Greetings from Malaysia

Hi there. It has been a month since I left Abu Dhabi and have been home in Malaysia. Nothing like home, honestly. Despite the terrible heat (I feel sweaty all the time mainly because of the stage of pregnancy I am in right now, 7 months), I enjoy being home. I do miss my life in Abu Dhabi, though. Just a little.

I have been meeting up with friends and former colleagues. As long as I can still sit comfortably behind the steering wheel, I drive myself to the malls and shop on my own and have coffee with friends. Some friends have been extremely nice, offering to fetch me from home. Thanks guys!

Yesterday and today, it poured heavily in the afternoon for several hours, which was nice. It is much cooler, and I love the cool breeze that blows in to the house from opened windows and doors. Aaaah, this is what I call home! Fresh air, no air-conditioning but just fans, and the after-the-rain smell.

Above all, I do have some days when I am dead bored at home with nothing to do. I have to keep myself occupied, so I move around weeding the garden, washing the porches, watering the plants, mopping the floors and a little bit of cooking. I think I have done enough shopping for both baby and myself, so no more shopping! I have got everything ready for the arrival of our baby end of May.

Keep those e-mails coming. Love hearing from all of you ;)

Congratulations, Shannon!

Congratulations, Shannon! Great news indeed. Shannon is expecting her first baby, due in November. Just last week when I was in my hometown, I took a trip down memory lane when I went through some old photos of Shannon and some of the girls I attended college with ten years ago. The wonderful pictures of us taken in Brockport, New York.

My best wishes to you Shannon and also to Brian. Enjoy pregnancy, and hey, if you need tips or information on pregnancy, eating habits and what to shop for when you enter babystores, do not hesitate to e-mail me.

By the way, I am in my 28th week of pregnancy, and as the newsletter shows, I am 84 days away! Nervous and excited at the same time. I am going natural, with no epidural. Wish me luck! I am mentally preparing myself for the "BIG" day!

Chinese New Year Holidays

We left Abu Dhabi on Valentine's Day, arrived in Malaysia on the 15th and were home in Malacca, Dev's hometown, on the 16th for the Chinese New Year celebration. On the eve of Chinese New Year, we had a family reunion lunch with the family. This year's celebration was rather mellow in Malaysia. Not much firing of the firecrackers, which was good. All of us had peaceful nights of sleep.

There was plenty of food and cookies to feast on. It was hard to resist. Dev gained some weight, and so did I. I can still blame it on my pregnancy hormones, but in the last two weeks, we have been meeting friends and visiting relatives and feasting on sumptious meals.

Two weeks went by really quickly for the both of us. We spent a few days in Malacca, and then we were back in Kuala Lumpur to visit some friends and to enjoy a few days in our own home. My nieces were so happy to see us. So were we to see them. Gosh, they have grown so much since we last saw them in November. Then, three days spent in Sitiawan, my parents' place, were awesome too. We had so much to eat, including lots of crabs!

Despite my constant complaints of the unbearable heat here, Dev and I did have a wonderful time. If only he could be home longer. Today, he left for Abu Dhabi, back to work in two days' time.

Tough luck, no KL route scheduled for Dev in March. Soon, 777 will be taking over the KL routes based on the summer pattern-heavy loads in the summer. Oh well, Dev can only count the days to his next long leave, 3 weeks end-May, when our baby is due.

Until our next blog, adios for now.