Ok so the last post I published was 11 Dec 2016, I think I broke my own record again for being absent here.

We just returned to KL a few days ago from our 2-week stay in Japan, flew to Bangkok straight away for a day trip, came back to KL midnight and drove all the way back the next morning back to Singapore. So… please grant me a small break haha.

Anyway I thought about chilling my last day of 2017 away, but then I went to read my year end blog post on 2016, and I thought, damn, I can’t lose to the me in 2016, because I AM ONLY ALWAYS BETTER. Staying in Singapore really makes me more kiasu now hahaha.

So here’s to reflect the past year.

My #2017bestnine.

So let’s see what happened in 2017:

87 Blog Posts

This is my 87th blog post of 2017. That makes 7.25 blog posts per month, almost 2 blog posts per week. HEY THAT’S NOT BAD. Considering that it is a luxury to actually have time to put conditioner on my hair in shower. So if you will so kindly allow, I am going to give myself a big hand of applause right now lol.

I even made the effort to give it a new makeover as it deserved an upgrade after so many years of being my BFF, and also a spark-joy new URL: cheeserland.jp.

My 2018 new year resolution is 2 blog posts per week. I really don’t care if nobody reads this blog anymore, it is a promise to myself to keep it alive… no, THRIVING, for as long as it can. 🙂

Top Parenting Influencer 2017

Thanks for letting me know that I’m not a shit mother. When I feel like one I’ll scroll back to stare at this photo.

2017 New Apartment

So we have moved to a new apartment in Singapore, and I was determined to keep the place Konmari-ed. Ok on this last day of 2017, I would say… fine the house is sliiiiightly messier than the beginning of the year haha. I do face the problem of running out of space to keep stuff BECAUSE THE DANNA WON’T STOP BUYING NEW SHOES AND CLOTHES AND HE IS EATING INTO MY WARDROBE SPACE😡.

And also my snack cabinet is exploding because I tend to over-stock whenever I go back to Japan. But other than that, I think I am still doing quite an okay job keeping the house tidy. Thank you, Marie Kondo.

Thanks to that, I made my first debut in Singapore’s zaobao hahaha.

#47PrefectureMission

My life mission, and it looks like I am going to achieve it much sooner than I thought I could. Hahaha my dream is too small.😌

So this year the new prefectures I conquered were  Hiroshima, Ehime, Aomori, Oita and Miyazaki. I am done with 31 now, 16 more to go. This year I have completed all Kyushu prefectures! I think I will need another life mission in a few years time!

In 2018, I want to complete Tohoku (Yamagata and Akita). I also plan to accept more travel jobs that I had been rejecting due to parenting commitments. I think 2018 will be a good year for it.

2017 Evolved Pokemom

My 4th blog post as pokemom. If you ask me, I couldn’t remember how I survived the first year of shuttling between 3 countries (Japan, Singapore, Malaysia) with a frenzied toddler and an infant, EVERY SINGLE MONTH. If you ask me now, I don’t think I can nor have the energy to do it again.

But now that Junya has mellowed down a lot to a curious kitten from a rabid puppy and is able to sit quietly through a 7-hour flight, and that Sakura has become more independent (no longer have to be stuck to my chest 24/7), I think I don’t mind more traveling together in the next year.

#Lazymamacookinghack

In 2017 I started #lazymamacookinghack. Mastering better cooking skills has always been my yearly resolution ever since I become a mother, but honestly cooking really requires A LOT of effort and time.

To think that I have never ever taken interest in pots and pans, seasonings and spices in my entire life until just a few years ago, it’s a long way to catch up. And I don’t think I have the flair of a culinary enthisiast, so the only thing I could do is refer and reproduce, with the rare occasional experimenting. For the whole year I have done lots of trial and error on various cooking hacks, and I think by now I have a fairly extensive repertoire of One-Pot-Wonder recipes, all with minimum preparation/cooking steps. My favorite is dishes cooked with my Vermicular pot and also rice-cooker dishes like Takikomigohan.

In 2018 I aim to bring my #lazymamacookinghack to the next level. Maybe something like 5 dishes in ONE pot under 5 minutes HAHAHA. (Well that’s entirely possible now to think of it. Maybe my 2018 mission is to 彻底钻研 this subject😬).

2017 Hair

I think this is the shortest I’ve gone in my adult life. While I loved it, I also missed my long hair so I’m growing it long now. But it really grows shockingly slow, I am not sure why.

2017 Weight

I had also been the lightest of my entire adult life. (I really did not want to lose any more weight.)

Many people asked me what’s the secret to stay so slim despite having two kids. My answer is – to have two kids. Haha it is true. Eating kid’s leftover, always running around and errands, waking up midnight… it was pretty impossible to gain weight.

Posture Studying

While it is still near impossible for me to start liking sports/exercise, I have taken an interest in bettering my posture, because I was really done having a permanent back pain. I cannot avoid all the bending and carrying with two young kids around, and chiropractic/massages did not address the core issue, so I have decided to fix it all by myself – to improve daily postural habits in order to slowly build strength and resilience. It is working really well and my back pain has really reduced lots.

In the coming year I want to continue to do this and aim to be physically stronger (which means I have to stop being 37KG😤).

Oppai

I have breastfed for another full year.

I cannot resist this face, and I can’t bear to stop right now.

2017 Solo Trip

The first time I was away from both cheesiepetits. (And lots of milk expressing.)

2017 Travel

Gold Coast – Feb

Every CNY holiday the danna goes to Australia for surfing. This year I went to hug another koala while the danna hugged mine.

Bali – March

The following month we went to a different destination for more surf.

Osaka – April

It was our 2017 Hanami! Soooo happy <3 It was Number76 company trip for all the staff this year, since they have gone to Tokyo 3 years in a row, it was time to explore a different city. Hopefully Hokkaido in 2018? Haha.

Ehime – June

My Setouchi trip with HomeAway. New prefecture checked!

Summer Japan Trip – July

During this trip we went to Nagasaki, Ibaraki, Aomori and Hakodate. I am starting to love even summer in Japan.

Tokyo – September

Work trip with Tokyo Metro.

Bali – September

We had to use up some accommodation credits so we decided to go to Bali again. Lucky danna!

Hiroshima – October

Hiroshima with Silk Air – which blog posts I still owe. 😅

Nikko – November

Autumn trip with JR Cafe and TOBU Line. Best autumn trip ever!

Winter Japan Trip – December

We went to Nagasaki, Oita and Miyazaki. Blog post soon (hopefully!)

Special Occasions

Sakura’s 1st Birthday

Sakura turned 1 this year. ^^

Junya’s 3rd Birthday

Junya turns 3 this year.

Mama’s 21st Birthday

because I stopped counting many years ago HAHAHHA. Carolyn and QiuQiu threw me a bday party before our trip to Japan.

The day I thought the danna forgot about my birthday.

Belated birthday dinner in Tokyo with RinRin and Stella.

5th Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated high up above Tokyo, overlooking my most loved Tokyo Tower with both cheesiepetits. Junya loves his vehicles and it is his first helicopter ride.

Other than writing this blog, I don’t think I had made much effort in pursuing to continue something in my life. Be it learning a skill, maintaining relationships, etc. I surprise even myself that we have been through 5 years of marriage together. (It’s more like I was amazed that the danna has tahan-ed me for 5 whole years.😅)It is not something to boast about, of course, but seeing how many marriages don’t even last a couple of years and how I had the tendency to easily give things up, god knows not killing a relationship is most probably harder than keeping a blog alive for 13 years. But I know now that this is something I cannot afford to lose in my life. I am immensely blessed and lucky.

Here’s to a better, even happier and luckier 2018.