Category: Marriage

A glimpse into my married life.

Sugar Cookies

15 Comments

Disclaimer: This recipe was originally posted as a separate page. I changed it to reflect the direction that this blog is headed in. Thank you for understanding! 😊✨

Here is my favourite cookie recipe of all time! You may remember seeing this recipe from an older blog post that I posted back in December 2019! 😅 I love making mini Christmas cookies and decorating them with cute sprinkles. If you live in Canada, you can buy these sprinkles at Bulk Barn. I also like to package these cookies in tins to give away as hostess gifts. When my now-husband and I were first dating, I gave these cookies to his family as an attempt to win them over and I think it worked. My husband and I have been married for 5 years now, so I believe that the saying is true: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

Image-5
A close-up shot of what these miniature cookies look like. I wanted all of the stars to look the same, all of the snowmen to look the same, etc. There are 9 different shapes featured here: 1. snowman 2. snow-bear 3. snowman 4. bell 5. Christmas tree 6. gingerbread man 7. holly 8. star 9. stocking

These cookies are a timeless classic and are totally worth the hard labor it took to make them. Just kidding! Decorating them is a lot of fun and it doesn’t feel like work to me. If you enjoy baking, you’ll probably enjoy making these cookies. The best part about mini cookies? You can eat 10 of them in one sitting without feeling guilty about it!

SUGAR COOKIES

Image-7
Heavily filtered photos meant for Instagram but they will have to do. In the future, I will take new photos with a decent camera. I just wanted to give you an idea of what these miniature cookies look like. 😊

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 cups of flower
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • cling film (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
  2. Add butter to mixture and combine until crumbly.
  3. Add eggs and vanilla to mixture.
  4. Roll out dough and wrap in cling film (optional).
  5. Chill in fridge for approx. 1 hour.
  6. Slice dough with fancy cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

I encourage you to give this recipe a try. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments section below ↓ I love reading your comments ❤️

Thanks for stopping by!

great-vibes.regular (1)
Advertisement

And Then There Were Four

69 Comments

May was another busy month for me. I ditched my daily habit tracker which I now realize was a mistake. That journal thing was useful and I was actually crushing big goals when I was using it consistently. My life is a mess without any kind of schedule or normality. Everything in my life is different now – new home, new baby, new location (sort of….) bigger family (totally not used to a family of 4!), and new plans. Some readers even asked about my disappearance on WP and if I was okay – your concerns really touched me. Thank you! 💕 I just wish that there was more time to write/blog.

Re-grounding Myself Again 🌱

I also wanted to update you on my whereabouts. Up until the beginning of June, I was temporarily working full-time from home. We were also in the process of packing and moving to a new home. On May 20, 2021, I went to my appointment as planned, only to find myself in the L&D triage unit at the hospital later that day. I had abnormally high blood pressure a.k.a. gestational hypertension + fluid retention, so they wanted to rule out some things, like preeclampsia. I am grateful for the knowledge I gained from nursing school because I knew what signs and symptoms to monitor throughout this pregnancy. That being said, I became concerned during the final weeks of pregnancy when my BP remained consistently high, which is abnormal for someone who typically has low blood pressure. Ultimately, childbirth was the best solution to quickly alleviate my gestational hypertension.

On May 21, 2021 at 4:48am, Baby Aaron was born weighing 7lbs 1oz, and measuring 20.5 inches. He had some mild jaundice (more medical jargon, see photos below ↓) but the jaundice went away on its own and he didn’t need blue-light therapy. Most of this pregnancy was fairly straight-forward and uncomplicated up until the very end, the delivery went smoothly despite dreading childbirth the most, and Aaron is a healthy baby boy. His big sister welcomed him with open arms! ❤

Rebecca and Baby Aaron
A jaundiced Baby Aaron, 1 day old
A sleepy neonate. He will be 1-month old on June 21, 2021 🐵

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥

I am keeping this blog post short and sweet because honestly, I am not in the mood to write today. I am trying to write a blog post in the presence of others and the words aren’t flowing the way I would like them to – and good writing cannot be forced. I haven’t even touched my personal laptop in weeks which I mostly use for WordPress, but I consider it rude to spend hours blogging when we have company over. Also, my phone needs a major upgrade which I don’t see happening any time soon (it barely holds a charge), so I haven’t felt motivated to brainstorm blog post ideas, write rough drafts on my phone, or capture life’s precious moments. Perhaps it is time to revisit that habit tracker journal yet again, before I become a lazy potato.

Thanks for stopping by! ❤

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image.png

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

67 Comments

Let’s face it. Most of us are nosy people. At some point, I am guessing that you were probably curious about my life. I consider myself to be a fairly private person for the most part. Tiani Angela, who runs a blog called tianiangela.com, inspired me to write this vulnerable blog post. You can read her original blog post here. Like Tiani’s blog post, my blog post is extra-personal as well. Please read without judgement and keep and open mind. Thanks. 😊

10 Interesting Facts About Me

1. I am an only child. And I am not happy about it. I was never happy about it. I always felt like I was meant to have a sibling and being an only child felt “wrong” to me. When I was 18, I learned that I was a double-rainbow baby which explains a lot 🌈🌈 When I was 12, I asked my parents to adopt an orphan from China and sadly, they said no. I think that is where my fascination for Asian culture started.

2. I married an Asian boy. The fascination for Asian culture continued into my adult years. Although I have long graduated from reading manga and seldom watch anime these days, my husband has taught me a lot about his Asian roots, specifically Singaporean roots. I met him in January 2013 and we have been together ever since. He is my rock and we have been married since May 2016.

Celebrating Mother’s Day. with the hubby. You can’t go wrong with a cake from Costco!

3. I am mother to a Eurasian toddler. Most of you already know that I am a mom since it’s in my About Me section, yet people often seemed surprised when I tell them. I am a Millennial in my late twenties so I am not that young anymore. I try to follow other bloggers who are also in their 20’s+ but a few younger bloggers have slipped through the cracks. My daughter is a rambunctious 4-year old who loves life. Her favourite thing to say is, “Mommy, be happy.”

4. I had a miscarriage in October, 2015. My daughter was planned and she is a rainbow baby. Prior to having my daughter, I had a miscarriage and it was devastating. I feel like miscarriage is a topic that often gets swept under the rug even though 1:4 women end up having a miscarriage in their lifetime. Miscarriage is more common than people think and it shouldn’t be ignored. For anyone who has had a miscarriage, I want you to know that you are not alone. 👼

5. Given the choice, I would be a fruitarian. I ❤ Fruit! I find the fruitarian lifestyle intriguing and it would be my diet of choice if boundaries did not exist. However, I have a background in nutrition and neutraceutical sciences (NANS) from the University of Guelph, so I know that a fruitarian diet is not the answer to long-term health and longevity.

6. My pupils are different sizes. And this is concerning to neurologists. Ironically, my first clinical placement this semester was on an acute neurosurgery/neurology unit. I cannot tell you how concerned some of the staff was when I told them that I was born this way. When pupils are two different sizes, this usually indicates some kind of brain lesion or altered level of consciousness (LOC).

7. Also related to eyes, I am a carrier of Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR). Even though I am asymptomatic, my daughter is one of the unlucky few who is symptomatic. She was born blind in her left eye as a result of FEVR. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, FEVR defines a group of inherited diseases with abnormal retinal angiogenesis leading to incomplete vascularization of the peripheral retina. Every 3-6 months, my daughter gets routine surgery and receives laser surgery if necessary. Laser surgery is dependent on the progression of this eye disease. If she does not receive routine checkups, there is a risk that she could become blind in both eyes because the disease typically affects the eyes bilaterally.

Despite FEVR, she is a happy child 🌞

8. I was anorexic when I was 13 years old. I hate it when people try to glamorize anorexia to get attention or pretend they have an eating disorder when in fact they don’t. You’ll often notice this in the blogging sphere and social media and it’s is one of my pet peeves. I can tell you that anorexia is NOT glamorous. It is an eating disorder (ED) that the individual cannot control. These individuals know that it is wrong; they have insight but they lack judgement. I wish I had pictures and clothes to show you what I looked like at 98 lbs. but I don’t have any “memorabilia”. My parents threw out those memories without my permission. 

9. I attended 3 different universities. I am not making this up, unlike some people I know. I attended University of Guelph from 2010-2014 and obtained a degree in biological sciences. I also minored in nutrition and neutraceutical sciences (NANS). Sadly, I realized that I would not be able to truly thrive with this degree so I took some courses through Athabasca University, an accredited online university in Canada. Now, I am nursing student who is living in Alberta and I plan to graduate by the end of the year. It’s been a long journey and I am really, really tired of school. 

10. I own a 210ish year old violin. Or something like that. I lost track of its exact age; my violin is ancient. It’s been passed down in the family and got sold at one point. Fortunately, my dad was very lucky and managed to rescue the violin for me, which I received as a birthday gift. I named my violin Matilda the III and she has a very rich, pure sound. I haven’t played her in years since she doesn’t live with me, but I love the way she sounds. 

Well, there you have it! Did anything in my list surprise you? If so, what did you find most surprising? Do you know me as well as you thought you did? Please join the conversation and leave a comment below ↓ If you decide to write a similar blog post, please let me know so I can check it out. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

great-vibes.regular (1)

My Favorite Quotes: Love and Marriage

57 Comments

I had good intentions to write a blog post last week, but procrastination got the best of me. I write blog posts from my laptop, however, my laptop is having issues. It’s overheating again since the fan no longer works. I tried getting it fixed but the computer experts refused to fix it. Instead, they kept insisting that nothing is wrong with my laptop. I cannot for the life of me write blog posts from my iPhone. I do not understand how bloggers can write and edit blog posts from their smart phones. How does the tiny phone screen not annoy you? It’s very difficult to edit from a phone screen that is not much bigger than a deck of cards. Okay, two decks of cards but you get the point. 👩‍💻

As a continuation from my previous blog post titled, “My Favorite Quotes: Tea Time,” I want to share some of my favourite love and marriage quotes with you. There’s a bunch of em’ and I personally don’t have a favourite quote! Similar to the tea quotes, I wanted a safe place to keep these quotes because #memories but didn’t want to keep the original document. It’s only logical to write a blog post about my favourite love and marriage quotes, right? 👰🤵 Some of you may know (or don’t know) that I married my husband in May 2016 and we have been inseparable since January 2013! ❤

IMG_5489

A rare photo of me on my wedding day. Photo taken May 7, 2016

(っ◔◡◔)っ♥ Love Is In The Air ♥

1761082594

3

♥♥♥

Did any of these quotes resonate with you? I am curious to know which of these love/marriage quotes is your favourite. It does not have to be one from my list. Also, do you believe in true love? What about love at first sight? Are you married or do you plan to get married one day? Feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment below ↓ I will try my best to respond to your comments this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

great-vibes.regular (1)

My Favorite Quotes: Tea Time

61 Comments

Right now, I am sipping a cup of raspberry leaf tea while I am trying my best not to fall asleep at my computer desk. Even if I close my eyes for a few minutes, I would not get adequate sleep. No naps for me today. 😴 If we were having tea at my house or virtually via a Zoom meetup, I would share some of my favourite tea quotes with you. In May 2016, I printed these tea quotes and added them to cute frames to use as table placements. I wanted a safe place to keep these quotes because #memories but didn’t want to keep the original document. It’s only logical to write a blog post about my favourite tea quotes, right? 🍵💕

This blog post is as random as my mood today, and my mood happens to be a mix of depression, gloom, envy/jealousy, and frustration. Yes, it’s a weird mix of feelings and I and I am riding an emotional roller coaster right now. No, I am not dealing with PMS symptoms….yet. My depression seems to come and go in large waves, and these waves usually knock me off my feet. I will be okay; it’s just another wave that comes and goes like ocean tidal waves. As the saying goes, this too shall pass. 

Honestly, I could not find the energy or motivation to finish writing a decent blog post last week, despite multiple attempts. This morning, I resorted to reading fellow bloggers’ blog posts for inspiration, because my classic listicles and how-to guides weren’t cutting it. I was inspired by blogger Lucy, who runs a blog called Elsie LMC. If you aren’t familiar with her blog, I recommend that you check it out! She writes about similar topics, but goes into greater depth about her personal life which is a breath of fresh air. If you are currently following my blog (thank you~!), then you will probably like her content too!

It’s Time for Tea! (◡‿◡✿)

24135

6

Back in 2016, I didn’t use editing apps so the quotes were not as colorful as these ones. By the way, I am curious to know which tea quote is your favourite. It does not have to be one from my list. Also, do you enjoy drinking tea? If yes, what is your favourite kind of tea? Feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment below ↓

Thanks for stopping by!

great-vibes.regular (1)

 

3.2.1 Quote Me! – Love

28 Comments

I was nominated by the lovely Ilona Madam, who is one of my favourite bloggers in the WordPress community. I love the casual, French vibe she brings to her blog and I feel like we share a lot in common. For example, we are the same age, we are only children, and we are cat moms. She’s also an aspiring model and I’m like, totally not a model.🤷‍♀️

Mes amis, we can all learn from Ilona Madam to dream big in life and persue our passions. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to check out her blog. Merci beaucoup! 

Rules: 3.2.1 Quote Me!

“3.2.1 Quote Me” was created by a guy called Rory https://aguycalledbloke.blog/

⭐ Please note that Rory will be re-blogging your responses unless you wish for him to NOT do so ⭐

“Once a week, I will pick a random topic, post two quotes on that topic and nominate 3 bloggers, who in turn will post 2 quotes on the topic and nominate 3 bloggers of their own.” – Rory 

  1. Thank the person who tagged you.
  2. Post two quotes for the dedicated Topic of the Day. → Topic is LOVE ❤️
  3. Select three bloggers to take part in “3.2.1 Quote Me!” → I’m keeping the same topic: LOVE ❤️

➡️ My 2 quotes for the dedicated topic Love:

“Love is like the wind, you can’t see it but you can feel it.”
– Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
– John Lennon

➡️ My nominees:

Huguette

PoojaG

Michelle

img_3362_19085296004_o.jpg

Meeting you 6 1/2 years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me ❤️

♥ HILARY TAN ♥

Happily Ever After

6 Comments

sunset-hands-love-womanThis post may be a day or two late, but I can explain. Still, I am not the proud owner of a laptop and am having a difficult time blogging from a cell phone. When will this madness stop?! May 7 is a special day for my husband and me because it marks our 2 year anniversary. When people ask me how I know that he is my soulmate, or ask me for relationship advice, I tell them this:

“I just know he is right for me because my heart says yes. I do not have to think about it or question where we stand in our relationship. It feels right to me so therefore, it must be.” -Hilary Tan

Love is simple, love is kind, and love does not have to be a complicated hot mess. A relationship is only as difficult as the two persons make it out to be. Your fate is manifested by the mutual exchanges between you and your partner. A relationship cannot work if both parties aren’t committing to each other or communicating effectively.

img_5489-e1525817006837.jpg

Our 2 year anniversary and 5 years of being together is another reminder that we are doing something right. ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

I am writing this post on our anniversary, May 7, but it still needs editing and further tweaking. Tonight we binged on Limoncello cake from Costco. Oh Costco, you really do have the best cake. I love this cake! 🍰 So much for my diet and my goal to quickly lose the rest of my pregnancy weight this summer.

Who says you have to get fancy cake at the bakery? Costco is where it’s at; not to say that the Costco bakery isn’t fancy but you know what I mean.

I snapped a few photos of this lovely cake at home but I don’t think that the photos turned out well. We recently moved a bunch of stuff into the apartment so it’s very disorganized and cluttered right now. It’s not the most ideal place for snapping pics that are supposed to last a lifetime. However, there is one noteworthy photo to share – the lovely orchid that my husband got me to celebrate our anniversary! He is so thoughtful 🌺

hubby and cake .jpg

The orchid is cut off in the photo (left side). This is the extent of my photography skills. My hubby seems to be enjoying the cake very much 🍋

Anniversaries don’t have to be expensive or extravagant if you don’t want them to be. For us, we are perfectly happy with our $17 cake that tasted amazing and the lovely orchid thank you very much. I am slightly annoyed by the Mother’s Day advertisements that were shoved in my face last weekend while we were at the mall. It’s just another reminder that we must BUY ALL THE THINGS!!

tenor (2)

I could not find a decent BUY ALL THE THINGS! meme so I give you The Simpsons.

Why are we celebrating our special moments in a simpler way? Less stress. More savings $$$. We are embracing life as frugal Millenials not because we have to but because we want to. The cake was our splurge and it was totally worth the money and the calories. This purchase wasn’t senseless. When we see most of our peers living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet, we realize that this is not the lifestyle that we want to manifest for ourselves. We are willing to embrace the frugal life if it means living more comfortably. Having a bunch of expensive jewelry and other bling that we apparently desire based on what society tells us we want won’t make us happy in the long run.

 

 

Recipes For College Students

More Exciting News! Smiling Face on HTC Sense 7

There will soon be a new page heading titled “Recipes” which feature healthy and affordable recipes for the typical 20-something university student like myself. Not only are these recipes cheap, but they are also perfect for frugal people who don’t want to spend their hard-earned money on pricey pre-packaged food from the store located ever-so-conveniently on every corner in a city near you.

My husband and I are on a mission to save $$$ while attending school despite our inevitable expenses. We are interested in purchasing a house in a larger city, where I will be studying accelerated nursing in January 2018. That being said, I was recently inspired by blogger Frugalwoods to cut down on spending to an even greater extent. This morning I woke up with an idea: adopt a new muffin recipe using only the ingredients I had in my pantry without following any particular grocery list. You would be surprised what a simple challenge like “No Spending Month” (as of today) can do to jumpstart your creativity. More on this topic in a future blog post.

pexels-photo-311458.jpg

Half-baked minimalism: Our imperfect journey towards living a simpler lifestyle.

 

No Carbs, No Life!

While I was taking my baby for a morning stroll in the lobby, with my fancy-ass Starbucks cup in hand, I felt extremely groggy. This might sound hypocritical because I am no longer supporting Starbucks. Why? Their prices have gotten completely out of control up here in North America. I am not going to spend $5 on a small chilled iced tea with 3/4 ice in it or $6 on a frappuchino, especially when I can make these drinks myself. There are Starbucks take-out cups in the hotel room so I made my own English Breakfast Tazo tea with a splash of vanilla soy milk. Yes, I am camping out at a hotel this week and the baby is less than amused. Personally, I don’t blame her. I would hate it here too if I was stuck in a stroller or playpen all day. She’s a Miss Monkey so I don’t exactly trust her on the bed. She’s figured out how to roll off of the bed already, despite the pillow barricade I made to prevent this incident from happening. My ruthlessness must make me a bad mother, but I have yet to meet one mother who hasn’t made any mistakes. I’m a flawed human raising a 50% look-a-like munchkin with monkey abilities. So sue me. pexels-photo-227668.jpegAfter my 11-hour night’s sleep divided by 1 diaper change and a feeding, you would think that is plenty of sleep for a normal adult. However, this isn’t an “off-day” for me since I could sleep all day, every day, given the opportunity. I’m not sure how long I have had iron deficiency anemia, but I’m guessing that it has been affecting me for years. The signs which weren’t so obvious years ago are very obvious now. No amount of pills, diet changes, sunshine or prayer have helped me recover. While I was sipping my morning tea, I grabbed my spastic phone and started researching Iron Deficiency Anemia treatments like a madwoman.

Processed with VSCO with q4 preset

This isn’t the first time that I have researched this particular topic. I wasn’t searching for iron supplements or injection sites since my current city of residence doesn’t offer iron shots. No. I was looking for ways to increase my iron levels on my own. In my previous post, Why I left Multi-Level Marketing, I mentioned that I am tired of taking supplements and having to rely on them to function somewhat normally. I also mentioned that I am miserable on a low-carbohydrate diet and that this love-hate relationship with food isn’t working out.

Somehow, I have managed to convince myself that I am sickly, thanks to the internet confirming my beliefs that I have these disorders/diseases, to name a few: Celiac disease, lactose intolerance, depression, tooth decay and chronic fatigue. This leaves me with very limited food options. No wheat. No dairy. No sugar. No life.

Disclaimer: What you are about to see is not mine. You can check out Jenny’s website for more hilarious posts at The Bloggess.

“OH I DON’T NEED REAL FOOD. I’LL JUST LIVE ON THIS RAW CABBAGE.  I’M SO HAPPY. THIS IS FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE.”

giphy-1

This particular post by Jenny Lawson made my day brighter. Luckily, nobody heard me actually Laughing Out Loud in the front lobby downstairs. I must have looked foolish in my pajamas, unbrushed hair and ratty hoodie surrounded by a large wedding party that appeared out of nowhere. There were 10 bridesmaids blocking my path as I sheepishly meandered my way through the blockade of picture-perfect cover girls. I don’t understand how some people can be so loud, hyper and happy ALL. THE. TIME. Perhaps this is my fatigue and depression talking. Seriously, I must have looked pathetic as I made my way past them while avoiding eye-contact and feeling sorry for myself that I’ll never get to be a bridesmaid in my lifetime.