Thursday, December 20, 2012

Birthday and Anniversary

Today is my husband's 30th birthday and tomorrow is our 2nd wedding anniversary. Let me reflect on our two years of marriage because I cannot possibly sum up his thirty awesome years of existence here on earth in just one blog post.

Our marriage is not an uncomplicated one. We've had bumps here and there. You can say I've had my most thrilling roller coaster ride in this game of life because of him. When we first got together, it was a big, big adjustment for both of us. We were not ready in the sense that, a week before our wedding, neither of us knew we were going to get married. It's a long story and I would rather keep it private. What I am ready to share is the awesomeness that Saud Basman is.

When we got married, on the first three months of our togetherness, we lived in a small studio apartment. So small that we cannot buy a decent dining table as it will not fit in the room. That was my husband's dorm room when he was single. But since we got married unexpectedly, we had to live there temporarily.

We also don't have a car when we first got together. That was our first big buy. A second-hand sedan. Up to now, we are using the said car. We have also experienced buying groceries and as we were to pay in the counter, we had to remove some items as our money in the wallet is not enough. Saud taught me to laugh through it all. We always tell ourselves, "one day, this is the story we will be telling our children and we will just be laughing it off. That we had to return items in our shopping cart because our money is not enough. That we had to use a car with a busted light because we cannot afford to have it replaced". And you know what, he is right. Alhamdulillah (thank God), all those things are a thing of the past.

Just last week, my sister and I were talking. The topic went to contentment in life. And I told her, we, Saud and I, are at a point where we are happy. We have a happy family, our parents love us, Laika is well provided for, our siblings are at peace, nobody is sick, we get to eat well, we have made a home that is comfortable for us, there's nothing really we can ask for. We may not be rich but we are blessed. I can't say Alhamdulillah enough that day. I wanted to cry as I am not a good Muslim and yet He has been blessing us too much. We wanted a simple life and He granted it to us. I have found a partner who is really very kind and very selfless. He won't even buy good clothes for himself unless I tell him he deserves it. I really could not ask for more.

Saud is the greatest love of my life. My biggest rock. My shoulder to cry on. My bestfriend. My partner. Happy 30 years of your awesome living. I love you very much. Thank you for giving me Laika.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Mrs. Talia Basman goes back to work

photo source If only...


Wow! This blog has been ignored for far too long, huh? That's what happens when you're a new mother who has just gotten back to work. Imagine me in the office, calling up Laika's Ate Sharon from time to time with my other hand pumping for my lovely daughter's milk. Phew!

Good thing that is now a thing of the past. Uh-what now? YES! I am now a full time stay-at-home mother. I have just resigned from my work. I felt juggling my being a new mother and having to work to be too much. This is just me. To all the working moms there, I salute you.

Anyway, back to the few weeks I was at work. How was I able to manage? Three things: Sharon, breast pump, play cot.

Yup, in addition to our wooden crib, we had to buy a pack-and-play so that Sharon can still watch over Laika while staying in the living room.

I also got by by pumping in the office. But then, I noticed my milk supply dipped as I am too lazy to pump frequently. Bad, bad practice. I had to use my Spectra double electric pump to ensure that I get the most milk.

Good thing I am not working anymore. I still need to pump every now and then when we have to go out, but at least I am readily available to Laika now.


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Laika's 8th week


Hi, Laika!

You are 8 weeks old now which means you are almost two months old which means my maternity leave is almost over :(

I hate the fact that I have to leave you for more than 8 hours because I have just started enjoying being with you. You see, you are now responsive to people around you. You can recognize me and your daddy as you smile more when we are with you. And I just noticed, you are such a talker, aren't you? Here's your response when I asked you, "ano'ng napanaginipan mo?"


Aside from babbling and cooing, you are also smiling and laughing now. In fact, one time, while you were sleeping, I heard you laugh! What a joy it was to witness!

Speaking of sleeping, I think you are a shy person (despite being talkative around us) as you have the tendency to sleep (or fake-sleep) when you are with people you are not familiar with.

I also love it when I play nursery rhymes and you start babbling as if you are singing along to the music. You specially love the song Baa Baa Black Sheep. But when I play some Surah, you are lulled to sleep. Anyway, we are not rushing you. You have many, many more years to study about Islam.

One time, when I saw that you were sleeping, I started praying Isha. I was surprised when your bottle got out of its place and you were shouting as if you know you have to get my attention. Crying is not your first instinct in those kinds of situation. In fact, you are not a crybaby at all which is surprising to me. I don't know why I even expected you to be one.

I hope you continue to be a good daughter. We are very blessed to have you.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Breastfeeding in the Qur'an

photo source

Today marks the day when I can finally pray again. That's almost two months of not doing the salah.

As I was about to pray Asr, Laika cried for milk. I have already performed my wudhu (ablution) so I turned to the internet to find out if breastfeeding will nullify it. The answer is no, wudhu is not nullified by breastfeeding. Not even changing of diapers (as long as you wash your hands that has touched urine).

Anyway, I was surprised to find out that breastfeeding has also been mentioned in the Qur'an. You know the saying "breast milk is best for babies up to two years and beyond"? It is clearly stated in the Holy Book.

photo source
In the second surah (Suratul Baqarah), 233rd ayat of the Qur'an, it was recommended that a child be breastfed up to two years. You may wean as long as both the parents are consenting. You may also have another person breastfeed your child.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam regards women highly. In fact, I have never felt more special as when I got pregnant. Do you know that if you died while giving birth, it's as if you died as a martyr? Just now, I found out it's the same thing as when you are breastfeeding your child.

 I do not claim to be so knowledgeable about my religion. In fact, I am far from knowing a lot but I am trying. If you know something about this topic, I'll be glad to listen to you.

Allah knows best.




Sunday, October 28, 2012

Eid'l Adha Long Weekend


When Malacanang announced October 26 a national holiday to celebrate Eid'l Adha, our little family planned on having our own weekend rest. My husband is a big traveler while I am all for staying-at-home. When there were just the two of us, we used to always argue on whether we will be traveling when opportunity comes or we will just be watching TV in the house. Now, as Laika is only a little over a month old, there was no arguing, we can't go somewhere too far.

On Thursday night, as soon as Laika's daddy got home from the office, we visited baby Nash, our youngest nephew. What a cute baby! Can't believe she was as small as him when she was born and now, she can hold her head and try to climb on our shoulders while we burp her!

And then, we went straight to my parents' house as they live in front of a mosque. We celebrated Eid'l Adha with them on Friday morning. Unfortunately, I can't pray as I still have postpartum lochia (I know, TMI!). We spent the rest of the weekend with them.

You can see the people if you just squint a little

As for Laika, she chillax-ed the heck out of the vacation. We are so much grateful to my mother and siblings as they took care of our baby while we were there.


It was a pretty laid back weekend. Come Sunday, my husband and I went to our future home. We will be moving in a year from now there. Seeing the showroom, we got excited of the development. This is the reason why we are saving up. We bought it last year. It seemed too faraway then but now, we can't wait for our unit to be done.


Not ours. This is just a model unit.
So that's how we spent our long weekend. Another long weekend is coming up. I wonder how we will be spending it this time.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

How to Live Frugally

photo source
Before my husband and I got married, I never had an experience on living independently. Sure, I lived in a boarding house when I was in college, but my parents gave me more than enough allowance then. I was also with my older sister that time so I had no responsibility except myself.

Imagine my shock when I had to, suddenly, live on a budget. Luckily, my husband is not new to this as he is self-sufficient (unlike me, who, up to the last minute, was living in my parents' house). Together, we had to do steps to adjust to our life together.

1. We are a one-car household. Sure, we own a gas guzzler, but we live in front of my husband's workplace and I commute to work, so the car is not used that often.

photo source


2. We "eat in". As tempted as we are to always dine out (our rented apartment is located in the middle of a restaurant strip), we cook our own meals.

3. Until recently, we never had a house help. A two-man household is fairly easy to maintain. Our electric bill never reached P1000 before as we seldom use the air conditioner. But when Laika arrived, that's a whole different story. (Our electric bill shot up!)

4. We took having a household help to our advantage. Whereas before, we buy our groceries in the supermarket, now, we ask her to buy from the local palengke. Much, much cheaper. Plus, given that we are not with her while she is shopping, she sticks to the list. You don't know how much we've saved without ME doing the groceries. The last minute "maybe I need this" items really add up.

photo source

5. We also have our laundry done in the house. 

6. As I have mentioned before, I cut my husband's hair. And my hair, being always up in ponytail, is pretty low maintenance.

7. We anticipated the added costs of having a baby, so we took measures to still spend as little as possible. My number one motivation in breastfeeding is the free milk. We refuse to buy formula because it's not cheap. YES! All the health benefits are just added advantage.

We also use cloth diapers and avoid disposable diapers as much as possible. Cloth diapers (CD's) may cost much but in the long run, you save much. Not to mention, we got CD's as gifts before (Thanks, Myke). Sure, on the first few weeks, we use disposies. But now, we are 100% cloth diapering. It doesn't hurt that they all look so cute, too.Our brands of choice are bumGenius, next9, Baby Leaf, and Alva.

photo source
8. We live within our means. Good thing, my husband and I don't believe in having a credit card. If we can't afford something, we don't buy it. As simple as that. Although we may have to eventually give in and have a credit card for when we are traveling. But for now, we're good without it.




Monday, October 22, 2012

Home Office


People who are very close to me know that I am a frustrated interior designer. That explains my fascination with chairs. Anyway, that's a story for another day. What I want to share is my home office.

To keep me sane from lack of sleep, I channel my frustration by looking at interior design blogs. My computer used to be in the living room. But since giving birth, I have never spent much time there. So we had to transfer the home office in the corner of our bedroom.
My home office

I use a console table as my study. Here are my tools for blog hopping:

1. My 2-year old iMac 21.5" desktop. I love that it has a big screen and I can open many programs and work on them side by side.

2. Leftover box which hides our chargers and remote controls.

3. iPod Touch 3rd Gen for when I have to be mobile. It has been with me for three years and I still never get tired of it.

4. I do my pumping while reading so I have my breastfeeding tools with me in the study. And, yes, that's 8-oz. worth of milk for one pumping session. Thank, Mommy Treats.

5. Alarm clock to time my pumping intervals.

6. Battery-operated lamp and electric fan combo.

7. Lamp.

8. Laika's storage boxes.

9. Bright orange chair.

Being fickle-minded, I may redo this arrangement soon when I get the inspiration. What do you suggest?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Breast Feeding Best Friends

Laika is almost 6 weeks old now. We are still breastfeeding. What made all of this possible? These are our tools:


1. We have already talked about our Philips Avent Isis iQ Uno. How is our relationship with it? Good and bad. Good, because it is still what I am using. Bad, because its motor got busted after two days of using it six times daily. I used to use it only as a supplement to my direct feeding. But when we shifted to pumping daily, the motor gave up. We have yet to bring it to the service center. Good thing it has an option for manual pumping. That's what I am using now. Let's just pray I don't get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Husband felt bad as he bought it for P13,000 in Market!Market! But lookie here. Yup, almost half off. Just our luck.

photo source


2. I ordered the Mommy Treats Oatmeal and White Chocolate Chip Cookies. The cookies were delivered two days after I ordered online. And as a bonus, the seller gave me a sample of her Cupcake Bites. I must say, both variants are yummy.


So, how was it? I will let the pictures do the talking.

My expressed milk before eating Mommy Treats' Lactation Cookies
My expressed milk a day after eating Mommy Treats' Lactation Cookies
The cookies are so effective, I even had to stop eating after the third day (I ordered a week's supply) as I had an oversupply.

3. Before I got my lactation cookies, I bought Mother's Milk Tea from Healthy Options in Trinoma.

photo source
My review: It does not taste good. And the lactation cookies arrived the day after so I only got to drink this tea once. I don't know if it's effective and I will gladly just eat my lactation cookies instead. But it's good to have this as a backup.

4. I got impatient having to pump just one breast at a time with my Avent Breast Pump so we bought a Spectra 3 breast pump from BabyMama. The site sells it as an electric, double breast pump. The only downside, it cannot be battery-operated. And personally, I prefer the mobility of my manual Avent pump.

photo source

5. I also bought other accessories from BabyMama like their Cooler Pouch and some Ice Packs for when we are not in the house.

6. I never got the reason behind having a nursing pillow. But when carrying Laika became too painful for my wrist, I dreamt of having a Boppy pillow.

photo source




photo source


My husband bought me a nursing pillow from Landmark. It costs less than P500 compared to the (I think) P2000-4000 price tag of the Boppy. For now, it serves its purpose.


My nursing pillow from Landmark Trinoma
It is shaped slightly different from the Boppy. So even if the Boppy comes with a warning that you can't have your baby sleep with the pillow, we get to have Laika sleep on our nursing pillow. Plus, if I had it after immediately after giving birth, I could have used it as a cushion for when I sit on hard surfaces (normal delivery hurts down there!).

For now, these are my tools. What else can you suggest?



Who is the Mister of Mrs. Talia Basman?

In the spirit of over sharing, let me share our story.



Before I became Mommy Talia, I was Mrs. Talia Basman first. And before I became Mrs. Talia Basman, I was Ms. Talia Basman. Huh? How did that happen? Let me explain.

Many people have asked how come I did not change my last name when I got married. Some even asked if I even got married at all.

I am married to my cousin. Not to a distant cousin. To my first cousin. As in, we-share-the-same-last-name kind of cousin. As in, our-fathers-are-brothers kind of cousins. Incest? Nah. Not to my religion Islam. In Islam, we can marry our cousins. It is legal. And we live happily together.

Some people, upon finding out about this, are quite disturbed. Some are even asking if the marriage was arranged. In a way, it is (although I have nothing against arranged marriages, provided both parties are for it). Did we fall in love with each other? Yes, we did.

Before we were "arranged", we were best friends. And you know what they say about friendship being the best foundation.

We used to talk and laugh about everything under the sun. Even up to now, we never run out of things to talk about. We even tell each other about everything we think of. We believe that trust is vital in any relationship. We value it so much.

We are married for almost two years now. Do we regret it? Of course not! Although I would love it if I will not always be questioned on my last name especially during interviews and filling out of government forms. But I can honestly live with it. I am at my happiest at present. Especially now that we have our cute baby girl. And that is a big thank you to the Mister of the House.




Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Laika and Yarrah's Aqeeqah


Upon finding out that we were pregnant, my husband's older brother called us and we planned on having our babies' Aqeeqah (name-giving ceremony) on the same date (because his wife is expecting that time, too). As they are living in another country and they had to plan their going home here ahead of time, even if we haven't given birth yet, we had the date penciled in already. It has to be on the 14th of October, the same date of their first child's 2nd birthday. It is going to be a triple celebration.

Because my husband and I are the ones in the Philippines, we were tasked to prepare for the ceremony. With only two weeks to spare (and a budget to work with), we had to look for the perfect location.

Our first choice was Balay Kalinaw. All four of us, the parents, were from the University of the Philippines Diliman, which makes it the perfect location for the celebration. The place is also rented out for a very cheap price. Unfortunately, the date we wanted was not available.

photo source Balay Kalinaw
Our second choice was Betty's located behind Sto. Domingo Church. It looks nice for a decent price. But then, October 14 is the Feast of La Naval. The place will be very crowded that time and so we had to scratch the idea again.

photo source Interior of Betty's
I was beginning to lose hope. That plus a crying baby is a deadly combination. I texted my husband and he asked from his officemates for suggestions. One medical representative suggested Rustica located at Scout Reyes corner Mother Ignacia Avenue (Tel. No. 415-3558). I searched the internet and they had positive reviews. We visited the place, we liked it, and we booked on our preferred date.

photo source


Days before the feast, we witnessed the slaughtering of two goats (one for each daughter) which is the sacrifice to be offered. It was held in Taguig City, my hometown. The goats had to be healthy and has to have complete sets of feet and nails. After which, the meat of the goats are to be distributed to people, preferably to those who are in need.


During the feast, most of the guests were complimenting us on the food. Some of the meat of the goat were also served that day. Unfortunately, that dish wasn't available anymore when it was my turn to eat. On a normal day, I don't eat goat meat. But for my daughter's aqeeqah, I wanted to have a taste of the dish.

These are the things our daughter wore for the occasion. We also had a hard time looking for a dress as Laika is only a month old and most of the dresses sold in malls are for big babies. Good thing we were able to see one in SM North Edsa.

photo source
We ordered cakes from Estrel's. They have the yummiest caramel cakes with just the right amount of sweetness.

One cake for each girl

The ceremony was hosted by a dear friend, Jane. And it was officiated by the same person who led our wedding, Ustadz Hamjatin.


First, the Ustadz explained what happened days before during the slaughtering of the goats and the ceremony that will follow as well. And then, he recited verses from the Qur'an.

Yarrah being older, first went through the ceremony. After her, Laika followed.

Cutting of the celebrants' hair



Feeding of honey

Putting on perfume


All in all, it was a simple and fun celebration. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Tummy Time


My husband and I do not believe in pressuring our little one into achieving any milestones. Every person is different. One baby may get "there" sooner, others may be late bloomers. But if we can do something to help her get "there", we are all for it.

During Laika's first few weeks, she only eats, sleeps, and then poops. Those are her only activities. The result--when she's asleep, I am asleep, too. And that's most of the time.

We thought of introducing tummy time to her. From the Babycenter.com website: "The experience of being on their tummy helps babies learn to push up, roll over, sit up, crawl, and pull to a stand," explains Danette Glassy, a pediatrician in Mercer Island, Washington, and chairperson of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on early education and childcare.

We started during Laika's 4th week. On her first try, I was nervous. What if she will have difficulty breathing? Why is she crying? Why is she rubbing her nose on the mat? But then I thought, I would have to let her do her thing for her own development. In the end, I was able to witness her hold and turn her head. By the 3rd day, we discovered that she loves her caterpillar toy so much, she follows it through her eyes wherever it goes.

Here's a link of a video of her during tummy time. According to what I read, it's okay if the baby cries. She's just not used to being on her tummy. You just have to let her feel that you are there for her.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Laika's 4th week

I am a fan of the Young House Love blog. It's about two DIY dorks who are full-time bloggers managing a household consisting of a chihuahua and a cute little girl. In fact, most of the things I do in our little home, I got from them. Cloth diapering-check. Breastfeeding-check. Living frugally-check. Cutting my husband's hair-check. If only I can DIY some kitchen cabinets and chandeliers as well!

photo source


Anyway, one of the things I picked up from them is their Clara's Photo Project. Every week for the first year of their daughter's life, they photograph her against a fabric background. I thought, even before I got pregnant, I should do that, too. But I can't afford to do it every week (as I am soon going to come back to work) nor can I buy a fabric every picture-taking time.

I thought of modifying my way of documenting my daughter's progress. Instead of doing it weekly, I will be doing it every four weeks. I will be using my favorite red chair as a backdrop to compare how much she's grown monthly.

For the first month's picture, Laika is still sleeping (isn't she, all the time!). Good thing I managed to get a shot with her flexing her mouth muscles which makes her look like she is smiling.

Laika @ 4 weeks
Isn't she adorable?

Monday, October 1, 2012

On breastfeeding and bottlefeeding


Even before we had a baby, heck, even before we got pregnant, my husband talked me into breastfeeding exclusively. He is a strong believer in providing nourishment that has been given naturally to a mother. Being the good wife that I am (hahaha), I knew from the very start that I will be breastfeeding my soon-to-be-born child. But don't get me wrong. I don't judge people who decide to formula feed their babies. I believe in doing whatever works for you and the baby. I do judge, on the other hand, people who judge formula-feeding mothers. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, my baby is now 3 weeks old and I am proud to say that she has only taken in milk that came from me. That is, except for her first 2 days in the world when the nurses in St. Lukes Global City, where she was confined for the first 3 days of her life in the NICU (more on that on other blog posts), took it upon themselves to feed her glucose water. Upon finding out about this, my husband told the nurses to stop this and we started visiting her every 3 hours round the clock since then to stimulate my breasts to produce milk.

I regret not having read much about breastfeeding as much as I did about pregnancy. Husband told me I should stop regretting and instead look at this as an opportunity for me to share what I know now. I've listed some of them below:
  • I didn't know I should have started having baby latch to me as early as possible to stimulate milk production. 
  • I didn't know it is okay to not have milk the first few days as baby has food reserves from when she was in my belly (milk came in 3 days after baby was born). 
  • I should have known having a supportive partner is essential in this (of which I am very lucky to have). 
  • I should have known and read about engorgement and how much it hurts like hell!
  • I should have purchased a breast pump before I gave birth. This has been a very worthy investment for us.
After reading much about breast pumps when I was pregnant, we decided on getting an Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump because of the great reviews.  But because it is not readily available in malls here and to have one, I would have to purchase it online, we weren't able to buy this one.

photo source

Because of engorgement and my postpartum condition, my husband had to buy one immediately after we were discharged from the hospital. He went to Market! Market! and I asked him to buy an Avent Isis iQ Uno Breast Pump. It also had great reviews but it is more expensive and it only has one pump. The good thing is it can also be used manually and can be battery-operated. At present, it is my best friend in the world!

photo source
Just yesterday, for the first time ever, we gave in and bottled-fed Laika using my expressed milk. We believe breast milk is still good in whatever form it comes in. We use Philips Avent and Tommee Tippee bottles. Before then, we tried giving expressed milk through medicine dropper. We originally didn't want to introduce bottles yet to avoid nipple confusion but we had to as Laika and I had latching issues. It also hurts too much!

photo source


photo source
Of the two, I prefer Tommee Tippee more as it is slow-flow. We also had zero problems on nipple confusion as I still feed her directly from time to time and she has more efficient latch as compared to before. I noticed that she also feeds more now that we introduced bottles to her. My problem now is my milk supply can't keep up. I ordered lactation cookies from Mommy Treats and it will be delivered tomorrow. I will be making a review once it gets here.

Monday, September 24, 2012

An Update to the "Gadget Itch" post

Husband gave me a little something today. And it is not included in my last post. Let the picture do the talking :)

my new Lumix LX5!!! :)
I owe a lot of posts. Just a quick update, I gave birth to a cute baby girl last September 11. Please pardon the delay. Still getting used to the baby's schedule.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Gadget Itch

Let's veer away from the baby topic for today's blog post.

***

My husband and I are two opposite poles apart. He is an orthopedic surgeon, I am a landscape architect. He loves basketball, I hate listening to the rubber shoes' sounds from the TV. He loves staying at home, my idea of fun is going to the malls.

But if there's one thing we discovered early on we can meet eye to eye on, that is our love for gadgets. Shallow, we know. But that's our only indulgence. When we were young, both of us save our allowances to get the gadget of our dreams. My first salary went to my purchasing of my iPod classic.

photo source
When we got married, we had to let go of our addiction to gadgets. Paying for bills is something new to me. Saud is used to it as he has been living on his own for a while before then. But add me to the equation and major budgeting had to be done. One of the saddest days of my life is when we had to sell my first iPod and his PSP because we had to pay the bills.

More than a year after getting married, I hope we never had to go through that again. We have also learned to live within our means. And we have learned to invest and save every month.

Before Laika gets here, we told ourselves we will be making purchases we would otherwise not be able to buy once the baby comes in the picture. My husband, maybe out of his missing his gadget, bought a PSP (yes, just like the gadget we sold) two days ago. I am very happy upon seeing the twinkle in his eyes every time he plays.

BUT BUT BUT...I am thinking, now is my turn. I haven't bought a gadget for myself. So this morning, out of boredom as I am still on leave from work, I researched on gadgets and brainstormed on what it is I will buy.

(note: Saud does not know about this. I still have to sweet talk my way into getting any of the items here. Hehe...)
  • Laptop. My first laptop was able to survive for 4 years. It was an Acer. But then one day, it conked out maybe because of old age. It was gifted to me by my parents for my thesis.We had it repaired but then, we forgot about it. So we weren't able to get it from the repair shop. Yes, out of our own stupidity.
photo source
 So now, I am thinking of getting a laptop. At present, I am still loving my iMac and I get to borrow my husband's Macbook Air. But it feels good to have my own. Saud promised me a Macbook Pro in the future. Maybe the future is now? Hahaha...and then, I thought, I don't need a new computer. Plus Saud's new gadget is lots of times cheaper than a laptop. So I had to scratch this idea.

photo source

photo source


  • iPad. But then, Saud wants this, too. Plus I don't need it. So this, too, has to be scratched. 
    photo source
  • Camera. I have a DSLR (a very old Nikon D50). But it is so outdated and it is heavy to lug around especially when we are traveling. It's like an additional baggage on its own. 
photo source Photo from when we went to the Great Wall of China and me lugging a very heavy camera (from Cathe's facebook)
I was thinking I need a compact camera. I looked at Canon G12. But, boy, is it not cheap! 
photo source
I looked at Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS19. It has Leica lens. Leica, Laika. Get it? Hahaha...plus it costs as much as husband's PSP. And its cost justifies its specifications. FOUND MY GADGET!

photo source
But then, when I was about to tell Saud about it, I thought to myself, I don't need a new gadget. It was just an itch. And now, the itch is gone. It may be good to have a new camera. But I can live without it. Plus, Laika comes first. 

(But of course, if my husband gets to read this, he knows what to get me :D)