sleepless 'n' Singapore

Why, do I not sleep at all well when my husband is away?  Anyone would think that, as he travels so damn much that I would 'eventually' get used it...but no!

Last week Mr Man was away for 2 nights, in the time he was away I slept for 7 hours total!  Gosh I was absolutely 'knacked' and did not have a smiley face! :-(  Yes I was tired, but why then did I not sleep?  A little afraid of the dark? A little afraid of being alone? Goodness only knows, but the minute he got back on Friday I was straight into bed 'n' fast on!  Erm, do you think he was smiling? ;-)

I do actually believe that sleep deprivation is a form of torture!  See this link...wiki/Sleep_deprivation if it doesn't interest you then reading it could make you sleepy :-)

Yes, I was like the mother of a newborn!  All us Mums know how thoroughly 'shattered' we are as 'new mums'....actually believing that our children will 'never' sleep.  I remember my Mum 'n' Dad telling me that I did not sleep until I was 5 years old!  No, I did not believe Mum 'n' Dad either - until I had my second son and, he proved my Mum 'n' Dad right by not sleeping himself for 5 years! 

I did have some smiles while Mr Man was away though...My Chinese lesson, I had to cancel the last 2 weeks for one reason and another, so to get back to it was a bit scary - I was sure I had forgotten everything - yes, I had, well almost!  I did Birthdays and now know how to sing 'Happy Birthday to you' in Chinese!  Excellent, that will come in useful :-)  Still, Chinese lessons are making me smile and my teacher has such patience and gives lots of encouragement - it is fantastic :-)

To finish, here are a few of my favourite places in Singapore...I hope they make you smile :-)

Singapore River, bum boat 'n' Fullerton

East Coast Beach

Gardens by the Bay

soooo colourful, love this building

Fullerton Hotel

Kallang Bridge

East Coast Beach - morning

Sleep time now in my beautiful Singapore :-)

kisses 'n' smiles from me xx :-)

smiling with numbers...

ni hao ma?  Ok so yes, I am still on the 'very' basics of this wonderful Chinese language but it makes me smile so that is a good thing yes?  Hai ke yi ;-)  pretty good!

Moving onto numbers now... :-)  yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, liu, ba, jiu, shi...learning the numbers and reading telephone numbers in Chinese was a pretty difficult task - erm, my braces made it extremely difficult :-)#) kind of like a Chinese Tongue Twister - my giggling certainly made my teacher laugh and smile of course :-)

So, keeping with the numbers theme this time...

I went along to the cinema to see 'One Day''.  A friend passed me the book early last year and I loved it.  It made me smile and laugh but I didn't remember it making me cry!  Gosh the film had me sobbing :,(  it's ok though, I'm definitely one of those girly-girls who love to cry at movies.  Hey, I even cried at the end of 'Real Steal' - much to the utter embarassment of my boys!

So, One Day...published in 2009, over 400,000 copies sold and translated into 31 languages.  I was certainly unsure about going to see the film - as I'm always the first to say "but the book was better!"  The film though was pretty good although than Anne Hathaway's 'poor' Yorkshire accent had me a little annoyed.  I should have done the voice over - heck I should have played Emma Morley ;-)  My Mr Man did not like :-(  but if your hubby or boyfriend owes you a trip to the movies to see 'your choice', or if you just want a really soppy 'switch off the day' movie, then I recommend 3 out of 5 ;-)

Bellabox still making me smile :-) Yes, reward points - I've got 200 just for ordering this box of goodies, 15 points for every month I receive my goodie box and 5 points for every review I post on the goodies within my Bbox!  So, with 100 points equalling S$10 in their online store, I will soooo be ordering some full size goodies ;-)

More about numbers but now less smiley :-( Following on from the recent trip to Changi Prison with my boys, I did a little research and found some interesting facts, figures and general crime information that should relate to the low crime rate of Singapore.  Singapore has the highest per capita rate of executions in the world - next being Saudi Arabia.  In the last 13 years more than 400 people have been hanged.  In the last 40 years just 6 appeals for clemency were successful.  The death penalty was made mandatory in Singapore in 1975 for murder and drug traffickers.  It is shocking though that since the beginning of 2011 five bodies have been dragged from the Bedok Reservoir - but are they murders or suicides?

OK, moving on swiftly and back to some more smiles :-) 

Doga or Yoga for dogs...

An article in my local paper last week telling of these yoga classes for dogs.  The classes are intended to help dogs find their inner peace and take the canines through a series of exercises and positions designed to improve their heart and digestion.  Yes, it really did make me smile :-)  Anyone tried this with their canine friends?  I think it would be a lot of fun :-D

Lastly, I'm wishing all a Happy Deepavali :-) This very special Indian festival which translates as 'row of lights' and is the 'festival of lights' is celebrated today, and here in Singapore our neighbours are dining on yummy food, lighting candels and lighting up their homes.  Diwali ki Shubhkamnayein (दिवाली की शुभकामनाएं):

;-) our neighbours made this very pretty artwork in the lobby ;-)

kisses 'n' smiles from me xx ;-)

Nī hào...

This cute box arrived yesterday :-)  I will set aside some time today to enjoy the 'opening ceremony' and will be reviewing the products within...little bit excited about the very first Bellabox

"Wǒ bù dǒng hán yù"...but I'm learning!  I'm only on my second 'Chinese Made Easy' lesson and it is so much fun - I'm loving it.  Of course, yes, it is soooo difficult but my teacher is fab and makes it relevant to how I can practice day to day (courage required!)  It's not really 'necessary' to speak Chinese here in Singapore...English/Singlish is spoken and understood island-wide but for those trips around China it will come in useful.  Anyway, for the last 4 years I've been saying "I would really love to learn mandarin" so here I go.  Apparently, one of the traits of my star sign which is Gemini is a love for and success with languages ;-)  I agree with the love for! 

Living in France for a total of 9 years definitely developed into a success with French.  Without French I would not have had such great friends or amazing experiences there...I promise to do a topic about living in France and the French language and people (bien sûr les noms changés pour protéger les personnes concernées :-D Yes, you'll see living in France wasn't always with a smile but I did have lots of smiley times ;-)

They say music can alter moods and talk to you...I totally agree with this.  Everyday, twice a day, I walk my lovely dog and pop in my iPod - it is filled with a real mix (Take That - with and without Robbie, Rihaaaaaanna, Cold Play, Eminem, Cheryl Cole, Air, Ke$ha, Enrique, Taio Cruz, Pulp and other crazy choices) with the iPod on shuffle the music really does 'set' my day.  A song that is really making me smile right now (constantly on the radio), I will find it on iTunes, is Enrique featuring Pitbul ...I like it ;-)

Zài jiàn - later...

kisses 'n' smiles from me xx ;-)