M1 and I had our usual weekly Skype session last week and she told me she read about my Cat Condo stories on my blog. Feeling intrigue about the game, she downloaded the app to play too. Hahahaha…. I was flattered. However, it wasn’t Cat Condo but Cat Condo II that she downloaded. I was surprised to find out that there’s a second edition to this crazy cat game that I’ve been at for days.
So obviously I downloaded the game too! This second edition is much more realistic in terms of the fortune earned, not running into trillions and quadrillions like the original.
As for the cats, they are pretty much the same species but cuter and more plump. Plus there’s more things going on within the app, mini games and opportunity to win accessories to dress up the cats, making it even more engaging than mindless. Nonetheless, both are equally very entertaining for me.
And I have been so so busy with both games. Even at Club Med when I’m supposed to be relaxing, there I was managing the two condos for my cats in between drinks and activities.
The four day escapade was all about food too besides drinking, rejuvenating and rediscovering ourselves. Being in Club Med, the food spread was simply sumptuous with so many choices and free flow just like the drinks.
Big portion, I couldn’t finish
The eating started on Friday with a Nasi Lemak breakfast at Chong Hwa Curry Laksa Restaurant at Batu Caves before the noon golf game. Then it was that cholesterol-laden seafood dinner in Kuantan that was oh-so-good.
A must stop in Kemaman
But the next morning, breakfast at the hotel was just meh, so we drove to Kemaman to have a second breakfast at the very famous Hai Peng coffee shop. Even I who don’t drink coffee these days (because of my Endometriosis) thought the coffee was very good along with some local Kueh and Nasi Dagang Trengganu. The Nasi Dagang’s curry was slightly sweet yet a little sour but not too spicy and we both enjoyed it very much, something new and different for us.
The welcome meal at Club Med, noodles!
Felt like a glutton
It’s an eye opener when one discovers a new food, what more at this dinosaur age. So officially, I must put on record that I like, of all things, boiled peas… having it for several meals.
Peas for every occasion!
By Monday, it’s time to go home, so no more alcohol because we have to drive. I had my one last pea affair for breakfast and we did the Tree Top Challenge before saying goodbye to all the friendly young and very likeable GOs of Club Med.
The little pack was expensive but piping hot nice
We decided not to stay on for lunch at the village and headed for Zaman Restaurant instead for their famed packet Nasi Lemak. We were not disappointed. Satisfied with another check on our food list, we were ready to get home but along the way, we decided to detour to Genting Highlands!
Most expensive dessert for this trip!
We stopped at the Premium Outlet for dessert and did some shopping before finally arriving home at 7.30pm. The anniversary alphabet trip is completed.
All good things must always come to an end. Our anniversary trip this year has just been awesome as we did everything from ‘A’ right through to ‘G’.
A good drive, hardly any cars
We left town on Friday for a round of golf at Royal Pahang Golf Club in Kuantan. A leisurely but fast-paced three hour round as there was hardly any other golfers. And dinner that night was at the famed Ana Ikan Bakar Petai for some cholesterol-laden seafood, a little indulgence. Obviously the 16/8 diet is out the window these few days.
Prawn, squid, stingray and the local ‘otak-otak’
The next day, we did the unthinkable, visiting the local mini zoo! Hahaha… but it was quite fun as we enjoyed the animals and the walk around the place, taking away some of the dinner guilt. When it was time to check in, we headed for Club Med in Cherating.
And the drinking, I mean fun began.
Drinks on Day One
Day two was a day of more drinking and activities. I managed to get some sun to even out my tan. And I chalked up 12 drinks. Pretty good with the first (beer) at 11.00 and the last (cocktail) 12 hours later, the bulk of it from 5.00pm onwards.
The one beer and 11 cocktails on Day 2
Rock climbing, sun tanning, hiking
Happy Anniversary to us! Cheers
We wrap up our getaway today and head back to reality. Hope the drive isn’t too bad. I look forward to what we will do next year when we celebrate the 25th milestone! Happy anniversary to us again.
It’s August already but it feels like 2019 is coming to an end, having gone by so fast with so many changes in both our lives this year. The most significant being M2 going off to college in January and M1 graduating in June. Tomorrow is yet another milestone, our wedding anniversary!
As we celebrate our 24th anniversary, I reflect back with mostly good and happy thoughts of our relationship and love for what we have built together as a team – our family, our home and our design studio.
Not every road to success is a smooth journey; there’s bound to be bumps and potholes along the way but that’s part and parcel of what makes a relationship work – to listen, to compromise and to sync as one to take on this exciting and sometimes challenging journey together.
Happy anniversary to us! And to celebrate the occasion, we are off for the usual alphabet escapade trip. Be back four days later… ta!
I have forgotten how tiring Commencement Day can be, after all I am a dinosaur and things of the past (my Commencement at NAU) sometimes elude my memories. We got to campus by 9.30am, looking for M1 in queue for a quick photo before making our way towards Reser Stadium and it was already packed.
We couldn’t get a spot at the lower section we wanted which was right behind School of Agriculture but we managed to get that same area at one level up. It was quite a challenge to find M1 but her decorated mortar board helped.
The ceremony took so long because there were so many speeches, several times the three of us dozed off. We learnt that this commencement, OSU has 7,492 students graduating! Wow. This figure is inclusive of their other campus and online programs, on top of all the three degrees – PhDs, Masters and Bachelors. However on the field today, there’s slightly over 4,000 graduating students in attendance to receive their certificates. Very impressive numbers nonetheless for the 150th Commencement.
We got home at 3.00pm and then we had to go out again for a private tea party celebration hosted by M1’s professor. Spent a good two and a half hours there before we had to excuse ourselves for our family celebratory dinner. We had tapas and dessert which were all bursting with strong flavors. Loved the choices we selected.
Our tapas and drinks
Dessert was oh so yummy!
When all obligations are done and checked off the list, we had to pack for tomorrow as we will start our road trip! Yay. It will be fun because they are places that we’ve never been to before and M1 will play host to show us. After all the excitement died down and packing done, it was 1.15am before I called it a night.
Last week, I pushed myself on my activities. After playing golf in the morning, I was back in the office in the afternoon. Then in the evening we went to the gym. I told my trainer to go easy on me because I had done more than 11 thousand steps already, more than the quota for the day.
So she put me on the lighter weights instead of the ten-pounder that I have been using the last few sessions. And certain routines, I jumped, lunged and turned less than hubby. I managed and survived the workout session.
And towards the end of last week, my weight dropped even further! Now that’s motivation to push myself. I was down to a mere 0.3lbs away from my new revised target. Woo hoo…
This week, it was the same for Monday – golf then office. However, gym was cancelled because it’s two days before Hari Raya. And it’s only sensible to give my trainer a break from fighting with traffic (like last week) to make her way over to us. It can be very aggravating to be on the road with so many cars for their last minute errands and what nots. Not a good feeling to have before the festivity and holiday.
With Wednesday and Thursday being public holidays again, focusing on the 16/8 diet was a challenge because our routine and menu had to be adjusted.
In fact on Tuesday, I literally pigged out when I met up with my girlfriends dining on a sumptuous porky spread. That evening we talked, laughed and ate passed my eating window. Forget the 16/8 as it was a great night catching up. And after an eventful week, the weigh-in this morning, to my surprise was 0.8lbs beyond the new target! Double woo hoo…
Now I know why I push myself and not sit on my laurels. It sure feels good! Maybe at this point, I will go for another 0.2lbs just to round up the number. From then on, it should be about maintaining the weight as is because my target, twice, has been achieved. There’s no need to set a third new target weight.
To recap, I started this 16/8 diet on 25th Feb and had a horrendous weight spike at the end of that week. But perseverance and discipline paid off over the months. Today, officially on record, I have lost a total of 10.8lbs. So proud of myself.
So it’s Friday again. And time for the weekly weigh-in. How fast time flies. After some gains the first two days of this week, I stared at the numbers on the bathroom scale this morning. Hmm… a minor setback – that little reprieve on Wednesday.
While I may have burnt some calories playing golf, it was the meal after the game that lasted beyond 9.30pm that caused this setback. The dinner went past into the window that I’m not supposed to eat. Oh well… friends and making-merry was more important and I chose to do it.
I shouldn’t obsess too much over this because past record has shown that I have fluctuated on my track to shed some pounds. And sometimes it’s not the food I ate but the timing of when I ate that is beyond my control. I should be fine by next week.
Now that the month of April is over for all the birthday celebrations, I am back on track to continue with the 16/8 diet to achieve my target goal weight. Last week when we went away to Awana Genting to celebrate my birthday, there was a lot of eating and drinking. But there was also a lot of exercise and activities to offset the intake; so the weight gain was only a 0.2lbs increment. Minimal I’d say.
In fact, it was the week before the getaway that the weight spiked. Thanks to my beer intake when we visited the Carlsberg brewery. Sigh…
I was skeptical this morning when I stood on the bathroom scale, thinking I wouldn’t do too good this week to shed all that weight gained. Up to last night, the numbers didn’t look encouraging.
So it was indeed a pleasant surprise when the numbers showed a mere 0.3lbs away from my target goal! Oh yay. This is even better than the last good achievement, which was 0.7lbs from target. I actually lost weight, a net loss of 1.6lbs after deducting the 0.2lbs gained at the start of the week. Awesome.
I attribute this achievement to total discipline this week, eating healthy lunches, snacking on nuts and not cookies, lots of water and light dinners. Plus a golf game on Wednesday morning because of the Labor Day public holiday helped burn some calories. This is so motivating.
So if all goes as planned, I should be able to achieve my target goal weight next week. Discipline is the key here. Then I will reset with a new target to lose another 6.0lbs before the end of the month. I can do it!
Saturday was my big day – being Queen for the day on my birthday. Hubby decided to whisk me away on Friday for a birthday escapade. And what an escapade it was!
Our room overlooking the golf course, the mountain range and clouds
We went off to Awana Genting for an Alphabet Trip, usually reserved for our anniversary but this year, an Alphabet Trip was necessary because this year’s birthday is a big milestone celebration. After all, I can’t be Forever 38… gotta embrace it.
Had the golf course all to ourselves
We played two rounds of golf with both games finishing under four hours because there was hardly anybody else on the golf course. In fact, on Friday we had the golf course all to ourselves and we completed the game in three and a half hours!
Taking the cable car sure beats driving up the winding road and looking for parking
After the morning fun, that evening we took the cable car up to Genting to enjoy the place and the cool air. Dinner was simple but no alcohol (yet) because the newly opened The Laughing Fish have not gotten their liquor license. So we just drank Evian water, saving space in the tummy for the beer and stout later. We didn’t mind because there was no need to keep time, no agenda to be mindful of.
Famed for their Fish & Chips, we had to try
We explored Sky Avenue (16,980 steps on my MiBand 2 by the time we got back to the room) and even checked out the casino. I was boggled by all these gamblers throwing away money just like that at the Black Jack and Roulette tables. Stacks of chip laid out without hesitation, betting and hoping for Lady Luck to shine on them but gone in a blink of an eye. Jeez… many times mind you. Obviously I am not a gambler. We left as we couldn’t stand the cigarette smoke stench and it sticking to our clothes.
Gotta have my pint of Kronenbourg and hubby, his stout
The whole place was very happening with lots to eat, see and do. We ate (earlier) and drank to our hearts’ content—forget the 16/8 diet this weekend—and enjoyed the live band. They played songs I could sing to and it was very entertaining.
The cable car journey back to the hotel at Awana
The next day, another round of golf, another cable car ride after the game for another round of drinks and THE birthday dinner. Truly wonderful this birthday trip turned out as we did every alphabet on our list, A right through to G. Heheheh…
Cable car ride and pre-dinner drinks, a rum concoction
Nauseating just watching the spins from afar at Skytropolis
Spanish dinner with two bottles of red to celebrate, yes two
Post-birthday dinner: Spanish burger and squid ink pasta
A year wiser but definitely better with age. We returned home on Sunday morning after breakfast to hot and super hot weather, and another post-birthday dinner to cap off the birthday celebration.
Here’s to a wonderful year ahead and thank you friends and family for all your well wishes. A good start to life beyond Forever 38.
Angieneering 
Remarks