Have a Great Weekend...

Hope that everyone will have a relaxing weekend. It has been pretty hectic with the CNY holidays...

For me, things were pretty crazy just before the CNY break due to some software platform release my team was involved in. We're relieved that it's now done but now, the old cycle of innovate, improve, fix and deliver a working software platform is back.

We or at least, I should learn from both Rusty and Snoopy... They always take time out for an afternoon "siesta". They only bark when necessary and only exert energy when it's really needed (like chasing squirrels or birds).

Why don't I ever learn.....

Need a Break...

I can't wait for the weekend to come...

It's absolutely tiring to wait for the long weekend to come by. Rusty is tired of waiting too.

Anyway, before I forget; here's to wishing our Hindu friends a Happy Deepavali and Happy Holidays to everyone else! Don't go overboard on the muruku..

Tired

I'm just exhausted.

I can't understand why.

Perhaps this picture sums it up...

Here's to the mid-week... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

P/S: I'm probably exhausted from a pretty rough week, as well as battling back pains.. yet again!

PP/S: This picture was taken about a year ago... Funny how I didn't got around to post it up.

Sleep Troubles... Again!!

Snoopy doesn't like it when I disturb her "beauty sleep"

Of late I've been having difficulty sleeping...

It is frustrating as I've been experiencing great sleep at night for the last couple of weeks after I got out from the hospital. I'm not sure if it is due to the fact that I've started to go back to work since last week and that the stress is coming back, or it's due to the medication I'm taking.

Anyway, I've been trying to apply the correct sleeping habits as follows:

• No caffeine/food 2 hours before bed-time
• No exercise 3 hours before bed-time
• No TV/laptop activities while in bed or before bed-time
• Going to bed as soon as you feel sleepy...

However, it does not work. I tend to wake up at 4 or 5am feeling quite alert! Whenever I try to go back to sleep, it is not restful and I wake up feeling more exhausted at 7am.

Grrrrr... Also, I find that when I accidentally fall asleep by 10:30pm and not go to bed soon after, I'm wide awake until 12 or 1am!!!

Sleep is very important and we should try to get at least 7-8hrs per day to stay healthy. If we have not enough sleep, we can put on weight easily and also tend to crave unhealthy foods! My insomnia for the last 3-6mths also played a big factor in my being sick too... So, I'm worried about my sleeping patterns now...

Any suggestions??

12 Days Old...

The twins have been home for the past 10 days.

They both seem to have settled into the regular routine of eat, sleep, poo, pee, and eat again.

Yep, both parents are having some sleepness nights. ;-)

Anyway, they are not too difficult to care for at this stage as they are not very mobile but just very delicate. So, we have to be a bit more careful when we pick them up as their necks are still a wee bit fragile.

My sister is breastfeeding them and I learned that they will poo more when they take breast milk. However, mother's milk is still the best!

Snoopy and Rusty have gotten used to them, however Rusty is more excited than usual because he thinks both of the small humans can play with him now. I think he will be their best friend in the next few years when they are old enough to run and play with him. Snoopy, on the other hand, is more docile and very protective. She sits near by to watch over them like a security guard.

Charlotte is still feeding on demand as she is the smaller of the two. She, being the big sister is often more calm and collected. She seems pensive but quite cheerful and has the sweetest smiles.

Olivia is just precious. She loves to sleep alot and is somewhat of a joker... We noticed that she makes a lot of "cat-mewing" type noises when she sleeps. Kind of reminds me of my Mom when she sleeps because my Mom tends to "talk" in her sleep. No doubt, Olivia might be the more talkative of the two...

Both are a joy to photograph with my 50mm lens. I'm glad I bought it, though I was targeting the 60mm Macro lens in the 1st place.

No flash photography yet as both are still delicate. Later on, I'll experiment with my flash as I might setup a mini studio to take photos of them when they are older.

7:02am

Damn it!

Ok, I shouldn't start my post with a curse.... But.... No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get my mandatory 8 hours of sleep. =_=

I went to bed at around 12:30am and woke up... lo and behold at.... 6:15am. I was supposed to be awake by 7:00am. Where did that 45minutes of sleep go?? Oh yeah, I remembered... Nature's call woke me up. Grrr...

7:05am - Some random thoughts before I feed the dogs and prepare to go to work. I've got to get the routine right as by next week, the school holidays would be over and the mad traffic return to the streets. *sigh*

Anyway, something cool to share - my sis and bro-in-law have given names to the twins. They are very certain that both are girls. So, we're currently praying that Charlotte and Olivia would safely arrive at the end of August.

Wouldn't it be cool if they arrive on 31st August 2009 and share the same birthday as Snoopy? But then, the cost of delivering that day would be double or triple...

Catching Some Zzzzz

Okie... So, this one is a meme from Tekkaus. Thanks for informing me about the meme. (^___^)

Some years back I suffered from a mild case of insomnia due to a very irregular sleeping schedule. It was bad because you feel exhausted during the day due to lack of sleep. Your mind feels foggy and you can't concentrate properly.

Needless to say, sleep is important. Without sleep, humans can die in a matter of days!! Besides that, new research suggests that lack of sleep can increase risk of heart attacks! Eeep!!

So, here goes the meme...

~How do you sleep at night?~

Is your sleep affected by the national angst? Do you drop off easily, as you always did? Or does it take a while to get to sleep?
It depends. If my mind is distraught about some stuff, I will be tossing and turning in bed for hours before I can fall asleep. However, most of the time, I fall asleep without knowing that I did - especially when I'm reading or watching TV.

~What strategies, if needed, do you use to get to sleep?~
Pills? Sheep? Late night television show? And/or…?
Deep-breathing exercises and a dark room. For a while now, I was having poor quality sleep because I left my table lamp on. When I started to turn it off about 10 minutes before I sleep, I find that I doze off easier.

What strategies do you have to get back to sleep?
Reading a book...

~Are your dreams affected? ~
Are they more anxious than before? Do they wake you up in a sweat? Or are they peaceful, innocent, undisturbed by the general malaise?
Certain foods like strong teas can make me more alert while gas-inducing food makes me feel uncomfortable when I sleep. Most of the time, my dreams are affected by events of the day or some thoughts which I would like to place in my sub-conscious at night so that my conscious mind in the morning will know what to do. Hahaha.. Basically, I try to dream good stuff so that my conscious self is reprogrammed accordingly.

OK... I'm having a slight neck and head pain due to a poor posture while sleeping last night. So, will be taking some stuff to relieve the irritation.

Shall I pass this meme on? Hahaha.. Hmmm... *thinking*

Snoopy sure knows how to enjoy her nap!!