Most moms-to-be have very elaborate blog entries to share their joy/surprise/unpreparedness after discovering they are pregnant. Many blog throughout the pregnancy to remember their excitement and anticipation during the process and then subsequently splash their oh-so-adorable pics of their newborns on blogs/FB after childbirth.
I haven't done any of that so far but I do want to chart down somewhere for future reference. I don't think I'll be able to remember a few months down the road, noting my memory these days haven't been as good as before. This is a sign of pregnancy most studies say.
Notes to self:
1. Buy only the Clearblue pregnancy kit to avoid having to test 3 times. The cheaper brands are not clear enough and you know you want to be sure before going to the doc for the first checkup. To avoid the uncomfortable intra-scan, have the first checkup only after 5-6 weeks.
2. Even though everyone says the 2nd trimester is the best time to travel, remember it's only relative to the 1st/3rd trimester. You will still feel tired easily and can't walk fast/much. You will still feel clumsy and need to visit the toilet more often.
3. Do not take it to heart when people do not give up their seats for you. It's their grace if they do but never your right.
4. Apply sunblock. Lots of it. Freckles seem to have a free entry to your face during this time.
5. Facials from 7th month onward are not enjoyable. Prenatal massages, however, are much more appreciated towards the end. So plan your packages accordingly.
6. Pedicures become a necessity instead of a pampering treat when you can no longer cut your toe nails yourself.
Ok that's all for now. When I remember more I'll post again!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Monday, June 04, 2012
New York 2012
Considering this was a honeymoon/babymoon/longest flight ever, it's worth a full scale blog entry, complete with pics! But let's see if I still remember how to do this..it's really been a while..
New York! Been wanting to visit this city for a long time!
I read somewhere that the top 4 cities are Paris, London, Tokyo and New York and I've covered the remaining three and so this was the last. And then came the song Empire State of Mind (Part II) - "if I could make it here, I could make it anywhere; that's what they say....." This was a parallel to the London "And I know I can do it because I made it to London on my own" - which I already did in 2010.
And the many shows that we have watched that were filmed there, the most recent being Avengers whose last scene showed the aerial view of Manhattan. Oh so beautiful! I really wanted to go!
Also thanks to the free ticket to anywhere.. makes sense to choose a destination which usually costs the most.
Before the trip, the below were my aims and now, I'm glad to say more than half were accomplished.
- Niagara
Spectacular view! Well worth the long hours of traveling. Would have been better if the tour guide was more entertaining and our trip did not clash with the Queen Victoria holiday in Canada which caused our customs clearing to take so much longer. The maid of the mist boat ride is a MUST if you visit there.
- Wicked
Not sure if it's a good thing that this musical is so popular. No discounted tickets at TKTS but at least we did not have to waste precious time queuing! Last min visit to the ticketing booth at Gershwin Theatre still allowed us to get very good tickets! A very satisfactory make-up for not watching the touring group at MBS. The leads customized their tunes a bit and it took me some time to appreciate that, but I still love it to bits. I can't really say if I prefer the Broadway or West end version; I can only say I love both! Pretty happy that he enjoyed it too. Was initially worried he'd fall asleep on my USD141 ticket! Haha!
- Statue of Liberty
My original idea was to land on Liberty Island and see the statue from the ground but since we were doing the round-island cruise, that seemed repetitive. So, we were viewing the statue from our cruise boat instead which explains the less-than-ideal photos taken.
- Empire State Building
The funny thing is, we never went up the building though we were inside the building where he took the simulator Skyride that was off-limits to preggies. "Zero visibility!!!" was what the security guards kept telling us even though we were ready to just go up for the experience of it since we've already been to the Top of the Rock twice - once during the day and another during the night. So well, we still have the tickets to the top which is valid for two years.
- Woodbury
The memorial weekend only brought more people to the outlet village but the discounts were nothing fantastic really. My key purchases include the True Religion jeans in pre-preg size that is meant to serve as a motivation after childbirth and the Tory Burches that I bought more because of peer pressure - there were SO many pple grabbing those shoes and such a long line forming outside the shop that made the shoes feel so desirable! And of cos the Superdrys that seem to be the only items substantially cheaper. Ok, add in the cole haans and the AX jacket.
- Lincoln Memorial
This, we can only aim to do next year earliest.
- Times Square walkabout
There is this Roxy Delicatessen that serves absolutely fabulous cheesecake. Each slice is the size of THREE slices here. Sweet, rich and yummy! The people in NYC are mainly tourists I believe - nobody seem to need to go to work. Even in the wee hours the streets are still busy.
- Picnic at Central Park
No, the picnic did not happen but we did take a walk in the park. And no, it wasn't very fun cos it was drizzling. We did see many people jogging in the park though, about 9-10am and we wonder why these people did not need to work. He commented all the joggers are women and that's why the men die earlier - all have to work and no time to exercise!
- Apple Store @ Grand Central Station
This was lovely! The station on its own is awesome and I love how the store fits into the whole place. Flashed my pass for some discounts on my purchase. Sweet!
- Tiffany Flag Ship
And how can any trip to NY be without this?! Impressive store with plenty of unaffordable blings! But managed to get myself something from the silver floor. :)
- Wall Street
The trip wouldn't be complete without it!
Would have been nice if we've taken the trip to Washington DC to see the Lincoln statue I longed to see and had bought more at the outlet - especially my crabtrees if not for the already overweight baggages we were lugging back. DC next year perhaps?
There were some unexpected treasures we found along the way too.
- Highline
The elevated railway converted to park. Very special and beautiful! I wonder if our MRT tracks will become like this in future.
- Watkin Glens State Park
A stop point on the way to Niagara Falls.
- Babies 'R' us
The gigantic one-stop store for everything! The reason for our severely excess and overweight baggage. We managed to get a stroller, car seat, bouncer, sterilizer and other miscellaneous stuff. All these without comparing to the local prices, so hopefully they are as what people told us and cheaper.
Also to take a moment to count my blessings on this trip. Met many helpful people!
- The counter staff at Changi Airport who was so patient with us. Such a boo boo that he did not apply for ESTA and had to do it on the spot. Lucky it can be obtained immediately! The staff also tagged our luggages with the business class priority stickers. How nice of him! =)
- The other counter staff at JFK. We had a limit of 4 pieces (total 80kg) of luggage. We had 5 check-in pieces, each of which was above 20kg. My suitcase alone was 27kg! LoL. No extra charge, also with priority stickers. Oh so glad! If we had known things would go so smoothly we probably would have bought even more. Hiak hiak!
- Passengers on the plane who let me cut their queue to the ladies. So nice of them!
- Stewardesses who made sure I was comfortable - bringing extra blankets, food, water, etc
- Passers-by/Tour guides/Shop assistants who seemed to have given me some privileges one way or another
- And for him who was so patient with me the whole time. So often I had to sit and rest along the way, slowing the pace and making him wait. He also had to carry all those 100+ kgs on his own and did the packing to fit all the bulky pieces into five baggages (else would have been six!)
I enjoyed the trip lots! Though the jetlag afterwards is not quite the same thing. =P
New York! Been wanting to visit this city for a long time!
I read somewhere that the top 4 cities are Paris, London, Tokyo and New York and I've covered the remaining three and so this was the last. And then came the song Empire State of Mind (Part II) - "if I could make it here, I could make it anywhere; that's what they say....." This was a parallel to the London "And I know I can do it because I made it to London on my own" - which I already did in 2010.
And the many shows that we have watched that were filmed there, the most recent being Avengers whose last scene showed the aerial view of Manhattan. Oh so beautiful! I really wanted to go!
Also thanks to the free ticket to anywhere.. makes sense to choose a destination which usually costs the most.
Before the trip, the below were my aims and now, I'm glad to say more than half were accomplished.
- Niagara
Spectacular view! Well worth the long hours of traveling. Would have been better if the tour guide was more entertaining and our trip did not clash with the Queen Victoria holiday in Canada which caused our customs clearing to take so much longer. The maid of the mist boat ride is a MUST if you visit there.
 |
| Viewing point before taking the elevator to the boat ride |
 |
| On board the maid of the mist |
Not sure if it's a good thing that this musical is so popular. No discounted tickets at TKTS but at least we did not have to waste precious time queuing! Last min visit to the ticketing booth at Gershwin Theatre still allowed us to get very good tickets! A very satisfactory make-up for not watching the touring group at MBS. The leads customized their tunes a bit and it took me some time to appreciate that, but I still love it to bits. I can't really say if I prefer the Broadway or West end version; I can only say I love both! Pretty happy that he enjoyed it too. Was initially worried he'd fall asleep on my USD141 ticket! Haha!
 |
| Gershwin Theatre |
- Statue of Liberty
My original idea was to land on Liberty Island and see the statue from the ground but since we were doing the round-island cruise, that seemed repetitive. So, we were viewing the statue from our cruise boat instead which explains the less-than-ideal photos taken.
 |
| One of the best shots with the lady |
- Empire State Building
The funny thing is, we never went up the building though we were inside the building where he took the simulator Skyride that was off-limits to preggies. "Zero visibility!!!" was what the security guards kept telling us even though we were ready to just go up for the experience of it since we've already been to the Top of the Rock twice - once during the day and another during the night. So well, we still have the tickets to the top which is valid for two years.
 |
| Empire State Building by Night |
 |
| Empire State Building by Day |
 |
| A little consolation maybe? hehe |
 |
| He's a lot more enthusiastic about posing |
The memorial weekend only brought more people to the outlet village but the discounts were nothing fantastic really. My key purchases include the True Religion jeans in pre-preg size that is meant to serve as a motivation after childbirth and the Tory Burches that I bought more because of peer pressure - there were SO many pple grabbing those shoes and such a long line forming outside the shop that made the shoes feel so desirable! And of cos the Superdrys that seem to be the only items substantially cheaper. Ok, add in the cole haans and the AX jacket.
- Lincoln Memorial
This, we can only aim to do next year earliest.
- Times Square walkabout
There is this Roxy Delicatessen that serves absolutely fabulous cheesecake. Each slice is the size of THREE slices here. Sweet, rich and yummy! The people in NYC are mainly tourists I believe - nobody seem to need to go to work. Even in the wee hours the streets are still busy.
 |
| The part (at least the part I saw) in NY that never sleeps |
- Picnic at Central Park
No, the picnic did not happen but we did take a walk in the park. And no, it wasn't very fun cos it was drizzling. We did see many people jogging in the park though, about 9-10am and we wonder why these people did not need to work. He commented all the joggers are women and that's why the men die earlier - all have to work and no time to exercise!
 |
| Fountain in the reservoir |
 |
| Castle Belvedere in the background |
- Apple Store @ Grand Central Station
This was lovely! The station on its own is awesome and I love how the store fits into the whole place. Flashed my pass for some discounts on my purchase. Sweet!
- Tiffany Flag Ship
And how can any trip to NY be without this?! Impressive store with plenty of unaffordable blings! But managed to get myself something from the silver floor. :)
- Wall Street
The trip wouldn't be complete without it!
 |
| NYSE |
There were some unexpected treasures we found along the way too.
- Highline
The elevated railway converted to park. Very special and beautiful! I wonder if our MRT tracks will become like this in future.
- Watkin Glens State Park
A stop point on the way to Niagara Falls.
- Babies 'R' us
The gigantic one-stop store for everything! The reason for our severely excess and overweight baggage. We managed to get a stroller, car seat, bouncer, sterilizer and other miscellaneous stuff. All these without comparing to the local prices, so hopefully they are as what people told us and cheaper.
Also to take a moment to count my blessings on this trip. Met many helpful people!
- The counter staff at Changi Airport who was so patient with us. Such a boo boo that he did not apply for ESTA and had to do it on the spot. Lucky it can be obtained immediately! The staff also tagged our luggages with the business class priority stickers. How nice of him! =)
- The other counter staff at JFK. We had a limit of 4 pieces (total 80kg) of luggage. We had 5 check-in pieces, each of which was above 20kg. My suitcase alone was 27kg! LoL. No extra charge, also with priority stickers. Oh so glad! If we had known things would go so smoothly we probably would have bought even more. Hiak hiak!
- Passengers on the plane who let me cut their queue to the ladies. So nice of them!
- Stewardesses who made sure I was comfortable - bringing extra blankets, food, water, etc
- Passers-by/Tour guides/Shop assistants who seemed to have given me some privileges one way or another
- And for him who was so patient with me the whole time. So often I had to sit and rest along the way, slowing the pace and making him wait. He also had to carry all those 100+ kgs on his own and did the packing to fit all the bulky pieces into five baggages (else would have been six!)
I enjoyed the trip lots! Though the jetlag afterwards is not quite the same thing. =P
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