Slow and steady

I was woken far too early this morning by the guys who had come to replace the curtains.  My annoyance disappeared quickly the moment I saw the curtains I had picked hanging up - they're the perfect mix of provencal and crisp botanical drawings and match the rest of my room very nicely.

Sometimes I forget that we've been living in this house for over four years now; it still feels like such a new experience.  But things are falling apart.  My old earth toned, striped curtains were starting to rip to shreds.

This weekend was spent doing other lazy things amid frenzied bouts of work.  I was so exhausted yesterday that I crawled into bed without touching my Nanowrimo word count and had to make up for it by blowing through 3,000 words today.  Never again.  On the bright side, I found a little video on YouTube about how cockroaches groom themselves.  I'll spare you the visual, but when I saw it lifting its leg like a puppy to paw at its feelers, I actually went "Awww".  Yikes.

Hanwei snapped some photos of me taking a casual nap on the floor with Chip.  He's not the kind of dog who enjoys cuddling up in general but sometimes, when he's tired, he likes company.

I spent last night chilling with this little guy while his parents took a much needed break and caught themselves a movie.  My friends haven't been out together since their kid was born and I thought it would be nice babysitting practise for me since I have lots of other friends who are likely to procreate soon.

I've never looked after such a young baby before, but Little T was a breeze.  He stared at me in puzzlement for the first two hours but I eventually discovered that if I tickled him behind the knee and told him emphatically to "kick! kick! kick! kick!" he went crazy giggling.  We played in the baby gym, read two books on bath time and took several tours of the house as he sucked on my shirt on my shoulder.  I think I'm in love.

And finally, my first What's in My Purse on this blog.  I love looking at pictures of what people carry about on their daily business because they're both visually appealing and revealing.  I especially love all the cute stationery women carry in their bags and looking at what people read when they're out and about.  In my bag this weekend (From L to R):

1)  iPhone 4

2)  Coin purse with band aids and hairpins 

3)  A stack of flash cards that I've been using for work

4)  Rilakkuma stickers that we hand out for good assignments

5)  Red toiletries case

6)  Lavender wet wipes, because I spill like crazy

7)  Spotted Tesco mini umbrella

8)  iPod with fluorescent orange earphones that match my...

9)  Fluorescent orange rubber pouch that contains extra earphones and pens

10)  My wallet, a special gift from a friend a long time ago

11)  A packet of tissues

12)  A one-use poncho leftover from the National Day Parade.  Just in case

13)  Extra sugar free gum

14)  My very exciting Totoro keychain with a Starbucks thumbdrive I got for putting a top up on my card

The bright yellow bag is from Nine West, a present from my mom several months ago when she saw it and told me she thought she had to buy it because I love to wear yellow.  

So it's back to work now, Sunday blues and finishing up marking and reading about hydraulic fracturing.  It promises to be a long week ahead, but I just keep marking writing milestones and making gratitude lists in my head and one day, I'll be there.