Same ols

Sheesh, I still have to get the hang writing blog frm Ipad. Done it like halfway and everything's gone.

What's new? I have this fantastic toy. I'll do a review on it one day, I hope hehehe.

What's the same..
Well, I have blogged before that I lost 9 kg. Yay...Bad news is I have gained 3kgs back. Well not surprising since My workouts are sporadic,( my instructor have been calling and threatened to drag me there) and I have this huge addiction on Patchi.. The last time I went to klcc- twice in a week )Maybe I should join Patchi anon.Hahaha.

I have got the exercise bit going . No.. I have not gone to the gym. Like so malas, 2hrs on the road, one hr in the gym unless I run down and feed the parking meter for the next hr, so ?!£&&@ inconvenient, why do they limit an hr I have no idea.

I have started Wii's active more 60 days challenge. Managed to do it one week plus then I was swamped. But I did managed to do the custom workout - boxing, squash,step aerobics, abs. And of course my current craze... Michael Jackson's experience wii game. What not to like about this game.... You dance to Mj's songs-thriller, beat it, bad, smooth criminal- do the moonwalk etc.. awesome!!! I tried to beat my own score for a few songs and wham.. I have done an hours workout effortlessly and enjoyed it.

Speaking of wii games, I have tried the racquet sports which I find quite good, I like the badminton, squash and tennis. Tina always beat me @ ping pong though and beach tennis..Cant get them.. The Gold's gym dance workout is good, if I can get my two feet coordinate, a bit difficult but with time you may get it .. i love the jai hosong. The game has latin and cardio boxing moves..Then there is the zumba fitness. Ok...you'd definitely get a good workout, your legs, will turn to jelly because unlike Just dance, we cheer, gold gym's dance and the Michael Jackson's, the wii mote is at your hips, and you've got to move them.. I have tried the 20minutes beginner and thinking ..darn when will it end.

I thot of setting up a separate fitness blog but nah.. I think I'll use this blog.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Sepang

Mountain out of molehill

I have always admired Neng Fatimah or my daughter Tina, who can cry at will. I wonder if I'm becoming like them. Today for a few times I bawled my eyes out. And the thing about it is~ it sapped out your energy leaving you utterly tired and depressed. I was really looking forward to going for the annual buka puasa with friends this Friday and today I don't feel like going. Funny how I have reading about staying positive and I thought I have been doing well.... Maybe there is a perfectly good explanation or maybe I'm just clueless.

Nesting Mode?

I have recently changed my curtains ( curtains were older than my youngest , Tina 7) and reupholstered the sofa, bought new carpet (sofa and carpet older than my eldest, kakak- 13). Shila sd whylah are you in nesting mode. Hahaha.. dah naik menyampah tengok, yelah tak pernah tukar bertahun2. Nesting mode- entah.. dah lama dah mode ni. Tinggal lagi tak buat2 always you know before raya, thought of doing it, then tak sempat.

Nesting yg lain tu...It used to be you know kluar IUD next month pregnant. when I told Dr Marlik , he didnt believe how quick. Shila said I would have more. Now I have even forgotten how long I've taken out the IUD. Haq pun dah dapat dua . Hahaha, and Paiz.. a third..opps, not suppose to tell.

So I have done the kitchen and living room - what is next. The garden- which - sigh - have been left neglected since Bibik went away. My roses are half dead. My camelia, the flower is dead and so are my hydrangeas. I am searching for gazebo. Still tak jumpa yg berkenan di hati and di poket. Kakak Sabariah, who did my curtains offered to do landscaping job.. HAhaha, that's how teruk it looked like. I am so tempted nak tile it off.. hahahaha.. dulu sibuk nak tanah around the house. May be I should go Sg Buluh and look at the Laman mags for more ideas. DH got rid of the pokok pisang/banana trees around the hse, too tall sampai nak masuk tingkap he said. The thing is I love having pokok pisang. Sometimes nak grill or suddenly inspiration nak cook in daun pisang at least ada. But he's right of course. I thot of buying Pisang Serendah, since it is rendah. I keep on buying bananas for my smoothies ( the banana trees we had were more like pisang awak with biji inside- which I think is better fried than raw- we rarely eat them more like jamu monkeys or squirrels.)

Once a year big birthday party this year will be Cqistina's in May. Got to make her birthday dress. Theme apa lagilah kalau Cqistina's ~ mermaid. I hope she approves of the cake I'm going to make. Last years mermaid cake banyak complaint- tail besar etc.. (mmglah besar dah balut kaki barbie with fondant...

Long Blog Holiday

Hahaha.. Semenjak berfacebook ni I've gone on long blog holiday. What's new? My maid of 8 years has gone back as her father was ill. Called me a few weeks ago to say that she still wants to work with me. At first I thought hey, I can do this... Sigh.. I'm just too spoilt. I have to admit it is a bit hectic since Ive joined True fitness three times a week and the Pilates personal training twice a week plus sometimes terkejar2 for either skincare or jewelry orders. Dh does cooking on Tuesdays and Fridays when he hasn't any appointment. Cooking part ok, the kemas part oklah but the laundry part ..eekkks.. . well the clothes just multiply. Doesnt help when I have a habit of changing clothes ... 3 or 4 times a day.

Of course the best experience for the past few months is losing weight! I have lost total of 9 kilos ( not biggest loser contender but to me~ an achievement) since last August. How did I do it? The first 7 kilos was by playing wii (EA Sports Active, we cheer, Jillian's Ultimatum 2010 (not 2009)), and dvds like Jillian Micheals 30 days shred, The firms, a bit of Ttapp and of course reducing carbs and constantly snacking every 3 hours. The first few months I only eat rice on Sunday- and that was when I had my nasi lemak. Now I can eat more rice during the week ( brown rice - lunch only) and white rice in the form of nasi lemak on Sunday ( I just have to have my nasi lemak / masak lemak cili padi or I just won't sustain.).

A typical day would be

It may be boring to some but I just love fruits- I just don't listen to nutritionist who said you just eat two portion of fruits. So my breakfast would be banana/ strawberries/blueberries/mixed berries/acai/mango smoothies concocted with whey (optimum's gold standard- I buy this from GNC - its definitely cheaper than herbalife and its pure whey- I buy the 10kg), oatmeal, oatbran meal, flaxmeal (ground flaxseed), L carnitine, Alpha lipid colustrum, Juvo - raw meal -got this frm justlife. Many said hey mahalnya breakfast, I feel I deserve it.. Its my first meal of the day. The variety would be the choice of fruits. I drink lots of water after.

Then three hours later - I would snack on either fruits or boiled chick peas or cheese sandwich or jicama/sengkuangs, or mushroom omellete or boiled sweet potato. The first few months my lunch would be grilled burger with lots of veggies or wholemeal bread and lettuce.The burger would have to be lean ..I buy dara beef /chicken from cold storage, now I found even Giant has them. ( Now I have brown rice with grilled chicken/beef/fish with salsa sauce)3 hours later snack again. Either from the above snacks or roasted nuts with a bit of honey , fruits and yogurt.

Dinner would be grilled chicken/beef/fish with lots of veggies. Or home made soto (chicken soup) with lots of taugeh/beansprout instead of nasi impit, or have it with brown rice vermicelli or laksa asam (spicy boiled fish) with lots of cucumbers instead of laksa noodle.

My beverages would be either cold plain water or green tea/habatussauda coffee(these are not real coffee- made to taste like coffee- they make me perspire after drinking them or ginger tea. I find that it is true that ginger increases your metabolism.

Lately I have included CLA (Conjugated linoleic acids )in the regime. It said to

• Increases metabolic rate -- This would obviously be a positive benefit for thyroid patients, as hypothyroidism -- even when treated -- can reduce the metabolic rate in some people.
• Decreases abdominal fat -- Adrenal imbalances and hormonal shifts that are common in thyroid patients frequently cause rapid accumulation of abdominal fat, so this benefit could be quite helpful.
• Enhances muscle growth -- Muscle burns fat, which also contributes to increased metabolism, which is useful in weight loss and management.
• Lowers cholesterol and triglycerides -- Since many thyroid patients have elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels, even with treatment, this benefit can have an impact on a thyroid patient's health.
• Lowers insulin resistance -- Insulin resistance is a risk for some hypothyroid patients, and lowering it can also help prevent adult-onset diabetes and make it easier to control weight.
• Reduces food-induced allergic reactions -- Since food allergies can be at play when weight loss becomes difficult,
• Enhances immune system -- enhancing the immune system's ability to function properly is a positive benefit.

I've had it for a month, before taking it my weight plateaued, then it went down 1.8 kg, so I guess it worked.

How to keep motivated? And why? When asked why by the personal consultant of True fitness, I told him ..I got sick of photoshop-ping my photo. Hahaha he laughed and said I was vain. But it was true.. I also got sick of people commenting abt my weight.

The first thing I did was imagine myself slimmer. I even put up my A level photo for my facebook profile. Then I chose the most fun exercise- I was sure to follow if not I'd stop half way. I read somewhere you have to commit to 15 exercises then 30 then 50 and then you'll make it a habit. When you start you just dont want to stop. It is difficult to start. You just have to do it. And to lose weight you just have to use weights or some kind of resistance exercise. Either dumbbells, bands.swimming or even your own weight (like some yoga poses). Increased muscle- muscle mass burnicalories more quickly. Muscles use energy, fat just stores it.

Aerobic exercise may burn a few hundred extra calories for dinner, but for every additional pound of muscle you gain, your body burns around 50 extra calories every day of the week.Research has shown that regular resistance training can increase your Basal Metabolic Rate by up to 15%. So for someone burning 2000 calories per day, that's a potential 300 extra calories, more than a Mars bar, burned every single day.

After I have lost some weight, I started to wear old clothes, first I could wear the precamarina ( no 2 - 9 years old) now I can wear precamillia (eldest-13 years old)- skirt or pants. I can wear a size 8 leggings -tight in the waist tho ( Marks and Sparks ) and my jeans when I was in UK(1981). I can also wear the jacket when I was worked with Ernst and Young (my first job 1983).

The next stage is of course to make this ~as Daily Muscle ( a personal trainer blogger), said a life style.

Sunday 8th

Sunday 8th ... Morning Mak B's doa selamat in Ampang, then brother Amy's son Eylan's birthday at Seri Maya and CBN' 110th reunion.

Amy asked me what I wanted to bring to his party. Initially I wanted to bring moussaka and he agreed. But because we thought of sleeping over @ Ampang that was out of the questions. Why- my mum's oven is gas oven.. I have no idea how to work it. There is no temperature only marked as 1-5. Ok most ovens in uk were marked that way- well at least when I was there eons ago and I did bake a few cakes there- hahaha I knew when to improvise when there was no choice. I could make it the day before @ home and freeze it but aubergines- I don't know whether they'd go bad the next day and I didn't want to risk it.

So I baked white chocolate mud cupcakes instead . Baked on Saturday. I thot I'd make small cupcakes for Mak b's do- since bigger crowd and larger ones for Amy.

Mak B's do started at 11, so early in the morning- melted marshmallow, put in icing sugar and colour- for fondant and then buttercream icing. Did hers first - green butter icing and with small flower fondants. Then Yani's- white fondant with small flower fondants. Went to Mak b's do- dah habis baca yassin.

Yummy spread- Durian cakes (sedap Izan!), singapore murtabak, Laksa Johor, rojak, satay. DH's aunts, uncles, cousins were there. Even Atok Busu all the way from Terengganu were there. Shila's kids were there- my kids of courselah excited.

For Eylan's bday party. I did a different set of cupcakes. Dh and kids helped me with the decorations, although DH said he preferred doing bachelor's party cupcakes.

Eylan and Mummy Etty.

Tina did the bird while Camarina did the branches and leaves.

Malam- kelam kabut. CBN dinner. Wanted to go with Shila. Suddenly BIL said DH to take me. Hey siapa lah pandai tukar plan. I told DH, I 'm going with shila. I didn't want to get there lepas tu melangguk for whatever time Shila sampai.

After pusing keliling we got there. After a few prayers and mental telepathy, hahaha, we finally got our seats. With some superseniors and superjuniors. Throughout dinner, cranned head to see who else were there. Spotted Azlin Juliana. Shila went over. took photos then Azlin said Riza was around.

Riza Fara, was the girl I went to lunch with. She was from different class, 1A, while I was in 1U, She introduced me to Shila, baru masuk her class. The Shila was transferred to 2K, sebelah my class .And we got close. Pi tuition together , hahaha we had fun there. Sleepover etc. Then I went to MRSM Sban, Shila and I remained close. She visited me often in Seremban- mmm visit me ke nak tengok a certain someone she had a crush on.. then Shila and I went to Uk. She met her husband there. Later on I married the husband's brother so jadi biras.

Searched for Riza, and bumped into Yati. Yati was my classmate from 2u onwards. She was from 1A and later on transferred to 2U. She was also my mum's pupil in Sekolah Gurney Dato Keramat. Then moved on to see Riza.

Wah bestnya jejak kasih moments ni. Riza looked the same. Dinner tak habis lagi so I went back to my seat. Jumpa Anastasia. Followed her to the rest of the gang. Dida and Cheryl came over. Cheryl was in my class form 1 to 3, She cant remember me. We were in different class masa form four- before I went to Seremban. She has changed, gone were her glasses and braces. Wah sophisticated. Suzana and Natasha, who I met online- FBlah mana lagi, Roslina and Musmina, Razlina , who were in my class when I was in std 3/4 or 5. And a few others who were in my class during primary school, who I'm ashamed to admit, I remember their names after they were tagged in FB.

Cheryl, top row, third from left. Yati- 2nd row-6 from left. Zuriati? guess.

With Yati

cheryl in red front row. Natasha in red and black front row. Shila in red .Riza fara in yellow 2nd from left back row. Azlin next to her in black scarf. Hahaha I guess everybody followed the theme- house colours . I was in Xavier- green house- but I went in black. Mana tau..

Singapore trip 2

I know I said I didn't want to blog this trip. Takut bore people to death.

I have always been in Organic Monitor's list. Keeping myself up to date with the organic world. Once I wanted to venture into setting up my own organic shop so that I can sell my current organic skincare. Who would have thought I've sold them for two years. I have definitely have to get the papers sorted.

"Organic Monitor is a specialist research & consulting company that focuses on the global organic & related product industries.

We provide a range of business services to organisations that are active in our specialist industries. Our services include business research publications, customised research, business consulting, seminars & workshops."

The last workshop was in Paris and as much as I want to go back there ( really can't get enough of this city and the language- so much so I wanted to name my product pure fleur - even bought french linguaphone eons ago- hahaha- I have arab and japanese too- bought by my late dad when I was in MRSM Seremban) I thot - is it worth the trip.

I wanted to also attend a few workshop in UK- tho what stopped me was the workshop was a few weeks apart. I would love to spend time there catching up with a few friends .... but ... Then last month I found out the UK company was going to organise a workshop in Florida and it has all the courses that I wanted. I was excited. Emailed Florida - only to be told that the course director was not well and the course had to be postponed. I still can go to the one in uk in November though.

So when organic monitor wrote to me it has Workshop: De-Mystifying Natural & Organic Cosmetic Standards in singapore and after bombarding me with calls from UK up till a week before the date, I thought, why shouldn't I waste this opportunity. Although this is like the the fourth step rather than the 1st step of the whatever process I had to go through.

I registered for the Incosmestic Asia and for the workshop above, flight and hotel in Singapore.

The last time I travelled alone was before I got married more than 13 years ago and I was hyped up for this trip. Will I have problem sleeping as I always have when I'm in a new place - (which I discovered only a few years ago). Will I feel bored etc..

My flight was at 6 am ( rolling my eyes- I don't know what possessed me to take such an early flight- although it is good - I am not rushed) and I couldn't sleep that night. I had to be at the airport at 4 30 ~rolling my eyes again- the booking person insisted that we be there two hours before - this is the carrier with so many delays to their name.

When I got there ticketing persons were not even there- much to my annoyance- luckily I brought a book.

After checking in , I had about an hour to kill so went to Mc Donalds for breakkie and then to Maybank ATM to activate temporary Overseas/plus ATM service- so that I may withdraw from Singapore's ATM.

Reached Singapore at about 7 o'clock then headed to Crowne Plaza hotel to leave my luggage then off to Singapore Expo. Crowne Plaza Hotel is at Terminal 3. It is easily accessible - skytrains from terminal 1 or 2 and you'd just have to go to basement 2 to access the MRT. Brilliant!

I was too early for the Expo as it starts at 10 am. Grabbed breakfast and after reading a few pages of the book I had with me the door opened.

I was glad I made the decision to come to the expo, there were many manufacturers of skincare ingredients though the ones I am interested in - probably 5 - the rest were the conventional suppliers of silicons and non organic. And the organic and natural ones are french suppliers. I knew I should brush up my french. Hahaha all I remember was au revoir, merci,

n'est–ce pas. I have also been searching for actives and extracts like black willow, bearberry, turmeric online - they have to be organic and preferably extracted with halal or kosher glycerine and preferably in the form of oil as they can blend well with my other ingredients - ( in water I would need a preservative- which I dont want - as there is no natural preservative to date - most natural/ organic cosmetic use potassium sorbate- I just dont want to use any preservative at all- so oil it is)

Around 2 I went back to the hotel to check in. By this time I was so sleepy. The room was modernly furnished, shower, bath tub a king size bed. I requested for a king size bed- ok I couldn't very well ask for twin beds when the other bed will be empty- it'll spook me out.

I still didn't know where or when my workshop going to be- I assumed it'll be in the expo itself - although I couldn't find it in the program- mm ingatkan org putih ni lagi organised. I haven't got a call from Maria. Quick access to the net ( at bloody 29 sing a day)- a mail from Maria. Workshop at 9- venue 7-9.

Alone in the room I thought..Hey not bad at all . Well I did rent a bed sit, alone whilst in London when all my housemates went back to Malaysia- although later on I moved to MARA hostel - a decision I thought carefully as I didn't want to upset a few people- but I had to make it , as I was freezing my *&# off at the bedsit- the landlady refused to mend my window- it was winter at the time. And moving to MARA hostel was a wise decision- I could even open my windows, so warm it was. Though I did iritate my neighbour with constant playing of End of the Road. ( my habit ~ if a song is in my current favourite list - I'd listen to it over and over)

The next day after a good rest- no sleeping problem- I went to hall 7 only to find it empty - ah they meant room 7.

The workshop itself was ok. It did demystify the standard like eco cert, Soil association , Na whatever. My product will definitely make all the standards. Although it did make my head spin with all the chemical jargon.

The people who attended were from various background - from a Thai manufacturer, Martha Thilaar, New Zealand, India, Uk and my partner - from Singapore.

After the workshop, went back to Incosmetic Asia and registered with a few french manufacturer's for updates on their organic essential oil and actives.I found a french supplier with ingredients I want~ organic oil based actives certified by ecocert.

After a bit of rest in the hotel. I went out reluctantly. Sister Ida has been smsing me about jibbies crocs. Took the train to Dhoby Ghaut and after a few smses to and from Ida, got the location right and went to crocs. Before I thot apalah pasal people have this fascination for this plasticky shoes. Ok it is comfortable. I bought one as well hahaha..It is cheaper in Singapore 69 sing dollar where else in malaysia it is about RM 220.

I walked all the way along Orchard Road- my main agenda was to go to Lucky Plaza and look at the gadgets- which I couldn't go with Ida the last time we went and also to check out Bvlgari handbag. Tak habis2 lagi. Instead I just went to a few shopping complexes along the way, found a bead shop much to my delight and bought beautiful pink opals and jasper- Must show to aunt Nita or Mak Z. I asked if they have gold filled findings - and they recommended another shop in another mall.

Apa lagi.. The shop has wide range of gold filled findings. I even found one that looked like my silver amber necklace - I have found out I cannot wear silver on my neck- bracelets are fine- even silver 925 discolour my neck- not only the silver change colour - my neck too and I get rashes- Sigh.. dah kena beli gold. Nasib baik 14k gold filled is ok - kalau kena pakai pure gold..tu dah kira mengada.

I was then exhausted, kepala pun pounding headache - forget Lucky plaza I thot- went to Bvlgari dah tutup..ha? Jimmy Choo sebelah terang benderang aje.. Sigh.. Grab dinner- mulanya lapar then apetite pun off. Took a cab back and Tido.

The next day I thot of going to Orchard Road again but my head still feel like I've hit the brick wall. Ni sure makan entah apa yg ada MSG. Checked out- checked in the airport - almost three hours early and my other luggage was too bulky to carry - took out my laptop and carried in an eco bag. Later bought a leather laptop bag at one of the shop. Bought two books and read before going to the boarding area. Flight was delayed hahaha what else is new..

Reached KL answered an sms/chat , had dinner and sleep.

Ju's wedding and Singapore Trip

On 3rd of October, my A levels roommate Juliana's wedding in Ipoh.The next day my cousin in Singapore. I was so excited, and planned to go to both wedding. Er of course I had to solve the logistics problem first. The day before Mak M, Dh's aunty called to say that there will be breakfast- nasi lemak and durian- both my favourite. ok...

The trip to Singapore was to be spouse free. Er.. how are we going to do that. So the plan was-Breakfast at Mak M's then off to Ipoh, flight to Singapore alone then meet my brother and sister. My siblings wanted me to reach Sinagpore early but the earliset would be flight from Ipoh at 4 with er firefly, I can't take flight from KLIA, no way we can reach KLIA on time, although the flight from KLIA was at 5. No problem I said.

Around 10 something we reached Damansara. We left Damansara at 1.30. Panic sets in. Er sempat ke nak pi wedding ni. Dh drove like F1 driver- no problem for him- he took like 1 1/2 hr from Sepang to Kluang. We reached the wedding nearly four. Alhamdulillah, managed to meet another roomate, Ully, who, last time I met was A levels reunion eons ago and Wok. Ully - awet muda. Of course we had our jejak kasih moments.

Di sebabkan kelewatan, we had like a few minutes together then she had to go.

Juliana looked radiant. Bagai pinang di belah dua. Congratulations Juliana!

Next I had to catch that flight at 4.40 or so I thought. Reached there alamak... flight delayed to 5.20. Then to 5.55pm, why I asked? TUDM air show. What pilot decided to join in too?

By the time I reached Singapore it was 9pm. Took a limo to Meritus Mandarin - hahaha from budget airport- dah too tired.. Reached there- ok my brother was not joking when he said it's near Takasyimaya. It is smacked in front of it. Just have to cross the road. Apa lagi my sister whisked me off to Takasyimaya, Ion - Dior - and Miu miu. After the stores closed- hahaha mana sempat- we had dinner.

The next morning we resumed ukur jalan at Orchard Road. We were in front of Takasyi just before it opened. Very very tiring. Around 1 we headed to Jurong, yes lets not forget we have a wedding to attend.

The bride was stunning. Well she is a model after all. She also have a stunning sister. Lovely food. Great reception. Er.. some unusual crowd dancing.

Eva the bride

Bride's sister

After wedding, head to Orchard road again. Hahaha.. My sister didn't want to go anywhere else. Just like the time she visited me in London. Tiap2 hari nak pi Oxford Street. Macam cita Shopaholic and sister, altho in this case dua2 shopaholics.