Blogging

I have been writing this blog since the end of last December, so it has been almost three months. What do I think about it? I am very glad I am doing it (I hope you enjoy reading it). It gives me an opportunity to think about the events that otherwise just go by. Having Oliver in our life is very exciting but if you don't pay attention or appreciate what you are going through, it is very easy to get into a pessimistic life here in Brunei (to me because I don't work any more, not many new places to explore and things get routine).

If I am not writing this blog right now, I am pretty sure I would not have this moment to explore what I am thinking or I am feeling.

I was meaning to blog about the movie I saw with my friends a few weeks ago. It is called "Julie & Julia".



It is a comedy about Julie who to enliven her dreary life attempts to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and writes a blog to document her progress. I really enjoyed the movie maybe because I am now a blogger. The Auckland Roses, The English Roses, if you haven't watched it yet I hope you get a chance to watch it together. I think you both would like it.

Teddy Bear's Picnic

This morning we were lucky to attend the "Teddy bear's picnic" organised by the 6th formers of JIS and Geckos. We got to school just before 10am and waited for the other mums and kids to arrive. As you can see from the photos Oliver didn't take his teddy as he only has his bed time teddy and during the day he plays with his froggy. So we decided to take him along to the picnic.





Oliver had his Borneo backpack on!

There was a big bus parked beside the school library. We were told that we would go on a bus from one side of the school to the other, but I wasn't expecting a big tour bus like this one.



Oliver was very excited as he could see out the window + he was so high up (he still sits in his car seat facing backwards so today the world around him opened up widely!).



When we got to the student hall (the other side of the school) we were greeted by three student singers who came on board and sang twinkle twinkle little star and of course wheels on the bus go round and round while the bus took us for another round of the car park. The driver even tooted the horn and all the kids loved it!

We got off the bus and went to the upstairs picnic area. It was covered with picnic blankets and we were welcomed by lots more students. They had balloons, bubbles and music to entertain us.

Luckily Oliver was popular among the students and they wanted to adopt him while Matthew and I enjoyed a cup of coffee :) He was pretty happy being held by a number of students who passed him to the next student, saying "this is Oliver" and the next one greeted him by touching his hair (all the students loved his hair!!).



At the end of the picnic we were given a balloon each to take home.



We got back on the bus with our balloons and drove back to the front of the school.





It was such a nice little event and made our day (I hope Oliver feels the same). Thank you JIS students and Geckos organisers.

(✈ Off)

Baby in the walker go round and round ♪

Matthew brought this baby walker back from Singapore a few weeks ago. For the first few days Oliver wasn't impressed with it but now he got the idea and can walk around.
But one problem... He seems to be going round and round.



At least he is having lots of fun!

A celebration run

It is Tuesday and is another hash night. Tonight's one was a bit different because the run was for one of the hashers who has completed 1000 runs!! YES ONE THOUSAND!! This lady has been hashing since 1966! Way before I was born. I've only done 16 runs so far (my current aim is to complete 50 runs).

It was in the jungle not far from our house. As Nicole didn't come along tonight and Boel is still suffering from her injury, I ran by myself today. It was the first time I went without my hashing buddies. Not much chit chatting, just followed the crowd and kept going. Actually I planned to run with the front runners but when we went into the jungle I was already way behind them and didn't get to catch up with them. But I still came out fairly fast. I enjoyed tonight's run very much as it had ups and downs with lots of parts where I could actually run through.

The on on was at the lady's house. She prepared fabulous food for us all. Everything was just so delicious.

I wasn't sure a year ago if I would like the idea of running in the jungle but now I am very happy that I got involved in it and am enjoying the run (thank you Boel for encouraging me). Especially now I am training for my 10k run, hashing became my cross training day :) Run! Misuzu Run!

That's not my...

This week I am in to this series of books - Yesterday Oliver and I read "That's not my lion" at Geckos' library visit. And this morning we went to a catch up swimming lesson. One of my friends had a book and started to read. "That's not my monkey...it's tongue is so.... ". I think it's a sign... I need to get more of these books for Oliver.



Maybe this is his next book.

Library visit

It was another Gecko day for Oliver. But this morning we were excited as we have never been to the Monday sessions. On Mondays there is a Gecko library visit from 8:30. We got there about the right time and walked from the gymnasium (where Geckos play room is located) to the library. On the first floor of the library there is a junior book section full of nice books (and very good condition). Every time I visit JIS I get impressed by the facilities and cleanliness of the school.

It was right time for Oliver to start library visits as for the last few weeks he has started to show an interest in books. When there are lots of toys and books around, he often grabs a book. When we read a book to him he actually sits there and listens and then tries to eat it. I am very glad that he has the Rose DNA of loving books.

We were expecting to have the librarian Angela to read some story books but unfortunately she was sick today (hope she will be back next week). But Oliver had lots of fun picking up and reading different books and exploring the library.



Oliver picking some books to read.

From the huge selection of the books, guess which book he picked!? It was called "That's not my Lion" Yes!! S&H the same sort you gave Oliver for Christmas - "That's not my Dragon" He loved the book and touching the lion :)



All the books are available to borrow, But I found out to borrow books from the library Oliver has to have a special JIS Library Bag, he cannot take his own bag. We can purchase it from the stationery shop for $12... maybe next time.

It was rather nice to getting up early and feeling the start of the week (for a change). We don't really know what day of the week it is most of the time. This week will be full of activities for Oliver. Swimming, singing and his first Teddy Bear's picnic!!

(✈ Brunei - KK - Brunei / Brunei - Jakarta - Brunei)

Goodies from NZ

I got this photo of Matthew (I think this is his fifth birthday) from Merryn and Dennis a while ago. I really like the wooden alphabet blocks in the photo ( and of course the cute boy in the photo) and have been looking for them since Oliver was born.



When we were in New Zealand last month, I finally found similar ones. They are slightly thinner than the ones Matthew got for his birthday but I am happy I got them. This is Oliver with his blocks.



Do they look alike?? Maybe too early (young) to tell just yet...

My orchids from the market

I love these little purple flowers



Some for our front door



This is my mini orchid... the lady told me if I plant it with some soil they will have lots of anak anak (baby/child).

Mama and Dada

Oliver has been making lots of noises over the last couple of days. Maybe because he doesn't have his dummy in his mouth all the time any more or this is the time the baby goes through more sophisticated developments (talking, walking, demanding, denying etc etc). He is having fun experimenting with his vocals and finding lots of new sounds.

Matthew thinks he said hello and Oliver but I think its too advanced for him yet... But he can definitely say mama and dada!!
In Japanese mamma is a baby word for "food" so maybe he is saying food food food!! Well it's just so amazing to witness your own child's developments. Being a mum is so cool!

Flowers make me smile

Gadong Market is famous among the locals. There are fish, fresh meat and vege markets in the same building. I get Oliver's fish and our prawns - Brunei prawns are so sweet and so yummy. On weekend mornings the flower market appears just outside the car park area.

Yesterday I had a quick visit to the flower market.
As you know the weather we have here does not help flowers to grow well nor last long. I tried to grow roses before but failed... The only kind I know of that I can keep nicely in my vase are the orchids. I love the variety they have here. Pink, purple, white, yellow etc etc. Just so beautiful. I couldn't resist getting them so I got 5 of these pretty flowers (and 3 baby ones!) for a super good price!



Our house looks nice with the orchids. I am happy and smiling.

And they left

Yesterday afternoon we got in the car and went to the yacht club for lunch. I was hoping the fresh air and nice scenery would refresh Merryn and Dennis after their long flight from New Zealand. Unfortunately we hadn't had any rain plus it was one of the hottest day we have had in a while. But we still enjoyed a nice lunch and Dennis got a chance to pick more books for him to read.







We took them to the airport around 6pm and said good bye, (No no, actually we said see you in two weeks!!). We are looking forward to having them for longer when they return from England. Have a great time and say hi to the English Roses for us!!

They are here!!

This morning we went to the airport to collect two big cargos from New Zealand. We were lucky to find them coming out of the door when we go there. (We didn't have to wait in the heat! Very hot day again). Merryn and Dennis are stopping over for 12 hours before they head out to England this evening. Such a short time but Oliver already enjoys having his grandparents around again.



Check out Oliver's peace sign :)



I missed you Dennis...

Nice....

We were here last night after our run.



Head, shoulder and back massage... Nice....

4 weeks left - start to get serious

It's the 1st day of March already. Time flies. Now we have only 4 weeks until we go back to Auckland and run our first race - Run Auckland. I am following a program Matthew has found for me. Since I am confident in running 5km now I am training for 10km. Following the training plan,I only ran 3km. Matthew and Oliver came along. Matthew pushed Oliver in the stroller (running of course! our baby loves going very fast in the stroller!!) until I finished my 3km then I took over Oliver and walked until Matthew finished his. It is a very nice feeling to be able to do some exercise as a family. Also you get lots of hi! cute baby! when you have a baby in the stroller. People are so friendly here.

I thought 3km was a good distance for me today as I have not slept well for the last few days. We all felt great after the exercise and enjoyed the sunset at the end.



Oliver looking very refreshed after running(?)



Nice sunset

When I got home I remembered to post my exercise on dailymile where I can keep track of my exercise. Everything is just so high tech now!! This is how it looks.
(Note; I don't have a flash watch like Matthew so only occasionally I log in my time).



(✈ Off)

Difference in tastes

After surviving three days without Matthew's help (he was away in Singapore for three days for his sim training), I was quite exhausted. Oliver has been teething (I think) and waking up almost every 30min from 12 o'clock for the last few days... and still wants to get up and play at 6am.

It was Sunday and no help for me in the kitchen so we decided to get some takeaway curry for dinner. We are lucky to have our local curry restaurant Maharani close by. They make delicious curries and they are so cheap. We placed our order by phone before bathing Oliver etc so that while Matthew put Oliver in bed I could go there and get our takeaway.

Our plan didn't quite work out. It was so busy at the restaurant I had to wait almost 20min there. I sat down and looked around while I waited and I felt very strange. They have table seats and sofa seats. At sofa seats people are playing on the computer while at the next table some families are having their dinner. What makes it look more strange is the decoration. I didn't quite understand the theme of the restaurant. It looks like this:







Are they still celebrating Christmas? Hari Raya? or Chinese New Year? or maybe just a flowery theme, I don't know. We don't often eat there but I think the food might taste different sitting amidst this bizarre decoration.