from there.

(4) Continue blogging

Blogging (or online journaling as I prefer to call it) is one of the best things I have started last year. Through blogging, I developed a love for writing; I met other mom bloggers whose stories are constantly a source of comfort and inspiration to me; And most importantly, through blogging, I learnt to celebrate simple moments of life more, I become a more grateful person. However, at some point in time I struggled with blogging too, I spent much more time on the internet and computer after I started blogging; I was sometimes carried away and started to compare other people’s kids with mine; I was obsessed with the statistics – how many people are reading my blog? how can I increase my readership? … Each time I reminded myself why I started blogging in the first place – to record and to celebrate the growing years of Kah Yen - it helps me to stay focus. So in year 2013, I will continue to write and stay focus.

(5) Pray more

I was struggling whether to keep this point to myself since most people on the internet do not like too religious stuff, but I do not want to appear a different person over here from who I am in the real world. After becoming a parent, I have realized how important a prayerful life is. With most of waking hours spent away from my children, and with the social media world they are going to grow up in, there is really nothing much I can do but keeping them in my prayers. In year 2012 I have come across this phrase and have since used it as a motto ‘You can’t be a perfect parent, but you can always be a praying parent.”

(6) Have a second baby

I am more than ready. The rest is the waiting.

6 comments:

  1. Learning to cook! So exciting! Can I share this Martha Stewart recipe with you? http://www.marthastewart.com/326853/chicken-and-rice-with-corn-and-sun-dried

    I made it for Sophia's second birthday party and it was a hit with both locals and foreigners. Only modifications I made to it was substitute the dried oregano for fresh herbs - I think I used rosemary that time but I'm sure fresh oregano will work too, and I cooked the rice in a rice cooker which produced fluffier rice that we asians are used to.

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    1. Hi Elaine, Thanks for sharing the link. I will definitely check it out. Great job for making your own food for Sophia's birthday party. I have been catering!

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  2. All the best for your resolutions! And yes, you can always be a praying parent! :-)

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  3. Hi Abby, love that motto!! shall use that from now onwards (:

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