Week 34, people!
I know, I've been lucky compared to most women. I didn't
experience morning sickness, I've been pretty much fit and healthy thoughout. I
travelled, I worked out as much as I could find the time to (though not as much
as I wanted to) - generally life was normal.
So can I whine a little here then?
I just got over a massive case of the flu - and over my 2-week
leave period, much to my dismay.
Seriously, why??? I had so many plans, a list of things I wanted
to do over the week after Christmas - take advantage of the end of the year
sales, check out all the eating places that are 1) extremely popular and
usually too crowded on weekends, and 2) those that I really wanted to try out
but obligations didn’t allow. We also were supposed to shop for the rest of the baby stuff. I wanted
to spring-clean and re-organize my wardrobe. Instead we spent much of the week
in bed, alternating between dozing, wheezing and feeling sorry for ourselves.
Quality sleep has been a little hard coming these days. My belly tends to jut out straight and long vs. sideways (people standing behind me can't tell I'm pregnant, even at almost 8 months), and sleeping on my back is a no-no, so my stomach muscles are having a really hard time supporting my tummy when I sleep on my side. I've been waking up several times a night with really bad abdominal pain.
And let's not get me started on really weird and traumatizing
dreams. I dreamt I hurt Boo (badly), of really horrible things happening to AK,
of me not being able to handle the delivery..geez, what else does my
subconscious have in store for me???
Add the blocked nose/super painful sore throat and periodic hot
flashes throughout the night, and well, let’s just say it hasn’t been an easy
few weeks.
Work has not let up either - there was this big review on the
project I'm working on, and if I wasn't stressing about lack of sleep and being
sick it was this.
Well, today's the last day of that review, and after all that
travelling in November and December, working late and through my leave (yes,
even while sick), it's almost done. I actually slept through most of the night
yesterday – so am thinking that the weird combination of stress and my hormones
produced the bout of nightmares. Well, let’s hope that’s the end of it.
So. I can finally really enjoy my weekends and - for goodness'
sake - get back to the day to day stuff. Oh – and very importantly, prep my
team for my upcoming absence.
I just wish I could take a few more days off, you know? - With the
sickness and the knowledge of having to return to work, to the review, it
wasn't exactly the break I envisioned. Sigh.
But the fact is that with handovers a-waiting and trying to get
stuff closed (or cleaned up) before I leave for 3 months, taking another long
period of absence before my maternity leave is kinda unthinkable right now. On
the bright side, I will be working fewer hours and at my own pace.
So, welcome 2015. We didn’t start off on the right foot, but am
sure things are looking up from herewith.
Oh, and what’s New Year’s without a list of things I want to
be/achieve/do/start?
Below, not resolutions at all. I mean, sure, I want my team to
perform better than what we did last year, I want to spend more time developing
some people and showcasing others, I want to live in the moment, lose all the
baby weight (and more), continue doing yoga - you get the picture.
But there’s also this list – a bunch of really frivolous stuff I
want to just because I’ll be happy doing them:
1) Make calcium-fortified chocolate pudding for snacking. I want
to eat chocolate all the time. Might as well get some (more) nutrition in. This recipe is so easy, so quick, fulfills my calcium needs and my chocolate cravings. It's not the most luxurious or sophisticated of puddings, I'll admit - but it does fill the need.
3) Take morning/evening walks. When I wasn’t sick I was saving my
energy for work. I really need to move more before baby E arrives.
4) Make bakua at home, inspired by this and this. AK loves the stuff, but I don't let him buy as much as he would like to for fear of preservatives, colouring and fat. With Chinese New Year a peep
away, what better time to attempt this?
Recipe: Super-easy Low-Fat High-Calcium Chocolate Pudding
1 litre skim or low/non-fat calcium-fortified milk
2/3 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar (I used natural brown sugar)
3/4 cup Dutch-Processed cocoa
5 tbsp cornstarch
2 oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Separate one cup of milk in a jug/bowl. Prepare a heatproof container for storing the pudding, and a piece of microwaveable wrap/parchment paper big enough to cover the contents of the container.
Meanwhile, sift the cocoa into a thick-bottomed saucepan large enough to hold all the milk. Add the sugar. Pour the remaining milk into the saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, whisking all the time to combine everything.
When the mixture starts bubbling slightly, add the cornstarch to the reserved jug of milk, whisking vigorously to remove lumps and pour the mixture into the milk-cocoa mixture. Toss in the dark chocolate chunks.
Continue whisking the mixture over medium heat until the mixture thickens into a custard-like texture. Off the heat, immediately transfer the mix into the container. Press the piece of wrap/parchment onto the mixture onto the top of the pudding mix - this prevents the forming of a skin. Let it cool, then transfer to the fridge.
Serve cold, with sliced bananas, or whipped cream, chopped/sliced almonds - whatever takes your fancy.
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| Super-easy low-fat high-calcium chocolate pudding in the making |
