Target Achieved

10 May

Pleased to update that I have achieved my target goal weight! In fact, I reached the target twice before this morning’s weigh in – once being last Saturday, surpassing the mark by 1.3lbs before going back up a little. Then yesterday, down again. This morning, when I stood on the bathroom scale, the numbers showed 0.1lbs past the mark. Yay!

Now remember this is all on Newbie, the new digital bathroom scale. Trusty is still there but showing the exact same reading even though my weight can fluctuate up or down. Sigh…

I am so proud of myself being disciplined on this challenge. How did I do it?

It’s basically sticking to the 16/8 diet. During the 8-hours window when I have to eat, I stuck to a meal plan for my weekdays. Tea for breakfast, high fiber/low protein lunches, dried fruits and nuts to munch if I have to work my jaw muscles after lunch, lots of liquid (tea mostly) and light protein/high fiber with low carbs for dinners.

It may sound restrictive or even boring but I must admit, I do eat a chocolate or two sometimes within the 8-hours. But when the 16-hours window kicked in, no solids at all, only water.

During weekends, it’s a different story with flexibility and no restrictions on intake. I even drink whiskey and an occasional beer or two after the weekly golf game. But I find myself eating small portions because I have gotten used to the 16/8 cycle. Even if I indulged, it wasn’t excessive. By Monday, the meal plan routine resumed.

All in all, it took me 11 weeks to achieve my target goal weight. And if I take my peaked weight recorded on March 1st and compare that to today’s weight, I have lost a total of 8.1lbs. I am happy with the results.

So now that I have achieved my target goal weight, I am setting a new mark which is to lose another 2.0lbs which should suffice instead of my earlier intention to lose 15lbs in total because at this point, any further loses, I would have to change my entire wardrobe!

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Another One Bites the Dust

9 May

I swear I go through golf shoes so much more than work shoes. I had to throw away my 2017 Adidas pair because it was falling apart despite not seeing much action. Water seeps in after three holes on a wet day, it’s pointless to even wear it. Its last usage, I had to change socks but it didn’t help to ease the discomfort of having pruned toes. Into the bin the shoes went.

My latest purchase is yet another FootJoy which I find a bit more reliable although my last FootJoy, on a wet day could only last nine holes before water seeped in. Sigh… and I am still trying to break in the Nike pair because it tends to hurt my pinky toes if I don’t wear the correct socks.

This new pair is a Junior size for boys. Oh well, it fits, it looks great and I bought it for a steal, why not?

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The 2019 FootJoy Fury golf shoes

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Becoming Obsolete, Part 2

7 May

I couldn’t believe that I cannot download Pinterest on my iPad Mini yesterday. However, right after that problem, I had things to do in the office so I didn’t pursue further. But I didn’t give up to fix it.

When I had a little breather and time, I went back to the App Store to fiddle again. And thank goodness, the Cloud icon showed up for Pinterest along with a compatibility list that included devices that has iOS9.3 or later. Phew… But unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Skype and iFlix, both still need iOS10.

So Pinterest is back on the iPad Mini and perhaps, its lifespan has just been extended a little bit more than the rest of the devices by the bedside.

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Becoming Obsolete

6 May

My iPad Mini is slowly becoming obsolete. Last week Pinterest couldn’t update and it riles me to have that number sitting in the corner of the App Store icon for a few days. But I left it as is because there was no mention of needing iOS10 and I could still use it.

However, this morning Pinterest was suddenly being installed although I didn’t do anything and it looked like it was stuck. So I restarted the iPad Mini, thinking this would help. The next thing I knew, my Pinterest icon was gone from the iPad! Yikes.

I then went into App Store to try to reinstall but there’s nothing for me to even click on to download. Why? Why? Why? It looks like arm twisting tactics here to push me to get a new iPad Mini.

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How do I download PInterest when there’s nothing to click on?

Two weeks ago, it was something else. I found out I couldn’t launch iFlix (not Netflix but similar entertainment provider) because it required iOS10 and my Mini cannot update beyond iOS9.3.5. Sigh…

And several weeks ago, it was Skype that couldn’t be used because it also required iOS10. I checked online if there were anymore older versions of Skype (that can run on iOS9.3.5) but apparently, Microsoft no longer support old devices for it. The only solution if I wanted to use Skype is to buy a new iPad Mini, according to discussions on community forums out there!

Gee… I don’t think I want to do this especially when I now have an iPhone XR that is much faster and sufficient for my needs. Anyway, I didn’t download Skype on the phone nor do I want to have the app on my desktop computer. I simply resolved the usage predicament by bringing my MacBook Air to the office for the weekly Skype session with M1. Easy peasy. As for Pinterest, it is on the phone too.

It’s just a matter of time before the iPad Mini will be relegated to being another bedside clock, along with iPod, M2’s old iPhone 5C and my recently retired iPhone 5S. Sigh…

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Back On Track

3 May

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!

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Killer Whale?

2 May

Whale 28 has turned out to be more than a Killer Whale, it’s killer gorgeous! With its wide body and the shiny pearl effect, I think Pink Taffeta is the color to use from now on for new whales. So I will go back to Meranti and work on more whales.

Ahhh… fun times ahead!

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The Tea Drinker

30 Apr

Ever since I stopped drinking coffee last year due to Endometriosis, I turn to tea and drink it more than ever. Decaf Earl Grey for breakfast, Green Tea throughout the day and sometimes, Camomile in the evenings before bedtime. All these choices using tea bags though.

Occasionally I’d brew a cup for variation. And being a somewhat serious tea drinker, I do have some gadgets to ensure it’s a satisfying experience. At the office, I used to steep loose leaf tea for my cuppa with a tea ball infuser. But I find the holes of this device too big and some of the fine tea crumbs or dust end up in my tea. So I stopped using it and use the bright pink strainer purchased from Lane Crawford in Hong Kong two Christmas’s ago instead.

The tea infuser strainer is perfect to steep the loose leaf because the tea dust do not escape into the brew. And it’s a refreshing change from the daily Green Tea.

At home, the mesh ball with handles is the go-to gadget to use if I don’t fancy brewing with tea bag.

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My tea infusing gadgets

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The Birthday Escapade

29 Apr

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.

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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!

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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.

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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

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Nauseating just watching the spins from afar at Skytropolis

Spanish dinner with two bottles of red to celebrate, yes two

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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.

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More New Colors, Part 2

26 Apr

It’s hard to stay away from carving Whales. After the balsa bout, I itched to get back to Meranti, so here’s Whale 28. This fella’s a bit odd in size because the wood block that’s available is wider than most of the other pieces that I have done. Oh well.

It is kinda cute in its own way and once I paint it with the new pearl Pink Taffeta color, it will just be so gorgeous!

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More New Colors

25 Apr

I thought carving up Citizen #182 was significant so I bought new colors to commemorate it. This time, I decided to introduce shiny colors for variety.

So besides painting up Citizen #182 in pearl Taffeta Pink, #183 was also given the new color, the glitter blue. Not content with this, I then refreshed a few earlier Citizens, adding clear glitter on top of their existing colors.

Maybe this year, glitter is the way to go as this latest batch look very pretty and shiny. I like ‘em.

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Picture not giving the gloss and glitter enough prominence

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