My Favouritest Time Of The Year!

Isn't this cute? Too bad i didn't have my real camera with me or i would have captured a much better picture. Seeing this makes me just wanna squeeze her face close to mine. Never mind even if she has the stinkiest breath in the world. :)

My spirits have been very much lifted seeing marked improvements in Sophie's health after doing some tweaking with her drugs and some other stuff. I'm not sure how long she's gonna stay good for but i think for now, i'll just live in the moment and love the moment. Living and working with animals has taught me many important life lessons, and living in the moment is definitely one of them.

It helps that x'mas is just around the corner and it's most definitely my favouritest time of the year! Was going through some old stuff from the husband just a few days ago and read the x'mas card he gave me last year. In it, he was joking about how it was my last year as a Miss and by this time next year (x'mas 07), i'd legally be his Missus and can no longer run away from the commitment anymore! Who says i was going to anyways? Heh! Anyways, i just realised this is the 10th x'mas that me and the husband are spending together! A decade together already!! Kinda surreal how time flies in a whiz.

Getting an x'mas gift for each other has always been a tad stressful for the both of us because we always worry the other party will not like the pressie that we chose. Our worries are always unfounded because most of the time, our taste is pretty similar and we're quite in tune with the other party's needs or wants. Btw, the husband has just thanked me 2 days ago for the Evo that i'm getting him this year. Talk about dropping SUBTLE hints lor!!! In return, i thanked him for the completed 2000-piece glow-in-the-dark jigsaw puzzle that i had planned to do up for the bub's room. Hahahah!

Before x'mas every year, we'll usually take some time off each other to scout for pressies. This year is no different but the difficult part is hiding the present and preventing the other party from ransacking the car/cupboard/drawers! The husband managed to wrap and hide my pressie all in a night while i was at my parents' place and is very, very tight-lipped about its whereabouts even after my incessant pestering. ARGH! I like surprises but i like unravelling surprises more and that includes trying to uncover the pressie's hideout too!

The feasting started 2 weeks ago and that was the bbq at Sis' chalet. Mum's chicken wings were super yummilicious even though she was adamant that this wasn't her best seasoning recipe and she can make better ones (so hao lian right? muahahah!!!). We both missed the bbq we used to have in Perth where it'd just be the two of us pigging out at the belcony of my apartment. I doubt we can have our personal bbq next time in our small belcony but even if we can, i think our immediate neighbours upstairs (one of Dan's good friends is living just 5 storey directly above us) will kill us for the air pollution!!! Then there was a big office lunch last Friday which i think kick-started the festive mood because no one (including me) seems to be in the working mood after that!! I am officially the chocolate distributor and people have been streaming in and out of my office, stealing the chocolates from my red paw stocking (some free gift from PLS when i went to get stuff for the pets).

2 days ago, we had our department pot luck lunch and to be honest, i've never seen so much food in my life. The auntie colleagues among us spent the entire morning in the pantry and kitchen whipping up their specialties like chicken curry, mutton rendang, nasi briyani, fried bee hoon, sambal prawns, samosas etc etc etc!! I ordered a turkey, sushi and a ham platter from Kriston (Mag is still raving about the cheesecakes she ate during our church reception) and spent close to 45 minutes carving the damn 4-kg bird!!!! We were all happy rats by noon time but the only thing that irked me was that most of the food were contributed by the ones that had lesser to share (i.e. those that draw the lowest pay and are so-called at the lower end of the food chain). The big and medium fishes mostly did the eating only and i subtlely suaned a few of them as missing out the whole point and the spirit of x'mas. It's sad but true, how people who have more usually keep what they have to themselves while people who have considerably lesser have no qualms about sharing whatever little they have with others. That aside, i had a good time and ate so much that afternoon, so much so i couldn't even eat dinner that evening!

I'm looking forward to x'mas eve though, because that's traditionally the couple day for me and the husband. It's funny how our x'mas activities morphed as we grew older. When we were much younger, we'd head to Orchard and kuai sio (squeeze) with the other youngsters and the banglas. When the husband got his car later on, we spent a few years joining in the x'mas jam at Orchard, horning and making hell out of noise at everyone and anyone. The last few years, being more mellow with age, we spent our time sipping fruit wine and eating chocolates till the wee hours before doing the most exciting deed - unwrapping the pressies!!! This year will be significantly special because it's our 10th x'mas and we're finally celebrating it as a married couple with a little one on his way. Next year, with our new house and a 9-mth-old bub, i can already imagine how exciting it's all gonna be!!

Anyways, today is a short day for me at work because i need to do some last minute shopping. The girls in the office have all decided to follow suit and i've recklessly approved their last-minute leave and time-off just so they can have an early festive break! X'mas is coming so let all heaven break loose!!!!