Saturday, October 27, 2012

shopped till trolley full

time to do my shopping report now.
went down at 9.30a.m. yesterday morning and traffic was a breeze. had no problem looking for a parking space in klcc too. the early risers have a better time at the car park no doubt. the crowd only got thicker once after lunch. and it was no more fun shopping after that.

well, i definitely had no problem shopping according to my shopping list. got things colleague ordered, and things my siblings wanted and things mom wanted.

don't worry, i also got a blouse for myself. yup, that's it for myself. just did some browsing and when i saw something i like and the price is reasonable....buy loh. ;)

lunch was at ben's......i know...again. but i tried different things. aunt and i just shared appetisers without having anything main.
chunky mushroom soup. kinda oily but lots of mushroom in every scoop.

baguette with garlic butter

caesar salad with smoked salmon. the whole dish is kinda salty.
so yesterday's experience at ben's was not that good. the food was slightly off par. well, we were full after the meal and couldn't fit in another piece of cake that was quite tempting.
hmmhh....and we were talking about lowering cholesterol level. hahaha.....not possible at all when you are eating outside.

after we finished our shopping in klcc, we got the car and headed to lot 10 or H&M specifically. but the wait for a parking space in pavilion was horrible!!! we circled for almost 30 mins i think before we found one....and that was a lucky find too. we wanted to give up dy by then but we had problem locating the autopay machine, hence we were still stuck there in the basement when a couple just crossed in front of us to get their car. phew!


h&m in lot 10. a word of caution- don't go there during public holiday and don't go there at weekends. i think the crowd would be almost the same. don't be fooled by the quiet entrance in my photo, inside the shop, it was like war zone. ppl were choosing clothes like they were a bargain and they must have one piece of h&m before they got out of the shop.

the fitting room queue was long too. there were some nice pieces, of ok material....ok...i will even call it cheap for that material, but surprisingly, no one bothered to pick those. everyone was going for those flimsy pieces costing less than rm100.

go there on weekdays at quieter time so you can browse through every piece to find a gem at a bargain. i wonder when i will own a piece of h&m?

we got home in the evening and i was exhausted.  shopping is no easy task i tell you.

yup, our trolley was full....i think we got everything from isetan. sales mah.....and we used our rebate vouchers. ooh....i also shopped in uniqlo for their heatech camisole and legging since they had promotional price that day.

some of the things i helped others to get:

a pair of shoes for mom. showed her the photo from isetan's catalog. she liked it, it was at a discount, aunt tried the shoes, and it is mom's.

facial products for sis and bro-in-law. that packet on the left consisted of samples and gifts.

my sister calls this 'sockets'......and i mistook her socket for the electric appliance socket. kekeke.....cousin also wanted a pair to try.

crisps also on discount. rm5.95 only. to be shared with bro so he can take half the calories and fats from me. hahahha....

ok....a big box of korean instant ramen. not good not good.....only meant to be indulged in once in a blue moon.
hmm....what are these?? can't be revealed. i was busy shopping for gifts too. shh...........not telling.

no more from kl......

these here? clothes for the baby in australia. gosh... i am closing the order for things to be brought to aussie! half of my luggage are not my things! how am i going to pack my shoes, dresses, accessories, and bags to use when i am there!!! enough! am packing my stuff into the bag first before putting in the rest. after all, i can chuck them to mom and dad if i cannot bring all. kekekekeke.......evil.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

MMM with HM......my lust

yeah! it is the loooong weekend baby!
4 days off work....bliss.
tomorrow is aidil-adha for the muslims and the traffic report mentioned that roads are already getting congested. so i guess everyone is travelling back to their hometowns to celebrate with  their loved ones. this is a big celebration for muslims everywhere no doubt.

but tomorrow, i am celebrating my trip to h&m in lot 10 for the first time. i hope i can control myself and not come home with bags of clothes. the main purpose of going there is to try on sizes of clothes and shoes so on november 15, i can grab items from their collaboration with maison martin margiela.

yup, i am going to queue there in the morning with the hope that i can get everything that i have targetted.
this here is the almost-list i have made from all the pieces in the collection which was revealed yesterday in new york.

am i greedy or what? but the entire collection is sooooo freaking cool!!!! heck, i even love the men's tuxedo shirt. if i can fit XS for that shirt, i am going to get it too.

and that knee high boots......it is to die for.....but will i be able to use it? hmm....that is why it is the almost-there list.
will kl have all the pieces in the collection? that is another question to be answered.
i am soooo soo excited and my friend in singapore who is a die-hard has been constantly updating me too. we are in the midst of discussing all the pieces and our lust hahahaha.

the prices for this collection is not that cheap....but i guess we are paying for quality. but the bags are kinda cheap....so i have a feeling they will run fast.....just let me grab one first.

am counting down to nov 15....thank god holiday has already started by then. if i have to queue at midnight to get into the store....i will.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

no michael to make my saturday

haiz.....the person is here in tm but the heart is somewhere in kl.
today is the only day of the week when the sun still shines so freaking brightly.

there will be no michael bolton for me.  nobody to accompany me ....well, although i do have friends who are going...but they will be with their own lovers and gang. i think i am thinking up a lot of excuses of not going instead of going. chaik!
actually  my main concern is driving alone to and fro klcc. with the fickle weather and high possibility of super heavy downpour, it is really dangerous for driving. being alone in the car will render me uncapable of dealing with the situation calmly. so i am making a safe decision.

ok...don't think anymore.

to some updates this week.

i finally got the bracelet a friend helped me buy in singapore from h&m's collaboration with anna dello russo. it was sent all the way to kl via another friend and picked up by my cousin in klcc. talk about journey.
it is huge huh? slightly loose on my arm but i can always push it higher to let it stay there. i love the shiny surface of the oval piece in front of the bracelet. i can really see a reflection of myself there and use it as a mirror. not sure how i am going to wear it yet, but this bracelet is definitely a keeper. even the box is worth getting.

next, moving on to my blood test result. basically everything is fine with me except the red blood cells count as you can see here:
see the 3 highlighted lines?? well, they are lower than the normal count and hence i have high possibility of getting anaemia. actually i have expected this since i started to feel numbness in my limbs this year. my blood circulation is not something to be proud of.

another highlighted line in the blood test report is the one above. LDL- cholesterol level is slightly high but there is nothing to worry about since the ratio in the end is within the acceptable limit.

so what am i going to do about the blood cells and circulation??

well, the answer is in these 2 boxes.
i am recommended to take supplements that have vitamin b6, b12 and folic acid for iron deficiency and also ginkgo biloba to improve blood circulation. i told dad to get them from the pharmacy today.

don't think i will be taking them for long term. i am to take a tablet each daily.

but i will not start the ginkgo biloba so soon as it may increase the tendency of bleeding. i need to arrange a visit to the dentist first next week before i start taking the tablets. i am only going for a refilling but i don't want to take the risk. i guess i have to be more careful once i start this supplement, to avoid cuts especially.

ok...while i wait for the heavy downpour to come to make me feel better about not making the trip to kl, i am going to 'imagine' that i am already attending michael bolton's concert by watching this:

i will be serenaded by him for 90 minutes and end my saturday on a high. psss....someone already told me that it is raining heavily in kl now. kekekeke....

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

e-shopping tuesday

my parcel has arrived.....and yes, i am home in tm.

it is a free day, hence i decided to head back in the afternoon. come home and spend time on the computer kakakaka....

well, the initial plan was to go swimming at bukit beruntung golf resort but the sky opened and rain poured down in sheets before i could reach the club, hence it was a wasted drive.

and i started sneezing once i reached home. i have a feeling that it is the air-cond in the car and then the change in weather when i got down. haiz....i am sneezing non-stop now. hope the condition will improve when i wake up tomorrow morning for the drive back to work.

ok, back to the parcel. it is a dress from fashionvalet.com
read about the website from sunday star and surfed around. then found this dress i really like on discount. so credit card out, details keyed-in, voila, dress reached me in 2 days. aaahh....the convenience of internet shopping.
and the dress fits me nicely and i felt like a princess wearing it. hahaha.....it is made for me all right. no place too loose nor too tight. lucky for me the website put their clothes sizes in UK size as well, so it made it easy for me as i know my UK size well. ok, if you want to know,  it is 8.

the thing that attracted me to the dress is the embroidery. that clinched the deal but of course the embroidery was not obvious on the website.

but once i got the dress in my hand, i can take this photo to show you all. so now, i have to sew lining before i can wear that out. yup, unfortunately the dress is not lined so all those eyelets give you a view of what i am wearing underneath. i don't want to buy another piece of camisole or petticoat to wear with the dress nor am i going to have holes poking through my dress without a lining. will get someone to do that for me. yeah, pay extra again but i don't mind.

the above is another piece of baju kurung which i got from zalora.com and which i have altered to a narrower cut on the body.  everyone said it was so fitting and asked me if i tailored it. heehhee.....mom and aunt said it was like wearing pyjamas but my colleagues actually praised me in it including the men. the material is linen and that is what made me buy it.

hmm.... will internet shopping be my new obsession?? naaaa.....i am still going to shop at the shops. i think i will stop surfing for clothes online for this year.

right now, i am anticipating queueing up outside a certain shop to get my hands on a collaboration collection with a designer come november. kekeke....i have already seen photos of the campaign and i so love the pants. hope the prices are reasonable. will give more updates once i have planned my shopping. kekeke.

ok, time to hit the bed to stop the running nose. it is a cold cold night and a wet wet one too. hope tomorrow will be a dry one but the hope is not that high since it is the nine emperor gods festival now. rain is predicted to come for all 9 days. horror!!!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

slow fickle sunday

it is a slow slow sunday and it is made slower by the fickle weather.
it was bright and sunny in the morning, but when noon came, dark clouds were gathering and finally now at 4p.m., the sky opened and rain has come. haiz.....it is going to be a wet drive back to bidor later. hope it won't get heavy and stormy. it will be a nightmare on the road which i experienced on my drive home on friday afternoon. the rain came in sheets and you could hardly see the shapes of the cars in front of you.

so what can one do on a slow sunday?
take things slowly of course.
i played my online games.
chatted with sisters on facetime.
read sunday's paper page by page till noon and while having my wan tan mee lunch.

and after i have finished doing all the essentials, i got down to doing a few tasks which i wrote on my reminder.

first up, sew a loose button on a black skirt.

then, restring the loose thread on the sleeve of the newly bought dress.
i did not check the sleeve at the shop but even if i saw that, i was still going to get it since it was the last piece in my size.
so that is the place where the thread had come loose on the sleeve. was looking at it for about 1 minute thinking how i was going to pull the whole thing together again.

and finally, after a few stitches, i saved the sleeve. hahahha....well, it is not a work of an expert, so it is a bit tight, but if you don't scrutinise the area, i bet you won't notice it. hahaha.

happy.

after that task, i put photos developed into the album.

ooohh....the next 'task' is really not a task at all. hahaha.....i went shopping online again. guilty.
will reveal what it is when it reaches me this week.

the above are what i have done so far till 4.20pm on this sunday. gonna go cooking in my cafe now.

it is going to be a slow week at work too since students are sitting for their exams and my afternoons are free!! maybe i will have to drop by the gym if the weather continues to hinder any outdoor exercises.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

fun tuesday

yea.....korean food in ipoh! did not really expect to find good korean food here in this city, but i was surprised.

i think this is quite a famous franchise in malaysia. there are almost 10 restaurants already according to the addresses printed on the paper mat on the table.

the one here in ipoh is next to kinta city and haagen daazs is also in the same building. but that will be in the next trip. i really could not take anymore after stuffing myself with bbq meat and kimchi soup.

the place is well-ventilated so you won't walk out with all grease and oil and smoke following you after that bbq session. it is better if you come in a bigger group. that means ordering more food to sample!
all the 10 side dishes that came first and also some sauces. the cabbage kimchi here is good for this fussy mouth of mine. in fact, all the side dishes were good and we finished everything. oh, there were just the two of us.
kimchi jjigae. i miss this so much since i first tried it in seoul last time.

pancake, complimentary from the boss who was there that night. all the workers here are koreans and i also saw korean customers. so i guess this is the most authentic you can get in ipoh.

bbq pork and onion. i wished they could have given us more onions.

marinated pork in sesame oil and chilli sauce. this is the better meat because it was more succulent and sweet. the other above was just plain.

ordered a bottle of soju and i chose lemon soju. so the waiter poured the bottle of soju in a teapot filled with fresh lemon slices. hence, the soju tasted tangy and sweet at the same time. and  i got light-headed by the time i was leaving the restaurant. luckily i wasn't the one driving.

our meal came to rm116 which i think is reasonable.

had a walk around the mall building and ended up buying 2 blouses. cheap cheap one hehehe.....

then went to station 18 mall to get clothes for my cute little nephew in aussie.

went into auntie mode when i was in the shop, and these are what i got. 2 pairs of shorts, 2 tees and 1 shirt. it is more than rm100 here ah. love those tees from osh kosh. only in FOS can you get branded baby stuff at a fraction of the price. one shopping done.

got a call from another kid who was in kampar and we headed there after we finished shopping.

couldn't resist from testing tutti frutti's frozen yoghurt. my first time there.

as you can see, i practised self-control at the chocolate ice-cream machine and only pushed a little into the big cup they provided. i also added some raisins. they would weigh your cup and then charge you according to the weight. i paid rm5.20 for my cup. the chocolate yoghurt was not sweet, so it was quite all right. but i know i won't go crazy over this. i would rather pay for baskin robbins' ice-cream on a wednesday when they give free junior scoop for every junior scoop you buy.

hehe, i couldn't resist getting this new dress. i have always wanted a grey tailored dress and this one fit me so well and there was 50% discount too. it was all business lady look today.

what a fun night i had despite the few hours of hard work i put in at the field with the kids before going. it was all worth it.

Saturday, October 06, 2012

of loss and pain

it was quite an eventful 24 hours since 9.15pm on thursday night, 4 october.

while i was having my class in the living room, the neighbour's shout, "miss L, miss L, come out and see this!" broke the silence of the night.

i thought there was something like a snake in the bushes outside the house since it happened before last time.
when i went out, gosh, it was worse than a snake.
the above was what i saw ;( and also those already shattered pieces on the ground glittering like loose diamonds although it was a moonless night.
the boys followed me out and everyone was awed by what they saw.
haiz.....
the neighbours were actually talking outside the house when they suddenly heard a loud sound. at first they thought it was the dog pulling the rubbish bin or one of the flower pots had fallen. but when they passed my car, the glitters on the ground caught their attention and when they saw the window, the truth was revealed.

it was not someone throwing a rock at the window. nope.
the window just cracked and shattered on its own will. the street was very quiet according to the neighbours and no one was passing by at that time.

woohoooo.....so after class ended at 9.30pm, i started the cleaning job. i worked with the help of the torch light and my neighbours accompanied me all the while. she even brought out a broom and dustpan so i could clear the glass on the road. cleared away all the remaining pieces still in the window frame, got rid of the loose pieces on the car seat so i could still drive the car without being cut by glass and drove the car into the porch after my housemate drove hers out. it was my turn to park the car outside this week so my housemate had to sacrifice one day to me due to this incident.
in the end, the cleaning task took me almost 45 minutes although there were still lots of pieces in the car under the mat. i couldn't be bothered as i was really tired.

then auntie even gave me a rice bag to cover the gaping hole to prevent any cat from jumping in in the middle of the night. bless her.

the next morning, it was a windy ride to work as i took away the plastic sheet and drove with morning fresh air flowing in. a colleague saw the open window and asked me if i purposely left my window opened. i told her, "there is no window to close" lol.
thank god it did not rain the night before nor that morning although it was cloudy.  phew!
i had already made arrangement for the window to be replaced that morning with a phone call to a reliable ex-student whose parent own a car accessory shop. the window was sent all the way from ipoh since there was no stock in bidor.

at 12 noon on friday, they even came to school to pick up my car and everything was done by 2p.m. phew! all in all, i paid rm100 for the glass and rm35 for workmanship. reasonable i think.

and i drove home to tg malim with the window up. phew! can't open the window for 2 days now. i think whatever thing they use to hold the window together has to dry inside first. i am ok with it. but i guess the first click 2 days later will be quite a suspense on my part. keeping my fingers crossed that nothing else will break after this.

it was the screw of the tyre last month, and this month, it was the window.
let me win lottery lah, then it is time to change a car. hahahahha.

another 'painful' experience happened the next day, on 5 october in the morning.

i had signed up for a blood screening package to check for diseases and cancers, hence it was blood 'donation' time at 7.30a.m.
they were right on time. they needed to be since we had fasted and skipped breakfast. everyone was screaming 'hungry!!!'.

i was the second to go because i had to arrange the halls for exam and it was going to be a busy busy day for me. unfortunately, i was indeed the second in line but also the last.
why?? i ended up with 3 holes on my arm and hands. this was the progress.

first, the needle went into my arm and when i saw the needle moving left, right, left searching for vein to draw the required blood out, i already had a bad feeling. oooooo........ooohhhh.......they couldn't find it. yup, indeed, i was right. the needle came out, and a plaster was pasted instead.

then she said she would try it on my hand instead. aawwww.......i had never tried it there before but i had heard that it was painful. but luckily, the pain was not as much as i imagined it to be, so i was happy when i saw blood coming into the syringe.  but again, wait........there was only so little blood that it was enough to fill 2 test tubes. she needed to fill 3!!!!
cry! i was told to go and get a rest, drink some water, and come back later again for the 3rd poke!
as if i had the time to go and get a rest. i climbed up the blocks to check the condition of the examination halls instead and screaming instructions to the kids to get things in order and worked out a sweat.

and so......again i went down to have my hand poked as the last person of the morning. it was already 8.45a.m. and i still had no food inside my stomach. this time, the needle went into the left hand and blood did come out. phew! more than enough to fill that remaining test tube.
my hands were cold and i had cold sweat coming out from my body. i was advised to take some ginkgo biloba and to go get a warm drink.

what a morning. now you know why i still have not been to my first real blood donation yet. it is such a harrowing experience. the blood test results will be known after one week, so let's hope everything is ok with my body. give an update here when the time comes?? let's wait and see.

well, no more torturing news. some fun news now.

h&m has opened its doors in malaysia in 2 malls- lot 10 and setia city mall, but i can't believe that i have to get my thing from singapore still. how sad. and it is more expensive in singapore. no wonder those singapore working people bought bags of goods when they shopped in the local stores here.

the item that i wanted was released on 4 october worldwide. another collaboration collection. this time with anna dello russo. i looked for help on facebook, asking if anyone would be around lot 10 area on that day, unfortunately, no positive feedback. so a friend in singapore volunteered to shop for me during her lunch break, not promising anything  as both of us knew that all their collaboration items sold like hot cakes. but good news came in the afternoon and she got what i wanted. another colour was sold out already but it was not the colour i wanted. hehehe...no a problem for me. so this here was the bracelet i got:

now, how am i going to get it back to malaysia?

last but not least, a fun collage i did of my nephew. i have always wanted to do this since i saw the similarities. and i finally got down to doing it an hour ago when a new photo surfaced of the cute little boy.
what do you think? 
can't wait to see him.

well, i hope after all the loss and pain i experienced, the weekend will be a good and restful one for me.