Sunday, September 30, 2012

happy mid-autumn festival

happy mid-autumn festival everyone.
someone on facebook chided me saying that we don't have autumn here in malaysia, but who cares? it is still a celebration held in the mid of august according to the chinese lunar calendar, so what is wrong with calling it mid-autum festival in the tropical region of the world??

i don't like to call this festival mooncake festival. it only reminded me of the commercialisation of the celebration. mooncakes are getting more and more expensive each year and they are coming up with a lot of different fillings that do not really make sense. ya ya ya, call me old fashion. to me, mooncakes should only come in lotus paste or red bean paste. hahaha....yolk is optional.

my choices- i only eat cheap red bean and green bean mooncakes bought from the day market. i think it is rm2.50 one. but this year, i can't even finish one mooncake on my own. i guess the craving is not there at all.

i got a box of jelly mooncake instead, the one above. i like eating jelly, and since they come in the shape of mooncake, what the heck, once a year, just buy lah. the filling is corn and red bean. i only eat  the red bean one. my brother also likes it so both of us have slowly been getting one out after another and now there is only a quarter left.

we don't have the tradition of having family dinner on this day, hence, it is back to bidor later....but i do have a dinner appointment. one of my kids is getting married. it will be a feast. i better control myself. had noodles for breakfast, lunch also had noodles, i am not getting more noodles onto my plate for dinner. maybe i will have some chee cheong fun instead.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

no. 9, a medal, and rm25

another feather added to the cap today??? hmmh....

left the house at 5a.m. to head to taiping. it rained heavily on the way there and it still rained when we got there. gosh, running in the rain, it was the first time for me.

and it was not running that i did, i think it was more to puffing and huffing and pushing myself to reach the finishing line. it was horrible. i think i have never run so badly, ever.

we were let off from the field. the whole field was flooded! eeewwwww!
hence, before reaching the road, the shoes were already soaked wet. then it was squishing all the way from then on. i was not on form at all. i even stopped twice to walk. malunya.
the stomach started to have burning sensation after 3km and a nagging pain came on the right side. haiz.....

still, i had to finish the run and i did. i was telling myself, 'try lah to get into top 10, at least there will be a medal'. so top 10 i did get into, well, i got no 9, but medal? chaik! this year they only prepared for top 5 winners. AARGGHH!!! in the registration information, it was stated that 10 runners would get the medals! last year, i also got no 9 and mom and aunt both exclaimed, 'no 9 again' when i told them my result. waaa...it was already good that i got into the top 10 loh. it was really the most difficult run i have experienced.

so i came back with very dirty and wet socks and shoes, and a medal also lah and rm25 pocket money.
luckily there was still the medal from the group event. the female team from my district emerged second. not bad lah.

my legs had a good 5km workout lah. and i got to see taiping war cemetery. i  have always wanted to see that place.
hmmh....i wonder if there will be next year. the ladies in the top 5 are really good. the first prize winner went and took part in all the marathons she could find this year.  she was in a different league.
i guess i will only decide when next year comes.

reached tm at 1.30pm. was very tired but still could not take a nap because the body was not used to taking nap in the afternoon.

here is one random photo and also a random thing i can do. am i good at braiding my own hair? hehe it started with just trying to get the annoying long fringe away from my face and soon it led to the whole head. will try to braid and go to work one day.

ok time to sleep now.

Friday, September 21, 2012

this friiii...ii....day.....day

what a boring friday it is going to be today. the bell has rung, all the kids have gone home, and i am left with papers to mark. but i am lazy ;(

not going home today because i am going to taiping tomorrow at 5a.m. yawn.
luckily i am not the one driving. will be going for a 5km run in conjunction with a sports carnival. let's hope i don't come back empty handed. 

because of the 5km run, i forced myself to part with rm8 yesterday and went to the gym just to get my legs on the treadmill.
the haze was really bad and i don't want to get sick running outside. hence, first time to the local gym  i went.

it was not very big, first floor of one corner shoplot. but i did have the workout i wanted and i refused to get down from the treadmill for 45 mins. running on the treadmill was totally easy on the heart.  but the legs do feel the strain. if only i could run continuously on the road for 45 mins, gosh, i would be good then. hahaha.

also learnt to use some of the equipment there with hands-on tutorial from a colleague who has been going regularly this month and she wanted to lose weight.
pssst.....the worker there asked if i were her daughter. kakakaka.....do i look young or .....???

dinner consisted of fruits and fruits and fruits.

 
but i did have some biscuitswith the meal above. i couldn't even finish the pear here.

this here below was my dinner on wednesday. i was very contented. tiramisu and grapes! perfect combination. and the tiramisu was heavenly......
the cake was from josephine's in ipoh.  i am craving for it!!

ok...enough now. time to go back to mark and mark and mark. have just found someone to have dinner with me. no more fruits tonight. will take some proper food to get enough energy for tomorrow.
wish me luck.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

a fun tuesday with white shirt

another fun day another new look.

as if i have nothing better to do right??

well, sort of lah....
it was tuesday, the first working day for the week since we have monday off in conjunction with malaysia day.

but this tuesday, i only went to work at 1030a.m. after going for a jog first. it was a centralised training for a jogathon i will be taking part in this saturday. how rejuvenating it was to be able to jog in the morning.

it felt soooo good on the whole.

so the looks for tuesday were based on a white shirt. just a simple white shirt but i think everyone's wardrobe should have one or two white nice shirts for any occasion.

so this was the look i 'made' for work. when one's tummy is flat, one can just tuck in one's shirt to any dress. wohoohooo...
so it was prim and proper for work in my white shirt and kilt.

at night, also went to ipoh for a belated birthday celebration.... in the same white shirt.
kakaka....i only wore the shirt for 3 hours at work and it was still crisp, so why do i want throw it into the laundry so fast. might as well i use it again for the night right??

so it was almost all black look for the night with the exception of that brown braided belt. if only i could put on a pair of booties or killer heels. but my feet will be screaming in pain and i might get cramps in my calves and the next day, my soles will be aching the whole day. is it worth the risk?

had a good time eating slightly more than the moderate amount i targeted. have to keep fit lah. so many ppl at work are going on a diet. some took slimming supplement and have started going to the gym almost every day of the week. waaa.... cannot lose out lah hahahahha.

guess how many had dinner last night at josephine's ipoh??
just the three of us. everyone left heavier on the weighing scales no doubt.
so from left to right, top row- peanut butter grill chicken (yuck! bad combination), grilled scallop with cheese (heavenly) and potato soup.
second row- grilled beef tenderloin (just right but a big piece), chocolate macadamia cake (the macadamia is crushed and mixed with the cake hence there are no bite sized nuts in the cake) and wild mushroom salad (too greasy to be salad).

the cake was really nice and i have tiramisu from the same shop in my cake now courtesy from the birthday girl. i am very very happy. it will be my dinner for tonight and some grapes. i will take out all the seeds from the grapes and then cut them and put them like the picture above lah. haha...makes the grapes more appetising since i really hate spitting the pits out while having my grapes.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

a fine week indeed

what a pleasing week it has been.

i had fun, the body feel good and so the person is lighter and cheerier.

one of the reasons is less stress i guess since i got all the markings done and could take a breather.

the second reason i can think of is being able to run twice this week despite the erratic weather.
yup, it was raining every now and then and my jogging plan could only be confirmed as soon as the rain stopped. i was desperate for a run that even though i had taken a shower earlier in the afternoon (i thought the rain was never gonna stop), i decided to hit the road as soon as the sky became clear and took another shower again after the run. it felt really good to run after the rain since it was less humid and the air was crispier. the perspiration was heavier too.

psst......there is this sports carnival in the coming saturday, hence, the running has to be intensified if i want to get a medal in my 5km run. hahaha....
took part in similar sports carnival twice and i came back with medals, so i cannot go downhill in my achievement. that medal must be in my hand!!!!

anyway, since i felt good, i also felt confident in whatever i was dressed in, or maybe because i felt good, i thought i also look good in whatever i was in?

had fun taking shots of my work attire 3 days in a row and posting them on facebook. it took consious effort to pull together all the looks actually....but it was fun. i love the accessoring part.

so it was all brown and nature tone in this one. the motives on the skirt matches the bracelet and ring which also have leaves dangling from them.

the colour to highlight in this one was red. someone remarked 'wow so red' when i emerged from the stairs....so i guess effect achieved! too bad my red watch was already broken and thrown away. that red sandals were kinda sloppy but it was a hot day and luckily it was not that strict at the workplace.

black is seldom my choice, but i just felt like going all gothic on that day. well, you can't see the little skull attached to one of the rings, can you? i wished the finger nails were painted black as well. been lazy to pain the nails....one of these days lah. a male colleague loved my bracelets combo too.

oh, did i mention that i felt lighter? well,the reading on the weighing scale was still the same so i guess it is the toned muscles that did the trick. oh, i also controlled my diet. there is no more dinner nowadays. i can't sustain that fast which i tried during the fasting month, it was quite a torture to withstand hunger haha. so instead, i choose to eat really light for dinner.
breakfast is still 2 pieces of toast and a cup of coffee. then lunch was a little rice with meat and vegetables. dinner, i have some fruits. luckily there was no hunger pangs in the middle of the night.
this here was one of my dinners. my housemate is getting married and she is in the midst of all the preparations hence this cake which is given to relatives and friends to announce the marriage. frankly, the cake sucked because the crust was too hard. but if i did not finish it, my stomach would be empty for the night. so in the end, i took as little crust as i could and finish all the red bean paste filling. i do not like those with lotus paste filling.

and the week could not be all bright and rosy and all sunshine right??

so there was this mishap that happened to the front left wheel of the car. i am a lousy person when it comes to maintenance of the car. it was the clerk at work who noticed one nut missing from my tyre. bless him.
so on friday before heading back to tg malim, i brought the car to one of the kids' tyre shop and this was what actually happened to the wheel.
one screw was broken!!! how did this happen??? did somebody try to steal my car? well, my car was parked inside the house this week, so it was quite unlikely. did the workers who changed my tyres few weeks ago accidentally exerted too much power and broke it? well, there are only guesses now and no answer. anyway, the problem is already fixed, a screw was found and a nut bought to replace the missing one. and the price?? 0. it was free. the kid's mom even wanted to treat me a packet of nasi lemak she bought for lunch. but i had to refuse the offer since i don't take nasi lemak. she was so generous and kind. i guess i owe her one.

another chip in the otherwise perfect week- i could not get my hand on mcdonalds happy meal's gift toy!!!! they are giving hello kitty light box!!!

can you see the picture?? the red heart will light up when one button is pushed. how cute is that? i went all the way to kampar just to have my happy meal and i came back disappointed. unhappy meal indeed. they had run out of stock ;(
not going to try other weeks anymore since the taste of bad mcdonalds fries still had a bad taste in the mouth. i think the fries had been left a tad too long before serving. horrible.
but if anyone wants to help me get one, i be very happy ;D

and of course, the week ended with the biggest news and widely anticipated one the whole world, the release of iphone 5. woohooooo!!! never had phone shopping been so great!!!

photo from www.forbes.com

i am like a dog waiting for its bone now. can't help dropping saliva all over the place when i see the phone. i think this phone promises great things for a first time smartphone user. some say it is nothing to shout about since the changes are not that much since iphone 4s. but of course fans will say otherwise. i am just glad that the phone does not grow wider but taller instead. the reason that stopped me from buying samsung galaxy s-3 is its clumsy size. thank goodness iphone 5 is still more refined and classy.

and now i have to start comparing and doing studies on the best package for me. do i sign up with a telco and get their package and pay less for the phone? or do i just buy the phone at retail price and then get whatever mobile package i want?
will have to see when the new plans and rates come out on maxis.
pre-order has already started in the united states and the results have been so overwhelming that they have to delay the shipping, meaning customers have to wait longer already.

gosh, when will we in malaysia get ours??
for more information on the new iphone 5, go to www.apple.com
;D

Saturday, September 08, 2012

klcc regular

my sister calls me a regular at klcc, well, i guess she is not totally wrong.
everytime i go down to kl mall, it will be this one. it is the convenience and familiarity with the place that makes me shop there. do i do a lot of shopping in kl? errr.....personally, i don't think so. hahaha.....
i sometimes have to shop for others, hence you might have misunderstood my shopping trips.
and, don't forget, i sometimes shop online too nowadays, so those kl trips are not necessary for my personal shopping.

so i went to klcc again yesterday because of the lure of vouchers from isetan. i don't usually shop at the isetan in midvalley or 1 utama. the one here in klcc is the biggest among the three, so why do i want to shop in the other two places??

so my aunt, my sis's mother-in-law and i ......shopped lah......at the cosmetic section and got our vouchers. then with the vouchers we got, i bought a blouse for mom, my aunt also got a similar blouse and my sis's mom-in-law got a handbag. everyone was happy.

no photos of our shopping loot to show you ;P
but i do have photos of food to share.

first place- ben's again for a late lunch.

curry laksa

softshell crab spaghettini. love this!!!

condiments to go with curry laksa

lemon meringue tart

chocolate truffle torte. heavenly. it is like a big piece of smooth chocolate. i only had half of it, and i was done. i did not have any of the dishes mentioned above since i had chicken rice at school before i came. checking out new desserts at ben's is one of the favourite thing i like to do when i dine there.

then for dinner, we had chinese food instead.
we went in when we saw 50% discount for dim sum.
these were the dim sums we ordered.

we ordered an additional signature stir-friend vermicelli. we acted too fast when the plate arrived at our table, but luckily i still remembered to take a photo of what i managed to scoop into my bowl. it was good. like the chunk of scallop they put in too.

and i thought i was going to go slow on my food intake on friday since i had a kfc-meal on thursday night. guess when you are going out, it is hard to stop.

well, i will try to control myself at home then. it will be just corn soup and just some wantans for dinner and oh, vege ;)

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

katy perry in 3D

watched my most expensive movie yesterday, in 3D of course.
gosh, i did not realise that they are charging rm21 for a 3D movie nowadays and they give you the pair of spectacles. you no longer 'borrow' them. so i guess that is one reason for the increase in price.

the movie? it is katy perry's part of me @_@. yeah , i know...why katy perry? well, there is nothing else to watch in the cinemas in ipoh.

but something good from the trip yesterday was the trailer for the hobbit which will be out in december and i watched it in 3D. how cool was that? that is definitely one film to look forward to, but whether i will watch it in 3D or not, that is another thing to decide when the time comes.

if you are katy perry fan, that movie is definitely for you. or if you are like me, who just want some good fun, go too. it is cool to see how hard they work and how real they are.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

some vietnamese treat in klcc

spent merdeka day yesterday in the capital, specifically at klcc.

woke up with a running nose but the trip to kl was still on.

it was just a brisk trip anyway. met up with a cousin who bought us lunch and did some shopping. then i was back in tm by 6p.m.

our lunch was vietnamese and it was good.

prawn spring rolls...all mine. my cousin is slightly allergic to prawns.

vietnamese rice spring roll.

vietnamese cendol with dried jackfruit.

rice vermicelli with roast chicken strips.

fried spaghetti with chicken and prawns.

burp. it was a really filling meal.

then i also bought some sweet desserts home....it has become the desserts for the weekend. hmmh...correction.....they are my dinner.
rum and raisin ice-cream and popcorn and macadamia nuts.

will make another trip to kl again next friday when the real shopping will be done. yup, isetan is having their member sales. it is time to accumulate some vouchers and more points.

that is all for this post. my nose is still annoying me and i still blow it non-stop. i think it will not stop till tomorrow. so have a great weekend. i know many have left the cities to go north and south because the traffic in kl was really light yesterday. ipoh and penang are crowded no doubt. in fact, my brother is there, my cousin was there, a few friends from facebook are there now stopping at all the famous food stalls in ipoh.