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Growth Unlimited

Mendell is 9 months old and I have decided to document short reflections of my motherhood journey in another blog: Pammie Schoolhouse. Please pop by every now and then. 😄

Health & Well-Being


I know the photos looked like some slimming ad but I am just so glad about where I am right now in terms of my weight! So if you have read my "Our Son, Mendell" page, you would've known that I gained a total of 26kg during my pregnancy! (That's crazy... Mendell was born at 3.6kg. If you are keen on the breakdown of pregnancy weight gain, you can read up here) Though I was healthy, I was worried that I could not lose all that weight. 9 months later now, I am only 2kg away from my pre-pregnancy weight. My hard work (living a healthy lifestyle) has paid off and I am really glad! 

However, my abdomen is still flabby so I guess I have to do more core exercises after surgeon approved (I had appendicitis surgery a few weeks ago so I need to check in with surgeon on next appointment). I also really miss my basketball training sessions! Hope I can resume the arduous training asap! :)


Short snippet of my basketball drill that Nat captured


Connection

A few nights ago, I attended an introduction to a platform set up by SUTD students to connect with people from the healthcare and engineering industry. The student who was hosting the breakout room I was in was affable and assuring. Hence, I did not feel strange connecting with people who are more than a decade younger than me. Using the platform that the students created, I could connect with "sharers" who are people with some or a lot of knowledge/experience in their respective training. Since I am a stay at home mom and have pockets of time to learn and gain insights, I immediately reached out to a few sharers after the session.

Today I managed to connect with a senior lecturer and the session, though short, was perceptive. One thing that I learned from the session was that being an authentic leader does not mean that I have to be transparent about my feelings all the time. She added that if it does not benefit the listener, there is no need to share. I thought this input is helpful. Oftentimes at work, I was open about my emotions but in the grand scheme of things, it did little to get to the desired outcome. I thought about how I handled my emotions previously at work where I was unafraid to be vulnerable to my team members. Being myself earned me long-term friends from work but it was extremely tiring too (because my team members would come to me later on to share how they feel and I have to address them... not a bad thing but I burnout frequently listening to multiple perspectives from multiple parties). I'm still trying to figure out how I can be a more effective worker and leader.  

Satisfaction


This is my first butter cake that I baked from scratch. Don't judge the appearance. Nat and my helper remarked that it is good. (Nat also said I could pass some of it to our neighbours!) I haven't been baking much but since I became a stay at home mom 3 months ago, this is my second cake. I always try to look for healthier recipes but sadly some don't turn out tasty. This cake contains 200g of sugar and it made me really guilty baking it. However, it really does not taste very sweet. I guess I can bake a balance of healthy and not so healthy cakes? If you're interested in the recipe, it is over here from Daily Cooking Quest. I think I will attempt to cook and bake more based on the recipe on this website. They look really yummy!

Nostalgia

Did any of you watch the Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes version of "Romeo + Juliet"? I used to like this movie when I was small. I'm not a hopeless romantic and don't believe in love at first sight (I used to and it didn't work out. The other day I was checking how long did I maintain this blog and I started blogging in 2005. That era, I believed in love at first sight. Innocent youth! Haa!). But I enjoy the plot created by William Shakespeare. I took out my copy of "Complete works of W.S." and used my "Audiobooks" app to listen to half the play. It was really enjoyable! I didn't think of this when I was young (a teenager) but Romeo & Juliet were impulsive and their hormones were likely to be raging. I don't think they should kill themselves but based on the plot, there was really no way out. Juliet was due to marry her father's choice, County Paris. If romantic love was the only thing that truly mattered, then it made sense. Exited reading feeling nostalgic. I'll like to watch this play someday.

Calling

I find that I am consciously trying to build good habits and thinking of what to do (other than coming up with homeschooling curriculum) if I were to stay home for at least 5 years. No straightforward answer and everyday I find myself actively seeking.

I shall update more when I can. Gotta go as Mendell needs to nurse! :)

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