Live life to the fullest

To live life to the fullest, bring a sense of adventure into every moment.

At its core, adventure is the willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart and an open mind. Adventure isn't something that's reserved for the extreme athlete or the daredevil. It is an expression of your heart's intention and passion for life. It is about being courageous and passionate in all aspects of your life, work and relationships.

By definition, adventure has an unknown outcome. If something has a predetermined outcome, its' not an adventure but a packaged experience or an amusement ride. Life is uncertain! Being adventurous means seeing that uncertainty as the gift of possibility.

When you approach everything with the spirit of adventure, you infuse your life with vitality and radiance. You find a level of engagement and awareness with everything around you that is deeply satisfying and joyous. Your summits await.

(Article extracted from http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2976)

Renewing my practice with Yoga. Renewing myself

I've decided to renew my relationship with Yoga. After having stopped my yoga classes for abt 1 1/2 year, I notice and realize my body misses all the stretches that it needs in all the vital areas. Most of all, in the areas that are hardly used, and the importance is further amplified as we get "more mature".. ;-)

I'm not going to attend classes since the classes are restricted to certain time. I've decided to practice it at home, incorporating two 1 hr session in a week (Mon & Fri). What I have in mind is merely to do the Sun Salutation set, which, to me is extremely good. I feel that this routine contains all the basic stretching it requires for each and every part of the body. Once the steps and postures for each pose has been mastered, and the breathing synchronization is incorporated, it's a POWERFUL combination of simple stretching exercise for all our vital organs, plus meditation ("deep" breathing & providing oxygen to every corner of our body as we stretches it gracefully, while we communicate with our body & mind).

(Pix obtained from http://www.yogatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/downward-facing-dog-pose1.jpg)

Nagging thoughts

I started this blog because I wanted to learn blogging, not because I wanted to blog, in particular. I don't know why, but I just know that I need to learn how to blog. Being a very private person, I have never thought of putting anything personal on such a public channel. But because I have no idea what to blog about, this blog and it's content was created at the spur of the moment. To ensure that my interest in blogging continues, I hv to make it a point to keep coming back to post something. If I were to do it once a week/month, I know I will slowly lose interest, and worse, I'll prbly lose the password, and subsequently forgets how to post an article.

I don't have many topics which is of interest to me, that I can blog about all the time. Hence, I somehow ended up writing various subjects that comes to mind, and sometimes when I look back, this seemed to hv turned out to be more like a daily journal to me than anything else. Interesting turn out, but not exactly what I had in mind as a blog.

The URL of this blog has only been given to 2 persons, my 2 nieces. Reason being, I am not prepared to share the content of this blog with the world yet, or it might not come to that at all (not that there is much to show and tell actually). I mean, I know it's impossible to keep anything under wrap forever; if anyone were to stumble upon this, I am fine, but I won't publicize my blog as mine yet, or maybe not at all.

Dilemma - If I don't publicize, I won't be able to explore further the blogging capabilities available out there.

Ok, I think I've just added Google Analytics traffic tracking code into my blog. This is the 2nd time I'm trying it out, and I hv a hunch I'm not doing it right. Been reading the help instructions over and over, and still it's not much help. Can't seem to get what they are trying to say. I need to get help here..

Can't travel? Do a mind travel..

                   Feel free to click on the picture for a more beautiful and clearer view

Gunung Mulu National Park

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial setting (click on the pix for a clearer and more beautiful look).

Mulu National Park is one of nature's most spectacular achievements. It is the largest national park in Sarawak, covering 52,865 hectres of primary rain forest, which is criss-crossed by fast flowing rivers and clear jungle streams.

Yet many of Mulu's greatest attractions lie deep below the surface. Hidden underneath the forested slopes of these mountain is one of the largest limestone cave systems in the world.

With the world's largest cave passage "Deer Cave", the world's largest natural chamber or room "Sarawak Chamber" and the longest cave in Southeast Asia "Clearwater Cave", it is not surprising that Mulu is now world famous. Over 200 km of cave passages have been discovered & surveyed but this is thought to represent JUST 30% - 40% of the actual total.

It has been said that the chamber is so big that a Boeing 747 jumbo jet can fly directly into the mouth of the cave and hundreds of metre's down into the ground. In fact, it can hold about 40 Boeing 747 in there at any one time. The guides at Gunung Mulu also say the Deer Cave (another large cave) is big enough to fit St.Peter's Basilica inside. Don't believe? Can fly over there and take a look at it yourself.. :-D

Laeo joe kan mai - means "See you again!" in Thai.

(Pix taken from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1164778/Spectacular-underground-caverns-big-British-scientists-look-like-ants.html)

Running out of gas, help!

This is my 3rd week into home cooking for lunch for the purpose of going green, and... I'm running out of ideas on what to cook. Yeah, I have loads of recipe books and tons of ideas which I can get online, but it's a juggle trying to decide on something that I am capable of cooking, with the right size/portion for 1 person, with the right price (not too expensive, otherwise it's not worth cooking at home), plus also to ensure that all leftovers are not wasted, means it must be used within a period of time. When you cook only for 1 person, you tend to have loads of leftovers, which you need to figure out how to use them up. Last but not least, I have to also ensure it's healthy!

Wow! Lots of criterias. Maybe I should just eat out for lunch the whole of next week. But I did promise myself that no matter what, there must be a day or two which I need to eat healthy at home. And the safest to do that would be to prepare sandwich. Hmmm....

Been trying to access bejewel since Monday, but there seems to be a problem accessing it till now. Hmmmm... is it just me or everyone else? But then, good in a way that, I don't get addicted, hence, my schedule don't get affected.. :-D

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Since I've fulfilled my 3x p'wk quota of treadmill session, I thought I should try to pick-up bits and pieces of the yoga which I've learned over the many years, at home. So today, after having postponed several rounds, I started it off easy, by doing the downward dog pose as warm up, followed by the 12 steps of sun salutation. The initial 1 min was hell doing the downward dog, since I've not done it for so long. My elbows were shaking, I couldn't flatten my feet on the floor, I wasn't able to straighten my spine as how it should be. It was rather awkward. The sun salutation was even worse. I hv to keep referring to the book, as I've forgotten the 12 steps, while trying to ensure the pose is done right for each steps. Having said that, I didn't even manage to do any breathing co-ordination. That will probably have to come in after a few more rounds of practice.

I only managed to do 4 sets, yet I was sweating profusely. After having completed only 4 sets, I decided to go back to downward dog pose for 2 minutes. This time, it was much easier, but I still need to work on the proper pose. Not bad for a start, at least it was a start.

Sa bai di rue

This morning I've been busy downloading ref material (presented in the HKG sales conference) from our principal's resource site in their website. One beautiful thing about working with such established company is that, they provide us with plenty of useful market information (prod info, competition info, latest news), case studies, e-marketing materials, tips, etc, etc, all downloadable from their resource site. There are so much info in there, one can go crazy.

ST only gave me the access to our distributor log-in on Tuesday night. What a whole load of stuffs to read up on.

I've decided to bring my swimsuit and track attires to Bangkok. In case the political situation gets worse, I intend to make full use of the hotel's facilities. Would love to visit the grand palace and 2 of their grandest temples though, and not forgetting the most famed river market and their water ways.

Feel like eating instant noodle tonight. It's been such a loooooong time since I had that, and the first that comes to mind is the Pa Ma Tomyam. I have plenty of eggs and vegies in the fridge, so what am I waiting for?

Sa bai di rue - means "How are you?" in Thai.

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Just finished 2 packets of the Pa Ma Tomyam frm Thailand. I think I can breathe fire from my mouth.. "fire! fire!" In fact, it's so spicy, I think I am about to black out soon..

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Had a great time reminiscing over my 1st Europe trip with a course mate and her best friend.

Ok, this is Moon signing off for the day, because it's already 10.30 pm... !#@$%?#!

What's cooking?

Decided to eat home for lunch and dinner today. Made ABC soup. Put in potato, carrot, tomato and onions with chicken. To go with rice. Been boiling and simmering in the pot for 2 hrs, yuuumm...!!! The white pepper was a bit too heavy tho, maybe it's becoz I smashed it a bit before throwing it into the pot. Need to go easy on that the next time.

Missed my The Backyardigans again this morning.. :-(

Did my 3rd session of treadmill, yay!

It's the month of "Qing Ming" (in Mandarin) or "Cheng Beng" (in Hokkien) again. It's All Souls Day and it's where the Chinese pray to their ancestors, mostly at the graveyard or at the temple where their bone is kept, to remember the departed love ones. We will be going to pray this Sunday. Braving up for the jam, the crowd, the heat and the smoke at the temple.

We have to pray at 3 different places each year. 1st in the list is in Kajang, where dad is buried. Then we join our uncles and aunts and adjourn to Nirvana Memorial Park, to pray to our grandparents. After which, we split ways. We will be heading back to Cheras where my mom's bone is kept. Needless to say, Nirvana Memorial Park is the place we look forward to most of all, as it's beautiful and our relatives will come with plenty of food (some of those which we could hardly find in town coz they are home made with best quality stuffs).

Why am I not praying at my husband's side? Well, that's becoz hubby's family tradition is, whenever someone leaves us, they request to be cremated (burnt) and their ashes to be thrown into the sea. So there's nothing and nowhere to pray during "Qing Ming". But ST does make it a point to go home and spend time with his parents, on the w'end where I follow my brothers to pray. Spending time with my brothers and their families on such occasion is a fun time to me in a way, like going for picnic the whole day.. :-D

Why is dad and mom's burial places different? Uh... long story.

Gonna be having "teh tarik" with 2nd brother this afternoon @ 4 pm in KK.. :-D

Boss gone out station. Yippieeeeeeee...!!!

Boss gone out station this morning and for the rest of the week. Party time...!!!

--moon


Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Bangkok here I come!

Wooohooo....!!! Our Bangkok trip is confirmed. Will be going from 6th April - 10 April. First time to Bangkok!

Sawatdee kaa...

Just did my 2nd exercise for the week on the treadmill, yay..!!

Ooooooh.... luv this new layout design. Neat and natural... :-D

ST is in the midst of packing for his Penang trip + exhibition participation. Look very stressed out & don't seem to be in fine mood, I'd better keep out of his way.

Strategy gone haywire

                           Picture taken from SWATA Young Professionals


Woke up at 7.30 am as usual, wanted to start work at 8 am. Then ST came downstairs, started coughing, switched on the TV, making a whole lot of noise while packing his demo items for his meeting today, make phone calls, etc, etc..

Hmmm...........

He just left the house. Peace.. I need to go to Subang Taipan to settle something. After that, I'll probably try to work from Bread Basket Bakery, my fav afternoon coffee break venue, and test out the Maxis mobile broadband stick.

Eeewh.... Tabby just tip-toed in with a black lizard in her mouth. Now playing with the poor fella on the staircase. Why must cats do that la...?

Ok, I'm off to Subang.

Thinking aloud

It's a torture; each time when you are just starting to chill out on the lappie, surfing, chatting, checking out your fav sites, etc, and suddenly... it's time to go up-stairs and prepare to hit the sack. I mean, I'm not a kid anymore, why do I have to sleep early and get up early....?!?! Why can't I do what most adults do? It's not fair..!

Oh, I've solved the arrows problem. I just change the design layout.. :-D

Different folks, different strokes

Tried a different tactic today.

Got up at 7.30 am, started working at 8 am. Decided to maximize the cool environment in the morning, since i know that I will not be productive in the afternoon heat. So far, so good! Had a very productive day.

Missed my The Backyardigans at 9.30 am though.. :-(

Didn't go to FRIM yesterday morning, as it was pouring and ST, having done his 30 laps after a long absence frm the pool, felt his muscles aching. Not only him, me also.

Going up on the treadmill at 5.30 pm..

In my quest to take up blogging and to maintain the interest, yesterday, I managed to add the Earth Hour logo into my blog. Not only that, all this while, I've been wondering why are there arrows at the top of each of my blog entries, and it gets too close to the date and time, that it blocks the info. Out of curiosity, I just type the question in help. Someone posted that same question and someone else was kind enough to help by providing the step by step in rectifying it. And waalaaaaa.............!!! It's done! Though I am still not sure why the arrows are there, but it's very much better now, tq!

I tried to find the answer to why the arrows are there, but can't seem to get it. Wonder if I could get rid of it.

Turn out your light, show support

In 2009 hundreds of millions of people around the world showed their support by turning off their lights for one hour.

Earth Hour 2010 will continue to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future.

Pledge your support and turn off your lights for one hour, Earth Hour, 8.30pm, Saturday 27th March 2010.

For more details, click here.

Making it up where it's lacking

Exercise wise, this week, I've been extremely productive. Did treadmill 3x this week, and swam 15 laps this afternoon. ST did 30 laps.

Tmrw we will be going to FRIM for jungle trek and to try out the canopy walk.

I've been planning on my lunch menu for next week, since ST will be away for 5 days to participate in an exhibition in Penang. Really scratching my head, since it's gonna be so many days. I am really not keen about driving out during lunch time to eat.

How to set up a SOHO

Rule no. 1 - Never double up your home as your office. It WON'T work!

Today, I promise I will not touch Bejewel for this w'end.

Hitting the pool at 1 pm.. :-D

And going over to see my nieces and nephew this evening.

Oh, SOHO means - small office or home office.

Confession of the day

I've been very bad today, I haven't been productive at all, well, for 1/2 a day.

I went out to UPM this morning to deliver materials and to meet up with Zulaika. After that, I met up with Ching Mei for lunch at Sunway Pyramid and then went back and did my own manicure. Got my nails painted, played with the fur balls, and then took a nap.

This evening, I've been on the Bejewel the whole night. Haven't really done much on the reading that I am supposed to be doing. No reading means no prospecting next week, coz I haven't identified the appropriate case studies to apply to the selected batch of prospects.

Guilty like hell...

Need to get this discipline thing sorted out. It's just yesterday and today, that my discipline seemed to hv faltered. Too much temptations and distractions!!

Anyway, I am going to hit the sack by 11 pm tonight. I promise, so therefore, I'm signing off now, for tonight.

Oh, shoot..!!! I still have to select the lunch and coffee break menu for ST's training in Bangkok first.. !@#$%#@!

Thinking aloud

                                Picture taken from www.layoutsparks.com


When I decided to join FB and expand my network, I already knew I will be exposing myself to some of the ugly reality of this world.

I saw something today, which is really heart wrenching and the image of what I saw, has been gnawing at me since. After a while, I decided to pen it down here, so as to express my horror and the hurt that I feel for the poor animal. Need to get it out of my chest, so that I can sleep better tonight. A dog was tied up and a stick was shoved into it's mouth to prevent it from barking or making loud noise, just because there were some visits form the government.

A human being, who is also an intelligent animal (as what we are called), when hurt, is able to talk or expresses itself to make known our pain, or is able to protect ourselves to a certain extent. An animal, short of being able to speak or think intelligently, when tortured, is a sight that I simply cannot tolerate.

Call me anything you want, ie. sensitive only to animals, or whatever I don't give a hoot. I admit that I do have a soft spot for animals, but that's becoz I feel that they are more often than not, at the mercy of human beings and our greed and inhuman acts. Such scenes/images REALLY bothers me, as the thought of the poor animal can haunt me every now and then. Much as I would like to shut myself out (so as not to get hurt with such happenings), I am not sure if I am doing the right thing.

Animals exists in this world because they too, are God's creation. They exist for a reason, just like we human beings. What right do we have to treat them in such inhuman way?

I do wonder if at the end of the day, are we ourselves to be blamed for what happens around us, and what can we do to improve such situations.

Help mother earth - Save Energy & Prevent Global Warming

How to save energy at home. A little gesture here and there goes a long way!

1) Fight the light/fan (the biggest culprit)

Don't leave the lights/fan on when no one is in the room. If you are going to be out of the room for more than 5 mins, turn off the light & fan. This applies to dining room, kitchen, study, bathroom/toilet, etc.

2) Don't leave things turned on

Turn off all the appliances at the power point on the wall, and at the surge protector/control strip - that 4 or 6 plugs extension chord that you plug all your computer things into. Some devices like modems/small networking boxes, oven, toaster and kettles are drawing small amounts of power ALL the time. Best thing is to turn them off at the surge protector.

Turn off the TV when no one is watching. The same goes for computers, radios.

3) In the bathroom

Wasting water wastes electricity. Why? Becoz the biggest use of electricity in most cities is supplying water and cleaning it up after it's been used.

4) In the kitchen

Don't keep the refrigerator door open any longer than you need to. Close it to keep the cold air inside.

Is there an OLD refrigerator sitting in the store room/garage or someplace else at home?

Old fridge are real energy hogs! Urge your parents to throw it if it's not needed, or remind them that 1 large fridge is cheaper to run than 2 small fridges.

How are you going to make a difference today? Start with one small item at a time, and then go on to another once you have cultivated the habit of helping mother earth.

Food for the soul

Met up with my ex-boss for lunch today. She came back from US for CNY and is still around, leaving end of March. We met at Cynthia's place called Makan2 in Kota Kemuning. She booked 2 boxes of "chai kueh" for us to eat, and what lovely food I had. I even took home 1 box. It's not easy to get it coz each time I go over to buy around 1 pm onwds, it's finished. Cynthia says I can call her to hv any of the nyonya kueh reserved if I want them next time.

Don't hesitate to click on the pix for a full version. Trust me, it looks irresistable!

Hard to find good nyonya kueh nowadays. She made my day.. :-D

Was at the Tropicana City Mall yesterday, coz we needed to drop by our ofc which is located in the building next to it. As usual, I needed my coffee fix in the afternoon, so we went to a new place called - The Bad Ass Coffee from Hawaii. And their co philosophy - In Caffeine, We Trust!

I like................!! :-D

Lunch for today

My lunch for today. This time round, everything is much more in control. Sandwich tasted better too. Even the pix quality taken is better than the 1st time.. ;-)

Not bad, eh? Uncle had better watch out, he..he..

I promise I will go upstairs with my 2 fur balls at 10 pm sharp tonight.. :-D

Been reading up so much on 3D production system, rapid manufacturing, rapid prototyping, direct digital manufacturing, fused deposition modelling, computer aided engineering, functional prototypes, ABS material, polycarbonate, etc, etc, etc... aaaargggh....!!!?!?!

Thinking aloud

Those late nights are really doing more harm to my body than good. What has happened to my new year resolution to sleep early and get up early? Now that I do not need to get up at 6 am to get to ofc, I seem to lack the discipline to sleep early. And night time is always the best time to chat online (since most friends and nieces are free at night) or to chill out on the net. Night time is also the best time to be having conversations with ourself about ourself, while we enjoy the night and the peace. Oh how i love the night, with the sky so full of stars, so mysterious!

Need to hv this sorted out one way or another. Can't let this go on.

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Moment of Reflection

3.07 am on a Monday morning and my story continues. My sleeping pattern is screwed!

I hv always been fascinated by the night, ever since I was a little girl. It is during the night time (and I mean between midnight till about 3 or 4 am) that my mind is sharpest and I feel most awake. That was how I did most of my studying and Uni projects in my "younger"days.

During my student days, I've always dreamed of me wishing to be "Super Girl". Why? Not because I love to save people. I love to be able to fly up to the sky, but the problem is, each time when I am supposed to fly away in my dream, I can't seem to fly..!!! I tried and I tried and I tried, but I just couldn't seem to fly, and before I knew it, I'm already awake. The same dream always end the same way. Yet I know that I want to fly, up to the night sky. Funny huh?

Food for your soul

Went to the pool this afternoon coz ST wanted to swim and the weather was perfect for it. It was scorching hot, and like any other ladies, I sprayed sunscreen all over my body b4 heading out as I decided to just laze and get a shut eye on the shaded deck chair under the hut at the pool side. ST jumped into the pool, the wind was strong (like as if typhoon was abt to hit) and I was enjoying myself there for abt 15 minutes, relaxing, dreaming of the blue sea at Gem Isle, when suddenly I heard someone ruffling thru something beside me.

I opened my eyes, and there he was, ST looking for his towel. Why? Coz the sky was dark, the wind was strong and it started to drizzle. Within 5 minutes after that, it started to pour. Hmmmm..... wasted all my sunscreen which I applied.

Anyway, today I would like to talk about my neighbor. Uncle lives with his son - Dinesh (who only comes home at the wee hours of the night and goes out at a time where no one sees him). He's working in the maintenance dept in a hotel in KL. Being at home alone most of the time, Uncle does all the cooking himself. And each time he prepares his meal and cook them, our whole house will smell of lovely curry. ST has already mentioned a few times, that one of these day, he (ST) is gonna stand in front of Uncle's house with a bowl in his hand and see if Uncle will be kind enough to invite him in for a meal. At the way he cooks, one of these days, Uncle will also find me standing outside his house with a bowl in my hand.. :-D

Maybe we shld talk to Uncle and see if we can convince him that cooking for 2 extra persons is more economical than cooking for just 1. We don't mind paying him our share, he..he.. His cooking is making me crave for Indian beef/mutton curry, yuumm....!!! Miss the food at the Northern Indian restaurant in Subang (near Subang Medical). I think it's called Kashmeer or something.

Anyway, Uncle's cooking is a challenge to mine. And I've only started with just sandwich and spaghetti. Worse of all, Uncle is an old Indian man. I mean, how often do we hear of Indian man cooking at home? It's normally traditionally the women who does the home cooking..

Waaa laaa...

My lunch - spaghetti bolognese. Not exactly my 1st time doing it, but the few times which I did b4 was like years back. Verdict? Since I made it, it has to be nice! Added extra chopped carrot and chopped black pepper sausages. Forgot to buy parmesan cheese though.

Exercise up-date : Weekly quota checked!

Was having my coffee at Bread Basket Bakery this afternoon, while I pored over some reports which ST gave me to read up on. The owner threw in a piece of complimentary choc cake for me, despite me saying I am on diet. She said, don't expect it to be an everyday offer, it's only a once a month thingy, so don't hv to worry abt the weight. Hmm.....

School holiday next week, yay...!!! Nieces bugging me when they can come over to bunk-in. Gotta clear up the guest room. They want to go and watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thieves, which ST has said that he refused to go and watch. Good, then I can watch it with the 3 rascals.

Oh shoot, it's already mid night. Am I gonna have to count the sheeps and the stars again tonight? Ciao!

What's cooking?

Bz in the kitchen, preparing for lunch now. Today it won't be sandwich anymore. What's cooking? Come back for the answer later, he..he..

KFC here I come..!!!

Going for KFC tonight, can't wait. Been craving for that since b4 CNY.. :-D

Super highway in Penang

ST finally signed-up for MAXIS mobile broadband today. Aawwhh... my Penang trip home will be so different from now on, woooohooooo...........!!!

My healthy lunch

Made the same sandwich again today for lunch, since I need to finish up all the left overs in the fridge. Today it's not as tall as yesterday, but still it's tall to me. Was still having difficulty eating it. This time I put less vegie & the hard boiled egg is not in there too.

Good lunch!

Short hairstyle for the hot season

It is in this extreme heat, that I really and truly wish I have the shortest hair possible, becoz anything other than that will only get me hot tempered and impatient.

Was looking around for chic looking "chin length bob" hairstyle that I dream to have. And found this pix which I kept in 2008 of Katie Holmes. She looks gorgeous and stylish in it, but of course, it's not easy to maintain short hair. You gotta keep going back to the hair dresser frequently to keep it in shape. And I hate going to the hairdresser, coz I feel that a person waste so much time in there. Anyway, luv this hairstyle..!!

I do remember e-mailing this pix to my hair stylist at that time and telling him "excitedly" that I want to have this. He did as I ask, but somehow, it didn't look exactly like that, but it was nice in it's way. Poor Patrick, always having to put up with my demands of all sorts, yet I am too lazy to do anything to maintain it. No patience for such things.. :-D

Tallest sandwich

I made the tallest and healthiest sandwich today for lunch! It was so tall, I had so much difficulty eating it, stuffs were falling out frm all sides, rather messy. But it was delicous...!!!

I guess I got a bit greedy, wanting to put so much stuffs in it. I made hard boiled egg, put it on the table to cool down b4 I peel. Turned around to put butter on bread, by the time i turned back, the egg had rolled off the table and fell to the floor. Luckily it's hard boiled egg, so apart frm the broken shell, inside was still alright. Rather kelam kabut, I would say. That's why also forgot to take a pix of my prize before I swallowed it.. :-D

Now I hv got soooo much vegies in the fridge, and there a 1/2 can of tuna left. Not sure what I am gonn do with them. Been eating raw vegies the whole afternoon, and still a lot more left. Lesson no. 1 - Don't think I should purchase the vegies frm Carrefour, coz they come in quite a big pack. Would prefer to buy them frm the individual vegie mkt in KK, at least can buy just 1 cucumber instead of a pack of 3 (the min that I managed to find). But then by buying from Carrefour, we tend to eat more vegies, just to finish them up, which is good. Hmm...

Counting the sheep in the wee hours

It's 1.45 am on Monday morning, and I'm still wide awake..! I wanted to watch "Australia" on Astro, not knowing that it's a 2 1/2 hr show. As usual, if I am still awake after mid night, I will have problem sleeping.

That is just one of the problem. The other problem is, I'll be hungry by mid night, and when I have problem sleeping, I'll keep feeling hungry like 2 hrs later, if I am still not asleep by then. Speaking of hungry, maybe my friend is right, maybe I do have a monster in my tummy that keeps gobbling up all the food that I consume. Maybe I shld get my tummy checked out by a specialist. Is there anyone who eats like every 3-4 hrs..? I mean, ppl say we shld cut down on the amount of food that we eat as we get more "mature", but at the rate that I am eating, I am not sure anymore if I am getting older or am I in the growing up stage...!?!?! Seriously..!!

Well, better get back to counting sheeps again. If counting sheeps ain't gonna help, might switch to counting stars.. :-D

I had 1 giant banana before the show started. Just before hitting the sack earlier, I had 1/2 a slice of whole meal bread with a glass of milk. I feel my tummy rumbling again now, what am I to do? Oh.. I know, I know, grab a handful of nuts this time. But, but, I thot milk is supposed to help us sleep better?

Too good to be true?

No one ever told me that cooking a meal at home could be more expensive than having a simple lunch outside. The amount of food that I bought today, not that much and not all are entirely healthy, yet, the amount I spent came up to quite a fair bit. It's rather difficult when I have a husband who has his own suggestions of, "You want sandwich? Here buy a can of tuna, cheap and good and fast too." I don't think he knows what I actually meant when I said healthy food.

Of course, I also have friends who tells me that, it's cheaper nowadays to eat out, especially if you are cooking for just a person or two. Even ST says that. How could eating outside be healthier than cooking your own, and yes, definitely it won't be cheap if you are particular abt the quality of food that you prepare and consume at home.

Hmmm..... has society made it so hard for families to come up with healthy food at home nowadays..? I guess I have to give it some time before I am qualified to comment on that.

Meantime, I will continue to stick to my plan for the time being, and hope that I won't get de-motivated, having a husband who always prefer to eat out.

I have not had fruits for like 2 weeks, due to my cough. I need FRUITS........!!!

Cause of the day - Appreciate animals in the wild, not in captivity

Ref - SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by a killer whale.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/seaworld-trainer-death-ex-worker-criticizes-animal-training-325781.html

Killer whales, like all wild animals have complex behavioural, physical and social needs, which can never be fully satisfied in captivity.

What we typically have are animal shows where intelligent and sensitive animals are made to perform circus tricks.

Such shows serve no purpose other than to entertain spectators and to assert man's purported dominance over other living beings. Stop supporting animal shows!

Where is my apron?

Was at Carrefour this afternoon, surveying the variety of food available. I hv been browsing the net for healthy suggestions on lunches and tea breaks, and the variety of choices available simply overwhelms me, for someone who has never really cooked before. There are loads which I can prepare, but lots of planning need to be in place to ensure the food purchased is utilized at max with no wastage, while ensuring I don't end up eating same lunch for a few days consecutively. And of course, there are plentiful of terms/food in the net which I don't seem to understand.

But having done some research & surveyed the varieties available, the thot of preparing my own meals is extremely exciting and thrilling. Now I can understand why some of my friends enjoyed cooking and enjoys the trip to supermarket so much, which was unlike me.

The thot of cooking and buying the basic necessities for cooking overwhelmed me, coz there's basically nothing in my kitchen at this moment, so I'll hv to start from scratch. There's no cooking oil, no pepper and other herbs or seasoning items, no rice, etc, etc. Thank god I still hv all the cooking utensils which I used when we first got married, when I tried my hand at home cooked food, until ST decided to interfere with what and how I cook. So, it's still not so bad, I guess.

Well, good luck to me then! Time to plan out the 3 days menu, just to start off with. A simple one will suffice for the time being.

Exercie up-date : Checked..!!! Met my quota this morning.. :-D

All in a day's work

I went to the bank in PJ today, to obtain a bank draft for the company. ST is sick and anyway, being the admin person now, I will have to do this from now on. The lady at the counter gave me a heart attack initially, coz she told me that ST will need to sign the form since it's gonna be paid using a company cheque. After calling ST several times frantically and not having my calls answered (coz he was sleeping & resting still), the counter staff whispered to me quietly, advising me to go downstairs and forge ST's signature while she pretends she is not aware of what I am doing. You know me with anything that is illegal or against the law. Naturally I panicked until I wrote the wrong figure on the cheq, that I had to re-issue another one. Then I had to practice copying ST's signature with my shaking hand, and ended up scribbling something that looks like a kindergarten kid's writing.

After about 20 attempts and finally when I went up with what I thought was the best copy of his signature, she went into the computer system and ask me who is Yean Moo Chen. I said that's me, and you know what she said? "Oh...., Ms Yean, why didn't you tell me earlier. Actually you are also eligible to sign on the form yourself, coz you are the official 2nd signatory." What the f!@#$%#!...

Going Green for Lunch

In this current heat wave, I've decided to execute a DIY lunch menu at home, for days when I will be at home. Hence I will need to plan and go marketing on w'ends. This shld be easy since there's now a Carrefour in KK. By doing this, it will save me time, effort and petrol from driving out just for lunch in the noon heat. A simple short trip out is rather a hassle, as I need to ensure I'm out there b4 noon or after 2 pm (to avoid the lunch crowd), fight for parking (either that or park a little distance away and walk in the scorching heat) and come back feeling exhausted, like as if I just came back frm a 2 hr marathon..!! And having my lunch in the coffee shop is normally a rush for me coz I just can't wait to get out frm the heat and crowd.

So, it would seem that preparing my own lunch & having it here, in the comfort of my own home will be a more practical thing to do. It also help saves the environment by using less petrol and it's healthy..!! Hmm... gotta figure out what menu to have.