It wasn’t meant to be so soon but it happened, yesterday. The picture says it all. We are devastated. No words…
It’s Not the Chocolate
24 FebSomehow marbles in a gum ball machine does not sound quite right. So I didn’t go ahead with the idea. I was mulling why I gained weight over the past three months. Yes there was the eating and drinking during the holidays and festivities which I don’t deny but I don’t think it was excessive. Maybe just richer and more hearty than my usual intake plus the lack of exercise played a part.
Then it dawned on me that the main culprit for the unwanted weight gain was the snacking on Chinese New Year titbits in between meals. Yes in between meals. Hah! I should know better that this is indeed bad but I couldn’t help myself.
Resistance has been futile towards the fried seaweed, pineapple tarts, peanut cookies and love letters! Oh… those love letters… so good. These once-a-year yummies are a must-eat during Chinese New Year whereas chocolates are not necessary must-eats but mood dependent. So laden with sugar those titbits, don’t expect to not gain weight.
Thank goodness the festivities are over and the cookies are almost gone, I should get back to shape in no time.
And to comfort myself that it’s not the chocolate’s fault, I bought not one but two bags of M&M’s because I know I will not eat them at the pace like I do with love letters. Thoughts of filling up my gum ball machine crossed my mind. Hmm…
The Popping Tuna
23 FebDuring Chinese New Year, the pet shop was closed and we were not able to buy live prawns to replenish for Meow-meow the arowana and Tuna the crayfish to eat. But luckily, there were some leftover clever ones hiding in Meow-meow’s big aquarium. So hubby was able to fish out one or two for Tuna to survive on.
By the fifth day of Chinese New Year, I noticed Tuna was not very active and most likely conserving energy. Every time I walked passed the little aquarium, he would be hiding in his little pot. He would not rush out with his claws raised as if to frighten me even when I squinted at it. A morbid thought crossed my mind: he was dying a slow death because of hunger! Yikes.
Thankfully by the sixth day (of Chinese New Year), the pet shop opened and we were able to replenish the food. And after several days, Tuna’s back to its old self again, flaring his claws at me whenever I walked near his abode.
One evening, he was about to do the same thing to me when his actions backfired. As he rushed towards me, the overhanging fake tree tickled him and suddenly, he was popping like a popcorn instead! It was rather funny.
Maybe we should not straighten the tree to its original upright position so that Tuna can pop and not lunge at me whenever I get close! Hehehe…
3.45am Tops It All
21 FebWhat’s worse than waking up at 5.30am for golf? Waking up at 3.45am for golf! Yes. This tops it all – the 5.30am, 5.00am and even 4.30am in the past.
Over the weekend, I did just that, waking up at 3.45am. It was a day trip from my Club to Ipoh for an Interclub match. With the tee-off scheduled at 8.00am, naturally our entourage had to start the journey early, like in the wee hours of the morning at 5.00am.
But we left the club only at 5.15am and arrived after the two and a half hours bumpy bus ride. With 15 minutes left before tee-off, the tee-off had to be delayed slightly for us to have a decently paced breakfast without choking. And after a quick group photo session, everyone’s off onto the fairways.
It was my first time playing at Royal Perak Golf Club. The past few trips to Ipoh for golf and food, RPGC was somehow never on our agenda. Well, there’s always a first time.
It’s a scenic course with lots of trees, short old ones and tall ones too. The fairways were generally narrow and very undulating. One has to be accurate and straight when teeing off to have a good second shot opportunity. Our flight mates were very serious and good golfers. My partner—another Club member, not hubby—and I totally lost out to them in terms of the golf course knowledge and management.
Did we have a good game? Err… well, I wore my new Adidas shoes and it felt very comfortable. No pruned toes. And I laughed a lot because I felt I was playing jackpot and not golf, raking up several 7s in a row on my scorecard! It’s one of those days that you cannot do anything else but just laugh at yourself.
The Interclub match saw our visiting team losing out to the host team by only four points, 998 to 1002 with a Four Balls, Best Ball format for scoring. Oooh.. ouch, so close. I am sure revenge is on every members’ mind when we host them for a return match in the near future.
We headed home immediately after the luncheon and prize presentation. And in the blink of an eye, another Sunday went by so soon.
New Shoes Again!
20 FebWhat can I say? Shoe Queen? Shoe-crazed? Fetish? Obsession? I have valid reasons for the latest purchase.
Firstly, my FootJoy is on the verge of falling apart. My only pair of water-resistant spiked golf shoe, I felt I needed a replacement of the same kind like pronto. Most of my other shoes are spikeless and not so water-resistant.
Secondly, wearing the Skechers during a game three weeks’ ago had my toes all pruned. The morning dew and a misstep into a puddle of water early on in the game was too intense for the non-water resistant shoes to handle. And once you have soggy shoes, the discomfort level increases while the game performance decreases. Sigh…
Thirdly, I had to dispose two spikeless pairs, the Nike and Head as they were also falling apart. So it’s not like I am increasing my shoe count, it’s a replacement.
If you must know, last count of my golf shoes prior to disposing and acquiring, I have two Adidas, one FJ, one Nike, one Head, one Skechers and one True Linkswear. Obsession? I think so.
The Great Cookie Bake Sale
17 FebTwo days ago M2 asked if her friends could come over to bake more cookies for their Interact Club and I agreed. Not only I agreed, I joined in the baking as well which was quite fun. We made chocolate chip cookies.
I don’t normally bake as I prefer to cook. But cooking is only when the mood hits which is not often. During my high school days, I was also involved in the Interact Club, just like my two girls. But I don’t recall my friends and I baking cookies to sell to raise money for the club. We did something else I think. Hmm… memory fails me here. Probably whatever we did was not significant enough to hold a place in my memory.
Anyway, it is nice that both M1 and M2 are into this activity – learning teamwork and the importance of participation. The money collected for their Interact Club from the sale of the cookies, popcorn and flowers would then be used to organize an even bigger event to raise money for a charitable cause. I laud the Club and my girls for the commitment and efforts.
The cookie sale has been quite good, that’s why the need to have that second round of baking. I am glad I played a role in the great cookie bake sale.
Feeding Them All
16 FebThe new office being so close to home sure is nice because we avoid the evening rush hour on the highway and we are able to arrive home early. No jam, no stress.
The only downside for me is I don’t get the sheer driving pleasure of driving my car because the distance is too short to step on it. Oh well.
So the past few evenings when we are home early, we would put some seeds out for the birds to eat. What started out as just a morning feed with two mini trays on the wall to enjoy watching the little birds has now become a routine two-meal feed. Even the bigger birds join in!
One evening, we were late getting home and found the little birds hopping on the terrace table and chairs, staring at the food container. And we saw some that cannot wait getting down onto the ground, pecking at leftovers on the grass.
While they may seem very demanding, a meal on hand is always appreciate over having to look for scraps. I am not complaining because it’s nice to see a thriving community of birds creating some nice chirping and activity in the garden. So much so, we bought more bird seeds and added a pack of food for the squirrels too. Might as well feed them all.
A Thousand Stories
14 FebI did not realize yesterday I hit another milestone with my 1000th posting on WordPress! The app alerted me on this achievement. Wow… I sure have a lot of stories to tell. Well, with a colorful and interesting life, there are definitely lots to share, be happy, positive and even proud of it.
Here’s to a thousand more stories and thank you for all your support, reading and liking my posts.
Dispensing Marbles
13 FebLast week, an idea mooted to fill the gum ball machine up with marbles instead of M&M chocolate. Seems like a good idea if I want to be disciplined about dieting. I tried looking for the marbles at home that I know we have stashed away somewhere. Where? I need to recall.
When the girls were young and took weekly swimming lessons, the coach always rewarded them with marbles at the end of each lesson. Back then, these things were precious commodities and all the swimmers, my two girls included were very proud of their collection.
But as time passed and the girls grew up, the precious marbles were forgotten and more so when the swimming lessons stopped. In their place came the gaming and wifi-enabled devices – the Sony PSPs, the smart phones, iPods, iPod Shuffle and iPad Mini. This is a stark indicator of how times have changed, simple toys sidelined for technology-related toys.
Now maybe if I have the marbles in my gum ball machine to give them a new lease in life, I can have some fun during boring days at my desk. Let’s see how this will pan out. But first I have to recall where I last saw them. I am pretty sure they are somewhere in the closet because I kept them away just last year.
The Gum Ball Machine, Part 2
10 FebAfter much thought about the M&Ms for my gum ball machine, I have decided not to fill it up. Sigh… A friend suggested to mix the plain ones and the peanut ones if I was undecided. What a brilliant idea! Tempting, very tempting but I have to go on diet and having a chocolate dispensing machine within my reach may thwart my plans.
The Chinese New Year celebration is almost over with one last Chap Goh Meh dinner with Mom and my sibling’s family tomorrow night, so I have to stay disciplined and go ahead with the diet intention.
I need to lose all that weight gained from the constant eating since December last year when M1 came home for Christmas. Also because I feel a psychological expansion of my waistline when I put on my only pair of Levi’s and it feels tight. Not good especially when the Levi’s is those stretchy ones. Thank goodness, I was back at the gym earlier in the week to get things going.
So for now, the gum ball machine remains a decorative item and not a chocolate dispensing machine. But… me being me, I couldn’t resist the chocolate temptation and gave in to getting a small packet of M&Ms. I reasoned that the diet starts only next week, a little now wouldn’t hurt. Weakling.
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