Tag Archives: Chinese New Year

The Bathroom Scale Dilemma, Part 2

31 Jan

I’ve come to conclusion why Trusty, my old bathroom scale is behaving the way it behaves – it’s just not sensitive anymore. Newbie – the digital one, being new and far more superior with its ability to show up to one decimal point, makes the difference very glaring.

When there’s nothing to compare to begin with, it’s not an issue and sometimes, the weight shown on Trusty is even dismissed. But when there’s another to compare and there are differences, consciousness kicks in.

It was very obvious one morning when I stood on both first thing in the morning. Then after putting on my clothes, Newbie showed an increase of 1.1lbs – the jeans and shirt has some weight after all. But there was no increase on Trusty. Then on another morning, I stood on both with a full bladder to see the numbers before emptying the bladder; Newbie showed a decrease of 0.4lbs but no difference in Trusty. Hmm.

At that point, I got suspicious of the sensitivity, so I had to try with another situation to confirm. The test: standing on both first thing in the morning and then later, after a Roti Canai breakfast. Again, Trusty did not even budge while Newbie showed a 0.5lbs increment. Double hmm…

I guess I’d have to take Trusty’s reading with a dose (not a pinch) of salt. So with the bathroom scale dilemma resolved, it’s timely given that Chinese New Year is just around the corner and there’s all those gastronomic occasions coming up. Every little morsel may not show on Trusty but definitely will on Newbie.

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Last Minute Preparation

29 Jan

This year, the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year falls on February 5th, next Tuesday and as always, I have to procrastinate until the last minute to prepare to usher in the new year. On the bright side of the situation, the traditional red cloth is finally up over the entrance of the front door.

All we need now is to buy flowers to pretty up the home and we are ready.

Honestly, I haven’t gotten over M2’s recent farewell lunch or even last year’s Christmas dinner, and in a week’s time there’s the Reunion Dinner to attend. I need to find space in my tummy!

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Ugh! Monday

17 Dec

It’s always the case of needing another vacation to recover from the vacation that just concluded. Ugh! Monday.

The journey home yesterday took longer than necessary – five and a half hours, almost akin to our annual Chinese New Year trip back from hubby’s hometown up North. And this was from Penang which should be shorter. There were two stretches where the crawl was just so tiring and the rain didn’t help. After three hours, we changed drivers.

And the rain continued all the way home. Not feeling refreshed but quite the opposite, I did not even unpack, leaving it to today. Ugh! Monday and we have to be in the office.

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Thriving Garden

29 Oct

Although I am not a garden person, I am happy to say that our garden and plants are thriving despite the wonky weather that we are experiencing. Wonky in the sense that it’s either super hot or super wet.

The frangipani tree is all good, so are hubby’s collection of air plants and bromeliads. Even the staghorn ferns that he acquired are healthy.

The smaller ones, remounted on wood planks, are doing really well and now hangs in one corner of the garden. They were purchased from our trip back to his hometown for Chinese New Year early this year.

As for the two big ones, they are mounted on the trees in front of the house and are also thriving beautifully despite their exposed fern leaves or fronds looking brown. These fronds are known as the shield frond because they protect the roots from damage and store water and nutrients. And the brown look is due to humidity issues and not because the fern is dying, so they should never be removed.

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The three amigos

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Giant staghorn #1

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Giant staghorn #2

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A New Interest

22 Feb

Of late my iPad Mini has been lagging and not compatible with my usual games – Candy Crush Soda and both the Monster Busters. I can launch the apps, collect the daily rewards and that’s it. Just can’t play and it’s exasperating.

So prior to Chinese New Year, I diverted my attention to a new interest, jigsaw puzzles. A mundane game, if you can even call it a game but at least there’s more interaction with it than the others. I’ve completed five puzzles already, and started on a 560-piece puzzle this morning.

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Change in Pattern, Part 2

20 Feb

My hopes for a six hours drive home yesterday was not to be as my estimates were way off! The drive home was just super duper long.

It started out smoothly but only for awhile. Traffic then became so heavy and got worst, culminating with a standstill situation on the freaking highway and a crawl at 10km/h, sometimes 30km/h for a good part of the journey for no apparent reason. Ridiculous. And it rained, making the drive more tiring. All in all it took us nine and a half hours to reach home.

This is part and parcel of Chinese New Year – the traffic crawl besides the food and family. Because it’s only a once-a-year experience, we take it in stride. If not, we’d never go back for the occasion. Thank goodness, we had food, drinks, music, devices, cables and power banks to keep us entertained during the long drive home.

Anyway, enough of the driving ordeal, what’s more important was the activities we did during the four days in hubby’s hometown which was a change in pattern from previous years.

Besides the food and rest, we managed to play two rounds of golf instead of just one round. During the first game at Darul Aman Golf Club, I lost my nine iron and discovered the loss almost immediately. I absent-mindedly left it somewhere on the fairway approaching the green at Hole One. Amazingly I wasn’t too upset and rationalized I did not need it, save for a couple of shots, and managed for the rest of the game.

It was the heat that got to me more than the loss honestly. After the game, we reported the loss and thank goodness, the club was found and returned within a short time. Phew… relief. I had contemplated my options if it wasn’t returned. An excuse for a new set perhaps? Hmm…

The next day, we played at a different course, Royal Kedah Club and after two days of back-to-back games, I’m happy to say there was no pain felt on the limbs. In other words, no recurrence of the tennis elbow. A good sign indeed considering I was using just all my irons for both games. No driver, woods or hybrid clubs at all.

The change in pattern also saw us catching the latest Marvel Comics’ superhero movie, Black Panther which was refreshing and very entertaining. And we visited a plant enthusiast whom hubby befriended on Facebook and got to see his eye-popping huge staghorn ferns at his farm. Hubby bought two staghorns from his new friend and promised to visit again on our next trip.

And this year, we start work on the Fifth Day of Chinese New Year instead of the Sixth Day which has been the norm for us for years. Definitely a change in pattern for the Year of the Dog.

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Lovely blue skies and paddy fields on the right

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One of the many meals the family had

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The big staghorn ferns and the two purchased smaller ferns mounted on wood

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Reunion Dinner 2018

15 Feb

Yesterday was our last day at work before we break for Chinese New Year and boy was it a busy day. I managed to clear most of my work – the boombox in the office has been inspirational, and looking forward to a stress-free break. I’m sure I am not the only one with this feeling.

Reunion Dinner 2018 is sans M1 again with the occasion at my sibling’s home. Every year it’s a debate whether to have this auspicious gathering at home or in a Chinese restaurant and many a time, the choice of having it at home outweighs the eating out choice. This is because the Chinese restaurants will hold two dinner sessions for families and this feels very rushed. Imagine having to eat an eight-course dinner within a hurried and noisy environment. Whereas at home, it’s at a leisurely and comfortable pace.

I hear these days some restaurants are now even doing three dinner sessions capitalising on the occasion! Well, however it is done, it is an all important gathering for the Chinese. We look forward to the Year of the Dog tomorrow to usher in a prosperous and healthy year ahead!

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Getting the Priorities Right

13 Feb

My goodness, it suddenly hit me that Chinese New Year is three days away! And I am so not prepared. The customary red cloth is finally up, but no further festive decors in the house because I chose to carve instead!

I have not stocked up my fridge with real food because there’s chocolate and candies hogging the space. And hubby bought drinks to fill the fridge – beer and more beer plus some soft drinks, all of which I cannot consume. Wait a second, I shouldn’t be thinking of drinking any alcohol with my current situation. Furthermore, the drinks are for visiting guests during the festivity! Need to get my priorities right here…

To add to my unpreparedness, I have not even started packing for the trip up North to hubby’s hometown on the First Day of Chinese New Year although I made the effort to pack my golf set. My priorities seem to be skewed.

So this year, the Reunion Dinner will be with Mom and my sibling and his family. Only M1 remains absent as she is still in the US. Nonetheless, it will be a boisterous affair with lots to eat and drink with everyone around but poor me, I have to be careful on my intake in case there’s a reaction. At least I am getting my priority right on this.

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Finally It’s Done

12 Feb

Over the weekend, we finally pushed ourselves to get ready for Chinese New Year. And when I say get ready, it means putting up the customary red cloth at the entrance of the house. Finally it’s done. Yay. But am I ready for the upcoming festivity?

I think I am looking forward more to the break to relax and do nothing because lately, work has been overwhelming and a break is much needed. As for the festivities, merry-making and food, it will be a challenge to manage because my intestines are still a bit sensitive.

I have gone a week without coffee and somehow doing well. And watching what I eat, I have lost 1.5kgs already as a result of all this extra precaution. Who knows in three months’ time, I would lose a few more kilos! Let’s see how I hold up with during Chinese New Year.

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No Onions Please

6 Feb

Recently I was diagnosed with Infectious Colitis. Not life threatening but generally very uncomfortable. All this while I thought it was the usual monthly cramps getting more severe with age but no, it was them bacterias in my intestines all this time, having a wild party every now and then to create an unbearable pain and discomfort.

I was prescribed antibiotics for a week and it had been okay, no side effects from the meds. Because it was abdominal cramps and not diarrhoea, the doctor did not advise me what food to avoid and neither did I bother to check thoroughly although I have been careful on the choices which were nothing too extreme.

So almost a week after the colonoscopy procedure, I was fine and on the road to recovery; I even played a round of golf four days later. But I had the most unfortunate and unsuspecting setback yesterday.

I had a very nauseating spell all because I had some onions for lunch. It triggered a reaction a few hours later and was the most horrid sensation. Initially I didn’t know what it was until I got home and laid horizontal for a few hours to recuperate before going online to check.

I figured it’s best to know what I should avoid to minimize my discomfort because with Chinese New Year just around the corner, there’s bound to be a lot of eating, drinking and merry-making.

To my horror, the list included coffee, cereal, nuts, alcohol, chocolate, spicy food and of course onions, with limited intake of milk, ice cream, cheese and a whole lot of other stuff but the first three items on the list horrified me to no end!

It’s not so much of what I can eat (white bread, ugh!) but what to avoid. No coffee, cereal and nuts, my breakfast and snack staples? And no alcohol, chocolate and spicy food, my life! For at least three months! Oh dear…

I try to look at the brighter side of the situation; I will definitely shed some pounds. And unless I want to be constantly feeling bloated or nauseous, I better be disciplined about my food intake. And definitely no onions please.

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