Have I been THAT good?

The title for today's post has been the centre of my soul-searching session. Day in day out, I've been talking about how I want to keep a healthy lifestyle in order to look good. Have I been practicing what I preached? Here comes the analysis...

I fasted from meat on Day #1 and yesterday, Day #2, wasn't that fantastic. We had group lunch at work and we had duck rice and kway chap! It wasn't all that bad at first, considering how I fasted on Day #1. Then came more food and not wanting to waste food, I actually helped to finish up the remaining on the plates! Needless to say, my colleagues prompted me of my "diet" plan and how I should refrain from second servings. Without much thinking, I told them I'd skip dessert (oh well, it should make up from not having dinner, isn't it?). What happens next should be pretty predictable. I tagged along for dessert! It was almond tofu with longans over shaved ice and evaporated milk. Bear in mind, those are pretty sinful! I finished it anyhow, with the idea of how we shouldn't waste food (yeah, I know, that was very smart of me). Whatever I practiced wasn't all that bad because it was proven as one of the methods to lost weight as we have heavy lunches.

So I've been having light dinners since Day #1 of my healthy diet plan. Light dinner as in - a bunch of broccoli and one/two passion fruit(s). All after my 100 sit-ups and 5 rounds of jogging around our place.

I still feel the layer of fat around my tummy but I guess I'm starting to feel good each passing day. I have a good night's sleep but still feeling the pains from my exercise plans.

I guess it should be alright if I persist with my exercise. I have been praying about it and I know God has already planned ahead of me. Hopefully I could look much better in pictures next time! Gotta get back to work now. Have a beautiful day!

Jimmy Needham - Yours to Take

Thank God for this beautiful day!
Yes, I got up all refreshed this morning. Thinking about some really cool Christian songs from US.
Sometimes you don't need to praise the Lord with the typical gospel songs. Try some pop music. It'll change your perspective =)

Here's one for you, Yours to Take by Jimmy Needham



Enjoy and have a blessed day ahead! =)

Healthy Start

Hello all!

I'm back to blog again! I'm going to make this a habit from today. It has been something I've been talking about over and over again but this time I'm blogging for a purpose: A better diet, a better looking body.

Yes, I'm going on a healthy kick! Why not? I'm not going for the old school dieting methods. Yes, maybe I'll just incorporate a little of those but I'm making sure this is something that will persist for the rest of my life.

From today onwards, I'll document my healthy journey and make sure I look good in my bikini and hot pants very soon! =)

For the past 3 nights, I've been feasting on different sorts of buffets! I have to admit I fell in love with chocolate fountains (as always) and the endless free flow of delicious delicacies! I reckon it'd be a while I'd ever have a buffet meal again. Sometimes I do agree with the saying "Life is short, why not go for it?". To me, God has paved my way and all I have to do is roll out His plans for me. Be it good or bad, everything does happen for a reason. So I'm not worrying much.

I know going after a healthy diet is going to be difficult but I want to look good, or better still, great! Thus, I'm embarking on this journey that would completely change my life.

So what's on the list for today?

I'm having cheese sandwiches I packed for lunch, two oranges for tea and a lotus bun if I'm terribly hungry. I know they are full or carbs but I hope that would ease my very fragile system after days of feasting. I'm leaving work on the dot. Do 100 sit-ups and jog five rounds around our place. Then have a serving and a half of boiled broccoli for dinner. This shall persists for the next two weeks until we moved into our new place. Then there comes the twist, I'd have to plan for my new routine but I guess it's not going to be much of a different if I persist! =)

Alright, it's time to get back to work. More posts are on the way!

Earthquake stricken city...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12533291

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Check out this great MSN video: Soulful Girl Sings Original Piece

Check out this great MSN video: Soulful Girl Sings Original Piece

Pineapple Tarts Galore...

As promised in the previous blog, I finally managed to find a way to add pictures of my pineapple tarts.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Pineapple Tarts!

Chinese New Year is just around the corner - just a week away - and I decided to come to Singapore to give my aunt a hand in making festive cookies. What's festive cookies without the all-rounder pineapple tarts?

I made the dough yesterday afternoon - before I went to meet my sister for a little shopping session - and it was all ready for us to shape and mould them. This is my first attempt kneading pineapple tarts' dough and I should say i'm pretty good at it (lol, i'm not a proud person but i'm pretty confident with doughs).

My aunt started off without me because I was late, which is typical, from all the browsing. Then we decided to try making a different kind, which isn't the same as the typical open top lattice ones. This kind is where the filling is wrapped inside the crust.

Of course everything new requires some kind of experiment and our very first wrapped up one is overly huge and it actually looks funny! But we got better one by one and finally we finished off the two different batches.

Today, I want to be more daring. So I set off making the two different types from scratch. Needless to say, it's pretty time consuming for one person alone to bake them but I found joy in it. Baking is another passion of mine! =)

I'm pretty satisfied with the end products! So, i'm posting the pictures in a bit! Happy New Year to all of you!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

New Year, New Hopes, New Beginnings…

Happy New Year 2011, bloggy! It has been such a fateful year and I’m sure this new beginning will bring in more wonderful memories.

2011 – What do I expect of it? Plenty.

1. I’ll commence a career and there will be no more part-time jobs for a long time, unless I’m meeting some kind of goal which is hard to fulfil financially.
2. I’ll be staying in another city – somewhere I’ll meet new people and start new friendships.
3. The God Almighty is providing me a new spiritual home – a church where I can let loose and worship Him.
4. I’ll kick off a new fitness and health regime – being much more healthier than I had in Perth.
5. I’ll be able to save up for trips abroad, just like my sisters!

I guess having five goals isn’t too greedy, right? At least they are practical and I know it’s not going to be a problem for me to meet my needs this year.

I pray for a better me, a stronger me and a faithful me – to my Father, my family and my friends.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called “Opportunity” and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

- Edith L. Pierce

Is it payback time yet?

Which is correct – the older you are, more stubborn you get; or, the wiser you get, less patience you have?

Either way, they both are in my thoughts for these couple of days. I prayed hard for patience to face my grandparents but I don’t think I asked God wisely. Why? Because my grandparents are driving me off the wall so badly I think I should get a job sooner rather than later.

Let’s start with yesterday – Yati (my domestic helper) didn’t cook lunch so I decided to get takeaway chicken rice for Grandpa but I didn’t realise they were closed until I went out. So I bought mixed rice for him instead. He argued with me, telling me it’s too much and suggested I should share with him. I’ve already gotten something else for myself, so I told him it’s fine to chuck the leftover away. What happens here is how stubborn he is over the few cents of leftover rice. It’s different times now, even I know how hard it is to earn but if you couldn’t eat anymore, you shouldn’t just keep it for no one else – it’s impractical.

Then came today, I decided to go for my morning walk and got home a bit before 9am. Grandma was missing from her bed – yes, I was frantic – and found her upstairs arranging the bed sheet and pillow covers in the cupboard. I had to drag her down and explained to her over and over how dangerous it is for her to walk by herself, especially up the stairs.

Next came Grandpa, who wanted to be the hero he was – like what, 10 years ago? – trying to take matters at hand. He thought he’s able to fix our faulty door lock and asked me to help him open up the whole thing. Voila, he was able to open the thing but he couldn’t fix the actual problem behind the lock. So what did we get out of it? A very angry human, me, and two pairs of dirty hands with stains as stubborn as the old man.

I seriously have no idea what struck me to write this with such vigorous attitude but nothing could comprehend how I felt staying with them. Please don’t get it wrong, there are good times but I guess it’s human nature to remember each and every fault, rather than all the goodness being done.

I continue to pray for patience and I promise to start doing Pilates daily to improve my breathing so when times like that comes, I know how to lower my blood pressure. Breath in – breath out – breath in – breath out.

What a Boxing Night!

Last night, I thought I was about to lose one of my dearest, my Grandma. It was like any other Sunday – rather than a Boxing Day – and Grandma was in high spirits during the festive season. She has got to see her second great-grandchild and had a little too much from our Christmas BBQ buffet on Christmas night.

It wasn’t until last night when our domestic helper, Yati, was helping her at the loo that she passed out all of a sudden. She then vomited subconsciously and got Yati really worried. We sought help from my parents and Grandpa looked pretty distressed, too.

I carried her out from the loo and got her to lie down before Dad applied some medicated oil in her nostrils to get her to regain consciousness. She wasn’t very responsive at first which worried me, but she started complaining of her pains.

She vomited a couple of times after, had diarrhoea and complained of her pains. It wasn’t any pleasing image for my parents and Grandpa, I suppose. Even Yati shed tears.

All is good this morning as Grandma and Grandpa got up early to send off my nephew – Gabriel – Mum, Dave and Lina. What’s most funny is how Grandma described herself having a sound sleep and could walk around on her own today. I guess we’ve learnt a lesson after all – do not overeat during festive seasons. The consequences might be very ugly.

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day!