Wordless Wednesday #2

Christmas Eve, 2004

It felt EXACTLY like what Catherine Frazier had described in The Women (2008). 

"It feels like someone kicked you in the stomach, feels like your heart stopped beating, feels like that dream you know the one when you are falling and you want so desperately to wake up before you hit the ground but it's all out of your control, you can't trust anything anymore, no one is who they say they are, your life is changed forever, and the only thing to come out of the whole ugly experience is no one will be able to break your heart like that again." 

The worst Christmas Eve morning ever. Ever. 
(And, I had to go to work right after that nightmare.)

I am a much happier girl now and I have God to thank, for sending someone like Babe my way. 4 strong years and counting baby!

*15 min into The Women and 15 min of pure girly fun thus far.

Wordless Wednesday #1

Today I Will:

1. Go shopping.

2. Chill at Starbucks, Borders with my laptop.

3. Check that Douglas Coupland book out.

4. Chillax.

5. And more chillax.

Right now, the Breakfast Buddy is coming to pick yours truly up for breakfast. She's running late. We hope we do not end up having brunch instead, yes?

I.need.my.breakfast.

Magic Beans

Here I am, watching Nigella does her magic on the TV while sipping a bowl of red azuki bean soup (hong tau sui, as we Chinese calls it). These red azuki beans are magic and I will tell you why.

I have been having constant lower backaches and sometimes it got so bad that I couldn't bend down to put on my own underwear. When a girl is unable to put on her own panties, trust me, it is extremely unsexy and it is a tragedy. This has been going on for weeks, until one fine day I went for a massage and Masseur Girl taught me to boil red azuki beans and drink up. Told Mom about this since she has a backache problem too. Didn't think she would take my little info seriously, but voila, a huge pot of red azuki bean soup appeared out of nowhere the very next day.

It worked. That bowl of red azuki bean soup healed our lower backaches instantly. If you are suffering from a backache that no amount of yoga or stretching can help, why not boil a pot of these magic beans and have some? Why did it work might have something to do with Calcium? Red beans are loaded with calcium, in case you didn't know. 

Try this little remedy and let me know if it works for you as it did for me. Red azuki beans are abundantly available in your local markets, both wet and dry. No Jacks required to climb any beanstalks to get them.

Stagnant

Don't know just how long more can the Self hold onto to this.

The Heart has not been truly happy for a long long time.

And the Head feels like letting go...

Operation Lean Mean & Toned

Confession time: I think I am fat.

Ok, to be honest I don't really think I am that fat. Clothes still fit the same, no double chin and top and bottom are still at 36 respectively the last I checked.

But (there is always a but)... the ideal body to achieve is no longer to be thin but a lean mean and toned one. 

I want toned arms.
I crave definitions on the frontal of my thighs.
I yearn for washboard abs. 

I want all these and I will achieve them.

I think it also has to with age. As I am nearing the dreaded big Three-O, the need to maintain the current body shape and state of health, intensifies. I am currently nowhere near Gisele, Eva or Alba, but if I were to have my current body now when I'm 50, I'm happy. Therefore, preservation is important but - I do not just want to preserve, I want to hit it maximum with a toned bod. No people, please have image of manly Madonna out of your minds. You know what I mean.

In order to achieve Operation LMT, there will be sacrifices. If watching what I ate in the past was just a casual thing, it is watching and scrutinizing food intake now like a hawk that I must do. There will also be secret weapons. In time when there are results, I will reveal who these little buddies are. No diet pills, I never believed in them. But you will know who and what they are when my upper arms no longer jiggle.

As you age, you have this group of friends you'd never want them in your lives. They are - Heart Attack, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Hypertension and Cancer. Imagine, you can prevent them from entering into your lives, wouldn't that motivate you to stay healthy?

Osteoporosis. A major hit with the women. There was this study which I read, that calcium supplements do not work as well as we thought for strengthening bones and preventing osteoporosis. Exercise does. Weight-bearing exercises to be precise. How it works is that, by carrying weights, you are forcing your muscles and bones to strengthen and not weaken and wither away with age. Also, if you are a smoker, your bone density is getting fcuked up right now as we speak. Brutal truth yes, but you ought to know.

So yes, it's the 8th day of 2010 and I am proud to say, I am doing all I can to remain healthy and fit. If you are planning to as well, why not start today? Everything begins now and nothing starts without you taking the first step.

I know I sound like a motivational speaker in this post. But seriously, I have friends who are in their early 30s who are having problems like Gout, Chest Pains and Kidney Stones. I mean, how fcuked up is that?! I have never been hospitalized in my entire life *touch wood* except for my birth day and the only time I want to be hospitalized next is during child labour.

Seriously. Your health and you - you don't really wanna fcuk around with it.

Twenty Ten

2009. Past tense.

*sighs a feeling of relief* 

2009 was a year that many would want to forget and get it over and done with. I don't know about you but I do know many friends who thought 2009 was a real bitch of a year and it was. I wasn't spared. Truth to be known, I've had my fair share of shittiness right from start to the end of 2009. Dwell on it, I shall not. Speak of it, I will not. Let bygones be bygones, they say, for tomorrow is a better day and we shall all rejoice in the hope of a greater future. 

2010. Present tense. 

*pops the champagne and confetti* 

Amidst the sprouting fireworks in the skies, 2010 waltzed in with much hope for many. I know of many friends who are placing much hope for good changes in their lives for 2010. "Hope is a good thing, but without a sound plan and actions, hope is as hopeless as a steak knife without a fork"- I always remind myself this. My hopes and dreams, they tend to multiply rapidly when get carried away. I want to do this, and I want to do that. "But what is the plan?" Babe will constantly remind me. A good support partner, he is. For keeping me grounded at all times. And I love him for it. 

The List 

I don't usually have a New Year Resolution List but I do love the concept of a New Year, much more than the drunken festivities associated with its eve. New beginnings and new goals are delicious to contemplate and I have a few of my own. Just for 2010 :)

2010, is all about major changes in life and making life-altering decisions. 

*1* Taking relationships onto a higher level.
- Us: Babe and I have had The Talk :)
- Friends: Removing the rotten ones and keeping the precious ones closer to heart. 

*2* Live healthier. That translates to:

- Getting up early and going for a run

- Drinking lots of water - currently aiming for 2 litres - Mrs. Kidman-Urban swears by it, and if Mrs Kidman-Urban says it's good, it's good :)

- And getting a decent amount of sleep each night.

Nothing too dramatic but a slight uplift in quality of life. 

*3* Save up more for the Big Purchase Before Age 30. 

*4* Be grateful for what I have.

- I think its normal to take things for granted but one must remain grateful for everything: both material and non-material elements in our lives. 

*5* Go for that holiday. Not just any holiday but That Holiday.

With that in place, I am in good hands and is prepared to set course. A year of much hard work to be done, but achievable and a strong foundation to be built for the coming years.

Ladies and Gentlemen, today has been Day 1 of 2010.