Home is (always) where the heart is

hi! I just got back from Malaysia last night. It was a 3 days 2 night trip back home and to be honest, it was too short a trip *weeps* but there is nothing i can do about it because it's kinda impossible for everyone in the family to take so many days off work at one go. But anyway, it was good getting to see my favourite faces again. It's been almost 2 months since new year, time flies.

Spent the days sleeping in, having brunches with my cousins, aunties and uncles and getting some grocery shopping done at the super mart. Have i mentioned how much i love doing simple things like that with my big big (extended) family? It's really heartwarming for me. We also had a scrumptious dinner on the second night to celebrate grandma's birthday in advance since my family won't be there on her actual birthday.

(travel essentials/ i basically can't live without my bolster and soft toy)

 

(thank god comfy granny pants exist)

 

(um.... can i caption this photo "one with nature")

 

(cousin's neighbour's house feat. the pretty flowers they planted themselves!!!)

 

(these 2 always camera ready)

 

On our last day, we visited the cemetery (a yearly affair) to offer incense and pray for our passed on grandfather as well as my eldest uncle. The cemeteries in malaysia are way way different from singapore's and just in case you all are wondering, this is how one looks like. I'd say they are rather well taken care of...?

We took some time in between to visit granny's house before boarding a night flight home yesterday. It's a century old house believe it or not!! Despite having gone through many changes since the world war days, my point is that the house is more than a hundred years old!!! like SAY WHUT. Ok back to the main point, granny's house is undergoing some major renovation this time round. Major as in the "tear down the entire house and rebuild" kind so we are all extremely excited to see the final outcome. Till the next trip home!

 

(a self-proclaimed rather artistic shot of.... the sky and some birds ha ha ha)

 

(countryside girl for a day)

 

(with mommy)

 

(i figured out this old lady does not really fancy smiling for the camera)

(plane ride home)

 

(but first, lemme take a selfie)

 

(TWO selfies, i mean)

19th

As you all can already see, the last of my teen year was spent at home with my loved ones (the 3 most important ladies in my life + 1 from across the border) because I have been under the weather all week, which also explains my sick-cat/pale-looking faces in all of the above pictures. We also postponed my birthday dinner as I was still on medication on my birthday itself, making me feel drowsy all day. It wasn't too bad though, not making a big hooha out of the whole birthday 'celebration'. I requested for strawberry shortcake and having the sweetest family anyone could ever ask for, of course I got what I craved for. So yes, it was a relatively simple birthday this year but it was great nonetheless. I've turned another year older, and hopefully wiser too. Am extremely thankful for all the kind birthday wishes (in the form of texts, videos, songs) I received via text/whatsapp messages, Instagram, Facebook, emails and of course the one that meant extra to me — granny's FaceTime call from Malaysia. So much love for this cute little old lady of mine. Can't wait to be back in my homeland next week to give her a tight hug. 

Other than that, I haven't really been up to much lately apart from the usual (work, dance and so forth). Hope everyone's having a good week so far. I am just going to end this off by wishing myself a happy belated 19th. To even betters years ahead!

p.s. I was reading the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and found a part that's relevant to this post. Here goes "As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."

So here's to growing up.

My kind of a Sunday

Breakfast for brunch, some good reads, and my lazy soul. 

(images credit: tumblr)

Crossed the border for a little getaway wth the fam band last Sunday. Surprisingly there wasn't any traffic jam and so we got to Malaysia rather fast. Settled down in the hotel my parents always stay at and I quite like our cozy room (with pretty good wifi signal which is a plus point for mommy and I hehe). We then headed out to hunt for food which I literally went crazy about. The moment I saw THE FOOD TRUCK I went "omg omg can we eat this one please?!?!" because you know, despite being a Malaysian, it's not all the time I get to enjoy local delights. This is possibly one of the reasons why a part of me will always love this country. Street food 5ever!!! Anyway, it was pretty late by the time we finished dinper (dinner+supper) but we decided to make the most out of our getaway so we ended up going for foot reflexology at 12mn. After we were done, guess what? Supper round 2 with some beer. I was so exhausted by the time we finally got back to our hotel room. Zonked out 3am and woke up at 11 the next morning. 

me: "mommy, I think hotel bed sheets are quite attractive? can I get it for our new home?"

mom: "r u crazy it's just plain white..."

Sigh mom I guess I'm never getting white sheets hahahahaha

We missed our hotel breakfast in the morning because we really couldn't drag ourselves outta bed. So day 2 was just spent doing some shopping, having another round of massage (but full body this time), mommy and I getting our nails done and filling up three happy tummies before heading back home in the evening. Speaking of which, I can't quite get enough of my gel nails because they're so pretty in my opinion.

x

This weekend has been pretty damn horrible thus far. The accumulation of consuming heaty/junk food and the shitty weather has really gotten me ill. In other words, I have been doing nothing ever since the visit to the doctor. I don't even bother making my bed because all I do is eat, sleep, wake up, watch some television programmes, eat (my pills) again then go back to sleep. It's a repetitive cycle. Ate so much porridge for the past 2 days the sight of it actually makes me feel nauseous and for someone who's under the weather, I sure am craving for all sort of food that I was instructed to avoid. The only possible great thing about being ill is that I feel much more loved by everyone. But still, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW SO JUST LET ME GET WELL ALREADY UGH.

Craving for more pizzas right now as I am typing this midnight post on my iPhone as usual (thank God for the blogger app). Duck pizza seafood pizza pepperoni pizza I want em all!!!! Oh yes not forgetting the buffalo wings we ate too. Ok maybe not, my sore throat would probably get worse and never ever recover. I think the haze that has returned lately is getting to me. Hope everyone's taking good care of your own health and not falling sick like yours truly.

Back to the main point, had a little reunion with my secondary school friends last Saturday over at Timbrè. It has been awhile since I hung out with such a big group of people but it was great seeing them after some time. The people who are meant to be in your life will always gravitate back towards you, no matter how far they wander. Which is especially true with you girls @notelaine and @xwanderbirdx ♡♡

Anyway, back tracking a little, last week has been quite hectic (but fun-filled!) for me. Recovered kinda quickly from the disappointment over my results because honestly I think I've reached what they call the final stage — acceptance. I went back to work midweek, attended ntu's open house and planned Claire's birthday surprise with her bff which turned out to be rather successful so all our anxiousness was worth it:

held a flea and made new friends:

and also crossed the border for a little staycation with the family. I'll blog about it the next time round. Body's so exhausted from today's alumni dance practice I think I'm going to collapse, so are my eyelids.

Spent a good 4 hours with the long lost best friend today and it honestly felt like ages since we got to sit down and talk to each other like that — over freaking delicious Japanese pasta at the Star Vista to not-too-satisfying Marble Slab ice cream for our after meal dessert. Not forgetting the mandatory $7.00 ID photo we take everytime we go out. In all, I guess I must have really missed such simple and carefree days with my fav. girl.