Stay young by following Calvin and Hobbes

Be your own best friend. Be the inner best friend who is always there to protect you, chat or chill out with you, care and love you unconditionally. Life provides us constant reminders that everything starts with us.

A lot of people experiences uncertainty, unhappiness or loneliness whenever there are changes in their lives. In fact, there are some people who experience these feelings even when nothing major happens. Some people require constant companionship to be able to live.  And there are some who require total peace alone to be able to do that.

Instead of trying to fix unhappiness, uncertainties or loneliness, it would be better if we become our own best friend.

Kids do it by imagining an invisible friend, some does it by having a stuffed toy that goes everywhere with them. Some adults graduate by incorporating this concept of becoming best buds with themselves. This way, you will find that ”always-dependable best friend of love, friendship and happiness” within yourself.

The reason why I enjoy reading Calvin and Hobbes is because, it follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous 6 year old boy, and Hobbes, his sardonic stuffed tiger.

The cartoon strip depicts Calvin’s flight of fantasy and his friendship with Hobbes and also examines Calvin’s relationships with family and classmates. He uses his imagination & creativity to bring his stuff tiger alive as if it’s his best buddy that goes around doing crazy and fun stuffs with him. And of course, they also fight together, ambush and criticizes each other as well, only to go back to being best friends again later.

                                              Click on picture for a clearer view

Want to see more..? Click here. 

And hey, check this out!
1) Five facts about me
2) Smart Anti-Ageing Tips and Practices
3) 3 Things You Can't Live Without
4) Strike a balance

--moon

Blog name – carrot head and applemint

Stay in shape by walking after a meal

Do not sit right after a meal. Walk instead.

Walking shortly after a meal is a highly effective way to burn energy and the calories, so you are getting a double boost. It helps you to keep fit and stay in shape. Walking is an easy and convenient way to exercise.

Instead of plopping down in front of the TV, or sitting at the computer, take a nice leisurely walk after your meals. Sitting on your butt promotes fat forming, fatigue and grumpiness.

This CNY, I ate so much more than I normally do but so far, I’ve managed to maintain my weight, thank goodness for that!  

What I did at the least, was to ensure that I walk in the park right outside our home, 15-20 minutes after a meal. I will walk for about half hour before I head back into the house. I did that even after lunch, as the park is well protected from the sun by big shady trees all around.

If there isn’t a park near your home, you can try walking around the neighborhood, or if, even that is not possible, then ensure you do some house chores , clearing up, washing dishes, folding clothes, put your clothes into the washing machine, prepare for next day work/school, etc, etc for 1 hour. Even standing still is better than sitting down. 


Alternatively, you could get yourself a treadmill to walk on. You can also jog/run on it for a real workout in the morning before you go to work.

--moon

Blog name – carrot head and applemint

Home Sweet Home

                                     Picture taken from here


Aaaah.... it feels so so good to be back home..!!!


Wasn't able to collect my 2 furball in time from the boarding place. Can only do so tmrw morning, before we head out to Kajang for more visits and feasting.


Missing my 2 furball like crazy. The house feels so quiet without them running about and disturbing us while we un-pack.

                               Timon @ The Sakai

                           Tabby - The Energizer Bunny




Anyway, since I've been away for some time, I'm gonna provide some up-date here on what I did during CNY.


Prior to CNY
Busy running around buying CNY food stuffs, doing marketing and house chores for my in-laws.


1st day of CNY
I ate 20 sticks of succulent yummilicious satay, had rice for lunch, had 1 bowl of home cooked scrumdillyumcious Penang assam laksa mix with lemak laksa for dinner (no, I didn't run to the toilet that night), and not to mention loads of cakes and cookies.


Oh sorry, we had open house that day, was extremely busy entertaining and eating too, of course!


2nd day of CNY
I went hiking in Penang Hill at 7.30 am with my sis-in-law. The hike up and down took about 1 hour. On the way down we were almost assaulted by a group of monkeys. Eventually we reached the foothill with 4-5 branches in our hands. Halfway down, we stared in awe, into a little natural pond full of green, tadpoles & little fishes (only to be told at the end of the staring session that my sis-in-law saw a little snake swimming in it many months back) and that had me screaming and running off downhill like as if I just saw a demon; and then as if that's not bad enough, we saw a dead and flattened snake on the tar road (eeewwwwhhhhhh............!!!!!) and that again had me screaming & running helter skelter for my life..

What an eermm... adventure.....!! Oh, and did I mention that the hike was a killer..? Today I can't squat and have to walk up the staircase like a grandmother.. -__-


Went visiting for CNY and feasted like a piggie. Had my first "lo sang" that night during dinner at a restaurant with my family.


I am not sure if I have put on weight, I am sure I have, but I've not weigh myself yet. Will do it tmrw morning and provide an up-date.




--moon


Blog name - carrot head & applemint

Xin Nien Kwai Lek & Gong Xi Fa Chai..!!!

May the year of the rabbit brings forth good health, great wealth, joy & prosperity this CNY..!



--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Off for the Chinese New Year...!!!

Driving up to Penang today! We're officially off for the CNY, wooohoooo....!!!


--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

What's up, Doc?

Meet Sam

We drove out to Seri Kembangan today, to collect payment from a customer. This customer owns a huge factory and a few posh cars, which he keeps in the factory.

The first time we were there for our first meeting, as we were entering the reception, we heard someone greeting us cheerfully from the outside. It kept saying, “Hello.., hello.., hello….” until we started looking around wondering who that was. Then we saw the culprit.

Inside the factory compound, and flanking both side of the reception entrance is a huge area of fenced up bird sanctuary with lots of trees and bushes. Both sides of the sanctuary is connected via underground, and there was a bird perched on a pipe, greeting us incessantly.

This is the fella… I’ve decided to call him/her Sam.

                                 Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

Inside the sanctuary, there are lots of different types of birds and chickens, pecking around for food.

On the day we delivered the machine to this customer, Sam decided to come very close to the fence, next to the freight forwarder van, chatting happily and noisily with the driver and his co-workers. My technical guy – KS just couldn’t stop disturbing him coz he was so friendly that day.

Love this lil fella..

I really and truly admire people who are successful in their career, and yet, still maintain a balance between their life, their career/business and nature. The entire factory area is surrounded by a long connected man made aquarium, and you can hear water flowing everywhere, no matter where you are in the building.

Tabby deep in thought

Last Wednesday, the house cleaners came and was at work, while I was upstairs on the bed, looking out the balcony window, when Tabby scooted in, and decided to perch up on the balcony. I was fiddling with my digicam when I caught her deep in thought and decided to snap a few pictures of hers.

What does the year of the rabbit hold for the monkey?

Yup, that's me up there.. :-D


I have been told that this year is my year. As far as I could remember, this is probably the first time I've been informed that everything is gonna be smooth and good for the monkey. Well, I certainly hope so, coz the predictions that I see every year by those masters all sounds the same to me generally.


Whatever it is, as long as the sun continues to shine, I will continue to be myself....

Food Glorious Food

Last but not least, a picture of my favorite food, the seafood paella. This was taken at La Bodega in Bangsar Shopping Complex. It’s to die for.. :)))

--moon

Blog name – carrot head and applemint

How to un-wind your body and mind before you sleep

My yoga pose of the month – Standing Forward Bend (Utttanasana)

If you find that you are unable to sleep at night, doing the standing forward bend pose will gently help to use up all your pent-up energy and tension in your body and mind.  It helps to release all tension and line things up right.

The inversion of your head towards your feet soothes your nervous system while liberating the muscles of your lower back.

Standing forward bend stretches the entire portion of the body from the head to the heels and lengthens the entire spine.

Do not forget to breathe deep and slow. For detailed instruction, click here.

Benefits

1) Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression

2) Reduces fatigue and anxiety

3) Relieves headache and insomnia

4) Stretches the hamstrings, calves and hips, thighs and knees

5) Stimulates the liver and kidneys

6) Improves digestion

7) Help to relieve symptoms of menopause

If you find that standing forward bend is too difficult, you can also try doing the seated forward bend.

                                                        Picture taken from here

--moon

Blog name – carrot head and applemint