Life has been so hectic for the past few months and some things have become a routine for me. To a point where I felt sooo exhausted. Being a full time working mum has totally took a toll on me not just physical but mentally. At times, I even go to bed at almost 1am.

With the non stopping demand from work, it just adds on to what I already have in my hands. Not everyone understand that breastfeeding mum's need is as important as a pregnant woman. When you're in stress or you're rushing during pumping, it's hard to focus on what you're doing. From my 6 months experience, many mummies told me that they're under produced mum but from what I understand, I believe they lost focus during their pumping session like rushing for meetings or thinking about their workload. On top of that, demand from bosses just adds on the pressure. If only people understand what breastfeeding mums a.k.a ftwm has to go through.

I'm very indeed blessed with abundance of breast milk. In fact, I have extras to donate to other babies almost on a weekly basis. Hey, I'm not complaining though. Why not help other babies in need kan.



So our trip to Lombok was something I've been looking forward to although it was hard to leave #babyjedi behind. At least I have some time off from mummy duty. We didn't have any itinerary in hand and accommodation was confirmed a few days before our departure. We spent half of our day touring around Lombok and half a day at the home stay. We didn't travel far. Only around Senggigi and nearby Lombok airport.

Our purpose was to really relax without having any plan. Plus my travel buddy was pregnant, so we reduce any activities that might tire her out. We had breakfast cooked freshly every morning, lepaking by the pool. Macam mat saleh la. It was really nice. Not having to think about anything but perhaps I might bring #babyjedi in my next trip. Rindu...

Feeling refresh after taking 4 days off from my work desk. It has been more than a year since I last boarded a plane. It was because I was pregnant and not fit to fly.

Our Lombok trip was a planned one and tix were bought end of last year during the Air Asia sale. We wanted to go for an all girls short trip. Away from the husband and baby. Turned out it was hard to leave #babyjedi behind. Lain kali kena tag along la.

So we flew with Air Asia on an afternoon flight 3.40pm and it took us 3 hours to arrive Lombok International Airport. The airport was relatively small so you don't have much things to do to kill time. Since we arrive at night, we can't see how Lombok looked like.

We headed straight to our homestay by a shuttle bus with reasonable price, Damri shuttle. The bus service is available from Bandara Internasional Lombok to service passengers wishing to travel to and from either Mataram or Senggigi. The 8 DAMRI buses serving the route have a capacity of approximately 40 passengers, 10 further buses with a 20 passenger are expected to complement the fleet but have not been delivered. They are new air-conditioned buses and are white in colour.

DAMRI services depart from their office located in eastern Mataram on Jl. Tuan Guru Faisal (a three minute taxi ride from the Mandalinka Bus Station) every hour and proceed to the airport, commencing at 04:00 with the last bus leaving that terminal at 19:00.

The fare from/to the Mataram is fixed at Rp 25,000 per person which is equivalent to RM7.90

DAMRI services are also provided to connect Senggigi to the airport departing Senggigi from 03:00 and then every 1.5 hr until the last departure from Senggigi at 20:00. Some airport buses may provide services between Mandelika and Senggigi. In the last couple of months these services have not been accurately following the published schedules, ensure you leave plenty of buffer time if catching a departing flight.

Our trip to Muar was back in November 2016. It was because my dad wanted to visit my sister in Muar and also because I wanted to go for a last road trip before I deliver and get imprison during confinement for 2 months. It was just me, my mum and my dad. It wasn't a peak period at that time so we managed to secure a room for the 3 of us. My sister slept over with us on the 2nd night.

I was away a few weekends ago with my parents. We traveled down south to Muar to visit my sister cause my dad misses her *but he was in denial*. I had the chance to step into her college and had the experience of how it looks like to be in med school *grine*. I wanted to be a doctor since I was small and that ambition has never changed until today but man, why must people create Maths??? Why oh why. I hate Maths to death and irony now is, I deal with numbers, day in and day out. Karma huh.

Anyway, on the day that I was coming back from Muar, Juan texted me, asking me to inform him once I'm at the border of Penang. It was weird cause he never does that. So I asked him if he prepares a surprise for me since my birthday is around the corner or perhaps he bought my favorite kuih? Neither both. So the next thing I thought was 'Habisla my car, sure accident'. It was not that too. I was too impatience that I asked him to tell me the whole story over Whatsapp. HE GOT INTO ACCIDENT a day before I came back.

So ten of thousands of question were thrown at him. Luckily he was not badly hurt although it left him with wounds on his knee, hands, stomach, elbow and a dislocated right arm. But he can't move a lot and that means, all the house chores are transferred to me *cry a bucket*. At least he's safe and nothing that was serious.

The first thing that came into my thick skull was 'Oh no, all house chores will be on me'. It's true. I don't blame him cause it was an accident.

I'm currently heavily pregnant so the rate of me doing housework? Don't even bother to mention. Even sweeping the house took me like 30 minutes. Let alone washing the clothes, cleaning up the kitchen, etc.

I'm grateful that although he's in pain, he never neglects his responsibility. I know it's hard and I can see that he's trying his best to help me out given the condition I'm in now. I can;t imagine if something worst were to happen to him.

Travel is not a reason that you can't put your makeup on, even the most minimal. You still wanna look good while exploring the world. But, bringing a bottle of makeup remover or cleansing oil can be leceh cause you need to bring that extra cotton face. Especially traveling with infant. You need everything to be fast and practical.

So where did we stay in Taiping?

Juan been telling me about this hotel that we should stay. Which is by the lake with 2 views you can choose, the back lane view or the lake view. If it's peak season and with luck, you might get the lake view. We got ourselves a housing estate view. Boleh la kan.

It was supposed to be a surprise for Juan but knowing me who can't keep surprises to herself, I had to tell him 2 days before. Nak rahsiakan nama hotel pun tak jadi.

I booked through Bookings.com and it was on promo, RM168 inc 6% tax and breakfast for 2.

What I expected? By the name itself, I expected that the hotel will be as exclusive as Gurney Hotel but in reality, it looks more of a 3 star rated hotel but t's clean and quite spacious. But the walkway to our room were not well lit with only wall lights instead of ceiling lights. Breakfast was good (because they served real Koko Krunch, not those bought from food supplier). I tend to go for cereal first every time during my hotel stay. I just love cereals. My favorite part of this hotel is the bathroom. It has this retro touch with black and white tiles. It looked more of a 70s and 80s kind of bathroom. The bed was spacious but there were no closet. It's just a railing with hangers for you to hang your clothes.

When you were young, you dream of someone as handsome as Brad Pitt to be the love of your life until you enter adulthood. Snap!!! By then you realize that handsome can't help you with the house chore, washing the dishes, do the laundry, cleaning your baby's poop. Well, looks are just fantasy we put our mind into. In real life, that doesn't help much especially in marriage.

Looks can change by time. Those man you see handsome will grow old someday and so will you. And then what? Plastic surgery to get back the shape you used to have? Don't think so.

Me and Juan spent our last weekend in Taiping. I've been to Taiping before, years ago but never really explore the place. Just a short getaway before the baby pops out. I needed a break and Juan just recovered from a 'bad' week. He was down with fever and swollen ankle. So I thought it would be a great thing to do. Since we can't travel long distance, this will do too. Just a 1 hour drive from Penang.

It was nice of Juan to bring me out for a brisk walk at the famous lake garden, an iconic place for Taiping residence. Clean, with LOTSA hawker food, children playing at the playground. But try to avoid night and late evening walks. The place can be a little dark with mosquitoes.

Small gesture like this makes me think of how bless I am to be married to a man who has so much patience, helpful (although sometimes he can be annoying), respectful and gave me some sense of freedom to do the things that I like. So I wouldn't be worried much to have someone to help me with the baby once she's/he's out. It takes 2 to make a marriage work, honestly. With both husband and wife working nowadays, the role of a husband does not stop at work place. It now extended to household too and women are not contained in the kitchen, it extend to the outside world. Both parties has their own role and responsibilities and it gets tougher with a baby on tow.

Which husband doesn't make his wife crawl up the ceiling at times? Well, those are the ups and downs that comes in a package when you're married. No marriage is perfect, if there is, I will find it first, don't worry. You want to grow old together NOT half way through the journey. My dad always advise us that PATIENCE is what it takes to make a marriage work. Cause I always wonder how can my dad married to a woman who always nag 24/7. My mum always has something to bring up even smallest thing like cutting the onion in an irregular sizes. Horror I tell you.

Find man who can accept you at your best and even at your worst. With this kind of man, you don't have to worry of waking up without your make up on. The one thing I kept thinking about was 'Will my husband still love me when I'm sick?' Sick in the sense that he still loves you even when you're laying down on your death bed. That was before I got married. But now, I know that my husband will always be there through sickness and health, anytime of the day. Just as my father was there for my mother:-)

Looks VS A Man Who Can Do Housework. You choose.

It was our first time staying at a place that we booked through AirBnb. I was thinking of staying at a hostel or dormitory but most of the places like that are expensive in Japan but if you're the kind of person who don't really bother about privacy, then go ahead with that option.

Then I thought of staying at hotels, nearby to the city but they're even more expensive. Plus I didn't wanna waste our funds as we will not be spending a lot of time in a hotel. So last resort, why not AirBnb.

I made all bookings 3 months before our date of departure. Looking at a few choices. Most homes in Japan will provide you tatami bed and heater (for winter) instead of a real bed frames but it all depends on your preference. We had a mix of both. Their tatami bed are as comfortable as a wooden bed cause they're thick.

Since me and Juan brought some pre-cooked meal, we wanted a home that has cooking facilities. A small kitchen will do that we can cook our breakfast before we head out for the day.

In Kyoto, we stayed with our host in a 3 floor home. The 1st floor is for AirBnb while the 2nd and 3rd floor are occupied by the landlord. Although she had difficulty in communicating with us in English, we used a lot of sign language and Google maps. Her house is about an hour journey from the main city. So we travel by metro every day for the next 3 days of our stay. It was really convenient the fact that she provide bicycles for her guest so we don't have to walk for 15 minutes to the nearest train station. You can take a brisk walk to the station too and enjoy the small town and meeting people along the road.

I could say that our stay in Kyoto was the best although our Osaka home was nearer to the station. Our Kyoto home has this modern fell to it,mix with old Japan and we get to experience the daily lives of a Japanese household. The place was very clean and organized. We had complimentary coffee and tea (landlord provided us Teh Songket as she knew we were from Malaysia).

Every basic needs were there so we didn't have any problem in adapting ourselves. With washing machines, hair dryers, towel, toiletries and kitchen.


For more details or photos, click here.

As I mentioned in the previous post, this year's Syawal is a special one for me cause after 7 years, we decided to celebrate Hari Raya in Singapore with the rest of our extended family members. Plus my dad agreed to tag us along this time which makes it extra special.

It was definitely the highlight of 2016. Reminiscing old memories where we used to ride on my uncle's lorry to go beraya. It was definitely fun. Although the gathering was not complete but I can still feel the warmth and I managed to slot in some time to meet other cousins especially the ones I grew up with and those missing in the gathering

I could see that everyone are no longer the small little cousin that I used to walk hand in hand with. They're all now young adults. Dah tahu pakai makeup, dress up, style pun dah lain. Cepat betul membesar. Made me feel so old -__-'

This time around, we didn't had the time to go for shopping. This trip is dedicated specifically for Hari Raya. Instead we focus on beraya from house to house. Tapi poket sakitla. We visited my grandma's, my uncles and aunties and a few of my cousins. It was good to catch up with each other like the good old days. Had lontong in almost every house we visited but sadly I didn't had my kuah kacang this year. My aunt and my mum cooked ayam merah, nasi minyak and rendang daging for everyone. They cooked the night before and brought it over to grandma's place the next afternoon.

Oooohh, I had the chance to fly with Tiger Air for the first time. They had this cheap tickets a few months ago so I thought why not. I've been flying with Jet Star for the past few years of my travel to Singapore.