I am in wood heaven! Two weeks ago, I received two boxes of freshly cut Meranti wood to continue with my carving. And carving I have been doing.
I realize now that carving Whales do not hurt my left wrist compared to Gnomes. It is the size – Gnomes are smaller than Whales, and how I grip the wood tightly (when carving a Gnome) causing a strain to the wrist. Add in the many angles of a Gnome, that’s why the tender area of the wrist would flare up if pressure and the repetitive action is applied constantly.
I have stopped carving Gnomes and Citizens of Gigglesville for the time being and just focusing on Whales which are much easier to handle. Anyway, the Gnomes and Citizens are decorative, cute and fun but the Whales are more than that, they are useful – being a smart phone holder.
The best part, I can still play golf without pain and the Whale population has been growing steadily. Yay.
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.
Over the weekend, I bought a new t-shirt and it’s not just any t-shirt, it’s a Gudetama t-shirt. I love it!
I wore it on Tuesday to the office because that was exactly how I felt… like a lazy egg. It was apt. I don’t normally wear t-shirts with graphics (cartoon characters or words) to work but it was an exception on that day.
Things are slow in the office again as projects that kept us busy were completed and new upcoming projects have yet to kick off because they are still in the planning stages.
It’s okay because this allows me to go play golf during the week, which I did yesterday. Unlike the marathon 36-holes last Friday, it was just a normal 18-holes followed by dinner, forsaking the 16/8 diet for a day.
But as I have reached my target goal weight last week, I thought a little reprieve to enjoy with friends this week on a weekday is allowed.
Last Friday I was free and agreed to a round of golf with my golf buddies. In fact, we played not a round but two rounds! Marathon golf was what it was, 36-holes.
The morning round was very enjoyable as the weather was lovely and there was no crowd in front to delay our progress nor at the back chasing us. It was very unusual but pleasant on a Friday at our golf club.
So much so, we decided to go at it again, after lunch to play another 18-holes! And the second round concluded in good time too. But the afternoon round was rather draining because the sun was scorching and we were tired by then. Two rounds in two days is pretty normal but two rounds within a day can be taxing if it’s not something we do all the time.
At the end of the two rounds, my Mi Band2 recorded at whopping 20,390 steps that I had done and my day was not even complete yet because it was only 5.00pm, and I had to go out to meet a friend later that evening!
When I finally climbed into bed that night, I recorded 22,093 steps and covered a distance of 13.1km. Dang… drained to the core.
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!
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?
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.
After Saturday’s game at Harvard Golf & Country Club, we played at Darulaman Golf & Country Club the next day as it was closer to the house. That morning’s sunrise wasn’t as vibrant as the previous morning.
However, it wasn’t like Harvard with no other flights in sight. We were sandwiched between two noisy and irritating flights. The course layout was very tight with some tee boxes of each hole ahead situated in close proximity to the green of the hole before. So what happened ahead or behind basically could be heard clearly and loudly.
Several times the flight in front, at their tee box, group-laughed and whooped loudly when a tee-off launched errantly towards the line of trees at the side (instead of the fairway) whilst I was addressing my ball to putt. Hrmph.
This wasn’t the only antics we had to deal with. The group behind… They too, would group-laugh and whoop loudly too when they missed their putts whilst I was addressing my ball to tee-off. Double hrmph… It’s a whole new experience as you’d never know what you will encounter on the golf course. Those pesky flies yesterday were nothing in comparison.
I wouldn’t mind if the flight behind us drove a bad wayward tee-off, which they did, borrowing our side of the fairway (told you the layout’s tight) as we approached for our second shot but all these noises and disturbances are really quite unnecessary. Perhaps they don’t realize how loud they were. Sigh… golf etiquette shouldn’t just be limited to the flight one is in but for the surrounding too.
Flat, wide and dry
The grounds at Darulaman are hard and dry too just like Harvard. Both games, I found myself using my Cleveland Launcher 5-wood (I removed the Maruman 3-wood) and Cleveland 3-hybrid more than the long irons, and gained much yardage as the ball could bounce and run. Nice.
Despite the disturbances and pace, we managed to finish our game in a little over fours hours; the golf course being a buggy-on-course helped. After lunch, by 1.30pm the weekend escapade was over and we were on our back to KL.
Last Friday, hubby decided we should go see his parents back at his hometown up North, so we did. An impromptu escapade of sorts, away from the recent design project stress. The parents are fine and we had an enjoyable weekend. We played two rounds of golf.
Saturday morning, we checked out Harvard Golf & Country Club, the lesser known name from its counterpart of a more famous establishment, about a 30-minutes drive from the house. The morning sunrise was spectacular with the drive pleasant and unhurried.
We had the golf course all to ourselves and what an outing it was.
The sprinklers welcomed us when we walked to the tee box, the birds chirped and serenaded us as our gallery and pesky flies buzzed at my ears like hecklers. Interesting. The best part, no other golfing human in sight. Our little private playground.
Flat and dry
Dry and flat
How was the condition of the place? It wasn’t the best due to the dry weather. The grounds were parched and hard, so the fairways and greens were hardly fair and green but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Even a bad topped shot was a good shot as the ball ran and bounced to gain yardage. And there were several instances this occurred because the ground was flat and dry and just so hard. If we had attempted to take divot with our shots, there’s bound to be injury or recurrence of old injuries. We finished the game in slightly under four hours.
All in all, I think we would give Harvard Golf & Country Club another chance and come back to play again.
Angieneering 
Remarks