Tag Archives: United States

The Night Before Christmas

24 Dec

As our food trail has taken off with almost every meal eaten outside – far more and frequent than what we are accustomed to, every night when I stand on the bathroom scale, it’s with a sense of trepidation. I know it won’t be a result for the faint-hearted!

Today being Christmas Eve, a big dinner feast awaits! My discipline has slacked with all this constant eating and I find myself snacking on itty-bitty morsels of Bakwa (Bee Cheng Hiang’s gourmet bacon and sliced pork) for breakfast despite still feeling somewhat full from last night’s Nasi Kandar dinner. So for lunch, maybe something light just to lessen the guilt. Hahaha… as if this would work.

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These are so good to snack on!

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We each had a hearty plate of Nasi Kandar. Top right: a frothy ginger tea (Teh Halia)

It has become tradition for us to gather at my sibling’s home with his family for a festive dinner on this night before Christmas. This year with the exception of M2, all family members are present and it will be a boisterous gathering.

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Merry Christmas!

As always, there’s going be a lot of food and drinks to enjoy, a lot of presents to exchange, and lots of noise and laughter making the annual occasion a treasured family affair. Will I stand on the scale when we get home after the celebration? Hmm…

I thank all my readers, family and friends from near and afar for the continuous support and interest in reading my blog. Here’s wishing all a very Happy and Merry Christmas!

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Tough Act to Follow

23 Dec

So M1 is back, albeit a two-hour delay at Inchon Airport and losing some precious time, we take what we can and make the most of our time together. Starting with the food! We have been eating out constantly to check off her ‘To Eat’ list and it’s a long list for such a short trip.

Thosai Rawa and Roti Bomb, butter bun and Koi boba tea

French beans, tofu, steamed fish, coconut water and crabs galore (salted egg and buttered)!

Look at that happy face and the packet Nasi Lemak, breakfast of champions

It’s a tough act to follow for us especially because of what we have been doing all this while – the 16/8 IF diet. Suddenly we find ourselves eating all this variety of food and at odd hour intakes that we’re not used to, it’s too much for us. So we have to pace ourselves. As for M1, she’s in food heaven!

Hutong Village at Lot 10 in the city centre

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Let the Food Trail Begin!

20 Dec

Last night M1, our firstborn came back from the US for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The flight was delayed two hours and it felt forever before she came out from the arrival hall at KLIA.

It’s a wonderful reunion again after visiting her in June for her graduation. Unfortunately, M2 opted not to return and instead has flown off to London for her Christmas holiday.

Nevertheless, a family get together is always about food besides the bonding time. Thus we will embark on a food trail to attempt to check off all the ‘must eats’ on her list. There goes the 16/8 diet! Oh well, it’s not always she returns, so we will indulge as well with her.

Thosai rawa

Roti bom

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Contrasting First Years

29 Nov

When M1 went off to university four years ago, we had periodic pictorial updates on the classes she took. As she was a Food Science major, obviously it was food-related and the pictures were experiments that were conducted in the lab for her classes. From the preparation to the end result, we had interesting pictures of how to make Camembert cheese and smoked salmon.

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Fancy some cheese?

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Or perhaps smoked salmon?

Now with M2 having started her first year at college––she has completed her Foundation Studies with distinction––we are also getting updates on her classes. As she is a Design Communications major, similar to my degree but mine was called Visual Communications with an emphasis in Graphic Design, so obviously we are getting art and design-related pictures.

This being an assignment from her Illustration class. Dang… the details and patience! I am so glad she’s on the right path to nurture her creativity and shape her ability.

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Happy Anniversary to Us

30 Aug

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!

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New Injuries

5 Aug

Over the weekend, I picked up new injuries because I have been golfing more than ever. It used to be just a game on either Saturday or Sunday only but now, it’s both days. Also the last two weeks, it was three games in a week. So it’s just a matter of time before something like this happened.

Thankfully the left wrist tendonitis did not flare up during those outings and is under control; it’s two ‘new’ injuries that cropped up and are causing a lot of discomfort instead.

Injury #1: plantar fasciitis at the left foot. This problem started out very mild towards the end our stay in the US. And it has ‘grown’ since because I have been walking a lot with golf added to my usual routine. There’s no let up for it to rest and recover totally.

Injury #2: golfer’s elbow on the right arm that previously had tennis elbow but recovered when I stopped golf for some time last year. Now the pain, quite recent and acute has struck the inside area of the elbow instead of outside. The pain was already there when I hit the gym three weeks ago but I brushed it aside. Now I know…Hmm.

It looks like too much golf has taken its toll on me and the body has not been able to cope. Maybe the second injury is easier to solve than the first one because I can stop or reduce playing to rest but to stop walking? I certainly can’t don’t walk, it will be hard, very hard. I have to learn how to manage. Sigh…

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Beyond 1000 Days

22 Jul

I must say I didn’t let go of the Daily Bonus trek when I was traveling to the US. It’s amazing that the chain didn’t break for both the iPad Mini and iPhone XR even with all that different time zones when we were flying. But sadly, the chain broke for the iPhone5S because I did not bring the phone along as a spare. There was no need for it especially when it had all this battery problems.

As for the Daily Bonus pursuit, basically all I did was checked both devices after 24 hours when there was wifi connection. Sure enough, the chain continued! Woo hoo…

So as of today, both are on Day 1064. Crazy….

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A New Game

19 Jul

Lately I seem to have lost interest in both the Candy Crush games, finding them so boring. Save for the Daily Bonus of Soda, which I am still at it (amazingly the chain didn’t break with all that time zone changes when traveling to the US for both phone and iPad), I don’t play both games as much these days.

Tourist bus bringing visitors to my museum

Yesterday I found myself itching to play something new, and downloaded a new game to try on my iPhone XR in the afternoon. It’s called ‘Tap! Dig! My Museum’. What a discovery!

It’s such a cute and captivating game that I found myself so engrossed in it until past 1.00am last night. I had to reluctantly put down the phone to sleep.

You can say I am now a full time paleontologist instead of a full time candy crusher. Heheh…

Hall 1 (R) completed and Hall 2 (L) still work in progress

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New Objective

16 Jul

I thought I needed to set a new objective all over again as far as the 16/8 diet is concerned. Although I gained only a pound from the recent US trip, the weight fluctuated the last two weeks and hoovering mostly on the up side. It felt like a set back–my Uniqlo jeans was a tad too snug–gaining weight back home and not from the vacation. Ugh.

There could be several reasons for this, number one being my leftover jet lag and number two, my eating habits.

The first week when I was back, I was eating breakfast when normally I don’t. By the second week, this need was overcomed but I found myself eating more and bigger portions for the two meals that I ate. Hmm…

Then last night, I went to the gym despite a cough developing. But it was a good workout as I sweated the excess water retention. And this morning as I stood on the digital bathroom scale, the weight has gone back to normal. Yay.

Having said that, I still have to be disciplined and have an objective. With my eating schedule back to normal, the new objective should be about fitting into another outfit rather than that Zara dress that I wore for M1’s Commencement.

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A Delightful Discovery, Part 2

11 Jul

It is when one travels that one finds treasures and delightful discoveries. Besides the Hasegawa EggPlane that I found, I found a couple more things.

Discovery # 1: a Waldo book entitled ‘The Totally Essential Travel Collection’. Yes, I am fond of Waldo and this book totally has me absorbed looking for him whenever I need a breather from staring at my monitor for too long in the office.

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Discovery #2: paint brushes from Michaels. I was like a kid in a candy store browsing the aisles looking longingly at all the art supplies. In the end, I opted for value, variety and quantity, and picked up these two packs of brushes which will come in super handy to use after the carving process.

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With such delightful discoveries, it’s no surprise that I started carving a new piece last night so that I can use the brushes. As for Waldo, staring at the monitor is now not so tedious. Life is good!

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