Happy New Year!!

Well only a few more hours before 2005 is over. It has been a tough year for me, spiritually and emotionally. Therefore, I really look forward to the new year as it always brings a fresh new beginning. I don't have any new year resolutions, i make resolutions all year round anyway. In any case my life long resolution has always been to lose weight. Not that I really need to lose any more weight (as most people would tell me) but I am just paranoid. I weigh 1 kg heavier than what I did this time last year. Well that's also becaue I did the Singapore Marathon last year, but in terms of running races it has been quite a flop this year. Taking that into consideration I think I have managed to maintain my weight pretty well!

As I've said, I dont really have any resolutions, but I pray that I will fall in love with the Lord all over again, and I truly want to follow Him. I know it is something I can't achieve on my own, with all the distractions in this world..which is why I don't make a resolution out of it but I pray much about it.

Happy New Year...may the year ahead be fruitful and wonderful.

Post cantata happenings (which is not much really..)

Like HL, I miss the singing too! But I've been on an Indian food rampage the last couple of days. Deprived of Indian food for the last 1-2 months (for the sake of voice preservation) some of us immediately hit Flavour of India (in Desa Sri Hartamas) right after service on Sunday. What a feast!! I truly enjoyed the palak paneer as usual, and the bindhi jaipuri (fried okra). Right after lunch I went to Angel's place (no, my friend is called Angelina - we call her Angel. Not like I had some encounter with some heavenly beings..) for the usual annual Christmas do. Continued my feast there...didn't really eat much but munched here and there. Oh and Dharm's famous chocolate cake....

Therefore I have been pounding the treadmill yesterday and today. 5km yesterday and 3.2km today....

Celebrating Christ

Our cantata "Celebrate Christmas, Celebrate Christ" which was held last Friday was very successful. Up to our last few rehearsals we were still making very glaring mistakes, but last Friday, everything fell beautifully into place. It was truly amazing and indeed very much the work of God. I had never sung with so much joy in my heart, and could not stop smiling throughout the whole show until my face felt so tired! Now I'll have even more prominent smile lines like Linda Hamilton!

It was truly a time of not just celebrating Christmas but celebrating Christ. The most joyous part was that I was able to share my joy with my parents, Mien & her mom, Ellen & WW. I'm really glad they came. I dont have any pictures to post but I'll probably steal a few from ET's blog.

Moi? A parrot??

You Were a Parrot

You are a master of language, and you use your wit to mock and tease others. But you are also wise, and you often think carefully before you speak.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

I don't believe in reincarnation at all but just did this for fun. Am definitely NOT a master of language, not especially when I can't even speak mandarin. Anyway....me? A parrot? I'm quiet by nature actually...

Scary Spice...not!!

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

Well...just taking a break and doing some silly blogthings quiz again..

Caramel pics

I was probably too busy to blog about Caramel's move. He's moved to my brother's place and he's adjusted pretty well. He gets quite a bit of attention from the children (which is excellent for him socially) These are some pictures which I took before he left. He now sports a light brown leather collar and is bigger than what you see in these photos. He's looking very grown up now. He's extremely happy, has a lot more place to run around and he loves the grass.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Much has happened in the last 2 weeks, but just too busy to blog. Anyway my L shaped sofa arrived yesterday, and I'm gonna check it out later (Uncle Wong received the goods for me - I haven't seen it yet) Well at least my guests will have a place to sit now, other than my bean bags. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, it is THE day of our Christmas cantata - "Celebrate Christmas, Celebrate Christ". Meanwhile, I have been gulping Hor Yan Hor tea, lemon green tea, Lor huan ko and the infamous PPK. Anything to keep the voice going!

I look forward to meeting up and catching up with old friends too. It's the most wonderful time of the year......(that's one of our numbers in our repertoire!)

Ran 6.6km today..very good feeling..must be the choc chip cookies....

PPK

Yikes! Exercise diary for last 3 days is zilch. Just been too busy....lazy to blog as well!Choir practice has been going well, I've been consuming Nin Jiom Pei Pa Ko (PPK) courtesy of Zandra to preserve my voice for this Friday.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas and the year end. Yippee!

The last 3 days

Been busy busy busy. Monday night was totally flat out and fell asleep in front of the telly. Tuesday night I went to visit a good old friend who was feeling down, we ended up chatting until 1am. She even showed me a birthday card which I made for her when I was about 10 (I think). Amazing. My writing has evolved so much since! Last night, I did some last minute Christmas shopping in Mid Valley - BIG MISTAKE. I was tired and sleepy (from the night before) but was stuck in the car park for half hour trying to get out. Anyway, had an unpleasant dream last night. Dreamt that I was in a quaint little town, and I was trying to get out of it but no matter what train or car I took, it led me back to the same path and I could never get out of the town. It was rather scary. Wonder if there's any significance behind it.

Today's exercise diary:
nil

Wednesday:
25 min on ellyptical machine
20 min on stepper
Double crunches
Leg raises
Crunches

Tuesday:
6.6km outdoor run

Monday:
4km run on treadmill
10 min on ellyptical
Leg press
Leg extension
Alternate lunges

New Home

I'm really too tired and not in the mood to blog. Anyhow today Caramel moved to my brother's place, and he got used to his new home pretty quick. Of course he whimpered quite a bit initially but my mom being there made the move easier.He was also affirmed by my nephew who played with him and even the next door kids came to play with him. He was extremely happy to see me tonight, jumping all over me and licking my face and of course cried when I left. His move there will be good for his social life, as he is rarely around kids at my place.

Ran 4km on the treadmill today.
Leg press
Leg curl
Leg extension

I ran 13km on Saturday!! Longest run in a long time.

I'm off to read a bit now..

Are you a Diva?

You're Part Diva

You know that a girl's gotta work it to get her way in the world. And while you aren't about to throw a tantrum at every turn... You do amp up the drama when you know you need it. You mix charm, honesty, and kindness to get ahead.

Are You a Diva?

Hey HL, ET try this and let me know your results!

Addiction

You Are Italian Food

Comforting yet overwhelming. People love you, but sometimes you're just too much.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Mamma mia! Me too much? *smile*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your 2005 Song Is

Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson "But since you've been gone I can breathe for the first time I'm so moving on" In 2005, you moved on.

What Hit Song of 2005 Are You?

Yup, moving on.

Cutie pies

Today's exercise diary:
25 min on ellyptical machine
20 min on stepper
Squats
Alternate lunges
Bench press
Flyes
Deadlift
Double crunch
Reverse crunch
Bridge

Banana

You Should Learn Chinese

Surprised? You shouldn't be - Chinese is perfect for an ambitious person like you. You're a natural entrepreneur, and a billion people are waiting to do business with you!

What Language Should You Learn?

This is hilarious!! Yes it is true, I SHOULD learn Chinese....I'm such a banana!

Just running

A ray of light,
A ray of hope.

I'm not a Sunshine Runner..I don't run as fast nor as often as them, but I can appreciate the beautiful skyline as I run. Did a 6km run this morning and it was one of the best runs I've had in a long time. Woke up feeling really tired, was very tempted to walk but it was great that I had Hsiung and Jules with me or I would have just walked. The sunburst was really beautiful, though it didn't create orange streaks in the sky, it was a bright burning ball of fire that was blinding. I'd imagine that would be what it would look like when He returns. It inspired me to run, and I felt a sense of freedom and joy as I ran.... I wonder..would I still be running in Heaven?

Today's exercise diary:
6km outdoor run

Whatever Happened to.....

Have you wondered whatever happened to some of the famous celebrities from yesteryear?
Check this out then.

Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica)
Mark Hamill (Star Wars)
Carrie Fisher (Star Wars)
Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains)
Sha Na Na (band) ..I can't believe how educated some of them are!
Milli Vanilli
Debbie Gibson

More of Blogthings!

You Are Lemon Meringue Pie

You're the perfect combo of sassy and sweet Those who like you have well refined tastes

What Kind of Pie Are You?

ok...ET started all this blogthings quiz. But it's pretty fun :)
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Your Blogging Type is Kind and Harmonious

You're an approachable blogger who tends to have many online friends. People new to your blogging circle know they can count on you for support. You tend to mediate fighting and drama. You set a cooperative tone. You have a great eye for design - and your blog tends to be the best looking on the block!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Me? Great eye for design?? This quiz is way off...
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Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Deer Animal You Were in a Past Life: Panda You are a fun-seeker - an adventurous, risk-taker. While you are spontaneous, you are not very rational.

The Animal Personality Test

This is so weird.....I'm not a risk taker at all. Hmm not rational??? OK last quiz:
*************************************************************************************

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are calm and rational. You are also giving and kind - a great friend. You are easy going and trusting. However, you are too sensible to fall for mind games.

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

Now it says I'm rational.....

It has been a pretty eventful weekend. First of all I'd just like to welcome 2 good old friends who have just come back for a short holiday - Clau from Oz and Suresh from USA. Welcome back, really missed you guys!

On Saturday night I attended a dinner hosted by one of our suppliers. It was a pretty impressive event, there was an exhibition on several brands of eyewear like Calvin Klein, Levi's, Jill Stuart and Mini to name a few. It was held at the Carlton Conference Room in JW Marriott. I felt like a tai tai shopping, trying on a couple of groovy sunglasses. This is the best part of my job (spending $$ for the company hehe..) as I get to try all the latest designs and I know what I look good in! Ended up making a purchase on Levi's eyewear. I really like their "premium" latest sunglasses which is this really huge bug eyed sunglasses which you can also use as a hairband. I generally don't look good in bug eyed sunglasses but this one was really nice. Quite loud too as the temples had huge Levi's brand engraving on them.

Anyway the highlight of the entire event was the contest. Grand prize = My Vi = my dream! I've never really won anything in contests, not even booby prizes. Quite "bad luck" (although I don't believe in luck). The only time I've ever won anything was cassettes (yup back in the good ol' days of cassettes) back when I was in secondary school. As they drew out the names of the participants in the contest I thought to myself "Oh well, another one of those days where I won't win anything". My brother got bored and decided to take a break in the loo. Just as he left, they announced our shop's name!! I could not believe it!! My heart was pumping fast from the excitement, and the wine and coffee which I had earlier accelerated it further! There were 14 prizes to be won, ranging from Nokia handphones to optical equipment to of course, the grand prize of My Vi. I thought, I'd be happy just winning the handphone, but of course deep down inside I REALLY wanted the car (some of you would know that I still drive a 9 year old jalopy and am overdue for an upgrade).

They first drew out the names of 14 participants, then from the 14 entries they did another draw. They allocated the prizes from the smallest prize (ie the handphone) to the grand prize. But the MC kept announcing one name after another and our shop was still not called out yet!! Could it be? Could the My Vi be mine? Hopeful.....very hopeful....and finally it was down to 4 contestants..that is the first 3 prizes plus the grand prize. I couldn't believe it! I made it that far!! For once in my entire life! Third prize was a lensmeter....and I didn't get it! Second prize was a drilling machine..... I didn't get that either...and then there was the 2 of us left!!!! I stood a chance of owning that My Vi!! Heart was pumping faster and faster....any faster I would have had a cardiac arrest!!! And finally the first prize ( refractometer - optical equipment) went to...........me. ARRRGHHHHH!!!!!! I was SOOOO close to winning a My Vi. My head was dizzy from the excitement. As I collected the redemption certificate for my prize, I was in disbelief. Disbelief because I had won something so big in my life and also disbelief because I was so close to winning a My Vi. Oh well I guess it was never meant to be. In any case, the equipment is worth about 25K so that would really help our shop. If I had won the car it would have been a personal gain but oh well, I guess everybody in the shop will indirectly benefit from it.

After all that excitement, I went back to my new place to chill out and sleepover. I really relish the silence and peace in my new place, with no one to bother me. There isn't much entertainment there currently, so it gives me a chance to really relax everytime I am there.

Sunday
~~~~~~
Woke up at 6.30am to accompany Jules for a walk in Kiara Hills. It was a lovely morning. For some reason it only rains on Saturday, my outdoor training day. Maybe I have to change my training to Sunday. Oh congratulations to Jenny who completed the Singapore Marathon within qualifying time despite minimal training.

Went to church as usual after the walk. Caught up with Clau over lunch at House & Co. Had my usual favourite beef rendang pita. Then rushed over for choir practice. I must say that although we can still barely hit the high notes, it seems less of an effort now to sing. Perhaps I am improving? I think we're getting there. Overall we have improved but a little off in timing in a couple of songs.

Ended the night by going to watch the Canticle Singers. The choir was much smaller this time. Their voices were good, although I must say the music arrangement wasn't particularly interesting. I think the music arrangement for our choir is 5 times better. But then their voices were 100 times better than ours...Met Liz for the first time after reading her blog for a few months now.

Saturday's exercise diary:
8.5km run on treadmill

Today's exercise diary:
4km run on treamill
shoulder presses
push ups
dumbell row
upright row
double crunches
bridge

Running around the World

I've been around quite a fair bit lately. Been to Austria, Italy, France, Portugal, Ireland and more within 2 weeks....hah...only on tv. I guess that's the only way I can globe trek around the world.. for now. Today it rained (AGAIN). It's been rainin 4-5 successive Saturdays already which means I don't get to clock in my outdoor mileage on Saturdays. I know most people would be happy to sleep in but I was all geared up to run today. Not wanting to lose out on my running, I went to the gym today.

Today I ran 8.5km in China. Here are some of the places I travelled today (with Megan MacCormick that is) Shanghai, Wuhan, Huangshan, Chongqing and finally Xian. The scenes were really breathtaking.

Oh how I yearn to travel around the world.... I haven't been out of the country (aside from Singapore) in the last 4 years. My ideal travel places would be in Europe as I love culture and architecture. As per the quiz which I did, Rome is the city I belong in. It's really true because Rome is the number 1 place I want to visit followed by Paris. I'd love to go back to Austria one day too. But travelling is far too expensive so I guess I'd have to settle for local places for the time being....or else globe trek via tv...

Today's exercise diary:
8.5km run on treadmill

Memorable Quote from Footloose

I came across this part of the script for Footloose, a really ancient movie which was popular in the 80s (Seems like I've been going down memory lane quite a bit in the last few days!) The movie stars Kevin Bacon (Ren), Lori Singer, Chris Penn (Willard), John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest. Anyway here's part of the conversation:

---

Ren: You like Men At Work?
Willard: what men?
Ren: Men at work.
Willard: well where do they work?
Ren: No, they're a music group.
Willard: well what do they call themselves?
Ren: Oh no! What about the Police?
Willard: What about 'em?
Ren: You ever heard them?
Willard: No, but I seen them.
Ren: Where, in concert?
Willard: No, behind you.



I loved this movie and it has a great soundtrack. In search of it..

Hyper!

Tried singing to "We Three Kings" on cd. Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! Screeched like a cat (as described by HL). I'm surprised my neighbours haven't thrown shoes into my compound!Only 22 more days before our cantata. Aiyo! I can't write much now. Had 2 cups of Yukon blend which is making me all hyper now, my hands are trembling and can't type properly!I think it didn't help that I ran this morning so my body is flooded with endorphins and caffeine..man my hands are shhhakinggggg noww.....uguguguguug.....

Today's exercise diary:
6.6km outdoor run

Running Woes

Singapore Marathon's this weekend...sigh and I'm missing it. I remember it was just a year ago that I completed my first marathon there. Now it's only but a glimmer..a past glory. Will I ever be able to run a marathon again? There's the KL International Marathon (KLIM) next February. If I want to make it for KLIM I need to start training this week. I need to start clocking in a distance of 10km. Physically I haven't been tip top, not been getting enough rest and tiring out easily. I seriously need to start a proper diet and training regime, even if I'm not entering the KLIM.This is going to be tough in view of Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year. Usually this is the time of the year to write off any diet that you may think of. Oh woe to me! What am I going to do?

Must start my 10km this Saturday..hopefully weather permits.

Today's exercise diary:
40 min walk/run on treadmill
Leg press
Barbell squat
alternate lunges
shoulder press with squats
Crunches
Double crunch
Reverse crunch
Bridge

My abs never felt so worked out in a long time..

A Friendship Poem

I unearthed a letter which a very dear friend of mine sent 23 years ago. What a delight it was to send letters and cards to each other back then. These days, it's so impersonal with emails and ecards. And what's most frustrating is receiving one-liners in reply to your long emails. Of course, with technology we receive our replies faster but it takes away the excitement of waiting for your mail. In addition to that, it is precisely because of receiving emails faster that we tend to get impersonal in our mails. We always think,"I've no time to reply now, I'll reply later when I have the time". The truth is, we NEVER find that time to write the mail. As for snail mails, we know that it would take forever to reach the recipient, hence we always maximise our contents..also to make our stamp's worth.

Anyway, in the letter which I unearthed, there was a poem on the stationery which she used. Here is what it said:

Down friendship's trail I wander very frequently
And somehow you are always there walking close to me
How comforting it is to know the friend whom I so treasure
Is walking hand in hand with me and bringing endless pleasure
And though we do not say a word we're happy folks we two
How wonderful it is to walk down friendship's trail with you.

I know the poem sounds really archaic. Read in today's context it means something else. Just like how words such as "gay" and "queer" have a totally different meaning now. But this letter was written in the 80s...therefore the meaning behind it is preserved and extremely beautiful, what more coming from this dear old friend of mine.

My 80's Heartthrob

Your 80s Heartthrob Is

Jason Bateman

Who's Your 80's Heartthrob?

Hey you girls who grew up in the 80's gotta do this!!! Mien, Tina you just have to do this! Brings memories flooding back. According to the quiz my 80's heartthrob is Jason Bateman!!!! Well he wasn't my favourite but I thought he was pretty cute, the boy next door kind of guy. There were other guys tops on my list then:

1. John Taylor (Duran Duran)
2. Larry Mullen Jr (U2)
3. Michael J Fox
4. Roger Taylor (Duran Duran)
5. C. Thomas Howell (ohh this was wayyy back when I was 12...)
6. Sting

My Celebrity Style Twin

Your Celebrity Style Twin is Kirsten Dunst

More hippie chic than hippie chick.

Who's Your Celebrity Style Twin?

After doing the blogthings quiz which was pasted on ET's blog, I found out that my celebrity style twin is Kirsten Dunst!!!No way!! I find her most annoying in Spiderman.

1-2 Juice

I'm hooked on Juiceworks juice. ML first introduced this juice stall to me last week. The place is actually owned by Lisa's cousin. After yesterday's indulgence at La bodega (All Day breakfast) it was time to load myself up with juice instead. I had the Berrylicious Power smoothie today, which is a blend of bananas, raspberries, Strawberries, blackberries and low fat frozen yoghurt. The next thing I would like to try is "Slimmers' Paradise" which is a blend of apple, celery, cucumber and guava. Sounds absolutely refreshing! I love juices with celery or cucumber. Speaking of which, Kim Gary serves pretty good bittergourd juice.

Anyway, you can find Juiceworks stations at 1-Utama, The Curve and Mid Valley.

Today's exercise diary:
25 min walk on treadmill
15 min on ellyptical machine
push ups
bench press
upright row
reverse crunches

Three Tenors *cough cough*

Yikes!!! I spotted the SAME Three Tenors cd (with the cough coughing) in a cd shop in Bangsar Village!! Horrifying!

Limerick

I woke up to the view of rolling hills
All afresh on my Slumberland
Peaceful and quiet, it was brill,
I felt like I had the whole world in my hand.

(yet another silly limerick..inspired by my first sleep on my Slumberland)

Independent Woman

I'm extremely satisfied with my Slumberland purchase. The mattress arrived today and I've already tested it with a morning nap. Extremely comfortable! I've never owned a queen size bed all to myself before, previously I shared one with my sister and when she moved out I had a single bed. I have to train myself to sleep right in the middle because I am so used to sleeping on one side!

Had a nice peaceful quiet morning..started the day with a lovely morning walk at Bukit Kiara. It rained and our usual Saturday morning run was cancelled but somehow Jules managed to drag me for a walk. We had a nostalgic conversation along the say, thinking of yesteryears. It was a good thing the rain stopped but just as we were almost finishing, the rain began again. Spotted Lilian Too horseriding. I shan't describe it or else I'd sound rude.

After breakfast with the gym gang, I headed to my new place to await the mattress delivery. Made my cup of Starbucks French Roast coffee. As I had my coffee and read my book, I couldn't help but feel so blessed to have a place of my own. I never dreamed that I would one day have my own place. I am reminded of the bridge of "Independent Woman" by Destiny's Child:

The shoes on my feet
I've got it
The clothes I'm wearin
I've got it
The rock I'm rockin
I've got it
'Cause I depend on me
If I wanted
The watch you're wearin
I'll buy it
The house I live in
I've got it
The car I'm drivin
I've bought it
I depend on me (I depend on me)

Well that's only partially true. While I did save hard to buy all my belongings, I didn't and don't totally depend on me. God really made it possible for me and I thank Him for that. I also thank my parents, who although did not have any say in the purchase of my place, helped me in their own ways.

Jit Happens Again

Watched Jit and his alter ego Renee Choi share his/their anecdotes. This is the third time I've seen his comedy show. The first 2 times I'd seen it was really long ago so that was good because I wouldn't have remembered any jokes if they were repeated. Although it wasn't entirely funny nevertheless the laughs were good for my soul, as I was extremely tired today and had a slight headache. My eyes feel like they are popping out of the socket, needless to say huge eyebags to go with it.

Thanks ET for inviting me to the show. I needed the laughs.

Bird in A Cage

Watched Chicken Little last night. It was a bit too kiddy for my liking. Anyway I was kind of brain dead so I guess it's ok. Didn't sleep well last night..woke up in between a few times. Managed to run 6.6km today though but I was very tired.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bird in the cage has been set free
It flies around in joy and glee
Let it explore the wonders
Though there can be dangers

For when its wings are broken
Though it has flown far away
Pick it up in your hands
And nurse it every day

What is a bird if it cannot fly
What is a bird if it has no freedom
Let it go by and by
And search this kingdom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's exercise diary:
6.6km outdoor run (tired and sluggish)

Yesterday's exercise diary:
40 min on ellyptical machine
Squats
alternate lunges
Sumo squats
Stiff legged deadlift
Double crunch
Bridge

Psalm 23:1-2

Tuhan ialah gembalaku;
aku tidak kekurangan apa-apa.
Dia membaringkan aku di padang
rumput yang hijau
dan membimbing aku
ke air yang tenang.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday Mien! Your present's coming up! :)

3M

3M is for music, movies and mattress.

Music
Last week I happened to be browsing in Tower Records and came across a 3 cd set:" The Most Beautiful operas" and decided to treat myself to it. As I turned on the first piece which was from "Madame Butterfly" I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. I heard someone coughing and wheezing!! I set it on rewind andlistened to it carefully, and sure enough! There WAS someone coughing. It sounded like like a pirated cd,just as when you buy pirated vcd's you can see heads bobbing across the screen, this time I heard coughs and sneezes.I took it back to the shop and exchanged it for "Hilary Hahn plays Bach" (violin) and "Christmas with the Three Tenors" and paid the difference. The Hilary Hahn album turned out to be brilliant, as (1) Bach is my favourite classical composer (2) I love Bach on violin (3) Hilary did justice to the songs. THEN I decided to play the Three Tenors Christmas cd...and guess what.......I heard coughs and sneezes again!!! I was getting really fed up, as I was surprised that such a huge music store would have such low quality products on their shelves. I noticed that both the Opera and Three Tenors cds were made in Australia. I eventually took it back and exchanged it for Orff's Carmina Burana. If you're buying any cd's made in Australia, I suggest you check it carefully as it could be pirated.

Movies
By tomorrow I would have been to the cinema 4 times in 8 days. Last WednesdayI went to watch "Corpse Bride", then on Sunday I went to watch "Goblet of Fire". Yesterday night I took my nephew to watch "Goblet of Fire" (again...twice in a row) and tomorrow I'll be bringing him to watch "Chicken Little". What a bum I am, going to the cinema so often! I personally enjoyed "Goblet of Fire" although a number of parts from the book were snipped off. Enough said, I know many of you haven't watched it.

Mattress
I finally bought my mattress today!! Hurrah!! They'll be delivering it this weekend. I think the lady in the shop was rather amused, as I was testing all the mattresses, trying out different sleeping positions, hopping from one mattress to another. I shortlisted my choice to between a King Koil(American) and a Slumberland(British). I eventually settled with the Slumberland Orthopedic mattress not because it is British but because it has a 15 year warranty and it was only slightly more expensive than the King Koil. Comfort wise, both are comparable.

Oh! Uncle Wong managed to get some discount for the sofa for me. Now I need to choose the colours. I am getting excited again! Hopefully I can get it before Christmas. Seems like things are slowly falling into place. Also bought myself a pretty little mirror for my bathroom.

Ran 6.6km (outdoor) today. It was a good run. I need to regain my stamina after battling my throat infection for nearly a month. My plantar fascitis also seems to have eased off. My feet are less stiff in the morning. Need to start my running log again.

Monday's exercise diary:
3km run on treadmill
10 min on ellyptical machine
Bench press
Dumbell flye
bicep curl
tricep kickback
Double crunch
Back extension

Water babies

Rained this morning. Plans for running thwarted again. Decided to go to the gym..did 8km run on the treadmill. Thanks to old songs like Baby Dont Forget My Number (Milli Vanilli),Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper), Summer of '69 (Bryan Adams) and many more which motivated me to continue running as it can be boring running on the treadmill. Felt good, didn't feel overstrained. Rewarded myself to a lovely pan mee breakfast at the coffee shop behind Hock Lee's. Went home, showered; then brought my nephew and niece to the swimming pool at my condo. Claire looked so adorable in her pink swimsuit donning a "Winnie the Pooh" shades. The kids had great fun in the baby pool. My knees were killing me though as I had to squat all the time in that shallow pool. Claire has this cool float in the shape of a convertible and she looked so cute "driving' her convertible. Happiness is seeing the smile on the kids' faces. :)

Today's exercise diary:
8km run on treadmill
paddling in baby pool (45 mins)

in the dark

Arrived at the gym on Friday morning with no lights! Everybody was working out in total darkness save for the lights from the machines. Apparently the electricity tripped so they turned off all the lights. Thank goodness it was restored in 10 minutes. I can't imagine working out in the dark like a doctor I know..

Friday's exercise diary:
45 min on ellyptical machine
Bicep curl
Tricep kickback
shoulder press
upright row
crunches
bridge

Bath time

Check out those ears!

Watched Corpse Bride last night (finally). Not bad but I got a bit tired at the end. Even my nephew enjoyed it. ET got along well with him. I think ET's really good with kids. So if you need someone to babysit kids, you know whom to call.............:D

Today's exercise diary:
6.6km outdoor run (struggled)

Yesterday's exercise diary:
45 min on ellyptical machine
Push ups
shoulder press with squat
dumbell row
straight legged crunch
back extension

Busy Bee

I'm pooped. Tired. Flat out. Been up since 6.30am this morning with no rest. Started the day with a 6.6km outdoor run..took it slow as I've just recovered from the nasty throat infection which I had been battling for 4 weeks. Felt really good, didn't struggle at all and didn't feel like throwing up after the run. After that had breakfast at good ol' Pelita. They make very good toast. Rushed home to shower, then was out again shopping for mattress. Alas, didn't find anything and Cavenzi at Taman Megah was shut. Or rather they opened later. Shucks. Instead of wasting anymore time I decided to go to Ikea for my curtain accessories. Also bought an ice cube tray with heart shapes.

When I got to work, I learnt that my nephew had done something to the computer in the midst of installing his games. I did virus and spyware scans, it seemed to be clear of them but I had trouble getting the keyboard to work properly. Tried changing settings in Control Panel but it didnt work either. The guy at the computer shop across couldn't figure it out either. So I went to Mid Valley, where the computer was purcahsed from to get it fixed. Found out that it was some setting under "Accessibility Options" which caused the keyboard to have delayed response. Cheh! Spent my time rushing under the hot sun for a silly problem like that. My nephew owes me big time - popcorn and a movie ticket.

Came back, shopped for some frames with a supplier and carried on with work. After work had to rush off to my new place to check it out. I had some peace and quiet though...I rested and read "The Horse and His Boy" for a bit before heading home.

I'm chilling out with a warm cup of honey lemon tea. Nice :)

Today's exercise diary:
6.6km outdoor run

My Weekend

I've finally regained my voice. Hurrah! It has been unnerving to sit through choir practice and not being able to sing. Although I mentally run the tunes through my head during the practice, it's quite hard to remember your parts unless you sing it aloud. And yes, I managed to hit the notes this time. Bactidol really does wonders for your throat when you have a throat infection.

Just started my gym regime again. Physically I haven't been tip top in the last 3 weeks although I still continued to exercise. I hope to be able to start my marathon training soon. Singapore Marathon will be in 3 week's time and I guess it's no go for me this year. Hopefully I'll be able to run the KL International. The most difficult part is maintaining your discipline through Christmas, New Year and Chinese New year. One has a tendency to overeat with the easy availability of cookies and junk food.

Had a quiet weekend with a some good gal pals. Enjoyed the peace and quiet in my new place. I'm really so thankful to God for blessing me with a place of my own although there's nothing really splendid about it.

Today's exercise:
10 min walk on treadmill
3.8km run on treadmill
Push ups
Dumbell row
shoulder press
double crunches
Bridge

Candid Canine

"I'm Skippy the kangaroo..."















"Be afraid...be very afraid...
ROWWWRR"

Sleeping Pups

Aren't they just adorable...

Home Alone...Not

Hurrah! My family has come back. The Ah sum lifestyle just wasn't me. I was so pooped having to work longer hours plus doing the household chores. Skipped gym yesterday and could only muster a walk today when it's my usual running day. But my ah sum-dom for this week isn't over yet. Have to go and clean my new place. Today I have to take Razor and Caramel to the vet's.

Looking forward to next week.

The Wardrobe

I've just completed reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis. I was probably about 12 the last time I read this book. Honestly I didn't remember much of the story though i thoroughly enjoyed it the first time I read it. Nevertheless I still enjoyed it this time, though I can't imagine what the movie would be like with the talking animals bit.

After reading the book it invoked my imagination a bit. I do wish I have an enchanted wardrobe which could just transport me to another world...a world where I can escape the crazy routine of life, exercise forever and not get tired, eat a lot and not get fat, be on permanent vacation, read and not forget, shop without spending, oh and of course; have skin that never sags....It would also be a world where animals could talk (just like in Narnia). I'd like to know what's on Razor and Caramel's minds. Razor's cataract is quite bad, so I am curious about what he sees or how well he sees. It would be nice if he could tell me. He's rather old, about 95 dog years so I wish he could tell me how he feels.

I'm not sure about being a queen in another world. I think I would be happy being a peasant girl.Well maybe not peasant...maybe cottage girl. In a nice little English cottage with daisies blooming in my garden. Baking strawberry pies. And then having them with Earl Grey tea.

I'm not much for Turkish Delight though. Oh!! But I wouldn't mind being in a chocolate factory like that in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!! Imagine swimming in chocolate and gulping down warm choclate with every stroke... (And of course not getting fat no matter how much chocolate you eat..)

Rats. I'm out of the wardrobe.

Win Sum, Lose Sum

My Ah Sum status has been confirmed. Today I managed to slag off a supplier (in Cantonese) for being rude on the phone. Those who know me would be aware that I can't speak Cantonese for peanuts. Or the little that I speak sounds totally strange..like those gwai lohs you see in Hong Kong Cantonese series.

What happened was that I asked her if her company could deliver the goods within a certain time. She then replied (in Cantonese of course but this is the English translation ) :"If you want to be petty and discuss time then you can come and collect it yourself" . Imagine that sentence translated into Cantonese - how rude it would sound, as Cantonese can sound pretty coarse. Anyway I told her (in Cantonese) that that was not the way to answer a customer, and if she had explained it nicely I would have understood. But instead it made me very angry. It would make ANY customer angry. The only thing I was pleased at was that I managed to tell her off in Cantonese! I sms'ed my little triumph to HL (fellow non Canto talker) and she very cleverly replied:

"the ah sum emerging even more strongly!"

Ah Sum in the making

While Fatboy has been experiencing life as a tai tai, I have been experiencing life as an Ah Sum. Yea I'm rather spoilt living with parents, having to do minimal housework only. Parents are away for a couple of days, so I am becoming an Ah Sum. It's good training I guess, just before I move out. I have to wake up extra early to let the dogs out, feed them, clean up after them because it would be too late by the time I come back from the gym. Razor's been naughty and piddling all over the floor so I also have to mop the floor. Bathed Caramel too.I'm also very proud that I actually remembered Mom's garden! She would be pleased to know that I remembered to water her plants without her asking. Then of course did the usual housework of laundry.

I am getting domesticated. It's time to do something about it because men like Fatboy, Cheese and ML all put me to shame!

Today's exercise diary:
4.4km outdoor run

Oldie

My cousin reminded me of this old song which I used to listen to when I was young:

Carpenters - Goodbye To Love Lyrics

I'll say goodbye to love
No one ever cared if I should live or die
Time and time again the chance for love
has passed me by
And all I know of love
is how to live without it
I just can't seem to find it.
So I've made my mind up I must live
my life alone
And though it's not the easy way
I guess I've always known
I'd say goodbye to love.
There are no tomorrows for this heart of mine
Surely time will lose these bitter memories
And I'll find that there is someone to believe in
And to live for something I could live for.
All the years of useless search
Have finally reached an end
Loneliness and empty days will be my
only friend
From this day love is forgotten
I'll go on as best I can.
What lies in the future
is a mystery to us all
No one can predict the wheel of fortune
as it falls
There may come a time when I will see that
I've been wrong
But for now this is my song.
And it's goodbye to love
I'll say goodbye to love.
( 1972 )

How sad..

Doggie treats

Bought some doggie snacks for Razor and Caramel. As Razor is aging and starting to lose his teeth, I bought him Pedigree Ringo (beef flavour) which is soft and chewy. As for Caramel, I got him Pedigree Tasty bones (milk biscuits). The milk biscuits looked pretty crunchy and smelled good...so I decided to try it! They taste like a bland version of Marie biscuits (harder version also) This is not the first time I've tried dog biscuits. I've tried another biscuit bone as well. On the back of the packaging it actually said "Safe if accidently consumed by children". Speaking of eating dog biscuits, I do remember the time when I brought some dog biscuits to school (when I was in Form 1) because Mien wanted to feed the stray pup outside her house. Some friends and even our English teacher were fascinated by the rounded brown kibbles, and they asked what it was. We told them it was preserved plum and offered them some. They ATE the "plum" thinking it was rather tasteless. Much to their horror they found out it was dog food..

KK here I come

Need to get serious about training again. Not been watching my diet and eating like crazy. Ellen's booked our trip to Kota Kinabalu in end March. I was already tired after climbing Cameron Valley (which is a slight incline) ..how am I going to survive KK? Maybe I'll start by climbing the 19 floors in my condo....

Today's exercise diary:
4 km run on treadmill(only 300 calories)
Push up on fitball
Bench press
Dumbell row
Shoulder press
Abs crunch

Today's food diary:
Breakfast: Toast and coffee (Evonne treated me to free coffee! How nice!)

Shopping List

Need to get down to buying:

1. Mattress
2. Dish drainer
3. Dish cleaners
4. Tile cleaners
5. Birthday gift for an old friend
6. Microwave oven
7. Sofa set
8. Extra stools
9. Book shelves

Christmas is also around the corner...

Claudine's farewell (Friday Oct 28)

It was tiring after the Cameron trip. Went back to work as usual. Sharon dropped by my shop. We had lunch at La Bodega and did some catching up. Went back to work after that. It was a busy day. The day ended with a lovely farewell for Clau at Travellers Restaurant at the Place in Damansara Perdana. I bumped into an old friend from school whom I had not seen in 17 years. Found out that she and Clau were childhood friends in Klang. What a small world!! Food was good, we had Caesar's salad, seafood paella, aubergine curry, buffalo wings, stir fried cauliflower, chicken kebab and spaghetti bolognese.

Clau left for Melbourne yesterday. She's finally joining the rest of her family in Australia. We're going to miss her. The gym will be quiet without her. I hope she fulfills her dream in finding the father of her unconceived child..

Cameron Highlands - Day 3 (27 Oct)

Did not do much on this day. Went to Brinchang market and Kea farm (again) to hunt for flowers for the wedding. Didn't find anything worthwhile. Had breakfast (pan mee) near the market. Bought some phoenix balls (sweet potato balls) which were more like rubber balls. Drove up and down between Brinchang and Blue Valley to look for flower wholesalers. Didn't find anything either. Came back and chilled out at the hotel. Watched the ending of Spiderman (again).

Stopped by Ipoh for lunch. Reached home at about 6pm.

Cameron Highlands - Day 2 (26 Oct)

This was the fullest day we had. Started the day with breakfast at "No. 14", the most popular mamak shop in Tanah Rata. I reckon they make really good roti telur as it was cripsy and not soggy. We then visited the following places:

1. Cameron Valley tea plantation
2. Robinson Waterfalls
3. Cactus valley
4. EQ strawberry farm

There wasn't much to do at the tea plantation except to admire the beautiful landscape and the vastness of the plantation. It was a very pleasant walk downhill, entertaining ourselves with songs from "Sound of Music" along the way.





Cameron Valley
















In the wilderness














"The hills are alive..."












Next stop was Robinson Waterfalls. The path is well paved, and we did not even attempt the jungle walk. (City folks) It was a 10 minute walk from the main road to the waterfall. When we finally reached the waterfall, we learnt that it wasn't a place where you could picnic or swim. Nevertheless it was still very refreshing and picturesque.




Robinson Waterfall

















We headed to Cactus Valley after that. That was where we spent the longest time. Although they charged an entry fee of RM4 per head, it was well worth it as we saw a wide array of beautiful flowers. (We were more interested in the flowers than the cactus) It reminds you of what an intricate creator our God is when you see all the fine tiny details in every flower. Amazing.




Hawaiian hibiscus as big as our faces































Hydrangea















Don't know the name but I like the colour.















Cameron apple















Tomatoes












There's a local fruit(?) called Cameron apple..although I am not sure why they call it an apple because it's more like a green tomato. The texture is like honeydew melon and it's pretty tasteless.

Since we had a late breakfast, we skipped lunch and had tea instead. There's an inexpensive tea cafe called "T Cafe" (obviously) in Tanah Rata above Marrybrown. We initially thought of going to the Olde Smokehouse for tea, but decided against it due to their inflated prices. We stuffed ourselves with scones, apple pie and banana pancake. I reckon Fatboy bakes better. Perhaps that could be his retirement place.

After tea we visited Kea Farm, where you can purchase vegetables, fruits and flowers to bring home. We were actually hunting for flowers for a friend's wedding on Saturday. Since it was only weekday there wasn't anything available. For the life of me I can never understand why people would buy fluorescent tinted flowers. It's artificial and disgusting.

Our last visit for the day was EQ Strawberry farm. We didn't pick any strawberries as they were pretty measly and nothing like the farms in UK. We bought some home made strawberry jam and treated ourselves to some lovely ice blended strawberry. Fresh and without preservatives. The best!!

We stopped by our hotel to freshen up before going off for dinner. Just before dinner we decided to treat ourselves to foot reflexology. We took a package of volcanic mineral foot spa and foot reflexology costing us RM35 per person. The masseurs were a bit gentle on the ladies but the masseur ML had was having a good time cracking all the bones in his feet. Lisa nearly freaked out when one of the masseurs came in with a toothpick in his mouth. Fortunately for her she got a pimple faced masseur who was extremely kind to her. Cheese got the tooth-picker. I got an old man.

































We had dinner at Schwabing Haus Inn, a supposedly German restaurant. It's actually run by Chinese people with an Indian cook. We had pork ribs, pork knuckles, 3 types of sausages and schnitzel. The best dishes were the sausages and schnitzel. The sauerkraut could have been better though, and the mash potato lacked butter and cream. The pork ribs and knuckles were a disappointment though, because they tasted just like "siew yoke" and "char siew"

















Ended our day by watching "Catwoman" and "Spiderman" on tv.

Cameron Highlands - Day 1 (25 Oct)

I was away in Cameron Highlands for 2 days and 2 nights. The day started out with ML and I running some bank errands while waiting for Lisa (who had some work to settle) and Cheese (who had some household matters to settle). Went back to RHB head office to do some banking. Memories sure started flooding back. Was supposed to meet an ex colleague but infortunately she was away at a meeting. After I settled my errand, it was ML's turn to do banking. I was dropped off at KL Plaza while he went to do banking. I haven't been there for ages and I never realised there were so many tai tai shops there. Bumped into an old uni friend whom I haven't seen for at least 12 years! He is now a father of 2 and a senior manager at his company.

After that we had lunch at Lot 10, where I had a scrumptious sandwich from Sun Moulin. Upon finishing lunch, we picked up Lisa from her office and headed off to ML's house. Played with Yumi (I'm not sure how it's spelled) and Ebony. Later Cheese came over to pick us up and we started our journey to Cameron at about 3pm.



Pup parade















Ebony and Yumi













Yumi














By the time we arrived there, it was about 730pm. We checked into Equatorial. The place is pretty nice but a little run down if you compare with KL standards. Very peaceful and quiet. We then headed off to Brinchang to have good ol' steamboat for dinner. It was the traditional steamboat set using charcoal for fuel. Haven't had that in a long time. It adds a certain smoky flavour to the food.

Since it was already late, we just went back to the hotel to unwind. Played mindless card games like "fishing", "old maid" things that 6 year olds would play. We left our brains in Kuala Lumpur...

Back to reality

I'm home now. It's back to reality. Sigh.....

Home Improvement II

My sore throat's gone worse. It has developed into a dry chesty cough. I can't even sound like a toad now because I am unable to sing at all. Any attempts will send me into wild jerky coughs. Left me to last resort which is to seek the doctor (usually I avoid getting any medication if possible). Hopefully I'll be able to sleep well tonight.

Other than that, I got my bedroom furniture and curtains (some of them). Some of the curtains needed alteration so Kim Kee took them back. Meanwhile, the curtains in my hall and guest room are up. It sure adds a softer and warmer look to the place. My bedroom furniture also came today. To my surprise the delivery men were on time and I found myself rushing back home from church. In my excitement of getting the curtains (yes, I'm very pleased with them!) I forgot to snap pictures of my bedroom furniture.



Curtains in guest room. The light blue curtain with little lilac flowers neutralised the pink walls. The walls look purplish now. I think ET will have a pleasant time in my guest room!











Curtains in the living room. Can't really see the colour here but it's sort ot bronzy brown.

















Dining table and bean bag & cushions.

















Mini bar courtesy of HL

Handy Men

I'm down with a horrible sore throat. I'm supposed to be singing at a wedding next week so I hope my voice will recover by then. If not I could either sound like a toad or Bonnie Tyler. Well anyway today I sent HL off to KLIA. Took a(n extremely) slow drive in my jalopy. I felt very tired for my car! I don't think I've ever been to the airport so often, as I was there last week as well to send CN off. At least today I got my bearings right as I always get lost in the car park! We had lunch at Burger King before we parted. I trust she'll have a fabulous time in Hong Kong.

Today Loong and Cheese helped me to transport my mini fridge (courtesy of HL) to my place. At least I can store some drinks now to entertain guests! I think this is the biggest workout the guys have had in ages! :D They also helped me fill my beanbag with more stuffing. I am embarrassed to say that they did a better job than HL and I.....Also got them to help me fix some towel racks, which didn't work anyway. They also fiddled with the paintings, testing to see where it would look best. Tomorrow Kim Kee is coming to fix my curtains.

What would I do without these handymen??

Doggone

Everyone's so amazed with Caramel's ears. Took him to the vet this morning. A fellow dog owner there was quite amused with his ears. That was the first thing she noticed about him and thought it made him look very cute!

We chatted a while about Sheena's case (see ET's entry yesterday) and agreed that the penalty was minimal. She also owns a German Shepherd and had brought him to the vet due to tick fever.

When I came home, I called for Roo. There was no sign of him , and no response either. Nearly gave me a heart attack because many years ago when I came home and called for Prince (my 3rd dog) there was no response from him either..then I found him dead... To my relief I found Roo hiding behind the armchair. Phew!!!

Running Mates

Did a 6.6km outdoor run again. On the road to recovery!!It feels good to be able to run 3 times a week again. CH had major spasms today while running, he coughed like somebody's grandfather on his deathbed. Then i started thinking of all my running mates, and all our idiosyncracies...

CH gets major spasms all the time which he claims he doesn't get during holidays. At the rate he coughs, you'd think that he'll collapse on you one day. We suspect he has some furball trapped in his throat. Despite having furballs and spasms, he's still the fastest runner amongst us. He can still cough, vomit and run at the same time.

Jin (my brother) - We suspect he keeps an sms template in his phone. On outdoor run days, he always sends an sms which says "Woke up late. You all start first".

Jenny - Official alkaline water supplier. This lady is known to run through rain, hail and sleet. Also famous for running through pain. Disciplined is how I would describe her. Oats is her staple diet

Clau - Does the usual "diva" act. Don't really know when she'll come for training as she's always travelling. She also has the capability of having gallons of beer the night before a run, throw up and yet run a half marathon in GOOD timing. Amazing!

K7- shares the same famous last words as Diana Ross (ie "I'll be there" but never shows up!) Been finding all sorts of excuse to skip training!

Jules - This lady is always winning medals although she never registers for any runs!!There was once at the Penang Bridge Run, she took a shortcut and STILL got a medal at the finishing line. Her name was in the records for Top 20 runners and she even won a hamper!!

Then there's me. Always dogged with injuries but still want to run. That's what you call a WANNABE. I think I've experienced every injury a runner could possibly have.....chrondomalacia, plantar fascitis etc etc..you name it, I've experienced it. But I still want to run another marathon....

Meme 23/5

oh well..for the fun of it! I dug up my 23rd entry and it was about Baron (1983-1994) my first dog. The 5th line of my post was "I miss his incessant barking". Yes I do miss his incessant barking. It has been 11 years since Baron has passed on, but it only feels like yesterday. In some ways Caramel reminds me of Baron..they have the same kind of built except that Baron had floppy and not pointy ears. Baron was also a darker shade of brown where as Caramel's is closer to a cream colour. The major difference is that Baron's bark is worse than his bite, but Caramel's bite is worse than his bark.

I don't think I have 5 people to tag to (since we're all in the same circle and most people would have been tagged) so I guess it ends here!

Today's exercise diary:
25 min walk on treadmill
20 min on stepper
Dumbell press
Dumbell flye
Dumbell row
Shoulder press
Lateral raise

Today's food diary:
Breakfast: 2 half boiled eggs and toast, Milo
Lunch: 1 1/2 cinnamon bun, mini chic floss bun, French Roast coffee
Dinner: Teochew porridge with omelette, luncheon meat, stir fried green vege, lettuce and fried fish

Mel a dingo?

Doesn't Mel just look like a dingo? According to an article in BBC, research by the University of New South Wales has shown that dingoes originated from a domestic pet in Indonesia. The first dingo was probably brought over to Australia by migrants about 5,000 years ago. Dingoes are said to be facing extinction as there's plenty of cross breeding with domestic dogs. Could I be harbouring an endangered species in my home?

Pooch photos

Mel looking stoned in the garden
















Roo awakes

Big Boy

Here are the latest shots of Caramel. He's chewing on 1 of those raw hide strips which you gave, ET!

Today's exercise diary:
6.6km outdoor run

Today's food diary:
Breakfast: coffee and toast
Lunch: Muesli and milk
Dinner: 3 mini chic floss buns and 1 cinnamon bun

Farewell Toffee

Farewell Toffee (my hamster). He died this morning..I do not know the cause but hamsters die quite easily. At first I thought the water could have been contaminated, as I had just changed the water last night and he was well alive then. Bell is still up and running though, and I gave him water from the same supply. Maybe it was just time for Toffee to go. He lived only 3 and a half months.

I haven't been very diligent in maintaining my food diary. I should start again. It's amazing how much junk one can consume and you don't realise it until you look at your food diary. Monday's usually oatmeal day due to over-indulgence over the weekend. It's also a sure way of losing weight. Not an exciting Monday today. Tired from the weekend.

Today's exercise diary:
3.5km run on treadmill (only burnt 260 calories)
10 min on stepper

Today's food diary:
Breakfast: toast and margarine, Milo
Lunch: Marmite oatmeal
Dinner: Sweet and sour fish, stir fried long beans, bittergourd, melon soup

Going Soft

It's been a fruitful day, got a number of things accomplished. The day started at 6.30am, went to pick HL up to send CN off.By the time I got to her place, it was about 7am and we took a slow drive to KLIA. It was raining intermittently. By the time we nearly arrived at KLIA, CN and his parents were just leaving the house! They made it on time though, I shan't ask what speed they were driving at...We had a sumptuous breakfast of dim sum at Eden before we saw him off.

Later today we went off to Mid Valley to shop for soft furnishing. Made a stopover at Starbucks for a quick jolt of caffeine.After that we headed off to Metro and Jusco. I spent a bomb on soft furnishing(and some other frivolous things)..here's what I purchased today:

* Quilt with bedsheets, pillow case and bolster case (70% discount..extremely good buy)
* Bean bag + filling
* 3 cushion inserts and covers
* stainless steel racks
* 2 press out doll books for Claire (my niece)

Spent the afternoon stuffing the styrofoam beads into the bean bag. It was pretty fun, as we kept spilling the beads and had to run after the runaway beads!I didn't buy enough bags of beads to fill the bean bag, and the bean bag ended up pretty flat.We rested for a bit before heading off for Christmas choir practice.

This is the first time I've ever been in a choir!! It was fun! We sang soprano parts and today we sang 2 pieces:
*Mary did you know
*Christmas Fantasia (medley of It's the Most wonderful time of the year, Deck the halls and God rest you merry gentleman)

We definitely need more practice on the high notes! We sounded like a cat being sucked through a vacuum cleaner....

After practice, we decided to have dinner with the 3 Musketeers. Guess where we ended up...Mid Valley AGAIN! Well, the 3 Musketeers wanted to go to MV and I needed more stuffing for my bean bag. Bought another 3 twin bags of stuffing.

It's been a nice day :)

Miracle Water

My foot has been a lot better since consuming alkaline water. The tightness is sometimes there, but it's not as prominent as before. I've managed to run 3 times this week already..did a 6.6km outdoor run today. A little knackered though because of last night's spring cleaning. I've been consuming alkaline water for 2-3 weeks now, Jenny is still kindly supplying me the water daily except on weekends because I don't see her. Well it certainly worked on her because she had a hamstring previously, and she managed to run 21km last Sunday and has been running everyday this week.

Although at first I did think it was only a placebo, and the effects were more psychological. Yes definitely the mind plays a huge part but I also believe that alkaline does help to flush out all the toxins and acid in our body. I'm pretty convinced to buy the filtration system for my family. Though I have yet to see the "reverse-aging" effects...

Today's exercise diary:
6.6om run

Today's food diary:
Breakfast: toast and 2 eggs, Milo

Cats and Dogs

It's raining cats and dogs,
Oh I could be a hog
Sleeping like a log
But instead I'm writing my blog.

Spring Cleaning

Finally gave my place a thorough cleaning. I am so glad my brother's domestic helper was kind enough to help me...or I would have taken ages to complete the task. I spent ages scraping little paint and cement stains on the floor. What was most annoying was cement stuck in minute chips on the tiles. By the time I had finished scraping, I would have menopaused. Anyway, we got the place vacuumed, mopped, scrubbed, wiped.....the whole works. It is clean now!! (though not squeaky clean yet) There was lots of dust accumulated over the months, therefore it is a little more difficult to completely get rid of it. I'll need to go in a second time to clean again. I think completing a marathon is a far easier task.

I'm tired but happy.

Curtains next!!

Guillemard

Dominique Guillemard
Le Carnegie Hall
















I am not an arty person but I discovered some of Guillemard's works. A lot of his art revolves around musicians and orchestras. I was told that what he specialises in is movement in the art, which is why you see dark heads without features(which denote head movement while playing the instrument) and a lot of loose strokes here and there. I haven't been able to find much about the artist's biography, the ones available are all in French. Guess I'll continue my search.